Civil Services Mentor July August 2015

Page No.
Index
Debroy panel report

Page No.
4
International day of Yoga
AUGUST, 2015
Page No.
Designed by:
Chandan Kumar Raja
Prime Ministers Bangladesh visit
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India has one of the largest
railway networks in the world.
According to the International Union
of Railways which compares the data
across countries, India has the 4th
largest railway network in the world.
The United States has 224,792 km,
China has 103,144 km, Russia has
128,000 km and India has 64,460.8.
If we normalize these absolute figures
by geographical area, each km of
track covers 45.74 sq. km in India. This
is roughly comparable to that in the
UnitedStates,significantlylowerthan
that in Germany, but much lower than
the figures for Russia, China or
Canada. If normalization is done by
population, each km of track caters
to 19,133 people in India. Close to
20000 trains are running every day in
India, two-third of them are
passenger trains carrying 23 million
passengers. Others are freight trains
which carry 3 million tonnes of freight
per day. There are only 4 countries in
the world that carry more than 1
billion tonnes of originating freight a
year and these are China, Russia, the
United States and India.
Apart from a vast network Indian
2
Railways is also very low cost and

affordable to every class of society.
Indian railways have played a very
important role in development and
growth of some of the industries. Role
of Indian Railways for industries is at
all the stages from bringing raw
material to sending the finished
product to market. Indian railways
have played an important role in
development of cotton industries,
juteindustriesandcoalindustriesetc.
Apart from industrial development
Indian railways have played an
importantroleinnationalintegration.
Vast network of Indian railways allows
people to move from one place to
another in the country without any
hindrance. Indian railways has
provided help during national
calamities, IR helps in movement of
police personnel as well as the
necessary material supply to remote
places as well.
According to Economic Survey
2015 there is a need for public
investment in the Railways. Economic
survey says Railways are found to
focus strong backward linkages
(demand pull from other sectors)
with manufacturing and services.

From the 2007-08 data, it appears that
increasing the railway output by Rs 1
would increase output in the
economy by Rs 3.3. This large
multiplier has been increasing over
time, and the effect is greatest on the
manufacturing sector. Investing in the
IR could thus be good for Make in
IndiaFurther, there are sectors
where railway services are an input
to production (forward linkages). An
Rs 1 push in railway sector will
increase the output of the other
sectors by about Rs 2.5. This forward
linkage has declined over time but
this is largely endogenous to capacity
constraints in the railways sector
which has led to reliance on other
modes of transport. Combining
forward and backward linkage
effects suggests a very large
multiplier (over 5) of investments in
the Railways.
Indian railways have come a
long way forward since the
independence. Total route km has
increased to 65,806 in 2013-14 from
53,596 in 1950-51. Similarly freight
carried has increased from 73 million
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tonnes in 1950-51 to 1.052 million
tonnes in 2013-14. There is a seven
fold increase in the number of
originating passengers. Originating
passengers increased from 1,284
million in 1950-51 to 8,397 million in
2013-14. Despite substantial
additions to the number of trains and
passengers there are still problems
with Indian Railways. They include: The speed at which freight
and passenger traffic has been
moving in recent years has yet
to attain the pre-war level.
Delaysintrainsstillcontinue.
Operating ratio of the trains is
very high around 90 percent.
Problems related to hygiene as
wellassecuritypersist.
Some areas are still uncovered
in the Indian railways network.
In order to remove the problems
in Indian railways a committee was
constituted on 22.09.2014 with a
tenure of one year for Mobilization
of resources for major Railway
projects and Re-structuring of
Railways, Ministry & Railway Board
under the chairmanship of Dr. Bibek
Debroy. Committee has submitted its
report on june 2015. Major
recommendations of the committee
include: To enable proper decision
making, the IR needs to adopt
a commercial accrual-based
double entry accounting
system. This will help
determine the precise extent
of subsidization.
Any increase in passenger
fares should be accompanied
by better passenger services
and amenities.
A Railway Infrastructure
Company should be created as
a government SPV (with a
possibilityofdisinvestinginthe
future) that owns the railway
infrastructure, delinked from
IR.
Set up a Railway Regulatory
Authority of India (RRAI)

statutorily, with an
independent budget, so that
it is truly independent of the
Ministry of Railways. The RRAI
to have the powers and
objectives of economic
regulation, including,
wherever necessary, tariff
regulation; safety regulation;
fair access regulation,
including access to railway
infrastructure for private
operators; service standard
regulation; licensing and
enhancing competition; and
setting technical standards. It
should possess quasijudicial
powers, with appointment and
removal of Members distanced
from the Ministry of Railways.
Private entry into running both
freight and passenger trains in
competition with IR should be
allowed and private
participation in various Railway
infrastructure services and
non-core activities like
production and construction,
should be encouraged by the
Ministry of Railways.
Ultimately, unbundling of IR
into two independent
organizations: one, responsible
for the track and infrastructure
and another that will operate
trains.
IR should focus on core
activities to efficiently
compete with the private
sector. It will distance itself
from non-core activities, such
as running a police force,
schools, hospitals and
production and construction
units.
Delink of RPF from the IR
system. This is not necessarily a
recommendation for
dismantling the RPF, per se, but
to considerably downsize and
bring in private security for
protection of Railway property.

In fact the GM of the zone
should be free to use private
security agencies or even the
RPF, on contractual terms as a
matter of conscious choice.
There is a need to streamline
the present system for cleaning
(stations, tracks and trains),
whether done departmentally,
or through out-sourcing.
Contracts should be longer
term and there should be
decentralization and
streamlining of responsibility,
so that it can be pinned down.
This is especially the case with
stations and tracks.
Immediate corrective steps
should be taken to rationalize
expenditure on salaries and
wages of existing employees by
right sizing IR through
rationalization of manpower.
If Railway Universities formed,
there will be a pool of
specialists in Railway
engineering, recruitment to
IRTechS could be done
through UPSC after class 12th.
The selected candidates
would be groomed in Railway
Engineering in the University.
Once that Railway University
channel is opened up, the
UPSC route should not
continue.
Suburban railways should
ideally be hived off to State
governments, via the joint
venture route. Until this is
done, the cost of low suburban
fares, if these fares are not 182
increased, must be borne by
State governments on a 50/50
basis, with MOUs signed with
State governments for this
purpose.
The freight rates should be left
to market principles, once
liberalization takes hold, and no
such freight-related social cost
should be imposed on IR.

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF YOGA

Yogaisasystemofholisticliving,
having the roots in Indian tradition
and culture. It is a discipline to
improve or develop ones inherent
power in a balanced manner. It offers
the means to attain complete selfrealisation. The literal meaning of the
Sanskrit word Yoga is Yoke. Yoga can
therefore be defined as a means of
uniting the individual spirit with the
universal spirit of God. According to
Maharishi Patanjali, Yoga is the
suppression of modifications of the
mind. Yoga has been evolved by the
Rishis in India thousands of years
back. In recent years yoga has started
to gain global attention. First
instances of yoga are found in Indus
Valley Civilisation dating back to
2700 BC. A number of pasupati seals
are present in yogic posture, this
proves the presence of yoga during
theIndusvalleycivilization.Theseals
and idols of mother Goddess are
suggestive of Tantra Yoga. Yoga is an
evolutionary process in the
development of human
consciousness. People from various
walks of life are getting attracted
towards yoga. Yoga helps not only in
4
preventing the disease it also helps

in curing the body and mind. Modern
day life which is highly stressful yoga
ishighlyhelpfulinreducingthestress
and other psychosomatic disorders.
All forms of Yoga have healing
potential, they can remove the effects
of stress and pain. However, proper
guidance should be taken from
expert before choosing a form of
yoga. Yoga also requires keen desire
on the part of the practitioner to
experience the higher states of
consciousness through training the
mind and refining the gross
consciousness.
The Eight Limbs of Yoga
Patanjali defines yoga as Yoga
Chitta Vritti Nirodha - Yoga is the
cessation of mental fluctuations.
Hence, yoga can be defined as a state
of complete stillness of mind. To
achievethisgoal,Patanjaliprescribes
the eight limbs or stages every
practitioner must master. Eight stages
of yoga described by Patanjali are:
Yama (moral restraints)
Niyama (spiritual practices)
Asana (seat posture with spine
erect)
Pranayama (breath control)
Pratyahara (withdrawal of from
the organs of sense and the
organs of action)
Dharana (deep state of
concentration)
Dhyana (directing attention to
the subject of meditation)
Samadhi (complete absorption
in super consciousness or
divine mind)
The United Nations General
Assembly, after the call for adoption
during September 27, 2014 address
to UNGA by Honorable PM, declared
June 21st as the International Day of
Yoga. 177 countries has ratified the
resolution of celebrating 21st june as
world day of yoga. It Had the highest
number of co-sponsors ever for any
UNGA Resolution of such nature.
During the september 27th speech PM
Modi stated: Yoga is an invaluable
gift of Indias ancient tradition . It
embodies unity of mind and body;
thought and action; restraint and
fulfillment; harmony between man
and nature; a holistic approach to
health and well-being. It is not about


exercise but to discover the sense of
oneness with yourself, the world and
the nature. There are specific
reasons for selecting june 21st as the
date for International day of Yoga.
June 21st is summer solistice and
longest day for northern hemisphere.
Other religious importance includes
on this day of the summer solstice,
Adiyogi [the first yogi] turned south
andfirstsethiseyesontheSaptarishis
or Seven Sages, who were his first
disciples to carry the science of yoga
to many parts of the world. Sri Sri Ravi
Shankar also proposed the idea of
celebrating the world day of yoga in
2011. The Ministry of AYUSH is given
the responsibilities to make all
arrangement for celebration of the
InternationalDayofYogainabefitting
manner.
Forms of Yoga
There are various forms of Yoga
namely: Hatha Yoga- In Sanskrit, HA
means sun, THA means moon.
For a desire to stay fit, Hatha
Yoga is widely practiced across
the world and is the most
common and the most widely
accepted form of Yoga. Its a
remarkable form of exercising,
stretching, and freeing the
body so it can be a healthy,
long-lived, and vital instrument
of the mind and soul, thus
bringing about health and
happiness to a Hatha Yoga
practitioner.
Kundalini Yoga- Kundalini
literally means coiled and is
represented by a
metaphorical coiled snake at
the base of your spine.
Kundalini, the yoga of
awareness, opens your heart,
builds strength and releases
the energy located at the base
of your spine. Kundalini is one
of the more spiritual styles of

yoga. Kundalini yoga focuses
on breath and movement.
Kundalini is one of the oldest
forms of yoga it has been
practiced by the Upanishads
in India since 500 B.C. The
purpose of Kundalini practice
is to uncoil your snake and
release that energy within.
Health, strength, fitness and
overall happiness are its key
benefits.
Bhakti Yoga- Bhakti yoga, or
devotional yoga, is the most
natural path for those who are
dominantly seeking emotional
fulfillment and well being. The
bhakta devotee usually
practices meditation by
visualizing, thinking and
feeling the divine presence
around him. The bhakta pours
out his hearts love, adoration,
and shares his deepest
thoughts and concerns with
the Lord until a continual flow
of awareness moves between
devotee and his or her beloved
Lord.
Karma Yoga- Karma means to
do. Karma refers to the
universal principle of cause
and effect. For every effect
theres a cause, and the
devotee realizes that he, in his
present life situation, is
experiencing the effects
owing to a number of causes
which are actioned and
enacted.
Jnana Yoga- Jnana means
wisdom or discernment. Jnana
yoga is thus the path of wisdom
and jnana meditation is manyfaceted. The main purpose of
jnana meditation is to
withdraw the mind and
emotions from perceiving life
with a myopic view and to

behold and live with Reality,
orSpirit.
Mantra Yoga- Mantra yoga
meditation involves chanting a
word or phrase until the mind
and emotions are transcended
and the super conscious is
clearly revealed and
experienced. Since the mind
wanders often, the rhythm of
the mantra easily rescues the
mind and brings it back to the
object of ones meditation.
Both the rhythm and the
meaning combine to guide the
mind safely back to the point
of meditation the higher
consciousness or the specific
spiritualfocus.
Tantra Yoga- The word tantra
literally means expansion.
Tantra focuses on the dynamic
aspectofdivinitycalledShakti,
or the Cosmic Mother. The
tantric devotee strives to
attune with the spiritual
dynamic energy in order to
transform personal limitations
and release subconscious
blockages. The goal of tantra
yoga is to awaken and
harmonize the male and
female aspects within each
person in order to spiritually
awaken and realize the whole
universe as an expression of
the Cosmic Mother, the divine
lifeforce,orSpirit.
Kriya Yoga- Fundamentally,
kriya means internal action.
When you do inner action, it
does not involve the body and
the mind because both the
body and the mind are still
external to you. When you
have a certain mastery to do
action with your energy, then
itisakriya.

PRIME MINISTERS BANGLADESH VISIT

Prime Minister Narendra Modi
made his maiden visit to Bangladesh
on june 2015. Bangladesh has high
historical as well as geographical
significance for India. Historically
India played a major role during the
formation of Bangladesh as a nation.
Geographically Bangladesh has
advantages as well as disadvantages.
Bangladesh is landlocked between
Indian Territory, it is a disadvantage
but this also provides a shield to
Bangladesh from other nations.
Bangladesh is also important for
Indias Act east policy to be
successful. As South Asian region has
gained prominence at the world
stage, this also increases the
importance of Bangladesh for India.
South Asias balance of power since
the Sino-Indian war of 1962 tilted
completely towards India after the
emergence of Bangladesh in 1971.
India became the dominant power
in the region with the nuclear
explosion in 1974. There three main
factors which have led to increase in
Bangladeshs importance in present
times: Bangladesh is home of third
6
largest Muslim population in

the world, for the security of
the region Bangladesh is highly
critical;.
Location of Bangladesh makes
the nation highly important in
south asian region; .
Finally Bangladesh is in close
proximity with the China, for
balance of power relations
with Bangladesh are important.
Bangladesh, which is being
regarded as a bridge between
SAARC and ASEAN, also has
enormous geographic advantages. If
regional integration plan of South Asia
has to become successful like
Europe than Bangladesh is critical to
it. Relation with Bangladesh also plays
very important role for eastern part of
India. Despite the good relation
between India and Bangladesh land
boundary between India and
Bangladesh has been a contentious
issue since 1974.
Twenty key Agreements were
signed during the PM Narendra
Modis visit to Bangladesh.
Land Boundary agreementThe Radcliffe Line became the
border between India and

EastPakistanafterthepartition
in 1947. The same line
continues to be the border
between India and
Bangladesh even after the
liberation of Bangladesh in
1971. Nehru-Noon Agreement
of 1958 helped in solving some
of the boundary dispute
between India and then
Pakistan but subsequent
hostilities between the two
countries left much to desire.
After the creation of
Bangladesh in 1971, India and
Bangladesh were able to
conclude the Land Boundary
Agreement in 1974, to find a
solution to the complex nature
of border demarcation. Under
the 1974 agreement, India
would retain half of Berubari
Union No. 12, and Bangladesh
would keep the Dahagram and
Angarpota enclaves. India
would lease in perpetuity to
Bangladesh the so-called Tin
Bigha Corridor to connect
Dahagram and Angarpota to


the Bangla mainland. The
agreement has been
implemented in its entirety,
except for three outstanding
issues pertaining to
(i) undemarcated land
boundary
of
approximately 6.1 km in
three sectors viz.
Daikhata-56 (West
Bengal), Muhuri RiverBelonia (Tripura) and
Lathitila-Dumabari
(Assam);
(ii) exchange of enclaves;
and
(iii) adverse possessions.
The flawed partition left 111
Indian enclaves in Bangladesh with
area of 17,160.63 acres and 51
Bangladeshi enclaves in India which
has 7,110.02 acres of area.
Inhabitants of these areas do not
enjoy citizenship of either of the
nation.
They also lack basic
infrastructurefacilitieslikehousing,
school etc. Also because they lack
full citizenship and basic
infrastructure law and order in these
areas is also poor. According to
estimates around 51000 people live
in these enclaves. The Protocol
(referred to as the 2011 Protocol) to
the 1974 LBA, signed on 6th
September 2011 during the visit of
the Prime Minister to Bangladesh,
paves the way for a settlement of the
outstanding land boundary issues
between the two countries. The 2011
Protocolwillresultinfollowing:(i) a fixed demarcated boundary
in all the un-demarcated
segments;
(ii) exchange of 111 Indian
enclaves in Bangladesh with
51 Bangladesh enclaves in
India and
(iii) a resolution of all adversely
possessed areas.
While on paper, the exchange
of enclaves between India and
Bangladesh may seem like a loss of

Indian land to Bangladesh, the actual
scenario is quite different as the
enclaves are located deep inside the
territory of both countries and there
has been no physical access to them
from either country. In reality, the
exchange of enclaves denotes only
a notional exchange of land as the
Protocol converts a de facto reality
intoadejuresituation.
A number of Parliament
Questions, representations from
Members of Parliament, inhabitants of
the enclaves, NGOs and political
parties received over the years have
urged Government to carry out an
expeditious exchange of enclaves.
After the PM Narendra Modis visit
Assam has also been included in the
Land boundary agreement between
India and Bangladesh. Parliament
needs to pass the 119th Constitutional
amendment bill to make this transfer
of land boundary successful.
The Bill amends the First
Schedule of the Constitution to give
effect to an agreement entered into
by India and Bangladesh on the
acquiring and transfer of territories
between the two countries on May
16, 1974. The First Schedule of the
Constitution defines the area of each
state and union territory which
together constitute India.
There were various other

important agreements which were
signed during the Prime Minster
Narendra Modis visit: Agreements on two key bus
services were also reached,
including the Kolkata-DhakaAgartala route and DhakaShillong-Guwahati route was
also flagged off.
Memorandums
of
Understanding (MoUs) on
Prevention of Human
Trafficking; Prevention of
Smuggling and Circulation of
Fake Currency notes; and
setting up an Indian Economic
Zone.
Memorandum
of
Understanding for Extending
a New Line of Credit (LoC) of
US$ 2 billion by India to
Bangladesh.
Memorandum
of
Understanding on Blue
Economy and Maritime
Cooperation in the Bay of
Bengal and the Indian Ocean.
Memorandum
of
Understanding for a Project
under IECC (India Endowment
for Climate Change) of SAARC.
Cultural Exchange Programme
for the years 2015-17.
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National Issues
NATIONAL ISSUES
Sahitya Akademi to publish
satirical poem on Gandhi:
Jnanpith winner
Notwithstanding the Supreme

Court order stating that the right
to free speech and expression
is not absolute in the context of
attributing obscene language to
revered, historical figures,
Jnanpith awardee Bhalchandra
Nemade is set to publish the
controversial poem Gandhi Mala
Bethala (I met Gandhi).
Mr. Nemade says he wrote to the
poet, Vasant Gurjar, in March
and is awaiting a response. His
letter dated March 21, praises
Mr. Gurjars work and seeks his
permission to publish the poem
in a proposed volume on
Gandhis works to be brought
out by the Sahitya Akademi,
which comes under the
Department of Culture.
The chairman of the Sahitya
Akademi has decided to collect
selective and important literary
works on Mahatma Gandhi from
24 different Indian languages
and I am the chief editor for the
Marathi literature on Mahatma
Gandhi
In my opinion your poem,
Gandhi Mala Bethala is one of
8
the best poems on Mahatma

Gandhi so far published in
Marathi poetry. Your poem
expresses in a unique style the
wide social spectrum of Indian
societyafterassassinationofthe
Mahatma by Godse. Please
accord your permission for
including your poem in the
collection to be published by
the Sahitya Akademi, Mr.
Nemade wrote.
counsel to not delay it further

and begin arguments on
framing of charges in the case.
Mr. Tejpal has been charge
sheeted for allegedly raping,
sexually harassing and outraging
the modesty of a junior
colleague during an event at a
Goa hotel in November 2013.
India, China to set up hotline
between Army HQs
Complete Tejpal trial in one

year: SC
The Supreme Court gave a Goa

lower court one year to
complete the trial against
Tehelka founder-editor Tarun
Tejpal in a sexual assault case.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of
India H.L. Dattu agreed to a
request from the trial judge to
provide more time to conclude
the proceedings in the case.
The apex court, in January,
ordered the lower court to hold
daily hearings and decide the
case within eight months.
The court had expressed
unhappiness over the fact that
the trial proceedings have been
stalled, and asked Mr. Tejpals
The omnibus communiqu,

which emerged after talks
between Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and his
counterpart Li Keqiang at the
Great Hall of the People on
Friday said a hotline between
the two Army Headquarters
would be established and
additional points along the
frontiers would be opened to
enable local border
commanders to hold crisismanagement meetings.
Annual exchange visits
between the two military
headquarters and neighbouring
military commands would
continue. During talks, Mr. Modi
reiterated the importance of
clarification of Line of Actual
Control (LAC). The Prime
Minister said the Chinese

National Issues
leadership was responsive,
when he suggested that China
should take a strategic and long
term view of our relations.
Without directly to referring to
Pakistan a country with which
China has a special relationship
Mr. Modi said the two
leaderships decided to
enhance strategic
communication and
coordination on our region.
Indian officials clarified that
Chinas differences with
neighbours in the South China
Sea were not discussed a
position that is bound to draw
the attention in some countries
of the ASEAN bloc and Japan.
The joint statement made it
amply clear that outer space
and nuclear energy are
emerging as new areas for
collaboration in the future. A
Space Cooperation Mechanism
had been established, which
would steer a five year outline
for partnership, which would
also cover lunar and deep space
exploration, between the
Indian Space research
Organisation (ISRO) and the
China National Space
Administration.
The two sides would engage in
peaceful use of nuclear energy
a decision that led to a
conversation on Chinas stance
towards India within the ambit
of the Nuclear Suppliers Group
(NSG) during the talks.
PMs visit to 18 countries in one
year unprecedented: CPI(M)
Prime Minister Narendra Modis
visit to 18 countries in a short
span of one year is
unprecedented, the CPI(M)
said.
It needs to be noted that Prime
Minister Modi visited 18

countries during the last one
year. This is unprecedented for
any Prime Minister during such
a short span of time, party
General Secretary Sitaram
Yechury said here after the first
meeting of its newly-elected
Polit Bureau.
He said Mr. Modi was obviously
making up for the time he had
lost for being denied visas. His
meetings with NRIs is an
extension of his being in
election mode.
Referring to the Prime Ministers
attacks on the Opposition on
foreign soil, Mr. Yechury said:
When we go on foreign visits
as an Opposition, we ensure that
we maintain the dignity of India.
He appears to be in
continuation of the election
mode. What he says about the
Opposition on foreign soil, such
comments are not expected.
The two-day Polit Bureau
meeting took note of Mr. Modis
visittoChinasayingithasalways
supported the improvement of
India-China relations that will
result in mutual beneficial
consequences for both the
countries.
It said the visit was part of the
continuation of this process of
strengthening bilateral relations
with China and people to
people contacts.
However, it would carry out a
detailed analysis of the texts of
the agreements arrived at
between the two countries.
The two sides signed a record
24 agreements covering
railways, mining, outer space,
earthquake science and
engineering, tourism, sistercities and establishment of
consulates in Chengdu and
Chennai.
As many as 26 business
agreements worth over $22
billion were also signed
between Indian firms
including Adani group, Bharti
Airtel and Welspun and their
Chinese counterparts during
thevisit.
Over 11,000 women to be recruited
in central Security Forces
Over 11,000 women will soon

be recruited in central security
forces for combat duties such
as border guarding and law and
order assignments.
The government has already set
in motion its plan to hire 8,533
women constables in
paramilitary forces such as CRPF,
BSF, CISF and ITBP.
Also, sanctions have been
granted by the Union Home
Ministry for raising 2,772 women
personnel in the Sashastra
Seema Bal by 2017.
The recruitments are being
done to take the representation
of women in central forces to at
least 5 per cent of the total
strength in the coming days. At
present, women constitute
about 2.15 per cent of the total
strength of these forces, a
seniorofficersaid.
A special sanction has also been
accorded to the CRPF to raise
two exclusive women
battalions within its
establishment to bolster the
strength of the existing three

National Issues
such units.
The CRPF has tasked its women
units with rendering extensive
law and order duties apart from
their recent and small-scale
induction in anti-Naxal
operations theatre in
Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.
They are also being increasingly
deployed for static guard duties
and escorting pilgrims of
Mansarovar and Amarnath
yatras,theofficersaid.
The Staff Selection Commission
(SSC) will hold a three-tier
examination for these posts with
the stages being physical tests,
written efficiency and medical
tests.
Candidates, who have passed
Class X and are between 18-23
years of age, are eligible to
apply for these posts.
The expected salary for those
hired would be around Rs
20,200 apart from other benefits
that the government extends to
the Central Armed Police
Forces.
Mongolia gets $1-bn credit gift
India announced a $1-billion
credit line to Mongolia for
infrastructure development as
they upgraded their ties to
strategic partnership and
agreed to deepen defence
cooperation besides exploring
potential for tie-ups in areas
such as the civil nuclear sector.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
who is on a two-day visit to
Mongolia, the first by an Indian
Premier, held wide-ranging
discussions with his Mongolian
counterpart, Chimed
Saikhanbileg, and the two
leaders pledged to take
bilateral economic partnership
to a new level.
10
I am pleased to announce that

India will provide a Line of
Credit of $1 billion to support
expansion of Mongolias
economic capacity and
infrastructure, Mr. Modi told a
joint press interaction with Mr.
Saikhanbileg at the State Palace.
Today, Mongolia is also an
integral part of Indias Act East
Policy,hesaid.
The destinies of India and
Mongolia are closely linked with
the future of Asia Pacific region.
We can work together to help
advance peace, stability and
prosperity in this region, Mr.
Modi said, pitching for close
bilateral ties amid Chinas push
for increasing its regional
influence.
After their talks, the two signed
a joint statement committing to
consolidate ties and upgrade
the comprehensive partnership
to strategic partnership and
agreed to renew their Treaty of
Friendly Relations and
Cooperation.
The two sides inked 13 other
pacts that include one on
enhancing cooperation in
border defence, policing and
surveillance, air services, cyber
security and new and
renewable energy.
At a banquet hosted in his
honour at Ulaanbaatar on
Sunday, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi said, Ours is a
relationship that is not measured
on the scale of commerce or
driven by competition against
others. It is a relationship of
immeasurable positive energy
that comes from our spiritual
links and shared ideals.
So, as we celebrate 25 years of
democracy in Mongolia and 60
years of our diplomatic
relations, we know that the best

for our relationship lies ahead
of us, he said.
Mr. Modi also called on
President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj
and discussed bilateral ties and
issues of mutual interests.
India and Mongolia support the
evolution of open, balanced
and inclusive security
architecture in the Asia Pacific
region based on collected
efforts, considering legitimate
interests of all states of the
region guided by respect for
norms and principles of
international law, the joint
statement by the two Prime
Ministerssaid.
After signing the agreements,
Mr. Modi said: I was very
pleased with my discussions
with the Prime Minister. We have
strong convergence of views on
bilateral relations and our
regional and international
partnership.
The agreements that we have
just signed speak of the depth
of the relationship. These cover
economic relations,
development partnership,
defence and security, and
people-to-people contacts,
the Prime Minister added.
SC upholds validity of Company

Law Tribunal
The Supreme Court upheld the

constitutional validity of the
National Company Law Tribunal
(NCLT) and its appellate forum

National Issues
under the Companies Act of
2013.
A five-judge Constitution
Bench, headed by Chief Justice
H.L. Dattu, however, quashed
Section 409(3)(a) and (c) and
Section 411(3) of the Act
providing for qualifications of
technical members.
It held that for appointment of
technical members to NCLT,
directions contained in the
2010 judgment should be
scrupulously followed.
The 2010 decision held that
persons below the rank of a
Secretary or Additional
Secretary should not be
appointed as a technical
member to NCLT.
Justice A.K. Sikri, who delivered
the verdict for the Bench, said
the provision should not be
tinkered with as it would
dilute standards so zealously
sought to be secure[d].
It also held as invalid Section
412 of the new Act, which
contemplates selection by a
committee consisting of two
Judges and three secretaries.
The court directed the Centre
to ensure that the bodies are
adequately manned and start
functioning at the earliest.
TV channels flout rules under
garb of media freedom: activist
The Electronic Media
Monitoring Centre (EMMC) of
the Information and
Broadcasting Ministry has
reported 13,000 instances of
violations of regulatory norms by
television channels in 2013-14.
These violations came to light
after Guntur-based Edara Gopi
Chand, an activist with MediaWatch India, waged a threeyear battle to expose the poor
regulation of content on Indias

TV channels. Using the RTI Act,
Mr. Chand succeeded in
getting the EMMC to disclose
information on TV channels
violating programming and
advertising codes after the
Central Information Commission
issued an order in March. After
the EMMC disclosure in May,
many violations in 2014-15 have
been exposed.
EMMC data show 5,566
violations pertaining to
distracting part-screen and
scrollingadsthatinterferewith
the programme and paid
promotional programmes
telecast in the garb of news/
interviews. By Rule 7(10) of the
Cable Networks Rules, 1994, all
advertisements should be
clearly distinguishable from the
programme and should not in
any manner interfere with the
programme such as using the
lower part of the screen to carry
captions, static or moving
messages alongside the
programme.
The EMMC reports 2,965
instances of surrogate
advisements of liquor/tobacco
products. It found 1,245
instances of misleading
advertisements, which include
superstitious and deceptive ads
of kavachas, yantras , medicines,
creams and so on, claiming to
possess miraculous powers
which are otherwise serious
offences under the Drugs and
Magic
Remedies
(Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1955.
Merely publishing statistics of
violations is meaningless unless
the names of the violating
channels and the nature or
gravity of each of these
violations is revealed. It is an
open secret that the I&B
Ministry sits on these reports
without taking any action. It
issues occasional advisories to
which no channel pays heed,
Mr. Chand said.
According to information on the
EMMC website, 37 per cent of
the violations in 2014 pertained
to vulgarity or obscenity and 11
per cent related to
representation of women. But
National Commission for
Women chairperson Lalitha
Kumaramangalam told The
Hindu that no complaints
pertaining to TV channels were
received by her office, although
complaints about social media
often reach her.
Even if complaints against TV
channels do come to us, there
is so much hoo-ha over freedom
of speech these days, I wonder
what concrete action we could
initiate against them, she said.
Mr. Chand says that when the
Ministry enforces the regulations
by prohibiting telecast of the
offending channel for a few
days, TV channels scream
government regulation and
approach the courts for relief,
thus preventing any action.
Dont judge a woman by her
husbands past: SC
Highlighting that a woman is not
a proxy for her husband and
enjoys her own identity, the
Supreme Court has held that a
womans character cannot be
judged merely on the basis of
her husbands criminal past.
The verdict by a three-judge
Bench, led by Justice T.S.
Thakur, came on a petition filed
by Manyata Devi, who runs a
construction firm.
11

National Issues
She had moved the Supreme
Court against a decision of the
District Magistrate at Basti in
Uttar Pradesh to deny her a
character certificate. The
Allahabad High Court had
refused to intervene in the case.
The certificate was required to
renew her firms registration as
a contractor for the State
Irrigation Department.
The District Magistrate was
swayed by the fact that her
husband had faced several
criminal cases, though he was
acquitted in all of them.
It is difficult to appreciate how
criminal cases registered against
the husband of the appellant
[Manyata Devi] could possibly
deny her a certificate of good
moral character, the judgment
on May 15 said.
In the apex court, the Uttar
Pradesh government said a
contract mafia was operating
in the State. In Ms. Devis case,
she would be used as a front for
her husband to run the
operations. The State said she
had no experience whatsoever
in the construction business.
The State quoted the law that
registration is granted only to
people who have no criminal
background. This was to ensure
that only genuine contractors
win govern-ment contract
works.
The Bench observed that the
grant of character certificate
had nothing to do with her
professional inexperience or
her husbands criminal
background, and asked the DM
to reconsider her case.
Harman Singh
is now a global hero
A day after a Sikh man broke
12
religious protocol by removing

his turban to help a profusely
bleeding child in New Zealand,
people praised him on social
networking sites, a media report
said.
The story of Harman Singh, 22,

has been shared tens of
thousands of times on social
media as he woke up to
hundreds of messages from
around the world.
A picture of his setting aside
religious protocol by removing
his turban to cradle a boy hit by
a car has turned him into an
instant hero, New Zealand
Herald reported.
Mr. Singh has since received
hundreds of Facebook
herograms from as far afield as
the U.S., Europe and India.
Total strangers are asking to be
friends on Facebook and
thousands of people have said
Well done. I was only doing
what I had to and trying to be a
decent member of the
community, he said.
SIT cites report of agency
funded by Ford Foundation
The Union government may
have put the Ford Foundation
on watch citing national security
concerns, but the Special
Investigation Team on black
money appointed by it has cited
reports of an agency funded by
the Foundation to highlight the
issueofillegalfinancialoutflows
from India.
The SIT in its latest report on

black money submitted to
the Supreme Court has
quoted reports by Global
Financial Integrity (GFI), a
Washington DC-based research
and advisory organisation.
The agency, according to its
website, is funded by U.S.based Ford Foundation, apart
from the United Nations
Development Programme,
international financial
transparency coalitions and
financial institutions besides
individuals and governments of
Denmark, Finland, Nigeria and
Spain.
The SIT has quoted a GFI-2013
reportstatingthatillicitfinancial
flows from India ranked fifth
out of 142 countries remains
uncontrolled and that in 2011,
it stood at $94,933 million.
The SIT highlighted that in the
subsequent report dated
December 15, 2015, GFI
mentioned that illicit financial
flows from India for the year
2012 touched $94,757 million,
that is a sum of Rs.5,93,557 crore
approximately.
The cumulative illicit outflow
over the decade was estimated
at $4,39,587 million and instead
of the fifth rank, as per the 2013
report, last years GFI report
ranked India fourth out of 145
countries.
The latest GFI report puts India
among the top five exporters of
illicit capital over the past
decade,anditisalsothefifthin
the list of 20 largest export
under-invoicers with the
respective proceeds
requirements (2003-12).
It states that Asia accounted for
40.3 per cent cumulative illicit
financial flows from the

National Issues
developing world during 20032012 and that the vast majority
of such outflows, amounting to
85.3 per cent, were due to trade
misinvoicing (manipulating the
price, quantity, or quality of a
good or service on an invoice
so as to shift capital illicitly
across borders).
Taking up the issue of over/
under invoicing, the SIT
discussed the GFI reports with
the Directorate of Revenue
Intelligence (DRI), asking the
agency to conduct a study of
some transactions with one or
two countries for some items.
Subsequently, the DRI
submitted a preliminary study
report on the trade mismatch
between India and China,
establishing a pattern of under
valuation to avoid import duties
inIndia.
The agency found that the
differential between the actual
value and declared value of the
imported products were being
sent through informal
channels.
The Ford Foundation, which
has been accused by the
Gujarat government of
interfering in the countrys
internal matters and abetting
communal disharmony, was put
on the Union Home Ministry
prior approval watch list last
month.
Aruna Shanbaug (67), a former

nurse at Mumbais King Edward
Memorial Hospital who spent
the last 42 years on a bed in a
vegetative state after a sexual
assault by a ward boy in 1973,
died .
She was diagnosed with
pneumonia last week and put
on ventilator support. Doctors
said her condition improved
slightly, but she continued to
remain on life support. She
suffered a cardiac arrest , said
Dr. Avinash Supe, Dean, KEM.
Our staff tried everything
possible to save her, but we
could not. Its a terrible loss to
the KEM staff, who have been
treating her for so long. She was
part of our family.
Shanbaugs condition had been
deteriorating for the last few
years and she had difficulty
swallowing food. The staff was
feeding her nutrition powder
through a tube (Ryles tube).
On November 27, 1973,
Shanbaug, then a junior nurse
at KEM, was brutally assaulted

and raped by a ward boy-cumsweeper Sohanlal B. Valmiki. He
throttled her with a dog chain,
cutting off the supply of blood
and oxygen to key parts of her
brain. She has been in a
vegetative state ever since,
confined to a bed at the hospital
where nurses and staff took care
ofher.
After her death , a controversy
erupted when her family
members reached the hospital
to claim the body, which the
staff and nurses opposed.
No one was here when we
took care of her. How can
someone come suddenly and
claim the body? We will do the
last rites, said Namrata Kasabe,
a nurse at KEM.
Later in the evening, a
compromise was reached and
she was cremated at the
Bhoiwada crematorium. Dr.
Supe and her family members
collectively performed the last
rites.
Clean Ganga project seeks corporate, NRI participation
In coma for 42 years, Aruna

Shanbaug dies
The Rs. 20,000 crore Namami Gange project is spread over five years
and covers 41 tributaries of Ganga. Rs. 7272 crore has been set aside
for interventions in existing, defunct projects while Rs. 12,728 crore
13

National Issues
has been allocated for new
initiatives. This is a four-fold
increase since the new
government came to power.
Since 1985, Rs. 4168.55 crore
has been spent on cleaning the
river.
The National Mission for Clean
Ganga that has been assigned
the task of cleaning the river, is
focussed on abatement of
pollution and has designed its
interventions around this.
However, it is seeking
partnerships and is tailoring its
projects so that state
governments, local
municipalities and panchayats
have a stake and take ownership
oftheprojectsforsustainability.
To speed up the process of
cleaning the river, the Mission
has sought the participation of
institutions, donors, overseas
Indians, business and corporate
houses to donate their might
and money for projects or
sponsoring projects to clean up
the river . Already pilot projects
have been launched in eight
cities. The challenge is to set up
a drainage system in thickly
populated cities.
The urgent need is to bring
down lean season BOD levels
in the river to 10 mg/litre/day,
the Total Suspended Solid
levels to 10 mg/litre/day and
Total Faecal Coliform to 100 mg/
litre/day. These levels run into
over lakhs at present.
Stopping pollutants from
coming into the Ganga are a
priority,sayseniorofficialsof
the Mission. Donors and
philanthropist agencies can
taketheirpickintacklingsurface
pollution and can contribute,
say, for river surface cleaning
equipment which range from
14
Rs. 60,000 to Rs. 12 crores. They

can sponsor improved electric
or wood-based crematoriums .
First tribal woman to be
Jharkhand Governor
Draupadi Murmu took oath as

the ninth Governor of
Jharkhand, the first tribal woman
to occupy the position in the
State.
She was administered the oath
of office by Jharkhand High
Court Chief Justice Virendra
Singh. She succeeds Syed
Ahmad, who has been shifted
to Manipur.
Chief Minister Raghubar Das
was present at the ceremony.
Born on June 20, 1958, Ms.
Murmu was first elected in 2000
on a BJP ticket from Rairangpur
in Odishas Mayurbhanj district.
She was re-elected in 2005
after which she was elevated to
the Cabinet and given charge
of transport and commercial
taxes.
Ms. Murmu graduated from R.B.
Womens
College,
Bhubaneswar in 1979. She
worked as a clerk in the State
secretariat before joining
politics.
Kejriwal, L-G take fight to
Rashtrapati Bhavan
The Delhi Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal and Lieutenant
Governor Najeeb Jung
separately met President Pranab
Mukherjee and accused each

other of disturbing the fine
balance of jurisdictions in the
Constitutional scheme for
governance.
A senior government official

told that the most significant
request made by the CM was to
initiateanexercisetostreamline
the existing procedure of
transfers and postings of
bureaucrats to avoid a similar
impasse in future.
He has requested that there be
clear demarcation in relation to
the transfers and postings of
bureaucrats as an elected
government was well within its
constitutional rights to seek
whatever the nature of service
that it required of its personnel
as it deemed fit, a source said.
Meanwhile, the war between
the L-G and the CM showed no
signs of abating with the Delhi
Government appointing senior
bureaucrat Arvind Ray as the
Principal Secretary, General
Administration Department
(GAD), without Mr. Jungs
approval.
In another clear signal of
defiance, the ruling party got
the appointment orders issued
by Principal Secretary
(Services) Rajendra Kumar,
whose own appointment to the
post was held as void by the LG.
Mr. Jung reportedly apprised
the President of the stand-off
with the AAP government, while

National Issues
maintaining that he had the
power to appoint and transfer
Delhi government officers and
there was no basis for the ruling
partys complaint against him.
The Lieutenant Governor also
met the Union Home Minister,
Rajnath Singh.
Ahluwalia to
head panel on land Bill
Former Union Minister and BJP
MP S.S. Ahluwalia was
appointed chairman of a Joint
Committee of Parliament that
will go into the provisions of the
controversial land acquisition
Bill.
Mr. Ahluwalia is a BJP Lok Sabha
member from Darjeeling in West
Bengal.
Almost the entire Opposition
and even some allies of the
ruling NDA such as the Shiv
Sena and the Swabhimani
Paksha, are against the various
provisions of the amendment Bill
brought by the government.
The Congress and the Left
parties have been specially
targeting the Modi dispensation
as anti-farmer and procorporate.
The 30-member Joint
Committee of the Lok Sabha
and the Rajya Sabha will submit
its report on the first day of the
monsoon session.
The 20 members of the Lok
Sabha who are on the joint
panel include K.V. Thomas, Rajiv
Satav (both Congress), Anand
Rao Adsul (Shiv Sena), Kalyan
Banerjee (Trinamool Congress),
B. Mahtab (BJD), Mohammad
Salim (CPI-M), Chirag Paswan
(LJP) and Udit Raj, Anurag
Thakur and Ganesh Singh (all
BJP).
The 10 Rajya Sabha members
include Ram Narain Dudi (BJP),

Jairam Ramesh, Panna Lal Punia,
Digvijay Singh (all Congress),
Ram Gopal Yadav (SP), Sharad
Yadav (JD-U), Sharad Pawar
(NCP), Derek OBrien (TMC)
and Rajpal Singh Saini (BSP).
Hungarian author awarded
Man Booker International
Hungarian writer Laszlo

Krasznahorkai was presented
the Man Booker International
Prize for 2015 at a ceremony at
the Victoria and Albert Museum
in London.
The 61-year-old writer was on
the shortlist of 10 names, which
included Amitav Ghosh. The
literary prize, worth 60,000
(around Rs. 60 lakh), is given to
a living author of any nationality
who has published fiction either
in English or in English
translation.
Unlike the annual Man Booker
Prize for fiction, the
international prize, given once
in two years, is in recognition of
a writers body of work and
overall contribution to fiction
rather than of a single novel.
Mr. Krasznahorkais novels are
known to be complex and
demanding a single
sentence can run to a page
and deal with dystopian and
apocalyptic themes in which an
impending civilisational crisis
threatens the world. His novels
include Satantango (1985,
English translation 2012), The
Melancholy of Resistance (1989,

English translation 1998), and
Seiobo Down Below (2008,
English translation 2013).
Satantango was later adapted
for a film, in collaboration with
the Hungarian film-maker Bela
Tarr.
In the 1990s, Mr. Krasznahorkai
began spending more time in
East Asia, notably in Mongolia,
China and Japan, and his writing
began to feature themes from
the aesthetics and literature of
these countries. The Prisoner of
Urga and Destruction and
Sorrow Beneath the Heavens
are books on his experiences in
China and Mongolia.
In her speech at the award
ceremony, Marina Warner,
writer and academic, who
chaired the judging panel,
described Mr. Krasznahorkai as
a visionary writer of
extraordinary intensity and
vocal range, and his work as
fiction as epiphany.
Laszlo acknowledges Kafka as
a precursor, and his own ironies
are clear-eyed, with a gift of rechurning reality so that what
seems a far-fetched nightmare
re-assembles into the all-too
recognisable landscape. He
can be lethal in his portraits of
us human beings, yet also funny
gallows humour, surprisingly
light-footed.
Mr. Krasznahorkais translator
George Szirtes, who was
present, was given a translators
prize of 15,000. The former
winners of the Man Booker
International Prize include the
late Chinua Achebe of Nigeria,
the American author Philip
Roth, and Alice Munro from
Canada, who won the Nobel
Prize for Literature in 2013.
15

National Issues
MEA rejects Geelanis
application
The External Affairs Ministry has

rejected the passport
application of Hurriyat leader
Syed Ali Shah Geelani as he had
not mentioned his nationality in
the form.
Mr. Geelani told: I have not
filled the nationality column and
left it blank as we live in an
internationally recognised
disputed territory.
The Ministry, in a statement,
said Mr. Geelanis application
could not be processed as he
had submitted an incomplete
form. He had not met the
prerequisites for seeking a
passport, including payment of
the application fee and
submission of biometric details
and photographs. The
application cannot be
processed in its present form,
the statement said.
The Hurriyat leader, who had
sought a passport as he wanted
to visit his ailing daughter in
Saudi Arabia, said he could not
submit the biometric details as
he was under house arrest and
was not allowed to move out to
complete the requisite
formalities at the passport
office.
L-Gs silence
vindicates our stand
Even as the Delhi government
defended its actions over the
16
past few days in the ongoing

confrontation with the
Lieutenant-Governor, the
Opposition, took the matter to
President Pranab Mukherjee
seeking his intervention.
A delegation led by the
Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP)
Leader of Opposition in the
Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta
apprised the President of the
constitutional crisis. We
informed the President about
the deadlock and sought his
intervention, said Mr. Gupta.
Meanwhile, an elated Delhi
Government viewed the
absence of any response to a
letterseekingclarificationonan
order from the L-G declaring a
minor re-shuffle in the
bureaucracy effected by it
constitutionally void as a
welcome development.
This just proves that the
Government is not only right but
also that its decisions have been
completely in conformity with
the Constitution. In any case, we
are ready with our own
response to any further
clarification sought by the L-G,
a Government official told.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief
Minister Manish Sisodia, denied
that the morale of bureaucracy
had been hit by the ongoing
tussle..
He said their government had
stopped transfers and postings
that had become an industry in
Delhi.
PMs Dhaka visit to

yield road, port connectivity
India and Bangladesh will sign
a series of agreements during
Prime Minister Narendra Modis
visit to Dhaka in June 2015 ,
ushering in plans for road, rail
and port connectivity and

energy tie-ups. Mr. Modi and his
Bangladeshi counterpart,
Sheikh Hasina, will flag off a
Kolkata-Dhaka-Tripura bus
service.
The two countries are in talks to
set up bus links from Dhaka to
Shillong and Guwahati, and may
sign energy pacts to share
power generated in the
northeastern States, officials
told.
The main purpose is to save
people time and money,
Bangladeshs High
Commissioner to India Syed
Muazzem Ali said, referring to
the fact that at present,
connectivity to Northeast India
is through the narrow Siliguri
corridor or chickens neck.
We need full understanding
and cooperation for this, and
we do hope PM Modis visit will
pave the way, the High
Commissioner said, speaking to
members of the Indian
Association for Foreign Affairs
Correspondents ahead of Mr.
Modis visit to Dhaka, expected
to be for two days between
June 6 and 10.
On whether India could benefit
from links to the Chittagong port
as well, Mr. Ali said that would
depend on India restoring full
railwaylinks.
Dismissing concerns about
China, which had reportedly
decided to invest in the Pyra
deep-sea port project, as
seeing ghosts in the
neighbourhood, the High
Commissioner said Bangladesh
wanted a consortium of
countries to invest in, and
benefit from, the deep-sea
port.
India and Bangladesh should

National Issues
move to bridge the suspicion
gap and put inter-regional
connectivityfirst,Mr.Alisaid.
The High Commissioner
complimented the government
for clearing the land boundaryrelated constitutional
amendment in Parliament, so
that Mr. Modi can sign the
agreement in Dhaka.
Parrikar pushes for Chief of
Defence Staff
Indias current defence

arrangement is inadequate and
needs an individual or body like
the Chief of Defence Staff
(CDS) to look at the integration
of forces, Defence Minister
Manohar Parrikar said.
I will take a call on it maybe in
July or so. But to be frank, it is
not my decision. The decision
has to be of the Cabinet
Committee on Security he
told when asked about the Modi
governments view.
So I will put up my proposal
Let it be discussed by various
people concerned and then
we will come to a conclusion. I
believe that there should be a
body, which will see the
integration of forces, he said at
his South Block office.
Pointing out that the situation on
the Line of Actual Control with
China was better than earlier,
Mr. Parrikar said he viewed
China as a healthy competitor
in the economic field, whose
success in manufacturing he
would like to replicate in India.
On the boundary question, the
Defence Minister felt that
slowly, over a period of time,
issues with China would cool
down and get resolved but if
someone expects overnight
resolution, that might not be
possible.
Four Indians among worlds 100
most powerful women
Four Indians are among the

worlds 100 most powerful
women who are transforming
the world, according to the
Forbes 12th annual list, which
is topped by German
Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The top 10 include U.S.
presidential hopeful Hillary
Clinton (2), philanthriopist
Melinda Gates (3), Federal
Reserve Chair Janet Yellen (3),
GM CEO Mary Barra (5), IMF
Chief Christine Lagarde (6),
Brazilian President Dilma
Rousseff (7), Facebook COO
Sheryl Sandberg (8), YouTube
CEO Susan Wojcicki (9,) and
U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama
(10).
SBI Chief Arundhati
Bhattacharya (30), ICICI bank
head Chanda Kochhar (35),
Biocon founder Kiran
Mazumdar-Shaw (85) and HT
Media Chair Shobhana Bhartia
(93), and two women of Indian-
origin PepsiCo Chief Indra

Nooyi (15) and Cisco Chief
Technology and Strategy
Officer Padmasree Warrior (84)
make the list. They were
ranked by dollars, media
presence and impact.
On Ms. Bhattacharya, Forbes
said she oversees 2,20,000 staff
members in 16,000 branches
and services 225 million
customers at the countrys
largest lender (assets $400
billion) with offices spread over
36 countries.
Recognising the multiple roles
of working women,
Bhattacharya pioneered a twoyear sabbatical policy for female
employees taking maternity
leave or give extended care to
family, it added.
Merkel has made the list 10 times
over the past 12 years nine
times as No 1. The list also
includes media mogul Oprah
Winfrey (12), singer Beyonce
Knowles (21), Yahoo CEO
Marissa Mayer (22), Vogue
Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour
(28), Queen Elizabeth II (41),
TV personality Ellen DeGeneres
(50), actress and humanitarian
Angelina Jolie (54), Bangladesh
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
Wajed (59) and singer Taylor
Swift (64).
Forbes added that as of January
2015, 10 women served as
heads of state and 14 as heads
of government. Women
currently hold 23 (4.6 per cent)
of CEO positions at S&P 500
companies.
India denies pressuring
Swedish paper
India denied asking the
Swedish newspaper Dagens
Nyheter (DN) to retract portions
17

National Issues
18
of its interview with President

Pranab Mukherjee in which he
had made references to the
Bofors issue, because it could
affect the state visit of the
President.
The DN has said Indias
Ambassador to Sweden and
Latvia Bose Harrison has asked
foraretraction,butitrefusedto
do so and stood by its decision
to run the statement of Mr.
Mukherjee that since no Indian
court had given its judgment on
the Bofors issue, it could not be
called a scandal. External
Affairs Ministry sources told.
This is a case of
miscommunication.
We did not ask for a retraction
on the Bofors issue; we stand
by what he has said.
Even though prior to the
interview DN had said they will
not ask questions on the Bofors
issue, they still went ahead with
it, but President Mukherjee
answered that question. The
retraction was about the offrecord reference where
President Mukherjee
inadvertently mixed up
Sweden
and
Switzerland.Sources said the
state visit would be held as
scheduled, with Mr. Mukherjee
leaving for Sweden on May 31.
New Delhi said it was
disappointed that the focus
of the visit had been shifted
from India-Sweden relations.
The only concern that the
government has is that we
wanted the focus to be on the
Presidents visit and not on a
storythatisveryoldinIndia.We
wanted to focus on IndiaSweden relations in the
present, a Ministry source said.
Suggestions on land Bill

welcome: Modi
Amendments to the land
acquisition Bill in the interests
of farmers, poor, villages and the
nation will be accepted, said
Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Referring to the land Bill on
which he had been charged by
the Opposition with favouring
corporates, he said the subject
of land was not with the Central
government. All rights relating
to land were with the States.
In a wide-ranging interview to
PTI, Mr. Modi also hit back at
Congress president Sonia
Gandhi for her sharp attacks,
and said she had been an
unconstitutional authority
exercising real power over the
Prime Ministers Office during
UPA rule whereas power was
now wielded only by
constitutional means.
Dismissing criticism of his
frequent foreign trips, he said
all recent surveys show that the
highest approval rating is for our
foreign policy.
Centre-AAP spat reaches
Supreme Court
The Union Home Ministry

moved the Supreme Court
against the observations made
by the Delhi High Court terming
suspect its May 21 notification
on the powers of the
Lieutenant-Governor even as
the Delhi Assembly described
the notification as a dangerous

precedent arming the
Lieutenant-Governor with
absolute powers over a
popularly elected State
government.
The Assembly saw heated
debates over two days of a
special session convened by the
Arvind Kejriwal government
before the Sense of the House
resolution was adopted.
The Home Ministry filed a
Special Leave Petition in the
Supreme Court challenging the
stinging remarks made by the
Delhi High Court in a May 25
order as unconstitutional.
Pranab exposed Raja, Behura in
2G scam: Baijal
The former Telecom Regulatory
Authority of India (TRAI)
Chairman Pradip Baijal has in a
self-published book, The
Complete Story of Indian
Reforms: 2G, Power and Private
Enterprise A Practitioners
Diary , has alleged that it was
Pranab Mukherjee, as Union
Finance Minister, who had
exposed the two accused in
the 2G Scam, former Telecom
Minister A. Raja and former
Telecom Secretary Siddharth
Behura.
Further, Mr. Baijal has written
that in his view, a report by Mr.
Mukerjee dated March 25, 2011,
when he was the UPA
governments Finance Minister,
conclusively proved that the
then Prime Minister, Manmohan
Singh, and the then Finance
Minister, P. Chidambaram,
were working together with
Raja However, as is often the
case in India, only Raja and
Siddharth Behura were held
responsible.

National Issues
Relief for Greenpeace, can
operate 2 accounts
In a major relief to Greenpeace

India, the Delhi High Court
allowed the NGO to operate
two of its domestic bank
accounts and liquidate its
existing fixed deposits. It can
receive fresh donations or
contributions from within the
country.
Additional Solicitor-General
Sanjay Jain, representing the
Home Affairs Ministry, reiterated
his earlier statement that
Greenpeace India had violated
the Foreign Contribution
Regulation Act by merging its
foreign donations with domestic
ones.
He said the NGO had not
revealed to the court that there
was a statutory remedy available
under which around 25 per
cent of the non-utilised amount
in the FCRA account could be
used with government
approval. The global NGO had
applied for the benefit under
this rule, but it did not reveal
that to the court in its
application.
Justice Rajiv Shakdher asked the
government to decide on the
application within four weeks.
Mr. Jain said the government
was unaware that the NGO had
fixed deposits, something that
had been revealed only through
the petition made in the court.
The judge said the source of the
fixed deposits could be traced
by the government during its

probe. The court pulled up the
banks for denying access to
Greenpeace despite an earlier
order allowing them to use the
accounts. Do you go by orders
of the court or that of the
government, asked the judge.
Germany still hopeful of selling
Eurofighters to India
Even as India and France begin
negotiations to conclude a deal
for direct purchase of 36 Rafale
fighter jets, Germany is still
actively pushing for the sale of
Eurofighter Typhoon jets to
India.
The matter came up for
discussion between visiting
German Defence Minister
Ursula von der Leyen and her
Indian counterpart Manohar
Parrikar in addition to
cooperation on submarines.
I talked of Eurofighter and
[HDW] submarines in my
discussions with Mr. Parrikar,
Ms. Leyen told The Hindu on the
sidelines of her talk organised
by the Observer Research
Foundation on Wednesday. This
assumes importance as Mr.
Parrikar had on several
occasions indicated the
possibility of procuring another
fighteraircraft,inadditiontothe
36 Rafale jets and Light Combat
Aircraft (LCA), to make up for
the shortfall in fighter strength
of the Air Force.
Germany is one of the
contenders for the Navys new
line of six submarines under
Project-75I estimated at over
Rs.50,000 crore to be built by
an Indian shipyard under
technology transfer. Asked
about the Make in India
initiative, Ms. Leyen expressed
willingness to collaborate on
manufacturing of submarines.
You dont want only to buy, but
you want a close cooperation
by manufacturing and
producing parts in India too,
which I think is a very smart
approach for both sides as close
cooperation between strategic
partners should never be a one
way cooperation or
collaboration, she said.
Calling India and Germany
natural partners, Ms. Leyen in
her discussions with Prime
Minister Narendra Modi had
strongly pitched for deepening
cooperation, particularly in the
fields of cyberspace and
maritime security.
On Chinas increased assertions
on the high seas, she said there
was humongous interest of all
nations dependent on
economic trade to have an
open sea and observed: We
have to [be] very sensitive, and
sensible too, about any
attempts to dominate or close
trade routes
India to set up IT listening posts
in Bangladesh
The signing of a memorandum
of understanding for the setting
up of Information Technology
centres in Bangladesh is
expected to be announced
during the two-day visit of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
beginning June 6.
Apart from imparting training to
the Bangladesh police forces in
the use of modern technologies,
itislearntthatthecentreswould
operate as a hub for intelligence
gathering and detecting cyberbased offences, including terror
activitiesandintrusions.
The plan for establishing the IT
19

National Issues
centres took shape during the
visit of an Indian delegation of
senior government officials to
Bangladesh last year. In a joint
statement on the first meeting
of the India-Bangladesh Joint
Consultative Commission in May
2012, India had announced to
set up IT labs in 64 model
schools and IT centres at the
Military Institute for Science &
Technology, Bangladesh Public
Administration Training Centre
and Bangladesh Police
Academy.
Both countries have been
working in close coordination,
particularly in the areas of
counter-terrorism and crossborder organised crimes. It is
one of the initiatives on our part
to further strengthen the
security infrastructure of our
friendly neighbour, said a
government official.
A recent example of the
increased level of cooperation
between the two countries in
security affairs is information
exchange on the Bardhaman
blast case being probed by the
National Investigation Agency
in India. A close coordination
between the security agencies
on both sides has led to several
arrests.
As part of the agreement, Indian
agencies would assist their
Bangladeshi counterparts in
constructing buildings from
where the IT centres would
function. They are also
expected to provide the
necessary equipment for the
centres. According to sources,
the government plans to rope
in cyber experts from various
enforcement agencies to impart
training to Bangladeshi security
forces.
20
India tops world hunger list with 194 million people
India is home to the highest

number of hungry people in the
world, at 194 million, surpassing
China, according to United
Nations annual hunger report.
At the global level, the
corresponding figure dropped
to 795 million in 2014-15, from
1 billion in 1990-92, with East
Asia led by China accounting for
most of the reductions, UN
body Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO) said in its
report titled The State of Food
Insecurity in the World 2015.
India too saw a reduction
between 1990 and 2015, it
added. In 1990-92, those who
were starved of food in India
numbered 210.1 million, which
came down to 194.6 million in
2014-15.
India has made great strides in
reducing the proportion of food
insecure persons in the overall
population, but according to
FAO, it still has over 194 million
hungry persons. Indias
numerous social programmes
are expected to continue to
fight hunger and poverty, the
report stated.
However, China stood out as the

reduction in the number of
hungry people was much higher
than in India, which came down
to 133.8 million in 2014-15 from
289 million in 1990-92.
A majority 72 out of 129
of the countries monitored by
FAO have achieved the
Millennium Development Goal
target of halving the prevalence
of undernourishment by 2015,
with developing regions as a
whole missing the target by a
small margin, the report said.
Talking of noticeable progress,
the report made a specific
mention of Latin America and
the Caribbean, southeast and
central Asia as well as some
parts of Africa. The overall
analysis suggested that
inclusive economic growth,
agricultural investments and
social protection, along with
politicalstability,caneradicate
hunger, the report added.
Mamata to join Modi on Bangla
trip
In a significant development
which may have far-reaching
political and bilateral

National Issues
implications, West Bengal Chief
Minister Mamata Banerjee
decided to accompany Prime
Minister Narendra Modi during
his visit to Bangladesh next
month.
The decision follows a formal
request from the Centre.
Speaking, Trinamool Congress
secretary general and States
Education Minister Partha
Chatterjee said that the visit of
Chief Minister would further
strengthen the countrys ties
with Bangladesh.
Kejriwal government claims
unfettered right to run Delhi
While the Centre claimed

supremacy to administer the
National Capital Territory before
the Supreme Court, the Delhi
High Court saw the Arvind
Kejriwal government claim
unfettered right to run Delhi as
its popularly elected
government.
Multiple arenas of litigation
opened up in the highest courts
with both the Centre and the
Delhi
government
simultaneously approaching the
Supreme Court and the High
Court after days of impasse over
who actually is constitutionally
empowered to administer the
National Capital Territory.
The immediate trigger for the
identical litigation came in the
form of a May 25 order by a
single judge of the Delhi High
Court calling a May 21
notification by the Ministry of
Home Affairs suspect for

giving the Lieutenant-Governor
absolute powers over
appointments, postings and
transfers of senior officials as
well as matters relating to the
police and public order. The
notification also denied the
Delhi governments AntiCorruption Branch power to
probe and prosecute Central
government employees for
offences of corruption.
The Supreme Court and the
High Court have scheduled
hearings.
No intention to run govt.
through L-G: Rajnath
Responding to the allegations of
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal, Union Home Minister
Rajnath Singh said the Centre
had no intention to run the
State government through the
Lieutenant-Governor.
We do not have any objection
to the working of the State
government. However,
upholding Constitutional
provisions is also our
responsibility,saidMr.Singhat
a press conference, in reply to
a question on the ongoing standoff between the Delhi
government and LieutenantGovernor Najeeb Jung.
With the AAP scaling up the
battle on issues surrounding the
core demand for full Statehood,
the Home Minister said the
Centre had not yet given a
thought on extending the status
toDelhi.
Asked how the Centre
intended to deal with the
situation if the AAP took to the
streets, Mr. Singh said it would
have to intervene if any law and
order issue arose. Law and
order is my duty, he said.

Through a notification on May
21, the MHA conferred powers
on the Lieutenant-Governor to
appoint bureaucrats and also
restrained the Anti-Corruption
Branch under the Delhi
government from taking action
against any Central government
employee.
P.K. Sinha appointed Cabinet
Secretary
approved the appointment of
Pradeep Kumar Sinha, a 1977
batch IAS officer of Uttar
Pradesh cadre, as the next
Cabinet Secretary.
Mr. Sinha, who has been serving
as Power Secretary since July
2013, will succeed Ajit Seth
whose term ends on June 13.
He will soon be attached to the
Cabinet Secretariat as OSD till
the commencement of his
tenure.
Singapore to host first
International Yoga Day on
June 21
Singapore will host the first

edition of International Day of
Yoga on June 21 at about 50
locations across the country.
21

National Issues
Supporting the 5,000-year-old
physical, mental and spiritual
practice that aims to transform
body and mind, High
Commissioner Vijay Thakur
Singh launched a web portal for
online registration of Singapore
participants for the mega event.
We are expecting thousands of
participants from all walks of
life,Mr.Singhtold.
The yoga centres include one
each at Changi airport, Ion
Orchard mall, dormitories of
Indian nationals working here,
schools, universities and centres
operated by Peoples
Association, the leading
grassroots body which has
joined in hosting the Yoga Day
with the High Commission.
Indian firms in Singapore have
also joined the celebrations and
would be hosting sessions
within their own network.
The U.N. adopted an India-led
resolution declaring June 21 as
International Day of Yoga in
December last year, less than
three months after Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
proposed the idea.
The resolution was
overwhelmingly co
sponsored and adopted in the
world body, recognising that
Yoga provides a holistic
approach to health and well
being.
U.S. Defence Secretary coming
US Secretary of Defence
Ashton Carter will be on his first
visittoIndiaasSecretaryonJune
2 during which both sides will
renew the Defence Framework
Agreement (DFA) for another
ten years and boost
cooperation in carrier and jet
engine technology.
22
The first agreement signed in

2005 is set to expire next month.
And the 2015 U.S.-India
Defence Framework I will sign
next week will open up this
relationship on everything from
maritime security to aircraft
carrier and jet engine
technology cooperation, Mr.
Carter said while addressing the
ongoing Shangri-La dialogue in
Singapore .
Mr. Carter will visit Vizag, the
headquarters of the Eastern
Naval Command, before
heading to Delhi for discussions
with his Indian counterpart
Manohar Parrikar.
PUCL plea in SC questions delay

in implementation
The Centres resolve to rid the

country of hunger will be tested
with a petition being filed in the
Supreme Court challenging the
year-long delay in
implementing the Right to Food
Act and validity of three
administrative directions issued
by the government, postponing
food and cash entitlements from
reaching the poor.
A petition filed by the Peoples
Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL),
asks the Supreme Court to
intervene with the government
for the implementation of the
National Food Security Act,
2013, and publication of the
final lists of Socio-Economic

Caste Census 2011 to identify
priority and Antodaya Anna
Yojana (AAY) households
under the Act.
The PUCL, represented by
senior advocate Colin
Gonsalves, contended that the
2013 Act was supposed to be
implemented by July 5, 2014,
but three successive
administrative instructions on
June 30 and October 14, 2014,
and March 24 this year had
delayed it.
Besides, a period not exceeding
365 days was given to the State
governments to identify the
eligible households for
foodgrain entitlements. This
deadline expired on July 4,
2014.
The PUCL petition in 2001 for
enforcement of the poors right
to food had seen the Supreme
Court pass repeated directions
to the government to provide
food security. The litigation had
largely influenced the 2013 Act,
according to the fresh petition.
The petition highlights several
pitfalls for the apex court to
consider in the governments
proposals to implement the Act.
Section 4(b) of the Act requires
that pregnant and lactating
women be paid a cash benefit
of a minimum of Rs. 6,000
through the Indira Gandhi
Matritva Sahyog Yojana
(IGMSY). The petition said a
revised proposal for IGMSY is
with the Cabinet Committee on
Economic Affairs. As per the
proposal, IGMSY would reach
all districts only by 2016-17, and
that too if financial resources
permit.
In the second instance, the Act
wants free meals to be provided
through anganwadis to

National Issues
pregnant and lactating women
and children up to the age of
six years. The government
proposes to do this through the
existing Integrated Child
Development Scheme, which
has low coverage.
Again, the Act entitles children
aged between six and 14 to
have cooked meals at
government schools. The
government proposes to do this
through the prevalent mid-day
meal scheme. However, the
petition said, 3.9 crore of the
13.9 crore children under this
scheme are deprived of this
entitlement.
It said both schools and
anganwadi buildings suffer in
terms of lack of basic
infrastructure like kitchens,
drinking water, sanitation
facilities for proper
implementation of the statutes
objectives.
INS Vikrant undocking
postponed
Siltation and a minor technical
glitch in lowering the building
bay dock gate, which was last
operated when the maiden
indigenous aircraft carrier INS
Vikrant was taken in post-launch
for the second phase of work a
year-and-a-half ago, have
forced the Cochin Shipyard to
defer the undocking of the
carrier.
The aircraft carrier was to have
been undocked on completion
of structural work.
Flooding of the dock and
ballasting of the carrier,
weighing about 26,000 tonnes
minus the ballast, had begun.
However, unfavourable tide
and a bit of siltation at the dock
mouth besides a minor glitch
with the dock gate forced the

undocking to be put off.
Sources said the carrier would
continue to be outfitted for over
a year-and-a-half after
undocking when the second
phase of construction would
draw to a close.
The yard considers this to be
the most challenging phase
during which cabling, piping,
accommodation facility, air
conditioning and ventilation
systems would be done.
Once complete, the carrier will
have
some
2,300
compartments.
approval [on the Bill].

But the NDA government
spokesperson and Union
Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar
Prasad, announcing the
decision, said the Cabinet had
recommended re-promulgation
of the ordinance to ensure
continuity so that farmers
dont face hardships on
compensation as, otherwise, it
would have lapsed on June 4.
Ex-Odisha CM Gamang quits
Congress
Govt. for re-promulgation of

land ordinance
The Union Cabinet has
recommended re-promulgation
of the controversial land
acquisition ordinance for the
third time in five months.
The decision has immediately
drawn a sharp response from
the Congress and the CPI (M),
who along with other
Opposition parties, have been
stalling the Bills passage in the
Rajya Sabha.
Opposition leaders stressed that
it was improper to recommend
re-promulgation of the
ordinance as a 30-member Joint
Committee of Parliament was
currently deliberating on
changes sought to be made in
the Land Acquisition Act, 2013.
While CPI (M) MP and a
member of the Joint Committee
Mohammad Salim said it was
improper to push for repromulgation during the
pendency of the Committee,
Congress communication chief
Randeep Surjewala said: It is
an affront to Parliament that
refused to put its stamp of
Nine-time Congress MP and

former Odisha Chief Minister
Giridhar Gamang quit the party
alleging humiliation and
appeared to send signals that
he was keen on joining the BJP.
Announcing his decision at a
press conference, he came out
with an explanation that his vote
did not lead to the fall of the
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
government in 1999.
I have sent my resignation letter
to AICC president Sonia
Gandhi. Since the time of the
Vajpayee governments fall due
to one vote in 1999, I have been
humiliated. Though I voted
against the Vajpayee
government in the wake of a
whip, the party did not come to
my rescue at any time, Mr.
Gamang told reporters.
U.P. sues Nestle for excess lead
in Maggi
With the row over Maggi
23

National Issues
noodles escalating, the Food
Safety and Drug Administration
of the U.P. government has filed
a case against the
manufacturing company, Nestle
India Ltd., and five others,
including the Barabanki store
from where samples with excess
lead were seized.
The case was filed in the court
of the Additional Chief Judicial
Magistrate (ACJM), Barabanki,
under the Food Safety and
Standards Act, 2006.
The move comes after tests on
the samples of two-minute
Maggi noodles of the March
2014 batch found the presence
of lead in excess of the
permissible limit. Monosodium
glutamate too was more.
Modi to be first
Indian PM in Israel
will travel to Israel, making him
the first Indian Premier to visit
the country, External Affairs
Minister Sushma Swaraj said.
Addressing a press conference
to recount the achievements of
the External Affairs Ministry in
the past year, Ms. Swaraj said the
PMs dates were not
confirmed, but that they were
being worked out.
Sources told the visit could
happen this year itself, with a
high-level Indian team travelling
toTelAvivinJulyfordiscussions
on several bilateral issues.
Ms. Swaraj also said she would
visitIsrael,PalestineandJordan
laterthisyear,andwilltravelto
Tehran in June for the NonAligned Ministerial meet.
However, officials said there is
no decision yet on whether Mr.
Modi will attend the NAM
summit in Caracas, Venezuela in
September this year.
24
Kolkata-DhakaAgartala bus trial run

The trial run of the muchawaited Kolkata-Dhaka-Agartala
bus service will begin .
The service, aimed at easy
movement of people of two
Indian States separated by
Bangladesh, is likely to be
inaugurated when Prime
Minister Narendra Modi visits
Dhaka on June 6 and 7.
This is the first bus service to
connect the two north-eastern
States through Bangladesh. The
Dhaka-Kolkata service was
introduced in 1999 and the one
between Dhaka and Agartala in
2003.
The cross-Bangladesh service
was approved at a recent
meeting between Bangladesh
Road Transport Minister
Obaidul Quader and his Indian
counterpart Nitin Gadkari in
New Delhi. It had been sought
for long by the people of
Tripura and other adjoining
States for travelling through
Bangladesh without changing
vehicles. It takes nearly three
days to travel from Kolkata to
Agartala, the capital of Tripura,
a 1,650-km distance by land.
Now, the journey will take less
than 24 hours.
The two countries recently
completed a trial run of the
Dhaka-Shillong-Guwahati
service. It is also expected to
be opened during Mr. Modis
visit.
Pranab in Sweden,
key pacts to be signed
arrivedonthefirstlegofhisfiveday state visit to Sweden and
Belarus, the first ever by any
Indian head of State, during
which a number of key

agreements on sustainable
development, scientific
research are likely to be signed.
On his arrival, Mr. Mukherjee

was received by Crown
Princess Victoria at the Arland
airport. Later, he was received
at the Royal Mews by the King
Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia
from where he was taken on a
horse-drawn cortege to the
Royal Palace, where the
traditional welcoming
ceremony took place.
Earlier in New Delhi, he was
given a ceremonial send-off at
Rashtrapati Bhavan by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi, Vice
President Hamid Ansari, Delhi
Lieutenant Governor Najeeb
Jung, External Affairs Minister
Sushma Swaraj, Finance
Minister Arun Jaitley and the
three Service Chiefs.
During his three-day State visit
in Sweden, the President will
meet Prime Minister Stefan
Lofven, the Speaker of the
Swedish Parliament, and the
Leader of Opposition, Anna
Kinberg Batra besides number
of meetings with the King and
the Queen.
The visit will focus on
innovation, sustainable
development, urban
development and scientific
research with both countries
exploring ways to enhance
mutual exchange in the areas of
trade and science.

National Issues
Corporates ignore
Clean School call
The Narendra Modi government
has been facing accusations of
being corporate-friendly, but
it seems to be a one-way street
when it comes to the corporates
loosening their purse strings to
contribute to the Swachh
Vidyalaya (Clean School)
campaign.
According to the progress
report card of the Swachh
Vidyalaya, Swachh Bharat (Clean
School, Clean India) campaign,
prepared by the Union Human
Resource Development
Ministry, only 16 corporates, big
and small, have shown some
interest in the endeavour.
Between them, they have taken
up the responsibility of 5,134
toilets, building them or
repairing dysfunctional ones.
Some corporate funding could
have gone into the Swachh
Bharat Kosh, as the guidelines
provide the option of indirectly
financing the endeavour
through the fund.
But the corporate involvement
in the campaign is small given
that the Kosh is supporting only
5,345 of the 4,19,092 toilets
which need to be built or
repaired. This, despite Mr. Modi
making an appeal in his first
Independence Day address last
year to corporates to dip into
their CSR (Corporate Social
Responsibility) funds to help
the national campaign. The
corporates involvement is in
sharp contrast to the Public
Sector Undertakings (PSUs). In
all, 69 PSUs have taken up the
responsibilityof1,66,255toilets
across the country.
The completion rate in both
cases is way off the mark; given
that the Prime Minister had set

this years Independence Day
as the target for ensuring that
no school in India is without
separate functional toilets for
boys and girls.
Of the 5,134 toilets that the
corporates have pledged
money for, only 242 have been
completed. The bulk of the
work the corporates have taken
upon themselves is building
new toilets 1,820 for boys and
1,920 for girls of which 136
boystoiletsand106girlstoilets
have been completed.
Karnataka to move
SC in Jaya case
responsibility properly by filing

the appeal, Law Minister T.B.
Jayachandra told reporters after
the Cabinet meeting.
However, the Cabinets
decision was taken only after
strong and repeated advice
from the Advocate-General of
the State who had said that it
would be a travesty of justice
if Karnataka did not file an
appeal. Legal experts had
accused the State government
of delaying a decision.
The Law Department, Mr.
Acharya and the AdvocateGeneral had all advised the
State to file an appeal, Mr.
Jayachandra said.
Vijai Sharma
tipped to be new CIC
The Karnataka Cabinet decided

to file an appeal in the Supreme
Court against the Karnataka High
Courts verdict acquitting
AIADMK general secretary
Jayalalithaa and three others in
the disproportionate assets
case.
The Cabinet also decided that
senior advocate B.V. Acharya
would be special counsel to
argue the case before the apex
court, while Mr. Sandesh J
Chouta will assist him.
Itisinevitable forustofilean
appeal before the Supreme
Court as Karnataka has been
declared as the sole
prosecuting agency by the
Supreme Court with respect to
the disproportionate assets
case. We have to execute our
The senior-most Information

Commissioner, Vijai Sharma, is
tipped to be the new Chief
Information Commissioner,
while the former Chairman of
the Central Board of Direct
Taxes, K.V. Chowdary, is
understood to be in the running
for the post of Central Vigilance
Commissioner.
The names are understood to
have been cleared at the
meetings Prime Minister
Narendra Modi had with the
leader of the largest Opposition
party in the Lok Sabha,
Mallikarjun Kharge.
While Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley attended the meeting on
25

National Issues
26
the selection of Chief

Information Commissioner
(CIC), Home Minister Rajnath
Singh attended the one on
Central Vigilance Commissioner
(CVC). Minister of State for
Personnel Jitendra Singh was
present at the meetings.
Sources indicated that Mr.
Sharma, 64, could be named as
Chief Information
Commissioner, a post that has
been lying vacant for over nine
months.
Mr. Chowdary, 61, is said to be
the top contender for the other
post, while the acting CVC,
Rajiv, is also in the running, the
sources said.
The panels have met and their
recommendations have been
senttothePresidentsoffice.All
the names against the vacant
posts have been sent to the
President. I cannot tell you the
names. The meeting was
confidential, Mr. Kharge said
after the meeting.
Asked whether there was any
disagreement on the names, he
said there was no question of
agreement or disagreement as
of now.
A formal announcement will be
made after President Pranab
Mukherjee gives his assent. The
President is away on a five-day
visit abroad and will return.
Sources said there were 203
applicants for Chief Information
Commissioner and 553 for
Information Commissioners.
Under the RTI Act, the CIC has
one chief and 10 Information
Commissioners.
In the CVC, the term of Central
Vigilance Commissioner
Pradeep Kumar ended on
September 28 last year, while
Vigilance Commissioner J.M.
Garg completed his tenure on

September 7.
The government received
about 130 applications for the
two vacant posts at the anticorruption watchdog, they said.
Bollywood actors land in a soup

for endorsing Maggi
Amid the controversy over the

alleged violation of food safety
standards by instant noodles
brand, Maggi, Union Food
Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said
all players, including Bollywood
actors who have endorsed the
product, are liable for action
under the Food Safety and
Standards Authority of India
(FSSAI) norms.
Three Bollywood actors
Madhuri Dixit, Amitabh
Bachchan and Preity Zinta
have endorsed the product in
the past few years.
The FSSAI has decided to test
more samples of Maggi,
collected from different States,
in the wake of the Uttar Pradesh
Food and Drug Administration
finding excess levels of lead
and mono-sodium glutamate,
normally used as a flavour
enhancer, in the product.
Mr. Paswan said a report on the
alleged violation by the
manufacturer is expected in
two to three days.
He said action can be initiated
by the government against the
manufacturer (Nestle-India),
advertising agency, promoters/
endorsers if an unfair trade

practice complaint is lodged
with the National Consumer
Court.
A complaint can also be filed
with Cable Television Network
(Regulation) Amendment Act
for putting out a misleading
advertisement.
Additional Secretary (Consumer
Affairs) G. Gurucharan said the
manufacturer and promoter are
liable to be fined and asked to
put out corrective
advertisements. The brand
ambassadors are also liable for
action, but the decision will be
taken by courts, he added.
The government is setting up an
authority, under the
Department of Consumer
Affairs, which will suo motu take
cognisance of such claims.
Corporate houses, however,
said the governments move to
make brand ambassadors liable
for violation by the product
would be stretching it too far.
Gujarat officers to be
commerce, power secretaries
In a major reshuffle, the

government made 17 Secretarylevel appointments.
Two Gujarat-cadre IAS officers
will take over as Commerce and
Power Secretaries.
Pradeep Kumar Pujari, a 1981batch officer, has been
appointed Secretary, Ministry
of Power. He is currently

National Issues
Special Secretary and Financial
Adviser, Department of
Agricultural Research and
Education. He will replace
Pradeep Kumar Sinha, who was
recently appointed Cabinet
Secretary.
Rita A. Teaotia, also from the
1981-batch and currently
Special Secretary, Department
of Telecommunications, has
been named Secretary,
Department of Commerce.
I&B Ministry asked to review
DD News heads appointment
Caught on the back foot for the
second time in just over a month,
the Information and
Broadcasting Ministry is under
pressure to take a fresh look at
the appointment of Veena Jain
as Director-General of
Doordarshan News.
This follows a meeting between
Surya Prakash, Chairman of the
Prasar Bharati Corporation, and
Information and Broadcasting
Minister Arun Jaitley.
It is learnt that Mr. Prakash
flagged the issue of autonomy
as the Ministry appointed Ms.
Jain without consulting the
Prasar Bharati Board.
another and would take a

decision on whether or not to
participate in the work next
week.
Both options to boycott or
to continue are on the table,
a member said. But the
Trinamool Congress has
decided to fight it from within.
CPI(M) general secretary
Sitaram Yechury said in
Hyderabad that the party was
actively considering
withdrawing from the
committee.
Mohammad Salim, the party
member on the panel, said the
Opposition members were in
consultation with one another
as the re-promulgation of the
ordinance at this juncture was
unacceptable.
The CPI(M) would take a final
decision at its central
committee meeting here in the
coming weekend, after
consulting other Left parties, he
said.
E-visa for Swedish nationals
soon: Pranab
Oppn. members may quit House

panel on Land Bill
Upset over the re-promulgation
of the land acquisition
ordinance when the Bill to
replace it is under parliamentary
scrutiny, some Opposition
members on the Joint
Committee of Parliament
examining the draft legislation
are toying with the idea of
boycotting it.
At least three members from
different parties confirmed that
they were in touch with one
India will soon extend e-visa

facility to Swedish nationals,
said as he invited the Nordic
country to be a part of
governments flagship
programmes like the Make in
Indiainitiative.
Addressing a seminar on India
and Sweden: co-creating a
brighter future, Mr. Mukherjee

said, If India and Sweden
pooled their innovative
energies to address the
challenges that India faces, the
solutions that they come up with
may benefit not just the two
countries but the whole world.
Ahead of the seminar, the
President met the CEOs of the
Swedish companies where he
asked them to invest in India.
The CEOs told the President
that they were eagerly awaiting
the outcome of governments
decision on Goods and Services
Tax (GST).
The GST bill was introduced in
Parliament and is at present
pending before the standing
committee.
The CEOs also told the
President that they wanted to
expand manufacturing base in
India and make use of the
programmes like Make in India
and also export to a third
country from India.
During the seminar, Mr.
Mukherjee spoke about the
changed political atmosphere in
India and said an atmosphere
has been created which is
business friendly besides
carrying out reforms in the
policies.
I am pleased to inform you all
that Sweden will feature in the
list of countries to be soon
grantedthee-touristvisafacility
which would greatly facilitate
travel for Swedish nationals who
can come and explore
Incredible India with all its
beauty, diversity, richness of
culture, traditions, history and
more, Mr. Mukherjee said.
Four vehicles in Mr. Mukherjees
convoy collided while moving
from Stockholm to Uppsala
27

National Issues
University, leaving one protocol
officer with minor injuries.
The President drove to Uppsala
University where he spoke on
Tagore and Gandhi: Do they
have Contemporary Relevance
for Global Peace?
Knowledge network to be open
to all SAARC nations
India is in the process of

extending its National
Knowledge Network to all
members of the South Asian
Association for Regional
Cooperation (SAARC) to allow
students unimpeded access to
digital libraries and network
resources, External Affairs
Minister Sushma Swaraj said.
At the groundbreaking
ceremony of South Asian
University (SAU) here, Ms.
Swaraj said the Ministry was
carrying out the instructions of
the Prime Minister to have the
university connect with at least
one university in every SAARC
nation.
As Prime Minister [Narendra]
Modi said in his speech at the
18th SAARC summit, Indias
vision for the region rests on the
pillars of trade, investment,
assistance, cooperation,
people-to-people contacts and
connectivity. In the coming
days and years, we will work
assiduously to make the region
more connected and more
prosperous, Ms. Swaraj said.
28
At the 13th SAARC summit in

Dhaka, India offered to host the
SAU. The university, mooted as
one dedicated to the region,
has had its share of teething
troubles, mainly on account of
financialconstraints.
While India has offered to pay
the capital cost of $198 million
for its establishment, apart from
providing close to 40 hectares
for the campus, Pakistan is yet
to pay its share. In 2014, a
Parliamentary Standing
Committee asked the Ministry to
expedite the process of
seeking funds from Pakistan. Its
report said the neighbouring
nation owed $7.8 million
towards the project since 2010.
A SAU official told that the issue
had been raised with Pakistan
and the process of reclaiming
the dues initiated.
All other members have been
paying their share. We have
taken up the issue with Pakistan,
and it is being sorted out.
Earlier, there used to be no
representatives of Pakistan
present on the governing board;
that too has changed now, the
officialsaid.
Law unclear if celebrities
endorsing food products can be
prosecuted
it exposes ambiguities in the

Food Safety and Standards Act
(FSSA), 2006, making the
current debate an opportunity
to interpret judicially the role
and liability of brand
ambassadors.
There is no specific word in the
Act about the extent, or lack, of
liability or duty of care of the
brand ambassador, who signs on
to promote the brand as its
face and takes on the role of a
marketing representative.
Sections 24 and 53 in the 2006
Act deal specifically with
advertisements.
Section 24(1) says in general
terms that no advertisement
shall be made of any food which
is misleading or deceiving or
contravenes the provisions of
this Act, the rules and
regulations made there under.
Here, it does not explain
whether the term made is only
confined to commissioning the
advertisement or its actual
making. In the latter case, a
brand ambassador does play a
part.
One of the primary statutory
objectives of the FSSA is to
ensure availability of safe and
wholesome food for human
consumption and it makes the
promoter, manufacturer,
packer, wholesaler, distributor,
seller and even the manager of
a food business outlet liable for
violations, including unfair
trade practice in several
instances.
BSF may take over security
along India-Myanmar border
The Maggi controversy has

opened a Pandoras box on the
legalliabilityofcelebritieswho
endorse food products even as
The back-to-back attacks on

security forces in Manipur and
Arunachal Pradesh in the past
week have prompted the Union

National Issues
government to reconsider the
Union Home Ministrys longstanding demand for handing
over the India-Myanmar border
to the Border Security Force,
Ministry sources said.
Liberation Army of Manipur and

the Peoples Revolutionary Party
of Kangleipak. These outfits
have set up camps in Myanmar,
a government official said.
The Defence Ministry last year
agreed to hand over the border
to the BSF, which also mans the
borders with Pakistan and
Bangladesh.
Code of conduct is in place,
focus on LAC clarification,
Beijing told
Khaplang Pangmi, chairman of

the Myanmar-based NSCN(K);
Kughalu Molatonu, general
secretary; Alezo Chakesang
from Nagaland, information
secretary; and other senior
members of group and its
affiliate organisations have
been named in the first
information report filed by the
National Investigation Agency
in the Manipur case.
The Army has initiated an
internal inquiry into procedural
and intelligence lapses in the
Manipur attack. Well before
reinforcements reached the
ambush spot in Manipur and the
Assam Rifles sealed the 1,643km border, the suspected
NSCN(Khaplang) group
militants crossed over to
Myanmar. Within three days, the
insurgents struck at an Assam
Rifles camp at Tirap in
Arunachal Pradesh.
Over the years, Assam Rifles
has not been that effective in
containing cross-border
smuggling and infiltration
attempts by insurgent groups
such as the National Socialist
Council of Nagaland
(Khaplang), the United National
Liberation Front, the Peoples
The Special Representatives of

India and China are engaged in
a lengthy process of
negotiations to define the final
frontiers between the two
countries.
Indias reassertion on the need
to clarify the Line of Actual
Control (LAC) follows
observations by Huang Xilian, a
senior official in the Asia
department of the Chinese
foreign ministry that India and
China had tried to clarify (the
LAC) some years ago but we
encountered some difficulties
which led to even complex
situation. On the contrary, the
Chinese official seemed to
favour the expansion of the
code of conduct along the
borders.
But countering this observation,
the sources said that the code
of conduct has already been
fully elaborated in the CBM
protocol along the LAC that was
signed by the two sides on April
11, 2005.
The wide ranging protocol
covers all the conceivable
contingencies that may arise
and ways to address them, the
sources observed.
For instance the protocol a
detailed elaboration of the
1996 CBM accord limits the

size and orientation of military
exercises along the LAC, details
the protocol that needs to be
followed in case of an alleged
air intrusion, including a flag
meeting within 48 hours of the
incident, and prescribes a code
of conduct in case of an
eventuality of eye-ball to eyeball military contact in the LAC
area.
The sources stressed that the
Chinese side was committed to
LAC clarification in the
documents signed between
September 1993 to November
2006, but for some explicable
reason have not endorsed the
process on paper since 2008.
The sources said that the LAC
clarification process had fully
commenced following the
1996 CBM accord where there
was an agreement to exchange
maps indicating the respective
perceptions of the two sides
regarding the entire alignment
of the LAC as soon as possible.
The Middle Sector process of
clarification was broadly
completed, but problems arose
in clarifying the Western Sector.
According to an understanding
that had been previously
reached, the Eastern Sector
clarification was to
subsequently commence, but
the entire process has since
been stalled.
L-G appoints new ACB chief
In what the Delhi Government
described as a bureaucratic
coup, a Joint Commissioner of
the Delhi Police was
unilaterally placed at the helm
of the Anti-Corruption Branch
(ACB) by Lieutenant-Governor
Najeeb Jung.
29

National Issues
Seven Inspectors were also
transferred to the anti-graft
body against actual
requirement expressed by the
Government, a source said.
Mr. Jung cleared the
appointment of Mukesh Kumar
Meena, an IPS officer of the
1989 batch currently in-charge
of the New Delhi Range,
without keeping the Chief
Ministers office or the
Government in the loop.
What is the conspiracy behind
the sudden creation of the post
of Joint CP (ACB)? One should
remember that the same officer
(Mr. Meena) had penned the
bogus script of my involvement
in the suicide of farmer Gajendra
Singh at Jantar Mantar, Deputy
Chief Minister Manish Sisodia
tweeted.
The Hindu had reported that
close to half a dozen
bureaucrats of the AGMU cadre
were stuck in limbo across the
country due to the impasse
between the Delhi Government
and the Union Ministry of Home
Affairs.
Mr. Meena had been
transferred out of Delhi and was
awaiting posting in Arunachal
as per MHA order issued on
April8.
The anti-graft body is currently
headed by S.S. Yadav, an
Additional Commissioner of
Police.
HRD Ministry under fire for
choice of Urdu Council head
Academics at Delhi University
have questioned Human
Resource Development
Minister Smriti Iranis choice of
Professor Syed Ali Karim as
director of the National Council
for Promotion of Urdu
30
Language, of which she is the

chairperson.
The student never recovered

from the mental breakdown.
Chowdary is new CVC; Vijai
Singh new CIC
Prof. Karim, an associate

professor in the Urdu
Department of Delhi University,
was appointed last week to the
Council, which is an
autonomous body under the
HRD Ministry.
Concerns over Prof. Karims
appointment stem from charges
including sexual harassment
and financial irregularities
against him.
In the first incident nearly 10
years ago when Prof. Karim was
teaching in the Urdu
Department of Delhi University,
a young research scholar
suffered a mental breakdown,
attributed to acute harassment
from him.
The charges of harassment
led to the setting up of a
committee as per the Vishaka
guidelines.
Upon examining the allegations,
the committee recommended
the following measures: a
warning letter be issued to Prof.
Karim, no female research
student be sent to study under
his supervision, and no
administrative work be allotted
to him.
A member of the committee
confirmed that though a report
was sent to the apex committee
of the Urdu Department which
forwarded it to the university
authoritiesforaction,nofurther
action was taken.
The Modi government

appointed former chairman of
the Central Board of Direct
Taxes K.V. Chowdary as the
Central Vigilance Commissioner
(CVC) and Information
Commissioner (IC) Vijai Singh as
the Chief Information
Commissioner (CIC), filling two
vacancies that are key to the
institutional framework for
accountability.
The CVCs appointment is
subject to the approval of the
Supreme Court, which is
hearing a public interest
litigation petition for
transparency in appointments
to the post and that of vigilance
commissioners. Additionally,
counsel for the PIL petitioners
Prashant Bhushan and Ram
Jethmalani have raised
objections to Mr. Chowdarys
appointment on the premise
that he does not have a clean
record.
As for Mr. Singh, the main
question that Right to
Information (RTI) activists are
asking is why the government
delayed his appointment by
advertising the post of CIC if
they had to anyway appoint him.
He was the seniormost IC. The
government could have just
followed the practice of
elevating the seniormost IC as
CIC when the post fell vacant in
August 2014. Why wait 10
months, asked activist Anjali
Bhardwaj.
Add to this fact that Mr. Singh is
due to retire on December 1
this year when he will turn 65.

National Issues
Another activist Lokesh Batra
pointed out that it took the
government 292 days to find a
CIC who is left with 174 days to
serve before retirement. At this
rate the government must start
looking for the next CIC from
now itself, he said.
Ever since the RTI Act was
enacted by the first UPA
government, this was the first
time the CICs post had been
vacant, resulting in a high rate
of pendency.
Several RTI applicants were
denied information by key
offices like the Prime Ministers
Office and the Defence
Ministry.
The CIC is the final adjudicator
in such cases and nothing could
be done with these applications
because of the vacancy; even
re-allocation was not possible as
only the CIC can do that, an
activistsaid.
Queen, Haider triumphant at
IIFA awards
Vikas Bahls drama Queen and

Vishal Bhardwajs Haider
scooped major trophies at the
16th IIFA awards, including the
best actress honour for Kangana
Ranaut.
Queen , a middle class girls
self-discovery journey after
getting ditched by her fiance,
and the Shahid-Shraddha
Kapoor-starrer set in Kashmir
took home three honours each.
Shahid, 34, dedicated his award

to Vishal for giving him the
opportunity and called the film
a scary one.
I would like to thank Vishal
Bhardwaj for this recognition. A
very big thank you to him for
believing in me.
Today I am standing here
because of him. It was a scary
film to do because we thought
people will never love and
understand this film, said the
actor.
Tabus powerful portrayal of
Shahids mother in the film won
her the best supporting actress
award.
Queen won the award for best
picture and story apart from the
best actress award.
Anurag Kashyap, in a surprising
gesture, lauded fellow director
Rajkumar Hirani, while receiving
the best movie award for
Queen.
I dont know what to say. I love
you Raju sir [Rajkumar Hirani]. I
dont know how this film
happened and it happened
somehow. When we started the
film we didnt have any
money..., he said.
Hirani won the best director for
highly acclaimed PK .
Thisfilmfearlesslytalkedabout
religion in the country and I
want to thank my father and
mother for it. Like Subhash Ghai,
I also feel a film is incomplete
without the help of technicians
and actors, Hirani said.
Deepika Padukone took home
the woman of the year award.
The 29-year-old actress
dedicated the honour to all the
women across the globe.
This award is for millions of
women, said the Finding Fanny
star.
Bollywoods showman Subhash

Ghai was honoured with the
prestigious award for
outstanding contribution to
Indian cinema.
It was presented to him by his
Ram Lakhan stars Jackie Shroff
and Anil Kapoor.
Licences of 4,470 NGOs
cancelled
In another round of action

against erring NGOs, the
government has cancelled the
licences of 4,470 such entities
that surprisingly included a
number of top universities, the
Supreme Court Bar Association
and Escorts Heart Institute,
which bars them from receiving
foreign funds.
The decision to cancel the
registration of these entities
under the Foreign Contribution
Regulation Act has been taken
by the Home Ministry after
examination of their activities
that allegedly include non-filing
of annual returns and other
anomalies.
All associations were given
proper notice by the Foreigners
Division of the Home Ministry
with adequate time to reply
before their FCRA licences
were cancelled, official sources
said.
Other prominent organisations
whose FCRA licences were
cancelled include Panjab
University, Chandigarh, Gujarat
National Law University, Gargi
College, Delhi, Lady Irwin
31

National Issues
College Delhi, Vikram Sarabhai
Foundation and Kabir floated by
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister
Manish Sisodia.
Licences of nearly 9,000 NGOs
were cancelled in April last for
alleged violation of the FCRA.
Railways to stagger Tatkal

booking
across the country to express

their displeasure. They also
announced indefinite relay
hunger strike.
Railways remove chains to

speed up trains
Pullingachaintostopatrainwill
soon be thing of the past as the
Railways has decided to do
away with it, as the facility is
prone to regular misuse and led
to loss of revenue to the public
transporter.
Passengers could instead get in
direct touch with the loco pilots
in case of an emergency. They
would be provided the contact
number of the drivers.
The Railways have already
removed the chains in existing
coaches, officials said.
Communications had been sent
to coach manufacturing units as
well.
Chain pulling has been a big
menace across the railway
network, especially in States
such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Of particular concern was its
misuse for nefarious activities.
However, to ensure that
genuine passengers in
emergency do not face trouble,
the Railways have decided to
engage staff with walkie-talkie
in some coaches to assist the
passengers.
32
To ease pressure during peak

hours, the Railways has decided
to stagger booking of Tatkal
tickets by allowing reservations
in AC class from 10 a.m. to 11
a.m. and non-AC class from 11
a.m.
The new Tatkal booking
schedule will come into effect
in the next couple of days, a
seniorrailwayofficialsaid.
It is also toying with the idea of
giving refund on cancellation of
Tatkal tickets, the percentage of
which would be calculated
based on a time frame.
The public transporter has
decided to rechristen premium
trains as Suvidha trains with an
overhaul in the fare structure,
cancellations and bookings,
Railway Member (Traffic) Ajay
Shukla said.
Refunds will also be available on
cancellations of tickets of
premier trains and such refunds
would go up to 50 per cent,
he said.
Ex-servicemen to continue
nationwide protests over OROP
delay
Continuing their pressure on the
government over the delay in
implementing the longpending One-Rank, OnePension (OROP) scheme, exservicemen took out a massive
rally in the national capital and
Meanwhile, Defence Minister

Manohar Parrikar asked exservicemen to have patience
and said the government would
deliver on its promise.
The rally comes after several
rounds of official and
backchannel talks failed to make
any headway. The veterans had
been demanding that the
government announce a
timeline for implementation of
OROP.
has assured us that it will be
implemented, but it has been
one year, said Col. (retd.) Anil
Kaul, media adviser to the
Indian Ex-Servicemen
Movement (IESM).
Maintaining that they were not
against the government, the
veterans asserted that, it was
not about money, but it was
about equality and rights.
Speaking at a conference in
Jaipur, Mr. Parrikar asked exservicemen to have patience. I
assure you whatever we have
promised that all would be
done ... but some people need
to be patient, he said.
Warrant Officer Guru Dayal
Singh Saggu, a 92-year-old
veteran who attended the rally
at Jantar Mantar, said, Genuine
requirements of all should be
addressed. He added that he

National Issues
had dedicated his lifetime for
my brethren and would
continue to support the cause
of ex-servicemen.
A majority of those present at
the rally signed petitions in
blood which they plan to submit
to the President Pranab
Mukherjee. Asked why they
were signing in blood, one
retired officer quoted Subhash
Chandra Bose who said Give
me blood and I will give you
freedom.
The veterans also reiterated that
there was only one definition on
OROP and asked the
government to adhere to it. Mr.
Modi had said in an interview
that the delay was partly due to
several definitions and the
government was working to get
a consensus.
India Inc. CEOs sing for a cause
Eleven top executives of India
Inc. came together and sang
their favourite songs to raise
funds for the treatment of
criticallyillchildren.
It was a Saturday evening of fun

and music at the ITC Grand
Central as Genesis Foundation
brought together the CEOs for
the 12th Edition of CEOs Sing
for GF Kids. Over 150 people
came together to contribute to
GFs cause and, of course, to
watch the otherwise serious
CEOs take the stage by storm.
Genesis Foundation was

established by Prema Sagar,
principal and founder, Genesis
Burston-Marsteller, to provide
medical aid to critically ill
children in the areas of cancer,
cardiac disorder, post organ
transplant, thalassemia and
extreme deformities.
Eleven corporate head
honchos sang foot-tapping
numbers by Elvis Presley to
Kishore Kumar. Dinesh
Mirchandani, president India,

Boyden Global Executive
Search, who has been a part of
thisinitiativesixtimes,says,You
cannot stop talking about how
wonderful this initiative is. If
even one life can be saved its
amazing.
I think today is an evening of
having fun, with a solid cause,
said Vinit Store, CEO, Quadron
Business Park
Y.M. Deosthalee, Chairman &
MD, L&T Finance Holdings,
who performed Mohd. Rafi and
Manna Dey songs, was already
looking forward to the next
edition of the event. All of us
who are not professional singers
are re-discovering our talent.
Its a win-win for nearly
everybody, said Mehmood
Curmally, MD, Rhythm House.
Since its inception, GF has
supported nearly 650 children
in need of medical aid and
support. Proceeds from the
fundraiser will be used for the
treatment of eight critically ill
children.
33
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INTERNATIONAL ISSUES
Luxembourg PM is the first gay
EU leader to marry
Kerry in South Korea to talk

security, cyber issues
Luxembourg Prime Minister

Xavier Bettel married his gay
partner, becoming the first
European Union leader to enter
into a same-sex union in a
symbol of growing social
change across the continent.
Mr. Bettel (42), a centre-right
politician who became Premier
in 2013, tied the knot with
Gauthier Destenay, a Belgian
architect, just months after the
conservative Roman Catholic
duchy legalised gay weddings.
The Prime Minister, wearing a
navy blue suit, and his partner,
dressed in a dark grey suit, held
hands as they arrived for the low
key ceremony at the
Luxembourg town hall, where
around 100 well-wishers
applauded them.
As well as being the first leader
in the 28-nation EU to wed a
gay partner, Mr. Bettel is only
the second in the world after
Icelands Prime Minister
Johanna Sigurdardottir, who
married her writer partner in
2010. Iceland is not part of the
EU.
34
U.S. Secretary of State John

Kerry is in South Korea where
he will be discussing security
issues amid fresh fears of North
Korean belligerence and
delivering a speech on cyber
policy.
Mr. Kerry arrived in Seoul from
Beijing and will see top South
Korean officials , less than a
week after South Koreas spy
agency said North Korean leader
Kim Jong Un ordered his
defense chief executed with an
anti-aircraft gun for complaining
about the young ruler, talking
back to him and sleeping during
a meeting Kim presided over.
That allegation, if true, adds to
concerns about the erratic
natureofKimsrule,particularly
after Pyongyang claimed last
weekend it had successfully
test-fired a newly developed
ballistic missile from a
submarine.
Those actions come despite a
recent U.S. diplomatic overture
to North Korea to discuss
resuming de-nuclearization
talks that have been stalled for
the past three years. The U.S.

quietly proposed a meeting
with North Korea in January,
before the U.S. and South Korea
began annual military exercises
that North Korea regards as a
provocation. The two sides,
however, failed to agree on who
could meet and where.
In light of the new
developments, Kerry plans to
reiterate Americas ironclad
commitment to the security of
South Korea, U.S. officials said.
On Saturday in Beijing, Mr. Kerry
expressed hope that the
successful conclusion of a
nuclear deal with Iran will send
a positive message to North
Korea to restart negotiations on
its own atomic program. Kerry
said he believed an Iran
agreement could have a
positive influence on North
Korea, because it would show
that giving up nuclear weapons
improves domestic economies
and ends isolation.
International negotiators are
rushing to finalize a nuclear deal
with Iran by the end of June
under which Irans program
would be curbed to prevent it
from developing atomic
weapons in exchange for the
liftingofinternationalsanctions
that have crippled its economy.
Nuclear talks with North Korea,
which has already developed
atomic weapons despite
previousattemptstoforestallit,
broke down three years ago as
it has continued atomic tests

and other belligerent
behaviour, including ballistic
missile launches.
North Korea conducted its first
nuclear test in 2006 and is now
believed to have at least 10
such weapons despite some of
the toughest international
sanctions in existence. It
conducted its third nuclear test
in February 2013, and U.S.
based experts forecast that it
could increase its nuclear
arsenal to between 20 and 100
weapons by 2020.
In addition to talks on issues
related to North Korea, Mr. Kerry
in Seoul will be laying the
groundwork for a visit to
Washington in June of South
Korean President Park Geunhye.
After his meetings on Monday,
Mr. Kerry is to deliver a speech
on cyber security and related
issues. Both North Korea and
China pose major cyber security
challenges. South Korea has
faced hacking attacks it has
blamed on North Korea, and the
United States accuses the North
of being behind the massive
attack on Sony Pictures last year
that resulted in new U.S.
sanctions.
Mr.Kerry will use the
opportunity to lay out U.S.
efforts to combat the threats and
to stress the importance of a
free and open internet,
according to U.S. officials.
Xi says U.S.China relations are stable
Chinas relations with the United
States remain stable, President
Xi Jinping said, as he sought to
defuse tension over a territorial
dispute in the South China Sea
that has pitted Washington
againstBeijing.
I look forward to continuing to

develop this relationship with
President Obama and to bring
China-U.S. relations to a new
height along a track of a new
model of major country
relationship, Mr. Xi told U.S.
Secretary of State John Kerry in
Beijing.
On Saturday, Mr. Kerry urged

China to take action to reduce
tension in the South China Sea.
His call was rebuffed by Chinas
Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who
said Beijings determination to
protect its interests in the area
is as hard as a rock.
Mr. Kerrys trip is intended to
prepare for the annual U.S.China Strategic and Economic
Dialogue in June in Washington
and Mr. Xis expected visit to
Washington in September, a trip
that Mr. Xi said he looked
forward to.
But the model also outlines a
respect for each others
sovereign and territorial
integrity as well as political
system and development path.
In my view the China-U.S.
relationship has remained
stable, Mr. Xi told Mr. Kerry.
German spy agency helped U.S.
find Osama: report
Germanys foreign intelligence
agency helped the CIA track
down Osama bin Laden in
Pakistan where U.S. special
forces killed the al-Qaeda
leader, according to a German

news report published on
Sunday.
The BND spy service provided
a tip-off that Osama was hiding
in Pakistan, with the knowledge
of Pakistani security services,
according to the Bild am
Sonntag report, which was
published as the agency is
battling heavy criticism in a spy
scandal. The information came
from a BND informant within
Pakistans Inter-Services
Intelligence agency and
confirmed CIA suspicions, said
the newspaper report which
cited unnamed U.S.
intelligence sources.
The American source was
quoted as saying the German
tip-off was of fundamental
importance in the hunt for
Osama.
The German newspaper said
that ultimately U.S. services
tracked down Osamas exact
location by following one of his
couriers, as Washington has
said.
News portal Spiegel Online
pointed out that the newspaper
report about the German spy
agencys apparent act of
heroism was published right
in the middle of the BND affair
and asked is it plausible?
The BND has been accused of
helping the U.S. National
Security Agency (NSA) spy not
just on extremists and criminals
but also on political and
business targets, including the
French government, European
Commission and Airbus Group.
French feminists say Rights of
Man declaration is sexist
A group of French feminists are
saying no to the rights of man,
35

which they say is sexist and an
outdated example of the
French exception culturelle .
The Droits Humains collective

is calling on France to stop
leaving women out of the idea
ofuniversalliberties.
The Declaration of the Rights of
Man and of the Citizen ( Droits
de lHomme in French) was
approved by the national
assembly in 1789 at the time of
the French revolution.
The collective wants the French
government to immediately
abandon the term Droits de
lHomme and has launched a
petition calling for human
rights for everyone. It is past
the time to be debating or
arguing about the relevance of
this change of terminology,
which is self-evident, the
petition says. This group will
disband once the institutions of
the French Republic have made
tangible changes. Otherwise, it
will remain active for as long as
necessary. The group says
countries including Spain, Italy
and Germany and Frenchspeaking parts of Canada and
Switzerland have already
dropped use of the term.
The expression Rights of Man
makes women, their issues and
their battles invisible and we
become more and more
isolated, NoE Le Blanc, from the
collective, told Le Parisien. The
preamble to the 1789
declaration mentions Rights of
36
Man three times, and the words

men or man are used in four
of the declarations 17 articles.
Valentine Zuber, a French
specialist in history and human
rights, said the term was chosen
specifically and without
ambiguity to be male and
exclude women. The 1791
French constitution made
women passive citizens
excluded from voting, as they
were treated in Britain and
throughout the Europe at the
time (Sweden had allowed
taxpaying female members of
city guilds to vote in 1718, but
rescinded this in its 1771
constitution). French women
got the vote in October 1945.
Critics of the petition argue that
the term Homme when
capitalised denotes mankind, as
in everyone. The feminists retort
that the capital H is rarely used
when written and cannot be
distinguished at all when
spoken.
The French declaration inspired
the United Nations universal

declaration of human rights in
1948.
Catherine Coutelle, a Socialist
MP, said: France is the only
country that has translated
human rights as rights of man
for the United Nations universal
declaration. She said it was a
regrettable example of the
French exception.
Abandoning the use of this
expression would be a step
towards ending the
discriminatory logic within the
French language itself,
Coutelle said. She also
regretted the continued and
common use of titles such as
Madame le Maire and Madame
le President, where the
masculine noun always takes
the masculine article even if the
holder of the position is
feminine.ParissSocialistmayor,
Anne Hidalgo, the first woman
to hold the prestigious post,
insists on being called the
grammatically incorrect
Madame la Maire.
Situation in ancient city of Palmyra under control: Syria
A Syrian official said that the situation is fully under control in Palmyra
despite breaches by Islamic State (IS) militants who pushed into the
historic town a day earlier.

Syrian opposition activists also
confirmed that militants
withdrew from a government
building and other areas they
had seized in the northern part
of the town as clashes
continued.
Palmyra is home to one of the
most famous Unesco World
Heritage sites in West Asia,
renowned for its Roman-era
colonnades and 2,000-year-old
ruins. The militants entered from
the north and have not reached
the ruins southwest of Palmyra.
Governor Talal Barazi of Homs
province said Syrian troops
recaptured two hills from the
militants late Saturday. He told
The Associated Press that army
reinforcements have been sent
to shore up existing troops.
The Britain-based Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights
said at least 295 people have
been killed since the Islamic
State group launched its assault
around Sukhneh and Palmyra
five days ago. The dead include
at least 123 soldiers and allied
militiamen, 115 Islamic State
members and 57 civilians killed
in the clashes or later killed by
Islamic State militants, the
Observatory said.
The fall of Palmyra to Islamic
State militants would be an
enormous blow for embattled
Syrian President Bashar AlAssad, not only because of its
cultural significance but also
because it would open the road
to Homs and the capital,
Damascus.
Blair resigns as West Asia
envoy
Former British Prime Minister
Tony Blair resigned as envoy of
the Middle East Quartet
diplomatic group after eight

years in the job, his office said.
Tony Blair has tendered his
resignation in a letter to [U.N.
Secretary General] Ban Kimoon, said a spokeswoman for
Mr. Blair. Sources said he would
officially step down next month.
Mr. Blair was appointed to the
unpaid position in 2007 by the
informal body comprising the
United Nations, United States,
European Union and Russia.
Bangladesh ratifies boundary
pact protocol
The Bangladeshi Cabinet,

chaired by Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina, ratified the
protocol on the Land Boundary
Agreement (LBA) with India.
The ratification was the last of
the approvals needed for the
implementation of the protocol
signed during the visit of the
then Prime Minister, Manmohan
Singh, to Dhaka four years ago
for exchange of enclaves. The
Indian Parliament ratified it
recently.
Exchange of instruments will
now take place during Prime
Minister Narendra Modis visit to
Bangladesh, Cabinet Secretary
Musharraf Hossain Bhuyan said.
Under the protocol, 111 Indian
enclaves inside Bangladesh and
51 Bangladeshi ones inside
India were to be exchanged.
Bangladesh will also get 2,777
acres of land, while India will
get 2,267 acres.
Washington Post reporters trial

begins
Jason Rezaian, an IranianAmerican, has been held in a

Tehran prison since last July
Washington Post correspondent
Jason Rezaian went on trial
behind closed doors in Iran on
Tuesday on charges of spying,
in a case that has clouded a
rapprochement with the United
States.
Mr. Rezaians wife, Yeganeh
Salehi, who is also a journalist,
appeared in court alongside her
husband and a woman press
photographer, Irans official
IRNA news agency reported.
The trial is being held in Branch
15 of the Tehran revolutionary
court, which usually presides
over political cases or those
related to national security. The
first session ended after about
three hours, according to
MizanOnline, a news agency
linked to the judiciary.
Mr. Rezaian was presented with
the charges against him,
including espionage, the report
said. Mr. Rezaian, an IranianAmerican, has been held since
July last year in a politically
sensitive case that has unfolded
while Iran took part in nuclear
talks.
Work permit for
H-4 visa holders
With a new rule that provides
work authorisation to H-4 visa
37

38
holders entering the

implementation phase this
week, over 179,600 potential
applicants are said to be waiting
in line, many from India, for what
they are calling their
Independence Day.
On a conference call, experts
from South Asian Americans
Leading Together (SAALT), a
leading diaspora organisation,
said many of them spouses
of H-1B visa holders had not
worked anywhere for up to 10
years, and it was with hope as
well as trepidation that they
were seeking to finally enter the
workforce.
The change in the policy toward
H-4 visa holders came about
through action proposed by the
Obama administration, initially
in 2013 and then finally made a
reality in May 2014, when the
Department of Homeland
Security announced the formal
publication of the new rules.
This was followed by a 60-day
public comment period, which
implied that the extension of
work authorisation to H-4 visas
would only apply in the cases
of H-1B visa holders who had
begun the process of seeking
lawful permanent residence in
the U.S., in other words a
green-card application.
The ruling had particular
salience for visa holders with
Indian citizenship, particularly
those working in the IT sector,
as India receives the highest
proportion of H-1B visas from
the U.S. every year.
In 2013, its citizens received
99,705 H-1B visas, of a total of
153,223 issued globally, slightly
over 65 per cent.
The changes were initially
announced last year a few
months after carried a series of

articles that highlighted the
problems faced by many H-4s.
Immigration specialists at
SAALT noted that as the new
rules came into force on May 26,
many thousands of H-4 visa
holders were still excluded and
could not work, as their spouses
were not on track to receive a
green card.
Dhaka plans to relocate
Rohingya
Bangladesh plans to relocate

thousands of Rohingya who
have spent years in refugee
camps near the Myanmar border
to a southern island, an official
said on Wednesday, as the
region faces a human-trafficking
crisis.
The government has started
planning the relocation to
Hatiya island in the Bay of
Bengal in a move backed by
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,
said additional secretary Amit
Kumar Baul.
A Rohingya leader urged the
government to rethink, saying
the plan would only make life
worse for the refugees many
of whom have been languishing
in the camps for years since they
left Myanmar.
We want the [Bangladesh]
government and international
organisations to resolve our
issue from here, said
Mohammad Islam, a community
leader in one of the camps.
Colombo still reluctant to

demilitarise in North and East
Notwithstanding the fourmonth-old Sirisena

governments repeated
assertions of attaching priority
to ethnic reconciliation in the
country, the regime is
reluctant to carry out
demilitarisation in the Northern
and the Eastern Provinces,
according to a study of Oakland
Institute, a U.S.-based policy
thinktank.
One of the reports, The Long
Shadow of War, states that the
new governments reluctance
to demilitarise the North and the
East, and the continued
stronghold over power by the
Sri Lankan armed forces should
be a major concern for
international community, which
for now is busy celebrating the
new government and its talk of
reconciliation.
Criticising the government for
operating with the old
mindset in security related
matters, the study quoted State
Minister of Defence, Ruwan
Wijewardene who said, during
his visit to Jaffna in February,
that the government would not
remove any Army formations in
the peninsula nor does the
government plan to scale down
security arrangements.
Referring to the new Presidents
action of following his
predecessor, Mahinda
Rajapaksa, in entrusting the

armed forces with the
responsibility of maintenance
of public order, popularly
called police powers, in all the
districts of the country, the
report mentions that this does
not bode well for a return to
civilian administration. The
document, which recalls the
historyofSinhalisationofTamil
lands, says the process has
intensified since the end of the
Eelam War IV.
As for the number of persons
who remain missing since the
end of the conflict, no precise
estimate is given even though
figures ranging from 70,000 to
1.47 lakh are mentioned,
quoting a 2012 U.N. report and
the Bishop of Mannar.
Cameron urges flexible and
imaginative EU reforms
British Prime Minister David

Cameron called for flexible
and imaginative reforms from
the EU as he swung through
Paris on a tour of Europe to
lobby for changes to the 28nation bloc.
Mr. Camerons two-day tour
came as his government
published a law paving the way
for a vote on whether Britain
should leave the EU that must
be held by the end of 2017.
The Prime Minister has moved
rapidly to kickstart efforts to
secure EU reforms before the
referendum which he promised
voters ahead of his surprise

election win earlier this month.
The status quo is not good
enough and I think there are
changes that can be made that
can benefit not just Britain but
the rest of Europe too, Mr.
Cameron said before a dinner
with French President Francois
Hollande in Paris. My priority is
to reform the European Union
to make it more competitive and
to address the concerns that
British people have about our
membership.Mr. Hollande said
that France wanted Britain to
remain in the European Union,
but that it will be up to the
British people to choose their
future.
David Cameron will present his
proposals and we will discuss
them and see how we can move
forward, he added.
The British Premier intends to
speak to every EU leader before
a summit in Brussels next month
where the proposed British
reforms will be discussed in
more detail.
He met his Dutch counterpart
Mark Rutte for lunch in The
Hague on Thursday and Polish
Premier Ewa Kopacz and
German Chancellor Angela
Merkel.
German Chancellor Angela
Merkel has expressed hope that
a deal on reforms can be
reached. She has left the door
open to revising the Lisbon
treaty to accommodate British
demands.
Bangladesh Liberation War
award for Vajpayee
Bangladesh is set to honour
former Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee for his outstanding
support for the countrys
independence from Pakistan in

1971 when he was a Lok Sabha
member.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman

familiar with the process said
Bangladesh will hand over
Vajpayees Friends of
Bangladesh Liberation War
Award to Prime Minister
Narendra Modi during his visit
to the country from June 6.
Mr. Vajpayee, who is unwell,
could not visit Bangladesh to
receive the honour.
From the very beginning of the
Liberation War (in 1971), he
(Vajpayee) took a firm stand in
favour of Bangladeshs
independence... as the then
president of Bharatiya Jana
Sangh and Lok Sabha member,
he mobilised campaign at home
and in international arena for the
rights of Bangladeshs people,
theofficialsaid.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
also approved a proposal to
honour the families of the
members of Indian armed forces
forsacrificingtheirlivesforthe
cause of Bangladeshs
independence.
Families of IDPs to receive
resettlement allowance
As many as 2,175 internally
displaced Tamil families in
Jaffna and Trincomalee districts
are set to receive a financial
assistance of Rs. 38,000 per
family for resettlement with the
39

National Issues
Cabinet of the Sri Lankan
government sanctioning 16
crore Lankan rupees.
Two hundred and four families

in Sampur, Trincomalee district
of the Eastern Province, and
1,971 families in Jaffna of the
Northern Province will get the
assistanceinitially.
Of the amount of assistance, Rs.
25,000 is set apart for
resettlement allowance and the
remaining Rs. 13,000 for
purposes such as clearing land
and purchase of tools. The
payment will be made on
verificationofclaimsbydistrictlevelofficials,saysanofficialin
the Ministry of Resettlement,
Reconstruction and Hindu
ReligiousAffairs.
Resettlement Minister D.M.
Swaminathan, when asked for a
reaction said he would not like
to comment now.
Israel brands boycott movement

a strategic threat
Israel and key international

supporters have sharply
ratcheted up their campaign
against the Palestinian-led
40
Boycott Divestment and

Sanctions (BDS) movement,
with senior Israeli officials
declaringitastrategicthreat.
The moves came as the U.K.s
National Union of Students
(NUS) voted to formally ally
itself with the aims of BDS.
Following the vote, Hebrew
media reported that Israeli MPs
were due to hold a special
session in the Knesset to discuss
theissue.
The non-violent grassroots
movement, founded by
journalist Ali Abunimah and
activist Omar Barghouti, is
modelled on South African antiapartheid campaigns and calls
for an end to the occupation,
equality for Palestinian citizens
of Israel, and a resolution for
Palestinian refugees of 1948.
Israelicriticspointtothecallfor
a right to return and the
opposition of some leaders of
the movement to a two-state
solution which they describe
as a mistake as evidence
that BDS is antisemitic.
After years in which Israeli
officials and commentators
have loftily dismissed the impact
of BDS which seeks to
persuade businesses, artists,
governments and academic
institutions to boycott Israel
over its long occupation of the
PalestinianterritoriesIsraels
new rightwing government has
in recent days singled out the
movement for criticism. The
issue appears to have been
given added impetus since
PalestinianeffortstohaveIsrael
suspended from the scandalridden world football
organisationFifafailed.
Israeliofficialstoldthatthefocus
on BDS was not an
acknowledgement of its
success but rather the
reaffirmation of a principal of
moral outrage both over the
recent move by the NUS and
by efforts to have Israel
suspended from Fifa.
That, however, has led to
accusations from critics that
Israel is deliberately conflating
the BDS movement with
separate
PalestinianeffortstoholdIsrael
accountable for the
occupation.
China blamed for massive U.S.
data breach
China-based hackers are

suspected once again of
breaking into U.S. government
computer networks, and the
entire federal workforce could
beatriskthistime.
The Department of Homeland
Security said in a statement that
data from the Office of
Personnel Management the
human resources department
for the federal government and
the Interior Department had
been compromised.
The hackers were believed to
be based in China, said Sen.
Susan Collins. Ms. Collins, a
member of the Senate
Intelligence Committee, said
the breach was yet another
indication of a foreign power
probing successfully and
focusing on what appears to be
data that would identify people

National Issues
with security clearances.
But in Beijing, the Chinese
Foreign Ministry dismissed the
allegations.
A spokesman for the ministry,
Hong Lei said that Beijing hopes
the U.S. would be less
suspicious... but show more trust
and participate more in
cooperation.
Thousands clash with police
against G7 summit in Germany
Thousands of demonstrators
protesting against the policies
of the worlds major
industrialised countries clashed
with police in this Bavarian town
as the G7 leaders prepared to
convene in the nearby German
alpine resort Elmau for their
annual summit.
A peaceful march through the
townbyanti-capitalismactivists,
opponents of globalisation,
environmentalists and other
groups turned violent after
some of the protesters threw
bottles and a fire extinguisher
at police officials when they
were stopped at a barricade
blocking access to the road
leading to the Elmau Castle
Hotel, the summit venue.
Police responded using teargas,
pepper spray and batons
against the demonstrators.
Several people were injured on
both sides in the clashes last
evening, police said.

Stop G7 Elmau, an alliance of
various groups that organised
the demonstration, said that a
number of protesters suffered
injuries in the clashes and some
of them needed hospital
treatment.
It held the police responsible
for the confrontation and
vowed to continue the protest
marches until the G7 leaders
leave the area.
The Transatlantic Trade and
Investment Partnership (TTIP),
which has been under
negotiation between the EU
and the United States for over a
year and the plans for fracking
in Europe are among the targets
of the anti-G7 demonstrators.
They are also demanding the
richest nations to take concrete
measures to combat climate
change, to promote fair trade
and food security, to reduce
poverty worldwide and to
rescue migrants from Africa and
the Middle East taking a perilous
journey across the
Mediterranean to reach Europe.
Security measures for the twoday summit, which opens this
afternoon, have already been
tightened to prevent a repeat
of the violent clashes occurred
during the last G8 summit
hosted by Germany at the Baltic
Sea resort of Heiligendamm in
2007 and at the opening of the
new headquarters of the
European Central Bank (ECB)
in Frankfurt in March.
Over 19,000 police personnel
have been deployed to ensure
the security of the G7 leaders
and a 16 kilometre-long wire
fence has been erected around
the the summit venue on the
foothills of the Bavarian Alps to
keep the protesters at bay.

The G8 returned to its original
format after Russia was
excluded from the group
following its annexation of
Ukraines Crimean peninsula in
March, last year.
Sri Lankan Cabinet clears new
electoral system
After weeks of discussion with

political parties across the
spectrum, the Sri Lankan
Cabinet has finalised the broad
contours of the proposed 20th
Constitutional Amendment on
electoral reforms, leaving many
smaller parties surprised and
disappointed.
According to the decision
taken on Monday night, there
will be no change in the size of
Parliament. It will remain at 225.
This was the major change from
what was proposed earlier.
Rajitha Senaratne, Cabinet
spokesperson and Sri Lanka
Freedom Party (SLFP)s senior
leader, told that while our party
is for increasing the number of
MPs from 225 to 255, the UNP is
against it. Eventually, that
partys viewpoint has
prevailed.
However, unlike in the present
system of proportional
representation (PR), the
proposed scheme marks a
combination of the First Past
The Post (FPTP) and PR. Of the
total number of 225 seats, it had
been decided to earmark 125
41

National Issues
42
seats for FPTP and 100 seats for

PR. Again, 75 seats out of 100
would be filled through
members representing electoral
districts while the remaining 25
seats would be set apart for the
nationallist.
Even in the present system,
there exists the national list for
29 members apart from 196
members, who are elected on
the basis of the performance of
parties in respective electoral
districts.
Mano Ganesan, chief of the
newly-formed Tamil Progressive
Alliance, and Palany
Thigambaram, Minister for
Plantation Infrastructure
Development and whose
National Union of Workers
(NUW) is a constituent of the
TPA, term the formula decided
at the Cabinet meeting not
acceptable.
Mr. Thigambaram says the move
will make smaller parties
permanent dependents of the
countrys principal parties. Mr.
Ganesan says the new formula
completely differed from what
had been discussed till now.
The Cabinets move will affect
not merely Indian Tamils, living
in five districts, but also other
minorities such as Muslims and
smaller parties including the
Janatha Vimukthi Perumana
(JVP).
Muthu Sivalingam, president of
the Ceylon Workers Congress,
wants the government to
ensure that ethnic mix be made
the governing principle at the
time of allocating seats to
differentdistricts.
President Maithripala Sirisena
has said any move to prevent the
20th Amendment from
becoming a reality would be
considered an act against

people.
Nepal parties reach longawaited deal
Nepals rival political parties

have struck a historic agreement
to end years of deadlock on a
new constitution that will
divide the country into eight
provinces, spurred by a
devastating earthquake.
The deal reached late Monday
comes weeks after an
earthquake that killed thousands
and piled pressure on
politicians to end a stalemate
that has paralysed the country.
Nepals lawmakers began work
on a new national constitution
in 2008 following a decade-long
Maoist insurgency that left an
estimated 16,000 people dead
and brought down the
monarchy.
But the political parties were
unable to reach agreement and
the resulting uncertainty left
Nepal in a state of political
limbo.
Information Minister Minendra
Rijal said the April 25 disaster,
which killed more than 8,700
people and destroyed nearly
half a million houses, had
motivated rival parties to work
together.
Thereisawilltogetthisdone,
said Mr. Rijal, calling the
agreement a major
breakthrough.
The opposition Maoist party had

pressed for greater devolution
of powers, and the agreement
to divide Nepal into eight
provinces paves the way for a
new federal structure.
However, it leaves the crucial
issue of the provincial borders
unresolved an omission
which critics said would create
future problems.
The Maoists had been pushing
for new provinces to be created
along lines that could favour
historically marginalised
communities, but other parties
said this would be divisive and
a threat to national unity.
Under the deal, Nepal will
continue with its current system
of national governance which
includes an executive Prime
Minister and ceremonial
President.
The agreement includes a
commitment to hold the
countrys first local elections
since 1997.
Many say the absence of village
representatives has hampered
the distribution of aid following
the quake.
But victims of the disaster were
unimpressed by the political
breakthrough.
Id rather have rehabilitation
and relief than new provinces,
said Eakindra Gautam, a 57year-old villager who fled to
Kathmandu after her home was
destroyed. The number of
provinces makes no difference
to my devastated life or my
destroyed village, Ms. Gautam
told AFP as she sheltered under
a tent. Lawmakers said a draft of
the final constitution, which
must be approved by a twothirds parliamentary majority,
would be ready in July.

National Issues
Modi invited for
Nepal donor meet
Nepal has decided to invite

Prime Minister Narendra Modi to
an international donor
conference which will be held
here later this month to raise
funds for reconstruction of the
country devastated by quakes.
Nepal is hosting an international
conference of donors to gather
support and assistance for
rehabilitation and
reconstruction works in the
aftermath of the earthquakes
that killed nearly 9,000 people.
Finance Minister Ram Sharan
Mahat flew to India for a threeday official visit during which he
will meet Prime Minister Modi
and deliver Nepal Premier
Sushil Koiralas invitation to
attend International Donors
Conference to be held on June
25.
McDonalds, Twitter declare
support for same-sex marriage
Corporate giants McDonalds,

Twitter and the big four banks
are among 154 of the nations
biggest household brands to
declare their support for samesex marriage.

The companies, also including
Telstra and Airbnb, will feature
in full-page ads in Weekend
Australian magazine calling for
marriage equality. They have
also signed a joint letter calling
on federal parliament to act.
Advocacy group Australian
Marriage Equality (AME), which
organised the ad, said the
outpouring of support showed
how important marriage
equality was for workplace
equity, jobs in the wedding
sector and Australias
international reputation.
The message is clear: the
country is ready for change,
director Rodney Croome said.
The ad was paid for by
contributions from featured
firms.
Acting CEO of Australian law
firm Slater and Gordon, Hayden
Stephens, said legalised
discrimination in one area
allowed discrimination to
flourish in other areas. An open
letter of support posted on the
Australian Marriage Equality
website features 183
signatories from across the
corporate world.
Equality in the workplace
works; discrimination does not,
it states. We support the right
for all our employees to have
equal opportunities in life. We
therefore support marriage
equality. In May, business
leaders, including the CEO of
Australias national airline,
Qantas, voiced their support for
marriage equality at a panel in
central Sydney. The event,
organised by AME, was titled
Does marriage equality matter
to corporate Australia?
The CEO of Qantas, Alan Joyce,

said the companys slogan,
SpiritofAustralia,reflecteda
commitment to represent the
Australian community in his
28,000-strong staff. That
included members with
backgrounds from more than
250 different countries and a
huge gay community.
Colombo to launch scheme for
widows
With reconciliation being high

on its agenda, the Sri Lankan
government has decided to
launch an empowerment
scheme for widows in the
country and extend the
implementation of a selfemployment programme for
former members of militant
groups.
Of about 6.95 lakh widows in
Sri Lanka, approximately 6.67
lakh belong to the age group of
40 years and above.
Even though exact details are
not immediately available with
regard to those who became
widows in the wake of the 26year-long armed conflict (19832009), a considerable number
of the widows is said to be
belonging to this category.
According to the 2012 Census,
women are heading 23 per cent
of 5.2 million households in the
country. Their share in the
overall population of about 20
million is around 51 per cent.
43
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India & The World
INDIA & THE WORLD

Bangladesh Government
Approves Trade Deal with India
Bangladeshs cabinet has

approved a revised trade
agreement with India allowing
for the trans-shipment of goods
through each others territories
across land and water routes
through a third country in the
neighbourhood in a bid to
remove a long-standing barrier
to smoothening regional trade.
Key facts of the deal
The revised agreement will
facilitate both countries to use
each others land and water
routes for trade with a third
country and remove long
standing barrier in regional
trade.
With this Bangladesh will be
able to use Indian railways,
roads and waterways in
transshipment of goods to
Bhutan and Nepal. While, India
will be able to send goods to
Myanmar through Bangladesh.
Under the modified deal both
countries will be able to use
transport networks for
transporting the goods for a fee.
These fees and charges for
transporting goods will be the
same for both the countries and
will be fixed through bilateral
discussions.
44
The deal will be in force for 5

years instead of the existing
tenure of 3 years, and further
can amended through mutual
agreement.
At present, India has similar
agreement with Nepal and
Bhutan but Bangladeshs trade
with Nepal and Bhutan was
hindered for want of such a
treaty with India. Previously,
trucks from Nepal and Bhutan
entering from Bangladesh along
the Indian border were required
to park at a specific point near
border. But under the revised
deal, trucks from Nepal and
Bhutan will enter Bangladesh
through the Indian corridors.
Dhaka and New Delhi signed
their original trade agreement in
1972 soon after the emergence
of an independent Bangladesh.
Under the terms of the deal,
which had crucial Indian
support but expired on March
31, trade could only be done
between the two neighbours
while India could transport
goods to its seven north-eastern
states.
PM Modi Visits to France

has recently visited France, where
India and France have signed 20
agreements in various fields .Below

is the list of agreements/initiatives/
announcements signed/agreed
duringModisvisit:
1. MoU between L&T and AREVA:
It is aimed at cost reduction by
increasing localization, to
improvethefinancialviabilityof
Jaitapur project. It will also
enable transfer of technology
and development of
indigenous nuclear energy
industryinIndia.
2. Pre-engineering agreements
between NPCIL and Areva: The
PEA studies intend to bring
clarity on all technical aspects
of the plant so that all parties
(AREVA, Alstom and NPCIL)
can firm up their price and
optimize all provisions for risks
stillincludedatthisstageinthe
costs of the project.
3. MoU between ISRO and CNES
on Megha Tropiques: The IndoFrench Megha Tropiques
satellite was launched on board
the Indian launch vehicle, PSLV
on October 12, 2011. The MoU
shall extend by 2 more years,
the joint project for sharing and
use of data from the satellite.
4. MOU between ISRO, CNES
and ONERA for Ka-band
propagation experiment over
Indian tropical region: The MoU
envisages cooperation for
implementation of the project
concerning Ka- band
propagation experiment over
Indian tropical region. The main
objective is to collect Ka-Band
attenuation data using available
Ka-Band transmission and

India & The World

perform analysis along with
corresponding radio meter and
meteorological data.
5. Programme between ISRO and
French National Centre for
Space Studies (CNES): The
Agreement proposes
cooperation in the areas of
Satellite Remote sensing,
satellite communications and
satellite meteorology; space
sciences and planetary
exploration; data collection and
location; operations of satellite
ground stations and spacecraft
mission management; space
research and applications. It
covers the potential
cooperation activities such as
joint earth observation mission,
hosted payload opportunities
and Mars exploration.
6. MoU on Cooperation between
the Ministry of Youth Affairs and
Sports of India and French
MinistryofSports,YouthAffairs,
Public Education and
Community Life The MoU
envisages cooperation and
exchange of experiences in the
fields of sports medicine,
institutional cooperation,
development of practice of
sports in the context of
proximity sports, support of
participation of women and the
disabled in sports, management
and coordination of sports
federations, training of
executives and establishment of
National Institute of Sports in
India based on French model
of INSEP.
7. Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) on cooperation in the
field of renewable energy
between the Ministry of New
and Renewable Energy
(MNRE), Government of India
and the Ministry of Ecology,
Sustainable Development and

Energy, Government of France
The understanding reached in
this MoU will help establish the
basis for cooperation and
relationship to encourage and
promote technical bilateral
cooperation on new and
renewable energy issues on the
basis of mutual benefits and
reciprocity through exchange
and training of technical
personnel, exchange of
information and data, joint
research and transfer of knowhow and technology. It would
cover solar, wind, bio-energy,
tidal and wave energy sectors.
8. Railway protocol between
Indian Ministry of Railways and
French National Railways
(SNCF): The Protocol seeks to
establish cooperation between
Indian and French Railways for
semi-high speed rail and station
renovation.
9. Guarantee Agreement with
AFD Financing of Energy
Efficiency Services Limited
(EESL): The Agreement seeks
to finance Energy Efficiency
Services Limited (EESL)
10. Administrative Arrangement in
the field of Cultural Heritage:
The Administrative
Arrangement between the
Indian Ministry of Culture and
French Ministry of Culture and
Communication, envisages
cooperation in the field of
cultural heritage, through
training of Indian heritage
conservation professionals at
the Institute National du
Patrimoine (INP), a higher
education establishment of
training for curators and
restorers in the field of heritage
in France, as well as
Development of cultural and
scientific cooperation in the

fields of conservation and
restorationoftheheritage,short
duration training sessions in
India by INP trainers in Indian
institutes and training of French
traininginIndiaetc.
11. Letter of Intent on Tourism: LoI
for increasing cooperation in
tourism sector signed between
India and France aims to
promote sustainable bilateral
tourism between the two
countries including through
mutual promotion of tourism,
ensuring safety of tourists and
encouraging sharing of
expertise and best practices.
The LoI also seeks to facilitate
twinning of sites having
historical, natural and cultural
significance in India and France
for promoting them as tourist
destinations.
12. Letter of Intent (LoI) between
the Archaeological Survey of
India (ASI) and National
Institute of Preventive
Archaeological Research
(INRAP): The LoI envisages
collaboration on preventive
archaeology projects, initiatives
to disseminate culture and
promote archaeology, training
programmes for specialists of
ASI and deployment of
expertise, in particular, in the
field of underwater
archaeology.
13. MOU between School of
Planning and Architecture,
Delhi and National Architecture
Institute: The MoU envisages
cooperation to undertake joint
planning and geographical
studies in India and France and
training of local counterparts in
modern urban and regional
research as well as in
techniques of scientific
45

India & The World
14.
15.
16.
17.
46
methods in Urban and regional

planning, geography,
environment, Building
engineering and management.
MoU between Indian Heritage
Cities Network Foundation
(IHCN) and Association
Nationale des Villes et Pays
dArt et dHistoire et villes a
secteurs sauvegards et
protgs (ANVPAH) This MoU
envisages cooperation
between to cooperate in the
fields of sustainable
development, urban planning,
heritage conservation and upgradation of basic services.
Proposal for twinning of
historical monuments: Twinning
of historical monuments is
covered under the LoI on
Tourism Cooperation.
VIE scheme to allow Indian
students in France and French
students in India to stay for a
period of 24 months. The
Volontariat International en
Entreprise (VIE) scheme offers
Indian Visa for 12 months
renewable once for a period of
12 months for 250 French
students and a second
residence permit of 12 months
for the Indian students in
France following the 12 months
already granted.
Letter of Intent on Ayurveda
between Ministry of Ayush and
University of Strasbourg: LoI
allows both the parties to
strengthen their relationships
and cooperation in the area of
Ayurveda education and
research by undertaking
academic and research
activities,exploringfeasibilityof
collaborative research, and
drawing up strategies for
dissemination of results of
completed studies,
Conducting joint workshops/

conferences on Ayurveda as
complimentary medicine in
France
18. MoU between National Skill
Development Agency (NSDA),
India and the National
Commission for Vocational
Qualifications: The agreement
will facilitate exchange of
information and knowledge
about maintenance of
qualification registers through
information exchanges, visits
and other suitable meetings.
19. MoU on cooperation in the field
of Science & Technology
between Department of
Science & Technology of India
and the French National Centre
for Scientific Research (CNRS):
The MoU is for cooperation
between the two countries in
the areas of applied
mathematics, physics,
Information & communication
technology, water resources
and environment, life sciences,
astronomy, climate and energy
by exchange of information,
organization of meetings/
workshops/seminars, exchange
of research personnel; joint
projects; establishment of
Virtual Joint Laboratories, and
establishment of Joint Research
Centres.
20. MoU between Department of
Biotechnology of India and
CNRS and UPMC on
Collaboration forestablishment
of a National Institute of Marine
Biology and Biotechnology in
India: The proposed MoU seeks
to establish a National Institute
of Marine Biology and
Biotechnology in India, with a
Hub and Spoke network of
laboratories
India Contributes US $ 100,000

to The International Trade
Centre Trust Fund
Ambassador and Permanent
Representative of India to UN
and other International
Organisations, Mr. Ajit Kumar
and Executive Director of ITC,
Ms. Arancha Gonzalez signed
an agreement on 15 March 2015
authorising ITC to use Indias
contribution of US $ 100,000 to
ITC Trust Fund for its Trade
Related Technical Assistance
(TARA) programme.
ITC is the technical cooperation
agency of UNCTAD and WTO
for operational and enterpriseoriented aspects of
international trade
development. It was created in
1964 through a decision of
GATT contracting parties and in
1968 UNCTAD joined GATT as
co-sponsor. ITC supports
developing countries,
particularly Least Developed
Countries (LDCs), Land Locked
Developing Countries (LLDCs),
Small Island Developing States
(SIDS), Sub- Saharan Africa,
fragile states, small and
vulnerable economies and
economies in transition to
develop Small and Medium
Enterprise
(SME)
competitiveness through trade
and international business
development.
India Elected to Four
Key Bodies of UN
India has been elected to four
key subsidiary bodies of the
United Nations agency on
economic and social issues.
India was elected by
acclamation, a form of election
that does not use a ballot, to the

India & The World

subsidiary bodies of the UN
Economic and Social Council
(ECOSOC) during its
coordination and management
meeting on Wednesday.
With the election wins, India

maintained its 100 per cent
record of winning elections
held in the United Nations
Headquarters here.
Four Key Bodies are
United Nations Childrens
Fund (UNICEF): It was
elected, along with 13 other
nations, to the Executive Board
of the UNICEF for a three-year
term beginning January 2016.
UNICEF addresses the needs of
children with emphasis on
giving long-term benefits to
children everywhere,
particularly those in developing
countries.
World Food Programme
(WFP): India was also reelected to the Executive Board
of the WFP for the 2016-2018
term along with five other
nations. WFP is the food
assistance arm of the UN which
provides food assistance to
around 90 million people in 80
countries in a year.
Crime Prevention and
Criminal Justice (CCPCJ): It
was among the 20 nations to be
elected to the CCPCJ for a threeyear term, beginning January
2016. The CCPCJ provides
policy guidance to UN Member
States on crime prevention and
criminal justice and develop,
monitor and review

implementation of the UN crime
prevention programme.
United Nations Human
Settlements Programme
(UN-Habitat): India also got
re-elected to the Governing
Council of the UN-Habitat for
the term 2016-2019. UNHabitat is mandated by the UN
General Assembly to promote
socially and environmentally
sustainable towns and cities
with the goal of providing
adequate shelter for all.
US and India Sign MoC on
Transportation
important activities relating to

the development of Smart Cities
andsustainability.
Cooperation on the
transportation elements of
Smart Cities will be coordinated
through an inter-ministerial
working group and include
areas such as intelligent
transportation systems, multimodal planning, livability,
safety, and infrastructure
financing. In addition, both
countries agree to cooperate on
vehicle fuel efficiency
standards and promotion of
dedicated freight corridors to
facilitate the movement of
goods from Indias ports to major
cities of the region.
India and Qatar
Sign Six Agreements
U.S. Transportation Department

has signed a Memorandum of
Cooperation (MoC) on
Transportation with Indias
Minister of Road Transport and
Highways, and of Shipping,
Nitin Gadkari. The MoC will
establish a Transportation
Partnership among the U.S.
Department of Transportation
and the Indian Ministries of
Railways; Road Transport and
Highways; Shipping; and Urban
Development.
The Departments National
Highway Traffic Safety
Administration has been
working with Ministry of Road
Transport and Highways on
road safety programs, including
drunk driving countermeasures
and motorcycle safety. The
MOC will deepen the
cooperation of our two
countries to include new
India and Qatar inked six

agreements, including on
transfer of sentenced prisoners,
as visiting Emir of Qatar Tamim
Bin Hamad Al Thani held talks
with Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on energy, investment and
people-to-people ties.
List of Agreements /MoUs

signed between Both Nations
Agreement on Transfer of
Sentenced Persons- Under this
agreement sentenced
prisoners will be transferred to
home country. Indian prisoners
convicted in Qatar will be
brought to India to serve the
remaining part of their
sentence. Similarly citizens of
47

India & The World
48
Qatar convicted in India will be

sent to their home country to
serve their sentence.
MoU for Cooperation in the field
of Information and
Communication Technology
(ICT) It will provide enhanced
business opportunities for
Indian ITC industry in Qatar.
With this MoU India will play
pivotal role in Qatars ambitious
programme of Qatar 2030 vision
for overall development. In this
regard Qatar has created a
dedicated Ministry of
Information
and
Communication Technology for
capacity building in ICT.
MoU between Union Ministry of
Earth sciences and Qatar
Meteorological Department for
Scientific and Technical
cooperation- For scientific
collaboration between India
and Qatar to improve
atmospheric & Oceanic
capacity in both the countries.
In this regard Qatars
Meteorological Department will
be tie up with Indian
Meteorological Department.
MoU between Diplomatic
Institute of Foreign Service
Institute, MEA and MOFA,
Qatar- Help in exchange of
students, trainees, faculty
members and experts between
both nations to enhance their
skills and improve the training
programme.
MoU for cooperation in the field
of Television and RadioEncourage regular exchange of
TV and radio programmes and
material between Indias Prasar
Bharati and Qatar Media
Cooperation.
Agreement for Mutual
Cooperation and Exchange of
News- To enhance and
develop bilateral cooperation in
the field of exchange of

English-language news on daily
basis and free of charge
between two nations. In this
regard Qatari News Agency and
United News of India are the
signatories.
India and Japan sign Rs 1800 cr
Loan for Rengali Irrigation
Project
The Japan International

Cooperation Agency (JICA) has
signed an agreement with the
Government of India to provide
a 33,959 million yen loan to
increase irrigated area in Phase
2 of the Rengali Irrigation
Project in Odisha.
The agreement was signed by
Shinya Ejima, Chief
Representative, JICA India, and
Tarun Bajaj, Joint Secretary,
Department of Economic
Affairs, Finance Ministry.
The assistance will provide for
the extension of the canal from
Samal Barrage from 71.313 km
to 123.5 km on the left bank
while also aiding the
development of the distribution
system and ancillaries.
The JICA has extended nearly
647 crore in Official

Development (ODA) loans
across three tranches since
1997 to develop the canal to
help enhance agricultural
productivity in the area. The
loans have enabled irrigation of
27,200 hectares and benefited
37,000 farmer households.
Assistance also includes canal
designing and irrigation
management in which farmers
participate in the development
and subsequent operation and
maintenance.
Rengali Irrigation Project:
This is a barrage scheme constructed
across Brahmani River at Samal in
Angul district, 35 km downstream of
Rengali dam project. The project is
designed to pick up flood releases
and tail race water from Rangali dam
and divert the same as per
requirements through two canal
systems. The CCA includes both flow
andliftirrigation.Thesalientfeatures
of Rengali Irrigation Project are given
below:
Free catchment :4,780 km2
at barrage site
(between
Dam &
barrage)
Total catchment :30,030 km2
Mean Annual
:570 mm
Rainfall
For this project, the Gross
Command Area is 3,364 km2 while
the culturable command area (CCA)
is 2,591 km2. The intensity of Kharif
Irrigation is 100% and that of Rabi is
90%. The Kharif cropped area is 2,591
km2 and Rabi cropped area is 2,332
km.
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Economy
ECONOMY
Home Ministry may not give
licence to Sun TV firms
sought renewal of licence of its

radio channels from one phase
to another.
HDFC Bank, Apollo Hospitals
join hands
The Home Ministry may not

grant licence to Kalanithi Maranpromoted Sun TV Networks
group companies citing the
alleged involvement of its
owners in 2G spectrum scam
and Aircel Maxis cases before
various courts and investigating
agencies.
The stand is likely to be
communicated to the
Information and Broadcasting
Ministry as Union Information
and Broadcasting Minister Arun
Jaitley had written to Home
Minister Rajnath Singh on the
issue, according to official
sources here.
The company operates 45 radio
channels under the brand name
Suryan FM in Tamil Nadu and
Red FM in rest of the country.
The Home Ministry said the
company and its owners were
allegedly involved in 2G scam,
alleged bungling in AircelMaxis deal as well as running an
illegal connections of
telephones used for uploading
their content, the sources said.
The company of Kalanithi, who
is the brother of former union
minister Dayanidhi Maran, had
HDFC Bank, in association with

Apollo Hospitals, has launched
a co-branded pre-paid card
called HDFC Bank Apollo
Medical Benefits Card, which
will enable corporates to easily
disburse medical allowance to
their employees without waste
of time and incurring any cost.
Corporates can load the
specified allowance on to the
card of each employee every
month, which can be used by
employees for medical
expenditure at pan-India VISA/
MasterCard outlets. This card
offers an easy and convenient
way for corporates to save costs
and eliminate administrative
issues while disbursing medical
allowances, said Parag Rao,
Senior Executive VicePresident and Business Head,
Cards Payment Products and
Merchant Acquiring Services,
HDFC Bank.
The Medical Benefit card is a
win-win for employees, who
benefit from cashless
transactions for healthcare with

unmatched savings, and the
employer in terms of
transparency, compliance and
transaction cost saving. All
companies and their
employees will benefit and shift
to this card in the future,
Shobana Kamineni, Executive
Vice-Chairperson, Apollo
HospitalsEnterpriseLtd.,saidin
a statement.
Thisfirst-of-itskindcardoffers
employees access to additional
benefits such as discounts and
facilities, including free
ambulance services. The card
comes with a free accidental
death insurance and accident
hospitalisation insurance, and
discount at Apollo Network
(Apollo Hospitals, Apollo
Pharmacies, Apollo Clinics and
Apollo White Dental) across
India.
Emerson Process buys Ameya
Transmissions
Emerson Process Management
India, a part of American multinational Emerson, has
announced the acquisition of
the Pune-based manufacturer
of gear operators and gearboxes
Ameya Transmissions for an
unspecified amount.
This acquisition would support
Emersons final control
technology used primarily in the
oil and gas and power industries
both domestically and globally,
the company said.
Ameya Transmissionsdevelops
and manufactures a wide range
49

Economy
of gear operators, including

quarter-turn and multi-turn
manual gearboxes, which are
supplied to the manual valve
industry.
Gear operators and gearboxes
are a critical component of
automated valve packages to
serve as a fail-safe in the event
of a power failure. Ameya has
supplied over a million gear
boxes so far.
Ameyas reputation as a quality
manufacturer is a great strategic
fit for Emerson and strongly
complements our actuator
business, said Amit Paithankar,
Managing Director, Emerson
Process Management India.
Apart from catering to the
Indian market, Ameya also has
been exporting its products to
many countries including the
U.K., the U.S., Germany, Spain,
Italy, Austria, Turkey, China and
Middle East. The company has
two manufacturing units.
This deal makes great sense for
both companies, said Rohan
Pai, co-founder of Ameya
Transmissions. Our businesses
complement each other and we
have the opportunity to grow
even further because of
Emersons global reach and
commitment to excellence, he
added.
Tata launches GenX Nano
QUOTE: There is a huge

opportunity in the entry level
50
hatchback segment in India as

entry level compact cars
account for 15 per cent of
Indias automobile market
Mayank Pareek, President,
Passenger Vehicle Business,
Tata Motors
In a move clearly aimed at
reviving the fortunes of its mini
hatchback, Nano, Tata Motors
on Tuesday launched the
product in a new refurbished
avatar, the GenX Nano, in a
move clearly aimed at reviving
the fortunes of its mini
hatchback. The GenX Nano will
replace existing models of the
Nano.
The new product, positioned as
a smart city car, comes with a
range of new technological
features. The car will be sold in
five variants, starting with the
base variant, the XE priced at
Rs.1.99 lakh (ex-showroom
Delhi) and the higher end XT
priced at Rs.2.49 lakh.
The company also launched
two new variants XMA and
XTA with Easy Shift
Automated
Manual
Transmission (AMT). While the
XMA will be made-to-order and
available from August 2015, the
top-end XTA will be available
post-national launch.
Mayank Pareek, President,
Passenger Vehicle Business,
Tata Motors, said, There is a
huge opportunity in the entry
level hatchback segment in
India. The last three years were
an aberration for the Indian car
industry and it is expected to
double in the next five years to
become the third largest after
China and the U.S. The new
variants offer enhanced
acceleration and creep feature
for heavy traffic manoeuvrability
and ease of parking.

The GenX Nano continues to
have the Electric Power
Assisted Steering (ePAS)
designed for light steering feel
and easy parking. The GenX
Nano offers fuel efficiency of
23.6 kmpl and 21.9 kmpl for the
manual and AMT variants.
On the new AMT variants, Mr.
Pareek said, there is a huge
propensity for AMT vehicles and
30-35 per cent customers are
optingforit.
Govt may do away with
mandatory RBI approval for FDI
In a bid to attract more foreign

investment, the government is
looking at doing away with the
mandatory approval of the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
which currently is needed after
an investment proposal has
been approved by the FIPB.
Till now, the government and
RBI shared oversight over direct
and indirect foreign
investments.
Sources said the Section 6 of
the Foreign Exchange
Management Act (FEMA) has
been amended in the Finance
Bill 2015 approved by
Parliament earlier this month to
delete the requirement of RBI
consent for cross-border
transactions and acquisition or
transfer of immovable property
toforeigners.
The Finance Ministry and the

Economy
Industry Department are
working on new norms which
would be issued shortly, they
said.
Under the proposed
mechanism, all foreign
investment proposals requiring
government approval will only
need FIPB (Foreign Investment
Promotion Board) nod.
The regulation under FEMA that
required foreign direct
investment (FDI) proposals to
be examined by RBI, is being
done away with, they said.
Currently, foreign investment is
permitted either through the
automatic route or the
government approval route. The
proposals under the approval
route envisaging investment up
to Rs 3,000 crore are cleared by
FIPB and beyond that require
Cabinet nod. The foreign
investment is also subject to
sectoral caps which are
specified in the FDI policy.
The move is aimed at making it
easier for doing business in
India. India currently ranks 142
out of the 189 countries on Ease
of Doing Business list.
SEBI notifies norms for MFs
managing offshore money
per cent on investment by an

individual, for funds from lowriskforeigninvestors.
As per the existing norms, a fund
manager who is managing a
domestic scheme, is allowed to
manage an offshore fund,
subject to three specific
conditions.
The first requires the investment
objective and asset allocation of
the domestic scheme and of
the offshore fund to be the
same.
The second condition requires
at least 70 per cent of the
portfolio to be replicated across
both the domestic scheme and
the offshore fund.
The third condition, which was
being considered as the most
stringent by the industry,
requires that the offshore fund
should be broad-based with at
least 20 investors with no single
investor holding more than 25
per cent of the fund corpus.
Otherwise, a separate fund
manager is required to be
appointed for managing an
offshore fund.
In a notification uploaded on
SEBIs website, the regulator
said these restrictions would not
apply if the funds managed are
of Category I foreign portfolio
investors (FPIs) and/or
Category II foreign portfolio
investors which are
appropriately regulated broad
based funds.
Bachchans invest in Ziddu.com
Simplifying norms for domestic

funds to manage offshore
pooled assets, the Securities
and Exchange Board of India
(SEBI) has dropped 20-25
rule, which required a minimum
of 20 investors and a cap of 25
Actor Amitabh Bachchan and

his son Abhishek Bachchan
have invested $125,000 each in
Ziddu.com, a Singapore based
website owned by Meridian
Tech Pte Ltd.
The $250,000 investment will
fetch them a small, minority

stake in the company whose
valuation is around US $ 71
million.
A free cloud storage and edistribution and micro payment
platform founded by Venkata
Srinivas Meenavalli, it has a
development centre in
Hyderabad.
We employ about 25 people
in Hyderabad, he told, adding
that the Bachchans were keen
on investing more. One of the
leading families of Bollywood,
the Bachchans made use of the
Liberalised Remittance Scheme
of the Reserve Bank of India to
invest in the company, he said.
Although the apex bank has
doubled the limit under LRS to
$250,000 per person per year,
the Finance Ministry is yet to
issue a circular giving effect to
the hike. This made the
Bachchans limit their
investment to $125,000 each.
Norms eased for investments by
NRIs, PIOs, OCIs
In a bid to increase capital flows

into the country, the Union
Cabinet, announced a major
shift in foreign direct
investment policy by
categorising non-repatriable
investments by non-resident
Indians (NRIs), overseas citizens
of India (OCIs) and persons of
Indian origin (PIOs) as domestic
investment.
51

Economy
The Cabinet approved
amendments to FDI policy on
investments by NRIs, PIOs &
OCIs. This will give PIOs & OCIs
parity with NRIs in economy and
education, an official
spokesperson said.
An official release from the
government added that the
measure is expected to result
in increased investments across
sectors and greater inflow of
foreign exchange remittance
leading to economic growth of
the country.
The proposal was floated by the
Department of Industrial Policy
and Promotion and the
government had formed a
committee to deliberate on this
matter last year. The Narendra
Modi-led government, which
has liberalised the FDI policy for
sectors such as defence,
railways, construction
development, medical devices
and insurance, is keen to tap
NRIs, OCIs and PIOs.
During the April-February
period of the previous fiscal,
FDI rose by 39 per cent to
$28.81 billion against $20.76
billion in the same period last
fiscal.
In another decision the Cabinet
also approved the revival of
closed urea plant in Sindri,
Jharkhand, and setting up of a
new fertilizer plant in Namrup
in Assam at a total investment of
Rs.10,500 crore. The
government also extended the
timeline for completing the
National Automotive Testing
and R&D Infra Project (NATRIP)
by three years.
The extension of timeline will
help the project to be
completed as per the
objectives, and ensure that
52
state-of-the-art automotive
testing, homologation and R&D
facilities are made available in
India,anofficialreleasesaid.
Suresh Prabhu keen on putting
PPP model on track
Highlighting the achievements

of his Ministry in the past one
year, Union Railway Minister
Suresh Prabhu said that he was
keen on putting the publicprivate partnership model back
on track and having a regulator
in place.
The Ministry of Railways has
implemented
39
announcements made in the
Railway Budget for 2015-16 in
just 36 days of the current
financial year, he said in a
statement. The same tempo of
implementation is being
continuously maintained.
He highlighted some of the key
customer-oriented initiatives,
including a security helpline,
182, and a new passenger
helpline, 138, to resolve
complaints in real-time,
paperless ticketing in some
sections and e-catering.
Mr. Prabhu said the focus had
been on capacity
enhancement. We are aiming
at commissioning 500 km of
new lines, 800 km of gauge
conversion and 1,200 km of
doubling in 2015-16. A plan is
being drawn to utilise the
project-execution capabilities
of our railway public sector units

to expedite the works we have
proposed to undertake in the
next five years, he said.
The Minister said doubling or
tripling of 94,000 km of lines on
choked routes had been
sanctioned and various finance
options were being looked into.
To overcome the vicious cycle
of chronic under-investment,
we are approaching the markets
for financing our revenuegenerating projects and
assuring fund availability to
them. These projects, in turn,
will generate revenues not only
for servicing debt but also
financing investments, he said.
The Life Insurance Corporation
has committed Rs. 1.5 lakh crore
over the next five years, while
the World Bank and the Asian
Development Bank are assisting
in setting up a facility for
attracting low-cost funds from
long-term international pension
and insurance funds, Mr. Prabhu
said.
RBI plans to introduce PPI for
mass transport system
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

on Thursday proposed to
introduce a separate category
of semi-closed Prepaid Payment
Instruments (PPI) for Mass
Transit System (PPI-MTS).
The PPI-MTS can be used
within the mass transit systems
and will have a minimum validity
of six months from date of issue.

Economy
Such PPIs will be re-loadable
instruments subject to an
outstanding limit of Rs.2,000 at
any point of time, RBI
suggested in a draft circular for
public comments.
PPI for mass transit systems,
which handle a large number of
small value cash payments, will
facilitate the migration to
electronic payments in line with
the countrys vision of moving
to a less-cash society, the RBI
added.
Comments and suggestions
should reach the RBI on or
before June 15, 2015.
The RBI said that it has been
receiving requests from various
segments, including providers
of mass transit services, such as,
metro train and road transport
services, indicating the need for
PPIs catering to the
requirements of this segment to
enhance
commuter
convenience.
The Reserve Bank of India also
proposed to make Net Stable
Funding Ratio (NSFR)
applicable to banks in India
from January 1, 2018.
RBI released on its website draft
guidelines on NSFR under Basel
III Framework on liquidity
standards for banks.
It has requested for comments
on these guidelines by email at
the earliest, but not later than
June 26, 2015.
The objective of NSFR is to
ensure that banks maintain a
stablefundingprofileinrelation
to the composition of their
assets and off-balance sheet
activities.
The NSFR limits over-reliance
on short-term wholesale
funding, encourages better
assessment of funding risk
across all on- and off-balance

sheet items, and promotes
fundingstability.
Bharat Electronics develops

phones for Army use
BusinessLine launches website

for B-schoolers
The Hindu BusinessLine has

launched a new website, the
first of its kind, which is
specifically tailored for Bschoolers and B-school
aspirants.
The
site
www.bloncampus.com or BLoC
is designed to complement
the curriculum and broaden a
student knowledge base with
information that is conveyed in
a simple, cogent and interesting
manner. Apart from adding
value to academic pursuits,
BLoC seeks to prepare students
for the workplace by keeping
them up to date with events and
trends that are shaping Indias
corporate, entrepreneurial and
academic environment.
The website features columns
and analyses by corporate
leaders, educators, and
academics as well as short
educational videos. It will host
a platform for B-schoolers to
interact with the corporate
world through chats and Q&As.
The entire website can be
accessed for free for a trial
period of a month. The special
invitation subscription offer,
which can be paid for online,
are Rs.49 for a month, Rs.249 for
six months and Rs.499 for a year.
Secure, custom-made CDMA

phone sets developed by
Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL),
are undergoing trials with the
Army. The phones, without
camera, have in-built safety
features and may be deployed
in a year or two across the
Armys various units, BELs
Chairman and Managing
Director S.K. Sharma told.
With work initiated more than a
year ago, the handsets are said
to replace imported ones that
are not encrypted and are
vulnerable to eavesdropping by
unauthorised people. The
Armys request for information
mentions base transmission
stations to be set up in three
north-eastern stations. The Navy
is also said to be a potential
customer.
The indigenous version enables
high data transmission and its
evaluation is in an advanced
stage, said Ajit T. Kalghatagi,
Director (R&D), adding BEL was
geared up to manufacturing
them in large numbers.
The phone sets are made at the
Ghaziabad unit of BEL.
On the defence front, Mr.
Sharma said the focus was on
indigenisation in radars,
electronic warfare devices,
avionics, network
communication or C4i.
Telecommunication was also an
important initiative in non-
53

Economy
defence business. BEL was
pursuing civil sector business
areas such as solar energy, egovernance and smart cards
besidesinlandsecuritythatfalls
outside the purview Ministry of
Defence.
It planned to generate 50 MW
of solar power along with other
PSUs under the national solar
scheme over three-to-five years
and would invest Rs.300 crore
in the projects, Mr. Sharma said.
The defence electronics major
makes electronics,
communication, radars and
imaging hardware for the three
Armed Forces.
It has declared an audited
2014-15 net profit of Rs.1,167
crore and a turnover of Rs.6,695
crore. For the fourth quarter, the
net profit and the turnover were
Rs.722 crore and Rs.3,067 crore
respectively.
Adani, Reliance sign deals for
power generation in
Bangladesh
The deals, worth $5.5 billion,

were inked between the Power
Development Board of
Bangladesh (BPDB) and Indian
companies Adani Power Ltd.
and Reliance Power.
Under the deal, Adani will
invest $2.5 billion to set up a
coal-based power plant with a
capacity of 1,600 MW.
The Reliance Power will set up
an imported liquefied natural
gas-based power plant in
Bangladesh with a capacity of
3,000 MW with an investment
of$3billion.
The two Indian companies said
they would take 13 months to
complete construction of the
plants after final agreements
had been reached.
The government of Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina has
recently unveiled a 2.95 trillion
taka ($38 billion) budget for
fiscal 2014-15, stepping up
spending on key sectors to
tackle power shortages that are
crimping economic growth and
deterring investment.
The country produces 7,000
MW of electricity but demand
far exceeds supply, with a daily
shortage up to 1,500 MW.
TCS, Infosys to face probe on
visa violation
In yet another development in

private sector cooperation,
Bangladesh signed two
memoranda of understanding
(MoUs) with two major Indian
companies to set up 4,600 MW
power plants in the country.
The MoUs were signed on the
first day of Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modis visit to
Bangladesh.
54
Indias largest and the second

largest IT services companies,
TCS and Infosys, have come
under the scanner of a U.S.
investigation team.
According to media reports, the

U.S. Department of Labor has
opened a probe against the two
companies for alleged H1-B visa
ruleviolations.
According to industry experts,
the U.S. investigation is an
indication of stricter and more
stringent rules for onsite
workers in the U.S.
According to the New York
Times (NYT) on June 11, The
Department of Labor has
opened an investigation into
two India-based outsourcing
companies for possible
violations of rules for visas for
foreign technology workers
under contracts they held with
an electric utility, Southern
California Edison.
Of late, Indian IT services
companies have been facing
the heat in the U.S. for alleged
H1-B visa violations. This
particularvisaisanon-immigrant
one that allows American
companies to employ foreign
workers in highly skilled jobs.
Indian outsourcing companies
are the largest recipients of this
kind of visa, and for Infosys and
TCS, more than 60 per cent of
their revenue comes from the
U.S. market.
The NYT report further said that
Southern California Edison had
recently laid off more than 500
technology workers, many of
whom claimed they were made
to train their replacements who
were immigrants on the
temporary work visas brought in
by the Indian firms.
When contacted Infosys said,
Infosys is committed to
complying with U.S.
immigration laws. The U.S.
Department of Labor (DOL)
regularly selects a percentage
of visa and labor condition

Economy
applications for extra scrutiny
in this industry, and we work
closely with the DOL to assist
them in this activity in the
ordinary course of our business.
We have received no
indication of any broader
investigation of Infosys visa
practices.
The investigation from the
Labor Department comes as a
blow to Infosys, after a U.S.
district court dismissed the
companys plea to dismiss a
case filed against the company.
Last month, the U.S. court
accepted a case filed by four
American IT workers alleging
Infosys of showing
discrimination in hiring.
In October 2013, the
Bengaluru-based company
had paid around $34 million as
settlement amount for settling
a visa-related issue with the
U.S. government.
Meanwhile, TCS which is also
facing the investigation, said in
an email, TCS maintains
rigorous internal controls to
ensure we are fully compliant
with all regulatory requirements
related to US immigration laws
including those related to H-1B
visas.
The new investigation comes at
a time when Steven Heldt, a
former TCS employee has filed
a suit in San Francisco Federal
Court accusing TCS of
favoritism towards Asian
workers.
On the backdrop of the U.S.
investigation on IT majors, the
shares of all major IT companies
witnessed a drop in Fridays
trade.
On BSE, TCS closed at
Rs.2,512.05 down 2.29 per
cent, while Infosys closed at
Rs.1,976.65 down 1.26 per
cent.
Yahoo to host developer meet in

India
Mobile developers in India will

get a first-hand experience of
the Yahoo Mobile Developer
Suite this month, as internet
major Yahoo is bringing its
Mobile Developer Meetup for
the first time to India. The
company will organise two
developer meets, one in New
Delhi on June 24 followed by
one in Bengaluru on June 26.
As a mobile-first company, we
understand the need for app
developers to have a strong
mobile analytics and
monetisation engine. India has
a vibrant, rapidly growing app
developer community, which
we are planning to explore,
said Jarah Euston, VP of Analytics
and Marketing, Flurry.
Yahoo Mobile Developer Suite
is a powerful combination of
technology and data from Yahoo,
Flurry and BrightRoll. The Suite
isbuiltonfiveofferingsFlurry
Analytics with Explorer, Flurry
Pulse, Yahoo App Publishing,
Yahoo Search in Apps, and
Yahoo App Marketing.
The Yahoo Mobile Developer
Suite helps developers build
their app businesses, monetise
and create better experiences
for their users, to stand out in
todays crowded app market. At
the event, mobile app
developers will also get the
opportunity to network with
various mobile start-ups and

developer community. Indias
mobile Internet sector
growing at almost 40 per cent a
year has spawned an exciting
app developer ecosystem,
creating a community that is
riding the wave of innovating
not only for users in India, but
across the world, said Yahoo in
a statement.
Last year, Yahoo had acquired
mobile app analytics and
advertising startup Flurry and
video advertising platform
BrightRoll to strengthen its
mobile strategy.
SBI chief anticipates repo rate
cut
There is the possibility of a

decrease in the repo rate cut in
the near future owing to
multiple factors, State Bank of
India (SBI) Chairman Arundhati
Bhattacharya has said.
Our in-house research
indicates that there will be
space for another rate cut.
However, the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) could have a
different view of the matter,
she told mediapersons on the
eve of the 55{+t}{+h}Annual
General Meeting (AGM) of the
State Bank of Travancore (SBT).
The regulator had raised
concerns over a deficient
monsoon forecast and inflation.
But, pre-monsoon rain had been
better compared to the
previous year, she said.
55

Economy
In the wake of worrying
predictions, we can only hope
for a good monsoon. The
timeliness and spread of rain will
also be crucial.
The chances of a rate cut were
higher if the inflation did not go
up as was being feared, she
said.
To a question, she said banks
under the State Bank group,
which had Stressed Assets
Management Group, had been
tackling non-performing assets
(NPAs) fairly well. With the
downturn in the economy, we
have seen a large amount of
loans getting stressed.
Hopefully, as the economy picks
up, these loans will also start
performing better. All necessary
action in handling NPAs will be
duly taken by the respective
banks, she said.
Cairn India set to merge into
Vedanta in $2.3 billion deal
In move to cut debts, Indias
56
largest private miner Vedanta

Ltd., headed by billionaire Anil
Agarwal, will absorb oil firm
Cairn India in a $2.3-billion allshare deal to create Indias
largest diversified natural
resources company.
Shareholders in Cairn India, the

countrys top private oil
producer, will get one ordinary
share and 7.5 per cent
redeemable preference share
of Vedanta Ltd with a face value
of Rs. 10. That implies a premium
of 7.3 per cent to Cairns Friday
closing price.
Vedanta will use Rs 16,867
crore cash lying with Cairn to
pay off part of its Rs 77,752
crore debt.
Post-merger, London-listed
parent Vedanta Resources Plcs
holding in Vedanta Ltd will drop
to 50.1 per cent from 62.9 per
cent.
The merger is the second step
in the series that started in 2013
towards simplification of the
corporate structure, Vedanta
Ltd chief executive Tom
Albanese told PTI in an
interview.
Vedanta, previously known as
Sesa Sterlite Ltd, in 2013
consolidated its iron ore mining
business by merging Sesa Goa
Ltd with Sterlite Industries
(India) Ltd, which ran copper
and aluminium businesses.
This merger is about creating
long-term value that is not only
good for Vedanta shareholders
but also good, attractive and
compelling for Cairn
shareholders, he said.
The merger will help Cairn
spread its risk from volatile oil
business to other metals and
commodities.
What you will Get (?)
General Studies (Paper I, II, III & IV) Online 100 % Reading Material of the
Syllabus (Which can be saved easily)
Slides (For Giving Summary of Each Topics)
Categorized Unit and Sub-Unit Wise Question Papers of General Studies
Current General Studies Magazine (Indispensable Magazine for General Studies)
Daily Answer Writing Challenge for IAS Mains Contemporary Issues
It is full of tips on areas of emphasis, caution while reading and writing , how to
write the answer (?) .
Model Test Question Paper for General Studies - I, II, III and IV for Mains Exam
2015
Online and Telephonic interaction with the course director, and continuous
evaluation through a regular online writing session in every chapter and topic.
http://iasexamportal.com/civilservices/courses/ias-mains-gs-combo

Science & Technology
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

New treatment for diabetes in
offing: study
Australian researchers have

discovered a link between
protein intake and improved
control of blood glucose in
mice, opening the way for
potential new treatments for
diabetes in human beings.
Lead researcher Stefan Broer of
Australian National University
(ANU) said the findings show
mice, with a reduced capacity
to digest and absorb protein,
are highly efficient at removing
glucose from blood after a meal.
This is precisely what
individuals with diabetes fail to
do. This research has significant
potential for the design of new
drugs to treat type 2 diabetes,
said Professor Broer, from the
ANU Research School of
Biology.
Prof. Broer said the mice lacked
a socalled transporter in the
intestine that moves amino
acids, the breakdown products
of protein digestion, from the
lumen of the intestine into the
blood. This reduces the intake
of protein and indirectly
improves their efficiency at
removing glucose from the
blood.
Military modernisation picks up

pace
In one year of the Narendra

Modi government, military
modernisation has gathered
pace, especially in the last
couple of months, with some
quick decisions taken by the
Defence Acquisition Council
(DAC). However, major policy
formulations, in particular,
revision of Defence
Procurement Policy (DPP) and
a separate policy for Make in
India,arestillawaited.
The governments election
pitch of One Rank One
Pension for armed forces
personnel has been cleared in
principle and the final sanction
is expected shortly.
The biggest decision of the
NDA government in the field
of defence was the termination
of the long-running Medium
Multi-Role Combat Aircraft
contract for 126 jets and the
announcement by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi for
direct purchase of 36 Rafale
jets from France in a
government-to-government
deal.
Apart from that, in a move with
long-term implications, the
government rightfully
downsized the new mountain
strike corps meant for the
eastern border from 90,000 to
35,000 troops due to finance
obligations.
The DAC has cumulatively
cleared defence deals worth
over Rs. 1,00,000 crore. The
recent decisions on Avro
replacement programme and
Kamov helicopters, which
involve industry in a big way,
will help develop aerospace
ecosystem in the country.
While some are long-pending
deals, others are approvals to
initiate the procurement
process which involves long
timelines. The need is to take
things to the logical conclusion
minus the time and cost
overruns typical of our
procurement process.
Google help for NGOs working
on child safety
Google India has announced

support for three nongovernmental agencies from
India working on child safety.
The three organisations are
ChildLine India Foundation,
Bachpan Bachao Andolan, and
the Chennai-based Tulir -
57

Centre for the Healing and

Prevention of Child Sexual
Abuse.
In a message, Rajan Anandan,
vice-president and Managing
Director, Google India, said
they had picked organisations
whose work was largely offline,
boots on the ground. Now,
wed like to see if smart
applications of technology can
help some of these initiatives
reach more people more
efficiently, he added.
Google will help these
organisations pilot smart new
applications of technology with
$ 5,00,000 in grants through
Google.org to ensure that
children in India remain safe.
While ChildLine provides a tollfree helpline service (1098) for
children in distress, first
launched in 1996, Bachpan
Bachao Andolan sets itself a
mission to protect and rescue
children from slavery,
trafficking and forced labour.
Tulir, on the other hand, works
with the state and other
education professionals to
help children stay safe.
We would like to optimally use
technology to take child
protection to a wider group,
and online, says Vidya Reddy
ofTulir.
Indias eye on universe ready

for tests
A fully assembled Astrosat,
Indias first space observatory,
is ready for intensive tests
before its launch around
October.
The Indian Space Research
Organisation said on that the
1,650-kg spacecraft would
orbit Earth equatorially at 650
km and study distant stars,
58
galaxies, black holes and other

cosmic objects.
The space-based observatory
was built at the ISRO Satellite
Centre here to operate for five
years and will provide useful
data for the countrys astronomy
community. It will put India in
an elite orbit with the U.S.,
Europe, Russia and Japan.
Last week, the spacecraft was
fully assembled and switched
on. All the [six] payloads and
sub-systems are integrated into
the satellite. Mechanical fit
checks of the satellite with the
PSLV [polar satellite launch
vehicle] payload adaptor were
performed successfully, the
space agency said on its
website.
One of ISRO directors said
Astrosat would be the first such
satellite to scan simultaneously
the sky in most of the frequency
spectra from ultraviolet to
optical and low- and highenergy X-ray bands.
Although previous national
satellites carried small
astronomy-related devices,
Nothing on this scale, with a
dedicated satellite, has been
done before [at ISRO]. It should
be of immense benefit to our
scientists, who have depended
on inputs from other agencies
and sources like the Hubble
[US-European space
telescope], the official said.
In the coming days, Astrosat
will undergo a host of
environmental tests
electromagnetic interference,
electromagnetic compatibility,
thermal vacuum, vibration and
acoustics and so on.
Later, the satellite will be
shipped to the Satish Dhawan
Space Centre, Sriharikota, for
launch.
ISRO developed the six
payloads in partnership with
the Tata Institute of
Fundamental Research,
Mumbai; the Indian Institute of
Astrophysics and the Raman
Research Institute, Bengaluru;
and the Inter-University Centre
for Astronomy and
Astrophysics, Pune.
Two payloads were developed
with the Canadian Space
Agency and the University of
Leicester, U.K.
Indian Ocean warms as Pacific
cools
Though surface heat of Earth

has stabilised since 1999,
studies have found that
atmospheric heat continues to
rise unabated with the oceans
absorbing a large amount of this
heat and warming in the past
decade (2000-2012).
However, a new study by SangKi Lee of the University of
Miami, U.S., and others has
found that the Indian Ocean
has been warming the most
rapidly while the adjoining
Pacific Ocean has been getting
cooled during the past decade.
The study was published in a
recent issue of the journal
Nature Geoscience .
In fact the Indian Ocean
accounts for 70 per cent of all
the global oceans heat gain up
to 700 metres depth during the
past decade.


The analysis shows that the
abrupt increase of the Indian
Ocean Heat Content at 700
metres depth (OHC{-7}{-0}{-0})
during 2003-2012 was not due
to surface heating, but rather
due almost entirely to
horizontal advective heat
convergence (caused by
winds and resulting currents).
Further heat budget analysis
indicates that inter-ocean heat
transport from the Pacific
Ocean to the Indian Ocean via
the Indonesian passages was
the main cause of the increased
Indian OHC{-7}{-0}{-0}; it
greatly increased during 20032012, overcompensating for
the slightly increased
southward heat transport from
the Indian Ocean to the
Southern Ocean.
The study found that the La
Nina-like conditions in the
Pacific Ocean, caused by a
number of La Nina events in the
last decade have caused the
cooling of the Pacific ocean by
transfer of heat to the Indian
Ocean, warming the latter.
The La Nina conditions cause
strong easterly winds to blow
from the western Pacific Ocean
and these winds cause
currents to flow westward
conveying the heat of the
Pacific Ocean into the Indian
Ocean through what is known
as the Indonesian Throughflow
(ITF).
The easterlies are formed due
to a pressure gradient between
the Pacific and Indian Oceans
caused by cold conditions in
the east and warm wet
conditions in the west during a
La Nina. Also during a La Nina,
the walker circulation an
ocean-atmospheric
phenomenon of the Indian

Ocean is strengthened.
The walker circulation leads to
abnormally high sea surface
temperatures in the western
Indian Ocean which in turn
leads to copious rainfall in the
western Indian Ocean at the
cost of the Indian subcontinent

and results in a weak monsoon.
In contrast to this, as there were
relatively much fewer La Ninas
in the previous decade (199099) there was much less
warming in the Indian Ocean.
80 % Indian diets are protein deficient: Survey
Ninety per cent Delhiites

registered a protein deficiency
in their meal plan, says a recent
survey, which has also
indicated that over 80 per cent
of Indian diets are protein
deficient. This implies that most
people are not getting the right
amount of proteins required.
The Indian Market Research
Bureau (IMRB) conducted a
consumer survey across seven
major cities titled The protein
consumption in diet of adult
Indians by interviewing 1,260
respondents, which included
males and females (nonpregnant and lactating)
between the age of 30-55
years. Fifty-nine per cent of the
sample size was nonvegetarian.
Dr. Ritika Samaddar, dietician
at Max Healthcare, said: The
protein requirement of an
average adult per day is 1 gram
per kg of the body weight. An
intake less than this will lead to
difficulty in performing simple
tasks and processing sensory
signals by the brain. One of the
key symptoms of lack of
proteins is weakness and
fatigue.
Based on preference, the food
items that were regarded as the
best sources of protein by
vegetarians were milk, green
leafy vegetables and pulses,
while eggs, fish and chicken
found favour among the nonvegetarians.
The survey also found that 91
per cent of the vegetarians
surveyed were found to have a
higher protein deficiency as
compared to 85 per cent of
their non-vegetarian
counterparts.
59


It was also found that in the
north zone, 98 per cent of the
respondents were not aware of
the ideal protein requirement
for an average adult, which is
the highest when compared to
other parts of India.
All of them believed that their
protein intake was adequate,
the survey noted.
The study also found that 80
per cent of the respondents
were aware of the health
benefits associated with
proteins, which includes
strengthening muscles,
building immunity, overcoming
fatigue and for healthy nails
andhair,saidtheinvestigators.
Dr. Samaddar added: People
fail to understand the
importance of protein
supplements in the daily diet.
They tend to associate protein
supplements as being ideal for
body builders or malnourished
people only. It is high time they
start incorporating protein rich
food in their diet otherwise it
can lead to serious
repercussions in generations to
come.
Maruti to bring in new green

technologies to cut emissions
Car market leader Maruti Suzuki

is planning to bring new green
technologies, which could
include parent Suzukis mild
hybrid system and downsized
direct-injection turbo petrol
60
engine to cut emissions by

enhancing fuel efficiency.
The company said fleet
emissions of carbon dioxide
had been down by over 11.6
per cent in the last five years
and it would continue to work
to bring it further down to
promote clean air benefits.
This has been possible
through fuel efficiency
improvements, reduction of
exhaust emissions and
development of alternate fuel
products during this period,
the company said in a
statement.
Maruti Suzuki India Managing
Director and CEO, Kenichi
Ayukawa said: Going forward,
we will continue our focus on
investing in new technologies
and strengthen our capability
to bring down emissions per
vehicle by enhancing fuel
efficiency of our cars.
The recent new models,
product upgrades and even
minor changes have been
substantiallymorefuelefficient
than the outgoing ones. With
Auto Gear Shift technology the
company is able to offer the
convenience of an automatic
without the need to emit more,
he added.
These future technologies will
bring down emissions while
raising vehicle performance.
These technologies could find
relevance in India and the
company may explore these
options as per customer
requirements, the company
said.
Stempeutics gets Japanese

process patent for stem cell
drug
Stempeutics Research has
been granted a process patent

from the Japan Patent Office for
its novel stem-cell based drug
Stempeucel.
Stempeutics is part of the

Manipal Education and
Medical Group and entered
into a strategic alliance with
pharma major, Cipla in 2009.
A statement from the company
said the novelty covers the
method of preparing master
cell banks, working cell banks
and the final therapeutic
product Stempeucel based
on the novel pooling
technology.
The product will initially be
used for treatment of Critical
Limb Ischemia (CLI) and is
considered a breakthrough
treatment option as it
addresses the root cause of the
disease unlike other drugs
which treat the symptoms, the
company said.
Stempeucel is derived from
specific cells extracted from
bone marrow of healthy, adult
voluntary donors. The pooling
approach allows an efficient
manufacturing process with
minimum wastage of resources
in order to provide the product
at an affordable cost to
patients.
The new patent strengthens
our position in Japan, which has
created an accelerated
development path for stem cell
therapies, B.N. Manohar, CEO,


Stempeutics, said in a
statement.
The regenerative medicine law
implemented in Japan allows
conditional approval of stem
cell products thereby enabling
more rapid entry into the
Japanese market. We are
actively evaluating the
potential for accelerated
development of Stempeucel
product for CLI and
Osteoarthritis indications in
Japan with strategic
collaborations.
Earlier, Stempeucel received
Orphan Drug Designation in
the European Union to treat
Thromoboangiitis Obliterans
and Advanced Therapy
Medicinal Product (ATMP)
classification from European
Medicines Agency. In March,
Stempeutics had received a
process patent from the US
Patent & Trademarks Office.
The companys application to
sell the product in the
domestic market is awaiting
approval from the Drug
Controller General of India
(DCGI).
INS Vikrant undocked at Cochin
shipyard
India crossed a major milestone

in defence shipbuilding when
the maiden indigenous aircraft
carrier INS Vikrant was
undocked on completion of
structural work at the State-
owned Cochin shipyard.

The Navy is slated to take
delivery of the carrier by 2018.
Senior officials and workers of
the yard were present when
tugs pulled the behemoth,
weighing about 26,000 tonnes
at the moment, out of the dry
dock where it was undergoing
construction for about a yearand-a-half after its launch in
August, 2013.
The undocking was done after
a series of postponements
caused by a glitch with the
dock gate operation and
siltation at the dock mouth. The
flooding of the dock and
ballasting of the ship had begun
on Monday itself.
Once the vessel was floated
over eight metres of water
pumped into the dock, the
floodgate was overturned and
the carrier was pulled by tugs
into the Kochi channel. Sources
said the carrier will now be
outfitted for over a year-and-ahalf before the basin trials
begin, likely in 2017,
succeeded by sea trials ahead
ofdelivery.
Almost 90 per cent of work
below the fourth deck all
underwater works is over.
Cabling, piping, electrical
works, and heat and ventilation
works will take place now.
Delivery of systems and
components for the aviation
complex designed by the
Russian Nevoske design bureau
is expected anytime now, said
anofficial.
The undocking is part of the
second phase of work on the
carrier, which is expected to
be over by 2017.
The carrier was designed
indigenously by the Directorate
of Naval Design (DND). Its a

rare feat. In fact, the Navy has a
protracted history of
indigenisation of vessels and
the DND has done
commendable work by
developing over 18 designs,
including that of the carrier,
saidashipyardofficial.
60-member team to probe
Eastern Star sinking
China has assembled a team of

60investigatorstolookintolast
weeks river cruise ship sinking
following orders from
President Xi Jinping to find the
cause of the countrys worst
maritime disaster in nearly
seven decades.
Just 14 people survived the
capsizing of the Eastern Star on
the evening of June 1 as the
ship was carrying 456 people,
many of them elderly tourists,
on a cruise to the Yangtze River
port of Chongqing.
Authorities have attributed the
sinking to a freak storm that
generated tornado-like winds,
but also have placed the
surviving captain and his first
engineer in police custody.
Extensive interviews have
been conducted with surviving
crew members, witnesses,
those who designed and
61


modified the ship and others,
state broadcaster CCTV
reported on Wednesday. It said
60 specialists have been
gathered for the investigative
team.
Video footage and other
evidence have been obtained
from the ship, and weather,
radar and other data was being
analysed for indications of what
went wrong.
The disaster left 442 people
dead or missing.
Smart cities scheme to take off
on June 25
country will be 100. Rajasthan,

Andhra Pradesh and Uttar
Pradesh have signed
agreements with the U.S. for
non-financial assistance; some
agreements have been inked
with Sweden and China, but
work will pick up by end of
July, a government official
told.
Denmark is the latest to join the
list of countries that have
offered know-how in building
smartcities.
Global M&E Industry: India

leads digital drive
India has asked all the

countries keen on partnering
with it in the smart cities
initiativetoreadytheblueprints
for the projects they want to
undertake, to avoid delay in
execution.
will announce the scheme along
with the Atal Mission for
Rejuvenation and Urban
Transformation on June 25. So
far, 14 countries have shown
interest in sharing their
expertise in building
components that are
prerequisites for a smart city.
Sources said each State will be
given a month to draw up a list
of cities eligible for works
under the scheme. Each State
will have at least one smart city,
with the bigger States being
eligiblefor10.
The total number across the
62
For a change, India is found

leading the world in
virtualisation of content in the
Media and Entertainment
(M&E) business thereby
creating an edge in this domain.
Indias top M&E companies
namely Star India, Zee
Entertainment, Sony and Colors
have already adopted the
digital mode in key workflow
processes across the supply
chain, two years ahead their
western counterparts thus
sharply increasing the output of
their executives engaged in
content creation and saving 30
to 40 per cent on cost.
In this digital drive by moving
their content to the cloud,
these firms are now able to have
real time collaboration in the
areas of production and
distribution, reach out to their
overseas customers in a few
hours of the local telecast,

supply video on demand to
customers and prevent piracy.
India went from paper to
paperless in the 90s, the
manufacturing sector
embraced Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP) during the same
time to transform its processes
and the banking sector
underwent drastic changes by
adopting information
technology in a big way but the
M&E sector functioned the
way it was.
Considering that M&E business
never had a big craze for
technology adoption, Indian
M&E companies, which had
skipped technology
generations are now actually
leading the revolution across
the world, according experts.
While Star India adopted the
digital process in all its
workflow, the equivalent of ERP
in manufacturing, in April 2011,
others gradually followed and
are now 18 to 24 months ahead
of their global peers. To put
things in prospective M&E
companies from the U.K. and
the U.S. are adopting media
ERP only now.
With the change, M&E
executives are now able to live
in the physical world and work
on several content forms in the
virtualworldavailableondigital
devices without being actually
present at every location, be it
the place of shooting, studio or
editing room. They are now
able to access unedited or
edited video anytime and place
of their choice.
This has been made possible
by an Indian company called
Prime Focus Technologies
(PFT), a part of the worlds


largest integrated media
services company Prime Focus
Ltd., which has aggregated the
diverse stakeholders of the TV/
advertising industry on a single
virtual platform shared by
broadcasters, production
houses, ad creative and media
agencies.
With the introduction of the
digital media supply chain
content creation, dissemination
and distribution process has
become more creatively
enabled. Real time
collaboration is helping in the
creation of better content and
instant interaction has
enhanced the process of
content creation.
This media ERP is driving
efficiencies and is helping in
reduction of cycle time. It has
also enabled newer revenue
streams apart from curbing
piracy. It has led to contextual
advertising and enabling
internet platforms to
intelligently engage users, said
experts.
The benefits are so alluring that
now 85 per cent of the scripted
television in Hollywood is using
PFTs solutions.
In an era of the death of
appointment viewing, Mr.
Sankaranarayanan said, The
next phase of evolution is
Digital Next Realities where
content providers have to
engage customers with a
better experience anytime
anyplace. The success of
Hotstar app by Star India with
1.4 crore downloads shows
that Indians are now ready to
consume content whenever
wherever they want so
broadcasters will have to make
it accessible in the relevant
preferred devices.
Ideas that make life easy, on

show at IIT-Bombay
From a portable, foldable boat

to low-cost toilets, an array of
interesting ideas and designs
by students of the Industrial
Design Centre of the Indian
Institute of Technology,
Bombay, have been
showcased at the Design
Degree Show on the campus.
The five-day show, which
began on Saturday, showcases
190 degree projects by 56
students of the centre across
the broad themes of Craft and
Culture; Access and
Transportation; Health and
Well- Being; Society and
Analysis; Communication and
Learning; and Working and
LivingIndia.
The portable boat by Tonmoy
Phukan, 24, a second year
student of Mobility and Vehicle
Design, can ferry 16 people to
safety during floods. I was
strongly motivated by the
catastrophic effect of the
floods in Assam in 2014. There
are very limited ways to rescue
victims, and there is no boat
specially designed for flood
rescue, Mr. Phukan says.
He designed a stackable
inflatable boat, Erawan , which
can house a collapsible roof,
lifejackets,pedalsandfirst-aid
kits.
Passengers are protected from
floating debris and side impact.

A ladder on the boat will help
reach people on the higher
floors,hesays.
Trivikram Annamalai, 24,
Industrial Design student, has
come up with a device to
detect veins easily for
injections. The thought of
getting injected traumatises
many, and when you have to
undergo multiple attempts of
needle insertions, its
nightmarish. Mr. Annamalai
says.
The low-cost vein detector
helps nurses visualise a vein and
puncture it with ease. A
prototype has been
developed, and pilot-testing is
in progress, he says.
Keerti Chowdhry, 25, an
Animation and Film Design
student, designed an animated
dictionary for dyslexic
children.
Spellings and comprehension
have always been archenemies of children who have
learningdisabilities.Myproject
aims to help them with
spellings, reading and
comprehension by combining
sight words and phonic system
and creating new ways to
learn,shesays.
The designs on show include
an interactive kiosk, which
employs face detection and
delivers personalised
advertisement, a light-weight
foldable electric bike, and a
water-fetching aid, which can
hold vessels of multiple sizes.
Amita Sharma, Senior
Consultant in Educational
Consultants India Ltd., Union
Human Resource Development
Ministry, inaugurated the show.
63
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SPORTS
Bangladesh, India in Final
identical 6 and 5 margins.

Bangladesh, clearly the
favouriteinitssemifinalagainst
Afghanistan won all its three
matches in the morning session.
India and Bangladesh will face
offinthefinal.
Sania-Hingis duo loses Rome

Masters final
Ethiopias Geremew and Daska

emerge victorious
India and Bangladesh, the top
two teams, made the final of the
SAARC golf championship.
On the penultimate day of the
championship at the KGA
course, India defeated Bhutan,
while Bangladesh swamped a
hapless Afghanistan in the
semifinals. Both teams winning
the 36-hole Match Play round
without dropping a match.
The 18-hole morning session
set the tone with Indias top
amateur Viraj Madappa
essaying a flawless, bogey free
round to beat Bhutans Karma
Wangchuk 8 and 7.
Pukhraj Singh Gill then beat
Bhutans Capt. (retd) B.B.
Gurung 7 and 5. But the India
team captain Jaibir Singh was
stretched to the fourth extra
hole by Bhutans Tshendra
Dorgi.
In the sudden death play-off
with both players level after
three holes, Jaibir Singh landed
his tee shot on the green of the
short, par-3 fourth hole and duly
holed out for a par. But Dorgi
failed to chip and putt finishing
with a bogey.
India was as invincible in the
afternoon session with
Madappa and Gill winning by
64
Kenyas stranglehold over the

TCS World 10K was broken in
absorbing fashion as Ethiopias
Mosinet Geremew and Mamitu
Daska emerged victorious.
The previous five mens and
three womens winners had all
come from Kenya but there was
to be no encore.
Geremew finished in a time of
28:16, with compatriot Fikadu
Seboka two seconds behind
him. The pair ran a cautious
race, not wishing to set the
pace at any stage but making
sure to stay within striking
distance of the leader at all
times. Edwin Kiptoo was third.
Kogo, the former world record
holder and the pre-race
favourite, was unable to find the
same finishing kick and settled
forfourth.
The winners earned $21,000
each in prize money while the
top Indian finishers were
awarded Rs. 2.5 lakh each.
The Indo-Swiss tennis

combine of Sania Mirza and
Martina Hingis did not live up
to expectations as the top
seeds were upset by
Hungarian-French pair of Timea
Babos and Kristina Mladenovic
in straight sets in the womens
doubles final of the $2,428,490
Rome Masters.
The third seeds took just an
hour and 13 minutes to come
out on top with a 64, 63
win on the outdoor clay courts
of Foro Italico in the first ever
match between the two pairs.
This was Sania and Martinas,
ranked World No.1 and 2
respectively, fourth final
together, having won at Indian
Wells, Miami and Charleston
earlierintheyear.
The match did not go in favour
of the top seeds right from the
start as Sania and Martina were
shocked in the fifth game of the
first set when Timea and
Kristina broke them and held
serve to extend the lead to 4
2.
Sania and Martina finally earned
two breakpoints for the first
time in the match when the the

Sports
third seeds were looking to
close the set on their service
game at 54. However, both
opportunities were wasted as
Timea and Kristina won the set
to take the lead in the match in
only 38 minutes.
The third seeds took the
momentum into the second set
as they immediately broke their
opponents. But Sania and
Martina reverted by breaking
back and levelling the set at 1
1.
The next four service games
were held by both teams but
the third seeds once again
stunned the Indo-Swiss combo
by breaking them in the
seventh game of the set. They
held serve to extend the lead
to 53.
Within no time, Timea and
Kritina had two matchpoints.
The first was saved by the top
seeds but the HungarianFrench pair converted the
second to earn the vital crown.
Bronze for Archana
Indias Archana Kamath won a
bronze medal in the cadet girls
singles at the Thailand Open
table tennis tournament .
Archana lost 11-9, 11-7, 11-8
to Chinese Taipeis Chen TingTing, the eventual winner, in
thesemifinals.
Djokovic, Sharapova win Rome
titles
Novak Djokovic scored a 6-4,
6-3 win over Roger Federer to
capture his fourth Rome
Masterstitle.
Djokovic also won the Rome
title in 2008, 2011 and last year.
In the womens tournament,
Maria Sharapova beat 10thseeded Carla Suarez Navarro 4-
6, 7-5, 6-1 to win her third Rome

title.
Sharapovas first two titles in
Rome came back-to-back in
2011 and 2012.
ICC committee recommends
removal of batting PowerPlay
The ICC Cricket Committee

recommended the removal of
batting PowerPlay besides
allowing five fielders outside
the circle in the last 10 overs.
The committee, headed by
former India captain Anil
Kumble, discussed the ODI
playing conditions, code of
conduct as far as player
behaviour is concerned, illegal
bowling actions, use of
technology and helmet safety
among other issues.
The Cricket Committee will
recommend to the Chief
Executives Committee that
there should be three changes
to the ODI fielding restrictions:
the requirement to have two
compulsory catchers in the first
10 overs be removed, the
batting PowerPlay be removed
and that five fieldsmen be
allowed outside the circle from
overs 41-50 instead of four.
In an attempt to strike a
balance between bat and ball,
the ICC will not introduce a
regulation about the size of
bats, but it will provide input
on this issue to the MCC through
the consultation process ahead
of the re-drafting of the Laws

of Cricket in 2017.
The committee reiterated its
previous edict that boundaries
at international venues needed
to be set-up to the maximum
size at each venue. The
committee asked ICC to
investigate ways in which no
balls can be reviewed quickly
upon the fall of a wicket and
also recommended that all noballs in ODI and T20I cricket
should result in a free hit.
The committee supported the
stronger stance being taken
against inappropriate player
behaviour, and was concerned
at the increasing number of
send-offs.
There was also strong support
for the current practice of
suspending captains for over
rate breaches.
There was a discussion on the
performance of DRS and the
use of technology in umpiring.
There was a presentation on
helmet safety, particularly the
development of the new British
Standard for cricket helmets,
and the increasing number of
manufacturers that now make
helmetsthatarecertifiedtothis
new standard.
Whilst the committee did not
believe the wearing of helmets
should be mandatory at
international level, it did
strongly recommend that all
helmets worn by international
players should be certified to
this new British Standard.
The Cricket Committees remit
is to discuss cricket-playing
matters and to make
recommendations to the ICC
Chief Executives Committee
and the ICC Board that will
meet in Barbados during the
65

Sports
apex bodys annual
conference week, from June
22 to 26.
We have enjoyed two very
productive days of meetings in
which the committee
discussed a wide range of
issues affecting the global
game through practical
examples and illustrations,
said Kumble, the committees
chairman.
Bayliss appointed England head

coach
Australian Trevor Bayliss has

been appointed as the new
head coach of England, the
England and Wales Cricket
Board (ECB) announced .
The 52-year-old former Sri
Lanka coach succeeds the
sacked Peter Moores, having
been preferred to his
compatriot Jason Gillespie, the
Yorkshire coach, who was the
initialfavouriteforthejob.
Trevor has an outstanding
record as coach, has global
experience and is very highly
regarded in the game, said the
ECBs director of cricket
Andrew Strauss in a press
release.
Currently coach of New South
Wales, Bayliss will take charge
of England in time for the start
of their home Ashes series
againstAustraliainJuly.
He has proved himself in both
domestic and international
cricket, has a strong reputation
66
for man-management and has

shown how to build winning
teams in all three formats,
Strauss added.
His expertise in the shorter
forms of the game will be vital
as we build towards three major
ICC events over the next four
years; the ICC World T20
tournament in India in 2016 and
the ICC Champions Trophy and
ICC Cricket World Cup, which
will be staged in England and
Wales in 2017 and 2019
respectively.
Strauss confirmed that Bayliss
will work alongside current
caretaker coach Paul Farbrace,
who steered England to a
stirring 124-run win over New
Zealand in the first Test at
Lords, which concluded on
Monday.
Farbrace will remain in charge
for the second Test at
Headingley, starting , and the
following limited-overs
matches. Bayliss worked with
Farbrace during his time as
coach of Sri Lanka, who he led
to the final of the 2011 World
Cup.
Its an honour to be appointed
England coach, said Bayliss.
Theres a great opportunity to
help (Test captain) Alastair
Cook and (one-day captain)
Eoin Morgan shape the
direction and development of
their respective teams.
I am also looking forward to
working alongside Paul
Farbrace once again as we have
a similar outlook on the game,
get on well after two years
working together and have
kept in touch.
Ministry considers recognising

regional federations
The Union sports ministry has
decided to consider granting

recognition to sports bodies
dealing with indigenous
disciplines as Regional Sports
Federations (RSFs).
In a release, the ministry said in
order to promote such
disciplines and give them due
acknowledgement it would
take up the cases of such sports
bodies and consider them for
recognition with the approval
of the competent authority.
However, the ministry said
these bodies must fulfil some
conditions. Accordingly, the
sports disciplines (a) must be
popular in a region/ state and
played in one or more states,
(b) should have been played
in the region for at least last 10
years, (c) RSFs seeking
recognition should have
conducted championships at
senior, junior and sub-junior
levels and (d) in case there is
an international federation for
a discipline, the National body
should have the recognition of
the global outfit (in case there
are several bodies at the
international level for one sport
and if more than one RSF apply
for recognition, then the
Government shall take a
decision in the matter).
The ministry clarified that a
particular condition, which
required a National Sports
Federation to have affiliated
units in two-third of the state/
union territories, will not be
applicable for the grant of
recognition to RSFs.
Bolt wins 200m at rain-hit
Ostrava
Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt
overcame rain-soaked, chilly
conditions to streak to his new

Sports
season best in winning his
favoured 200 metres at Golden
Spike meet.
In the eastern Czech city of

Ostrava, the 28-year-old world
and Olympic champion who
also holds the world 100 and
200m records, clocked 20.13
seconds, almost a second
behind his world record of
19.19sec set in 2009.
In his only previous appearance
over 200m this season, and
followingastringofinjuriesthat
plagued him in 2014, Bolt
timed 20.20sec on home soil in
Kingston,Jamaica,inApril.Itis
the first time since 2007 that
Bolt has run two back-to-back
200m slower than 20sec.
Bolt said he had wanted to go
under the 20-second barrier
but the conditions didnt
allow and Im coming back
from an injury so its going to
take time.
For me it was not a perfect day
but Im just happy to have
gotten out at least injury-free,
he said.
Bolt said he was feeling better
ahead of Diamond League
meets in New York and Paris.
U.S sprinter Charonda Williams
won the womens 200 metres
in 23.12 seconds.
Kochi gets provisional nod to
host FIFA under-17 World Cup
Kochi has been provisionally
selected as a host of the 2017
under-17 FIFA World Cup.
Tournament Director Javier

Ceppi and Project Director Joy
Bhattacharya announced this at
the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
Less than five cities have been
selected, Kochi is one of them,
said Ceppi, who also revealed
that Kochi was one of his
personal favourites.
Two major inspections, by a
FIFA panel, will be held next
year in January and September
before the six venues in the
country which will host the
league phase of the World Cup
are confirmed. But Kochi is a
strong favourite not only to host
the league matches but also
one or two knockout matches.
However it will depend on
many factors, including the
enthusiasm and crowd turnout
at the venue, indicated Ceppi.
The four training grounds in
Ernakulam Maharajas
Stadium, the Panampilly Nagar
Sports Academy, Fort Kochi
Veli Ground and Kerala
University of Fisheries and
Ocean Studies (KUFOS) at
Panangad were announced
as the training grounds.
The training site agreement
for the first three venues were
handed over to Ceppi and
agreement for the KUFOS
ground is expected to be
signed in a few days.
Apart from the work on the turf,
dressing rooms and floodlights
will be set up at all the training
grounds.
Around Rs. 40 crore are likely
to be spent on the Jawaharlal
Nehru Stadium, the main venue
here, and between Rs. 3 to 4
crore on each training ground.
The visiting group, which
included Head of Venue
Inspections Roma Khanna, also
held a Kickoff Workshop a

series of meetings with the
various stakeholders in Kochi.
Kochi Mayor Tony Chammany,
Kerala Governments Nodal
Officer for the World Cup
Mohammed Hanish, KFA
President K.M.I. Mather were
among those present at the
event.
IOC emerges champion
Indian Oil Sports and

Recreation Club won the TNCA
VI Division title beating IAF
(Tambaram) in the
championship match to clinch
the P.V.H. Babu Shield.
Indian Oil Sports & Recreation
Club also won the P.C. Ramudu
Shield for the VI division B
zone, with 28 points winning
all its seven matches. D.G.
Karthik was the leading runscorer for IOC with 336 runs
while S. Karthik was the leading
wicket-taker for the club with
26 wickets.
IAF (Tambaram) won the
T.K.N. Babu Shield for the VI
Division Azone, with 26 points
from seven matches that
included six wins and a tie.
IAF (Tambaram), Eccentrics
Cricket Club, Indian Oil Sports
and Recreation Club and
Lusuraj Cricket Club are
promoted to fifth division for
the 2015-16 season.
Russia, Qatar confirmed as
hosts
FIFA general-secretary Jerome
67

Sports
Valcke, confirmed Russia and
Qatar will host the World Cups
in 2018 and 2022 respectively,
despite the ongoing corruption
scandal affecting footballs
governing body.
A separate criminal
investigation into how the 2018
and 2022 World Cups were
allocated has also begun, but
Valcke confirmed Russia and
Qatar will host the next two
finals, as far as FIFA is
concerned.
Yes, when you ask me the
question today, the 2018 World
Cup will be played in Russia,
then in Qatar four years later,
from all the information we
currently have, said Valcke.
Chen Long and Carolina emerge
champions
final after beating 10th-ranked

Tian Houwei in an all-Chinese
semifinal.
Spains world number three
Carolina Marin took the
womens singles in a tight
contest with Chinas sixthranked Wang Shixian in just
under an hour.
It was a big week for the
Spaniard, who beat South
Koreas world number seven
Sung Ji-Hyun to reach final after
losing to Indias Saina Nehwal
in last years tournament
decider.
68
Indian grapplers win four more

golds
Deepika wins bronze

Deepika Kumari outclassed
Chang Hye Jin of Korea in
straight sets to clinch the
bronze medal in the womens
individual recurve event of the
World Cup.
The in-form Deepika kept the
tri-colour flying high after
veteran Dola Banerjee, Satbir
Kaur and Snehal Divakar all lost
in the first round of the
individual recurve.
National anthem jeered
World No 1 Chen Long was

taken to three games before
downing Denmarks Viktor
Axelsen to win the Australian
Open badminton superseries
final.
The Chinese star defeated
world number nine Axelsen in
one hour and 17 minutes.
Chen now leads Axelsen in
their tournament meetings.
Chen had reached the mens
department said.
A letter had been sent to both
clubs before the final, warning
that punishment would be
forthcoming if the playing of
the anthem was not respected.
The Spanish government has

called a meeting to discuss
possible sanctions after the
national anthem was loudly
jeered ahead of the final.
A capacity crowd of 99,000
supporters filled Barcas Camp
Nou stadium for the clash, but
the game had a controversial
beginning as supporters of
both clubs drowned out the
traditional playing of the
anthem with whistles.
The government condemns
the attacks against symbols
which represent all Spaniards,
the democracy that protects
us, the governments press
The Indian grapplers ended

their campaign on a high in the
International Wrestling
tournamentinSassariCity,Italy,
bagging as many as nine
medals, including eight gold in
the mens freestyle event.
Sonu (61kg), Somvir (86kg),
Mausam Khatri (97kg) and
Hitender (125kg) bagged a
gold each in their respective
weight categories.
Earlier, Amit Kumar (57kg),
Yogeshwar Dutt (65kg),
Praveen Rana (70kg) and
Narsingh Yadav (74kg) had also
clinched the gold.
Rajneesh was the lone Indian
wrestler who returned with a
bronze in 65kg freestyle
division.
McCullum, Hesson honoured

Sports
New
Zealands
unprecedented success in
reaching the Cricket World Cup
final earlier this year has
resulted in honours for captain
Brendon McCullum and coach
Mike Hesson.
Both were appointed Officers
of the New Zealand Order of
Merit (NZOM) in the Queen
Elizabeth II Birthday Honours
listreleased.
Therese Walsh, head of the
New Zealand organising
committee for the 2015 World
Cup, which was co-hosted with
Australia, was made a Dame
Companion of the NZOM.
Hesson said he hoped the
accolades would be seen as
recognition for the entire New
Zealand team, both on and off
thefield.
AIFF had earlier signed a MoU
with the Japan Football
Association in February 2015
General Secretary of AIFF,

Kushal Das was also present on
the occasion.
As per the agreement, the two
parties have decided to
cooperate with each other in
order to develop strong ties
between their respective
associations for the mutual
benefit of each association and
for the promotion, growth and
continued success of football
in each country.
It also highlighted the
collaboration and cooperation

through management and
officials, technical experts,
coaches, referees, etc.
Exchanges regarding training
of technical personnel and
organisational procedures.
Availability of sports centres or
installations for competition,
training and camps as and
where possible in accordance
withavailabilityandsuitability,
have also been agreed upon.
Besides, support for the
preparation of the Indian team
for the FIFA Under-17 World
Cup 2017 to be hosted by
India, in terms of exposure trips
for matches with French teams
and participation in youth
tournaments in France have
also been talked about.
Windies lose three wickets
West Indies reached 85 for
three at lunch after opting to
bat against Australia on the
opening day of the first cricket
Test at the Windsor Park.
Debutant Shane Dowrich,
undefeated on 15, and Marlon
Samuels (batting 3) took the
hoststotheinterval.
Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon,
and Mitchell Johnson each
claimed a wicket.
Brathwaite and Hope added 23
for the opening wicket after
captain Denesh Ramdin won
the toss. Fast bowler
Hazlewood drew a tentative
stroke from Brathwaite, who
edged to wicketkeeper Brad
Haddin.
Lyon, chosen as the only
specialist spinner, induced an
edge from Bravo and captain
Michael Clarke lunged low to
his left to pluck a brilliant onehanded catch.
Johnson removed Hope who

drove loosely outside the off
stump and Shaun Marsh took a
fine diving catch at gully.
Kalmadi conferred top Asian
award
Scam-tainted Suresh Kalmadi

has been conferred the Asian
Athletics Association
presidents award for his
contribution towards the
development of athletics in the
continent at the AAA gala
dinner and award ceremony.
Kalmadi, who was jailed and
later released on bail in
connection with the 2010
Commonwealth Games scam,
served as president of AAA for
13 years from 2000 to 2013.
Athletics Federation of India
president Adille Sumariwala
received the award on behalf
of Kalmadi from AAA president
Dahlan Al-Hamad of Qatar at
the function held ahead of the
start of Asian Athletics
Championships.
Silver medals for Poovamma
and Liksy
M.R. Poovamma, the fastest
qualifier in the semifinals,
retained her 400m silver while
Liksy Joseph came up with an
inspired performance for the
heptathlon silver with a personal
best as Indias women athletes
did themselves proud at the
21st Asian athletics
championship.
69


Purnima Hembram, a former
Asian junior champion,
followed Liksy for the womens
heptathlon bronze, and in the
mens section, G. Lakshmanan
won the 5,000m bronze
bettering his personal best by
nearly 14 seconds.
Qatars Femi Ogunode did
what he had been promising for
some time by lowering his own
Asian 100m record to a stunning
9.91s. That should make him
the fifth fastest man in the world
thisyear.
The Nigeria-born Ogunode
had set the previous mark of
9.93 while winning the Asian
Games gold in Incheon last
year.
There were disappointments
too for India, with both the
countrys eight-metre longjumpers, Ankit Sharma (7.76m)
and K. Prem Kumar (7.69m)
finishing fourth and fifth
respectively.
Ankit was in the medal range
for a brief while before going
down. An eight-metre jump
would have fetched them gold,
for it was with a 7.96m that
Chinas Goa Xinglong took the
top spot.
Poovamma, the Asian Games
bronze medallist who has a
personal best of 51.73s, was in
fact quicker in semifinal which
she topped with 52.94s. Her
silver, behind Chinas Yang
Huizhen, came in 53.07s.
Arokia Rajeev, also an Incheon
Asiad bronze medallist, was
seventh in the mens 400m
while Srabani Nanda was fifth
in the womens 100m.
The womens sprint relay team
finished fourth and the men
sixth. Suprisingly Manikanda
Arumugam, who had helped
70
the team to qualify for the

Asians in 39.11s in the
controversialtrialsinBengaluru
recently, was not part of the
mens relay squad which
finished in 39.67s.
Qatars Mohamad Al Garni, who
had won the mens 1,500m,
completed a distance double
by taking the 5,000m title.
spree to enter the mens singles

semifinals even as Saina Nehwal
bowed out with a loss to
familiar foe Wang Shixian in the
Indonesian Open Super Series
badminton tournament.
Ravi in ICC Elite Panel

Ending an 11-year wait, S. Ravi
became the first Indian after S.
Venkataraghvan to be inducted
in the International Cricket
Councils (ICC) Elite Panel of
Umpires following an annual
review and selection process.
New Zealands Chris Gaffaney
and Ravi were promoted from
the International Panel of
Umpires to the Elite Panel,
replacing Kiwi veteran Billy
Bowden and the retiring Steve
Davis, stated an ICC media
release.
Ravi has umpired in six Tests,
24 ODIs and 12 T20Is, since
making his international debut
in Visakhapatnam in December
2011 in an ODI between India
and the West Indies.
Both Ravi and Gaffaney
umpired in the World Cup
earlierthisyearinAustraliaand
New Zealand.
Elite Panel of Umpires for
2015-2016: Aleem Dar,
Kumar Dharmasena, Marais
Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Ian
Gould, Richard Illingworth,
Richard Kettleborough, Nigel
Llong, S. Ravi, Paul Reiffel, Rod
Tucker and Bruce Oxenford.
Kashyap stuns world No. 1 Long
P. Kashyap rallied to shock
world No. 1 Chen Long,
continuing his giant-killing
Kashyap, ranked 12th in the

world, came from behind to
beat the top-seeded Chinese
in a contest that lasted an hour
and three minutes.
The Commonwealth Games
gold-medallist was consistent
with his smashes and
impeccable with his net play
against a more fancied
opponent.
FIFA suspends 2026 World Cup
bidding
FIFA announced it had

suspended the bidding
process to host the 2026 World
Cup amid the furore
surrounding corruption probes
at the organisation.
It was decided to place the
administrative process on hold
for the 2026 FIFA World Cup
bidding due to the current
situation, a FIFA statement
said.

Sports
Further decisions regarding
the 2026 FIFA World Cup
bidding process will be
discussed by the FIFA
Executive Committee at a later
date.
FIFA secretary general Jerome
Valcke had announced in
March that the host country for
the 2026 tournament would be
decided at a FIFA congress in
Kuala Lumpur in 2017.
But footballs world governing
body was then plunged into a
crisis at the end of last month
when 14 current or former FIFA
officials and sports marketing
executives were arrested in
Zurich. Due to the situation, I
think its nonsense to start any
bidding process for the time
being. It will be postponed,
Valcke said at a news
conference. in the Russian
2018 World Cup host city of
Samara on Wednesday after
meetingthelocalofficialsthere.
Meanwhile, speaking at a press
conference in Paris, UEFA
president Michel Platini
admitted the news did not
come as a surprise.
There was due to be a vote in
2017 but there is no leadership
atFIFAsoitsagoodthing,said
Platini.
Interpol suspends deal with
FIFA
International police body
Interpol announced it was
suspending a 10-year
partnership deal with FIFA
worth $22 million following a
corruption probe into footballs
world governing body.
Interpol boss Juergen Stock
said he was suspending the
deal set up in May 2011 to
create a 10-year Integrity in
Sport programme.
In light of the current context

surrounding FIFA, while
Interpol is still committed to
developing our Integrity in
Sport programme, I have
decided to suspend the
agreement, said Stock in a
statement.
All external partners, whether
public or private, must share
the fundamental values and
principles of the organisation,
as well as those of the wider
law enforcement community,
added Stock.
Interpol noted that the
agreement with FIFA included
a clause stating that the
funding party declares ... that
its activities are compatible
with the principles, aims and
activitiesofInterpol.
struck 12 fours in his 118 before

he was caught at mid-off by
Mark Wood off David Willey the
ballafterloftingasweetly-timed
straightsix.
Grant Elliott fell for five but by
the time Taylor played a ball
from Willey on to his stumps for
110 his side needed only 13 off
thelast4.1overs.
Luke Ronchi tried to finish the
job in spectacular style by
smearing Ben Stokes over the
boundary rope but was caught
by Jason Roy. It only delayed
the inevitable, though, and Tim
Southee hit the winning runs
with an over to spare.
Hulkenberg drives Porsche to
victory
New Zealand takes 2-1 ODI

series lead in England
Fluent centuries by Kane

Williamson and Ross Taylor
powered New Zealand to a
comfortable three-wicket win
over England in the third oneday international in
Southampton.
After England collapsed from
288 for five to 302 all out, New
Zealand initially struggled in
reply before Williamson and
Taylor took the game away from
the hosts with a clinical 206run third-wicket stand.
The exemplary Williamson
Porsche broke Audis five-race

stranglehold at the Le Mans 24
Hours race, with Nico
Hulkenberg becoming the first
active F1 driver to win here
since Britains Johnny Herbert
in 1991.
The German, driving the No.19
works Porsche he shared with
New Zealands Earl Bamber
and Briton Nick Tandy, took the
chequered flag ahead of the
No.17 Porsche of Aussie Mark
Webber, New Zealands
Brendon Hartley and
Germanys Timo Bernhard.
Audis defending champions
Andre Lotterer, Benoit Treluyer
and Marcel Faessler completed
the podium places.
71


Sumit, Karman win titles
Fifth seeded Sumit Nagal beat

third seed Mate Valkusz of
72
Hungary while Karman Kaur

Thandi outplayed Jessica
Hinojosa Gomez of Mexico win
theboysandgirlssinglestitles
in the ITF grade-1 junior tennis
tournament in Offenbach,
Germany.
This was Karmans maiden
grade-1 title, and will help her
move up from her (junior)
ranking of 157 past her career-
best 133.
In the $10,000 ITF tournament
in Sharm El Sheik, Egypt,
second seed Rishika Sunkara
lost eighth seed Sara Tomic in
thesemifinals.
B.R. Nikshep and Dhruv Sunish
won the boys doubles title at
the ITF grade-4 tournament in
Jakarta, beating Taipeis Yu
Hsiou Hsu and Ho Jun Lee.
http://iasexamportal.com/civilservices/test-series/online-ias-pre

Awards & Prizes
AWARDS & PRIZES

Japan Governments Highest
Civilian Award to Professor
C.N.R. Rao
Highest Civilian Award of Japan,

that is conferred on academicians,
politicians and military officers- the
Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and
Silver Star, will be conferred on
Professor C.N.R. Rao for his
contribution to promoting academic
interchange and mutual
understanding in science and
technology between Japan and
India. He had been bestowed with
about 70 honorary doctorates and had
received the highest civilian award of
India, Bharat Ratna.
Professor C.N.R. Rao is a National
Research Professor, Linus Pauling
Research Professor and Honorary
President of the Jawaharlal Nehru
Centre for Advanced Scientific
Research, Bengaluru , an autonomous
institution supported by the Ministry
of Science & technology, Government
of India. Professor Rao had made
substantial contributions to the
development of Science in India and
the Third World.
Ramkumar Ramanathan and
Vijay Sundar Prashanth wins T.
K. Ramanathan award
Ramkumar Ramanathan and
Vijay Sundar Prashanth won the
prestigious T.K. Ramanathan award at
the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association

annual day function held at SDATNungambakkam Stadium here on
Friday. Both received Rs. 15,000
each.
While Ramkumar with good

performances on the ATP and ITF
circuits reached a world ranking
of 226, Vijays good display in the
2015 Aircel Chennai Open he
qualified for the main draw and
two back-to-back ITF titles in Tiruchi
and Chennai, improved his rankings
to 397.
Alex Clark. It beat second novels by

authors including Will Wiles, Deborah
Kay Davies and Amanda Coe to win
the Encore, an award which was
founded by Lucy Astor 25 years ago,
and which has been won in the past
by major names including Ali Smith,
Anne Enright and Colm Tibn.
Mukherjee, who lives in London,
called the Encore a burst of light in
what is usually considered to be dark,
damp, bleak territory the dreaded
second novel, and said he was
thrilled by my good fortune and,
lookingatthelistofpastwinners,both
humbled and deeply honoured to
win.
Vice President Confers Pt.
Haridutt Sharma Award to Smt.
Anurradha Prasad
Neel Mukherjee wins 10,000

Encore award for the year 2014
Neel Mukherjees story of a

young man who is drawn into into
extreme political activism in 1960s
Calcutta, The Lives of Others, has
won him the 10,000 Encore award
for the years best second novel.
Already shortlisted for the Man
Booker prize, where it missed out to
Richard Flanagans The Narrow Road
to the Deep North, and the Costa,
Mukherjees novel immensely
impressed judges with its ambition
and depth, said chair of the panel
The Vice President of India Shri

M. Hamid Ansari conferred the Pt.
Haridutt Sharma Award in the field
of Journalism, Writing and Social
Services to Smt. Anurradha Prasad,
Editor-in-Chief, News-24 Channel.
Addressing on the occasion, the Vice
President opined that the Media
persons should always do news
reporting in an impartial and
responsible manner with objectivity.
He congratulated Smt. Anurradha
Prasad for her outstanding
contribution in the field of Media and
said that she has maintained the
dignity of Journalistic profession in
her professional career.
73

Awards & Prizes

Pt. Haridutt Sharma was a
renowned journalist and eminent
writer. In his memory, this Annual
award is given in the field of
Journalism, Writing and Social
Services for the outstanding
contributionintheirrespectivefield.
The Award consists of Cash prize of
Rs. 51000/-, Citation, Trophy, Shawl
and Souvenir.
performance to Utlou Weavers

Cooperative Society Limited
(UWCSL).
Heniz Award 2015
An Indian-origin scientist at MIT

Sangeeta Bharti, who has developed
artificial human microlivers for drug
testing, has won a prestigious
$2,50,000 Heinz award for her work
in tissue engineering and disease
detection.
The award includes an
unrestricted prize of $ 2,50,000. The
Heinz Awards annually recognise
individuals for their extraordinary
contributions to arts and humanities;
environment; human condition;
public policy; and technology, the
economy, and employment.
She is also using microlivers in
the lab to model malaria infection and
test drugs that can eradicate malaria
parasites completely. She hopes to
eventually develop implantable liver
tissue as a complement or substitute
for whole-organ transplant.
NCDC Cooperative excellence
award 2014
Ministry of Agriculture has
conferred National Cooperative
Development Corporation Award for
Cooperative Excellence 2014 to
the best performing primary
cooperatives for their excellent
74
National Cooperative
Development Corporation (NCDC) is
a statutory Corporation set up under
an act of Parliament in March 1963
for developing rural economic
activities through cooperatives. The
NCDC Award for Cooperative
Excellence is an initiative to
encourage and give due recognition
to those cooperatives who despite
all odds, are able to sustain and work
for development and prosperity of
agrariansociety.
The Award is for inculcating a
sense of achievement and spirit of
cooperation and thus set an example
for others to follow.
Shivani Agarwal and Maharaja
Pandit selected for prestigious
Radcliffe fellowship
Two Indians from Indian

Institute of Science, and University
of Delhi have been named for Harvard
Universitys prestigious Radcliffe
fellowship.
Shivani Agarwal from Indian
Institute of Science and Maharaja
Pandit from University of Delhi are
among 50 scholars, scientists, and
artists who will begin their one-year
fellowships along with 48 at the

Radcliffe Institute in September
2015, a media release said.
Considered as one of the most
prestigious honors for faculty, only
three per cent of applicants were
accepted this year.
Shivani, William and Flora
Hewlett Foundation Fellow has been
selected for learning to make choices
in the era of big data. Mr Pandit has
been selected for his project life in
Himalaya.
Dr. Siva Mandjiny wins UNCs
2015 Award for Teaching
Excellence
Chemistry professor Sivanadane

(Siva) Mandjiny has been named UNC
Pembrokes recipient of the UNC
Board of Governors 2015 Award for
Excellence in Teaching.
Annually, the Board of
Governors names one professor at
each of the 17 UNC campuses to
receive the award. The award
winners will collect a commemorative
bronze medallion and a $12,500 cash
prize.
The award, which serves to
underscore the importance of
teaching, will be presented by a
member of the Board of Governors
during spring graduation ceremonies
on May 9. UNCPs recipient serves as
University Marshal and presides over
ceremonial events during the
academic year.

Awards & Prizes

Florence Nightingale Award
given to 35 nurses
The President of India Shri

Pranab Mukherjee conferred the
Florence Nightingale Awards to 35
nurses from across the country on the
occasion of International Nurses Day.
The Florence Nightingale
awards are given to the outstanding
nursing personnel employed in
Central, State/UTs. Nurses working in
Government, Voluntary
Organizations, Mission institutions
and the private institutions can apply
with the due recommendation of
concerned State Government. The
Florence Nightingale Awards carries
Rs.50, 000/- cash, a certificate, a
citation certificate and a Medal.
Charlie Hebdo awarded PEN
Freedom of Expression and
courage award
The French satirical magazine

Charlie Hebdo has received a
controversial freedom of speech
award at the PEN Literary Gala in New
York.
The decision to award the
magazine the Freedom of Expression
Courage Award to Charlie Hebdo
caused six high-profile authors to
withdraw, including The English
Patient writer Michael Ondaatje. They
said PEN - known for defending
imprisoned writers - was stepping

beyond its traditional role.
The boycott has been criticised
by the author Salman Rushdie, a
former president of PEN who was in
hiding for years over Islamist threats
in response to his novel The Satanic
Verses.
Syrian journalist Mazen
Darwish wins UNESCO/
Guillermo Cano World Press
Freedom Prize 2015
The winner of the 2015

UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World
Press Freedom Prize is Syrian
journalist and human rights activist,
Mazen Darwish, currently imprisoned.
The Prize has bedd awarded during
the celebration of World Press
Freedom Day, 3 May, which has been
be hosted this year by Latvia (.
An independent international
jury of media professionals
recommended Mazen Darwish in
recognition of the work he has carried
out in Syria for more than ten years at
great personal sacrifice, enduring a
travel ban, harassment, as well as
repeated detention and torture. Led
by Ko-ko U (Myanmar), chairman of
the Yangon Media Group and
publisher of the Yangon Times, the
International Jury stressed the need
to remember Mr Darwish, currently
in prison, along with so many other
human rights defenders and
journalists.
Darwish, a lawyer and press
freedom advocate, is the president
of the Syrian Centre for Media and

Freedom of Expression (CMFE),
founded in 2004, and one of the
founders of the Voice newspaper
and syriaview.net, an independent
news site banned by the Syrian
authorities. In 2011, Darwish
established Media Club, the first
Syrian magazine about media affairs.
He has been detained since February
2012, when he was arrested with
colleagues Hani Al-Zitani and Hussein
Ghareer.
Numerous human rights and
press organizations around the world
have issued calls for the release of
Darwish and his fellow journalists.
The $25,000 Prize is named in
honour of Guillermo Cano Isaza, a
Colombian journalist who was
assassinated in front of the offices of
his newspaper, El Espectador, in
Bogot, on 17 December 1986. It is
funded by the Cano Foundation
(Colombia) and the Helsingin
Sanomat Foundation (Finland).
Redlnk lifetime Achievement
award to Dr Prannoy
NDTV executive co-chairman

Dr Prannoy Roy was conferred the
Redlnk Award for lifetime
Achievement at a function. The
award, comprising a trophy and a
citation, has been instituted by the
Mumbai Press Club. The awards were
presented by the Union Railway
Minister Suresh Prabhu.
Awards were also presented in
thecategoriescrime,politics,courts,
health, environment and science. A
panel discussion on limits of dissent
was held in which Prabhu, veteran
journalist Shekhar Gupta, Jain and
Krishna Prasad, editor-in-chief,
75

Awards & Prizes

Outlook, took part. The debate was
moderated by Sachin Kalbag, editor
of Mid-Day.
Dr. Promod Patil wins Whitley
Awards 2015
The Princess Royal will today

present a Whitley Award, a
prestigious international nature
conservation prize worth 35,000 in
project funding, to Pramod Patil at a
ceremony at the Royal Geographical
Society, London, in honour of his
work to protect the iconic great
Indian bustard in the Thar Desert.
Pramod is one of seven
individuals to have been awarded a
share of prize funding worth
245,000 by the Whitley Fund for
Nature, winning the Whitley Award
76
donated by The William Brake

Charitable Trust in memory of William
Brake.
The great Indian bustard once
flourished across the Indian subcontinent, but poaching, loss of
grassland habitat and lack of
community involvement has resulted
in local opposition to conservation
activities and pushed the species
from 90% of its original range. The
estimated surviving population
consists of fewer than 250 individuals
competing for space in the most
densely human-populated desert in
the world.
Siddhartha Gigoo wins
Commonwealth short story
prize
Siddhartha Gigoo has won the

best story from Asia award at the 2015
Commonwealth Short Story Prize
Shortlist for his story titled The

Umbrella Man . The award picked
four writers from 40,000 entries that
were received from 53 countries of
the Commonwealth.
Romesh Gunesekera, the Chair
for 2015, said: We wanted stories
that will engage us and make us
rethink our notions of form, language
and what mattered. The winning
stories did all of that and more.
The other winners in various
categories are: Lesley Nneka Arimah
from Nigeria for Light ; Jonathan
Tel from the United Kingdom for
The Human Phonograph ; Kevin
Jared Hosein from Trinidad and
Tobago for The King of Settlement
4 ), Mary Rokonadravu from Fiji for
Famished Eels .
The regional winners will
compete for the overall winners
prize, which will be announced in
London on September 8. The
Commonwealth Short Story Prize
Shortlist is awarded for the best piece
of unpublished short fiction (2,0005,000 words). Regional winners
receive 2,500, while the overall
winner receives 5,000.

In The News
IN THE NEWS
Aruna Shanbaug
Aruna Shanbaug, a former nurse

at Mumbais King Edward Memorial
Hospital who spent the last 42 years
on a bed in a vegetative state after a
sexual assault by a ward boy in 1973,
died.
Shanbaugs condition had been
deterioratingforthelastfewyearsand
she had difficulty swallowing food.
The staff was feeding her nutrition
powder through a tube (Ryles tube).
On November 27, 1973,
Shanbaug, then a junior nurse at
KEM, was brutally assaulted and
raped by a ward boy-cum-sweeper
Sohanlal B. Valmiki. He throttled her
with a dog chain, cutting off the
supply of blood and oxygen to key
parts of her brain. She has been in a
vegetative state ever since, confined
to a bed at the hospital where nurses
and staff took care of her.
After her death, a controversy
erupted when her family members
reached the hospital to claim the
body, which the staff and nurses
opposed. Later in the evening, a
compromise was reached and she
was cremated at the Bhoiwada
crematorium. Dr. Supe and her family
members collectively performed the
lastrites.
Mukesh Khanna
Veteran actor Mukesh Khanna,
has been appointed as the new

chairperson of the Children Film
Society of India (CFSI).
CFSI started functioning in 1955

as an autonomous body under the
Ministry of Information and
Broadcasting with Pandit Hriday Nath
Kunzru as President. CFSIs maiden
production Jaldeep won the first
prize for best Childrens Film at the
1957 Venice Film Festival. Since then
CFSI has continued to produce,
exhibit and distribute quality content
forchildren:fromfeaturefilms,shorts,
animations to television episodes and
documentaries.
KV Thomas
Outgoing chairman of
Parliaments Public Accounts
Committee, senior Congress leader K
V Thomas, has been renominated to
the post for a second term. PAC is
one of the most important finance
committees along with the
Committee on Estimates and the
Committee on Public Undertakings.
Since 1967, the post of the PAC
Chairman has been held by a senior
member of the main Opposition
party. The key committee examines
CAG reports after they are tabled in
Parliament.
The PAC, constituted every
year, may consist of not more than 22
members 15 from Lok Sabha and not
more than seven members from Rajya

Sabha. Members from Lok Sabha
have to be elected to the panel while
the representatives from Rajya Sabha
are nominated. A minister cannot be
a member.
Interestingly, the chair of the
Committee on Estimates has always
been held by a member of the ruling
party and is currently occupied by
BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi.
Joshi was the Chairman of the PAC in
the last Lok Sabha.
Ninad Bedekar
Noted historian and orator

Ninad Bedekar, known for his studies
on the Maratha king, Shivaji, and his
extensive research on the forts of
Maharashtra, passed away aged 65 at
a hospital in Pune.
Mr. Bedekar, a mechanical
engineer by training, breathed his last
on Sunday. According to relatives, he
had been suffering from heart and
kidney ailments for the last couple of
years.
A prolific writer in his mothertongue Marathi, he is credited with
popularising the history of
Maharashtra.In 2003, Mr. Bedekar,
along with the right-wing Shiv Sena,
was instrumental in bringing about
the ban on American scholar James
Laines book on Shivaji titled Shivaji:
Hindu King in Islamic India . Mr.
77

In the News
Bedekar had written to the Oxford
University Press seeking a ban.
Daniel Mookhey
Hemonter Pakhi, Alik Sukh, most

turning into bestsellers in Bengali
literature and was popular among the
new generation of women as well as
others. She had received several
literaryawards.
Harbhajan Kaur Dheer
Daniel Mookhey has become

first Indian-origin Member of Parliament (MP) from the Australian state
of New South Wales to be sworn in to
Australian parliament on the Hindu
religious text, the Bhagavadgita.
Recently, he was chosen by the
Australian Labour Party to fill the casual vacancy in the New South Wales
upper house. Thus, making him states
first politician of Indian background.
Daniel Mookhey was born in
Blacktown suburb in New South
Wales to Indian parents who had
migrated to Australia from Punjab in
1973.
He holds three university
degrees and currently is working as a
consultant to unions, charities and
community groups.
Suchitra Bhattacharya
Harbhajan Kaur Dheer an

Indian-origin councillor woman has
became the first Asian woman
elected mayor of Ealing Council in
London; she became the Mayor of
Ealing Council after succeeding
councillor Tej Ram Bagha.
Her husband councillor Ranjit
Dheer is a former Mayor of Ealing.
Born in Punjab in 1953, Harbhajan
Kaur came to Britain in 1975. She
studied Social Sciences at Kingston
University and obtained a degree in
1995. She worked as an Approved
Mental Health Professional in Surrey
County Council until 2003. She has
served the borough as a governor of
a number of schools. She is a
passionate advocate of rights of
children and elderly including those
with mental health issues.
Priti Patel
Parliament (MP) Priti Patel was

appointed as Minister of State (MoS)
for Employment in the David
Cameron led United Kingdom
Government. British Prime Minister
David Cameron has also promoted her
to his Cabinet.
As the new Minister of State for
Employment in the Department of
Work and Pensions, she will attend
all Cabinet members as the seniormost Indian-origin member.
In recently concluded 2015 UK
General election, Priti Patel was reelected from Witham constituency in
Essex on Conservative Party ticket.
Earlier, she was elected from same
constituency in 2010.
Mhairi Black
Mhairi Black at the age of 20

became the youngest elected
Member of Parliament (MP) in United
Kingdom in over 300 years. She was
elected as MP to House of Commons
i.e. lower house of UK Parliament from
Paisley and Renfrewshire South
constituency in Glasgow, Scotland.
Mhairi Black represents Scottish
NationalistParty(SNP).Inthisgeneral
election she defeated Labour Partys
election chief and a former Cabinet
minister Douglas Alexander by over
6000 votes by gaining total 17864
votes.
Ruth Rendell
Celebrated writer Suchitra

Bhattacharya, many of whose books
had been made into cult Bengali films
including Dahan, passed away.
Suchitra penned over 20 novels,
including Dahan, Kachher Manush,
78
Indian-origin Member of
Crime writer Ruth Rendell has

died aged 85. She wrote more than
60 novels in a career spanning 50
years, her best-known creation being
Inspector Wexford, which was
turned into a highly successful TV
series.

In The News
Rendell, one of Britains bestselling contemporary authors, also
wrote under the pen-name Barbara
Vine. Born in Essex, she is credited
with bringing a social and
psychological dimension to crime
fiction. Publisher Penguin Random
House said Rendell, who suffered a
stroke in January, died in London on
Saturday morning.
Penguin Random House chair,

Baroness Gail Rebuck, said Rendell
was admired throughout publishing
for her brilliant body of work.
Rendells first Wexford book, From
Doon with Death, was published in
1964, beginning a series of more than
20 starring Inspector Reginald
Wexford, played in the TV series by
George Baker.
Many of her works were
translated into more than 20
languages and adapted for cinema
and TV, attracting worldwide sales of
60million.
Philip S. Goodman
Philip S. Goodman, a film,
television and stage writer and

director, passed away at his
residence here. Goodman, who
wrote episodes of the 1950s and
1960s TV shows such as Profiles in
Courage, Alfred Hitchcock
Presents, and Johnny Staccato,
died.
He directed the 1963 feature

We Shall Return, which centered
on anti-Castro Cuban fighters in Miami
and starred Cesar Romero. At the
Actors Studio, where he was a
member of the Directors Group,
Goodman directed workshops of his
plays Love Is a Candy Cane and
This Notoriety Business.
Goodman wrote and directed
television documentaries and
industrialfilmsformanyyears.In1970,
he wrote three episodes of National
Educational Televisions Our
Vanishing Wilderness, one of the first
series on television to focus on

environmental issues.
Maya Plisetskaya
Maya Plisetskaya, one of the

greatest ballerinas of the 20th century
from Russia passed away in Germany.
She was 89. Plisetskaya was born in
Moscow on November 20, 1925. Her
ballet career spanned for more than
five decades.
She had joined the Bolshoi, a
historic theatre in Moscow in 1943.
Her performances had captivated
audiences around the world. In 1960,
she became the Bolshois prima
ballerina. Her modern choreography
and performances were charged
with eroticism flouted Soviet
convention. In 1983, she became one
of the first Soviet celebrities allowed
to work for Western dance
companies without having to defect.
She was also the artistic director of
the Rome Opera Ballet.
79
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Selected Articles from Various Newspapers & Journals
SELECTED ARTICLES FROM VARIOUS NEWSPAPERS & JOURNALS
Get real with

public sector banks
The Narendra Modi government
wants a comprehensive overhaul of
public sector banks (PSBs), which
account for more than 70 per cent of
assets in Indias troubled banking
sector. Its hard to quarrel with the
idea: what could be more attractive
than a revamped and shining public
sector? It is important, however, to
focus on what can be achieved
quickly. The government must do
what it takes to revive bank lending
and private investment at the earliest
rather than pursue reforms that
would keep PSBs in limbo for an
extended period. There are three
sets of issues in PSBs: governance,
management and operational issues.
The key governance issues concern
the composition and functioning of
the board. The important
management issue is the selection of
the CEO. The operational issues are
the resolution of non-performing
assets (NPAs) and the infusion of
capital in banks. Its useful to take
stock of where we are and where the
government intends to go.
The government is moving in the
direction suggested by the P.J. Nayak
committees May 2014 report on bank
governance. For starters, it has
decided to separate the roles of the
chairman and managing director
(CMD) in all PSBs except the State
Bank of India. Bank chairmen will be
selected by a panel headed by the
Reserve Bank of India Governor. The
case for separation of roles that
there was too much concentration of
powers in the hands of the CMD is
not very persuasive. Bank boards
have one representative each of the
government as well as the RBI. They
also have two or more executive
directors as well as representatives
80
of both officers and workers of the

bank. It is not true that the CMD could
act as he or she liked. The Nayak
committee had wanted the roles to
be separated at the end of a threephase period. The committee
reckoned that PSBs by then would
have acquired substantial autonomy,
and that the power to appoint
chairmen, independent directors
and the CEO would have devolved
fully to the boards. The government
has chosen to separate the two roles
at the very beginning. There are two
dangers in doing so.
First, however distinguished the
panel that will select the chairman, it
is always possible for the government
to influence the chairman once he or
she is appointed. The result would
be to pit a political appointee against
the CEO who has to deliver results.
Second, the chairman may have his
or her own agenda; this would render
the CEO ineffective. It would have
been better to defer the separation
of roles until PSB boards had begun
to function effectively with
independent directors. Further, the
Nayak committee contended that
private banks did better when it came
to having independent directors. This
contention must be strongly refuted.
Directors on the boards of private
banks are chosen by the promoter or
management and are therefore hardly
independent of either. If anything,
the PSBs are a little better off: a
government-appointed
independent director is not
beholden to the CEO for his
appointment and hence can act
independently of the CEO.
There is an unresolved issue of
governance in India: can a director
appointed by the dominant
shareholder whether government
or a private owner or management
be said to be truly independent? As

this issue is not likely to be addressed
in a hurry, the best we can do until
then is ensure that independent
directors have the credentials to add
value to the board. The government
proposes to achieve this by setting
up a Bank Boards Bureau (BBB) as
recommended by the Nayak
committee. The BBB will select CEOs,
independent directors and bank
chairmen. It will consist of three
former bankers, two eminent
professionals and the Secretary of the
Department of Financial Services.
Next, the management issue. A
professional body to select CEOs for
PSBs is by no means a novel idea. In
the past, we had an Appointments
Board which was headed by the RBI
governor and included eminent
professionals and a Finance Ministry
official. Yet, this distinguished body
was not able to get appointments of
bank CEOs right. The political will to
let the Board do its job was absent. It
was the Finance Ministry that
decided the appointments. The
BBBs outcomes cannot be very
different unless the government is
willing to let it function
independently. And if the
government is willing to let go, why
not stay with the Appointments
Board? If the government can entrust
the selection of bank chairmen to a
panel headed by the RBI governor,
why not do the same for CEOs and
independent directors?
Finally, the operational issues
in PSBs need to be quickly resolved.
The issue of stalled projects is being
addressed. Lenders will have to
write down some of their loans and
promoters have to take a hit with
bank loans getting converted into
equity. At the same time, the
government must infuse more capital


into PSBs. This is one area in which
banking policy has disappointed the
most. PSBs cannot be expected to
perform unless they are given the
necessary capital. They need about
Rs. 20,000 crore by way of
government equity every year for the
next five years. In 2014-15, the new
government promised Rs. 11,200
crore and ended up infusing Rs.
6,990 crore in nine PSBs. In 2015-16,
it proposes to provide Rs. 7,940
crore. Who so? Because the
government wants underperforming
banks to improve their performance
first before asking for more capital.
Such an approach is seriously
flawed. Improvement in
performance will follow infusion of
capital; it cannot precede the latter.
That, after all, was the logic behind
the bailout of banks that failed in the
sub-prime crisis. The government
can bring out a sea change in PSBs
by doing just three things:
appointing the right CEOs, backing
them with the requisite capital and
bringing independent directors of
competence and stature on board.
These can be done expeditiously
with the existing mechanisms and
the existing talent in PSBs. It is more
important right now to secure quick
outcomes in banking than to pursue
some grand design.
Caution and optimism
In the last two decades, the
diplomatic emphasis in India-China
relations has been on working on a
strong economic relationship that
would whittle down the strategic
differences and feeling of
adversarial relations that have piled
up over time. The three-day visit to
China by Prime Minister Narendra
Modi stayed true to that script, but
clearly built on the bonhomie
generated during Chinese President
Xi Jinpings India visit in September
2014. If the emphasis during that

visit was on building a closer
developmental partnership, the
reciprocal visit by Mr. Modi has been
all about enhancing that relationship,
mostly relating to trade and
economics. This is evident in the
joint statement issued after bilateral
talks between Mr. Modi and Chinese
Premier Li Keqiang. The statement
also seeks to address some of the
concerns over the nature of the
economic relationship. The
magnitude of two-way trade has
risen to $71 billion, but there has
been a corresponding rise in the
trade deficit. The statement suggests
that both countries are cognisant of
this deficit and are taking steps to
address this, over and above those
decided during Mr. Xis visit. The
signing of 26 agreements detailing
commercial investments worth $22
billion between companies also
signifies the growing economic ties.
The joint statement on climate
change that reiterated the principles
of equity and common but
differentiated responsibilities to
address issues of climate change and
reiterated support for the UNFCCC
and its Kyoto Protocol, was also
timely. This would clear some
doubts about Chinas position
following its joint communiqu with
the U.S. on cuts in emission levels.
That said, the strategic distance
remains: the joint statement and also
Mr. Modis remarks during the visit
recognise this fact. The boundary
dispute finds mention in the joint
statement; while progress in talks has
been glacial ever since they began,
there is the assurance that both sides
will seek to maintain peace at the
border as they work towards a
solution. Mr. Modis delegation gave
no indication that India is keen to
participate in Chinas ambitious one
belt, one road initiative; the joint
statement limited the reference to

cooperation on the BangladeshChina-India-Myanmar economic
corridor. This suggests a degree of
caution on Indias part over Chinas
role in Indias near and extended
neighbourhood. Yet, Mr. Modi struck
all the right notes in his speech
engagement at Tsinghua University,
suggesting the need to overcome
strategic differences even while
acknowledging the complexities as
India seeks to build concomitant ties
with other world powers. It is to be
hoped that this emphasis, and
ongoing engagement between the
two leaderships at the highest levels
would build further momentum to
truly realise a strong India-China
partnership for the 21st century.
Up in the air
The Prasar Bharati Corporation,
set up in 1997 by an Act of Parliament
with a mandate for public
broadcasting services through
Doordarshan and All India Radio, to
inform, educate and entertain, is
today neither fish nor fowl. It is a
public service broadcaster only in
name; in practice it continues to be
the governments handmaiden. For
most of its existence it has faced
questions over its relevance in the
digital age. There are in the country
today over 830 channels accessed by
150 million households that have TV
sets. This is a far cry from the time
Doordarshan was king and sole
purveyor. The virtual government
control on the media once ensured
that AIR and DD were able to attract
the best programmes and producers.
The mid-1990s changed all that, and
the entertainment channels were
followed by private news channels.
The Corporation dreamed of being a
BBC-lookalike. But that was a tall
order. Globally there are over 30
public service broadcasters and the
most popular of them is the BBC, to
which generations of Indians have
81


been exposed, beginning with radio
and later TV. Its level of autonomy
and independence has inspired
many broadcasters to emulate the
model, and Prasar Bharati was no
exception. But here is the catch. The
BBC, with its much-admired
programming, is supported by
revenue from licence fee that every
TV-owner in the United Kingdom
pays. And over 70 per cent of the
income is spent on the BBCs
programming.
In sharp contrast, Prasar Bharati
runs totally on government funding.
Only 15 per cent of the budget is
spent on content; the rest goes to pay
salaries to its over 31,621 employees.
The Sam Pitroda Committee, as other
committees before it, wanted the
Corporation to become financially
independent and to be allowed to
monetise its under-utilised assets
such as real estate, archival material
and the scores of transmitters that
have in any case outlived their
purpose. All this is easier said than
done: the Corporation does not have
the authority to give the nod even to
open an ATM on its premises. The
prospect of autonomy also is seriously
in doubt when you look at what it now
does with news. Successive
governments have taken to managing
news content with the next elections
in mind or to project governmental
achievements. In the latest instance,
the BJP government has issued a
diktat requiring the news channel to
set aside prime time for Ministers to
showcase their achievements. In a
context where cable TV has
penetrated over 92 per cent of the
households, unless Prasar Bharati
wakes up to the challenge of offering
the right kind of programming and
technology, the threat to its existence
will continue to loom large.
Taking a comprehensive
view of quakes
The Nepal earthquake of April
82
25 is the largest in the Himalayan

region since the 1934 quake which
measured 8.2 on the Richter scale and
destroyed not only parts of central
Nepal but also the plains of northern
Bihar in India. Like other Himalayan
quakes, the Nepal temblor is a
dramatic manifestation of the
ongoing tectonic convergence
between the Indo-Australian and
Asian tectonic plates that have built
the Himalayas over the last 50 million
years. A product of millions of years
of crustal shortening, the Himalayas
are under immense tectonic stress
and occasional temblors. The last 200
years in the region have seen four
great earthquakes. But central
Himalaya has been an exception,
researchers warn, and is considered
to be susceptible to great temblors.
The Nepal quake is a painful reminder
of what is in store for the communities
that live in the region and in the
adjoining Indo-Gangetic plains.
Sadly, lessons after such tragic events
are often short-lived in public
memory. This quake, too, opens an
opportunity to learn and understand
the threats of great earthquakes
which may occur in the vulnerable
region of North India and we must
retain these lessons.
The Nepal earthquake was
devastating due to many factors. The
source of the quake was shallow and
the fault plane extended right up to
densely populated Kathmandu.
Added to this, Kathmandu is on a
primitive lake basin that amplifies
seismic wave energy. The slip of 1 to
3 metres recorded along the 160km-long rupture showed strain built
up over a century. Research implies
that this segment has seen no great
earthquakes in the last 700 years.
Thus, the unspent accumulated slip
needed to be released through this
quake and will further be released
through future quakes. This means
that the segment, which includes
parts of Uttarakhand, is capable of

witnessing more damage. The Nepal
earthquake rupture probably did not
move towards the Indian plains in
the manner that it did in the 1934
quake. But India may not be so lucky
next time. As Indias northern
territory is interfaced with a 2,400km-long seismically potential
Himalayan arc, it needs to develop a
workable strategy to lessen the
impact of earthquakes in populated
areas. The ability to minimise damage
and prepare for the aftermath of an
earthquake has to come from a
deeper insight on earthquake
processes, and analyses of large
amount of data that will enable us to
study the source and effects of a
quake. The latest advances in seismic
sensor technology, data acquisition
systems, digital communication and
computer hardware and software
facilitate developing real-time
earthquake information systems. In
rapid data dissemination, India
needs to learn from the U.S.
Geological Survey. Indias close
proximity to an active plate
boundary makes rapid dissemination
of seismic data necessary. India
shouldgiveprioritytonotonlyinstall
but also sustain dense networks of
observatories for both weak and
strong motion data like Japan,
Taiwan and the U.S. do. This data
can also be exploited to develop an
earthquake alert system, which
essentially uses the travel time
difference between the body waves
and surface waves.
Risk assessment requires
intense field studies, developing
models that use data on the
frequency and severity of a
particular type of natural hazard that
strikes an area, and combining this
information with the nature and class
of vulnerable structures. It would be


prudent to calculate the earthquake
risk in the region if such an
earthquake were to happen in
Uttarakhand. According to a study in
2000, if a 1905 Kangra earthquake
were to occur today in the
Himalayas, direct losses would
amount to Rs.51 billion, cost around
65,000 lives and 4,00,000 houses. If
all the houses were made
earthquake-resistant, this would
reduce to Rs.19 billion. The extra
cost of retrofitting would be about
Rs.19 billion, the loss of life would be
reduced to one-fifth and the number
of ruined houses would be reduced
to one-fourth. It is also true that many
new buildings in earthquake-prone
areas do not comply with seismic
codes because certificates of safety
are easy to procure. People living in
the hills should be encouraged to
follow traditional building practices
rather than concrete monstrosities.
Laurie Baker, the legendary architect,
had some meaningful suggestions to
strengthen traditional houses in the
Himalayas. Some of his pencil
sketches, preserved in archives, will
be useful in this regard. But it is also
true that traditional stone houses
using rounded boulders in the
Himalayas are known for very poor
performances during the
earthquakes. The Indian Standard
IS: 13828 (1993) suggests several
methods to improve their design and
construction to make them
earthquake-resistant.
We need to focus not only on
earthquake engineering but also on
seismological research. For this to
happen, along with an ambitious
vision for a seismic network, we
need trained manpower to conduct
high-level seismological research.
One way to reinvigorate both
institutional and university-based
research is to develop a strong
framework where both can interact.

Research without teaching and
teaching without research are failed
models, but we continue to follow
this path. Seismology is a global
science and interacting with the
global research community should
be encouraged. Our researchers
must conduct research on equal
footing with the international
community. The Himalayas are a
fantastic natural laboratory where
earth processes can be captured
live for new insights. Tackling future
naturaldisasterswillrequireahealthy
mix of technology, scientific studies,
trained and committed manpower,
professionalism and the
development of engineering skill
and public awareness.
A system under trial
It is unfortunate that more than
two years after the Union Home
Ministry sent out an advisory to States
and Union Territories in January 2013,
and eight months since the Supreme
Court kicked off the process of
releasing undertrials who have
undergone half their likely jail terms
in prison, many of them remain in
detention. The figure given by the
Union government to the court last
month suggests that as many as
2,78,000prisoners,oralittleovertwothirds of the total number of
incarcerated people in the countrys
jails, are undertrials. And the main
reasontheyarestillinjudicialcustody
appears to be poverty, as most of them
are too poor to afford bail bonds or
providesureties.Thisiscertainlynot
the spirit of the law, and poverty
cannot be a ground for incarcerating
a person, the Supreme Court
observed recently while passing a set
of directions. The court found that
many of the cases involved were
compoundable, and yet many people
have been imprisoned without the
benefit of compounding being
extended to them. It has reiterated

that an undertrial review committee,
comprisingtheDistrictJudge,District
Magistrate and Superintendent of
Police, should be set up in each
district. The onus of constituting such
a panel for every district has been put
on the National Legal Services
Authority, acting in coordination with
the State Legal Services Authority.
The Code of Criminal Procedure
was amended in 2005, introducing
Section 436A, to reduce
overcrowding of prisons. Under this
section, an undertrial prisoner shall
be released on own personal bond if
he or she has undergone detention
for a period extending to one half of
the maximum period of
imprisonment specified for that
offence. Last year the Supreme Court
had asked sessions judges and
judicial magistrates to start visiting
prisonsintheirjurisdictionaldistricts
from October 1, 2014 to identify and
release undertrial prisoners
languishing for long periods. It is not
clear why these measures have not
yielded results. One reason could be
that there is inadequate legal aid and
advice available to poor prisoners.
The legal services authorities in
various States must play a principal
role in inculcating awareness among
prisoners about their rights,
especiallyprovisionsthatentitlethem
tofreedom.Itisalsointheinterestof
the government that prisons are not
overcrowded, considering the cost
of prison space, resources and
maintenance. The real solution,
however, does not lie merely in the
early release of prisoners on bail, but
in expediting the trial process. The
fact that cases are not decided for
long spells that are close to the likely
period of imprisonment is a poor
commentary on a system beset by
delay. The sooner this is addressed,
the better it is for the administration
ofcriminaljustice.
83


The court is still in session
Statistics show that there is a
staggering number of cases being
heard across the judiciary, and it is
now clich that justice, in being
delayed, is denied. Even Article 21
of the Constitution has been read to
include the right to a speedy trial, and
quick justice is now considered
indispensable. However, as a
common aphorism goes, the course
of justice often prevents it. The truly
unfortunate issue of the problem is
that nobody really knows why there
is so much delay. Why does the legal
process take so much time? Why does
a petitioner need to appear in front
of a judge for all of 10 seconds, only
to be recalled a few months later?
There have been a number of
informed,evenscholarlyinitiatives,to
identify the factors for delay. Most of
them have been focussed studies
using a small set of cases and data
from the courts themselves. Even the
report by the 245th Law Commission
states that there is no scientific data
available to analyse the problem
meaningfully. This non-availability of
a large enough set of data has
hampered wide-ranging and
meaningful analysis. As a response to
the problem of lack of data, The Rule
of Law Project at Daksh, an initiative
that works with quantitative research
to map the administration of justice
in India, is putting together a
database of all pending cases in a
searchable, reportable online format.
All the data is already available in the
public domain, but Daksh is collating
the data to make it easily accessible
to interested parties who can use it
to address and perhaps solve the
problem.
Currently, our data for 10 High
Courts includes 5,66,000 cases and
26,87,362 hearings. Each court has
an average of 22,000 hearings a day.
Every judge hears roughly 70 cases a
day, which would be about 350 a
week. This means that a judge gets
84
about six minutes to hear each case.

On an average, it takes between
1,000 and 1,600 days for a case (in
our database) to be disposed of
not court days but calendar days.
That is roughly three to five years per
case. However, for cases pending in
the system, Daksh is unable to
ascertain whether this trend will
continue or whether the average
figure will increase. And we are only
beginning to collect the data. From
our database, we see that the oldest
case in the system has been in the
High Court of Jharkhand since January
1, 1958. At 57 years, this case appears
to be nearly as long as the average
life expectancy of an Indian. It has
been around for so long that the High
Court of Jharkhand, whose
jurisdiction the case is currently
under, was 32 years away from
coming into existence when this case
was filed in 1958. Of course, this may
be an outlier case, but it is
symptomatic of the deep malaise in
the system.
One of the more worrying
inferences from our recent work has
been the ratio of case admissions to
disposals. In some courts, nearly
2,000 new cases are admitted every
day for every one case disposed. In
the High Court of Gujarat, on a
particularly challenging day, we saw
2,670 hearings, of which 1,827 were
admissions of new cases. And that
day, only two cases were resolved.
Again, like the case from 1958, this
may be an extreme example, but
with an average Disposed-toAdmitted ratio of 1:50, we are most
certainly not going to resolve the
issue of pendency via small,
incremental steps. One of the
secondary inferences that we have
made is that an understanding of
pendency and delay needs a
coherent database that is
standardised across the board. At
the moment, each court is an island

inthewayitorganisesitsinformation.
Judicial delay is not a problem solely
for the state or for the judiciary. What
matters is that cases be heard and
dealt with in a timely manner, for the
sake of the litigant. The issue needs
to be discussed in the public sphere
and not just as an administrative
issue. So far, the litigant has mostly
been excluded from the analysis.
What we hope is that our database
will assist a wide-ranging analysis of
the problem of pendency, and that
this can include the social, political
and economic fallouts of delayed
justice. Judicial reform can be more
effective if it is methodical and does
not rely on random, on-the-fly
solutions.
Go forward on India-EU talks
The European Unions
Ambassador to New Delhi, Joao
Cravinho, last week expressed
keenness to pursue the India-EU Free
Trade Agreement talks. The desire is
mutual. Despite the vigorous pace
that the Narendra Modi government
has marked in the matter of foreign
relations in general, this process has
remained in suspended animation for
two years now. Minister for
Commerce and Industry Nirmala
Sitharaman had assured the
Ambassador in March of Indias
willingness to resume talks. As Mr.
Cravinho mentioned, the meeting of
the OECD countries scheduled for
June offers an opportunity for both
sides to draw up a road map. The EU
identifiedIndiaasastrategicpartner
in 2004. A Joint Action Plan was
signed in 2005 and negotiations on
the proposed Broad-based Trade
and Investment Agreement (BTIA)
were launched in June 2007. Eight
years down the line, some
contentious issues still remain. In the
backdrop of Prime Minister Modis
visit to France and Germany in April


came the cancellation of the IndiaEU summit, apparently for logistical
reasons. Issues such as the EU ban
on import of mangoes from India
announced in May 2014, and the
legal proceedings in India involving
the Italian Marines, are also factors
that have left the relationship
strained.
The EU is one of Indias
largest trading partners and a major
source of FDI. The value of EU-India
trade grew from 28.6 billion in 2003
to 72.5 billion in 2014, while trade
in commercial services rose from
5.2 billion in 2002 to 23.7 billion in
2013. India has concluded
agreements with ASEAN, Japan,
Singapore and Korea. With the EU
the scale of the deal is more
ambitious, and consequently the
disagreements. For instance, the EU
is unhappy with Indias
protectionism in the automobile
sector, and wants steep cuts in
duties, and tariff cuts in things such
as wine, spirits and dairy products.
But tariff cuts in the agricultural
sector would mean Europes heavily
subsidised agro industry will dump
its surplus here, hitting Indian
farmers. Indias generic drug market
also raises intellectual property
concerns for European
pharmaceutical corporations. India,
on the other hand, is unhappy with
the EU not recognising it as a data
secure nation, and with what the
EU has to offer in the area of IT/BPO/
KPO services (Mode 1) and the
movement of skilled professionals
(Mode 4). But the EU is no doubt
keen on partnering with India in
programmes such as Make in India,
Swachh Bharat and Smart City
projects. Another criticism levelled
against the FTA talks has been over
lack of transparency and inadequate
consultations with civil society
participants. These concerns will
also have to be remedied in future

rounds of dialogue. It is to be hoped
that the whole process would now
gain momentum and lead to a
negotiated deal.
Not a single Indian institution
of higher learning figures in the list
of top 200 universities prepared by
The Times Higher Education
Supplement. These dismal rankings
are quite often taken as a measure of
the crisis of higher education in
India, notwithstanding the obvious
limitations of the ranking exercise.
But all is not well with Indian
universities. So far, the Narendra
Modi government has done very little
to address the crisis in higher
education. The government started
on a controversial note. Prime
Minister Modis selection to head the
Ministry of Human Resources and
Development (HRD) raised questions
about the importance of education
under this dispensation as it showed
scant regard for education in spite
of the fact that the Sangh Parivar
takes education very seriously.
The governments first Budget
has not delivered achhe din for
higher education in the country. The
Union Budget for 2015-16 has
reduced funds for higher education
to the tune of Rs.3,900 crore in its
revised budget estimates for the
financial year 2014-15. The
government has revised the figure to
Rs.13,000 crore, as against Rs.16,900
crore for the plan allocation. The
overall education budget of the Modi
government is down from Rs.82,771
crore to Rs.69,074 crore. The
government has also revised
allocation for the Rashtriya Uchchatar
Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) which is
a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS),
launched in 2013 that aims at
providingstrategicfundingtoeligible
state higher educational institutions
to Rs.397 crore as against Rs.2,200
crore in the original Budget. Despite

the trend of passing on the
responsibility of education to the
private sector, there is a strong case
to expand state funding of
education. The role of publicly
funded education in the
democratisation of access to higher
education in India is indisputable. Far
from expanding publicly funded
universities with an increase in
budgetary allocation of education,
state funding is being steadily
withdrawn from education in general
and higher education in particular so
that private capital, both Indian and
foreign, can be encouraged. The
privatisation of higher education is
now an irreversible trend in India,
where a majority of the institutions
have been established by the private
sector.Inthemidstofthistrend,itis
the arts and humanities that are being
pushed aside.
Besides cuts in state funding
which is a critical area of concern,
the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led
governments overall approach to
education is destructive of
autonomy, creativity and diversity.
The manner in which the state is
intervening in higher education is
causing concern among both
teachers and students. There are
alarming proposals to change the
very nature of higher education. The
most disturbing is the proposal to
revive the Central Universities Act of
2009 which will require the Central
universities to follow a common
admission procedure and common
syllabus. Even though the United
Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime
and the current National Democratic
Alliance (NDA) government have
been remarkably similar in their
desire to introduce changes in the
higher education system, most of the
UPAs major proposals got drowned
in the Parliament logjam which
continued till the last session of the
85


15th Lok Sabha. Also, there was
some debate and opposition within
the UPA government which could
be another reason why the
government couldnt implement its
agenda. This government is pursuing
the reform agenda much more
aggressively leaving little scope for
dissent and disagreement. The
Central University (CU) Act seeks to
replace the existing Central
universities with one single Act
which would require all universities
to follow a common admission and
common syllabus along with
transferable faculty. Indias higher
education system, serving a large
and heterogeneous population,
should ideally support a diverse and
decentralised system. However, the
CU Act will do the opposite; it aims
at centralisation and homogenisation,
ignoring the specificities and
uniqueness of each university. Each
Universitys Act has a specific
context and mandate, and each has
developed its own pattern of
knowledge production and
reproduction. For example, the Delhi
University Act (1922) was in
response to the need to provide for
the educational needs of an
emerging India and incorporates a
wide college network.
The Ministry of HRDs idea of
reform is an egregious attempt to
standardise higher education and
research by introducing a common
framework for Central universities
based on the myth that uniformity
will equalise quality and skills across
universities.Itisnotatallclearthat
uniformity will help in upgrading
new universities or the State
universities, which is the ostensible
aim of this exercise. Some of the
good universities such as JNU or the
Ambedkar University, Delhi, are
successful precisely because they
86
value heterogeneity and variation so

that creativity and innovation can
thrive. Many Central universities
reflectIndiasextraordinarydiversity
in their faculty composition and
student body, and, above all, they
offer very different syllabi and
courses which has helped in their
academic growth. The CU Act
advocates transfer of faculty
between universities. Nowhere in
the world are transfers between
institutions practised. There is no
academic logic here. Besides,
transfers increase the possibility of
vindictiveness as it can be used as a
punitive measure to silence dissent
and independent voices.
It is evident that the government
is eager to control and direct
universities both at the Central and
State level. For this the HRD Minister
is pushing the idea of a Choice-Based
Credit System (CBCS), first mooted
by her predecessor, Murli Manohar
Joshi, during the term of NDA-I, which
would have a serious impact on the
countrys education system. The
University Grants Commission (UGC)
has formulated the new proposals for
a CBCS, a common entrance test and
a central ranking system ignoring the
assurances given by the government
and the UGC that it would hold wide
consultations with all stakeholders
before undertaking any subsequent
educational reforms. A common
syllabus is neither desirable nor
feasibleasthiswilldiminishcreativity
and lower standards in order to
conform to common standards. We
need a university system that
encourages diversity and
decentralisation, not one that
centralises authority or enforces
lifeless uniformity. Even as the
government has set the ball rolling for
unveiling a new national education
policy, there is no public debate or
consultation at the behest of the
Ministry. Major changes are being
initiated and pushed without actually

consulting the professionals involved
even though there is growing unease
and opposition within Central
universities to the new education
policy and the manner in which the
exercise is being done. So far, the
MHRDs consultations have been
limited to posting information and
asking people to post comments and
filling out a mygov.in survey on higher
education on the Ministrys website.
The public was given a period of one
month for responding to the major
reforms. Would any half-serious
attempt at reform of the education
system treat such momentous
changes in this manner?
The distant goal of
cooperative federalism
Apart from the promise of
providing a Congress-free India, the
most frequent leitmotif of Mr. Modis
electoral campaign was that he
would usher in a new era for Indian
federalism. Based on the idea that a
state leaders vision from below could
transform Indias federal polity, the
desire to make a perceptible if not
spectacular change in the system of
governance appeared to be a
consuming passion. With one eye on
history and the other on politics,
dramatic gestures and rhetorical
flourishes have become a
distinguishing feature of this style of
governance. Mr. Modi seeks to carve
his place in history as the man who
righted the wrongs in history and
gave back to Indians a sense of pride
in their country, a pride he claims they
did not have before. He seeks to
transform India beyond recognition,
so that history will record a before
and after so striking that the past
would pale into insignificance.
Hence, the National Institution for
Transforming India (NITI) Aayog,
which is slowly unfolding as a halfbaked clone of the institution it
sought to replace. Visualised as a


vehicle of the new cooperative
federalism, it was initially projected
as a think tank that would shed the
overbearing financial allocationscum-approvals role that so infuriated
Chief Ministers. What its contribution
tofederalismwilleventuallybeisstill
an open question, given its vast and
vague charter. This is where the
Chairmans vision comes in.
So what is Mr. Modis vision of
federalism? On the one hand, what is
projected is a patriarchal joint family
model presided over by a benevolent
Centre. There is also another model
of States competing to deliver better
governance under a new
dispensation based on mutual trust
and cooperation. However, States
often accuse the Centre of not
practising what it preaches, notably
when it comes to fiscal discipline and
downsizing government.
Superimposed on the Aayog is a
Council of Chief Ministers, akin to the
National Development Council,
which presumably died a natural
death along with the Commission that
wished it into existence. We now
have a Plan (2012-17) up for mid-term
review. What shape it takes in its
remaining years, if it survives this
exercise, will give a clearer picture
of this new vision. Groups of Chief
Ministers are working on blueprints
for transforming India, notably with
fewer central schemes and greater
autonomy for the States.
If Mr. Modi is serious about
cooperative federalism, there is now
a possible opening for a breakthrough
in pruning central ministries, which
have become bloated on the back of
central schemes. Breaking the
stranglehold of New Delhis bhavans
in areas where the States should be
empowered will require both vision
and political will. For a long time
federalists have been demanding
that the Centre cut down or totally
wind up some of the ministries that
deal with subjects in the State List.
With fewer schemes in these areas,

cooperative federalism demands that
the responsibility for managing them
also be shifted where it rightfully
belongs, that is, the State and local
levels. Sharing of powers and
responsibilities between the three
levels of government is a key element
of the concept, which involves
participative policymaking. This is
particularly important in areas of
concurrent responsibility, where the
Centre has had a tendency to ride
roughshod over the States by
occupying the common legislative
space. A reform of the seventh
schedule lists in the direction of
greater empowerment of States
would be consistent with the logic
of increased financial transfers and
cooperative federalism. Locating the
right level for making and
implementing policy is a central
feature of the cooperative
responsibilitymatrix.
As the NITI Aayog was finding
its feet and the Union government
waspreparingitsfirstfullbudget,the
14th Finance Commission gave a
decisive push towards greater
devolution of financial resources
towards the States. It simultaneously
occupied the resource-allocation
space vacated by the Planning
Commission by transferring a
substantial portion of revenues
directly to the States. It thus shaped
the direction in which the central
government could now move
towards cooperative federalism.
However, instead of cutting down on
its own expenditure, the Centre
directed its axe towards key centrally
sponsored schemes in the social
sector. Whether most of the States are
sufficiently endowed with
governance capabilities to absorb
and effectively spend the additional
resources that have come their way
is a moot point. Whether they will be
able to keep essential schemes
running remains also to be seen. A
key element in fostering cooperative

federalism is the respect for the
mandate of elected governments,
even those run by opposition parties.
In an era where the party system is
fragmented along federal lines, the
need is still felt to include State
parties in federal coalitions, even
when technically not necessary. The
way alliance partners are treated thus
becomes an important element in
federal functioning. A majority in
Parliament is one thing; hegemony
over the federal polity quite another.
For working Indias federal
system, one has to go beyond brute
parliamentary majorities and grapple
with the multilevel governmentopposition matrix, which constitutes
the architecture of federal powersharing. It is far from clear whether
Mr. Modi has either the will or the
inclination to make any decisive
moves in this direction. There is in the
authoritarian personality an inbuilt
penchant for majoritarianism. And the
last thing Indian federalism needs is
a majoritarian democracy.
More constitutional
than political
The tussle between the Delhi
Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal and
Delhi Lieutenant Governor, Najeeb
Jung, much in the news, raises several
constitutional and legal issues on the
scope and extent of their powers in
the National Capital Territory (NCT)
of Delhi. The stand-off, especially
over control of key bureaucratic
appointments, was sparked by Mr.
Jungs appointment of IAS officer Ms
Shakuntala Gamlin as acting Chief
Secretary. This was opposed by Mr.
Kejriwal on grounds that it fell beyond
the scope of the Lieutenant
Governors powers to do so without
the aid and advice of the Ministers. A
Home Ministry notification issued by
the Centre on Thursday tilts the
balance more in favour of the
Lieutenant Governor, indirectly
87


expanding its own powers in the
region. Although the dispute is
coloured by highly partisan political
contestations, the issue is more a
matter of constitutional and statutory
interpretation.
The laws relevant to
understanding the relation between
the Lieutenant Governor and the
Chief Minister in Delhi are Article
239AA of the Constitution, the
Government of National Capital
Territory of Delhi Act, 1991 (GNCT
Act), the rules formulated under this
Act (Transaction of Business Rules),
and the relevant judicial
pronouncements. It needs to be said
that the precise contours of the
sharing of powers between the
Lieutenant Governor and the Delhi
government are a grey area. Yet, a
reasonable case may be made to
suggest that the Lieutenant
Governors discretionary powers do
not extend to the appointment of
the Chief Secretary without the aid
and advice of the Chief Minister and
his Council of Ministers. Further, it
will be argued that the Home
Ministry notification may not stand
the test of constitutionality, being
ultra vires of Article 239AA of the
Constitution.
As far as States are concerned,
the Chief Secretary is appointed by
the Chief Minister and the Ministers.
The reasoning for this can be found
in these landmark Supreme Court
judgments. E.P. Royappa (1974)
states that The post of Chief
Secretary is a highly sensitive
post[Chief Secretary is a] lynchpin
in the administration and smooth
functioning of the administration
requires that there should be
complete rapport and understanding
between the Chief Secretary and the
Chief Minister. Similarly, Salil
Sabhlok (2013) says: it may be
necessary for [the] Chief Minister of a
88
State to appoint a suitable person

as a Chief Secretary or the Director
General of Policebecause both the
State Government or the Chief
Minister and the appointee share a
similar vision of the administrative
goals and requirements of the State.
The underlying premise also is that
the State Government or the Chief
Minister has confidence that the
appointee will deliver the goods, as
it were, and both are administratively
quite compatible with each other. If
there is a loss of confidence or the
compatibility comes to an end
These precedents clarify the rationale
that the Chief Minister ought to have
the discretion to appoint Chief
Secretaries in the interest of a smooth
functioning representative
government.
While this justification for the
Chief Minister to appoint the Chief
Secretary may hold good for States,
is it the same for Delhi? Delhi is a
peculiar case, neither being a State,
nor a Union Territory. So, Article 239,
which deals with Union Territories,
does not apply to Delhi. Instead,
Delhi is governed by Articles 239AA
and 239AB, introduced by a
constitutional amendment in 1991.
The problem with the Home Ministry
notification is that while it conflates
Delhi as a Union Territory to suit its
owninterests,atothertimes,ittreats
it as a State. The crucial
constitutional provision relevant to
the issue is Article 239AA(4) which
says: There shall be a Council of
Ministersin the Legislative
Assembly, with the Chief Minister at
the head to aid and advise the
Lieutenant Governor in the exercise
of his functions in relation to matters
with respect to which the Legislative
Assembly has power to make laws,
except in so far as he is, by or under
any law, required to act in his
discretion. Two conclusions can be
drawn from reading the provision: (a)

the Lieutenant Governor will have to
take decisions based only on the aid
and advice of the Chief Minister in
exercise of all matters on which the
Legislative Assembly has power to
make laws. Consequently, the
Legislative Assembly of Delhi has the
power to make laws on all matters in
the State List and the Concurrent List
in the VIIth Schedule of the
Constitution, except entries related
to public order, police and land.
(See, Article 239AA(3)); and
conclusion (b) the Lieutenant
Governor can act at his own
discretion only when there is a
specific law conferring this
discretion on him. Section 41 of
GNCT Act deals with the
discretionary powers of the
Lieutenant Governor. There is no
such law granting discretion to the
Lieutenant Governor for making such
appointments currently.
Based on these two
conclusions, the question is this:
whether the appointment of the
Chief Secretary falls under
conclusion (a) wherein the
Lieutenant Governor appoints the
Chief Secretary on the aid and
advice of [the] CM; or conclusion
(b) wherein the Lieutenant
Governor appoints, at his own
discretion, the Chief Secretary,
granted by a specific law. The
second conclusion is clearly not
applicable here. Three further points
have to be made. First, we need to
understand what the intention of
Parliament was in passing the
constitutional amendment
introducing Article 239AA granting
special status to Delhi. The
population of Delhi is large, and it is
only fair that the people deserve a
representative government serving
theirinterests,similartootherStates,


except in matters concerning land,
public order and police. Given such
an intention of the lawmakers, for all
practical purposes, from then on,
Delhi has acted and functioned like
other States. Which is why the
language used in Article 163(1)
pertaining to States reads identical
to that of Article 239AA(1)
pertaining to Delhi, while that of the
provision relating to Delhi reads
different from the provision relating
to all other Union Territories.
Therefore, just as in other States
where the Supreme Court has
justified that the Chief Secretary
appointments be made at the
discretion of the Chief Minister, in
Delhi as well, it is the Chief Minister
who must have the power to
appoint the Chief Secretary, by
aiding and advising the Lieutenant
Governor. Second, executive
powers run coextensively with
legislativepowers.Finally,thephrase
aid and advice, as used in Article
239AA, has been interpreted by the
Supreme Court in Shamsher Singh
(1974) to mean that the aid and
advice of the Council of Ministers
and the Chief Minister is binding
on the Governor; it is not just
advisory.
Therefore, the following can
be reasonably concluded based on
a joint reading of the observations:
First, as per Article 239AA(4) read
with Section 41 of the GNCT Act,
the Lieutenant Governor does not
have any discretion to appoint the
Chief Secretary and other such posts,
nor is there any special law granting
him this discretion; Second, the
Lieutenant Governor is bound by the
aid and advice of the Council of
Ministers and the Chief Minister in all
matters that concern the Legislative
Assembly. Third, for all practical
purposes, the intention of Parliament
was to treat the Delhi government as

a representative government. It
would be disrespecting voters and a
travesty to grant autocratic powers to
the Lieutenant Governor, an authority
which does not have a democratic
legitimacy in the strict sense. A
democracy, by design, guarantees
that it is the party voted into power
that represents the people of Delhi.
Pushing the
envelope in foreign policy
Foreign policy is all about
securing permanent interests. As
such, it may be best judged in the
long run. Nevertheless, since foreign
policy has been so prominent during
the governments first year in office,
an interim assessment may be useful.
What are the areas of continuity and
change, the successes and blind
spots? Since the early 1990s, the
overarching goal of our foreign policy
has been a stable and conducive
external environment for Indias
internal economic transformation and
alargerinternationalprofile.Towards
these ends, successive governments
have sought simultaneously to
preserveIndiaskeysecurityinterests
and to deepen its ties with the global
economy. From this standpoint, Prime
Minister Narendra Modis foreign
policy has been continuous with that
of his predecessors. Yet, Mr. Modi has
also sought to push the boundaries
of certain engagements much further.
Thisisnotjustaquestiongivingafresh
vim to foreign policy, although the
vigour is palpable.
Consider his approach to
dealing with the two most important
powers: the United States and China.
For over two decades now, every
Indian government has tried to impart
more substance to relations with these
countries. Even as New Delhi has
moved steadily to forge strategic ties
with Washington, it has sought to
place its relations with Beijing on an
even keel. However, Mr. Modi has

been exceptionally clear in
articulatingIndiasinterestsandtrying
to leverage the relationship with the
U.S. and China. Thus, during U.S.
President Barack Obamas visit to
India in January 2015, India issued a
separate joint statement on security
in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean.
And on Mr. Modis trip to China this
month, a separate joint statement was
issued on climate change in the light
of the upcoming conference in Paris.
In both cases, there may be a gap
betweenrhetoricandreality.Still,Mr.
Modi is clearly attempting to push the
envelope and advance Indias
interests without making binary
choices in its engagement with these
countries.
Closer home, he has consistently
outlined a vision of shared prosperity
for South Asia and has credibly
projected Indian leadership in the
region. His visits to Nepal, in August
2014, and Sri Lanka, in March 2015,
have gone a long way in helping reset
relations with both these countries.
Similarly, his decision to abandon the
Bharatiya Janata Partys stance and
ratify the Land Border Agreement
with Bangladesh has given a shot in
arm to the bilateral relationship. Yet,
the real challenges lie ahead of him.
The earthquake in Nepal will certainly
delay and may even complicate
the arduous task of drawing up an
agreed constitution. India will not
only have to prepare for longer-term
assistance in reconstruction, but will
also have to engage Nepalese parties
more proactively to prevent the
political process from drifting. In Sri
Lanka, the present government has
rolled back the worst features of the
presidential system. It has also moved
to return the land acquired by the
security forces, including in the Tamil
areas. But it remains to be seen if Sri
Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena
is open to a political settlement with
the Tamils. After all, his own base
89


includes a slice of the Sinhala
chauvinists. In any event, the Tamil
question remains a potentially thorny
issueinbilateralrelations.Colombos
relationship with Beijing is another
sensitive area. On campaign trail, Mr.
Sirisena had spoken out against his
predecessor, Mahinda Rajapaksas tilt
towards China. In office, he has struck
a more equivocal note. This is hardly
surprising given Chinas economic
importance to Sri Lanka ties that
will deepen further with Chinas plans
for a maritime silk route. During his
forthcoming trip to Dhaka, in the first
week of June, Mr. Modi will
undoubtedly seek to capitalise on the
boundary agreement. Bangladesh
also seems open to improve
transportation and transit links with
India. So far, New Delhis inability to
deliver on an agreement on Teesta
river waters had led Dhaka to hold
back on transit arrangements. It is
unlikely that Bangladesh Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina will execute a
complete volte-face and fall in with
Indias requirements. Yet, growing
international pressure on her
government may make her more
amenable to Indian interests. New
Delhi has done well to stand by Ms.
Hasina in the face of the ongoing
onslaught by the Islamists. Yet India
must also be mindful of the problem
of being identified solely with the
Awami League. A stable two-party
democracy in Bangladesh is in Indias
long-term interests.
As ever, the sharpest
challenge for Indias regional
ambitions comes from Pakistan.
Despite getting off to a good start
with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Mr.
Modi has been unable to craft a
coherent and consistent approach
to dealing with Pakistan. Like his
predecessors, he has swung from
engagement to disengagement
only to be forced to pick up the
diplomatic pieces and return to the
90
table. There is something curious

about Indias policy towards
Pakistan, which consists of doing the
same thing over and over again and
expecting a different result. Mr.
Modi has to break this mould.
Diplomatic engagement should not
be seen as a reward for Pakistans
good behaviour. The symbolism of
diplomacy should be reduced
even if substantive progress remains
tough to achieve. The current
impasse with Pakistan also impinges
on our ties with Afghanistan. Here,
Mr. Modi faces a situation that has
turned rather unfavourable from
New Delhis perspective.
Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghanis
attempt to cosy up to Pakistan has
led to an inevitable downgrading of
ties with India. Whether or not this
yieldsresults,Indiahastoensurethat
its interests in Afghanistan are not
placed on the chopping block.
Chinas backing for reconciliation
with the Taliban will further
complicate Indias position on
Afghanistan. Unless New Delhi
adopts a clear strategy, Mr. Modi may
well find himself presiding over a
retrenchment in Indian engagement
with Afghanistan.
In search of a clear policy
The last one year has seen
Indias military modernisation process
slowly picking up pace in terms of
clearances for critical military
hardware, with an emphasis on Make
in India. But the much-needed policy
framework to provide direction for
long-term military modernisation and
build a domestic military-industrial
complex still appear elusive. The
implementation of the governments
election-time pitch of One Rank, One
Pension for military personnel too,
while cleared in principle, has been
delayed, and this has caused
considerable anguish among ex-
servicemen. The governments single

biggest decision on the military front
pertains to the direct purchase of 36
Rafale fighter jets from France, which
effectively scraps the long-delayed
Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft
contract for 126 fighter jets. Several
long-held-up deals including those
for Kamov utility helicopters, Avro
aircraftreplacementandartilleryguns
that have been identified as critical
have been approved. In fact,
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar
had personally intervened to clear
the purchase of critical necessities
such as snow boots and bulletproof
vests for troops operating in highaltitude regions and involved in
counterinsurgency operations. In all,
the Defence Acquisition Council
(DAC) has cumulatively cleared deals
worth over Rs.1,00,000 crore in the
last one year. In another move with
long-term operational and financial
implications, the government has
downsized the new mountain strike
corps stationed on the border with
China, pruning the numbers from
90,000 to 35,000, citing reasons of
financial prudence.
While some of the decisions are
final approvals leading to price
negotiations, several are just
clearances to initiate the
procurement process. How soon the
process can be concluded depends
on an early streamlining of the
Defence Procurement Policy (DPP).
Also, with the governments Make in
India mantra, the emphasis is on
involving industry in a big way and
creating a defence and aerospace
ecosystem that would help reduce
imports and move towards
technological sovereignty. Towards
that end, Mr. Parrikar has promised a
major revision of the DPP and a
separate policy for Make in India
which are yet to materialise. This
delay is causing disillusionment in
several quarters, including in the
private sector, which never had a


level playing field in the defence
sector, dominated as it is by public
sector undertakings. Another critical
aspect in developing domestic
military capability involves reforming
the defence R&D laboratories and
production facilities. While a lot has
been said on revamping and making
accountable the public sector, the
fact that the top R&D body, the
Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO), has been
without a full-time head for several
months now, reflects poorly on the
intent. With some major inductions set
to give a significant capability boost
to the armed forces, a clear policy
direction and overhaul of the existing
institutions to enable that shift is
required at the earliest so as not to
lose the momentum.
The goldfever
There has been a steady rise in
the value of illegally brought-in gold
seized by the Indian Customs in
recent years. From Rs.43.87 crore in
2011-12, the figure rose to Rs.104.62
crore in 2012-13, and further to
Rs.686.99 crore in 2013-14. The
figure is reported to have crossed the
Rs.1,000-crore mark in 2014-15. The
number of instances of such seizure,
too, went up from 503 in 2011-12 to
2,450 in 2013-14 and 3,412 during
April-January 2015. Gold imports
nearly doubled in terms of volume
from 471 tonnes in 2000-01 to 906.63
in 2014-15. The numbers reveal a
compulsive appetite for the yellow
metal and also the enormous
challenges facing macro-planners. For
policyformulatorsinIndiaespecially,
itisprovingalotdifficulttodemystify
the glitter of gold and deal with the
issue effectively. Net gold import
accountsfornearlyaquarterofIndias
trade deficit. Much of the advantage
arising out of falling oil prices is
nullified by the surge in gold imports.
Compounding the misery, the global
economic environment is also not
helping the cause of Indian exports.

External events and the
unquenchable thirst for gold have all
conspired to put the managers of the
economy in a tight spot. Given the
innate sensitivity of many Indians on
the matter of gold and its hedging
utility, the propensity to possess more
and more of it may not melt away
anytime soon.
Not surprisingly, every action on
the gold import front be it easing
curbs or imposing restrictions has
oftentimes had wider effects on the
ground, compounding the monetary
and fiscal predicament. Controlling
gold import and making it less
attractive is the big challenge today,
especiallyinthecontextofstabilising
the external sector with many
imponderables outside a nations
control. Attempts to discourage
imports by raising tariff walls and
prescribing usage terms have only
encouraged trade on the sly. What is
required is a conscious effort to
educate people on the larger public
good that would follow if they
voluntarily give up the craze. But this
is easier said than done.
Simultaneously, efforts should be
made to provide alternative financial
instruments that give people a sense
of assurance and security. The new
gold monetisation scheme is
essentially aimed to woo the common
person and help him or her to earn
interest on gold lying idle. It is
doubtful, however, if the procedures
that are laid out will make anyone
comfortable with parking gold with
banks. Developing such trust will be
a task for the longer term.
Caged parrots and
the steel frame
Notwithstanding tribulations
and moments of despair and
disappointment, an average Indian
civilservant,inthefirstfewyearsafter
Independence, enjoyed working in
a professional ambience that would
become the envy of those who

followed him. For about three
decades till 1975 to be precise
things were quite hunky dory. Barring
a few aberrations, an honest
government official could hold his
head high and stick to his principles
while discharging his duties, even if
it meant being argumentative and
difficult in the eyes of his political
superiors. The Emergency (1975-77)
changed all that. From about this
point of time, civil servants were
perforce required to kow tow to
people who belonged to a strikingly
different genre and who enjoyed
wielding their enormous authority in
day-to-day administration. The earlier
equilibrium in the polity gradually
yielded place to strife and
confrontation, and a fear psychosis
started developing even among top
civilservants.Thehealthyrelationship
that had existed earlier between
minister and civil servant became a
thing of the past. In many States
honest dissent even at the highest
levels such as the Chief Secretary and
the Director General of Police was
resented, and unquestioned
obeisance alone rewarded. There
has been no visible change since
then in respect of ministerial
authoritarianism and hubris.
I do not buy the argument that
this power shift is inevitable in a
dynamic democracy like ours. The
sharp and honest public servant
should be allowed to have his say
although he can be overruled by the
political executive in as decorous
manner as possible, instead of being
targeted for imaginary charges with
the aid and abetment of
enforcement agencies like the
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
or State Vigilance Bureaus. The
perception now is that the back of
the bureaucracy has been broken
and its political neutrality totally
wiped out. It is heartening that a small
process of recovery has begun at the
91


Centre, but it may take a long time
before its impact becomes
measurable. It is against this backdrop
that the memoirs of a few senior civil
servants, published in the recent
past, including the recent one by Mr.
Baijal will have to be viewed.
The gravamen of the charge that
Mr. Baijal makes is that two successive
Telecom Ministers pushed an agenda
that negated all canons of propriety
and governance. He was warned
against quoting rules and procedure
that had stood the test of time. He
was asked to back off or else harm
would come by him swiftly. One of
the two worthies told him imperiously
that he (the Minister) was in fact the
Prime Minister as far as
telecommunications was concerned.
We are fortunate that he did not
designate himself the countrys Prime
Minister! Mr. Baijal was also told in no
uncertain terms that he should sever
all links with the Prime Ministers
Office (PMO) even when the latter
demanded written notes from the
Ministry on burning issues of the day,
such as allocation of 2G spectrum. So
much for a constitutional government!
Mr. Baijal laments that in all this he
received no support from the PMO.
Actually, he was asked to sail along
with the stand of the Minister
concerned, and not to be overly
bothered about the correctness or
ethics of such a stand. The issue at
stake here was not the then Prime
Ministers own integrity, which
remains untainted and unchallenged
to this day. What was relevant here
was his position as the primus inter
pares, and an ability and willingness
to control his Ministers. If he chose to
play safe, how could you expect a
puny Secretary to the Minister to do
anythingdifferent?Thisisaneternally
relevant question in public
administration.
Mudslinging against a civil
servant who complains comes
naturallytomanyinauthority,anditis
92
quitepossiblethatMr.Baijalisavictim
of a malicious campaign. However,
what causes me immense pain is Mr.
Baijals accusation against the CBI. He
says that the Bureau was programmed
to dig up dirt against him at the
behest of those who were annoyed
with his firm stand on 2G and related
issues. There was a witch hunt against
him also for his doings as a Secretary
in the newly formed Ministry for
Disinvestment nearly a decade after
he relinquished charge. Perhaps most
shocking is alleged direct advice by
someone in the CBI that he could save
himself if he roped in a few in the
private sector who enjoyed a great
reputation for following business
ethics. If this were true, only the
almighty can save the country from
politician-driven impropriety on the
part of an agency that the highest
court of the land depends so heavily
on for ferreting out the truth in many
a scandal.
Whatiscriticaltothesituationis
how to ensure that the CBI is staffed
by good people who will not swerve
from the path of virtue. Autonomy to
the CBI now a clich is only
one of the several issues dogging the
organisation. What is more important
is that its leadership should be one
that should be tested for personal,
good conduct and an ability to stand
up to pressures from those who count
in government at any point of time.
By this yardstick, some CBI chiefs may
be said to have failed the test, and
brought ignominy to the organisation.
The probe that the Supreme Court
has ordered against a former Director
isproofenoughthatallisnotwellwith
the fabled outfit, one founded by a
man of the highest rectitude and in
whose memory the CBI holds an
annual lecture. No clinical process of
selection will ensure the installation
of an honest and neutral CBI chief.
The selection committee that
comprises the Prime Minister, the
Leader of the Opposition and the
Chief Justice of India has a huge

challenge on its hands. In my view,
the tyranny of seniority should be
given the short shrift. Character
ascertained through various sources
should alone prevail. If this sounds
too moralistic and ludicrous, let it be
so.
A promise to redeem
The issue of implementing the
One Rank One Pension (OROP)
principle for the veterans of the
defence services continues to be in
the news for all the wrong reasons,
with a final announcement nowhere
in sight. With the Narendra Modi
government in its second year, its
major poll promise of OROP remains
unfulfilled. While Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and his Ministers have
reiterated the governments
commitment to the scheme, that by
itself does little to contain the
growing unhappiness in the
community of ex-servicemen that has
been waiting for years for a fair deal.
Their demand goes back over three
decades. Successive governments
have intermittently raised hopes on it
according to political convenience,
but the feeling has grown that the
soldier who puts the nation ahead of
his own life in the line of duty faces
political apathy after retirement. The
previous UPA government cleared
the deal in principle and allocated
Rs.500 crore, but there was no
progress beyond that. In the run-up
to the Lok Sabha election last year,
the Congress once again brought the
issue to the limelight. OROP was one
of the top election promises of the
BJP that helped garner the support
of the large community of exservicemen and their families. And the
huge mandate the BJP received had
convinced them that at long last the
scheme would see the light of day.
While the government has given
in-principle clearance to the
proposal, the process of completing
the administrative procedures across


different departments seems to be
an unending one. Defence Minister
Manohar Parrikar had on several
occasions said his Ministry had
finished its part of the work and that
the file was with the Finance Ministry.
He has promised 80-90 per cent
satisfactionfortheservicepersonnel.
OROP essentially seeks parity for all
service personnel retiring on the same
rank and tenure irrespective of when
they retire, and is expected to benefit
two and a half million ex-servicemen
and women immediately. That said,
the exercise of calculating the dues
is a complicated process in itself. In
Budget 2015 an initial allocation of
Rs.1,000 crore was made but it has
been estimated that the cost could
come to about Rs.8,300 crore. There
is the view that it would still go up by
substantial measure depending on
the method and criteria adopted. It
has to be seen how the government
makes the financial provision for such
a recurring outgo. But the early
implementation of the scheme has
now become an imperative: mere
rhetoric and assurances will not
suffice. It is high time the government
came out with a clear road map and a
firm date for its implementation, and
then adhere to it. This country owes
its defence forces as much.
The blight of militarisation
Maithripala Sirisenas victory
over Mahinda Rajapaksa in the Sri
Lankan presidential elections in
January 2015 was enabled by massive
support from minorities in the country
the Tamils and Muslims. Clearly, the
mandate was not just for a more
accountable and democratic
government that would reverse the
creeping authoritarianism and family
rule heralded by Mr. Rajapaksa, but
also for addressing systemic issues
that had gripped, and continues to
nettle, Sri Lankan society. Chief
among them is the issue of
militarisation. Following the triumph
against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam (LTTE), the military has taken

a preponderant role in Sri Lankan
society, particularly in the north. In
the Tamil-majority provinces, the
large-scale presence of the military
has been sought to be justified as a
security response to the possible rise
of post-LTTE insurgent forces. But as
the participation of the Tamil
community in election after election
since the war suggests, that reasoning
is flawed and unacceptable. The
Rajapaksa regime sought to utilise its
triumphalist phase by allowing the
military to diversify into commercial
activity, development, education,
tourism and even policing, among
others. The expectation from the
new regime especially among the
minorities was of a quick reversal
of this dangerous trend.
Recent findings from the U.S.based think tank, Oakland Institute,
based on research and surveys done
during the period December 2014January 2015, have pointed to hardly
any reconciliation between the
government and the Tamils. And the
occupation by the military of the land
of those displaced in the civil war is a
prime cause of resentment, not to
mention the long-pending but
ignored task of devolution of powers
to the provincial councils. The
promise of a process of reconciliation
and investigation of alleged war
crimes has remained unmet, adding
to the resentment. Recent reportage
by this newspaper from the Northern
Province has pointed to steady
progress in the release of army-held
land to some of the displaced Tamils.
This, and the setting up of a new
Presidential Task Force on
Reconciliation headed by former
President Chandrika Kumaratunga,
are steps in the right direction. But
these are not enough. The extant
militarisation holds dangerous
portends; the example of Pakistan is
there for all to see. International
pressure and electoral results have
thus far pushed the envelope for the

Sirisena presidency to take minimal
steps to reverse the authoritarianism
of the Rajapaksa regime. But the need
is for a comprehensive
demilitarisation plan that includes
ways to demobilise recruits to the
bloated military, so that Sri Lanka
would soon be back to its normal self.
The right decision
The Karnataka governments
decision to file an appeal against the
acquittal of the Tamil Nadu Chief
Minister, Jayalalithaa, is bound to be
welcomed by all those who value
probity in public life and believe that
the courts are the right forums to take
forward issues relating to corruption
in high places. The Congress
dispensation in Karnataka
understandably took its time to arrive
at a decision on whether to file an
appeal in the Supreme Court. It has
gone by sound legal principles by
examining the recommendations of
the Special Public Prosecutor, the
States Advocate-General and the
Law Department. The primary
question it had to contend with was
raised by the legal wing of the
Karnataka Pradesh Congress
Committee itself: what is Karnatakas
interest in the outcome of the case?
The argument was that the State had
already discharged its duty by hosting
the trial in Bengaluru, appointing a
Special Judge and Special Public
Prosecutor, obtaining a conviction in
the trial stage and seeing it
overturned by the High Court. Should
the State go beyond this specified
administrative function by filing an
appeal in the Supreme Court, taking
on the role of an aggrieved party? The
question may appear valid, but to
abandon a legal process midway is
also untenable. The Supreme Court
has made it clear that Karnataka is now
playing the role of the prosecuting
State and has stepped into the shoes
of Tamil Nadu. Its duty now includes
93


taking up the mantle of the aggrieved
party and pursuing the legal process
toitslogicalend.
Moreover, the Karnataka High
Court judgment acquitting the Tamil
Nadu Chief Minister is widely seen as
flawed in many respects, especially
in the computation of the quantum
of disproportionate assets that
ultimately formed the basis of her
acquittal. Special Public Prosecutor
B.V. Acharya has said the
arithmetical errors are glaringly
obvious. Some aspects of the High
Courtsreasoningarecontroversial:it
has included cash gifts of high value
as legitimate income and given
credence to a newspaper
subscription scheme that had been
termed fake by the trial court. It has
gone zealously by a 1976 Supreme
Court ruling that unexplained assets
up to the value of 10 per cent of
known income is acceptable, even
though the anti-corruption law has
since been amended to make
disclosure as per statutory
requirements the standard to assess
legitimate income. The prosecution
believes revisiting the computation
itself will propel the quantum of
disproportionate assets beyond this
10percentlimit.Overall,itwillbein
the public interest to have an
authoritative pronouncement by the
highest court on whether the trial
court or the High Court was right in
appreciating all the evidence. It will
also be in Ms. Jayalalithaas own
interest that her exoneration if she
succeeds in sustaining it is a
vindication that clears her political
path rather than one that depends
on a conclusion seen to be
perennially under dispute and in the
realms of legal debate.
The water tribunal trap
At the Joint Conference of Chief
Ministers of States and Chief Justices
94
of High Courts held in April this year,

wondered if tribunals have become
barriers to delivering justice. Mr.
Modis observations were about all
tribunals in general, but most media
reports understood them to be about
interstate water dispute tribunals.
Indeed, it was a reflection of a certain
continuity in thinking for some time.
At the moment, there are multiple
tribunalsinplacetoresolveinterstate
water disputes, but the National
Water Policy 2012 proposed setting
up a permanent tribunal to replace
them. The Constitution attaches a
special status to interstate water
disputes, whereby they neither fall
under the Supreme Courts nor any
other courts jurisdiction. These
disputes can only be adjudicated by
temporary and ad hoc interstate
water dispute tribunals. This
constitutional exception is why water
tribunals cannot be bundled with
other tribunals and need careful
consideration before any reforms.
Seeing tribunals as barriers may set
their reform on a wrong path
repeating a history of hasty and
shallow responses.
It is known that the inefficiency
ininterstatewaterdisputeresolutions
extends to factors beyond the
functioning of the tribunals. These are
linked to legal ambiguities, an
institutional vacuum for implementing
awards, noncompliant States,
politicisation and so on. Yet, at the
core of the entanglement is the
Gordian knot of the constitutional
anomaly, or the exception to the
Supreme Courts jurisdiction. The
inquest has to begin from here. But
the immediate question is that of the
tribunals arrangement, which, of
course, cannot be detached from the
bar. The permanent tribunal, while
complying with this bar on the
Supreme Courts jurisdiction, will
primarily act as a circuitous route to
address the problem of disputes, as
they will recur even after the ad hoc

and temporary tribunals are
disbanded. The arrangement of
having ad hoc, exclusive, temporary
tribunals for interstate water dispute
resolution has its roots in similar
provisions during the colonial rule
(including a bar on the Federal
Courts jurisdiction). The Interstate
Water Disputes Act, 1956, is
essentially a reworked arrangement
proposed in the draft Constitution,
which in turn derived from Articles
130-134 of the Government of India
Act 1935. The Constituent Assembly
rejected these arrangements, calling
for a more permanent arrangement
for dispute resolution. B.R. Ambedkar
felt there would be very many
disputes, and the proposed
arrangements were too hidebound
to respond to the evolving context
of independent India.
Thus, the Constituent Assembly
deferred the responsibility of an
appropriate legislation to Parliament
via Article 262(1), while providing for
the jurisdictional bar via Article
262(2). When Parliament took up the
task, the proponents of the Interstate
Water Disputes Bill 1955, Gulzarilal
Nanda, Minister for Planning,
Irrigation and Power, and his deputy,
Jaisukhlal Hathi, chose to contradict
the Constituent Assemblys premises
and resurrect these tribunal
arrangements. They argued that it was
unlikely that there would be many
disputes, relying on the seven or eight
years of experience after
independence. This debatable
premise, certainly ill-informed in
hindsight, was the reason why
tribunals were resurrected. However,
Nanda and Hathis intentions were
clear and their objectives valid: to
ensure swift and definitive decisionmaking in interstate water disputes.
The parliamentarians debated over
these arrangements and agreed that
tribunals suit water disputes best.
They believed that tribunal


arrangements would help speedy
resolution, with the Supreme Courts
jurisdictionalbarprovidingfinalityto
their decisions. They wanted to avoid
States litigating amongst themselves,
leading to protracted court
proceedings. They believed tribunal
arrangements would also enable
deliberative and discretionary
decision-making for mutually
negotiated settlements.
This was the fairly wellintentioned rationale for favouring
tribunals over courts, contingent to a
particular historical moment. It
translated well in the functioning of
the first generation tribunals of
Krishna, Narmada and Godavari.
However, these functional
arrangements unfortunately
degenerated into the present form,
with all the trappings that the
parliamentarians wanted to avoid.
They turned out to be litigatory and
adversarial proceedings with
protracted delays. Fali Nariman
pointed to this degeneration in an
incisive note to the Punchhi
Commission on Centre-State
relations. The degeneration was
aided by rather poor records of
subsequent parliamentarians in
allowing several amendments to the
1956 act. The amendments,
reactionary in nature, diluted the
spirit and rationale of the tribunal
arrangements. The history of the Act
is filled with short-sighted and
sutured responses to the symptoms
of the degeneration and have
avoided a comprehensive
engagement with the problem of
interstate water disputes. Reforming
interstate water dispute tribunals
cannot be approached without
considering their historical
exception and the associated
pitfalls. The discourse on barriers
and the drive for hasty reforms can
set us on a wrong path, eclipsing the
actual barriers that lie beyond the

tribunalarrangementitself.Afterall,
the present arrangement was driven
by precisely the same concern for
swift and definitive outcomes as the
objections are. It is imperative to
have a comprehensive review of
interstate water dispute resolution,
and also reconsider the Supreme
Courtsjurisdictionalbar.
Beyond the rate cut
The 25 basis-point cut
announced in the repo rate, the rate
at which the Reserve Bank of India
lends to banks, was indeed on
expected lines, although there might
be some disappointment with
regard to the quantum of the
reduction. Why is the RBI playing so
cautious, however? The reasons are
not far to seek. The banking sector,
which has been struggling to bring
down the bad loan load, has shown
a certain defiance when it came to
passing on rate cuts to borrowers. It
took a no fresh rate cut warning
from Governor Raghuram Rajan to
goad them on to cutting lending
rates, however reluctantly. With the
latest cut, the third this year and
announced as part of the policy
cycle this time for a change, the RBI
appears to have given banks a fresh
message. Given the level of bad
loans in their books, and also
considering the stress on their
margins, the banks will now have to
do a tough balancing act. The RBI
has only limited width to go beyond
taking a measured step. The central
bank is still unsure if the inflation
clouds have disappeared
completely. Concerns over the
below-normal south-west monsoon
predictions, oil prices firming up
amid volatility, and the ever-present
geopolitical risks, appear to be
bothering it. A combination of
macro-numbers such as of falling

retail inflation and factory output
and political pressures has put the
RBI in a spot. So it has, quite
understandably, chosen to tread
with caution.
Given the complexities of the
Indian economy and its interconnections with the outside world,
a rate reduction by the monetary
authority alone will not suffice at the
present juncture. Oftentimes the RBI
has indicated this in a subtle manner.
The latest policy suggests that the
fiscal bosses cannot avoid the onus
of pushing the economy to a higher
growth trajectory without inflationary
consequences. Strong food policy
and management will be important
to help keep inflation and
inflationary expectations contained
over the near-term, the RBI has said.
At the same time, it has advocated a
step up in public investment in
several areas that could crowd in
private investment. To remove
supply irritants and aid disinflation,
public investment is critical. With
stressed assets eating into its vitals,
the banking industry is largely
reluctant to commit itself to fresh
credit exposure. A targeted
infusion of capital into scheduled
public sector commercial banks is
also warranted so that adequate
credit flows to the productive
sectors as investment picks up, the
RBI has stated. It takes two to tango,
the central bank appears to suggest.
The ball is now in the governments
court.
GST: Good for business, snag
for federalism?
It might be useful to begin by
quickly summarising the business
case for GST.
The GST is a tax reform that has
been on the cards for more than a
decade. In principle, it is the same as
95


the Value-added Tax (VAT)
already adopted by all Indian States
but with a wider base. While the
VAT which replaced the sales tax
was imposed only on goods, the
GST will be a VAT on goods and
services. In the current tax regime,
States tax sale of goods but not
services. The Centre taxes
manufacturing and services but not
wholesale/retail trade. The GST is
expected to usher in a uniform tax
regime across India through an
expansion of the base of each into
the others territory. This is why a
constitutional amendment was
necessary to give concurrent
powers to both the States and the
Centre to make laws on the taxation
of goods as well as services. Not
surprisingly, the economic arguments
trotted out in favour of the GST are
basically the same as were given two
decades ago for the introduction of
VAT. These are twofold.
First, the GST, by subsuming
an array of indirect taxes under one
rubric, will simplify tax
administration, improve compliance,
and eliminate economic distortions
in production, trade, and
consumption. Second, by giving
credit for taxes paid on inputs at
every stage of the supply chain and
taxing only the final consumer, it
avoids the cascading of taxes,
thereby cutting production costs,
and making exports more
competitive. According to the
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley,
thanks to these efficiencies, the GST
will add 2 per cent to the national
GDP. Only time will tell whether the
GST will have a positive impact on
the GDP. But there is one thing the
GST will not have a positive impact
on: the States fiscal, and therefore,
political autonomy. Things dont look
all that dire on paper. As per whats
being referred to as the GST Bill
96
which is actually the Constitution

(122 amendment) Bill, 2014
passed in the Lok Sabha last month,
India will have not a single federal
GST but a dual GST, levied and
managed by different
administrations. The Centre will
administer the central GST (CGST)
and the States, the SGST. The
monitoring of compliance will also
be done independently at the two
levels.
This is not the only limitation.
The rates for both, the CGST and the
SGST, will be fixed by the GST
Council, whose members will be
State finance/revenue ministers and
chairman will be the Union finance
minister. Once the rates are set by
the GST Council, individual States
will lose their right to tax whichever
commodities they want at the rates
they want. This development needs
to be viewed in the context of a
steady erosion in the states freedom
to decide on taxes and tax rates. The
economist Prabhat Patnaik points out,
According to the Constitution, the
States have complete autonomy over
levy of sales taxes, which, on average,
accounted for 80 per cent of their
revenue. An attempt was made to
curtail this autonomy with the
introduction of VAT. But it did not
totally succeed because the VAT still
had four different rates that states
could play with. But with the GST,
which mandates a uniform rate, even
this limited autonomy would be
gone.
In other words, while the loss in
revenue of the States may well be
compensated by the Centre (as
provided for in the GST Bill), how
does one make good a States loss of
the political right to fix its own tax
rates? Ms. Rao believes this is not
necessarily a bad thing. Individual
States are always catering to some
interest group or another. By placing
limits on what they can do, we are
effectively empowering them to resist

interest group politics, where
someone or other is always lobbying
for concessions or exemptions.
Moreover, the restrictions imposed
by a uniform tax regime could
adversely impact States that may be
more committed to welfare
expenditures. The AIADMK or the
Left Front or Mamata Banerjee may
have their own development
philosophies, says Mr. Patnaik. In
order to express these philosophies,
you have to be able to control your
tax revenue. Why should I give up
this right which I already have and
be sitting in some Council where I
will be outvoted by other states or
the Centre telling me what I can or
cannot do?
A floor-rate-with-band model
(as opposed to a uniform rate) of GST
is also what Ms. Rao is rooting for. To
my mind, it is the procedures,
definitions, and credit rules that
should be uniform for a harmonised
tax regime. We should let the States
figure out what rates they want.
However, a GST regime where each
State has a different tax rate for
different goods and services doesnt
sit well with the industry demand for
a single national market with a uniform
tax regime. Besides, if rates will be
different, the taxes will be dual, and
the dual taxes will be administered
independently by the States and the
Centre, why not just streamline the
existing tax architecture instead of
erecting a new one? The GST, even
in the diluted version proposed in the
GST Bill, would still accomplish one
thing: widen the tax base and make
it identical for both the Centre and
the States. That is because, unlike,
say, an excise duty (whose base
consists of manufacturers) the GST is
paid only by the final consumer. The
seller of the good or service remits
this GST to the State after deducting
the taxes already paid by him earlier
in the supply chain.


Many countries that have
embraced the GST have also
exempted essential commodities
from it, or kept lower rates for select
goods. But the very logic of GST is
such that it works best when the
exemptions are zero or minimal. New
Zealand comes closest to the GST
purists dream with very few
exemptions. Once implemented
in however compromised a form
this is the direction GST regimes
gravitate toward: fewer exemptions,
higher rates. New Zealand
introduced GST at 10 per cent
today it is 15 per cent. In the
countries where the GST rate was
reduced over time, it was made
possible by a broadening of the base
by minimising exemptions.
This brings us finally to the
question that has monopolised the
GST debate of late: what should be
the taxation rate? The report of the
13th Finance Commissions Task
Force on GST recommended 12 per
cent (7 per cent for SGST and 5 per
cent for CGST). That was in 2010. In
2014, a panel of State government
representatives mooted a revenueneutral rate or RNR (rate at which tax
revenues for states and the Centre
will remain the same as before GST)
of 27 per cent ( 12.77 per cent and
13.91 for CGST and SGST
respectively. Both these rates might
be unrealistic. A 12 per cent GST will
most definitely mean substantial
revenue losses for states, as the
general VAT rate for many states
hovers around the 13-14 per cent
mark. And from this week, the service
tax (levied by the Centre) has gone
up from 12.36 per cent to 14 per cent,
a move, ironically enough, intended
to smoothen the transition to a GST
regime. A GST rate of 27 per cent, on
the other hand, would impose an
enormous tax burden on the wageearning classes, and could prove fatal
for any elected government.
Understandably, Mr. Jaitley has been

quick to clarify that the GST rate
would be much lower than 27 per
cent.
In fact, the ideal way to bring
down the GST rate without incurring
revenue losses is to widen the base
by including as many goods and
services under its purview as
possible. But this could mean that
some essential goods currently taxed
at a lower rate could end up being
taxed at a higher rate under a GST,
but it would hit the lower income
groups harder. This might explain
why in some developed countries,
including Canada and Australia, the
introduction of the GST was
opposed fiercely by the local
working classes, especially the trade
unions. The resistance to it was so
strong in Canada that the then Prime
Minister Brian Mulroney had to
invoke an obsolete, colonial era
provision of the Constitution
drawing on special powers of the
Queen to get the law passed in
the Senate.
Under-armed
and underprepared
The DRDO was set up in 1958
as the fulcrum of Indias indigenous
defence production. However, its
performance, or the lack of it, must
count as one of the biggest
uninvestigated scandals of
independent India. Among its
notable failures is the production of
the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA),
which was commissioned over a
decade ago but ran years behind
schedule with a cost overrun of over
Rs.5,000 crore. The aircrafts Kaveri
engine was commissioned over two
decades ago; it ran over 15 years
behind schedule with similarly high
cost overruns. Other projects
allocated to the DRDO, such as the
Airborne Early Warning and Control
(AEW&C) System, the naval version
of the LCA, the Long Range Surface

to Air Missile (LRSAM), and the
Advanced Lightweight Torpedo
(ALWT) have all missed deadlines by
several years. The performance of our
public sector units handling defence
has been equally scandalous.
Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL)
could not rectify simple design faults
in the HPT-32 basic trainer aircraft,
forcing the Indian Air Force (IAF) to
import propeller driven trainers. The
Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT)
prototype is nowhere close to flying,
and the Light Combat Helicopter and
the multi-purpose civilian aircraft,
Saras, have forever been in the
pipeline. Our ordnance factories are
similarly languishing. The Nalanda
ordnance factory, in collaboration
with an Israeli company, is reportedly
only a fourth complete. The
commitment to indigenously supply
1,000 T-90S main battle tanks to the
Indian Army could not be met
because the project failed. Indianmade 125 mm smooth bore barrels
for the T-72 tanks also reportedly
failed because the barrels blew up
duringfieldtrials.
To see a nation with global
aspirations blundering so egregiously
when it comes to meeting critical
defence requirements is nothing
short of treason. As a result of our
woefully inadequate defence
production, India has become the
worlds largest importer of arms. In
contrast, China, with a much bigger
arsenal, has dropped to fourth place
because its internal defence
production has been efficiently
upgraded. Apart from the exorbitant
burden arms imports place on our
exchequer, an overdependence on
imports has grave security
implications. In his book on the Kargil
war, General V.P. Malik, who was then
the Army chief, mentions that two
years before the Pakistani invasion,
the Army had finalised imports of AN/
TPQ-37 Firefinder radars from the
97


United States. A decade and more
later, nothing had changed. Another
Army chief, General V.K. Singh (who
is now a Union Minister of State in the
government) was compelled to write
in March 2012 a letter directly to the
then Prime Minister in which he
bluntly stated that the war-waging
capability of the Army had been
seriously degraded because of
delays in critical procurements.
According to him, reserves of vitally
needed anti-tank ammunition had
fallen below critical levels because
the Israeli firm supplying them had
been blacklisted because of alleged
kickbacks; artillery equipments were
stalled for a similar reason, and
emergency replacements sought to
be obtained from the U.S. Army were
still awaiting approval from the
Ministry of Defences bureaucracy. At
that time, the nation was facing a
peculiar double jeopardy: we could
not produce what we needed
internally, and we could not import
in time and efficiently what we
needed to buy from abroad because
ofamoralityparalysisthatsoughtto
ban every major foreign supplier on
the basis of uninvestigated
allegations. Obviously, defence
purchases must be corruption-free
but, equally, defence ministers must
have the guts not only to be
concerned about their own personal
integrity but also about the crucial
security interests of the nation.
Our lack of offensive and
defensive weaponry becomes even
more glaring when compared with
that of our potential enemies. For
instance, Chinas arsenal of
Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles
(ICBM), battle tanks, latest tactical
aircraft and armoured infantry
fighting vehicles far outnumber ours,
as does its border infrastructure. The
importance for us to keep this gap
within sustainable limits is selfevident, especially since we cannot
98
rule out a war in the future in which

China and Pakistan work in tandem.
Opponents of adequate investments
in armaments argue that a country
with such a huge number of the
poor should be spending more on
development than on defence. It is
the old guns versus butter argument.
The obvious riposte to this is that
India needs to pursue both
development and defence
efficiently and it cannot be one or
the other. A countrys security is
imperilled if its economy is
suboptimal and the deprivations of
the poor are not attended to.
Equally, development cannot
exclude security imperatives
because we are in one of the most
hostile nuclear weapon regions of
the world. We have 4,057 kilometres
of a disputed Line of Actual Control
(LAC) with China; a 778-kilometrelong disputed Line of Control (LoC)
with Pakistan; a total of 15,106
kilometres of international borders
with seven countries, and a 7,516kilometre long vulnerable coastline.
It would be suicidal for any nation to
ignore security concerns in such a
situation.
An inappropriate
appointment
The National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC) is the premier
body that investigates abuses and
violationsofhumanrightsinIndia.Set
up in 1993, the NHRC has wideranging powers to investigate,
recommend prosecutions, and
award compensations for human
rights violations. High-profile cases
investigated by the Commission
include encounter killings by the
police and other acts of violence by
the state. In 2002, the Commission
under former Chief Justice J.S. Verma,
was the first official body to visit
Gujarat after the riots; it moved the
Supreme Court to transfer cases

outsidetheStatetosecureafairtrial.
The NHRC, set up under the
Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993,
consists of nine members. Four are
ex-office appointments serving
Chairpersons of the National
Commissions for Minorities,
Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes
and Women. Two are persons who
have done work in the area of human
rights. And three are from the
judiciary:asittingorretiredjudgeof
the Supreme Court; a Chief Justice of
a High Court; and, the most important
of all, a former Chief Justice of India
(CJI) who heads the Commission.
That the head has to be a former
CJI is for good reason. Commonly,
human rights violations are
committed by, or with the
connivance of, or allowed to be
perpetrated by high-level political
leaders, the police or other officers.
The public needs to have
unquestionable confidence that
these cases will be investigated
without a tinge of favour, by the most
independent persons available. The
Commissions public face and
guiding force is the Chairperson.
Hence, the insistence on a former CJI
as the Chairperson of the Commission.
Even a puisne judge of the Supreme
Court is not to be considered for the
post; nothing less than a person who
has occupied the highest rank in the
judiciarywilldo.
If there is an icon of
independence in the country who
has received no favour from the
government and is fearless about
tackling the powers that be, surely it
is the CJI. So proceeds the Act.
Justice P. Sathasivam held the office
of the CJI from July 2013 to April
2014. Shortly thereafter, the
government offered him the position
of Governor of Kerala. He accepted,
setting off a chorus of criticism. One
former CJI, when asked for his
reaction, enigmatically and crisply


commented that standards differ.
Lawyers and retired judges pointed
out that the office of the CJI was
being devalued. Its holder was part
of a constitutional triumvirate of
power along with the President and
the Prime Minister, they argued, and
therefore accepting Governorship
meant going to an office not only
several rungs lower, but more
crucially one which was given
entirely as patronage and largesse by
the executive. It was also feared that
once a precedent was set, and by no
less than a CJI, it would not be long
before judges on the verge of
retirement would have the vision of a
comfortable gubernatorial position
hazing their eyes while deciding
sensitive cases against the
government.
Chairperson of the NHRC. His
name is mentioned as one of the
likely appointees, and it is said that
he has given his consent. This would
be an inappropriate appointment,
going against the grain of the primary
qualification for heading the body,
namely, independence from the
government and the perceived
ability to take hard actions against
those in power. This is an
institutional qualification; it is no
defence to say that a person who
enjoys a sinecure from the
government will revert to absolute
independence when appointed to
head the NHRC. It is true that the
statutory qualification for
Chairperson does not specify that
the candidate should not have held
previous office at the hands of the
government, but the framers of the
Act would not have envisaged,
even in their wildest dreams, that
there would be a case of a Chief
Justice becoming a Governor and
then looking to become Chairperson
of the NHRC.
Monsoon worries,
real or not
By downgrading the monsoon
forecastfortheyeartodeficient,the
India Meteorological Department has
pressed the panic button. The
forecast now talks of 88 per cent of
the long-period average, down from
the preliminary figure of 93 per cent.
The revised estimate is indeed cause
forconcern,asitholdsthepossibility
of the country being pushed into a
drought situation. These are forwardlooking numbers no doubt. Yet the
signals can hardly be ignored.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has
sought to talk up the sentiment by
suggesting that the fears are
exaggerated, and he may well be
right. In his view, the geographical
distribution of rainfall and its timing
will matter more than the total volume
of precipitation. Yet, policy-planners
at the fiscal and monetary levels have
not shied away from articulating their
anxiety. The Centre has said it is ready
to face a deficit monsoon. Union
Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan
Singh has made it clear that the
situation is being monitored on a daily
basis and that a contingency plan is
in place. The immediate worry, nay
task, is to quickly devise an
emergency plan to tackle the social
and economic consequences of a
possible drought. In the near-term,
the government may do well to
prepare a ready-to-roll out action
programme to provide farmers a
support system and fallback
mechanism to ensure that they arent
consumed by the severity of the
impact, should there be a drought.
This could well prove to be one of
the toughest tests yet for the yearold Narendra Modi government. To
minimise the annual concerns on this
front, governments at the Centre and
the States will have to go beyond
mere mitigation strategies and work
out a long-term irrigation plan in an
integrated and holistic manner to
optimise the groundwater potential

aswell.
If the forecast does come true,
however, India could be facing the
12th worst drought since 1950.
Already hit by unseasonal rain during
the rabi season, this portends further
trouble during the kharif cycle. This
could lead to serious problems on the
food front with consequences on the
price situation. Already, lack of rural
demand is dragging the economy
down. The inflation-focussed
Reserve Bank of India will have no
more leeway to cut the interest rate
in such a situation. Three quick rate
cuts by the RBI totalling 75 basis
points this year have not really seen
any major reduction in lending rates
by banks at the ground level. With
mounting stressed assets and poor
credit off-take, the banking industry
has so far chosen to be a reluctant
actor in the play. The missing X-Factor
has conspired with the existing
shortfalls in capacity utilisation to
make the industry look forlorn. The
situation demands proactive action.
Indias deceptive Constitution
Every written constitution is
supplemented by important
unwritten principles: the
constitutional law of all nations
(whether or not they have a codified
Constitution) consists of some
combination of the written and
unwritten. Judges interpret the
abstract language of written
constitutions and speak where the
text remains silent. As a codified
constitution grows older, it forms less
and less of the constitutional law of a
nation, having been supplemented
by judicial decisions and political
practice over time. But what happens
when constitutional law diverges
from the written constitution to such
anextentthatitisnotjustaradically
incomplete statement of the higher
law but, going a step further, is
positively misleading?
99


The Indian Constitution is
transforming into a deceptive one
several constitutional provisions
misrepresent what the existing
constitutional position is. Most
conspicuous among these are
Articles 368(4) and (5), which
categorically provide that there is no
limitation whatever on the power of
Parliament to amend the
Constitution. In the most famous
case in the Supreme Courts history
(Kesavananda Bharati v State of
Kerala), the Court assumed the
power to strike down constitutional
amendments that altered, destroyed,
or abrogated the basic structure of
the Constitution. Articles 368(4) and
(5) thus have no effect, and
Parliaments power to amend the
Constitution is unquestionably
constrained. Similarly, Article 31B
a clause intended to protect
legislation inserted into the Ninth
Schedule of the Constitution
notwithstanding the judgment of
any court does not, by virtue of a
succession of Supreme Court
judgments, fully insulate legislation
fromjudicialscrutiny.Instead,courts
can test legislation inserted into the
Ninth Schedule on the basis that it
abrogates fundamental rights that
form part of the basic structure of
the Constitution. The deception
espoused by provisions of the
IndianConstitutionisfairlyunique.In
most other nations with written
constitutions, the divergence
between the text and practice
arises on account of the difficult of
formally amending a constitution,
coupled with the need to modernise
a constitutions functioning. As Tom
Ginsburg and other scholars observe
in the context of the U.S.
Constitution, judges have filled in
the details of the vague 18th century
document to make it suitable for
100
modern life. In contrast, the Indian

Constitution has proven relatively
easy to change, and has been
amended more than once a year on
average. The deception in India has
arisen on account of the fact that
even though the Indian Supreme
Court has the power to strike down
or set aside constitutional
amendments, it has no power to
repeal them, which means that many
ineffective provisions of the
Constitution remain on the books.
Parliament is the only institution that
can change the Constitution to more
accurately reflect the true
constitutional position, and, so to
speak, force the hand of the
publishers.
This discussion has an
interesting bearing on one of the
most important cases currently being
heard by the Supreme Court the
challenge to the constitutional
amendment that sought to change
the way in which judges of the
Supreme Court and High Courts are
appointed. Under the system, as it
existed before the amendment, the
power to appoint judges effectively
belonged to a collegium of the
senior-most judges of the Supreme
Court. Parliament attempted to
transform the appointments process
by amending the Constitution to
establish a six-member National
Judicial Appointments Commission.
Naturally, as it stands, the
constitutional text contains
provisions explaining the modalities
of how the Commission is to perform
its task. In the event that this
constitutional amendment is struck
down, we will be left with a situation
in which the Constitution refers to an
appointments process by a body
that neither had an inaugural
meeting, nor appointed a single
judge.
Deception may not be seen as

much of a problem for lawyers.
However, it represents a major access
barrier for members of civil society
who, quite understandably, refer to
theconstitutionaltextasthefirst(and
often, only) port of call in
understanding what the
constitutional position is. Aside from
its symbolic significance, one of the
benefits of a codified constitution is
that it generates awareness about the
processes of government. The
National Democratic Alliance
government has promised to repeal
hundreds of obsolete statutes,
including many that have been struck
down, as part of a legislative cleanup exercise. It is more perilous to
envisage the same being done for the
Constitution the concern always
being that any government in power
will silently remove an inconvenient
provision of the Constitution too,
appropriately sandwiched between
groups of obsolete provisions.
Perhaps all that can be done, then, is
to encourage people to continue
reading the text of the Constitution
as a starting point but warn them
that what you see is not necessarily
what you get.
Will the veena gently weep?
GIisagenreofIPthatisIndias
strength. Practically everything that
we grow, make or produce is linked
to a particular region. For example,
we often hear these examples in
every day conversation: Leave your
Kolhapuri chappals over there.
Come in and wash your hands with
Mysore Sandal soap. Have those idlis
made with the Coimbatore wet
grinder. The Darjeeling tea in the
Jaipur pottery cup. Where did you
buy that Sanganeri print? All of them
areGIs.
The Geographical Indications
of Goods (Registration and
Protection) Act, 1999 provides for
the registration, the protection


against infringement, and also
protection for authorised users. Our
people have always been closely
linked with the soil, the vegetation,
in short the local environment to make
or grow our products. So, the
promotion of GI has other socioeconomic and environmental
benefits besides just the protection
of IP. The Northeast region has a rich
and ancient tradition and culture. It
isalsorichinbio-diversity.Astunning
variety of forms of art and craft
continues to be preserved by ethnocultural groups who belong there.
Like in the rest of India, the people
there have fully and creatively used
what they have found around them
and have made it typically theirs and
oftheirregion.Itisthisthatformsthe
basis for the generation of many GIs.
Besides empowering them, the
workshop was aimed at creating an
awareness of their rights and
teaching them how to make use of
the law.
The golden yellow Muga Silk
was registered as a GI in 2007. But
only two persons applied to be its
authoriseduserstill2014.Sothefocus
of the GI camp at Lakhimpur was to
examine this single GI and the reason
behind such low awareness. It was
found that the GI status of the product
is not utilised to its potential, the
stakeholders are unaware of the value
oftheirGIanditsbenefits,thequality
of these products is not standardised,
and even when made by genuine
persons, the quality varies. Also, the
market for the products and the
pricing are fragmented, and there are
piggyback riders who pass off
products as GI which naturally
devalues the original product. This
would apply to other GIs across the
country. The camps report noted that
there is a steady stream of products
that are not pure Muga but mixed
with other yarns and being passed
off as Muga which is detrimental to
the Muga producers.
The veena is made from the

wood of the jackfruit tree; the
Thanjavur Veena is a GI. But it may
soon become a distant memory
because the raw material is becoming
scarce and expensive and
craftpersons are turning to other
sources of income. It is not enough
granting a product a GI; the State
should nourish the craft. The
Thanjavur Veena probably has a more
hoary history than the Stradivarius
violin. But it does not inspire the
nationalpassionthattheviolinhas.In
2013, cyclone Thane which crossed
the Tamil Nadu coast caused severe
damage to crops and trees, which
included jackfruit trees, in Cuddalore
district. The State could have ensured
that some of that was supplied to the
veenai makers of Thanjavur. But the
fallen trees were sold as timber! The
nadhaswaram makers of
Narsingampettai, Tamil Nadu, too are
looking for the aacha tree to make
their products; they want a GI for their
nadhaswarams. But will registration
alone be a panacea for their problems
and ensure the continuity and
nurturing of their crafts? One day
when there is no jackfruit tree to make
the veenai, oran aacha maram to
make the nadhaswaram, will the Thodi
and Kalyani gently weep?
Although the Act gives the
creators/producers statutory and
proprietaryrights,itisinsufficient.
The Act must be translated into reality
by state and private initiatives. GI
owners also have a role to play in
promoting their GI, but the
undeniable reality is that many of
them come from groups that are less
vocal and less powerful than say
trademark or patent owners. The
weavers of Kancheepuram Silk (a GI)
are abandoning their craft to earn
their livelihood elsewhere, perhaps
in one of the global corporations
nearby. They know that the dignity
and respect that they once
commanded as master weavers
cannot be earned in these

occupations, but when hunger
gnaws, one makes compromises.
There was a master weaver and
designer, Muthu Chettiar in
Kanchipuram, who came to Madras
in the early 20th century with just 13
annas in his pocket. His craft was so
exquisite that the elite of Madras soon
vied with each other to possess his
saris. The colour M.S. Blue was his
creation, and the lady nonpareil who
gave her name to that hue (M.S.
Subbulakshmi) wore only his saris.
Today, the looms in Kanchipuram are
growing quieter by the day.
The government has also
announced the USTTAD
(Upgrading the Skills and Training in
Traditional Arts/Crafts for
Development) scheme in Varanasi,
which is expected to enhance the
traditional skills of craftsmen and
artisans there. Banarasi Silk is a GI
too. If the scheme is worked as
conceived, it will benefit the silkweaving families and their 40,000
looms, and ensure that the exquisite
art lives on. Let me cite another
example. Ikat (a GI) weaving may
not last this decade. Chennais
Kalakshetra has taken up the revival
of the ancient Kodalikaruppur
weaving tradition. During the 19th
century, these traditional saris were
produced at Kodali Karuppur
village, about 30 km from
Kumbakonam, for the royal family of
Thanjavur, using natural vegetable
dyes. They went out of fashion due
to a variety of reasons. Though
Kodalikaruppur is not a GI, this case
must be used as an example to
revive fading GIs. However, there is
another issue. When the GI is made
in another area by the original
craftsmen, will they be entitled to
retain the indication? This is a
question that evolving jurisprudence
willaddress.
101


In the Payyanur Pavithra
Mothiram case, the Intellectual
Property Appellate Board directed
that the notice to the public must be
issued in Malayalam, the regional
language. The board also set aside
the grant of GI registration to the
Payyanur Pavithra ring in the name
of a society. It said: The main object
of the Geographical Indications of
Goods (Registration & Protection)
Act is to protect those persons who
are directly engaged in creating or
making or manufacturing the goods.
When these creators or makers
complain that the application has
been made behind their back, we
cannot allow the registration to
remain. The Mothiram, a uniquely
crafted ring, is made of gold and silver
by the artisans at Payyanur in Kannur
districtofKerala,anditisbelievedto
bring luck and grace to anyone who
wears it with deep devotion. In the
making of the ring, one requires great
expertise and dedication and the
artisan is isolated for at least three
days to make it. The point is that
language should not be a barrier.
When even rape is legal
According to Section 375 of the
Indian Penal Code, which defines
rape and consent, sexual
intercourse or sexual acts by a man
with his own wife, the wife not being
under 15 years of age, is not rape.
Sexual intercourse can take place
with or without consent, but because
of the above exception, the latter is
legalised within marriage by Indian
law. The warped defence for this
exception continues in spite of
overwhelming evidence that marital
rape is the most common form of
sexual violence in India. The National
Family Health Survey (NFHS) in 200506 (http://bit.ly/1n9ub6H) posed
questions to over 80,000 women
between the ages of 15 and 49, on
sexual violence by husbands and
other men (http://bit.ly/1KmUmjh).
102
Sensitive questions such as did your

husband ever physically force you to
have sexual intercourse with him
even when you did not want to? are
difficult to ask in a survey; hence
informed consent for the violence
module was obtained twice, and
trained interviewers were given strict
instructions to ensure complete
privacy of the respondents. The
answers to these questions are
available in the last chapter of the
NFHS report.
Data show that 8.5 per cent of
the surveyed women (one in 12)
said they had experienced sexual
violence in their lifetime. Almost 93
per cent of these women said that
they had been sexually abused by
their current or former husbands,
while only 1 per cent said that they
had been sexually abused by a
stranger. In a recent working paper
(http://bit.ly/1e0pIA0), we made a
comparison of the above data with
the reporting of sexual violence to
the police, based on National Crime
Records Bureau statistics. The
analysis found that less than 1 per
cent of the incidents of sexual
violence by husbands were
reported to the police. If there is
legal backing for marital rape,
women who are victims of sexual
assault by their husbands have little
hope for justice. The exception in
the law needs to be repealed
urgently, as recommended by the
Justice Verma Committee in 2013.
The committee argued that the
relationship between the accused
and the complainant is not relevant
to the inquiry into whether the
complainant consented to the sexual
activity. The law on rape in India has
evolved to place the burden of
proof of consent on the accused,
and these provisions are even more
important for women facing sexual
violence within marriage because
married women are more likely to

face social sanction for reporting
violence. Also, Section 498A
specifies only mental and physical
abuse under its definition of cruelty
by husbands and in-laws. An
amendment would include sexual
abuse. While the Protection of
Women from Domestic Violence Act
2005 provides civil remedies such as
shelter homes, medical facilities and
monetary relief to victims of sexual
violence by husbands, legal
clarification will go a long way
towards recognising and reducing
the problem. But we would be
fooling ourselves if we believe that
the problem can be solved merely
by removing the marital rape
exception. A much bigger challenge
is to change the patriarchal social
norms. In the NFHS survey, for
instance, when the women were
asked if wife beating is justified, 54
per cent said they believed it was.
Clearly, the law alone cannot
change mindsets. We realised this
when we worked with a minor
Adivasi mute girl in Madhya Pradesh
who was gang-raped. She was
covered by many laws: Section 375
and 376 (rape provisions) of the IPC,
Protection of Children from Sexual
Offences Act (POSCO) 2012, as
well as the Scheduled Caste and
Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of
Atrocities) Act, 1989. The local
police, however, were reluctant to
invoke the SC/ST Act, and did not
know about the existence of the
POCSO Act. Despite its being
banned, the girl was subjected to
the two-finger test in the medical
examination. The law is an important
means of enabling social change, but
without a wider change in social
attitudes,it can be quite ineffective.
In 1943, Ambedkar regretted
that political reform had taken


precedence over social reform.
Despite this, he continued to seek
both legal and social changes to
improve the lot of Indias Dalits and
women. Today, what is getting
priority is economic reform, but we
would do well to remember
Ambedkars words from the same
address: Rights are protected not
by law but by the social and moral
conscience of society if
fundamental rights are opposed by
the community, no Law, no
Parliament, no judiciary, can
guarantee them in the real sense of
the word.
The zeal for yoga
t is ironical that at a time when
yoga is increasingly being
recognised around the world as an
efficacious discipline that aids
physical and mental well-being, the
ancient Indian system is caught in a
needless controversy, mainly due to
its aggressive promotion by the
Narendra Modi government. It is
difficult to avoid the impression that
the government is showing
excessive zeal as well as a tendency
to use its employees and institutions
to propagate its own view of culture
and tradition. Mobilising staff
members and students seems to be
this regimes way of promoting an
idea. If it was Good Governance Day
lastChristmas,itwillbeInternational
Yoga Day on June 21. It is indeed
true that Prime Minister Modis
address to the United Nations
General Assembly in September
2014 provided the platform for the
international community to
recognise the importance of yoga. In
December, the UNGA passed a
resolution with the backing of over
170 countries to designate June 21
as International Yoga Day. No doubt,
the benefits of yoga ought to be
widely disseminated. However,

does promoting it require the
mobilisation of tens of thousands of
people at Rajpath in Delhi for a
massive demonstration? There are
apprehensions that employees and
students would be asked to
participate in related events on a
Sunday, even though it has not been
made mandatory.
The government is even
aiming for an entry in the Guinness
World Records for the single largest
yoga demonstration. It appears that
having international impact is a key
objective behind the promotional
activities.Ifyogaisallabouthealth,
peace and harmony, there really is
no need for a demonstrative
approach to it. The visible presence
of the state in the promotion of yoga
will only detract from the idea of
making it a peoples movement.
Rather, the governments role should
be confined to providing facilities for
the practice of yoga in various
institutions under it and
disseminating information about its
benefits. A related issue that has
given a sectarian dimension to the
yoga campaign concerns a
perception that the practice of yoga,
especially the surya namaskar part of
it, is against the tenets of Islam.
Recognising this, the government has
dropped surya namaskar from the list
of asanas to be performed on June
21.Whileitistruethatyogaispartof
a wider heritage and attracts
practitioners from among adherents
of various religions, the government
is obviously unable to convince
everyone that its programmes are
free of all religious or cultural
association. It should work to remove
its initiatives from areas of
contestation so that even
programmes having universal value
do not take the hue of its ideology.
Getting the
climate story right
In what has been a marathon
year for climate talks, negotiators
have been meeting for the last two
weeks to prepare a 2015
Agreement to be signed at the
United Nations Climate Change
Conference in Paris in December.
But, in some ways, the international
talks are the sideshow. In this round
of negotiations, the focus lies on
what each country places on the
negotiating table in Paris as its
national contribution to addressing
climate change. India has been
correctly arguing that contributions
should include measures to adapt to
climate change and the provision of
finance and technology to
developing countries, but what will
most closely be watched are efforts
to reduce greenhouse gases. For
each country to self-determine its
national contribution is a curious
approach. Currently, there is no
international benchmark of what
counts as sufficient climate action.
Even if there was such a benchmark,
whether country contributions will
be reviewed at the international
level is an open question, and the
subject of heated negotiation. The
obvious incentive then, for any
country, is to place a limited and
costless proposal on the table. There
are two counter pressures: from
strong domestic constituencies for
aggressive climate action; and, more
salient for India, international
pressure through naming and
shaming.
Other countries have been on
this storytelling exercise for some
time. The European Union has
pledged at least 40 per cent
reduction in emissions from 1990
levels by 2030, which it states is a
substantial step up from its 2020
103


targets. The U.S. contribution
appears far more modest a
reduction of 26-28 per cent from
2005 levels by 2025, and is justified
byinvokingthepoliticalriskstheU.S.
President took to push this action
through in the face of opposition
pressure. China has provided hints of
its contribution, and is expected to
announce it this month: it will peak
emissions by 2030 at an unstated
level. This seemingly weak statement
is buttressed not only by Chinese
arguments but by the likes of noted
economist Lord Stern, who has
declared that China will underpromise but over-deliver, because of
domestic compulsions around its
local environmental issues. The first
element is an old story with a new
twist: India is a rapidly growing
economy, starting from a low
economic base. Its per capita
emissions are a third of the global
average, and between a quarter and
a sixth of those of other emerging
economies; it needs carbon
headroom to grow. But the twist is
that because it is a rapidly
transforming society and economy, it
is near impossible to predict future
emissions commensurate with its
needs. India is in the early stage of
three transformations: a
demographic transition for which its
needs to create jobs; a shift from a
ruraltoanatleasthalf-urbansociety;
and vastly expanded infrastructure
to support both transitions. None of
these factors are true to the same
extent in other emerging economies.
Successfully negotiating all of these
transformations requires energy,
which, at least at the moment, means
uncertain but higher future carbon
emissions. Given these factors, it
would be foolhardy to place a cap
on Indias carbon headroom. This
point is validated by recent analyses
104
from the Centre for Policy Research.

The report found that seven recent
Indian energy and climate models
predict anywhere from a doubling
to a tripling of Indias carbon dioxide
emissions from now until 2030. While
there may be some technical scope
to narrow this range, there is a
residual uncertainty about the future
that leads to such a wide band. Thus,
spelling out a peaking year or putting
a firm number to future absolute
emission levels would be
irresponsible.
However, India will need to
provide some pledges as an
upgrade on its Copenhagen pledge,
which was to reduce the economys
carbon intensity 20-25 per cent
below 2005 levels by 2020. While
intensity numbers are also hard to
predict because they involve
computing future carbon emissions
and GDP growth, adding 10-15 per
cent reduction in intensity by 2030 is
a likely safe statement. But this is, at
most, a relatively conservative
starting point, as it is intended to be.
The second step, therefore, is to
demonstrate how, despite these
circumstances, India is willing to go
much further and put on the table a
more substantial contribution to
global mitigation action. The key
argument is that for a rapidly
transforming economy like India,
early and certain actions that bend
the curve of emissions downward,
so that emissions increase at a slower
rate, are a far more valuable climate
contribution than uncertain future
actions. In other words, Indias main
contribution could be to avoid
locking the economy into a high
emissions path. However, to be
consistent with its priority on
sustainable development, and as a
country with limited historical
responsibility for climate change,
India should amplify its stated cobenefits approach to climate

change: pursuing actions that
achieve sustainable development
while contributing to mitigation. This
is a powerful idea. Our research
shows that in areas such as local
environmental control and
enhancing energy security, there are
strong complementarities with
limiting carbon.
Third, this vision has to be
given concrete shape through
specific immediate actions that
would, in fact, bend the emissions
curve. To develop these actions
requires careful sector-by-sector
assessment of the scope for cobenefits. Here, too, India has a strong
track record, particularly in areas
such as energy efficiency, where
severalpolicy,legal,andinstitutional
changes have reshaped investment
incentives toward greater energy
efficiency. In areas such as
renewable energy, too, the emphasis
should be on immediate changes,
such as those under consideration in
the amendment of the Electricity
Act, 2003, rather than on long-term,
uncertain and aspirational targets.
Indias intended contribution
should include actions already taken
and actions under consideration in
these sectors and others such as
public transport, freight, and
buildings. Together, this three-step
package provides a compelling
story for Indian action that is both a
strong contribution to the global
effort, and rightly emphasises the
countrys development needs. In
2015, the climate game is not just
about numbers but also about the
story. If India doesnt frame the
benchmarks by which it wishes to
be judged, others will do it, and to
itsdetriment.


Battling Islamic State
A year after it captured Mosul,
the major Iraqi city, Islamic State
remains a formidable force in the
West Asian region. The U.S.-led
coalitions bombing campaign shows
no sign of checking its momentum.
Barring some setbacks suffered at
the hands of Kurdish and Shia
militias, IS has expanded its zone of
influence beyond its base in Syraq
over the year. It recently captured
Ramadi, the capital of Iraqs Anbar
province, and the ancient Syrian city
of Palmyra. It now has branches in
countries including Lebanon, Libya,
Afghanistan and Nigeria. President
Barack Obama all but admitted on
June 10, the anniversary of the fall of
Mosul, as he ordered an additional
450 military advisers to join the 3,500
already in Iraq, that his anti-IS
strategy wasnt working. To be sure,
IS has no dearth of enemies in the
battlefield. The Syrian and Iraqi
armies have declared war on it; Gulf
monarchies are a party to a U.S.-led
coalition bombing IS locations;
Egypt had struck IS militants in
Libya; and Hezbollah, the Lebanese
Shia militia, has said it would fight IS
along the Lebanon-Syria border.
Still, why does IS appear so
formidable?
ISs advantage perhaps is that
its rivals have no coordinated
strategy: they are driven not by a
common goal of defeating the
enemy but by their own self-interest
and sectarian calculations. In Syria,
the regime of Bashar al Assad is the
most potent force against IS. But the
U.S. and its allies such as Saudi
Arabia and Qatar want a regime
change in Damascus. The efforts of
Saudi Arabia and Turkey to weaken
the Syrian regime are helping IS
grow. In Iraq, the army, disbanded
and rebuilt by the Americans, is
largely sectarian and too inefficient

to mount a major attack on its own.
The Hezbollah may be able to
protect the Lebanese-Syrian border
from IS, but it is considered a
terrorist outfit by the U.S., and an
Iranian lackey by the Saudis. The
Kurdish guerrillas in the Syrian and
Turkish border regions had resisted
IS effectively, but Turkey doesnt
want them to be brought into the
anti-IS coalition. Iran has sent Shia
militia groups to the battle-front, but
they are viewed with suspicion in
Iraqs Sunni-dominated areas owing
to sectarian reasons. IS feeds off this
complex sectarian-geopolitical
game, and with savagery and
extremism tightens its grip over
victims. But all this doesnt mean IS is
invincible: it could be defeated, as
Kobane and Tikrit show. But to turn
such isolated victories into a
comprehensive triumph, the forces
battling IS need to come up with a
cohesive strategy cutting across
sectarian fault-lines. Until that
happens, West Asia will continue to
see more bloodshed.
Key choices, some questions
The appointments of Vijai
Sharma as Chief Information
Commissioner (CIC) and K.V.
Chowdary as Chief Vigilance
Commissioner (CVC), which have
been a long time coming, also raise
some concerns about the Narendra
Modi governments level of
engagement with institutions that
form the life breath of Indian
democracy. The CIC presides over
the Right to Information, crucial to a
participatory democracy in making
institutions accountable, while the
CVC is tasked with overseeing the
vigilance administration. As
watchdogs, both are premised on
the principles of transparency and
autonomy. For this reason, utmost

transparency is called for in these
appointments, and it is imperative
that the processes by which the
names are arrived at are in the public
domain. Yet, in the last one year,
amid all the achievements of the
Modi government, the delay in
appointing suitable candidates to
these posts had been a matter of
some concern, flagged by political
parties, informed citizen groups and
others. At last count, the Central
Information Commission, which has
been functioning without a chief for
the last 10 months, has nearly 37,788
cases to clear. Three posts of
information commissioners in the CIC
are vacant. The CIC bench is
authorised to hear appeals with
respect to the PMO, the Department
of Personnel, the CVC, the CAG, and
crucial government Ministries.
Democracy is also about
processes. Here, the governments
intentions cannot be said to have
been strictly above board. If the
purpose was to appoint Mr. Sharma,
the seniormost Information
Commissioner, as the chief anyway,
why did the 10-month-long delay
occur? After all, the convention so
far had been to appoint the
seniormost Commissioner as CIC.
More important, in March the PMO
decided to take away the financial
autonomy of the CIC by delegating
the powers to a governmentappointed secretary, prompting
many citizen groups to say the
government had weakened the CIC
and trampled on its autonomy. In the
case of Mr. Chowdary, the process of
appointment started after the
Supreme Court gave the go-ahead,
directing the government to ensure
transparency by providing the
selection committee headed by the
Prime Minister the details of all 130
applicants who applied for the CVCs
105


post (according to media reports),
and not just of those shortlisted by a
panel of three bureaucrats. The court
is yet to complete hearings on a
public interest litigation petition
questioning the process of
appointment of the CVC. The
Opposition, whose role is crucial in
the process of appointment of the
CVC, may have become an ally of the
government in this instance. But
unless the government addresses
concerns over whether it has gone
through all the processes and
procedures laid down under law,
questions and doubts will remain.
Inside Myanmar,
in hot pursuit
By striking at militant camps
across the border and inside Myanmar
territory, Prime Minister Narendra
Modi has demonstrated that he is
willing to bite the bullet and take
tough action when it comes to the
killing of Indian soldiers. Days after
the June 4 killing of at least 20
personnel of the 6 Dogra Regiment
in Chandel district of Manipur
allegedly by militants of the National
Socialist Council of Nagaland
(Khaplang), a robust response has
come from the Indian Special Forces.
Confirmation of the strike on two
militant camps inside Myanmar
territory has come from none other
than Minister of State for Information
and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan
Singh Rathore. He confirmed that the
Indian forces carried out strikes on
two of the militant camps, annihilating
the entire camps, and have returned
safely. He pointed out that Prime
Minister Modi had taken a very bold
step and given the go-ahead for hot
pursuit into Myanmar, adding that the
response was a message to other
countries that might be inimical to
India. Meanwhile, the official Army
version simply spoke of the forces
having engaged two separate groups
of insurgents along the Indo106
Myanmar border, without referring

to any cross-border operation.
Indiahadtraditionallyjustified
its links with the military-run Myanmar
government by pointing to the need
to keep its eastern borders tranquil.
Keeping the Myanmar government in
the loop on any cross-border
operation can only strengthen Indias
efforts to ensure that more attacks do
not take place. The Indian Army, for
its part, has spoken of
communication and close
cooperation but stopped short of
saying whether or not prior
information was given on a crossborder operation. Other than the
number of casualties inflicted on the
militants,veryfewdetailsontheexact
nature of the military operation have
been made available. For its part, the
Khaplang faction has denied that
any of its cadres were killed by the
Indian Army in the crackdown. There
are, as Mr. Rathore said in his
statement, implications beyond
Myanmar reflected in the nature of
the operation conducted by the
Indian Army. If the intention is to be
surgical and engage in long-term antimilitancy operations, the Modi
government and the BJP should
desist from chest-thumping. While
India makes it clear that as a nation it
would not take attacks such as this
lying down, the Myanmar operation
sends its own signal to the rest of
South Asia. It would be contextual
to recall that even a major operation
in end-2003 against anti-India
separatist groups that were based in
Bhutan was conducted by the
Bhutanese army with support from
India. The operation by the Indian
Special Forces can only be
welcomed. But at the same time,
collateral damage in government-togovernment relationships must be
avoided.
Taxis and technology
The Delhi governments
rejection on Wednesday of fresh

licence applications of app-based
taxi firms such as Uber and Ola is
justified if it is premised on, as has
been widely reported, their failure to
comply with an earlier ban. The
administration had banned appbased taxi services in December
2014 after it was alleged that a cab
driver working for Uber raped a
woman passenger. Following this,
these taxi firms were asked to apply
for licences to operate. They did so.
But then they have been accused of
not complying with the ban. The
rejection of the application comes
just days after a passenger aboard
Uber was molested by the driver. Runins with authority arent anything new
for tech-enabled firms such as Uber.
The world over, Uber has clashed
with governments and of course with
the old order of organised taxi
services,whichitinevitablydisrupts.
It is hardly surprising when old,
regulated businesses cry foul about
new, smart technologies that disrupt
them. The disrupters are
marketplaces they own no cars but
make their money linking people who
want a cab ride and drivers who want
business. The government, at some
point, as in the case of the rape
incident, has to show it is acting
tough. And it does so by means of
bans. But even without getting into
the question of whether the ban was
justified in the first place, the point
to wonder about is why Uber and
others didnt comply with the
government order. Did they? How are
they going to explain this?
Now, with the Department of
Telecom asking Internet service
providers to block the websites of the
taxi services in Delhi, the ban order is
finallyenforceable.Nonetheless,itis
still important to question the ban in
the first place. The reasons were
weak in December when the ban
order was first sent out. And they
continue to be weak,


notwithstanding the fact that they
were not complied with in the first
place. It can be stated without a
doubt that hiring a cab is far easier
now than before. The ban doesnt
make any party better off. And the
problem of safety in Delhi isnt one
that was caused by these app-based
services. The problem is bigger and
older. Governments across the world
and businesses across the world will

be increasingly confronted by new
offerings, enabled by technology and
by a new world order where
innovation is the order of the day.
Today, the battle is over app-based
taxis. Tomorrow, it could be over
something else. The governments
point is: without a licence, there is no
keeping tab. But the police, by
smartly downloading the taxi apps

and catching drivers who were
violating the ban, showed how it can
be done. The new world needs new
methods, not old rules. The wiser
thing is to work together to ensure
safety standards. The intense urge to
regulate everything will only make
things worse.
107
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Myanmar Operation
MYANMAR OPERATION
Indian Army has performed a
surgicaloperationinsidetheterritory
of Myanmar . According the details
provided by the government it was
carried out by a crack team of about
70 commandos of the Indian Army.
This operation led to death of 38 Naga
insurgentsinjuryofseveralothers.This
strong decision was taken as Naga
militants killed 18 Indian soldiers in
Chandel area of Manipur on June 4.
Prime Minster Narendra Modi was in
Bangladesh so clearance for the
operation could not be given till 7th
june. Once on the ground, the
contingent of the special forces split
into two groups and headed for two
camps being run by NSCN(K) and
KYKL, who are believed to be
responsible for the deadly ambush
on June 4. The teams trekked through
the thick jungles for at least five
kilometers before they reached the
training camps. There were three
earlier such operations performed by
Indian forces previously: Operation Golden BirdThis operation was performed
in April may 1995 in Myanmar
Mizoram Border.
Operation All Clear- This
108
operation was performed

during December 2003 in
South Bhutan.
Joint Military OperationsThis operation was performed
during jauary 2006 inside the
territory of Myanmar.
These operations are generally
performed by the commando forces
of India. There are seven commando
forces in India. Commando forces
include: National Security Guards
or Black cats:- The National
Security Guard (NSG) was set
up in 1984 as a Federal
Contingency Deployment
Force to tackle all facets of
terrorism in the country. Thus
the primary role of this Force is
to combat terrorism in
whatever form it may assume in
areaswhereactivityofterrorists
assumes serious proportions,
and the State Police and other
Central Police Forces cannot
cope up with the situation. The
NSG is a Force specially
equipped and trained to deal
with specific situations and is
therefore, to be used only in
exceptional situations. This

force was modelled on the
pattern of the special Air
services of the UK and GSG-9
of Germany.
Garud:- This is a special force
of Indian Air force . This special
force was formed in 2004.
Name Garud was given from the
Hindu mythological bird
Garuda. This force specialize in
Airfield seizure, airborne
operations etc.
Force One:- This is a special
commando unit of Mumbai
police on the lines NSG. It was
formed under Maharashtra
Police, as a response to the
2008 Mumbai terror attacks and
was commissioned two days
before its first anniversary.
Force one takes very less time
to respond and they were
initiallytrainedbyIsraelispecial
forces.
Special Protection Group:This force was formed under
the Special Protection group
act, 1988. This act provides for
the constitution and regulation
of an armed force of the Union

Myanmar Operation
for providing proximate
security to the Prime Minister
of India and former Prime
Minister of India and members
of their immediate families and
for matters connected
therewith. This group carry
some of the most sophisticated
weapons that include FN
Herstal, Glock pistol etc.
Special Frontier Force:Indias secret force of Tibetans,
the SFF (Special Frontier
Force) was raised after the
1962 border conflict with
China. Its main goal originally
was to conduct covert
operations behind Chinese
lines in the event of another
Sino-Indian War. The SFF,
sometimes also referred to as
Establishment-22, has been a
part of Indias external
intelligence agency, R&AW,
and was originally raised to play
a role behind enemy lines in
China in the event of a war.

Personnel for the unit are
derived from the Tibetan
resistance fighters. It is a
dedicated mountain and
jungle warfare unit.
Marcos: MARCOS
(previously named as Marine
Commando Force (MCF)) is an
elite special operations unit of
the Indian Navy. It was
established in 1987 on the lines
of US Navy unit SEALS. This unit
was created for conducting
special operations such as
Amphibious warfare, Counterterrorism,Directaction,Special
reconnaissance,
Unconventional warfare,
hostage rescue, Personnel
recovery, Asymmetric warfare,
Counterproliferation. The MCF
is specially organised, trained
and equipped for the conduct
of special operations in a
maritime environment.
Para commandos:- The Para

Commandos are a special
forces unit of the Indian Army.
This unit was formed in 1966.
Indian army has seven units that
are part of larger parachute
regiment. They are trained to
carry out intelligence
collection, subversion and
sabotage of vital enemy
infrastructure and
communications through deep
penetration and surgical strikes
behind enemy lines.
These all special command
forces along with regular forces help
inprotectingtheterritoryofindiaand
they also help in mitigating the
dangers of terrorism and insurgency
etc. Hot pursuit like Myanmar
operation gives a strong message to
terrorists that India is serious about
its security of its territory as well as
the life of the personnel of Armed
forces.
109

Myanmar Operation
ONE RANK ONE PENSION SCHEME

One Rank One pension (OROP)
in simple terms mean that every
soldier who retires on the same post
will get the same pension. Pension
will not wary with the date of
retirement. Presently the pension is
related to the last salary drawn, so
soldiers who retires at the later date
receives more pension than those
who did earlier, because salary has
been hiked by pay commission from
time to time. Parliamentary Standing
Committee on Defence and Rajya
Sabha Committee on petitions have
recommended holistic
implementation of OROP.Present
union government has also given its
commitment for one rank one
pension. Thousand crore has been
alloted for the purpose of
implementing this scheme. One rank
one pension is a long standing issue
since 1973. Untill 1973, one rank one
pension was the criteria used for
providing the pensios to Indian
Armed Forces Personnel . Decision
to go against one rank one pension
scheme was taken by third Central
Pay Commission. One Rank One
Pension (OROP) since then has
become a contentious issue and the
110
delay in restoring OROP has become

a cause of disquiet in the Armed
Forces. In order to look into the issue
a petition committee under Shri
Bhagat Singh Koshyari was formed.
The Committee report mentioned
that the decision of the Government
to bring defence personnel on the
pattern of the civilians with regard to
their pay, pension, etc. (from Third
Central Pay Commission onwards)
was not a considered decision which
caused hardship to the defence
personnel and given birth to their
demand for OROP. Before the Third
Central Pay Commission, the defence
personnel were getting their pay /
pension on the basis of a separate
criterion unconnected with the
criteria devised for the civilian work
force. That criterion acknowledged
and covered the concept of OROP
which has been given up after the
Third Central Pay Commission. The
Koshyari Committee also strongly
recommended that, Government
should implement OROP in the
defence forces across the board at
theearliestandfurtherthatforfuture,
the pay, allowances, pension, family
pension, etc. in respect of the
defence personnel should be

determined by a separate commission
so that their peculiar terms are
properly taken into account.
There are variations in what
constitute the One Rank One
Pension. All armed personnelwho
retire at the same time on the same
post may not be getting the same
salary.Assalaryisinrelationtotofor
what duration a post has been held.
Pension will also warry with the
variation in salary. There is another
issue regarding the cost of
implementing the scheme. Defence
minister agreed that 8400 crore
would be needed for implementing
the scheme. This amount will
increase every year which will put
pressure on exchequer. Retirement
age in military personnels is lower so
pension will be provided for longer
duration. The government also seems
worried that OROP could lead to a
similar demand from civilian
pensioners, which, if fulfilled, would
spell a fiscal doom for the central and
state governments. For civilian
employees a new contributory
pension scheme was launched in
2004, which was named as New

Myanmar Operation
Pension Scheme. There has been lot
of commitments that are given for the
implementation of one rank one
pension scheme but due to
difficulties mentioned above this
scheme has not been implemented
till now. Pm Narendra Modi has given
the commitment for the
implementation of this scheme in his

Mann Ki Baat programme, along with
PM Defence minister has also given
the commitment for the
implementation. Still the delay in the
implementation of the OROP has
provoked a fresh round of protest by
Indian Veteran organizations. This
scheme should be implemented at

the earliest as said by the Koshyari
committee report. Its proper
implementation will provide a great
relief to the war veterans who are
demanding this from last few
decades.
111

Mock Paper For GS Paper-II Preliminary Examination 2015
MOCK PAPER
For GS Paper-II
Preliminary Examination 2015
Direction: Instruction for questionread the following passage and

answer the questions that follow.
Your answers to the questions should
be based on the passage only.
Passage 1
As soon as I saw the elephant I
knew with perfect certainty that I
ought not to shoot him. It is serious
matter to shoot a working elephantit is comparable to destroying a huge
and costly price of machinery- and
obviously one ought not to do it if it
can possibly be avoided. And at the
distance , peacefully eating, the
elephant looked no more dangerous
that a cow.
1. The elephant looked no more
dangerous than a cow
because.
(a) Cows can be dangerous
at times
(b) It was quietly doing its
work
(c) It tusks resemble the
cows horns
(d) Unlike lions, it is a
vegetarian animal
2. The writer was against
112
shooting the elephant

because.
(a) He was certain that the
elephant was innocent
(b) He suspected it to be a
wild one and was afraid
of it
(c) His heart was full of
compassion for animals
(d) It would amount to
avoidable waste of useful
property.
3. The author compares the
elephant to a costly machine
because;
(a) Ivory is very expensive
(b) It can do as much work
as an expensive machine
(c) Elephants look like big
machines
(d) Elephants and machines
have similar prices
Passage 2
Shaken by the resolve shown buy
the hazara Shia community of Quetta
who have been picketing out in subzero temperature and rain for justicePakistan broke out in protest against
the states silence on unrelenting
terrorism .
Besides the end of the genocide, the

Hazara shias want military operation
against banned outfits like the Sipahe-Sahaba and Lashkar-e-jangvi.
Accusing the state of a policy of
apartheid aginst the hazara shias who have been victims of relentless
sectarian attacks for several years
now- some in the community are
demanding Army takeover of the
province while others are openly
critical of the security establishment
for allowing its pro refers is to carry
out such a genocide
4. In the above passage
sectarian attacks
(a) Discrimination or hatred
arising due to dispute in
different families
(b) Discrimination or bared
arising due to difference
in counties
(c) Discrimination or hatred
arising from attaching
importance to perceived
differences between
subdivisions within a
group
(d) All of the above
5. End of the genocide infers
to


(a) Ending the deliberate
killing of a group of
people, except those of a
particular ethnic group or
nation
(b) Ending the disputes of
countries
(c) Ending the casteism
(d) None of the above
6. In the passage, sipah-esahab lashkar-e-jangvi are:
(a) Pakistans
Sunni
organization
(b) Pakistans
shias
organization
(c) Afghanistans sunnis
organization
(d) Afghanistans shias
organization
Passage 3
For achieving inclusive growth there
is a critical need to rethink the role
of the state. The early debate among
economist about the size of the
government can be misleading. The
need of the hour is to have an
enabling government. India is too
large and complier and nation for the
state to be able to deliver all that is
need. Asking the government to
produce all the essential goods,
create all the necessary jobs, and
keep a curb on the prices of all goods
is to lead to a large cumbersome
bureaucracy and widespread
computation, the aim must be to stay
with the objective of inclusive
growth hat was laid down by the
founding fathers of the nations and
also to take a more modern view of
what the state can realistically
deliver.
This is what leads to the idea of an
enabling sate, that is a government
that does not try to directly deliver
to the citizen everything that they
need. Instead it
1. Creates an enabling ethos for

the market so that individual
enterprise can flourish and
citizens can, for the most
part, provide for the needs of
one another and
2. Steps in to help those who do
not manage to do well for
themselves, for there will
always be individuals no
matter what the system, who
need support and help
Hence we need a government that,
when it come to the market, sets
effective, incentive compatible rules
and remains on the sidelines with
minimal interference, and at the
same time plays an important role
in directly helping the poor by
ensuring that they get basic education
and health services and receive
adequate nutrition and food.
7. According to passage:
1. The objective of inclusive
growth was laid down by
the founding fighters of
the nation
2. Need of the house is to
have an enabling
Government
3. The government should
engage with maximum
interference in market
process.
4. There is a need to change
the size of the
government
Which of the statements
given above are correct ?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
8.
According to the passage,

the strategy of inclusion
growth can be effected by
focusing on
(a) Meeting all the needs of

every citizen in the
country
(b) Increasing
the
regulations over the
manufacturing sector
(c) Controlling
the
distribution
of
manufacturing goods
(d) Delivery of the basic
services to the deprived
sections of the society
9. What constitutes and
enabling government?
1. A large bureaucracy
2. Implementation
of
welfare programmes
though representative
3. Creating an ethos that
helps
individual
enterprise
4. Providing resources to
those
who
are
underprivileged
5. Offering direct help to the
poor regarding basic
services.
Select the correct answer
form the codes given below:
(a) 1,2 and 3 only
(b) 4 and 5 only
(c) 3, 4 and 5 only
(d) 1,2,3,4 and 5
10. Why is the state unable to
deliver all that is need?
1. It does not have
sufficient bureaucracy
2. It does not promote
inclusive growth
form the codes given below;
(a) 1 only (b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
11. What is essential message
being converged by the
author of the passage?
113


(a) The objectives of
inclusive growth laid
down by the founding
fathers of the nations
should be remembered
(b) The government need to
make available more
school and health
services.
(c) The government needs
establish markets and
industries to meet the
needs of the poor strata
of the society.
(d) There is a need to rethink
the role of the state in
achieving inclusive
growth
Passage 4
The concept of creative society
refers to a phase of development of
a society in which a large number
of potential contradiction become
articulate and active. This is most
evident which oppressed social
groups get politically mobilized and
demand their rights. The upsurge of
the peasants and tribal, the
movement for regional autonomy
and self-determination, the
environmental movement, and the
womens movement in the
developing countries are signs of
emergence of creative society in
contemporary times.
The forms of social movement and
their intensity may vary from
country to country and place to
place within to country and place to
place within a country. But they
very presence of movement for
social transformation in various
shapes of a society indicates the
emergence of a creative society in a
country.
12. What does the author imply
by creative society?
114
1. A society where diverse

art and forms and literary
writing seek incentive
2. A society where social
inequalities are accepted
as the norm.
3. A society where a large
number of contradiction
are recognized
4. A society where the
exploited and the
oppressed groups grow
conscious of their human
rights and upliftment
using the codes given below:
(a) 1, 2 and 3
(b) 4 only (c) 3 and 4
(d) 2 and 4
13. What according to the
passage
are
the
manifestations of social
movements.?
1. Aggressiveness and being
incendensy
2. Instigation by external
forces
3. Quest for social equality
and individual freedom
4. Urge for granting
privileges and self
respect to disparaged
section of the society
(a) 1 and 3 only
(b) 2 and 4 only
(c) 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4.
14. With reference to the
passage, consider the
following statements.
1. To be a creative society,
it is essential to have a
variety
of
social
movements
2. To be a creative society,
it is imperative to have
potential contradictions
and conflicts
given above is the correct
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 not 2
Passage 5
Third World is not a term much
used today. Most developing
countries, as they were once
euphemistically know, really are
now developing- and doing so fast,
so it is not surprising their disease
patterns are changing too, just as
happened in the rich world. Deaths
from infections disease are down .
Rates of non-transmissible
illness often chrome and frequently
the result of obesity are rising the
panjandrums of global health are
struggling to keep up.
15. In the passage above the
word panjandrums refers
too
(a) Importance of global
health
(b) Weakness of global health
(c) None of these
(d) A & B
16. The author used the term
third world for
(a) Developing countries of
Asia, Africa and Latin
America.
(b) All developing countries
(c) Can not be determined
(d) None of these
Passage 6
Bribery is voluntary. The bribe grew
chooses to give money or favors to
influence a choice, steal a march
over rival, or hasten ( sometimes
delay) a decision. Bribery harms the
economy and society cumulatively


over a period of time. But it has
limited political impact because it is
a voluntary transaction between
consenting adults and the injustice
it does is confined to a small circle
of rivals.
17. What would be the
appropriate title for the
passage
(a) Bribery
(b) Effects of bribe on
society
(c) Economic injustice
through brave
(d) None
18. bribery is voluntary, by
this statements the author
infers
(a) Bribery is self-willed
(b) To give bribe by others
will
(c) Both a & b
(d) None
Passage 7
Religion and culture play an
important role in social cohesion.
The religious attitude of tolerance
and peace and culture values of
pluralism and conducive to good
governance. And yet there is no
casual relationship between religion
and democracy. For democracy does
not belong to any faith, equally, no
particular faith is synonymous with
democracy. Indian democracy is a
product of freedom movement
which gave primary to values of
pluralism and equal treatment to
people of different faiths and ethnic
backgrounds. The constitution
guarantees, the judiciary upholds it
and the leader ship believes in this
values system.
19. What does the term social
cohesion refers to
(a) Brining people together
in a specific society
(b) Separating people into

groups in a specfic
society
(c) None of these
(d) a & b
20. Good Governance stand
for governance which serves
the citizens by
A Safe guarding territorial
integrity of the state
B Securing individual
security
C Applying rule of law
D Delivering services
ranging from education,
health to livelihood and
food security
(a) A, B
(b) B ,C, D
(c) B, C
(d) All
21. In the passage the religious
attitude of tolerance infers
to
A Acceptance of the
concept that two or
more religions with
mutually exclusive truth
claims are equally valid
B Acceptance of the
concept that two or
more religions with
mutually exclusive truth
claims are invalid
C Synonym
for
ecumenism
D As term for the condition
of harmonious coexistence
between
adherents of different
religions or religious
denominations
(a) A, B , C(b) B, C, D
(c) A, C, D (d) A , B, D
Passage 8
Democracy is at the heart of
governance in India. However, in its
working, democracy has revealed
several inadequacies. The chain of
accountability from the civil service

to legislature and political authority
is weak; follow-through at higher
levels of administration is poor sand
limited oversight by Parliamentary
committees is part of the problem.
Criminalization of politics and
increasing role of caste and religion
in elector politics are major concern.
22. Criminalization of politics can
be prevented by
(a) Debarring criminals from
contesting elections
(b) Preventing criminals
facing
prosecution
getting out on bail
(c) Amending the Acts.
(d) All of them
23. governance refers to
A Safeguarding territorial
integrity of the state
B Securing individual
security
C Applying rule of law
D Delivering services
ranging from education
health to livelihood and
food security
(a) A, B
(b) B, C, D
(c) B, C
(d) All
24. What could be the
appropriate title of the
passage
(a) Good Governance
(b) Democracy
(c) Democracy
and
governance
(d) None
Passage 9
Mycorrhizal fungi infect more plants
that do any other fungi and are
necessary for many plant to thrive,
but they have escaped widespread
investigation until recently for two
reasons. First, the symbiotic
association is so well-balanced that
115


the roots of host plants show no
damage even when densely infected,
second, the fungi cannot as yet be
cultivated in the absence of a living
root, despite their difficulties, there
has been important new work that
suggests that this symbiotic
association can be harnessed to
achieve more economical use of
costly superphosphate fertilizer of
cheaper, less soluble rock phosphate.
27. To indulge in their favorite

pastime our ancestors
(a) Exercised
some
intelligence and individual
initiative
(b) Enjoyed nonsensical
work
(c) Never moved out of their
familiar environment
(d) Formed recreational
clubs
25. Which of the following most

accurately describes the
passage
(a) Report (b) Summary
(c) Regulation of earlier
hypotheses
(d) A recommendation
28. The author thinks that the

bane of modern times is that
(a) Physical exercise has
been given a go-by
(b) The trash travels very
fast
(c) People are taking active
interest in mindless
pleasures
(d) The cheap ready made
distractions
have
become more and more
pervasive
Passage 10
In older times, the pleasures demand
intelligence and personal initiative,
now a days, we have vast companies
that provide as with readymade
distractions, which demands from
audience, no personal participation
and no intellectual effort of any sort.
To the interminable democracies of
the world, a million enemas bring
the same state balderdash. There are
always been fourth-rate writers and
drama writers; whose work are not
been appreciated. Today, the
inventions of the scenario-writer go
out from Los Angles across the
whole would countless audiences
soak passively in the tepid bath of
nonsense. No mental effort is
demanded of them.
26. According to the passage, the
modern audience
(a) Is cosmopolitan in its
outlook
(b) Is very discriminating
(c) Looks individual initiative
and refuses to exercise
the mind
(d) None
116
29. According to this passage,

most cinemas
(a) Deal with the familiar
uninteresting family
dramas
(b) Tend to be didactic and
moralistic
(c) Bring the images of the
same old adventure
activities
(d) Bring nothing but some
dull, nonsensical talk
Passage 11
Employees therein decide their own
working hours set quotas for their
production, improve products and
process, are responsible for their
own quality and for approval of a
leadership appointment. Everyone
has the right to vote on major
companys decision and split the
profit. As Vimal gains confidence in
this approach, it happily abolished a
lot more of the conventions by

which business are usually run.
No secretaries, receptionist or
spaces and dining room , dress codes
and almost all rules have gone,
including those for travel and
expenses.
30. The term leadership
appointments signify
(a) Appointing company
directors
(b) Appoint meting political
leaders
(c) Selecting trade union
leaders
(d) Appoint officers in
charge of various
sections
31. In the given passage,
Vimal is the name of ;
(a) A brand of the product
(b) A novel approach to
things and affairs
(c) A business establishment
(d) The leader of secretaries,
receptionists
and
personal assistants
32. From the passage it is clear
that the novel approach
referred to is
(a) Democratize
(b) Bureaucratic
(c) Aristocratic
(d) Autocratic
33. The employees referred to
are:
(a) Employee of essential
services
(b) Government employees
(c) Employees of a public
sector undertaking
(d) Employees of a private
company
Passage 12
Ecosystem provide people with a
variety of goods and services; food,


clean water, clean air, Flood control,
Soil stabilization, Pollutions, Climate
regulation, spiritual fulfillment and
aesthetic enjoyment, to name just a
few. Most of these benefits either
are irreplaceable or the technology
necessary to replace them is
prohibitively expensive. For
example, potable fresh water can be
provided by desalinating sea-water,
but only at a great cost. The rapidly
expanding human population has
greatly modifies the earths
ecosystems to meet their increased
requirements of some of the goods
and services, particularly food, fresh
water, timber, fiber and fuel. These
modifications have contributed
substantially to human well being
and economic development., the
benefits have not been equally
distributed some people have actually
been harmed by these changes.
Moreover, short-term increases in
some ecosystem goods and services
have come at the cost of the long
term degradation of other. For
example, efforts to increase the
production of food and fiber have
decreased the ability of some
ecosystems to provide clean water,
regulate flooding and support
biodiversity
34. With reference to the
passage, considered the
following
statements:
expanding human population
has as adverse effect on:
1. Spiritual fulfillment
2. Aesthetic enjoyment
3. Potable fresh water
4. Production of food and
fiber
5. Biodiversity
given above are correct
(a) 1, 2 and 3only
(b) 2, 4 and 5 only

(c) 3 and 5 only
(d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 only
35. The passage mentions that
some people have actually
been harmed by these
changes. What does it
imply?
1. The rapid expansion of
population has adversely
affected some people
2. Sufficient efforts, have
not been made to increase
the production of food
and fiber
3. In the short term some
people may be harmed,
but in the long term
everyone will benefit
from modifications in the
earths ecosystems
Which of the statements give
above is /are correct?
(a) 1 only (b) 2
(c) 1 and 3
36. A team is performing
extremely good and is a
paramount example of team
work. When of the following
may be the primary force in
the success of the team?
(a) Cohesiveness among
members.
(b) Collective responsibility
(c) The team leader
(d) Both (a) and (b).
37. An officer has decided to
survey his district identify the
problems in the area and
important a few policies to
benefit the people. But the
policies did not succeed the
Reason for this failure could
be.
(a) He was unexperienced
and hence could not
identify the problems

correctly
(b) He had no knowledge
about the district.
(c) He had sufficient
resources for the
implementation of his
policies.
(d) His implementation way
was good.
38. You are a supervisor in an
organization which of the
following do you think
correct
for
effective
supervision
(a) Concern for employees
and mutual trust.
(b) Supremacy
over
employees.
(c) Comments on other
employees.
(d) No informal interaction
39. To ensure effective formal
communication one must
rely on.
(a) Ruler and policies of the
organization
(b) Deep relation between the
employees.
(c) Organization structure.
(d) Positive attitude.
40. During the peak time too
much work load exists. How
do you tackle with it?
(a) You will make your
subordinates work and
give them overtime.
(b) You will appreciate the
subordinates,
who
performed will and use
are willing to work hard.
(c) You will demand
additional work force.
(d) Both (a) and (b)
41. If R means X, S means , T
means +, and U means , than
what is the value of
117


13
4
4 10
>
4
T5 S
R1
U1 ?
7
9
7
11
7
(a) 12
(c) 14
(b) 13
(d) 11
42. Rajesh is facing west. He

turns 45 in the clockwise
direction, and in the same
direction he turns again 180
and then 270 in the
anticlockwise direction. Now
he is facing in
(a) South
(b) North-west
(c) West
(d) South-west
43. Six friends- K, L, M, N, O
and P are sitting in such a
circular way that they face
towards the centre. K, and L
makes an angle of 180 at the
centre of the circle by the
straight line; from L and M
makes 120, again 180 from
M and N. O does not sit on
the immediate left of M while
M is not on the immediate
right of K. Which statement
is definitely true accordingly?
(a) M is sitting between K
and N.
(b) O is sitting between K
and P.
(c) L is sitting between N
and P.
(d) O and M sit opposite to
each other.
Direcion: Study the information
given below and answer the
questions:(i) There are two couples in
a family. There are 6
members.
(ii) Mrs. Kavita and her
mother-in-law both are
Lawyers.
(iii) The lawyer is the head of
the family and has only
118
two sons- Suresh and

Naresh
both
are
Teachers.
(iv) Sureshs wife is a doctor
and have a son named
Vijay.
44. What is the profession of
Nareshswife.
(a) Teacher(b) Doctor
(c) Lawyer (d) None
45. How many male members are
there in the family?
(a) Two (b) Three
(c) Four (d) One
46. What is Vijays occupation?
(a) Teacher(b) Lawyer
(c) Doctor
(d) cant be determined
47. Which of the following is
definitely a couple?
(a) Lawyer- Teacher
(b) Doctor- Lawyer
(c) Teacher-Teacher
(d)cant be determined
48. What is Vijays Grandfathers
occupation?
(a) Teacher(b) Lawyer
(c) Doctor
(d) cant be determined
49. In a certain code BLEAR is
written as MCVSB and
BLARE is written as
MCZFS. How is REBEL
written in that code?
(a) FSRYF (b) FSMYF
(c) FSYMF(d) BSYMF
50. If accident is related to
Precautions, in the same
way- Sanitation is related to:(a) Medicine(b) Diseases
(c) Doctor (d) Diet
51. Four of the following five
pairs are alike in a certain way
and so form a group, which
One is not alike?
(a) SMART : RTSMA
(b) BRAKE : AKRFB

(c) WINGS : SGNIW
(d) COUSIN : SINCOU
52. Find the unlike pair from the
four pairs which forms a
group(a) illyngophobia : Vertigo
(b) Kakorrhaphiophobia :
Defeat
(c) Insectophohia : Termite
(d) Kainolophobia : Novelty
53. If in a code language
FORTNIGHT is written as
C P N O S X U Q G ,
TOMMORROW is written as
EVXWSPQU, then how is
YESTERDAY written in that
language?
(a) OPDKSTMNR
(b) HIKXJXVGZ
(c) QGQSONPCQ
(d) HKXJIVGZX
Direction: Eight friends STUVWXY
and Z, are sitting in two opposite
rows facing each other. There are
four persons in each row. S is
between X and Y, and faces north.
Z is opposite to W, who is on the
immediate left of T. U is between V
and T. Z is to the immediate right
of Y. Answer the question as per the
instructions given54. Who is sitting opposite to U?
(a) W
(b) S
(c) Y
(d) V
55. Who lies immediate right of
U?
(a) V
(b) S
(c) Y
(d) Z
56. Find the height of the lift if
the angle of elevation of the
top of a lift is 30 and it is
450 m from ground level?
(a) 158.8m (b) 230 m
(c) 259.8 m(d) 265.08 m
57. Find the number of way in


which 8 different pearls can
be arranged to form a
bracelet?
(a)
(c)
8!
2
(b)
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
64. Find the value of x:(d)
58. From 6 boys and 10 girls, in

how many ways can 5 be
chosen to include exactly one
monitor?
(a) 1160 (b) 1260
(c) 1290 (d) 1250
(a) 12
(b) 24
(c) 36
(d) 7
65. Which fraction is the greatest
?
12 9 6 3
,
,
,
3 1 23 15 7
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
59. Find the value-
60.
13132673
496923! x 4 8 2 4 = 0 4
123679253111 3 1 3
4 25 165 = ? 2 7
1
3
3
61.
62.
63.
(a) 56
(b) 54
(c) 58
(d) 59
A person covers a distance in
42 minutes, if he runs at a
speed of 25km/hr on an
average, find the speed at
which he must run to reduce
the time of the journey to 35
minutes?
(a) 50 km/hr(b) 40 km/hr
(c) 30 km/hr(d) 35 km/hr
Ram and Radha together can
do a piece of work in 7 days.
If Ram does twice as much
work as Radha in given time,
how long will Ram take alone
to complete the work?
(a) 21 days (b) 20days
(c) 10 days (d) 10/2 days
A bag contains an equal
number of 1 rupee, fifty paisa
and twenty-five paisa coin
respectively. If the total value
is Rs 56, how many coins of
each type are there?
(a) 52
(b) 22
(c) 32
(d) 62
Find the value of:-
66. You were passing through a

jungle it was getting dark and
you heard some noise in the
bus her behind you
(a) Walk back and start
running
(b) Keep silence for some
time and then carry on.
(c) Walk back find nothing
suspicious and so
carryon
(d) Hide for sometime in a
near by place and wait till
the noise ceases.
67. While playing a cricket
match. You husited your ankle
very badly you
(a) Stop playing and walk
back.
(b) Take first aid and
continue playing
(c) Leave the match and go
Home
(d) Keep on playing without
giving any concentration
on your pain
68. Jast before reaching the
mountain peak you found
your feet were slipping due

to sand kept underneath your
feet you
(a) Balance your body and
change steps to move up
to the top.
(b) Start screaming for help.
(c) Start praying to god to
keep you safe.
(d) Start abusing your trainer
69. During a train journey you
found some passengers
arguing
unnecessarily
disturbing other people .
you
(a) Do not play any heed to
them
(b) Start doing you work
(c) Persuade them factually
not to do so
(d) Fell them to leave that
place.
70. while going to a place on an
urgent mission you found that
the only bus left was full and
no other public transport was
available you
(a) Use your power to get
seats.
(b) Take your ticket by
persuading conductor by
giving him extra money.
(c) Use your money illegally
and get a seat
(d) Somehow manage your
entry into the bus and
travel the distance
standing.
71. Being the eldest of the family
you found your family was
uprooted due to undone
you
(a) Tell your other brothers
to
contribute
for
rehabilitation
(b) Rehatriectate your family
by arranging necessary
things
119


(c) Wait for the government
to help your family
(d) Wait for the god to
smoothen the situation
72. You found a few members
were going back out from
joining a government
policyyou.
(a) Persuade them to join the
police by highlighting the
importance of the police
(b) Try to persuade them and
if they do not agree then
you start threatening
them.
(c) Do not pay any attention
to this
(d) Keep on doing your duty
without taking any
interest in those who
were going to back out.
73. You saw people crowding
outside ticket counter, trying
to buy tickets, resulting into
quarrel you
(a) Do not pay any attention
to it and keep on doing
your work.
(b) Persuade them to form a
queue.
(c) Like money other, you
too become a spectator
and keep on waiting for
the quarrel to stop.
(d) Go from behind the
queue and arrange your
tickets
74. While Traveling is a crowded
bus, you saw a person
picking the pocket of a
passenger you.
(a) Do nothing; just keep on
doing your work.
(b) Start giving attention to
other things
(c) Beat the man blue with
the help of other
passengers.
120
(d) Caught the man red

handed and handed him
over to the police.
75. Although you were a first
division you failed to get first
division in English exam.
You
(a) Start blaming the
situations and cursing
your luck
(b) Feel jealousy with the
students, who got first
division and start
behaving badly with
them.
(c) Work hard to get first
division in the next exam.
(d) Stop doing anything and
start to lighten your
mood.
76. You with your friends, while
in the morning walk, find that
an old man is laying
unconscious on the road.
You
(a) Will not do anythings as
you have other important
work to do
(b) Will inform the police.
(c) Will give first aid and take
to hospital at the earliest.
(d) Will give first aid and then
complete your morning
walk.
77. There is a flood noticed in the
morning when you woke up
the whole locality is about to
sink. Lot many things are
seen as spoiled you
(a) Call
the
disaster
management people.
(b) Try to save the vulnerable
people.
(c) Will create force to
evacuate essentials
immediately.
(d) Pray to the almighty.
78. While sitting in examination

hall, you noticed that your
best friend had expired.
You
(a) Will leave the exam and
become much tensed.
(b) Will complete the exam
and then rush to your
friends house.
(c) Will start informing
others about it
(d) Will inform the police
first before completing
the papers.
79. You received an urgent
message from your superior.
But you feel that the massage
is wrong you
(a) Will show the massage to
your best friend and then
after seeing his reaction
will decide to follow it or
not
(b) Will obey first
(c) Ask the superior for
classification
(d) Will not do anything and
wait for the response of
superior.
80. Some terrorists kidnapped a
girl. You, while passing
through that area, were
approached by a person to
help to rescue the girl you
(a) Will not listen to the
person as it may
endanger your own life
(b) Will inform the police by
calling on helpline
number.
(c) Will involve yourself to
make the Terrorist
surrender.
(d) Ask help of some more
people and then involve
yourself.

Answers with Explanations

1. (b)
2. (d)
3. (b)
4. (c)
5. (a)
6. (a)
7. (a)
8. (d)
9. (c)
10. (d)
11. (d)
12. (c)
13. (c)
14. (c)
15. (a)
16. (a)
17. (b)
18. (a)
19. (a)
20. (d)
21. (c)
22. (d)
23. (d)
24. (c)
25. (b)
26. (c)
27. (a)
28. (d)
29. (d)
30. (d)
31. (c)
32. (a)
33. (d)
34. (c)
35. (a)
36. (d)
37. (a)
38. (a)
39. (c) [the structure of an arganisation plays the foremost role in ensuring efficient formal communication
rest things come later]
40. (d) [work will be accomplished with minimal expenditure]
41. (b)
42. (b)
45. (c)
46. (b)
43. (a)
44. (a)
47. (b) Difference of 6 digits from 42, as 15+6 = 21, 27 + 6 = 33, 42 + 6 = 48.
48. (a) 6 +11 = 17, 17 6 = 11 in same way 11 +11 = 22, 22 6 =16
49. (b) 3 - 1, 4 - 2, 5-3
50. (c) 2 + 2, 2 + 2 .
51. (a) + 1, +3, +5, +7
52. (d) we do not have information about the number of persons between Ramesh and Krishna.
53. (b) As the last rang 45 minutes before 7:45 am, at 7.00, but it happened five minutes before the teacher gave
the information to the students. So the information was given 7.05 am.
54. (c) Todays date Monday
Abhis birthday = Monday + 2 = Wednesday
wed = Independences Day
Required Answer= Wednesday +1 = Thursday
55. (a) the pattern is +20, +40, +80.
56. (c)
57. (b)
58. (a)
59. (b)
60. (c)
61. (d)
62. (c)
63. (b)
64. (b)
65. (d)
66. (d)
67. (b)
68. (a)
69. (c)
70. (d)
71. (c)
72. (a)
73. (b)
74. (d)
75. (c)
76. (c)
77. (b)
78. (b)
79. (b)
80. (d)
121
G.S. FOUNDATION COURSE (PRELIMINARY+ MAINS)

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MOCK PAPER
For GS Paper-I
Preliminary Examination 2015
1. Consider
the
following
statements:
1. He introduced guerilla
warfare against Mughals.
2. He killed Afzal Khan, a
general of the dolcunda
Kingdom.
3. Jai Singh persuaded Shivaji to
have friendship with
Aurangzeb
but
was
imprisoned by Aurangzeb.
4. He declared himself the
independent ruler of the
Maratha Kingdom and was
crowned in 1674.
Which of the above
statements are true about
Shivaji?
(a) Only l, 2 and 3
(b) Only 2, 3 and 4
(c) Only 1, 3 and 4
(d) All the above
2. Match the List-I (Goods) with
List-II (Procurement are
(a) and select, the correct answer
using the codes.given below
the lists:
List-I
A. Malmals
B. Silks
C. Cotton
textiles
D. Pepper
122
List-II
1. Surat, Ahmedabad
and Madurai
2. Malabar
3. Dacca (in East
Bengal)
4. Banaras
Code:
A B C
D
(a) 3 4 1
2
(b) 1 3 4
2
(c) 4 2 1
3
(d) 2 1 3
4
3. Consider
the
following
statements:
1. Dara Sikoh was the son of
Shah Jahan and brother of
Aurangzeb.
2. His best known work was
a.study of Sufi and Vedanta
Philosophy.
3. He also translated the
Upnishads into Persian in
1657.
4. He was killed in the fight for
the throne between him and
his brother Aurangzeb.
Which of the above statements
about prince Dara Sikoh is/are
correct?
(a) Only 1, 2 and 3
(b) Only 2, 3 and 4
(c) Only 1, 3 and 4
(d) All the above
4. Which of the following
statements about Akbar is/are
correct?
1. Akbar was proclaimed king in
1565 when he was only
thirteen years of age.
2. Akbar was looked after by
Bairam Khan.
3. He fought his first battle with
Hemu at Panipat.
4. He had marriage alliance with
many Rajput royal families.
Code:
(a) Only 1, 2 and 3
(b) Only 2, 3 and 4
(c) Only 1, 3 and 4
(d) All the above
5. Consider
the
following
statements:
1. Zaziya was. abolished during
the reign-of Jahandar Shah
2. Several semi-independent
kingdoms emerged in Bengal,
Awadh and Hyderabad
during the period of Ahmad
Shah
Code:
(a) Only 1 is correct
(b) Only 2 is correct
(c) Both are correct
(d) Neither 1 nor 2 is correct
6. Arrange the following Later
Mughal rulers in chronological
order:
1. Alamgir II
2. Mohammad Shah
3. Shah Alam II
4. Ahmad Shah
Code:
(a) 3, 2, 4, 1 (b) 1,3, 2, 4
(c) 1, 2, 3, 4 (d) 2, 4, 1, 3


7. Match the following List-I with
List-II and answer as per the code
given below:
List-I
A. Mahabalipuram1.
B. Halebid
2.
Temple
C. Thanjavur
3.
D. Hampi
4.
List II
Vithaldeo Temple
Brihadeswara
Hoyasala Temple
Shore Temple
Code:
A B C
D
(a) 4 3 2
1
(b) 3 4 2
1
(c) 4 3 1
2
(d) 3 4 1
2
8. Match the following List-I
(Monument) with List-II
(Builders) and answer as per the
code given below:
List-I
A. Nalanda
1.
Univer sity
B. Konark Temple2.
C. Shore Temple 3.
D. Hawa Mahal 4.
5.
List-II
Narsinghadeva I
Kumargupta I
Narsimha II
Raja Udai Singh
Raja Sawai Man
Singh
Code:
A B C
D
(a) 1 2 3
4
(b) 3 4 2
1
(c) 2 1 3
5
(d) l
2 3
5
9. E llora
in
Aurangabad
(Maharashtra) is famous for
ancient caves representing
Buddhism, Hinduism and
Jainism. Of these, the largest
number pertains to:
(a) Buddhism(b)Hinduism
(c) Jainism (d) None of the
above
10. Consider
the
following
statements:
1. The Rigveda consists of 1028
Suktas or hymns, which are
distributed in ten book called
mandalas
2. Panini is considered as the
author of one of the first long
poems in Sanskrit.
Codes:
(c) Both are correct

(d) Neither 1 nor 2 is correct
given below:
List-I
A. Khajuraho
Temples
B. Ellora Caves
C. Jaganath
Temple
D. Meenakshi
Temple
List-II
1. Rashtrakutas
2. Gangas
3. Chandelas
4. Nayakas
Code:
A B C
D
(a) 3 1 2
4
(b) 1 2 3
4
(c) 3 2 1
4
(d) 2 4 1
3
12. The Vivekananda Rock memorial
is located at:
(a) Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu
(b) Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu
(c) Dakshineshwar, West Bengal
(d) Ajmer, Rajasthan
13. Which of the following dance is
performed by women in Punjab?
(a) Garba
(b) Gidda
(c) Ghero
(d) Goncha
14. Badami which is known in
ancient times as Vatapi is. a
town located in the Bijapur
district of Karnataka and is
famous. for its rock-cut temples
constructed by the Chalukyas.
These are mainly:
(a) Hindu temples
(b) Hindu and Buddhist temple
(c) Hindu, Buddhist and Jain
temple
(d) Buddhist and Jain temple
given-below:
List-I
A. Tower of
silehce
B. Tower of
victory
C. Anand
Bhavan
D. Matri
Mandir
List-II
1. Chittorgarh
2. Allahabad
3. Mumbai
4. Pondicherry
Code:
A B C
D
(a) 1 2 3
4
(b) 2 1 4
3
(c) 4 3 2
1
(d) 3 1 2
4
statements is/are correct?
1. Bharatas Natya Shastra
contains several chapter on
painting.
2. One of the strongest
influences on !he Indian music
has perhaps been that of the
Persian music.
3. The Dhrupad which evolved
in the medieval period was
devotional in character.
Code:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) All the above
17. The earliest coins called the
Punch-marked coins belonged
to the period:
(a) 6th century BE
(b) 6th century AD
(c) 10th century BC
(d) 10th century AD
18. Consider
the
following
statements:
1. Painting as an art form has
flourished in India from
ancient times.
2. The Guptas period is often
described as the Golden Age
of Indian Arts.
3. The Pallavas also left behind
excellent examples of
paintings in temples.
Code:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) I and 3 only
(d) All the above
19. Match the following List-I
(Temples/Images of the Gupta
period with List-II and answer as
per the code given below:
List-I
A. Bhitargaon
B. Bhitari
List-II
1. Bhagalpur
2. Kanpur
123


C. Deogarh
D. Sultanganj
3. Ghazipur
4. Jhansi
Code:
A B C
D
(a) 3 2 4
1
(b) 2 3 4
1
(c) 2 3 1
4
(d) 3 2 1
4
20. Consider
the
following
statements regarding Harappan
civilization:
Assertion (a): The seals and
images were manufactured with
great skill but the terracotta pieces
represent unsophisticated artistic
works.
Reason (R): The contrast
between the two sets indicates the
gap between the classes which
used them.
21. Which of the following causes
have been attributed to the
eclipse of the Iradusvalley
civilization?
1. Frequency of floods
2. Foreign invasions
3. Onset of the drought
conditions.
Select the correct answer using
the codes given below:
Code:
(a) Only 2 and 3
(b) Only 1 and 2
(c) Only 1 and 3
(d) All the above
22. Indus Valley civilization is called
Harappan civilization because:
(a) Harappa was six times larger
than Mohenjodaro
(b) Harappa has more features
(c) Harappa was excavated first
(d) Indus valley civilization was
believed to be early Vedic
civilization; hence it is named
after mythological word
Harappa
23. According to ancient Indian ideas
the sequential order of the cycle
of four ages/Yugas is:
(a) Dvapara, Krita, Treta and
Kali(b) Krita, Dvapara, Treta and Kali
(c) Krita, Treta, Kali and Dvapara
124
(d) Krita, Treta, Dvapara and Kali

24. Which of the following is correct
with respect to Harappan
Civilization?
1. The remarkable thing about
the arrangement of the
houses in the cities is that they
followed the grid system.
2. The Indus people were not
the earliest people to produce
cotton.
3. The inhabitants of the Indus
region worshipped gods in the
form of trees, animals a d
human beings and the gods
were placed it temples.
4. The Harappans were great
experts in theq use of the
potters wheel.
Code:
(a) 1, 2 and 3(b) 2 and 4
(c) 1 and 3 (d) 1 and 4
25. Indicate the correct chronological
order of dynasties in the order in
which they came to India?
(a) Indo Greeks - Shakas Kushans - Parthians
(b) Indo Greeks - Shakas Parthians - Kushans
(c) Shakas - Indo Greeks Parthians - Kushans
(d) Shakas - Parthians - Indo
Greeks - Kushans
26. Consider
the
following
statements:
1. The Harappan people did not
know the art of writing.
2. The period when man began
to use metal is called the
Neolithic Age.
Code:
(c) Both 1 and 2 are correct
(d) Neither 1 nor 2 are correct
List-II and answer as per. the code
given below:
List-I
A. Bhimbetka
B. Chirand
C. Burzaliontt
Kashmir
D. Bagor
List-II
1. Rajasthan
2. Bihar
3. Jammu and
4. Madhya Pradesh
Code:
A B C
D
(a) 4 2 3
1
(b) 1 3 2
4
(c) 4 1 3
2
(d) 3 4 1
2
28. Arrange the following Buddhist
councils in chronological order:
1. Vaishali 2. Rajagriha
3. Pataliputra4. Srinagar
Code:
(a) 1, 4, 3, 2 (b) 3, 2, 1, 4
(c) 3, 1, 2, 4 (d) 2, 1, 3, 4
29. Which of the following is wrong
in the context. of decline of
Mauryan Empire?
(a) The successors of Ashoka
were weak and could not
control the Empire properly.
(b) The various regions of the
empire were cut off from one
another by great distances.
(c) A
large
army
and
administrative structure
became aburden.
(d) The policy of Ahimsa (or nonviolence) led to the decline of
Mauryan Empire.
statements correctly describes,
the difference between a Chaitya
and Stupa?
(a) Chaitya is a resting place,
while Stupa is a funeral
monument.
(b) Chaitya is a place of worship
while Stupa is n architectural
term for a mound containing
the relic of Buddha and other
leading Buddhist saints.
(c) Chaityas were constructed by
monasteries while Stupas
were constructed by kings and
rich merchants.
(d) Chaityas
represents
Mahayanism while Stupas
represent Himayanism.
31. Direction: The following
question consists of two
statements; one labelled as the
Assertion (a) and the other as
Reason (R). You are to examine
these statements carefully and


select the answers to these items
Assertion (A): The mechanism
of rainfall in coastal areas of
Kerala in winters differs from mid
plains.
Reason (R): Retreating
monsoons cause rainfall in
coastal areas of Kerala in winters
in place of westerly disturbance.
Code:
(a) Both A and R are individually
true and R is the correct
explanation of A.
(b) Both A and R are individually
true but R is not the correct
explanation.
(c) A is true but R is false.
(d) A is false but R is true.
32. Consider
the
following
statements.
(i) Precambrian period has
foremost place in the land
history of India because it was
the time when the outline of
present shape of India
formed.
(ii) In the vast plains of India, the
depth of false the Alluvium is
higher in South in
comparison to North.
Identify the false statements
from the above.
(a) Only (i)
(b) Only (ii)
(c) Both (i) and (ii)
(d) Neither (i) nor (ii)
33. Which of the following has been
accepted as standard for determining Indian standard time?
(a) 82 North Latitude

(b) 82 West Latitude
(c) 82 East Latitude
(d) 23 East Latitude
34. Consider
the
following
statements.
(i) Grasslands like steppe,
pampas or savanna arent
evidently found in India.
(ii) The pine trees are used
mainly to produce tar or resin.
(iii) Per capita forest area average
in India is far below than the
world average.
Which of the above
statement(s) is/are true?
(a) (i) and (ii)
(b) (i) and (iii)
(c) (ii) and (iii)
(d) (i), (ii) and (iii)
statement(s) is/are incorrect?
(a) Ecology is primarily
concerned
with
the
interactions of organisms and
the environment.
(b) Succession
is
the
phenomenon whereby a
species will inhabit a hostile
environment, die and provide
nutrients; this in true allows a
greater variety of species to
inhabit and survive in the
area.
(c) Such species are usually
autotrophic (self- feeding) by
means of photosynthesis.
(d) Microscophic organisms in
mud deposits at a riv e rs
mouth is not an example of
succession.
36. From which cluster of states the
Tropic of Cancer pass es
through?
(a) Tripura, Manipur, U.P.
(b) Mizoram,
Meghalaya,
Jharkhand
(c) Mizoram,
Tr ipura,
Chhatisgarh
(d) Tripura, Nagaland, W. Bengal
37. Direction: The following
question consists of two
statements; one labelled as the
Assertion (a) and the other as
Reason (R). You are to examine
these statements carefully and
select the answers to these items
Assertion (A): The Eastern
coastal areas of peninsular India
have more rainfall in the months
of October-November.
Reason (R): In Eastern India, the
amount of rainfall is more in
June, July and August.
Code:

explanation of A.
true, but R is not the correct
explanation.
38. Which of the following is called
the Cottonpolis (Capital of
Cotton)?
(a) Kanpur
(b) Mumbai
(c) Ahmedabad
(d) Coimbatore
39. In which state Javadi hill is
situated?
(a) Tamilnadu
(b) Andhra Pradesh
(c) Karnataka
(d) Kerala
40. Where is Kashmir Valley found?
(a) Between Shivalik and Lower
Himalaya
(b) Between Himadri and Lower
Himalaya
(c) Between Grand Himalaya
and Trans Himalaya
(d) Between Trans Himalaya and
Plateau of Tibet
41. Consider
the
following
statements in context with Black
Indian Soil.
(i) Nitrogen, Phosphorus and
Bio-substances are found
plenty in Black Soil.
(ii) The Black Soil is also called as
Tropical Chernozem and
Self ploughing soil.
(iii) In India the expanse of Black
Soil is in those regions where
it rains between 50-75 cms.
Which of the above
(a) (i) and (ii)
(b) (ii) and (iii)
(c) (i) and (iii)
(d) (i), (ii) and (iii)
42. What percent is the total
geograhical area of India of the
total area of the world?
(a) 2.4%
(b) 16.7%
(c) 0.57% (d) 0.87%
125


43. Consider
the
following
statements
on
Climax
Community
(i) Climax communities tend to
be very stable due to the
number and diversity of
species present.
(ii) All organisms must get their
energy from food and those
organisms who cant photo
synthesize must do so by
feeding on other organisms.
(iii) In stable climax habitats,
there are more complex food
webs such that if one species
of plant dies out there will be
less of an effect on organisms
who fed on that plant.
(iv) This is because they can feed
on many other plants.
Which of the following
(a) Only (i)
(b) (i), (ii) and (iii)
(c) (ii) and (iii)
(d) (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv)
44. Arrange the following mountain
hills from South to North and
select the correct code.
(i) Nilgiri mountain
(ii) Annamalai mountain
(iii) Bababudan mountain
(iv) Cardamom mountain
Code:
(a) (i) (ii) (iii) (iv)
(b) (iv) (iii) (ii) (i)
(c) (iii) (i) (ii) (iv)
(d) (iii) (ii) (iv) (i)
45. Consider
the
following
statements.
(i) Govind Ballabh Pant Sagar, is
the lake situated in Himachal
Pradesh behind Bhakra dam
(ii) Govind Sagar is the lake
constructed on the river Sons
tributary, Rihand.
Which one/ones of the above
statements is/are true?
(a) Only (i)
(b) Only (ii)
(c) Both (i) and (ii)
(d) Neither (i) nor (ii)
46. The power to accept the cases of
126
enforcement of fundamental
rights of the supreme court
comes under(a) Original jurisdiction.
(b) Appellate jurisdiction.
(c) Review jurisdiction.
(d) Writ jurisdiction.
47. Under arti cle 137, the
circumstance under which the
Supreme Court has the power to
review its judgements are (a) Discovery of new important
matters of evidence.
(b) Mistake or error in
presentation of record.
(c) Any other sufficient reason.
(d) on Public interest litigation.
Code:
(a) 1 and 2
(b) 2 and 3
(c) 1, 2 and 3
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
statements is incorrect?
(a) Articles 32 and 226 are the
soul of the Indian constitution.
(b) The parliamentary form of
government in India is based
on Westminster model.
(c) Judicial review is a part of the
basic structure of Indian
Constitution.
(d) Efforts to put water into
concurrent list of the
constitution are in process.
49. The 42nd constitutional
amendment is also called
rewriting of Indian constitution
because (a) The amendment done in the
preamble ignores the federal
parliamentary system.
(b) Fundamental rights were
reinterpreted in form of
natural rights.
(c) Around one fourth of the
constitution including the
preamble and 9th schedule
were amended.
(d) An attempt to control the
power of judicial review was
made.
50. Who has been allotted the powers in
relation to determine the term of

chief election commissioner?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
President
Parliament
Council of Ministers
President
under
parliamentary law.
committee recommended for
extention of Pachayati Raj
provisions in tribal belt of India
due to which this provision was
incorporated in 9th five year
plan?
(a) VK.R.V. Rao Committee
(b) Gadgil Committee
(c) Kantilal Bhuria Committee
(d) Dilip Sing Bhuria Committee
52. Consider
the
following
statements.
1. No discussion in legislature
on the conduct of the judges
(art. 121) and Judiciarys
power to punish for its
contempt (art. 129 and 215)
are indispensable for the
independence of judiciary.
2. The notion of independence
of judiciary was declared as
the basic structure of Indian
Constitution inBalmukund
Vs. state of Bihar case (2000).
Which of the above
statement(s) is/are correct?
(a) Only 1 (b) Only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
53. Which of the following houses
does not have its chairman as its
member?
(a) Legislative Council
(b) Lok Sabha
(c) Rajya Sabha
(d) Legislative Assembly
54. There is a provision of the joint
session of the houses under
article 108, if1. the bill is rejected the other
house.
2. the other house disagrees on
the amendments to be made
in the bill.
3. the other house does not pass


the bill and more than six
months have passed.
Code:
(a) 1, 2 and 3
(b) 2 and 3
(c) 1 and 3
(d) 1 and 2
55. Which authority has been
allotted the power of
declaring any caste or tribe as
scheduled caste or tribe?
(a) Parliament
(b) President.
(c) National Commission for
scheduled castes/ schedule
tribes.
(d) Cabinet
56. Two statements are given belowStatement (A): Under article 75
(c) of the constitution, the council
of ministers is collectively
responsible to Lok Sabha.
Reason (R): Rajya Sabha does not
have any role in forming or
removing the government.
Code (a) (a) and (R) both are correct
and (R) is the clarification of
(a).
(b) (a) and (R) both are correct
but (R) is not the clarification
of (a).
(c) (a) is correct but (R) is
incorrect.
(d) (R) is correct but (a) is
incorrect.
57. Direction: The following question
consists of two statements; one
labelled as the Assertion (a) and
the other as Reason (R) You are
to examine these statements
carefully and select the answers
to these items using the codes
given below:
Assertion (A): In Menka
Gandhis case, the Supreme
Court had held that the
procedure depriving a person of
right to his life or personal liberty
must be just, fair and reasonable.
Reason (R): In India, to prefer
procedure established by law
over the due process of law has
been the intention of makers of

the constitution.
Code:
explanation of A.
true but R is not the correct
explanation of A.
58. Consider
the
following
statements.
1. If the president withholds his
assent on any bill then it will
amount to vetoing the bill.
2. To veto the bil l by the
president is permitted by
Indian constitution.
3. The power to veto the bill is
not exercised by the president
on the advice of the council of
ministers.
Code:
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) 1, 2 and 3
59. If the bill of constitutional
amendment faces disagreement
in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha
finally, then (a) The bill will come to an end
there itself.
(b) Its decision will be taken in
joint sitting.
(c) Lok Sabha can reject the
decision of Rajya Sabha by
passing it again by two third
majority.
(d) None of these.
60. With whose consent can the
president delegate such acts to
the state on which executive
power of union is extended?
(a) Parliament.
(b) Governor
(c) State government
(d) Rajya Sabha
61. Consider
the
following
statements.
1. Principal secretary to the
prime minister presides over
the meetings of PMO.
2. To prov ide sec retarial

assistance to prime minister
is the main function of PMO.
Which of the above
(a) Only 1
(b) Only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
62. Consider
the
following
statements.
1. Indian Constitution clearly
provides for the right of
judicial review for judiciary.
2. Supreme Court issues writs
under article 139 other than
the nature of the writs
enshrined in article 32.
Which of the above
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
63. Consider
the
following
statements.
1. In Pradeep Jain V/s Union of
India case (1984), the Supreme
Court held that only is single
citizenship and single domicile
is revognized in India.
2. Laxmi
Mal
Singhvai
committee
had
recom-mended for dual
citizenship in India in the light
of globalization liberalization
and privatization as well as
importance of NRIs.
Which of the above
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
64. Which of the following elections
are based on proportional
representation through single
transferable voting system?
1. President and Vice President
2. Speaker of Lok Sabha.
3. Members of Rajya Sabha.
4. Chairman of state legislative
council.
The right option of the
following is-
127


(a) 1 and 2 (b) 2 and 3
(c) 1 and 3 (d) 1, 2 and 3
65. Who has been given the
authority in the constitution to
take dec ision in relationto
disqualification of members of
parliament?
(a) Election commission.
(b) President on the advice of
election commission.
(c) Parliament.
(d) Heads of both the houses.
66. Consider
the
following
statements:
(1) Scheme for setting up 6000
model school at block level
was launched in 2008-09.
(2) Provisions of Right to
Education are implemented
through Sarva Shiksha
Abhiyaan
given above is/are correct?
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
67. Consider
the
following
statements:
(1) The Energy and Resource
Institute (TERI) was
established in 1992.
(2) TERI has established world
sustainable development
forum (WSDF) for meeting
Millennium Development
Goals.
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
68. Consider
the
following
statements:
(1) Capacity of ultra Mega Power
Plan is 4000 mw.
(2) 74% FDI is permitted under
automatic rate for generation,
transmission and distribution
and trade with no upper
ceiling on quantum of
investment in electricity.
128

(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
69. As per the latest government
data:
(1) India spends about 3% of
GDP on education.
(2) India spends about 1.25% of
GSP on health.
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
70. Consider
the
following
statements:
(1) Market capitalization refers to
the account of capital raised
by a company through IPO.
(2) An increase in share price of
a company can lead to lower
market cap with the same
number of shares at stock
exchange.
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
71. Consider
the
following
statements about funk bonds:
(1) They are used for short term
lending.
(2) They are usually risk-free
(3) It involves retail lending
(4) Low interest rate is a feature
associated with junk bonds.
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2, 3 and 4 only
(c) 1 and 4 only
(d) 1 only
72. Consider
the
following
statements:
(1) Lower Incremental capital
output Ratio (ICOR) is better
for the economy.
(2) Higher savings Rate leads to
lower ICOR.

(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
73. Consider
the
following
statements:
(1) Justice B.N. Srikrishna heads
the financial sector legislative
Reforms commission.
(2) United kingdom holds the
current chair of G-20
(3) SEBI operationalise ECB
policy in India.
(a) 1, 2 and 3
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only(d) 1 only
74. Consider
the
following
statements:
(1) National Clean Energy Fund
(NCEF) was created in finance
Bill 2010-11.
(2) It will provide a maximum of
40% of funds to ventures
using
clean
energy
technologies.
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
75. Consider
the
following
statements.
(1) Plastic development council
has been established on the
recommendation of National
policy on Petrochemicals.
(2) Prime ministers National
council on skill Development
has a target of creating 500
million skilled people by 2020.
Which of the statement given
above is/are correct?
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
76. Complete etrophication of a lake
rendersit
(a) Nutrient rich and productive
(b) Nutrient
rich
and
unproductive


(c) Nutrient poor and productive
(d) Nutrient
poor
and
unproductive
77. What is green power?
1. Green power is electricity
produced
in
an
environmentally friendly
manner
2. Source of green power in
nuclear energy, pollution free.
Select the correct answer from
the code given below:
(a) Only 1
(b) Only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
78. With reference to the costal are a
ecosystem consider the following
statements:
1. It is an interface zone
2. It is dynamic and non-static
in its geo-physical and
chemical parameters.
3. It has the highest primary
productivity on the planet
Which of statements given
above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only (b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
79. Which one of the following
below is not cause of global
warming and climate change.
(a) CFC emission
(b) Carbon dioxide emission
(c) Deforestation
(d) Methane emission
80. Ozone of ozonosphere is formed
from
(a) O2 and O2
(b) NO2 and O2
(c) Chlorine, water and O2
81. The montreal protocal refers to:
(a) Persistant organic pollution
(b) Global warming and climate
change
(c) Substances that deplete the
ozone layer
(d) Organisms Biosatly of
genetically modified
82. Sound becomes hazardous noise
pollution at leve2above
(a) 40 DB (b) 80 DB
(c) 100 DB (d) 120 DB
83. Algal bloom in a lake
(a) Leads to O2 depletion
(b) Increases CO3 level
(c) Kill fishes and other organism
(d) All the above
84. What are biotic components?
(a) The all living components
(b) Non living components
(c) Both (a) and (b)
85. Consider the statements
regarding IUCN:
1. It is worlds largest and oldest
global
environmental
organisation
2. Its HQ is located at Montreal
3. Red List prepared by IUCN
is a critical indicator of the
health of worlds biodiversity
4. Membership is limited to state
(government) parties only.
(a) 1 and 2 are correct
(b) 1 and 3 are correct
(c) 1, 2 and 3 are correct
(d) 1, 3 and 4 are correct
86. (i) The Ministry of External
Affairs withdrew its proposal for
higher foreign allowances for
diplomats after the Devyani
Khobragade episode.
(ii) The Andhra Pradesh State
Minorities Commission has
strongly advocated that Imams
and Muezzins be paid salaries by
the Wakf Board, in tune with the
Supreme Court judgement of
1993.
Which of the above statement/
(a) only i
(b) only ii
(c) both i and ii
(d) neither i nor ii
87. i) The nuclear trade body
forbids
members
from
transferring technology to
countries that have not signed the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty (NPT).
ii) Indian-American Governor
and the rising star of the
Republican Party Bobby Jindal is

planning to run for the 2016 U.S.
presidential elections.
statements is/are false?
(a) only i
(b) only ii
(c) both i and ii
88. i) The 51 per cent FDI cap acts
as a disincentive for foreign
companies to invest in Indias
crucial defence sector.
ii) OVL owns 25 percent stake
in the Greater Nile Oil Project
which produces about 40,000
barrels of oil per day.
(a) only i
(b) only ii
(c) both i and ii
89. i) GSLV-D5(the first flight to use
Indian cryogenic stage) is to be
launched at the Sriharikota spaceport.
ii) The spacecraft is supposed to
carry the GSAT-14 advanced
communication satellite into
orbit, to be used for telecasting,
among other things. Its mission
life is 12 years.
(a) only i
(b) only ii
(c) both i and ii
90. (i) The socio-economic caste
census (SECC) undertaken by the
government in 2011 is aimed at
identifying BPL (below the
poverty line) households that can
benefit from the Centres welfare
schemes.
(ii) The aim of National Rural
Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) is
to create best practice sites and
to develop them as local
immersion locations that
generate a pool of social capital
for catalysing social mobilisation
of the poor and building quality
institutions.
129


(a) only i
(b) only ii
(c) both i and ii
91. i) Bangladesh will be sending an
infantry
battalion
with
helicopters and transport planes
to join the UN peacekeeping
mission in South Sudan, the
w orlds younge st country
wracked by ethnic and political
violence.
ii) In a bid to relocate one of its
military base , U.S. is going to
move forward with plans to
consolidate its troops in the
Andaman and Nicobar islands.
(a) only i
(b) only ii
(c) both i and ii
92. i) The largest economy of the
world at present is China .
ii) Maruti Suzuki runs its own
fossil-fuel power plants to avoid
disruptions caused by the nations
erratic electricity supply.
(a) only i
(b) only ii
(c) both i and ii
93. i) Arvind Kejriwal is the sixth
Chief Minister of Delhi , who also
happens to be the second
youngest of all the CMs in the
city state till date.
ii) Maharashtra government
was asked to reconsider its
rejection of a judicial
commissions report on the
Adarsh housing scandal by
Congress Vice- President Rahul
Gandhi.
(a) only i
(b) only ii
(c) both i and ii
94. i) Chinas top legi slati ve
committee formally abolished
130
the countrys re-education

through labour camps and
approved a loosening of its onechild policy recently.
ii) Trinidad Moruga Scorpion is
the worlds hottest chilli till date.
(a) only i
(b) only ii
(c) both i and ii
95. i) Norwegian firm Telenor has
raised its stake in Telewings
Communications, which offers
telecom services under the brand
name Uninor, to 74 per cent .
ii) India is likely to overtake
Japan in 2028 to become the third
largest economy in the world
after China and United States,
according to London-based
economic consultancy Cebr.
(a) only i
(b) only ii
(c) both i and ii
96. i) Terra Nova expedition was
led by Captain Rober Felcon
Scott that reached the South Pole
in the year 1912.
ii) The expedition also known
as British Antarctic Expedition
was the first team ever to reach
the south pole.
statements is/are NOT true?
(a) only i
(b) only ii
(c) both i and ii
97. i) P. Sathasivam is the first
person from Tamil Nadu to have
become Chief Justice of Supreme
Court post Indias independence
in 1947.
ii) The court this year allowed
the Election Commission to use
Viable Voter Verifiable Paper
Audit Trail in the EVMs in phases
to ensure transparency in the
voting process.
(a) only i
(b) only ii
(c) both i and ii
98. i) Tropical Cyclone Christine
recently slammed into US
southern state of Oklahoma.
ii) The Iranians are of the view
that Joint Plan of Action (JPA) that
was signed, does not ban Iran
from developing a new
generation of sophisticated
centrifuges-spinning machines
that are used for enriching
uranium.
(a) only i
(b) only ii
(c) both i and ii
99. i) The Reserve Bank of India
now allows banks to sanction
loans of up to Rs.1 lakh against
pledge of gold ornaments and
jewellery.
ii) VCES stands for Voluntary
Compliance and Encouragement
Scheme and it let declarants pay
half of the declared tax dues for
the five-year period October 1,
2001-December 31, 2012 by
December 31 and the balance in
another six months without
interest.
(a) only i
(b) only ii
(c) both i and ii
100. i) Novak Djokovic became the
first man to win three
consecutive Australian Open
titles in the Open Era this year.
ii) Courage and Conviction is
the autobiography of General V.
K Singh.
statements is/are false?
(a) only i
(b) only ii
(c) both i and ii


ANSWERS WITH EXPLANTIONS
1. (c)
2.
(a)
3.
(d)
4. (b)
5.
(a)
6. (d)
7. (a)
8.
(c)
9.
(b)
10. (c)
11.
(a)
12. (a)
13. (b)
14.
(c)
15.
(d)
16. (b)
17.
(a)
18. (d)
19. (b)
20.
(a)
21.
(d)
22. (c)
23.
(d)
24. (d)
25. (b)
26.
(d)
27.
(a)
28. (d)
29.
(d)
30. (b)
31. (c)
32.
(c)
33.
(c)
34. (c)
35.
(c)
36. (c)
37. (b)
38.
(b)
39.
(a)
40. (b)
41.
(b)
42. (c)
43. (c)
44.
(b)
45.
(c)
46. (d)
47.
(c)
48. (a)
49. (c)
50.
(d)
51.
(d)
52. (c)
53.
(c)
54. (a)
55. (b)
56.
(a)
57.
(b)
58. (d)
59.
(a)
60. (c)
61. (c)
62.
(b)
63.
(c)
64. (c)
65.
(b)
66. (c) Right to Education was passed on 4 Aug., 2009.

67. (b)
68. (a) The FDI limit is 100%
69. (c)
70. (d) Market capita lization is the total value of the tradable shares of a publicly traded company.
71. (a)
72. (a) ICOR is the ratio of investment to growth which is equal to 1 divided by the marginal product of capital
73. (d)
74. (c) NCEF-for fundin g research and innovative project in cle an en ergy technolog y.
75. (c)
76. (b)
77. (a)
78. (d) All three statements are true about costal area ecosystem.
79. (a)
80. (a)
81. (c)
82. (b)
83. (d) All the above.
84. (a)
85. (b) 1948 , HQ-Geneva; 200 + State parties ; 900 + NGOs
86. (c)
87.
(d)
88.
(b)
89. (b)
90.
(c)
91.
(a)
92. (b)
93.
(b)
94.
(a)
95. (c)
96.
(b)
97.
(b)
98. (b)
99.
(c)
100.
(d)
131
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