Jun 07 2014 : The Economic Times (Mumbai)

11-Point Plan to make Govt Shipshape

YASHODHARA DASGUPTA

NEW DELHI





Cab secy tells depts to identity archaic laws & curb decision-making to a maximum of 4 layers

India's top civil servant has asked government departments to identity archaic laws and regulations that hold up progress and to restrict decision-making to a maximum of four layers, continuing a drive by the Narendra Modi government to galvanise the bureaucracy and end the policy paralysis that is perceived to have plagued the Congress-led UPA government. The directives, spelt out in a letter from Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth to all secretaries, are part of an 11-point plan to improve governance.The letter is the outcome of a meeting between the prime minister and the secretaries of all government departments on Wednesday , during which Modi urged bureaucrats to serve the people and promised that the political leadership will back decisions taken in good faith. “Every department has been asked to identify and repeal at least 10 rules or processes and even archaic Acts that have be come redundant and the removal of which would not lead to any loss of efficiency. Also, decision-making layers would be cut down to a maximum of four,“ said an official aware of the development.
Importantly , the letter calls upon ministries to engage in collaborative decision-making and consult frequently to resolve differences.
But if there is no resolution, the Cabinet secretariat or the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) will step in. The previous regime is widely regarded to have been prone to inter-departmental strife with ministries often working at cross-purposes, resulting in projects not receiving clearances.
UPA PLANS UNDER REVIEW PAGE 11 Officials said several steps are being taken to reduce clutter — both physical as well as bureaucratic formalities — as part of the PM’s directive to make government offices clean, hygienic and conducive for work.In a bid to improve processes, departments have also been asked to identify forms that are widely used and crunch or shorten them, wherever possible, to one page only. Unnecessary or irrelevant information should not be sought, says the letter from the cabinet secretary.
The directions are also specific when it comes to physical cleanliness. All government buildings and work spaces of departments should be cleared
of obstructions and spruced up, says the letter.In pursuance of this goal, passages and stairs should be cleared of obstructions, which means no office material or cupboards should be found in these spaces. Officials have been asked to ensure files, papers and so on are neatly stacked so that a “positive work environment is created“.
In certain departments, the clean-up has already begun with the disposal of old/irrelevant files and folders stacked near staircases. “The secretaries have even made rounds to see the condition of the building, passages and so on,“ said one government official.
Departments have been ordered to use information tech nology while submitting information. Eventually, this should be universalised.
Government offices would have to weed out files and papers “in accordance with rules of record-keeping including digitalisation, wherever necessary“ within 3-4 weeks.
“Digitalisation of papers has already been introduced to an extent for current files. It is the old documents and folders that would need to be taken care of,“ said another government official.
The Cabinet secretariat has asked ministries to draft a plan of action based on the 11 commandments. Interim progress will be monitored in meetings with a Group of Secretaries in the week beginning June 9.

Smriti Irani approves National Academic Depository scheme 

Smriti Irani has approved National Academic Depository (NAD) scheme. The scheme was brought forward during UPA-2 and it aims to create an online database of nationwide board and university certificates that is implemented by CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) on a pilot basis. After being explained about the NAD project, Smriti Irani wanted the scheme to be implemented as soon as possible.  She has directed ministry to come up with the documents that have already been digitized or are in process. With the approval of NAD scheme, students will be able to track their records as well as use them in case they want duplicate certificates or attested copies the same. It would also assist employers as the database can be used for the verification of certificates. Schools, colleges, boards and universities will play their role as agents of the NAD office by registering students admitted to their institutions and linking their certificates.

The ministry has already sent an advisory to central universities, institutes and school boards to join NAD.  Security has been built into the system so that certificates are not tampered with or downloaded. A student can only see the certificate without being able to edit it.At present; NAD Bill is in Parliament and is expected to be in action very soon.

- See more at: http://digitallearning.eletsonline.com/2014/06/smriti-irani-approves-national-academic-depository-scheme/#sthash.afMpsctk.dpuf

Restructuring UGC among top 100 priorities of Smriti Irani 

Transforming the University Grants Commission into higher education regulatory is HRD minister Smriti Irani’s top priority. She wants to restructure and refocus the UGC from a grant disbursing organization to one that maintains the standards and regulates the education sector. This is one among Irani’s top 100 day priorities.

Officials are of the view that with the growth in the sector with private players and entry of foreign education institutions has meant that the UGC would need to expand its regulatory functions. Since 1952, the function of allocating public funds to central universities and other universities was entrusted to UGC. Though there were changes in the higher education sector, the Commission’s emphasis has continued to be on its grant disbursal functions.

Irani’s focus is to keep the BJP’s poll promise of restructuring the UGC to transform it into a Higher Education Commission. The transformation will be effected by amending the UGC Act.

Ministry officials are already working on the amendments before it can be evaluated by the law minister and sent for inter-ministerial consultations, after which it will be taken up for the approval by the Cabinet and then introduced in Parliament.

- See more at: http://digitallearning.eletsonline.com/2014/06/restructuring-ugc-among-top-100-priorities-of-smriti-irani/#sthash.o7UEm7Qa.dpuf

Table of Content: Economic and Political Weekly

Vol - XLIX No. 23, June 07, 2014 

Editorials Debating Electoral Systems The first-past-the-post system remains preferable over proportional representation. Read more	Margin Speak Dance of Demonocracy Anand Teltumbde India has never been the democracy as it is made out to be. It has been a pure plutocracy. But for dalits, it is worse; it has been a veritable rule of demons - a demonocracy. Read more
Commentary Bank Privatisation by the Backdoor T T Ram Mohan The P J Nayak Committee on the governance of bank boards has proposed that the Bank Nationalisation Act and related legislation be repealed. It wants government shareholding in public sector banks to be transferred to a Bank Investment Committee... Read more	Commentary The Battles against Modi Akash Bhattacharya Today, we stand at a juncture where the chief beneficiaries of the neo-liberal model of “development” have succeeded in presenting it as the one best suited for everyone’s needs, which the Bharatiya Janata Party has used to... Read more
Commentary Why the Maharashtra Housing Act, 2012 Should Be Repealed Nagendra Goel The Maharashtra Housing (Regulation and Development) Act, 2012 which was enacted after the centre's Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2013 was tabled in Parliament does not protect the home buyer's interests, and also undoes... Read more	Commentary A Milestone in Dalit Writing Uttara Bisht Omprakash Valmiki, who contributed so much to Hindi literature, and especially to dalit literature, was a contemporary of another great dalit poet, Namdeo Dhasal, who wrote in Marathi. Even their deaths were separated by just a month. However,... Read more
Commentary Lightning Risk in India Faisel T Illiyas, Keshav Mohan, Shibu K Mani, A P Pradeepkumar Loss of life and damage to property due to lightning are outside the ambit of disasterrelated relief and are not compensated by the National Calamity and Relief Funds. Assessment of lightning fatality figures and its comparison with other major... Read more	Commentary An Arrested Story P K Vijayan A Delhi University teacher, forced into solitary confinement in an "unda cell" (egg cell), has been charged with conspiring to wage war on the state. Incredible, but there seems to be no limit to which the powers that be can stoop -... Read more
Commentary A Combative Hero: Mukul Sinha Mihir Desai Scientist, lawyer, trade unionist Mukul Sinha fought for justice without losing either his sense of humour or his great courage. His perseverance was responsible for the conviction of Maya Kodnani in the post-Godhra riots, imprisonment of a... Read more	Web Exclusives An Architect of Conscience Mukul Sinha (1951-2014) Manisha Sethi Mukul Sinha’s death remained largely beyond the limelight amid the din over Narendra Modi’s anointment as the next Prime Minister. His steadfastly resolve and meticulous eye for detail, strengths he demonstrated while dealing with... Read more
Book Reviews The New Triad of Policy Concerns Alok Sheel Monetary Policy, Sovereign Debt and Financial Stability: The New Trilemma edited by Deepak Mohanty (New Delhi: Reserve Bank of India, Foundation Books, Cambridge University Press India), 2014, pp xiv + 370, Rs 995. Read more	Book Reviews South Asian Environmental History Lauren Minsky The British Empire and the Natural World: Environmental Encounters in South Asia edited by Deepak Kumar, Vinita Damodaran and Rohan D'Souza (New Delhi: Oxford University Press), 2011; pp XIV + 280,Rs 695. Read more
Insight RTE Grievance Redress in Karnataka Malini Bhatacharjee, Dolashree Mysoor, Arun Sivaramakrishnan Scholarly debates on the right to education in India have primarily focused on examining the content of the right while paying little attention to the institutions enforcing it. A study of the rules under the Right to Education Act in Karnataka... Read more	Special Articles Women’s Mobility and Migration Meenakshi Thapan, Anshu Singh, Nidhitha Sreekumar Muslim women have remained invisible in the larger discourse on migration. This paper shows how Muslim women who have migrated to Jamia Nagar in Delhi are leading a more fulfilling life in their new locality, as is evident from the fact that they... Read more
Special Articles Public Transport for Indian Urban Agglomerations A Strong Case for Surface Rail M Ravibabu, V Phani Sree Central, state and local governments have been investing in public transport infrastructure, especially on metro rail and bus rapid transit systems. However, surface rail-based transit systems, which are ubiquitous and cost-effective in India,... Read more	Notes Developments in the Workforce between 2009-10 and 2011-12 C Rangarajan, Seema, Vibeesh E M After a disappointing performance between 2004-05 and 2009-10, the Indian labour market showed some improvement between 2009-10 and 2011-12. During this two-year period, around 11 million jobs were created at an annual growth rate of around 1.1%... Read more
Web Exclusives Memsahib: Who Are You? Swastika Hore Interestingly, American author Ernest Hemingway used the quaint word memsahib to refer to the wife of an Englishman in his short story The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber set in Africa in the 1930s. How the word, which... Read more	Web Exclusives Did India Just Elect Its Ronald Reagan? Rohan Kalyan Narendra Modi’s decisive victory at the hustings and his pro-market stance has given rise to a spate of comparisons between him and other right-wing historical and contemporary world leaders. The article draws some striking parallels... Read more
Web Exclusives A Sting in the Tale Pramod K Nayar The increase in the number of sting operations conducted by the media today, perhaps, reflects a growing culture of surveillance where the governed, who were the ones surveilled, now become surveillers, and the governors are now in the position... Read more	Blogs Reflections on a River and its people Swedish filmmaker Arne Sucksdorff visited India in 1950 and out of this visit came short films: Village Hindou (Hindu Village) about the lack of water in an Indian village, andVinden och floden (The Wind and the River), about...

Jun 05 2014 : The Economic Times (Mumbai)

The Need for Environmental Governance

As told to Nilakshi Sharma





Kartikeya V. Sarabhai was awarded the Padma Shri in 2012 for his exceptional and distinguished service in the field of Environmental Education. He is also the Founder Director of the Centre for Environment Education (CEE), established in 1984 as a centre of excellence of the Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of India. He takes the time today to discuss the environmental future of India India has been able to protect its bio-diversity to a large extent due to the deeply entrenched belief system and practices. But these are rapidly changing...The proposed national nature camping program wherein every child who goes to school will attend at least one certified Nature Education Camp is a step in that direction

WHAT ARE THE THREATS TO THE INDIAN ENVIRONMENT?
The main threat to the Indian environment comes from the rapid change in lifestyles and the increase in urbanization, industrial growth and consequent need for power, minerals, ports and transportation. A major concern is that global models of development that are at times inappropriate for India are being brought in. A good example would be the Bt technology for food and the rapid replacement of Indian seed varieties and farmers' independence. The loss of wild bio-diversity is also a major threat.
Protected areas are a good strategy but by no means sufficient. Many species are intricately connected with what happens outside protected areas and strategies to conserve this need to be rapidly put in place.Land, which is a critical resource is perhaps the most neglected and taken for granted. In some of our most fertile regions we build factories and try to improve farm productivity in land which is otherwise poor. The threat is the loss of fertile land. The loss of green cover especially on the hill sides further adds to soil erosion which will be very difficult to replace. Similarly, water is the lifeline of our country.
Climate change threatens the monsoon pattern. Any change in the water cycle would be quite disastrous. Water, both on surface and ground water is being polluted and aquifers are rapidly deteriorating.
WHAT ARE IMMEDIATE STEPS THAT NEED TO BE TAKEN FOR BIO-DIVERSITY CONSERVATION?
Protection of indigenous crop varieties is important. India is the home to several of plants and animals that it has domesticated and preserved over thousands of years. Special characteristics appropriate for India and the particular environment have led to many varieties such as over 20 breeds of cows or the 2000 plus varieties of brinjals. Use of Bt technologies in varieties which are indigenous to India is very dangerous and the precautionary principal needs to be followed.
Without adequate regulatory mechanisms in place or clarity as to whose liability it is, allowing field trials is not a wise step.
Urgent and new strategies are required for the protection of bio-diversity outside of protected areas. In many cases traditional corridors where animals moved have been blocked not only causing human-animal conflict but also major accidents. Birds like the Harriers, which migrate to grasslands in India but feed in cotton fields around the protected area, are under threat. One needs a multi stakeholder collaboration to develop a conservation strategy. There are good examples of this and the government needs to support such efforts.
Traditionally much of India's biodiversity was also linked with livelihood and craft traditions. With the erosion of bio-diversity the impact has been on both these. Crafts person have often switched to chemicals or other substitutes. Such non-agricultural plant material needs to be carefully put into a system of sustainable use and consumption. The same is true of other areas such as traditional fishing. The threat of industrialized operations not only destroys the fish stock but also kills local traditions and destroys local livelihoods.
An initiative on sustainable use of biodiversity has been taken and needs to be made into a full fledged program.
● Key species which are under threat need individual strategies as the threat or reason for decline in each case is different. In many cases such as protecting the Tiger, Elephant or Rhino, an effective conservation strategy might suddenly collapse as a result of new threats and new technologies. These need to be monitored and new solutions found. In many other cases such as the Gangetic Dolphin, the success of the specie is also the success of the efforts to clean the Ganga. This requires careful strategy and public support.
● Ultimately in a democracy it is only as a result of wide public support and awareness that conservation will be possible. India has been able to protect its bio-diversity to a large extent due to the deeply entrenched belief system and practices. But these are rapidly changing.
We need to bring more understanding
and reach out to the young. The proposed national nature camping program wherein every child who goes to school will attend at least one certified Nature Education Camp is a step in that direction. Programmes such as these will need the necessary resource to make them possible. The Science Express Biodiversity Special which took a biodiversity exhibition around the country on a train is another example.
WHAT, ACCORDING TO YOU, WILL BE THE NEW GOVERNMENT'S ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY?
What is the policy of the government of India? In the past I have often been asked this question at international forums.
Unfortunately, there was never a single answer to such a question but multiple ones. Each ministry would have its own policy often contradicting another. The key to success lies in being able to blend environmental concerns with development, and to develop a sustainable development pathway for this country. The new government, with its clear and strong leadership, will be better able to bring a common vision on sustainable development to all the ministries and end what often looked like a set of disjointed policies made by individual ministries. Key areas which need to be addressed include agriculture, energy, urbanization, mining, water supply and the use of schemes such as the MGNREGA. While it is too early to say what the precise view of the new government will be on individual environmental issues, the pronouncement and the actions and new initiatives at co-ordination have been positive signs.India's legislation has shown a lot of foresight in many areas. However, there has been a major gap between legislation and implementation. The current government's emphasis on better delivery, more transparency and speed will go a long way in ensuring that the environmental initiatives taken actually lead to protection of the environment. The current government seems likely to improve the quality of implementation in the field.

Jun 05 2014 : The Economic Times (Mumbai)

Tackling Air Pollution in Our Cities: Getting Started

KUNAL SHARMA





I vividly recall how in the mid 1990s my eyes would often water while travelling by three-wheeler in Delhi. Such was the severity of air pollution in those days that you inevitably shed a tear or two every time you went up a flyover. That's the height at which it seemed the plume of air pollutants hung over Delhi, causing irritation to the eyes as you came in contact with it.In contrast, Delhi's air seems cleaner today and I expect that many who have lived in the city during the last two decades will agree with me. Starting in the mid nineties, a substantial improvement in the quality of Delhi's air took place due to several measures taken by the government. These included conversion of the public transport fleet to CNG, introduction of cleaner automotive fuels and relocation of polluting industries to outside city limits.
However, air quality data indicates that much of the gains achieved through such measures have now eroded. To blame are rapid urban development and a booming number of vehicles.
The situation is similar in most other Indian cities; only a handful of cities currently achieve the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for pollutants like PM10 and PM2.5, while NO2 and Ozone pollution levels are areas of growing concern. A World Health Organisation (WHO) air quality database released earlier this year reveals that 13 Indian cities feature among the top 20 in the world on monitored levels of PM2.5. Delhi occupied the top spot, while Patna, Gwalior, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Kanpur, Amritsar and Ludhiana, all made the list.
A vast body of scientific research confirms that inhalation of Particulate Matter (PM) leads to health effects like asthma, lung cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, birth defects, and premature death.
The smallest particles are the most dangerous as they are able to penetrate the deepest part of the lungs. Fine particulates like PM2.5, which are particles of size 2.5 microns (10-6 meters) or smaller, are usually emitted from anthropogenic sources like automobiles, industrial boilers and generator sets.
Large emissions coupled with high population exposure levels yield staggering estimates for the loss India suffers due to air pollution. The latest WHO Global Burden of Disease assessment concludes that 627,000 Indians died early in 2010 from exposure to ambient air pollution. A 2013 World Bank study estimates that exposure to air pollution resulted in an annual loss of Rs. 2 trillion, or about 3% of our GDP, due to resultant health impacts.
If these numbers come as a surprise, then here is the kicker: a 2011 Gallup survey spanning 140 countries found 90% of Indians to be satisfied with the quality of air in their city or area where they live. That puts India among the top 10 countries in satisfaction level, and in a group that includes Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, and Germany! How can this be? That's where my experience of travelling around Delhi in three-wheelers may provide an answer. Older Indians are seemingly satisfied because they have seen worse levels of air pollution in the past and feel they are better off today.
Younger Indians on the other hand lack a similar point of reference and so are 'satisfied' as they currently suffer a huge knowledge deficit on the threat that air pollution poses to them and society.
Given that air pollution gravely threatens the wellbeing of most Indians and the relative ignorance of the population to this threat, it's the Indian government that must act.
Furthermore, in today's growth driven world, clean air is a public good that must rely on good governance to persist; the air we breathe needs to be treated as a resource that we value. But in contrast to the 1990s, where government action came primarily as a reaction to public outcry and court directives, today a more proactive approach on the part of the Indian government is required.
To begin with I believe at least two things need to happen. First, our public officials need to acknowledge, publicly, the extent of the problem and begin building the case for measures that need to be introduced to tackle rising air pollution in our cities. This is important. In recent times releases of major global studies on air pollution have often been met with seeming denial in India, primarily by questioning the validity of data, or led to futile discussions, such as on whether Delhi or Beijing has dirtier air. Rather than be defensive, these moments should be seized as opportunities to build political will for action. Second, public awareness on air pollution needs to vastly increase. Citizens need to be appropriately informed so that they understand the risks that rising air pollution poses, are willing to support control measures and in specific instances directly bear the costs (such as marginally higher prices for cleaner petrol and diesel) and take precautionary measures when necessary. Many Delhi residents who like to get their daily exercise in the mornings probably do not know that in the winter months the highest concentration of pollutants occurs during the early morning hours as emissions from the thousands of trucks that pass through the city are trapped close to the ground due to thermal inversion. Providing easy access to reliable air quality monitoring information and issuance of health advisories, as is now available in many countries around the world, is a good place to start. Of course the real work will still be left to be done and it will require time. To clean up the skies of Indian cities, the government will need to draw up and implement a judicious portfolio of control measures.
But given where we stand today, if the aforementioned two outcomes are achieved over the next few years, we will be off to a decent start.
The author is a Senior Programme Manager, Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, New Delhi.
The views expressed are his own.
and do not imply endorsement by the Foundation.

Jun 05 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

`India over-reporting green cover'

Jayashree Nandi

New Delhi: TNN





Study Faults Method Of Calculation

On World Environment Day , this could be worrying news for the new environment minister. A study by forest researchers from the Indian Institute of Science (IISC) has concluded that India could be grossly “over-reporting“ its forest cover.The researchers say that the existing forest cover, in reality, may be what the Forest Survey of India had reported back in 1997. This is because, they say, a large area that the government has been including under the forest category actually comprises commercial plantations, including those for coffee, arecanut, cashew, rubber, fruit orchards, parks and gardens.
The reason behind this, the study claims, is that India's ambiguous definition of the word `forest' which doesn't differentiate between tree cover on agricultural land and natural forests.
The Forest Survey of India (FSI) defines forest cover to be “all lands more than one hectares in area, with tree canopy density of more than 10%, irrespective of ownership and legal status“. This definition could well mean that manmade forests or monocultures (farmland used to grow only one type of crop) are being considered forests. “If plantations are being included in forest area, it has huge implications for biodiversity and may even change the way we look at forests,“ said N H Ravindranath, lead author of the study.
The FSI has been reporting a steady increase in forest cover -from 63 million hectares (mha) in 1997 to 69mha in 2011. But to verify the exact area under natural forests which can represent biodiversity, the team of researchers gathered data of area under various plantations from the agriculture ministry . It put together all probable monocultures that may be being reported as forests and found this to together measure 8.79mha or 12.7% of our total forest area. They also calculated the year-wise increase in the area under plantations, which also showed a steady increase. The increase in plantation area may be even masking deforestation in India.
“Inclusions of plantations of eucalyptus, casurina and poplar under forest area is questionable from a conservation perspective. India could be potentially under-reporting deforestation by reporting only gross forest area,“ the study concludes.
“Our afforestation rates could be higher than deforestation rates, showing a continuous increase in forest cover,“ the study points. TOI had ealrier reported about a study by Ravindranath on April 19, 2012, that found that FSI's method of reporting forest cover was masking deforestation to a large extent.
The current study raises doubts about India's tall claims about afforesting 1 mha every year.
“India has been implementing one of the largest afforestation programmes in the world and annually between 1 and 1.5 mha has been afforested since 1980. Large investment is going into afforestation programmes in India and it is not clear how much of the planted area has survived and matured into forests,“ Ravindranath said. The team suggests the government modify the current forest area reporting format.