Jun 19 2014 : The Economic Times (Delhi)

Ministry wants States to Spend 60% NREGA Money on Agri Infra

YOGIMA SETH SHARMA

NEW DELHI





In a major revamp of the employment guarantee scheme, the ministry of rural development has proposed to make it mandatory for states to spend at least 60% of the MGNREGA money on creating infrastructure linked to agriculture. This is expected to bring at least .`25,000 crore of investment into agriculture, a senior government official told ET.
As part of the amendments proposed in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), the ministry will delegate funds at the district level so that larger works like creation of minor irrigation structures could be undertaken besides providing for a dedicated fund equivalent to 3% of the MGNREGA money to recruit technical manpower who will guide in planning and execution of works under the scheme, the official said.
“The government feels that the scheme needs to be more outcome oriented on all fronts, be it creating quality assets or payment of wag
es,” the official said.MGNREGA, a flagship scheme of the UPA government, was implemented in 2006. It promises 100 days of work in a year to every rural household. However, the scheme has drawn a lot of criticism for poor quality of assets being created and delay in wage payments, which has defeated the purpose of the scheme.
The Narendra Modi-led government had indicated that the scheme would have to undergo changes and focus more on asset creation in rural India.The annual spend on MGNREGA is .
`41,000 crore with the Centre contributing .
`34,000 crore and the rest coming from states as well as through convergence between MGNREGA and other schemes,
though this is miniscule as of now.Out of the wage material ratio of 60:40, barely 28% is utilised in the material component under the scheme against the allotted 40%. The ministry estimates that these unutilised funds of 12% at the district level will fetch approximately .
`8,000 crore that can then be utilised to create bigger assets.
As per the proposal sent to states, the ministry has already moved a note to the department of expenditure seeking approval to set aside .
`1,200 crore for hiring technical staff who would guide in the planning and execution of MGNREGA works.
To address leakages in implementation and delay in payments, the ministry has also proposed to come up with a mechanism than will ensure that social audits of the scheme are carried out as per rules and there is effective implementation of the provisions of the delay compensation system.
Under the scheme’s compensation clause, agencies responsible for the delay are expected to pay 0.05% of wages per day after closure of muster roll.

Jun 19 2014 : The Economic Times (Delhi)

Govt Plans Parental Control on TV Kids

YOGIMA SETH SHARMA

NEW DELHI





Labour ministry moots mandatory approval for engaging children in audio-visual shows

Are you grooming your child for a career in show business? Perhaps she has a chance of getting picked for a spot on a talent show, or he could land a role in a TV ad. But you may soon need the government's permission before seeking to achieve such ambitions. The ministry of labour and employment is planning a legal clause to make such clearance mandatory for children engaged in any form of audio or visual entertainment, which covers advertisements, films, television serials and sports among others.Officials argue that the government needs to step in to prevent the exploitation of children.
“We have requested the legislative department to draft an appropriately worded clause to permit children to be engaged for performance in any form of audio or visual entertainment after ob taining written permission, the conditions for which can be prescribed in the rules or regulations of the Child Labour Act,“ a senior ministry official told ET.
The official said there is a need for regulation as the involvement of children, including adolescents, in the entertainment industry has risen exponentially and there have been several instances in which they've been unable to cope with the physical and mental trauma associated with the rigorous routine. The ministry will draw up the detailed process for obtaining permission once taining permission once the proposal is vetted by all stakeholders.
According to the 2001 census, the total number of working children aged between five and 14 was 1.26 crore. The National Sample Survey Office survey of 2009-10 put the figure at 49.84 lakh. While there is no official estimate of the number of children employed in the audio-visual industry, experts peg it at 1-2% of the total children employed across the country and feel that the number is rapidly growing.
Children’s entertainment is the second-largest genre on television after general entertainment channels and is expanding fast, especially in regional languages because production costs are relatively low and viewership is assured.
As a result there’s been a surge in the number of shows featuring children, whether it’s music, dance or stand-up comedy, while some serials even have them as the main characters. The government feels that the participation of
children in reality shows puts immense pressure on them, with some parents pushing them too hard, which can have an impact on their mental and physical wellbeing.Experts though are concerned that such a move could act as a deterrent to producers who are working on wafer-thin margins as the category doesn’t attract much advertising.
“Most producers are already sensitive and alert to child actor needs, circumstances etc.
Also, since they are on broadcast media, it is not a hidden activity. Now, with one more permission needed, I just hope it doesn't become a determent. Since many a time kid movies and programmes are not as profitable, with this impediment, the few who are willing to pick up these projects will also reconsider,” said Nandini Diaz, CEO of Lodestar UM, a media agency.

Jun 19 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

ONLINE REVOLUTION - NanoDegree: Higher education in 6 mths

Eduardo Porter

NYT NEWS SERVICE





Could an online degree earnedin six to 12 months bring a revolution to higher education?
This week, AT&T and Udacity, the online education company in US founded by the Stanford professor and former Google engineering whiz Sebastian Thrun, announced something meant to be very small: the “NanoDegree.“ At first blush, it doesn't appear like much. For $200 a month, it is intended to teach anyone with a mastery of high school math with a mastery of the kind of basic programming skills needed to qualify for an entry-level position at AT&T as a data analyst, iOS applications designer or the like.Yet this most basic of efforts may offer more than simply adding an online twist to vocational training. It may finally offer a reasonable shot at harnessing the web to provide effective schooling to the many young Americans for whom college has become a distant, unaffordable dream.
Intriguingly , it suggests that the best route to democratizing higher education may require taking it out of college. “We are trying to widen the pipeline,“ said Charlene Lake, an AT&T spokeswoman. “This is designed by business for the specific skills that are needed in business.“ Thrun sounded more ambitious about the ultimate goal: “It is like a university,“ he told me, “built by industry.“
American higher education is definitely in need of some disruption. Once the leader in educational attainment, the US has been overtaken by a growing number of its peers.
Education still offers children from disadvantaged families their best chance at climbing the ladder of success. David H Autor of the MIT reports in a new study that in 2012 a typical family of graduates from a four-year college earned about $58,000 more than a family of high school graduates. But this very sta s. But this very sta tistic under scores the depth of the nation's educational deficit. One reason for the enormous payoff from a college degree, which is almost twice as big as it was in 1979, Autor finds, is that too few young Americans -despite a bump in enrollment right after the Great Recession -ever earn one.
Employers have been complaining for years about a lack of skilled workers to fill jobs. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the skill level of the American work force is slipping dangerously behind other nations. And yet despite the promise of a higher wage, only about half of high school graduates from low-income families enrolled in college in 2012 -compared with 80% of high-income graduates. Worse, only a small share of them manage to finish. NYT





Jun 19 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

Muslim enrolment goes up in schools: HRD report

New Delhi TIMES NEWS NETWORK





Muslim enrolment in schools has gone up marginally while there has been a slight decline in case of the SC/ST community .
Children belonging to Other Backward Classes (OBCs) have shown a perceptible increase in enrolment.Data for 2013-14, released on Wednesday by HRD minister Smriti Z Irani, shows that as per the Educational Development Index, Puducherry is at number one, followed by Lakshadweep, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi.
Despite massive privatization of school education, more than 60% of enrolment was in government schools, just over 8% in private aided schools, 27.8% in private unaided schools, 35.81% in private managements and over 2% in unrecognized schools.
Government-aided schools with private management dominated in Goa (63.03%), Kerala (42.36%) and Maharashtra (37.8%). Muslim enrolment at primary level went up marginally to 14.35% in 2013-14 from 14.20% in 2012-13. At the upper primary level, enrolment was 12.52%, up from 12.11% in the previous year.
In West Bengal, Gujarat, Bihar and UP, there was a gradual, although not significant, increase in enrolment. Enrolment of girls, both at primary and upper primary levels, remained unchanged at 49%.
At the primary level, OBC enrolment has gone up to 44.1% from 42.9%, while at the upper primary level, it went up to 44.44% from 43.66% in 2012-13. The most perceptible increase can be noticed in West Bengal, Puducherry and Kerala. Girls constitute nearly half of the new enrolments, at both primary and upper primary levels.
Enrolment of SC children at primary and upper primary levels came down to 19.72%, from 20.24% in 201213. Except for Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal, a marginal decline in SC enrolment can be seen in most states, especially Bihar, UP, MP and Maharashtra.
The percentage of teachers involved in non-teaching assignments to the total number of teachers has come down from 5.49% to 2.48%.

Jun 18 2014 : The Economic Times (Delhi)

Retain Aadhaar, Create Version 2.0





The new government is taking a call on whether to continue with Aadhaar. There is no scope for confusion. Aadhaar is a transformational project that will give the country's over 14 crore urban migrant population a means to establish their identity , and raise the productive potential of the country . It has already created a database of identities defined by biometric characteristics that cannot be duplicated, and tagging bank accounts with Aadhaar will enable the government to uniquely identify every beneficiary of any welfare scheme. It has also paved the way for a nationwide infrastructure for electronic banking. Abandoning Aadhaar will deny the poor access to financial inclusion. The project should not be killed due to partisan politics.It made no sense to mandate use of Aadhaar to disburse cooking gas subsidy , without universal enrolment. However, this, in no way , takes away Aadhaar's potential to reform the country's public finances. Aadhaar-linked cash transfers will lead to efficient disbursal of subsidy and remove dual pricing of products made affordable by subsidy . When anything is available at a subsidised and a market price, it creates an incentive to divert the subsidised product for sale in the market, defeating the purpose of the subsidy .
The government must give legal backing to Aadhaar, but with safeguards to avert any misuse of information that the National Identification Authority of India will share with other organisations that deliver public services. Information must be kept in separate silos. To address the concerns of privacy champions and protect information on citizens, the government should enact a law on Right to Privacy . Aadhaar can drill down below the postal code for geographic specificity , to include the Census village number.

Jun 18 2014 : The Economic Times (Delhi)

ENERGY - The Next Policy Steps for Renewable Energy

Shivanand Nimbargi





The new government, with a majority in Parliament, has the opportunity to reshape the energy sector. We can focus on energy security being a core element in the strategy for longterm growth. The new government has the opportunity to have a holistic review of the energy sector and to formulate a coordinated and synchronised approach to revitalise it.As the economy liberalised, the thrust of energy policy was on developing conventional energy as the primary engine to drive growth. As we progress, the contours of policy discourse on energy are shifting from rapid expansion of conventional energy sources to assessing their longterm economic, strategic and environmental consequences.
The economic and strategic impact of reliance on imported fuel to the carbon footprint and environmental consequences of large thermal or nuclear plants have taken centre-stage in the energy debate.
The role of non-conventional energy , especially renewables, has to move centre-stage. In a country blessed with abundant sources of renewable energy , the industry, market and the policy framework have evolved rapidly in recent years. In the last decade, the renewables sector has moved from the fringes to being one of the major sources of energy . This has been achieved with a combination of a supportive policy framework and technological advances, which have made it commercially viable and attractive for investment. The move towards renewables has reduced the carbon footprint from generation, and the potential benefits of greater substitution of conventional energy by renewables are evident.
Renewables have the potential to reorient the way we think about energy.
The viability of small or micro renewable plants and the rise of off-grid solutions can open up new ways to look at providing energy at a local level. Let us take the example of the poor man’s fuel, kerosene. The government has heavily subsidised it to keep it affordable for weaker sections of society. The subsidy is around .
`20,000 crore. If this subsidy could gradually be transferred to build generating plants supported by adequate infrastructure for renewable energy, like solar, wind and other sources, one could reduce the dependence of a large section of the population on kerosene.
In the last decade, the renewables sector has grown to 32,000 MW. However, recently, it has faced policy challenges. Renewables, especially wind and solar, have recently achieved a meaningful scale, but need support from policy. A few big-ticket measu
res could help. These include dedicated evacuation infrastructure linked to the national grid to allow optimum utilisation of renewable power, and to reduce the impact of geographical factors in the renewable potential of each state.We also need to move towards market-determined pricing, adjusting for the inherent advantages of large conventional power stations. An area needing immediate focus is the Renewable Power Obligation (RPO) framework, which was designed to encourage state electricity boards (SEBs) and captive consumers to use renewable energy . We need to implement the RPO by a carrot-and-stick policy , by recharging the market for Renewable Energy Certificates (REC), the tool for implementing the RPO framework, and charging penalties for noncompliance by SEBs and consumers.
This will create a viable market for renewable energy . The sector needs pricing certainty on RECs beyond 2017, to invest in addition of capacity .
We also need implementation of open access in the true spirit of The Electricity Act, with competitive pricing to allow unrestricted national transmission of renewable power.
A logical follow-up would be the complete integration of large renewable plants in the national grid with scheduling and forecasting to foster effective utilisation of renewable power.
The renewables sector has matured and is moving towards becoming a major participant in the energy landscape. Now, policy has to step up to enable further growth. The sector needs the support of strong institutional, financial and legal mechanisms. A move in this direction will go a long way in achieving the goal of an energy self-reliant India by 2050.
The writer is managing director and CEO, Green Infra

Jun 18 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

Q & A - ‘Climbing Everest, i’ve proved a tribal girl can do something’





At just 13 years, Malavath Poorna from Telangana has become the youngest female climber in the world to scale Mount Everest. Speaking with Rohit E David, Poorna discussed how she has emerged from a family of agricultural labourers to become a mountaineer, the difficulties she faced while navigating Mount Everest, the one thought that kept her going ­ and how she wants to climb many more mountains now: Congratulations on your feat ­ please tell us about your family life?
I come from a very poor family . My father and mother are agricultural labourers who spend hours in the fields trying to make ends meet. Both of them together earn Rs 3,000 every month.Sending me and my siblings to school and looking after my family's needs is nothing but a challenge for them.
How were you selected for the Everest expedition?
I was hand-picked by the Andhra Pradesh Social Welfare Residential Schools, a government organisation which provides free education to underprivileged groups in society .
The organisation took up the challenge to send tribal kids on this expedition. Can you tell us about the training you underwent? The training took place over eight months. I was sent to a mountaineering institute in Darjeeling for preparation.
While there, i climbed Mount Renock which is 17,000 feet high. I got accustomed to subzero temperatures of -35 degrees Celsius in Ladakh.
Seeing my high endurance level, i was sent on the Everest expedition. What were some of the difficulties you encountered on Mount Everest?
The winds were pretty harsh and it was also biting cold. Moreover, during the expedition, we had to eat packaged food which was not easy for me to digest. I was frequently throwing up whenever i was given food in those sealed bags as the smell was unbearable for me. I had to rely on soups which were served hot and didn't come in a packet.
It was also not an easy task for me to climb with the oxygen tank. I really didn't expect so many obstacles to come my way as i was mentally prepared to climb the highest peak in the world.
Moreover, i had climbed the Everest from the Tibetan side as the Nepalese government does not allow climbers below 16 years of age to go on the expedition.
Climbing the Everest was certainly more diffi cult than i thought ­ but my willpower to prove that a tribal girl can do something kept me going. What was the first thing that came to your mind when you reached Mount Everest's top?
The satisfaction of all the hard work i had done along with quietness and peace just filled me.
My head was held high when i raised India's flag on the world's highest peak.
At 13, you can start planning your career now ­ what do you aim to be?
I want to study and become an IPS officer.
But i also want to climb more mountains around the world.
After the expedition, you met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi ­ what did he say?
He was encouraging ­ he told me to keep doing what you are best in and never give up. He also encouraged me to complete my studies ­ and to always look ahead.