Traditional Chapchar Kut festival celebrated across Mizoram

The traditional festival of Chapchar Kut of the Mizos was celebrated across the north-eastern state of Mizoram and also in the Mizo-inhabited areas in the neighbouring states. It is a spring festival celebrated every year in month of March with great fervour and gaiety by Mizos after completion of their Jhum operation (shifting agriculture by clearing jungle by burning and cultivating in remnants of burning). Mizos celebrate this festival by dressing in their traditional attire and dancers danced to the tune of typical music and songs. Popular Mizo dances including Cheraw, Chheihlam, Sarlamkai and Khuallam are performed by various cultural groups. Chapchar Kut Festival is estimated to have started in 1450-1700 A.D. in a village called Suaipui.

Read more at: http://currentaffairs.gktoday.in/month/current-affairs-march-2016

UGC’s funding declines 55 per cent

The University Grants Commission’s (UGC) budget allocation has been cut by almost 55 per cent, from Rs 9315.45 crore in 2015-16 to Rs 4286.94 crore in 2016-17. The UGC provides funds and maintains standards in institutions of higher education.

The UGC’s funding has declined with the setting up of a Higher Education Financing Agency and increased focus on the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan.

In his Budget speech, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the Higher Education Financing Agency would be set up with an initial capital base of Rs 1,000 crore. The Financing agency will leverage funds from the market and supplement them with donations.

In the current financial year, a provision of Rs 1,300 crore has been made in the Budget for the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan, up from Rs 1,155 crore. Launched in 2013, the centrally sponsored scheme aims at providing strategic funding to eligible state higher educational institutions.

The total allocation for the department of higher education has increased to Rs 28,840 crore from Rs 25,399 crore. This amount includes provisions for various technical institutions. A sum of Rs 190 crore has been earmarked for setting up of new IITs and Rs 695 crore for IIMs.

Source: Elets News Network (ENN) Posted on March 4, 2016

An agenda for humanity

We face the worst humanitarian crisis since WW II and the largest funding crisis.

More people desperately need humanitarian assistance than at any time since the founding of the United Nations. More warring parties are brazenly violating international humanitarian law. More resources than ever are needed to meet sharply escalating humanitarian needs. Yet we face the largest-ever funding shortfalls.

For these reasons and more, I am convening the first-ever World Humanitarian Summit in May in Istanbul. I am urging global leaders, international organisations and others to commit to deliver more and better for those in greatest need. There is no time to lose.

Climate change is affecting lives and livelihoods across our fragile planet. Brutal and seemingly intractable conflicts, violent extremism, transnational crime and growing inequality are devastating the lives of millions of men, women and children and are destabilising entire regions. More people have been forced to flee their homes than at any time since World War II.

Around the world, more than 125 million people need humanitarian assistance. If they were all in one country, it would be the 11th largest nation on Earth, and one of the fastest growing.

Today’s complex challenges cross borders. No single country or organisation can address them alone. We need to restore trust in the ability of our national, regional and international institutions to confront these challenges.

A sense of shared humanity must shape our politics and drive financial decisions. In advance of the Summit, I have set out an Agenda for Humanity as a framework for action, change and mutual accountability. It has five core responsibilities.

First, leaders must intensify efforts to find political solutions to prevent and end conflict. The enormous human and economic cost makes conflict the biggest obstacle to human development. We must move from managing crises to preventing them.

Second, countries must uphold the norms that safeguard humanity. This means complying with international humanitarian and human rights law, and stopping the bombing and shelling of civilian targets and areas. It also means committing to national and international justice and ending impunity.

Third, we must leave no one behind — and we must reach those who are furthest behind, first. This means transforming the lives of
the most vulnerable, including those living in conflict and in chronic poverty, and those living with the risk of natural hazards and rising sea levels. We must reduce forced displacement, provide more regular and lawful opportunities for migration, empower women and girls and ensure quality education for all. We cannot meet the Sustainable Development Goals, agreed by world leaders last September, if we do not reach these people.

The fourth core responsibility is to move from delivering aid to ending need. We need to close the humanitarian-development divide for good. We must also anticipate crises, not wait for them to happen. We must strengthen local leadership and capacity, reduce vulnerability, and increase the resilience of people and communities, who will always be the first and last responders in crises.

Fifth, we must find smart and innovative ways of mobilising funds. This will require diversifying and expanding the resource base and using a wider variety of financing tools. I have proposed a new international financing platform with the World Bank to identify mechanisms to finance our response to protracted crises.

The Agenda for Humanity provides key actions and strategic shifts which the world requires to reduce humanitarian needs
and contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. I urge world leaders to come to the World Humanitarian Summit committed to promote sustainable human progress and a life of dignity and security for all.

The writer is secretary-general of the United Nations

Source: Indian Express, 3-02-2016

From Here to Infinity

V N MITTAL





The abstract concept of infinity is relevant in a number of fields, and not just in astronomy , mathematics and physics. Vedas mention a lot of mathematical concepts including infinity .Infinity is endlessly divisible without being diminished.“You are fullness. There is fullness, here the fullness alone remains,“ state the Vedas. So, infinity is as much metaphysical as it is mathematical.The symbol of infinity is the English digit 8 flipped horizontally. It is formed as a loop by placing two circles facing each other interlocked in the middle. A circle is infinite as its circumference has no end.
Creation too is a great circle that repeats itself endlessly .The symbol of infinity represents loci of two energies, spiritual and physical, that meet in the middle at the still point, the point around which the energy flows. This still point represents the source, the seed of all creation. This midpoint is the anchor, or zero-point consciousness, and represents two polarised opposites that balance each other -the parallel nature of everything in creation.
Discover your dormant abilities to establish harmony among all individuals, all races and all nations; use collective power for realising individual abilities. Open up your inner perceptions to realise that you are an infinite spiritual being. All of us are interconnected. Meditation is a good way to attain higher states of consciousness. Open the chakras to access your inner potential and to realise infinity . The chakras can be activated in many other ways such as reiki and yoga.

A continued attack on social sectors

Budget allocations are too miserly for good quality delivery of nutrition, health and education services

Despite all the hype about India’s rapid growth in the face of global gloom, it is evident to most observers that all is not well in the Indian economy. Rural distress is growing; public social service delivery is in a state of collapse in many states because of the drastic cuts in central transfers to state governments under these heads; employment growth (especially formal jobs) is simply not picking up; banks are under stress of non-performing loans; and investment rates continue to fall. Clearly, the economy is urgently in need of a demand stimulus as well as more government spending on infrastructure and public services.

In the face of all this, the central government needs to have a clear game plan for putting the economy on a stable and viable footing, recognizing that the headwinds from external forces will continue. Grand promises and high-profile photo-op events to entice investors are no longer enough, especially as they have achieved precious little in the past two years. The chimera that simply bringing in a goods and services tax will somehow generate a massive economic revival has to be put to rest as well, although it can serve as a convenient excuse for the government in case (as is likely) the various problems in the economy remain unaddressed.

This is a period when the government could actually have utilized the facts that wholesale price inflation is actually negative and the economy is the beneficiary of very low global oil prices, to launch a strategy focussed on more employment generation and meting people’s basic needs. So, the continued insistence on fiscal discipline at this time is surprising. All the more so when such discipline is really at the expense of the poor who are bearing the brunt of the indirect tax burden and who lose out from the lack of access to good quality publicly delivered goods and services.

Sadly, the government does not seem to have learned that investing in the social sectors is not about the “welfarism” that it seems to detest, but about creating a pathway for inclusive and sustainable growth. So, its attitude remains miserly, dishing out little portions of money in dribbles that are nowhere near enough to provide even the minimum in terms of decent and good quality delivery of nutrition, health and education services.

Consider the allocations in budget 2016-17 for social expenditures. Despite all the rhetoric about providing health insurance for all (an election promise of the Bharatiya Janata Party that now seems almost insulting to the people), the allocation to the ministry of health and family welfare has increased by a paltry ` 4,240 crore, barely enough to keep the amount at the same abysmally low level of 0.24% of GDP (gross domestic product).

The budget of the ministry of education has increased only slightly. Allocations for school education have increased by a minuscule ` 1,367 crore, hardly sufficient to ensure the much-needed expansion and universalization of good quality secondary education. Meanwhile, the current government anger at universities seems to be reflected in its purse strings, as the budget of the University Grants Commission has been slashed to less than half of the current year’s spending, from ` 9,315 crore to only ` 4,492 crore.

The worst fate is reserved for women and children, despite the florid concerns expressed in the budget speech. The entire ministry will experience a real cut as the increased allocation does not keep pace with projected inflation. But worst of all, the allocation for the Integrated Child Development Services programme (which is still not universalized) has actually been cut in nominal terms, from ` 15,394 crore to ` 14,000 crore. As states are struggling to find ways of even paying the anganwadi workers and helpers who are the backbone of the programme, it is terrible to think what will happen if such a stringent cut is actually implemented.

Arun Jaitley proudly declared that he has increased the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme allocation to the highest ever level of ` 38,500 crore— but that is false, as the spending under this head reached ` 38,552 crore in 2013-14. At only 0.25% of GDP, this would also be much lower than the 0.59% that was achieved in 2009-10. And this also conceals the arrears that must be paid by the centre for this programme. As many as 21 states are still waiting for the money they have already spent that the central government has yet to pay them for the current year, so the final allocation will be around ` 6,500 crore less if that is accounted for.

What is also bizarre is that while the National Democratic Alliance government finally seems to have woken up to the ongoing agrarian crisis, it seems to think that the matter can be addressed by budgetary sleight of hand rather than real action. So, the finance minister declared what at first appears to be an enormous increase in the budget for agriculture, but it turns out that most of that is because of the fact that the interest subsidy on loans to farmers, which was previously under the head of the finance ministry, has simply been moved to the ministry of agriculture. If that ` 15,000 crore is taken out (as it should be), the increase in the budget for agriculture is much more piffling, to the point where it increases from 0.17% of GDP to 0.19% of GDP—hardly enough to make much of a difference to the conditions of farmers.

Sadly, the economic advisers of this government appear to have learned very little from their relative lack of success since mid-2014. Which in turn means that the Indian people will continue to suffer from the state reneging on its responsibility to ensure their social and economic rights.

Source: Mint epaper, 2-03-2016

Nothing radical or revolutionary

here is virtually nothing to encourage either domestic or foreign investments in the manufacturing sector. It is irrational to expect a new India to emerge from old-style Budgets

The third Budget of the Narendra Modi government, which was delivered on Monday, was eagerly awaited. With increasing criticism of the perceived gap between promises made and action taken on the ground, this Budget was the key opportunity to regain lost ground and accelerate the process of converting the ‘Make in India’ dream into a reality. Indeed, there was little in the run-up to the Budget that generated cheer or optimism. The data from the manufacturing, banking, and real estate sectors were depressing. The ill-timed notice from the Indian tax department of over Rs. 14,000 crore to Vodafone two weeks ago seriously cast doubts on whether the Prime Minister’s Office and the Finance Ministry were pursuing a common agenda of making India an investment-friendly destination. The only large silver lining on the dark economic cloud was the drastic fall in oil prices.

Arvind P. Datar

The most important task before the nation is the creation of 120 million jobs in the next six years. These jobs can be generated only by a spectacular spurt in the manufacturing and tourism sectors. The tax and regulatory environment is still hostile to manufacturing units. Even today, importers of goods and equipment have a much easier life than those who take up the arduous task of manufacturing goods.

New laws no solution

It is incredible that one government after another seeks to solve deep-rooted financial and commercial problems by simply framing new laws. The attempt to cure industrial sickness by enacting the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act, 1985 miserably failed and only placed a premium on defaulters. The setting up of the Debts Recovery Tribunal and the enactment of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act (SARFAESI) in 2002 did not even make a dent in the problem of non-performing assets that plagues the banking sector let alone solve it. The proposed resolution to resolve bankruptcy disputes by new legislative measures are unlikely to bear fruit.

The Finance Minister announced that the ninth (and last) pillar of his Budget would relate to taxation. This ninth pillar had nine categories. At this critical juncture, what was expected was an audacious Finance Bill that made radical tax reforms. About 30 years ago, the late V.P. Singh announced truly path-breaking tax reforms. The maximum rate of income tax was slashed to just 50 per cent, estate duty was abolished, and the maximum marginal rate for wealth tax was reduced to just 2 per cent. In indirect taxes, Singh introduced MODVAT credit with new central excise and customs tariffs.

Complicating tax laws 

Sadly, the present Budget has nothing radical or revolutionary. It has continued with the regrettable annual tradition of chronic tinkering with direct and indirect taxes: an explanation here, a proviso there, an extra deduction or benefit for some sectors and increased duties for other sectors, all sprinkled like chilli flakes over a pizza. To be fair, the Finance Minister appears to implemented many recommendations of the Committees headed by Justice R.V. Easwar and Parthasarathi Shome. The devil is in the details and one will have to wait and read all the annexures before coming to a clear understanding of the rationalisation.

As read in Parliament, there is nothing in the Budget speech that will give the much-needed boost to the ‘Make in India’ programme. On the other hand, the numerous tax proposals announced are likely to further complicate tax laws.

There is yet another Voluntary Disclosure Scheme that enables payment of 45 per cent and provides immunity from penalty and prosecution. The proposal to enable appellate disputes to be settled will be unsuccessful as an assessee is required to pay the entire disputed tax. In several cases, the demands are high-pitched and it will be absurd to expect to pay up the entire disputed tax. There also appear to be wide-ranging changes in the Central Value Added Tax (CENVAT) and other excise/customs rules resulting in an increasingly complicated tax regime.

Critical reforms relating to abolition or curtailment of minimum alternate tax (MAT) were much awaited but surprisingly absent. The proposal to introduce General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) from April 1, 2017 is another cause for concern. The direct tax proposals will result in a loss of Rs. 1,000 crore, but indirect tax proposals will yield above Rs. 20,000 crore.

In fine, the Budget is unlikely to accelerate the realisation of the ‘Make in India’ dream. There is virtually nothing to encourage either domestic or foreign investments in the manufacturing sector. Nothing demonstrates the petty-minded attitude more than the proposal to grant tax relief to start-ups but subjecting them to MAT. The Finance Minister rightly made a reference at the end of his speech to a dream, a desire and a vision. But attaining these requires a complete change in the way we encourage and nurture entrepreneurship. It will be irrational to expect a new India to emerge from old-style Budgets. One only hopes that we can find nuggets of relief when a detailed examination of the complex Finance Bill of 2016 is completed.

(Arvind Datar is a senior advocate of the Madras High Court.)

Keywords: Union Budget 2016, make in india, Arun Jaitley

Source: The Hindu, 1-03-2016

Nationalism does not allow the Hindu in India to claim primacy’

Historian Romila Thapar on academic freedom, nationalism, sedition, and free speech.

A widely respected public intellectual, Romila Thapar has groomed generations of students in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), and earlier in Delhi University. Frank in her views, she insists that in the given climate where people’s nationalism is questioned merely on the basis of a slogan or two, as in the case of JNU, the primary identity of every “citizen of India, over and above all other identities of religion, caste, language, race and suchlike,” is that of an Indian. “Nationalism,” she points out, “does not allow the Hindu in India or the Muslim in Pakistan to claim primacy and privilege as a citizen on the basis of being members of a religious majority community.” In favour of repealing the sedition law, she took a few questions from Ziya Us Salam. Excerpts:

Sedition is being thrown around with reckless ease and disdain at students or at anybody who is critical of the government. Are we in danger of the state riding roughshod over all individual freedom?

Sedition is an extremely serious matter and cannot be bandied about or treated casually as we have started doing in recent times. Those who have the right to accuse a citizen of sedition should be first taught what it actually means and implies, since many people are unaware of its implications or when it is appropriate. Countries change their borders within a century, as indeed the borders of British India changed in the twentieth century with the establishing of three separate nations. Nationalisms are now said to be of various kinds. Governments therefore have to be meticulous in its understanding and sensitive to its meaning before accusing a citizen of sedition. It cannot be used casually in lieu of abuse. In colonial times, sedition related to statements made to incite violence against the colonial state. Today, the colonial state does not exist. It has been replaced by three independent states, so the context of seditious remarks has to that extent become more complex. The law regarding sedition has to be repealed.

In the light of the JNU experience, the government probably does not seem to be well disposed towards freedom of expression, and is happy to see nationalism being bandied about as the monopoly of a chosen few. How disconcerting is this for you as an Indian citizen and a vocal intellectual?

Most people are generally satisfied with leading conventional lives that do not require unconventional views and activities. Intellectuals and academics, however, are not only given to making enquiries in the furthering of knowledge, but this is their expected function. In doing so, they have to be confident that they will be allowed to think in ways that may deviate from the conventional, provided of course their thought and actions are not socially harmful. And what might be socially harmful is always a matter that has to be teased apart and debated. Intellectuals are expected to explore ideas and to do so preferably without fear. But if they have to live in fear, then that fear seeps into the lives of the people amongst whom they live. A society whose ambience is suffused with fear ceases to nurture creativity and its life is reduced to a routine banality.

On a slightly wider canvas, it seems all abodes of free speech are in danger. The Film and Television Institute of India, Hyderabad Central University, Aligarh Muslim University, JNU… there seems to be no end to right-wing parties and their various affiliates hurling accusations to mar the fair name of an institution. Does it remind you of the Emergency?

There seems to be a growing attempt to dismantle institutions where creativity in thought is encouraged. In most cases, new appointments to positions of authority have been made of people who were chosen because they are not associated with the kinds of ideas that explore new avenues of thought and work, or that encourage the questioning of existing ideas, and because they are likely to carry out instructions from the ministries. So far at least, this has been the pattern. In one case, an enterprising Director of the National Museum who actually allowed some qualitatively different kinds of exhibitionsto be held was fairly quickly moved to the Ministry of Sports! Attempts to silence free speech are, of course, always characteristic of governments that lack confidence and are uncomfortable with an independent citizenry.

Nationalism is not just limited to flying flags on official buildings and singing the glories of the nation symbolised as a mother. Nationalism was a deep commitment to the identity of a people, most of whom came together to expel the colonial power. There were some who preferred to give their allegiance to the Islamic state and to the Hindu Rashtra. Nationalism encapsulated and should continue to encapsulate the identity of a people living in a territory claiming equal rights of citizenship. These rights exclude discrimination on any ground, and include a concern for the well-being of all such people, and where the primacy of the citizen is the chief concern of the state. The primary identity is that of being a citizen of India, over and above all other identities of religion, caste, language, race or suchlike. Nationalism does not allow the Hindu in India or the Muslim in Pakistan to claim primacy and privilege as a citizen on the basis of being members of a religious majority community. Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Dalits and Adivasis are all equal citizens. All citizens have the right to debate and discuss their duties towards the state and also the obligations of the state to ensure that the claims to human rights of all citizens are met by the state to an equal degree.

ziya.salam@thehindu.co.in

Keywords: Romila Thapar, nationalism, JNU row, sedition laws

Source: The Hindu, 2-03-2016