Govt plans to unleash `Blue Revolution'

Vishwa Mohan

New Delhi:





Move Aimed At Trebling Export Of Fish & Fish Products In Next Five Years

Laying roads for `Blue Revolution' through an ambitious target, the Centre has decided to work for increasing the country's export earnings from fish and fish products from Rs 33,441 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 1,00,000 crore in the next five years.The agriculture ministry will next month come out with a new national policy on fisheries, paving the way to achieve this target through implementation of an umbrella scheme for integrated development and management of fisheries. The private sector will also be involved to achieve the objective.
The new policy will cover development and management of inland fisheries, aquaculture, marine fisheries including deep sea fishing and all activities undertaken by the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) towards realising a `Blue Revolution' in the country.
“The new policy on fisheries is ready for release early next month. The ministry will on that occasion specify how it would go for nearly three-fold increase in the country's export earnings from fish and fish products in next five years through various policy intervention with an outlay of Rs 3,000 crore for a period of five years,“ said an official.
He said, “Focus on fisheries, particularly the inland ones, will also help in realising the goal of doubling the income of farmers in next five-six year through involving them in allied activities by tapping various water bodies including newly dug up ponds across the country .“
India's fish production has increased from 7.5 lakh tonnes in 1950-51 to 100.70 lakh tonnes during 2014-15, while the export earnings touched Rs 33,441crore. It accounts for around 18% of export earnings from the agricultural sector.
India is at present the second largest producer of fish in the world after China. More than 50 different types of fish and shellfish products are exported to 75 countries.
Currently , the USA is the largest market for Indian seafood products with a share of 26.46% in terms of India's export of marine products followed by South East Asian countries (25.71%) and European Union nations (20.08%).
Asked how the country would achieve the ambitious target of three-fold increase in export earnings in the next five years, the official said the ministry had already proposed to merge all existing schemes in the fisheries sector that would mainly focus on increasing production and productivity from aquaculture and fisheries resources -both inland and marine.
Besides the increase in fish production, the integrated scheme would stimulate growth of the subsidiary and allied industries and growth of other related economic activities, especially in the coastal regions, leading to many direct and indirect benefits to the entire fisheries sector.

Source: Times of India, 20-06-2016

Judges' vacancies not sole reason for pending cases

Pradeep Thakur





Shortage of judges may not be the predominant factor behind the large pendency of cases in courts across the country as much as their efficiency, says a study commissioned by the law ministry after the Chief Justice of India recently attributed over three crore pending cases to a huge gap in the judge-population ratio. The CJI had sought 70,000 more judges to clear the backlog.The study , which compiled data between 2005 and 2015, lists several states with higher judge-population ratio -such as Delhi (47 judges per million population) and Gujarat (32 judges) -which are still struggling to dispose of cases.
Conversely , states such as Tamil Nadu (14 judges per million population) and Punjab (24 judges) have among the lowest pendency rates, according to the study. The findings also show a huge variation in the av erage number of cases disposed by a judge in a year in different states. In Kerala and Tripura, for instance, the rate of disposal per judge is as high as over 3,000 and 2,800 cases respectively per year while in states such as Jharkhand and Bihar, it is merely 255 and 274 cases respectively as per the working strength. India has an average 17 judges per million population on the current sanctioned strength, though there are over 44% vacancies in 24 high courts and 23% in subordinate judiciary . The current sanctioned strength of the subordinate judiciary is 20,214 judges while that of the 24 high courts is 1,056. The pendency of cases has remained abnormally high at 3.10 crore, as per the last estimates.
“There is no direct relation between judge-popula tion ratio and the pending cases,“ said the study , pointing out how states such as Tamil Nadu and Punjab which ranked lower in terms of judge-population ratio also ranked lower in terms of the number of pending cases.
The highest pendency of cases per million population are in the states of Delhi, Gujarat, Chandigarh, Tripura, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Bihar--all having judge-population ratio above the national average of 17. The top five states have a judge-population ratio in the range of 20 to 47 judges per million population, but still have one of the highest pendency of cases per million population.
Quoting from a previous Law Commission report, the law ministry study said the judge-population ratio was a poor substitute for sound scientific analysis to arrive at the real reasons behind huge pendency.

Source: Times of India, 20-06-2016

India ranked 141 in global peace index, Syria least peaceful

India was on Wednesday ranked 141 on a Global Peace Index -- making it less peaceful than countries like Burundi, Serbia and Burkina Faso -- with violence taking a 680-billion dollor toll on its economy in 2015.

In a ranking of 163 countries, compiled by global think tank Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), Syria has been named the least peaceful, followed by South Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia.

On the other hand, Iceland was ranked as the world’s most peaceful country, followed by Denmark and Austria.

India has moved up two position, from 141st last year, but the study said the country’s peace score has “deteriorated” over the past year -- which means the slight rise in ranking could be due to worse performance of others.

The report said that in the last decade, India’s position deteriorated when it came to peace “by 5 % largely due to deteriorations in the indicators measuring UN peacekeeping funding and the level of political terror”.

Within South Asia, Bhutan was ranked best (13th overall rank), while India was fifth followed by Pakistan at sixth (overall 153rd) and Afghanistan at sixth place (global 160th).

The report said, “India’s scores for ongoing domestic and international conflict and militarisation have deteriorated slightly. The country remains vulnerable to acts of terror and security threats at its shared border with Pakistan.

“As such, the number of deaths caused by externally organised terror strikes has risen over the year.”

At the same time, Sri Lanka saw the greatest upswing in its score in the region and the report attributed the country’s increased peacefulness to “better relations with neighbouring countries, particularly India”.

The GPI 2016 ranks 163 independent states and territories according to their level of peacefulness.

It further said that “violence impacted India’s economy by USD 679.80 billion in 2016, 9 % of India’s GDP, or USD 525 per person”.

The economic impact of violence on the global economy touched USD 13.6 trillion or 13.3 % of gross world product. The amount is also equivalent to 11 times the size of global foreign direct investment, it added.

According to the report, world became a less peaceful in 2016, mainly on account of increased terrorism and higher levels of political instability.

Rankings of 81 countries have improved but deterioration in another 79 outweighed these gains.

IEP Founder and Executive Chairman Steve Killelea said increasing internationalisation of internal conflicts has coincided with UN peacekeeping funding reaching record highs in 2016.

However, peace building and peacekeeping spending remains proportionately small compared to the economic impact of violence, representing just two % of global losses from armed conflict, he noted.

“In 2015, violence containment expenditure in India totalled USD 679.8 billion PPP, an increase of 7 % from 2008. At 9 % of GDP this was ranked 65th in the world,” Killelea said.

As per the report, addressing the global disparity in peace and achieving an overall 10 % decrease in the economic impact of violence would produce a peace dividend of USD 1.36 trillion. This is approximately equivalent to the size of world food exports.

Source: Hindustan Times, 10-06-2016

Students accuse TISS of abruptly terminating prof's contract

Ankita Bhatkhande





Resentment is brewing among the students on the Deonar campus of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences after the administration decided to discontinue the services of an associate professor. The students on Thursday night started a campaign on social media to bring back the professor.The students have alleged TISS abruptly terminated the contract of Sanober Keshwar (in pic), who was handling modules on law and social work since 2009. In a post on Facebook, they said Dr Sanober was informed about the “termination“ only in mid-May. “Sanober's phone was disconnected, her email ID blocked by the administration without any written or spoken word. How are others putting up so silently? Is this how TISS admin is honouring hard working profs who have an ideology and a spine to speak up?“ wrote a student.
The students have demanded immediate reinstatement of the professor and appointment of an external committee to look into the “termination“. TISS administration cited fund crunch as the only reason for its decision and denied that Dr Sanober was terminated. An associate professor on contract is paid nearly Rs 90,000, said sources. Mirror could not independently verify the figure.The institute has issued a statement saying it did not renew the contracts of a few temporary faculty. “The authorities have spoken to the faculty members concerned before the contracts were allowed to lapse.“
It said the TISS campus also houses the Maharashtra National Law University. The authorities have not been able to renew the contracts of two law professors, read the statement.~

Source: Mumbai Mirror, 10-06-2016

Overcome Addiction

R VENKATESAN





The reason why many indulge in substance abuse is because they are unable to deal with life's problems. Or their expectations are unrealistic. Depression and anger, sadness and frustration are further fuelled by drug-dependency , alcoholism or both. Daniel Goleman in Emotional Intelligence says that it is the lack of application of intelligence to emotions that makes one lonely and depressed, angry , unruly , prone to worry , more impulsive and aggressive. A scientific assessment of the emotional and spiritual mind has emerged more recently , trying to understand why we can be reasonable one moment and irrational the very next moment.Goleman attributed it to two minds: one emotional and the other rational; one that feels and one that thinks. He argues that emotional mind is far quicker than the rational mind, making split-second decisions without reflection of the consequences that can be bewildering to the analytically inclined rational mind.Spiritual teachers like Buddha and Jesus touched their disciples' hearts by speaking the language of emotions. Why is improving the emotional quotient (EQ) or imbibing spiritual intelligence (SQ) important? Because it helps us deal with problems in a constructive manner, and deflects us getting addicted to harmful habits like substance abuse.According to Zohar, SQ can be improved by Hinduism's Kundalini Yoga or explained in terms of the lotus model with its centre and six petals.

Ramzan, A Process Of Self-Purification

M Aslam





Roza or fasting in Islam is an elaborate process stretching over a period of one month every year.It essentially means that a person observing fast will not only observe abstinence from eating and drinking but will get into a sublime state of mind in order to develop positive feelings. To achieve this one has to restrain oneself from listening, speaking, hearing or thinking negatively about others. The Qur'an says, “O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint.“Fasting is a tool for reconstruction of our spiritual faculties. It instills the essence of consciousness of the Creator in the devotee's heart. It also instills moral courage and guides the seat of our emotions on moral issues. Since fasting helps in conditioning the heart, soul and body , it leads to tranquility and calmness in the face of adversity . This helps one become patient. Patience is the pinnacle of discipline and spiritual suppleness. Jalaluddin Rumi said: “Have patience, for that is true worship.“
One needs to experience Ramzan to understand its social significance in its totality. It is an elaborate process of self-purification. The expectation is that if one passes through this process of self-purification for a period of one month, its impact will remain for the remaining 11months, after which this process will be repeated. Physical fasting alone does not have any social or religious significance.
Sociologically speaking fasting is an expression of solidarity with the poor. It is manifested through the concept of charity , neighbourhood and of charity , neighbourhood and hospitality. Apart from helping to purify body and soul through the process of self-purification, addressing these areas of social significance is bound to help people to shed all those things which are not socially desirable.
Charity includes helping the poor through giving of alms. It is said that if one gives away even a small amount during this month, he will get 70 times more blessings in return. We should also take care not to forget the social significance of iftar gatherings.
The practice of the concept of neighbourhood is equally important. It has wider connotations than its literal meaning. The Prophet had said, “One should behave decently with the whole of humanity and foremost among them is your neighbour.“ If one connects it with the concept of fasting, an immediate tion is that a true Muslim implication is that a true Muslim cannot see any human being hungry , even if it means having to sacrifice `iftar' and to continue fasting for the next day . Simi larly, a true Muslim cannot see a human being in pain or misery . It applies to both one's immediate neighbourhood as well as entire humanity . What we are witnessing around us in the name of Islam is not Islam. In essence Islam in general and `roza' in particular teaches a person to address human concerns and values.
Muslims need to demonstrate through observance of `roza' (in its totality), Islam's relevance in today's world. Let us make clear once and for all that any type of violence has no place in Islam.One of the greatest advantages of observing the month of fasting is that its true observance inculcates in a person the habit of speaking the truth, remaining patient, practising the concept of hospitality and neighbourhood and give charity to the needy .
If followed in letter and spirit a person will certainly become a true `Insan' and will be bestowed with God's blessings and protection, which we all need so desperately in these turbulent times.

AIDS deaths in India down 55% since 2007

Sushmi Dey

New Delhi:





Deaths caused by AIDS declined nearly 55% in India in the past eight years, whereas new HIV infections came down by 66% since 2000.In 2007, India had recorded 1,48,309 such deaths; in 2015, the figure stood at just 67,600, according to latest statistics presented by health minister J P Nadda at an ongoing highlevel United Nations meeting in New York. The conclave is evaluating the implementation of the United Nations AIDS control programme. Globally, such deaths declined 41% between 2005 and 2015.
Between 2000 and 2015, new HIV infections in India dropped from 2.51 lakh to 86,000 (66%) -compared with a global fall of just 35%.
The UN General Assembly has proposed to fast-track implementation of AIDS control strategies to end the epidemic across the world by 2030. Endorsing the proposal, Nadda said countries must adopt the target and collabo rate strategies to achieve it.
Highlighting the importance of affordable medicines to tackle the prevalence of AIDS and India's role in making such drugs available worldwide, Nadda asked the UN to ensure global access to affordable medicines. India, which faced the spectre of disastrous con sequences on account of AIDS epidemic 15 years back, has been able to manage the challenge effectively,“ Nadda told the UN meeting. “Targeted interventions based on close collaboration and empowerment of communities and civil society with appropriate funding from the gov ernment have helped deliver key life saving services to the affected population,“ Nadda said. Seeking higher investment from international public health agencies to end the epidemic, Nadda said, “The role of international assistance and cooperation cannot be underestimated.This is the time for developed countries to do more, not less, and enhance their commitments. We cannot afford to give the epidemic a chance to rebound.“
The National AIDS Con trol Programme has been walking a tightrope with international funds drying up over the last three years. This has led to fears about recurrence of new HIV cases. Estimates show a reduction of almost 90% in funding from various multilateral, bilateral and philanthropic donor organisations over the last three years. The government is, therefore, trying hard to seek continuous funding for the programme as it is currently at a critical juncture.
Indian firms like Cipla and Dr Reddy's Laboratories supply 80% of the generic drugs used worldwide for treatment of AIDS. However, many of them have been facing tough regulations in several countries because of patent litigations.

Source: Times of India, 10-06-2016