Dearness Allowance fails to keep pace with Galloping Inflation

Diesel dearer by Rs 5/litre, 6-refill cap on LPG subsidy
Swaraj Thapa : New Delhi, Fri Sep 14 2012, 01:43 hrs
Biting the fuel price hike bullet, the Manmohan Singh government today decided to increase diesel prices by Rs 5 per litre but left kerosene and petrol prices untouched. In a bid to partially plug the subsidy hole owing to cooking gas, the government also decided to limit the number of subsidised gas cylinders to six per household per year. The unsubsidised market rate will add up to Rs 746 per cylinder. These decisions were taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) this evening. Both Trinamool Congress representative and Railway Minister Mukul Roy as well as DMK representative and Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister M K Alagiri skipped the meeting.
The decision to hike diesel prices came even as a Cabinet meeting tomorrow is set to give the long awaited push to the UPA’s reforms agenda by easing FDI norms in civil aviation, power and broadcasting sectors, besides moving proposals to divest equity in seven state-run companies.
Diesel, domestic LPG and PDS kerosene rates have not been changed since June 2011. While the Congress core group cleared the fuel price hike at its meeting last Tuesday, the party also seems to have succeeded in narrowing down differences with allies on its economic policies.
Even as the TMC and DMK skipped the CCPA meeting today, there were indications that the two allies may have agreed not to rock the boat although they would publicly oppose the fuel hike. To this extent, the scope of a partial reduction in diesel prices is not being ruled out.
The Centre is bracing for an attack from the Opposition BJP and Left parties as well as the SP and BSP.
But significantly, the government seems to be finally moving on the reforms and economy front, especially after the battering it has been facing on the coal block allocations controversy.
At the Cabinet meeting tomorrow, the government is set to take up crucial decisions aimed at increasing FDI inflows in civil aviation, power and broadcasting sectors. FDI in civil aviation, which has been opposed by the Trinamool Congress, will allow foreign airlines to pick up stake in Indian carriers, helping cash-strapped airlines like Kingfisher.
The government also proposes to hike the FDI limit in cable and DTH carriage services from the current 49 per cent to 74 per cent.
The third proposal is to allow FDI in running of electricity exchanges in the country. The Cabinet will also consider proposals for disinvestment in seven PSUs, including National Aluminium Limited Company (NALCO), RITES, Neyveli Lignite, Hindustan Copper, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and Mines and Minerals Trading Corporation (MMTC).
If the reforms are approved tomorrow, government managers hinted that the ambitious proposal to allow FDI in retail — another issue on which the Trinamool Congress does not see eye to eye with the Congress — may also be taken up in the coming weeks. Diesel dearer by Rs 5/litre, 6-refill cap on LPG subsidy

Army Jawans seek instant redressal

Army jawans ransack police station, beat up cops
PTI | Sep 11, 2012, 07.28PM IST
JAMMU: Army jawans allegedly ransacked a railway police station and beat up cops on duty, injuring six of them, in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir. Cases were registered against the army troopers for allegedly beating up and injuring the cops last night, police officials said here today. The trouble erupted following an altercation between an Army jawan and GRP personnel, they said.
The jawan had allegedly unplugged the metal detector installed at the railway station to charge his mobile phone.
When the policemen objected to this, an altercation ensued between them after which the armyman was taken to the police station. On getting information about the incident, the jawan's colleagues, including some officers, reached the police station and allegedly went on a rampage, the officials said. They beat up the policemen on duty injuring six cops, they said. They also took away the jawan with them. The army jawans were waiting for a train at the Kathua railway station for their journey outside the state.
Police booked the jawans for beating and injuring the cops, the officials said. When asked about the incident, the PRO Defence said the Army was yet to come out with a statement on the matter. The jawans belonged to the 225 field regiment stationed at Janglote in the Kathua district.
Army jawans ransack police station, beat up cops
Lessons Learnt
Jawans do not have access to online booking because they are posted at a location without internet or telephone. The only thing the Railways can do is to give them one bogey for hundreds of Jawans going on leave from J & K. Alternatively the units need to book their tickets online in bulk for the leave party. Jammu Railway Station is always chaotic and unfriendly.

Indian Army’s growing morale problem
Today the cost of living has risen much more than the wage increments. Given increased land prices and other avenues of income, the army has lost some of its sheen as a sought-after employer. A recent comment in the Indian media reads:
“An objective review of the manner in which the pay, allowances and status of the military have been lowered over the last two decades reveals some startling facts. The average ‘fauji’ (soldier) retires at a much younger age than the civilian counterpart who serves up to age 60. Many anomalies abound.”
Indeed, it is important for New Delhi to closely look for solutions to pre-empt the disgruntlement among the jawans turning alarming levels. There are already rising instances of industrial unrest in India.
Dissatisfied workers of car manufacturer Maruti brutally assaulted management cadres recently, killing a senior executive and injuring several others. The Maoist violence in large tracts of Central and Eastern India is linked to mining companies exploiting the local tribal populations resulting in deep grievances.
Unlike its neighbors Pakistan, Bangladesh or Nepal, the Indian army has remained largely apolitical and has worked well under civilian political leadership since India’s independence in 1947. The Indian jawan deserves his due.
(Siddharth Srivastava is a New Delhi-based journalist. He can be reached at sidsri@yahoo.com)
Read the full article of declining Morale of Troops
Indiscipline growing due to disconnect in the command and control structure: This video clip proves the point!

10-year-old's RTI posers stump PMO

Aishwarya Parashar. Photo: Special Arrangement The Hindu Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar NEW DELHI, May 25, 2012
When some simple questions came to the mind of Aishwarya Parashar, a Class-VI student of the City Montessori School, Lucknow, she did not let them languish unasked. She went seeking out answers through the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Aishwarya's inquisitiveness and willingness to pursue the source of information has yielded, till date, the establishment of a public library on the site of a garbage dump and the nation being better enlightened about the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi.
All of just 10 years, Aishwarya is a confident little girl, who herself answers a mobile phone and urges those wanting some written information from her to send her an SMS giving their e-mail ID and even forwards e-mail and communicates about her work on her own.
“I have so far filed three RTIs with the Prime Minister's Office,'' she says, adding that “the first one was [a query] about who gave the order for printing Mahatma Gandhi's image on currency notes. I was told in a reply that it was in 1993 following a meeting of the Reserve Bank of India.”
But it was her subsequent RTI asking the PMO to tell her who conferred the title of Father of the Nation on Mahatma Gandhi, which confounded the government. From the PMO, the query went to the Ministry of Home Affairs and to the National Archives of India, before Aishwarya was told that “there are no specific documents on the information sought” by her.
‘Surprising'
“That was really surprising because I never thought it was such a difficult question since even our history books taught us that Mahatma Gandhi was the Father of the Nation.”
The first reference to Mahatma Gandhi as Father of the Nation goes back nearly 70 years when Subhas Chandra Bose referred to Gandhi thus in a radio address from Singapore in 1944.
Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru too had, in his address to the nation upon Mahatma Gandhi's death, referred to him as Father of the Nation: “Friends and comrades, the light has gone out of our lives, and there is darkness everywhere, and I do not quite know what to tell you or how to say it. Our beloved leader, Bapu as we called him, the Father of the Nation, is no more.”
After getting an unsatisfactory answer to her query on this issue in March this year, Aishwarya on April 24 asked the PMO who had declared Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary on October 2 as also Republic Day and Independent Day national holidays. To her surprise, she got a reply dated May 17 that such orders were never issued.
Favourite query
The question most dear to Aishwarya's heart was posed by her in 2009. “That was the time when Lucknow was in the grip of swine flu. There was a big garbage dump near my school, but I only got to see it one day when my mother came to pick me up as my cycle-rickshaw had not come. For the parents there was a separate entrance, and on the way back home I spotted this dump.” With the help of her mother, Urvashi Sharma, who is a social worker and RTI activist, Aishwarya penned an application in her own handwriting. “I had marked that query on the garbage dump to the Chief Minister and thereafter the Uttar Pradesh government got the dump removed, and our school constructed a public library on the site.”
Her father, Sanjay Sharma, is a lecturer.
Ambition
Aishwarya wants to become a doctor. Asked why, she quips: “Whenever I go to a hospital, I see that the poor patients have to first shell out money in order to get treated. I will, on becoming a doctor, go to the slums at least once every week and provide free treatment to such poor people.”
10-year-old's RTI posers stump PMO, Government

Parliament logjam reflects declining democracy

A wasted session
Parliament logjam a threat to democracy
It is a sad commentary on the functioning of our Parliament that its winter session has been washed out because of the rigid posture by both the UPA government and the Opposition over the demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into mega scams like the one on the 2G spectrum allocation. The manner in which both sides have contributed to its paralysis gives rise to fears that the days of Parliament’s usefulness are numbered. There are indications that the Opposition is determined to extend the stalemate over the setting up of a JPC to the Budget session. Even as some Opposition leaders had hinted on Sunday that they might allow the smooth passage of the Finance Bill in the Budget session but will not climb down on the JPC demand, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi have refused to bow to the Opposition’s pressure tactic. Consequently, there is no sign of any rapprochement in the near future.

This is deeply disturbing because the victim in the entire episode is parliamentary democracy. The principal function of Parliament is to ponder over issues, inform and educate public opinion about them, sift facts from prejudice, reconcile differences and, if this is not possible, to ensure that majority opinion prevails while assuring the minority that it has to wait for another day in a fair debate. Parliament works at two levels: through public debate between policies and points of view; and in the privacy of committees in which it is agreed by consensus what is to be debated, when, for how long and under what rules.

Clearly, there is no issue which MPs cannot debate in Parliament. This not only reflects the people’s will but also the trust and confidence that people bestow upon them. However, the Opposition has abdicated its constitutional responsibility by thwarting a debate in Parliament on the mega scams. Instead of cornering the government on these issues legitimately in Parliament through measures like adjournment motion, it sought to conduct the debate on television channels and newspapers. The UPA government, too, is yet to convince the nation as to why it is against a JPC probe. Surely, this is not the way in which the affairs of the nation ought to be run. The nation expects the government and the Opposition to see reason, rectify their folly and restore the smooth functioning of Parliament.
click here for Tribune report

Capital of Thugs and MPs
Delhi remains crime capital- Women are the worst hit

Will a Nation Plagued by Power Shortages Develop?

Will citizens get a respite from daily power outages
Look at our visual Power Transmission standards!

I'm sure all of you have seen this in the cities. It makes us think of the thread of the guy who was questioning whether or not we have electrical engineers at all in India. So scary it's almost funny. Note that there are people that actually have to work on this mess and rig up such a cobweb.

Second set of reforms being prepared to unlock power sector
by Sujay Mehdudia
Struggling to meet the 11th Plan revised target of 62,000 MW of capacity addition from 78,000 MW, due to shortage of coal, non-availability of gas, high cost of imported coal and tardy pace of various power projects, the United Progressive Alliance-II government is preparing to unleash a second set of power sector reforms, including open access to consumers to choose their electricity supplier and restructuring of power utilities of seven major States — including Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

The reforms come in the backdrop of a recent report that revealed that the accumulated losses of the power utilities across the country ran into Rs. 1.5 lakh crore and annual losses were around Rs. 55,000 crore putting a severe strain on the financial health of the distribution utilities. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to chair a high-level meeting to discuss the proposals aimed at unlocking the power sector and making it more attractive for private investment.

Report under way
The report on the reforms prepared by Planning Commission member (Energy) B.K. Chaturvedi is being finalised by Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahuwalia, and the Law Ministry. It is expected to be finalised by March 2012.

Under the recommendations on Open Access, the view is that distribution licences should inform all consumers of 1MW and above that they could choose their electricity supplier. Other suggestions are: State power utilities should provide power to open access consumers at negotiated rates and not regulated rates; the State Electricity Regulatory Commissions should specify reasonable tariffs to be charged by distribution companies for providing standby supply; State load despatch centres should be upgraded in a time-bound manner to enable open access and 25 per cent of discretionary allocation of 15 per cent of central public sector undertakings generation must be made available for direct sale to open access consumers.

Expert group set up
An expert group has been constituted under Mr. Chaturvedi to make an assessment of the cumulative losses of distribution utilities of the seven major States. It has been asked to suggest a strategy for capital restructuring of these power discoms, including commitment by other stakeholders like State governments. It would also suggest a roadmap and monitoring mechanism for implementation of above.
Second set of reforms being prepared to unlock power sector

Demand for seventh Pay Commission to beat runaway Inflation

Main Requirements Demanded from Seventh Pay Commission Report. Living in India surviving the high prices is getting impossible. So the Central government Unions and Associations will be soon coming out with requests for pay scale revisions in 2011.
Usually the Central Pay Commisssion is formed only in every 10 years. But , with the coming of the year 2011, India is in a situation where prices of most of the products needed in day to day life is increasing. Petrol, Gas, Grocery, Provisions, Food prices have gone up sky high. For instance in Chennai the Bus fares are up 100%, milk is up by Rs7 per litre and Electricity which cost Rs1030 for 600 Units will cost a whopping Rs 2350 (billed bi monthly)- just forget using AC otherwise the cost will shoot up by another Rs 5000/.
Government employees under the Central Government has started protests demanding hike in salary. Even though the time for the next Pay Revision Commission has not reached, the Central government employees have decided to ask for a 7th Central pay Commission to be formed. The main requirements that will be requested by the Indian Employee Unions from the 7th Central Pay Commission Report will be as follows,

Salary scales of employees in same posts in all departments should be fixed equally.

Current systems for Job Promotions and Salary increments should be changed to a better one.

Employees who work harder and has great performance track records in service should be paid better salary scales and given promotions , without leaving all promotions based on seniority only.

Appropriate changes should be made to allowances like HRA, TA, CCA .etc.

Transport and Traveling allowances should be renewed based on the current prices of petrol and diesel.
Demand for Seventh Pay Commission

Expected DA from Jan 2012

Expected DA from Jan 2012
Perhaps it is very early to calculate the status of additional Dearness allowance from January, 2012 for Central Government employees and Pensioners, before releasing the AICPIN for the balance of three months. We can assume that the AICPIN will certainly go up, because of the essential commodities prices are going high with non stop. Anyway we can assume the additional Dearness allowance from January 2012 will be minimum 7%. The existing Dearness allowance is 58%, it will become as 58% + 7% = 65%.
Expected DA from Jan 2012

Rising Food, Fuel Prices Slow Indian Economy

November 04, 2011
Rising Food, Fuel Prices Slow Indian Economy
Anjana Pasricha | New Delhi

Photo: Reuters: A fruit seller arranges bananas at his stall along a road in Jammu, November 3, 2011.

In India, increasing food and fuel prices have raised worries that Asia's third largest economy may slow down more than expected. The numbers indicate the Indian government's efforts to tame inflation in the past year have not yet succeeded.
The commerce ministry says food inflation last week was over 12 percent - the highest level in the past nine months. This was largely due to rising prices of meat, milk and vegetables.
State-owned oil companies also increased gasoline prices by about 2.5 percent on Friday - the fourth increase this year. The rising food and fuel prices are slowing down the economy. An economist at the National Council of Applied Economic Research in New Delhi, Anushree Sinha, says the impact is already apparent.

"The industrial sector has already been clocking deceleration in their growth. Industry is definitely not seeing the growth it should. Our manufacturing sector is not doing well which is a cause of concern," said Sinha. The loss of economic momentum is primarily blamed on a series of interest rate hikes by the Reserve Bank in the past year. The hikes were meant to ease inflation by curbing consumer demand, but has had virtually no impact so far.

Several economists say the government is looking in the wrong direction. They say food prices are climbing due to changing patterns of consumption in a country where high growth has increased the numbers of affluent people, and raised demand for items like meat, milk and fruit. D.H. Pai Panandiker, who heads the economic think tank, RPG Goenka Foundation in New Delhi, says the government needs to focus on policies that will raise production of these items.

"The government should have intervened to see that the supply of these commodities increases, which it has not done. Milk and the dairies, the poultry farming and all kinds of things could have been given more facilities in order that they expand very fast. That would have been the principle solution to this problem and not really the interest hike," said Panandiker. The government says it is optimistic that the economy will grow at around 8 percent, but several economists are revising this figure downwards to around 7.5 percent.

Economist Sinha says this is not good for a country where high growth is needed to cut poverty. "The problem is, it’s going to impact hugely a large number of people…fewer jobs created, and also incomes being eroded," said Sinha. The rising fuel and food prices also pose political problems for the Congress Party-led government. Both allies and the opposition have attacked the government for failing to tame inflation. The higher prices are also fueling popular anger.
Rising Food, Fuel Prices Slow Indian Economy

India's Sanitation Lowers Development

India ranked 134th in terms of Human Development Index
Press Trust of India, Updated: November 02, 2011 18:45 IST
New Delhi: A United Nations study has ranked India at 134 out of 187 countries in terms of Human Development Index even as it has observed that life expectancy at birth in the country has increased by 10.1 per cent a year over the last two decades.

In the 2010 Human Development Report, prepared by UNDP, India had been ranked at 119 out of 169 countries. But the new report for 2011 says it is misleading to compare values and rankings with those of previously published reports, because the underlying data and methods have changed, as well as the number of countries included in the Human Development Index.

The report said India's Human Development Index (HDI) value for 2011 was 0.547 positioning the country in the 'medium human development category'. Neighbouring Pakistan was ranked at 145 (0.504) and Bangladesh at 146 (0.500) respectively in terms of HDI. It said between 1980 and 2011, India's HDI value increased from 0.344 to 0.547, an increase of 59 per cent or an average annual increase of about 1.5 per cent.

However, the report pointed that the country's HDI of 0.547 was below the average of 0.630 for countries in the medium human development group and below the average of 0.548 for countries in South Asia.

The HDI is a measure for assessing long-term progress in three basic dimensions of human development such as a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living.

The report said the "mean" year of schooling for the country increased by 3.9 years between 1980 and 2011 and expected years of schooling increased by 3.9 years.

Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, who was present at the report release function, however, sounded dismissive about the figures in the report.

He said a better way of analysing the progress made by countries including India is to measure comparative success they have achieved on this count in the last few years from their previous record rather than by the number of their positions in the international chart.

Ramesh said such presentation of human development indices is "grossly misleading" and the country's progress in this respect should be seen from a 20-year perspective.

He said India has made huge strides in the field of education and water supply system but admitted that the biggest block in the human development indices for India is in the field of sanitation where 58 per cent of open defecation in the world takes place in India.

He also rued that a mere expenditure of Rs. 2000 crore in the field of sanitation is being made while the budget for water supply was Rs. 20,000 crore.

Ramesh said that the answer to the problem of sanitation is massive public investment in the sector on the lines of what the Central Government has done in education sector.
Read more at: India ranked 134th in terms of Human Development Index

Centre hikes Dearness Relief for Pensioners by 7 pc

PTI | Sep 15, 2011, 04.40PM IST
NEW DELHI: Ahead of the festival season, the government on Thursday announced a seven per cent hike in the Dearness Allowance of its employees.

The decision to increase the Dearness Allowance (DA) for five million Central government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) for about four million pensioners was taken by the Union Cabinet.

The pay hike would be applicable from July 1. The DA for the government employees would increase from 51 per cent of the basic salary to 58 per cent.

The hike in DA and DR would cost the exchequer annually Rs 7,229 crore, while for the remaining period of the current fiscal the implication would be Rs 4,819 crore,Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told reporters.
Centre hikes Dearness Allowance for employees by 7 pc
click here for Yearwise Dearness Relief for Veterans

Dr Singh, how do you want to be remembered?

By Rakesh Khar/DNA-Daily News & Analysis, 16/08/2011
Dr Singh, how do you want to be remembered?

The basic challenge of our time is to ensure that wealth creation is not only tempered by equity and justice but is harnessed to the goal of removal of poverty and development for all,” declared Dr Manmohan Singh in his famous July 24, 1991 budget speech.

Twenty years have passed since Dr Singh came to be recognized as the architect of the economic reform story in India but the challenge of either the goal of removal of poverty or development for all is far from over. The challenge has actually become bigger, tougher, and more complex, with no easy solutions in hand.

Ironic as it is, nobody is celebrating the 20 years of reforms era including Dr Singh himself. This is because the ground reality today is that the reform story, despite its many successes, faces the biggest credibility test: the ever growing chasm between the haves and have-nots.

It is a throwback to either the regulatory powers reigning supreme or a total policy paralysis for fear of being caught in the twin spin of judicial and media activism, a space created due to the total governance failure in the second stint of Dr Singh at the top job.

Dr Singh's supporters are out to trot some numbers but the significance of these is lost on the fast gaining view that the poor became poorer and rich became richer during the last 20 years. This has pitch-forked Dr Singh and his reform policy as the villain.

Consider the following:
Estimates say between a low of 37% (Tendulkar Committee) and a high of 77% (Arjun Sen Gupta committee report) Indians live in poverty (these are figures drawn from government appointed committees). For company they have about 25 to 35 dollar billionaires (Credit Suisse Wealth Report 2010). The same report said there were 1,080 Ultra High Networth Individuals (HNIs) in the wealth strata of $50 million-$500 million and 7,800 HNIs in the wealth strata $10 million-$50 million.

Worse, India's performance in the UNDP Human Development Index (HDI), which is a comparative measure of life expectancy, literacy, education and standards of living for countries worldwide, has got worse in last two decades, receding from 95 in 1990 to 119 in 2010. Yes, there is a counter figure as well: 390 million Indians now belong to the middle class; one-third of them have emerged from poverty in the last 10 years. At the current rate of growth, a majority of Indians will be middle-class by 2025.

But the truth of the curse of poverty in the country is as cold as death. It is visible all over like a scar on our psychology. Blaming it purely on the reform programme is being as simplistic as it is a wishful thinking that more reforms would redeem India of all its problems.

Lack of nuance in our public debate as also Dr Singh's inexplicable silence in wake of falling credibility of his government due to a plethora of corruption scandals has only added to his woes. The PM has made it worse for himself and his paltry supporters by repeatedly saying "he has a job to do". The truth gaining ground is that he has merely a job to keep.

Management thinker Subroto Bagchi wrote in 'The Professional' that "if you qualify to be called a professional than you should be able to self certify completion of your work without supervision. And that is all about integrity. That is how only a true professional as opposed to a tactical climber can scale the summit of his profession and remain there."

Dr Singh, time you switched off for a while, to self-introspect. If not anything else, you might as well let us know how would you like to be remembered for posterity?
(The writer is Editor, Zee Research Group)
Copyright restricted. Under license from www.3dsyndication.com
Dr Singh, how do you want to be remembered?

Do Politicians have a legacy? Chanakya sums it all

"A person should not be too honest.
Straight trees are cut first
and Honest people are screwed first...."

"Even if a snake is not poisonous,
it should pretend to be venomous."

"The biggest guru-mantra is: Never share your secrets with anybody. ! It will destroy you."

"There is some self-interest behind every friendship.
There is no Friendship without self-interests.
This is a bitter truth."

"Before you start some work, always ask yourself three questions - Why am I doing it, What the results might be and Will I be successful. Only when you think deeply
and find satisfactory answers to these questions, go ahead."

"As soon as the fear approaches near, attack and destroy it."

"Once you start a working on something,
don't be afraid of failure and don't abandon it.
People who work sincerely are the happiest."

"The fragrance of flowers spreads
only in the direction of the wind.
But the goodness of a person spreads in all direction."

"A man is great by deeds, not by birth."

"Treat your kid like a darling for the first five years.
For the next five years, scold them.
By the time they turn sixteen, treat them like a friend.
Your grown up children are your best friends."

"Books are as useful to a stupid person
as a mirror is useful to a blind person."

"Education is the best friend.
An educated person is respected everywhere.
Education beats the beauty and the youth."

Chanakya quotes (Indian politician, strategist and writer, 350 BC- 275 BC)

Kashmiris batting for terrorists or AFSPA?

Revisiting AFSPA
Don’t blame it for Kashmir problems
by Gen (retd) V P Malik

Kashmir is burning. Political leaders from the state, civil and human rightists, even the media will have you believe that the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958 (AFSPA) is responsible for this situation and should be revoked or diluted to help resolve the crisis. The Centre, after looking at the situation in a holistic manner and listening to the armed forces’ advice, finds it difficult to decide.

What is the AFSPA? Why is this Act necessary? But first, let me narrate a real situation that took place 20 years ago. In early 1990 I was commanding a division that had troops deployed for counter-insurgency operations in Manipur, Nagaland and a part of Arunachal Pradesh. During the run-up to the Manipur Assembly elections, a political party leader, in order to garner students’ support and votes, made the removal of the AFSPA a major electoral issue. When he won the elections and became the Chief Minister, I went to call on him. I asked him what he planned to do about the AFSPA. He said that in view of the “popular demand”, he would write to the Home Ministry and have it removed from the state. I told the Chief Minister that it was OK with me. I will pull out troops from the 60-odd posts, concentrate them outside Manipur and train them for their primary role of fighting a conventional war.

“But you cannot do that! What will happen to the law and order situation?” he said. I appreciated his concern and told him politely but firmly that I couldn’t help him to maintain that without a proper legal cover. I said: “I cannot have my subordinates hold me responsible for giving them any unlawful command.” Then, very respectfully I stated, “Sir, the best way out is to create conditions in the state wherein the AFSPA is not necessary. If you and the Centre do not consider and declare Manipur state to be a ‘disturbed area’, the AFSPA cannot be applied. Please do not blame the AFSPA for the problems of Manipur. The fact is that despite several elections in the state, we have not been able to create conditions when this Act need not be applied in Manipur. The armed forces cannot create those conditions. These are primarily of political, ethnic and socio-economic nature, under your charge now.”
Don’t blame it for Kashmir problems... Read more

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Changing AFSPA: Air chief cautions against dilution
CHENNAI: Striking a favourable note with the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Army Chief General V K Singh said on Saturday that the statute “is an enabling provision” and that it “is not arbitrary”.
AFSPA not against Constitution: Army chief

Corruption boosts Insurgency in Kashmir

IAS officers among dozen under scanner in Kashmir
Sunday, August 29, 2010 2:26:10 AM by IANS
Jammu, Aug 29 (IANS) Two Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers of the rank of commissioner secretary are among a dozen civil service officers in Jammu and Kashmir under the scanner for corruption, official sources said Sunday. Both the officers, who were promotees to IAS, are from the state and have held significant positions so far.

Official sources said this exercise has been going on for months now as it was discovered that some officers, including those holding high positions, had built assets disproportionate to their known sources of income.

The state government would seek green signal from the union ministry of personnel regarding the IAS officers, while the officers within the state will be shown the door in the next few weeks, the sources said.

The disclosure was made in Jammu-based newspaper Daily Excelsior. When contacted, official sources confirmed that the “exercise was on”.

These sources also disclosed that some of the officers under scrutiny had been working with some of the state ministers in acquiring financial and building assets in an illicit manner.

All relevant details have been collected on these officers. These would be made public after an action is taken against them which may include acquisition of their assets by the government and arrest under the anti-corruption laws of the land, the sources aid.

An anti-corruption law was enacted in Jammu and Kashmir in 2006 which enables the state to take possession of the movable and immovable properties of the corrupt officers, including those who retired from service 20 years ago.
IAS officers among dozen under scanner in Kashmir
P.J. Thomas Sworn in as CVC: Can he deccelerate the progressive Corruption that is driving the Nation to a Fake Democracy?

Use of Special Forces to neutralise Naxal Leaders

USE SPECIAL FORCES TO NEUTRALISE NAXAL LEADERS: EXPERT By Abhijit C Chandra
Bhopal, Aug 18 (UNI) Special Forces can be used in conjunction with police intelligence to eliminate known naxal leaders and decimate the top rung, opines an Indian Army veteran who served in the Defence Ministry's Counter-Terrorism Division.
"The naxal problem is primarily a politico-economic-criminal problem and not really an insurgency. The Army has a duty to come to the aid of civil power when required but this has to be quick and short and only when an inescapable necessity," Lieutenant-Colonel Behram A Sahukar -- who retired in November 2003 as Additional Officer, Headquarters (HQ) Defence Intelligence Agency -- told UNI.

If really necessary, "we can have military advisors" with the police or paramilitary during operations as well as in the training schools, the expert -- who commanded a Special Forces Parachute Battalion -- said while emphasising that in such cases the Army officer must be given seniority over the police officer. Slowly but surely the police will come up to scratch after a few initial ''reverses'' that must be accepted.

"Police have adequate current resources to deal with the situation within own states. Take the case of Punjab and now Jammu and Kashmir. The Border Security Force and other paramilitary also have air resources, which can be augmented," said Lt-Col Sahukar who has been actively involved in the planning and execution of counter-terrorism operations at Divisional HQ in the insurgency-affected areas of Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast.

It is about time the paramilitary and the reserve or armed police are used for the tasks they were raised for, he felt while adding that the local political agencies should pull their weight and do the work for which they have been elected.

"The Centre has been very very stingy with the Armed Forces and now there is a lot of discussion on the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. Many troops come from the affected areas and the Army has to use deadly force to achieve its objective," explained the combat veteran who first saw action during the 1971 India-Pakistan War, in the Western Theatre.

"No point in turning to the Army at the slightest pretext. Think of the Veerappan case during which the Army was not used," Lt-Col Sahukar reminisced.

Poverty in India is breeding Maoists and Naxals

782 million Indians Will be Living On Under $2 a Day by 2015
Lalit K Jha/ Washington | Apr 23, 2010
A whopping 782 million Indians will be living on less than two dollars (Rs 100) a day by 2015, a joint report by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund said here today.

The report titled 'Global monitoring report 2010: The MDGs after the crisis, however said the number of poor Indians living on less than two dollars would moderately decline to 686 million by 2020. But the report adds that by the turn of the next decade as many as 268 million Indians would be living on less than 1.25 dollars a day, while in 2015 the figure would be 295 million.

These figures, however, are almost double the revised number of the poor in the country which is pegged at around 400 million.

The report says China reduced its poverty rate from 60 per cent to 16 per cent, as the absolute number of extremely poor fell from 683 million to 208 million between 1990 and 2005.

On the other hand, "India reduced the share of its population living in poverty from 51 per cent to 42 per cent, but because of population growth, the number of poor people actually rose from 436 million to 456 million (between 1990 and 2005)," it said.
782 mn Indians Will be Living On Under $2 a Day by '15

Comment
One can define poverty as lack of marketable skills. There are so many jobs that require very low skills. But you still do not get people to do them. Even the beggars seem to make a cool return on their skills of 'acting'. Where have you seen really poor people? North India perhaps has more of the exploited than the South. But I think, as the Maoist/ Naxal movement shows, they are rising against poverty. One wonders if Maoists are fighting against poverty or for power. One expects the recent polarization of the world to be against exploitation. One perceives India will see a lot of blood shed in coming years. One wishes it is untrue or otherwise?

Internal Security: CRPF sees Red, to withdraw from Bastar

05/07/2010
Raipur: The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has expressed a desire to withdraw from all interior locations of the worst-hit Naxal area of Bastar in Chattisgarh, a move opposed by the state police.

Official sources, who referred to this wish by CRPF, said the para-military force has also approached Chhattisgarh Police to provide security to its camps at Narayanpur where 27 security personnel were killed in a Naxal ambush recently.

Immediately after the attack, senior CRPF officials were up in arms and said they would be abandoning the post at Durai road if the state police did not guard the two camps in the area, about 300 km from here.

Around 50 police personnel each were rushed to these two camps, a move which was seen as "strengthening of the camps." At least 26 CRPF personnel and one state policeman were killed by Maoists on June 29 when they were returning from road opening duties.

The CRPF has also listed four places in Narayanpur and Dantewada from where they would be shifting their base, the sources said, adding initially the para-military forces wanted to shift their camps closer to the National Highways, which was, however, objected to by the state police.

The CRPF has demanded presence of one-third of district police in every operation and for road opening party. A meeting between the state authorities and the CRPF witnessed heated arguments over the issue and it was decided that road opening duty was exclusively of CRPF domain and there would be no local presence, the sources said.

Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has also indicated that the CRPF in Chattishargh needs to be relocated and reconfigured. Taking a cue from this, the CRPF has decided to keep a minimum strength of 200 personnel in each camp.

About the rescue and relief on the June 29 killings, the sources said the state authorities pointed out that no help was received from the two camps which were located within five kilometres of the area. The first rescue team came from a CRPF camp located nine kilometres away.

No need to deploy army in Naxal-hit areas: Pillai
The government on Monday said there was no immediate need to deploy army in Maoist-hit regions and it could take nearly seven years to get rid of the menace.

Union Home Secretary G K Pillai, who is on a visit to review the situation in Chhattisgarh, said there was no need to deploy army personnel at present in the Maoist-hit regions. He, however, did not elaborate.

Speaking to reporters at the district headquarters at Kanker, Pillai said that it could take between three and seven years to get rid of the Naxal menace in the country.

Referring to the casualties suffered by paramilitary forces recently, he said the Naxals were taking advantage of situation whereby jawans enter into their territory to fight them. Pillai denied that there was any difference between the state police and the CRPF, saying both the forces were coordinating and working together.

He said the government was speeding up development work in the Naxal-hit regions and the Planning Commission was preparing an integrated development plan for these areas. Pillai reviewed the state's situation at a meeting with top officials.
Source: PTI
CRPF sees Red, to withdraw from Bastar
Rs 14000cr Maoist balm
It is the basic and prima responsibility of the officer commandiing to ensure that their troops are properly motivated and fed during the operation. It is sad to note that the Inspector General who is the supreme authority himself is complaining of his inability, which spells the sad state of affairs. The CRPF recruitment scam too is instrumental in the poor quality and morale of troops inducted. It is time the IPS Officers are made accountabile and not be indulging in the blame game like the Politicians! The weapons lost by CRPF to Naxals are being used to inflict needless casualities!
CRPF troops fighting Naxals face lack of food, water

CWG: If the games were held in Dantewada the Maoists would have lost their raison d'etre

Senior Congress leader and former sports minister Mani Shankar Aiyar has slammed the current United Progressive Alliance government under Dr Manmohan Singh for the huge amount of 'wasteful expenditure' being incurred on the Commonwealth games, saying that if a part of this money had been spent on the Bhopal Gas victims it would have brought the affected 'some relief'.

"Holding the 10-day, Rs 20,000-crore jamboree reflects a misplaced sense of pride and distortion of national priorities. If not on development of a chronically poor nation, the money could have been well spent on bringing basic sports to every mohalla and panchayat,” former Union Minister for Panchayati Raj and Sports Mani Shankar Aiyar says in an article.

The outspoken Aiyar, who was recently nominated to the Rajya Sabha, has in a signed article taken on the government over the Commonwealth Games and questioned the UPA's policies on this issue.

Aiyar said the original promise was to hold the games within Rs 150 crore and this money was to be recovered from endorsements and ticket sales. Expressing shock, he said the expenditure has already touched Rs 20,000 crore and his fears were that the expenditure would eventually exceed Rs 60, 000 crore. Aiyar said that the Bhopal gas victims could have benefited if some part of this money could have been diverted for their welfare and rehabilitation.

Aiyar, who was also the panchayati raj minister said that when Rs 600 crores was given for the Gram Nyayalas (rural courts) after a lot of haggling, both the planning commission and the finance ministry reminding him that India was a 'poor country.' He said that the same planning commission and finance ministry were not giving out money for the games and no questions were being asked in the process. Aiyar said that originally it was decided to hold the games in Bawana in north-east Delhi dominated by villages to ensure the growth and development of that region. So how were the games shifted to the posh areas of Delhi, which is already developed.

Giving the example of East Manchester where the Commonwealth Games were held in London, he said the most backward area was chosen to benefit the poor and the unemployed. As a consequence of this, Walmart set up its biggest store employing 18000 boys and girls while Microsoft's European headquarters was located there because of the Commonwealth Games.

Aiyar said that if the games had been held in Dantewada and if 20,000 crores had been invested there, the Maoists would have lost their raison d'etre.

Hitting out at both the Delhi state and central governments, Aiyar said that the effort appeared to be to impress foreigners at the cost of the poor and the needy, with beggars having been removed from Delhi's streets because they left a bad impression on foreigners, but this, he says will not drive away poverty.

Aiyar has been a constant and consistent critic of the kind of wasteful expenditure that the Indian government is spending on a one time gaming extravaganza which will neither promote sports in the country, nor create any sporting infrastructure nor benefit the country in any form, except to spend money like water, for a cause which has no meaning.

In India, as Aiyar foresees, the only good that will come out of the Commonwealth Games will be a decision to never again bid for such an event until every Indian child gets a minimum to eat and is assured a basic education and a playground with trained coaches to discover the sportsperson in himself/ herself.
Panchayati Raj Minister Slams UPA Government
Who gains from the Games?

Nation Building – Army Sponsors Thousand Children of Kargil Region

PIB Tuesday, June 22, 2010 17:6 IST
Sustained efforts by the Army five years ago motivated Mohammad Ali, a resident of Kaksar, a remote village in Kargil district, to send Nasreen banoo, his daughter, then a young girl of five years, to Pune to pursue her education. Nasreen was admitted in Sarhad English Medium School at Pune, as part of Army’s operation Sadbhavna. Nasreen left the village despite opposition by villagers including elderly clerics. She was one of the first girls from Kargil district to have moved out with the help of Army for quality education, five years back. Seeing her, 33 more children were motivated to study in schools outside the state, in Solan, Cannanore, Pune and Beas. There are presently 15 children in her school in Pune.

Today Nasreen is a class six student, who visits her village once a year, during the annual 15 days vacation. She wants to become an Army pilot and is the only girl in the village, who can read, write and speak English and Hindi fluently. Nasreen is well informed and forms her own opinions. She knows that being educated means abiding by certain standards of social behavior. In addition, Nasreen plays games and has learnt that sportsmanship is a quality that must be cherished in day to day life. Her teachers say that she is well mannered, sensitive, smart and not afraid to speak the truth. In her village, she is an idol for girls of her age.

Nasreens father, Mohammed Ali is a poor farmer who also works as a part time labourer. Kaksar is a remote village with a complete Muslim population. It is located close to LOC and has had its share of misery due to Pakistani firing as also Indo – Pak wars. The village is still to be linked to Kargil by a proper road.

The Indian Army not only educates her but also manages her travel arrangements, day to day requirements with respect to uniforms and books. Whenever the children travel between the school and their home in Kaksar, for the sake of security, one of the parents is sent along and all their expenses are paid by the Army. Besides these 33 children, Army is also sponsoring 1036 children of Kargil area, for studies in seven Army Goodwill schools, within the region.
S Om Singh/Rajendra
Nation Building – Army Sponsors Thousand Children of Kargil Region

India is world leader in Human Trafficking

The Hindu Thursday, Jun 17, 2010 Narayan Lakshman

Pakistan fares better

India is only one level better than worst-performing nations like Saudi Arabia, Zimbabwe

Developing nations like Colombia and Nigeria rank as Tier I countries

Washington: India has been ranked as a “Tier II Watch List” country — only one level better than worst-performing Tier III countries such as Saudi Arabia and Zimbabwe — in the 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP) compiled by the United States State Department.

Commenting further on the case of India, the TIP noted that the Government of India “does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so, particularly with regard to the law enforcement response to sex trafficking.”

Yet, the TIP argues, the Government of India did not demonstrate sufficient progress in its law enforcement, protection, or prevention efforts to address labour trafficking, particularly bonded labour. “Therefore, India is placed on Tier II Watch List for the seventh consecutive year, the report said.

The TIP noted that there were few criminal convictions in cases of forced labour during the reporting period, and police raids of brick kilns, rice mills, factories, brothels, and other places of human trafficking were usually prompted by non-governmental organisation activists, as were efforts to provide rehabilitation and protective services to the victims removed from human trafficking.

Further, national and State government anti-trafficking infrastructure, and the implementation of the Bonded Labour (System) Abolition Act, “remained weak,” the TIP observed, and the number of government shelters increased, but some continued to be of poor quality. Some public officials' complicity in trafficking remained a major problem, the report said.
Read the full analysis:
India among worst countries in human trafficking