THE HINDU 28TH NOVEMBER IMPORTANT ARTICLES
Constitution is our holy book: PM
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Asserting his government’s commitment to the Constitution, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Parliament on Friday that the religion of the government was “India first” and the Constitution its “holy book.”
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The government is looking to pass crucial Bills like the Goods and Services Tax Bill – which requires a constitutional amendment – in the ongoing winter session of Parliament and needs to get a belligerent Opposition on board.
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We must not underestimate the inner energy of our society, and the values that are characteristic of our country. The idea of India is Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is my family), Ahimsa Parmo Dharma (non-violence is my paramount duty) and Satyameva Jayate (may truth prevail).
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It was “our duty” to assure the underprivileged of the opportunities the Constitution provided them. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha he commended the Janata government of Morarji Desai that succeeded Indira Gandhi’s Emergency regime for making Article 21 – the Right to Life – “non-suspendable” during an Emergency. Indira government had during the Emergency convinced the Supreme Court that people had lost their right to life and liberty at that time.
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While an irresponsible statement made on TV was now considered a sign of “intolerance”, the right to life was suspended during the Emergency and “those who now claim to swear by the Constitution supported this position.”
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Picking holes in the present debate on secularism, Mr. Jaitley wondered that if the House had again become the Constituent Assembly and Dr. Ambedkar had proposed Articles 44 (uniform civil code) and Article 48 (ban on cow slaughter) today, “how would this House have reacted?” He added that the governments of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi had written to States to implement Article 48 and but for Kerala and West Bengal the others responded by banning cow slaughter.
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Article 13 said that “no law can violate the Fundamental Rights,… we still have personal laws, across religions, which violate the Fundamental Rights. Mr. Jaitley called for a united voice against terrorism and quoted Dr. Ambedkar’s speech that India had lost its independence in medieval times because of the lack of unity during invasions.
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Mr. Jaitley attacked the recommendations of the UPA-constituted Ranganath Mishra Commission that had recommended minority quotas. His logic: under the Constitution minorities got a package under Articles 29 and 30 – dealing with minority educational institutions and quotas therein – and SCs/STs and OBCs under Article 15, but the Commission’s recommendation amounted to a possibility to claim both if one “converted.”
Govt. plans to tap into subsidies to pay pension
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The NDA government is mulling a new approach to ensure old-age income security for the poor, offering them the option of allowing a deduction of a part of their government benefits and subsidies at source as contribution towards the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) that gives a monthly pension of Rs.1,000-Rs. 5,000.
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A matching contribution could ensure that people did not slip out of the social security net because of irregular contributions or dormant pension accounts. The APY is aimed at those who have a bank account but no access to any statutory social security scheme such as the Employees’ Provident Fund.
Sundarbans to become separate district next year
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Access thus has always remained a challenge for the remote islands of Sunderban archipelago which lacks even the basic emergency or health care infrastructure. On Friday, Ms. Banerjee announced that the Sundarbans region would become a separate district in 2016. Sundarbans will be the 21st district of the State.
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The archipelago comprises 104 islands (of the Indian side of the delta) of which 54 are inhabited. Along with a population of five million, Sundarbans are also home to about 76 tigers and a huge variety of fauna and flora found in the mangrove forests.
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There is an island called Amtali, which is administered by two districts. Part of the island falls under Gosaba block of North 24 Parganas district and the remaining part in Sandeshkhali region of South 24 Parganas district.
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Welcoming the announcement, Mr. Danda said this move of carving out a separate district would help in improving the service delivery mechanism and basic infrastructure of the region. The lack of basic health care facility is forcing people to depend on quacks which is also a critical issue of the sub-divisons surrounded by water.
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Though the fragile ecosystem of the Sundarbans poses a challenge to people living there, the density of population remains high in the inhabited area. A report of World Bank released in February this year said that carrying capacity of the Indian Sundarbans has been exceeded, and the increased population was exerting pressure on the fragile and richest ecosystem of the world.
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The population is growing and exerting even greater pressure on fragile and recovering natural systems. As a result of high birth rates and migration inflows, population density is high and growing,” the report tiled ‘Building resilience for sustainable development of the Sundarbans’ points out.
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While the population density of rest of West Bengal is 1,030 person per sq km the islands of the archipelago also has high population density of about 1,000 persons asq. km.
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“Indian Sundarbans Delta: A Vision”, a report prepared by the School of Oceanographic Studies of Jadavpur University with WWF , a few years ago estimates that nearly one million people would become climate change refugees by the year 2050. The report suggests a planned retreat from vulnerable areas and planting of mangroves in those areas.
Editorial, Opinion & Perspective
Grasp the climate moment
Unhealthy defiance
Plan to tap into subsidies for poor to pay them pension
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The government expects to spend Rs. 2.27 lakh crore on subsidies and another Rs. 2.41 lakh crore on the social sector schemes like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) this year.
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India’s workers, most of them in the informal sector, have no social security net. With the breakdown of the joint family structure this means many senior citizens spend their final years in penury. While India now enjoys the advantage of a demographic dividend of a large young population, economists have warned of a spurt in the greying population over the next decade.
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Indians typically haven’t done a good job of saving for retirement. We are trying to change that by using some principles from behavioural economics to come up with innovative products that give them the tools to look after their old age and healthcare requirements.
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We could explore whether some of the benefits and subsidies that the government gives at the State or Central level under the MGNREGA and social assistance programmes are set aside for the Atal Pension Yojana, and the government will, of course, make a matching contribution.
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The matching contribution could ensure that people did not slip out of the social security net because of irregular contributions or dormant pension accounts. Many pension schemes launched in the past for those living below the poverty line have failed to attain scale or continuity in contributions because of irregular cash flows in such households.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched three social security schemes this May. The APY has managed to enrol a little over 10 lakh members, against nearly 9.2 crore people who joined the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, an accident insurance scheme.
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The Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, a life insurance scheme, had 2.85 crore members as of Thursday. The APY requires members to contribute according to their target pension. The government contributes a maximum of Rs. 1,000 a year to each account as an incentive.
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The Finance Ministry was now focusing on such targeted interventions through financial products, as it was satisfied with the progress of financial inclusion through the Jan Dhan Yojana, aimed at helping each household to have a bank account, and the setting up of 23 new banks to expand financial access in the hinterland. “Through direct benefit transfers, transactions that earlier happened at a post office or a government office are now moving through bank accounts
Fickle weather adding to farm distress, say experts
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India’s agriculture sector is in distress, and with the rise in extreme weather events, farmers have been at the receiving end and hence, they need better protection measures than ever before, said experts at the National Consultation on Crop Loss Estimation, Relief and Compensation organised by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).
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Farmers in India are facing the double blow of agrarian distress and extreme weather events as a result of climate change. A series of measures including better protection mechanisms are needed to support them.”
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The report “Lived Anomaly” — on the impact of extreme weather events on farmers and how to enable them to cope with extreme weather events. Economy was not buoyant and experiencing low demand, particularly from the rural sector.
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Around 62 per cent of India’s people depend on agriculture. Until the problems of farmers are addressed, the economy will not boom. Current crop insurance system was not effective as it was accessible only to a small proportion of farmers. It also wanted current relief and compensation rules and practices to be changed.
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Farmers need to be provided with means of irrigation if they are to guard themselves against untimely or inadequate rain. The ‘Lived Anomaly’ report highlighted the need for urgent reforms in the agrarian sector, given the expected increase in the frequency of extreme weather events.
Green revolution failed in rainfed areas, says Minister
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Green revolution made the country self-sufficient in foodgrains but was not successful in the 60 per cent rainfed areas and that is why the government is now focusing on bringing the ‘second green revolution’ in eastern region which is rich in water resources.
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The challenge in the farm sector is to enhance production as well as farmers’ incomes. The Minister felicitated agriculture scientist M.S. Swaminathan, popularly known as the “father of the green revolution” and other scientists.
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Mr. Singh announced the government’s plan for scientists to adopt villages, where they will directly interact with farmers to solve their problems. This year the Centre has earmarked Rs. 3,900 crore for strengthening the Krishi Vigyan Kendras for dissemination of technology to farmers.
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Scientists were called upon to develop new varieties that will make the country self-sufficient in pulses and oilseeds which are imported in large quantities as of now.
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The country’s foodgrains output has gone up from 82 million tonnes in 1960s to 262 million tonnes in 2013-14. Rice output is up from 34 million tonnes to 100 million tonnes, while wheat production has increased from 11 million tonnes to 90 million tonnes during the period. In 1960s, green revolution helped the country overcome hunger by enhancing food production using high-yield varieties of seeds, use of chemical fertilisers and modifying farm equipment.
Govt panel to evaluate candidates for RBI Deputy Governor post
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Government appointed panel will interview candidates next month for the post of Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India as the term of Urjit Patel, the central bank’s incumbent in charge of monetary policy.
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A central bank Deputy Governor can be appointed for a term with a maximum of five years or till the age of 62, whichever is earlier. Some other candidates will also be interviewed, the sources said. Apart from the all important monetary policy portfolio, Mr. Patel is also in-charge of the economic and policy research department.
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The RBI has provision for 12 Executive Directors, which was increased from nine following the appointment of three new officials in 2014. The RBI has four deputy governors and typically two are from the outside, of which traditionally one is a commercial banker and the other an economist.
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The Patel committee came up with radical proposals including setting up of a monetary policy committee which will be accountable for ensuring the inflation target was met. Most of the recommendations have been accepted by the central bank and the government.
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Following the Patel committee’s recommendations, the government and the central bank entered into an agreement to reach a particular level of inflation within a specified timeframe.
Gold Bond Scheme gets response worth Rs.246 cr
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Gold Bond Scheme: 63000 applications for 917 kgs gold amounting to Rs 246 cr in first tranche. Excellent response for an innovative product. The response to the Gold Bonds Scheme comes at a time when one of the other gold-related schemes launched by the government—the Gold Deposit Scheme—has met a very poor response from the public.
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Industry officials have said that the gold deposit scheme has so far attracted only 400 grams of the yellow metal, a fraction of the estimated 20,000 tonnes in the country.
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Under the Gold Bond Scheme, the government will issue bonds in lieu of the purchase of actual gold. While the scheme document recommends an indicative interest rate of two per cent, the actual rate will be determined by the market.
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While Reserve Bank of India Governor, Raghuram Rajan, said that the Gold Monetisation Scheme of the government needed some “fine tuning,” the Finance Ministry on the same day announced some tweaks and steps to make the scheme more attractive.
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Gold depositors can give their gold directly to the refiner without involving the Collection and Purity Testing Centres wherever it is acceptable to the banks.
‘Protein from camel can fight infections’
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anti-bacterial properties in protein obtained from camel and pork loin can be used in the treatment of human infections.
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the potent anti-bacterial properties of proteins from the “innate immune system” of animal species like camel can be used for therapeutic use in humans.
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