Important Stuff from PIB(December 1 onwards)

National Innovation Council

Constituted in September 2010
To realise the vision of the Government of shaping the next decade as
India's 'Decade of Innovation' (2010-2020)
Includes eminent personalities from diverse walks of life
Chairman: Sam Pitroda

Second 'Report to the People'


Need to evolve our own model of development(challenge of
equitable growth)

Prime focus: affordability, sustainability and scalability
(i) affordability: No compromise on either efficiency or quality
(ii) sustainability: Model of sustainable development for the rest of the
world
(iii) scalability: Pervade our working environment

3) To launch India Inclusive Innovation Fund

- finance innovative enterprises focused at the bottom of the
income pyramid

4) Facilitate creation of Industry Innovation Clusters

- Enhance innovation in the 5,000 small and medium scale regional
industry clusters

5) National Innovation Scholarship Scheme from the academic year 2013


6) Creation of a Meta University in Delhi, as a global first
- Will ride on the National Knowledge Network
- Promote multidisciplinary learning


7) Setting up of State Innovation Councils in each State, and Sectoral
Innovation Councilsaligned to Union Government Ministries.

(o) The Minister of Culture Smt. Chandresh Kumari Katoch has said that 39
locations in the Western Ghats in the States of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu
and Maharashtra have been inscribed as a World Heritage Site in the UNESCO
World Heritage List during the 36th session of World Heritage Committee held
in July, 2012 at St. Petersburg, Russia.

(|) Coastal Security


Review of the coastal security apparatus in the country, including that of
Maharashtra, is a continuous process. A three tier coastal security ring all along
our coast including Maharashtra Coast is provided by Marine Police, Indian
Coast Guard and Indian Navy. Government has initiated several measures to
strengthen Coastal Security, which includes improving surveillance mechanism
and enhanced patrolling by following an integrated approach. Joint operational
exercises are conducted on regular basis among Navy, Coast Guard, Coastal
Police, Customs and others for security of coastal areas including island
territories. Further, continuous review and monitoring of various mechanisms
have been established by the Government involving various agencies, including
the State / Union Territory authorities. The intelligence mechanism has also
been streamlined through the creation of Joint Operation Centers and multi-
agency coordination mechanism. Installation of radars covering the country`s
entire coastline and islands is also an essential part of this process.

(_) Fertilizer Subsidy :

Fertilizer subsidy is provided through two schemes: New Pricing Scheme (NPS-
III) for Urea and Nutrient Based Subsidy Policy for Phosphatic and Potassic
(P&K) fertilizers. Under NPS-III Urea is being provided to farmers at subsidized
MRP of Rs. 5360 per MT. The difference in delivered cost of Urea and its MRP is
provided as subsidy by the Government. Under NBS Policy, a fixed subsidy on the
basis of nutrient content of P&K fertilisers is announced on annual basis. Under
this Policy at present 21 P&K fertilisers are provided at subsidised rates to
farmers. The Fertiliser subsidy is provided to all farmers of all states in the form
of subsidized MPR of fertilisers

(o) Director, Intelligence Bureau----Shri S. A. Ibrahim

(c) Four crop insurance schemes are being implemented namely National
Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAlS), Pilot Weather Based Crop Insurance
Scheme (WBCIS), Pilot Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme

(MNAIS) and Pilot Coconut Palm Insurance Scheme (CPIS). States have the choice
for notification of areas / crops under the schemes. Schemes are implemented by
Agriculture Insurance Company (AI C) and private insurance companies
according to provisions & guidelines laid down in the schemes. Compensation of
the loss is assessed under NAIS and MNAIS based on yield data provided by
implementing States and under WBCIS based on weather data recorded by
automatic weather stations notified by implementing States. The extent of
damage to the plant is the basis of compensation of the loss under CPIS which is
assessed by a team of experts. Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, GOI,
regularly monitors and reviews compensation of the loss and payment to
farmers under each scheme.

- Regulatory Commission on Coal : The Government proposes to set up an
independent regulatory Authority for coal sector to ensure more optimal
development and conservation of coal resources; more effective regulation;
adoption of best mining practices; rational pricing, better distribution,
evolution of a more competitive market, creating a level playing field for new
entrants in coal sector etc.

- Steps for Regulating the Working of Contract Farming The Consolidated Foreign
Direct Investment (FDI) Policy, 2012 provides FDI in agriculture and animal
husbandry, with certain conditions, in (a) floriculture, horticulture, apiculture
and cultivation of vegetables and mushrooms under controlled conditions, (b)
development and production of Seeds and planting material, (e) animal
husbandry (including breeding of dogs), Pisciculture, Aquaculture, under
controlled conditions, and (d) services related to agro and allied sectors. Besides
these, FDI is not allowed in any other agricultural sector/activity. In order to
regulate the working of contract farming, the Ministry of Agriculture has framed
Model State Agricultural Produce Marketing (Development and Regulation) Act,
2003 and Model State Agricultural Produce Marketing (Development and
Regulation) Rules, 2007 for adoption by States / Union Territories. The Model
Act, inter-alia, provides provisions for the registration of contract farming
sponsors, recoding of contract farming agreements with the Agricultural
Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) or a prescribed authority under the Act
and dispute settlement mechanism. It also provides for protection of title or
rights of the farmers over the land under such contracts. These are intended to
protect the interest of farmer. Since Agriculture Marketing is State subject, the
State Governments are persuaded to adopt the provisions of Model Act in the
interest of farmers.

gBICS


The global Breastfeeding Initiative for Child Survival (gBICS), together with the Ministry
of Health and Family Welfare and Ministry of Women and Child Development, is
organizing a 4-day World Breastfeeding Conference Babies Need Mom-made, Not
Man-made, from 6th to 9th December, 2012, at New Delhi.

The Conference will position breastfeeding and infant and young child feeding
interventions as a key to accelerate progress on the Millennium Development Goals
of reducing malnutrition and infant and child mortality.


According to WHO and UNICEF, following optimal feeding practices could save 1.5
million infants every year, because under-nutrition contributes to more than one-third
of these deaths. Under-nutrition, particularly in children below two years of age,
prevents them from reaching their full development potential as the brain develops
almost 90% by that time. Breastfeeding has also been identified as a key intervention
providing long-term health protection against childhood and adult obesity and
lowered risk of diabetes, hypertension and cardiac diseases.



Neutrino Observatory Project

The India Based Neutrino Observatory (INO) project is being set up in the Bodi
West Hills at the Pottipuram village in Theni district of Tamil Nadu. The land for this
project has been acquired. The project aims at carrying out research to study the
properties of neutrinos which are the second most abundant particles in the
Universe. Neutrinos are neutral particles and weakly interactive particles which are
very difficult to detect. Therefore, they need a massive detector. INO detector will be
a multi layer stack of magnetized iron plates. A large number of such plates will be
needed to build the INO detector and with back up of electronics, these detectors are
expected to detect neutrinos passing through them. The INO will ultimately help in
understanding the evolution of universe. The detectors developed for the INO
project will also have societal applications such as in medical imaging

National Mission on Food Processing for Ensuring Growth Impetus and
Value Addition to FOOD Processing Sector

Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) had launched a Centrally
Sponsored Scheme - National Mission on Food Processing (NMFP) during 2012-13 of
12th Five Year Plan through States / UTs. The basic objectives of NMFP are: (i) to
realize the Ministrys next leap forward in terms of ensuing requisite growth impetus
and value addition to the sector; (ii) decentralized approach; (iii) greater role of
State/UTs; (iv) betteroutreach and (v) effective supervision and monitoring.

The Major Programmes/Schemes to be covered under NMFP during 2012-13 are:

(i) Scheme for Technology Up-gradation/Establishment/ Modernisation of Food
Processing Industries.
(ii) Scheme for Cold Chain, Value Addition and Preservation Infrastructure for
Non Horticultural Products.
(iii) Scheme for Human Resource Development (HRD)
(a) Creation of Infrastructure Facilities for Running Degree/Diploma/ Certificate
Courses in Food Processing Technology.
(b) Entrepreneurship Development Program (EDP)
(c) Food Processing Training Centre (FPTC)
(iv) Scheme for Promotional Activities
a. Organizing Seminar/Workshops b.
Conducting Studies/Surveys
c. Support to Exhibitions/Fairs d.
Advertisement & Publicity

The State Governments are responsible for implementation of National Mission
on Food Processing (NMFP). Under the mission State Governments receive the
applications for various schemes of NMFP and thereafter sanction as well as release the
grants-in-aid to the eligible beneficiaries. NMFP also provides flexibility to States / UTs
in the selection of beneficiaries, location of projects etc. for the development of food
processing sector. This initiative of the Ministry would give an impetus to food
processing industries and also help in reducing the spoilage / wastage of fruits &
vegetables.





Defence agreements

Intergovernmental agreements on defence cooperation have been concluded in
the last three years with Republic of Korea, Ecuador, Mongolia, Spain and Thailand.
These agreements are in the nature of enabling, framework agreements and do not
involve supply of defence material.

Indias Rank in the Global Competitive Index

As per the latest Global Competitiveness Report 2012-13, brought out by World Economic
Forum, a Swiss non-profit foundation based in Geneva, India ranks 59
th
amongst 144 economies
in the Global Competitiveness Index for 2012-13, as against 56
th
position out of 142 economies
covered in 2011-12.

The Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) measures the competitive performance of the
economies around the world for doing business. It is a composite index that combines three
component indices covering 12 different parameters (termed pillars). The details of the three
components along with the weights assigned to them and the pillars are presented in table below:


Components Weights

for India Pillars



- Institutions

- Infrastructure

Basic requirements (60%) - Macroeconomic

environment

- Health and primary

education


- Higher education and



training

- Goods market efficiency

Efficiency enhancers (35%)
- Labour market efficiency

- Financial market



development

- Technological readiness

- Market size


Innovation and - Business sophistication

sophistication factors (5%)
- Innovation






During the visit of the Prime Minister of Japan to India on 28th December, 2011, the two Prime
Ministers decided to strengthen efforts to improve infrastructure such as ports, industrial parks
and their surrounding facilities in Ennore, Chennai and the adjoining areas. Prime Minister of
Japan conveyed Japan`s intention to extend financial and technical support to the preparation of
India`s Comprehensive Integrated Master Plan of this region based on which planned
development and work on related facilities could be taken up.


Comprehensive Skill Development Policy

The Ministry of Labour & Employment has formulated National Policy on Skill
Development which was approved by the Union Cabinet on 23
rd
February, 2009. The
policy is a guiding document for implementation of various skill development
programmes of the country.

Presently, Government is not considering a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model
for certification of skill development courses by global major and top Indian Companies.
However, Sector Skills Councils are being setup which will may play an important role in
development of National Occupational Standards, Training Standards, Certification etc.

National Skill Development Mission encompasses the efforts of severa
Ministries of Central Government, State Governments and the activities in the p
sector guided by National Policy on Skill Development and supported by the foll
three institutions:


(i)The Prime Ministers National Council on Skill Development under the
chairmanship of Honble Prime Minister, to review the spectrum of skill development
efforts for policy direction;

(ii) National Skill Development Coordination Board under the chairmanship of
Honble Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission to enumerate strategies to implement
the decisions of PMs council; and

(iii) National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), a non-profit company under
the Companies Act, 1956, of which 49% of equity base is contributed by the Central
Government while 51% by the private sector.

The Corporation is expected to meet the skill training requirements of the labour m
including that of unorganized sector.


National Policy on Skill Development (NPSD),has set a target for skilling 500 m persons by
the year 2022. The detailed road map for achieving the above target by Na Skill Development
Corporation (NSDC) and different Ministries/Departments is at Annex-



Government is not considering relaxation of formal education norms for people
into ITI institutions and other skill development courses. However, a new scheme, titled
Development Initiative through Modular Employable Skill (MES) courses has been lau
under which short term modular courses are offered through institutions including sc
and public/private training institutions/NGOs, etc. Under the scheme, there is a provisio
testing and certification of skills acquired by a person with educational qualification upt
class, after assessment by independent assessing bodies.


The Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC) established at Indian National Centre for
Ocean Information Sciences, (INCOIS - ESSO) Hyderabad, autonomous body under Ministry
of Earth Sciences, is being upgraded continuously to provide tsunami advisories for the
events occurring in the global oceans, though it has been recognized as one of the best
systems in the world.

Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre

The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs has established an organization, namely
Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre (OIFC) in 2007, to facilitate potential NRIs and
overseas corporate bodies of overseas Indians that desire to invest in India. OIFC has
organized several Investment and Interactive Meets / Road shows in different countries and
also organised Market Place during Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (PBD) in India. An electronic
portal has also been launched by the Ministry to reply to the queries of potential overseas
investors by OIFC and its knowledge partners to promote and facilitate economic
engagement by OI.

The annual PBDs and regional PBDs also provide a platform for facilitation of investment.





India is Worlds 2
nd
largest cotton exporter after U.S.A and 2
nd
in production after China.

With a view to elongating the life of banknotes, particularly in lower denominations, the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in consultation with the Government of India has been
considering various options including printing of banknotes on polymer substrate. A
decision had accordingly been taken to introduce one billion pieces of Rs. 10 banknotes on
polymer substrate on a field trial basis in five cities. The primary objective of introduction
of polymer/plastic notes is to increase its life and not to combat counterfeiting.

The polymer banknotes are made from a non-fibrous and non-porous polymer. The Indian
Banknote paper is made from long fibres obtained from cotton comber and linter. There is
thus no direct relation between paper based currency and cutting of trees.

The RBI has informed that the Energy and Resources Institute was commissioned by them
to estimate the environmental impacts and carbon footprints of plastic currency vis-a-viz
paper currency. Their study has found that polymer notes would be more environment
friendly than paper based currency.

The Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) are sanctioned in Educationally Backward
Blocks (EBBs) with rural female literacy below the national average as per Census 2001,
provided such residential schools are set up only in those EBBs which do not have a
residential school at upper primary level for girls under any other scheme of the Ministry
of Social Justice & Empowerment or the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

National Plan for Electric Mobility

Government has formulated a separate Mission Plan for electric vehicles (including hybrid
vehicles) viz. National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020 (NEMMP 2020) which was
adopted by the National Council for Electric Mobility (NCEM) in its first meeting on 29th
August 2012. The NEMMP 2020 provides a roadmap for facilitating the manufacture and
use of electric and hybrid vehicles through a series of interventions in order to support
R&D in technology including battery technology, create demand for such vehicles, and to
enhance manufacturing of such vehicles significantly by the year 2020. The ultimate
objective of NEMMP 2020 is to enhance the energy security of the country and reduce the
impact of transportation on environment through electric and hybrid mobility.

The Government has been supporting R&D to promote automotive vehicles, including
Green & Clean vehicles through the automotive Cess that is levied on sale of vehicles. The
Government provides 200% weighted deduction on income tax for in-house R&D
expenditure incurred by companies.

As far as the infrastructure related investments are concerned, it is expected that most of
these will come from the industry and the Government will need to invest mainly during
the initial pilot project stage for the charging infrastructure.



Meta Universities

The main purpose of the Meta University is to share learning resources with different
Universities by using the latest technologies available in order to enable the students to
benefit from the learning resources available in different institutions. The University
Grants Commission (UGC) as the apex regulatory body for universities, has decided to
come out with detailed guidelines on Meta Universities.

The participating institutions/universities share their learning resources to provide
students with a more holistic learning experience. Hence such programmes are joint
degree programmes, as clarified by UGC to Delhi University.

Higher Educational Institutions being fully autonomous entities, it is now left to them to
collaborate and identify the courses/programmes to be offered in the Meta Universities.
One such Meta University has already been started in Delhi.

The Government has merged Janashree Bima Yojana (JBY) and Aam Aadmi
Bima Yojana (AABY) into one scheme, since both the schemes have similar structure of
benefits, premium and target group and are being implemented through Life Insurance
Corporation of India (LIC). The schemes were merged for better administration and
services in providing life insurance cover to the economically backward sections of the
society. It will also avoid any duplication of coverage of lives under the two schemes and
thus allow more accurate claim experience

The objective of the merger of the two schemes is not to increase the savings but to

ensure better administration and services under the schemes and also avoid any
duplication of coverage of lives under the two existing schemes.


Renewable Energy

The total installed capacity of renewable energy based power in the country is 26,267 MW.
A capacity addition of 30,000 MW is proposed from renewable energy during the 12th Plan
period. The Ministry is supporting research in various renewable energy technologies for
improvement in efficiency, reduction in cost and to develop new applications.

Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission has set a target of installed capacity of 20,000
MW of grid connected solar power by 2022.



The "MCA21 Project" of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, launched in February 2006, is a
major e-Governance initiative covering all aspects of incorporation and regulation of
companies as defined under the Companies Act. It is an end-to-end e-Governance program
envisaging electronic filing of documents, registration of companies and public access to
corporate information online through a secure interactive portal. The portal services can
be accessed/ availed from anywhere, at any time that best suits the corporate entities,
professionals and the public at large.

Competition Commission of India(Amendment) Bill 2012 (check)

Free and fair competition is one of the pillars of an efficient market economy. Therefore,
competition has become a driving force in the global economy. In India, Competition
Commission of India (CCI) was set up in March, 2009 under the Competition Act, 2002 to
protect and promote competition. Sections 3 and 4 of the Competition Act, relating to
anticompetitive agreements and abuse of dominance were notified in May, 2009, while
sections 5 and 6, relating to mergers and acquisitions, were notified from June 1, 2011. The
Indian competition law has thus fully come into force. The overarching aim of the
Commission is to make markets work well for the benefit of consumers.

Cartelization doesnt pay: Cement companies penalized

One of the Commissions most significant priorities has been to build an efficient merger
control regime.

Initiatives in Health Sector by Government

Since the launch of National Rural Health Mission 7 years ago, substantial progress has
been made in health sector. Over 8,60,000 ASHAs have been appointed to act as bridge
between the communities and the health facilities in the villages. New Health
Infrastructure has been created. A total of 70,000 beds have been increased in
government health institutions for provision of essential and emergency services.

The government has launched a scheme wherein male and female contraceptives are
being delivered at the doorstep in the high focus districts of the country by ASHAs at a

nominal cost. Another scheme has been initiated for the promotion of menstrual hygiene
among adolescent girls of rural areas in the age group of 10-19 years covering 1.5 crore
girls in 152 districts of 20 states.

Several new initiatives have been envisaged during 12th Plan period. These are:- (1)
Strengthening of Sub-Centres, which are the first port of call for the community for
healthcare services in the remotest and inaccessible areas by providing additional
manpower; (2) The District Hospitals would be equipped to become strong hubs for
advanced secondary and multi-speciality care; (3) To cope with the increasing load at
government facilities, 20,000 additional beds for mothers and children have been
approved for District Hospitals and Community Health Centres; (4) It is proposed to
introduce universal screening for all children for disease, disability and deficiency which
would be followed up by free treatment where required; (5) Medicines account for 70% of
out of pocket expenditure. It is proposed to ensure availability of free generic medicines to
everyone coming to a government health facility; (6) Another area would be the launch of
an urban health initiative to address health concerns of urban poor specially those living in
the urban slums.


CCTNS Pilot Launch Programme

CCTNS is a Mission Mode Project under the National e-Governance Plan of Government
of India.

CCTNS aims at creating a comprehensive and integrated system for enhancing the efficiency and
effectiveness of policing through adopting of principle of e-Governance. The Project also includes
the creation of a nationwide networking infrastructure for evolution of IT-enabled-state-of-the-art
tracking system around `Investigation of crime and detection of criminals`.

CCTNS Project will create a nation-wide environment for the real-time sharing of crime
and criminal information.

Fourteenth Finance Commission :

As mandated by the Article 280 of the Constitution, the Government has constituted the Fourteenth
Finance Commission consisting of Dr. Y.V.Reddy, former Governor Reserve Bank of India, as the
Chairman

Science,Technology and Innovation Policy 2013

The STI Policy seeks to send a signal to the Indian scientific community,
both in the private and public domain, that science, technology and innovation
should focus on faster, sustainable and inclusive development of the people. The
policy seeks to focus on both STI for people and people for STI



- Unveiling the STI policy, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said it aspires
to position India among the top five global scientific powers by 2020.

- The policy also talks of raising gross expenditure in R&D to two per cent of
GDP from the current one per cent in this decade by encouraging enhanced
private sector contribution.

- The aim of the policy is to accelerate the pace of discovery, diffusion and
delivery of science-led solutions for serving the aspirational goals of
India for faster, sustainable and inclusive growth.

- The key features of the STI Policy 2013 include making careers in science,
research and innovation attractive, establishing world-class infrastructure for
R&D for gaining global leadership in some select frontier areas of science.

- The policy also includes linking contributions of science, research
and innovation system with the inclusive economic growth agenda
and combining priorities of excellence and relevance.

- It also stresses on creating an environment for enhanced private sector
participation in R&D, enabling conversion of R&D outputs into societal and
commercial applications by replicating successful models as well as
establishing of new public-private partnership structures.

- "Inculcating rational thinking among the ordinary people is a task that
scientists, from their vantage point, should take upon themselves as a sacred
mission."

- stronger interface between the academic institutions and the industry

WHO congratulated India on recent success in WHOs assessment of the countrys
National Regulatory Authority for Vaccines.


India- Southern African Custom Union (SACU) Preferential Trade Agreement
(PTA) negotiations going on

The Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation
releases Consumer Price Indices (CPI) on base 2010=100 for all-India and States/UTs
separately for rural, urban and combined every month with effect from January, 2011

The Third India-China Annual Defence Dialogue took place in Beijing today. Defence
Secretary Shri Shashikant Sharma led the Indian side and the Chinese Deputy Chief of
General Staff General Qi Jianguo led the Chinese side. The discussion took place in a
friendly and cooperative atmosphere and in a forward looking manner. The two sides
discussed bilateral, regional and international issues of common interests including
the situation in the Asia-Pacific region and in the India-China border areas.

Both sides agreed to expand and enhance bilateral exchanges covering the Army,
Navy and Air Force of both countries.

The two sides agreed to advance mutual strategic trust and also enhance
mutually beneficial practical cooperation.

The two sides reviewed the ongoing measures to maintain peace and tranquility on
the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The two sides agreed upon a plan of bilateral military
exchanges for 2013 which includes conduct of the next joint military exercise.

The Ministry of Environment & Forest (MoEF) in its endeavor to promote Non
Timber Forest based Handicrafts, Herbal/Health/Cosmetic Medicinal & Food items

(Forest/Argo/Biodiversity food) is organising 15 Days program: GREEN HAAT with
primary objective of Connecting nature with our lives.

Green Haat is an initiative of Ministry of Environment & Forest (MoEF), Govt. of India
to raise awareness on the rich forest and bio diverse heritage of the country among the
growing urban population often living far off from the forests. The initiative is to
showcase various value added forest based products developed by Rural Artisans,
Community Self Help Groups, NGOs, and State Federations and thus provide support to
biodiversity conservation and sustainable livelihoods.




Aligning National Investment Fund operation to enhance Disinvestment Policy

(iv) The disinvestment proceeds with effect from the fiscal year 2013-14 will be
credited to the existing public account under the head National Investment Fund (NIF),
and they would remain there until withdrawn/invested for the approved purposes.
(v) The NIF will be used for the following purposes:
(f) Subscribing to the shares being issued by the Central Public Sector Enterprise
(CPSE) including Public Sector Banks (PSBs) and Public Sector Insurance Companies, on
rights basis so as to ensure that 51 percent ownership of the Government is not diluted.
(g) Preferential allotment of shares of the CPSE to promoters as per Securities and
Exchange Board of India SEBI (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations,
2009 so that Government shareholding does not go down below 51 percent, in all cases
where the CPSE is going to raise fresh equity to meet its capexprogramme.
(h) Recapitaliztion of PSBs and Public Sector Insurance Companies.
(iii) Fund Managers presently managing the NIF will stand discharged of their
responsibility from the date the funds and the interest income are transferred to the
fund.


The NIF was constituted by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on 27th January
2005. The objectives structure and administrative arrangements, investment strategy were
notified in November, 2005, and the NIF started functioning from October, 2007. As on 31
st

August 2012 the corpus in the NIF consisted of Rs.1814.45 crore, comprising the
disinvestment proceeds of Power Grid Corporation of India and the Rural Electrification
Corporation Limited done during 2007-08. This corpus is presently invested through three
Public Sector fund managers (SBI, LIC and UTI Mutual Funds).

The National Innovation Council is launching a Public Lecture Series where it will host
eminent individuals from diverse fields to talk to students across the country via the
National Knowledge Network (NKN). The first public lecture on Democratising Information,
Justice, Equality and the Rule of Law will be delivered by Professor Michael
Sandel,

The NKN is a multi gigabit pan India network, built by the Government of India to
connect all education and research institutions in the country and is being implemented
by the National Informatics Centre. Currently, NKN has connected over 900 nodes in
the country with a dedicated bandwidth of 1Gbps/ 100mbps.

The National Innovation Council has been constituted by the Prime Minister, under the
Chairmanship of Mr Sam Pitroda, to outline policy recommendations and interventions to
boost innovation performance in the country, with a focus on inclusive growth.

The Government has unfolded the new policy framework for creating an ecosystem of
Electronics System Design and Manufacturing in the country. The new policy framework
has been specifically formulated to cover sectors like avionics, automotive electronics,
medical electronics, LEDs. This Round Table was organised to understand the needs and
requirements of these sectors - to be dovetailed with the new policy.

AUTOMOTIVE ELECTRONICS


Automotive electronics is an area where we can build on our software
capabilities and growing manufacturing capabilities in the automotive
sectors. Most major brands of car manufacturers are already in India.
Electronics is becoming an increasing part of modern automobiles.
Electronics can drive fuel efficiency and reduce accident hazards and need
to meet the price points of economy cars in the Indian perspective.
Automotive electronics manufacturers can customize their control units to
suit these requirements and the percentage of automotive electronics would
increase significantly.




AVIONICS



Avionics sector has huge potential in India. The demands of both passenger aircraft and
defence and homeland security are huge. Some acquisitions have been made in recent years.
More would follow. Based on Indias fleet of aircraft, we could aspire to become a regional hub
for maintenance, repair and overhaul of aircrafts.



MEDICAL ELECTRONICS


Medical electronics devices is an area of immense potential. We need to develop devices
which would meet the needs of 1.2 billion people. Currently a very small fraction of the
population is able to take advantage of medical technology. We need devices which suit Indian

diseases, Indian operating conditions of temperature, humidity, dust etc. Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare is already in the process of bringing out amendments in the legal framework to
create standards for medial devices. This will help new devices to arrive in the market much
faster. The Department is supporting the development of new medical electronic devices in a
public private partnership model.



LEDs


LEDs are being used in large number of applications today starting from TVs, automobiles,
mobile phones, computes, and of course luminaries. LED fab facility is being set up in India
which will cater to both domestic and international demands. LEDs is an area where our
domestic demand can itself spur a hugely vibrant manufacturing ecosystem. Opportunities to
export to Middle East and Africa are additional.







3
rd
National Voters Day celebrated on January 25
th
----Theme Inclusion

The Union Minister for Commerce, Industry & Textiles Shri Anand Sharma launched an eBiz
portal at the CII Partnership Summit in Agra today. The portal is Indias Government-to-Business
(G2B) portal developed by Infosys in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) Model. This Mission
Mode Project will mark a paradigm shift in the Governments approach to providing
Government-to-Business (G2B) services for Indias investor and business communities, said Shri
Sharma while launching the portal.


In order to enable businesses and investors to save time and costs and in order to improve the
business environment in the country, an online single window was conceptualised in the form of the
eBiz Mission Mode Project under the National eGovernance Plan. Shri Sharma said that the

project aims to create a business and investor friendly ecosystem in India by making all
business and investment related regulatory services across Central, State and local
governments available on a single portal, thereby obviating the need for an investor or a
business to visit multiple offices or a plethora of websites.

The Union Cabinet today gave its approval to the proposed amendments in the Regional Rural
Banks (RRBs) Act, 1976 to enhance authorized and issued capital to strengthen their capital
base. The term of the non official directors appointed by the Central Government is proposed to
be fixed not exceeding two years.

The proposed amendments will ensure financial stability of RRBs which will enable them to play

a greater role in financial inclusion and meet the credit requirements of rural areas and
the Boards of RRBs will be strengthened.


Background


Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) were established under Regional Rural Banks Act, 1976 (the RRB
Act) to create an alternative channel to the `cooperative credit structure and to ensure
sufficient institutional credit for the rural and agriculture sector. RRBs are jointly owned by the
Government of India, the concerned State government and sponsor banks, with the issued
capital shared in the proportion of 50 percent, 15 percent and 35 percent, respectively. As per
provisions of the Regional Rural Banks Act, 1976 the authorized capital of each RRB is Rs. 5
crore and the issued capital is a maximum Rs. 1 crore.




Ministry of Agriculture is promoting a new strategy for farm mechanization through its
various schemes and programmes. A dedicated Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization
has been proposed for the XIIth Plan which includes custom-hiring facilities for agricultural
machinery as one of its major components. The Sub-Mission aims at catalyzing an accelerated
but inclusive growth of agricultural mechanization in India. Its focus is on increasing the reach
of farm mechanization to small and marginal farmers and to the regions where availability of
farm power is low.

Custom hiring of farm machinery envisages promoting establishment of farm machinery
banks for custom hiring by way of providing financial assistance to individual self-help groups
or farmers co-operatives since the prohibitive cost of hi-tech and high productive
equipments renders it difficult for individual ownership..

The other major components included in the Sub-Mission, apart from custom hiring facilities
for agricultural machinery are promotion and strengthening of agricultural mechanisation
through training, testing and demonstration; post-harvest technology and management
(PHTM); financial assistance or procurement subsidy for agriculture machinery and
equipments; establishment of farm machinery banks for custom hiring; enhancing hi-tech, high

productive equipment hub for custom hiring; enhancing farm productivity at village level by
introducing appropriate farm mechanisation in selected villages; and creating ownership of
appropriate farm equipments among small/marginal farmers in eastern/north eastern region.




Amendments to the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) Act, 1981




The Union Cabinet today gave its approval to the amendments to the National Bank for Agriculture
and Rural Development (NABARD) Act 1981

The following amendments to the NABARD Act 1981 are proposed:-

. 1. Raising the authorized capital of NABARD to Rs. 20,000 crore from Rs. 5,000 crore.

The meaning of cooperative society is proposed to be enlarged to include multistate cooperative
societies registered under any Central law or any other Central or State law relating to cooperative
societies.

Change of ownership to facilitate the transfer of the remaining share capital of NABARD from the
Reserve Bank to the Central Government.


Increasing the scope of operations of NABARD under short term funding purposes and
other changes.

The following benefits are projected by this amendment:-

By increasing the authorized capital of NABARD to Rs 20,000 crore from Rs 5,000 crore, the
ability of NABARD to mobilize resources from the market will be enhanced thereby new credit
products, new credit linkages and new clients will be developed.

The amendments allow NABARD to lend to new institutions, mainly Societies covered under
multistate cooperative societies act and other central laws, producer organizations or such class of
financial institutions which are approved by the Central Government. This is likely to benefit a
larger segment of the financially excluded farmers in the country.

The amendments allow combination of credit, creation of short term operations fund and
swapping of debt of farmers.

The decision of the Government to transfer the balance one percent shares to the Govt. of
India from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in NABARD shall be carried out, which will provide for
increased public accountability, as the Government will acquire the equity held by RBI.

NABARD will combine the post of Chairman and the post of Managing Director, into one,
therefore Chairman and Managing Director, under the provisions of the NABARD Act relating to
these two posts. This shall ensure a distinct line of command.

Background

NABARD was established on 12 July 1982 to provide sharp focus to agriculture credit and rural
development. NABARD adopted, as its mission, the promotion of sustainable and equitable
development of agriculture and rural prosperity through effective credit support, related
services, institution development and other innovative initiatives.














































The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today approved the proposal for the merger of National
Lake Conservation Plan (NLCP) and National Wetlands Conservation Programme (NWCP) into a new
scheme called the `National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Eco-systems` (NPCA).

For conservation of lakes and wetlands, the Ministry of Environment and Forests is presently,
implementing two separate Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS), namely the NWCP and the NLCP. To
avoid overlap, promote better synergies and to ensure conservation and management works, an
integrated scheme, NPCA is proposed, with the objective of conserving aquatic ecosystems (lakes
and wetlands), through implementation of sustainable conservation plans and governed with
application of uniform policy and guidelines.

The principal objectives of the new scheme will be holistic conservation and restoration of lakes and
wetlands for achieving desired water quality enhancement, besides improvement in biodiversity and
the ecosystem, through an integrated and multidisciplinary approach with a common regulatory
framework, The scheme would contribute to reduction of pollution loads and improvement in goods
and services provided by these water bodies to stakeholders.
The new scheme will have conservation and management of lakes and wetlands in the country
within its scope, to include inventory and information system on lakes and wetlands national level
directive on criteria for lakes and wetlands, regulatory framework, capacity building at state
government and local body levels, evaluation etc.



An Advanced Light Helicopter Mk-IV army version `Rudra` was handed over by Dr RK Tyagi,
Chairman, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to Lt Gen Narendra Singh, Deputy Chief of Army
Staff (P & S), Indian Army during AERO India 2013 at Yelahanka Air Base, Bangalore today.

At the outset of the ceremony, Shri P Soundara Rajan, Managing Director said Rudra, first
armoured helicopter - is the Mk IV variant of the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) designed and
manufactured by HAL. This helicopter is fitted with Day and Night Targeting systems and can
carry a mix of weapons (70 rockets, anti-tank missiles, air to air missiles and 20 mm turret gun),
providing the required capability to search and destroy any targets.

Rudra is designed indigenously at the Rotary Wing Research and Design Center (RWR & DC)



India Sweden DTAC

The Convention and Protocol between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government
of the Kingdom of Sweden for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion
with respect to taxes on income and on capital (DTAC) was first signed here on 24th June 1997. In
April 2011, both India and Sweden concluded a Protocol to amend the Article 27 of the DTAC
concerning Exchange of Information to bring it in line with the international standards and to add an
Article in the Protocol to the DTAC to include tax examination abroad.

The Protocol will replace the Article concerning Exchange of Information in the existing DTAC
between India and Sweden and will allow exchange of banking information as well as information
without domestic interest. It will, now, allow use of information for non-tax purpose if allowed
under the domestic laws of both the countries, after the approval of the supplying state.


The Article added in the Protocol to the DTAC will enable both the countries to assist in
conducting tax examination abroad by allowing officials of one country to enter the territory of
other country for this purpose.

The President of India has appointed Shri Kalyan Kumar Chakravarty, as Chairman of Lalit Kala
Akademi



Indira Gandhi Peace Prize for Peace,Diarmament and Development for 2011 to Ela Bhatt, founder
of SEWA



Government of India is giving special attention to the promotion of Electronics system Design and
Manufacturing sector in India. According to the assessment of the Task Force constituted by the
Department, the demand of electronics hardware in India is projected to grow from USD 45 Billion
in 2009 to USD 400 Billion by 2020. At the current rate of growth, the domestic production can cater
to a demand of USD 104 Billion by 2020 and the remaining would have to be met by imports. The
value addition in the domestically produced electronics goods is also very low varying from 5 to 15
percent in most cases.

The Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) is expected to attract investments of
nearly USD 100 Billion and create direct and indirect employment for nearly 28 million people
over the next decade or so. India offers 400,000 engineering graduates per annum and equally
large skilled blue collar job force at one of the lowest wage rates anywhere in the world. India is
already becoming a favoured destination for chip design, embedded software and board design
which are important part of any electronic product. Government permits 100 percent FDI through
the automatic route for most ESDM products.

It is with this objective that the Cabinet has, recently approved the National Policy on
Electronics (NPE) 2012 which envisions making India a globally competitive destination in the
sector and attracting investment of USD 100 billion by 2020. Several incentives have also been
approved to attract investment in the sector. These incentives include:

(vi) Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme which provides upto 25% capital subsidy for
investment in the sector

(vii) Electronic Manufacturing Clusters Scheme which provides 50% of the cost for
development of infrastructure and common facilities in Greenfield clusters and 75% of the cost for
Brownfield clusters

(viii) Preference to domestically manufactured electronic goods in Government
procurement and those electronic products which have security implications.

(ix) Additionally Government of India is finalizing a partner for setting up a Wafer Fab
Manufacturing in India.

Sibal Visits Japan and seeks co-operation on Electronics Front.

Japanese electronics companies have been facing some form of a crisis due to global economic
slowdown and competition from South Korea and Taiwan. Collaborating with India will help them to
innovate rapidly at a cheap cost and manufacture at costs competitive with China.

Sibal : 1. We would like to work with Japanese Government and its agencies to explore greater
interest among Japanese companies to invest in India in the ESDM sector.

2. We would like to support Delhi Mumbai corridor by setting up Electronic Manufacturing Clusters
(EMC) along the corridor. Rajasthan Government has already been approached in this regard to
make land available

Indian Coast Guard Ship `Rajratan, the fifth of a series of eight Inshore Patrol Vessels (IPVs) was
commissioned by Director General Indian Coast Guard, Vice Admiral MP Muralidharan in Kolkata
today. In his address during the commissioning ceremony, Vice Admiral Muralidharan dwelt upon
the criticality of capacity building towards tackling emergent maritime challenges. He reiterated the
need for continuous vigil along the nations maritime frontiers to preserve and protect our
maritime interests. He further stated that several far-reaching initiatives towards augmentation of
manpower and force levels were underway, that would provide the requisite fillip to the Coast
Guards capabilities.

Indigenously built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Kolkata, the 50m long IPV displaces
300 tonnes and can achieve a maximum speed of 34 knots, with an endurance of 1500 nautical
miles at an economical speed of 16 knots. Equipped with state-of-the-art weaponry and advanced
communication and navigational equipment, it makes an ideal platform for undertaking multifarious
close-coast missions such as surveillance, interdiction, Search and Rescue, and medical evacuation



Farmers are being educated under IPM(Integrated Pest Management Programme) through Farmers
Field schools on safe, judicious and need based use of approved pesticides besides IPM skills and
pest control techniques to be adopted by them in their crop fields, thereby making them self reliant
in decision making

Activities under IPM

(i) Popularization of IPM approach among farming community.
(j) Conducting regular pest surveillance and monitoring to assess pest / disease situation.
(k) Rearing biological control agents for their use and conservation of naturally occurring bio-
agents.
(l) Promotion of Bio-pesticides and neem based pesticides as alternatives to chemical
pesticides.

(m) Play a catalytic role in spread of innovative IPM skills to extension workers, land farmers in
various States / UTs.

(n) Human Resource Development in IPM by imparting training to master trainers, extension
workers and farmers through Farmers Field Schools (FFSs).

(o) Organization of Farmers Field Schools (FFS) through KVKs/SAUs/ICAR institutes to
develop the sufficient human resource.

(p) Further, farmers are being educated through 2 days short duration programmes. Non
formal education through participatory approach is also being adopted for educating the
farmers.

Cooperative Credit Societies are not required to obtain banking licence from the Reserve Bank
of India (RBI) under the provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
As per the existing instructions of RBI, the Primary Agricultural Cooperative Credit Societies (PACS)

are not authorised to collect deposits from the public except members. They offer deposit services to
their members and, in turn, use these resources to lend to the needy members of the Societies.

The Department of Pharmaceuticals under the Ministry of Pharmaceuticals under the Ministry of a
Chemical & Fertilizers has informed that as per the Report of the Working Group on Drugs and
Pharmaceuticals for 12
th
Five Year Plan, the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry has grown from
Rs.71000 crores in 2007 to over Rs.1 lac crores in 2009-2010 comprising Rs.62,055 crores of
domestic market and exports of over Rs.42,154 crores. The Industry is ranked 3
rd
globally in volume
and 14
th
in value, supplying around 10% of total global production. This also amounts to around
20% of total volume of global generics.

The government has notified the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Policy, 2012 (NPPP-2012) where it
has also been proposed to regulate and control the prices of National List of Essential Medicines-
2011.

The salient features of National Pharmaceutical Pricing Policy, 2012 (NPPP- 2012) are as under:

The regulation of prices of drugs is on the basis of essentiality of drugs as under National List of
Essential Medicines 2011.

The regulation of prices of drugs is on the basis of regulating the prices of formulations only.

The regulation of prices of drugs is on the basis of fixing the ceiling price of formulations through
Market Based Pricing (MBP).


The provisions under National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Policy- 2012 (NPPP- 2012), are to put in place
a regulatory framework for pricing of essential drugs as per the strength and dosages as specified in
National List of Essential Medicines- 2011 which satisfy the priority healthcare needs to majority of
the population.






With a view to conserve top soil and prevent soil erosion and land degradation. Ministry of
Agriculture is implementing various watershed development programmes, namely National
Watershed Development Project for Rainfed Areas, Soil Conservation in Catchments of River
Valley Project and Flood Prone River and Reclamation and Development of Alkali & Acid Soils
across the country. Ministry of Rural Development is also implementing a major Integrated
Watershed Management Programme for restoring ecological balance by harnessing, conserving
and developing degraded lands in the country. Parts of such developed degraded lands have
been put to cultivation, leading to net sown area remaining largely unchanged in last two
decades.

As per available estimates of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR-2010), out of total
geographical area of 328.73 million hectare, about 120.40 million hectare are affected by

various kind of land degradation across the country. Soil formation and its erosion are a
natural phenomena occurring simultaneously. Such soil erosion leads to land degradation in
upper reaches of the river system, whereas when deposited at various locations of river
systems, it may increase the soil fertility.



The Government is promoting the use of bio-pesticides and these are registered/provisionally
registered on simplified guidelines. Provisional certificates of bio pesticides registrants are given
extension of validity period for manufacturing, sale and usages liberally.

Pesticides are inherently toxic in nature. However, they are allowed to be used in such quantities,
where the leftover residue does not pose any harm to human beings. These quantities are
prescribed by Registration Committee[on pesticides], constituted under the Insecticides Act, 1968
and are mentioned on label and leaflets, which form the part of Certificate of Registration. Before
registration, comprehensive data is obtained from the Registrants of pesticides with respect to
toxicity issues, bio-efficacy, chemistry and packaging. If pesticides are used as per directions
mentioned on label and leaflets, they do not pose any harm to human beings. Only their misuse or
overuse can be harmful to human beings.



As per the annual report submitted by SPCBs/PCCs/Directorate General of Armed Forces Medical
Services (DGAFMS) for the year 2010, some of the Health Care Facilities (HCFs)/Common Bio-
Medical Waste Treatment Facilities (CBWTFs) are reported to be violating the provisions of the Bio-
Medical Waste (Management &Handling) Rules, 1998 notified under the Environment (Protection)
Act, 1986.

Health being a state subject, it is the responsibility of the concerned State Government to take
necessary steps to monitor the disposal of biomedical wastes through the State Pollution Control
Boards (SPCBs)/Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) in the Union Territories, as per the provisions
made under the Bio-medical waste (Management & Handling) Rules in 1998, as amended in the
years 2000 & 2003. The State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/Pollution Control Committees (PCCs)
are the prescribed authorities to grant authorization for the BMW Management. They are
empowered to ensure the compliance of provisions of these Rules.

The Government of India have delegated necessary powers vested in it under Section 5 of the
Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 to all the SPCBs and PCCs in UTs, to issue directions to any
industry or any other authority for violation of standards and Rules, inter-alia, relating to Bio-
medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998. The SPCBs/PCCs are required to closely
monitor the implementation of the Rules by the Health Care Establishments (HCEs) and take
necessary legal actions against the establishments which violate these Rules.

As per the Bio-Medical Waste (BMW) (Management & Handling) Rules, 1998, every occupier of an
institution generating BMW has to ensure that such waste is handled without any adverse effect to
human health and environment. It is the responsibility of the occupier to to ensure the BMW is

segregated according to the colour code for containers/bags prescribed and to treat and dispose of
bio-medical waste in accordance with the BMW rules.

Vice Admiral Anurag G Thapliyal,will take over as the 20th Director General of Indian Coast Guard
tomorrow and will be succeeding the present Director General Vice Admiral MP Muralidharan.

Smart Cards under PDS

The Government has initiated implementation of Component-I of the scheme for End-to-end
Computerisation of Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) Operations, which comprises
digitization of ration cards/beneficiary and other databases, computerization of supply-chain
management, setting up of transparency portal and grievance redressalmechanisms.



As part of Fair Price Shop (FPS) automation, some States/UTs namely, Chandigarh UT,
Chhattisgarh, Haryana,Odisha, Puducherry, etc. have reported issuance of TPDS commodities on
pilot basis using Smart Cards wherein existing ration cards are replaced by Smart Cards. These Smart
Cards have biometric features of members of beneficiary families, based on which verification of the
beneficiary family takes place and only thereafter, the essential commodities are issued to the
intended beneficiaries from the FPSs.



The exact model of FPS automation, that is, Aadhaar based authentication through Point of Sale
(PoS) devices, Smart Cards, etc. would be finalised by the Government in consultation with
States/UTs and taken up in the next phase.



PSLV C 20 launched with Saral Mission



Drug called Nimesulide containing medical products was banned for use for children below 12 years
after safety issues of the drug were assessed as the use of drug is likely to involve certain risks to
human beings and whereas safer alternatives to the drug are available. Further, it has been directed
to all manufacturers of nimesulide containing formulations, on recommendations of the Drug
Technical Advisory Board (DTAB), to incorporate a box warning on label as well as package insert and
other promotional literature of nimesulide formulations that use of nimesulide should ordinarily be
restricted to 10 days. If longer clinical use is warranted, liver function test should be assessed
periodically.



This follows international suspensions of the drug becauseof serious side effects affecting the liver.



Clinical Trials

Recently, several new regulatory initiatives and legislative measures have been taken by the
Government, especially for the safety and well-being of the clinical trial participants and
compensations have been paid to the clinical trial participants. The Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945
have been and some of the changes are



Provision for compensation in case of injury or death due to clinical trials and free medical
management as long as required.



Expansion of responsibilities of Sponsor, Investigator and Ethics Committees to ensure that the
reports of Serious Adverse Events (SAEs) including deaths are reported, analyzed as per the
prescribed timelines and in case of clinical trial related injury or death, compensation is paid as per
the prescribed procedures.



Revised and more elaborate informed consent documents.



Time-bound reporting of injury or death to the DCG(I).



Constitution of independent Expert Committee by DCG (I) to examine the cases of deaths and
give recommendations to the Drug Controller General of India ( DCG (I) ).



Registration of clinical trials at Clinical Trials Registry of India before enrolling the first patient for
the study.



Registration of Ethics Committee, valid for a period of three years and suspension or cancellation of
the registration in case of non-compliance to the provisions.



Authorization to CDSCO to inspect, search and seize any records, documents, drugs, etc.



Provision for suspension or cancellation or debarment from conduct of clinical trials in case of non-
compliance to the provisions.

The Government of India has launched a scheme on Vegetables Initiative for Urban Clusters (VIUC)
within the overall Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) Scheme. It has also launched the National
Horticulture Mission (NHM) for holistic development of horticulture sector. Under NHM, financial
assistance is provided for taking up various activities relating to horticulture crops including onion.

In order to facilitate the farmers to sell their produce to direct consumers with a view to reduce
intermediations, marketing costs and to improve farmers share in the consumer price, several
States have promoted farmers-consumers markets.

Promoting Balanced and Judicious Use of Fertilisers for Improving Soil Health

The Government of India is implementing National Project on Management of Soil Health &
Fertility to promote soil test based balanced and judicious use of fertilizers for improving soil health
and its fertility through setting up / strengthening soil testing laboratories, trainings and field
demonstrations on balanced use of fertilizers. However, there is no scientific evidence of declining
soil quality with judicious use of chemical fertilizers yet indiscriminate and imbalance use of
fertilizers or pesticides coupled with low addition of organic matter over years may result into
multi-nutrient deficiencies.

In order to promote organic / ecological farming, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research
(ICAR) has developed technology preparation of enriched / vermin-compost from various rural
and urban wastes. Besides, improved and efficient strains of bio-fertilizers specific to different
crops and soil types are being developed under Network project on biofertilizers.

Greenpeace India launched Living Soils Campaign nationwide to bring out grass root level realities
concerning soil health and soil fertility management policies of the Central Government to save soils
from the harmful impacts of chemical fertilizers. Greenpeace has been making the following
suggestions:-

(iv) Create an alternate subsidy system that promotes ecological farming and use of
organic soil amendments.


(v) Shift the irrational subsidy policy for synthetic fertilizers to sustainable ecological
practices in agriculture.


(vi) Re-focus scientific research on ecological alternatives, to identify agro-ecological
practices that ensure future food security under the changing climate.




The Government of India is implementing various Crop Development Schemes through State
Governments likeNational Food Security Mission (NFSM), Integrated Scheme on Oilseeds, Pulses, Oil
palm and Maize (ISOPOM), Technology Mission on Cotton(TMC), Jute Technology Mission(JTM),
Integrated Cereals Development Programme (ICDP) for Rice/Wheat/Coarse Cereals and Sustainable
Development of Sugarcane Based Cropping Systems Areas (SUBACS), etc. under Macro Management
of Agriculture(MMA), Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) including its sub-schemes i.e. Bringing

Green Revolution to Eastern India (BGREI), Initiative for Nutritional Security through Intensive
Millets Promotion (INSIMP), etc. during 11
th
Five Year Plan and in 2012-13 the first year of the 12
th

Five Year Plan for increasing production and productivity of field crops through the use of improved
crop production technologies.



Under the Crop Development Schemes, States/UTs are extended financial support to the farmers
for use of latest production technology/ critical inputs such as seeds, micro-nutrients, soil
ameliorants, plant protection chemicals, farm machineries and efficient micro irrigation devices, etc
for enhancement of production and productivity of crops.



In the year 2011, the share of nuclear power generation was 3.7% of the total electricity
generation in India. At present, nuclear power capacity is 4780 MW. It is expected to reach 10080
MW by 2017 on progressive completion of four ongoing projects of 5300 MW capacity.

Vice Admiral Anurag G Thapliyal took over as the 20th Director General of Indian Coast
Guard. The Director General has succeeded Vice Admiral MP Muralidharan.






























PIB March

The Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari released a book entitled Walking with
Lions : Tales from a Diplomatic Past written by Shri K. Natwar Singh,former diplomat and
Union Minister foe External Affairs.

The Tikku Committee was set up to look into all aspects of career improvements and cadre
restructuring of Doctors of Central Health Services (CHS).

The quality of drugs, whether generic or non-branded or branded manufactured or imported
for sale in the country is regulated under the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetic Act, 1940
and the Drugs and Cosmetic Rules, 1945 made thereunder. Under these laws, the manufacture
and sale of drugs are regulated by the State Governments and the import, approval of new
drugs and banning of drugs are regulated by the Central Government through its drug
regulatory body, namely, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO).

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Policy, 2012 (NPPP-2012) notified on 7th December,
2012 has the provision of bringing the medicines under National List of Essential Medicines-
2011 (NLEM-2011) under price control.
There is no classification as essential medicines in the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 1995.
However, under the provisions of the DPCO, 1995 the prices of 74 bulk drugs as listed in its
First Schedule and the formulations containing any of these scheduled drugs are controlled.
National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) fixes or revises prices of scheduled drugs /
formulations as per the provisions of the DPCO,1995. No one is authorized to sell any scheduled
drug / formulation at a price higher than the price fixed by NPPA. Therefore, in the case of
scheduled medicines based on same chemical combinations, there may be bare minimum
difference in prices among different brands.

In respect of drugs - not covered under the DPCO, 1995 i.e. non-scheduled drugs, manufacturers
fix the launch prices themselves without seeking the approval of Government / NPPA. There is
no control over the launch price of non-scheduled medicines. Therefore, differences in prices
among different brands of medicine based on same chemical combinations in non-scheduled
category are not ruled out.

The information on the share of generic and non-generic medicines in the total medicine sale in
the country is not maintained centrally.

The prices of scheduled drugs / formulations are controlled and fixed/revised by NPPA as per
the provisions of the DPCO,1995. As a part of price-monitoring activity, NPPA also regularly
examines the movement in prices of non-scheduled formulations. Wherever a price increase
beyond 10% in a period of one year on moving basis is noticed, the manufacturer is asked to
bring down the price voluntarily failing which, subject to prescribed conditions, action is
initiated under paragraph 10(b) of the DPCO, 1995 for fixing the price of the formulation in
public interest.

In order to provide relief to the common man in the area of healthcare, a countrywide campaign
in the name of Jan Aushadhi Campaign was initiated by the Department of Pharmaceuticals,
Government of India, in collaboration with the State Governments, by way of opening up of Jan
Aushadhi Generic Drug Stores in the Government Hospitals by way of supply of medicines
through the Central Pharma Public Sector Undertakings (CPSUs), to make available quality
generic medicines at affordable prices to all. Under this campaign, it is intended to open at least
one Jan Aushadhi Store in every district of the country to begin with, followed by at least five
stores in each district so as to have 3150 stores by the end of the 12
th
plan. Efforts are on to
open more stores in the country with the collaboration of State Governments. However, much
depends upon the prevailing health policy or the health programme being followed by the
respective State Governments, in order to determine the feasibility and the viability for
opening/managing such stores and also the extent of support and cooperation the State
Governments provide in allotting the space in more number of places including identification of
the agency to manage such stores, besides ensuring the cooperation of the Government Doctors
in prescribing generic medicines.


The report Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2012 by the International Food Policy Research
Institute (IFPRI) is based on three equally weighted indicators, namely undernourishment
(proportion of undernourished people as percentage of population), child underweight and
child mortality. This report mentions that India has lagged behind in improving its GHI score
despite strong economic growth along with the statement that GHI data is based partly on
outdated data.

Ministers speech on National Youth Policy 2012
The goal of the Youth Policy is to empower the youth of the Nation by bringing a holistic
development, whereby every youth should be able to grow to their potential, fulfill their
aspirations and remain healthy and active and participative. As skill development is the thrust
of the Nation and following the national objectives, Ministry of Youth Affairs is proposing to
declare 2013-14 as the Year for Skill Development of the Youth.
The unique feature of the Youth Policy is monitorable indicators under 5 domains. They are
Youth Health Index, Youth Education Index, Youth Amenities Index and Youth Participation
Index. These constitute the Youth Development Index. The Youth Policy advocates
establishment of strong coordination mechanism between the Centre and the States. Youth
being a State Subject, there is an urgent need for evolving a youth Policy at the State level in
consonance with National Youth Policy. The National Youth Policy will be reviewed after every
census.
The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs & Sports Shri Jitendra Singh has
said that in order to focus on the high quality of research study and targets of sports science and
medicine for producing sports champions who could spearhead the Indian challenge on the
world sporting arena, it was felt necessary to create a national hub which could contribute to
the growing corpus of research, as seen in other developed and prominent countries like
Australia and China. Accordingly, it has been proposed to set up a National Institute of Sports
Sciences and Medicine (NISSM). The proposed NISSM would be leading institute in the
country to support high performance of sportspersons and integrate sciences and medicine into
the training of elite sportspersons in the country as well as into the teaching curriculum of sport
coaching in the country.

Panchayat Yuva Krida aur Khel Abhiyan (PYKKA)----under Ministry of Youth Affairs and
Sports itself

Objectives :

(i) To create a network of basic sports infrastructure throughout the country;
(ii) To provide universal access to sports in rural areas and promote a sports culture;
(iii) To harness available and potential sporting talent among rural youth, through a well
designed competition structure starting from the block level.



Ministry of External Affairs
DTAA with Bhutan
The DTAA provides that business profits will be taxable in the source state if the activities of an
enterprise constitute a permanent establishment in the source state. Profits derived by an
enterprise from the operation of aircraft in international traffic shall be taxable in the country
of place of effective management of the enterprise. Dividends, interest, royalty income and fees
for technical or professional services will be taxed both in the country of residence and in the
country of source. However, the maximum rate of tax to be charged in the country of source will
not exceed 10% on such dividends, interest, royalties and fees for technical services. Capital
gains from the sale of shares will be taxable in the country of source.

The DTAAs provide for allocation of taxation rights to source State and residence State in
respect of business profits including that of a permanent establishment, operation of ships or
aircraft in international traffic, dividends, interest, royalty, capital gains etc. Further, DTAAs
have provisions for exchange of information for tax purposes. This agreement also incorporates
provisions for effective exchange of information and assistance in collection of taxes between
tax authorities of the two countries including exchange of banking information and also
incorporates anti-abuse provisions to ensure that the benefits of the Agreement are availed of
by the genuine residents of the two countries.

The DTAAs facilitate mutual economic cooperation and provide tax certainty to the resident tax
payers of both the countries. Further, the DTAAs aim to avoid the burden of double taxation on
the income of residents of the two treaty countries and also simulate flow of investment,
technology and services between them.
India has signed 88 Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAAs) out of which 85 have
entered into force, with various countries including Sri Lanka and South Korea.
A Social Security Agreement (SSA) was signed between India and Portugal. About 75,000
Indians are living in Portugal, most of them are working as professionals and self-employed.
The bilateral Social Security Agreement is significant requirement from the futuristic point of
view to take advantage of the emerging employment opportunities and to further strengthen
the trade and investment between the two countries.

The Social Security Agreement between India and Republic of Portugal will provide the
following benefits to Indian national working in Portugal:

For short term contract upto 5 year, no social security contribution would need to be paid
under the Portuguese law by the detached workers provided they continue to make social
security payment in India.

The above benefits shall be available even when the Indian company sends its employees to
Republic of Portugal from a third country.

Indian workers shall be entitled to the export of the social security benefit if they relocate to
India after the completion of their service in Republic of Portugal.

The self-employed Indians in Republic of Portugal would also be entitled to export of social
security benefit on their relocation to India.

The period of contribution in one contracting state will be added to the period of contribution
in the second contracting state for determining the eligibility for social security benefits.

India has so far signed the SSA with seventeen countries viz. Belgium, Germany (Social
Insurance), Switzerland, France, Luxemburg, The Netherlands, Hungary, Denmark, The Czech
Republic, Republic of Korea, Norway, Germany (Comprehensive SSA), Finland, Canada, Japan,
Sweden and Austria.


INIDA- ASEAN
With a view to promote trade with ASEAN Countries India has signed Agreement on Trade in
Goods under the broader framework of Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement
(CECA) between India and the ASEAN on 13.08.2009. India and the ASEAN have also concluded
negotiations on Agreement on Trade in Services and Agreement on Investment in December,
2012. India has also entered into Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreements with
Singapore and Malaysia which came into effect on 01.08.2005 and 01.07.2011 respectively.
India and Thailand signed a Framework Agreement (Early Harvest Scheme) on 09.10.2003.
India and Thailand are presently negotiating a Comprehensive India-Thailand Free Trade
Agreement. India and Indonesia have also agreed for negotiating a CECA.
The priority areas and sectors identified by the Government for expanding trade and economic
cooperation with the ASEAN countries include Machinery & Machine parts, Transport
Equipments, Petroleum and Petroleum Products, Electronic Goods, Agro Industries, Gems
& Jewellery, Steel & Steel products, Oil Cake, Wheat, Meat & Meat Products, Automobiles & Auto
Components, Chemicals, Synthetic Textile, Drugs & Pharmaceuticals etc.

India has applied to join the Arctic Council as an Observer on permanent basis in November
2012. The participation as an Observer in The Arctic Council would facilitate India contributes
in the areas of scientific research, environment protection and development in Arctic regions.

India and Liechtenstein have signed a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) today at
Bern, Switzerland.
is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west
and south and by Austria to the east and north. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan.
Liechtenstein has the highest gross domestic product per person in the world when adjusted by
purchasing power parity,and has the world's lowest external debt. Liechtenstein also has one of
the lowest unemployment rates in the world at 1.5% (Monaco has the lowest).Not a EU
member.
There is gap of about 50% between demand and supply of edible oils in the country
which is managed through imports.
Consumption of edible oils in the country has been increasing steadily due to increasing
population and increase in purchasing power whereas the production of oilseeds is not
increasing as compared to demand. At present to bridge this gap, import of edible oils has been
kept under Open General Licence (OGL) and import duty on crude and refined edible oils is
maintained at 2.5% and 7.5% respectively. In order to enhance the production and productivity
of oilseeds, Government is implementing a Centrally Sponsored Integrated Scheme on
Oilseeds, Pulses, Oil Palm and Maize (ISOPOM) through Department of Agriculture in major
oilseeds and oil palm growing States.

Government Policy and Updates related to GM crops
Field Trial of GM Plants in the Country
The Government has allowed field trial of Genetically Modified (GM) plants in Agriculture sector
in India. The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), apex body notified under Rules
1989 has approved experimental field trials for the purpose of biosafety research and event
selection in respect of GM crops such as cotton, rice, tomato, groundnut, potato, corn, sorghum,
okra, brinjal, mustard, wheat, watermelon, papaya, sugarcane, rubber, castor, banana, pigeon
pea, Artemisia annua L. and Chickpea. Out of the 20 crops approved, field trials of only
transgenic cotton, corn and mustard were initiated after obtaining NOC from the State
Government. In respect of other crops, NOC from the State Governments are awaited. Currently
there are no ongoing field trials with GM crops
The Minister further stated that the Government of India is following a policy of case by
case approval of genetically modified (GM) crops. In view of various concerns related to the
safety, efficacy and agronomic performance of transgenic seeds, extensive evaluation and
regulatory approval process takes place before any GM plant is approved for commercial
cultivation. This includes generation of relevant biosafety information and its elaborate analysis
to ensure food, feed and environmental safety. The environmental safety assessment includes
studies on pollen escape out- crossing, aggressiveness and weediness, effect of the gene on non-
target organisms, presence of protein in soil and its effect on soil micro-flora, confirmation of
the absence of terminator gene and baseline susceptibility studies. The food and feed safety
studies include assessment on composition analysis, allergenicity and toxicological studies and
feeding studies on fish, chicken, cows and buffaloes. In case, the transgenic crop is not found
suitable for release in the environment or human consumption, the product is rejected during
the trial stage itself. A final view on the commercialization of GM plants is taken only when
there is a clear economic and technical justification for release of the product, the Minister
added.

The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee, notified under Rules for the Manufacture, use,
Import and Export and Storage of Hazardous Micro-Organisms/ Genetically Engineered
Organisms or cells, 1989, has approved the commercial cultivation of Bt cotton and import
of GM Soybean oil derived from Roundup Ready soybean

The Government has imposed a moratorium on commercialization of Bt. Brinjal event EE-I a
genetically modified (GM) crop in the country till such time independent scientific studies
establish that Bt brinjal is safe for the environment and human health. .
She further stated that as a follow up to the moratorium on Bt brinjal, a meeting of the Genetic
Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) to consult with experts and scientists on the safety of
Bt. Brinjal was held on April, 27, 2011. While several of the experts recommended limited
release of Bt brinjal seeds to evaluate its performance under strict supervision, some experts
have suggested additional biosafety studies with respect to long term impacts on biodiversity
and health. In the absence of consensus, a final decision on the issue may take from couple of
months to several years. Therefore, it is not feasible to furnish any tangible time period at
present. The final decision on the matter, whenever available will be put up in public domain,
she added.

Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) Project consists of various infrastructure
projects for development of new industrial cities in the DMIC region. The projects are to be
implemented at the State level in partnership with the State Governments. The process of land
acquisition/ land procurement is in progress in the States of Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya
Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra and master planning has started in Uttar Pradesh. Following
industrial cities have been taken up for development in a phased manner:

Government of India (GoI) approved the financial and institutional structure and financial
assistance for the development of industrial cities in the DMIC in September, 2011. The
financial assistance will be in the form of grant of Rs 17,500 crore over five years for the
development of industrial cities @ Rs 2500 crore per city on an average subject to a ceiling of Rs
3000 crore per city through a DMIC Project Implementation Fund set up as a
Trust. The GoI also approved the setting up of an additional corpus of Rs 1000 crore within the
Fund for providing financial assistance to DMIC Development Corporation (DMICDC) over five
years for undertaking further project development activities.

The industrial cities would be launched with the development of townships of 25-50
sq km which are envisaged to be completed by the end of 2018. The developments planned
under the project are expected to result in the following benefits:

i. Increase in the industrial output
ii. Increase in employment opportunities in the manufacturing/ processing industry
besides upgrading and developing their skills thus making them partners in the growth process.
iii. Increase in the exports from the region.
iv. development of industrial cities with world class infrastructure which would
involve/attract an estimated investment of around US$ 90-100 billion over the next thirty
years.

As per the perspective plan of the entire DMIC region, the industrial output is
expected to be tripled in the next 5 years after the implementation of first phase of the
cities.


Sl.
No.
Name of the Node State
1 Dadri-Noida-Ghaziabad Investment Region Uttar Pradesh
2 Manesar-Bawal Investment Region Haryana
3 Khushkera-Bhiwadi-Neemrana Investment Region Rajasthan
4 Pithampur-Dhar-Mhow Investment Region Madhya Pradesh
5 Ahmedabad-Dholera Investment Region Gujarat
6 Shendra-Bidkin Industrial Park City near Aurangabad Maharashtra
7 Dighi Port Industrial Area Maharashtra
Status of Scientific Research in the Country
The Department of Science and Technology commissioned a study on International
Comparative Performance of Indias Scientific Research carried out by Elsevier global
publishers of scientific research.
The present level of investment in the country for Research and Development (R&D) in science
and technology sector is 0.88% of GDP of which 0.65% is contributed by public sector. This is
similar to the public investment in most other countries which is in the range of 0.7-1.0%.
However, the private investment in R&D as percentage of GDP in India is 0.23% which has not
kept pace with many developed and emerging countries in the world. There is no lack of
dedicated scientific personnel in the country. The present scenario calls for enhanced
participation from the private sector to keep up the pace of development in S&T.
The percentage of GDP allocated to scientific research has remained 0.88% during the Eleventh
Five Year Plan period. The Government aims at increasing the total R&D expenditure as
percentage of GDP to 2% by the end of XII plan period from the current level of 0.88 percent..
The Government proposes to achieve the targeted goal during the XII Plan period through
various measures such as policy changes, increase in investment in R&D including by Industry
and Strategic sectors, expansion of basic science infrastructure, aligning S&T to development
needs like food and health care, evolving new models of public-private partnership in scientific
research, encouraging international collaboration etc.

(First Ever)Tagore Award for Cultural Harmony, 2012 ---Pandit Ravi Shankar
The Award is intended to recognize great men and women who through their works in any
field of art have enriched the greatness of Indian culture and promoted values of universal
brotherhood.


The latest Human Development Index (HDI) 2011 prepared by the UNDP ranks India at
134 out of 187 countries and its HDI is shown as 0.547 which is an improvement of 5.39% (HDI
was 0.519 in 2010 HDI part).

The health aspects are reflected in life expectancy at birth which is shown as 65.4 year in HDI
2011 against 64.4 year in HDI 2010.

High IMR and Under 5 MR are the major factors in lowering Life Expectancy at Birth. MMR
also needs improvement. A target of 25/1000 for IMR and 1000/100,000 live births for MMR
has been prescribed by the 12 Five Year plan document for the end of 2017. The ICDS has been
restructured to try and achieve these targets.


Price Pooling by CIL :
The Government has approved in principle certain guidelines related to the concept of price
pooling. Specific capacities/quantities are to be worked out. It has been decided that in respect
of plants commissioned upto 31.3.2009, domestic coal will continue to be supplied as hitherto
at CILs notified price. Price polling is likely to enable Coal India Limited (CIL) to meet its fuel
supply obligations to the power sector through import of coal, in addition to coal supplied from
indigenous production which will mean higher power generation in the country.




Renewable Energy :
The Ministry is implementing a number of renewable energy schemes / programmes such as
wind, small hydro, biomass and solar throughout the country, for enhancing power generation
from renewable energy sources.

The Government is also giving various fiscal and financial incentives, such as capital/interest
subsidy, accelerated depreciation, concessional excise and customs duties to promote power
generation from new and renewable energy sources. Among the other steps taken to promote
power generation from alternative sources of energy include preferential tariff for purchase of
power generated from renewable sources, introduction of Renewable Energy Certificates and
Renewable Purchase Obligation.

The Government has formulated an Integrated Energy Policy (IEP) covering all sources of
energy including renewable energy sources. The IEP document gives a roadmap to develop
energy supply options and increased exploitation of renewable energy sources. The Ministry of
New and Renewable Energy is targeting a capacity addition of 30,000 MW during the 12th Plan
period (2012-17) from various renewable energy sources.

About 27,000 MW renewable power generation capacity has been installed in the
country from various renewable energy sources.
WIND POWER

The Government has set a target of 15000 MW of wind power to be installed during 12
th
Plan
period. The capital expenditure for setting up one MW wind power project is approximately
Rs.6 crores. A total capacity of 18551 MW from wind energy has already been established in the
country. This is around 9% of the total installed power capacity in the country.

The Government has been promoting wind power projects through private sector
investment by providing fiscal and promotional incentives such as 80% Accelerated
Depreciation, concessional import duty on certain components of wind electric
generators, excise duty exemption to manufacturers. 10 years tax holiday on income
generated from wind power projects is also available. Loans for installing windmill are
available from Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) and other
Financial Institutions. Technical support including wind resource assessment is provided
by the Centre for Wind Energy Technology (C-WET), Chennai. This apart, preferential
tariff is being provided in potential states.



The main policy goal of National Policy for Farmers (NPF), 2007 is to improve economic
viability of farming by substantially increasing net income of farmers. Towards this end, the
major initiatives envisaged in NPF, 2007 inter alia include (i) Asset Reforms to Empower
Farmers with regard to Land, Water, Livestock, Fisheries & Bio resources; (ii) Support Services
including Science & Technology, Agricultural Bio Security, Agro-Meteorology, Climate Change,
Inputs & Services, Credit, Insurance Cooperatives, Extension Training & Knowledge
Connectivity, Marketing & Processing; (iii) Specific Initiatives for Special Categories of Farmers
such as Tribal Farmers, Plantation Farmers etc.; (iv) Institutional Support for Encouraging
Organic Farming, Green Agriculture etc.; and (v) Special Attention to Areas Experiencing
Agrarian Distress and Enhancement in Income of Small & Marginal Farmers through
Cooperative Farming, Group Farming, Contract Farming etc.

National Commission on Farmers (NCF) has suggested promoting, encouraging and assisting
self help groups, cooperatives, farmer-producer companies etc. to enable farmers to avail
benefits of on-going schemes/policies and improve their collective welfare. These suggestions
have been incorporated suitably in the NPF, 2007.

For the purpose of skill development, providing self-employment opportunities, technology
transfer etc., the Government is providing training to various individuals and organisations
under its various schemes like Swaranjayanthi Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY), ATMA
(Agricultural Technology Management Agency) scheme, National Horticulture Mission (NHM),
Horticulture Mission for North East and Himalayan States (HMNEH) etc.

Ministry of Commerce and Industry
There are five Commodity Boards viz., Tea Board, Coffee Board, Rubber Board, Spices Board
and Tobacco Board which are statutory autonomous bodies under the administrative control of
Department of Commerce.
The Government is taking various measures to promote the export of tea, coffee, rubber, spices
and tobacco through its commodity boards which includes providing financial and technical
assistance to the growers and other stake holders for participation in trade fairs, exhibitions,
buyer-sellers meets, brand promotion, public relation campaign through Plan Schemes, etc.
Banana production crosses 30 million tonnes.
Top 3 : Tamil Nadu>Maharashtra>Gujarat

Coffee is an export oriented commodity with about 75% of the coffee produced in the country
being exported. As such the returns to coffee growers largely depend on international prices.
Though the domestic prices are also aligned with international prices, they have been found to
be a little higher than the international prices. In view of this price differential, Coffee Board is
endeavoring to promote domestic coffee consumption to create a buffer against the
international price fluctuations

The composition of the National Commission for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic
Tribes (NCDNT) was announced with chairman as Shri Balkrishna Sidram Renke

The terms of reference of the NCDNT were as under:-

- To specify the economic interventions required for raising the living standards of
Denotified, Nomadic and Semi Nomadic `Tribes` by asset creation and self-employment
opportunities;
- To recommend measures to utilize the existing channeling agencies set up for the
economic development of SC/STs and OBCs for extending an economic development package to
these groups, keeping in view their specific requirements;
- To identify programmes required for their education, development and health; and
- To make any other connected or incidental recommendation that the Commission
deems necessary.

The NCDNT has submitted its report to the Government which is under consideration of
the Government .

The Twentieth Law Commission was constituted through a Government Order with effect
from 1st September, 2012. It has a three-year term, ending on 31st August, 2015. Shri Justice D.
K. Jain, Former Judge of the Supreme Court of India, is the Chairman of the Commission.

The work on delineation of entire course of river Saraswati in North West India was carried
out using Indian Remote Sensing Satellite data along with digital elevation model. Satellite
images are multi-spectral, multi-temporal and have advantages of synoptic view, which are
useful to detect palaeochannels. The palaeochannels are validated using historical maps,
archaeological sites, hydro-geological and drilling data. It was observed that major Harappan
sites of Kalibangan (Rajasthan), Banawali and Rakhigarhi (Haryana), Dholavira and Lothal
(Gujarat) lie along the River Saraswati.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is designing a GEO Imaging Satellite (GISAT).

GISAT will carry a GEO Imager with multi-spectral (visible, near infra-red and thermal), multi-
resolution (50m to 1.5 km) imaging instruments. GISAT will be placed in geostationary orbit of
36,000 km.

The remote sensing satellites launched by ISRO revisit the same area once in every 2 to 24 days
and acquire images of a geographical strip (swath) at different spatial resolution (360 meter to
better than 1 meter). GISAT will provide near real time pictures of large areas of the country,
under cloud free conditions, at frequent intervals. That is, selected Sector-wise image every 5
minutes and entire Indian landmass image every 30 minutes at 50m spatial resolution.

GISAT is planned to be launched during 2016-17
Financial Assistance to Urban Poor
Land and Colonisation are State subjects, therefore it is the primary responsibility of State
Governments/ State Authorities/ Urban Local Bodies to arrange land for housing projects. Cost
of land is not normally covered under the flagship programmes of Jawaharlal Nehru National
Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) meant to support the States in
provision of housing and related infrastructure to the urban poor. However, Government of
India provides 90% of the cost of land acquisition, if required, under these schemes to the North
Eastern and Special Category States viz., Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
The Minister further stated that keeping in view the price escalation in housing sector including
land costs, this Ministry has proposed revision of loan ceilings from existing Rs. 1 1.6 lakh to
Rs. 5 8 lakh under the scheme of Interest Subsidy Scheme for Housing the Urban Poor (ISHUP)
to be renamed as Rajiv Rinn Yojana (RRY). However, since necessary approvals have not been
obtained, therefore no commitment can be made for its finalization at this juncture, the Minister
added.

Committee of external experts was appointed under the Chairmanship of Justice
Dharmadhikari to look into the integration and harmonization of wage, salary, work practices,
etc of all categories of employees of both the erstwhile companies, Air India and Indian Airlines.
The committee has submitted its report and the same has been sent to Air India for
implementation. The pay and allowances recommended by Justice Dharmadhikari Committee
are in accordance with the DPE Guidelines. However, for licensed categories, including Pilot, the
Government has approved payments of certain allowances, over and above the DPE guidelines
to bring the total emoluments of these categories as per the industry standard.
Soil Borne Infections
Soil Transmitted Helminthiases (STH) are the most important infections among the school
going children in the country. There is no regular surveillance of such infections. Thus
State/UTs wise status is not available. However as per WHO progress report on Soil
Transmitted Helminthiases, 42 % of the children in South East Asia region are in need of
deworming treatment and out of this 64% of children are from India.

Under the school health programme, deworming tablets are provided to all the children bi
annually. Beside this, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has also launched National Iron plus
strategy for control of iron deficiency anaemia where all the children from 6 months to 18 years
of age are provided weekly supplementation of iron and folic acid. Teacher and Anganwadi
workers are also trained to supervise administration of the medicines and refer sick children
Salient Features of National Telecom Policy 2012[copy pasted unedited]
Licensing, Convergence and Value Added Services
Strive to create One Nation - One License across services and service areas.
Achieve One Nation - Full Mobile Number Portability and work towards One Nation - Free
Roaming.
To orient, review and harmonise the legal, regulatory and licensing framework in a time bound
manner to enable seamless delivery of converged services in technology and service neutral
environment. Convergence would cover:
o Convergence of services i.e. convergence of voice, data, video, Internet telephony (VoIP),
value added services and broadcasting services
o Convergence of networks i.e. convergence of access network, carriage network (NLD/ ILD)
and broadcast network
o Convergence of devices i.e. telephone, Personal Computer, Television, Radio, set top boxes
and other connected devices.
To move towards Unified Licence regime to exploit the attendant benefits of convergence,
spectrum liberalisation and facilitate delinking of the licensing of Networks from the delivery of
Services to the end users to enable operators to optimally and efficiently utilise their networks
and spectrum by sharing active and passive infrastructure.
Put in place a simplified Merger & Acquisition regime in telecom service sector while
ensuring adequate competition.
To facilitate resale at the service level under the proposed licensing regime both
wholesale and retail.
To delink spectrum in respect of all future licences. Spectrum shall be made available at a
price determined through market related processes.
To frame appropriate Policies for new licensing framework, migration of existing
licensees to new framework, exit policy, measures for ensuring adequate competition etc. in
consultation with TRAI.
To facilitate convergence of local cable TV networks post digitalisation.
To put in place an appropriate regulatory framework for delivery of VAS at affordable
price to fuel growth in entrepreneurship, innovation and provision of region specific content in
regional languages.
To put in place a framework to regulate the carriage charges, which are content neutral
and based on the bandwidth utilisation.
Reposition the mobile phone from a mere communication device to an instrument of
empowerment that combines communication with proof of identity, fully secure financial and
other transaction capability, multi-lingual services and a whole range of other capabilities that
ride on them and transcend the literacy barrier.
Spectrum Management
Ensure adequate availability of spectrum and its allocation in a transparent manner through
market related processes. Make available additional 300 MHz spectrum for IMT services by the
year 2017 and another 200 MHz by 2020.
To move at the earliest towards liberalisation of spectrum to enable use of spectrum in any
band to provide any service in any technology as well as to permit spectrum pooling, sharing
and later, trading to enable optimal utilisation of spectrum through appropriate regulatory
framework..
To undertake periodic audit of spectrum utilisation to ensure its efficient use.
To refarm spectrum and allot alternative frequency bands or media to service providers from
time to time to make spectrum available for introduction of new technologies for telecom
applications.
To prepare a roadmap for availability of additional spectrum every 5 years.
Broadband and Rural Telephony
Increase rural teledensity from the current level of around 39 to 70 by the year 2017 and
100 by the year 2020. .
To recognise telecom, including broadband connectivity as a basic necessity like education and
health and work towards Right to Broadband.
Provide affordable and reliable broadband-on-demand by the year 2015 and to achieve
175 million broadband connections by the year 2017 and 600 million by the year 2020 at
minimum 2 Mbps download speed and making available higher speeds of at least 100 Mbps on
demand.
Provide high speed and high quality broadband access to all village panchayats through a
combination of technologies by the year 2014 and progressively to all villages and habitations
by 2020.
R&D, Manufacturing and Standardization of Telecommunication Equipment
Promote the ecosystem for design, Research and Development, IPR creation, testing,
standardization and manufacturing i.e. complete value chain for domestic production of
telecommunication equipment to meet Indian telecom sector demand to the extent of 60% and
80% with a minimum value addition of 45% and 65% by the year 2017 and 2020 respectively
Create a corpus to promote indigenous R&D, IPR creation, entrepreneurship, manufacturing,
commercialisation and deployment of state-of-the-art telecom products and services during the
12th five year plan period.
To promote setting up of Telecommunications Standard Development Organisation (TSDO) as
an autonomous body with effective participation of the government, industry, R&D centres,
service providers, and academia to drive consensus regarding standards to meet national
requirements including security needs.
Provide preference to domestically manufactured telecommunication products, in
procurement of those telecommunication products which have security implications for the
country and in Government procurement for its own use, consistent with ourWorld Trade
Organization (WTO) commitments.
Telecom Infrastructure/ RoW issues, Green Telecom, Clear Skyline, Mitigation efforts during
disasters and emergencies
To work towards recognition of telecom as Infrastructure Sector for both wireline and wireless
and extension of the benefits available to infrastructure sectors to telecom sector also, to realize
true potential of ICT for development.
To facilitate increased use of alternative sources (Renewable Energy Technologies) of energy
for powering telecom networks through active participation of all the stakeholders the
government, the telecom industry and the consumer for green telecommunications. Sector
specific schemes and targets for promotion of green technologies will be finalised in
consultation with Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and other stakeholders.
Quality of Service and protection of Consumer Interest
To strengthen the regulator for ensuring compliance of the prescribed performance standards
and Quality of Service (QoS) parameters by the Telecom Service Providers
To formulate a Code of Practice for Sales and Marketing Communications to improve
transparency as well as address security issues relating to Customer Acquisition
To undertake legislative measures to bring disputes between telecom consumers and service
providers within the jurisdiction of Consumer Forums established under Consumer Protection
Act.
Security
To create an institutional framework through regulatory measures to ensure that safe-to-
connect devices are inducted into the Telecom Network and service providers take measures
for ensuring the security of the network..
To ensure security in an increasingly insecure cyber space, indigenously manufactured
multi-functional SIM cards with indigenously designed chips incorporating specific laid down
standards are considered critical.
Skill Development and Public Sector
To assess the manpower requirement at different skill and expertise levels by partnering with
National Skill Development Council and industry to identify the relevant needs of the sector and
prepare a roadmap.
Cloud Services
To recognise that cloud computing will significantly speed up design and roll out of services,
enable social networking and participative governance and e-Commerce on a scale which was
not possible with traditional technology solutions.
To take new policy initiatives to ensure rapid expansion of new services and technologies at
globally competitive prices by addressing the concerns of cloud users and other stakeholders
including specific steps that need to be taken for lowering the cost of service delivery.
Telecom Enterprise Services, Data Use New technologies and IPV 6 compliant Networks
To facilitate the role of new technologies in furthering public welfare and enhanced customer
choices through affordable access and efficient service delivery. The emergence of new service
formats such as Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications (e.g. remotely operated irrigation
pumps, smart grid etc.) represent tremendous opportunities, especially as their roll-out
becomes more widespread.
To recognize the importance of the new Internet Protocol IPv6 to start offering new IP based
services on the new protocol and to encourage new and innovative IPv6 based applications in
different sectors of the economy by enabling participatory approach of all stake holders.
Financing of Telecom Sector
To create a Telecom Finance Corporation as a vehicle to mobilize and channelize financing for
telecom projects in order to facilitate investment in the telecom sector.
To rationalize taxes, duties and levies affecting the sector and work towards providing a stable
fiscal regime to stimulate investments and making services more affordable.
Role of Regulator, Changes in legislation
To review the TRAI Act with a view to addressing regulatory inadequacies/ impediments in
effective discharge of its functions.
To undertake a comprehensive review of Indian Telegraph Act and its rules and other allied
legislations with a view to making them consistent with and in furtherance of the above policy
objectives.
OPERATIONALISATION OF THE POLICY
To take suitable facilitatory measures to encourage existing service providers to rapidly
migrate to the new regime in a uniformly liberalised environment with a level playing field.
Policy will be operationalized by bringing out detailed guidelines, as may be considered
appropriate, from time to time.
The NTP-12, inter-alia, has following Objectives on promoting R & D, Telecom Equipment
Manufacturing and standardization of Telecommunication Equipment:-
Promote innovation, indigenous R&D and manufacturing to serve domestic and global
markets, by increasing skills and competencies.
Create a corpus to promote indigenous R&D, IPR creation, entrepreneurship,
manufacturing, commercialisation and deployment of state-of-the-art telecom products and
services during the 12th five year plan period.
Promote the ecosystem for design, Research and Development, IPR creation, testing,
standardization and manufacturing i.e. complete value chain for domestic production of
telecommunication equipment to meet Indian telecom sector demand to the extent of 60% and
80% with a minimum value addition of 45% and 65% by the year 2017 and 2020 respectively.
Provide preference to domestically manufactured telecommunication products, in
procurement of those telecommunication products which have security implications for the
country and in Government procurement for its own use, consistent with our World Trade
Organization (WTO) commitments.
Develop and establish standards to meet national requirements, generate IPRs, and
participate in international standardization bodies to contribute in formulation of global
standards, thereby making India a leading nation in the area of international telecom
standardization.
Put in place appropriate fiscal and financial incentives required for indigenous
manufacturers of telecom products and R&D institutions.

IPv6 update
Shri Sibal said that Internet is an important tool to connect not only people but people and
devices. The explosive growth of mobile subscribers and exponential growth of data has made it
imperative to transit to IPv6 to move to smart knowledge society. He emphasized that IPv6 is a
limitless highway and the challenge is to bridge the gap between IPv4 and IPv6. He further
added that Internet of Things (IoT) offers an immense opportunity for India whereby products
& services based on IPv6 can be manufactured here and exported globally. He said that IPv6
based innovative applications in areas like rural emergency healthcare tele-education, smart
metering, smart grid, smart building, smart city etc. have tremendous potential to boost the
socio-economic development of the country.
Shri R. Chandrashekhar, Secretary (T), DoT underlined the need for a planned and gradual
transition. The Roadmap will pave the way for bridging the digital divide as it is vital for
achieving the broadband growth. Shri R.K. Bhatnagar, Member (Technology) presented an
overview of IPv6 scenario in the country.









On the occasion of World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD) on 2nd April 2013, Ministry of Social
Justice and Empowerment, National Trust for the welfare of persons with Autism and other
developmental disabilities and Archaelogical Survey of India are collectively organising lighting
of six historical monuments in Delhi vis a vis Qutab Minar, Humayuns Tomb, Safdarjung Tomb,
Jantar Mantar, Purana Quila and Red Fort with Blue Light.

Light It Up Blue is dedicated to raising awareness of autism. This initiative is intended to raise
awareness of autism as a growing public health crisis.

Autism is a Neuro-physiological disorder which affects the social and emotional areas of the
brain. It affects as many as 1 in 110 children and 1 in 70 boys. Boys are four times more likely
than girls to have autism. There is no medical cure for autism, but early diagnosis and
intervention helps a person to adapt and function better.
Efforts are made to protect and increase the elephant population in the country. The
Central Government is releasing funds for protection and conservation of elephants in
the country under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Project Elephant. The Elephant
range states have taken various activities to mitigate Man-Elephant conflict,
improvement of Elephant Habitat, restoration of Elephant Corridors and various
awareness programmes under the scheme. Some of the activities are as follows:

1) Habitat improvements and restoration of Elephant Corridors in PE Range states under
PE Scheme (CSS)
2) Infrastructure improvement in Elephant Reserves for effective management of elephant
population.
3) Anti depredation squads, anti poaching squads and trekkers are engaged for protection
of elephants.
4) To restrict menace of elephants to human habitations, solar fencing, trenches and stone
waling are being provided in the depredation prone localities.
5) Studies on various issues such as man animal conflict, carrying capacity of elephant
habitat are encouraged.
6) Awareness programme among the local villagers are taken to minimize the loss of life of
the wild elephants.
7) For better management of Wild Elephants, 28 Elephant Reserves have been established
by the states.
8) To secure the future of the elephants in India, the Ministry of Environment and Forests
has constituted an Elephant Task Force which has submitted its report Gajah to the Ministry
in 2010.
9) To monitor and review the CSS scheme of PE, a steering committee has been constituted
by the Ministry.
10) As per one of the decisions in the 6
th
meeting of NBWL, a committee for strengthening
of Elephant Reserves and elephant corridors has been constituted in January, 2013.
11) As per one of the Elephant Task Force recommendations, creation of National Elephant
Conservation Authority (NECA) is under process.
12) Joint advisories have been issued by Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and
Ministry of Railways (MoRs) to all the concerned states to avoid deaths of elephants by
speeding trains.


As per latest reports, Geriatric OPD has been opened at 5 Institutes viz. All India Institute of
Medical Sciences, New Delhi; Grants Medical College & JJ Hospital, Mumbai;Sher-I-Kashmir
Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS); Govt. Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram and
Guwahati Medical College, Assam. Among the States, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu &
Kashmir, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Sikkim, Orissa, Punjab and Rajasthan have reported
opening of Geriatric OPD/Ward at various District HospitalsPlan for 2013-14:

Establishment of National Institute of Aging at AIIMS, New Delhi and Madras Medical College,
Chennai.
Continuation of programme activities in the existing 100 districts and 8 Regional Geriatric
Centres.
Add four new Regional Geriatric Centres.
Add more districts in a phased manner.

A Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters was signed between India and
Azerbaijan on 4th April, 2013 in New Delhi.
Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty is one of the significant legal instruments to improve and
facilitate effectiveness of the contracting states in investigation and prosecution of
transnational crime including terrorism by providing the necessary legal framework for
rendering/receiving legal assistance in criminal matters.

We have had a productive meeting on an initiative which has the potential of
transforming the way in which government benefits are delivered to our people.

PMs Speech on progress and extension of DBT

We have come some distance since Direct Benefits Transfer programme was rolled
out in January. In this period, we have resolved a number of operational issues. I
am encouraged by this progress and hopeful about the future. But we have also run into
difficulties that we had not anticipated when we began the programme. We must therefore
renew our efforts for successful implementation of the programme.
Conceptually, Direct Benefits Transfers involves a few simple steps- digitising data,
enrolling in Aadhaar, opening bank accounts and seeding these accounts. However, Direct
Benefits Transfers also require process re-engineering. We need to change the way we
transact business, the way we release funds, the way we track funds and the information we
have on beneficiaries. I hope due attention will be paid to these aspects as we move forward
in implementing the programme.
I have been told that the exercise of implementing Direct Benefits Transfers has
revealed the unsatisfactory nature of tracking and monitoring systems we have in
various departments. If we need to ensure that the money we spend delivers outcomes, it
is necessary that we have a robust monitoring system in place. That is one of the things that
Direct Benefits Transfers will achieve, in addition to making the process of getting benefits
simpler for the beneficiaries and eliminating corruption and wastage.
I am happy that we are expanding the program to 78 more districts. With this, we
will cover over 120 districts which is roughly one-fifth of the country. I am also happy
that we will be including the three pension schemes of Rural Development under the
programme.
I would urge all Departments to apply themselves with commitment to this major
initiative. The Planning Commission and the Finance Ministry have a special
responsibility of working together for the achievement of the objectives that we have
set for ourselves. On the financial inclusion side, the banking system needs to integrate the
post office system which is widespread. It also needs to ensure that the front end
infrastructure is in place, so that people have no trouble opening bank accounts and have
easy access to their cash. There should be a system in place where people can get a
simple bank account on demand if they have an Aadhaar card. Such a spread of financial
inclusion will have many other benefits, far beyond cash transfers alone. For bankers, this is
an investment in their bank`s own future growth.
It must also be ensured that the coverage of Aadhaar is adequate and no one is left out.
Aadhaar should be available on demand.
This is a program in which the implementation capacity of our government will be
tested. We cannot afford to fail. We need to show that we can deliver results and
benefits. I wish you all success in your endeavours to implement this ambitious
programme.

Green National Accounts in India A Framework - Report of the Expert
Group,unveiled by the PM during a 2 day International Workshop on Green National
Accounting for India. The report has been prepared by an expert group set up by MOS&PI
under the renowned economist and Professor at University of Cambridge Sir Partha Dasgupta.
Dr. Manmohan Singh said, a new initiative that is worth mentioning is the programme of
the Ministry of Rural Development for greening rural development. This comprises activities
that regenerate and conserve the natural resource base and use clean materials, technologies
and processes to create environment friendly products, livelihoods, enterprises and jobs. This
can stimulate rural economies, help maintain critical ecosystem services and strengthen the
climate resilience of the rural poor.
The report consists of six chapters and dives extensively into the conceptual
foundations of economic evaluation providing an outline of what would ideally be needed for a
comprehensive set of national accounts. The Report deals extensively with not only the
conceptual building up of the system of Green National Accounts , but also deals with the
implementability aspects based on the conceptual framework of Green Accounting Framework
using the existing data sets and studies to discuss the framework methodology, valuation
techniques, and feasibility of compilation of various sectoral accounting tables.

SEBS Train
With a view to create awareness amongst masses in general and youth in particular about
the exceptional biodiversity ofIndia , the Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) in
collaboration with Department of Science & Technology ( DST) and Indian Railway launched
last year on World Environment Day(5
th
June, 2012) from Delhi Safdarjung , an innovative
exhibition on rail called Science Express Biodiversity Special (SEBS)Train.

SEBS is now being re-launched in the 2
nd
phase of the programme on Tuesday , 9 April 2013
from Delhi Safdarjung

The present run of the train is the 2
nd
Phase in the two phase programme envisaged to cover a
minimum of 100 locations on Broad Gauge network of Indian Railway across the entire length &
breadth of the country. Of the 16 coaches of Science Express- Biodiversity Special, 8 are solely
dedicated to showcasing the myriad biodiversity spread across all the bio-geographical zones of
India through a variety of interactive exhibits, short films & videos that are shown on Plasma &
LED TV screens, large format displays, kiosks, backlit panels, and so on. The rest of coaches
have interesting & informative exhibits on Climate Change, Energy and Water conservation and
topical issues in science. The popular Joy of Science Lab is mounted in an exclusive coach in
which students are guided to perform various experiments & activities to understand concepts
of various themes projected in the train. In addition, on the railway platform where the train is
halted, young visitors are encouraged to play several exciting games as well as participate in
quizzes, painting competitions, elocutions, just-a-minute, etc. The window panes of the entire
train have also been judiciously used to put up posters on the numerous species of flora & fauna
found in India which keep the visitors engaged while waiting for their turn.

First phase :-

During its first phase, which ended on 22 December 2012 at Ahmedabad, it made halts
of 3-4 days duration each at 51 locations. The train was also stationed at Secunderabad during
9-19 October 2012 to facilitate visit of delegates to Conference of Parties (CoP-11). India hosted
the CoP II meeting at Hyderabad attended by participants from more than 190 countries across
the world. SEBS was the brand ambassador to showcase the rich bio diversity of India.

Indo German Relations : Highlights of PMs visit to Germany

Strategic Partnership since 2000.


Germany and India are determined to further expand their cooperation in higher education,
research and technology dynamic core areas of the Indo-German Partnership and to open up
new and innovative areas of cooperation. To this end, Germany and India have agreed for a new
jointly funded programme entitled "Indo-German Strategic Partnerships in Higher
Education (IGSP), which aims to intensify existing partnerships between German and Indian
institutions of higher education. The programme will focus on establishing joint research
projects that will include joint supervision as well as student and academic exchanges in
this context.

Two MoUs were signed between India and Germany - a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
for cooperation in the field of Higher Education and a Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) regarding
Promotion of German as a Foreign Language in India.

The MoU for cooperation in Higher Education envisages devising mechanisms of co-operation
and sets the agenda for improving educational relations between the two countries. The MoU
chiefly supports a new jointly funded programme entitled Indo-German Strategic Partnerships
in Higher Education (IGSP) to intensify institutional linkages and to open up new and
innovative areas of cooperation. India and Germany have committed to earmark 3.5 million
Euros from each side for an initial period of four years (2013-2016) to support programmes
under IGSP.

Other highlights (mostly rhetoricnothing significant)

Expressing their continued commitment to intensify and further enhance the level of Science &
Technology collaboration, both sides agreed to launch a new strand of cooperation on Civil
Security Research covering areas of mutual interest like natural disaster management; health
outbreaks; urban security and protection and rescue of people through support of joint
projects.

Both sides noted the recent opening of the German House for Research and Innovation in New
Delhi. They expect it to give their cooperation in the field of research and technology a further
boost. The two countries have agreed to jointly fund the Indo-German Centre for Sustainability
(IGCS) established at IIT Madras. The activities of the Centre are directed towards building
resilient systems in the face of climate change as well as enhance strategic knowledge in key
areas of climate change. It will conduct research, technology development, training and
knowledge dissemination including social and institutional barriers that can also help towards
developing policy guidelines in a set of priority areas relevant to the changing climate system.
The IGCS at IIT-Madras will host visiting scientists and researchers from German universities
for four years under support by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The research
projects to be undertaken at IGCS will be funded by the Department of Science and Technology,
Govt. of India.


Germany and India recalled their cooperation in the UN Security Council during 2011-12 and
agreed to continue to collaborate in strengthening and reform of the United Nations and the
multilateral system. In this context, they reaffirmed their commitment to continue their efforts
through the G-4 to reform the United Nations Security Council by expansion of both categories
of its membership, and underlined their support for each others candidature for permanent
membership of an expanded Security Council.

Germany and India express satisfaction at the deepening comprehensive bilateral relations
between India and EU and recognize that both India and EU, as long-standing strategic partners,
are committed to working together to reinforce the relationship in all areas.

The leaders underline their strong commitment to a successful outcome to the EU India
negotiations for a broad based, ambitious and balanced Free Trade Agreement that will
generate jobs and growth in both countries and their hope for final agreement in 2013.

Germany and India will seek to intensify consultations within the G20 and strengthen the
G20s role as the premier forum for international economic and financial cooperation.

Both sides recognize the importance of an effective national export control systems
conforming to the highest international standards. Both heads of government want the bilateral
dialogue on export controls and international export control regimes to continue. Germany
welcomes the ongoing intensified dialogue between India and the various export control
regimes (NSG, MTCR, AG and WA). Both sides agree to continue working together to prepare
the ground for India to accede to the export control regimes as a full member and thereby
strengthen the international non-proliferation regime.


The Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari released a book entitled Religion, Law &
Society- Across the Globe authored by Prof. Tahir Mahmood at a function here today.
Addressing on the occasion, the Vice President said that he has read the writings of Prof.
Mahmood and found them very interesting. About the book he said that the he liked the first
part of the book containing his foreign and Indian conference addresses and commissioned
papers. The section on Minority Rights in Indian as well as global context is very useful. He said
that it is a welcome edition for individuals and libraries and congratulated the author for such a
valuable book.

India and Mauritius have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in New Delhi,
for cooperation in the field of election management and administration.

The major aims of MoU are: promotion of exchanges of knowledge and experience in electoral
processes; exchange of information, materials, expertise and training of personnel; production
and distribution of materials pertaining to electoral systems, voting technology, voters
education and awareness, and participation of women and minorities in electoral process.
Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2012 was awarded to Pran

Anand Sharma at Geneva(WIPO)
Addressing a High Level Policy Dialogue at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)
Headquarters in Geneva today, the Union Minister for Commerce, Industry and Textiles Shri
Anand Sharma defended flexibilities for developing nations in honouring their international
Intellectual Property (IP) commitment to meet their social challenges. Shri Sharma pointed out
that the countries of the South which bear a disproportionate burden of poverty, hunger and
disease for historical reasons have an aspiration to provide affordable healthcare solutions for
their citizens. It is here that political leadership is faced with an ethical dilemma and tries to
find creative solutions which would strike the right balance. It is my belief that while all
countries are obligated to honour their international commitments, inherent flexibilities must
be provided to developing countries to address these pressing social challenges, said
Shri Sharma.

The Minister, who was speaking on Innovation and Development: The Indian Experience
outlined the values that inform the Intellectual Property (IP) regime in India. The Minister
maintained that the legislative regime in India which circumscribes the IP rights is a robust one
and strikes a balance between the interests of the IP creators and the larger interests of the IP
users. It fosters technological innovation by providing inherent incentives through exclusive
private Intellectual Property Rights, but also recognizes the need to protect the interest of
users rights, said the Minister. The Minister recounted the debate in 2005 that surrounded the
harmonization of Indian IP with the TRIPS obligations. He talked of the divide on the two ends
of spectrum especially in the pharmaceutical sector. On the one hand of the spectrum are
companies who have invested billions in research, in developing new molecules, in new drug
discoveries and in research. On the other hand is the compelling social need of providing
affordable healthcare for all.

Shri Sharma strongly raised the issue of the intellectual property associated with genetic
resources, traditional knowledge and folklore such as curative aspects of neem and haldi etc.
Mentioning Indias initiative of creating a unique digital library of traditional knowledge
which has over 250,000 entries highlighting the source and the efficacy of each product,
Shri Sharma expressed concern about the fact that at times there is extensive bio-piracy
through patents being awarded for traditional knowledge.

Shri Sharma also handed over the instrument of Accession to the Madrid Protocol. This is a
significant step in the evolution of Indias Intellectual Property Regime which has seen a
gradual progression in line with international agreements over the years. This instrumentality
will provide an opportunity for Indian companies, who are increasing their global footprint,
enabling them to register trademarks in member countries of the protocol through a single
application, while also allowing foreign companies a similar disposition in India. This will
considerably help in simplification and easing the process of trade mark registrations in India.

On 08th April, 2013, India and Malta had signed the new DTAA at Valetta, Malta. Once the
DTAA enters into force, it will stimulate the flow of capital, technology and personnel between
both the countries and will further strengthen the economic relationship. It also provides tax
stability and reduces any obstacles in providing mutual cooperation between India and Malta.

The Union Cabinet today gave its approval to the National Policy for Children, 2012. The
Policy reaffirms the government`s commitment to the realisation of the rights of all children in
the country. It recognizes every person below the age of eighteen years as a child and that
childhood is an integral part of life with a value of its own, and a long term, sustainable, multi-
sectoral, integrated and inclusive approach is necessary for the harmonious development and
protection of children.

The policy lays down the guiding principles that must be respected by national, state and local
governments in their actions and initiatives affecting children. Some of the key guiding
principles are: the right of every child to life, survival, development, education, protection and
participation; equal rights for all children without discrimination; the best interest of the child
as a primary concern in all actions and decisions affecting children; and family environment as
the most conducive for all-round development of children.

The policy has identified survival, health, nutrition, education, development, protection and
participation as the undeniable rights of every child, and has also declared these as key priority
areas.

As children`s needs are multi-sectoral, interconnected and require collective action, the policy
aims at purposeful convergence and strong coordination across different sectors and levels of
governance; active engagement and partnerships with all stakeholders; setting up of a
comprehensive and reliable knowledge base; provision of adequate resources; and sensitization
and capacity development of all those who work for and with children.

A National Plan of Action will be developed to give effect to the policy and a National
Coordination and Action Group (NCAG) will be constituted to monitor the progress of
implementation. Similar plans and coordination and action groups will be constituted at the
state and district levels. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and State
Commissions for Protection of Child Rights are to ensure that the principles of the policy
are respected in all sectors at all levels. There is a provision for review of the policy every
five years. The Ministry of Women and Child Development will be the nodal ministry for
overseeing and coordinating the implementation of the policy and will lead the review
process.

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is to inaugurate the eighth Civil Services Day being held in
New Delhi on April 21, 2013. The Prime Minister will also give away the PMs Awards for
Excellence in Public Administration for the year 2011-12.
The day is observed by Civil Services to rededicate and recommit themselves to the cause of the
people. It provides a unique opportunity for introspection as also working out future strategies
to deal with the challenges being posed by the changing times. Eighth in a row, the day is being
celebrated since 2006.

There is no surrogacy law in the country. However, the Ministry of Home Affairs has issued two
notifications in which the The Ministry of External Affairs has been requested to issue the
medical visa instead of Tourist Visa to the foreign nationals visiting India for commissioning
surrogacy .

Keeping in view the humanitarian issues involved, directives have been issued that in cases,
where the child/children has already been born through commissioning of surrogacy or the
birth of the child/children is/are expected shortly, the Indian Missions/Posts may consider
grant of medical Visa(up to 3 months) to foreign nationals involved in such cases on production
of a letter from the ART clinic concerned certifying the status of the child/children i.e. whether
actually born and kept in the hospital/clinic or if not born, the expected date of delivery of the
child/children.
The Government is emphasizing on diversification of agriculture to include crops/varieties
requiring less water.

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and State Agricultural Universities have
developed several early maturing varieties of crops which perform well under moisture
stress/drought conditions. In rice techniques like System Rice Intensification (SRI), direct
seeded rice (DSR), aerobic rice, alternate wet and drying (AWD) conditions are being
standardized which require less water than normal transplanted rice. In wheat varieties
suitable for rainfed and restricted irrigations have been developed. In some areas, maize as a
rabi crop is giving excellent profitable results and this crop requires less water than rice.

The Government under the programme Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India is
promoting SRI in rice to save water and other inputs. Under the other programme Initiation on
Nutritional Security through intensive millets promotion (INSIMP) millets, which require very
less water, are being promoted. Front Line Demonstrations (FLDs) are being conducted on Rabi
maize to popularize this crop in place of rice and other high water requiring crops. During
presentation of the Central Budget 2013-14 a scheme Crop Diversification in Original Green
Revolution States has been announced. This scheme will consider growing crops will less
water in states like Punjab, Haryana and Western UP.
Action Plan for Industrial Clusters Scoring High in CEPI
Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in collaboration with Indian Institute of Technology
(IIT), Delhi has carried out comprehensive environmental assessment in 88 prominent /major
industrial clusters based on the Comprehensive Environment Pollution Index (CEPI) criteria in
2009. Out of the 88 industrial clusters, 43 industrial clusters with CEPI score 70 and above were
identified as critically polluted areas.
The Minister stated that for restoration of environmental quality in the 43 critically polluted
industrial clusters areas, State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/Pollution Control Committees
(PCCs) have prepared Action Plans. These Action Plans highlighted the pollution caused by
different sources (domestic as well as industrial) and remedial measure, i.e. action plan
envisages to mitigate the pollution caused by these sources. These action plans were finalized in
light of suggestions of Steering Committee comprising national level experts and an in-house
committee comprising senior officers of CPCB. So far, 39 action plans have been finalized. The
implementation of these action plans would lead to improvement environmental quality of the
43 critically polluted areas.
The Minister further stated that the CEPI is linked to public health in terms of presence of toxins
and their concentration, exceedence factors, impact of human health and level of exposures.
Health impact Assessment /Health Survey of Critically Polluted Areas (CPA) will be carried out,
the funds for which will be based on Polluter Pays Principle, she added.
Population Covered under UID/NPR
The National Population Register (NPR) is a Register of all usual residents in the country. It
would have details of specific characteristics of each usual resident. The NPR would also have
photograph, 10 fingerprints and IRIS of all usual residents who are of age 5 years and above.
The objective of creation of NPR is to net all usual residents of the country at a given point of
time. The de-duplication and generation of Aadhaar number by Unique Identification Authority
of India (UIDAI) is a part of NPR process. The collection of demographic data for creation of
NPR has already been completed for the entire country through house-to-house enumeration.
Data digitization of more than 117 crore population (97%) has been completed. Biometric
enrolment of more than 13.42 crore population (12.33%) is over. UIDAI, under Planning
Commission, is mandated to de-duplicate and generate a unique identity number Aadhaar,
which is communicated to the residents through a letter, commonly known as Aadhaar Card. As
on 31.03.2013, a total of 31.19 crore Aadhaar numbers have been generated by the UIDAI,
which also includes the 5.2 crore Aadhaar generated through NPR.
As per the Electoral Roll data 2012, the Election Commission of India has 75.84 crore registered
general electors in India. Under NPR, 15 fields of demographic data was collected of all the
usual residents namely; 1. Name of person, 2. Relationship to head, 3. Sex, 4. Date of Birth, 5.
Marital Status, 6. Educational qualification, 7. Occupation/ Activity, 8. Name of father, 9. Name
of mother, 10. Name of spouse, 11. Place of birth, 12. Nationality as declared, 13. Present
address of usual residence, 14. Duration of stay at present address, and 15. Permanent
residential address. During the second phase of NPR, three biometrics viz., Photograph, ten
fingerprints and two IRIS are being collected for all usual residents who are of age 5 years and
above. While enrolling for Aadhaar (either through NPR or any other registrar of UIDAI), five
demographic fields viz., Name, Address, Gender, Age, Name of father/mother/guardian and
three biometrics viz., Photograph, ten fingerprints and two IRIS are collected. To minimize the
duplication of efforts between NPR and UIDAI, the Government has decided that NPR
enrolments will continue as envisaged but during the course of NPR biometric
enrolment, a person indicates she/he is already enrolled for Aadhaar, the biometric data
will not be captured for NPR. Instead the Aadhaar number will be recorded in NPR and
the biometric data will be sourced from the UIDAI.
Environment Related :
The Government has taken several steps for protection of endangered species of wild animals in
the country, which are as following:-
i. Legal protection has been provided to wild animals against hunting and commercial
exploitation under the provisions of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
ii. The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 has been amended and made more stringent.
The punishment for offences under the Act have been enhanced. The Act also provides for
forfeiture of any equipment, vehicle or weapon that is used for committing wildlife offence(s).
iii. Protected Areas, viz., National Parks, Sanctuaries, Conservation Reserves and
Community Reserves covering important wildlife habitats have been created all over the
country under the provisions of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 to conserve wild animals
and their habitats.
iv. Financial and technical assistance is provided to the State/ Union Territory
Governments under the Centrally Sponsored Schemes of Integrated Development of Wildlife
Habitats`, Project Tiger and Project Elephant for providing better protection to wildlife, and
improvement of its habitat.
v. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been empowered under the Wild Life
(Protection) Act, 1972 to apprehend and prosecute wildlife offenders.
vi. The State/Union Territory Governments have been requested to strengthen the field
formations and intensify patrolling in and around the Protected Areas.
vii. The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau has been set up to strengthen the enforcement of
law for control of poaching and illegal trade in wildlife and its products.
viii. Strict vigil is maintained by the officials of State Departments of Forests and Wildlife.
The periodic assessments carried out in respect of prioritized species, rhinoceros and
lion, have indicated improvement in their population status.
The Ministry of Environment & Forests also provides financial assistance to State
Governments for undertaking Recovery Programmes for saving critically endangered species
as a component of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Integrated Development of Wildlife
Habitats. Budget is not allocated separately for this component. At present, sixteen species
have been prioritized for taking up such recovery programmes which include Snow Leopard,
Bustards (including Floricans), River Dolphin, Hangul, Nilgiri Tahr, Marine Turtles, Dugongs
and coral reefs, Edible-nest Swiftlets, Asian Wild Buffalo, Nicobar Megapode, Manipur Brow-
antlered deer, Vultures, Malabar civet, the great one-horned rhinoceros, Asiatic Lion, Swamp
deer and Jerdons Courser.
Government Steps to Reduce Air Pollution :
The Government has taken steps to reduce air pollution in the country particularly in NCR and
other metro-politan cities. These include: -
Bharat stage-IV emission norms have been implemented in 13 mega cities including NCR for
new 4-wheelers from 2010.
Mass emission standards (Bharat Stage III) have been notified for two, three wheelers and
diesel driven agricultural tractors from April 1, 2010 throughout the country.
Stringent Emission Standards have been implemented to regulate emissions from in-use
vehicles from October 2004.
Supply of improved diesel and gasoline.
Operating Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) mode public transport in Delhi.
Introduction of metro in Delhi to promote use of mass public transport system.
Central Pollution Control Board and State Pollution Control Boards are implementing the Air
(Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1981 to restore air quality.
A mutually time targeted programme is implemented under Corporate Responsibility for
Environment Protection (CREP).
Special drives for prevention and control of pollution in 17 categories of highly polluted
industries.

The Government has also issued new emission norms for industries, power stations and diesel
operated commercial vehicles. These include:-
Revision of emission norms for petrol and kerosene driven gensets and emission norms for
Genset Diesel Engine.
Standards are developed for Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx), Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) and load based
standards for particulate matter (PM) including revision of PM emission standard for cement
industry.
BS-IV emission standards have been notified for all the diesel commercial vehicles in 20 cities
of the country including NCR and other metro cities. In addition the quality of diesel has also
been improved to make it commensurate with BS-IV emission norms.
In Delhi & some other cities most of the public transport is running on CNG instead of diesel.
Fourth Clean Energy Ministerial in New Delhi
Since its launch in 2010, the CEM has leveraged a unique distributed leadership approach.
Countries choose to participate in those initiatives that are of interest to them and important to
their citizens. This approach is driving faster implementation and boosting the enthusiasm of
each participating country in the various initiatives.

CEM has now matured into a process with actionable agendas and programmes and is working
to achieve them, said India Planning Commission Deputy Commissioner Montek Singh
Ahluwalia. The Indian participation has extended to new initiatives and we look forward to
greater integration of the developing world in the clean energy strategy for the world.
A unique feature of this Ministerial was the Innovation Showcase Pavilion, hosted bythe
Government of India. The Pavilion featured 45 companies from around the world that are at the
forefront of the clean energy revolution in technology sectors such as solar, smart and mini-
grid, energy storage, lighting, electric vehicles, and energy efficiency and finance.
The Government of India announced the first-ever database featuring national and state clean
energy and energy efficiency policies and incentives in India. The Indian Renewable Energy and
Energy Efficiency Policy Database (IREEED), will disseminate renewable energy and energy
efficiency policies, regulations, and incentive programs for the benefit of project developers,
businesses, and consumers. Developed through support from the Clean Energy Solutions
Center, IREEED will be a featured resource on the site

Access and Benefit Sharing under CBD
As per the access and benefit sharing arrangements provided under the Biological Diversity Act,
2002 and Rules 2004, any foreign individual, institution or company desiring access to
biological resources occurring in India or knowledge associated thereto for research,
commercial utilisation or biosurvey and bioutilisation is required to seek prior approval of the
National Biodiversity Authority (NBA). When granting approvals, NBA enters into benefit
sharing agreement with the applicant imposing conditions which secure equitable sharing of
benefits arising out of the use of biological resources and associated knowledge. These benefits
may either be monetary or non-monetary in nature. Further, NBA approval is also required
before seeking any intellectual property rights based on biological resource and associated
knowledge obtained from India.
The Access and benefit sharing arrangements provided for in the Biological Diversity Act are
broadly in compliance with the provisions of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing
Schemes for Fishery Development
A number of major schemes are being implemented for the development of fisheries and
welfare of fishermen. These are: (a) Development of Marine Fisheries Infrastructure and Post
Harvest Operations, (b) Development of Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture, (c) National Scheme
of Welfare of Fishermen and (d) Strengthening of Database and Geographical Information
System of the Fisheries Sector. Besides, the National Fisheries Development Board, which
was setup in 2006 also provides assistance for development of fisheries in the country

Review of the Economy 2012-13 [copy pasted as it is]
Dr. C. Rangarajan, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister released the
document Review of the Economy 2012-13 at a Press Conference in New Delhi today.
Following are the highlights of the document:
Economy to grow at 6.4% in 2013-14
The Advance Estimates of CSO have pegged the growth of Agriculture at 1.8% in 2012-
13. In expectation of normal or mostly normal monsoon, the farm sector growth is likely to
improve and is projected to grow at 3.5% in 2013-14.
The Advance Estimates of CSO have pegged the growth of Industry (including
manufacturing, mining and quarrying, electricity, gas, water supply and construction) at 3.1%
in 2012-13. It is projected to grow at 4.9% in 2013-14. Manufacturing sector is projected to
grow at 4% in 2013-14.
The Advance Estimates of CSO have pegged the growth of Services at 6.6% in 2012-13.
It is projected to grow at 7.7% in 2013-14.
Global Situation: Global growth although projected to pick up in 2013 would continue to
remain at modest levels. In such a scenario Indias projected growth rate of 6.4% is relatively
high and respectable.
Structural Factors:
Investment rate is estimated to be 35.8% of GDP in 2012-13. There has been a sharp
decline in the productivity of capital as the Incremental Capital Output Ratio (ICOR) has shot up
from its historical level of around 4.0 to much higher levels. The computed ICOR for 2011-12
and 2012-13 ranges from 5.4 to 11.4, depending on how the ratio is calculated. It appears that
investment capital accumulated in projects is not yielding commensurate output.
Domestic savings rate is estimated to be around 30.8 % of GDP 2012-13. The decline in
the domestic savings rate over the past few years is owing to the increase in the negative
savings by the Government, the decline in profitability of private corporates, and decline in net
financial savings of households.
Trends in Corporate Financial Results
In 2009-10 and 2010-11 the real net sales growth figures derived from the corporate data
were closer to the ASI numbers than the IIP. If the corporate numbers are a better guide of
manufacturing, the GDP estimates by CSO for both 2011-12 and 2012-13 could be revised
upwards.
External Sector: Controlling CAD remains our main concern at present.
Current Account Deficit is estimated to be $94 billion (5.1% of GDP) in 2012-13 and is
projected to be $100 billion (4.7% of GDP) in 2013-14.
o Merchandise trade deficit is estimated to be $200 billion (10.9% of the GDP) in 2012-13 and
is projected to be $213 billion (9.9% of GDP) in 2013-14.
o Net invisibles earnings are estimated to be $105.8 billion (5.7 % of GDP) in 2012-13 and are
projected to be $113 billion (5.3 % of GDP) in 2013-14.
Capital flows
o It is estimated that for 2012-13 the net inflow of FDI was $18 billion ($26 billion inbound
and $ 8 billion outbound). For 2013-14 EAC has projected higher inbound flows of the order of
$36 billion. Outbound FDI is also expected to increase, resulting in net FDI inflow of $24 billion.
o FII inflows were weak in the first quarter of 2012-13, but picked up in the second and third
quarters. For the year as a whole, portfolio inflows are estimated to be close to $24 billion.
Portfolio capital flows are projected to be $18 billion in 2013-14.
o The total inflows under the head of loans are estimated to be about $30 billion in 2012-13.
This comprises mostly of external commercial borrowings (ECBs) and short-term loans. The
projected figure for 2013-14 is $36 billion.
o The total banking capital inflows for 2012-13 are estimated to be $24 billion and are
projected to be at $ 22 billion for 2013-14.
Inflation
In 2013-14, the headline WPI inflation is expected to be around 6.0 %, with primary
food inflation around 8%, fuel at about 11% and manufactured goods at around 4%.
The provisional figure for inflation at the end of 2012-13 is 5.96%.
Fiscal Situation
The fiscal deficit of the Centre for 2012-13 is estimated to be 5.2% of GDP. It was Rs
520,924 crores in 2012-13 as per revised estimates, and is expected to be Rs 542,499 crores in
2013-14 as per budget estimates.
The total Central subsidies stood at Rs. 257,654 crores (2.6% of GDP) in 2012-13 but,
are expected to go down to Rs 231,084crores in 2013-14 largely owing to the pruning down of
petroleum subsidies which have been the major cause of missing our fiscal deficit targets in the
past.
As growth recovers tax collections are expected to improve. The 2013-14 BE target of
19% gross tax revenue growth is realizable.
On the expenditure side, control over the magnitude of petroleum subsidies is clearly
the most important element in keeping expenditures within the overall budgeted limits.
The budget has laid firm foundations for the process of fiscal consolidation which
should help in achieving high growth in a sustained way.
Conclusions:
Growth and, more particularly, industrial growth has slowed. But the decline appears to have
bottomed out. Overall economic growth is expected to rise to 6.4 per cent in 2013-14 from 5 per
cent in the previous year. Investment and savings rates have come down. But economic growth
has declined more steeply than what is warranted by the decline in investment. The main
reason for this is that while capital assets have been formed, counterpart output has not flowed
into the economy. Capital accumulated in projects is not yielding commensurate output, as the
implementation of projects has slowed. Policy and administrative actions such as the recently
constituted Cabinet Committee on Investment can help to overcome obstacles in the speedy
execution of projects. While even existing rates of investment should enable us to grow at 7.5 to
8.0 per cent over the short term, a return to higher levels of savings and investment can take us
back to the very high levels of growth which we had seen earlier.
Inflation continues to remain high, but there are definite signs that headline WPI inflation is
coming down. Non-food manufacturing inflation remains around the comfort zone. As inflation
comes down, it will create more space for monetary policy to support growth.
The road map for fiscal consolidation has been well laid out. Government has shown its
determination to contain the fiscal deficit. The current account deficit, however, remains a
source of concern, despite the fact that the financing of the deficit has not been a problem so far.
While in the short run, we should take such actions that are necessary to encourage capital
flows, over the medium term, we need to bring down the current account deficit to moderate
levels.
The next decade will be a crucial decade for India. If we grow at 8 to 9 per cent per annum, we
will graduate to the level of a middle income country by 2025. It is once again a faster rate of
growth which will enable us to meet many of our important socio-economic objectives.

Issues to be addressed:
Speedy project clearances: While the Constitution of the Cabinet Committee on
Investment has helped in speeding up project clearances, more needs to be done in the coming
months so that new investment can be facilitated. In the current context, achieving the
production and capacity creation targets in the key infrastructure sectors such as coal, power,
roads, railways and ports, which are largely in the public sector or public-private partnership
(PPP) domain, will act as a great stimulus to private investment and faster growth.
Reducing CAD: Net oil imports and gold, account for bulk of the increase in merchandise
trade deficit. Price and subsidy reforms in petroleum products need to be completed to control
our oil import bill. It is also vitally necessary to encourage exports of both merchandise and
services. As inflation is brought under control, peoples appetite for gold will also diminish.
Maintaining an attractive return in financial assets will also help in bringing down the demand
of gold.
Managing the capital account: To ensure that the CAD is comfortably financed, capital
inflows will need to be encouraged and, where necessary, procedures streamlined.
Improving Net Energy Availability: There is a close link between our dependence on
imports of oil and natural gas and our external payments situation. Hence, steps should be
taken to improve the energy economy in all aspects-production, transformation and final use.
Facilitating an increase in domestic coal production will make a substantial difference. The
conditions for exploration and production of hydrocarbons must be improved to increase
domestic supply.
Containing inflation: Both supply side management and the approach to administered
pricing have to be informed about the urgency in regard to stabilizing primary food inflation at
a lower level.
Reforms in Agricultural Marketing and Supply Chains: The Agricultural Produce
Marketing Committee Act (APMC Act) prevailing in a number of states limits the freedom of
farmers to sell, and this has prevented the modernization of the supply chain and also
contributes to primary food inflation. Regulatory obstacles in the way need to be cleared.
Moving Savings Products: Over the past few years there have been serious setbacks in
the distribution of savings products, especially mutual funds and life insurance. However, sales
of mutual fund products, especially to smaller investors, have been continuously negative for
some time and the premium growth in insurance was (-) 10 % in 2010-11 and 2011-12, after
strong growth in previous years. There is a need to reverse this decline in investment in
financial assets through more attractive savings products and environment.