The Hindu News - 6 Feb 2015

‘Nullify win if candidate conceals criminal past’In a historic judgment, the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the election of a returned candidate will be held as null and void if he fails to disclose complete and full details of his criminal antecedents at the time of his nomination.
A Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Prafulla C. Pant observed that the misconduct of a single candidate affects the entire process of his election because the non-disclosure amounted to the violation of the voter's right to take an informed choice and created an impediment in the
free exercise of electoral right.
With this verdict, the apex court has stepped up its clarion call against criminalisation in politics. It clearly sends the message that mere disqualification of the errant candidate is not enough, but the ripples of his conduct should be felt by nullifying the election itself.
Non-disclosure of criminal antecedents

‘Indo-U.S. nuclear deal can apply to other countries’France’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Laurent Fabius, on Thursday accepted that the elements of the recent Indo-U.S. agreement on nuclear liability could apply to other nations. In response to questions on the India-U.S. understanding last month on how to resolve the liability issue, he said it was for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to decide when he visits France in spring (between March and June) later this year.
At a press conference with Union Minister of State for Environment Prakash Javadekar, Mr. Fabius said he discussed nuclear issues among many other aspects in his meeting with Mr. Modi. On Wednesday, French embassy sources said France was keen on the details of the civil nuclear cooperation between India and the U.S.
India and France already have a civil nuclear cooperation under which the French company Areva is to set up six nuclear reactors in Jaitapur.
In a joint statement last February after the visit of President François Hollande to India, there was a reference to the ongoing collaborative projects on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and India and France agreed to further strengthen bilateral civil nuclear scientific cooperation.
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in February 2009 between Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited and AREVA for setting up 6x1650 MWe EPR (EPR is a third generation pressurised water reactor (PWR) units at Jaitapur. The statement said the status in regard to the first two EPR units was reviewed and NPCIL and AREVA were engaged actively in techno-commercial discussions. Mr. Hollande and the then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh had hoped for an expeditious conclusion of the negotiations.
Regarding his meeting with Mr. Modi, Mr. Fabius said, “We touched on different subjects of our strategic partnership in various fields, energy, urban planning, space and tourism and many areas. We did not discuss in full detail on every subject.”
He added that issues could be discussed further during Mr. Modi’s official visit. He also mentioned Mr. Modi’s special phone call to the French President after the recent terror attack in Paris. The issue of terrorism was also discussed as it was a common concern.
Mr. Javadekar said he and Mr. Fabius spoke on various issues of environment protection and climate change. He said that Mr. Fabius had agreed to consider a ministerial or high-level official meeting sometime during the middle of this year to discuss and sort out issues which often remain unresolved at the negotiator’s level.

Sirisena visit expected to boost tiesThe Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday announced that Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena will pay a four-day state visit to India starting February 15.
This is his first trip abroad after he was elected President in the recent elections, Syed Akbaruddin, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said on Thursday.
Ties between the two nations soured under the previous government in Sri Lanka, which leaned towards China. The new President is considered more balanced and the visit is expected to boost ties with India.
“President Sirisena spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and had indicated his desire to undertake an early visit to India,” said Mr. Akbaruddin.
After official engagements on February 16, the visiting President is expected to travel to places of religious interest outside Delhi, which include Bodh Gaya and perhaps Tirumala.

Victims unite against atrocities by caste panchayatsOver 500 victims suffering the atrocities of caste panchayats in Maharashtra will come under one roof for the first time, demanding government intervention to stop the menace.
Babasaheb Ambedkar Research and Training Institute (BARTI) in Raigad district will host a one-day conference on Sunday not only with the victims, who will narrate the tales of atrocities, but also with those who head caste panchayats, which will give them a chance to participate in the ongoing discourse.
“We have called everyone. There are many from panchayats who are against the illegal way of functioning. The more we discuss the issue, the more will it help the government to act against the menace,” said Krushna Chandgude, one of the organisers of the conference and a member of Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti.
The caste panchayats in Maharashtra are infamous for issuing diktats. Hundreds of families have been boycotted by the community after receiving orders from the panchayat heads. In 2014, a girl was killed in Nasik under the pressure of panchayat by her father for marrying in a different caste.
Usually, the families are left in disarray after the community members refuse to even sell goods to them. Raigad, one of the worst affected districts, has received complaints against 450 individuals in less than a year.
“However there is no law which deals with these actions of atrocities. We have been demanding a comprehensive law to punish the culprits. But the government has not moved ahead,” said Mr. Chandgude.

8% GDP growth helped reduce poverty: UN reportIndia has achieved first Millennium Development Goals

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) has said the 8 per cent GDP growth in India from 2004 to 2011 led to a sharp decline in poverty from 41.6 per cent to 32.7 per cent and achieved the first Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set for 2015 of reducing poverty by half.
In a report — India and the MDGs — UN ESCAP said other MDGs achieved include gender parity in primary school enrolment, maternal mortality reduction by three-fourths and control of spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. India also achieved MDGs related to increased forest cover, halved the proportion of population without access to drinking water.
The MDGs that India has missed are universal primary school enrolment and completion and universal youth literacy by 2015, empowering women through wage employment and political participation, reducing child and infant mortality and improving access to adequate sanitation to open defecation, the report says.
“Over 270 million people in India in 2012 still remained trapped in extreme poverty making the post-2015 goal of eliminating extreme poverty by 2030 challenging, but feasible.”
UN under-secretary general and executive secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia Shamshad Akhtar said at the release of the report: “Over the years, the MDGs have pushed governments around the world to mainstream poverty reduction, gender parity, education and health and such basic needs as water and sanitation in their development agenda.”

Surplus foodgrains to be sold in open marketAn Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) set up to take decisions on surplus food stocks on Thursday decided to sell in the open market excess stocks that are with the Food Corporation of India.
However, the meeting chaired by Union Food Secretary Sudhir Kumar decided that the quantum of wheat to be offloaded in the open market would be decided after fresh rabi arrivals in April. No immediate decision was taken to export wheat, sources said.
Among others who comprise the IMG are secretaries of Department of Revenue and Consumer Affairs. The group is empowered to take decisions on better management of foodgrain stocks.
The government had last year made available about 100 lakh tonnes of wheat for sale during the year under the open market sales scheme at a price higher than the minimum support price which is Rs. 1,450 per quintal. However, of that quantity, only about an average of 33 lakh tonnes of wheat had been lifted.

China-funded port project still on trackBacktracking from its pre-election announcement on scrapping the Chinese-funded port city in Colombo, the Sri Lankan government on Thursday said it would go ahead with the $1.34-billion project.
According to Cabinet spokesman and Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne, a report on the environmental impact of reclaiming land near Colombo’s beachfront said “it [the project] was fine”. The impact of the development of the area will be assessed later as “there was more time”, he said, addressing media-persons.

Election promiseThe decision comes less than two months after Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe announced, prior to the country’s January 8 presidential elections, that the massive port city project would be scrapped due to concerns over possible environmental damage to the island’s coastline.
At that time, Mr. Wickramasinghe’s remarks came as good news to sections in New Delhi that had been rather concerned about Sri Lanka’s apparently growing proximity to China. New Delhi conveyed its “serious concerns” to Colombo, after a Chinese submarine docked at the Colombo Port twice last year.
Asked if the newly-formed government had not been aware of the environment impact assessment report then — readied prior to the inauguration of the port city project in September 2014 — Mr. Senaratne said: “Certain people were not aware.” The port city — Sri Lanka’s single largest foreign investment inaugurated by Chinese President Xi Jinping in September 2014 — is coming up near Colombo’s container terminal, also built by the Chinese. China’s agreement with Sri Lanka enables it to gain ownership of a third of the nearly 580 acres of reclaimed land where the port city is to come up.
The project, Mr. Senaratne said, will be further discussed when President Maithripala Sirisena travels to China in March, soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi wraps up his visit to Sri Lanka.
Mr. Senaratne, who also announced other cabinet decisions, said a special presidential task for on reconciliation has been set up to look into cases of persons being detained for many years. “The government is considering releasing 275 Tamil prisoners,” he told reporters.