[PIB] Launch of 5 Kg LPG cylinders for BPL families

The Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, launched sale of 5 Kg cylinder for the benefit of BPL families and others in Bhubaneswar today. Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said LPG is a cleaner fuel and helps in creating better and smoke less cooking environment. He said this will greatly benefit women of the households especially from their health point of view. 

Shri Pradhan, launched the expanded corporate social responsibility (CSR) scheme to cover BPL families living in urban areas. Under the scheme, as approved by the Minister, all BPL families will be getting LPG connection without payment of security deposit for cylinder and pressure regulator. 

Shri Pradhan, urged the people to take benefit of the scheme which is available upto 31/03/2015. The scheme will benefit BPL families in urban areas by making a clean fuel affordable and accessible. 

On the occasion, the Minister handed over necessary documents to beneficiaries of the scheme. 

Shri Pradhan, also launched the sale of 5Kg cylinders under free trade LPG (FTL) to cater to the LPG requirements for all sections of society including economically weaker families, Students and Migrant labourers etc who do not have proof of address due to acquiring residence on temporary basis. Such people can buy 5 Kg LPG cylinder at market price. To begin with 5 Kg LPG cylinders under FTL scheme could be available at 9 retail outlets in Bhubaneswar, 4 retail outlets in Cuttack. Subsequently the sale of cylinder under FTL scheme is proposed at various locations of Udyan Fresh outlets in Bhubaneswar.

Source - PIB

[PIB] PM makes appointments to NITI Aayog

The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has made the following appointments to the NITI Aayog:

Vice Chairman
Shri Arvind Panagariya, Economist

Full-Time Members
Shri Bibek Debroy, Economist
Dr. V.K. Saraswat, Former Secretary Defence R&D

Ex-officio members
Shri Rajnath Singh, Union Minister
Shri Arun Jaitley, Union Minister
Shri Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister
Shri Radha Mohan Singh, Union Minister

Special Invitees
Shri Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister
Shri Thawar Chand Gehlot, Union Minister
Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, Union Minister

Source - PIB

[PIB] MHA proposes to set up Investigative Units on Crimes Against Women

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) proposes to set up Investigative Units on Crimes against Women (IUCAW), in 20% of the districts of each State on a 50:50 cost sharing basis with the states. 

The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh has written to the Chief Minister of the States that there is a need to strengthen various elements of the criminal justice system, namely, Investigation, Prosecution and Trials by courts to deal with the issue of rise of crimes against women. 

MHA has proposed to set up 150 such IUCAW units initially on pilot basis in most crime prone districts of each state. Elaborating the IUCAW, the Home Minister mentioned that these units may consist of 15 personnel, preferably five of them women. The states will have full flexibility on whether to create new posts or to designate from the existing strength. Each IUCAW will be headed by an officer of the rank of Additional Superintendent of Police assisted by two DSPs. Out of the total 2250 personnel required for the 150 IUCAWs, 750 will be women. This will involve a total expenditure of 84 crore rupees annually, out of which 42 crore rupees will be provided by the Centre. 

Shri Rajnath Singh mentioned that the objective of these units will be to investigate cases referred to them, augment the investigative machinery of the States in relation to the heinous crimes against women, especially Rape, Dowry Death, Acid Attack and Human Trafficking, instill confidence and encourage women to come forward and lodge their complaint and improve the gender ratio in the State Police forces which is adversely impacting effective implementation of the legislations relating to women. Besides, these units will have the additional functionality of proactive policing, intelligence gathering, tackling organized crime, monitoring proper implementation of the legislative provisions, helping awareness generation and promotion of social participation in checking crimes against women. 

The Home Minister mentioned that these measures will help in ensuring higher conviction rate in different states to check crimes against women and human trafficking. 

Shri Rajnath Singh has also advised the states to set up separate Fast Track Courts to deal with these cases expeditiously. He has also assured all possible assistance to the States in taming the menace of crimes against women. 

Shri Rajnath Singh mentioned that though all these issues are State subjects, yet the MHA would like to augment the efforts of the States in this matter.

Source - PIB

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NJAC to face second challenge

In August, Bench said challenge to legality of bill was ‘too premature’
Almost five months after the Supreme Court refused to entertain a bunch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the National Judicial Appointments Commission, a second round of petitions is in the offing in the court.

Last August, a Bench headed by Justice A.R. Dave refused to look into the question of legality of the National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, saying it was “too premature.” The Bill, accompanied by the 121st Constitution Amendment Bill, had just been passed by Parliament and sent to the State legislatures for ratification.

The Supreme Court had orally conveyed to the petitioners — chiefly the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association (SCAORA), represented by senior advocate Fali Nariman — that it was too early for the court to consider the question because the Bill was not yet law and the legislative process was still on.

Justice Dave had, however, left it open for the petitioners to approach the court at a “later stage.”

Last week, the President gave his assent to both the NJAC Bill and the Constitution Amendment Bill.

SCAORA is likely to file a plea early this week. The challenge would chiefly be on the ground that the NJAC encroaches upon judicial independence.

[Eco] GDR route under scanner in black money probe

The modus operandi involves a web of entities registered in various jurisdictions for multi-layered transfers of funds before bringing them back to India.
As a probe continues into misuse of stock markets for routing black money and tax evasion, regulatory and other agencies suspect that GDR route is being used for bringing back suspected illicit funds stashed abroad.

The modus operandi, in cases currently under scanner, involves an intricate web of entities registered in various jurisdictions, including Switzerland, Hong Kong, Singapore, Mauritius, Dubai and Canada, for multi-layered transfers of funds before bringing them back to India.

Sources said that the capital markets regulator SEBI has come across quite a few cases where GDR (Global Depository Receipt) route could have been used for round-tripping of funds in the name of capital-raising activities of listed companies from abroad. The issue has also been flagged by some other agencies while probing financial matters.

GDR is a popular financial instrument used by listed companies in India, as also in many other countries, to raise funds denominated mostly in US dollar or euros. GDRs are typically bank certificates issued in more than one country for shares of a company, which are held by a foreign branch of an international bank. While shares trade on a domestic stock exchange, which happens to be in India in the present case, they can be offered for sale globally through the empanelled bank branches.

In the cases under scanner, it has been noticed that the companies have shown having raised funds without actually involving the real investors, hinting possible routing of black money, a senior official said.

Besides, links have emerged in some cases between the entities linked to the issuer company and those from whose accounts such funds get transferred in the name of fictitious investors, he added.

For further transfer of funds, purportedly raised through GDRs, the companies show fictitious business dealings and several bank accounts are used before the money reaches the final beneficiaries.

Rounding tripping of funds has been a major route for those laundering black money. It typically involves an entity transferring an asset or funds, in the name of a business deal, with an agreement to buy it back.

Such practices also involve inflating the size of business transactions without making any real profits and are undertaken mostly to transfer illicit funds or other such assets.

Besides GDRs, the regulatory and other agencies are already probing the suspected misuse of stock markets within India to evade taxes and launder money through trading in companies that mostly exist on paper.

SEBI is focussing on securities market related violations by these individuals and companies, who have used trading in at least 25 listed companies to evade taxes and convert black money into ‘legitimate-looking’ funds, by creating fictitious gains or losses in the stock market.

Source - The Hindu

[Ed] Arbitrary use of power

The Union government recently blocked 32 websites, including globally popular ones such as Vimeo, GitHub, Dailymotion and archive.org that support data-archiving, video-sharing and software development, evoking serious questions and criticism. The action was sought to be justified on the grounds that these websites were being used for “Jihadi Propaganda” by “Anti-National groups” encouraging Indian youth to join organisations such as Islamic State (IS). Such a justification may in principle seem reasonable, yet it does not instil confidence in citizens given the weak track record of Internet regulation and a deficient legal framework coupled with the arbitrary use of state power. Following the arrest of Bengaluru-based Mehdi Biswas, suspected of operating a pro-IS Twitter account, the government officially banned IS in India only last month. A 2012 United Nations report titled “The Use of the Internet for Terrorist Purposes”, warns of terror groups using the Internet for their “propaganda”. For instance, al-Qaeda uses the Internet to announce its latest attacks and strategic alliances, promote its interests and so on. Robert Hannigan, from the Government Communications Headquarters in the U.K., spoke in an interview about how IS uses popular hashtags to boost its viewership, sending “thousands of tweets a day without triggering spam controls”. Undoubtedly, terrorists use technology with some level of sophistication.

The scepticism is with regard to implementation rather than the principle behind the action. First, the government invoked Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and relevant “Blocking Rules” were framed under it to take down the sites. These provisions, the constitutionality of which is under challenge in the Supreme Court, are riddled with vagueness and are open to arbitrary use. Second, reasonable restriction on free speech under Article 19(2) of the Constitution is to be interpreted to include only cases where there is a direct relation between the offending speech and public disorder or national security. But in blocking URLs, the government speaks of not just content that poses a direct threat to public order and security, but also the spread of “propaganda” — which is a perilously vague term with the potential to impinge on fundamental rights. Third, blocking websites is rarely an effective method to curb terror activities. Competent users can circumvent with ease such restrictions through Proxies and Virtual Private Networks. Instead of blocking websites outright, a more coordinated public-private dialogue should be the way ahead. Giving national security precedence over all else, including fundamental rights, is an often-exploited narrative that needs to be closely scrutinised, without reducing this scrutiny to a “with us-or-against us” logic.

Source - The Hindu

[Ed] A case to share more information

The dramatic photograph of a fishing boat ablaze on water and the assertions by the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) that it was an “explosives-laden” vessel from Pakistan that blew itself up on being intercepted, has provided some comfort that a force guarding the country’s coastline was able to avert a 26/11-type horror on New Year’s-eve with a timely chase across the Arabian Sea. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has commended the Coast Guard for a job well done. Pakistan has denied the boat had anything to do with it. Particularly as vital questions of foreign relations are involved, the MoD would do well to shed more light on what happened off the Gujarat coast that night. So far, the version provided has left several questions unanswered. Given the Coast Guard’s suspicion that this was a boat carrying terrorists from Karachi, why was the Navy not involved in the incident, at least in a supporting role? If there were intercepts of communication between the boat and handlers in Pakistan, surely the Coast Guard needed to mobilise more help. It should have at least called out more of its own vessels. The blaze is said to have started when the crew went below deck and set the boat on fire after the Coast Guard caught up with it. There was also an explosion, according to a statement put out by the MoD. An expert examination of the photograph provided would confirm whether there was a blast. A statement that the four-member crew aroused suspicion because they were not dressed like fishermen is also worrying, indicating as it does the Coast Guard’s belief that clothes are a good indication of a person’s occupation and intentions.

On top of it all is the opaqueness on locations, 365 km west-southwest off Porbandar providing only a general direction and an assurance that it was within the Coast Guard’s 200 nautical mile jurisdiction. A full-fledged investigation into the incident would not be out of place. With India-Pakistan relations not yet out of the shadow of the 26/11 attack, an allegation that a boat loaded with explosives that set off from near Karachi tried to get close to the Indian coast is a serious matter. Those who make the allegation must be able to provide better grounds for their suspicion than the single input that a boat was set to make an “illicit transaction”. After all, smugglers abound in those waters. In the last six years, New Delhi has built up much international support in the diplomatic battle against India-directed terrorism emanating from Pakistan. A wrong call can erode that support, just as the right one can strengthen its hands. This is why it is very important to provide adequate information to support the account of the incident.

Source - The Hindu

Excavation at Harappan site reveals house plan

Remains of skeleton, animal bones indicate funeral ceremony at late-Harappan siteExcavation conducted by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) at the late-Harappan site of Chandayan in Uttar Pradesh has, for the first time, revealed the plan of a house on the Ganga-Yamuna doab, with its mud walls, four successive floor levels and post-holes.

While these were found in the habitation area, trenches laid in the burial area brought to light 21 Harappan pots, the remains of a skeleton, a broken copper crown placed on the skull, animal bones and remains of a feast, indicating a funeral ceremony.
“It was a salvage excavation meant to know the site’s cultural sequence,” said A.K. Pandey, Superintending Archaeologist, Excavation Branch-II, ASI, who led the excavation at Chandayan in Baraut tehsil of Baghpat district. He decided to conduct the excavation after labourers digging farmland to collect clay found the crown placed on the skull, a red-ware bowl and a miniature pot last August. The ASI excavated five trenches in December, each of 10x10 metres, with two trenches in the habitation locality and three in the burial area. Mr. Pandey estimated that the late-Harappan site could have existed before 4,000 years.

The excavation in the residential area revealed a mud wall and post-holes in one trench and four closely laid and successive floors of a house in another trench and pots. They were found at a depth of 130 cm and upwards from the surface level. The posts positioned in the holes would have supported the roof of the house. “The habitation area is significant for the floor levels, and mud walls were occurring in the Ganga-Yamuna doab for the first time,” Mr. Pandey said.

In the burial site, 150 metres from the residential area, excavations brought to light 21 pots, including deep bowls, dishes, flasks and lids with knobs and cylindrical agate beads. Nearby were the skeleton’s femur and pelvis. These, along with a broken copper crown, were found by labourers digging for clay. The copper crown was embedded with carnelian and faience beads. The orientation of the burial site was from northwest to southeast. The 21 pots might have contained cereals, milk, butter and honey used in the funeral ceremony, Mr. Pandey said.

Twenty metres from the skeleton, remains of animal sacrifice, other refuse and pots similar to those found in the habitation area were found, suggesting some religious ceremony during the funeral, Mr. Pandey said.

Source - The Hindu

Informed consent must for family planning

Chhattisgarh deaths turn the spotlight on the undue stress on female sterilisation
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has written to all States to ensure that every individual opting for family planning, is provided options in a “spirit of voluntarism.”

Following protests over the focus on female sterilisation and the deaths of 13 women in Chhattisgarh this past November, the Ministry has shot off a letter to the States underlining that female sterilisation is just one of the options in the “bouquet” of family planning choices and every individual should be counselled about the options available.

Non-government organisations and social activists, citing the high numbers of female sterilisation in the country, have been critical of the government for not promoting other methods of spacing.

‘Camps’ under fire

Following outrage over the deaths in Chhattisgarh and over the continued violations of the Supreme Court’s instructions on how the procedures should be carried out, the Centre has also cracked the whip on “camps” conducted in unhygienic conditions and by bypassing the laid down rules.

States have been instructed to ensure that all operations are conducted only inside health facilities with working operation theatres.

The Centre has also asked the States to re-orient all programme officers and service providers on the standard operating procedures for sterilisation.

Source - The Hindu

[Int.] Pak. has reined in LeT: U.S.

Certification comes ahead of Obama’s India visit

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Pakistan this month, shortly after certifying the Pakistan government’s “action against” Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM).

The authorisation is likely to spark outrage in India. Mr. Kerry is due to visit the Vibrant Gujarat summit, which begins in Gandhinagar on January 11, ahead of President Barack Obama’s visit on January 24.

Mr. Kerry will lead the Strategic Dialogue in Islamabad later in January, the Pakistan Foreign Ministry announced this week.

Despite the fact that both the LeT and JeM have resurfaced visibly in the past year in Pakistan and the founders of both, Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar, have held public rallies in Pakistan in 2014, the U.S. Secretary of State has signed off on a certification that the Pakistan government has “prevented al-Qaeda, the Taliban and associated terror groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad from operating in the territory of Pakistan” for the year.

Civilian aid

The certificate is a condition for the U.S. to disburse funds under the Kerry-Lugar Bill for civilian aid to Pakistan that was co-authored by Mr. Kerry in 2009. This year’s grant of $532 million to Pakistan will be disbursed shortly, as the Congress gave its nod to President Obama, the U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Richard Olson disclosed.

According to official agency APP, Mr. Olson met Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to finalise the agenda for Mr. Kerry’s upcoming visit . Significantly, the Kerry-Lugar Bill lapsed in September 2014, but only about half of the $7.5 billion outlay has been disbursed so far.

According to Section 203 of the Bill, which is formally called the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act (S.1707), there are limitations on clearing the annual $1.5 billion assistance to Pakistan based on actions in the “preceding financial year.”

The authorisation required is that the Pakistan government and military have “ceased support” to extremist and terror groups, that they have “prevented” groups like the LeT and JeM from operating in Pakistan, and carrying out attacks against its neighbours, while dismantling their bases in Muridke, FATA and Quetta.

Source - The Hindu

[PIB] Big Boost to provide Braille Books to the Blind

Sh. Thawar Chand Gehlot, Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, today announced several new schemes for the empowerment of persons with visual impairment and other categories of the disabled at the 206th Birth Anniversary, organized by All India Confederation of the Blind. Important scheme announced on the occasion, to provide liberal financial assistance towards the establishment, modernization and capacity augmentation of Braille presses. Under this Scheme, non recurring assistance of upto Two crores would be available for NGOs and Government organizations to provide access to blind children and adults for much-needed books in Braille. This is a new initiative under the Modi Government’s Schemes of empowerment for the disabled. The Minister also announced a grant of Rs. One Crore and Sixty Nine Lakh to All India Confederation of the Blind for capacity augmentation of Braille press. Another Scheme announced on the occasion to awareness-generation for persons with disabilities under which assistance upto Rs. 5-10 lakhs could be available. At the function, the Minister presented cash prizes and certificates to the winners of the All India Braille reading and writing competitions, organized by All India Confederation of the Blind. Over 100 students from 32 Institutions for the blind belonging to 15 States participated in these competitions. Krishna Kumari Varma Memorial Award was also presented in the function to a student securing top position in M.A. History examination organized by Hyderabad University. The Minister also assured the large gathering present on the occasion to actively look into the demand for observing Louis Braille’s Birth Anniversary as the National Braille Day.