[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