August 2016: 1-15
(FORTNIGHTLY)
(1-15) August 2016 (पाक्षिक)
GREEN FEATURES
- जलवायु संकट,
पारिस्थिकी
-
प्रदूषण
-
आदिवासी विमर्श
-
कृषि और किसानी
- जल
दर्शन
- देशज ज्ञान और स्वास्थ्य
- विविध
15 AUGUST 2016
INDEPENDENCE DAY,
INDIA
Dams to be hub of adventure tourism
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/dams-to-be-hub-of-adventure-tourism/article8955974.ece
BENGALURU, August
8, 2016
It
isn’t just power generators or irrigation officials who will keep an eye on the
wide expanse of water stored in dams. For soon, it will become the hub of
adventure tourism.
The
scenic beauty of major reservoirs of the State will be tapped to promote adventure
sports and entertainment facilities, including three-star hotels, budget
hotels, food courts, theme parks, and resorts. The Water Resources Department
has decided to promote tourism through public private partnerships at its dam
sites in the Krishna and Cauvery basins.
Availability
of government lands, lush green forests, rivers, backwaters, hilly and
mountainous terrains at different dam sites will be utilised for promoting aqua
sports (river rafting, boat riding, kayaking, and water skiing), trekking, and
rock climbing.
Currently,
the services are available at Mysuru-Kodagu-Chamarajanagar belt, which has
become a major hub for adventure sports, thanks to its terrain.
Floating restaurants
The
plans include launching cruise services and floating restaurants at Almatti dam
in Vijayapura. Feasibility reports have already been prepared and tenders
called from private players. The Tourism Department has decided to promote
tourism in the backwaters of Almatti and Narayanpur dams, while Jungle Lodges
and Resorts will be roped in to establish lodging and adventure facilities. It
is proposed to promote water sports and a public park at Malaprabha dam and
snow park and other tourism activities on the 300 acres at Hidal dam.
Cauvery basin
In
Cauvery basin, feasibility and structuring project reports have been prepared
to exploit tourism potential at Gorur dam in Hassan, Kabini dam (Mysuru) and
Manchanabele. Brindavan Gardens and KRS dam in Mandya district will be upgraded
to international standards. Plans are afoot to create adventure theme parks,
golf course, lightshow, and amusement park on 186 acres at Bhadra dam in
Chikkamagaluru district.
GST Bill is will of the people, says Jaitley
NEW DELHI, August
8, 2016
Terming the passage of the GST Bill the
will of the people, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday said that the
people’s pressure was what spurred the politicians to pass the Bill in
Parliament.
“The common thing between the GST and
Bankruptcy Bills was that they were passed unanimously,” Mr. Jaitley said while
speaking at a convocation ceremony of the OP Jindal Global University. “This
shows that there was very strong public opinion inflicted on the politicians
that now was not the time to go slow.”
The Finance Minister pointed out how
several countries and regions in the world are trying desperately to achieve
growth while India is doing pretty well in this regard. “The whole world is in
slowdown mode,” Mr. Jaitley said.
“Countries are resorting to desperate
measures to achieve growth, such as negative or negligible interest rates,
competitive devaluation of currencies. But India is coming out of this very
well.” He, however, added that the world would increasingly be turning to India
to supply the manpower needed, something that can be to India’s great benefit.
“The world will need more hands and
minds in the coming year,” Mr Jaitley said. “We have a surplus population in
agriculture and even when we start to increase the size of our manufacturing,
our main strength is services.”
The Finance Minister said India’s
education sector had progressed leaps and bounds from the time when the only
option was public sector educational institutions.
Private institutes
“When there was regulation, the system
was for the government to raise taxes and create educational institutions,” he
said. “Then, when it was opened up, many private sector universities came up.”
“Often it is suggested that most of
these private sector institutes are not up to the mark,” Mr. Jaitley added.
“But these will fall by the wayside.
The advantage of being private is that they are not bound by government
structures, and they can attract the best global teaching staff.”
Countries are resorting to
desperate measures to achieve growth… But India is coming out of this very
well.
Lodha panel says 'no' to BCCI's request to defer
meeting: sources
Mumbai, August
8, 2016
The Justice Lodha Committee has
shot down a request from Ajay Shirke, secretary, BCCI, to defer the meeting on
Tuesday, August 9. A source close to the Justice Lodha Committee said:
"Ajay Shirke finally wrote to the Committee late last night requesting
that the meeting on Tuesday with him and Anurag Thakur be deferred. The request
has been declined."
Board
president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shrike were summoned by the Committee for a meeting in
New Delhi. It was believed that the
three-member committee would draw timelines for the BCCI and the State
associations to implement its recommendations on governance and management
structure in a concurrent manner.
Subsequent
to receiving the summons from the committee, the BCCI held a working committee
meeting in Mumbai and a Special General Meeting in New Delhi, appointed a
four-member Committee including retired Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju to
play the Board’s interface and even decided to file a review petition with the
Apex Court.
Justice
Katju presented and interim report to the BCCI on Sunday in New Delhi. The former Supreme Court judge
lashed out at the Supreme Court and its Committee led by the former Chief
Justice of India R.M. Lodha, saying their intention to clean up cricket may be
good, but it cannot be done by “throwing the law to the winds.”
Justice
Katju, appointed by the BCCI to head a four-member panel to “advise and guide”
it on the July 18 Supreme Court verdict, asking the BCCI to implement the Lodha
Committee’s recommendations in six months to overhaul the cricket body to usher
in accountability, declared that the judgment itself was unconstitutional.
India to attend SAARC young Parliamentarians
conference in Islamabad
NEW DELHI, August
8, 2016
The
YPC intends to offer young Parliamentarians’ narrative as a prelude to the 19th
SAARC Summit that Pakistan will be hosting in November.
A
three-member Parliamentary delegation would be travelling to Islamabad to
attend the first SAARC Young Parliamentarians Conference (YPC) on `Peace and
Harmony for Development’ scheduled to be held from August 16 to 18 in
Islamabad.
A
note by the Lok Sabha Secretariat said that the delegation members would be
briefed here on Tuesday. Names of the delegates are not known yet.
The
Parliamentarians would be going to Pakistan days after the India-Pakistan
show-down in Islamabad at the 7th SAARC Interior and Home Ministers conference.
The
YPC intends to offer young Parliamentarians’ narrative as a prelude to the 19th
SAARC Summit that Pakistan will be hosting in November.
A
statement on the Pakistan Parliamentary web site said that ``With sub-themes
such as peace and development, human rights, sustainable development, regional
trade, cultural diplomacy, youth issues and social inclusion, the SAARC YPC
2016 will be a watershed in engaging young Members of Parliament to share
knowledge and formulate action plans to unveil a future vision of emancipation
of each member of their young population”.
India wants market access for organic products in
Japan
NEW DELHI, July
28, 2016
India will demand more market access
in Japan for its pharmaceuticals as well as marine and organic products, in a
meeting slated Thursday to help boost bilateral trade and investment ties,
official sources said.
Japan, meanwhile, has asked India to
remove curbs on steel imports (including Minimum Import Price and safeguard
duty) and do away with the Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) on Special Economic
Zones (SEZ). The imposition of 18.5 per cent MAT on SEZ developers and units in
the FY’12 Budget was a major factor that led to a slowdown in investments into
SEZs.
There are Japanese units in SEZs such
as Sri City in Andhra Pradesh. India imported iron and steel (and its articles)
worth around $1.85 billion from Japan in FY’16. India had imposed curbs to
counter a surge in cheap imports of steel that were hurting local manufacturers
of the item.
Tokyo wants India to ensure “specific
timelines for introduction” of the special incentives proposed by many Indian
State governments to Japanese Industrial Townships (JIT). States including
Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana had
wooed Japanese investors to set up JITs in their respective territory with
proposed incentives including single window clearance, power, roads and water as
well as waiver of taxes (central sales tax, entry tax and land acquisition tax)
and duties (electricity duty and stamp duty). Japan now wants these States to
act fast on their promises.
Thursday’s bilateral meeting will be
that of the India-Japan Joint Committee — a panel established following the
inking of the bilateral Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in
2011. The committee can review the CEPA and suggest amendments to the pact to
facilitate an increase in bilateral trade and investment.
Modi asks NITI Aayog to drive transformation
PM
tells think tank to frame policy to propel India into the next century
Create a new architecture of policy
making that anticipates problems and suggests remedies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the NITI Aayog on Thursday.
This was his second visit to the policy-making think tank he established in
January 2015, after scrapping the historic Planning Commission.
On Thursday, officials said Modi, who is also the chairman, gave last-minute
directions to NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya to change his presentation from a 15-year vision document to
flaws in the earlier Plan process.
Then, he told the Aayog to work towards transformational and not only
incremental change.
He said the vision document should not only lay the road map
of the next 15 years but also form the foundation of the country’s development
in the next century.
Even as the possibility of the Goods and Services Tax Constitution amendment
Bill being passed in the Rajya Sabha next week brightens, Modi called for
big-bang reforms.
“I am a person who experiments because I have the
confidence,” he said.
Recounting his somewhat stormy relationship with the Planning Commission, the
PM said the erstwhile body was bent on finding flaws in the states. But, he
advised the NITI Aayog to desist from doing so, and become a forum where states
raise their problems and solutions are found in spirit of cooperative federalism.
“The state governments are a very vital pillar of India,” Modi said.
He directed the Aayog to make use of the best talent available both in the
country and outside to prepare the vision document for transformation.
The PM also told the NITI Aayog to think in advance about a number of issues.
For instance, on agriculture, Modi told the NITI Aayog, to think of the demand
for food in the next 15 years, possible sources from where it would come (both
domestic and international) and also prepare a clear road map through which
these requirements could be met.
Giving the example of pulses, Modi wondered why everyone talked about it when
prices shot up.
In its reply, the Aayog is believed to have assured the PM that it will soon
constitute a working group of experts to anticipate the requirement for food in
the country in the next 15 years and also all available sources.
Modi
also spoke of entering into long-term agro-procurement agreements with
countries in lieu of technology transfer. Except for these imports, he directed
the Aayog to plan towards a zero-import policy for agriculture.
Modi directed the Aayog and all its officials to shed their past lethargy and
prepare a 15-year vision document that would lay down the foundation for the
next century and take the country forward.
On energy needs, the PM underlined the importance of mapping the country’s
energy needs and directed them to prepare a catalogue of untapped natural
resources.
He listed mineral wealth, vast untapped solar energy potential and
sub-optimally used coastlines as examples.
He also directed them to visualise future workforce requirement and plan
accordingly.
The PM talked about the tourism potential in the country, saying there are
1,300 in its territorial waters. He asked
NITI Aayog to identify and
develop 10 to promote tourism.
Modi urged
NITI Aayog to take
inspiration from events such as the success of the Give-it-Up campaign, and the
widespread positive response from the people to the Swachhta Abhiyan. Earlier,
NITI Aayog vice chairman
Arvind Panagariya while
pointing towards the flaws in earlier Plan Processes said that lot of laws were
made without thinking of the consequences.
During the presentation, NITI member Bibek Debroy said the new vision document
should benchmark targets, while Ramesh Chand underlined the need for big reforms
in the agriculture sector, where markets should have a direct role.
The meeting was also attended by the Minister of State for Planning Rao
Inderjit Singh, members of the NITI Aayog, besides senior officers from the
Prime Minister’s Office and the Cabinet secretariat.
Source:http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/modi-asks-niti-aayog-to-drive-transformation-116072900026_1.html
The Indian Union gets a common market
Landmark Constitution Amendment Bill
for GST clears RS
New Delhi, August 3:
A decade-long effort by successive
governments to usher in the most sweeping reform of indirect taxes finally
moved a step closer to realisation on Wednesday, with the Rajya Sabha clearing
the Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill to enable a goods and services tax
(GST) regime.
The momentous Bill, which marks the
first parliamentary step towards impementation of a “one country, one market,
one tax” framework, was cleared by a two-thirds majority, which is required for
any Constitution Amendment Bill, following a division of votes. The AIADMK,
which walked out before the vote, was the only party to oppose it.
Soon after the Bill was passed,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the vote. The GST, he said on Twitter,
would be the “best example of cooperative federalism. Together we will take
India to new heights of progress.”
On this truly historic occasion of
the passage of the GST Bill in the Rajya Sabha, I thank the leaders and members
of all parties.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who
moved the Bill for voting after a debate spread over seven hours, assured the
Upper House that the GST rate would be kept as low as possible, and would be
“much lower than the present situation”.
The debate saw strong arguments and
counter-arguments, a clash between of two lawyers -- former Finance Minister P
Chidambaram and Jaitley -- demands from the Opposition that Prime Minister
Narendra Modi be present in the House, and a curious voting exercises that kept
springing numerical surprises.
The Bill, which incorporates fresh
amendments based on inputs from political parties and the States, does not have
the earlier provision for a 1 per cent additional tax on inter-State trade that
would have been given to manufacturing States. It also specifies that the GST
Council “shall” set up a mechanism to adjudicate disputes arising between the
Centre and the States or between States, and that the States’ revenues will not
go into the Consolidated Fund of India. It also guarantees compensations to the
States against revenue loss for five years.
Moving the Bill, Jaitley said, “The
government felt it was necessary to gradually build a larger consensus as we
were trying to radically change the country’s taxation structure. GST will give
a boost to the economy which is now at a critical stage.”
A common concern across parties was
that the the tax rates be kept low to ensure that the tax incidence on people
does not increase and lead to higher evasion. “The standard rate of GST should
not exceed 18 per cent and the lower rate can be worked on that,” said
Chidambaram, in his maiden speech in the Rajya Sabha.
Although he said the Congress would
support the Bill, he added that his party would expect the government to
incorporate the tax rates in the subsequent GST legislation.
Three key concerns
Apart from the rates, Chidambaram also listed three key concerns of his party,
including the rate of tax, the dispute resolution mechanism, the 1 per cent tax
on inter-State trade and the “clumsy drafting” of the latest amendments
specifiying that the States’ revenue would not go into the Consolidated Fund.
He also suggested further amendments
to the provision of dispute resolution to include that the GST Council “shall
by regulation” establish a mechanism to adjudicate disputes. These should also
include disputes arising otherwise between States outside the recommendations
of the GST Council.
Congress leaders, including
Chidambaram, Anand Sharma and Ghulam Nabi Azad, also sought an assurance from
Jaitley that the subsequent pieces of legislation on Central GST and State GST
would be introduced as financial bills, and not money bills, to ensure that the
Rajya Sabha too has a chance to discuss it. This was a common refrain from most
Members of the Upper House, including CPM leader Sitaram Yechury. However,
Jaitley refused to accede to the demand and said it would be decided based on
the final format of the Bills. Yechury also called on the government to ensure
that the States do not have to come to the Centre “with begging bowls”.
N Navaneethakrishnan, AIADMK MP,
articulated his party’s opposition to the GST as it would cause a permanent
revenue loss to Tamil Nadu.
The Constitution Amendment Bill for
GST was cleared by the Lok Sabha in May last year, but fresh amendments were
introduced last week to accommodate the demands of the Congress and the
concerns of the States. The government hopes to roll out GST from April 1,
2017.
Minimum Import Price is completely WTO-compliant, says
JSW Steel Joint MD
Mumbai, Aug 2:
The
fat profit margin recorded by JSW Steel has come into focus particularly when
the steel industry has been demanding extension of Minimum Import Price to
protect itself from cheap imports. Buckling under falling demand and
restriction on steel imports, small units are putting pressure on Government
scrap MIP and various other duties on imports. Seshagiri Rao, Joint Managing
Director, JSW Steel in an interview to Business Line justified the protective
net. Excerpt:
What
are the chances of MIP getting an extension?
In
our view, the oversupply situation in the global market is still prevalent and
not much has changed ever since MIP was introduced in February. So MIP should
not only be extended but also expanded because there has been lot of
circumvention happening. When MIP was introduced to cover 80 per cent of the
imports, it was expected that shipments will fall by at least 50 per cent.
However, imports have come down only by 26 per cent. A few variety of TMT bars
used in construction sector are being imported as alloy steel which is not
covered under MIP.
User
industry feels that rising steel prices in India squeezed them out?
It
is not possible for any one company to raise steel prices unilaterally as there
is enough competition domestically. After a long time international steel
prices have started looking up. China’s steel prices have increased 67 per cent
to $450 a tonne from $270 a tonne in February when MIP was introduced in India.
On the other hand steel prices in India have gone up by only 12 per cent when
one compares June quarter with March quarter. In fact, prices in India are
coming down since May due to weak demand and onset of monsoon slowing
infrastructure activities in the country.
Does
MIP violate WTO agreement?
It
is totally a misconception. WTO member countries point to Article 11 of General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade to say MIP is not WTO compliant. Out of
curiosity I went through the Article 11 and found that there are exceptions to
this rule in Article 19. It can be applied on three counts when there is a
sudden surge in imports of any commodity, injury caused to domestic industry
due to large scale imports and shortage of any food items. So when they talk of
violation to Article 11 they should look into the exceptions provided for it in
Article 19. Interestingly, the same was also adopted in Indian Customs Act.
It
is also viewed that MIP is eroding the export competitiveness of Indian
industry?
Exporters
always have an option to import steel without paying duty or MIP under advance
licence. Moreover, steel prices in India are always in line with the
international trend. So to say MIP is eroding export competition does not hold
true.
How
much of the total imports in June quarter is through Advance Licensing?
This
data is not available right now. One has to analyse the whole import and arrive
at this data. The fact of the matter is imports have not fallen as envisaged
when MIP was introduced and over 50 per cent of imports have come in below MIP.
If you take the current average of 6.5 lakh tonne of imports a month, it works
out to 7-8 million tonnes an annum. This kind of imports will derail the
domestic steel companies.
Has
MIP helped JSW Steel record highest ever Ebitda and profit in June quarter?
It
is true that our Ebitda and net profit has gone up when compared to last year,
but if you compare sequentially our sales realisations are up by just one per
cent. The main drivers for profitability are 12 per cent fall in cost and
higher volumes. The impact of MIP was common for all steel companies in India.
To credit MIP for our good performance is not correct.
Margins
of user industry are squeezed due to high steel prices?
We
have to really wait for the financial results of other steel companies and user
industry before coming to a conclusion. Automobile companies have managed to
increase prices even as steel prices fell between May-June. This is because
auto sales were going up. So to blame it all on steel is not correct.
India to defend stand against zero-tariffs at RCEP
trade ministers’ meet
Offers made to India by other
members in services still weak
New Delhi, August 1:
Commerce
& Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will have her task cut out at the
trade ministers’ meet of the 16-country Regional Comprehensive Economic
Partnership (RCEP) in Laos later this week with members refusing to back
India’s latest proposal of not reducing tariffs on goods to zero.
India’s
proposal on moderate tariff reduction, as opposed to tariff elimination being
negotiated so far, circulated at the recent negotiations in Jakarta, was not
received well by any member, a government official told BusinessLine.
New
Delhi, however, is determined to stick to its guns, especially with offers in
services from other countries still not up to its expectations.
RCEP
members, which include the 10-member ASEAN, India, China, Japan, South Korea,
Australia and New Zealand, are seeking to create one of the largest free trade
blocs in the world as the countries account for 45 per cent of the world
population and over $21 trillion of gross domestic product.
“We
have made it clear at the Jakarta meeting that if other members want a
reasonable level of commitment from us in terms of tariff reduction in goods,
they have to agree to our terms that we will not be eliminating duties in most
sectors,” the official added.
The
level of tariff reduction that India will offer other members will also depend
on the quality of offers it receives in services.
“So
far, offers have been made in over 100 services sub-sectors, but serious offers
have not been made in mode 4 which relates to movement professionals and
workers. Some kind of bench-marking of offers has to be done in modes, failing
which we will not be in a position to be generous in goods,” the official said.
A
meeting of the Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) of RCEP is scheduled on
August 3, following which trade ministers will meet on August 5. “The TNC will
try to hammer out the contentious areas in goods, services and investments
following which the trade ministers will decide on a feasible deadline to
conclude the negotiations,” the official said.
Changing stand
India’s
current position on goods is a departure from its earlier stand when it had
agreed, as part of its initial offer, to eliminate tariffs on 42.5 per cent of
goods from China, New Zealand and Australia, on 65 per cent of goods from Japan
and South Korea and on 80 per cent of goods from the ASEAN.
The
Centre decided to change its position on goods as complaints from the Indian
industry on the negative impact of the older trade pacts with countries such as
Japan and South Korea have been growing.
At
the RCEP, too, with increasing pressure from other countries on equal market
access to be offered to all (including China which is India’s greatest
concern), New Delhi feels it is best to move away from a zero-tariff
commitment, the official said.
Development agenda, reforms will ensure new growth
path: Modi
PM lays foundation for Mission
Bhagiratha
Hyderabad, August 7:
Prime
Minister Narendra Modi today said his Government would continue the development
agenda which will take the country into new growth path.
Addressing
a massive gathering after laying foundation stone for Mission Bhagiratha in
Gajwel about 80 km from here, the Prime Minister said that the focus now is on
sustaining the reforms agenda which will ensure all round development take us
into a leadership position in the 21st century.
“The
only way out to ensure that the country achieves its true potential of growth
is to focus on development and remove various hurdles infrastructure projects
and other sectors face in the country,” he said.
“There
has been a healthy competition among various States in the country with each
vying to be the best facilitating ease of doing business.” Welcoming such
competition, he said, the Government would ensure true federalism where Central
and State Governments work collaboratively and see to that the benefits of
development reach grassroots.
Mentioning
about some of the initiatives of this Government and how they have had a
positive impact on the people, he said “the changes brought about in the
fertiliser sector in the country had managed to ensure that within two years of
the NDA Government, from most states seeking additional supply of urea, we have
come to a stage where there is adequate supply of urea now.”
Referring
to the power sector and the role played by Power Minister Piyush Goyal, Modi
said, “If the Telangana example is taken into consideration, the State was
purchasing power at about Rs. 10.50 to Rs. 11 per unit about two years ago.
This has now come down dramatically to about Rs. 1 to Rs. 2 per unit. The
State, which has been facing deficit is now in the process of heading towards
being self sufficient and possibly surplus too down the line.”
India’s forests valued at Rs 115 trillion, but tribals
unlikely to get a share
- Kumar Sambhav Shrivastava, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
India’s
forests are worth as much as the combined market value of BSE-listed companies
with a notional value of Rs 115 trillion but the money collected from diverting
parts of this land for industries won’t go to communities that live in and are
dependent on the jungles.
The
Union environment ministry accepted most recommendations of a 2013 expert panel
that hiked the rates at which industrialists pay for diverting forest land but
dropped a crucial clause mandating half that money be used to compensate
tribals for the loss of jungles, documents reviewed by HT show.
A
new law enacted by the Centre to disburse these funds – Rs 42,000 crore at
present – also says the money should go to state forest departments, leaving
out tribals. The government says the suggestion to give money to local
communities isn’t practical.
“A
lot of things are easier said than done. The governments anyway try and spend
the money in such a way that the local communities get the maximum benefit,”
said a government official.
Under
a 1980 law, when forest land is diverted for industrial use, the project
developer has to pay for compensatory afforestation and the Net Present Value
(NPV) of the forest, to make up for the loss in ecosystem.
At
present, the government charges Rs 4.38 lakh to Rs 10.43 lakh per hectares (ha)
NPV, depending on the type and density of forest. These rates were fixed in
2008 but the Supreme Court asked the government to revise rates of NPV every
three years.
The
2013 report revised the rates to a range of Rs 5.54 lakh to RS 50.72 lakh per
ha. The panel – comprising scientists from the Indian Institute of Forest
Management (IIFM) and Forest Survey of India – said the previous 2008 numbers
were “grossly underestimated”.
The
environment ministry accepted the new figures and is sending them to the
committee of secretaries (CoS) for its nod, documents reviewed by HT revealed.
Before
accepting the recommendations, the ministry asked the IIFM to estimate the
total NPV of India’s forests, an exercise never done before. The IIFM told the
ministry the notional value of India’s forest would be Rs 115 trillion.
This
will increase the money collected from industrialists. “The rate of
accumulation of the compensatory afforestation fund will be more than double
now with an overall hike of 117% in the NPV as compared to previous rates,”
said an official.
But
one crucial recommendation is missing from the environment ministry’s proposal
to the CoS. The 2013 panel estimated 50% of the value of forest goods and
services are created at the local level, 34% at the state level and 16% the
national level and suggested the NPV money be accordingly distributed between
local communities, state governments and the Centre, respectively.
Such
a mechanism, the panel said, would ease land acquisition worries for big
projects, which face the ire of forest-dwelling tribals who fear the loss of
livelihood.
Another
source of worry for local communities is a new law -- the Compensatory
Afforestation Fund Act, or Campa act, which was cleared by Parliament recently
– that will govern the disbursal of these funds.
Campa
act has tribal rights activists up in arms as the legislation says nothing
about sharing the revenue with the traditional forest-dwelling communities. The
money is set to go to state governments, which violates the spirit of the 2013
panel report and the 2006 forest rights act, activists say.
Activists
have repeatedly alleged that the government disregards environmental norms and
tribal rights in handing out permits to use forestland for industries.
The
2013 report recommended the increase in NPV based on the monetary value of
several goods and services from the forests such as timber, bamboo, non-timber
forest produce, fuelwood, fodder, carbon sequestration, water recharge, soil
conservation, pollination and seed dispersal that were not valued earlier.
The
new NPV rates will be part of the yet-to-be-framed rules under Campa act.
Waiting
for a fair share:
•
Under a 1980 law, when forest land is diverted, the project developer has to
pay for compensatory afforestation and the Net Present Value of the forest
•
At present, government charges Rs 4.38 lakh to Rs 10.43 lakh per hectares NPV.
These rates were fixed in 2008
•
In 2013, a panel recommended that rates be revised to a range of Rs 5.54 lakh
to Rs 50.72 lakh per hectare and additional premium of 20% to 4 times of NPV be
charged if the project is coming up in ecologically sensitive areas
•
The Centre accepted the hiked rates but dropped a clause mandating half that
money be used to compensate tribals for the loss of jungles
Press
Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Home Affairs
12-August-2016 19:26 IST
Government of India and NSCN issue
Joint Communique
Talks progressing in right direction, closer than ever before to final
settlement
Shri R.N. Ravi, Government of India
Interlocutor and Shri T. Muivah, General Secretary, National Socialist Council
of Nagaland (NSCN) issued a Joint Communiqué after their talks here today.
Following is the text of the Joint Communiqué:
“The political initiative of the Government of India and NSCN to amicably
resolve the Naga political issue has received a new urgency and impetus during
the last two years. The talks have become more purposeful, less ritualistic,
more forthright and far more frequent. In the last two years we met more times
than all the years before. It helped building unprecedented mutual
understanding and trust.
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's statesmanship, his respect and love for the
Naga people, their legitimate rights and aspirations and wisdom of the Naga
leaders could lead to the historic Framework Agreement of August 3, 2015 which
settles the political parameters of the final solution. Within these parameters,
details are being worked out in earnest.
Prolonged illness and unfortunate passing away of Shri Isak Chishi Swu,
Chairman NSCN, adversely impacted the process. His departure is a big loss for
all of us.
We assure the people that the talks have been progressing in right direction
with determination. We are closer than ever before to the final settlement and
hope to conclude it sooner than later.”
Press
Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Agriculture
12-August-2016 16:21 IST
DADF Identifying Possible Commercial
and Developmental Activities in Islands of Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep
Department of Animal Husbandry,
Dairying & Fisheries (DADF), Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare
is one of the constituent Departments in the Sub Group constituted for
identifying possible commercial and developmental activities including
fisheries in the Islands of Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep Group of
Islands. Various meetings at the level of Inter Ministerial Group (IMG) and Committee
of Secretaries (CoS) were held. After initial deliberations some, fourteen
Islands were identified for fisheries development activities earlier. The main
activities identified under fisheries sector are (i) deep sea fishing, (ii) sea
weed farming, (iii) ornamental fisheries and (iv) shore based infrastructure
for fishing activities like Fishing Harbours, Fish Landing Centres and cold
storages. The DADF will provide financial support for the fisheries related
activities in those Islands in accordance with the relevant schemes /
guidelines of Blue Revolution and the Department of Fisheries and Island
Administration of the respective Group of Islands will also be kept onboard for
successful implementation, considering the environmental aspects.
As per Integrated National Fisheries Action Plan and further discussion had
with the States /UTs, tentative fund allocation was also made to the Andaman
& Nicobar and Lakshadweep Group of Islands and the UTs may earmark the
funds as per fisheries activities to be taken up considering the regional
requirement. In this regard, a meeting on matters related to Island Development
was held today i.e 11 August, 2016 which was attended by the Secretary (ADF).
Press
Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
12-August-2016 17:37 IST
Brick and Mortar Bank Branches
To promote financial inclusion and
to extend the banking network in unbanked areas, general permission has been
granted by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to domestic Scheduled Commercial Banks
(SCBs) including Public Sector Banks (excluding Regional Rural Banks) to open
branches at any place in the country, without seeking prior approval of RBI in
each case, subject to at least 25 percent of the total number of branches
opened during a financial year being opened in unbanked rural (Tier 5 and Tier
6) centres (population upto 9999). RBI has also specified that the total number
of branches opened in Tier 1 centres (population 100000 and above) during the
financial year cannot exceed the total number of branches opened in Tier 2 to
Tier 6 centres (population upto 99999) and all centres in the North Eastern
States and Sikkim.
For increasing banking penetration and financial inclusion, RBI has advised all
State Level Banker’s Committee (SLBC) Convenor banks vide circular No
FIDD.CO.LBS.BC. 82/02.01.001/2015-16 dated December 31, 2015 to identify
villages with population above 5000 without a bank branch of a scheduled
commercial bank in their state. As reported by SLBCs, a total of 6593 villages
have been identified and allotted among scheduled commercial banks (including
Regional Rural Banks) for opening of branches. State/UT-wise details are given
in Annexure. The progress is monitored by RBI. Opening of bank branches is a
commercial decision of the banks taken in accordance with the branch opening
policy of RBI.
This was stated by Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State in the Ministry of
Corporate Affairs in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
Press
Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Power
12-August-2016 14:29 IST
Consultative Committee attached to
Ministries of Power and New & Renewable Energy meets
The villages in Naxal affected areas
and other such inaccessible regions are being expeditiously connected with
off-grid power solutions, said Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of State (IC)
for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines, while chairing the
meeting of the Consultative Committee attached to Ministries of Power and New
& Renewable Energy, held here today.
Further, Shri Goyal informed the Hon’ble Committee Members that according to
the latest figures, a total of 10,007 villages (54%) have been electrified in
the country. As on 31.07.16, a sum of Rs. 42,392 crore has already been
sanctioned for projects on rural electrification across the country under the
Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY). The work of rural
electrification is being expeditiously taken up by the Rural Electrification
Corporation Ltd. (RECL), he added.
Shri Goyal also informed the Hon’ble Committee Members that there has been a
quantum jump of 75% in the number of villages being electrified in the period
of April – August 2016 as compared to same period last year.
The Consultative Committee meeting started with a presentation on RECL by its
Chairman and Managing Director, Shri Rajeev Sharma. The presentation outlined
the evolution of RECL since 1969, achievement of Navratna status, progress made
in financing of entire Power Infrastructure value chain including renewable
energy projects, performance of financial parameters, the challenges ahead and
the way forward. The members were also informed that RECL is the nodal agency
for DDUGJY, National Electricity Fund (NEF) and actively involved in the
implementation of UDAY scheme, inter alia.
All members congratulated the Government and the Ministry of Power on the work
done on Rural Electrification (RE ) and said that it will help in reducing the
gaps in the reach of power to the villages across the country. Members gave
their valuable suggestions to further improve the process of rural
electrification. Some members suggested that the quality of power distribution
infrastructure needs to be monitored and accountability needs to be fixed on
the ground level so as to prevent corrupt practices and ensure that there is
last mile coverage of beneficiaries.
Responding to the suggestions and queries raised by the Consultative Committee
members, Shri Piyush Goyal said that the job of ensuring the reach of
electricity on the ground lies with the State Governments/ Power Utilities and
the Union Government cannot interfere in their matters under the Federal setup.
The Union Government has ensured that surplus power and adequate financial
support is made available to the States in order to facilitate expeditious
Intensive Electrification at the village/ majla/ tola/ dhaani level.
Further, the Minister directed the officials of the Power Ministry to make
available all the details of funds sanctioned and disbursed to State
Governments and the status of project implementation to all the Members of
Parliament. It would help create accountability on the part of the States, he
added. He also directed to ensure the appointment of Grameen Vidyut Abhiyantas
(GVAs) and District Vidyut Abhiyantas (DVAs) in all states to achieve efficient
monitoring of the progress and implementation of rural electrification.
Shri Goyal assured Hon’ble Members that their valuable suggestions would be
adopted by the Ministry & RECL.
The second half of the meeting consisted of the Presentation on the overview of
the Implementation of Bio-Gas programme under the Ministry of New and Renewable
Energy.
Shri Goyal, mentioning about the National Conference on Bio-fuels held recently
in New Delhi, envisioned about the coordinated working of the Ministries of New
& Renewable Energy, Petroleum & Natural Gas and the Department of
Bio-Technology in order to give a fillip to the Bio-fuel sector from the
current level of Rs. 6,500 crore to Rs. 1 Lakh crore in the next 10 years.
To achieve this target, the Minister called for organizing an International
level competition called Jeevan Spardha to pool in novel innovations, ideas and
new technology inventions from the society itself.
The meeting was attended by Shri Narayan Bhai Kachhadiya, Shri Ramesh Bais,
Shri Jugal Kishore Sharma, Shri K.N. Ramachandran, Shri Om Prakash Yadav, Shri
Uday Pratap Singh, Shri Sushil Kumar Singh, Shri Shailesh Kumar, Shri, Daddan
Mishra, Shri Satish Chandra Dubey, Shri Rajesh Pandey, Shri Rajesh Ranjan from
Lok Sabha and Shri Bashistha N. Singh and Shri Lal Singh Vadodia from Rajya
Sabha.
The Secretary, Power, Shri P.K. Pujari, the Chairman cum Managing Director
& Directors of RECL, and senior officials of Ministries of Power and New
& Renewable Energy also attended the meeting.
Satyarthi launches campaign for youth against child
labour
Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi
announced that he was planning to launch a campaign — 100 million for 100
million — targeting 100 million youth, whose idealism, energy and enthusiasm
would help liberate the 100 million children shackled in slavery and poverty
across the world.
His new organisation, The Kailash
Satyarthi Children’s Foundation, “is trying to work for more comprehensive
[child rights] policy. We want to build a big, strong people’s movement,” he
said, announcing the campaign at the inauguration of a one-day conference on
Excellence in Education, organised by The Hindu and Blue Star on Friday.
An easy way to direct the energy of
the young people in universities, colleges and schools is to make them
champions, spokespersons and leaders for children, the Nobel laureate said,
inviting India to lead the way in finding a solution for “children who have
been denied their right to live as children.”
Education is key
Education is the key for sustainable
development, social, ecological, and economic development, Mr. Satyarthi said.
“For an individual, it is very
important to be educated and good quality education is much more rewarding. A
single year of schooling at primary level would result in an additional return
of 10 to 15 per cent income in the later stage of life; similarly, every single
year of secondary education would increase an individual’s income by 20 to 25
per cent,” he said, citing research.
Economic impact
“A study conducted by the World Bank
some years ago in 50 different countries proved with empirical evidence that
one single year of education in whole society increased the GDP by 0.37 per
cent. If the entire society is educated for 10 years, it goes up to four per
cent. It has a strong economic impact.
“If all children are educated in the
least developing countries then 71 million people can get rid of poverty and
there will be 12 per cent reduction in poverty. If you are able to ensure good
quality education, the returns would be much higher,” he said.
Lack of quality
Mr. Satyarthi dwelt on the lack of
quality education which led to poor performance of children in primary schools.
Though the country had produced a
large number of engineers, around 80 per cent of them were unemployable.
“The question is whether we want to
create fuel of economic engine or those who can care for the nation, and global
society,” Mr. Satyarthi said.
Terror against schools
Schools were using children as
shields to perpetuate terrorism, he said, citing instances of terror outfits
like ISIS that picked up thousands of girls; the killing of innocent children
in a school in Pakistan; and the kidnapping of girls in Nigeria by Boko Haram.
The Nobel laureate urged teachers to
“Listen to your students; the parents of students; the situation. We have to
learn from the children, educators must learn what is happening in technology,
the learning process must go on.”
Earlier, Editor of The Hindu
Mukund Padmanabhan, who welcomed the gathering, said the idea of the event was
to engage with the readers, besides being part of their daily life as a newspaper.
The Nobel laureate launched the ‘100
million for 100 million’ campaign to build a people’s movement
A new deal for mental health
The Mental Health Care Bill, 2016, passed by the Rajya Sabha is a
watershed legislation that lays down clear responsibilities for the state and
has provisions that empower individuals and families. Crucially, it can expand
access to treatment, which is dismally poor today. According to a recent review
in The Lancet, of gaps in mental health treatment, although both India
and China have renewed their commitment to address the problem through national
programmes, it is Beijing that has done better in terms of improving coverage.
India allocates just over 1 per cent of the Centre’s health budget to mental
health, with States making comparable allocations. This situation should change
if the provisions of the bill are to be meaningful. The legislation, inter
alia , gives everyone the right to access mental health care as well as
treatment from mental health services run or funded by the government; it also
provides for supply of all notified essential medicines free of cost to those
with mental illness, through the government. The situation today is a far cry
from what is promised. While the bill says mental health services should be
available at the district level, even States with well-functioning district
hospitals do not offer regular psychiatric outpatient services, leave alone
in-patient facilities. In government hospitals, medication to treat even the
more common psychiatric disorders is not always available. These and other
deficiencies need not have waited for a law.
In a much-needed change, the Centre has adopted a medicalised
approach to attempted suicide, treating it as the outcome of severe stress. The
bill rightly blocks the application of the Indian Penal Code section that
criminalises it. A duty is also cast on the authorities to care for and
rehabilitate such individuals. What this means is that official policy must
strive to strengthen the social determinants of health, especially when it
comes to universal welfare support systems against catastrophic events in
people’s lives. Reliable and free professional counselling must be widely
offered. For too long, mental health treatment in India has existed with the
colonial legacy of large asylums and degrading confinement. Many who are held
in such places have nowhere else to go, as families facing stigma have abandoned
them. There is much to be said, therefore, in favour of the halfway home system
that the bill provides for, where supportive families, medical care and a
better quality of life will help many recover. The success of this more
progressive law brought in to replace the Mental Health Act, 1987, will depend
ultimately on the community keeping up the pressure on the designated Central
and State authorities to implement it in letter and spirit.
New plans instead of new pills
August 15,
2016
As
with the environment, so with health care: there have to be changes in
lifestyle at a societal level that are preventive in nature
I
recently read Amitav Ghosh’s book, The Great Derangement: Climate Change and
the Unthinkable, where he says that contemporary literature has simply
failed to acknowledge the new reality of climate change outside of the realms
of fantasy and science fiction. There are few books in which climate change and
its impact are simply embedded in the narrative as part of the twenty first
century world we live in.
The
more I thought about it, I realised that there seemed, at least superficially,
to be a parallel with the health crisis. A variety of health-related messages
abound in our lives — warnings, articles, advertisements. And we are aware of
the changes that have occurred in our own lifetimes. More of our friends and
family, including young people, now have cancer compared to when we grew up.
Just two decades ago, we reacted with shock and horror when someone was
diagnosed with cancer. Today we take a deep breath and say we hope it was
diagnosed at an early stage. If it was, we nod and say, that’s tough but he or
she should be fine. Indeed, many of them get treated and survive (sometimes
without too much trauma). Others, sadly, don’t. But this simply doesn’t make
the casual appearance in novels that we would expect based on their real-world
occurrence. However, I would argue that the parallels go beyond the fact that
our imagination has failed to cope with the not-so-brave new world.
Ecology and health
The
most straightforward nexus is that environmental problems cause health
problems. Air pollution has caused a range of respiratory problems, and has
been implicated both directly and indirectly in rates of increase in cancer.
Water scarcity, water-borne diseases and pollution lead to considerable loss of
lives, but also high health-care costs and loss of work days and school hours
for children. Climate change itself has led to changes in distribution of both
pathogens and their vectors, leading to epidemics and spread of a variety of
infections.
This
much is obvious. But there are more insidious similarities. The most
fundamental of these is the belief — both individually and collectively — that
the current models of development and lifestyle cannot be compromised or
changed. In fact, as Ghosh argues, our very notion of freedom (and therefore
happiness) is tied up irrevocably with it. The idea that substantial changes in
lifestyle can reduce environmental or health problems exists but appears almost
impossible to adopt. This is particularly peculiar in the case of the latter.
With environmental problems, individual efforts can be perceived as having a
negligible effect and therefore lead to inertia. With health, on the other
hand, individual choices can make the difference between life and death,
literally. And yet, barring a few, there seems to be the same collective
lethargy towards making those choices.
This
resistance to change leads to an interesting conundrum — we are likely to spend
far more money on cure than on prevention. This is more obvious in the medical
world. Millions of dollars are spent on cancer, but little on changed
lifestyles that would prevent it. Even in less crisis-ridden fields such as dental
care, the onus is entirely on post-hoc filling than on preventing. Given that
this makes little sense even economically, why then does this persist across
the globe?
The
answer to this lies lies perhaps in the nature of modern neo-liberal economics,
which is held captive by the state-industry-science nexus that is responsible
for creating a world where technological solutions are given primacy. This
drives both industrial and economic growth (both are normative within this
paradigm) which keeps governments in power. So, there is nothing to be gained
in people not falling sick or the Earth being ill.
The
Cuba model
One
of the few counter examples to this global paradigm comes from Cuba, a country
much reviled across its Bay. But Cuba has a lower infant mortality rate than
the U.S., and its life expectancy is nearly as high. Moreover, Cuba spends 4
per cent per capita of what the U.S. does on healthcare. While some of this
difference may come from low wages, it is still a significant difference. While
there are numerous factors that drive Cuba’s success, two stand out. First,
there is a great emphasis on preventive medicine — as its model shows, this is
both more effective and cheaper. Second, there is an interlinked emphasis on
social rather than technological solutions. Much has been written about how
doctors and nurses are embedded within communities, thus understanding their
patients and improving their ability to treat. This is a model not just for
poor countries but for the world. Yet only a few Latin American countries have
started to adopt it.
What
is the lesson for the environmental movement which has to deal with the cancer
of climate change, apart from a host of equally debilitating environmental
ills? The first is that supply-side economics is not the solution. There have
to be changes in lifestyle at a societal level that are preventive in nature.
While it has been widely argued that one cannot expect a return to a Gandhian
lifestyle, my argument here is more about collectivising the focus on prevention.
Simultaneously, one has to recognise that social solutions are as important as
technological ones. Certainly, the right buttons must be pressed and the right
switches flipped, but in society, not on a machine.
Finally,
and most importantly, none of this is possible unless we understand the
politics of change. One can ask, how did Cuba successfully achieve as good a
health-care system as the richest, most technologically advanced country in the
world? Certainly, one is not advocating ‘communism’ — democracy remains
paramount. However, as long as the current forms of democracy also allow
complete ‘freedom’ to the modern state-industry capitalist enterprise, no
meaningful change is possible.
The
parallels between human health and environmental health are not absolute.
Nevertheless, they do provide insights that I believe could help in addressing
both challenges and provide new paths (rather than pills) to a healthier
future.
Kartik
Shanker is Director of the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the
Environment, and Founder Trustee, Dakshin Foundation. The views expressed here
are personal.
As long as democracy today allows
complete freedom to the modern state-industry capitalist enterprise, there can
be no meaningful change
Press
Information Bureau
Government of India
Prime Minister's Office
15-August-2016 15:57 IST
Draft text of the english rendering
of PM Shri Narendra Modi’s address to the Nation from the ramparts of the Red
Fort on the 70th Independence Day
My beloved countrymen, on this auspicious occasion of our festival of freedom;
I extend lots of greetings to the one hundred and twenty five crores fellow
nationals and also to entire Indian diaspora spread all over the world, from
this rampart of the Red Fort. This festival of our freedom, this 70 years of
our Independence, is the festival for our resolution to take the nation to new
heights with a new resolve and a new fervour and new energy. We are able to
breathe in a free air as the result of the sacrifices, renunciation and penance
of our millions of great forefathers. We are also reminded of the youths who
kissed the gallows. We also remember Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Pandit Nehru
and countless great persons, who fought ceaselessly for the freedom of our
nation. It is the result of their struggles that we are now fortunate enough to
breathe as a free citizen. India is a very ancient nation. We have a history of
thousands of years and our cultural heritage is also millennia old. Right from
the Vedas to Vivekananda, from the Upanishads to the satellites, the Sudarshan
Chakradhari Mohan to Charkhadhari Mohan, from the Bhim of Mahabharat to the
Bhimrao; we have a long historical journey and heritage. Our land has seen many
historical ups and downs and our generations have waged many struggles and
observed penance to bequeath great values to the humanity. India's age is not
just seventy years. But having won freedom after a period of subjugation; we
have made efforts to take the nation forward in this journey of seventy years.
Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel united the nation. Now, it is the responsibility of
all of us to make this nation better. We all have to work ceaselessly for the
realization of the dream of ' One India, great India'. (Ek Bharat, Shreshtha
Bharat).
Brothers and Sisters, We have not attained freedom for free of cost.
Innumerable were the atrocities, but undeterred were our resolves also. Every
Indian was a soldier in the battle for freedom. Each one of them dreamt of an
independent India. May be every one of them was not fortunate enough to
sacrifice, may be each of them was not fortunate enough to go to prison; but
every Indian had a resolve and the leadership of Mahatma ji and also the
inspiration of countless revolutionaries who had sacrificed every thing. All
these movements contributed to our attainment of Independence. But, now we have
to convert this freedom into 'the real freedom'. Now, this is the resolve of
the one hundred and twenty five crores of Indians. So, just as we did not
attain our freedom without sacrifices; we would not be able to attain ' the
real freedom' without renunciation, without human endeavour (Purusharth),
without bravery, without dedication and discipline. So, in order to take ahead
this resolution of one hundred and twenty five crore Indians; all of us will
have to move ahead with our specific responsibilities in a most committed
manner. Be it a Panchayat or the Parliament, be it a village headman or the
Prime minister; every one of us as well as every democratic institution will
have to shoulder their responsibilities completely and perfectly. Only then we
will be able to realize the dream of our the real freedom as soon as
possible.This is correct to say that our nation is beset with many problems
now- a- days. But, we should never forget that if we have the problems, then we
also have all the capacities to solve them. So, if we move ahead with all our
capabilities, we will find the ways and mean to solve all these problems. So,
brothers and Sisters, if we have lakhs of problems, then we also have one
hundred and twenty five crore brains also which are all capable to solve these
problems.
Dear Brothers & Sisters, there was a time when Government used to be
surrounded by aspersions. But now time has changed. At present, no aspersions
are being leveled on the Government. Rather, people have great expectations
from it. When the Government is engulfed in expectations then it signifies hope
and trust, which in turn generates those expectations. Expectations give pace
towards good governance, invigorates and so the pledges are implemented ad
continuum. My Brothers & Sisters, today when I am addressing you from the
rampart of the Red Fort, it is, therefore, but natural that we should discuss
the journey of good governance, the work done by the Government and work being
done and should be done for the country. I can present before you a very
detailed account of work done and also multiple issues regarding the
performance of the Government. During the tenure of two years, the Government
has taken innumerable initiatives and multiple tasks have been done. If I start
giving details about them, I am afraid I will have to talk about it for a week
from this very rampart of the Red Fort. So instead of that temptation, I would
like to draw your attention towards the work culture of the Government.
Sometimes, it is easier to present the account of work done. But, it is not
easy for a common man to comprehend, understand and identify the work culture
without dwelling deep into the work culture. My Brothers & Sisters, My
Countrymen, I would not talk solely about the policy, but also the intention
and decisions of the Government.
Dear Brothers & Sisters, it is just not an issue of direction and outline,
rather it is about holistic approach and a resolve for transformation. It is
confluence of trinity of expectation of people, democracy and support of
people. It is both wisdom and consent. It is also pace and realisation of
progress. Therefore, My Countrymen, when I talk about the Good Governance, it
does implies bringing in transformation in the life of common man of my
country. Good governance means that the government should be sensitive,
responsive and dedicated to the common man. Then only good governance gets the
emphasis. Responsibility and accountability should be at the root of it and it
should draw its vital energy from there only for the government to be
sensitive, dear Brothers and Sisters. We remember the days when there used to
be a very long wait to go to any big hospital. People used to come to AIIMS, spend
two three days and then only it would be decided what diagnostic tests were to
be done. Now we have been able to change this system. Registration is done
online and the doctor’s appointment is also given online. The processes start
on arrival of the patient at the appointed hour itself. Not only this but all
his medical records are also available online. And we wish to develop it as a
countywide culture in the field of medical treatment. Today this system has
been put in place in 40 big hospitals of the country. Its basic premise is that
the government has to be sensitive.
Dear Brothers and Sisters, the government should be accountable. If it be not
so then the problems of the common man are kept pending for solutions. How does
the change come? Now technology is there, but there was a time when the railway
ticket in the railways, concerning the common man and the poor was available
only two thousand tickets per minute. Those who might have seen it, would know
how the buffering used to be there, nobody knew when the website would be
operational again, but today I have to say with satisfaction that now it is
possible to have fifteen thousand tickets per minute.The government should be
accountable, it should take steps according to the necessities and expectations
of the people. There is a class across the country, particularly the middle
class, higher middle class whom you see troubled more at the hands of the
income tax officials rather than the police at times. I have to change the
situation and I am trying and I will certainly change it.
There was a time when a common and honest citizen used to give two rupees extra
as a measure of caution at the time of paying his income tax. He used to think
that he might not be harassed, but once the money was deposited to the
government exchequer, he had to run from pillar to post and seek
recommendations for getting the refund. It took months together before the
rightful money of the citizen was returned to him from the government
exchequer. Today, we have made a system of issuing online refund. Today,
refunds are given in one, two say or three weeks. Those who are hearing me
today on TV, they would also be realising that they had not given any
application, yet they had got refund directly into their account. So, this
responsibility and accountability are the results of these efforts.
It is equally important to lay emphasis on the transparency for good
governance. You know that a global relationship has already started to become a
common thing in the society today. A middle class man wants to have his
passport- there was a time when about 40 lakh, 50lakh applications were
received for getting passport. Today, approximately 2 crore people apply for
the passport. Brothers and Sisters, earlier 4-6 months were taken for scrutiny
of applications if one did not have recommendations. We changed that situation
and today, I can say with pride that passports are issued to the citizens with
all genuine details, in about one or two weeks and there is transparency no
recommendation is required and there is no dilly-dallying. Today, I can say, we
have issued 1.75 crores passports (in 2015-16 itself.)
In Surajya there must be efficiency in governance and therefore, earlier, if a
company had to set up a factory or desiring to do business in our country,
applications were submitted. There was a task of registration only, one wanted
to do something for the country, but almost 6 months passed in normal course.
Brothers and Sisters, if efficiency is brought, then the same government, same
rules, same officials have got geared up to perform the same task of company
registration within 24 hours and they are virtually doing it. In the last July
itself, they performed the task of more than 900 such registrations.
Brothers and Sisters, good governance is also necessary for Surajya and the
steps we have taken towards this good governance are that, as I had said last
year from the Red Fort that we would exempt group 'C' and group 'D' posts from
interviews, they might get job on the basis of merit. We have detected almost
9,000 posts for which thousands and lakhs of people need to be recruited. Now,
there would not be any interview process for these 9,000 posts, my young men
would not need to spend any money for interviews. Recommendations would not be
needed, roads for corruption and agents will be shut and this work has been
implemented.
Brothers and Sisters, there was a time when a common man got satisfied if the
government announced any plan or merely announced that this would be done, he
used to think that something concrete would happen now. Then, a time came when
people asked for the plan unless the drawing of the plan came. Then, there was
a time when people asked for the budget. Today, the mood of the country has
changed in 70 years. It does not get satisfied with the announcement, it is not
satisfied by seeing the plan, if a budget provision is made, it is not ready to
accept this. It is accepted when things get implemented on ground and we cannot
bring things on ground with the old pace. We have to speed up our work,
increase the pace further and then we can say that we have done something.
Rural roads are a perpetual issue in our country. Each rural citizen craves for
pakka roads. Its a huge task. Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji took this task
specifically. Even succeding governments continued this and the work continued.
We have made efforts to fast track it. Earlier 70-75 Km of rural roads were
completed in a day. Now we have increased that pace up to 100KM a day. This
pace will fulfil the aspirations of common man in the days to come.
We have aid emphasis on energy, specifically renewable energy in our country.
That was a time, when after so many years of independence, we started working
on wind energy. Within a period of last one year we have increased it up to
40%. So this is the scale of up acceleration. Whole world is focussing on Solar
energy. We have increased it approximately 116%-118%. This is not only a
substantial incremental change, it’s a huge leap forward. We intend to enhance the
things in quantum way.
In our country, even before forming of our government, we had the power
production. But to reach the power, you need transmission lines and the good
transmission infrastructure. Two years preceding the formation of our government,
30-35 thousand kilometres of transmission lines were being laid annually. Today
I wish to submit this with satisfaction that we have raised this to 50,000
Kilometres. So we have increased the pace here. If we take the commissioning of
railway lines in previous 10 years, where commissioning means capacity to ply
the trains and to finish all the trials, so earlier it was at the rate of 1500
kilometre in 10 years . But we have made it up to 3500 kilometre in last 2
years. We are to increase this pace even further.
Brothers and Sisters, Now we are connecting government schemes to AAadhaar
Card, focussing on stopping the leakages through direct benefit transfer.
Previous government had connected four crore people to government schemes via
Aadhaar Card. Today I can say this with satisfaction that in place of that work
of four crore, we have completed the task of connecting 70 crore people to
government schemes via Aadhaar card. The remaining will also be taken into the
fold.
Today, for middle class or for common people the ownership of a car is a matter
of pride. There was a time when gas stove at home was deemed as a standard and
as a symbol of social status. During the last 60 years of independence, 14
crore LPG gas connections were given. Brothers and Sisters, it is a great
satisfaction to me that on one side, 14 crore gas connections were given in 60
years, while on the other side, we have given 4 crore gas connections in just
60 weeks. Please compare the two figures - 14 crore in 60 years and 4 crore in 60
weeks. This is the speed, by which a change has become possible in the quality
of life of common men. We have also started the task of eradicating obsolete
laws. The burden of unnecessary laws has been creating hindrance in the
functioning of the government, the judiciary and the public. We have identified
1700 such laws, out of which 1175 laws have already been repealed by the
Parliament and several other such laws are in the process of repealing.
Brothers and Sisters, it had become a tendency among the people to say that
certain work can be done and certain other work cannot be done, certain work
cannot be done now and certain work cannot be done ever. A kind of negativity
was prevalent in the minds of people. Now, a clear break through is visible in the
mindset, a new synergy is seen in the functioning of the government. When an
accomplishment is achieved, it stimulates dynamism, which sharpens our
determination and then, the end result is not far away.
Brothers and Sisters, when we had launched "Prime Minister Jan-Dhan
Yojana", it was almost an impossible task. There were banks and the
governments, nationalisation had already taken place, but the common man of the
country was not able to be a part of the mainstream of national economy.
Brothers and Sisters, we have attained this impossible task through inclusion
of 21 crore persons under "Jan-Dhan Yojana". This is not a matter of
taking credit by the Government, it is really an achievement of 125 crore
countrymen of the country, for which I salute them. The campaign for women
pride in villages of the country is an important issue of today. The practice
of open defecation should be stopped; toilets should be built in villages. When
I had got the first opportunity to address from the ramparts of the Red Fort, I
had expressed my feelings about it. Now, I can claim that more than 2 crore
toilets have already been built in villages of the country within such a short
period. More than 70 thousand villages are now free from the practice of open
defecation. We are working towards bringing change in the lives of common man.
I had earlier announced from the ramparts of the Red Fort that we would
electrify those 18 thousand villages, which are still without electricity.We
are going to complete 70 years of independence, but they had not seen
electricity. They were forced to live in the 18th century. We undertook this
task of making possible the impossible and today I am glad to say that, though
we have not been able to complete even half the task within a thousand days, we
are still away from the half-mark, out of the 18 thousand, electricity has
reached ten thousand villages. I have been told that there are many among those
villages who are watching Independence Day celebrations for the first time
today on television in their homes. Today, from here I extend special greetings
to those villages.
Brothers and Sisters, you will be surprised to know that at merely three hours
journey from Delhi, there is a village called Nagla Fatela in Hathras region.
It takes only three hours to reach this Nagla Fatela. But it took 70 years for
electricity to reach there. 70 years, my brothers and Sisters! And therefore, I
am introducing you to the work culture that we are following.
Brothers and Sisters, the LED bulbs were developed by the science and the
researchers for welfare of every citizen. But in India it used to cost 350
Rupees. Who would buy it? And even the government would think, “It’s alright.
The work is done. Someone must be using it.” But this should not be the attitude.
If LED bulbs can bring about a change in the life of a common man, if it can
ameliorate the environment, if it can improve India’s economy, then the
government must make efforts in this direction. It is the nature of the
government that it intervenes where it is not required and shies away from
intervening where it is needed. We tried to change this situation, this work
culture. And therefore, the bulb which used to be sold at 350 Rupees, it is now
being sold at 50 Rupees because of governmental intervention. See the
difference! 350 Rupees on one hand and 50 Rupees on the other. I do not want to
ask where all this money used to go, however, thirteen crore bulbs have been
distributed till date.
The politics of our country has become populist; the economic policies have
become populist. If three hundred Rupees subsidy for each bulb had been given
from public exchequer, the Prime Minister would have been applauded for doling
out five hundred crore to the people. But we have ensured that they save thousands
of crores by providing bulbs at only fifty Rupees. We have already distributed
thirteen crore bulbs and we have resolved to distribute 77 crores and I would
like to appeal to my countrymen to use LED bulbs in their homes and save 200,
300, 500 Rupees in a year and save energy and save our environment. The day we
achieve the target of 77 crore bulbs, we would be saving 20 thousand Mega Watt
of electricity. When we save 20000 Megawatt electricity, it means we save
around 125000 crores rupees. Brothers and Sisters, you can save 125000 crore
rupees of the country by using a LED bulb at your home. We can fight against
global warming by saving 20000 Megawatt electricity and contribute a lot
towards the efforts aimed at the protection of environment and a common man can
also contribute to it. So, brothers and Sisters, we have worked in that
direction-making the impossible possible.
You know that we depend on other countries of the world for energy and
petroleum products and for that we have signed long term agreements with them
so that we could get these products at fixed prices for a long period. We have
entered into an agreement with Qatar for buying gas till 2024 but the prices
are so high that it is costly for our economy. It was a result of our foreign policy
relationship that we were able to renegotiate with Qatar, and the agreement
which was the right of Qatar, and we were bound to buy gas from it till 2024,
we negotiated with them and today, I can say with satisfaction that we made an
impossible task possible, they renegotiated their prices and it will save 2000
crore rupees of the exchequer of India. They were entitled to get these 20000
crore rupees but the nature of relationship that we have with them and our
policies have made it possible. The negotiations have been going on during the
tenure of all the Governments and efforts were also made for Chabahar Port,
which is an important link for connecting us with Central Asia, but today I
feel satisfied to see an impossible task becoming possible. When Iran,
Afghanistan and India collectively march ahead in a planned way for the
construction of Chabahar Port, an impossible task becomes possible.
My brothers and Sisters, one thing, I want to talk about and which concerns the
common man is inflation. It is true that the inflation rate had crossed 10%
mark during the tenure of previous government. Due to our sustained efforts we
were able to keep it below 6 percent. Not only this, we have, recently, made an
agreement with the Reserve Bank of India that the RBI should take steps to
control the inflation at the level of 4 percent with allowance of plus minus 2.
We should leave behind the talks of balance between inflation and growth and
work for moving ahead. But the country witnessed drought during last two years
and the effect of drought are readily seen on the prices of vegetables and the
outcomes of sluggishness of market have resulted in some problems. The decline
in the production of pulses due to drought during last two years was also a
cause of concern. But, Brothers and Sisters, if the inflation would have
increased at the same pace as it had previously increased, I don’t know how the
poor of my country would have survived? We have tried our best to keep it under
check, but still people have lot of expectations from this government and dear
countrymen your expectations are natural and I will not leave no stone unturned
in achieving them. Whatever best I can do, I shall do that and keep the price
of poor man’s meal under check.
My dear Brothers and Sisters, country is going to celebrate the 350th
anniversary of Guru Gobind Singhji. How can the country forget the saga of
sacrifice which has been the tradition of Sikh Gurus? Today, when we are
celebrating the 350th anniversary of Guru Gobind Singhji, I recall one best
thought expressed by Guruji. Guru Gobind Singhji use to say, how can I consider
those hands pure which have not done any service, hands which have not
strengthened by labour and have not developed any blisters by toiling hard?
Guru Gobind Singhji use to say this. Today, when we are celebrating the 350th
anniversary of Guru Gobind Singhji I remember our farmers. Whose hands are more
pure than theirs? Whose hearts are more pious than their? Whose intentions can
be more pure than theirs? I thanks our farmers that despite two years of
drought, they consistently endeavored to fill our granaries, I greet them for
this. Drought situation has changed and this time we are witnessing good
monsoon. Heavy rains have also created problems at some places. Government of
India stood with those states and citizen who suffered due to heavy rains.
Today, I specially want to thank our farmers, because, when we are facing
shortage of pulses and our farmers have shifted to other crops, and rise in
demand of pulses by common man, I have to say this with content that this time
our farmers have increased the sowing by one and half times. I want to thank
our farmers because they have come forward to solve the problem of the crisis
of pulses and find its solution. We have decided the MSP for pulses and
declared a bonus on it. We have streamlined the process of purchase of pulses
and promoting the farmers for cultivation of pulses. This will benefit us in a
big way.
Brothers and Sisters, when I was talking about work culture, one thing was
clear that I do not look at the issues in isolation but as a whole. Let us see
it as integrated and just take agriculture under integrated things, we have
developed such work culture with lot of hard work, the complete chain of which
can produce a great result. First of all we focussed upon- the wellness of this
soil, wellness of this land, soil health card, macro-nutrition, concern for
micro-nutrition and made the farmers understand that this is lacuna in your
soil, these are the good qualities, your soil is good for this crop, this is
not suitable for this crop and gradually the farmers started their planning
according to this soil health card. The people, who have planned, tell me, sir
our expenditure has been reduced up to 25 percent and 30 percent increase is
being visible our production. This number is less at present, but in future as
soon as this may pass on, this concept will gain momentum. The farmers have
land and if they get water, then the farmer of my country has the power to produce
gold out of the soil. The farmer of my country has this power and that is why
we have emphasized upon water-management, emphasized upon water-irrigation,
emphasized upon water-conservation. We are emphasizing upon how every drop of
water may be utilised by the farmer, how to increase the importance of water,
and get per drop more crop, micro irrigation. More than 90 percent irrigation
projects were lying incomplete and stalled. We have taken up the responsibility
to complete those projects first of all and will work in the direction that
lakh of hectares of land may get the benefit of irrigation. We have taken a big
leap towards solar pump so that the input cost of the farmers may be lessened
because nowadays the farmers require electricity also, they require water, they
need electricity, and electricity costs dearer. On account of it, the input
cost of the farmer is going to be less, the recurring expenditure is going to
be less and due to owning solar pump at home will result in owning electricity,
owning the sun, owning the field, owing the barn and thus our farmer would be
happy. We have succeeded in distributing 77 thousands solar pumps till now.
Brothers and Sisters, I would like to congratulate the scientists of our
country. Good quality seeds are also required along with soil, water and solar
pumps. The scientists of our country have developed more than 131 new farmable
seeds compatible to the climate and nature of India, which have the capacity to
enhance our per hectare production. The values they retain are also being
increased. I heartly congratulate these scientists also. The farmers require
urea as well as fertilisers. There was time when black marketing was in
practice to get the fertilisers, there was time when the police had to lathi-charge
for fertilisers. There was time when the farmer used to watch his crop being
damaged in the absence of fertilisers before his very eyes. Brothers and
Sisters, the lack of fertilisers has become a matter of past, it has become
history now. Today, we have succeeded in utmost production of fertiliser by
overcoming the shortage of the fertiliser.
Brothers and Sisters, because of this production, the fertilizers are now
available to the farmers in time as per their needs. Similarly, We
conceptualized “Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana”. It’s insurance cover
includes maximum protection to farmer’s land and his agro-produce at a
comparatively much lower premium, and that too with a guaranteed cover. We have
constructed new warehouses to preserve 15 lakhs tons of food grains. Our
country’s farmers will benefit only when we move towards value addition, and
for this We have laid special emphasis on food processing for the first time.
We have encouraged cent percent Foreign Direct Investment which would augment
agro-based industries, and Consequentially, my brothers and Sisters, I believe
it would help me and our farmers realize our dream of doubling latter’s income
by 2022. These efforts would make it possible and for realizing the same, We
have taken steps one after another.
Brothers and Sisters, Our country has a fancy for a trend. And the Governments,
with an aim to leave an impression, have done a lot, and to fill the bill in
this country, People go for some populist things and empty the exchequer.
Governments have a trend of establishing an identity. Brothers and Sisters, I
have tried my best to stay away from this allurement, and While doing so, I
have tried to do several things in every range with the mantra of Total
transformation, Transformation with transparency, Reform, Perform and
Transform.
Brothers and Sisters, We are far more committed to build the image of Hindustan
than that of our Government. Regardless of party’s identity, the Country’s
identity holds primacy. For, If the Country moves on, it will yield dividends
for the coming generations, for centuries, and exactly, for this reason, We
have accorded primacy to the country’s identity and not to our party. Now a
days, You must have observed the scope of our work in Railways. While we are
talking about having Bio-toilets in train, we also cherish the dream of Bullet
train. While We talk about “Soil Health Card” for farmers, we also want to
march ahead in the direction of satellite and space technology. While talking
about “Stand-Up India”, we are also taking steps towards “Start-Up India”. We
are laying emphasis on Substance than on Symbolism. We are stressing on
integrated development than on isolated development. Leaving aside entitlement,
we are focused and emphatic on Empowerment because an empowering country, my
brothers and Sisters, provides an identity to the Government through the prism
of the newly declared schemes. But sometimes the old schemes just tumble down.
Nevertheless, the Govts. is a continuity. If the earlier Govts. have done some
work; then it is in the national interest that the next Government rectifies
their shortcomings and gives a go ahead to these schemes. The arrogance that
this was the work of your Government and this is my Govt; hence we would not do
this work; is not in the fitness of the things in a democracy. This is why,
with all humility, we have given similar importance to the schemes of the
previous governments. This is the hallmark of our work culture as our nation is
a continuous and a ceaseless system and we wish to retain that system. This is
why, I have a project called PRAGATI. Under this project, every month, I myself
sit and review all the on going projects. You would be amazed to know that
almost 119 projects worth Rs. seven and a half lakh crores started by various
previous Govts. were lying pending. I got all of them going. I said, so much of
money have been spent on them, so, all these projects should be completed. Now
they are all on the way to completion. We created a project monitoring group. I
asked them to look into all such projects and find out as to when were they
started. I came to know that some of them were started 20 years ago, the other
were started somewhere between twenty five to thirty to fifteen years earlier.
The people living in the areas of these projects know all. We identified such
two hundred and seventy projects worth Rs. 10 Lakhs crores which were
inaugurated by some earlier govts. and some crores of rupees were spent on all
of them; but all that money was going down the drain. We started all such stuck
up projects once again. Brothers and Sisters, such helding up and delaying of
the schemes after having spent crores of rupees on them is a criminal
negligence and we have tried to tide over such things.
Brothers and Sisters, earlier railway projects took at least two years in
getting sanctions. A train is passing from somewhere, road have also been made
on the both side; a rail over bridge is to be constructed. But the approval
took two years. We have speeded up the approval process and have been able to
shorten the approval time to three or four months, or maximum to six months.
Brothers and Sisters, however fast we may work, whatsoever may be the number of
the schemes started by us; the touchstone of good administration of any Government
lies in the last man delivery or the benefits accrued to that person. So, this
has to be taken care off. Brothers and Sisters, when policies are clear,
intentions are clear; then the sentiments behind the decisions are also a class
apart and the decisions can be taken unhesitantly. So, due to the correct
policies and the correct intentions our Government is taking unhesitant
decisions and giving emphasis on the last man delivery.
We have seen and if you also go through the newspapers of Uttar Pradesh, every
year there were stories about the outstanding balance of Sugar Cane farmers.
Every year, there was news that this is not being done by the sugar mill
owners, that was not being done by the state Govt, that sugar cane farmers are
in distress. Thousands of crores of the rupees was outstanding. So, we made
schemes in this regard and tired to ensure the last man delivery and also
ensured that the amount should reach to the farmers. Brothers and Sisters, out
of the total old outstanding balance of the thousands of crores of rupees, I
would like to inform you with a lot of satisfaction that almost 99.5% has been
settled. It has happened for the first time after many years. I can point out
in solace that all the sugarcane which was procured and which came for
marketing this time for that almost 95 per cent of farmers have got the price
of sugarcane produced and I am sure and I believe that the remaining 5 percent
of farmers will also be paid in the coming days.
Brothers & Sisters, We have initiated a mission to provide LPG Connections
to the poor families. We have launched a dynamic mission under
"Ujawala" scheme to get rid of smokes emanating from chulha for my
poor mothers. A target has been laid down to provide gas connections to 5
crores poor families within 3 years. Efforts are in progress and we have
already provided gas connections to around 50 lakhs and that also have been
done merely within the last hundred days - you can imagine - that it may be
possible to achieve the said target even before three years. We intend to
emphasis upon Last Mile Delivery in this mission.
Post has steadily become irrelevant due to onlining of our Post Offices,
Information Technology, Whatsapp, messages, e-mail. Our country is known as the
chains of Post Offices and we have revamped these post offices. Post Offices
are linked with poor and marginalised people. Postman is the only
representative of the Government who is linked with the feelings and affections
of the common man. We have never safeguarded the interests of the Post Man who
has always got the affections of everyone and the postman always cares for
common people. We have taken measures to convert our post office into a Payment
Bank. By setting of these Payment Banks, a network of Banks will be set up
across the villages in the country. People will get the benefits of Jan-Dhan
account. The funds of MGNREGA for the common man is now being transferred into
their respective accounts through 'AADHAAR', the cases of corruption are
decreasing. Everyone will be benefitted through the mission of converting the
Post Office into a Payment Bank.
Brothers & Sisters, PSUs in our country are merely set up for loss-making
units or for turning into sick units slowly and steadily or for disinvestment.
This has been the common practice in the past. We have strived to launch a new
work-culture. Today, I can point out in satisfaction that we have succeeded to
turn the operation of so called notorious Air India into an operational
profit-making undertaking during the last year. It is a fact that which all the
Telcom companies of the world are profit-making units, the BSNL was turning
into a heavy loss-making undertaking. We have succeeded in bringing BSNL to
operational profit for the first time. Nobody believed that the Shipping Corporation
of India could also rake in profit, now it is bringing profit. There was a time
when it was apprehended that how would a power factory last for a week. Whether
we would be able to get coal for them or not. It also used to be reported that
power factories have been shut down for want of coal. Now, we have sufficient
stock of coal at the threshold of the power factories. It could be used for
months by them. Dear Brothers & Sisters, we have achieved it.
Often, you must have seen that there is huge talk of corruption in our country.
I have observed it myself that how corruption has looked the poor people from
the lowest strata of the society and how huge amount of money is being wasted.
We have linked AADHAAR Card and AADHAAR Number with the Government Policies.
Dear Brothers & Sisters, earlier there was a system under which funds used
to be released from public exchequer for widow pension, scholarship, persons
with disabilities and minorities and also we used to receive list of
beneficiaries. We looked into it deeply and found that even unborn children are
also listed in it and getting benefit out of such schemes. These middlemen used
to siphon off billions of rupees from it and nobody even took notice of it. But
under the AADHAAR System, we have removed all these middlemen from the list of
beneficiaries and directly transferred the amount to the beneficiaries and
found that these are millions of such ghost beneficiaries who do not exist at
all and used to receive billions of rupees from it. Now that has been checked.
We saved lot of amount. We decided to find out the needy persons who were
excluded from that list so that the amount of money saved from it should
invariably be deposited into the accounts of those persons who want to fight
for their rights. We have worked in that direction to deliver it to the last
man delivery and we have made it to reach it to them.
All of us are aware of the Coal Scam. Today there is no accusation on the coal
auction. No stigma is attached to it. The states which excavate coal in India,
will continuously earn millions of rupees in the near future. There was a time
when the auction of spectrum was surrounded by allegations. We auctioned it
online and that has filled the coffers of the country, bringing about healthy
competition and also fetching benefits for the nation.
Dear Brothers and Sisters, today the world is passing through an era of global
economy. Every country today is inter-connected and inter-dependent.
Economically, the whole world is somehow inter-connected in one way or other.
However much we may progress in our country, we’ll have to keep the global
economy, global arena in view; come up to the global standards, match it also
to stay relevant, and contribute, and also lead the global economy when the time
comes. Therefore, we’ll have to be alert all the time. We’ll have to comply
with the global standards to make ourselves up to date. Recently, you must have
seen how the World Bank, I.M.F., World Economic Forum, credit rating agencies
and such other agencies in the world have all appreciated the progress of
India. The world is constantly watching these things due to the decisions taken
one after another by India in respect of legal reforms, improvement in system
and changes in approach. We have very speedily improved our ranking in `ease of
doing business’ ratings. In terms of foreign investment, with regard to foreign
direct investment our country happens to be the most favourite destination in
the world today. We have left behind even the big economies of the world in
matters of growth rate and GDP.
Dear brothers and Sisters, do you know what an U.N. institute has estimated
about India for the next two years ? They have estimated that in two years
India will come up to the third spot in the economic sphere in place of its
present level at number ten. Brothers and Sisters, logistic support,
infrastructure, all these things are taken into account in global standards,
comparisons are made with rich countries of the world. Brothers and Sisters,
while making analysis regarding this logistic support and infrastructure of
India, the World Economic Forum has said that India has reached above 19 ranks
as compared to earlier positions and India is moving up and marching ahead
rapidly. Brothers and Sisters, the way we are marching ahead with a dynamic and
predictable economy in our country and also in global reference- the recently
passed GST law, is also an empowering step towards it and all those parties
deserve appreciations for this.
Brothers and Sisters, I had talked about a campaign from the same place-
"Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao". We do not do any work in piecemeal. We
have an integrated approach and I still need the cooperation of the society in
the initiatives which we have taken in "Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao". Every
single parent need to be aware. We should honour the daughters, protect them
and give them the benefit of government's schemes. We have covered millions of
families under "Sukanya Samridhi Yojna" which guarantees benefits for
the daughters when she grows up. We have given greatest importance to the
insurance schemes in which women are benefitted. They are going to reap its
benefits. We have "Indradhanush Tikakaran Yojna"- because if we
ensure two things for our mothers and sisters i.e. economic empowerment and
empowerment against health problems and we educate them, you can take it as an
assurance that if even a single woman is educated in the family, if she is
strong physically and independent economically, she has power to pull the
poorest of the poor family out of poverty and therefore we are working with
emphasis on empowerment of women, health of women, economic prosperity of
women, physical empowerment of women in our fight against poverty.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, "Mudra Yojna"- I am happy that
more than three and half crore families reaped the benefits of MudraYojna. In
it, most of the people who reached to the door of banks were first timers. Even
out of these almost 80 percent people were from SC/ST/OBC. Out of these too, 80
percent are women who took loans from banks, Mudra bank. This is to be
considered that how will these womenfolk will contribute in economic
development. Brothers and Sisters! last week we decided that our mothers and
Sisters who have become the participants in the growth story, need leave after
child birth. Earlier that leave was shorter but now we have increased this to
26 weeks, enabling the new mother to take care of her infant. Our weavers and
the people working in textile, who make yarn and yarn rolls, used to get
Rs.100.We have increased that to Rs.190 so as to strengthen the hands of my
yarn producing mothers and Sisters. Our mothers, Sisters and weavers who are
engaged in silk production will now receive Rs.50 more per meter of production.
This has also been decided that this Rs.50 per meter will not go either to the
trader or to the middleman or to the dealer. Instead this Rs.50 per meter will
go via Aadhaar directly to the account of the weaver who has produced it. This
will empower the weavers. We have started schemes with this intention and
effect is now visible.
My dear countrymen! When we visualize railway and post office then we are able
to see the unity of India. More we increase the institutions connecting India,
our setup will change and that will enforce the unity of the country. So in the
same tune we have started a new market scheme for farmers with the name
‘E-NAM”. Today farmers can sell their produce online in any of the markets of
the country. Now he is not constrained to compulsively sell his produce in the
market which is 10 Kilometers from his field .Neither to sell at low prices
which is not remunerative for his hard work. Now a uniform sort of market
network is establishing throughout the country with ‘E-NAM’. GST is soon to
result in uniform taxation system and a unitary arrangement thus achieved will
unite India as well. You will be amazed to know that earlier a zone was to have
surplus energy and there were no takers. Another zone used to be in dire need
of electricity, had to remain in dark and factories used to be shut. To effect
a change in this scenario, we earned a great success with the ‘One nation, One
grid, One price’. Earlier it used to be Rs.10 per unit in summers but I went to
Telangana few days back to find it to be one rupee ten paise per unit instead
of that age old Rs. 10. This is the result of one-price system, which can
connect the whole country.
A worker of our county has to change his place of work after every one or two
years. But, his amount, deducted under EPF, is not transferred. You will be
surprised to know that when I took the charge of the Government, Rs. 27,000
crore were lying under EPF, which belonged to the workers. Workers were not
able to claim their amount, as they were ignorant of the relevant process. To
solve this problem, we have issued a universal account number to each worker,
which would enable easy transfer of fund to his new place of work. Now, the
worker would get his amount after retirement and it would no more be lying
dormant in a government treasury.
We have strengthened various initiatives such as Bharat-Mala, Setu-Bharatam,
and Bharat-Net etc. We are working towards connecting the whole country and
towards economic development of the country through all these initiatives.
Brothers and Sisters, this year is important due to various reasons. The
country is celebrating 1000th birth anniversary of Saint Sri Ramanuja
Acharyaji. The country is celebrating 150th birth anniversary of Shrimad
Rajchandra Ji, the Guru of Mahatma Gandhi. The country is celebrating 350th
birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh ji. The country is also celebrating
centenary birth celebrations of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya ji. While
remembering Sri Ramanuja Acharya ji today, I wish to underline his message to
the country. He used to say that we should serve all the devotees of the Lord,
irrespective of their caste and class. He had said that we should never
humiliate anyone and should give respect to all, without any discrimination on
the basis of age and caste. The issue that was given importance by Gandhi,
Ambedkar, Ramanujacharya, Lord Buddha, our scriptures and by our all spiritual
gurus too is the issue of 'our social unity'.
If the society disintegrates, the empire straggles, gets divided into the highs
and the lows, the touchables and the untouchables, then brothers and Sisters,
that society cannot sustain. There are social evils, centuries old social
evils, but if the social evils have become chronic, they need a bit harsh and
yet sensitive treatment. The lackadaisical attitude will not solve the social
problems and this is the responsibility of 125 crore citizens. The government
and the society together will have to steer through the social conflicts.
Brothers and Sisters, all of us will have to fight against the social evils. We
all will have to rise above social evils in our own behavior. Each and every
citizen will have to rise above them and then only we can build a strong India.
Without empowering our society, we cannot make India strong. Mere economic
progress does not guarantee a strong India, the guarantee of a strong India
lies in a strong society. And a strong society is built at the edifice of
social justice. A strong society is built only on the edifice of social
justice. Therefore, it is our duty to lay emphasis on social justice. Whether
they be Dalits, the downtrodden, the exploited, the deprived, my Adivasi
brothers, the rural population, the urban population, the literate or the
illiterate, the small or the big- the 125 crore of our fellow countrymen
constitute our family. We together have to take forward our country and we all
have to work in the same direction.
Brothers and Sisters, today the entire world acknowledges the fact that India
is a country of youths. What cannot be achieved by a country through its youth
power whose 65 percent population, about 800 Million people, is below the age
of 35 years? Therefore, my brothers and Sisters, it is the need of the hour
that the youth get opportunity and employment. Today we are heading towards the
birth centenary of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya. Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya
spoke of welfare of the last human being which was even the view of Mahatma
Gandhi. Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya believed in the philosophy of ‘Antyodaya’.
Welfare of the poorest and the weakest was the central theme of the political
philosophy of Pt. Deendayal Upadhyayji. He used to say that every youth should
get education, every youth should be skilled and every youth should get the
opportunity to realise his dreams. We have taken many initiatives to realise
those dreams of Pt. Deendayalji and to fulfil the hopes and aspirations of 800
million youths of the country. The way the road network in the country is
expanding, the largest number of vehicles are being manufactured in the country,
the country is becoming the largest exporter of softwares, more than 50 new
mobile factories have been set up in the country, all these things have created
opportunities for the youths. If two crore door toilets have been constructed,
it has provided employment to someone, cement has been procured from somewhere,
iron has been purchased from some other person, and the wooden work has been
got done from somewhere else. As the scope of work expands, the possibilities
of employment generation also increase. Today, we have stressed in that
direction.
Similarly, we are working on 'skill development' as a mission so that crores of
youth could acquire skills. We have changed a law, though it seems very small,
and this law is 'Model Shop and Establishment Act'. We have sent an advisory to
states to give reasons why the big malls are allowed to open 365 days and upto
12 in the night but a small shopkeeper in the village has to shut his shop
after sunset. Even a poor should get the opportunity to keep his shop open for
365 days. Why should our Sisters not get the opportunity to work in night? We
have made legal provisions so that our Sisters could go to work in night also.
There should be arrangements for their safety and other requirements but they
must get the opportunity to work. These are the things which increase
employment. Brothers and Sisters, we are working in that direction and we are
ready to do it.
Brothers and Sisters, this is the government, we are the persons who don't
believe in delaying the things, we know how to fight not how to delay, so
unless we deal with the problems head-on, it is not going to happen. Today when
we are celebrating our freedom in the country, someone among the army jawans,
who live and die for the country, would be ready for taking the bullets on the
border, someone will be sitting in bunker and some other one would not be
fortunate enough to meet his sister on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan. How many
jawans are working in armed forces? More than 33000 police personnel have got
martyrdom since we got our independence. Why should we forget them and how can
we? These are the people due to whom we can live a life of peace and happiness.
The issue of “One Rank One Pension” was pending for many years. We do not keep
the issues pending but we face them. We have fulfilled our promise of “One Rank
One Pension” and have spread happiness in the home of every Indian soldier. We
did this work.
It was the feeling of our countrymen that the files pertaining to Netaji
Subhash Babu should be declassified. Today, I bow my head and say that without
caring for the result we have decided to declassify these files; a task which
was impossible and kept pending since long. We invited Netaji’s family members
and shown them the files and this process of declassifying will continue. I
requested the other countries of the world to declassify the files held by them
and hand them over to India because Indians have full right to know about
Subhash Babu and history of India. We have worked in that direction.
Bangladesh -- When partition of India took place, a boundary dispute existed
since then. A boundary dispute prevailed since the formation of Bangladesh.
Many decades passed. Brothers and Sisters, all parties have together solved the
Indo-Bangladesh border dispute and we have amended the constitution also.
Brothers and Sisters, a middle class person wants to construct his own house,
wants to buy a flat. Builders lobby shows him a beautifully printed booklet and
the helpless soul falls prey to it. He is not having any technical knowledge,
he pays the installments but he is not getting the promised house in time. A
middle class makes one house in his whole life and in it he invests all his
capital. Brothers and Sisters, we have put a check by passing the “Real Estate
Bill”, so that a middle class should not face any problem if he wishes to own a
house. We have worked for this.
Brothers and Sisters, I have already said that this year is the 150th
anniversary of Shrimad Rajchandra Ji, the guru of Mahatma Gandhi. When Gandhiji
was staying at South Africa, then also he was having correspondence with
Shrimad Rajchandra Ji. In one of his letter Shrimad Rajchandra Ji discussed
violence and non-violence. In that letter Rajchandra Ji writes, when violence
came in to existence from same time the principle of non-violence also born.
The important thing in both is that which we prefer or which is being used in
the interest of mankind.
Brothers and Sisters, the discussion of violence and non-violence is very
inherent in our country. Humanity is in our blood. We are the people of a
great, colossal culture. This country is full of diversity, colours and beauty.
This is such a bouquet of mother India wherein all type of fragrances, all type
of colours and all type of dreams exist. Brothers and Sisters, the unity of
diversity is our biggest strength. The mantra of unity is connected to our
roots.
Brothers and Sisters, a country having more than hundred languages, hundreds of
dialects, innumerable attires, innumerable life styles, despite that this
country remained united- its main reason is our cultural heritage. We know how
to respect, we know hospitality, we know how to assimilate, we have carried
this great tradition and that is why there is no room for violence and atrocity
in our country. If the democracy of India is to be strengthened, the dreams of
India are to be fulfilled then the path of violence would never bring success
for us. Nowadays a game of killing the innocents is being played on the pretext
of Maoism in forests, on the pretext of extremism at border, on the pretext of
terrorism at hilly areas by carrying guns on shoulders. Forty years have
passed, this mother soil has grown blood stained but the persons on the path of
terrorism have not achieved anything. I would like to remind those youth that
this country will never tolerate violence nor would it ever put up with
terrorism. Nor would it bow down to terrorism. It will never succumb to Maoism.
But I exhort them and say that you still have time-return to the mainstream.
Just think about your parents' dream; just reflect on the hopes and
expectations of your parents; return back to the mainstream; live a happy and
peaceful life, for, the path of violence never fetches benefit to anybody.
Brothers and sister, we talk about foreign policy. I don't want to go into
details. We had invited the leaders of SAARC Countries on the day we took oath
at the Centre. Our message was clear that we all, neighbouring countries, have
a common problem, and that common challenge is poverty. Let us fight this
poverty together, by fighting one-another, we are left shattered but if we
fight this poverty, we will walk towards prosperity. So, I exhort all
neighbouring countries to join us in this fight against poverty. No freedom can
be much bigger than the freedom of our citizens from poverty; freedom of our
country's citizen from poverty. No liberation is more liberating than the
freedom from poverty. Whenever a citizen from the neighbouring countries would
get freedom from poverty, we will feel elated regardless of the fact whether
the poor belongs to us or our neighbouring country.
Brothers and Sisters, what kind of people are those who got drive from
humanity and, what is the kind of those who reward terrorism? I want to place
two pictures before this world, and I say to the world, I say to those who
believe in humanity that just weigh out the attack, when terrorists brutally
killed innocent children in a school at Peshawar. The attack take place in
Peshawar, and was a terrorist incident. The innocent children became victim of
the bloodbath; the temple of learning had blood stream all around; innocent
children were slaughtered. Hindustan, the Parliament had tears in it's eyes;
Every Indian school was in tears; every child of India felt the trauma of the
deaths of children in Peshawar. His tears had become unstoppable. Every child,
who was killed in Peshawar in the terrorist attack, ached our heart too. This
is the drive of our nurtured culture of humanity; this is our humanity, but if
you look around, you will find a more to glorify terrorists.
Where innocent people are killed in terrorist attack, and they celebrate, what
type of terrorism inspired life it is, what type of these creations of the
terrorism inspired governments are? The world will understand these two
differences properly, this is sufficient for me. Today I want to specially
honour and thank to some people from the ramparts of Red Fort. For the past few
days the people of Baluchistan, the people of Gilgit, the people of Pakistan
occupied Kashmir, the way their citizens have heartily thanked me, the way they
have acknowledged me, the goodwill they have shown towards me, the people
settled far across, the land which I have not seen, the people I have not met
ever, but people settled at far across acknowledge the Prime Minister of India,
they honour him, so it is an honour of my 125 crores countrymen, it is respect
of my 125 crores countrymen and that is why owing to the feeling of this
honour, I want to heartily thank the people of Baluchistan, the people of
Gilgit, the people of Pakistan occupied Kashmir for having an expression of
thankfulness.
Brothers and Sisters, today when we are celebrating the seventy years of
Independence, then there is a big contribution of freedom soldiers for the
country. When there is a contribution of these freedom soldiers, then the
Government is deciding to increase 20 percent in the honouring amount being
received, pension being received by the all these honourable freedom soldiers
family members. The freedom fighters who earlier used to get 25000 rupees, will
now get 30000 rupees. It is my small effort to pay my respects to the sacrifice
and oblation of our freedom fighters.
Brothers and Sisters, when we talk about the history of freedom struggle of our
country, some persons are talked about a lot, some are excessively mentioned
but the contribution made by the people living in jungles, the tribals, in the
freedom struggle was unmatched. They used to live in jungles. We hear the name
of Birsa Munda but perhaps there would be no tribal dominated district where
the tribals would not have fought and given sacrifice since 1857 to the time we
got freedom. They proved through their sacrifice what is freedom, what is
struggle against servitude. But our forthcoming generations are not much aware
of this history. The government desires and plans that in the coming days, in
the states where these freedom fighters, who were tribals, who lived in
jungles, fought against Britishers, who were not ready to succumb. The
Government would work towards building permanent museums in various states
dedicated to tribal brave freedom fighters, wherever land would be available
for the purpose, where their contributions and memoirs would be displayed, so
that coming generations could be able to know about their sacrifices for the
country.
Brothers and Sisters, in the midst of the debate on inflation, we are realising
one fact that the entire economy of a poor household is affected if somebody
falls ill. The wedding of their daughters gets stalled, the education of
children gets stalled and sometimes even food is not available in the evening.
Healthcare is getting costlier and that is why, I am announcing an important
scheme from the ramparts of the Red Fort for the healthcare of BPL families.
Under this scheme, in the coming days, if such poor families have to take
medical facilities, the government will bear expenditure upto Rs.1 lakh per
year, so that my poor brothers are not deprived of healthcare facilities and
their dreams are not shattered.
My dear Brothers and Sisters, let us proceed forward with a new determination,
new energy, new enthusiasm by getting inspiration from those great persons who
scarified their lives for our freedom. We did not get an opportunity to die for
the country but we have the opportunity to live for the country. We should
dedicate our life to the nation. We should achieve something of substance for
the nation. We should fulfill our responsibilities and also inspire others to
accomplish their responsibilities. We should stride forward for building of one
society, one dream, one resolution, one direction and one destination. With
this very pious feeling, I once again bow my head before the great
personalities of the country, the soldiers who risk their lives for our
security on water, land and air fields and also those 33 thousands martyrs who
sacrificed their lives for us. So, I, hereby, dedicate myself to dream about
the future of the country and call on all of you from the rampart of the Red
Fort to speak with your full might : Bharat Mata Ki Jay! Let the voice reach to
every corner of the world.
Bharat
Mata Ki Jay! Bharat Mata Ki Jay! Bharat Mata Ki Jay!
Vandematram! Vandematram! Vandematram !
Jay Hind! Jay Hind! Jay Hind!
Thank you.
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