Nov-2010-National

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

Nitish wave sweeps Bihar
Voters in Bihar delivered a memorable and truly massive mandate to the NDA, led by Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal (United). The NDA together cornered as many as 206 (JDU 115 and BJP 91) of the 243 seats in the Assembly, a landslide that had eluded even Lalu Yadav at his peak.

Even more spectacular was the strike rate of the BJP, which contested 102 seats and won 91 of them, winning virtually 9 of the 10 seats the party contested. The BJP appears to have done equally well in urban as well as rural constituencies, riding piggyback on the public image of Nitish Kumar.

The share of votes polled by different parties, however, tell a slightly different story. While the NDA got 40 per cent of the votes polled, up 2 per cent from the 38 per cent of the votes polled in the general election in 2009 and from 36 per cent polled by them in the last Assembly election in 2005.

Drastic improvement in Law and Order situation,  speedy trials to convict 50,000 criminals, some from his own party, empowered women, reservation of half of the seats in local bodies and primary school teachers category for women were some of the major reasons for Nitish Kumar retaining power in Bihar.

Absence of local leaders and lack of ground work, and sudden decision to contest all 243 seats dissipated the focus and let to the dismal performance of Congress party.

On November 26, 2010, Nitish Kumar was sworn in as the Bihar Chief Minister for the second consecutive term and the third time at a simple ceremony at the sprawling Gandhi Maidan, Patna. Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi was sworn in as a Cabinet Minister and designated as Deputy Chief Minister.

NRIs to get voting rights
It’s celebration time for nearly 11 million Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) across the globe. They will now be able to exercise their franchise in the elections in the country of their origin. Both Houses of Parliament had passed the Representation of People (Amendment) Bill in the Winter Session of Parliament to grant voting rights to NRIs.

Citizens of India who have not acquired the citizenship of any other country and were living abroad owing to employment, education, or otherwise, are now eligible to register their names in the electoral rolls in the constituency of the address shown in their passport and to vote when and if they are physically present when polls are held.

Until now, an NRI’s name got deleted from the voters’ list if he or she stayed outside the country for more than six months at a stretch.

India’s first eco-sensitive zone on a major river
The Union government has decided to declare the natural course of the Ganga in 135 km stretch from Gaumukh to Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand as India’s first “eco-sensitive” zone on a major river. This means that part of the river cannot be disturbed for any projects. Following this decision, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh approved a proposal of scrapping three big hydel projects— Loharinag Pala, Bhairon Ghati and Pala- Maneri—and providing 2,000 MW of free power to Uttarakhand as compensation for the same.

The decision is direct fallout of Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh’s assurance to religious gurus, including senior BJP leaders, and environment experts that river Ganga will be allowed to run its natural flow in the 135-km stretch. The minister had support of non-official members of the authority, who had been advocating that no dams—small or big—be allowed on the river.

Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal
The Union government has constituted the Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal with a sitting Supreme Court judge, Justice J.M. Panchal as its Chairman. Justice Viney Mittal of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and a former judge of Andhra Pradesh High Court, Justice P.S. Narayana, have been appointed as members.

The Tribunal has been constituted on a request sent by Goa in July 2002, for adjudication of the water disputes with Karnataka relating to Mahadayi River. Maharashtra also stands to benefit from its adjudication. The need for setting up the three-member tribunal was being felt since the Union Ministry of Water Resources had tried to resolve the dispute, but was not successful.

Visit of President Patil to Abu Dhabi
Indian President Pratibha Patil made a goodwill visit to Abu Bhabi and Dubai in November 2010.

India’s economic aspirations and strong growth make it an ideal destination for foreign investment, President Pratibha Patil told members of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce.

All religions of the world unite was the President’s second message in Abu Dhabi.

At an interaction with students of Indian schools from the UAE at the Abu Dhabi Indian School, the President advised them to build friendships and develop the ability to work constructively as a team. She opined that education was not merely necessary to secure a job but an investment into the future and a way to imbibe the concepts of peace, harmony and tolerance.

Inaugurating the Indian Islamic Centre, the President said that it was a tribute to the collective efforts of the Indian Diaspora and would serve as a cultural bridge between India and the UAE.

The President arrived in Dubai to a grand reception given by the Indian community. She also launched a long-awaited 24-hour helpline for distressed Indian workers facing problems with their employers or contracts.

President Patil’s visit to Syria
Indian President Pratibha Devisingh Patil arrived on November 26, 2001, on a four-day state visit to the Syrian Arab Republic. Her visit assumed special significance since this was the first ever visit of by an Indian President to Syria.

Several Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs), including those on cultural exchange, were signed during the visit. Her talks with President al-Assad gave a new momentum to the bilateral relations in all fields, particularly on expanding economic and commercial cooperation. The President’s visit was aimed to bolster a political dialogue between the two countries and discussions were held on bilateral, regional and international issues, including West Asia peace process.

President Patil will also meet Syrian businessmen and industrialists to find new prospects for bolstering and developing economic and commercial relations between the two countries. Syria is an important country for India’s energy security needs.

Syria has already backed India’s demand for a permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council and has always tried to act as a moderator for toning down Pakistani rhetoric in the meetings of Organisation of Islamic Countries.

Visit of President Obama of USA
US President Barack Obama reached India for a three-day official visit on November 6, 2010. He arrived in Mumbai where he paid homage to the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack victims. Later, addressing the Indian and American entrepreneurs he said several landmark deals worth US $ 10 billion have been signed between Indian and American companies shortly before his arrival. These deals, he said, will help in creating more than 50,000 jobs back home in USA.

Among the biggest deals announced included Reliance Power’s purchase of 2,400 MW plants from GE and Spicejet’s deal to buy thirty three Boeing 737 aircraft.

President Obama landed in Delhi on November 7, 2010.

On November 8, President Obama addressed the Indian Parliament. The US President’s speech, which was interspersed with several India-specific references and continuously underlined the fast-improving partnership between New Delhi and Washington, was attended by a packed House, which included Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Cabinet ministers and members of the two Houses of Parliament.

If Obama’s support to India for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council was aimed to please the hosts, the visiting President was equally forthright when he reminded India that this membership also comes with greater responsibilities which require it to spell out its position on issues like human rights violations.

Obama, who was given a standing ovation at the end of his mesmerising speech, also pleased his hosts with a specific mention to the terrorist organisations being harboured by Pakistan.

While speaking on Iran’s nuclear programme, he said the US and India “can pursue” the goal of securing the world’s vulnerable nuclear material. “We can make it clear that even as every nation has the right to peaceful nuclear energy, every nation must also meet its international obligation, and that includes the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said.

India and the United States pledged to defeat all terrorist networks, including the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and strengthen international cooperative activities that will reduce the risk of terrorists acquiring nuclear weapons or material.

Condemning terrorism in all its forms, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President Barack Obama, in a joint statement, issued at the end of the American leader’s official engagements in India, called on Pakistan to bring to justice the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

They reiterated that success in Afghanistan and regional and global security required elimination of safe havens and infrastructure for terrorism and violent extremism in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The two leaders also emphasised the importance of close cooperation in combating terrorist financing and in protecting the international financial system.

Deciding to strengthen and expand the Indo-US global strategic partnership, the Indian PM and Obama called for an efficient, credible and legitimate United Nations to ensure a just and sustainable international order. Singh welcomed President Obama’s affirmation that in the years ahead, Washington looked forward to a reformed UN Security Council that included India as a permanent member.

Singh and Obama also expressed a commitment to strengthen international cooperative activities that would reduce the risk of terrorists acquiring nuclear weapons or material without reducing the rights of nations that played by the rules to harness the power of nuclear energy to advance their energy security. This sentence in the joint statement is obviously aimed at justifying the Indo-US civil nuclear deal under which India will develop nuclear energy with the assistance of major world powers to meet its growing electricity needs. Both sides expressed deep concern about the threat of biological terrorism and pledged to promote international efforts to ensure the safety and security of biological agents and toxins.

On the civil nuclear deal, they reiterated their commitment to build strong bilateral cooperation through the participation of American energy companies in India on the basis of mutually acceptable technical and commercial terms and conditions that enabled a viable tariff regime for the electricity generated.

The two leaders also decided to take mutual steps to expand US-India cooperation in civil space, defence and other high-technology sectors commensurate with India’s non-proliferation record and commitment to abide by multilateral export control standards.

Key health and Education pacts singed: A promise to help India battle old and emerging infections and another of forging collaborations in higher education were the high points of US President Barack Obama’s India visit, which saw two key pacts being inked in the sectors.

On the health front, President Obama and Prime Minsiter Manmohan Singh announced the setting up of the Global Disease Detection India Centre to come up under the MoU between the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Delhi, and the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), Atlanta.

On the education front, the two sides committed themselves to a higher education summit in New Delhi in 2011 to develop “collaborations” in the area.

Building lab capacity at home for diagnoses of emerging infectious diseases using well characterised reference materials and advanced technology transfer that meets CDC and global standards will be the other major takeaways from  health MoU.

India and the US also launched a joint initiative for an ‘Evergreen Revolution’ in agriculture to promote food security across the world. As part of the food security initiative, India’s expertise in agriculture sector will be shared with farmers in Africa. An agreement was also reached between the two nations for cooperation on forecast of monsoon, the most crucial weather feature for a good crop.

Obama said, “like the earlier collaboration between two countries in agriculture that ushered in ‘Green Revolution’ in India, he expected the ‘Evergreen Revolution’ to enhance food security for the world”.

Loan scam
On November 24, 2010, the CBI arrested R.R. Nair, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of LIC Housing Finance, and four other senior officers of public sector banks and financial institutions, including the LIC, the Bank of India, the Central Bank of India and Punjab National Bank, on bribery charges to facilitate corporate loans.

The arrests and the subsequent talk of a housing scam spooked stock markets that fell in the last hour of trading by 232 points with financials and real estate stocks, which were directly related to CBI’s action, bearing the maximum brunt.

The CBI said it had busted a racket wherein the private financial services company, its CMD and other associates were allegedly bribing senior officials of public sector banks and financial institutions for facilitating large-scale corporate loans. They were also gathering confidential business information from financial institutions.

Officials of various public sector banks and financial institutions, namely the Bank of India, the Central Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, LIC and LIC Housing Finance Limited were receiving illegal gratification from the private financial services company that acted as mediator for corporate loans and other facilities from financial institutions.

Post independence, India lost $462 bn in illicit financial flows
Post independence, India lost a staggering $462 billion in illicit financial flows due to tax evasion, crime and corruption, a research and advocacy group has said in a report. The report, released by Washington-based Global Financial Integrity (GFI), found that the faster rates of economic growth since economic reform started in 1991 led to a deterioration of income distribution which led to more illicit flows from India.

According to the primary findings of the report titled “The Drivers and Dynamics of Illicit Financial Flows from India: 1948-2008”, India lost a total of $213 billion in illicit financial flows (or illegal capital flight).
These illicit financial flows were generally the product of: tax evasion, corruption, bribery and kickbacks, and criminal activities.

From 1948 through 2008 the Indian private sector shifted away from deposits into developed country banks and moved more of its money into offshore financial centres (OFCs). The share of OFC deposits increased from 36.4 per cent in 1995 to 54.2 per cent in 2009, the report said.

The total present value of India’s illicit assets held abroad accounts for approximately 72 per cent of India’s underground economy. This means that almost three-quarters of the illicit assets comprising India’s underground economy—which has been estimated to account for 50 per cent of India’s GDP (approximately $640 billion at the end of 2008)—ends up outside of the country.

Telecom spectrum scam
On November 16, 2010, the CAG  indicted former telecom minister A. Raja for ignoring the advice of Prime Minister, Finance and Law ministries to allocate 2G spectrum to new players in 2008 causing a whopping revenue loss of over Rs 1.76 lakh crore.

In the report, tabled in both houses of Parliament, the CAG noted that the ministry of communication and IT “decided to go ahead with arbitrarily deciding that the cut-off date for issuance of Letters of Intent would be advanced to September 25, 2007, and applications received would be decided on FCFS (first-come-first-served) basis.”

In November 2007, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had written to the telecom ministry suggesting introduction of “transparent methodology” of auction, “revision of entry fee” in the “backdrop of inadequate spectrum and large number of applications received for fresh licences.”
   
The CAG highlighted that the Law Ministry had suggested setting up of an Empowered Group of Ministers to discuss the large number of applications and spectrum pricing, but the telecom ministry rejected it saying “the need for forming and EGoM arises when a new policy is being framed and on this particular issue no new policy for grant of UASL (unified access service licences) was being framed.”
   
The auditor, however, said the “contention of the DoT is untenable as the rejection of the advice” of the Law Minister to have detailed deliberations on the issues in the EGoM on the ground that changes in policy might lead to litigation “goes against the well-established and time-tested procedures of functioning of the government and the collective responsibility of the Union Cabinet.”
   
The report said the presumptive loss caused to the exchequer through spectrum allocation to 122 licencees and 35 dual technology licences in 2007-08 was Rs 1,76,645 crore. It pegged the figures on the basis of 3G auction held earlier this year in which the government mopped up over Rs 67,000 crore.

In the 77-page report, the CAG said the figure of the presumptive loss has been determined on the basis of various indicators like 3G auction and a price offered by an operator in 2007, besides scarcity value, nature of competition, business plans envisaged, number of operators and growth of sector.
   
The auditor pointed out that spectrum was allotted by DoT to the existing operators beyond the contracted limits (6.2 Mhz) without imposing any upfront charge for such allotment.
   
On the values determined through various indicators, the presumptive value of 2G spectrum on account of grant of 157 licences in different circles during 2007-08 would be in the range of approximately Rs 58,000 crore to Rs 1,52,038 crore.
   
The value of spectrum held by 13 operators for 51 circles based on the 2001 rates works out to be Rs 2,561 crore, while its value based on above indicators like 3G auction would be Rs 12,000 to Rs 37,000 crore.

The CAG said that 85 out of 122 new licences issued to 13 companies in 2008 were granted to ineligible companies as all of them (85) did not have stipulated paid-up capital at the time of application. Further 45 out of 85 licencees were issued to companies which failed to satisfy conditions of main object clause in the memorandum of Association (MoA), the government auditor said.
   
The CAG said the process of giving dual technology licences to leading telecom firms including Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices “lacked transparency and fairness”, and equal opportunity was denied to other similarly placed operators who could apply for use of dual technology only after formal announcement of the policy.
   
Noting that this approval (dual technology use) had violated Cabinet decision of 2003 to allow additional spectrum at 2001 prices, the auditor said, “Deviation from a Cabinet decision should normally be with the approval of Cabinet.