March-2011-National

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

Passive euthanasia permissible: SC
The Supreme Court of India has rejected the petition for mercy killing of Aruna Shanbaug, who has been in a “persistent vegetative state” for the past 37 years. There is no law to allow it. However, the surprise is that the apex court has permitted passive euthanasia under certain, supervised by a High Court. The conditions require the High Court to seek the opinion of three eminent doctors as well as listen to the government and close relatives of the terminally ill patient. Under passive euthanasia the life support system of a terminally ill patient is withdrawn, while under active euthanasia the patient is given a lethal injection by a doctor.

During the arguments Attorney General G.E Vahanvati had contended that the withdrawal of food to the victim “will be a cruel, inhuman and intolerant approach unknown and contrary to Indian laws”.

Euthanasia, also called assisted suicide, has been debated worldwide. Only a small number of countries permit it: Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg and Switzerland in Europe, Thailand in Asia and the two US States of Washington and Oregon. Australia and the UK have toyed with the idea but dropped it due to opposition from the believers. Pope John Paul II dubbed it “a crime that no human law can claim to legitimize”. However, support for mercy killing is growing, especially in Europe. Polls in the UK and France have shown up to 80 per cent support for a law to shorten life if illness is terminal and causes intolerable suffering.

Cabinet nod for Banking Reform Bill
The Union Cabinet has given its nod to the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, which proposes to increase the voting rights of foreign investors in private sector banks. The Bill—which seeks to align the voting rights of foreign shareholders in banks in proportion to their equity holding—will make it easier for banks to raise capital.

Going forward, as we need capital in banking, this will make it easy for those who are standing on the sidelines to put more capital into banks as and when there are initial and follow-on public offers. It will strengthen the Indian banking system at a time the economy is going great guns.

The Bill, first introduced in the Lok Sabha in May 2005, had lapsed as the Lok Sabha was dissolved for general elections in 2009. The government could not move it ahead in its previous tenure due to stiff opposition from the Left parties, which were its allies.

The Bill also proposes to make it mandatory for a person who wants to acquire 5 per cent or more share capital of a bank to get approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). It also proposes to give RBI more operational flexibility in the conduct of monetary policy and power to specify the statutory liquidity ratio without any floor or ceiling.

The restriction on bank lending to directors and companies in which the directors have an interest is leading to problems in appointing competent independent directors. The Bill says it is necessary to empower RBI to grant exemption from this rule in appropriate cases.

Law to deal with sexual offences against kids
A government study says that 53 per cent of children below 18 years of age have undergone some or the other form of sexual victimisation. What is even more worrisome is that more than half the abusers are known to the children.

The gravity of the situation has set the wheels rolling for a crucial Bill that will give the country, for the first time, a comprehensive law to deal with sexual offences against children, by providing for stringent punishment of up to 10 years in jail, which may even extend to life imprisonment.

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Bill, 2011, will deal exclusively with sexual offences against children. It will protect children from sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography and provide for establishment of special courts for trial of such offences and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

The legal tool also provides for treating sexual assault as “aggravated offence” where it is committed by a person in position of trust or authority over a child, including a member of the security forces, police officer, public servant, management or staff of a children’s home, hospital or educational institution.

It will be treated as an aggravated offence where the child victim is below the age of 12 or suffers from a mental or physical disability or the sexual offence causes grievous hurt or injury to the child with a long-term adverse effect on the child’s mind and body. The punishment for such an offence would be imprisonment of up to seven years with fine. The punishment for penetrative sexual assault has been proposed to be at least five years in jail and a minimum fine of Rs 50,000. Sexual assault also includes fondling the child in an inappropriate way, which will invite a penalty of minimum three years in jail.

Section 7 of the Bill provides for “no punishment” if the consent for sexual act has been obtained with a person aged between 16 and 18 years.

Pension Bill introduced in Parliament
Paving the way for setting up of a regulator for the insurance sector, the Union government, on March 24, 2011, introduced the long-awaited Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Bill in the Lok Sabha. The move aims at providing social security to millions of employees through efficient intermediation of long-term household savings.

The proposed legislation, however, steered clear of making any mention of a ceiling on foreign direct investment (FDI) in the sector. The government will separately notify the ceiling.

The Bill also allows for part investment in stock markets although Left leaders are against equity investment option given to pension scheme.

The Bill, which provides powers to sectoral regulator PFRDA to oversee multiple pension funds in the country, will largely follow the suggestions made by a Parliamentary standing committee in 2005.

The PFRDA is yet to get statutory powers as the Bill pertaining to that effect lapsed in Parliament with the dissolution of the last Lok Sabha in 2009.  The interim PFRDA is functioning since 2003 through an executive order.

Unlike other regulators such as the Reserve Bank of India, the PFRDA does not have statutory status or the quasi-judicial powers of other regulators. Hence, if one of the entities regulated by the PFRDA violates norms, it cannot impose penalties.

The New Pension System, introduced by the government in January 1, 2004, was opened to all citizens of India from May 1, 2009 on a voluntary basis.

Census 2011: Population pegged at 1.21 billion
India's most backward and populous States slowed down their rate of population growth, helping the country register its sharpest decline in population growth since Independence. India's population grew to 1.21 billion, according to provisional results of the decadal headcount declared by Census Commissioner C. Chandramouli on March 30, 2011.

The absolute addition of about 181 million people is slightly less than the population of Brazil—the world fifth most populous country—but the slower decadal growth rate of 17.64% has offered hope to policy makers. This is the first time since 1921 that the country has actually added lesser people in a decade compared to the previous decade.

Eight States, including India's most backward States—Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh—broke the jinx to reduce their percentage decadal growth to 20.9%. This is a significant achievement since the growth rates of these States had frozen at 24-25% since 1971.
The absolute number of children in the 0-6 age group also recorded decline, from 163 million in the 2001 census to 158 million in 2011, signalling a fall in fertility. But worryingly, this decline is sharper in case of females than males.

The figures broadly indicate a drop in fertility across the country except in Jammu & Kashmir, where the proportion of children has in fact increase to 16.01%, compared to 14.65 in 2001.

There are 57 more Indians for every square kilometer in addition to those already jostling for space in the country. Census 2011 shows that from 325 per square km in 2001, the average density of population has increased to 382 in 2011—up by 17.5%. While the cow-belt and West Bengal continues their dominance, the density spread is more in the urban areas, pointing to the pressure on the natural resources, infrastructure and government aid.

India accounts for a meager 2.4% of the world surface area of 135 million sq km and supports 17.5% of the world’s population. In contrast, the US accounts for 7.2% of the surface area with only 4.5% of the population.

At 11,297 people for every sq km, Delhi tops the list of States and Union Territories in terms of density. Chandigarh comes next, with 9,252 people.

Among States, however, the top slot goes to Bihar with 1,102 people/ sq km. West Bengal is the only other State to have a density in excess of 1,000. Uttar Pradesh, otherwise the most populous State, has a density of only 828.

Andaman and Nicobar and Arunachal Pradesh are the least densely populated territories, with 46 and 17 people, respectively, in every sq km.

Dibang valley of Arunachal has only one person in a sq km, while Samba in J&K has two.

Nagaland is the only State that has statistically demonstrated a negative growth rate and a marginal decline in density.

Women steal literacy lead over men: More Indian women gained literacy over the past decade than men, according to the 2011 census. A total of 110 million additional women have become literate since 2001, as opposed to 107 million men over the same period. Never before have women outdone men in numbers gaining literacy over any decade.

India’s overall literacy rate has risen from 64.8 % in 2001 to 74.04% — but the surge in women literates means the gap between male and female literacy has shrunk.

While male literacy has increased from 75.2% in 2001 to 82%, female literacy has jumped from 53.6% to 65.4% over the same period.

The literacy increase—overall and for women—follows a decade in which successive governments have focused on school education like never before since Independence.

The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan launched in 2001, along with the universalisation across government schools of the mid-day meal scheme, are credited by most experts as critical interventions that have helped India achieve near universal enrollment in primary education.

Bihar and Uttar Pradesh—traditional laggards in education—have shown maximum improvement both in improving overall literacy and in their female literacy rate.

Bihar’s overall literacy has gone up from 47% in 2001 to 63.8% in 2011, while UP’s overall literacy has risen from 42.2% to 59.3% over the same period. The female literacy rate of Bihar has jumped a startling 20%—from 33.1% in 2001 to 53.3% now. UP has a seen a rise from 42.2% to 59.3% in female literacy.

Kerala remains at the top of the pile in overall, male and female literacy.

Direct Subsidy Payout Plan
The Union government has approved a three-step strategy to create a foolproof system for transferring fertilizer subsidy directly to farmers.

In the first step, the government plans to track the movement of fertilizers from factories to farmers via retailers. This is expected to be over by December. After this, based on the collected data, it would start paying retailers.

According to DoF, there are around 230,000 retailers who will be paid based on the quantity of fertilizer they receive from companies or through the wholesale route. In the third stage, the government would gradually start paying farmers directly.

Fertilizer companies said the strategy might cause delays and the deadline of March 2012 for directly transferring kerosene, LPG and fertilizer subsidies to consumers could be missed.

In order to account for all subsidy liabilities and lower the outgo, the government has set up a task force under Nandan Nilekani, the chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India. It has been given a deadline of March 2012.

The revised estimates put the subsidy bill—food, kerosene and fertilizers—at Rs 1,64,153 crore for 2010-11. The subsidy bill for food, petroleum and fertilizers is estimated at Rs 1,34,210 crore for 2011-12.

Direct subsidy transfer is positive for the industry, as it removes the working capital issues which arise from delayed payments and under-recoveries.

FDI policy liberalised
Relaxing the rules for foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country, the Union government, on March 31, 2011, decided to permit the issuance of equity to overseas firms against imported capital goods and machinery. Furthermore, the norms for overseas investment in production and developments of seeds have been liberalised.

The measure which liberalises the conditions for conversion of non-cash items into equity, is expected to significantly boost the prospects for foreign companies doing business in India.

In the agriculture sector, FDI will now be permitted in the development and production of seeds and planting material without the stipulation of having to do so under 'controlled conditions'.

The government has further decided to abolish the condition of prior approval in case of existing joint ventures and technical collaborations in the 'same field'. It is expected that this measure will promote the competitiveness of India as an investment destination and be instrumental in attracting higher levels of FDI and technology inflows into the country.

Further, companies have now been classified into only two categories—'companies owned or controlled by foreign investors' and 'companies owned and controlled by Indian residents'.

The earlier categorisation of 'investing companies', 'operating companies' and 'investing-cum-operating companies' has been done away with.

Cricket diplomacy—Pakistan’s PM invited to watch cricket World Cup semi-final at Mohali
Much against the opinion of his own Cabinet, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh invited Pakistani leaders—both Prime Minister and President—to witness the cricket World Cup semi-final match at Mohali, played between the teams of the two nations on April 29, 2011. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani accepted the invitation to take forward the peace initiative taken by the Indian Prime Minister.

At the dinner table in the stadium itself, Mr Manmohan Singh was quick to remind Mr Gilani that there was a need to create an atmosphere free of violence and terrorism for truly realising the goal of normal ties. Prime Minister Gilani full shared the views expressed by Mr Singh.

Before leaving for Islamabad, Mr Gilani said the two countries had the will and ability to resolve their problems and stressed the need to give this ‘positive message’ to the world. Prime Minister Singh termed the meeting as a ‘very good beginning’.

SC strikes down CVC appointment
On March 3, 2011, the Supreme Court of India ruled that the appointment of P.J. Thomas “was in contravention of the provisions” of the CVC Act, 2003, and hence “it is declared” that the September 3, 2010, recommendations of the HPC “is non-est in law” and consequently his appointment “is quashed”. The verdict was given by a three-member Bench headed by Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia.

The Bench, which included Justices KSP Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar, ruled that the HPC neither considered the “personal integrity” of Thomas nor the need for maintaining the institutional integrity and competence of the Central Vigilance Commission, a statutory body set up to fight corruption by guiding the CBI.

The HPC, which included Home Minister P. Chidambaram and Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj, failed to consider the 2003 corruption case relating to the import of palm oil in 1992 by Kerala, where Thomas was Food Secretary, and the four departmental recommendations between June 2000 and November 2004 for initiating “penalty proceedings” against Thomas in the light of the allegations against him in the case.

The SC and the Kerala High Court had also rejected the pleas for quashing the FIR filed in the corruption case and that fact was also not brought before the HPC. The explanation that the HPC could not consider these details as these were not included in the file put up before the committee by the Department of Personnel was immaterial, the Bench ruled.

“The fact remains that the HPC, for whatsoever reason, has failed to consider the relevant material keeping in mind the purpose and policy of the 2003 CVC Act,” the apex court pointed out in its judgment while disposing of two PILs challenging the appointment of Thomas.

The HPC should take into consideration whether the candidate would or would not be able to function as a CVC. “Whether the institutional competency would be adversely affected by pending proceedings and if by that touchstone the candidate stands disqualified, it shall be the duty of the HPC not to recommend such a candidate,” the apex court ruled.

The verdict was “strictly confined” to the legality of the September 3, 2010, recommendation of the HPC, the Apex Court clarified.