India 2010 Year Book Part 2 by Education Chitradurga

16 Health and Family Welfare THE Tenth Plan period witnessed a transition in health care policies and strategies with the effecting of an architectural correction in the healthcare delivery system at the primary and secondary level and the steps taken to set in motion regional balance in the availability of tertiary healthcare facilities. Wide ranging reforms and policy initiatives have been taken for improving health infrastructure and addressing the healthcare needs of the population. Several initiatives have also been undertaken on the disease front to contain morbidity and mortality. Healthcare is one of the 7 thrust areas under the National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) and improvement in health continues to be an important part in the overall strategy for socio-economic development over the planning period. The special focus given to Health Sector in the NCMP has formed the core of the programmes formulated under both Health and Family Welfare. The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) is the key plank for giving effect to the mandate of the NCMP. The NRHM also provides an overarching umbrella to the existing programmes of Health & Family Welfare including RCH-II, Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, TB, Leprosy, NPCB and the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project. It also addresses the issue of health in the context of a sector wide approach encompassing sanitation and hygiene, nutrition and safe drinking water as basic determinants of good health and also advocates greater convergence with related social sector Departments. The core strategies of the Mission include identification and selection of the Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA), decentralized planning, strengthening of existing infrastructure like sub-centres, PHCs and CHCs, adoption of a sector wide approach, flexible financing, community participation, manpower development and partnership with non-government stakeholders. Maternal and child health will be given a basic thrust on the programme front. Monitoring would be community based and through stringent internal reviews and external surveys. The Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) is a major initiative for developing tertiary healthcare in the country, particularly to enable the availability of such facilities on a regional basis. It is also expected to reduce imbalance in human resources development by providing health care services through establishment of medical colleges and an improved delivery of services. Under PMSSY, 6 All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) like institutions are to be set up and 13 medical colleges upgraded. To tackle the menace of other communicable and non-communicable diseases, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare continues to implement National Health Programmes throughout the country for Blindness, AIDS, Cancer, Mental Disorders, etc. A Disease Surveillance mechanism is also being put in place for communicable and non-communicable diseases and their risk factors to facilitate quick response and evaluate control strategies. Central Institutions and organisation engaged in health care, medical education and research are continuously being strengthened to tackle the emerging diseases. The general condition of India's population has improved significantly since the 1990s. The average life expectancy at birth has increased from 59.7 years in 1991

480

India 2010

Health and Family Welfare

481

to 63.7 years for males and 60.9 to 66.9 years during the same period for females. Infant mortality, crude birth rate and death rates have also registered a decline during the period. The strategies put in place in respect of the communicable diseases particularly leprosy and TB has met with sufficient success. In the case of Vector borne Diseases, concerted efforts are being made under the programme while under AIDS, the key strategy has been to build up infrastructure and go in for targeted interventions. The major areas of current focus include continued high morbidity due to communicable diseases, rising disease burden due to non-communicable diseases and nutritional problems. The unmet need for contraception and high unwanted fertility are the other areas of major concern. NATIONAL VECTOR BORNE DISEASE CONTROL PROGRAMME The Directorate of National Vector Borne Diseases Control Programme is the national nodal agency for prevention and control of major vector borne diseases of public health importance namely Malaria, Filaria, Kala-azar, Japanese Encephalitis (J.E.),Dengue/ Dengue Hemorrhagic fever (DHF) and Chikungunya. MALARIA Malaria is an acute parasitic illness caused by Plasmodium falciparum or Plasmodium vivax. Mosquitoes, of which there are 9 major species, transmit malaria in India. At the time of independence, there were an estimated 75 million malaria cases and 0.8 million deaths annually. GOI launched the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) in 1953. DDT spraying resulted in a sharp decline in the incidence of malaria in all areas under spray. In 1958, NMCP was converted to the National Malaria Eradication Programme (NMEP) with a view to eradicate malaria from the country. The strategy was highly successful and the cases were reduced to about one lakh and deaths due to malaria were eliminated by 1965-66. However, operational, financial and administrative constraints led to a countrywide increase in the number of cases after 1967 and in 1976, a total of 6.47 million malaria cases were recorded. In 1977 the Modified Plan of Operation (MPO) was launched with the immediate objective of preventing deaths and reduce morbidity due malaria. The programme was integrated with the primary health care delivery system. The blanket approach of insecticidal spraying was changed to selective indoor residual spray by stratifying areas based on cases per 1,000 populations in a year i.e. the Annual Parasite Incidence (API) of 2 and above. The cases were reduced subsequently from 6.47 million in the year 1976 to around 2.5 to 3 million cases annually till 1996. Since 1997, a declining trend has been recorded. API declined to less than 2 for the first time in 2002 and since then it is reported to be less than 2. The areas vulnerable to malaria are largely tribal, difficult, remote, forested and forest fringe inaccessible areas with operational difficulties. The high transmission areas are the North Eastern States and largely tribal areas of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa and Rajasthan. The State governments are responsible for the planning, implementation, supervision and monitoring of the programme. North Eastern states are being provided 100 per cent support by Cetre for implementation of the programme including operational cost.

482

India 2010

A Grant Agreement was signed with Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) on 27 June 2005 for the implementation of Intensified Malaria Control Project (IMCP) in NE States (except Sikkim), selected high risk areas of Orissa, Jharkhand and West Bengal with the objectives to increase access to rapid diagnosis and treatment in remote and inaccessible areas through community participation and to encourage use of bed nets treated with insecticides (ITNs) to reduce the risk of malarial transmissions and enhance awareness about malaria control and promote community, NGO and private sector participation. In 100 districts in 8 states, namely Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa and Rajasthan, 1045 PHCs predominantly inhabited by tribals were also provided 100 per cent support including operational expenses under the Enhanced Malaria Control Project (EMCP) with World Bank assistance, since 1997. World Bank New Project on "Malaria Control and Kala-azar Elimination" for a period of 5 years w.e.f. 2008-09 (commencing from 1st September, 2008) has been approved by World Bank. FILARIA Lymphatic Filariasis is a serious debilitating and incapacitating disease. The transmission of filaria is through mosquitoes called Culex quinquefasciatus. This disease has been reported from over 250 districts in 20 States and UTs wherein over 500 million people live. The disease is targeted for Global Elimination by 2020 through annual Mass Day Administration (MDA) of single dose of anti-filarial drug. In this context, a pilot project on single dose annual mass DEC drug administration was undertaken during 1997 in 13 districts of 7 endemic states, covering a population of about 41 million. By 2003, 31 districts were brought under MDA. The National Health Policy (2002) envisaged a goal of Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination from the country by the year 2015. In pursuance to this, Government of India launched the campaign of an annual mass drug administration (MDA) with a single dose of Diethycarbamazine citrate tablets - the antifilaria drug in the year 2004, to the eligible population living in the risk of lymphatic filariasis. In the year 2004, 202 endemic districts of 20 states in the country with a target population of 407 million were targeted for MDA. A population of 276.7 million was covered against eligible population of 378.1 (excluding pregnant women, children below 2 years and seriously ill persons) million indicating the coverage rate of 73.19% (against eligible population). DENGUE FEVER/DENGUE HAEMORRHAGIC FEVER Dengue fever is a viral disease, which is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. The Aedes mosquitoes breed in clean water in man made containers such as water coolers, discarded tyres, disposable cups, flower vases and other water storage containers. The first out break of Dengue fever/DHF was reported from Kolkata in 1963. All the four serotypes of dengue are prevalent in India. In recent years, Dengue is increasingly being reported from peri-urban and rural areas, due to expanding urbanization and lifestyle changes. The most affected areas are West Bengal, Delhi, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana. As there is no specific treatment for Dengue, the emphasis is on avoidance of mosquito breeding conditions in homes, workplaces and minimizing the man-mosquito contact. Community awareness and participation

Health and Family Welfare

483

as well as inter-sectoral collaboration are crucial for effective control of Dengue. In addition, enactment and enforcement of appropriate Civic bye-laws and Building bye-laws should also stressed upon in all urban areas to prevent mosquitogenic conditions in line with the Delhi, Mumbai, Goa and Chandigarh health administrations. CHIKUNGUNYA Chikungunya is a debilitating non-fatal viral illness which has occurred in outbreak form in India during 2006 after a gap of 32 years. It resembles dengue fever. It is caused by Chikungunya virus. It is spread by the bite of female Aedes mosquitoes, primarily Aedes aegypti. JAPANESE ENCEPHALITIS (JE) Japanese Encephalitis is an acute viral illness with high case fatality and long term complications. The vector breeds in large paddy fields and similar large water bodies. The vector is an outdoor rester and feeder. The disease has acquired serious magnitude in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Bihar, Goa, and Haryana. There is no specific treatment for JE. Efforts were made by states and Govt of India to contain JE outbreaks by instituting various public heath measures including selective JE vaccination. Considering the value of vaccination in prevention of JE, the Centre launched a JE vaccination programme during 2006 for children between 1 and 15 years of age in 11 districts of the 5 states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Karnataka and West Bengal with using single dose live attenuated SA-14-14-2 vaccine. The programme expanded to 27 districts in 9 states during 2008. KALA-AZAR Kala-azar is a parasitic disease caused by Leishmania donovani transmitted by sandflies Phlebotomus argentipes. The disease is prevalent among socioeconomically poorer sections of the society living in rural areas. The disease is chronic and if not treated, leads to death. Kala-azar is endemic in Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and parts of Uttar Pradesh. The Central Government initiated Kala-azar control Programme from 1990-91 incorporating assistance for procurement of insecticides and anti-leishmanial drugs. The National Health Policy 2002 envisaged a goal of Kala-azar Elimination by the year 2010. To pursue the goal of elimination of Kalaazar by the year 2010, the Govt of India is providing 100% support to endemic states since 2003, apart from regular technical guidance. Timely and quality Indoor Residual Spraying with DDT for vector control, complete treatment of patients as well as intensive social mobilization is being stressed upon. Govt. of India has accelerated the Kala-azar elimination by taking the following renewed efforts. 1. Intensification of Kala-azar Case Search through Kala-azar Fortnight. 2. Patient Coding Scheme initiated in all treatment centres to ensure complete treatment compliance. 3. Introduction of rapid diagnostic test (rk39) and oral drug miltefosine for early detection of Kala-azar and better treatment compliance. 4. Identification of Kala-azar activist amongst the affected communities and mobilization of the community for eary reporting and treatment compliance. TUBERCULOSIS Tuberculosis is a major public health problem in India. India accounts for one-fifth of the global TB incidence and is estimated to have the highest number of active TB

484

India 2010

cases amongst all the countries of the World. Every year there are approximately 18 lakh new cases in the country of which approximately 8 lakh are new smear positive and therefore infectious. Each sputum positive case if not treated, on an average, infects 10-15 persons in a year. Two persons die from TB in India every three minutesmore than 1,000 people every day. To control TB, National Tuberculosis Control Programme (NTCP) is in operation in the country since 1962. This could not achieve the desired results. Therefore, it was reviewed by an expert committee in 1992 and based on its recommendations, Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP), which is an application to India of WHOrecommended strategy of Directly Observed Treatment Shortcourse (DOTS), was launched in the country on 26 March 1997. The objectives of RNTCP are (i) to achieve and maintain a cure rate of at least 85% among newly detected infectious TB cases and (ii) achieve and maintain detection of at least 70% of such cases in the population. RNTCP was implemented in the country in a phased manner and by 23rd March 2006 the entire country had been covered under RNTCP. The Programme is being implemented with assistance from World Bank, DFID, USAID, GDF and GFATM. Overall performance of the RNTCP for the country has been excellent with cure/treatment completion rate consistently above 85% and death rate among patients registered for treatment reduced to less than 5%. More than ninety per cent of the new smear-positive cases detected are being put under DOTS. Till date, the RNTCP has placed more then 86.4 lakh patients under treatment, averting more than 15.5 lakh deaths. Every month, more than 1,00,000 patients are placed under treatment. In 2007 alone, India placed around 14.75 cases on DOTS, more than any country in a single year in the world. The Programme envisages to develop an effective partnerships with the health care providers outside the public health system including NGOs, Private Practitioners (PPs), Corporate sectors etc. NATIONAL LEPROSY ERADICATION PROGRAMME (NLEP) The National Leprosy Control Programme was launched by the Government of India in 1955 based on Depsone Monotherapy. Multi Drug Therapy (MDT) came into wide use from 1982 after which the programme was re-named as the National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) in 1983. The Programme was expanded with World Bank assistance from 1993-94 to 2003-04 with the objective to achieve elimination of leprosy as a public health problem by 2005, thereby reducing the case load to less than 1,10,000 population. NLEP was decentralized to States/ District and Leprosy services were integrated with General Health Care System 2001-2002 onwards. This helped in reduction of stigma & discrimination against persons affected with leprosy (PAL). Free Multi Drug Therapy (MDT) is being provided at all sub-centres, PHCs, Government Hospitals and dispensaries on all working days. Subsequent to the introduction of NRHM, Leprosy programme has also been an essential part of the Mission. The institutional mechanism available under NRHM like Rogi Kalyan Samiti, Village Health & Sanitation Committee and Panchayati Raj Institutions are being utilized for providing leprosy services. The ASHAs are involved in referral of suspect leprosy cases to nearest health facility and follow-up for their treatment completion. They are paid incentive for their services. India achieved the goal of elimination of leprosy as a public health problem i.e. to reduce the number of cases to < 1/10,000 population) at National level in the month of December 2005 as set by National Health Policy 2002. By March 2009, the prevalence rate (PR) of leprosy in the country declined to 9.72 per 10,000 population.

Health and Family Welfare

485

As on March 2009, 32 States/UTs have achieved the goal of leprosy elimination. The remaining 3 States/UT viz. Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Dadra and Nagar Haveli are having PR more than 1 per 10,000 population. 1.34 lakh leprosy cases were detected during 2008-09 with an Annual New Case detection Rate of 11.19 per lakh population. Out of total 1.34 lakh cases discharged during 2008-09, 1.24 lakh (92.5%) completed treatment and were released as cured. In 2008-09, 3763 (2.8% of new leprosy cases detected) grade II disability cases were detected. Although the number of disability in leprosy affected persons has reduced substantially, yet quite a backlog of cases exist for correction of their deformity. The disability Prevention & Medical Rehabilitation activities have been accelerated by increasing the number of centres providing reconstructive surgeries (RCS) to leprosy affected persons with disabilities. This will also help in regaining the status of leprosy affected persons in the government and 33 NGOs in the country providing RCS services. In 2008-09, 2960 RCS operations were conducted for disability correction. The IEC activities have been intensified and special IEC drive on the theme 'Towards leprosy free India' has been launched since January 2008. This drive focuses on further reduction in leprosy burden, early reporting of cases & treatment completion provision of quality leprosy services and reduction in stigma & discrimination. The Ministry as a nodal agency is coordinating with other Ministries/ Departments for amendments of various laws/Acts which are discriminatory against persons affected with leprosy and their family members. NATIONAL PROGRAMME FOR CONTROL OF BLINDNESS National Programme for Control of Blindness (NPCB) was launched in the year 1976 as a 100% Centrally Sponsored scheme with the goal to reduce the prevalence of blindness to 0.3% by 2020. Rapid Survey on Avoidable Blindness conducted under NPCB during 2006-07 showed reduction in the prevalence rate of blindness from 1.1% (2001-02) to 1% (2006-07) The objectives of the programme are :a) to reduce the backlog of blindness through identification and treatment of the blind; b) to develop Comprehensive Eye Care facilities in every district; c)

to develop human resources for providing Eye Care Services;

d) to improve quality of service delivery; e)

to secure participation of Voluntary Organizations/Private Practitioners in eye Care.

(e) to enhance community awareness on eye care. Pattern of Assistance during 11th Five Year Plan: The following are main features of the pattern of assistance during 11th Five Year Plan: a)

Keeping in view austerity measures and to avoid duplicity of work, State Ophthalmic Cell has been merged with State Blindness Control Society. Due to formation of National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), State Blindness Control Society (SBCS) under NPCB has been further merged with State Health society under NRHM. District Blindness control society (DBCs) under NPCB has also been merged with District Health Society under NRHM.

486

India 2010

Increase in assistance for commodity to various facilities to increase their capacity for treatment of all types of eye ailments;

Facility for India-ocular Lens (IOL) implantation expanded up to Taluka level;

Marginal increase in grant-in-aid to Eye Banks, Eye Donation Centres and NGOs due to escalation of costs and to improve quality of services;

In addition to cataract, assistance would also be provided for other eye diseases like glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, management of laser techniques, corneal transplantation, vitreoretinal surgery, treatment of childhood blindness etc.

Assistance for construction of dedicated Eye Wards and Eye Operation Theatres in North East States and few other states as per need;

Assistance for appointment of Ophthalmic manpower - Ophthalmic Surgeons, Ophthalmic Assistants and Eye Donation Counsellors - on contractual basis;

Assistance for involvement of Private Practitioners in sub-district, block and village levels;

Assistance for involvement of Ophthalmic equipments supplied under the programme; Development of Mobile Ophthalmic Units with Teleophthalmology Network and some fixed tele-models to cover difficult hilly terrains and difficult areas;

Critical posts of 228 Eye Surgeons and 510 Ophthalmic Assistants sanctioned during the 9th Plan and continued during 10th Plan, would be integrated within the State Plan in a phased manner;

Strengthening of Management Information System and

Intensification of IEC activities.

New Initiatives during 11th Five Year Plan 1.

Construction of dedicated Eye Wards & Eye OTs in District Hospitals in North-Eastern States, Bihar, Jharkhand, J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and few other States where dedicated Operation Theaters are not available as per demand.

Appointment of Ophthalmic manpower (Ophthalmic Surgeons, Ophthalmic Assistants and Eye Donation Counsellors on contractual basis).

Grant-in-and to NGOs for management of other Eye diseases other than Cataract like Diabetic Retinopathy, Glaucoma Management, Laser Techniques, Corneal Transplantation, Vitreoretinal Surgery, Treatment of childhood blindness etc of Rs. 750 per case for Cataract/IOL Implantation Surgery and Rs. 1000 per case of other major Eye Diseases as described above.

Development of Mobile Ophthalmic Units in NE States, Hilly States & difficult Terrains for diagnosis and medical management of eye diseases.

Health and Family Welfare

487

Involvement of Private Practitioners in Sub District, Blocks and village Level.

Maintenance of Ophthalmic Equipments supplied to Regional Institutes of Ophthalmology, Medical Colleges, District/Sub-District Hospitals, PHC/ Vision Centres.

Pilot Project on Prevention and Control of Human Rabies To prevent human deaths due to rabies a pilot project has been initiated as a 'New Initiative' in the 11th Five Year Plan since March 2008, to be completed by March 2010. National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) is the nodal agency to coordinate various activities under the project. It is being carried out in five cities viz; Ahemdabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Pune & Madurai. The focus of the pilot project is on training of health professionals about rabies and animal bite management, ensuring timely and adequate post-exposure treatment to all animal bite victims, creating awareness in the community regarding rabies, animal bites and its prevention, strengthening laboratory diagnostic capabilities, facilitating introduction of intradermal route of vaccination and sensitizing veterinarians. A total amount of Rs. 3.26 crore has been allocated for the project. An amount of Rs. 1.81 crore was released during 2008-2009 to pilot project cities to carry out various activities under the project. l Two training courses for core trainers from pilot project cities have been conducted at NCDC. The core trainers have, in turn trained doctors & paramedical staff in their respective cities. l

l l l l l l

None of the pilot project cities was using id route of inoculation of cell culture vaccine. After the initiation of the project and training, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Pune & Madurai have implemented intradermal route of inoculation in major ARCs. Ahemdabad, Bangalore, Pune & Madurai have strengthened one laboratory each. They have procure fluorescent microscope & conjugate. Training has been conducted for Doctors & Laboratory technicians on lab diagnostic techniques in October 2008. Expert group meeting to develop prototype IEC material was held at NCDC, Delhi. The pilot project cities have translated prototype IEC material in local languages and disseminated in the from of hoarding, posters & Radio Jingles. Baseline data has been received form pilot project cities Scientific advisory group has been constituted to monitor the implementation & progress of project.

Pilot Project on Prevention and Control of Leptospirosis To prevent morbidity and mortality due to Leptospirosis in human, a pilot project has been initiated as a 'New Initiative' in the 11th Five Year Plan for two years (March 2008 to March 2010). NCDC is the nodal agency and the three states under the project are Gujarat, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The focus of the project is on early diagnosis and treatment of Leptospirosis cases, Strengthening of Laboratory and patient management facilities, trained manpower, awareness in the community and inter-sectoral co-ordination. A total amount of Rs. 2.05 crore has been allocated for the project. An amount of Rs. 99 Lakhs was released during the year 2008-09. Rs. 95.50 lakhs was allocated to pilot project states to carry out various activities.

488

India 2010

Utilization Certificate and Statement of expenditure of Tamil Nadu (Rs. 30.00 Lakhs) and Gujarat (Rs. 35.50 lakhs) has been obtained. In the current financial year 2009-10, a sum of Rs. 80.00 Lakhs has been allocated. Summary of Progress of activities under the pilot project:l Baseline data till August 2009 have been collected from all the three states. l In all the districts of the project states Laboratories were identified and being upgraded. Training of laboratory personnel have been done in NCDC in Laboratory Diagnostic technique in Leptospirosis. l 2 courses have been conducted to train the core trainers and in all 298 health professionals have been trained in all the three states till August 2009. l Assessment of patient management facilities was done by officials from NCDC. Uniform guidelines formulated and 5000 copies printed and disseminated. l Prototype material was developed and provided to the states for translation in local language. The material was translated and displayed at strategic points. l Intersectoral meetings were conducted in all the three project states for spreading awareness among Veterinarian and agricultural personnel. National Tobacco Control Programme A comprehensive tobacco control legislation titled "The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 was notified in the official gazette on 19th May, 2003. The Act is applicable to whole of India and covers all types of tobacco products. The main provisions of the Act are as follows: a)

No person shall engage in smoking in a public place; (Revised Rules have been notified and came into effect on 2nd October, 2008).

To prohibit direct and indirect advertisement of and provide for regulation of the trade and commerce in, production, supply and distribution of all tobacco products.

There shall be a total ban on sponsoring of any sport/cultural events by cigarette and other tobacco product companies.

No person shall sell tobacco products to any person below the age of 18 years. (implemented w.e.f. 1st May 2004)

Ban of sale of tobacco products within a radius of 100 yards of educational institutions. (implemented w.e.f. 1st December 2004)

No person shall trade in any tobacco products including imported products unless the specified warnings are indicated. (Rules have been notified and have come into effect from 31st May, 2009)

In order to effectively implement the tobacco control Act/Rules, create awareness about ill effects of tobacco and as an obligation for the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) the pilot phase of National Tobacco Control Programme was launched in 2007-08 in 18 Districts of 9 States and also further upscaled to cover 24 districts of 12 States during the 2008-09. The proposed programme broadly envisages-

Health and Family Welfare

489

1. 2. 3.

Mass media anti-tobacco campaign Establishing tobacco product testing labs Capacity building at the State and District level by setting up State Tobacco Control Cells and District tobacco control programme. This component would be integrated with NRHM activities. a. Train the health workers, school teacher etc. on ill effects of Tobacco., b) Engage NGOs, to carry out school health campaign in the Government Schools.

Monitoring and evaluation including Adult Tabacco Survey (ATS)

Collaboration with ICAR / DARE for alternate crop to tobacco and will Ministry for Rural Development on alternate livelihood to bidi workers.

NATIONAL AIDS CONTROL PROGRAMME (NACP) HIV/AIDS Situation in India a. As per revised estimates carried out during 2006 using multiple data sources, including National Family Health Survey, the number of persons living with HIV in the country is 2 to 3.1 million with an estimated adult HIV prevalence of 0.36%. b. The adult prevalence rate of HIV infection in the country has stablized over the last three years. (0.41% in 2004, 0.39% in 2005 and 0.36% in 2006). c. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra & Tamil Nadu contribute 63% of the HIV infected persons in the country. d. 39.3% of the infections are in women and 3.8% in children. e. 84.6% of the infections were transmitted through the sexual route and peri-natal transmission accounted for 4.34% of infections. 1.8% and 1.9% of infections were acquired through injection drug use and contaminated blood and blood products respectively. f. The HIV prevalence among high risk groups continues to be nearly 6 to 8 times greater than that among the general population. Based on the sentinel surveillance data for 2004-2006, the districts have been classified into 4 categories. There are 156 districts in category A, 39 districts in category B, 296 in C category and 118 in D category. NATIONAL RESPONSE UNDER VARIOUS INTERVENTIONS Targeted Interventions for Population at High Risk The Targeted Intervention (TI) projects aim to interrupt HIV transmission among highly vulnerable populations. Such population groups includeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;commercial sex workers, injecting drug users, men who have sex with men, truckers and migrant workers. As on date, 871 Targeted Interventions are operational in various states and UTs in the country. Saturation of all high risk groups through 2100 TIs and development of 50% of TIs into CBOs is the target under NACP-III. Recently, Oral Substitution Therapy (OST) has been introduced in the National Programme as a part of the Harm Reduction Strategy to bring down HIV infection among injectible drug users. The total to be covered under OST is 40,000 persons for Rs. 136 crore.

490

India 2010

Blood Safety About 1.1% of the transmission is through contaminated blood. The goal is to reduce the transmission through blood to less than 1%. Over 1088 blood banks have been modernized, over 59% of the total blood units collected through Voluntary Blood Donation and a system of mandatory screening of blood for HIV, Hepatitis B&C, malaria and syphilis is enforced. This has enabled reducing transmission of HIV infection through contaminated blood from about 6.07% (1999), 4.61% (2003), 2.07% (2005), 1.96% (2006) to 1.1% (2007). The blood safety activities constitute an important component of National AIDS Control Progrmame, as the gap in supply and demand needs to be met to ensure availability of quality blood and blood products. The vision of blood safety activities is to ensure provision of adequate, safe and quality blood to every patient in need of transfusion in the country through a well coordinated National Blood Transfusion Services. The specific objective is to ensure reduction in servo-reactivity among Blood donors to less than 1%. Under the existing regulatory framework, all the blood units are mandatorily tested against five Transfusion Transmissible Infections (TTIs) i.e. HIV, Hepatitis-B, Hepatitis-C, Syphilis and Malaria. Only the blood units free from these TTIs are used for transfusion purposes. 4 new initiatives have recently been taken: 1) Constitution of 4 state of the Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) Blood Banks in the metros each with a capacity of daily collection of 1 lakh units for an outlay of Rs. 400 crore. It is under submission to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) for approval. 2) A Fractionation Plant for Rs. 250 croreâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;under submission to the CCEA for approval. 3) A draft Law to regulae standards in Blood Safetyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;under submission to Ministry of Law. 4) Establishment of a National Blood Transfusion Authority. Integrated Counseling and Testing Centres (ICTC) About 70% of HIV infected are not aware about their status and there is need to extend access to the counseling and testing facilities and increase demand generation. The ICTCs have been established at medical colleges, district hospitals, sub district level hospitals and few community health centres and it is proposed to further exstend the services to all the CHCs and 24 hours PHCs in the country. Prevention of Parent to Child Transmission All the ICTCs centres are now providing counseling and testing services to pregnant women. Hospitals with large number of ANCs & institutional deliveries provide an ICTC in the Obstretics & Gynaecology department. The programme aims at increasing the proportion of women counseled and tested, specially in category A&B districts and the coverage of HIV positive women with nevirapine to 70% in the next year. The high dropout rates need to be addressed and awareness levels and demand for services improved. Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) The number of STI clinics being supported by NACO has increased from 815 in 2005 to 895 in 2007. The reported number of patients treated for STI in 2005 was over 16.7

Health and Family Welfare

491

lakh, in 2006, 20.2 lakh and in 2007, it has increased to 25.9 lakh. The baseline survey carried out in 2001 indicated that at any given time 6% of the adult population had symptoms of STI. There is, thus, very large gap between the estimated number of STI patients and those reported to have sought treatment in government health faciliteis. During 2006, NACO and RCH division jointly a manual on management of STIs, so as to strengthen the services in the government health facilities and also to involve the physicians working in the private sector. Joint training material has also been developed. A package for involvement of private physicians in the Category A&B districts has been developed. Medicines are under procurement in coloured cartons for each STI syndrome to facilitate the management of STI inthe peripheral health facilities. Care and Support Government of India announced a policy cum programme commitment for providing free ART with effect from 1st April, 2004. Antiretroviral treatment (ART) is a combination of at least 3 ARV drugs that is given to HIV infected individuals once they reach a stage of advanced immuno-suppression. At present there are 174 ART centres in the country. More than 1.46 lakh patients are receiving free ART at these centres (May, 2008). In addition nearly 35,000 patients are receiving ART in private and NGO sector. Second line ARV drugs are being provided free of cost at Mumbai and Chennai from 2008. A total of 159 community care centres have also been established in high prevalence states to enable People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) to get used to ART, to provide Counseling & follow-up advice on drug adherence, management of opportunistic iinfections and Nutrition Counseling, to provide preART care for those PLHA who are not yet on ART through outreach and home-based services. To reduce inconvenience and indirect expenditures of patients, 46 drug dispensing centres have been established linked to the ART centre. These link centres will require the patients to go to the ART centres only 2 times instead of 12 as at present. Second line treatment has been introduced on a pilot basis in 2 centres and 42 persons are being treated. National Paediatric AIDS Initiative In order to provide comprehensive Care & Support (including ART) to children infected and affected by HIV, NACO has launched National Paediatric AIDS Initiative on 30th November, 2006. For this initiative NACO, along with the Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP), UNICEF, WHO and Clinton Foundation, has developed guidelines for paediatric ART. ARV drugs in paediatric formulations are available at all ART centres. Number of children receiving ART increased from 1800 before October 2006 to 9925 in May 2008. 32,500 are reported and being monitored. Other activities under this initiative include establishement of seven Regional Paediatric Centres, free CD4 monitoring, free DNA PCR test for children up to 18 months, liquid formulations for babies weighing less than 5 kg, diagnosis and treatment of opportunistic infections and micro nutrient supplementation. The initiative also includes training of paediatricians and counselors, establishing laboratories for diagnosis, introduction of Dried Blood Support system to transport dried blood samples. Care and Support for CLHA (Children Living with HIV/AIDS) orphans and vulnerable children forms an integral part of NACP III. Condom Promotion Condom programme is central to HIV/AIDS prevention at the intervention level. The use of condoms is promoted as a protection against STIs and HIV/AIDS in addition,

492

India 2010

to Family Planning. Condom use is promoted and condoms provided at all ICTCS and ART centres and also the STI clinics. In 2006, 1250 million condoms were supplied free, 604 million were distributed through social marketing while 389 million through commercial marketing. 11025 Condom Vending Machines have been installed and another 11000 are in the process of being installed. 3.5 billion condoms are targeted to be distributed through 3 million outlets during NACP-III. Information , Education and Communication activities (IEC) NACO is working on a communication strategy which is a shift from awareness generation to bringing about behaviour change. NACO has focused on reduction of stigma and discrimination, promotion of services viz., counseling & testing, ART, routinisation of condom use and blood safety. Special emphasis has been given to youth and women who are more vulnerable to HIV inifection. A cadre of village level Link workers are going to be set up in A & B category districts for focused interventions of BCC. Intensive IEC among general populations has resulted in increaseing awareness of HIV/AIDS among rural populations to about 75% (BSS 2006). Under the adolescent education program, over 1,14,345 high schools have been covered with HIV/AIDS and life skill education programs. The Red Ribbon Express launched on 1.12.2007 has traversed over 180 stations and 27,000 kms. It has drawn huge crowds at all the stations. Mainstreaming In order to reiterate the Government's multisectoral response to prevent the spread of HIV and to facilitate a strong multi-sectoral response to combat it effectively, a National Council on AIDS (NCA) has been constituted, under the chairmanship of Hon'ble Prime Minister with representation of 33 ministries and departments. Private sector, civil society organisation, PLHA networks and government departments would all play crucial role in prevention, care, support, treatment and service delivery. National Iodine Deficiency Disorders Control Programme Iodine is an essential micronutrient with an average daily at 100-150 micrograms for normal human growth and development. Deficiency of Iodine can cause physical and mental retardation, cretinism, abortions, stillbirth, deaf mutism, squint & various types of goiter. Results of sample surveys conducted in 325 districts covering all the States/Union Territories have revealed that 263 districts are endemic where the pevalence of Iodine Deficiency Disorders is more than 10%. It is estimated that more than 71 million persons are suffering from goiter and other Iodine Deficiency Disorders. The Government is implementing the National Iodine Deficiency Disorders Control Programme (NIDDCP) formerly known as National Goitre Control Programme (NGCP) since 1962 a 100% centrally assisted programme with a focus on the provision of iodised salt, IDD survey/resurvey, laboratory monitoring of Iodated salt and Urinary Iodine excretion, health education and publicity. The annual production of Iodated salt is about 52.00 lakh M.T. Government of India has banned the sale of non-iodated salt in the entire country for direct human consumption under Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 with effect from 17th May, 2006. For effective implementation of the Programme at the State level, the Ministry of Health is providing financial assistance to all the States/UTs for establishment of an IDD Control Cell and IDD Monitoring Laboratory in addition to assistance for conducting surveys and Health Education & Publicity for consumpton of iodated salt by the population.

Health and Family Welfare

493

The Ministry of Health is also conducting Information, Education and Communication. National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) Severe mental disorders that include scnizophrenia, bipolar disorder, organic psychosis and major depression affect nerarly 20 per 1000 population. This is a population that needs continuous treatment and regular follow-up attention. Close to ten million severely mentally ill are in our country without adequate treatment by this estimate. More than half remain never treated. Lack of knowledge on the treatment availability & potential benefits of seeking treatment are important causes for the above. Witih a large population in our country on one hand and very few psychiatrists being available on the other hand, less than one psychiatrist is available for every 3 lacs population. The psychiatrist/population ratio in rural areas that account for 70% of country's population, could well be under one for every million. To address this huge burden National Mental Health Programme was started in 1982 with the following three objectives: l To ensure availability and accessibility of minimum mental health care for all in the near foreseeable future, particularly to the most vulnerable sections of the population. l To encourage mental health knowledge and skills in general health care and social development. l To promote community participation in mental health service development and to stimulate self-help in the community. A model delivery of community based mental health care at the level of district was evolved and field tested in Bellary district of Karnataka by NIMHANS between 1986-1995. This model was adapted as the District Mental Health Programme (DMHP) and it was implemented in 27 Districts across 22 states/UTs in the IXth plan beginning in the year 1996. During the 10th Five Year Plan, NMHP was restrategised and it became from single pronged to multi-pronged programme for effective reach and impact on mental illnesses, main strategies were as follows : l Expansion of DMHP to 100 districts all over the country. l Modernization of Mental Hospitals. l Upgradation of Psychiatry wings of Govt. Medical Colleges/General Hospitals. l IEC Activities. l Reserch & Training in Mental Health for improving service delivery. Currently, the District Mental Health Programme is under implementation in 123 Districts throughout the country. Grants have also been released for upgradation of Psychiatric wings of 75 Government Medical Colleges/General Hospitals and modernization of 26 Mental Hospitals. During the 11th Five Year Plan an allocation of Rs. 1000 crore has been made for the National Mental Health Programme. During the 11th Five Year Plan, it has been proposed to decentralize the Programme and synchronize with National Rural Health Mission for optimizing the resutls. The main comp[onents of NMHP have been proposed are as under :

494 (i)

(ii)

(iii) (iv)

(v) (vi)

(vii)

(viii)

India 2010 To establish Centres of Excellence in Mental Health by upgrading and strengthening of identified existing mental hospitals for addressing acute manpower shortage. To provide impetus for development of Manpower in Mental Health, other training centres (Govt. Medical Colleges/General Hospitals etc.) would also be supported for starting PG courses in Mental Health or increasing intake capacity. Spill over of 10th Plan schemes for modernization of state run mental hosptials and upgradation of psychiatric wings of medical colleges/general hospitals. District Mental Health Programme with added components of Life Skills training and counseling in Schools, counseling service in colleges, work place stress management and suicide prevention services. Research—There is huge gap in research in mental health which needs to be addressed. IEC—A lot of stigma is attached to mental illnesses. It needs to be stressed that the mental illness is treatable. An intensive media campaign is planned for 11th Plan duration. NGOs and Public Private Partnership for implementation of the Programme. This would increase the outreach of community mental health initiatives under DMHP. Monitoring Implementation & Evaluation—Effective monitoring at Central/ State/District level will facilitate implemenation of various components of NMHP.

Yaws Eradication Programme (YEP) l Yaws Eradication Programme (YEP) was launched as a centrallysponsored scheme in 1996-97 in Koraput district of Orissa, which was subsequently extended to cover all 51 yaws endemic districts in ten states (Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Assam and Gujarat) during 9th Plan period. l The programme basically aims to reach the un-reached tribal areas of the country. l National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) (formerly: National Institute of Communicable Diseases) has been identified as the nodal agency for the planning, monitoring and evaluation of the progrmme. The Programme is implemented by the endemic State Health Directorates through the existing health care system. l Strategy for YEP included: q Case finding: Active case search, passive surveillance, rumor reporting q Treatment of cases and contacts. q Manpower development q IEC activities q Multisectoral approach l As a result of YEP, the number of reported cases has come down from 3,571 in 1996 to 46 in 2003. No Yaws case reported from 2004 till date.

Health and Family Welfare l l l

495

Yaws elimination was declared on 19th September 2006. Under the programme twice a year house-to-house search is being organized for detection and treatment of yaws cases and contracts. Steps to take the sero-survey (1-5 year old children) following the Yaws elimination have been initiated to confirm that transmission of Yaws has stopped in endemic areas of the country.

Guinea Worm Eradication Programme (GWEP) in India l

In 1983-84, National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) was made the nodal agency by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India, for planning, co-ordination, guidance and evaluation of Guinea Worm Eradication Programme (GWEP)

At the beginning of the Programme i.e. in 1984, about 40,000 GW cases were reported annually in 12,840 guinea worm endemic villages across 89 districts of the then endemic states, viz. Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. The State of Tamil Nadu remained free from GW disease since 1982. The last case from Maharashtra occurred in 1992 and in 1994 in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat reported their last cases in 1990. The last guinea worm case was reported in July 1996 Jodhpur district of Rajasthan.

Simple technologies like filtering drinking water through a cloth and by providing basic health education enabled India to achieve Dracunculiasis Eradication. There is no other disease education or elimination effort that is being achieved with such a cheap & simple method.

International Certification Team (ICT) of International Commission for Certification of Dracunculiasis Eradication (ICCDE), World Health Organization certified India as free from guinea worm disease on 15th February, 2000. However, team recommended routine surveillance and IEC to be continued till global eradication of the disease, which are being undertaken in all formerly guinea worm disease endemic states.

A monograph "Guinea Worm Disease in India" was published and released in 2001 by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India.

No case has been reported so far.

NATIONAL CANCER CONTROL PROGRAMME Cancer is an important public health problem with 7 to 9 lakh cases occurring every year. At any point of time, it is estimated that there are nearly 25 lakh cases in the country. Four lakh deaths are estimated to occur every year due to cancer. Forty per cent of the cancers in the country are due to tobacco. Hence Tobacco-related cancers are very common among males, namely, cancer of the lungs and oral cavity. Among women, cancer of uterine cervix and breast are common. The National Cancer Control Programme was launched in 1975-76 with the objectives of primary prevention, early detection, treatment and rehabilitation. In order to cater to the changing needs of the disease, the programme has undergone three revisions with the third revision completed in December 2004. Under the revised

496

India 2010

programme, the primary focus is on correcting the geographic imbalance in the availability of cancer care facilities across the country. The scope of the programme and the quantum of assistance under the various schemes have been increased. There are 5 schemes under the Revised Programme :1. Recognition of new Regional Cancer Centres (RCCs) by providing a one-time grant of Rs. 5 crore. 2. Strengthening of existing RCCs by providing a one-time grant of Rs. 3 crore. 3. Development of Oncology Wings by providing enhanced grant of Rs. 3 crore to the Govt. institutions (Medical Colleges as well as government hospitals). 4. District Cancer Control Programme by providing the grant-in-aid of Rs. 90 lakh spread over a period of 5 years. 5. Decentralized NGO scheme by providing a grant of Rs. 8000 per camp to the NGO for IEC activities. Guidelines for the durable scheme are available on the officers report of the Ministry of Health : l As of now, there are 25 Regional Cancer Centres providing comprehensive cancer care services. There are 210 institutions possessing radiotherapy installations. l A National Strategic Task Force has been constituted to formulate a strategy for the National Cancer Control Programme for the Eleventh Five year Plan. l Training: In order to increase the capacity of the health staff at all levels of health care, training manuals have been developed in cancer control, tobacco cessation, cytology and palliative care. l Onconet-India: C-DAC Trivandrum has been entrusted with the responsibility of preparing the DPR for Operationalisation of Onconet India. Under the project all 25 RCCs will be linked with each other and also each RCC would in turn be linked to 5 peripheral centres. l Membership of IARC: India has become a member of the International Agency for Research in Cancer that shall provide a fillip to cancer research in the country. l National Cancer Awareness Day : November 7th, the birth anniversary of Madame Curie is observed as the National Cancer Awareness Day. Number of banners are displayed for creating awareness among the general masses about cancer on the day. HEALTH MINISTER'S CANCER PATIENT FUND UNDER "RAN" The "Health Minister's Cancer Patient Fund" (HMCPF) within the Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN) Scheme has also been set up in 2009. In order to utilize the HMCPF, it is proposed to establish the revolving fund like RAN in the Various Regional Cancer Centre(s) (RCCs) which are getting fund for equipments from Cancer Programme of Govt. of India. Such step would ensure and speed up financial assistance to needy patients and would help to fulfil the objective of HMCPF under RAN. The Financial Assistance to the Cancer Patients up to Rs. 1,00,000/- (Rs. one lakhs only), would be processed by the concerned Institute/Hospitals on whose disposal, the revolving fund has been placed. The cases of financial assistance above this limit would be referred by the Hospitals/Institutes for assistance from Central Funds. Initially, 27 Regional Cancer Centres have been proposed, for whom revolving funds of (Rs.10.00 lakhs) have been released.

Health and Family Welfare

497

EMERGENCY MEDICAL RELIEF In 2008, in Bihar, due to a breach in the river Kosi near Indo-Nepal border, its course changed and shifted over 120 km eastwards. As a result, large areas of Supaul, Madhepura, Katihar, Saharsa and Araria were inundated and affected severely. Emergency Medical Relief measures included assessment of the situation by a high level team which recommended strengthening the public health system to prevent water borne, vector borne and respiratory diseases, stationing of six central public health teams in worst affected districts to monitor public health measures. The activities included measles vaccination for the age group of 6 months to 14 years and maternal healthcare and vector control measures. All logistic support were provided by supplying essential medicines. In addition to this 50 ambulances were mobilized from Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Central Govt. Hospitals and deployed in the affected areas for more than a month. The State of Orissa was also affected by floods and State was supported with Emergency medical supplies. The public health situation was monitored in the flood affected States and there was no outbreak of diseases. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare was represented in the central damage assessment teams of the Ministry of Home Affaris which visitsed flood affected states of Punjab and Bihar. Advanced HAZMAT Life Support (AHLS) is the most comprehensive training program available in USA to provide the critical skills needed to treat victims exposed to toxic substances and covers acts of terrorism, industrial accidents, chemical spills etc. The program enables the hospital and pre-hospital medical professionals to be able to rapidly recognize the symptoms of toxic exposure and immediately provide appropriate treatment. This training course was organized in New Delhi from 5th to 9th March, 2009. Two providers course led to training of 77 doctors in AHLS. Twenty one of them have been identified for instructor course and trained. Instructors have been identified in apex training institutes for future training. This training has enhanced specialized capability in health sector for the Commonwealth Games2010. EMR division coordinated outbreak investigations in the States of Manipur and West Bengal [children deaths], Gujarat and Andaman Nicobar Islands [leptospirosis] and Assam [Cholera]. Ministry of Health & Family Welfare deputed a high level central team to the affected areas and assessed the situation. The concerned state governments were advised on prevention and containment measures. Avian Influenza preparedness plan has been reviewed. Necessary logistics in terms of Oseltamivir [drug for prophylaxis and treatment of human cases of Avian Influenza] Personal Protective Equipments and Ventilators have been stockpiled. The IEC campaign was launched over prime channels. IEC material has been translated in regional languages. Logistic support has been provided to all Avian Influenza affected States. Financial assistance has been provided to Govt. of West Bengal and Assam. Training activities for all the States have been completed. This includes. Table Top exercises for the States health administrators to review their plan, refresher training for Rapid Response Teams and training of clinicians have been carried out on regional basis. Avian Influenza outbreak were notified in West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam and Tripura and the outbreaks were contained.

498

India 2010

Prevention of Food Adulteration Programme The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is responsible for ensuring safe food to the consumers. Keeping this in view, a legislation called "Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954" was enacted. The objective envisaged in this legislation was to ensure pure and wholesome food to the consumers and also to prevent fraud or deception. The Act has been amended thrice in 1964, 1976 and in 1986 with the objective of plugging the loopholes and making the punishments more stringent and empowering Consumers and Voluntary Organisations to play a more effective role in its implementation. The subject of the Prevention of Food Adulteration is in the concurrent list of the constitution. However, in general, the enforcement of the Act is done by the State/U.T Governments. The Central Government primarily plays an advisory role in its implementation besides carrying out various statutory functions/duties assigned to it under the various provisions of the Act. The laws regulating the quality of food have been in force in the country since 1899. Until 1954, several States formulated their own food laws. But there was a considerable variance in the rules and specifications of the food, which interfered with inter-provincial trade. The Central Advisory Board appointed by the Government of India in 1937 and the Food Adulteration Committee appointed in 1943, reviewed the subject of Food Adulteration and recommended for Central legislation. The Constitution of India provided the powers to Central Government for making such legislation as the subjects of Food and Drugs Adulteration are included in the concurrent list. The Government of India, therefore, enacted a Central Legislation called the Prevention of Food adulteration Act (PFA) in the year 1954 which came into effect from 15 June, 1955. The Act repealed all laws, existing at that time in States concerning food adulteration. In India, a three-tier system is in vogue for ensuring food quality and food safety. They are:(a) Government of India; (b) State/UT Governments;(c) Local Bodies. The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act is a Central legislation. Rules and Standards framed under the Act are uniformly applicable throughout the country. Besides, framing of rules and standards, the following activities are undertaken by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. (1) Keeping close liaison with State/local bodies for uniform implementation of food laws . (2) Monitoring of activities of the States by collecting periodical reports on working of food laws, getting the reports of food poisoning cases and visiting the States from time to time. (3) Arranging periodical training programme for Senior Officer/Inspector/Analysts. (4) Creating consumer awareness about the programme by holding exhibitions/seminars/training programmes and publishing pamphlet'. (5) Approving labels of Infant Milk Substitute and Infant food, so as to safeguard the health of infants. (6) Coordinating with international bodies like ISO/FAO/WHO and Codex. (7) Carrying out survey-cum-monitoring activities on food contaminants like colours. (8) Giving administrative/financial/technical support to four Central Food Laboratories situated in Kolkata, Ghaziabad, Mysore and Pune and providing technical guidance to the food laboratories set up by the States/Local Bodies. (9) Holding activities connected with National Monitoring Agency vested with powers to decide policy issues on food irradiation.(10) Formulation of Manual on food analysis method.

Health and Family Welfare

499

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is designated as the National Codex Contact Point in India to examine and formulate India's views on the agenda for the various meeting of Codex Alimentarius Commission, a joint venture of FAO/WHO dealing with International Food Standards and its subsidiary committees. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare constituted a National Codex Committee (NCC) and an Assistant Director General (PFA) has been working as Liaison Officer for NCC. The NCC has further constituted 24 Shadow Committees corresponding to various Codex commodities committees for preparation and finalization of India's stand. India has been regularly atending the various sessions of the Codex Alimentarius Commission and various Codex Commodity Committees to put forward her views and defend these views. Harmonisation of PFA with Codex : After signing the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) and Technical Barrier to Trade (TBT) agreements by India and removal of quantitative restrictions on import of food products into India, the exercise of harmonization of standards for food products, use of food additives, microbiological requirements, harmonization of regulations, in line with international standards prescribed by Codex Alimentarius Commission and International Standards Organisation (ISO) had been initiated. Role of State/UT Governments: Enforcement of the food laws primarily rests with the State/UTs. There are 28 States and 7 Union Territories in the country. The implementation of the Act in most of the States is under the administrative control of the Directorate of Health Services, whereas, in a few States, the implementation is being combined with Drugs Administration under the Joint Food and Drug Administration. The implementation has been left to the administrative setup of the States, but it has been stressed on the States that whatever the structure be, there should be a whole-time Senior Officer duly qualified and experienced in Food Science, Food Technology, Food Analysis with other supporting officers and inspectors. State Governments are also empowered to make rules laying down details of licensing conditions of food, the establishments of food industries and prescribing licence fees. The provisions under PFA Rules have been amended nearly 360 times and standards of around 250 articles of food which are of mass consumption have been prescribed. While making amendments, standards formulated by Codex/ technological development in the food industry sector/dietary habits/nutritional status of our population, social/cultural practices are taken into consideration. By and large, in most of the States, implementation in corporation/municipal area rests with the Local Bodies which employ their own food inspectors. Licensing of food industries/establishments is also left to them. There are 72 food laboratories in the country at District/Regional or State level in addition to four Central Food Laboratories set-up by the Central Government. Almost every State has got one or more laboratory depending upon its need. About 12 of these laboratories are under the administrative control of the local bodies whereas the remaining ones are under the administrative control of the State Government. Following constraints have been noticed in the programme: (1) Shortage of Food Inspectors with the States/Local Bodies, (2) Deficiency in the testing laboratories on the following counts: (a) Inadequate trained manpower,

500

(3) (4) (5)

India 2010 (b) Inadequate testing facilities, (c) Non-availability of sophisticated equipment, (d) Inadequate budgetary provision, (e) Non-availability of reference standard material, Non-availability of programme officer for PFA with the State/Local Bodies at State and District levels, Non-availability of separate legal cell for trial of PFA cases with the State/Local Bodies, Non-availability of regular refresher training programme for all the functionaries.

Efforts of Central Government for Solving the Constraints: (1)

Refresher training programmes are being arranged for all the functionaries namely:- (a) Food Inspectors, (b) Local (Health) Authorities, (c) Food (Health) Authorities, (d) Public Analyst and Chemist. Training for Analysts and Chemists are being organized in their own laboratories by trainer deputed by the Central Government. These trainers stay in one lab for six working days and first of all they setup the laboratory as per Good Laboratory Practices and thereafter, the specific training is organized.

(2)

Sophisticated equipments are being supplied to State Food Testing Laboratories so that at least one laboratory in each State is appropriately strengthened. Efforts are being made to ensure that warranty of the equipment so supplied are for minimum 3 years along with consumables and proper trainings is provided to the analysts/chemists by the supplier for handling and running the equipment.

(3)

Efforts are also being made to ensure that each State is linked electronically with its District Headquarters. The expenditure for this is proposed to be provided from the World Bank Assisted Capacity Building Project for food and drugs being implemented by the Central Government. This will facilitate smooth sharing of information and networking.

(4)

Efforts are being made to provide at least one analyst from the Central Budget through the World Bank Assisted Project in each Food Testing Lab for a period of 5 years.

(5)

Standard reference material for pesticides, listed under Rule 65 of PFA Rules, all the metals listed under Rule 57 of the PFA Rules and aflatoxin are being supplied to one lab in each State.

(6)

Books on methods of analysis like AOAC, Pearson, Food Chemical Codex, have already been supplied to a majority of the laboratories.

(7)

Training programme for consumers, traders, vendors and street food hawkers have been organized and will be organized in future as a consumer education programme on food safety.

(8)

Sensitisation training programmes have been organized for Port (Health) Officers/Customs Officers/Customs House Clearing Agents and importers on various provisions of PFA Act/Rules and other provisions namely packaged Commodity Order and Customs Act, so that these officers may appropriately handle the imported food product.

Health and Family Welfare

501

The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006: With the coming into effect of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (FSSA) enacted by Parliament in August 2006, the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 stands repealed from the date on which Food Safety and Standards Act comes into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Gazette. Notwithstanding the repeal of the enactment and Orders specified in the Second Schedule, the standards, safety requirements and other provisions of the Act and the rules and regulations made there under and Orders listed in that Schedule shall continue to be in force and operate till new standards are specified under this Act or rules and regulations made thereunder. Provided that anything done or any action taken under the enactment and Orders under repeal shall be deemed to have been done or taken under the corresponding provisions of this Act and shall continue in force accordingly unless and until superseded by anything done or by any action taken under this Act. World Bank Assisted-Capacity Building Project on Food Safety As trade in food commodities expands globally, food safety can no longer be considered a mere domestic issue. The agreements under the WTO require the development of modern food control and safety programs by national Governments. The issue does not relate only to end product parameters but also to process control. In order to strengthen the food safety infrastructure in the country, a 5 year World Bank Aided Capacity Building Project for Food Safety and Quality Control of Drugs has been launched by the Central Government. The Project Objectives/Components are as below: (i) To enhance the capacities of laboratories at the State and Central levels through infrastructure strengthening and training of personnel to upgrade their existing skills. It is separately proposed that only those labs be allowed to do statutory testing which are accredited to NABL (National Accrediation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories). (ii) To introduce GMP (Good Manufcturing Practice) and HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) in the medium and small-scale food processing operations and upgrade facilities in the laboratories including testing for microbiological contamination.(iii) to create greater awareness of food safety and hygiene in the small, cottage and unorganised sectors including the street food sector through training, (iv) to develop a system of continuous surveys of households to get client perceptions which will provide substantive inputs for policy development and program improvements.(v) Setting up of Management Information System and electronic linkages between Central and State Offices and Central and State Labs in the area of food to ensure better monitoring and data collection. MEDICAL COUNCIL OF INDIA The Medical Council of India (MCI) was established as a statutory body under the provisions of the Indian Medical Council Act 1933 which was later repealed by the Indian Medical Council Act 1956 with minor amendments in 1958. A major amendment the I.M.C.Act 1956 was made in 1993 making it mandatory for obtaining the approval of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare for opening new medical colleges/increasing seats, starting new courses in order to regulate the standard of medical education in the country. The I.M.C. Act 1956 was further amended in 2001 to enable the Medical Council of India to conduct Screening Tests for Indian nationals holding foreign medical qualifications to test their skill before granting them

502

India 2010

registration to practice medicine in India. Through the same amendment Act, it has been made mandatory for Indian students desirous of taking admission in an undergraduate medical course in an Institute abroad to obtain an Eligibility Certificate from the MCI stating that he/she conforms to the norms laid down by the MCI for this purpose. The main functions of the Council are maintenance of uniform standard of medical education both at the undergraduate and the postgraduate levels; maintenance of Indian Medical register; reciprocity with foreign countries in the matter of mutual recognition of medical qualifications; continuing medical education and granting of provisional/permanent registration of doctors with recognized medical qualifications, registration of additional qualifications and issue of Good Standing Certificate for doctors going abroad to Commonwealth countries. At present there are 264 medical colleges in the country out of which 185 medical colleges have been recognized by MCI and 90 new medical colleges have been permitted by the Central Government to conduct MBBS courses. The admission capacity in these colleges is approximately 30,122 students per year. CENTRAL HEALTH EDUCATION BUREAU Central Health Education Bureau (CHEB) is an apex institution which had a humble beginning on 6th of December in 1956 under Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, for the health education and health promotion in the country with the following Objectives: (a) Interpret the plans, programmes and achievements of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. (b) Design, guide and conduct research in health behavior, health education process and aids. (c) Produce and distribute "Proto-type" Health Promotion and Education material in relation to various health problems and programmes in the country. (d) Train key health and community welfare functionaries in health education and research methods and evolve effective methodology and tools of training. (e) Help schools and teacher training institutes for health education of the school population. (f) Provide guidelines for the organizational set-up, functioning of health education units at the state, district and other levels. (g) Render technical help to official and non-official agencies engaged in health education and coordinate their programmes. (h) Collaborating with international agencies in promoting health education activities. The Bureau, located in New Delhi, is headed by a Director, an SAG level officer who is assisted by a team of officers in different disciplines. CHEB is accessible through internet at website- http://.cheb.nic.in and with e-mail : dir.cheb @ nic. in Responding to the current challenges and needs in the field of health education and promotion, CHEB has reorganized its divisions into four technical and one administrative Division. Each division is headed by a senior officer. The key functions of CHEB presently include imparting long-term and shortterm training programmes to different levels of health and non-health professionals. The Bureau is conducting a two-year Post Graduate Diploma in Health Education (DHE) which is recognized by the Medical Council of India and is affiliated to Delhi University. The Bureau produces prototype health education and health promotion materials on different health issues both in print and electronic media like posters, leaflets, pamphlets, audio- visual spots (for telecasting on TV Channels, and narrowcast in events such as Health melas/exhibitions health awareness campaigns).

Health and Family Welfare

503

The Bureau participates in various health meals/ national level exhibitions and puts up exhibitions on various health issues for mass awareness. Press advertisements are given as apart of the observance of commemorative days and weeks. RASHTRIYA AROGYA NIDHI (RAN) Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi was set up under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare in 1997. The scheme provides for financial assistance to patients, living below poverty line who is suffering from major life threatening diseases, to receive medical treatment at any of the super specialty hospitals/institutes or other Govt. hospitals. The financial assistance to such patients is released in the form of "one time grant" to the Medical Superintendent of the hospital in which the treatment is being received. For providing financial assistance to the needy patients, an advanced of Rs. 10.00 to 40.0 lakhs are kept with the Medical Supdts. of the AIIMS, New Delhi, Dr. RML Hospital, Safdarjung Hospital, Lady Harding Medical College & Smt. S.K. Hospital, New Delhi, PGIMER, Chandigarh, JIPMER, Puducherry, NIMHANS, Bangalore, CNCI, Kolkata, SGPGIMS, Lucknow, Gandhi Memorial & Associated Hospitals (KGMC) Lucknow, RIMS, Imphal and NEIGRIHMS, Shillong to enable sanction of an amount up to Rs. 1,00,000/- in each deserving case reporting for treatment in the respective Hospitals/ Institute. Under the scheme, Central Government also provides Grant in aid to States/Union Territories (with legislature) to set up state illness fund to the extent of 50% of contribution made by State Govt/Union Territories. Govt. of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, Goa, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab including NCT of Delhi and Union Territory of Puducherry have set up such funds. Financial Assistance is given to patients living in their respective States/UTs under State illness fund up to Rs. 1.5 lakhs in an individual case. However, in cases where the quantum of financial assistance is likely to exceed Rs. 1.5 lakhs, those are referred to RAN for consideration. As per recent decision. all applicants receiving treatment in Delhi Hospitals are Eligible for receiving Grants under Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi. EMERGENCY FACILITIES ON NATIONAL HIGHWAYS Under the project for the up-gradation and strengthening of emergency facilities of State Hospital of towns/cities located on National Highways, the government provides financial assistance to the maximum of Rs. 1.50 crore or the actual requirement of the hospital, whichever is less, to augment and upgrade the Accident and Emergency Services in selected State Government Hospitals which fall in most accident prone areas of National Highways. The aim of the scheme is to augment the Accident and Emergency Services by release of grants-in-aid direct to the Government Hospitals/ Institutions of State Government/UT Administration for: (i) Purchase of well-equipped ambulances and basic essential equipment required for Accident and Trauma Services; (ii) Communication System;(iii) Infrastructure (Blood Bank, Examination Room, Resuscitation, ICU & Burn Beds (7), X-Ray Room, Reception, Control, Minor OT; and (iv) Beds and Equipment. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF MEDICAL SCIENCES (INDIA), NEW DELHI The National Academy of Medical Sciences (NAMS), New Delhi was established in 1961 as a Non-Official body of Bio-Medical scientists with the object of promotion and encouragement of merit in medical sciences. The fellowship of the Academy became a coveted hallmark of distinction accorded in recognition for outstanding

504

India 2010

achievements in sciences, education, services, etc. The Academy awards Fellowships to the most distinguished men of science. The Academy has also been implementing the Continuing Medical Education (CME) Programme since 1982. As on 25th June 2008, the NAMS has on its rolls 6 Honorary Fellows, 756 Fellows (FAMS), 4203 Members. Pharmacy Council of India The Pharmacy Council of India is a statutory body constituted under the Pharmacy Act, 1948. It is responsible for the regulation of pharmacy education and practice of profession in the country for registration as a pharmacist. At present, there are 497 approved institutions imparting Diploma in Pharmacy to 29,958 students per annum and 276 approved institutions imparting Degree in Pharmacy to 15,815 students per annum. At present about 5.76 lakh pharmacists are registered with various State Pharmacy Councils. INTEGRATED DISEASE SURVEILLANCE PROJECT (IDSP) Background : The integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP) was launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in November 2004. It is intended to detect early warning signals of impending outbreaks and help to initiate an effective response in a timely manner. Total Budget for the project from 2004-09 was given as Rs. 399.70 crores. Objectives: l

To establish a decentralized state based surveillance system for communicable diseases to detect the early warning signals, so that timely and effective public health actions can be initiated in response to health challenges in the country at the district, state and national level.

To improve the efficiency of the existing surveillance activities of disease control programs and facilitate sharing of relevant information with the health administration, community and other stakeholders so as to detect disease trends over time and evaluate control strategies.

Project components : n

Integrating and decentralization of surveillance activities through establishment of surveillance units at centre, state and district level.

Human Resource Developments - Training of Statee Surveillance Officers, District Surveillance Officers, Rapid Response Team, other medical and paramedical staff on principles of disease surveillance

Use of Information Communication Technology for collection, collation, compilation, analysis and dissemination of data.

Strengthening of public health laboratories.

Data Management Under IDSP, data is collected on weekly epidemic prone diseases (Monday-Sunday) basis. The information is collected on these specified reporting formats, namely "S" (suspected cases), "P" (presumptive cases) and "L" (Laboratory confirmed cases) filled by Health Workers, Clinician and Clinical Laboratory staff. The weekly data gives the disease trends and occurrence of new disease. Whenever there is a rising trend of illnesses in any area, it is investigated by the Medical Officers/Rapid Response Teams (RRT) to diagnose and control the outbreak.

Health and Family Welfare

505

Data analysis and action are undertaken by respective units. Emphasis is laid on reporting of surveillance data from major hospitals both in public and private sector and also Infectious Disease hospitals. IDSP in presently recives weekly disease surveillance data from 306 of 606 districts (51%) of phase I,II & III states. Outbreak Surveillance and Response Central surveillance Unit, IDSP receives disease outbreak reports from the states/ UTs on weekly basis. Even NIL weekly reporting is mandated and the compilation of disease outbreaks/alerts is done on weekly basis for sharing with the stakeholders and other higher officials including Prime Ministers Office, Health & Family Welfare Minister, Minister of State (HFW), Secretary (H&FW), DGHS (H&FW), Addl. Secretary & Mission director (NRHM), Addl. Secretary (GB) and Joint Secretary (RSS). On an average 10 to 12 outbreaks are reported to CSU weekly. A total of 43 outbreaks consisting majority of Acute Diarrhoeal diseases (41%), Malaria (11%) and Chikunguniya, Dengue, Food poisoning (9%) were detected and responded to by the states/ UTs through IDSP in the month of September 2009. Contribution of IDSP in Influenza A HINI Community surveillance to detect clusters of influenza like illness is being done through IDSP. The Project acts as a focal point in States to look for and report clusters of ILI and pneumonia. Outbreak Monitoring Cell on 24x7 basis has been established at NCDC for monitoring the situation. Private Practitioners, Nursing homes and hospitals have been requested to report such events to IDSP Call Centre on 1075 (Toll free number). Labs have been identified for testing clinical samples at NCDC Delhi, NIV Pune and other labs in different regions of the country. States have been asked to strengthen the isolation facility at district level. Funds have been released to 18 states for conducting trainings; funds for other states are being released. State and District RRTs have been alerted to investigate and manage suspected outbreaks. During cluster containment, IDSP has a vital role in tracing all contacts and put them on home quarantine and provide chemoprophylaxis. Guidance issued to States on clinical management, infection control practices, laboratory support, Death summary format has been designed and distributed to states/ districts for reporting any death due to Influenza A HINI. Epidemiological analysis of deaths is being carried out on a regular basis. Media Scanning and Verification Cell Media scanning is one of the important systems of surveillance in detecting the Early Warning Signals. With this background, media scanning and verification cell receives an average of 4-5 media alerts of unusual health events which are being detected and verified per week and for the month of September '09, 40 alerts were detected and verified. Information & Communication Networks (ICT) ICT plays an integral and most powerful role in implementing IDSP across the country. One of the important components of the project is data management, analysis and rapid communication in case of impending outbreaks. Data Centre National Informatics Centre (NIC) has established broadband connectivity at 760 out of 796 sites. Thee objective of Data Centre is online entry of data to central servers for speedy data transmission.

506

India 2010

Training Centre Training centre equipments have been installed at 332 out of 396 sites. State to district communication is possible by NICs E-Learning Portal (http://e-learning.nic.in/lms), which has facility in managing life virtual classrooms for training (State/Area specific discussion on disease surveillance activities), e-learning, interactive electronic discussion (Chat rooms, Boards, Mailing Lists) and reviewing & monitoring project related activities. Video Conferencing Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has installed 345 out of 400 EDUSAT/VSAT sites. In States, Medical Colleges, Video conferencing (VC) has been used for discussion with SSOs/SRRT/DSOs/ DRRT on outbreak investigation, verification and documentation with expert panels, project review and monitoring, training of data managers and data entry operators on data reporting and analysis. A total of 13 Video Conferencing sessions had been done at the CSU with various States and Districts for the month of September2009. Call Centre A 24X7 call centre has been established to receive disease alerts from anywhere in the country on a toll free number 1075 for verification and initiating appropriate actions of public health measure. Multiple language calling and answering capability has led to receiving toll free calls from across the country. The call centre also has a response mechanism for informing respective health officials at concerned districts for early detection and prompt action. Total number of calls received for September 2009 is 8425 and with respect to Influenza A (HINI) calls were 2758. IDSP Portal The IDSP portal is a one stop portal which has facilities for data entry, view reports, outbreak reporting data, analysis, training modules and resources related to disease surveillance. A total of 21 States have started reporting in the portal Training: The Training in IDSP is three-tiered: Master Trainers State & District Surveillance Officers and RRT members are trained at identified 9 national level institutes. The Medical Officers and District Lab Technicians are trained by Master Trainers at state level. Health Workers & Lab Technician/Assistants at Peripheral institutions are trained by District officers/Medical Officers at district level. Training of State/District Surveillance Teams has been completed for 9 States of Phase-I & 14 States of phase II and 6 states in Phase-III. State Level Training Status Category

Phase I

Phase II

Medical Officers

14,051

10,203

1811

26065

Health Workers

71,740

64,320

2,712

1,38,772

4,500

3,652

163

8,315

Laboratory Technicians

Phase III

Total

Health and Family Welfare

507

The main focus of training for state level participants is on basics of disease surveillance, concepts of epidemiology and data managements, whereas the district training only focus on correct procedures of data collection, compilation and reporting. A need based special two week Disease Surveillance and Field epidemiology Training Programme (PETP) has been initiated for the District Surveillance officers. 188 District Surveillance Officers have already been trained in this special 2 weeks PETP. National Health System Resource Centre (NHSRC), a technical support body to NRHM has been given the responsibility of recruiting epidemiologists at state and district headquarters, microbiologists at identified laboratories and entomologists at state HQs. Strengthening of Laboratories Fifty priority district laboratories are being focused for strengthening in the country for laboratory diagnosis of epidemic prone diseases. A referral laboratory network is being established in 7 priority states on a pilot basis to provide access to diagnostic facilities during outbreaks in the remaining districts of the state. 48 priority labs have been identified in 33 States/UT. Comprehensive guidelines for the procurement of equipment for the priority district labs have been sent to 33 states. The process of procurement in 4 states has been completed (Rajasthan, Puducherry, Assam, Sikkim). Guidelines and MoU for making state referral laboratory network firmedup. Sensitization meetings held at Karnataka and Tamil Nadu finalised for referral network plans. Guidelines were sent to other 5 states and draft plans received have to be finalised. NCD Risk Factors survey NCD Risk factor survey is done under this projects in a phased manner. NCD risk factor survey Phase I was done by ICMR. The risk factors to be studied are Height, Weight, Waist Circumference, Physical activity, Diet, Socio Demographic Profile, Fasting Plasma Glucose, Cholesterol, an consumption of Alcohol and Smoking. The survey was taken up in 7 states i.e. Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerela, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttrakhand and Mizoram in 2007-2008 and is completed. Final report surveyed in Phase I with minor modification to be done by ICMR as suggested by World Bank. Further other states survey will be carried out by NCD cell of MOH & FW. Urban Surveillance Urban Surveillance is proposed for 4 metropolitans of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. In the cities of Mumbai, Kolkata & Chennai Urban Surveillance plans have been developed. Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai have signed MOU and funds are released. Kolkata and Mumbai have begun the urban surveillance activities. Community Based Surveillance It is planned to strengthen community based surveillance through active involvement of community institutions and volunteers, utilizing the large number of community groups/institutions present in districts such as the Panchayati Raj Institutions, Village Health and Sanitation Committees, Mahila Mandals, Self Help Groups (SHG), Youth Clubs, Schools (Primary and Secondary), NGOs, Traditional/Private Health Care providers. IDSP has started a pilot project for strengthening community based disease surveillance in 3 states (Maharashtra, Orissa and Karnataka), Dashamantapur

508

India 2010

(Koraput-Orissa), Similiguda (Koraput-Orissa), Akkalkuwa (NandurbarMaharashtra) and Taloda (Nandurbar-Maharashtra) have started community based surveillance activities. Infectious Disease Hospital Surveillance Network Seven Infectious Disease Hospitals, one each in four metros and Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad have been given funds for strengthening reporting from ID Hospitals. EDUSAT network has been installed and recruitment is completed except in Bangalore. Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata have started reporting. INTEGRATED DISEASE SURVEILLANCE PROJECT-SEPTEMBER 2009 l

IDSP is World Bank assisted Project, launched in November 2004 with the objective to detect and respond to early warning signals of disease outbreaks.

IDSP receives weekly disease surveillance data from 306 out of 606 districts (51%) districts of phase I, II & III states. A total of 43 outbreaks were detected during this month, including Acute Diarrhoeal diseases (41%), Malaria (11%) and Chikungunya, Dengue, Food poisoning (9%).

IDSP has reported and verified 40 health alerts through Media Scanning and Verification Cell which plays a vital role in detecting and verifying unusual health events through media.

Community of surveillance to detect clusters of influenza like illness is being done through IDSP. IDSP acts as a focal point in States to look for the report clusters of ILI and pneumonia. Outbreak Monitoring Centre established at NCDC, Private Practitioners, Nursing homes and hospitals are requested to report such events to IDSP Call Center on 1075 (Toll free number). Labs identified for testing clinical samples at NCDC Delhi, NIV Pune and other labs in different regions of the country and funds have been released. State and District RRTs alerted to investigate and manage suspected outbreaks. IDSP has a vital role in tracing all contact and put them on home quarantine and provide chemoprophylaxis. Guidance issued to states on clinical management, infection control practices, laboratory support. Death summary format have been designed and distributed to states and districts for reporting of any death due to Influenza A HINI.

Surveillance on Vector Borne Diseases Vector borne diseases like Malaria, JE, Dengue, Kala-azar etc are major public health concern. Every year outbreak/ epidemics occur in different parts of the country leading to high morbidity and mortality. Entomology unit was established in December '08 with the objective of updating the entomological surveillance of vector borne diseases in the country. Up to the month of September 2009 a total of 69 EWS (18 Malaria, 8 Dengue, 41 Chikunguniya and 2 JE) were reported from 24 states. Prevention and Control of Avian Influenza A networking model has been developed with 10 laboratories and ICMR with its four branch laboratories. IDSP is supporting activities related to avian Influenza with total outlay of Rs. 20.83 crores for three years (2006-09) for Human Component. MoU is being modified with respect to regional laboratory. The procurement of equipments for these labs is in progress.

Health and Family Welfare

509

Finance IDSP was launched during 2004-05 with the World Bank assistance (through a soft loan of 68 million US $) with financial allocation of Rs. 408.36 crores as under l

The IT network has been established for data entry, training, video conferencing, and outbreak discussion. Data centre has been established and working in 760 out of 796 sites, which help in online entry of data and speedy data transfer. Training centre has been established at 332 out of 396 for live virtual classrooms for training at state and district levels. Video conference facility has been established in 345 out of 400 sites at states, districts and medical colleges for outbreak verification, review and monitoring of the project.

A 24x7 call centre receives disease alerts from the country on a toll free number 1075. Total number of calls received for September '09 is 8425 and with respect to Influenza A (HINI) calls were of 2758.

IDSP has started one stop portal (http://www/idsp.nic.in) for data access and transmission, trend analysis and free resources like guidelines, advisories for health personnel related to disease surveillance.

48 priority labs are in the process of strengthening in 33 States/UT. One priority lab in Lakshadweep has been identified. In 7 states a network of referral laboratories linking the remaining districts is being developed on an output based basis utilizing the functioning laboratories in Medical colleges existing public health laboratories.

The process of selection of 599 Technical consultants (491 Epidemilogists, 85 Microbiologists and 35 Entomologists) to be appointed at State and District level under IDSP by NHSRC is completed.

ICMR has been given the entire responsibility to undertake NCD risk factor survey under IDSP; the survey has been completed and draft report has been submitted to CSU, final report is awaited for dissemination. Phase-II survey of NCD Risk Factor survey for 12 States is under process.

For the cities of Mumbai, Kolkata & Chennai, Urban Surveillance plans have been developed. Urban Surveillance activity in Kolkata and Mumbai has begun.

All the 4 Metro cities and Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad have been given funds for strengthening reporting from ID Hospitals.

Entomology unit was established in December 2008 with the objective of updating the entomological surveillance of vector borne diseases in the country. A total of 69 EWS (18 Malaria, 8 Dengue, 41 Chikunguniya and 2 JE) have been reported from 24 states.

IDSP has started a pilot project for strengthening community based disease surveillance in the 3 states of Maharashtra, Orissa and Karnataka. Dashamantapur, Similiguda (Koraput-Orissa), Akkalkuwa, Taloda (Nandurbar-Maharashtra) have been started community based surveillance activities.

IDSP was launched during 2004-05 with the World Bank assistance (through a soft loan of US $ 68 million) with financial allocation of Rs 408.36 crore as under

510

India 2010 Budget allocation for five years:

Rs. 408.36 crore

World Bank Loan amount

Rs. 306.24 crore

GOI funding

Rs. 93.46 crore

Year wise Budget and Expenditure Sl. No.

Year

Budget Estimates

Actual expenditure

% of expenditure w.r.t BE

2004-05

27.00

25.01

92.62

2005-06

38.00

39.26

103.32

2006-07

102.00

12.93

12.67

2007-08

80.00

41.36

51.70

2008-09

72.00

21.75

30.20

2009-10

48.50

13.61

Total

367.50

140.31

DENTAL COUNCIL OF INDIA Dental Council of India is a statutory body established under the Dentists Act, 1948 with the prime objective of regulating dental education, profession and its ethics in the country. It periodically carries out inspections of dental institutions to ascertain the adequacy of teaching facilities. 243 Dental College are functioning in the country with an annual intake capacity of about 18,450 students in the BDS course during the academic session 2007-2008.

NATIONAL RURAL HEALTH MISSION (NRHM) ASHAs Link Workers Selection of 7.30 lakh ASHAs has been done in the entire country, out of which 6.78 lakh ASHAs received 1st module of training and 5.25 lakh completed training up to 4th module. l 4.67 lakhs ASHAs have been provided with drug kit as well. l

INFRASTRUCTURE l 1.46 lakhs Subcentres in the country are provided with untied funds of Rs. 10,000 each. 3,78,090 Subcenters & VHSC have operational joint accounts of ANMs and Pradhans for utilization of annual untied funds. 38,832 Subcentres are functional with second ANM. l Out of 4276, Community Health Centres, 2949 CHCs have been selected for upgradation to IPHS and facility Survey has been completed in 2869 CHCs. l 28,877 Rogi Kalyan Samities have been registered at different level of facilities. l New constructions/Upgradation taken up in 28,686 HSCs, 5407 PHCs, 4937 CHCs/SDHs and 444 District Hospital. l 5520 PHCs have 3 Staff Nurses.

Health and Family Welfare

511

MANPOWER l 9874 Doctors and specialist, 44,429 ANMs, 24,494 Staff nurses, 13,278 paramedics have been appointed on contract by States to fill in critical gaps. MANAGEMENT SUPPORT 1665 professionals (CA/MBA) have been appointed in the State, 617 District level Program Management Units (PMU) and 3560 blocks level Program Management Units (BPMU) have been established to support NRHM.

MOBILE MEDICAL UNITS Funds for one Mobile Medical Unit (MMU) per district released. Mobile Medical Units operationalized in 354 districts.

IMMUNIZATION Intense monitoring of Polio Progressâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Services of ASHA useful. l JE vaccination campaign was completed in 11 districts in 4 states covering 93 lakh children in 2006-07. During 2007-08, nine states covering 27 districts were undertaken in JE Vaccination campaign. In 2009-10, 30 districts are proposed to be undertaken for JE vaccination campaign out of which 18 districts have completed the campaign. In the rest of the 12 districts campaigns are ongoing. So far 82 districts of 11 states have been covered. JE vaccine have been introduced in RI to vaccinate the new cohort between 1-2 years of age. l House tracking of polio cases and intense monitoring. l Neonatal Tetanus declared eliminated from 15 states/UTs in the country. l Full immunization coverage evaluated at 54.1% at the national level. (DLHS-III) l Accelerated Immunization Programme taken up for EAG and NE State. l

INSTITUTIONAL DELIVERY l Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) operationalised in all the States. 7.04 lakh women benefited in the year 2005-06, 29.31 lakh in 2006-07, 70.69 lakh in 2006-07 and 83.84 lakh in the year 2008-09, 19.26 lakh will benefit in the year 2009-10. NEO NATAL CARE l Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood illnesses (IMNCI) started in 269 districts. l With the help of Neonatology Forum over 211316 health care personnel were trained in Newborn Care in the country. CONVERGENCE l Monthly Health and Nurtrition Days organized more than 35 lakh in (200607), 49 lakh in 2007-08 and 56 lakhs in 2008-09, 12 lakhs in 2009-10 at the Anganwadi Centres in various states. l The States have constituted 4,27,955 Village Health and Sanitation Committees. They are being involved in dealing with disease outbreak. l Convergence with ICDS/Drinking Water/Sanitation/NACO/PRIs ground work completed. l School health programmes initiated in over 20 States

512

India 2010

SERVICE DELIVERY l

CRM reported increase in outpatient, inpatient diagnostic service, institutional deliveries.

10 States have Emergency Medical system.

3606 CHCs, 1664 Sub-Divisional Hospital/Taluka Hospitals, 7613 PHCs functional 24x7.

HEALTH ACTION PLANS l

State PIP received from 31 states during 2006-07 and 35 in the year 2007-08, 35 in the year 2008-09 and 35 State PIPs received in the current year 2009-10. Project Implementation Plan (PIPs) of the States under NRHM have been apprised and funds realsed for the year 2009-10. The first cut of Integrated District Health Action Plans (DHAP) has been finalized for 617 districts.

MAINSTREAMING OF AYUSH l

Mainstreaming of AYUSH has been taken up in the States. 8248. AYUSH facilities are available at District and below district level health institutions. AYUSH person are part of State Health Mission/Society as members.

TRAININGS l

l l

Trainings in critical areas including Anaesthesia, Skilled Birth Attendance (SBA) taken up for MOs/ANMs.Integrated Skill Development Training for ANMs/ LMV/MOs, Training on Emergency Obstetrics care and No Scalpel Vasectomy (NSV) for MOs, Professional Development Programme for CMOs are on full swing. ANM Schools being upgraded in all States. New Nursing schools taken up.

MOTHER NGOs l

321 Mother NGOs appointed for 407 districts till date are fully involved in ASHA training and other activities.

HEALTH RESOURCE CENTRES l l l

National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHSRC) set up at the National Level. Regional Resource Centre set up for NE. State Resource Centre being set up by States.

MONITORING AND EVALUATION l Independent evaluation of ASHAs/JSY by UNFPA/UNICEF/GTZ in 8 States. l Immunization coverage evaluated by UNICEF. l Independent monitoring by identified institutions like Institute of Public Auditors of India. l Ground work for community monitoring completed.

Health and Family Welfare

513

SURVEYS l NFHS III and DLHS II completed. l

It has been decided to take Annual Health Survey for 284 districts in 9 high focus states through the RGI

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT l l l

During the FY 2007-08, out of total alloation of Rs. 10890 crore for the ministry an amount of Rs. 10,189.4 crore was released as part of NRHM. During the FY 2008-09, out of total allocation of Rs. 11,930 crore for the ministry, an amount of Rs. 11,200 crore was released as part of NRHM. During the FY 2009-10, an amount of Rs. 13,930 crore for the ministry, an amount of Rs. 6,036.6 crore was released as part of NRHM.

AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT EVIDENCE FROM THE STATES 1. Out patient Cases : Reports from States indicate significant improvement. In Bihar, the average number of patients visiting a Primary Health Centre every month has gone up from 39 in January 2006 to 3015 in August 2006. In Punjab, with the Alternate Health Delivery involving service providers under PRIs at 1310 Subsidiary Health Centres, out patient cases have gone up by 290% between June to October 2006. 39.6% improvement in cataract operations performed, 11.8% increase in new TB cases detected, and 25.1% increase in students examined under the School Health Programme has been reported. 2. Institutional Deliveries : Reports from States indicate significant increase in institutional deliveries because of demand side financing under Janani Suraksha Yojana. From 6 lakh JSY cases last year, the number has already reached more than 21 lakhs so far. In 1152 PHCs in 50 Blocks of Madhya Pradesh under the Dhanwantari Yojana, institutional deliveries recorded more than 100% increase ( From 26% to 53%). In Orissa, figures from 3 CHCs in Malkangiri and Koraput districts of the KBK region, shows increase in institutional delivery from 88 to 149, 59 to 120 and 97 to 169 respectively over a corresponding time period. In Haryana, with the innovative delivery hut scheme, the institutional deliveries went up from 28% in 2004-05 to 43.60% in 2005-06. 3. Availability of medicines : States have put in place effective systems of procurements of drugs. NRHM has advocated decentralized procurement in line with the successful Tamil Nadu Medical Supplies Corporation. Funds for procurement under NRHM were released to States. Even a state like Bihar, where procurement was ineffective, has put in place a very efficient and effective drug procurement arrangement for drugs on the essential drug list. States of Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand revised the per capita allocation for drugs in out patient facilities, leading to better availability of drugs at health facilities. A few North Eastern States like Assam are procuring drugs from the TNMSC. 4. Immunization : Serious efforts have been made to ensure improvement in immunization coverage by promoting alternate vaccine delivery wherever required, providing incentives for immunization sessions, conducting catch up rounds and ensuring proper maintenance of the cold chain. Recent UNICEF evaluation shows improvements in States like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. With popularization

514

India 2010

of the Monthly Health Days at Aanganwadi Centres, routine immunization has got a further fillip. 5. Monthly Health Days : More than 45 lakh Monthly health Days have been organized at Aanganwadi Centres, facilitating ANCs/PNCs, immunization, availability of basic drugs, etc. Evidence of successful Monthly Health Days in the presence of ANMs/ AWWs are being reported from all States, including States like Tripura, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhatisgarh, etc. Orissa uses the Monthly Health Days for malaria chaemophylaxis as well in the malaria affected areas. With Village Health and Sanitation Committees being set up in every village, public health measures will be the focus of these Monthly Health Days. 6. Resident Community workers / functional Sub Centres : More than 4.5 lakh ASHAs, Community Workers, Mitanins, Link Workers have been selected and are at various stages of selection. They are playing a key role in community mobilization, seeking immunization and other health services, JSY, public health measures, advocacy, nutrition and health education and improving health seeking behaviour of households. By engagement of contractual ANMs wherever required and by provision of Rs. 10,000 annual untied grant, nearly all 1,44,988 Sub Health Centres have been made functional. Sub Centres have judiciously used the united funds as per need, from buying B.P. Equipment, weighing machine, to repairing the examination table, cleaning the Sub Centre, etc. Early evidence suggests that deliveries have started taking place in a few Sub Centres because of the untied grants. A second ANM is in place in 7877 Sub Centres. 7. 24X7 PHCs with 2 additional Nurses : 2297 PHCs have been made 24X7 with a provision of two additional Nurses. Of these 780 have been made 24X7 in Tamil Nadu itself. 8. Community pressure for services from CHCs/Sub District/ District Hospitals: Demand side financing under JSY and ASHAs/ Community Workers are putting pressure on services from CHCs/Sub District and District Hospitals in all the States. The community pressure is putting pressure on the Health Facility to improve its performance. Rupees twenty lakhs have been provided to all the 3910 CHCs as a first installment to move towards Indian Public Health Standards. 2101 CHCs have carried out Facility Surveys to plan for the gaps as per IPHS. Facility Surveys of CHCs are available on this Ministry's website. Rs. 50,000 Annual Maintenance Grant and Rs. 25000 as untied grant for PHCs have been sanctioned for each of the 22669 PHCs, to be used under the supervision of the RKS. Works have been completed in some facilities and are under way in a large number of them. It has taken a little time as Facility Surveys had to be completed as a prerequisite. 9. Rogi Kalyan Samitis : More than 13,000 Rogi Kalyan Samitis/Hospital Development Committees have been set up in the country. Nearly all District/ Sub District Hospitals and CHCs have opened their own Bank Accounts. PHCs are also in the process of doing so. Rs. 5 lakhs has been provided for District Hospital RKSs and Rupees One lakh for Sub District/ CHC/ PHC Hospitals/Centres. They are expected to make the functioning of the Hospitals more accountable, transparent and need based. 10. Improved outreach through MMUs : States have already operationalised more than 129 Mobile Medical Units from their own sources/NRHM. NRHM has approved MMUs for 314 districts and most of these units are expected to become operational very soon. NGOs are involved in such arrangements in many States. Gujarat, Andhra

Health and Family Welfare

515

Pradesh, West Bengal, Orissa have set up effective systems for mobile units to improve outreach of services in remote areas. 11. Partnerships with Non Governmental Providers : Useful partnerships with non governmental providers have been attempted in every State. Reputed NGOs like VHAI and Karuna Trust have taken the responsibility of running PHCs in remote locations of Arunachal Pradesh. Non Governmental Specialists are being paid on a per case basis for work done in Government Hospitals. Under the Chiranjeevi Scheme in the 5 tribal districts of Gujarat, institutional delivery of BPL women is taking place in nursing homes of private gynaecologists at government's cost. NGOs are playing a very important role in facilitating ASHAs and community workers and in their capacity building efforts in every State. 2277 non-governmental providers have been accredited under the Janani Suraksha Yojana. 12. Capacity Building initiatives : More than 1200 Programme Management, Finance Management and Data Management professionals have joined the system at State and District levels. More are joining as Block Public Health Managers in a few States. The introduction of these skills has improved programme management, monitoring and evaluation, financial reporting and record keeping. The National, the NE Regional and State Resource Centres are further strengthening this process. IMNCI training for management of neo-natal and childhood illnesses has been initiated in more than 25 States. Skilled Birth Attendant Training of MOs and ANMs, Training of MOs for Anaesthesia for emergency Obstetric Care, Training of MOs for Obstetric care, professional development programmes for MOs, District Planning and Appraisal programmes for NRHM State level teams, have been taken up on a large scale. 13. Decentralized planning and appraisal of District Health Action Plans : The process of decentralized planning has been initiated across the country with planning village upwards. Each and every district of Madhya Pradesh and Chhatisgarh has completed the District Planning process. The other States are also at an advanced stage of district planning. These District Health Action Plans have been prepared through a consultative process involving communities and health functionaries at each level. Chhattisgarh has undertaken the innovative exercise of developing a human development index for each Panchayat and for awarding Panchayats on the basis of their Human Development ranking. 14. Effective monitoring and evaluation : NRHM has set up effective systems of monitoring and evaluation. A detailed MIS that provides disaggregated information about performance with respect to vulnerable groups like SCs and STs, has been operationalized. An effective Financial Management Reporting System has become functional with quarterly, activity wise reports from States. A pilot initiative on community monitoring is being initiated in partnership with NGOs. The Institute of Public Auditors of India has started field work in five States ( Bihar, Assam, UP, Tamil Nadu and Kerala). Assessment of ASHA programme in MP, Rajasthan, Orissa, UP, Bihar is under way with the support of UNFPA/Unicef. A system of independent assessment of performance of States by institutions of excellence is in the process of finalization. An intensive field based joint review mechanism is in place for the RCH - II that covers core areas of NRHM as well. Three such reviews have already been conducted. The Way Ahead A lot has been achieved in the field of health and family welfare in the last two years in partnership with States. This is a sector that requires simultaneous action on

516

India 2010

many fronts. The institutional platform of Village Health and Sanitation Committees, the Rogi Kalyan Samitis and the Panchayati Raj Institution committees at various levels are providing a rare opportunity for convergent action on all determinants of health. An army of locally resident Accredited Social health Activists with strong referral links with the strengthened health system will put even greater pressure on the public sector health system to deliver quality services. Along with need based and transparent partnerships with non governmental providers for public health goals, the strengthened system will have positive consequences for all interventions, whether they are for family welfare, disease surveillance, National Health Programmes, etc. The innovative engagement of human resource as per need and the arrangements for incentives at each level will help craft a new and innovative system of public health delivery. The experience of the last two years gives us the confidence that we are on the right track and that we need to deepen institutional reforms and effective decentralization through a concerted effort at capacity building. The setting up of a National Health System Resource Centre is a step in that direction. States are also in the process of setting up their resource Centres. The North Eastern Regional Resource Centre is already playing a crucial role in developing need based programmes in the eight North Eastern States. TRAINING DIVISION Availability of qualitative services to the community depends largely upon the efficacy with which health functionaries discharge their responsibilities, which, in turn would depend mainly upon their education and training. Department of Family Welfare had recognized the crucial role of training of health personnel in providing effective and efficient health care to the rural community from the very beginning of the Five Year Plans. The pre-service and in-service training for different categories of health personnel are imparted through the following schemes/activities: Training of ASHA under NRHM The Government of India in April 2005 launched the NRHM to improve access of people, especially the poor women and children to quality primary health care services. Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) is a major strategic intervention under the mission. ASHA is envisaged as a trained woman community health volunteer who will reinforce community action for universal immunization, safe delivery, the care of the new born, prevention of water borne and communicable diseases, improved nutrition and promotion of household sanitary toilets. Capacity building of ASHA is critical in enhancing their effectiveness and this has been seen as a continuous process. The induction training of ASHA would be completed in 23 days spread in five rounds over a period of 12 months to be followed by periodic re-training for about two days once every alternate month. 265024 ASHAs are trained in 18 high focus States. The scheme which was initially introduced for only 10 high focus states namely, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Assam and Jammu & Kashmir under NRHM, has been extended to NE states and tribal areas of other states. Whereas in rest of the country states Governments may opt for Link Workers (similar as ASHA) in their Project Implementation Plan (PIP) under RCH-II.

Health and Family Welfare

517

Progress made in selection and training of ASHAs is given in the following table: Sector

No. of ASHAs proposed for the Mission period 2005-10

No. of ASHAs selected during 2005-06

No. of ASHAs selected during 2006-10

Total selected

Total Trained

In 10 High focus States

406530

119983

252249

356610

249859

In NE High focus States

467979

9058

24871

33929

15165

21643

116934

91013

81275

592086

129041

368133

481552

346299

In Tribal areas of others states Link Workers in other areas Total

Centrally Sponsored Scheme of "Basic Training of ANM/LHV" ANMs/LHVs play a vital role in MCH and Family Welfare Services in the rural areas. It is therefore, essential that proper training be given to them so that quality services be provided to the rural population. For this purpose Department of Family Welfare provides financial assistance under the scheme, to the states, to run 336 ANM/Multipurpose Health Workers (Female) schools with an admission capacity of approximately 13,000 and 42 promotional training schools for LHV/ Health Assistant (Female) with an admission capacity of 2600. These training institutions impart pre-service training to prepare required number of ANMs and LHVs to man the Sub centres, Primary Health Centres, Community Health Centres, Rural Family Welfare Centres and Health posts in the country. The duration of the training programme of ANM is one and half years and minimum admission requirement for this course is 10th pass. Senior ANM with five years of experience is given six months promotional training to become LHV/ Health Assistant (Female). The staffing pattern of the school for which financial assistance is provided by the Department of Family Welfare, varies according to the annual admission capacity of the school. Centrally Sponsored Scheme of "Basic Training for the Multi Purpose Health Worker (Male)" The Basic Training of the Multi Purpose Health Worker (Male) scheme was approved during the 6th Five-Year Plan and taken up since 1984, as a 100% Centrally Sponsored Scheme. This pre-service training is provided through Health & Family Welfare Training Centres and also through basic training schools of Multipurpose Health Workers (Male). The training is of one-year duration and on successful completion of the training, the Male Health Worker is posted at the Sub-Centre along with an ANM/ Health Worker (Female). Maintenance of Health and Family Welfare Training Centres Forty seven Health and Family Welfare Training centres were established in the country in order to improve the quality and efficiency of the Family Planning Programmes and to bring about changes in the attitude of the personnel engaged in the delivery of health services through in-service training programmes. These training centres are supported under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of "Maintenance of Health and Family Welfare Training Centre". These training centres are now conducting various in-service training programmes of the Department of Family Welfare. Apart from in-service training,

518

India 2010

some of the selected centres are also responsible for conducting the basic training of Male Health Worker's course of one year. Apart from the salary of the staff of the training centres, other assistance under the scheme includes contingency for purchase of educational material, rent for training centres and payment to the guest faculty. Strengthening of Basic Training Schools This scheme was launched in 10th plan period with a plan period allocation of 10 crores. The main objective of the scheme "Strengthening of Basic Training School"was physical strengthening of the ANM/LHV training schools. The provision under the scheme was maximum of Rs. 21.5 lakhs per ANM/LHV School for Repair/upgradation for the buildings - Training Centre, hostel and the field practice area, furniture and equipment and books/A.V. aids. During the year 2005-06, Rs.203.86 lakh were released to the 4 states of Mizoram, Tamil Nadu, Nagaland and Orissa for strengthening of 13 ANM Training Schools under the scheme and during 2006-2007 Rs.207.89 lakh were released to the 4 states of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa and Assam for strengthening of 12 ANM Training Schools. CHILD HEALTH PROGRAMME The Reproductive and Child Health programme (RCH) II under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) comprehensively integrates interventions that improve child health and address factors contributing to infant and under-five mortality. Reduction of infant and child mortality has been an important tenet of the health policy of the Government of India and it has tried to address the issue right from the early stages of planned development. The National Population Policy (NPP) 2000, the National Health Policy 2002 and the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12) and National Rural Health Mission (NRHM - 2005 - 2012) have laid down the goals for child health. Key Strategies under RCH II for New Born & Child Health 1. Increase coverage of skilled care at birth for newborns in conjunction with maternal care. 2. Implement, by 2010, a newborn and child health package of preventive, promotive and curative interventions using a comprehensive IMNCI approach. 3. Strengthen and augment existing services (care at birth/Essential new born/ care, ARI and diarrhea control) in area where IMNCI is yet to be implemented. 4. Implement the multiyear strategic plan for the UIP (Universal Immunization Program) Child Health Situation in India: l

Of the 9.7 million under-five deaths globally, 2.1 million are in India alone. Approx 25 million births occur every year in India out of which approx. 1.57 million children die before one year of age and approx 1 million newborns die within one month of birth. 52 percent of under-five deaths continue to occur in the first month of life. 75% of neonatal deaths occur in first week of life, which means that the proportion of U 5 deaths by neonatal causes is disproportionately high. 37 per cent of all infant deaths in India are concentrated in two states (Uttar Pradesh [UP] and Bihar.

Health and Family Welfare

519

70 per cent of all infact deaths in India are concentrated in eight states (Bihar, UP, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat). l Regional disparities remain a concern, with the IMR varying greatly between rural and urban areas (61 and 37, respectively) and states (ranging from 72 in Madhya Pradesh to 12 in Manipur) l The Primary causes of neonatal deaths are : sepsis, low birth weight and Asphyxia. l The primary causes of child deaths are : Pneumonia, Diarrhoea and In some states Malaria, Meningitis and Measles. Situation Analysis: l 38 per cent of new borns in the developing countries start breastfeeding within one hour of birth while only 25% of mother initiate breastfeeding within 1 hr of birth: the proportion has however increased significantly in all states in last two years. l 46% of children are exclusively breasted for six months. While 53% of children receive for 6-23 months initiated timely complementary foods. l Only 21% received appropriate complementary foods (minimum no. of times, minimum no. of food groups). Exclusive breast feeding rates remain low in virtually all the states. l In India 43 per cent of children under age five are underweight. 8.3 million infants in India have low birth weight (less than 2500 grams) l According to SRS 2007, Infant Mortality is highest in Madhya Pradesh (72), and Orissa (71) and the lowest in Manipur (12), Goa (13) and Kerala (13) RGI, SRS (2007). l According to NFHS III (2005-06) Infant mortality is highest in Uttar Pradesh (73) and lowest in Kerala and Goa (15) l With respect to under-five mortality, Uttar Pradesh has the highest rate (96) and Kerala has the lowest rate (16). Components of child health care include: l Essential newborn care l Immunisation l Infant and young child feeding l Vitamin A, Iron and Folic Acid supplementation l Early detection and appropriate management of Acute Respiratory Infections, Diarrhoea and other infections. l Integrated management of neonatal and childhood illnesses (IMNCI) and PreService. l

520

India 2010

Facility Based New Born Care l Home Based care of Newborns l Management of children with malnutrition. Child Health Strategics Essential Newborn Care As the majority of births in India still occur at home and 66% of all deaths in age occur in the first month of life, it is essential to ensure that skilled health care is provided to babies at birth. Further appropriate referral health care must he made available and accessible at health facilities. Hence field level workers have to be trained in essential newborn care i.e. care which every new born needs, like initiation of breastfeeds within half an hour of birth, rooming in, keeping the baby warm, no bathing at birth and immunization. Since 23% of neonatal mortality is at birth, asphyxia resuscitation at birth becomes important. l

Infant and young child feeding Promotion of early initiation of breast feeding (within one hour of delivery) and exclusive breast feeding till 6 months and timely complementary feeding with continued breast feeding is emphasized under infact and young child feeding. Early and exclusive breast feeding for the six months of age and timely complementary feeding with continued breastfeeding for 2 yrs is the single most preventive intervention for child survival. Vitamin - A The policy has been revised with the objective of decreasing the prevalence of Vitamin A deficiency to levels below 0.5%, the strategy being implemented is: l 1,00,000IU dose of Vitamin A is being given at nine months l Vitamin A dose of 2,00,000 IU (after 9 months) at six monthly intervals up to five years of age. l All cases of severe malnutrition to be given one additional dose of Vitamin A. Iron and Folic Acid supplementation To manage the widespread prevelence of anaemia in the country, the policy has been revised. l Infants from the age of 6 months onwards up to the age of five years shall receive iron supplements in liquid formulation in doses of 20mg elemental iron and 100meg folic acid per day per child for 100 days in a year. l Children 6-10 years of age shall receive iron in the dosage of 30 mg elemental iron and 250meg folic acid for 100 days in a year. l Children above this age group would receive iron supplements in the adult dose Management of Diarrhoea In order to control diarrheal diseases the Government of India has adopted the WHO guidlines on Diarrhoea management. l India is the first country in the world to introduce the low osmolarity Oral rehydration Solution (ORS), as recommended by WHO for the management of diarrhea.

Health and Family Welfare

521

Zinc has been approved as an adjunct to ORS for the management of diarrhea. Addition of Zinc would result in reduction of the number and severity of episodes and the duration of diarrhoea l New guidelines on management of diarrhoea have recently been modified. Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illness and Pre Service IMNCI l Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illness (IMNCI) strategy is one of the main interventions under the RCH II/NRHM. The strategy encompasses a range of interventions to prevent and manage the commonest major childhood illnesses which cause death i.e. neonatal illnesses, Acute respiratory Infections, Diarrhoea, Measles, Malaria and Malnutrition. It focuses on preventive, promotive and curative aspects, i.e. it gives a holistic outlook to the programme. The objectives is to implement IMNCI package at the level of household and Sub-centre (through ANMs), Primary health centres (through medical officers, nurse and LHVs), to provide a comprehensive newborn and child health services to address major neonatal and childhood illnesses. l Pre Service IMNCI has been accepted has an important strategy to scale up IMNCI by the Centre and is being included in the curriculum of Medical colleges of the country. This will help in providing the much required trained (IMNCI) manpower in the public and the private sector. Facility Based New Born Care (FBNC) l As more and more sick children are screened and detected at the peripheries through IMNCI and referred to the health facilities, care of sick newborn and child at health facilities (CHCs FRUs, District Hospitals and Medical College Hospitals) assumes priority. Building up the capacity of the Medical Officer at these facilities to handle such cases thus becomes important. The FBNC is consistent with latest available scientific evidence and supports the IMNCI training materials for outpatient management of sick children. The manual complements standard comprehensive pediatric textbooks. l In the districts not implementing IMNCI, the vertical programmes for control of the commonest causes of mortality, i.e. diarrhoea and pneumonia, shall continue to be implemented. The incidence of diarrhoea is reduced by provision of safe drinking water, and diarrhoea cases are managed by Oral Rehydration Salt solution during diarrhoea to prevent dehydration. Pneumonia cases are managed by antibiotics. Home Based New Born Care l Home based Newborn Care has been developed for the use of ASHAS in the states of Rajasthan, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa. Uttar Pradesh has integrated this aspect with IMNCI for the training of ASHAs and ANMs and named it Comprehensive Child Survival Programme (CCSP) which has been initiated in 18 of its 70 districts. Progress l The Under-5 Mortality Rate is the probability (expressed as a rate per 1000 live births) of a child born in a specified year dying before reaching the age of five if subjected to current age specific mortality rates. Under Five Mortality Rate (U5MR) at national level has declined during the last decade. It has come down from 109 per thousand (NFHS I - 1992-93) to 74 per thousand during the period (NFHS III-2005-06). l

522

India 2010

Infant mortality (the probability of a child dying before the first birthday) expressed as a rate per 1000 live births in a specified year has shown a continuous decline. It stood at 192 during 1971, 114 in the year, 1980 and 55 in 2007. The decline in IMR has been noticed both for male and female during the period. However, the rate of decline is more pronounced in thee case of male as compared to female. This implies that the government's child health programme is being successfully implemented. Infant Mortality Rate by Sex (Per 1000 live births) Year Total

1980

114

1985

1990

1993

1996

2000

2003

2005

2006

2007

Source : Office of the Registrar General of India 2007

Policy Decisions l

Iron and Folic Acid supplementation guidelines updated to include children from 6 months to 60 months with the inclusion of 20 mg of iron and 100 meg of folic for 100 days. Children 6 -10 (30 mg of Iron and 250 meg of Folic acid) and Adolescents 11-18 yrs have been included for IFA supplementation.

Vitamin A supplementation guidelines updated to include children up to five years (1,00,00 International Units (IU) for below one year old children and 2,00,00 I.U. for older children).

Use of Zinc as an adjunct along with WHO new ORS to address high darrhoeal morbidity and mortality among children.

Diarrhoea Guidelines updated to include management of cholera out-break and use of ciprofloxin (antibiotic) for resistant cases.

Acute Respiratory Infection Guidelines updated to address high Respiratory Infection and Pneumonia morbidity and mortality among children.

De-worming guidelines formulated.

IMNCI The Child survival strategy of IMNCI has been introduced in 258 district of the country and 202015 health persons have been trained.

Health and Family Welfare

523

Pre - Service IMNCI IMNCI has been introduced in to the curriculum of 79 Medical colleges and some 4000 students have been trained in IMNCI. FBNC 146 SNCU have been setup to address sick new born care at facilities. HBNCC HBNCC has been incorporated into the ASHA training and duties. Nutritional Rehabilitation Centres 582 Nutritional Rehabilitition Centres have been established to address malnutrition among children. New Initiatives l

Neonatal and Child Health Policy under process for greater focus.

Facility based care for new born and children and Integrated Management and childhood Illness (F-IMNCI) as an integrated package to take care of referrals and to enhance capacity of all health personnel at facilities as well as at community level to address sick new born and sick child.

Setting up Sick New Born Care units at District Hospitals to cater to the referred sick newborns

Setting up Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres (NRCs) in states with large magnitude of the problem of malnutrition.

Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) updated to conform to the requirement of Child Health norms at facilities.

School health progress with focus on health promoting schools and greater convergence between Ministries and department to ensure a healthy child and adolescent. Annexure II

NFHS III No.

Indicators

India

(NFHS-2)

(NFHS-3)

% of neonates breastfed within one hour of life

16.0

23.4

% of infants breastfed exclusively till 6 months of age

46.3

% of infants receiving complementary feeds apart from breast feeding at 9 months

55.8

% of children 6-35 months of age who are anaemic

74.2

79.1

% of children under 3 years age with diarrhoea in the last 2 weeks who received ORS

26.9

26.2

% of children under 3 years age who are underweight

46.7

45.9

524

India 2010

IMNCI Total

No. of districts implementing IMNCI No. of. People trainedon IMNCI

High Focus- High Focus Non High Non High Non NE NE FocusFocus Large Small

258

123

106

202015

115761

1461

84770

Pre - Service IMNCI State

No. of Medical colleges implementing IMNCI

Gujarat

Tamil Nadu

Maharashtra

Karnataka

Punjab

Total

Status of Sick Newborn Care Units (SNCUs) and Nutritional Rehabilitation Centres (NRCs) (30.4.09) States

SNCUs

NRCs

Assam

Chhattisgarh

Delhi

108

Karnataka Kerala

Madhya Pradesh

121

Orissa

Bihar

Health and Family Welfare

525

Rajasthan

Tamilnadu

Tripura

Uttarkhand

Jharkhand

West Bengal

Maharashtra

438

160

582

Janani Suraksha Yojana JSY is a safe motherhood intervention under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) being implemented with the objective of reducing maternal and neo-natal mortality by promoting institutional delivery among the poor pregnant women. JSY is a 100 % centrally sponsored scheme and it integrates cash assistance with delivery and post-delivery care. The scheme focuses on the poor pregnant woman with special dispensation for states having low institutional delivery rates namely the States of Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Rajasthan, Orissa and Jammu and Kashmir. Each beneficiary registered under this Yojana should have a JSY card along with a MCH card. ASHA/AWW/ any other identified link worker under the over all supervision of the ANM and the MO, PHC should mandatorily prepare a micro-birth plan. This helps in monitoring antenatal check-ups, and the post delivery care. With nearly 83.78 lakh beneficiaries in 2008-09, JSY has been a sharp off take in the country, up from 7.39 lakhs, 31.58 lakhs and 73.29 lakh beneficiaries in 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 respectively. An evaluation of JSY was carried out in 5 states in December 2008 (Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, and Bihar). Major findings include: i. Good awareness of the scheme ii. Institutional deliveries have substantially increased iii Shift of institutional deliveries from district hospitals/DHs to CHCs and PHCs (accounting for >70%), thus easing the load on the DHs. iv Increased utilization of ANC services. v Social Equity issues are being addressed. vi Post natal care coverage is high. vii High coverage of zero dose polio and BCG. viii At least two-day stay post delivery is not adequately ensured. ix Delay in payments to beneficiaries. Another key aspect is that the full potential of JSY in terms of provision of essential new born care and post partum family planning counselling is yet to be realised. Several steps are being undertaken to strengthen JSY implementation and monitoring, including:

526

India 2010

a. b. c.

Payment prior to discharge through bearer cheque. Monitoring of JSY/ verification of beneficiaries by officials at different levels. Public disclosure of beneficiaries at the facility, and setting up of grievance redressal mechanism for JSY. d. Two days stay after delivery to be promoted, and essential newborn care and post partum counselling to be focused upon in high volume facilities. e. Quality of deliveries at public health facilities to be monitored; private sector facilities accredited and monitored. By the end of 2007-08, 3154 private facilities across the country have been accredited to provide antenatal care and delivery services under JSY. f. Programmes for local awareness. The Table on the following page shows the number of JSY beneficiaries across states during 2005-09. Table 1: Physical progress under JSY 2005-09 (No. of beneficiaries) S. No.

Name of States/URs

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

89839

838481

1051376

Bihar

Chhattisgarh

3190

76677

175978

225000

Himachal Pradesh

1585

6303

10171

11323

Jammu & Kashmir

2134

13127

10568

7364

Jarkhand

123910

251867

477890

Madhya Pradesh

68252

401184

1115941

1138000

Orissa

26407

227204

490657

309000

Rajasthan

10085

317484

774877

917000

Uttar Pradesh

12127

168613

797505

1563516

10.

Uttarakhand

1360

23873

69679

66202

11.

Andhra Pradesh

167000

429000

563401

450000

12.

gujarat

121153

185956

213000

13.

Haryana

1825

23123

35441

48000

14.

Karnataka

50542

233147

283000

331000

15.

Kerala

56072

162050

136000

16.

Maharashtra

5650

97390

375000

224000

17.

Punjab

11595

16079

9917

68000

18.

Tamil Nadu

321567

288224

229609

386700

19.

West Bengal

31363

224863

572651

317000

20.

A & N Islands

314

600

354

1215

458

146

270

157

21.

Chandigarh

22.

Dadra & Nagar Haveli

Health and Family Welfare

527

23.

Daman & Diu

24.

Delhi

242

7238

23829

25.

Goa

483

898

688

26.

Lakshadweep

114

200

27.

Puducherry

379

2284

4389

4807

28.

Arunachal Pradesh

794

1433

7689

7782

29.

Assam

17523

1903334

304741

327894

30.

Manipur

7602

8664

10726

31.

Meghalaya

471

4257

1003

10600

1056

7462

13371

14290

1301

8457

14344

1719

1616

3161

32.

Mizoram

33.

Nagaland

34.

Sikkim

35.

Tripura Total

1128 2247

3203

15547

18350

738911

3158317

7328601

8377657

Village Health and Nutrition Day : Organizing of Village Health & Nutrition Day (VHNDs) at Anganwadi center at least once every month to provide ante natal/ post partum care for pregnant women, promote institutional delivery and health education apart from other various services. As per information from the states 19.95 lakhs of VHNDs have been organized till March 2007. Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS): Implementation of Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) for Primary Healthcare Facilities, will ensure quality services by providing infrastructure, equipments and specialist man-power. FAMILY PLANNING PROGRAMME In order to achieve population stabilization, the National Population Policy 2000 and the Tenth Five Year Plan laid great emphasis on addressing the unmet need for contraception. NFHS -III (2005-06) indicate that the unmet demand (currently married women who want no more children but are not using a method of contraception), both for limiting and spacing, continue to remain high in most states. The performance figures for sterilization operations have shown a dip of 3.8 % from 2005-06 to 2006-07. IUD insertions too declined by 3.6% and condom acceptance declined by 0.4%. OP usage alone has gone up by 9.2% (in case of condoms and OP the usage figures account for both free distribution and supply via social marketing). The achievements with regard to contraceptive usage in the two subsequent years are as follows: Methods

Achievement (in lakhs) 2006-07

Change in % 2005-06

Sterilization

4,514,092

4,691,975

-3.8

IUD insertions

5,945,859

6,168,584

-3.6

Condom users

20,630,468

20,718,296

-0.4

8,946,014

8,194,545

9.2

528

India 2010

Other Methods The acceptance of spacing methods in the country is still very low in spite of the large unmet need. IUD 380A was introduced in India in 2002 replacing the earlier CUT 200 in view of its efficiency, longer effectiveness and cost effectiveness. However, there has been no increase in the acceptability of IUD and one of the reasons is lack of skilled manpower. To address this problem an Alternative Methodology of Training in IUD services is being launched using Zoe anatomic pelvic models. The pilot phase of this intervention is currently being started in one district each of 12 states spread all over the country. Emergency Contraceptive Pills (ECP) were introduced for the first time in the NFWP '02-'03. It prevents unwanted pregnancy after an unprotected act of sexual intercourse. A manual is being formulated to provide guidelines for the administration of ECPs to all service providers. No Scalpel Vasectomy(NSV) The male sterilization was the most accepted contraceptive method during the sixties in India forming nearly 70-80% of the total sterilizations. However, this high acceptance came down to around 2-3% of the total sterilization due to various reasons. With the aim to bring men to the forefront in population and reproductive health programmes and share the responsibility of family planning special budgetary provisions have been made in the tenth plan under the Male Participation which will also address gender equity concerns. To overcome the main problem of lack of skilled service providers in NSV, the GOI has come out with a District Trainers Training strategy wherein every district is to be provided with 1 district trainer who would be responsible for providing service to the acceptors as well as training to other doctors . Under this, 264 districts have been covered till date. To mainstream the training for NSV in Medical education, training of faculty members of the Surgery departments of Medical Colleges is being taken up at 7 centers across the country. The GOI has also enhanced the Compensation package to be paid to the acceptors of sterilization services to compensate for their loss of wages incurred while accepting the procedure. The GOI has also started the National Family Planning Insurance Scheme in November 2005 wherein compensations are paid to the clients or their dependants in the unlikely and unfortunate events of deaths, complications and failures and the surgeons are also covered under an indemnity insurance to take care of any litigation they may face for any case of death, complication or failure PROHIBITION OF PRE-CONCEPTION AND PRE-NATAL SEX DETERMINATION In order to check female foeticide, the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994 was enacted and brought into operation from 1st January, 1996. The Act prohibits determination and disclosure of the sex of the foetus. It also prohibits any advertisements relating to pre-natal determination of sex. Punishments are prescribed for contravention of any of its provisions, like imprisonment up to 5 years and fine up to Rs.1,00,000/- in addition to cancellation of

Health and Family Welfare

529

the registration/license in the case of medical professionals/diagnostic centres, clinics, etc.. The Act and the Rules framed thereunder have been amended with effect from 14th February, 2003 to ban selection of sex before or after conception and to remove difficulties in the implementation of the Act keeping in view certain directions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India. Appropriate Authorities at the District level implement the Act. A National Inspection and Monitoring Committee has also been constituted at the Centre to take stock of the ground realities by field visits to the problem States. A National Support & Monitoring Cell (NSMC) has been constituted to strengthen implementation of the Act in the country. A national level need on 'Save the Girl Child' was organized at New Delhi on 28.4.2008 to bring the centre stage the magnitude of the problem of female foeticide and the resultant decline in Child Sex Radio and its debilitating impact on the society. The meet was inaugurated by Dr. Manmohan Singh, hon'ble Prime Minister of India. On the same occasion, a Toll Free Telephone, i.e. 1800 110 500, and website, 'i.e. pndt.gov. in' were launched to facilitate the public to access PNDT related information and to lodge complaint against any violators of the provisions of the PC & PNDT Act, 1994. The website incorporates the facility for the clinics across the country to file 'Form-F' online and uploading and retrieval of data from district level to the national level. In order to make the Pre-Conception & Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act and the rules framed thereunder even more effective and stringent; the Central Government is considering to further amend the Act and the Rule. Safe Abortion Services/ Medical termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Provision of Safe Abortion Services in accordance with the MTP Act is an important component of the ongoing RCH Programme Phase II and it is one of the means of reducing maternal mortality. As per the latest Survey Report of the office of RGI (RGISRS 2006), 8% of maternal deaths are due to unsafe abortions. For expanding and strengthening safe abortion services under the RCH Programme, the MTP Act 1971, Rules and Regulations have been amended in 2002-03 for delegation of powers to recognize MTP centres to the district level and also provides for specific punitive measures for performing MTPs by unqualified persons and in places not approved by the government. Provision of MTP services at 24 X 7 PHCs, CHCs and FRUs are being strengthened by training of medical manpower in techniques of MTP by the States. Routine Immunization Programme Immunization programme is one of the key interventions for protection of children from life threatening conditions, which are preventable. Immunization Programme in India was introduced in 1978 as Expanded Programme of Immunization. This gained momentum in 1985 as Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) and implemented in phased manner to cover all districts in the country by 1989-90. UIP became a part of Child Survival and Safe Motherhood Programme in 1992. Since 1997, immunization activities have been an important component of National Reproductive and Child Health Programme. Immunization is one of the key areas under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) launched in 2005.

530

India 2010

Under the Immunization Programme, Government of India is providing vaccination to prevent six vaccine preventable diseases i.e. Tuberculosis, Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Polio, and Measles. The vaccination schedule is as under: BCG (Bacillus Calmette GuĂ¨rin)- Birth DPT ( Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus Toxoid )- 6,10,14 weeks and at 16-24 months of age OPV (Polio)- 6,10,14 weeks & 16-24 months of age and birth dose for institutional delivery Measles - 9-12 months of age DT (Diphtheria and Tetanus Toxoid) - 5 years of age TT (Tetanus Toxoid ) - 10 years and 16 years of age TT - for pregnant woman two doses or one dose if previously vaccinated within 3 years To further strengthen the Routine Immunization, with the aim to improve the coverage, Government of India has taken the following initiatives as part of NRHM since 2005-06: l Introduction of AD syringes for all immunization replacing the existing glass syringe and needles. l Downsizing the BCG vial from 20 dose to 10 dose. l Plans for alternate vaccine delivery from PHC to Sub centre and outreach sessions. l Outsourcing immunization activities in urban slums and under served areas. l Strengthening supervision and monitoring. l Mobility support to District Immunization officer for supportive supervision and monitoring. l Review meeting at the State level with the districts on 6 monthly basis. l Mobilization of children to immunization session sites by Accredited Social Health Activist. (ASHA), Link workers, Women Self Help Groups etc. l To improve the immunization coverage in low performing state viz. EAG States and N.E. States, Special Immunization Weeks / Catch-up Rounds are being observed in these States. All the States/UTs are asked to prepare their own State Programme Implementation Plan (PIP) for Immunization as part 'C' of NRHM PIP from the year 2005-06 to address specific needs. INDIAN NURSING COUNCIL The Indian Nursing Council is a statutory body constituted under the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947. The Council is responsible for regulation and maintenance of uniform standards of training for nurses, midwives, ANMs and Lady Health Visitors in India. The Council prescribes the syllabi and regulations for various Nursing courses. At present 1602 GNM schools, 440 ANM schools, 817 colleges of nursing for conducting graduation programmes and 91 colleges of nursing for conducting post graduate courses in nursing are functioning in the country. On an average 25-30 thousand nurses and 10-12 thousand ANMs qualify every year. So far 9,28,194 GNM

Health and Family Welfare

531

and 5,26,242 ANMs have been registered with various State Nursing Councils up to 31st December 2006. PULSE POLIO IMMUNIZATION In the pursuance of the World Health Assembly resolution of 1988, in addition to administration of routine OPV through the Universal Immunization Programme, the Pulse Polio Immunization (PPI) Programme was launched in 1995-96 to cover all children below the age of 3 years. In order to accelerate the pace of polio eradication, the target age group was increased from 1996-97 to all children under the age of 5 years. Till 1998-99, the PPI programme consisted of vaccination of children at fixed booths on the National Immunization Days (NIDs) held twice, separated by six weeks, during the winter season. Inspite of very good coverage during NIDs 5-6 per cent of children were being missed even in the PPI programme. During 1999-2000 therefore, in addition to booth immunization, a house-to-house search of missed children and vaccinating them on the next 1-3 days following each NID/Sub NID was undertaken. This house-tohouse programme resulted in identification and vaccinating 2.3 crore children who had never been vaccinated before. Total number of children vaccinated during each NID round in the country is about 17 crore. Significant progress has been achieved in controlling transmission of Wild Poliovirus. Type-2 Polio Virus has been eliminated since 1999. Type-3 circulation is restricted mainly in West U.P. districts. Type-1 Polio Virus circulation is also limited to the endemic districts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. During 2007, (till 27th July 2007) 124 cases were reported -39 were of wild polio virus type 1 (WPV1) and of wild polio virus type 3 (WPV3). The geographical spread was restricted to 39 districts. Nutrition The Nutrition Cell in the Directorate General of Health Services provides technical advise in all matters related to policy making, programme implementation, monitoring & evaluation, training content for different levels of medical and para medical workers. It takes up technical scrutiny of standards and labels for foods, proposals, project evaluation, review of research projects, etc. The cell has been making efforts in creating awareness regarding prevention of micronutrient deficiency disorders, diet related chronic disorders and promotion of healthy life style through dissemination of various types of IEC material. So far, posters and pamphlets on the above mentioned issues, video spots on IDD were developed. Production of video film on Undernutrition and Promotion of Healthy Life Styles and 'reviewing & updating the publication entitled 'Guidelines for Standardized Hospital Diets' activities are under active process. The Cell organizes meetings and workshops (National & Regional levels workshops) on core issues related to nutrition i.e. micronutrient, hospital dietws, fluorosis. Diet related chronic disorders & promotion of healthy life style fast/junk food etc. In order to address the problem of fluorosis in the country a new initiative i.e. "National Programme for Prevention & Control of Fluorosis (NPPCF)" has been

532

India 2010

approved for implementation in 100 districts with financial allocation of Rs. 68 crores during the 11th Five Year plan. The 1st phase of the programme will be launched & implemented in the current financial year in one district of each five States. The Nutrition Cell also keeps State Nutrition Division, located in 17 States/ UTs, updated on developments in the field of nutrition, micronutrient defiances, diet related chronic non-communicable disease, junk/fast foods etc. FAMILY WELFARE LINKED HEALTH INSURANCE SCHEME As a measure to encourage people to adopt permanent method of Family Planning, this Ministry has been implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme since 1981 to compensate the acceptors of sterilization for the loss of wages for the day on which he/she attended the medical facility for undergoing sterilization. l

Apart from providing for cash compensation to the acceptor of sterilization some States/UTs were apportioning some amount for creating a miscellaneous purpose fund utilized for payment of ex-gratia to the acceptor of sterilization or his/her nominee in the unlikely event of his/her death or incapacitation or for treatment of post operative complications attributable to the procedure of sterilization, as under:i) Rs. 50,000/- per case of death ii) Rs. 30,000/- per case of incapacitation. iii) Rs. 20,000/- per case of cost of treatment of serious post operation complication. Any liability in excess of the above limit was being borne by the State/UT/ NGO/Voluntary Organization concerned from their own resources. The Supreme Court of India in is Order dated 1.3.2005 in Civil Writ Petition No. 209/2003 (Ramakant Rai V/s Union of India) has, inter alia, directed the Union of India and States/UTs for ensuring enforcement of Union Government's Guidelines for conducting sterilization procedures and norms for bringing out uniformity with regard of sterilization procedures by : a)

Creation of panel of Doctors/health facilities for conducting sterilization procedures and laying down of criteria for empanelment of doctors for conducting sterilization procedures.

Laying down of checklist to be followed by every doctor before carrying out sterilization procedure.

Laying down of uniform proforma for obtaining of consent of person undergoing sterilization.

Setting up of Quality Assurance Committee for ensuring enforcement of pre and postoperative guidelines regarding sterilization procedures.

Bringing into effect an insurance policy uniformly in all States for acceptors of sterilizations etc.

With a view to do away with the complicated process of payment of ex-gratia to the acceptors of sterilisation for treatment of post operative complications,

Health and Family Welfare

533

incapacitation or death attributable to the procedure of sterilization, the Family Planning Insurance Scheme was introduced w.e.f. 29th November, 2005 for a period of one year to take care of the cases of failure of sterilisation, medical complications or death resulting from sterilisation and also provide indemnity cover to the doctor / health facility performing sterilisation procedure, with Oriental Insurance Co. and was subsequently renewed for one more year from 29.11.2006 to 31.12.2007 with OIC. The benefits extended under the scheme were as follows:Policy period 29.11.2005 to 28.11.2006 (First Year) a)

Death due to sterilization in hospital:

Death due to sterilization within 30 days of discharge from hospital

Rs. 30,000/-

Failure of sterilization (including first instance of conception after sterilization)

Rs. 20,000/-

Expenses for treatment of medical complications due to sterilization operation (within 60 days of operations)

Rs. 20,000/-

c) d) e) *

Indemnity Insurance per Doctor/facility but not more then 4 cases in a year

Rs. 1,00,000/-

Upto Rs. 2 lakh per claim

Total liability of the insurance Company shall not exceed Rs. 9 crores in a year under each section.

Benefits after renewal of the scheme w.e.f. 29th November, 2006 to 31.12.2007 (2nd Year) Section I

Coverage

Limits

Death following sterilization in hospital

Rs. 2 lakh

Death following sterilization within 8-30 days from the date of discharge from the hospital

Rs. 50,000/-

Failure of Sterilization

Rs. 25,000/-

Cost of treatment upto 60 days arising out of complication from the date of discharge.

Actual not exceeding Rs. 25,000/-

Indemnity Insurance per Doctor/facility but not more than 4 cases in a year

Upto Rs. 2 lakh per claim

Total liability of the insurance Company shall not exceed Rs. 9. crores in a year under each section. l

Renewal for third/Fourth year 1.1.2008 to 31.12.2990: Continuation/renewal of the Scheme/Policy for the period 1.1.2008 to 31.12.2009 has been done with ICICI with the increase in the amount for sterilization failure from Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 30,000 and other benefits to the acceptors and indemnity cover to the doctors remaining the same as in the previous year policy, i.e. table as above. The scheme is applicable to all acceptors undergoing /undergone sterilization operation irrespective of BPL/APL status.

534

India 2010 Expenditure incurred by GOI on Family Planning Insurance Scheme and performance regarding reporting/settlement of claims is placed as follows:

Year

Insurer

Estimated Number

Premium per person without ST

Total Premium Total without Premium with ST ST

29/11/05 to 28/11/08

OIC*

50 lakhs

Rs. 15

Rs. 75,00,000

Rs. 8,26,50,000

29/11/06 to 31/12/07

OIC **

45 lakhs

Rs. 9.60

Rs. 4,32,00,000 after adjustment of a refund of Rs. 2,46,95,000

Rs. 8,26,30,000

1/1/08 to 31/12/09

ICICI

50 lakhs

Rs. 5.65

Rs. 2,82,50,000

Rs. 3,17,41,700

1/1/09 to 31/12/09

ICICI

45 lakhs

Rs. 9,75

Rs. 4,38,75,000

Rs. 4,92,.97,951

The premium paid by GOI is based on the expected number of sterilizations subject to actual reporting sterilizations. *

For the period 29.11.2005 to 28.11.2006, the premium was paid to OIC based on expected 50 lakh sterilizations. However, the premium paid was adjusted in the subsequent year (29.11.06 - 31.12.07) due to less number of sterilization i.e. 35 lakhs.

** In the second year based on 35 lakhs accepters a refund of Rs. 24695000 was allowed which was adjusted with actual premium of Rs. 4,32,00,000 and Rs. 2,36,92,680 was paid for the period 29.11.2006 to 31.12.2007. Premium paid to ICICI for the period 1.1.2008 to 31.12.2008 was based on expected 50 lakh sterilizations and for the period 1.1.2009 to 31.12.2009 was based on expected 45 lakh sterilizations.

Details of premium paid and Performance regarding reporting /settlement of claims upto 30th Sept, 2009: S. Insurance N. Co.

Period

Status of Claims Reported

OIC

29.11.05

3409

to 31.12.07

Paid/ Amount 1878 Rs. 5.5 cr.

Rejected 623 Rs. 1.45 cr.

Closed 381

Out standing 527

Rs. 1.25 cr.

Status of claims upto 30th June, 2009 under policy 2008 & 2009

ICICI

1.1.2008 to 31.12.08

4128

2232 Rs. 8.34 cr.

1710 Rs. 5.17 cr.

186 Rs. 0.57 cr.

ICICI

1.1.2009

1570

607

534

432

Rs. 2.32 cr.

Rs. 1.85 cr.

Rs. 1.71 cr.

Encouraged with the responses, GOI replicated the scheme in whole of the state in phased manner covering total 1.85 crores BPL families i.e. 6.55 crores BPL population.

Health and Family Welfare l

535

Now scheme is covering Heart, Lung, Liver, Pancreas, Renal diseases, NeuroSurgery, Pediatric Congenital Malformations, burns including Post Burn Contracture Surgeries for Functional Improvement, Prostheses (Artificial limbs), Cancer treatment (Surgery, Chemo Therapy, Radio Theraphy) and Poly trauma covering 330 interventions. Use of both public and private health facility. Health Melas being the major areas of thrust under this scheme are organized by the net-worked hospitals for identification of patients.

Results indicate the following as on 30/08/2009 S.No. 1 Implementation date 2 Districts covered 3 Camps organized 4 Patient screened 5 Patient registered 6 Inpatient 7 Pre authorization 8 Amount Approved 9 Total Surgery 10 OPD Cases

01/04/07 23 in 5 phase 10736 18.16 lakhs 9.3 lakhs 3.50 lakhs 3.14 lakhs Rs. 956.94 cr. 3.06 lakhs 4.11 lakhs

RAJEEV AAROGYASRI HEALTH INSURANCE SCHEME, ANDHRA PRADESH The State Government felt a need of introducing the health insurance to provide medical assistance to BPL families for treatment of critical illness as cancer, kidney failure, heart and neuro etc requiring hospitalization. Many people approached the Government for financial assistance to meet the medical/surgical expenses. During the period from 14/05/04 to 26/06/07 Rs. 168.52 crores were provided from CM's Relief fund for 55361 cases. l

Rajeev Aarogyasri Trust, a body constituted by the State for implementation, policy decision and financial control of Health Insurance Scheme is headed by Executive Director. The Scheme is implemented through Star Health Insurance Company.

BPL population is identified by biometric ration card issued by Civil Supplies department. Trust is also issuing the health card to all BPL families.

Government of Andhra Pradesh introduced a health Insurance scheme in three districts w.e.f. 1/04/07 on pilot basis in Phase I for Heart, Cancer, Neuro Surgery, Renal diseases, Burns and Poly Trauma (not covered by MV Act) covering mostly 163 surgical interventions through health insurance company with public private partnership of health providers. Sum Insured is Rs. 1.50 lakh with a buffer of Rs. 50,000 per family.

All diseases under the scheme are covered from day one. A person suffering from any disease prior to the inception of the policy is also covered.

536

India 2010

Package rates are from date of reporting to hospital up to 10 days from the date of discharge from the hospital. In case of kidney transplantation the postoperative care under package is upto 1 year.

Minimum one free Health Camp in village in a week for the screening of the BPL patient suffering from the identified ailments is being arranged by each network hospital with diagnostic equipments and team of doctors as specified by the Trust for this purpose.

Cost for cochlear Implant Surgery with Auditory-Verbal Therapy will be reimbursed by the Trust to the Network Hospital on actual basis up to a maximum of Rs. 6.50 lakhs for each case and Insurance Company shall service the cases under the scheme. The cost of this treatment is born by the state only. This is not a part of insurance scheme.

Funds are provided annually by the State Government to the District for providing the benefit of the scheme. A total allocation of Rs. 39.5 crore was made for the year 2007-08.

The Department of Public Health and Family Welfare, Government of MP is the Implementing Agency for the Scheme in the State. Monthly progress reports of the scheme are generated at the hospital, compiled block-wise and sent to the State directorate.

The average benefit availed is under Rs. 1,000/- per family per annum.

Family Health Cards have been issued to 50 lakh families. The details of beneficiaries are as follows: Year

7367

3720

2005-06

68763

50347

119110

2006-07

118855

97488

51698

268041

2007-08

153579

155177

247869

556625

2008-09

153617

158190

277796

589603

Total

502181

464922

577363

1544466

2004-05

GEN

Total 0

11087

The Expenditure made for purchase of medicines under the scheme is as follows: Year

Exp in crores

2004-05

0.25

2005-06

3.78

2006-07

7.58

2007-08

17.14

2008-09

17.60

This is a self-funded scheme of the state and taking the support from NRHM also. This does not allow the members to access the private health facilities.

Health and Family Welfare

537

DIN DAYAL ANTYODAY UPCHAR YOJANA MADHYA PRADESH The Government of Madhya Pradesh is providing social security to the under privileged section of the society and launched the Din Dayal Antyoday Upchar Yojana on 25th September 2004 and providing medicinal facility to 57 lacs PBL families and 10 lacs other families in Madhya Pradesh. l

All members of the primitive tribal groups irrespective of their economic status and families of holders "Mukhya Mantri Mazdoor Suraksha Card" & "Nirman Shramik Card" are also covered.

Presently there are 57 lakhBPL families and 10 lakh other families are covered. Eligible family is provided with a family health card along with a photograph of the head of the family and details of all the members in it.

The scheme provides free treatment and investigation facility on hospitalization without any exclusion up to a limit of Rs. 20,000/- per family per annum in all government health facilities.

The benefit is provided for all diseases and conditions including delivery, without any exclusion.

Benefit is also available for services provided by private providers for X-Ray, USG, Pathology etc. Other costs such as bed charges and physician's fees etc. are not accounted for.

In case of seriously ill patients, the limit is being extended to Rs. 30,000/- per family per annum. Benefit is also available for services provided by private providers for X-Ray, USG and Pathology etc. l The cost of medicines/ material/ investigations is entered in the card whenever a patient with family health card is hospitalized. The card ones issues does not require renewal. Additional names can be added on providing sufficient proof. l All State Government Hospitals, those providing hospitalization facilities are eligible under the scheme. "MUKHYA MANTRI RAKSHA KOSH" FOR BPL POPULATION OF RAJASTHAN l

"Mukhya Mantri Jeevan Raksha Kosh" (MMJRK) scheme is launched in the state of Rajasthan with effect from January 1, 2009 for BPL population to take care of their health related in-patient and out-patient care. l The Mukhya Mantri Jeevan Raksha Kosh has been implemented through all public health institutions of Rajasthan to provide free in-patient care and outpatient care to BPL families. l BPL card holder will get free of cost cash less health care facilities in Medical Colleges, District hospitals and CHCs of the district for in-patient care for any ailment and OPD care. Further, if high end care facility not available in the state for such ailment, they may be sent out of the state in AIIMS, New Delhi and Chandigarh for such treatment. l Each Medical College (Rs. 50 lakh to Sawai Madho Singh College and Rs. 25 lakh each to other medical colleges), District-Hospital (Rs.5.00 lakh) and CHC (Rs. 1.00 lakh) having Medical Relief Society are given fixed advance funds for medicines and consumables. After spending the 75% of the funds, they are

538

India 2010 given further amount to keep maintaining the balance in their account. The required medicines and other artificial organ/ equipments is being purchased through Medicare Relief Society (MRS). A facilitation desk under the scheme is provided to help all BPL patients at the public health institutions for 24 hours/ day and comprises a project manager and 3 Rogi Mitras at the Medical Colleges and District Hospitals (1 per shift) and lesser levels of deployment at the CHCs to assist the BPL. It is also proposed that the technical preparedness for monitoring the scheme is higher than the other schemes that the State government has implemented so far. With 7 medical colleges being brought into the fold and application software for Rogi Mitras to be established under the current scheme at various government hospitals across the State, the monitoring and implementation of this scheme will be substantially stronger than in the past. The District Collector/Commissioner will be the chairperson of the society and will monitor the scheme. Following officials can be approached by the beneficiaries in case of finding any difficulty in getting the benefit under the scheme: l Mission Director, NRHM l Commissioner/District Collector l Director, Hospital Administration, Medical & Health Services. l Principal/Controller of Medical College l Chief Medical Officer of the district hospital l Chief Medical & health Officer Performance regarding reporting/settlement of claims from 1/01/2009 to 31/ 05/2009 is as under:

l l

S.No.

Head

No. Amount

Total BPL benefited

Rs. 6.54 lakhs

Total expenditure

Rs. 11.64 cr

IPD

Rs. 0.98 lakhs

Amount

Rs. 8.82 cr

OPD

Rs. 5.56 lakhs

Amount

Rs. 2.82 cr

Treatment given in

Medical colleges

Rs. 0.88 lakhs

District hospitals

Rs. 1.92 lakhs

CHCs

Rs. 2.71 lakhs

PHCs

Rs. 1.03 lakhs

YESHASVANI CO-OPERATIVE FARMERS HEALTH CARE SCHEME KARNATAKA Yeshasvani Co-Operative Farmers Health Care Scheme provides necessary treatment to medical/surgical procedures by becoming a member of a scheme. The scheme

Health and Family Welfare

539

aims to provide cost effective quality health care facilities to the co-operative farmers spread across the state of Karnataka. l The scheme operates under the aegis of the Karnataka state Co-operative Department. Being a self-funded scheme the governing body for implementation, policy decision and financial control laise with the special purpose Trust named Yeshasvani Trust headed by Principal Secretary of the Co-operative department. M/s Family Health Plan is the implementing agency. l Beneficiaries are offered cash less treatment at the net work of over 135 hospitals spread across the state of Karnataka. Coverage is limited to Rs. 2.00 lakh per annum per individual and sub-limit of Rs. 1.00 lakh per surgery per individual with category limit. l 1600 surgical procedures at tariff pre-negotiated with participating hospitals. All procedures are limited to one incidence per year. However, it excludes prosthesis, implants, joint replacement surgeries, transplants, chemotherapy, cosmetic surgeries, burn cases, dental surgeries and several other events and items. l Coverage for stabilization of defined medical emergencies like dog bite, snake bite, bull-run injury, drowning, accidental poisoning, electric shock, accident while working with agriculture implements, road traffic accidents and burns limited to two days of hospitalization up to a maximum of Rs. 1500 per member per incidence. l Maternity cover to a women member above 18 years limited to Rs. 600 per birth. In addition the neo natal is also covered. l Free OPD consultation, discounts on investigation charges and on the tariff for non-covered hospitalization is also available. l Each member to contribute Rs. 120 per annum. 15% rebate for family of five or more members having minimum 6 months membership in the co-operatives societies. The plan is open to all members on a voluntary basis. l State government is also providing the financial support to the scheme based on the requirement on yearly basis. The status of the scheme upto 31/03/09 is as under: Sr. No. June 08 - March 09 1

Members enrolled

3047877

Contribution

Rs. 36.10 cr.

Govt. contribution

Rs. 25.00 cr.

Authorization Approved (72440)

Rs. 62.34 cr.

Surgeries

(59453)

Rs. 48.51 cr

Claims paid

(56715)

Rs. 46.47 cr.

RASHTRIYA SWASTHYA BIMA YOJANA Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), a scheme of Ministry of Labour was launched on October, 1, 2007 and rolled out frm 1st April, 2008 in a phased manner. The scheme is implemented in most of the states, initially on pilot basis. However, the Government has decided to take up all the districts in 2009-10 itself.

540

India 2010

Maximum contribution is Rs 725 per family (75%. 25%) [Central: State share]). The beneficiary would pay Rs. 30/- per annum as registration/renewal fee.

The main objective of this scheme is to provide health insurance cover to the below poverty line (BPL) workers and their families in the unorganized sector and to improve access of BPL families to quality medical care for treatment of diseases involving hospitalization and surgery through an identified network of health care providers as cashless.

The scheme provides the coverage for meeting expenses of primary inpatient hospitalization for medical and/or surgical procedures including maternity benefit and new born child, to the BPL families up to Rs. 30,000 per family.

It covers all pre-existing conditions/diseases from day one with a provision for transport allowance.

The main object of this scheme is to provide the health care facility as cashless. Reimbursement to hospitals shall be based on the electronic transaction data received from hospitals.

Unit of enrolment is family up to a unit of five members. This would comprise the Household Head, spouse, and up to three dependents. The dependents would include such children and/or parents of the head of the family as are listed as part of the family in the BPL data base. The enrolment of BPL beneficiaries based on the soft data provided by the State Government/Nodal Agency and issue Smart card as per Central Government specifications.

The scheme has 725 identified common surgical packages apart from medical procedures. In addition to the package list other procedures are also covered. This covers entire cost of treatment of the patient from date of reporting to his discharge from hospital and 5 days after discharge and any complication while in hospital, making the transaction truly cashless to the patient.

Fixing of treatment protocol and costs, treatment authorization to keep the administering at the lowest and making full use of the resources available in the Government/Private health systems.

For effective operation of the scheme, partnership is envisaged between the Insurance Company, public and the private sector hospitals and the State agencies.

As on 30/06/2009 scheme has been rolled out in 120 districts of 18 States on various dates in 2008-2009. Total 60,59,599 family smart cards have been issued covering 307, 97,995 members.

NATIONAL COMMISSION ON POPULATION The National Commission on Population was constituted in May 2000 to review, monitor and give directors for the implementation of the National Population Policy (NPP), 2000 with a view to meeting the goals set out in the Policy, to promote intersectorial coordination, involve the civil society in planing and implementation, facilitate initiatives to improve performance in the demographically weaker States in the country and to explore the possibilities of international cooperation in support of the goals set out the National Population Policy. The first meeting of the Commission

Health and Family Welfare

541

was held on 22.7.2000 and last on 23.7.2005. In the first meeting of the Commission the then Hon'ble Prime Minister had announced the formation of an Empowered Action Group within the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for paying focused attention to States with deficient national socio-demographic indices and establishment of National Population stabililzation Fund to provide a window for canalizing monies from national voluntary sources to specifically aid projects designed to contribute to population stabilization. The National Commission of Population has been reconstituted on 11th April, 2005 with 40 members under the Chairmanship of the Hon'ble Prime Minister. Minister of Health and Family Welfare FW and the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission are Vice Chairman of the Commission. The present membership also includes the Chief Ministers of the States of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. DIRECTIONS AND ADMINISTRATION Under this scheme, norms for contingent expenditure for District and State Family Welfare Bureau, Rural Family Welfare Centers and Vehicle with POL charges had been revised after a gap of more than thirty years. Flexibility had been also allowed to all States to review existing staff position and to abolish posts that have become irrelevant and to create the posts, which are utmost necessary, within the grant available from the Government of India for this purpose. Releases to State/UTs are made as per audited expenditure for the respective period of previous financial years. STERILIZATION AND IUD INSERTION (COMPENSATION SCHEME) Since the compensation Scheme has been put under flexible pool of RCH.II. no specific B.E. was made under separate head for this scheme for releases to States/UTs for the year 2007-08. However, with further revision in the compensation package to acceptors of sterilization with particular boost to male participation in family Planning i.e. Vasectomy from existing Rs. 800 to Rs. 1500/- and tubectomy from Rs. 800/- to Rs. 1000 in public facilities and to Rs. 1500/- for both Vasectomy and tubectomy in accredited private health facilities to all categories in High focus States and BPL/ SC/ST in Non High focus States. HEALTH INSURANCE Under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), the MOHFW has set up a task force to explore new health financing mechanisms. The terms of reference for this task force include review of existing mechanisms to include health financing, human resource implications to manage health financing and risk pooling schemes, extent of subsidies required, ensuring equity and non-discrimination, feasibility in various states, suggested design of pilots and sites to launch community based health insurance models, and required modifications of existing structures to introduced health financing schemes. This Ministry has advised the State/UT Governments to prepare Health Insurance models as per their local needs to be run on pilot basis. State Governments of Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram have sent proposals for funding the above pilot projects. The details are give as under:(a) Andhra Pradesh : Pilot Project for implementation of Health Insurance scheme from Andhra Pradesh for Anantapur, Mahboobnagar and Srikakaulam districts was received with request for providing funds to the tune of Rs. 46.20 Crores. An amount

542

India 2010

of Rs. 10 Crores was agreed to as share of the Union government during the year 2007-08. Government of Andhra Pradesh implemented the Aarogyasri community health Insurance Scheme in five more districts of chittoor, east Goadavari, West Godavari, Nalgonda and Ranga Reddy in Second Phase from 5th December, 2007. Proposal for extension of the scheme to 15 more districts during the year 2008-09 in three phases has been received from the State Government. (b) Assam : State Government has included proposal for introduction of Health Insurance in the state PIP for 2008-09. Detail proposal was not given in PIP. State Government has been requested to provide details of the pilot projects in this regard as per framework. (c) Rajasthan : Pilot project received from State Government of Rajasthan is in respect of Sriganganagar, Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Dungarpur and Banswara districts of Rajasthan. The proposal has been considered in the Ministry and an amount of Rs. 23.64 Crores (75% of total premium) against the total premium of Rs. 37.82 crores has been provided to the State Government, under the NRHM Flexipool for the year 2007-08 with the condition that number of BPL families should be as per the guidelines of Planning Commission, Government of India. (d) Madhya Pradesh : A proposal was received from Government of Madhya Pradesh to introduce health insurance scheme for families below poverty line in March 2007. Since full details regarding the scheme as per framework suggested by the Ministry was not furnished by the State Government, they were requested to furnish the same and include the proposal in Programme Implementation Plant under NRHM for the year 2008-09. (e) Mizoram : Hon'ble Chief Minister of Mizoram has requested Union Minister for Health and family welfare to approve the Health Insurance Scheme in the State of Mizoram and release necessary funds under National Rural Health Mission. The pilot scheme for launch of Health Insurance scheme for BPL families in the State was received the State has been requested to formulated the Scheme as per guidelines circulated by this Ministry. STATISTICS DIVISION Statistics Division is mainly concerned with Monitoring & Evaluation of various programmes launched by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare with a view to attempting appropriate midcourse corrections. Ministry is implementing the Phase II of the Reproductive Child Health (RCH which is a crucial component of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). The monitoring the progress of implementation of thee programme is not only essential but integral to evaluate the impact of the programmes. Monitoring and Evaluation is an effective management and quality assessment tools. The focus of monitoring is one processes and quality of services rendered under RCH-II/NRHM. The main components of MIS Scheme include MISPerformance; Community monitoring; Quality Assurance; Triangulation of M&E; Concurrent Evaluation; E-governance; Training etc. The details of the activities undertaken by the division are as follows:

Health and Family Welfare l

543

HMIS: For capturing information on the service statistics from the peripheral institutions, an exercise was undertaken to rationalise the data capturing format by removing redundant information, reducing the number of forms and focussed on facility based reporting. The revised forms were finalised in September, 2008 and disseminated to the States. A web based Health MIS (HMIS) Portal was launched in October, 2008 too facilitate data capturing at the District level. The National Health System Resource Centre (NHSRC) was involved in training of State and District officials on the new HMIS system. Thee HMIS Portal has led to faster flow of information from the district level and consolidation of Reports at the State and National level. The Portal captures both physical and financial performance under NRHM from the districts. Around 95% of the Districts have already entered data for the fiscal year 2008-09 and the NRHM related reports would be brought out through this Portal. The Bulletin on Rural Health Statistics (RHS) for 2009 and Family Welfare statistics In India 2009 will be brought out based on the Portal data. After stabilisation of the system in terms of data etc, the web based application will be further expanded to capture data from the facility level and incorporating GIS initiatives in the next phase. Surveys: The Ministry coordinated the activities of the, National Family Health Survey (NFHS) District Level Household Survey (DLHS) for assessing the impact of the health programmes and generating various health related indicators at the National, State/District 1. National reports of NFHS-3 was released in September 2007. State and District Fact Sheet for the results of the DLHS-3 have been released during 2008 and hosted on the Health MIS Portal for use by the health officials and other stakeholders for improving and realigning the health interventions. In addition an Annual Health Survey is also being planned for preparing a District Health Profile of the high focused States to yield vital rates and indicators at the district level annually. The expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) has approved the proposal 108 posts have already been created in the office of RGI for conducting the survey. Field work is likely to start in 2010. Quality Assurance : Quality of health care is an integral component of the NRHM and a pilot was undertaken in six States viz. UP, Uttaranchal, West Bengal, Assam, Maharashtra and Karnataka. The pilot study involved deploying the quality assurance tools to a district and laying down the protocols for ensuring quality of services in the facilities and institutionalising mechanisms for taking corrective action. As such the QA process is highly structured and includes basics like gap analysis, prioritisation of actions, development of standard protocols and implementation of specific strategies like - patients charter, NABH, Licensing, accreditation etc. These tools were shared with all the States and based on the results of the pilot study, several States like Assam, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal have decided to initiate the quality assurance protocols in several districts. It is expected that the outcome of this exercise would snowball into a State-wide exercise where not only the quantum but also the quality of health services is improved. Efforts are on to integrate the Quality Assurance process as a part of the existing Quality Assurance Committees at the District level. Evaluation Activities: One of the strong pillars of NRHM is to involve the community and NGOs in partnership for evaluation of the NRHM as an external agency. Thus while the Advisory Group on community Action (AGCA) is

544

India 2010 evolving protocols for Community Monitoring of the health facilities and the services provided; the Ministry is also engaging a number of consulting agencies for Concurrent Evaluation of the NRHM. The Ministry sought an Expression of Interest from interested agencies for this exercise and around 76 agencies submitted proposals for undertaking this exercise. These proposals were evaluated and the contract was awarded to the shortlisted agencies. The field work for this exercise is almost complete and the reports are expected by November, 2009. The International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai has taken up the responsibility for coordinating the work at the National level. In addition, there are 7 Regional Evaluation Teams located in the Regional Office of the Ministry which undertake evaluation of the NRHM activities on a Regional Office of the Ministry which undertake evaluation of the NRHM activities on a sample basis by visiting the selected Districts and interviewing the beneficiaries. The format for evaluation of various health facilities in the States/UTs by the RET has been thoroughly revised. Triangulation of Data: The Ministry is also undertaking an exercise of Triangulation of Data from various sources (MIS, surveys and Evaluation etc.) so as to improve the quality and validity of data. Information technology would be leveraged to evolve a protocol for triangulation of data, where after it would be piloted in a few states/districts. An Export Group has been established to mentor the triangulation process. Subject areas of triangulation and experts to be involved for this exercise have already been identified by the expert group and work is in progress. E-Governance Initiatives : The E-Governance activities undertaken in the past by the Ministry were in selected areas. With a view to integrating the Egovernance and IT initiatives in the Ministry, a Consultancy organisation has been engaged by the Ministry for preparing an IT an E-Governance Road Map for the Ministry. This will be prepared in consultation with the various Programme Divisions and Departments in the Ministry. Clearing House for Information: The Health Sector has had several programmes initiated in the past and with each programme an associated monitoring system or report or format. It has been observed that various new forms get introduced in the system with little or no efforts to withdraw the earlier forms. With a view to streamlining the data capturing system, a Clearing House for Information has been established under the chairpersonship of Secretary (HFW) primarily for rationalisation of the existing reporting mechanism and for ensuring that any new data item or report to be introduced in the system passes the rigorous required for collecting that information with adequate justification. Research and Academic Activities : The Division is also responsible for coordinating the activities of the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai; National Institute for Health & Family Welfare (NIHFW), Delhi; and 18 Population Research Centres (PRC) located in various Universities and Institutions. The IIPS organise courses in various areas of population studies and health surveys. NIHFW is an apex technical institution for promotion of health and family welfare programmes and undertakes activities like education and training, research, evaluation, projects consultancy services etc. in the field of public health. The 18 Population Research Centres undertake research work and survey work for the Ministry in the field of family welfare programmes,

Health and Family Welfare

545

NRHM, population studies etc. The PRCs are also currently involved in study on rapid appraisal of NRHM. MIS SCHEME The MIS Scheme is mainly concerned with Monitoring & Evaluation of various programmes launched by the Ministry with a view to attempting appropriate midcourse corrections. Thus monitoring the progress of implementation of the programme is not only essential but integral to evaluate the impact of the programmes. The focus of monitoring will be on processes and quality of services rendered under RCH-II/NRHM. The main components of MIS Scheme include Routine Monitoring, Surveys, Programme Management; Quality Assurance; Triangulation of M&E; Evaluation; E-governance; CNAA Cells, Training through Surveys/Studies. a) Routine Monitoring : i) To retrieve MIS information periodically in a duly revised format from districts/states. The format has been sent to all States/UTs for transmission of information to Centre. The emphasis will be on using the information, collected for evidence based planning and monitoring at all the levels. Routine monitoring will collect data on process indicators while data on the impact indicators will be collected through surveys. ii)

To provide web/internet based computer software for use at district and stage level.

iii)

Complete computerization/e-net connectivity in a phased manner. Computerization of MIS activities-Hardware, software procurement.

b) Programme Management Evaluation : IIM, Ahmedabad was entrusted a piot in the states namely Rajasthan and Gujarat. Based on the study reports IIM Ahmedabad is to develop a format and test the same to evaluate management capacity at the district and state/UTs level. The same on completion would be replicated in other States/UTs. c) Triangulation of Monitoring and Evaluation : The NRHM envisages monitoring the progress of the physical indicators and evaluating the impact of the interventions vis-a-vis the community's requirement through a triangulation process that encompasses quality assurance of the services delivered and management processes. A process of generating relevant information about any indicator from mutually independent sources preferably three hence triangulation), both qualitative and quantitative that will minimize the potential for misreporting. The modalities in implementation of triangulation of data are to be decided in consultation with Development partners and the Working Group of M&E. The three components of triangulation are : l MIS (develop format on identifying the indicators. The MIS will be so developed that disaggregated information by block/ward and possible by SC/ST and by sex. l Community monitoringâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;by PRIs, NGOs and household through representative organization and use of village information kiosks wherever they are available: and l Special studies/surveys viz., NFHS, DLHS etc.

546

India 2010

d) Quality Assessment Monitoring : Assessing and continuous improvement in the quality of RCH services is one of the thrust priorities of NRHM/RCH II programme. The MOHFW intends to undertake a process of evolving a methodological framework for accessing maternal health, child health and family plannig services being provided by the public health system in RCH II progrmame. Since, quality assessment and improvement is in nascent stage, it was decided to adopt a simplistic approach and confine to few select indicators of reproductive and child health programme so that the health system is able to absorb and internalise QA activities as part of the routine activities. Being a new concept, it has been decided to pilot QA in some selected districts before up scaling at the national level. Presently, the pre-testing exercise. e) E-Governance Initiatives : As part of the E-Governance initiatives, there is a plan to leverage the advances in Information Technology using E-Mode methods for speedy and on-line transmission of data. f) Concurrent Evaluation : The monitoring and evaluation strategy of the National Rural Health Mission laid emphasis on undertaking External Evaluation/concurrent evaluation of the mission at frequent intervals. These concurrent evaluations will help the Government in carrying out mid-course corrections in the policy environments and implementation guidelines of the programmes so as to make them more effective and beneficial to the targeted groups. Towards this end, the Statistics Division is in the process of undertaking concurrent Evaluation of NRHM throughout the country in a phased manner. g) National Surveys : The Statistics Division has been conducting periodic Surveys like the National Family Health Surveys (NFHS) and the District Level Household Surveys (DLHS) to assess the impact and outcomes of the health and family welfare programmes of the Ministry. Recently, the Prime Minister's Office and the Planning Commission have stressed upon the importance and necessity for having district level estimates on the health indicators on an annual basis and for which an Annual Health Survey is being conceived. a) DLHS-III: Currently the Ministry is in the process of conducting District Level Household Survey Round III. The survey is the agreed activity and would be the mid line survey for evaluating the RCH phase II programmes. b) Annual Health Survey : The Ministry is in the process of conducting an Annual Health Survey (AHS) to prepare the District Health Profile of all Districts in pursuance to the decisions of the National Commission on Population and the decisions taken in the meetings in the PMO wherein the Planning Commission was also present. The Registrar General of India is designated as the Nodal agency. The Mission Steering Group (MSG) of NRHM, in its third meeting had approved the proposal for AHS in 284 EAG districts including Assam. POPULATION RESEARCH CENTRES (PRC) SCHEME The Government of India has created 18 Population Research Centres (PRCs) in 12 Universities and 6 institutions of repute (first set of PRCs in 1958) gradually in a phased manner to achieve the following objectives : i. To undertake research projects relating to Family Planning including Family Planning, communication, action and research; ii. Demographic research; iii) Biological studies and qualitative aspect of population control;

Health and Family Welfare iv.

547

To gainfully utilize the feed back from these Research Studies for plan formulation, Strategies and modifications of on going Schemes. PRCs are functioning under the supervision and direction of Statistics Division, Department of Health & Family Welfare, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. Activities of PRCs are constantly monitored through regular periodical reports. Government of India provides 100% financial assistance in the form of grantsin-aid on year-to-year basis towards salaries of staff, books and journals, stationary, vehicle for field surveys other infrastructure equipments and research studies.

POST-GRADUATE INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL EDUCATION & RESEARCH (PGIMER), CHANDIGARH PGIMER, Chandigarh started with the financial and administrative support of the Govt. of Punjab with open merit as the sole consideration for selecting students and the faculty. It became an Institute of National Importance and an autonomous body by an Act of Parliament (Act 51 of 1966) on April, 1 1967, under the M/o Health & Family Welfare. The Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh is a Research Institute of National Importance and has gained worldwide fame for its research activities and quality research. The research at the Institute is mainly focused at the Patient Care and to provide them un-matched treatment of the region with latest methods and technologies. NATIONAL BOARD OF EXAMINATION The National Board of Examination was established in 1975 on the basis of the report of working Group set up by the Govt. of India whose terms of reference were: (a) "To examine the need for uniformity in the standard of examination for the award of postgraduate degrees and diplomas and, if necessary, to suggest ways and means of achieving it either through one or more national examining bodies, in replacement of or in addition to the existing system, or by any other method whereby the standard of postgraduate examinations in various specialities of medical sciences could be improved. (b)

To recommend the nature, composition, scope of functions and power of such national examining body/bodies in the contest of the proposal made by the Indian Academy of Medical Sciences and the Association of surgeons of India in this respect."

The NBE is the only examining body of its kind in the country in the field of medical sciences. Continuing evaluation of quality and validity of the measurement mechanism and standards of examinations by constant interaction with experts in various disciplines of modern medicine and allied specialities are among its important activities. The Board conducts examination in 58 specialities and nine dental specialities and has accredited more than 550 institutions/hospitals in public and private including corporate sector hospitals all over the country for the purposes of training of candidates in various specialities to take the Board's examination. The diplomat qualifications awarded by the NBE have been equated with postgraduate degree and postdoctoral level qualifications of universities by the Govt. of India, M/o Health & FW.

548

India 2010

The holders of Board's qualifications awarded after an examination are eligible to be considered for specialist's posts in any hospital and teaching institutions. The Govt. of India, after taking into account the expertise and experience gained by the Board in the conduct of fair examinations entrusted the conduct of Screening Test for Foreign Medical Graduates from 2002 onwards. HEALTH MINISTER'S DISCRETIONARY GRANTS (HMDG): Under the scheme of Health Minister's Discretionary Grant, financial assistance up to Rs. 20,000/- is available to the poor and needy patients to defray a part of expenditure on hospitalization for under going major surgical intervention and treatment of major diseases. The diseases for which grants are sanctioned are heart ailments, kidney transplantation, hip & knee replacement, cancer, aids, hepatitis, eye, turnor etc. The patients who are not covered under RAN, due to criterion of below poverty line and whose annual income does not exceed Rs. 50,000/- can avail the financial assistance under the scheme Health Minister's Discretionary Grants (HMDG).

Housing

549

17 Housing HOUSING is a State subject. The Union Government is, however, responsible for the formulation of policy with regard to programme and approaches for effective implementation for social housing schemes, particularly those pertaining to weaker sections of the society. A comprehensive Housing and Habitat Policy, 1998 was formulated to address the issues of sustainable development infrastructure and for strong public private partnership for shelter delivery. The objectives of the policy are to create surpluses in housing stock by creating an enabling environment and facilitate construction of two million additional dwelling units each year. It also seeks to ensure that housing, along with supporting services is treated as priority sector at par with infrastructure. The Government would provide fiscal concessions, carryout legal and regulartory reforms and create an enabling environment. The problems of housing shortage compounded with the population explosion has also been addressed by this policy. This document clearly identifies the respective roles of the Central Government, the State Government, local authorities, financial institutions, research standardisation and technical institutions. However, since housing is a state subject, State Governments have to play the primary role in formulating specific action plans and programmes suited to local needs and conditions duly involving local bodies and citizen groups. The Government has identified â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Housing for Allâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; as a priority areas, with particular emphasis on the needs of vulnerable groups. It is proposed to facilitate construction of 20 lakh additional units every year, with emphasis on Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and Low Income Groups (LIG) of the population as also the SC/ST and other vulnerable groups. Out of 20 lakh additional houses, seven lakh houses are to be constructed in urban areas and the remaining 13 lakh in rural areas. NATIONAL URBAN HOUSING & HABITAT POLICY, 2007 Shelter is one of the basic human needs just next to food and clothing. The need for a National Housing and Habitat Policy emerges from the growing requirements of shelter and related infrastructure in the country. These requirements are growing due to the rapid pace of urbanization, increased migration from rural to urban centres in search of livelihood, mis-match between demand and supply of sites and services and dwelling units at affordable cost and the inability of new and poor urban settlers to accesss formal land markets in urban areas due to the high cost and their lower income, leading to non-inclusive cities and towns and thus a non-sustainable situation. Hence, it has been decided to review National Housing and Habitat in the country and to ensure equitable supply of land, shelter and services at affordable prices to all sections. As per the recommendations of the Working Group on Housing for the 11th Plan, the total shortage of dwelling units at the beginning of 11th Plan period i.e. 2007 is 24.71 million. The total shortage during the Plan period (2007-12) including the backing will be 26.53 million.

550

India 2010

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation has updated the National Housing and Habitat Policy, 1998. The new National Urban Housing and Habitat Policy, 2007 (NUHHP-2007), has been finalised in consultation with all concerned and laid in the Parliament on 07.12.2007. The new Policy is aimed to provide housing and other basic infrastructure to economically weaker sections, low income groups and other sections of the society at affordable cost. The salient points of NUHHP, 2007 are:l Focus of the Policy is on Affordable Urban Housing for All with special emphasis on the urban poor. l Role of Housing and provision of basic services to the urban poor has been integrated into the objectives of the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) l Special emphasis has been laid on Scheduled Castes/ Tribes / Backward Classes / Minorities, empowerment of Women within the ambit of the urban poor. l The Policy focuses on a symbiotic development of rural and urban areas in line with the objectives of the 74th Constitution Amendment Act. l Within the overarching goal of Affordable Housing for All emphasis has been laid on urban planning, increased supply of land, use of spatial incentives like additional Floor Area Ratio (FAR), Transferable Development Rights, increased flow of funds, healthy environment, effective solid waste management and use of renewal sources of energy. l Encouraging Integrated townships and Special Exconomic Zones 10-15% of land in every new public/private housing projects or 20-25% FAR, whichever is greater to be reserved for EWS/LIG Housing through appropriate spatial incentives. l Private Sector to be permitted land assembly within the purview of Master Plans. Action Plans for urban slum dwellers and special package for cooperative housing, labour housing and employees housing is to be prepared. l States to be advised to develop 10 years perspective plan for housing of EWS/ LIG. l Policy gives primacy to provision of shelter to urban poor at their present location or near their work place. l Approach will be in-situ slum rehabilitation. Relocation will be considered only in specific cases. l Micro finance institutions to be promoted at state level to expedite flow of finances to urban poor. l Model municipal laws to be prepared by the Central Government. l Detailed city maps to be prepared based on GIS, aerial survey and ground verfication. l Use of proven cost effective technology and building materials to be encouraged. l Development of mass rapid transit system at sub-regional level envisaged. l Green cover for cities to be encouraged for balanced ecological development. l All States to be encouraged to develop a â&#x20AC;&#x153;Habitat Infrastructure Action Planâ&#x20AC;? for all cities with a population of over one lakh.

Housing

551

Action Plan l Encouragement and support to be provided to State Government by the Central Government for preparation of State Urban Housing and Habitat Policy and Action Plan. l State/UT Action plans to focus on accelerated flow of funds. l State / UT plans to indicate concrete steps for encouraging a participatory approach. l Periodic review of implementation of Policy and Action Plan at State level to be carried out. l Preparation of 15-20 years perspective plans in the form of City Development Plans (CDPs) based on spatial planning at the city level. l Setting up of High Level Monitoring Committee for periodic review and implementation of the Policy and for making amendments, modifications wherever considered necessary. SWARNA JAYANTI SHAHARI ROZGAR YOJANA (SJSRY) All the three Urban Poverty Alleviation schemes, namely, Urban Basic Services for the Poor (UBSP) Nehru Rozgar Yojana (NRY) and Prime Minister’s Integrated Urban Poverty Eradication Programme (PMI-UPEP) stand subsumed in a new scheme Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY) from December 1997. The SJSRY seeks to provide gainful employment to the urban enemployed or under-employed through encouraging the setting up of self-employed ventures or provision of wage employment. This programme relies on creation of suitable community structures. The Centre and the States fund the Yojana on a 75-25 basis. The scheme consists of two special programmes; (a) the Urban Self-Employment Programme (USEP) and (b) the Urban Wage Employment Programme (UWEP). During 2007-08, Rs. 336.92 crore were released under Swarna Jayanthi Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY). Total Central funds released under SJSRY upto 2007-08 are Rs. 1564.46 crore. After adding to it the unspent balance (Central Share) of Rs. 251.73 crore, available from old UPA Programmes of NRY, UBSP and PMIUPEP, the total amount becomes Rs. 1816.19 crore. During the current financial year 2008-09 an amount of Rs. 515.00 crore has been allocated for the Scheme of Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY) in the Ministry’s Budget. (a) Urban Self-employment Programme: This Programme has three components : (i) Assistance to individual urban poor beneficiaries for setting up gainful selfemployment ventures; (ii) Assistance to groups of urban poor women for setting up gainful self-employment ventures. This sub-scheme is titled “The Scheme for Development of Women and Children in the Urban Areas (DWCUA)”; and (iii) Training of beneficiaries, potential beneficiaries and other persons associated with the urban employment programme for upgradation and acquisition of vocational and entrepreneurial skills. The programme is applicable to all urban towns in India and implemented on whole-town basis with special emphasis on urban poor clusters. The programme targets the urban poor, defined as those living below the urban poverty-line. The percentage of women beneficiaries under this programme shall not be less than 30 per cent. The SCs and STs must be benefitted in proportion to their strength in local population. A provision of three per cent shall be reserved for the

552

India 2010

disabled under this programme. There is no minimum educational qualification for beneficiaries under this programme. However, this scheme is not applied to beneficiaries with education beyond the ninth standard. Women beneficiaries belonging to women-headed households, viz, widows, divorcees, single women or household where women are the sole earners, are ranked higher in priority. Upto 05.06.2008, the number of persons assisted to set up micro enterprises under USEP was 8,41,059 and women beneficiary under DWCUA groups was 2,70,352 thus beneiting 11,11,411 persons to set up self-employment ventures. The number of persons provided various skill training under the training component of USEP was 12,44,903 upto 05.06.2008. Development of Women and Children in Urban Areas (DWCUA) programme aims at helping groups of urban poor women in taking up self-employment ventures. The group may consist of at aleast 10 women. The ceiling of subsidy under the scheme is Rs. 1.25 lakh or 50 per cent of the cost of the project whichever is less. Where the group sets itself up as Thrift and Credit Society, in addition to its self-employment venture, it will be elegible for an additional grant of Rs. 25,000 as revolving fund at the rate of Rs. 1,000 maximum per member. The fund is meant for purposes like purchese of raw materials and marketing, infrastructure support, one-time expense on child care activity, expenses up to Rs. 500 on travel cost of group members to bank payment of insurance premium for self/spouse/child by maintaining saving for different period by a member and any other expense allowed by the State in groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interest. The revolving fund can be invailed by a group only after one year of its formation. Up to 05.06.2008, 70,584 DWCUA groups were formed benefiting 2,70,352 women. (b) Urban Wage Employment Programme : The programme seeks to provide wage employment to beneficiaries living below the poverty-line within the jurisdiction of urban local bodies by utilizing their labour for constructing of socially and economically useful public assets. There are no restrictions on educational qualification. The programme applies to urban local bodies, having a pupulation of less than five lakh as per the 1991 census. The material/labour ratio for works under this programme is to be maintained at 60:40. The prevailing minimum wage rate, as notified from time to time for each area, has to be paid to beneficiaries under this programme. The programme is dovetailed with the state sector Environmental Imporvement of Urban Slums (EIUS) scheme as well as the National Slum Development Programme (NSDP). This programme is not designed to eithr replace or substitute the EIUS, the NSDP, or any other state sector scheme. The number of mandays of work generated upto 05.06.2008. was 674.75 lakh. JAWAHAR LAL NEHRU NATIONAL URBAN RENEWAL MISSION (JNNURM) (A) BASIC SERVICES TO THE URBAN POOR (BSUP) For integrated development of slums through projects for providing shelter, basic services and other civic amenities with a view to provide utilities to the urban poor in select 63 cities, a Sub-Mission on Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP) is under implementation since 3rd December, 2005 as a component of the Jawaharlal Nehru national urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). The Sub-Mission on Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP) is a demand driven programme under which State Governments are required to prepare and submit City Development Plans (CDPs), Detailed Project Report (DPRs) and also to sign Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) making a commitment to undertake urban reforms.

Housing

553

Salient features of BSUP l The Sub-Mission is to be implemented in 63 select JNNRUM cities. l

To be implemented over 7 years beginning with the year 2005-06.

Central Assistance in the form of ACA to full grant

50% per cent of the project cost in respect cities having million plus population or above to be borne by the Central Government

90% of the project cost borne by the Central Government for projects from citities/ towns in North Eastern States and Jammu & Kashmir.

80% of the project cost borne by the Central Government for projects from the remaining cities.

A minimum of 12% beneficiary contribution for houses. For SC/ST/BC/OBC/ PH and other weaker sections, 10% beneficiary contribution.

Access of Central assistance predicated upon the State/Urban Local Bodies/ Parastatals agreeing to the reforms.

Reforms to ensure improvement in urban Governance.

Cities to prepare City Development Plans and Detailed Project Reports.

Admissible components under BSUP l Integrated development of slums, i.e., housing and development of infrastructure projects in the slums in the identified cities. l

Projects involving development/improvement/maintenance of basis services to the urban poor.

Slum improvement and rehabilitation projects.

Projects on water supply/swerage/drainage, community toilets/baths, etc

Construction and improvements of drains/storm water drains.

Environmental improvement of slums and solid write management

Street lighting.

Civic amenities, like, community halls, child care centers, etc.

Operation and maintenance of assets created under this component.

Convergence of health, education and social security schemes for the urban poor.

Since the launch of the Sub-Mission on Basic Services to the Urban Plan (BSUP) 274 projects with a total projects cost of Rs. 17421.11 crore including Rs. 8761.03 crore as Central share have been approved for construction of 7,87,111 dwelling units & provision of other related infrastructore facilities in 61 Mission cities as on 30.04.2008. (B) INTEGRATED HOUSING & SLUM DEVELOPMENT (IHSDP) In cities/towns not covered under BSUP, an Integrated Housing & Slum Development (IHSDP) was also launched along with JNNURM on 3,12,2005. Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme (IHSDP) has subsurned Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana (VAMBAY) and the National Slum Development Scheme (NSDP). The IHSDP has been launched with the objective to strive for holistic slum development, with a healthy and enabling urban environment by providing adequate shelter and basis infrastructure facilities to the slum dwellers of the identified urban areas.

554

India 2010

Salient features of IHSDO: l Central Assistance in the form of ACA as full grant. l 80% percent of the project cost borne by the Central Government. l 90% of the project cost borne by the Central Government for projects from cities/ towns in special category States. l A minimum of 12% beneficiary contribution for houses. For SC/ST/BC/OBC/ PH and other weaker section, 10% beneficiary contribution. l Access of Central assistance predicated upon the State/Urban Local Bodies/ Parastatals agreeing to the reforms. l Reforms to ensure improvement in urban governance. l Cities/towns to prepare Detailed Project Reports. Admissible components under IHSDP i) Provision of shelter including upgradation & construction of new houses. ii) Provision of community toilets. iii) Provision of physical amenities like water supply, storm water drains, community bath, widening and paving of existing lanes, sewers, community latrines, street lights, etc. iv) Community infrastructure like provision of community centres to be used for pre-school education, non-formal education, adult education, recreational activities, etc. v) Community Primary Health Care Centre/buildings can be provided. vi) Social amenities like pre-school education, non-formal education, adult education, maternity, child health and primary health care including immunization. etc. vii) Provision of Model Demonstration Projects. viii) Sites and Services/houses it at affordable costs for E.W.S & LIG categories. ix) Slum improvement and rehabilitation projects. x) Land acquisition cost will not be financed except for acquisition of private land for schemes/projects in the North Eastern, States & hilly States, viz, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Jammu & Kashmir. Since the launch of integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme (IHSDP), 422 projects with a total project cost of Rs. 4009.00 crore including Central share of Rs. 2871.26 crore have been approved for construction of 2,39,200 dwelling units & other related infrastructure facilities in 396 cities/towns as on 30.04.2008. INTEGRATED LOW COST SANITATION (ILCS) ILCS Scheme was initially started in 1980-81 through the Ministry of Home Affairs and later through Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The scheme was transferred in 1989-90 to Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation and from 2003-04 onwards to Ministry of UEPA/HUPA. The Scheme was implemented:i) The Scheme envisages conversion of dry latrines into low cost twin pit sanitary latrines and construction of new individual toilets where none exists.

Housing

555

ii)

The scheme was taken up on a ‘whole town coverage basis’ meaning thereby all section of population of the town, (HIG, MIG, LIG & EWS) are convered by the ILCS guidelines. The Scheme was applicable to small and medium having a population not exceeding 5 lakhs as per 1981 Census. iii) The scheme was being operated through the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) by providing a mix of subsidy from the Central Government and loan from the HUDCO. (iv) Demand driven scheme and hence no state allocation/ targets were fixed. Patten of Assistance till 17.12.2008 was in the following manner: Catagory

Subsidy

Loan

Beneficiary contribution

EWS

45%

50%

LIG

25%

60%

15%

MIG/HIG

Nil

75%

25%

Cumulative Achievement of the scheme as on 31.3.2998 No. of schemes sanctioned Through HUDCO

873

Cumulative subsidy released

Rs. 35932.04

Total No. of units converted Constructed

5020074 units

No. of scavengers liberated

56873

No. of towns declared Scavenger free

654

The guidelines of the ILCS Scheme have been suitably revised with the approval of the Cabinet in its meeting held on 17.01.2008 and the revised guidelines have been circulated to all States/UTs and concerned Departments on 1st Feb 2008. The salient features of the revised guidelines are as follows: (i) The objective of the scheme is to convert/ construct low cost sanitation units through sanitary two-pit pour flush latrines with superstructures and appropriate variations to suit local conditions (area specific latrines) and construct new latrines where EWS household have no latrines. (ii) The scheme is on ‘All Town’ coverage basis. The Scheme is limited to EWS households only. (iii) Targets will be fixed initially in the ratio of 75% for conversion of dry latrines and 25% for provision of pour flush latrines to EWS households who have no latrines (iv) The scheme will be funded in the following manner:Central Subsidy 75% State Subsidy 15% and beneficiary share 10% (v) The upper ceiling cost of Rs. 10,000/- is provided for the complete unit of a two pit pour flush individual latrine with superstructure (excluding States falling in difficult/hilly areas) For the States falling in the category of difficult and

556

India 2010

hilly areas, 25% extra cost is provided for each two-pit pour flush latrine. The Scheme is limited to EWS households only and does not entail a loan component. The scheme will be implemented by Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation directly and not through HUDCO. (vi) The States will select NGOs having adequate experience in this field who will be funded to a maximum extent of 15% over and above the total project cost to be borne by the Centre and States based on the ratio of 5:1 at different stages of implementation. (vii) 1% of total central allocation will be retained by the Ministry every year, to be utilized for MIS Monisoring System, Capacity Building and IEC components. (viii) The project cost for converting 6 lakh dry latrines is Rs. 715.48 crores out of which central subsidy comes to around Rs. 545.00 crores during the XIth Plan. The revised ILCS Scheme envisages conversion of all existing dry latrines within a period of three years (2007-2010) PROJECTS/ SCHEMES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NORTH EASTERN STATES, INCLUDING SIKKIM UNDER 10 % LUMP-SUM PROVISION Then the Ministry of Urban Development & Poverty Alleviation had organised a conference of Ministers of Local Self Governments/ Urban Development/ Housing of North Eastern States and Sikkim at Gangtok on 19-20 May, 2001. The main objective of the conference was to review the propress of Centrally Sponsored Scheme being implemented by this Ministry in these States and to evolve appropriate strategies for the special development needs for the eight States. As a follow up action of the conference, a Task Force was constituted in the Ministry under the Chairmanship of the Union Minister for Urban Development & Poverty Alleviation for considering project proposals from the State Governments of North Eastern Region and Sikkim to be founded out of the Non-Lapsable Central Pool Fund meant for these States. It may be recalled that a decision was taken by the Government of India that 10% of the total budget provision for the Ministries/Departments will be spent on the projects/ schemes of development for the North Eastern Region including Sikkim, Funds under this Provision are non-lapsable and auspect balances under this provision in financial year are pooled up in the non-lapsable central fund meant for these States and are governed by the Department of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER). Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation is concerned with the project proposals for the North Eastern States in the following identified areas. (i) Housing projects (predominantly for the urban poor) (ii) Poverty alleviation projects (iii) Slum improvement/upgradation projects During the financial year 2007-08, allocation of Rs. 50.00 crore was made for ongoing project and it was entirely utilised for the ongoing projects. During the current year 2008-09, allocation of Rs. 50.00 crore has been made for this scheme. ATTACHED OFFICE NATIONAL BUILDINGS ORGANISATION (NBO) The National Buildings Organization (NBO), an attached office of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation has been functioning as an apex organization in the country for collection activities. Having regard to the changing requirements

Housing

557

under various socio-economic and statistical functions connected with housing, construction, slum development, urban poverty alleviation and related activities, and also to ensure that the schemes of the Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation (MOHUPA) are supported with appropriate database, MIS and knowledge inputs, the National building Organization was restructured in March 2006. The restructuring has assumed special significance in the context of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), launched on 3rd December 2005. JNNURM is the single largest initiative ever launched in the country to address the issues of urban infrastructure and basic services to the urban poor. The Mission will be implemented over a period of 7 years 2005-2012). The Government of India has committed Additional Central Assistance to states to the tune of Rs. 50.000 Crore. The National Building Organisation is designated by MOHUPA is the model agency for cooredination of appraisal, sanction, monitoring and review of projects under Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP) and Integrated Housing & Slum Development Programme (JHSDP) components of JNNURM. The mandate of the restructured National Building Organization is envisaged to be follows: l To act as national resource centre and repository on urban poverty, slums, housing, building construction and related statistics, networked with similar resource centres of State and Urban Local Body levels and internationally; l To collect, collate, validate, analyse, dissminate and publish building construction, housing and other related statistics and statistical reports from time to time. l To bring out compendiums on urban poverty slums, housing and build construction satistics and applied research publications analyzing statistical data gathered from various sources such as the Census, NSSO etc. l To create and manage a fully computerized data centre equipped with appropriate systems and e-goverance tools to store, manage, retrieve and disseminate urban data as and when needed for policies and programmes; l To conduct regular short-term sample surveys/field studies in various pockets of the country to study the impact of plan schemes being run by the Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation and other Ministries and to gather primary data as needed. l To undertake socio-economic research relating to design, formulation, implementation of policies, plans, programmes and projects covering areas such as affordable housing and basic services to the urban poor; l To develop a documentation centre relating to urban poverty, slums, housing, building construction and related urban statistics which can function as a repository of urban resources, including best practices and innovations; l To organise capacity building/training programmes for the officers and staff of Government of India, State Governments and Urban Local Bodies engaged in collection and dissemination of urban poverty, slums, housing, building construction, and related urban statistics. l To coordinate and collaborate with State Governments Municipal Authorities Research & Training Institutions /Statistical Institute/International Organisations as nodal agency catering to data and MIS needs of urban policymakers, planners and researchers in areas relating to urban poverty, slums, housing etc;

558

India 2010

URBAN STATISTICS FOR HR AND ASSESSMENTS (USHA) A new plan scheme of NBO viz., “Urban Statistics for HR and Assessments (USHA)” was launched which aims at the development and maintenance of national database, MIS and knowledge repository relating to urban poverty, slums, housing, construction and other urbanization-related statistics. Its key objective is to support the Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation, other Ministries and State Governments with an information base and knowledge inputs for the purpose of planning, policymaking, project design, formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, particularly in the context of programmes relating to urban poverty, slums and housing. It seeks to specially support the effective implementation of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission - Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP) and Integrated Housing & Slum Development Programme (IHSDP). The four pillars of “USHA” are database including MIS & sample surveys, action research; impact assessment; and capacity building training. Under this Central Sector Scheme “Urban Statistics for HR and assessments (USHA)", NBO has released fund to 32 States/UTs during 2007-08 for procurement of computers, Printers. UPS, system software and other acessories to be used for collection and collation of building construction, housing, slums and poverty statistics, including sample survey data. LAUNCH OF SOFTWARE FOR ON-LINE TRANSMISSION OF DATA National buildings Organisation (NBO) has implemented a state of the art decentralized web-based on-line systems BRIKS - Building Related Information and Knowledge System. Using BRIKS, the e-Unit in NBO will be up-linked to State Governments - Departments/Bureaus of Economics & Statistics, Municipal Administration & Urban Development. Municipal Corporations, Municiplalities, Urban Development Authorities, Research and Training Institutions etc. This decentralized system will help overcome the constraints of data collection faced by NBO - Timeliness of data, data completeness, data accessibility and data visibility to multiple stockholders BRIKS will allow NBO and all the users of the system to: (a) Adopt holistic approach for evolving developmental schemes. (b) Continuous development of assessment schemes (c) Research. (d) Training and capacity building. PUBLIC SECTOR UNDERTAKINGS (1) HOUSING & URBAN DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION LTD (HUDCO) HUDCO since its inception in 1970, has made steady and significant strides in the field of housing and urban infrastructure financing, to emerge as the pioneer and the trend-setter. Catering to the needs of every section of the population, with a basket of delivery options both in housing and urban infrastructure development, HUDCO aims to achieve sastainable growth in these sectors. Having emerged as the market leader in its operational arena, HUDCO aims at consolidating its position and enhancing the performance by laying emphasis on its core competencies and exploring diversified avenues of service delivery. HUDCO is fast emerging as the only organisation of its kind for dealing with the unique needs of shelter and infrastructure development and still ensuring profitable results. HUDCO, during the three decades of its existence, has extended assistance for taking up over 141 lakhs dwelling units both in urban and rural areas.

Housing

559

In sharp contrast to the policy adopted by the contemporary housing finance companies in the fraternity of targeting the affluent middle and high income groups, HUDCO’s assistance covers the housing needs of every class of the society, with special emphasis on the weaker sections and the deprived. The social mandate in line with HUDCO motto of “Profitability with Social Justice” envisages about 92% of total dwelling units sanctioned by HUDCO for the economically weaker section and the low income group. HUDCO has also contributed significantly to the Government’s Housing Programme launched during 1998-99 by assisting 106.52 lakhs housing units within a span of 10 years. HUDCO continued its emphasis on the diaster mitigation front by extending substantial techno financial assistance for rehabilitation and reconstruction in the aftermath of natural calamities. Cumulatively till 31.03.2008, HUDCO has been able to contribute over 41 lakhs houses in disaster affected regions with project cost of over Rs. 4094.07 crores and HUDCO’s financial assistance of Rs. 2209.36 crores. HUDCO has been advocating pre-disaster mitigation and risk reducation involving Prediction, Preparation, Prevention, Publicity and Protection, as against the prevalent post-disaster actions of Rescue, Relief, Rehabilitation, Reconstruction, Repairs, Renewals and Retrofitting. Adequate basis services and appropriate social amenities along with associated infrastructure has been an integral part of HUDCO agenda of sustainable habitat development. The urban infrastructure window of HUDCO, opened in 1989, has sanctioned a total of 1456 projects (Excluding sanitation schemes) with a total project cost of Rs. 224448 crores and HUDCO financial assistance of Rs. 54924 crores, contributing to the improvement in the physical quality of life of the citizens at large in the urban areas. With the cost of construction increasing year after year, housing is becoming beyond the reach of most sections of the society and the need for utilisting costeffective technologies has become imperative. HUDCO has been promoting the use of alternative building materials and appropriate technologies to ensure cost-effective, environment-friendly, ecologically appropriate, energy saving and yet aesthetically pleasing and affordable housing. The question of transfer of technology at the grass root level is addressed by the support extended to the establishment of 577 Building Centres in urban areas and 78 Building Centres in rural areas across the country. The future belongs to those who dare to dream, who foresee the possibilities and perceive the hurdles before they become obvious. Anchored on the cornerstones of growth, innovation and leadership and equipped to face the challenges of the new millennium, the company would be striving for the pinnacle of excellence in service delivery, towards making HUDCO a household brand name. HUDCO with diligent vision, proven strengths and prudential strategies would be banking on core competencies, quality of service, customer orientation and professionalism to tap the right opportunities in achieving prolific and vibrant growth in the years to come. HUDCO’s OPERATION DURING 2007-08 HUDCO during the year i.e. 2007-08 from April-March 2008 has achieved sanctions of Rs. 13501 crores providing assistance for construction of 0.99 lakhs dwelling units, over 184 sanitation units, and 150 urban infrastructure projects throughout the country. The loan released during the year announced to Rs. 3754 crore (provisional)

560

India 2010

Cumulatively till March 2008, HUDCO has sanctioned 16026 schemes involving a total project cost of Rs. 283264 crores (excluding HUDCO Niwas) with loan component of Rs. 85208 crore out of which an amount of Rs. 605.55 crores has been released. HUDCO’s assistance has helped in the construction of 140.99 lakhs residential units, about 67.08 lakhs sanitation units and in undertaking 1456 urban infrastructure schemes effectively improving the living conditions in the urban and rural area, in over 1858 towns and thousands of villages. HOUSING FOR ALL-HUDCO OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE (As on 31.03.2008) During the current financial year, HUDCO has sanctioned 306 schemes with a total loan of Rs. 13501 crore out of which Rs. 2152 crore have been sanctioned towards Housing schemes (incl. Retail Finance) and Rs. 11349 crore have been sanctioned towards various Urban infrastructure schemes. Further an amount of Rs. 3754 crore has been disbursed which includes Rs. 869 crore towards housing schemes and Rs. 2885 crore (provisional) towards Urban Infrastructure schemes. Further, during the current year, so far, out of the total dwelling units sanctioned 84% have been sanctioned for priority sector (EWS/LIG), and 14% of the loan under housing has been sanctioned for priority sector. HUDCO’S CONTRIBUTION TO HOUSING PROGRAMME OF GOVT. OF INDIA LAUNCHED DURING 1998-99. Under the Housing Programme of Government of India which was started during 1998-1999, HUDCO has been entrusted for providing loan assistance for construction of 10 lakhs units annually (6 lacs units in rural areas and 4 lakh units in urban areas, out of the 13 lakhs houses in rural areas and 7 lakhs in urban areas envisaged under the programme). Against the same since 1998 to 2007-08 as on 31.03.2008, HUDCO has supported a total of 107.31 lakhs (gross) units in both rural and urban areas. VALMIKI AMBEDKAR AWAS YOJANA (VAMBAY) VAMBAY and National Slum Development Programme (NSDP) schemes have been subsumed in the Integrated Housing Slum Development Programme (IHSDP), which was launched on 3rd December 2005. Under VAMBAY, till 31.03.2008 Government of India subsidy of Rs. 93823.076 lakhs has been released for construction/upgradation of 459779 dwelling units and 65555 toilet seats. As per progress reports, 390397 DUs are completed & 36797 DUs are under progress and 61492 WCs are completed & 2278 WCs are under progress. BASIC SERVICES TO THE URBAN POOR (BSUP) & INTEGRATED HOUSING AND SLUM DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (IHSDP) BASIC SERVICES TO THE URBAN POOR (BSUP) Background l

The Basic Services to the Urban Poor was launched by the Prime Minister in December 2005 with a view to ameliorate the conditions of the urban slum dwellers who are residing in dilapidated conditions in the identified 63 mission cities.

Housing l

561

The basic objective of the scheme is to strive for holistic slum development with a healthy and enabling urban environment by providing adequate shelter and basic infrastructure facilities to the urban slum dwellers.

ROLE OF HUDCO l HUDCO is one of the appraising agencies for appraisal of Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) received under BSUP. l HUDCO is assisting the State Governments, implementing agencies in preparation of DPRs as per guidelines. l HUDCO is organizing Training/Workshops at various places to familiarise the agencies with the progrmmes/ guidelines. Cumulative Status Under BSUP, till 31.03.2008, 151 projects (appraised by HUDCO) with a project cost of Rs. 10895.19 crores covering 4.64 lakhs dwelling units have been sanctioned by the Ministry. LOAN ASSISTANCE TO INDIVIDUALS THROUGH HUDCO NIWAS In order to reach out to the beneficiaries directly, HUDCO launched its Individual Housing Loan Window-HUDCO NIWAS in March, 1999. The scheme is extremely popular with its most competitive terms, value added services and user friendly options among the public at large. During the current financial year 2007-08 (till 31.03.2008) a loan assistance of Rs. 50.09 crores has been sanctioned for 970 beneficiaries and Rs. 46.89 crores has been released. URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE As the market leader in urban infrastructure financing, HUDCO continued extending finance for a variety of projects. During the year, from 1.4.2007 till 31.03.2008, HUDCO has sanctioned 150 urban infrastructure schemes with a total project cost of Rs. 60200.95 crores and HUDCO loan component of Rs. 11348.75 crores. The Sector-wise details of urban infrastruture projects sanctioned by HUDCO are as follows:(Rs. In Crores) Sector

No.

Project Cost

Loan Amount

Water Supply

1975.17

1592.04

Sewerage/Drainage/Solid Waste Management

24.96

Transport & Roads/Bridges

1834.55

608.35

Area Development

23.62

Commercial & Others

55708.54

8622.62

Social Infrastructure

634.11

483.74

Total

150

60200.95

11348.75

562

India 2010

SPECIAL INITIATIVES IN THE NORTH-EASTERN REGION HUDCO continued its special thrust towards development of the North-Eastern States through a special allocation of 10 percent of its annual allocations for North-Eastern States under its housing portfolio. During the year HUDCO has sanctioned 14 housing schemes with a project cost of Rs. 73.31 crores and HUDCO loan component of Rs. 65.50 crores. This would help in construction of 95 dwelling units in the States of Assam, Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER INITIATIVES THROUGH BUILDING CENTRES HUDCO continued its efforts in strengthening the Building Centre Movement towards promoting environment friendly, ecologically appropriate, energy efficient, functionally durable, aesthetically pleasing and yet cost effective and affordable building materials and technologies in the construction sector. 577 Building Centres were sanctioned out of which 387 Building Centres are doing good works in propagating the innovative building materials and technologies and others are in various stages of establishment. So far (till 31.03.2008), total grant of Rs. 2216.10 Lacs has been sanctioned for Urban Building Centre out of which Rs. 1679.44 Lacs has been released. ESTABLISHMENT OF ADARSH GRAM/ADARSH BASTI HUDCO continued its programme for development of Model Villages (Adarsh Gram) and Model improved Slums (Adarsh Basti) for providing integrated inputs of physical planning, architectural design, efficient utilization of land and appropriate technologies ensuring user participation, use of innovative/renewable sources of energy etc., with a convergence mode in all the States and Union, Territories. HUDCOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cumulative sanctions upto 31.03.2008 is of 116 Model Village/Basti with total gram of Rs. 3891.83 lakhs. TARGETED IMPLEMENTATION OF COMMUNITY TOILETS & SANITATION PROGRAMME HUDCO has formulated aboe scheme where community toilets can be proposed in busy market places Bus Stand, Railway Station, Schools, Institutes, Hospital, slums etc. The implementing agency can be any corporate sector NGO, CHO, Local Govt., State Govt. Institute etc. HUDCO will provide grant of 50% of total project cost or Rs. 20,000 per WC whichever is less, after the agency invest their share in the project, upto March, 2008 HUDCO has sanctioned 24 schemes (including in principle) for Rs. 945.80 lacs as HUDCO grant for the schemes. CONSULTANCY INITIATIVES In line with its techno-economic mandate, HUDCO continued to extend considerable technical and design guidance to the local bodies and the borrowing agencies at large. A distinct thrust has been extended to the fee based consultancy by utilizing its inherent strength of technical personnel, long experience and expertise in the fields of planning, designing and project appraisal In addition to the architectural consultancy, the fee-based consultancy assistance has been expanded to cover preparation of Detailed Project Report for housing/slum development as well as infrastructure development in various cities and towns, as well as appraisal of project reports for funding/approval by the Government for projects under the JNNURM programme. In addition preparation of City Development

Housing

563

Plans/Master Plans for various towns has also been given a special emphasis in the recent past. HUDCO has also recently initiated efforts to undertake assignments for Project Management Consultancy towards diversification of its sphere of fee-based consultancy activities. Another significant initiative taken by HUDCO, is the decentralization of its consultancy activities to the Regional Offices. With this initiative, many of the Regional Offices such as Chennai, Jaipur, Patna and Kohima have started showing good potential for undertaking consultancy/fee-based assignments at the regional level, along with their normal operational activities of loan sanctions and disbursements and appraisal and monitoring of housing and infrastructure projects financed by HUDCO. At present , a large number of consultancy assignments are in hand both at the corporate Office and at ROs. Some of the major assignments are the Pilgrimage Center at Solophok for Sikkim Government, development of various Bus Terminals and Utility Infrastructure Projects in Rajasthan, preparation of DPRs for BSUP projects in Bihar, preparation of CDPs for Bodh Gaya and Goa, preparation of Master Plans for 10 towns in the states of Bihar and Jharkhand etc. HUMAN SETTLEMENT MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE (HSMI) HSMI is operating as Research & Training Division of HUDCO and its activities are supported by a core group of qualified and experienced professionals from various disciplines. HSMI continued its efforts to provide capacity building to the professionals engaged in the Housing & Urban Development Sectors including HUDCO borrowing agencies, local bodies, NGOs, private sector Housing Financial Institutions etc. HSMI is the nodal institute on behalf of the Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation to coordinate various training and documentation activities under IEC (Information, Education & Communication) component of SJSRY. During the year, HSMI activities covered a series of training research and related activities, the details of which are briefly indicated as below: (I) Training: HSMI has organized training programmes for agency professionals and had drawn participants from Urban Local Governments, other Urban Sector Agencies/Local Bodies and other institutions. An International Training Programme was organized at Mysore in collaboration with UN Habitat. The programmes for the Ministry of Housing & Urban Poerty Alleviation, Govt. of India includes seven SJSRY programmes for the professionals of Urban Local Bodies. The HSMI in association with NAREDCO has organized training programmes for the Real Estate Professionals. The HSMI had also organized in-house Training Programmes for HUDCO employees during the period, covering area like Consultancy Management, Project Appraisal, Project Management, Legal Issues in Financing of Housing & Infrastructure Project, IT applications HR issues etc. (ii) Research & Evalution Activities: Following are the major research activities undertaken during the period: l

Professional support to Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation, Government of India to prepare National Urban Housing & Habitat Policy 2007, Country Profile for Local Governments, Background Notes and Papers on Gender Equality & Urban Safety, Observations and Comments on other related issues, draft/key note addresses, talking points and speeches on various theme areas.

564

India 2010

Under NSUP, HSMI is supporting Members of the National Core Group with funds available from National Core Group with funds available from National Strategy for Urban Poor.

First draft of the “National Policy on Slum Free Cities: Framework for Development of Urban Low Income Settlements” has been prepared and submitted to the Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation, Govt. of India.

(II) HINDUSTAN PREFAB LIMITED (HPL) Hindustan Prefab Limited (HPL) as ISO 9001-2000 Certified company, is wholly owned by Govt. of India. The company was engaged in the production of pre-fabricated material like PRC Railway Sleepers, PC Electric Poles and other RCC components. Its manufacturing activities are at standstill since September 2004. Meanwhile, the company has diversified its activities and is now engaged in the execution of projects, Project Management Services, Real Estate etc. It has orders worth Rs. 1065 crore as on 31.03.208 for construction of Mass Housing and Infrastructure Development, Hospitals, Dispensaries and Office Buildings. The company is now executing projects under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, National Health Rural Mission. Tsunami Rehabilitation schemes and other projects for Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO), Delhi Police etc. The company has signed MOU with Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation for 2008-09. It targets a turnover of Rs. 335 crore in 2008-09.

AUTONOMOUS BODIES (I) BUILDING MATERIALS & TECHNICAL PROMOTION COUNCIL (BMTPC) Building Materials and Technical Promotion Council (BMTPC) is an autonomous body under the aegis of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Government of India established in 1990. For the last 18 years, it has worked towards smooth transfer of cost effective, energy-efficient, environment-friendly and disaster resistant building materials and construction technologies from lab to field. In this process, the Council has been instrumental in introduction of a number of building materials and technologies based on agro-industrial wastes such as flyash based bricks/blocks, and mud polymer door shutters, coir polyment composites, bagasse boards etc. Pre-fabrication is another area which has been promoted by the Council with success. Using pre-fabricated components, a number of houses in different States have been constructed. For increased productivity and quality, the Council has developed easy-to-operate simple machines, which are being used in construction with encouraging results all over the country. The Council provides necessary inputs for policy interventions in the areas of saving of forest wood, top layer of soil, environment, energy etc. With the efforts of the Council, a number of Indian Standards have been formulated through Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) on cost effective technologies such as flyash bricks, RCC planks & joist, bamboo mat corrugated roofing sheets etc. Through Performance Appraisal Certification Scheme (PACS), the Council is carrying out performance evaluation of new and energing materials, technologies and construction systems, on which there are no standards avaliable. The Council is playing an active role in diaster prevention and mitigation. It has brought out Vulnerability Atlas of India, Landslide Hazard Zonation Atlas of

Housing

565

India, Guidelines for Improving Earthquake and Wind/ Cyclone prone Housing Construction and other promotional literature also in vernacular languages. With IIT Kanpur, it has brought out easy to understand Earthquake tips on various important aspects of earthquake resistant construction. To demonstrate seismic strengthening techniques, the Council has done seismic strengthening in some lifeline buildings such as Karpwan Sub-Divisional Hospital in Jammu & Kashmir and 5 MCD Schools in Delhi. Besides several buildings in Gujarat, the Council is assisting the State/UT Governments in strengthening techno-legal regimes for safety against natural hazards. For field application of cost effective technology, the Council has constructed demonstration houses in several places like Dehradun, Bilaspur, Trichy, Nagpur, Kudalu, Bangaluru under erstwhile VAMBAY scheme. To promote Bumboo as construction mateial, the Council has taken various initiatives such as construction of demonstration houses in Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya, establishment of Bamboo Mat Production Centres in North Eastern Region and Kerala. The Council on a regular basis, organises and participates in awareness Generation Programmes, Workshops, Exhibitions, Capacity Building and Training Programmes for construction of professionals and workforce. The Council is one of the appraisal agencies for projects under Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (UNNURM) and has also been designated as monitoring agency for projects under BSUP and HSDP. Apart from promotion of technologies in India, the Council is working towards transfer of Indian Technologies to other developing countires in Asian, African and Latin American regime. The Council’s action plan aims in filfilling the government’s goal of providing ‘Affordable Houses for All” and basic services to urban poor. (II) CENTRAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES WELFARE HOUSING ORGANISATION (CGEWHO) The Central Government Employees Welfare Housing Organisaton, a body of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Government of India, a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 was specifically created for Execution of housing projects for Central Government employees, on All-India selffinancing’ and no 'profit-no-loss’ basis. The CGEWHO has at present, to its credit, on-going housing schemes at Lucknow(130) and Chennai (PH-II) (572), Hyderabad (PH-III) (380) Pune(Ph-II) (148), Bhubaneswar (Ph-I) (256), Mohali (Ph-I) (586), Meerut (Ph-I)(90), and Jaipur (Ph-II) (572) with 2734 dwelling units under various stages of construction and planning. Twenty one of the CGEWHO's projects with a total of 10,018 dwelling units have been completed. Forthcoming schemes for the year 2008 may include Greater NOIDA (Ph-I), Gurgoan (Ph-III), Kolkata (Ph-II), Vishakhapatnam, Kharghar (Ph-II), Lucknow (PhII) and Bhopal.

566

India 2010

(III) NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HOUSING FEDERATION OF INDIA (NCHF) The National Cooperative Housing Federation of India (NCHF), setup in 1969, is the national apex organization spearheading the entire cooperative housing movement in India. The primary objective of NCHF is to promote, guide and coordinate the activities of housing cooperatives. All the 26 State level Apex Cooperative Housing Federations are members of NCHF. About 31,000 primary housing cooperatives are affilliated to Apex Federation for getting loan assistance to construct houses for their members. The NCHF through its member federation has constructed about 23.51 lakh dwelling units across the country with loan dishursement of approximately Rs. 10125 crore. Under the Two Million Housing Programme , all types of cooperatives have financed 8,19,753 dwelling during the years 1998-99 to 2006-07.

India and the World

567

18 India and the World INDIA’s foreign policy seeks to safeguard the country’s enlightened self-interest. The primary objective of India’s foreign policy is to promote and maintain a peaceful and stable external environment in which the domestic tasks of inclusive economic development and poverty alleviation can progress rapidly and without obstacles. Given the high priority attached by the Government of India to socio-economic development, India has a vital stake in a supportive external environment both in our region and globally. India, therefore, seeks a peaceful periphery and works for good neighborly relations in its extended neighbourhood. India’s foreign policy also recognizes that the issues such as climate change and energy and food security that are crucial to India’s transformation are global and require global cooperative solutions. The year past witnessed several positive developments, some significant successes, and a few major fresh threats to India’s foreign policy. India shares a common destiny with its neighbours. Relations with Bhutan developed further in the year of His Majesty’s coronation and the introduction of democracy in Bhutan. India has strongly supported Nepal’s transition to a democratic polity, and the restoration of democracy in Bangladesh. India has contributed to the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan. Apart from maintaining friendly and close bilateral relations with its neighbours. India has also worked for the evolution of SAARC into a result oriented organization that effectively promotes regional integration. Bilateral relations with China were further consolidated during 2008 with PM Dr. Manmohan Singh’s official visit to China in January and External Affairs Minister Shri Pranab Mukherji’s visit in June 2008. The situation along the India-China border remained peaceful while the boundary question continued to be addressed by the Special Representatives. Defence cooperation between the two countries has contributed to enhancement of mutual trust. China opened a new Consulate in Kolkata in September 2008 and earlier in June 2008 India had opened its Consulate in Guangzhou. A major development was the signing of the India-US Civil Nuclear Agreement in October 2008. The Agreement marked the end of three decades of technology denial in the nuclear field. Following the signing of this bilateral agreement, agreements for civil nuclear cooperation have been signed with France, Russia and Kazakhstan. The India-US strategic partnership was further consolidated by PM Dr. Manmohan Singh’s visits to the US in September 2008, when he had a bilateral meeting with the US President George W. Bush in Washington, and in November for the G-20 Summit. The US remained India’s largest trading partner and source of technology and relations expanded in every field. India’s traditional friendship and strategic links with Russia were consolidated during the period. The president of the Russian Federation Mr. Dmitry Medvedev paid a state visit to India in December 2008 for the annual bilateral Summit. The year 2008 was observed in India as the ‘Year of Russia’. The year 2009 is being observed in Russia as the ‘Year of India’. India is committed to further carry forward its strategic relations with Russia. India intends to build on its strong historical and cultural

568

India 2010

links with the Central Asian countries, and to engage more closely with this region by ensuring that cooperation with Central Asia receives greater substance and diversification. India has maintained and intensified its engagement with the EU, a strategic partner, as well as individual countries in Europe in diverse fields such as defence and security, nuclear and space, trade and investment, energy, climate change, science and technology, culture and education. The EU is today India’s largest trading partner and one of our major sources of investment. India continued to attach importance to its traditionally friendly and cooperative relations with African countries. A landmark event was the first ever India-Africa Forum Summit in April 2008 which adopted the Delhi Declaration and India-Africa Framework for Cooperation. Both documents together defined the future roadmap for cooperation between India and African countries. The Government of India’s prestigious pan-African e-Network Project was inaugurated in New Delhi on 26th February, 2009 by EAM Shri Pranab Mukherjee. India’s efforts to cultivate stronger bonds with countries of the Latin American and Caribbean region have borne impressive results in recent years, with crosssectoral dialogue at various levels and a framework of institutionalized mechanisms for mutually beneficial cooperation. India’s cooperation with the countries in West Asia and the Gulf region today reveal a contemporary nature and include the peaceful uses of outer space including the use of Indian launch vehicles. This region is also home to nearly five million Indian expatriates who have contributed significantly to the economic development of both India and the Gulf region. India views coopertion with ASEAN, and the countries in the Asia-Pacific, as an important dimension of its diplomacy in the 21st century as reflected in India’s “Look East Policy”. In 2009, India significantly expanded its network of economic and technical cooperation. India is ready to play a significant role in recently established forums such as IRC (India-Russia-China), BRIC (Brazil-Russia-India-China) and IBSA (India-Brazil-South Africa)s. India continues to engage Mekong-Ganga Cooperation, G-15, and the G-8. With its strong commitment to multilateralism India has worked to strengthen the United Nations. India has supported proposals for the reform of the UNSC and revitalization of the UNGA. India would like to see the global institutions reflecting the new realities of the world order, taking into account the legitimate aspirations of developing countries and emerging powers. Concurrent to these positive developments, India’s foreign policy in 2008-09 faced new threats to India’s security including the unsettled security situation in India’s terror infested periphery and cross-border terrorism. The composite dialogue process with Pakistan entered its fifth round in 200809. The dialogue was premised on Pakistan’s stated commitment that it would not permit territory under its control to be used to support terrorism against India in any manner. However, Pakistan’s inability to implement her commitments as evidenced by the terrorist attacks from Pakistan on the Indian Embassy in Kabul in July 2008 and on Mumbai in November 2008 effectively suspended the dialogue process.

India and the World

569

The Mumbai attacks were universally condemned by the International community. Overwhelming evidence was presented to Pakistan and the world about the involvement of Pakistan-based terrorists in these attacks. Pakistan subsequently admitted for the first time that Pakistani nationals had hatched the conspiracy behind the attacks and carried them out. However, subsequent actions by Pakistan were dilatory and obfuscatory, and are yet to bring the perpetrators to justice or to dismantle the infrastructure in Pakistan for terrorism against India. In 2008, there were large scale military operations in Sri Lanka eliminating the LTTEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s conventional military capability resulting in a major humanitarian crisis. India responded to the immediate humanitarian crisis by sending relief supplies and medical assistance to civilians and internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). India also continued to stay engaged with Sri Lanka in support of a negotiated political settlement to the ethnic problem. As the situation in Sri Lanka enters a new phase, India will work for a peaceful settlement of the issues within the framework of a united Sri Lanka acceptable to all communities including particularly the Tamils. The other major challenge during the year was the deteriorating international economic situation. As the international financial crisis became an economic crisis with recession in major Western economies and markets, the supportive international environment for Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s growth changed rapidly. Despite this the Indian economy grew by 6.7% in 2008-09, and continues to be a factor of growth and stability in the world economy. India participated actively in international efforts to address the crisis, such as the G-20, to see that the concerns of developing countries were addressed. India also sought to ensure that international decision-making on global economic issues is democratized to reflect present realities. As the year 2008 ended, it was evident that cooperative global solutions are required to the major international issues which will affect Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future, such as the world economic crisis, international terrorism, general and nuclear disarmament, energy security, food security and sustainable development. As a responsible power, India remains an active and involved participant in the international effort to work out these solutions and will contribute to their success. NEIGHBOURS Afghanistan: Notwithstanding a significant deterioration in the security situation, impinging directly on us with the attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul in July 2008, we remained at the forefront of international efforts to assist Afghanistan in building a stable democratic and pluralistic society. The Zaranz-Delaram road giving Afghanistan access to the sea was formally inaugurated by EAM Shri Pranab Mukherjee and President Karzai on 22nd January, 2009. The implementation of the scheme of ICCR Scholarships and ITEC training programmes for Afghan nationals and the execution of community based, small development projects in the fields of agriculture, rural development, sanitation, vocational training, etc. is progressing satisfactorily. India continued to contribute for the Afghan Reconstruction Trust Fund and pledged a sum of US $ 1 million to the UNDP election fund. India has also pledged an additional US $ 450 million (over the US$ 750 million earlier committed) to effectively meet the requirements of our ongoing and future projects. President Karzai visited India in August 2008 and again in January, 2009. Bangladesh: India continued to constructively engage with Bangladesh on a broad spectrum of bilateral issues during the year. EAM Shri Pranab Mukherjee visited

570

India 2010

Bangladesh in February 2009, after the Awami League led Grand Alliance won an overwhelming majority in the geneal elections of December 2008 and formed the government under the premiership of Sheikh Hasina. The other high level visits included visits of Bangladesh Army Chief, Gen. Moeen from 24 February - 1 March 2008, MoS for Commerce and Power Jairam Ramesh to Dhaka in October 2008 including that of Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Deepak Kapoor. India took several initiatives, many unilaterally, to bring the two countries closer. They included restarting of the passenger train service ‘Maitree' Express between Kolkata and Dhaka after 43 years. India gave substantial assistance to Bangladesh to overcome damages caused by natural disasters like cyclone. India started providing duty free access to exports from LDCs in the SAARC including Bangladesh from 1 January 2008 (except some items on India’s sensitive list). India has undertaken a project to construct Kalabhaban for the Department of Theatre and Music, University of Dhaka. As a move to check the activities of Indian Insurgent Groups (IIGs) on Bangladeshi soil, the two sides revived the Joint Working Group. Bhutan: India and Bhutan continued to share uniquely warm and cordial relations, which were further strengthened during the year through regular high level interactions. The year also witnessed the coronation of the 5th King of Bhutan. PM Dr. Manmohan Singh visited Bhutan from 16-17 May, 2008 during which he addressed the first session of the democratically elected Parliament. During the visit, PM announced that India will double the target of hydropower development in Bhutan to 10,000 MW for export to India by 2020; Government of India’s assistance for construction of the first rail link between India and Bhutan, and establishment of the prestigious Nehru-Wangchuck scholarships for Bhutanese students. Prime Minister of Bhutan, Lyonchhen Jigmi Y. Thinley, paid a state visit to India from 14-17 July, 2008 and again visited India from 12-14 November, 2008 to participate in the 2nd BIMSTEC Summit in New Delhi. President of India Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil accompanied by the then EAM Shri Pranab Mukherjee paid a state visit to Bhutan from 5-8 November, 2008 as Chief Guest at the formal coronation of His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the King of Bhutan. Bhutan celebrated 2008 as the Golden Jubilee Year of the visit of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to Bhutan in 1958. A Parliamentary delegation from Bhutan visited India during February 2009 and had interaction with their counterparts in India. India-Bhutan bilateral relations are characterized by close consultations, maturity, complete trust and mutual understanding and are an example of good neighborly relations. This special relationship is further sustained by the tradition of regular visits and exchange of views at the highest levels. The Government of India has committed to extend full support and cooperation to the Royal Government of Bhutan for consolidation of democracy following the installation of the first democratically elected Parliament and Government in Bhutan in May 2008. India has been the largest trade and development partner of Bhutan, Ever since Bhutan initiated planned development efforts in the early 1960s India has been extending financial assistance to Bhutain’s Five Year Plans (FYP). Recently, Government of India has committed to develop 10,000 MW of hydropower in Bhutan for export to India by 2020. China: This has been an important year for India-China relations. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh paid an official visit to the People’s Republic of China from

India and the World

571

13-15 January 2008. The leaders of India and China resolved to develop the Strategic & Cooperative Partnership for Peace and Prosperity between the two countries. They also reiterated their firm commitment to resolving all outstanding differences through peaceful negotiations, while ensuring that such differences are not allowed to affect the positive development of bilateral relations. The two Prime Ministers signed â&#x20AC;&#x153;A Shared vision for the 21st Century" which reflects the aspirations of the two countries to cooperate with each other on areas of mutual interest on regional and multilateral affairs. The Foreign Ministers of India and China also exchanged visits in June 2008 and September 2008 respectively. The new Consulates General in Guangzhou and in Kolkata were formally inaugurated during these visits. Bilateral trade in the calander year 2008 reached US$ 51.8 billion , which is close to the target of US$ 60 billion by 2010 that has been set by the two Prime Ministers. Cooperation and exchanges in the area of defence relations also continued with the holding of the 2nd Joint Military Exercises and the 2nd Annual Defence Dialogue in India in December 2008. The Special Representatives of the two countries met in September 2008 for the 12th round of discussions on the India-China Boundary issue. India provided humanitarian relief assistance worth US$ 5 million to China in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that struck Sichuan province in May 2008. The two countries have also consulted with each other on important global issues including the international financial crisis and climate change. Iran: The momentum in India-Iran bilateral relations was maintained in 2008-09 through regular exchanges of delegations in different fields as also by high level visits. The impetus provided by high level discussions have contributed to enhanced bilateral cooperation in energy, trade & commerce, investment, culture and transit related issues as well as cooperation in regional and international issues of mutual interest. The President of Iran Dr. Mahomud Ahmadinejad paid a visit to New Delhi on 29 April 2008. EAM Shri Pranab Mukherjee visited Tehran from 28-30 July 2008 to attend the 15th NAM Ministerial Conference and thereafter for the India-Iran XVth Joint Commission meeting from 31st October - 2 November. 2008. The VIth Annual Foreign Office Consulations at the level of Foreign Secretary were held in New Delhi from 17-18 December 2008. Maldives: Bilateral relations between India and Maldives continued to be close and friendly. Both the countries remained engaged in further strengthening their friendly relations through high level exchanges and implementing various developmental projects. The newly elected President Mr. Mohamed Nasheed paid a State visit to India from 23-25 December 2008, during which an agreement on Standby Credit facility of US$ 100 million to Maldives and an Air Services Agreement were signed between the two countries. MoS for Commerce, Shri Jairam Ramesh visited Maldives from 29-31 January 2008. In January and February 2009, Defence Minister and Minister of Health and Family of Maldives visited India to enhance cooperation in security related issues and health respectively. Myanmar: Relations with Myanmar continued to develop further during the period and became truly multifaceted. India was one of the first countries to rush emergency relief assistance to Myanmar in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis in May 2008. PM of Myanmar Thein Sein visited India for the BIMSTEC Summit in November 2008 and Vice President of India Dr. M. Hamid Ansari visited Myanmar from 58 February 2009.

572

India 2010

During Vice President’s visit agreements for setting up an industrial Training Centre by HMIT (1) & a Centre for English Language Training were signed. Engagement in the economic and commercial sphere strengthened considerably. The Bilateral Investment Promotion & Protection Agreement (BIPPA) was signed. The opening of a new trade point at Nagaland border with Myanmar was agreed to. Institutional mechanisms to check the activities of Indian Insurgent Groups in Myanmar were developed. India also remained committed to provide assistance in developing infrastructure within Myanmar, including the Kaladan Multimodel Transit Transport Project, and strengthen cooperation in oil and natural gas exploration, power sector, manufacturing, etc. Nepal: India extended all possible support to the Government and people of Nepal in consolidating the peaceful democratic transition. The year witnessed several high level bilateral visits. Prime Minister Hon. Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda’s first official visit abroad to India from September 14-18, 2008 provided broad political direction to forge a 21st century relationship with India. During the visit, the Prime Minister held talks with PM Prachanda and conveyed India's commitment to support Nepal’s democratic and economic transformation. Drafting a new constitution and conclusion its the peace process are priorities for the the Government of Nepal. India expressed its commitment to assist the Government of Nepal in these tasks. As agreed by both sides, several high level bilateral consultation mechanisms were also reactivated. Promotion of investor-friendly business environment in Nepal would help in realization of the potential for major expansion of Indian investment in key areas like hydropower, agriculture, tourism and infrastructure in Nepal for mutual benefit. EAM Shri Pranab Mukherjee visited Nepal in November 2008 to discuss issues of mutual interest. Foreign Secretary visited Nepal from February 17-18, 2009 to follow up on the agreements reached during PM Prachanda’s visit to India and EAM’s visit to Nepal. Nepal and India share friendly and close political, economic, and social ties. The two nations' strong cultural affinities and unfettered people-to-people contacts across the open border make it a relationship that has few parallels. Currently, main challenges for Nepal are drafting of a new constitution and successful conclusion of the peace process for bringing peace, stability and economic development. Following the resignation of former Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda of Unified Communist Party of Nepal - Maoist (UCPN-M) on May 4, 2009, a new coalition government under the leadership of Mr. Madhav Kumar Nepal of Communist Party of Nepal Unified Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML) was sworn in on May 25, 2009. Foreign Secretary visited Nepal on June 20-21, 2009, to exchange views with the Nepalese leadership on future development and strengthening of relations between the two countries. Hon Minister for Water Resources Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal visited Nepal on July 11-12, 2009 for joint inspection along with Hon. Minister of Irrigation of Nepal of the repairs carried out by GOI of the breach in embankment of the Kosi river. Nepal’s Defence Minister Mrs Bidhya Bhandari also paid an official visit to India on July 21, 2009. Pakistan: The Composite Dialogue Process with Pakistan entered its 5th round in 2008-09. The Dialogue had been premised since its resumption in 2004, on the commitment made on 6 January 2004, that Pakistan would not permit territory under its control to be used to support terrorism in any form. Notwithstanding some

India and the World

573

achievements during the year in segments of the Composite Dialogue Process, terrorism and non-implementation of the 6 January 2004 commitments by Pakistan has eroded the fundamental premise of the Dialogue process. Terrorist attacks in India and on the Indian Embassy in Kabul in July 2008, increase in ceasefire violations and continued infiltration across the LOC placed a strain on the dialogue process in particular and India-Pakistan relations in general. The terrorist attack on Mumbai on 26 November 2008 and concrete evidence of the involvement of elements in Pakistan in the attack led to a pause in the dialogue process. After the Mumbai attack, the Ministry undertook several steps both bilaterally with Pakistan and at international fora to obtain Pakistan’s cooperation in bringing the Pakistan-based perpetrators to justice and to ensure that such acts do not recur. As a result, the United Nations Al-Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee listed individual entities based in Pakistan including leaders of the Lashkar-e-Taiba under Security Council Resolution 1267. The Jamat-ud-Daawa was also listed as an alias of the Lashkar-e-Taiba. On 12 February 2009, Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad was formally informed of Pakistan’s response to the dossier that India had made available on 5 January linking the terrorist attacks on Mumbai to perpetrators in Pakistan. In their response, Pakistani authorities admitted that elements in Pakistan were involved in the terrorist attacks on Mumbai. Pakistan also sought further information and material relating to the investigation. The then EAM Shri Pranab Mukherjee termed this a positive development in a suo moto statement on 13 February in Parliament. On 13 March 2009, the Government of India provided detailed responses and material to the Pakistan High Commissioner in New Delhi to all 30 questions raised by Pakistan which in turn was acknowledged by Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Despite the above developments and despite high-level statements from Pakistan promising cooperation regarding the Mumbai attack, in terms of actual action taken the response has been disappointing. As a result, there has been a sharp deterioration in bilateral relations. Responding to the announcement of the new US strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, MEA spokesperson on 30 March 2009 welcomed the very “clear expression of will to carry through the struggle against extremism in Afghanistan and its roots in Pakistan” and expressed India’s “readiness to play a constructive role as a responsible power in defeating extremism of all kinds.” Sri Lanka: In Sri Lanka, the military conflict in the North escalated in 2008 leading to a major humanitarian crisis and the eventual military defeat of the LTTE. The situation in the North and the plight of Tamil civilians displaced and affected by the conflict were important issues in the bilateral discourse between India and Sri Lanka. The then EAM visited Colombo on January 27, 2009 and held discussions with President Mahinda Rajapaksa. This was preceded by Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon’s visit to Sri Lanka on 16-17 January, 2009. In response to the emerging humanitarian crises in Sri Lanka, India sent largescale emergency relief assistance including family packs for IDPs, medicines and setting up of a 62 member Emergency Field Hospital in Northern Sri Lanka. India also remained engaged with Sri Lanka in support of a peacefully negotiated political settlement within a united Sri Lanka. Bilateral exchanges continued to strengthen during this period. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and EAM Shri Pranab Mukherjee visited Sri Lanka for the

574

India 2010

15th SAARC Summit held from 2-3rd August, 2008. Trade and investment linkages were further consolidated India remained Sri Lanka’s largest trading partner in 2008 with bilateral trade worth US$ 3.27 billion. India also emerged as the second largest investor in Sri Lanka in 2008. SAARC The South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation, (SAARC) was created in 1985, as an expression of the region’s collective decision to evolve a regional cooperation framework. Presently, there are eight member countries in SAARC namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. India was the Chair of SAARC in 2007-2008 (since the 14th SAARC Summit held in New Delhi from 3-4 2007 upto the 15th Summit held in Colombo from 2-3 August 2008). The period was the most productive than SAARC has ever known with SAARC transforming from declaratory, to implementation. Each of PMs announcements at the 14th Summit in Delhi has been implemented, with India discharging its responsibilities in a non-reciprocal (asymmetric) manner. The landmark achievements in SAARC are as follows: SAARC Food Bank is now operational with a total stock of 2,43,000 MT contributed by all member states. They have also identified the locations from where the requesting country could draw its requirements from the sending country based on mutually acceptable terms. The establishment of the South Asian University is on schedule with the establishment of the Project Office, finalisation of its international legal contours by the South Asian University Act 2008, grant of privileges and immunities as per UN Immunities and Privileges Act 1947 and funding as per “Principles of Regional Centres”. Process of transfer of 100 acres of land from DDA for leasing out to SAU also is at an advanced stage. At the 13th SAARC Summit held in Dhaka, in November 2005, Prime Minister proposed the establishment of a SAARC Museum of Textiles and Handicrafts. The Museum would be an Intergovernmental Body on the lines of the other SAARC Regional Centres and will be based in Delhi Haat. Pitampura. For the establishment of the SAARC Museum of Textiles and Handicarfts, the necessary financial processing is under way. SAARC Development Fund (SDF) is also operational out of the temporary cell of the SAARC Secretariat pending completion of its permanent premises in Bhutan. Two projects are currently under implementation out of the SDF. India has transferred its full commitment of US $ 189.9 million to the SDF, and has proposed a third project on providing bio-mass cooking stoves and solar lanterns to SAARC Member States. Apart from above, India is also implementing the projects, in the areas of Telemedicine (Bhutan and Afghanistan), Shuttle Breeding of Pulses (Bhutan), settingup of Seed Testing Laboratories (Bhutan), Rainwater Harvesting (Bhutan and Sri Lanka) and Rural Solar Energy Electrification Project (Sri Lanka) under a hub-andspoke mechanism with India as the hub. There is progress in full implementation of South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) in letter and spirit. Member states have appreciated India’s gesture to give zero duty access to LDCs from January 1, 2008, one year ahead of target date and unilateral reduction of its Negative List with respect to LDCs from 744 to 480. India continues to revise its Sensitive Lists and, as of now, have 744 items outside its ambit

India and the World

575

for the LDCs and 868 for the Non-LDCs. A draft Agreement on Trade in Services is in final stages of negotiation expected to be ready by the end of this year. The signing of the SAARC Convention of Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters in Colombo and the 15th SAARC Summit, has generated momentum for signing similar agreements on security related matters in other mechanisms in SAARC. For example, the Standard Operating Protocol on Trafficking of Women & Children has also been similarly finalised at the third meeting of the Regional Task Force to implement the SAARC Conventions relating to trafficking in women & children and promotion of child welfare in South Asia held in Shimla on May 28-29, 2009. People-to-people activities and exchange on visits have phenomenally increased through offer of training programmes, workshops within SAARC member states and arrangement of cultural activities such as handlooms and handicrafts Exhibitions from SAARC members states in Pragati Maidan, ITPO, Surajkund Mela, the South Asian Bands Festivals, SAARC Festivals of Literature, SAARC Folklore Festival, SAARC Food Festival, SAARC Fashion Show and the forthcoming 9th SAARC Trade Fair in Bhutan etc. The dynamism infused by India into the SAARC processes is also evident by the numerous training programmes which have been hosted in India for Member states in the diverse fields of women empowerment, micro finance, security, energy, science and technology, information technology, agriculture education and commerce etc. The above initiatives have enabled SAARC move from declaratory phase to implemention. Due to India’s dynamic commitment to SAARC, to engage neighbouring countries on core developmental aspects of health, education and infrastructure, the number of SAARC activities/meetings held per annum has made a quantum jump to 133 scheduled for the period 2009 until 2010, reflecting the new dynamic SAARC that is being increasingly seen as the premier vehicle of regional economic cooperation to bring the fruits of development to the people of South Asia. SOUTH EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC India continued to pursue closer relations with South East Asia and the Pacific region as envisioned in its ‘Look East Policy’ during the year. With some countries in the region, we stepped up relations to the strategic level, while diversifying and strengthening relations with others. Regular exchange of high level visits at bilateral level and interactions at regional and multilaleral fora contributed to a higher degree of engagement among leaders in the region to help develop renewed dynamism in India’s relations with these countries. In the last five years, Prime Ministers, Presidents and Ministers of several countries in the region visited India. Our leaders also visited various countries in the region. These visits and signing of several framework agreements have significantly contributed to India’s growing relations with countries in this region. The bilateral trade and investment between India and countries in ASEAN have considerably increased, touching about US$ 40 billion in 2007-08. India - ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in goods has been successfully negotiated and is ready for signature. With the implementation of India-ASEAN FTA, the trade with ASEAN countries will cross the target of US$ 50 billion by 2010. Meanwhile, bilateral FTA is being negotiated with several countries in the region, the conclusion of which would significantly enhance the two-way trade. The trade with Australia also crossed US$ 10 billion.

576

India 2010

For the socio-economic development of countries in the region, India continued to provide assistance to Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Philippines in the form of grants, soft loans and credit lines and training courses, under ITEC scheme. As a Dialogue Partner of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) countries, India has been engaging with Pacific Island countries by providing regional assistance in capacity building and social and economic programmes and sustainable development. In response, India succeeded in eliciting support from majority of the countries in the region on issues of India’s interest such as India’s candidature for UN Security Council membership, Commonwealth, civil nuclear cooperation etc. India’s growing profile has attracted countries in the South East Asia and Pacific region to foster closer engagement at the regional and multilateral fora such as ASEAN, EAS, BIMSTEC, MGC and ARF. EAST ASIA Japan: India-Japan relations, which have expanded and broadened in recent years, continue to undergo a significant and qualitative shift. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh paid an official visit to Japan on 22-23 October 2008 for the Annual IndiaJapan Summit meeting. The two Prime Ministers signed a Joint Statement on the Advancement of the Strategic & Global Partnership between India and Japan and a Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation. The 2nd Strategic Dialogue between the Foreign Ministers was held in August 2008 when the Foreign Minister of Japan visited India. Ministerial level dialogues were also held on economic and trade matters and on energy. India was the largest recipient of Japanese Official Development Assistance (Yen 236.047 billion or Rs. 11,802.4 crores approximately) in the financial year 2008-09. Steady progress was made on the flagship projects jointly initiated by the two countries. On the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor Project, the Japanese side has agreed to provide financial assistance of approximately 450 billion Yen as a loan for the Phase-I, and have expressed their commitment to work with India for early finalization of the assistance for the entire Western Freight Corridor. On the DelhiMumbai Industrial Corridor initiative, the two sides have held meetings of the Joint Task Force to finalize the contours of the project. We have an annual calendar for defence exchanges. The two sides have also continued to discuss a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, with the objective of concluding a mutually beneficial and high quality agreement. Both sides are also engaged in discussions an Japanese assistance for a new IIT at Hyderabad. Defence and functional exchanges have also emerged as an important area for bilateral cooperation. Republic of Korea: Our relations with the Republic of Korea have steadily grown. Former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam attended the inauguration ceremony of the new President of the Republic of Korea, Lee Myung-bak. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh met the new President at the G-8 Summit meeting in Japan in July 2008. The two countries are negotiating a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, that they hope to conclude in FY 2009-10. During the year 2008-09 important cooperation also took place in other areas. Mongolia: The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh met the President of Mongolia in the margins of the 7th ASEM Summit Meeting in Beijing in October 2008. The Defence Minister of Mongolia visited India in February 2009. Bilateral cooperation on economic and trade matters, defence, education, culture and also in the training of

India and the World

577

Mongolians under the ITEC programme have continued to develop during the year. India also provided Mongolia with 5000 MT, each of rice and sugar as humanitarian assistance in view of our very friendly relations with that country. DPRK : Relations between India and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) continue to be cordial with a focus on humanitarian assistance and exchanges in the areas of culture, sports and education. EURASIA India maintained friendly and cordial relations with Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Central Asian and Caucasian countries during the year through visits, conclusion of bilateral agreements, periodic bilateral and multilateral engagements, cooperation programmes, cultural events and other initiatives. Some of the important bilateral engagements during the year included the State visits of the President of the Russian Federation Mr. Dmitry A. Medvedev to India in December 2008, the President of Kazakhstan Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev as Chief Guest at the Republic Day celebrations 2009 and visit of the Vice President of India to Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan in April 2008. India and Russia continue to further consolidate their strategic partnership. Co-operation in defence, space and nuclear energy has intensified . During President Medvedev’s visit to India from 4-5 December 2008 for the annual bilateral Summit, nine important agreements were signed apart from a Joint Declaration. The agreements include an Inter-Governmental Agreement on Cooperation for the construction of additional nuclear power plant units at Kudankulam site as well as for the construction of Russian designed nuclear power plants at new sites, and a MoU between ISRO and Russian Federal Space Agency on joint activities in the field of human space flight programme. From the Russian side, Defence Minister Mr. Anatoly Serdyukov visited India from 28-30 September 2008, Foreign Minister Mr. Sergey Lavrov visited on 20 October, and Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, Mr. Alexander Zhukov, visited on 20 October, and Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, Mr. Alexander Zhukov, visited India to co-chair the 14th Session of the India-Russia IGC on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation. The year 2008 was celebrated as “Year of Russia” in India with almost 140 events being organised in different cities of India, and similarly, the year 2009 is being celebrated as the “Year of India” in Russia. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan, Mr. Rashid Meredov led a high level delegation to India from 20 - 22 January 2008. Mr. Meredov co-chaired the 2nd Session of the India-Turkmenistan Intergovernmental Commission for Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technological Co-operation along with the MoS for External Affairs, Shri E. Ahmed. During the visit Mr. Meredov called on the Vice President and the PM and also met the EAM Shri Pranab Mukherjee. Vice-President Shri M. Hamid Ansari paid an official visit to Turkmenistan from 4-6 April 2008. Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Murli Deora visited Turkmenistan in November 2008. Defence Minister of Belarus Colonel General Leonid Maltsev visited India from 16 - 18 February for DEFEXPO India 2008 in New Delhi. He met the Defence Minister on 16 February to discuss bilateral defence co-operation. Indian army chief General Deepak Kapoor visited Belarus from 12-15 March 2008 and met the Belarusian Defence Minister, Chairman of the State Military & Industrial Committee and Chief of the Army Staff. General Kapoor visited the Military Academy of Belarus and several defence production enterprises. The Belarusian Minister of Industry Mr. Anatoly Rusetsky attended the 4th Session of the India-Belarus IGC on

578

India 2010

Economic, Trade, Industrial, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation in New Delhi from 17 - 18 November 2008. The first session of the Indo-Belarusian Joint Commission on Military Technical Cooperation was held in Minsk from 27 - 30 May 2008. Foreign Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic. Mr. Ednan Karabaev visited India from 4-6 February 2008 to review bilateral relations and discuss regional issues of mutual interest. He met the Ministers of External Affairs, Commerce & Industry, Human Resource Development and Culture & Tourism. During 2008, Vice President (VP) Shri M. Hamid Ansariâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s visit to Kazakhstan from 6-10 April 2008 gave a major boost to India-Kazakhstan relations. During his visit, VP met with the President and Prime Minister of Kazakhstan and addressed the Senate. Kazakhstan President Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev paid a state visit to India from 23-26 January 2009 and was the Chief Guest at the Republic Day celebrations the first time that a leader from a Central Asian country was accorded this honour. With another important Central Asian Country, Uzbekistan, our relations progressed with holding of Foreign Office consultations in New Delhi on 1st August 2008, and meeting of the 8th Session of the India-Uzbekistan Inter-Government Commission on trade, economic, scientific, and cultural cooperation in September 2008. The Uzbek Minister of Economy Mr. B. Khodjaev had visited New Delhi from 16-17 September 2008 for the 8th Session of the IGC. THE GULF, WEST ASIA AND NORTH AFRICA India maintained its historical and traditionally cordial relations and cooperation with the countries in the Gulf region. Gulf countries together provide 70% of our total crude oil requirement and about 4.5 million Indians live and work in the region, remitting more than US$ 10 billion annually. The year witnessed several high level visits which underlined the importance of the region in our relationship. The most important was PM Dr. Manmohan Singhâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s visit to Qatar and Oman in November 2008 which opened new areas for bilateral cooperation. In Qatar, PM signed two documents relating to defence cooperation and security as well as law enforcement matters. In Oman, an MoU on manpower and another for establishing India-Oman Joint Investment Fund were signed . EAM Shri Pranab Mukherjee accompanied by MoS Shri E. Ahamed and Secretary (East) paid an official visit to Muscat from 13-14 January 2008. During the visit, EAM called on Deputy PM for Council of Ministers and Mr. Yousef bin Alawai bin Abdullah, Minister responsible for Foreign Affairs of Oman. Dr. Majeed Mohsin Al Alawi Labour, Minister of Bahrain, visited India on 25 April 2008 and discussed with Ministerr of Overseas Indian Affairs, the MoU on Labour and Manpower Development. Dr. Fatima Bin Al Balooshi, Minister of Social Development, Bahrain, visited India from 17-21 August 2008 and held talks with the Minister of Textiles and Minister of State for Women & Child Development among others. MoS Shri E. Ahamed visited Kuwait from 29-31 January 2008. During the visit, MoS called on the Kuwaiti Prime Minister. A wide range of bilateral and regional issues, including the revised format for Labour Contract to be signed between the Kuwaiti employer and Indian worker were discussed in his meetings with the Deputy PM / Minister and Minister of Social Affairs in Labour. The year, marked by several high-level visits, witnessed strengthened bilateral relations with Saudi Arabia. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Ali Faisal visited India twice in 2008, in February when he called on PM Dr. Manmohan singh and

India and the World

579

EAM Shri Pranab Mukherjee and on 26 December when he met Vice President, EAM and NSA. EAM paid a two- day visit to Saudi Arbia from 19-20 April 2008 and called on Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud and Governor of Riyadh Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz Ali Saud. Mos Shri E. Ahamed visited Saudi Arabia on 17 April 2008 and signed the Haj agreement with Saudi Haj Minister Dr. Fouad AlFarsy. Finance Minister along with Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister attended the Oil Summit, held in Jeddah on 22 June 2008 at the behest of Saudi King Abdullah. The year 2008 also was the consolidation in the friendly bilateral ties between India and UAE. HE Shaikha Lubna Ali Qasimi, Minister of Foreign Trade, visited India on 25 April and was awarded “Woman Achiever of the Year” by FICCI. The 1st ever India-UAE Joint Air Forces exercise took place in September 2008 in Abu Dhabi. EAM visited UAE in May 2008 and met both the Foreign Minister and Crown Prince. WEST ASIA AND NORTH AFRICA India’s engagement with West Asia and North Africa was cemented through a series of high level interactions that included State visits to India by President Bashar AliAssad of Syria. President Mohammed Hosny Mubarak of Egypt and President, Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian National Authority. India’s dialogue with Egypt was also taken forward during and official visit by EAM to that country in July 2008. India’s steadfast support for the Palestinian cause was underlined during the State visit of President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) during which, in the presence of the Prime Minister. Dr. Manmohan singh, President Abbas laid the foundation stone of the Palestinian Embassy building in New Delhi, a gift of the Government and people of India, and construction of which is nearing completion. Implementation of PM’s offer of $ 10 million as budgetary support to the PNA was completed during the year. India strongly condemned the Israeli incursion into the Gaza strip that began in December 2008. India’s varied relations with the Arab world were institutionalized through a Memorandum of Cooperation with the League of Arab States signed in December 2008 during the visit of the Secretary General H.E. Mr. Amre Moussa to New Delhi. India contributed towards development of Iraq’s human resources by providing 100 slots to Iraq under Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (Itec) programme to train its officials in various training and professional institutions all over India. IOC provided training in India to 228 Iraqi oil officials. On February 26, 2009, President Jalal Talabani of Iraq transited through India and tried to encourage our participation in the reconstruction and development of Iraq, especially in the power sector. During the meeting with secretary (East), he expressed a keen desire for encouraging Indian companies and personally assured fullest support to them in Iraq. AFRICA The first India-Africa forum Summit was held in New Delhi from 8-9 April 2008 built upon the foundations of the historical relationship that has existed between the two, and created a roadmap for a structured interaction, engagement and cooperation in coming years. The Summit renewed India’s commitment to Africa. The two historic documents, the Delhi Declaration and the India Africa Framework of Cooperation were adopted at the end of the Summit. The Delhi Declaration is a political document that covers issues of bilateral, regional and international interests to India and Africa, including our common positions on UN reforms, climate change, WTO and

580

India 2010

international terrorism, etc. the India Africa Framework for Cooperation spells out the agreed areas of cooperation. Prime Minister announced a substantial increase in the existing lines of credit to Africa to US $ 5.4 billion over the next five years, and a separate grant of US $ 500 million for projects in the areas of capacity building and human resource development. The Heads of State-Government from Africa who attended the India Africa Forum Summit included Mr. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, President of Tanzania, Prof. Alpha Oumar Konare, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mr. Joseph Kabila Kabange, President of Congo, Mr. John Agyekum Kufuor, President of Ghana, Mr. Abdoulaye Wade, President of Senegal, Mr. Thabo Mbeki, President of South Africa, Mr. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of Uganda, Mr. Tertius Zongo, Prime Minister of Burkina Faso and Mr. Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of Ethiopia. There were several other high-level visits from Africa including Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, Mr. Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda and Dr Boni Yayi, President of the Republic of Benin. Regular exchanges continued at the ministerial and official levels. India extended several lines of credit to African countries for specific infrastructure development projects. Both the TEAM-9 and ECOWAS have fully utilized the lines of credit extended to them for projects in different sectors, ranging from agriculture, health, rural electrification, transport and power, which are in the various stages of implementation. Our ongoing political and economic engagement with the Africa Union Commission continued to strengthen, as also our institutional cooperation with regional organisations such as COMESA, SADC, ECCAS and EAC. The Aid to Africa budget of the Ministry was used for other cooperation programmes. Two successful India-Africa Project Partnership Conclaves were organised by the CII with the support of the Ministry, the first in Dar-es-Salaam on 28 August 2008 and the second in New Delhi from 22-24 March 2009. FICCI also organised the IndiaAfrica Business Partnership Summit in New Delhi on 19-20 January. All these events witnessed a high-level of participation from Indian and African businesses. All these initiatives have significantly enhanced Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s engagement with countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and have come at a time of increasing private sector engagement in Africa. Two-way trade has increased from US $ 5.5. billion in 2001-02 to around US $ 36 billion in 2008-09 representing an almost seven-fold increase in as many years. Bilateral investment is approximately US $ 17 billion. India opened resident Missions in Mali and Nigar. The Gamba, Gabon and Madagascar opened their Missions in New Delhi and Mali announced its intentions to open one soon. The Government of Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prestigious Pan-African e-Network Project was formally inaugurated on 26 February 2009 by the External Affairs Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi for eleven countries, out of the 35 countries that have signed the agreements to join the Project. 4 more African countries signed the agreement for joining the Government of India sponsored Pan-African e-Network project, taking the total to 39. 5th CII-EXIM Bank India-Africa Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnership 2009 was held from 22-24 March 2009 at New Delhi. Nearly 500 delegates from Africa and more than 300 from India attended the Conclave. India-Africa two-way trade which was around US$36 billion in 2007-08 has already reached US$33 billion in the first nine months of 2008-09.

India and the World

581

Number of training slots for African countries under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation programme was around 1500 and the scholarships for higher studies was around 500. Dr. Boni Yayi, President of the Republic of Benin, made the first ever State visit to India from March 3 to 7, 2009. Five agreements were signed, including for establishment of an IT Training Centre, a Technology Demonstration Centre, and cooperation in small scale industry sector. Prime Minister announced a US$15 million Line of Credit and US $ 2 million grant to Benin. Vice President Shri Mohammad Hamid Ansari visited South Africa during May 8-10, 2009 to attend the inauguration ceremony of Mr. Jacob Zuma, the 4th democratically elected President of South Africa. EUROPE PM Gordon Brown of UK visited India to attend the 4th India-UK Summit which took place in New Delhi from 20 - 21 January 2008. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh met Mr. Gordon Brown again in London on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit on 1 April 2009. Mr Nicholas Sarkozy, President of France, accompanied by a high level Ministerial and business delegation, visited India from 25 - 26 January 2008 and was the Chief Guest at the Republic Day parade. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh visited Paris for the India-France Bilateral Summit on 30 September 2008. Both PM and President Nicolas Sarkozy reaffirmed the Strategic Partnership between India and France and their commitment to further strengthen cooperation in core areas such as civil nuclear cooperation, space and defence. Germany continued to be Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest trading partner within the EU. Dr. Frank Walter Steinmeier, German Federal Chancellor and Minister of Foreign Affairs, visited India, from 19-21 November 2008. Recently, scientific and technological cooperation has emerged as one of the key elements in the Indo-German interaction. Bilateral visits between India and Spain at the ministerial level continued during the period, the most notable being the visits by Indian Ministers of Finance, Health and Family Welfare and Petroleum and Natural Gas, to Spain. India continued to strengthen bilateral relations with Italy at different levels. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh met PM Mr. Silvio Berlusconi on 24 October 2008 on the sidelines of the ASEM Summit in Beijing. India has traditionally enjoyed warm, friendly and close relations with countries of the Nordic as well as Central and Eastern Europe. Efforts to diversify and deepen Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s friendly relations with these countries were pursued assiduously. The potential for high technology manufacturing in India, cooperation in petroleum, nonconventional energy. bio-technology, nano-technology and engineering, together with areas like deep-sea fishing and food processing raised new possibilities for collaboration. Ministerial and official interactions with these continued. Mr. Kostas Karmanlis, Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic visited India from 10 - 13 January 2008. Mr. Ferene Gyurcsany, Prime Minister of Hungary visited India from 16-19 January 2008. During his visit, he called on the President and met the, Prime Minister UPA Chairperson, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Ministers of External Affairs, Petroleum & Gas and Commerce & Industry. From Sweden, Trade Minister, Public Health Minister, Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy and Crown Prince visited India during the period. The Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs from the Swedish Parliament paid an official visit to India in January 2009. Bilateral visits between India and the Czech Republic included the visit by MoS (AS) Shri Anand Sharma and Commerce & Industry Minister Shri Kamal Nath and from the Czech side, the

582

India 2010

visit by their Industry and Trade Minister and the Chief of the General Staff of Czech Armed Forces. Former President of India Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam visited Finland in April 2008 to attend a seminar there and President of Finland Mrs. Tarja Halonen visited India from 5 - 7 February 2009 to attend the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit. With Poland, there were regular visits at various levels. General Deepak Kapoor, Chief of Army Staff, paid a goodwill visit to Poland in March 2008. Following the visit of Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Prime Minister of Denmark, to India from 4 - 8 February 2008, bilateral relations between the two countries were further strengthened. There was increased interaction between India and Turkey during 2008-09. The Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid an official visit to India from 21-24 November 2008. WEST EUROPE Hon’ble President Smt. Pratibha Patil paid a State visit to Spain from 20-23 April, 2009 where she was received with great warmth and full state honours. During the visit MoUs on Agriculture, Renewable Energy and Tourism were signed. The G8 summit took place at L’Aquila from July 8-10, 2009. Prime Minister attended the Summits Earlier EAM attended the Foreign Ministers' meeting on stabilization of Af-Pak on June 26 in Trieste and had a bilateral meeting with Italian FM on the sidelines. Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh visited France as the Chief Gust of Honour at the French National Day celebrations held in Paris on 14 July, 2009. A 400 strong Indian military contingent led the Bastille Day parade on the occasion. This symbolized the friendly and strategic partnership between India and France. The 20th Ministerial India EU Troika meeting was held in Prague on 29 June, 2009. The Indian delegation was led by External Affairs Minister, Shri S.M. Krishna and the EU side was led by Mr. Jan Kohut, the Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs, the incoming Swedish Presidency and Ms. Benita Ferreo Waldner, the EC Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy. The Troika Ministerial meeting was the first high level political interaction that took place between the two sides after the formation of the new Government in India. During the meeting, both sides took stock of the progress post Marseille Summit of September, 2008 and discussed about the preparations required in the context of the forthcoming 10th India-EU Summit to be held in New Delhi on 6 November, 2009. Both sides also held wide ranging discussions on regional and global issues. EU: India and the EU (European Union) are indispensable poles in the emerging multi-polar structures. Exchange of high level visits between India and Europe were maintained and summit-level interactions took place. India’s engagement with EU intensified and diversified in fields such as defence & security, nuclear and space, trade and investment, energy, food security, climate change, science and technology, culture and education. Special envoys were sent to all the EU countries seeking support for waiver in the NSG for Civil Nuclear Cooperation with USA. Following the Mumbai terrorist attacks, leaders of EU and member States sent messages and made telephone calls condemning the attacks, conveying condolences for the victims and reaffirming solidarity in the fight against terrorism, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh visited Marseille, France, for the 9th India-EU Summit on 29 September 2008. PM had discussions with EU/French President Nicolas Sarkozy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. The Summit, inter alia, reviewed IndiaEU joint Action Plan of 2005 and issued a revised plan extending Strategic Partnership

India and the World

583

to new areas. It also issued a Joint Work Programme (JWP) for Indo-EU Cooperation in Energy, Clean Development and Climate Change. PM. also attended the India-EU Business Summit titled, 'New Synergies for Partnership’ which was held on 30 September in Paris. The 19th India-EU Troika Foreign Ministerial Meeting was held on 30 May 2009 in New Delhi and the India-EU Strategic Dialogue was held on 05 December'08 in New Delhi. In addition, 4th Round of the India-EU Energy Panel Meeting and the 11th Meeting of the India-EU Joint Working Group on Consular issues were held in New Delhi on 08 September and 23 May 2008, respectively. The EU is India’s largest trading partner. Bilateral trade crossed Euro 55 billion in 2007 and is targeted this to reach Euro 100 billion in 5 years. India and Europe have been witnessing a very dynamic investment relationship. USA The year 2008 was marked by an intensification of the bilateral engagement between India and the USA. The signing of the Indo-US civil nuclear Agreement in Washington on 10 October 2008 was a culmination of the civil nuclear energy initiative announced during the visit of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to the USA in July 2005. India successfully concluded an India-specific Safeguards Agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on 1 August 2008 which paved the way for the USA to approach the 45 nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) for an adjustment of the NSG guidelines to enable its Members to enter into civil nuclear cooperation and trade with India. The formal signing of the Agreement by External Affairs Minister, and his US Counterpart Secretary of State, Dr. Condoleeza Rice took place on 10 October 2008 in Washington. The agreement is a symbol of the transformed nature of the bilateral dialogue and has added strategic content to the relationship. It has also opened up vast opportunities for bilateral, economic and high technology engagement. While economic and commercial ties, defence cooperation and people to people contact were other priority areas of focus in the bilateral agenda, Indo-US consultations on global issues of common concern and the dialogues, work plans and implementation groups for bilateral initiatives in energy, education, science and technology, health, space, agriculture among others, continued to add depth and strengthen the Indo-US linkages. Several high-level visits took place during the period. PM Dr. Manmohan singh visited Washington in September 2008. In his meeting with President Bush the two leaders reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations and expressed satisfaction on the achievements and progress made on the bilateral agenda and was set out in the Joint Statements of July 2005, issued during PM’s visit to Washington and of March 2006, issued during the visit of President Bush to India. US Secretary of State Dr. Condoleeza Rice visited New Delhi in October 2008 and held discussions with EAM Shri Pranab Mukherjee. The latter visited Washington DC from 24-25 March 2008, He met his counterpart and also called on President George Bush. He interacted with a select group of scholars at the Camegie Foundation, a Washington based think tank. PM also visited Washington in November 2008 to attend the G-20 Summit. Mr. William Burns, Under Secretary for Political Affairs, US State Department visited India during 10-13 June 2009. He held talks with Foreign Secretary during

584

India 2010

which the two sides reviewed the existing architecture for bilateral dialogue and discussed new elements of cooperation which could form part of the new bilateral agenda and regional and global issues of common interest and shared concern. Under Secretary Burns called on the Prime Minister and handed over a letter addressed to him by President Obama. He also called on EAM, Home Minister, HRD Minister, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission and the Leader of Opposition. Commerce and Industry Minister Shri Anand Sharma visited Washington during 16-19 June 2009 to attend the 34th anniversary of the US India Business Council. He met with his US Counterpart Ambassador Ron Kirk, US Trade Representative and discussed Indo-US trade relations. CIM also met with US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and US Secretary of State, Ms. Hillary Clinton at the Synergies Summit hosted by the US India Business Council. UN National Security Advisor, Gen. James Jones visited India during 25-26 June 2009. He held talks with his Indian counterpart and discussed security cooperation and global issues of common concern. NSA Jones called on Prime Minister and Raksha Mantri. US Secretary of State, Ms. Hillary Clinton visited India during 17-21 July 2009. She called on PM and held delegation level talk with External Affairs Minister. The five-day visit gave a boost to Indo-US relations and laid the roadmap for bilateral interaction in the coming years. Secretary of State and EAM jointly announced a new agenda for Indo-US relations in its “third Phase" (defined as 3.0 by Secretary of State) categorized as the five pillars of the relationship. They are (i) science, technology, health and innovation; (ii) strategic cooperation; (iii) energy and climate change; (iv) education and development; and (v) economics trade and agriculture. The revised dialogue architecture establishes new formalized interaction in the fields of health, education, women’s empowerment, climate change and strategic issues. Speaking at the Joint Press Conference after the delegation level talks, Secretary Clinton reiterated that deepening of Indo-US relationship was a personal priority for her. External Affairs Minister reciprocated the commitment of the US to strengthen bilateral relationship and conveyed the importance India attaches to Indo-US strategic partnership. Two agreements - Technical Safeguards Agreement (Space) and an Indo-US Science and Technology Endowment Fund and Board Agreement were signed during the visit. The S&T Agreement seeks to establish an India-US Board and an Endowment for developing Joint Research and Development, Innovation, Entrepreneurial and Commercialization Activities in Science and Technology. The Technology Safeguards Agreement would allow India to launch third country civil or non-commercial satellites of US origin and which have US components. The two sides also agreed to a formulation on End Use Monitoring (EUM) to be included in letters of offer and acceptances for defence equipment to be acquired from USA for Government of India. A joint statement was issued during the visit highlighting the significance of Indo-US relationship and the global and bilateral agenda that would be pursued by the two sides. Secretary Clinton’s visit was high on content and symbolism. The two sides discussed bilateral, regional and global issues and affirmed their commitment to strengthen Indo-US strategic partnership. She conveyed an invitation from President Obama to Prime Minister to pay a State visit to Washington on 24 November 2009. This is the first invitation extended by the new US Government for a State visit by any Head of State of Government.

India and the World

585

DEFENCE AND SECURITY The fifth meeting of the India-US Senior Technology and Security Group was held on 11-12 May 2009 in Washington USA. Issues related to Technology Transfer and Technology Collaboration were discussed. Admiral Timothy J. Keating, Commander, US Pacific Command visited India from 13-15 May 2009 to discuss with Government of India issues related to the regional security situation, terrorism, and maritime security. Shri Vivek Katju, Special secretary (Pol & IO) in MEA led the Indian delegation for the 11th meeting of the India-US Joint Working Group on counter-terrorism in Washington, 17 June 2009. The meeting enabled the Working group to address a wide range of issues relating to Counter Terrorism and India’s membership of the Financial Action Task Force. ENERGY AND SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PARTNERSHIP The second meeting of the India-US Civil Nuclear Working Group, was held from 2830 April 2009 in Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho, USA. Both countries identified areas of collaboration in the field of nuclear energy and reactors. A delegation comprising concerned GoI Ministries and Industry representatives participated in BIO 2009 Exhibition from 18-21 May 2009, in Atlanta, USA. India’s leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and GoI Ministries demonstrated their technological capabilities and explored opportunities for enhancing biotech exports and R & D collaboration. India-US Biotechnology and Life Sciences Working Group under the bilateral High Technology Cooperation Group met on the sidelines of BIO 2009 on 20 May 2009 in Atlanta. Discussion focused on differentiation between legitimate generics and counterfeits; Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) issues like data protection, tractional knowledge disclosure norms; capacity building in harmonising regulatory frame work and collaboration in R & D. The Obama Administration sent its first delegation to India from February 15-24, 2009, to mark the 50th anniversary of American Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s visit to India to study Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings. The delegation included Dr. King’s eldest son, Dr. Martin Luther King III. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, visited India from 15-16 February. He called on EAM Shri Pranab Mukherjee, on 16 February, and discussed the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan with them. CANADA India’s relations with Canada were substantively reinvigorated during the period with the Canadian Government under Prime Minister Stephen Harper continuing to consider relations with India a foreign policy priority. Canada’s Foreign Minister, Mr. Maxime Bernier visited India from 10-12 January 2008. Canada’s Deputy Minister for Citizenship and Immigration, Mr. Richard B. Fadden visited India from 12-18 January 2008. India and Canada opened a new chapter in their relations when Canada supported India’s Safeguard Agreement with the IAEA and it also joined the NSG’s consensus decision to allow nuclear trade with India. Canada India Foundation organized a Canada India Energy forum in Toronto on April 16-17, 2009 to identify opportunities for bilateral cooperation in areas of renewable, fissile and nuclear energy. Invitees included energy companies,

586

India 2010

government departments and regulatory agencies, policy makers, legislators, investors, bankers and financiers from both countries. The Government of India delegation was led by Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission. A Government of India team led by Dr. R.B. Grover, Director (Strategic Planning Group) in Department of Atomic Energy and Mr. Don Sinclair, Director General, International Security Bureau, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Canada held discussions on 21-22 May 2009 on the draft agreement for civil nuclear cooperation. India-Canada Dialogue on Strategic Issues was held on 18 June 2009 in Ottawa. Both sides exchanged perceptions for enhancing mutual understanding on the situation in the South Asian region, issues related to disarmament, refugee situation, disaster management and other global issues of common concern. The India-Canada Joint working Group on Counter-terrorism met in Ottawa on 19 June, 2009. The meeting enabled a discussion on global threat perceptions, ongoing terrorist investigations, technical cooperation in the area of counter-terrorism, drug-trafficking etc. The 3rd India-Canada Joint Committee on Science and Technology Cooperation was held in Ottawa on June 8, 2009. On June 4, 2009, Punjab’s Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Sucha Singh Langah and Manitoba’s Deputy Premier and Agricultural Minister Rosann Wowchuk signed an MoU between Manitoba and Punjab on Food Development Park to provide the Manitoba’s expertise to support establishment of a food development centre in Punjab to expand agri-food industry. The first meeting of the India-Canada Environment Forum which has been set up under the India-Canada Agreement for cooperation in the area of environment was held on 18-19 June 2009 in Ottawa. LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN (LAC) In the light of existing commonalities with regard to bilateral and multilateral issues and mutual economic interests, India’s engagement with LAC countries intensified during the period under reference. Cross-sectoral linkages were facilitated through regular dialogue at the political and official level and also through exchange of business delegations, experts and professionals from both sides. Contacts at the institutionalized level were maintained through Joint Commission Ministerial meetings and Foreign Office Consultations. As many as 21 agreements and MoUs were signed during this time. Indian companies stepped up their presence in sectors such as oil and hydrocarbons, ICT, mining, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, auto industries, new & renewable energy and in the services sector. As part of our Development Partnership and South-South cooperation initiatives, Line of Credit assistance to the tune of US $ 160 million was announced for LAC countries and disaster relief to the tune of US $ 2.125 million was disbursed. IT Centres were also set up in three LAC countries and a total of 382 ITEC scholarships were announced and utilized by LAC candidates. The signing of a JV agreement between the national oil company (PDVSA) of Venezulea and ONGC Videsh for oil production and development activities in the San Cristobal oil field in eastern Venezuela, acquisition of the rights of Encana Corporation of Canada in 10 offshore blocks in Brazil by the BPRL-Videocon JV, Waiver of commercial debt and interest to the tune of Rs. 128 crores owned by Cuba to India and sale of 7 advanced Light (Dhruv) helicopters by

India and the World

587

HAL to Ecuador was among the important milestones in our economic/commercial relations with LAC countries. UNITED NATIONS AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS India continued to play an active role in the United Nations (UN) focussing on the ongoing process of reforming the UN Organization with a view to enhancing its representative nature and its credibility, and therefore, its effectiveness. In collaboration with other member states, India continued to work for reform of the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council and to revitalize the General Assembly. The period under review was marked by several high-level visits. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh led the Indian delegation to the 63rd Session of General Assembly in September 2008. In his address to the UNGA on September 27, 2008, PM underlined the need for progress on core elements of the agenda for reform of the UN. He also stressed for the need for coordinated action by the international community in dealing with the crisis in the world financial system and global food and energy crisis. In the context of the fact that 2008 marked the mid-point of international efforts to achieve the developmental targets set by the Millennium Development Goals, PM emphasized the indivisible nature of global prosperity and welfare. PM also referred to terrorism, exhorting the world to strenghten international cooperation in this regard and reaffirmed the need for the early conclusion of a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT). UN Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, visited India from 30 - 31 October 2008 and delivered the Rajiv Gandhi Commemorative Speech on 31 October 2008. He visited India again on 4-6 February 2009 to participate in the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit. India worked actively to ensure that development remains at the core of the United nations agenda, particularly against the backdrop of the global financial meltdown, together with upheavals in the food and energy markets. In this regard, the need for developed countries to fulfill their commitments to provide enhanced aid, greater market access, debt relief and technology transfer to developing countries was re-emphasized. India also pushed for proportionate voice and participation of the developing countriestowards ensuring a greater developmental focus in the international regimes on trade, finance and economic bodies. India also continued its active engagement with the Non-Alignment Movement and the Commonwealth. EAM led the Indian delegation to the 15th NAM Ministerial Meeting in Tehran during 27-30 July 2008. Mr. Kamalesh Sharma, former High Commissioner of India to the United kingdom, who was elected as the Secretary General of the Commonwealth in November 2007, assumed office on 1 April 2008 and visited India on 16-22 October, 2008 and 4-11 February, 2009. MULTILATERAL ECONOMIC RELATIONS Agendas of the multilateral fora, during the period, were generally under the shadow of international financial turmoil, high food prices and volatile energy prices. India continued its active engagement with ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting), BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation), BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China-May 2008), G-8-05, G-20, IBSA (India, Brazil and South Africa), IOR-ARC (Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation), ACD (Asia Cooperation Dialogue) etc, where it presented its perspective on financial

588

India 2010

crisis and other critical issues such as food, security, energy security, climate changes and sustainable development. The first IOR-ARC Film Festival was held in New Delhi in February-March 2008 as part of Indian initiatives announced at the 7th IORARC Council of Ministers (COM) meeting held in Tehran in March 2007. Secretary (ER) led the Indian delegation to the preparatory meeting of BRIC Deputy Foreign Ministers meeting in Russia in May 2008. India hosted the 2nd BIMSTEC (13/11/2008), and the 3rd IBSA Summit in New Delhi during the period. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh led the Indian delegations to the ASEM Summit in Beijing, the G-20 Summit in Washington (15/11/ 2008) and informal interaction of Heads of State/Govt. of BRIC countries. Conclusion of the negotiations on the agreement on “trade in Goods” under the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) between India and ASEAN was considered yet another milestone in India’s “Look East” policy. INDIAN TECHNICAL AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION (ITEC) PROGRAMME & DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP (DP) The Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme is the flagship programme of India’s technical and economic cooperation efforts. In keeping with India’s growing economic strength and international role, efforts were made to enhance and expand India’s technical cooperation and development assistance to partner countries with emphasis on capacity building, transfer of technology and sharing of experiences. This involved 158 developing countries including 139 countries under ITEC in Asia, Africa, Central Asia, East Europe, Latin America and 19 countries under SCAAP (Special Commonwealth African Assistance Programme) in Africa. Around 5000 professionals, in Government and other sectors from 158 developing countries attended more than 200 courses conducted by institutions in India, both Government and in the private sector, under the civilian and defence training programmes. Special courses were organized for Africa, IOR-ARC, CIS, Afghanistan, Lao PDR, Yemen in various fields like management, WTO issues, labour, audit etc. Indian experts were deputed to advise and assist in diverse areas such as information technology, auditing, legal expertise, pharmacology, statistics and demography, public administration, textile and agriculture. Many projects were undertaken during the year in the field of information technology, small and medium enterprises, civil construction and vocational training in different parts of the world. Humanitarian assistance was also extended to countries affected by earthquake, cyclones, floods, etc. INVESTMENT AND TECHNOLOGY PROMOTION (ITP) Economic Diplomacy continued to occupy an important place in India’s foreign policy, acquiring a sharper focus in an increasingly interdependent and interconnected world. The Ministry, through the ITP Division, was actively engaged in the promotion and facilitation of foreign investment and trade. It participated in policy meetings of Foreign Investment Promotion Board and Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, as well as other policy meetings concerning reforms and liberalization of the economy and simplification of investment procedures. ITP Division supplemented the overall efforts of the Government to boost FDI inflow into India, by reaching out to the investor community and organizing and funding promotional events in partnership with the private sector, apex business chambers and our Missions abroad. The cause of foreign investments was further supported by

India and the World

589

projecting the country’s image as an investment friendly destination through special publications such as the “India - Dynamic Business Partner; Investor Friendly Destination” etc. and ITP Division’s website: www.indiainbusiness.nic.in. Development aid, including grants and Lines of Credit (LOC), to developing countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia formed an important component of our Economic Diplomacy. While helping Indian companies get project contracts and orders for supply of goods in these developing countries, the LOCs have helped in infrastructure development in these regions thereby creating considerable goodwill for the country. During 2008-09. 17 LOCs worth US$ 744 million to 16 developing countries were approved. Given the importance of energy security for India’s development, a separate Energy Security Division has been established in March 2009 to coordinate with Energy Ministries and Indian Missions abroad. The Division worked closely with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in organizing the India-CIS Roundtable on Hydrocarbons in November 2008 and Petrotech 2009, hosted/co-hosted seminars on India’s energy options, commissioned studies on energy surplus countries and regions, was actively involved in energy security related seminars/conferences organised by other Ministries and Chamber of Commerce and Industry and extended assistance to Indian companies dealing with overseas energy collaborations and opportunities. It also took the initiative to set up a Working Group on energy with senior representatives of oil infrastructure PSUs. POLICY PLANNING AND RESEARCH The PP&R Division maintained close interaction with institutions and individuals specializing in policy research and analysis and extended financial assistance to various academic institutions/think-tanks located in different parts of the country for holding conferences. seminars, preparation of research papers, exchange of scholars on issues related to India’s external relations and security with a view to derive invaluable inputs for the planning, formulation and implementation of our foreign policy. Policy Planning and Research Division continued issuing Monthly Summary for the Cabinet. The Division also continued to edit and publish the Annual Report of the Ministry. The Report serves as a compendium of India’s interaction with the rest of the world in the political, economic, and cultural fields, including the views of the Government on various facets of international relations. CONSULAR, PASSPORT AND VISA SERVICES During the year 3 new Passport Offices were opened at Amritsar, Dehradun and Coimbatore. All 37 Passport Offices have been computerized and issue machineprinted and machine readable passports. A total of 53.15 lakh passports were issued in 2008-09, an increase of approximately 6.5% % over the corresponding figure in 2007-08. The total revenue generated from all Passport Offices also increased to Rs. 606 crores, an increase of approximately 5.5% over 2007-08 The Ministry has been taking a number of measures to make the processing and issue of passports simpler and quicker for the comfort and convenience of the public. District Passport Cells (DPCs) have been opened at the district level to increase the efficiency of the receiving and verification process. Online submission of passport applications has been introduced in all Passport Offices. Also facilitation Counters

590

India 2010

and Help Desks have also been set up to assist applicants and also to attend to grievances/complaints expeditiously. The Passport Seva Project launched by the Government of India is expected to result in the issue of new passports within three days after police verification and of all other passport services in one day. The Pilot Project is expected to begin at Chandigarh and Bangaluru by July-August 2009. It will be implemented fully to cover the entire country in 2010. The Ministry has successfully implemented the project for centralized printing of Machine Readable Passports (MRPs) at CPV Division, New Delhi in respect of 140 Indian Missions/Posts abroad. All diplomatic and official passports are now being issued as e-passports as part of the pilot project. Based on the experience gained from the pilot project, it is proposed to start issuance of e-passports in the ordinary, category by end 2009. During 2008, visa-waiver agreements were signed with Egypt, EI Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, South Africa and Turkey. Extradition treaties were signed with Brazil, Australia, Iran and Egypt. The attestation and apostille of the documents was also started at branch secretariat offices of the Ministry at Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Guwahati with effect from 15 June 2008. During the year, 1,70,000 personal and educational documents and 1,71,000 commercial documents were attested by the Ministry. In addition to this, 80,000 documents were apostilled for use abroad in the member countries. ADMINISTRATION There are currently 171 resident Indian Missions and Posts abroad. During the year, a resident Indian Mission was opened in iceland, while three new Missions are to be opened in the near future in Niger, Mali, and Guatemala. In order to address the Ministry’s acute constraints of personnel in the face of India’s growing diplomatic responsibilities, a 10-year plan has been developed to induct 514 additional positions in the Ministry in a phased manner. IMPLEMENTATION OF OFFICIAL LANGUAGE POLICY AND PROPAGATION OF HINDI ABROAD World Hindi Day was celebrated on 10 January 2008. Hindi Essay Competition was organized for foreign students studying Hindi at Kendriya Hindi Sansthan, Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University. EXTERNAL PUBLICITY The main activities of the Division were focused on dissemination of information on India’s relations with its immediate neighbours as also with major countries of the world. The Division launched the first phase of the Media Monitoring Project for all users at Headquarters. This is aimed at streamlining the monitoring of media sources for the Ministry. The Project monitors Print, Web and Internet based media in a systematic manner and provides 5 daily products to users on a real time basis. The Division used the opportunities provided by visits of the President of Iran, Mr. Ahamadnejad; President of Syria, Dr. Bashar Al-Assad; President of Egypt, Mr. Hosny Mubarak; Prime Minister of Nepal, Mr. Pushpa Karnal Dahal “Prachanda”; Prime Minister of Bhutan, Mr. Lyonchen Jigmi Y. Thinley and the President of the Russian Federation, Mr. Anatoly Medvedev to articulate India’s position on important bilateral, regional and international issues. The Division also

India and the World

591

arranged joint press interaction with the visiting dignitaries during these visits. Special briefings by the official spokesperson and other senior officials of the Ministry were also held regularly on important international issues of concern to India. Media delegations on President’s visit to Brazil, Medico, Chile, Vietnam and Indonesia; Prime Minister’s visits to Bhutan, Japan (G-8 summit), Sri Lanka (15th SAARC summit), USA and France (UNGA and Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement), China, Oman and Qatar (bilateral); Vice President’s visits to Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan; and the External Affairs, Minister’s visits to Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Russia, Australia, Egypt and USA were facilitated by XP Division. PUBLIC DIPLOMACY PD Division, in order to fulfill its mandate of outreach activities inside and outside India, and audio-visual and print publicity to effectively project India’s Foreign Policy to the wider public, works in collaboration with researchers, think tanks, civil society, media and industry, within India and abroad. Last year, the Division organized a number of seminars and conferences to effectively project India’s foreign policy, and to support Track Two interaction with other countries. A large number of Indian and foreign academics, researchers, senior officials, representatives of industry and the media were involved in the events organized by the Division. Among the major activities of the Division were conferences on our relations with Nepal. Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Ethiopia. The Division also organized conferences on varied themes such as the fallout of the cold war, development of North-East, terrorism and climate change. With a view to familiarize policy and opinion makers from other countries with modern India and our concerns and interests, the Division hosted visits of delegations from the UK, Mauritius, South Africa. Tajikistan and Taiwan, as well as a delegation of PIO journalists from 16 coutnries. The Division commissioned documentaries projecting our interests as also Indian culture and heritage. Some of the documentaries commissioned by the Division were screened at international festivals and awarded special prizes/special mention. The Division’s flagship magazine ‘India Perspectives’ covering a variety of subjects completed twenty years; an anniversary issue and two Special Issues on Indian Publishing and Indian Cinema were brought out. FOREIGN SERVICE INSTITUTE The Government of India established the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) in 1986, primarily to cater to the professional training needs of the Indian Foreign Service of the Ministry of External Affairs. The new building of the Foreign Service Institute was formally inaugurated on 14 November 2007 by Hon’ble Minister of External Affairs, Shri Pranab Mukherjee. FSI has diversified its activities to include courses of interest to staff and officers at all levels of the Ministry of External Affairs, other Civil Services and Foreign Diplomats and Correspondents. FSI organizes and conducts training programmes for MEA Staff, IFS Probationers, Directors and for Joint Secretaries (since 2009), as well as courses for other Civil Services, Foreign Diplomats and Diplomatic Correspondents, The first Mandatory mid-career training programme for Joint Secretary-level IFS officers of the 1979-80 Batches was organised by FSI from 13 April to 1 May, 2009 in collaboration with the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.

592

India 2010

The Training Programmes for the IFS probationers of 2007 and 2008 batches was conducted by FSI between 22007-2009, which included an attachment with IIM, Bangaluru, district training and other field visits. On successful completion of their Training Programme, the Bimal Sanyal Award Ceremony was organized for the probationers of the 2007 batch. IFS probationers of the 2008 batch completed their Mission Orientation Programme in 2009, with 10 probationers visiting Sri Lanka, led by Dean (FSI), and 10 IFS probationers visiting Bhutan. The Professional Course for Foreign Diplomats (PCFD), which is FSI’s main programme for foreign diplomats, was launched in 1992. Around three PCFDs are conducted every year (duration - 4 - 6 weeks). The 47th PCFD was held in FebruaryMarch 2009 and more than 1500 foreign diplomats from over 100 countries have been trained at FSI. An MoU providing institutional framework of cooperation between FSI and its counterpart institute in Ukraine was signed. Delegations from Bangladesh, Romania and China visited FSI. The Second Meeting of Deans of Diplomatic Institutes of IBSA (India-Brazil-South Africa) countries was held at FSI in September, 2008. A Seminar on the subject of “India-Brazil-South Africa Cooperation: Challenges and Opportunities” was also held on this occasion. In response to specific requests from friendly countries, the FSI has also conducted special courses for diplomats from Afghanistan , Canada, Iraq, Laos, Maldives (a Special Course for Diplomats, from Maldives commenced on 14th July, 2009 and will conclude on 12th August, 2009), Norway, Palestine, Sudan and Vietnam. Training programmes for the ASEAN countries have become an annual feature since 2006. In addition to active contacts with specialized institutions and academic bodies in India, FSI has established institutional linkages with 34 counterpart institutions in other countries. Over the last year FSI organized several special lectures by eminent Indian and foreign experts and dignitaries. The Foreign Defence officers attending the 48th Course at National Defence College visited FSI and a lecture was arranged for them. The Abid Hussain Committee, composed of distinguished diplomats and chaired by Shri Abid Hussain, finalized a report in 2009 making useful recommendations on the further upgradation of the Foreign Service Institute. The Foreign Service Institute has career foreign service officers at its core, headed by the Dean, who is of the rank of Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs. FSI has an extensive guest faculty drawn from specialists in the academic and research community, think tanks, other ministries-departments of the Government of India, the media, public life, industry and trade, and retired civil servants. INDIAN COUNCIL OF CULTURAL RELATIONS The primary objective of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations [ICCR] is to establish, revive and strengthen cultural relations and mutual understanding between India and other countries. The Council’s flagship project, the Rabindranath Tagore Centre (RTC) was inaugurated on 1 June 2008 by Shri Pranab mukherjee, former Minister for External Affairs. The Council organized large-scale cultural events with foreign and Indian troupes, on the sidelines of major Summits, such as the India-Africa Summit, IBSA Summit. Arab League Meeting etc. It also coordinated the South Asia Cultural Festival and held cultural programmes for VVIP visitors. A number of festivals were held,

India and the World

593

such as Sufi Music Festival in Srinagar, Malhaar Festival and Festival of Indian Classical Dance by foreign artists residing in India. An important highlight of 2008 was the “Year of Russia in India” which included a series of high-profile cultural performances. In additon, 50 cultural troupes from different countries were hosted by the Council, with performances held in Delhi and other cities. The Council also provided financial support to NGOs and cultural institutions to jointly organize cultural activities. The Council hosted 19 eminent visitors from different countries under the Distinguished Visitors Programme. The twenty-one Indian Cultural Centres abroad continued to vigorously promote India’s ‘Soft Power’. The expanded Cultural Wing of the Indian Embassy in Beijing became functional in the year and preparations were made to open new Cultural Centres in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo and Dhaka. The Council organized a series of cultural festivals abroad in Syria, Egypt, Netherlands, Argentina and Hungary, which included diverse and varied cultural programmes. The ‘Year of India in Russia’ was inaugurated by President, ICCR on 31 March 2009 in Moscow. The Council sponsored 93 cultural delegations which visited 73 countries and also sponsored a number of outstanding artistes abroad and provided travel grants. The Council continued to manage 21 long-term and 12 shortterm Chairs in Indian Studies in various foreign Universities. An important focus area of ICCR has been facilitating admission of foreign students in Indian Universities, In 2008-09, ICCR administered scholarships for approx, 3200 foreign students under various schemes. This included 1778 new scholarships, including 500 scholarships for Afghan students. The Council opened two new Regional Offices at Cuttack and Shillong during the year to enhance its reach to North-east and eastern India. The Council also organized major exhibitions showcasing Indian and foreign art and sculpture; disseminated 6 journals in 5 different languages and also assisted various organizations/institutes in organizing 24 International Conferences in India. President of India presented the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding for 1995 to President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, H.E. Mr. Mohamed Hosny Mubarak on 18th November 2008. The Maulana Abul Kalam Memorial Lecture 2009 was delivered by Mr. Martin Luther King III on the subject “A New Nonviolent Revolution”. INDIAN COUNCIL OF WORLD AFFAIRS Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) continued in 2008 to develop as a think-tank and an important platform for discussions of foreign affairs in India ICWA signed 6 MoUs for bilateral cooperation, viz, with Centre for Strategic Studies (CSS) of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan, New Zealand Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) Wellington, Australian Institute of International Affairs (AIIA) Melbourne, The Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR) Abu Dhabi, Asia Centre of Bangaluru & Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID) Chandigarh. Council sponsored a Joint Study between. India-Central Asia Foundation (ICAF), ICWA and Department of International Relations, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan on “Contemporary Process of Political Modernizing; Experience of Central Asian States and India”. The Council organized 7 lectures, 4 seminars/conferences, 6 bilateral dialogues & 14 background briefings, book release/panel discussions.

594

India 2010

ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE MINISTRY OF OVERSEAS INDIAN AFFAIRS OVERSEAS INDIAN CITIZENSHIP SCHEME The Government launched Overseas Citizenship of India Scheme (OCI Scheme) w.e.f. Dec. 2, 2005 to facilitate life long visa-free travel to India and certain economic education and cultural benefits to Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs). Around 4.56 lakh OCI documents until 31st July have been issued by the Government. OVERSEAS WORKERS RESOURCE CENTRE (OWRC) In order to educate the intending emigrants about the risks involved in irregular migration and the precautions to be taken while seeking overseas employment and to provide need based information to overseas emigrants an Overseas Workers Resource centre (OWRC) has been established. The Centre operates a toll free 24x7 helpline for the purpose. COUNCIL FOR PROMOTION OF OVERSEAS EMPLOYMENT (CPOE) A council for Promotion of Overseas Employment (CPOE) has been established which will serve as a strategic think-tank to conduct market research, identify employment opportunities in the international labour market, disseminate market information to stakeholders, do skill profiling to identify skill gaps and plan appropriate interventions for addressing such gaps, devise strategies to respond to the market dynamics and enable intending emigrants to reap the demographic dividends of globalization. OVERSEAS INDIAN FACILITATION CENTRE (OIFC) An Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre - a Not for Profit Trust - serves as a single window to promote overseas Indian Investment in India to provide a variety of business advisory services to overseas Indians and Knowledge Networking. ESTBLISHING A PIO UNIVERSITY With a view to providing benefits to the children of Overseas Indians by offering courses of international standards the Government has decided to establish PIO/ NRI University at Bangaluru by the Manipal Academy of Higher Education Trust, Manipal. The University will have 50% seats earmarked for PIOs/NRIs and the remaining 50% for resident Indian students. SETTING UP OF OVERSEAS INDIAN CENTRES The Government has approved setting up of three Overseas Indian Centres at Dubai, Kuala-Lumpur and Washington to provide medical, legal and financial counselling to the Overseas India workers. Counsellor (Community Affairs) has already been approved at Abu Dhabi and Washington. India Development Foundation of Overseas Indians India Development Foundation of Overseas Indians, is a not-for-profit trust registered to provide a credible window for Overseas Indian Philanthropy in Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Social development. The objective of the foundation is to facilitate philanthropic activities by Overseas Indians including through innovative projects and instruments such as micro credit for rural entrepreneurs, self-help groups for economic empowerment of women, best practice interventions in primary eduction and technology interventions in rural delivery.

India and the World

595

Global-Indian Network of Knowledge Global Indian Network of Knowledge (Global INK), an electronic platform will connect people of Indian origin from a variety of disciplines including scientists working abroad, recognized as leaders in their respective fields, not just in their country of residence but globally as well, with knowledge users at the national and sub-national levels in India. The network will serve as a strategic ‘virtual think-tank’. The outcome targeted will be the germination of ideas on development, identification of the key elements in addressing the challenges to development and articulating and mapping out solutions through innovation and technological interventions. OVERSEAS INDIANS AND THE MINISTRY OF OVERSEAS INDIAN AFFAIRS India has the second largest diaspora in the world. The Overseas Indian community estimated at over 25 million is spread across every major region in the world. Yet, it is difficult to speak of one great Indian diaspora . The overseas Indian community is the result of different waves of migration over hundreds of years driven by a variety of reasons - mercantilism, colonialism and globalisation. Its early experiences make up a saga of trials, tribulations and the eventual triumph of determination and hard work. In the last three decades of the 20th century the character of migration began to change and a 'new Diaspora’ led by high skilled professionals moving to the western world and semi-skilled contract workers moving to the Gulf, West and South East Asia emerged. The overseas Indian community thus constitutes a diverse heterogeneous and eclectic global community representing different regions, languages, cultures and faiths. The common thread that binds them together is the idea of India and its intrinsic values. Overseas Indians comprise People of Indian Origin (PIO) and NonResident Indians (NRI) and today are amongst the best educated and successful communities in the world. In every part of the world the overseas Indian community is recognised and respected for its hard work, discipline, non interference and for successfully integrating with the local community. Overseas Indians have made significant contributions to the economy of the country of residence and have added in considerable measure to knowledge and innovation. THE MINISTRY AND ITS MANDATE The MOIA is the nodal Ministry for all matters relating to overseas Indians comprising Persons of Indian Orign (PIO), Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCI). The Mission is to promote, nurture and sustain a mutually beneficial and symbolic relationship between Indians and Overseas Indians. To achieve the mission, MOIA is guided by four key principles: l Offer customized solutions to meet the varied expectations of the overseas Indian community l Lend a strategic dimension to India’s engagement with the Diaspora l Tap the investible diasporic community in terms of knowledge and resources l Anchor all diasporic initiatives in the States MOIA has taken up a series of programmes/ initiatives for the betterment of the overseas Indian community. PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS 9th January is recognised as the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, as it was on this day in 1915 that Mahatama Gandhi returned to India from South Africa to launch what

596

India 2010

eventually became India’s successful freedom struggle and inspiration to overseas Indians and people under colonial rule all over the world. The day is celebrated every year as part of Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (PBD) Convention. The PBD is the flagship event of the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs. The sixth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas conference was organized at Chennai on 79 January, 2009 in partnership with the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The Conference included 4 plenary sessions on ‘India as Emerging Power: The Diaspora Factor’, ‘Reflections on Current Economic Crisis-Diaspora concerns’. ‘Diaspora interaction with the States’ and ‘Indian Diaspora: Preservation of language and Culture’. Six Concurrent Sessions on “Building Bridges : Trade & Investment’. ‘Diaspora Philanthropy’, ‘Education & Diaspora Knowledge Network’. Media & Entertainment’. ‘Increased interaction with Diaspora Women’ and Health for All; Role of Diaspora’. and Regional Working Sessions on Gulf, Asia-pacific, Africa, America, Canada, Carribean and Europe were also held as part of the Conference. Around 1800 delegates participated in the Conference from 54 countries of the world. The Conference was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh. Hon’ble President of India Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, conferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards to 13 persons of Indian orign at the Valedictory Session on 9th January. The recipients of the PBSA were selected by a Jury-Cum-Awards Committee chaired by the Ho’ble Vice President of India. The Vice President of Surinam H.E. Ramdieh Sard Joe was the Chief Guest for Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2009. PRAVASI BHARATIYA SAMMAN AWARD (PBSA) The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA) is conferred as part of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD)conferences that have been organized by the Government of India annually since 2003. PBSA is the highest honour conferred on overseas Indians. As per the PBSA guidelines the Award shall be conferred on a Non Resident Indian (NRI), Person of Indian Orign (PIO) or a NRI/PIO organization/institution who has made: l significant contribution towards better understanding abroad of India and support to India’s causes and concerns in a tangible way; l significant contribution for the welfare of diaspora; l notable contribution in philanthropic and charitable work and for social and humanitarian causes in India and abroad; l significant contribution in building closer links between India and its diaspora in the economic, cultural and scientific fields; l eminence in one’s field for outstanding work which has enhanced India’s prestige in the country of residents. or has achieved outstanding eminence in his skills which has enhanced India’s prestige in that country (for non-professional workers). Nominations for the PBSA can be made by the Heads of Indian Diplomatic Missions abroad, Chariman of the Standing Committee of the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, Prominent Overseas associations with nation-wide character (as decided by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs) and past awardees of PBSA.

India and the World

597

81 persons of Indian origin and one PIO organization, namely, National Council of Indian Culture, Trinidad and Tobago have so far been conferred with the Award. MINI-PBD A mini PBD titled ‘PBD Singapore’ was organized on 9-11 October 2008 in Singapore in partnership with the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SICCI) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and support of the Government of Singapore. The tagline for the event was “PBD Singapore: Towards a Dynamic Indian Diaspora”. President Mr. S.R. Nathan, Prime Minister Mr Lee Hsien Long, Deputy Prime Minister, Professor S. Jayakumar, Senior Minister Mr Goh Chok Tong. Minister Mentor Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Senior Minister of State, Mr. S. Iswaran of Singapore participated in the event. Prime Minister of Mauritius and senior ministers form Malaysia also participated apart from Cabinet Ministers Shri Kapil Sibal and Shri Vayalar Ravi. A mini PBD titled “PBD Europe” is being organized in Netherlands on 19th September, 2009. OVERSEAS CITIZENSHIP OF INDIA (OCI) SCHEME In response to persistent demands for ‘dual citizenship’ particularly from the Diaspora in North America and other developed countries and keeping in view the Government’s deep commitment towards fulfilling the aspirations and expectations of Overseas Indians, the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) Scheme was introduced by amending the Citizenship Act, 1955 in August 2005. The Schemes was launched during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2006 at Hyderabad. The Scheme provides for registration as Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) of all Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) who were citizens of India or were eligible to become citizens of India on 26th January, 1950 or thereafter except who is or had been a citizen of Pakistan, Bangladesh or such other country as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify. A registered Overseas Citizen of India is granted multiple entry, multipurpose, life-long visa for visiting India, he/she is exempted from registration with Foreign Regional Registraton Officer or Foreign Registration Officer for any length of stay in India, and is entitled to parity with Non-Resident Indians in respect of all facilities available to them in economic, financial and educational fields except in matters relating to the acquisition of agricultural or plantation properties. The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs is empowered to notify grant of further benefits to OCIs. It has since notified that OCIs shall be treated at par with resident Indian nationals in the matter of tariffs in air fares in domestic sectors, within India, entry fees to visit national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in India and with NonResident Indian nationals in the matter of Inter-country adoption of Indian children. Around 2, 81,000 persons of Indian origin have been registered as OCIs by middle of July, 2008. Since 5th January, 2009, OCIs have also been granted parity with non-resident Indians in respect of; (i) (ii)

entry fees for visiting the 3 national monuments, historical sites and mu seums in India; practicing the following professions in India, in pursuance of the provi sions contained in the relevant Acts, namely; (a) doctors, dentists, nurses and pharmacist;

598

India 2010

(b) advocates; (c) architects; (d) chartered accountants; (iii) Entitlement to appear for the All India Pre-Medical Test or such other tests to make them eligible for admission in pursuance of the provisions contained in the relevant Acts. Respective Ministries/Departments/agencies of the Government of India have been requested to make necessary provision in their rules and regulations to give effect to the notification. OCI is not be to misconstrued as a ‘dual citizenship’. OCI does not confer political rights. Detailed instruction and procedures on the OCI Scheme are given in the MHA’s website: www.mha.nic.in. Around 4.56 lakhs persons of Indian origin have been registered as OCIs upto 31st July, 2009. SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMME FOR DIASPORA CHILDREN Launched in the academic year 2006-07, the scheme seeks to promote India as a destination of choice for tertiary studies by children of our overseas community and thus develop India as an educational hub globally. At present 100 scholarships are offered to PIO and NRI children for undergraduate courses in Engineering, Technology, Humanities, Liberal Arts, Commerce, Management, Journalism, Hotel Management, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry etc. Over 205 students have benefitted so far under the Scheme where the Ministry meets upto 75% of the total institutional economic cost (which includes tution fee, hostel charges, etc.) within a ceiling of US $3600 per student per academic session. Deserving candidates are selected through a common entrance test conducted by Ed. CIL in forty identified countries with significant diaspora population. ESTABLISHMENT OF A PIO/NRI UNIVERSITY Keeping in view with the recommendations made by the High Level Committee on the Indian Diaspora (HLCID) and commitment given at the highest level the Govt. has approved establishment of a PIO/NRI University for the benefit of children of overseas Indians. The University will have the status of ‘Deemed University' under Section 3 of the UGC Act. The University is being set up by the Manipal Academy of Higher Education Trust, Manipal at Bangaluru, Karnataka. Proposals have also been received for setting up four more PIO/NRI Universities in different cities in India (other than Bangaluru) in response to an advertisement calling for Expressions of Interest for this purpose. KNOW INDIA PROGRAMME The Minstry is organizing 2-3 Know India Programmes (KIP) each year. Earlier known as Internship Programme for Diaspora Youth (IPDY); it is an Orientation Programme to acquaint the young overseas Indians, in the age group of 18-26 years, with the developments taking place in India in the industrial, scientific, academic, and other sectors and to expose them to various facets of the way of life in India, composite character of India and to let them interact with youth from different parts of the country. The objective is to bring the young overseas Indians closer to the land of their ancestors and to bond with the contemporary India. Under this Programme,

India and the World

599

participants are invited from 39 major diaspora countries for a three week programme which also includes calls on the President of India, Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs, Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports and others. Eight such programmes have been conducted so far. The 11th KIP was held from 21.3.09 t0 12.4.09. 34 diaspora youth from 11 countries took part in it. So far, a total of 235 youth have benefited from this programme. TRENDS IN EMIGRATION There are about five million overseas Indian workers all over the world. More than 90% of these workers are in the Gulf countries and Southeast Asia. During 2007 approximately 8.09 lakh workers migrated from India after due emigration clearance, out of these approximately 3.12 lakh, 1.95 lakh, 95,000, 88,000 and 48,000 workers went to UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait respectively. Tamilnadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh were the leading sourcing states. Major outflow of emigrant workers in the last few years from India has been to the Gulf countries where about four million workers are estimated to be employed. A vast majority of migrants to the Middle East, including Gulf countries are semiskilled and unskilled workers and most of them are temporary migrants who return to India after expiry of their contractual employment. There has been a consistent and steady increase in the number of persons emigrating for employment abroad from the year 2003 onwards. The number of emigration clearances granted by the eight offices of the Protector of Emigrants has increased from 4.66 lakh in 2003 to 8.09 lakh in 2007. U.A.E. is the main destination for Indian workers followed by Saudi Arabia. Outside the Gulf region, the intake of Indian manpower by Malayasia has shown a significant and consistent increase till 2005. There is considerable decline noticed in 2006 and 2007. Employment for Indian workers in these countries holds a great potential. PRE-DEPARTURE ORIENTATION AND SKILL UPGRADATION FOR EMIGRANT WORKERS The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs launched a scheme during 2006-07 to bring the skill level of potential emigrants at par with the overseas labour market requirement and to equip them with a basic knowledge about laws, language and culture of the destination country. During 2007-08 the scheme has been expanded to include more implementing agencies such as Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, CII, FICCI, ASSOCHAM and NGOs. The scheme 'Operation-cum-Skill Up-gradation Scheme for Potential Emigrants' has been further modified and per unit expenditure has been increased to Rs. 5500/ from the earlier limit of Rs. 1350/-. Now as per the modified guidelines, the Scheme is 100% funded by the Central Government. Last year, Rs. 5.00 crores was released to State Governments etc. for organising training programme. SETTING UP OF OVERSEAS INDIAN CENTRES The Government has approved setting up of three Overseas Indian Centres at Dubai, Kuala Lumpur and Washington to provide medical, legal and financial Counselling to the Overseas Indian Workers. Three posts of Counsellor-Community Affairs (Development) have been sanctioned in the Indian Missions at Washington, Dubai

600

India 2010

and Kuala Lumpur as field Organizations of MOIA in those countries. The Counsellor at Washington will look after the interests of the Overseas Indian community in the USA and Canada, the one in Dubai will cover the Gulf countries, and the Counsellor at Kuala Lumpur will look after Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. The Counsellors will be supported by professionals to be appointed locally to provide assistance in the fields of health, legal and financial matters. Based on the experiences of these offices extension of these services to other countries will also be considered. The Counsellor (Communals Affairs) had already taken over the change in Abu-Dhabi and Washington and the Centres have become functional. BILATERAL MoUs ON MANPOWER The problems of Indians in the Gulf include non-payment or delay of wages, harsh working and living conditions, substitution of contracts, retention of passport, cheating by intermediaries, physical abuse and sexual exploilation etc. Protecting emigrants against such malpractices require bilateral cooperation in the field of manpower deployment. India had signed labour agreement with Jordan and Qatar in 1980s. An additional protecol to the existing labour agreement between India & Qatar has recently been signed in November 2007 to take care of mutual concerns. To protect the Indian workers and ensure their well-being the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs planned to sign MoUs with UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and Malaysia. Saudi Arabia has not yet agreed to negotiate the MoU. In General, the fololowing broad principles have been built into the MoUs: 1. Declaration of mutual intent to enhance employment opportunities and for bilateral cooperation in protection and welfare of workers. 2. Statement of the broad procedure that the foreign employer shall follow to recruit Indian workers. 3. A Joint Working Group to be constituted to ensure implementation of the MoU and to meet regularly to find solutions to bilateral labour problems. 4. The recruitment and terms of employment to be in conformity with both the countries. BILATERAL SOCIAL SECURITY PACTS Most of the developed countries have an umbrella social security system mandated by law. It is funded through mandatory contribution in the form of tax from all working people and their employers (in a prescribed ratio) in order to provide multiple benefits like old age pension, survivorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pension, disability pension, health insurance and employment insurance etc. Typically this social security tax is in the form of the fixed percentage of income subject to a maximum lumpsum limit. All expatriate workers are also required to pay social security tax as per the law of that country. Often the Indian workers who are posted to these countries by their employers in India continue to make social security contribution in India as per the Indian law and yet they are compelled to pay social security contribution in the host country. Indian workers often do not get any benefit from the social security contribution paid abroad after they return to India on completion of the term of contract because most countries do not allow export of social security benefits. Similarly the self-employed

India and the World

601

Indians working in these countries despite having made contribution throughout their active life are deprived of social security benefits in case they relocate to India in old age, which is often the case. Often the host countries have a minimum contribution period under the law and so the worker does not become eligible to social security benefits. If he stays and pays in the host country for a lesser period, he looses the entire contribution. Another disadvantage is that due to the high rate of social security tax, the Indian companies become less competitive while bidding for projects in these countries. Bilateral social security agreements can on reciprocal basis protect the interests of such workers by exempting the posted workers from social security contribution under the host country legislation (provided the worker is covered under the home country social security system and continues to pay the contribution under that system during the period of posting abroad) and by proving for exportability of pension for the other categories of workers who have to pay social security contribution under the host country legislation. In order to prevent loss of contribution on account of the minimum contribution period, they provide for totalization of contribution periods under both the legislations. Such agreements also make companies of both contracting States more competitive since exemption from social security contribution in respect of their employees substantially reduces costs. Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs has recetly signed a bilateral social security agreement with Belgium. The Indo-Belgian agreement provides for the following benefits to Indians working in Belgium on reciprocal basis: 1.

Those posted to Belgium for upto sixty months will be exempted from social security contributions under the Belgian law provided they continue to make social security payments in India.

Those who have to contribute under the Belgian law will be entitled to the export of the social security benefits should they relocate to India or a third country on completion of their contract or on retirement.

These benefits will also be available to Indian workers posted by an Indian company to Belglum from a third country.

Self-employed Indians in Belgium contributing under the Belgian social security system will be entitled to the export of social security benefits should they choose to relocate to India or a third country.

Periods of employment in both the countries will be totalized in order to determine the eligibility for pension.

Indian companies will become more competitive in Belgium since exemption from social security contribution in respect of their employees substantially reduces costs.

The Bilateral Social Security agrement have also been signed with France and Germany. The Ministry has negotiated and finalized similar agreements with the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Republic of Hungary which will be signed shortly. Negotiations are in progress with Canada, Australia, Denmark and Sweden. The process has been initiated with several other countries. Two rounds of exploratory talks have been held with US too.

602

India 2010

INSURANCE OF EMIGRANTS On the occasion of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in 2003, the Government had announced the compulsory Insurance Scheme for the emigrants going abroad for employment. In pursuance of this announcement, a compulsory insurance scheme known as Pravasi Bharatiya Bima Yojana (PBBY) 2003 came into force from 25.12.2003. The PBBY, 2003 has now been upgraded as the Pravasi Bhartiya Bima Yojana, 2006 to provide broader coverage to the emigrant workers. The PBBY, 2006 has come into effect from 01.02.2006. The scheme has been further upgrated to provide more benefit to the emigrant workers vide order dated 28.2.2008. The emigrant workers will now get a minimum insurance cover of Rs. 10 lakh (instead of Rs. 5 lakh) and the policy will be for the entire period of employment contract. An additional cover of Rs. 30,000/- for the legal expenses incurred by the emigrants in connection with their employment has also been included. The scheme also covers medical expenses upto Rs. 75,000 and maternity benefit of Rs 25,000. INDIAN COUNCIL FOR OVERSEAS EMPLOYMENT The Ministry has established a Council for Promotion of Overseas Employment, renamed as Indian Council for Overseas Employment (ICOE) which will serve as a think-tank to conduct market studies, identify employment opportunities overseas, develop skills to match the market demand, devise strategies to respond to the dynamic international labour market and enable the Indian workers to reap the demographic dividends of globalization. The Council has been constituted as a Registered Society under the Societies Registration Act. 1860. WELFARE FUND The Ministry has set up â&#x20AC;&#x153;Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF)â&#x20AC;? at the disposal of the Indian Missions in all the ECR countries to meet contingency expenditure incurred by the Indian Missions for carrying out the activities related to welfare of Overseas Indian Citizens. Under this scheme, the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs will provide funding support to the Indian Missions in all the 17 Emigration Clearance Required (ECR) Countries for the welfare of the workers in distress in the host countries. The proposed fund will be specifically aimed at providing the following services on the means tested basis. (i)

Boarding and lodging for distressed overseas Indians in Household/domestic sectors and unskilled labourers; (ii) Airlifting of mortal remains to India or local cremation/burial of the deceased overseas Indian in such cases where a sponsor is unable or unwilling to do so as per the contract and the family is unable to meet the cost; (iii) Extending emergency medical care to the overseas Indians in need; (iv) Providing air passage to stranded overseas Indians in need; (v) Providing initial legal assistance to the overseas Indians in deserving cases. LABOUR MOBILITY PARTNERSHIPS A labour Mobility Partnership can lay down an effective framework for bilateral cooperation for maximizing benefits from labour mobility and minimizing its risks. It can also effectively address the concerns of the countries of destination such as irregular migration and integration problems. It provides an opportunity to both partners to jointly develop and implement good practices in labour migration.

India and the World

603

The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs is taking earnest steps for forging labour mobility partnerships with key countries of destination in the European Union. Recently an MoU has been negotiated with Denmark to forge labour partnership. The Ministry has initiated the process for negotiating labour mobility agreements with Sweden and France too. Since India and the EU countries have complementary needs, the proposed Labour Mobility Partnership (LMP) will immensely help both sides. The Ministry is taking steps to negotiate an Indo-EU partnership as well. OVERSEAS INDIAN FACILITATION CENTRE (OIFC) The Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre (OIFC) is a not-for-profit-trust, in partnership with Confederation of India Industry (CII). The Centre serves as a ‘one stop shop’ for the Overseas Indian community and has the mandate to cover two broad areas viz: Investment Facilitation and Knowledge Networking. The objectives of the Centre are: l Promote Overseas Indian investment into India and facilitate business partnership, by giving authentic and real time information. l Function as clearinghouse for all investment related information. This would be done by precessing information on a real time basis through ICT platform. l Establish and maintain a Diaspora knowledge network (DKN) by creating a database of Overseas Indian who would act as knowledge diaspora and whose knowledge resources could be using ICT platform. l Assist States in India to project investment opportunities to overseas Indians in the infrastructure and social sectors. The objectives of the OIFC will be to bring the Indian States, Indian Business and potential Overseas Investors on the same platform and to facilitate the investors to identify the investment opportunities. l Provide a host of advisory services to PIO and NRIs. These could include matters such as consular questions, stay in India, investment and financial issues etc. During 2008, OIFC organized a market place in Mini PBD at Singapore. One to one meetings were held with the prospective investors. A similar market place was also organized in Chennai at PBD 2009. To achieve the objective of bringing investment to India, OIFC planned to organize 'Investors Interactive Meetings’ in eight regions showing a range of exclusive products and projects from the India Corporate to Overseas Indian investment in real estate wealth management, health care etc. The regions identified are Middle East, South Africa, Australia, UK, Netherlands, Canada, USA, and Malaysia. First such meet was held in November 2008 in Oman. It had positive response on the prospective Investors. OIFC also brought out updated publications - Hand book for Overseas Indians and compendium on the investment opportunities in India for the benefits of the Overseas Indians. INDIA DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION OF OVERSEAS INDIANS Health care India Development Foundation of Overseas Indians, is a not-for-profit trust registered by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, Government of India to provide a credible window for Overseas Indian Philanthropy in India’s Social

604

India 2010

development. The objective of the foundation is to facilitate philanthropic activities by Overseas Indians including through innovative projects and instruments such as micro credit for rural entrepreneurs, self help groups for economic empowerment of women, best practice interventions in primary education and technology interventions in rural delivery The foundation is at ‘arms length’ from Government and is managed by an eminent Board of Trustees. The mandate of the foundation is to lead Overseas Indians philanthropic capital into India’s Social Sector by forging partnerships between donors and credible non-government and non-profit voluntary organizations working in the Social Sector in India. The broad objectives of the Trust are: 1.

Lead overseas Indian philanthropy into India, facilitate partnershipsthrough single window facilitation and by building public private partnerships.

Establish and maintain a ‘Social Capital and Philanthropy Network’ in India that can provide a list of credible institutions, projects and programmes.

3. 4.

Function as a clearinghouse for all philanthropy related information. Partner with states in India and encourage credible Indian philanthropic organizations to project social development opportunities to overseas Indians in the sectors that best match national priorities including empowerment of rural women.

Promote accountability and ‘good practices’ in Diaspora philanthropy GlobalIndian Network of Knowledge (Global INK) The emergence of significant diasporas across the world has in recent years brought into sharp focus two key facts. First, there is a large expatriate population of skilled people from emerging economies in the developed world. Second, that overseas communities can and do constitute a significant resource for me development of the countries of origin. The movement of the high skilled and low skilled workers from less to more developed economies and back opens several new opportunities for development. While the movement of educated, skilled and trained people was for long seen as ‘brain drain’. increasingly countries of origin are beginning to recognize that their diasporas represent knowledge in diverse fields and that this knowledge reservoir can be drawn upon as ‘brain gain’. The focus must be on establishing an institutional framework for sustainable engagement to lead the knowledge, expertise, skills and resources of the vast and diverse overseas Indian community into home country development efforts. Such a framework will pull in the Diaspora as ‘Knowledge’ partners, the institutions in India as ‘Stakeholder’ partners and the Government as a ‘Facilitator’. Towards this end, establishing a ‘Global Indian Knowledge Network’- a dynamic electronic platform for knowledge transfer - supported by a programme of training and visits by the overseas Indian knowledge partners would give a fillip to knowledge exchange between the Diaspora and India. The key objective of this exchange will be to draw upon the eclectic knowledge base of the Indian Diaspora and deploy technology and innovation across sectors and geographies in India through well designed projects with targeted and measurable outcomes.

India and the World

605

To meet the above objective Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs has undertaken an initiative to develop a Diaspora knowledge network called Global-Indian Knowledge Network of Knowledge (Global INK) Global Indian Network of Knowledge (Global INK), an electronic platform will connect people of Indian Origin from a variety of disciplines including scientists working abroad, recognized as leaders in their respective fields, not just in their country of residence but globally as well, with knowledge users at the national and sub-national levels in India. The network will serve as a strategic â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;virtual think-tankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. The outcome targeted will be the germination of ideas on development, identification of the key elements in addressing the challenges to development and articulating and mapping out solutions through innovation and technological interventions.

India 2010

606

19 Industry INDIA started her quest for industrial development after Independence in 1947. The Industrial Policy Resolution of 1948 marked the beginning of the evolution of the Indian Industrial Policy. The Resolution not only defined the broad contours of the policy; it delineated the role of the State in industrial development both as an entrepreneur and as authority. Successive policy resolutions also reiterated this basic tilt in favour of the public sector. The Industrial Policy Resolution of 1956 gave the public sector a strategic role in the economy. It categorised industries which would be the exclusive responsibility of the State or would progressively come under State control and others. Earmarking the pre-eminent position of the public sector, it envisaged private sector coexisting with the State and thus attempted to give the policy frame work flexibility. The Industrial Policy initiatives undertaken by the Government since July 1991 have been designed to build on the past industrial achievements and to accelerate the process of making Indian industry internationally competitive. It recognises the strength and maturity of the industry and attempts to provide the competitive stimulous for higher growth. The thrust of these initiatives has been to increase the domestic and external competition through extensive application of market mechanisms and facilitating forging of dynamic relationship with foreign investors and suppliers of technology. The process of reform has been continuous. STRUCTURAL REFORMS INDUSTRIAL LICENSING POLICY With the introduction of the New Industrial Policy (NIP) in 1991, a substantial programme of deregulation has been undertaken. Industrial licensing has been abolished for most items. In August 2008, the Department has also taken a decision to remove the licensing requirement under the Industries (Development & Regulation) Act, 1951 for location of industries. As a result, now the Industrial licensing is required in the following cases only: a)

for manufacture of an item under compulsory licensing, or

when an item reserved for small scale sector is intended to be manufactured by an undertaking. Presently Industrial licensing is required only for the following 5 industries related to security, strategic and environmental concerns: (i)

distillation and brewing of alcoholic drinks

(ii)

cigars and cigarettes of tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes;

(iii)

electronic aerospace and defence equipments all types;

(iv)

industrial explosives including detonating fuses, safety fuses, gun powder, nitrocellulose and matches;

(v)

Specifies hazardous chemicals i.e. (i) Hydrocyanic acid and its derivatives, (ii) Phosgene and its derivatives and (iii) Isocyanates & disocyanates of hydrocarbon, or else where specified (example Methyl isocyanate)

Industry

607

Indus tries not covered under compulsory licensing are required to file an Industrial Entrepreneurs Memorandum (IEM) to Secretarial for industrial Assistance (SIA), provided the value of investment on plant and machinery of such unit is above Rs. 10 crore. A significant number of industries had earlier been reserved for public sector. The policy has been liberalised progressively and presently the areas reserved for the public sector are : (a) atomic energy; (b) the substances specified in the schedule to the notification of the Government of India in the Department of Atomic Energy number S.O.212(E), dated the 15th March, 1995, and (c) railway transport. The Government continues to provide protection to the small scale sector, interalia, through the policy of reserving of items for exclusive manufacture in the small scale sector. Recently Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Act 2006 has been enacted by the Government. In this Act, investment limit for Micro Enterprises, Small Enterprises and Medium Enterprises have been prescribed as Rs. 10 Lakh, Rs. 5 crore and 10 crore respectively. Industrial undertakings other than the small scale industrial undertakings engaged in the manufacture of items reserved for exclusive manufacture in the small scale sector are required to obtain an industrial license and undertaken export obligation of 50 per cent of their annual production. However, the condition of licensing is not applicable to such industrial undertakings operating under 100% Export Oriented Under takings Scheme, the Export Processing.

ZONE

AND

THE

SPECIAL

ECONOMIC

ZONE

SCHEMES

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT (FDI) Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is a means to supplement domestic investments and bridge the investment-savings gap. The role of FDI in the upgradation of technology, skills and managerial capabilities is now well accepted. Additional investments over and above the investments possible with the available domestic resources help in providing much needed employment opportunities. Government has put in place a liberal and investor-friendly policy for FDI under which FDI up to 100% is permitted under the automatic route in most activities/ sectors. The policy on FDI is reviewed on an on going basis. Initiatives in policy liberalization during the past two years include enhancement of FDI cap in domestic airlines, telecom services, permitting FDI in FM Radio broadcating and other procedural simplification measures. Review of the FDI policy is a continuous ongoing process. During the year 2007-08, the policy was reviewed and the following measures notified: Change of route : Credit Information Companies : FDI +FII has been allowed up to 49% investment by Registered FII under PIS will be limited to 24% only in the CICs listed at the Stock Exchanges with the overall limit of 49% foreign investment through FIPB route for Credit Information Companies. FII investment will be subject to the conditions.

608

India 2010

Industry

609

(a)

No single entity should directly or indirectly hold more than 10% equity.

(b)

Any acquisition in excess of 1% will have to be reported to RBI as a reporting requirement; and

(c)

FIIs investing in CICs shall not seek a representation on the Board of Directors based upon their shareholding.

Commodity Exchanges : FDI+FII has been allowed up to 49% iinvestment by Registered FII under PIS will be limited to 23% and investment under FDI scheme limited to 26% thorugh FIPB route for Commodity Exchanges subject to the conditions that : FII purchases shall be restricted to secondary market only. No foreign investor/entity, including persons action in concert, will hold more than 5% of the equity in these companies. Industrial Parks : FDI has been allowed 100% on the automatic route in Industrial Parks both setting up and in established Industrial Parks. Subject to conditions in Press Note 2(205) applicable for construction development projects would not apply provided the Industrial Parks meet with the under mentioned conditions: (i)

It would comprise of a minimum of 10 units and no single unit shall occupy more than 50% of the allocable area;

(ii)

The minimum percentage of the area to be allocated for industrial activity shall not be less than 66% of the total allocable area.

CIVIL AVIATION SECTOR (i) Airports : (a)

FDI has been allowed up to 100% on the automatic route in Greenfield projects subject to sectoral regulations notified by Ministry of Civil Aviation.

(b)

FDI has been allowed up to 100% on FIPB route beyond 74% in Existing projects subject to sectoral regulations notified by Ministry of Civil Aviation.

(ii)

Air Transport Services including Domestic Scheduled Passenger Airlines; NonSchedules Airlines; Chartered Airlines; Cargo Airlines; Helicopter and Seaplane Services :

(a)

FDI has been allowed up to 49% (100% for NRI Iinvestment) on automatic route in scheduled Air Transport Services/Domestic Scheduled Passenger Airline subject to no direct or indirect participation by foreign airlines and sectoral regulations.

(b)

FDI has been allowed up to 74% (100% for NRIs investment) on automatic route in Non-Scheduled Air Transport Service/Non-scheduled airlines, Chartered airlines, and Cargo airlines subject to no direct or indirect participation by foreign airlines in Non-Scheduled and Chartered airlines. Foreign airlines are allowed to participate in the equity of companies operating Cargo airlines. Also subject to sectoral regulations.

(c)

FDI has been allowed up to 100% on automatic route in helicopter Services/ Seaplane services, requiring DGCA approval subject to foreign-airlines are allowed to participate in the equiy of companies operating helicopter and seaplane airlines. Also subject to sectora l guidelines.

India 2010

610 (iii)

Other Services under Civil Aviation Sector

(a)

FDI has been allowed up to 74% (100% for NRIs investment) on automatic route in Ground Handling Services subject to sectoral regulations and security clearance.

(b)

FDI has been allowed up to 100% on automatic route in maintenance and repair organizations; flying training institutes; and technical training institutions.

PETROLEUM & NATURAL GAS SECTOR (a)

FDI has been allowed up to 49% in case of PSUs on FIPB route and 100% in cse of Private companies on automatic route in Refining Sector subject to sectoral policy and no divestment or dilution of domestic equity in the existing PSUs.

(b)

FDI has been allowed up to 100% on automatic route in other than refining and including market study and formulation; investment/financing setting up inifrastructure for marketing in Petroleum & Natural Gas Sector subject to sector regulations issued by Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas.

MINING OF TITANIUM BEARING MINERALS AND ORES FDI has been allowed up to 100% on automatic route in mining and mineral separation of titanium bearing minerals and ores, its value addition and integrated activities subject to sectoral regulations and the Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Act, 1957 and the following conditions : (i)

Value addition facilities are set-up within India along with transfer of technology;

(ii)

Disposal of tailing during the mineral separation shall be carried out in accordance with regulations framed by the Automic Energy Regulatory Board such as Atomic Energy (Radiation Protection) Rules 2004 and the Atomic Energy (Safe Disposal of Radioactive Wastes) Rules 1987.

The details of present FDI policy are as under : POLICY ON FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT (FDI) (31st March 2008) I.

Sectors prohibited for FDI i.

Retail Trading (except single brand product retailing)

ii.

Automic Energy

iii.

Lottery Business

iv.

Gambling and Betting

Business of chit fund

vi.

Nidhi Company

vii.

Trading in Transferable Development Rights (TDRs)

viii. Activity/Sector not opened to private sector investment. II.

Sector-specific policy for FDI

In the following sectors/activities, FDI is allowed up-to the limit indicated as per Annexure A and Annexure A-1 as indicated from next page onward;

AGRICULTURE

Floriculture, Horticulture, Development of Seeds, Animal Husbandry, Pisciculture, Aqua-culture and Cultivation of Vegetables & Mushrooms under controlled conditions and sevices related to agro and allied sectors.

Tea Sector including tea plantation Note : Besides the above, FDI is not allowed in any other plantation sector/ activity

INDUSTRY

MINING

Mining covering exploration and mining of diamonds & precious stones; gold, silver and minerals.

Coal & Lignite mining for captive consumption by power projects, and iron & steel, cement, production and other eligible activities permitted under the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973

IIA

Note : Besides the above, FDI is not allowd in any other agriculture sector/ activity.

Sector/Activity

Sr. No.

100%

FDI

Cap/Equity

Route

Automatic

FIPB

Automatic

Entry

conditions

Subject to provisions of Coal Mines (Nationalization) Act, 1973 www.coal.nic in

Subject to Mines & Minerals (Development & Regulation) Act, 1957 www.mines.nic.in Press Note 18 (1998) and Press Note I (2005) are not applicable for setting up 100% owned subsidiaries in so far as the mining sector is concerned subject to a declaration from the applicant that he has no existing joint venture for the same area and or the particular mineral.

Subject to divestment of 26% equity in favour of Indian partner Indian public within 5 years and prior approval of State Government concerned in case of any change in future land use

Other

Annexure-A

Industry 611

Alcohol Distillation & Brewing

Cigars & Cigarettes Manufacture

Coffee & Rubber processing & warehousing

Defence

Hazardous Chemicals, viz., hydrocyanic acid and its derivatives, phosgene and its derivatives, and isocyanates and diisocyantes of hydrocarbon

Industrial explosives Manufacture

Drugs & Pharmaceuticals including those involving use of recombinant DNA technology

10.

11.

12.

production

MANUFACTURING

100%

26%

100%

Automatic

FIPB

Automatic

FIPB

Automatic

Subject to Industrial licence under Industries (Development & Regulation) Act, 1951 and regulations under Explosives Act, 1898

Subject to industrial lilcence under the Industries (Development & Regulation Act, 1951 and other sectoral regulations.

Subject to liceising under industries (Development & Regulation) Act, 1951 and guidelines on TDI in production of arms & ammunition

Subject to industrial license under the Industries (Development & Regulation Act, 1951)

Subject to licence by appropriate authority

i. value addition facilitate are set up within India along with transfer of technology. ii. Disposal of tailing duirng the mineral separation shall be carried out in accordance with regulations framed by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board such Atomic Energy (Radiation Protection) Rules 2004 and the Atomic Energy (Safe Disposal of Radioactive Wastes) Rules 1987

Subjec to sectoral sector and the Mines and

Note : FDI will not be allowed in mining of "prescribed substances" listed in Government of India notification No. S.O. 61(E) dt. 18.1.2006 issued by the Department of Atomic Energy under the Atomic Energy Act, 1962

FIPB

Minerals (Development & Rajasthan) Act 1957 and the following form :

100%

titanium bearing minerals and ores, its value addition and integrated activities

Mining and mineral separation of

IIB

612 India 2010

SERVICES

CIVIL AVIATION SECTOR Airports : Greenfield projects

Existing

Transport

Seaplane

Air

and

III

14 (i) a.

(ii)

Other services under Civili Aviation Sector

Ground

Maintenance and Repair organizations; flying training institutes; and technical training institutions

(iii)

Services

Helicopter Service/Seaplane requiring DGCA approval

Handling

Passenger

100%

74%-FDH 100% for NRIs Investment

100%

Automatic

Non-Schedules

FIPB beyond 74%

Automatic

Airliines;

74%-FDI 100%-for NRIs investment

Non-Scheduled Air Transport Service/Non-Scheduled Airlines, Chartered airlines, and Cargo airlines

services

Scheduled

49% -FDI: 100% for NRI investment

Scheduled Air Transport Services/ Domestic Scheduled Passenger Airline

Domestic

100%

Services

including

Power including generation (except Autmic energy); transmission, distribution and Power Trading

proejcts

POWER

IIC

Airlines;

Cargo

Airlines;

Subject to sectoral regulation and security clearance.

Foreign airlines are allowed to participate in the equity of companies operating Helicopter and seaplane airlines. Also subject to sectoral regulations.

Subject to no direct or indirect participation by foreign airlines in Non-Scheduled and Chartered airlines. Foreign airlines are allowed to participate in the equity of companies operating Cargo airlines. Also subject to sectoral regulations.

Subject to not direct or indirect participaton by foreign airlines and sectoral regulations.

Airlines; Chartered Helicopter

Subject to sectoral regulations notified by Ministry of Civil Aviation www.civil.aviation.nic in

Subject to sectoral regulations notified by Ministry of Civil Aviation www.civil.aviation.nic.in

subject to provisions of the Electricity Act, 2003 www.powermin.nic.in

Industry 613

18.

Broadcasting:

17.

Reconstruction

Financial

foreign

banks

issued

Commodity

Exchanges

acting in concert will hold more than 5% of the equity in these companies.

to 23% and investment under FDI Scheme limited to 26%

No foreign investor entity, including persons

market only.

FII purchases shall be restricted to secondary

FII under PIS will be limited

FIPB

Information & Broadcasting www.mib.nic.in

Investment by Registered

49% (FDI-FII)

FIPB

Subject to guidelines issued by Ministry of

100%

f. Up-linking a Non-News & Current

Affairs TV Channel

Information & Broadcasting www.mib.nic.in

Subject to guidelines issued by Ministry of

FIPB

Affairs TV Channel

26% FDI-FII

Subject to Up-linking Policy notified by Ministry

e. Up-linking a News & Current

FIPB

of Information & Broadcasting www.mib.nic.in

49% (FDI-FII)

Information

such as up-linking HUB, etc.

d. Setting up hardware facililties

Information & Broadcasting www.mib.nic in

not to exceed 20%

Ministry

Subject to guidelines issued by Ministry of

Broadcasting www.mib.nic. in

Notified

this limit. FDI component

RBI

Subject to Cable Television Network Rules (1994)

Information & Broadcasting www.mib.nic.in

Subject to Guidelines notified by Ministry of

www.rbi.org.in

subsidiaries

Subject to guidelines for setting up branches/

2002 should be complied with www.fromin.nic.in

Assets and Enforcement of Security Internet Act

and

the equity, provision of Section 3(3)(f) of

Securitization

Where any individual investment exceeds 10%

49% (FDI-FII) Within

FIPB

Automatic

FIPB

c. Direct-to-Home

upto 20%

FDI+FII investment

74% (FDI-FH)

49% (only FDI)

49% (FDI+FH)

sector

Companies

b. Cable network

a. FM Radio

Banking-Private

16.

Reconstruction

Asset

15.

614 India 2010

21.

20.

19.

Credit Information Companies

Information Companies (Regulation) Act, 2005., FII investment will be subject to the conditions that (a) No single entity should directly or indirectly hold more than 10% equity (b) Any acquisition in excess of 1% will have to reported to RBI as a reporting requirement, and

Registered FII under PIS will be limited to 24% only in the CICs listed at the Stock Exchanges within the overall limit of 49% foreign investment.

upon their shareholding.

Foreign Investment in CIC will be subject to Credit

49% (FDI+FII) Investment by F I P B

exclusively reserved for the State www.indiapost.gov.in

Subject to existing laws and exclusion of activity relating to distribution of letters which is

FIPB

come within the ambit of the Indian Post Office Act, 1898.

100%

(2005) are not applicable.

Hospitals, conditions mentioned in Press Note 2

mentioned to Press Note 2/2005 are not applicable. Note 2 : For Investment in SEZs, Hotels &

Note 1 : For investment by NRIs, the conditions

and any of the above in case of a combination project.

sq mts. in case of construction development project

project : 10 hectares in case of development of serviced housing plots, and built-up area of 50,000

parcels and other items which do not

Courier Services for carrying packages,

within six months of commencement of business of the Company. b. Minimum area to be developed under each

joint venture. The funds would have to be brought

Note : FDI is not allolwed in Real Estate Business

subject to conditions notified vide Press Note 2

level infrastructure, townships.

Automatic

a. minimum captalization of US$ 10 million for wholly owned subsidiaries and US$ 5 million for

100% (2005 Series) including :

Projects,

resorts, educational institutions, recerational facilities, city and regional

Development

including housing, commercial premises,

Construction

Industry 615

Merchant

Underwriting Portfolio Management Services Investment Advisory Services Financial Consultancy Stock Broking Asset Management Venture Capital Custodial Services Factoring Credit Rating Agencies Leasing & Finance Finance

ii)

iii) iv) v) vi) vii) viii) ix) x) xi) xii)

Non Banking Finance Companies (Amended as to Annexure A-I)

25. Banking

Investing companies in infrastructure/ services sector (except telecom sector)

24.

100%

26%

Insurance

23.

100%

Industrial Parks both setting up and in established Industrial Parks

22.

Automatic

FIPB

Automatic

Subject to : a. minimum capitalisation norms for fund based NBFCs-USS 0.5 million to be brought upfront for FDI up to 51%. US$ 5 million to be brought upfront for FDI above 51% and up to 75%, and US$ 50 million out of which US$ 75 million to be brought upfront and the balance in 24 months for FDI beyond 75% and upto 100% b. minimum captalization norms for non-fund based NBFC Activities US$ 0.5 million. c. foreign investors can set up 100% operating subsidiaries without the condition to disinvest a minimum of 25% of its equity to Indian entities

Where there is a prescribed cap for foreign investment, only the direct investment will be considered for the prescribed cap and foreign investment in an investing company will not be set off against this cap provided the foreign direct investment in such investing company does not exceed 40% and the management of the investing company is with the Indian owners.

Subject to licensing by the Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority www.irda.nin.in

ii. The minimum percentage of the area to be allocated for industrial activity shall not be less than 66% of the total allocable area.

Conditions in Press Note 2 (2005) applicable for construction development projects would not apply provided the Industrial Parks meet with the under-mentioned conditions. i. It would comprise of a minimum of 10 units and no single unit shall occupy more than 50% of the allocable area :

616 India 2010

Houisng Finance Forex Broking Credit card Business Money chanigng business Micro credit Rural credit

Petroleum & Natural Gas Sector Refining

Other than Refining and including market study and formulations; investment financing setting up infrastructure for marketing in Petroleum & Natural Gas sector

Print Media Publishing of newspaper and peridicals dealing with news and current affairs

Publishing of scientific magazines/ speciality journals/periodicals

xiii) xiv) xv) xvi) xvii) xviii)

26. a.

27. a.

100%

26%

100%

40% in case of PSUs 100% in case of Private companies

FIPB

Automatic

FIPB (in case of PSUs) Automatic (in case of private companies)

Subject to guidelines issued by Ministry of Information & Broadcasting www.mib.nic.in

subject to Guidelines notified by Ministry of Information & Broadcasting www.mib.nic.in

Subject to sectoral regulations issued by Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas www.patroleum.nic.in

Subject to Sectoral Policy www.petroleium nic in and no divestiment or dilution of domestic equity in the existing PSI's

subject to bringing in US$ 50 million without any restriction on number of operating subsidiaries without bringing additional capital. d. joint venture operating NBFC's that have 75% or less than 75% foreign investemnt will also be allowed to set up subsidiaries for undertaking other NBFC activities subject to the subsidiaries also complying withh the applicable minimum capital inflow. e. compliance with the guidelines of the RBI. f. The minimum capitalization norms would apply would be applicable where the foreign holding in a NBFC (both direct and indirect) exceeds the limits indicated at (a) above g. The capital for the purpose of minimum capitalization norms shall consist of ordinary shares only.

Industry 617

Basic and cellular, Unified Access Services,

(a) ISP without gateway,

Trading

Wholesale cash & carry trading

Trading for exports Trading of items sourced from small

29.

b. c.

Single Brand product retailing

Satellites Establihsment and operation

30.

a company has approval for manufacture

Toit marketing of such items for which

scale sector.

Manufacture of telecom equipments

74%

51%

100%

100% 100%

100%

FIPB

Automatic

divest 26% of their equity in favour of Indian

Subject to the condition that such companies shall

www.dotindia.com

Subject to licensing and security requirements notified by the Dept. of Telecommunications.

Sectoral

guidelines

issued Department of Space ISRO www.is ro.org

Subject

Department of Industrial Policy & Promiton vide PRess Note 3 (2006 Series)

Subect to guidelines for FDI in trading issued by

commences simultaneously with test marekting.

investment in setting up manufacturing facilities

approval will be for a period of two years and

Subject to the condition that the test marketing

Subject to sectoral equipments www.dotinida.com

www.dotindia.com

other parts of the world. Also subject to licensing and security requirements, where required.

FIPB beyond 49%

Automatic upto 49%

Automatic up to 49% FIPB beyond 49%

4 9 % Subject to guidelines notified in the PN 3 (2007)

public in 5 years, if these companies are listed in

upto

FIPB beyond 49%

Automatic

100%

74%

74% (including FDI, FIL, NRI, FCCBs, ADRs, GDRs, convertible preference shares, and proportionate foreign equity in Indian promoters/Investing Company)

fibre (category-I)

(b) infrastructure provider providing dark

ISP with gateways, radio-paging, end-to end bandwidth.

other value added telecom services

Communications Services (GMPCS) and

V-Sat, Public Mobile Radio Trunked Services (PMRTS), Global Mobile Personal

National/International Long Distance,

Telecommunication

28.

618 India 2010

100%

i) ii)

Automatic

Subject to Special Economic Zones Act, 2005 and the Foreign Trade Policy www.sezindia.nic.in

In Sectors/Activities not listed above, FDI is permitted up to 100% on the automatic route subject to sectoral rules/regulations applicable.

Special Economic Zones and free Trade Warehosuing Zones covering setting up of these Zones and setting up units in the Zones.

Where provisions of Press Note 1 (2005 Series) issued by the Government of India are attatched. Where more than 24% foreign equity is proposed to be inducted for manufacture of items reserved for the Small Scale sector.

Prior Government approval for FDI required in the following circumstances :

II.

31.

Industry 619

India 2010

620

Annexure-A-I In the Annex to PressNote 7 (2008), Sl. No. 25 under para II, the following substitution is made : For the existing provision : 25

Non Banking Finance Companies

Merchant

ii)

Underwriting Portfolio Management Services

iii)

Investment Services

iv)

Financial

Stock Broking

vi)

Asset Management

vii)

Venture Capital

viii)

Custodial Services

ix)

Factoring

Credit Rating Agencies

xi)

Leasing & Finance

xii)

Finance

xiii)

Housing

xiv)

Forex Broking

xv)

Credit card Business

xvi)

Money changing business

xvii)

Micro credit

xviii)

Rural credit

Banking

Advisory

Consultancy

Finance

100%

without

d. joint venture operating NBFC's that have 75% or less than 75% foreign investment will also be allowed to set up subsidiaries for undertaking other NBFC activities subject to the subsidiaries also complying with the applicatble minimum capital inflow. e. compliance with the guidelines of the RBI. f. The minimum capitalization norms would apply would be applicable where the foreign holding in a NBFC (both direct and indirect) exceeds the limits indicated at (a) above g. The capital for the purpose of minimum capitalization norms shall consist of ordinary shares only.

Industry

621

For the revised provision as : 25

Non Banking Finance Companies

Merchant

ii)

Underwriting

iii)

Portfolio Management

Banking

Services

iv)

Investment Services

Advisory

Financial

vi)

Stock Broking

vii)

Asset Management

viii)

Venture Capital

ix)

Custodial Services

Factoring

xi)

Credit Rating Agencies

xii)

Leasing & Finance

xiii)

Housing

xiv)

Forex Broking

xv)

Credit card Business

xvi)

Money changing business

xvii)

Micro credit

xviii)

Rural credit

Consultancy

Finance

100%

A u t o m a t i c Subject to : a. minmum capitalization norms for fund based NBFCs-US$ 0.5 million to be brought upfront for FDI up to 51%; US$ 5 million to be brought upfront for FDI above 51% and up to 75% and US$ 50 million out of which US$ 7.5 million to be brought upfront and the balance in 24 months for FDI beyond 75% and up to 100%. b. minimum capitalization norms for non-fund based NBFC activities-US$ 0.5 million. c. foreign investors can set up 100% operating subsidiaries without the condition to disinvest a minimum of 25% of its equity to Indian entities subject to bringing in US$ 50 million without any restriction on number of operating subsidiaries without bringing additional capital. d. joint venture operating NBFC's that have 75% or less than 75% foreign investment will also be allowed to set up subsidiaries for undertaking other NBFC activities subject to the subsidiaries also complying with the applicable minimum capital inflow. e. compliance with the guidelines of the RBI. f. The minimum capitalization norms wold apply would be applicable where the foreign holiding in a NBFC (both direct and indirect) exceeds the limits indicated at (a) above g. The capital for the purpose of minimum capitalization norms shall consist of ordinary shares only.

622

India 2010

FOREIGN INVESTMENT IMPLEMENTATION AUTHORITY (FIIA) Foreign Investment Implementation Authority (FIIA) was established in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, vide Notification dated 9.8.1999, to facilitate quick translation of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) approvals into implementation, provide a proactive one stop after care service to foreign investors by helping them obtaining necessary approvals, sort out their operational problems and meet with various Government agencies to find sulutions to problems of investors. FIIA conducts regular interactions with investors of specific regions or countries. In these meetings of FIIA, apart from government of India, senior officials from State governments also participate. Apex industrial associations, viz. CII, FICCI, ASSOCHAM, are actively associated. In the series of country-specific meetings, DIPP held two FIIA meetings on 22.2.2008 and 26.5.2008 to resolve issues of German Investors and Korean Investors respectively. In addition, a meeting with representatives from JCCII & JETRO and Department of Revenue (CBEC) was held on 31.7.2008 to resolve the issues regarding refund claims of Japanese companies operating in India. During the year 2007-08, meetings were held ti discuss issues pertaining to setting up of an integrated Steel Plant with a capacity of 12 MTPA by POSCO in the State of Orissa. Apart from the above, Periodical meetings were also held to discuss the issues relating to the expansion project of MCC PTA India Pvt. Ltd. at Haldia, West Bengal, the setting up of the proposed newsprint plant by UPMKymmense Corpn. Finland in Maharashtra and the issues of Oracle Corporation seeking to acquire 100% stake in India's i-flex. E-BIZ PROJECT The Department has undertaken an eBiz Project, which is among the Mission Mode Projects under NeGP. The objectives of setting up of the e-Biz Portal are to provide a number of services to business users covering the entire life cycle on their operation. The project aims at enhancing India's business competitiveness through a service oriented, event-driven G2B interaction. The project involves setting up a comprehensive and integrated portal with services across central, state and local governments, that address all the needs of the businesses and Industries. Nine Central Government Ministries/Departments/Offices and five State Governments (Haryana, Tamilnadu, Andhra, Maharashtra and Delhi) have been included under the Pilot Phase of the Project. At present, the Department is in the process of finalization of the tender documents (RFP) in consultation with stakeholders of the project. The project will be for duration of 10 years. The pilot phase of the project will be completed within one year from the date it takes off and will provide 29 services at all three levels as indicated above. Subsequently the project will be expanded in the next 2 years throughout the country and cover all the services required by business houses. Finally, during the last 7 years of the project, it will be operated in a public-private partnership (PPP) mode with suitable arrangements for revenue sharing. INDUSTRIAL CORRIDOR PROJECT In pursuance of MoU signed between Government of India and Government of Japn during Hon'ble PM's visit to Tokyo in December 2006 to promote investments and explore opportunities for mutual cooperation, Union Cabinet had approved in-

Industry

623

principle the project outline of Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) on 16th August, 2007. The DMIC seeks to create strong economic base with globally competitive environment and state-of-the-art infrastructure to activate local commence. Enhance foreign investments and attain sustainable development. Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor is proposed to be developed as a Model Industrial Corridor of international standards with emphasis on expanding the manufacturing the services base and develop DMIC as the 'Global Manufacturing and Trading Hub'. The project aims at doubling the employment potential, tripling the industrial output and quadrupling exports from the region, all with in five years. The project region of DMIC covers parts of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. It is proposed to develop the project in two phases. In the Phase-I of the project (2007-2012), six investment regions and six industrial areas are proposed to be developed. Rs. 330 Crores has been allocated for the project under the 11th Five Year Plan. Another 12 nodes have been identified tentatively for development in the Phase II (2013-2018) of the project. With the objective to create interest in private players in the DMIC Project, it is proposed to initiate work on three to four readily available and strategically important early bird infrastructure projects in each note. In Order to give overall guidance, planning and approvals, an Apex Monitoring Authority for DMIC Project was set up on 11th September 2007 with the Finance Minister as Chairperson, Union Ministers/Dy. Chairperson, Planning Commission/ Chief Ministers of six States as Members. Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (DMICDC), the central SPV, was incorporated on 7th January, 2008 with authorized equity base of Rs. 10 crores with initial equity structure of GOI 49% and Financial Institutions (IL&FS and IDFC): 51%. DMICDC will be coordinating execution of various tasks under the guidance of Apex Monitoring Authority, arrange financing, and provide advisory services for successful project implementation. DMICDC will have a revolving Project Development Fund of Rs. 1000 Crores contributed equally by Government of India and Government of Japan for master planning, project report preparation, technical studies/reports, etc. for the entire DMIC region as well as for individual investment nodes before they are bid out to successful private developers. In the first meeting of Board of Directors held on 28.1.2008, M/s IL&FS Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (IIDC) was appointed as Project Management Consultant (PMC) to DMICDC. The Department has also initiated action for preparation of Concept Paper for the Chennai-Bangaluru-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project on the lines of DMIC Project. INVESTMENT PROMOTION & INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION (IP&IC) The Department acts as a nodal point for bilateral Joint Commission Meetings (JCM) between India-Hungary, India-Libya, India-Sweden India-Poland and India-Belarus for promoting industrial, scientific, technical and scientific corporation with these countries namely Sweden, Poland, Hungary, Libya and Belarus. In order to promote bilateral/Industrial cooperation and to attract inflows of foreign direct investment into India, the Department extends financial support under the IC&JV Plan scheme to various industrial organizations like CII/FICCI/ASSOCHAM etc. to organize seminars/workshops/road shows both in India and abroad. The Department also participates in the Joint Business Councils and other interactive sessions organized by the industry organizations.

624

India 2010

Several foreign Government/Business delegations visit India and hold discussions with the Department for strengthening industrial cooperation. Indian delegations also hold discussions wi th foreign countries for investment promotion and industrial development in India. Major Investment Promotion events/Conferences/Joint Commission Meetings during 2007-08. The 3rd India-GCC Industrial Forum : The 3rd India-GCC Industrial Forum was organized in association with CII and FICCI in Mumbai from 29-30 May 2007. Commerce & Industry Minister headed the Indian delegation while Ministers and officials, including business delegation participated from GCC Status. Plenary sessions were held in five sectors of mutual interest to India and GCC states viz. Opportunities for investment, Opportunities in Real Estate Development, Opportunities in Energy cooperation-Oil, Gas and Power, Opportunities in Infrastructure sector and Opportunities in petrochemicals sector. The Mumbai Declaration adopted at the conclusion of the forum included setting up of a holding company from the collective funds of India and the GCC States, with private and public participation, that would work towards promoting Small and Medium Enterprises in both India and the GCC States. The 10th session of the Indo-Libya Joint Commission Meeting : The 10th session of the Indo-Libya Joint Commission Meeting was held in New Delhi on 12th July 2007. The objective of the meting was to increase the level of cooperation in various fields such as telecommunication, power, shipping, civil aviation, railways, hydrocarbon, trade and investment, banking and finance, etc. 23rd India Economic Summitâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;December 2-4, 2007 at New Delhi : The Department collaborated with CII and World Economic Forum as Summit Partner in organizing the 23rd India Economic Summit from 2-4 December 2007 at New Delhi. Over 600 business and government leaders from India and abroad participated along with other key stakeholders to debate important issues relevant to the country's growth agenda. This year's edition of the India Economic Summit explored in depth the many facets of the country's economy to identify the opportunities and challenges facing the business, apart from new focus on the exciting opportunities offered by Indian States and the impact of global risks in the Indian economy. Partnership Summit-2008 : The Summit was held at Gurgaon in January 2008. Haryana was the partner state. Meeting was attended by Trade & Industry Ministers/Officials of about 19 countries in addition to business delegations. WEF 2008 : World Economic Forum (WEF) was held in Davos in January 2008. The principal theme of the Annual Meeting was "The Power of Collaborative Innovation". It was attended by Union Commerce & Industry Minister and Secretary (IP&P), who besides addressing the forum and other meetings on the sidelines, also met CEOs of multinational companies. Second meeting of the India-Russia Forum on Trade and Investment : The second meeting of the India-Russia Forum on Trade and Investment was held in New Delhi (February 12-13, 2008). The Forum was addressed by the Russian Prime Minister Mr. Victor A. Zubkov. A high level Indian and Russian delegations comprising of senior officials and prominent business leaders were led by Mr Kamal Nath, Commerce & Industry Minister, Government of India and Mrs. Elvira.

Industry

625

S. Nabiullina, Minister of Economic Development & Trade of the Russian Federation respectively. A Protocol for Cooperation was signed for enhancing bilateal investment, deepening trade engagement and to widen strategic partnership between India and Russia. Both sides also agreed to set up a CEO Council with a view to strengthen economic relations between the two countries. The main events likely to be held or having participation of the Department during 2008-09 are JCMs with Hungary, Libya and Belarus, 3rd meeting of IndoRussia Trade and Investment Forum, India Economic Summit, WEF, Partnership Summit etc. INDUSTRIAL

SCENARIO

The industrial growth rate during 2007-08 has been 8.3% as per CSO's Index of Industrial Production (IIP) (Base 1993-94-100). The manufacturing sector, which has a weightage of about 80% in the IIP recorded a growth of 8.8%. Following table provides the Sectoral growth profile of industry. Growth (in %) in the Index of Industrial Production (Base : 1993-94 = 100) Sector

Weight ( %)

2005-06

Mining & Quarrying

10.47

Manufacturing

79.36 10.17 100.00

Electricity General

2006-07

2007-08

1.0

5.4

5.1

9.1

12.5

8.8

5.2

7.2

6.4

8.2

11.6

8.3

Use Based Classification Basic Goods Capital Goods Intermediate Consumer (i) (ii)

Goods

goods

Durable Non-durable

Source: Central

Statistical

35.57

6.7

10.3

7.0

9.26

15.8

18.2

16.9

26.51

2.5

12.0

8.9

28.66

12.0

10.1

6.1

5.36

15.3

9.2

-1.0

23.30

11.0

10.4

8.5

Organisation

From a use-based perspective, capital goods, sector emerged as the most buoyant sector and registered a double-digit growth of 16.9% in 2007-08. Capital goods had earlier also posted a double-digit growth during 2005-06 and 2006-07. Within the consumer goods sector, non-durables segment posted increase of 8.5%. The good performance of the capital goods sector is an indicator of future industrial growth. Disaggregated industrial profile depicts that out of 17 groups in the manufacturing sector, 16 groups registered positive growth rates. In particular, 8 industry groups showed growth rates of 10% and above which includes beverages & tobacco products (growth rate 12.0%), basic metals & alloys (12.1%), other manufactures (19.8%), Jute

India 2010

626

and other vegetable fibre textiles (33.1), Wood & wood Products & furniture & fixtures. (40.5), Leather & fur Products (11.7), Basic chemical & chemical Products (10.6), Machinery & equipments (10.4). Performance of Six Core Infrastructure Industries : Performance of six core industries (i.e, electricity, crude petroleum, petroleum refinery products, coal, steel and cement, with combined weightage of 26.68 per cent in the IIP) is considered as an indicator of the economic health of the economy. Their output registered a growth of 5.6 per cent during 2007-08 as compared to 9.2 per cent last year. Industry - wise growth rates are given in the Table below. Growth Rates (per cent) of Six Core Industries

Crude

Petroleum

Refinery

Products

Coal Electricity Cement Finished

Steel

Overall

Weight

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

4.3 2.0

-5.3

5.6

0.4

2.4

12.6

6.5

3.2

6.6

5.9

6.3

10.2

5.1

7.3

6.0

2.0

12.4

9.1

5.1

11.2

10.9

8.1

26.7

6.2

8.6

5.6

LIGHT ENGINEERING INDUSTRY The Indian engineering industry forms the crucial backbone of the economy and is intricately linked with umpteen other core sectors for its demand. The engineering industry derives its demand from capacity creation in core sectors viz., power, infrastructure, mining, oil and several other sectors including general manufacturing sector, consumer goods industry, automotive and process industries. ELECTRICAL WIRES AND CABLES INDUSTRY Wires and Cables, be they made of fibre, optics, iron or non-ferrous )copper, zinc, aluminium), play a decisive role in almost all areas of industrial and daily life. Electrical wires and cable Industry is one of the earliest industries established in the country in the field of electrical products. A wide range of wires and cables are manufactured which includes communication cables such as jelly filled telephone cables, optic fibre cables, local area network cables, switchboard cables, co-axial cables, VSAT cables, electrical cables such as electrical wires, winding wires, automotive battery cables, UPS cables, flexible wires, low voltage power cables and EHT power cables. The major user industries of wires and cables are power, electrical equipment, electronic appliances, telecommunication, entertainment and construction industry. With infrastructure receiving priority attention from the Govt. of India, construction, power and telecom sector are fast developing. This will give a boost to wire and cable industries in near future. In 2006-07, the non-SSI sector have reported production of 8.17 lakh crore kms. During the year 2007-08 the production was 25.70 lakh crore kms. India exported wires and cables of value around Rs. 1520.7 crores in 2006-07 against import of around Rs 1551.4 crores in the same period. The industry is de-licensed and eligible for automatic approval for Foreign Direct Investment up to 100%.

Industry TRANSMISSION

627 TOWERS

Large structures called transmission towers support the high voltage transmission lines, which carry electricity over long distance. These lines typically feed into sub-station so that the electrical voltage can be reduced to a level that can subsequently be used by the customers. Keeping pace with growth of industries in the country and also spurt in domestic demand for power, the electrical energy sector is growing at a rapid pace. There is an increasing shift in India to have larger power stations, particularly super thermal power stations. Consequently while there would be fewer but larger powers generating stations, the demand for transmission of energy would grow substantially. The transmission network of an electrical power utility constitutes a critical part of the whole power system. The country has sufficient capacity to cater to the demands arising in the country and also for exports. The industry has set up facilities for testing transmission towers up to 1000 KV with the objective of catering to future growth of transmission systems in the country as well as to export demand India exported Transmission towers of around Rs 570.7 crores in 2006-07 against import of around Rs 14.7 crores in the same period. The industry is de-licensed and eligible for automatic approval for foreign Direct Investment without any restriction. CRANES Wide range of cranes are manufactured in the country and these include Electric Overhead Travelling (EOT) cranes, mobile cranes, ladle cranes, hydraulic decks, crab cranes, floating cranes, controller cranes, etc. There is a good potential for growth of this sector in view of increased industrial activities in various fields as well as construction industry. In 2006-07, non-SSI sector have reported production of 19056 tonnes of cranes. During the year 2007-08 the production was reported at 21590 tonnes. India imported cranes of value around Rs. 1203.9 crores in 2006-07 against export of around Rs 83.4 crores in the same period. The industry is de-licensed and eligible for automatic approval for foreign Direct Investment up to 100%. LIFTS AND ESCALATORS As cities grow vertical, lifts and escalators become the corner stone to support this development and the life line for the buildings that constitute this development. Rapid urbanization and robust activity in the construction industry and corporatisation of the real estate sector has led to a healthy growth of this industry. The use of lifts and escalators is increasing rapidly due to substantial investments in construction of multi-storied housing complexes, large malls and supermarkets of international standards, modernization of airports and railways stations apart from industrial sectors. The vertical transportation mechanismâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;lifts and escalators have evolved into sophisticated, safe and simple system to suit the requirements of various diverse users with the help of latest innovation in the technology. A wide range of lifts and escalators are manufactured in India. These include single speed, double speed, gearless, hydraulic, servo and Variable Voltage Variable Frequency (VVVF) elevators. The industry has experienced healthy growth during the recent years. The production of lifts in the year 2006-07 was reported to be 7103 numbers. During the year 2007-08 the production was reported at 8439 numbers. The industry is de-licensed and eligible for automatic approval for Foreign Direct Investment upto 100%.

628

India 2010

REFRIGERATORS In India, refriger ators have the highest aspirational value of all consumer durables with the exception of television. This accounts for the high growth rate of refrigerator market. After the liberalization of 1991 and removal of restrictions, large number of international brands entered the field of refrigerator industry. The Industry has become highly competitive and offers wide choices to consumers. There are two basic designs adopted in refrigerators presently being manufactured in the country. These are commonly referred to as Direct Cool (DC) and Frost Free (FF) Refrigerators. Another major change in refrigerator industry is adoption of Non-CFC Technology. The Montreal Protocol signed in 1987, which India joined in September 1992 mandates the gradual phase-out complete eradication of CFCs within a structured time frame. In fulfilling those obligations, the refrigerator manufacturers are switching over to non-CFC based refrigerators. There has been quantitative change in consumer preference and are going for higher end products. Quality products with superior technology and technology upgradation has helped the industry to achieve higher growth in terms of volume and also higher realization in value terms. In 2006-07, the units in non-SSI sector have reported production of 64.9 lakh numbers of refrigerators. During the years 2007-08 the production was reported at 74.05 lakhs numbers. India exported refrigerators valued around Rs 419.3 crores in 2006-07 against import of around Rs. 796.7 crores during the same period. The industry is de-licensed and eligible for automatic approval for Foreign Direct Investment up to 100%. WASHING MACHINES During the last few years, in the consumer durable sector, the market for washing machine has grown quite fast. The washing machine market in India can be divided into semi-automatic and fully-automatic. The semi-automatic segment is more popular than the fully-automatic segment. However, with rising disposable incomes and higher aspirations, there is a gradual shift towards fully-automatic washing machines. Manufacturers, therefore, have started paying more attention to this segment and are introducing more features in their products. Controls are changing from purely mechanical to fully electronic as microcontrollers are incorporated into the designs. While providing intelligence, microcontrollers boost reliability, drive down costs and improve energy efficiency. Washing machines can use as many as three microcontrollers which adds intelligence for the increased functionality and user control. Energy efficiency is realized using microcontrollers for controlling the motor, reducing noise and minimizing vibration. In 2006-07, the non-SSI sector have reported production of 19.44 lakh numbers of washing machines. During the years 2007-08 the production was reported at 21.69 lakhs numbers. India exported washing machines of value around Rs. 33.2 crores in 2006-07 against import of around Rs. 154.4 crores during the same period. The industry is de-licensed and eligible for automatic approval for Foreign Direct Investment without any restriction AIR CONDITIONERS Air Conditioners are no longer perceived as luxury products but are treated as necessity in changed socio -economic environment with changed life style. The airconditions' market can be classified into three segments window AC, split AC and

Industry

629

central AC. The split ACs are gaining popularity due to limitation of space and increase in number of people living in flats in multi-storied complexes and also due to less noise. With a presentable increase in the living standards of the Indian middle class, there has been tremendous shift in demand of the air conditioners from nonbranded assembled air conditioners to branded products. Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), a statutory body under the Ministry of Power is introducing energy efficiency based star rating for air conditioners to help consumers buy the best energy efficient products. Life refrigerators, the air conditioners manufacturing industry is also adopting non-CFC technology to fulfill the obligations of the Montreal Protocol. The Montreal Protocol mandates the gradual phase-out complete eradication of CFCs within a structured time frame. The market for AC has grown substantially during the last few years. In 2006-07, the non-SSI sector reported production of 4.9 lakh numbers of air conditioners. During the years 2007-08 the production was reported as 7.72 lakhs numbers. During 2006-07 the production was reported at 7.72 lakhs numbers. During 2006-07 India exported air conditioners of around Rs. 197.7 crores against import of Rs. 1278.4 crores during the same period. The industry is delicensed and eligible for the automatic approval for Foreign Direct Investment up to 100%. LEAD ACID STORAGE BATTERIES Lead Acid Batteries are accumulators of current and power which is discharged over a period of time. They are used in vehicles and also for various industrial uses such as for back up power for UPS application, control rooms, power stations, telecommunications, etc. The major user of the product is automobiles for providing high power to start the engine. In addition, it is also used for emergency lights for houses, telephone systems, power tools, as power source for mining and material handling equipments, etc. A new application of the product has emerged today in electric vehicles. The average life of the battery is approximately 2 years hence these batteries will be needed throughout the life of the vehicle or the machinery's in use. This indicates that ready market of the product will always exist. The lead acid battery enjoys a market share of more than 60% of the total sales of all kind of batteries in the world. With the phenomenal growth of automobile industries, the demand of such batteries is also increasing at a very fast pace. Although there are few large scale manufacturers of the product dominating in India, there are large number of very small scale units manufacturing the product in a most unorganized manner. The product manufactured by them normally does not qualify the required standards as specified by BIS. The non-SSI sector has reported production of 401.12 lakh numbers of Lead Acid Batteries during 2006-07. During the years 2007-08 the production was reported at 409 lakhs in numbers. During 2006-07, export of Lead Acid Batteries was approx. Rs. 259.3 crores against import of Rs. 784.8 crores. The industry is delicensed and eligible for automatic approval for Foreign Direct Investment without any restriction. DRY CELL BATTERIES Dry cell batteries are one of the most commonly used items. These are the oldest type of batteries still being used. Performance of these batteries has undergone progressive

630

India 2010

improvements through technological developments. Although there have been improvements in manufacture of dry cells, the basic structure remains the same. In the liberalized economic environment, inexpensive batteries like rechargeable cells are coming into the market. New types of dry cell batteries with longer shelf life and greater dependability have also come up. Leak proof dry cells are used in expensive electronic auto equipment and toys. Nickel Cadmium batteries and other rechargeable batteries are manufactured in the country to meet the requirement of defence, telecommunications and electronics. Environment friendly alkaline batteries, which are mercury free, are also being manufactured in the country. Though the usage of high drain applications is yet to pick up in the country, the growing popularity of cellular phones, laptops and imported toys could open the market for a new range of batteries that are not produced at present. The production of dry cells in the non-SSI sector in 2006-07 was reported to be 2552.33 million numbers. During the years 2007-08 the production was reported at 2551.90 million numbers. During 2006-07 there was export valued at Rs. 51.5 crores against import of Rs. 297.8 crores of dry cell batteries. The industry is de-licensed and eligible for automatic approval for Foreign Direct Investment up to 100%. ELECTRICAL LAMPS AND TUBES The emphasis on the power sector and its phenomenal growth and distribution laid the foundations for the lighting industry in India. Electric Lighting Industry is well developed in the country. A wide range of lamps and tubes are manufactured in the country which include general lighting service lamps such as incandescent bulbs, halogen lamps, to gas discharge lamps such as florescent tube light, compact fluorescent lamp, high pressure mercury vapour lamps, metal halide lamps, low pressure and high pressure sodium vapour lamps and variety of special lamps. The higher energy cost have led to the development of energy efficient lamps consuming less power and giving output as close to dallying. Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) which consumes about 20% of the electricity for the same light output and last up to 10 times longer than the GLS are getting more popular. Manufacturers are adopting imported designs and know-how through technical collaborations. Today, there has been effective widening of locally produced range of lamps along with serious advent of electronics in lighting, thereby supplying better, more efficient and cheaper lighting systems with improved aesthetics. The future of the industry envisages immense prospects of growth and development for technologically advanced and cost effective, organization. Miniaturization, electronic circuitry, newer chemicals, better luminaries are all providing the world with products of larger light output at minimum cost helping energy conservation. The growth of the industry has been substantial during the last few years. The production of GLS lamps in the non-SSI sector in 2006-07 is reported to be 470.46 million numbers where as the production of fluorescent tube on the same period was 209.02 million numbers. During the years 2007-08 the production was reported of GLS lamps and fluorescent tubes was reported at 430.76 million numbers and 214.9 million numbers respectively. The industry is de-licensed and eligible for automatic approval for Foreign Direct Investment without any restriction. LIGHT ENGINEERING INDUSTRY SECTOR The light Engineering Industry is a diverse industry with a number of distinctive sector. This industry includes mother of all industries like castings and forgings to

Industry

631

the highly sophisticated micro-processors-based process control equipment and diagnostic medical instruments. This group also includes industries like bearings, steel pipes and tubes, fasteners, etc. The products covered under the engineering industry are largely used as input to the capital goods industry. Hence the demand of this sector depends on the demand of the capital goods industry. ROLLER BEARING INDUSTRY Roller bearings are mainly used to ease friction between moving parts and are vital in determining machine performance. Most roller bearings consist of inner ring, outer ring, rolling elements, cage & seals. Rolling elements come in two general shapesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; ball or roller. Rollers come in four basic style-cylindrical, needle, tapered and Spherical. Rotational movement is an indispensable characteristic in utilizing energy as mechanical power. Bearings find application in diversified fields from simple electric fan to complex space rocket. Hence, the product range is vast and diversified. The indigenous manufacturers are manufacturing bearings of quality and precision at par with world renowned manufacturers in the diversified range of general purpose bearings where the demand is large to justify indivenous production on economic consideration bearings, generally used for special applications, requiring high technology and or required in low volumes are still being imported. There is considerable scope for development of bearings of smaller sizes and higher weight with improved performance in harsh operating conditions like higher temperature or low temperature. Automobile industry accounts for bulk of the total demand of this industry with estimated share of 35%, electrical industry share is 12%, after market (replacement) share is 40% and the remaining 13% consumption is by other industries. As large number of world renowned automobile companies have already set up units and some are planning to set up units in India, the demand for bearings is going to increase in coming years. The approximate export and import figures of the ball & roller bearings for the year 2006-07 are Rs. 835.3 crore and Rs. 1920.6 crore respectively. The production of ball & roller bearings during the year 2006-07 was 327.9 million numbers. During the years 2007-08 the production was reported at 289 million numbers. The bearing industry is delicensed and is eligible for 100% FDI under automatic route. FERROUS CASTINGS Indian Foundry Industry is the fifty largest in the world Foundry Industry is a mother industry. It sets the pace of growth of a host of down stream Industries which include engineering and manufacturing sectors in general and auto components and export sector in particular. This industry is now well established in the country and is spread across a wide spectrum consisting of large, medium, small and tiny sector. A peculiarity of the foundry industry in India is its geographical clustering. Typically, each foundry cluster is known for catering to some specific end use markets. For example, the Compactor cluster is famous for pump sets castings, the Kolhapur & Balagaun cluster for automotive castings, Rajkot cluster for diesel engine castings and Batala & Jalandhar cluster for machinery parts and agricultural implements. Advanced countries like USA, Japan, Germany are unlikely to add much capacity due to stringent pollution control norms there India can thus have a dominant presence in this field and can become an important casting supplier to the world. Most of the industries except large cement plants generally require castings for large plants is in the range of 20 tonnes to 80 tonnes a piece. The Indian industry, because

632

India 2010

of its technological strength in the field has advantage over other developing countries in exports. This is evident from current trend for increase in outsourcing by international manufacturers of engineering products from India. Considering the wide range of engineering applications of these castings and high potential for exports, there is considerable scope for established additional capacity particularly for high end applications. The approximate export and import figures of the casting industry for the year 2006-07 are 1978.6 crores and Rs. 47.5 crores respectively. The production of steel castings and C.I. castings for the year 2006-07 in the organized sector was 7.79 lakh tonnes. During the years 2007-08 the production was reported at 7.69 lakhs tonnes. The industry is de-licenced and is eligible for automatic approval up to 100% Foreign Direct Investment. MEDICAL AND SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS Medical equipment includes all types of instruments and appliances used in medical, surgical, dental including electro medical apparatus. X-ray machines as well as physiotherapy equipments and orthopedic appliances. Medical and surgical equipment industry has been playing a critical role in the health care delivery system. During the last 15 years or so with the liberalisation taking place, and increased awareness for health, the demand for medical surgical instruments has gone up substantially. This has accelerated the growth in indigenous production as well as imports. The present day healthcare has become completely dependent on electo medical instruments and these have become indispensable tools for medical professionals mainly for diagnosis, therapy, and patient monitoring and health care. Indigenous manufacturers are currently in a position to manufacture wide variety of electro medical equipment such as electro cardiograph (ECG machine), X-ray scanner, CT scanners, short wave physiotherapy unit, electro surgical suits, blood chemistry analyser etc. However, sophisticated instruments such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) scanners, multi channel monitors etc. are not currently manufacturerd in the country. Most of the units manufacturing medical equipments are in SSI sector. The production for the year 2006-07 in the non-SSI sector is reported to be 301.5 crores. During the years 2007-08 the production was reported at 330.41 crores. PROCESS CONTROL INSTRUMENT INDUSTRY Process Control instrument industry has been reorganised as one of the catalysts of technological growth. The process control instruments have become an integral part of the modern industrial activity. Process control instruments and systems cover wide range of instruments and systems required for monitoring and measuring of physical, chemical and biological properties. These instruments are required for measurement & control of process parameters like pressure, temperature, humidity, level, flow etc. in the process industry. This industry is a key industry which provides tools for automation. Their importance is significant in high cost large & sophisticated process industries like fertilizer, steel, power plant, refineries, petrochemicals, cement & other process industries. Transfer of technology has been the major foundation of indigenous development. The technology tie-ups with internationally reputed manufacturers have brought in technological, breakthrough in various areas of industry. Today it provides open control systems & smart control devices Present Technology is microprocessor based centralized control system Future Technology is for decrease in the sensing and response time of the equipment and more & more automation

Industry

633

control i.e. without manual interference. The demand for this sector is basically a derived demand and depends largely on progress on implementation of various projects such as fertilizer, steel, power plant, refineries, petrochemicals, cement etc. The production for the year 2006-07 in the non-SSI sector is reported to be 326.03 crores. During the years 2007-08 the production was reported at 447.86 crores. There was export of process control instruments worth Rs. 201.1 crores against import of around Rs. 1231.1 crores during 2006-07. The Industry is delicenced and 100% foreign Direct Investment is allowed in this sector under automatic route. SEAMLESS STEEL PIPES & TUBES Seamless steel pipes and tubes comes in all kinds of sizes including thin, small, precise, slender and other special pipes. These pipes and tubes are manufactured by commercial electric furnace, bearing consumable and electrode vacuum melted quality steel. This process of manufacture imparts strength and durability to the pipes and thus can be used for corrosionâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;resisting applications. Seamless steel pipes come in finishes such as hot rolled cold drawn, turned, roto-rolled, etc. Seamless steel pipes and tubes are used in hydrocarbon industries, processing and general engineering industries. Causing on tubing is used in drilling of oil and gas whereas boiler pipes are used in boilers, heat exchangers, super heaters, etc. They consist of both alloy steel and carbon steel tubes. Seamless popes are used where strength, resistance to corrosion and product life is crucial. Oil sector accounts for around 60% of total requirement of seamless pipes. Bearings and boiler sector contribute around 30% of demand. The Industry is able to manufacture tubes up to 14" outer diameter. With upcoming substantial growth in the power sector and increase in demand of bearings from automobile sectors, the demand pattern may change in favour of these two sectors. The approximate export and import figures of the Seamless Steel pipes & tubes industry for the year 2006-07 were Rs. 1192.4 crores and Rs. 2646.5 crores, respectively. The Seamless steel pipes and tubes industries is delicensed and upto 100% foreign equity is allowed for the manufacture of this item under automatic route. ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE WELDED (ERW) STEEL PIPES & TUBES These pipes are used in fencing, lining pipes, oil country tabulars, scaffolding, water and gas conveyance, structural, engineering purposes etc. Based on the end-user customers' requirement. ERW steel pipes and tubes are available in various qualities, wall thickness and diameters of the finished pipes. While manufacturing ERW steel pipes, only high quality continuous-cast, fully-kilned, control-rolled, fine-grain, lowcarbon steel is used. High performance ERW steel pipes and tubing possess high corrosion resistance, high deformability, high strength and high toughness. There has been tremendous increase in the production of ERW steel pipes due to higher demand in oil and gas industry, infrastructure and automobile uses. There are large numbers of units in the SSI Sector. The industry is delicenced and is eligible for automatic approval up to 100% Foreign Director Investment. SUBMERGED-ARC WELDED (SAW) PIPES There are two types of saw pipes namely longitudinal and helical welded SAW pipes. Longitudinal SAW pipes are preferred where thickness of pipe is more than 25mm and in high pressure gas pipe line. Helical welded SAW pipes are used for low pressure applications. The cost of helical SAW pipes is less than longitudinal pipes.

634

India 2010

Total installed capacity of SAW pipes in the country is around 6.5 lakh tones. There is huge demand of SAW pipes in the country due to transportation of oil and gas and transmission of water. The approximate export and import figures of the SAW pipes Industry for the year 2006-07 were Rs. 2,903.8 crore and Rs. 3,844.2 crore respectively. This industry has very good export potential. The industry is delicensed and upto 100% foreign equity is allowed for the manufacture of this item under automatic route. INDUSTRIAL FASTENERS The fastener is a hardware device that mechanically joins or fixes two or more objects together. The fastener industry fortunes are linked to the performance of their user industries like textiles, automobiles and general engineering. The fastener industry in India may be classified into two segments high tensile and mild steel fasteners. High tensile and mild steel fasteners broadly include nuts, bolts, studs, rivets and screws. Mild steel fasteners are primarily manufactured by the unorganized sector while high tensile fasteners require superior technology and are dominated by companies in the organized sector. Automobile industry accounts for bulk of the total demand. Consumer durables and railways are the other primary users of the high tensile fasteners. Automobile sector is likely to drive growth in the fastener industry. The approximate export & import figures of the industrial fastener industry for the year 2006-07 were 886.9 & 819.5 crores respectively. The production of nuts & bolts in the organized sector for the year 2006-07 was 90,629 tonnes. During the years 2007-08 the production was reported at 89660 tonnes. There is scope for more export in this sector. The fastener industry is delicensed and is eligible for 100% FDI under automatic route of the item is not reserved for the SSI Sector. STEEL FORGINGS Forging has unique value among manufacturing process. They are intermediate products used widely by original equipment manufacturers in the production of durable goods. They range in size from less than an ounce to more than 150 tons. Forgings are produced through various methods which include open die forgings, closed die forging and near net shape precision forgings. The Indian forging industry has emerged as a major contributor to the manufacturing sector of the Indian economy. The key driver of demand of forging is the automobile industry. About 65% of the total forging production is used in this sector. Thus, the fortunes of the forging industry are dependent upon the growth of automobile industry. The other Industries that use forgings include Railways, Defence, Oil Exploration, Cement, Steel Industry and other Engineering Industries. India's forging industry not only meets almost the entire domestic demand of forgings but is also a large exporter and is making a significant contribution to India's exports. The Indian forging industry has shown a commendable performance on export front. Technological developments have also contributed to the industry's steady growth in export. The major markets are USA, Europe, China, etc. The indigenous industry constitutes of about 10 large units followed by large number of medium, small tiny units. The approx. import and export figures of the forging industry for the year 200607 were 1123.1 crores and 1533.5 crores respectively. The production of stamping & forging for the years 2006-07 in the organized sector was 4,16,566 tonnes. During the years 2007-08 the production was reported at 476442 tonnes. The future is bright in

Industry

635

terms of the expected surge in global demand. As a result of the liberalization, more MNCs have entered the domestic automobile market. This has opened up more business opportunities for the forging industry. The forging industry is delicensed and is eligible for 100% FDI under automatic route. BICYCLE INDUSTRY The bicycle industry of India is one of the most established industries. India is the second largest bicycle producer of the world, next only to China India has seen a tremendous increase in the number of bicycle manufacturers and bicycle exporters in the recent past. Today, Indian bicycle manufacturing and bicycle spares industry is well accepted and is also widely recognized for its quality standards in the international market. The industry is making endeavour for enhancing export since there a significant scope for export of Indian bicycles, bicycle spare parts and bicycle accessories. The approximate export and import figures of bicycle for the year 2006-07 were Rs. 133.7 & Rs. 31.7 Crores respectively. The total production of all kinds of bicycles in the organized sector was 105.98 lakh numbers during the year 2006-07. The industry is de-licensed under the current industrial policy and this sector qualifies for 100% FDI under automatic approval. During the years 2007-08 the production was reported at 113.16 lakhs numbers. LIGHT INDUSTRIAL MACHINERY SECTOR FOOD PROCESSING MACHINERY India is the world's second largest producer of food but the processed food industry in the country is relatively small. Factors such as changing food consumption pattern, increased spending on value added food products, spurred by increase in income level, increasing number of women joining the work force, rapid urbanization, changing life style and mass media promotion are fuelling the growth of food processing industry. The Indian market for food processing machinery has been growing steadily fuelled by strong domestic demand for processed food and beverage products. The pattern is likely to continue as more food processing units are commissioned. The most promising areas of growth are fruit & vegetable processing, meat, poultry, dairy & seafood, packaged convenience food, soft drinks and grain processing. An important factor which has provided substantial stimulation to the food processing equipment industry is the emphasis on the rapid growth of processed food exports from India. With this, the need for adopting superior technology, food processing and packaging machinery to ensure quality has become very important for Indian food products in the international market which demands high quality standards. Food Processing Sector is expected to grow at a healthy pace considering the rapid changes in food habits and consumerist culture developing in the country. The machinery manufacturers have honed their expertise in manufacturing dairy machinery and other core equipment of food processing machinery. The food processing machinery can be classified under the general category of industrial machinery which is de-licensed under the current industrial policy and this sector qualifies for 100% FDI under automatic approval. PACKAGING MACHINERY INDUSTRY Packaging of products, consumer or industrial, is an integral part focuses of marketing strategy. Developments in packaging technology have not only contributed to

636

India 2010

improving aesthetic appeal of the products but also the shelf life. In some cases specialized packaging becomes a technical necessity. The packaging machinery industry sector is, therefore, considered as an important segment of the industrial scenario especially in consumer products and in IT industry. In a competitive environment where Indian products have to compete in the international markets, packaging apart from other aspects, can tilt the balance. Considering the growth prospects in industrial sector and growing consumer awareness of packaging, it is expected that there would be substantial growth in this area. Because of opening up of the Indian economy and globalization, packaged goods from international markets are easily available, and this would further boost the growth of packaging machinery industry. There is a wide range of packaging machinery available in the country covering packaging of vast range of items. Some of the commonly available packing machinery includes machines for strip packaging, form fill & seal machines, carton filling, fully automatic bag making machinery and automatic micro processor controlled packaging machines. The packaging machinery industry, like other industrial machinery, is delicensed under the current Industrial Policy and is eligible for 100% FDI under automatic approval. WATER POLLUTION CONTROL EQUIPMENT Due to growing awareness of water pollution and stringent environmental control standards being enforced for various uses including process industries, the waste water treatment industry is poised for huge growth. There are large variety of water pollution control equipment, which includes waste water treatment plants, drinking water treatment plants and effluent treatment plants. Water waste water treatment is the process of removing contaminants and it includes physical, chemical and biological processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants. The type of treatment depends upon the waste water, the desired use of water and the final disposal of water. The primary treatment is the first step in the treatment process and involves the removal of pollutants that settles or floats. The common industrial equipments are clarifiers and oil-water separator devices. The secondary treatment is designed to substantially degrade the biological content of the sewage. The common equipments are activated sludge, filters, biological reactors etc. The tertiary treatment is a polishing step to remove contaminants that missed in the primary and secondary treatment and removal of suspended solids, refractory organics and toxic components. Tetiary physical processes are filtration and carbon adsorption. Chemical processes are used to remove inorganic and organic, resistant to biodegradation. Chemical process includes precipitation, oxidation and neutralization. The biological processes involve biodegrading. Organisms such as bacterial, fungi, yeasts and algae are commonly used to break down the organic matters. The cell tissues are then removed from the treated water by physical method like clarification. The complete plants are manufactured mostly in the organized sector and many of the equipments are manufactured in the Small Scale Sector as well. Reputed foreign companies from US, Germany, France, Sweden and UK have either set-up their own facilities in India or have collaboration with Indian Companies. The industry is capable of meeting major domestic requirements. However, there is need for continuous upgradation in technology especially with regard to power consumption and efficiency. The industry is included in the Industrial Machinery Sector and is a delicensed one and is also eligible for 100% FDI under automatic approval.

Industry

637

AIR POLLUTION CONTROL EQUIPMENT Air pollution particularly in metropolitan cities and large towns are increasing. The govt. has already stipulated stringent environmental control standards for various industries. Hence our pollution control equipment industry has acquired importance. Further judicial pronouncements have given a definite direction and urgency for adoption of air pollution control measures. The choice of control method depends on factors such as the nature of pollutant, flow-rate (amount of pollutant emitted), particle size and desired collection efficiency. The air pollution control equipments are broadly, classified under the following: i)

Cyclones and multi-cyclones

ii)

Gravity separators

iii)

Fabric filters

iv)

Wet collectors and scrubbers

Electrostatic precipitators.

The industry is in position to do basic and detailed engineering and supply of plants on turnkey basis. Some of the indigenous units have collaborations with internationally reputed firms in this field. Air pollution control equipment is delicenced and is eligible for approval upto 100% Foreign Director Investment. INDUSTRIAL GEARS Industrial gears comprise mainly of gears and gear boxes. The gears are used for transmission of power and motion. Gears being an important part of a machine have immense usage within various industries. The manufacture of gears and gear boxes involve high precision machining and accurate assembly as mechanical power is to be transmitted noiselessly and with minimum losses. Different types and sizes of gears such as spur gears, helical gears, worm gears, spiral gears and many other kinds are manufactured in the country. The demand for gears and gear boxes predominantly depend on the growth of industrial machinery, machine tools, and consumer & automobile sector. Considering the industrial growth prospects, particularly in automobile sector, the demand for gears and gear boxes is expected to grow at a healthy pace. The industry is delicensed and is eligible for 100% FDI under automatic route. CEMENT

INDUSTRY

Cement is one of the most technologically advanced industries in the country. It plays a crucial role in the housing and infrastructure sector of the economy. The price and distribution control of cement has been removed since 1989 and it has been exempted from licensing in 1991 under the Industrial (Development & Regulation) Act, 1951. Since then, cement industry has made rapid strides both in capacity/ production and process technology. It not only ranks second in the production of cement in the world but also produces quality cement which meets global standards. As on 1st April 2008, there are 159 large cement plants with an installed capacity of 11.10 million tonnes per annum. The production during 200708 was 168.03 million tonnes, registering a growth of 7.83 per cent over previous year. Export of cement and clinker was 6.02 million tonnes in 2007-08. India is producing, different varieties of cement like Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC), Portland Blast Furnace Slag Cement (PBFS), Oil well Cement, White Cement, etc. These different varieties of

India 2010

638

cement are produced as per BIS specifications and the quality is comparable with the best in the world. The cement industry has kept pace with global technological immensely to conserve energy and fuel and to save materials substantially. LEATHER INDUSTRY The leather Industry occupies a prominent place in the Indian economy in view of its substantial export earnings, employment potential and growth. The leather sector provides employment mainly to people from the disadvantaged sections of society. More than 30 per cent of the work force employed in this sector is women. The leather sector in India has a comparative advantage due to abundant supply of raw hides and skins, high level of technological preparedness, vast human resources and a skill-based industrial sector. It has been estimated that about 10% of the world's supply of leather is processed in India. However, its share of global leather trade is less than three per cent. Obsolete technology, lack of standarization and poor marketing infrastructure has been other factors associated with the sector not growing to its potential. The export of leather and leather products from India has undergone a structural change during the last two decades. India was traditionally an exporter of raw hides and skins and semi-processed leather. However, in the last two decades the share of leather footwear, leather garments, leather goods, footwear components and several other articles of leather in the total exports has increased substantially as a result of the Governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s policy to encourage export of value added leather products. The export performance of the leather sector in the last 6 years is presented in the table below : (In Category

2001-02

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

million

US $ )

2006-7 2007-08

Finished

Leather

459.25

50 8 . 8 3

555.71

607.73

606.06

688.05

766.93

Leather

Footwear

395.39

423.3

553.04

657.78

786.76

950.90

1163.82

233.94

175.07

161.27

179.24

179.04

212.65

266.11

Footwear

components

Leather

Garments

378.75

272.08

301.08

329.44

328.44

306.98

343.99

Leather

Goods

407.16

425.39

539.21

585.72

649.14

690.66

784.95

Harness

35.64

43.66

52.71

61.71

76.4

81.85

105.81

Footwear

26.02

26.88

53.42

73.78

68.75

48.69

45.90

1936.14

1875.21

2216.45

2495.37

2694.59 2979.78

3477.51

Saddlery

and

Non-Leather

Total

INDUSTRIAL LICENSING/RESERVATION PROVISIONS All the items of manufacture in the leather sector have been dereserved from the SSI list vide Notification No. S.O. 603(E) dated 29th June, 2001 and S.O. No. 649 (E) dated 3rd June, 2003. At present, all items of manufacture in the leather sector except full

Industry

639

PVC Footwear Chappals, Sandels and Shoes and metal fittings for leather woods and garment have been dereserved. INITIATIVES TAKEN BY THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT Policy Support Measures : Leather industry was identified as one of the "Thrust Sectors" having significant export growth prospects and employment generation. Accordingly, special focus initiatives have been announced in the National Foreign Trade Policy 2004-09. These include:

Enhancement of duty free entitlement from 1% to 3% for leather products and footwear with wider coverage of critical inputs.

CVD exemption on lining and interlining materials under the duty free scheme.

Customs duty exempted on machinery & equipments for Effluent Treatment Plants.

l l

CVD exemption allowed on fur-skins etc. 5% Concessional Import duty extended to certain additional machinery.

Support towards market development and export promoting : The Government is supporting implementation of an aggressive International Marketing Preogramme through the Market Development Assistance and Market Access Initiative Schemes. These include organizing group participation of leather exporters in leading International Leather Fairs and organizing exclusive Buyer-Seller Meets in select markets. Setting up of Inter-Ministerial Committee: An Inter-Ministerial Committee under the Chairmanship of Member (Industry), Planning Commission has been constituted on January 6, 2006 in order to analyze the strength and weaknesses of the Indian leather industry with a view to evolving a comprehensive strategy for the development of the leather sector. Identification of Leather Sector as priority : In order to improve competitiveness of manufacturing in India and to increase its share in the economy as a means to provide larger employment opportunities, National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) has identified leather and leather goods as one of the sub sectors having high potential for growth and employment. Schemes of the 10th Five Year Plan : During the 10th Plan period (2002-07) focus of the Government was aimed at modernizing the manufacturing capability and improving infrastructure and a Plan Programme "Indian Leather Development Programme" with an outlay of Rs. 400 crore was initiated. It comprised of two sub-programmes, viz., "Integrated Development of Leather Sector" (IDLS) AND "Infrastructure Strengthening of Leather Sector" (ISLS) with outlays of Rs. 290 crore and Rs. 110 crore respectively. Assistance for modernization and upgradation was provided to both SSI Sector and non-SSI units as investment subsidy/grant under the Integrated Development of Leather Sector (IDLS). The scheme became operational from November, 2005 and by 31st March, 2007, 674 applications were supported involving total investment of more than Rs. 400 crore and Government of India assistance of Rs. 100 crore. The Infrastructure Strengthening of Leather Sector (ISLS) focused on creating infrastructure for Leather/Footwear Complexes at Chennai and Kolkata as well as capacity building. Skills of more than 1.70 lakh persons were up-graded under the Human Resource

640

India 2010

Development Mission and 3500 rural artisans were provided training and marketing support. 75 units were assisted for global benchmarking against the best practices. To strengthen the institutional structure, a new campus of FDDI at Fursatganj (UP) is being established. Non-leather footwear being an important component of the industry, FDDI was upgraded to impart training in the non-leather and sports shoes sector. Investment promotion was also undertaken to attract investment into the sector. Proposal of 11th Plan : Based on the recommendations of the Inter-Ministerial Committee which was assigned the task to prepare a report on Leather and Leather Goods industry for the 11th Five Year Plan, the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion had submitted a perspective plan under Indian Leather Development Programme (ILDP) for approval of the Cabinet. The Cabinet during its meeting held on 14th August has approved the ILDP Scheme with an outlay of Rs. 912.67 crores with emphasis on Infrastructure Development, Capacity Building, Human Resource Development, Investment Promotion and Environmental problems for the Leather Industry. RUBBER GOODS INDUSTRY The small scale sector accounts for over 50% of rubber goods in the non-tyre sector which has an annual turnover of Rs. 10,863 crore. This industry covers a wide range of items like conveyor belts, rubber hoses, rubber cots and aprons, contraceptives, examination and surgical gloves, rubber moulded goods, automotive components etc. TYRES AND TUBES The Tyre Industry has been delicensed since September, 1989. The Indian Tyre industry has 43 manufacturing companies with 58 tyre manufacturing plants which produce all categories of tyres except some specialized categories like Snow Tyres, Aero Tyres etc. All requirements of tyres for existing and new vehicles are being met by Indian Tyres. India is one of the select few countries to have attained self-sufficiency in production installed capacity of 850 lakh tyres. The annual tyre production installed capacity of 850 lakh tyres. The annual tyre production in 2007-08 was 811.03 lakh as against 735.44 lakh in 2006-07. The annual turnover of the Tyre industry is Rs. 19,000 crore. Bus and Truck tyres account for approximately 65% of the Industry Turnover. The Indian Tyre Industry has done remarkably well on the export front also. From an export earnings of Rs. 183 crore in 1990-91, the export of tyres has risen to Rs. 3,000 crore during 2007-08, as against Rs. 2,850 crore in 2006-07. Indian Tyre companies have a consistent track record of exporting to over 75 countries worldwide. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES The Indian Rubber Manufacturers' Research Association (IRMRA), Thane, an autonomous institution under the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, is dedicated to basic and applied research in rubber and allied products. Established in 1959, IRMRA has created necessary infrastructure for research and development and testing of all rubber products in the non-tyre sector. A centre of excellence in tyre research and testing is also being set up at IRMRA for which an assistance of Rs. 22.50 crore has been approved during the 11th Five Year Plan. The tyre research and testing centre is expected to be commissioned in 2010-11.

Industry

641

PAPER AND NEWSPRINT INDUSTRY The paper industry has a vital role to play in socio-economic development of the country. The per capita consumption of paper is generally considered as a bench mark of a countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s modernization. The Indian paper industry, which is century old, has made steady progress and witnessed a moderate production growth rate. There are around 700 paper mills producing nearly 6.3 million tones of paper and paperboard (2007-08) and around 1.04 million tones of newsprint (2007-08) against an estimated operational capacity of nearly 7.5 million tones of paper and paperboard and about 1.44 million tones of newsprint respectively. The projected demand for the paper, paperboard and newsprint is expected to touch 8.3 million tones by the year 2010. The per capita consumption of paper, which is the bench mark of modernization of any country, stands at 7.2 kg for India, which is far below in comparison to the global average of 50 kg. The paper industry is delicensed and decontrolled since 1997. Foreign Direct Investment upto 100% is permitted on automatic route. Cess on paper is levied at the rate of 0.125% advalorem since 1980-81 and total cess collected upto 2006-07 is Rs. 233 crores out of which nearly Rs. 26 crores have been ploughed back to industry for conducting Researcyh & Development in pulp and paper sector. Rs. 26 crores have been ploughed back to industry for conducting Research & Development in pulp and paper sector. The paper and newsprint industry is highly fragmented with the installed capacities ranging from 2 tones to 800 tones per day. Indian paper industry can broadly be classified into three segments - (a) Large integrated mills using bamboo and wood. (b) Medium mills using agri-residue and recycled fibre, and (c) Small mills using agro residue and waste paper/ recycled fibres. All the three segments are contributing,, equally in production of paper, paperboard and newsprint in the country. The turnover of the industry is about Rs. 16,000 crore and contributes about Rs. 2500 crore to national exchequer. The Indian paper industry employs three lakh persons directly and 10 lakh persons indirectly. In the wake of economic liberalization, the Indian paper industry found itself confronted with global competition which has an evolutionary effect on the traditional Indian management style, resulting in a serious redesign of strategies. Today the concept of globalization, ecological compatibility and the related environmental issues are being integrated at the planning level by the major industry players. In the last 23 years, some of the pulp and paper industry have embarked on expansion and modernization plans to increase their production capacities. The major issues confronting the industry are: inadequate availability of good quality cellulosic raw material, obsolete technology, high cost of basic inputs, quality and environmental concerns. SOAPS & DETERGENTS INDUSTRY The Soaps and Detergents Industry had developed both in the small-sector and organized sector. Detergents and Toilet Soaps are exempt from industrial license. Ninety per cent of the production of laundry soap is in the small-scale sector. Toilet soap is, however, dominated by the large-scale units. Production of soaps and Detergents during 2007-08 was 4,04,846 tonnes and 11,02,886 tonnes respectively.

India 2010

642 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

The Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion is administering the following legislations related to the intellectual property rights: a)

The Patents Act, 1970 (amended in 1999, 2002 and 2005) through the Patent Offices at Kolkata (HQ), Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi.

The Designs Act, 2000 through the Patent Offices at Kolkata (HQ), Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi.

The Trade Marks Act, 1999 through the trade Marks Registry at Mumbai (HQ) Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Ahmedabad.

The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999 through the Geographical Indications Registry at Chennai.

These legislations comply with India's international obligations on one hand while balancing the rights with necessary safeguards for protecting public interest on the other. Recognising the importance of intellectual property rights, infrastructure for facilitating the economic growth and competitiveness of the country, the Government has implemented schemes for modernisation of Intellectual Property Offices at a cost of Rs. 153 crores during the 9th and 10th Five Year Plans. The accomplishments, inter alia, include commissioning of four integrated state-of-the art Intellectual Property Offices (IPOs) in Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai & Mumbai; launching of a massive computerization programme in the IPOs, augmentation of human resources; creation of library facilities, introduction of E-filing facility for patent and trade mark applications. During the 11th Five Year Plan, the Government is implementing a new scheme for modernisation and strengthening of IPOs at an estimated cost of Rs. 300 crores. The scheme aims at strengthening the capabilities of IPOs in India and to develop a vibrant intellectual property regime in the country. The scheme also aims at developing infrastructure of the IPO to function as an international Searching Authority (ISA) and International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA) under the Patent Cooperation Treaty of World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), a United Nations specialised agency for intellectual property rights. The Government has also approved a proposal for setting up a National Institute of Intellectual Property Management (NIIPM) at Nagpur which is envisaged as a world class institution for wide-ranging activities such as training, education, research and think tank in the field of Intellectual Property Rights. The Government has announced the National Design Policy for the first time on 8th February, 2007. This Policy envisages a key role for design in enhancing the competitiveness of Indian industry. The focus is on spreading of design education, branding of Indian designs and the establishment of a Design Council. The steps taken by the Government during the last few years have borne fruit. Patent filing has gone up from below 5000 in 1999-2000 to more than 35,000 in 200708 that is more than seven times. The number of patents granted recorded a steep rise from 1911 in 2004-05 to 15,261 in 2007-08. This is a growth of almost 800 per cent in just 3 years. Similar trends are visible in trade marks too. Trade marks registrations have gone up from 11,190 in 2002-03 to 1,01,300 in 2007-08. In fact, the number of

Industry

643

trade marks registered during the last three yea rs is more than the total number of trade marks registered in all the previous years. The number of applications for registration of designs has gone up from 2851 in 1999-2000 to 4674 in 2007-08 and the number of designs registered in a year from 1382 to 2356 during the same period. The Geographical Indications Registry, which commenced functioning only on 15 September, 2003, has registered 82 products representing a wide variety of goods such as Darjeeling Tea, Pochampally Ikat, Chanderi Sarees, Mysore agarbathi, Kullu shawl, Coorg orange, Aranmula mirror, Kancheepuram Silk etc. upto July 2008. With focus on human resource development, capacity building and public awareness creation in the field of intellectual property rights, the Government has entered into bilateral cooperation agreements on Intellectual Property Righits with leading countries/institutions such as Australia, European Patent Office, France, German Patent & Trade Mark Office, Japan Patent Office, UK, US patent and Trademark Office and Switzerland. India is a member of the World Intellectual Property Organisation and plays an important role in its deliberations including hosting important meetings of WIPO in India. The Government has also taken the initiative to create public awareness about matters relating to intellectual property rights through organization of sensitisation programmes in different parts of the country. The government has also set up an Intellectual Property Appellate Board at Chennai, as a fast track mechanism to hear appeals against the decisions of the Controller of Patents and Registrar of Trade Marks and Geographical Indications. INDIAN TEXTILES The Indian Textiles Industry has an overwhelming presence in the economic life of the country. Apart from providing one of the basic necessities of life, the textiles industry also plays a pivotal role through its contribution to industrial output. Employment generation, and the export earnings of the country. Currently, it contributes about 14 per cent to industrial production, 4 per cent to the GDP, and 13.50 per cent to the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s export earnings. It provides direct employment to over 35 million people, which includes a substantial number of SC/ST, and women. The Textiles sector is the second largest provider of employment after agriculture. Thus, the growth and all round development of this industry has a direct bearing on the improvement of the economy of the nation. Due to policy measures initiated by the Government in the recent past, the Indian textiles industry is in a stronger position than it was in the last six decades. The industry which was growing at 3-4 percent during the last six decades has now accelerated to an annual growth rate of 8-9 percent in value terms. The catalyst for this exponential growth is a buoyant domestic economy, substantial increase in cotton production, a conducive policy environment provided by the Government, and the end of the Multi Fibre Arrangement (MFA), on December 31, 2004. The rationalization of fiscal duties undertaken during the last few years, has also provided a level playing field in all segments of the industry, resulting in the holistic growth of the industry. A strong foundation for industry has been laid on which world class manufacturing units can realize their full potential and make a mark in the international economy. The growth manifests through a consistent increase in production of fabric and investments. During 2008-09, the production of fabric was 55 billion sq mtrs, as

644

India 2010

compared to 45.38 billion sq mtrs in 2004-05. The textiles sector has witnessed a spurt in investment during the last five years, increasing from Rs. 7,349 crore in 200405 to Rs. 15,032 crore in 2005-06 to Rs. 66, 233 crore in 2006-07, to Rs. 19,917 crore in 2007-08 and Rs. 42,807 crore in 2008-09. It is expected that investments will touch Rs. 1,50,600 crore by 2012. This enhanced investment will generate 17.37 million jobs (comprising 12.02 million direct and 5.35 million indirect jobs) by 2012. EXPORTS The Indian textiles and clothing industry is the cornerstone of the national economy and it contributes 13.50% to the country's merchandise exports. After the coming to end of Multi Fibre Arrangement (MFA), the industry started scaling up, improving efficiencies and modernizing technologies. Within one year of the MFA regime coming to a close on December 31, 2004, Indian exports grew at a rate of 22%. The exports of textiles and clothing during 2004-5, 2005-06 and 2006-07 were US$ 14 billion, US$ 17.52 billion and US$ 18.73 billion. respectively. India's textiles and clothing export has observed ups and downs in recent times, initially due to appreciation of Indian Rupee in 2007-08 and subsequently on account of global meltdown. During 2007-08, textiles exports from India were US$ 22.13 billion against the target of US$ 25.06 billion. In 2008-09, textiles exports have reached US$ 18.51 billion (April-February of financial year 2008-09) against US$ 19.55 billion in the corresponding period of 2007-08. Technology Upgradation The Indian Textiles Industry has suffered from severe technology obsolescence and lack of economies of scale, which in turn diluted its productivity, quality and cost effectiveness, despite distinctive advantages in raw material, knowledge base, and skilled human resources. The Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) was launched on April 1, 1999, initially for five years, to sustain and improve competitiveness and overall long term viability of the textiles industry and facilitate its access to timely and adequate capital at internationally comparable rates of interest. It was subsequently extended till March 31, 2007, and has now been extended till March 31, 2012. The Government, under the scheme, reimburses (4% for spinning sector) 5% of the interest charged by banks and financial institutions, thereby ensuring credit availability for units planning to upgrade technology. Besides, the scheme provides 15% margin money subsidy in lieu of 5% interest subsidy for SSI units engaged in textiles and jute sub-sectors, 20% margin money subsidy in lieu of 5% interest support for decentralized powerlooms units for investment in TUFS compatible machinery. For specified machinery required for processing, garments and technical textiles segments, the scheme provides 10% capital subsidy, besides 5% interest subvention for specified machinery. The imported second had machinery is ineligible for assistance under the scheme, except automatic shuttle less looms, with a value cap of Rs. 8 lakh and of 10 years vintage and with residual life of 10 years. The scheme covers almost all the segments of textiles sector. During its initial years, the progress of the scheme was moderate, and it gained momentum from 2004-05 onwards. From its inception till March 31, 2009, 24,867 application have been received, involving a project of Rs. 1,69,016 crore, and 24,685 applications have been sanctioned at an estimated project cost of Rs. 1,66,839 crore. The textiles sector has witnessed a spurt in investment during the last five years. The cumulative investment between 2004-09 was Rs. 1,51,338 crore. The main

Industry

645

engine of investment has been the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS). The increased investment will help to upgrade technology, strengthen infrastructural facilities at potential textiles growth areas, increase the installation of additional spindles and looms. Besides, it will provide a fillip to the garmenting, technical textiles and processing segments of textiles industry, which have great potential for value addition and employment generation. Technical Textiles The Ministry of Textiles is focusing on the development of technical textiles, which is an emerging industry with a huge potential to attract investment. The global market size of technical textiles which was US $ 107 billion in 2005 is expected to jump to US $ 127 billion by 2010. The Indian Market size of technical textiles is expected to jump to US$ 12.46 billion by 2010 from US$ 6.7 billion in 2005 (CAGR 11.25%). In Indian context, Buildtech, Geotech, Meditech and Protech group of Technical textiles are considered significant. The Government will implement the Development and Growth of the Technical Textiles Scheme during the XIth Five Year Plan period. The scheme aims to set up four Centres of Excellence (CoE), one each for the Agrotech, Buildtech, Meditech and Geotech group of technical textiles at an outlay of Rs. 44 crore. The Synthetic and Art Silk Mills Research Association (SASMIRA), Mumbai in association with the Manmade Textiles Research Association (MANTRA), Surat and Navsari Agriculture University, Navasari, Gujarat has been designated as a CoE for Agrotech. The Northern Indian Textiles Research Association (NITRA), Ghaziabad in association with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, has been designated as a CoE for Protech. The Ahmedabad Textiles Industry Association (ATIRA), Ahmedabad and Bombay Textiles Research Association (BTRA), Mumbai has been designated as CoE for Geotech. For Meditech, the South India Textiles Research Association, Coimbatore and AC College, Coimbatore have been designated as CoE. The Centre of Excellence for Geotech Textiles has been already inaugurated at BTRA, Mumbai and another one for Meditech is excepted to be operational at SITRA, Coimbatore shortly. The Government propose to Textiles which will be implemented The Mission will develop capacity, common testing facilities, expand skills. INFRASTRUCTURE

launch the Technology Mission on Technical during the XIth Five Year Plan period (2007-12). devise standards, develop products, and set up the domestic and export markets and develop

DEVELOPMENT

The Government proposes to develop world-class infrastructural and production facilities for handicrafts, handlooms, and decentralised powerlooms clusters with a minimum of 5,000 looms (handlooms and powerlooms) through the adoption of a Comprehensive Cluster Development approach. The following mega clusters are being taken up for development: l

Handlooms in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) and Sibsagar (Assam)

Handicrafts in Narsapur (Andhra Pradesh) and Moradabad (Uttar Pradesh)

Powerlooms in Bhiwandi (Maharashtra) and Erode (Tamil Nadu)

The Scheme for Integrated Textiles Parks (SITP) was launched in July 2005 by merging two earlier schemes, viz, Apparel Parks for Export Scheme (APES) and Textiles

646

India 2010

Centre Infrastructure Development Scheme (TCIDS). It aims to strengthen infrastructural facilities in potential textiles growth areas. In the Xth Five Year Plan, 30 Integrated Textile Parks were sanctioned under the SITP. Government have decided to continue the Scheme for Integrated Textiles Park (SITP) during the XIth Five Year Plan. One Textiles Park, viz., 'Palladam Hi-Tech Weaving Park' was inaugurated on April 19, 2008. During XIth Five Year Plan, 10 additional parks will be developed. These 40 Parks when operationalised, will attract an investment of Rs. 21,502 crore, create employment (direct and indirect) for 9.08 lakh workers and produce goods worth Rs. 38.115 crore, annually. RAW MATERIAL COTTON Cotton is one of the principal crops of the country and is the major raw material for the domestic textiles industry. It provides sustenance to millions of farmers and contributes significantly to the country's export earnings. The country has the distinction of growing all the four cultivated species of cotton viz., Gossypium arboretum, G. herbaceum (called Desi/Asian cotton), G. hirsutum (American upland types), and G. barbadense (Egyptian type), as also hybrid cottons. The Indian textiles industry consumes a diverse range of fibres and yarn, but is predominantly cotton based. The ratio of the use of Cotton to Man-made fibres and filament yarns by the domestic textiles industry is 56:44. Presently, India is the second largest producer of cotton (4.13 mn. metric tones), accounting for 16 per cent of global production, with the largest cultivated area in the world (89 lakh hectares in the cotton season of 2008-09 (October-September). The States of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu account for 99 per cent of cotton production in the country. Recently, India has overtaken the USA to become the second largest producer of cotton in the world. This was due to focused support to farmers provided by the Government, which has resulted in an increase in productivity as well as production. Since 2005-06, India is the net exporter of cotton. The cotton production reached 290 lakh bales (170 kg. each) in the cotton season of 2008-09. The productivity of cotton has jumped to 591 kg lint/hectare in the cotton season of 2008-09, from 399 kg lint/hectare in the cotton season of 2003-04. Since 2005-06, the country has become a net exporter of cotton. In 2006-07, 58 lakh bales of cotton were exported against 47 lakh bales in 2005-06, and 0.84 lakh bales in 2002-03. In 2007-08, exports of raw cotton exceeded the target of 65 lakh bales and were 80 lakh bales mainly due to fall in acerage in the USA and higher global demand. Consequently, cotton imports have declined from around 17 lakh bales in 2002-03 to 5 lakh bales in 2006-07. The Imports were around 6.5 lakh bales in 2007-08. The cotton export during the cotton season of 2008-09 were 60 lakh bales, and imports were of 7 lakh bales. From October end 2007 till July 2008, the cotton prices had been higher by around 20% to 40% compared to last year. The opening cotton prices during the fiscal 2007-08 had been higher by around 4% to 17% as compared to previous year. This was affecting the viability of textiles mills, and on the persistent demand of the Industry, the Government abolished import duty of 14.7%, and drawback benefits on raw cotton w.e.f. July 8, 2008. The measure helped in stabilizing the prices.

Industry

647

A significant increase in the cotton production has increased the availability of raw cotton to the domestic textiles industry at competitive prices, providing it with a competitive edge in the global market. The reasons for increase in the production include increasing usage of Bt cotton and the implementation of the Technology Mission on Cotton (TMC). The area under the Bt cultivation, which was around 5 lakh hectares in the cotton season of 2003-04, has gone up to 65 lakh hectares in the cotton season of 2008-09. MINIMUM SUPPORT PRICE (MSP) OPERATIONS The Government is operating the Minimum Support Price (MSP) Scheme through the agency of Cotton Corporation of India Ltd. (CCI), a public sector enterprise, to ensure a minimum return to the farmer even in the depressed market conditions. The support price are fixed by the Government for two basic varieties of cotton of fair average quality, recommended by the Commission for Agriculture Costs and Price (CACP). While one is the medium long staple length group of 25 mm-27 mm of the variety F414/H-777/J-34, the other is the long staple group of 27.5 mm-32 mm which is of the variety H-4. Based on the support price of these two basic varieties and taking into account the normal price differential and other relevant factors, the MSP for other varieties of seed cotton of fair average quality are fixed by the Textiles Commissioner. The MSP of medium staple cotton of length group 24.5 mm, has been raised by a record 39% to Rs. 2,500 per quintal in the cotton season of 2008-09. The MSP last was Rs. 1,800 per quintal. The MSP for long staple variety of length group 29.5 mm to 30.5 mm has been raised to Rs. 3,000 per quintal in the cotton season of 2008-09 from Rs. 2,250 per quintal in thee cotton season of 2007-08. Cotton Season 2008-09 MSP operations by CCI (July 2009) Total Arrival 286.50 lakh bales. 89 lakh bales procured at an estimated cost of approx Rs. 12,838 crore. 81.70 lakh bales sold, including export of 50,000 bales. MAN-MADE FIBRE The Man-Made Fibre (MMF) and yarn industry comprises fibres and filaments of both cellulosic and non-cellulosic origin, generally referred to as rayon and synthetic fibres/yarns. The cellulosic fibre/yearn industry is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Textiles, while the non-cellulosic fibre industry is under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers (Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals). While in most textiles producing countries the ratio of MMF to cotton is 60:40, in India it is still 44:56. Considering the importance of this sector, Government is taking several steps to correct this imbalance and promote the MMF sector. With regard to manmade fibers/yarns, production of such fibres and yarns has shown a rising trend during the last five years to the extent that India is now the fifth largest producer in the world. JUTE AND JUTE TEXTILES INDUSTRY The Jute industry occupies an important place in the national economy. It is one of the major industries in the eastern region, particularly in West Bengal. Jute, the golden

India 2010

648

fibre, meets all the standards for 'safe' packaging in view of being a natural, renewable, biodegradable and eco-friendly product. Globally, India is the largest producer and second largest exporter of jute goods and this sector supports the livelihood of about 40 lakh farm families, and provides direct and indirect employment to 4 lakh workers. There are 77 Jute mills in the country. Of these 60 are in West Bengal, 3 each in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, 7 in Andhra Pradesh, and one each in Assam, Orissa, Tripura and Chhattisgarh. Annually, the export of Jute products ranges between Rs. 1,075-1,100 crore. The production of raw jute varies between 90-100 lakh bales (180 kg. each), and the domestic consumption of jute goods is in the range of 13.5-14.5 lakh MT. The ratio of domestic consumption to exports is 80:20. The production of jute is concentrated in 36 districts of West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Andhra Pradesh. In the 2008-09 jute season (July-June), the production of raw jute was 90 lakh bales (180 kgs. each). The Government on June 2, 2006, approved the implementation of the Jute Technology Mission (JTM) at an estimated cost of Rs. 355.55 crore, of which the outlay for mini missions III and IV will be Rs. 38.60 and Rs. 260.00 crore respectively. The Department of Agricultural Research & Education, Ministry of Agriculture, launched the Mini Mission I of the Jute Technology Mission (JTM) on November 9, 2006. The Department of Agriculture & Cooperative, Ministry of Agriculture, launched Mini Mission II of JTM on December 21, 2006. Mini Mission III and IV were launched by the Ministry of Textiles on February 6, 2007. JTM comprise four Mini-missions: 1 ) Mini-mission I

Strengthening of Research & Development

2 ) Mini-mission II

Transfer of Technology

3 ) Mini-mission III

Development of Marketing Infrastructure

4 ) Mini-mission IV

Modernisation/Upgradation of Technology of Jute Sector, and initiation of activities for promotion of Jute Diversified Products.

VILLAGE AND SMALL ENTERPRISES SECTOR THE SERICULTURE AND SILK TEXTILES INDUSTRY Globally India is the second largest producer of silk and contributes about 18% to the total world raw silk production. India has the unique distinction of being endowed with all the four varieties of silk, namely, Mulberry, Eri, Tasar, and Muga. It is one of the most labour intensive sector, combining activities both agriculture (Sericulture) and industry. The production process involves a long chain of inter-dependent, specialized operations which provide a means of livelihood to a large section of the population, i.e. silkworm seed producers, farmers-cum-rearers, reelers, twisters, weavers, spinners of silk waste, traders, etc. Silk is a highly remunerative cash crop, with minimum investment but rich dividends, and is the only cash crop which provides sustained returns throughout the year. The sericulture sector provides employment to about 6 million people, mainly in rural areas. The Government of India has concurrent responsibility for the development of the Silk industry in the country, which it fulfills mainly through the Central Silk Board (CSB), a statutory body, constituted under the Central Silk Board Act, 1948. The

Industry

649

role of State Governments in sericulture development has customarily been the expansion of sericulture activity, and the provision of farmer-level extension and other support services, including credit facilitation. CSB implements the Catalytic Development Programme (CDP) in the silk producing States which provides support and incentives for the production of quality cocoons and raw silk. Support and incentives are provided mainly to small & marginal farmers and small entrepreneurs, under both on-farm and off-farm activities, in mulberry and non-mulberry sectors. Most CDP schemes are implemented jointly by CSB and the Sericulture Departments of the State Governments, and also through the cluster approach/SGSY programme of the Ministry of Rural Development. Generally, State Sericulture Departments are the major implementing agencies for the CDP. During 2008-09, the production of raw silk was 18,360 mt. against a demand of around 26,000 mt. and exports amounted to Rs. 2,637 crore. The export basket consists of Natural Silk Yarn, Fabrics, Made-ups, Readymade Garments, Silk Carpets, and Silk waste. The total silk production during 2009-10 is anticipated to be 22.855 mt. The Silk Mark Scheme was launched for the brand promotion of Silk. The Central Silk Board (Amendment) Act, 2006 was enacted to regulate the quality of Silk-worm seeds, and came into force w.e.f. September 14, 2006. THE WOOL AND WOOLLEN TEXTILES INDUSTRY The woollen textiles industry is a rural based, export oriented industry in which the organized sector, the decentralized sector, and the rural sector complement each other. This industry provides employment to 27 lakh workers in a wide spectrum of activities. The country is the seventh largest producer of wool and contributes 1.8%to total world production. The production of indigenous raw wool was 45 mn.kg in 2007-08. Of the total production of raw wool, 5% is apparel grade, 85% carpet grade, and 10% coarse grade. Domestic produce is not adequate, therefore, the industry is dependent on imported raw material. Wool is the only natural fibre in which the country is deficient. A small quantity of specialty fibre is obtained from Pashmina goats and Angora rabbits. There are 958 woollen units in the country, the majority of which are in the small scale sector. Government is implementing the Integrated Wool Improvement & Development Programme (IWIDP). Quality Processing of Wool and Social Security Scheme for the growth and development of the wool and woollen industry in the country. The programme is being administered by the Central Wool Development Board (CWDB), Jodhpur, through State Government Organizations/NGOs etc. DECENTRALIZED POWERLOOMS INDUSTRY The Decentralized Powerlooms sector is one of the most important segments of the textiles industry, as it provides employment to 54 lakh workers and contributes 62% to total cloth production in the country. There are 21-58 lakh powerlooms in the centres. The cloth output from this decentralised sector had increased from 30.63 billion sq. mtrs in 2005-06 to 33.65 billion mtrs in 2008-09. More than 60% of the fabric meant for export is sourced from powerlooms sector. The ready-made garments and home textiles sectors are heavily depended on the powerlooms sector to meet their fabric requirement. The major powerlooms cluster are at Erode, Salem, Madurai,

650

India 2010

Ichalkaranji, Solapur, Bhiwandi, Burhanpur, Bhilwara, Kishangarh, Ludhiana, Amritsar and Panipat. The Government, in an effort to modernize the powerloom sector, have simplified procedures to access loan under the Technology Upgradation Funds Scheme (TUFS) and provided on additional option to the decentralized powerlooms sector to avail 20 per cent margin money subsidy till 2012, in lieu of 5% interest reimbursement on investment in TUFS compatible machinery. HANDLOOMS Handlooms play a very important role in the country's economy and provide direct or indirect employment to about 6.5 million people. Today, while the sector faces competition from powerlooms and the textile mills, and is constrained by its continued dependence on the co-operative delivery machinery, effective state intervention in the form of market and design support, as well as other developmental welfare schemes have helped it to withstand competition. The Government of India has also ensured the availability of raw-material to handloom weavers through the Hank Yarn Obligation Order. The fabric production, which was witnessing a down turn has staged a smart recovery. The sector produced over 6,108 million sq. mtrs. of cloth in 2005-06 and 6,536 million sq. mtrs. of cloth in 2006-07 and 6,947 million sq. mtrs in 2007-08. In 2008-09 the production is expected to be 6,677 million sq. mtrs. The Government had for the first time adopted the clusters development approach for the comprehensive and holistic development of selected handloom clusters. It is expected that 625 clusters, with 300-500 looms, at an estimated cost of Rs. 60 lakhs per cluster, will be developed by 2012. The new Health Insurance Scheme (in place of the earlier one) was launched on November 3, 2005. The Scheme Cover all pre-existing and new diseases. Besides, Mahatma Gandhi, Bunker Bima Yojna was launched on October 2, 2005 in collaboration with the Life Insurance Corporation of India Ltd (LIC), to cover natural and accidental deaths. To give a distinctive identity to handlooms products, the Handloom Mark was launched on June 28, 2006, by the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh. HANDICRAFTS Handicrafts represent the rich and diverse cultural heritage of the country. Their cultural importance pertains to ensuring the preservation of heritage, traditional skills and talent. Their economic importance lies in their high employment potential, low capital investment, high value addition, and potential for export/foreign exchange earnings. The Sector provides employment to an estimated 65 lakhs artisans, of which 47.42% are female; 24.73% belong to Scheduled Castes, and 12.38 % to Scheduled Tribes. The Government had launched the Rajiv Gandhi Shilp Swasthya Bima Yojana in March 2007 to provide health care services to the artisans' family, including self, spouse and two children. The Handicrafts sector has emerged as one of the most important foreign exchange earners for India on a sustained basis. India is the world leader in exported carpets with 36% of global share. The progress in terms of product range, number of companies and value of exports has been tremendous. In 1991, exports of handicrafts were Rs. 713 crore and these reached the peak of

Industry

651

Rs. 20,963 crore (including hand-knotted carpets) in 2006-07. However the exports in 2007-08 were Rs. 17,537 crore (US$ 4.36 billion), indicating a declining trend. The appreciation of Indian rupee against US$ and recession in developed countries had been the main causes for this. The export during 2008-09 were 10,892 crore. The Government have sanctioned 44 urban Haats across the country on the pattern of Delhi Haat to provide direct marketing outlets to artisans from rural and urban areas. The Urban Haats at following locations have become operational. Jammu and Srinagar (J&K), Uchana, Karnal (Haryana), Jodhpur (Rajasthan), Gohar Mahal, Bhopal (M.P.), Ahmedabad & Bhuj (Gujarat), Mysore (Karnataka), Tirupati (A.P.), Bhubaneshwar & Konark (Orissa), Agra (UP) and Pitampura (Delhi) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT TEXTILES RESEARCH ASSOCIATIONS (TRAs) There are eight Textiles Research Associations (TRAs), the Ahmedabad Textiles Industry Research Association (ATIRA), the Bombay Textiles Industry Research Association (BTRA), the South India Textiles Industry Research Association (SITRA) and the Northern India Textiles Industry Research Association (NITRA) which carry out consultancy, testing, training and research and development in cotton and cotton/synthetic as well as cotton / natural fibre blends. The Man-made Textiles Industry Research Association (MANTRA), and the Synthetic & Art Silk Mills Research Association (SASMIRA) work predominantly in synthetics. The Wool Research Association (WRA), and the India Jute Industry's Research Association (IJIRA) carry out work in wool and jute, respectively. TRAs are industry promoted bodies and work in a wide range of fibre/ technology, areas for product development, process improvement, testing, consultancy and address training needs of the industry. The policy initiatives of the Government of India support innovation, investment in R&D, and the generic research programmes of TRAs, and encourage industry to support the TRAs to cater to their technological needs. The Government recognizes that innovation is the key to survival in the globalized world. Continuous innovation in technology, machinery, products and processes is necessary for the Industry to fully exploit the opportunities available in the world market. To achieve the above objective, the Government during the XIth Five Year Plan period (2007-12), is adequately supporting TRAs. Technology is changing fast and equipment is becoming obsolete at a faster pace. To cope-up with such changes, facilities and laboratories of the TRAs are being upgraded. TEXTILE

COMMITTEE

The Textiles Committee is an autonomous statutory body established under the Textiles Committee Act, 1963 (4 of 1963). The main objective of the Committee is to ensure quality of textiles both for internal consumption and for export purposes, and the manufacture and use of standard type of textile machinery. Its other major functions, inter-alia, include setting up of textile testing facilities, collection of textile consumption data and publishing time series reports, conducting industry surveys and studies on aspects of quality, productivity etc. and other developmental activities. After onset of liberalization in the early nineties, the Committee discontinued its regulatory role in its entirety and reoriented its role and functions completely. It now concentrates on industry-friendly and development-oriented activities.

India 2010

652 HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (HRD)

Human Resource Development (HRD) is one of the most critical inputs for industrial organization. The integration of the world textile market has intensified competition, and in this scenario, to improve the market share in the international market and to face the onslaught of imported textiles items, it is imperative to address the issue of HRD. The basic idea is to use intellectual capital to the optimum to improve productivity and the quality of textiles products. The XIth Five Year Plan envisages a growth of 16% of the textiles sector, in value term, and the projected combined growth for exports and domestic consumption, in textiles will be in the region of US$ 115 billion by 2012. This postulates that manufacturing capacity will have to grow exponentially from the present level of 55 billion square meters annually, to approximately 95 billion square meters by 2012. It will entail the installation of more manufacturing units, to be followed by an increase in processing and garmenting capacities to accomplish value addition within the country itself at a level significantly higher than presently. The consequent investment required has been estimated at Rs. 1,50,600 crores. All these factors had contributed to the demand for a large labour force, the requirement of which has been estimated at approximately 17 million workers. Of these, 5 million will necessarily have to be skilled workers, and the remaining 12 million will be unskilled workers. Of the 5 million skilled workers, owing to the imperative to create value, an estimated 4 million workers will have to be trained to work in the garmenting sector alone. The remaining 1 million will be spread over the spinning, weaving, knitting and processing sectors of the textiles industry. The Engineering and Post-Graduate Institutions imparting training in textiles are largely capable of meeting the demand for higher education in textiles engineering though their capacities and curricula is being expanded to take into account emerging technological developments in the modern textiles industry. Training at the lower end of the technological spectrum in the textiles industry is being mainly imparted by the following bodies: Textiles Research Associations

(TRAs)

Powerlooms Service Centres (PSCs)

Indian Institutes of Handloom Technology (IIHT)

Weaver's Service Centres (WSC)

Industrial Training Institutes (ITI)

4,971 (1,243 in Textiles)

Apparel Training & Design Centres (ATDCs)

In addition, there are a few Home Science Colleges offering training in textiles and clothing. The Industrial Training Institutes (ITI), being run by the Director General of Employment & Training, Ministry of Labour and Employment, are mainstays for training in industry and out of the 4,971 it is, only 1,243 run 11 minor trades relating to the textiles sector. These are essentially designed to equip the candidates pursuing them for private individual employment, rather than workers in a modern industry. The Government is seriously considering to substantially increase the number of ITIs related to the textiles industry and the number of the textiles related trades being

Industry

653

taught in individual ITIs are being augmented. The numbers of textiles related trades are being increased on a region specific basis, given the present distribution and location of the various sub-sectors of the textiles industry. The Centre of Excellence Scheme (COE) under the Director General of Employment & Training is being enlarged and the number of textiles related ITIs are also been increased. Today, 1,243 ITIs that conduct courses in textiles related trades have a yearly intake of 33,372, against an overall admission of 7 lakh trainees in 4,971 ITIs. These numbers are being substantially increased to meet the requirements of the textiles industry. For the decentralized handlooms sector, the Indian Institutes of Handloom Technology (IIHT) provide qualified and trained manpower and undertake experimental and research programmes. Four Indian Institutes of Handloom Technology (IIHTs) at Varanasi, Salem, Guwahati & Jodhpur are in Central Sector, and IIHTs at Gadag, Venkategiri and Champa are in State sector and follow the corriculum of the Central Institutes. The IIHTs conduct 3 years' Diploma Course in Handloom Technology with total intake capacity 225 students (Salem-75, Varansi60, Guwahati-45, Jodhpur-45). IIHTs at Salem & Varanasi also conduct 1-1/2 years Post Diploma Course in Textiles Chemistry with intake of 28 students. The students are paid stipend of Rs. 400, Rs. 450 & Rs. 500 per month for the first, second and third year respectively, applicable for 10 months of academic year. The stipend payable to the students is borne by the Central Government and the respective State Governments in the ratio of 50:50. The fifth central sector IIHT has been set up at Bargarh, District Sambalpur, Orissa. The 25 Weavers Service Centres at Srinagar, Chamoli, Merrut, Varanasi, Panipat, Jaipur, Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Indore, Nagpur, Raigarh, Bengaluru, Kannur, Vijayawada, Hyderbad, Salem, Chennai, Kanchipuram, Kolkata, Bhagalpur and Bhubeneshwar, offer short term refresher courses. The Training needs of the decentralized powerloom sector are catered to by 44 Powerlooms Service Centres (PSCs) spread throughout the country. 14 Powerloom Service Centres (PSCs) are functioning under thee Office of the Textile Commissioner and 25 PSCs are functioning under the administrative control of different Textile Commissioner and 25 PSCs are functioning under the administrative control of different Textile Research Associations (TRAs). Four PSCs are functioning under Karnataka State Powerloom Development Corporation (KSPDC) and one PSC at Jabalpur is functioning under the administrative control of State Government of Madhya Pradesh. The Government have modernised these PSCs to cater to evolving need of these textiles sector. For the garment and knitwear sector, the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and Apparel Training and Design Centres (ATDCs) offer various courses. The Government brought into force the National Institute of Fashion Technology Act, 2006 on July 14, 2006. This Act provides statutory status to the Institute, and formally recognizes its leadership in the fashion technology sector. The Act empowers NIFT to Award degrees to its students from 2007 onwards. The President of India is the Visitor of the Institute. The Institute has pioneered the evolution of the fashion business eduction across the country through it centres at New Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Gandhinagar, Hyderb ad, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Rai Bareli. The Foundation Stone of NIFT centre at Kannur, Kerala was laid on April 19, 2008. The new Centres have been opened at Patna, Shillong, Kangra and Bhopal.

India 2010

654

The apparel indus try employs around 5 million workers, of which around 2.5 million are employed in the export sector. The Apparel Training Design Centres (ATDCs) were setup by the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) in 1991 to provide skilled manpower at the shop-floor level in the apparel industry. 39 ATDCs are currently functioning and plans are afoot to setup 25 new centres in 13 States, and 15 mobile centres are also proposed to be set up during the XIth Five Year Plan period. In addition to 30,000 students being trained by existing ATDCs 57,625 new students will be trained by 2012 and 15,000 students will be trained through mobile centres by 2012. The Sardar Vallabhhai Patel Institute of Textiles Management (SVPITM) was set-up on December 24, 2002 as a National level Institute for Textiles Management at Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. The Government is seriously considering to confer the status of a Centre of Excellence (COE) on the Institute during the XIth Five Year Plan period, and a vision document is under preparation. The Government has operationalised the Indian Institute of Carpet Technology (IICT) at Bhadohi, Uttar Pradesh to provide trained manpower to the Carpet Sector. The Institute conducts B. Tech courses in Carpet and Textiles Technology, which is recognized by AICTE, New Delhi and Uttar Pradesh Technical University. The annual intake is 60 students, and the Institute has provided an impetus to the growth of Carpet Sector in the globalized economy.

CENTRAL

PUBLIC

SECTOR

ENTERPRISES

At the time of Independence, the Indian economy was basically agrarian with a weak industrial base, low level of saving and investment and near absence of infrastructure facilities. This was due to poor planning by the alien rulers in the industrial sector. It was obvious that if the country was to speed up its economic growth and maintain it in the long run at a steady level, a big push was required. As such, Stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s intervention in all sectors of the economy was inevitable. There has been an appreciable growth in the investment in the public sector over the years. The investment of Rs. 29 crore in five CPSEs in 1951 increased to Rs. 403706 crore in 245 enterprises as on 31 March 2006 and further to Rs. 421089 crore in 247 enterprises as on 31 march 2007. During 2006-07 investment in public sector was increased by Rs. 17383 crore over the year 2005-06 registering an increase of 4.431 per cent. The internal resources generated by the public sector enterprises, during 2006-07 were amounting to Rs. 96551 crore. The PSEs have also been making substantial contribution to augment the resources of Central Government through payment of dividend, interest, corporate taxes, excise duties, etc. During 2006-07, contribution to the Central Exchequer by the CPSEs through these resources amounted to Rs. 147728 crore. The total turnover of the 217 operating Central Public Sector Enterprises during 2006-07 was Rs. 964410 crore compared to Rs. 837295 crore in the previous year with the growth of Rs. 15.18%. Besides providing direct employment to about 1.64 million people as on 1 March 2007 the PSEs incurred gross expenditure amounting to Rs. 3581 crore on township maintenance, administration and social overheads. The Government of India announced on 24 July 1991 a statement of Industrial Policy inter-alia to improve the performance and portfolio of Public Sector Enterprises. The performance of CPSEs has improved significantly since 1991-92 and has shown continuous growth. Performance of CPSEs from 1991-92 to 2006-07 in some of the important financial parameters is given in table on the next page :

Industry

655

TABLE 18.1 : PERFORMANCE OF CENTRAL PUBLIC SECTOR ENTERPRISES (Rs in crore) Year

No. of operating

Turnover/ PBIT Operating

CPSEs

Income

Net Profit

Prov. Dividend for Payment Tax

Contribution Gross to Central Internal Exchequer

Resource Generation

1991-92

23 7

1,33,906

13,675

2,356

1,647

687

19,951

12,943

1992-93

239

1,47,266

15,957

3,271

1,805

792

22,449

14,792

1993-94

240

1,58,049

18,556

4,545

2,110

1,028

22,988

16,676

1994-95

241

1,87,355

22,630

7,187

2,581

1,436

27,472

19,992

1995-96

239

2,26,919

27,587

9,574

4,047

2,205

30,878

24,198

1996-97

236

2,60,735

30,915 10,186

5,192

2,836

39,009

25,554

1997-98

236

2,76,002

37,206 13,582

5,634

3,609

42,289

31,192

1998-99

235

3,10,179

39,727 13,203

6,499

4,932

46,934

31,302

1999-2000

232

3,89,199

42,270 14,331

7,706

5,455

56,157

35,933

2000-01

234

4,58,237

48,767 15,653

9,314

8,260

61,037

37,811

2001-02

231

4,47,529

63,190 25,978 12,255

8,068

62,866

52,544

2002-03

227

5,35,165

73,374 32,399 17,432

13,768

81,867

54,273

2003-04

230

5,87,052

99,053 53,084 22,134

15,288

89,035

75,409

2004-05

227

7,00,862

1,09,518 65,429 21,661

20,714

1,10,599

83,854

2005-06

226

837295

117614

69536

24370

22886

125456

85557

2006-07

217

964410

142949

81550

34330

26805

147728

96551

(-)9

15.18

21.54

17.28

40.87

17.12

17.75

12.81

(-)11

620.21

9 4 5 . 3 33 3 6 1 . 3 81 9 8 4 . 4 0 3 8 0 1 . 7 5

675.43

645.97

Growth in 2006-07 over 2005-06 and over 1991-92 (per cent)

Source : Public Enterprise Survey, 2006-07 and earlier issues

The improvement aft er liberalisation is not only in absolute terms but also in important financial ratios. The return on investment, i.e., profit before interest and tax to capital employed has gone up from 11.6 per cent in 1991-92 to 21.49 per cent in 2006-07 and dividend payout from 29.2 per cent to 33.28 per cent during the same period. In July 1997, the Government had identified 9 Central Public Sector Enterprises as Navratnas. These enterprises had comparative advantage and potential to emerge as global giants. The Navratna PSEs at present are BHEL, BPCL, GAIL, HPCL, IOC, MTNL, NTPC, ONGC and SAIL. These PSEs have been given enhanced autonomy and delegation of powers to incur capital expenditure, to enter into technology joint ventures/strategic alliances, to effect organisational restructuring, to create and wind up below Board level posts, to raise capital from domestic and international market, to establish financial joint ventures and to wholly owned subsidiaries, etc. In October 1977, the Government had also decided to grant enhanced autonomy and delegation of financial powers to some other profit making companies subject to certain eligibility conditions and guidelines to make them efficient and competitive.

656

India 2010

These companies, called Miniratnas, are in two categories, namely, Category-I and Category-II. The criteria for conferring the Miniratna status are : (i) PSE should be profit making for the last 3 years continuously and should have positive net worth, (ii) it should not have defaulted in repayment of loans/interest payment on loans due to Government, (iii) it should not depend upon budgetary support or Government guarantee (Government guarantee required under the standard stipulations of external donor agencies will not affect the Miniratna status); and (iv) restructuring of the Board of Directors by inducting non-official Directors. PSEs which have made pre-tax profit of Rs. 30 crore or more in at least one of the 3 years are given Category I status while others are given Category II status. The administrative Ministries are empowered to declare a PSE as a Miniratna if it fulfils the eligibility conditions. Presently there are 45 Miniratna PsEs (30 Category I and 15 Category II). The enhanced powers delegated to the Boards of Miniratna PSEs included power to incur capital expenditure, to establish joint ventures and subsidiaries in India, to enter into technology joint ventures/strategic alliances and obtain technology and know-how by purchase or other arrangements. The exercise of these powers is subject to various conditions and guidelines laid down for this purpose including restructuring of the Board of Directors by inducting non-official Directors. Keeping in view the pledge made in the National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) that full managerial and commercial autonomy will be devolved to successful profit making companies operating in a competitive environment, the Government have reviewed the powers delegated to the Board of Directors of Navratna, Miniratna and other profit making PSEs and have enhanced the delegated powers in August 2005. Other profit making PSEs, i.e., those which have shown a profit in each of the 3 preceding accounting years and have a positive net worth, have also been delegated enhanced powers. The National Common Minimum Programme stipulates that the Government is committed for a strong and efficient public sector. While every effort will be made to modernise and restructure sick public sector companies and revive sick industry, chronically loss-making companies will either be sold-off, or closed, after all workers have got their legitimate dues and compensation. Private industry will be inducted to turn-around companies, which have potential for revival. It is the constant endeavor of the Government to revive/restructure the PSEs in order to improve their performance, productivity and profitability. Major emphasis had been on the sick and loss making enterprises, which are capable of being revived. The sick industrial enterprises are referred to board for Industrial and Financial reconstruction (BIFR) under the provision of Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provision) Act, 1985 for formulating appropriate revival/rehabilitation packages. As for other loss making enterprises, administrative Ministries/Departments in consultation with management, workers and other expert/consultants take appropriate measures for restructuring these units. As on 31.3.2008, 66 PSEs were registered with BIFR, out of which revival schemes were sanctioned in respect of 9 enterprises, 3 cases dismissed as non-maintainable, 5 companies declared as 'no longer sick', and 5 other cases dropped on account of net worth becoming positive. The Government has set up a Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises (BRPSE), which inter-alia considers and advises the Government on the proposals of restructuring/revival of sick and loss making CPSE, including cases where disinvestment or closure or sale are justified. The concerned administrative

Industry

657

Ministries/ Departments prepare appropriate proposals in this regard and submit to BRPSE for consideration. BRPSE has made recommendations in respect of 53 CPSEs so far and out of them the Government has approved revival plans of 52 cases till 30 June 2008. In the process of restructuring of the sick and loss making enterprises and to improve the performance of profit making enterprises, emphasis has been laid on rationalisation of Manpower in the Central PSEs. In the years 2000 and 2001, the Government liberalised the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) for the employees of CPSEs to enable the CPSEs to rationalise their manpower. Cumulatively around 5.9 lakh employees have opted for Voluntary Retirement from CPSEs since October 1988 till March 2007. As a safety net for separated employees of CPSEs, a scheme for Counseling, Retraining and Redeployment (CRR) is under implementation of DPE from 2001-02. The scheme aims at rehabilitation of the rationalised employees through short duration training programmes of 30/45/60 days. MoU system in CPSEs is a mutually negotiated agreement between the management of the CPSEs and the concerned Administrative Ministry/Department of the Government of India. Under this agreement, the enterprise undertakes to achieve the targets set in the agreement at the beginning of the year. The targets comprise both financial and no n-financial parameters and the performance evaluation is done on a 5-points scale at the end of the year. The final score is a composite score since different parameters are assigned different weights. During 1987-88, only 4 CPSEs signed MoU which went up to 144 CPSEs in 2008-09. The Government has now decided that all CPSEs including sick and loss making and CPSEs under construction will be covered under the MoU system. Subsidiaries CPSEs should sign MoUs with their holding companies. Main highlights of the Guidelines on the MoU system existing since 2006-07 are mentioned below : (i)

There would be MoU evaluation of CPSEs only once during the year based on audited figures. Those CPSEs who do not submit self-evaluation score based on audited accounts to Departments of Public Enterprises by 31st August will not be eligible for the Award.

(ii)

The MoU composite scores and ratings should be prepared and finalized by the Syndicate Group concerned of the Task Force.

(iii)

Once the MoUs are signed between the CPSEs and the Departments, no revision of targets will be permitted.

(iv)

The total number of awards will be 12 (1 from each of 10 syndicates, 1 from the listed CPSEs, and 1 from amongst the turnaround sick and loss making Enterprises), all other excellence performing CPSEs will get merit certificates.

(v)

Performance evaluation henceforth will be done once a year and this will have to be done with the combined effort of all the Syndicate Members.

(vi)

One MoU Excellence Award shall be based on the listed CPSEs.

(v)

One MoU Excellence Award shall be given from amongst the sick and loss making CPSEs for the best turn aro und performance.

PERMANENT MACHINERY OF ARBITRATION Permanent Machinery of Arbitration (PMA) has been set up in Department of Public Enterprises for resolving commercial disputes, except taxation, between CPSEs inter-

India 2010

658

se as well as between a CPSE and a Central Government Department/Ministry from 1993-94 disputes with Ports Trusts have also been included under the purview of PMA for arbitration. The Ministry of Railways were excluded from the purview of PMA vide DPE's OM dated 12.2.1997. The disputes are required to be referred to Department of Public Enterprises, which on being satisfied with prima facie existence of dispute, refers the dispute to the Arbitrator of the PMA for Arbitration. The Arbitration Act, 1940 (now 1996) is not applicable in these cases. No outside lawyer is allowed to appear on behalf of either party for presenting/defending the cases. PMA guidelines were revised and issued on 22.1.2004. There is one Arbitrator in the PMA. The PMA is designed to be self supporting, and hence the PMA charges an Arbitration free which is worked out by the Arbitrator based on the formula given in the guidelines. As per OM dated 22.1.2004, the Arbitrator shall make his award within six months after entering upon the reference or after having been called upon to act by notice in writing from any party to the arbitration agreement or within such extended item as the parties may allow. Even since the PMA was created in 1989, the Secretary (PE) has referred 224 cases to the Arbitrator. Arbitration Awards have been published in respect of 144 cases so far.

HEAVY

ELECTRICAL

INDUSTRY

Heavy Electrical Industry covers power generation, transmission & distribution and Power equipment. These include turbo generators, boilers, various types of turbines, transformers, switch gears and other allied items. The demand for power generation equipment depends upon power development programme/generation targets. The target for additional power generation during the Eleventh Plan Period is 78,530 MW. New power plants, to be setup, will generate substantial demand for heavy electrical equipment. It may be mentioned that major portion of the equipment, sucessfully in operation in the power sector, has been produced, installed and commissioned by the Indian electrical Industry, Electrical equipments such as transformers switchgears etc. are used by all sectors of the Indian Economy. Some major areas where these are used are the multi crore projects for power generation including nuclear power stations, petrochemical complexes, chemical plants, integrated steel plants, non-ferrous metal units etc. A strong manufacturing base has already been established for heavy electrical equipment and existing installed capacity of the industry is of the order of 7086 MW of thermal, 2500 MW of Hydro and about 829 MW of Gas based power generation equipment per annum. The Indian Heavy Electrical industry is also capable of manufacture and supply of equipment required for setting up nuclear power plants. The present share of the Indian Industry is about 66% in the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s power generation capacity. The Heavy Electrical Industry is capable of manufacturing transmission and distribution equipment to 765 KV AC and high voltage DC. The industry has taken up the work of upgradation of transmission to the next higher voltage system of 800 KV and has upgraded its manufacturing facilities to supply 800 KV class transformers, reactors, CTS, CVT, bushing and insulators etc. Large electrical equipment use din Steel plants, petrochemical complexes and other such heavy industries are also being manufactured in the country.

Industry

659

The domestic Heavy Electrical equipment manufacturers are making use of the developments in the global market with respect to product designs and upgrading of manufacturing and testing facilities and are now capable of taking up turnkey contracts both in India and abroad. Technology Transfer is allowed in this core sector of industry with 100% FDI. AUTOMOBILE

INDUSTRY

1. Current Industrial Policy Automobile Industry was delicensed in July 1991 with the announcement of the New Industrial Policy. The passenger car was however delicensed in 1993. No industrial licence is required for setting up of any unit for manufacture of automobiles except in some special cases. The norms for Foreign Investment and import of technology have also been progressively liberalized over the years for manufacture of vehicles including passenger cars in order to make this sector globally competitive. At present 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is permissible under automatic route in this sector. The import of technology/technological upgradation on the royalty payment of 5% without any duration limit and lump sum payment of USD 2 million is also allowed under automatic route in this sector. The liberalisation of restrictions has helped the sector to restructure itself, absorb newer technologies, align itself to the global developments and realize its full potential. 2. EXIM Policy With the removal of quantitative restrictions (QRs) with effect from 1.4.2001, the import of vehicle is allowed freely subject to certain conditions notified by DGFT. This dispensation is also applicable for passenger car segment. Further, in order to ensure that India does not become a dumping ground for old and used vehicles produced abroad, the custom duty on import of second hand vehicles including passenger cars is levied at 100%. The custom duty on new Completely Built Units (CBUs) has been maintained at a level of 60%. As a result, the manufacturing of vehicles has been encouraged insteadof imports. 3. Current Status of Indian automobile industry and passenger car sector : 3.1 Major Players : With the gradual liberalization of the automobile sector since 1991, the number of manufacturers in India has grown progressively. At present there are 17 manufacturers of passenger cars multi utility vehicles, 9 manufacturers of commercial vehicles, 16 of two & three wheelers and 14 of tractors, besides 5 manufacturers of engines. The industry had an estimated investment of nearly Rs. 70,000 crores in 2006-2007 which is slated to go up to Rs. 80,000 crore by the year 2007. During the year 2006-2007, the turnover of the automotive sector is estimated to exceed Rs. 206,000 crores. In passenger car segment, Maruti still holds the number one position followed by Hyundai and Tata Motors. The industry also offers substantial scope of employment with direct employment of 4.5 lakhs and about one crore indirect employment. 3.2 Installed Capacity, Production and Sale 3.2.1 Installed capacity : The automobile industry including passenger cars, over a period of time and particularly after liberalisation, has installed a robust capacity. The installed capacity in four wheelers and two & three wheelers was 15.90 lakh and 79.50 lakh respectively in 2004-05.

India 2010

660

3.2.2 Production : The production of all categories of vehicles during the last 6 years is given below : Production (in nos.) Category

2001-02

2002-03

Four

832,227

Two & Three Wheelers Total

Wheelers

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

92,027

1,264,600 1,563,579

1,700,383

2,064,850

4,484,075

5,352,940

5,978,964 6,904,274

8,043,120

9,000,292

5,316,302

6,279,967

7,243,564 8,467,853

9,743,503 11,065,142

Source : SIAM

3.2.3 Sale of vehicles : The sale of all categories of vehicles during the last 6 years and for the current year is given below : Domestic Sales (in nos.) Category

2001-02

2002-03

Four

821,787

Two & Three Wheelers Total

Wheelers

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

897,880

1,162,210 1,380,002

1,494,117

1,847,580

4,404,001

5,043,655

5,648,327 6,517,627

7,412,311

8,261,457

5,225,788

5,941,535

6,810,537 7,897,629

8,906,428 10,109,037

Source : SIAM

4. Growth of the Industry With liberalization coupled with arrival of new and contemporary models, stimulated the demand for vehicles in the market leading to robust growth of the industry including the passenger car sector during the initial periods. The auto industry as a whole achieved a cumulative annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16% between 1992-97. This has led to an increase in its contribution to industrial output from 4.3% in 92-93 to 5.4% by 96-97. The passenger car sector also during 1992-97 at around the same rate of growth. However, since 1997-98 the industry could not maintain the same pace of growth, In fact, there was a negative growth in some segments owing to various reasons, including global economic slowdown and slow growth of agricultural sector. However, the industry has again picked up and since 1999-2000, the sector has performed steadily. The automobile sector over the last five years is growing at 14%. In 2006-07, the domestic sales grew at 13.5%, with commercial vehicles,passenger vehicles, three wheelers and two wheelers growing at 33%, 21%, 12% and 11% respectively. The volume of the Auto Industry as a percentage of GDP has risen to 5.5% in 2006-07. 5. Export of Vehicles Automotive industry of India is now finding increasing recognition worldwide. While a beginning has been made in exports of vehicles, the potential in this area still remains to be fully tapped. Significantly, during the last few years, the export in this sector has grown owing mainly to the export of cars and two/three wheelers. The

Industry

661

sector grew at a rate of 40% over last five years. The table below indicates the performance during last 6 years : Export in nos. Category

2001-02

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

65,035

84,260

146,723

196,342

216,172

248,244

Two & Three Wheelers

119,645

223,048

333,196

433,202

590,050

763,034

Total

184,680

307,308

479,919

629,544

806,222

1,011,278

Four

Wheelers

Source : SIAM

RECENT GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES The key challenge, however, is to maintain the growth levels and to enhance our global presence, make ‘Made in India’ brand a reality and develop the ability to achieve in a ‘no protection environment’. In order to realise the growth potential of Indian automotive Industry both domestically and globally and to optimize its contribution to the national economy, the Department of Heavy Industry has prepared a 10 year Mission Plan for the development of theIndian Automotive Sector and creation of a global automotive hub. AUTOMOTIVE MISSION PLAN 2006-2016 Hon’ble Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh launched ‘‘Automotive Mission Plan 2006-2016’’ (AMP 2006-2016) prepared by the Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises in January 2007. The AMP 2006-2016 is the outcome of an intensive consultation process with all the stake holders including the industry, academia and various Ministries/Departments of the Government. The Vision of the Mission Plan is to make India ‘‘emerge as the destination of choice in the world for design and manufacture of automobiles and auto components with output reaching a level of US$ 145 billion accounting for more than 10% of the GDP and providing additional employment to 25 million people by 2016’’. The Mission Plan has identified various interventions/prescriptions to promote investment, exports, domestic demand, human resource development, labour reforms and for creating R&D) infrastructure in the country, at both the industry as well as the Government level, to achieve the milestones/targets laid down in the AMP 2006-2016. It also seeks to remove the infrastructural impediments which inhibit growth of the industry and to put in place the required infrastructure well in advance to facilitate growth of the sector. The suggested recommendations in the AMP interalia includes promotion of manufacture and export of small cars, MUVs, two wheelers, tractors and components, to follow an appropriate policies conducive for investment and export, setting up of institutional and infrastructural support facilities to promote R&D, human resource development and to coordinate safety and emission regulations. Another significant initiative of the Government to put Indian Auto Industry on the global map has been the initiation of the National Automotive Testing & R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRIP) at total cost of Rs. 1,718 Crore.

India 2010

662

The project principally aims to (i) create critically needed automotive testing infrastructure to enable the Government in ushering in global vehicular safety, emission and performance standards, (ii) deepen manufacturing in India, promote larger value addition and facilitate convergence of Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strengths in IT and electronics with automotive engineering, (iii) enhance Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s abysmally low global outreach in this sector by de-bottlenecking exports and (iv) remove the most significant obstacle in the growth path of one of the largest industries of India, i.e. the automotive industry which exists in the form of a crippling absence of basic product testing, validation anddevelopment infrastructure. The project envisages setting up of three world class test centers and a proving ground in the country. With setting up these facilities, the Government would be able to create an outstanding pre-competitive R&D infrastructure in South Asia for the fast growing auto sector. It is expected that this would help the sector in realizing its full growth and export potentials.

STEEL Today, India is the fifth largest Crude steel producing country in the world. The crude steel production in the country during 2008-09 (Provisional) was 54.52 million tonnes as compared to the 53.86 million tonnes in 2007-08. Production : The production of Finished (Carbon) Steel during the personal 2003-04 to 2008-9 is as under : Year

Crude steel production in India (million tonnes)

2003-04

38.73

2004-05

43.44

2005-06

46.46

2006-07

50.82

2007-08

53.86

2008-09 (Provisional)

54.52

Source : JPC Production For Sale of Total Finished Steel (Carbon+Alloy) (in million tonnes) Item

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07 2007-08

2008-09 (Prov.)

Main

Producers

15.363

15.814

16.406

17.599

(5.9)

(2.9)

(3.7)

(7.3)

18.020

17.216

(2.4)

(-4.5)

Majors and Other

25.346

27.699

30.160

Producers

(11.9)

(9.3)

(8.9)

34.930

32.55

39.200

(15.8)

(8.9)

(3.0)

Total

40.709

43.513

46.566

52.529

56.075

56.416

(Figures in parenthesis indicate percentage variation over the previous year) (Source : Joint Plant Committee)

Industry

663

Sponge Iron : The Sponge Iron industry had been specially promoted so as to provide an alternative to steel melting scrap which was increasingly becoming scarce. Today, India is the largest producer of sponge iron increased form 9.88 million tonnes in 2008-09 too 20.8 millions tonnes (Prov.) in 2008-09. Import and Exports : In India imports and exports of all items of iron and steel is freely allowed. Exports of high-grade iron ore, chrome ore and manganese ore are made through designated canalizing agencies subject to the ceiling imposed by the Government. (i) Imports : Though the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s production of iron and steel is sufficient to meet the domestic demand, some quantity of steel is always needed to be imported especially those grades and qualities which are required in small quantities and therefore, do not justify setting up of production capacities. Over the last few years India had been annually importing about 4 mt of total finished steel (carbon + alloy). Imports are mostly on price considerations and in some cases to supplement domestic production. The observed growth in imports is mainly in hot rolled coils, cold rolled coils, semis and steel scrap. Imports of total finished steel (carbon+alloy) during 2008-09 (provisional) was 5.72 mt compared to the 7.03 mt in 2007-08. (ii) Exports : Value addition in the Indian export basket has been a major trend. Earlier, exports consisted mainly of plates, structural bars and rods. Now apart from these, hot rolled coils, cold rolled coils, colour coated sheets, GP/GC sheets, pig iron and sponge iron are also being exported. The total volume of total finished steel (carbon+alloy) exported during 2008-09 (provisional) was 3.66 mt compared to the 5.08 mt in 2007-08 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT Research and Development activity in iron and steel sector is carried out mainly by the iron and steel plants themselves, national research laboratories, academic institutions, etc. There is a significant improvement in areas of iron and steel making processes, upgradation of raw material, product development, increase in productivity, reduction in energy consumption by the in-house R & D activities. However, total R & D expenditure in iron and steel sector in India still remains relatively low at around 0.2 per cent of the total turnover of steel plants. To encourage R&D activities in iron and steel sector. Ministry of Steel has constituted an Empowered Committee (EC) under the Chairmanship of Secretary (Steel) to provide financial assistance from Steel development Fund (SDF). The EC so far has approved 59 research projects. Of this, 26 research projects have been completed yielding benefits to the iron and steel industry in the country. In order to further boost of R&D activities in the country, Government of the India has started a new R&D Scheme with budgetary support of Rs. 118 Crore during 11th Five Year Plan. DUTY

EXEMPTION

Duty Exemption schemes enable duty free import of inputs required for export production. The Ministry of Steel provides the technical inputs to DGFT for grant of advance authorisation and for fixation of standard input-output norms, which play and important role in boosting exports of iron and steel.

India 2010

664

Duty Entitlement Pass Book (DEPB) Scheme, under the Duty Remission category allows credit of import charges on inputs used in export products. The scheme has proved to be very attractive amongst the exporters and it plays a key role in encouraging exportors and it plays a kay role in encouraging exports of iron, steel, ferro alloys and refractories. ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT National CDM Authority has granted host country approval to 127 projects submitted by iron, steel, ferro alloys refractory and metallurgical coke plants Ministry of Steel (Technical Wing) provides thee technical input to the NCDMA. The aforesaid projects once approved by the Executive Board at UNFCCC will reduce green house gas emission to the extent of 99 million tonne of CO2 equivalent. Slowdown in 2008-09 Global meltdown has affected the performance of Indian steel industry as well. The following is a status report on the performance of Indian steel industry during 2008-09, which indicates the impact of global slowdown on domestic steel industry. The government has taken several initiatives like lowering excise, focusing on infrastructure development to boost demand. Item

Indian steel scene: 2008-09*

Total Finished Steel

Qty (mt)

% change

Production for sale

56.42

0.6

Import

5.72

-19

Export

3.66

-28

Consumption

52.05

-0.1

Production

54.52

1.2

Capacity Utilisation (%)

Crude steel

Source: JPC. * = provisional CURRENT STATUS The following is a status report on the performance of Indian steel industry during April-June 2009, based on provisional data, which shows a stable growth for consumption, ready widely as an indicator of demand picking up. Total Finished Steel Major

Production for sale

Indian steel scene: April-June 2009* Qty (mt)

% change

13.98

3.4

Import

1.41

-5.3

Export

0.64

-38

Consumption

12.83

-5.2

Source: JPC. * = provisional

Industry

665

Observations: 1.

Production for sale was at 13.98 million tonnes (mt), a growth of 3.4 per cent

Steel exports decreased by 38 per cent as it reached an estimated 0.64 mt while steel imports were at an estimated 1.41 mt, a decline of 5.3 per cent

India remained a net importer of steel.

Domestic steel consumption was at 12.83 mt and increased by 5.2 per cent indicating a strengthening of demand.

FERTILIZERS The rapid increase in the population of the country is the main driving force for the growing demand for agricultural products. As this demand is increasing over the decades, so is the demand for nutrient to support the plant growth. The total food grain production of the country has increased from 199.44 million tonnes in the year 1996-97 to 227.88 million tonnes in 2008-09. The population of India is expected to increase from 1029 million to 1400 million during the period 2001-2026 - an increase of 36 percent in twenty-five years at the rate of 1.2 percent annually. The total area under cultivation in India remaining stagnant around 141 million hectares for last one decade which may get further reduced due to urbanization and industrializations. Thus, to meet the future food requirement, the only option left with is to increase productivity by increasing cultivable area under irrigation and integrated nutrient and pest management. Also, soil nutrient removed by farm product must be replenished or the soil becomes impoverished of these nutrients and plant growth and production from succeeding crops is decreased. India today is the third largest producer of nitrogenous fertilizers in the world only behind China & USA. At present, there are 56 large size fertilizer units in the country manufacturing a wide range of nitrogenous, phosphatic and complex fertilizers. Of these, 29 units produce urea, 20 units produce DAP and complex fertilizers, 7 units produce low analysis straight nitrogenous fertilizers. There are 9 units that manufacture Ammonium Sulphate as by-product. Besides, there are about 72 small and medium scale units in operation producing single super phosphate (SSP). The total installed capacity of fertilizer production, which was 119.60 LMT of nitrogen and 53.60 LMT of phosphate as on 31.03.2004, has marginally increased to 120.61 LMT of nitrogen and 56.59 LMT of phosphate as on 31.03.2009. The consumption of fertilizers in the country has been showing an appreciable growth in last few years. The total consumption of chemical fertilizers in nutrient terms has increased from 6.06 million tones in 1981-82 to 21.65 million tones in 200607 and 22 million tones in 2007-08. The average consumption of 116.51 Kgs per hectare in the country however, is much below as compared to many developing countries including that of out neighbors like Pakistan and Bangladesh. The consumption of fertilizers needs to be further increased to meet our increasing requirement of food in the country. Along with increase in consumption, there is a need for balance in the use of nutrients with adequate application of secondary and micro nutrients. Government is committed to provide adequate fertilizer at affordable price so that farmers do not face shortage of this critical input. Due to raw material shortage, India needs to import substantial quantities of phosphatic raw materials and DAP: and our total requirement of MOP, from abroad. In order to meet the growing demand

India 2010

666

of fertilizers and to meet the shortfall in indigenous production. Department of Fertilizers has arranged to import sufficient quantity of Urea, DAP and MOP so that there is no shortage of this critical input. During 2009-09, India imported around 57 lakh tones of Urea, 66 tones of DAP and 44 lakh tones of MOP. The notified selling prices of fertilizers have remained constant for the last seven years except in respect of complex fertilizers where MRPs have in fact been reduced by an average of 18% w.e.f. 18th June. 2008. Reduction in prices of complex fertilizers will promote balanced fertilization and will increase agriculture productivity. Prices of Single Super Phosphate (SSP) have also been rationalized and a uniform MRP of Rs. 3400/- per metric tonne for the country as a whole has been fixed reducing the prices of SSP in several States. Following major policy initiatives have been taken for benefit of fertilizer sector. (i)

The policy on New Pricing Scheme-III (NPS-III) announced by the Government seeks to promote cheaper feedstock, rationalize distribution and movement of urea and lay-down a definite plant for conversion of all non-gas based urea units to gas and introduced a system of incentives for additional urea production.

(ii)

Government has announced a new investment policy for urea sector to attract investment in fertilizer sector. The bench mark policy is Import Parity Price (IPP).

(iii)

Government has announced uniform nutrient price for all nutrients covered under the subsidy/concession scheme. As a result price (MRP) of Complex Fertilizers has been reduced by 18 per cent w.e.f. 18th June 2008.

(iv)

A policy for encouraging production and availability of fortified and coated fertilizer was notified which encourages production and supply of fertilizers coated/fortified with secondary & micro nutrients.

(v)

To ensure easy availability of fertilizers in all parts of the country a Uniform policy for freight subsidy was announced under which the rail freight will be paid on actual and road freights will be paid on a normative average district lead.

(vi)

Revised Concession Scheme for decontrolled phosphatic and potassic fertilizers was announced w.e.f. 1st April 2008 Indigenous DAP has been provided with import Parity Price (IPP)

(vii) Revised concession scheme for SSP has been announced w.e.f. 01.05.2008 which is based on cost of raw material and uniform MRP against the earlier practice of ad hoc fixed subsidy and state-wise MRP. (viii) Possibilities for setting up of joint venture Ammonia/Urea projects in countries abroad such as Iran, Turkmenistan, Ukraine Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Austrialia, Nigeria, Mozambique and Azarbaijan, where adequate gas is available are being explored. (ix)

Indian entities are in dialogue for joint venture in the field of phosphatic and potassic fertilizers in countries such as Jordan, Moracco, Tunisia, Australia, Syria and Canada.

(x)

Special Purpose Vehicle namely Uvarak Videsh Limited (UVL) has been incorporated to take consultancy studies and explore possibilties

Industry

667

The consumption, indigenous production and imports of fertilizers in terms of fertilizer nutrients, (NPK) during the period 1998-99 to 2007-2008 are given below: (l a k h Year

Consumption

Production

Imports

1998-1999

167.98

136.21

31.45

1999-2000

180.69

142.89

40.75

2000-01

167.02

147.05

20.91

2001-02

175.60

146.28

23.99

2002-03

160.94

144.40

16.74

2003-04

167.98

142.76

20.18

2004-05

183.99

154.05

27.50

2005-06

203.40

155.75

52.53

2006-07

216.51

160.95

60.80

2007-08

225.70

147.06

77.56

2008-2009*

124.70

143.34

tonnes)

102.21

* Estimated - Kharif 2 0 0 8

With the objective of promoting balanced application of all the three nutrients, i.e., initrogen, phosphorus and potash and making available fertilizers to farmers at affordable prices, the Government provides subsidy on urea, which is the only fertilizer at present under statutory price control and concession on decontrolled phosphatic and potassic fertilizers (P&K). The details of amount of subsidy/concession paid on urea and decontrolled P&K fertilizers during the last five years are given in the table below: (Rs in crore) Years

Subsidy

Released

Total

Liabilities

subsidy disbursed/ due

Carryover to next year

incidence of subsidy for the year

Net Urea

P&K Fertilizers

2003-2004

8509

3326

11835

2002

2004-2005

10637

5142

15779

3372

17149

2005-06

11749

6550

18299

5914

20841

2006-07

15354

10598

25952

8788

28826

2007-08

23204

17134

40338

5000

36550

2008-09*

30597

75871

106475

1014 74

Estimated PUBLIC SECTOR UNDERTAKINGS At present, there are seven public sector undertaking and one co-operative under the administrative control of this Department. Company wise details are given below: National Fertilizers Limited (NFL) has, at present, six operating units, viz. Calcium

668

India 2010

Ammonium Nitrate (CAN) Plant at Nangal and the Urea Plants at Nangal, Bhatinda, Panipat and Vijaiput (two units). The total installed capacity of NFL is14.86 LM of Nitrogen. During 2008-09 the company has produced 33.44 lMT of Urea. Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers Limited (RCF) is operating five fertilizer plants at Trombay setup during the period from October 1965 to July 1982 and a large gas based fertilizer plant at Thal which started commercial production in 1985. The installed capacity of the RCF plants is 10.54 LMT of Nitrogen and 1.20 LMT of Phosphate. During 2008-09, the production of nitrogen and phosphate was 9.46 LMT and 0.77 LMT, respectively. The company produces certain industrial chemicals like Methenol, Concentrated Nitirc Acid, Methylamine, Ammonium Bi-Corbonate, Sodium Nitrate, Di-methylacetamide, Dimethyl formamide, Ammonium Notirc, Agron etc. too. Brahmputra Valley fetilizer Corporation Limited (BVFCL) has been constituted into a new company from 1 April 2002 after hiving off the namrup units from HFC. A major revamp of the units of BVFCL has been undertaken at an approved cost of Rs. 509.90 crores. Unit I and III of BVFCL have been commissioned in March 2002 after their revamp. Unit II was commissioned in November 2005. Unit II has produced 0.61 LMT of Urea whereas Unit III has produced 1.28 LMT of Urea during 2008-09. FCI-Aravali Gypsum and Mineral India Limited (FAGMIL) has been incorported as a PSU on 14 February 2003 after having off the Jodhpur Mining Organization of Fertilizer Corporation of India Ltd. (FCIL) apart from taking over the JMO which is engaged in mining of Gypsum in four districts of the State of Rajasthan, the new companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s objectives include extending the mining activities in other minerals available in the State of Rajasthan. During 2008-09 the company has produced 9.30 LMT of gypsum. The Fertilizers and chemicals Travancore Limited (FACT) Udyogmandal (Kerela) has three operating units, one at Udtogmandal and two at Cochin. Besides fertilizers, the company is engaged in the manufacture of chemicals. With the commissioning of a caprolactam plant in October 1990, the company has entered the field of petrochemicals also. FACT Engineering and Design Organization (FEDO), a division of the company, is engaged in design, engineering, procurement, supervision of construction and commissioning of fertilizer/chemical plant. The annual installed capacity of FACT is 1.74 LMT of nitrogen and 1.26 LMT of phosphate. During 200809, the company has produced 6.05 LMT of factomphos and 1.29 LMT of Ammonium Sulphate. Madras Fertilizers Limited (MFL) is a joint venture between the Government of India and the National Iranian Oil Company with the rest as public equity holding. At present, GOI holds Rs. 95.85 crore (59.50%), NIOC holds Rs. 41.52 crore (25.77%) and public hold Rs. 23.73 crore. (14.73%) of equity. The annual installed capacity of MFL is 3.47 LMT of Ammonia, 4.87 LMT of Urea and 8.4 LMT of NPK. Duging the year 2008-09 the company has produced 7.05 LMT of Urea. Project & Development India Limited (PDIL), formerly known as Fertilizer (Planning and Development) India Limited, is engaged in design engineering, procurement and supervision of construction/ commissioning of fertilizer and allied chemical plants. The company has played a pioneering role in developing the know-how for manufacture of catalysts in India. During the year 2008-09 the company has posted a net profit of Rs. 18.17 crores.

Industry

669

CO-OPERATIVE SECTOR KRIBHCO has a gas-based ammonia-Urea plant at Hazira in Gujarat with a capacity to produce 7.95 LMT in terms of nitrogen per annum. During the year 2008-09 the Society has produced 17.43 LMT of Urea. CHEMICAL INDUSTRY Chemical Industry is one of the oldest industries in India, which contributes significantly towards industrial and economic growth of the nation. It is highly science based and provides valuable chemicals for various end products such as textiles, paper, paints and vamishes, leather etc., which are required in almost all walks of life. The Indian Chemical Industry forms the backbone of the industrial and agricultural development of India and provides building blocks for downstream industries. Chemical Industry is an important constituent of the Indian economy. Its size is estimated at around US$ 35 billion approx., which is equivalent to about 3% of Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s GDP. The total investment in Indian Chemical Sector is approx. US$ 60 billion and total employment generated is about I million. The Indian Chemical sector accounts for 13-14% of total exports and 8-9% of total imports of the country. In terms of volume, it is 12th largest in the world and 3rd largest in Asia. Currently, per capita consumption of products of chemical industry in India is about 1/10th of the world average. Over the last decade, the Indian Chemical industry has evolved from being a basic chemical producer to becoming an innovative industry. With investments in R&D, the industry is registering significant growth in the knowledge sector comprising of specialty chemicals, fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals. The Indian Chemical Market Segment wise is as under :Segment

Market Value (billion US $)

Basic

Chemicals

Specialty

Chemicals

High End/ Knowledge Segment

Total

The Indian Chemicals Industry comprises both small and large-scale units. The fiscal concessions granted to small sector in mid-eighties led to establishment of large number of units in the Small Scale Industries (SSI) sector. Currently, the Indian Chemical industry is in the midst of a major restructuring and consolidation phase. With the shift in emphasis on product innovation, branch building and environmental friendliness, this industry is increasingly moving towards greater customer orientation. Even though India enjoys an abundant supply of basic raw materials, it will have to build upon technical services and marketing capabilities to face global competition and increase it share of exports. As the Indian economy was a protected economy till the early nineties, very little large-scale R&D was undertaken by the Chemical industry to create intellectual property. The Industry would therefore, have to make large investments in R&D to

India 2010

670

successfully counter competition from the international chemicals industry. With a number of scientific institutions, the country’s strength lies in its large pool of highly trained scientific manpower. India also produces a large number of fine and speciality chemicals, which have very specific uses which find wide usage as food additives and pigments, polymer additives and pigments, anti-oxidants in the rubber industry, etc. In the Chemical Sector, 100 per cent FDI is permissible. Manufacture of most chemical products inter-alia covering organic/inorganic, dyestuffs and pesticides is delicensed. The entrepreneurs need to submit only IEM with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion provided no locational angle is applicable. Only the following items are covered in the compulsory licensing list because of their hazardous nature. • Hydrocyanic acid & its derivatives • Phosgene & its derivatives • Isocynates & di-isocynates of hydrocarbons. The Dyestuff sector is one of the important segments of the chemical industry in India, having forward and backward linkages with a variety of sectors like textiles, leather, paper, plastics, printing inks and foodstuffs. The textile industry accounts for the largest consumption of dyestuffs at nearly 70 per cent. From being importers and distributors in the 1950’s, it has now emerged as a very strong industry and a major foreign exchange earner. India has emerged as a global supplier of dyestuffs and dye intermediates, particularly for reactive, acid, vat and direct dyes. India accounts for approximately 7 per cent of the world production. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides played an important role in the ‘‘Green Revolution’’ during the 1960s and 1970. Indian exports of agrochemicals have shown an impressive growth over the last five years. The key export destination markets are USA. U.K., France, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, South Africa, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Singapore. India is one of the most dynamic generic pesticide manufacturers in the world with more than 60 technical grade psticides being manufactured indigenously by 125 producers consisting of large and medium scale enterprises (including about 10 multinational companies) and more than 500 pesticide formulators spread over the country. Production performance of some of the important chemicals including pesticides and dyestuff are given bel ow: (in Group

000'MT)

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

5070

5272

5475

441

508

544

1445

1473

1510

Dyes & Dyestuffs

Total

7066

7375

7641

Chior

Alkali

Inorganic Organic Pesticides

Chemicals

Chemicals Chemicals (Tech)

Industry

671

CHEMICALS PUBLIC SECTOR UNDERTAKINGS. There are two Public Units, namely Hindustan Organic Chemicals Ltd. (HOCL) and Hindustan Insecticides Ltd. (HIL) in the Chemicals Sector. Hindustan Organic Chemicals Ltd was incorported in December, 1960 at Rasayani, Raigad district in Maharashtra, with the main objective of manufacturing chemical intermediates required for the manufacture of drugs, dyestuffs rubber chemicals and laminates, etc. The comany has two units at Rasyani (Maharashtra) and Kochi (Kerala). The Rasyani unit produces organic group of heavy chemicals and intermediates such as nitrobenzene, formaldehyde, aniline, sulphuric acid, oleum etc. The Kochi unit produces phenol,acetone hydrogen peroxide. The company had floated a subsidiary called Hindustan Flouorocarbons Limited (HFL) for manufacturing plytetrafluorethylene (PTFE). The Government have sanctioned a revival package for HOCL in March, 2006 which includes infusion of Rs. 250 crore for repayment of high cost bonds and introduction of fresh VRS. The revival package is under implementation. A revival package in respect of HFL is also under consideration. The production of the company during 2005-06 was 2,16,224 MT with a turnover of Rs. 451.03 crores. Hindustan Insecticides Limited (HIL), incorported in 1954, has three units at Bhathinda (Punjab), Udyogamandal (Kerala) and Rasyani (Maharashtra). HIL is engaged in the manufacture of DDT, Malathion, Endosulfan and Butachlor, the major pesticides used in the country. The Government have approved a revival package for HIL in July 2006 which consists of waiver/writing of loan and interests. On implementation of the revival package, the company’s networth has turned positive. The production by the company during 2005-06 was 19,866 MT/KL with a turnover of Rs. 149.35. Petroleum Chemical Petrochemical Investment Regions (PCPIRs) •

The PCPIR Policy has been approved by the CCEA. The same has been printed in the Gazette of India (extraordinary) dated 4th April, 2007. The same is also available on the web site of the Department. (www.chemicals.nic.in)

•

Integrated chemical regions are propelling the growth of this segment of Industry in various parts of world. Such parks at Houston, Rottenlam, Shanghai, Antwerp are examples.

•

By its very nature, the chemical and petrochemical industry requires certain basic infrastructure facilities, including a good port, chemicals storage terminal, a common effluent treatment plant and most important effective green belt to segregate the industrial units from human settlements.

•

To reap the benefits of co-siting, integrated Petroleum, Chemical & Petrochemical complexes are the best options. Such Regions can provide excellent infrastructure for the sector to be globally competitive.

•

The PCPIR is expected to be a specifically delineated investment region having an area of about 250 sq. kms (with at least 40% area earmarked for processing activities). This region would be a combination of production projects, public utilities, logistics, environmental protection, residential areas and administrative services. The purpose is to encourage global scale investment in petroleum, chemical & petrochemical sect ors to accelerate economic growth.

India 2010

672 •

The Central Government will consider and approve applications from the State Governments for establishment of PCIRs in terms of this policy and facilitate the availability of external physical infrastructure linkages including Rail, Road. Ports, and Airports. Similarly, the State Goverment, applying for a PCPIR, will ensure that all physical infrastructure and utilities linkages under its jurisdiction are provided.

•

This is one policy area which would facilitate increasing the competitiveness of the manufacturing sector of this industry.

•

Sh. Ram Vilas Paswan, Minister (C&F) formally released this Policy on 8th May, 2007.

INDIA CHEM-2006 To promote the Indian Chemical Industry the Govt. of India, Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals & FICCI have jointly been organising the ‘‘India Chem’’ series of events every alternate year. These events provide a platform to the Indian chemical industry to showcase its potential to an international audience as also the participation of major international players in the chemical, petrochemical and pharmaceutical sectors exposes the Indian industry to the international developments. So far four such events have been organized the last one being in November 2006. INDIA CHEM2006 4th International Exhibition & Conference was held from November 8-10, at Mumbai. The event was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers & Steel, Shri Ram Vilas Paswan on November 8, 2006. (i) Highlights of the event INDIA CHEM-2006 •

There was total participation by 260 major companies including 140 foreign companies which reflects their interest in India.

•

There were Exhibitors from 14 countries and Business Visitors from 58 countries.

•

Italy was the Partner Country and 24 Italian Companies participated.

•

Japan was the Guest country and 40 major Japanese companies participated.

•

Germany participated as the Focus country with 16 German companies taking part.

•

Country pavilions were set up by USA, CHINA, BELGIUM & TAIWAN.

•

Besides there was participation by companies from other countries, such as: Korea, France, Iran, Switzerland, Singapore, Russia & UK.

•

Gujarat was the Partner State and it put up a pavilion.

•

Besides this pavilions were put up by the States of Maharashtra, West Bengal, Assam & Rajasthan.

•

There were (18500) Business visitors to the event.

•

On the spot business generated at the exhibition is estimated to be Rs. 325 crores. (72.2 USM Dollar), anticipated orders would be much higher. (Figures based on Survey)

(ii)

Other Business Platform at India Chem-2006

•

Buyer-seller meets were organised by Chemexcil with over 60 international buyers from various countries.

Industry

673

â&#x20AC;˘

Concurrent conference was attended by 200 delegates with 65 speakers including 15 overseas speakers and senior officials of Government of India, diplomats, CEOs and top officials from the chemical companies from India and abroad, academicians and students. The Conference also included a Round Table on Policy matters which provided for an interface between the Captains of the industry and representatives of the concerned Government agencies.

â&#x20AC;˘

India Chem 2006 was an overwhelming success and the participants benefited by the enthusiastic business response.

Neem Project The Department is implementing a project for development of safe and environment friendly pesticides utilizing the neem seeds. The objective of this programme is to promote production, processing and use of neem based products and providing farmers with eco-friendly/biodegradable pesticides thereby aiding wasteland development and generating rural employment (especially for women). This project was implemented at two locations namely at Nimpith, West Bengal, through Vivekanand Institute of Biotechnology and at Nagpur, Maharashtra through Neem Foundation. The results of the first phase were encourging. There was good participation of rural women in this program with work relating to collection and depulping of neem fruits. The neem based pesticide was used on vegetable crops (esp. tomato, beetle leaves and other vegetables) which are the main crops in the command area of the project. As a result of this the farmers adopted the same and the results were impressive. The first phase of the program came to a close on 31.5.2005. During Phase II of the project which commenced in October 2006, the activities of the project are sought to be continued and further taken to areas impacted. by heavy use of chemical pesticides including. Tea/Coffee/Spice plantations etc esp. in the NE region, in addition to continuing the sactivity through the present locations. The project would provide the scientific basis for wider acceptance of the simple low cost technology of neem based pesticides for use in different crops which are under the threat of persistent residues of highly hazardous toxic chemicals. The project would also aim at enhancing shelf life and toxicological screening criteria to establish a scientific basis for quality control of neem based pesticides on commercial basis. This will facilitate involvement of industry and wider availability of neem seeds pesticides and will also lead involvment of industry and wider availability of neem seeds pesticides and will also lead to: i. ii.

Environmentally sustainable economic development. Improved water quality both ground and surface water

iii.

Conservation of biological diversity

iv. v.

Reclamation of wasteland and preservation of eco system Propagation of receptive models for development, promotion and use of biopesticides as alternative to Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) pesticides.

Regional Network of Pesticides for Asia and the Pacific (RENPAP) RENPAP is a network set up under the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) consisting of 17 participating countries in the Asia Pacific Region. The 17 countries partcipating in this Network include India, China, Pakistan, Philippines etc. India hosts the Secretariat of RENPAP and contributes to the Trust Fund set

India 2010

674

up. The RENPAP programme aims to promote environment and user friendly crop protection agents through adopting cleaner production and environmentally sound management practices thereby increasing agricultural production and ensuring safety to the farmers and workers. The programme is implemented in a decentralized manner through eight Technical Coordinator Units (TCU) hosted by eight member countries which act as focal points of specialized operations of the network, e.g., the TCU on User and Environment Friendly Pesticide Formulation Technology is based in the Institue of Pesticides Formulation Technology (IPFT), India (an automonous inst. of the Deptt). RENPAP activities are supported by a trust Fund, which comrises of contributions from the member countries, private industry etc. Utilization from Trust Fund is based on the budgets approved by the Tripartite Review (TPR)/Project Management Committee (PMC) to monitor the implementation of the various activities. The last such review took place in the year 2006 at Nantong in PR of China. The present validity of the program is upto October 2008. This has been approved by the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance. PHARMACEUTICAL

SECTOR

Pharmaceutical Policy In Februrary 2002, the government announced the ‘Pharmaceutical Policy-2002’. The salient features of this Policy are: (i) Industrial licensing for all bulk drugs cleared by Drugs Controller General (India), all their intermediates and formulations will be abolished, subject to stipulations laid down from time to time in the Industrial Policy except in the cases of : (a) bulk drugs produced by the use of recombinant DNA technology, (b) specific cell/tissue targeted formulations; (ii) foreign investment up to 100 per cent will be permitted, subject to stipulations laid down from time to time in the Industrial Policy, through the automatic route in the case of all bulk drugs cleared by Drugs Controller General (India), all their intermediates and formulations, except those, referred to in (i) above, kept under industrial licensing (iii) Automatic approval for foreign Technology Agreement will be available in the case of all bulk drugs cleared by the Drugs Countroller General (India), all their intermediates and formulations, except those referred to in (i) above, kept under industrial licensing for which a special procedure prescribed by the government would be followed; (iv) measures to give impetus to R&D in the Drug Sector are as follows: (a) A manufacturer producing a new drug patented under the Indian Patent Act, 1970, and not produced elsewhere, if developed through indigenous R&D, would be eligible for exemption from price control in respect of that drug for a period of 15 years from the date of the commencement of its commecial production in the country, (b) A manufacturer producing a drug in the country by a process developed through indigenous R&D patented under the Indian Patent Act, 1970 would be eligible for exemption from price control inrespect of that drug till the expiry of the patent from the date of the commencement of its commercial production in the country through new patent process; (c) A formulation involving a new delivery system developed through indigenous R&D and patented under the Indian Patent Act, 1970 for process patent for formulation involving new delivery system would be eligible for exemption from price control in commercial production in the country till be expiry of the patent; (v) The system of the price control would be operated through a single list of price controlled drugs selected on the basis of criteria as laid down in the ‘Pharmaceutical Policy 2002’ and formulations based thereon with a MAPE of 100

Industry

675

per cent for indigenous formulations and margin up to 50 per cent for imported formulations. The 279 items apperaing in the alphabetical list of Essential Drugs in the National Essential Drugs List (1966) of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the 173 items, which are considered important by that Ministry from the point of view of their use in various Health Programmes, in emergency care, etc, with the exclusion, as in the past, of sera and vaccines blood products, combinations, etc. would from the total basket out of which selection of bulk drugs would be made for price regulation; (vi) Ceiling price may be fixed for any formulation, from time to time and it would be obligatory for all, including small scale units or those marketing under generic name to follow the price so fixed (vii) An independent body of experts, called the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority has been entrusted with the task of price--fixation/revision and other related matters, (viii) Government would keep a close watch on the prices of medicines which are taken out of price contol, in case of prices of these medicines rise unreasonably the government would take appropriate measures including reclamping of price control: (ix) the provision of limiting profitably as per the III Schedule of the present Drugs (Price Control) Order, 1995 would be done away with, However, if necessary to do so in public interest prices of any formulation including a non-scheduled formualtion would be fixed or revised by the government. Public Interest Litigation in Karnataka High Court has resulted in an order dated 12 November 2002, which stopped the Government from implementing the price control regime of the Pharmaceutical Policy-2002. The Govenment has filed a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court against the order of the Karnataka High Court. The government constituted a Committee under the Chairmanship of Joint Secretary (Pharma) to exmine the issue of span of price control (including trade margin). subsequently, a Task Force under the Chairmanship of Dr Pronab Sen, Principal Adviser, Planning Commission was also constituted to explore options other than price control to make available life saving drugs at reasonable prices. Based on the recommedndations of the Committee under the Chairmanship of Joint Secretary (Pharmaceutical) and the recommendations of the Task Force and after extensive discussions with various stake holders including drug Industry, the department prepared the Draft National Pharmaceutical Policy-2006 and in line with the declared objective of the Government in the national Common Minimum Programme to make available life saving Drugs at reasonable prices to the poor. This policy was submitted before the Cabinet for its approval. The Cabinet considered the policy in its meeting held on 11.1.2007 and has referred the matter to a Group of Minister (GOM). The first meeting of the GOM was held on 10-4-2007. Final view is yet to be taken by the GOM. PHARMA PUBLIC SECTOR UNDERTAKINGS There are five Central Public Sector Undertakings and five Joint Sector Undertakings in the Pharmaceuticals Industry Sector under the administrative contrrol of the Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals, besides, there are two wholly owned subsidiaries. The brief profile of these organizations is given in the subsequent paragraphs. Indian Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Limited (IDPL) was incorporated on the 5th April, 1961. The company has presently three manufacturing plants, one each at Rishikesh

India 2010

676

in Uttarakhand, Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh and Gurgaon in Haryana. IDP L has two wholly owned subsidiaries, namely, IDPL (Tamil Nadu) Ltd., Chennai in Tamil Nadu and Bihar Drugs & Organic Chemicals Ltd. at Muzaffarpur, Bihar. In addition, IDPLhas two joint sector undertakings, promoted in collaboration with the respective State Governments. These are Rajasthan Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (RDPL), Jaipur and Orissa Drugs & Chemicals Ltd. (ODCL), Bhubaneshwar. In pursuance of BIFR order dated 26th march 2004, the Uttar Pradesh Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Limited, a joint sector undertaking of IDPL has been taken over by Government of U.P. w.e.f. 1st April 2004. BIFR recommended winding up of IDPL on 4.12.2003. Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals filed an appeal the opinion of BIFR in Appellate Authority for Industrial & Financial Reconstruction (AAIFR) on 10.2.2004. AAIFR at its hearing held on 13.9.2005, set aside the impugned order dated 4.12.2003 of BIFR and remanded the matter back to BIFR for taking further action for rehabilitation of IDPL. The Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises (BRPSE) at its meeting held on 9.3.2007 having considered the rehabilitation scheme for revival of IDPL recommended it for approval of the Government. Cabinet at its meeting held ion 17.5.2007 considered the proposal and referred it to GoM for consideration at the first instance. GoM is yet to be constituted. Hindustan Antibiotics Ltd. (HAL), Pimpri, Pune was incorporated on 30th March, 1954. This was the first Public Sector company in drugs and pharmaceuticals. HAL has its plant located at Pimpri. There are three joint sector units promoted by HAL in collaboration with the respective State Governments. These are Karnataka Antibiotics & Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (MAPL) at Nagpur in Maharashtra and Manipur State Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (MSDPL) at Imphal, in Manipur. MAPL & MSDPL have since been closed. The main products of HAL are bulk drug Penicillin-G, various salts of Penicilin and Streptomycin. The company produces a wide range of Pharmaceutical formulations including agro-vet products. The company was referred to the BIFR in January, 1997 and was declared sick. In the Budget 2004-05, the Government announced financial support for restructuring the company. In March 2006, Government approved rehabilitation Scheme for revival of the company. The rehabilitation Scheme inter alia involves the following : i.

Cash infusion by GOI

Rs. 137.59* crores

ii.

Write off/exemptions from GOI

Rs. 267.57 crores

iii.

Sacrifices by Banks, financial institutions and PSUs

Rs. 103.34 crores

*Of this, Rs. 56.96 crores was to be generated by HAL by selling land. Pending sale of land, GOI released Rs. 56.96 crores of HAL as interest free loan refundable within 2 years, HAL would initiate action to sell land as soon as BIFR constitutes Asset Sales Committee.

The entire cash infusion of Rs. 137.59 crores was released to the company. Parliament approved waiver of loans & interest (Rs. 259.43 crores) BIFR at its hearing held on 5.10.2006 sanctioned the rehabilitation scheme. The scheme is, however, yet to be notified by BIFR. Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Limited (BCPL) was incorporated on the 17th March, 1981. The company has four manufacturing units one each at

Industry

677

Maniktala in Kolkata, Panihati at North 24 Parganas (West Bengal_, one in Mumbai (Maharashtra) and the fourth one at Kanpur (UP). The company manufactures and markets a wide range of industrial chemicals, a large number of drugs and pharmaceuticals besides cosmetics and home products. BIFR sanctioned a Modified Revised Rehabilitation Scheme on 14th January 2004 for the revival of BCPL. In December 2006, Government approved rehabilitation scheme for revival of the company. The plan inter alia involves the following : I.

Cash Infusion by GOI

Rs. 207.19 crores

II.

Waiver of Loans/Interest (As on 31.3.2005)

Rs. 233.41 crores

III.

Waiver of Loan/Interest by the GOI not to be treated as income in terms of Income Tax Act.

Not quantified

As contemplated in the Rehabilitation Scheme, Rs. 117.19 crores was released in March 2007, and a provision has been proposed for budgetary support of Rs. 90.00 crores during 11th Five Year Plan. Bengal Immunity Limited (BIL) was incorporated on 1st October, 1984. BIFR issued winding up orders of BIL. The company was closed. However, appointment of Liquidator in respect of BIL was stayed on a Writ Petition filed by the BIL Employees Union and thereafter this Department on the ground that a Committee had been setup to look into the issue of revival of BIl. The Committee has since submitted its report. The report is under examination. Smith Stanistreet Pharmaceuticals Limited (SSPL) was incorporated on the 19th July, 1978. BIFR has issued winding up orders of BIL. The company is closed. The High Court of Kolkata has since appointed the Liquidator. PETROCHEMICALS

SECTOR

NATIONAL POLICY ON PETROCHEMICALS The National Policy on Petrochemicals was approved by Government on 12.4.2007. The National Policy on Petrochemicals aims to :(i)

increase investments in the sector (both upstream and downstream) and capture a slice of the resurgent Asian demand in polymers and downstream processing through additions in capacity and production by ensuring availability of raw materials at internationally competitive prices, creating quality infrastructure and other facilitation to ensure value addition and increase exports.

(ii)

increase the domestic demand and per capita consumption of plastics and synthetic fibres from the present level of 4 Kgs and 1.6 Kgs, increase the competitiveness, polymer absorption capacity and value addition in the domestic downstream plastic processing industry through modernization, research and development measures and freeing it from structural constraints;

(iii)

facilitate investment in the emerging areas of petrochemicals and

(iv)

achieve environmentally sustainable growth in the petrochemical sector through innovative methods of plastic waste management, recycling and development of bio-photo-degradable polymers and plastics.

(v)

promote Research and Development in Petrochemical and promote Human Resource Development.

India 2010

678 Salient Features of Policy are : (i)

Setting up of a standing Committee on Petrochemicals Feedstock for recommending a policy framework for feedstock.

(ii)

INFRASTRUCTURE

(a)

Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Regions (PCPIRs)- The Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Regions will promote Investment in this sector and make the country an important hub for both domestic and international markets, as per PCPIR policy. The Policy has been announced by the Government.

(b)

Exiting Industries : The Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals would set up Facilitation mechanism in consultations with the concerned Ministries.

(c)

Plastic Parks : Setting up of dedicated Plastic Parks to promote a cluster approach in the areas of development of plastic applications and plastic recycling.

(d)

Clusters : Provision of common infrastructure facilities to address the constraints of common effluent treatment, transport linkages including roads etc., power supply, water and facilities.

(iii)

TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Petrochemical Research and Development Fund : A new scheme of Petrochemical Research and Development Fund (PRDF) which would cater to the projects of R&D, waste management, recycling and development of biopolymers and biodegradable polymers, is proposed tobe formulated.

Plastics Development Council : The Council will be a trade/industry body advisory body and consist of members from the industry and the Government.

Centres of Excellence in Polymer Technology : To establish Centres of Excellence in educational and research institutions working in the field of polymers like National Chemical Laboratory, Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Indian Institutes of Technology, National Institutes of Technology, Centre for Plastic Engineering and Technology, etc.

(iv)

DEVELOPMENT OF PLASTICS IN THRUST AREAS To set up an Inter-Ministerial Expert Committee under the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, which will look into the requirement of making the use of plastics in thrust areas and make recommendations to the concerned Ministries.

(v)

DERESERVATION OF PLASTICS Items of plastics exclusively reserved for the small scale industry be de-reserved in a time-bound manner through a consultation process with all stake holders.

(vi)

ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Promotion of recycling technology for used plastics will be promoted. Due emphasis will be given to recycling of the post consumer spent packages. Urban Local Bodies would be supported and their capability will be strengthened so that they can effectively deal with issues relating to plastic waste management. An incentive Scheme for Urban local bodies which contribute significantly towards plastic waste management recycling would be formulated with the Ministry of Urban Development as nodal agency.

Industry

679

(viii) PROMOTION OF PLASTICS 1.

National Awards for Technology Innovation

Industrial Trade Fairs and Exhibitions

AUTONOMOUS

INSTITUTIONS

CENTRAL INSTITUTE OF PLASTICS ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY Central Institute of Plastics Engineering & Technology (CIPET) is a premier institution with commitment of Human Resources Development (HRD), and Quality technical services in Plastics Engineering & Technology for the plastics and allied industries in the country. CIPET has attained multifaceted growth by augmenting activities in Training, Research & Application Development, Entrepreneur Development and Consultancy Services in last 38 years. CIPET has been accredited with ISO 9001 : 2000 certification on â&#x20AC;&#x153;Design, Development and Conduct of Specialised Training Courses in Plastics Engineering & Technology and Rendering Technical Consultancy Services in Design, Tooling, Plastics Processing & Testing to the Plastics & Allied Industry.â&#x20AC;? CIPET was established in 1968 at Chennai under the aegis of Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, Govt. of India with the assistance of UNDP/ILO. Over the years, the need and necessity of CIPET services was felt by various State Govts., which resulted in establishment of CIPET centres at Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar Hyderaabd, Imphal, Lucknow, Mysore, Hajipur, Haldia and Guwahati. Three more CIPET centers have been approved for establishment at Jaipur (Rajasthan), Aurangabad (Maharashtra) and Panipat (Haryana). The training activities at these new centres have already been commenced in the academic year 2006-07. CIPET centres have uniform infrastructure facilities in the areas of Design CAD/CAM, Tooling, Plastics Processing, Testing & Quality Assurance under one roof. The Institute conducts 07 long-term courses leading to Post Graduate Degree (M.Tech.), Post Graduate Diploma, Post Diploma and Diploma in various disciplines of Plastics Engineering & Technology. The infrastructure facilities in terms of machinery and equipments are continuously upgraded/modernized to match the technological development and needs of the industry globally. CIPET has ambitious plans of having its presence felt in South East Asian and Middle East Countries. Asian Institute for Development Studies, Manila (Philippines), UNIDO-Nigeria, Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC), Qatar, Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOCI)-Sultanate of Oman, Export Development Board, Srilanka, have enrolled CIPET as Consultant for providing technical and training services in Plastic Engineering & Technology. Main objectives of the Institute are : l

Effective training & manpower development in different disciplines of Plastics Engineering & Technology;

Oganise conventional and advanced level training programmes for up gradation of skill and knowledge of personnel from the plastics industries;

Provide technical services to the industries in the areas of Design/Fabrication of Tools, Moulds/Dies, Machinery and Equipment. Computer Aided Design/

India 2010

680

Manufacturing/Engineering (CAD/CAM/CAE) services, Testing anti Quality Control, Consultancy and Advisory Services; l

Application development in different areas of plastics & its allied products;

R&D in the field of Plastics Engineering & Technology with a focus on implementing best manufacturing practices in small/medium scale industries to produce quality products.

During 2005-06, a loan agreement was signed worth US$ 12.3 Million by Govt. of India with Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEL) for capacity building of CIPET Centres in thrust areas. The Pr oject implementation is under progress and would be completed by 2008. Project Proposal for “Setting up of “Plastics Recycling Waste Management Centre (PWMC)” at Guwahati at a total project cost of Rs. 7.80- crores was approached by Govt. of India in 2007. NATIONAL RESEARCH

INSTITUTE

PHARMACEUTICAL

EDUCATION

National Institution of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) Maholi, is the first national level institute in pharmaceutical sciences with a proclaimed objective of becoming a Centre of excellence for advanced studies and research in Pharmaceutical sciences. The Government of India has declared NIPER as an ‘Institute of National Importance’. NIPER’s vision and mission is “Catering to excellence in education and research in Pharmaceutical sciences”. The Institute is conceived to provide leadership in pharmaceutical sciences and related areas not only within the country, but also to the countries in South East Asia, South Asia and Africa. The Institute is having nine departments in different facets of pharmaceutical sciences offering Masters and doctoral degrees and post-doctoral training. In the area of Research and development, the Institute is currently working on malaria, leishmaniasis, tuberculosis and diabetes. Institute is also offering sectorial M.B.A. (Pharm). Until now 323 Masters and 48 Ph. D. students have been passed out. NIPER students are received well both nationally as well as internationally. Institute has published more than 550 research publications and filed 50 patents (national as well as international). So far the Institute has undertaken 166 projects. In research and development programme, the emphasis is on areas which are relevant to our country e.g. Malaria, Tuberculosis, Leishmaniasis, Diabetes, and standardization of herbal products. In the area of Diabetes, Institute developed in vitro screening methods as well as several in-vivo models have been established. In the area of Tuberculosis and Malaria, some of our NCEs are showing promising results. India with about 8% world diversity is one of the storehouses of traditional knowledge and has good potential of becoming a global player in herbal medicine. In this area, Institute is involved in the standardization of herbal products and developing monographs for the Ayurvedic pharmacopoeia. Some of our leads are having good activity in vitro for the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. The interaction with the pharmaceutical industry though encouraging, requires further impetus in these days of globalization. To improve this interaction, a number of national centres have been created. The WHO accredited National Bio-availability Centre at NIPER is one of the two centres of the world to conduct the bio-availability studies in fixed dose

Industry

681

combinations of Anti-TB drugs. NIPER has again taken lead to set up a center of impurity profile of bulk API to help the industry in their exports. Reference standards of the impurities are exported to USA as well as Japan. A new Technology Development Centre has also been established for developing process for Active Pharmaceutical ingredients of synthetic or herbal origin, and the centre is having a good industrial interaction. To meet the challenges of rural health sector and profession, Department of Pharmacy Practice has been created, which promotes rational use of drugs, establishing clinical Pharmacy services, monitoring medicine related problems, cost components and adverse drug reactions. This department has collaborative link with London School of Pharmacy, U.K. and this linkage is helping to develop long term functional skills for new as well as existing pharmacists so as to provide higher level of pharmacy services to the citizen of the country. Realizing the importance of sectorial MBA, Institute started a Masters program in Pharmaceutical Management and to two batches of MBA (Pharm.) have been received their degrees. Further, Mastersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; programme in Pharma conformities and M.Tech. (Pharmaceutical TechnologyBiotechnology) have been started and the financial support received from DST and DBT, respectively. The Department of Science and Technology (DST) under Pharmaceutical Research & Development Support Fund (PRDSF) supported for making Good Laboratory Practices Compliance of the National Toxicology Centre, National Centre of Pharmacoinformatics, National Centre for Safety Pharmacology and Centre for Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology. The Institute has been selected as a model agency in the capacity building project funded by the World Bank under the Government of India, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare for providing training to drug regulatory personnel, analysis and personnel from small-scale industry. The Institute intend to provide training to about 2000 professionals within five years. So far the Institute has conducted 42 training programmes and total numbers of 2038 professionals have been trained. It is heartening to note that since inception of the institute several prestigious awards and orations which includes S.S. Bhatnagar award, two Ranbaxy awards, two OPPI Scientist awards, Bioscience Award, Chemical Reserach Society of India Medal, two Fellows of Royal Society of Chemistry, Fellow of National Academy of Sciences, M.L. Khurana Oration, CDRI Oration, Surya kumari Prize etc. In a short time NIPER created a brand name for itself in the field of pharmaceutical sciences. The postgraduate students of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmaceutical Management of NIPER are in great demand. Looking into the high rising demand of highly trained Manpower by the Pharmaceutical Industry, in principal approval has been accorded to setup and start course in four other NIPER at Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Hajipur and Kolkata. Institute of Pesticide Formulation of Technology (IPFT) The Institute of Pesticide Formulation Technology (IPET), is an autonomous society set up in the year 1991 by the Govt. of India with the assistance of UNIDO/UNDP. The Institute is actively engaged in the areas of development of new, safer and environment friendly pesticide formulations and promotion and transfer of such technology to the industrial sector. IPFT has developed many new generation pesticide formulations namely, Suspension Concentrates (SC), Water Dispersible Granules (WG). Concentrated Emulsions (CE), Capsulated Suspensions having control released

India 2010

682

characteristics (CS), Ultra Low Volume Formulations (ULV), Micro-Emulsions (ME) and certain formulations specifically designed to suit the needs of the users. All these developments are based on available indigenous raw material. The Institute is equipped with a Formulation Laboratory, an Analytical Laboratory, a Bio science Laboratory and a Pilot Plant to meet the requirements of the Industry for research and development of formulations technology. The Institute also functions as the Technical Coordinator Unit (TCU) of the Regional Network of Pesticides for Asia and the Pacific (RENPAP) of UNIDO on user and environment friendly pesticide formulation technology and quality assurance. The Institute also provides, on behalf of the Government of India, the secretarial assistance and logistic support to the RENPAP. MINERAL Ministry of Mines is responsible for survey and exploration of all minerals, other than natural gases, petroleum and atomic minerals, for mining and metallurgy of non-ferrous metals like aluminium, copper, zinc, lead, gold, nickel etc. and for administration of Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act. 1957 in respect of all mines and minerals other than coal, natural gas and petroleum. Geological Context Geologically India is divided into-

the Indian Peninsula (shield) comprising 1.9 million sq km

the Indo-Gangetic Alluvial plains comprising 0.5 million sq km

The Extra - Peninsula (Himalaya) comprising 0.7 million sq km.

The Indian Peninsula covers the area south of the Vindhyas, and the region is a plateau formed by the survival of the harder rocks, resistant to weathering. The region is made of stable and strong rock formations. The stratigraphic units are the Archaean Rocks (Dharwar and post-Dharwar). the Purana Group of Proterozoic rocks (Cuddapah and Vindhyan systems) the Gondwana sequence of Paleozoic and Mesozoic rocks and the Deccan Traps of the Mesozoic-Cenozoic era. Archaean rocks occupy two-thirds of the Peninsula spread over Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Chattisgarh and Jharkhand and in a narrow tract extending from northern Gujarat into Rajasthan, forming some part of the Aravalli mountain range, as well in the Shillong plateau. Archaean rocks are the store house of mineral wealth, and except for coal, oil, gas and a few other mineral deposits, all our mineral wealth are in the Archaean areas. The Cuddapah System of Purana rocks mainly comprise quartzite, limestone and state and the Vindhyan system mainly comprises sandstones and shales with limestones with diamondiferous conglomerates. The Gondwana sequence of massive sedimentary rocks in linear tracts along Narmada-Son-Damodar alignment, along Mahanadi and along Godavari (and other outcrops) holds much of the coal reserves of the country. The offshore regions of some of these rivers are storehouses of gas and oil. The Deccan Trap consisting of basaltic flows through long and narrow fissures and at places eruptive volcanoes resulted in formation of lava spread over some 15 lakh sq km, mainly in Gujarat (Kachchh), Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The lava sheets have a thickness of

Industry

683

nearly 2000 m in the western Ghats. The Trap rocks are good for building stones. road metal etc., though weathering of high grade basalts result in lateritic deposits at many places. The Indo Gangetic plains stretching from Sindh (Pakistan) and Punjab in the west to Bengal and Assam in the east consist of alluvium of Recent (Quaternary) origin with a thickness of 1500 - 6000 m. lying over older formations. Because they were created during uplift of the Himalaya and that the Himalaya is actively being eroded by many energetic rivers, this area is of geological interest from point of view of seismicity, its hydrology and natural hazards. The Extra Peninsula region comprises the mountain chains of Baluchistan (Pakistan) to the Himalaya to Arakan Yoma (Myanmar). Being of recent origin and tectonically active the area is unstable, and barring a few areas of older rocks, usually consists of marine sedimentary rocks of the Cambrian to Cretaceous times in the inner areas. The sediments of the outer Himalaya (Shivaliks) being freshwater sediments are of geological importance because the Tertiary rocks of freshwater sedimentary origin may contain reserves of petroleum, seeing that similar rocks of Assam, Gujarat, Cambay and off shore areas have yielded results. Mineral Legislation India is richly endowed with many minerals. Under the Constitution, mineral rights and the administration of mining laws are vested in the respective State governments. The Central Government, however, regulates the development of mines and minerals under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 and the rules framed thereunder. The MMDR Act 1957 came into force on 1.6.1958 and a number of amendments have been carried out in 1972, 1986, 1994 and 1999. This statute empowers the Central Government to formulate rules for. The grant, renewal, etc. of reconnaissance permits, prospecting licences and mining leases for major minerals viz. Mineral Concession Rules, 1960, framed under Section 13 of MMDR Act 1957. The conservation and development of minerals, (viz. Mineral Conservation and Development Rules, 1988 framed under the Section 18 of the MMDR Act. 1957 for major minerals. These Rules are not applicable to atomic, fuel and minor minerals. Powers are vested under Section 15 of the above said Act, to the respective state Governments too frame Minor Mineral Concession Rules. And accordingly all State Governments and some Union Territories have framed their own Rules. The Granite Conservation and Development Rules, 1999 and Marble Development and Conservation Rules 2002 are also framed under Section of 18 of the MMDR Act, 1957 for conservation and systematic development of granite and marble resources in the country, respectively. Important Features of National Mineral Policy, 2008 As a sequel to the recommendations of the Hoda Committee which was constituted by the Planning Commission to review the National Mineral Policy, a New National Mineral Policy, 2008 was approved by the Government. The policy advocates:(i)

use of state-of-the-art technology for exploration;

India 2010

684 (ii)

zero waste mining;

(iii)

development of capital market structures to attract risk investment into survey and prospecting;

(iv)

Transparency in allocation of concessions;

(v)

auction of ore bodies prospected at public expense

(vi)

Independent Mining Administrative Tribunal;

(vii) a framework of sustainable development to take care of biodiversity issues etc. A draft Bill to replace the existing MMDR Act is under consideration of the Government and consultation process with Stakeholders including States Government and Industry is under way. MINERAL RESOURCES IN INDIA The classification of reserves/resources of various minerals based on United Nations Frame work Classification (UNFC) as on 1.4.2005 has been updated. The UNFC consists of a three dimensional system with the 3 axes : • Economic Viability • Feasibility Assessment and • Geological Assessment UNFC is a three-digit code based system, wherein the economic viability axis represent the first digit, the feasibility axis the second digit and the geologic axis represent the third digit. Each of these three axis have further codes in decreasing order. The economic viability have three codes i.e. 1 (Economic), 2 (Potentially economic) and 3 (Intrinsically economic); the feasibility assessment have three codes i.e. 1 (Feasibility study and mining report), 2 (Pre-feasibility study) and 3 (Geological study) and the geological assessment have four codes. i.e. 1 (Detailed exploration), 2 (General exploration), 3 (Prospecting) and 4 (Reconnassance). Thus the highest category and resources under UNFC system will have the code (111) and lowest category the code (334). The various terms used in this classification are as follows. Total Mineral Resources: Reserve plus Remaining Resource comprise the Total Mineral Resource. A. Mineral Reserves: Economically mineable part of Measured and/or Indicated mineral resource i)

Proved Mineral Reserves (111) and

ii) Probable Mineral Reserves (121) & (122) B. Mineral Resources: It is the balance of the Total Mineral Resources that have not been identified as a Mineral Reserve i)

Measured Mineral Resources - (331)

ii) Indicated Mineral Resources - (332) iii) Inferred Mineral Resources - (333) iv) Reconnaissance Mineral Resources - (334) v) Prefeasibility Mineral Resources - (221) & (222)

Industry

685

vi) Feasibility Mineral Resources - (211) The principal minerals found in the country along with their estimated reserves/resources are given below: BAUXITE The Total Resources of Bauxite as per United Nations Framework Classification (UNFC) in the country are placed at about 3,290 million tonnes as on 1.4.2005. These resources include 899 million tonnes of Reserves and 2,391 million tonnes of Remaining resources, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Maharashtra are the principal States where bauxite deposits are located. Major deposits are concentrated in the East Coast Bauxite deposits of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. CHROMITE The total Resources of Chromite in the country as per UNFC System as on 1.4.2005 are estimated at 213 million tonnes, comprising 66 million tonnes tonnes reserves (31%) and 147 million tonnes of remaining resources (69%). In India 95% resources are located in Orissa, mostly in the Sukinda valley in Cuttack and Jaipur districts and the remaining 5% resources are distributed in Manipur and Karnataka and meagre quantities in the states of Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. COPPER The Total resources of copper one as on 1.4.2005 as per UNFC system are placed at 1.39 billion tonnes with a metal content of 11,418 thousand tonnes. Of these 369.49 million tonnes with a total metal content of 4383.97 thousand tonnes fall under Reserves while balance 1.02 billion tonnes with a metal content of 7033.75 thousand tonnes are â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Remaining resourcesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Rajasthan is credited with the largest resources of copper ore at 668.5 million tonnes with a metal content of 3982 thousand tonnes followed by Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand. Copper resources are also established in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Orissa, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and West Bengal. GOLD There are three important gold fields in the country, namely, Kolar Gold Field, Kolar district and Hutti Gold Field in Raichur district (both in Karnataka) and Ramgiri Gold Field in Anantpur district (Andhra Pradesh). As per UNFC as on 1.4.2005 the total resources of gold ore (primary) in the country were estimated at 390.29 million tonnes with a metal content of 490.81 tonnes. Out of these, 19.25 million tonnes with a Metal content of 85.12 tonnes. Out of these, 19.25 million tonnes with a metal content of 85.12 tonnes were placed under reserves category and the remaining 371.03 million tonnes with a metal content of 405.69 tonnes under resources category. The resources include placer-type gold ore in Kerala estimated at 26.12 million tonnes containing 5.86 tonnes gold metal. Largest resources of gold one (primary) are located in Bihar followed by Karanataka, Rajasthan, West Bangal, Andhra Pradesh Madhya Pradesh, etc. While in terms of metal content. Karnataka remained on the top followed by Rajasthan, West Bengal, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. IRON ORE Haematite and Magnetite are the most important iron ore in India. About 60% haematite one deposits are found in the Eastern sector and about 87% magnetite

686

India 2010

deposits occur in Southern sector, specially in Karnataka. The total resources of iron ore as per UNFC are placed at 25,249 million tonnes as on 1.4.2005. Out of these, the iron ore (haemetite) resources are placed at 14,630 million tonnes of which 13,916 million tonnes (95%) resources are distributed mainly in Orissa. Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Goa. The resources of very high grade ore are limited and are restricted mainly in Bailadila sector of Chhattisgarh and to a lesser extent in Bellary-Hospet area of Karnataka and Barajamda sector in Jharkhand and Orissa. Iron ore (magnetite) resources are placed at 10,619 million tonnes of which only 59 million tonnes constitute reserves located mainly in Goa, Rajasthan and Jharkhand. The remaining 10,560 million tonnes (99%), magnetite resources are under remaining resources category mainly in Karnataka (74%) and Andhra Pradesh (14%). Other deposits are located in Goa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, Jharkhand, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Bihar, Maharashtra and Orissa. LEAD-ZINC Lead-Zinc resources are located in Rajasthan, Bihar, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Orissa, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu and Meghalaya. The total resources of lead and zinc ores as on 1.4.2005 as per UNFC are estimated at 522.58 million tonnes with a Metal content of 7207 thousand tonnes of lead metal and 24260 thousand tonnes of zinc metal. Of these, 125.75 million tonnes with a Metal content of 2591 thousand tonnes of lead metal and 11093 thousand tonnes of zinc metal fall under ‘Reserves’ while balance 396.83 million tonnes are with a metal content of 4617 thousand tonnes lead metal and 13167 thousand tonnes of zinc metal classified as ‘Remaining resources’. MANGANESE The total resources of manganese ore as per UNFC system as on 1.4.2005 are placed at 379 million tonnes. Out of these, 138 million tonnes are categorized as reserves and the balance 240 million tonnes in the remaining resources. Main deposits fall in Orissa, followed by Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa and Andhra Pradesh. Minor occurrences of manganese are in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Jharkhand and West Bengal. NICKEL The total resources of Nickel ore as per UNFC system as on 1.4.2005 have been estimated at 189 million tonnes. About 92% resources i.e. 174.48 million tonnes are in Orissa and remaining 8% are distributed in Jharkhand, Nagaland and Karnataka. TUNGSTEN The total resources of tungsten ore as per UNFC system as on 1.4.2005 have been estimated at 87.39 million tonnes with a WO 3 content of 142094 tonnes. All these resources are placed under ‘Remaining Resources’ category. The main deposits are Degana in Nagaur district, Rajasthan. It also occurs in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Haryana, West Bengal, Uttarakhand and West Bengal. BARYTES The total resources of barytes in India as on 1.4.2005 as per UNFC system are placed at 74 million tonnes of which about 46% (34 million tonnes) are in ‘Reserves’ category and 54% (40 million tonnes) are in ‘Remaining Resources’ category. The Mangampet deposit in Cuddapah district (Andhra Pradesh) is the single largest barytes deposit

Industry

687

in the world. Andhra Pradesh alone accounted for more than 94% country’s resources. Minor occurrences of barytes are located in Rajasthan, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Karnataka and Haryana. DIAMOND Diamond deposits occur in three types of geological settings such as kimberlite pipes, conglomerate beds and alluvial gravels. The main diamond bearing areas in India are Panna belt in Madhya Pradesh, Munimadugu-Banganapalie conglomerate in Kurnool district, Wajrakarur kimberlite pipe in Anantapur district, the gravels of Krishna river basin in Andhra Pradesh and dimendiferous kimbelite in Raipur, Bastar and Raigarh districts in Chhattisgarh. Reserves have been estimated in Panna belt, Madhya Pradesh, Krishna Gravels in Andhra Pradesh and in Raipur district, Chhattisgarh. As per the UNFC system as on 1.4.2005 are placed at around 4582 thousand carats. Out of which about 1206 thousand carats are under reserve category and remaining 3376 thousand carats are under remaining resources category. DOLOMITE Total resources of dolomite as per UNFC system as on 1.4.2005 are placed at 7533 million tonnes, out of which Reserves are 985 million tonnes and the balance i.e. 6548 million tonnes are in the ‘Remaining Resources’. Dolomite occurrences are widespread in almost all parts of the country. The major share of about 90 per cent resources is distributed in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. FIRECLAY Fireclay occurs as a bedded deposit, mostly associated with coal measures of Gondwana and Tertiary periods. Important deposits are associated with Jharia and Raniganj coalfields in Jharkhand and West Bengal, Korba coalfield in Chhattisgarh and Neyveli Lignite field in Tamil Nadu. Notable occurrences of fireclay not associated with coal measures are known in the state of Gujarat, Jabalpur region of Madhya Pradesh and Belpahar-Sundergarh areas of Orissa. The total resources of fireclay as per UNFC system as on 1.4.2005, are about 705 million tonnes in India. Out of which 59 million tonnes and under reserve category and about 646 million tonnes are under remaining resources category. It is necessary to assess the fireclay reserves on priority basis, especially those associated with coal measures in the leasehold areas. The reserves of fireclay are substantial but resources of high grade (non-plastic) fireclay containing more than 37% alumina are limited. FLUORSPAR The total resources of fluorite as per UNFC system as on 1.4.2005 were estimated at 20.16 million tonnes. Out of these, 9.21 million tonnes were placed under ‘Reserves’ category and the remaining 10.95 million tonnes under Remaining Resources’ category. Major deposits of Fluorspar are located in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. GYPSUM The total resources of mineral Gypsum as per UNFC system as on 1.4.2005 were estimated at 1,237 million tonnes. Of these 69 million tonnes have been placed under reserve and 1,168 million tonnes under 'Remaining Resources' The main occurrences of gypsum are located in Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.

688

India 2010

Rajasthan alone accounts for more than 80% country resource. Minor occurrences of gypsum are in Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. GRAPHITE As per the UNFC the total resources of graphite in the country as on 1.4.2005 are placed at about 168.77 million tonnes comprising 10.75 million tonnes in the reserves category and remaining 158.02 million tonnes under resources category. Out of total resources. Arunachal Pradesh accounts 43% followed by Jammu & Kashmir (37%), Jharkhand (6%). Tamil Nadu (5%) and Orissa (3%). However, in term of reserves, Tamil Nadu has major share of about 37%. ILMENITE The resources of Ilmenite are 461.37 million tonnes as per Department of Atomic Energy. Ilmenite occurs mainly in beach sand deposits right from Ratnagiri (Maharashtra) to coast in Kerala, Tamil Nadu & Orissa. The mineral is also found in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. KAOLIN India possesses fairly large resources of china clay. The total resources as per UNFC system as on 1.4.2005 are about 2596 million tonnes. Out of which, 222 million tonnes are placed in reserves category. The occurrences of china clay are distributed in Kerala, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Orissa, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Gujarat Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. LIMESTONE The total resources of limestone of all categories and grades as per UNFC system as on 1.4.2005 are estimated at 175345 million tonnes. Of which 12715 million tonnes are under 'Reserves' category and 162630 million tonnes are under 'Remaining Resources' category. Karnataka is the leading state followed by Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Meghalaya, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand. MICA Important mica bearing pegmatite occurs in Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Bihar and Rajasthan. The total resources of Mica in the country as per UNFC system as on 1.4.2005 are estimated at 393855 tonnes, out of which only 68570 tonnes are placed under 'Reserves' category. 'Remaining resources' are placed at 325285 tonnes. Rajasthan accounts for about 51% resources, followed by Andhra Pradesh Maharashtra and Bihar. MAGNESITE The total resources of magnesite as per UNFC system as on 1.4.2005 are about 338 million tonnes, of which reserves and remaining resources are 76 million tonnes and 262 million tonnes, respectively. Substantial quantities of resources are established in Uttarkhand (68%) followed by Rajasthan (16%) and Tamil Nadu (13%)

Industry

689

Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka and Kerala contribute for the balance. KYANITE AND SILLIMANITE The total resources of kyanite and sillimanite as per UNFC system as on 1.4.2005 are 103 million tonnes and 74 million tonnes, respectively. Out of these the reserves categories are 1.4 million tonnes for kyanite and 11 million tonnes for sillimanite. Kyanite deposits are located in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Sillimanite resources are located mainly in Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Assam and West Bengal with minor occurrences in Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya and Rajasthan. PHOSPHATE MINERALS Deposits of phosphorites are located in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. Besides, apatite deposits of commercial importance are reported from Jharkhand, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan. The total resources of apatite as per UNFC system as on 1.4.2005 are placed at 26.86 million tonnes, out of which 6 million tonnes are under reserves category and about 21 million tonnes are under remaining resources category. Out of the total resources, the bulk 61% are located in West Bengal. The total resources of rock phosphate as per UNFC system as on 1.4.2005 are placed at 305 million tonnes. out of which 53 million tonnes are placed under reserves and 252 million tonnes under remaining resources category. Bulk of reserves are located in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. OTHER MINERALS Other minerals occurring in significant quantities in India are bentonite (Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand and Jammu & Kashmir), corundum (Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh), calcite (Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat), fullerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s earth (Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka) garnet (Tamil Nadu, Orissa Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Kerala), pyrites (Bihar, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh), steatite (Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh), wollastonite (Rajasthan and Gujarat), zircon (beach sand of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa) and quartz and silica minerals are widespread and occur in nearly all states. Besides, the country has vast marble, slate and sandstone deposits. Granite is mainly mined in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan; marble in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh; slate in Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh and sandstone in Rajasthan. MINERAL AND METAL PRODUCTION Indian produces as many as 86 minerals which include 4 fuel, 10 metalic, 46 nonmetalic, 3 atomic minerals and 23 minor minerals (including building and other materials). The total value of country's mineral production in 2008-09 is estimated to be about Rs. 115981 crores, an increased of about 7% over the previous year. Of this, fuel minerals constituted Rs. 73063 crores (63%), metalic minerals for Rs. 29189 crores (25%) and non-metalic minerals including minor minerals of about Rs. 13728 crores

India 2010

690

(12%). The production of selected minerals for the years 2006-07 to 2008-09 are as follows. PRODUCTION OF SELECTED MINERALS, 2005-06, 2006-07 & 2007-08 ( Value in Rs. Crore) Mineral

Unit

2006-07 Qty

All

Mi nerals

Fuel Coal

M.Tonnes

Lignite

M.Tonnes

Natural Petroleum Metallic

Gas(Utilised)

M.C.M.

(crude)

M.Tonnes

431

Value

2007-08(P) Qty

Value

98262.91

108287.41

66158.29

70336.34

34836.79

457

38449.35

2008-2009(E) Qty

Value 115980.53 73063.37

493

41013.21

3 1

2626.03

3 4

2960.88

3 3

2849.65

31747

9764.16

32274

9922.94

33682

10352.05

3 4

18931.32

3 4

19003.17

3 4

18848.36

Minerals

18285.81

24038.14

29189.32

Bauxite

th. tonnes

15733

384.78

-23085

525.94

15250

399.55

Chromite

th. tonnes

5296

1450.17

4799

2020.16

3976

2372.67

Copper

Conc.

th. tonnes

Gold Iron Lead

Kg. Ore Conc

Manganese Zinc

ore

Conc.

150

311.71

159

382.54

123

351.42

2488

229.09

2858

282.59

2677

325.01 23322.62

th. tonnes

187696

14204.31

206452

18495.4

222544

th. tonnes

107

133.14

126

142.18

139

156.8

th. tonnes

2116

557.37

2551

1098.3

2695

1102.71

th. tonnes

947

971.47

1036

937.54

1145

1035.91

Other met. Minerals Non-Metallic Ball

Minerals

Clay

Barytes

43.76

153.49

122.63

3351.46

3445.57

3260.48

th. tonnes

627

13.87

641

14.57

1043

20.23

th. tonnes

1681

94.71

1072

55.32

1859

61.53

Diamond

Carats

2180

1.47

586

0.57

717

0.56

Dolomite

th. Tones

5172

112.57

5117

126.67

4248

105.79

Fire clay *

th. tonnes

497

6.59

460

7.31

351

6.25

Garnet

th. tonnes

859

25.92

873

30.32

742

35.93

(Abrasive)

Gypsum

th. tonnes

3006

49.42

2607

54.23

3265

69.87

Kaolin

th. tonnes

1460

162.22

1292

154.79

1798

59.33 21.86

Laterite

th. tonnes

1373

15.76

1431

19.78

1584

Lime

shell

th. tonnes

104

7.29

139

9.07

7 3

5.61

Lime

stone

197

2405.01

188

2413.54

186

2302.3

tonnes

Magnesite

th. tonnes

239

34.17

248

36.99

251

34.49

Phosphorite

th. tonnes

1587

218.46

1860

309.04

1814

299.71 7.79

Pyroxenite

th. tonnes

302

8.27

315

9.58

190

Sand

(others)

th. tonnes

1770

6.71

1424

5.89

1568

7.37

Silica

Sand

th. tonnes

2663

37.79

3931

41.5

2613

21.56

Sillimanite

th. tonnes

2 6

10.13

4 3

17.99

3 8

21.09

Steatite

th. tonnes

740

40.12

826

51.96

826

49.81

Wollastonite

th. tonnes

132

11.41

119

10.19

108

Other non-metallic minerals

89.59

76.27

9.19 120.21

Minor

Minerals

10467.36

Minor

Minerals

10467.36

Industry

691

Figures rounded off. M. Tonnes - Million tonnes, 000 tonnes; thousand tonnes; M.C.M. Million cubic metre. Kg.Kilogram (P): Provisional and based on monthly returns to the extent available with IBM (R ) : Revised figures (E) : Estimated figures * : Excludes the production of Fireclay, if any re covered incidental to coal mining. Note:

( 1 ) The value figures pertain to pithead value ( 2 ) Date based on the returns received under MCDR 1988 except coal, lignite, petroleum (crude) natural gas (utilised) and minor minerals

Source

a ) Coal and Lignite Coal Controller Kolkata b ) Petroleum (crude) and National Gas Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas. New Delhi c ) Minor Minerals State Government

ORGANIZATIONS UNDER THE MINISTRY The Ministry has following attached/subordinate offices. Public Sector undertakings, disinvested companies and research organization under its administrative control. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA (GSI) Geological Survey of India, the premier earth science organization of the country, is the principal provider of basic earth science information to the government. Industry and the geoscientific sector. The vibrant steel, coal, metals, cement and power industries which expanded phenomenally in the post-independence era, bear eloquent testimony to the GSI's contribution too national development. Beginning as a department engaged primarily in research for coal, GSI in the last 158 years has expanded its activities manifold and has been involved either directly or indirectly in almost all areas of nation building. GSI is now the custodian of one of the largest and most comprehensive earth science database developed over the last one and half century. Its Charter of operation (revised, 21st May, 2009) laid down by the Government of India, detailing the scope of activities and responsibilities of the GSI encompasses practically the entire gamut of earth science activities. The Charter reflects the broad responsibility of GSI extending from the lofty peaks of the Himalaya to the remote continent of Antrctica and from the desert to the ocean and into the sky. Creation and updation of national geoscientific information and knowledge base through ground. Marine and airborne surveys and their dissemination are the primary goals of GSI. It has Central Head Quarters at Kolkata. six regional offices at Nagpur, Kolkata, Shillong, Lucknow, Hyderabad and Jaipur besides a Airborne Miner Surveys and Exploration wing, Bangalore; Marine Wing, Kolkata; Coal Wing, Kolkata and Training Institute, Hyderabad. INDIAN BUREAU OF MINES (IBM) Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) established on 1st March 1948, is a multidisciplinary scientific and technical organisation under Ministry of Mines, with statutory and developmental responsibilities for conservation and systematic exploitation of Mineral resources other than coal, petroleum and natural gas, atomic minerals and minor minerals.

692

India 2010

IBM has its headquarter at Nagpur with 3 Zonal Offices. 12 Regional Offices and 2 Sub-Regional offices spread all over the country, apart from the Modern Minister Processing Laboratory Pilot Plant constructed with UNDP assistance at Nagpur. Two Regional Ore Dressing Laboratories and Pilot Plants are in operation at Ajmer and Bangaluru. The Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) performs regulatory functions, namely enforcement of the Mineral Conservation and Development Rules, 1988, the relevant provisions of the Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957. Mineral Concession Rules, 1960 and Environmental (Protection) Act 1986 and Rules made thereunder. It also undertakes scientific, techno-economic, research oriented studies in various aspects of mining geological studies, ore beneficiation and environmental studies. IBM provides technical consultancy services to the mining industry for the geological appraisal of mineral resources, and the preparation of feasibility report of mining projects, including beneficiation plants. It prepares mineral maps and countrywide inventory of mineral resources of leasehold and freehold areas. It also promotes and monitors community development activities in mining areas. IBM also functions as Data Bank of Mines and Minerals and publishes statistical information. It also brings out technical publications/monographs on individual mineral commodities and bulletins of topical interest. It advises the Central and State Governments on all aspects of mineral industry, trade, legislation etc. PUBLIC SECTOR AND DISINVESTED COMPANIES The Ministry of Mines has four public sector undertaking (PSUs) under its administrative control National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO). Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL) & Bharat Gold Mines Limited (BGML) are operating in the field of mining and mineral processing, and Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited (MECL) is operating in the field of mineral exploration. The BGML however is closed since March 2001. In addition the Government holds 49% equity in Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO) and 29.54% equity in Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL) after their disinvestment. The performance of these undertakings in 2008-09 is given below. National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), largest integrated AluminaAluminium Plant Complex in India, was incorporated on 7th January, 1981 with its registered office at Bhubaneswar. After completion of first phase expansion at an investment of Rs. 4200 crore in 2004. NALCO has presently installed capacity of 4.8 Million Tonnes Per Year (MTPY) Bauxite Mine and 1.575 MTPY of Alumina Refinery at Panchapatmali, and 0.345 MTPY Aluminium Smelter at Angul. It has 960 MW (8X120) MW Capative Power Plant at Angul, all in Orissa and Port Handling Facilities at Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) for export of alumina and import of caustic soda. The Company also utilizes Kolkata and Paradeep Ports for export of Aluminium. NALCO had been granted Navratna status on 28.4.2008. Second phase expansion of NALCOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Integrated Alumina-Aluminium Complex, at an outlay of Rs. 4091.51 crore, at July 2003 price level, approved by the Government in October 2004, envisaging augmentation of Bauxite Mines capacity from 4.8 MTPY

Industry

693

to 6.3 MTPY, Alumina Refinery capacity from 1.575 MTPA to 2.1 MTPA,Aluminium Smelter capacity from 0.345 MTPA to 0.46 MTPA and Captive Power Plant (CPP) capacity from 960 MW (8x120 MW) to 1200 MW (10x120) is presently under implementation. The company is one of the lowest cost producers of alumina & aluminium in the world due to highly efficient operation and very high asset utilization with benchmark in smelling technology. With sustained quality products, the Company's export earnings account for nearly 40% of the sales turnover. NALCO has been exploring to set up new projects in the country and abroad. The company is examining possibilities to set up a 5 lakh Tonnes Per Annum (TPA) smelter at an investment of 1.3 billion in Indonesia, and 1.55 lakh TPA smelter in first phase and a 1.55 lakh TPA smelter alongwith gas based power plant in second phase at an estimated cost of Used 3 billion in Iron NALCO plans to set up a 42 lakh TPA bauxite mines and 14 lakh TPA alumina refinery complex in Andhra Pradesh involving an investment of Rs. 7000 crores. The Company exports its products to more than 30 countries worldwide. The Company has also opened stockyards in various parts of India to facilitate domestic marketing. With its consistent track record in capacity utilization, technology absorption, quality assurance, exports performance and posting of profits, NALCO is a bright example of India's industrial capability. Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL) HCL, a public sector undertaking under the administrative Control of the Ministry of Mines, was incorporated on 9th November, 1967 under the Companies Act, 1956. It was established as a Govt. of India Enterprise to take over all plants, projects, schemes and studies pertaining to the exploration and exploitation of copper deposits, including smelting and refining from National Mineral Development Corporation Ltd. It has the distinction of being the nation's only vertically integrated copper producing company as it manufactures copper right from the stage of mining to beneficiation, smelting, refining and casting of refined copper metal into downstream saleable products. The company markets copper cathodes, continuous cast copper rod and by products, such as anode slime (containing gold, silver, etc.) copper sulphate and sulphuric acid. More than 90% of the sales revenue is from cathode and continuous cast copper rods. HCL's mines and plants are spread across four operating units, one each in the States of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Maharashtra as named below. Khetri Copper Complex (KCC) at Khetrinagar, Rajasthan, Indian Copper Complex (ICC) at Ghatsila, Jharkhand, Malanjkhand Copper Project (MCP) at Malanjkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Taloja Copper Project (TCP) at Taloja, Maharashtra. The Government of India nationalized the only copper producing company in the private sector, Indian Copper Corporation Ltd, at Ghatsila in Jharkhand in March; 1972 and handed over its management and ownership too Hindustan Copper Limited. The smelter plant at Khetri Copper Complex (KCC) in Rajasthan with capacity of 31000 tonnes was dedicated to the nation on 5th February, 1975. In November, 1982, Malanjkhand Copper Proje ct comprising of a large and fully mechanized open pit mine and concentrator plant was dedicated to the nation.

India 2010

694

The continuous cast copper rod plant at Taloja Copper Project of Hindustan Copper Ltd was commissioned in December, 1989 with an installed capacity of 60000 tonnes. The total installed annual capacity of HCL is 49500 tonnes of refined copper During 2008-09, HCL produced 27589 tonnes of metal-in-concentrate, 30035 tonnes of refined copper and 51777 tonnes of wire rod. During the year 2007-08, HCL achieved a turnover of Rs. 1839.79 crore with a net profit of Rs. 246.46 crore after tax. The accounts of 2008-09 are under finalization. Production of copper concentrate and value in 2008-09 Production

1,26,600 MT

Value

Rs. 323 crore

Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited (MECL) The Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited (MECL) since inception in the year 1972 is carrying out mineral exploration activities. So far, it has added 1,36,376 million tones of mineral reserves to National Mineral Inventory. The Company manages the functioning of projects through a 2 tier system from the Corporate office at Nagpur. To facilitate the prompt maintenance of plants and machineries deployed at various projects, three Regional Maintenance Centres at Ranchi, Nagpur and Hyderabad are being operated Technical guidance to thee Project, finalization of geological reports, close liaisoning with the clients and looking for new business opportunities is being carried out through the Zonal Offices located at Ranchi, Nagpur and Hyderabad. MECL's gross revenue was Rs. 105.90 crore. It has recorded net profit of Rs. 1.24 crore (After EOI & taxes). A total of 5695 million tones of reserves for coal, lignite, copper, lead-zinc. and iron ore have been added in National Mineral inventory during, 2008-09. Bharat Gold Mines Limited (BGML) Bharat Gold Mines Limited (BGML) having registered office at Kolar Gold Fields, was incorporated as a public sector company under the Ministry of Mines, on 1st April 1972. It was engaged in mining and production of gold from its captive mines. The company was referred to the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) who gave its verdict in June 2000 to wind up BGML in public interest. The verdict of BIFR was upheld by Appellate Authority for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (AAIFR). The company was closed after the Ministry of Labour, accorded permission for closure of BGML w.e.f. 1 March 2001. After prolonged litigation the Division Bench of High Court of Karnataka in its order dated 26 September 2003 has also upheld the winding up/closure orders passed by BIFR/ AAIFR and Ministry of Labour. The Court has made certain recommendations which are under consideration of the Government. Government of India, on 27.7.2006, have approved a proposal regarding Special Terminal Benefit Package (STBP) for Bharat Gold Mines Limited ex-employees, sale of houses to the employees of BGML at nominal rates. calling of global tender for sale

Industry

695

of assets and giving purchase preference to the Employees Co-operative Society/ Societyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Company subject to the approval of the High Court of Karnataka (Company Court) and viability of the project. Company Application has been filed in the Honâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ble High Court of Karnataka (Company Court) which is being perused. As per the Government decision. STBP amount has been distributed to the exemployees of BGML and allotment of the houses at the rates suggested by the High Court of Karnataka (Company Court) are under process. An Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) was also constituted to over see the tendering process of BGML. A consultant was appointed for assets valuation of the company, preparation of global tender documents and assisting in global tendering process etc. The Consultant had submitted draft global Tendering documents which have been placed by BGML before the Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka (Company Court) for approval. The matter has since been under consideration of the Hon'ble Court. Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO) Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO) was incorporated on 27 th November, 1965 as a Central Public Sector Undertaking with an integrated Alumina/Aluminium Complex and a 270 MW Captive Power Plant at Korba presently in Chhattisgarh. The Government of India disinvested 51 % equity in the Company along with the transfer of management control in favour of M/s Sterlite Industries (India) Limited with effect from 2nd March, 2001 and consequently, the Company has ceased to be public sector undertaking. Post disinvestment, BALCO has implemented the expansion at a cost of over Rs. 4000 crores leading to threefold increase in capacities. The smelter cpacity has been increased to 3,45,000 MT per annum from 1,00,000 MT per annum and the capacity of the captive power plant from 270MW to 810 MW. The expanded cpacity was fully commissioned in the third quarter of 2006-07. The Company has signed an MOU with the Government of Chhattisgarh in October, 2006 for setting up a 1200 MW Power Plant at an estimated cost of Rs. 4800 crores. The Company has commenced implementation of the power project and the project is expected to be fully commissioned in 2010-11. The Company has signed an MOU with Government of Chhattisgarh in August, 2007 for expanding its aluminium smelting by setting up of additional 6.5. lakh TPA aluminium smelter at an estimated coast of Rs. 8100 crores, out of which setting up of 3.25 lakh TPA aluminium smelter at a cost of Rs. 3800 crores is envisaged in the first phase. Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL) Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL) was incorporated in January 1966 as a public sector undertaking after the take over of the erstwhile Metal Corporation of India Limited, to develop mining and smelting capacities to substantially meet the domestic demand of zinc and lead metals. HZL's operations are broad-based and its activities range from exploration, mining and ore processing to smelting and refining of lead, zinc together with recovery of by products like silver, cadmium and sulphuric acid. Government of India disinvested its 26% equity in HZL in favour of M/s Sterlite Opportunities and Ventures Ltd (SOVL) on 28th March, 2002, and the management control of the company was also transferred to SOVL on 11th April, 2002, Subsequently, SOVL acquired 20% equity shares of HZL from the market through its open offer. On

India 2010

696

11th November, 2003. Government of India further off-loaded 18.92% of its equity in HZL in favour of SOVL in terms of the Shareholders Agreement. The current shareholding of SOVL in HZL is 64.92% and the Government of India is 29.54%. HZL with its headquarters at Udaipur operates lead-zinc mines with a total capacity of 7.1 million tonnes per annum and lead-zinc smelters with a total lead-zinc metal production capacity of 762.000 tonnes annum. During the year 2007-08. HZL commissioned Phase-II expansion comprising 170,000 tonnes per annum hydro zinc smelter, 80 MW thermal captive power plant and expansion of Rampura Agucha Mine from 3.75 MT per annum to 5 MT per annum. It has further increased zinc production capacity by 8,000 tonnes per annum by de-bottlenecking. During the year 2008-09 HZL commissioned another 80 MW thermal captive plant. The Company has undertaken Phase-III expansion programme, which includes 210,000 tonnes per annum hydro zinc smelter, 100,000 tonnes per annum lead smelter along with expansion is its lead-zinc mining capacities and 160 MW thermal captive power plant. National Institute of Rock Mechanics (NIRM) The National institute of Rock Mechanics (NIRM) is a premier center for research in applied and basic rock mechanics. Set up under the Ministry of Mines. Government of India, the Institute provides research and consultancy services for improving safety and productivity in the mining and civil engineering sectors. It is an ISO-9001 : 2008 certified research Institute NIRM has carrying out research work through both government - funded and industry sponsored S & T and consultancy projects. The institute has been extending its support to the industry in areas:

• • • • • • • •

Engineering Geology, Engineering Geophysics Geotechnical Engineering Rock Fracture Mechanics & Materials Testing. Engineering Seismology Numerical Modelling. Rock Blasting & Excavation Engineering. Mine Design & Ground Control Microseismics & Automation. Environmental Engineering and Dimensional Stone Technology.

National Institute of Miners Health (NIMH) National Institute of Miners Health (NIMH) Nagpur was established for promotion of occupational health & hygiene in mining and mineral based industries and for development of trained manpower in these fields. It was registered as Society in the State of Karnataka. On closure of BGML, a camp office was established at Amravati Road. Wadi, Nagpur in 2002. The Institute has state - of - the - art infrastructure, equipments and highly trained manpower to conduct and carry out.

•

Detailed initial and periodic medical examinations as per Mines Rules, 1955.

•

Clinical investigations like routine hematological tests, blood biochemistry, audiometry, spirometry, electrocardiography.

Industry

• •

697 Computerized vision screening. Exposure assessment of individual subjects for noise, dust and vibration using personal dosimeters.

• •

Risk assessment of work environment for dust, noise, vibration. Risk characterization of dust for free silica (using FTIR), heavy metals (using AAS) etc.

•

Specialized

tests

clinical

biochemistry,

Protein

Biomarkers,

Electrophoresis, ELISA, Spectrophotometric analysis.

•

HRD activities in mine related health and hygiene issues.

Jawaharlal Nehru (JNARDDC).

Aluminium

Research

Development

and

Design

Center

Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development and Design Centre, Nagpur is a "Centre of Excellence" set up in 1989 and became fully functional since 1996. The Centre was conceived as the major R & D support system for the emerging modern aluminium industry in India. The Centre has well-established facilities for R&D activities in the field of bauxite. Alumina and aluminium. Its principal preoccupation is with all aspects of Bayer process for conversion from bauxite to alumina and electrolytic smelting from alumina to aluminium. The Centre has successfully completed many major projects awarded by both primary & secondary aluminium producers, bauxite mine owners / importers and also by Ministry of Mines. There has been a steady increase in the internal revenue generation over the last five years. The Centre also offers analytical and testing facilities to other non-ferrous industries. steel plants, small-scale industries, R&D Organisations and Academic Institutions particularly in the areas of chemical and mineralogical analysis. power characterisation, thermal mapping, micro structural studies. Mechanical and non destructive testing, failure analysis and technical information. SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMME Introduction : Science & Technology programme of the Ministry of Mines was initiated in 1978 with the view to encourage research and development of indigenous technology in the minerals and non-ferrous metal sectors. Till now 137 projects have been completed and 7 projects are under implementation. The underlying principle behind this programme had been the utilization of the available mineral resources in a judicious, economically efficient and environmentally sustainable manner. An important component of this programme had been the selection of research and development projects of national priorities including those related to benefication of the lean ores, techniques for extracting metals from mine wastes and plant tailings being by products. Project proposals from various Government institutions, public sector undertakings universities and other research organizations engaged in the mineral

India 2010

698

and mining sectors are reviewed by a group of experts of Project Evaluation & Review Committee (PERC). Suitable projects of national priorities and thrust areas are approved by a high level Standing Scientific Advisory Group (SSAG). MICRO SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (MSME) SECTOR The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) performs its tasks of formulation of policies and implementation of programmes mainly through Office of the Development Commissioner (MSME), National Small Industries Corporation Ltd. (NSIC), Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) and Coir Board. The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organisation (earlier known as Small Industries Development Organisation) set up in 1954, functions as an apex body for sustained and organised growth of micro, small and medium enterprises. As an apex/nodal organ, it provides a comprehensive range of facilities and services to the MSMEs though its network of thirty Micro. Small and Medium Enterprises-Development. Institutes (MSME-Dis) twenty eight branch MSME-Dis, four Regional Testing Centres (RTCs), seven Field Testing Stations (FTSs), six PPDCs, eleven Tool Rooms (TRs) and two Specialised Institutes namely. Institute for Design of Electrical Measuring Instruments (IDEMI) and Electronics Service and Training Centre (ESTC) Performance of Micro and Small Enterprise Sector As per the Third All India Census held for the year 2001-02, there were 105.21 lakh enterprises (Registred and Unregistered) in the country, out of which 14.89 lakh were registered working enterprises and 90.32 lakh unregistered enterprises. Their contribution to production was Rs. 2,82,270 crore and to employment was 249.33 lakh persons. It is estimated that during 2007-08 (projected), the number of units has increased to 133.68 lakh from 128.44 lakh in the previous year registering a growth rate of 4.08 per cent. The value of production at current prices is estimated to have increased by 18.80 percent to Rs. 6,95,126 crore from Rs. 5.85, 112 crore. The employment is estimated to have increased to 322.28 lakh from 312.52 lakh persons in the previous year, i.e. 2008-07. The MSE sector has been registering a higher growth rate than the overall industrial sectorin the past few years consistently. To help the MSEs in meeting the challenges of globalization, the Government has taken serveral initiatives and measures in recent years. First and foremost among them is the enactment of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006â&#x20AC;&#x2122;, which aims to facilitate the promotion and development and enhance the competitiveness of MSMEs. The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises are defined as under: A)

Manufacturing Enterprises

A micro enterprise, where the investment in plant and machinery does not exceed twenty five lakh rupees;

ii.

A small enterprise, where the investment in plant and machinery is more than twenty five lakh rupees but does not exceed five crore rupees; and

iii.

A medium enterprise, where the investment in plant and machinery is more than five crore rupees but does not exceed ten crore rupees.

Service Enterprises

A micro enterprise, where the investment in equipment does not exceed ten lakh rupees;

Industry

699

ii.

A small enterprise, where the investment in equipment is more than ten lakh rupees but does not exceed two crore rupees; and

iii.

A medium enterprise, where the investment in equipment is more than two crore rupees but does not exceed five crore rupees.

National Manufacturing Competitiveness Programme The Government has launched an all-India campaign under the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Programme (NMCP) for MSMEs, which has specific components that are aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of the enterprise in this sector-so as to withstand global and organized competition and to thrive through better technologies and skills. The components of the NMCP seek to introduce the best elements of industrial competitiveness in the SME sector, which has often been unable to afford such practices and techniques. The ten components of the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Programme (NMCP) to be implemented by the Ministry of MSME during XXI Plan are: (i)

Lean Manufacturing,

(ii)

Design Clinics,

(iii) Setting up of New Mini Tool Rooms (MTR) (iv)

Promotion of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in MSMEs,

(v)

Support for Entrepreneurial and Managerial Development of MSMEs through Incubators.

(vi)

Marketing Assistance of MSMEs & Technology Upgradation Activities,

(vii) Quality Management Standards and Quality Technology Tools for MSMEs, (viii) National Campaign for investment in Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), (ix)

Energy Efficiency and Quality Upgradation support for MSMEs. and

(x)

Marketing Support/Assistance for MSMEs.

Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Micro and Small Enterprises The Government launched the Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Small Industries (Now Renamed as Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Micro and Small enterprises) in August, 2000 with the objective of making available credit to SSI units, particularly tine units, for loans up to Rs. 100 lakh without collateral/third party guarantees. The Scheme covers collateral free credit facility (term loan and/ or working capital) extended by eligible lending institutions to new and existing micro and small enterprises up to Rs. 100 lakh per borrowing unit. The guarantee cover provided is up to 75% of the credit facility up to Rs. 50 lakh with an incremental guarantee of 50% of the credit facility above Rs. 50 lakh and up to Rs. 100 lakh (85% for loans up to Rs. 5 lakh provided to micro enterprises, 80% for MSEs owned/ operated by women and all loans to NER). One time guarantee fee of 1.5% of the credit facility sanctioned (0.75% for NER including Sikkim) and Annual Service Fee for 0.75% is collected from the MLIs. The scheme is being operated by the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) set up jointly by the Government of India and SIDBI. The corpus of CGTMSE has been enhanced to Rs. 1754.05 crore with the contribution of Rs. 1403.25 crore from the Gol and Rs. 350.80 crore from SIDBI. As announced in the 'Package for Promotion of Micro and Small Enterprises', the corpus fund will be raised to Rs. 2,500 crore during the XIth Plan.

700

India 2010

At present, 98 eligible institutions comprising all Public Sector Banks. 14 Private Sector Banks, 54 Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), North Eastern Development Finance Corporation (NEDFC) and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) have become Member Lending Institution (MLIs) of CGTMSE for participating under the Credit Guarantee Scheme. As on 30th June, 2009, cumulatively 1,73,249 proposals have been approved for guarantee cover for a total sanctioned loan amount of Rs. 5863.85 crore. MSE-Cluster Development Programme In the last few years, the Government has been focusing on the strategy of Cluster Development for development of the MSEs - through which different 'clusters' and concentrations of enterprises are given the benefit of a whole variety of interventions, ranging from exposure to skill development, from credit to marketing and from Technological improvements to better designs and products. Under the Scheme, financial support up to 90% of the cost of soft interventions up to Rs. 10 lakh per cluster over a period of three years is provided for various programmes and activities leading to capacity building, training, exposure visits to domestic or international clusters/trade fairs, marketing development programmes, buyer-seller meets, etc. depending upon the actual plan prepared, validated and approved as a result of diagnostic study. Financial support upto 80% (90% in case of women clusters) of the project cost of maximum Rs. 10 crore is also provided for setting up of Common Facility Centres (CFCs) For setting up of CFCs. minimum 20 members are required to form an Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) in the form of a Company/Society/Trust. Till June, 2009 439 clusters have been approved for interventions under the scheme, including soft and hard interventions and diagnostic studies. Infrastructure Development For setting up of industrial Estates and to develop infrastructure facilities, the Integrated Infrastructure Development (IID) scheme was launched in 1994. The scheme covered rural as well as urban areas with a provision of 50% reservation for rural areas and 50% of industrial plots for tiny sector. The estimated cost for setting up of an IID center is Rs. 5.00 crore (excluding cost of land), Central Government provides 40% (up to a maximum of Rs. 4.00 crore) for North East Region (including Sikkim), J&K, H.P. and Uttrakhand, as grant and remaining amount could be loan from SIDBI/ Banks/financial Institutions or the state funds. The Scheme has been subsumed under the MSE- CDP with all existing feature. Central Government has approved 13 projects in various States including 4 for upgradation of infrastructure in the old industrial estates in the financial year 2008-09. IDO-9000/ISO-14001/HACCP Certification reimbursement Scheme The Process of economic liberalisation and market reforms has opened up the Indian Micro and small Enterprises to the global competition. In order to enhance the competitiveness of the sector. The Scheme envisages one time reimbursement of charges for acquiring ISO-9000/14001/HACCP (or its equivalent) certification to the extent of 75% of the cost subject to a maximum of Rs.75,000/- in total. Upto March, 2009 total 18811 number of units amounting to Rs. 92.20 Crore have been reimbursed since inception of the scheme in 1994.

Industry

701

Skill Development Ministry of MSME conducts Entrepreneurship Development Programmes (EDPs)/ Entrepreneship Skill Development Programmes (ESDPs) through the Micro Small and Medium enterprises Development Institutes to cultivate the skills among the un-employed youth of setting up of their Micro and Small Enterprises. Under the Management Development Programmes (MDPs), existing MSEs Entrepreneurships are provided trainings on various areas of management to develop their skill. To encourage more entrepreneurs from SC/ST. Women and Physically Handicapped groups. Ministry provides stipend of Rs 500/- per capita per month to the candidates for weaker sections. National Small Industries Corporation Ltd. National Small Industries Corporation, Since its inception in 195 has been working with its mission of promoting, aiding and fostering the growth of micro & small enterprises. It has been working to promote the interest of micro & small enterprises and to enhance their competitiveness by providing integrated support services under Marketing, Technology, Finance and Support services. The Corporation has introducing several new schemes from time to time. These schemes have been found to be very useful in stimulating the growth of micro and small enterprises in the country. Performances & Credit Rating Scheme The Scheme is being implemented by the NSIC. The scheme is aimed to encourage micro & small enterprises (MSEs) to undertake credit and performance rating. The rating under the scheme serves as a trusted third party opinion on the capabilities and creditworthiness of the micro & small enterprises. An independent rating by an accredited rating agency has a good acceptance from the Banks/Financial Institutions, Customers/Buyers and Vendors. Under this Scheme, rating fee payable by the MSEs for the first year only is subsidized to maximum of 75% of the fee or Rs. 40,000/- whichever is less. Marketing Assistance Scheme The Scheme is being implemented by NSIC. The main objectives of Marketing Assistance Scheme are to enhance the marketing competitiveness of the MSMEs, to provide them a platform for interaction with the individual / institutional buyers, to update them with prevalent market scenario and to provide them a forum for redressing their problems. MSMEs are facilitated in their efforts to promote marketing and enhance the competency for capturing the new market opportunities by way of organization / Participation in various domestic and international exhibitions/trade fairs, buyerseller meets, intensive-campaigns and other marketing events. The scheme also aims at vendor development from MSMEs for the bulk manufactures through Buyer-Seller Meet. Further, intensive campaigns and other marketing events are organized all over the country to disseminate/propagate about the various schemes for the benefit of the micro and small enterprises and to enrich their knowledge w.r.t. the latest developments, quality standards etc. Survey, Studies and Policy Research The main objectives of the scheme are - (i) to regularly/periodically collect relevant and reliable data on various aspects and features of MSMEs. (ii) to study and analyses,

India 2010

702

on the basis of empirical data or otherwise, the constraints and challenges faced by MSME sector as well as the opportunities available to them, and (iii) to use the results of these surveys and analytical studies for policy research and designing appropriate strategies and measures of intervention by the Government. Training Institutions This scheme has two components. Under the first components financial assistance is provided for strengthening training infrastructure of the existing and new entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDIs) at State/UT level and the second component provides financial assistance to three national level entrepreneurship Development Training Institutes set up by this Ministry viz., National Institute for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (ni-msme), Hyderabad (formerly known as National Institute for Small Industry Extension Training (NISIET), National Institute for Entrepreneurship & Small Business Development (NIESBUD), Noida and Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE), Guwahati for meeting their revenue deficit and capital expenditure. The Scheme is presently under review. Rajiv Gandhi Udyami Mitra Yojana (RGUMY) The main objective of the scheme is to promote and support establishment of new micro and small enterprises through handholding of potential first generation entrepreneurs, who have already successfully completed Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP)/Skill Development Programme (SDP)/ Entrepreneurship-cum-Skill Development Programme (ESDP) of at least two weeks duration, or have undergone vocationall training from it is. One of the main objective of handholding is to guide and facilitate the potential entrepreneurs in dealing with various procedural and legal hurdles and completion of various formalities which are required for setting up and running of enterprise successfully and to save them from harassment at the hands of various regulatory agencies for want of required compliances. It will not only increase the proportion of potential entrepreneurs trained under various EDPs/SDPs/ESDPs/Vocational Training (VT) in setting up their enterprises more importantly, it will also enhance survival/ success rate of newly set up enterprises. International Cooperation Scheme Technology infusion and/or upgradation of Indian MSMEs, their modernization and promotion of their exports are the principal objectives of assistance under the International Cooperation Scheme. Under the Scheme, associations and organizations of MSMEs are facilitated for participation in international exhibitions/trade fairs. The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Agro and Rural Industries (ARI) sector has been implementing various schemes through Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) and Coir Board for the development of khadi, village industries and coir sectors based on local raw materials and skills and creating more employment opportunities in the rural non-farm sector. Schemes/programmes under KVI sectors Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) (i)

The Government has introduced a new employment generation credit linked subsidy scheme titled Prime Ministerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) for setting up micro enterprises in rural and urban areas by merging two existing employment generation programmes of this Ministry namely Prime

Industry

703

Minister's Rozgar Yajana (PMRY) and Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP). It is a significant initiative with a higher level of subsidy than PMRY and REGP. It is estimated to generate around 38 lakh additional employment opportunities in the remaining four years (2008-09 to 2011-12) of XXI Plan with a total plan outlay of Rs. 4735 crore including Rs. 250 crore for backward and forward linkages. (ii)

Budget Estimates 2008-09 have provided Rs. 823 crore for PMEGP which includes Rs. 83 crore towards backward and Forward Linkages including EDP Training, publicity, marketing support, e-tracking of applications, physical verification of projects and so on. An estimated 6.17 lakh additional employment opportunities are targeted to be generated in 2008-09. Under PMEGO, full amount of Rs. 823 crore available in REs 2008-09 has been released to KVIC. Upto March, 2009, 1,91,938 applications have been received by various implementing agencies under PMEGP, of which 71,125 candidates have already been selected by district level Task Forces for assistance under PMEGP. Financial assistance for 26,588 projects has been sanctioned by banks. An estimated 7.40 lakh additional employment opportunities are targeted to be generated in 200910.

Workshed Scheme for Khadi Artisans Workshed Scheme for Khadi Artisans was introduced in July 2008 for providing assistance for construction of Workshed for Khadi artisans for providing better work environment. An outlay of Rs. 25 crore has been provided in BEs 2008-09 of which Rs. 0.05 crore was earmarked for NER. Funds to the tune of Rs. 25 crore (including Rs. 0.05 crore for NER) have been released to KVIC in 2008-09. Against the target of providing assisstance to 10000 worksheds, assistance to 11,076 worksheds (provisional) were provided upto March, 2009. It is estimated that assistance will be provided to 6000 worksheds in 2009-10. Scheme for enhancing productivity & competitiveness of Khadi Industries and artisans was approved in July 2008 to assist 200 khadi institutions to make khadi industry competitive with more market driven and profitable production by replacement of obsolete and old machinery and equipment. An outlay of Rs. 10 crore was kept in the BEs 2008-09 of which Rs. 0.05 crore has been earmarked for NER against which entire funds have been released during 2008-09 to KVIC. Against the target of 25 projects, 21 projects were sanctioned upto March, 2009, Under this scheme, a target for assisting 23 khadi institutions has been fixed for 2009-10. Interest Subsidy Eligibility Certification (ISES) Scheme The interest Subsidy Eligibility Certification (ISEC) Scheme is the major source of funding for the khadi programme. It was introduced in May 1977 to mobilize funds from budgetary sources. Under thee ISEC Scheme, credit at the concessional rate of interest of 4 per cent per annum for capital is provided by Banks to the khadi institutions. The difference between the actual lending rate and 4 per cent is paid by the Central Government through KVIC to the lending bank. Institutions registered with the KVIC/State Khadi and Village Industries Board (KVIBs) can avail of financing under the ISEC scheme. Subsidy of Rs. 23.81 crore was provided by KVIC to banks under this scheme during 2008-09 and target for 2009-10 is Rs. 25.00 crore. Rebate on sale of Khadi and khadi products is made available by the Government so as to make the price of khadi competitive with other textiles. Normal rebate (10 per

704

India 2010

cent) all over the year and an additional special rebate (10 per cent) for 108 days are given to the customers. Rebate is allowed only on the sales made by institutions/ centres run by the KVIC/State KVIBs and also at the sales centres run by the registered institutions which are engaged in the production of khadi and polyvastra. KVIC has released Rs. 136.22 crore to khadi institutions towards rebate during 2008-09 and target of Rs 86.78 crore has been tentatively fixed for 2009-10. Product Development, Design Intervenation and Packaging (PRODIP) The Product Development Design Intervention and Packaging (PRODIP) scheme was launched in November 2002 as a small intervention by KVIC with a view to helping selectively indentified khadi institutions to improve the quality of khadi products and also to diversify into new product. The scheme envisages improvement in product quality, introducing new designs and better packaging of products. It also seeks to enhance the marketability of khadi by enlisting the support of professional designers approved by the institutions or entrepreneurs affiliated to the KVIC or State KVIBs upto Rs. 2 lakh per project per year or 75 per cent of the project cost, whichever is less. In the case of individual entrepreneurs, assistance is available upto Rs. 1 lakh or 75 per cent of the project cost, whichever is less. Internal studies conducted by KVIC have indicated that production and sale have increased approximately by 13 per cent and 21 per cent, respectively, in the case of projects taken up under PRODIP. Under this scheme 245 projects have been sanctioned during 2008-09 and target of 249 project has been fixed for 2009-10. Khadi Karigar Janashree Bima Yojana To provide insurance cover to khadi artisans, a scheme of group insurance in the name of Khadi Karigar Janashree Bima Yojana (JBY) was launched w.e.f 15 August 2003. This scheme was formulated by KVIC in association with the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) with annual premium of Rs. 200/- per beneficiary. KVIC have been able to get the LIC reduce the premium to Rs.100/- with effect from 2005-06 which is shared as follows. "Rs. 50/- by Central Government Social Security Fund, Rs. 20/- by Khadi Institution and Rs. 12.50/- each by khadi artisan and KVIC." Under this yojana, natural death cover of Rs. 30,000/- is provided, while in the case of death due to accident, and amount of Rs. 75,000/- is payable and is this case of partial disability Rs. 37,500/- is payable to the beneficiary. A financial assistance of Rs. 300/- per child per quarter is also provided as scholarship upto two school going children of the artisan as an add-on benefit under this scheme. So far, more than 2.50 lakh artisans have been covered under the JBY. Khadi Reform Programme Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance has tied up financial aid from Asian Development Bank amounting to US$ 150 million over a period of three years for implementing a comprehensive Khadi Reform Programme. Under this Reform Package, it is proposed to revitalize the khadi sector with enhanced sustainability of khadi, increased incomes and employment, increased artisans welfare and empowerment and to enable KVIC to gradually stand on its own with decreasing dependence on Government Grants. Initially, programme will be initiated in 300 khadi institutions keeping the needs of regional balance, geographical spread and inclusion of backward areas. VSE Division of Planning Commission has given its inprinciple approval to the Sch eme, which is under consideration for approval.

Industry

705

Coir Board Coir Board is looking after the promotion growth and development of coir industry, export promotion and expansion of the domestic market by providing marketing inputs, etc. Coir Board is implementing a number of schemes for the coir sector, which include assistance for participation in international exhibitions. Domestic Market Development, Mahila Coir Yojana and Development of Production Infrastructure. About 6.75 lakh persons are engaged in this industry and 80% of workforce is women. While the coir industry has roots in Kerala. It has become popular in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and is spreading to other cocount growing States like Orissa. Tripura, Goa, etc. The details of production, export and employment in the Coir sector during the last five years are given below: Year

Production of Coir Fibre (Qty.in MT)

Export of Coir Qty.Value (In MT)

Value

Employment (No.of.persons)

(Rs. Crore)

2004-05

3,85,000

122927

473.40

6,06,000

2005-06

4,10,000

136027

508.45

6,22,000

2006-07

4,30,025

168755

605.17

6,40,500

2007-08

4,37,800

187566

592.88*

6,57,000

2008-09

4,91,000

189858

634.17

8,90,000

* In rupee terms, the export for the period was less by 2 percent compared to previous year's figure, mainly due to rupee appreciation. MT- Metric Tonnes Targets of production of 5,30,000 MT Coir Fibre and exports of coir products of Rs. 650.00 crore have been fixed for 2009-10. Scheme/programmes under coir Sector Scheme for Rejuvenation, Modernisation and Technological Upgradation of Coir Industry With a view to developing coir industry, the Ministry through Coir Board introduced a new central sector scheme titled 'Scheme for Rejuvenation, Modernisation and Technological Upgradation of Coir Industry' in March 2008 to assist spinners and tiny household sector. Under this scheme, assistance is provided for replacement of outdated ratts/looms and for constructing worksheds to groups of workers so as to increase their production and earnings. An outlay of Rs. 21.30 crore was kept in the BEs 2008-09 of which Rs. 2.50 crore has been earmarked for NER against which entire funds have been released during 2008-09 to Coir Board. Against the target for assisting 1000 spinning units and 800 tiny household units, 6404 applications (34.12 - spinning units and 2992 - tiny household units) have been received by the Implementing Agency upto March, 2009. Target for 2009-10 is 500 units each for spinning and tiny household. Mahila Coir Yojana The Mahila Coir Yajana is the first women oriented self employment scheme in the coir industry which provides self employment opportunities to the rural women artisans in regions producing coir fiber. Conversion of coir fibre into yarn on motorized ratt in rural households provides scope for large scale employment, in productivity

706

India 2010

and quality, better working conditions and higher income to the workers. The scheme envisages distribution of motorized ratts for spinning coir yarn to women artisans after giving training. Not more than one artisan per household is eligible to receive assistance under the scheme. Women spinners are trained for two months in spinning coir yarn on motorized ratt at the Board's training centres. Under this Yojana, 3009 ratts were distributed and 5367 Women were trained during 2008-09. A target of distribution of 5000 ratts and training for 6250 women have been fixed for 2009-10. Export Market Promotion Export promotion is one of the important programmes being implemented by Coir Board for sustainable development of the industry. Under this programme. Coir Board in association with trade and industry is participating in major international fairs/ exhibition on a country/product specific basis, product promotion programmes, catalogue show. extending external market development assistance to exporters etc. Coir Board along with coir producers has participated in 11 international exhibitions during 2008-09 for promotion of exports of coir and coir products. With the efforts of Coir Board, the export of coir and coir products reached the level of Rs. 634.17 crore in 2008-09. A target of Rs. 650 crore for exports of coir products has been fixed for 2009-10. Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI) The scheme titled "Scheme of fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI)" has been launched in October 2005 with a view to developing around 100 cluster in khadi, village and coir industry sectors with a total cost of Rs. 97.25 crore to make these industries more productive and competitive and to increase the employment opportunities in rural areas of the country. The scheme envisages need-based assistance for replacement of clusters have been approved by the Scheme Steering Committee. Upto 2007-08, Rs. 42.34 crore (Rs. 19.19 crore to KVIC and Rs. 13.15 crore to Coir Board) has been released to KVIC and Coir Board for implementing this scheme. Rs. 16.95 crore (Rs.13.45 crore to KVIC and Rs. 3.50 crore to Coir Board) have been released during 2008-09. Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Rural Industrialisation To strengthen the R&D activities in khadi and village industry sectors a national level institute namely 'Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Rural Industrialisation' by revamping Jamnalal Bajaj Central Research Institute has been established at Wardha, Maharashtra in association with IIT, Delhi. The project has been operationalised with the filling up of the post of Director and 35 scientific and technical staff in 200809. Funds to the tune of Rs. 1.80 crore were released during 2007-08 and Rs. 3 crore were released during 2008-09.

Justice and Law

THE Constitution of the Republic of India guarantees, besides other rights, protection of life and personal liberty and provides adequate safeguards against the arbitrary deprivation thereof by the State. Adoption of a Constitution by India in 1950 did not disturb continuity of existing laws and unified structure of courts. Unity and uniformity of the judicial structure were preserved by placing such areas of law as criminal law and procedure, civil procedure, will, succession, contract including special form of contract, but not including contract relating to agricultural land, registration of deeds and documents, evidence, etc., in the Concurrent List.

SOURCE

LAW

The main sources of law in India are the Constitution, statutes (legislation), customary law and case law. Statutes are enacted by Parliament, State legislatures and Union Territory legislatures. Besides, there is a vast body of laws known as subordinate legislation in the form of rules, regulations as well as bye-laws made by Central/ State governments and local authorities like municipal corporations, municipalities, gram panchayats and other local bodies. This subordinate legislation is made under the authority conferred or delegated either by Parliament or State or Union Territory legislatures concerned. Judicial decisions of superior courts like Supreme Court and High Courts are important sources of law. Decisions of Supreme Court are binding on all courts within the territory of India. Local customs and conventions which are not against statute, morality, etc., are also recognised and taken into account by courts while administering justice in certain spheres.

ENACTMENT

LAWS

The Parliament is competent to make laws on matters enumerated in the Union List. State legislatures are competent to make laws on matters enumerated in the State List. Parliament alone has power to make laws on matters not included in the State or Concurrent List. On matters enumerated in the Concurrent List, laws can be made by both Parliament and legislatures. But in the event of repugnancy, law made by Parliament shall prevail and law made by State legislature, to the extent of repugnancy, be void unless the latter law having been reserved for consideration of President, has received his assent and in that event it shall prevail in that state.

JUDICIARY At the apex of the entire judicial system exists Supreme Court of India with a High Court for each State or group of State and under High Courts; there is a hierarchy of subordinate courts. Panchayat courts also functional in some States under various names like Nyaya Panchayat, Panchayat Adalat, Gram Kachehri etc., to decide civil and criminal disputes of petty and local nature. Different State laws provide for jurisdiction of these courts. Each state is divided into judicial districts presided over by a district and sessions judge, who is the principal civil court of original jurisdiction and can try all offences including those punishable with death. He is the highest judicial authority in a

India 2010

708

district. Below him, there are courts of civil jurisdiction, known in different states as munsifs, sub-judges, civil judges and the like. Similarly, criminal judiciary comprises chief judicial magistrate and judicial magistrates of first and second class. SUPREME COURT The Supreme Court of India consists of 26 Judges (including the Chief Justice of India). The judges hold office until they attain the age of 65 years. The Supreme Court of India has original jurisdiction in any dispute arising: (a) between the Government of India and one or more States or (b) between the Government of India and any State or States on the one side and one or more states on the other or (c) between two or more States. An appeal shall lie to the Supreme Court from any judgment, decree or final order of a High Court in the territory of India, whether in a civil, criminal or other proceeding. HIGH COURTS High Court stands at the head of the Stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Judicial Administration. There are 21 High Courts in the country, three having jurisdiction over more than one State. Among the Union Territories, Delhi alone has a High Court of its own. Other six Union Territories come under jurisdiction of different State High Courts. Each High Court comprises a Chief Justice and such other Judges as the President may, from time to time appoint. The Chief Justice of a High Court is appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief Justice of India and the Governor of the state. The procedure for appointing of the High Courts judges is the same except that the recommendation for the appointment of Judges in the High Court is initiated by the Chief Justice of the High Court concerned. They hold office up to 62 years of age. To be eligible for appointment as a judge, one must be a citizen of India and should have held a judicial office in India for 10 years or must have practiced as an advocate of a High Court or two or more such courts in succession for a similar period. Each High Court has power to issue any person or authority and Government within its jurisdiction, direction, orders or writs, including writs which are in the nature of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto and certiorari, for enforcement of Fundamental Rights and for any other purpose. This power may also be exercised by any High Court exercising jurisdiction in relation to territories within which the cause of action, wholly or in part arises for exercise of such power, even if the seat of such Government or authority or residence of such person is not within those territories. The total sanctioned strength of Judges and additional judges in different High Courts is 678 against which 587 Judges were in position as on 26 June 2006. Table 19.1 gives the seat and territorial jurisdiction of the High Courts. TABLE 19.1 : JURISDICTION AND SEAT OF HIGH COURTS Nam e

Year

Territorial

Jurisdiction

Allahabad

1866

Uttar

Andhra

1954

Andhra

1862

Maharashtra,

Pradesh

Seat Allahabad (Bench at Lucknow)

Bombay

Pradesh

Pradesh Goa,

Hyderabad Mumbai (Benches at

Dadra and Nagar

Nagpur,

Haveli

and

and Diu

Daman

Panaji

Aurangabad)

Justice and Law

709

Kolkata

1862

West Bengal

Chhattisgarh

2000

Bilaspur

Delhi

1966

Delhi

Guwahati*

1948

Assam,

Kolkata (Circuit Bench at Port Blair) Bilaspur Delhi

Manipur,

Meghalaya, Tripura,

Mizoram

Arunachal Gujarat Himachal Jammu

Pradesh

and

1960

Gujarat

1971

Himachal

1928

Jammu

Guwahati (Benches at

Nagaland, and

Pradesh

Kohima, Imphal, and

Aizawl, Shillong,

Agartala

Itanagar)

Ahmedabad Pradesh

and

Kashmir

Shimla Srinagar

and

Jammu

Jharkhand

2000

Jharkhand

1884

Karnataka

1958

Kerala

1956

Madhya

Madras

1862

Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Chennai (Bench at Madurai)

Orissa

1948

Orissa

Cuttack

Patna

1916

Bihar

Patna

1966

Punjab, Haryana and

Chandigarh

Karnataka

Kerala Madhya

Pradesh

and

Ranchi Bangaluru Lakshadweep

Pradesh

Ernakulam Jabalpur (Benches at Gwalior and Indore)

Punjab and Haryana

Chandigarh

Rajasthan

1949

Rajasthan

Jodhpur (Bench at Jaipur)

Sikkim

1975

Sikkim

Gangtok

Uttarakhand

2000

Uttarakhand

Nainital

Originally known as Assam High Court, renamed as Guwahati High Court in 1971.

Originally known as Mysore High Court, renamed as Karnataka High Court in 1973.

Originally known as Punjab High Court, renamed as Punjab and Haryana High Court in 1966.

Each High Court has powers of superintendence over all courts within its jurisdiction. It can call for returns from such courts, make and issue general rules and prescribed forms to regulate their practices and proceedings and determine the manner and form in which book entries and accounts shall be kept. SUBORDINATE COURTS The structure and functions of subordinate courts are more or less uniform throughout the country. Designations of courts connote their functions. These courts deal with all disputes of civil or criminal nature as per the powers conferred on them. These courts have been derived principally from two important codes prescribing procedures, i.e., the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and further strengthened by local statutes. As per direction of Supreme Court in WP (Civil) 1022/1989 in the All India Judges Association case, a uniform designation has been brought about in the subordinate judiciaryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s judicial officers all over the country viz., District or Additional District Judge, Civil Judge (Senior Division) and Civil Judge (Junior Division) on the civil side and on criminal side, Sessions Judge,

India 2010

710

Additional Sessions Judge, Chief Judicial Magistrate and Judicial Magistrate, etc., as laid down in the Cr.P.C. Appropriate adjustment, if any, has been made in existing posts by indicating their equivalent with any of these categories by all State Governments/UT Administrations. Under Article 235 of the Constitution of India, the administrative control over the members of subordinate judicial service vests with the concerned High Court. Further in exercise of powers conferred under provision to Article 309 read with Article 233 and 234 of the Constitution, the State Government shall frame rules and regulations in consultation with the High Court exercising jurisdiction in relation to such State. The members of the State Judicial Services are governed by these rules and regulations. NATIONAL JUDICIAL ACADEMY The National Judicial Academy has been set up by the Government of India to provide in-service training to Judicial Officers. The Academy was registered on 17 August 1993 under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. The Academy is located in Bhopal with its registered office in New Delhi. The National Judicial Academy building was inaugurated by the President of India on 5 September 2002. The Academy will provide training and continuing education to judicial officers of States/UTs as well as ministerial officers working in the Supreme Court of India and the High Courts. The Academy will also function as a centre of excellence in judicial education, research and training. The objectives of programmes of the Academy include Judicial Reform and Policy Development as well as Research Support Services for greater efficiency, fairness, access and productivity. It also includes improvements in Court administration and management for a litigant friendly justice system.

LEGAL

AID

Article 39A of the Constitution of India provides for free legal aid to the poor and weaker sections of the society and ensures justice for all. Article 14 and 22(1) of the constitution also make it obligatory for the State to ensure equality before law and a legal system which promotes justice on the basis of equal opportunity to all, In 1987, the Legal Services Authorities Act was enacted by the Parliament which came into force on 9th November, 1995 with an object to establish a nationwide uniform network for providing free and competent legal services to the weaker sections of the society on the basis of equal opportunity. The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) has been constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 to monitor and evaluate implementation of legal services available under the Act. Hon'ble Mr. Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, the Chief Justic of India is the Patron-inChief and Hon'ble Mr. Justic S.B. Sinha, Judge Supreme Court of India is the Executive Chairman of the Authority. In every State, a State Legal Services Authority and in every High Court, a High Court Legal Services Committee have been constituted. District Legal Services Authorities and Taluka Legal Services Committees have been constituted in the Districts and most of the Talukas in order to give effect to the policies and directions of the NALSA and to provide free legal services to the people and conduct Lok Adalats in the State. The State Legal Services Authorities are chaired by Hon'ble Chief Justice

Justice and Law

711

of the respective Districts and the Taluk a Legal Services Committees are chaired by the Judicial Officers at the Taluka Level. Supreme Court Legal Services Committee has been constituted to administer and implement the legal services programme in so far as it relates to the Supreme Court of India. FUNCTIONING OF NALSA The NALSA issues guidelines for the State Legal Services Authorities to implement the Legal Aid Programmes and schemes throughout the country. Primarily, the State Legal Services Authorities, District Legal Services Authorities, Taluka Legal Services Committees, etc. have been asked to discharge the following two main functions on regular basis:1 . To Provide Free Legal Services to the eligible persons; and 2 . To oganize Lok Adalats for amicable settlement of disputes. FREE LEGAL SERVICES The Free Legal Services include:- (1) Payment of court fee, process fees and all other charges payable or incurred in connection with any legal proceedings; (2) Providing Advocate in legal proceedings; (3). Obtaining and supply of certified copies of orders and other documents in legal proceedings; (4) Preparation of appeal, paper book including printing and translation of documents in legal proceedings. Eligible persons for getting free legal services include:- (1) Women and children; (2) members of SC/ST; (3) Industrial workmen; (4) Victims of mass disaster; violence, flood, drought, earthquake, industrial disaster; (5) disabled persons; (6) Persons in custody; (7) Persons whose annual income does not exceed Rs. 50,000/- (8) Victims of Trafficking in Human beings. LOK ADALATS Lok Adalat is a forum where the disputes/cases pending in the court of law or at prelitigation stage are settled/compromised amicably. The Lok Adalat has been given statutory status under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. Under this Act, an award made by a Lok Adalat is deemed to be a decree of a civil court and is final and binding on all parties and no appeal lies against thereto before any court. Lok Adalats are being organized by the Legal Services Authorities/Committees u/s 19 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. Matters such as Matrimonial/ Family Disputes. Criminal (Compoundable Offences) cases, Land Acquisition Cases, Labour Disputes, Workmen's Compensation cases, Bank Recovery cases, Pension cases, Housing Board and slum clearance cases & Housing Finance cases. Consumer Grievance cases, Electricity matters, disputes relating to Telephone Bills, Municipal matters including House Tax cases. Disputes with Cellular Companies etc. are being taken up in Lok Adalats. With a view to provide compulsory pre-litigative mechanism for conciliation and settlement of disputes relating to 'Public Utility Services', the Parliament has amended the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. The amended Act stipulates the establishment of Permanent Lok Adalat for exercising jurisdiction in respect of disputes relating to Public Utility Services, such as transport service, postal, communication, supply of power, service in hospital/dispensary, insurance service, etc. A party to a dispute with such public utility service has to make an application to

712

India 2010

the Permanent Lok Adalat established under Section 22B of the Legal Services (Amendment) Act, 2002 which has been vested with jurisdiction to decide the matter. Subsequent to the amendment, Permanent Lok Adalats for Public Utility Services have been established in sixteen States/UTs i.e. Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura and U.T. of Chandigarh. NALASA SCHEMES The NALSA has formulated the following schemes to perform its functions under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987; LEGAL AND COUNSEL SCHEME NALSA has initiated Legal Aid Counsel Scheme to provide meaningful legal assistance to undertrial prisoners on account of lack of resources or other disabilities cannot engage a counsels to defend them. Now, Legal Aid Counsel have been attached to each Magisterial Court who provide assistance and defend a person who is not able to engage a counsel, right from the stage he/she is produced in the court by the police. PERMANENT AND CONTINUOUS LOK ADALAT SCHEME A Permanent and Continuous Lok Adalat Scheme has been formulated and implemented to establish Lok Adalats under Section 19 of the Act in all the districts of the country. Under this scheme, the Lok Adalats are now organized regularly at designated venues, even away from court complexes and the cases which remain unsettled are taken up in the next Lok Adalat. Lok Adalats have thus acquired permanency and continuity and are no more occasional. COUNSELLING AND CONCILIATION SCHEME NALSA has formulated a Counselling and Conciliation Scheme to encourage the settlement of disputes by way of negotiations and conciliation. Under this scheme, Counselling and Conciliation Centres are being set up in all the Districts of the country for guiding and motivating the migants to resolve their disputes amicably. Such Centres have been set up in most of the Districts. LEGAL LITERACY PROGRAMME NALSA has formulated a strategy to provide basic and essential knowledge to the vulnerable groups so that they can understand the law and know the scope of their rights under the law and eventually assert their rights as a means to take action, uplift their social status and being in social change. NALSA has been organizing the Legal Aid Camps through State Legal Services Authorities, Taluka Legal Services Committees, NGOs. etc. in the rural area and slum areas for educating the weaker sections as to their rights and for encouraging them to settle their disputes through ADR Mechanism. The people are educated/made aware of their rights, benefits and privileges guaranteed by social welfare legislations, administration programmes and measures etc. The NALSA has been organizing meetings, seminars and workshops connected with legal services programmes in different parts of the country. The NALSA has developed audio visual spots and publicity material to make the common man aware

Justice and Law

713

of the various aspects of the legal services programmes. Documentary films have also been prepared and are being screened in the different parts of the country through Directorate of Field Publicity, Government of India. ACCREDIATION OF VOLUNTARY SOCIAL SERVICE INSTITUTIONS NALSA has formulated a scheme for accredition of Voluntary Social Service Institutions to establish a nation wide network of voluntary agencies in order to spread legal literacy, legal awareness and publicity for legal services throughout the nook and corner of the country. All the State Legal Services Authorities have been urged to identify Social Service Institutions in all Districts and give them accrediation. SCHEME ON SUPPORTING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME (NREGS) THROUGH THE STATE LEGAL SERVICES AUTHORITIES A scheme on Supporting the Implementation on NREGS through State Legal Services Authorities has been formulated by NALSA for generating awareness through Legal Literacy and Awareness Campaign and to establish a grievance redressal forum by Organising Lok Adalats to resolve the disputes/complaints or legal problems of any person in respect of implementation of the scheme and employment guaranteed under NREGA. PLAN OF ACTION FOR 2009-2010 In order to implement the Legal Aid Schemes and Legal Services Programmes of NALSA in accordance with the object of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, the following Plan for Action for the financial year 2009-2010 has been drawn up: LEGAL AWARENESS PROGRAMME 1.

Continuation of Micro Legal Literacy Projects in all States.

Continuation of the NALSA awareness programmes and Lok Adalats relating to NERGA matters.

State Legal Awareness Programmes in the States on the following laws :

(a)

Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007.

(b)

Gram Nyayalaya Act.

(c)

Protection of Women From Domestic Violence Act, 2005.

(d)

Persons with Disabilities Participation) Act.

(e)

National Trust Act.

(f)

Laws relating to Marriage.

(g)

Labour Laws.

(h)

Environmental Protection Laws.

(i)

Consumer Protection Laws.

(j)

Campaign against Female Infanticide.

(k)

Campaign against Human Trafficking.

(Equal

Protection

Rights

and

Full

Cooperation with National Commission for Women at the Centre and associating the activities of State Legal Services Authorities with the State Women's Commissions.

India 2010

714 5.

Conduct awareness programmes and seminars with the involvement of National Women's Commission, Ministry of Social Welfare, Ministry of Child Welfare and Development and Ministry of Rural Development.

Para-legal Volunteer Scheme : It is a scheme for building up a group of volunteers from among the rural people to act as intermediates between the common people and legal services institutions at Central, State, District and Taluka levels. Lok Adalats : Widening the network of Lok Adalat to Government Departments, Petitions pending before Women's Commissions, various Tribunals, Labour Courts, Industrial Tribunal and Tax Tribunals etc. Setting-up Special Lok Adalats in all Family Courts. LEGAL AID CLINICS (a)

Establishing Legal Aid Clinics in all Gram Panchayats (similar to primary health centres) by engaging competent lawyers as legal consultants in the clinics. Give wide publicity about the clinics with the help of local Self-Government Institutions.

(b)

Setting-up Legal Aid Clinics in all law colleges and law universities and to encourage students to adopt remote village areas as their area of operation. For this purpose, the following strategies may be adopted : (i)

The students may be divided into small groups and deputed to the adopted villages.

(ii)

In urban areas, colonies and slum areas where economically and socially backward people reside may be chosen for setting up Legal Aid Clinics.

(iii)

Law Students should be guided by a team of senior Professors/Lecturers including part-time Lecturers. Rapport between the students and the people of the adopted area should be maintained throughout the year.

(iv)

Law Students shall identify the problems which require Legal Aid. They shall discuss the problem with the teacher-in-charge and if it warrants further free legal services, the matter should be brought before the Legal Services Authorities/Committees concerned.

(v)

The students shall be encouraged to organize legal awareness classes for small groups of people (4 or 5 houses together or 10 to 12 people). It should be more in the form of informal gatherings.

(vi)

The students should aim at preventive and strategic legal aid.

(vii) In appropriate cases, senior students and postgraduate students who have already enrolled as lawyers, may be entrusted with the filing and conducting of the litigation in the Courts free of cost. (viii) No fee shall be collected from the beneficiaries of legal aid clinic. LEGAL AID Bringing in more competent, well-known and senior lawyers for rendering Legal Services and Legal Aid. (a)

Payment of better honorarium to the lawyers who provide Legal Aid.

(b)

Inclusion of all designated senior lawyers in the Legal Aid Schemes and requesting them to undertake at least two cases free of charge every year.

(c)

In appropriate cases, payment of the entire expenses including the normal fees of the lawyers.

Justice and Law (d)

715

Annual evaluation of the progress of cases in which Legal Aid was given. Success rate of the legal aid cases also should be a component of the evaluation measures.

Schemes, Projects and Programmes drawn up by the State Legal Services Authorities for the year 2009-10 (a)

Encouraging the preparation of blue-prints for activities for the year 2009-10 by the State Legal Services Authorities.

(b)

Calling for monthly progress reports in respect of each such programme.

(c)

Take steps for establishment of Permanent Lok Adalats for Public Utility Services U/s 22B in all Districts.

(d)

Take steps for appointing full time Secretaries in all District Legal Services Authorities.

Evaluation of Projects and Schemes Directing the State Legal Services Authorities to set-up Committees for evaluation of the actual benefit received by the beneficiaries under Section 12 of this Act in respect of each project and programme and to send copy of such reports to NALSA. Measures for Publicity (a)

Liaison with the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and Prasar Bharti for timely briefing about the projects and programmes to the Press and Media.

(b)

Other publicity measures like, hoardings, production of short-films, skits in CD form and distribute copies to all TLSEc and DLSAs.

(c)

Printing of publicity materials like posters, pamphlets, booklets and distributing the required quantity of such materials to all States Legal Services Authorities in requisite number, advertisements in newspapers and television (both private and Government owned) etc.

To take necessary steps for ensuring commitment to the provisions in Part-IV of the Constitution of India Improving the quality and contents of 'Nyayadeep', an official Newsletter of NALSA Interaction and exchange of ideas : With the legal services institutions of the neighbouring countries (e.g. Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan etc.) and other Commonwealth Countries. ACHIEVEMENT Up to 31.03.2009 about 96.99 lakh persons have benefited through legal aid and advice throughout the country in which about 13.83 lakh persons belonging to Scheduled Caste and 4.64 lakh persons of Scheduled Tribe communities were beneficiaries. More than 10.22 lakh persons were women and about 2.35 lakh persons in custody were also benefited. About 7.25 lakh Lok Adalats have been held throughout the country in which more than 2.68 crore cases have been settled. In about 16.87 lakh Motor Accident Claim cases, more than Rs. 7593 crores has been awarded as compensation. ATTORNEY

GENERAL

The Attorney General for India is appointed by the President and holds office during the pleasure of the President. He must be a person qualified to be appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court. It is the duty of the Attorney-General in India to give advice to the Government of India upon such legal matters and to perform such other

India 2010

716

duties of a legal character, as may be referred or assigned to him by the President and to discharge the functions conferred on him by or under the constitution or any other law. In the performance of his duties, he has the right of audience in all courts in India as well as the right to vote. In the discharge of his functions, the Attorney General is assisted by the Solicitor-General and the Additional Solicitors-General ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE REDRESSAL (ADR) With the steep growth in the number of laws and the number of cases, the Court system is under great pressure. In order to reduce the heavy demand on Court time, efforts need to be made to resolve the disputes by resorting to Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods before they enter the portals of the court. The Arbitration, Mediation and Conciliation are tools of Alternative Dispute Redressal System. ARBITRATION Arbitration is a process in which a neutral third party or parties render a decision based on the merits of the case. In the Indian context the scope of the rules for the arbitration process are set out broadly by the provisions of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1998 and in the areas uncovered by the Statute the parties are free to design an arbitration process appropriate and relevant to their disputes. MEDIATION The Process of mediation by the disputing parties. party - the Mediator. The that he should facilitate

aims to facilitate the development of a consensual solution The Mediation process is overseen by a non-partis an third authority of the mediator vests on the consent of the parties their negotiations.

CONCILIATION This is a process by which resolution of disputes is achieved by compromise or voluntary agreement. In contrast to arbitration, the conciliator does not render a binding award. The parties are free to accept or reject the recommendations of the conciliator. The conciliator is in the Indian context, often a Government official whose report contains recommendations. So far as Department of Legal Affairs is concerned, this Department provides annual recurring Grants-in-aid to National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) which is a statutory body. During the financial year 2008-09, this Department released Grant-in-aid amounting to Rs. 18,82,69,495/- . Out of the Rs. 18,82,69,495/- grant in-aid amounting to Rs. 3 crore were released to NALSA for continuing the activities of the Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee in respect of Mediation. As regards the promotion of alternative methods of dispute resolution, the International Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ICADR) was set up by the Department of Legal Affairs as an autonomous body registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. The Hon'ble Minister for Law & Justice is the Chairman of ICADR. The main object of the ICADR is to promote popularize and propagate Alternative Dispute Resolution to facilitate early resolution of disputes so as to reduce the burden of arrears in the Courts. LEGAL PROFESSION In India, the law relating to legal profession is governed by the Advocates Act, 1961 and the rules framed there under by the Bar Council of India. It is a self-contained

Justice and Law

717

code of law relating to legal practitioners and provides for the constitution of State Bar Councils and Bar Council of India. A person enrolled as an advocate under the Advocates Act, 1961, is entitled to practice law throughout the country. An advocate on the roll of a State Bar Council may apply for transfer to the roll of any other State Bar Council in the prescribed manner. No person can be enrolled as an advocate on the rolls of more than one State Bar Council. There are two classes of advocates, namely, senior advocates and other advocates. An advocate with his consent, may be designated as a senior advocate, if the Supreme Court or a High Court is of the opinion that by virtue of his ability, standing at the Bar or special knowledge or experience in law, he deserves such distinction. A senior advocate cannot appear without an advocate-on-record in the Supreme Court or without some other advocate on the State Roll in any other court or tribunal. Standards of education have been prescribed for enrolment as an advocate. There are also rules regulating standards of professional conduct and etiquette and other matters. State Bar Councils have disciplinary jurisdiction over advocates whose names appear on their rolls. This is subject to right of appeal to the Bar Council of India and a further right of appeal to the Supreme Court of India. ADVOCATES WELFARE FUND Social security in the form of financial assistance to junior lawyers and welfare schemes for indigent or disabled advocates, has always been a matter of concern for the legal fraternity. Certain States enacted thereon legislation on the subject. The Parliament enacted "Advocates Welfare Fund Act, 2001" applicable to the Union Territories and the States which do not have their own enactments on the subject, for consideration of "Advocates Welfare Fund" by the apropriate Government. This Act makes it compulsory for every advocate to affix stamps of the requisite value on every Vakalatnama file in any court, tribunal or other authority. Sum collected by way of sale of "Advocates' Welfare Funds Stamps" constitute an important source of the Advocates' Welfare Fund. All practicing Advocates shall become members of the Advocates' Welfare Fund on payment of an application fee and annual subscription. The fund shall vest in and be held and applied by the Trustee Committee established by the appropriate Government. The fund shall, inter-alia, be used for making ex-gratia grant to a member of the fund in case of a serious health problem, payment of a fixed amount on cessation of practice and in case of death of a member, to his nominee or legal heir, medical and educational facilities for the members and their dependants, purchase of books and for common facilities for advocates. NATIONAL TAX TRIBUNAL Due to pondency of a large number of cases in the High Courts and huge revenue blocked in such litigation, it was proposed to establish a National Tax Tribunal to hear cases on substantial question of law from the decisions of the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) and the Customs Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT). The National Tax Tribunal Act, 2005 was notified in the Gazette of India on 21.12.2005. The above Act has, however, been challenged before various High Courts. In order to consolidate all the writ petitions, a Transfer Petition No. 92/2006 was filed on 02.02.2006 in the Hon'ble Supr eme Court. The Supreme Court passed an order on 09.01.2007 observing that certain amendments may be considered by the

India 2010

718

Government. In order to give effect to the observations of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, the National Tax Tribunal (Amendment) Ordinace, 2007 was promulgated on 29.01.2007, the said Ordinance has been replaced by National Tax Tribunal (Amendment) Bill, 2007 and the amended Act has been published in the Gazette of India dated 04.04.2007. The Transfer Petition is now pending before the Hon'ble Supreme Court which has reserved its decision.

LAW

COMMISSION

INDIA

The 18th Law Commission was three years with Honâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ble Dr. Lakshmanan has been appointed as its Member-Secretary w.e.f. 31 Commission are: (a)

(b)

(c)

reconstituted on 1 September 2006 for a period of Justice A.R. Lakshmanan as its Chairman. A.R. its Chairman w.e.f. 28.05.2007 and Dr. D.P. Sharma March 2006. The terms of reference of the 18th Law

Review/Repeal of obsolete laws: (i)

to identify laws which are no longer needed or relevant and can be immediately repealed;

(ii)

to identify laws which are in harmony with the existing climate of economic liberalisation which need no change;

(iii)

to identify laws which require changes or amendments and to make suggestions for their amendment;

(iv)

to consider in a wider perspective the suggestions for revision/amendment given by Expert Groups in various Ministries/Departments with a view to coordinating and harmonising them;

(v)

to consider references made to it by Ministries/Departments in respect of legislation having bearing on the working of more than one Ministry/ Department;

(vi)

to suggest suitable measures for quick redressal of citizens grievances, in the field of law;

Law and Poverty: (i)

to examine the Law which affect the poor and carry out post-audit for socio-economic legislation;

(ii)

to take all such measures as may be necessary to harness law and the legal process in the service of the poor;

to keep under review the system of judicial administration to ensure that it is responsive to the reasonable demands of the time and in particular to secure: (i)

(ii)

elimination of delays, speedy clearance of arrears and reduction in costs so as to secure quick and economical disposal of cases without affecting the cardinal principle that decisions should be just and fair; simplification of procedure to reduce and eliminate technicalities and devices for delay so that it operates not as an end in itself but as a means of achieving justice;

(iii) improvements of standards of all concerned with the administration of justice; (d)

to examine the existing laws in the light of Directive Principles of State Policy and to suggest ways of improvement and reform and also to suggest such

Justice and Law

719

legislation as might be necessary to implement the Directive Principles and to attain the objective set out in the Preamble to the Constitution; (e)

to revise the Central Acts of General Importance so as to simplify them and to remove anomalies, ambiguities and inequities;

(f)

to recommend to the Government measure of bringing the statute book up-todate by repealing obsolete laws and enactments or parts thereof which have outlived their utility;

(g)

to consider and to convey to the Government its views on any other subject relating to law and judicial administration that may be referred to it by the Government through Ministry of Law and Justice (Department of Legal Affairs).

Various subjects were taken up by the Commission suo motu in view of the importance of the issues while some subjects were taken up on a reference from the Government/Supreme Court of India. The Commission has so far submitted 201 reports.

ENFORCEMENT

AGENCIES

POLICE The Police force in the country is entrusted with the responsibility of maintenance of public order and prevention and detection of crimes. Public order and police being state subjects under the Constitution, police is maintained and controlled by States. The Police force in State is headed by the Director General of Police/Inspector General of Police. State is divided into convenient territorial divisions called ranges and each police range is under the administrative control of a Deputy Inspector General of Police. A number of districts constitute the range. District police is further sub-divided into police divisions, circles and police-stations. Besides the civil police, states also maintain their own armed police and have separate intelligence Branches, crime branches, etc. Police set up in big cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Pune, etc. is directly under a Commissioner of Police who enjoys magisterial powers. All senior police posts in various States are manned by the Indian Police Service (IPS) cadres, recruitment to which is made on All-India basis. The Central Government maintains Central Police forces, Intelligence Bureau (IB), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Institutions for training of police officers and forensic science institutions to assist the states in gathering intelligence, in maintaining law and order, in investigating special crime cases and in providing training to the senior police officers of the State governments. INDO-TIBETAN BORDER POLICE The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) was raised on 21 October 1962 after the Chinese aggression as an integrated intelligence/signal/pioneer/engineering/medical and guerrilla unit and was initially placed under the Intelligence Bureau for operational control. In 1975, the primary task of the ITBP was re-defined as security of northern borders, to check illegal immigration and trans-border crimes. ITBP is given the responsibility of providing security/communication/medical cover to the pilgrims during Kailash-Mansarover Yatra besides being the Nodal Agency

720

India 2010

Disaster Management in the Central and Western Himalayan region. The ITBP has 29 battalions including four specialist battalions. BORDER SECURITY FORCE Border Security Force (BSF) raised in 1965, is entrusted with the task of maintaining permanent vigilance on India’s international borders. The present strength of BSF is 157 battalions and guards a total of 6,385.36 km of international borders, spread over mountains, inhospitable deserts, riverine, snow bound and marshy areas. BSF has been assigned the role of promoting a sense of security amongst the people living in the border areas and preventing trans-border crimes, such as smuggling, infiltration/ exfiltration and other illegal activities. ASSAM RIFLES The Assam Rifles raised as Catchar Levy in 1835 is the oldest Police Force in the country. The force has 46 battalions. The force has a dual role of maintaining internal security in the North-Eastern region and guarding the Indo-Myanmar Border. The Assam Rifles contribution towards assimilation of the people of north-east into the national mainstream is truly monumental. The force is fondly called ‘‘The Sentinels of the North-East’’ and ‘‘Friends of the Hill People.’’ NATIONAL SECURITY GUARDS The National Security Guards (NSG) modelled on the pattern of SAS of the UK and GSG-9 of Germany has been set up in 1984 for handling counter terrorists and counter hijacking operations including VIP security. It is a highly trained and motivated Force for effectively dealing with terrorist activities in the country. It also trains state police commandos to upgrade their capability to meet the terrorist threats and carry out bomb detection/defusion operations. The NSG maintains the only National Bomb Data Centre of the country. A counter terrorist operation was carried out by the commandos of NSG at Akshar Dham Temple, Ahmedabad in September 2002 and they were successful in eliminating the terrorists who took refuge in the temple complex. NSG has been presented Presidential colour on 16 October 2004. CENTRAL RESERVE POLICE FORCE The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is an Armed Force of the Union of India for internal security management. This Force was raised in 1939 at Nimuch (MP) as the Crown Representative’s Police and was renamed as the Central Reserve Police Force in 1949. At present, CRPF has 191 Battalions including Rapid Action Force (RAF). The Force remained committed to internal security and counter insurgency-cum-antiterrorist operations in various parts of the country. This is a Force with ladies contingents organised in two Mahila Battalions. RAPID ACTION FORCE Rapid Action Force (RAF) is an integral part of the Central Reserve Police Force. With 10 battalions it has been conceived in 1992 as a specially trained and equipped to be an effective strike force mainly to tackle communal riots and riot-like situations. Unlike the conventional force of law and order, the RAF in addition to its law enforcing role has got post-riot role in rescue and relief.

Justice and Law

721

CENTRAL INDUSTRIAL SECURITY FORCE The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) was established in 1969 to provide security to industrial undertakings of the government. The Force numbering over 96,057 has the responsibility to protect and safeguard the industrial undertakings owned by the Central Government together with such installations as are specified as vital by the Government. CISF is presently providing security cover to 267 public sector undertakings. The security of 54 Airports and the Government buildings in Delhi together with such installations as specified vital has also been entrusted to the CISF. The CISF has launched security and fire protection consultancy services in 2001. SARDAR VALLABHBHAI PATEL NATIONAL POLICE ACADEMY The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy is the premier police training institutions in the country which imparts basic as well as in-service training to Indian Police Service (IPS) officers. Established in 1948 at Mount Abu, Rajasthan, the Academy was shifted to Hyderabad in 1975. The Academy also promotes study and research on police-related topics. SASHASTRA SEEMA BAL Special Service Bureau (SSB) was set up in the early 1963 under Cabinet Secretariat in the wake of India China conflict of 1962 to build peoples’ morale and inculcate spirit of resistance in the border population against threats of subversion, infiltration and sabotage from across the border. It is now under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs with effect from 15 January 2001 and assigned the responsibility to guard along the Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan Borders. Name of SSB has been changed as ‘‘Sashastra Seema Bal’’ from 15 December 2003. For its dedicated and distinguished service, SSB was presented President’s Colours in March 2004. CIVIL DEFENCE Civil Defence includes any measures not amounting to actual combat, for affording protection to any person, property, place or thing in India of any part of the territory thereof against any hostile attack whether from air, land, sea or other places or for operating/mitigating the effect of any such attack, whether such measures are taken before, during or after the time of such attack. Civil Defence is to be organised as an integral part of the defence of the country. Civil Defence aims at saving life, minimise damage to the property, maintaining continuity of industrial production and keeping the public morale high in the event of a hostile attack. Central financial assistance to the States for Civil Defence measures is confined to categorised Civil Defence towns only. Civil Defence is primarily organised on voluntary basis except for a small nucleus of paid staff and establishment which is augmented during emergencies. Civil Defence activities are restricted to 225 categorised towns spread all over the country. The present target of Civil Defence volunteers is 13 lakh, of which 6.64 lakh have already been raised and 5 lakh trained. Civil Defence volunteers are also deployed, on a voluntary basis, in various constructive and nation building activities, including providing assistance to the administration in undertaking social and welfare services and in the prevention/ mitigation of natural/man-made disasters as well as in post-disaster response and relief operations. The training of Civil Defence organisation is carried out in three tier levels. The training of trainers and specialised training is conducted at the National Civil Defence College, Nagpur and Team/Leadership training is conducted at State

722

India 2010

Civil Defence Institutes. Training of the volunteers in Civil Defence Organisation is carried out at Local/Town levels by trained trainers in the form of short-term training programmes. The Civil Defence has reached out to over 200 schools and colleges besides residential areas in Delhi and has trained over more than 10,000 women and girl students in self-defence. HOME GUARDS Home Guards is a voluntary force, first raised in India in December 1946, to assist the police in controlling civil disturbance and communal riots. Subsequently, the concept of the voluntary citizens force was adopted by several States. In the wake of Chinese aggression in 1962, the Centre advised the States and Union Territories to merge their existing voluntary organisations into one uniform voluntary force known as Home Guards. The role of Home Guards is to serve as an auxiliary to the police in maintenance of internal security, help the community in any kind of emergency such as an air-raid, fire, cyclone, earthquake, epidemic, etc., help in maintenance of essential services, promote communal harmony and assist the administration in protecting weaker sections, participate in socio-economic and welfare activities and perform Civil Defence duties. Home Guards are of two typesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;rural and urban. In border States, Border Wing Home Guards Battalions, have also been raised, which serve as an auxiliary to the Border Security Force. The organisation is spread over in all States and Union Territories except in Kerala. Eighteen Border Wing Home Guards (BWHG) Battalions have been raised in the border States viz. Punjab (6 Bns), Gujarat (4 Bns) and one each of Battalions for Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and West Bengal to serve as an auxiliary to Border Security Force for preventing infiltration on the international border/coastal areas, guarding of VVIPs and lines of communication in vulnerable areas at the time of external aggression. Home Guards are raised under the Home Guards Act and Rules of the States/ Union Territories. They are recruited from various cross sections of the people such as doctors, engineers, lawyers, private sector organisations, college and University students, agricultural and industrial workers, etc., who give their spare time to the organisation for betterment of the community. All citizens of India, who are in the age group of 18-50, are eligible to become members of Home Guards. Normal tenure of membership in Home Guards is 3 to 5 years. Amenities and facilities given to Home Guards include free uniform for gallantry, distinguished and meritorious services. A Home Guard, whenever called out for duty/training, is paid duty/training allowance at prescribed rates to meet out-of-pocket expenses. Members of Home Guards with three years service in the organisation are trained in police in maintenance of law and order, prevention of crime, anti-decoity measures, border patrolling, prohibition, flood relief, fire-fighting, election duties and social welfare activities. In the event of national emergency, some portion of Civil Defence work is also entrusted to the Home Guards. The Ministry of Home Affairs formulates the policy in respect of role, target, raising, training, equipping, establishment and other important matters of Home Guards Organisation. Expenditure on Home Guards is generally shared between Centre and State Governments as per existing financial policy on discrete financial terms.

Justice and Law

723

FIRE SERVICE Fire is a State subject and fire services are administered by the States/Union Territories. The Ministry of Home Affairs renders technical advice to States/Union Territories and Central Ministries on fire protection, fire prevention and fire legislation. For the modernisation of fire service in the states, the Ministry of Home Affairs arranges GIC loans through the Ministry of Finance. A sum of Rs 404.97 crore as GIC has been arranged for development of State Fire Services since 1980-81. In addition, Xth Finance Commission allocated Rs 80 crore as grant-in-aid for the modernisation of fire service in various States during the period 1995-2000. Eleventh Finance Commission further allocated Rs 201 crore as grant-in-aid for 2000-05. The training of the firemen is conducted in State Fire Training Centres—at present 14 in numbers. But the training of the Officers cadre is conducted at National Fire Service College, Nagpur. The National Fire Service College, Nagpur since its inception in 1956, trained 13,794 fire officers including 71 foreign tr ainees from twelve countries. LOK NAYAK JAYAPRAKASH NARAYAN (LNJN) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CRIMINOLOGY AND FORENSIC SCIENCE A premier institution for Criminology, the National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Science (MHA) was set up in 1972. It has been named as ‘‘Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Science’’ on 3 October 2003 and continues to function as the country’s nodal institution for training of functionaries of Criminal Justice System in the twin fields of Criminology and Forensic Science, as well as for research related to these fields. Teaching Programmes/Training and Research : The Institute is affiliated with the Guru Gobind Indraprastha University, Delhi for running M.A/M.Sc programme in Criminology and Forensic Science. The courses started w.e.f. 3 August 2004. A DNA Lab with state-of-the-art equipments like Bio-robot workstation has been set up.

PERSONAL

LAW

The people of India belong to different religions and faiths. They are governed by different sets of personal laws in respect of matters relating to family affairs, i.e., marriage, divorce, succession, etc. MARRIAGE Law relating to marriage and/or divorce has been codified in different enactments applicable to people of different religions. These are : 1.

The Converts’ Marriage Dissolution Act, 1866;

The Indian Divorce Act, 1869;

The Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872;

The Kazis Act, 1880;

The Anand Marriage Act, 1909;

The Indian Succession Act, 1925;

The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929;

The Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936;

The Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act, 1939;

India 2010

724 10.

The Special Marriage Act, 1954;

11.

The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955;

12.

The Foreign Marriage Act, 1969; and

13.

The Muslim Women (Prote ction of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986.

The Special Marriage Act, 1954 extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir, but also applies to the citizens of India domiciled in Jammu and Kashmir. Persons governed by this Act can specifically register marriage under the said Act even though they are of different religious faiths. The Act also provides that the marriage celebrated under any other form can also be registered under the Special Marriage Act, if it satisfies the requirements of the Act. The section 4(b) (iii) of the Act was amended to omit the words ‘‘or epilepsy.’’ Sections 36 and 38 have been amended to provide that an application for alimony pendente lite or the maintenance and education of minor children be disposed of within 60 days from the date of service of notice on the respondent. An attempt has been made to codify customary law which is prevalent among Hindus by enacting the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, which extends to the whole of India, except the State of Jammu and Kashmir, applies also to Hindus domiciled in territories to which the Act extends and those who are outside the said territories. It applies to Hindus (in any of its forms or development) and also to Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains and also those who are not Muslims, Christians, Parsis or Jews by religion. However, the Act does not apply to members of any scheduled tribes unless the Central Government by notification in the official Gazette otherwise directs. Provisions in regard to divorce are contained in section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act and section 27 of the Special Marriage Act. Common ground on which divorce can be sought by a husband or a wife under these Acts fall under these broad heads: Adultery, desertion, cruelty, unsoundness of mind, venereal disease, leprosy, mutual consent and being not heard of as alive for seven years. As regards the Christian community, provisions relating to marriage and divorce are contained in the Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872 and in section 10 of the Indian Divorce Act, 1869 respectively. Under that section the husband can seek divorce on grounds of adultery on the part of his wife and the wife can seek divorce on the ground that the husband has become convert to another religion and has gone through marriage with another woman or has been guilty of (a) incestuous adultery; (b) bigamy with adultery; (c) marriage with another woman with adultery; (d) rape, sodomy or bestiality; (e) adultery coupled with such cruelty as without adultery would have entitled her to a divorce, a mensa etoro (a system of divorce created by the Roman Catholic Church equivalent to judicial separation on grounds of adultery, perverse practices, cruelty, heresy and apostasy) and (f) adultery coupled with desertion without reasonable excuse for two years or more. In the Indian Divorce Act, 1869 comprehensive Amendments were made through the Indian Divorce (Amendment) Act, 2001 (No. 51 of 2001) to remove discriminatory provisions against women in the matter of Divorce. Further, sections 36 and 41 of the Act were amended by the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Act, 2001 to provide that an application for alimony pendente lite or the maintenance and education of minor children be disposed of within 60 days from the date of service of notice on the respondent.

Justice and Law

725

As regards Muslims, marriages are governed by the Mohammedan Law prevalent in the country. As regards divorce, i.e., Talaq, a Muslim wife has a much restricted right to dissolve her marriage. Unwritten and traditional law tried to ameliorate her position by permitting her to see dissolution under the following forms : (a) Talaq-I-Tafwid: This is a form of delegated divorce. According to this, the husband delegates his right to divorce in a marriage contract which may stipulate, inter alia, on his taking another wife, the first wife has a right to divorce him; (b) Khula : this is a dissolution of agreement between the parties to marriage on the wife’s giving some consideration to the husband for her release from marriage ties. Terms are a matter of bargain and usually take the form of the wife giving up her mehr o r a portion of it, and (c) Mubarat : this is divorce by mutual consent. Further, by the Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act, 1939, a Muslim wife has been given the right to seek dissolution of her marriage on these grounds; (i) whereabouts of the husband have not been known for a period of four years; (ii) husband is not maintaining her for a period of two years; (iii) imprisonment of husband for a period of seven years or more; (iv) failure on the part of husband to perform his marital obligations, without a reasonable cause, for a period of three years; (v) impotency of husband; (vi) two-year long insanity; (vii) suffering from leprosy or virulent venereal disease’ (viii) marriage took place before she attained the age of 15 years and not consummated; and (x) cruelty. The Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936 governs the matrimonial relations of Parsis. The word ‘Parsi’ is defined in the Act as a Parsi Zoroastrian. A Zoroastrian is a person who professes the Zoroastrian religion. It has a racial significance. Every marriage as well as divorce under this Act is required to be registered in accordance with the procedure prescribed in the Act. However, failure to fulfil requirements on that behalf does not make marriage invalid. The Act provides only for monogamy. By the Parsi Marriage and Divorce (Amendment) Act, 1988, scope of certain provisions of the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936 have been enlarged so as to bring them in line with the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. Recently, sections 39 and 49 of the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936 were amended by the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Act, 2001 to provide that an application for alimony pendent lite or the maintenance and education of minor children be disposed of within 60 days from the date of service of notice on the wife or the husband as the case may be. As for the matrimonial laws of Jews, there is no codified law in India. Even today, they are governed by their religious laws. Jews do not regard marriage as a civil contract, but as a relation between two persons involving very sacred duties. Marriage can be dissolved through courts on grounds of adultery or cruelty. Marriages are monogamous. CHILD MARRIAGE The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929, from 1 October 1978, provides that marriage age for males will be 21 years and for females 18 years. ADOPTION Although there is no general law of adoption, it is permitted by the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 amongst Hindus and by custom amongst a few numerically insignificant categories of persons. Since adoption is legal affiliation of a child, it forms the subject matter of personal law. Muslims, Christians and Parsis

726

India 2010

have no adoption laws and have to approach the court under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890. Muslims, Christians and Parsis can take a child under the said Act only under foster care. Once a child under foster care becomes major, he is free to break away all this connections. Besides, such a child does not have the legal right of inheritance. Foreigners, who want to adopt Indian children have to approach the court under the aforesaid Act. Hindu law relating to adoption has been amended and codified into the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956, under which a male or female Hindu having legal capacity, can take a son or daughter in adoption. In dealing with the question of guardianship of a minor child, as in other spheres of family law, there is no uniform law. Hindu Law, Muslim Law and the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 are three distinct legal systems which are prevalent. A guardian may be a natural guardian, testamentary guardian or a guardian appointed by the court. In deciding the question of guardianship two distinct things have to be taken into account—person of the minor and his property. Often the same person is not entrusted with both. The Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956 has codified laws of Hindus relating to minority and guardianship. As in the case of uncodified law, it has upheld the superior right of father. It lays down that a child is a minor till the age of 18 years. Natural guardian for both boys and unmarried girls is first the father and then the mother. Prior right of mother is recognised only for the custody of children below five. In case of illegitimate children, the mother has a better claim than the putative father. The act makes no distinction between the person of the minor and his property and therefore guardianship implies control over both. Under the Muslim Law, the father enjoys a dominant position. It also makes a distinction between guardianship and custody. For guardianship, which has usually reference to guardianship of property, according to Sunnis, the father is preferred and in his absence his executor. If not executor has been appointed by the father, the guardianship passes on to the paternal grandfather to take over responsibility and not that of the executor. Both schools, however, agree that father while alive is the sole guardian. Mother is not recognised as a natural guardian even after the death of the father. As regards rights of a natural guardian, there is no doubt that father’s right extends both to property and person. Even when mother has the custody of minor child. Father’s general right of supervision and control remains. Father can, however, appoint mother as a testamentary guardian. Thus, though mother may not be recognised as natural guardian, there is no objection to her being appointed under the father’s will. Muslim law recognises that mother’s right to custody of minor children (Hizanat) is an absolute right. Even the father cannot deprive her of it. Misconduct is the only condition which can deprive the mother of this right. As regards the age at which the right of mother to custody terminates, the Shia school holds that mother’s right to the Hizanat is only during the period of rearing which ends when the child completes the age of two, whereas Hanafi school extends the period till the minor son has reached the age of seven. In case of girls, Shia law upholds mother’s right till the girl reaches the age of seven and Hanafi school till she attains puberty. The general law relating to guardians and wards is contained in the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890. It clearly lays down that father’s right is primary and no other

Justice and Law

727

person can be appointed unless the father is found unfit. This Act also provides that the court must take into consideration the welfare of the child while appointing a guardian under the Act. MAINTENANCE Obligation of a husband to maintain his wife arises out of the status of the marriage. Right to maintenance forms a part of the personal law. Under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, (2 of 1974), right of maintenance extends not only to the wife and dependent children, but also to indigent parents and divorced wives. Claims of the wife, etc., however, depends on the husband having sufficient means. Claim of maintenance for all dependent persons was limited to Rs 500 per month. But, this limit was removed by the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act, 2001 (No. 50 of 2001). Inclusion of the right of maintenance under the Code of Criminal Procedure has the advantage of making the remedy both speedy and cheap. However, divorced wives who have received money payable under the customary personal law are not entitled to claim maintenance under the Code of Criminal Procedure. Under Hindu Law, the wife has an absolute right to claim maintenance from her husband. But she loses her right if she deviates from the path of chastity. Her right to maintenance is codified in the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956. In assessing the amount of maintenance, the court takes into account various factors like position and liabilities of the husband. It also judges whether the wife is justified in living apart from husband. Justifiable reasons are spelt out in the Act. Maintenance pendente lite (pending the suit) and even expenses of a matrimonial suit will be borne by either, husband or wife, if the other spouse has no independent income for his or her support. The same principle will govern payment of permanent maintenance. Under the Muslim Law, the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986 protects rights of Muslim women who have been divorced by or have obtained divorce from their husbands and provides for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. This Act, inter alia, provides that a divorced Muslim woman shall be entitled to (a) reasonable and fair provision and maintenance to be made and paid to her within the iddat period by her former husband; (b) where she herself maintains children born to her before or after her divorce, a reasonable and fair provision and maintenance to be made and paid by her former husband for a period of two years from the respective dates of birth of such children; (c) an amount equal to the sum of mehr or dower agreed to be paid to her at the time of her marriage or at any time thereafter according to the Muslim Law; and (d) all property given to her before or at the time of marriage or after her marriage by her relatives or friends or by husband or any relatives of the husband or his friends. In addition, the Act also provides that where a divorced Muslim woman is unable to maintain herself after the period of iddat, the magistrate shall order directing such of her relatives as would be entitled to inherit her property on her death according to the Muslim Law and to pay such reasonable and fair maintenance to her as he may determine fit and proper, having regard to the needs of the divorced woman, standard of life enjoyed by her during her marriage and means of such relatives and such maintenance shall be payable by such relatives in proportion to the size of their inheritance of her property and at such periods as he may specify in his order.

728

India 2010

Where such divorced woman has children, the magistrate shall order only such children to pay maintenance to her and in the event of any such children being unable to pay such maintenance, the magistrate shall order parents of such divorced woman to pay maintenance to he r . In the absence of such relatives or where such relatives are not in a position to maintain her, the magistrate may direct State Wakf Board established under Section 13 of the Wakf Act, 1995 functioning in the area in which the woman resides, to pay such maintenance as determined by him. The Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936 recognises the right of wife to maintenanceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;both alimony pendente lite and permanent alimony. The maximum amount that can be decreed by the court as alimony during the time a matrimonial suit is pending in court, is one-fifth of the husbandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s net income. In fixing the quantum as permanent maintenance, the court will determine what is just, bearing in mind the ability of husband to pay, wifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own assets and conduct of the parties. The order will remain in force as long as wife remains chaste and unmarried. The Indian Divorce Act, 1869 inter alia governs maintenance rights of a Christian wife. The provisions are the same as those under the Parsi Law and the same considerations are applied in granting maintenance, both alimony pendente lite and permanent maintenance. SUCCESSION The Indian Succession Act was enacted in 1925. The object of the Act was to consolidate the large number of laws which were in existence at that time. Laws governing succession to Muslims and Hindus were excluded from the purview of the Act. While consolidating the law in respect of succession, two schemes, one relating to succession to property of persons like Indian Christians, Jews and persons married under the Special Marriage Act, 1954 and the other relating to succession rights or Parsis, were adopted. In the first scheme, applying to those other than Parsis, in the case of a person dying intestate leaving behind a widow and lineal descendants, the widow would be entitled to a fixed share of one-third of property and lineal descendants shall be entitled to the remaining two-third. This law was amended subsequently with the object of improving rights of widows and it was provided that where the intestate dies leaving behind his widows and it was provided that where the intestate dies leaving behind his widow and no lineal descendant and the net value of the estate does not exceed Rs 5,000, the widow would be entitled to the whole of this property. Where the net value of the estate exceeds Rs 5,000 she is entitled to charge a sum of Rs 5,000 with interest at four per cent payment and in the residue, she is entitled to her share. The Act imposes no restriction on the power of a person to will away his property. Under the second scheme, the Act provides for Parsi intestate succession. By the Indian Succession (Amendment) Act, 1991 (51 of 1991), the Act was amended to provide equal shares for both sons and daughters in their parental properties, irrespective of the fact that it was that of the father or that of the mother. It also enables the Parsis to bequeath their property to religious or charitable purposes, etc., without any restrictions. In effect the amended law provides that where a Parsi dies intestate leaving behind a widow or widower as the case may be, and children, the property shall be divided so that the widow or widower and each child receives equal share.

Justice and Law

729

Further, where a Parsi dies leaving behind one or both parents in addition to children, or widow widower and children, the property shall be so divided that the parent or each of the parents shall receive a share equal to half the share of each child. This Act was amended by the Indian Succession (Amendment) Act, 2002. It was felt that section 32 of the principal Act is discriminatory to widows and as such the proviso to section 32 was omitted to remove discrimination in this regard. Section 213 was also amended by this amending Act to make Christians at par with other communities. The law relating to intestate succession among Hindus is codified in the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 (30 of 1956). It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir. The remarkable features of the Act are the recognition of the right of women to inherit property of an intestate equally with men and abolition of the life estate of female heirs. A vast majority of Muslims in India follow Hanafi doctrines of Sunni law. Courts presume that Muslims are governed by Hanafi law unless it is established to be the contrary. Though there are many features in common between Shia and Sunni schools, yet there are differences in some respects. Sunni law regards Koranic verses of inheritance as an addendum to pre-Islamic customary law and preserves the superior position of male agnates. Unlike Hindu and Christian laws, Muslim law restricts a personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s right of testation. A Muslim can bequeath only one-third of his estate. A bequest to a stranger is valid without the consent of heirs if it does not exceed a third of the estate, but a bequest to an heir without the consent of other heirs is invalid. Consent of heirs to a bequest must be secured after the succession has opened and any consent given to a bequest during the lifetime of the testator can be retracted after his death. Shia law allows Muslims the freedom of bequest within the disposable third.

730

India 2010

Labour

LABOUR policy in India has evolved in response to specific needs of the situation to suit requirements of planned economic development and social justice and has a two-fold objective, viz., maintaining industrial peace and promoting the welfare of labour. LABOUR REFORMS Labour Reforms essentially means taking steps to increase production, productivity and employment opportunities in the economy while protecting overall interest of labour. Essentially it means skill development, retraining, redeployment, updating knowledge base of workers-teachers, promotion of leadership qualities etc. Labour Reforms also includes labour law reforms. Changes in the labour laws are also done protecting the interests of workers. Brief notes on different labour laws are given in subsequent paragraphs. THE MINIMUM WAGES ACT, 1948 The Minimum Wages Act, 1948 provides for fixation, review, revision and enforcement of minimum wage, both by the Central Government and the State Government, in respect of scheduled employments in their respective jurisdictions. There are 45 scheduled employments in the Central sphere whereas the number of these employments in the State sphere is 1596. The Minimum Wages Act, 1948 does not allow discrimination between male and female workers or different minimum wages for them. All the provisions of the Act equally apply to both male and female workers. In order to protect the minimum wages against inflation, the Central Government has made provision of Variable Dearness Allowance (VDA) linked to Consumer Price Index. As regards States/UT Administrations, 26 of them have made VDA as a component of minimum wages. Both Central and State Governments revise the minimum wages in respect of these scheduled employments from time to time. Accordingly, VDA is revised periodically twice a year effective April and October in the Central Sphere and the rates were last revised w.e.f. 01.04.2009. NATIONAL FLOOR LEVEL MINIMUM WAGE In order to have a uniform wage structure and to reduce the disparity in minimum wages across the country, a concept of National Floor Level Minimum Wage was mooted on the basis of the recommendations of the National Commission on Rural Labour (NCRL) in 1991. Keeping in view the recommendation of NCRL and subsequent rise in price indices, the National Floor Level Minimum Wage was fixed at Rs. 35/- per day in 1996. Keeping in view the rise in Consumer Price Index the Central Government raised the national Floor Level Minimum wage to Rs. 40/- per day in 1998, to Rs. 45/- w.e.f. 01.12.1999 and Rs. 50/- per day w.e.f. 01.09.2002 Based on the norms suggested by the Working Group and its acceptance by the Central Advisory Board subsequently in its meeting held on 19.12.2003, the National Floor Level Minimum Wage was revised upwards to Rs.66/- per day with effect from 1.02.2004. On the basis of increase in the Consumer Price Index, the Central

Labour

731

Government has recently revised the National Floor Level Minimum Wages from Rs. 66/- to Rs.80/- per day with effect from 01.09.2007. It is, however, clarified that the National Floor Level Minimum Wage, is a nonstatutory measure to ensure upward revision of minimum wages in different States/ UT's. Thus, the State Governments are persuaded to fix minimum wages such that in none of the scheduled employments, the minimum wage is less than National Floor Level minimum Wages. RECENT INITIATIVES Based on the recommendations of the Minimum Wages Advisory Board (MWAB) in its meeting held on 22.01.2008 and 26.06.2008, the Ministry of Labour & Employment has issued the Final Notification in the Gazette of India (Extra Ordinary) fixing the minimum rates of wages for workers employed in the scheduled employments "Employment of Sweeping and Cleaning' in the Central sphere at Rs. 120/- Rs. 150/- and Rs. 180/- per day and for "Employment of Watch and Ward" (a) without arms at Rs. 120/-, Rs. 150/- and Rs.180/- per day and (b) with arms at Rs. 140/-, Rs. 170/- and Rs. 200/- per day for Area 'C', 'B' and 'A' respectively and the Final Notifications in respect of revision of minimum rates of wages for workers engaged in the scheduled employments of "Construction" and "Loading and Unloading" in the Central sphere at Rs. 120/- Rs.150/-and Rs. 180/- per day for unskilled workers to Rs. 200/- Rs. 220/- and Rs. 240/- per day for highly skilled workers in Area 'C', 'B' and 'A' respectively and for workers engaged in "Non-Coal Mines" in the Central sphere at Rs. 120/- per day for unskilled Workers (Above Ground) to Rs. 240/- per day for highly skilled workers (Below Ground). THE PAYMENT OF WAGES ACT, 1936 The Payment of Wages Act, 1936 was enacted to regulate payment of wages to workers employed in industries and to ensure a speedy and effective remedy to them against illegal deductions and/or unjustified delay caused in paying wages to them. The wage ceiling under Payment of Wages Act, 1936, was fixed at Rs. 1600/- pm in 1982. With a view to enhance the wage ceiling to Rs. 6500/- p.m. for applicability of the Act, to empower the Central Government to further increase the ceiling in future by way of notification and to enhance the penal provisions etc., the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Act, 2005, which was passed by both Houses of Parliament, was notified on 06.09.2005 as an Act 41 of 2005 by the Ministry of Law & Justice. Subsequently, the Ministry of Labour & Employment has issued the Notification S.O. 1577(E) to make the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Act, 2005 effective from the 9th November 2005. Further, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (6) of Section 1 of the Act, the Central Government, on the basis of figures of the Consumer Expenditure Survey published by National Sample Survey Organization, has enhanced the wage ceiling, further, to Rs. 10,000/- per month vide gazette notification No. S.O. 1380 (E) dated 8th August, 2007. THE PAYMENT OF BONUS ACT, 1965 The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 provides for payment of bonus to employees of factories and other establishments employing 20 or more persons. The minimum bonus of 8.33% is payable by every industry and establishment under the Section 10 of the Act. The maximum bonus including productivity linked

732

India 2010

bonus that can be paid in any accounting year shall not exceed 20% of the salary/ wage of an employee under the sections 11 and 31 A of the Act. Consequent to the deliberations held in the 40th & 41st session of the Indian Labour Conference (ILC), the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 was amended to enhance the eligibility limit and calculation ceiling and bring employees employed through contractors on building operations within the ambit of the Act. Accordingly, the Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Act, 2007 (45 of 2007) was notified on 13th December 2007 enhancing the eligibility limit from Rs. 3,500/- to Rs. 10,000/- per month and calculation ceiling from Rs. 2500/- to Rs. 3500/- per month by amendment of sections 2 (13) and 12 of the Act. Section 32 (vi) of the Payment of Bonus Act 1965 has also been omitted so as to make the employees employed through contractors on building operations to be eligible to receive bonus. The amendment came into effect from 01.04.2006. WAGE BOARDS In the 1950s and 60s, when the organised labour sector was at a nascent stage of its development without adequate unionization or with trade unions without adequate bargaining power, Government in appreciation of the problems which arise in the arena of wage fixation, constituted various Wage Boards. The Wage Boards are tripartite in character in which representatives of workers, employers and independent members participate and finalize the recommendations. The utility and contribution of such boards in the present context are not beyond question. Except for the Wage Boards for Journalists and Non-Journalists, newspaper and news-agency employees, which are statutory Wage Boards, all other Wage Boards are non-statutory in nature. The Second National Commission on Labour (NCL) has recommended that â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;there is no need for any wage board, statutory or otherwise, for fixing wage rates for workers in any industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. However, the Government decided not to accept the recommendations regarding the statutory wage boards i.e. Wage Boards for Working Journalists and Non-Journalists Newspaper Employees under the Working Journalists and Non-Journalists Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1955. WAGE BOARDS FOR WORKING JOURNALISTS AND OTHER NEWSPAPER EMPLOYEES The Working Journalists and other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1955 regulates conditions of service of working journalists and other persons employed in newspaper establishments. The Act provides for setting up of Wage Boards for fixation and revision of rates of wages in respect of working journalists and non-journalists newspaper/news agency employees. The Wage Boards for such employees were set up in the years 1956, 1963, 1975, 1985 and 1994. The last Wage Board i.e. Manisana Wage Boards was constituted in the year 1994 and submitted its report to the Government on 25 t h July, 2000. The Government has constituted two new Wage Boards one for Working Journalisits and other for Non-Journalists Newspaper Employees under Sections 9 and 13 C respectively of the Working Journalists and Other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1955 vide notification in the Gazette of India (Extra Ordinary) S.O. Nos. 809 (E) and 810 (E) dated 24.05.2007 under the common Chairmanship of Dr. Justice K. Narayana Kurup. The Wage Boards

Labour

733

have a common full time Member Secretary besides two common independent members and three persons representing employers in relation to Newspaper establishments, three persons representing working journalists for Wage Board under Section 9 and three persons representing non-journalist Newspaper Employees under Section 13 C of the Act. The Wage Boards have been given three years to submit their report to the Union Government. The Headquarter of the Boards is at New Delhi. The Wage Boards have recommended interim rates of wages at the rate of 30% of basic wage, which has been accepted by the Government and was notified in October, 2008. Consequent upon the resignation of Dr. Justice K. Narayana Kurup, Justice G.R. Majithia has taken over as the common Chairman of the two Wage Boards w.e.f. 4th April, 2009. A Central Level Monitoring Committee has been set up by the Government under the Chairmanship of Labour and Employment Adviser, Ministry of Labour and Employment to review the progress of the implementation of recommendations for the Wage Boards from time to time and liaise with the State Government/Union Territories, which are the appropriate Government, for effective implementation of Wage Boards Awards. CONTRACT

LABOUR

The system of employing contract labour is prevalent in most industries for different jobs including skilled and semi-skilled. It is also prevalent in agricultural and allied operations and to some extent, in the services sector. A contract labour is a person who is hired, supervised, contracted and remunerated by a contractor, who, in turn, is compensated by the user enterprises. The concern to improve the working and living conditions of contract labour and the Supreme Court of Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s observations in the case of Standard Vacuum Refinery Company Vs. their Workmen, resulted in the enactment of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970. The Act seeks to regulate the employment of contract labour in certain establishments and to provide for its abolition in certain circumstances and for matters connected therewith. The Act and the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Central Rules, 1971 came into force on 10 February 1971. The Act provides for the constitution of Central and State Advisory Contract Labour Boards to advise the respective Governments on matters arising out of the administration of the Act. The Act contains specific provisions to ensure payment of wages and certain amenities to be provided by the contractor to the contract labour. The Central and State Governments are empowered to prohibit employment of contract labour in any activity in an establishment and also to grant exemption to establishments/contractors in the case of an emergency, from the applicability of the provisions of the Act. The Central Government has issued 76 notifications prohibiting employment of contract labour in different categories of works in different fields upto 01.09.2008.

CHILD

LABOUR

Constitutional

Provisions

The Government of India stands committed to the elimination of child labour in the country. Our Constitution provides for protection of children from involvement in economic activities and avocations unsuited to their age. Directive Principles of State Policy in the Constitution strongly reiterates this commitment and this is also provided

734

India 2010

for in the Fundamental Rights. Realizing the multifaceted natue of this problem, the Government had embarked on a holistic and multi-pronged programme to eliminate child labour from the country in a phased manner, beginning with children working in hazardous occupations and processes and progressilvely covering those working in other occupations also. On the one hand, it provides for legal action for enforcement purposes and on the other, it also focuses on general development programmes for the economic empowerment of the families of children as well as project based action in areas of high concentration of child labour. POLICY As per Child Labour (Prohibitation & Regulation) Act, employment of children below the age of 14 years is prohibited in notified hazardous occupations and processes. The Act also regulates employment of children in non-hazardous occupations and processes. On the recommendation of the Technical Advisory Committee on Child Labour, the Government has prohibited employment in one occupation, viz, diving; and 8 processes, viz. processes involving exposure to excessivse heat (e.g. working near furnace) and cold; mechanised fishing; food processing; beverage industry; timber handling and loading; mechanical lumbering; warehousing; processes involving exposure to free silica such as slate, pencil industry, stone grinding, slate stone mining, stone quarries, and agate industry vide notification No. SO2280 (E) dated 25.09.2008. There are at present 16 hazardous occupations and 65 processes, where employment of children is prohibited. Some of the important prohibited occupations and processes ar carpet weaving, building and construction work, brick kilns, production of hosiery goods, work as domestic servants, and in tea-shops, road side eateries, mechanized fishing, food processing, timber handling and loading, mechnical lumbering, warehousing etc. As per the Census 2001, there are 12.6 million economically active children in the age group of 5 to 14 years, of which approximately 0.12 million are working in hazardous occupations. The NSSO has agreed to take up a fresh comprehensive nation wide survey of child labour in its 66th Round during 2009 - 2010, so as to have a clear picture for formulation of strategies to tackle this social menace. PROGRAMMES The Government had initiated the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme in 1988 to rehabilitate working children in 13 child labour endemic districts of the country. Its coverage was increased progressively to cover 271 districts in this country. Under the NCLP Scheme, children are withdrawn from work and put into special schools, where they are provided with bridging education, vocational training, midday meal, stipend, health-care facilities etc. At present, there are more than 10,000 NCLP schools being run in the country with an enrolment of 5 lakh children. Above 5.21 lakh working children have already been maintreamed to regular education under the NCLP Scheme from 1996-97 to 2008-09. Besides, children who have been provided with vocational training have joined the mainstream. INITIATIVES For the rehabilitation of migrant and trafficked child labour, the Government is taking number of steps and has developed a detailed protocol for prevention, rescue, repatriation and rehabilitation of these children in consultation with State Governments, ILO, NGOs and other stakeholders.

Labour

735

CONVERGENCE Considering that the poverty and illiteracy are the root causes for child labour, the Government is following a multi-pronged strategy to tackle this problem. Educational rehabilitation of these children has to be supplemented with economic rehabilitation of their families so that they are not compelled by their economic circumstances to send their children to work. The Ministry of Labour & Employment is taking various proactive measures towards convergence between the schemes of different Ministries like Ministries of Human Resource Development, Women & Child Development, Urban Housing & Rural Poverty Alleviation, Rural Development, Panchayati Raj Institutions etc. so that child labour and their families get covered under the benefits of the schemes of these ministries also. INTERNATIONAL

PROGRAMMES

The International Programme on elimination of Child Labour is a global programme launched by the International Labour Organistion in December, 1991. India was the first country to join it in 1992. The long-term objective of IPEC is to contribute to the effective abolition of child labour. Its immediate objective are: l

Enhacement of the capability of ILO constituents and NGOs to design, implement and evaluate programmes for child labour.

To identify interventions at community and national levels which could serve as models for replication; and

Creation of awareness and social mobilization for securing elimination of child labour.

INDUS PROJECT

The Government of India and the US Department of Labour have initiated a joint US$40 million project aimed at eliminating child labour in identified hazardous sectors across 21 districts in five States, namely, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and NCT of Delhi. The project ended its term on 31st March, 2009. ANDHRA PRADESH PROJECT

Besides this, ILO has also implemented phase 1 of the State based project in Andhra Pradesh. The Phase-II of the AP Project is currently under implementation. In the second phase the project is focusing on two most child labour endemic districts in the State i.e. Mehboobnagar and Kurnool. The project is also focusing on the special problems of urban areas and attempt to evolve a strategy for Hyderabad city. The Project has concluded on 31.3.2009 KARNATAKA PROJECT

This State based project is being implemented in 2 districts of the State, i.e. Chamarajanagar & Bidar. The project is being funded by the Government of Italy and has budget of US$ 3.29 million. It has already been launched and the duration of the project is three years. The project will implement all the components of the NCLP Scheme with some additionalities. Interventions under the Project are being made on pilot basis for future replication in other areas. GOI-UNICEF JOINT MASTER PLAN

Under Joint Master Plan of Operations on Child Protection between the Government of India and the UNICEF, this Ministry is implementing activities on

736

India 2010

child labour elimination. The UNICEF will fund these activities and the present budget is US$ 120,000. Main activities include development of National Tracking System to monitor children in NCLPs and development of National Communication Strategy on child labour. A prototype of National Tracking System has already been developed and field trials are being conducted in the states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. CONVERGING AGAINST CHILD LABOUR: SUPPORT FOR INDIA'S MODEL

The Government of India has approved the project to be implemented through ILO with the funds from the United States of America, Department of Labour (US$ 68,50,000) in two districts each in Bihar, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Orissa to develop convergence based models on a pilot basis to be replicated throughout the Country at a later stage. The duration of the project will be 42 months. WOMEN LABOUR Women constitute a significant part of the work force of India but they lag behind men in terms of level and quality of employment. The Census of India (2001) has registered 25.60 per cent of female population as workers numbering 127.22 million in absolute terms out of a total female population of 496 million. The majority of women workers are employed in the rural areas. Amongst rural women workers, 87 per cent are employed in agriculture as labourers and cultivators. Amongst the women workers in the urban areas, 80 per cent are employed in unorganized sectors like household industries, petty trades and services building and construction, etc. The employment of women in the organized sector (both public and private sectors) as on 31.03.2002, was about 4.935 million. This constitutes 17.8 per cent of the total organised sector employment in the country. The distribution of women employees in major industries reveals that community, social and personal services sectors continued to absorb the majority of women employees. The lowest employment of women was noticed in electricity, gas and water sectors. The main focus of the policies of the Government with regard to women labour has been to remove the handicaps under which they work, to improve their wages and working conditions, to enhance their skills and to open up better employment opportunities for them. A separate cell, namely, Women Labour Cell is functioning in the Ministry of Labour and Employment to address these problems. The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, and the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976, are the two protective and anti-exploitative legislations, which have been enacted to protect and safeguard the interest of women workers at the workplaces. The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 stipulates payment of equal remuneration to men and women workers for same and similar nature of work. The Act also prohibits any gender discrimination in recruitment and service conditions. Under the Act, a Committee has been set up at the Centre, to advise the Government on providing increasing employment opportunities for women and generally reviewing the steps taken for effective implementation of the Act. The State Governments and Union Territory Administrations have also set up similar Committees. The Central Advisory Committee at the National level and the Advisory Committees at the State level along with competent authorities; oversee the process of implementation of the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976. Further, the Women Cell in the Ministry is also administering a Grants-in-Aid Scheme for the welfare of women labour. This Scheme is implemented through voluntary organizations that are provided grants-in-aid for running projects for

Labour

737

awareness generation among women workers with a view to educate them about their rights, women related schemes and programmes, etc. being implemented by Central/State Government. It is proposed to enhance the outlay to Rs. 270 lakh during the 11th Plan from the approved 10th Plan outlay of Rs. 245 lakh for providing Grants-in-aid. The Supreme Court of India in its landmark judgement dated 13.08.1997, in the matter of Visakha and others vs. the State of Rajasthan and others, laid down detailed guidelines/norms for prevention of sexual harassment of women workers at work places. These guidelines have the force of law under Article 141 of the Constitution. The Government has taken up a number of initiatives to give effect to the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court. These include circulation of the guidelines for action as indicated therein to all secretaries to the Government of India/Chief Secretaries of the State Governments/Union Territories, Heads of Central Public Sector Undertakings and employees/employers organisations. Conduct Rules application to Government employees and officers of All India Services have been amended to incorporate the Supreme Court guidelines. To make the guidelines applicable to employees in the private sector, the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 has also been amended suitably. BONDED LABOUR The system of debt bondage in India is an outcome of certain categories of indebtedness, which have been prevailing for a long time involving certain economically exploited, helpless and weaker sections of society. The system originated from the uneven social structure characterized by feudal and semi-feudal conditions. The issue of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;bonded labourâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; came to forefront in national politics, when it was included in the old 20-Point Programme in 1975.To implement this, Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Ordinance was promulgated. This was later replaced by the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976. It freed unilaterally all the bonded labourers from bondage with simultaneous liquidation of their debts. The district and sub-divisional magistrates have been entrusted with certain duties/responsibilities towards implementation of statutory provisions. The Act also provides for constitution of Vigilance Committees at the district and sub-divisional level for implementation of the provisions of the law. The Act provides for imprisonment up to three years and fine up to Rs.2, 000 whoever compels any person to render any bonded labour and whoever advances any bonded debt. Under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 identification and release of bonded labourers and rehabilitation of freed bonded labourers is the direct responsibility with the State Government concerned. The issue of bonded labour has been discussed in the Supreme Court/High Court in the form of Public Interest Litigations. The Supreme Court has directed that the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) should be involved in dealing with the issue of bonded labour. The Centrally Sponsored Scheme was modified in May 2000. In the modified scheme, besides increasing the rehabilitation assistance from 10,000/-to Rs.20.000/ - per bonded labour, provision has also been made for giving Central grants to the States/U.Ts. for awareness generation, survey of bonded labour and evaluatory studies. As per the modified scheme, Rs.10.00 lakhs are provided per annum to State Government for creating awareness generation, Rs.2.00 lakh per district to survey

738

India 2010

of bonded labourers once in 3 years in a district and Rs.5.00 lakhs per annum for conducting evaluatory studies. So far 2, 68,136 identified bonded labourers have been rehabilitated with the Central assistance of Rs.6983.36 lakhs. UNORGANISED

SECTOR

The term â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;unorganised labourâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; has been defined as those workers who have not been able to organize themselves to pursue their common interests due to certain constraints like casual nature of employment, ignorance and illiteracy, small and scattered size of establishments, etc. The workers in unorganised sector fall in various categories but a large number of them are home-based workers who are engaged in occupations like beedi rolling, agarbatti making, papad making, tailoring, zari and embroidery. As per the survey carried out by the National Sample Survey Organisation in the year 2004-2005, the total employment, in both organised and unorganised sectors in the country was of the order of 45.9 crore, i.e., around 2.6 crore in the organised sector and the balance 43.3 crore workers in the unorganised sector. In order to take care of the social security and welfare of unorganised workers, two-pronged strategy, i.e., legislative measures, and, implementation of welfare schemes and programmes have been followed so far. The legislative measures include the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, the Workmenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Compensation Act, 1923, the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, the Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act, 1970, the Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979, the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment & Conditions of Service) Act, 1996, etc. The Government has set up Welfare Funds for providing welfare measures to the beedi, non-coal mine and cine workers. The Funds are used to provide financial assistance to these workers for education of their children, recreation, medical and health facilities, construction of houses, etc. The Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment & Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 also has provision for setting up of welfare Board/Fund by every State Government to provide welfare/social security measures to the construction workers. Some States like Kerala, have constituted welfare funds for specific categories of workers in the unorganised sector. The Government enacted the Unorganised Workers' Social Security Act, 2008. The Act provides for constitution of National Social Security Board at the Central level and State Social Security Boards at the State level which shall recommend formulation of social security schemes for unorganised workers. The National Board shall recommend social security schemes viz., life and disability cover, health and maternity benefits; old age protection, and any other benefit as may be determined by the Central Government. The State level Boards shall recommend welfare schemes viz. provident fund, employment injury benefit, housing, educational schemes for children, skill upgradation of workers, funeral assistance; and old age homes. The salient features of the Act are as under: l

Section (2) provides for the definitions, including those relating to unorganised worker, self-employed and wage worker.

Section 3 (1) provides for formulation of schemes by the Central Government for different sections of unorganised workers on matters

Labour

739 relating to (a) life and disability cover; (b) health and maternity benefits; (c) old age protection (d) any other benefit as may be determined by the Central Government.

Section 4 relates to funding of the schemes formulated by Central Government.

Section 5 envisages constitution of National Social Security Board under the chairmanship of Union Minister for Labour & Employment with Member Secretary and 34 nominated members representing Members of Parliament, unorganized workers, employers of unorganized workers, civil society, Central Ministries and State Governments.

Provision for adequate representation to persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, the Minorities and Women.

The functions of National Board, inter-alia, include: to recommend to the Central Government suitable schemes for different sections of unorganised workers; monitor the implementation of schemes and advise the Central Government on matters arising out of the administration of the Act.

Section 6 has provision for constitution of similar Boards at the State level.

Section 7 relates to funding pattern of the schemes formulated by the State Governments.

Section 8 prescribes record keeping functions by the District Administration. For this purpose, the State Government may direct (a) the District Panchayat in rural areas; and (b) the Urban Local Bodies in urban areas to perform such functions.

Section 9 provides for setting up of constitution of Workers' Facilitation Centre to (a) disseminate information on social security schemes available to them (ii) facilitate the workers to obtain registration from district administration and enrollment of unorganized workers.

Section 10 provides for eligibility criteria for registration as also the procedure for registration under the Act.

Sections 11-17 contain miscellaneous provisions for implementing the Act.

The Unorganised Workers Social Security Act, 2008 has been notified in the Gazette and the Unorganised Workers Social Security Rules, 2009 under the Act have been framed and notified. The Act has since been enforced with effect from 16th May, 2009. LABOUR STATISTICS The Labour Bureau, Chandigarh/Shimla is engaged in collection, compilation, analaysis and dissemination of labour statistics at All窶的ndia level on different facets of labour, such as, employment, wages and earnings, strikes and lockouts, absenteeism, labour turnover, labour cost, working and living conditions of workers, etc., both in organized and unorganized sector of industries. It also constructs, maintains and publishes Consumer Price Index Numbers for: (i) Industrial Workers (Base 2001=100), (ii) Rural Labourers (Base 1986-87=100) and (iii) Agricultural Labourers (Base 198687=100). Labour Bureau also compiles Retail Price Indices of 31 essential commodities for both rural and urban centres and Wage Rate Indices for 21 industries. It imparts

740

India 2010

training to price collectors, entrepreneurs or their representatives filing statutory returns under various Labour Act. IES/ISS probationers and international students under ISEC programme.The Labour Bureau, with the approval of the Government, has released on 09.03.2006 the new Series of CPI-IW with effect from January, 2006. The new Series is an improvement over the old Series (1982=100) as more centres, markets and consumption items are covered. An Index Review Committee under the Chairmanship of Prof. G.K. Chaddha has also been constituted to review various aspects of the CPI –IW . The Committee has submitted its report in April, 2009. During 2008-2009, Labour Bureau, has also initiated the conducting of quarterly Quick Surveys on Effect of Economic Slowdown on Employment in India. Two such surveys relating to the quarters October-December, 2008 and January-March 2009 have been conducted and results released. Third Survey for the quarter April-June 2009 has been launched in Junly, 2009. LABOUR RESEARCH V.V. Giri National Labour Institute, NOIDA (Uttar Pradesh) is an autonomous body engaged in research pertaining to labour and training of labour administrators, trade unions, public sector managers and other government functionaries concerned with labour. Seminars, workshops and lectures are organized on specific issues from time to time. Research occupies a primary place in the activities of the Institute. It comprises a broad spectrum of labour related issues and problems, in both the organized and unorganised sectors. Issues of topical concern and relevance of policy are taken up for research. The Institute continues to place greater emphasis on the disadvantaged groups, such as, child labour, women labour and rural labour. Research activities also explore the basic needs of different groups of trainees, such as trade union leaders and organizers in both organized and unorganised sectors, managers of public and private sectors, labour administrators and volunteers of non-governmental organisations. There are seven Centres which carry out studies on the major themes related to research. Each Centre is guided by a Research Advisory Group, which consists of experts in the respective areas. The Institute undertakes research projects in the areas of labour market, employment and regulations; agrarian relations and rural labour, integrated labour history, child labour and prevention of HIV/AIDS in the workplace. N.R.D Research Centre on Labour Information (NRDRCLI) at the Institute is one of the most reputed library-cum-documentation centres in the area of labour studies in the country. Integrated Labour History Research Programme (ILHRP) has been started in the Institute with an aim to initiate, integrate and revive research on labour history. The Union Minister of Labour and Employment is the President of the General Council comprising representatives from Central Government, organization of employers and workers and Members of parliament and distinguished persons who have made noteworthy contributions in the field of labour. The Council elects the Executive Council, which is responsible for the management of the affairs of the Institute. WORKERS’ EDUCATION The Central Board for Workers Education (CBWE) was established in 1958 by the Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India to implement the workers’

Labour

741

education scheme at national, regional and unit/village levels for the workers from organized, unorganized and rural sectors. Supervisory and managerial cadres are also covered though joint educational programmes. The Board’s training programmes aim at creating awareness and education among the workforce for their effective participation in the socio-economic development of the country. The Board has its headquarters at Nagpur, with a network of 50 Regional and 9 Sub-Regional Directorates spread throughout the country. The five Zonal Directorates at Delhi, Guwahati, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai monitor the activities of the Regional Directorates within their respective Zone. The Board had set up its Indian Institute of Workers Education, an apex training Institute at Mumbai to conduct national level training programmes for the activists of Central Trade Union Organisations/Federations besides in-house training programmes for the Board’s officials. The Board has so far conducted 3,91,630 training programmes and has trained 1,12,14,218 workers at various levels till 31 st March, 2007. To generate awareness among the informal sector workers about various welfare schemes of the Central Government, the Board designed a new programme called Labour Welfare & Development programme through which detailed information of the relevant schemes are given to the participants besides extending the necessary help as and when required by them.

WORKERS'

SAFETY

SAFETY, HEALTH AND WELFARE OF WORKERS IN FACTORIES

The Factories Act, 1948 is the principal legislation for regulating various aspects relating to safety, health and welfare of workers employed in factories. This Act is a Central enactment, which aims at protecting workers employed in factories from industrial and occupational hazards. State governments and Union Territory Administrations frame rules under the Act and enforce provisions of the Act and rules through their factory inspectorate. The Directorate General, Factory Advice Service and Labour Institute (DGFASLI), Mumbai, an attached office of the Ministry of Labour and Employment , renders technical advice to the States/Union Territories in regard to administration and enforcement of the Factories Act, 1948. With five regional labour institutes at Mumbai, Kolkata, Kanpur, Chennai and Faridabad under its control, the DGFASLI also undertakes support research facilities and carries out promotional activities through education and training in matters concerning occupational safety and health. The Directorate General also reviews the position regarding implementation and enforcement of the Act. Prescribing a 48-hour week for adult workers, the Factories Act forbids employment of children under 14 years of age in any factory. Minimum standards of lighting, ventilation, safety and welfare services, which employers must provide in their factories, have also been laid down. Factories employing over 30 women workers are required to provide a crèche for their children, shelters, rest-rooms and lunchrooms are required to be provided by factories employing over 250 workers. Factories with 250 workers or more have to appoint welfare officers. The Factories Act was amended in1987 in order to impose a general duty on employers to ensure health and safety of workers and on designers, manufacturers, importers and suppliers to ensure that articles designed, manufactured, etc., are without risk to the health and safety of workers. A new chapter for regulating safety and health aspect in hazardous industries was incorporated in the Act.

742

India 2010

SAFETY IN PORTS AND DOCKS Provisions relating to safety, health and welfare of workers employed in docks are contained in the Dock Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Act, 1986 and rules and regulations framed thereunder. The Act came into force on 15 April 1987. Enforcement of this Act in all the major ports is the responsibility of the Ministry of Labour and Employment and this responsibility is discharged through the DGFASLI, Mumbai. The DGFASLI, being the Chief Inspector of Docks is also entrusted with the responsibility of enforcing in major ports the Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemical Rules, 1989 framed under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. SAFETY IN MINES Provisions for safety, health and welfare of workers employed in mines are contained in the Mines Act, 1952 and rules and regulations framed thereunder. These provisions are enforced by the Ministry of Labour and Employment through the Directorate General of Mines Safety. The Directorate General, with its headquarters at Dhanbad and its zonal, regional and sub-regional offices spread all over the mining areas in the country undertakes its functions, inspection of mines, investigation of all fatal accidents and also certain serious accidents depending upon the gravity of the situation, grant of statutory permission, exemptions and relaxations in respect of various mining operations, approval of mines safety equipment, appliances and material, conduct examinations for grant of statutory competency certificate, safety promotional incentives including organization of national awards and national safety conference, etc. NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL The National Safety Council was set up in 1966 to promote safety consciousness among workers to prevent accidents, minimize dangers and mitigate human suffering, arrange programmes, lectures and conferences on safety, conduct educational campaigns to arouse consciousness among employers and workers and collect educational and information data, etc. National Safety Day is celebrated on 4th March every year to mark the foundation day of the National Safety Council.

AWARDS PRIME MINISTERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S SHRAM AWARDS Prime Ministerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Shram Awards are given to workmen working in the departmental undertakings and the public sector undertakings of the Central Government and State Governments in recognition of their outstanding contribution in the field of productivity and for showing exemplary zeal and enthusiasm in the discharge of their duties. These awards are also given to the workmen working in the manufacturing units in the private sector employing 500 or more workers. The awards, in order of precedence, are: Shram Ratna, Shram Bhushan, Shram Vir/Shram Veerangana and Shram Shree/Shram Devi. The awa rds carry presentation of a sanad and cash prize of Rs. two lakhs, Rs. one lakh, Rs. 60,000 and Rs. 40,000 respectively. The total number of awards is 33. NATIONAL SAFETY AWARDS To give recognition to good safety performance on the part of the industrial undertakings and to stimulate and maintain the interest of both management and

Labour

743

workers in accident prevention programmes, the Government instituted in 1965 the National Safety Awards. This is applicable to factories, docks and Nuclear Power Projects & Nuclear Power Stations. The National Safety Awards for mines were instituted in 1983. It is meant for giving recognition to outstanding safety performances of mines of national level, which comes within the purview of the Mines Act, 1952. There are 34 awards—17 winners and 17 runners-up, which are given to the management. VISHWAKARMA RASHTRIYA PURASKAR Shram Vir Awards, now known as Vishwakarma Rashtriya Puraskar were instituted in 1965. These are meant for workers of factories, mines, plantations and docks, and are given to them in recognition of their meritorious performance, which leads to high productivity or economy or higher efficiency. There are a total of twenty-eight awards in three classes, i.e. Class-A – 5 awards, Class-B – 8 awards and Class-C – 15 awards and carry cash prizes of Rs. 75,000 Rs. 50,000 & Rs. 25,000 each respectively.

INDUSTRIAL

RELATIONS

THE INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES ACT, 1947

The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 basically provides for investigation and settlement of industrial disputes. The main objectives of the Act are: promotion of measures for securing and preserving amity and good relations between the employer and workmen; investigation and settlement of industrial disputes, between employers and employers, employers and workmen or workmen and workmen, with a right to representation by registered trade union or a federation or trade unions or an association of employers or a federation of associations of employers; prevention of illegal strikes and lock-outs; relief to workmen in the matter of lay-off and retrenchment; and collective bargaining. The special provisions relating to lay off, retrenchment and closure are applicable to the establishments employing not less than 100 workmen on an average per working day. The Act also provides for protection in the shape of retrenchment compensation and notice to the workmen who have completed 240 days continuous service in the establishment in the preceding 12 months before effecting retrenchment, closure etc. l

The Industrial Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2009 has been introduced in the Rajya Sabha on 26.02.2009. The Bill seeks:

Amendment of the term "appropriate Government" defined under section 2 (a) of the Act to amplify the existing definition;

Enhancement of wage ceiling of a workman from one thousand six hundred rupees per month to ten thousand rupees per month under section 2 (s) of the Act;

Direct access for the workman to the Labour Court or Tribunal in case of disputes arising out of section 2(a) of the Act;

Expanding the scope of qualifications of Presiding Officers of Labour Courts or Tribunals under sections 7 and 7A of the Act;

Establishment of Grievance Redressal Machinery in every industrial

744

India 2010 establishment employing twenty or more workmen for the resolution of disputes arising out of individual grievances;

Empowering the labour court or tribunal to execute the awards, order of settlements arrive at by labour courts or tribunals;

To empower Government to make rules to decide and review the salaries and allowances and other terms and conditions for appointment of presiding officers.

THE TRADE UNION ACT, 1926 The Trade Unions Act, 1926 provides for registration of trade unions of employers and workers, and, in certain respects, it defines the law relating to registered trade unions. It confers legal and corporate status on registered trade unions. The Trade Unions Act, 1926 is administered by the concerned State Governments. The Trade Union Act, 1926 has been amended and the following amendments have been enforced from 9th January, 2002: No trade union of workmen shall be registered unless at least 10% or 100, whichever is less, of workmen engaged or employed in the establishment or industry with which it is connected are the members of such trade union on the date of making an application for registration. In no case, a union shall be registered without a minimum strength of 7 members; a registered trade union of workmen shall, at all times, continue to have not less than 10% or 100 of the workmen, whichever is less, subject to a minimum of 7 persons engaged or employed in the establishment or industry with which it is connected, as its members; a provision for filing an appeal before the industrial tribunal/labour court in case of non-registration/restoration of registration has been provided; all office bearers of a registered trade union, except not more than one third of the total number of office bearers or five, whichever is less, shall be persons actually engaged or employed in the establishment or industry with which the trade union is connected; Minimum rate of subscription by members of the trade union has been revised as one rupee per annum for rural workers, three rupees per annum for workers in other unorganized sectors and 12 rupees per annum in all other cases. RASHTRIYA SWASTHYA BIMA YOJANA The Government has launched the National Health Insurance Scheme namely, the 'Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana' for BPL families (a unit of five) in unorganised sector on 1st October, 2007. The estimated number of 6 crore BPL families are proposed to be covered in five years upto 2012-13. The scheme provides for smart card based cashless insurance cover of Rs. 30,000/- per annum per family to the beneficiary. The premium will be borne by Central Government and State Government in the ratio 75:25. In case of North Eastern States and Jammu & Kashmir, the premium will be in the ratio of 90:10. The cost of smart card will be borne by the Central Government. The beneficiary would pay Rs. 30/- per annum as registration/renewal fee. The scheme has become operational w.e.f 01.04.2008. The benefits under the scheme include: l

Health Insurance cover would be Rs. 30,000/- per family per annum on a family floater basis.

Cashless attendance to all covered ailments

Labour

745

Hospitalization expenses, taking care of most common illnesses including maternity benefits.

All pre-existing diseases to be covered.

Transportation coats (actual with maximum limit of Rs. 100/- per visit) within an overall limit of Rs.1000/INDUSTRIAL TRIPARTITE COMMITTEES The Industrial Tripartite Committees have been constituted with the view to promote the spirit of tripartism. These tripartite bodies aim at deliberating on the industryspecific problems related to workers in that particular industry. These Committees are non-statutory and ad-hoc and their meetings are convened as and when required. At present, there are eight Industrial Tripartite Committees, one each for engineering, electricity generation & distribution, road transport, chemical , sugar industry cotton textiles , jute industry and plantation

SOCIAL

SECURITY

THE WORKMEN’S COMPENSATION ACT, 1923

A beginning was made in social security with the passing of the Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923. The Act provides for payment of compensation to workmen and their dependents in case of injury and accident (including certain occupational diseases) arising out of and in the course of employment and resulting in disablement or death. The Act applies to railway servants and persons employed in any such capacity as is specified in Schedule II of the Act. It includes persons employed in factories, mines, plantation, mechanically propelled vehicles, construction works and certain other hazardous occupations. Minimum rates of compensation for permanent total disablement and death are fixed at Rs.90,000 and Rs.80,000 respectively. Maximum amount for death and permanent total disablement can go up to Rs.4.56 lakh and Rs.5.48 lakh respectively depending on age and wages of workmen. THE MATERNITY BENEFIT ACT, 1961

The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 regulates employment of women in certain establishments for a certain period before and after childbirth and periods for maternity and other benefits. The Act applies to mines, factories, circus industry, plantation, shops and establishments employing ten or more persons, except employees covered under the Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948. The State Governments can extend it to any other establishment or class of establishments. There is no wage limit for coverage under the Act. At present, every woman entitled to maternity benefit under this Act shall also be entitled to receive from her employer a medical bonus of Rs. 2500/-, if no pre-natal confinement and post natal care is provided for by the employer free of charge. THE EMPLOYEES’ STATE INSURANCE ACT, 1948

The Employees State Insurance Act, 1948 is applicable in the first instance, to nonseasonal factories using power and employing 10 or more persons and non-power using factories employing 20 or more persons. It covers employees drawing wages not exceeding Rs.10,000/- with effect from18.10.2006. The Act provides medical care in kind and cash benefits in the contingency of sickness, maternity and employment

746

India 2010

injury and pension for dependents in the event of death of a worker because of employment injury. Full medical care including hospitalization is also being progressively made available to members of the family of the insured persons. With effect from 01.04.2005, the Employees State Insurance Corporation has introduced “Rajiv Gandhi Shramik Kalyan Yojana” for the workers covered under the Scheme, who lose their job involuntarily due to retrenchment, closure of factories/ establishments and permanent disability not arising out of employment injury. The beneficiaries under this Scheme are entitled to get a monthly cash allowance of about 50-53 per cent of the wage as well as medical care for themselves and their dependant family members, for a maximum of six months which may be available in a single spell or in spells of not less than one month each. The main benefits provided under the Act are medical care for the entire family of the Insured Person (IP), cash compensation for loss of wages on account of sickness, temporary and permanent disablement arising out of employment injury, periodical payments to dependants of Insured Person who dies due to employment injury, maternity benefit in cash to Insured Women and funeral expenses. As on March, 2008 there were 144 Hospitals, 42 Annexes, 27,727 beds including 2955 beds reserved in hospitals other than ESI Hospitals/Annexes, 1397 ESI dispensaries, 1753 clinics of Insured Medical practitioners (IMPs) under the Scheme. The total number of IPs is 1.21 crore which also includes 20,29,440 Insured Women. The total number of beneficiaries under the scheme is 468.33 lakh. THE PAYMENT OF GRATUITY ACT, 1972

The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 is applicable to factories, mines, oil fields, plantations, ports, railways, motor transport undertakings, companies, shops and other establishments. The Act provides for payment of gratuity at the rate 15 days’ wages for each completed year of service or part thereof in excess of six months subject to the maximum of Rs.3.50 lakh. In case of seasonal establishments, gratuity is payable at the rate of seven days’ wages for each season. The Act does not affect the right of an employee to receive better terms of gratuity under any award or agreement or contract with the employer. THE EMPLOYEES PROVIDENT FUNDS AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS ACT, 1952

The Act seeks to provide the financial social security to the employees in the form of provident fund, pension and deposit-linked insurance. It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir. It applies to every establishment specified in the Schedule and in which twenty or more persons are employed. The Central Government by notification in the Office Gazette may specify, any other establishment employing twenty or more persons or class of such establishments, to which the Act shall apply. At present the Act covers 182 specified industries/classes of establishments. Three schemes are framed under the Act viz, Employees Provident Fund Scheme 1952, Employees’ pension Scheme 1995, Employees’ deposit Linked Insurance Scheme 1976. The Central Board of Trustees (CBT) through Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) administers the schemes. The CBT(EPF) is a tripartite body headed by the Hon’ble Union Minister of Labour and Employment. Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has approximately 43 million subscriber enrolled in the three schemes. Employees Provident Fund Organisation provides various services ranging from collection of members’ contribution from establishments to maintenance of members’ accounts to actual disbursement of money under various defined benefit plans to members and their nominees.

Labour

747

EMPLOYEES PROVIDENT FUND SCHEME, 1952

The Employees Provident Fund Scheme, 1952 provides financial security to the employees in an establishment by providing a system of compulsory savings. The scheme covers the employees getting wages not exceeding Rs. 6500 per month. From 01.11.1990 onwards the employee becomes the member of the Fund from the date of joining the factory/establishment. As on 31 st March 2008, total number of establishment and factories covered were 532702 in which total membership was 449.19 lakh. During the year 2007-2008, 61024 new establishments and factories enrolling 18.43 lakh new members were brought under the purview of the Act. THE EMPLOYEES’ PENSION SCHEME, 1995

The Employees’ Pension Scheme, 1995 came into effect from 16th November 1995 and aims at providing for economic sustenance during old age and survivorship coverage. The new entrants to the membership of Provident fund from 16.11.95 will also acquire membership of the Scheme on compulsory basis. On the introduction of EPS 95 the erstwhile Employees’ Family Pension Scheme, 1971 ceased to operate and its existing members compulsorily became the members of the new Scheme. A minimum of 10 years service is required for entitlement to pension. The total membership of EPS 95 as on 31 st march 2006 is 324 lakh out of which net addition during 2005-2006 is 12.4 lakh. The quantum of pension payable to a member shall correspond to the sum of pensionable service (i.e. service after 16.11.95) benefit and past service (i.e. service before 16.11.95) benefit. Total number of beneficiaries as on 31.03.2006 is 23.36 lakh. The Employees’ Pension Scheme, 1995 provides the following benefits to members and their families: l

Monthly member Pension

Permanent total disablement Pension

Return of Capital

Commutation up to 1/3 rd of pension amount

Widow/widower Pensioner

Children Pension

Orphan Pension

Disabled Children

Nominee Pension

Pension to dependent Father/Mother

The Scheme is financed by diversion of 8.33% of wages from employer’s share of Provident fund contribution and Ce ntral Government contribution at the rate of 1.16% of the wage of the employee. The upper wage limit was raised from Rs. 5000 to Rs. 6500 with effect from 1st June 2001. As on 31.03.2008 the corpus stands at Rs. 94101.42 crore. THE EMPLOYEES’ DEPOSIT LINKED INSURANCE SCHEME, 1976

Another important social security measure, Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme, 1976, was introduced for members of the Employees’ Provident Fund and exempted Provident Funds with effect from 1st August, 1976. On the death of an employee, while in service, who is a member of the Employees’ Provident Fund or of the exempted Provident Fund, the persons entitled to receive the provident fund

748

India 2010

accumulations would be paid an additional amount equal to the average balance in the provident fund account of the deceased during the preceding 12 months. The maximum amount of benefit payable under the Scheme is Rs. 60000 and the employees do not have to make any contribution to it. EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING

To help the youth build their career, the Directorate General of Employment and Training (DGE&T) has evolved various training programmes. These are formulated within the national framework as far as possible and also in collaboration with foreign countries and financial assistance from GOI and World Bank etc. Craftsmen Training : Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) were set up all over the country to impart skills both in engineering and non-engineering trades to young men and women in the age group of 14-40 years. By 31.03.2009, 6906 such institutes with a total capacity of about 9.53 lakh were providing training to school leavers in the country. At present, 112 trades are covered under the scheme. The duration of the course varies from 6 months to 3 years for engineering and non-engineering trades. Educational qualifications for admission vary from eighth standard to 12 th standard depending upon the trades. Some State Governments and Union Territories have introduced training in certain trades to meet the requirements of local industries under the jurisdiction of state councils for vocational training. Apprenticeship Training Scheme : The Apprentices Act, 1961 makes it obligatory for employers in specified industries to engage apprentices for undergoing Apprenticeship Training, which varies from six months to four years. The training consists of basic training followed by on-the-job or shop floor training in accordance with standards prescribed by the Government in consultation with the Central Apprenticeship Council. Presently 188 trades are designated for trade apprentices and 2.5 lakhs seats located in establishments in central and state public sector & private sector. The Act was amended in 1973 to include training of graduate and diploma engineers as “Graduate” & “Technician” apprentices. The Act was again amended in 1986 to bring within its purview the training of 10+2 vocational stream as “Technician (Vocational)” apprentices. 114 subject fields have been designated for the category of graduate & technician apprentices and 102 for the category of technician (vocational) apprentices. 96,7474 seats are located for these categories. Women’s Vocational Training Programme: Vocational training facilities for women in the country are organized through a network of 370 women industrial training institutes and 818 women wings in general ITIs/private WITIs with a seating capacity of about 51,236 under the control of State Governments. National Council for Vocational Training has recommended that in general ITIs upto 25-30 per cent of the sanctioned seats may be reserved for women candidates. These seats could be filled up based on general reservation policy of each of the State/UT. Under the Vocational Training programme, managed directly by the Central Government and a National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) for Women, NOIDA as an apex centre ten Regional Vocational Training Institutes (RVTIs) for Women at Mumbai, Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Hisar, Kolkata, Tura, Allahabad, Indore, Vadodara and Jaipur have been set up with an intake capacity of 3568 in basic, advanced and instructional skills. Besides this, short-term courses are also organized as per availability of infrastructure facilities. Till March, 2009 about 67,246 women have been trained in these institutes since inception.

Labour

749

Craft Instructors Training: Advanced Training Institutes (ATIs) at Howrah, Mumbai, Kanpur, Ludhiana and Hyderabad and Central Training Institute for Instructors at Chennai were established in 1960s to train instructor trainees in the techniques of imparting industrial skills, who in turn train and make available skilled manpower for industry. These institutes with a seating capacity of 1099 offer a series of one-year courses, which provide comprehensive training, both in skill development and principles of teaching. Refresher courses are also conducted to update and upgrade the knowledge and skill of the instructors and keep them abreast of technological developments in industry. Facilities for training of instructors in some selected special trades continue to be available in farm mechanic trades at ATI, Ludhiana and Mechanic Machine Tool Maintenance Trade at ATI Kanpur, Howrah and Ludhiana where seats for scheduled caste and scheduled tribe candidates are reserved as per the Central government norms. A course on Principles of Teaching of three months' duration has been introduced in 11 institutes to train large number of untrained instructors. Advanced Vocational Training Scheme: Advanced Vocational Training Scheme was launched in October 1977 for training of highly skilled workers and technicians in a variety of advanced and sophisticated skills not available for other vocational training programmes. Regular full time courses of two to 12 weeks duration are offered under the Scheme in a variety of advanced skill areas. The Scheme was introduced in six advanced training institutes located at Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Kanpur, Ludhiana, Chennai and 16 selected industrial training institutes under 15 State Governments. These institutes were modernized to conduct various advanced courses under the Scheme as per requirement of the local industry. National Instructional Media Institute (NIMI): National Instructional Media Institute (NIMI), Chennai has been set up to make available well prepared Instructional material for the use of the trainees and trainers in (i) Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and (ii) Industries and establishments implementing the Apprenticeship Training programme. The institute develops Instructional Media Packages (IMPs) comprising Written Instructional Material, Transparencies & Charts for different trades. So far, the following work has been done:IMPs for 22 trades have been developed in English of which 174 books covering 22 trades have been published. Books for allied subjects and supporting materials have also been published. l IMPs for 13 trades have been translated in Hindi of which 70 books have been

published. l IMPs for 12 trades have been translated in Tamil of which 55 books have been

published. l IMPs for 3 trades have been translated in Telugu of which 6 books have been

published. l IMPs for 6 trades have been translated in Kannada of which 26 books have

been published. l IMPs for 5 trades have been translated in Bengali of which 13 books have been

published. l IMPs for 8 trades have been translated in Marathi of which 26 books have been

published.

750

India 2010

l IMPs for 1 trades have been translated in Oriya of which 4 books have been

published. CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE (CoE ) : l IMPs for 10 sectors been developed in English of which 31 books covering 7

sectors have been published. l 29 books covering 5 sectors are ready for publication. l 70 titles have been translated into Hindi and 6 other regional languages.

MODULAR EMPLOYABLE SKILLS (MES): IMPs for 235 courses have been developed in English of which 134 books have been published and 101 titles are ready for publication. l Instructional materrial for 218 courses has been developed in English. l Question Banks have been developed for 259 courses. l Terminal competencies have been developed for 349 courses. l Video Instructional Programme has been developed for 40 courses. l 32 titles have been translated and published into Hindi and other regional

languages. FOREMEN TRAINING/SUPERVISORY TRAINING Training programmes for supervisors/foremen for industry are organized at two Foremen Training Institutes located at Bangaluru and Jamshedpur. CENTRAL STAFF TRAINING AND RESEARCH INSTITUTE The Government in collaboration with the Government of Republic of Germany has set up the Central staff Training and Research Institute, Kolkata in 1968. The Institute has three wings - Training, Research and Development. The Training wing provides training to the executives and administrators of vocational and industrial training in the country. The Research wing conducts problem-oriented studies on different aspects of vocational training and the Development Wing is to develop and disseminate instructional material and, aid/model for effective execution of industrial training. INITIATIVES UNDERTAKEN IN THE RECENT PAST Upgradation of 500 Existing ITIs into Centers of Excellence: The objective of the scheme is to upgrade the existing 100 ITIs with the help of domestic funding into â&#x20AC;&#x153;Centers of Excellence (CoE)â&#x20AC;? for producing multi-skilled workforce of world standard. The highlights of the scheme are introduction of multiskilling courses during the first year, followed by advanced/specialized modular courses subsequently by adopting industry wise cluster approach, multi-entry and multiexit provisions, and Public-Private-Partnership in the form of Institute Management Committee (IMC) to ensure greater & active involvement of industry in all aspects of training. Curricula of 219 modules covering 21 sectors have been developed and finalized. As regards, upgradation of remaining 400 ITIs with World Bank assistance, the agreement with World Bank was signed on 2nd Nov. 2007 (made effective from 17th December 2007). World Bank is providing a credit of the amount of US $280 million. So far, 400 ITIs have been taken up for upgradation. The remaining 1396 Government ITIs are being upgraded through Public private Partnership (PPP).

Labour

751

Establishment of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in North-Eastern States and Sikkim and the State of Jammu & Kashmir : A hundred per cent centrally sponsored scheme for upgrading the 37 existing ITIs in the State of Jammu and Kashmir and for setting up of new Women ITI at Jammu has been taken up during the financial year 2005-06. After the scheme is fully implemented, it would result in an increase of 1836 training seats in the State. A hundred per cent centrally sponsored scheme for the North Eastern states including Sikkim, with a total outlay of Rs.100 crores, for establishing 22 new ITIs and upgrading 35 existing ITIs have been completed. In addition, 3 ITIs - 2 in Sikkim and 1 in the State of Assam are being established with an additional amount of Rs. 13.70 crores. This component of the scheme will continue till 31.03.2010. This has resulted in doubling the seating capacity in ITIs from 7244 to 16,144. UPGRADATION OF 1396 GOVERNMENT ITIs THROUGH PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP In the Budget Speech 2007-08, Hon'ble Union Finance Minister announced upgradation of 1396 Government ITIs into Centres of Excellence through Public Private Partnership. In pursuance of this announcement a scheme " Upgradation of 1396 Government ITIs through Public Private Partnership" has been formulate with a total outlay of Rs. 3550 crores (Rs. 3490 crore for upgradation of 1396 Govt. ITIs @ Rs. 2.5 crore per ITI and Rs 60 crore for management, monitoring and evaluation of the scheme) to improve the employment outcome of ITI graduates from the vocational training system, by making design and delivery of training more demand responsive. Under the Scheme an Industry Partner is associated with each ITI to lead the process of upgradation. The Industry Partner is selected by the State Government in consultation with the Industry Associations. An Institute Management Committee (IMC) is constituted/ reconstituted for each selected ITI (it consists of Industry Partner or his representative, as the Chairperson, four members from local industry are nominated by the Industry Partner, five members are nominated by the State Government and Principal, ITI, as ex-officio member Secretary). The IMC is registered by the State Government as a Society under Societies Registration Act. The interest free loan of upto Rs. 2.5 crores is given by the Central Government directly to the IMC based on the Institute Development Plan (IDP) prepared under the leadership of Industry Partner. The IMC is given financial and academic autonomy to manage the affairs of the ITI. The IMC is also allowed to determine 20% of the admissions in the ITI. The State Government will remain the owner of the ITI and will continue to regulate admissions and fees except 20% of the admissions which are allowed to be determined by the IMC. The interest free loan shall be payable in equal annual installments over a period of 20 years. The IMC may generate revenue by running production-service centers, short terms courses, providing consultancy services, etc, National Implementation Cell and State Implementation Cell is set up at Central and State level to implement the Scheme. The Scheme is monitored by National Steering Committee and State Steering Committee at Central and State levels having adquate representation from Industry Associations. An amount of Rs. 1500 Cr. has been released @ Rs. 2.5 crore to each IMC Society of ITI as interest free loan for upgradation of 600 ITIs during 2007-08 and 2008-09. The third batch of 300 ITI is being taken up for upgradatio n during 2009-10.

752

India 2010

SKILL DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE A new scheme â&#x20AC;&#x201C; â&#x20AC;&#x153;Skill Development Initiativeâ&#x20AC;? for imparting vocational training/ testing of competencies to one million persons over a period of five years by imparting short-term training courses with an outlay of Rs.550 crore has been taken up. Hon'ble Minister of Finance during the budget speech 2005-06 made the following announcement: "To meet the demand for specific skills of a high order, a Public Private Partnership between Government and Industry is proposed to promote skills development Programme under the name "Skill Development Initiative'..." Accordingly, Ministry of Labour & Employment in pursuance of excellence in vocational training has developed a new strategic framework for skill development for early school leavers and existing workers in close consultation with industry, State Governments and experts, Implementation of the SDI scheme was operationalised from May, 2007. The objectives of the scheme are:l

To provide vocational training to school leavers, existing workers, ITI graduates, etc. to improve their employability by optimally utilizing the infrastructure available in Govt., private institutions and the Industry. Existing skills of the persons can also be tested and certified under this scheme.

To build capacity in the area of development of competency standards, course curricula, learning material and assessment standards in the country.

Demand driven short term training courses based on Modular Employable Skills (MES) decided in consultation with industry. MES is the 'minimum Skills set' which is sufficient for gainful employment.

Central government facilitates and promotes training while industry, private sector and State Governments train the persons.

Optimum utilization of existing infrastructure to make training cost effective.

Flexible delivery mechanism (part time, weekends, full time, onsite/ offsite) to suit needs of various target groups.

Different levels of programmes (Foundation level as well as skill upgradation) to meet demands of various target groups.

The services of existing or retired faculty or guest faculty is utilized.

Courses are available for persons having completed 5th standards.

Testing & certification of skills acquired informally.

Testing of skills of trainees by independent assessing bodies, which are not involved in training delivery, to ensure that it is done impartially.

The essence of the scheme is in the certification that is nationally and internationally recognized.

ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN l

436 Modules for employable skills covering 40 sectors have been developed.

22 Assessing Bodies have been empanelled for conducting assessment.

IL&FS have been appointed Consultant for development of Web based software for implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the scheme.

Labour

753

More than 1,75,000 persons have been trained/ tested (since inception).

3963 Vocational Training Providers (VTPs) registered.

Guidelines for selection of VTPs have been approved and circulated to State Governments for Implemenation.

EMPLOYMENT Employment in the organized sector, i.e., in all public sector and nonagricultural establishments employing 10 or more persons in private sector increased marginally from 264.58 lakh in March 2005 to 269.93 lakh in March 2006 recording an increase of 0.1 per cent. The increase in private sector employment during 2006-07 was 4.2 per cent. NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT SERVICE The national Employment Service (NES) has a network of 965 employment exchanges/University Employment Information and Guidance Bureau (UEIGBx) as on August 2008. The Employment Exchanges assist all employment seekers including special groups like handicapped, ex-servicemen, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, women, etc. through placement against jobs notified by employers. NES also carries out other functions such as vocational guidance and employment counselling, coordination and dissemination of employment market information and conducts studies in the field of employment and occupational research with a view to generate data for framing employment and manpower policies. Under the Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies), Act, 1959, it is obligatory for all establishments in public sector and such of those non-agricultural establishments in private sector which employ 25 or more workers to notify their vacancies (with certain exemptions) to Employment Exchanges and supply periodic information as prescribed in the Act and the rules there under. Development of these programmes at the national level, particularly in the area of evolving common policies, laying down common standards and procedures, training of officers and evaluation of the programmes is the responsibility of the Central Government. The day-to-day administration of the Employment Exchanges on the other hand, rests with the State Governments/UT Administrations. There are 43 special Employment Exchanges for physically handicapped. Twenty vocational rehabilitation centers provide a comprehensive package of rehabilitation services to the physically challenged. Vocational guidance: Vocational and Employment Counselling services are provided to youth (applicants without any experience) and adults (with specific work experience). Such units were functioning in 392 Employment Exchanges as on March, 2007. In addition, University Employment Information and Guidance Bureaux are functioning in 82 Universities. These units assist applicants and youth in planning their career. A special scheme operates in 22 selected districts to motivate and guide job seekers to take up self-employment. SC/ST Job Seekers: Coaching-cum-Guidance Centers for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes provide registration guidance, pre-submission guidance, confidence building training, pre-recruitment training and special coaching in typing and shorthand to job-seekers.

754

India 2010

Mass Communication

THE Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, through the mass communication media consisting of radio, television, films, press and print publications, advertising and traditional modes of communication such as dance and drama, plays an effective role in helping people have access to free flow of information. The Ministry is involved in facilitating the entertainment needs of various age groups and focusing attention of the people on issues of national integrity, environmental protection, health care and family welfare, eradication of illiteracy and issues relating to women, children minority and other disadvantaged sections of the society. The Ministry is divided into 4 wings i.e. the Information Wing, the Broadcasting Wing, the Films Wings and the Integrated Finance Wing. The Ministry functions through its 24 media units/ attached & subordinate offices, autonomous bodies and PSUs. The Information Wing under the Additional Secretary (Policy & Administration) handles policy matters of the print and press media and publicity requirements of the Government. This Wing also looks after the general administration of the Ministry. The Broadcasting Wing under Joint Secretary (Broadcasting) handles matters relating to the electronic media. It formulates policies and frames rules and regulations for this Sector, which include public service broadcasting, operation of cable television, private television channels, FM and Community Radio etc. The Film Wing under Joint Secretary (Films) handles matters relating to the Film Sector. It is involved in the production and distribution of documentary films, development and promotional activities relating to the film industry including training, organization of film festivals, import and export regulations, etc. The Integrated Finance Wing, under AS & FA looks after the financial aspects of the Ministry including budget, Plan Coordination and O & M activities. AS & FA is assisted by Economic Advisor.

PRASAR

BHARATI

Prasar Bharati is the public service broadcaster in the country, with All India Radio and Doordarshan as its two constituents. It came into existence on 23 November 1997, with a mandate to organise and conduct public broadcasting services to inform, educate and entertain people and to ensure balanced development of broadcasting on radio and television. The major objectives of the Prasar Bharati Corporation, as laid out in the Prasar Bharati Act, 1990, are as follows: i) Upholding the unity and integrity of the country and the values enshrined in the Constitution; ii) Promoting national integration, iii) Safeguarding citizenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rights and to be informed on all matters of public interest and presenting a fair and balanced flow of information; iv) Paying special attention to the fields of education and spread of literacy, agriculture, rural development, health and family welfare and science and technology; v) Creating awareness about womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s issues and taking special steps to protect the interests of children, the aged and other vulnerable sections of society; vi) Providing adequate coverage to the diverse cultures, sports and games and youth affairs; vii) Promoting social justice, safeguarding the rights of working classes, minorities and tribal communities; and viii) Expanding

Mass

Communication

755

broadcasting facilities and promoting research and development in broadcast technology. Headquartered in Delhi, the Corporation is governed by the Prasar Bharati Board, which comprises a Chairman/Executive Member (also known as Chief Executive Officer), a Member, a representative of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Directors General of All India Radio and Doordarshan as exofficio Members. The Chairman is a part-time member with a six-year tenure. The Executive Member, the Member (Finance) and the Member (Personnel) are wholetime members with a six-year tenure, subject to the age limit of sixty two years. ALL INDIA RADIO Radio Broadcasting started in India in the early 1920â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. The first programme was broadcast in 1923 by the Radio club of Bombay. This was followed by setting up Broadcasting Services in 1927 with two privately-owned transmitters at Bombay and Calcutta. The Government took over the transmitters in 1930 and started operating them under the name of Indian Broadcasting Service. It was changed to All India Radio (AIR) in 1936 and it came to be known as Akashvani from 1957. ORGANISATIONAL

SET UP

The Directorate General, All India Radio functions under the Prasar Bharati. The Prasar Bharati Board functions at the apex level ensuring formulation and implementation of the policies of the organisation and fulfillment of the mandate in terms of the Prasar Bharati. Act, 1990. The Executive member functions as a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Corporation subject to the control and supervision of the Board. The CEO, the Member (Finance) and the Member (Personnel) perform their functions from Prasar Bharati headquarers at 2nd Floor, PTI Building - Parliament Street, New Delhi-110001. All important policy matters relating to Finance, Administration and Personnel are submitted to CEO and the Board through the Member (Finance) and Member (Personnel) as required, for the purpose of advice, implementation of proposals and decisions thereon. Officers from different streams working in the Prasar Bharati Secretariat assist the CEO, Member (Finance) and Member (Personnel) in integrating action, operations, plans and policy implementation as well as to look after the budget, accounts and general financial matters of the Corporation. Prasar Bharati also has a unified vigilance set up at the headquarters, headed by a Chief Vigilance Officer. The Director General of All India Radio is headed by the Director General. He functions in close association with the Member (Finance) and Member (Personnel) and the CEO in carrying out the day to day affairs of AIR. In AIR there are broadly five different Wings responsible for distinct activities viz, Programme, Engineering. Administration, Finance and News. PROGRAMME

WING

The Director General is assisted by Deputy Directors Generals in the Headquarters and Deputy Directors Generals in the regions for a better supervision of the stations. The Headquarters of the Regional DDGs are situated at Kolkata (ER), Mumbai and Ahmedabad (WR), Lucknow (CR-I) Bhopal (CR-II) and Guwahati (NER). Chennai SR-I), Bangaluru (SR-II), Delhi (NR-I), Chandigarh (NR-II). A new DDG office is prapared to be opened at Ahmedabad (WR-IE)

756

India 2010

ENGINEERING WING In respect of technical matters of All India Radio, The Director General is assisted by the Engineer-in-Chief and Chief Engineers posted in the headquarters and the zonal Chief Engineers. In addition, there is a Planning and Development Unit in the Headquarters to assist the Director General in respect of Development Plan Scheme of All India Radio. In respect of Civil Construction activities, the Director General is assisted by the Civil Construction Wing, which is headed by a Chief Engineer, CCW who also caters to the needs of Doordarshan. ADMINISTRATIVE

WING

A Dy. Director General (Administration) assists the Director General on all matters of administration while Dy. Director General (Programme) assists DG in administration of Programme personnel. A Director looks after the Engineering Administration of All India Radio, while another Director (Admin. & Finance) assists DG in matters of administration and finance. SECURITY WING The Director General is assisted by a Deputy Director General (Security) Asstt. Director General (Security) and a Dy. Director (Security) on matters connected with the security and safety of AIR installations, transmitters, studios, offices etc. AUDIENCE RESEARCH WING There is a Director, Audience Research to assist the Director General in carrying out surveys of audience research on the programmes broadcast by various station of All India Radio. ACTIVITIES OF SUBORDINATE OFFICES OF AIR There are a number of subordinate offices of All India Radio performing distinct functions, Broad activities, in brief, are given below. NEWS SERVICES DIVISION News Services Division works round the clock and broadcasts over 620 news bulletins both in the home and external services. The bulletins are in Indian and Foreign languages. It is headed by Director General. News Service. There are 45 regional News Units. The bulletins vary from region to region according to news interest. EXTERNAL SERVICE DIVISION External Services Division of All India Radio broadcasts in 16 foreign and 11 Indian languages for approx. 72 hours in a day covering more than 100 countries. TRANSCRIPTION & PROGRAMME EXCHANGE SERVICE This service looks after exchange of programmes among the stations, building and maintenance of sound archives and commercial release of prestigious recondings of music maestros. RESEARCH DEPARTMENT The functions of the Research Department include Research and Development of equipment required by AIR and Doordarshan, investigation and studies relating to AIR and Doordarshan, Development of Prototype models of R&D equipment for limited use field trials in the network of AIR and Doordarshan.

Mass

Communication

757

CENTRAL STORE OFFICE The Central Store Office located at New Delhi performs functions relating to procurement, stocking and distribution of engineering stores required for the maintenance of technical equipment at All India Radio Stations. STAFF TRAINING INSTITUTE (PROGRAMME) The Staff Training Institute (Programme) started with Directorate since 1948 has presently two main branches functioning from Kingsway Camp, Delhi and Bhubaneshwar. It imparts in service training to programme Personnel and Administrative Staff and induction course for the newly recruited staff and short duration refresher courses. It conducts examinations for administrative staff. In addition, at present five Regional Training Institutes at Hyderabad, Shillong, Lucknow, Ahmedabad and Thiruvananthapuram are working. STAFF TRAINING INSTITUTE (TECHNICAL) The Staff Training Institute (Technical), part of the Directorate since 1985, now functions at Kingsway Camp, Delhi. The Institute organizes Training Courses for the engineering staff of All India Radio and Doordarshan from the level of Technician to the Superintending Engineer. It also conducts Departmental Qualifying and Competitive Examinations. There is one regional staff training institute (Technical) at Bhubaneswar. CBS CENTRES & VIVIDH BHARATI There are 40 Vividh Bharati cum Commercial Broadcasting Service (CBS) Centres including 3 Exclusive VB Centres, The work relating to CBS is performed in two wings i.e., Sales and Production. A separate independent office known as Central Sales Unit along with 15 main CBS Centres looks after marketing of broadcasting time. There are two more Vividh Bharati Centres at Varanasi and Kochi. RADIO STATIONS All India Radio, since independence, has become one of the largest broadcasting networks in the world. At the time of independence largest broadcasting networks in the world. At the time of independence there were six radio stations and 18 transmitters (6 MW & 12 SW), which covered 11% population and 2.5% area of the country. Today, there are 232 AIR stations and a network of 374 transmitters (149 MW, 54 SW & 171 FM) which provides coverage to 99.16% of the population spread over 91.82% area of the country. There are 32 uplink stations (Captive Earth Stations) in the country. Activities undertaken during the year 1.

FM Transmitters at Leh (J&K) was commissioned.

Existing 100 KW MW Transmitter at Najibabad has been replaced by a 200 KW MW transmitter incorporating state-of-the art technology.

As a part of J&K special Package for boosting border coverage, new Station with 1 KW MW Transmitter at Padum in Kargil region was commissioned.

Digital Captive Earth Stations at Leh, Varanasi, Rohtak, & Aurangabad were commissioned. New Uplink stations at Dehradun and Silchar are under implementation

758

India 2010

Direct to Home (DTH) Service through the Ku Band of Prasar Bharati. 21 Radio channels including Radio Kashmir are now available country wide through the Ku band DTH platform of Prasar Bharati (DD+), benefiting the listeners all over India.

AIR News-on-Phone Service: 'AIR News' is also available on phone. The listeners can listen on telephone latest new highlights in Hindi and English by just dialing a specific telephone number at any time from anywhere in the world. AIR 'News on Phone Service' is now available at 14 places. i.e. Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Patna, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Bangaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, Imphal, Lucknow, Raipur, Guwahati, and Shimla.

NEW INITIATIVES Digitalisation: All India Radio is laying thrust on modernization and Digitalization of existing network. Digitalization of programme production facilities, uplink & downlink facilities is in progress to ensure good quality convergence-ready content, which will also support interactive radio. This will be followed by Digitalization of transmitters. l

Computer Hard Disc based recording, editing and playback system was available at 76 AIR Stations. During the year, 61 more AIR stations were equipped with this facility. Provision of Hard Disc Based System at 48 major stations of All India Radio is also currently in progress.

Phase-II of North East Package Phase-II of special Package was improvement and expansion of AIR set up in North East region including Sikkim and Island territories is under implementation. The package includes: (i) I KW FM station - 19 Nos. 1. Arunachal Pradesh : Daporjio, Anini, Bomdila, Changlang, Khonsa

2. Assam

: Karimganj, Lumding, Goalpara

3. Manipur

: Ukhral, Tamenglong

4. Meghalaya

: Cherrapunjee in lieu of Dawki

5. Mizoram

: Tuipang, Cheraphai, Kolosib

6. Nagaland

: Wokha, Zunheboto, Phek

7. Tripura

: Udaipur, Nutan Bazar

Out of 19 numbers of FM stations with 1 KW FM transmitters, sites have been taken over at ten places at Bomdila, Changlang, Khonsa, Daponjo, Goalpara, Champhai, Tuipang, Nutan Bazar, Udayapur and Tamenglong, Sites at Kolasib Karimganj and Phek are being handed over shortly by State Government. (ii) Silchar 5 KW FM transmitter and Gangtok-10 KW FM transmitter - Civil works are in progress and FM transmitters are under procurement. (iii) 100 W FM relay centres at 100 places - List of places has been finalized. Installation is complete at 15 places and at other places it is expected to be completed during the current year. (iv) Chinsurah - 1000 KW MW transmitter - Order placed.

Mass

Communication

759

(v) Kavaratti- 10 KW MW transmitter - Procurement of transmitter is under process. (vi) Digital Satellite News Gathering Systems/MSS terminals - Procurement of Equipment is under process. Implementation of Phase II is likely to be completed by 2009-10. Case of Chinsura and Kavaratti is under litigation. Computerization of AIR stations and offices is in progress to facilitate online exchange of information and improvement of efficiency. Permanent Studios with digital equipment & Compterised Hard Disc Based work stations for recording, dubbing, editing & playback facilities etc. are being provided at AIR Leh, Mysore, Jaipur & Tawang. Activities of AIR Resources AIR has started AIR Resources as one of its commercial arm to provide consultancy and turn-key solutions in the field of broadcasting. Its present activities include the following: l

It is providing turn-key solutions to IGNOU in setting up FM Transmitters for their Gyan-Vani station at 40 places in the country. Infrastructure like land, building and tower has also been leased out to Gyan-Vani stations.

26 Gyan-Vani stations are already operational and their operation and maintenance has also been undertaken.

Infrastructure i.e. land, building and tower has also been given on rental/ license fee basis too private broadcasters at 4 cities for 10 FM Channels as part of Phase-I scheme of the Ministry of I&B. Agreement for sharing of this infrastructure under Phase-II of the scheme proposed in 87 cities for 245 FM channels has been signed with all the private broadcasters. Agreement has also been signed with private broadcasters for setting up of Interim set ups in six cities i.e. Delhi, Kolkata, Bangaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Jaipur, Infrastructure has also been rented out to Mobile Service Operators.

AIR Resources has earned revenue of about Rs. 46.40 crores during the year 2007-08. Revenue earned during the period 1st April.08 to 31st October,08 is Rs. 13.15 crores.

Research & Development The Research Department is engaged in Research and Development work for incorporating state-of-the-art technology in Radio & Television Broadcasting. It is a premier National R&D institute involved in broadcast engineering. Following activities were undertaken during the year. Achievements during the period April 2008 to March 2009 (i)

Telemetry System for Medium Wave Transmitters

(ii)

Development of high power FM transmitting antenna for power rating 20 KW to 40 KW has been undertaken.

(iii)

Propagation studies and investigation extensive reception survey of AIR and foreign transmitters in MW, SW and FM band and propagation study to investigate the shrinkage (if any) in the coverage area in medium Wave (MW) transmitters during day time.

760

India 2010

(iv)

Acoustic Test & Measurement of AIR stations, testing and evaluation (NRC, STC, FIIC etc) of acoustic materials including evaluation of electro-acoustic transducers viz, microphones and speakers in accordance with existing national and international standards.

(v)

Experiment Digital Radio Transmission (DRM) for delivering digital quality multiple audio channels. As a pilot project, a 250 KW SW transmitter available at High Power Transmitters, Khanpur, Delhi was modified for DRM transmission.

(vi)

Telemetry system for FM Transmitters of Remote Control & Monitoring of 10 KW FM transmitter installed at Shankracharya hills, Srinagar.

(vii) Multilingual News Automation System for Regional News Units of AIR for integration of news received through World Space receiver and VSAT receive terminal. Activities from the period January 2008 to March 2009 The following work/projects are envisaged during this period : (i)

Experimental Digital Radio Transmission (DRM)

(ii)

Emergency Warning Broadcast System (EWBS)

(iii)

FM Telemetry System

NEWS SERVICES DIVISION Key Developments l

Launch of 102 additional FM Headline Bulletins from, 15 AIR stations across the country.

Introduction of 8 additional regional news bulletins.

Extension of duration of 3 regional news bulletins.

Launching of 4 new news based programmes on FM Gold from Delhi.

Organizing All India RNU Heads Conference in Delhi in July, 2008.

Making available news updates through SMS.

Coverage of all important events and VVIP visits.

Coverage of State Assembly Elections of 10 States

The News Services Division, NSD, made a significant progress during the year 2008-09 with regard to expansion of news and News based programmes. With a view to meet the information needs of the masses in regional languages, NSD undertook many news expansion initiatives during the year and has plans to take many more initiatives in the remaining period of the 11th plan. 16 additional FM headline bulletins were started in November 2008 from four places. Earlier in July 2008, 86 additional FM Headline bulletins were introduced from 12 places across the country. With these the total number of FM headline bulletins increased to 294 from 36 places. Multi-mode News Dissemination NOP: News on Phone, NOP is very popular service. The news in updated every hour and listener from any place or part of India can access brief news in English, Hindi &

Mass

Communication

761

Regional language at any time. At present, this News on Phone (NoP) service is available from 14 places i.e. Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Guwahati, Imphal, Hyderabad, Bangaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, Patna, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Raipur and Shimla. In view of the popular response evoked by this service, it has been gradually expanded to new cities in last few years. This service will be further extended to 30 more places in the country under 11th plan. This service is on revenue sharing basis with BSNL/MTNL. Website: Latest news in various categories i.e. National, International, Regional, Business, Sports, Science & Technology and Art & Culture can be accessed through NSD. Website (www:newsonair.com). Audio of all national bulletins, 40 regional bulletins from 22 Regional News Units (RNUs) in 14 regional languages, 32 language bulletins in 13 languages from NSD headquarters, four newly introduced news based programmes on FM Gold and various other news based programmes of primary channels are available on the website. SMS: National news headlines can now be accessed from any part of the country through SMS as well. This service was launched from Delhi in May, 2008 and has a very high potential. With the breaking of any news, the contents of SMS are updated. Listeners can now send their questions as well as their feedback to Market Mantra programme through SMS NSD has also plans to gradually introduce this service across the country for the regional news as well. PROGRAMME

ACTIVITIES

Regular publicity is being given to Governments Flagship Programme Covering 12 Themes viz. (1) Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (2) Mid-day Meal Scheme (3) Rajiv Gandhi Drinking Water Mission (4) Total Sanitation Campaign (5) National Rural Health Mission (6) Integrated Child Development Services (7) National Rural Employments Gurantee Scheme (8) Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. (9) Implementation of Scheduled Tribes And Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (10) Programmes For Minority Welfare (11) Programmes for Workers in Unorganized Sector and (12) Rehabilitation Policy and Law. A fortnightly report of action taken by various AIR Stations is being submitted to the CEO. Prasar Bharati.

Regular publicity is being given to National Common Minimum Programme on each of the following thrust area viz. 1. Employment Opportunities 2. Agriculture Growth 3. Education 4. Health 5. Women and Children 6. Food and Nutrition 7. Panchayti Raj 8. SCs and STs 9. Social harmony and Welfare of minorities 10. Industry 11. Infrastructure Development 12. Development of J & K, North East and Border States. Special mention can be made of the publicity given to schemes such as Employment Guarantee Scheme. etc., formulated by the various Central Ministers/Departments.

The year 2008 was declared as the Year of Planet Earth by UNESCO. Befitting the occasion, Prasar Bharati signed an MOU with Vigyan Prasar to broadcast a 52 episode science serial 'Dharti Meri Dharti' in 19 languages from 117 stations spread across the country from January to December, 2008.

Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture in English was organised in New Delhi on 13th October, 2008. Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Eminent Environmentalist delivered the lecture on the subject "Enlightened Governance for Sustainable

762

India 2010 Development'. Its recording was broadcast on national hook-up on 31 October, 2008 on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel. 5.

Dr. Rajendra Prasad Memorial Lecture in Hindi was organized at Koltaka on 22nd November, 2008. Dr. Kedarnath Singh, Eminent Poet delivered, the lecture on the subject 'Bhartiya Sahitya Kya Hai - Visheshtya Aaj Ki Kavita Ke Sandarbh Mein". Its recording was broadcast on the national hook-up on 3rd December, 2008 on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Dr Rajendra Prasad.

Sarva Bhasha Kavi Sammelan was held on 16 January, 2009 at Bhubaneshwar in which eminent poets of different Indian languages recited their poems.

Coverages l

Live broadcast of the inaugural of "The India's Global Agro Industries forum Summit 2008" addressed by The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh held at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi on 10 April 2008.

Live Broadcast of the Prime Minister's Address to the National Convention of the Chairpersons of the Zilla Parishads and the Intermediate Panchayats from Burari Ground, Delhi on 10.04.2008.

Radio Report on the Inaugural Session of the National Convention of the chairpersons of the Zilla Parishads and Intermediate Panchayats.

Broadcast of the recording of speech delivered by the Prime Minister. Dr. Manmohan Singh to the Joint Session of the National Assembly of Bhutan on 17.05.2008.

Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh's address to the Nation on 4.06.2008, (In the context of price hike of petroleum products)

Radio Report of the Balshree Award Function held at Rashtrapati Bhawan on 11.06.2008.

Direct relay of the Inagural Function of the South Asian Conference on Sanitation from Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on 18.11.2008.

Live broadcast of Inaugural Ceremony of 39th International Film Festival of India at Panji, Goa on 22.11.2008.

Live Running commentary on the funeral of the former Prime Minister Late Shri Vishwanath Pratap Singh from Allahabad on 29.11.2008.

Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh's Address to the Nation on 29.11.2008 (in the context of the Mumbai Terrorist attack).

State Assembly Elections Party Political Broadcasts were duly organised for the State Legislative Assembly. Elections for Karnataka (May, 2008) and Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Rajasthan and J&K (November-December, 2008) as per the Guidelines of the Election Commission of India. Special composite live programmes on results of the Karnataka State Legislative Assembly Elections for Delhi. Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Mizoram was broadcast on 08 December, 2008. Another such programme on the result of J&K State Legislative Assembly Elections was broadcast on 28 December, 2008.

Mass

Communication

763

Special Programmes / Coverages from January to March 2009 1.

Publicity to Agriculture Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme 2008 for farmers announced by the Union Finance Minister in his budget speech 2008-2009.

Coverage of Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas 2009 held at Chennai from 07 -09 January, 2009. (Curtain Raiser, Inaugural Session, Valedictory Session)

Direct relay of Thyagaraja Music Festival 2009 from Thiruvayyur 15 January, 2009.

Wide publicity to Integrated Low Cost Sanitation Schemes of M/o Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation.

Radio report on Birth Anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on 23 January, 2009.

President Smt. Pratibha Devi Singh Patil's address to the nation on 25 January, 2009, on the eve of Republic Day.

Recording of Sarvabhasha Kavi Sammelan organized by AIR broadcast on 25 January, 2009.

Direct Relay of the Republic Day Parade and Cultural Pageant form Rajpath on 26 January. 2009.

Direct relay of the last rites of the late former President Sh. R. Venkataraman from Ekta Sthal, New Delhi and tributes programmes in his memory on 27, 28 & 29 January, 2009.

10.

60th year of Indian Republic.

11.

Radio report on 61 Anniversary of Martyrdom day of Mahatma Gandhi on 30 January. 2009.

12.

National Girl Child Day - 24 January, 2009.

13.

Tribute programme in the memory of renowned Hindi Poet Late Sh. Sudeep Banerjee (11 February, 2009).

14.

Direct relay of President's address to the Joint Session of Parliament (12.02.09), Presentation of Interim Rail Budget (13.02.09) and Interim General Budget. (16.02.09).

15.

Direct Relay of unveiling ceremony of the statute of Chhatrapati Sahu Ji Maharaj in the Parliament House.

16.

Report on National Science Day on 28 February, 2009.

17.

Report on presentation ceremony of the Akashwani Annual Awards function 2009 held at Lucknow (28.02.09)

18.

Report on Central Industrial Security Force Raising Day function.

19.

Meteorological Day.

20.

National Productivity Week- 12-18 February, 2009. Theme 'Prosperity Through Productivity'.

21.

National Safety Day, 4 March, 2009

22.

Live Phone in programmes. Topics covered were 'Right To Information Act' (19.01.09). 'Women's Rights' (02.03.09). 'Consumer Rights' (09.03.09).

764

India 2010

23.

1st March, 2009 International Children's Day of Broadcasting. Theme of the year. 'Unite For Children Tune Into Kids'.

24.

IMPCC - Core Committee on Price Rise, etc.

25.

Special programmes on Rights of Persons with disabilities, training programmes, participation in cultural recreation, liaison and reports.

26.

AAM ADMI BIMA YOJNA - media strategy.

27.

Publicity of task force for giving recommendation on the subject of convergence and coordination of Government programmes for gender equality and fighting social evils.

28.

Bharat Mein Hai Vishwas (Developmental activities)

Sports AIR has provided appropriate and effective coverage to various National and International sporting events held in India and abroad viz. Asia Cup Cricket Series 2008 in Pakistan June - July. 08, India - Sri Lanka Cricket Series - 2008 in Sri Lanka July - August, 08, India - England ODI Cricket Series - 2008 in India November, 2008. AIR has also broadcast the Torch Rally of Beijing Olympics - 2008 at Beijing from 8.8.2008 to 23.8.2008. Curtain Raiser of Baton Relay of Commonwealth Youth Games 2008, Live coverage of Baton Relay of Commonwealth Youth Games 2008 from Delhi, Commonwealth Youth Games 2008 in Pune from 12.10.2008 to 18.10.2008. AIR has also provided extensive coverage to 6th Men's Junior Asia Cup Hockey - 2008 in Hyderabad, 25th Surjit Singh Hockey Memorial 2008 in Jalandhar. Asian Football Confederation Challenge Cup 2008 in Hyderabad and Delhi. 121st Durand Cup Football - 2008 in Delhi. AIR has also covered Delhi Half - marathon in Delhi & 23rd Pune International Marathon - 2008. During the period January to 31st March, 2009. AIR has provided appropriate and effective coverage to various National and International sports events like-113 Beighton Cup Hockey Tournament at Kolkata. Four Nation Punjab Gold Cup Hockey Tournament at Chandigarh and Chennai Open Tennis Championship. AIR has also broadcast ball-to-ball cricket commentary to India-New Zealand Cricket Series-2009 in New Zealand. Farm & Home Broadcasts The commitment of All India Radio to the rural audience dates back to more than 50 years. All stations of All India Radio broadcast Farm & Home programmes directed at rural audience. In fact, special programmes have been designed to cater to the dayto-day seasonal needs of the farming community. To broadcast the latest technology and information for agricultural output is a continuous process of its Farm & Home programme. These programmes not only provide information about agriculture but also create awareness about the ways and means to improve the quality of their lives. The programmes are broadcast daily in the morning, noon and evening. The average duration of Farm & Home broadcast is 60 to 100 minutes per day. Farm & Home programmes also include programmes for Rural Women, rural Children and Rural Youth.

Mass

Communication

765

The Farm & Home units of All India Radio broadcast composite programmes, which include equal segments of Rural Development Schemes and hardcore Agriculture Programmes. These programmes include hardcore agriculture subjects like animal husbandry, fisheries, agriculture related activities, dry & wasteland agriculture, and also talks about the employment schemes, loans, training facilities, sanitation, health-hygiene and nutrition etc. AIR has stepped up its Agriculture Broadcast with the launch of an exclusive project Mass Media Support to Agriculture Extension with the title Kisan Vani on AIR from 15th February, 2004 in collaboration with Ministry of Agriculture to inform local farmers about the daily market rates, weather reports and day to day activities in their area at micro level, Presently, Kisan Vani is being broadcast from 96 FM Stations of AIR. Health & family Welfare Programmes The themes covered in regular broadcast of health programmes are - raise in marriage age, delay the first child, space between two children, terminal methods, maternal care, child survival, women empowerment, promotion of inter-spouse communication male responsibility, neutralizing male preference syndrome, medical termination of pregnancy, promotion of institutional legal provisions. management of reproductive tract infections (RTI) and sexually transmitted infections (STI), Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act 1994, AIDs, drug abuse, breast feeding, child right, child labour, girl child, disability, T.B, leprosy and reproductive child health etc. Red Ribbon Express National AIDs Control Organization launched the Red Ribbon Express train carrying messages on HIV/AIDs which traversed 180 stations across the country. All India Radio has given vide publicity and coverage to the campaign to mobilize listeners to visit the train. News bulletins highlighted the issue and special programmes were mounted to increase the knowledge and awareness among the masses. Women Programmes These programmes cover subjects related to socio-economic development of women, health and family welfare, food and nutrition, scientific home management, women entrepreneurship, education. including adult education, women empowerment, gender issues etc. These programmes also aim at creating social awareness about the rights and privileges of women through the propagation of legal literacy. All India Radio strives, through its programmes, to raise the social consciousness of the country in regard to attitude towards women. Different traditional folk forms are used to communicate specially with the rural women audience. International Women's Day/Week is observed in March every year with special women's programmes, discussions and talks. Children's Programmes All AIR Stations broadcast programmes for children on regular basis. In the programmes addressed to women and general audiences, stress has been laid on programmes regarding health and care of mother as well as children. Programmes dealing with immunization, primary health and education form a regular part of our broadcasts.

766

India 2010

Programmes are planned keeping in mind the following action points: 1 . Protection of rights of children, specially, regarding child labour. 2 . Care and support to disabled children. 3 . Care and support to children under difficult circumstances. 4 . Equal status of girls and equal rights to girls. 5 . Universal access to basic education to children and more attention of girl's education. 6 . Awareness towards eco-friendliness. 7 . Providing safe and supportive environment to children. 8 . Improvement in the economic condition of family and self reliant society. 9 . National and International cooperation for better future of a child. 1 0 .Safe drinking water facility and sanitary means of excreta disposal. Special programmes focusing on the status and importance of the girl child in various formats such as discussion, compering, talks, short stories, jingles, spots, etc. are being broadcast on a continuous basis at regular intervals, throughout the year to create social awareness. Children's Day is celebrated on November 14th every year with special children activities; stage shows and invited audience programmes. EXTERNAL SERVICES DIVISION (ESD) External Services Division of All India Radio ranks high among the External Radio networks of the world both in reach and range, covering about 100 countries in 27 languages. AIR through its external broadcasts, aims to keep the overseas listeners in touch with the ethos of India. The languages in which AIR reaches its foreign audience are English, French, Russian, Swahili, Arabic, Persian, Pushtu, Dari, Baluchi, Sinhalese, Nepali, Tibetan, Chinese, Thai, Burmese and Indonesian. The services in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Gujarati are directed at overseas Indians, while those in Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Sairaki, Kannada and Bengali are meant for listeners in the Indian Sub-continent. The three major services of External Services Division are (a) The General Overseas Service (GOS) in English, (b) AIR External Service in Hindi and (c) AIR External Service in Urdu. The External Services broadcasts follow a composite pattern and generally comprise News and Current Affairs. Review of the Indian Press, Newsreel, Magazine Programmes on sports and literature documentaries and features, talks and discussions on social, cultural, economic, political and historic subjects, Music is also broadcast in good measures. The ESD also supplies recordings of music, spoken word and other programmes to about 25 foreign broadcasting organizations under the cultural exchange programme. During the period from 1st April, 2008 to 31st March, 2009, extensive coverage was given to all major National and International Conferences, seminars, symposia etc. in the form of commentaries, radio reports and interviews. Wide coverage was also given to the visits of various Heads of States, Governments and other Foreign Dignitaries to India like Sri Lankan Foreign Minister's visit, Prime Minister of Bhutan, Lyonchen Jigme Y. Thinley's first visit to India and WTO Chief Pascal Lamy's Delhi visit.

Mass

Communication

767

Wide coverage was given to President Pratibha Patil's visit to Latin American Nations, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh's visit to Japan for G-8 Summit and External Affairs Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee's visit to UAE, Pakistan and China. TRANSCRIPTION & PROGRAMME EXCHANGE SERVICE The Transcription Service was stared on 3rd April 1954 and entrusted with the main function of preparing transcription of speeches of all dignitaries with a special reference to the Prime Ministers and Presidents of the country. This office has the following functional units : a.

Central Archives

programme Exchange Unit (Internal & Foreign)

Transcription Unit

Refurbishing Unit

Digital Sound Archives

Commercial Release & Marketing

Central Tape Bank

Since April 2003 All India Radio central archive has been releasing music albums under the banner 'Akashvani Sangeet'. Till now, 59 albums have been released which include two albums of Shabad Kirtan titled 'Bani Guru Guru Hai Bani' to commemorate the tri-centenary celebrations of the Guru Granth Sahib. Marketing of these releases is mostly done in-house by AIR stations and some Marketing Divisions of Prasar Bharati. Sales counters are running in around fifty AIR stations for sales. Central Archives The Sound Archives of All India Radio can be called as the National Audio Archive of the nation as its is the treasure house of precious recordings of more than 15000 hours of duration containing music and spoken word recordings in different categories. It is the largest library of Indian Music recordings and it possesses more than 12000 tapes of Hindustani, Carnatic and various folk music traditions. The library preserves a separate collection of Mahatma Gandhi's speeches including the first and the last prayer speeches of Mahatma Gandhi recorded on 11th May 1947 at Sodepur Ashram. Calcutta and 29th January 1948 at Birla House, Delhi respectively. The only broadcast by Gandhiji from AIR Delhi on 12th November 1947 is also preserved. AIR Sound Archive preserves speeches of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru in 3000 analogue tapes. The library contains recordings of all the Presidents and Prime Ministers of India. Other important voice recordings of eminent personalities like Rabindranath Tagore, Subhas Chandra Bose, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Sardar Patel, Sarojini Naidu etc. have also been preserved. Apart from this, award-winning radio dramas, features, documentaries etc, and memorial lectures are available in the library. In the category of Radio Autobiography there are around 300 recordings of eminent personalities from various walks of life. People of eminence are identified and recorded by AIR stations. These recordings are forwarded to Central Archives for preservation.

768

India 2010

PROGRAMME EXCHANGE UNIT (i) Internal Programme Unit The main purpose of this unit is to exchange good quality programmes among the stations as per their requirements. In PEU library approx. 8000 tapes containing the recordings of music and spoken word programmes are preserved for this purpose. Besides, containing both music and spoken word items in different Indian language PEU library is also preserving the Language Lessons in Bengla, English, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Sanskrit, Tamil and Telugu. (ii) Foreign Programme Unit The Foreign Programme Unit co-ordinates the exchange of programmes, received from broadcasting organizations across the world. These programmes include wide spectra of topics ranging from Science, Current Affairs, Western Light, Classical, Western Pop and Rock to Women and Environment. This unit also coordinates the broadcast of SAARC Audio Visual Exchange (SAVE) Programmes in India. All the hues and shades of listeners' interest are covered in these programmes. Transcription Unit One of the main functions of this service is to transcribe the recording of speeches delivered by President and Prime Minister and preserve them in the form of volumes in chronological order. It is obligatory on the part of AIR stations to record all the speeches delivered in public functions by the President and Prime Minister. Tapes containing recording of speeches are received from various concerned AIR stations. The bound volumes of all transcription are prepared and kept in the archive. Refurbishing Unit The old recordings preserved in archives get accumulated with some additional noises from the atmospheric surroundings with passages of time. These noises are removed by refurbishing the tapes. In order to refurbish the vintage music recordings in Archives, this unit was installed some years back with the assistance of United Nations Development Programme. Hundreds of hours of recording of music and voices of Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru etc. were refurbished here. At present this unit takes care of the audio quality of the recording being released by AIR. Digital Sound Archives A special project was launched to digitize all Archival recordings in 2001 and the project was completed in 2005. By this Akashvani has become one of the major digital libraries in the broadcasting network with modern tape numbering system in tune with the internationally accepted norms. Programme transferred into digital medium are approximately 15900 hours, Break up of recordings transferred into the digital format is as follows: Prime Minister's speeches

3200 hours

President's speeches

1150 hours

Mahatma Gandhi

280 hours

Sardar Patel

35 hours

175 hours

Gurudev Tagore and recordings on Tagore

Mass

Communication

769

Radio autobiography

525 hours

Hindustani Classical

3000 hours

Carnatic Classical

1400 hours

Light Music

1000 hours

Folk Music

500 hours

At present the accessioning of the new digital library is completed. In the Second Phase of the digitalization, which began in 2008, approximately 500 hours of recordings have been digitized. There are approximately 5000 hours of programmes in analog tapes that are to be transferred to the digitized format in the Second Phase of digitalization. Commercial Release & Marketing Since April 2003 All India Radio central archive has been releasing music albums under the banner 'Akashvani Sangeet'. Till now. 59 albums have been released which include two albums of Shabad Kirtan titled 'Bani Guru Guru Hai Bani' to commemorate the tri-centenary celebrations of the Guru Granth Sahib. Marketing of these releases is mostly done in-house by AIR stations and some Marketing Divisions of Prasar Bharati. Sales counters are running in around fifty AIR stations for sales. Central Tape Bank This unit was initially functioning as the banker of blank tapes to be supplied to the stations on their demand. With technological advancement, the tapes have been replaced by Compact Discs which are procured and used by the stations independently on their own. As such this Unit has presently become nonfunctional. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS UNIT International Relations Unit of DG: AIR remained active in carrying out and coordinating various activities/commitments relating to foreign in nature concerning. All India Radio. During the period. AIR unit coordinated the participation of many officials of All India Radio/Prasar Bharati in the international events held abroad. 1)

Programme Executive, CBS, AIR, Mumbai participated in the AIBD/RCI Regional Workshop on Radio Co-production on Cultural Diversity & Migration held in Kualalumpur, Malaysia from March, 10.12.2008.

CEO Prasar Bharati, participated in the National Association of Broadcasters2008, Electrionic Media Show and its associated conferences were held from 14th - 17th April, 2008 at Las Vegas, USA.

AIR personnel from AIR Sambalpur participated in the 9th International Radio Festival of Iran held from May 18-22, 2008 in Isfahan, Iran.

Three foreign language experts of External Services Division, All India Radio visited the regions concerned with their languages of broadcast in a foreign country with the objective of language familiarisation with the purpose of improving the quality of broadcast in foreign languages.

Programme Executive. CBS, AIR, Thiruvanthapuram participated in the Refresher Course organized by Radio Netherland Training Centre (RNTC), on "Using Educational Media to engage Children, Young People and Women in Development" held in Hanoi, Vietnam from 3rd to 14th November 2008.

770 6)

India 2010 CEO Prasar Bharati participated in the 45th ABU General Assembly and Associated Meetings held at Bali, Indonesia from 22nd November to 25th November 2008.

Co-productions: All India Radio maintained good relations with other broadcasting organisations across the world. In this process, All India Radio, Delhi and Deutsche Welle Radio, Germany carried out a joint radio co-operation in October 2008 on 'Renewable Energies' an international-series. In which one Deutsche Welle producer and one AIR producer participated and produced a documentary on various techniques and alternate source of energy being encouraged in India for saving energy. Several AIR stations participated in the ABU's Project of creating awareness on 'Global Warming and Climate Changes' on June 21, 2008 (Summer Solstice Day) through a special campaign launched through radio to spread awareness on this vital issue. Under the Cultural Exchange Programme Agreements (CEP) signed between Government of India and different countries, the IR Unit coordinates exchange of radio programmes with broadcasting organizations of different countries. There are 41 countries at present with whom Government of India has live 'Cultural Exchange Programmes Agreements' concerning Radio/broadcasting. Programmes on Bulgarian Music broadcast over AIR Delhi on the occasion of Bulgaria's National and Independence Days were well noticed. Bi-lateral Cooperation: Many high-level delegations from many countines visited AIR during the period with the aim to explore avenues for better cooperation with AIR/Prasar Bharati. Many organisations in other countries have also shown interest in AIR's broadcast content to use the same in their networks. AIR participated in the radio programme series of Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHR)-Radio-4, titled 'Music Beyond Borders'. The month of September was assigned as the 'Month of India' by RTHK. All India Radio contributed variety of music from its rich archives for the programme through Indian Consulate in Hong Kong. Partcipation in the International Radio Competitions: IR Unit continued its efforts towards participation of AIR productions in international radio competition held abroad and providing chance to the hard work and efforts put in by the AIR producers in producing good programmes at international platforms. Radio entries were called from different AIR stations, screened at the directorate and good programmes were sent to many international competitions like AIBD Awards 2008, ABU Prizes 2008, CBA Awards 2009, International Grand Prix Radio Competition (URTI) 2008. 9th International Radio Festival of Iran, Prix Italia 2008 and Turquoise 2008. Awards won at the international radio competitions in 2008: Programme produced by Sh. Padmalochan Das, PEX, AIR Sambalpur, titled Janiba Ame Kama Kariba' (Think Globali, Act Locally) bagged the first prize in the category of Children Programmes in the 9th International Radio Festival of Iran held from 17th to 23rd May, 2008. The award included a cash prize of 2000 Euro, a trophy and a plaque besides a free trip to Iran for participation in the festival. Sh. Padmalochan Das, also bagged CBA-UNESCO Award for 'Science Reporting and Programming' for his Oriya radio programme, 'Kemiti Rakhiba Bundae Pani' (the Drop that Counts). Shri Das was invited by the CBA to attend the award presentation ceremony during its General Conference at Nassau, Bahamas in February 2008.

Mass

Communication

771

Shri Biju Mathew, Programme Executive, AIR, Devikulam won ABU-MAE Project Awards programme. The Project aims to provide small awards of US$1000 to help motivate and underwrite the development and production of local television and radio programming on HIV/AIDS and related issues in Asia-Pacific region. AIR Sambalpur's entry 'Our Home, the Planet Earth' (Ei Pruthibi, Ama Needa) produced by Dr. Hrushikesh Panda got the 'Radio Special Commendation' certificate in ABU Prize 2008 competition. AIR Kurnool's team comprising N. Sudhakara Reddy, Producer, and Dr. K. Vijaya (Co-Producer), and Sri K. Ramanjaneyulu (Technical Assistant) has won the 'CBA UNESCO Award for Science Reporting' for their entry 'Favour Begets Fortune" that was sent for 2009 CBA Awards. The winning programme is a feature on how to achieve good output without using chemical pesticides. The mike-publicity given for the Commonwealth short Story Competition 2008 by All India Radio helped five amateur Indians writers to win the prestigious Commonwealth Short Story Award 2008. STAFF TRAINING INSTITUTE (PROGRAMME) Staff Training Institute (Programme) was established in 1948 at Delhi as an Attached Office of DG, AIR, New Delhi. It was declared as a subordinate office with effect from 01.01.1990. Staff Training Institute (Programme) at Delhi and Bhubaneshwar alongwith five other Regional Training Institute (Programme) at Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Lucknow. Shillong and Thiruvananthapuram impart training to all the Programme and Administrative Cadres of AIR and Doordarshan. VANI Certificate Courses VANI (Voice Articulation and Nurturing Initiative) Certificate courses for newly selected Comperes, Announcers, Presenters, News readers, Editors and Reporters are being conducted on payment basis at various stations of AIR. Till November 2008, about 1948 candidates have been trained in 97 batches. The handbook 'VANI' provided on payment, is proving to be helpful to the participants of Vani Certificate Course as a supplementary material. Outside Courses Prasar Bharati has been given practical training to the students of Post Graduate Diploma in Radio Prasaran (PGDRP) and Post Graduate Diploma in Audio Programme production (PGDAPP) as per MoU signed with IGNOU. This year 143 students have been given practical training in 11 batches at 7 AIR Stations. Three Workshops in collaboration with Asia Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD) were organised in October - November 2008, for the programme staff of Prasar Bharati. In addition, many AIR stations have taken students of Radio Journalism from Universities for practical training on payment. Staff Training Institutes (Technical) Staff Training Institute (Tech.) at Delhi caters to the training needs of engineering personnel. Regional training institutes have also been set up at Bhubaneshwar. Shillong & Mumbai too augment the training facilities. The institute at Delhi was established in 1948 and has since grown into a center of excellence for technical training in electronic media. A well-organised Library and

772

India 2010

a Computer center with advanced multi-media equipment are available as part of the institute. The institute conducts training courses for departmental candidates as well as for candidates of similar foreign organizations. Workshops at different field offices are also held. The institute conducts recruitment examination for direct recruit engineering assistants and also holds departmental competitive examinations for promotions in the subordinate engineering cadres. The regional institutes conduct training courses like use of Computerized Hard Disc Based Recording, Editing & Playback system. a)

Number of staff trained from 01.04.2008 to 31.03.2009. 1.

STI(T) Delhi

910

RSTI(T) Bhubaneswar

172

RSTI (T) Malad

RSTI (T) Shillong

Number of Courses conducted from 01.04.2008 to 31.12.2008: 1.

Inside & Outside Courses conducted by STI (T) Delhi 6 1

Course conducted at RSTI (T)Bhubaneswar

Courses conducted at RSTI(T) Malad

Courses conducted at RSTI (T) shillong

A special workshop for news officials of AIR & DD under the aegis of Prasar Bharati, AIBD & CBA was done in the computer lab of STI(T). Total technical support and facility was provided by STI(T)

STI(T) has been awarded IABM Tom McGann Bursary Training award for the year 2008-09. STI(T) has received this award for the third time, a feat unaccomplished by any other Institution.

International participants from various countries attended the different courses at STI(T) Delhi. Eleven from BBS Bhutan and four from MBC Mauritius.

Summer Training for Diploma/Degree Engg. Students for four/six weeks was conducted by STI(T) and this was attended by total 160 Engg. Students. (1)

Revenue generated by STI(T) Delhi: Rs. 4,24,000/-

(2)

Revenue generated by RSTI(T) Bhubaneswar Rs. 38,59,066/- Total.

AUDIENCE RESEARCH UNIT The Largest Feedback and Research Support Network. In this era of market driven broadcasting, it may not be possible for any media organization to survive without feeling the pulse of their audience and knowing the market. This compelled the media organization, particularly electronic media, to get the syndicated media research done to know the viewership/listenership of their programmes & market potential for them. No broadcasting agency can afford to move faster without the viewer/ship/listenership data in hand.

Mass

Communication

773

The case of radio broadcasting is not different, the competition is intensifying day by day due to opening of more and more private radio stations but none of the upcoming radio broadcasting agencies across the country, other than All India Radio, has such a large in-house audience feedback and research support network. The Audience Research units of All India Radio provide instant feedback and research support not only to the in-house programme planners & producers but also to the sponsor, advertisers & marketers. With the changing mass communication scenario, particularly market oriented broadcasting; Audience Research Unit of AIR has also reoriented itself. Efforts are afoot to create the ripple of changes and to carve a niche for itself among the sponsors, advertiser and marketers. This is evident from the studies assigned to the Audience Research Units in the recent past by the various agencies. Sponsored Studies i)

Impart Assessment study on Koshish Sunehare Kal Ki and Fantastic Four sponsored by Ministry of Environment & Forests.

ii)

Survey on AIDS control programme Ini Onu Vidhi Seivom sponsored by Tamil Nadu State Aids control Society (TANSACS).

iii)

Quick feedback on Education Broadcasts - Keli-Kali, Chukki-China and ChinnaroChukki sponsored by DSERT, Government of Karnataka.

iv)

Kisanvani Survey sponsored by Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India.

Audience Research activities undertaken during 2008-09 i)

Indian Radio Audience Survey FM Rainbow & Gold Channel, 2008 at 18 places across the country.

ii)

Feedback/Impart Assessment Study in respect of Programme. Koshish Sunehare Kal Ki and Fantastic Four sponsored by Ministry of Environment & Forests at 11 places across the country.

iii)

Study on "Distribution of Community Radio Sets" in Arunachal Pradesh (out of Eastern Regional Special Package, Phase-II).

iv)

Survey on AIDS Control Programme Ini Onu Vidhi Seivom sponsored radio programme of HIV/AIDS by Tamil Nadu State Aids Control Society (TANSACS) conducted at 18 places under coverage areas of 8 AIR Stations.

Survey on Education Broadcast on Keli-Kali, Chukki-Chinna, and Chiannara Chukka radio programmes sponsored by DSERT, State Government of Karnataka.

vi)

Review workshops on Kisanvani programme and online feedback systems conducted at four places across the country.

vii)

Indian Radio Audience Survey 2008 on primary channel 2008 at 64 places across the country has been conducted.

viii) Study on impact of flagship programmes broadcast from AIR was conducted at 20 places across the country. ix)

A compendium of All India Radio-2007 was brought out in 2008.

774

India 2010

DOORDARSHAN Doordarshan, a Public Service Broadcaster, is among the largest terrestrial television network in the world. The service was started in New Delhi on 15 September 1959 to transmit educational and development programmes on an experimental basis with half-an-hour programming. Commencement of regular television service as part of All India Radio commenced in Delhi (1965); Mumbai (1972); Kolkata (1975), Chennai (1975). Doordarshan was established on 15 September 1976. A major landmark thereafter was the introduction of colour television in 1982 coinciding with the 9th Asian Games held in New Delhi that ushered in a major revolution in broadcasting in the country. This was followed by a phase of rapid expansion of Doordarshan when, in 1984 more or less every day saw the installation of a transmitter in the country. Other significant milestones that followed thereafter were : •

Launch of second channel

•

Delhi (9 August 1984), Mumbai (1 May 1985), Chennai (19 November 1987), Kolkata (1 July 1988)

•

Networking of second channels to launch the Metro Channel (26 January 1993)

•

Launch of International channel DD India (14 March 1995)

•

Formation of Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) (23 November 1997)

•

Launch of sports channel DD Sports (18 March 1999)

•

Launch of enrichment/cultural channel DD Bharati (26 January 2002)

•

Launch of 24 hours news channel DD News (3 November 2002)

•

Launch of free to air Direct-to-Home Service DD Direct + (16 December 2004)

DOORDARSHAN

TODAY

Doordarshan network consists of 64 Doordarshan Kendras/Production Centres, 24 Regional News Units, 126 Doordarshan Maintenance Centres, 202 High Power transmitters, 828 Low Power Transmitters, 351 Low Power Transmitters, 18 Transposers, 30 Channels and DTH Service and has a sanctioned strength of 21708 officers and staff of various categories. DD's Transmitters Channel National DD News Others Total

(DD1)

HPT

LPT

VLPT

transposer

Total

128

747

346

1239

156

202

828

351

1399

Mass

Communication

DOORDARSHAN

775

CHANNELS

National Channel (5) : DD1, DD News, DD Bharati, DD Sports and DD Urdu. Regional Language Satellite Channel (11) : DD North-East, DD Bengali, DD Gujarati, DD Kannada, DD Kashir, DD Malayalam, DD Sahyadri, DD Oriya, DD Punjabi, DD Podhigai, and DD Saptagiri. Regional State Network (11) : Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Uttrakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Mizoram and Tripura. International Channel (1) : DD India. Doordarshan has a three-tier programme service - National, Regional and Local. •

The emphasis in the programmes in the National service is on events and issues of interest to the entire nation.

•

The programmes in the regional service focus on events and issues of interest to the people of that particular State.

•

The local service caters to the needs of the populace living in the areas falling within the reach of a particular transmitter through area specific programmes in the local languages and dialects.

In addition, the programmes in the national and regional services are also available in satellite mode to the viewers all over the country. Terrestrial Coverage of Doordarshan : The coverage of the two terrestrial channels of Doordarshan is shown below : Channel

Coverage (%) National average By Area

(As on 30.6.2006) By

Population

DDI

79.4

9.4

DD News

24.4

48.5

DD Direct + : Doordarshan’s free-to-air Direct-to-Home service DD Direct + was launched by the Prime Minister on 16 December 2004. Starting with 33 TV channels (Doordarshan/Private) and 12 Radio (AIR) channels, the capacity of the service was increased 36 TV channels and 20 Radio channels. The signal of this service can be received all over India , except A&N Islands, with the help of a receiver system. The subscriber base of this service is in excess of 5 million.

DD-NATIONAL

CHANNEL

DD-I CHANNEL (NATIONAL) Doordarshan DD-I Channel continues to make significant contributions to accelerate socio-economic changes, promote national integration, stimulate scientific temperament, disseminate knowledge, educational programmes, public awareness, means of population control, messages on family welfare, preservation of environment and ecological balance, measures for women welfare, children and under-privileged, etc. It also promoted sports, and artistic and cultural heritage of the country. Apart from Public Service Broadcasts, it also telecasts entertainment programmes, including serials on different subjects of social relevance as sponsored/ commissioned/Self Financed Commissioned programmes, films, etc.

776

India 2010

The service of National Channel is available in terrestrial mode as well as satellite mode from 5.30 AM to 00.00 (mid-night) and thereafter in satellite mode till next morning up to 5.30 AM. Regional Language Satellite Service : The eleven regional Language Satellite Services are : DD-Malayalam

DD-Saptagiri

DD-Bengali

DD-Chandana

DD-Oriya

DD-Sahyadri

DD-Gujarati

DD-Kashir

DD-Punjabi

DD-North-East

DD-Podhigai

(Telugu) (Kannada) (Marathi) (Kashmiri)

(Tamil)

The Regional Language Satellite Services and Regional State Networks broadcast a wide spectrum of programmes covering developmental news, serials, documentaries, news and current affairs programmes to communicate with the people in their own language. General infotainment programmes, social programmes and film programmes as other major genres are also telecast. Regional State Network : The Regional State networks cater to the people living in Hindi Belt comprising U.P., Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, M.P. Rajasthan, Haryana and H.P. The programmes of this service are produced and broadcast from the capital Kendras of the respective states between 3.00 and 8.00 pm and are relayed by all the ground transmitters of the state. DD-News : The DD-News channel the country’s only 24 hours terrestrial news channel telecasts over 16 hours of live news bulletins daily in Hindi and English. News Headlines, News updates, breaking news on the scroller are regular features on this channel. A daily bulletin in Sanskrit and Urdu is also telecast. Besides, the Regional News Units attached to different Doordarshan Kendras also telecast daily news bulletins in regional languages of varying duration and frequency. The DD News headlines can now be accessed through the SMS. DD News also carries Stock and Commodities indices throughout the day in an automated delivery mode, accessing information from NSE & BSE and leading commodity exchanges like NCDEX, MCX, etc. DD Sports : DD Sports remains the country’s only free-to-air sports channel. It continues to provide coverage to international and domestic games, including cricket, football, hockey, tennis, kabaddi, Archery, Athletics and other indigenous games, etc. A cash outflow system was introduced to cover non-Olympic and traditional sports on DD Sports. The channel continued to cover sporting events organised by the different Sports Federations and Association. DD Bharati : DD-Bharati Channel was launched on 26 January 2002. Besides programmes on adventure, quiz contests, fine arts/paintings, crafts and designs, cartoons, talent hunts, etc., it also telecasts ‘‘MERI BAAT’’ an hour-long phone-in ‘live’ show with young people. Programmes emphasising on a healthy life style and focusing on prevention rather than cure, both in our traditional and modern forms of medicine are also being telecast.

Mass

Communication

777

Classical dance/music performances by top class artists of national and international fame are also featured on this channel are programmes on theatre, literature, music, paintings, sculpture and architecture. The channel also telecast programmes in collaboration with organisations like IGNCA, CEC, IGNOU, PSBT, NCERT and Sahitya Akademi. The channel also provides extensive coverage to the AIR sangeet sammelans. Contributions made by the Regional Doordarshan Kendraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s are regularly telecast live/recorded. DD India : The programming on this channel continues to be done in a manner to enable it to meet its primary objective of providing a window to the world especially for the Indian diaspore to witness the Indian social, cultural, political and economic scene. The Channel continues to carry news bulletins in Hindi, English, Urdu, Sanskrit, Gujarati, Malayalam and Telugu, features on topical events and discussions on issues of international significance. It also beams many entertainment programmes, serials, theatre, music and dance besides feature films. Programmes in regional languages such as Punjabi, Urdu, Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Gujarati and Marathi form an essential ingredient of this channel. Live Coverage of national events like Independence Day, Republic Day Celebrations, the Budget presentation and other happenings of national and international importance are regularly carried on this channel.

PRESS

AND

MEDIA

REGISTRAR OF NEWSPAPERS FOR INDIA The Office of the Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI) came into existence on 1 July 1956, on the recommendation of the First Press Commission in 1953 and by amending the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867. The Registrar of Newspapers for India, commonly known as the Press Registrar, is required, inter alia to submit an Annual Report to the Government by 31 December every year on the status of newspapers. The period for which the annual statements were to be furnished, was changed from the calendar to financial year in 2002. Earlier the Annual Report was compiled on financial year basis. The total number of registered Newspapers/ Periodical was 69,323 as on 31 March 2008. These were 7,710 dailies, 379 tri/biweeklies, 23,414 weeklies, 9,053 fortnightlies, 20,948 monthlies, 4,687 quarterlies, 605 annuals, and 2,518 of the other periodicity. (The figures have been updated only for the registered newspapers for the year 2007-08). According to the report submitted by the Press Registrar for the year 2007-08, Newspapers were registered in 123 languages and dialects. Apart from English and 22 other principal languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, newspapers were registered in 100 other languages and dialects mostly Indian but also in a few foreign languages too. Orissa had the distinction of publishing newspapers in 18 out of 23 principle languages. Maharashtra came next with publication in 17 languages followed by Delhi with publications in 16 principle languages. Of the 69,323 newspapers registered as on 31 March 2008, only 9,072 submitted Annual Statements during 2007-08. The total circulation of these 9,072 newspapers was 20,71,08,115 copies per publicity day. The largest number of newspapers and periodicals registered in any Indian language is in Hindi (25,527). The second largest number of newspapers and periodicals registered in any language is in English

778

India 2010

(10,000). The state with the largest number of registered newspapers is Uttar Pradesh (10,799). The state with the second largest number of registered newspapers is Delhi (8,545). PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU The Press Information Bureau (PIB) is the nodal agency of the Government of India to disseminate information to the print and electronic media on government policies, programme initiatives and achievements. It functions as an interface between the Government and the media and also serves to provide feedback to the Government on people's reaction as reflected in the media. PIB disseminates information through different modes of communication viz. Press Releases, Press Notes, Feature Articles, Backgrounders, Press Briefings, Press Conferences, Interviews, Photographs, Database available on Bureau's website, Press Tours etc. PIB releases information in any of the above format. Information disseminated through Press Releases, Press notes etc is released in English, Hindi and Urdu and subsequently translated in other Indian languages to reach out to about 8,400 newspapers and media organizations in different parts of country. ORGANIZATIONAL SET-UP PIB has its Headquarters in New Delhi. It is headed by the Principal Director General (Media & Communication) who is assisted by a Director General and eight Additional Director Generals. Besides, the Bureau has Departmental Publicity Officers varying in ranks from Directors to Assistant Directors and Media & Communication Officers who are attached with different Ministers in order of the Officer's rank and Ministry's size, importance and sensitivity. PIB also runs Control room (News Room) at Headquarters to ensure dissemination of information after normal working hours on weekdays from 6.00pm to 9.00 pm and from 3.00 pm to 9.00 pm on weekends and holidays respectively. PIB has 8 Regional Offices headed by Additional Director Generals and 34 Branch offices and Information Centers to cater to information needs of regional press and other media. In addition to release of publicity material issued from the Headquarters in local languages, these Regional and Branch Offices of PIB issue original press releases, press notes, backgrounders etc. whenever an important event is organized by any of the Central Ministries of Public Sector Undertakings in a particular region. These Offices also take up the decisions of the Central Government which may be of special importance to a particular region for focused publicity based on information dissemination on sustained basis. Activities of PIB can be broadly classified in three Categories viz; Publicity FeedBack Accreditation & other Facilities. PUBLICITY Departmental Publicity Officers (DPOs) attached to various ministries and departments for disseminating information to the media through press notes, backgrounders etc. and also by arranging press conferences, press tours, media briefings etc, have been in turn also meeting the information needs of media in respect

Mass

Communication

779

of those Ministries. DPOs also advise their respective Ministries on all matters pertaining to information needs of media and Ministers' publicity requirements. During the period for Bureau including Regional Branch office of PIB issued 82286 press releases, 4541 features, and organized 8363 press conferences and briefings. Beside the routine publicity work, the Bureau made some special endeavours towards publicity which are as under: Five Year Achievements Major decisions of the present Union Government were complied on the occasion of completion of its five years in Office in the form of a booklet which was released as 'Programmes for the People - 2004-09'. It was printed in English and Hindi and thereafter disseminated widely amongst media persons and others. Apart from this, eight brochures on the sectoral achievements of the Govt, on flagship programmes were compiled separately and issued by the Bureau in Hindi, English and Urdu. Commonwealth Youth Games, Pune Press Information Bureau had set up a Media Centre for information dissemination to media persons during the Commonwealth Youth Games, Pune held from October 12-18, 2008 in which 71 countries participated. Approximately 700 journalists were accredited to cover the games. The Main Press Centre (MPC), a part of the Media Centre was state of the art centralized wi-fi media facilitation Centre having world class facilities including 100 workstations, computer terminals for filling and preparing stories by print media persons, 25 dedicated workstations (computer) for still photographers for editing and sending their photographs with facilities of scanner, card reader etc. laptop connectivity, media video wall consisting of nine plasmas which were connected to all nine stadia, cable TV, acoustically sound proof conference hall in the MPC where press conferences were organized, telephone, fax, photocopier printer, scanner, ISD phone and fax facilities for foreign journalists. In addition, at each venue (stadium) there was a mini Media Centre, known as Venue Media Centre. There was also a mini media lounge at each venue. Each Venue Media Centre had computers, fax, telephone and internet facility. Economic Editors Conference Economic Editor's Conference-2008, an annual event was organized from November 24-26, 2008 at new Delhi. Around 43 outstation and about 300 local economic editors, lead writers and journalists attended it. Ministries of Finance, Information and Broadcasting, Tourism, Petroleum, Food Processing etc. participated. The Conference provided a platform for interaction on government policies, programmes and achievements with the editors and the Ministers of concerned Ministries. The Conference was inaugurated by the Finance Minister, Shri P. Chidambaram. PM and Cabinet Committees Besides coverage of PMs visit to Jharkhand, J&K, Assam, Tamil Nadu and his speeches at home, the Bureau made special arrangements for the coverage of PM's visits to Bhutan, New York for signing of the Nuclear deal and his address to the UN General Assembly, India-EU Summit-France, G-5 Summit- Japan, 15th SAARC Summit - Sri Lanka, ASEM Summit - China etc. PIB arranged for media briefing on Cabinet decisions as well as decisions of various Cabinet Committees.

780

India 2010

Inflation In the wake of steep rise in inflation during the year, special efforts were made by the Bureau to publicize measures taken by the Government to moderate the inflationary pressures. A weekly report on the measures taken by various economic Ministries viz. Finance, Commerce and Industry. textiles, Petroleum, Agriculture etc. was prepared and sent to the Ministers and Secretaries to the Government of India for use at appropriate fora. Another weekly report on Action Taken by the concerned Ministries and on feedback from the media was also prepared and made available to Secretary, I&B for use in the Committee of Secretaries meeting. Public Information Campaigns (PICs). Public Information Campaigns (PICs) had being designed with the strategy to combine information dissemination with the delivery of services at the doorsteps for the beneficiaries particularly in rural areas. 136 PICs have been organized since Jan, 2008 to March 2009. These campaigns organized so far have been attended by a large number of people. Press tours Successful people's programmes/projects in remote and backward regions of the country are identified and national and local media are taken on tours to visit these developmental projects to witness the efforts of the individuals, organizations and Government agencies. During the year 2008 (from January to December 2008). 11 Press tours were organized. Eight Press tours have been organized in the current financial year. (January 2009 to October 2009). Indian Science Congress PIB provided media coverage to the 96th Indian Science Congress held in North Eastern Hill University. Shillong from 3-7 January, 2009. The theme "Science Education and Attraction of Talent for Excellence in Research" was appropriately highlighted. The event was inaugurated by Hon'ble Prime Minister and galaxy of scientists from India and abroad addressed various sessions which were attended by 4,000 delegates and students from across the country. About two hundred media persons covered the event. Media related activities for this event organized by PIB included media interaction with the Prime Minister, a press tour for 12 media persons from Delhi during 2-8 January, 2009, a day-long tour of Guwahati based media persons for coverage of the inaugural function on 01.01.09 and a press tour to Cheerapunj on 07.01.2009. International Film Festival of India-2008 PIB set up a Media Centre at Goa for the International Film Festival of India-2008 held from November 22 to December 2, 2008. The Media Centre was equipped with workstations with Internet and fax facilities for use of Media Persons, an Information Desk for smooth dissemination of festival information to the media, a Conference Hall for holding Press Conferences etc. Information with regard to inaugural, closing and other important events during the Festival were arranged to facilities media related activities. A total of 357 media persons were accredited online. During the Festival 41 Press Conferences were conducted. Besides, a special session was organised to condole the tragic incidents in Mumbai, which enabled eminent film journalists to express their feelings.

Mass

Communication

781

During the IFFI-08, 75 Press Releases, 282 Synopses. 70 Background material, 155 Photographs and 2 Features were put out in Hindi, Marathi and English for the extensive coverage of the events taking place. Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas The Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas, a flagship event of the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs is held every year with the objective to bring the knowledge, expertise and skill of the vast and diverse overseas Indian Community on a common platform and to shape an agenda for a symbiotic relationship between India and its Diaspora and establish an institutional framework for sustainable engagement with overseas Indians. The PIB gave media support to the 7th Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas was held in Chennai from January 7.9.2009. Media Exchange Programme The main objective of this scheme is to strengthen the friendly ties with different countries in the fields of information and print media, inspired by a common desire to establish and develop closer relations with other countries in the field of information and mass media. The components of the scheme are (i) Cultural Exchange Programmes (ii) Joint Working Groups and (iii) Agreement on cooperation in the field of information. Editors Conference on Social Sector Issues (ECSSI) Editors Conference on Social Sector issues - 2009 was held at New Delhi on February 3-4 2009. More than 150 local Editors and Correspondents and 24 outstation Editors also participated in the 2-day event. Eight participating Ministries were Ministry of Rural Development, Social Justice and Empowerment, Women and Child Development, Science and Technology, Labour, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Health and Family Welfare and Human Resource Development. The emphasis was on the role of Minister in the social sectors development. WEB ENABLED SERVICES The website of PIB (www.pib.nic.in), an important source of information to small & medium newspapers of India, was reviewed to make it more attractive and incorporate new features. PIB also has 7 sister websites in 7 different languages viz. Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Bengali and in Mizo languages. Feedback feature and photo service As part of the Special Services, the Feedback. Cell in PIB prepared daily digests and special digests based on news stories and editorials from National as well as Regional dailies and periodicals for the use by ministries. Feedback Cell of PIB also prepared a weekly action taken report on measures taken by concerned Ministries to moderate the inflationary pressures as well as provided a weekly feedback on media reporting on the price rise. The Feature Unit of the Bureau issued backgrounders, updates, info-nuggets, features and graphics, which were also sent to the Regional/Branch Offices for translation and circulation to the local media. The unit releases special features highlighting policies and programmes of the Government. These include features and success stories on flagship programmes and other topical issues. On an average over 230 features are produced annually including photo features and backgrounders. More than 70 success stories have already been released in the current financial year.

782

India 2010

During April 2008-March, 2009 the Photo Publicity Unit of the Bureau covered 804 assignments, released 4893 photos and distributed 25825 prints of photographs to the Press and Regional/Branch Offices of PIB. Accreditation and other services PIB provides accreditation to media representatives including foreign media at the Headquarters, Government of India. This facilitates them to access information from the Government sources. About 1508 correspondents and 454 cameramen/ photographers are accredited. Besides, 152 technicians and 82 editors and media critics have also been granted accreditation. One of the major features introduced by PIB was electronic press accreditation cards with enhanced security features.

NEWS

AGENCIES

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA India’s largest news agency, Press Trust of India (PTI) is a non-profit sharing cooperative owned by the country’s newspapers with a mandate to provide efficient and unbiased news to all subscribers. Founded on 27 August 1947, PTI began functioning from 1 February 1949. The PTI offers its news services in English and Hindi languages. Bhasha is the Hindi language news service of the agency. PTI subscribers include 500 newspapers in India and scores abroad. All major TV/radio channels in India and several abroad, including BBC in London, receive PTI service. The PTI now has its own satellite delivery system through a transponder on an INSAT satellite for reaching its services directly to subscribers anywhere in the country. Increasingly more and more subscribers are opting for satellite reception. Photo service is delivered by satellite as well as accessed by dial-up. PTI has also now begun satellite transmission by Ku band which offers subscribes the option of receiving news through a cheaper and small size satellite receiver. PTI is on the Internet too. The agency’s news services have been showcased on its website http.//www.ptinews.com. Clients also have the option of taking any of PTI’s services through Internet. PTI news is also available through World Space radio broadcast reception. The Photo service is delivered by satellite as well as accessed through dial-up. The agency is now engaged in archiving its photos. Once launched the on-line photo archives will help access photos from the agency's old files dating from 1986 when the Photo service was launched. With a staff of about 1300 including 350 journalists, PTI has 80 bureaux across the country and foreign correspondents in major cities of the world including Beijing, Colombo, Dhaka, Dubai, Islamabad, Kathmandu, Kualalumpur, London, Moscow, New York and Washington. In addition, about 350 stringers contribute to the news file at home while 20 PTCs bring news from rest of the world. The agency has also a networks of photo stringers across the country numbering about 200. Besides the news and photo services, the other services of the agency include mailer packages of Feature, Science service, Economic service and Data India, and screen-based services as News-scan and stock scan. A television wing, PTI-TV, does features and undertakes corporate documentaries on assignment basis.

Mass

Communication

783

The PTI has arrangements with the Associated Press (AP) and agency France Press (AFP) for distribution of their news in India. AP’s photo and international commercial information are also distributed in the country through PTI. The PTI is a partner in Asia Pulse International, a Singapore-registered company, formed by PTI and five other Asian media organisations to provide an on-line data bank on economic developments and business opportunities in Asian countries. PTI is also a participant in Asianet, a cooperative arrangement among 12 news agencies of the Asia-Pacific region, for distribution of corporate and government press releases. The PTI is a leading participant in the NAM News Network, the Internet-based news exchange arrangement of the Non-Aligned Countries, and the Organisation of Asia-Pacific News Agencies. It also has bilateral news exchange arrangements with several news agencies belonging to the countries of Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America. UNITED NEWS OF INDIA United News of India (UNI) was incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 on 19 December 1959 and started functioning effective 21 March 1961. In the past four decades, UNI has grown into a major news organisation in India and, with its vibrant presence, provided the much-needed spirit of competition in the vital areas of news gathering and dissemination. UNI’s innovative spirit was evident when it became the first news agency in India to launch a full-fledged Hindi wire service ‘UNIVARTA’ in 1982 and a Photo Service and a Graphics Service in the same decade. In the early 90s, it launched the first-ever wire service in URDU. UNI today has about 719 subscribers. It also has 71 offices in India and an employee strength of more than 975 persons, including 391 journalists. Apart from its own correspondents in all major cities of the country, it also has about 305 stringers who report from all the important towns. This countrywide network has enabled UNI to provide coverage of events from all the regions of the country. Further, UNI has Correspondents in Washington, New York, London, Moscow, Dubai, Islamabad, Kathmandu, Colombo, Dhaka, Singapore, Toronto (Canada), Sydney (Australia), Bangkok (Thailand) and Kabul (Afghanistan). UNI distributes world news from Reuters, the world’s largest information company. Besides, it has news exchange arrangements with Xinhua of China, RIA Novosti of Russia, UNB of Bangladesh, Anadolu of Turkey, WAM of the United Arab Emirates, GNA of Bahrain, KUNA of Kuwait, ONA of Oman and QNA of Qatar and CNA of Taiwan. UNI’s Photo Service distributes about 200 pictures every day, including sixty international photographs from EPA, the European Pressphoto Agency and Reuters. Its Graphics Service distributes five or six graphics every day. UNI today has a countrywide network of 27 photographers and an equal number of photo stringers who contribute round-the-clock for UNI’s daily photo report of about 200 pictures. In the 46-odd years of its existence, UNI has acquired an enviable reputation for its fast and accurate coverage of news events. UNI has always been in the vanguard in adapting modern technology to suit its requirements in news gathering and dissemination. As part of its modernisation

784

India 2010

drive, UNI has computerised nearly all its offices in India. It was a quantum jump for UNI when it upgraded its nationwide teleprinter network, extending to over 10,00,000 km. From 50 baud to 300 baud Data circuits. This again was a temporary changeover as UNI further advanced to 1,200 baud speed Data Circuits and then to the state-ofthe-art satellite technology for its nationwide distribution of news at a speed of 56 kbps. Switching over to VSAT technology has meant that all our subscribers across the country would get our stories simultaneously without any loss of time. Further, we would also be able to deliver our pictures through this system. UNI is already the first Indian news agency to deliver its entire news services in English and Hindi as well as its Photo Service through the Internet. Subscribers can download the stories and pictures from the UNI and UNIVARTA websites. The respective addresses of UNI and UNIVARTA websites are: UNI : www.uniindia.com and UNIVARTA : www.univarta.com NAM NEWS NETWORK NAM News Network (NNN) is the new Internet-based news and photo exchange arrangement of the news agencies belonging to member countries of the non-aligned movement. News and photo contributions of NAM news agencies including Press Trust of India are uploaded onto the NNN website http://www.namnewsnetwork.org for on-line access by all. Malaysian news agency Bernama is at present handling the operation of the website from Kualalumpur. Operational from April 2006, NNN was formally launched by the Malaysian Information Minister Mr Zainuddin Maidin in Kualalumpur on 27 June 2006. NNN replaces the Non-aligned News Agencies Pool (NANAP) which had acted as the news exchange mechanism among non-aligned countries for the last 30 years. With internet a cheap and reliable mode of communication, NNN is expected to contribute to sustained flow of information in the 116 member non-aligned world. The decision to replace NANAP with NNN was taken at the Sixth Conference of Ministers of Information of Non-Aligned Countries (COMINAC VI) held in Kualalumpur in November 2005. The meeting felt that NANAP had lost its momentum due to declining support from member countries and that it ‘‘should be revitalised through a new workable mechanism, if necessary in a new form, to move forward.’’ The meeting endorsed a Malaysian proposal for NANAP’s replacement by the Internet-based NNN. NANAP, set up in 1976, was the first attempt of the non-aligned movement to provide for exchange of news among its member countries. During its 30 years of operation, it played a significant role in improving the flow of communication in the non-aligned world. At a time when communication costs were very high, NANAP provided for sharing of communication channels of member news agencies to ensure a common network for exchange of news among all countries of the non-aligned movement. News was exchanged under the arrangement in four international languages - English, French, Spanish and Arabic. PRESS COUNCIL OF INDIA Press Council is a statutory quasi-judicial authority mandated by the Parliament to preserve the freedom of the press and maintain and improve the standards of newspapers and the news agencies in India. It is an autonomous body with equal

Mass

Communication

785

quasi-judicial authority over the authorities and the press persons. For the discharge of the above objects, the Council comprises of a Chairman and 28 members. While the Chairman handed convention been a sitting or retired judge of the Supreme Court of India, of the 28 members, 20 represent various segments of the Press and eight, overseeing the readersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; interests are representatives of the two Houses of Parliament and premier literary and legal bodies of the country i.e. University Grants Commission, Bar Council of India and Sahitya Academy. The council has its own funds for performance of its functions under Act that comprises of the fee collected by it from newspapers and other receipts and grants from the Central Government. The Council is presently chaired by Honâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ble Mr. Justice GN Ray. The Council discharges its functions primarily through adjudications on complaint cases received by it either against the Press for violation of journalistic ethics or by the Press for interference with its freedom. Where the Council is satisfied, after inquiry, that a newspaper or a news agency has offended against the standards of journalistic ethics or public taste or that an editor or working journalist has committed any professional misconduct, the Council may warn, admonish or censure them or disapprove of their conduct. The Council is also empowered to make such observations as it may think fir it respect of the conduct of any authority, including Government, for interfering with the freedom of the press. The decisions of the Council are final and cannot be questioned in any court of law. Complaints before the Council During the year under review, a total of 726 complaints were instituted in the Council. Of these, 185 complaints were by the Press against authorities of the Government for violation of press freedom and 541 complaints were directed against the press for breach of journalistic ethics. With 759 matters pending from the last year, there were a total of 1485 matters for disposal by the Council. Of these 581 matters were disposed of during the year, either by way of adjudication or through summary disposal by the Chairman on account of settlement by the mediation of the Chairman or due to lack of sufficient grounds for holding inquires or non-prosecution, withdrawal or on account of matters having become sub-judice. Out of these 581 matters three directly placed before for adjudication. In all 904 matters were being processed at the close of the year. Besides 443 matters were decided under the provision to Section 14(1) of the Press Council At, 1978. The Press Council of India under the mandate of Section 13 (2) (b) of the Press Council Act, 1978 is to built up a set up guidelines to facilitate the functioning of the Media, Therefore, in pursuance of Order of Hon'ble Court of Juvenile, Thiruvananthapuram in a writ petition No. CMP 2/2008 filed by National Network of Positive People objective to an incident relating to visual screened by the media of two children afflicted with HIV/AIDS, the Council in consultations with the representatives of UNAIDS and activists in the field has this year updated the guidelines drawn up in 1993 on HIV/AIDS and the Media. The Council proposes wide dissemination of these guidelines with translation in other languages to facilitate better understanding of the issue in state by regional and local media. The 2005 edition of "Norms of Journalistic Conduct" has also been updated and the new edition will be brought out shortly.

786

India 2010

Advisory Functions In its advisory capacity the Council provided the Government and other authorities with its views on:1.

Reference from Ministry of Information and Broadcasting regarding Draft Cabinet Note on the amendments to certain provisions of the Industrial Dispute Act, 1947.

Growth of Print Media in Liberalized Economy: To Consultative committee of MPs attached to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on 2.6.2008.

Opinion on Exit polls during Election Process: To Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personal, Public Grievances, Law and Justiceexamination of the Representation of the People (Second Amendment) Bill-2008.

Guidelines on caution against overseas employment advertisement.

Constitution of Committee of Governors (COG) to study and recommend strategies for speedy Economic Development and Empowerment of Women.

Setting up of Institute of Journalism, non interference of the government with print media but to strengthen the hands of the Press Council: To Consultative Committee of MPs attached to Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Reference from Government of India regarding implementation of the provisions of UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Meeting with Departments/Ministries on "NGO Database" and "National Policy on the Voluntary Sector"

Suo motu Cognizance The Council took suo motu cognizance of the incidents of violation against media-persons and threats to press freedom in the following cases: 1.

Harassment of Journalist on the basis of the news report published by Jansatta in its issued dated 21.4.2008.

Attack on the offices of Andhra Jyoti on the basis of news report published in Hindu issue dated 27.5.2008.

Sedition and treason charges against The Times of India, Ahmedabad by the City Police Commissioner on the basis of the news items published in The Hindu and The Indian Express dated 2.6.2008 and The Times of India, dated 3.6.2008. Since the Government has chosen to proceed with the matter and the case being sub-judice the issue has been kept pending for the present.

Attack on Loksatta Editor's Home published by Hindustan Times, Indian Express and Hindu dated 6.6.2008.

Attack on the editorial office of a Nepali Daily Hamro Prajashakti, Gangtok, Sikkim as per the Press Release dated 5.7.2008 issued by the Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee, Gangtok.

Mass

Communication

787

Attack on the media freedom in Jammu & Kashmir on the basis of a news report published by the Indian Express, New Delhi issue dated 3.9.2008.

Bid to attack The Hindu office in Coimbatore on the basis of a news item published by The Hindu in its issue dated 14.10.2008.

Killing of journalists in Assam and Manipur on the basis of attention drawn by the former member PCI and press release, issued by the Journalist Union of Assam and news items published in Hindustan Times dated 25.11.2008.

An SOS, subversion of Press Freedom in Mangalore and Udupi on the basis of complaint filed by Editor-in-Chief Karavali Ale, Mangalore.

The Council on March, 2, 2009 adopted the report of the Assessment Committee set up to examine the charges of attack on Editor-in-Chief of Karavali Ale, Mangalore by antisocial elements and the unsatisfactory role of the police authorities in subsequent days. The Council had been examining the matter relating to press coverage of Batla/ Jamia encounter for its alleged unethical reporting on the said episode which attempted to divide communities. The report in this regard will be finalized in ensuring financial year. In its efforts to encourage debates on media matters, the Council organized/ participated in discussions in various parts of the country. Pursuant to the successful two day long workshop on Reporting of Court Proceedings by media at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi jointly organized in March 2008 by the Press Council, Supreme Court Legal Services Committee and Editors Guild of India, Regional workshops on the subject were also organized at Kochi on 21.6.2008, Mumbai on 19.8.2008 and Cuttak on 30.8.2008. Hon'ble Mr. Justice G.N.Ray, Chairman, Press Council of India delivered keynote address at all of the workshops. Following the successful completion of National and Regional workshops by the Supreme Court of India, National Legal Service Authority Press Council of India and Editors Guilds of India on "Reporting of Court Proceedings by Media and Administration of Justice" the need for in depth training to the legal Correspondents/Journalists was felt. Thus Five days Residential Training course on 'Reporting of Court Proceedings by Media and Administration of Justice" for Legal Correspondents/Journalists was organized by National Legal Services Authority and IGNOU in association with Press Council of India and Editors Guild of India from 7th - 11th December 2008 at Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi. The Press Council of India in collaboration with the Editor's Guild of India and Tilak Patrakar Bhawan Trust organized a workshop in Nagpur on January 21, 2009 on 'News Coverage During Crisis: Rights and Responsibilities of Media'. The workshop spread into three Sessions including inaugural session was addressed by Council members and eminent mediapersons. Many other prominent personalities held active panel discussions on the subject. National Press Day, 2008 The National Press Day, this year was dedicated to "Women and Media" Hon'ble President of India, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil inaugurated the celebrations in Delhi. A sonvenir released on the occasion carried valuable articles on the subject. The states also commemorated the day at various levels with discussions on the subject.

788

India 2010

The Council successfully published its quarterly house journals in Hindi and English that chronicle the activities/important developments of the press world. e-governance 1.

Update the judgments of Press Council uploaded on net in bilingual form.

Latest Annual Reports are available on the website.

Provident Fund record of the employees computerized.

Levy records of arrears put up on website.

Index of orders of the Press and Registration Appellate Board since 1982 onwards are available on the Council's Website.

Data pertaining to Index of Adjudications rendered by the Council in complaints by the Press as well as against the Press since its inception has been prepared and will be shortly uploaded on Council's website. The Press Council of India has been entrusted by the Parliament with the additional responsibility of functioning as Appellate Authority under Section 8 (c) under the Press and Registration Books Act 1867 and the Appellate Board comprises of the Chairman of the Council and a number of the Council. At the beginning of the period under review, 12 appeals were pending before the board and eight new appeals were preferred. The board held four sittings during the year. Out of these 20 appeals, eight appeals were disposed off, 12 appeals are pending for consideration before the Appellate Board. 1.

Pursuant to the workshop on 'Standardization of Media Education' organized jointly with Makhanlal Charuvedi National University of Journalism and Mass Communication, a Core Committee has been set up which comprises of nominees of prominent institutions in the field of media industry, media education, professional media bodies and academic institutions to draw a common minimum framework of Journalism and Mass Communication Education in India. Two meetings of the core committee have been held till November 2008 and the areas of focus are curriculum, faculty, infrastructure, training programmes and validation of media teaching institute.

'State of Newspaper Scene 2007' Report detailing the trends in newspaper journalism during the relevant period, was submitted by Centre of Media Studies, New Delhi. The report has been adopted by the Council in its meeting held on October 14, 2008 and is being displayed on the website of the Council.

The Council paid particular attention to the propagation of Hindi in its office working in statutory functions. Therefore, while all of its staff members, already notified under Section 10 (4) are encouraged to work in Hindi. As a part of "Hindi Pakhwada" a Workshop was organized in the Secretariat of the Council on 10th of September on the subject "Administrative & Technical Terminology, noting drafting". A debate was also organized for the employees on the subject "Rashtra Ki Ekta Aur Akhandta Mein Hindi Ka Yogdan". The employees of the Press Council of India were also given awards under Protsahan Yojana for the participation and contribution in encouraging the use of language in the office practices and procedures. A workshop was also organized on March 24, 2009 to promote Hindi in the Council on the subject-

Mass

Communication

789

"Section 3 (3) of official languages Act, other rules and quarterly report of Rajbhasha. The adjudications and other pronouncements of the Council were recorded in bilingual form and brought in public domain. RESEARCH, REFERENCE AND TRAINING DIVISION Set up in 1945, the Research, Reference and Training Division functions as an information-serving agency for the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, its media units and their field offices. It serves as an information bank as well as an information feeder service to the media units to help their programming and publicity campaigns. It also studies trends in Mass Communication Media and maintains a reference and documentation service on Mass Communication. The Division provides background, reference and research material and other facilities for the use of the Ministry, its media units and others engaged in mass communication. Apart from its regular service, the ‘Diary of Events’, brought out every fortnight, the Division compiles two annual reference works, one titled INDIA, an authentic work of reference on India, and the other, MASS MEDIA IN INDIA, a comprehensive publication on mass communication in the country. INDIA is simultaneously released in Hindi language under the title—BHARAT. Reference Library : The Division has a well-stocked library with a large collection of documents on various subjects; bound volumes of select periodicals and various reports of the Ministries, Committees and Commissions. Its collection includes specialised books on subjects pertaining to journalism, public relations, advertising and audio-visual media, all prominent encyclopedia series, yearbooks and contemporary articles. The library facilities are available to accredited correspondents from both Indian and foreign Press and to government officials. National Documentation Centre on Mass Communication: The National Documentation Centre on Mass Communication (NDCMC) was created in 1976 as a part of the Division on the recommendation of an Expert Committee set up by the Ministry, for collecting, interpreting and disseminating information about the events and trends in Mass Media through its periodical services. The NDCMC documents all news items, articles and other information material available on mass communication. The current activities of the Centre range from collecting and documenting information, to dissemination, not only for the development of crosscountry mass communication but also for participation in the international information flow. The information collected is maintained and disseminated through services like ‘Current Awareness Service’—annotated index of select articles; ‘Bibliography Service’ - annotated subject index of articles; ‘Bulletin on Films’ - abstract of various developments in the film industry; ‘Reference Information Service’, ‘Who’s Who in Mass Media’ - biographies of eminent media personalities; ‘Honours Conferred on Mass Communicators’ - details of awards conferred on Mass Communicators and ‘Media Update’ - diary of national and international media events. The NDCMC also compiles and edits a reference annual Mass Media in India. It was first published in 1978. The Annual contains articles on various aspects of the mass media, information on the status of media organisations in Central Government, States and Union Territories. It also includes the general information on print and electronic media. The annual serves as a reference compendium for media practitioners, policy makers, researchers, teachers and students of journalism.

790

India 2010

PHOTO DIVISION Photo Division, an independent media unit meant for visual support for the varied activities of the Government of India, is a subordinate officer of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the biggest production unit of its king of the country in the field of photography. The Division is responsible for visual documentation and the preparing photographs both in Black & White and Colour initially, for both of internal and external publicity on behalf of the Government of India. The major function of the Photo Division is to document photographically, the growth, Development and the political, economical and social changes in the country and to provide visuals (still) to the media units of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and other Central and State Government Agencies, Ministries/ Departments including President Secretariat, Vice-President Secretariat, Prime Minister's Office, Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha Secretariats and Indian Missions abroad through XP Division of the Ministry of External Affairs. External Publicity Division of the Ministry of External Affairs, DAVP and the PIB gets the major support and services provided by the Photo Division External Publicity Division of the Ministry of External Affairs takes the major chunk of its production for the external publicity of the Government of India. This includes extensive documentation of the visit of all the Heads of States/Government of Foreign countries and presentation of the albums of the documentation of these visits on the departure of VVIP's. On the other hand PIB now get the major routine coverage of the local VIP's and uses the picture taken by the Division for the day-to day feeding to the Press through Internet. Where as DAVP depends on the complete visual support from the archives of the Division, which is developed during the last five decades for the preparation/production of various kind of Exhibition/advertising materials to the circulated amongst the large population of the country. The Division also supplies photographs on payment both in Black & White and Colour to the non-publicity organizations and general public through its Pricing Scheme. The Division has substantially updated its laboratories and equipment for handling different king of photographic production and assignments in Black & White and Colour both in conventional system as well as the state of art Digital technology. News Photo Network for transmission of images has been installed at the office of Photo Division, at Soochna Bhawan, New Delhi and the network could be linked from all corners for photo publicity of the Government activities. Division established a Digital Photo Library at its Headquarter at Soochna Bhawan for digital storing of the conventional images acquired by the Division time to time. Processing of the transfer of the images from the conventional photo images to the digital form and placing it to Digital Photo Library is also in progress. Images acquired by the Digital System of Photography are available off line at the moment. However, it would be available online very soon. To keep a synergy between the other Media Units, Division has taken up various measures. To avoid the delay in sending photographs to newspaper through network, Division is now equipped to send picture to the PIB desk without much delay. It has been now using V Data System to use wireless internet facility particularly for sending

Mass

Communication

791

images of the Prime Minister from outside Delhi. To produce excellent publicity materials, director Photo Division took various steps to take up updated documentation be it for the printing of calendar or for thematic exhibitions etc. To disseminate its expertise it also took measures to organise Workshop etc. in collaboration with Media Units and also with State Government. MAJOR ACTIVITIES During the period Division has initiated the collection of Old images with Cellular Jail Authorities who had some unique collection of old photographic records from 1885 onwards till the Independence and about 50 photographs were collected from the British Museum. After a meeting with the Additional Secretary in the Ministry and Director. Photo Division with the Secretary (Culture) of the Andaman and Nicobar Administration, it was decided to have the images digitalized and Photo Division would be able to use these images for the cross-referencing purpose and other necessary needs. Accordingly 50 such images and 119 portraits of unknown freedom fighters who were detained in the Cellular Jail have been digitalized by the Division. Outsourcing of Images In order to enrich its Photo Archives and to have a cross-referencing of the existing images, Photo Division through its Scheme National Centre of Photography had decided to acquire old photographs of archival value of at least 50 years old from the photographers, collectors and individuals having old records. A committee in this respect was formed with two outside experts, an eminent historian Dr. Narayani Gupta and an eminent Photographer Shri Raghu Rai in addition to two Directors from the Ministry and Director, Photo Division as the Chiarman of the Committee. Division has given countrywide announcement for the collection from the collectors. The committee met twice before finalizing the images which have been received from 28 respondents out of which eight were short-listed and 323 images were finalized. There were some unique images of the period 1880 onwards. The Division has acquired some of these images. Photo Division conducted its 21st National Photo Contest on the theme "Life and Environment". The aim of the Photo Contest was to encourage photographers of the country so that talent available in the field could be projected and be given due recognition. The theme was rather wide in its scope and this gave the contestants a large arena from which to select their subjects. Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Smt. Sushma Singh inaugurated the exhibition and distributed the awards to the winners on 29th December 2008 at Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, New Delhi and inaugurated the exhibition. The prize winning and selected photographs of the 20th National Photo Contest entitled "The Spirit of Independent India" has also been exhibited at Bangaluru, Bhopal, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Guwahati and Indore. On the occasion of the Communal Harmony Week, the Division displayed an exhibition, "Secular India" in Soochna Bhawan, New Delhi. PUBLICATIONS

DIVISION

The Publications Division is a repository of books and journals highlighting subjects of national importance and India's rich cultural heritage. It is publishing books in

792

India 2010

English and Hindi as well as in all major Indian languages at affordable prices. The subjects range from art, history, culture, biographies of eminent persons, land and people, flora and fauna, children's literature, science and technology and Gandhian literature to works of references like India - A Reference Annual. Set up in 1941, the Division has published nearly 8000 titles so far in English, Hindi and regional languages. In the year 2008-09, it published 116 titles on varied subjects. The Division also brings out selected speeches of the Presidents and the Prime Ministers. With headquarters at Delhi, the Division functions through its various field units - Sales Emporia at New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Patna, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram and Yojana Offices at New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Hyderabad and Bangaluru. The offices of Employment News and Journals Unit are located in New Delhi. Apart from books on India's art, culture, history, land and people, flora and fauna, Gandhian literature, children's literature, science and technology biographies of eminent Indians, the Division also publishes books to commemorate national events and centenaries of great leaders. Keeping in view the changing times, Publications Division has taken initiative to publish books on areas of contemporary relevance such as globalization, disaster management, environment. ICT, tracts on modern disciplines, economy, finance etc. It has published books on Environment - Paryavaran by Prof Pushpesh Pant, Why People Protest by Subhash Sharma, Earth in Peril etc. ; Globalisation- Bhoomandalikaran by Prof. Pushpesh Pant in Hindi, Science- India in Space Age by Mohan Sundar Rajan, Einstein by Gunakar Mule in Hindi and other books such as Rashtramandal Khel Safarnama Maitri Khelon Ka by Devendra Bharadwaj, Democracy and Human Development by Naresh Gupta etc. It has also published 'Selected Speeches of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh-Vol IV'. These have been some of the noteworthy topics published in the year 2008-09. Some of the important publications released during the period April 2007 to March 2008 are 'My Book of Human Rights'. 'Legends and Folk Tales from and around Asia', '1857â&#x20AC;&#x201D; The Uprising', 'Selected Speeches of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Vol. III', 'A Guide to Home Gardening', - (English), 'Kavi Soordas', 'Safalta Ka Mantra', 'Kathaien', 'Nehru-a Pictorial Biography'- (Regional Languages). In all, 103 books were published during this period. Work on a number of similar projects is also underway. The list of books published by Publications Division is available at www.publicationsdivision.nic.in. Journals Apart from the books, the Division publishes 21 periodicals in English, Hindi and regional languages- Yojana in 13 languages, Kurukshetra in English and Hindi, Ajkal in Hindi and Urdu, Bal Bharati in Hindi. Employment News (weekly) in English, Hindi and Urdu. Bal Bharati The popular children's monthly 'Bal Bharati' in Hindi is being published regularly since 1948. Its objective is to provide healthy entertainment to children while educating them and inculcating human values and scientific temper through short stories, poems, and informative articles.

Mass

Communication

793

Aajkal The prestigious literary magazine 'Aajkal' in Hindi and Urdu. covers differents aspects of Indian culture and literature. The magazine has entered its 65th year of publication in May , 2009. Yojana The flagship journal of the Division seek to carry the messages of planned development to all sections of society and serves as a forum to promote a healthy discussion representing a cross-section of views on socio-economic aspects of development. Published in 13 languages. Yojana presents an All-India perspective while highlighting regional development, innovations and initiatives. The series Shodh Yatra which was re-introduced in the magazine in November 2008 was awarded by Grassroots Innovation Augmentation Network, Jaipur. Digitization of all the 13 editions of Yojana (Hindi, English, Urdu, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Oriya, Bengali and Assamese) and Kurukshetra (English and Hindi) has been done in first two years (2007-09) of the 11th Five Year Plan. Website of Yojana has been operationalized and working satisfactorily Computerization and modernization of Yojana offices have been completed. Kurukshetra Kurukshetra is a lead magazine on rural development issues being published in Hindi and English for the last 57 years and enjoys one of the highest circulation (Over 40,000) in its category of magazines. It is a platform where academicians, planners, NGOs, and thinkers discuss issues on rural development objectively and in detail. As the name would suggest, the magazine covers micro issues evaluating the effect of government policies at the grassroots level. Kurukshetra is an essential reference magazine for those interested in issues related to rural society-its life. culture and economy. Apart from this, the Division also publishes the 'India Reference Annual' and Bharat' These are also updated on our website. Besides its own publications and journal, the Division also handles marketing of publications brought out by other Government Departments. State Governments and Autonomous Organisations such as National Book. Trust, Sahitya Academy. CSIR, ICAR, ICCR etc. Employment News Employment News, a weekly, published in English, Hindi and Urdu languages is the flagship publication of the Publications Division. The weekly carries advertisements for job of Central and State Governments, Public Sector Undertakings, autonomous Bodies, universities, admission notices for professional courses examination notices and results of organizations like UPSC, SSC and other general recruitment bodies and mid level career promotion opportunities (Deputation) in addition to this, there is also an editorial segment, which carries articles relating to career opportunities. Also the Career Guidance series contains new and upcoming fields or professional activities with information

794

India 2010

on the employment prospects in the area, qualifications required to enter the profession and the institute to avail education and training. The journal commands an average circulation of about 4 lakh copies. It has a network of about 297 sales distributors and 4051 direct subscribers spread all over the country. The revenue of the journal has shown sustained growth over the years. The website of Employment News launched under the domain name www.employmentnewsgov.in has become very popular amongst the job seekers throughout the country. The website is now equipped with state of the art Search Engine which enables viewers to quickly retrieve material from the website. Over 65,000 youngsters are now getting free services provided on a routine basis by the website which is in addition to the hits on daily basis made by the viewers. The website has archived write-ups on various career options available and carries over 1300 answers to variety of career related questions. Bharatendu Harischandra Awards To promote original writing in Hindi, Publications Division organises Bharatendu Harischandra Awards annually in four categories namely Journalism and Mass Communication, Women's Issues, Children's Literature and National Integration. These prestigious awards were started 25 years back. FILMS DIVISION The Films Division was constituted in January 1948 by rechristening the erstwhile Information Films of India and the Indian New Parade set up in 1943, primarily for war coverage. The Cinematograph Act of 1918 was Indianised in 1952 which made the screening of documentary films compulsory throughout the country. Since 1949, Films Division has been releasing a documentary or news- based or an animation film every single Friday for the theatres spread across the country, in 15 national languages. Over the decades, the Division has virtually recorded the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s entire post-independence history. With headquarters in Mumbai, Films Division is equipped with all facilities of production studios, recording theatres, editing rooms, animation unit, cameras, video set-up and preview theatres. Dubbing of films in 15 Indian languages is also done inâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;house. The story of the Films Division is synchronous with the eventful years of the country since Independence and over the last 60 years. The Division has been motivating the broadest spectrum of the Indian Public with a view to enlisting their active participation in nation building activities. The aims and objectives of the Division, focused on national perspectives, are to educate and motivate people in the implementation of national programmes and to project the image of the land and the heritage of the country to Indian and foreign audiences. The Division also aims at fostering the growth of the documentary film movement, which is of immense significance to India in the field of national information, communication and integration. The Division produces documentaries, short films, animation films and news magazines from its headquarters at Mumbai, films on Defence and family welfare from in Delhi unit and short fiction films for rural audience from the regional production centers at Kolkata and Bangalore. The Division caters to nearly 8500 cinema theatres all over the country and to the non theatrical circuits like units of the

Mass

Communication

795

Directorate of Field Publicity, mobile units of the State Governments, Doordarashan, field units of the Department of Family Welfare, educational, institutions, film societies and voluntary organisations. The documentaries and newsreels of State Government are also featured in the Division's release on the thestrical circuit. This Division also sell prints, stock shots, video cassettes and distribution rights of documentaries and feature films in India and abroad. Apart from production of films, Films division also gives on hire, its studio, recording theatre, Editing Rooms & other Cine Equipments to private film makers. Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Govt of India has entrusted the task of organizing the Mumbai International films Festival (MIFF) fix Documentary, Short and Amination Films to Films Division. The aim of MIFF contest is the dissemination of images contributing to wider knowledge and close knit fraternity among the nations of the world. This event provides a unique opportunity and platform to filmmakers, film producers, distributors, exhibitors and film critics from different countries to meet and interact during festival. Over the year, MIFF has become a preferred and much awaited event for the filmmakers to showcase their work, internet and exchange ideas. MIFF began in historic journey way back in 1990 and since then it has groups in size and stature as one of the promise international events of the documentary film movement. The biennial MIFF is attended by a large number of prominent documentary and short filmmakers and intellectuals, students from India and other parts of the world. Nearly, 35-40 countries with more than 500 entries participate in every edition of the festival. The 10th edition of Mumbai International film Festival (MIFF) for Documentary, short and Animation was held from 3- February; 2008 at national Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Mumbai in co-operation with the Govt. of Maharashtra. The organisation of the Division is broadly divided into four wings viz. (1) Production, (2) Distribution, (3) International documentary, Short and Animation Film Festival and (4) Administration PRODUCTION

WING

The production wing is responsible for production of films such as (1) Documentary Films (20 short Feature films specially designed for rural audience (3) Animation films and (4) Video films. In addition to the headquarters at Mumbai, three production centres of the Division are located at Bangalore, Kolkata and New Delhi. The documentaries range in theme and topic from agriculture to art and architecture, from industry to the international scenes, from to festivals, from health care to housing, from science and technology to sports, from trade and commerce to transport, from tribal welfare to community development etc. Normally, the division reserves about 40 percent of its production schedule for allotment to independent film makers from all over the country with a view to encouraging individual talent and thus promoting the documentary movement in the country. In addition to its normal production programme, the Division provides assistance to all the Ministries and Departments of Government including public sector organisations in producing documentary films. Newsreel Wing of films Division encompasses a network spread over main cities and towns including State and Union Territory capital engaged in covering of

796

India 2010

major Events. VVIP visits, etc to the different parts of the country and abroad and other events like natural calamities etc. These coverages are used for making the fortnightly news magazines and also in compilation of archival material. Cartoon films Unit of Films Division has also become high-tech with Computer animation replacing cell or classical animation. Equipped with the state-of-the-art technology both in hardware and software, the Unit now can churn out productions in U.S. animation, 2-D and 3-D animation with advanced software including Opus, Concerto, High-end and Maya. The Commentary Section looks after the dubbing of films and news magazines into 14 Indian languages and foreign languages from the basic version (English/ Hindi) The Delhi based Unit of the Division has the responsibility of production of instructional and motivational films for the Ministry of Defense and the Department of Family Welfare and other Ministries/Deptts. With a view to adapting to the changing scenario, the unit has lately been equipped with video film making facilities. The regional centres of the Division at Kolkata and Bangalore also produce social and educational documentaries to spread the message of social and national issues such as family welfare, communal harmony, dowry, bonded labour, untouchability. etc. DISTRIBUTION

WING

The Distribution Wing (DHO) is headed by the Officer-in-charge of Distribution and control 10 Distribution Branch Offices situated in Kolkata, Lucknow, Nagpur, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Bangalore, Chennai, Maduarai and Thiruvananthapuram. These branches are headed by either Sr. Branch Manager or Branch manager who function as Head of Office as well as DDO of the Branches concerned and are responsible for the supply of Approval films to all the cinema theatres (required under the Central Cinematograph Act, 1952), execution of Agreement, issue of films Division Certificate as well as collection of 1% rent from the exhibitors. Films Division has released 7917 prints of 52 approved films in cinema houses through out the country and has earned Rs. 498.74/- as rent revenue up to March,2009. The distribution Wing has redefined itself and has made Film Festivals a regular activity at State and district levels, independently as well as in collaboration with NGOs, film societies, educational institutions etc; to reach out to the masses and to promote and encourage documentary movement. The Distribution Branch Offices have conducted 34 film festivals till March 2009 reaching out to even the remotest places in India. These festivals were appreciated by the audiences from all walks of life. FILM LIBRARY SECTION The Film Library of films Division is treasure of valuable archival material of India's contemporary history and its rich heritage and artistic traditions. It is in great demand by the Film makers throughout the world. It contributes vital footage for the production

Mass

Communication

797

of films by rendering services besides bringing out revenue through the stock footage sale. The total collection of film Library is about 1.9 lakhs items of 8200 titles which include original picture negatives, depu/inter negatives, sould negatives, master inter positives, saturated prints, pre dub sound negatives, 16 mm prints, library prints and answer prints etc. The films are categorized based on the archival value as Most Precious, Precious and Normal films. 1239 films of Most Precious category have been restored digitally in high definition format, and 7403 tites have been transferred on Standard Defination Format. This library has user friendly computerized information system. The details of Film Library are also available in the web site. ADMINISTRATING

WING

The Administration Wing provides the necessary facilities like Finance, Personnel, Stores, Accounts, Factory Management and General Administration. This Wing is directly under the control of Senior Administrative Officer who is assisted by the following officers : 1.

Assistant Administrative Officers in the matters relating to personnel Management, Purchase, General Administration, Vigilance and Security.

Accounts Officer in consultation with Internal Festival Adviser in the matters of Finance and Accounts.

CENTRAL BOARD OF FILM CERTIFICATION The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), set up under the Cinematograph Act, 1952, certifies films for public exhibition in India. It consists of a Chairperson and twenty-five other non-official members. The Board has its headquarters at Mumbai and nine regional offices located at Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Cuttack, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Mumbai, New Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram. The regional offices are assisted in the examination of films by advisory panels consisting of persons from different walks of life. Smt. Sharmila Tagore, a well-known film personality, is presently working as Chairperson of the Board. Till March 2009, 17 Feature Films were refused certificates as they were found to violate one or more of the statutory guidelines issued by the Central Government under section 5B(2) of the Cinematograph Act, 1952. Some of them were subsequently certified in their revised versions. The 115th meeting of the members of the Central Board of Film Certification was held on 7th July, 2008 at Kolkata. The 116th meeting of the members of the Central Board of Film Certification was held on 6th September 2008 at New Delhi. The 117th meting of the members of the Central Board of Film Certification was held on 26th December, 2008 at New Delhi. All the meetings were presided over by Ms Sharmila Tagore, the Chairperson of the Board. Workshops were held for Advisory Panel Members for censoring of films. As in the last year, workshops were arranged at various regional centres for the benefit of the members of the Advisory Panels and Examining Officers. Various issues involved in the examination of the films were discussed at the workshops and cut portions from some selected films were screened to illustrate the various guidelines for certification of films. The need for observing a code of conduct and discipline was also emphasised.

798

India 2010

Under the Cinematograph Act, neither the Board nor the Central Government has power to enforce the Boardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s decisions at the time of public exhibition of films. The authority rests with the State Governments and Union Territory Administrations. The Board has, from time to time, sought to systematise the detection of interpolations in films. During the period January to December 2006, 46 cases of interpolations in films were detected at various places and the verification reports were sent to the concerned Judicial Magistrates for necessary action. The workload of CBFC has increased considerably due to the certification of film various channels as per the Mumbai High Court Judgment. The increase in certification of video films has increased from 4188 in 2005 to 7129 in 2006. In order to speed up the certification work meet the target and timelimit CBFC has distributed the work of different satellite channels to different regions of CBFC Additional Examining Officers have been taken on deputation from other Central Government Offices to dispose off the films. NATIONAL FILM DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION LIMITED The National Film Development Corporation Limited (NFDC) was incorporated in 1975. It got restructured in 1980 after amalgamation of Indian Motion Pictures Export Corporation (IMPEC) and Film Finance Corporation (FFC). The primary objective of NFDC is to foster excellence in cinema and to develop state-of-the-art technology in audio-visual and related fields. The main activities of the Corporation includes financing and producing of films with creative and artistic excellence, on socially relevant themes and experimental in form. The NFDC arranges distribution and dissemination of films through various channels. NFDC provides essential preproduction and post-production infrastructure to the film industry, keeping pace with the latest technology. The NFDC also endeavours to promote culture and understanding of cinema by organising Film Weeks, Indian Panaroma and Film Festivals in collaboration with Film Societies, National Film Circle and other Agencies representing Indian and Foreign Films. The NFDC encourages the concept of low-budget films which are high in quality, content and social values. During 2005-06 (up to December 2005) the Corporation had exported 10 films. During the same period NFDC participated in 8 international and regional film festivals showcasing 19 Indian films. NFDCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s film PARINAAMAM (Malayalam) directed by Venu, has won international award for best screen play in ASHDOD International Film Festival, Israel. The corporation in collaboration with CII has organised Film Bazaar at Goa during the 36th IFFI. The Cine Artistes Welfare Fund of India set-up by NFDC, is the biggest ever trust in the Indian Film Industry with a corpus fund of Rs 4.48 crore. DIRECTORATE OF FILM FESTIVALS The Directorate of Film Festivals was set up under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in 1973 with the prime objective of promoting good cinema. This is undertaken by organising a range of activities under these broad categories. (a)

The International Film Festival of India.

Mass

Communication

799

(b)

The National Film Awards and the Dada Saheb Phalke Award.

(c)

Cultural Exchange Programme and organising screening of Indian films through the missions abroad.

(d)

The selection of Indian Panorama.

(e)

Participation in international film festivals abroad.

(f)

Special film expositions on behalf of the Government of India.

(g)

Print collection and documentation.

These activities provide a unique platform for exchange of ideas, culture and experiences between India and other countries in the field of cinema. It also provides a powerful platform for Indian cinema and fosters commercial opportunities for Indian films. Within the country, the latest trends in global cinema are made accessible to the general public, film industry and students. NATIONAL FILM ARCHIVE OF INDIA The National Film Archive of India was established in February 1964 as a media unit under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The primary charter of NFAI is to safeguard the heritage of Indian Cinema for posterity and act as a centre for dissemination of a healthy film culture in the country. Promotion of film scholarship and research on various aspects of Cinema also form part of its objectives. Familiarising foreign audiences with Indian Cinema and to make it more visible across the globe is another declared function of the Archive. NFAI has been a member of the International Federation of Film Archives since May 1969, which enables it to get expert advice and material on preservation techniques, documentation, etc. The archive has its own film vaults designed according to international film preservation standards. The construction of specialised vaults for preserving colour films is underway. The well-stocked library of over 25,000 books on Cinema published across the globe is a boon to serious students of Cinema. More than 100 Indian and foreign journals on Cinema are received in the library. Over 30,000 filmscripts both Indian and foreign received from the Central Boards of Film Certification are also preserved in the Archive. It is an ongoing job at the Archive to trace and acquire national and international films to enrich its collection. The well-stocked library of about 30,000 books on Cinema published across the globe is a reservoir of information to serious students of Cinema. More than 100 Indian and foreign journals on Cinema are received in the liberary. Over 30,000 filmscripts both Indian and foreign received from the Central Boards of Film Certification are also preserved in the Archive. The Research and Documentation Centre has a large collection of ancillary material on Indian Cinema. This Centre attempts to collect photographs/stills, songbooklets, wallposters, pamphlets and other publicity material of films certified by the various Film Certification Boards in the country. The NFAI encourages and promotes research and academic activities on every aspect of Cinema. It assigns monographs on eminent Indian filmmakers and pioneering film personalities, research fellowships on themes related to Indian cinema, and aural history recordings of senior artists and technicians. The Archive has published 12 such projects so far. As a part of its activities of disseminating film

800

India 2010

culture, NFAI has a Distribution Library of films which supplies films to film societies, educational institutions and cultural organisations in the country. It also conducts joint-screening programmes at centres like Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Cochin, Jamshedpur, Pune and Delhi. It is a major source of films for international film festivals in India and abroad. NFAI has been conducting its Annual Film Appreciation Course of four weeks duration at Pune in collaboration with Film and Television Institute of India for the last three decades. Participants from different professions from all over India are exposed to the best of Indian and World Cinema. Among the major topics taught are the Basics of the Film Medium, Cinema as an Art, Film History, Film Theory, Relationship of Cinema with other Arts and so on. The Archive also coordinates short-term courses on similar lines in collaboration with educational institutions and cultural organisations outside Pune. A large number of scholars and researchers on Cinema from within the country and abroad look forward to NFAI as a major resource Centre where they have easy access to the largest repository of Indian Cinema and perhaps the best library of books on Cinema and related arts in the country. The website of NFAI can be visited at http://www.nfaipune.gov.in. CHILDREN’S FILM SOCIETY, INDIA Children’s Film Society, India (CFSI) was established in 1955 to provide value-based entertainment to children through the medium of films. CFSI is engaged in production, acquisition, distribution/exhibition and promotion of children’s films. The Head Office of the CFSI is located in Mumbai with branch/zonal offices in New Delhi and Chennai. Films produced/procured by the Society are exhibited through State/District wise Children’s Film Festivals as well as through theatrical, non-theatrical exhibition in schools through Distributors, NGOs, etc. CFSI participated in Toronto International Films Festival Group, 8th International Films Festival, 11th Seoul International Yatra Festival and Shanghai International Film Festival. The CFSI Marketing Deptt. with its Head Office at Mumbai's Zonal Offices at Delhi and Chennai could reach out to a record number of 22,65,968 children by arranging 10,147 shows during the year 2008-09. DIRECTORATE OF ADVERTISING AND VISUAL PUBLICITY The Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) is the nodal multi-media agency of the Government to meet the publicity requirements of various Ministries and Departments in a cost-effective manner. It provides single window service for publicising Government Policies and Programmes from conception to design and execution through various media formats including press advertisements, print publicity (Folders, Posters, Brochures, Kits, Booklets, Calendars and Diaries), outdoor publicity (Hoardings, Bus-Back Panels, Banners, Kiosks, Computer Animation displays, etc.), audio-visual publicity (Audio-Video spots, short films, docu-dramas, jingles, sponsored programmes, etc.) and exhibitions. DAVP with its headquarters in New Delhi, has two Regional Offices at Bangalore and Guwahati, besides 32 Field Exhibition Units across the country. Press Advertisements : DAVP has on its panel over 4100 newspapers and periodicals in 22 languages covering all states for release of advertisements. Empanelment of

Mass

Communication

801

publications is done as per the guidelines and procedures of the Advertisement Policy of the Government of India. The primary objective is to secure the widest possible coverage through advertisement keeping in view the message, target and the budget, 32,000 advertisements were released by the Directorate in the financial year 2008-2009. Audio Visual Publicity : The Audio Visual Cell of DAVP produces and broadcasts/ telecasts programmes and spots on social themes for Ministries/Departments. DAVP arranges telecast/broadcast of Audio/Video spots on AIR, Doordarshan and private radio/television channels. The audio/video programmes are produced through empanelled producers. These programmes include audio and video spots/jingles, sponsored and folk music based radio programmes, promotional tele-films which are dubbed in Hindi, English and regional languages for national telecast/broadcast. More than 500 A.V. and Radio spots, Jingles, Documentaries and Docu-dramas were produced and 160 Campaigns launched on TV and Radio in 2008-09. DAVP has over 250 Audio and Video producers, 170 private TV channels and over 100 private FM channels on its panel apart from Doordarshan. AIR and Lok Sabha T.V. Printed Publicity : Different kinds of publicity materials like posters, folders, booklets, brochures, calendars, diaries, wall hangers, stickers, etc., are designed and produced by DAVP in Hindi, English and various Indian languages to take socially relevant messages of the Government of India to the masses. During the year 2008-2009, DAVP brought out publicity items in various languages worth Rs. 800 lakh. Exhibitions : Photo exhibitions are important means of propagating messages of national development and other issues of social relevance. DAVP conceptualises, designs, develops and mounts exhibition material, montages and artefacts for exhibitions on specific themes. In the year 2008-2009, 600 photo exhibitions were held all over the country, over a period of 2000 exhibition days. Outdoor Publicity : Publicity through various outdoor formats like hoardings, wall paintings, cinema slides, computerized animation displays, kiosks, bus queue shelters, bus-back panels, etc., are utilised by DAVP to display messages on policies/ programmes of Ministries/Departments of the Central Government. It is a conventional but an effective means of spreading any message and the displays serve as a constant reminder to passers by and viewers. In 2008-2009, a total number of over 380 jobs worth Rs 1389 Lakh were executed by the Directorate. Mass Mailing : The Mass Mailing Wing of DAVP has over 16.5 lakh addresses to reach out to a wide spectrum of people across the country. Over 170 jobs work taken up in 2008-2009 in which nearly 1 crore copies of the printed material were despatched to various mailing address. Studio : DAVP has a full-fledged Studio with qualified artists for designing of publicity material required for different campaigns. The designs are mostly prepared in-house, keeping in mind the special publicity requirements of the region where the publicity campaign is to be launched. The Studio is equipped with DTP facility for making designs for Print Publicity, Press Advertisements, Outdoor Publicity, etc. DIRECTORATE OF FIELD PUBLICITY The Directorate of Field Publicity with its headquarters in New Delhi is the largest rural oriented interpersonal communication medium in the country. It operates as a

802

India 2010

two-way channel for dissemination of information among masses and gathering feed back for the Government. It acts as a bridge between the people and the Government. Established in 1953 as ‘Five Year Plan Publicity Organisation’ with sole objective of publicity of Five Year Plans, the Directorate assumed its present format and role in 1959 with its publicity scope widened and made all inclusive. Over the years, its area of operation as also its aims and objectives have diversified. These in brief are: (a) to inform, educate, motivate and involve the people of India, especially at the grassroot level, in the process of development so that the vision of the framers of the constitution as outlined in its preamble is realised. (b) to generate public opinion for the implementation of developmental programmes and mobilise popular participation in the process of nation building. (c) to keep the public, especially the weak, the marginal and the remotely placed, informed about the policies and the programmes of the Government and generate awareness on several national and social issues of relevance. (d) to keep the Government informed of the people’s reactions to its programmes and policies and their implementation at the field level thereby facilitating corrective measures as and where required. DFP communicates with the people through various mode of communication inter personal communication is the basic of essence of all its programme activities. The Directorate resorts largely to interactive medium like Group Discussions, Seminars/Symposia, Public Meetings, Elocution Contest, Question-Answer sessions, etc., to convey its message to the masses. It also resorts to visual and live entertainment programmes like Film shows, Photo Exhibitions, Song & Drama, etc., to communicate with the people. The Directorate also conducts competitions like quiz, essay, drawing and painting, slogan writing and rural sports, etc., to disseminate message on the chosen themes. Providing feed back of public perception to the authorities is also major function of DFP. During the year the Directorate conducted massive awareness campaign on National Rural Health Mission, AIDS Awareness, Iodine Deficiency Disorders Control, Non-Conventional Energy Sources. Legal Literacy and Free Legal Aid Programmes for the poor, Common Minimum Programme of UPA Govt., etc. Public Information Campaign was a new and important feature of the publicity activities of the Directorate. DFP participated in about 100 PIB led PICs on Bharat Nirman in different parts of the country. In every PIC four Field Publicity Units were deployed for five days of pre PIC phase and five days of main PIC. In all the PICs DFP put up a stall where information on a variety of topics of public interest was disseminated. DFP ensured that people in large numbers participated in the PICs across the country. Observance of Days and Weeks of National Importance is yet another way DFP whereby help generate public participation in nation building process by instilling nationalism and communal harmony among the people. During the year DFP observed all the important Days and Weeks of national importance in a befitting manner. SONG AND DRAMA DIVISION The Song and Drama Division was set up in 1954 as a unit of All India Radio and was given the status of an Independent media unit in 1956 with the mandate of development communication. This is the largest organization in the country using performing arts as a medium of communication. The Division uses a wide range of

Mass

Communication

803

art forms such as drama, ballets, operas, dance-dramas, folk and traditional recitals, puppetry. In addition, the Division organizes theatrical shows on national themes such as communal harmony, national integration, secularism, promotion of cultural heritage, health, environment, education, etc., through Sold and Light Programmes. ORGANIZATIONAL SET UP Functioning from Headquarters at Delhi the Division has the following field offices : (a) Ten Regional Centres at Bangalore, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati, Kolkata, Lucknow, Pune, and Ranchi; (b) Seven Border Centres at Imphal, Jammu, Shimla, Nainital, Darbhanga, Jodhpur and Guwahati; (c) Six Drama troupes at Bhubaneshwar, Delhi, Hyderabad, Patna, Pune and Srinagar; (d) Nine troupes of Armed Forces Entertainment Wing at Delhi and Chennai; (e) Two Sound and Light Units at Bangalore and Delhi and (f) A Tribal Pilot Project at Ranchi. ARMED FORCES ENTERTAINMENT WING The Division caters to the entertainment requirements of the Armed Forces in most inhospitable, remote, border and forward areas. The Armed Forces Entertainment Wing troupes are very popular for presenting folk dances from all the states in original and attractive forms, colour and costume, thereby highlighting the cultural integration of the country. The areas visited by these tropes include Leh, Ladakh, Chamathang, Thoyas, Partapur, Mokok Chung, Lung Talai, Alon Samdhu, Pang, Port Blair, IndoChina and Burma, Pak, Bangla borders interior parts of J&K and North East Region. TRIBAL PUBLICITY Ranchi Tribal Centre was established in 1980 to enhance awareness activities by involving more tribal artistes in the developmental process. 419 Programmes were presented by the Troupes in Tribal Areas of Bihar, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh & Orissa to educate the people about various developmental schemes designed for them during 2007-08. BORDER PUBLICITY TROUPES The Border Publicity Troupes are Departmental troupes functioning at Imphal, Guwahati, Darbhanga, Nainital, Shimla, Jammu and Jodhpur. These troupes have undertaken publicity in the remote border areas to educate the people about various developmental schemes of Government of India and also to counter the propaganda across the border. These Programmes were organized in close coordination with SSB, BSF and other Government agencies. The troupes present programme on National Importance in local dialects and Hindi touching Indo China, Pak, Myanmar and Banga borders. DEPARTMENTAL DRAMA TROUPES During the year, the Departmental Drama Troupes situated at Delhi, Pune, Patna, Hyderabad, Bhubaneshwar, Jammu/Srinagar and Delhi presented plays on various themes like Family Welfare, AIDS, Drug Abuse, National Integration, Communal Harmony, Environmental Issues etc. These troupes presented shows especially in local fairs and festivals and during the India International Trade Fair 2007 where large number of people congregate. Various issues on Health and family Welfare were presented in styles of plays.

804

India 2010

PLAN SCHEME Under the Plan schemes, the Division has a comprehensive programme in the form of "Live Arts & Culture for Rural India" Scheme. During 2008-09 the following are the special components of the approved plan scheme of the Division : (a)

Information, Communication, Technology activities in hilly/tribal/desert/ sensitive & border areas.

(b)

Activities in 76 identified districts.

(c)

Publicity on Common Minimum Programmes in 12 Regional Centres.

(d)

Special Activities in J&K and North East.

(e)

Presentation of Theatrical shows on National/social themes.

(f)

Reversed Development and Training.

(g)

Conducting impact alsement studying to ascertaing effectiveness of the programme.

ICT ACTIVITIES IN HILLY/TRIBAL/DESERT/SENSITIVE & BORDER AREAS The Division also presents Programmes in Tribal, Hilly and Desert areas with the view to create awareness among the isolated tribes living in the hilly and desert areas regarding the developmental activities initiated for their welfare. These Programmes aim at promoting amongst them a sense of belonging to the country and to encourage them for their participation in the on going developmental activities around them by devising programmes which are intelligible to them. These programmes are presented in the language/dialects of the local people. The Division has presented 5029 programmes against the target of 3640. ACTIVITIES IN 76 IDENTIFIED DISTRICTS Under plan schemes activities in 76 identified districts the Division presented Programmes in the specially identified districts all over the India. National Integration, Communal Harmony, Anti-Terrorism and Patriotism are the themes being highlighted through these Programmes. The Division has successionally Implemented the Scheme and prescribed 1082 programmes against the target of 760 programmes during the year. PUBLICITY ON COMMON MINIMUM PROGRAMME Under the Plan scheme for Publicity on Common Minimum Programme, this Division presented 685 Programmes against the target of 480 during 2008-09. SPECIAL ACTIVITIES IN J&K AND NORTH EAST REGIONS During the year 2008-09, this Division presented 552 Programmes providing special coverage for North-East, Jammu & Kashmir and other identified districts. PRESENTATION OF THEATRICAL SHOWS ON NATIONAL THEMES With the objective of educating the people in general and youth in particular about the rich cultural and historical heritage of the country, the Sound & Light Unit of the Division mounts Sound and Light programmes in various parts of the country.

Mass

Communication

805

RED RIBBON EXPRESSâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;PUBLICITY ON AIDS In order to provide wide and effective publicity NACO has flagged off a special train "Red Ribbon Express" from 1st December 2007. In all its 111 halting places the Division presented 1515 programmes covering Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Assam. BHARAT NIRMAL-PUBLIC INFORMATION CAMPAIGN During 2008-09, the Division participated in all the Public Information Campaigns organized by the Min. of Information & Broadcasting in which all the media units played remarkable role in giving publicity on themes like National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme, National Rural Health Mission, Sarvshiksha Abhiyan, Universal Mid-day meal programme, Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission, Right to Information Act, Prime Minister's 15 point programme on minorities etc. In addition to presenting colorful programmes at the place of the campaign, the Division also presented pre and post publicity programmes for five days before and after the campaign in the surrounding villages thereby creating awareness on the developmental schemes under the Common Minimum Programmes.

TRAINING FILM AND TELEVISION INSTITUTE OF INDIA The FTII, Pune, is a premiere institution for imparting training in the art and craft of filmmaking and television production. It conducts three-year post-graduate diploma courses in film and television and one-year certificate course in television. Now, it has also started a one-year certificate course in feature film screenplay writing and a two-year diploma course in Acting. From the academic year 2005-06, the Institute has launched a two-year post-graduate diploma course in art direction (in which 12 candidates were admitted) and a 1Â˝-year certificate course in animation and computer graphics. The Institute conducts in-service training courses for Doordarshan personnel in television production and technical operations, and has completed training of more than five thousand trainees of till now. The Institute also conducts short-term courses in various media-related professional subjects. The Institute regularly enters its student films in national and international festivals in both competitive and non-competitive sections to ensure greater exposure and visibility of its works. Several of these films have gone on to win national and international awards. The Institute is also involved in strengthening ties with other leading film schools in the world by way of exchange programmes for its students as well as faculty members. One of the important annual features of the FTII is conducting of four-week summer course in film appreciation in collaboration with National Film Archive of India, Pune. SATYAJIT RAY FILM AND TELEVISION INSTITUTE Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), Kolkata, an autonomous academic institution under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, was registered in 1995 under the West Bengal Societies Registration Act, 1961. The Institute is a National Centre offering 3 year post-graduate diploma courses in: (i) Film Direction and Screenplay Writing; (ii) Motion Picture Photography; (iii) Editing (Film and Video) and (iv) Sound Recording. The Institute holds an all India basis competitive

806

India 2010

examination each year, to select prospective students for its different streams. Documentary Films titled ‘Chen Pao-Chinese Chilly Sauce’, ‘Here is my Nocturne’ and ‘Flights of Distress’ have got the official entry in the Mumbai Film Festival 2006. It is a matter of rare distinction that the documentary ‘Here is My Nocturne’ has been selected for screening at the Cannes Film Festival-2006. Many of the Institute’s productions got invitations of many national and international film festivals both in India and abroad. The efforts of the Institute’s students always garner wide appreciation from the cine lovers across the globe. The Institute regularly organises seminars/conferences/exhibitions on films and visual arts/media, sometimes jointly with some reputed organisations. SRFTI organised the first ever retrospective of films produced by the NFDC- "NFDC in Retrospect" form May 24 to May 28, 2008. INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MASS COMMUNICATION The Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) which was set up in response to a need felt to evolve a methodology and effective use of communication resources as a part of the country’s overall development strategy, made a small beginning on 17 August 1965, as a department of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. Later it was registered as an autonomous organisation under the Societies Registration Act (XXI) of 1860 on 22 January 1966. The Institute which receives funds for its recurring and non-recurring expenditure as grant-in-aid from the Government of India through the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, is today recognised as a “Centre of Excellence” in the field of communication teaching, training and research. It provides knowledge and skills to young communicators in a variety of disciplines including print, photography, radio and television, as also development communication, communication research, advertising and public relations. The Institute also collaborates with national and international agencies in conducting training, seminars and workshops as well as in undertaking joint research projects. It also conducts short courses addressed to the specific needs of the industry, government and public sector organisations. During the year 2008-09, the IIMC conducted the following long-term training programmes and Diploma Courses: (a) Post-graduate Diploma Course in Journalism (English) at New Delhi and Dhenkanal (Orissa); (b) Post-graduate Diploma Course in Journalism (Hindi); (c) Post-graduate Diploma Course in Advertising and Public Relations; (d) Post-graduate Diploma Course in Radio & TV Journalism; (e) Postgraduate Diploma Course in Oriya Journalism; and (f) Diploma Course in Development Journalism. In addition, the Institute runs short-term academic programmes for middle and senior level officers of the Indian Information Service and the personnel of different media units. The Institute also provides consultancy services on request to Central and State Government Departments and Public Sector Undertakings, and helps in designing and organising training and research programmes related to Development Communication. Continuing the tradition of the non-aligned movement’s efforts to improve journalistic skills in developing countries as well as to evolve a third world perspective, the Institute offers a Diploma Course in Development Journalism. Two such courses

Mass

Communication

807

are held every year, each of four months’ duration. The 51st course in the series (AugNov) commenced on 1 August 2008. IIMC has only one Scheme viz. "Converting IIMC into International Media University in the 11th five year plans". The IIMC branch at Dhenkanal is fully functional since August 1993 and is attracting a large number of students from the Eastern Region. The branch has all infrastructure facilities and is conducting two Post-graduate Diploma Courses in Journism (English and Oriya). As part of the initiative in the Northeast and under the Plan Scheme ‘‘Collaboration with Regional Centres of Learning’’ IIMC has entered into a collaboration with Nagaland University for organising Post-Graduate Diploma Course in Journalism and Mass Communication. The MoU between Indian Institute of Mass Communication and Nagaland University in this regard was signed on 17 September 2004. The first such course with 14 students commenced from 20 January 2005. The IIMC has established a Community Radio Station ‘‘Apna Radio FM 96.9 MHz.’’ Inaugurated on 9 September 2005 it provides hands-on experience to the students in public service broadcasting.

23 Planning PLANNING in India derives its objectives and social premises from the Directive Principles of State Policy enshrined in the Constitution. Public and private sectors are viewed as complementary. The private sector covers, besides organised industry, small-scale industries, agriculture, trade and housing, construction and related areas. Individual efforts and private initiatives are considered necessary and desirable in the national endeavour for development with optimum voluntary cooperation. The Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh is the Chairman of the Planning Commission and Shri Montek Singh Ahluwalia is its Deputy Chairman. Shri V. Narayansamy, Minister of State for Planning, is the ex-offico member of the Planning Commission. Other members are Shri B.K. Chaturvedi, Shri Sanmitra Chandhri, Dr. (Ms.) Syeda Saiydain Hameed, Dr Narendra Jadhav, Prof. Abhijit Sen, Dr. Mihir Shah, Dr. K. Kasturirangan and Shri Arun Maira. FIRST PLAN Keeping in view the large-scale import of foodgrains in 1951 and inflationary pressures on the economy, the First Plan (1951-56) accorded the highest priority to agriculture including irrigation and power projects. About 44.6 per cent of the total outlay of Rs 2,069 crore in the public sector (later raised to Rs 2,378 crore) was allocated for this purpose. The Plan aimed at increasing the rate of investment from five to about seven per cent of the national income. SECOND PLAN The Second Five-Year Plan (1956-57 to 1960-61) sought to promote a pattern of development, which would ultimately lead to the establishment of a socialistic pattern of society in India. Its main aims were (i) an increase of 25 per cent in the national income; (ii) rapid industrialisation with particular emphasis on the development of basic and heavy industries; (iii) large expansion of employment opportunities; and (iv) reduction of inequalities in income and wealth and a more even distribution of economic power. The Plan aimed at increasing the rate of investment from about seven per cent of the national income to 11 per cent by 1960-61. It laid emphasis on industrialisation, increased production of iron and steel, heavy chemicals including nitrogenous fertilizers and development of heavy engineering and machine building industry. THIRD PLAN The Third Plan (1961-62 to 1965-66) aimed at securing a marked advance towards self-sustaining growth. Its immediate objectives were to: (i) secure an increase in the national income of over five per cent per annum and at the same time ensure a pattern of investment which could sustain this rate of growth in the subsequent Plan periods; (ii) achieve self-sufficiency in foodgrains and increase agricultural production to meet the requirements of industry and exports; (iii) expand basic industries like steel, chemicals, fuel and power and establish machine building capacity so that the requirements of further industrialisation could be met within a period of about 10 years mainly from the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own resources; (iv) fully utilise the manpower resources of the country and ensure a substantial expansion in employment

Planning

809

opportunities; and (v) establish progressively greater equality of opportunity and bring about reduction in disparities of income and wealth and a more even distribution of economic power. The Plan aimed at increasing the national income by about 30 per cent from Rs 14,500 crore in 1960-61 to about Rs 19,000 crore by 1965-66 (at 1960-61 prices) and per capita income by about 17 per cent from Rs 330 to Rs 386 over the same period. ANNUAL PLANS The situation created by the Indo-Pakistan conflict in 1965, two successive years of severe drought, devaluation of the currency, general rise in prices and erosion of resources available for Plan purposes delayed the finalisation of the Fourth Five Year Plan. Instead, between 1966 and 1969, three Annual Plans were formulated within the framework of the draft outline of the Fourth Plan. FOURTH PLAN The Fourth Plan (1969-74) aimed at accelerating the tempo of development of reducing fluctuations in agricultural production as well as the impact of uncertainties of foreign aid. It sought to raise the standard of living through programmes designed to promote equality and social justice. The Plan laid particular emphasis on improving the conditions of the less privileged and weaker sections especially through provision of employment and education. Efforts were directed towards reduction of concentration of wealth, income and economic power to promote equity. The Plan aimed at increasing the net domestic product (at 1968-69 factor cost) from Rs 29,071 crore in 1969-70 to Rs 38,306 crore in 1973-74. The average annual compound rate of growth envisaged was 5.7 per cent. FIFTH PLAN The Fifth Plan (1974-79) was formulated against the backdrop of severe inflationary pressures. The major objectives of the Plan were to achieve self-reliance and adopt measures for raising the consumption standard of people living below the poverty line. This Plan also gave high priority to bring inflation under control and to achieve stability in the economic situation. It targeted an annual growth rate of 5.5 per cent in the national income. Four Annual Plans pertaining to the Fifth Plan period were completed. It was subsequently decided to end the Fifth Plan period with the close of the Annual Plan 1978-79. SIXTH PLAN Removal of poverty was the foremost objective of the Sixth Plan (1980-85). The strategy adopted was to move simultaneously towards strengthening the infrastructure for both agriculture and industry. Stress was laid on tackling inter-related problems through a systematic approach with greater management, efficiency and intensive monitoring in all sectors and active involvement of people in formulating specific schemes of development at the local level and securing their speedy and effective implementation. The actual expenditure in the Sixth Plan stood at Rs 1,09,291.7 crore (current price) as against the envisaged total public sector outlay of Rs 97,500 crore (1979-80 prices) accounting for a 12 per cent increase in nominal terms. The average annual growth rate targeted for the Plan was 5.2 per cent.

India 2010

810 SEVENTH PLAN

The Seventh Plan (1985-90) emphasised policies and programmes, which aimed at rapid growth in foodgrains production, increased employment opportunities and productivity within the framework of basic tenets of planning, namely, growth, modernisation, self-reliance and social justice. Foodgrains production during the Seventh Plan grew by 3.23 per cent as compared to a long-term growth rate of 2.68 per cent between 1967-68 and 1988-89 and the growth rate of 2.55 per cent in the eighties due to overall favourable weather conditions, implementation of various thrust programmes and concerted efforts of the Government and the farmers. To reduce unemployment and consequently, the incidence of poverty, special programmes like Jawahar Rozgar Yojana were launched in addition to the existing programmes. Due recognition was accorded to the role, small-scale and food processing industries could play in this regard. The total expenditure during the entire Seventh Plan stood at Rs 2,18,729.62 crore (current prices) as against the envisaged total public sector outlay of Rs 1,80,000 crore, resulting in a 21.52 per cent increase in nominal terms. During this Plan period, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew at an average rate of 5.8 per cent exceeding the targeted growth rate by 0.8 per cent. ANNUAL

PLANS

The Eighth Five-Year Plan (1990-95) could not take off due to the fast-changing political situation at the Centre. The new Government, which assumed power at the Centre in June 1991, decided that the Eighth Five-Year Plan would commence on 1st April 1992 and that 1990-91 and 1991-92 should be treated as separate Annual Plans. Formulated within the framework of the Approach to the Eighth Five-Year Plan (1990-95), the basic thrust of these Annual Plans was on maximisation of employment and social transformation. EIGHTH

PLAN

The Eighth Five-Year Plan (1992-97) was launched immediately after the initiation of structural adjustment policies and macro stabilisation policies, which were necessitated by the worsening Balance of Payments position and the position of inflation during 1990-91. The various structural adjustment policies were introduced gradually so that the economy could be pushed to a higher growth path and improve its strength and thus prevent a crisis in Balance of Payments and inflation in the future. The Eighth Plan took note of some of these policy changes, which were to come about due to these reforms. The Plan aimed at an average annual growth rate of 5.6 per cent and an average industrial growth rate of about 7.5 per cent. These growth targets were planned to be achieved with relative price stability and substantial improvement in the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Balance of Payments. Some of the salient features of economic performance during the Eighth FiveYear Plan indicate, among other things, (a) a faster economic growth, (b) a faster growth of the manufacturing sector and agriculture and allied sectors, (c) significant growth rates in exports and imports, improvement in trade and current account deficit and a significant reduction in the Central Governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fiscal deficit. However, a shortfall in expenditure in the Central sector due to inadequate mobilisation of internal and extra budgetary resources by the PSUs and various departments was witnessed. In the States sector, the reason for the shortfall was lack of mobilisation of adequate resources due to deterioration in the balance of current revenues, erosion in

811

Planning

the contribution of state electricity boards and state road transport corporations, negative opening balance, mounting non-Plan expenditure and shortfalls in the collection of small savings, etc. The total expenditure during the entire Eighth Plan stood at Rs 4,95,669 crore [by taking 1996-97 (RE) as actual] at current prices as against envisaged total public sector outlay of Rs 4,34,100 crore (1991-92 prices) resulting in a 14.2 per cent increase in nominal terms. The Eighth Plan envisaged an annual average growth rate of 5.6 per cent. Against this an average annual growth rate of 6.8 per cent was achieved during this plan period. NINTH

PLAN

The Ninth Plan (1997-2002) was launched in the fiftieth year of Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Independence. The Plan aimed at achieving a targeted GDP growth rate of seven per cent per annum and there was emphasis on the seven identified Basic Minimum Services (BMS) with additional Central Assistance earmarked for these services with a view to obtain a complete coverage of the population in a time-bound manner. These included provision of safe drinking water, availability of primary health service facilities, universalisation of primary education, public housing assistance to shelterless poor families, nutritional support to children, connectivity of all villages and habitations and streamlining of the public distribution system with a focus on the poor. The Plan also aimed at pursuing a policy of fiscal consolidation, whereby the focus was on sharp reduction in the revenue deficit of the Government, including the Centre, States and PSUs through a combination of improved revenue collections and control of inessential expenditures, particularly with regard to subsidies and through recovery of user charges and decentralisation of planning and implementation through greater reliance on States and Panchayati Raj Institutions. The Specific objectives of the Ninth Plan included: (i) priority to agriculture and rural development with a view to generate adequate productive employment and eradication of poverty; (ii) accelerating the growth rate of the economy with stable prices; (iii) ensuring food and nutritional security for all, particularly the vulnerable sections of society; (iv) providing the basic minimum services of safe drinking water, primary health care facilities, universal primary education, shelter, and connectivity to all in a time-bound manner; (v) containing the growth rate of population; (vi) ensuring mobilisation and participation of people at all levels; (vii) empowerment of women and socially disadvantaged groups such as Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes and minorities as agents of socio-economic change and development; (viii) promoting and developing peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s participatory institutions like Panchayati Raj Institutions, cooperatives and self-help groups; and (ix) strengthening efforts to build self-reliance. The Ninth Plan envisaged an average target growth rate of 6.5 per cent per annum in GDP as against the growth rate of 7 per cent approved earlier in the Approach Paper. The scaling down of the target was necessitated by the changes in the national as well as global economic situation in the first two years of the Ninth Plan. Against this, the achievement in the growth-rate on an average was to be 5.5 per cent per annum. Achievements : During the period from 1950-51 to 2002-03, the national income Net National Product (NNP) had increased 8.7 times from Rs 1,32,367 crore to Rs 11,56,714 crore (at 1993-94 prices) implying a compound growth rate of 4.2 per cent per annum. The per capita income (NNP) had increased three times from

India 2010

812

Rs 3,687 to Rs 10,964 (at 1993-94 prices) registering a compound growth rate of 2.1 per centâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;all the aggregates measured at factor cost at 1993-94 prices. The following table gives the growth performance of the Indian economy in terms of GDP, relative to the targets set in the various Plans right since the inception of planning in India. The economy has performed better than the target in five of the nine previous plans, and even in the Second Plan, the gap was not large. As far as the Third and Fourth Plans are concerned, the shortfalls were largely due to severe exogenous shocks that could not possibly have been predicted including the drought years of 1965 and 1966 and the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965. The Fourth Plan experienced three consecutive years of drought (1971-73) and the first shock of rises in oil-price of 1973. More importantly, since the Fourth Plan, the growth rate of the economy had improved steadily until the Ninth Plan, when it received a setback. Thus, the evidence suggests that the track record of planning in India has been reasonably good and indeed tends to err on the side of caution. GROWTH PERFORMANCE IN THE FIVE-YEAR PLANS (per cent per annum) Sl.No.

Plan

Target

Actual

First Plan (1951-56)

2.1

3.60

Second

4.5

4.21

Third Plan (1961-66)

5.6

2.72

Fourth Plan (1969-74)

5.7

2.05

Fifth Plan (1974-79)

4.4

4.83

Sixth Plan (1980-85)

5.2

5.54

Seventh

5.0

6.02

Eighth Plan (1992-97)

5.6

6.68

Ninth

6.5

5.5

Plan

(1956-61)

Plan

(1985-90)

(1997-2002)

Note: The growth targets for the first three Plans were set with respect to National Income. In the Fourth Plan it was the Net Domestic Product. In all Plans thereafter, it has been the Gross Domestic Product at factor cost. TENTH FIVE-YEAR PLAN The Tenth Five-Year Plan (2002-07) was approved by the National Development Council on 21 st December 2002. The Plan has further developed the NDC mandate objectives, of doubling the per capita income in ten years and achieving a growth rate of eight per cent of GDP per annum. Since economic growth is not the only objective, the Plan aims at harnessing the benefits of growth to improve the quality of life of the people by setting the following key targets: Reduction in the poverty ratio from 26 per cent to 21 per cent, by 2007; Decadal Population Growth to reduce from 21.3 per cent in 1991-2001 to 16.2 per cent in 2001-11; Growth in gainful employment, at least, to keep pace with addition to the labour force; All children to be in school by 2003 and all children to complete five years of schooling by 2007; Reducing gender gaps in literacy and wage rates by 50 per cent; Literacy rate to increase from 65 per cent in 1999-2000, to 75 per cent in 2007; Providing potable drinking water to all villages; Infant Mortality Rate to be reduced from 72 in 19992000, to 45 in 2007; Maternal mortality ratio be reduced from four in 1999-2000, to

Planning

813

two in 2007; Increase in Forest/Tree cover from 19 per cent in 1999-2000, to 25 per cent in 2007; and Cleaning of major polluted river stretches. The Tenth Plan has a number of new features, that include, among others, the following : Firstly, the Plan recognises the rapid growth in the labour force. At current rate of growth and labour intensity in production, India faces the possibility of rising unemployment, which could lead to social unrest. The Tenth Plan therefore aims at creating 50 million job opportunities during the period, by placing special emphasis on employment intensive sectors of agriculture, irrigation, agro-forestry, small and medium enterprises, information and communication technology and other services. Secondly, the Plan addresses the issue of poverty and the unacceptably low levels of social indicators. Although these have been the objectives in earlier Plans, in the current Plan there are specific monitorable targets, which will need to be attained along with the growth target. Thirdly, since national targets do not necessarily translate into balanced regional development and the potential and constraints of each State differ vastly, the Tenth Plan has adopted a differential development strategy. For the first time a statewise growth and other monitorable targets have been worked out in consultation with the States to focus better on their own development plans. Another feature of this Plan is the recognition that Governance is perhaps one of the most important factors for ensuring that the Plan is realised, as envisaged. The Plan has laid down a list of reforms in this connection. Finally, considering the present market-oriented economy, the Tenth Plan has dwelt at length on the policies that would be necessary and the design of key institutions. The Tenth Plan not only includes a carefully crafted medium-term macro-economic policy stance, both for the Centre and the States, but also lays out the policy and institutional reforms that are required for each sector. The incremental capital-output ratio (ICOR) of the economy is likely to come down to about 3.6 as against 4.5 during the Ninth Plan. This decline in ICOR is to be achieved mainly through better utilisation of existing capacities and suitable sectoral allocation of capital and its efficient utilisation. The growth target, therefore, would require an investment rate of 28.4 per cent of GDP. This requirement will be met from domestic savings of 26.8 per cent of GDP and external savings of 1.6 per cent. The bulk of the additional domestic savings will have to come from reduction in Government dissavings from –4.5 (2001-02) to –0.5 per cent (2006-07) of GDP. The Tenth Plan has identified measures to improve efficiency, unleash entrepreneurial energy and promote rapid and sustainable growth. Agriculture is to be the core element of the Tenth Plan. Key reforms for the agriculture sector include: Eliminating inter-state barriers to trade and commerce; Essential Commodities Act to be amended; Amending Agriculture Produce Marketing Act; Liberalising agri-trading, agri-industry and exports; Encouraging contract farming and permitting leasing in and leasing out of agriculture lands; Replacement of various acts dealing with food by one comprehensive ‘Food Act’; Permit futures trading in all commodities; Removal of restrictions on financing of stocking and trading. Some other key reform measures include repeal of SICA, and strengthening bankruptcy and foreclosure laws to facilitate transfer of assets; Reform of labour

814

India 2010

laws; Policy reforms for village and small scale sectors to improve credit, technology, marketing and skill availability, and a phased dereservation of small scale industries; Early enactment of Electricity Bill; Coal Nationalisation Amendment Bill and Communication Convergence Bill, Abolish restrictions and encourage decontrol of private road transport passenger services and private sector participation in road maintenance; Early adoption of a Civil Aviation Policy, establishment of a regulatory framework for the sector and development of major airports with active private participation. Likewise, the growing regional imbalances are a matter of concern and the Plan aims at promoting a balanced and equitable regional development. The Plan gives a statewise break-up of the targets in order to provide the requisite focus. The need for urgent policy and administrative reforms has also been recognised. Governance is perhaps one of the most important factors for ensuring that the Plan is realised, as envisaged. Some steps required in this direction are: Improved peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s participation, especially through strengthening Panchayat Raj Institutions and urban local bodies; Involvement of civil society, especially voluntary organisations, as partners in development; Enactment of the Right to Information Act; Civil Service reforms for improving transparency, accountability and efficiency; security of tenure, a more equitable system of rewards and punishments; Right sizing both the size and role of Government; Revenue and judicial reforms and using information technology for good governance. Mid-Term Appraisal of Tenth Plan : The Mid-Term Appraisal of the Tenth Plan was approved by the National Development Council in June 2005. It presented a detailed assessment of the performance of the economy as a whole as well as an assessment of performance in individual sectors in comparison with the Tenth Plan targets. The picture that emerged from the appraisal was mixed. According to it, the economy performed well in many areas and these gains needed to be consolidated but there were some important weaknesses also, which, if not corrected could undermine even the current performance level. The Average GDP growth for the first three years was 6.5 per cent and it was anticipated that the average growth rate is likely to be below 7 per cent in the Tenth Plan period, well short of the target of 8 per cent. Growth in 2005-06 was projected to accelerate to 7.6 per cent and could accelerate further if the corrective steps were speedily implemented. An important reason for lower growth rate was that investment did not increase in line with available investable resources and a decelerated growth in agriculture sector. Increase in the price of oil led to serious problems of inflation in mid 2004 but it has since been under control. Private sector investment had revived after a long phase of dormancy. The Tenth Five Year Plan had created a favourable climate for the development of Foreign Direct Investment. The external payment position was comfortable with substantial inflows. The performance of industrial sector had improved in 2004-05 after a dull record in first two years of Tenth Plan period. The average of first three years was 7 per cent with considerable success in the field of manufacturing sector, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, automobiles, auto components, etc., other than IT sector. These positive features were clearly a source of strength and the aim of policy was to consolidate these gains and accelerate growth in the remaining years of the Tenth Plan. However, a Mid-Term Appraisal for the Tenth Plan also identified some important signs of weaknesses which were a cause for concern like decelerating

Planning

815

agriculture growth, infrastructure inadequacies, poor health and education facilities disturbing gender gaps, large rural-urban differences, inequality, poverty, imbalanced regional development, rising unemployment, etc., and needed corrective steps. The scope for correcting all these deficiencies within the Tenth Plan period is limited. However, it was felt necessary to define a corrective agenda and to initiate the process as quickly as possible. The Mid-Term Appraisal of the Tenth Plan identified many policy initiatives to overcome these weaknesses. Some of the priority areas of action were: investment in irrigation/water management, fertilizer pricing, improving the effectiveness of SSA, National Rural Health Mission, oil pricing, National E-Governance Plan, small-scale industry, etc. These suggestions deserve careful consideration and should form the framework for policy formulation leading to the Eleventh Plan. AGRICULTURE Agriculture contributes approximately one-fifth of total gross domestic product (GDP). It provides the means of livelihood to about two-thirds of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population. The Sector provides employment to 58.4 per cent of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work force and is the single largest private sector occupation. Agriculture accounts for about 10 per cent of the total export earnings and provides raw material to a large number of industries. Besides, the rural areas are the biggest markets for consumer goods, including consumer durables, apart from a major source of domestic savings. Above all, agriculture is the only source of food security for the nation. Foodgrains production based on 4th Advance Estimates for 2005-06 amounts to 208.30 million tonnes, comprising 195.19 million tonnes of cereals and 13.11 million tonnes of pulses. The production of food grains in 2005-06 marked an increase of 5 per cent as compared to the final production estimated at 2004-05. The production of oilseeds in 2005-06 has been estimated at 27.73 million tonnes, which marked an increase of about 14 per cent over the production of 24.35 million tonnes in 2002-03. Sugarcane production in 2005-06 at 278.38 million tonnes registered an increase of 17 per cent as compared to the level of 237.08 million in 2004-05. Cotton production during the year is estimated at 19.57 million bales of 170 kg each and jute and mesta at 10.74 million bales of 180 kg each. Milk production during the year 2004-05 was provisionally estimated at 91 million tonnes. India is the highest producer of milk in the world. Fish production was 6.3 million tonnes in 2004-05. Horticulture production (fruits, vegetables, flowers, nuts, plantation crops and spices) was about 144 million tonnes in 2002-03. Fostering rapid and sustained agricultural growth remained a priority agenda of the Government. In order to disseminate agricultural technologies, priority was given for the establishment of agriculture clinics/agri-businesses and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs). A National Kissan Commission was also constituted to examine the various issues confronting farmers and improving their income. To improve water management through enhanced water use efficiency by the use of drip-and sprinkler-irrigation systems, a new programme of Micro-Irrigation has been initiated. Significant agricultural marketing reforms were initiated. Kissan Call Centres were established to enable farmers to get expert advice on agriculture related issues and problems. Also, a Krishi Darshan TV Channel and a Krishi Vani Radio Channel were launched with the objective of telecasting programmes addressing area-specific issues and problems of farmers.

816

India 2010

IRRIGATION The country has made impressive strides in irrigation development since the first Plan. The ultimate irrigation potential of the country is assessed as 139.88 million hectare (m.ha.). From the pre-Plan period (before 1951) potential of 22.6 m.ha., the potential created up to Ninth Plan (March 2002) was 93.98 m.ha., with major and medium irrigation projects contributing 36.98 m.ha and minor irrigation contributing 59.02 m.ha. The potential utilised up to end of Ninth Plan is 80.02 m.ha. The total investment in irrigation sector since First Plan to Ninth Plan is Rs 1,55,624.97 crore (at fixed prices). Approved state sector outlay for irrigation in Tenth Plan is Rs 92,143.42 crore which is 15.59 per cent of the over all Plan outlay for Tenth Plan in the state sector. The targeted potential creation for Tenth Plan was 16.743 m.ha. The Mid-Term Appraisal (MTA) of the Tenth Plan has indicated a revised target of 10.5 m.ha. for irrigation (6.5 m.ha. for major and medium irrigation and 4 m.ha. for minor irrigation) and a likely expenditure of 70 per cent of the approved outlay. The recent Bharat Nirman initiative of the Government is for achieving the targets providing assured irrigation to one crore hectare (10 million hectare) by 2009. The future strategy for tackling the challenges of this sector is to enhance investments in irrigation, bridging the gap between the created and utilised potential, empowerment of Water Users Association for collection of water tariff and retention of a part of it for operation and maintenance (O&M) of canal stems, and setting up of water regulators for periodical revision of water tariff to recover at least the O&M costs. POWER Under the Power sector, the total installed capacity (including non-utility), which was only 2,301 MW in 1950, increased to 1,43,772 MW (including non-utility of 19,485 MW) by the end of March 2005. Under the rural electrification programme, about 4.38 lakh villages had been electrified out of 5.94 lakh villages (as per 2001 Census) by the end of March 2005, which is 78.8 per cent. INDUSTRY In order to achieve a doubling of per capita income over the next decade, the Tenth Plan targets a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of eight per cent per annum. The corresponding growth target for the industrial sector is 10 per cent. This represents a major step-up in view of the less than seven per cent growth during the last decade. Presently, Indian Industry, especially the manufacturing sector, is recording a consistently high growth record. That this performance is with lower protection rate shows robustness of Indian Industry, particularly automobile/auto components and pharmaceutical sub-sectors. For sustaining the pace of growth and investment, several initiatives have been launched for modernising/technology upgradation, reducing transaction cost, increased export thrust, so as to enhance its global competitiveness and achieve balanced regional development. For example, in the Industry and Trade sectors, a number of initiatives/schemes have been launched in order to reduce transaction cost such as, Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme (IIUS) and Modernisation of Patent Offices, etc., by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion. Further, in order to give export thrust, Department of Commerce has launched major initiatives such as Assistance to States for Infrastructure Development for Exports (ASIDE), Market Access Initiatives (MAI), Special Economic Zones (SEZs) Policy, Modernisation

Planning

817

of Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), etc. For meeting the objectives of balanced industrial development, industrial policy packages have been announced for special category states of Uttaranchal, Himachal Pradesh, J & K and North East States. Social security issues have been addressed through insurance cover for workers in handloom, agro and rural industrial and processed marine product sectors. For specially addressing the requirement of Textile Industry, being one of the major employment intensive sector, special schemes/packages were introduced such as Technology Upgradation Funds Scheme (TUFS), which is expected to improve the access for decentralised powerloom sector to Technology Upgradation Fund. The Government of India also approved a capital subsidy of 10 per cent benchmarked processing machinery under TUFS for a period of one year over and above the 5 per cent interest reimbursement, considering the fact that processing units are capital intensive and have a longer gestation period to break even and become financially viable. Like-wise, sector oriented intervention has been made by way of launching of a new scheme titled 'Integrated Development of Leather Sector' by DIPP aimed at enhancing global share of leather exports. The implementation of National Automotive and R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRIP) to set up a world class infrastructure to test vehicles and components has commenced. The first phase of project involving plan funding of Rs. 430 crore will be completed by the end of 10th Plan. In March 2006, the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council brought out a document titled 'The National Strategy for Manufacturing'. Setting up of a High Level Committee on Manufacturing (HLCM) under the Chairmanship of Hon'ble Prime Minister has been an important development. The first meeting of the HLCM took place on 4th August 2006 when the National Strategy for Manufacturing (NSM) was adopted. The Committee inter-alia would engage in suggesting and reviewing implementation of National Manufacturing Initiative for achieving a sustained growth of 12 per cent in manufacturing. In 2004, the Government constituted Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises (BRPSE) to address the problems relating to strengthening, modernising, reviving and restructuring of Public Sector Enterprises. Till December 2005, the Board has considered the proposals of 33 cases of sick PSEs. The Government has taken decisions of revival/restructuring of specific Public Sector Enterprises based on these recommendations. Besides the above, other major highlights in the Industry sector included the following: (i) Inducing the States to evolve Industrial Policy and Plans away from direct subsidy and with greater emphasis on enabling investor-friendly climate/ efficient infrastructure; (ii) A principled stand has been evolved with regard to VRS, which is not funded through the Plan; (iii) Review of MOU Systems for Central Public Sector Undertakings (CPSEs); (iv) Initiating Evaluation of Growth Centre Scheme through Programme Evaluation Organisation (PEO); (v) Institutionalised Quarterly Performance Review (QPR) Mechanism resulting in more effective Planning Resource Allocation; (vi) Experience sharing between States and replication of good ideas/ best practices; (vii) Acting as a facilitator towards identification of frontier technologies e.g., Nano Technology, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and lean manufacturing for industrial applications; and (viii) Global Competitiveness â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a

818

India 2010

new paradigm evolved in the manufacturing sector as is evident from the performance of manufacturing sector and exports. The rate of growth of industrial sector as measured in terms of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) during 2005-06 was 8.1 per cent compared to a growth of 8.4 per cent in the corresponding period of 2004-05. The manufacturing sector having a share of 79.36 per cent in the index of industrial production recorded a growth of 9.1 per cent in 2005-06 as compared to 9.2 per cent in 2004-05. With respect of use-based classification of industries, the growth rate in the capital sector in 2005-06 at 15.8 per cent indicated a substantial improvement over the growth of 13.9 per cent during the last year. Consumer goods, both durable and non-durable segments, also recorded improved performance with a double-digit growth in the last two years. The turn-around in consumer durables since 2003-04 continued. In 2005-06, growth rate of basic goods remained at 6.6 per cent which is higher than that of 2004-05. MINERAL SECTOR Recognising the need and to further improve the investment climate for mining in the country, the Planning Commission as constituted a High Level Committee on 14 September 2005 under the Chairmanship of Shri Anwarul Hoda, Member, Planning Commission to review the National Mineral Policy. The terms of reference of the Committee are : (i) to review the National Mineral Policy 1993 and the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act, 1957 and suggest changes needed for encouraging investment in public and private sector in exploration and exploitation of minerals, (ii) to review the existing procedures for granting RP/PL/ ML and suggest ways for their streamlining and simplification, (iii) to review the procedures for according clearance to mineral exploration and mining projects under Forest (conservation) and Environment (Protection) Act 1986, and suggest ways for speeding them up, (iv) to prioritise the critical infrastructure needs of the Indian mining sector and make recommendations on ways to facilitate investment to meet these needs, (v) to examine the implications of the policy of mineral rich States to make value addition within the State a condition for grant of mineral concession and make appropriate recommendations in this regard, (vi) to examine ways of augmenting State revenues from the mineral sector and (vii) to examine any other issue relevant to stimulating investment flows and inducting state-of-the-art technology into the sector. The report of the committee is under finalisation. Concept of zero based budgeting was introduced in the Annual Plan 2002-03 (the first year of the Tenth Plan) and accordingly organisations such as Geological Survey of India (GSI) and Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) have categorised their activities as per zero based budgeting and the monitoring of the schemes in terms of physical and financial targets and achievements is being done through Quarterly Performance Review (QPR)/Half-Yearly Performance Review (HPR) in the Planning Commission. Keeping in view the goals and objectives outlined in the National Common Minimum Programme of the Government and priorities emerging from Mid-Term appraisal of the Tenth Five Year Plan, a plan outlay of Rs 883.69 crore has been made for the Mineral sector in AP 2006-07, which is comprised of Rs 250 crore (GBS) and Rs 633.69 crore (IEBR). Of the total outlay, an allocation of Rs 18.95 crore has been earmarked for the North-East Region (NER).

Planning

819

EDUCATION Education is the most crucial investment in human development. Over the decades, considerable progress has been achieved in terms of literacy, school enrolment, network of schools and spread of institutions for higher education including technical education. The literacy rate has gone up from 18.43 per cent in 1951 to 64.84 per cent in 2001. The decade of 1990s has been a watershed for basic education as the Census 2001 showed 12.63 percentage point increase in literacy, the highest since 1951. The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) at primary level has increased from 42.6 per cent in 1950-51 to 98.3 per cent in 2003-04. Similarly, for upper primary, it has gone up from 12.7 per cent to 62.5 per cent for the corresponding period. The number of primary schools has increased by more than three folds from 2.10 lakh to about 7.12 lakh and that for upper primary schools, 19 times from 13,600 to about 2.62 lakh. As per the Provisional results of Seventh All India Educational Survey (2002), about 87 per cent of the 12.31 lakh habitations in the country were served with primary schools within a distance of one kilometer. In habitations not covered by regular schools, EGS/AIE centres have been set up and access to schooling has been almost universalised in all States/UTs. The total number of Elementary teachers increased from 6.24 lakh in 1950-51 to 36.89 lakh in 2003-04, i.e., registering an increase of more than five times. The number of female teachers increased from 0.95 lakh to 14.88 lakh. However, there are still some gaps. The dropout rate at elementary level has declined from 78.3 in 1960-61 to 52.32 per cent in 2003-04, however, it is still high. The quality of education too requires improvement and there are gender, social and regional disparities. Besides, there are various systemic issues like inadequate infrastructure, high teacher vacancies/absenteeism and poor laboratory and library facilities. The number of out-of-school children has reduced steadily since 2002-03. This number came down to 1.35 crore in November 2005. States and UTs have reported that by March 2006 this number has further reduced to 95 lakh only. The thrust areas in the Ninth Five Year Plan included Universalisation of Elementary Education (UEE), full adult literacy, raising the quality of education at all levels and improving learner achievement. Elementary education was given the highest priority reiterating the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strong resolve to achieve the goal of Education for All (EFA) during the Plan period. This was sought to be achieved through several measures including amendment to the Constitution of India making elementary education a fundamental right, decentralisation of planning, supervision and management of education through local bodies, social mobilisation for adult literacy, developing a stronger partnership with NGOs and provision of opportunities for adult literacy, developing a stronger partnership with NGOs and provision of opportunities for non-formal and alternative education for out-of-school children in the most backward areas and for the, as yet, unreached segments of the population. The major initiatives taken to bring about quantitative and qualitative improvement in elementary education include Operation Black Board, Non-formal Education Programme, Teacherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Education, District Primary Education Programme (DPEP), National Programme of Nutritional Support to Children of Primary Education popularly known as Mid-Day Meal Scheme. Against this backdrop, the Tenth Plan had set the crucial Monitorable Targets that aims at all children in schools by 2003; all children to complete five years of schooling by 2007, reduction in the gender gap in literacy by at least 50 per cent and increase in the literacy rate by 75 per cent.

820

India 2010

The Tenth Plan strategy for achieving UEE has been designed with a holistic approach as the existing policies and programmes are either for specific target groups/regions (Lok Jumbish) or aspects (Operation Blackboard, which mainly targeted the school infrastructure). An all-comprehensive programme, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), launched in 2000-01 covering the entire country, will be the main vehicle for achieving the goals of UEE. The scheme has a special focus on educational needs of girls, economically and socially deprived segments and other children in difficult circumstances. The programme is implemented in a mission mode with the Prime Minister heading the National Mission for SSA. The involvement of the community is made more systematic by involving the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and urban local bodies. Further down the hierarchy, the Village Education Committees (VEC), Mother-Teacher Associations (MTA) and Parent-Teacher Associations (PTA) would have a formal role in the management of schools in the village. Efforts are also made for the social mobilisation of local communities for adult literacy campaigns and for the promotion of primary education. Community-ownership of the school system is a key element in SSA. The National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (NP-NSPE) or the Mid-Day Meal (MDM) Scheme, was launched on 15 August 1995 to give a boost to universal primary education by increasing enrolment, attendance and retention and improving the nutritional status of children in primary classes in Government, local body and government-aided schools. The programme has been extended to children studying under the Education Guarantee Scheme and in other Alternative Innovative Education Centres. The Programme has been universalised at Primary level from 1st September 2004 and covers about 11 crore children. This scheme is mostly funded by the Central Government. The National Policy on Education (NPE, 1986) as modified in 1992 was a landmark in the field of policy on women’s education in that it recognised the need to redress traditional gender imbalances in educational access and achievement. The subsequent Plan of Action, 1992 stated that it was impossible to achieve UEE unless concerted efforts were made to reach out to the girl child. Specific steps taken so far in this direction include mandatory recruitment of at least 50 per cent female teachers under Operation Black Board, a separate budget for girls’ centres under Non-Formal Education Scheme, EGS schools, bridge courses, back to school camps, residential camps for out of school girls, Lok Jumbish (Rajasthan) to bridge the gender gap in primary education, DPEP in low female literacy districts, Mahila Sanghas under Mahila Samkhya Scheme for women’s empowerment, a National Programme for Education for Girls at Elementary Level (NPEGEL) a component of SSA, and residential schools under Kasturba Gandhi Swatantrata Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV), which specifically target the girl child in educationally backward districts/blocks. Under Adult Education, Total Literacy Campaign (TLC) is the principal strategy adopted by the National Literacy Mission (NLM) for eradication of illiteracy in the country. The literacy campaigns are area specific, time-bound and are developed through voluntary, cost-effective and outcome-oriented methods. The NLM aims to provide functional literacy to persons in the age group of 15-35 years to threshold sustainable level of 75 per cent by the year 2007. So far, out of 600 districts in the country, 128 had been covered under Total Literacy Campaign, 164 under Post Literacy Programme and 305 under Continuing Education Programme. As such, 597 districts had been covered under these schemes. According to the Census 2001, literacy had increased from 52.21 per cent in 1991 to 64.84 per cent in 2001. Female literacy, which

Planning

821

was 39.29 per cent in 1991, has increased by 14.38 percentage points to 53.67 per cent in 2001 whereas, the male literacy rate, which was 64.13 per cent in 1991 has risen by 11.13 percentage points to 75.26 per cent in 2001. Thus, female literacy has increased at a faster rate than that for males. Special emphasis has been laid by NLM on womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s participation (60 per cent) in Literacy Programmes. Secondary education serves as a bridge between elementary and higher education and prepares young persons between the age group of 14-18 for entry into higher education. The number of secondary schools in India increased from 7,416 in 1950-51 to 1,45,962 in 2003-04. The major thrust in the Tenth Five Year Plan thus, is to meet the increased demand for secondary education. The Plan will also focus on a revision of curricula with emphasis on vocationalisation and employment-oriented courses, expansion and diversification of the open learning system, re-organisation of teacher training and greater use of new information and communication technologies, particularly computers. The Higher education system has seen a seventeen-fold increase in the number of universities and 35-fold increase in the number of colleges in comparison to the number at the time of Independence. During the year 2005-06 (as on 31 st December 2005) there were 335 Universities of which 215 were State Universities, 20 Central Universities, 100 Deemed to be Universities, apart from five institutions established under State Legislation Acts and 13 institutes of national importance established by Central legislation. There were nearly 17,625 colleges including 1,849 women's colleges in the country. At the beginning of year 2005-06, the total number of students enrolled in the formal system of education in universities and colleges has been 104.81 lakh, 13.88 lakh in university departments and 90.93 lakh in the affiliated colleges. The number of technical institutions has shown a phenomenal increase. As compared to 562 degree level institution in 1997-98, the total number of approved engineering colleges in 2005 was 1478. The intake capacity increased from 1,34,298 in 1997-98 to 5,08,595 in 2005-06. HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE Improvement in the health and nutritional status of the population has been one of the major thrust areas for the social development programmes of the country. Over the last five decades, India has built up a vast health infrastructure and manpower primary, secondary and tertiary care in government, voluntary and private sectors. Improvement in access to healthcare services combined with technological advances in a field of health has resulted in substantial improvement in health indices of the population and a steep decline in mortality. However, there are wide intra-regional and intra-state disparites in health service coverage. Some of the factors responsible for the poor functional status of the health system are : (i) Mismatch between personnel and infrastructure; (ii) Lack of Continuing Medical Education (CME) programmes for orientation and skill upgradation of the personnel; (iii) Lack of appropriate functional referral system; and (iv) Absence of well established linkages between different components of the system. Some of the major initiatives taken in the Health Sector are : (i) Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) has been initiated with the avowed objective of

822

India 2010

providing specialty and super-specialty medical care in different States. The imbalances in the availability of tertiary care hospitals/ medical colleges is also sought to be mitigated by ensuring high quality services to the uncatered areas. The concomitant thrust of the programme is to enhance the quality of medical services as well. Under the programme, 6 AIIMS-like Institutions are proposed to be established in the States of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan and Uttaranchal. One Medical College each in the States of Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat and UP and two medical colleges each in Andhra Pradesh and J&K will also be upgraded to the level and standard of AIIMS. (i) With a view to improving the Disease Surveillance Programme to ensure early detection of warning signals of impending outbreaks, a comprehensive Disease Surveillance Programme at the district level is being implemented. It would facilitate the study of the disease patterns including new emerging diseases and would provide data to monitor programmes of disease control and help in optimising allocation of resources; (ii) Hospital Infection Control and Waste Management has been incorporated as an essential component of the health delivery to co-ordinate and provide policy guidelines in this regard; (iii) Empowered Action Group (EAG)-to bolster the efforts in improving the health delivery systems in the backward states which manifest high fertility and mortality rates, an Empowered Action Group has been set up in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The States included under the programme are: Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Uttaranchal, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. The underlying objective is to promote an environment for provision of quality services particularly in terms of demographic indices. The main activities undertaken are : capacity building and to ensure single window clearance point for policy decisions and provision of special assistance. Subsequent to the launch of National Rural Health Mission (NRM) & the RCH II programme (Reproductive Health Programme), the EAG scheme (Empowered Action Group) has been subsumed under NRHM. The recently launched National Rural Health Mission (2005-12) (launched on 12 April 2005) seeks to provide effective healthcare to rural population throughout the country with special focus on 18 States, which have weak public health indicators and/or weak infrastructure. These 18 States are Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, Orissa, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttaranchal and Uttar Pradesh. The Mission is an articulation of the commitment of the Government to raise public spending on health from 0.9 per cent of GDP to 2-3 per cent of GDP. It aims to undertake architectural correction of the health system to enable it to effectively handle increased allocations as promised under the National Common Minimum Programme and promote policies that strengthen public health management and service delivery in the country. It has as its key components provision of a female health activist in each village; a village health plan prepared through a local team headed by the Health and Sanitation Committee of the Panchayat; strengthening of the rural hospital for effective curative care and made measurable and accountable to the community through Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS); and integration of vertical health and family welfare programme and funds for optimal utilisation of funds and infrastructure and strengthening delivery of primary healthcare. It seeks to revitalise local health traditions and mainstream AYUSH into the public health system. It aims

Planning

823

at effective integration of health concerns with determinants of health like sanitation and hygiene, nutrition and safe drinking water through a District Plan for Health. The RCH II (2005-09) is a key component of NRHM. It is an integrated vision on maternal health, new born/child health, RT/STI and family planning within a comprehensive approach involving both public and private/NGO sectors. It will support the paradigm shift in Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Family Welfare Programme by promoting Statesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ownership with pro-poor focus. It encompasses programmes in rural and urban areas and addresses a significant proportion of mortality and morbidity burden among women and children and also contributes to strengthening of public health systems. Thus, it includes many of the key strategies proposed under NRHM and contributes to several of its key outcomes. In order to reduce the magnitude of under-nutrition in adolescent girls and pregnant and lactating women, a pilot project was launched in 51 districts of the country. Two backward districts in each of the major States and most populous districts have been taken up under this programme. The scheme envisages provision of free-of-cost foodgrains to the identified families. An amount of Rs 141 crore was earmarked under this programme in the year 2004-05. The programme has been revived and the Ministry of Women and Child Development has obtained Cabinet approval for implementing the scheme in 2005-06 and 2006-07. NATIONAL POPULATION POLICY, 2000 The immediate objective of the National Population Policy, 2000 is to address the unmet needs of contraception, health infrastructure and health personnel and to provide integrated service delivery for basic reproductive and child health care. The medium-term objective is to bring the Total Fertility Rate to replacement level by 2010 through vigorous implementation of inter-sectoral operational strategies. The longterm objective is to achieve population stabilisation by 2045, at a level consistent with the requirements of sustainable economic growth, social development and environment protection. NATIONAL COMMISSION ON POPULATION The National Commission on Population was constituted on 11 th May 2000 under the Chairmanship of the Prime Minister of India to provide overall guidance for population stabilisation by promoting synergy between demographic, educational, environmental and developmental programmes. The National Commission on Population has been re-located from Planning Commission to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for ensuring comprehensive and multisectoral coordination of Planning and implementation between health and family welfare on the one hand and the schemes of the related Departments on the other. The Commission has since been reconstituted with 40 members, the first meeting of which was held on 23 rd July 2005. Five Expert Groups have been constituted for studying the population profile of the States of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa in order to identify weaknesses in the health delivery systems and to suggest measures to improve the health and demographic status of these States. PANCHAYATI RAJ INSTITUTIONS The enactment of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 marks a new era in the federal democratic set-up of the country bestowing a constitutional status to the

824

India 2010

Panchyati Raj Institutions (PRIs). Pursuant to the Act, barring the States of Jammu and Kashmir, the National Capital Territory of Delhi and Uttaranchal, all the States have enacted the necessary legislation for setting up of strong, viable and responsible panchayats at different levels in their respective States/Union Territories. In all the States, panchayats have been constituted according to new laws except in the States of Arunachal Pradesh, NCT of Delhi and Pondicherry. The Amendment Act contains provisions for devolution of powers and responsibilities to the panchayats both for preparation of Plans for economic development and social justice and for implementation, in relation to 29 subjects listed in the Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution. Pursuant to this, the States are expected to devolve administrative and financial powers alongwith the functionaries in respect to these 29 subjects to the PRIs. The State Government’s are in the process of transferring these subjects to the PRIs. Recognising the need for taking concrete action to empower PRIs, the Government has set up an ‘‘Empowered Sub-Committee of National Development Council on Financial and Administrative Empowerment of PRIs’’ to look into the whole gamut of issues relocated to devolution of powers, functions and financial resources to the PRIs. At present, panchayats receive funds from three sources, namely: (i) local body grants as recommended by the Central Finance Commission, (ii) funds for implementation of centrally-sponsored schemes; and (iii) funds released by State Governments on the recommendations of State Finance Commissions. Further, States are required to enact laws to enable Panchayats to raise tax and non-tax revenue so as to make them effective institutions. The State Governments are required to constitute District Planning Committees (DPCs) as envisaged under Article 243 ZD of the Constitution at the district level to facilitate the process of decentralised planning by consolidating the development Plans prepared by the panchayats and municipalities for the district as a whole covering both rural and urban areas. According to Article 243 (A) of the Constitution, the Gram Sabha may exercise such powers and perform such functions at the village level as the legislature of a State may, by law provide. Most State Acts have vested in the Gram Sabha responsibilities and functions such as : (i) supervising and monitoring the functioning of the Gram Panchayats; (ii) approval of plans and selection of schemes, beneficiaries and locations; and (iii) mobilisation of voluntary labour contributions in cash or kind for community welfare programmes and to promote unity and harmony among all sections of society. Of late, however, as a result of several initiatives of the Central Government in partnership with State Governments a view has emerged which favours strengthening of Gram Sabhas as the bedrock of democracy at the grassroots level. The States have been requested to take the following measures to empower the Gram Sabha : (i) to ensure that Gram Sabhas should meet at least once in each quarter preferably on Republic Day, Labour Day, Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanti; (ii) vest powers in Gram Sabhas giving them the powers of ownership, management and control over natural resources, as envisaged under the provision of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996; (iii) Gram Sabhas should have full powers for determining the priorities for various programmes; (iv) Panchayats should be made accountable to the Gram Sabha in unequivocal terms; (v) members of Gram Sabhas should be made aware of their powers and responsibilities and steps should

Planning

825

be taken to ensure mass participation, particularly of SCs/STs and women; and (vi) A Gram Sabhas should have the powers to evolve its own procedures to carry out social audit of development programmes. The provisions of the Panchaya ts (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 extends Panchayats to the tribal areas of nine States viz, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Rajasthan. It strives to enable a tribal society to assume control over their own destiny to preserve and conserve their traditional rights over natural resources. SOCIAL WELFARE The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in coordination with the Planning Commission and State Governments has been working towards the mainstreaming of the disadvantaged and marginalised sections of the society. The objective is to empower the target groups through their educational, economic and social development and to bring them on par with rest of the society. The Social Welfare Division continued its efforts towards fulfilling the Tenth Plan commitments of: (i) Empowering Persons with Disabilities, (loco-motor, visual, hearing, speech and mental disabilities); (ii) Reforming the social deviants who come in conflict with law (juvenile delinquents/vagrants, drug addicts, alcoholics, sex workers, beggars, etc.); and (iii) Caring for the other disadvantaged (the aged children in distress such as street children, orphaned/abandoned children, etc.), through effective coordination with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and other related Ministries and Departments/State Governments/UTs to ensure the efficient implementation of various policies and programmes for these target groups. Persons with Disabilities (PWD) are defined as those suffering from four types of disabilities viz., Visual, loco-motor, hearing and speech and mental disabilities. In the Ninth Plan (1992-97), the earlier paradigm shift in approach from ‘‘welfare’’ to development was moved further to ‘‘empowerment’’ which is more holistic by including both the welfare and development perspective. The major thrust in the Tenth Plan has been to consolidate and strengthen the various programmes through coordinated efforts and innovative interventions in attending to the special problems and needs of these disadvantaged groups. One of the thrust areas during the Tenth Plan has been to prepare disabled-friendly policies to create a hurdle-free environment for the person with disabilities. To optimise the use of available resources and achieve synergy and convergence in functioning, the Planning Commission has taken up an in-depth exercise on the rationalisation, convergence, merging and weeding out of the on-going schemes in the social welfare sector being implemented by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The outcome of this exercise was discussed in the Core Committee on Zero Based Budgeting of Central and Centrally-Sponsored Schemes. In accordance with the decisions of the Core Committee, the 39 schemes (36 CS and three CSS) implemented during the Ninth Plan, have rationally been reduced to only 16 schemes (15 CS + one CSS) and retained in the Tenth Plan. There are 10 CS ongoing schemes for the welfare of the disabled during the Tenth Plan with an outlay of Rs 1,469 crore.

India 2010

826

There are 5 CSS +1 CSS Scheme for Social Defence and other disadvantaged groups with an outlay of Rs 535 crore. The total outlay for the Tenth Plan for the Social Welfare Sector has been kept at Rs 2,004 crore. Recognising the complementing/supporting role played by the voluntary organisations in the welfare sector, majority of the schemes/programmes have been implemented with full or partial involvement of the NGOs. Tribal Development Sector : The Government continues its efforts for the welfare and development of Scheduled Tribes, who constitute eight per cent of the total population of the country. Of these, 1.8 million belong to the Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs). The objective of the Tenth Plan and Annual Plan 2006-07 is for empowering scheduled tribes through a three-pronged strategy of Social Empowerment, Economic Empowerment and Social Justice. During the Tenth Five-Year Plan, an amount of Rs 5,754 crore was approved as plan outlay and for Annual Plan 2006-07, Rs 1,760.19 crore has been proposed. The Tribal Sub-Plan strategy adopted during the Fifth Plan is being implemented by the Centre as well as the State Governments through various schemes. In addition to Special Central Assistance to the Tribal Sub-Plan, Grants are also being provided to the State Governments to implement specific schemes for the welfare and development of Scheduled Tribes. The National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation has been set up to give focused attention to the economic development of tribals. Rs 30 crore has been allocated for Annual Plan 2006-07. Socially Disadvantaged Groups : The process of empowering the disadvantaged groups of SCs, OBCs and Minorities will continue in more intensified and effective manner in the Annual Plan 2006-07. The SCs account for 166.63 million, representing 16.2 per cent and Minorities numbering about 188.9 million, representing 18.4 per cent of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population (estimated) in 2001. Social Empowerment amongst the disadvantaged groups is being carried out through reduction programmes and through removal of prevailing inequalities, disparities besides providing access to other Basic Minimum Services. Educational development is being carried out through the implementation of schemes like Post and Pre-matric Scholarships, Hostels and allied Coaching Schemes. Special Central Assistance (SCA) to Special Component Plan (SCP) for SCs is being extended as 100 per cent grant to States/UTs to fill the critical gaps and missing inputs in family oriented income generating schemes with supporting infrastructure development having focus on BPL families. National Finance and Development Corporations for weaker sections have been set up exclusively at the national level for the disadvantaged groups for micro-credit, employment, income generating schemes and skill upgradation, These include: (i) National Scheduled Caste Finance and Development Corporation; (ii) National Safai Karamchari Finance and Development Corporation; (iii) National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation; and (iv) National Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation besides the State level Scheduled Castes Development Corporations. URBAN

DEVELOPMENT

Cities everywhere are recognised as contributing substantially to economic, social, educational and infrastructural needs of the country. While they offer a higher standard

Planning

827

of amenities to city-dwellers, they also have an important role in ensuring a range of services to the rural hinterland creating demand for rural output as well as providing avenues for access to inputs. Towns and cities act as nodal centres for services in marketing, health-care, education and also in opening a window to the larger world. The 74th Constitutional Amendment, with its provisions to decentralise the responsibility for urban management, is intended to increase the participation of the people and accountability in the administration. However, the challenge to be met in the Tenth Plan period is to assist the elected bodies to grow organisationally to fulfill the demands of urban residents for a quality life at par with world standards. Substantial work has already been done to upgrade the urban infrastructure and urban development authorities have acquired considerable skills in planning and executing projects. Programmes such as the Mega City project for five selected cities, the Integrated Development of Small and Medium Towns (IDSMT) and the Accelerated Urban Water Supply Programme (AUWSP), all schemes subsumed in Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURN) since December, 2005, have shown varying degrees of success in meeting some of the urban needs. The parastatals and development authorities are designed to play a supportive role to the elected bodies rather than taking over the functions which properly belong to the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). In order to augment the financial position of ULBs, reforms are being introduced through introduction of accrual-based double entry system of accounting, e-governance, property tax reforms, levy of reasonable user charge, etc., by ULBs. To bridge the gap between requirement of funds by the ULBs and available financial resources, the Twelfth Finance Commission has recommended Rs 5,000 crore for local bodies as grants-in-aid for the period from 2005 to 2010, out of which Rs 2,500 crore is specifically earmarked for solid waste management in ULBs. At the State level to improve the financial position of the ULBs, actions have been taken to implement the recommendations of the State Finance Commission through taxes, duties, fees, etc., assigned to ULBs and distribution of their proceeds between the State and the ULBs. In order to develop a database at town levels, a new scheme, National Urban Information System (NUIS) has been designed. The NUIS comprises two major subcomponents viz. (a) Urban Spatial Information System Scheme (USIS), i.e., generation of digital maps through satellite/aerial survey, to meet spatial (maps/images) data/ information requirements of urban planning for routine functions and (b) National Urban Databank and Indicators (NUDB&I) to develop town level urban database to support development of indices. New Reform linked approach to Urban Development : The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) has been launched on 3rd December 2005 to provide reform linked Central assistance for urban development. The Mission period is 2005-2012. There are various sub components of JNNURM, eg. Urban Infrastructure and Governance (UIG) and Basic Services to Urban Poor (BSUP) for selected 63 Mission cities. Also for all towns and cities not included in Mission cities, sub scheme on Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT) and Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme (IHSDP) are applicable both under JNNURM. While the Ministry of Urban Development implements UIG & UIDSSMT components of JNNURM, the Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation implements BSUP & IHSDP.

828

India 2010

The number of mission cities has been increased to 65 from 63 by way of inclusion of the city of Triupati and Porbandar as Mission cities under Urban Infrastructure and Governance (UIG) and Basic Services to Urban Poor (BSUP) of JNNURM in the 5th meeting of National Steering Group held on 5.1.2009. States are provided with Additional Central Assistance (ACA) as grant in various proportions of project cost. The Mission is envisaged to take care of urban infrastructure projects, including water supply, sanitation, sewerage, solid waste management, road net work, urban transport and redevelopment of inner city areas. The main thrusts of the revised strategy is to link asset creation with asset management, improvement in service delivery, improvement of financial soundness of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) leading to overall improvement in urban infrastructure and governance. In this improved environment, public-private participation models for provisioning of various services would also become feasible. To achieve this objective, State Governments, Urban Local Bodies and Parastatal Agencies will be required to accept implementation of an agenda of reforms. The proposed reforms both at State and Urban Local Bodies and Parastatal Agencies will be required to accept implementation of an agenda of reforms. The proposed reforms both at State and Urban Local Bodies levels shall broadly fall into two categories : (i) Mandatory reforms, (ii) Optional reforms. Some mandatory and optional reforms at State/ULBs levels are: (i) Adoption of modern, accrual based double entry system of accounting, (ii) Introduction of system of E-Governance in housing, IT applications like GIS and MIS for various services. (iii) Reforms of Property Tax with GIS applications, (iv) Levy of reasonable user charges by ULBs to cover full cost of O&M. (v) Implementation of decentralisation measures as envisaged in 74th Constitutional Amendment Act. (vi) Repeal of Urban Land Ceilings and Regulation Act. (vii) Reform of Rent Control Laws balancing the interests of landlords and tenants. (viii) Rationalisation of Stamp Duty to bring it down to no more than 5 per cent within the next five years. (ix) Enactment of Public Disclosure Law to ensure preparation of medium-term fiscal plan of ULBs and release of quarterly performance information to all stakeholders. (x) Revision of bye-laws to streamline the approval process for construction of buildings, development of sites, etc. (xi) Introduction of Property Title Certification System in ULBs. (xii) Introduction of computerised process of registration of land and property. (xiii) Encouraging Public/Private Partnership. URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE AND GOVERNANCE A total number of 463 projects have been sanctioned under the Urban Infrastructure and Governance (UIG) component of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) at a total approved cost of Rs. 49743.46 crore where the ACA committed is Rs. 23648.33 crore. As on 31.05.2009, and amount of Rs. 8253.00 crore has been released as ACA to various states and UTs. About 75% of UIG allocation (Rs. 31,500 crore) has been committed for projects of the various Mission cities. So far, 32 project have been reported as physically completed. URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT SCHEME FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM TOWNS The Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT) was launched on 3rd December 2005 under the Jawaharalal Nehru

829

Planning

National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) for development of infrastructural facilities in all towns and cities as per 2001 Census except those covered under JNNURM. Under UIDSSMT the main thrust is on planned and integrated development of small and medium towns. The Scheme envisages improving the urban governance so as to make the Urban Local Bodies financially sound with enhanced credit rating and ability to access market capital for undertaking new programmes and expansion of services. In this improved environment, public private participation models for provisioning of various services would also become feasible. To achieve this objective, State Governments, Urban Local Bodies and parastatal agencies are required to be implementation of an agenda of reforms Mandatory and Optional Reforms. On completion of the scheme, it is expected that the town covered under the Scheme will have:-

â&#x20AC;˘

Modern and transparent budgeting, accounting, financial management system, etc. for urban services and governance function.

â&#x20AC;˘

Application of e-governance in core functions of ULBs/ parastatals resulting in reduced cost and time in service delivery.

Till 31.03.2009, ACA was released in respect of 747 projects for 631 towns, for which approved project cost was Rs. 12777.80. URBAN TRANSPORT Increasing urban population coupled with increased city size has led to a rapid growth in the urban travel demand. Rapid growth in the use of personal motor vehicle alongwith neglect of public transport, pedestrianisation and non-motorized modes has resulted in increased congestion, air pollution, higher incidence of accidents as well as an increasing consumption of petroleum products. Significant improvement in public transport pedestrianisation and non-motorized modes are a critical requirement for improving mobility in urban areas and thereby facilitating economic growth. Such improved mobility would also have a beneficial impact on the urban poor by improving their access to employment, education and health care. For urban planning it is necessary to give attention to an appropriate policy for integration of transportation and traffic plans with land use plans for every urban agglomeration. A National Urban Transport Policy has been formulated by the Central Government. The focus of the policy is to "Move People Not vehicles." This policy envisages integrated land use and transport planning, significant improvements in public transport, encouragement of non-motorised modes of travel, provision of adequate parking spaces as also a comprehensive set of measures for capacity building in urban transport planning. While the major projects under implementation at present are the Delhi, Bangaluru and Kolkata Mass Rapid Transit system, Approval has been accorded for implementation of Chennai Metro Rail Project also. The Delhi MRTS is being funded through equity contribution towards capital investment and subordinate debt for land acquisition and payment of Central Taxes from the Government of India and the Government of National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi in equal proportion, as well as soft loan assistance from Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA). The funds from JICA are being make available as pass through assistance. Besides these, grants is being provided by the Government of Haryana & Uttar Pradesh and Government of India in 80:20 ratio of the capital

830

India 2010

works of extension of Delhi Metro to Gurgaon and Noida. Phase-I of Delhi MRTS has been completed and Phase-II, including extension to Gurgaon, Noida, Central Secretariat to Badarpur, Airport Exp ress Link to Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport are under active implementation and targeted for completion before Commonwealth Games, 2010. Bangaluru Metro Rail Project, Kolkata Metro Rail Project and Chennai Metro Rail Project are also being implemented on the pattern of Delhi Metro Rail Project. The construction as well as operation and maintenance of the system in these Metros is also through joint venture companies of Government of India and the concerned State Governments. A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) has been constituted in each for successful execution of the project. Equity participation of GOI and State Government is one 50:50 basis. Since buses continue to be the major form of public transport, all the State Governments and Cities are being encouraged too Launch Modern ITS enables City Bus Service on Public Private Partnership mode and of such a quality that can be marketed to public as a 'Branded Product". Modern City Bus Service has been launched/contemplated Bhopal, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Jullunder, Ludhiana and Jaipur cities. In addition, in view of the cost effectiveness feasibility and scalability, many cities have opted for Bus Rapid Transit System which is under implementation in Delhi, Ahemedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Indore, Bhopal, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Jaipur, Vijayawada & Vishakhapatanam. Further, under the second stimulus package, as a one time measure up to June, 2009, a scheme has been launched for providing Central financial assistance in the form of grant to States/UTs/ULBs/Parastatals for procurement of buses for their urban transport system under JNNURM. The financing is meant exclusively for City Bus service and Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) for all mission cities. Around 15000 buses are to be procured under the scheme for various cities. The sanctioning of the buses has been tied with certain conditions including those related too various reforms in Urban Transport namely i.e. setting up of Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA), mechanism to enforce parking policy, advertisement policy which taps advertisement revenue on public Transport, Intermediate public transport Fund, setting up of control-cum-Information Central with toll free number, prioritization of buses with demarcated/dedicated lanes. setting up of City Specific SPV for city bus service oprations, waiver/reimbursement of State/ ULB taxex on buses etc. TELECOM SECTOR The predominant role of the Telecom sector in the rapid social and economic development has been recognised the world-over. The telecom sector in India has undergone a series of changes and institutional reforms since 1991. The new Telecom Policy, 1999 has laid down the basic framework for the future development and growth of the Telecom sector in the country. Following this approach, the major objectives envisaged in the Tenth Five Year plan include: (i) Affordable and effective communication facilities to all citizens; (ii) Provision of universal service to all uncovered areas including rural areas; (iii) Building a modern and efficient telecommunication infrastructure to meet the convergence of Telecom, IT and Media; (iv) Transformation of the telecommunication sector to a greater competitive environment providing equal opportunities and level playing field for all players;

Planning

831

(v) Strengthening Research and Development efforts in the country; (vi) Achieving efficiency and transparency in the spectrum management; (vii) Protecting the defence and security interests of the country, (viii) Enabling Indian telecom companies to become truly global players. Towards fulfilment of these objectives, Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more than 125 million telephone network is one of the largest netw orks in the world, which continues to grow at a blistering pace. The higher growth rate has continued during the first three quarters of the year 2005-06 and showed a growth rate of 35 per cent between December 2004 and December 2005. The total number of phones has reached 125.8 million as on 31 December 2005. The performance during the year has been so impressive that the average monthly addition crossed to 3 million lines. During 2005-06, 274.15 lakh new connections (50.90 lakh by BSNL & MTNL and 223.25 lakh by private sector were provided). The private sector has continued its dynamism and entrepreneurial spirit to play a significant role in the growth of telecom sector. The share of private sector in the total telephones has increased from 47 per cent as on 31 March 2005 to 55 per cent as on 31 December 2005. Of the 274.15 lakh additional phones provided during 2005-06 the major share, i.e., 223.25 lakh, amounting to more than 81 per cent was provided by the private sector. The preference of subscribers in the urban areas is for wireless telephony and the trend continues. This has now been transformed into a mass consumption service. Efforts are on to develop rural telephony. Under the Bharat Nirman, all the 66,822 uncovered villages are to be covered by November 2007. Against this target 25,870 uncovered villages have already been covered upto May 2006. "One India Tariffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; is another important feature introduced from 1 March 2006 under which the customers of BSNL and MTNL can call from one end of India to another at the cost of Rs. 1 per minute, any time of the day to any phone. POSTAL SECTOR The Department of Post is one of the largest public sector employers in the country employing more than 5.7 lakh persons equally divided between permanent employees and extra-departmental employees. It has completed 150 years of its service and has a network of 1.55 lakh post offices. Besides, providing a variety of postal services, the Indian postal system plays, a vital role in the resource mobilisation efforts especially in rural areas. The Tenth Plan aims at making the postal services self-financing by the end of the Plan period. An outlay of Rs 200 crore was approved for the Annual Plan 2004-05. Computerisation and Networking of Post Offices was the single most important scheme being implemented by the Department during their annual Plan 2004-05. The Department has taken up a number of new initiatives such as Postal Finance Mart, On-line domestic money transmission service, sale of postage stamps and postal stationery by the postman at the doorstep of the customer, thereby bringing the post office closer to people, and also the collection of mail by the postman. Speedpost Gold Service has been introduced between business districts of Delhi and Mumbai in February 2006. This Service assures next day forenoon delivery, automatic refunds in case of delay, electronic proof of delivery on e-mail/SMS and specialised arrangements for collection, transmission and delivery.

India 2010

832 INFORMATION

TECHNOLOGY

The software and ITES exports from India grew from US$ 12.9 billion in 2003-04 to US $ 17.7 billion in 2004-05. It is estimated that total software and ITES exports from India will exceed US $ 23.4 billion during 2005-06. Software and services exports are estimated to grow at 32 per cent in dollar terms during 2005-06. The Indian software and services exports has grown at a CAGR of 28 per cent during last 5 years. The industriesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; contribution to national GDP has risen from 1.2 per cent in 1999-2000 to a projected 4.8 per cent during 2005-06. The total number of IT and ITES-BPO professionals employed in India is estimated to have grown from 2,84,000 in 1999-2000 to 12,87,000 in 2005-06 growing by over 2,30,000 in the last year alone. In addition, the Indian IT-ITES sector is estimated to help create an additional 3 million job opportunities both direct and induced. INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING The activities of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Sector cover three areas, viz., Broadcasting (Doordarshan and All India Radio), Information and Film Sector with the functions of each complementing the other. Many means of communication deployed in the past to reach the large segment of the population either became outdated or underwent radical technological changes, and yet goals like providing the people with development information and wholesome entertainment at a minimal cost, facilitating healthy growth and competition within the sector remained as valid as ever. It is noteworthy that both DD and AIR have made substantial progress in terms of geographical and population coverage. This has necessitated a review of the challenges facing the sector and reworking of priorities for the Tenth Five-Year Plan. Some of the policy initiatives taken by the Government are, to encourage adoption of alternative technologies that enable increased and improved access to public and private broadcasters at affordable cost for the common man and to allow setting up of Low Power Community Radio Stations in FM mode by local communities including nonprofit organisations such as Universities, NGOs, etc., for educational, cultural and economic development of the respective communities. Stress has been laid on introducing Special Packages to improve TV and Radio services in J & K and NorthEast States including Sikkim and Island Territories. An outlay of Rs 5,130 crore has been approved for the I&B sector with a budgetory support of Rs 2,380 crore for the Tenth Plan. The Annual Plan (2006-07) outlay for the sector has been kept at Rs 538.00 crore (GBS). The breakup for Broadcasting, Information and Film is Rs 469.77 crore, Rs 27.28 crore and Rs 40.94 crore, respectively. Total Budgetary support for the year 2006-07 is Rs 538.00 crore (GBS) without any IEBR support. During this plan year, an amount of Rs 10.00 crore has been earmarked for providing co-location of facilities to private broadcasters with Prasar Bharati in the field of FM broadcasting. Stress has also been laid on the development of the Children Film Society complex at Hyderabad, scheme of computerisation and modernisation for training and skill development at Satyajit Ray Film Institute, Kolkata, and ICT programme at Song and Drama Division. Enhanced fund have also been provided for the activities. In addition to this a fund of Rs 10.00 crore has been provided to modernise Jyoti Chitraban Film Studio at Guwahati.

Planning

833

TRANSPORT Transport system in India comprises a number of distinct modes and services, notably railways, roads, road transport, ports, inland water transport, coastal shipping, airports and airlines. Railways and roads are the dominant means of transport carrying more than 95 per cent of the total traffic generated in the country. The transport sector has expanded manifold in the first 50 years of planned development, both in terms of spread and capacity. Railways : Indian Railways has completed more than 150 years of service to the nation in May 2002. Railways, with a capital base of about Rs 55,000 crore and a network of about 63,000 kms route, is the principal mode of transportation for bulk freight and long distance passenger traffic. The main thrust in the Tenth Plan is on the capacity expansion through modernisation and technological upgradation of railways system, improvement in quality of service, rationalisation of tariff in order to improve the share of rail freight traffic in the total traffic and to improve safety and reliability of railway services. Given the present growth in GDP of 8 per cent, the Railways are expected to carry about 1100 million tonnes freight traffic by the end of the Eleventh Plan. To sustain this kind of growth, it is essential to have Dedicated Freight Corridors. Therefore, it is decided to have two Dedicated Freight Corridors between Ludhiana and Son Nagar (Eastern Corridor — 1230 km) and between Mumbai (JNPT) and Tuglakabad/Dadri (Western Corridor — 1469 km) to augment the capacity of Indian Railways to handle the large increase in the coming years. These Dedicated Freight Corridors along with the strengthening of feeder routes of Indian Railways will ensure availability of sufficient capacity in the face of rising demand of transport. Roads : Priority was accorded for improving mobility and accessibility. Providing connectivity to villages and habitations is extremely crucial to realise the objective of accessibility. Providing connectivity to villages and habitations is extremely crucial to realise the objective of accessibility. Hence, necessary priority was accorded by rephasing the PMGSY whose target was to provide connectivity to habitations with 1000 and above by 2003 and those with a population of 500 and above by 2007 (250 + for hilly and tribal areas) — to achieve the Bharat Nirman target of connecting 1000 + habitations (500 + for hilly and tribal areas) by 2009. Also, keeping in view the need for nationwide connectivity and increased mobility, an expanded programme for highway development as also a Special Accelerated Development Road Programme for the North Eastern Region (SARDPNE), as proposed by the Committee on Infrastructure, under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister, is being taken up with full vigour. Besides, in order to remove deficiencies, the thrust would continue to be on construction of missing links, improvement of low-grade sections, rehabilitation and reconstruction of weak bridges, construction of bypasses and 4-laning and strengthening of weak 2-lanes. Financing of investmen t for the expanded programme of highway development is a massive task. Thus, involvement of private sector for development of roads under National Highway Development Programme through Build Operate Transfer (BOT) route has been taken up in a major way. Accordingly, it has been decided that for NHBP Phase-III onwards, all contracts for provision of road services would be awarded only on BOT basis with Engineering Procurement Contracts (EPC) awards being made in specified exceptional cases only. In order to facilitate involvement of private

834

India 2010

sector in road development programme various enabling measures have been taken by the government. A Model Concession Agreement for BOT projects has been evolved. It is also proposed to strengthen the institutional capacity of NHAI by making it a multi-disciplinary professional body with high quality expertise. Ports : The Ports act as transshipment point between water transport and service transport and, therefore, play a crucial role in the transportation system for facilitating international trade. There are 12 major ports and 184 minor/intermediate ports along Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 7516 km coastline. The major ports handle about 75 per cent of the port traffic of the country and remaining 25 per cent is handled by minor/State ports. The thrust in the Tenth Plan is on creation of general and bulk cargo handling facilities with focus on container traffic and improvement in the efficiency and productivity through private sector participation by the introduction of organisational changes and rationalisation of manning scales. Keeping in view the need for meeting the requirement of traffic efficiently and at minimum cost to the users, there is a need to formulate a perspective plan for longterm development of each major port. The augmentation of berth capacity may be preferably through private investment or public-private partnership. In order to ensure smooth evacuation of cargo from the port and movement to the port, it has been decided that all major ports will be provided rail-road connectivity on priority. There has been steady improvement in the port performance over the years. Traffic handled at major ports has gone up from 383.62 MT during 2004-05 to 423.42 MT during 2005-06. Inland Water Transport (IWT) : IWT is an energy efficient, environmentally clean and economical mode of transport. India is richly endowed with waterways comprising river systems and canals. It is estimated that a total of 14544 km of waterways could be used for passenger and cargo movement. However, capacity of the sector is grossly under-utilised as most navigable waterways suffer from hazards like shallow water and narrow width of channel during dry weather, silting of river beds and erosion of banks, absence of adequate infrastructural facilities like terminals for loading and berthing and surface road links. The thrust in the Tenth Plan is on development of infrastructure facilities with a focus on NE region and private sector participation so that there is a gradual shift of domestic cargo from rail-road modes to inland water transport. CIVIL AVIATION The main advantage of air transport lies in its speed. No other mode of transport can approach the aircraft in speed and travel particularly, over long distances. Aviation shrinks the planet and facilitates international commerce and trade. Aviation facilitates tourism. Strategic and Defence requirements also necessitate the provision of an efficient and reliable network of air services and airports. The Civil Aviation sector has played an important role in Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economy. It provides fastest and reliable transport for movement of passenger and cargo traffic. The sector is broadly structured into three distinct functional entities - regulatorycum-development, operational and infrastructure. Directorate General of Civil

Planning

835

Aviation and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security perform the regulatory functions, operational functions are performed by Air India Ltd., Indian Air Lines Limited, Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd. and other scheduled/non-scheduled airlines operations and infrastructure facilities are provided by the Airport Authority of India. The main thrust in the Tenth Plan for Civil Aviation development is to provide world-class infrastructure facilities and efficient, safe and reliable air services to meet the requirement of domestic and foreign trade and tourism. In order to ensure time bound creation of world class airports and evolve a policy and regulatory framework for Public-Private Partnership (PPP) to maximise capital inflows and efficiency the Committee on Infrastructure (CoI) under the chair of Prime Minister decided interalia to set up a statutory regulatory body for economic regulation and dispute resolution, formulate a comprehensive national policy on civil aviation, prepare a Model Concession Agreement (MCA) to promote PPP restructure of Delhi and Mumbai airports using PPP approach and to revamp the Airport Authority of India. Considerable headway has been made with regard to the implementation of decisions taken. The paper on economic regulatory and dispute resolution, the Civil Aviation Policy as also the MCA are in the process of being finalised. Four metro airports at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata; six Greenfield airports and 35 nonmetro airports would be developed. TOURISM The Tenth Plan recognised the vast employment generating potential of Tourism and the role it can play in furthering the socio-economic objectives of the Plan. The Travel and Tourism sector creates more jobs per million rupees of investment than any other sector of the economy and is capable of providing employment to a wide spectrum of job seekers from the unskilled to the specialised even in the remote parts of the country. Tourism is the third largest net earner of foreign exchange for the country. The new Tourism Policy envisages a framework, which is Government led, private-sector driven and oriented towards community welfare, with the Government creating the legislative framework and basic infrastructure for tourism development, the private sector providing the quality products and the community providing active support. The new policy is being achieved through five key strategic objectives, viz.: (i) positioning tourism as a national priority; (ii) enhancing India's competitiveness as a tourist destination; (iii) improving and expanding product development; (iv) creation of world class infrastructure; and (v) effective marketing plans and programmes. India's share in international tourist arrivals was 0.34 per cent in 2002 and increased to 0.49 per cent during 2005. The increasing trend has been maintained over the last three years and international tourist arrivals touched 3.92 million in 2005. The World Travel and Tourism Council have identified India as one of the foremost growth centres in the world in the coming decade. Higher plan outlays have been provided during the Tenth Plan for development of infrastructure at tourist destinations and circuits and for effective marketing and promotion. An aggressive 'Incredible India' campaign and active participation of State Governments in promoting tourism are expected to enhance India's share of international arrivals in the coming years. Domestic tourism is estimated to be much higher than international tourism and ha s also been rising rapidly. VOLUNTARY ACTION CELL The Voluntary Action Cell (VAC) of the Planning Commission acts as a facilitator for

836

India 2010

the Government-Voluntary Sector collaboration. VAC primarily deals with broad policy matters relating to the voluntary sector and is preparing and updating a comprehensive database on NGOs. A Draft National Policy on the Voluntary Sector has been prepared by Planning Commission in consultation with VOs/NGOs and sent to the PMO for suggestions. A Steering Committee on voluntary sector for 11th Five-Year Plan (2007-12) has been constituted. VAC has coordinated five Regional Consultations with NGOs on the Draft Approach Paper to the 11th Five-Year Plan. ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS Cleaning of major rivers by 2007 is one of the monitorable targets under the Tenth Plan. With a view to improve the water quality of major rivers in the country under the National River Conservation Plan (NRCP), various activities are being undertaken during the Tenth Plan. NRCP presently, includes river pollution abatement works in 157 towns along 31 polluted stretches of rivers spread over 18 states. For 2005-06, the target under NRCP was creation of 564.43 million litres per day (MLD) of STP capacity to be created through commission of 33 STPs. The achievement was indicated as 311.94 MLD of STP capacity created through commissioning of 13 STPs. The target of increasing the existing 23.68 per cent tree/forest cover of the country to 25 per cent is another monitorable target in the Tenth Five-Year Plan. Bio-diesel Mission, mooted as one of the measures towards this objective, involves cultivation of non-edible oil-seeds including Jatropha in wastelands for production of bio-diesel and subsequent blending with petro-diesel. Planning Commission has mooted this Mission that would start with 5 per cent blending of bio-diesel with petro-diesel which would be later expanded to reach 20 per cent level. The project is being implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development (Nodal Ministry). The Ministry in 2005-06 took steps to get EFC approval for spending Rs. 50 crore for planting about 18 crore Jatropha saplings in about 8000 ha spread over 9 States. Subsequently, the Mission would be extended to other States also. The Mission would create employment in rural areas and greening created will be entitled for emission trading under Kyoto Protocol. The MoEF has been streamlining the procedure to bring all forest fringe villages under the ambit of the Joint Forest Management (JFM) Scheme. The MoEF provides assistance for afforestation activities through JFM under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme窶年ational Afforestation Programme (NAP) which includes JFM Committees. 28 States have adopted JFM so far. Till 31 July 2005, about 20.11 million hectares of forest area had been brought under 99,708 JFMCs. The proposed National Bamboo Mission envisages promotion of cultivation, processing of bamboo and manufacturing of high and modern products for largescale use in housing, transport and other industries. Full Planning Commission has recently approved a CSS for this purpose at an estimated cost of Rs 600 crore to be implemented through the Ministry of Agriculture. This will create employment/ livelihood opportunities from cultivation and value addition of bamboo at community level apart from providing wood substitution by bamboo products. PEO The Programme Evaluation Organisation (PEO) undertakes evaluation of selected programmes/schemes under implementation, as per requirements of the Planning

837

Planning

Commission and Ministries/Departments of Government of India. The evaluation studies are designed to assess the performance, process of implementation, effectiveness of the delivery system and impact of programmes. The PEO also provides technical guidance and assistance to various Ministries in evaluating the on-going programmes. It also shares its experience in development evaluation with various government agencies through training programmes, seminars, scrutiny of research proposals and other modes of interactions. The PEO has so far conducted 195 studies/ activities, and there are 17, ongoing prioritised studies.

PROGRAMME

IMPLEMENTATION

MONITORING OF INFRASTRUCTURE SECTORS The Infrastructure and Project Monitoring Division (IPMD) in the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation monitors the performance of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eleven key infrastructure sectors, namely, Power, Coal, Railways, Shipping and Ports, Telecommunications, Cement, Fertilisers, Petroleum, Road and Civil Aviation. It prepares and submits monthly Review Reports and Capsule Reports on the performance of infrastructure sectors, inter-alia, to the Prime Minister's Office and the Cabinet Secretariat. The growth rate in respect of each infrastructure sector since 1997-98 and the production/achievement during 2005-06 is given in table 22.1 MONITORING OF TWENTY-POINT PROGRAMME The Twenty-Point Programme (TPP) was conceived for coordinated and intensive monitoring of a number of schemes implemented by the Central Government and the State Governments with the objective of improving the quality of life of the people, especially those living below the poverty-line. It was meant to give a thrust to schemes relating to poverty alleviation, employment generation in rural areas, housing, education, family welfare and health, protection of environment and many other schemes having a bearing on the quality of life in the rural areas. The programme was initiated in the year 1975 and restructured in 1982 and again in 1986. The present programme, known as TPP-86, comprises 20 Points containing 119 items. Out of which 54 are monitored on the basis of evaluatory criteria and 65 704 India 2008 against pre-set physical targets. Of the later, 20 important items have been selected for monitoring on a monthly basis. The targets are fixed by the administrative Ministries at the Centre in consultation with the State Governments/Union Territory Administrations. MONITORING DESIGN AT THE CENTRE At the Central Government level, the progress is monitored and reviewed both by the Departments/Ministries concerned and the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI). While the administrative Ministries monitor the specific schemes they are responsible for, this Ministry monitors the whole gamut of the schemes included in the Programme. The Ministry brings out Monthly Progress Report (MPR) on Twenty-Point Programme in respect of 20 selected items. The report covers achievements vis-a-vis pre-set physical targets for these items. The States are ranked on the basis of their performance in respect of 12 key items out of the 20 items chosen for monthly monitoring.

India 2010

838

The Ministry also brings out a Monthly Capsule Report and an Yearly Review Report on Twenty-Point Programme. The Capsule Report contains highlights of the Monthly Progress whereas the Yearly Review Report contains information on all the items covered under Twenty-Point Programme. The performance of the monthly monitoring items under the Twenty-Point Programme for the last three years, i.e., 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 is given in the table 22.2. MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT LOCAL AREA DEVELOPMENT SCHEME The Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) was launched on 23 December 1993, to enable Members of Parliament to recommend works for creation of fixed community assets, based on locally felt developmental needs. The Scheme is governed by a set of guidelines, which have been comprehensively revised and issued in November 2005. Some of the salient features of the scheme are enumerated below : l

Works which are developmental in nature, based on locally felt needs and always available for public use at large, are eligible under the scheme.

The Members of Parliament have a recommendatory role under the Scheme. The MPs recommend their choice of works to the concerned District Authorities who get them implemented by following the established procedure of the concerned State Government.

Examining the eligibility, sanctioning, funding, selection of implementing agencies, prioritisation and overall execution, monitoring of the scheme at the ground level, is done by the district authorities.

The Lok Sabha Members can recommend works in their respective constituencies. The elected members of Rajya Sabha can recommend works anywhere in the State from which they are elected. Nominated Members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha may select works for implementation anywhere in the country.

The funds released under the scheme are non-lapsable, i.e., the liability of funds not released in a particular year is carried forward for making releases in the subsequent years subject to eligibility. The annual entitlement per MP is at present Rs. 2 crore.

Important items of works like drinking water, education, public health, and funds for development of SC/ST are given priority.

There is no limit for a work to be executed by Government Agencies. There is a ceiling of Rs. 25 lakh for the works of Trust/Societies.

The maximum limit for rehabilitation of work in the affected areas by severe calamities is now Rs. 50 lakh.

In order to give special attention to Development of areas inhabited by Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Trib es, 15 per cent of MPLADS funds would be utilised for areas inhabited by SC population and 7.5 per cent for areas inhabited by ST population.

The role of Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies as the implementing Agency is now stressed.

Release of Rs. 1 crore in respect of MPs at the time of constitution of Lok Sabha

Planning

839

and election to the Rajya Sabha is done automatically without waiting for a monthly progress report. l

To bring in more financial accountability, a Utilisation Certificate for the previous financial year and the Audit Certificate for the funds released in the year prior to the previous year are also prerequisites for the release of the second instalment. Release of first instalment is made on the basis of the release of second instalment of previous year having been made.

The normal financial and audit procedures prevalent in the states in which the works are executed apply with regard to the implementation of the works.

Since its inception, the Scheme has immediately benefited the local community by meeting their various developmental needs such as drinking water facility, education, electricity, health and family welfare, irrigation, non-conventional energy, community centres, public libraries, bus stands/stops, roads, pathways and bridges, etc. As on 31 March 2006, Rs 14,923.70 crore has been released, since the inception of the Scheme. As reported from the Districts, an expenditure of Rs 13,301.12 crore has been incurred. The percentage utilisation over release is 89.13. A total of 9,04,955 works have been sanctioned and 8,00,973 works have been completed, as on 31 March 2006, since the inception of the scheme. Percentage of works completed as sanctioned is 88.50. MPLADS performance has improved due to pro-active policy initiatives, focused monitoring and review. The substantial achievement in scheme performance from April 2004 till March 2006 is as under : l

There has been a remarkable improvement in the utilisation of funds. Percentage utilisation over release has risen to 89.13 from 82.18 as on 31 March 2004.

There has been a reduction of Rs 470.57 crore in the unspent balance, due to policies towards financial discipline.

Substantial increase in the number of works completed has been achieved. The percentage of works completed to the sanctioned has increased to 88.50 from 80.14 as on 31 March 2004.

Cargo

Telecommunications:

Cell

Terminals

Passengers

handled International

Source : C.S.O., M/o Statistics & P.I.

-3.4

-2.8

3.1

1.4

-0.2

137.5

47.6

0.9

0.0

-2.4

-4.4

5.2

-2.8

5.6

3.7

N.A.

16.4

36.1

0.1

-2.0

-1.5

-2.0

6.6

cent

1998-99 per

* Provisional

bridges - 6 2 . 5

MT - Million Tonnes

Rehabilitation/construction

Domestic

Highways

Upgradation

handled

Roads

Passengers

Cargo

Import

Cargo

Export

Aviation

Civil

BU - Billion Units

11.

10.

Refinery

3.6

9.1

17.1

N.A.

27.1

13.0

10.6

5.0

0.6

2.8

Petroleum

Traffic

Cement

connections

Capacity

Ports

Connections

Switching

Freight

3.6

6.6

cent

1997-98 per

a) Crude Oil

Fertilizers

Phone

Telephone

Addition

Handled

Major

Railway

Earning

Finished

Steel

Coal

Revenue

Power

06)

Sector

S.No.

82.5

68.6

7.5

0.0

16.2

10.8

25.3

-2.2

14.0

4.8

N.A.

29.7

40.2

8.0

8.4

12.5

3.0

7.1

cent

1999-00 per

28.8

32.9

7.7

4.6

3.6

5.1

20.3

1.5

-2.8

2.9

N.A.

20.5

6.4

3.4

3.7

6.7

3.6

3.9

cent

2000-01 per

-8.2

1.1

-5.7

-5.0

-1.0

4.1

3.7

-1.2

9.5

-0.5

N.A.

-4.7

-2.6

2.4

4.0

4.3

4.2

3.1

cent

2001-02 per

16.3

53.5

9.6

4.8

18.6

13.3

4.9

3.2

8.8

-1.1

119.2

-39.8

-35.6

9.0

5.3

9.2

4.4

3.2

cent

2002-03 per

-14.0

-16.6

13.1

6.5

13.4

1.0

8.2

1.0

6.1

-1.4

115.3

148.8

0.1

10.0

7.5

13.7

5.6

5.0

cent

2003-04 per

2004-05

-14.6

16.1

23.6

14.0

24.4

12.4

4.3

1.8

8.2

8.0

10.4

-17.7

49.8

11.3

8.1

7.6

6.1

5.2

per cent

10.3

423.41

667.39

44.78

401.52

615.75

12475.29

cent

-5.7

-23.4

27.1

12.8

15.8

7.3

2.1

-5.3

10.7

0.8

89.4

5296

302.63

168.44

319010

466659

129.84

32.20

147.81

15.52

28172.37

1 2 3 . 3 15546.47

85.8

Rate

2005-06

10.7

6.0

6.4

4.8

per

Growth

TABLE 22.1 : ANNUAL GROWTH RATE OF INDUSTRIAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECTORS %age)

(MT)

Nos.)

Lines)

No.)

(Nos.)

(Kms.)

(Lakh

(Tonnes)

(000

(MT)

(BU)

(2005-

Actuals

(in

840 India 2010

Community

Primary Health Centres (PHC)

Immunisation of Children (DPT, Polio & BCG)

ICDS Blocks Oprl. (Cum.)

Anganwadies Oprl. (Cum.)

SC Families Assisted

ST Families Assisted

Indira Awaas Yojana

EWS Houses Provided

LIG Houses

Slum

Tree Plantation

Area to be covered (Under Pln.) Public & Forest Lands

Villages Electrified

Pump Sets Energised

4. 08A

5. 0 8 B

6. 0 8 D

7. 0 9 C

8. 0 9 D

9. 11A

10. 11B

11. 1 4 C

12. 1 4 D

13. 1 4 E

14. 1 5

15. 16A

16. 1 6 B

17. 1 9 A

18. 1 9 B

Bio-gas Plants

20. 1 9 D

(Population)

000 Nos.

Nos.

000 Hect.

Lakh Nos.

000 Nos.

Nos.

Lakh Nos.

Nos.

000 Nos.

000 Acre

Lakh Mandays

Unit

@ The Schemes do not have any physical targets. Source : C.S.O., M/o Statistics & P.I.

Improved

19. 1 9 C

Chullahs

Improvement

(CHC)

Drinking Water Supply (Villages/Habitations)

3. 07A Centres

Distribution of Surplus Land

2. 0 5 A

Health

Sampoorna Gramin Rozgar Yojana @

Items 2005-06

1. 0 1 B

No.

Point

Sl.

133.0

217.07

24011.0

1071.7

8622.0

3670.5

6.8

58.2

1484.6

1117.0

2400.0

673.0

5132.0

253.5

406.0

575.0

111.1

17.6

Target

22.8

78.8

88.3

136.1

188.2

100.0

80.7

126.2

106.6

95.2

102.6

108.1

10.1

25.7

36.7

136.4

117.3

78.1

88.2

231.08 106.8

5475.0

844.4

7611.4

4991.1

12.8

58.2

1198.1

1411.0

2559.4

640.8

5263.0

274.1

41.0

148.0

40.8

24.0

7523.6

Achievement

2003-04

80.1

212.2

23860.0

1477.9

12923.6

5197.6

16.9

50.2

1562.4

1116.6

2490.5

743.2

5652.0

256.9

406.0

514.0

74.9

17.6

Target

From 2003-2004 to 2005-2006

88.4

64.9

287.9

8499.0

1126.1

9076.1

6170.6

22.3

52.4

1420.6

1563.3

2811.2

706.6

5419.0

292.2

423.0

64.0

73.1

36.3

7904.0

Achievement

110.4

135.7

35.6

76.2

70.2

118.7

132.0

104.4

90.9

140.0

112.9

95.1

95.9

113.7

104.2

12.5

97.6

206.3

20.2

386.6

20084.0

1629.5

12560.0

1521.7

24.4

43.4

1441.2

1131.6

2470.0

754.8

5652.0

258.0

406.0

575.0

56.3

20.0

Target

2004-2005

TABLE 22.2 : ALL INDIA PERFORMANCE OF 20-POINT PROGRAMME

52.3

80.4

311.0

14058.0

1485.6

10265.3

1626.1

21.8

104.6

1414.7

1873.1

3257.6

760.3

5747.0

260.3

475.0

397.0

93.1

54.1

7294.1

Achievement

259.0

80.4

70.0

91.2

81.7

106.9

89.3

241.0

98.2

165.5

131.9

100.7

101.7

100.9

117.0

69.0

165.6

270.5

Planning 841

842

India 2010

24 Rural Development INTEGRATED development of rural areas is one of the abiding tasks before the Government of India. The National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) of the Central government reiterates the cardinal importance of villages to the overall development of the country and commits to work towards development of rural areas, which for various reasons could not keep pace with urban areas in the past. In conformity with this commitment of the Government, the Ministry of Rural Development accords foremost priority to development in rural areas and eradication of poverty and hunger from the face of rural India. A number of initiatives have been taken in the recent years for creation of social and economic infrastructure in rural areas to bridge the rural-urban divide as well as to provide food security and fulfil other basic needs of the rural populace. The renewed emphasis on rural development is also visible in the commensurate progressive increase in the allocation of resources for implementation of poverty alleviation programmes. For the Tenth Five Year Plan, the allocation of funds for rural development programmes has been enhanced to Rs. 76,774 crore as against Rs. 42,874 crore in Ninth Plan. Addressing the challenge of unemployment in the rural areas of the country is central to the development of rural sector for ameliorating the economic condition of the people. Wage employment is provided in rural areas under National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) whereas self-employment is provided under Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY). Besides generating employment these wage employment schemes also ensure creation of durable assets in rural areas. Initiatives are also taken by the Ministry to build and upgrade the basic rural infrastructure through various schemes. Under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) construction and repairing of rural roads are taken up to ensure rural connectivity. It is expected under the scheme that an expanded and renovated rural road network will lead to an increase in rural employment opportunities, better access to regulated and fair market, better access to health, education and other public services so as to accelerate the pace of economic growth in rural areas. Similarly basic amenities for housing, drinking water and toilets, etc. are provided under Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY), Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme (ARWSP) and Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) to enhance the welfare and well-being of the vulnerable sections of rural population. Area Development is encouraged through Watershed Programmes to check the diminishing productivity of waste land and loss of natural resources. NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT Implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development, National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) is the flagship programme of the Government that directly touches lives of the poor and promotes inclusive growth. The Act aims at enhancing livelihood security of households in rural areas of the country by providing at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilleld manual work.

Rural Development

843

The Act came into force on February 2, 2006 and was implemented in a phased manner. In Phase one it was introduced in 200 of the most backward districts of the country. It was implemented in an additional 130 districts in Phase two 2007-2008. As per the initial target, NREGA was to be expanded countrywide in five years. However, in order to bring the whole nation under its safety net and keeping in view the demand, the Scheme was extended to the remaining 274 rural districts of India from April 1, 2008 in Phase III. NREGA is the first ever law internationally, that guarantees wage employment at an unprecedented scale. The primary objective of the Act is augmenting wage employment. Its auxiliary objective is strengthering natural resource management through works that address causes of chronic poverty like drought, deforestation and soil erosion and so encourage sustainable development. The process outcomes include strengthering grassroot processes of democracy and infusing transparency and accountability in governance. With its rights-based framework and demand driven approach, NREGA marks a paradigm shift from the previous wage programmes. The Act is also a significant vehicle for strengthening decentralization and deepning processes of democracy by giving a pivotal role to the Panchayati Raj Institutions in planning, monitoring and implementation. Unique features of the ACT include, time bound employment guarantee and wage payment within 15 days, incentive-disincentive structure to the State Governments for providing employment as 90 per cent of the cost for employment provided is borne by the Centre or payment of unemployment allowance at their own cost and emphasis on labour intensive works prohibiting the use of contractors and machinery. The Act also mandates a 33 percent participation for women. Over the last two years, implementation trends vindicate the basic objective of the Act. Increasing Employment Opportunities: In 2007-08, 3.39 crore households were provided employment and 143.5 crore persondays were generated in 330 districts. In 2008-2009, upto July, 253 crore households have been provided employment and 85.29 crore persondays have been generated. Enhancing Wage Earning and Impact on Minimum Wage: The enhanced wage earnings have lead to strengthering of the livelihood resource base of the rural poor in India; in 2007-2008, more than 68% of funds utilised were in the form of wages paid to the labourers. In 2008-2009, 73% of the funds have been utilized in the form of wages. Increasing Outreach to the poor: Self targeting in nature, the Programme has high works participation of marginalized groups like SC/ST (57%), women (43%) in 20072008, In 2008-2009, upto July, the participation is SC/ST (54%) and women (49%) Strengthening Natural Resource Base of Rural India: In 2007-08, 17.88 lakh works have been undertaken, of which 49% were related to water conservation. In 20082009, upto July, 16.88 lakh works have been undertaken, of which 49% are related to water conservation. Financial Inclusion of the poor: The Central government has been encouraging the state governments to make wage payment through bank and post office accounts of wage seekers. Thus far, 2.9 crore (upto July '08) NREGA bank and post office accounts have been opened to disburse wages. The Ministry is also encouraging the NREGA workers to obtain insurance under Jan Shri Bima Yojana.

India 2010

844

Initial evidence through independent studies indicates enhancement of agricultural productivity (through water harvesting, check dams, ground water recharging, improve moisture content, check in soil erosion and micro-irrigation), stemming of distress migration, increased access to markets and services through rural connectivity works, supplementing household incomes, Increase in women workforce participation ratios and the regeneration of natural resources. The vision of the Ministry is enabling NREGA become a transformative vehicle of empowering local communities to enhance their livelihood security. The Ministry has taken several steps to ensure the Scheme is implemented effectively like encouraging decentralized participatory management, improving delivery systems and public accountability. The Rozgar Jagrookta Puruskar award has been introduced to recognize outstanding Contributions by Civil society Organizations at State, District, Block and Gram Panchayat levels to generate awareness about provisions and entitlements and ensuring compliance with implementing processes. Building Capacity to implement a demand driven scheme (a) To strengthen the capacity and give priority to the competencies required for effective planning, work execution, public disclosure and social audits the Ministry has been conducting training for NREGA functinaries, Thus far, 6.2 lakh PRI functionaries and 4.82 lakh vigilance and monitoring committees have been trained (upto July'08). The Central Government is also providing technical support in key areas of communication, training, work planning, IT, social audites and fund management at all levels of implementation to the state governments. Using IT for reaching out and inclusion: Web enabled Management Information System (MIS) is one of the largest data base rural households through their engagement in NREGA. MIS places all critical parameters such as shelf of projects, sanctioned works, wage payments, number of days of employment provided and works under execution on line for easy public access. The data engineered software has been designed for cross verfication of records and generation of alerts to support proactive response by management. Evolving processes for transparency and public accountability: Monitoring and Evaluction: The Ministry has set up a comprehensive monitoring system. This year, 260 National Level Monitors and Area Officers have undertaken field visits to each of the 330 Phase I and Phase II districts atleast once. For effective monitoring of the projects 100% verfication of the works at the Block level, 10% at the District level and 2% at the State level inspections need to be ensured. Road Map for Further Strengthening of NREGA Setting up of the Task force on Convergence: In order to optimize the multiplier effects of NREGA, the Ministry has set up a Task Force to look at the possibility of convergence of programmes like National Horticulture Mission, Rashtriya Krishi vikas Yojana, Bharat Nirman, Watershed Development with NREGA. These convergence efforts will add value to NREGA, works and aid in creating durable efforts and also enable planned and coordinated public investments in rural areas.

Rural Development

845

SAMPOORNA GRAMEEN ROZGAR YOJANA The Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) was launched on 25 September, 2001 by merging the on-going schemes of EAS and the JGSY with the objective of providing additional wage employment and food security, alongside creation of durable community assets in rural areas. The programme is self-targeting in nature with provisions for special emphasis on women, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and parents of children withdrawn from hazardous occupations. While preference is given to BPL families for providing wage employment under SGRY, poor families above the poverty line can also be offered employment under NREGA. The annual outlay for the programme is Rs.10,000 crore which includes 50 lakh tonnes on food grains. The cash component is shared between the Centre and the States in the ratio of 75:25. Food grains are provided free of cost to the States/UTs. The payment of food grains is made directly to FCI at economic cost by the Centre. However, State Governments are responsible for the cost of transportation of food grains from FCI godown to work-site/PDS shops and its distribution. Minimum wages are paid to the workers through a mix of minimum five kg of food grains and at least 25 per cent of wages in cash. The programme is implemented by all the three tiers of Panchayati Raj Institutions. Each level of Panchayat is an independent unit for formulation of Action Plan and executing the scheme. Resources are distributed among District Panchayats, Intermediate Panchayats and the Gram Panchayats in the ratio of 20:30:50. The Gram Panchayats can take up any work with the approval of the gram sabha as per their felt need and within available funds. Fifty per cent of the funds earmarked for the gram panchayats are to be utilised for infrastructure development works in SC/ST localities. 22.5 per cent resources must be spent on individual beneficiary schemes meant for SCs/STs out of the resource share of District Panchayats and Intermediate Panchayats. Contractors are not permitted to be engaged for execution of any of the works and no middlemen/intermediate agencies can be engaged for executing works under the scheme. The programme is regularly monitored. NATIONAL FOOD FOR WORK PROGRAMME The National Food for Work Programme was launched in November 2004 in 150 most backward districts of the country, identified by the Planning Commission in consultation with the Ministry of Rural Development and the State governments. The objective of the programme was to provide additional resources apart from the resources available under the Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) to 150 most backward districts of the country so that generation of supplementary wage employment and providing of food-security through creation of need based economic, social and community assets in these districts are further intensified. The scheme was 100 per cent Centrally sponsored. The programme has since been subsumed in National Rural Employment Guarantee Act which has come in force in 200 identified districts of the country including 150 NFFWP districts. The Act provides 100 days of work guarantee to every rural household whose members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.

846

India 2010

PRADHAN MANTRI SADAK YOJANA The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY) was launched on 25 December 2000 as a fully funded Centrally Sponsored Scheme. The primary objective of the PMGSY is to provide connectivity to all the eligible unconnected habitations of more than 500 persons in the rural areas (250 persons in the hilly and desert areas) by good quality all-weather roads. Under Bharat Nirman, goal has been set to provide connectivity to all the habitations with population of more than 1000 in the plain areas and habitations with a population of 500 or more in hilly and tribal areas in a time-bound manner by 2009. The systematic upgradation of the existing rural road networks is also an integral component of the scheme. Accordingly, an Action Plan has been prepared for connecting 66,802 habitations with 1,46,185 km of all-weather roads. This Action Plan also envisages upgradation/renewal of 1,94,130 km of the existing rural road network. Subsequently, based on ground verfication by States, 62,985 habitations were found eligible to be connected under the programme, out of which 3421 habitations have been connected under other schemes. Thus, the revised target is to connect 59,564 habitations. It is estimated that an investment of about Rs.48,000 crore would be required for achieving the targets under Bharat Nirman. The implementation strategy focuses on quality, cost management and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;on timeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; delivery. Up to July, 2008, project proposals amounting to Rs. 81,717 crore have been approved against which a sum of Rs. 38,499 crore has been released for 86,146 roads covering a length of 3,31,736 km. Against these, 52,218 road works having road length of 1,75629 km have been completed with a cumulative expenditure of Rs. 35,295 crore. RURAL HOUSING Housing is one of basic requirements for human survival. For a shelterless person, possession of a house brings about a profound social change in his existence, endowing him with an identity, thus integrating himwith his immediate social milieu. The Ministry of Rural Development is implementing Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) with a view to providing financial assistance to the rural poor living below poverty line for construction of pucca house. The details of the scheme alongwith its performance are given below: INDIRA AWAAS YOJANA (IAY) The Government of India is implementing Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) since the year 1985-86 to provide financial assistance for construction / upgradation of dwelling units to the below poverty line (BPL) rural households belonging to the scheduled castes, scheduled Tribes and freed bonded labourers categories. From the year 199394, the scope of the scheme was extended to cover non-Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes rural BPL poor, subject to the condition that the benefits to nonSC/ST would not be more than 40% of the total IAY allocation. The benefits of the Scheme have also been extended to the families of ex-servicemen of the armed and paramilitary forces killed in action, 3% of the Houses are reserved for the rural Below Poverty Line physically and mentally challenged persons, From 2006-07 onward, funds and physical targets under IAY are also being earmarked for BPL minorities in each state.

Rural Development

847

Under the scheme, financial resources are shared between the centre and the states on a 75 : 25 basis. Since, reduction of shelterlessness is the primary objective, 75% weightage is given to housing shortage and 25% to the poverty ratios prescribed by Planning Commission for state level allocation. For district level allocation, 75% weightage is given again to housing shortage and 25% to SC/ST population of the concerned districts. On the basis of allocations made and targets fixed, district Rural development Agency (DRDAs)/Zilla Parishada (ZPs) decide Panchayat-wise number of houses to be constructed under IAY and intimate the same to the concerned Gram Panchayat. Thereafter, the Gram Sabha selects the beneficiaries, restricting its number to the target allotted, from the list of eligible households from the Permanent IAY Waitlists. No further approval of the higher authority is required. The ceiling on construction assistance under the IAY has been enhanced w.e.f. 1.4.2008, Rs. 25, 000/- to Rs. 35,000/- per unit in the plain areas and from Rs. 27,500/ - to Rs. 38,500/- in hilly/difficult areas. For upgradation of kutcha house, the financial assistance has also been enhanced from Rs. 12,500/- to Rs. 15,000/- per unit. In addition, the Reserve Bank of India has been requested by the Ministry of Finance to include IAY houses under the Differential Rate of Interest (DRI) scheme for lending upto Rs. 20,000 per unit at an interest rate of 4%. Further, the dwelling units should invariably be allotted in the name of a female member of the beneficiary household. Alternatively, it can be allotted in the name of both husband and wife. Only in case there is no eligible female member in the family, the house can be allotted in the name of an eligible male member. The Sanitary latrine and smokeless chullah and proper drainage are required for each IAY house. Latrine could be constructed separate for the IAY house on the site of beneficiary. The construction of the houses is the sole responsibility of the beneficiary. Engagement of contractorsis strictly prohibited. No specific type design has been stipulated for an IAY house. Choice of design, technology and materials for construction of an IAY house is the sole discretion of the beneficiaries. About 181.51 lakh houses have been constructed under IAY since inception of the Scheme with an expenditure of Rs. 36900.41 crores (upto 31/5/2008) Performance during the year 2007-08 During 2007-08, the Central allocation for Rural Houseing was Rs. 40322.70 crore. The target for construction/upgradation of IAY houses was 21.27 lakh. Against this target, 19.88 lakh houses were constructed/upgraded by incurring an amount of Rs. 5458.01 crores (including State share). Performance during the year 2008-09 The Central allocation for 2008-09 under the IAY is Rs. 56.45.77 crore for the target of constructing/upgrading 21.27 lakh IAY houses. Out of this, an amount of Rs. 1694.48 crore has been released as part of first instalment and 85879 houses have been constructed so far, (upto 31/5/2008).

India 2010

848 Bharat Nirman

Rural Housing is also a one of the six component of Bharat Nirman. Under Bharat Nirman, 60 lakh houses are to be constructed under the Scheme of Indira Awaas Yojana in four years w.e.f 2005-06 to 2008-09. 50.38 lakh houses have been constructed during first three years of the Bharat Nirman Programme period with an expenditure of Rs. 13365.52 crore. The year-wise construction of houses are given below: Year

Target (in lakh)

Houses constructed (in lakh)

Expenditure (Rs. in crore)

2005-06

14.41

15.51

3654.09

2006-07

15.33

14.98

4253.42

2007-08

21.27

19.88

5458.01

Total

50.71

50.38

13365.52

SWARNAJAYANTI GRAM SWAROZGAR YOJANA The Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) was launched as an integrated programme for self-employment of the rural poor with effect from 1 April 1999. The objective of the scheme is to bring the assisted poor families above the poverty line by organising them into Self Help Groups (SHGs) through the process of social mobilisation, their training and capacity building and provision of income generating assets through a mix of bank credit and government subsidy. The scheme emphasizes establishment of activity clusters through selection of key activities based on aptitude and skill of the people, availability of resources and market potentiality. The scheme adopts a process approach and attempts to build the capacities of the rural poor. It provides for involvement of NGOs/CBOs/Individuals/Banks and/Self Help Promoting Institutions in nurturing and development of SHGs, including skill development. The scheme provides for the cost of social intermediation and skill development training based on the local requirement. Flexibility has been given to the DRDAs/States in the utilisation of funds for training, sanction of Revolving Fund, subsidy for economic activity based on the stage of development of groups. The focus of the programme is on establishing a large number of microenterprises in rural areas based on the ability of the poor and potential of each area, both land-based and otherwise, for sustainable income generation. Due emphasis is being laid on different components such as capacity building of the poor, skill development training, credit training, technology transfer, marketing and infrastructure. The subsidy allowed under the SGSY is 30 per cent of the total project cost, subject to a ceiling of Rs 7,500 (for SC/STs and disabled persons subsidy limit is 50 per cent of the project cost subject to a ceiling of Rs 10,000). For Self-Help Groups(SHGs), subsidy would be 50 per cent of the project cost subject to a ceiling of Rs. 1.25 lakh or per capita subsidy of Rs. 10,000, whichever is less. There is no monetary ceiling on subsidy for minor irrigation projects for SHGs as well as individual swarozgaris.

Rural Development

849

The SGSY has a special focus on the vulnerable groups among the rural poor. SC/STs account for at least 50 per cent, women 40 per cent and the persons with physical disability constitute 3 per cent of the Swarozgaris respectively. The SGSY seeks to promote multiple credits rather than a one-time credit injection. The SHGs may consist of 10-20 members in case of minor irrigation, and in case of disabled persons and difficult areas, i.e. hilly, desert and sparsely populated areas, this number may be a minimum of five. Self Help Groups should also be drawn from the BPL list approved by the Gram Sabha. The SHGs broadly go through three stages of evolution such as group formation, capital formation through the revolving fund and skill development and taking up of economic activity for income generation. Selection could be made up to 10 key activities per block based on local resources, occupational skills of the people and availability of market so that the Swarozgaris can draw suitable incomes from their investment. Under SGSY each block should concentrate on 4-5 selected key activities and attend to all aspects of these activities in a cluster approach, so that swarozgaris can draw sustainable income from their investments. The scheme lays special emphasis on development of swarozgaris through well designed training courses tailored to the activities selected and the requirement of each swarozgari. SGSY is being implemented through the District Rural Development Agencies (DRDAs), with active involvement of panchayati raj institutions, banks and NGOs. It is financed on 75:25 cost-sharing basis between the Centre and the states. Since the inception of the programme 22.52 lakh Self-Help Groups(SHGs) have been formed covering 66.97 lakh swarozgaris. These include 35.54 lakh members of the SHGs and 31.43 lakh individual Swarozgaris who have been assisted with a total investment of Rs. 14403.73 crore. Out of total Swarozgaris assisted, SCs/STs were 45.54 per cent and women 47.85 per cent. During 2006-2007 the Central allocation for the scheme was Rs.1200 crore. NATIONAL SOCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME Article 41 of the Constitution of India directs the State to provide public assistance to its citizens in case of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement and in other cases of undeserved want within the limit of its economic capacity and development. In accordance with the Directive Principles of State Policy, the Government of India introduced in 1995 the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) to lay foundation to a National Policy for Social Assistance for the poor. The NSAP aims at ensuring minimum national standard for social assistance in addition to the benefits that state are currently providing or might provide in future. At present NSAP comprises Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS), National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS) and Annapurna. Under IGNOAPS which was launched on 19th November, 2007, Rs. 200 per month per beneficiary is provided by way of central assistance to all persons who are 65 years of higher and belonging to a family living below the poverty line. Earlier under National Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS), the pension was restricted to destitutes only. The number of beneficiaries under IGNOAPS is estimated to reach 160 lakh persons as compared to 87 lakh under NOAPS. The amount of old age pension was increased from Rs. 75 to Rs. 200 per month with effect from 1st April 2006 and the States were urged to contribute at least another Rs. 200 so that an old age pension beneficiary could get at least Rs. 400 per

850

India 2010

month. At present 25 States/UTs are providing pension which is more that Rs. 200 per month. Annapurana Scheme was introduced on 1st April 2000 to provide 10 Kgs of food grains per month free of cost to eligible beneficiaries who could not be covered under NOAPS, Under NFBS, Rs. 10000 is provided to a BPL family in case of natural or accidental death of a primary bread winner in the family while in the age group of 18 to 64 years. The annual requirement of funds under NSAP at present is Rs. 4200 crore per annum which includes Rs. 3800 crore for old age pension and Rs. 400 crore for National Family Benefit Scheme. After transfer of the Schemes under NSAP to State Plan in 2002-03, funds are released as Additional Central Assistance (ACA) by the Ministry of Finance. The implementation of Programme is monitored by the Ministry of Rural Development. DRDA ADMINISTRATION A Centrally-sponsored scheme, District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) administration was launched on 1 April 1999 with the objective of strengthening the DRDAs and making them more professional in their functioning. The funding pattern of the DRDA administration is in the ratio of 75:25 between the Centre and the States. During 2007-2008 the revised estimate for DRDA administration was Rs. 250 crore and the whole amount was also released. In 2008-09 a budget provision of Rs. 250 crore had been made for the scheme. CAPART The Council for Advancement of Peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Action and Rural Technology (CAPART) is an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Rural Development. It was set up in September 1986, as a supporting and funding agency for the voluntary organisations. Its primary objective is to promote voluntary action through community participation and to propagate appropriate rural technologies for the benefit of rural masses. It has a network of regional centres at Jaipur, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Patna, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Guwahati and Dharwad. The regional committees are empowered to sanction projects up to an outlay of Rs. 25 lakh in their respective regions. The Budget allocation for CAPART during the year 2006-07 was Rs. 70 crore. Since inception and up to March 2007, CAPART has sanctioned 24,466 projects involving an amount of Rs. 909.34 crore and released an amount of Rs.752.61 crore. WATERSHED DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES The Department of Land Resources in the Ministry of Rural Development is administering three area-based watershed programmes for development of wastelands/degraded lands namely Drought Prone Areas Programmes (DPAP), Desert Development Programme (DDP) and Integrated Wastelands Development Programme (IWDP) to check the diminishing productivity of wasteland and loss of natural resources. The DPAP was launched in 1973-74 to tackle the special problems faced by those areas that are constantly afflicted by drought conditions. Presently, 972 blocks of 195 districts in 16 States are covered under the Programme. DDP was launched in 1977-78 to mitigate the adverse effects of decertification. Presently, 235 blocks of 40 districts in 7 States are covered under the Programme. IWDP has been under

Rural Development

851

implementation since 1989-90. The projects under the IWDP are generally sanctioned in areas that are not covered under DDP or DPAP. Since 1 April 1995, these three programmes are being implemented on the basis of Common Guidelines for Watershed Development. Details of projects sanctioned and funds released from 1995-96 to 2007-2008 are as under: Name of Scheme

No. of project sanctioned

Area covered (in lakh ha.)

Total funds released by Centre (Rs. in crores)

DPAP

27439

130.20

2837.81

DDP

15746

78.73

2103.23

IWDP

1877

107.0

2797.56

Grand Total

45062

322.93

7738.60

The projects under DPAP and DDP are sanctioned for 500 ha. each while the IWDP projects cover an area of 5000-6000 ha. The cost norms for all the three schemes have been revised to Rs. 6000 per ha. Under DPAP and DDP, it is shared between the Centre and the States in ratio of 75:25. In case of IWDP, the cost sharing between the Centre and State Governments is in the ratio of 11:1. Funds are released in seven instalments, six instalments at the rate of 15 per cent and the last instalment at the rate of 10 per cent. The first instalment is released along with the initial sanction-order and subsequent instalments on receipt of utilization for 50 per cent of the available funds as well as the following documents: (a) Quarterly Progress Reports; (b) Utilisation Certificates; (c) The Audited Statement of Accounts for the previous years; and (d) Evidence of satisfactory completion of institutional arrangements. Projects are implemented by District Rural Development Agencies/Zilla Parishads (DRDAs/ZPs) through Project Implementing Agencies (PIAs). PIAs could be a Line Department (of the State Government), Panchayati Raj Institutions or a reputed NGO. One PIA normally handles 10-12 watershed projects covering an area of about 5000-6000 hectares. The PIA is required to maintain a technical team of 4 experts called Watershed Development Team (WDT) and individual projects (500 hectares) are planned and executed by the local people living in the watershed area called the Watershed Association (WA) through an elected body called Watershed Committee (WC). The Department of Land Resources has brought out a new initiative called Hariyali with an objective of empowering PRIs both financially and administratively in implementation of Watershed Development Programmes. Under this initiative, all ongoing area development programmes namely, Integrated Wastelands Development Programme (IWDP), Drought Prone Areas Programme (DPAP) and Desert Development Programme (DDP) are to be implemented through the PRIs. New projects under the aforesaid area development programmes are being implemented in accordance with the guidelines for Hariyali from 1 April 2003. Projects sanctioned prior to this date shall continue to be implemented as per the Watershed Development Guidelines of 2001.

852

India 2010

In the new arrangement, Gram Panchayats shall implement projects under overall supervision and guidance of Project Implementation Agencies (PIAs). An intermediate panchayat may be the PIA for all the projects sanctioned to a particular Block/Taluka. In case, these Panchayats are not adequately empowered, then the Zilla Panchayat can either act as PIA itself or may appoint a suitable Line Department like Agriculture, Forestry /Social Forestry, Soil Conservation, etc., or an Agency of the State Government/ University/Institute as PIA. Failing these options, the ZP/DRDA may consider appointing a reputed Non-Government Organization (NGO) in the district with adequate experience and expertise in the implementation of watershed projects or related area development works as the PIA after thoroughly examining their credentials. The Project Implementing Agency (PIA) will provide necessary technical guidance to the Gram Panchayat for preparation of development plans for the watershed through Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) exercise, undertake community organisation and training for the village communities, supervise watershed development activities, inspect and authenticate project accounts.

LAND REFORMS Two Centrally Sponsored Schemes viz; (i) Computerisation of Land Records (CLR) and (ii) Strengthening of Revenue Administration and Updating of Land Records (SRA & ULR) are administered by Land Reforms Division in the Department of Land Resources. COMPUTERISATION OF LAND RECORDS The Centrally Sponsored Scheme on Computerisation of Land Records (CLR) was started in 1988-89 with 100 per cent financial assistance on a pilot project basis in eight Districts viz. Rangareddy (A.P.), Sonitpur (Assam), Singhbhum (Jharkhand), Gandhinagar (Gujarat), Morena (M.P.), Wardha (Maharastra), Mayurbhanj (Orissa) and Dungarpur (Rajasthan) to remove the problems inherent in the manual systems of maintenance and updating of land records and to meet the requirements of various groups of users. It was decided that efforts should be made to computerise CORE DATA contained in land records, so as to assist development planning and to make records accessible to peoples/planners and administrators. During the 8th Five Year Plan, the scheme was approved as a separate centrally sponsored scheme on computerisation of land records. The total expenditure under the Scheme during 8th plan period was Rs. 64.43 crore. During 9th Five Year Plan, Ministry of Rural Development released a sum of Rs. 169.13 crore by covering 259 more districts under the Scheme. At present, the Scheme is being implemented in 582 Districts of the country leaving those Districts where there are no proper land records. A decision has been taken during 1997-98 for operation of the Scheme at the tehsil/taluk level for facilitating delivery of computerised land records to users and public at large. Under this programme, funds are released to the State Governments for data entry work, setting up of computer centres at tehsil level, sub-division level, District Land Records Data Centre and Monitoring Cell at state headquarters and imparting training to revenue officials on application software and computer technology. So far 4434 tehsils/taluks, 392 District Land Records Data Centre, 1045 Sub-division and 17 monitoring cells have been covered under the programme of CLR. As on 31.08.08 funds at the tune of Rs. 586.00 crore has been released to the States/UTs.

Rural Development

853

STRENGTHENING OF REVENUE ADMINISTRATION AND UPDATING OF LAND RECORDS (SRA & ULR) With a view to assisting States/UTs in the task of updating of land records, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Strengthening of Revenue Administration and Updating of Land Records (SRA & ULR) was started in 1987. Initially, the Scheme was approved for the States of Bihar and Orissa in 1987-88 and extended to other States/UTs, during 1989-90. The Scheme is being implemented by state governments through their revenue/land reforms departments. It is financed by the Centre and the state on 50:50 funds sharing basis. However, union territories are provided full Central assistance. Under this Scheme, financial assistance is given for purchase of modern survey equipment like Global Positioning System (GPS), EDM, Total Stations, Theodolites, Work Stations, Aerial Survey, Office equipment like photocopiers, laminating machines, binding machines and basic facilities to improve work efficiency of subordinate level staff of the revenue departments, construction of office-cum-residence of patwaris, construction/repair/renovation of Training Institutes and equipment for training, etc. as on 31.03.08, financial assistance of Rs. 475.36 crore has been provided to state governments and UTs. It has been proposed to integrate and enhance the two Centrally sponsored schemes, namely, Computerisation of Land Records (CLR), and Strengthening of Revenue Administration and Updating of Land Records (SRA & ULR), in the shape of the National Land Records Modernization Programme (NLRMP). The NLRMP is concerned not merely with computerization, updating and maintenance of land records and validation of titles, but also a programme that will add value and provide a comprehensive tool for development planning wherever location-specific information is required, Under the NLRMP, three layers of data: (a) Spatial data from satellite imagery/aerial photography. (b) topographic maps and other data from the Survey of India and Forest Survey of India, and (c) land records data - both records of rights (RoRs) and maps will be integrated and harmonized on a geographic information system (GIS) platform. The primary focus of the programme will be on (i) providing citizen services, such as providing records of rights (RoRs) with maps to scale; other land-based certificates such as caste certificates; information for eligibility for development programmes; land passbooks, etc, and (ii) developing a comprehensive tool for supporting and planning devvelopmental, regulatory, and disaster management activities. Ushering in the system of conclusive titles in the country shall be the ultimate goal of the programme, for which all the required activities shall be undertaken in a systematic, ladder-like manner, and the primary activities shall converge in the district, and all districts in the country are proposed to be covered under the programme by the 12th plan period, beginning with 1-2 district per State/UT this year. NATIONAL RURAL DRINKING WATER SUPPLY PROGRAMME (NRDWP) Government of India's major intervention in water sector started in 1972-73 through Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme (RWSP) for assistance States/UTs to accelerate the coverage of drinking water supply. While drafting the Eleventh Plan document, it was decided that the major issues which need tackling during this period are problem of sustainability, water availability and supply, poor water quality, centralized Vs. decentralized approaches and financing of O&M cost on equitable

854

India 2010

basis with full consideration to ensuring equity in regard to gender, socially and economically weaker sections of the society, school children, socially vulnerable groups such as pregnant and lactating mothers, specially abled and senior citizens, etc. CHANGES MADE IN APPROACH FOR RWS IN XI PLAN The following paradigm shift is made in the recently approved rural water supply programme guidelines for ensuring sustainable and environmentally friendly drinking water supply projects. l Move away from over dependence on single source to multiple sources through conjunctive use of surface water, groundwater and rainwater harvesting; l Focus on ensuring sustainability in drinking water schemes & prevent slip back; l Encourage water conservation methods including revival of traditional water bodies; l Move forward towards achieving household level drinking water security through proper water demand and budgeting; l Convergence of all water conservation programme at the village level; l Focus on ensuring household level drinking water security through preparation of village water security plans; l Conscious move to get away from high cost treatment technologies for tackling arsenic & fluoride contamination to development of alternative sources in respect of arsenic and alternated sources/dilution of aquifers through rainwater harvesting in respect of tackling fluoride contamination; l Convergence of all water conservation programme at the village level; l In respect of nitrate contamination, treatment of catchment area through simple measures such as fencing and effective implementation of TSC programme, prevention of sewage/animal waste leaking into the surface/underground water sources, promoting ecological sanitation to reduce use of inorganic fertilizers should be our focus; l For tackling salinity problem, solar desalination and dilution through rainwater harvesting to be adopted; l Linkage of National Rural Drinking Water Quality Monitoring & Surveillance Programme with the recently approved Jalmani guidelines for implementation of Stand-alone drinking water purifications systems in rural schools; l The five grass root level workers trained for NRDWQM&SP are the ambassadors for achieving the household level drinking water security in the rural India. ASHA worker is the linkage to NRHM; l Apart from XII FC funds, GPs can utilize the untied funds available under NRIHM for meeting O&M expenses of drinking water supply schemes; l Move away from off-line unconsolidated figures to on-line details of data entry and linkage with Census survey and NHFS survey; In order to ensure operationalization of the approaches mentioned above, the following main changes have been incorporated in the rural water supply guidelines; l Awarding performance rather than non-performance of States. This is done by removing extra weighted points in the allocation criteria for the central Govt.

Rural Development

855

assistance to the States in regard to number of uncovered/partially covered habitations and water quality affected habitations; l The allocation criteria depends on 2001 census population figure, number of DDP/DPAP/HADP blocks; l Certain percentage is allocated as incentive fund for the States as extra weightage points for those which transfer the assets created to the Panchayati Raj Institutions; l A certain percentage viz., 20% is reserved for implementing projects by the States for bringing in sustainability to drinking water schemes. This 20% is to be fully borne by the Government of India as opposed to 50% in regard to other components of the allocation; l In order to encourage the difficult States of North-East and J&K, the fund sharing pattern for the States has been liberalized from the existing 50:50 (Centre to State) to 90:10 (Centre to State). COMPONENTS OF REVISED RURAL WATER SUPPLY PROGRAMME To ensure that all aspects of rural water supply are adequately addressed, there are different components of RWSP. 10% of the overall amount allocated to the drinking wter sector is earmarked for North-Eastern States. Recently, Cabinet has approved the change in funding pattern and the percentage of allocation under different components, and the funding pattern of these components are as under : Component

Distribution of annual budgetary allocation

Centre : State Ratio

RWSP (Coverage)

38%

50:50* 90:10**

RWSP (Sustainability)Swajaldhara***

20%

100.0

RWSP (Water Quality)

20%

50:50* 90:10**

RWSP (Natural Calamity)

100:0

RWSP (DDP Areas)

100:0

RWSP (Support)

100.0

Operation & Maintenance (O&M)

10%

50:50* 90:10**

For all States/Union Territories except North Eastern States (Assam, Arunachal Pradesh,

Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura) and Jammu & Kashmir. ** For North Eastern States (Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura) and Jammu & Kashmir. *** Swajaldhara to be continued and subsumed under RWSP (Sustainability) component. RWSPâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;CRITERIA FOR ALLOCATION OF FUNDS NRDWP (Normal) : State-wise allocation and releases under NRDWP (Normal) is made by taking into account the rural population, number of NC/PC habitations, area under DDP, HADP, DPAP, special category Hill States, etc. and water quality problems. The components for weightage and percentage points are as under :

India 2010

856 Criterion

Weightage

Rural Population 2001 Census

Rural Population managing rural drinking water supply schemes (From number of GPs managing drinking water assets/distribution)

States under DPAP, HADP and special category Hill States in terms of rural areas

NRDWP (DDP) : The interstate allocation of NRDWP (DDP) funds is determined in proportion to the number of no safe source habitations existing in the DDP areas of the State. The components for weightage and percentage points are as given below : Weightage for

Percentage

Proportionate rural population in DDP blocks

NC/PC habitations (at 2:1 ratio)

Quality affected habitations

SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR SCs/STs The State/UTs are required to earmark and utilize at least 25% of the RWSP funds for drinking water supply to the SCs and another minimum 10% for the STs. Where the percentage of SC or ST population in a particular State is considerably high warranting earmarking/utilization of more than stipulated provisions, additional funds can be utilized. As a measure of flexibility, States may utilize at least 35% of the RWSP funds for the benefit of SCs/STs, particularly in those States where coverage of SC/ST population is less than the coverage of the general population. Under RWSP, a habitation consisting of 100 person or 20 households, is considered to be a habitation for the purpose of coverage of habitation with drinking water facilities utilizing fund released under the programme SC/ST habitations having less than 100 persons can however be covered under RWSP. SPECIAL PROVISIONS TO NORTH EASTERN STATES AND J&K STATE The Department of Drinking Water Supply has given flexibility in the guidelines for implementation of rural water supply programme in respect of North Eastern States as 10% of the total Central outlay for the programme is earmarked for the NE States. To ensure that the unutilized funds released to North Eastern States do not lapse, a Non-lapsable Central Pool of Resources has been created. Any unutilized funds of Government of India share are credited in to this Pool under which the State Governments can take up various projects. Keeping in view the problem faced by the NE States and Jammu & Kashmir in providing State share, recently Cabinet has approved the change in funding pattern for North East States and Jammu & Kashmir from 50:50 to 90:10, between Centre and the respective States. SPECIAL FOCUS ON DDP AREAS Keeping in view the special problems faced by people living in the DDP areas, under RWSP, 5% of the total fund is kept aside and allocated to States on 100% grant basis for rural water supply in the identified DDP blocks. There are 235 DDP blocks in 40 districts of 7 States. In DDP blocks, States are to provide additional 30 litre per person per day for livestock.

Rural Development

857

BHARAT NIRMANâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;RURAL DRINKING WATER To build rural infrastructure, Bharat Nirman has been launched by the Government of India in 2005 to be implemented in a period of four years from 2005-06 to 2008-09. Rural drinking water is one of the six components of Bharat Nirman. During Bharat Nirman period, 55,067 uncovered and about 3.31 lakh slipped-back habitations are to be covered with provisions of drinking water facilities and 2.17 lakh qualityaffected habitations are to be addressed for water quality problem. STRATEGY ADOPTED TO ACHIEVE BHARAT NIRMAN TARGETS i) Uncovered habitations : Against 55,067 uncovered habitations to be covered during the Bharat Nirman period, 54,433 habitations have been covered by 29 June, 2009. The remaining 637 habitations, out of which some are in difficult areas lacking sustainable sources of drinking water, are proposed to be covered with provision of drinking water supply systems during 2009-10. ii) Slipped-back habitations : In case of slipped-back habitations, out of 3,31,604 habitations to be covered during the Bharat Nirman period, 3,.58396 habitations have been covered by 29 June, 2009 and the remaining 25,482 habitations would be covered during this financial year. The entire strategy and focus of the Department and its current programme in the field is toward sustainability in all drinking water schemes, so that the phenomenon of recurring slippage does not occur. iii) Quality-affected habitations : Arsenic & Fluoride : Out of 2.17 lakh quality-affected habitations in the country, 5,029 habitations were reported to be affected with Arsenic contamination and 31,306 habitations with Fluoride contamination. During Bharat Nirman Period, addressing water quality problems in these habitations have been accorded high priority. All arsenic-affected habitations have been addressed with projects for water quality problem. In case of Fluoride-affected habitations, majority has been addressed with projects and the remaining ones are also being addressed during current year itself on priority. Iron Affected : At the start of Bharat Nirman, 1,18,088 habitations were reported to have Iron contamination. These have been planned to be tackled by low-cost solutions since it is easy to address iron contamination by dilution and stand alone filter plants. Institute of Minerals & Materials Technology (IMMT), Bhubaneshwar (a CSIR institution) has been identified as nodal institute/federal centre to address iron contamination through use of terracota filters (Terafil water filters systems) throughout the country. These filters can be locally made and have proven record of easy operation and maintenance. Salinity : Similarly, 23,495 habitations have salinity problems which are mostly located in coastal areas. To tackle the salinity problem in these habitations, various technological solutions viz. technologies developed by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO), Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), Department of Science & Technology, etc. are being used and to coordinate all these efforts to tackle salinity problem in the drinking water, Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSMCRI), Bhavnagarâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a CSIR laboratory has been identified as the nodal agency for the dissemination of simple/cost-effective technologies for tackling the salinity problem. Nitrate : In the country, 13,958 habitations were reported to be affected with nitrate

India 2010

858

contamination. This can be tackled by improving sanitation conditions and in some places by change in the use of fertilizers, etc. NORMS FOR RURAL DRINKING WATER SUPPLY Under the NRDWP guideline the norms that have been adopted since the inception of the programme (1972) for providing potable drinking water to the rural population based on basic minimum need is as follows : 40 litres per capita per day (lpcd) for humans to meet the following requirements based on basic minimum need : Purpose

Quantity (LPCD)

Drinking

Cooking

Bathing

Washing utensils and house

Ablution

FUNDS ALLOCATED FOR RWS SCHEME (Amount in Rs. crore)

Year

2005-06

4,050.00

4,060.00

2006-07

5,200.00

4,560.00

2007-08

6,500.00

6,400.00

2008-09*

7,300.00

2009-10

8,000.00

Rs. 100 crore additional funds have been provided for Stand-alone water purification systems in rural schools.

For the 11th Five Year Plan, allocation for rural drinking water has been substantially enhanced to Rs. 39,490 crore. TOTAL SANITATION CAMPAIGN (TSC) Rural sanitation came into focus in the Government of India in the World Water Decade of 1980s. The Central Rural Sanitation Programme was started in 1986 to provide sanitation facilities in rural areas. It was a supply driven, high subsidy and infrastructure oriented programme. As a result of these deficiencies and low financial allocations, the CRSP had little impact on the gargantuan problem. The experience of community-driven, awareness-generating campaign based programmes in some states and the results of evaluation of CRSP, led to the formulation of the Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) approach in 1999. OBJECTIVES The main objectives of the TSC are as under : l Bring about an improvement in the general quality of life in the rural areas; l Accelerate sanitation coverage in rural areas;

Rural Development l l l l l

859

Generate felt demand for sanitation facilities through awareness creation and health education. Cover schools/Anganwadis in rural areas with sanitation facilities and promote hygiene education and sanitary habits among students. Encourage cost effective and appropriate technologies in sanitation. Eliminate open defecation to minimize risk of contamination of drinking water sources and food. Convert dry latrines to pour flush latrines, and eliminate manual scavenging practice, wherever in existence in rural areas.

STRATEGY The strategy is to make the Programme 'community led' and 'people centered'. A "demand driven approach" is adopted with increased emphasis on awareness creation and demand generation for sanitary facilities in houses, schools and for cleaner environment. Alternate delivery mechanisms are adopted to meet the community needs. Subsidy for individual household latrine units has been replaced by incentive to the poorest of the poor households. Rural School Sanitation is a major component and an entry point for wider acceptance of sanitation by the rural people. Technology improvisations to meet the customer preferences and location specific intensive IEC Campaign involving Panchayati Raj Institutions, Cooperatives, Women Groups, Self Help Groups, NGOs etc. are also important components of the Strategy. The strategy addresses all sections of rural population to bring about the relevant behavioural changes for improved sanitation and hygiene practices and meet their sanitary hardware requirements in an affordable and accessible manner by offering a wide range of technological choices. l Rural sanitation coverage has more than doubled from 21.9% in 2001 to 58.42% of the projected population in June, 2009. This phenomenal progress is a result of the significant achievement under TSC of construction of 5.70 crore individual toilets, 8.9 lakh school toilets and 2.77 lakh Anganwadi toilets. l Sanitation coverage has spurted with the introduction of Nirmal Gram Puraskar in 2005 : m Till 2001, the average annual increase in coverage was 1%. m After TSC was launched in 1999, average annual increase in coverage between 2001 to 2004 rose to 3%. m After NGP was launched in 2004, the average coverage is now increasing by about 7-8% annually. FINANCIAL ALLOCATION l Budget allocation has been substantially increased during the 10th Five Year Plan period from Rs. 165 crore in 2002-03 to Rs. 1200 crore in 2009-10. l Total financial outlay approved under TSC for 593 district projects to be implemented over 4-5 years is Rs. 17885 crore of which central share is Rs. 11094 crore, State share Rs. 4776 crore and community share is Rs. 2015 crore. m Released central share is Rs. 4172.09 crore and State share released is Rs. 2415.48 crore. m The success of the TSC lies in the fact that the community has also contributed Rs. 1286.74 crore towards project implementation till now.

India 2010

860 COMPONENTS (i)

Provision of individual household latrines : Incentives of Rs. 1500/- and 700/ - for each toilet is given by Central and State Government respectively to BPL households after they construct and use toilets. APL households are motivated to construct toilets with their own funds or by taking loans from SHGs, banks, cooperative institutions etc;

(ii)

Provision of Toilets in Schools and Anganwadis with the cost shared by Central and State Government in the ratio of 70:30;

(iii) Construction of Community Sanitary Complexes; (iv) Assistance to Production Centres of sanitary materials and Rural Sanitary Marts; (v)

Solid and Liquid Waste Management.

IMPLEMENTATION Implementation of TSC is by a project mode. A project proposal emanates from a district, is scrutinized by the State Government and transmitted to the Government of India (Department of Drinking Water Supply, Ministry of Rural Development). The approved TSC project is implemented in phases with start-up activities. Funds are made available for preliminary IEC work. In the "campaign approach" a synergistic interaction between the Government agencies and other stakeholders, intensive IEC and advocacy with participation of NGOs/Panchayati Raj Institutions/resource organizations takes place to bring about the desired behavioural changes for relevant sanitation practices. PHYSICAL ACHIEVEMENTS l

Currently TSC is being implemented in 593 rural districts spread across 30 States and UTs.

There are about 15.02 crore rural households in India as per projected population in 2008 census, of which as per the latest data of June, 2009, 8.90 crore households have access to toilets leaving a balance of 6.12 crore household without access to toilets.

Coverage is 64.4% among 2001 census number of households and 58% of the projected number of households.

NIRMAL GRAM PURASKAR The incentive award scheme of Nirmal Gram Puruskar (NGP) has been launched to encourage the Panchayati Raj Institutions to take up sanitation promotion. The award is given to those PRIs which attain 100% open defecation free environment. The concept of Nirmal Gram Puraskar has been acclaimed internationally as a unique tool of social engineering and community mobilization and has helped a difficult programme like rural sanitation to pick up. Each Gram Panchayat getting the NGP has a ripple effect in the surrounding villages. The Nirmal Gram Puraskar has ignited the imagination of Panchyat leaders throughout the country and made them champions of sanitation. IT has been the prime mover behind the amazing progress achieved in rural sanitation coverage since 2005. Under NGP, the following PRIs and other institutions have received the award in the last 4 years:

Rural Development

861

AWARDED PANCHAYATS l l l l l

2005—38 Gram Panchayats and 2 Block Panchayats. 2006—760 Gram Panchayats and 9 Block Panchayats, 4 Institutions. 2007—4945 Gram Panchayats, 14 Block Panchayats, 9 Institutions. 2008—12276 Gram Panchayats, 105 Block Panchayats, 8 Zilla Panchayats, 10 Institutions. Sikkim has become first Nirmal State of the country.