Governance Today March 2016

Budget 2016-17: Pragmatic and Prudent P.28

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Net Neutrality P.42

MARCH 2016 VOL. 02 ISSUE 06 `60 RNI NO: UPENG/2014/62662 ISSN 2455-0426 PR NO: UP/GBD-212/2015-17 Date of Publishing 04-03-2016 Date of Posting 07-03-2016

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Editor-in-Chief Ajit Sinha Editor Anand Mishra Senior Copy Editor Ramesh K Raja Correspondents Lekshmi Parameswaran Ritika Bisht, Sagarika Ranjan Guest Writers & Contributors Dr Arun Gupta, Andrew I. Pereira , Prof. Hitesh Arora, Pratik Jhaveri, Pavan Duggal, Rajesh Aggarwal, Sonali Patnaik, Shaji Krishnan, Umang Srivastava, Prof. Uday Salunkhe Graphic Designer Girdhar Chandra Fuloria Web Architect Farhan Khan CORPORATE OFFICE Strategy Head Ajay Kumar VP Sales Gautam Navin gautam@governancetoday.co.in I 7840086704 Siddharth Verma siddharth@governancetoday.co.in I 9990091298 VP Strategic Alliance & Branding Salil Dhar salil@governancetoday.co.in I 7840086708 Sales & Marketing (Corp) Anupam Gupta, Shubham Gupta, Anjana Yadav, Vaishali Gupta sales@governancetoday.co.in I 120-4234008 Government Alliance Stuti Bhushan I 9999371606 ADVERTISEMENT Abhijeet Srivastava I 9990098572 Karamjeet Singh I 9990098732 ACCOUNTS EXECUTIVE Yogesh Chikara FOR SUBSCRIPTION CONTACT subscription@governancetoday.co.in 9990267759 Published By Ajit Kumar Sinha 713, 3BA - Tower No. - 4, River Heights, Raj Nagar Extn - Ghaziabad Uttar Pradesh-201003 Printed & Published by Ajit Kumar Sinha on behalf of Odyssey Infomedia Pvt. Ltd. Printed at Rama Offset Printers A-43, Sector - 10, Noida, UP - 201301 Editor-In-Chief: Ajit Kumar Sinha @ All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, and mechanical, including photocopy, or any other information storage or retrieval system, without publisher’s permission.

4 I March 2016

14 Innovation in India

Jab zero diya mere bharat ne…

You won’t find an Indian whose heart will not fill up with pride to hear the song. Ancient Indians did a stellar job in innovation and discovery; from algebra and decimals to surgery and Fibonacci numbers. Coming to modern times, we felt being on star when Venkatraman Ramakrishnan won Nobel in Chemistry in 2009.

We take pains to claim Har Gobind Khorana and Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, the other Nobel laureates, as Indians.

All of it sounds great. What is ironical, however, is that no Indian citizen has won a Nobel in any tech discipline since independence. The only resident Indian to have won Nobel was CV Raman who won the prize in 1930, in British India. Now that’s not impressive. Actually, it is shameful, because we go great lengths to drill home the point how intellectually rich and scientifically advanced we Indians were, in ancient times.

The sad reality of research and innovation in India is that we are a laggard in all parameters of innovation. We invest little in research activities; we have among the least science graduates per thousand graduates; our faculties don’t publish enough papers; our score in patent filing and approvals are very poor; and we don’t have world class universities. www.governancetoday.co.in

INDIA HAS MUCH MORE TALENT AVAILABLE THAN MOST COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD Riku Makela Innovation Expert

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26 28

NEED FOR IDEATION INNOVATION: THE KEY TO SUCCESS BUDGET 2016-17: PRAGMATIC AND PRUDENT

32 THINKING BEYOND IIMs 37 40

$500 BN US-INDIA TRADE ACHIEVABLE WITH PROPER REFORMS

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Dr. Mukesh Aghi President, US-India Business Council

44

RAILWAY REGULATOR ON THE ANVIL ZIKA: THE NEW CHALLENGE INDIA’S THOUGHT LEADERSHIP ON NET NEUTRALITY CHALLENGES TO OVERCOME

46 EMPOWERING WOMEN-LED-

PANCHAYATS TO PERFORM BETTER 48 50

COORDINATED EFFORTS NEEDED TO FURTHER PROMOTE OUR ART AND CULTURE 73

52 54

C. Rajasekhar Director General, ICCR 57 62

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HOPE LACES INDIAN DIASPORA PAPERLESS OFFICE WITH ADVANCED DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM A BLAST FROM THE PAST BREASTFEEDING PRACTICES AT ITS LOW IN INDIA A FLOURISHING ENTENTE JUDICIAL OVER REACH COULD BE PROBLEMATIC SMART CITY BUILD BIHAR SUMMIT 2016EVENT REPORT March 2016 I 5

Budget 2016-17: Pragmatic and Prudent P.28

I

Net Neutrality P.42

Pragmatic and futuristic p.46

I

Bihar: At critical juncture p.52

MARCH 2016 VOL. 02 ISSUE 06 `60 RNI NO: UPENG/2014/62662 ISSN 2455-0426 PR NO: UP/GBD-212/2015-17 Date of Publishing 04-03-2016 Date of Posting 07-03-2016 JANUARY 2016 VOL. - 02 ISSUE - 04 `60 RNI NO: UPENG/2014/62662 ISSN 2455-0426 PR NO: UP/GBD-212/2015-17 Date of Publishing 04-01-2016 Date of Posting 07-01-2016

Giriraj Singh MoS, MSMEs

“Our basic motto is to make India more competitive” P. 17

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MSMEs: PUSHING THE AGENDA

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Editorial

Commendable work, Mr. FM

T

he 2016-17 budget presented by the Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley stood out for its pro-poor push. The focus on rural development from a government that has had a predominantly industry friendly image is to be lauded without a doubt. The outlay of Rs 2.75 lakh crores for programs that are aimed at improving the rural economy and uplifting the vulnerable sections is a step in the right direction to ensure inclusive development.

An encouraging factor in the present budget is the increased allocation made to departments engaged in scientific research.

With a hike of 17% on last year’s allocation, the Department of Science and Technology has got the highest raise followed by the Department of Biotechnology which has received a 12% increase. In an environment where innovation has become the deciding factor in a nation’s growth, this emphasis on increasing the scientific temper of the people has come at an apt moment.

It is to be noted that it furthers the idea of turning India into a world class centre for genomics research and commercialization albeit in a small way.

With Make in India seen as the pet project of the present government, the expectations were sky high in terms of the scheme getting more focus. Here again, the major changes proposed were an increase in basic custom duty rates in the range of 2.5% to 10% for imported outputs and decrease from about 10% to a lower rate/Nil rate especially for inputs across various sectors.

Any development is impossible without reforming the education sector of the country. The present budget announced setting up a Higher Education Funding Agency with an initial allocation of Rs 1,000 crore and facilitating 10 public and 10 private sector institutions to emerge as world class teaching institutions. But while it is heartening to see the intent of the government to make select Indian higher educational institutions world class, and allocation of money for the same, it caters to only one part of the overall mess in which Indian higher education system is in. Some of the other major aspects that need hard-nosed action include revision of admission and examination mechanism, and curricula. Finally, there is immense requirement for recruiting good quality faculty and making their career progression linked with the knowledge creation and innovation, instead of period-in-service based seniority.

To make India a research and innovation superpower, it is important that interaction between educational institution and industry is increased. Globally, industry maintains a strong interaction with academic research besides funding them. But in India, we have so far maintained a compartmentalized approach resulting in lack of money and ideas in academia and preventing academic research from reaching final commercial conclusion which industry can do.

On its part, government has initiated programs which will enable researchers to benefit from their research which is a great development. We hope government will take more such steps to encourage discover-in-India and innovate-in-India which will make make-in-India an even bigger success.

Best regards

Ajit Sinha Editor-in-Chief www.governancetoday.co.in

March 2016 I 7

THUS THEY SPOKE Even Indira Gandhi lost power, but his son never supported anti-national forces. Don’t make education a political battlefield; I request everyone to stop treating children as votebanks.

Smriti Irani Union HRD Minister

There were grave doubts about his (Afzal Guru’s) involvement in the conspiracy behind the attack on Parliament and even if he was involved, there were grave doubts about the extent of his involvement. He could have been imprisoned for life without parole for rest of his natural life.

P Chidambaram Leader, Congress Due to this (solar) scam, there was no loss to the state exchequer, no monetary benefit was extended to scamsters and no laxity was there on the government’s part in taking legal steps against them.

Oomen Chandy Chief Minister, Kerala

The (iPhone) software could expose people to incredible vulnerabilities... smartphones contain private information about users and even their families.This would be bad for America… It would also set a precedent that I believe many people in America would be offended by.

Tim Cook CEO, Apple

If I say something one month or 15 days back (about retirement), the answer does not change. It’s irrespective of where I’m asking. The answer remains the same. It’s as simple as what is your name and I will say MS Dhoni. It will remain the same for a considerable period of time unless you give me a new format.

MS Dhoni Skipper, ODI & T20 Aligarh was a very challenging film for me because it was fragile and different. It was very difficult to capture the loneliness and state of mind of Ramchandra Siras.

Manoj Bajpai Actor, Bollywood 8 I March 2016

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GOVERNANCE WATCH

Rajasthan enforces minimum wages for domestic help The Rajasthan government recently imposed labour reforms in the unorganized sector. It has fixed minimum wages for domestic help and set limits to their working hours. As per a recent notification by the state’s labour department, the rate for an entire day’s (defined as eight hours) chores - including cooking, washing, baby sitting and other work - has been fixed at a minimum of Rs 5,642 per month. The new salaries come into effect from January 1, 2016.In case of overtime, employers will have to pay workers double the minimum fixed per hour for each hour beyond the mandated eight hours.Domestic helps hired for just washing dishes and laundry will have to be paid a minimum Rs 705 per month for a household of four people. If the number of people exceeds four, the help would have to be paid 10 per cent more than the minimum prescribed, per individual.

12 lakh more into tax net The income tax department has brought nearly 12 lakh additional taxpayers into the tax net, helped in large part by a special intelligence tool it had started using a few years ago to track high-spending individuals who were not filing returns.For the assessment year (AY) 2014-15, at least 11.77 lakh people filed returns after the I-T department served notices after coming to know of their taxable income.

To identify such defaulters, the department tracks data of bank statements, property purchases, shares and equity transactions, credit card expenditure and foreign travels.The cases of the 11.77 lakh taxpayers who filed returns for AY 2014-15 have been closed after their information was sent to regional I-T officials and assessing officers to keep track of their records in future.

Gujarat to have India’s 1st railway university Vadodara will be home to the country’s first railway university. Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha recently said the state government was helping Indian Railways identify land to set up a full-fledged railway university. “The present campus for National Academy of Indian Railways (NAIR), Vadodara, (at Pratap Vilas Palace) will be initially used to start the railway university. After land acquisition, a full-fledged university will be started here,” he said. He added that the proposal to set up the railway university had been declared by the railway ministry in December 2015.The ministry of human resource development has worked out detailed modalities for this. The university, in the first phase, will start offering MBA and MTech degrees, after which it will offer diploma and BTech in railway operations. NAIR presently acts as the apex level training and management development institute for the railway officers. www.governancetoday.co.in

March 2016 I 9

GOVERNANCE WATCH

Health cards for all in Delhi soon

Helpline in 12 languages for tourists

The Delhi government is planning to issue health cards to all citizens. This will ensure easy availability of disease history, ongoing treatment and prescription details. Tenders have already been issued for selection of the private concessionaire who will execute the work. According to senior officials in the state health department, Delhi Health ID will help streamline patient services apart from creating a real time data on disease burden.The electronic health record of all persons will be collated through a centralised web-based application. It will be accessible free of cost to all health institutions, either public or private.

Initially it will be voluntary for private hospitals to utilise the software and after a certain time it can be made compulsory. A health ID will allow mobility.

The aggregation of such data from across the state will help policymakers prepare an action plan to fight diseases.

The tourism ministryrecently launched a 24-hour toll free infoline in 12 international languages to counter “wrong information” given by some media and websites. The move comes on the back of safety concerns for tourists.The toll free number 1800111363 can handle up to 60 calls at a time and is manned by 120 people in three shifts to handle calls related to information on the country, travel, entertainment and others. Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma said, “We hope this measure will bring in confidence among travellers that India is a tourism friendly country. Some media groups and websites give wrong information about India. This will counter it.” Calls can be made in English and Hindi, and international languages like Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. The minister also announced that an Incredible India mobile app will soon be launched to facilitate tourists in a better way.

No surcharge on card, digital payments The Union Cabinet recently approved withdrawal of surcharge, service charge and convenience fee on card and digital payments, with an aim to discourage cash transactions. The Cabinet chaired by PM Modi also approved mandating payments beyond a prescribed threshold only through a card or digital mode. According to an official statement, the promotion of payments through cards and digital means will be instrumental in reducing tax avoidance, migration of government payments and collections to cashless mode. Among other measures aimed at reducing cash transactions include rationalization of Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on card transactions and a differentiated MDR framework for some key segments. Other features include introduction of formulalinked acceptance infrastructure by the stakeholders of certain card products, rationalization of telecom service charges for digital financial transactions and promotion of mobile banking.

10 I March 2016

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GOVERNANCE WATCH

Mysuru India’s cleanest city, Dhanbad dirtiest A nationwide survey by the urban development ministry has found Karnataka’s Mysuru as India’s cleanest city for the second year in a row while Chandigarh, Tiruchirapalli , the New Delhi Municipal Council --where 1.5 per cent of Delhi’s 16.78 million resident live – and Visakhapatnam make up the top five. The “SwachhtaSarvekshan” that covered 73 cities with a population of over one million ranked Varanasi --PM Narendra Modi’s constituency -among the bottom ten dirtiest cities.The other in the dirty list included Dhanbad, Asansol, Patna, Meerut, Raipur, Ghaziabad, Jamshedpur, KalyanDombivilli and Itanagar.A similar survey in 2014 ranked Mysuru and Tiruchirappali among the five cleanest cities as well.Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu announced the result. This is the second such survey carried out as part of the government’s flagship Swachh Bharat Mission to make India clean and open defecation free by 2019.

PM Modi launches ‘Rurban Mission’ Aimed at improving the nation’s basic infrastructure, Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently inaugurated the ambitious Rural-Urban (Rurban) mission at Dongargarh in Chhattisgarh’s Rajnandgaon district. Modi said that the focus of the Rurban mission would be on improving infrastructural facilities such as power, shelter, roads, drinking water connections and drainage in rural areas, besides creating community assets such as schools, colleges and health centres – among other things.The project aims to create village clusters with a population count of 25,000-60,000, and minimize rural migration to cities through skill development programmes and local economic activities. Around 300 such clusters of the kind will be created across the nation under this project.

It would initially be taken up in four districts across the state – Rajnandgaon, Dhamtari, Kawardha and Bastar.

Announced by the BJP-led Centre last year, the Rurban scheme replaces the UPA government’s Pura (provision of urban amenities in rural areas) initiative.

Pvt bank staff too in ambit of anti-graft act Expanding the scope of the Prevention of Corruption Act, the Supreme Court recently brought all private bank employees within the ambit of the anti-graft law, which had so far been applied only against corrupt government officials.A bench of Justices RanjanGogoi and Prafulla C Pant, in separate yet concurrent judgments, overturned a Bombay high court verdict endorsing a trial court decision that cognisance of PC Act charges could not be taken against ex-chief Ramesh Gelli and ex-MD Sridhar Subasri of the erstwhile Global Trust Bank (GTB) in a Rs 41-crore corruption case because they were not public servants.This was before GTB merged with Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) in 2004.The CBI had lodged an FIR against Gelli and Subasri based on a complaint filed by the OBC’s chief vigilance officer. The charges of corruption and siphoning off Rs 41 crore date back to the time when GTB operated as a private bank. www.governancetoday.co.in

March 2016 I 11

GOVERNANCE WATCH

India to open all combat roles to women

India to host mega conference on tiger conservation

Indicating an imminent radical overhaul in the Indian military, President Pranab Mukherjee, who is the supreme commander of the armed forces, said recently that the government would allow women to serve in all fighter streams.He made the significant announcement during his address to the joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, barely four months after the government approved an Indian Air Force (IAF) plan in October making women eligible to fly warplanes from June 2017.The decision — a watershed in the airforce’s 83-year history — has been taken on an “experimental basis” and the government will review it after five years.The IAF had to crush internal resistance to grant women equal opportunity in the service. Women were allowed to join the military outside the medical stream for the first time in 1992.

Home to nearly 70 per cent of the world’s tiger population,India will host the next Asia Ministerial Conference on tiger conservation. The three-day conference will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on April 12.All tiger range countries (TRCs) will participate in the conference where their representatives would share their good practices and success stories towards conserving tigers. The gathering is expected to bring desired will and momentum for tiger conservation at global level.According to the 2014 tiger census, India has 2,226 tigers with the three southern states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala of the Western Ghats landscape recording nearly one-third of the country’s total number of big cats.Final schedule of holding the 3rd Asia Ministerial Conference was decided recently in a meeting which was attended by representatives of five TRCs - India, Bhutan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Russia.

Second innings for retired teachers

The human resource development ministry has decided to run a pilot project in 18 states in cooperation with the state governments to enlist retired teachers/exservicemen as teachers purely on a voluntary basis.

Based on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s idea of making use of the country’s large retired population, the proposal was mooted at a recent meeting of state education ministers on teacher education. According to senior ministry officials, these voluntary teachers will be over and above regular teachers. They will not even be in lieu of vacancies of school teachers across states. A mobile app will be developed by the HRD ministry in collaboration with MyGov to enlist citizens who are willing to volunteer as teachers.The meeting also decided to constitute a committee to suggest ways to institutionalise an internship of teacher education programmes in government schools. The committee includes state education secretaries of Rajasthan, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Tripura and representatives of NCTE and KVS.

12 I March 2016

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GLOBAL WATCH

China sends missiles and fighter jets to disputed Woody Island China has deployed surface-to-air missiles to the disputed Woody Island in the South China Sea according to Taiwan and U.S. officials. The move has alarmed the country’s neighbours and has increased the tensions in the region. Satellite images obtained from ImageSat International (ISI) shows two batteries of eight surface-to-air missile launchers and a radar system on Woody Island. The island is part of the Paracel Island chain in the South China Sea and is contested by Taiwan and Vietnam. The event coincided with the US President Barack Obama hosting from Southeast Asia in Palm Springs where China’s recent activity in South China Sea dominated the talks. A U.S Navy guided missile destroyer had sailed close to this island chain a few weeks ago and at that time China had warned of ‘dangerous consequences’. A week after the deployment of the missiles, Chinese Shenyang J-11 and a Xian JH-7 warplane were seen on Woody Island. In an official statement issued, the Chinese government denied any aggressive intent and asserted that it has every right to the area.

Gravitational waves detected Scientists with the Advanced Laser Interferometer GravitationalWave Observatory (LIGO) announced the detection of gravitational waves. This idea was first put forth by Albert Einstein in 1916 as an outgrowth of his general theory of relativity which depicted gravity as a distortion of space and time triggered by the presence of matter. It was the collision of two black holes that unleashed the waves. The black holes which were 29 times and 36 times the solar mass, orbited one another, spiraled inward and smashed together at high speed to form a single, larger black hole. The discovery was made using a pair of giant laser detectors in the United States, located in Louisiana and Washington State. Gravitational waves are important in gaining knowledge about black holes and neutron stars. The waves also may provide insight into the mysterious nature of the very early universe. Since gravitational waves are so radically different from electromagnetic waves they are expected to reveal more information about the universe thus changing the way cosmos are studied till date.

UN and Colombian Government launch trust fund for peace building The United Nations and the Government of Colombia announced the launch of a trust fund for peace building needs. The fund will be managed by a steering committee which will be co-chaired by the UN, the government with the participation of international donors, the private sector and the Colombian civil society. The main aim of this initiative is to conflict areas in the event of possible peace agreements with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia People’s Army (FARC-EP). The fund will have an initial corpus of $8 million which will be contributed by Norway, Sweden and UN peace building.

Some priority projects include the implementation of collective reparation programmes; demining, signage and education in mine-affected and at-risk municipalities; improvements in social and economic infrastructure, local employment generation opportunities; food security; strengthening of the police and other support to agencies that address gender violence. The Fund will also support initiatives that will improve access to justice, strengthen local government capacities, manage social conflicts and promote education for peace, focusing on the most conflict-affected areas while promoting community participation. www.governancetoday.co.in

March 2016 I 13

COVER STORY

Innovation in India

Sushruta is known to have invented surgery as far back as 2,500 years, but in modern times, India has not performed well in scientific innovation

J

Anand Mishra ab zero diya mere bharat ne… You won’t find an Indian

whose heart will not fill up with pride to hear the song.

Ancient Indians did a stellar job in innovation and discovery; from algebra and decimals to surgery and Fibonacci numbers. Coming to modern times, we felt being on star when Venkatraman Ramakrishnan won Nobel in Chemistry in 2009.

We take pains to claim Har Gobind Khorana and Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, the other Nobel laureates, as Indians.

All of it sounds great. What is ironical, however, is that no Indian citizen has won a Nobel in any tech discipline since independence. The only resident Indian to have won Nobel was CV Raman who won the prize in 1930, in British India.

Now that’s not impressive. Actually,

14 I March 2016

it is shameful, because we go great lengths to drill home the point how intellectually rich and scientifically advanced we Indians were, in ancient times.

The sad reality of research and innovation in India is that we are a laggard in all parameters of innovation. We invest little in research activities; we have among the least science graduates per thousand graduates; our faculties don’t publish enough papers; our score in patent filing and approvals are very poor; and we don’t have world class universities. We rank 81st in Global Innovation Index, 2015 and according to a report of Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, which came out in January this year, India came at 54th position out of 56, meaning it was among the worst performers as far as impact on global innovation is concerned. The

status of knowledge creation in the country can be gauged from that fact that the World Bank Knowledge for Development (K4D -KAM2012) report put India at 120th position among 145 countries in Knowledge Index (KI) ranking.

Obviously, something is wrong, very wrong in our scientific and technical academic establishment which is not allowing Indians to do well in science. The question that we need to ask ourselves is how Indian students who finish secondary education in India do exceedingly well in Western Europe and North America whereas their counterparts in Indian scientific ecosystem languish in intellectual wilderness? Is it our tertiary science education, our scientific research and innovation institutional structure or our incentivization system towards innovation, which is stifling innovation? Are www.governancetoday.co.in

we improving and if yes, at what pace? Shall we ever emerge as an innovation leader? What are our inherent strengths on which we should focus? And most of all, what needs to be done so that scientific research and innovation becomes remunerative enough to attract best talents? Complex questions these are and need uncluttered and clear approach to wade through.

Innovate to grow higher Innovation based sectors that depend on IP laws are strong drivers of GDP and employment growth. According to a 2012 report by the US commerce department, titled “Intellectual Property and the US Economy: Industries in Focus”, IP-intensive industries supported at least 40 million jobs in the country and contributed nearly 35 per cent to the US GDP. They also accounted for over 18 per cent of all employment in the economy.

In the European Union (EU), IPintensive industries accounted for almost 39 per cent of the GDP and 26 per cent of all jobs. Because of the centrality of such enterprises in the economy, the role of innovation in pushing up growth numbers as well as growth quality has assumed great significance, globally.

Growth can basically come from three fundamental sources; an increase in factors of production which essentially means scaling up, higher efficiency of resource allocation, and higher productivity.

While the first two can be done at managerial level, third requires knowledge creation and innovation.

While most developing countries focus exclusively on the first two, those who have invested in knowledge creation through innovation have sustained higher growth for a longer period.

Multiple studies have been carried out to understand the impact of innovation on growth

and majority of these studies have shown a strong and enduring link between R&D capital expenditure and output. Typically, a one per cent increase in the R&D investment is found to increase output by 0.05 – 0.1 per cent. Most of these studies have also found that industry led R&D expenditure have greater impact on growth compared with the government funded research activity. Another aspect of impact of innovation on economic growth is the impact of innovation on economic competitiveness. As countries innovate, they climb higher on competitive ladder as they find better and cheaper ways of production.

State of innovation According to Global Innovation Index report 2015, India ranked 81st out of 140 odd countries in global innovation rankings.

Trinidad and Tobago, Bosnia and

LINKS BETWEEN COMPETITIVENESS AND INNOVATION

There is a strong corelation between innovation and economic competitiveness www.governancetoday.co.in

March 2016 I 15

Herzegovina and Morocco were just ahead of India. The ranking which was topped by Switzerland and was dominated by developed world as expected, nevertheless was an eye opener for India. It slipped from 66th position in 2013 to 76th in 2014 and lost further ground in 2015. China, the country with which India intends to compete in the global manufacturing space, held on to its position at no. 29.

Further, in lower and middle income group countries, India stood at 8th position. The report said India had consistently performed poorly in political stability, ease of starting a business, tertiary inbound mobility (foreign students studying in India), and environmental performance.

More revealing and relevant to understanding the innovation status is the ranking on innovation input and innovation input sub indices.

The Innovation Input Sub-Index took into account five enablers namely, Institutions, Human capital and research, Infrastructure, Market sophistication, and Business sophistication. These enablers define how conducive is the economic environment for innovation. On the other hand, Innovation outputs are the results of innovative activities within the economy and were captured by two elements; Knowledge and technology outputs and Creative outputs. On innovation input index, India stood at 100th position and did not feature in the top ten in lower middle income group. On innovation output index, it ranked 69th and was at no 8 in the lower middle income group of countries.

However, there was some good news too for India; it featured in the outperformer category, which meant it had outperformed in innovation inputs and outputs relative to its level of development.

Another important takeaway from the report was that in terms of innovation quality which is captured by university performance, the reach of scholarly articles, and the international dimension of patent applications, India has started to make progress. However, China is increasing its lead over other 16 I March 2016

developing countries.

On hard stats, the picture appears gloomier though. India’s R&D expenditure despite all efforts has not topped one per cent of the GDP. India also scores very poorly on the number of researchers per capita. According to Information Technology and Innovation Foundation report, India had only 0.15 researchers per thousand population, against 1.03 in China and around 7.5 in Finland.

Similarly, per capita public funding of R&D activities was $464 in India compared with $509 of Lithuania.

Korea and Israel each invested close to $2,000 per capita on research. Another key indicator of the quantum and quality of research

of improvement but on crucial parameters, India lags many low and middle income countries. So what is on play here? According to a former NASA researcher of Indian origin, this shows a narrow focus on research in select fields rather than an all around program to further innovation agenda at all levels. This opinion is shared by the Global Innovation Index 2015 report which mentioned that some developing countries have focused on research and innovation efforts in pre defined areas in which they felt they had comparative advantage.

For example, India focused heavily on IT and software services arena and developed an ecosystem which catalyzed innovation in this

KEY INNOVATION SCORES OF INDIA AND INNOVATION LEADERS Innovation Parameters Contribution to global innovation

India

Score

Country

Leader

Score

-8.32

Singapore

Expenditure on Education per Student

$1,248

Norway

$18,218

0.15

Finland

7.41

Government Expenditures on R&D (per capita)

$464

Korea

$1,995

$12

Singapore

$382

Total Citations, per 1,000 Citizens

0.08

Switzerland

73.8

Researchers per 1,000 Population

Government Funding of University Research (per capita)

14.99

Source: Contributors and detractors rankings from Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (Jan 2016)

is captured by the citations of Indian documents. At 0.08 citable documents per thousand citizens, India was nearly at one fourth level compared to China. Brazil and Russia were close to China on this parameter.

This gives a kind of mixed picture of the innovation scenario in the country. On one hand, the country is showing signs

field whereas China and Malaysia focused on telecom and electronics, and IT assembly respectively.

GII report also singled out India as a unique case in that despite being a low income country, “during 2011–14, India performed above the lower-middle-income group average in Infrastructure, Market sophistication, Knowledge and technology outputs, and www.governancetoday.co.in

PATENTS GRANTED BY THE USPTO

While US remains the top patent filing nation, China has recorded highest growth

Creative outputs.” India is also a major emerging economy and for its level of development, has a strong specialization in software and IT enabled services (ITES) arena. But it also paints the picture of a divided system, in which a small part, supported by a good ecosystem excels whereas the larger part, devoid of focus, lack of policy support and poor academic infrastructure, drudges aimlessly. As GII report says, “India is still facing a number of challenges. Among others, its huge and young population puts the education system under stress and its regulatory environment discourages entrepreneurs from starting new businesses.”

Key problem areas To understand why India has not realized its potential in innovation space, we need to go back at the time of India’s independence and the challenges the lawmakers www.governancetoday.co.in

faced at that time. Faced with precarious poverty, India’s challenge was to feed the millions and industrialize soon enough to achieve self sufficiency. The low capital and resource base needed

optimal utilization and maximum immediate return on investment. As a result, policies were formulated that restricted competition through License Raj and adversely affected the country’s innovation capability.

INNOVATIVENESS RANKING OF USA AND SELECT EMERGING ECONOMIES Country USA

Overall Innovation Ranking

Innovation input rank

Innovation output rank

29

5

41

9

5

China Brazil

70

India

81

100

32

31

Russia South Africa Malaysia

48

60

65

21

74

52

49

54

61

69 34

Source: Global Innovation Index 2015 March 2016 I 17

Academic institutions were created to quickly churn out technicians to be employable in newly set up industries. As time progressed, however, the country needed to infuse intellectual wealth in academia to create knowledge whose spillover effects could improve quantity and quality of growth. The current state of innovation in India suffers from the inability of successive governments to do so. From systemic perspective, therefore, Indian endeavor in pursuing high end research and innovation suffers from two fundamental weaknesses.

Academia ill designed for research Former Infosys Chairman Narayan Murthy created a flutter in the intellectual circle last July when he said in a speech at IISc Bangalore, “Let us pause and ask what the contributions of Indian institutions of higher learning particularly IISc (Indian Institute of Science) and IITs, have been over the last 60plus years to make our society and the world a better place…. Is there one invention from India that has become a household name in the globe? Is there one technology that has transformed the productivity of global corporations? he asked.

“Folks, the reality is that there is no such contribution from India in the last 60 years.” While many derided the statement, facts back the statement.

According to a faculty at one of the topmost engineering institutes of the country who spoke to this magazine on condition of anonymity, entire tertiary technical education structure of the country is built on mediocrity. The focus is only on churning out larger number of graduates instead on creating thoughtful and inquisitive minds.

The faculties are overburdened which leaves them with little or no time to pursue any research.

Secondly, barring a few that can be counted on fingers, technical institutes don’t have infrastructure to conduct high end research 18 I March 2016

because of which many researchers have to tie up with universities abroad for experiments. Third, there is no incentive to carry out research as fruits are not shared with researchers. On the contrary, there is significant disincentive for pursuing research as failure severely impacts career progression. The career progression for an academic in India is based on number of years in service rather than on the number of peer reviewed publications or book chapters written or patents filed.

From students’ side, because of the poorly designed curriculum and excessive focus on examination, the interest in experiments is lost.

So much so, faculties are blamed for not being able to engage students. In a survey conducted at IIT Bombay in 2013, 88 per cent

2009 and 2012, Indian School of Business produced 22 research papers compared with 6 of IIM Bangalore and 4 by IIM Calcutta.

IIM Ahmedabad, which is the toughest MBA school in the world to get into, and IIM Lucknow produced one research paper each. Against these, Wharton and Harvard business schools generated 276 and 182 research papers during this period, respectively. Between 2009 and 2012, India’s 4,000plus B-schools together published just 36 papers in journals tracked

by University of Texas, Dallas.

According to Nirmalya Kumar of London Business School, this is because Indian B-schools are predominantly teaching institutions that are not research oriented. Poor quality of faculties and unavailability of funding are other crucial factors

The research productivity of IITs has been very low compared with global tech institutions

students said they did not study as their professors do not manage to generate interest in their courses.

The survey, conducted by students themselves, found that at least 72 per cent students believed the course content was theoretical, lacked in application and therefore, not interesting. As many as 75 per cent felt they can get a decent grade even by studying a night before the exam. Result of uninterested student body and overburdened faculty body is that the research productivity of Indian tertiary education is poor at best.

The situation is similar in management stream. Between

that run across Indian tertiary education system and across knowledge streams.

IITs admit that they are unable to find good faculties. Some have also been targeting PhDs from abroad, but it has not delivered much result for couple of reasons. First, those who are interested in pursuing high end research develop cold feet because of poor infra in India and secondly, they invariably find bureaucratic environment at Indian universities unhealthy. Finally, the difference in compensation is also too high to be ignored.

It is because of such weaknesses Indian tech institutions www.governancetoday.co.in

rank so low in global rankings.

No Indian institution is in global top 200 and the highest ranked Indian engineering institution, IIT Delhi ranked 103rd in the U.S. News and World Report ranking published in Oct 2015. China’s Tsinghua University topped the chart, ahead of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University. Indian Institute of Science Bangalore ranked 169th and old IITs (Kharagpur, Bombay, Madras and Kanpur) featured between 171 and 222 places).

Poor incentive to research (IP) Second biggest hindrance in pursuing research in India is that intellectual property regime does not allow innovators and inventors to reap benefits that they are entitled to. The country has faced a persistent dichotomy between protecting intellectual rights for commercialization and catering to the social needs of the poor.

Traditionally a poor country with socialist thinking, the policies were crafted with the idea that research and innovations are social goods and researchers need not be given any monetary benefits for their

TOP SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS • Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore • Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, Delhi, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Roorkee, Madras • Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs), Bhopal, Kolkata, Mohali, Pune, Thiruvananthapuram and Tirupati • All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi • Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Bombay • Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Bombay • Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore • National Chemical Laboratory • Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh • National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi • National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, Pune • National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore • Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai • ISRO Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad) • ISRO Space Physics Laboratory, Thiruvananthapuram • Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata • S N Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Kolkata • Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore • Institute of Plasma Research, Gandhinagar efforts. This philosophy has done a lot of damage to the psyche of researchers. In current environment where research is a resource and time intensive activity and shelf life of any invention is very

short, guaranteed profit for certain period is a necessary condition to encourage high end research.

The result of this approach reflects in the number of patents filed by Indians. While absolute

Even though patent filing has gone up, approvals have come down drastically www.governancetoday.co.in

March 2016 I 19

number of patents filed has increased substantially, a disturbing trend which emerges is that the percentage of patents granted by the Indian patent office has declined over the years. Also, the share of international patents filed

by Indians is minuscule compared with patents filed in India. This is not propitious for a country that wants to emerge as a knowledge economy with high end IT and computing prowess.

If we look at the score of India on various indices that capture strength of IP laws in protecting the monetary rights of inventors, we find that India scores quite low on these. For example, on the Ginarte-Park Patent Rights Index, which provides a measure of the strength of patent protections, India scores 3.76/5.00 and came at 100th position of out of 110 countries tracked in last edition.

United States topped the table with a score 4.88 with China scoring 4.08. Further, on Global International IP Index, India scored 7.2 (out of 30) compared with 12.4 of China and 28.5 of the US. But there is another side to the IP debate which is especially applicable in case of pharmaceuticals. Because India has a huge population which is poor, it is the responsibility of the state to ensure that the prices of lifesaving drugs do not move out of the reach of common man.

This is what forces it to eschew policies like data exclusivity which developed world and pharma MNCs have been asking for. As such, it is a delicate balance that the government has to maintain in critical areas of public safety and welfare. This aspect of IP laws has become important in light of recent rejection of a few pharma patents

by Indian patent office.

According to experts, a prominent weak point for private sector in present IP regime is the lack of protection for trade secrets.

According to the WIPO, tradesecret protection is particularly important for small and mediumsized enterprises, as protection is indefinite. Right now, there is no 20 I March 2016

separate legislation that regulates the protection of trade secrets in India.

Govt. steps in Traditionally, Indian government has been ambivalent towards promoting research and innovation as a matter of national priority. Till the end of last century, national growth through efficient resource allocation and higher input was given a priority and innovation was relegated to back seat. However, post liberalization, and after witnessing the stunning growth acceleration of countries like China and Korea, which was supported by domestic technological improvements, Indian government gradually came around to the idea that without a strong research and

Technology Policy of 2003 which addressed science and technology together and delved in the need for technological innovation and creation of a national innovation system, the STI policy 2013 brings together science, technology and innovation framework in the country.

This is a progression in the light of the fact that innovation cannot be separated from basic science and technology and treating them separate means continuing with the compartmentalized approach towards innovation. Secondly, by calling for inclusive innovation, it brought to the fore the requirement of innovation to orient towards the needs of the people.

The policy announced an increase in the gross expenditure in research and development (GERD) from less than 1% to 2%

NATIONAL TARGETS FOR 12TH 5 YEAR PLAN • • • • • • • • •

Publications (Global share): > 5% Global ranking in SCI publications: better than sixth Full-time equit. in R & D personnel: 250,000 No. of PhDs: 12,500 per year Public-private sharing of invest: 50:50 Global rank in patent portfolio: better than 9th Commercialization of patents: better than 5% Share of high-tech contents in exports: better than 20% Global ranking in innovation index: better than 25th

innovation base, it is not possible to increase either grow at a high rate for a long time, nor is it possible to climb up on global value chain.

With this realization, governments over last fifteen years have tried to put in place research and innovation policies and integrating the dispersed system of innovation and research. Setting up of National Innovation Council and Science and technology policy, 2003 were steps in this direction. Science, technology and innovation (STI) policy, 2013 was an extension to the approach and intended to build synergy by integrating science, technology and innovation.

At a policy level, the STI policy of 2013 sets out a shift in approach of the government towards innovation. Against Science and

of the gross domestic product over the next five years. The target can be reached if the ratio of public to private sector investments in R&D improves from the current 3:1 to 1:1 within this time span. It also set up a National Science, Technology and Innovation Foundation for investing critical levels of resources in innovative and ambitious projects and attracting private sector investments in R&D. It further announced the establishment of a fund for innovations for social inclusion, “small idea-small money,” and a “risky idea fund.” On the issue of intellectual property, it sought to “establish a new regulatory framework for data access and sharing [and for the] creation and sharing of intellectual property. This www.governancetoday.co.in

will enable strategic partnerships and alliances at international level in science, technology and innovation.

Over last few years, some important regulatory developments have taken place to facilitate basic research. For example, Science and Engineering Research Board Act (SERB), 2008, among other things, supports proposals in high priority areas where multidisciplinary/ multi institutional expertise is required and supports facilities required for such research. Similarly government has set up the National Research and Development Corporation (NRDC) whose job is to transfer technology from public funded institutions to the private sector. But the Protection and Utilisation of Public Funded Intellectual Property Bill, 2008, which could have boosted research and development in public funded research institutes by permitting the sharing of the right to intellectual property with the institutes and scientists who created them, has yet not seen the day. This bill was seen as India’s version of the Bayh-Dole Act (BDA) of the USA. Apart from these regulatory steps, which can be termed tentative, the government has put in place specific bodies and initiated specific programs to support research and innovation. These include Technology Development and Demonstration Program, India Innovation Growth Program, Promoting Innovation in Individuals, Start-ups and MSMEs (PRISM), Technology Business Incubators operated by the Department of Science and Technology, and Small Business innovation Research Initiative. To add external competence to the innovation ecosystem, especially in high tech areas, “The Innovate for Digital India Challenge” initiative has been taken which would provide innovators with technological assistance by Intel and expert guidance by IIM Ahmedabad’s Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship.

Additionally, a separate portal has been announced which will be established under Department of Electronics and IT (Deity) through which innovators can seek www.governancetoday.co.in

government support for their ideas and products. To encourage private sector to invest more in research and innovation, government is providing most generous tax benefits. For every 100 rupees that the private sector spends on R&D, a firm is allowed to receive a tax credit of 44 rupees, which is highest in the world.

A crucial yet less noticed development on academic front has been the setting up of the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs). Envisaged as a group of premier institutes akin to IITs of basic sciences, The IISERs are a unique initiative wherein teaching and education is integrated with state-of-the-

comprise of physical, intellectual and cultural constructs. It includes idea incubators, technology parks, a conducive intellectual property rights (IPR) regime, smart and fast IPR capture systems, balanced regulatory systems, strategically designed standards, proactive government support systems (including aggressive public procurement policies for indigenous innovations), industry leaders, who believe in innovation led growth and invest heavily in R&D, scientists with an aspiration to become technopreneurs, potent inventor-investor engagement, venture capital, and passionate innovation leaders.

What transpires from above is

IMPORTANT GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES ON INNOVATION FRONT • • • • • • • • •

Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council India Innovation Growth Program National Innovation Foundation Promoting Innovation in Individuals, Start-ups and MSMEs (PRISM) Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Innovation Complexes Patent Assistance Programs operated by the Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council and the National Research Development Corporation Technology Business Incubators operated by the Department of Science and Technology Small Business innovation Research Initiative Technology Development and Demonstration Program

art research. Each IISER is an autonomous institution awarding its own Masters and Doctoral degrees.

Currently six of these are functional with two more in pipeline.

The road ahead Noted scientist and Chairman of National Innovation Foundation, Raghunath Anant Mashelkar opines that a good innovation ecosystem spots and encourages talent in the young people, helps them harness their technology and puts trust in them taking all the risks. According to him, the essential elements of a powerful innovation ecosystem

that action is required on multiple sides. First, a comprehensive overhauling of academic system is required. Second, high end infrastructure needs to be put in place which is available to researchers without hindrances.

Third, long term high risk bearing capital is needed to allow long gestation period research. Fourth, the industry needs to be roped in the overall research and innovation ecosystem. Finally, an institutional framework is required which encourages and rewards innovation adequately without surrendering social welfare.

In a chapter of GII 2015, March 2016 I 21

Senapathy ‘Kris’ Gopalakrishnan and Jibak Dasgupta noted that India lacked an adequate number of higher education institutions to cater to its growing number of aspiring students. They further mentioned that there is dearth of high-quality teachers in the education system.

But besides these, two additional changes are required. First, the focus of curricula from secondary education onwards needs to shift from memory based learning to thinking based learning. One of the biggest reasons for Indian students performing so low in Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests is their poor creative thinking and data interpretation ability. Second, the method of selection and promotion of faculties need to be based on knowledge output instead of year in service.

Because it is not possible to create world class academic institutions by spreading resources too thin, India would do well to learn from Chinese experiments like Project 211 and Project 985 which targeted to select a few institutions initially, pumped in massive resources to make them truly world class and then expanded the program to include more universities. This has done wonders for China both in terms of knowledge creation and global ranking of its universities.

Second aspect of creating a conducive environment for innovation is to put in place a strong IP regime. Indian IP regime is still evolving and has been a work-inprogress for some time. However, there is reason to believe that the government is seized of the matter and is working on an innovator friendly IP policy. According to Secretary in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Amitabh Kant, recognizing the need to scale up the process of IP creation and increase commercialization of the technology, the government has embarked on the process of preparing a national IPR Policy. In one of his speeches, he said it was important to have an innovative ecosystem which supports translation of inventions 22 I March 2016

into commercial use.

This ecosystem can only be created and nurtured through initiatives of the government in collaboration with industry. We think that the IP policy should be improvised to deliver two basic requirements that have been missing so far; first, protection of trade secrets which is crucial for encouraging private sector participation; and second, sharing of benefits of innovation with researcher.

Globally, private sector plays big role in innovation and a seamless cooperation between academia and industry results in high end innovation whose spillover effect on economy is visible over time. India needs to fine tune its

TOP TEN CORPORATE INVENTORS (2013) Organizations

Inventions

CSIR

159

Tata Consultancy Larsen & Toubro

Crompton Greaves Infosys

Tata Motors

228 153 135 126 126

TVS Motor

118

Samsung India

102

Robert Bosch GMBH BHEL

102

93

Source: 2014 State of Innovation India report (Derwent World Patent Index)

institutional infrastructure to allow and encourage academic and industrial research. A beginning is made in this regard in form of the Prime Minister’s Fellowship Scheme for Doctoral Research, which is uniquely designed in that the government provides half of the total cost of a fellowship to students for performing research in a real-time industry environment.

Industry provides the rest, and the IPR created is owned jointly by the student and the industry concerned.

Again taking a leaf out of Chinese experience, India needs to improve the R&D and innovation capacity of the industry and improve the commercial efficiency of academic research.

However, even with the best of innovation policies and incentives in place, the full fruits of knowledge creation may elude the country if the basic business environment is not improved. Over last decade, IT and communication infrastructure has improved substantially, but the physical infrastructure remains in bad shape and needs immediate, radical improvement. Secondly, we need to improve ease of doing business, without which the return on investment for any business goes down, which in turn, detracts investors.

Over last couple of years, India has emerged as a leader in startup arena which is a reflection of new, innovative entrepreneurial talent.

This culture needs to be nurtured which is possible only if we reward this talent and create a business environment in which commercial exploitation of new ideas are realized with ease. Only then can tomorrows giant businesses emerge from today’s unicorns.

Also, the innovation spurt that is visible right now in applied areas of IT and IT enabled services, needs to spread to basic science for which greater governmental nudge is needed.

Innovation is a global race in which participants don’t know how many are in race and with what facilities they are running for the final goal of winning a patent. It is imperative therefore that best minds are provided with best facilities and adequate funding to run the race. Indians in global scientific institutions have proved their mettle and have done great service to science. It is high time resident researchers are empowered to do the same. anand@governancetoday.co.in

www.governancetoday.co.in

COVER STORY

Need for ideation

F

Uday Salunkhe

oreign universities are able to remain ahead of Indian universities in research and innovation through concept of creating centres of excellence within the university framework, long history of industry-academiasociety interactions and ability to connect national level vision of their government with industry through academic networks. This in simple terms benefits industry and citizens, and takes care of the technological challenges which are routed through universities and Industry joining hands. Faculties are tenured on merit; hence there is emphasis on remaining relevant among educators. To facilitate this, there are clear mechanisms for faculty to take up consulting assignments.

Although India has been exploring ways and means of encouraging foreign universities to set up campuses on Indian soil, we have made little progress in this space so far except for improving infrastructure for spreading their on-line degree and other programs.

Their presence in India will not only bring in their own brand of academic diversity and discipline but also enhance innovation and research activities since India has rich talent and manpower resources available at various levels which are currently either underutilized or have low earning potential. It will also create a much needed element of competition; making Indian universities to get out of the operational mind-set, develop outof-the-box thinking and improve through an enhanced connect with Industry’s challenges.

Compared to this, Indian education set-up does not allow questioning as creativity and risk-taking mind-set issues are too many, this makes failing prohibitively costly and unaffordable in comparison to the rewards.

Moreover course curriculum and www.governancetoday.co.in

exam patterns force cramming instead of learning by doing.

To avoid studying become drudgery instead of a knowledgeenhancing activity, young students should be encouraged to experiment and learn. Teachers should act as facilitators in the classroom rather than knowalls. Concepts learnt through experimentation and backed by theoretical inputs get embedded in the mind much more strongly rather than the monologue which many teachers engage in. Risk-taking ability should be encouraged by creating interventions that expose the young minds to market forces.

The stakes in the risk-taking interventions should be gradually increased as the students grow and progress through school.

One sure way of encouraging

logic, imagination/abductive thinking, intuition, and systemic reasoning, to explore possibilities of what could be, and to create desired outcomes that benefit the stakeholders. A design thinking mindset is not problem-focused, it’s solution focused, and action oriented. It involves both analysis and imagination thus transforming insights and data into actionable ideas.

The mission of reinventing business and management education by making it relevant for today’s realities led WeSchool to adapt Innovation and design thinking as the approach to tackle today’s challenges. WeSchool as the ‘Collaborating Institution’ of MIT MEDIA LAB, presents opportunities for nurturing innovative mind-set among Indian students to get them

original thinking and alternative thinking among young students is by including design thinking and creativity at various levels of education starting from primary school till university level. The advantages of including design thinking are mainly due to it’s core nature of ‘integrative’ thinking approach and ‘doing/hands-on’ thru quick trial and error prototypes.

These ways of creating new opportunities and solutions benefit multiple stakeholders in the ecosystem. Thus fostering learning through ‘Adductive’ thinking not only ‘Analytical’ thinking would make innovative ‘ecosystem’ to bloom.

Design thinking draws upon

to leverage from their diverse talent, knowledge and strengths and design something meaningful for the society through a collaborative effort.

‘Design Innovation workshop 2014’, ‘ReDesigning Diagnostics (ReDx 2014/2015 /2016)’, ’Kumbhathon 2015’ and ‘Emerging worlds 2016‘ were our joint initiatives where challenges have been crafted based on voice of citizens and inputs from various stakeholders including the administration and local government.

We think such approach to education serves students and society better compared to rote learning.

Prof. Salunkhe is the Group Director of WeSchool, Mumbai

March 2016 I 23

INTERVIEW RIKU MAKELA | INNOVATION EXPERT

INDIA HAS MUCH MORE TALENT AVAILABLE THAN MOST COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD

T

here is widespread acceptance globally about the high and positive correlation between innovation and economic progress and without a strong innovation and research focus, high growth cannot be sustained for long. Having lived and worked in three different continents, Riku Makela understands the innovation ecosystem and its relation with broader business environment more than most others. Currently working as the Senior Innovation Expert, FinlandVietnam Innovation Partnership Program, Vietnam, Riku has worked in different innovation system development roles at FinNode innovation network and Tekes (the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation) in New Delhi, Finland and Silicon Valley since 2001. His earlier work experience includes start-up entrepreneurship in ICT and travel sectors, marketing of healthcare devices in corporate sector, ICT consulting and ICT related research. His interests include innovation systems, entrepreneurship, sustainable businesses, partnership creation and teambuilding, business development and frugal 24 I March 2016

innovations. In a conversation with Anand Mishra, Editor and Rajesh Mehta, Consulting Editor, Governance Today, Riku shares his understanding of innovation landscape in India.

Do you think India can ever create a Google or Facebook? What kind of changes do you think are required for achieving it?

EDITED EXCERPTS:

In today’s world, Internet based solutions can be created anywhere. That said, it is easier to find talent, financing and other needed resources in some places.

India is not the easiest place to create unicorns at the moment and at the same time India has much more talent available than most of the countries of the world.

I personally believe that we will see globally dominant internet services that have been originated in India.

By the way, I personally still check travel options first from MakeMyTrip after living outside of India already for two years.

As a leading Innovation expert who has seen the innovation trends in different parts of the world, could you let our readers know the prominent innovation trends globally?

I want to highlight few innovation trends that are not technology based, such as Internet of Things and robotics, but more like methodological and mindset issues. One of the mindset and paradigm trends is related to frugal innovation.

More and more companies and innovators are trying to figure out how to create cheaper and less resource consuming solutions to the needs of today and tomorrow.

Another key trend is the growing interest towards startups and entrepreneurial mindset.

The Finnish Prime Minister when he came to Make in India event in Mumbai, mentioned about “Slush” in Finland.

How do such events facilitate and catalyze www.governancetoday.co.in

innovation, especially in new technology arena?

Slush is the largest startup and investor event in northern Europe taking place in Helsinki every November. Events like that bring together thousands of people and thus create opportunities for new ideas, collaboration and business.

The key is to engage everyone in the preparation and execution of these events so that nobody comes there only to listen but to also contribute.

Since you stayed as head of Tekes in India, what are the best examples of frugal innovation which you would like to highlight?

I led the Finnish FinNode innovation network and New Delhi office of Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation in 2011 - 2014. During that time, I had an opportunity to see and experience a huge number of frugal innovations and to meet many really wonderful innovators.

Many frugal innovations are not providing as good value as more expensive solutions to the same needs. My number one example of a great frugal innovation is the highly cost-efficient Jaipur Foot prosthetic leg. Its total cost is 3-10 per cent of the cost of the cheapest prosthetic leg available in Europe and it works much better for its users. Another example is the inexpensive cell phones and mobile plans that required several innovations over the years before India had more than half a billion mobile users, the Finnish Nokia being one of the key innovators of those days.

What are the chances of India emerging as a major center of Innovation? Which are the areas in your opinion in which Indian www.governancetoday.co.in

scientists/ technicians have maximum intellectual capability to emerge as world leaders in innovation space?

India will be a center of innovation. Actually, India is so big that there will be several innovation hubs well visible in the global scene. India is not maybe the next as so many localities are moving forward to become recognized innovation centers.

Amongst many areas where India has good core competencies, India should foremost invest more efforts into becoming a recognized world leader in frugal innovation mindset, methodologies, processes, products and services.

What changes you would like to see/ suggest in academic/ institutional system in India that would foster and encourage students and faculty to take up and succeed in research activities?

We already have plenty of technologies and research results and most of them are not used in their full potential. Thus, academic sector and educational institutions should encourage innovation more than research. To do that, educators must increase their efforts in fostering entrepreneurial and innovation mindset of the students.

According to you, who are the most inspiring innovations and innovators of last twenty years and why?

We have seen plenty of great innovators and innovations in the last 20 years. The top innovators in my mind are each and every individual who has dreamed big,

started to develop their innovations and took their solution into the wider use. The value of innovation is hard to measure. If we ask from hundreds of thousands of users of Jaipur Leg, they might say their artificial leg is the greatest innovation. Actually, the most inspiring innovation for me is the Jaipur Leg as it made me to realize the opportunities we have if we can start to think innovation differently, changing our mindset from more is more into less is more.

What kind of assistance and help can be offered

by Nordic & Scandinavian countries to India in research and innovation arena? What can India offer to these countries in return?

Nordic countries are looking for collaboration opportunities in research and innovation.

The collaboration is beneficial and sustainable if participating organizations from all sides can get benefits from the collaboration.

The benefits should include at least new knowledge and future financial revenue

Government has been pushing the “Startup India� initiative over last one year. What do you see the future of Indian startups?

India has millions of people who may have what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur. India needs millions of new startups so that tens of thousands of them can become internationally growing companies generating serious tax revenue and jobs. Startup India initiative is highly promising mechanism for speeding up the growth of interest towards entrepreneurship and helping those who want to start developing their new businesses.

March 2016 I 25

COVER STORY

Innovation: The key to success Ambitious programs like Make in India cannot achieve full potential without a strong innovation culture

Make in India will deliver greater result if backed by research

P

Umang Srivastava rime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative has caught many eyeballs for its potential to unleash India’s latent manufacturing capability. There has been much talk about the initiative and how this thrust can transform India’s economy to the next level, much like how a manufacturing boom transformed China in the 1980s.

However, it is pertinent to point out here that in the 21st century, initative manufacturing can yield only limited dividends. If we really want India to start manufacturing for the world, our thrust should be on innovation, not just production.

Unfortunately, when it comes to earning patents in the international intellectual property regime, India lags much behind much smaller nations, highlighting the lack

26 I March 2016

of push and encouragement to innovation in this country. Patents do not just recognize a new creation or innovation but also reserve the right of profit from the particular innovation to its licensees for several years. This is why patents have become the new benchmark of innovation and commensurate profits across the world.

Unsurprisingly, US, Germany and Japan are the countries that have traditionally lead when it comes to patent registration, and India remains a laggard. China, on the other hand, is the emerging leader in the field and in 2013 surpassed the USA in filing of new patent applications.

Innovation has always been the key to economic transformation.

In the 18th century, the west, especially the United Kingdom was home to the Industrial Revolution, which boosted growth and brought

about a transformation from subsistence to surplus production.

Its manufacturing sector witnessed tremendous development as technological innovations fulfilled domestic requirements at lesser costs. Further, British were also able to export their products all over the globe earning handsome profits. Investment on research and development helped their brands and new products developed on such research and innovation created and secured new markets at home and abroad.

Returning to the present day scenario, under the Make in India initiative, we need to infuse a fresh life not just in the manufacturing sector but also in innovation. Not just by manufacturing, but by manufacturing innovative products we can transform the Indian economy in this century. This calls for a fresh thinking and long term www.governancetoday.co.in

vision. Focus on short term benefits often dissuades Indian companies from investing in research and development, which requires greater gestation periods to yield results. This is why most of the Indian success stories such as in pharmaceutical industry have come not from indigenous research but from manufacturing products that are exempt from process patents.

As far as the ‘Make in India’

of ‘made in India’ global brands and a lack of investment in the research and development sector has led to this situation. Although big corporate houses like the Tatas and Reliance have their presence in the international markets, a lot more needs to be done by Indian brands to gain global dominance and the key to global dominance in any sector today is innovative products.

has given it an added advantage.

But in pursuit of sustaining its success, the organization is also involved in research in some of its key products like microwave bowels. It is because of its focus on innovation that Bonita has witnessed tremendous growth within a short span of time and holds several patents in many of its product categories. It has also been awarded the reputed Finalist Award

High end manufacturing can thrive only in an innovative environment

program is concerned, it has been started with a view to make India a favorable global destination for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

Further, the program desires to catapult India as a better and cheaper place to manufacture than competitors like China for global manufacturers based in first world countries like USA. Other objectives of the program involve job creation, technological investment and skill enhancement; some features that our country lacks dearly. Greater innovation is a spillover effect that can also be expected from this development.

The Make in India initiative has gathered a good response from both domestic and international markets.

Optimists in India argue that the country has provided the world with several indigenous exports such as Yoga, the great Indian curry, etc. but there is a huge paucity www.governancetoday.co.in

The Make in India initiative is concerned with job creation and skill improvement in different sectors of the economy such as automobiles, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, food processing and biotechnology amongst others.

The government has allowed 100 per cent FDI in various sectors to achieve this initiative. Further, it is encouraging start-ups and new entrepreneurs as a policy. Other sops which the government can provide include offering bank loans to young entrepreneurs, speeding up the approvals, reducing the red tape and corruption, and creation of a phenomenal business ambience.

Bonita India, the leading Indian home utility maker and exporter, has been able to capture a large part of the world market in its segment, and has already established presence in almost 50 countries.

Its massive range of 200+ products

for Innovation from International House wares Association at the Chicago House wares Show. Over next few years, Bonita aims to earn 30 patents under its brand name.

India needs to establish a strong presence in the world market if it wants to witness another round of economic transformation. If Indian brands don’t play a significant role in the global village, the chances of India establishing itself as an economic superpower seem bleak.

However, some Indian players are changing the storyline with their focus on innovation and high quality. In the end, it is the ability to impress the customers with quality that will decide the success of the Make in India campaign and that will ultimately come from innovative products.

The writer is the Joint MD of Bonita India March 2016 I 27

BUDGET

Budget 2016-17:

Pragmatic and prudent

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley arrives at Parliament to present budget

T

Anand Mishra

he Narendra Modi led NDA government is close to completing its second year in office and realizing the need to project a pro poor image which is politically too important with so many states lined up for polls, the second full budget

28 I March 2016

presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has made conscious efforts to hitch the wagon of rural India.

Second major theme of the budget has been the streamlining and simplifying of regulatory structure to make India a better place for doing business. Third big take away from the budget is that the government is committed to live within its means

and stay fiscally prudent. What the budget has not done is to pamper individual tax payers or provide big sops to industry to kickstart private sector investment. In sum total, the FM has delivered a pragmatic and realistic budget which does not lavishly spend money on any populist theme.

The rural segment has been biggest gainer in the overall scheme of things. Budget aims to double farmers’ income by 2022 and has pegged the agro-credit target at Rs 9 lakh cr for the next fiscal. Putting the interests of rural economy first, the budget has increased the total amount allocated for rural development by 10.3 per cent from a year ago to Rs 87,765 cr.

It has also increased allocation to MNREGA which has gone up to Rs 38,500 cr this year, from Rs 34,700 cr last year. Allocations has been earmarked for increasing the crop yield, improving irrigation facilities, improving market access by providing e-commerce platforms for farmers, and better regulation of MSPs through specific initiatives like online and decentralized procurement.

Another cornerstone of the budget is the push to improve the ease of doing business in the country.

Commitment to implement general anti-avoidance rules (GAAR) from April 1, 2017, and proposal to implement of country-by-country transfer-pricing reporting standards are important steps which make Indian laws aligned with global tax regime and assume significance in the wake of Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) initiatives of G-20 and OCED blocks. To make dispute resolution faster and provide certainty in taxation, budget proposes to create 11 new benches of the indirect tax tribunals across India. On the compliance front, the interest rates on delayed payment of duty/tax across all indirect taxes have being rationalized and made uniform at 15 per cent, except in case of Service Tax collected but not deposited by the assessee.

All these are expected to improve India’s rank on ease of doing business. www.governancetoday.co.in

For increasing job creation, budget provides a number of sops.

For example, to promote start-ups that have been set up between April 2016 and March 2019, a 100 per cent deduction of profits is proposed for three out of five years.

A reduced corporate tax regime of 25 per cent has also been proposed for manufacturing firms incorporated on or after March 1, 2016 and availing no deductions.

For firms with a turnover of under Rs 5 crore for the year ended March 31, 2015, a marginal rate cut of 1 per cent has been proposed.

This year’s budget had presented a crucial and unenviable dilemma to the Finance Minster.

The slow global growth and low domestic investor confidence required extra accommodation on public expenditure side, but a higher expenditure would have meant higher deficit and hence a higher interest rate regime which would stifled private investment.

On sum total, Jaitley did a commendable job to stay on the path of fiscal consolidation without surrendering growth impetus in any substantial manner. The fiscal deficit target stands reduced by 40 bps (0.4 per cent), at 3.5 per cent of GDP, for FY17, well below 3.8 per cent which some experts had expected. Furthermore, revenue deficit is also sought to be reduced from 2.8 per cent of GDP this year to 2.5 per cent next year. What is worth noticing here is that it has been achieved despite the burden of the 7th Pay Commission and the implementation of OROP for defense personnel.

On the flip side, the budget leaves some items unattended.

First of all, there was anticipation of clearer roadmap on GST which has been left hanging. Second, even though there is overall focus on simplification and reducing the tax heads, some additional specifically targeted cess such as Krishi Kalyan cess and infrastructure cess have been introduced.

Another aspect on which the government has come under criticism is the low allocation towards capitalization of banks for www.governancetoday.co.in

BUDGET 2016-17 HIGHLIGHTS • • • • •

Fiscal deficit to be kept at 3.5% for FY17 Plan/Non-plan classification to be done away with from FY17-18 Revenue deficit targeted at 2.5% of GDP To implement GAAR from April 1, 2017 Govt to pay interest @ 9% in case of delay in giving appellate orders beyond 90 days • FY17 to cast an additional burden due to One Rank One Pension, Seventh Pay Commission recommendations • Ceiling of tax rebate at Rs 5,000 for income less than Rs.5 lakh • 100% deduction of profits for start-ups adhering to certain conditions • Farmer income intended to be doubled by 2020 • 28.5 lakh hectares to be brought under irrigation • Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana to be allocated Rs 19,000 crore in FY17 • Farm credit target Rs 9 lakh crore • E-market portal to be set up for connecting breeders and farmers • Rs 38,500 crore allocated for MNREGA in 2016-17 • Rs 2.87 lakh crore to be given grant-in-aid for gram panchayats and municipalities • Govt. to develop 300 ‘rurban’ clusters • National Dialysis Program to be launched through PPP scheme • Will pay EPF contribution of 3.33% for all new employees joining EPFO to incentivize employers • Rs 55,000 crore allocated for roads and highways • Pace of completion of road projects to rise to 10,000km in 2016-17 • Bankruptcy code to be introduced • RBI Act 1934 to be amended to provide statutory basis for monetary policy framework • Rs 25,000 crore to be provided for recapitalization of public sector banks • Insurance firms owned by government to be listed on stock exchanges which Rs 25,000 cr have been set aside.

The broad theme that emerges from the budget is that the government realizes the crucial importance of kickstarting the rural India which has been languishing under neglect for some time.

Hence the push for increasing rural income. Secondly, it is assumed that the industrial recovery is a function of the ease of doing business, as ensured by regulatory regime on one hand, and the physical infrastructure on the other.

Moving forward, by keeping deficits under check, the budget has sent a strong message to RBI

that government has kept its house in order which is a big prerequisite for any action on interest rate front.

Over last few years, the RBI has made inflation a key focus area while deciding interest rates and fiscal prudence (or otherwise) plays a significant part in overall inflation calculus. Now that the deficits are in control and inflation below prescribed level, RBI could take a favorable view towards cutting interest rates which would hopefully encourage industry to invest more. anand@governancetoday.co.in

March 2016 I 29

BUDGET

Budgeting for financial rectitude RANA KAPOOR | MD & CEO, YES BANK and Chairman, YES Institute

of banks’ via capital infusion and stressed assets

I

ndia’s macro economy has weathered several challenges successfully in 2015-16. Policy action combined the needs of short term economic management with focus on taming inflation and external account imbalances along with a medium to long term vision for transformation and development via investment facilitation and infrastructure creation. Currently on a cyclical upturn, growth revival remains remarkable against the backdrop of tentative global conditions and a below-par agriculture season.

At the next rung to enhance growth above potential, the FY17 Union Budget has emphatically focused on domestic financial sector as one of the nine distinct pillars, adopting a stance that is bold, futuristic and in spirit reformist.

The support from policy and regulatory environment will ensure superior financial delivery through markets, institutions, access, and incentivized behavior; in sync with the broader economic agenda.

The critical needs of the financial sector have been addressed though the following three broad themes –

Financial management

Taking forward its Indradhanush framework, the Budget reaffirmed its commitment to infuse much needed capital in Public Sector Banks, by announcing recapitalization funds of INR 250 bn for FY17. Given the low equity valuations and decline in asset quality, some capital infusion had to come from upfront from the Budget. The Finance Minister has however promised to raise additional capital if need be, urging the PSBs to be strong and competitive. I look forward to the roadmap for PSB consolidation, and commend the Government for operationalizing the Bank Board Bureau and for initiating the process of reducing its stake in IDBI Bank. In addition, the relaxed ownership norms of Asset Reconstruction Companies will go a long way to improve availability of capital for NPA resolution.

Boost to credit demand and supply Against a weak credit growth of 11.5% in FYTD16, Budget has given adequate direct impetus to both demand and supply of credit via encouraging retail participation in g-secs, providing incentives to deepen corporate bond markets, and sanctioning Rs 1800 bn under Mudra Yojana in FY17. Further, the strong focus of the Budget on reviving investment, particularly

infrastructure investments, and rural economy should also allow improvement in credit off take, as critical drivers of growth revive.

Game changing new institutions Perhaps the most important takeaway for the financial sector in the FY17 Budget comes from game changing reforms via new institutions of Bankruptcy Code and the Monetary Policy Committee. In the absence of a single bankruptcy code, FM in his last year’s budget speech had announced a comprehensive law aka US style Chapter 11, in order to reorganize stressed businesses without endless litigation. The clamor for the Code has only risen as banking sector continues to reel under severe asset quality pressures, which have worsened in Q3FY16 after RBI’s Asset Quality Review. Against this backdrop, the commitment of the passing the Bankruptcy Code comes as a bout of sweet relief for the financial sector, setting the stage for a quicker economic turnaround.

These efforts will also help India to improve its ranking from the current 136 of 189 countries in ‘Resolving Insolvencies’ according to World Bank Ease of Doing Business Survey.

Conclusion The FY17 Union Budget has delivered on the utmost requirement of the banking and financial sector of that of a “strategic repositioning” for creating durable growth impulses.

By building trust and improving predictability, the Budget measures will allow a financial fortification in a time-bound manner - a precursor for enhancing India’s long term growth trajectory.

Overall a promising budget. It is heartening to see the fiscal discipline and a slew of initiatives for the under privileged. A lot of emphasis on infrastructure has set the right tone for overall economic reform. When it comes to healthcare, the union budget has rightly addressed the issue of unexpected healthcare expenses being a burden and pushing families in to poverty. The Health Protection Scheme and the Rs. 1 Lakh cover will surely help the families in need. However the budget has once again failed to address any kind of healthcare reform.

It is time that the government realizes that Health is an important indicator of economic development and work towards an overarching vision for healthcare.

Ameera Shah, MD & CEO, Metropolis Healthcare 30 I March 2016

www.governancetoday.co.in

BUDGET

Union Budget 2016: Focusing on core sectors with good governance ANKIT AGARWAL | Managing Director, Alankit Ltd.

I

n my opinion, the Union Budget 2016 is progressive and transformational with focus on enhancing expenditure in priority areas like farming and rural sector, social sector, infrastructure sector, employment generation and banking.

Proposals mentioned in the budget for making the economy attractive for ease of doing business is a positive step towards achieving high economic growth. This budget’s emphasis on ‘Transform India’ is going to create a significant impact on economy and lives of people.

We welcome the decision taken to undertake important reform by giving a statutory backing to AADHAR platform, thus ensuring benefits to every citizen of the country.

The proposed bill for targeted delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, benefits and services by using AADHAR framework is going to be very instrumental from successful implementation point of view. AADHAR framework will now be more critical and important since the finance minister talked about “minimum government and maximum governance” for ensuring targeted disbursement of government subsidies and financial assistance to the actual beneficiaries.

This year’s budget has also made an important announcement towards making National Pension Scheme (NPS) more attractive by making withdrawals from NPS on maturity tax free upto 40% of the total corpus accumulated. It proposes to make the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) taxable, a move that will affect more than five crore subscribers who have invested in the retirement savings scheme.

The new proposal also allows a one-time shift to the NPS without any tax incidence, another move by the government to push employers to shift to the NPS from the EPF. The other important proposals for the NPS in the Budget include no service tax on the premium paid for buying annuities using the corpus

The Finance Minister has chosen to deliver a budget that charts a new direction to the economy with renewed reforms and resurgence. The government’s commitment to keep fiscal deficit in check is a very assuring move so is the focus on improving the ease of doing business. The emphasis on road infrastructure in particular would pave the way to a robust economy as well.

Pankaj Munjal, Chairman and Managing Director, Hero Cycles www.governancetoday.co.in

and also the lump sum received by nominees in the event of the death of the annuity holder will be tax-free in their hands. All these provisions make the NPS a much better investment option than EPF. The new health insurance scheme which will offer a health cover of up to Rs 1 lakh for senior citizens of 60 years and above is also a welcome decision in this budget. In India every year about 2.2 lakhs new patients of endstage renal disease are getting added and that is making additional demand for 3.4 crore dialysis sessions nationwide. Proposal of starting a ‘National Dialysis Services Programme’ under national health mission is a welcoming step in this regard.

The takeaway for individual taxpayers would be that people earning below Rs 5lakhs to save an additional Rs 3,000 in taxes.

Tax rebate under Section 87A has been raised from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000. For Small and medium businesses, the limit of turnover under the presumptive taxation scheme revised from Rs 1 crore to Rs 2 crore.

Considering present global economic situation, this year’s union budget rightly focused on the core sectors of the economy with a focus on digital literacy, skill development, financial inclusion etc. As the government is focusing on financial reforms, it would be really important to implement the plans in a result orient way and in the right direction.

The budget sustains investments in the higher education and skill development sectors.

India requires a phenomenal scale up in its Skill Development efforts and I am glad to see a significant allocation of Rs. 1700 Crore being made in this direction.

Vijay Iyer, Chief Business Officer, HCL TalentCare

March 2016 I 31

EDUCATION

Thinking beyond IIMs

Management education in India has established itself as a powerful force

M

Hitesh Arora anagement education in India has traversed a long distance over the years and has established itself as a powerful force capable of bringing about the manufacturing revolution in India as envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It provides the foundation to young managers to be a part of the desired paradigm shift in the Indian growth trajectory.

At present, management education is imparted by universities, Indian Institute of Managements (IIMs) and numerous private institutes.

These train future managers and global leaders.

The Indian Institutes of Management Bill 2015 if enacted by the Indian Parliament would “declare certain institutes of management to be institutions of national importance with the view to

32 I March 2016

empower these institutions to attain standards of global excellence in management, management research and allied areas of knowledge and to provide for certain other matters connected with such institutions or incidental thereto”.

Though this move could mark the beginning of a new golden era of Indian management education, concerns have been raised against the Bill by the established IIMs and the private players, the latter resenting the unfair treatment being meted out to them. The proposed Bill also contains provisions seeking to vest power in the government to take all decisions thus diluting the autonomy of the IIMs. Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry has put up a draft bill seeking to form a ‘coordination forum’ for the 19 IIMs across the country that has sparked a debate over the contents of the draft bill.

The ongoing debate is being led

by three major players in the management education in India, namely, old reputed IIMs (IIM-A, IIM-B and IIM-C), new IIMs and private institutes. The draft bill proposes to allow the IIMs to grant degrees instead of diplomas. As a result, programs offered by the IIMs would be called MBA (in place of PGDM) and Ph.D. (in place of fellowship). This proposal is being appreciated by the new IIMs as they feel that granting of degree would help in building their brand in the market and would make their courses more attractive to students.

On the other hand, the reputed IIMs are opposing this move as they believe that they already have an excellent brand due to better quality and thus, granting of degree or diploma has no relevance for them In a bid to put to rest the concerns raised by the established IIMs, government has entered into a ‘discussion and consultation mode’ www.governancetoday.co.in

in order to arrive at a consensus.

Unfortunately, no one is looking at the situation of the private B-schools that have been offering PGDM diplomas and have been creating a large pool of managers since many decades. Moreover, the proposal to allow IIMs to grant degrees instead of diplomas would drastically skew the scale against the private players. These institutes

strongly in this entire debate revolving around the IIM Bill that needs some clarity. First, the need to ‘regulate’ through this Bill is not clear. Generally, the rationale for regulation is either economic or social. As far as the IIMs especially the older and the renowned ones are concerned, they are characterized by innovative faculty that is self-motivated, have super

The senate will be the principal academic body in each IIM

regulation brings with it ‘political inefficiency’. Second, connotation of ‘certain’ in “to declare certain institutes of management ….. incidental thereto” is ambiguous.

Does it mean that only some IIMs would be falling under the ambit of the Act? The IIM Bill is undesirable in its current form and ambiguities and confusion needs to be addressed before such a ‘regulatory policy’ is put in place. A ‘Management Education Bill’ ought to be designed rather than an ‘IIM Bill’ to recognize all management institutes, be it government, autonomous or private on the basis of their excellence.

The future agenda of management education in the country should

The IIM Council will be the overarching advisory body for the IIMs

The IIMs will have to introduce reservation in faculty and nonfaculty posts as per the rules of the government of India

Provision has been made for periodic review of the performance of the IIMs

IIM Bill

The selection procedure for the chairman of the board of governors and the director of an IIM will remain the same

like FORE, IMI, MDI, SPJIMR, NMIMS, SIBM etc have been the forerunner in imparting management education in India. Such institutes are no less than many of the IIMs in terms of knowledge, skills, training and employability of their PGDM graduates. In view of the globalized markets, these private players have acquired additional significance and this ‘kill-bill’ would prove fatal to their existence.

At least two points stand out www.governancetoday.co.in

state-of-the-art infrastructure facilities, extremely strong alumna, abundant funds and are accepted centers of knowledge. Autonomy has played a pivotal role in taking the IIMs to such commanding heights. Regulation would in no way improve the economic or social efficiency of these institutes.

Then why is the government putting stress on regulation? In fact,

focus on re-orienting itself to meet the increasing demand for professional managers through a fresh framework with a realistic model to rejuvenate the Indian management education system, rather than only focusing on IIMs. Prof. Arora is a faculty with FORE School of Management, New Delhi

March 2016 I 33

INTERVIEW Dr. MUKESH AGHI | PRESIDENT, US-INDIA BUSINESS COUNCIL

$500 BN US-INDIA TRADE ACHIEVABLE WITH PROPER REFORMS

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he US India business relations have been on upswing over last couple of years and 2015 saw highest bilateral trade between the two countries. There is an increasing willingness among American businesses to do business with India as Indian economy picks up growth and the Indian government promotes business with supportive policies. The US-India Business Council, established in 1975 at the request of both the US and Indian governments, is a business advocacy organization dedicated to strengthening the economic and commercial relationship between the US and India. It acts as the direct link between business and government leaders, and plays a proactive role by being the voice of industry on both sides, thus enabling growth in business relations between India and the United States. To know more about the work of USIBC and how it perceives emerging bilateral business relations, Rajesh Mehta, Consulting Editor, Governance Today, spoke to Dr. Mukesh Aghi, the President of the Council. Dr. Aghi has over two and a half decades of corporate experience, leading global organizations in various capacities, such as CEO of L&T Infotech, CEO, Asia-Pacific of Steria, Inc, President of IBM India etc. to name a few.

EDITED EXCERPTS:

34 I March 2016

www.governancetoday.co.in

According to Ambassador Richard Verma, 2015 saw the highest two-way India-US Trade. How optimistic are you for next few years.

The reforms undertaken by India in the last two years under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership are resonating very well with the US companies.

In a recent USIBC survey, about 20 per cent of our member companies confirmed that have already invested over $15 billion in India ever since Prime Minister Modi assumed office. Within this and the next year, we expect more than $27 billion to be invested additionally by at least 52 US companies in India.

So yes, we are optimistic, but a lot more needs to be done for India to remain on its path of domestic reforms, transparency and clarity.

There is a $500 bn goal for US India bilateral trade. What will it take to achieve this huge goal?

What role can USIBC play in achieving this goal?

This is obviously an aspirational goal, but that can be achieved if proper reforms are enacted in a steadfast manner.

We have had some hurdles in achieving greater trade targets which can be attributed to global and domestic factors such as the US recession in 2008-2009 and the economic slowdown in India in 2012-13.

In order to assertively move towards the $500 billion target, we must continue to support PM Modi’s Make in India Initiative. As more goods are made in India, consumers in the US will be ready to purchase them. Secondly, the dialogue on the US-India agriculture front needs to be consistent. If US investors are able to access the Indian markets www.governancetoday.co.in

in agriculture, this will promote two-way trade in a big way.

Liberalizing trade is good for both countries, which is why USIBC encourages India’s steps towards trade liberalization including supporting its interest in APEC, and having meaningful conversations on India’s interest in TPP, the multilateral trading system, and resuming negotiations on a US-India Bilateral Investment Treaty.

undocumented foreigners who live and work in the United States.

There has been a mutually beneficial partnership in place between the US and India over the last several decades, involving a combination of American and Indian high-skilled personnel, resulting in tremendous innovation, and in turn creating American jobs and fueling US industry’s global competitiveness.

We would want that to remain for years ahead.

In its current form, India’s Model BIT still contains gaps which would prevent it from finalizing an agreement with the United States. USIBC recommends that the Government of India revisit not only some of the substantive protections and procedural mechanisms included in the Model, but also do so from the perspective of projecting a willingness to open trade and to provide a stable investment environment in India There has been a lot of heartburn in India on the issues of visa fee hike and return of Indian students. Do you think these can impact economic relations?

What is USIBC doing on this?

Skilled labor and the knowledge economy fuels any business- much more in the 21st century than before, where the business operations cut across borders. Immigration reform has been a difficult issue politically.

The problem for Indian IT firms is that the issue of H-1B visas gets conflated with the larger immigration issue that involves the estimated 11 million

What reforms would be most sought by American investors so that investments could rise fast?

The focus should be on ease of doing business. If a company wants to build a hotel in India, it takes almost 153 permits.

Investors look for expedite approvals and set up single window clearances. Whether land acquisition or environmental clearances, companies report delays of up to several years as compared to similar projects in other countries. Members of USIBC have reported that 20 different government organizations were involved with plant permitting approvals, requiring multiple visits due to lack of clarity regarding documentation.

March 2016 I 35

business. The results of these efforts are also visible in India’s rise in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index.

American enterprise has displayed its commitment to the Make in India program in a number of areas such as defense, health, power generation, media and entertainment, and technology and has the potential to do much more. Long-term investment in manufacturing will increase by continued clarity in regulations, reforms in land and labor laws, and enabling citizens with the appropriate skills to take on the challenges of an ever-changing economy.

Prime Minister Modi and President Obama attend the USIBC organized Business Summit in New Delhi

This is an important area where proactive reforms are needed and much is being done.

Then, we need more predictability on the policy side. Boardrooms prefer a consistent set of patterns.

So, that is important. Third, India should focus on bringing down the cost of capital in manufacturing.

India released its model bilateral investment treaty (BIT) last December. What is your opinion about the same?

USIBC recognizes the Government’s efforts in finalizing its model BIT. A bilateral investment agreement would be beneficial to both the US and India as it would signal protections and a fair process of arbitration should disputes occur.

A successful US–India BIT will signal compliance with global dispute-resolution practices that will reassure investors and more readily attract investment to India.

Companies look for predictability, transparency, and clarity and BIT frameworks provide these basic levels of assurances, which help in making investment decisions.

36 I March 2016

However, in its current form, India’s Model BIT still contains gaps which would prevent it from finalizing an agreement with the United States. USIBC recommends that the Government of India revisit not only some of the substantive protections and procedural mechanisms included in the Model, but also do so from the perspective of projecting a willingness to open trade and to provide a stable investment environment in India.

How can American firms take advantage of “Digital India” & “Make in India” program of the government of India?

In the last 20 months, Prime Minister Modi’s government has made steady progress to deliver on its promise of economic reforms. Efforts such as lifting FDI caps in several sectors, reducing red tape, implementing a transparent tax environment and improving the country’s intellectual property regime have sent a crystal clear message to the global investment community that India is ready and open for

How do you see the success of Indian Diaspora in the US? The Council has many Indian American CEOs of global MNCs on its board and these are all global business leaders who have high hopes from India.

Indra Nooyi, Shantanu Narayen, Ajay Banga, Francisco D’Souza are all glittering examples of the India-US partnership of progress. But this relationship goes beyond the Council. Rich Verma becoming the first US ambassador of Indian-origin speaks volumes of the increasing recognition of the contributions of Indian diaspora in fortifying our relations. The 3 million strong Indian diaspora and the 100,000 Indian students in the US have been a significant contributor to the US economy as well as the US-India bilateral relations. USIBC supports events that promote Indian arts and music. Indians today constitute the largest immigrant entrepreneur community in the Silicon Valley. The Council is excited in the manner in which the strong bilateral ties between the two countries are further strengthening each day.

www.governancetoday.co.in

RAILWAYS

Railway regulator on the anvil

Revolutionary reforms being planned for the railways will see power to fix fares being transferred from politicians to technocrats and based on economics rather than populism

T

Ramesh Kumar Raja he Indian Railways has typically been exploited by successive governments as a tool of dispensing patronage with scant regard for its economic well being. The outcome: fares haven’t kept pace with inflation, leaving the railways with exceedingly poor financial parameters, a squeaking infrastructure and little or no funds to invest in safety and passenger amenities. As a matter of fact, the transporter’s estimated losses in passenger segment is estimated over Rs 30,000 crore in 2015-16 coupled with the steady decline of the share of railways in freight traffic from 89 per cent in 1950-51 to approximately 36 per cent in the last few years.

On the anvil is an independent authority for the Indian Railways

www.governancetoday.co.in

that will be vested with powers to undertake various developmental activities. This in essence is the outline of a breakthrough reform being planned for the railways that will see power to fix fares being transferred from politicians to technocrats and based on economics rather than populist considerations. The proposed body – Rail Development Authority of India – is in keeping with the master strategy of technocrat Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu who is said to be keen to effect far reaching changes in the country’s largest employer without raising the hackles of its well entrenched unions, bureaucracy and the political class.

The IR has come out with a concept paper in this regard, according to which the proposed body will be an independent and quasi-judicial one with four key

functions — recommending tariffs, ensuring fair play and level playing field for private investment in railways, determination of efficiency and performance standards, and dissemination of information such as statistics and forecasts related to the sector. The RDA would be housed outside the Ministry of Railways but funded through the annual railway budget sanctioned by the Parliament. The approved Budget would be placed at the disposal of the regulatory authority.

It would also be permitted to arrange funds through adjudication fees, penalties levied and any other source as specified in the proposed Act. According to officials involved with the drafting of the concept paper, “The proposed authority will be like any other regulator and have sufficient teeth to bite in case of noncompliance. The view March 2016 I 37

is to expand the body beyond conventional regulatory work and increase its scope to make it more comprehensive. It is going to be one of the most crucial reform measures of the government.� The regulator’s task, as per officials, will also be to resolve disputes and ensure a level playing field for private investors. The presence of a regulator, they believe, will go a long way in improving the financial health of the railways and

will be taken up keeping Ministry of Railways at an arms length. He further said that this single initiative will provide immense confidence to the stakeholders.

The need for a Rail regulator has long been identified. The Rail Tariff Enquiry Committee 199780 emphasized requirements of a regulatory body entrusted with the task of expert examination (not a judicial examination) of tariff revision matters. Similarly, the

GUIDING PRINCIPLES The Rail Development Authoritywill exercise, perform and discharge the powers, functions and duties in a manner which it considers is best calculated: to protect the interests of all consumers, by ensuring quality of service and cost optimisation; to promote competition, efficiency and economy and prevent market domination, cartelisation and anti-competitive behaviour and for orderly growth of railways in India; to encourage market development and participation of private sector in the rail sector for ensuring a fair deal to the customers; to ensure adequate investment and promote an efficient allocation of resources in the sector; to benchmark, where feasible, the service providers in the sector against international standards and specify and enforce standards with respect to the quality, continuity and reliability of service provided by them; to provide non-discriminatory open access to the infrastructure, for use by any other licensee or consumers as the case may be, on payment of fee to be determined by the regulator; and to promote equity of access and equitable geographical dispersion of services. make it more attractive for private investment. The authority would also supervise private parties such as container train operators and those with whom the railways have signed licence agreements, such as vendors.

Union Minister for Railways Suresh Prabhu in his speech for Rail Budget 2015-16 had said that for orderly development of infrastructure services, enabling competition and protection of 38 I March 2016

customer interest, it is important to have a regulation mechanism independent of the service provider.

The concept paper has been prepared in line with that vision.

This time too, while presenting the Rail Budget for 2016-17 the Railway Minister emphasized the role of the proposed body. He said that the draft bill will be ready after holding extensive stakeholder consultations and a transparent and streamlined selection process

Railway Convention Committee (2000) in its report endorsed the recommendation of Planning Commission for setting up of such an authority on the lines of Telecom Regulatory Authority.

Dr Rakesh Mohan Committee which was set up to examine the revamping of Indian Railways had also reiterated the need for such an authority. The 10th Five Year Plan of Government of India while doing detailed appraisal of the 9th Five Year Plan had highlighted the need for a Rail regulator for fixation of rail tariffs and regulation of the activities of Indian Railways.

The Ministry of Railways itself had proposed to set up a Rail Tariff Authority through a Cabinet note in January 2014. The National Transport Development Policy Committee (NTDPC) report of 2014 had recommended setting up of a Rail Tariff Authority which should finally become the overall regulator encompassing other regulatory functions in addition to tariff. The report gad further recommended that an institutional mechanism to gather, analyse and use cost data and market intelligence needs to be established. Later the Bibek Debroy Committee report (2015) went into the detailed rationale and role for a rail regulatory authority and recommended a regulator with overarching functions.

Many of the countries like UK, Russia, US, Australia, Germany have regulatory structure in some form or the other.

The authority will discharge functions in a manner to protect the interest of consumers, ensure quality of service, promote competition, encourage market development, ensure efficient allocation of resources, provide non-discriminatory open access specially on Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) and will benchmark service levels for ensuring quality, continuity and reliability of service.

The authority will initially be set up through an executive order and can be subsequently strengthened through legislative process.

The proposed regulator will consist of chairman and four other www.governancetoday.co.in

members who have experience and knowledge in railways, infrastructure, finance, law, management and consumer affairs.

As per the draft, the selection committee for these positions will comprise Cabinet Secretary of the central government, a member of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to be appointed by the UPSC chairperson, the chairperson of Rail Development Authority and where there is no such chairperson, the senior most member thereof (only for members of the authority), and the Chairman of Railway Board.

It may be noted that the preceding United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had proposed to set up only a tariff regulator. But the present government has widened its scope to other areas in order to usher in

private sector investments in the sector. At present, the tariff is set by the Union government. Earlier, the revised tariff was usually announced by the Union Railway Minister in Parliament but this practice was discontinued after protests by the Members of Parliament over any proposal to hike tariff. Recently, the government had increased tatkal booking charges by up to 33 per cent for travel in sleeper class, AC-III tier, AC-II tier and executive class through an executive order.

Keeping fares within affordable limits has led to cross-subsidisation of passenger services leading to erosion of railway’s market share in freight. The share of railways in the total freight transportation has declined from 89 per cent in 195051 to 36 per cent in 2007-08.

The authority will set tariff based on cost recovery principle and

ROLE & SCOPE The role of the Authority would have to be clearly demarcated. The areas which would NOT be within the purview of the Authority are – Policy making: This is prerogative of the legislature and ministry and should remain so.

Financial / Expenditure management: Although the authority could suggest benchmarks that can guide decision making, the responsibility would remain with Indian Railways.

Setting technical standards: Though internationally, many regulators handle this responsibility, it is proposed to keep this out of the authority’s scope to begin with, but this could be included at a later stage, if required. Currently, this responsibility in Indian Railways is being fulfilled by Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) and efforts are on to improve the processes. Further, the expertise developed by RDSO over the years, would be difficult to replicate in a short time frame with the regulator.

Compliance of safety standards and practices: Currently safety/technical standards are laid down by Indian Railways, while clearances/permissions are obtained from the Commissioner of Railway Safety, an independent body under the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The Commissioner of Railway Safety also investigates railway accidents/ mishaps independent of Railways. This mechanism ensures independence while retaining the core knowledge required to audit railway safety operations.

www.governancetoday.co.in

“what the traffic can bear.” All the direct and indirect costs such as pension liabilities, debt servicing, replacements and renewals along with productivity parameters, market-driven demand and supply forces and future investments will be considered by the regulator before setting tariffs.

Another command of the authority is to ensure level playing field for investors and it will be authorised to penalise cartelisation, abuse of dominance and other unfair market mechanisms. This will go a long way in facilitating investment in this sector whose full potential has not been tapped as “investors have generally been shy of investing in an industry where far too much is still being done or controlled by government and the risk or return trade-off is not always favourable.”

With financial health of railways taking precedence, the draft says that if the government does not accept the tariff suggested by the regulator, it will have to compensate the organisation appropriately, “possibly through increased allocations in the gross budgetary support or through a suitable mechanism”.

An appellate body is also proposed to be formed and the role, structure and composition of the body will be similar to regulators set up by the government in telecom and electricity sectors.

The bottom line is that it is a logical idea to establish an independent tariff and freight regulator for the railways which should have been done long back. An independent regulator will lessen the possibility of the railways being used as a political instrument by doling out freebies that are financially and commercially unfeasible. It will end the practice of freight and upper class passengers subsidising lower-class fares, and tariffs will reflect actual costs. Significantly, realistic tariffs will help rejuvenate freight transport by rail. ramesh@governancetoday.co.in

March 2016 I 39

HEALTH

The new challenge

The increase in the microcephaly cases has made Zika the most dreaded virus to surface in the present times

W

Lekshmi Parameswaran ho would have ever thought that a normal viral infection like any other would one day turn out to be a disaster of the gravest order? For countries across the world battling the dreaded Zika virus, there is nothing but uncertainty writ all over. First discovered in 1947 in Uganda, the disease spread by Zika was an illness restricted to the continents of Asia and Africa.

Even as late as 2007, there were just 14 documented cases of Zika.

The discomfort caused due to the viral attack is so mild that it does not even require any medical attention. The first eruption of the virus is recorded to have occurred in Micronesia in 2007 followed by French Polynesia in 2013-14. But it was only after its massive outbreak in Brazil in the preceding months that brought out the magnitude of the problem at hand. Since then, the disease has reached a total of 30 countries and is expected to cross more borders.

Spread by the same breed of mosquitoes, Aedes Agypti responsible for epidemics like dengue and chikungunya, Zika is in all probability among the biggest

40 I March 2016

threats that the world had to face.

It is a virus that has the potency to endanger the lives of future generations. If the evidences are anything to go by, then Zika is now believed to cause microcephaly in infants. In Brazil, the number of children born with this condition has seen a twenty fold increase in the last one year according to statistics released by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Zika is spreading a pall of gloom all across the world and there is every possibility India could be the next to be next big destination for the disease. Since the country falls in the Indian Ocean realm and has a tropical climate, it is amongst the most vulnerable regions for the viral attack. What makes the threat of Zika even greater for India is its ever growing population. With 51 births reported every one minute, the impact that an outbreak of Zika can have on the population is frightening. More than ever, therefore, it has become necessary to get an understanding of how big a threat the virus poses to the unborn children of the nation.

The real threat The attack of Zika as such causes no lasting harm to the

person infected. The symptoms of the disease include low grade fever accompanied by body pain, headache, rashes and conjunctivitis.

Most often the person gets cured without any strong medication and the virus itself clears the blood stream in about two weeks. The problem arises when pregnant women comes under the clutch of this disease. It is now believed by many physicians across the world that once the virus enters the bloodstream of a pregnant woman it has the potential to arrest the cells from dividing which can permanently hamper the growth of the foetus.

Though experts around the world have been unable to back this theory with any scientific evidence, the sheer number of babies born with the congenital condition of microcephaly and the people affected with Gullian BarrĂŠ give a clear indication on the dangers posed by the virus. The former is characterized by abnormally small head and incomplete brain development and the latter is caused due to sudden muscle weakness which happens as a result of peripheral nervous system getting damaged by the immune system. Both these conditions are permanent and the affected babies www.governancetoday.co.in

will face difficulties throughout their lives.

Another worrying fact about Zika is that it is spread not just through mosquito bites. It can also be spread through semen as it is believed that the virus can remain active inside the male body for a longer duration. This makes it difficult for any precautionary steps to be taken as both men and women are at equal risk. Even screening of the population cannot be done effectively as a person can still be a carrier of the disease in spite of showing no external symptoms.

This inability to put in place an effective mechanism to quarantine those affected is the biggest of all challenges faced by not just India but countries across the world. Even after the WHO declared Zika as a global public health emergency, the authorities in India is yet to view this disease with seriousness.

The steps taken by the Ministry of Health are limited to the guidelines and the travel advisories that were issued.

Another cause of concern in the Indian context is that there are no specific tests that can ascertain the presence of the virus in the body.

The WHO has already warned of a situation where Zika cases can be wrongly diagnosed as dengue since the symptoms are similar.

When the tourist inflow to the country is taken into consideration, it is not wrong to assume that the virus would most likely enter the country. Also, the laxity on the part of the authorities to implement any measures to arrest the spread of the virus makes the overall situation extremely grave.

At present, the only defense against Zika is to protect oneself from mosquitoes bites. But that is not a lasting solution as mosquitoes can breed almost anywhere and it is impossible to be on guard all the time. The claims of the Indian biotech firm, Bharat Biotech International Limited, Hyderabad of having successfully developed two vaccines against Zika virus has definitely brought a ray of hope for those thousands affected. But it will take few years of clinical testing www.governancetoday.co.in

before it can be administered on a human. This vaccine has also brought to the fore the key issue of import of live virus by compromising on the biomedical ethics. For all these issues to get cleared, what is required is time and that is one thing the world doesn’t have at present.

No solution in sight?

The world is yet to find an answer on how to tackle the threat of the virus. What is required now is a

be quarantined at the entry point of all the countries that are yet to be affected. It has also become necessary for all the nations to invest more in R&D activities so that a solution can be arrived at.

The talks of introducing Genetically Modified Mosquitoes to crash the mosquito population of an area should be looked at in practical terms. If Zika is becomes a global epidemic, the world will be staring a future even the thought of which is dreadful. It is every nation’s responsibility to give a dignified

MICROCEPHALY Microcephaly is a condition where a baby’s head is much smaller than expected. During pregnancy, a baby’s head grows because the baby’s brain grows. Microcephaly can occur because a baby’s brain has not developed properly during pregnancy or has stopped growing after birth, which results in a smaller head size.

Microcephaly can be an isolated condition, meaning that it can occur with no other major birth defects, or it can occur in combination with other major birth defects.

GUILLAIN-BARRÉ SYNDROME (GBS) Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rare disorder in which a person’s own immune system damages their nerve cells, causing muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis. GBS can cause symptoms that usually last for a few weeks. Most people recover fully from GBS, but some people have long-term nerve damage. In very rare cases, people have died of GBS, usually from difficulty breathing. In the United States, for example, an estimated 3,000 to 6,000 people develop GBS each year on average, whether or not they received a vaccination.

Source: Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

collective effort to stop the spread of the disease. A global task force should be constituted by the WHO that will help in educating the countries on the adverse effects of this disease and the affected can

life to its citizens and allowing the spread of a virus like Zika is the anti thesis of that very ideal. lekshmi@governancetoday.co.in

March 2016 I 41

POLICY

India’s thought leadership on net neutrality

After hearing all sides, TRAI delivered the historic judgment in favor of net neutrality

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Pavan Duggal he year 2016 has already underlined its significance in the scheme of things of India as a nation. This year has already seen the Pathankot attacks which have once again brought the attention to the issue of protection and preservation of India’s sovereign interests. There is talk of the increased focus on protection and preservation of cyber security. In February, 2016, India has launched the world’s cheapest smart phone, which has generated immense interest not only in India but also all over the world, due to its potential transformative impact

42 I March 2016

on mobile ecosystem as a whole.

While all these events have happened in swift succession, one decisive event took place this year, which has earned India immense respect amongst the major thought leaders of the world.

Even the inventor of the Internet Sir Tim Berner Lee has congratulated India on coming up with strong Net Neutrality Rules and standing up for the Open Web. This event has further signaled the dawn of a new era, and has already started inspiring various nations to follow the Indian example.

On 8th February, 2016, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) notified game

changing regulations in the Official Gazette, clarifying Indian position on Net Neutrality. Prohibition of Discriminatory Tariffs for Data Services Regulations, 2016 represent a landmark step forward.

These regulations have clarified the legal position concerning “discriminatory tariffs for data services” which deals with charging of different tariffs by a service provider for data services based on the content accessed, transmitted or received by the consumer.

These regulations have stipulated prohibition of discriminatory tariffs by declaring that no service provider shall offer or charge discriminatory tariffs www.governancetoday.co.in

for data services on the basis of content.

Further, it has been stipulated that no service provider shall enter into any arrangement, agreement or contract, by whatever name called, with any person, natural or legal, that has the effect of discriminatory tariffs for data services being offered or charged to the consumer on the basis of content.

However, these regulations have provided for some flexibility as in exceptional cases, a service provider may reduce tariff for accessing or providing emergency services, or at times of grave public emergency. What, however, would qualify as the public emergency has not been specified and has been left to subjective discretion of the regulator?

These regulations have been given teeth in as much as non compliance of the same would invoke an order for withdrawing such services in violation of the regulations as also a fine of Rs 50,000/- per day against the offending party.

The recent regulation of TRAI is a significant decision, because from the perspective of the common man, it actually symbolizes a new digital independence day that India needs to celebrate. In fact, in the last few years, we have seen predatory schemes pertaining to discriminatory prices being offered by service providers.

Seen from another perspective, charging discriminatory tariffs for data services , could tantamount to creating digital empires or digital colonies and therefore these regulations are a step in the direction of pushing back digital colonization and protecting innocent Indians from becoming victims of such digital colonization.

At the end of day, these kinds of regulations are extremely significant because they once again uphold the rights and the obligations of those Indians who are still not on to the digital bandwagon but who are likely to come onto the digital and mobile bandwagon in the next few months and years.

All said and done, these www.governancetoday.co.in

regulations will be imposed for a period of two years. TRAI has said that these regulations may be revisited after two years. Two years is a long period of time within which lot of developments would have taken place as far as the digital and mobile ecosystem is concerned.

The review of these regulations in 2 years ensures that the regulator would be flexible to make changes in the regulations, keeping in mind the changed realities of the times.

To that extent, these particular regulations represents holistic approach in dealing with this complicated issue of discriminatory pricing and net neutrality.

The approach of TRAI has led to not just protection of consumer interests but also strengthened the hands of India for protecting its sovereignty and integrity. Such an approach is likely to assist the future growth of Digital India programme and would enable a level playing field.

From the perspective of some service providers, these regulations represent a step backward inasmuch as the said service providers would no longer be able to provide for discriminatory or predatory pricing schemes. From the standpoint of the said service providers, they would not be allowed to reach out to larger number of Indian users just because they are offering discriminatory pricing or free pricing schemes.

However, the entire issue need to be seen from a different perspective altogether.

Today, the service providers want to offer differential pricing schemes primarily because they want to get access to data and meta data of users of such differential pricing schemes.

Invariably, in today’s times of data monetization, these kinds of users data become significant gold mines for service providers.

Many times, the manner in which such data and meta data are going to be exploited, are couched in complicated legal, fine print on the terms of such schemes. The net effect of such terms is that often users would accept and subscribe to such discriminatory pricing

schemes without understanding the ramifications of the said terms on the enjoyment of their rights. The present regulations have come in at a time to protect the innocent users who are not familiar with the legal nuances pertaining to terms and conditions of such predatory pricing schemes.

Even as a nation, India has to be crystal clear. Just because something is being offered free, does not mean that the same will be the best bet. It is an old-age saying that whenever something is offered free to the consumer, the consumer is the product. The said principle equally applies on the issue of discriminatory pricing schemes.

It is imperative to see how these regulations will be implemented in the coming times. The proof of the pudding lies in its eating. Hence, what will be imperative will be to analyze the manner of how the provisions of these regulations would be implemented. In order to ensure that the Indian approach on net neutrality is sound and long lasting, it is imperative that provisions of these regulations need to be implemented in right earnestness. It will be interesting to see how the further working of these regulations and the future growth of the net economy and the mobile web in India evolves. The net neutrality is a very complicated subject and continuous nuanced and balanced approach while dealing with aspects of net neutrality will be the foundation for national policy making processes. The future represents a testing time ahead as far as development of net neutrality jurisprudence is concerned.

The writer is an advocate at the Supreme Court of India and heads Pavan Duggal Associates.

He is Asia’s & India’s leading expert and authority on Cyberlaw & Mobile Law and has been acknowledged as one of the top four cyberlawyers in the world.

He is the President of Cyberlaws. net and Cyberlaw India and can be reached on pavan@ pavanduggal.com March 2016 I 43

INDUSTRY

Challenges to overcome

Agrochemical sector in India faces multiple bottlenecks that is hampering the industry’s growth

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Rajesh Aggarwal grochemical industry has transformed the agricultural landscape in India, benefitting the farming community in terms of better yields and crop performance.

It is the onset of the agro chemicals era that helped India graduate from a food deficient to a food surplus country. The contribution of the agrochemical industry to economic growth of the country over the past two decades can therefore not be undermined.

However, despite its important role and the impressive growth posted by it, the sector faces certain challenges and bottlenecks. The sector is expected to grow at a rate of 8 per cent per annum to become Rs 180 billion strong by fiscal 2017-18. But in an agriculturedominated country, this figure can and should be dramatically higher. Less penetration and low level of awareness among the end consumers is impacting the growth of the sector. Taking awareness to the last farmer, countering misinformation campaigns, and improving local research and

44 I March 2016

development are challenges that the industry needs to overcome if it has to realize its potential.

More help from the government in ensuring irrigation and credit to farmers, and a sagacious approach on the part of the industry would also help propel the growth of the sector.

Let’s take a look at the challenges the agrochemical industry faces and how they can be overcome for a brighter future:

Heavy dependence on Monsoon The agricultural sector’s heavy dependence on monsoon rains brings a lot of unpredictability to the sector. Every year, as farmers pin their hopes on meteorological predictions, so does the agrochemical industry.

Normal monsoons imply a healthy season and healthy demand. For a country which has almost 60 per cent of its population dependent on agriculture, we need better irrigation mechanisms to reduce farmers’ dependence on monsoon rains. With depleting groundwater resources, India needs better

alternatives to improve artificial irrigation in the farming belt. We look forward to the government and local administration to draft special programs to increase irrigation coverage for rain dependent farmers.

Lack of awareness Despite agrochemicals being used in India for many years now, we are yet to achieve 50 per cent penetration. Small farmers in remote and tribal belts still practice subsistence agriculture, selling whatever little output is left in the local markets. In the wake of increase in population and loss of land for infrastructural and housing projects, the agricultural holdings continue to decrease in size. In such circumstances it becomes imperative to educate the last farmer about the importance of using agrochemicals and using them judiciously. A better penetration will not only increase individual farmer’s output but work well to increase food production to meet the collective demands of our burgeoning population. It will serve the industry well too. As an

www.governancetoday.co.in

agrochemical company we take a lead in organizing awareness programs and the benefits of agrochemicals to all farmers.

Greater emphasis on the need for local R&D Much like the pharmaceutical sector, India’s agro chemical industry too has thrived on making generic agrochemicals rather than investing in Research & Development to produce new molecules that can be patented.

The latter approach requires making substantial investments that will not have immediate or short term gains but fundamental long term benefits for the industry. Indian companies have mostly chosen to market generic agrochemicals to make money. In recent years, however, there is an increasing realization that the Indian chemical industry is forsaking long term gains by adopting a myopic view by failing to pump in money into research activity. The demand for agro chemicals, relatively moderate at the moment, is increasing. So is the need to create products that benefit the local farmers and suit their agricultural conditions. A second green revolution is something that the farm sector needs badly and this second revolution can only come riding upon a wave of indigenous research and innovation. New patented molecules will also add to India’s intellectual property and in turn bring substantial gains for farmers and companies in the long run. However, foresight is crucial here. Indian companies should be ready to make long term investments and willing to withstand longer gestation periods for R&D to reap fruits. The right approach is to strike a balance between marketing generic agrochemicals and inventing new. Time is ripe for the Indian industry to take a new plunge and graduate to the next level.

Dealing with misinformation Even as the unit per hectare www.governancetoday.co.in

Indian agro chemical players need to invest more in R&D

use of agrochemicals remains much less in India as compared to the developed countries, there is an increasing misinformation campaign against agrochemicals.

The truth is we need the use of agrochemicals to increase our yields and to be able to continue to feed out population. Certainly, we do not want to return to the pre Green revolution time of scarcity.

What we need to correct is the perception that agrochemicals per se are harmful. What is harmful is their use not as per the prescribed dosage and methods. Today many companies, including Insecticides India are actively working with farmers and our users to ensure they indulge in the right and judicious usage of agrochemicals to keep our foods safe and sufficient.

Awareness and education is the only solution to disproportionate and ill usage of agro chemicals.

Plant location and transportation This is a micro-level concern which needs to be taken care of when companies are expanding their reach throughout the country.

Location of the manufacturing plant is very important to save on the transportation cost from the plants to the depots and clearing and forwarding agents (C&Fs).

If the plants are not strategically located, then supplying the products to designated places gets delayed. By way of having plants at strategic locations, not only the supply hiccups can be avoided but also the transportation costs related to raw materials can be brought down relatively. Given that setting up of industrial units is not so easy in India because of various reasons, it remains a challenge for many agrochemical companies to establish their units at strategic locations. IIL’s plants are strategically located at four places and help the company place its products in nearby regions speedily, involving fewer costs. *The figures have been taken from FICCI’s Agrochemical Industry Report 2013.

The writer is the Managing Director of Insecticides India Limited, a leading agro chemical producer.

March 2016 I 45

RURAL GOVERNANCE

Empowering women-ledpanchayats to perform better

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Sonali Patnaik he increase in proportion of Elected Women Representatives in Panchayats in India has been very promising. “The Strengthening of Panchayats in India: Comparing Devolution across States, Empirical Assessment, 2012–13,” a report by Indian Institute of Public Administration and Ministry of Panchayati Raj, we find that there were 1,365,134 EWRs in the country (46.7% approximately). The data clearly indicates that States that are progressive like Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have poor representation of EWRs just meeting the 33% requisite. Goa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Haryana, Assam West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Karnataka are the States which have proportion of EWRs less than that of the national average of 46.7%, while Jammu and Kashmir have none.

The highest proportion of EWRs has been found in Jharkhand (58.6%). Other States which have a proportion of EWRs higher than the national average of 46.7% include Uttarakhand, followed

by Chhattisgarh, Kerala Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Odisha, Bihar, Maharashtra, and Manipur.

Unfortunately, over a period of time it is also found that although women are now elected in Panchayats and may head the institutions as sarpanch, in most cases there role is limited to signing papers. During a study undertaken in the first week of February this year in Hissar district of Haryana (on a different subject), we had the chance of interacting with a number of Panchayati Raj Institution

46 I March 2016

Chhavi Rajawat is the first woman Sarpanch in India with an MBA degree

members (PRIs). Interestingly, while some of the PRIs introduced themselves as sarpanch, others introduced themselves as sarpanch representatives. On inquiring what a sarpanch representative means, we were told the same usual story that the representative’s wife was actually the sarpanch. She signed all papers and very important papers at that and her role finished there. All decisions were taken by her husband (representative); after all how can women take major decisions we were told. This was not an extraordinary response. It was something we expected since in other States and in UTs too Elected Women Representatives (EWRs) of Panchayats, we experienced, were mere rubber stamps. In most places their husbands ruled, took all decisions and thus their husbands were addressed as sarpanch paties or pradhan paties.

This brings us to the subject as to whether only representation of women is important to empower women or there are other enabling factors that need to be worked on to create an environment where EWRs

can take their own decision and march forward for implementation of development programmes at the panchayat and village level.

Barriers to limited and effective performance of Women led Panchayats exist because of limitations of the EWR in managing and implementing development projects and being able to have their voice heard. Our experience of working/interacting with various EWRs, their representatives in women led Panchayats indicate some limitations which include: Limited access to education and low literacy levels of the EWRs Socio-cultural norms with strict and prescribed gender roles which limit access, activity, mobility, performance of women and do not allow them to either make decisions, leave alone implement programmes Male ego which prevents women from performing their official duties at both official places and home Limited access to technical know-how , information and knowledge of how to address development needs and implement programmes Trainings are often given at block, district or State level and EWRs are unable to attend the programmes because of distance, limitations on mobility and conservative social environment. Often, if a EWR travels for a training programme, sheis escorted by either her husband or brother.

Sometimes they attend the training on behalf of her Even if the training has been attended by the EWR she is unable to execute because her representative (husband/ www.governancetoday.co.in

brother) will execute the programme and not her. She will only sign EWRs prefer shorter training programmes so that there is no disruption in the role that they play at home as a wife, mother, daughter/ daughter in-law, sister etc.

Safety and security while undergoing training in a far off place is another concern So also the need to be trained in local language Another limitation for standing in elections would be the two child norm In reality, it is not just the increase in women representation in Panchayats that would empower EWRs, but it is the capacities to influence, implement and lead and take decisions which are the important elements of not just selfempowerment of a EWR but also to bring about development and implement need based projects and to ensure that she has the position and power to move ahead. Increased representation does address the issue of marginalization of women but this is just the first step.

We do have people like Chhavi Rajawat who gave up her lucrative corporate career to be effective and influential Sarpanch of the PRI system in a panchayat of Rajasthan.

However, what sets her apart is her education and her willingness to stand by her people and for the development of her people. In spite of all the bureaucratic hurdles she managed to stand bold and beautiful and ensure that programs on health, education, water etc. are implemented with funding from friends and corporates. She manages to set an example of how effective EWRs can be in bringing change and development. However, every EWR is not a Chhavi Rajawat who’s done an MBA and has influential friends or access to corporates.

The Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India along with the State Panchayat Departments, National Institute of Rural Development and State Institutes of Rural Development have been www.governancetoday.co.in

ELECTED WOMEN REPRESENTATIVES ( AS ON 31ST MARCH 2013, PUBLISHED-8TH SEPTEMBER 2013)

taking various steps for increasing proportion of women participating in Panchayat elections and being selected as PRI members thus addressing the issues of marginalization along with planned capacity building and training programmes for EWRs. Indeed, there is pressing need for well-trained EWRs who can handle their roles and responsibilities independently, take decisions and participate in day to day functioning of the panchayats. Participation of women in training programmes needs to be enhanced so that they understand their roles and responsibilities better, understand their power to take forward development initiatives, implement projects or programs better, and to make existing capacity building programs more effective.

To achieve better performance of women led panchayats some of the key steps that may be undertaken include:

Focussing on gender sensitization of the community from where the EWR is elected or is likely to be elected, for the greatest barriers are from home and society in which she lives and often EWRs themselves are survivors of violence in their own homes

Secondly, it is important to ensure that she goes beyond the capacity of just signing her name.

By ensuring that she has access to knowledge, information, technical know-how, roles and responsibilities, schemes and programs available to her, and the powers she has as a public servant will help in empowering her and making her participative

Thirdly, EWRs may be considered for being trained with basic managerial skills which would include modules such as leadership, team building, decision making, planning, executing, accounting, personality development and communication Training Need Assessment is a key activity which needs to be taken up so that the capacity building and training is need based Issues relating to mobility and safety need to be resolved It would be wonderful if more young, educated women like Chhavi Rajawat decide to lead Panchayats and bring change The writer is Director, Arupa Mission Research Foundation, Gurgaon March 2016 I 47

ECONOMY

Hope laces Indian diaspora

The present generation of global Indians seek global infrastructure and global work ethics to come back

The programs like Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas need to deliver on ground to attract diaspora back

S

Sagarika Ranjan

o the dragon is getting better of the lion in attracting its caretakers back to their own land.

Love for the country? Hardly.

It’s been quite some time since Indian economy is being questioned as to why it has not been able to attract the Indian diaspora while the Chinese have. Indeed true it is but the answer to this why has a number of perspectives.

With this let’s get to the detailed picture. Two parameters – Better opportunities and conducive environment are what these nonresidents of any particular country look for.

As globalization progressed, more and more of the developing nation’s people were offered jobs in the developed nations. For these

48 I March 2016

people it was great opportunity and for these countries it was cheap labor. They saw progressing career, good standards of living and a better life.

It’s all about opportunities. The present generation across the globe is career-oriented and will flow wherever opportunities are in sight. “I was working at the Indian office of a Swedish company. I was offered a promotion to move to HQ in Stockholm, Sweden. So, for my career progress I took the offer to move out. I am ready to go wherever my career takes me!” said ManikKarn, Business Development Manager (Sales & Marketing), Business Sweden.

Karn has worked both in India and in China. Talking on if India was better or China, he says that it’s only in terms of opportunities that China has certainly managed

a leap.

“I have lived in China. There is strong law and order there.

But that’s more due to fear of government (stick) than their own sense of responsibility. Pollution is bad but you have incentive to live there, due to huge professional opportunities,” he shares.

Talking about India, some of the NRIs (from England, Sweden and USA) said that it’s all very scattered and translucent. Apprehensions dot the initiatives; service industry is “less customer-friendly”; people do not respect time. All in all the work culture is very different.

Archisman Banerjee, senior application engineer, explains his life after shifting to India: “I had to return to India after four years of my work in England. I would have been happy if my salary wouldn’t have been reduced to a quarter, www.governancetoday.co.in

working hours stretched to over 10 to 12 hours, and in the name of incentives there was hardly anything, rather reduced to onetenth of what I used to receive in UK. Why still ask the question why people prefer working abroad?”

Apart from the professional part there is a social part to it. Talking about life in the developed nations, the Indians staying abroad say that it’s the social and economic environment which attracts people.

“For example, Sweden is one of the most developed countries in

India is school education for their kids. International schools have come up in most of the cities, but they are expensive and not always high standard. Also, if one has stayed long outside India, he or she (especially children born there) might have issues adjusting to the social behaviors. “In west, people are individualistic with less interest in neighbors. In India, we are nosy and noisy neighbors!!” says a researcher based in US West Coast.

So, it’s not only higher salary

with the “Startup India” initiative.

If government provides conducive environment, Indian will not leave India in the first place and thus all these IFs and BUTs will be eliminated, says Karn.

He further explains, “We live in a globalized economy.

Those who work in Multi-National Companies (MNCs) with offices in multiple countries, have a greater opportunity to move around. IT industry is yet another catalyst of people working abroad. But to me, it’s a natural progression to find

the world. Here they also have one of the best welfare societies.

Education is free, healthcare to kids (upto 18 years) is free, heavily subsidized for rest of the residents, excellent daycare facilities (almost free), paternal benefits of almost 1.5 years for mother. In addition, it’s a very safe place with robust law and order and super clean environment (zero pollution),” explains Karn.

Another challenge that an individual faces after returning to

than India (which is not true in my case!), most people would like to have peace, clean environment, law and order, good education and healthcare.

Chinese have been able to make their citizens return and contribute to the growing dragon. It has grown five times India’s economy with much more opportunities. “I won’t be surprised if many entrepreneurs are returning to their countries (here China) to tap the most of the opportunities. I see a parallel

opportunities of greater impact wherever they are possible.

He cites the movement of students moving from a village to neighboring city and then to Delhi, Mumbai or the other metro cities. Same analogy could be extended at international level.

Also, if an individual is educated abroad, there is greater possibility to staying longer in foreign country.

www.governancetoday.co.in

March 2016 I 49

TECHNOLOGY

Paperless office with advanced document management system

F

Pratik Jhaveri rom a predominantly agrarian economy, we have been transitioning to a modern industrial economy. This throws new challenges in the sphere of governance as well as the day – to-day operations taking place in the corporate world, SME space and the upcoming Start-up sector. Organizations are built on communication with various stake holders, right from customers, employees, vendors and many more leading to the inflow of paper documents. As business correspondence increases, 50 I March 2016

paper documents seem to attain higher volumes which tend to get unmanageable over a period of time.

The challenge before all offices is not only the management of paper work but also e-documents.

It starts with storing invoices, emails, receipts and documents on the desk/desktop or even in files and folders (online or offline) in an ad-hoc manner. In no time, this piling of documents may build up a mountain, where their retrieval may consume the most productive hours. Systematic arrangement (manually) of these files not only consumes time and space, but also their retrieval is taxing and may

hinder productivity. Also a huge amount of costly office space gets blocked for the storage of these paper documents.

Across the globe billions of paper documents are produced every day. Many of these documents are read once, filed and forgotten about. Almost 50% of the waste of businesses is composed of paper, while an average office worker uses 10,000 sheets of copy paper each year. To produce a ton of paper, 15 – 17 green trees are cut and the current rate at which paper is consumed is enough to bring down the limited forest cover in India at 21.23% to a single digit figure.

E-governance being viewed as a crucial objective by the government right from the onset of the year 2000, the concept of paperless office has gained topmost significance. In 2014 the government issued instructions to the ministries to fast-track adoption of e-Office to phase out the use of paper. In December 2015, Delhi government took the plunge towards paperless offices to implement e-office in all its departments. The move was mooted to eliminate the paperbased system as it takes time to create, search and transfer files from one department to another; realizing that paper files are at a risk of being stolen or burnt.

Contrary to these considerable efforts, the demand for paper and printing is on a rise in the country.

The paperless office debate has been going on for two decades now, but hasn’t yet been a reality.

There are reports showing the reduction of paper usage across enterprises. However the culture of stacking paper documents in large office spaces persists along with the difficulties in their retrieval processes.

Digitization can bring scalability in various functions across industries.

Documents when digitized and managed, can drastically ease out processes involving stakeholders and customers and also make a huge difference to the www.governancetoday.co.in

conservation of forests. Digitization is one of the top trends in major industrial sectors, namely finance, communication, logistics & supply chain, health, education and transport.

A simple, reliable, responsive and secure Document Management System can bring in a radical change in the working of an organization, irrespective of the organization size. In simple words, a Document Management System (DMS) is a system that brings in efficiency and ease of management of documents by storing, saving and tracking digital documents.

DMS stores documents, making it easy to combine digital and paper documents- physical documents are scanned and digital formats are imported.

An advanced DMS ensures the security of documents along with playing a key role in their retrieval. As businesses become increasingly reliant on IT for end to end processes and to interact with stakeholders, a secure document management system is key in enhancing end to end transactions at workplaces. An advanced DMS can help organizations increase productivity by considerable reduction of manual intervention, save time, operate in multiple locations, support remote workers, meet compliance requirements, reclaim office space and solve a wide range of business problems.

Additionally, one may even do away with threats and security issues like the occurrence of natural calamities or thefts, by virtue of a secure DMS. Sophisticated Document Management Systems today, provide services such as massive storage, auto categorization of files and electronic records, usage of search features as well as easy retrieval of documents. If an organization adopts digitization by virtue of an advanced DMS, the usage of paper for documentation can be cut down from negligible to Zero!

Document management is essential in all sectors- Commercial Businesses, Banking, NonBanking Finance & Insurance, www.governancetoday.co.in

Government & Non-Government, Education, Healthcare, Research & Development, Construction and many more. The demand for outsourcing document management needs is growing at a rate of 50 per cent specifically for BFSI and telecom sectors. With the integration of sophisticated DMS, digitization is transforming industries, labor markets, and the global economy.

Global Trends in Document Management Organizations across the world are moving towards the adoption of a paperless office space and the concept of Go green has been topping priority lists. Corporates worldwide have travelled a lot in this regard. Technologically advanced countries have 80 percent of their processes converted to digital. Also laws in these countries recognize the need for conservation of ecological resources and thereby, support the process of digitization. Cloud based DMS is widely accepted and implemented globally. However cloud DMS is subjected to limitations in terms of security, incur huge cost and follow cumbersome process of retrieval.

In India, though the governance is turning towards digitization of documents, the demands of the legal system to retain physical documents as a mandate need to be replaced. Metro cities especially where there are space constraints, integration of a document management system, as advanced as Digidocs will help largely in enhancing the ease of work flows.

Back in 2003-2004, the US government came out with a law for all the hospitals and medical entities to keep only electronic medical records for their patients. With this there was a demand for digitization for storage of documents. Looking at this demand we developed the software that could store any medical paperwork and retrieve them according to the doctor or the patient while decreasing the human intervention significantly during the scanning or the entry process. Hence, DigiDocs evolved out of this latent need.

DigiDocs is the first ever Document Management System and workflow solution matrix that allows the auto-categorization and retrieval of documents in the most efficient way. It is a cutting-edge Enterprise Document Management and Workflow Solution system, which brings to the fore, the concept of paper free offices realistically. DigiDocs based on the concept of EARTH- Ecofriendly Application of Resources and Technology for Humans, facilitates the entire replacement of traditional paper documents and files in offices. Digidocs has been copyrighted under the Berne convention, which makes it world’s first ever document workflow matrix to allow auto-categorization.

Retrieving information and data is one of the most imperative parts of any process operation.

This involves facets such as time, accuracy as well as integrity of records and information, affecting the whole process in terms of resource, labour and money.

DigiDocs is built on Google’s Tesseract technology, which possesses superior OCR tool and image detection capabilities. With its Linux core and PHP front end, DigiDocs has no perimeter in its scalability and customization.

These features synergize effectiveness and efficiency of supporting services across organizations, thereby providing extensive tools and techniques for data retrieval too.

As conscientious citizens, we need to build consensus on reducing the demand for paper to save nature. To achieve this, we necessarily need to move to a paradigm in which new technology can be leveraged to do away with paper in managing offices. The fact that it increases the working efficiency tremendously, is just icing on the cake.

The writer is the CEO of Ksmart Group, Mumbai

March 2016 I 51

ENVIRONMENT

A blast from the past

The 1994 plague outbreak in Surat is a lesson for all on how not to manage stray dogs

“

Lekshmi Parameswaran

Why are people so indiscriminate? Is it so difficult for them to see the impending disaster” asks Maya N., a visibly fuming animal rights activist.

Associated with the NGO, People for Animals, she is referring to the Kerala Government’s policy of culling the stray dogs that has garnered widespread criticism from all quarters. And with this issue becoming a major plank on which the local body elections were fought in Kerala, the time has come to review this policy and take a look at the scientific soundness of such a step.

The voices to exterminate stray dogs keep getting heard from not just the Indian cities but across

the world. The United Kingdom, China and Turkey are some of the countries that have successfully culled its stray dog population. In India though states like Tamil Nadu in 1996 decided to handle this problem in a more mature manner by sterilizing the dogs, time and again there props up the idea of killing them.

Over the years, there is this one fact that has slowly faded from the public memory. It is the 1994 Surat plague and how one thoughtless action led to a disaster that was beyond anybody’s imagination. The then government’s decision to wipe out the street dogs turned out to be

an unfortunate event for which both the government and the people were least prepared for.

The forgotten case of Surat How could a policy that had the best interests of both the people and environment go so terribly wrong? It did because it was a decision that was taken without considering the other factors that were involved in maintaining the essential ecological balance. In the epidemic that broke out, 52 people were killed and thousands were affected in the resulting chaos. Though it lasted for just weeks, it had by then made over 3 lakh people migrate to escape the clutches of this disaster. Many who remember the times say that the situation in the city resembled 13th century Europe when it was gripped by Black Death.

The inherent mistake that the policymakers did was to overlook the role played by each and every organism in nature’s ecological cycle. When the decision was to kill all the stray dogs, the point that was missed out was that they exist for a particular purpose. In a country like India, where there is no proper mechanism for waste disposal, it is the stray animals that clean up the mess. When the entire dog population was erased, what it did was to clear the way for other rodents to thrive. This increased the rat population in the city and it went to the extent that their population explosion became unmanageable.

At that time little attention was paid to the dangers posed by such rodents. The recent findings by the team at University of Oslo stating that it might not be rats but Asian Gerbils that might have been the real cause of the plague outbreak in Europe gives further clarity to

52 I March 2016 2016 www.governancetoday.co.in www.governancetoday.co.in

what happened in Surat. The warm weather conditions of the Indian subcontinent make it ideal for the gerbils to thrive. These are now believed to be the harbingers of the deadly bacteria Yersinia pestis.

The panic that the disease could reach other parts of the country due to the floods that followed was in all respects unprecedented.

Probably all it needed was a little common sense to avert this disaster. When dogs are taken out of the ecosystem, it is only natural that the other scavengers will flourish. The growing number of rodents will automatically increase the number of snake population in an area as they feed on rats.

This gives rise to a cycle that will do more harm than good to the environment. In the end, the only permanent solution that the Gujarat government saw to avoid a recurrence of a tragedy of this scale was to reintroduce dogs from the nearby areas to the city.

The threat of rabies The reason that is often cited for the annihilation of stray dogs is the threat of rabies. But various studies and surveys conducted have shown that the facts and figures are in most cases lack credibility. If the data from Ernakulam district General Hospital, Kerala is anything to go by, it is recorded that 75 per cent of the dog bite cases have been because of pets. That brings down the threat risk to a considerable extent. In numerical terms it would mean that the danger of a stray dog whether rabid or not attacking a human is just one in 1000.

Moreover, the example of Jaipur proves that sterilization of the stray dogs is a much effective step than the mindless killing which is often carried out in brutal ways.

Ever since the implementation of the birth control measures by the Help in Suffering-India, the cases of rabies have witnessed a steady decrease with the numbers reaching zero in 2002. Another city that has done similar work in controlling the dog population is Chennai where the implementing www.governancetoday.co.in

agency is Blue Cross of India.

Also it needs to be noted that the awareness among the public about rabies has been found be very low. The very mention of the disease gives rise to a lot of unexplained fears without realizing that effective treatment to prevent is available in all hospitals and in most of the government hospitals, the treatment is free.

“What is not understood by many is that not every rabid dog can get violent. There are two types of rabies, one is furious rabies and the other is paralytic rabies. It is only in the former that dogs get aggressive. The latter is a slow

The inherent mistake that the policymakers did was to overlook the role played by each and every organism in nature’s ecological cycle. When the decision was to kill all the stray dogs, the point that was missed out was that they exist for a particular purpose. degeneration of the central nervous system and it is always best to quarantine the affected animals and inject them so that they can die a peaceful death”, opines Dr Arun Kumar, a veterinary surgeon.

A look at the legislations In Article 51 A of the Indian Constitution which deals with fundamental duties, compassion for living creatures forms an important part. The Animal Birth Control Rules formulated in 1960 under the Prevention of Cruelty to

Animals Act have laid down three conditions on which dogs can be killed. They are: a) rabies afflicted; b) incurably ill; and c) mortally wounded. Regarding the dogs that are a ‘nuisance’ to the society, the act only says that such dogs can be taken away and be sterilized as such a step is known to bring down the aggression.

It is this part of the law that the State governments have interpreted to suit their needs. It is often seen as a license to capture and kill the dogs. The provisions of animal shelters which form part of the act have been discarded long ago due to their impractical nature.

Exploring the humane possibilities The February 2015 ruling by the Supreme Court in recognizing the need for some compassion in dealing with the issue of stray dogs has allowed for this issue to be dealt with in a more rational manner. Though there is no doubt in the perils posed by rabid dogs and the need to cull them, it should also be understood that not every barking dog is rabid. Also dogs being territorial animals have a tendency to move into places that are empty. Any action taken should be in line with the modern civilizational values and it is time for states to understand the benefits of systematic sterilization.

Another way is to devise ways for effective garbage disposal so that dogs do not wander around aimlessly only to be perceived as a threat by society. In addition to this, legislations should be in place to clearly demarcate the pet dogs and the stray dogs so that the former do not get abandoned on the streets.

Lastly, it needs to be remembered that dog bites are an answer to the tortures they are subjected to by humans. All that is needed is a little bit of empathy to be shown to these canines so that they can continue with the task of safeguarding the environment. lekshmi@governancetoday.co.in

March 2016 I 53

HEALTH

Breastfeeding practice at its low in India

I

Ramesh Kumar Raja n spite of surge in institutional deliveries, the number of children in India being breastfed in the first hour of birth is less than half. In fact, India ranks lowest among South Asian countries, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in breastfeeding practices, with only 44 per cent women being able to breastfeed their babies within one hour of delivery. Thanks to (poor) existing policies, programs and schemes that have fallen short of meeting the objective of enhancing Infant and Young Child Feeding practices.

India is far from reaching its targets on improving infant nutrition, as per the 4th Assessment of India’s Policies and Programmes on Infant and Young Child Feeding.

Named “Arrested Development”, the report has been prepared by Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI) and Public Health Resource Network (PHRN). The report was released by Nutan Guha Biswas, additional secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development.

The assessment done as part of the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative (WBTi) reveals gaps in all ten areas of policies and programs to be implemented for enhancing breastfeeding in India. The report provides an objective assessment on infant and young child feeding (IYCF) policies and programmes as well as practices, with India scoring a total of 78 out of 150 indicating the nation has made little improvements since its last assessment in 2012.

The breakdown of the overall score revealed a major drop during the assessment of indicators 1 (Policy, Program, & Coordination), 2 (Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative),

54 I March 2016

4 (Maternity protection), 9 (Infant Feeding during Emergencies) and 10 (Mechanisms of Monitoring & Evaluation System).

Reasons for this stagnation include non-converting IYCF guidelines into a policy, nonfunctioning of the BFHI programme for over a decade, non-review of the maternity benefit laws, neglecting infant feeding in the disaster management programme, infrequency of surveys and the paucity of national data.

Little improvement was seen in the scoring of indicators 3 (Implementation of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk

Substitutes), 5 (Health & Nutrition Care System), 6 (Mother Support & Community Outreach) and 8 (Infant Feeding & HIV).

According to Dr Arun Gupta, regional coordinator, International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) ASIA, and central coordinator, BPNI, “Though there are some welcome advances displayed in India’s current assessment, there are even more missed opportunities to actualize potentially easy gains.

These missed opportunities reflect the failure of key decision makers in according issues related to Infant and Young Child Feeding high priority and due attention. The www.governancetoday.co.in

report underlines the need to create an optimal environment towards the health and well-being of all children and their families.”

He further adds, “It is not understandable why only 44 per cent women are able to begin breastfeeding within one hour when more than 75 per cent deliver in institutions as claimed by our Prime Minister during his speech recently at the “Global Call to Action Summit 2015”.

The World breastfeeding Trends Initiative (WBTi) is adapted from the World Health Organization (WHO) tool developed by International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) Asia for assessing and monitoring the state of implementation of the Global strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding. It is currently being implemented in more than 100 nations. The assessment is done on the basis of scores given to the questions answered for each of the defined indicators. Being 15 in number, indicators 1 to 10 deal with IYCF policy and programmes, whereas indicators 11-15 deal with IYCF practices.

Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI) and Public Health Resource Network (PHRN) jointly coordinated the India Assessment 2015, between February and June 2015 using the revised WBTi 2014 tool. Typically done every 3 to 5 years, the aim of the survey is to study the impact and trends of various related policy measures.

This round of assessment and analysis for India comes at a time when major cuts have been announced in the social sector budgets related to education, health, and nutrition, including a massive cut in the Integrated Child Development Services scheme.

Even though it has been over two years to National Food Security Act, rules are yet to be finalized.

The experience of those working at the grass-roots also suggest that problems of implementation of existing schemes and programmes for children are grave and likely to be exacerbated by the budget cuts.

Analysis of the report further www.governancetoday.co.in

reveals that there is still a lot of scope for improvement and India can make significant gains over the next three years if priority is given to addressing indicators currently not performing well.

Given that 44.6 per cent initiate breastfeeding within one hour, 50.5 per cent babies receive complementary foods within 6-8 months whereas 64.9 per cent get exclusive breastfeeding (RSOC 2014 data). Essentially it mean that out of 26 million born in India, 14.5 million children are not able to get optimal feeding practices during the first year of life.

“All these indicators can

“The assessment report is an opportunity to policy makers and programme managers to raise India’s score by the time the next assessment comes around,” adds Dr Gupta.

Aggressive promotion of baby foods, lack of support to women in the family and at work places, inadequate healthcare support and weak overall policy and programmes were some of the reasons because of which infant and young child feeding practice indicators have not shown a consistent rise. The 2014 report of Euromonitor International has estimated a market worth over

Most baby food supplements have been found to be harmful to babies

be improved by simple and doable means not requiring vast investment but better coordination and conscious governance. There is scientific evidence available to support the actions that need to be taken in these indicators given the tools and training materials are readily available,” says Dr Vandana Prasad, national convener, PHRN and former member, NCPCR (National Commission for Protection of Child Rights).

As per the 2012 WBTi report, India scored a total of 74 out of 150 which was much lower than that scored by Afghanistan (99/150), Bangladesh (107.5/150) and Sri Lanka (129/150). The South Asian counties managed to advance much faster because the policy makers prioritized optimum breastfeeding and infant and child feeding, something India has not been able to do so far.

22 billion rupees in India, and one that is growing each year, (Rupees 12,666 to 22,693 million from 2007 to 2012) “Sales of infant formulas and infant foods are increasing at a rapid pace in India, which is a cause of concern,” says Dr JP Dadhich, national coordinator of BPNI. The WHO has identified ‘poor infant feeding’ as a risk factor for survival of the child. It also estimates that 53 percent of pneumonia and 55 percent of diarrheal deaths are attributable to poor feeding practices during the first six months of life. Several studies have shown that initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour of birth decreases neonatal deaths by 22 per cent.

Several professionals, civil society groups and international agencies have signed up a Call to Action to Government of India March 2016 I 55

What Lancet Report tells India?

B

reastfeeding was reportedly on a decline in 1970s. WhenIndia first measured breastfeeding in 1992 through NFHS -1, it opened our eyes that only about 40 percent women exclusively breastfed their babies and 16 percent initiated breastfeeding within one hour, as recommend by the World Health Organization.

Then India enacted a historic legislation, which led to possible check on decline of breastfeeding.

It is very timely that India needs to work on the rise of breastfeeding!

The Lancet provides a powerful piece of new evidence, which can be easily understood by the policy makers and economists. It can add 0.6 billion to India’s GNI. That’s like 4300 Crore annually.

Breastfeeding rise can lead to increases in Intelligence Quotient (IQ) score of 3 points and adult earning capacity.

Now on health and nutrition.

One third of India’s children areundernourished and poverty as it underlying factors. The Lancet has shown it is the highest impact interventions. For India it could reduce 156,000 child deaths, could rapidly bringdown IMR. It can reduce 3,900,000 episodes of diarrhea and 3,436,560 episodes of peumonia, which means reduciing a load on our ailing health system. Even going by a meagre expenditure estimate Rupess 1000 per episode it would save 730 Crore annually. Both these diseases have huge impact on nutrition status of our children.

Coming to non- communicable

diseases(NCDs) in India. Annually, breastfeeding could prevent 4915 deaths due to cancer breast and reduce obesity by 26%. It also reduces type 2 diabetes incidence by 35% i.e. 1 out of 3 new cases can be prevented. While India is on the verge of developing a “National Multisectoral Action Plan on Non Communicable Diseases”, should it not be a part of this plan?

Aggressive marketing by milk formula makers remains a big barrier to increase the number of breastfed children. India enacted the Infant Milk Substitutes Feeding Bottles, and Infant Foods (Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution) Act 1992, and Amendment Act 2003,which bans promotion of all baby foods under the age of 2. It has successfully led to restriction of sales of milk formula and baby foods. Market analysts have found that from 2008 to 2012 sales of milk formula in India grew from 24,428 to 27,783 Tonnes as compared to China, where it grew from 294,800 to 560,000 Tonnes.

Indian policy makers should not give in to market forces, which are calling for repeal of this law. Health should remain a priority over profits.

Rather needs to enforce strictly.

Even as we enter 2016, less than half of India’s infants initiate breastfeeding within an hour, or exclusively breastfed until 6 months, or receive good complementary feeding after six months along with breastfeeding. Very disturbing is the fact more 80 % women deliver in health facilities but only 47% are able to begin breastfeeding within one hour of birth. This is just shameful, health System should immediately respond to

this unfortunate situation both in public and private;to plug the gap fast.Why can’t we get a dedicated lacatation counsellor appointed in all health facilities to provide these services? Similarly in the communities peer counsellors can do the job.

For the first two years feeding practices must be set right if meaningful results on child nutrition are to be seen.

Labour laws need to befriendly to breastfeeding.

Maternity leave of 9 month for all women should be seen as investment in the social capital. For women in unorganized sector, IGMSY should be universal in coverage, and minimum wages be paid for wage loss.

Breastfeeding can make a lasting difference. It has been shown in Bangladesh and Brazil that Breastfeeding has made a rise, provided you invest in the interventions required. That breastfeeding comes free is a myth one has get away with.

Ministers of Finance, Health and Women and Child, Niti Aayog and other sectors have this knowledge in front of them. They have the power to take action.

They need to set aside a budget for breastfeeding interventions.

A line item in the budget will go a long way for child health and human development.

to take actions to bridge the gaps including development of plans of action that are monitored and coordinated, sanctioning budget, reviving the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI), enforcing the IMS Act, and implementing maternity

entitlement for all women.

Breastfeeding within first few hours of birth has been acknowledged as an important part of baby’s immunity to various diseases. Ignoring it systematically and promoting baby foods is a

crime towards children and the government must intervene by taking necessary steps as that coming generations are healthy and strong.

Dr Arun Gupta

56 I March 2016

The writer is a regional coordinator of International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) Asia and central coordinator of Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI).

ramesh@governancetoday.co.in

www.governancetoday.co.in

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

A flourishing entente

China and Iran relations have soared in the recent times

China-Iran strategic relations have increased tremendously over last few years

C

Andrew I. Pereira hina’s association with the Middle East has generally been viewed in terms of energy. The region plays a very significant role in quenching China’s enormous thirst for oil and gas. The stunning rise of China as a global player within a short span of time has led it to think beyond Southeast Asia and widen its horizons. Today, China’s presence at the global stage is acknowledged by the West and this was seen when China played an intrinsic role, along with the West, in signing the nuclear deal with Iran.

www.governancetoday.co.in

While China is trying to make inroads into the Middle East, its relation with Iran is visibly prospering. Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, China has been one of the key backers of Iran and has had a considerable amount of influence on the Islamic Republic. The ChinaIran relations have soared in recent times and three major events are testament to this. 1) the nuclear deal between the P5+1 and Iran, 2) China’s growing interest in the Azadegan oilfield in Iran and 3) the launching of a train service from Yiwu in China to Tehran.

On 14 July 2015, the P5+1 signed the Joint Comprehensive

Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran.

Popularly known as the Iran nuclear deal, the JCPOA was hailed as a milestone in Iran’s relation with the West, especially the US. The deal would not have been achieved without the intrinsic role played by China. The deal, which will remove the sanctions placed on Iran, comes as a welcome change for China as it will open new avenues for cooperation between the two countries. Beijing imports a large chunk of its crude oil imports from Tehran and the deal will give new incentives for cooperating in the energy sector. In 2014, the contract between Iran and China to develop March 2016 I 57

the South Azadegan oilfield was cancelled mainly due to pressures arising from the sanctions. The nuclear deal in 2015 was quickly succeeded by contract between the two countries in which China would develop the North Azadegan oilfield.

According to the Energy Information Agency (EIA), China is the second largest oil consumer behind the US and it became the largest energy consumer in 2011. Also in 2014, China’s oil consumption was 43 per cent of the overall global oil consumption.

In 2010, 14 million passenger cars and 4.4 million commercial vehicles were produced in China and this rate of production has only increased each year. As the

of significance. Iran has the fourth largest oil reserves in the world and in 2014, produced 3.4 million barrels of petroleum and other liquids per day, according to EIA statistics.

In August 2015, a month after the nuclear deal was signed China and Iran talked about the possibility of Chinese control of the North Azadegan oilfield in exchange for 24 J10 Chengdu fighter jets. The 350 square mile oilfield which produces around 40,000 barrels per day would be controlled by China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) from the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). In December the same year, CNPC started the development of the second phase of the oilfield.

Yemen and Oman and Chinese fleets are already accompanying oil tankers headed to China.

Regarding the Strait of Hormuz, the Azadegan oil field is located near the Iraqi and Kuwaiti borders and is not far from the coastline. The upcoming years could tell if fortune favours the Chinese, because the Strait of Hormuz is the probably the most strategic location in West Asia because all oil from the Persian Gulf goes through Hormuz. Any vessel that passes through Hormuz will have to go through the territorial waters of Oman and Iran, while the Islamic Republic has the option of causing a major disruption in global trade and commerce by closing down the strait. China already has a naval base in Oman and if it can exert influence on Iran during a time of crisis, then China will hold all the

China has supplied Tehran with J-10 fighters for stake in Azadegan oilfield

rate of production increases there is a steady rise the rate of energy consumption too. This is where Iran plays a major role.

According to British Petroleum, 2014 saw an additional 2.6 per cent growth in China’s energy consumption. In 2014 more than 50 per cent of China’s crude consumption was from the Middle East and Iran accounted for 9 per cent of the Chinese demand.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia accounted for 16 per cent of China’s oil consumption but thanks to the Kingdom’s alliance with the West; China would look forward to establishing strong ties with Iran and the oil consumption from Iran is set to increase after the nuclear deal. Strategically, Iran holds a lot 58 I March 2016

The Azadegan oilfield not only gives a boost to China’s gargantuan energy demands but also acts as a strategic pivot for China’s entry into the Middle East.

If China aspires to be a blue-water navy in the near future, it should secure its interests in the Gulf of Aden, Strait of Hormuz and also to an extent the Mediterranean. The Gulf of Aden, which is the hotbed of piracy, especially towards the Somalian coast is very strategic area. China has naval bases in

major cards against major rivals.

The third important development in recent times was the Chinese proposal for the development of a high speed Silk Road railway connecting Urumqi in China to Tehran. The railway line would pass through Kazakhstan, Kyrgyztan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.

The first train arrived from Yiwu to Tehran in February this year and signalled the beginning of a new era in Sino-Iranian relations.

The train took 14 days and over www.governancetoday.co.in

10,000 kilometres to complete the journey and this journey comes at a time when China is backing Iran in almost every sphere. China and Iran agreed to increase trade to $600 billion in the next ten years, and Beijing is a strong supporter of Iran’s entry into the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

Both countries also recently signed a 25 year strategic plan as a part of which, China is involved in setting up bridges and railways lines in Iran. On defense arena, China is providing the arms to the Iranian military and is assisting Iran in its nuclear programme.

This is just a small background of China’s engagement with Iran.

Even though there are significant differences between both countries on a variety of issues, there is every sign that Beijing and Tehran will look forward to more cooperation in every field.

China’s growth has been rapid in recent times. One may look at China’s spectacular rise with much awe but for China the way ahead is much longer. Tackling the Middle East along this way remains a key challenge for China and Iran holds an important position here. Whether it is energy, security or politics; Iran remains a key to China’s global ambitions. It has signalled that the ‘China Rising’ phenomenon is not just limited to a certain time and space but this phenomenon is in reality spreading its wings and extending the dragon’s influence.

remains that a lot more needs to be done to strengthen the ties. The work on the strategically important Chabahar port that India is helping to develop has met with numerous hurdles. The lack of enthusiasm on the Indian government’s part to speed up the process and a failure to iron out the irritants that have arisen due to certain clauses in the contract can greatly hamper bilateral ties. What India needs to do at this point is to take advantage of every opportunity that would enable deeper engagement between the two nations.

For this, India should take up the proposal of building over 500km rail link from Chabahar to Zahedan, capital of Sistan-Baluchistan province. This will give India access to the International North South Transport Corridor which includes

What does it mean for India?

India needs a stake in the Strait of Hormuz through which 20 per cent of global crude passes

The growing Chinese influence in the region has thrown a new set of challenges to India. Economics remain at the core of China-Iran relations and unfortunately India’s economic engagement with Iran is nowhere close to that of China. The increasing economic clout of China will in the coming years pave the way for more and more political engagement, a fact that doesn’t go in India’s favor.

Though India on its part has made every effort to maintain close relations with Iran, the truth

some of the most economically important Central Asian Countries.

The other possibility that India can explore would be of linking Chabhar to Delaram-Zanj road built by India in Afghanistan. It is in India’s foremost interests to engage strategically in regions where China has got stakes in.

Another area where the progress has been slow is that of the India-Iran gas pipeline. The proposed pipeline will connect the Iranian coast to the Indian Ocean via the Oman Sea and is expected

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to carry 31.5 million standard cubic metres gas per day. Taking into consideration the fact that China already has a naval base in Oman, any kind of access to the country will be beneficial to India in the long run.

Here the defining factor is the Strait of Hormuz. Being the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf, it is here that the risks are the greatest. According to a report released by Center for Strategic and International Studies, 17 million barrels pass through this strait of which more than 85 per cent goes to the Asian markets. This makes it evidently clear that any tension can collapse the economies of both China and India. The entry of Chinese navy in the Strait of Hormuz not only implies an increasingly warm relation between China

and Iran but is also an indication of the uncertainty that India can face in the future. The only way ahead for India is to counter the Chinese influence in the region by deepening its ties with Iran in both economic and political spheres. The strategic importance of Iran makes it necessary for India to secure its interests at the earliest.

The author is pursuing his Masters in International Relations at Jawaharlal Nehru University

March 2016 I 59

INTERVIEW PRAVEEN KUMAR | MLA, JANGPURA, DELHI

WE ARE STRIVING CONTINUOUSLY TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION

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he Delhi government came to power with a people focused reform agenda of which public school system is a big part.

It has appointed 21 MLAs as Parliamentary Secretaries to assist respective Ministers in handling crucial challenges of governance in respective fields.

Praveen Kumar, the MLA from Jangpura, has been appointed as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Education Minister. He spoke to Governance Today on how the Delhi government is taking steps to brace up the education system in the national capital.

EDITED EXCERPTS:

What steps have been taken to brace up education system in Delhi?

One of the works mentioned in the Delhi Government’s manifesto was construction of as many as 500 government schools. Basically, two things are required, one is that there should be enough government schools and second, there should be quality in these schools.

The manifesto decision is indeed a good thing for our country’s educational scenario but the infrastructure is not enough. There needs to be quality with quantity.

We are striving continuously 60 I March 2016

towards improving the quality of education. One of the many steps taken in this regard is setting up of 52 model schools where better

education is provided and where special attention is being given to improving children’s holistic development. www.governancetoday.co.in

Is there anything new that is being done to add to the education quality?

Another step that has been taken is provisioning of extra classes. We have started extra classes in vacations for students of class IX. This has been done with an idea to help these students do well in their board examination, considered essential for future studies.

Instructions have been given to the schools to arrange for extra classes for 15 days a month for the weak students across all classes. All government schools are striving to help the kids get better at subjects they find difficult; clear doubts; and make them ready to perform better in their examinations.

This apart, the teachers are also trying to help students develop interest in studies as there are some students who tend to divert and thus get into the league of drop-outs.

There has been a lot of hue and cry about high fee of private schools.

What is being done in this regard?

Yes, I accept that there are many schools, especially private schools, which tend to increase their fee as per their whims and fancies. So, in order to check such random increments in the fee structure the Delhi government had ordered audit of balance sheets of all schools.

This apart a committee has also been made to check and take action against schools that increase their fee without adhering to the set education norms. This was an independent committee and if any schools increased the fee without any genuine reason, the parents of the children studying in that particular school, can complaint against that school to the committee. Following complaint, the committee can www.governancetoday.co.in

order a probe under the education directorate and a special judge.

The role of the government in case of private schools is expected to get enhanced. Till date the government’s role in case of private schools was limited up to providing recognition or cancelling their license in case of any misconduct. However, if our regulation gets the Centre’s nod, government will be able to tighten the noose over private schools and these issues of random increase in the fee and other profit-driven decisions can be checked.

Of late, vocational programs have gained prominence among the youth. How is the government planning to contribute to it?

Yes, the vocational programs are indeed very important. To understand the needs of the youths better, we had conducted a survey recently. The survey aimed at finding out what do the students tend to do after their Plus Two examinations.

As per the findings of the survey, 75 per cent of the students, especially of government schools, do not go for further studies. They choose to take up some job suiting their skills.

They just have their basic educational qualifications to start with and therefore they are not professionally and practically competent. They learn on the job, thus affecting the remuneration that is in most cases on the lower side.

To take care of this loss to the children, we have stated that, in all the government schools, children would be imparted ‘skill education.’ This has been done for the students of class IX to XII. These students will be provided training in certain specific skills, be it retail marketing, tailoring and other such skills. This is an

attempt to make them market ready and help them bag better remuneration and a better life.

Are steps being taken to help industries recognize vocational skills of students?

The government has decided on bringing in a policy of two separate certificates for the students. As per the provisions of the policy, all the students of the passing batch will be awarded two certificates – one for his/ her academic performance and another for skills.

The idea behind it is that if a student is good at painting, tailoring, physical training or any other skill and is weak at studies, he or she can have a better job on the basis of the skill certificate as each individual may not necessarily be good at academics. This will improve their standard of life.

There has been a wide gap between demand and supply of colleges in Delhi. What steps are being taken to fill this gap?

There has always been a scarcity of colleges at the state level especially in Delhi.

The government at present is looking not only on the number of colleges but also focusing on improving the quality of education provided in these colleges.

To take care of the scarcity in the number of colleges, the government has decided to double-shift the colleges. As per this decision, there would be teaching in two shifts which will help teach an additional crowd of 10,000 students without actually increasing the number of colleges.

March 2016 I 61

JUDICIARY

“

Judicial over reach could

Shaji Krishnan We are under a Constitution and the Constitution is what the judges say it is” is a statement made by Justice Hughes, a former Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court. When judges of India’s higher courts solemnly march in to the court rooms every morning, they enter what could rightly be described as one of the most powerful courts in the world. The various Articles of the Constitution and the appellate powers bestowed on them by different statutes make Indian judiciary really powerful. In such a setting, even the normal and natural exercise of powers can lend credence to the observation that India’s judiciary has been over reaching in the use of its powers.

62 I March 2016

Hence, in examining judicial over reach, one has to be very careful and circumspect, and rather than pointing fingers at individual judge(s) or their judgment(s), it is wiser to exercise restraint, by indicating trends where judicial over reach becomes obvious and suggesting how they ought to be avoided in the interest of judicial impartiality and Constitutional propriety.

In the federal polity in which our judges function, they are asked to be models, by steering clear of what is not their responsibility. But with the enormous workload that judges encounter, and the variety of litigation they get exposed to, combined with bureaucratic ineptitude and legislative opportunism, the chance for judges to travel beyond their domain is

very high and is often the case.

The judge is often justified in his moral conviction that the litigant before him deserves justice, if that is his due, whatever way the system works. And an innovative judge, can use his creativity, to subtly overcome obstacles in the way to attain this objective. In the process, the sacrosanct boundaries laid down for the judiciary vis-a-vis the other organs of government get trampled upon. The inactivity of the other organs of the government before the real problems faced by an ordinary citizen or group of citizens justifies such action on the part of the judiciary overlooking its long term repercussions on the polity.

The chickens do come home to roost, as the old adage says. The question before us is not whether www.governancetoday.co.in

be problematic there exists judicial overreach in our scheme of affairs or not, but how much of it can the system absorb.

The beauty of the Mostesquieuian arrangement of division of powers is that the system comes with shock absorbers that can contain strains on the system caused by transgressions from various organs. In fact, we lived through the Seventies, when the Executive, reigning supreme, enunciated its idea of a ‘committed judiciary’ and came close to wrecking the established order with the 42nd Constitutional Amendment. The innate wisdom of the ordinary Indian could understand this danger without being conscious of its theoretical implications and put a stop to it, when least expected to do so.

Having accepted judicial www.governancetoday.co.in

overreach as a byproduct of the contemporary state of affairs for which a remedy seems distant in the immediate future, the question to be asked is how much of it can the polity absorb without being fatal to the existence of the Republic.

When the Judiciary is seen as intruding in to the territory of the Executive and the Legislature, how far will these organs of Government tolerate it? Agreed that for what the Judiciary does, so for there is no other alternative! Agreed that the Judiciary are motivated by public weal, and does gain public applause. Yet the checks and balances which hold governance in place needs to be reinforced and not weakened if the democratic way of life is to be sustained. Do such Judicial actions enable the former? The line dividing one from

the other is razor sharp in our scheme of affairs and hence too difficult to predict or assess.

Also, it needs to be taken in consideration that in our scheme of affairs, it is the Judiciary that will suffer in the long run, if the judiciary acts on issues that do not fall within its purview. Some Initial actions may be welcomed, the motives behind it may be laudable and noble, but sooner or later judges may find their courtrooms beset with intractable problems for which they have neither the expertise to tackle nor the resources to ensure proper implementation. And if people find their Judges wanting, it would be the herald of anarchy in our system. To quote an incident from the nineties, when courts started intervening in to the issue of collection of capitation fees by private professional colleges, an issue which could have been best left to legislative resolution, things reached a point where different orders came out on consecutive days with regard to allotment of seats in professional colleges, making the admission process go haywire.

There are obvious problems when Judges stray in to alien lands. In such situations, especially in a country of 1.25 billion people, where many problems are intractable, it is ideal that Judges, like governments, exercise restraint.

The Judges should not turn the Judiciary to a super legislature or a super executive, whatever the temptations placed before them.

In tune with what the Constituent Assembly intended, the Judiciary should limit itself to its assigned role and offer space to the other branches of government to discharge their responsibilities.

Only then, can true sovereignty, be protected and the visions of our Constitution makers, realized.

The writer is a senior legal consultant. The views expressed are writer’s own and may not reflect the opinion of Governance Today

March 2016 I 63

BUILD BIHAR SUMMIT 2016

ORGANISED BY

CO-HOST

SUPPORTING PARTNER

A Government of Bihar Undertaking

Build Bihar: Building Smart City for Smarter Living 4 th F e b ru a ry, 2 0 1 6, H o tel M aurya, P atna, B ihar buildbihar.govtoday.in

64 I March 2016

www.governancetoday.co.in

Governance Today and BUIDCo organize Smart City Build Bihar Summit-2016

G

overnance Today, along with BUIDCo, successfully organized ‘Build Bihar: Building Smart City for Smarter Living,’ on February 4th, 2016 in Patna, Bihar. The summit aimed to bring together state departments and private players on a single platform to discuss vision of realizing the smart city dream.

Shri Maheshwar Hazari, Hon’ble Minister, Department of Urban and Housing Development (Government of Bihar) was the chief guest at the event, and applauded the vision of Hon’ble Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar. He added that though none of the three cities (Muzzaffarpur, Bhagalpur and Bihar Sharif) made it to the first phase of the Smart City Challenge he is hopeful that they would be shortlisted in the next phase.

Other state government dignitaries included Narendra Kumar www.governancetoday.co.in

Singh, MD, BUIDCo; Afzal Imam, Mayor, Patna; Deepak Bhuwania, Mayor, Bhagalpur; Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, District Magistrate, Patna; Amrit Lal Meena, IAS, Principal Secretary, Department of Urban Development; Atul Sinha, MD, Department of Science & Technology, Neelkamal, IAS, MD, Bihar State Housing Board; Kaushal Kumar, IAS, Municipal Commissioner, Bihar Sharif and Avneesh Kumar, IAS, Municipal Commissioner, Bhagalpur.

Industry was also well represented at the event; participants included Kishor Asrani, CEO, North & East, Airtel Business; Ajay Chopra, Head Institutional Sales, Eicher; Bharat Sharma, National Product Head (Mumbai), ICICI Bank; Faiz Ahmad, Director, EDMAC Engineering Consultant; Ramakrishnan Narayan Swami, Technology Head, General

Electrics; Navin Kishor, Zonal Manager Eastern Zone, Mahindra & Mahindra; Kumar Saurabh, Nomura Structured Finance; and Supriyo Das, Sr. General Manager, Shapoorji Pallonji.

Through discussion on smart city policies to challenges, the summit highlighted the importance of working together and holding accountability for their work to achieve the smart city dream in Bihar. Infrastructure, quality of life, inclusion of ICT, sustainable energy environment and smart solutions were some of key themes that were put before decision makers and stakeholders.

Build Bihar Smart City Summit served as an ideal platform for both government and corporate leaders to interact with each other and formulate plans that would bring the state closer to achieve the smart city vision.

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BUILD BIHAR SUMMIT 2016

VOICES FROM THE GOVERNMENT OF BIHAR

Maheshwar Hazari Hon’ble Minister, Department of Urban and Housing Development, Bihar

Amrit Lal Meena, IAS, Principal Secretary, Department of Urban Development, Bihar

Narendra Kumar Singh Managing Director, BUIDCo

With the vision set by our hon’ble Chief Minister of Bihar, Shri Nitish Kumar, the people have witness numerous developmental projects which have make things easier and economical for the residents. Our chief minister also understands the importance of developing a smart city and therefore he supports any plans and projects that would take Bihar closer to this objective.

The government of Bihar also welcomes industry participation in order to promote public-private partnership.

By definition, a smart city is meant to make lives easy and improve standard of living for the people by providing all the basic necessities in an efficient manner.

The Government has come up with the ambitious smart city dream which is essential for the growth of the economy. However, the funding allocated by the government for massive project as smart city is not sufficient and thereby it is difficult to achieve this dream with the current financial assistance.

Though none of our three cities have been shortlisted for the first phase of Smart City Challenge, I would request the Government to support Bihar so that our state can also move forward towards growth and development.

When it comes to three cities selected from Bihar for smart city project, the government shortlisted Muzzaffarpur, Bhagalpur and Bihar Sharif after careful evaluation.

However there are certain questions that come in limelight for example; what extra advantages will exist while living in a smart city? Or would other cities get facilities like smart cities if not selected for this project?

In a most brief explanation, a smart city should be able to offer services that would successfully provide all the facilities to the residents in an easily accessible way. If we define the word Smart, s stands for sustainable, m for modern infrastructure, a for affordable, r for renewability, t for technology driven.

Thus, smart city development lays focus on deploying services in a most effective and efficient manner that are backed up by modern ICT tools. On lines with bringing in transparency we will soon inaugurate ‘e-municipality’ services, a pan-city IT solution, that would initially be rolled out in 11 city corporations and later it would be introduced in all 141 urban local bodies. All stakeholders should focus and contribute in growth and development of urban areas in Bihar in order to make smart city mission a success.

BUIDCo came into existence in 2009 to propel and maintain the basic infrastructure of Bihar.

The projects undertaken by us mostly include setting up of water treatment plant, sewerage plants, parks, roads, drainage systems and bus stop besides other such basic infrastructural amenities in all the areas of the state.

For making the cities smart, we would focus on the economic accommodation facilities; smart security systems are in place and the basic infrastructure is viable enough to provide the foundations for the grand plans of smart living in smart cities.

The most important thing to attain the goal of smart living was acknowledgment of the need for it.

If everyone realizes that yes there was a need for smart cities, only then would it be a possibility. We have gathered here to discuss and decide upon a common plan as per which all these authorities can work together and make these proposed cities into smart cities.

Even though the proposed cities of Bihar were not included in the first list of ‘cities to be made smart’, our state government in tandem with the authorities concerned is trying to do their bit in driving the development of the cities on the lines of smart cities.

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Sanjay Kumar Agarwal District Magistrate, Patna Before taking the importance of smart security I believe law and order is a citizens’ issue. Smart security in a smart city would not hold any significance unless our people are aware of new-age facilities and services existing for them. Most of the issues pertaining to law and order can be eliminated via citizen participation and awareness. We need smart citizens in order to make the concept of smart city a success.

For Patna, more than 100 cameras have already been placed at different locations. This apart, a proposal of Rs. 67 crore has been submitted for installation of more CCTVs around the state.

Other proposals awaiting approval include an additional helpline number (other than Dial 100) and development of the New Patliputra area on the periphery of the city of Patna.

Neelkamal, IAS MD, Bihar State Housing Board

The situation in rural areas has been such that the residents are not able to get access to quality education, adequate healthcare and other basic facilities which is prompting them to migrate to urban cities hence leading to overcrowding. The concept of smart city has come at the right moment but the crucial matter is to discuss how to properly execute the plans for this massive project. Formulating plans is an easy task but executing them to get the desired results is a challenge. If every department takes care of their own accountability then together this project will be a success. Though none of the three cities from Bihar made it to the first phase of the Smart City Challenge, I am hopeful they will get selected in the following phase. Nevertheless, we would continue to support and work on smart city project to get the desired results.

Atul Sinha MD, Department of Science & Technology, Bihar

The urban population of India is 31 percent of the total but the GDP contribution of this population is as much as 62 percent. Therefore, there is a need to provide adequate and hassle free access of all individuals to all the required amenities of standard living. Some of which include adequate water, electricity, sanitation facilities and efficient mobility besides others.

Huge movement of population towards the urban areas has now become an inevitable process that continues round the year. To make provisions for the ever growing population of these cities, there is an urgent need to optimize the resources of the urban areas.

Digitization will complement the growth process and propel e-governance thus helping in faster, better and hassle-free conversion of cities to smart cities.

Satish Chand Agrawal Deputy Team Leader, SPUR, Urban Development Department, Bihar

Waste management is an essential element while discussing upon smart city development. Solid waste is further categorized into municipal solid waste, hazardous waste, and bio-medical waste. Urban local bodies spend around Rs. 900 to Rs. 1500 per ton on solid waste management of which 60-70 percent of the amount is on collection alone and 20-30 percent on transportation. Hardly any amount is used on treatment and disposal of waste.

In order to cope with this issue there are seven steps to follow for solid waste management that starts from segregation at source which is followed by primary collection of waste (door to door), secondary storage in 1.1 cum4.0 cum containers or transfer station, daily road sweeping, transportation to waste processing plant in covered vehicles, waste processing (composting/ RDF/W2E/Incineration), and transfer of rejects to land fill sites.

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March 2016 I 67

BUILD BIHAR SUMMIT 2016

INDUSTRY LEADERS

Kishor Asrani, CEO, North-East, Airtel Business

We started this journey in Bihar almost 16-17 years back. As of today in Bihar 58,640 villages are connected with 2G network; out of total villages approximately 12,000 are covered with 3G network; 457 blocks are connected with 2G network today and 315 are covered with 3G network. We are already preparing ourselves to see whether there is a requirement of 4G, which is the next level of technology in broadband as it is going to be the foundation for creating any technology infrastructure or application infrastructure for smart cities tomorrow. Airtel is committed to the state in terms of capability, resources, and job creation and we will continue this journey with the Govt. of Bihar.

Ajay Chopra, Head Institutional Sales, Eicher

We are a technical collaboration since 2007 with Volvo which is a global brand leader. Our business area is spread across commercial vehicles trucks, buses, application vehicles, gear manufacturing units, automotive set of engineering solutions. We have manufacturing set-up which includes most productive plant to produce upto 66,000 trucks scalable to 100,000 trucks, state-of-the-art bus plant spread over 46 acre, complex and critical subassemblies by robots and other world class features. Apart from presence in public transportation, Eicher has been providing its services to state municipal corporations, state fire services and state police services. We look forward to serve the Bihar by providing the best and world-class smart transportation.

Bharat Sharma, National Product Head (Mumbai), ICICI Bank

We are one of the proud members associated with lot of technology initiatives being driven by Government of India. ICICI Bank is the accredited banker for Ministry of Civil Aviation; we serve Ministry of Rural Development for their schemes like NREGA, NRLM, Indira Awaas Yojana; we have been banker to Ministry of Health for NHM in seven states. We are also associated with Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, mid-day meals scheme and other government activities.

Similarly, in Bihar we have been empanelled by the state’s Department of Finance; we have also signed MoU with Department of Finance to give housing loan to all the government employees. ICICI offers solution in every segment thus fulfilling every requirement needed to implement in a smart city.

Aniruddha Mazumder, Technical Consultant, Trend Micro

In a century where each one of us banks on smart phones to do every single work, we subsequently run on a risk of getting hacked as well. Similarly we are surrounded by similar issues while taking the context of smart cities.

When technology gets better, hackers find advanced ways to hack the system. Thus, everything is vulnerable. Talking about the structure of smart city in terms of connectivity, most of the things will be on cloud which will be interconnected to all the devices. However, high connectivity, high complexity, high volume of data equals high vulnerability. With evolving threat landscape, Trend Micro offers central visibility, cloud flexibility, more protection points, low performance impact.

Harjindar Kohli, VP, Head Government Vertical, Airtel Business

A smart city is more than improved infrastructure and as such this mission requires different departments to work on separate projects to deliver smart services. Technology will play a very important role in enabling these smart services. Over the years technology has shaped our lives for better and in this scenario mobile devices have been a game changer. The way people here have adopted mobile technology has been phenomenal and this is our biggest strength as future of smart cities will rely on how extensively we use mobile technology. This is where Airtel comes in. Connectivity plays a very important role for implementing smart city initiatives. No matter how robust your application or technology is it will be futile unless you have connectivity.

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AT THE SUMMIT Faiz Ahmad, Director, EDMAC Engineering Consultant

EDMAC is known for feasibility studies and detailed engineering designs to the project management and actual implementation of infrastructural projects.

We have been working for different departments in Bihar like BUIDCo, Department of Urban and Housing Development, and Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam and other departments. Our current landmark project is a medical college/hospital at an estimated cost of Rs. 900 crore for BMSICL. We are also undertaking ISBT project in the state which would be the biggest after Chennai. We are part of several other infrastructure projects and our reputation for timely and quality completion of projects has led to our success.

Ramakrishnan Narayan Swami, Technology Head, General Electrics

We have been talking about smart transportation, smart housing, smart security, smart water and waste management. I would like to emphasize on how lighting and controls can enable smart cities. Witnessing the LED revolution we partnered with BUIDCo and deployed our LED streetlights in 13 cities of Bihar. Talking about the advantages of installing LED, it saves 50 percent energy as against traditional sources; LEDs are easy to dim and control which also contributes to saving energy. Our Light Grid is an outdoor wireless control system that enables remote operation and monitoring of street lights via a web-enabled central management system. This will automatically deliver energy efficiency which is what we require in a smart city.

Navin Kishor, Zonal Manager Eastern Zone, Mahindra & Mahindra

Since its inception in 1945, Mahindra & Mahindra is known as an Indian company with global vision. There are several elements where we need to focus while developing a smart city and I am proud to say Mahindra Group is present there to deliver its products and services. Taking in context of modern infrastructure we have a real estate group, Mahindra Lifestyle. Similarly, when it comes to smart transportation Mahindra Group deploys its range of products from two-wheelers to aircraft. Thirdly, our group has partnered with many states to provide solid waste management solutions. All the sectors of the group have domestic market leadership like Auto OEM, tractors, Systech, Mahindra Finance, Mahindra World City, Mahindra Holidays, Tech Mahindra.

Kumar Saurabh, Nomura Structured Finance

Earlier, commercial banks were the only option for the infrastructure financing. Infrastructure projects are different as they have long gestation period around 10-20 years whereas asset models for banks follow deposits for three or five years. Now, government has come up with non-banking financial companies who have separate regulations. Nomura Structured Finance helps companies to know about various financial models for different infrastructure needs. We go through the different projects undertaken by them or projects they are planning to take and analyze the financing models they use. This is how we assist companies in completion of their infrastructure projects by choosing the right financial model.

Supriyo Das, Sr. General Manager, Shapoorji Pallonji

As per the 2011 stats 377 million of our population lives in urban areas which will increase to 600 million in 2030. This figure constitutes to 40 percent of our population which signals how urbanization will rapidly increase in future. When we take the investment in this context there is a gap of 1.45 lakh crore and this will gap will further widen by 2030. Urban segment constitutes 62 percent to GDP contribution which will shoot to 75 percent by 2030. We can certainly ascertain how important it is to invest in urbanization which will play a key role in development of smart city.

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BUILD BIHAR SUMMIT 2016

Speakers and Delegates during the registration

Delegates from government and corporate sectors

Lighting ceremony underway to inaugurate the summit

Hon’ble Minister, Department of Urban & Housing Development, Maheshwar Hazari on his way to summit

70 I March 2016

Narendra Kumar welcomes Hon’ble Minister Maheshwar Hazari

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Summit witnessed huge presence from corporate sector

Government dignitaries during the industry presentation

Corporate leaders discussing challenges and solutions for achieving smart city initiatives

Ajit Sinha, CEO, Governance Today presents token of appreciation to Narendra Kumar Singh, MD, BUIDCo

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Government dignitaries surveys Eicher transportation model

March 2016 I 71

BUILD BIHAR SUMMIT 2016

CO-HOST

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Transportation Partner

A Government of Bihar Undertaking

LED Lighting Partner

THANK YOU

TO ALL OUR PARTNERS FOR BUILDING SMART CITY FOR SMART LIVING Communication Partner

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INTERVIEW C. RAJASEKHAR | DIRECTOR GENERAL, ICCR

COORDINATED EFFORTS NEEDED TO FURTHER PROMOTE OUR ART AND CULTURE

to foster and strengthen cultural relations and mutual understanding between India and other countries; to promote cultural exchanges with other countries and people; and to develop relations with other nations.

To discuss India’s art and culture scene outside the country and ICCR’s endeavors in this regard, Ramesh Kumar Raja had a wide ranging conversation with C. Rajasekhar, Director General, ICCR. He was till recently the Indian Ambassador to Cuba, Dominican Republic and Haiti. Previously he served as Minister, Political Media and Education in London, Minister in Seoul, Counsellor in Port of Spain, First Secretary/Head of Chancery in Tokyo, Second Secretary in Ulaanbaatar and Third Secretary/ Second Secretary in Tokyo. A career diplomat, Rajasekhar had been instrumental in organizing a number of cultural events abroad.

EDITED EXCERPTS:

How do you look at India’s art and culture scene outside the country?

Where do we stand in the world?

I

ndia boasts of a very rich cultural heritage, from its ancient era to medieval past and the modern times. The presence of our art forms across the globe has been magnificent enough to exhibit India’s cultural diplomacy which sometimes even goes on to sweeten the country’s relations with its rivals. Thanks to the Indian Council for Cultural

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Relations (ICCR), founded in 1950

by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, independent India’s first Education Minister, India has established itself as a major ‘soft power’ whom the world turns to for artistic and spiritual inspiration. Its objectives are to actively participate in the formulation and implementation of policies and programs pertaining to India’s external cultural relations;

Indian art and culture is well known all over the world. Significant contribution in this regard is being made by various ministries and departments of the central and state governments like External Affairs, ICCR, Culture, Tourism, Commerce & Industry, Overseas Indian Affairs, Textiles (& Handicrafts), Human Resource Development, Cultural Academies/organizations and so on.

Popularity of Indian art and culture differs from country to country, which March 2016 I 73

depends on two aspects – (a) receptiveness and interest of the local population and government and (b) initiatives taken by us.

India is in an enviable position as far as use of cultural diplomacy as a tool to promote India’s overall interest, specifically to enhance its economic contribution to the world society is concerned. This is due to our long, rich and diverse cultural heritage.

Recently, ICCR organized International Conference of Indologists. Could you share the idea and how it is going to help the study of India in different countries of the world?

The purpose of promoting Indian art and culture abroad is to be friends with the world.

This message is spread all over the world through ancient Indian adage, “VASADHAIVA KUTUMBAKAM” and it is an ongoing effort through the modern day art and culture which ranges from Indian studies, visual art, classical and folk dances and music to the present day Bollywood films. History is the witness that India has survived through many ups and downs in the past thanks to the strong roots of Indian culture based on ancient Indian literature and studies. A lot has been researched about India all over the world in the past.

The idea behind organizing the Indology Conference was to renew the interest of foreign scholars in Indian studies and to celebrate the Study of India.

What is/are missing to place India on top with regard to cultural diplomacy?

We can do, of course, more with greater allocation of resources. With the coordinated effort of various governmental/ non-governmental agencies and individuals, a lot is being done 74 I March 2016

to promote India’s rich cultural heritage. India is a leading nation as far as cultural diplomacy is concerned. A lot more is being envisaged by continuing this collective effort to sustain and upgrade the position that India has achieved so far in the field of cultural diplomacy.

Majority of people in India are not serious about their own culture and art forms whereas the foreigners are getting attracted to our culture.

What are the weak areas?

to be done to restore the beauty of fading arts in India as well as abroad?

Beauty of Indian art and culture is quite vibrant both in India and abroad. Not only Indians, but also foreigners are proudly promoting art and culture in India and abroad.

By continuing our collective efforts, the identity and presence of Indian art and culture can further be strengthened. We need to synergize our efforts, for example,

This cannot be said for sure that majority of the people in India are not serious about their own culture and art forms. India is a vast country in terms of its population and it has enormous talent in each segment of its art and culture. More funding support and incentives for the people pursuing various fields of art and culture can further broaden the scope in this regard.

How is the ICCR involved in the promotion of India’s “cultural diversity”?

ICCR promotes Indian culture as a whole through its international activities related to exchange in the fields of performing art, visual art, academics, publications, scholarships for foreigners irrespective of their nationalities to study in various parts of India, publications, conferences, talks, lectures and seminars on different topics and so on. In all this, ICCR always endeavors to project India’s diverse cultural heritage.

Being someone closely associated with cultural centres across the globe, what do you think needs

through collaborative efforts with our counterpart organizations to optimize the effort.

What sort of policy intervention the Indian art and culture needs for its betterment?

Indian art and culture is very rich in its contents. This richness of contents always attracted from people all over the world to follow India and its culture. We need to continue with our coordinated efforts among governmental and non-governmental agencies to further strengthen our art and culture. More coordinated effort and greater allocation of resources would be greatly welcome.

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