July 10th 2014

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Dimapur VOL. IX ISSUE 187

The Morung Express

www.morungexpress.com

Amit Shah is new BJP president

[ PAGE 2]

–Plato

US, China vow to improve cooperation [ PAGE 9]

[ PAGE 11]

By Sandemo Ngullie

Thursday, July 10, 2014 12 pages Rs. 4

Kronu makes call for overall development of Pfütsero

J.K. Rowling Releases ‘Harry Potter’ Short Story, Detailing...

[ PAGE 8]

reflections

A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers

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Germany routs Brazil to reach WCup final [ PAGE 12]

India’s fiscal situation worse than it appears Economic Survey urges strong steps to contain fiscal deficit economic survey highlights

Don`t you read newspapers? All the ministers are in Delhi!

The Morung Express POLL QUESTIOn

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Dikshit to be appointed as nagaland Governor? NEW DELHI, JuLy 9 (ZEE NEWs): In the backdrop of speculations that Kerala Governor Shiela Dikshit may be shifted to Nagaland by the Narendra Modi-led NDA government, former Delhi chief minister met Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday. According to the sources, Home Secretary asked her to quit as Governor after NDA government took over from the UPA. Dikshit has so far remained defiant, refusing to quit within months of her being appointed as Kerala Governor in March earlier this year. Furthermore, Dikshit has also sought appointments with President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Meanwhile, Dikshit may be transferred to Nagaland as former Mizoram Governor Vakkom Purushothaman has refused to take up the post and could soon resign. Purushottaman was transferred to Nagaland to make way for Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal, as per reports in an English daily. Nagaland Governor Ashwani Kumar’s resignation was accepted by the President on June 27. He was the third UPA appointed Governor to quit within a week. On the other hand, despite vocal resistance by the Congress, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh’s Governors BL Joshi and Shekhar Dutt resigned last week. However, Dikshit has till now made no formal statement on the issue.

NEW DELHI, JuLy 9 (REutERs): India’s fiscal situation is worse than it appears, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government said in an economic report on Wednesday that called for tough measures to shore up public finances and reduce inflation. The report’s tone will increase speculation that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in presenting his first budget to parliament on Thursday, will give a higher, more realistic fiscal deficit target for this fiscal year than the 4.1 percent of gross domestic product the previous government set. India risks losing its investment-grade sovereign rating if it fails to get its finances into shape. Many economists believe the last government’s accounting understated the size of the deficit, and Jaitley will need to present a credible recovery plan to keep the ratings agencies onside. The newly-released Economic Survey “shows the gravity of the economic situation that needs correction,” Jaitley said. “Inflation needs to be moderated further. The fiscal deficit needs downward correction over the next two years,” the former corporate lawyer and career politician said. Seen as a blueprint for the government’s medium-term economic plan-

Laborers carry a load of vegetables at a wholesale market in Kolkata on July 9. India’s new government presents its inaugural budget this week in the first substantive test of whether narendra Modi will deliver on ambitious promises to revive stalled economic growth. (AP Photo)

ning, the report forecast GDP growth of between 5.4 and 5.9 percent in 2014/15. It warned that weak monsoon rains, which are essential for farming, could keep

growth closer to 5.4 percent. In June, India’s central bank forecast growth of 5.5 percent in the financial year that ends in March 2015. Jaitley’s predecessor set

the 4.1 percent fiscal deficit target in an interim budget before the new government took office. That may already be unrealistic, because the previous govern-

ntc urges nagaland ‘Rework MGNREGS’ Economic Survey suggests urgent state govt to ‘wake up’ revamp to prevent its misuse and to

KOHIMA, JuLy 9 (MExN): The Nagaland Tribes Council (NTC) today stated that it is “astonished by the apathy” of Nagaland state Chief Minister, TR Zeliang towards the effects of the proposed Nagaland Special Development Zones (NSDZ) and stated that the latter had made “non-committal statements in the media without realizing the ramifications and sensitivity of the issue.” It stated that the NSDZ “is a paramount economic issue that will have long term damaging effect to the future generations to come if allowed unopposed and the NTC is definitely conscious on its implications.” The NTC, in a press note, from its acting President, Lendinoktang Ao and I&P Secretary, Theja Therieh apprised the Nagaland CM that the representation submitted by the NTC to the state government is “loud and clear about our apprehensions that the threat of forfeiting the hard earned status and privileges of the people of Nagaland state is not with the Government of India, but our own Government whom we voted to power.” It assured that the NTC

has read the contents of the Assembly resolutions and the concept paper “through lenses of the protective laws and provisions and beyond the text” in order to understand the “extent of damages that can be caused to the people in the guise of development and urbanization, once this utterly careless resolution is translated into reality.” It urged the Nagaland state government to “wake up and take responsibilities” over the rights and privileges of the people and to look beyond “short-term benefits.” “Breach of such fundamental duties would make the state responsible and liable for all the damages that has far reaching consequences,” it cautioned. The NTC further maintained that the people of Nagaland “at no point of time have given its mandate to the State Government to review the status and privileges of Article 371(A).” It further said that the Chief Minister’s statement that “Article 371(A) is hindering developmental processes in the state is indicative of shallowness of a leader and therefore self-defeating and unqualified statement.”

create meaningful infrastructure

NEW DELHI, JuLy 9 (IANs): The Narendra Modi-led NDA government may restructure the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), which offers minimum-wage employment for the rural jobless. The Economic Survey 2013-14 presented in parliament said there was an urgent need to revamp the scheme to “prevent its misuse” and create “meaningful” infrastructure. Though the scheme is Panchayatcentric and demand-based, there is lack of principal role in planning, execution and monitoring by the panchayati raj institutions (PRIs), especially the Gram Sabha, said the survey. Also, awareness level in PRIs is very low, resulting in lack of ownership, ill-conceived planning and shelf of projects, and weak or no social audit. And the need for community projects is becoming less important as probably such works have already been completed or are on the brink of saturation, or on account of lack of common interest in public works, it said. Lack of technical staff has led to delayed measurement of works completed, resulting in delayed payments. In some places, only female workers are interested in availing of work as market wages for males are much higher, resulting in small works of lesser utility being undertaken instead of big and tangible projects. There is also a need to avoid projects with single or small number of beneficiaries and the use of MGNREGS funds in supply-driven mode. “So, there is an urgent need to revamp MGNREGA to prevent its misuse and make it more development oriented programme creating tangible and meaningful assets and infrastructure,” said the Survey.

Dimapur Police bust vehicle lifting gang

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DIMAPuR, JuLy 9 (MExN): Dimapur Police have made significant breakthroughs in busting a vehicle lifting operation, arresting two persons in the process and also recovering two stolen vehicles and several vehicle registration plates. A press note from the PRO, Dimapur Police informed that the two persons, identified as Ghotoka Zhimo (32) and Inuka Achumi (30), were arrested while investigating into a vehicle theft case, which was reported on June 25. The vehicle, bearing registration number NL07C/1842 (Bolero SLX), chassis number MA1PS2GHKA5M93371 and engine number GHA4L77458 was stolen from the Supermarket area. An operation led by the SDPO

Dimapur was launched in “suspect places” and the two members of the gang were arrested. On interrogation, the two accused disclosed that the stolen vehicles were handed over to a person identified as one Mossai Tangkhul, who acts as the receiver as well as dispatcher of the stolen vehicles. Police informed that after receiving the stolen vehicles, they were concealed in a location at Pudampukhuri, Dimapur. On the disclosure of the accused, a search operation was conducted to recover the vehicles. “The place where the vehicles were concealed reportedly belongs to one Livi Tzimi, who is suspected to be a member of the NSCN (IM),” informed Dima-

pur Police in the press note. During the search operation, two stolen vehicles and registration plates of a number of vehicles reported stolen were recovered along with a .22 rifle belonging to the accused. The two recovered vehicles include a Bolero SLX (NL07C/1842) and a Bolero pick up (NL-01K/7320). During the course of investigation, it was ascertained that the seized Bolero SLX bearing a fake registration number NL07/9600 was actually the vehicle reported lost at East PS on June 25, 2014 from supermarket area. Its original registration number is NL-07C/1842. On checking the engine and chassis number of the recovered

Bolero pick-up, it was discovered to be originally bearing the number NLOIK/7320 and that the vehicle was reported stolen on June 18, 2014 from Murgipatti, Dimapur. The vehicle was found with a fake registration bearing R/ No.NL07A/3162. A total of seven registration plates were recovered from the location. They included two plates bearing R/No NL-O7C/1842, two plates bearing NL-O1C/9338, two plates bearing AS-O3M/5962 and another two bearing NLO1K/7320 and NL-O7/9600 respectively. Police are investigating the cases and are making all efforts to nab the other accused involved, who are “evading arrest.”

ment left a stack of unpaid bills to state oil companies that have eaten into this year’s finances. D.K. Joshi, the principal economist at the Indian arm of Standard & Poor’s, CRISIL Ratings, said he would welcome a higher deficit goal, as the number set by the last government was always under a cloud of doubt. “If 4.5 percent is credible and arrived in a correct manner, then it shouldn’t be a problem. It should be a feasible target,” he said. “But if the fiscal deficit target is aggressive, it would again be a question mark. Wednesday’s report recommended tackling food and fertiliser subsidies to lower spending while broadening the tax base. India’s tax collection is less than 9 percent of GDP, a quarter of the average in the OECD group of developed nations. “It is better to achieve fiscal consolidation partly through a higher tax-GDP ratio than merely through reduction in the expenditure-to-GDP ratio, in view of the large unmet development needs,” the report said. Asia’s third-largest economy has been stuck in its longest rut in a quarter of a century - with growth below 5 percent - while Modi’s government has been dogged by a food-price spike in its early weeks.

• Economy likely to grow 5.4-5.9 percent in 2014-15. • Both Wholesale and Consumer Price Inflation expected to go downward • Balance-of-payments position improved dramatically in 2013-14. • Sharp fall in trade deficit by 27.8 to $ 137.5 billion. • Exports grew 4.1 percent over negative growth of 1.8 percent in 2012-13. • Imports dropped by 13.2 percent. • Industry grew by just 1 per cent in 2012-13 and slowed further in 2013-14. • Policy focus now needs to target key growth drivers in the short term. Crucial drivers can be revival of private corporate sector investment, pushing ahead with critical reforms and removing infrastructure bottlenecks. • Near-term industrial outlook is conditional on continued improvements in the policy environment and quick return to peak investment rate. • Industry is expected to revive and growth can accelerate gradually over the next two years. • India has second fastest growing services sector with Compound Annual Growth Rate of 9 percent, just below China’s 10.9 percent during 2001-2012 • India ranked 12th in terms of services GDP in 2012 among the world’s top 15 countries in terms of GDP. • FSLRC, in its report, has given wide-ranging recommendations, in the nature of governance enhancing principles for enhanced consumer protection, greater transparency in the functioning of financial sector regulators in terms of their reporting system, greater clarity on their interface with the regulated entities and greater transparency. • New Pension System (NPS), now National Pension System, represents a major reform of Indian pension arrangements, and lays the foundation for a sustainable solution to ageing in India by shifting to an individual account, defined-contribution system. Till May 7, 2014 67.11 lakh members have been enrolled under the NPS with a corpus of Rs. 51,147 crore. • Fiscal consolidation remains imperative for the economy.

rush for rubber in Wokha Ashikho Pfuzhe Wokha | July 9

While the huge reserve of “black gold” (petroleum) in Wokha district remains untapped due to differences between the state government and land owners, people of this district have already started prospecting for “”white gold” or rubber. And the rush for “white gold” (so called because of rubber’s valuable properties) is endemic as 103 villages out of 129 recognized villages in Wokha district have taken up rubber plantation in earnest. By 2020, it is estimated that the district would generate a staggering income of around Rs. 111 crore from rubber alone. According to the status report of State Department of Land Resources (LR), till April 2013, the district had 2121 hectares under rubber plantation with 10, 61,335 standing trees. With a rubber tree yielding approximately 4.5 kg dry rubber per year after tapping, the total yield of dry rubber in Wokha district in 2013 stood at 2,84,062 kgs. Taking the average market price of rubber at Rs. 185 per kg, the total income of the rubber farmers stood at Rs. 5.25 crores in 2013. “As per our latest survey (2014), the area under rubber cultivation in Wokha district is 2961 hectares and number standing tress is 13,32,587. This year too, the department has distributed 11,90,000 rubber stumps to the farmers”, said district project officer (DPO), LR Wokha, Tepunol Yore. The DPO said the area under rubber plantation and standing trees would be more as the department had only taken into account plantations of LR department beneficiaries. Yore also said that going by the present trend, by 2020 Wokha district is expected

By 2020, Wokha district is estimated to generate Rs 111 Crores from rubber alone

A woman tapping a rubber tree in Serika village under Wokha district.

to produce at least 59,96,061 kgs rubber worth Rs. 111 crores. “The huge income generated by Wokha rubber farmers will certainly be a turning point in the economy of the local people as well as set a bench mark for other districts on the road to economic self-sufficiency”, said parliamentary secretary for Women Development and Border Affairs, Thomas Lotha, during the inauguration of a Rubber Board of India (RBI) field office at Sanis town on June 30 last. Most of the rubber plantations in the district are concentrated in villages under 39 Sanis assembly constituency. Thomas, who represents Sanis assembly seat, also said the increasing demand for rubber in global market and lucrative income being generated by pioneer rubber farmers

in Wokha district have encouraged poor farmers to shift to rubber cultivation from traditional shifting/ jhum cultivation. Thomas also informed RBI officials that he had distributed around 5 lakh rubber stamps to villagers over the last couple of years before requesting the RBI to open a field office at Sanis. According to the International Rubber Research and Development Board, Malaysia, about 20 million people directly depend on rubber as their primary source of income. As per the survey of the Land Resources Department, out of a total geographical area of 162800 hectares of Wokha district, rubber can be successfully cultivated in 1,16,546 hectares. Rubber was introduced as a cash crop in Wokha in 2000.

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