gist of the hindu yojana kurukshetra pib science reporter january february 2013

8/17/2019 Gist of the Hindu Yojana Kurukshetra PIB Science Reporter January February 2013

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COURTESY:

♦ The Hindu

♦ Yojana

♦ Kurukshetra

♦ Press Information Bureau

♦ Science Reporter

Contents

GIST OF THE HINDU 1-14

U.N. Vote makes Palestine an Observer State 1Complacency has no place in AIDS fight 2

WHO Clearance could Boost Vaccine Exports 4

RBI to Relax norms for Entry of Foreign Banks 5

India could face crippling heat waves 6

South Korean Election 8

Great hope for Science 9

Risky Futures that Banks can do Without 11

Justice Kumar is NGT chief 12

EU Promotes Potato to Replace Rice in Asia 13

China Opens Longest High-speed Rail Line 14

GIST OF YOJANA 15-36

Higher education at the National Level 15

Khasi Sacred Forests 19

Nitrogen Fixing Techniques of the Angamis 20

Recommendation of the High Level Committee 20

Approach of XII Plan 21Perfromance of Farmers 22

Entrepreneurship Development in India 25

Developing Entrepreneurship in North East 26

What’s FDI? 29

North Eastern Rura l Livelihood Project 35

GIST OF KURUKSHETRA 37-47

Lab-To-Land Initiative-An Introduction 37

Bharat Nirman Volunteers: A Cadre for Capacity Building 40

BNVS: Role and Functional Benefits 41

Need to Modern ize Technology Transfer Tools 43

GIST OF PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU 48-52

Steps to Strengthen Panchayat Raj System 48

Neutri no Obser vatory Project 50

Present Status of JNNURM 50

Inclusion of Western Ghats in UNESCO List 51Steps for Regulating theWorking of Contract Farming 52

GIST OF SCIENCE REPORTER 53-64

A Century of X-ray Diffraction 53

India’s First Indigenous AEW&C System Developed by Drdocabs 56

Photosystem III for Efficient Photosynthesis 57

Reprogramming Mature Cells to a Stem Cell State 59

Biochemical Approaches Shed Insight of Receptor Biology 60

Srinivasam Ramanujan 60

Methods of Algaculture 61

Environments for Algaculture 62

Glass Translator 63

E-Ball Concept Pc 64


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SCIENCE REPORTER 1

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GIST OF THE HINDU

⇒ U.N. VOTE MAKES

PALESTINE AN OBSERVER STATE

The Palestinian bid to become a non-

member Observer State at the United Nations has been, as expected, approved by an overwhelming

vote of 138 to nine, with 41 abstentions in the

General Assembly. The vote implies global

recognition of the relevant territory as a sovereign

state and is a major step towards a two-state

solution for historical Palestine. The new status

amounts to less of an achievement than full U.N.

membership, which the Security Council declined

to consider in September 2011 on the grounds that

the members were unable to make a “unanimous

recommendation”, but the Palestinians can now participate in General Assembly debates. In sum,

this is an important move towards Palestinian

statehood, which 132 countries have already

recognised. As for particular countries, one

former colonial power, France, voted in favour,

and the other state with a previous imperial

connection to the region, the United Kingdom,

abstained, as did Germany. Predictably, Israel’s

biggest supporter, the United States, opposed the

resolution, reconfirming its view that a negotiated

settlement is the only way to establish aPalestinian state.

The U.N. resolution, however, could well be

the first of many momentous changes for West

Asia. The Palestinian Authority can now seek

membership of several U.N. agencies and, above

all, can apply to sign the Rome Statute of the

International Criminal Court, with the clear implication that Israel may finally be held

accountable for crimes committed against the

civilian population of Gaza. Secondly, differences

have emerged between Washington and major

European countries over Israel-Palestine, even if

some European officials call criminal charges

against Israel a “red line”.

Thirdly, it is consistent with global public

opinion; even U.S. opinion polls show majorities

for a two-state formula. It also testifies to the

increasing confidence of Palestinianrepresentatives, who have said that continued

exclusion would strengthen support for Hamas;

the representatives, moreover, now know that the

region’s peoples demand justice for the

Palestinians and can no longer be ignored. The

vote will be truly meaningful if it marks the start

of a new international resolve to ensure the people

of Palestine are able to exercise their right to

statehood and self-determination, just as the

people of Israel have been doing for years. The

first order of business has to be to stop the Israelistranglehold over occupied Palestinian territory,

including the monstrous policy of building

settlements. As long as the international

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GIST OF THE HINDU2





community gives Tel Aviv a free pass on these

issues, peace and security in Israel-Palestine willalways remain elusive.

⇒COMPLACENCY HAS NO PLACE IN AIDS FIGHT

• New HIV infections now show a

declining trend globally. All 11 countries

in the World Health Organisation’s

(WHO) South-East Asia Region showed

a decline by 34 per cent in the past

decade.

• The overall decline in the region is cause

for increased optimism. However,

complacency now could become our greatest enemy. Those most “at risk” of

HIV are disproportionately affected by

the disease and are also among the least

empowered. They include youth, those

who inject drugs, female sex workers,

men who have sex with men (MSM),

transgender people and migrants. Zero

new HIV infections and zero AIDS-

related deaths by 2015 can be

achieved through greater efforts directed

towards “at risk” populations to

encourage increased testing. HIV prevention services for these people need

to be expanded to battle the concentrated

epidemic found in this region.

• In India, the estimated number of new

HIV infections has declined by 56 per

cent over the past decade and the total

number of people living with HIV is

estimated at 24 lakh (the range is 19.3-

30.4 lakh). This is good news but it

remains essential to continue with public

awareness programmes on HIV/AIDSand that messages are regularly

conveyed to remind people on the

importance to get HIV tested and to be

aware of their HIV status.

⇒ ADDING GLITTER TO PAPER GOLD

Burgeoning gold imports to meet the

seemingly insatiable appetite for the precious

metal by Indian consumers, though not new, have

grown to such major dimensions recently that

policy-makers are forced to take note. A check

on gold imports by way of physical controls over

imports or through fiscal measures to restrain

consumption (such as through a special

consumption tax) are impractical, and out of

question. Policy-makers are, therefore, forced to

look at ways of harnessing this phenomenon —

of unbridled gold imports and consumption — in

ways that will benefit the economy while

moderating its demand internally.

There are at least two important macro-

economic dimensions to this phenomenon of ever-

rising gold imports even in the face of record gold

prices.

One, the immediate impact is on the external

economy as gold and energy imports contribute

to a widening of the trade deficit, and, hence, the

current account deficit, which was at a record

high of 4.2 per cent on March 31. According to

the World Gold Council, for April-June 2012, gold

imports stood at 181.3 tonnes.

The macro-economic problems associated

with running such a high current account deficit

have been highlighted several times before by

many official reports, including those of the

Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Needless to add,

the twin deficits, the high fiscal is the other one,

are a major threat to economic stability.Two, the lure for gold among consumers has

a direct impact on the quantum of financial savings

by households.

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According to the Economic Advisory

Council of the Prime Minister (PMEAC) (in itsflagship publication Economic Outlook 2012-13

released in August), net financial savings of

households available for use by the rest of the

economy fell below 11.6 per cent of gross

domestic product (GDP) in 2007-08 to 10 per cent

in 2010-11 and likely to go below 9 per cent in

2011-12. (Net financial savings are calculated by

deducting financial liabilities such as mortgage and

personal loans from gross financial savings.

Gross financial savings are measured as an

increase in gross financial assets.) At around thesame time as the Economic Outlook, the RBI

released data which were even less upbeat:

household financial savings fell to 7.8 per cent in

2011-12, the lowest since 1989-90. During the

preceding three years, it averaged 11 per cent.

Certain broad conclusions are possible from

the above data:

(1) When the economy is faring well,

households tend to put more money in

financial savings instruments. The stock

market is likely to be bullish and mutualfunds will also look attractive.

(2) However, when the cycle turns and the

environment is less optimistic, households

tend to do the reverse — withdraw from

organised financial savings such as bank

deposits, shares and mutual funds. The

availability of household savings for the

industrial economy gets reduced.

(3) It is in that context that the significance

of gold as an investment avenue and as

a hedge against inflation becomes

apparent.

Households withdraw money from financial

savings, and, to a large extent, invest in gold,

property and other physical assets. This is after

providing for the higher living expenses that are

characteristic of high inflation. Inflation outlook and hardened inflation expectations — prices of

essentials are unlikely to come down — play a

large role in apportioning available savings of

households.

In that scenario, gold has emerged as a

clear winner. In India, as in many other countries,

the lure for gold is unmistakeable. The surge is

partly explained by increased availability of gold

and the growing realisation of its potential as an

investment opportunity, especially in pessimistic

times.The task before the government is to find

ways to integrate the physical market for gold

with the financial market. Already this is

happening.

The oldest and even now the most popular

one is the gold loan, where banks/NBFCs (non-

banking finance companies) dispense money on

the pledge of gold /gold jewellery.

As propagated with great success by

several Kerala-based NBFCs, gold loans have

come under the scrutiny of the RBI, which hasimposed some stringent conditions to safeguard

the borrowers’ interests.

⇒ SETTING AN EXAMPLE

Convinced that the International

Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER)

installation is safe, the French government

recently granted the fusion project the necessary

permission to start construction in Cadarache.

There are many firsts to the project. Maintaining

transparency has been one of ITER’s mostsignificant features and organising an enquiry to

give the public an opportunity to formulate its

opinion has set a new benchmark for openness.



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GIST OF THE HINDU4





Independent experts assessed the safety of the

fusion project and the public was not just takeninto confidence but made an integral part of the

project construction approval process. In effect,

the two-and-a-half-year effort fully met the

requirements set forth by France’s own 2006

Nuclear Transparency and Security legislation. If

the French government took a bold decision to

br ing about more tra nspa rency and public

engagement before nuclear projects are cleared,

the clearance given to ITER tells us that it is

indeed possible to meet the stringent requirements

laid down by the law.The ITER approval highlights the fact that

the public is not unreasonable or obstinate. All

people want is to be provided with facts, made

fully aware of the benefits and risks, convinced

that complete transparency is being maintained,

and that their opinion is being taken into account

on an important decision. Internationally, the

nuclear industry is well known for maintaining

opacity and for refusing to take the public into

confidence. In India, the situation is compounded

by the excessive secrecy surrounding all thingsnuclear, and by the lackadaisical and hurried

manner in which environmental impact

assessments are often carried out. As for the

mandatory public hearings for large projects, both

nuclear and non-nuclear, these frequently

descend into chaos if not farce. The sustained

local opposition to the Kudankulam nuclear power

plant continues unabated even days before the

first two units are to become operational. While

many valid questions concerning the safety

aspects of the plant have not been clearlyanswered, public apprehension to a great extent

has come from imagined fear, misconceptions and

an improper understanding of the technology-

intensive project. It is time the Indian nuclear

establishment realised that it can no longer bulldoze its way. Winning public approval is not

only important but necessary for two reasons —

the Chernobyl catastrophe and the 2011

Fukushima disaster are fresh in people’s mind, and

the government has major plans to construct many

power nuclear plants across the country.

⇒ WHO CLEARANCE

COULD BOOST VACCINE EXPORTS

• In a major boost to the country’s private

vaccine manufacturing pharmaceutical

companies, the World HealthOrganisation (WHO) has said that

India’s national regulatory authority —

Central Drugs Standard Control

Organisation (CDSCO) — and its

affiliated institutions meet the prescribed

international standards.

• India is a major vaccine producer with

12 major vaccine manufacturing

facilities. These vaccines are used for

the national and international market,

reaching nearly 150 countries. Every

second child in the world is vaccinated

for measles using a vaccine produced in

India.

• India is the first country in the 2012 round

of assessment to have passed the strict

levels of seven indicators which are

made more stringent every time in a

single round of assessment which is done

by a team of 12 international experts

headed by a WHO member.

• Passing of this test means that 12 private

vaccine manufacturing units from Indiaare eligible and retain the pre-

qualification status for supplying vaccines

to international bodies like the WHO,



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UNICEF and the World Bank. WHO

pre-qualification is a guarantee that aspecific vaccine meets international

standards of quality, safety and efficacy.

• The clearance by the WHO is expected

to boost investment in the pharmaceutical

sector and push exports higher, which

touched $13 billion last year and is

expected to touch $26 billion this year.

Two-thirds of the vaccines produced in

India are exported.

• The WHO has established benchmarks

that define international expectations for

a functional vaccine regulatory system.• It also conducts regular external audits

of national regulatory systems and

ensures they meet the necessary

standards. The regulatory functions of

India’s National Regulatory Authority

(NRA) — the CDSCO — and its

affiliated institutions were assessed for

compliance against the WHO indicators

and marketing authorisation and licensing,

post-marketing surveillance, including

adverse events following immunisation

and so on.

• In 2007, when the CDSCO had failed to

meet the WHO-prescribed standards, it

had led to the WHO suspending

manufacturing licenses of three public

sector vaccine manufacturing units —

Central Research Institute (CRI),

Kasauli; Bacillus Calmette-Guérin

Vaccine Laboratory (BCGVL), Guindy;

and Pasteur Institute of India (PII),

Coonoor, on account of non-compliance

of good manufacturing practices (GMP)norms.

• India had made up for the deficiency in

the 2009 assessment and the units were

re-started.

⇒ RBI TO

R ELAX NORMS FOR ENTRY OF FOREIGN BANKS• The Reserve Bank of India is expected

to relax norms soon allowing opening of

more foreign banks.

• At present, expansion of foreign banks

in India is on a reciprocal basis.

• India and Pakistan are negotiating issues

with regard to opening of bank branches

in each other’s territory to facilitate trade

and commerce. As per the World Trade

Organisation agreement, India allows

opening of 12 branches of foreign banks

in a year. Last year, the RBI in a

discussion paper suggested that foreign

banks should be incentivised to operate

in India as wholly-owned subsidiaries, as

against the present system of having

presence through branch network.

• At present, there are about 34 foreign

banks operating in India, with five major

banks, including StanChar t, HSBC,

Citibank and Deutsche, accounting for

over 70 per cent of the total asset size of

overseas lenders in the country.⇒ DOHA DITHERS ON EQUITY

• The World Meteorological Organization

(WMO) times the release of its

provisional annual statement with the

U.N. climate negotiations. This year, it

dwelt on the Atlantic Basin experiencing

an above-average hurricane season for

a third consecutive year, with 19 storms,

10 of them achieving hurricane status,

the most notable being Sandy.

• East Asia was severely impacted by powerful typhoons, with Sanba being the

strongest in 2012, causing destruction in

parts of the Philippines, Japan, and the



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GIST OF THE HINDU6





Korean peninsula. The years 2001–2011

were all among the warmest on recordand the WMO’s statement highlighted the

unprecedented melting of the Arctic Sea

ice and multiple weather and climate

extremes.

• The WMO’s statement fell on deaf ears

at the Doha climate talks. As 194

countries dragged on with negotiations,

typhoon Bhopa was wrecking the

eastern part of the Philippines.

• The U.S., along with Japan, objected to

the equity principle under the United

Nations Framework Convention onClimate Change (UNFCCC) and also to

equity being the basis of future

negotiations.

• While the Durban platform clung on to

the principles of equity as enshrined

under the UNFCCC, the U.S. made it

clear that it was not going to accept it.

The climate talks have delivered less and

less since Bali where the two-track

approach was mainly geared to bringing

on board the U.S, which is not part of

the Kyoto Protocol. Finances, adaptation,

mitigation and technology transfer were

the key issues under the Bali Roadmap.

India, part of the G-77 group, plus China

had to object vociferously to the removal

of the key pillars of the talks from the

Long-term Cooperative Action plan. A

Philippine delegate quipped that this was

meant to be a paperless conference, not

a “textless” one.

• Doha Gateway only urges the developed

countries to scale up finance to reach$100 billion a year by 2020 and submit

plans by the next round of talks in Poland.

There also seems to be a complete lack

of ambition in the second commitment

period of the Kyoto Protocol, which isnow eight years.

• The issue of carrying forward surplus

emissions was strongly objected to by

Russia, which was unhappy with the

proposal under the Kyoto Protocol to

cramp the carry-over of carbon credits

or surplus allowances which it had

accumulated during the Protocol’s first

commitment period. Money supply for

the Adaptation Fund suffered due to the

decline in the market prices of certified

emission reduction, and as a result, $301.1million was collected.

• With funds dwindling, countries lobbied

for a mechanism on ‘loss and damage’

since Cancun which finally was agreed

upon at Doha. Crumbs are doled out as

global temperatures rise and the poorest

countries face disaster.

⇒ INDIA COULD FACE CRIPPLING HEAT WAVES

• The warning signs are already out there.

Global air and ocean temperatures have

risen in response to human-drivenemissions, particularly of carbon dioxide.

Oceans have become more acidic and

the sea level has gone up; the Arctic Sea

ice has melted faster than expected;

rainfall and snowfall patterns have

changed; and extreme weather events

seem more frequent than in the past.

Such changes, with the associated

consequences, are likely to worsen

considerably if emissions continue

unabated.

• At the Climate Change Conference in

Copenhagen in 2009, the nations of the

world pledged to avoid ‘dangerous’



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GIST OF THE HINDU 7





climate change by reducing emissions.

They would ensure that the averageglobal temperature at the end of this

century did not exceed that of the pre-

industrial period by more than two

degrees Celsius. But as emissions

continue to soar and with no meaningful

global agreement in place to drastically

cut them, there is increasingly talk of a

temperature rise during this century of

four degrees Celsius.

• “A four degrees Celsius world would be

one of unprecedented heat waves,

severe drought, and major floods in manyregions, with serious impacts on

ecosystems and associated services,”

warned a World Bank-sponsored report

published last month.

• India has already seen its average annual

surface air temperature rise by about 0.5

degrees Celsius during the past century.

The warming had accelerated since 1971

and particularly so during the past decade,

according to the country’s Second

National Communication to the U.N.

Framework Convention on Climate

Change made earlier this year.

• Although higher carbon dioxide levels

and more rain can help crops grow better,

higher temperatures and more erratic

rainfall are often detrimental. For

instance, the country’s wheat production

could fall by about four million tonnes for

every one degree Celsius rise in

temperature during the crop’s growth

period. Climate change, along with other

environmental stresses, poses “significantchallenges” for cereal production in

China and India, according to a recent

report from the U.S. National

Intelligence Council.

• Climate change will bring along it withnew problems and challenges that must

be faced.

⇒ INDIA, SRI LANKA AND THE MALDIVES TO

SIGN AGREEMENT ON MARITIME COOPERATION

• India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives will

soon sign a trilateral agreement on

maritime cooperation to pool resources

and share data for better control over

territorial waters and detect suspicious

movements.

• India had also agreements with RoyalThai and the Indonesian naval forces to

conduct coordinated patrolling in the east,

around the region of the Malacca Straits.

• In an effort at ensuring better

coordination and shorten response

timings during a crisis, India has posted

a Military Attaché (MA) in the Maldives.

So far, the MA based in Sri Lanka was

also in charge of the Maldives. Captain

R.S. Sunil, based at the Eastern Naval

Command Headquarters at

Visakhapatnam, took charge as MA lastweek at Male. He is the first MA to be

based in the Maldives. India trains the

Maldivian National Defence Forces and

its police.

• Only India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,

Bangladesh and China have diplomatic

posts in the Maldives.

⇒ ASTRA MISSILE TEST-FIRED SUCCESSFULLY

• As part of its developmental trials,

Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile

(BVRAAM), Astra was successfullylaunched from Chandipur, Odisha.

• The launch was carried out against an

electronic target, although Pilotless



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YOJANA 9





Asbestos has been widely used in various

types of naval ships, including warships, aircraftcarriers, cruisers, destroyers, minesweepers,

frigates and submarines. Ships repaired or built

in the pre-1970 period were more likely to contain

the toxic substance. The glass-like asbestos fibres

were a major ingredient in many components of

the ship, from pipe insulation to gaskets, in engine

and boiler rooms, mess halls, navigation rooms

and even in sleeping quarters.

Today, the U.S. Navy and civilian

shipbuilders are eliminating its use and repair

workers are making efforts to eliminate asbestos-containing materials found on current or older

vessels.

Scientific studies over the past three

decades have proved the dangers involved during

asbestos exposure. Pleural mesothelioma is the

most common form of cancer that attacks the

lining of the lungs when unprotected workers

inhale the asbestos fibres; they pass through the

lungs and get embedded in the pleural

mesothelium, a wall of tissue surrounding the

lungs.⇒ GREAT HOPE FOR SCIENCE

• The recent decision of the United Nations

General Assembly to grant ‘Observer

status’ for the European Organisation for

Nuclear Research.

• CERN is highly commendable. CERN

is the first physical sciences research

organisation to become an Observer.

• The development comes a year after

CERN and the United Nations Office at

Geneva signed a co-operation agreement.• Founded in 1954 under the auspices of

Unesco, the research organisation has

till date lived up to the U.N. agency’s

prime objective of international co-

operation in the science and technologysphere.

• In fact, it has gone beyond its initial

mission of restricting its co-operative

activities to researchers from the “Allied

countries and former Axis countries,”

and has today taken on board other

countries as members and observers,

including India.

• It has become a benchmark for other

large-scale science collaborative projects

involving many countries. The

fundamental difference between CERNand other international projects is that

CERN’s activities go beyond the core

area. Not widely known is the important

digital library tools it has been sharing

with several countries in Africa for

empowering and changing the way

people access information. The new

status and global platform will help the

organisation direct and set a course so

science and technology will ultimately

benefit people.

• The U.N. decision comes at a most

crucial time when proprietary science is

proving to be a great stumbling block in

making the fruits of basic scientific

research available to all. The wall that

divides basic and applied science is

getting replaced with a thin line, with

certain promising fields coming up at the

“intersection of basic research and

application.” Molecular biology is one

such field. U.S. federal agencies,

universities and pharmaceuticalcompanies had to go to great lengths to

free up the human genome sequence

data generated by the privately-funded



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GIST OF THE HINDU10





Craig Venter team. This is one

contentious issue that CERN can probably try to tackle. It was at CERN

that the World Wide Web was invented,

and an early WWW was initially made

available to the small community of high-

energy physicists. It also played a central

role in developing the Internet in Europe.

Today, it has the CERN Easy Access IP

through which it makes available some

of its technologies “free of royalties,”

provided they are developed to “benefit

the economy and society.” The latest is

its pioneering effort to make the entirefield of high-energy physics open access

through the Sponsoring Consortium for

Open Access Publishing in Particle

Physics (SCOAP3) initiative.

⇒ THORNY ISSUES IN

INDIA-R USSIA ENGAGEMENT

• Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit

to India should dispel speculation about

hiccups in bilateral ties.

• Russia was unhappy with India’s refusal

to waive civil liability for units III and IVof the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant

(KNPP) and failure to secure Russian

telecom company Sistema’s massive

investment in the joint venture, Sistema

Shyam TeleServices Ltd (SSTL), while

India was concerned over a year-long

delay in the delivery of the Vikramaditya

aircraft carrier.

• Russia remains India’s most trusted and

valuable defence partner. It reaffirmed

its readiness to share cutting-edge

weapons technologies, leasing out the

nuclear submarine Chakra and offering

to jointly develop the fifth-generation

fighter aircraft. The coming summit may

see the two sides seal multi-billion deals

for the supply of Su-30MKI fighters, Mi-17 helicopters, aircraft engines and tank

missiles.

• Mr. Putin is also expected to endorse

India’s efforts to expand its involvement

in the Russian energy sector, with talks

currently focusing on the development

of new oil and gas fields in Russia’s Far

East, Siberia and the Arctic region.

• The perceived irritants in the relations

have been blown far out of proportion

by the media and interested parties.

Informed Russian sources said the liabilityissue for Kudankulam III and IV will be

resolved by somewhat raising the price

tag for the Russian-built reactors.

Problems with boiler insulation on the

Vikramaditya are unfortunate, but should

not obscure the fact that overall, the

aircraft carrier demonstrated admirable

seaworthiness, manoeuvrability and

aircraft takeoff and landing capacity

during the trials.

• The cancellation of Sistema’s licences

for CDMA services is a more serious

problem. The company’s $3.1-billion

investment, including $700 million of

government funds, should have been a

trail-blazing example of a successful

foray by Russian business in India, but

may end up discouraging other potential

investors. That said, the Kremlin is not

prepared to let the row mar Mr. Putin’s

visit.

• If the disputes over Kudankulam and

Sistema have been pushed to theforefront of the bilateral agenda, it is only

because of an unacceptably low level of

commercial links: trade hardly exceeds



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GIST OF THE HINDU 11





the combined price of two reactors for

Kudankulam, plus Sistema’s investmentin Shyam Telecom.

• This year, trade has posted a robust 30

per cent growth, but still amounts to just

$11 billion, and, with some luck, could hit

the $20-billion target set by the two

governments for 2015. By that time,

India’s and Russia’s trade with China will

be well above $100 billion for each.

Achieving a quantum jump in trade and

economic ties will be the biggest challenge

for Mr. Putin during his five-year term

till 2018 and for India. Without a solideconomic foundation, the two countries

would find it hard to sustain the current

high level of their “special and privileged

strategic partnership”.

⇒ R ISKY FUTURES THAT

BANKS CAN DO WITHOUT

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram proposed

to add a new clause in the Banking Laws

(Amendment) Bill which was not a part of the

original amendments vetted by the Standing

Committee on Finance last year. It allows the

entry of banks in commodity futures trading in

India. After strong opposition by political parties

on the grounds of parliamentary impropriety, the

government dropped it from the Bill on December

18.

However, this clause would be incorporated

in the Forward Contract Regulation Act

(Amendment) Bill which is likely to be tabled in

Parliament next year. As allowing banks to trade

in commodity futures signals a major policy shift

in the banking sector with wider ramifications, it

should be discussed in and outside Parliament. As

per the existing regulatory framework, banks in

India are allowed to trade in financial instruments

(shares, bonds and currencies) in the securitiesmarket. But the Banking Regulation Act, 1949

prohibits banks (domestic and foreign) from

trading in goods. Section 8 of the Act states: “no

banking company shall directly or indirectly deal

in the buying or selling or bartering of goods,

except in connection with the realisation of

security given to or held by it.”

However, banks are allowed to finance

commodity business and provide fund and non-

fund-based facilities to commodity traders to meet

their working capital requirements. Banks also provide clearing and settlement services for

commodities derivatives transactions. But banks

cannot trade in commodities themselves.

In addition to banks, mutual funds, pension

funds, insurance companies and foreign

institutional investors (FIIs) are not allowed to

trade in Indian commodity futures markets.

By and large, Indian banks (public and

private) lack the market knowledge and the

expertise to benefit from trading in commodity

futures. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hasalso expressed concern at the risks posed by

domestic banks that lack the expertise and skilled

manpower to deal with such risky trading

instruments.

The commodity exchanges are supportive

of this move as higher trading volumes would

boost their revenues. The real beneficiaries are

likely to be big foreign banks that have

considerable international experience and

expertise in dealing with futures trading. Unlike

small traders and hedgers, big foreign banks andFIIs could also benefit immensely from algorithmic

trading and other advanced trading tools.



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Already, foreign banks dominate the

financial derivatives market in India. Most of these products are financial in nature with no actual

bank lending involved. The off-balance-sheet

exposure of foreign banks (e.g., currency forward

contracts, interest rate derivatives) is currently

very high in India and should be a matter of

concern to policymakers. The off-balance-sheet

exposure of foreign banks as a proportion of their

on-balance-sheet exposure was 1,860 per cent in

2010-11. The entry of banks into commodity

futures trading could turn out to be a risky

proposition for several valid reasons. To beginwith, the commodity futures market in India is still

in a nascent stage of development. Therefore, the

existing regulatory environment cannot handle the

sudden entry of big financial players such as

banks and institutional investors.

In addition, the existing penalty provisions

are grossly inadequate and not in tune with the

current trading volume in the Indian commodity

derivatives markets. It may sound astonishing that

the FMC — which regulates billions of dollars

worth of commodity trade — does not have the power to directly impose a financial penalty on

traders. Now, only a maximum penalty of Rs.1,000

can be imposed on market participants by the

FMC — and through court orders on conviction.

A financial penalty of a mere Rs.1,000 (enforced

through a lengthy court process) does not deter

potential offenders in the commodity markets.

⇒ JUSTICE K UMAR IS NGT CHIEF

• Justice Swatanter Kumar has taken over

as chairperson of the National Green

Tribunal (NGT), to decide on casesrelating to environmental protection, and

conservation of forests and natural

resources.

• Though Justice Kumar’s tenure as a

Supreme Court judge is due to end nextweek, December 14 was his last working

day and he assumed charge of the new

office on December 20. He is the first

Supreme Court judge to preside over the

Tribunal which was, till now, functioning

without a full-time chairperson. Justice

P. Jyothimani, a retired Judge of the

Madras High Court, who has been

appointed a judicial member of the NGT.

⇒ PRIMARY NEGLECT

• The large number of unfilled vacanciesin Primary Health Centres in many States

is proof that any plan to provide universal

health coverage in India is going to be a

major challenge.

• Availability of human resources for

health, be it doctors, nurses, or support

staff, is far from optimal. In the WHO’s

Global Atlas of the Health Workforce for

2010, India is 52 among 57 countries

facing a critical HR crisis in health. A

well-functioning health system should

have at least 23 health workers per 10,000 people, while the statistic for India

is 19. Even this national performance is

not uniform, as the statistics on PHCs

show. It is unconscionable that as per

2011 figures, some States have staggering

levels of vacancies of doctors at the most

basic access level. Chhattisgarh tops the

list with 71 per cent; West Bengal,

Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya

Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha and even Tamil

Nadu have significant number of vacant

doctor posts. These statistics strengthen

the argument that many more medical

and nursing colleges, and institutions for

health worker training should be opened



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GIST OF THE HINDU 13





on a war footing. It is true that legislation

in this regard is pending, and theParliamentary Standing Committee on

Health and Family Welfare has recently

submitted its report. The Centre must

now move forward through democratic

consensus involving stakeholders.

• The litany of human resource shortages

is not peculiar to the PHCs. Vacant posts

are found in the even more basic unit of

Health Sub-Centres (HSCs), besides

hospitals at higher levels. What this

highlights is the patchy performance of

the National Rural Health Mission inseveral States. Unfortunately, these

States have failed to grasp the

importance of PHCs and HSCs to

reduce the country’s notorious maternal

and infant mortality rates. Unless they

act with determination, it will be

impossible to achieve the growth in

primary care so essential to cater to a

much higher population just a decade

from now. The Planning Commission’s

High Level Expert Group on universal

health coverage projects a need for 3.14

lakh HSCs (more than double the present

number) and over 50,000 PHCs by 2022.

To staff them with trained manpower, a

robust plan to augment human resources

must be pursued. Towards this end, the

Na tional Commiss ion for Hu man

Resources for Health Bill, 2011 provides

an enabling framework. Yet, it can make

progress only when all stakeholders,

including the medical community and civil

society, are agreed on the way forward.What is unarguable is the need for a rapid

scaling up of training facilities for doctors,

nurses and auxiliary workers, and filling

up of vacancies in all States. Without this,

universal health coverage cannot makemuch headway.

⇒ EU PROMOTES POTATO TO

R EPLACE R ICE IN ASIA

• The potato has a 12,000-year-old history

but an even brighter future as a crop that

is set to replace rice as a staple in the

Asian rice-consuming countries.

• It requires less amount of water

compared to other basic food products,

without compromising the nutrition value.

• Potato, therefore, is increasingly being promoted, in the genetically modified

organism-free European Union (EU), as

the foremost solution for meeting the

increased food demand for an estimated

6 billion world population by 2030.

• Dutch researchers from the famous

Wageningen University — dedicated to

bio-based economy in food, feed and

chemicals produced from renewable

resources — told a visiting press

delegation that if prepared in a healthy

manner and consumed in the right pr opor tion (b alanced reduct ion of

calories), consumers can benefit from

the many nutrients and dietary fibres in

the tuber.

⇒ AMMONIUM NITRATE, AFTER LOOSE

IMPORTS, FALLS INTO R EBEL HANDS

• The ambiguous rules governing the import

of the chemical leave gaping holes in the

system Amid a persisting terror threat,

the handling of ammonium nitrate

imports, and the ambiguous rulesgoverning them, continue to leave gaping

holes in the system which ultras keep

exploiting. Even a naval base and an



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GIST OF THE HINDU14





entire port are under threat.

• Ammonium nitrate, used in fertilizers, isalso one of the ingredients of improvised

explosive devices (IEDs) that extremists

rig up to perpetrate terror.

• India imports a sizable amount of this

explosive for use in its mines, but a

portion goes missing.The Visakhapatnam

Port, on the east coast, imports this

material; it handled 3.4 lakh tonnes in

2011-12. But the chemical is imported

unbagged, a practice that leaves ample

scope for spillage, and possibly theft.

⇒ CHINA OPENS

LONGEST HIGH-SPEED R AIL LINE

• China launched services on the world’s

longest high-speed rail route, the latestmilestone in the country’s rapid and —

sometimes troubled — super-fast rail

network.

• The opening of the 2,298-km line

between Beijing and Guangzhou means

passengers will be whisked from the

capital to the southern commercial hub

in just eight hours, compared with the 22

hours previously.

• China’s high-speed rail network was only

established in 2007 but has fast become

the world’s largest. The official Xinhuanews agency said China now operates

9,300 km of high-speed railways.



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⇒ HIGHER EDUCATION AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL

The country presently (201112) possesses

634 universities and 33,023 colleges with the

student strength of 1,69,75,000 (girls 70,49,000).The number of graduates coming out of technical

colleges was slightly over 7,00,000 in the last year.

However, 75 percent of technical graduates and

more than 85 percent of general graduates are

unemployable by India’s high growth global

industries, including information technology. In the

North-East st ates 40 universities and such

institutions are present with Nagaland having 3,

Assam 10, Meghalaya 9, Sikkim 5, Arunachal

Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura each

having 3. The small number of institutions inthese states can be due to the small size of the

states.

In the country out of the GDP, 3.77

percent was spent on education in 2011, 32.3

percent of the total amount went to higher

education.

Despite growing investment in education,

25 percent population still remains to be

illiterate; 15 percent of Indian students reach

high school and just 7 percent college and

university. The quality of higher education issignificantly poor. India’s post-secondary

institutions offer only enough seats for 7

percent of India’s college-age population.

⇒ COMPONENT OF INFRASTRUCTURE

Infrastructure Development is a

fundamental prerequisite for realizing the vision

of progress towards peace and prosperity and for creating an investment climate and market

development in the North East. In fact, this is a

basic prerequisite for development and has strong

complementarities with measures to improve

health and education as well as industry and

services are crucial for establishing a stable and

peaceful society and hence for the progress and

prosperity of the entire region.

Transport

Transport is a vital input for the proposed

shift from subsistence agriculture to cash crop

ba sed fa rming, as wel l as the planned

development of industry and the service sector.

Most of the area in the region is hilly and

undulating with low population densities,

accompanied by low per area production of

goods. In the hilly terrain, what it is in the NER

(except in Assam and some parts of other states)

development of inland waterways is the most

expensive. Similarly, rail connectivity in such a

terrain is not only time consuming but would need

prohibit ive investments, probably beyond the

means of the nation. It is road connectivity which

would play a dominant role in fulfilling the

transportation needs of the public. Air connectivity

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would certainly play a role for a limited segment

of people and goods.Roads

The main grid of transportation of goods and

passengers in the North East is the road network

of 82,000 Kms. This network is most developed

in the Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The five

other main States in the region have networks

ranging from 5000 to 9000 Kms. The vast

majority of roads, around are unpaved roads,

which are generally unsuitable for transport of

heavy goods.

The Ministry of Road Transport and

Highways (MoRTH) has been paying attention

to the development of National Highways (NHs)

in the North-Eastern region and 10 percent of the

total allocation is earmarked for this region. The

total length of NHs in the NE, including Sikkim,

is 6880 Kms and these are being developed and

maintained by three agencies-the State Public

Works Department (PWD), Border Roads

Organisation (BRO) and National Highways

Authority of India (NHAI).

Special Accelerated Road Development

Programme for the North Eastern Region

(SARDP NE) is a flagship pr ogramme

implemented by the Mof Road Transport and

Highways (MoRTH) covering the improvement/

construction of 8737 kms road. Phase-A covering

2304 km had approved for implementation and

Phase-B the length to be covered is 4570 Kms.

The objectives of the programme are as under:

• Connectivity of all State Capital towns

with NH through at least 2 lane road

• To provide 2-lane connectivity to theremaining 51 District Headquarter towns

of NER (there are in all 85 District

Headquarter towns of NER, 23 are

already connected by 2-lane road and

connectivity to l l District HQ is providedunder Phase-A of SARDP NE).

• To provide inter-connectivity of all the

State Capital towns by at least 2-lane NH

• To improve certain roads of strategic

importance

• To provide improved connectivity to

remote and backward areas, and

• To improve road connectivity to border

areas, Land Custom Stations and

neighbouring countries

The Asian Highways project covering a

road network of about 65,000 km. and passing

through 15 countries is lying dormant for more

than 40 years. The objective of this project is to

pr omote and coordina te development of

international road transport for connecting all the

capital and industrial cities, sea routes and places

of tourist and commercial interests in the Asian

region. The proposed roads in the Asian Highways

project would connect the NER not only with

Bangladesh but also with other East Asian

countries. This will give a big boost to the

development of this region. This project,therefore, needs to be pushed through for

implementation.

Rail

The railroad network is limited to 2500 Kms

and lies almost entirely within the State of Assam

(2466 Kms), with short stretches in Nagaland (13

Kms) and Arunachal Pradesh (I Kms). Only 960

Kms of this network consists of standard gauge

track suitable for haulage of bulk goods and the

majority of the network is made up of narrowgauge track suitable for small trains and

transportation of passenger and transportation of

smaller cargo.



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Similarly, there is an urgent need for a rail

link to Meghalaya and Sikkim. The moreimportant issue from the long-term point of view

of the strategic planning is to develop a rail

network with the aim of increasing inter-state

connectivity. In addition, rail connectivity should

be integrated with developments in the other

avenues of transport being proposed for the NER

as a whole.

Air

The terrain of the region and very tenuous

land link with the rest of the country makes air

connectivity a sine qua non for trade andcommerce, tourism, realization of the potential for

horticulture and floriculture in the region,

promotion of higher and technical education and

even for reducing the image deficit that the region

suffers from.

The air connectivity was extremely

unreliable prior to 2002 as the limited traffic made

the use of Boeing jets uneconomical and led to

irregular flight schedules. However, since 2002

the introduction of smaller ATR planes has made

flights within NER somewhat more reliablethough Kolkata still seems to be the hub rather

than Guwahati. To make Air connectivity within

region and with India there is a need for

substantial investments and participation from

both the Government and private investors.

During 11th Plan, three Greenfield airports,

one each at Packyong in Sikkim, Itanagar in

Arunachal Pradesh, and Chiethu in Nagaland was

proposed. In addition, some existing airports in

NER also has taken up for expansion/modification,

to make them operational for scheduled flights.Waterways

One of the key development constraints for

the Northeast over the past decades has been its

geographical isolation. Certainly the advances in

air flight have brought markets closer to the NorthEast, but the relatively high proportion of bulky

goods in the region’s economy requires the further

development of a means of transport. Specifically,

the use of inland waterways as the main network

for transportation of bulk goods in the

Northeast ern Region has a number of

advantages.

The main network of 1800 Kms of navigable

waterways of the Brahmaputra and Barak

system has been designated National Waterways

(NW)-2 which is currently used for the transportof bulk goods, but expansion of the transportation

sector is limited by the lack of transport and

overhaul facilities and natural restrictions in the

river system due to sedimentation and shallow

water levels.

A number of infrastructure developments

have been proposed to expand the inland

waterway network linked to NW-2 and improve

port facilities. Such initiatives would enable the

further development of several cargo routes and

ferry service routes along NW-2.There is also a range of other waterways

besides NW-2 tha t could be developed and

contribute to the economic growth of the

Northeast and pr omote Indo-Myanmar

cross border trade.

The third major option for increased inland

water transport is the further development of the

international Indo-Bangladesh Protocol route for

water transport. The development of this route

would increase options for goods movement to

and from the Northeast and peninsular Indiathrough the Sundarbans and Bangladesh,

improving the accessibility of the Northeastern

Region.



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Information and Communication

Technology (ICT)The teledensity of the North East is low in

comparison to the rest of India except Mizoram.

In addition to that the Internet usage is also low

in the North East is clear from the insignificant

number of connections in NER, being a low

15,303 in 2002, just 0.48 per cent of the total

number in the country. This increased since 2003

but was still less than 1 per cent (0.88 per cent)

of the total. It is thus reasonable to conclude that

the NER states have not been impacted by the

telecommunication revolution as much as the restof the country. The low Internet penetration is

particularly worrying given the long-term plan of

rapidly increasing the spread of IT services in the

region.

Cellular mobile services were introduced in

the region only in 2003 after a delay of eight years

than the rest of the country for security reasons.

There are still some restrictions in border areas

and no signals are allowed within 500 metres of

the international border. This restriction is

particularly harsh to the North East states wherea significant population lives in border areas and,

therefore, should be removed as early as possible.

To address the situation, BSNL declared the year

2007 as the “Year of Development of Telecom

Network in NE Region”.

In addition, major initiatives have been taken

to boost the ICT activities in the region by the

DoT are: (i) introduction of IMScompliant

functions into the existing solution, (ii) Testing is

in progress for the implementation of IMS-SSF

functionality, (iii) Development work for implementation of IMS Gateway control

functions, (iv) BBWT system has been installed

at Agartala, Tripura for Proof-of concept and is

being evaluated for implementation of SWAN

(StateWide Area Network) and (v) it is also

planned to explore northeastern states for piloting

some of the new technologies developed.

Power

There is a huge potential for the power

generation in the region. Apart from this almost

every North Eastern state is a deficit in power.

This power deficit is a major constraint in the

economic development of the region which is

important for the growing state of industrial and

other economic activities based on power in the

region. The power generation opportunitiesespecially in the hydro power are there in the

states especially Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and

Meghalaya.

As noted in the Pasighat Declaration, the

total power potential in NER is about 50,000 MW.

According to NEC Vision 2020 the estimated

hydro-power potential of Arunachal is around

50,000 MW. The state is expected to generate an

additional 22,584 MW hydel power by 2020 in 166

hydel projects, of which only 88 MW is to be

created under state projects, the rest will be under

central and private projects.

Many policies like the “50,000MW hydro

initiative”, Hydro policy 2008 have been

formulated by Central Government to promote

investment in hydropower in the north-eastern

region. Under the Mega Power Policy of the

Central Government, the qualifying threshold

capacity for setting up hydro power plants in the

region and for availing the special benefits thereof

is 350 MW, whereas for the rest of the country,

it is 500 MW.As per the ‘North Eastern Industrial and

Investment Promotion Policy (NEIIPP) - 2007’

by Ministry of Commerce and industry, the whole



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of NER has been declared as SEZ and many

subsidies, tax exemptions/ waivers are offered oncost of infrastructure, transport, power etc.

⇒ K HASI SACRED FORESTS

Arguably, one of the best examples of

ancient wisdom in ensuring ecological

sustainability is the Khasi tradition of sacred

forests. Like many tribes in different parts of the

world, including central India, forests, rivers and

trees were considered to be the home of gods and

spirits. Hence these were revered, worshipped

and protected. Such forests were venerated,

protected and preserved. Under the belief system,

it was considered taboo to pick up even a leaf and

carry it out of the forest. It was believed that

disobedience of this led to punishments in the

form of ailments, which unless atoned for, through

prescribed rituals, could prove fatal. The forests

spirits were also appeased through rituals and

sacrifices and in turn the spirits ensured the

welfare of the people. Such beliefs, in the

industrial age, were often dubbed as animism and

superstition and under the relentless onslaught of

modernism, such belief systems are fastdisappearing.

With them are disappearing a way of life

that was instrumental in preserving the

sustainability of human civilization. As a case in

point may be cited the example of the sacred

forests in Meghalaya. In the not too distant past,

many forests of the state were designated as

sacred. In fact even the name Shillong is derived

from the hill U Lum Shyllong, where the present

day Shillong Peak is located. It was a sacred

forest, where resided the spirit of the guardian

deity, U Lei Shyllong. The Laitkor forest Range

which housed the sacred forests, are today

accepted as an important rain catchment area that

feeds the perennial springs that supplies crystal

clear water to a large part of Shillong round theyear. Today, with the denudation of this forests,

mountain springs are drying up and water scarcity

has become much more common.

⇒ APATANI COMPOSITE FARMING

The Apatanis are one of the major tribes of

Arunachal Pradesh. Predominantly occupying the

Lower Subansiri district, the tribe is renowned for

its skills in composite agriculture.

Their terraced wet rice fields are also used

to grow fish while the elevated borders or bunds,

that retain water in the fields are used for growing

finger millets. The millet plants not only bind and

hold the soil but reduces weed growth. Moreover,

the millet produced is highly prized for its use in

manufacturing the local brew. Normally fish

fingerlings are released in the paddy fields and

subsequently, the fish feed on the plankton and

other micro flora and insects. As they forage for

food, they release micro-nutrients from the soil

that is beneficial for the paddy. The fish grow

along with the paddy crop and sometimes the fish

is harvested as much as two times during the year.In addition, the Apatanis have perfected the

art of nutrient management of the rice terraces

in a number of ingenious ways. Compost is

derived through decomposition of paddy straw by

inundating fields. A number of essential mineral

supplements are added to the fields through ash

derived from burning of straw and other

vegetation that remain in the fields and outlying

areas.

In addition, additional manure is derived

from animal droppings, rice husks and kitchen

waste. It was also observed that it was common

practice for Apatani villages which are normally

located at high elevations, to direct the organic



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GIST OF YOJANA20





sewage generated in the villages, to the outlying

fields. This was a good source of organic manure,useful for both the plants as well as the fish.

⇒ NITROGEN FIXING

TECHNIQUES OF THE ANGAMIS

The Angamis are one of the major tribes of

Nagaland and the village of Khonoma, near the

capital Kohima, is considered to be one of the

oldest inhabited village in the region. In and

around the hills of Khonoma can be found trees

that are hundreds of years old. Many of these are

Alder trees, a species extolled by agricultural

scientists for its nitrogen fixing capacity. The

ancient tradition of the Angamis seems to have

realized the value of the Alder in agriculture and

hence its preservation over the centuries. In fact,

they seem to have developed an alder based

system of shifting cultivation or Jhum, that gave

spectacular productivity. Under this system, while

the secondary foliage or the undergrowth is

cleared and burnt to clear the ground for

cultivation, the primary vegetation the Alder trees

are left undisturbed.

R ECOMMENDATION OF THE

HIGH LEVEL COMMITTEE

A High Level Committee comprising of Dr.

V Krishnamurthy, Chairman, National

Manufacturing Competitiveness Council

(NMCC), Dr. Sam Pitroda, Adviser to the Prime

Minister for Public Infrastructure, Information

and Innovation, among others had submitted a

report to the Prime Minister in 2010, to fast-track

the growth of the Electronics System Design and

Manufacturing (ESDM) sector. The Committeemade five key recommendations in their report.

One of the five recommendations specifically

related to promotion of R&D and innovation in

the sector. The relevant extract of the report is

as follows.“There is an urgent need for intervention to

promote and develop innovation, R&D, Indian

IPR and manufacturing within the country for

electronic products, which include telecom

produ cts, especial ly those having security

implications. It is proposed to create a dedicated

`Electronic Development Fund’ with an initial

corpus of Rs. 5,000 crore for Innovations, R&D,

TPR and product development and promotion of

electronics equipment manufacturing. This fund

would also support seed, angel and venturefunding. The fund may be leveraged to acquire

foreign companies so as to shift the production

of products currently imported in large volumes,

into the country. Some of the PSUs which are

well positioned may take a lead role and venture

into such acquisitions. The fund would be

managed professionally and accessible to both

Government and private sector.”

“To take up a major programme for design

and fabrication of an Indian Microprocessor. This

would have multiple benefits such as (i)elimination/reduction of licence fee/royalty paid

by the country for using foreign microprocessor

core (ii) develop systems for critical installation

with enhanced security. While the development

of microprocessor is likely to cost around Rs.

1000 crores, the detailed costing for the complete

ecosystem needs to be worked out, which is

expected to be around Rs.5000 crores.”

⇒ NATIONAL POLICY ON

ELECTRONICS AND R&D AND INNOVATION

The draft National Policy on Electronics

2011 was released recently. It reflects the

Government emphasis on development of R&D



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and innovation capabilities in this sector. The goals

and targets of the Policy underline this thrust. Therelevant goals are extracted below.

To become a global leader in creating

Intellectual Property (IP) in the ESDM sector by

increasing fund flow for R&D, seed capital and

venture capital for start-ups in the ESDM and

nanoelectronics sectors.

Furthermore, creating an Electronic

Development Fund (EDF) to promote Innovation

and IP and R&D, commercialization of products,

etc. to facilitate IP development by Indian

industry, academic and R&D institutions isrecognized as a key strategy for achieving the

aforesaid goal. The Policy also envisages that the

EDF will be a “Fund of Funds” which will

participate in “Daughter Funds” for various

innovation and manufacturing stages. It also states

that all Daughter Funds are to be professionally

managed.

⇒ APPROACH OF XII PLAN

The draft approach to the Twelth Plan

points out that the R&D expenditure in the country

is only about 0.9 percent of GDP, of which about

three- fourth is in the public sector and only one

fourth is in the private sector which is simply not

adequate. The total expenditure in R&D is

required to be increased to 2 percent of GDP by

the end of the Twelfth Plan. This could consist

of about 1 percent in the public sector and 1

percent in the corporate sector, including PSUs.

It recognizes that the current practices and

policies for promoting R&D and innovation do not

promote this objective sufficiently. It states, “we

also need to migrate from defensive decisionsyndrome to trust based decision logic and from

risk averse to risk prepared social behaviour”.

It is necessary to create a framework that

takes into account the entire life cycle of ideas beginning with discovery/ cr ea tion to

commercialization, extension and value addition.

It is success in this area alone that can stimulate

appropriate innovation across the wider system.

Significant changes will have to be brought in

current interaction of publicly owned S&T

establishment with industry, both in public and

private sector. This should result in a significant

enhancement of the private sector R&D

expenditure, which is presently estimated at

around 25 percent of national R&D expenditure

to at least 50 percent in the Twelfth Plan.

The important elements which may play the

catalytic role in achieving this outcome are: first,

leveraging the Government grants and other

forms of financing, to secure private financial

flows and support around a demand driven R&D

development path. Industry, both public and

private, would also need to be incentivized to

invest at least 2 percent of their sales turnover in

R&D. The second is developing a workable

protocol for facilitating interaction amongst these

players. This would cover a range of issues, fromthe nature of testing to that of the regulatory

framework and the facilitation of foreign direct

investment (FDI) in related R&D activity.

⇒ THE YOZMNA PROGRAMME IN ISRAEL

• There are important lessons which the

proposed Electronic Development Fund

can derive from the Yojana programme

of Israel.

• Yozmna created a solid base for a

competitive Venture Capital (VC)

industry with critical mass in Israel.• Yozmna created a solid base for a

competitive Venture Capital (VC)

industry with critical mass in Israel.



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GIST OF YOJANA22





• It is also created a network which

enabled entrepreneurs in Israel to learnfrom foreign limited partners; and to

acquire a network of international

contacts.

• Yozma was started as a $ l00M

Government owned Venture Capital fund

(with the same name) oriented to two

functions: a) fund of funds- investment

in 10 private VC funds (‘Yozma Funds’

- 80M); and b) direct investments in high

tech companies-$20M (through the

Government -owned ‘Yozma Venture

Fund’).

⇒ PERFROMANCE OF FARMERS

• The share of oil seeds crops in terms

of area [1.8 percent] and production [0.6

percent] in the total in 1961-62 went up

to 16.7 percent and 6.6 percent

respectively in the total in 2010-11.

• While share of area under commercial

crops in the total increased significantly

from 5.1 percent in 1961-62 to 7.5

percent in 2010-11 , thei r share of

production, however, remained stagnantat 39.1 percent and 38.1 percent

respectively.

• Area under all crops in rabi season

sharply shot up from 3,350 hectares in

1961-62 to 67,440 hectares [2013

percent] and production from 2,580

metric tons to 1, 14,950 metric tons[4455

percent] in 2010-11. Consequently yield

of crops also improved from 770 kg/ha

to 1,704 kg/ha [221 percent] respectively.

•Cereals

which did not find place during

the rabi season till 1970s covered 2,700

hectares in 1980-81 and increased to

6,500 hectares [240.7 percent] in 2000-

01 and 10,330 hectares [382.6 percent]

in 2010-11. The cereal production

improved significantly from 4,000 metrictons to 12,200 metric tons [305 percent]

and 19,480 metric tons [487 percent]

respectively. The yield of rabi cereals

increased from 1,481 kg/ha to 1,876 kg/

ha and 1,885 kg/ha respectively.

• In 2009, out of the total geographical area

of 16,57,900 hectares, the gross area

under total agriculture was 3,87,860

[23.39 percent].

• Between 2003 and 2009, share of

average area under jhum p

gist of the hindu yojana kurukshetra pib science reporter january february 2013

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