INDIA:E-waste expected to increase to 8,00,000 tonnes by 2012
During 2005, 1,46,800 tonnes of e-waste was generated in the country, which is expected to increase to 8,00,000 by 2012. A survey carried out by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) further states that the top ten cities generating e-waste are Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Surat and Nagpur.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests has notified the Hazardous Wastes (Management, Handling and Trans-boundary Movement) Rules, 2008 for proper management and handling of hazardous wastes which include e-waste. Rules, All the units handling e-waste need to register with CPCB and the hazardous wastes generated shall be sent or sold to a registered or authorized recycler or re-processor or re-user as per the rule.
The Guidelines for Environmentally Sound Management of e-waste published by CPCB provide the approach and methodology for environmentally sound management of e-waste, which include details such as e-waste composition and recycle potential of items of economic value, identification of possible hazardous contents in e-waste, the recycle, re-use and recovery options, treatment and disposal options and the environmentally sound e-waste treatment technologies. The Guidelines emphasize the concept of Extended Producer Responsibility.
KP
Thursday, February 4, 2010
On proposed Rural Medical Course
The Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad has said that not recognizing the need for trained medical human resources in rural areas and unwillingness to consider new ideas for addressing it will not help the situation. Speaking at the two day workshop to discuss ‘Alternative Models of Undergraduate Medical Education’, The Minister said that in the proposed Bachelor of Rural Medicine and Surgery (BRMS)course a community based solution to the public health in rural areas is being discussed for the first time. He allayed the fears that the Course will compromise the quality of rural health care.’ We are not replacing MBBS or specialist doctors’ Shri Azad said. The proposal envisages training persons from rural areas on the basis of merit to equip him or her to “primarily, I underline, primarily to work in 145000 sub-centres, or at the most in Primary Health Centre, let it be very clear that it will be in addition to MBBS doctors (at PHC)” , Shri Azad added. Sub Centre, the most basic unit of public health system after ASHA is currently manned by Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM).
Emphasizing the importance of quality in medical education and value of trained medical doctors, Shri Azad said that due to widespread vacancies in Community Health Centres and Primary Health centres coupled with burden of emerging diseases, rural population is being forced to go to cities and even to tertiary care hospitals like AIIMS for conditions which can be stabilized at local level. This results in huge expenditure and consequent impoverishment of rural masses. Due to physical, social and cultural distance from medical facilities people tend to depend on unqualified quack who often provide irrational treatment. The Minister said that past neglect cannot be reason for not thinking of innovative solutions today. “It is not our case to shirk away from our responsibility of having trained doctors but idealism needs to be tempered with reality.... the existing situation prevailing in rural areas is compelling us to look beyond current solutions” Shri Azad added.
The Minister was emphatic that safeguards should be in place to prevent the misuse of the proposed scheme. He asked Medical Council of India to closely monitor and have the annual licensing procedure established. Shri Azad was clear that “the training of knowledge and skills proposed to be imparted to this cadre of rural health providers should be designed and based on the health needs of the rural community and not make it a back-door entry for persons to get into the medical profession.” Need for strict vigilance and public information was stressed by the Minister to prevent the misuse.
The Secretary Health, Ms K. Sujatha Rao also underlined the need for having a cadre of trained medical human resource to take care of the requirements of the rural people. She said that time has come for a paradigm shift to align curriculum, numbers and needs in the medical education and the proposed course is a step in that direction.
The Two day conference will discuss various aspects of the proposed course and is being attended by, Vice Chancellors of various universities, Health officials and medical educators.
The Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad has said that not recognizing the need for trained medical human resources in rural areas and unwillingness to consider new ideas for addressing it will not help the situation. Speaking at the two day workshop to discuss ‘Alternative Models of Undergraduate Medical Education’, The Minister said that in the proposed Bachelor of Rural Medicine and Surgery (BRMS)course a community based solution to the public health in rural areas is being discussed for the first time. He allayed the fears that the Course will compromise the quality of rural health care.’ We are not replacing MBBS or specialist doctors’ Shri Azad said. The proposal envisages training persons from rural areas on the basis of merit to equip him or her to “primarily, I underline, primarily to work in 145000 sub-centres, or at the most in Primary Health Centre, let it be very clear that it will be in addition to MBBS doctors (at PHC)” , Shri Azad added. Sub Centre, the most basic unit of public health system after ASHA is currently manned by Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM).
Emphasizing the importance of quality in medical education and value of trained medical doctors, Shri Azad said that due to widespread vacancies in Community Health Centres and Primary Health centres coupled with burden of emerging diseases, rural population is being forced to go to cities and even to tertiary care hospitals like AIIMS for conditions which can be stabilized at local level. This results in huge expenditure and consequent impoverishment of rural masses. Due to physical, social and cultural distance from medical facilities people tend to depend on unqualified quack who often provide irrational treatment. The Minister said that past neglect cannot be reason for not thinking of innovative solutions today. “It is not our case to shirk away from our responsibility of having trained doctors but idealism needs to be tempered with reality.... the existing situation prevailing in rural areas is compelling us to look beyond current solutions” Shri Azad added.
The Minister was emphatic that safeguards should be in place to prevent the misuse of the proposed scheme. He asked Medical Council of India to closely monitor and have the annual licensing procedure established. Shri Azad was clear that “the training of knowledge and skills proposed to be imparted to this cadre of rural health providers should be designed and based on the health needs of the rural community and not make it a back-door entry for persons to get into the medical profession.” Need for strict vigilance and public information was stressed by the Minister to prevent the misuse.
The Secretary Health, Ms K. Sujatha Rao also underlined the need for having a cadre of trained medical human resource to take care of the requirements of the rural people. She said that time has come for a paradigm shift to align curriculum, numbers and needs in the medical education and the proposed course is a step in that direction.
The Two day conference will discuss various aspects of the proposed course and is being attended by, Vice Chancellors of various universities, Health officials and medical educators.
An ode to the ‘Chanakya’ of Indian politics
As a special gift to Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to mark his 75th birthday, Kolkata-based Deep Prakashan has brought out a coffee-table book on him that was released by Vice-President Hamid Ansari at the ongoing World Book Fair in Pragati Maidan here on Wednesday.
Speaking about the book, Pranab Mukherjee: The All Season Man, Mr. Ansari compared the senior Congress leader’s long political innings to the gentleman’s game.
“In cricket, once a player makes 75 runs it becomes a respectable score. But the question is how it is reached. Here we have a case where 75 has been reached in the most impeccable manner. I remember once I had gone to the Ferozeshah Kotla where Vijay Hazare played a memorable innings of doughty defence and flashes of stroke play. Pranab Da’s innings [in the corridors of power] is also on those lines. The list of contributors will make you judge the diversity and comprehensiveness of his administrative skills.”
The Vice-President said it was difficult to categorise the Finance Minister.
“He has been on the political scene and Parliament for so long. One thing is loud and clear: Pranab Da has amazing efficacy, razor-sharp memory, ability to ease complex situations and build consensus,” Mr. Ansari said.
In the past six years of United Progressive Alliance rule at the Centre, Mr. Mukherjee had been playing the role of a sheet-anchor in dealing with difficult situations, the Vice-President said. He had diversity of interest and expertise.
“He has worked in the Ministry of Commerce, Defence Ministry, External Affairs and now Finance Ministry. This is a feat that no one has equalled in Indian Parliament… I hope he would some day write about his unique experience of being in so many different sides of the government.”
Many moments shared
Stating that he was grateful to the Vice-President for having agreed to bless the book release function, Mr. Mukherjee said: “We have shared many moments discussing different subjects. The book has been brought out by a young man, a political activist and a lawyer. I didn’t expect it would be possible for him to complete the project as the personalities would find it difficult to find time. But he and his collaborators have brought it out literally.”
The Finance Minister said he received a copy but only had time to glance through it.
The book on “the Chanakya of Indian politics” is a compilation of memoirs, first person accounts and thoughts by eminent personalities from different walks of life at home and abroad.
It has been edited by Sukhendu Sekhar Ray.
The book has comments by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, BJP leader L.K. Advani, veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty and cricketer Kapil Dev, besides a host of national and international figures.
As a special gift to Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to mark his 75th birthday, Kolkata-based Deep Prakashan has brought out a coffee-table book on him that was released by Vice-President Hamid Ansari at the ongoing World Book Fair in Pragati Maidan here on Wednesday.
Speaking about the book, Pranab Mukherjee: The All Season Man, Mr. Ansari compared the senior Congress leader’s long political innings to the gentleman’s game.
“In cricket, once a player makes 75 runs it becomes a respectable score. But the question is how it is reached. Here we have a case where 75 has been reached in the most impeccable manner. I remember once I had gone to the Ferozeshah Kotla where Vijay Hazare played a memorable innings of doughty defence and flashes of stroke play. Pranab Da’s innings [in the corridors of power] is also on those lines. The list of contributors will make you judge the diversity and comprehensiveness of his administrative skills.”
The Vice-President said it was difficult to categorise the Finance Minister.
“He has been on the political scene and Parliament for so long. One thing is loud and clear: Pranab Da has amazing efficacy, razor-sharp memory, ability to ease complex situations and build consensus,” Mr. Ansari said.
In the past six years of United Progressive Alliance rule at the Centre, Mr. Mukherjee had been playing the role of a sheet-anchor in dealing with difficult situations, the Vice-President said. He had diversity of interest and expertise.
“He has worked in the Ministry of Commerce, Defence Ministry, External Affairs and now Finance Ministry. This is a feat that no one has equalled in Indian Parliament… I hope he would some day write about his unique experience of being in so many different sides of the government.”
Many moments shared
Stating that he was grateful to the Vice-President for having agreed to bless the book release function, Mr. Mukherjee said: “We have shared many moments discussing different subjects. The book has been brought out by a young man, a political activist and a lawyer. I didn’t expect it would be possible for him to complete the project as the personalities would find it difficult to find time. But he and his collaborators have brought it out literally.”
The Finance Minister said he received a copy but only had time to glance through it.
The book on “the Chanakya of Indian politics” is a compilation of memoirs, first person accounts and thoughts by eminent personalities from different walks of life at home and abroad.
It has been edited by Sukhendu Sekhar Ray.
The book has comments by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, BJP leader L.K. Advani, veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty and cricketer Kapil Dev, besides a host of national and international figures.
Deep in Everyone, There is Great Strength -Swami Chidananda
Change Management
Deep in Everyone, There is Great Strength
Swami Chidananda
Great strength and potential for creativity exist in the depth of everyone, which can empower one to face change and to bring about desirable change. The powers of Nature are immeasurable and her ways unpredictable. On one hand, everything is likely to change outside us and within us. On the other, we have the power to meet with these, survive them and emerge victorious and renewed.
Kinds of Change:
Three parameters apply to the topic of change:Area,Desirability,and
Cause.
The area of change could be outside or inside. The change could be desirable or undesirable. Lastly, change could be caused by outer agents or it could be brought about by us.
These changes – sometimes expected and many other times a surprise –tend to affect us considerably provided we let them do so.
Changes outside could be of many kinds: in people, technology, economy, weather and so on.
Changes inside again are of different types: variation in physical health, emotional state, motivation, memory, personal values and so on.
Desirable changes obviously bring profit, fame, new opportunities and so on. Undesirable changes cause loss of money, brand value, relationships and so on. When outer agents cause the change, we are at the receiving end. When we effect the change, we could be the harbingers of a new era.
Eye of the Storm: Central to the wisdom perspectives with regard to change is the question, “Who am I?” It may look odd but this query is highly significant because our ability to face anything depends largely on what we think we are. Two leaders, apparently of equal standing, may perform differently as a result of their thought processes based on their mental models. One may think she is sure to lose; she may imagine she has nothing left in her repertoire to handle the situation and so on. She will surely yield to the pressures of the situation and suffer a debacle. The thought, “I am weak” makes her weak. The second leader may intuitively perceive certain hidden strength within her and thereby experience fearlessness. She will then discover new sources of intelligence and energy; she wins. The thought, “I am capable” makes her capable.
Wisdom traditions around the world have always – directly or indirectly – revolved around this great question, “Who am I?” In fact science and spirituality are marked by a constant pursuit of a question each. Science concerns itself with the question, “What is this?” It has accordingly discovered a lot about the world around. Spirituality, on the other hand, engages with the inquiry “Who am I?” The great mystics therefore uncovered countless secrets of the inner world. Hidden powers of leaders and executives are in this inner world of the human psyche. We need a balance of these two streams of human endeavor: the objective science and the subjective spirituality.
You and I start every morning with some idea, a bunch of thoughts, of who we are. How we see the world follows this notion. What we want is based on the mental model of who we are. The notion, for example, “I am an eligible bachelor”, makes a man look for the right lady who could be his life’s companion. The picture, for another example, “I am the team leader”, makes a lady look at seven others (in the team) as people to be given directions. Invariably, we carry thoughts like, “I am x” or “I am y” or “I am z”. These thoughts play a central role in shaping a large number of other thoughts. Desire and fear drive our actions, and both desire and fear arise from the basic thought of our identity. As we think, so we become – goes an old saying. Our thoughts, we add here, are like corollaries while the basic concept of who we are acts like the theorem.
What Changes? Change takes place whether we like it or not. The world changes and we too change. My philosophy teacher, Swami Chinmayananda, used to say with wit and humor, “The only changeless law in the universe is that everything must change.” This space-time continuum we call the cosmos is in a state of flux. Physics would make us imagine the universe is real and we come and go; metaphysics would suggest we are real and the plethora of names and forms come and go. It is all a matter of where our identification lies. As the personality, we are a tiny wave that rises and falls. Behind the personality, as Existence-Awareness, we are the substrate for a billion waves to show up and vanish. To cope with change – good or bad – in an eminent manner, we need to draw from a deeper level of our own existence. Self-inquiry can take us there. Pleasure and pain affect us a lot on one level and have little effect on the deeper plane. If our mind is much burdened with memories, we are then bound to suffer a lot when unexpected changes loom large before us. A lighter mind, not clinging to the past, has the suppleness and flexibility to face even sea changes. Big trees and electric poles fall during a storm but blades of grass remain intact. They bend before the winds and, when things become normal, stand straight and begin to swing gently in light breeze. Do we have the psychological simplicity to go through stormy events? Or are we rigid with false prestige or some unnecessary insistence that outer changes break our backs?
The world changes, when you change: Ordinarily we believe that the world has the capacity to change us. Higher wisdom throws light on our capacity to change the world. First of all, when there is an inner change on our side, the outer world’s impact gets much reduced. Going further, radical change within us can cause significant changes in our surroundings. Is not the world really our own creation? In the apparent tug of war between the world and us, victory can be ours if we realize our hidden potential. The power inside the frail frame of a Gandhi could make the mighty British Empire pause and rethink on many an issue. So was the influence that a Martin Luther King Jr. or a Nelson Mandela could exert on well-built centers of power. Everywhere – in politics, business, science or technology – the power hidden in a human being is generally underestimated. While management and science tap resources in outer nature, spiritual wisdom draws from inner nature, from the human being himself/herself.
---Facing Change: There is hidden power within us that can face incredible changes in the outer world. It is sometimes equated with God, in the language of many religions. They say God functions through us when we surrender to Him. Yet others would avoid the word God and prefer to put it, “When you are silent, (a higher) truth acts through you.” In some traditions like Buddhism, there is no mention of God. When people asked the Buddha, “Is there God”, he maintained noble silence. If you and I were to maintain silence, people would have said, “He does not know.” The Buddha, however, was the Buddha and his was indeed noble silence. In Buddhism too, they talk of great love and compassion that an enlightened one experiences when circumstances are averse or hostile. So it is all about terrific possibilities within the human being where he comes across very hard situations and yet he takes them in his stride. God or no God, there surely is the promise of a deep, inner transformation that empowers David to handle and win over Goliath. We can surprise others (and ourselves) with an ability to handle change with strength and intelligence. It is as though we are not the same persons as before; we are now a force to be reckoned with.
Beneath the field of change, there is the field of the changeless. In India, we use two words bhava and shiva to mean the changing and the changeless realms respectively. When selfish motives and personal anxieties wane, we are able to hold shiva while handling bhava. For an analogy, we may consider somebody taking a holy dip in the fast moving Ganges at the pilgrim center Haridwar at the foot of the Himalayas. Lest she be swept away by the speedy current of the river, the pilgrim holds one of the many iron chains made available at the bathing ghats. She is then safe; she has a joyous time with her immersion in the sacred waters. Coming back from the analogy to the theme proper, a good understanding of higher values of life and a firm adherence to them can go a long way towards enhancing our capacity to face change. We need to remain alert and perceive the changing society; at the same time, we need to hold on to eternal values. A well-known book by Swami Ranganathananda is titled, “Eternal Values for a Changing Society.” How appropriate! Lao Tzu, the Chinese wise man, says, (in his famous work Tao Te Ching), “When you go up the ladder or down it, your position is always shaky; when you stand with your two feet on the ground, you will always keep your balance.” The ground here symbolizes changeless values like truth and love. The ladder represents attachment to the gain and loss in the ever-changing world. When success and failure come to you, you do not have to get carried away by them. Acquisitions, mergers, good people leaving you or resourceful people joining you to enrich your team and varieties of such changes can all be waves on the surface of the sea. In its depth, there can be profound silence.
The field of change is described in some spiritual works as marked by sorrow. The Buddha remarked everything is transient and sorrowful in life. A text1 in Hinduism calls the world impermanent and an abode of sorrow. We should not imagine these texts are pessimistic. In fact their main message is that sorrow can end. They show the way to liberation. They throw light on how our own thoughts (mental models) are the basis of the world as we know it. If we slow down, reflect and change the mental models about who we are, what we want and who the people around us are etc, our world changes. At a certain place, a man and his wife experienced some rivalry or competition between them, leading to disharmony. When they changed their mental models, they began to ‘complete’ each other rather than ‘compete’ with each other. They easily discovered harmony between them. A narrowly defined identity of oneself is the cause of insecurity and agitation; a broader description sustained by one’s thoughts can herald peace and cheerfulness. For example, to look at oneself as a department head is necessary for somebody but she should not turn blind to the whole of her life. In the entirety of her life, she is a wife, a mother, a lover of music and an active member of a local Nature Lovers’ Club. “Who I am” and “What my goals are” should have both a local, immediate aspect and a larger, far-reaching aspect. It is like taking a long walk: you should no doubt see the immediate few steps ahead of you but you should also take a look at the distant hill towards which you are going. For the best in us to come out, we have to balance these two visions all the time. An understanding of the limited self and an intuitive grasp of the unlimited Self – together give to us the joy of dynamism and the peace of stability.
Stay Put, Do Not Burn Out: There used to be a slogan in the 90s, when I lived in the Silicon Valley for a few years. They said the work climate was such that most professionals had only two options: Burn out or get out. While such a state of affairs deserves sympathy, much of it is self-created too. If we honestly look within, it is selfishness and greed that make normal times get very stressful. When we are self-centered, small changes around us that are unfavorable to our interests look dangerous and cause panic. When we look at them from broader perspectives, we shall discover many a silver line to the dark clouds. It would be no exaggeration to say that selflessness is the gateway to shiva, the changeless ground that we mentioned before. By the same token, being selfish is the means to be caught and then get tossed by the bhava, the winds of change. As we position ourselves in shiva, we become objective in all matters and keep our cool. Our worries revolving around “I, me and my” subside with increased objectivity. The self is surely the locus of all stress. This self is the product of thoughts, which again are memories and conditionings. The more objective we become, the less is the hold of memories upon us.
Functional and Psychological Self: Memories are again of two kinds: functional and psychological. Knowledge of names, places, mathematics and music is all functional. Such memories are very necessary for us to function in daily life. The second part is the trouble-maker and that is psychological memories. These include pride, hurt, status, personal ambition etc. These are the warp and woof of the illusory self. If this illusion lifts, one is totally free from fear and anxiety. Suppose we have certain amount knowledge of financial matters. We could and we must hone that knowledge to face this world of constant change. There is need to ‘add’ in such knowledge. Necessary groundwork is a must here. On another front, however, we need to ‘subtract’. That is the domain of beliefs, prejudices and preconceived notions. Countless likes and dislikes block our clear perception. When they reduce, our objectivity increases. Spiritual excellence in the form of patience, bravery and, above all, self-awareness, increases when we let go of the baggage of attachments and aversions.
Live Your Life in Two Rooms: As a certain poet put it, we must learn to live our life in two rooms. In this metaphor, one room is for interaction with the world and the second room is for our own inner development. We have to constantly go back and forth between the two rooms. In the first room, which is outside, we meet the challenges of the world with knowledge pertinent to particular issues. In the second, inner room, we nourish our soul with values. Spending too much time in the outer room will make us gross and superficial. Excess of activity in the inner room will turn us impractical and unfit for affairs of the world. Like two wings of a bird, both of which are needed for the creature to fly, material and spiritual insights are both necessary for us to be good players in the game of life.
Be Ready: Knowing the nature of the world, the wise are ever ready for any change. When the going gets tough, the brave (continue to) get going. Change may take place anytime, anywhere, to any of us. If we keep a larger picture of the situation before us, we shall have true inner detachment to cope with the change. Our loss is many times a gain for somebody else. A bit of large-heartedness can help us to be happy about others (people, company, nations) coming up well. The whole earth is one family, goes an old Indian saying2. Others and we are one, on a deeper level. The separate, exclusive self is characterized by “I, me and my”. In the perception of the unity of all existence, there is the experience of “we”. In the absence of broadmindedness, hurt is the result. A little humility can dissolve away all hurt, and, what is more, empower us to come up with right action in the face of crisis. Patience pays, most of the time. What appears bad today turns out to be good tomorrow, in many instances. At the time when we feel hurt or depressed, it is often of great help to have different supports such as engaging in a hobby, involving in a meaningful activity or pursuing an interest dear to our heart.
Effecting Change: Truth is one; the wise speak of it in different ways3. Different religions, which are all versions of the one spiritual science, have all talked about “awakening the giant within the human being.” In all fields of activity, including Management, the transformed human being has the Midas touch on her hands. She becomes the agent of the change she desires and envisions. When the manager has risen above all fear, regret, pride and prejudice, she sees “the indestructible amidst the destructible” as an ancient text4 puts it.
Many spiritual organizations, which are legally non-profit organizations or non-government organizations (NGOs), bring tremendous change in the society around them. Today we realize that the science of management applies equally to corporations and to non-profit organizations. In both the fields, man comes face to face with vested interests, obstacles and hurdles when he wants to introduce something new. A clear vision, feeling a commitment at his heart and being ready to work towards the realization of his dreams are required to bring about desired results. He has to plan out his work, and then work out his plan. The sense of commitment, the feeling of love (for work, for people, for the cause) bridge the gap between vision and its fulfillment. Robert Frost sang5, “And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.”
In this new millennium, we have to take the essence of wisdom traditions to enrich our executive competence. The spiritual wisdom of the East and West alike awakens us to the capacity within us to cause sea change in our surroundings. “The wise man is awake when it is dark night for the rest of the world,” says a verse6, “and where they are awake and active, he is indifferent as though it is time to rest”. This mystic poetry refers to the hidden power in us to see new avenues of dialogue and action, when most people tend to give up. Where majority of people, in their ignorance and immaturity, get excited about some passing glitter and glamour, we would not attach value to such shining tinsel.
Putting it philosophically, without really exaggerating, the best things in life happen when there is an inner change in us, and not when we will it. A new understanding makes us take the bricks that others throw at us and, with them, build a firm foundation for an elegant edifice. Such a new understanding gives to us a totally different feeling about our own identity. Spontaneity, and not the strain of volition, could characterize much of our decision-making. Oneness, and not the divisions of various kinds, could mark our experience of different situations of rift and conflict. Ramana Maharshi, the seer of the twentieth century, observed that the very division between subject and object is false and there is a homogeneous truth that underlies the vast panorama of life. It is of utmost importance for us to live in self-awareness, whereby we notice what is happening in our mind. That seeing has the power to transform the content of consciousness. To see what is, remarked J Krishnamurti, transforms what is. In that transformation we can be a tremendous change agent, and we can also face change in the most eminent way.
Courtesy: Brahmacharini Vibha Chaitanya- Pune
Deep in Everyone, There is Great Strength
Swami Chidananda
Great strength and potential for creativity exist in the depth of everyone, which can empower one to face change and to bring about desirable change. The powers of Nature are immeasurable and her ways unpredictable. On one hand, everything is likely to change outside us and within us. On the other, we have the power to meet with these, survive them and emerge victorious and renewed.
Kinds of Change:
Three parameters apply to the topic of change:Area,Desirability,and
Cause.
The area of change could be outside or inside. The change could be desirable or undesirable. Lastly, change could be caused by outer agents or it could be brought about by us.
These changes – sometimes expected and many other times a surprise –tend to affect us considerably provided we let them do so.
Changes outside could be of many kinds: in people, technology, economy, weather and so on.
Changes inside again are of different types: variation in physical health, emotional state, motivation, memory, personal values and so on.
Desirable changes obviously bring profit, fame, new opportunities and so on. Undesirable changes cause loss of money, brand value, relationships and so on. When outer agents cause the change, we are at the receiving end. When we effect the change, we could be the harbingers of a new era.
Eye of the Storm: Central to the wisdom perspectives with regard to change is the question, “Who am I?” It may look odd but this query is highly significant because our ability to face anything depends largely on what we think we are. Two leaders, apparently of equal standing, may perform differently as a result of their thought processes based on their mental models. One may think she is sure to lose; she may imagine she has nothing left in her repertoire to handle the situation and so on. She will surely yield to the pressures of the situation and suffer a debacle. The thought, “I am weak” makes her weak. The second leader may intuitively perceive certain hidden strength within her and thereby experience fearlessness. She will then discover new sources of intelligence and energy; she wins. The thought, “I am capable” makes her capable.
Wisdom traditions around the world have always – directly or indirectly – revolved around this great question, “Who am I?” In fact science and spirituality are marked by a constant pursuit of a question each. Science concerns itself with the question, “What is this?” It has accordingly discovered a lot about the world around. Spirituality, on the other hand, engages with the inquiry “Who am I?” The great mystics therefore uncovered countless secrets of the inner world. Hidden powers of leaders and executives are in this inner world of the human psyche. We need a balance of these two streams of human endeavor: the objective science and the subjective spirituality.
You and I start every morning with some idea, a bunch of thoughts, of who we are. How we see the world follows this notion. What we want is based on the mental model of who we are. The notion, for example, “I am an eligible bachelor”, makes a man look for the right lady who could be his life’s companion. The picture, for another example, “I am the team leader”, makes a lady look at seven others (in the team) as people to be given directions. Invariably, we carry thoughts like, “I am x” or “I am y” or “I am z”. These thoughts play a central role in shaping a large number of other thoughts. Desire and fear drive our actions, and both desire and fear arise from the basic thought of our identity. As we think, so we become – goes an old saying. Our thoughts, we add here, are like corollaries while the basic concept of who we are acts like the theorem.
What Changes? Change takes place whether we like it or not. The world changes and we too change. My philosophy teacher, Swami Chinmayananda, used to say with wit and humor, “The only changeless law in the universe is that everything must change.” This space-time continuum we call the cosmos is in a state of flux. Physics would make us imagine the universe is real and we come and go; metaphysics would suggest we are real and the plethora of names and forms come and go. It is all a matter of where our identification lies. As the personality, we are a tiny wave that rises and falls. Behind the personality, as Existence-Awareness, we are the substrate for a billion waves to show up and vanish. To cope with change – good or bad – in an eminent manner, we need to draw from a deeper level of our own existence. Self-inquiry can take us there. Pleasure and pain affect us a lot on one level and have little effect on the deeper plane. If our mind is much burdened with memories, we are then bound to suffer a lot when unexpected changes loom large before us. A lighter mind, not clinging to the past, has the suppleness and flexibility to face even sea changes. Big trees and electric poles fall during a storm but blades of grass remain intact. They bend before the winds and, when things become normal, stand straight and begin to swing gently in light breeze. Do we have the psychological simplicity to go through stormy events? Or are we rigid with false prestige or some unnecessary insistence that outer changes break our backs?
The world changes, when you change: Ordinarily we believe that the world has the capacity to change us. Higher wisdom throws light on our capacity to change the world. First of all, when there is an inner change on our side, the outer world’s impact gets much reduced. Going further, radical change within us can cause significant changes in our surroundings. Is not the world really our own creation? In the apparent tug of war between the world and us, victory can be ours if we realize our hidden potential. The power inside the frail frame of a Gandhi could make the mighty British Empire pause and rethink on many an issue. So was the influence that a Martin Luther King Jr. or a Nelson Mandela could exert on well-built centers of power. Everywhere – in politics, business, science or technology – the power hidden in a human being is generally underestimated. While management and science tap resources in outer nature, spiritual wisdom draws from inner nature, from the human being himself/herself.
---Facing Change: There is hidden power within us that can face incredible changes in the outer world. It is sometimes equated with God, in the language of many religions. They say God functions through us when we surrender to Him. Yet others would avoid the word God and prefer to put it, “When you are silent, (a higher) truth acts through you.” In some traditions like Buddhism, there is no mention of God. When people asked the Buddha, “Is there God”, he maintained noble silence. If you and I were to maintain silence, people would have said, “He does not know.” The Buddha, however, was the Buddha and his was indeed noble silence. In Buddhism too, they talk of great love and compassion that an enlightened one experiences when circumstances are averse or hostile. So it is all about terrific possibilities within the human being where he comes across very hard situations and yet he takes them in his stride. God or no God, there surely is the promise of a deep, inner transformation that empowers David to handle and win over Goliath. We can surprise others (and ourselves) with an ability to handle change with strength and intelligence. It is as though we are not the same persons as before; we are now a force to be reckoned with.
Beneath the field of change, there is the field of the changeless. In India, we use two words bhava and shiva to mean the changing and the changeless realms respectively. When selfish motives and personal anxieties wane, we are able to hold shiva while handling bhava. For an analogy, we may consider somebody taking a holy dip in the fast moving Ganges at the pilgrim center Haridwar at the foot of the Himalayas. Lest she be swept away by the speedy current of the river, the pilgrim holds one of the many iron chains made available at the bathing ghats. She is then safe; she has a joyous time with her immersion in the sacred waters. Coming back from the analogy to the theme proper, a good understanding of higher values of life and a firm adherence to them can go a long way towards enhancing our capacity to face change. We need to remain alert and perceive the changing society; at the same time, we need to hold on to eternal values. A well-known book by Swami Ranganathananda is titled, “Eternal Values for a Changing Society.” How appropriate! Lao Tzu, the Chinese wise man, says, (in his famous work Tao Te Ching), “When you go up the ladder or down it, your position is always shaky; when you stand with your two feet on the ground, you will always keep your balance.” The ground here symbolizes changeless values like truth and love. The ladder represents attachment to the gain and loss in the ever-changing world. When success and failure come to you, you do not have to get carried away by them. Acquisitions, mergers, good people leaving you or resourceful people joining you to enrich your team and varieties of such changes can all be waves on the surface of the sea. In its depth, there can be profound silence.
The field of change is described in some spiritual works as marked by sorrow. The Buddha remarked everything is transient and sorrowful in life. A text1 in Hinduism calls the world impermanent and an abode of sorrow. We should not imagine these texts are pessimistic. In fact their main message is that sorrow can end. They show the way to liberation. They throw light on how our own thoughts (mental models) are the basis of the world as we know it. If we slow down, reflect and change the mental models about who we are, what we want and who the people around us are etc, our world changes. At a certain place, a man and his wife experienced some rivalry or competition between them, leading to disharmony. When they changed their mental models, they began to ‘complete’ each other rather than ‘compete’ with each other. They easily discovered harmony between them. A narrowly defined identity of oneself is the cause of insecurity and agitation; a broader description sustained by one’s thoughts can herald peace and cheerfulness. For example, to look at oneself as a department head is necessary for somebody but she should not turn blind to the whole of her life. In the entirety of her life, she is a wife, a mother, a lover of music and an active member of a local Nature Lovers’ Club. “Who I am” and “What my goals are” should have both a local, immediate aspect and a larger, far-reaching aspect. It is like taking a long walk: you should no doubt see the immediate few steps ahead of you but you should also take a look at the distant hill towards which you are going. For the best in us to come out, we have to balance these two visions all the time. An understanding of the limited self and an intuitive grasp of the unlimited Self – together give to us the joy of dynamism and the peace of stability.
Stay Put, Do Not Burn Out: There used to be a slogan in the 90s, when I lived in the Silicon Valley for a few years. They said the work climate was such that most professionals had only two options: Burn out or get out. While such a state of affairs deserves sympathy, much of it is self-created too. If we honestly look within, it is selfishness and greed that make normal times get very stressful. When we are self-centered, small changes around us that are unfavorable to our interests look dangerous and cause panic. When we look at them from broader perspectives, we shall discover many a silver line to the dark clouds. It would be no exaggeration to say that selflessness is the gateway to shiva, the changeless ground that we mentioned before. By the same token, being selfish is the means to be caught and then get tossed by the bhava, the winds of change. As we position ourselves in shiva, we become objective in all matters and keep our cool. Our worries revolving around “I, me and my” subside with increased objectivity. The self is surely the locus of all stress. This self is the product of thoughts, which again are memories and conditionings. The more objective we become, the less is the hold of memories upon us.
Functional and Psychological Self: Memories are again of two kinds: functional and psychological. Knowledge of names, places, mathematics and music is all functional. Such memories are very necessary for us to function in daily life. The second part is the trouble-maker and that is psychological memories. These include pride, hurt, status, personal ambition etc. These are the warp and woof of the illusory self. If this illusion lifts, one is totally free from fear and anxiety. Suppose we have certain amount knowledge of financial matters. We could and we must hone that knowledge to face this world of constant change. There is need to ‘add’ in such knowledge. Necessary groundwork is a must here. On another front, however, we need to ‘subtract’. That is the domain of beliefs, prejudices and preconceived notions. Countless likes and dislikes block our clear perception. When they reduce, our objectivity increases. Spiritual excellence in the form of patience, bravery and, above all, self-awareness, increases when we let go of the baggage of attachments and aversions.
Live Your Life in Two Rooms: As a certain poet put it, we must learn to live our life in two rooms. In this metaphor, one room is for interaction with the world and the second room is for our own inner development. We have to constantly go back and forth between the two rooms. In the first room, which is outside, we meet the challenges of the world with knowledge pertinent to particular issues. In the second, inner room, we nourish our soul with values. Spending too much time in the outer room will make us gross and superficial. Excess of activity in the inner room will turn us impractical and unfit for affairs of the world. Like two wings of a bird, both of which are needed for the creature to fly, material and spiritual insights are both necessary for us to be good players in the game of life.
Be Ready: Knowing the nature of the world, the wise are ever ready for any change. When the going gets tough, the brave (continue to) get going. Change may take place anytime, anywhere, to any of us. If we keep a larger picture of the situation before us, we shall have true inner detachment to cope with the change. Our loss is many times a gain for somebody else. A bit of large-heartedness can help us to be happy about others (people, company, nations) coming up well. The whole earth is one family, goes an old Indian saying2. Others and we are one, on a deeper level. The separate, exclusive self is characterized by “I, me and my”. In the perception of the unity of all existence, there is the experience of “we”. In the absence of broadmindedness, hurt is the result. A little humility can dissolve away all hurt, and, what is more, empower us to come up with right action in the face of crisis. Patience pays, most of the time. What appears bad today turns out to be good tomorrow, in many instances. At the time when we feel hurt or depressed, it is often of great help to have different supports such as engaging in a hobby, involving in a meaningful activity or pursuing an interest dear to our heart.
Effecting Change: Truth is one; the wise speak of it in different ways3. Different religions, which are all versions of the one spiritual science, have all talked about “awakening the giant within the human being.” In all fields of activity, including Management, the transformed human being has the Midas touch on her hands. She becomes the agent of the change she desires and envisions. When the manager has risen above all fear, regret, pride and prejudice, she sees “the indestructible amidst the destructible” as an ancient text4 puts it.
Many spiritual organizations, which are legally non-profit organizations or non-government organizations (NGOs), bring tremendous change in the society around them. Today we realize that the science of management applies equally to corporations and to non-profit organizations. In both the fields, man comes face to face with vested interests, obstacles and hurdles when he wants to introduce something new. A clear vision, feeling a commitment at his heart and being ready to work towards the realization of his dreams are required to bring about desired results. He has to plan out his work, and then work out his plan. The sense of commitment, the feeling of love (for work, for people, for the cause) bridge the gap between vision and its fulfillment. Robert Frost sang5, “And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.”
In this new millennium, we have to take the essence of wisdom traditions to enrich our executive competence. The spiritual wisdom of the East and West alike awakens us to the capacity within us to cause sea change in our surroundings. “The wise man is awake when it is dark night for the rest of the world,” says a verse6, “and where they are awake and active, he is indifferent as though it is time to rest”. This mystic poetry refers to the hidden power in us to see new avenues of dialogue and action, when most people tend to give up. Where majority of people, in their ignorance and immaturity, get excited about some passing glitter and glamour, we would not attach value to such shining tinsel.
Putting it philosophically, without really exaggerating, the best things in life happen when there is an inner change in us, and not when we will it. A new understanding makes us take the bricks that others throw at us and, with them, build a firm foundation for an elegant edifice. Such a new understanding gives to us a totally different feeling about our own identity. Spontaneity, and not the strain of volition, could characterize much of our decision-making. Oneness, and not the divisions of various kinds, could mark our experience of different situations of rift and conflict. Ramana Maharshi, the seer of the twentieth century, observed that the very division between subject and object is false and there is a homogeneous truth that underlies the vast panorama of life. It is of utmost importance for us to live in self-awareness, whereby we notice what is happening in our mind. That seeing has the power to transform the content of consciousness. To see what is, remarked J Krishnamurti, transforms what is. In that transformation we can be a tremendous change agent, and we can also face change in the most eminent way.
Courtesy: Brahmacharini Vibha Chaitanya- Pune
Gifting assets: whose income is it?
by GAUTAM NAYAK
Acommon situation faced by most tax advisers is where a taxpayer claims that certain income does not belong entirely to him due to the fact that the investment from which such income is received is held jointly with his wife or children. He, therefore, seeks to divide the income with other joint holders.
On deeper probing, it becomes clear that the investment has been made entirely out of the taxpayer's own funds and that the joint holder has not contributed anything to the cost of the investment. The taxpayer is generally disappointed to learn that in such a situation, his tax planning is of no avail and the entire income would be taxed in his hands alone, though the investment may be in joint names.
The Income-tax law in India recognises the concept of beneficial ownership as opposed to the concept of legal ownership.
The legal owner is the person in whose name the asset is held, while the beneficial owner is one who is entitled to enjoy the asset as well as the income from the asset. It is the beneficial owner of the asset alone who is taxed in respect of the income from the asset. The normal principle is that in the case of joint holders, the share of each joint holder in an asset is determined by the ratio in which each joint holder has contributed towards the cost of the asset, unless there is evidence to the contrary.
In case a joint holder has not contributed anything towards the cost of the asset, the normal presumption is that such a person is kept as a joint holder merely for convenience, so that in the event of the death of the joint holder, who is the beneficial owner, the asset can be easily transferred to the joint holder. So, the fact that a person is a joint owner of an asset does not mean that he is the beneficial owner of the asset nor that he would be taxed in respect of the income from the asset.
Of course, it is possible that the beneficial owner intended to gift a proportionate share of the asset to the joint holder and that is why the asset has been acquired in joint names. In such a situation, there would need to be evidence of such intention to gift a proportionate share to the joint holder. Such evidence could be in the form of a gift deed or a confirmation from the beneficial owner of the fact of such gift.
Of course, a gift to one's spouse or children is not liable to income-tax even under the recently amended provisions under which tax gifts exceeding Rs50,000 will be treated as income of the recipient.
However, before you rush to gift your assets to your spouse or children to save your taxes, keep in mind that the tax laws will not let you off so easily. There are provisions for clubbing of income under the tax laws in respect of gifts made to your spouse and in respect of income of your minor children. So, if you make a gift to your spouse, the income on such assets will continue to be taxed in your hands indefinitely (or rather, for the term of your marriage). The only advantage is that when the spouse reinvests such clubbed income, the income arising out of such further investment is not clubbed. If you desire to make a gift to your spouse, she should invest such a gift in assets yielding tax-free income so that no taxable income would be added to your income. She can then build up her assets further out of such tax-free income without any impact of the clubbing provisions on you.
All income earned by your minor children is taxable in your hands unless the income was earned by your children as a result of their own manual efforts or skill, talent or specialized knowledge and experience.
Making gifts to them would, therefore, not help you save any taxes. Of course, there are no clubbing provisions in respect of children who have attained the age of majority, or 18 years. You can certainly transfer a part of your assets to your adult children or children who will shortly cross the age of 18, and who may not have substantial income, to save on your taxes.
A note of warning--you may save your taxes but lose your assets. One hears of the classic tale of a bright young man who transferred his assets to his fiancée to avoid the clubbing provisions since he was advised that unless the relationship of husband and wife is in existence at the time of the gift, the clubbing provisions do not apply. When last heard of, this man was heard bemoaning his double loss due to the disappearance of both his fiancée and his assets.
It is better to pay off one's legitimate tax dues, rather than indulge in excessive tax planning.
Gautam Nayak is a chartered accountant. Your comments, questions and reactions to this column are
source:livemint
by GAUTAM NAYAK
Acommon situation faced by most tax advisers is where a taxpayer claims that certain income does not belong entirely to him due to the fact that the investment from which such income is received is held jointly with his wife or children. He, therefore, seeks to divide the income with other joint holders.
On deeper probing, it becomes clear that the investment has been made entirely out of the taxpayer's own funds and that the joint holder has not contributed anything to the cost of the investment. The taxpayer is generally disappointed to learn that in such a situation, his tax planning is of no avail and the entire income would be taxed in his hands alone, though the investment may be in joint names.
The Income-tax law in India recognises the concept of beneficial ownership as opposed to the concept of legal ownership.
The legal owner is the person in whose name the asset is held, while the beneficial owner is one who is entitled to enjoy the asset as well as the income from the asset. It is the beneficial owner of the asset alone who is taxed in respect of the income from the asset. The normal principle is that in the case of joint holders, the share of each joint holder in an asset is determined by the ratio in which each joint holder has contributed towards the cost of the asset, unless there is evidence to the contrary.
In case a joint holder has not contributed anything towards the cost of the asset, the normal presumption is that such a person is kept as a joint holder merely for convenience, so that in the event of the death of the joint holder, who is the beneficial owner, the asset can be easily transferred to the joint holder. So, the fact that a person is a joint owner of an asset does not mean that he is the beneficial owner of the asset nor that he would be taxed in respect of the income from the asset.
Of course, it is possible that the beneficial owner intended to gift a proportionate share of the asset to the joint holder and that is why the asset has been acquired in joint names. In such a situation, there would need to be evidence of such intention to gift a proportionate share to the joint holder. Such evidence could be in the form of a gift deed or a confirmation from the beneficial owner of the fact of such gift.
Of course, a gift to one's spouse or children is not liable to income-tax even under the recently amended provisions under which tax gifts exceeding Rs50,000 will be treated as income of the recipient.
However, before you rush to gift your assets to your spouse or children to save your taxes, keep in mind that the tax laws will not let you off so easily. There are provisions for clubbing of income under the tax laws in respect of gifts made to your spouse and in respect of income of your minor children. So, if you make a gift to your spouse, the income on such assets will continue to be taxed in your hands indefinitely (or rather, for the term of your marriage). The only advantage is that when the spouse reinvests such clubbed income, the income arising out of such further investment is not clubbed. If you desire to make a gift to your spouse, she should invest such a gift in assets yielding tax-free income so that no taxable income would be added to your income. She can then build up her assets further out of such tax-free income without any impact of the clubbing provisions on you.
All income earned by your minor children is taxable in your hands unless the income was earned by your children as a result of their own manual efforts or skill, talent or specialized knowledge and experience.
Making gifts to them would, therefore, not help you save any taxes. Of course, there are no clubbing provisions in respect of children who have attained the age of majority, or 18 years. You can certainly transfer a part of your assets to your adult children or children who will shortly cross the age of 18, and who may not have substantial income, to save on your taxes.
A note of warning--you may save your taxes but lose your assets. One hears of the classic tale of a bright young man who transferred his assets to his fiancée to avoid the clubbing provisions since he was advised that unless the relationship of husband and wife is in existence at the time of the gift, the clubbing provisions do not apply. When last heard of, this man was heard bemoaning his double loss due to the disappearance of both his fiancée and his assets.
It is better to pay off one's legitimate tax dues, rather than indulge in excessive tax planning.
Gautam Nayak is a chartered accountant. Your comments, questions and reactions to this column are
source:livemint
The Great Indian Entreprenuor Story: Rs.5000 in 1983 becomes Rs.1000 crores in 2009
JYOTHY LABORATORIES - Where white is the colour of money
BY SATISH JOHN & SAPNA AGARWAL
In a pristine white shirt, matching trousers and white leather shoes, Moothedath Panjan Ramachandran can be easily mistaken for a movie producer from Chennai or Hyderabad.
He is not. The 64-year-old Ramachandran is the low-profile, almost reclusive founder chairman and managing director of Jyothy Laboratories Ltd, a company founded in 1983 that ended 2009 with around Rs1,000 crore in revenue--not bad for a company with an initial capital of Rs5,000.
On 9 November, Jyothy Laboratories (named after Ramachandran's elder daughter, who now sits on the company's board) launched a laundry retail chain--the man himself calls it "fabric spa"--in Bangalore, Jyothy Fabricare Services, and plans to take this national. It's a business India's largest consumer products firm Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) flirted with before abandoning, but Ramachandran is convinced Jyothy can leave its mark on the business, much like it has done in the other categories in which it operates.
Jyothi burst on the national consciousness in the late 1990s with its Ujala Supreme--a liquid blue fabric whitener--brand, which was advertised heavily on television. In recent years, the company has launched Maxo, a brand of insect repellents, and Exo, a brand of dish washing soap.
Ramachandran is also buoyant with the optimism of a firstgeneration entrepreneur.
"When I open my eyes, I see only opportunities," he says.
"Anybody here (in India) has a chance to grow."
The early years Like many others of his generation from Kerala, Ramach andran migrated to Mumai in the early 1970s with the sole intent of finding a job in West Asia. Instead, he stayed back and became the accountant of a small firm called Chemicals and Aromatics, a position he held for 12 years.
Even then, he would wear only white, a habit he picked up from his father. Besides, "wearing a white-coloured garment allows you to cultivate discipline, stay clean and calm, and draws the attention of others", says Ramachandran.
His big problem in his years as an accountant was keeping his clothes white. So, Ramachandran started pottering around with chemicals with some chemists who worked at the same company. The aim was to develop a fabric whitener that could keep his small wardrobe of clothes sufficiently white.
His experiments resulted in the product that would eventually become Ujala, but success didn't come immediately to Ramachandran.
In 1983, he returned to Thrissur where he had been born, and opened a small factory investing his life savings of Rs5,000. A few months later he was ready to shut shop--business had been bad--when he received an order for 1,000 bottles of Ujala from a distributor in Malappuram.
Ujala has since grown into the country's largest fabric whitener brand. According to India Infoline Ltd, it has a 72% share of a market worth Rs400 crore. Much of this growth came after 1997 when Ramachandran, in a burst of uncharacteristic aggression, bet the house on the brand.
Bouts of aggression In 1997, Jyothy Laboratories' revenue was around Rs100 crore. That year, Ramachandran spent Rs36 crore on advertising Ujala. "Everyone called us mad," says Anjan Chatterjee, an entrepreneur who started an advertising agency around the same time Ramachandran decided to invest in the Ujala brand. The agency, Situations Advertising and Marketing Services Pvt. Ltd, handled the brand's account. The huge advertising budget and a catchy jingle--the sort that plays on in an unending loop inside the head--helped, says Chatterjee: retailers across the country started demanding Ujala.
Ramachandran was equally aggressive in taking on Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc (it owned the rival Robin Blue brand of fabric whitener), in the market and in the courts. Ujala took potshots at other blue fabric whiteners, a tactic Reckitt took exception to because it claimed this was aimed at its brand Robin Blue, and approached the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission and later the high courts in New Delhi and Kolkata and even the Supreme Court. The case was decided in Jyothy's favour.
Reckitt didn't respond to requests for comment.
In some ways, this aggression is also reflected in the company's desire to enter the laundry services space, but both Ramachandran and his deputy managing director Ullas Kamath-he too wears white--have remained conservative in most other aspects of running Jyothy Laboratories.
Both men admit that they were interested in acquiring Balsara Hygiene Products Ltd--it owns brands such as Promise toothpaste, Odomos insect repellant, Chandrika brand of soaps, and Fem Care Pharma Ltd. The Burmans, who run Dabur India Ltd, acquired Balsara Hygiene and Fem Care and Wipro Ltd bought Chandrika. "All the three (sellers) came to us, but we found the valuation too steep for our liking," says Ramachandran, who claims he doesn't regret the decisions.
Kamath adds that the firm has always found it easier to develop products from scratch and that it doesn't believe in paying high prices to acquire brands.
Management strategy Over the years, Ramachandran, who has several eccentricities--the fondness for white is one; his Mercedes is white, as are his other cars, all bearing the same number, 3,339--seems to have perfected a home-grown model of staffing and management that works for him.
Around 400 of his 5,000 employees have been around for at least 15 years. Some of the 5,000 employees--termed the "suicide squad" by Chatterjee because of their effectiveness --have the responsibility of directly managing retailers, around a million of them, according to Ramachandran.
Ramachandran's different approach in management is also evident in how his company gathers information. "We know what is happening across the country with just 20 phone calls," says Kamath, who came on board in the 1990s to help launch Ujala in Karnataka and has since grown to become Ramachandran's closest confidant.
Ramachandran has a weakness for testing products in Kerala. "Keralites are very choosy people. If they accept it, then the product will sell anywhere."
He is also different from other consumer goods manufacturers as his business is vertically integrated: from plastic bottles to the liquid dye, all are made inhouse.
Betting on dirty linen The laundry business, however, is being tested in Bangalore, because the city has a lot of young working couples. In two years, Jyothy Laboratories hopes to take the venture national. Here's how the laundry service works: Jyothy's employees will collect dirty clothes from customers at their doorstep, and deliver them after they have been cleaned. The firm has invested Rs30 crore in a hi-tech laundry in Bangalore, which will serve as a hub for the business when it goes national. Designer clothes and sarees will be air-freighted from other cities to Bangalore. And, in keeping with Ramachandran's philosophy, the business will target the mass market. For a fixed fee, the company will take care of the laundry needs of a family for a month. Clearly Ramachandran is unfazed by the failure of others, including HUL, to crack the code of the laundry business.
Ramachandran, who took a year to figure out the contours of the business, is focused on delivering a reasonably priced offering and is insistent that he will not outsource any part of the service.
Still, "it is a tough business", says Dalip Sehgal, managing director of Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. "Expectations of customers are high."
Sehgal's logic runs thus: An organized laundry business competes with the neighbourhood laundry services provider, who is willing to pick up and deliver as few as three pieces of garments from door to door.
Then, the pricing has to be right. If it is on the higher side, then the organized laundry loses the bulk of the business as consumers will only offer their expensive garments. "Companies need to not only figure out an affordable pricing strategy, but also be able to meet high service expectations," adds Sehgal. He should know: at one time, he was head of the team at HUL experimenting with new businesses such as the laundry one.
Kamath insists that the company has done its homework: Jyothy Laboratories hired audit and consulting firm KPMG to fine-tune its business model. A KPMG consultant and two Jyothy executives travelled the world studying the laundry business.
The model is still being tweaked, but Jyothy Laboratories says that the business will earn it Rs25-30 crore in its first full year of operations.
Getting the model right isn't Jyothy Laboratories' only challenge. It is difficult for a product company to acquire a services mindset, says Sehgal.
Mint learnt that his views on the laundry business were informally sought by Kamath; despite his not-very-encouraging response, Jyothy Laboratories went ahead with its plans--a move long-time associates of Ramachandran attribute as much to his ability to spot opportunities where others can't as to his stubborn streak. Analysts aren't impressed, though.
Investors will likely be more comfortable with a company investing money in its traditional business, which is successful, rather than in a new one that looks attractive, but with no certainty of profitability, says Ruchak Mehta, a research analyst at Parag Parikh Financial Advisory Services Ltd, who tracks Jyothy and has changed his recommendation from "buy" to "hold".
Jyothy Laboratories' shares gained 0.6% to end at Rs159.05 each on Wednesday on the Bombay Stock Exchange on a day the exchange's benchmark Sensex index rose 2.1%. The stock touched a year's high of Rs192 on 4 December and a year's low of Rs47.25 on 5 February. The firm ended the year to March with a revenue of Rs1,062 crore and a net profit of Rs80 crore. It ended the three months to September--the latest available numbers--with a net profit of Rs24 crore on revenue of Rs348 crore.
The road ahead Almost three decades after it was set up, Jyothy Laboratories is in the same league of consumer product companies such as Marico Ltd, Emami Ltd, Dabur and Godrej Consumer Products.
Many of these firms are growing faster than their multinational peers, although the latter have the additional challenge of growing on a large base (the Indian firms are much smaller).
Ramachandran says the firm's best years lie ahead. His dream is to grow, over the next 25 years, Jyothy Laboratories into one of India's largest consumer goods company rivalling multinational firms such as HUL in terms of revenue. From a oneproduct company, Jyothy Laboratories has managed to become a consumer products firm with several successful brands. Ujala now accounts for only one-third of the company's revenue.
The next generation of its leadership, Ramachandran's daughters Jyothy and Dipti, are being groomed by Kamath. And the company is betting big on laundry services that Ramachandran is convinced, will be a winner.
Could this be the company that breaks the mould and becomes the first mid-sized success story among consumer products companies to make the transition to the major league?
Ramachandran is convinced it is.
satish.j@livemint.com
BY SATISH JOHN & SAPNA AGARWAL
In a pristine white shirt, matching trousers and white leather shoes, Moothedath Panjan Ramachandran can be easily mistaken for a movie producer from Chennai or Hyderabad.
He is not. The 64-year-old Ramachandran is the low-profile, almost reclusive founder chairman and managing director of Jyothy Laboratories Ltd, a company founded in 1983 that ended 2009 with around Rs1,000 crore in revenue--not bad for a company with an initial capital of Rs5,000.
On 9 November, Jyothy Laboratories (named after Ramachandran's elder daughter, who now sits on the company's board) launched a laundry retail chain--the man himself calls it "fabric spa"--in Bangalore, Jyothy Fabricare Services, and plans to take this national. It's a business India's largest consumer products firm Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) flirted with before abandoning, but Ramachandran is convinced Jyothy can leave its mark on the business, much like it has done in the other categories in which it operates.
Jyothi burst on the national consciousness in the late 1990s with its Ujala Supreme--a liquid blue fabric whitener--brand, which was advertised heavily on television. In recent years, the company has launched Maxo, a brand of insect repellents, and Exo, a brand of dish washing soap.
Ramachandran is also buoyant with the optimism of a firstgeneration entrepreneur.
"When I open my eyes, I see only opportunities," he says.
"Anybody here (in India) has a chance to grow."
The early years Like many others of his generation from Kerala, Ramach andran migrated to Mumai in the early 1970s with the sole intent of finding a job in West Asia. Instead, he stayed back and became the accountant of a small firm called Chemicals and Aromatics, a position he held for 12 years.
Even then, he would wear only white, a habit he picked up from his father. Besides, "wearing a white-coloured garment allows you to cultivate discipline, stay clean and calm, and draws the attention of others", says Ramachandran.
His big problem in his years as an accountant was keeping his clothes white. So, Ramachandran started pottering around with chemicals with some chemists who worked at the same company. The aim was to develop a fabric whitener that could keep his small wardrobe of clothes sufficiently white.
His experiments resulted in the product that would eventually become Ujala, but success didn't come immediately to Ramachandran.
In 1983, he returned to Thrissur where he had been born, and opened a small factory investing his life savings of Rs5,000. A few months later he was ready to shut shop--business had been bad--when he received an order for 1,000 bottles of Ujala from a distributor in Malappuram.
Ujala has since grown into the country's largest fabric whitener brand. According to India Infoline Ltd, it has a 72% share of a market worth Rs400 crore. Much of this growth came after 1997 when Ramachandran, in a burst of uncharacteristic aggression, bet the house on the brand.
Bouts of aggression In 1997, Jyothy Laboratories' revenue was around Rs100 crore. That year, Ramachandran spent Rs36 crore on advertising Ujala. "Everyone called us mad," says Anjan Chatterjee, an entrepreneur who started an advertising agency around the same time Ramachandran decided to invest in the Ujala brand. The agency, Situations Advertising and Marketing Services Pvt. Ltd, handled the brand's account. The huge advertising budget and a catchy jingle--the sort that plays on in an unending loop inside the head--helped, says Chatterjee: retailers across the country started demanding Ujala.
Ramachandran was equally aggressive in taking on Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc (it owned the rival Robin Blue brand of fabric whitener), in the market and in the courts. Ujala took potshots at other blue fabric whiteners, a tactic Reckitt took exception to because it claimed this was aimed at its brand Robin Blue, and approached the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission and later the high courts in New Delhi and Kolkata and even the Supreme Court. The case was decided in Jyothy's favour.
Reckitt didn't respond to requests for comment.
In some ways, this aggression is also reflected in the company's desire to enter the laundry services space, but both Ramachandran and his deputy managing director Ullas Kamath-he too wears white--have remained conservative in most other aspects of running Jyothy Laboratories.
Both men admit that they were interested in acquiring Balsara Hygiene Products Ltd--it owns brands such as Promise toothpaste, Odomos insect repellant, Chandrika brand of soaps, and Fem Care Pharma Ltd. The Burmans, who run Dabur India Ltd, acquired Balsara Hygiene and Fem Care and Wipro Ltd bought Chandrika. "All the three (sellers) came to us, but we found the valuation too steep for our liking," says Ramachandran, who claims he doesn't regret the decisions.
Kamath adds that the firm has always found it easier to develop products from scratch and that it doesn't believe in paying high prices to acquire brands.
Management strategy Over the years, Ramachandran, who has several eccentricities--the fondness for white is one; his Mercedes is white, as are his other cars, all bearing the same number, 3,339--seems to have perfected a home-grown model of staffing and management that works for him.
Around 400 of his 5,000 employees have been around for at least 15 years. Some of the 5,000 employees--termed the "suicide squad" by Chatterjee because of their effectiveness --have the responsibility of directly managing retailers, around a million of them, according to Ramachandran.
Ramachandran's different approach in management is also evident in how his company gathers information. "We know what is happening across the country with just 20 phone calls," says Kamath, who came on board in the 1990s to help launch Ujala in Karnataka and has since grown to become Ramachandran's closest confidant.
Ramachandran has a weakness for testing products in Kerala. "Keralites are very choosy people. If they accept it, then the product will sell anywhere."
He is also different from other consumer goods manufacturers as his business is vertically integrated: from plastic bottles to the liquid dye, all are made inhouse.
Betting on dirty linen The laundry business, however, is being tested in Bangalore, because the city has a lot of young working couples. In two years, Jyothy Laboratories hopes to take the venture national. Here's how the laundry service works: Jyothy's employees will collect dirty clothes from customers at their doorstep, and deliver them after they have been cleaned. The firm has invested Rs30 crore in a hi-tech laundry in Bangalore, which will serve as a hub for the business when it goes national. Designer clothes and sarees will be air-freighted from other cities to Bangalore. And, in keeping with Ramachandran's philosophy, the business will target the mass market. For a fixed fee, the company will take care of the laundry needs of a family for a month. Clearly Ramachandran is unfazed by the failure of others, including HUL, to crack the code of the laundry business.
Ramachandran, who took a year to figure out the contours of the business, is focused on delivering a reasonably priced offering and is insistent that he will not outsource any part of the service.
Still, "it is a tough business", says Dalip Sehgal, managing director of Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. "Expectations of customers are high."
Sehgal's logic runs thus: An organized laundry business competes with the neighbourhood laundry services provider, who is willing to pick up and deliver as few as three pieces of garments from door to door.
Then, the pricing has to be right. If it is on the higher side, then the organized laundry loses the bulk of the business as consumers will only offer their expensive garments. "Companies need to not only figure out an affordable pricing strategy, but also be able to meet high service expectations," adds Sehgal. He should know: at one time, he was head of the team at HUL experimenting with new businesses such as the laundry one.
Kamath insists that the company has done its homework: Jyothy Laboratories hired audit and consulting firm KPMG to fine-tune its business model. A KPMG consultant and two Jyothy executives travelled the world studying the laundry business.
The model is still being tweaked, but Jyothy Laboratories says that the business will earn it Rs25-30 crore in its first full year of operations.
Getting the model right isn't Jyothy Laboratories' only challenge. It is difficult for a product company to acquire a services mindset, says Sehgal.
Mint learnt that his views on the laundry business were informally sought by Kamath; despite his not-very-encouraging response, Jyothy Laboratories went ahead with its plans--a move long-time associates of Ramachandran attribute as much to his ability to spot opportunities where others can't as to his stubborn streak. Analysts aren't impressed, though.
Investors will likely be more comfortable with a company investing money in its traditional business, which is successful, rather than in a new one that looks attractive, but with no certainty of profitability, says Ruchak Mehta, a research analyst at Parag Parikh Financial Advisory Services Ltd, who tracks Jyothy and has changed his recommendation from "buy" to "hold".
Jyothy Laboratories' shares gained 0.6% to end at Rs159.05 each on Wednesday on the Bombay Stock Exchange on a day the exchange's benchmark Sensex index rose 2.1%. The stock touched a year's high of Rs192 on 4 December and a year's low of Rs47.25 on 5 February. The firm ended the year to March with a revenue of Rs1,062 crore and a net profit of Rs80 crore. It ended the three months to September--the latest available numbers--with a net profit of Rs24 crore on revenue of Rs348 crore.
The road ahead Almost three decades after it was set up, Jyothy Laboratories is in the same league of consumer product companies such as Marico Ltd, Emami Ltd, Dabur and Godrej Consumer Products.
Many of these firms are growing faster than their multinational peers, although the latter have the additional challenge of growing on a large base (the Indian firms are much smaller).
Ramachandran says the firm's best years lie ahead. His dream is to grow, over the next 25 years, Jyothy Laboratories into one of India's largest consumer goods company rivalling multinational firms such as HUL in terms of revenue. From a oneproduct company, Jyothy Laboratories has managed to become a consumer products firm with several successful brands. Ujala now accounts for only one-third of the company's revenue.
The next generation of its leadership, Ramachandran's daughters Jyothy and Dipti, are being groomed by Kamath. And the company is betting big on laundry services that Ramachandran is convinced, will be a winner.
Could this be the company that breaks the mould and becomes the first mid-sized success story among consumer products companies to make the transition to the major league?
Ramachandran is convinced it is.
satish.j@livemint.com
SECURITY IS A STATE OF MIND AND A WAY OF LIFE
by RAHGU RAMAN
Two weeks ago, on a Sunday morning, close to 100,000 people were on the roads of Mumbai. About 38,000 were running the marathon with the rest cheering them. The sea-link had been opened and running over the ocean was awesome. Like most years, I ran the half marathon and like all years, I loved and hated it (while going over the steep gradients) but thoroughly enjoyed the overall experience. In case you are wondering what the marathon has got to do with a column on internal security, just go along with me here.
For those who don't run, the marathon, or even half of it (21km), it could seem a daunting feat. And in some ways, it is.
For a decent timing and, more importantly, not being terribly fatigued at the end, training of 6-12 months is fairly common. But ask any runner who has been bitten by the bug and one will tell you that long-distance running is not just about training the body. It is more mental resoluteness than physical strength. Keeping at it, while every muscle of the body screams in agony, is difficult and stopping seems so easy.
Strengthening a community's security is a bit like that. The target of a terrorist's attack is never the body count; instead, it is an attack on the psyche of society. Does a 26/11 numb and outrage the nation? Of course it does, as it should.
But if society cowers in fear of another attack, the terrorist wins. This doesn't mean our lives won't change or hasn't changed since terror has become an everyday fact. But we can influence how it changes us.
Until about a couple of decades ago, distance running was considered to be the domain of athletes and fitness buffs. Definitely not what "regular" people such as office workers, homemakers, teachers and doctors did. The marathon was considered very difficult and meant only for "tough" people. Bob Glover was one of the evangelists who decided to change that for the common man. In 1990, Bob created the New York City Marathon training programme based on his best-selling book, whose training methods have been followed by over a million runners. Come to think of it, running is not all that technical.
Actually, it is a sport which requires only a pair of shoes--and some world-class athletes don't even use that. So why has it remained esoteric for so long?
Well, to begin with, there was a misconception that to run long distances, you had to be very fit and train heavily. A second belief was that you had to be young and in continuous training. Glover's training programme bust many myths about running and showed how novices of all ages could run the half and full marathons in respectable timings in just 1620 weeks of training, only for 3-4 days a week. From a nominal 2km of walking per day, right up to the marathon. It was about gradual progress and regular training to convert pain into a pleasant way of life.
There is no doubt that we are entering a world where enhanced security will have to be the way of life. Frisking of people and baggage, check-points on roads, increased surveillance and yes, sadly, terrorist incidents despite all these precautions, will be the norm. We can choose to be overwhelmed by them, or we can respond by changing ourselves.
One would think that we would figure out what is best and immediately start practising personal security and good discipline. Unfortunately, humans don't behave like that. If it were so, hundreds of thousands of deaths would be avoided because smokers would quit, riders would wear helmets and doctors would wash hands. Ironically, many don't realize that each of us has a personal responsibility towards our society's security which we can't just leave to the security personnel who are on the frontline.
Think about it this way. How would you label a person who consciously breaks laws and then pleads, browbeats, bullies or bribes his way out when caught? Interestingly, that depends on who the label is put on, doesn't it? I mean, if this was a smuggler who was caught bringing RDX into the country and trying to bribe his way out, you could label him a terrorist who should be shown zero tolerance. But what about someone who jumps the red light and does exactly the same thing? Or acts haughty and irritated when the guard at the mall is just trying to do his job--of keeping our children safe (because we can be sure that his children are never going to be able to enter that mall).
From time immemorial, when faced with danger, every society has fronted its best warriors and adapted ways to protect its progeny and itself. And like long-distance running, improving our security posture is more of a mental realignment than physical discomfort. If we just worked at facilitating it, rather than being recalcitrant, security could be dovetailed into our way of life. Because any security regimen is like coach Glover's training programme. It can advise the runner, motivate him, coach him, but the actual running has to be done by society and not the coach.
Raghu Raman is an expert on homeland security.
by RAHGU RAMAN
Two weeks ago, on a Sunday morning, close to 100,000 people were on the roads of Mumbai. About 38,000 were running the marathon with the rest cheering them. The sea-link had been opened and running over the ocean was awesome. Like most years, I ran the half marathon and like all years, I loved and hated it (while going over the steep gradients) but thoroughly enjoyed the overall experience. In case you are wondering what the marathon has got to do with a column on internal security, just go along with me here.
For those who don't run, the marathon, or even half of it (21km), it could seem a daunting feat. And in some ways, it is.
For a decent timing and, more importantly, not being terribly fatigued at the end, training of 6-12 months is fairly common. But ask any runner who has been bitten by the bug and one will tell you that long-distance running is not just about training the body. It is more mental resoluteness than physical strength. Keeping at it, while every muscle of the body screams in agony, is difficult and stopping seems so easy.
Strengthening a community's security is a bit like that. The target of a terrorist's attack is never the body count; instead, it is an attack on the psyche of society. Does a 26/11 numb and outrage the nation? Of course it does, as it should.
But if society cowers in fear of another attack, the terrorist wins. This doesn't mean our lives won't change or hasn't changed since terror has become an everyday fact. But we can influence how it changes us.
Until about a couple of decades ago, distance running was considered to be the domain of athletes and fitness buffs. Definitely not what "regular" people such as office workers, homemakers, teachers and doctors did. The marathon was considered very difficult and meant only for "tough" people. Bob Glover was one of the evangelists who decided to change that for the common man. In 1990, Bob created the New York City Marathon training programme based on his best-selling book, whose training methods have been followed by over a million runners. Come to think of it, running is not all that technical.
Actually, it is a sport which requires only a pair of shoes--and some world-class athletes don't even use that. So why has it remained esoteric for so long?
Well, to begin with, there was a misconception that to run long distances, you had to be very fit and train heavily. A second belief was that you had to be young and in continuous training. Glover's training programme bust many myths about running and showed how novices of all ages could run the half and full marathons in respectable timings in just 1620 weeks of training, only for 3-4 days a week. From a nominal 2km of walking per day, right up to the marathon. It was about gradual progress and regular training to convert pain into a pleasant way of life.
There is no doubt that we are entering a world where enhanced security will have to be the way of life. Frisking of people and baggage, check-points on roads, increased surveillance and yes, sadly, terrorist incidents despite all these precautions, will be the norm. We can choose to be overwhelmed by them, or we can respond by changing ourselves.
One would think that we would figure out what is best and immediately start practising personal security and good discipline. Unfortunately, humans don't behave like that. If it were so, hundreds of thousands of deaths would be avoided because smokers would quit, riders would wear helmets and doctors would wash hands. Ironically, many don't realize that each of us has a personal responsibility towards our society's security which we can't just leave to the security personnel who are on the frontline.
Think about it this way. How would you label a person who consciously breaks laws and then pleads, browbeats, bullies or bribes his way out when caught? Interestingly, that depends on who the label is put on, doesn't it? I mean, if this was a smuggler who was caught bringing RDX into the country and trying to bribe his way out, you could label him a terrorist who should be shown zero tolerance. But what about someone who jumps the red light and does exactly the same thing? Or acts haughty and irritated when the guard at the mall is just trying to do his job--of keeping our children safe (because we can be sure that his children are never going to be able to enter that mall).
From time immemorial, when faced with danger, every society has fronted its best warriors and adapted ways to protect its progeny and itself. And like long-distance running, improving our security posture is more of a mental realignment than physical discomfort. If we just worked at facilitating it, rather than being recalcitrant, security could be dovetailed into our way of life. Because any security regimen is like coach Glover's training programme. It can advise the runner, motivate him, coach him, but the actual running has to be done by society and not the coach.
Raghu Raman is an expert on homeland security.
A Defensive Buildup in the Gulf
February 1, 2010 | 1757 GMT
By George Friedman
This weekend’s newspapers were filled with stories about how the United States is providing ballistic missile defense (BMD) to four countries on the Arabian Peninsula. The New York Times carried a front-page story on the United States providing anti-missile defenses to Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman, as well as stationing BMD-capable, Aegis-equipped warships in the Persian Gulf. Meanwhile, the front page of The Washington Post carried a story saying that “the Obama administration is quietly working with Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf allies to speed up arms sales and rapidly upgrade defenses for oil terminals and other key infrastructure in a bid to thwart future attacks by Iran, according to former and current U.S. and Middle Eastern government officials.”
Obviously, the work is no longer “quiet.” In fact, Washington has been publicly engaged in upgrading defensive systems in the area for some time. Central Command head Gen. David Petraeus recently said the four countries named by the Times were receiving BMD-capable Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) batteries, and at the end of October the United States carried out its largest-ever military exercises with Israel, known as Juniper Cobra.
More interesting than the stories themselves was the Obama administration’s decision to launch a major public relations campaign this weekend regarding these moves. And the most intriguing question out of all this is why the administration decided to call everyone’s attention to these defensive measures while not mentioning any offensive options.
The Iranian Nuclear Question
U.S. President Barack Obama spent little time on foreign policy in his Jan. 27 State of the Union message, though he did make a short, sharp reference to Iran. He promised a strong response to Tehran if it continued its present course; though this could have been pro forma, it seemed quite pointed. Early in his administration, Obama had said he would give the Iranians until the end of 2009 to change their policy on nuclear weapons development. But the end of 2009 came, and the Iranians continued their policy.
All along, Obama has focused on diplomacy on the Iran question. To be more precise, he has focused on bringing together a coalition prepared to impose “crippling sanctions” on the Iranians. The most crippling sanction would be stopping Iran’s gasoline imports, as Tehran imports about 35 percent of its gasoline. Such sanctions are now unlikely, as China has made clear that it is not prepared to participate — and that was before the most recent round of U.S. weapon sales to Taiwan. Similarly, while the Russians have indicated that their participation in sanctions is not completely out of the question, they also have made clear that time for sanctions is not near. We suspect that the Russian time frame for sanctions will keep getting pushed back.
Therefore, the diplomatic option appears to have dissolved. The Israelis have said they regard February as the decisive month for sanctions, which they have indicated is based on an agreement with the United States. While previous deadlines of various sorts regarding Iran have come and gone, there is really no room after February. If no progress is made on sanctions and no action follows, then the decision has been made by default that a nuclear-armed Iran is acceptable.
The Americans and the Israelis have somewhat different views of this based on different geopolitical realities. The Americans have seen a number of apparently extreme and dangerous countries develop nuclear weapons. The most important example was Maoist China. Mao Zedong had argued that a nuclear war was not particularly dangerous to China, as it could lose several hundred million people and still win the war. But once China developed nuclear weapons, the wild talk subsided and China behaved quite cautiously. From this experience, the United States developed a two-stage strategy.
First, the United States believed that while the spread of nuclear weapons is a danger, countries tend to be circumspect after acquiring nuclear weapons. Therefore, overreaction by United States to the acquisition of nuclear weapons by other countries is unnecessary and unwise.
Second, since the United States is a big country with widely dispersed population and a massive nuclear arsenal, a reckless country that launched some weapons at the United States would do minimal harm to the United States while the other country would face annihilation. And the United States has emphasized BMD to further mitigate — if not eliminate — the threat of such a limited strike to the United States.
Israel’s geography forces it to see things differently. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said Israel should be wiped off the face of the Earth while simultaneously working to attain nuclear weapons. While the Americans take comfort in the view that the acquisition of nuclear weapons has a sobering effect on a new nuclear power, the Israelis don’t think the Chinese case necessarily can be generalized. Moreover, the United States is outside the range of the Iranians’ current ballistic missile arsenal while Israel is not. And a nuclear strike would have a particularly devastating effect on Israel. Unlike the United States, Israel is small country with a highly concentrated population. A strike with just one or two weapons could destroy Israel.
Therefore, Israel has a very different threshold for risk as far as Iran is concerned. For Israel, a nuclear strike from Iran is improbable, but would be catastrophic if it happened. For the United States, the risk of an Iranian strike is far more remote, and would be painful but not catastrophic if it happened. The two countries thus approach the situation very differently.
How close the Iranians are to having a deliverable nuclear weapon is, of course, a significant consideration in all this. Iran has not yet achieved a testable nuclear device. Logic tells us they are quite far from a deliverable nuclear weapon. But the ability to trust logic varies as the risk grows. The United States (and this is true for both the Bush and Obama administrations) has been much more willing to play for time than Israel can afford to be. For Israel, all intelligence must be read in the context of worst-case scenarios.
Diverging Interests and Grand Strategy
It is also important to remember that Israel is much less dependent on the United States than it was in 1973. Though U.S. aid to Israel continues, it is now a much smaller percentage of Israeli gross domestic product. Moreover, the threat of sudden conventional attack by Israel’s immediate neighbors has disappeared. Egypt is at peace with Israel, and in any case, its military is too weak to mount an attack. Jordan is effectively an Israeli ally. Only Syria is hostile, but it presents no conventional military threat. Israel previously has relied on guarantees that the United States would rush aid to Israel in the event of war. But it has been a generation since this has been a major consideration for Israel. In the minds of many, the Israeli-U.S. relationship is stuck in the past. Israel is not critical to American interests the way it was during the Cold War. And Israel does not need the United States the way it did during the Cold War. While there is intelligence cooperation in the struggle against jihadists, even here American and Israeli interests diverge.
And this means that the United States no longer has Israeli national security as an overriding consideration — and that the United States cannot compel Israel to pursue policies Israel regards as dangerous.
Given all of this, the Obama administration’s decision to launch a public relations campaign on defensive measures just before February makes perfect sense. If Iran develops a nuclear capability, a defensive capability might shift Iran’s calculus of the risks and rewards of the military option.
Assume, for example, that the Iranians decided to launch a nuclear missile at Israel or Iran’s Arab neighbors with which its relations are not the best. Iran would have only a handful of missiles, and perhaps just one. Launching that one missile only to have it shot down would represent the worst-case scenario for Iran. Tehran would have lost a valuable military asset, it would not have achieved its goal and it would have invited a devastating counterstrike. Anything the United States can do to increase the likelihood of an Iranian failure therefore decreases the likelihood that Iran would strike until they have more delivery systems and more fissile material for manufacturing more weapons.
The U.S. announcement of the defensive measures therefore has three audiences: Iran, Israel and the American public. Israel and Iran obviously know all about American efforts, meaning the key audience is the American public. The administration is trying to deflect American concerns about Iran generated both by reality and Israel by showing that effective steps are being taken.
There are two key weapon systems being deployed, the PAC-3 and the Aegis/Standard Missile-3 (SM-3). The original Patriot, primarily an anti-aircraft system, had a poor record — especially as a BMD system — during the first Gulf War. But that was almost 20 years ago. The new system is regarded as much more effective as a terminal-phase BMD system, such as the medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs) developed by Iran, and performed much more impressively in this role during the opening of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003. In addition, Juniper Cobra served to further integrate a series of American and Israeli BMD interceptors and sensors, building a more redundant and layered system. This operation also included the SM-3, which is deployed aboard specially modified Aegis-equipped guided missile cruisers and destroyers. The SM-3 is one of the most successful BMD technologies currently in the field and successfully brought down a wayward U.S. spy satellite in 2008.
Nevertheless, a series of Iranian Shahab-3s is a different threat than a few Iraqi Scuds, and the PAC-3 and SM-3 have yet to be proven in combat against such MRBMs — something the Israelis are no doubt aware of. War planners must calculate the incalculable; that is what makes good generals pessimists.
The Obama administration does not want to mount an offensive action against Iran. Such an operation would not be a single strike like the 1981 Osirak attack in Iraq. Iran has multiple nuclear sites buried deep and surrounded by air defenses. And assessing the effectiveness of airstrikes would be a nightmare. Many days of combat at a minimum probably would be required, and like the effectiveness of defensive weapons systems, the quality of intelligence about which locations to hit cannot be known until after the battle.
A defensive posture therefore makes perfect sense for the United States. Washington can simply defend its allies, letting them absorb the risk and then the first strike before the United States counterstrikes rather than rely on its intelligence and offensive forces in a pre-emptive strike. This defensive posture on Iran fits American grand strategy, which is always to shift such risk to partners in exchange for technology and long-term guarantees.
The Arabian states can live with this, albeit nervously, since they are not the likely targets. But Israel finds its assigned role in U.S. grand strategy far more difficult to stomach. In the unlikely event that Iran actually does develop a weapon and does strike, Israel is the likely target. If the defensive measures do not convince Iran to abandon its program and if the Patriots allow a missile to leak through, Israel has a national catastrophe. It faces an unlikely event with unacceptable consequences.
Israel’s Options
It has options, although a long-range conventional airstrike against Iran is really not one of them. Carrying out a multiday or even multiweek air campaign with Israel’s available force is too likely to be insufficient and too likely to fail. Israel’s most effective option for taking out Iran’s nuclear activities is itself nuclear. Israel could strike Iran from submarines if it genuinely intended to stop Iran’s program.
The problem with this is that much of the Iranian nuclear program is sited near large cities, including Tehran. Depending on the nuclear weapons used and their precision, any Israeli strikes could thus turn into city-killers. Israel is not able to live in a region where nuclear weapons are used in counterpopulation strikes (regardless of the actual intent behind launching). Mounting such a strike could unravel the careful balance of power Israel has created and threaten relationships it needs. And while Israel may not be as dependent on the United States as it once was, it does not want the United States completely distancing itself from Israel, as Washington doubtless would after an Israeli nuclear strike.
The Israelis want Iran’s nuclear program destroyed, but they do not want to be the ones to try to do it. Only the United States has the force needed to carry out the strike conventionally. But like the Bush administration, the Obama administration is not confident in its ability to remove the Iranian program surgically. Washington is concerned that any air campaign would have an indeterminate outcome and would require extremely difficult ground operations to determine the strikes’ success or failure. Perhaps even more complicated is the U.S. ability to manage the consequences, such as a potential attempt by Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian meddling in already extremely delicate situations in Iraq and Afghanistan. As Iran does not threaten the United States, the United States therefore is in no hurry to initiate combat. And so the United States has launched a public relations campaign about defensive measures, hoping to affect Iranian calculations while remaining content to let the game play itself out.
Israel’s option is to respond to the United States with its intent to go nuclear, something Washington does not want in a region where U.S. troops are fighting in countries on either side of Iran. Israel might calculate that its announcement would force the United States to pre-empt an Israeli nuclear strike with conventional strikes. But the American response to Israel cannot be predicted. It is therefore dangerous for a small regional power to try to corner a global power.
With the adoption of a defensive posture, we have now seen the U.S. response to the February deadline. This response closes off no U.S. options (the United States can always shift its strategy when intelligence indicates), it increases the Arabian Peninsula’s dependence on the United States, and it possibly causes Iran to recalculate its position. Israel, meanwhile, finds itself in a box, because the United States calculates that Israel will not chance a conventional strike and fears a nuclear strike on Iran as much as the United States does.
In the end, Obama has followed the Bush strategy on Iran — make vague threats, try to build a coalition, hold Israel off with vague promises, protect the Arabian Peninsula, and wait — to the letter. But along with this announcement, we would expect to begin to see a series of articles on the offensive deployment of U.S. forces, as good defensive posture requires a strong offensive option.
February 1, 2010 | 1757 GMT
By George Friedman
This weekend’s newspapers were filled with stories about how the United States is providing ballistic missile defense (BMD) to four countries on the Arabian Peninsula. The New York Times carried a front-page story on the United States providing anti-missile defenses to Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman, as well as stationing BMD-capable, Aegis-equipped warships in the Persian Gulf. Meanwhile, the front page of The Washington Post carried a story saying that “the Obama administration is quietly working with Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf allies to speed up arms sales and rapidly upgrade defenses for oil terminals and other key infrastructure in a bid to thwart future attacks by Iran, according to former and current U.S. and Middle Eastern government officials.”
Obviously, the work is no longer “quiet.” In fact, Washington has been publicly engaged in upgrading defensive systems in the area for some time. Central Command head Gen. David Petraeus recently said the four countries named by the Times were receiving BMD-capable Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) batteries, and at the end of October the United States carried out its largest-ever military exercises with Israel, known as Juniper Cobra.
More interesting than the stories themselves was the Obama administration’s decision to launch a major public relations campaign this weekend regarding these moves. And the most intriguing question out of all this is why the administration decided to call everyone’s attention to these defensive measures while not mentioning any offensive options.
The Iranian Nuclear Question
U.S. President Barack Obama spent little time on foreign policy in his Jan. 27 State of the Union message, though he did make a short, sharp reference to Iran. He promised a strong response to Tehran if it continued its present course; though this could have been pro forma, it seemed quite pointed. Early in his administration, Obama had said he would give the Iranians until the end of 2009 to change their policy on nuclear weapons development. But the end of 2009 came, and the Iranians continued their policy.
All along, Obama has focused on diplomacy on the Iran question. To be more precise, he has focused on bringing together a coalition prepared to impose “crippling sanctions” on the Iranians. The most crippling sanction would be stopping Iran’s gasoline imports, as Tehran imports about 35 percent of its gasoline. Such sanctions are now unlikely, as China has made clear that it is not prepared to participate — and that was before the most recent round of U.S. weapon sales to Taiwan. Similarly, while the Russians have indicated that their participation in sanctions is not completely out of the question, they also have made clear that time for sanctions is not near. We suspect that the Russian time frame for sanctions will keep getting pushed back.
Therefore, the diplomatic option appears to have dissolved. The Israelis have said they regard February as the decisive month for sanctions, which they have indicated is based on an agreement with the United States. While previous deadlines of various sorts regarding Iran have come and gone, there is really no room after February. If no progress is made on sanctions and no action follows, then the decision has been made by default that a nuclear-armed Iran is acceptable.
The Americans and the Israelis have somewhat different views of this based on different geopolitical realities. The Americans have seen a number of apparently extreme and dangerous countries develop nuclear weapons. The most important example was Maoist China. Mao Zedong had argued that a nuclear war was not particularly dangerous to China, as it could lose several hundred million people and still win the war. But once China developed nuclear weapons, the wild talk subsided and China behaved quite cautiously. From this experience, the United States developed a two-stage strategy.
First, the United States believed that while the spread of nuclear weapons is a danger, countries tend to be circumspect after acquiring nuclear weapons. Therefore, overreaction by United States to the acquisition of nuclear weapons by other countries is unnecessary and unwise.
Second, since the United States is a big country with widely dispersed population and a massive nuclear arsenal, a reckless country that launched some weapons at the United States would do minimal harm to the United States while the other country would face annihilation. And the United States has emphasized BMD to further mitigate — if not eliminate — the threat of such a limited strike to the United States.
Israel’s geography forces it to see things differently. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said Israel should be wiped off the face of the Earth while simultaneously working to attain nuclear weapons. While the Americans take comfort in the view that the acquisition of nuclear weapons has a sobering effect on a new nuclear power, the Israelis don’t think the Chinese case necessarily can be generalized. Moreover, the United States is outside the range of the Iranians’ current ballistic missile arsenal while Israel is not. And a nuclear strike would have a particularly devastating effect on Israel. Unlike the United States, Israel is small country with a highly concentrated population. A strike with just one or two weapons could destroy Israel.
Therefore, Israel has a very different threshold for risk as far as Iran is concerned. For Israel, a nuclear strike from Iran is improbable, but would be catastrophic if it happened. For the United States, the risk of an Iranian strike is far more remote, and would be painful but not catastrophic if it happened. The two countries thus approach the situation very differently.
How close the Iranians are to having a deliverable nuclear weapon is, of course, a significant consideration in all this. Iran has not yet achieved a testable nuclear device. Logic tells us they are quite far from a deliverable nuclear weapon. But the ability to trust logic varies as the risk grows. The United States (and this is true for both the Bush and Obama administrations) has been much more willing to play for time than Israel can afford to be. For Israel, all intelligence must be read in the context of worst-case scenarios.
Diverging Interests and Grand Strategy
It is also important to remember that Israel is much less dependent on the United States than it was in 1973. Though U.S. aid to Israel continues, it is now a much smaller percentage of Israeli gross domestic product. Moreover, the threat of sudden conventional attack by Israel’s immediate neighbors has disappeared. Egypt is at peace with Israel, and in any case, its military is too weak to mount an attack. Jordan is effectively an Israeli ally. Only Syria is hostile, but it presents no conventional military threat. Israel previously has relied on guarantees that the United States would rush aid to Israel in the event of war. But it has been a generation since this has been a major consideration for Israel. In the minds of many, the Israeli-U.S. relationship is stuck in the past. Israel is not critical to American interests the way it was during the Cold War. And Israel does not need the United States the way it did during the Cold War. While there is intelligence cooperation in the struggle against jihadists, even here American and Israeli interests diverge.
And this means that the United States no longer has Israeli national security as an overriding consideration — and that the United States cannot compel Israel to pursue policies Israel regards as dangerous.
Given all of this, the Obama administration’s decision to launch a public relations campaign on defensive measures just before February makes perfect sense. If Iran develops a nuclear capability, a defensive capability might shift Iran’s calculus of the risks and rewards of the military option.
Assume, for example, that the Iranians decided to launch a nuclear missile at Israel or Iran’s Arab neighbors with which its relations are not the best. Iran would have only a handful of missiles, and perhaps just one. Launching that one missile only to have it shot down would represent the worst-case scenario for Iran. Tehran would have lost a valuable military asset, it would not have achieved its goal and it would have invited a devastating counterstrike. Anything the United States can do to increase the likelihood of an Iranian failure therefore decreases the likelihood that Iran would strike until they have more delivery systems and more fissile material for manufacturing more weapons.
The U.S. announcement of the defensive measures therefore has three audiences: Iran, Israel and the American public. Israel and Iran obviously know all about American efforts, meaning the key audience is the American public. The administration is trying to deflect American concerns about Iran generated both by reality and Israel by showing that effective steps are being taken.
There are two key weapon systems being deployed, the PAC-3 and the Aegis/Standard Missile-3 (SM-3). The original Patriot, primarily an anti-aircraft system, had a poor record — especially as a BMD system — during the first Gulf War. But that was almost 20 years ago. The new system is regarded as much more effective as a terminal-phase BMD system, such as the medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs) developed by Iran, and performed much more impressively in this role during the opening of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003. In addition, Juniper Cobra served to further integrate a series of American and Israeli BMD interceptors and sensors, building a more redundant and layered system. This operation also included the SM-3, which is deployed aboard specially modified Aegis-equipped guided missile cruisers and destroyers. The SM-3 is one of the most successful BMD technologies currently in the field and successfully brought down a wayward U.S. spy satellite in 2008.
Nevertheless, a series of Iranian Shahab-3s is a different threat than a few Iraqi Scuds, and the PAC-3 and SM-3 have yet to be proven in combat against such MRBMs — something the Israelis are no doubt aware of. War planners must calculate the incalculable; that is what makes good generals pessimists.
The Obama administration does not want to mount an offensive action against Iran. Such an operation would not be a single strike like the 1981 Osirak attack in Iraq. Iran has multiple nuclear sites buried deep and surrounded by air defenses. And assessing the effectiveness of airstrikes would be a nightmare. Many days of combat at a minimum probably would be required, and like the effectiveness of defensive weapons systems, the quality of intelligence about which locations to hit cannot be known until after the battle.
A defensive posture therefore makes perfect sense for the United States. Washington can simply defend its allies, letting them absorb the risk and then the first strike before the United States counterstrikes rather than rely on its intelligence and offensive forces in a pre-emptive strike. This defensive posture on Iran fits American grand strategy, which is always to shift such risk to partners in exchange for technology and long-term guarantees.
The Arabian states can live with this, albeit nervously, since they are not the likely targets. But Israel finds its assigned role in U.S. grand strategy far more difficult to stomach. In the unlikely event that Iran actually does develop a weapon and does strike, Israel is the likely target. If the defensive measures do not convince Iran to abandon its program and if the Patriots allow a missile to leak through, Israel has a national catastrophe. It faces an unlikely event with unacceptable consequences.
Israel’s Options
It has options, although a long-range conventional airstrike against Iran is really not one of them. Carrying out a multiday or even multiweek air campaign with Israel’s available force is too likely to be insufficient and too likely to fail. Israel’s most effective option for taking out Iran’s nuclear activities is itself nuclear. Israel could strike Iran from submarines if it genuinely intended to stop Iran’s program.
The problem with this is that much of the Iranian nuclear program is sited near large cities, including Tehran. Depending on the nuclear weapons used and their precision, any Israeli strikes could thus turn into city-killers. Israel is not able to live in a region where nuclear weapons are used in counterpopulation strikes (regardless of the actual intent behind launching). Mounting such a strike could unravel the careful balance of power Israel has created and threaten relationships it needs. And while Israel may not be as dependent on the United States as it once was, it does not want the United States completely distancing itself from Israel, as Washington doubtless would after an Israeli nuclear strike.
The Israelis want Iran’s nuclear program destroyed, but they do not want to be the ones to try to do it. Only the United States has the force needed to carry out the strike conventionally. But like the Bush administration, the Obama administration is not confident in its ability to remove the Iranian program surgically. Washington is concerned that any air campaign would have an indeterminate outcome and would require extremely difficult ground operations to determine the strikes’ success or failure. Perhaps even more complicated is the U.S. ability to manage the consequences, such as a potential attempt by Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian meddling in already extremely delicate situations in Iraq and Afghanistan. As Iran does not threaten the United States, the United States therefore is in no hurry to initiate combat. And so the United States has launched a public relations campaign about defensive measures, hoping to affect Iranian calculations while remaining content to let the game play itself out.
Israel’s option is to respond to the United States with its intent to go nuclear, something Washington does not want in a region where U.S. troops are fighting in countries on either side of Iran. Israel might calculate that its announcement would force the United States to pre-empt an Israeli nuclear strike with conventional strikes. But the American response to Israel cannot be predicted. It is therefore dangerous for a small regional power to try to corner a global power.
With the adoption of a defensive posture, we have now seen the U.S. response to the February deadline. This response closes off no U.S. options (the United States can always shift its strategy when intelligence indicates), it increases the Arabian Peninsula’s dependence on the United States, and it possibly causes Iran to recalculate its position. Israel, meanwhile, finds itself in a box, because the United States calculates that Israel will not chance a conventional strike and fears a nuclear strike on Iran as much as the United States does.
In the end, Obama has followed the Bush strategy on Iran — make vague threats, try to build a coalition, hold Israel off with vague promises, protect the Arabian Peninsula, and wait — to the letter. But along with this announcement, we would expect to begin to see a series of articles on the offensive deployment of U.S. forces, as good defensive posture requires a strong offensive option.
INDIA: Waste Generating Industries
There are 36,165 hazardous waste generating industries in the country. 6.2 MT hazardous waste is generated by them every year, of which landfillable waste is 2.7 MT, incinerable 0.41 MT and Recyclable Hazardous Waste is 3.08 MT.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests has notified the Hazardous Wastes (Management, Handling and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2008, for proper management and handling of hazardous wastes. The recyclable wastes are processed and reused by the industries having a valid authorisation issued by the respective State Pollution Control Board.
KP
There are 36,165 hazardous waste generating industries in the country. 6.2 MT hazardous waste is generated by them every year, of which landfillable waste is 2.7 MT, incinerable 0.41 MT and Recyclable Hazardous Waste is 3.08 MT.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests has notified the Hazardous Wastes (Management, Handling and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2008, for proper management and handling of hazardous wastes. The recyclable wastes are processed and reused by the industries having a valid authorisation issued by the respective State Pollution Control Board.
KP
CONGRATS MANMOHANJI FOR THIS BOLD STEP
Disclose details of assets, PM tells Ministers
New Delhi:3.Feb 2010
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is believed to have asked his Cabinet colleagues to disclose details of their assets and liabilities and refrain from dealing with the government on immovable property.
In a code of conduct for Ministers of both Centre and the State governments, it has been emphasised that details of the assets should include particulars of all immovable property and the value of shares and debentures, cash holdings and jewellery.
The Ministers have also been advised to sever all connections, short of divesting themselves of the ownership, with the conduct and management of any business in which they were interested before their appointment.
Although the code has no legal backing, still it is expected of all Ministers to scrupulously adhere to the code.
The authority for ensuring the observance of the code is the Prime Minister in the case of Union Ministers and the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister in the case of Chief Ministers. State Ministers should report to the Chief Ministers.
The code asked the Ministers to divest themselves of all their interests in business concerns and their management which supplies goods or services to the government or to government undertakings.
This also applies to interests in businesses primarily depending on licenses, permits, quotas and leases received or to be received from the government, it said.
In such cases, the Minister may transfer his interests in the management or both ownership and management to any adult member of their family or adult relative other than the wife/husband.
The code asked the Ministers to furnish annually by August 31, to the Prime Minister or the Chief Minister as the case may be, a declaration regarding their assets and liabilities for the previous financial year.
The Ministers should refrain from starting or joining any business. Besides, no Minister should personally or through a member of his family accept contribution for any purpose, whether political, charitable or otherwise.
No Minister should associate himself with the raising of funds except for the benefit of a registered society or a charitable body or an institution recognised by a public authority and a political party.
A Minister should not accept valuable gifts except from close relatives, and members of the family should not accept any gifts at all from any person with whom the Minister may have official dealings.
Printer friendly page
New Delhi:3.Feb 2010
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is believed to have asked his Cabinet colleagues to disclose details of their assets and liabilities and refrain from dealing with the government on immovable property.
In a code of conduct for Ministers of both Centre and the State governments, it has been emphasised that details of the assets should include particulars of all immovable property and the value of shares and debentures, cash holdings and jewellery.
The Ministers have also been advised to sever all connections, short of divesting themselves of the ownership, with the conduct and management of any business in which they were interested before their appointment.
Although the code has no legal backing, still it is expected of all Ministers to scrupulously adhere to the code.
The authority for ensuring the observance of the code is the Prime Minister in the case of Union Ministers and the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister in the case of Chief Ministers. State Ministers should report to the Chief Ministers.
The code asked the Ministers to divest themselves of all their interests in business concerns and their management which supplies goods or services to the government or to government undertakings.
This also applies to interests in businesses primarily depending on licenses, permits, quotas and leases received or to be received from the government, it said.
In such cases, the Minister may transfer his interests in the management or both ownership and management to any adult member of their family or adult relative other than the wife/husband.
The code asked the Ministers to furnish annually by August 31, to the Prime Minister or the Chief Minister as the case may be, a declaration regarding their assets and liabilities for the previous financial year.
The Ministers should refrain from starting or joining any business. Besides, no Minister should personally or through a member of his family accept contribution for any purpose, whether political, charitable or otherwise.
No Minister should associate himself with the raising of funds except for the benefit of a registered society or a charitable body or an institution recognised by a public authority and a political party.
A Minister should not accept valuable gifts except from close relatives, and members of the family should not accept any gifts at all from any person with whom the Minister may have official dealings.
Printer friendly page
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
District plans of all Minority Concentration Districts of more than half of the states included in Multi-Sectoral Development Programme ( MSDP ) approved by the Ministry of Minority Affairs
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17:43 IST
District plans of all Minority Concentration Districts (MCDs) of 13 states, out of a total of 20 states included in the Multi-sectoral Development Programme ( MsDP ), have been approved by the Ministry of Minority Affairs. The states whose one or more District Plans are yet to get the approval of the Ministry include Arunachal Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Sikkim, Assam, Jharkhand and Maharashtra. In the case of Jharkhand and Maharashtra, out of the 4 MCDs the District Plans of 3 districts have been approved by the Ministry of Minority Affairs. In the case of Assam, District Plans of 2 MCDs are still pending, whereas the Plans of other 11 MCDs have been approved. In the case of 4 remaining states the District Plans for the MCDs are yet to be submitted by the concerned State Government.
As per the latest data available, the Ministry of Minority Affairs had approved the Plans of 76 MCDs, out of a total of 90 MCDs, as on 31st December 2009. The total cost of projects approved so far for these 76 MCDs is over Rs. 1,821 crore.
----------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17:43 IST
District plans of all Minority Concentration Districts (MCDs) of 13 states, out of a total of 20 states included in the Multi-sectoral Development Programme ( MsDP ), have been approved by the Ministry of Minority Affairs. The states whose one or more District Plans are yet to get the approval of the Ministry include Arunachal Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Sikkim, Assam, Jharkhand and Maharashtra. In the case of Jharkhand and Maharashtra, out of the 4 MCDs the District Plans of 3 districts have been approved by the Ministry of Minority Affairs. In the case of Assam, District Plans of 2 MCDs are still pending, whereas the Plans of other 11 MCDs have been approved. In the case of 4 remaining states the District Plans for the MCDs are yet to be submitted by the concerned State Government.
As per the latest data available, the Ministry of Minority Affairs had approved the Plans of 76 MCDs, out of a total of 90 MCDs, as on 31st December 2009. The total cost of projects approved so far for these 76 MCDs is over Rs. 1,821 crore.
----------------------
Vice President releases a report on NREGA
The Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari has said that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 has been a game-changer in the governance of the country. Addressing after releasing a nationwide research report on “Management of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme:- Issues and Challenges” published by the Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management here today, he has said that it has for the first time, both nationally and internationally, articulated a rights-based approach to guaranteeing wage employment at such a vast scale.
The Vice President has said that as a nation, we have to redeem the pledge of the founding fathers to eliminate divides – urban-rural, male-female, divides of caste, tribe, community and religion. The vision is of every citizen having every opportunity to improve his/her human capacities and leading a fulfilling and dignified life. The NREGA is a step in empowering rural citizens to steer their own destiny and ensuring that development processes are not only sustainable but also in consonance with the aspirations and desires of citizens.
Following is the text of the Vice President’s address :
“It gives me great pleasure to release the report published by the Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 and its implementation in six states. Professional feedback of this nature would be useful to the government for appraisal, diagnosis, remedial action and capacity building for the NREGA.
The Act itself has been a game-changer in the governance of the country. It has for the first time, both nationally and internationally, articulated a rights-based approach to guaranteeing wage employment at such a vast scale. Let us consider the numbers:
In 2008-09, around 45 million households have been provided with wage employment and 2160 million persondays of employment have been generated;
Average wage paid in 2008-09 has increased to Rs. 84, an increase of around a third as compared to 2006-07;
In 2008-09, participation of SCs and STs has been 55 per cent and women workforce participation has surpassed the statutory minimum requirement of one third and has increased to 48 per cent.
The primary objective of improving wage employment is being achieved with some success. Equally important are the auxiliary objectives of improving natural resource management, promoting equity and gender equality across communities, bringing about financial inclusion and insurance coverage and using technology at the rural level for improved governance. The government is committed to ensure the success of these objectives and any assessment of performance has to cover them.
As a nation, we have to redeem the pledge of the founding fathers to eliminate divides – urban-rural, male-female, divides of caste, tribe, community and religion. The vision is of every citizen having every opportunity to improve his/her human capacities and leading a fulfilling and dignified life. The NREGA is a step in empowering rural citizens to steer their own destiny and ensuring that development processes are not only sustainable but also in consonance with the aspirations and desires of citizens.
Like all programmes, the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 is a work-in-progress. Suggestions for correctives have come from individuals and organisations supportive of the programme. Every such contribution towards better implementation and operationalisation of the Act would contribute to national prosperity and individual well being of a large number of Indians. It is my hope that the report published by the Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management would also do so.
I once again thank Shri Anil Shastri for inviting me to release the report.”
The Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari has said that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 has been a game-changer in the governance of the country. Addressing after releasing a nationwide research report on “Management of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme:- Issues and Challenges” published by the Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management here today, he has said that it has for the first time, both nationally and internationally, articulated a rights-based approach to guaranteeing wage employment at such a vast scale.
The Vice President has said that as a nation, we have to redeem the pledge of the founding fathers to eliminate divides – urban-rural, male-female, divides of caste, tribe, community and religion. The vision is of every citizen having every opportunity to improve his/her human capacities and leading a fulfilling and dignified life. The NREGA is a step in empowering rural citizens to steer their own destiny and ensuring that development processes are not only sustainable but also in consonance with the aspirations and desires of citizens.
Following is the text of the Vice President’s address :
“It gives me great pleasure to release the report published by the Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 and its implementation in six states. Professional feedback of this nature would be useful to the government for appraisal, diagnosis, remedial action and capacity building for the NREGA.
The Act itself has been a game-changer in the governance of the country. It has for the first time, both nationally and internationally, articulated a rights-based approach to guaranteeing wage employment at such a vast scale. Let us consider the numbers:
In 2008-09, around 45 million households have been provided with wage employment and 2160 million persondays of employment have been generated;
Average wage paid in 2008-09 has increased to Rs. 84, an increase of around a third as compared to 2006-07;
In 2008-09, participation of SCs and STs has been 55 per cent and women workforce participation has surpassed the statutory minimum requirement of one third and has increased to 48 per cent.
The primary objective of improving wage employment is being achieved with some success. Equally important are the auxiliary objectives of improving natural resource management, promoting equity and gender equality across communities, bringing about financial inclusion and insurance coverage and using technology at the rural level for improved governance. The government is committed to ensure the success of these objectives and any assessment of performance has to cover them.
As a nation, we have to redeem the pledge of the founding fathers to eliminate divides – urban-rural, male-female, divides of caste, tribe, community and religion. The vision is of every citizen having every opportunity to improve his/her human capacities and leading a fulfilling and dignified life. The NREGA is a step in empowering rural citizens to steer their own destiny and ensuring that development processes are not only sustainable but also in consonance with the aspirations and desires of citizens.
Like all programmes, the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 is a work-in-progress. Suggestions for correctives have come from individuals and organisations supportive of the programme. Every such contribution towards better implementation and operationalisation of the Act would contribute to national prosperity and individual well being of a large number of Indians. It is my hope that the report published by the Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management would also do so.
I once again thank Shri Anil Shastri for inviting me to release the report.”
BJP VIEW ON DIRECT TAX CODE
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) recognises the need to redraft the 50-year-old Income Tax Act of 1961 and appreciates the initiative taken in this direction by the Finance Ministry but is opposed to the proposed Direct Tax Code in its present form.
A delegation of party leaders, including Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee here on Tuesday to discuss the proposed changes in direct tax. They submitted a 12-page memorandum to him detailing their objections.
‘Insensitive’
Broadly the BJP saw the proposed code as insensitive to the need to encourage savings and bring about social justice. The party leaders claimed that under the proposed regime the small tax-payer would end up paying more taxes while it gave the impression that the tax burden on the middle class would be reduced.
The memorandum also criticised the code for being “guided by western/developed economies” while overlooking the fact that the needs in a developing economy such as India’s were different.
‘In drafting stage’
Apparently, Mr. Mukherjee told the delegation that the code was still in the drafting stage and nothing would be done to introduce it before 2011-12.
The BJP was against doing away with all exemptions and deductions (as proposed by the code); it wanted tax incentives for savings and for housing to continue; it strongly opposed the move from the EEE (Exempt Exempt Exempt) regime applied to savings such as provident fund and gratuity to EET (Exempt Exempt Tax); it favoured continuation of different tax rates on long-term and short-term capital gains; it was against withdrawal of area-based exemptions; it opposed tax holiday for industries till they recovered capital expenditure; and it opposed higher rate of taxation for non-resident Indians.
IT cess for seniors
The party demanded that tax-free income be allowed to certain vulnerable sections such as women, retired persons and senior citizens who should be allowed tax-free interest annual income up to Rs. 3,00,000.
The BJP welcomed the government initiative. It wanted proper consultations with experts before the code was introduced, and above all, preferred “simplicity” that would enable the tax-payer to fill up the returns without professional help.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) recognises the need to redraft the 50-year-old Income Tax Act of 1961 and appreciates the initiative taken in this direction by the Finance Ministry but is opposed to the proposed Direct Tax Code in its present form.
A delegation of party leaders, including Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee here on Tuesday to discuss the proposed changes in direct tax. They submitted a 12-page memorandum to him detailing their objections.
‘Insensitive’
Broadly the BJP saw the proposed code as insensitive to the need to encourage savings and bring about social justice. The party leaders claimed that under the proposed regime the small tax-payer would end up paying more taxes while it gave the impression that the tax burden on the middle class would be reduced.
The memorandum also criticised the code for being “guided by western/developed economies” while overlooking the fact that the needs in a developing economy such as India’s were different.
‘In drafting stage’
Apparently, Mr. Mukherjee told the delegation that the code was still in the drafting stage and nothing would be done to introduce it before 2011-12.
The BJP was against doing away with all exemptions and deductions (as proposed by the code); it wanted tax incentives for savings and for housing to continue; it strongly opposed the move from the EEE (Exempt Exempt Exempt) regime applied to savings such as provident fund and gratuity to EET (Exempt Exempt Tax); it favoured continuation of different tax rates on long-term and short-term capital gains; it was against withdrawal of area-based exemptions; it opposed tax holiday for industries till they recovered capital expenditure; and it opposed higher rate of taxation for non-resident Indians.
IT cess for seniors
The party demanded that tax-free income be allowed to certain vulnerable sections such as women, retired persons and senior citizens who should be allowed tax-free interest annual income up to Rs. 3,00,000.
The BJP welcomed the government initiative. It wanted proper consultations with experts before the code was introduced, and above all, preferred “simplicity” that would enable the tax-payer to fill up the returns without professional help.
India at No. 9 spot in S&T map: Prithviraj Chavan
India has now climbed to No. 9 spot in the world’s Science and Technology map this year with its output of S&T systems growing at a significant 12 per cent as against the global average of just four per cent.
“We have overtaken Spain this year to stand at No. 9, one rank up from last year,” Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Prithviraj Chavan has said. India was ranked 15th in S&T systems output in the year 2002.
Addressing a press conference during his visit to the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology here on Tuesday, the Union Minister outlined the various initiatives taken by the Government of India to make India a “global major science power.”
“Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is committed to science in a big way. So, he has announced that the decade from 2010 to 2020 will be the Decade of Innovation. We are looking at science to create wealth and employment for the country,” Chavan, who is also a Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, said.
He said the Centre was currently spending one per cent of Gross Domestic Product on research and development, and added “We are committed to grow this (spending) to two per cent of GDP in five to six years, both public and private sectors together
India has now climbed to No. 9 spot in the world’s Science and Technology map this year with its output of S&T systems growing at a significant 12 per cent as against the global average of just four per cent.
“We have overtaken Spain this year to stand at No. 9, one rank up from last year,” Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Prithviraj Chavan has said. India was ranked 15th in S&T systems output in the year 2002.
Addressing a press conference during his visit to the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology here on Tuesday, the Union Minister outlined the various initiatives taken by the Government of India to make India a “global major science power.”
“Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is committed to science in a big way. So, he has announced that the decade from 2010 to 2020 will be the Decade of Innovation. We are looking at science to create wealth and employment for the country,” Chavan, who is also a Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, said.
He said the Centre was currently spending one per cent of Gross Domestic Product on research and development, and added “We are committed to grow this (spending) to two per cent of GDP in five to six years, both public and private sectors together
Guidelines for effective and transparent functioning of Gram Sabha
The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has issued specific guidelines to make Gram Sabha as a vibrant forum for promoting planned economic and social development of the villages in a transparent way. The guidelines are a part of the proceedings to observe the year 2009-10 as year of Gram Sabha and relates to the social audit for the effective implementation of Mahatma Gandhi NREGA. According to the guidelines, the Gram Sabha as a Key to the self-governance and transparent and accountable functioning are a forum that ensures direct, participative democracy. It offers equal opportunity to all citizens including the poor, the women and the marginalized to discuss and criticize, approve or reject proposals of the Gram Panchayat (the executive) and also assess its performance. Hence, the States may, by law, endow the Panchayats with such powers and authority as may be required to enable them to function as institutions of self-government under them, Article 243G read with the Eleventh Schedule stipulates that . Such laws may also endow powers and responsibilities upon Panchayats for the preparation and implementation of plans for economic development and social justice including in relation to the 29 matters listed in the Eleventh Schedule.
Further, the 2nd ARC in its Sixth Report relating to the Local Governance, has recommended that there should be a clear cut delineation of functions for each level of the local governance. This is not a one time exercise and has to be done continuously while working out locally relevant socio-economic programmes, restructuring organizations and framing subject matter laws.
As per the Guidelines circulated to the States/UTs, Social audit is a close corollary of energetic Gram Sabha functioning. It would inculcate respect for downward accountability amongst elected representatives and government officials. If Gram Sabha keeps a close vigil on implementation, leakages & inefficiencies can be virtually eliminated. Mahatma Gandhi NREGA guidelines give comprehensive guidance on Social Audit, including public vigilance and verification of the 11 stages of implementation, vulnerabilities of each, steps to ensure transparency and Social Audit, the Social Audit forum of Gram Sabha, which would address three sets of issues: viz. publicity and preparation before the forum; organizational and procedural aspects of the forum; and the Mandatory Agenda of the NREGS Social Audit Forum. This is a good template for other schemes too and State Governments should formulate simple rules/guidelines. Gram Sabha can monitor & discuss attendance of government functionaries, functioning of schools, dispensaries, anganwadi centres, ration shops and other local institutions. Gram Sabha can discuss reports of the Standing Committees of the Gram Panchayat. Gram Sabha can be an effective forum for familiarizing the electors with the provisions of RTI for eliciting information that they are unable to obtain in the normal course.
The responsibilities of the Gram Sabha in Mahatma Gandhi NREGA include: Recommend to the Gram Panchayat the “development plan” and “shelf of possible works”, Monitor the execution of works, Conduct regular social audit of projects taken up within the Gram Panchayat. The general measures outlined above for empowering and activating the Gram Sabha would be applicable in the case of Mahatma Gandhi NREGA also. It may specially be ensured that:
A clear process of planning and monitoring is laid out for Mahatma Gandhi NREGA, which specifies the role of the Gram Sabha. Panchayat representatives and Officials are trained to facilitate Gram Sabha participation in the planning process and social audit. Mahatma Gandhi NREGA Guidelines for social audit are clearly articulated and institutionalized and Monitoring reports and comments of the Gram Sabha are treated with utmost seriousness.
Also, It is the bounden duty of the Gram Panchayats and government officials to ensure that the Gram Sabhas function properly through close monitoring and mentoring of their meetings and the Gram Sabhas are perceived as an effective fourth tier of local governance.
The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has issued specific guidelines to make Gram Sabha as a vibrant forum for promoting planned economic and social development of the villages in a transparent way. The guidelines are a part of the proceedings to observe the year 2009-10 as year of Gram Sabha and relates to the social audit for the effective implementation of Mahatma Gandhi NREGA. According to the guidelines, the Gram Sabha as a Key to the self-governance and transparent and accountable functioning are a forum that ensures direct, participative democracy. It offers equal opportunity to all citizens including the poor, the women and the marginalized to discuss and criticize, approve or reject proposals of the Gram Panchayat (the executive) and also assess its performance. Hence, the States may, by law, endow the Panchayats with such powers and authority as may be required to enable them to function as institutions of self-government under them, Article 243G read with the Eleventh Schedule stipulates that . Such laws may also endow powers and responsibilities upon Panchayats for the preparation and implementation of plans for economic development and social justice including in relation to the 29 matters listed in the Eleventh Schedule.
Further, the 2nd ARC in its Sixth Report relating to the Local Governance, has recommended that there should be a clear cut delineation of functions for each level of the local governance. This is not a one time exercise and has to be done continuously while working out locally relevant socio-economic programmes, restructuring organizations and framing subject matter laws.
As per the Guidelines circulated to the States/UTs, Social audit is a close corollary of energetic Gram Sabha functioning. It would inculcate respect for downward accountability amongst elected representatives and government officials. If Gram Sabha keeps a close vigil on implementation, leakages & inefficiencies can be virtually eliminated. Mahatma Gandhi NREGA guidelines give comprehensive guidance on Social Audit, including public vigilance and verification of the 11 stages of implementation, vulnerabilities of each, steps to ensure transparency and Social Audit, the Social Audit forum of Gram Sabha, which would address three sets of issues: viz. publicity and preparation before the forum; organizational and procedural aspects of the forum; and the Mandatory Agenda of the NREGS Social Audit Forum. This is a good template for other schemes too and State Governments should formulate simple rules/guidelines. Gram Sabha can monitor & discuss attendance of government functionaries, functioning of schools, dispensaries, anganwadi centres, ration shops and other local institutions. Gram Sabha can discuss reports of the Standing Committees of the Gram Panchayat. Gram Sabha can be an effective forum for familiarizing the electors with the provisions of RTI for eliciting information that they are unable to obtain in the normal course.
The responsibilities of the Gram Sabha in Mahatma Gandhi NREGA include: Recommend to the Gram Panchayat the “development plan” and “shelf of possible works”, Monitor the execution of works, Conduct regular social audit of projects taken up within the Gram Panchayat. The general measures outlined above for empowering and activating the Gram Sabha would be applicable in the case of Mahatma Gandhi NREGA also. It may specially be ensured that:
A clear process of planning and monitoring is laid out for Mahatma Gandhi NREGA, which specifies the role of the Gram Sabha. Panchayat representatives and Officials are trained to facilitate Gram Sabha participation in the planning process and social audit. Mahatma Gandhi NREGA Guidelines for social audit are clearly articulated and institutionalized and Monitoring reports and comments of the Gram Sabha are treated with utmost seriousness.
Also, It is the bounden duty of the Gram Panchayats and government officials to ensure that the Gram Sabhas function properly through close monitoring and mentoring of their meetings and the Gram Sabhas are perceived as an effective fourth tier of local governance.
CREP-its Concept and Achievements
Backgrounder
CREP (Corporate Responsibility for Environmental Protection) is a commitment for protection of environment for partnership and participatory action of the stakeholders i.e. industry, their associations and regulatory agencies. The Charter of CREP is a road map for progressive improvement in environment management systems. CREP is beyond compliance through adoption of clean technologies, commitment, voluntary initiatives of industry for responsible care and improvement in environmental management practices. CREP concept was introduced in the country during 2002-03.Specific progress have been made in various sectors as a part of CREP recommendation. For example:
(i) Strict standards for cement industries were notified which are being complied with;
(ii) 12 industry manufacturing caustic soda and chlorine gas have given commitment to convert Mercury Cell Process to Membrane cell by 2012. Membrane cell is clean technology.
A total of eight industry specific task forces have been constituted for implementation of CREP at National Level. These are:
1. Cement, Copper and Zinc Industry;
2. Thermal Power Plants and Iron and Steel Plants’
3. Pulp and Paper, Distillery and Sugar Industry;
4. Aluminium Industry;
5. Oil Refinery, and Petrochemical;
6. Pesticides, Pharmaceuticals and Dyes & Dye Intermediates;
7. Chlor-Alkali and Fertiliser Industry; and
8. Tanneries.
KP
Backgrounder
CREP (Corporate Responsibility for Environmental Protection) is a commitment for protection of environment for partnership and participatory action of the stakeholders i.e. industry, their associations and regulatory agencies. The Charter of CREP is a road map for progressive improvement in environment management systems. CREP is beyond compliance through adoption of clean technologies, commitment, voluntary initiatives of industry for responsible care and improvement in environmental management practices. CREP concept was introduced in the country during 2002-03.Specific progress have been made in various sectors as a part of CREP recommendation. For example:
(i) Strict standards for cement industries were notified which are being complied with;
(ii) 12 industry manufacturing caustic soda and chlorine gas have given commitment to convert Mercury Cell Process to Membrane cell by 2012. Membrane cell is clean technology.
A total of eight industry specific task forces have been constituted for implementation of CREP at National Level. These are:
1. Cement, Copper and Zinc Industry;
2. Thermal Power Plants and Iron and Steel Plants’
3. Pulp and Paper, Distillery and Sugar Industry;
4. Aluminium Industry;
5. Oil Refinery, and Petrochemical;
6. Pesticides, Pharmaceuticals and Dyes & Dye Intermediates;
7. Chlor-Alkali and Fertiliser Industry; and
8. Tanneries.
KP
BANKING TERM EXPLAINED
Sgn a PAP or MCC, even better do an NEFT or RTGS, but then you will need to know the IFSC." Does this sentence make sense to you? Banking has become easier today than ever before, but banking jargons may still flummox you.
If you haven't encountered them already, you are bound to do so at some point soon. In fact, knowing them may make some of your banking tasks much simpler.
We spoke to six major banks in the country to simplify six common terms for you.
MICR: Magnetic ink character recognition What is it: MICR code (pronounced my-ker) is a nine-digit number printed on banking instruments such as a cheque or a demand draft using a special type of ink made of magnetic material. The first three digits denote the city. The fourth to sixth digits denote the bank, while the last three digits denote the branch number. The code is read by a machine, minimizing the chances of error in clearing of cheques, thereby making funds transfer faster.
For example, in the MICR code 400240019, 400 denotes Mumbai, 240 denotes HDFC Bank Ltd and 019 denotes the Colaba branch of the bank.
You will find the number on the right of the cheque number at the bottom of the cheque leaf.
When do you need it: MICR code allows money to drop directly into your bank account for payments such as salaries and dividends. Your tax refund will come to you faster if you remember to mention this on the refund form. Refunds of unwanted money in initial public offers, too, drop back if you put down your code on the application form.
RTGS: Real time gross settlement What is it: It's a fund transfer mechanism that enables money to move from one bank to another on a real time and gross basis. Simply put, real time means the transaction is settled instantly without any waiting period and gross means that it is not bunched with any other transaction.
You can transfer a minimum of Rs1 lakh through RTGS; there is no upper ceiling though. The bank will charge you Rs25-Rs50 for an outward RTGS transaction, inward transactions are free. RTGS is the fastest inter-bank money transfer facility available through secure banking channels in India. But not all branches in India are RTGS enabled. Visit the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) website (www.rbi.org.in/Scripts Bs_viewRTGS.aspx) for a list of branches where you will get this facility.
When do you need it: This facility would be handy during an emergency, when you need to transfer funds quickly, imagine an ill child studying in another city or a parent in an emergency situation and needing money at once. You would be able to use this facility if you use Internet banking as a channel. It is mostly used by high networth individuals and businessmen, who have at least Rs1 lakh to be transferred business associates or clients.
NEFT: National electronic funds transfer What is it: NEFT enables funds transfer from one bank to another but works a bit differently than RTGS since the settlement takes place in batches rather than individually, making NEFT slower than RTGS.
The transfer is not direct and RBI acts as the service provider to transfer the money from one account to another. You can transfer any amount through NEFT, even a rupee.
You won't have to pay any fee for inward transfer of funds, but for outward transactions the charges can be from Rs5-Rs25 depending on the amount transferred.
When do you need it: You can use this facility if you want to transfer funds online in a day or two.
NEFT can make life easier for those who need to send money to their parents or children living in another city. It cuts the trouble of issuing a cheque or draft and posting it.
NEFT, too, can be done only through Internet banking. Visit RBI website (www.rbi.org.in/ scripts/neft.aspx) for a list of branches where you will get this facility.
IFSC: India financial system code What is it: An 11-digit alphanumeric (letters and numbers) code that helps identify bank branches. The first four numbers represent the bank's code (alphabetic), the fifth number is a control character (0), and the next six numbers denote a bank branch. For example, the IFSC for HDFC Bank Ltd's Colaba branch in Mumbai reads as HDFC0000085. This code is mentioned on your cheque.
Different banks mention it at different places on the cheque.
When do you need it: When sending money through RTGS or NEFT, you need to know the IFSC of the receiving branch.
CVV: Card verification value What is it: CVV is an anti fraud security feature that helps verify that you are in possession of your credit card and making the transaction.
CVV is usually a three-digit number printed on the signa ture panel at the back of your credit card.
When do you need it: You need this number when shop ping online or over the phone.
You need to be careful with this number as it can make you a victim of fraud. It's best to re member this number and blacken it off from your card.
PAP: Payable at par or MCC: Multi-city cheques What is it: PAP or MCC cheques can be encashed any where in India, irrespective of the city they were issued in.
They are treated as local clear ing cheques across the coun try. The amount is credited in the account the same day and there are no inter-city collec tion charges associated with a normal cheques being en cashed in another city.
A cheque issued at a branch in Chennai, can be encashed at a branch in Dibrugarh as if it were a local cheque.
There would be a notation on the top or the bottom of a cheque indicating its status as as PAP or MCC cheque.
When do you need it: By issu ing a PAP or MCC cheque, you can save demand draft or cheque clearing costs.
Usually, these cheques are issued by companies to dis burse dividends or redemption amounts.
SOURCE;livemint
Sgn a PAP or MCC, even better do an NEFT or RTGS, but then you will need to know the IFSC." Does this sentence make sense to you? Banking has become easier today than ever before, but banking jargons may still flummox you.
If you haven't encountered them already, you are bound to do so at some point soon. In fact, knowing them may make some of your banking tasks much simpler.
We spoke to six major banks in the country to simplify six common terms for you.
MICR: Magnetic ink character recognition What is it: MICR code (pronounced my-ker) is a nine-digit number printed on banking instruments such as a cheque or a demand draft using a special type of ink made of magnetic material. The first three digits denote the city. The fourth to sixth digits denote the bank, while the last three digits denote the branch number. The code is read by a machine, minimizing the chances of error in clearing of cheques, thereby making funds transfer faster.
For example, in the MICR code 400240019, 400 denotes Mumbai, 240 denotes HDFC Bank Ltd and 019 denotes the Colaba branch of the bank.
You will find the number on the right of the cheque number at the bottom of the cheque leaf.
When do you need it: MICR code allows money to drop directly into your bank account for payments such as salaries and dividends. Your tax refund will come to you faster if you remember to mention this on the refund form. Refunds of unwanted money in initial public offers, too, drop back if you put down your code on the application form.
RTGS: Real time gross settlement What is it: It's a fund transfer mechanism that enables money to move from one bank to another on a real time and gross basis. Simply put, real time means the transaction is settled instantly without any waiting period and gross means that it is not bunched with any other transaction.
You can transfer a minimum of Rs1 lakh through RTGS; there is no upper ceiling though. The bank will charge you Rs25-Rs50 for an outward RTGS transaction, inward transactions are free. RTGS is the fastest inter-bank money transfer facility available through secure banking channels in India. But not all branches in India are RTGS enabled. Visit the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) website (www.rbi.org.in/Scripts Bs_viewRTGS.aspx) for a list of branches where you will get this facility.
When do you need it: This facility would be handy during an emergency, when you need to transfer funds quickly, imagine an ill child studying in another city or a parent in an emergency situation and needing money at once. You would be able to use this facility if you use Internet banking as a channel. It is mostly used by high networth individuals and businessmen, who have at least Rs1 lakh to be transferred business associates or clients.
NEFT: National electronic funds transfer What is it: NEFT enables funds transfer from one bank to another but works a bit differently than RTGS since the settlement takes place in batches rather than individually, making NEFT slower than RTGS.
The transfer is not direct and RBI acts as the service provider to transfer the money from one account to another. You can transfer any amount through NEFT, even a rupee.
You won't have to pay any fee for inward transfer of funds, but for outward transactions the charges can be from Rs5-Rs25 depending on the amount transferred.
When do you need it: You can use this facility if you want to transfer funds online in a day or two.
NEFT can make life easier for those who need to send money to their parents or children living in another city. It cuts the trouble of issuing a cheque or draft and posting it.
NEFT, too, can be done only through Internet banking. Visit RBI website (www.rbi.org.in/ scripts/neft.aspx) for a list of branches where you will get this facility.
IFSC: India financial system code What is it: An 11-digit alphanumeric (letters and numbers) code that helps identify bank branches. The first four numbers represent the bank's code (alphabetic), the fifth number is a control character (0), and the next six numbers denote a bank branch. For example, the IFSC for HDFC Bank Ltd's Colaba branch in Mumbai reads as HDFC0000085. This code is mentioned on your cheque.
Different banks mention it at different places on the cheque.
When do you need it: When sending money through RTGS or NEFT, you need to know the IFSC of the receiving branch.
CVV: Card verification value What is it: CVV is an anti fraud security feature that helps verify that you are in possession of your credit card and making the transaction.
CVV is usually a three-digit number printed on the signa ture panel at the back of your credit card.
When do you need it: You need this number when shop ping online or over the phone.
You need to be careful with this number as it can make you a victim of fraud. It's best to re member this number and blacken it off from your card.
PAP: Payable at par or MCC: Multi-city cheques What is it: PAP or MCC cheques can be encashed any where in India, irrespective of the city they were issued in.
They are treated as local clear ing cheques across the coun try. The amount is credited in the account the same day and there are no inter-city collec tion charges associated with a normal cheques being en cashed in another city.
A cheque issued at a branch in Chennai, can be encashed at a branch in Dibrugarh as if it were a local cheque.
There would be a notation on the top or the bottom of a cheque indicating its status as as PAP or MCC cheque.
When do you need it: By issu ing a PAP or MCC cheque, you can save demand draft or cheque clearing costs.
Usually, these cheques are issued by companies to dis burse dividends or redemption amounts.
SOURCE;livemint
Radio Misty Sikkim 95 fm completes one year
Media News
Siliguri, February 01, 2010
Radio Misty Sikkim 95 fm the first and only 24x7 FM station Sikkim has completed one year. It was exactly one year ago, when Sikkim became sweet with Radio Misty Sikkim 95 fm. Radio Misty is only fm station in state of Sikkim which is on air 24 hours.
Radio Misty is known for its innovative programmes. Radio Misty has BBC and Radio Netherlands Worldwide as its partner. Radio Misty started its celebration week with special two hours special show where entire team performed live. Listeners came at Misty studio to cut the celebration cake at midnight. Misty studios and office was full of flowers from listeners.
Radio Misty has become the preferred choice of the listeners in the last one year, and this is because of the innovative content and the songs that it plays various Bollywood and kollywood celebrities came to the studio at regular intervals.
The prizes for the listeners range from mobile phones, food vouchers in the best of hotels & restaurants, gold & silver coins and passes for all the happening events in the city.
Nishant Mittal, Chief executive officer, Radio Misty said that this is due to efforts of youthful team of misty that this radio station is popular in this region. He said that during this one year listeners have supported Misty in big way. He said this is the only fm station which is 24 hours on air and heard whole over Sikkim and adjoining areas. Radio Misty has gained this popularity due to immense support of listeners. Radio Misty Sikkim receives thousands of letters from all over the region, which makes us more proud. He said this is a listeners’ station. On basis of feedback from listeners’ the music and content of the station is designed
Media News
Siliguri, February 01, 2010
Radio Misty Sikkim 95 fm the first and only 24x7 FM station Sikkim has completed one year. It was exactly one year ago, when Sikkim became sweet with Radio Misty Sikkim 95 fm. Radio Misty is only fm station in state of Sikkim which is on air 24 hours.
Radio Misty is known for its innovative programmes. Radio Misty has BBC and Radio Netherlands Worldwide as its partner. Radio Misty started its celebration week with special two hours special show where entire team performed live. Listeners came at Misty studio to cut the celebration cake at midnight. Misty studios and office was full of flowers from listeners.
Radio Misty has become the preferred choice of the listeners in the last one year, and this is because of the innovative content and the songs that it plays various Bollywood and kollywood celebrities came to the studio at regular intervals.
The prizes for the listeners range from mobile phones, food vouchers in the best of hotels & restaurants, gold & silver coins and passes for all the happening events in the city.
Nishant Mittal, Chief executive officer, Radio Misty said that this is due to efforts of youthful team of misty that this radio station is popular in this region. He said that during this one year listeners have supported Misty in big way. He said this is the only fm station which is 24 hours on air and heard whole over Sikkim and adjoining areas. Radio Misty has gained this popularity due to immense support of listeners. Radio Misty Sikkim receives thousands of letters from all over the region, which makes us more proud. He said this is a listeners’ station. On basis of feedback from listeners’ the music and content of the station is designed
Justice Aftab J.Saika Chief Justice of Sikkim High Court shifted to Jammu and Kashmir
The Hindu | J. Venkatesan
President Pratibha Patil has transferred Justice Anil Ramesh Dave, Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, to the Bombay High Court. He has been asked assume charge on or before February 15.
The collegium has recommended that Justice Nisar Ahmad Kakru of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court be promoted Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
Justice Barin Ghosh, Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, is being shifted to the the Sikkim High Court, and Justice Aftab H. Saikia, Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court, to the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.
Justice Jasti Chelameswar, Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court who hails from Andhra Pradesh, is being shifted to the Kerala High Court. Justice V. Gopalagowda of the Karnataka High Court is being elevated Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court.
The Hindu | J. Venkatesan
President Pratibha Patil has transferred Justice Anil Ramesh Dave, Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, to the Bombay High Court. He has been asked assume charge on or before February 15.
The collegium has recommended that Justice Nisar Ahmad Kakru of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court be promoted Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
Justice Barin Ghosh, Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, is being shifted to the the Sikkim High Court, and Justice Aftab H. Saikia, Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court, to the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.
Justice Jasti Chelameswar, Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court who hails from Andhra Pradesh, is being shifted to the Kerala High Court. Justice V. Gopalagowda of the Karnataka High Court is being elevated Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court.
NEPAL: Maoists defend 14-state model
FROM SOUTH ASIAN MEDIA NET / MY REPUBLICA
KATHMANDU: Maoist Vice-Chairman Dr. Baburam Bhattarai and other Maoist Constituent Assembly (CA) members have defended the 14-province federal model proposed in the CA while members from the Nepali Congress (NC), CPN-UML and other parties criticized it.
The Maoists claimed that the model that was prepared largely on the basis of the identity of various ethnic communities was appropriate for addressing the age-old discriminatory system in the country.
But CA members from other parties argued that the number of provinces was too many and carving out provinces along ethnic lines would invite ethnic conflict and mistrust among different linguistic, cultural, ethnic and geographical groups.
Bhattarai said despite various faults, the basic concept adopted while preparing the 14-province model is objective and is the proper way.
Responding to those who were saying that the Maoist party was deviating from the communist path as it advocated an ethnic-based federal model, Bhattarai argued that states based on various nationalities was essential because exploitation in Nepal was both class-based as well as ethnic.
“Our objective is to eliminate all sorts of discrimination and exploitation. For that we need to simultaneously engage in a class-based struggle and create states based on various nationalities,” he said while speaking at the CA deliberations on preliminary drafts prepared by the State Restructuring Committee.
Bhattarai said that there were many technical matters in the proposed model that needed correction. “Some matters including the borders of the states need to be corrected. We may go for a referendum if need be to settle any disputes,” he said.
He said there was a misconception that the Maoists were promoting ethnicity while adopting federalism. “We are for taking as the basis of identity not just ethnicity but nationalities also. Nationality is a common identity formed of communities with a common language, geography, economy and mindset,” he said. He said ´nation-states´ are needed even for promoting a market-based economy as happened in Europe.
He suggested giving priority to the economic and geographic prosperity of particular nationalities rather than being preoccupied with cultural aspects like costumes and other ethnic activities.
He said 14 provinces can be sustainable once the people living there own the transformation. Bhattarai termed the division of the Tarai region into two provinces as a right decision. He also backed the provision ensuring political preferential rights to the largest community in a given province.
Bimalendra Nidhi and Ramesh Lekhak of NC and Lal Babu Pundit and Yam Lal Kandel of CPN-UML, however, suggested reducing the number of states. They also said that there was no possibility of creating a single province in the entire Tarai region. They said two provinces in the Tarai region were appropriate.
FROM SOUTH ASIAN MEDIA NET / MY REPUBLICA
KATHMANDU: Maoist Vice-Chairman Dr. Baburam Bhattarai and other Maoist Constituent Assembly (CA) members have defended the 14-province federal model proposed in the CA while members from the Nepali Congress (NC), CPN-UML and other parties criticized it.
The Maoists claimed that the model that was prepared largely on the basis of the identity of various ethnic communities was appropriate for addressing the age-old discriminatory system in the country.
But CA members from other parties argued that the number of provinces was too many and carving out provinces along ethnic lines would invite ethnic conflict and mistrust among different linguistic, cultural, ethnic and geographical groups.
Bhattarai said despite various faults, the basic concept adopted while preparing the 14-province model is objective and is the proper way.
Responding to those who were saying that the Maoist party was deviating from the communist path as it advocated an ethnic-based federal model, Bhattarai argued that states based on various nationalities was essential because exploitation in Nepal was both class-based as well as ethnic.
“Our objective is to eliminate all sorts of discrimination and exploitation. For that we need to simultaneously engage in a class-based struggle and create states based on various nationalities,” he said while speaking at the CA deliberations on preliminary drafts prepared by the State Restructuring Committee.
Bhattarai said that there were many technical matters in the proposed model that needed correction. “Some matters including the borders of the states need to be corrected. We may go for a referendum if need be to settle any disputes,” he said.
He said there was a misconception that the Maoists were promoting ethnicity while adopting federalism. “We are for taking as the basis of identity not just ethnicity but nationalities also. Nationality is a common identity formed of communities with a common language, geography, economy and mindset,” he said. He said ´nation-states´ are needed even for promoting a market-based economy as happened in Europe.
He suggested giving priority to the economic and geographic prosperity of particular nationalities rather than being preoccupied with cultural aspects like costumes and other ethnic activities.
He said 14 provinces can be sustainable once the people living there own the transformation. Bhattarai termed the division of the Tarai region into two provinces as a right decision. He also backed the provision ensuring political preferential rights to the largest community in a given province.
Bimalendra Nidhi and Ramesh Lekhak of NC and Lal Babu Pundit and Yam Lal Kandel of CPN-UML, however, suggested reducing the number of states. They also said that there was no possibility of creating a single province in the entire Tarai region. They said two provinces in the Tarai region were appropriate.
SIKKIM: Chief Minister’s Rural Universal Financial Inclusion Programme
The banking industry has shown rapid expansion in volume and technology during the last decade. Despite making significant improvements in all the areas relating to financial viability, profitability and competitiveness, there are concerns that banks have not been able to include vast segment of the population, especially the underprivileged sections of the society, into the fold of basic banking services.
What is Financial Inclusion? It is the taking of banking services to the common man or the delivery of banking services at an affordable cost to the vast sections of disadvantaged and low income groups. As banking services are in the nature of public good, it is essential that availability of these services to the entire population is the prime objective of public policy.
‘Inclusion’ entails compassion, understanding the poor, their lives, their needs and their risks. After opening a bank account, they graduate through stages: First, stabilization i.e. minimizing their risks; second, maintenance, i.e. the stability attained so far is maintained and preferably move towards higher earnings and ownership of assets; third, self sufficiency i.e. the household has become more resilient and started reaping the benefits of loans taken and assets owned.
Opening a bank account is only the beginning and not the end of financial inclusion. The next steps include ensuring that the account is operated by the woman of the household, use technology to allow easy access and trouble free operation, improve financial literacy and inculcate a saving habit, provide micro-credit and a whole range of other financial services – payments/remittances, savings, insurance.
[SOURCE: SIKKIM REPORTER / EDITED BY ASHOK CHATTERJEE]
The banking industry has shown rapid expansion in volume and technology during the last decade. Despite making significant improvements in all the areas relating to financial viability, profitability and competitiveness, there are concerns that banks have not been able to include vast segment of the population, especially the underprivileged sections of the society, into the fold of basic banking services.
What is Financial Inclusion? It is the taking of banking services to the common man or the delivery of banking services at an affordable cost to the vast sections of disadvantaged and low income groups. As banking services are in the nature of public good, it is essential that availability of these services to the entire population is the prime objective of public policy.
‘Inclusion’ entails compassion, understanding the poor, their lives, their needs and their risks. After opening a bank account, they graduate through stages: First, stabilization i.e. minimizing their risks; second, maintenance, i.e. the stability attained so far is maintained and preferably move towards higher earnings and ownership of assets; third, self sufficiency i.e. the household has become more resilient and started reaping the benefits of loans taken and assets owned.
Opening a bank account is only the beginning and not the end of financial inclusion. The next steps include ensuring that the account is operated by the woman of the household, use technology to allow easy access and trouble free operation, improve financial literacy and inculcate a saving habit, provide micro-credit and a whole range of other financial services – payments/remittances, savings, insurance.
[SOURCE: SIKKIM REPORTER / EDITED BY ASHOK CHATTERJEE]
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Shri Avinash Karwa,Kumari Amita Maheshwari made Maheshwaris worldwide proud
2 feb 2010
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India ( ICAI ), functioning under the aegis of Ministry of Corporate Affairs, here today announced the results of Professional Education Examination ( PEE- II ), Professional Competence Exam (PCE ) and Integrated Professional Education Examination ( IPCE ) held in November, 2009.
In the PEE- II Shri Avinash Karwa of Solan ( H.P.) topped by scoring 64.5%. Shri Nafih Omer of Dubai ( UAE ) came second and Kumari Isha Sen of Allahabad has been placed third.
Kumari Rupali Gupta of Jaipur topped the PCE by scoring 76 % , whereas Kumari Lakshami Niranjani G. of Coimbatore came second with 74.5 %. Shri Nitin Naraindas Wadhwani of Ulhasnagar has been placed third with 73.5 %.
In the IPCE Kumari Amita Maheshwari of Jodhpur was placed first by scoring an impressive 77 %. Second place was achieved by Kumari Bhumika Rajiv Shah of Mumbai by scoring 75 % , whereas Kumari Sonam Bhandari of Howrah with 74.14 % came third.
The Chartered Accountancy Examination is held twice every year. The Curriculum of the Chartered Accountancy Course has been designed, developed and maintained in such a way that the members of the Profession can become the valued Trustees of the World Class Financial Competence, Good Governance and Competitiveness.
2 feb 2010
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India ( ICAI ), functioning under the aegis of Ministry of Corporate Affairs, here today announced the results of Professional Education Examination ( PEE- II ), Professional Competence Exam (PCE ) and Integrated Professional Education Examination ( IPCE ) held in November, 2009.
In the PEE- II Shri Avinash Karwa of Solan ( H.P.) topped by scoring 64.5%. Shri Nafih Omer of Dubai ( UAE ) came second and Kumari Isha Sen of Allahabad has been placed third.
Kumari Rupali Gupta of Jaipur topped the PCE by scoring 76 % , whereas Kumari Lakshami Niranjani G. of Coimbatore came second with 74.5 %. Shri Nitin Naraindas Wadhwani of Ulhasnagar has been placed third with 73.5 %.
In the IPCE Kumari Amita Maheshwari of Jodhpur was placed first by scoring an impressive 77 %. Second place was achieved by Kumari Bhumika Rajiv Shah of Mumbai by scoring 75 % , whereas Kumari Sonam Bhandari of Howrah with 74.14 % came third.
The Chartered Accountancy Examination is held twice every year. The Curriculum of the Chartered Accountancy Course has been designed, developed and maintained in such a way that the members of the Profession can become the valued Trustees of the World Class Financial Competence, Good Governance and Competitiveness.
Report of the Task Force on MSME
INDIA: Report of the Task Force on MSME
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 feb 2010 17:9 IST
The report of the Task Force on MSME provides a roadmap for the development and promotion of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The Report was presented to the Prime Minister by its Chairman, Shri T.K.A.Nair. Present on the occasion were the Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Shri Dinsha Patel, Secretary (MSME), Shri Dinesh Rai, Member Planning Commission, Shri Arun Maira as well as members of the Task Force
Following is the Executive Summary of the Report of the Task Force on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises:
The role of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the economic and social development of the country is well established. The MSME sector is a nursery of entrepreneurship, often driven by individual creativity and innovation. This sector contributes 8 per cent of the country’s GDP, 45 per cent of the manufactured output and 40 per cent of its exports. The MSMEs provide employment to about 60 million persons through 26 million enterprises. The labour to capital ratio in MSMEs and the overall growth in the MSME sector is much higher than in the large industries. The geographic distribution of the MSMEs is also more even. Thus, MSMEs are important for the national objectives of growth with equity and inclusion.
The MSME sector in India is highly heterogeneous in terms of the size of the enterprises, variety of products and services produced and the levels of technology employed. While one end of the MSME spectrum contains highly innovative and high growth enterprises, more than 94 per cent of MSMEs are unregistered, with a large number established in the informal or unorganized sector. Besides the growth potential of the sector and its critical role in the manufacturing and value chains, the heterogeneity and the unorganised nature of the Indian MSMEs are important aspects that need to befactored into policy making and programme implementation.
The representatives of 19 prominent MSME Associations met the Prime Minister on 26August 2009 to highlight their concerns and issues regarding MSMEs. The Prime Minister announced the setting up of a Task Force to reflect on the issues raised by the associations and formulate an agenda for action within a period of three months after discussions with all stakeholders. Accordingly, a Task Force under the chairmanship of the Principal Secretary to Prime Minister was constituted to address the issues of the MSME sector.
Major issues concerning the MSME sector
Although Indian MSMEs are a diverse and heterogeneous group, they face some common problems, which are briefly indicated below:
• Lack of availability of adequate and timely credit;
• High cost of credit;
• Collateral requirements;
• Limited access to equity capital;
• Problems in supply to government departments and agencies;
• Procurement of raw materials at a competitive cost;
• Problems of storage, designing, packaging and product display;
• Lack of access to global markets;
• Inadequate infrastructure facilities, including power, water, roads, etc.;
• Low technology levels and lack of access to modern technology;
• Lack of skilled manpower for manufacturing, services, marketing, etc.;
• Multiplicity of labour laws and complicated procedures associated with compliance of such laws;
• Absence of a suitable mechanism which enables the quick revival of viable sick enterprises and allows unviable entities to close down speedily; and
• Issues relating to taxation, both direct and indirect, and procedures thereof.
During the past, several Committees/Study Groups had looked into issues relating to MSMEs. These, inter alia, include: (i) Committee to Examine the Adequacy of Institutional Credit to SSI Sector under the Chairmanship of Shri P. R. Nayak, the then Deputy Governor (1991); (ii) ‘Expert Committee on Small Enterprises’ under the chairmanship of Shri Abid Hussain, Former Member, Planning Commission (1995); (iii) High Level Committee on Credit to SSI under the chairmanship of Shri S.L. Kapur, Member, Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR), Former Secretary (SSI and ARI), Government of India (1998); (iv) ‘Study Group on Development of Small Scale Enterprises’ under the chairmanship of Dr. S.P. Gupta, the then Member, Planning Commission (1999); (v) Working Group on Flow of Credit to SSI Sector under the chairmanship of Dr. A.S. Ganguly (2003); and (vi) Working Group on ‘Rehabilitation of sick SMEs’ under the chairmanship of Dr. K. C. Chakrabarty, the then Chairman & Managing Director, Punjab National Bank (2007). The Government had also constituted the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS) in September 2004 to examine the problems confronting enterprises in the unorganized sector and make appropriate recommendations to provide technical, marketing and credit support to the enterprises. The NCEUS submitted eleven reports.
The Task Force classified the common issues into 6 major thematic areas and constituted separate Sub-Groups for detailed examination. These thematic areas covered (i) credit, (ii) marketing, (iii) labour, (iv) rehabilitation and exit policy, (v) infrastructure, technology and skill development and (vi) taxation. A separate Sub-Group was also constituted to look into the development of MSMEs in the North-East and Jammu & Kashmir. Each of the Sub-Groups examined the specific issues over a series of meetings, and after detailed deliberations with all the stakeholders, including MSME Associations, submitted their reports to the Task Force. The recommendations of the previous Committees, Working Groups and Study Groups, which are relevant in the current context, have been taken into consideration by the Task Force and its sub-groups.
Summary of Recommendations
The following measures are suggested to provide relief and stability to MSMEs, especially in the aftermath of the recent economic downturn..
A. Measures that need immediate action
i. The government should extend, for a further period of one year, beyond March 31, 2010, the components of the ‘stimulus package’ which are specific to MSMEs.
ii. The government should ensure strict adherence to the stipulated targets by the commercial banks for the micro enterprises (viz. 20% year-on-year growth for micro and small enterprises lending with 60% apportionment for micro sector).
iii. A separate fund may be created with SIDBI, using the shortfalls, if any, against the MSE credit targets set for the commercial banks. This fund named ‘Special Fund for Micro Enterprises’ should be utilized exclusively for lending to the micro enterprises.
iv. A Public Procurement Policy for MSMEs as envisaged in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 may be introduced at the earliest. The policy may set a goal for government departments and PSUs to reach, over a stipulated period, a target of at least 20% of their annual volume of purchases from micro and small enterprises (MSEs), and mandate them to report their achievements in this regard in the annual reports.
v. The Offset policy of the government, particularly in the defence and aviation sectors, should give priority to MSMEs [Ref. Chapter XIII Para 6 (a)]. A permanent guidance mechanism under the Raksha Utpadan Rajya Mantri (RURM) with Secretaries of Defence Production, MSME and Civil Aviation and CEOs of Defence PSUs should be considered for this purpose.
vi. The government should earmark additional public spending to the tune of Rs.5,000 -5,500 crore over the next 3-5 years to specifically target deficiencies in the existing infrastructure and institutional set up. These funds may be used to: (a) support the establishment of Rehabilitation Funds in the States for the revival of potentially viable sick units; (b) assist MSMEs in the acquisition and adaptation of modern clean technologies as well as creation of Technology Banks and product-specific Technology Development Centres; (c) promote establishment of business incubators in educational institutions of repute; (d) renovate existing industrial estates and develop new infrastructure for MSME sector, with sustainable urban governance mechanisms; (e) re-engineer, strengthen and revitalize District Industries Centres to enable them to play a more active role in advocacy and capacity building for MSMEs and as appropriate, in their rehabilitation; (f) strengthen NSIC’s equity base for enhanced market support to MSMEs; and (g) up-scale the existing programmes of entrepreneurship and skill development targeted at MSMEs. It is further recommended that while the detailing of the schemes would be done on the basis of further examination, to avoid procedural delays in implementation of these schemes, a line entry may be incorporated in the Annual Plan 2010-11 of the Ministry of MSME.
vii. The government should take steps to create an overall enabling environment using appropriate legal and fiscal instruments, to incentivize the transition of MSMEs from the unorganized to the organized sector as well as for their corporatization as entities. It should also encourage higher investments for innovative and knowledge based ventures as well as for research and development through greater partnership between the industry and academic institutions.
viii. The ongoing exercise to introduce a new Direct Tax Code and GST should specifically seek to achieve these policy objectives through appropriate provisions for graded corporate tax structure, tax pass through for angel and venture capital funds and incentives for R&D.
B. Medium Term Institutional Measures
The overall approach suggested above should be accompanied by institutional
changes and detailing of programmes, to be achieved within a year or so. These include:
i. Government should set up an independent body at the national level for the promotion and development of MSMEs. This body may provide financial and managerial support for setting up of industrial estates/common facilities in partnership with the private sector, administer schemes for the unorganized sector, promote technology development (including clean technologies), provide marketing support and coordinate & disseminate information relevant to MSMEs. Currently, the Development Commissioner (MSME) is the focal point for all policy matters, formulation of various promotional and developmental schemes as well as channelizing certain incentives and subsidies to the MSME sector, the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) is the principal financial institution for financing and related promotional and development work for MSMEs, while the National Small Industries Corporation Limited (NSIC) has been set up to facilitate MSMEs in procurement of raw material and helping in marketing of their products. In addition, various Ministries/Departments of the Government have promotional policies and developmental schemes for the MSMEs in their specific sector. The proposed independent body could use the existing structures of aforesaid organizations with appropriate changes in their charter and mandate. The experience of other countries with such institutions (such as the Small Business Administration, in the United States) may be considered while deciding on the mandate and structure of the National level institution.
ii. As institutional re-building is an intricate task, we suggest that an Expert Group may reflect on this and come up with suitable recommendations on the structure and mandate of this body within a timeframe of three months and submit these to the Prime Minister. This Expert Group may be headed by Member, Planning Commission, and comprise of Deputy Governor, RBI; Secretary (MSME); Secretary (DFS); DC (MSME); CMD SIDBI; and CMD NSIC.
iii. A Standing Review Committee under Member (Planning Commission) should be set up to monitor flow of credit to MSME sector and its apportionment to the more vulnerable sections like micro enterprises and the unorganized sector.
iv. Government should encourage Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) to form self-help groups and finance micro enterprises in unbanked/identified excluded rural/semiurban areas at reasonable rates. Banks may also be encouraged to formulate schemes for refinancing loans taken by the MSEs from non-institutional sources/moneylenders. Financial outreach is likely to prove an effective means to formalize the unorganized sector. Suitable incentives, including tax concessions, should be extended to MFIs to encourage them to work as business correspondents and business facilitators for banks to service micro enterprises.
v. The District Industries Centres (DICs) should be strengthened with provision of modern IT-enabled communication facilities and re-training of human resources available with these institutions. As the DICs form the bedrock of MSME promotion, they should be urgently strengthened, revitalized and transformed to play a more active role in advocacy and capacity building for potential and existing entrepreneurs. Wherever viable, active involvement of the private sector for revamping the DIC network should be considered. Such re-engineering of the DICs may be supported by the Central Government.
vi. States should be supported by the Central Government to set up Rehabilitation Funds and operationalise appropriate schemes for the rehabilitation of units temporarily rendered sick due to circumstances beyond their control. It is recommended that the state governments may establish a mechanism at the district level, in the DICs, to reexamine the viability of sick units in coordination with the banks and implement rehabilitation packages in a time bound manner.
vii. It must be ensured that the rehabilitation package is made binding on all stakeholders, including banks and financial institutions. The RBI/Finance Ministry should issue necessary orders in this regard so that discretion at the field level, whether by the field formations or by banks is ruled out. We recognize that the Andhra Pradesh Model may be a good template for this dispensation (Chapter IX Annexure B), which may be examined while finalizing the contours of the scheme.
viii. The government should infuse industrial estates which are currently in a state of decay and neglect, with fresh capital and upgrade them to ‘Industrial Townships’. The latter concept has constitutional recognition. This will permit effective municipal administration and a single-stop mechanism for theprovision of municipal services.
ix. New clusters for MSEs should be created to meet the requirements of planned development and growth, consistent with the policy of progressively organizing the MSEs. Development of new infrastructure for the MSME sector should be substantially augmented with the government stepping in with viability gap funding to encourage private sector participation.
x. Government should strengthen NSIC’s equity base to give a demand side impetus to MSME enterprises in addition to preferential procurement and volume stipulations enunciated earlier. This shall help remove bottlenecks in procurement of raw materials and also step-up marketing support [Chapter-XIII paras 6 (b) to 6 (d)], and provide better backward and forward linkages to the sector.
xi. Government should consider earmarking funds to the tune of Rs. 1500 crore, within the enhanced investment package proposed in A(vi) above, to support clean technology initiatives of different Ministries involved with MSME growth, particularly in the context of the National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC). This amount should be utilized by up-scaling existing schemes or by evolving new schemes to assist existing MSMEs in acquisition, adaptation and innovation of modern clean technologies as well as creation of a Technology Bank/product specific technology centres to enable them to move up the value chain.
xii. The concept of business incubators in educational institutions of repute should be encouraged by setting aside Rs.1000 crore within the overall package set out in A(vi). We have seen that business incubators currently in place in the premier management institutions of the country have facilitated new enterprises with innovative ideas.
C. Legal and Regulatory Structures
The legal and regulatory structures and provisions affecting the MSME sector that should be taken up in the medium term (1-3 years) are as follows.
i. Government should expedite the establishment of a SME Exchange which is already under consideration.
ii. Workable legal options should be developed for the securitization of trade credit receivables and for the promotion of factoring services.
iii. Wide publicity should be given to new formats like Limited Liability Partnerships and Single Person Companies, which provide MSMEs with an interim solution in the move from the informal to the formal economy.
iv. The insolvency legislation should be comprehensively reviewed in recognition of the reality of the global market where enterprises continuously get created and destroyed.
v. Labour laws should be simplified, especially those applicable to enterprises in the MSME sector, since the transaction costs for complying with these laws is disproportionately high for these units.
While some steps have been taken by the Labour Ministry in this regard, we recommend that a single and comprehensive legislation for MSEs with 40 workers may be worked out. At the same time, keeping in view the large size of the unorganized sector within MSMEs, the labour related issues for this sector should be focused more on welfare rather than legislation by, inter alia, use of the recently promulgated Unorganised Workers Social Security Act, 2008.
D. North-Eastern States and J&K
While the Government has introduced special packages and policies for the NER and J&K, there have been intra-state and intra-regional asymmetries in utilization which need to be looked into by the respective state governments. Additionally,
i. Some modifications in the capital subsidy scheme should be made, so as to allow MSMEs to avail of subsidy for their expansion.
ii. The budgetary provisions which have been reportedly inadequate to meet subsidy claims under these schemes may be supplemented so as to clear all pending claims for MSEs up to 31.3.09.
iii. The J&K Government has been demanding that the incentives available for MSMEs in the State be brought on par with the modified NEIIPP of NER. This demand appears to have some merit. The J&K package may be enhanced and brought at par with the modified NEIIPP of NER for MSMEs.
iv. A Fund of Rs.100 crore within the corpus may be earmarked for implementing a special rehabilitation package on easier terms for identified sick units in J&K.
Conclusion
None of these measures will work unless their implementation status is monitored regularly at the highest level. The issues are simply too diverse to be handled by a single line Ministry. The Task Force accordingly recommends the establishment of Prime Minister’s Council on Micro and Small Enterprises in the Prime Minister’s Office which may oversee implementation of these recommendations on a half yearly basis. The Ministry of MSME shall be the servicing arm for the Council.
*
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 feb 2010 17:9 IST
The report of the Task Force on MSME provides a roadmap for the development and promotion of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The Report was presented to the Prime Minister by its Chairman, Shri T.K.A.Nair. Present on the occasion were the Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Shri Dinsha Patel, Secretary (MSME), Shri Dinesh Rai, Member Planning Commission, Shri Arun Maira as well as members of the Task Force
Following is the Executive Summary of the Report of the Task Force on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises:
The role of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the economic and social development of the country is well established. The MSME sector is a nursery of entrepreneurship, often driven by individual creativity and innovation. This sector contributes 8 per cent of the country’s GDP, 45 per cent of the manufactured output and 40 per cent of its exports. The MSMEs provide employment to about 60 million persons through 26 million enterprises. The labour to capital ratio in MSMEs and the overall growth in the MSME sector is much higher than in the large industries. The geographic distribution of the MSMEs is also more even. Thus, MSMEs are important for the national objectives of growth with equity and inclusion.
The MSME sector in India is highly heterogeneous in terms of the size of the enterprises, variety of products and services produced and the levels of technology employed. While one end of the MSME spectrum contains highly innovative and high growth enterprises, more than 94 per cent of MSMEs are unregistered, with a large number established in the informal or unorganized sector. Besides the growth potential of the sector and its critical role in the manufacturing and value chains, the heterogeneity and the unorganised nature of the Indian MSMEs are important aspects that need to befactored into policy making and programme implementation.
The representatives of 19 prominent MSME Associations met the Prime Minister on 26August 2009 to highlight their concerns and issues regarding MSMEs. The Prime Minister announced the setting up of a Task Force to reflect on the issues raised by the associations and formulate an agenda for action within a period of three months after discussions with all stakeholders. Accordingly, a Task Force under the chairmanship of the Principal Secretary to Prime Minister was constituted to address the issues of the MSME sector.
Major issues concerning the MSME sector
Although Indian MSMEs are a diverse and heterogeneous group, they face some common problems, which are briefly indicated below:
• Lack of availability of adequate and timely credit;
• High cost of credit;
• Collateral requirements;
• Limited access to equity capital;
• Problems in supply to government departments and agencies;
• Procurement of raw materials at a competitive cost;
• Problems of storage, designing, packaging and product display;
• Lack of access to global markets;
• Inadequate infrastructure facilities, including power, water, roads, etc.;
• Low technology levels and lack of access to modern technology;
• Lack of skilled manpower for manufacturing, services, marketing, etc.;
• Multiplicity of labour laws and complicated procedures associated with compliance of such laws;
• Absence of a suitable mechanism which enables the quick revival of viable sick enterprises and allows unviable entities to close down speedily; and
• Issues relating to taxation, both direct and indirect, and procedures thereof.
During the past, several Committees/Study Groups had looked into issues relating to MSMEs. These, inter alia, include: (i) Committee to Examine the Adequacy of Institutional Credit to SSI Sector under the Chairmanship of Shri P. R. Nayak, the then Deputy Governor (1991); (ii) ‘Expert Committee on Small Enterprises’ under the chairmanship of Shri Abid Hussain, Former Member, Planning Commission (1995); (iii) High Level Committee on Credit to SSI under the chairmanship of Shri S.L. Kapur, Member, Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR), Former Secretary (SSI and ARI), Government of India (1998); (iv) ‘Study Group on Development of Small Scale Enterprises’ under the chairmanship of Dr. S.P. Gupta, the then Member, Planning Commission (1999); (v) Working Group on Flow of Credit to SSI Sector under the chairmanship of Dr. A.S. Ganguly (2003); and (vi) Working Group on ‘Rehabilitation of sick SMEs’ under the chairmanship of Dr. K. C. Chakrabarty, the then Chairman & Managing Director, Punjab National Bank (2007). The Government had also constituted the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS) in September 2004 to examine the problems confronting enterprises in the unorganized sector and make appropriate recommendations to provide technical, marketing and credit support to the enterprises. The NCEUS submitted eleven reports.
The Task Force classified the common issues into 6 major thematic areas and constituted separate Sub-Groups for detailed examination. These thematic areas covered (i) credit, (ii) marketing, (iii) labour, (iv) rehabilitation and exit policy, (v) infrastructure, technology and skill development and (vi) taxation. A separate Sub-Group was also constituted to look into the development of MSMEs in the North-East and Jammu & Kashmir. Each of the Sub-Groups examined the specific issues over a series of meetings, and after detailed deliberations with all the stakeholders, including MSME Associations, submitted their reports to the Task Force. The recommendations of the previous Committees, Working Groups and Study Groups, which are relevant in the current context, have been taken into consideration by the Task Force and its sub-groups.
Summary of Recommendations
The following measures are suggested to provide relief and stability to MSMEs, especially in the aftermath of the recent economic downturn..
A. Measures that need immediate action
i. The government should extend, for a further period of one year, beyond March 31, 2010, the components of the ‘stimulus package’ which are specific to MSMEs.
ii. The government should ensure strict adherence to the stipulated targets by the commercial banks for the micro enterprises (viz. 20% year-on-year growth for micro and small enterprises lending with 60% apportionment for micro sector).
iii. A separate fund may be created with SIDBI, using the shortfalls, if any, against the MSE credit targets set for the commercial banks. This fund named ‘Special Fund for Micro Enterprises’ should be utilized exclusively for lending to the micro enterprises.
iv. A Public Procurement Policy for MSMEs as envisaged in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 may be introduced at the earliest. The policy may set a goal for government departments and PSUs to reach, over a stipulated period, a target of at least 20% of their annual volume of purchases from micro and small enterprises (MSEs), and mandate them to report their achievements in this regard in the annual reports.
v. The Offset policy of the government, particularly in the defence and aviation sectors, should give priority to MSMEs [Ref. Chapter XIII Para 6 (a)]. A permanent guidance mechanism under the Raksha Utpadan Rajya Mantri (RURM) with Secretaries of Defence Production, MSME and Civil Aviation and CEOs of Defence PSUs should be considered for this purpose.
vi. The government should earmark additional public spending to the tune of Rs.5,000 -5,500 crore over the next 3-5 years to specifically target deficiencies in the existing infrastructure and institutional set up. These funds may be used to: (a) support the establishment of Rehabilitation Funds in the States for the revival of potentially viable sick units; (b) assist MSMEs in the acquisition and adaptation of modern clean technologies as well as creation of Technology Banks and product-specific Technology Development Centres; (c) promote establishment of business incubators in educational institutions of repute; (d) renovate existing industrial estates and develop new infrastructure for MSME sector, with sustainable urban governance mechanisms; (e) re-engineer, strengthen and revitalize District Industries Centres to enable them to play a more active role in advocacy and capacity building for MSMEs and as appropriate, in their rehabilitation; (f) strengthen NSIC’s equity base for enhanced market support to MSMEs; and (g) up-scale the existing programmes of entrepreneurship and skill development targeted at MSMEs. It is further recommended that while the detailing of the schemes would be done on the basis of further examination, to avoid procedural delays in implementation of these schemes, a line entry may be incorporated in the Annual Plan 2010-11 of the Ministry of MSME.
vii. The government should take steps to create an overall enabling environment using appropriate legal and fiscal instruments, to incentivize the transition of MSMEs from the unorganized to the organized sector as well as for their corporatization as entities. It should also encourage higher investments for innovative and knowledge based ventures as well as for research and development through greater partnership between the industry and academic institutions.
viii. The ongoing exercise to introduce a new Direct Tax Code and GST should specifically seek to achieve these policy objectives through appropriate provisions for graded corporate tax structure, tax pass through for angel and venture capital funds and incentives for R&D.
B. Medium Term Institutional Measures
The overall approach suggested above should be accompanied by institutional
changes and detailing of programmes, to be achieved within a year or so. These include:
i. Government should set up an independent body at the national level for the promotion and development of MSMEs. This body may provide financial and managerial support for setting up of industrial estates/common facilities in partnership with the private sector, administer schemes for the unorganized sector, promote technology development (including clean technologies), provide marketing support and coordinate & disseminate information relevant to MSMEs. Currently, the Development Commissioner (MSME) is the focal point for all policy matters, formulation of various promotional and developmental schemes as well as channelizing certain incentives and subsidies to the MSME sector, the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) is the principal financial institution for financing and related promotional and development work for MSMEs, while the National Small Industries Corporation Limited (NSIC) has been set up to facilitate MSMEs in procurement of raw material and helping in marketing of their products. In addition, various Ministries/Departments of the Government have promotional policies and developmental schemes for the MSMEs in their specific sector. The proposed independent body could use the existing structures of aforesaid organizations with appropriate changes in their charter and mandate. The experience of other countries with such institutions (such as the Small Business Administration, in the United States) may be considered while deciding on the mandate and structure of the National level institution.
ii. As institutional re-building is an intricate task, we suggest that an Expert Group may reflect on this and come up with suitable recommendations on the structure and mandate of this body within a timeframe of three months and submit these to the Prime Minister. This Expert Group may be headed by Member, Planning Commission, and comprise of Deputy Governor, RBI; Secretary (MSME); Secretary (DFS); DC (MSME); CMD SIDBI; and CMD NSIC.
iii. A Standing Review Committee under Member (Planning Commission) should be set up to monitor flow of credit to MSME sector and its apportionment to the more vulnerable sections like micro enterprises and the unorganized sector.
iv. Government should encourage Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) to form self-help groups and finance micro enterprises in unbanked/identified excluded rural/semiurban areas at reasonable rates. Banks may also be encouraged to formulate schemes for refinancing loans taken by the MSEs from non-institutional sources/moneylenders. Financial outreach is likely to prove an effective means to formalize the unorganized sector. Suitable incentives, including tax concessions, should be extended to MFIs to encourage them to work as business correspondents and business facilitators for banks to service micro enterprises.
v. The District Industries Centres (DICs) should be strengthened with provision of modern IT-enabled communication facilities and re-training of human resources available with these institutions. As the DICs form the bedrock of MSME promotion, they should be urgently strengthened, revitalized and transformed to play a more active role in advocacy and capacity building for potential and existing entrepreneurs. Wherever viable, active involvement of the private sector for revamping the DIC network should be considered. Such re-engineering of the DICs may be supported by the Central Government.
vi. States should be supported by the Central Government to set up Rehabilitation Funds and operationalise appropriate schemes for the rehabilitation of units temporarily rendered sick due to circumstances beyond their control. It is recommended that the state governments may establish a mechanism at the district level, in the DICs, to reexamine the viability of sick units in coordination with the banks and implement rehabilitation packages in a time bound manner.
vii. It must be ensured that the rehabilitation package is made binding on all stakeholders, including banks and financial institutions. The RBI/Finance Ministry should issue necessary orders in this regard so that discretion at the field level, whether by the field formations or by banks is ruled out. We recognize that the Andhra Pradesh Model may be a good template for this dispensation (Chapter IX Annexure B), which may be examined while finalizing the contours of the scheme.
viii. The government should infuse industrial estates which are currently in a state of decay and neglect, with fresh capital and upgrade them to ‘Industrial Townships’. The latter concept has constitutional recognition. This will permit effective municipal administration and a single-stop mechanism for theprovision of municipal services.
ix. New clusters for MSEs should be created to meet the requirements of planned development and growth, consistent with the policy of progressively organizing the MSEs. Development of new infrastructure for the MSME sector should be substantially augmented with the government stepping in with viability gap funding to encourage private sector participation.
x. Government should strengthen NSIC’s equity base to give a demand side impetus to MSME enterprises in addition to preferential procurement and volume stipulations enunciated earlier. This shall help remove bottlenecks in procurement of raw materials and also step-up marketing support [Chapter-XIII paras 6 (b) to 6 (d)], and provide better backward and forward linkages to the sector.
xi. Government should consider earmarking funds to the tune of Rs. 1500 crore, within the enhanced investment package proposed in A(vi) above, to support clean technology initiatives of different Ministries involved with MSME growth, particularly in the context of the National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC). This amount should be utilized by up-scaling existing schemes or by evolving new schemes to assist existing MSMEs in acquisition, adaptation and innovation of modern clean technologies as well as creation of a Technology Bank/product specific technology centres to enable them to move up the value chain.
xii. The concept of business incubators in educational institutions of repute should be encouraged by setting aside Rs.1000 crore within the overall package set out in A(vi). We have seen that business incubators currently in place in the premier management institutions of the country have facilitated new enterprises with innovative ideas.
C. Legal and Regulatory Structures
The legal and regulatory structures and provisions affecting the MSME sector that should be taken up in the medium term (1-3 years) are as follows.
i. Government should expedite the establishment of a SME Exchange which is already under consideration.
ii. Workable legal options should be developed for the securitization of trade credit receivables and for the promotion of factoring services.
iii. Wide publicity should be given to new formats like Limited Liability Partnerships and Single Person Companies, which provide MSMEs with an interim solution in the move from the informal to the formal economy.
iv. The insolvency legislation should be comprehensively reviewed in recognition of the reality of the global market where enterprises continuously get created and destroyed.
v. Labour laws should be simplified, especially those applicable to enterprises in the MSME sector, since the transaction costs for complying with these laws is disproportionately high for these units.
While some steps have been taken by the Labour Ministry in this regard, we recommend that a single and comprehensive legislation for MSEs with 40 workers may be worked out. At the same time, keeping in view the large size of the unorganized sector within MSMEs, the labour related issues for this sector should be focused more on welfare rather than legislation by, inter alia, use of the recently promulgated Unorganised Workers Social Security Act, 2008.
D. North-Eastern States and J&K
While the Government has introduced special packages and policies for the NER and J&K, there have been intra-state and intra-regional asymmetries in utilization which need to be looked into by the respective state governments. Additionally,
i. Some modifications in the capital subsidy scheme should be made, so as to allow MSMEs to avail of subsidy for their expansion.
ii. The budgetary provisions which have been reportedly inadequate to meet subsidy claims under these schemes may be supplemented so as to clear all pending claims for MSEs up to 31.3.09.
iii. The J&K Government has been demanding that the incentives available for MSMEs in the State be brought on par with the modified NEIIPP of NER. This demand appears to have some merit. The J&K package may be enhanced and brought at par with the modified NEIIPP of NER for MSMEs.
iv. A Fund of Rs.100 crore within the corpus may be earmarked for implementing a special rehabilitation package on easier terms for identified sick units in J&K.
Conclusion
None of these measures will work unless their implementation status is monitored regularly at the highest level. The issues are simply too diverse to be handled by a single line Ministry. The Task Force accordingly recommends the establishment of Prime Minister’s Council on Micro and Small Enterprises in the Prime Minister’s Office which may oversee implementation of these recommendations on a half yearly basis. The Ministry of MSME shall be the servicing arm for the Council.
*
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)