Shri Abhay Thakur IFS (1992) presently posted as Joint Secretary in the Ministry, has been appointed as High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Mauritius.
IndianBureaucracy.com wishes Shri Thakur the very best.
Abhay Thakur appointed High Commissioner of India to Mauritius
Early operationalising of BIMSTEC FTA imperative for greater trade push: ASSOCHAM
India should work closely with the seven-nation BIMSTEC grouping to conclude trade negotiations and attempt early ope-rationalising of the Bay of Bengal free trade agreement (FTA) to give a big push to trade in the region, an ASSOCHAM study said today.
“BIMSTEC FTA may help activate production links among member countries and help in rationalising various non-tariff measures (NTMs) which would give big push to regional trade and generate regional value chains,” highlighted the ASSOCHAM study titled ‘BIMSTEC Economic Integration: Opportunities and Challenges.’
The study was jointly released by Ms Preeti Saran, secretary (East), Union Ministry of External Affairs and Bangladesh state minister for foreign affairs, Mr Shahriar Alam at ‘7th ASSOCHAM-BIMSTEC Business Forum,’ along with ASSOCHAM president, Mr Sunil Kanoria; chamber’s secretary general, Mr D.S. Rawat and Mr Sumith Nakandala, secretary general, BIMSTEC.
“To achieve ‘trade and connectivity,’ the FTA, which has been under negotiations since the inception of BIMSTEC needs to be accomplished and all other areas of cooperation will follow once the member countries are connected and trade and commerce flourishes,” noted the study.
“What BIMSTEC needs is firm handholding and visionary leadership that can harness these resources for its own good,” it added.
There is also the need to focus on trade facilitation through transport efficiency in maritime and land transport, regulatory environment and service sector infrastructures like electronic documentation, harmonising regulations and others.
The study further said that there is a need to liberalise trade and investment measures in services considering the lack of adequate physical infrastructure in the region, more so as services exports are performing well compared to manufactured exports that are more dependent on infrastructure.
It also suggested that the BIMSTEC countries should work on Single Window facility that allows parties involved in trade and transport to lodge standardized information and documents with a single entry point to fulfil all import, export, and transit-related regulatory requirements.
Elimination of non-tariff barrier within a mutually agreed timeframe, reduction in negative list to unlock trade potential, introduction of transit facilities to promote effective intra-BIMSTEC trade, improvement in regional connectivity and introduction of a BIMSTEC visa to facilitate movement of people particularly for investors and businessmen are certain other key recommendations of the ASSOCHAM study.
In her address at the ASSOCHAM summit, Ms Saran said, “Members of BIMSTEC have been struggling to negotiate a successful free trade agreement which has over the years been overtaken by other instruments which has been somehow disincentive for a greater push on this FTA.”
“Even as we strive together to open our borders to free trade in goods. I think the potential for the future lies in investments in the services sector,” said Ms Saran.
“There is a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on establishment of a BIMSTEC technology transfer facility also under negotiation which has the potential to assist small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in sharing their experiences in capacity building, technology evaluation, market assessment and intellectual property management,” she said.
Highlighting that the Bay of Bengal is home to over 30 per cent of world’s fishermen, Ms Saran said that sustainable development and modernisation of fishing industry in the region can contribute substantially in improving standards of living of our people.
“I would urge to look at potential of development of marine resources in agriculture, particularly in the fisheries sector.”
Talking about role of financial co-operation for boosting intra-regional trade and investment she said, “Financial co-operation may eventually cover currency swap agreements, pooling of reserves by the Central Banks, exchange rate co-ordination mechanisms, regional supervisory institutions, regional payment agreements and establishment of regional development banks and regional bond markets to boost access to long-term financing.”
Terming terrorism as a major challenge to region’s economic growth and development, Ms Saran said, “What we together as BIMSTEC need is a concerted action to deal with terrorism including dismantling of structures of terrorism, trainers of terrorism and isolate those who sponsor, finance and train these terrorists.”
Pushing for early realisation of BIMSTEC FTA to promote trade and investment, Bangladesh state minister, Mr Alam said, “We would also like to see negotiation on investment in services be fast-tracked to run parallel to the negotiations on trade in goods.”
He said that in order to sustain the economic growth we need to secure a stable and affordable energy supply through exploration of regional energy resource potential.
“We expect to sign the MoU on BIMSTEC Energy and Grid Interconnection which will help to foster co-operation in energy sector,” said the minister.
Parents suggest that Social Media sites obstruct children’s moral development
Summary:A ‘parent poll’ carried out by a team at the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues found that only 15% of parents thought that popular social media sites provided a positive influence on a young person’s character.
Social media sites obstruct children’s moral development, say parents. More than half of UK parents think popular social media sites hamper their children’s moral development, according to a poll commissioned by researchers at the University of Birmingham.
The ‘parent poll’ carried out by a team at the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues found that only 15% of parents thought that popular social media sites, such as Facebook, provided a positive influence on a young person’s character. 40% of parents said they were ‘concerned’ or ‘extremely concerned’ about the negative and potentially harmful impact of social media.
The UK-wide poll, questioned over 1,700 parents of children aged 11 to 17. Of those parents questioned, 93% said they were regular social media users. Researchers carried out this poll to gauge parents’ perceptions around the influence of social media on children’s character.
The survey, which is the first of its type in the UK, provides a unique insight into the moral values that are portrayed on social media. It points to widespread parental anxieties about the influence of online networks on children as young as 11, who are often using the sites despite age limits.
Dr Blaire Morgan at the University of Birmingham said: ‘There are some surprising findings in the poll, not the least the low level of agreement that social media can enhance or support a young person’s character or moral development.’
Respondents named a number of character strengths that they believed were lacking on social media. 24% said forgiveness and self-control was least present, followed by honesty (21%), fairness (20%) and humility (18%). However, a bleaker picture emerged when respondents were questioned about the negative character traits, or vices, they saw on social media at least once a month.
60% of parents named anger and hostility as the most negative trait displayed, followed by arrogance (51%); ignorance (43%); bad judgement (41%); and hatred (36%). Vanity, commonly perceived to be a major negative character trait in the “selfie” generation, came further down at 9th place in the league table of social media vices, comprising of 30% of respondents. Dr Blaire Morgan at the University of Birmingham added:
‘The ‘Parents and Media’ project seeks to offer a more constructive outlook on how social media might impact on a person’s character and moral values. ‘Social media is not going away, so by learning more about this relationship we should be able to maximise the benefits of its use and avoid the pitfalls.’ The positive impact of social media was given less attention, but the results of the poll suggest some cause for optimism.
72-per cent of respondents said they saw content with a positive moral message at least once a day. This figure is higher than the percentage of respondents who said they regularly saw negative moral messages, suggesting social media is not purely an environment for vice.
The top five character strengths promoted at least once a month on social media sites were identified as; humour (52%); appreciation of beauty (51%); creativity (44%); love (39%); and courage (39%).
Summary of key findings:
• Anger, arrogance and hatred are among the top negative character traits, or vices, reported by parents on social media.
• A quarter of parents highlight a lack of forgiveness and self-control among users.
• As an antidote to the negative findings, almost three-quarters (72%) of parents who use social media see content containing a positive moral message at least once a day.
• The ‘character strengths’ promoted most regularly are humour, appreciation of beauty, creativity, love, courage and kindness.
More:Science
ECI launches National Electoral Roll Purification 2016
The Election Commission of India (ECI)gives utmost importance to enrolment of all eligible citizens and to assist electors to reach and cast their votes in a hassle free way by establishing Polling stations (PSs) at a conveniently located building. “No voter to be left behind”is the motto of ECI for year 2016. National Electoral Roll Purification” (NERP) programme has been launched this week across the country with intensive verification by the Commissions’ field functionaries and stakeholders interaction,to enhance the purity and fidelity of Electoral Rolls (ERs) and to standardisation of PS for electors convenience and facilitate electors’reach his PS with ease.
The twin objectives of NERP 2016 are: (1)Improving Health of ERs by-inclusion of all eligible citizens in mission mode; ERs to be Free from errors; Single ER entry for every eligible elector with unique Elector Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number; Removal of all Absent (A)/ Shifted (S)/ Dead (D) electors’ entries and Repeat Entries (REs) and ensuring Photo Electoral Rolls (PERs) with good quality correct images of every elector confirming to ECI standards, and linking Electors with ECI by obtaining their contact details (2) Standardization of Sections, PS boundaries & Location and improved PS map by- Optimization of part boundaries with Standardization of sections using GIS technology; Relocation of PS with in Part or in adjacent parts and Improved PS Map with part map, ‘how to reach to PS’, PS building image and dimensioned PS room drawing with Basic Minimum facilities(BMF) details.
The Commission has launched the intensive field implementation phase of NERP 2016 which would culminate well before the next draft publication of ERs for annual summary revision with 1st January 2017 as qualifying date. Booth Level Officers (BLOs)will conduct door to door field verification identified under A/S/D/RE categories apart from collecting electors’ information on contact details, family members, including non-enrolled and persons going to become eligible on 1st January 2017 which will beentered the details in the NERP portal for further processing and action by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs). Optimization of section, PS boundaries and location will be completed on GIS under NERP 2016.
To provide easy access to citizens and electors for enhanced electoral rolls related services, voluntary collection of mobile number/e-mail ids and details of family members is being done under NERP 2016by the field staff. However the Commission has ordered that such information, under no circumstances, shall be put in public domain or shared with any authority.Facility to share above information electronically by the citizen have also been provided on NVSP. To improve the PER, poor quality and black and white images are proposed to be replaced by the District Election Officers (DEOs) through deployment of sufficient number of digital cameras. Electors are requested to actively involve themselves and cooperate with the ECI field staff.
The NERP-2016 strives to improve the fidelity of the rolls through effective use of technology and SVEEP strategies.Information Technology is being extensively used in information collection, processing, sharing and efficient decision making for this purpose. National ERs database has been processed to identify and generate sets of Demographically Similar Entries (DSMs) where ‘ electors’ Name, Gender, Age/DoB, Relation Type & Name’ are similar for the electors and such DSEs are being subjected to further electronic scrutiny and field verification. Key IT enabled activities deployed under NERP 2016 are- identifying entries requiring image improvement and further examination for logical errors and EPIC related errors, capturing the existing and probable PS buildings coordinates, mapping the facilities and drawing the part boundaries on GIS map with AutoCAD diagram of Polling Booth and GIS/Key Maps to assist the electors to reach their PS. A versatile NERP dashboard has been developed for use by the EROs/DEOs and the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) to capture, enter, process, monitor and share the information.
Comprehensive training for Booth Level Officer has been done on NERP and the orientation of the members of “Booth Awareness Groups (BAGs)” will bedoneto conduct an effectiveSystematic Voter Education and ElectoralParticipation (SVEEP)campaign at every location which will include public meetings, reading out rolls, distribution of pamphlets, pasting of posters etc.
To ensure transparency and meaningful involvement & active participation of citizens of the area, the Commission has decided that the ERO shall prepare part wise list of names proposed to be removed from the electoral roll on account of A/S/D/REs in the ERs and display the same in his office for a period of at least 7 days from the date of pasting of the list. The said list shall be put on CEO’s and DEO’s website and same will be shared with recognized political parties and read over in Gram Sabhas, meeting of Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs)/Ward committees/Urban Local Bodies. Also the said list shall be discussed in BLO-Booth Level Agents (BLA) meeting. After making deletions, the final deletion list should also be furnished to recognized political parties and also uploaded on the DEOs/CEOs website.The ERO shall maintain a daily monitoring register of all deletions made by him or his AEROs in the constituency during the period of continuous updating.The DEOs shall monitor the process of deletions made by the EROs in the assembly constituencies comprised within the districts under their jurisdiction.
The Commission further desired that outcomes of the project be compiled and periodically shared with the media in a structured and systematic manner and all CEOs should launch a comprehensive SVEEP programme to popularize the NERP 2016 and encourage all stake holders to take part actively. For the purpose, various departments of Central and State Governments and corporates shall be encouraged to educate their employees about the NERP programme and facilitate them to voluntarily verify their details in the electoral rolls, NVSP/ CEO/ DEO website, helpline numbers shall be fine-tuned to provide all requisite information related to the programme, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Non Government Organizations (NGOs) and RWAs shall be engaged with in urban areas and Nehru YuvaKendra /NSS/Anganwadi/Self Help Groups shall be engaged with in rural areas to spread awareness, Corporates may be asked to also contribute to common publicity campaign on NERP under Corporate Social Responsibility.
An award has also been instituted for 100 % achievers at BLO, ERO and DEO levels in three categories of authentication, correction and deletion of DSEs/REs may be incorporated in the State Award.
Expected outcomes of NERP are a substantially errors free ERs with correct demographic details and unique EPIC Noof electors, no dead electors’ entries or repeat entries and PERswith improved images confirming to standard specification. The PS optimization will ensure that all PS are location in conformity with standard guidelines of Commission apart from ensuring further improvement in ‘access with ease’ for electors to their respective PS by effective use of GIS technology. The improved PS map would assist the electors to reach their PS using GoogleMap with satellite & street view and key map on how to reach knowing precise AutoCAD drawingof PS with dimensions and model layout, with BMF information and actual images of PS.
Social Impact Assessment study for Nuclear Power Projects in AP
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh has informed that the survey of land for Nuclear Power Plant at Kavvada, Srikakulam District of Andhra Pradesh is completed. The land proposed to be acquired for the project comprises 599.20 acres of Private land, 791.37 acres of Government land and 683.94 acres of Assigned land totalling to 2074.51 acres.
Social Impact Assessment (SIA) study has been taken up and notification for the same has been issued by the state government. The Commissioner, Rehabilitation & Resettlement (R&R), Government of Andhra Pradesh has identified Environment Protection Training & Research Institute (EPTRI), Hyderabad as the SIA team.
Minority School students can apply for pre-matric & post-matric scholarships till 31-08-16
The Minority Affairs Ministry has extended last date for submission of online applications for Pre-matric and Post-matric scholarships for 2016-17 for students belonging to the Minority communities till 31 August, 2016. The last date for receipt of online applications (fresh/renewal) for 2016-17 was due to expire on 31 July, 2016. Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the Minister of State for Minority Affairs (Independent Charge) said here today that the decision has been taken keeping in mind the interest of needy students from poor sections of the Minority communities. Shri Naqvi said a large number of requests and suggestions were received from people across the country in this regard.
The last date for receipt of online applications (fresh/renewal) for 2016-17 under School Education Level i.e. Pre-matric scholarship for Class 1 to 10th and Post-matric scholarship for Class 11 and 12 for students belonging to the Minority communities has been extended up to 31 August, 2016 which is due to expire on 31st of this month.
The aim of scholarship at pre-matric level is to encourage parents from minority communities to send their school going children to school, lighten their financial burden on school education and sustain their efforts to support their children to complete school education.
The objective of scholarship at Post-matric level is to award scholarships to meritorious students belonging to economically weaker sections of minority community so as to provide them better opportunities for higher education; increase their rate of attainment in higher education and enhance their employability.
IndianBureaucracy.com wishes the very best.
Coastal Economic Zones to drive port led industrialization under Sagarmala
With the aim to provide impetus to the ‘Make In India’ initiative and promote port-led industrialization, the Ministry of Shipping organized a workshop on ‘Coastal Economic Zones’ under its Sagarmala Programme at New Delhi. The workshop focused on the 14 Coastal Economic Zones (CEZs) which have been identified under the National Perspective Plan of Sagarmala.
The workshop apprised the participants that these CEZs will be aligned to relevant ports in the maritime states and will house Coastal Economic Units for setting up manufacturing facilities. The CEZs have been conceptualized as a spatial-economic region which could extend along 300-500 km of coastline and around 200-300 km inland from the coastline. Each CEZ will be an agglomeration of coastal districts within a State.
Leveraging the port eco-system these CEZs will provide the geographical boundary within which port led industrialization will be developed. The CEZs have been envisaged to tap synergies with the planned industrial corridors like Vizag Chennai Industrial Corridor and Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Rajive Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Shipping, Government of India said, “Sagarmala is a holistic and integrated programme that will transform the way the logistics are handled in the country.” He added that despite tough global economic situation, developing the manufacturing sector can boost growth rates and harness India’s demographic dividend.
“There is immense scope for logistic cost reduction under Sagarmala and CEZ is an effort to reduce cost by locating the manufacturing centres closer to the ports thereby making Indian trade competitive in the global market.” he reiterated.
Calling out for active participation from the States, Shri Dr. Alok Srivastava, Additional Secretary, said “The Sagarmala Programme has been conceptualized by the centre, however active participation from the States is highly essential to make this a success.”
“Sagarmala is an intricate programme which has the potential to drive the socio-eco development in the country in a holistic manner.”, he added.
The Workshop was attended by representatives from various Central Ministries, State Governments, autonomous bodies, private sector and was well received by the participants. During the interaction in the workshop, valuable suggestions were made by the participants.
By incorporation of the inputs from the various maritime state governments, the CEZ perspective plans will be finalized. Detailed Master Plans will be prepared by the Sagarmala Development Company and more projects will be identified. The Sagarmala Development Company has recently been approved by the Cabinet.
IndianBureaucracy.com wishes the very best.
Vinay Ranjan Ray promoted as DGP in Andhra Pradesh Police
Shri Vinay Ranjan Ray IPS (Andhra Pradesh 1986) presently posted as ADGP (Prisons),Andhra Pradesh Police, has been promoted to the grade of Director General of Police in Andhra Pradesh Police. Ranjan has retained the post as Director General of Police (Prisons), Andhra Pradesh Police.
IndianBureaucracy.com wishes Shri Ray the very best.
Revised Grading System in NAAC
The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) has informed that it has reviewed and revised its grading system from a four grade system to a seven grade system. More number of letter grades within the same CGPA range will lead to further differentiation in quality of accredited institutions. The details of the revised grading system, being implemented from 1st July, 2016 onwards, are as follows:
| CGPA | Letter Grade | Status | |
| 3.76 – 4.00 | A++ | Accredited | |
| 3.51 – 3.75 | A+ | Accredited | |
| 3.01 – 3.50 | A | Accredited | |
| 2.76 – 3.00 | B++ | Accredited | |
| 2.51 – 2.75 | B+ | Accredited | |
| 2.01 – 2.50 | B | Accredited | |
| 1.51 – 2.00 | C | Accredited | |
| ≤ 1.50 | D | Not Accredited | |
The NAAC has further informed that the present system of descriptors for letter grades, i.e., Very Good, Good, Satisfactory, Unsatisfactory, has been discontinued in the revised grading system.
India-US ties: Matrix reloaded
It takes two to tango. In the context of India-US relations, increasing convergence in the strategic perspectives of India and the US, and a shared desire to provide global leadership on issues of shared interest are creating one of the most enduring symphonies in global partnership between the two key democracies.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US has simply ensured that this relationship is ever-evolving and increasingly multifaceted. It is punched with long and deep engagement, and loaded with opportunities in the economic space.
Call it sheer politics or business as usual, the fact is that this tango swung by a sustained American outreach has become an imperative of sorts for the two democracies. A resurgent Indian economy riding on a strong track of economic reforms and liberalisation is strongly poised to be the new engine of global growth. The Modi government has approved up to 100 % foreign direct investment in defence and aviation and up to 74% in pharma.
Based on suggestions by Apple and other technology giants, the government has also paved way for Apple to open stores in the country by giving a three year exemption from local sourcing in single brand retail and a further five year relaxation for cutting edge technology. All this has enhanced the attraction of investing in a market like India which features rising household incomes and a burgeoning middle class that can hardly be overlooked. In addition to these positive factors, as a preferred destination for investors, India, as Modi put it, “Is the future human resource powerhouse of the world with a young hard-working population.”
All this can only be ignored at a cost, so as India responds to the surging demand for greater openness and collaboration in its economic equation with the US, it would be reciprocated with a positive spin-off on issues related to the immigration and tantalisation agreements and the India-US Bilateral Investment Treaty.
Further, the importance of the US as a strategic partner for India is reinforced by a robust flow of trade and investment. American capital and innovation are a critical element of the modernisation that a rapidly diversifying Indian economy needs. The explosive implications of its partnership with Indian human resource and entrepreneurship are known widely.
A case in point is American online retail giant Amazon’s plan to invest an additional $3 billion in India, taking the committed investment in the country to $5 billion. The investments would help startups in India and accelerate the country’s role as a hub for innovation and digital entrepreneurship. As India marches ahead on the path of development, the possibilities of collaborating with the American experience, in particular its’ technological advancement — from drugs to drones — are infinite. Looking ahead, I clearly see five catalysts enabling a more intense collaboration.
Renewal of the India-US civil nuclear energy cooperation — with India’s nuclear plant operator, NPCIL and US vendor Westinghouse set to begin preparing the groundwork for construction of six nuclear reactors in India, the stage is set for India’s ultimate integration into the global nuclear order. More importantly, the deal is happening at a time when India hopes to increase the share of electricity generated from nuclear sources from 4% to 25 % by 2050. These reactors would bring clean energy to India, contribute to India’s energy needs while reducing reliance on fossil fuels. The civil nuclear cooperation deal coupled with US support to India’s membership of the NSG and India’s entry into the Missile Technology Control Regime will give India access to high-end missile technology from across the world.
The formal declaration of India as a ‘Major Defence Partner’, could help launch a very consequential phase in the India-US strategic partnership. If all goes well with the Americans delivering on the promise of technology transfer, India could get the same level of access to defence technologies as America’s closest allies and partners. At the same time, opening up of India’s defence sector to 100% FDI and the government’s assurance that projects would not get unduly delayed compliments the development. What the industry can certainly look forward to is the US commitment of support for Make in India projects in the defence sector that will boost modernisation of India’s arms industry.
The Prime Minister’s resolve to strengthen the Make in India initiative across sectors that involves a broader plan to ensure that growth in manufacturing goes beyond catering to the domestic market and involves making world-class products for the whole globe. India’s rapid growth and steady slew of measures to ease business regulations reflects a commitment to provide a strong and secure investment base for foreign and domestic investors and represents an enormous opportunity to expand the US-India economic relationship in the manufacturing space. It is therefore an appropriate time for American businesses to come and invest in India and help make India a global hub for manufacturing.
India also has ambitious plans for growth of solar power. With Prime Minister Modi taking up the issue of clean energy to the global stage and announcing an international solar alliance, India’s solar energy sector has just opened up to exciting opportunities. While the US and India are cooperating on key issues to support India’s goal to deploy 175 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2022, most of the world’s solar technology is centred in the US. American cooperation in making new solar power technologies available as affordably as possible could help India greatly in meeting its ambitions.
Going forward, I see the fifth dynamic in the US-India Investment Initiative launched in January 2015 which has tremendous trans-formative value in India-US ties, especially in the area of infrastructure. Our governments have been working in collaboration with the private sector to identify specific policies, regulatory reforms, and technical collaboration aimed at mobilising capital from both domestic and foreign investors to build infrastructure and create jobs. As these come into fruition, joint effort is also underway to support India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) in order to increase financing options for India’s infrastructure growth.
The US-India Investment Initiative has tremendous potential to help the Indian and US governments to discuss and explore capital market reforms that could deepen India’s capital markets and spur long-term investment by domestic and foreign investors. There is also opportunity to develop new initiatives and policies that can develop a deeper and more liquid corporate debt market, and instruments to help sub-sovereign governments raise financing for development.
It is obvious that the collective economic strength of the two nations is not only good for both the countries, but will help steer the global economy during uncertain times. There are some great complementarities between the two economies — both the nations are favourably placed in terms of time and circumstances, and both have the desire to add immense value to mutual economic growth. Let’s expect the making of a defining India-US partnership.
CII Business Confidence index increases markedly in Apr-Jun 2016 as expectations rise
Indian industry remained upbeat about the business environment in the first quarter of FY2016-17, as borne out by a significant pick-up in the CII Business Confidence Index (BCI) for Apr-Jun 2016. The CII-BCI increased to the level of 57.2, up from the level of 54.1 recorded in the previous quarter. The index has been steadily climbing since the last three quarters.
Commenting on the decisive improvement in the BCI, Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII said that the ‘pick-up in business sentiment is indeed commendable and lends credence to the perception that the economy is on a firm footing. A rise in business expectations sends an early signal that industry is anticipating an upturn in demand propelled by factors such as implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission, progress of a favourable monsoon and pro-active reform agenda of the government’.
These findings are a part of CII’s 95th edition of quarterly Business Outlook Survey, which was based on more than 200 responses from large, medium, small and micro firms, covering all regions of the country.
The significant improvement in the index this quarter has been led by a sharp improvement in the Expectation Index, as compared to the Current Situation Index, as firms appeared particularly upbeat about activity in their sectors.
The increase in the business sentiment this quarter has been backed by strong expectation of economic growth for the current fiscal year, with more than 60% of the firms expecting real GDP growth to range between 7-8% in FY17. Also, business conditions are expected to improve as 61% of the firms expect an increase in sales in Apr-Jun 2016, as compared to only 42% who experienced the same in Jan-Mar 2016, while nearly two thirds of the firms (65%) anticipate an increase in new orders in Apr-Jun 2016, up from 40% who witnessed the same in the preceding quarter. Much of the recovery in business conditions is expected to be domestically driven as a majority of the firms (51.2%) expect to maintain status quo on their export orders in Apr-Jun 2016.
Profit expectations have also improved in the current quarter (Apr-Jun 2016) with close to half of the firms (48.7%) anticipating an increase in their after-tax profits in the said quarter. This is despite the fact that a large share of respondents (37%) had experienced a decline in after- tax profits in the previous quarter (Jan-Mar 2016).
A majority of the firms have placed their investment plans on hold in Apr-Jun 2016 quarter, notwithstanding the expectation of improvement in sales and new orders in the said period. Existing unutilized capacity and unforthcoming demand have prompted nearly half of the firms (49.7%) to maintain status quo on their domestic investment while the uncertainty in the global economic environment has forced larger share of firms (60.5%) to keep their international investment plans unchanged.
A large proportion of the firms (40%) feel that a turnaround in the global economy is required to jumpstart the private investment cycle. Nonetheless, a major share of the firms (43%) feel that high government spending was instrumental in bringing about the turnaround in the corporate sector earnings in Jan-Mar 2016 quarter. Firms, when asked to rank their concerns, rated low domestic demand, fragile global economic recovery and lack of political consensus on economic reforms as their top three concerns.
Do we need another court of appeal ?
Noting that equal access to justice for all is a fundamental right, the Supreme Court last week referred to a five-judge Constitution Bench the question whether a National Court of Appeal (NCA) with regional Benches—in North, South, East and West—can be established?
The NCA, advocated as an intermediate forum between the apex court and various high courts, is meant to act as the final court of justice in dealing with appeals from high courts and tribunals within their region. In such a scenario, the Supreme Court would divest itself of about 80% of the pendency of cases of routine nature to take up issues related to the interpretation of the Constitution and matters of national importance. The argument is the NCA would allow greater accessibility to justice and reduce huge pendency of court cases.
“It is common knowledge that the huge backlog of cases in the Supreme Court not only attracts criticism from the litigant public, but also from independent observers of the judicial system,” a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India TS Thakur observed, while framing 11 questions to be addressed by the Constitution Bench, including the amendment to the Constitution involving its basic structure, which has been held sacrosanct and unalterable.
However, the central government, through Attorney General Mukul Rohtagi, opposed any such move, saying, “All that will happen is another tier in the hierarchy. It is a self-defeating exercise.” It is “neither permissible nor desirable … the idea is a fruitless endeavour and will not lessen the burden of 2 crore cases pending in trial courts … we will only be adding to lawyers’ pockets. The Supreme Court should not consider this when its own dockets are full,” the top law officer argued.
But the Supreme Court found support in amicus curiae and senior advocate KK Venugopal’s stand that it should seize the opportunity to reclaim its status as a Constitutional Court. “Mere increase in the number of judges in the Supreme Court will not be an answer to the problem of undue delay in disposal of cases,” he said.
The possibility of establishing the NCA has elicited mixed reactions from the legal fraternity. Some feel that the Supreme Court is saddled mostly with mundane disputes and needs more time for its real mandate—that of a Constitutional Court, the ultimate arbiter on disputes concerning any interpretation of the Constitution.
“Easing the Supreme Court burden is of prime importance. It often hears run-of-the-mill appeals that have little or no bearing on larger public interest. Of late, its woes have worsened with the surge in new legislations,” according to lawyer Adit Khorana.
Lawyers from South India think that the establishment of the NCA will avoid hardship to litigants, and the unduly long and expensive travel to Delhi is a deterrent to real access to justice.
However, senior colleagues at the bar don’t see a real need of the NCA.
Senior counsel Harish Salve expressed “reservations,” saying a better solution to ease higher judiciary’s burden may lie in strengthening lower courts. “What the NCA is meant to do can quite easily be achieved by strengthening the lower judiciary and filling vacancies in high courts,” added senior lawyer Arvind P Datar.
“What is required is strengthening high courts, filling up vacancies, use of technology and imposing heavy cost on those who file frivolous petitions and waste the court’s time. The Supreme Court shall intervene in only those cases involving substantial questions of law,” said another lawyer.
Datar is wary of the proposal of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to look at the role of appellate tribunals that hear pleas against orders by the Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and Competition Commission of India (CCI). At present, appeals against Sebi’s orders go to the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) and those by CCI to the Competition Appellate Tribunal (Compat).
To make the capital markets regulator and the competition watchdog more effective, the PMO has sought the opinion of members of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry and others on whether these tribunals are really required, as appeals to high courts are admitted in such cases.
Salve said that appellate tribunals are required for the development of financial markets. “We need appellate tribunals not because regulators are incompetent, but because a ‘second look’ in appeals is a vital check and safeguard,” the senior lawyer said.
However, Datar said tribunalisation is “a systematic attempt to take away all judicial functions of high courts. Their primary function is to provide employment to retired bureaucrats. I totally condemn tribunalisation. Already a lot of tribunals are in a pathetic state. Debt Recovery Tribunals have been a total failure. Parliament had to introduce Securitisation Act which enabled banks to attach assets of defaulters without recourse to any kind of judicial process.”
According to the senior counsel, the solution lies in strengthening existing courts and filling vacancies.
“There are around 40,000 vacancies of judges. A huge backlog can never be a justification for creating tribunals. And then how many appeals come from SAT or Compat? Maybe 15-20 in a year,” he added.