RS panel backs majority of GST Bill proposals

RS panel backs majority of GST Bill proposals

With the Rajya Sabha Select Committee endorsing almost all provisions in the GST Bill, the chances of the Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill, meant to introduce the Goods and Services Tax (GST), clearing Parliament in the current session has brightened.

• The committee was headed by Bhupender Yadav of the BJp. The committee recently submitted its report to the Parliament.

Recommendations made by the committee:

• The GST rate should not go beyond 20% as standard rate and 14% as reduced rate.
• Full compensation from the Centre for any revenue loss to the States during the transition.
• The provision in the Bill that the Centre “may” compensate the States for up to five years for any revenue loss be replaced with acommitment of compensation for five years.

Status of the Bill:

• The Lok Sabha has already approved the Bill. It will now have to be taken up for passage in the Rajya Sabha.
• As it is a Constitution amendment Bill, it will have to be approved by two-thirds of the members in the Upper House, where the ruling BJP does not enjoy a majority. The government will have to depend upon the support of regional parties and allies.

Various demands by the opposition parties:

• Cap GST at 18% to avoid imposing unfair tax burden on consumers.
• Exclude petroleum from the ambit of GST.
• Reduce centre’s say in GST council.

Areas of conflicts:

• Some see this bill as pro-corporates. They say this bill aims at promoting the interests of corporates who want a free flow of goods and services.
• The GST Council, as a constitutional body, would impinge on the legislative sovereignty of both Parliament and the State legislature and would jeopardise the autonomy of the States in fiscal matters.

GST council:

• The GST Bill seeks to establish a GST Council tasked with optimising tax collection for goods and services by the State and Centre.
• Composition: The Council will consist of the Union Finance Minister (as Chairman), the Union Minister of State in charge of revenue or Finance, and the Minister in charge of Finance or Taxation or any other, nominated by each State government.
• The GST Council will be the body that decides which taxes levied by the Centre, States and local bodies will go into the GST; which goods and services will be subjected to GST; and the basis and the rates at which GST will be applied.

Sources: The Hindu, prsindia.

Privacy not a right, Aadhaar legit: Centre

The Centre has told the Supreme Court that Right to Privacy is not a fundamental right under the Constitution, adding it cannot be invoked to scrap the Aadhar scheme. it has further said that “Right to Privacy is not absolute and is subject to restrictions.”

Background:

The centre’s reply came in response to petitions which contended that the scheme of Aadhar based on collecting personal data violates the citizens right to privacy.

What petitioners say?

• Petitioners feel iris scans and fingerprinting arean invasion of privacy.
• Such personal information would help the State possess unbridled powers over its citizens and provide an easy opportunity to snoop on their private lives.
• Petioners also point out that nowhere in the Aadhaar scheme is the word ‘biometrics’ used; yet there are iris scans being done in the camps. Even the enrolment form does not use the word ‘bio-metrics’.

On a September 23, 2013 order, the court had directed that “no person should suffer for not getting the Aadhaar card.” In March this year, the Supreme Court had confirmed that the Aadhaar number was not compulsory, and further, officials who insisted on them would be taken to task

My Preparation Strategy, Nitish K, Rank – 8, CSE – 2014

I did my schooling at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Chitradurgaduring which I made up my mind to become an IAS officer. Later I did engineering from a college in Bangalore. I started my preparation from mid 2010, i.e. during my final year in engineering.

Like everyone, I decided to take Public administration as my optional and started reading it. After few days I realized that Public administration was not my cup of tea. Fortunately at that time results of CSE-2009 was declared and Prakash Rajpurohit had got Rank 2, with Mathematics as one of his optional. His success inspired me to take Mathematics. He also wrote a blog, which I consider as bible for Mathematics optional. I bought all the books which he had mentioned in his blog and finished one time reading by the time I completed my graduation in mid 2011.

Then I left to Delhi from Bangalore and reached Old Rajinder Nagar in June, 2011. I had made up my mind to take Psychology as second optional and join Mukul Pathak’s coaching. But I changed my mind at last moment and joined Neetu Singh for Geography optional.

While going for Geography coaching, I also joined Maths test series at IMS (Venkanna). I left Delhi after 4 months due to adverse conditions like climate, food, high rent etc and went to my native place near Udupi.

Till prelims i.e May 2012, I finished General Studies myself and revised Maths and Geography. After prelims, I again went to Delhi to appear for Maths and GS test series. I made the mistake of appearing for Mains at Delhi Centre. I got high fever on the day of Essay, General Studies and Geography exams and finally recovered before Mathematics exam.

After Mains, I returned to my native place and started preparing for Interview as well as for next Mains. Then fortunately I cleared Mains and appeared for interview in my first attempt. However I could not make it to the final list. Later I found out that I had missed rank by 10 marks and had got low marks in Interview and Geography. Despite working hard for nearly 3 years and leaving job at campus placement, at the end I was left with nothing.

Many people (particularly relatives) mocked at me telling that even two years after engineering I was sitting at home and gave examples of students getting placements with high packages. This was like adding salt to wound. But somehow all these things eventually made me more determined to clear this exam, at any cost.

Fortunately for me, pattern was changed in 2013 and only one optional was required to be taken. I gladly dropped geography and appeared in Prelims again. As the GS syllabus for mains was changed drastically, I felt it was better to prepare in a group. So I went to Delhi again after Prelims and rented a room with two good friends, who were very hardworking and dedicated. I also joined test series for GS and Maths. This time I wrote mains at Bangalore in December.

After Mains, I relaxed for around 20 days and then contacted Vinay bro. He was my senior in school and I got to know that he had got very good marks in UPSC interview. As I had got very low marks in interview in the previous attempt, I was quite afraid about interview. He was kind enough to take many mock interviews freely in his room and helped me to overcome my fear of interview.

Based on my experience, a few suggestions to all the aspirants:

1. With right approach, it is possible to clear this exam in first attempt But don’t get disheartened if you fail. Don’t give up. Introspect and rectify your mistakes. Hit back with greater effort. When I missed getting a rank by 10 marks in first attempt, I was very disappointed. But I read that year toppers’ interviews. I told myself if they can do it why can’t I do. I was very angry on myself for not clearing and this made me more determined to clear this exam.
2. Try to prepare with a group of serious There is no point is befriending non-serious aspirants. They will lead to your failure. Be very careful in choosing your friends.
3. Consistency and discipline are key to success. I have seen lots of people who work very hard for first 1-2 months and later their preparationdecays exponentially. Have a timetable and follow it religiously. My daily study routine for past four years is like this – 8 to 9:30, 10 to 1:30, 4 to 8:30 and 9:30 to 12:30. Make your own timetable and give some time in between (say ½ hour) for relaxing. The idea is you should be comfortable with your timetable and not get frustrated.
4. Clear prelims by a comfortable margin. This is very important so that you start preparing for mains seriously without waiting for prelims results.
5. Practice answer writing for GS, essay and optional regularly. 
6. For GS make notes, preferably on Evernote as it consumes less time and easy to edit and revise.
7. Don’t spend too much time on Internet searching for materials, news etc. Many aspirants spend hours on internet and think they are preparing. But actually they would be aimlessly jumping from website to another without any value addition. It is better to follow few sources that are qualitative.
8. Also many have this habit of filling their rooms with all kinds of books, material, photocopies etc., which they won’t study even one page. Buy a maximum of 2 books per subject and read them repeatedly. You need not do research on each and every topic. You should just understand them and be able to give simple and clear answers in exam.
9. Try to finish Mains syllabus before Prelims. Because after prelims you will be having time only for revision and answer writing.
10. Join coaching only by consulting many seniors. Don’t be fooled by huge photographs of toppers in advertisements. Many would have appeared only for Test Series or Mock Interviews and coaching centers would claim that they were part of classroom coaching.
11. Finally don’t get your confidence lowered by all the negative comments made by your friends and relatives. Have faith in your hard work. Promise yourself to work harder and prove all your critics wrong. If you work hard, then luck (God) will help you.

I would like to end with two of my favorite quotes, which helped me immensely during my preparation:

“I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’” Muhammad Ali

“We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.”  Jim Rohn

All the best for your exams and future. Thank you.

संघ-राज्य संबंध : सुधारों की आवश्यकता

केंद्र में मोदी सरकार के गठन के साथ ही संघ-राज्य संबंधों में सुधारों की आवश्यकता एक बार फिर सुर्खियों में है। ऐसा माना जा रहा है कि एक मुख्यमंत्री के रूप में प्रधानमंत्री इन जरूरतों से रूबरू रहे हैं और वे इसमें खासी दिलचस्पी लेंगे। योजना आयोग के स्थान पर नवगठित संस्था नीति आयोग में गवर्निंग कौंसिल को स्थान देना इसी दिशा में एक कदम है। संघ-राज्य संबंध : सुधारों की आवश्यकता पर पद्मभूषण डॉ. सुभाष काश्यप का आलेख यहां प्रस्तुत है।
भारत में संघ को मजबूत करने का एकमात्र उपाय यह है कि वह अपनी शक्तियों में कमी करे और मुख्य बातों की ओर ही ध्यान दे। आर्थिक उदारीकरण के साथ राजनीतिक शक्ति और व्यवस्था का विकेंद्रीकरण आवश्यक हो गया है। भारत संघ को फेडरल संघ का रूप देने के लिए यह जरूरी है कि वह स्वायत्तशासी इकाइयों के रूप में काम करे। इस व्यवस्था में शासन के अनेक स्तर हो सकते हैं-पंचायतों से संसद और संघ सरकार तक। प्रस्तावित शासन-संगठन संकेंद्रित वृत्तों से युक्त होने के कारण गांधीजी के आदर्श के निकट होगा। शक्तियों का वितरण इस तरह होना चाहिए कि हर उच्चतर स्तर की प्रशासनिक इकाई को कम से कम आवश्यक शक्तियां दी जाएं, जो काम तृणमूल धरातल की संस्थाएं कर सकें, वह उनके हाथ में छोड़ देना चाहिए। उच्च स्तर की सरकार को यह शक्ति नहीं होनी चाहिए कि वह निम्न स्तर की विधिवत निर्वाचित सरकार को बर्खास्त कर दे।
यदि हम सचमुच बहुस्तरीय शासन की स्थापना करना चाहते हैं और तृणमूल धरातल पर लोगों को सत्ता सौंपना चाहते हैं तो संविधान के अनुच्छेद 245, 246 तथा अन्य प्रासंगिक अनुच्छेदों तथा 7वीं अनुसूची में संशोधन कर संघ, राज्यों और पंचायतों तथा नगरपालिकाओं की स्थानीय सरकारों के बीच शक्तियों का स्पष्ट वितरण करना होगा। इससे संविधान के बुनियादी ढांचे अथवा संसदीय प्रणाली पर कोई प्रतिकूल प्रभाव नहीं पड़ेगा। इसके कारण सुशासन तथा आर्थिक विकास में सहायता ही मिलेगी।
अब समय आ गया है कि संघ-राज्य संबंधों तथा स्थानीय शासन-संस्थाओं की व्यापक समीक्षा की जाए। इस विषय में कोई सर्वतः स्वीकृत प्रतिमान नहीं हो सकता। भारत को स्थायित्व, सुरक्षा और विकास की आवश्यकता है। यह लक्ष्य एकात्मक और फेडरल राज्य-व्यवस्था के बीच समन्वय स्थापित करने से प्राप्त हो सकता है। सबसे ज्यादा जरूरी यह है कि राजनीतिक व्यवस्था में स्थिरता बनी रहे। इसके साथ ही वह लोगों के प्रति उत्तरदायी भी होनी चाहिए। नया फेडरल राज्य स्वायत्तशासी इकाइयों का संयुक्त राज्य बनेगा। ये स्वायत्तशासी इकाइयां संघ की अधीन या सहायक इकाइयां नहीं होंगी। वे विभिन्न धरातलों पर फेडरेशन की भागीदार होंगी। भारत फेडरल संघ होगा जिसमें शासन के अनेक स्तर होंगे। सत्ता की शृंखला पंचायतों से शुरू होकर संसद तक पहुंचेगी।
(i) पृथक राज्यों की राजनीतिक मांगों को जातीय आकांक्षाओं से अलग करके देखना चाहिए। सिद्धांततः सुशासन की दृष्टि से बढ़ती हुई आबादी के कारण छोटे-छोटे राज्य अच्छे हो सकते हैं। संख्या में अधिक राज्य संघ को मजबूती देंगे। कुछ स्थितियों में नए राज्यों का निर्माण करने की अपेक्षा उप राज्य संरचनाओं का गठन किया जा सकता है। संपूर्ण देश को 4-5 जोनों तथा 40-50 छोटे-छोटे राज्यों में बांटना हितकर होगा। ये राज्य यथा-संभव समान आकार के होने चाहिए तथा इन्हें संसद के दोनों सदनों में या कम से कम एक सदन में समान प्रतिनिधित्व प्राप्त होना चाहिए। आशा की जा सकती है कि प्रस्तावित परिवर्तनों से ज्यादा स्थिरता, जवाबदारी, मजबूत संघ, सुशासित, विकसित और तेजी से विकाशील राज्यों का पथ प्रशस्त होगा।
(ii) राज्यपालों की नियुक्ति के मानदंडों में परिवर्तन होने चाहिए। सरकारिया आयोग की सिफारिशों की परीक्षा होनी चाहिए और उन्हें कार्यान्वित किया जाना चाहिए।
(iii) अनुच्छेद 356 से संबंधित समस्याएं अनुच्छेद 256, 257, 355, 356 और 365 के अनुचित क्रियान्वय के कारण पैदा हुई हैं। इन सब अनुच्छेदों को एक साथ पढ़ने की जरूरत है। अनुच्छेद 355 के अधीन संघ सरकार, अनुच्छेद 356 के अधीन राष्ट्रपति शासन लागू किए बिना राज्य के प्रति कुछ दायित्वों का निर्वहन कर सकती है।
(iv) अर्थव्यवस्था के उदारीकरण के कारण केंद्रीय नियंत्रण की आवश्यकता नहीं रहती। आय कर, निगम कर और परोक्ष करों को समवर्ती सूची में स्थानांतरित किया जा सकता है। इससे कर-प्रणाली में सुधार और समन्वय होगा।
(v) संघ-राज्य संबंधों पर समग्र दृष्टि से विचार करने की आवश्यकता है। राजनीतिक सत्ता चार स्तरों पर विभक्त होनी चाहिए। विभिन्न समूहों को शासन में भागीदार बनाने की जरूरत है। इससे संघ मजबूत बनेगा और राष्ट्र में भावनात्मक तथा सांस्कृतिक दृष्टि से निखार आएगा। शक्तियों का वितरण ऐसा होना चाहिए कि शासन के प्रत्येक उच्चतर स्तर को न्यूनतम आवश्यक शक्तियां दी जाएं। उदाहरण के लिए ग्राम पंचायतें या नगरपालिकाएं जैसी तृणमूल संस्थाएं जो काम कर सकें वह काम पूरी तरह उनके ऊपर छोड़ देना चाहिए। उच्चतर स्तर की सरकार को यह अधिकार नहीं होना चाहिए कि वह अपने से नीचे स्तर की विधिवत निर्वाचित सरकार को बर्खास्त कर सकें। कुशल राज्यकर्मचारी लोकतंत्रात्मक विकेंद्रित शासन का स्थान नहीं ले सकते।
(vi) ग्यारहवीं और बारहवीं अनुसूची को आदेशात्मक बना देना चाहिए। इन दोनों अनुसूचियों को मिलाकर एक सामान्य सूची का निर्माण करना चाहिए। संसद सदस्यों तथा विधायकों को जिला विकास प्रक्रिया का भाग नहीं होना चाहिए। विधि और व्यवस्था के कार्य स्थानीय निर्वाचित निकायों को ही सौंपना ठीक होगा। ग्राम सभा और ग्राम पंचायतों की शक्तियों का वर्गीकरण करना आवश्यक होगा। स्थानीय निकायों के लिए स्थानीय कर्मचारी रखे जाने चाहिए।
(vii) संसद सदस्यों की क्षेत्रीय विकास योजना शक्तियों के वितरण के फेडरल सिद्धांत के प्रतिकूल है।
(viii) उत्तर-पूर्वी राज्यों में अवैध देशांतरण को रोकना चाहिए। शासन की स्थानीय परंपरागत संस्थाओं को आधुनिक रूप देने और महिलाओं के साथ न्याय करने की आवश्यकता है। इन परंपरागत संस्थाओं को शासन की संस्थाएं बनाया जा सकता है। राज्य सरकार, स्वायत्तशासी जिला परिषदों और शासन की परंपरागत प्रणाली के अधिकार-क्षेत्र एक-दूसरे से मिलते हैं। इससे अनेक समस्याएं पैदा होती हैं। अधिकार क्षेत्र की इस परस्पर-व्याप्ति को रोकने की आवश्यकता है। प्रत्येक स्तर की अधिकारिता का स्पष्ट रूप से निरूपण करना उचित है। छठीं अनुसूची में संशोधन कर स्वायत्तशासी जिला परिषदों को अधिक स्वायत्तता दी जानी चाहिए। स्वायत्तशासी जिला परिषदों में गैर-कबाइली लोगों की भागीदारी का प्रश्न विचारणीय है। परंपरागत संस्थाओं, स्वायत्तशासी जिला परिषदों तथा अधीन न्यायपालिका के परस्पर-व्याप्त अधिकार-क्षेत्र के कारण न्याय-प्रशासन में दिक्कतें पैदा हो रही है। उन्हें सुलझाने की आवश्यकता है। मानव अधिकारों तथा कबाइली अधिकारों के संघर्ष और संरक्षण विधियों को भी समझने और सुलझाने की जरूरत है।

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Inner line permit

What it takes to crack the #civilservices entrance

t took Ira Singhal, this year’s Indian Administrative Services (IAS) exam topper, four years to get to that position. Singhal’s was a special case—she had earlier cracked the exam but was refused a posting because of her disability. But nearly seven out of every 10 candidates require at least three attempts before succeeding in the civil services entrance.

Abysmal success rates, years of preparation and multiple attempts by candidates past their mid-twenties studying subjects other than what they have been trained in, and the ability to get into some of the country’s best educational institutions are some of the key attributes of the IAS entrance process. Here’s what data put out by the Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) for the decade up to 2012 (the latest available numbers) tells us.

The civil services exam has among the lowest success rates among competitive examinations. More than 40.59 lakh people applied during 2002-2012. Only 20.11 lakh appeared for the preliminary exam. Those who qualify the preliminary stage have to go through two more stages: main examination and interview. The entire process lasts 9-10 months. The overall success rate has always been less than five people per 1,000 applicants.

However, if there is one example of the Indian youth not giving up, it is the civil services exam. Only one in every 10 candidate succeeds in the first attempt.

The civil services has always been viewed as a dangerous career choice because it might be too late to pursue other avenues if one does not succeed. However, this does not deter aspirants to continue their dogged pursuits, often well past their mid-twenties.

Satyendranath Tagore, the elder brother of Rabindranath Tagore, was the first Indian to qualify for the Indian Civil Service exam in 1863. Tagore was an author, song composer and linguist. Recent data, however, shows that technocrats are dominating the civil services exams. Those with an engineering and medical background have the highest success rate among interviewed applicants. This might be so because those who enter engineering and medical colleges in India have to undergo tough competition right after higher secondary level. In that sense, they are, statistically speaking, the creamy layer in a given lot of students.

The background of a candidate doesn’t mean that the person automatically opts for that subject in the main examination. Neither engineering nor medical sciences are among the top 10 subjects. Public administration is the most preferred subject. The reason for its popularity might be a shorter syllabus with many things in common with the general studies portion for the preliminary examination and easy availability of preparatory material, said Rakesh Kumar, who qualified the civil service exam in 2009.

Delhi had the maximum successful candidates in the decade up to 2012. That could be perhaps owing to the number of top Indian educational institutions in that city. Delhi University, Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) have sent the maximum number of candidates to the civil services. Indeed, in JNU, the library’s reading room has been christened Dhaulpur House, the building which houses UPSC headquarters.

However, if one looks at the home states of serving IAS officers, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar top the list. That isn’t so surprising, given that these states (if one includes Jharkhand which was carved out of Bihar in 2000) are the top two by population. But socio-economic factors might also be at play with the tag of an IAS officer putting a premium in these states. For in many states, for instance West Bengal, the number of serving IAS officers does not match the state’s rank in population.

The disproportionately high number of successful candidates from Delhi is also a reflection of the fact that a large number of those who aspire to get into civil services come to this city for preparations.

The tale of getting into the civil services is one of hard work and dogged perseverance. That’s why it is all the more baffling how the Indian bureaucracy, which comprises such hard-working and committed people, earned the disrepute of running what is considered an inefficient government machinery.

Old but not gold

More than one person has asked me what happened to the idea of repealing old laws. I am a bit surprised, because that information is in the public domain. It is just that the media hasn’t picked it up. First, the Law Commission reports: In September 2014, the 248th report of the Law Commission was submitted. This gave us a database of 1,086 Union laws. This database excludes the 253 laws that were recommended for repeal earlier, but still continue to be on the statute books. It excludes the 34 statutes that have been repealed — though some government ministries and departments don’t know that these have been removed from the law books. The database also excludes the appropriation acts. The 248th report recommended the repeal of 72 statutes and identified another 261 for further scrutiny. In October 2014, the 249th report of the Law Commission was submitted. This identified 77 more statutes for repeal. There were separate recommendations on partial repeal and on the 11 World War II ordinances. In October 2014, there was also the 250th report of the Law Commission. This identified 73 more statutes for repeal. Without getting into the details of how the numbers add up, with these three reports, 258 statutes have been identified for repeal. Further, in November 2014, there was the 251st report of the Law Commission. With 30 more statutes added, the number of laws identified for repeal now went up to 288. 

That still doesn’t answer the original question. Commission reports are fine. What about action? In fairness, after a report is submitted, there is a process for repeal that has to be followed. One needs to write to the Union government ministries and state governments. One can only draft a bill to repeal a law after this process of receiving comment is over. Thus, on May 13 came the first Repealing and Amending Act (Act No 17 of 2015). This repealed 35 statutes (mostly amending statutes) and amended two others. Then, on May 14, there was the Repealing and Amending (Second) Act (Act No 19 of 2015). This repealed 90 statutes (amending statutes) and amended two. It is certainly true that getting rid of amending acts is an easier task. Repealing principal acts is more complicated, and especially for the 250th and 251st reports, feedback from the Union ministries and state governments is still pending. But at least some people know of the four Law Commission reports. I find it strange that few know of the R. Ramanujam Committee, though that information is also in the public domain. This was set up by the prime minister’s office in September 2014. It submitted a mammoth four-volume report, more comprehensive than the Law Commission exercise. Thus, we know that since 1834, 6,612 Central statutes have been enacted. 

At some point or the other, 3,831 have been repealed. We are left with 2,781 Central statutes (as of October 2014), including amending legislation and appropriation acts. Of these, the Ramanujam Committee identified 1,741 Central acts for repeal. (The committee is also undertaking a consolidation exercise, but let’s ignore that.) Of the 1,741 statutes, 777 need to be repealed by the Union government; 83 by state legislatures, since these are Central acts on state subjects; 624 are Central appropriation acts; and 257 are Central appropriation acts on state subjects, which, therefore, have to be repealed by state legislatures. If one ignores those that have to be repealed by the state legislatures, the 125 statutes that have already been repealed — 90 by the Repealing and Amending (Second) Act, 2015, and 35 by the Repealing and Amending Act, 2015 — must be benchmarked against the 1,401 acts that have been identified for repeal (777 plus 624). It is true that we haven’t even done 10 per cent yet. But that doesn’t mean nothing is being done.

 Let’s get the appropriation acts out of the way first, because those are easier to handle. There are 902 of them, including railway and state appropriation acts. Once legal opinion has been obtained, these will go — it is only a matter of time. Looking at the Law Commission and Ramanujam Committee reports together,  the picture is something like this: 637 acts can be repealed by Parliament (once the ministries send in their views); 84 acts have to be repealed by state legislatures; 58 acts can be repealed by Parliament, but only in consultation with state governments; and for 28 acts, which have something or the other to do with state reorganisation, the views of the home ministry are essential. Out of this complicated agenda, I suspect one will soon have a third repealing and amending act, whereby another 197 of those old statutes will be junked. I don’t think the process is taking inordinately long. It is also an exercise that should have been undertaken in 1950, when the Constitution came into effect, and not in 2015. 

Having said this, it is important to appreciate another aspect. It isn’t always the case that a statute can be repealed in its entirety. There are cases where a statute needs to be retained, but has sections that should be scrapped. There are instances where a consolidation and harmonisation exercise is required. There are also instances where repeal has to be matched with new legislation to plug the gaps. These take more time than outright repeal. If media reportage has been tardy on this repealing exercise, it has been tardier on a parallel and ongoing exercise in Rajasthan. The Rajasthan law reform project is not only about labour legislation. There, too, there is outright repeal, consolidation and harmonisation of rules as well as of acts. Some statutes have already been repealed and one is left with roughly 600 state-level statutes, 400 principal and 200 amending. At least 10 per cent of the former and 100 per cent of the latter are likely to go soon. The writer is member, Niti Aayog.