Granville Austin: Eminent Indian Constitution academic passed away

Granville Austin (87), a distinguished scholar of India’s Constitution and a Padma Shri awardee, passed away in Washington.

Austin wrote two critically acclaimed political histories of the Indian Constitution – ‘The Indian Constitution: A Cornerstone of A Nation’ and ‘Working A Democratic Republic: The Indian Experience. 

For his works, the Government of India conferred upon him Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honor in India, in 2011.

Austin worked as a journalist/photographer and later worked with the US Information Service, Department of State, Department of Health, Education and Welfare, and on the staff of a US Senator.

Rising instability

Instability, continued violence, superpower rivalry in West Asia does not augur well for India's security and commerce. After having overrun Mosul and Tikrit, armed militants of the al Qaeda-linked militant organisation the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) are close to knocking on the gates of Baghdad. They have seized key border crossings with Syria and Jordan. Meanwhile, forces of the Kurdistan government have captured Kirkuk, regarded as the Kurd capital.

The civil war in Iraq and Syria is only the latest manifestation of conflict in West Asia that is driven by unstable states and deep-rooted divisions in society on sectarian lines. Stretching from the edge of the Indian sub-continent in the east to the Horn of Africa in the west, West Asia has often been called the ‘arc of crisis.  The popular image of West Asian instability is that of a chaotic world, crumbling everywhere and always falling apart, an area governed by abrupt, sweeping changes and unpredictable developments. The West Asian states are locked in internecine quarrels due to religious, ethnic or historical rivalries and inherited colonial legacies such as boundary disputes. West Asia is a house divided, an Islamic world divided against itself despite the strongest possible motive for unity – a shared hostility towards Zionism.

The long-standing Arab and Palestinian opposition to the existence of Israel as a nation-state and senseless terrorism directed against the Jews, have led Israel to pursue a belligerent foreign and national security policy that is not conducive to peace in the region. Israel’s annexation of the whole of the West Bank and Gaza, as well as East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights in Syria in the 1980s remains unacceptable to the Arabs and the Muslim world.

Israel’s excursion deep into Lebanon in 1982, all the way up to Beirut, created more problems than it solved. The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), whose evacuation from Lebanon was secured by Israel at great cost, was soon back in strength. Palestinian and Hizbollah terrorism has abated somewhat after Israel’s pull-out from the occupied territories in Gaza and South Lebanon, but sporadic violence continues; and, Israel’s on-off rocket, missile and air attacks against Hamas’ militiamen remain in the headlines.

The continuing deadlock over Palestine remains a vexatious issue. Though the world accepts the Palestinians’ right to an autonomous state, the issue is still to be finally resolved. Prime minister Yitzhak Rabin’s historic handshake with chairman Yasser Arafat in September 1993 had changed the course of history but has so far led only to a temporary reprieve. The installation of a Hamas-supported Palestinian government has further exacerbated the situation.

Lebanon was more strife-riven and unstable during the last two decades of the 20th century than at any other time in its bloody and chequered history. The Israel-Lebanon conflict of July 2006, sparked by the capture of Israeli soldiers by the Hizbollah, was a new watershed in a volatile conflict zone. Without the presence of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on the Israel-Lebanon border, daily incidents of terrorism and violence would have continued unabated.

Rise of militancy

The occupation of Iraq by the US-led coalition forces in 2003, ostensibly to capture and destroy Saddam Hussein’s WMDs – which were never found – further destabilised the region, shattered Iraq’s economy and drove up the oil prices. The vacuum left behind in Iraq by the withdrawal of the US-led coalition forces in December 2011, led to the rise of Sunni militancy, which is supported by Saudi Arabia. The participation of a large number of Saudi nationals in the September 11 attacks in the US and Saudi support for Sunni uprisings, have gradually cooled the cosy relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia.

The Arab Spring protests in Syria, which began in March 2011, degenerated into a full-fledged civil war by July 2012. The aim of the opposing forces is to overthrow president Bashar al-Assad’s Ba’ath government that has been in power since 1963. The main motives of the broad range of opposition groups, from Islamists to leftwing secular parties and youth activists, are to end repression and undertake political reform. Iran and Russia support the Assad government.

Instability and superpower rivalry in West Asia does not augur well for India’s security and commerce. Combined with the escalation of force levels in the Indian Ocean, the heightened tensions in West Asia may ultimately lead to a spill over of the conflicts to adjacent areas.  India now imports almost 75 per cent of the oil required to fuel its growing economy and most of it comes from the Gulf. The long-drawn conflicts of the last two decades of the 20th century had forced India to buy oil at far greater cost from distant markets, with no assurance of guaranteed supplies. The 1991 oil shock had almost completely wrecked India’s foreign exchange reserves.  The present situation is again becoming critical.  Oil prices are ruling at about US$ 115 per barrel.

Since the early 1970s, Indian companies have been winning a large number of contracts to execute turnkey projects in West Asia.  The conflict in the region has virtually sealed the prospects of any new contracts.  Also, payments for the ongoing projects are not being made on schedule, leading to un-absorbable losses for the Indian firms involved, and a dwindling foreign exchange income from the region. A large number of Indian workers are employed in West Asia and many of them have had to be evacuated. As an emerging power sharing a littoral with the region, India has an important role to play in acting as a catalyst for West Asian stability through negotiations and dialogue rather than confrontation

India's first indigenously built ASW Corvette ready for battle

 A dab of paint here and a bit of polish there. There is hectic activity at the Fitting Out Jetty (FOJ) of the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) in Kolkata. The country's oldest defence shipyard is all set to sail out India's first indigenously-built and most advanced submarine hunter-killer. The INS Kamorta, the first Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Corvette under the Navy's Project-28 will be formally handed over to the navy on Saturday. After sailing from Kolkata in the next few days, with commissioning captain commander Manoj Jha in charge, the lethal platform will join the navy's Eastern Fleet at Visakhapatnam where a formal commissioning ceremony will be held in the last week of July, sources revealed.

"This is a great achievement for GRSE and the country as a whole. The ship has major indigenous content and is technologically advanced. We have used indigenously built steel for the INS Kamorta. The next three ships of the Kamorta class are also being built at GRSE and will have more advanced features," said rear admiral (retd) A K Verma, chairman cum managing director, GRSE.

To enhance its stealth capabilities, the Kamorta's full-beam superstructure features the contemporary X-form. Its surfaces are optimally-sloped to reduce Radar Cross Section signature. The ship is 109 meters long and 13 metres wide and its hull form has been made highly efficient for excellent sea-keeping and maneuverability. With an approximate displacement of 3,400 tonnes, the ship has a maximum speed of 25 knots. It is powered by four indigenously designed 3,888 KW diesel engines at 1,050 rpm and can cover nearly 3,500 nautical miles at 18 knots.

"Each ship will be manned by 14 officers and 150 sailors. Nearly 90% of the ship is indigenous. The ASW corvette sports a state-of-the-art low-noise CODAD (combined diesel and diesel) propulsion system with hydraulic coupling between main engines and gearbox. This is the first for any ship built in India. The specially designed propellers, gear-boxes and engines prevent detection of the ship by submarines. The indigenously developed IRSS (infrared signature suppression system) devices fitted within the engine exhausts helps it to operate more stealthily. It is also the first naval ship fitted with bow-mounted sonar for enhanced underwater surveillance. Integration of indigenous surveillance radar Revathi is another first for any warship," said Gr Capt T K Singha, CPRO, ministry of defence, Kolkata.

The weapons suite on the ship allows it to engage ships, aircraft and shore targets besides giving it astounding anti-submarine capabilities. It will also be the first warship armed with an indigenous rocket launcher for ASW warfare and the trainable chaff launcher Kavach. The ship also has a medium-range gun system, surface to air missiles, torpedo launchers and close-in weapons systems. The ship is also capable of deploying a helicopter, adding to its punch.

RAS PRE-2013 RESULT CANCELLED

SEE THE DETAILS

http://rpsc.rajasthan.gov.in/pdf_reports_files/PN_detail_Ras_Pre_Detail_2013_100714.pdf

Zohra Sehgal dies at the age of 102

Veteran actress and former dancer Zohra Sehgal died at a hospital in New Delhi today at the age of 102.

The veteran theatre and film actor was last seen in the 2007 hit movie Cheeni Kum as Amitabh Bachchan’s mother.  Sehgal, born on April 27, 1912, started her career in 1935 as a leading dancer with the Uday Shankar Ballet Company and travelled the world over. In 1945, she joined Prithviraj Kapoor’s Prithvi Theatre group as an actor on a monthly salary of Rs 400.

Her sister Uzra Butt too was a popular actor. During this period, she married a fellow dancer, Kameshwar Sehgal. After having acted in several plays, she made her film debut in Indian People’s Theatre Association’s (IPTA) first film, Dharti Ke Lal (1946), which was directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. She followed it up with another IPTA film, Neecha Nagar.

The actress was also seen in movies like ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ and ‘Saawariya’. She was also seen in ‘Bhaji on the Beach’(1992), ‘The Mystic Masseur’(2001), ‘Bend It Like Beckham’(2002), ‘Dil Se’ (1998).

Zohra Sehgal was residing in  Delhi with her daughter, Kiran Sehgal, and, as her friends said, the sprightly actor’s zest for life was still intact.

Zohra Sehgal had also received the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan.

Budget Estimates for 2014-15 Project Fiscal Deficit of 4.1% and Revenue Deficit of 2.9% of GDP Gross Tax Receipts of Rs. 13,64,524 Crore Estimated Rs. 5,75,000 Crore Plan Expenditure – An Increase of 26.9 Per cent Over Actuals of 2013-14

The Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley said that the Modi Government has mandate to fulfill for the people provision for the essential items without compromising fiscal consolidation. Making his maiden Budget Speech in Lok Sabha today, the Finance Minister Shri Jaitley announced the Budget estimates with Non-plan Expenditure for the financial year estimated at Rs. 12,19,892 crore with additional provision for fertilizer subsidy and capital expenditure for Armed forces. Rs.5,75,000 crore have been allocated towards Plan expenditure, marking an increase of 26.9 per cent over actuals of 2013-14 (Rs. 4,53,085 crore). Plan increase is targeted towards agriculture, capacity creation in health and education, rural roads and National Highways Infrastructure, railways network expansion, clean energy initiatives, development of water resources and river conservation plans, the Finance Minister added. Total expenditure estimates thus stands at Rs.17,94,892 crore. To finance this expenditure, Gross Tax receipts of Rs. 13,64,524 crore have been estimated. In his maiden Budget Speech Shri Jaitley said that the net share of centre will be Rs. 9,77,258 crore. Non Tax Revenue for the current financial year will be Rs. 2,12,505 crore and capital receipts other than borrowings will be Rs. 73,952 crore. Thus, Fiscal deficit will be 4.1 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Revenue deficit will be 2.9 per cent of GDP, Shri Jaitley added. The Finance Minister recalled in his Budget Speech that the previous NDA Government under Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had initiated a compulsory non-lapsable 10 per cent allocation of plan funds for North Eastern Region. Shri Arun Jaitley said that from the current Budget a New Statement will separately show plan allocation made for North Eastern Region. In the current financial year, an allocation of Rs. 53,706 crore has been made for North Eastern Region. He announced an allocation of Rs. 98,030 crore for women and of Rs. 81,075 crore for children welfare in General Budget 2014-15 presented in Lok Sabha today.

More Services Bought in the Service Tax Net, Indirect Taxes to Yield Rs.7525 Crore

To broaden the tax base in Service Tax, sale of space or time for advertisements in broadcast media has been extended to cover such sales on other segments like online and mobile advertising. Announcing the tax proposals, the Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley said during his maiden budget speech that sale of space for advertisements in print media however would remain excluded from service tax. However services provided by radio-taxis have been brought under service tax. The Finance Minister said that the tax proposals on the indirect taxes side are estimated to yield Rs.7525 crore during 2014-15. The Finance Minister announced that the services by air-conditioned contract carriages and technical testing of newly developed drugs on human participants have been brought under service tax. Services provided by Indian tour operators to foreign tourists in relation to a tour wholly conducted outside India will be taken out of the tax net and Cenvat credit for services of rent-a-cab and tour operators will be allowed to promote tourism. Shri Jaitley said that services provided by the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation for the period prior to 1st July 2012 have been exempted from service tax. Exemption available for specified micro insurance schemes has been expanded to cover all life micro-insurance schemes where the sum assured does not exceed Rs.50, 000 per life insured. 24X7 customs clearance facility will be extended to 13more airports in respect of all export goods and to 14 more sea ports in respect of specified import and export goods to facilitate cargo clearance.‘Indian Customs Single Window Project to facilitate trade will be implemented.