“Emerging Technological Challenges for National Security

27th IB Centenary Endowment Lecture

Dr. Avinash Chander, Secretary, Defence Research and Development Organization has delivered the 27thIntelligence Bureau Centenary Endowment Lecture on the subject ‘Emerging Technological Challenges for National Security’, here today. Following is the text of the Lecture: “Emerging Technological Challenges for National Security India got freedom 67 years back after subjugation of more than 1000 years by foreign rulers.  We are again facing challenges threatening our freedom. On one hand we are seeing new young generation, with their entrepreneurial skills and innovation skills, ready to take India on path of economic andindustrial growth.We are building a new capability, we are having a new great potential for economic growth and the individual growth. At the same time we are facing challenges both external and internal fronts. We are in the hub of most turbulent region currently. On our west front Pakistan, democracy which is facing its own internal dissentions, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syriaare in the middle of turmoil. In the northeast we have insurgencies; we have hostile nuclear powers surrounding us on both sides andwith an established history of hostilities. The security challenges today are going beyond traditional domains of land, sea and air. New forms of conflict, new domains of warfightingare emerging. The space which has become a dominant force in our day to day life, cyber space which is governing every activity has proved to be a boon and threat simultaneously, Underwater area is emerging to be a new area of conflict because of resource control, Unmanned warfare will change the way the wars are fought and the way the security challenges are going to be handled. Asymmetric warfare, guerilla tactics, internal insurgencies sponsored by external forces has been traditionally a practice all over the world for thousands of years, and it is being refined more and more today by our adversaries. These challenges also gives us an opportunity to play a leading role as a stabilizing force in this region if we can find solutions to these challenges and come out stronger, and that’s where the harnessing of our intelligence the process of information control becomes vital. Information and Knowledge Information has always been used as a weapon and it has emerged as the most powerful tool in present scenario. Harnessing of intelligence, processing of information, control of knowledge has become the single most important factor in security strategy. The necessity to collect, process, and disseminate strategic and tactical information on the enemy’s forces and terrain has become increasingly important to forces. From both the National and Homeland security perspective, knowledge about adversary’s capabilities, limitations and intentions assumes greater significance in order to degrade his strengths and exploit his weaknesses. Intelligent Systems in Ancient India Information gathering and Intelligence have been emphasized even in Vedas and Puranas. We find the invocations in Rigveda and Atharvaveda, where it talks how the spies of Agni came down from the sky with thousands of eyes. The son of Brihaspati, teacher of gods, Kacha was sent as a spy to Sukracharya to know the Sanjeevani Mantra as explained in MathsyaPurana. In sabhaparvam of Mahabharata “LokapalaSabhakhayanaParva” explains the importance of information gathering, establishing the spy network and related instrumentation in connection with armed forces.  ‘ArthaShaastra’ by Kautilya defined it as an integral part of court craft. The first of two chapters on establishing an intelligence system explain five kinds of spies for gathering internal intelligence. Analyzing the information plays vital role in establishing the facts. The information has to be properly decoded, processed, validated against the source and then used to establish certain assumptions or to conclude the hypothesis. Intelligence agencies in ancient India were not conceived of as an instrument of oppression but as a tool of governance. Intelligent agents were considered as `eyes of the king`. The process and need remain the same today also,what has changed is the technology. Modern Intelligence Infrastructure Under this scenario, the intelligence agencies like RAW, IB, JCB,ARC, NTRO etc are playing an important role in defining  the needs and driving the technologies. In addition to enabling the military with possible threat information, these agencies are assisting in the management of internal security with equal importance.  The strength of any nation depends primarily on in its intelligence agencies. The intelligence agencies assess potential of the adversaries in terms of their Economic strength, Defence and Industrial infrastructure, Communication and Transport systems, political leadership, scientific and technical prowess, sociological, cultural and geographical factors and so on. Thus, the mission of our intelligence agencies is to support defence planning and operations and contribute to national security through a coordinated effort by the entire intelligence community Technology for Intelligence Technology in a way has revolutionized the mere genesis of intelligence, with it being a critical enabler in every phase of the intelligence cycle: Information gathering, Information analysis and Information dissemination to the decision makers. The impact of technology has not only revolutionized the traditional means of intelligence such as the Human Intelligence (HUMINT), but has also opened new disciplines such as:Signals Intelligence (SIGINT), Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT), Imagery Intelligence (IMINT), Cyber Intelligence (CYINT) and Measurement and Signature Intelligence (MASINT). Let us look at intelligence collection. The human intelligence today has secure encrypted IP based, electronic channels that enable practically indecipherable and untraceable transfer with 512 bits long encryptions; digital steganography is one of the most difficult to intercept. Spread Spectrum & Frequency Hopping based encrypted communication is extensively used in battlefield operations. Technology allows precise location of a transmitter, fingerprinting the system enable detection of individual transmitters. Precise measurements from space in hyper spectral domain are processed to differentiate between decoys and the real targets. It is also possible to detect missile launches & the nuclear radiations based on space based sensors, integrated with information from ground radars & networked sensors.             The most important means of information gathering continues to be the open source intelligence – the internet monitoring, social media interaction, mobile communication access. A whole lot of technologies from voice processing, natural language processing, data mining, text analysers, ontology & taxonomy involving individual characterization, correlation and so on are being developed and constantly upgraded. At the same time, there is a need to strengthen the security our communication as well as cyber infrastructure. Cyber Security – Threats & Solutions Today, military strategiesare guided by Network-Centric Operations (NCO). These Operations rely on computer equipment and networked communications technology to provide a shared awareness of the battle space that is expected to synergize sensors, command and control and result in superior decision-making, and overwhelming war-fighting advantage. It uses electronic and information technologies to provide real time situational awareness, mission-critical information, coordination and collaboration throughout the chain of command, securely and reliably. The networking world is also going to be a driving force. Networks of every-day usage items are already a reality in terms of Internet of things. In future every human being will be having embedded devices in the body. Technologies being developed for mobile ad-hoc networks, swarms of mobile devices, intelligent dust will be common place. Ubiquitous networking may be the technology of the day wherein sensors (communicating over wireless frequencies) would be mounted everywhere in the environment making the environment highly interactive. The cyber domain is also fast expanding: The 5G systems will allow massive data transfers upto1Gb/sec. the data flow and volumes will enhance multifold. By 2020 we are expecting to have 50billion systems connected to the network. Old net structures are giving way to dense cloud structures. Speed of information processing doubles every 12-18 months, parallel processing with optical interconnects on a single chip are enhancing the computation capability. A single breakthrough capability like quantum computation can change the entire scenario. How do we protect our infrastructure and our cyberspace? US PRISM program used multiple techniques to breach the security. These involved hardware manipulation through the companies data, database tapping of agencies like Google, Microsoft, Yahoo etc., internet and mobile phone metadata tracking, bypassing encrypted layers and direct intelligence. In this context we need to make our critical cyber infrastructure trustworthy, dependable, survivable and conforming to the desired needs. The challenges are social engineering & masquerade at action level, password guessing and key logging at Human-Machine Interaction level, breaking of crypto protocols at algorithm level, tampering with authority, denial; of service, malware at software and hardware architecture level and finally interception and jamming at physical information layer. Another critical threat comes from the life cycle risks which consist of supply chain Risk or Risk in operations. Supply chain risk gets inserted during development, shipment, Installation, Patch, Upgrade or remote maintenance. The operations risks can be introduced through insider Exploits or remote vulnerability exploits. DRDO has made indigenous efforts for threat identification, Risk Assessment, Trustworthy development, indigenously architecture high assurance platforms and high assurance systems evaluation. Capability exists for development of high grade cryptographic devices with indigenously developed cryptographic algorithms, architecture for LAN and WAN security and near term risk mitigation of software based security systems running on COTS computing platforms. DRDO has initiated the development for trustworthy and secure networking devices that can maintain their performance integrity in face of attacks, trustworthy computing platforms for application specific information processing and trustworthy storage solutions to prevent data leakage. Compared with attacks on software, attacks on ICs are much more difficult to detect and defend. However, the ultimate solution for such problems can only come with hardware fabrication within the country. This will require both investment and strategic direction. Space Based Intelligence With the advent of today’s satellite technologies, the focus of intelligence took a paradigm shift from earth to space. Space based Intelligence is another prominent technology area in enhancing the planning, coordination and execution of the military as well as homeland operations in the future. Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance operations, together called as ISR provides early warning of enemy threats and enables military forces to increase the effectiveness, coordination and lethality. ISR includes systems ranging from satellites, to aerostats, to unmanned aerial vehicles, to unmanned combat air vehicles, to other space based equipment. Space based intelligence assures Day/Night and all weather ISR. High resolution imagery, multi spectral images giving information and intelligent information on the landscapes are of prime importance. SAR & GMTI have emerged as most effective sensors for long range detection and tracking of military targets under all weather, day/night conditions and achieving an accurate ‘kill’ of enemy targets through guided weapons. SAR/GMTI fitted on aircrafts can provide High resolution capability for precision mapping and navigation, analyze terrain composition and texture, battleground surveillance, target / decoy recognition, detect and track moving targets on the ground, etc Space Security Our space assets are to the tune of about $26 billion, but it is not the value of the assets, but the value of economy they are supporting which run into 100’s of billion dollars, through navigation, communications, mass media , all are dependent on Satellites. Our ability to predict cyclones,weather and crops, all are dependent on space.All these technologies, though offering benefits, are not spared from adversary threats. To achieve self-reliance in the satellite navigation system, India is establishing the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System with dependents from across all the services. It is necessary to safe-guard such system of national importance. One space assets are vulnerable to Electronic warfare like Jamming, ASATs, Laser attacks, Killer microsatellites, etc. Thus, space security is emerging as an important element in India’s national security matrix. Space security demands that we should develop capability to identify and deter any attacks on these assets. Space Situational Awareness for Surveillance of all space objects, activities, and terrestrial support systems (satellites &debris).Rapid Spacecraft Development, Assembly, Test and Integration are required. We need to develop the ability to position constellation of satellites in formation flights.  We need launch systems   that are simpler and require less preparation time in order to greatly increase the rapid reaction capabilities. Low Intensity Conflicts Majority of threats gradually are moving towards low intensity conflicts as the efforts in making larger damages are much smaller. Asymmetric warfare requires new technologies to detect and prevent infiltration. The ability to monitor their movements, funding processes, support base,  Spot and control, ability to monitor their networks, training, monitor their social fabric that enables their growth require total control of information, constant growth of new technologies and new knowledge. The Foliage and Ground Penetrating Radars and through wall detection Radar being developed by DRDO will provide situational awareness in low intensity warfare environments. The standoff detection of IEDs and Explosives being developed based on Lasers will provide the necessary capability to identify the threats by comparing the stored spectral database of the explosives. Detection of concealed arms and ammunition is another major concern. Similarly low weight, fast and long range rifles for war and non-lethal rifles for home land security are developed by DRDO.  Corner shot rifles, Arms & Ammunitions requirements are being developed and constantly being improved to meet the specific needs and challenges. Similarly portable Explosive Detection & Diffusion systems, Remotely Operated Vehicle- DAKSH, a Sentry Robot, Explosive Detection Kit (Post Blast), SAW Based Sensor for DNT & TNT are some of the products developed. Communication & Jamming: To protect places of strategic importance and ensuring the security of VIPS from threats originating from remotely operated electronic systems, reliable communication and jamming systems are essential. With the high potential cell phones available with every one, such systems have become mandatory and their constant upgradation is becoming vital. Personnel Protection: To provide self-protection of the defending forces, light weight bullet proof armour for whole body protection, bullet proof vehicle - Vajra and bullet proof helmets and jackets are being developed. Research and development in all these technology areas are keenly pursued in the laboratories of life sciences, Armaments and Combat Vehicle technology clusters of DRDO. Terahertz Technology Terahertz radiation falls in between infrared and microwave radiation in the electromagnetic spectrum, and it shares some properties with each of these. Like infrared and microwave radiation, terahertz radiation travels in a line of sight and is non-ionizing Like microwave radiation, terahertz radiation can penetrate a wide variety of non-conducting materials. In the near future broadband or frequency- agile terahertz radar shall be able to form high resolution 3D images of targets, and to extract detailed information on targets in the land, air and in space. As Terahertz radiation can penetrate fabrics and plastics, it can be used in surveillance, such as security screening, to uncover concealed weapons on a person, remotely. This is of particular interest because many materials of interest have unique spectral "fingerprints" in the terahertz range. This offers the possibility to combine spectral identification with imaging. The Net Centric Operations shall demand large spectrum and terahertz shall be critical enabler by providing terabits per second data rate. Unmanned Systems Autonomous systems such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle and Aerostats are highly effective in Surveillance and Reconnaissance. UAVs can be configured to operate in cooperative mission adaptive mode wherein Multiple Autonomous UAVs collaborating to accomplish a large scale ISR Mission carries out distributed intelligent processing of sensor data onboard and communicate each other to share information, to give commanders a complete, theatre-wide picture in real time. Nishant unmanned aerial vehicle is already in use by Armed forces and the PMFs. RUSTOM 1 with capability of 7-8 hours endurance is ready. Next generation UAV Rustum-2 capable of operating at an altitude of 30,000 ft,  24 hrs endurance with payload of 350 kg and capable of carrying sensors like SAR, Maritime Patrol radar, ELINT, COMINT, Optical, IR imagery and tracking capability will made available within an years’ time including indigenous sensors.. Aerostat, an aerial platform for surveillance, operating at an altitude of 1 km and having a capacity of 2000 cubic mtswith payload of about 350kg has been developed. Advanced aerostats with a capacity of 5000 cubicmtrand more are under development. The future will be lighter than airship. Radar with Electronic Scanned Array (ESA) technology is going to be available for high resolution imagery. This coupled with high energy weapons capable of destroying / disabling systems at tens of kilometers is going to be vital. Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV) will be participating in intelligent missions capable of identifying and distinguishing between friendly & enemy systems with proper signature management. SWARM of UGVs operating in a coordinated movement and  Unmanned Ground Vehicles supporting the soldier will form integral part of the fighting forces, having the ability to go ahead of the fighting forces for detection of mines, booby traps etc, for intelligence gathering in the forward areas to enable timely action to avoid sabotage. Advanced data compression techniques have enabled the soldier to transmit the video imagery through a hand–held system for analysis and decision making. The ability to see through the fog enhances the fighting capability and enable intelligence gathering. Futuristic Technologies There are several technology areas being explored for strengthening the intelligence. Multi-INT fusion Multi-INT fusion is basically computer-based discovery, collection and exploitation of location- spatial and geospatial- information from many diverse sources. The sources of imagery can be satellites or UAVs based on IR or SAR imaging. The imagery thus obtained, integrated with MTI, Maps and SIGINT and processed in the computer provides the right information and inference to predict and anticipate the situation/location of the Target/threat environment. We have already entered Nanotechnology era, with many sub 100 nm technologies entering the commercial domain. This will result in a suite of new manufactured nanomaterials, nanodevices and nanosystems with unprecedented properties and functionality. Nanotechnology is expected to revolutionize the military capabilities in medium term, in areas as diverse as Information technology, future soldier systems, semiconductor technology, sensors and actuators, photonics, stealth and camouflage, biomedical science, biotechnology and aerospace systems. Motes and Smart dust:         Smartdust is a system of many tiny micro electromechanical systems (MEMS) such as sensors, robots, or other devices, that can detect, for example, light, temperature, vibration, magnetism, or chemicals. They are usually operated on a computer network wirelessly and are distributed over some area to perform tasks, usually sensing through radio-frequency identification. The concepts for Smart Dust emerged from DARPA due to the potential military applications of the technology. As this technology is a new dimension in the art of intelligence and is conceived as more relevant, focused research in this area is on the anvil. Nanoscale and Quantum Communications shall be requirement for communication among future nanodevices. There are two main approaches that are being investigated for nano-communications. The first is EM based Nano Communications that uses electromagnetic waves as information carriers. CNTs are the most promising material for nano-communications which can act as antenna and demodulator together. The second is Molecular Communications based on natural communication technique used by insects communicating via pheromones and is envisioned to become a viable method for future nano devices. Concentration of the molecule at close proximity of the receiver may be used to understand the molecular bit transmitter sent. The future shall bring lot of convergences to the fore. One of the possible future directions is programming adaptability into the material itself. Programmable matter, which has the ability to change physical properties such as shape, density, optical properties, and others in a response to user input or autonomous sensing, may become reality. These smart materials could be programmed to self-assemble, alter their shape to perform a desired function, and then disassemble. Materials having computational and communication capability will have tremendous impact both civilian and military capabilities. Morphing materials can be used to change an aircraft‘s wings in flight or in clothing that alters its characteristics to keep users cool in the day and warm at night. Such adaptability could produce electronic devices that can adapt to heat and dust in the desert and then shift to resist humidity and moisture in a jungle environment. The enabling set of technologies is convergence of chemistry, information theory, and programmability to build information directly into materials. Converging Info/Bio/Nano: The long term shall see the convergence of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information and cognitive technology that shall transform every aspect of life including warfare. It shall bring about unprecedented enhancement of human performance; brain-to-brain communication; cognitive warfare and even “Cyborg vision” may also become reality through convergence of human and machine intelligence. Smart materials shall be combined to produce smart structures that perform sensing, controlling and actuation activities. The smart structures will be used to develop supernatural noses, ears and eyes that are smart enough to directly communicate with the brain. Such structures would enable soldiers to expand their sensory input exponentially. Conclusion Knowledge gets converted into Technology; when worked upon it, results in weapons. Technology doesn’t shape itself immediately into a weapon.  The transformation is time consuming.  How to convert a technology into a useful weapon is innovation cycle. These cycles used to take centuries and decades, The cycles have become much faster.. To meet the challenges of development of these high end and emerging technologies, we are committed to provide requisite training including upgrading professional skills of our Scientists & Engineers, required infrastructure for realization of these technologies and products, andinvigorating Academicenvironment. But best of technologies are as good as the man behind it. What will continue to matter is his alertness, his ability to process information and threats and ability to take quick decisions and actappropriately. Our eternal freedom will depend on the ability to empower that man. That responsibility lies on all of us.”

Scheme for Healthcare of Women and Children

The Government of India is aware of the health status of women and children in the country. However, since public health is a state subject, GOI has been providing financial and technical support to the States/UTs for implementing various targeted health interventions through the following Programmes: 1.  Reproductive and Child Health Programme Phase I (RCH-I) during 1997 to 2005. 2. Reproductive and Child Health Programme Phase II (RCH-II) under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) during 2005 to 2010.  3.  Reproductive, Maternal, Neo-natal, Child Health + Adolescent Health (RMNCH+A) approach under National Health Mission from 2013 onwards. Under the above programmes, assistance for various schemes/interventions  viz.,  Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY),  Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK), Universal Immunization Programme, creation of  state-of- the- art  100 /50 /30 bedded Maternal and Child Health Wings (MCH wings) in the district hospitals , Special Newborn Care Units (SNCUs, Newborn Stabilisation Units (NBSU) Newborn Care Corners (NBCCs), Home Based Newborn Care (HBNC),  establishment of Nutritional Rehabilitation Centres (NRC) etc., are provided by the Government of India. Further, recent  launching of India Newborn Action Plan  in response to the Global Every Newborn Action Plan (ENAP)  takes forward the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health.  Roadmap for Affordable Healthcare for Poor Public health being a State subject, the primary responsibility to provide affordable health care for poor people is that of the concerned State Governments. However, the National Health Mission (NHM) which encompasses the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and the National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) as its two sub-missions has been launched to support the States to provide accessible, affordable, effective and quality health care services especially to the poor and vulnerable sections of the population. Under NHM support is provided to States/UTs, including Gujarat, for strengthening their health care systems based on requirements posed by the States/UTs in their Programme Implementation Plans (PIPs). Approvals against the PIPs received are provided to all States/UTs based on appraisal and resource availability.

Statement in Lok Sabha by Shri Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change on Lima Conference of Parties held from 1-14th December, 2014

Hon’ble Chairman/Speaker, 1.         The Climate Change Conference of Parties under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto Protocol was held in Lima (Peru) this year.  The final decision was reached after long deliberations and intense negotiations between parties.  The key focus of the current negotiations were the following:- (i)      Finalisation of elements of the draft negotiating text for 2015 Paris Agreement in view of the Durban (COP 2011) decision to finalise “a protocol, another legal agreement or an agreed outcome with legal force,” applicable to all, by December, 2015; (ii)    Identification of information to be submitted with the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) in pursuance of the Warsaw COP (2013) decision wherein it was decided that countries that were ready to do so would submit the INDCs by March, 2015 and other countries would submit their INDCs as early as possible; and (iii)   Enhancement of pre-2020 actions which was part of the Warsaw mandate to be taken forward in Lima. 2.         I had the privilege and responsibility of leading the Indian delegation that participated in the Lima Conference. India participated in the Conference with a constructive and positive approach.  Our main task was to protect India’s long term interests and emphasize the need for growth and development space to tackle the problem of eradicating poverty, providing energy access to all and address other developmental priorities. In this endeavour, we were guided by the vision of the Government and Cabinet mandate.  Our stand in the negotiations was also guided by the principle of Equity and Common but Differentiated Responsibilities, which is the bedrock principle of the UNFCCC.  3.         Against this backdrop, I am happy to inform the House that the Lima Conference took some important decisions and came out with a ‘Lima Call for Climate Action.’  India was able to play an active role in representing the interest of developing countries by constructive cooperation with like-minded developing countries and effective and persuasive presentation of its national position. 4.         The Conference decided that the new agreement will be under the Convention and will reflect the principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities in the light of different national circumstances.  It was also agreed that the new agreement will address all elements that is mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology development and transfer, capacity building and transparency of action and support in a balanced manner.  The current submissions and views of Parties were captured in the form of an Annex and it was decided to continue discussions on the issue in future meetings of the Ad-hoc Durban Platform (ADP).  However, this will not prejudice the legal form of the agreement or the subsequent submission or views by Parties.  The draft placed in the Annex text has to be finalized by May, 2015 for being placed for consideration and adoption of Parties in the Paris COP 21 to be held in December, 2015.  The recognition that all elements need to be addressed in a balanced manner is a key outcome of the Conference as there were efforts by some Developed Countries to undermine the basic tenets of the Convention. 5.         Another key decision was regarding the INDCs to achieve the objective of the Convention as set out in Article 2 of the Convention.  Here, it was decided that countries should not backslide from current pledges.  This is especially relevant in view of the action of some countries, which had gone back on their Kyoto Protocol commitments.  The Lima Conference agreed that the contribution of countries has to be more than their current commitments.  6.         The Parties have been requested to communicate their INDCs as early as possible (by first quarter of 2015, by those who are ready to do so).  Some Parties were endeavouring to impose an ex-ante assessment of the INDCs in the process.  It meant that the INDCs would be mitigation centric and that after countries submit their INDCs, these would be aggregated to ascertain whether the sum total of contributions is adequate to achieve the global goal of containing temperature rise to below 2 degree Celsius by the end of the century from pre- industrial levels.  Any gap between the two could mean pressure on countries to re-submit their INDCs or enhance their contributions.  However, India and many other countries of the developing world were not in favour of such externally imposed review as it would compromise the sovereignty of Parties in determining their targets as per their national circumstances.  We have been able to successfully ensure that countries can include adaptation, finance, technology transfer etc also in their INDCs in addition to mitigation and there is no “ex-ante assessment” to be undergone.  Now countries have be submit quantifiable information on the reference point (base year), time frames, scope and planning process, assessments etc. related to the INDCs.  This would only be published on the UNFCCC website and a Synthesis Report of the aggregate effect of the INDCs of those Parties that have communicated their INDCs by 1st October, 2015 will be prepared by 1st November, 2015.  7.         The enhancement of action in the pre-2020 period was another important issue.  It was decided to accelerate action on enhancing the pre-2020 actions like early ratification of the Kyoto Protocol second commitment period, revisiting of targets and conditionalities associated with it and provision of finance, technology and capacity building support by developed countries to developing countries in consonance with Warsaw decisions.  The Parties also agreed to organise further Technical Expert Meetings to examine options for further action in the period 2015-2020. 8.         On the issue of finance, it was decided that developed countries parties will provide and mobilise enhanced financial support to developing country parties for ambitious mitigation and adaptation action.  As hon’ble Members are aware, the Green Climate Fund has been set up and over 10 billion US dollars have already been pledged to it.  However, the goal of mobilising 100 billion US dollars per year by 2020 is still a far cry.  It was also decided to urge contributors to confirm pledges in the form of fully executed contribution agreements taking note of the fact that at least 50% of pledges made till November, 2014 should be reflected as fully executed contribution agreements by 30th April, 2015. 9.         The political consensus across the country on the issue of climate change has strengthened our hands and we were able to project successfully the various initiatives taken by the Government including the ambitious target of generating 100,000 MW of solar energy, doubling of cess on coal for clean technologies, rapid afforestation through the Green India Mission and devolution of CAMPA funds to the states, expansion in wind energy and other Energy Efficiency measures.  Many Countries appreciated the aggressive efforts of India on climate change under the leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Sri Narendra Modi. 10.       We are working on the voluntary national goal of reducing energy intensity of GDP by 20-25 per cent by 2020 as compared to the base year of 2005.  The recent UNEP Emission Gap report (2014) has recognised India as being one of the countries on track to achieve the voluntary pledges.  We are committed to taking pro-active steps on enhancing energy efficiency and expansion of renewable in the fight against climate change. At the same time adaptation measures in agriculture, water resources and urban areas will remain our key priority. Mr. Chairman / Madam Speaker The next year is likely to witness a series of meetings to finalise the new 2015 agreement.  We will continue to participate actively in the negotiations and ensure that it is rooted in the Convention and its principles and our national interests.  I have benefitted from the able guidance and advice of Hon’ble PM, eminent cabinet colleagues and fellow Members of the House, and hope you will continue to support us on these issues.  We will continue the dialogue between our Government and hon’ble MPs so that we share and exchange views on this extremely important matter in the coming days.

Effective management to contain prices of essential commodities

Initiatives for greater empowerment of consumers Year End Review - Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution

YEAR END REVIEW 2014         An integrated action plan to contain prices of essential commodities, online tracking of foodgrains procurement and distribution to make it more efficient and drafting major amendments in Consumer Protection Ac for  empowerment of consumers were some of the initiatives taken by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution during last seven months. These initiatives had direct positive bearing on common man. Food inflation fell down to 0 %at the end of second week of this month. Adequate and timely availability of foodgrains was possible in remotest area inspite of natural calamities like Hud-hud,Floods in J&K, disruption in major rail route due to gauge conversion in North-East. New experiments like shipping of foodgrains to Tripura made for this purpose. Consumer complaints redressal became just a phone call away with the integration of consumer helpline system. Sugarcane arrears which were Rs 14,095 crore (as on May 31, 2014) came down to Rs.3567 crores (as on 15.12.2014) as a result of concerted efforts to facilitate the payment. , 6.12 % of the total payable sugarcane prices of Rs.58, 269.63 crores to the farmers for sugar season 2013-14. Steps to contain prices of essential food items         In view of weak monsoon in some parts of country, an increase was noticed in the prices of some of the essential commodities. Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution acted swiftly and a conference of State Food Ministers was convened on 4th July to plan both long and short term strategies to contain prices.         “Onions and Potato’ were declared ‘essential Commodities” so that stock control orders could be issued and anti-hoarding measures could be taken by the States. Futures trading in rice suspended and Stock limit Imposed on paddy and rice till November 2014, till the arrival of new crop to ensure easy availability of essential commodities at reasonable prices.         States advised to allow free movement of fruits and vegetables by delisting them from the APMC Act so that farmers could have wider selling choice and consumers could avail at cheaper prices. Moreover to overcome the situation of scarcity of some food and vegetables in one part of the country and excess supply in other , decision taken to develop a “common national market” by removing all barriers on interstate trade. The Government also decided to create a “Market Intervention Fund” for direct intervention in the case of unreasonable increase in prices of food items.         Price Monitoring Cell of the Ministry which monitors prices of twenty two essential commodities strengthened further by increasing number of reporting centres from 57 to 64 and improving the reporting mechanism.  Not only that the States asked to set up their own Price Monitoring Units to supplement the Central Government efforts.            In order to moderate prices of wheat and rice, release of 100 lakh tonnes wheat  from FCI stock for open market was approved. Fifty lakh tonnes additional rice was also  through Public Distribution System with this objective.         The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution also decided to make hoarding a non-bailable offence and to increase the period of detention for black marketing of Essential Commodities by amending the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 and the Prevention of Black Marketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities Act, 1980.  Improving the foodgrain management         A high level committee of experts under the Chairmanship of Shri Shanta Kumar, Member of Parliament set up on Aug 20, 2014 to recommend restructuring of Food Corporation India for improving foodgrains management in the country, efficient MSP operations, scientific storage and strengthening supply chain.  Extensive consultations with stake holders and States are underway. The committee is expected to submit its report next month.         Meanwhile computerisation of FCI operations is being taken in a big way. Online Depot System initiative to bring operations of all Godowns online in a time bound manner to check reported leakage.  To modernise storage decision taken to build modern “Silos” and eleven sites identified for such Silos. Storage capacity also augmented by completing 120.67 lakh MTs  capacity by October, 2014, out of 200 Lakh MT capacity approved under Public Private Partnership .         In order to benefit more farmers by improving outreach of MSP operations, the Government decided limit the levy of rice on millers upto 25%.              Implementation of National Food Security Act remained priority of the Government. It remained in touch with States to ensure its speedy implementation. Eleven states have implemented the Act while remaining 25 states have also committed for early implementations. In a meeting of State Food Secretaries convened on Dec10, 2014 state- wise reviews were held to see the preparedness. They states were asked to make the PDS totally transparent by adoptiing end to end computerisation.  They have been advised to list beneficiaries on web portal, display movement of ration, and all the related information, digitise ration cards and seed them with AADHAR.         Meanwhile the Center continued timely allocation of food grains to the states which are yet to implement Food Security Act. During the current year, the Ministry released additional 66.45 lakh tons of foodgrains to these States for distribution at BPL rates and APL rates. These States were also allocated 7.11 lakh tons of foodgrains for festivals, calamity relief.  This was in addition to the provisional allotment of 483.30 lakh tons of foodgrains already made to the States under normal TPDS allocation, including the allocation under National Food Security Act.         Swift actions ensured adequate supplies of food grains during natural calamities of Hud-Hud cyclone in Andhra Pradesh and devastating floods in J&K. Food Corporation of India (FCI) supplied 16,500 packets of rice, in 10kg also, for distribution in far flung areas of floods affected Jammu Kashmir on the request of State Government. Similarly in North Eastern States, inspite of disruption in rail route due to gauge conversion, from Lumding to Badarpur, adequate availability of foodgrains was ensured and first time rice was shipped from Andhra Pradesh to Tripura through Bangladesh water ways in Oct 2014 for this purpose.         Sugarcane arrears came down to Rs. 3,567 crore from Rs 14,095 crore Payment of sugarcane arrears to the farmers by the mills was the matter of great concern for the Government. The Government took various measures to facilitate payment of the arrears to the farmers, which included interest free loan, export subsidy on raw sugar, and other incentives to sugar sector. As a result sugarcane arrears came down to Rs.3,567crore (as on December 15, 2014) from Rs 14,095 crore, 6.12 % of the total sugarcane prices of Rs.58, 269.63 crores payable to the farmers for sugar season 2013-14.    Empowering Consumers         Amendments proposed in the Consumer Protection Act and BIS Act for greater empowerment of consumers. Provisions made to ensure speedy, inexpensive and simple dispensation of justice for the consumers. Decision taken to setup National Consumer Protection Authority with all the executive and enforcement powers for redressal of consumer grievances and to take penal class action against defaulting companies.         In order to ensure quality product and services for consumers, amendments also proposed in the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986. Provisions of re-calling of products, enhancing the financial penalty and to reduce the long process of litigation proposed. Decision also made to include more products and services for mandatory standards certification. Simplified scheme of self-declaration of conformity also proposed for helping industries to conform to ISI Standards.         Under the Swacch Bharat Abhiyan, steps taken to formulate/upgrade standards for potable water, street food and garbage disposal. Consultations were held at National level to take views of all stakeholders on proposed amendments to Consumer Protection Act, in New Delhi on 3rd September, 2014 and on BIS Act amendments on December1, 2014.         To tackle the menace of misleading advertisement, the department of Consumer Affairs set up and inter- ministerial Committee.         Grahak Suvidha Kendra (Consumer Care Centres) planned accross the country. The centres will serve as single window facility for consumers to get their grievances redressed with facilities of counselling and mediation also .Trained officials manning these centres will not only provide pre-purchase advice but also take up the grievance of the consumers with concern to resolve on priority. Existing Consumer Grievances Redressal mechanism also strengthened by integrating facilities provided by National Consumer Helpline and Consumer Online Resource & Empowerment Centre (CORE). Inter Ministerial Committee set up to see how interests of Consumers can be protected in the era of direct marketing of goods and its first meeting was held on Dec8, 2014.         Applications format for grant of grants from Consumer Welfare Fund digitized and improved for greater transparency. Joint campaigns organised with Heath, Financial Services and other departments for greater consumer awareness. Financial assistance released to State Governments for strengthening Consumer Courts and testing laboratories under Legal Metrology.              Inter Ministerial Committee set up to see how interest of Consumers can be protected in the era of direct marketing of goods and its first meeting was held on Dec8, 2014.