The case of missing regulators

In its efforts to resolve sectoral issues to promote investment and growth, the National Democratic Alliance government might have to deal with challenges purely in the realm of regulation. This is despite being armed with ordinances and moving forward with bidding for coal blocks, easing land acquisition norms for certain purposes and putting in place a legal framework for auctioning mining rights.

Liberalisation in a host of sectors saw the emergence of sectoral regulators from 1997, when the Tariff Authority for Major Ports (Tamp) and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) were constituted, followed by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) the following year. The business environment might have changed since then leading to commercial and tariff disputes. Yet, sectors without regulators, such as mining, coal and highways, are found groping in the dark when disputes emerge.

Despite years of debate and Cabinet decisions in favour of a coal regulator and a railway tariff authority, appointments to these bodies haven't been made. Successive governments have been in two minds when it comes to empowering these entities, keeping them immune from government interference and the extent of their say in pricing. The NDA government might have to take up these issues soon. "It is surprising that while power is regulated, coal, which accounts for 65 per cent of the power cost is not," says Pramod Deo, former chairman of CERC.

Consider the Coal Mining Special Provisions Ordinance, which opens the sector to commercial mining. Even as the government has fast-tracked the bidding process without awaiting a parliamentary clearance, there is no word on a coal regulator. The bidding, despite being planned in detail, could create challenges to be tackled entirely by the Centre.

Closely linked is the mining sector, in which amendments to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act have been made through an ordinance. Here, too, there hasn't been any discussion on a regulator. While auctioning of mining leases has been envisaged, tackling issues arising out of it and ascertaining how illegalities in mining are determined, as well as penalties, will be in the domain of courts.

For highway, reopening tender conditions and tolling fee, especially for projects for which aggressive bidding has led to projections going awry, the need for a regulator is felt to ensure an arm's length approach between private operators and the government. But here, too, the government has been quiet.

It's not that sectors with regulators don't face challenges. Deo cites the case of Tamp whose role has been restricted to regulating activities of major ports controlled by the Centre, with no say over privately-run ports. There have been reports of Tamp being wound up, as many in the government feel the regulator has outlived its utility.

Among regulators, the most visible and fruitful existence has been that of Trai. "Though it is empowered in many ways, its role is recommendatory on many crucial issues," says Deo. One such issue is the power to determine the price of spectrum, for which Trai can only recommend, which is not binding on the government. Deo says traditionally, the government played both policy-making and regulatory roles, but in the case of sectors with regulators, its role has been restricted to taking policy decisions. This, according to L Mansingh, former chairman, of the Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulatory Board, leads to reluctance in the concerned ministry to give up discretionary powers in favour of a regulator. In the aviation sector, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation is expected to oversee the technical aspects of airlines. There is also the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority created in 2009 for tariff-related issues for airports. Since it's the newest of all infrastructure regulators, its challenges have been confined to issues relating to fees charged by new airports.

The power sector has faced the highest number of challenges. At the state level, regulatory commissions have to clear rates for retail consumers. "The biggest challenge is setting tariff for government-owned or controlled distribution companies. Governments ensure discoms do not file tariff petitions as price revision has a political aspect to it," says Deo. At the CERC level, as the entity tackles issues between the generator and distributor. Because contracts are given to generation companies on the basis of lowest tariff, the regulator has before it a host of disputes due to an increase in generation cost. The regulator tried to put in place a compensatory tariff mechanism, contractual disputes have become central to all petitions. Mansingh points out that a regulator has to be fair and seen as promoting a level playing field so that objectives linked to the reform process in a sector are achieved. Industry players say any regulator's role is important if a market isn't well established, even as the challenges might be different for different regulators, depending upon the issues concerned.

The need for a tight regulatory regime is, however, no less now than in the late 1990s, when the first regulator came about.

REGULATORS AND THEIR DOMAIN

Aviation

• AERA for regulating airport tariffs and charges
• DGCA for technical issues relating to airlines but no hold over tariffs

Telecom

• Telecom Regulatory Authority of India for regulating mobile tariffs and other service issues but no control over spectrum pricing
• Appeal lies with Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal

Power

• CERC approves inter-state tariff issues and tariff for sale of power by generator to distributor
• State Regulatory Commissions for approval of retail tariffs

Petroleum

• Director General of Hydrocarbons for upstream oil producers
• Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulatory Board for downstream pipeline, city gas distribution, but petroleum products not included
• Appeal for both power and petroleum lies with Appellate Tribunal

Shipping

• Tariff Authority for Major Ports regulates charges at major ports

Govt should focus on having regulators in mining, coal, highways, railways, and empowering existing ones

Socialism with Indian characteristics

Soon after chairman Mao Zedong's death in 1976, Deng Xiaoping became the paramount leader of China and focus shifted from class struggle to reconstructing the economy. Seeking truth from facts, rather than ideological dogmas, he steered towards neither communism of the Soviet style nor democracy, but socialist economics, politics and culture with Chinese characteristics. There are critics galore of the euphemistic "socialism with Chinese characteristics", but its success speaks for itself. In purchasing power parity terms, China surpassed the United States to become the world's largest economy in 2014!

What was India doing when China under Deng was shifting gears? India was more steadfast in its ideological commitment. Eight days before Mao passed away, the 42nd amendment to the Constitution was introduced in Parliament, and before the Great Helmsman's embalmed body could be placed in Tiananmen Square's new mausoleum, India's tribute to the chairman was a new Indian republic that was also "socialist secular" rather than just "sovereign democratic".

To contest an Indian election as a "recognised" political party, the party's fundamental document has to contain a specific provision that it shall bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution. In other words, from 1977, all recognised political parties in India are sworn to socialism. Former chief justice K G Balakrishnan had observed that socialism in a broader sense "means welfare measures for the citizens. It is a facet of democracy. It hasn't got any definite meaning. It gets different meanings in different times". Yet socialism conjures up images of some not-so-market-friendly statist policies. It often is a cover for populist policies that pit the toiling masses against a set of elites and dangerous "others" who deprive the masses of their prosperity and livelihoods.

In the Constituent Assembly debate on November 15, 1948, Babasaheb Ambedkar, while rejecting Professor K T Shah's proposed amendment to include "socialist" in the Preamble to describe the Indian state, had looked at socialism as a way of organising society and wanted to leave the people of sovereign India free to choose their ideology.

So what explains the steadfast commitment to "socialism" in Indian politics, even if it is purely for appearances in some cases? Why does Indian political discourse always have socialism as a given? First, there is a long history. Initially, the Indian freedom movement had little explicit economic content, with confusion about what was to be achieved in independent India. There was the nostalgic vision of an idyllic, simple and unchanging rural life with its roots in Mahatma Gandhi's Hind Swaraj. Gandhi wrote about the dangers of indulging our passions and substituting our hands and feet by machines. These views had a large following and even C Rajagopalachari, the late founder of theSwatantra Party (the first major political party with an openly pro-market and anti-statist ideology), supported the view that civilisation consisted not in the multiplication but the deliberate and voluntary restriction of wants.

Second, in the heady 1920s, the Soviet Union was making great strides in the erstwhile feudalistic tsarist Russia. Prior to independence, the colonial power in India had followed a broadly laissez-fairepolicy at least as a public stance, and the result of such a hands-off policy was chronic underdevelopment. It had to be an activist state, and there was near unanimity that policy had to be socialist with pronounced emphasis on a centrally planned strategy. At the 1928 Congress session in Lucknow, presided over by his father Motilal Nehru, the young Jawaharlal Nehru had announced his belief that "the only solution of the world's problems and of India's problems lies in socialism". There was some opposition to such an ideological position, but it was at best muted. For example, Vallabhbhai Patel expressed his ideological differences on the nature of capitalism. He withdrew his threat to contest Jawaharlal Nehru for the post of Congress president next year in Faizpur when Nehru clarified that socialism was not his plank for the presidency.

According to the first economic and social programme of the Congress, adopted at Karachi in 1931, the state would own or control key industries and services, mineral resources, railways, waterways, shipping and other means of public transport. By 1933, Jawaharlal Nehru had become convinced about the need for planning, which he said was a word into which "the Soviets have put magic". In 1934, the Congress Socialist Party (CSP) was formed within the Congress. Gandhi resigned from the Congress, citing it as one of the reasons. But practically everyone else who mattered in the freedom movement was a socialist! Minoo Masani, later a leading light and ideologue of the Swatantra Party, was a founding member of the CSP and became its joint secretary. Thus, after independence, India followed a "socialist" path.

Third, after independence, the abiding commitment to full-throttled democracy helped to shape "socialism with Indian characteristics" and make it a potent vote-catcher. For example, the Chinese experiment of forming farmers' cooperatives and benefiting from land consolidation and pooling agricultural machinery inspired the Indian leadership. In January 1959, at its 64th Plenary Session at Nagpur, the Congress declared that India's future agrarian pattern should be "cooperative joint farming", with a transition period of three years when "service cooperatives" would be organised on a large scale. However, farmers, including those newly enfranchised by the land reforms - under the guidance of new farmers' leaders, most notably Chaudhary Charan Singh from Uttar Pradesh - opposed such a move. The Nagpur resolution triggered the formation of the Swatantra Party in 1959. For once, enthusiasm for "socialism" was restrained by the electoral compulsion of winning elections, and cooperative farming was dropped from the agenda.

Over time, "socialism" in Indian politics became synonymous with sarvodaya or the welfare state. But again, the compulsions of electoral politics navigated towards promising a welfare state far in advance of the state's actual capacity. The promise of eradicating poverty now and here by, for example, free water, cheap power, more government employment and higher salaries has been far too potent to eschew. "Roti, kapda, makan" (food, clothing, shelter), rather than "bijli, sadak, pani" (electricity, roads, water), became the catchphrase. Like socialism with Chinese characteristics, India has evolved its own brand of "socialism with Indian characteristics". Elections witnessed a race to the bottom, with parties competing with each other in promising more immediate goodies for the same or even less taxes and pain.

Does the government advertisement on the occasion of the 66th Republic Day using an image of the Preamble of the Indian constitution without the word "socialist" indicate a likely change in the political discourse in India? Time will tell.

Recognize global trends, lead transformation process of India’s higher education system,

Recognize global trends, lead transformation process of India’s higher education system, President tells Central University Vice Chancellors

President of India Pranab Mukherjee opened a Conference of Vice Chancellors of Central Universities (CUs) at Rashtrapati Bhavan today (February 4, 2015). This is the third such Conference of Central University Vice Chancellors convened by the President since assumption of office. The Vice Chancellors of 40 Central Universities to which the President is the Visitor are attending this Conference. Speaking on the occasion, the President said it is important to recognize emerging global trends which are likely to bring sweeping changes in higher education worldwide. Rising costs of higher education and the changing profile of education seekers, aided by technological innovation are leading to the creation of alternative models of knowledge dispensation. Central universities have the responsibility to lead the transformative processes of India’s higher education system. The President said students passing out from the Indian higher education system will have to compete with the best in the world. There is a need to imbue young minds with competitive spirit and a sense of pride in their alma mater. In addition to international rankings, the universities should attempt ratings on a National Ranking Framework which needs to be expeditiously developed. The President said the vacancy position in Central Universities remains alarmingly high - in terms of percentage, vacancies have increased from 37.3 percent as on March 31, 2013 to only 38.4 percent as on December 1, 2014. Non-availability of Visitor’s nominees in the Selection Committee of faculty has been addressed. Each Central University will now have a panel of five names of nominees who can be called as per extant instructions. Efforts aimed at engagement of central universities with industry and alumni need far greater focus and direction than at present. Only four universities have so far established centres of excellence while another five are working towards these. The President said during his visit to Norway and Finland, he called upon academicians and experts to come and teach in India. Under the Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN), the HRD Ministry has asked Central Universities for a list of eminent scholars and researchers for inviting them as guest speakers or scholars. An e-platform needs to be developed to facilitate scholars from within and outside the country to log in their details. It shall, in due course, lead to creation of a robust database of global experts for the Indian higher education system. The recently launched ‘Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya National Mission on Teachers and Teaching’ will set performance standards and create world-class facilities for innovative teaching. The President said Visitor’s Awards for ‘Best University’, ‘Innovation’ and ‘Research’ will become a driving force in promoting research and innovation in our universities in future. There is an urgent need to put ICT Networks to effective use. Through the video-conferencing facility of NKN, he interacted with faculty and students of Universities three times. When he delivered his New Year Message 120 institutions of higher learning were connected through the National Knowledge Network and another 900 locations through web-cast. He urged the Ministry and all leaders in research and education institutions to use NKN’s reach to transform the quality of higher education system. The President said because of the diversities in evaluation systems, students have suffered in the acceptance of their credentials across the university system and in accessing employment opportunities. The initiative of Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) will ensure seamless mobility of students across higher education institutions in the country as well as abroad. The credits earned by students can be transferred and would be of great value to them in the event of their seeking migration from one institution to the other. 23 central universities have already implemented CBCS. He urged remaining universities to consider implementing this system from next academic year. The President said the university is a role-model for society at large. Its persuasive power extends beyond the classroom and teaching. Its influence must be tapped for greater good. The Central Government has launched several initiatives having enormous socio-economic significance. The Swachh Bharat Mission aims at a Clean India by the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi in 2019. The Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) envisages the integrated development of selected villages through community participation. He called upon Central Universities to start working with at least five villages each under SAGY to transform them into model villages. The President said due to limitations of public funding, costs of creation of physical infrastructure and academic facilities get transferred to students in terms of higher fees. Whereas universities earlier used to educate fresh scholars, they now have the added responsibility of training and re-training workers throughout their careers. An Oxford University Study predicts automation of 47 percent occupations in the next few decades. As innovation eliminates certain job types, changes others and creates new ones, the workforce will have to engage in life-long learning to up-grade and refine their skills and capabilities. The twin compulsions of increasing expenditure and dynamic demand can be addressed through extensive use of e-enabled learning. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), which first began in 2008, allow students to hear lectures and read course material on-line, and earn a degree at a fraction of the cost of a brick and mortar education. Both SWAYAM (Study Web of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds) and MOOCs could pave the way for speed, scale and efficiency for teaching in the higher education system. The Ministry of HRD and institutes of higher learning should develop eco-systems for deriving maximum benefits from applying technology to learning. On-line instruction supplemented by periodic classroom interaction or blended MOOCs, could provide a solution for retaining the essential elements of traditional pedagogy. The President said particular emphasis has to be provided by our higher learning institutions on the inculcation of core values in our students. Our civilization has championed patriotism, pluralism, tolerance, honesty and discipline. Our democracy has thrived on these values. The next generation must learn to recognize our diversity, inclusiveness and assimilative capacities as inherent sources of strength. The President said a society takes the form of a creative enterprise when educated masses, with their interlinked rivers of thoughts and ideas, give rise to a sea of innovations. Teachers must encourage the taught to satiate their curiosity, question established knowledge, accept a proposition only after investigation, and pursue ingenuity. A scientific temper, which takes one’s imagination beyond the realm of grades and classroom, is essential in our students. In particular, the habit of reading and learning through books must be inculcated to sharpen their energetic and inquisitive minds. Books also break societal and cultural barriers. Among the dignitaries present on the occasion were Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, Union Minister for Human Resource Development.

UKPCS-2012 MAINS COURSE,SAMVEG IAS

UKPCS-2012 PRE RESULT OUT.SAMVEG IAS DEHRADUN

UKPCS-2012 PRE RESULT OUT.

HEARTY CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL MY DEAR STUDENT WHO CLEARED THIS EXAM IN THEIR 1st ATTEMPT.

MAINS EXAM IN MAY.


SEE THE RESULT

http://ukpsc.gov.in/files/PCS-2012_IT.pdf

CUTOFF: UKPSC WILL DECLARE IT ON 10TH FEB.BUT AS I HAVE TOLD INITIALLY IT WILL BE B/W 180-190.IT IS THERE FOR GENERAL CATEGORY.

dear friends

one should concentrate now fully on mains.analyse the syllabus and mark the important topics that could be asked.then think what kind of question could be framed from marked syllabus .preparation should be simple and focussed. Donot bother for much details as u have to ans in limited words.think more on analysis part.many candidate are bothered with uttarakhand special ( history and geography),no need to specialised preparation.ur preparation for pre either from parikshvani/winsar will be sufficient but u have to under stand how to use material given in those books.u cannot leave any topics given there but u can priorities the topic.

rest strategy may differ from C2C but overall focus should be only on important topics. i will post later detailed strategy for mains.

Father of Birth Control Pill Carl Djerassi passes away

enowned chemist Carl Djerassi has passed away in San Francisco, United States (US). He was 91.

He was famously known as the father of the birth control pills for his contribution to the development of oral contraceptive birth pills.

About Carl Djerassi

• He was born on 29 October 1923.
• In 1951, he had led a research team in Mexico City that developed a synthetic moleculenorethindrone- a key component of the first birth control pill.
• Later, he had submitted many research papers on birth control pills. It includes a public policy article about the global implications of U.S. contraceptive research in 1969 and another article about the feasibility of a birth control pill for men in 1970.
• It should be noted that the first birth-control pill approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) was Enovid, developed Frank Colton at G.D. Searle & Co and not by him.
• He was also professor emeritus of chemistry at Stanford University and had written many poems, short stories and plays with an emphasis on mixing science and literature. Some of the poems reflected his life as a chemist.
• Awards: For his work on the contraceptive pills he was awarded US’s prestigious awardNational Medal of Science (1973), National Medal of Technology (1991). He was also inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame in 1978 for his research.

7th Pay Commission: Should other Central services officers get an IAS salary?

THE IPS, IRS, IRTS and other Central service officers may step up their demands of getting equal pay with that of an IAS or IFS officer, as the 7th Pay Commission is now examining a pay revision that may come into effect from April 1, 2016. Satya Prasant P, an Indian Revenue Service officer who had earlier voiced his concerns about the IAS hegemony, has in his personal blog made a strong pitch for equal salary for officers belonging to all services, appealing the 7th Pay Commission to end the existing distortion. Let’s first see how much more an IAS officer gets than that of officers belonging to other services:
In a highly analytical piece written in his personal blog satyaprasantp@blogspot.in, (Full Article)  Prasant estimates that an IAS or IFS officer in a month gets Rs 4,000 to 5,000 more than officers belonging to other services after four years of service though all pass the same competitive examination. The gap goes up to Rs 15,000–16,000 per month by 14th year and Rs 18,000-20,000 per month by 17th year of service, as IAS and IFS officers are accorded additional increments at 3% each over their basic pay at three grades i.e. Senior Time Scale (STS), Junior Administrative Grade (JAG) and Non Functional Selection Grade (NFSG). “The Transport Allowance and other Allowances are calculated as a percentage of basic salary or basic salary plus DA. So it is anybody’s guess as to what will be the difference in salaries being paid to an IAS/IFS officer and other officers belonging to other Services like IPS, IRS, etc. as a result of two additional increments being granted to IAS/IFS at three levels,” he adds.
Prasant argues that this discriminatory practice has its roots in the erstwhile British colonial administration when the Indian Civil Service (ICS) was an elite cadre of officers comprising predominantly the British nationals or Europeans that occupied top administrative positions. Post-Independence, IAS took ICS’ space.
Prasant concedes that those IAS and IFS officers who got selected before 1979 could be considered of higher merit than those selected for IPS and other Central services, as the former had to clear two additional optional subjects of master’s degree standard. But examination pattern got changed since 1979.  
Based on Kothari Committee recommendations of 1976, recruitment to IAS, IFS, IPS and other Central Civil Services was being made through a common civil services examination since 1979. “However, the edge enjoyed by the IAS/IFS over the other Services in respect of salaries is being continued even after 1979 citing one or the other reason,” Prasant writes.
In fact, the question of pay parity cropped up during the earlier pay commissions as well, but the demand was set aside mainly with an argument that IAS officers are still the best talent, and they are generally posted in small places in their initial career. Also, they face frequent transfers, and the pulls and pressures that they have to stand upto early in their career are much more intense. The following is an excerpt from the 6th Pay Commission report that argued why IAS officers should get a better pay: “The role of IAS is still very important in the overall scheme of governance. They have an important coordinating, multi-functional and integrating role in the administrative framework with wide experience of working across various levels in diverse areas in Government. They hold important field level posts at the district level and at the cutting edge at the start of their careers with critical decision making and crisis management responsibilities. The leadership function, the strategic, coordinating and integrative role at this level requires the best talent available. The existing position would, therefore, need to be maintained. It will ensure that IAS officers near the beginning of their career are given slightly higher remuneration vis-à-vis other services and act as an incentive for the brightest candidates to enter this service. This is essential as the initial postings of IAS officers are generally to small places, they face frequent transfers and the pulls and pressures they have to stand upto early in their career are much more intense. The slight edge in the initial stages of their career would, to an extent, neutralize these problems. The Commission, accordingly, is of view that the existing edge for IAS in the three grades viz. Senior Time Scale, Junior Administrative Grade and Non-Functional Selection Grade needs to be retained.”
But according to Prasant, it’s a myth that IAS officers are the best talent available among the candidates selected through civil services examination. And this myth is “perpetrated by the IAS lobby to gain an unfair advantage over the other sister civil services in the country”, he adds.
Analyzing the Service Allocation lists for the civil services examinations from 2005 to 2012, Prasant sums up like this: “All those candidates who are allotted IAS in the Civil Services Examination merit list are neither the toppers of that year’s exam nor the brightest of the candidates selected in that year.”
Further, he calls the 6th Central Pay Commission’s justification of a higher pay for IAS “by citing their initial postings to small places, frequent transfers and intense pulls and pressures” as highly self-contradictory.  Prasant retorts: “Initial postings of IPS and Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers are also to small places. The pulls and pressures on IPS officers are much more than on the IAS officers.  The frequent transfers are seen more in the case of IPS than in the IAS.  IPS officers are at the forefront of combating terrorism and naxalism, which are the biggest security threats the country is facing.  IPS officers are working overtime to ensure that public order is maintained across the country.  The majority of the Central Civil Services officers belonging to Services like IRS(IT), IRS(C and CE), IDAS, IDES, IRTS and the Indian Forest Service officers are posted in the moffussil towns during their initial years of service. Some of them are posted in the remotest areas of the country like Jammu and Kashmir, North-East, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, border areas, etc.”
So, will 7th Pay Commission look into this "inequality" and give equal pay to all officers across services? What is your take? Which side you are in?