Comprehensive approach for Border Area Development Programme

Comprehensive approach for Border Area Development Programme

The Department of Border Management of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), has issued modified Border Area Development Programme (BDAP) guidelines in consultation with all Stakeholders viz. concerned Ministries/Departments of Government of India, State Governments implementing the BADP, Border Guarding Forces and NITI Aayog.

The modified guidelines include important modifications in the BADP guidelines as follows:

(i) Coverage of BADP has been extended to cover all the villages which are located within the 0-10 Km of the International Border, irrespective of the border block abutting on the International Border or not of 17 States which constitute the International Land Borders. However, priority will be given to those villages which are located within 0-10 Km from the International Border and within that the villages identified by the Border Guarding Forces (BGF) shall get upper-most priority.

(ii) Representatives of some more Union Ministries viz. Ministry of Rural Development; Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs; Ministry of Health & Family Welfare; and Ministry of Human Resources, have been made Members of the Empowered Committee (EC) on BADP under the Chairmanship of Secretary, Department of Border Management, MHA, to ensure convergence with the schemes of these Ministries with BADP schemes.

(iii) The list of schemes permissible under BADP has been expanded to include schemes/ activities relating to Swatchhta Aabhiyan; Skill Development programmes; Promotion of sports activities in border areas; Promotion of Rural Tourism/ Border Tourism; Protection of heritage sites; Construction of helipads in remote and inaccessible hilly areas, which do not have road connectivity; Skill development training to farmers for the use of modern/ scientific technique in farming, Organic farming, etc.

(iv) Provision for Third Party Inspection and Quality Control Mechanism under MHA for random inspections of the BADP schemes by independent Monitors (Individual/ Agency) to be designated as National Quality Monitors has been made.

(v) It has been provided that the State Governments shall have the monitoring of the BADP schemes by the existing District Level Monitoring/ vigilance Committee where local Members of Parliament and MLAs are represented.

(vi). Special/Specific area schemes such as composite development of at least one village of sizeable population surrounded by five-six or more villages close to the border as Model Village; Swachh Bharat Abhiyan: Construction of toilets in schools, public places particularly for women; warehouses for food grains and fodder in hilly areas particularly in snow bound areas of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, E-chaupals, agrishops, mobile media vans etc. have been made.

The Border Area Development Programme (BADP) has been implemented through 17 States (viz. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal) which constitute the International Land Borders. It is implemented in 367 Border Blocks of 104 Border Districts in these 17 States.

The main objective of the BADP is to meet the special developmental needs and well being of the people living in remote and inaccessible areas situated near the international border and to saturate the border areas with the entire essential infrastructure through convergence of Central/ State/ BADP/ Local schemes and participatory approach. The funds under BADP are provided to the States as a 100% non-lapsable Special Central Assistance. The programme is supplemental in nature and the budget allocation for the financial year 2015-16 is Rs.990 crore.

The BADP was started in the year 1986-87 for balanced development of border areas of States bordering Pakistan, namely, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Gujarat and Rajasthan and subsequently it was extended to all the land borders. 

India and United States Signs Inter Governmental Agreement (IGA) to Implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)

India and United States Signs Inter Governmental Agreement (IGA) to Implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) to Promote Transparency on Tax Matters

Mr. Shaktikanta Das, Revenue Secretary of India and Mr. Richard Verma, U.S. Ambassador to Indiasigned here today , an Inter Governmental Agreement (IGA) to implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) to promote transparency between the two nations on tax matters. The agreement underscores growing international co-operation to end tax evasion everywhere. The text of the signed agreement will be available on the website of the Indian Income Tax Department (www.incometaxindia.gov.in)and the website of U.S. Treasury (www.treasury.gov).

The United States (U.S.) and India have a long standing and close relationship. This friendship extends to mutual assistance in tax matters and includes a desire to improve international tax compliance. The signing of IGA is a re-affirmation of the shared commitment of India and USA towards tax transparency and the fight against offshore tax evasion and avoidance. 

Revenue Secretary, Shaktikanta Das stated, “Signing the IGA with U.S. to implement FATCA today, is a very important step for the Government of India, to tackle offshore tax evasion. It reaffirms the Government of India’s commitment to fight the menace of black money. It is hoped that the exchange of information on automatic basis, regarding offshore accounts under FATCA would deter tax offenders, would enhance tax transparency and eventually bring in higher equity in to the direct tax regime which necessary for a healthy economy.”

Ambassador Verma, who signed on behalf of the United States, stated, “The signing of this agreement is an important step forward in the collaboration between the United States and India to combat tax evasion. FATCA is an important part of the U.S. Government’s effort to address that issue.”

FATCA is rapidly becoming the global standard in the effort to curtail offshore tax evasion. To date, the United States has IGAs with more than 110 jurisdictions and is engaged in related discussions with many other jurisdictions.

The United States enacted FATCA in 2010 to obtain information on accounts held by U.S. taxpayers in other countries. It requires U.S. financial institutions to withhold a portion of payments made to foreign financial institutions (FFIs) who do not agree to identify and report information on U.S. account holders.  As per the IGA, FFIs in India will be required to report tax information about U.S. account holders directly to the Indian Government which will, in turn, relay that information to the IRS.  The IRS will provide similar information about Indian account holders in the United States. This automatic exchange of information is scheduled to begin on 30^th September, 2015.

Both the signing of the IGA with U.S. as well as India’s decision to join the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) on 3^rd June, 2015 are two important milestones in India’s fight against the menace of black money as it would enable the Indian tax authorities to receive financial account information of Indians from foreign countries on an automatic basis. 

Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan (RAA) Launched by Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan (RAA) Launched by Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan (RAA) Seeks to Develop Scientific Temper Among School Children

Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam, former President of India launched the Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan (RAA) today in New Delhi. While launching the Abhiyan, Dr. Abdul Kalam focused on developing the spirit of innovation and experimentation among students. He further laid stress on four qualities of uniqueness: Great Aim, Quest of Knowledge, Hard Work, and Perseverance. Emphasising the value of learning he added “we learn to live, we learn to think and we learn to learn”. He concluded his speech by stressing upon attaching highest value to Science.

Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan is a unique concept developed by the Ministry of Human Resource Development that aims to inculcate a spirit of inquiry, creativity and love for Science and Mathematics in school children.

Smt. Smriti Irani, Union Minister for Human Resource Development addressed the gathering through video conferencing and highlighted the fact that RAA is an initiative by Ministry of HRD to encourage students to learn sciences beyond the classrooms. It is an effort to take forward the Prime Minister’s vision of Digital India, ‘Make in India’ and ‘Teach in India’. She also emphasised the fact that more and more women should be encouraged to participate in the field of science and technologies. She talked of efforts made by INTEL for nurturing scientific temper among girl students. She also mentioned Google India’s initiative of Code to Learn Contest which will enable students to learn in the Google campus and announced that Phase II of RAA will be launched in January, 2016 for higher education under which model science labs will be established in all districts of the North Eastern States.

Under Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan, government schools will be mentored by Institutes like IITs/ IIMs/ IISERs and other Central Universities and reputed organisations through innovative programmes, student exchanges, demonstrations, student visits, etc to develop a natural sense of passion towards learning of Science and Maths.

The launch event also saw some exhilarating moments with a laser show on science and maths which enthralled the audience.

Two students, Ms. Jaya and Mr. Arsh winners of Initiative for Research and Innovation (IRIS) Award, 2014 & 2015, shared their innovative projects and their journey through the wondrous world of science.

A play presented by students of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow spread the message of how science is woven in every aspect of life and is not limited to classrooms.

The audience also got to hear and interact with scientists like Dr. Tessy Thomas, Project Director AGNI IV and Smt. Nandani Harinath, Deputy Operations Director, Mars Orbiter Mission.

A Science exhibition showcasing some innovative models from school children which have been represented at various national and international forums was also organised at the venue.

The event was also attended by Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Science and Technology & Earth Sciences; Dr. Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region; Prof. Ram Shankar Katheria, Minister of State (Higher Education), Ministry of Human Resource Development; Shri Vinay Sheel Oberoi, Secretary, Higher Education and Dr. Subhash Chand Khuntia, Secretary, School Education and Literacy. Thousands of school children, senior policy makers and heads of higher education institutions and scientists were also present at event. 

From Tejas to AMCA

This fortnight, the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), which is responsible for the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) project, will brief its new boss on a project that will shape the future of the Indian Air Force (IAF) — the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), an indigenous “fifth-generation” (Gen-5) fighter more advanced than anything on the IAF’s inventory. After briefing Dr S Christopher, the new Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) chief who is also ex-officio director-general of ADA, the AMCA proposal will be taken to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who has specifically asked for a briefing. After Mr Parrikar’s green light, the DRDO will seek $4 billion (currently Rs 25,000 crore, but this would fluctuate with the rupee) to design and develop the AMCA, build and test-fly prototypes, and give the IAF a Gen-5 fighter within 15 years.

Knowledgeable insiders say the AMCA will be a single-pilot, twin-engine, medium (20-25 tonnes) fighter with a highly stealthy design. This would be invaluable in the first days of a major war for targeting enemy war-waging infrastructure — roads, railways, airfields, radars, headquarters and depots — when conventional, non-stealthy fighters would be detected by the enemy’s air defence radars and shot down by fighters, missiles and guns. In such a “dense air defence environment”, stealth fighters would be able to degrade the enemy’s air defences, opening the window for our non-stealthy fighters, like the Sukhoi-30MKI, to strike with large loads of externally mounted ordnance and fuel. Stealth is central for a Gen-5 fighter, and is achieved by shaping aircraft surfaces to scatter radar waves, using radar absorbent materials and paints, and using internal fuel tanks, sensors, antennae and weapons carriage and ordnance.

Alongside stealth, a Gen-5 fighter incorporates super-cruise (flying supersonic without an afterburner); super-manoeuvrability (with thrust vectoring engines and an unstable design); advanced avionics architecture and sensors that enhance the pilot-vehicle interface (allowing a single pilot to fly and fight the aircraft); and extended target detection and engagement ranges. In an ideal combat engagement, a Gen-5 fighter would detect an enemy fighter and fire his long-range missile well before the adversary’s radar detects the stealth aircraft.

“Ho-hum! ADA can never do this,” the import lobbyists will say — self-appointed patriots who see no irony in their advocacy of expensive foreign weaponry at the expense of Indian R&D and defence industry. Their critique of the Tejas is well worn. Arguing (fallaciously) that the DRDO has taken 33 years to deliver the Tejas, they will (incorrectly) extrapolate that the more complex AMCA will take even longer! Their persistent allegations about the Tejas’ performance shortfalls are now being exposed. As flight-testing expanded the Tejas’ flight envelope, it became evident the LCA far outperforms the MiG-21BISON, the most advanced of the fighters it was built to replace, as well as any Pakistani fighter except the latest F-16 Block 50/52. The upcoming Tejas Mark II — with a more powerful engine, upgraded avionics and better air-to-air missile — could be built cheaply, overwhelming even more sophisticated opponents with numbers. This would require Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) to galvanise its production line, but that is a management issue, not a delay-inducing technology challenge.

With the Tejas’ performance now demonstrated, critics have shifted their fire to delays in the project, a more credible complaint. Even so, it is false to date the start of the LCA project to 1983, as is commonly done; the project really began a decade later. In 1983, the LCA was allocated Rs 560 crore for “feasibility studies and project definition”, and for creating developmental infrastructure. Only in 1993 was development funding allocated (Rs 2,188 crore, including the Rs 560 crore allocated in 1983). This was for building two “technology demonstrators”, the first of which flew in 2001. Taking 1993 as the base year, the Tejas took just eight years to fly, and will have taken 23 years for “final operational certification” (FOC) which is anticipated by March 2016. This is comparable with international timelines for fighter aircraft development, including the Rafale and the F-35 Lightning II.

Encouragingly, the AMCA will enjoy an impetus the LCA never got, now that the IAF has thrown its weight and support behind the AMCA programme. While the IAF stood aloof from the LCA, participating only as a critic, it has joined hands with ADA in formulating the AMCA’s configuration, and is deputing pilots and engineers to work alongside ADA as it designs the fighter. It is unclear what is driving this dramatic change in the IAF’s approach to indigenisation. It could be the realisation — stemming from the Rafale fiasco — that India simply cannot afford to import sizeable numbers of modern fighters. It could be the positive example of the navy, which has wisely steered the process of designing and building warships in India. Or, in an organisation that is shaped by the personality of the top man, it could just be that the current IAF chief favours indigenisation.

While the IAF will be praised if the AMCA meets its objectives, credit should really go to the unfairly vilified DRDO-HAL-ADA combine for leapfrogging three generations of technology in developing the fourth-generation Tejas fighter. In this process, the LCA project has catalysed an aerospace eco-structure, and a design experience, that will be the essential springboard to the AMCA.

A range of fighter aircraft technologies is already mastered. These include: a sophisticated “unstable configuration” for extra agility; quadruplex digital flight control system; light composite materials for the aero-structures; glass cockpit with digital instrumentation; an environment control system with an on-board oxygen generating system (OBOGS); and advanced avionics that allow the pilot to switch quickly between air-to-air and air-to-ground roles. With much of these Gen-4 technologies currently being refined for the Tejas Mark II, the AMCA team can focus on the Gen-5 challenges.

In sum, the LCA project has created Indian design expertise, design tools and test facilities. It has allowed ADA to gain expertise in the processes of flight testing and certification, and in prototype development. In designing, building and certifying the Tejas, ADA and the defence ministry have painstakingly woven together a countrywide network of technical and engineering institutions, laboratories and facilities. ADA calculates that 149 work centres in 28 cities have directly contributed to the LCA programme. These are now networked and available for the AMCA project. True, there are shortfalls, such as the fact that India has just one wind tunnel, essential for simulation studies in designing airframes and structures. Before the AMCA gets under way, ADA should holistically identify and make up such deficiencies as part of a national ecosystem for future aerospace projects.

The IAF’s future lies in its own hands. At the recent Paris Air Show, the Pakistan Air Force displayed its new Sino-Pakistani fighter, the JF-17 Thunder. Countries like Myanmar and Sri Lanka were reportedly making purchase enquiries. While significantly inferior to the Tejas in technologies and performance, the JF-17 was better in one crucial respect — it was steadfastly supported by its home air force. Perhaps the IAF could draw a lesson from that.

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What is full employment?

In an important sense, the US economy is now at full employment. The relatively tight labour market is causingwages to rise at an accelerating rate, because employers must pay more to attract and retain employees. This has important implications for policymakers — and not just at the Federal Reserve.

Consider this: average hourly earnings in May were 2.3 per cent higher than in May 2014; but, since the beginning of this year, hourly earnings are up 3.3 per cent, and in May alone rose at a 3.8 per cent rate — a clear sign of full employment. The acceleration began in 2013 as labour markets started to tighten. Average compensation per hour rose just 1.1 per cent from 2012 to 2013, but then increased at a 2.6 per cent rate from 2013 to 2014, and at 3.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2015.

These wage increases will soon show up in higher price inflation. The link between wages and prices is currently being offset by the sharp decline in the price of oil and gasoline relative to a year ago, and by the strengthening of the dollar relative to other currencies. But, as these factors’ impact on the overall price level diminishes, the inflation rate will rise more rapidly.

Accelerating wage growth implies that the economy is now at a point at which increases in demand created by easier monetary policy or expansionary fiscal policy would not achieve a sustained rise in output and employment. Instead, this demand would be channelled into higher wages and prices.

There are, of course, other definitions of full employment. Some would say that the US is not at full employment, because 8.7 million people — about 6 per cent of those who are employed — are looking for work. There are millions more who would like to work but are not actively looking, because they believe that there are no available jobs for people like themselves. And an additional 6.7 million are working part-time but would like to work more hours per week.

In many cases, these unemployed and underemployed individuals are experiencing real hardship. By that indicator, the US economy is not at full employment. But, for the Fed, it is, in the sense that excessively easy monetary policy can no longer achieve a sustained increase in employment. At the same time, other types of policies that change incentives or remove barriers can lead to increasedemployment and higher real incomes, without raising wage and price inflation.

Consider, for example, the high rate of non-employment among men aged 25 to 54, a group too old to be in school and too young to retire. More than 15 per cent of men in this age group are not employed. Among those in this age range who have less than a high school education, 35 per cent are not employed. Programmes to provide market-relevant education and training should be able to raise employment among this group.

Or consider the employment experience of men and women over age 65. This group is eligible for Social Security (pensions) and Medicare (health insurance), and the majority are retired. But experience shows that the decision to retire or to work fewer hours is influenced by the compensation that members of this group receive. And this amount partly reflects the fact that employed people who collect Social Security and Medicare are subject to the payroll tax that finances them.

The payroll tax paid by employees is 6.65 per cent (employers pay the same rate), and is in addition to the personal income tax. Moreover, because of the complex rules that govern the level of Social Security benefits, the older worker who pays this payroll tax is likely to receive no extra benefits.

For many older workers, the choice is not whether to work, but how much. We now have less than full employment in the sense that the payroll tax encourages older workers to work fewer hours than they otherwise would.

The Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) also reduces hours worked, in two different ways. First, for some individuals, working fewer hours reduces incomes enough to entitle them to a larger government subsidy for health insurance. Second, some employers are being incented to reduce the number of working hours for individual employees, because, above a specified number, Obamacare imposes a larger burden on them.

Or consider minimum-wage legislation, which reduces employers’ willingness to hire low-skilled workers. As the minimum wage is increased, employers’ incentive to substitute equipment or more skilled employees strengthens. This reduction in the demand for low-skilled workers could be offset by taking into account the hourly equivalent of transfer payments when calculating the minimum wage.

For example, someone who receives $8,000 a year in transfer payments (such as food stamps, housing assistance, and the Earned Income Tax Credit) might be deemed to have received the equivalent of $4 an hour toward meeting the minimum wage. That individual’s combined income would be achieved with a lower cost to the employer, increasing the individual’s ability to find employment.

How rural India gained 86 million illiterate people

About 86 million more rural Indians have been counted asilliterate than the 2011 census data found.

This is revealed by the Socio Economic and Caste Census(SECC), which counted 315.7 million Indians in rural areas as illiterate in 2011, the same year as the census and the highest number of illiterates of any country in the world.

Put another way, rural India has more illiterate people than the population of Indonesia–the world’s fourth-most populous country–and twice the population of Pakistan.

Released last week, the SECC, which focused on rural India, counted more people (literate and illiterate) than the census: 35.73% of Indians in rural areas as illiterate, as against 32.23% counted by census 2011.

Source: Census 2011, SECC; Figures in million

The new data have also revealed the low levels of literacy in rural India.

Those who are literate can barely read or count

As many as 14% (123 million people) of literate Indians in rural areas have not studied past class five, while 18% (157 million) have completed primary education, or class five.

Given that educational levels in India do not reflect real learning, 280 million literate Indians in rural areas are only nominally literate.

As IndiaSpend reported earlier, only a fourth of all children in Standard (Std.) III can read a Std. II text fluently, a drop of more than 5% over four years. With math, a quarter of children in Std. III could not recognise numbers between 10 and 99, a drop of 13% over four years, according to the 2014Annual Status Report on Education (ASER).

Only 3% (three million) of Indians in rural areas have completed graduation or a higher level of education.

Source: SECC; Figures in million

Central India reported the highest illiteracy rate of 39.20%. East India reported an illiteracy rate of 38.79%, followed by West India (35.15%), North India (32.87%), North Eastern (30.2%) and South India (29.64%).

Union territories fared the best with less than 15% of the population illiterate.

Source: SECC

Rajasthan reported the worst illiteracy rate: 47.58% or 25.88 million people, followed by Madhya Pradesh with 44.19% or 22.80 million illiterate people, Bihar with 43.85% or 42.89 million illiterate people and Telangana with 40.42% or 9.5 million illiterate people.

Source: SECC

The surprises are the presence of the southern states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in the top 10 state for illiteracy.

Kerala is another surprise in the SECC analysis. While state surveys and the census have repeatedly claimed a literacy rate of more than 90%, the SECC report says 11.38%, or 3 million Keralites, are illiterate.

Among union territories, Dadra & Nagar Haveli reported the highest illiteracy rate, 36.29%.

New data for rural households revealed by the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) represent a grim reminder of the state of rural India. In over 90 per cent of households, the main earning member makes less than Rs. 10,000 a month. Over half the households are landless and a similar share of them rely on casual manual labour for the larger part of their income. Just 20 per cent of households own any kind of a motor vehicle. These numbers should come as a reality check for those who talk of India’s unbridled growth, and arrival on the global stage as a superpower. The countryside remains unable to find jobs that can pull families out of poverty. Agriculture remains at subsistence levels, with low mechanisation, limited irrigation facilities and little access to credit. Just over 3 per cent of rural households have a family member who is a graduate, so skilled jobs are going to be hard to get. Female-headed households, and Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe households are the worst off. The eastern and central States of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha have the poorest indicators. Even in the developed southern States of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, family incomes are low and dependence on casual manual labour is high. Meanwhile, early results from the urban SECC suggest that levels of deprivation, while lower in cities, are still shockingly high.

What the government chooses to do with the data is as yet unclear. While commissioning the SECC, the UPA government had spoken of creating flexibility to enable States to draw up their own combinations of indicators to create tailor-made definitions of poverty. The Narendra Modi government is yet to make its intentions clear on the SECC, especially with regard to the thorny issue of where to draw the line. Instead of a fresh round of unseemly wrangling over precisely where to set India’s poverty line, the government would be well-advised to expand and universalise its social protection schemes, and leave some space for States to innovate. It would also be wise for the government to release caste-wise information on socio-economic indicators collected by the SECC but not yet put in the public domain. Those numbers would allow, for the first time since 1931, for the relative socio-economic status of various caste groups to be compared while framing policies of affirmative action. This government stands accused of suppressing vital new information on the status of malnutrition among children, contained in a survey commissioned by the previous government through UNICEF. It should not make a habit of suppressing inconvenient data. The Indian public might hotly contest some of these numbers, particularly those relating to caste, but even angry debates represent a democratic right that must not be curtailed.