Highlights of Reforms Measures in the Economic Survey 2016-17 Volume-2

Highlights of Reforms Measures in the Economic Survey 2016-17 Volume-2

Agriculture and Food Management

Reforms: Managing and reducing the various risks in agriculture activities can make the sector resilient, increase profitability and can ensure stable income flows to the farmers. The following reforms are suggested for increasing productivity in agriculture and allied sector:

·         To address the price risks in agriculture and allied sectors, marketing infrastructure along the entire value chain needs to be built and strengthened.

·         To address production risks, the share of irrigated area should be expanded by increasing the coverage of water saving irrigation systems like micro irrigation systems.

·         To increase productivity of crops, standards should be set and enforced for better quality, pest and disease resistant seeds.

·         Trade and domestic policy changes should be announced well before sowing and should stay till arrivals and procurement is over.

·         To enhance women’s involvement in the dairy projects, funds should be earmarked through appropriate mechanisms.

·         Providing timely and affordable formal and institutional credit to the small and marginal farmers is the key to inclusive growth.

·         Regime based on timely interventions needs to be adopted.

Industry and Infrastructure

·         Railways should go for more non-fare sources along with station redevelopment and commercially exploiting vacant buildings at the station, monetizing land along tracks by leasing out to promote horticulture and tree plantation, and through advertisement and parcel earnings.

·         During the last few years the non-major ports are gaining more share of cargo handling compared to major ports. It is required to develop non-major port and also enhance their efficiency and operational capacity.

·         Reforms such as privatization/ disinvestment of Air India, creation of aviation hubs and reconsidering the 0/20 rule are some suggestions to improve Indian airlines’ share in the international market.

Social Infrastructure, Employment and Human Development

·         India, is emerging as a knowledge based economy, poised for double digit growth, and needs to strengthen social infrastructure by investing in health and education.

·         The education policies need to be designed with focus on learning outcomes and remedial education with interventions which work and maximize the efficiency of expenditure. There is need for bio-metric attendance of school staff, independent setting of examination papers, neutral examination and for DBT for schools. There is need to adopt outcome measures for the education and skilling activities to ensure improvement in delivery of schemes/ programmes.

·         In order to make the labour market system dynamic and efficient, the government has taken several reforms/initiatives, both legislative as well as technological such as notification of ‘Ease of Compliance to maintain Registers under various Laws Rules, 2017’ and introduction of e-Biz Portal. These registers/forms can also be maintained in a digitized form.

·         Government has been imparting short term skill training through Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) and long term training through Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs). Model Skill Centers are being set up in every district of the country under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra Scheme. The emphasis is on enhancing the quality of skill training programmes and making a competency-based framework with giving individuals an option to progress through education, training, prior learning and experiences.

·         There has to be concerted efforts by the Central and State governments to reform the health sector, by addressing quality issues, standardising rates for diagnostic tests, generating awareness about alternative health systems and introduction of punitive measures like fines on hospitals and private health providers for false claims through surgery, medicines etc. For more equitable access to health services, government should provide health benefits and risk cover to poorer sections of the society.

·         Towards addressing the challenges in health sector, the Government has formulated the National Health Policy, 2017, which aims at attaining the highest level of good health and well-being, through a preventive and promotive health care orientation in all developmental policies, and universal access to good quality health care services, without anyone having to face financial hardship as a consequence.

·         Addressing the social security of large number of vulnerable workers in the informal economy should be prioritized by the Government along with ensuring the safety and security of women to raise their participation in economic activities.

***

Highlights of the Economic Survey 2016-17 Volume-2

 Monetary Management and Financial Intermediation

·         The fiscal outcome of the Central Government in 2016-17 was marked by strong growth in tax revenue, sustenance of the pace of capital spending and a consolidation of non-salary/pension revenue expenditure. This combination allowed the Government to contain the fiscal deficit to 3.5 per cent of GDP in 2016-17.

·         The Union Budget for 2017-18 opted for a gradual fiscal consolidation path: the fiscal deficit is expected to decline to 3.2 percent of GDP in 2017-2018. The fiscal deficit target of 3 per cent of GDP under the FRBM framework is projected to be achieved in 2018-19.

·         The Budget for 2017-18 introduced a number of procedural reforms, including: the integration of the Railway Budget with the Union Budget; advancing of the date of the Union Budget to February 1, almost by a month; elimination of the classification of expenditure into ‘plan’ and ‘non-plan’; and, restructuring of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework Statement with projected expenditures (revenue and capital) for each demand for the next two financial years.

·          Overshadowing these otherwise significant fiscal policy initiatives is the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax with effect from the 1^st day of July 2017, encompassing a plethora of the Central and State level indirect taxes, paving the way for a dramatic transformation of the Indian markets and the economy.

Monetary Management and Financial Intermediation

·         The Reserve Bank of India cut the policy rate by 50 basis points during 2016-17. However, it shifted its monetary policy stance from accommodative to neutral in February 2017.  As of August 2017 Repo rate stood at 6.00 per cent and reverse repo rate at 5.75 per cent.

·         Monetary aggregates decelerated significantly following the withdrawal of legal tender status of specified bank notes on November 9, 2016. As of 31^st March 2017, currency in circulation contracted by 19.7 per cent whereas reserve money contracted by 12.9 per cent.

·         Credit off-take from banks continued to decelerate further. During 2016-17, gross bank credit outstanding grew at around 7 per cent on an average. The average gross bank credit to industry contracted by 0.2 per cent in the FY 2016-17.

·         Sluggish growth and increasing indebtedness in some sectors of the economy have impacted the asset quality of banks and this is a cause for concern. The gross non-performing advances (GNPAs) ratio of SCBs rose from 9.2 per cent in September 2016 to 9.5 per cent in March 2017.

·         Financial inclusion is proceeding apace under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. Zero balance accounts under PMJDY has declined consistently from nearly 58 per cent in March 2015 to around 24 per cent as of December 2016.

Prices and Inflation

·         Significant moderation in CPI headline inflation during the last three years. CPI inflation fell to a series low of 1.5 percent in June 2017.

·         Broad based decline in all commodity groups during 2016-17, the most significant being decline in food. 

·         Food inflation, which was the main driver of inflation in the past, declined significantly during the year because of improvements in supply of pulses and vegetables on the back of a normal monsoon. Core inflation-indicative of underlying trends -- too declined in the last few months.

·         Convergence between CPI and WPI inflation in the last few months.

·         Most States/UTs witnessed sharp decline in CPI inflation in 2016-17 as compared to the previous year.

·         Both rural and urban inflation have declined in 2016-17 and the gap between rural and urban inflation has narrowed down in recent months.

Climate Change, Sustainable Development and Energy

·         India ratified the Paris Agreement on 2^nd October, 2016. India’s actions for the post-2020 period are based on its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).

·         India’s NDC targets to lower the emissions intensity of GDP by 33 - 35 per cent by 2030 from2005 levels, to increase the share of non-fossil based power generation capacity to 40 per cent of installed electric power capacity(cumulative) by 2030, and to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5-3 Gt CO₂e through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.

·         At the multilateral level, the international community is engaged in writing the “Paris rule book” which includes guidelines and modalities for the implementation of the Paris Agreement for the transparency framework for action and support, features and accounting of NDCs etc. At the national level, the roadmap for implementation of India’s NDC is being prepared, by constituting an Implementation Committee and six Sub-Committees. The Committees are working to elaborate their respective NDC goals and identify specific policies and actions aimed at achieving them.

·         India has set itself ambitious targets in the area of renewable energy. Moving ahead in this direction, India is implementing the largest renewable energy expansion programme in the world. It envisages a 5-fold increase in the overall renewable energy capacity to 175 GW by 2022. This includes 100 GW of solar, 60 GW of wind, 10 GW of biomass, and 5 GW of small hydro power capacity. 

·         There is an urgent need to further increase the access of the poor to more efficient energy resources. Many schemes have been implemented by the government to tackle this like Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, PAHAL scheme, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana. A large number of focused initiatives have been taken in various sectors of the economy to ensure a pathway of lower emission and climate resilient development.

·         India is at a stage of development that requires it to grow at a fast rate and lift the large number of their citizens from below the poverty line. Energy deprivation levels for a sizeable portion of population remain at high levels. The SDG 7 is to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.

·         Social cost analysis of coal and renewables based power done in the chapter indicate higher social costs for renewables. Storage costs and stranding of assets based on coal based power are major costs associated with the renewables based power. Given that the first goal for India is to provide 100 per cent energy access to its population and bridge the development deficit gap, all energy sources need to be tapped.

·         A number of initiatives have been taken in the Indian financial sector also. In the renewable energy segment, as per the notification of the RBI in May 2016, bank loans of up to Rs.15 crore for solar-based power generators, biomass-based power generators, wind mills, micro-hydel plants, etc. will be considered part of Priority Sector Lending. The External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) norms have been further liberalized so that green projects can tap this window for raising finance across the borders. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has, in May 2017, put in place the framework for issuance of green bonds.

External Sector

·         India’s balance of payments situation which was benign and comfortable during 2013-14 to 2015-16, further improved in 2016-17, as a result of low and falling trade and current account deficits and moderate and rising capital inflows, resulting in further accretion of foreign exchange reserves.

·         Reflecting the slowly improving world economic situation, India’s exports turned positive at 12.3 per cent in 2016-17 after an interregnum of two years. This along with a marginal decline in imports by 1.0 per cent resulted in narrowing down of trade deficit to US$ 112.4 billion (5 per cent of GDP) in 2016-17 as compared to US$ 130.1 billion (6.2 per cent of GDP) in 2015-16.

·         The current account deficit (CAD) narrowed down progressively to 0.7 per cent of GDP in 2016-17 from 1.1 per cent of GDP in 2015-16 led by sharp contraction in trade deficit which more than outweighed a decline in net invisibles earnings.

·         Net capital inflows were slightly lower at US$ 36.8 billion (1.6 per cent of GDP) in 2016-17 as compared to US$ 40.1 billion (1.9 per cent of GDP) in the previous year, mainly due to fall in NRI deposits.

·         Gross FDI inflows to India increased significantly to US$ 60.2 billion in 2016-17 from US$ 55.6 billion in 2015-16. Net FDI inflows (i.e. net of outward FDI) at US$ 35.6 billion, however, moderated marginally by 1.1 per cent from US$ 36.0 billion in 2015-16.

·         In 2017-18 (April-June) there was double digit export growth at 10.6 per cent with export growth continuing to be in positive territory continuously for the last eleven months.

·         Among the major economies running current account deficit, India is the second largest foreign exchange reserve holder after Brazil with reserves at US$ 386.4 billion as on 7^th July, 2017.

·         The average monthly exchange rate of the rupee against the US dollar after depreciating continuously from November 2016 to January 2017, has appreciated continuously from February to June 2017, while in the case of the Pound sterling, Euro and Japanese yen there have been monthly variations. The rupee performed better than many other EME-currencies in 2016-17.

·         During 2016-17, while on an average (on a y-o-y basis), the Indian rupee depreciated by 2.4 per cent against the US dollar, in terms of the nominal effective exchange rate (NEER) against a basket of 6 and 36 currencies, the rupee depreciated by 0.5 per cent and 0.1 per cent, respectively. However, in terms of the real effective exchange rate (REER) against a basket of 6 and 36 currencies, it appreciated by 2.7 per cent and 2.2 per cent, respectively in 2016-17.

·         Most of the external debt indicators of India improved at end-March 2017 compared end-March, 2016. India’s aggregate external debt stock at end-March 2017 stood at US$ 471.9 billion registering a decline of US$ 13.1 billion (2.7 per cent) over end-March 2016. The ratio of external debt to GDP fell to 20.2 per cent from 23.5 per cent, while foreign exchange reserves provided a cover of 78.4 per cent to external debt compared to 74.3 per cent in the previous year. Debt service ratio fell to 8.3 per cent from 8.8 per cent and ratio of concessional debt to total external debt increased to 9.3 per cent from 9.0 per cent. Short term debt (residual maturity) to total external debt fell to 41.5 per cent from 42.7 per cent. Short term debt (residual maturity) to forex reserves also fell to 52.9 per cent from 57.4 per cent. Cross country comparison of external debt indicates that India continues to be among the less vulnerable countries.

·         Some green shoots have started to appear in the trade horizon as well with world trade growth projected at 3.8 per cent and 3.9 per cent in 2017 and 2018 and India’s trade growth also picking up.

Agriculture and Food Management

·         The average farm size in India is small, and declining since 1970-71. The predominance of small operational holdings is a major limitation to reap the benefits of economies of scale in agriculture operations.

·         The progress in agriculture needs to be evaluated in terms of outcomes such as catching up with global yields of various crops as a means to increase incomes of farmers.

·         Credit is an important mediating input for agriculture to improve productivity. The predominance of informal sources of credit for farmers is a concern. There is regional disparity in the distribution of agricultural credit which also needs to be addressed.

·         The key challenge that the horticulture sector faces in India are post-harvest losses, availability of quality planting material and lack of market access for horticultural produce of small farmers.

Industry and Infrastructure

·         Industrial performance has shown a moderation from 8.8 percent during 2015-16 to 5.6 percent in 2016-17.

·          Industrial growth as per Index of Industrial Production (IIP) new series of 2011-12 shows overall IIP growth at 5 percent in 2016-17 as compared to 3.4 percent last year.

·         The Index of Eight Core Industries growth during 2016-17 was 4.8 percent as compared to 3.0 percent in 2015-16.

·         The Government in 2016 introduced imposition of Minimum Import Price (MIP) to counter dumping of Steel into Indian markets. Steps taken by the government have borne fruit since imports of Steel by India have declined by 36.2 percent while exports have risen by 102 percent in 2016-17.

·         The apparel sector is a highly employment intensive industry especially for women. The Government on 22^nd June 2016 approved Rs.6,000 crore special package for textile & apparel sector. Post the release of funds in November 2016, there has been a marked rise in clothing exports.

·         The measures taken by the Government has resulted in FDI equity inflow of 43.4 Billion USD in Financial Year 2016-17, which is the highest ever FDI Equity inflows.

·         India is far ahead than many emerging economies in terms of providing qualitative transportation related infrastructure.

·         During 2016-17, Indian Railways registered freight earnings at Rs.104339 crore (P), registered a negative growth of 4.5 per cent over 2015-16 due to carrying larger volume of low fare freight in the year. Passenger earnings at Rs.46280 crore (P) registered an increase of 4.5 per cent during 2016-17.

·         Indian domestic airlines have a very lower share in international traffic to and from India. Factors like foreign airlines utilising the 6^th freedom of the air, expansion of capacity entitlements under bilateral air service agreements with foreign countries, lower utilisation of India’s own capacity entitlements, the 0/20 rule and fleet constraints are responsible for the same.

•      The Government formulated and launched the UDAY scheme for financial turnaround of power distribution companies on November 20, 2015. The 26 states and 1 UT which have joined the UDAY scheme account for total outstanding debt of Rs. 3.82 lakh Cr. So far, fifteen states have issued UDAY bonds totaling Rs.2.09 lakh Cr. and DISCOMs have issued Bonds worth Rs. 0.23 lakh Cr.

•      After the introduction of UDAY, National average (all UDAY states) of AT&C loss has come down to 20.2 per cent in FY 2017 from 21.1 per cent in FY 2016; billing efficiency has been increased by 2 per cent from 81 per cent in 2015-16 to 83 per cent in 2016-17 at all India level and 15 states have issued tariff-revisions for FY 2017-18.

•      Under Smart Cities Mission, 57 projects worth Rs.941 crore have already been completed as of April 2017. An estimated additional 462 projects worth Rs.15307 crore are likely to be completed through 2018 provided all the projects that have commenced implementation and those that have been tendered stick to their timelines.

Services Sector

·         The services sector remains the key driver of India’s economic growth, contributing almost 62 per cent of its gross value added growth in 2016-17. However, the growth of this sector has moderated to 7.7 per cent in 2016-17 compared to 9.7 per cent achieved in the previous year, though it continues to be higher than the other two sectors and nearly at the top among the 15 major economies.

·         The services growth moderation is mainly due to deceleration in growth in two services categories- trade, hotels, transport, communication and services related to broadcasting (7.8 per cent), and financial, real estate & professional services (5.7 per cent). The share of services sector in total gross capital formation (GCF), at current prices has increased consistently over the last four years from 53.3 per cent in 2011-12 to 60.3 per cent in 2015-16.

·         There has been a significant growth in FDI equity inflows in 2014-15 and 2015-16 in general (27.3 per cent and 29.3 per cent) and to the services sector in particular (67.3 per cent and 64.3 per cent for top 15 services). However, in 2016-17, the growth rate of total FDI equity inflows moderated and FDI equity inflows to the services sector (top 15 services) declined.

·         India’s and world’s services export trend growth were almost flat in the pre-crisis period, while in the post-crisis period, the deceleration in trend growth of India’s services was sharper than world services export growth. In 2016-17, services exports recorded a positive growth of 5.7 per cent with pick up in some major sectors like transportation, business services and financial services; and good growth in travel. However, Software services exports, accounting for around 45.2 per cent of total services, declined though marginally by 0.7 per cent.

·         The performance of India’s Services Sector has been subdued in 2016-17 in line with the global trend. However, some services continue to be key drivers of India’s economic growth. There was reasonably good performance in telecom with increase in telecom connections reflecting the Jio effect, aviation particularly domestic travel, tourism related services particularly in terms of foreign exchange earnings, and even information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) despite fall in growth in computer software.  

·         As per the Ministry of Tourism data, Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) during 2016 grew by 9.7 per cent and Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) through Tourism, in US$ terms, grew by 8.8 per cent. Various initiatives have been taken by the Government to promote tourism sector of the country that include e-Visa for the citizens of 161 countries, promotion of India as a 365 days destination, launching of Multilingual Tourist Infoline, and Swachh Paryatan Mobile App.

·         As per NASSCOM, in 2016-17 India’s total revenue (exports plus domestic) of the IT-BPM sector including and excluding hardware is expected to touch US$154 billion and US $140 billion, with growths of 7.8 per cent and 8.1 per cent respectively. IT-BPM exports are expected to reach USD 117 billion, with a growth of 7.6 per cent. Meanwhile, the Government of India’s rapid adoption of technologies as a platform to delivery of government-to-government and government-to-citizen services is a tremendous push factor for the domestic IT-BPM market.

·         Real estate sector including ownership and dwellings accounted for 7.6 per cent share in India’s overall GVA in 2015-16. The growth of this sector decelerated in the last three years from 7.5 per cent in 2013-14 to 6.7 per cent in 2014-15 and further to 4.5 per cent in 2015-16. Despite the subdued demand, residential prices did not fall with the NHB RESIDEX, showing increase in prices in 33 cities out of 50 cities in 2016-17 Q4 over 2015-16 Q4.

·         Satellite mapping and launching services are two areas in which India is making a mark and has huge potential for the future. The foreign exchange earned by India from satellite mapping in the last five years was more than Rs 100 crores. Foreign exchange earnings of India from export of satellite launch services has increased noticeably in 2015-16 and 2016-17 and consequently India’s share in global satellite launch services revenue has also increased.

·         India’s services sector growth, which was highly resilient even during the global financial crisis, has been showing moderation in recent times.  However, pick up is seen in recent months with some segments of the sector showing better performance.

Social Infrastructure, Employment and Human Development

·         The deterioration in quality learning in primary education sector and achievement of targeted enrolment level in the middle education is a challenge

·         Employment in India poses a great challenge in terms of its structure which is dominated by informal, unorganized and seasonal workers, and is characterized by high levels of under employment, skill shortages, with the labour markets impacted by rigid labour laws, and the emergence of contract labour.

·         The health sector in India faces many challenges in the form of declining role of public delivery of health services, high Out of Pocket (OoP) expenses on health and issues of accessibility and affordability of health services for many.

·         The Government’s Swachh Bharat Mission has had remarkable progress since its inception. With its focus on cleanliness and Open Defecation Free (ODF) India, there has been a significant decline in the number of people who defecate in the open, which is estimated at less than 35 crores.

UKPCS2012 FINAL RESULT SAMVEG IAS DEHRADUN

 
 








Heartfelt congratulations to all my dear student .this was outstanding performance .this was possible due to your hard work and dedication.
we also feel sad for other student who could not make it this time.but you all were gems. next time hope you will do better.
total selection:28 (5sdm,3dsp).BEST RESULT IN UTTARAKHAND.
FROM SAMVEG IAS
5 SDM
1)2ND RANK ABHAY PRATAP SINGH
2)7TH RANK AJAYVEER SINGH
3)9TH RANK VARUN AGGRAWAL
4)10TH RANK RAHUL SHAH
5)13TH RAVINDRA KUMAR JUWANTHA

3 DSP
6)SHIVAM PRATAP SINGH, RANK2
7)IMARAN AHMAD,RANK6
8)JUHI MANRAL, RANK12
1 ARTO
9)CHAKRAPANI MISHRA, 1ST RANK
6BDO
10)MANAS MITTAL,RANK8
11)KAMAL KISHOR PANDEY, RANK11
12)SONAM GUPTA,RANK 16
13)DRISHTI ANAND,RANK21
14)ATIYA PARVEZ, RANK22
15)SUMAN LATARANK 23
1CEO ZILA PANCHYAT
16)ANSHIKA SWAROOP RANK4
1SAMAJ KALYAN ADHIKARI
17)ANSHVEY KAINTURA, 2ND RANK
3 TREASURY OFFICER
18)SURYA PRATAP SINGH,RANK3
19)SHAIFALI GUPTA,RANK4
20)KUMAR VIPUL
21)SWAPNIL MUYAL RANK20
1 ZILA POORTI ADHIKARI
22)ARUN KUMAR VERMA,RANK2
4 BAL VIKAS ADHIKARI
23)TARUNA CHAMOLA,RANK6
24)NEETU PHULARA,RANK7
25)PRASANT KUMAR, RANK 18
26)BHARTI BHANDARI, RANK22
2 ZILA PARYATAN ADHIKARI
27)ATUL BHANDARI, RANK3
28)BRIJENDRA PANDEYRANK6
1SAHAYAK SHRAM AYUKTA
29)PRASANT KUMAR, RANK1
30)Nilesh kumar ,jansampark adhikari
Total no of candidate qualified :30

The difficulty of being a farmer

The difficulty of being a farmer
The Indian farmer faces pressure from both the demand and the supply sides. Technology can help solve some of his problems.
The Indian farmer has always been like an areca nut in a nutcracker—always under pressure from both the supply and the demand sides.

There are about 145 million landholdings in the country. With about 92% of them being wholly owned and self-operated, we may assume that we have about 130 million farmers. With more than 40% of our cultivated area of 175 million hectares being irrigated, there is a clear distinction between farmers with irrigation and those with rain-fed acreages. The most disadvantaged are the farmers who own patches of the 20 million hectares of unproductive saline land in the country. While farmers who have access to irrigation are better placed, those who are in rain-fed and drought-prone areas are most vulnerable. They occupy 60% of the cultivated area but contribute only 45% of the total agricultural production. These are the farmers without the financial wherewithal to withstand the vagaries of nature. A single crop failure due to drought, flood or similar reasons can destroy them.

Crop insurance programmes have not been able to recover farmers’ investments in most cases due to lack of accurate farm-level data that can be used to settle claims. Satellite and remote sensing technologies are for the future.

Farm economics are beholden to the economics of demand and supply. With every recurring phenomenon of high production that is in excess of demand, there is the consequent (and drastic) fall in prices. Planted acreages have little to no connection with projected demand. When a farmer plants a crop, he does not know what the likely market price of his produce will be. The government’s minimum support price (MSP) gives him some direction, but it operates only with some crops. Neither is the government any better at forecasting. In the 2016 kharif season, for example, the government pushed farmers to reduce cotton and plant more pulses. Those who continued growing cotton made good money but the majority who went in for pulses faced excess supply and are dealing with a steep fall in prices.

There is no commodity-based farmers’ organization in the country to address these issues. In other countries, such organizations advise farmers on global projections of demand and supply for specific crops and help in moderating acreages in line with projected demand. Neither are there platforms for farmers to highlight issues to key stakeholders such as policymakers, economists and scientists. Existing farmer organizations are aligned with political or other special interest groups and are neither objective nor scientific in their approach. Hence, the need for the development of a non-partisan platform.

Another high-input cost today is that of farm labour, itself a much misunderstood and maligned issue. Everyone thinks there is ample farm labour available. But the problem is the availability of labour at the right time and at the right cost. The cost of labour has risen due to social welfare programmes and minimum wage levels. At peak times, like sowing, transplanting, harvesting, etc., it is very difficult to get sufficient farm labour. In the case of cotton, for example, the cost of harvesting has risen to about 10% of the selling price—which is very high. Sensitive crops like fruits, vegetables, etc., which have to be harvested at precise times to maximize the quality of the produce, face the same problems.

One solution to address this is greater reliance on technology, be it through farm mechanization, the use of weedicides or genetic engineering, that can lower input and time costs. Farmers operating in states with labour shortage use chemical pesticides to control weeds, which is cost- and time-efficient. There is also rapid mechanization of paddy transplantation. Farmers should be encouraged to use such labour-saving options instead of being burdened with the social objective of protecting rural employment and being denied access to new technology.

The Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act prohibits farmers from selling their produce in any mandi other than their designated one. This makes farmers vulnerable to middlemen and vested interests. They are exposed to global prices but are not provided with access to cost-efficient technologies and information systems. This places them at a disadvantage with farmers from other countries. Karnataka has united all mandis in the state on an electronic platform and this has reportedly improved farmers’ selling prices by 38%. This should be replicated nationally.

The agricultural extension system has collapsed in many parts of the country. The farmer is forced to depend on the advice of agri-input dealers and commercial organizations instead. Some organizations are attempting to use information and communication technology-based methods to give technical advice to farmers. This may prove to be beneficial. The other issue is that banks need to get more generous with credit in rural areas where the stranglehold of private moneylenders continues to wreak havoc. Lack of rural infrastructure, reliable power, cold-storage, roads and transport systems, etc., continue to cripple farm operations and increase costs.

We need to overhaul our thinking and approach towards addressing farmers’ challenges which are complicated and structural in nature. Waiving farm loans is a lazy option for governments and a costly option for the banking system. Successive governments have chosen this option because they do not have the political will to find better solutions.

NITI Aayog proposes higher tax on big cars, SUVs in draft National Energy Policy

NITI Aayog proposes higher tax on big cars, SUVs in draft National Energy Policy
NITI Aayog has made a case for higher tax on big cars, SUVs and promotion of mass transport system like metro rail to improve air quality in the draft National Energy Policy
Government think tank NITI Aayog has made a case for higher tax on big cars and SUVs, and promotion of mass transport system like metro rail to improve air quality in the draft National Energy Policy.

The proposed National Energy Policy has also pitched for providing conducive regulatory framework to encourage investments in the energy sector in India which would around $3.6 trillion between 2015 and 2040.

“Further widening taxation differential between cars (higher tax for big cars/ SUVs) will promote adoption of more fuel-efficient cars,” stated the draft National Energy Policy on which NITI Aayog has sought public feedback till 14 July 2017.

The draft policy also said that the success of efficiency in private transport depends on progress in mass transport system such as metro rail. The poor air quality in India, particularly in urban centres where energy is used in concentrated areas, calls for bold action through energy policy as a part of the overall environment strategy, says the draft.

An analysis of total emission over life of different modes of transport options is critical to decide about the appropriate mode of transport. The draft says that the policy to promote electric and hybrid vehicles needs to be supported.

Other policy options should be explored to arrive at optimal solutions and incentives to decide whether to support expensive technology; or to give subsidies. The higher emission of big diesel cars was a issue of public discourse in the recent times after the apex court banned the sale of SUVs with cubic capacity of 2000 or more in Delhi.

Later last year, the Supreme Court allowed sale of these vehicles but imposed 1% cess on ex-show room price in the National Capital Region.

The policy said that the capital requirement in the energy domain is the biggest challenge before the country, which is aggravated by high interest rates as compared to developed economies.

According to the estimates of International Energy Agency, the Indian energy sector will require an investment upwards of $3.6 trillion between 2015 and 2040. It notes that India needs large doses of private capital, both domestic and international, and this will be forthcoming only if we erect world-class regulators.

The draft points out that the competitive markets cannot be achieved without effective independent oversight. The policy has proposed to complete the regulatory space by putting in place statutory Regulators for coal, oil and gas (upstream) on the same lines as in electricity.

The growth in India’s energy supply by a multiple of nearly more than three by 2040, has to be facilitated by assuring investors of competent, arms-length and effective decision-making, it said.

In a developing scenario, investors will not come forward unless they anticipate commercially in the sector. On the other hand, consumer interests can also be addressed by the same strong watchdog mechanism. Simultaneously, Regulators must implement Government policy on current issues such as access, air quality, affordability etc, it added.

The road to Rashtrapati Bhavan

The road to Rashtrapati Bhavan
Here’s a look at what the process involves to elect India’s next president

Presidential elections are due on 17 July—a contest (in case there are candidates other than the National Democratic Alliance’s Ram Nath Kovind) that will be decided by an electoral college. Here’s a look at what the process involves, according to data provided by New Delhi-based PRS Legislative Research.

India’s latest communication satellite GSAT-17 was on Thursday successfully launched by a heavy duty rocket of Arianespace from the spaceport of Kourou in French Guiana.

India’s latest communication satellite GSAT-17 was on Thursday successfully launched by a heavy duty rocket of Arianespace from the spaceport of Kourou in French Guiana.

Configured around I-3K extended bus, GSAT-17 with a lift-off mass of about 3,477 kg, carries payloads in Normal C- band, Extended C-band and S-band to provide various communication services. It also carries equipment for meteorological data relay and satellite based search and rescue services being provided by earlier INSAT satellites.

The European launcher Arianespace Flight VA238 blasted off from Ariane Launch Complex No 3 (ELA 3) at Kourou, a French territory located in northeastern coast of South America, couple of minutes delayed than the scheduled time of 2:29am.

GSAT-17 was injected shortly after orbiting co-passenger Hellas Sat 3-Inmarsat S EAN in a flawless flight lasting about 41 minutes. “GSAT-17 successfully launched by Ariane-5 VA-238 from Kourou, French Guiana,” the city headquartered Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) announced after the mission.

GSAT-17 that will strengthen Isro’s current fleet of 17 telecommunications satellites was launched into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). This will be third satellite launch by Isro this month, the other two being first developmental flight of GSLV MkIII and PSLV C-38 missions—both from Sriharikota spaceport.

GSLV MkIII successfully launched GSAT-19 satellite on 5 June while PSLV-C38 orbited Cartosat-2 Series satellite along with 30 co-passenger satellites on 23 June from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. Isro, which has been dependent on Ariane-5 rocket for carrying its heavier satellites, is developing GSLV Mk III for this purpose.

Announcing the successful launch of the satellite, Arianespace chief executive officer Stephane Israel tweeted: “Confirmed: GSAT-17 has successfully separated from its #Ariane5 launcher #VA238 @ISRO “ Thanking Arianespace, Director Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre Dr K. Sivan who watched the launch from the mission control centre called it a “text book mission”.

Noting it as a special mission for Isro, he said “GSAT-17 is a need of the hour for Isro and India as it provides the continuity in services of ageing two satellites, as well as augmenting our transponder capability, and widening our horizon to mobile satellite services as well as to Antarctica areas.”

GSAT-17’s co-passenger Hellas Sat 3-Inmarsat S EAN is a two-payload “condosat” produced by Thales Alenia Space for Hellas Sat and Inmarsat. Once in orbit, the Hellas Sat 3 component will deliver direct-to-home and telecom services to maintain and expand Hellas Sat’s business reach, while the Inmarsat S EAN component provides the satellite portion of Inmarsat’s new European Aviation Network.

Hellas Sat (member of the Arabsat Group) is a premium satellite operator, offering services in Europe, the Middle East and South Africa from the orbital position of 39 East. Inmarsat is the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services.

The total payload carried on Flight VA238 is approximately 10,177 kg. GSAT-17 will be the 21st satellite from Isro to be launched by Arianespace, and its designed in-orbit operational life is about 15 years.

After its injection into GTO, Isro’s Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan takes control of GSAT-17 and performs the initial orbit raising manoeuvres using the Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) of the satellite, placing it in circular Geostationary Orbit, the Indian space agency has said.