Ukraine, EU sign historic trade and economic pact

Similar association agreements were signed with two other former Soviet republics, Moldova and Georgia.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Friday signed up to a trade and economic pact with the European Union, saying it may be the “most important day” for his country since it became independent from the Soviet Union.

It was the decision of his pro—Moscow predecessor, Viktor Yanukovych, to back out of the same EU association agreement in November that touched off massive protests in Ukraine that eventually led to Yanukovych’s flight abroad, Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and the ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

Later Friday, EU heads of state and government were expected to consider whether to ramp up sanctions against Russia over its conduct toward Ukraine.

Before the signing ceremony, Poroshenko brandished a commemorative pen inscribed with the date of EU’s Vilnius summit where Yanukovych balked at approving the agreement.

“Historic events are unavoidable,” he said.

At Friday’s proceedings, the European Union signed similar association agreements with two other former Soviet republics, Moldova and Georgia.

Businesses in the three countries whose goods and practices meet EU standards will be able to trade freely in any of the EU’s 28 member nations without tariffs or restrictions. Likewise, EU goods and services will be able to sell more easily and cheaply to businesses and consumers in Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.

“It’s absolutely a new perspective for my country,” Poroshenko said.

“There is nothing in these agreements or in the European Union’s approach that might harm Russia in any way,” insisted EU President Herman Van Rompuy. But almost immediately, Moscow made clear it was reserving the right to react.

Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, told Russian news agencies that the Kremlin would respond to the EU—Ukraine accord “as soon as negative consequences arise for the economy.”

But Peskov dismissed the threat of immediate action against Poroshenko’s government. “In order for those (consequences) to arise, the signed agreement needs to be implemented,” he said.

Russia has previously imposed trade embargos against its neighbors in response to political or economic moves that the Kremlin views as unfavorable.

European Commission experts estimate implementation of the deal is expected to boost Ukraine’s national income by around 1.2 billion euros ($1.6 billion) a year. EU Enlargement Commission Stefan Fule said the trade bloc has made clear to Moscow its willingness to demonstrate that Russian economic interests will not be harmed.

Perhaps more important than the trade clauses is an accompanying 10—year plan for Ukraine to adopt EU product regulations. Such rules ease the way for international trade beyond Europe.

The deal also demands that Ukraine change the way it does business. Adopting EU rules on government contracts, competition policy and the copyright for ideas and inventions should improve the economy by making it more investor—friendly and reducing corruption.

Reminding EU leaders of the Ukrainians who died opposed Yanukovych’s government and in the ongoing battle against the pro—Russian insurgency in the country’s east, Poroshenko said Ukraine “paid the highest possible price to make her Europe dreams come true.”

India has over one million out-of-school children, UN report says

 India has more than one million out-of-school children, according to a UN report. The report says global progress towards universal primary education has halted.

The policy paper, jointly released by the Unesco Institute for Statistics and the Education For All Global Monitoring Report, says, "New data show that the world will not fulfil one of the most basic commitments: to get every child in school by 2015."

According to the report, India is among countries like Indonesia, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan and Sudan which face the greatest challenge.

It shows that, as of 2011, India has 1.4 million out-of-school children. The country brought in the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 to make it mandatory for all children between six and 14 years to attend school.

The report also says the problem of children dropping out of school is significant. Sub-Saharan Africa and South and West Asia have the highest rates of early school leaving. "Across these regions, more than one in every three students who started primary school in 2012 will not make it to the last grade," the report said.

In Central, South and West Asia, most out-of-school children would probably never receive any formal education, the report says.

The silver lining is that while India is still in the red, the report puts it among the countries that have shown the way forward by showing rapid progress in reducing the number of out-of-school children in relatively short time. India has reduced its out-of-school population by more than 50% compared to a decade earlier.

The report, however, suggests that universal primary education goes beyond simply enrolling children in school - they must complete their education as well.

"There has been greater progress in improving enrolment rates than in increasing completion rates. This unfinished business must take centre stage in 2015 and beyond," the report says

India, the Netherlands to Strengthen Cooperation in Agriculture

The Dutch Ambassador to India, Mr. Alhponsus Stoelinga called on Union Agriculture Minister Shri Radha Mohan Singh here today to brief him about the current status of Indo Dutch Agriculture cooperation. 

He informed the Minister about the developments in the areas of hi-tech agriculture, dairying, Post harvest management, including cold chain infrastructure.

The Dutch Ambassador expressed the hope that the ongoing dialogue between India and the Netherlands will receive a fresh impetus when the Prime Minister of Holland calls on Prime Minister Modi later this year. The three issues that came up for discussion included a review of the progress under Indo Dutch Agriculture Action plan, the co-operative governance model followed by the Rabo bank and research collaboration with the Wagenengein university of the Netherlands.

The Minister informed the Ambassador that the top priorities of his government included support for marginal and small farmers, comprehensive programme for irrigation, soil health cards, besides promotion of the indigenous breed of cattle and thrust to co-operatives and farmer organizations to achieve economies of scale and scope.

environment

नैरोबी में पहली संयुक्त राष्ट्र पर्यावरण सभा में श्री प्रकाश जावडेकर का वक्तव्य सतत खपत और उत्पादन के माध्यम से पृथ्वी के सुरक्षित संचालन स्थान के अंतर्गत गरीबी उन्मूलन और समृद्धि हासिल करने के लिए भारत का हस्तक्षेप 

दक्षिण एशिया और सहारा के दक्षिण में स्थित अफ्रीकी देशों में अधिकांश रूप से रहने वाले लगभग 1.3 अरब लोग प्रतिदिन 1.25 अमेरिकी डालर से भी कम प्रति व्यक्ति आय पर जिंदा हैं। विकसित और विकासशील देशों में रहने वाले लोगों की प्रति व्यक्ति आय में भारी अंतर का होना चिंता का विषय है। सतत विकास प्राप्त करने के लिए गरीबी उन्मूलन और असमानता को कम करना सबसे बड़ी प्राथमिकता होनी चाहिए। हम सब जिस विकास का उद्देश्य लेकर चल रहे हैं उसे समग्र और दुनिया के सबसे अधिक वंचितों, सीमांतों और गरीबी से ग्रस्त व्यक्तियों की समस्या को दूर करने वाला होना चाहिए। रियो+20 सम्मेलन का सबसे महत्वपूर्ण निष्कर्ष गरीबी उन्मूलन को वैश्विक विकास एजेंडे का केन्द्र बिंदु बनाना था।

सतत विकास के लिए आज विश्व के सामने गरीबी उन्मूलन सबसे बड़ी चुनौती बनकर खड़ी है। इस संबंध में हम मानवता को गरीबी से मुक्त करने और भूख को एक आवश्यकता के मुद्दे के रूप में मानने के लिए प्रतिबद्ध हैं। संयुक्त राष्ट्र महासभा (यूएनजीए) द्वारा स्थापित मुक्त कार्यदल (ओडब्लूजी) के सतत विकास लक्ष्यों के विकास पर ध्यान दिये जाने वाले विभिन्न क्षेत्रों के बारे में विचार किया जाना एक संतोषजनक मामला है। पहला प्रस्तावित लक्ष्य दुनिया से गरीबी समाप्त करने से संबंधित है।

निरंतर विकास के लिए सतत खपत और उत्पादन के महत्व को बढ़ा-चढ़ाकर नहीं बताया जा सकता। आज के विचार-विमर्श का विषय ‘पृथ्वी के सुरक्षित संचालन स्थान के अंतर्गत’ का संदर्भ प्रस्तुत करता है और मेरे मन में तुरंत महात्मा गांधी का प्रसिद्ध कथन “पृथ्वी प्रत्येक मनुष्य की संतुष्टि के लिए पर्याप्त साधन उपलब्ध कराती है लेकिन हर मनुष्य के लोभ की पूर्ति नहीं”।

हर साल 1.3 अरब टन अनाज बर्बाद हो जाता है जो सभी तरह के उत्पादित खाद्य पदार्थों का एक तिहाई भाग है। औद्योगिक देशों में उपभोक्ता स्तर पर ही इतना खाना बर्बाद होता है जो सहारा के दक्षिण में स्थित अफ्रीकी देशों के कुल उत्पादन से अधिक है। विकासशील देशों में खाने की बर्बादी को प्रायः पोस्ट-हार्वेस्ट क्षति से जोड़ दिया जाता है। विश्व में प्रति व्यक्ति ऊर्जा खपत स्तर में भी व्यापक अंतर है। यह सब विकसित देशों में अस्थाई और फिजूल खपत पद्धति की ओर इशारा करती है और इन देशों के लिए सतत खपत और उत्पादन पद्धति को अपनाना ही जरूरी बना देती हैं।

"सामान्य लेकिन विभेदित जिम्मेदारियां" और "समता" के सिद्धांतों को सतत विकास के वर्तमान और भविष्य में होने वाले वैश्विक विचार-विमर्श का लगातार आधार होना चाहिए। यह स्पष्ट है कि विश्व की अर्थव्यवस्था को सतत मार्ग पर लाने के हमारे प्रयास गरीबों के ऊपर निर्भर नहीं होनी चाहिए। जहां सतत उत्पादन और खपत की पद्धति अपनाने के परिणाम स्वरूप अनुत्पादक एवं व्यर्थ संसाधनों को बढ़ावा मिलेगा, जिसे लाभदायक रूप में इस्तेमाल किया जाएगा और इससे यह माना जाएगा कि सतत उत्पादन और विकास स्वयं विश्व से गरीबी उन्मूलन करने के लिए पर्याप्त होंगे। गरीबी उन्मूलन के लिए कहीं अति सक्रिय और ठोस कार्रवाई करने की आवश्यकता है।

सतत और समग्र आर्थिक विकास गरीबी उन्मूलन की मुख्य कुंजी है। गरीबी उन्मूलन की नीतियों और कार्यक्रमों को लागू करने की अपेक्षा रखने वाले देशों को पूर्वानुमानित, अतिरिक्त और पर्याप्त वित्तीय सहायता उपलब्ध करानी होगी।

विकासशील देशों को आधिकारिक वित्तीय सहायता (ओडीए) के रूप में सकल राष्ट्रीय आय का 0.7 प्रतिशत अंश उपलब्ध कराये जाने की अपनी बचनबद्धता को न केवल तत्काल पूरा किये जाने की आवश्यकता है बल्कि 2015 के बाद के विकास एजेंडा के लिए महत्वाकांक्षी स्तर पर विचार करते हुए अतिरिक्त और पूर्वानुमानित वित्तीय सहायता देने के संकल्प की भी आवश्यकता है। जैसे ही विकसित देशों द्वारा इस मूलभूत बचनबद्धता को पूरा किया जाता है वित्तीय सहायता के अन्य अनुपूरक उपायों के विकल्पों पर भी विचार किया जा सकता है।

All you wanted to know about the Budget

What is a budget and what does it consist of?

A Budget is an estimate of outflows and inflows that a Government will incur during a financial year. It consists of actual figures for the preceding year and the budgetary estimate for the current year. For instance, a Budget presented in March 2012 will have the preceding year, i.e. 2011-12’s actual figures and the estimates for 2012-13.

When is it presented and by whom?

The Budget is presented on a day that is determined by the Parliament. While traditionally it was presented on the last working day of February, this year, because a new government has come into power, it will be presented on July 10.

The Budget division in the Finance Ministry has complete responsibility over the document

The Budget is presented by the Finance Minister. The Budget division in the Finance Ministry has complete responsibility over it, though it requires final approval from the Prime Minister.

A timetable is drawn up by the Budget Advisory Committee of the Parliament. In this schedule, a fixed time is given for each Ministry to discuss their needs prior to the Budget presentation.

Is an annual Budget necessary?

It is not only necessary, but compulsory. Under Article 112 of the Constitution, a Statement of Receipts and Payments (estimated) has to be tabled in the Parliament for every financial year. The Receipts and Payments statement contains consolidated fund, contingency fund and the public account.

The consolidated fund is a statement of all the inflows, such as tax revenues; and all expenditure, which constitute outflows. To withdraw from this fund the government requires parliamentary authorisation.

The contingency fund is a corpus of about Rs. 50 crore kept aside for unforeseen expenses. The public account is one where all money raised from government schemes, such as Provident Fund, is accounted for.

What does the Budget document contain?

The budget speech and the document has two parts – Part A and B. Part A is the macroeconomic part of the budget where various schemes are announced, and allocations are made to several sectors. The priorities of the government are also announced in this part.

An annual Budget is not only necessary, but compulsory according to the Constitution

Part B deals with the Finance Bill, which contains taxation proposals such as income tax revisions and indirect taxes.

What is the process of Budget approval? What will happen if a Budget is not presented before said date?

The Finance Minister introduces the Budget in the Lok Sabha by way of a speech and gives an overview of the Budget. He then tables it in Rajya Sabha.

Both Houses of the Parliament then allot time for a general discussion on the Budget, to which the Finance Minister replies at the end.

Lok Sabha then takes up a discussion on each ministry’s expenditure proposals. After this prescribed period, known as the Demand for Grants, the Speaker applies what is called the ‘guillotine’. Once the ‘guillotine’ is applied, all outstanding demands are put to vote. Though both the Houses of Parliament discuss the Budget, only the Lok Sabha votes on it.

The Appropriation Bill is then introduced after all demands are passed, and once this Bill is passed, the government receives authorisation to draw from the consolidated fund. Once the Appropriation Bill becomes an Act, the Finance Bill is passed. Once this is done, the final Budget gets approved.

If the Budget is not passed within the announced date, Article 116 of the Constitution empowers the Lok Sabha to pass the Vote-On-Account, a document which covers only the expenditure incurred.

51 pc FDI in defence will be a game changer for India'

Raising foreign direct investment cap to at least 51 per cent in the defence sector will help India become a major manufacturing and export hub, reducing dependency on imported equipment.

"India can be a game-changer only by allowing at least 51 per cent FDI in the sector. With access to critical technology, the domestic companies will be able to manufacture products indigenously and make India a global defence manufacturing and export hub," said a government source.

India imports defence equipment worth over USD 8 billion annually. It is one of the largest defence importers in the world with only a minuscule component of exports.

Allaying concerns of few domestic industries, the sources said that the proposal mooted in the draft note has enough safeguards to protect this sensitive sector.

"Giving controlling stake to a foreign player will be an incentive for them to bring modern technologies in India. Besides making India as their manufacturing centre, they will also export from here. It would lead to creation of jobs," said a source.

While the government is holding inter-ministerial consultations, intense lobbying is being witnessed within the major industry chambers, the sources said.

A section of the domestic industry, with less than 1 per cent share in the sector, holds a view that the FDI should be restricted to 49 per cent, while another view is that without a majority stake why would the global investor invest in India, they added.

They said that caping FDI to 49 per cent is not going to help. It would be a status-quo type situation.

"India should not lose this chance. To become self-reliant in defence sector, 51 per cent FDI must be allowed. Between 2001 and August 2013, 49 per cent foreign investment (26 per cent FDI + 23 per cent FII) was allowed. During this time, India has attracted only USD 5 million investments, which is lowest in any sector," the source said.

Between 2001 and 2013, India has received about USD 320 billion in foreign investment. The figures clearly reflect that India has not received any investment when the cap was 49 per cent.

The sources also argued that due to sagging economies in the West, multi-national companies want to expand their manufacturing base in Asia and India can become a major centre for that.

"Now the country cannot afford to miss the bus. Fixing foreign investment cap to 49 per cent will not help in getting modern technologies. Figures are clearly reflecting that 49 per cent foreign investment has not changed anything. It will be a game spoiler," they added.

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion has circulated a draft Cabinet note to relax foreign investment policy in defence sector.

They have proposed up to 100 per cent FDI in case of state-of-the-art technology and 74 per cent (FDI + FII) in case of technology transfer.

The sources further said that defence PSUs too are not able to meet India’s requirement.

"Currently, over 70 per cent of India’s defence requirement is done though imports. The government can reverse this trend by permitting 51 per cent FDI in the sector, they added.

Several Indian companies including Mahindra and Mahindra, Tata and Ashok Leyland have interest in the sector. Further liberalisation of the FDI policy would help them in joining hands with foreign firms to produce equipment.

India is expected to spend over USD 250 billion in the next 6-7 years in procurement of defence equipment for homeland security. Indian private and public sector firms would not be able to provide equipment so the country will end up importing all the requirement.

"Countries like China and Mexico have emerged as a major hub for defence manufacturing, why can’t India move the step towards that direction.

India can become a very important place for foreign firms to set up manufacturing units here. They can also export to whole of Asia from here," said a source.

In the discussion paper, the DIPP has said that the bulk of the domestic production is met either through the Ordnance Factories or the Defence PSUs.

How to compress government

By deciding to limit decision-making to four or fewer levels, the government has tried to compress itself vertically. If this is strictly enforced through regular monitoring, preferably by third parties, it would help speed up decisions.
However, this should only be the beginning. This move should be followed up by compressing the government horizontally as well. This can be done not just by reducing the number of ministries and departments, but also by eliminating the often needless inter-ministerial consultations, a stratagem perfected over the years to delay decision-making and apportion the blame for wrong decisions among many partners. The need for such consultations has also arisen because certain ministries have expanded their turfs by putting in place rules and regulations that make prior consultation with them mandatory.
Steering recruitment rules, for example, through this maze of consultations and external approvals can take between two and five years. In many government organisations, key posts remain unfilled because recruitment rules act as an impediment, and amending them would take forever.
The expansion of government has taken place mainly to provide ministerial berths to influential politicians. Many ministries have been split just to find slots for the excessive number of officers who have been empanelled to hold secretary-level posts. Sports and youth affairs, for instance, used to be handled by a single ministry until a few years ago when it was split into two departments to accommodate two officers who were waiting to be posted. The department of land resources and the ministry of panchayati raj were carved out of the ministry of rural development solely due to similar exigencies.
While demarcating some levels is inevitable and may be necessary for the efficient functioning of a ministry or department, the uncontrolled multiplication of levels is mostly for the exclusive benefit of employees and officers, and for their promotions. Each secretary to the government of India now has a principal private secretary and a minimum of four other levels of private assistants and secretaries. Such a template is replicated everywhere. For a file to travel through the levels, it has to be scrutinised by each person in the hierarchy. The time taken in the process is nobody’s concern, nor is the cost of the inevitable delay.
It is common knowledge that a lot of time — in some cases nearly 50 per cent of a department’s time, perhaps more in state governments — is spent managing personnel, transfers, postings, promotions, disciplinary proceedings and court cases.
Consequently, very little quality time is left to attend to matters of public interest. The government has done the right thing by laying down that all decisions must be taken within four levels and not more. But as long as the other levels exist, their occupants will waylay the matter at hand and put a spoke in the wheel, making it impossible to hasten decision-making. Therefore, the four levels in every ministry must be identified and the remaining levels must be merged into them.
There is also an urgent need to revisit the ministries and departments,merge some and abolish a few. Departments like financial services, panchayati raj, land resources, steel and public enterprises have no rationale to exist. For instance, much of what the department of financial services is doing can be accomplished by the RBI and the department of economic affairs.
Similarly, panchayati raj is primarily a state subject and the Union ministry of panchayati raj is not doing much except duplicating what the department of rural development is already doing, namely, distributing Central assistance under various schemes. The ministry of steel oversees the functioning of a slew of PSUs like Sail and NMDC, often interfering in their functioning rather than adding value. These PSUs are supposed to be professionally managed — they have been conferred with the title of Maharatna.
Similarly, the department of public enterprises has no useful role to play except issuing numerous circulars and mediating MoUs between PSUs and their respective ministries — a task that the ministries can easily accomplish on their own. As if creating such a redundant department was not enough of a waste of public resources, there is a Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises to advise on how to revive sick PSUs. The list is long.
The quality of governance also depends on the calibre of those who lead the establishment. The next reform must address the manner in which senior positions in all Central government establishments are filled up. The prevailing assumption that almost everyone who joins the civil services is axiomatically fit to rise to the top and hold any office must be eschewed. It is patently wrong. We have been suffering the consequences of this self-perpetuating myth all these years.
Reforms to achieve minimum government must recognise this and devise ways to jettison the dead wood before its weight sinks the rest of the administration, as it is doing at present. Maximum governance will follow.