WTO approves India-US agreement on food security,ias mains

The WTO adopted the Agreement that aims toease the movement of goods between member

countries; thereby reducing transaction costs 13Member countries are now free to accept the

Agreement.The General Council approved the peace clausethat will enable India to continue providing farm

subsidies indefinitely, and set a deadline tocomplete the Bali Package. Details of the events

that transpired over the last year are given below:

December 2013

The Trade Facilitation Agreement was to beadded to the WTO Agreement at the Ninth WTOMinisterial Conference. An interim solution onthe food grains stockholding issue was agreedupon at the conference. The WTO sets a limit onthe support that governments can provide tofarmers, at 10% of the total value of productionof food grains. Developing members, like India,with large populations that need to be ensuredfood security, would be protected from beingchallenged in WTO on grounds of exceeding the10% limit.

July 2014

At the WTO meeting, India did not support theadoption of the Protocol of Amendment for the

Agreement. It held that the adoption of theprotocol must be postponed until a permanentsolution on food security is reached, since theyare both part of the Bali decisions fromDecember 2013.14 The General Council couldnot find a solution and was declared closedwithout adopting the Agreement protocol.

November 2014

India and the US reached an agreement onsubsidies resulting from the public stockholding

of food grains on November 13, 2014.15 TheIndia-US agreement implied that the USsupported India's demand of being allowed togive subsidies to its farmers indefinitely, withoutbreaching WTO‟s limit.16

The peace clause can be used by India if it canmeet the following conditions:

 To ensure that the public stockholdingprogramme does not distort global trade andsimilar programmes by other countries.

 To notify the WTO if it has crossed or islikely to cross the limit on subsidies providedto farmers.

 New food stockholding programmes that maybe launched in the future will have to abide

by the 10% limit set by the WTO.

The peace clause was approved by the WTO

NJAC

STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS

The Constitution of India contains provisions for the appointment of Judges of the

Supreme Court and High Courts including the transfer of Judges from one High Court to

another High Court. The Supreme Court in the matter of the Supreme Court Advocates-onRecord

Association Vs. Union of India in the year 1993, and in its Advisory Opinion in 1998

in the Third Judges case, had interpreted clause (2) of article 124 and clause (1) of article 217

of the Constitution with respect to the meaning of ‘‘consultation’’ as ‘‘concurrence’’.

Consequently, a Memorandum of Procedure for appointment of Judges to the Supreme

Court and High Courts was formulated, and the same is being followed for appointment.

2. After review of the relevant constitutional provisions, the pronouncements of the

Supreme Court and consultations with eminent Jurists, it is felt that a broad based National

Judicial Appointments Commission should be established for making recommendations for

appointments of Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts. The said Commission would

provide a meaningful role for the judiciary, the executive and eminent persons to present

their view points and make the participants accountable, while also introducing transparency

in the selection process. Keeping this in view, a Bill, namely, the Constitution (One Hundred

and Twenty-first Amendment) Bill, 2014 has been introduced in Parliament which provides

for the establishment of the National Judicial Appointments Commission to discharge

functions specified therein.

3. The National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, 2014 inter alia provides for

the time frame to initiate the process of filling up of vacancies in the Supreme Court and High

Courts and the procedure for selection of Chief Justice of India, Chief Justice of High Courts

and Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts. It further provides that if two members of

National Judicial Appointments Commission do not agree, then the Commission shall not

make such recommendation. It also provides that the President may, if necessary, require the

Commission to reconsider the recommendation. However, if the Commission makes unanimous

recommendations on such reconsideration, then the President shall make the appointment

accordingly.

4. Further, the Bill provides that the National Judicial Appointments Commission may

make regulations inter alia specifying the criteria of suitability with respect to the appointment

of Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, the procedure and conditions for selection

and appointment of Judge of the Supreme Court and High Court, the procedure for transfer

of Judges from one High Court to another High Court and the procedure to be followed by

the Commission in the discharge of its functions.

5. The National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, 2014 seeks to broad base the

appointment of Judges in the Supreme Court and High Courts, enables participation of

judiciary, executive and eminent persons and ensures greater transparency, accountability

and objectivity in the appointment of the Judges in the Supreme Court and High Courts.

6. The Bill seeks to achieve the above objectives.

Judicial Appointments Commission Bill gets President’s nod

The new law facilitates setting up of a commission for appointment of judges, replacing the 20-year-old collegium system

The Constitutional amendment Bill that seeks to scrap the collegium system of appointing judges to higher judiciary has received Presidential nod. The National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Bill passed by the Parliament in August this year has received President’s assent, official sources said.

The new law facilitates the setting up of a commission for appointment of judges, replacing the 20-year-old collegium system, which has been under severe criticism.

It paves the way for the setting up of NJAC, which will appoint and transfer judges to the Supreme Courts and the 24 High Courts. The Bill, 124th amendment to the Constitution, grants Constitutional status to the NJAC and its composition which will be headed by the Chief Justice of India.

As many as 16 of the 29 states have ratified the Bill. Besides the CJI, the judiciary would be represented by two senior judges of the Supreme Court. Two eminent personalities and the Law Minister will be the other members of the body.

NASA instrument to measure soil moisture on Earth

NASA is launching a new remote sensing instrument in space that will measure the moisture lodged in Earth’s soils with unprecedented accuracy and resolution.

The Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) instrument scheduled for launch on January 29, 2015, has three main parts — a radar, a radiometer and the largest rotating mesh antenna ever deployed in space.

Remote sensing instruments are called “active” when they emit their own signals and “passive” when they record signals that already exist.

The mission’s science instrument ropes together a sensor of each type to corral the highest-resolution, most accurate measurements ever made of soil moisture — a tiny fraction of Earth’s water that has a disproportionately large effect on weather and agriculture.

To enable the mission to meet its accuracy needs while covering the globe every three days or less, SMAP engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, designed and built the largest rotating antenna that could be stowed into a space of only one foot by four feet for launch.

The dish is 19.7 feet in diameter.

“We call it the spinning lasso,” said Wendy Edelstein of JPL, the SMAP instrument manager.

The antenna is attached on one side to an arm with a crook in its elbow. It spins around the arm at about 14 revolutions per minute (one complete rotation every four seconds).

Although the antenna must fit during launch into a space not much bigger than a tall kitchen trash can, it must unfold so precisely that the surface shape of the mesh is accurate within about an eighth of an inch.

The mesh dish is edged with a ring of lightweight graphite supports that stretch apart like a baby gate when a single cable is pulled, drawing the mesh outward.

“Making sure we don’t have snags, that the mesh doesn’t hang up on the supports and tear when it’s deploying — all of that requires very careful engineering. We have a very stable and robust system now,” the SMAP instrument manager said.

SMAP’s radar uses the antenna to transmit microwaves towards Earth and receive the signals that bounce back, called backscatter.

The microwaves penetrate a few inches or more into the soil before they rebound. Changes in the electrical properties of the returning microwaves indicate changes in soil moisture, and also tell whether or not the soil is frozen.

Using a complex technique called synthetic aperture radar processing, the radar can produce ultra-sharp images with a resolution of about one to three kilometres.

The SMAP will be the fifth NASA Earth science mission launched within the last 12 months

Hamara Jal – Hamara Jeewan

Hamara Jal – Hamara Jeewan to be Observed in Every District of Country Uma Bharti Holds Video Conference with the State Representatives

Hamara Jal – Hamara Jeewan initiative will be observed in every district of the country during India Water Week- 2015 (January 13 to 17, 2015). This was announced by Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvention Sushri Uma Bharti during video conference with the principal secretaries of water resources /irrigation of various States here today. She said this will be an initiative to engage scientists, engineers, water communities, PRIs, other stakeholders and NGOs to address the issues of water resources planning at the local level and to generate awareness regarding need for water conservation. Sushri Bharti said one day workshop will be organized in every district to find indigenous solution for meeting the water related demands and suggest future road map to manage water for growth. The Minister said, “Each district, as an administrative unit is proposed to be targeted for organizing the event which will be a part of the Central Sector IEC scheme for highlighting the importance and generating awareness about water conservation”. The Minister said participation from school students will be an integral part of the programme for sensitizing the next generation for water conservation. This will also spread awareness regarding need to conserve water in the light of growing water scarcity. During the workshop it is planned to prepare a profile of each district covering its source of water, utilization for various uses and constraint, possible local solutions for meeting the unsatisfied demands and future roadmap to manage water for growth. The States have been asked to submit a report in this regard after the workshop is over. The recommendations received during the deliberations of the workshop will also be used for preparation of an overview of State level recommendations. Such recommendations would enable Ministry to utilize the same for policy making. States water resources department will be overall in charge of implementing the programme. For organizing the event in each State, committees will be constituted at two levels. The State level organizing committee will be constituted under the chairmanship of Principal Secretary, Water Resources Department or Engineer-in-Chief of the Water Resources Department wherein representatives at the level of Superintending Engineer / Director from the field organizations of Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation like CWC, CGWB, NWDA etc. will be nominated as Member Secretaries to the Committee. The state level organizing committee will be responsible for overall organization of the events in the respective districts of the State. For organizing the event in each district, District level committee to be headed by Collector/DC/DM of the district will be constituted and other members of the committee may include subordinate officers of the districts like BDOs, municipal authorities (in case of urban/semi urban districts). Representatives from NGOs / WALMIS working in the districts may also be included as members of the District level organizing committee. An amount of Rs. 50,000 has been earmarked for organizing the event in each district by the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. The amount will be released to the nodal officers identified for the state. The amount will be spent by the representative of nodal officer or the district level committee which will be subsequently reimbursed by the nodal officer. State Water Resources Department have also been requested to mobilize additional funds available with them under their respective schemes

Year End Review for the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development

YEAR END REVIEW 2014 ·        Passing of the Indian Institutes of Information Technology Bill, the School of Planning and Architecture Bill that makes these institutions of national importance with powers to award degrees. ·        Amendment to the Central University Bill paving the way for a Central University named after Mahatma Gandhi at Motihariin Bihar. ·        Launch of the Credit framework for Skills and Education as per the National Skills Qualification framework paving the way for certification of skills through the formal system and allowing for multiple exits and entrance into the education system with scope for vertical and lateral mobility. ·        Launch of the Know Your College portal to provide informed decision making opportunity for students along with complete availability of all e-learning resources. ·        Launch of UnnatBharat Abhiyan connecting higher education and society to enable technology and its use for development of rural areas. ·        Launch of Global Initiative for Academics Network (GIAN), an initiative to attract the best foreignacademics to Indian Universities of Excellence.  ·        Approval by UGC of the Guidelines for Choice Based Credit Framework, providing for more choices for students to opt for employable courses through a system of flexible credits for foundational, elective and core courses. ·        Systematic work on finalizing a ranking and accreditation framework that can be adapted to the Indian system. ·        National Consultation Workshop on Skills in Higher Education to assess the success of Community Colleges and Bachelor of Vocational StudiesProgrammes to make them better. ·        Launch of the PanditMadan Mohan MalaviyaMission on Teachers and Teaching on 25th December, 2014.

Rafale in storm clouds, Parrikar says IAF can make do with Sukhoi-30s

For the first time since January 31, 2012, when the FrenchRafale fighter was chosen as the future medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) for the Indian Air Force (IAF), a top Indian official has admitted serious problems in negotiating the purchase with French vendor, Dassault.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday evening, Defence MinisterManohar Parrikar said there were “complications” in the negotiations that have already dragged on for almost three years, with the French side reluctant to meet commitments that the IAF had specified in the tender.

Parrikar did not reveal details. Business Standard has reported earlier on Dassault’s unwillingness to assume responsibility for the production of Rafales by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, which the tender mandated. HAL is to build 108 Rafales in India with technology transferred from Dassault and its sub-vendors.

Ominously for Dassault, Parrikar said that additional Sukhoi-30MKI fighters, which HAL builds in Nashik, were adequate for the IAF in case it was decided not to procure the Rafale.

The IAF currently plans to have 272 Su-30MKI fighters by about 2018. HAL’s Nashik production line is building the fighter at Rs 358 crore each, less than half the estimated cost of buying the Rafale.

“The Su-30MKI is an adequate aircraft for meeting the air force’s needs”, said Parrikar.

Earlier this month, Parrikar had assured his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian, during the latter’s visit to New Delhi on December 1, that Rafale negotiations would be placed on a “fast track”, according to MoD officials.

The defence minister revealed on Tuesday that the French defence minister “has (committed) to send an empowered person to negotiate after New Year.”

According to the terms of the MMRCA tender, 18 of the 126 fighters being bought would be supplied fully built abroad, with the remaining 108 manufactured by HAL. The cost of the project, originally sanctioned at Rs 42,000 crore, has now crossed Rs 100,000 crore, according to expert estimates.

Border infrastructure

Signalling a major thrust on building roads along the 4,057-kilometre Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China, the defence minister announced that the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), which has been plagued by infighting between its civil and military personnel, would come directly under the MoD.

“BRO is being delinked from the Ministry of Surface Transport. It will be entirely defence controlled and defence financed. We are (also) considering transferring of more than 6,000-7,000 kilometres of roads, which are not in sensitive areas, to the National Highways (Authority of India)”, said Parrikar.

Weighing in against the principle of “dual command”, the defence minister said: “Ministry of Surface Transport was their (BRO’s) administrative department and defence was their [operational department]. So obviously there was confusion, when you have two masters, you don’t get work output.”

Parrikar confirmed that the proposal had been discussed with Minister for Surface Transport, Nitin Gadkari, and both had agreed that, from the next budget onwards, BRO would come under the MoD.

The BRO was charged with building 61 Indo-China Border Roads (ICBRs), of total length 3410 kilometres, by 2012.  Of these, it has completed only 17 roads, of length 590 kilometres, the defence minister told parliament on December 12.

Parrikar explained that high technology, especially the practice of tunnelling with rock boring machines, was essential for building roads in difficult terrain, for which the private sector needed to be involved. “The way it is being cut today, I don’t think we will complete (our target) even in 15 years. If the target is 5 years, we will have to use technology”, he said.

The defence minister also revealed that he was working with the railways minister, Suresh Prabhu, to expand rail connectivity across Arunachal Pradesh. “We have decided to improve the railway connectivity as well as the road connectivity. We will finalise things in the days ahead”, he said.

The defence minister told parliament on December 12 that four strategic railway lines have been prioritised for survey.

Arms agents permitted

Parrikar reiterated his intention to permit foreign arms companies to station “representatives or technical consultants” in India, reversing a ban on “agents” that had been imposed after the Bofors gun scandal of 1987-88. This had been reported earlier by Business Standard (December 13, “Parrikar likely to allow arms agents, impose steep fines for wrongdoing”).

The defence minister downplayed reports of increased Pakistani firing on the Line of Control (LoC), stating, “Across the LoC, (firing) incidents have reduced during 2014. There were increasing incidents on the International Border, but they have also fallen during the last two months compared to this time last year.”

Even so, Parrikar emphasised the army’s muscular posture, saying his orders were”“Don’t hesitate; react appropriately and without holding yourself back. We don’t (start firing). But if there is something going on from the other side we retaliate with double the energy.”

Parrikar said that additional Sukhoi-30MKI fighters, which HAL builds in Nashik, were adequate for the IAF in case it was decided not to procure the Rafale