A DROP IN THE OCEAN OF INFO

carbon footprint

2011-05-07T20:26:00.000+05:30

courtesy : urbanomics

UPSC NTERVIEW 2011

2011-04-01T14:52:00.004+05:30

Board : Rajni Razdan

Date : 1/4/2011 FN 10.50 am - 11.10.am

My interview started late compared to other boards. Interview hall was well furnished as usual.. It was oval table , with chairman in the middle just opposite to me. chairman mam had lot of space for doing paper work before her. four members were seated in the side. two on each.

As i entered the room and greeted the mam and other members, i was asked to sit . Chair was comfortable and close to the table. There was paper and pencil before me. Mam was busy arranging files, opening some file..I was gazing at them for a minute or two. Other members were also browsing through my summary sheet. As I took a sidelook at the summary sheet held by one member, I was relieved because roll no. which i forgot to fill in the sheet, remained filled.

Mam asked my name, and roll no , dob and filled it in my photos' back. Shown me my photo and kept it in the file . then started asking questions.

Ch: When is all fools’ day celebrated ?

Me : april 1 mam, today.

Ch : What is the Reason for it ?

Me : mam, when there was a change of calendar from Julius to Gregorian , some thought it to be still the new year and celebrated it… so it was called so .

Ch: good… so ur hobbies are reading books, watching movies, ..blogging ..( she was reading from my summary sheet ) so ananth .. What do u do in blogging ?

Me : In blogging , I do two kind of things mam. One, I follow many blogs everyday. I follow my two favourite tamil authors, some on economic and current affairs. Second , I also have a blog where I pen any interesting stuff I came across, my experiences etc.

Ch : How do you know the number of ppl have visited ur site ?

Me : We have a same widget ( she smiled ..) where it can track and count the visitors to our site . We also could track who visited and to which post mam.

Ch: How many visited ur site ?

Me : I just a post or two in a month mam. I also don’t post it in some social networking site mam. I approximately got some 560 clicks mam

Ch : not bad.. ( signed the next member on her left )

M1: What is important news today ?

Me : There are two news items which I felt important today sir. First release of provisional census by the govt. yesterday which also alarmed at reducing child sex ratio ,mam( I want them to take a lead on it … I jus glanced at mam ). Next thing that pertains to my dept. where I work. Seven ombudsman were appointed for Indirect taxes to hear about the grievances.

M1 : In census 2011, ( he had some stats scribbled in his note pad ) which is the district with least population density and one with most population density?

Me : sorry sir , I didn’t know this thing, but I think arunachal Pradesh has least density with 76..

M1 : No I am asking about the district ?

Me : sorry sir, No idea ! ( with descending voice )

M1: Most populated district ?

Me : Sorry sir ! I didn’t come across. ( voice turned normal.. smiled )

M1 : What is current population of India ?

Me : 1.21 million.. err ..sorry billion sir !

M1 :What about decadal growth ? has it increased or decreased ?

Me: decadal growth has decreased from 21% to around 17 % sir!

M1 : Who is present census commissioner ?

Me : Mr.Chandramouli Ias sir.. ( I jus came quiz mode.. I stopped with the answer.. He was looking at me..) .. he was earlier IT secretary to Government of Tamilnadu .

( He signed to CH. That his part is over… ch. Signed at next member )

M2: In your profile, You have mentioned that you did one engineering I 2007 and other in 2008… is it a one year course ?

Me : In Anna University, where I studied , there is a option of dual degree sir. I joined the college for B.E. in geo – Informatics. At the end of the first year, You have an option to enroll for B.Tech ( IT) as a dual degree. At the end of five years, You get two degrees sir .

M2 : K… U have two degrees now. ..( he smiled at me… I also had a sheepish smile then.. )

M2 :In which year was UNO established?

Me : Sir… 1945

M2: When was bharat ratna awards constituted? Who were the persons first to receive it ?

Me : Sir, I exactly don’t know the answer. Can I make a guess sir ?

M2 ; mmm.. go ahead .

Me :Sir C. Rajagopalachari.. others I couldn’t recollect ..

M2 ; which year ?

Me : sorry sir, I couldn’t recollect sir…

M2 : You are now IRS probationer …. So How do you use Information technology in your current post ( customs )?

Me : Sir, Information technology will help in increasing the efficiency of the services by the govt. For example, In customs , earlier days we were manually clearing the goods for import and export by the receipt. With the liberalization , when international trade has increased , if e use the same method , ….sir, it would increase the time taken to clear the goods. Now with the computerization , we could do it very quickly sir.

…………….

M3: I just want to continue with my collegue’s question . What is the difference between engineering and technology ?

Me : Engineering deals with application of scientific principles , design and development of machines, processes, architecture etc .sir. technology confines itself to application to real world prolems in a very narrow field. Eg. Textile technology, ceramic technology

M3 : (he was not convinced ..) Both are just applications. What else is the difference?

Me : Sir.. Though that was the classical explanation.. but nowadays both are used interchangeably..( he was still not convinced..)

M3: What is NIBBLE ?

Me : sorry sir, I haven’t heard of it .

M3 : What is RAM ?

Me : Random Access Memory..

M3 : What is its role in CPU ?

Me : Sir it’s a electronic solid state device that stores information temoporarily. When power is gone, all information gets erased. It is used as a buffer for input into processor , since other storage devices such as hard disk, optical media cannot match the speed of the processor.

M3 : What is ROM ?

Me : Read – only – memory.

M3: Can you name some ROM ?

Me : optical media such as CD is a ROM sir !

M3 : what is the Difference between CD & DVD ?

Me : First of all, considering the storage space, DVD can store more data than cd..

M3: ( interrupted…) pls. answer me technical difference.

Me: Difference lies in using the different lasers used for burning it , sir. In DVD , thin laser is used so that bumps and … curves.. ah pits created is small so that it leads to more data being stored , sir!

….

M4: You have mentioned that you have studied geo – informatics. Can explain what it means ?

Me : It is a study about the synthesis of cartography and information technology to capture the geographic data sir. We use IT in surveying, remote sensing , gps to process..

M4 : (interrupted..) ya..ya.. understood… Recently , the foreign minister of Libya defected the country and..( stopped ).. oh.. do you the name of that foreign minister ?

Me : Sorry sir, I couldn’t recollect his name ..

M4 : Do u know what WHO stands for ?

Me : World Health Organisation

M4 : where is it situated ?

Me : sir , I couldn’t remember exactly. I guess it is in Washington.. ( confused with WTO )..

M4 : No, Its in geneva

Me : thanks sir. ( I smiled.. ) ( he was busy turning pages in his notepad .. )

M4 :What does UNIDO stand for ?

Me : sir its Industrial dispute.. sorry.. industrial development organization.

M4 : where is it situated ?

Me: I couldn’t recollect sir

( Chairman mam was busy turning newspaper pages.. might be intended to do while observing me.. )

M4 : If they suddenly ask you how many days are in a year , what would you say ?

Me : normally 365, 366 in leap year, sir.

M4 : How come suddenly you have one day extra ?

Me : every day is not exactly 24 hours sir. There some seconds extra.. that accumulates..

M4 : ( interrupted .. ) k.. Who is first Lady US secretary of state? ( he was looking at his notepad )

Me : condelezza rice… ( I didn’t pronounce properly.. he repeated again )

M4 : Who is present CEC ?

Me : Mr . S.Y. Quereshi sir.

M4 : his predecessor ?

Me : Mr. Navin chawla sir

M4 : his predecessor ?

Me : Mr . Krishnamurthi sir ( I was wrong.. it was gopalswami it seems)

M4 : confident ?

Me : ( thought for a fraction of second.. ) yes sir .. I think so !

M4 : Recently an official was dismissed without any inquiry .. U know that case right ? ( I nodded.. ) what do you think about it ?

Me : Sir, In rarest of rare circumstances , when national interest is involved, it can be done sir.I agree to supreme court’s view sir

M4 : Do you mean not even a closed inquiry is not required ?

Me : In 99.99 % cases,normal proceedings should be followed. But very rare circumstances we could do it in this way.

M4 : Does it have any backing of law ?

Me : Supreme court said that it has interpreted article 311 (a)(b)(c) in this case .

M4 : Can govt. do it by its own.

Me : No , sir. Govt cannot do it on their own. It should be codified by law and constitution amended..

M4 : ( interrupted.. ) k.. that’s fine.. Did you hear about sunglu report ?

Me : ( I jus couldn’t recollect at first.. suddenly it striked.. ) I am right, its about alleged irregularities in implementing commonwealth games by delhi govt..

M4 : ( interrupted.. ) only delhi govt..

Me : No sir, and all authorities involved in the project..

M4 : ( continued..) their irregularities..scams..k..

…….

Ch : Thank you…ur interview is over.. You can go.

corn Vs Oil - A graphic

2011-03-24T09:10:00.000+05:30

Via: Online Schools

courtesy : urbanomics

GST CONSTITUTION BILL

2011-03-23T21:32:00.001+05:30

GST : The Constitution (One Hundred and Fifteenth Amendment) Bill, 2011*

[BILL NO. 22 OF 2011]

A Bill further to amend the Constitution of India

Be it enacted by Parliament in the Sixty-second Year of the Republic of India as follows :—

Short title and commencement

1. (1) This Act may be called the Constitution (One Hundred and Fifteenth Amendment) Act, 2011.

(2) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint, and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act and any reference in any such provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed as a reference to the commencement of that provision.

Insertion of new article 246A

2. After article 246 of the Constitution, the following article shall be inserted, namely :—

“246A. Special provision with respect to goods and services tax.—Notwithstanding anything contained in articles 246 and 254, Parliament and the Legislature of every State, have power to make laws with respect to goods and services tax imposed by the Union or by that State respectively :

Provided that Parliament has exclusive power to make laws with respect to goods and services tax where the supply of goods, or of services, or both takes place in the course of inter-State trade or commerce.

Explanation.—For the purpose of this article, “State” includes a Union territory with Legislature.”

Amendment of article 248

3. In article 248 of the Constitution, in clause (1), for the word “Parliament”, the words, figures and letter “Subject to article 246A, Parliament” shall be substituted.

Amendment of article 249

4. In article 249 of the Constitution, in clause (1), after the words “with respect to”, the words “goods and services tax or” shall be inserted.

Amendment of article 250

5. In article 250 of the Constitution, in clause (1), after the words “with respect to”, the words “goods and services tax or” shall be inserted.

Amendment of article 268

6. In article 268 of the Constitution, in clause (1), the words “and such duties of excise on medicinal and toilet preparations” shall be omitted.

Omission of article 268A

7. Article 268A of the Constitution [as inserted by section 2 of the Constitution (Eighty-eighth Amendment) Act, 2003] shall be omitted.

Amendment of article 269

8. In article 269 of the Constitution, in clause (1), after the words “consignment of goods”, the words, figures and letter “except as provided in article 269A” shall be inserted.

Insertion of new article 269A

9. After article 269 of the Constitution, the following article shall be inserted, namely :—

“269A. Levy and collection of goods and services tax in course of inter-State trade or commerce.—(1) Goods and services tax on supplies in the course of inter-State trade or commerce shall be levied and collected by the Government of India and such tax shall be apportioned between the Union and the States in the manner as may be prescribed by Parliament by law.

Explanation I.—For the purposes of this clause, supply of goods or of services or both in the course of import into the territory of India shall be deemed to be supply of goods, or of services, or both in the course of inter-State trade or commerce.

Explanation II.—For the purpose of this article, “State” includes a Union territory with Legislature.

(2) Parliament may, by law, formulate the principles for determining when a supply of goods, or of services, or both takes place in the course of inter-State trade or commerce.”.

Amendment of article 270

10. In article 270 of the Constitution,—

(i) in clause (1), for the words, figures and letter “articles 268,268A and 269”, the words, figures and letter “articles 268, 269 and 269A” shall be substituted;

(ii) after clause (1), the following clause shall be inserted, namely :—

“(1A) Goods and services tax levied and collected by the Government of India shall also be distributed between the Union and the States in the manner provided in clause (2).”.

Amendment of article 271

11. In article 271 of the Constitution, after the words “in those articles”, the words “except the goods and services tax” shall be inserted.

Insertion of new articles 279A and 279B

12. After article 279 of the Constitution, the following articles shall be inserted, namely :—

‘279A. Goods and Services Tax Council.—(1) The President shall, within sixty days from the date of commencement of the Constitution (One Hundred and Fifteenth Amendment) Act, 2011, by order, constitute a Council to be called the Goods and Services Tax Council.

(2) The Goods and Services Tax Council shall consist of the following, members, namely :—

(a) the Union Finance Minister ............... Chairperson;

(b) the Union Minister of State in-charge of Revenue ... Member;

(c) the Minister in-charge of Finance or Taxation or any other Minister nominated by each State Government ....... Members.

(3) The Members of the Goods and Services Tax Council referred to in sub-clause (c) of clause (2) shall, as soon as may be, choose one amongst themselves to be the Vice-Chairperson of the Council for such period as they may decide.

(4) The Goods and Services Tax Council shall make recommendations to the Union and the States on—

(a) the taxes, cesses and surcharges levied by the Centre, the States and the local bodies which may be subsumed in the goods and services tax;

(b) the goods and services that may be subjected to or exempted from the goods and services tax;

(d) the rates of goods and services tax; and

(e) any other matter relating to the goods and services tax, as the Council may decide.

(5) While discharging the functions conferred by this article, the Goods and Services Tax Council shall be guided by the need for a harmonised structure of goods and services tax and for the development of a harmonised national market for goods and services.

(6) One-third of the total number of members of the Goods and Services Tax Council shall constitute the quorum at its meetings.

(7) The Goods and Services Tax Council shall determine the procedure in the performance of its functions.

(8) Every decision of the Goods and Services Tax Council taken at a meeting shall be with the consensus of all the members present at the meeting.

(9) No act or proceedings of the Goods and Services Tax Council shall be invalid merely by reason of—

(a) any vacancy in, or any defect in, the constitution of the Council; or

(b) any defect in the appointment of a person as a Member of the Council; or

Explanation.—For the purposes of this article, “State” includes a Union territory with Legislature.

279B. Goods and Services Tax Dispute Settlement Authority.—(1) Parliament may, by law, provide for the establishment of a Goods and Services Tax Dispute Settlement Authority to adjudicate any dispute or complaint referred to it by a State Government or the Government of India arising out of a deviation from any of the recommendations of the Goods and Services Tax Council constituted under article 279A that results in a loss of revenue to a State Government or the Government of India or affects the harmonised structure of the goods and services tax.

(2) The Goods and Services Tax Dispute Settlement Authority shall consist of a Chairperson and two other members.

(3) The Chairperson of the Goods and Services Tax Dispute Settlement Authority shall be a person who has been a Judge of the Supreme Court or Chief Justice of a High Court to be appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Chief Justice of India.

(4) The two other members of the Goods and Services Tax Dispute Settlement Authority shall be persons of proven capacity and expertise in the field of law, economics or public affairs to be appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Goods and Services Tax Council.

(5) The Goods and Services Tax Dispute Settlement Authority shall pass suitable orders including interim orders.

(6) A law made under clause (1) may specify the powers which may be exercised by the Goods and Services Tax Dispute Settlement Authority and provide for the procedure to be followed by it.

(7) Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution, Parliament may by law provide that no Court other than the Supreme Court shall exercise jurisdiction in respect of any such adjudication or dispute or complaint as is referred to in clause (1).

Explanation.—For the purpose of this article, “State” includes a Union territory with Legislature.’

Amendment of article 286

13. In article 286 of the Constitution,—

(i) in clause (1),—

(A) for the words “the sale or purchase of goods where such sale or purchase takes place”, the words “the supply of goods or of services or both, where such supply takes place” shall be substituted;

(B) in sub-clause (b), for the word “goods”, at both the places where it occurs, the words “goods or services or both” shall be substituted;

(ii) in clause (2), for the words “sale or purchase of goods takes place”, the words “supply of goods or of services or both” shall be substituted;

(iii) for clause (3), the following clauses shall be substituted, namely :—

“(3) Any law of a State shall, insofar as it imposes, or authorises the, imposition of a tax on the sale or purchase of goods declared by Parliament by law to be of special importance in inter-State trade or commerce be subject to such restrictions and conditions in regard to the system of levy, rates and other incidents of tax as Parliament may by law specify.

(4) Nothing in clause (3) shall apply to a law of a State insofar as it imposes or authorises the imposition of goods and services tax.”.

Amendment of article 366

14. In article 366 of the Constitution,—

(i) after clause (12), the following clause shall be inserted, namely :—

‘(12A) “goods and services tax” means any tax on supply of goods or services or both except taxes on the supply of the following goods, namely :—

(i) petroleum crude;

(ii) high speed diesel;

(iii) motor spirit (commonly known as petrol);

(iv) natural gas;

(v) aviation turbine fuel; and

(vi) alcoholic liquor for human consumption.’;

(ii) clause (29A) shall be omitted.

Amendment of article 368

15. In article 368 of the Constitution, in clause (2), in the proviso, in clause (a), for the words and figures “article 162 or article 241”, the words, figures and letters “article 162, article 241, article 279A or article 279B” shall be substituted.

Amendment of Sixth Schedule

16. In the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution, in paragraph 8, in sub-paragraph (3),—

(i) in clause (c), the word “and” occurring at the end shall be omitted;

(ii) in clause (a), the word “and” shall be inserted at the end;

(iii) after clause (d), the following clause shall be inserted, namely :—

“(e) taxes on entertainment and amusements.”.

Amendment of Seventh Schedule

17. In the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution,—

(a) in List I — Union List,—

(i) for entry 84, the following entry shall be substituted, namely:—

“84. Duties of excise on the following goods manufactured or produced in India, namely:—

(a) petroleum crude;

(b) high speed diesel;

(d) natural gas;

(e) aviation turbine fuel; and

(f) tobacco and tobacco products.”;

(ii) entries 92 and 92C shall be omitted;

(b) in List II — State List,—

(i) for entry 52, the following entry shall be substituted, namely:—

“52. Taxes on the entry of goods into a local area for consumption, use or sale therein to the extent levied and collected by a Panchayat or a Municipality.”;

(ii) for entry 54, the following entry shall be substituted, namely:—

“54. Taxes on the sale, other than sale in the course of inter-State trade or commerce or sale in the course of international trade and commerce of, petroleum crude, high speed diesel, natural gas, motor spirit (commonly known as petrol), aviation turbine fuel and alcoholic liquor for human consumption.”;

(iii) entry 55 shall be omitted;

(iv) for entry 62, the following entry shall be substituted, namely:—

“62. Taxes on entertainments and amusements to the extent levied and collected by a Panchayat or a Municipality or a Regional Council or a District Council.”.

Transitional provision

18. Notwithstanding anything in this Act, any provision of any law relating to tax on goods or services or on both in force in any State immediately before the commencement of this Act, which is inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution as amended by this Act shall continue to be in force until amended or repealed by a competent Legislature or other competent authority or until expiration of one year from such commencement, whichever is earlier.

Power of the President to remove difficulties

19. (1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of the Constitution as amended by this Act (including any difficulty in relation to the transition from the provisions of the Constitution as they stood immediately before the date of assent of the President to this Act to the provisions of the Constitution as amended by this Act), the President may, by order, make such provisions, including any adaptation or modification of any provision of the Constitution or law, as appear to the President to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of removing the difficulty:

Provided that no such order shall be made after the expiry of three years from the date of such assent.

(2) Every order made under sub-section (1) shall, as soon as may be after it is made, be laid before each House of Parliament.

STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS

The scheme of the Constitution does not provide for any concurrent taxing powers to the Union as well as the States. It is proposed to introduce the goods and services tax and for this purpose to amend the Constitution conferring simultaneous power on Parliament as well as the State Legislatures including every Union territory with Legislature to make laws for levying goods and services tax on every transaction of supply of goods or services or both. The goods and services tax would replace a number of indirect taxes presently being levied by the Central Government and the State Governments and is intended to remove cascading of taxes and provide a common national market for goods and services. The proposed Central and State goods and services tax would be levied on all transactions involving supply of goods and services except those that are exempt or kept out of the purview of the goods and services tax.

2. The proposed Bill which seeks further to amend the Constitution, inter alia, provides for—

(a) subsuming of various Central and State indirect taxes and levies like Central Excise Duty, Additional Excise Duties, Excise Duty levied under the Medicinal and Toilet Preparations (Excise Duties) Act, 1955, Service Tax, Additional Customs Duty commonly known as Countervailing Duty (CVD), Special Additional Duty of Customs (SAD), Central Surcharges and Cesses (excluding those applicable to income-tax, customs duties and to excise duties so far as they relate to goods outside the purview of the goods and services tax;

(b) subsuming of State VAT/Sales Tax, entertainment tax (unless it is levied by the local bodies), Luxury Tax, Taxes on lottery, betting and gambling, tax on advertisements, State Cesses and Surcharges insofar as they relate to supply of goods and services and Entry Tax, not levied by local bodies;

(d) conferring simultaneous power upon Parliament and the State Legislatures to make laws governing goods and services tax;

(e) coverage of goods other than crude petroleum, diesel, petrol, aviation turbine fuel, natural gas and alcohol for human consumption under the goods and services tax for the levy of goods and services tax;

(f) creation of a Goods and Services Tax Council to examine issues relating to goods and services tax and make recommendations to the Union and the States on parameters like rates, exemption list and threshold limits;

(g) enabling the setting up of a Goods and Services Tax Dispute Settlement Authority, which may be approached by the affected Government (whether the Centre or a State) seeking redressal for any loss caused by any action due to a deviation from the recommendations made by the Goods and Services Tax Council or for adversely affecting the harmonious structure and implementation of the goods and services tax;

(h) empowering District Councils and Regional Councils also to levy tax on entertainment and amusement;

(i) enabling the levy of goods and services tax on sale or purchase of newspapers and advertisements published therein;

(j) permitting only Municipalities and Panchayats to levy and collect tax on entry of goods in a local area for consumption, use or sale therein;

(k) allowing States to levy tax on intra-State sale of goods kept outside the purview of the goods and services tax, namely, Petroleum crude, High Speed Diesel, Natural Gas, Motor Spirit (Petrol), Aviation Turbine Fuel and Alcoholic Liquor for human consumption.

3. The Bill seeks to achieve the above objects.

New Delhi;

Pranab Mukherjee

The 16th March, 2011.

Presidents recommendation under article 117 of the Constitution of India

[Copy of letter No. 31011/04/2009, dated 16-3-2011 from Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Minister of Finance to the Secretary-General, Lok Sabha]

The President, having been informed of the subject-matter of the proposed Bill, recommends, under clauses (1) and (3) of article 117, read with clause (4) of article 274, of the Constitution of India, the introduction of the Constitution (One Hundred and Fifteenth Amendment) Bill, 2011 in Lok Sabha and also the consideration of the Bill.

FINANCIAL MEMORANDUM

Clause 12 of the Bill seeks to insert new articles 279A relating to constitution of Goods and Services Tax Council and 279B relating to establishment of Goods and Services Tax Dispute Settlement Authority in the Constitution. The proposed new article 279A seeks to empower the President to constitute a Council to be called the Goods and Services Tax Council consisting of the Union Finance Minister as its Chairperson and Union Minister of State in-charge of Revenue and the State Minister in-charge of Finance or Taxation or any other Minister nominated by each State Government as their Members.

The proposed new article 279B seeks to provide for the establishment of a Goods and Services Tax Dispute Settlement Authority to adjudicate dispute or complaint referred to it by a State Government or the Government of India arising out of a deviation from any of the recommendations of the Goods and Services Tax Council constituted under the proposed article 279A that results in a loss of revenue to a State Government or the Government of India or affects the harmonised structure of the goods and services tax.

There are no direct financial implications on account of the proposal. However, the creation of the Goods and Services Tax Council and the Goods and Services Tax Dispute Settlement Authority will involve creation of some posts. Given that the introduction of goods and services tax will make the Indian trade and industry much more competitive, domestically as well as internationally and contribute significantly to the growth of the economy, such additional expenditure on these bodies would be miniscule.

It is not practicable to make an estimate of the expenditure, both recurring and non-recurring on account of the above. However, such expenditure would be considerably marginal.

MEMORANDUM REGARDING DELEGATED LEGISLATION

Clause 12 of the Bill seeks to insert a new article 279A relating to the constitution of a Council to be called the Goods and Services Tax Council and another article 279B establishing the Goods and Services Tax Disputes Settlement Authority. Clause (1) of the proposed new article 279A provides that the President shall, within sixty days from the date of the commencement of the Constitution (One Hundred and Fifteenth Amendment) Act, 2011, by order, constitute a Council to be called the Goods and Services Tax Council. Clause (7) of the said article provides that the Council shall determine the procedure in the performance of its functions.

2. The procedure, as may be laid down by the Goods and Services Tax Council in the performance of its functions, are matters of procedure and details. The delegation of legislative power is, therefore, of a normal character.

*As Introduced in Lok Sabha

FM ON DISCUSSION WRT INDIRECT TAX PROPOSALS

2011-03-23T21:31:00.002+05:30

Madam Speaker

7. In respect of my Indirect Tax proposals, among the Government amendments to the Finance Bill, I propose to insert a new provision in the Customs Tariff Act to enable the Central Government to extend anti-dumping duty imposed on an article in cases of circumvention. The other amendments are technical in nature and do not involve any substantive change.

8. The House would recall that one of the considerations that guided the formulation of my proposals on indirect taxes was to prepare the ground for the transition to GST, beginning with a reduction in the number of exemptions. It was in this background that a mandatory levy of 10 per cent was proposed on branded ready-made garments and made-ups of textiles. I have received a large number of representations seeking a review of this proposal on the ground that this industry is still quite fragmented with a pre-dominance of unorganised units. While moving the Finance Bill for consideration earlier today, I have already announced an increase in the level of abatement on these products so that the overall burden of tax comes down and small manufacturers benefit. I would take this opportunity to re-emphasize that this would enable an SSI unit to continue to enjoy the exemption even if it had a turnover based on Retail Sale Price (RSP) of Rs.8.9 crore in 2010-11. I shall now take up some additional measures to provide relief to this sector.

9. It has been pointed out by the garment industry that often brand owners who outsource production to small units do not disclose the RSP to them. Since the duty is payable on a value linked to the RSP, this poses a problem for small manufacturers. A deeming provision is being made to enable such manufacturers to pay duty on the wholesale price at which they make a sale to the brand owner. As and when the brand-owner affixes the RSP on the garment or made-up, he would pay the additional duty, if any.

10. The garment and made-up industry has a high incidence of return of unsold stock. In order to obviate the burden of double payment on such goods, I propose to exempt from excise duty, returned goods not exceeding 10 per cent of the value of clearances of the unit in the preceding financial year. Physical verification of stock of such returned goods by Central Excise officers would not be necessary.

11. The doubts and queries raised by the industry have also been examined. A detailed clarification is being issued on these. I would also like to recapitulate to the Hon’ble Members that –

i) The levy does not apply to unbranded goods;

ii) It does not apply to goods made to order for a retail customer;

iii) The benefit of SSI exemption is available to goods bearing or sold under the brand name of the small manufacturer himself

iv) Simplified Export procedure is available to units that predominantly export and sell unbranded goods or goods bearing their own brand name in the domestic market.

12. One issue that Hon’ble Members have persistently raised relates to the reduction of import duty on raw silk (not thrown) from 30 per cent ad valorem to 5 per cent ad valorem. Shri Deve Gowda ji also mentioned it in his intervention today. The annual requirement of raw silk for the weaving industry is around 30,000 metric tonnes. The domestic sericulture industry is able to produce two-thirds of this requirement and around 10,000 metric tonnes needs to be imported. In reducing the duty Government have tried to balance the interests of the sericulture sector and silk weavers. As I have already stated earlier today, Government will keep close watch on import volumes and domestic prices and respond, if required, in the interests of domestic sericulture.

13. Some suggestions have been received in respect of the levy of 1 per cent Central Excise duty on 130 items. I propose to extend RSP based assessment with an abatement of 35 per cent to many of these items so that disputes with regard to valuation are avoided. I also propose to exempt any waste, scrap or parings arising in the course of manufacture of these items as a measure of relief.

14. To provide a simplified regime for taxpayers exclusively manufacturing these items, the following procedural relaxations are being made:

i) Physical verification of premises would not be necessary for new registrants;

ii) Visits to such units by Central Excise officers would be permitted only with due authorisation as in the case of SSI units;

iii) They would be required to file only quarterly returns; and

iv) A simplified return format will be prescribed.

15. Based on the feedback from domestic industry, I am proposing the following reliefs in customs and central excise duties with a view to encourage domestic manufacture:

i) To extend the concessional rate of 5 per cent CVD and Nil SAD to parts of all computer printers imported by actual users;

ii) To exempt seven specified parts of personal computers from levy of special additional duty of customs;

iii) To restore full exemption from excise duty (and CVD) on silicon wafers imported for manufacture of solar cells/modules;

iv) To exempt certain types of coking coal imported for the manufacture of iron or steel from customs duty;

v) To prescribe an unconditional 1 per cent excise duty (and CVD) on mobile handsets including cellular phones in addition to 1 per cent NCCD already leviable; and

vi) To reduce the basic customs duty from 60 to 30 per cent on CKD kits containing a pre-assembled engine, gear box or transmission assembly, imported for the manufacture of vehicles.

16. Notifications to give effect to these changes would be issued in due course and laid on the table of the House.

17. As for Service Tax, I have already announced earlier today our decision to exempt the new levy on health services in entirety both in respect of services provided by hospitals as well as by way of diagnostic tests.

18. Point of taxation Rules are due to come into force from April 1, 2011 and are meant to shift the payment of service tax from only cash basis towards accrual basis. The changes are essential to align the system of payment of taxes between goods and services. Many taxpayers have expressed concerns about some provisions and also sought some time for the switchover on account of changes required in their software. Accordingly, certain changes in the relevant provisions are being worked out and an additional period of three months up to June 30, 2011 is being provided to make the transition. These changes shall be notified shortly after completing the process of consultation.

FAQ on GST

2011-03-21T23:08:00.000+05:30

1.what is goods and services tax?

The GST is an unified indirect tax that will replace all indirect taxes levied on goods and services by the Indian Central and State governments. It is aimed at being comprehensive for most goods and services with minimum exemptions.

2.what is value added tax?

A value added tax (VAT) is a form of consumption tax. It is a tax only on the "value added" to a product, material or service, from an accounting view, by his stage of its manufacture or distribution. The manufacturer remits to the government the difference between these two amounts, and retains the rest for themselves to offset the taxes he had previously paid on the inputs.

The "value added" to a product by a business is the sale price charged to its customer, minus the cost of materials and other taxable inputs.

3. how GST is different from VAT as followed by the states?

If the Value Added Tax (VAT) is considered to be a major improvement over the pre-existing Central excise duty at the national level and the sales tax system at the State level, then the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be a further significant breakthrough – the next logical step - towards a comprehensive indirect tax reform in the country.

4.How is GST going to be implemented in India?

GST is to have two components- central GST and state GST – with separate rates, reflecting revenue considerations and acceptability. They would be administered and collected separately. Cross utilization of input credit is not allowed except for IGST.

5.Why cant we have an unified GST?

need for upholding the powers of Central and State Governments in their taxation matters.(fiscal federalism )

6.What are advantages of implementing GST ?

Cascading effect of taxes
Improvement in transparency and reduction in tax evasion

7. Why we need GST ?

non-inclusion of several Central taxes in the overall framework of CENVAT, such as additional customs duty, surcharges,etc.,
Non capture of valu addition chain beyond the production
Non inclusion of several state taxes like luxury tax, entertainment tax etc.
Cascading effect of CENVAT on the state taxes
Removal of central sales taxes

8.What are the taxes to be subsumed under GST ?

it is recommended that the following Central Taxes should be,to begin with, subsumed under the Goods and Services Tax:

ü (i) Central Excise Duty

ü (ii) Additional Excise Duties

ü (iii) The Excise Duty levied under the Medicinal and

ü Toiletries Preparation Act

ü (iv) Service Tax

ü (v) Additional Customs Duty, commonly known as

ü Countervailing Duty (CVD)

ü (vi) Special Additional Duty of Customs - 4% (SAD)

ü (vii) Surcharges, and

ü (viii) Cesses.

Following State taxes and levies would be, to begin with,subsumed under GST:

ü (i) VAT / Sales tax

ü (ii) Entertainment tax (unless it is levied by the local

ü bodies).

ü (iii) Luxury tax

ü (iv) Taxes on lottery, betting and gambling.

ü (v) State Cesses and Surcharges in so far as they

ü relate to supply of goods and services.

ü (vi) Entry tax not in lieu of Octroi.

Seismic Zoning and Nuke plants

2011-03-18T09:42:00.000+05:30

Map below shows the location of operational and under constructional power plants as regrd to the earth quake zoning (seismic zones ).

As seen from above, Jaithapur power palnt falls in zone iv , which had created lot of uproar in the area. Other places are relatively safe if this is accurate enough. India should take detailed study about its site worthiness before venturing into new projects.

New Methodology to Assess Price Index

2011-03-16T10:20:00.000+05:30

CSO has released a new CPI index with 2010 as base year. see the report here

The report states that urban spends more on housing (22 % ) , education and transport than their rural counterpart. They also spend more on recreation than rural. Rural people's doesnt cost or costs less .

surprisingly, fuel % is more for rural than the urban , though in actual value urban may spend more.

rural spends more on food, fuel and health.

Interestingly, both use same % for alcoholic beverages.

New series of CPI-- All India weights

Sub group/group	Rural	Urban	Combined (Rural+Urban)
Cereals and products	19.08	8.73	14.59
Pulses and products	3.25	1.87	2.65
Milk and milk products	8.59	6.61	7.73
Oils and fats	4.67	2.89	3.90
Egg, fish and meat	3.38	2.26	2.89
Vegetables	6.57	3.96	5.44
Fruits	1.90	1.88	1.89
Sugar etc	2.41	1.26	1.91
Condiments and spices	2.13	1.16	1.71
Non- alcoholic beverages	2.04	2.02	2.03
Prepared meals etc	2.57	3.17	2.83
Pan, tobacco and Intoxicants	2.73	1.35	2.13
Food, beverages and tobacco	59.31	37.15	49.71

Fuel and light	10.42	8.40	9.49

Clothing and bedding	4.60	3.34	4.05
Footwear	0.77	0.57	0.68
Clothing, bedding and footwear	5.36	3.91	4.73

Housing		22.53	9.77

Education	2.71	4.18	3.35
Medical care	6.72	4.34	5.69
Recreation and amusement	1.00	1.99	1.43
Transport and communication	5.83	9.84	7.57
Personal care and effects	3.05	2.74	2.92
Household requisites	4.48	3.92	4.30
Others	1.12	0.99	1.06
Miscellaneous	24.91	28.00	26.31

All Groups	100.00	100.00	100.00

Just have a look @ this

2011-03-16T09:26:00.000+05:30

another SI unit that comes in newspaper after fukshima reactor disaster - sievert

Amendement in constitutution for GST on roll here

coverup of 2010-2011 protest in wiki

Another perspective to fix balance between free power and power crisis

Black money - 5 pronged strategy

2011-03-11T20:13:00.000+05:30

Mr. Mukherjee noted that to tackle the menace of illicit funds, the government had adopted a five-pronged strategy:

joining the global crusade against black money;
creating an appropriate legislative framework;
setting up institutions for dealing with illicit funds;
developing systems for implementation; and
imparting skills to the manpower for effective action.

Problem of Malnutrition

2010-12-05T07:16:00.002+05:30

The problem of malnutrition is multi-dimensional and inter-generational in nature, the determinants of which include household food insecurity, illiteracy and lack of awareness especially in women, access to health services, availability of safe drinking water, sanitation and proper environmental conditions and adequate purchasing power etc. The nutritional status of the population is the outcome of complex and inter-related set of factors and cannot be improved by the efforts of single sector or action alone.

The Government accords high priority to the overall issue of malnutrition, particularly, in respect of children, adolescent girls and women and has been implementing several schemes/ programmes of different Ministries/Departments through State Governments/UTs. These schemes, interalia, include Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), Mid Day Meals Scheme, Drinking Water & Total Sanitation Campaign, Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY), Mahatama Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS), Targeted Public Distribution System etc. Several of the schemes namely, ICDS, NRHM, Mid Day meal (MDM), SGSY have been expanded to provide for increased coverage and improved services to the people.

To reach out the six services including supplementary nutrition to children below six years, pregnant and lactating mothers the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme has been universalised with special focus on SC/ST and minority habitation. There has been revision in cost norms as well as the Nutritional and Feeding norms of the Supplementary Nutrition component of ICDS.

Proposal to Create a National Text Book Council

2010-12-05T06:49:00.000+05:30

A Committee of Central Advisory Board of Education on “Regulatory Mechanism for Textbooks and Parallel Textbooks taught in schools outside Government system” has recommended establishment of “National Textbook Council” to monitor textbooks used in schools in the country so that standard of education could be maintained and the student community is not exposed to inferior quality of textbooks or undesirable content. A proposal has been circulated among the State Governments seeking their opinion.

Rajiv Awas Yojana

2010-12-05T06:45:00.001+05:30

Learning from the experience of JNNURM, the Government has announced the bold vision of a Slum-free India through Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY). RAY envisages central support to States that are willing to assign property rights to slum dwellers. RAY would adopt a ‘whole city’, ‘whole slum’ strategy with city as the unit unlike JNNURM which turned out to be a ‘pick and choose’ approach towards slum redevelopment.

RAY would have a two-pronged strategy. The first is to bring the existing slums within the formal system and enable them to avail of the same level of basic amenities as the rest of the town. The second is to undertake measures to prevent the creation of new slums through appropriate urban land policy and restructuring of the master planning model.

There is a dire need to address the issues of faulty urban land policy and urban planning models responsible for mushrooming of slums. Current land policies would need drastic changes to address the interests of the urban poor. The States need to re-look at the policies of making land and living space available to the masses in cities, especially the poor at a much faster rate than the pace of urban population growth.

Community mobilisation and participation in decision-making are also going to be an important element in RAY. RAY would also focus on enabling the urban poor to undertake housing construction and improvement programmes empowered by property right. RAY would also promote private sector participation and public private partnership for creation of affordable housing stock for the Low Income Groups. For all this, the poor will need to be enabled with access to housing and livelihoods finance.

Excerpts from speech by H'ble Housing & Urban poverty alleviation Min.

SEBI Unified Platform for Electronic Reporting and Dissemination

2010-12-05T06:37:00.002+05:30

SEBI has decided to set up a unified filing and dissemination system called SEBI Unified Platform for Electronic Reporting and Dissemination (SUPER-D).

The unified filing system is inter alia expected to enable listed companies and intermediaries registered with SEBI to make online filings of all regulatory requirements which can be accessed by the public.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Finance, Shri Namo Narain Meena in written reply to a question raised in Lok Sabha today.

Change in HDI - Intro to MPI

2010-11-11T09:45:00.000+05:30

A new set of internationally comparable data put together by researchers at the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative at the University of Oxford tries to take Mr Sen’s ideas about “the need for a multidimensional view of poverty and deprivation” seriously*. Aided by the improved availability of survey data about living conditions for households in over 100 developing countries, the researchers have come up with a new index, called the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will use in its next “Human Development Report” in October.
The index seeks to build up a picture of the prevalence of poverty based on the fraction of households who lack certain basic things. Some of these are material. Does a family home have a dirt or dung floor? Does it lack a decent toilet? Must members of the household travel more than 30 minutes on foot to get clean water to drink? Do they live without electricity? Others relate to education, such as whether any school-age children are not enrolled or whether nobody in the family has finished primary school. Still others concern health, such as whether any member of a household is malnourished. A household is counted as poor if it is deprived on over 30% of the ten indicators used. Researchers can then calculate the percentage of people in each country who are “multidimensionally poor”.

Read this article in Economist for more details and here , its changed indicators.

Basel III norms

2010-09-24T18:53:00.000+05:30

Indian banks are unlikely to be affected but may face some negative impact due to shifting some deductions from Tier-I & Tier-II capital to common equity, says RBI Governor Subbarao.

What are the Basel-III norms?

These are rules written by the Bank of International Settlement’s Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) whose mandate is to define the reform agenda for the global banking community as a whole. The new rule prescribes how to assess risks, and how much capital to set aside for banks in keeping with their risk profile.

What are the changes which have been made to the way in which capital is defined?

Going by the new rules, the predominant component of capital is common equity and retained earnings. The new rules restrict inclusion of items such as deferred tax assets, mortgage-servicing rights and investments in financial institutions to no more than 15% of the common equity component. These rules aim to improve the quantity and quality of the capital.

What do these new rules say?

While the key capital ratio has been raised to 7% of risky assets, according to the new norms, Tier-I capital that includes common equity and perpetual preferred stock will be raised from 2-4.5% starting in phases from January 2013 to be completed by January 2015. In addition, banks will have to set aside another 2.5% as a contingency for future stress. Banks that fail to meet the buffer would be unable to pay dividends, though they will not be forced to raise cash.

How different is the approach now?

The new norms are based on renewed focus of central bankers on macro-prudential stability. The global financial crisis following the crisis in the US sub-prime market has prompted this change in approach. The previous set of guidelines, popularly known as Basel II focused on macro-prudential regulation. In other words, global regulators are now focusing on financial stability of the system as a whole rather than micro regulation of any individual bank.

How will these norms impact Indian banks?

According to RBI governor D Subbarao, Indian banks are not likely to be impacted by the new capital rules. At the end of June 30, 2010, the aggregate capital to risk-weighted assets ratio of the Indian banking system stood at 13.4%, of which Tier-I capital constituted 9.3%. As such, RBI does not expect our banking system to be significantly stretched in meeting the proposed new capital rules, both in terms of the overall capital requirement and the quality of capital. There may be some negative impact arising from shifting some deductions from Tier-I and Tier-II capital to common equity.

courtesy: Economic times

India’s Commitment to Shift to More Sustainable Energy Systems

2010-09-24T08:37:00.000+05:30

The World Energy Council (WEC) meeting was attended by ministers of Algeria,Cameron, Haiti, India and Canada. Shri Shinde in his speech said that these conferences are good forum to understand the difficulties and potential of each other. He said that before defining the rules and policies we must understand the socio economic problems and developmental priorities of underdeveloped, developing and developed countries. They all have their own peculiar problems. This WEC meeting is on the backdrop of copenhegen. Addressing the gathering Shri Shinde said that this Congress is taking place at a time when the world grapples with two apparently opposing priorities – one to provide more and more energy to half the world’s population and the other to reduce Green House Gas emissions to the largest extent possible. We all need to work together to address these priorities and to move to a new energy trajectory.

The World Energy Council (WEC) is a multi-energy international organization covering all types of energy, including coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear, and renewables. Established in 1923, the WEC has now Member Committees established in 94 countries.
WEC has headquarters in London. Its mission is 'To promote the sustainable supply and use of energy for the greatest benefit of all people'.

Alliance of Small Island States

2010-09-24T00:27:00.000+05:30

Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) is an intergovernmental organization of low-lying coastal and small Island countries. Established in 1990, the main purpose of the alliance is to consolidate the voices of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to address global warming. AOSIS has been very active from its inception, putting forward the first draft text in the Kyoto Protocol negotiations as early as 1994.

Many of the member states were present at the COP15 United Nations on Climate Change Conference in December of 2009. Democracy Now! reported that members from the island state of Tuvalu interrupted a session on December 10 to demand that global temperature rise be limited to 1.5 degrees instead of the proposed 2 degrees.

click here for more

land acquisition - pros & con

2010-09-18T02:51:00.000+05:30

Why there is always a clash between farmers and industries? Which is the priority ? Industry , which plans to creates many jobs or food security to wipe out hunger?

This article discusses the array of issues.

Amendments to the Forward Contracts (Regulation) Act 1952

2010-09-18T02:01:00.000+05:30

The Union Cabinet today approved amendments to the Forward Contracts (Regulation) Act 1952 by introducing the Forward Contracts (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2010 in the Parliament.

Background

The FC(R) Act provides for the regulation of commodity futures markets in India and the establishment of the Forward Markets Commission (FMC). While the markets have been liberalized with effect from April, 2003 and modern institutional structures are in the process of being evolved, yet the market regulator, FMC is largely functioning in its traditional format.

After the Bill is passed and enacted by the Parliament, Forward Markets Commission (FMC) as a regulator will get autonomy and power to regulate the market effectively. New Products like ‘options’ will be allowed in the commodity market. This will benefit various stakeholders including the farmers to take benefit of ‘price discovery’ and ‘price risk management’.

The amendments proposed in the Forward Contract (Regulation) Act 1952 (FC(R) Act} are:

(a) up-dation of existing definitions and insertion of some new definitions; (b) changes in provisions relating to composition and functioning of FMC; (c) enhancement of the powers of FMC;

(d) corporatisation and demutualisation of the existing Commodities Exchanges and setting up of a separate Clearing Corporation;

(e) registration of Intermediaries;

(f) enhancement of penal provisions in the FC(R) Act;

(g) permitting trading in options in goods or options in commodity derivatives; and

(h) making provision for designating the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) as the Appellate Tribunal for purposes of FC(R ) Act also including that of levying fee.

The Bill also provides for some other provisions such as exempting FMC form payment of tax on wealth; income and profits or gains; conferring powers upon the Central Government; issue of directions to FMC on matters of policy and power to supersede FMC.

Rajasthan to Get 4 New Highways Projects

2010-09-18T01:56:00.000+05:30

The projects are: four laning of Beawar – Pali - Pindwara stretch on NH-14, Reengus – Sikar stretch on NH-11, and 6-laning of Kishangarh – Udaipur – Ahmadabad stretch of NH-79, NH-79A, and NH-76 & NH-8. Paved shoulders work with 2-lane will be taken up in Darra – Jhalawar – Teen – Dhar stretch of NH-12.

SICOM Project

2010-09-18T01:52:00.000+05:30

The Minister of State for Environment and Forests, Shri Jairam Ramesh said the major national initiative to protect our coastal ecosystems will start from states of Orissa, Gujarat and West Bengal. Inaugurating the office of the Society of Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM) here today , the Minister said this is for the first time that a professional body with experts in various aspects of coastal science and management.

The Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project consists of four components.

Under the first component, mapping, delineation and demarcation of hazard lines will be taken up by the Survey of India. Besides this, mapping, delineation and demarcation of environmentally sensitive areas, capacity building of the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the State Coastal Zone Management Authorities, and a nation-wide training programme will be taken up. A National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) will also be opened in Anna University, Chennai.

Under the second component, pilot studies will be undertaken on the ICZM approach for the coastline of Gulf of Kuchchh. Further, transplantation of corals in the Gulf of Kuchchh and sewage treatment facilities for Jamnagar district would be undertaken. Under the project, a Green Action for National Dandi Heritage Initiative (G.A.N.D.H.I.) will also be developed. The Rs 25 Crore project will focus on overall development and conservation of the environment of Dandi and the surrounding villages based on Gandhian Principles. Among other things, 100 ha of mangroves and 50 ha of bio-shield will be planted along the 8 km coastline of Dandi. The budget for Gujarat is Rs 298.34 crores.

The third component which includes Orissa has budget of Rs 300 crores. This will include capacity building of the state level agencies and institutions, preparation of an ICZM plan for the coastal sediment cells in the stretches of Paradip-Dhamra and Gopalpur-Chilika; regional coastal process study, and priority investments. It will also support capacity building in the area of coastal management and wetland research.

The fourth component will mainly address the coastal zone management issues in three sectors in West Bengal, namely, Sunderbans, Haldia and Digha-Shankarpur.The budget for West Bengal is Rs 300 crores.

Classification of Earthquakes

2010-09-18T01:47:00.000+05:30

Factsheet

Based on magnitude, earthquakes may be classified as microearthquakes, slight-, moderate-, great- and very great as detailed below:

Magnitude

Microearthquake -less than 3.0

Slight - 3.2-4.9

Moderate -5.0-6.9

Great -7.0-8.0

Very great - Greater than 8.0

Depending upon the epicentral distance of the earthquake, they may also be classified as local shock, near shock, distant shock and teleseismic shock as detailed below:

Epicentral Distance in degress

Local shock Less than 4.0

Near shock Between 4.0 and 10.0

Distant shock Between 10.0 and 20.0

Teleseismic shock Greater than 20.0.

For the Earth as a whole, the frequency of occurrence of earthquakes in different magnitude is given below:

Magnitude (Ms) Average number of earthquakes/year

8.0 2

7.0 20

6.0 100

5.0 3,000

4.0 15,000

3.0 >100,000

A list of damaging earthquakes in India during the last about ten years:

· Uttarkashi earthquake of October 20,1991 (M:6.6).

· Latur earthquake of September 30,1993 (M:6.3).

· Jabalpur earthquake of may 22,1997 (M:6.0).

· Chamoli earthquake of March 29,1999 (M:6.8).

· Bhuj earthquake of January 26,2001 (M:6.9).

IBSAMAR Progresses off Durban, South Africa

2010-09-18T01:43:00.002+05:30

The Indian Ocean region off Durban is abuzz with activity as 11 ships of the navies of India, Brazil and South Africa engage in nautical exercises as part of the ongoing IBSAMAR, India-Brazil-South Africa Maritime (Exercise).

This, the second edition of IBSAMAR scheduled from 13 – 27 Sep 2010, is slated to be a multi-dimensional exercise where in various naval scenarios are being exercised. The exercises are structured with the aim of sharing best practices in various facets of naval operations.

National Bamboo Mission

2010-09-18T01:02:00.000+05:30

Realizing the immense socio-economic potential of bamboo, the Government of India has launched the National Bamboo Mission (NBM) and the National Mission on Bamboo Application (NMBA) for its holistic development, cultivation and for developing the technologies and applications for bamboo based products.

The state of Nagaland has been a pioneer and had adopted a Bamboo Policy in 2004. The Policy articulates the development of Bamboo in Nagaland along two approaches:

1. Development of Bamboo as a Resource, and
2.. Development of Bamboo as an Enterprise

Developing bamboo as a resource is focused on optimal cultivation and management of bamboo resources, through development of natural bamboo forests and bamboo plantation development.

Development of bamboo as an enterprise is focused on developing bamboo-based industries, service sectors and ancillary activities including tourism. The Nagaland Bamboo Development Agency has a mission to generate new employment opportunities based on bamboo.

In order to realize the full potential of bamboo, various technical, financial and entrepreneurial interventions are needed in the fields of forestry, land use, propagation technology for its cultivation and sustainable use, and in the areas of industry and finance.

Apart from its utility as food and medicine, in minor tools, implements and daily utilities, bamboo is extensively used for handicrafts, furniture and even art. Its application has expanded to boards, ply and shuttering materials for use in buildings and construction.

It has also been developed as an energy source in the form of charcoal, activated carbon and even to generate electricity through gasification. It is eco friendly, being not only biodegradable but also having enormous capacity to sequester carbon. Furthermore, as the fastest growing plant on earth, it is a renewable resource with short gestation.