Mumbai's bar dancers will only get partial relief from the Supreme Court's recent ruling

‪#‎LAV‬

Mumbai's bar dancers will only get partial relief from the Supreme Court's recent ruling.

The Supreme Court’s 16 July ruling upholding the 2006 judgment of the Bombay High Court that upturned the Maharashtra government’s ban on dance bars is, at best, a pyrrhic “victory” for the women who danced in these bars. In 2005, when the ban was instituted, an estimated 75,000 women lost their main source of livelihood. Hence, it is presumed that following the Supreme Court’s ruling these women will once again have recourse to a livelihood option. However, a closer reading of the judgment coupled with the competitive “moral” politics of Maharashtra suggests that the “victory” is only partial.

The Bombay High Court struck down the Maharashtra government’s amendment to the Bombay Police Act, 1951 banning all forms of dancing in bars that were lower than three star status, to be against the constitutional provisions in Articles 14 and 19(1)(g). By amending Section 33 (A) of the law, the Maharashtra government had created two categories for the same activities. Women could not perform in licensed bars outside hotels that were three star or higher, or in private clubs. The justification for the ban was that these performances resulted in depravity, lowering public morality and exploited the women. Yet, no such value judgment was made on the same or similar performances in the higher class establishments. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the Supreme Court has confirmed what the Bombay High Court concluded, namely, that such a law is discriminatory and goes against the Constitution.

Now that the ban has been struck down, will dance bars reopen and the women find work again? In the year following the ban, which was incidentally supported by virtually all political parties in Maharashtra, and the Bombay High Court judgment, hundreds of bars were forced to close. Apart from the women dancers, the entire industry consisting of support staff, waiters, managers, and others who provided services to these bars was put out of work. And as the Maharashtra government managed to get a stay from the Supreme Court on the Bombay High Court ruling, the ban prevailed.

Despite the Court ruling, it is unlikely that things will return to pre-ban days. Although many dance bars metamorphosed as “live music” bars, they will now have to apply for fresh licences if they want to introduce dance performances. It is unlikely that these will be granted in a hurry. The Maharashtra government has already indicated that it might go back to Court. It has to maintain the appearance of being concerned about “public morality”, the apparent reason it went in for the ban, because it cannot afford to yield this high moral ground to its competitors, especially the Shiv Sena but also its ally the Nationalist Congress Party.

The Supreme Court has asked the Maharashtra government to implement the rules formulated by its own committee prior to the ban. These rules include restrictions on what the women can wear while dancing, a fenced-off area where they dance, not more than eight women dancing at one time, not permitting the “showering” of money on dancers and registering the names and addresses of the dancers. In their anxiety to restart, bar owners are already promising to implement all this and more.

None of these so-called “rules”, however, will alter the daily reality that bar dancers have had to live with all these years. For instance, there is no guarantee that these women will work under better conditions. In the past, many did not get paid and depended entirely on the money “showered” on them by the clientele. If these tips are now to be collected by the bar’s management, it is anybody’s guess how much will finally get to the women. Even at the best of times, the bar dancers had no security and could be turned away on any given day. That insecurity will continue. And finally, only a small number of those who lost their jobs in 2005 are likely to be re-employed as they are now older and do not fit the profile of the bar dancer.

The Court’s intervention apart, what remains untouched is the “popular” conception of what is moral and immoral. The ban on dance bars exposed how lawmakers fell over each other in declaring the immorality of women dancing in bars even as they swore concern about the exploitation of women. At no point did any of them notice the hypocrisy of pushing ahead with policies that make women more vulnerable to exploitation while denying them agency and the right of choice.

KYOTO PROTOCOL ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Background

Countries with commitments under the Kyoto Protocol to limit or reduce greenhouse gas emissions must meet their targets primarily through national measures. As an additional means of meeting these targets, the Kyoto Protocol introduced three market-based mechanisms, thereby creating what is now known as the “carbon market.” 

The Kyoto mechanisms are:
1 Emissions Trading
2 The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
3 Joint Implementation (JI)

The Kyoto mechanisms:
Stimulate sustainable development through technology transfer and investment
Help countries with Kyoto commitments to meet their targets by reducing emissions or removing carbon from the atmosphere in other countries in a cost-effective way
Encourage the private sector and developing countries to contribute to emission reduction efforts



JI and CDM are the two project-based mechanisms which feed the carbon market. JI enables industrialized countries to carry out joint implementation projects with other developed countries, while the CDM involves investment in sustainable development projects that reduce emissions in developing countries.



The carbon market is a key tool for reducing emissions worldwide. It was worth 30 billion USD in 2006 and is growing.

Annex I Parties must provide information in their national communications under the Protocol to demonstrate that their use of the mechanisms is “supplemental to domestic action” to achieve their targets. This information is assessed by the facilitative branch of the Compliance Committee

Eligibility requirements

To participate in the mechanisms, Annex I Parties must meet, among others, the following eligibility requirements:

o They must have ratified the Kyoto Protocol.


o They must have calculated their assigned amount in terms of tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions.


o They must have in place a national system for estimating emissions and removals of greenhouse gases within their territory.


o They must have in place a national registry to record and track the creation and movement of ERUs, CERs, AAUs and RMUs and must annually report such information to the secretariat.


o They must annually report information on emissions and removals to the secretariat.


ADMIN: LAV

Where the mind

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high

Where knowledge is free

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments

By narrow domestic walls

Where words come out from the depth of truth

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way

Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit

Where the mind is led forward by thee

Into ever-widening thought and action

Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

ADMIN: LAV

EMPOWERING A NEW CAG

To be truly independent, this institution must be freed from both governmental control and political bias

Many recent reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) have highlighted grave discrepancies in government expenditure and deliberate distortions of stated policies. These reports and their aftermath demonstrate the true potential of the office of the CAG to force action against corruption. As the custodian of the public purse, it is one of the key actors in the system of checks and balances envisaged under our Constitution. In fact, today the CAG is likely the most important functionary responsible for ensuring accountability of the government.

However, the CAG can do justice to this role only if he is competent, independent and suitably empowered. Sadly, the current framework compromises this, leaving room for abuse in appointments, as well as limiting the CAG's authority to effectively perform his constitutional duties. This is particularly important now, as the appointment of a new CAG looms on the horizon.

The CAG's appointment pro-cess is a legacy from the pre-Independence 'not-accountable-to-Indians' mindset, whereby it is entirely at the government's discretion. Given the governing coalition's exasperation with the incumbent, it is probable that this time around it will look for someone who is likely to be favourably inclined towards the government, or at the least be ineffective.

This stratagem has already been exposed in making even those appointments which provide a role for the opposition. In the 2010 appointment of the chief vigilance commissioner (P J Thomas) and this month the National Human Rights Commissioner, the government simply bulldozed the process, totally disregarding the dissent notes by the leaders of the opposition. That was possible because, even in these more modern, democra-tic institutions, the intent of checks and balances in appointments is defeated by providing the government the upper hand.

In order to be truly independent, the CAG — not to mention other institutions like the CVC and NHRC — must be free from both governmental control and political bias. Sadly, even at the highest levels of government there does not seem to be any acceptance of the need to bring in changes.

To ensure that the independence of the CAG does not depend on the morals of the government of the day, his appointment should reflect real checks and balances. My formula would have the CAG appointed by a committee consisting of the Speaker, the prime minister and the two leaders of the opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Their choice should be by simple majority and, in the event of a tie, it should be referred to the Chief Justice of India to cast the deciding vote.

Reforming the CAG must not end with the appointment pro-cess. There is an urgent need to amend the Audit Act that governs the working of the CAG. The most important changes must include: Bringing contractual agreements and public-private partnerships (PPPs) within the CAG's ambit; giving statutory backing to 'performance audits'; penalties for not responding to information requests from the CAG in time; and time-bound laying of CAG reports in the legislature.

In recent years, the role of the government has been considerably redefined. It is now increasingly partnering with the private sector. Many infrastructure projects are now undertaken in the PPP mode, involving transfer of public assets (for instance, oilfields) and revenue sharing between the government and the private sector. Many of these newer structures are presently outside the ambit of the CAG. This reduces oversight and creates avenues for corruption. Therefore, the scope of the CAG's powers must be expanded to include such arrangements.

However, we should be careful not to overreach. The expanded remit of the CAG must not deter participation of the private sector. Private enterprises are likely to be wary of excessive intrusiveness in their decision-making processes, and rightly so.

A solution to maintain a balance would be to empower the CAG to audit only those transactions that are primarily related to specific agreements between the government and private parties to ensure that the government's share in revenue or profit is protected. By limiting the scope of the audit, this provision would shield private players from undue interference.

The CAG should also be explicitly empowered to conduct 'performance audits'. This form of audit allows the auditor to question government decisions to check for wastage of public money. Performance audits were used by the CAG for the reports on the Commonwealth Games and theallocation of 2G spectrum, among others. These highlighted drama-tic incidents of malfeasance that mere accounting exercises would not have been able to unearth.

Next, there ought to be penalties for delaying information asked for by the CAG, which should also be armed with search and seizure powers. And finally, it must be mandatory for the government to lay the CAG's reports in Parliament or the state assem-bly within seven days of its sitting. Currently, governments often delay the tabling of reports which are politically inconvenient.

I have recently submitted two private members' Bills in the Lok Sabha in support of these measures. I recognise that private Bills haven't been passed by our Parliament in decades. Nevertheless, they serve as useful tools to build awareness, gather public support and pressurise the government. The new CAG is scheduled to be appointed in May. There is no time to lose.

ADMIN: LAV

DEREGULATION OF SUGAR SECTOR

India is the largest consumer and second largest producer of sugar after Brazil. Sugar and Sugarcane are notified as essential commodities under the Essential Commodities Act 1955. The Indian sugar sector suffers from policy inconsistency and unpredictability. The Sugar industry in India is over-regulated and prone to cyclicality due to price interventions. Deregulation of the sugar industry has been widely debated for a long time. From a purely economic point of view, greater play of market forces would provide better prices and serve the interests of all stakeholders. Export bans and controls could be replaced with small variable external tariffs to stabilize prices.

The principal aspects regulated in the sugar sector are as under:

(i) Cane reservation area and bonding: Every designated mill is obligated to purchase from cane farmers within the cane reservation area, and conversely, farmers are bound to sell to the mill.


(ii) Minimum distance criterion: The Central Government has prescribed a minimum distance of 15 km between any two sugar mills.


(iii) Price of sugarcane: While on the one hand, the Centre Government fixes FRP as the minimum price, which is also used for arriving at the price of levy sugar. On the other, many States have intervened in sugarcane pricing with State Advised Price (SAP) to strengthen the farmer interests. SAP has typically been higher than FRP.


(iv) Levy sugar obligation: Every sugar mill mandatorily surrenders 10% of its production to the Central Government at a pre-determined price, which is, at present, Rs. 1,904.82 per quintal. This enables Central Government to get access to low cost sugar stocks for distribution through PDS.


(v) Regulated release of free-sale (non-levy) sugar: The release of non-levy sugar into the market is regulated by the Central Government through a controlled release mechanism.


(vii) Regulations relating to by-products


(viii) Jute Packaging Materials Act mandates that sugar be packed only in jute bags.

A report on ‘Regulation of the Sugar Sector in India: The way forward‘ has been submitted by the Committee under the chairmanship of Dr C. Rangarajan, Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. The ways forward suggested include: rangarajan

Phasing out cane reservation area


Dispensing with minimum distance criteria: The minimum distance criterion inhibits entry and further investment, and adversely impacts competition for purchase of sugarcane as well as for improving mill efficiency.


Dispensing with the levy sugar system: States that want to provide sugar under the PDS may procure it from the market according to their requirement, fix the issue price and subsidize from their own budgets.


Dispensing with the regulated release mechanism (of non-levy) sugar 
Stable trade policy: No quantitative or movement restrictions on byproducts like molasses and ethanol and dispensing with compulsory jute packing

The committee has suggested Rationalization of sugarcane pricing and liberalization of sugar trade need to be introduced over a two to three year period, in a calibrated and phased manner. However, levy sugar obligation and administrative control on non-levy sugar need to be dispensed with immediately.

ADMIN- LAV

Space Debris

Space debris, also known as orbital debris, space junk, and space waste, is simply the collection of defunct objects in orbit around Earth. It is estimated that about 10 tons of space garbage clutter low earth orbits of up to 2,000 km. Russia has recently lost a nano-satellite in a collision with a piece of Chinese debris.

o Sources of Debris
Sources of Debris include everything from spent rocket stages, boosters, lost equipment, dead satellites, and fragments from disintegration, erosion, and collisions. One major source of debris in the past was the testing of anti-satellite weapons carried out by the developed nations.
Space debris in Low Earth Orbits

The most commonly used orbits for both manned and unmanned space vehicles are Low Earth Orbits, which cover an altitude range low enough for residual air drag to be sufficient to help keep the zone clear. That is, the junk often comes down to Earth.

At altitudes above the levels where atmospheric drag is significant, the time required for orbital decay (to reduce the altitude of the orbit by gravitational pull) is much longer. Hence space debris there poses more serious threat.

In Geosynchronous orbits, there is no question of orbits of the satellites clashing with one other but the junk may be created by left overs.

o Kesslers Syndrome/ Snowball Effect
The Kessler syndrome, proposed by NASA scientist Donald J. Kessler in 1978, is a scenario in which the density of objects in low Earth orbit (LEO) is high enough that collisions between objects could cause a cascade – each collision generating space debris which increases the likelihood of further collisions.

If a collision occurs, resulting fragments can become an additional collision risk. As the chance of collision is influenced by the number of objects in space, there is a critical density where the creation of new debris occurs faster than the speed with which various natural forces remove them. Beyond this point a runaway chain reaction may occur that pulverizes everything in orbit, including functioning satellites. Thus a runaway Kessler syndrome would render the useful polar-orbiting bands difficult to use, and greatly increase the cost of space launches and missions.
Handling Debris

o Monitoring and mitigating debris producing events by regulations like the effective design of space vehicles etc

o Self-removal for rocket stages or satellites that retain enough propellant to power themselves into a decaying orbit. Geostationary satellites are supposed to remove themselves to a graveyard orbit at the end of their lives.

o External removal using space vehicles, using laser technology to ablate (wear away through erosion or vaporization) material etc


ADMIN : LAV

CENTRAL ARMED POLICE FORCES

Since independence, India has faced a large number of external and internal security challenges. The Indian army, the paramilitary forces and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) have worked hand-in-hand to manage and neutralise these challenges. While the army has been responsible to maintain the integrity of the country’s long land boundaries through four wars and the Kargil conflict, the CAPFs have been largely responsible to manage the land borders and lend a helping hand to the army for counter-insurgency operations. Some insurgencies are now being fought primarily by the CAPFs by themselves.

In May 2001, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) had approved the concept of “one border, one force”. The Line of Actual Control (LAC) along the border with Tibet is now being managed largely by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). In the west, the entire border with Pakistan is manned by the Border Security Force (BSF) except the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). Maintaining the sanctity of the LoC is the responsibility of the army and some BSF battalions have been placed under its operational control for this purpose. For over 50 years since the Kashmir conflict began in 1947-48, soon after independence, the two armies were engaged in a so-called ‘eyeball-to-eyeball’ confrontation with daily loss of life and property that could justifiably be called a ‘low intensity limited war’. An informal cease-fire has been in place all along the LoC, including at the Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL) along the Saltoro Range west of the Siachen Glacier, since November 25, 2003.

The border with Nepal was virtually un-attended till very recently as Nepalese citizens have free access to live and work in India under a 1950 treaty between the two countries. Since the eruption of a Maoist insurgency in Nepal, efforts have been made to gradually step up vigilance along this border to prevent the southward spread of Maoist ideology. The responsibility for this has been entrusted to the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), erstwhile Special Security Bureau that is now a Ministry of Home Affairs force. The Bhutan border is also managed by the SSB. Since the Royal Bhutanese Army drove out the Bodo and ULFA insurgents from its territory some years ago, the border has been relatively quiet. The border with Myanmar also remains operationally active. Several insurgent groups have secured sanctuaries for themselves in Myanmar despite the cooperation extended to India by the Myanmarese army. The cross border movement of Nagas and Mizos for training, purchase of arms and shelter when pursued by Indian security forces, combined with the difficult terrain obtaining in the area, makes this border extremely challenging to manage. This border is manned by the Assam Rifles (AR), India’s oldest paramilitary force.

Along the Bangladesh border that has seen some action in recent years, the BSF is in charge. This border remains in the news as there are frequent clashes between the BSF and the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR). Managing this border is a peculiar challenge that is usually referred to as ‘Enclaves and Adverse Possessions’. There are 111 Indian enclaves (17,158 acres) within Bangladesh and 51 Bangladeshi enclaves (7,110.02 acres) in India.” Thirty-four tracts of Indian land are under the adverse possession of Bangladesh and 40 pieces of Bangladeshi land are in India’s adverse possession. Though the Land Border Agreement of 1974 has provisions for the settlement of the issue of adverse possession, it has not been implemented so far as the problem is politically sensitive.

The CCS had also approved the nomination of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) as the country’s primary counter-insurgency force. Since then, the BSF has been withdrawn from internal security duties in J&K and has been replaced by CRPF battalions. The CRPF is also the primary strike force for anti-Naxalite or anti Maoist operations in the left wing extremism (LWE) affected states in central India. Though it has suffered many casualties in operations so far and is still on a learning curve, it is gradually gaining experience in counter-insurgency operations and can be expected to acquit itself creditably in future.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (IPR)

Why is IPR becoming important?

• Increasing dominance of the new knowledge economy
• Exponential growth of scientific knowledge
• Increasing demand for new forms of intellectual property protection as well as access to IP related information
• Address the emerging complexities linked to IP in traditional knowledge, community knowledge and animate objects
• All these pose a challenge in setting up the new 21st century IP agenda, especially for a country like India

TRIPS
The WTO’s TRIPS Agreement is an attempt to narrow the gaps in the way these rights are protected around the world, and to bring them under common international rules. It establishes minimum levels of protection that each government has to give to the intellectual property of fellow WTO members. In doing so, it strikes a balance between the long term benefits and possible short term costs to society. Society benefits in the long term when intellectual property protection encourages creation and invention, especially when the period of protection expires and the creations and inventions enter the public domain. Governments are allowed to reduce any short term costs through various exceptions, for example to tackle public health problems. And, when there are trade disputes over intellectual property rights, the WTO’s dispute settlement system is now available.
The agreement covers five broad issues:

• how basic principles of the trading system and other international intellectual property agreements should be applied

• how to give adequate protection to intellectual property rights

• how countries should enforce those rights adequately in their own territories

• how to settle disputes on intellectual property between members of the WTO

• special transitional arrangements during the period when the new system is being introduced.

• Entailed significant changes for the protection of pharmaceutical products and processes
• Made product patent protection binding on all member countries
• Strengthened process patents. 
• Narrowly defined the conditions for establishing exceptions to patent rights 
• Limited the possibility of applying special modalities of compulsory licences to pharmaceuticals
India and IPRs
• India has enacted several laws to protect IPR

• Copyright Act
• Trademark Act
• Designs Act
• Patent Act, 1970
• Geographical Indications Act

India and TRIPS
• India has met its entire TRIPS obligations in various stages starting from providing mailbox applications in 1999 with retrospective effect
• Amendment to the Patent Act in 2003

• This amendment brought the Indian Patent Act more or less on a par with the developed countries by providing a 20 year patent term 
• Safeguarded national interest by remodelling compulsory licence provisions by introducing Bolar and Import Provisions

• 3rd amendment to Patents act in 2005 provided product patenting in pharmaceuticals, food, and chemicals, rationalising and reducing timelines for processing of patent applications and doing away with Exclusive Marketing Rights

Issues & Resolutions

• Effect on India’s pharmaceutical industry

• Resolution: the industry is taking steps to cope with the challenge. It is increasing its investment in R&D. Moving from imitative research to innovative research

• Effect on other knowledge based industries in India, such as the IT industry, biotechnology, and microelectronics
• Effect on limiting monopolies
o Resolution: there is voluntary licensing and compulsory licensing. For important drugs the government can resort to compulsory licensing. 
• The grant of patents on non-original innovations (particularly those linked to traditional medicines) which are based on what is already a part of the traditional knowledge of the developing world is a cause of concern

•  CSIR successfully challenged the US Patent on the wound healing properties of turmeric. Similarly patent on Neem was quashed. 
•  These issues need to be addressed jointly by the developing and the developed worlds
•  CSIR has created a Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL)

Way Forward
• India should nurture a strong innovation base through a balanced system of recognition and rewards
• India will have to invest liberally to enhance the skills and knowledge base of scientists and on understanding, interpreting and analysing the techno-legal business information contained in IP documents and in drafting of IP documents
• We must properly protect our inventions

Direct Tax Code (DTC)

The direct tax code seeks to consolidate and amend the law relating to all direct taxes, namely, income-tax, dividend distribution tax, fringe benefit tax and wealth-tax so as to establish an economically efficient, effective and equitable direct tax system which will facilitate voluntary compliance and help increase the tax-GDP ratio. Another objective is to reduce the scope for disputes and minimize litigation.

It is designed to provide stability in the tax regime as it is based on well accepted principles of taxation and best international practices. It will eventually pave the way for a single unified taxpayer reporting system.

The salient features of the code are:

1. Single Code for direct taxes: all the direct taxes have been brought under a single Code and compliance procedures unified. This will eventually pave the way for a single unified taxpayer reporting system.

2. Use of simple language: with the expansion of the economy, the number of taxpayers can be expected to increase significantly. The bulk of these taxpayers will be small, paying moderate amounts of tax. Therefore, it is necessary to keep the cost of compliance low by facilitating voluntary compliance by them. This is sought to be achieved, inter alia, by using simple language in drafting so as to convey, with clarity, the intent, scope and amplitude of the provision of law. Each sub-section is a short sentence intended to convey only one point. All directions and mandates, to the extent possible, have been conveyed in active voice. Similarly, the provisos and explanations have been eliminated since they are incomprehensible to non-experts. The various conditions embedded in a provision have also been nested. More importantly, keeping in view the fact that a tax law is essentially a commercial law, extensive use of formulae and tables has been made.

3. Reducing the scope for litigation: wherever possible, an attempt has been made to avoid ambiguity in the provisions that invariably give rise to rival interpretations. The objective is that the tax administrator and the tax payer are ad idem on the provisions of the law and the assessment results in a finality to the tax liability of the tax payer. To further this objective, power has also been delegated to the Central Government/Board to avoid protracted litigation on procedural issues.

4. Flexibility: the structure of the statute has been developed in a manner which is capable of accommodating the changes in the structure of a growing economy without resorting to frequent amendments. Therefore, to the extent possible, the essential and general principles have been reflected in the statute and the matters of detail are contained in the rules/schedules.

5. Ensure that the law can be reflected in a Form: for most taxpayers, particularly the small and marginal category, the tax law is what is reflected in the Form. Therefore, the structure of the tax law has been designed so that it is capable of being logically reproduced in a Form.

6. Consolidation of provisions: in order to enable a better understanding of tax legislation, provisions relating to definitions, incentives, procedure and rates of taxes have been consolidated. Further, the various provisions have also been rearranged to make it consistent with the general scheme of the Act.

7. Elimination of regulatory functions: traditionally, the taxing statute has also been used as a regulatory tool. However, with regulatory authorities being established in various sectors of the economy, the regulatory function of the taxing statute has been withdrawn. This has significantly contributed to the simplification exercise.

8. Providing stability: at present, the rates of taxes are stipulated in the Finance Act of the relevant year. Therefore, there is a certain degree of uncertainty and instability in the prevailing rates of taxes. Under the Code, all rates of taxes are proposed to be prescribed in the First to the Fourth Schedule to the Code itself thereby obviating the need for an annual Finance Bill. The changes in the rates, if any, will be done through appropriate amendments to the Schedule brought before Parliament in the form of an Amendment Bill.

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What is Direct Tax code?

In Simple layman's language, there are basically two types of taxes - Direct and Indirect

Direct tax is one which is taken by taking into consideration the individual characteristics of the tax payer such as Income tax.

While Indirect tax means the tax which is levied by taking into consideration the number of transactions such as Sales Tax.

Recently the IT department of India has put the new proposal for Direct Tax in front of Government of India and this is known as Direct Tax code (DTC).

What is the Aim of DTC?

The aim of DTC is to make the current tax structure in India easy. Well, yes. This is the basic aim of DTC.

The last Tax code in India was designed in 1961 and that's why we call it Income Tax Act 1961. But after half a century everything is changed and we can not simply rely on the age old tax system.

India needs a new taxation system. So if this proposal gets approved, our new tax code will be Income Tax Act 2010 or 2011 something......Understand?

Than why DTC is so much criticized?

Even though, the basic aim behind DTC is simple and helpful to the people, it is very much creticized because many provisions under this proposal may harm the investors and FIIs. Say for Example, there is a proposal of taking long term capital gains tax on listed Equity Investments. Now, till date the long term capital gains tax on equity was 0%. Means if you invest in equity for more than 1 year of time horizon than all your capital gains is tax free.

But according to this proposal, there will be long term capital gains tax on equity investments. this may harm the investors.

SITUATION IN LANKA AND INDIA's TAKE

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is holding its 22nd Regular Session from 25 February to 22 March 2013. Its deliberations will cover the human rights situation in Sri Lanka also. Much progress has not been evident on bringing about ameliorating conditions for the Fourth Eelam War-ravaged Tamil people of northern Sri Lanka since the last UNHRC meeting. While the fact of the matter is that more than 40,000 Tamils died in early 2009 and the Sri Lankan Government (SLG)-constituted Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) had itself referred to instances of shelling of the civilian population, a five-member Sri Lankan Army Court of Inquiry appointed by the Army Commander, Lt. General Jagath Jayasuriya, has in its recent report asserted that the troops did not shell civilians during the closing phase of the Eelam War. This report, prepared in the nature of a fact-finding investigation, is expected to be eventually accepted by the country’s Defence Secretary and the President. If this is the trend that internal enquiries will take, no substantial remedial measures can be expected at the SLG-level on the institutional wrongs during the execution of the Eelam War. Substantive positive follow-up action, in consonance with the recommendations of the LLRC, is therefore unlikely.

Against this backdrop, the revelations by Channel 4 TV of the UK inter-alia highlighting the poignant photographs of the 12-year-old child of the LTTE Chief apparently slain by Sri Lanka Army personnel and the latest remarks of Navaneethan Pillay, the UN Commissioner for Human Rights, in her opening address on 25 February 2013 at the current Session of the UNHRC that still far too many people with command responsibility escape justice for serious crimes and gross human rights violations and that massive violations have occurred in Sri Lanka, only seem to be queering the situation against President Mahinda Rajapakse and his Government. The Government of India will have to face its next dilemma in the UNHRC on which way to vote when the United States and some of its Western allies once again bring up the issue of human rights violations in northern Sri Lankan and the need for remedial measures inter-alia proposing unfettered access for UN Special Rapporteurs to probe the allegations of such violations and examine whether credible investigations are taking place on extra-judicial killings and internal disappearances, acts affecting judicial independence, land issues, etc.

Political pressure is already building up on the Government of India from virtually the entire range of political parties in Tamil Nadu as well as from parties like the CPI and the BJP to vote against SLG for the second time within a year and in favour of a resolution calling for effective and suitably monitored measures to restore the human rights of the Tamils of northern Sri Lanka, ensure accountability of those who perpetrated the human rights violations and institute safeguards for the socio-economic, cultural and land rights of the Tamils. Without being oblivious to the consequences of voting against the SLG, the Government of India has to formulate a calibrated strategy on how best to effectively convey its concerns to Colombo on the consequences of inadequate action by the Rajapakse regime vis-à-vis the adverse situation prevailing against the Tamils in northern Sri Lanka. It is significant that the Indian Prime Minister in his latest intervention in Parliament has pointedly spoken on the need for the appropriate authorities in Sri Lanka to talk to the true Tamil leadership, thereby implying the Tamil National Alliance.

The political alignments in India, even keeping the 2014 General Elections in the reckoning, are unlikely to change irrespective of which way the UPA Government votes at the UNHRC. However, it would be injudicious for the Government of India to overlook the prevailing sentiments in Tamilnadu and the obdurate manner in which President Rajapakse is dealing with the issue of devolution of power within the Sri Lankan political structure. Promoting true devolution in the interest of northern Sri Lanka’s indigenous Tamils, without affecting the integrity of the island country, is in India’s overall interest. Such an approach by Sri Lanka will obviate a perennial conflict-prone environment in India’s immediate neighbourhood. It should be the endeavour of New Delhi to maintain steady pressure on the SLG but without rupturing the web of cooperative relations between the two countries, which perforce is in Sri Lanka’s interests. India’s vote in favour of the USA-sponsored resolution at the UNHRC Session (enjoining on the SLG to take effective action to correct the human rights situation in that country and effectively implement the LLRC recommendations) in March 2012 had de facto indicated the ineffectiveness of the China factor in India-Sri Lanka bilateral relations. It became evident that despite the China factor, India will continue to have a role to play in relation to the ethnic issue in Sri Lanka. The overall situation since March 2012 with respect to Sino-Sri Lankan relations and the extent to which they continue to impinge on India’s core interests, has not altered to New Delhi’s disadvantage, to warrant an apprehensive or low-key approach on the part of the Government of India on the human rights and devolution issues.

A reasoned stance on the part of the Government of India would be to abstain on the US-sponsored resolution (in the eventuality that the SLG continues to contest the overwhelming opinion among the 47 UNHRC member countries), if the intrusive aspects such as the provision of UN Rapporteurs’ inspections apropos allegations of human rights violations without mandating the concurrence of and consultation with SLG, are retained. It will, however, be in keeping with the normative principles of India’s foreign policy to support a resolution that does not undermine Sri Lanka’s sovereignty but stipulates a time-bound and monitorable implementation by the SLG as well as UNHRC of remedial measures in accordance with the LLRC recommendations and also enables the instituting of natural rights in the socio-economic and cultural domains for the Tamil inhabitants of Sri Lanka’s northern province. Though, as a consequence, a stiffening of posture on the part of the SLG cannot be ruled out, no softening of the hard-line stance on the part of Colombo appears to be evident now, with President Rajapakse openly harping on the so-called working out of a solution through the Sri Lanka Parliamentary Select Committee approach where the reality is that the Tamils would be in an overwhelming minority and without effective bargaining power.

-IDSA

ADMIN : LAV

Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 (AFSPA)

Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 (AFSPA)

• It conferred special powers upon the armed forces in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura and Nagaland.


• Extended to J&K in 1990


• Provisions in the ‘disturbed’ areas:-

• Armed Forces can use force, even to the causing of death, against any person acting in the contravention of the law, against any assembly of five or more persons, or possession of deadly weapons
• Arrest without warrant only on the basis of suspicion
• Enter any premises and conduct search

• Gives the armed forces immunity for their actions. Proceedings against personnels under this act can be made only after the permission of the central government.


• Central and state governments have the power to declare an area as disturbed. Their decision cannot be challenged in the court of law. 


• Th. Manorama was arrested in Manipur under AFSPA. She was later raped and killed. Irom Sharmila has been fasting for last 10 years for the repeal of AFSPA from Manipur. 


• Justice Jeevan Reddy Committee had recommended the repeal of AFSPA from the North-East


• Central govt has a stand that it will withdraw AFSPA from Kashmir when the state govt withdraws the Disturbed Areas Act

Arguments
o Army contends that the situation across LOC needs a robust military presence


o Without the AFSPA, the Army will not be able to stage counter terrorism operations in an emergency


o Some argue that AFSPA free enclaves will be magnets for terrorists

Counterarguments
o Mr Abdullah proposes only to lift AFSPA from two areas where the Army in any case has no security responsibilities 


o AFSPA did not have to be imposed to allow the Army to assist in the defence of Parliament House when it came under attack in 2001 – and that Army staged many successful counter-terrorism operations in Jammu province before AFSPA was imposed there in 2001


o This too makes little sense, since the Army is not present in the enclaves anyway – and it is improbable that terrorists have not established themselves there for fear of a mere law

MY TAKE :-
1.Considering the present law and order situation the AFSPA induces a threat amongst terrorists who otherwise will freely operate to destabilize the valley.


2. Army needs these minimal powers to carry out its operations and INDIAN ARMY is professional enough to check the excesses of the act if any.


3. As and when the situation improves, AFSPA can be repealed from some regions based on the recommendations of a competent authority after a well laid out investigation of the situation on the ground over a fixed period of time.


ADMIN : LAV

India’s Look East Policy

Background

• Launched in 1991
• Why?

o In the wake of the collapse of Soviet Union India wanted to improve its relations with all major powers of the world

o India focused on South-East Asia as it was a growing market

o India wanted to go beyond the confines of SAARC to reap the benefits out of the economic potential of the South East and East Asian region

o To balance China’s influence in the region

• Initially directed towards the SE Asian nations. But India has now included China, Japan, S.Korea and other Asia Pacific nations in the gamut of this policy
•  The policy which began largely as an economic initiative has gained political, military and regional dimensions

Principles of LEP
Outcomes of the policy

Strengthening Cooperation:-

• India-ASEAN relations have strengthened
• India became ASEAN’s full dialogue partner in 1996
• Became member of ASEAN Regional Forum in 1996
• Since 2002, India has annual summits with ASEAN along with China, Japan and Republic of Korea
• BIMSTEC and Mekong Ganga Cooperation floated by India in 1997 and 2001 respectively
• India is also a founding member of East Asia Summit

Trade and Investment:-

• ASEAN is presently India’s fourth largest trading partner after EU, USA and China
• FDI data
• Indo-ASEAN bilateral trade data
• India-ASEAN FTA signed in 2009 at Bangkok came into force from January 2010.

o However, FTA did not include software and information technology

o FTA is a part of the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Cooperation signed with ASEAN in 2003

Development Cooperation:-

• India provides assistance to Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Philippines in the form of grants, soft loans, credit lines and training sources for their socio-economic development. 
• As a dialogue partner of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), India has been engaging with these countries to provide assistance for capacity building
• MILAN naval symposium

Science and Technology:-

• India has set up a Tsunami Warning Centre to extend information exchange and data sharing arrangements with BIMSTEC countries
• Satellite sharing

Bilateral Ties:-

• FTA with Thailand and CECA with Indonesia and Singapore
• Enhanced defence ties with Malaysia
• Strong economic ties with China
• Strategic partnership agreements, economic interaction and defence cooperation with Japan
• CEPA with South KoreaInfrastructure Cooperation
• Asian Highway, Asian Railway link being discussed
• Kaladan Multi-modal Transit Transport facility is aimed at establishing connectivity between Indian ports and Sittwe port in Myanmar through riverine transport and road links in Mizoram
• Ganga-Mekong initiative
• Completion of the 160 KM India-Myanmar Friendship road from Tamu to Kalemyo to Kaletwa built by BRO

Education

• Nalanda University
• New cooperation area could be
• India’s LEP can be furthered through areas like Education, human resources development, democracy, human rights and culture
• Furthering of trade ties
• Simplification of visa regime
• India-ASEAN health care initiative
• India-ASEAN Green Fund
• An Open Skies Policy
• Cooperation in fighting terrorism and transnational crime
• Tourism has a lot of potential

By : ADMIN : LAV