Be it the on-going debate on land acquisition, or the formation of National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog, there is no trace of “co-operation” among states, points out Joe C MathewThe Constitution of India does not mention the term ‘federal’. Though, it contains dozens of provisions that encourage and mandate federalism in the country. The Constitution provides the central and state governments clearly demarcated jurisdictions and powers. There is a Union list, a Concurrent list, and a State list that prescribe the power of the centre, the areas where both central and state nod are required, and finally, the areas that are in the exclusive domain of the state. Joe C MathewIf defence and international affairs are the responsibilities of the central government, law, trade, economic and social planning etc. come under the concurrent list. Land, water and agriculture - the most discussed topics of the day, are state subjects. In other words, whatever legislation the central government frames, it becomes operational only after the states ratify it by legislating corresponding state laws. You may argue that the central government has powers to override the State, but even at its worst, it remains quasi-federal, and does not go out of the broader spirit of federalism, which the Constitution provides. Seen from this context, there is nothing path breaking about the central government’s plan to ask states to legislate its own land acquisition laws. It is very much within the federal spirit, which the Constitution has always stood for. As we know, the central government does not have sufficient numbers in the Parliament to pass The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Second Amendment) Bill, 2015. It has been in force through Ordinances for some time, and cannot be prolonged for ever. The only practical option, it seems, is to advise the states to go ahead and enact laws that are modeled on the centre’s proposal. To call it federalism is ok, to call it pragmatism would have been ideal, but to project it as a great piece of ‘cooperative federalism’, the new mantra of the government, is stretching it too far. Be it the on-going debate on land acquisition, or the formation of National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog, there is no trace of “co-operation” among states. It is more of co-operation among same political parties, and competition between political rivals. The central government could have easily passed the land acquisition bill if there was co-operation cutting across political parties, among the members of the Parliament. Similarly, NITI Aayog meeting would not have witnessed the boycott of all chief ministers from Congress-led government if “cooperative federalism” prevailed. In fact, Modi government’s publicly stated approach, at least when it comes to attracting investments, is to focus more on competition, than on co-operation. Its plan to rank the States on the basis of “ease of doing business”, and its effort to encourage states to woo investors to their respective geographies are all meant to promote competition among states. The idea is not to say that competition is wrong, but to hint that it is competition, and not cooperation, that is the flavour of the season. If curtains fall on the land acquisition drama with states competing to enact legislations without a model central law, it will be competitive federalism at its best.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi says that his idea of secularism is “India first”, and that he doesn’t look at Indians in terms of Hindus and Muslims. Since his Gujarat days, however, there’ve been a number of apprehensions in Muslims regarding Modi. BJP’s Muslim face and junior minority affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi clears those apprehensions and reads out the Modi government’s balancesheet on Muslims, and other minorities, in the last one year, in an exclusive interview with BW|Businessworld's Suman K Jha. Prime Minister says that he doesn’t view 125 crore Indians as Hindus and Muslims; he looks at them as Indians. So, what have the minorities got from the minority affairs ministry in the first year of Modi government?This government and the minority affairs ministry feel that if the funds spent by the Centre and the states for minorities’ upliftment and empowerment reach them, there would be no problems. If the money spent by the Centre and the state government for minorities had been spent properly, there would be no minority community member below poverty line today. The fundamental problem is that under other governments at the Centre, there was a loot lobby. It’s this loot lobby that ruled the roost in the last ten years (in the UPA regime). I have been touring the country and talking to minority community members. The problems is that 40 to 50 per cent of the people don’t even know that the government spends money on their education, infrastructure etc. We don’t believe in announcing new schemes. We believe in fully implementing the existing schemes and ensuring that the money reaches the target group. We are also trying to instil a sense of confidence in minorities. We will henceforth name new schemes on icons like Ashfaqulla, Amma Bi, George Joseph, Bhikaji Cama, Begum Hazrat Mahal – icons who sacrificed a lot. They should be the real rolemodels for the minorities. Haji Mastan, Dawood Ibrahim, Osama bin Laden and the likes must not be able to sway the new generation.There were a number of apprehensions, especially among Muslims, regarding Narendra Modi before he became the Prime Minister. Have they been addressed in the first year of Modi government? The fear that was created among Muslims vis-à-vis Modi has dissipated in the first year of NDA rule. People including the minorities are now convinced that Modi means honesty and development. There is a new sense of confidence among Muslims now. But BJP governments’ moves raise suspicions. Recently the BJP government in Maharashtra said that it would derecognize madarsas as educational institutions if they don’t teach English, Science and Maths…? Madarsas are a reality in India. They should be linked to mainstream education. Unfortunately, the Congress made a Right to Education under which the madarsas are not regarded as educational institutions. This is why this confusion arose. A number of madarsas are doing very good work. We cannot say that the madarsas are doing any wrong education. But should the Maharshtra government have desisted from taking such a step?I spoke to them. It’s only because of the Right to Education that this confusion happened. They have said that the madarsas teaching Science, Math will get government assistance. BJP states are also banning beef. Some sections of the population have a problem with that and they are asking if the government has a right to question how we live and what we eat?These are minor issues. I don’t think there is any resentment in Muslims due to this. But there are two views in the Cabinet too. Your own colleague Kiren Rijiju questioned your statement on this…This is one issue linked to people’s sentiments. We don’t look for scientific explanations here. The Congress-led UPA government wanted an Equal Opportunities Commission, to provide a level playing field to everyone. Has the move been dumped?How can commissions ensure equal opportunity for everyone? Can we say that the Human Rights Commission and the Minorities Commission are able to do what is expected of them? Even then, we have not dumped the Equal Opportunities Commission move. We have sought views from various ministries and state governments and the consultation process is on. In term of tangibles, what has been the Modi government’s biggest gift to the minorities?I won’t call it a gift; it’s their right. We can say proudly that we have freed the minorities of the loot lobby. We have ended the culture of power brokers and middlemen. One significant fact is that in the last one year not one single Muslim youth has been falsely implicated in a terrorism or anti-national case. There’s been a surge in self-confidence among Muslims. One basic problem with the BJP is the lack of Muslim public representatives of the party. You don’t field Muslims in elections; among all BJP state governments, you have a Muslim minister in only one state…? We are also striving to field greater number of Muslim candidates. This is also true that due to the misinformation campaign of our rivals, we don’t get much Muslim votes. I contested five elections; I got good number of Muslim votes. We may be getting 10 to 15 per cent Muslim votes but under Modi we got 24 per cent of Muslim votes. In the coming days, we will field greater number of Muslim candidates. You were to tour the Muslim pockets through the country, and establish a dialogue with them. What happened to the project?I have covered 14 states so far. Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, West Bengal, Assam, Rajasthan, Haryana have been covered. After the Parliament session we will complete the entire country. In November or December, we will have in Delhi an Empowerment Conclave where Muslim representatives from all over the country will come and share their experiences.
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Debt-laden Air India plans to sell properties and land parcels worth nearly Rs 250 crore spread across three cities. To monetise these assets of Air India, the Civil Aviation Ministry would soon be moving a Cabinet note. A senior Ministry official on Friday (17 July) said the assets to be sold comprise four flats in Mumbai besides land parcels in Chennai and Coimbatore. While the flats in Mumbai are estimated to be worth more than Rs 90 crore, the land parcel in Chennai is valued at over Rs 120 crore. The sale of Coimbatore land parcel is expected to fetch anywhere between Rs 20-30 crore, the official said. According to the official, the Cabinet note is being finalised and would be ready soon. Air India, whose debt burden is about Rs 40,000 crore, is surviving on a bailout package approved in 2012. The erstwhile UPA dispensation had approved Air India’s turnaround plan, with a committed public funding of Rs 30, 231 crore, staggered over a period of nine years, with some specific riders. Meanwhile, the Ministry is making efforts to secure about Rs 2,400 crore for the national carrier through supplementary budgetary allocations and recovery of dues worth Rs 600 crore related to use of its aircraft for VVIP travel. Out of the total, around Rs 1,800 crore is being sought to meet the funding shortfall faced by the cash-starved national carrier. Efforts are being made to secure funds for Air India as the supplementary demands of ministries would be considered during the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament beginning July 21. Ministry is pitching for additional funds for Air India, which was allocated Rs 2,500 crore in the Union Budget 2015-16. The amount was well short of nearly Rs 4,300 crore sought by the Ministry for the national carrier. The Ministry wants to make up for the shortfall of Rs 1,800 crore through supplementary demand for grants.(PTI)
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Cabinet approves junking of 295 obsolete laws. Sutanu Guru lists some weird laws that stayed in statute books. An action-packed Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleared a raft of proposals on July 16, 2015. One decision was to approve the junking of 295 laws that were identified as obsolete. This takes the total number of obsolete laws approved for the junkyard by the Modi government to 945. In addition, the Union Law ministry has identified 1871 more laws that can be junked. This could be a major reform achievement for Prime Minister Modi if the Parliament approves the bills that will allow these laws to be junked. Incidentally, the last time such a similar exercise was undertaken on a large scale was in 2001 when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the prime minister. Look at some of these laws and wonder why they are still around! Dramatic Performances Act, Act 19 of 1876Contrary to what some historians say, resistance to the British rule was always there. One popular way to express this resistance was through popular modes of entertainment like theatre, drama, folk dances and public recitals of scriptures. The British were aware of this and this law was created specifically to suppress these gestures of defiance against the Empire. But the funny thing is that this 140 year old law is stillMarlins and can be misused by the police to harass ordinary citizens. For example, under this law, the police can arrest you if more than 10 people are dancing in public. Talk of crazy, stupid laws! Sonthal Parganas Act, Act 37 of 1855The Act was enacted to remove, from the operation of the general laws and regulations, certain districts inhabited by persons belonging to the Sonthal tribe. The Preamble to the Act states that ‘the general Regulations and Acts of Government now in force in the Presidency of Bengal are not adapted to the "uncivilized race of people called Sonthals". The Act cites this as the reason for removing from the operation of such laws the district inhabited by this tribe. The Act employs language to describe the tribal population that has no place in the modern era. The language of the Act runs contrary to the spirit of the Constitution. As history students know, the tribal people of India were the first to revolt against the oppressive rule of the British who then created laws to create "criminal" tribes. Nobody knows why this absurd law of 1855 is still around. Converts’ Marriage Dissolution Act, Act 21 of 1866This Act was enacted to allow the dissolution of marriages of converts from Hinduism to Christianity, on the grounds that they have been deserted or repudiated on religious grounds by spouse. It enables divorce proceedings to be initiated by the converted person, not his or her spouse. The scope of the Act was first considered in the 18th Law Commission Report (1960) which recommended repeal of the Act because of its limited scope. The continuance of this Act should be considered in light of the fact that the Supreme Court in Sarla Mudgal v. Union of India [AIR 1995 SC 1531] has said that allowing dissolution of marriage under the laws of the converted person is tantamount to destroying the existing rights of the other spouse who continues to belong to the same religion. In simple English, this law was designed and created to persecute Hindus and unduly favour Christians. Missionaries could encourage one spouse to convert and the other would automatically be divorced if she or he also did not convert. It is laws like this that show how part of the British Empire intention was to spread Christianity. Quite strange, but the law has not yet been repealed. Sarais Act, Act 22 of 1867The Act empowers the District Magistrate to regulate public sarais. It includes provisions related to registration, character certificate, and other related activities. This law allowed local authorities and policemen to keep a check on Sarais and dharamshalas and ensure that they did not indulge in illegal activities. The world has changed drastically since 1867 and what were Sarais then are now modern hotels, lodges, guest houses and speciality restaurants. Anybody who is involved in the hotel business know that local police often misuse this law to harass honeymooners for bribes. But the law is yet to be repealed. Hindu Inheritance (Removal of Disabilities) Act, Act 12 of 1928This was one example of how the British kept India divided by creating different laws based on religion or ethnic background. Under this law, all Hindu descendants were entitled to inherit property and no one could deny them this right. But a proviso was added in this law. Hindu children did not enjoy the rights of inheritance if they were "idiots" or "lunatic". It is crazy, but this law has not been repealed though inheritance laws have changed after independence. Resettlement of Displaced Persons (Land Acquisition) Act, Act 60 of 1948This Act was designed and created specifically to deal with the millions of refugees, mostly Sikhs and Hindus who became refugees after the Partition in 1947. In most cases, the refugees were forced to leave behind everything in Pakistan controlled Punjab and come to India penniless. Millions of them were resettled in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and other parts of India thanks to this law. But it has been 68 years since Partition and nobody knows why this law still exists on paper. Sugar (Regulation of Production) Act, Act 55 of 1961For decades after independence, India was marked by shortages of everything. In response The government of Jawharlal Nehru tried socialism and controls over business as the solution. All governments since 1947 have been worried about sugar because it is a politically explosive thing. This particular law have powers to government babus to decide which sugar factory could produce how much sugar. All restrictions on the sugar industry have since been lifted. But this law has not been repealed and any government can still harass sugar companies by using this law. Chandigarh Disturbed Areas Act, Act 33 of 1983This law was designed and created to deal with militancy and terrorism in Punjab where security forces were given special powers for the Union Territory of Chandigarh. These powers, even if they were required during the bad days of terrorism, were oppressive and imposed on the basic freedom of citizens of Punjab and Haryana. In 2012, the Punjab and Haryana High Court declared that Chandigarh is no longer a "disturbed" area. But the law has not been repealed. Post Office Cash Certificates Act, Act 18 of 1917The Act restricted the transfer of post office 5-year cash certificates and provided for the payment of certificates standing in the name of deceased persons. The Second Edition of the Post Office Savings Bank Manual (corrected up to 31st December 2006) specifies that 5-year post office cash certificates were discontinued from 14th June 1947. Consequently, this Act is now redundant. But nobody has bothered to repeal this meaningless law that has been around for almost 100 years. Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, Act 20 of 1938The Act provided for punishment of certain acts prejudicial to the recruitment of persons to serve in the Armed Forces of the Union. This Act was enacted to punish persons who made public speeches to dissuade persons from enlisting in the Defence Forces and from taking part in any war in which the British Empire would be engaged. The punishment prescribed for such an act was imprisonment for a term extending to 1 year, or fine, or both. This Act was meant to serve the needs of the British Empire and is now redundant. There is no evidence of recent use of this Act. But almost 70 years after the British left, the laws till remains. Indian Matrimonial Causes (War Marriages) Act, Act 40 of 1948The Act conferred upon courts temporary jurisdiction in certain matrimonial cases. It applies to marriages solemnized during the ‘war period’ where the husband was, at the time of the marriage, domiciled outside India and the wife was immediately before the marriage, domiciled in India. ‘War period’ was defined under the Act as the period commencing on 3rd September 1939 and ending on 31st March 1946. The Act conferred jurisdiction on the High Court to entertain proceedings for divorce or for nullity of marriage. This law was meant for The Second World War that was over in 1945. Nobody knows why this law is still round. Delhi and Ajmer Rent Control Act, Act 38 of 1952The Act provided for the control of rents and evictions, and for the lease of vacant premises to the Government, in certain areas of Delhi and Ajmer. The Act was repealed in its application to Delhi by the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958. The rent control law applicable to Ajmer is the Rajasthan Rent Control Act, 2001. There is no evidence of recent use of this Act and it is now redundant. Therefore, the Central Government should write to the concerned State Government recommending the review of this law by the State, with a view to repeal. What is the law still doing in the Statute books. Compulsory Deposit Scheme Act, Act 21 of 1963The Act made it compulsory for all categories of persons, as mentioned in Section 2 of the Act, to make certain deposits. According to Section 2, the Act was meant to be applicable to five different categories of persons viz., persons liable to payment of land revenue; persons liable to payment of tax under the Income-Tax Act, 1961; holders of immovable properties situated in urban areas assessed to tax; employees of the Government and local authorities, and dealers whose annual turnover is Rs. 15,000 or more and who are not liable to payment of income tax under the Income-Tax Act, 1961. This was a typical socialist era law where The State forced citizens to do things even if it was against the spirit of the Constitution. The government simply failed to enforce this law because it was impractical to begin with. The Act has gradually fallen into disuse because of the discontinuance of various sub-schemes. The sub-schemes which were to be implemented through the State Governments and local authorities concerned were dropped owing to considerable practical difficulties. How can you force an individual or a family to save money against their wishes. But inexplicably, the law has not yet been repealed. Coking Coal Mines (Emergency Provisions) Act, Act 64 of 1971The Act provided for the taking over, in public interest, of the management of coking coal mines and coke oven plants, pending nationalisation of such mines and plants. It enabled the taking over of private coking companies pending nationalisation. The Coking Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act was enacted in 1972. Consequently, the Coking Coal Mines (Emergency Provisions) Act, 1971 is now redundant. In fact, as the now controversial scam shows, the era of nationalization of coal mines is over and the private sector is once again involved in coal mining. Nobody knows why this 1971 law that is meaningless now has not been repealed.. Disputed Elections (Prime Minister and Speaker) Act, Act 16 of 1977This law is a classic case of seemingly democratic leaders behaving like absolute monarchs. It was enacted when the late Indira Gandhi had imposed Emergency in India and jailed all opposition leaders. According to this law, only a single judge bench of the Supreme Court could conduct the trial if someone challenges the election of the Prime Minister or the Lok Sabha speaker. No other court in India can do that. Why this law? In 1975, the Allahabad High Court had declared the 1971 Lok Sabha victory of Indira as null and void because of electoral malpractice. No Prime Minister after her has tried to so brazenly to create new laws to suit one individual. Yet, the law is yet to be repealed.
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Taking forward the exercise of repealing nearly 3,000 irrelevant laws clogging statute books, the government on Thursday (16 July) approved a bill seeking to scrap a set of 295 obsolete Acts dealing with several issues including changes in marriage laws and cement hoarding. The Repealing and Amending (Fourth) Bill, 2015 will be introduced in Lok Sabha for annulling 295 Acts, several of them over 30 years old, which have been declared as redundant by respective central ministries. While one of the bills deals with amendments in marriage laws, the other is aimed at checking hoarding and blackmarketing of cement. The measures seek to repeal enactments which have ceased to be in force or have become obsolete or their retention as separate Acts has become unnecessary. Such bills are also used to correct defects or flaws detected in laws. According to the data compiled by the Legislative Department of the Law Ministry, with the passage of two similar bills in Parliament, 125 archaic laws have already been repealed. Another two bills are pending parliamentary approval. Once these bills are cleared, another 945 laws -- including 758 Appropriation Acts -- will be repealed. Over and above the 945 laws, the Law Ministry has identified 1,871 more laws which have lost relevance today. "We have identified 1,871 more laws which have lost relevance today. We plan to bring bills to get them repealed," a senior official said. This is the first time since 2001 that such an exercise is being undertaken by the Law Ministry in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's agenda to do away with "archaic" laws which were "hindering efficient governance". Between 1950 and 2001, over 100 Acts were repealed. A bill to repeal 758 Appropriation Acts, including Railways (Appropriation) Acts, which have lost relevance and are clogging the statute books, was introduced in Lok Sabha recently. A large number of Appropriation Acts passed in the past several years have lost their meaning but these are still shown on statute books.Appropriation Acts are intended to operate for a limited period of time ?- authorising expenditures for the duration of one financial year.(PTI)
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Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday (16 July) announced that the Cabinet has cleared policy for composite cap on foreign investments, which would “club together” foreign direct investment (FDI), foreign portfolio investment and investments by non-resident Indians. Composite caps have been suggested for sectors like agriculture, tea plantations, petroleum and natural gas, manufacturing, airports, real estate, telecommunications, mining, non-banking financial companies and pharmaceuticals. In some sectors where only FDI and FII investments are allowed now, the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) has proposed investments by non-resident Indians and foreign venture capital firms as well. These include up to 100 per cent foreign investment in asset reconstruction companies, 74 per cent in private banking, 20 per cent in public-sector banks and 49 per cent in power exchanges. However, individual FDI and FII limits would continue in two key sectors, banking and defence, a government official said, even as some bankers claimed they might also benefit. Stating that the concept of composite caps has been introduced for simplification of foreign investment norms, Jaitley said, "From now onwards, all FIIs, NRIs and other foreign investments will be clubbed. "It will be constituted as a composite cap," Jaitley told reporters after the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A government official said the move will provide options to both foreign and domestic investors, but added that no changes have been made with regard to specific foreign investment norms for the banking and defence sectors. Foreign investment in banking and defence sectors will continue to have separate caps for FII and FDI, the official added. The limit of portfolio investment in banking is capped at 49 per cent while in defence it is 24 per cent. Some bankers, including Yes Bank chief Rana Kapoor said the move would help attract more capital flowing into the system and significantly ease the procedural investment decisions by foreign investors. The official said all existing investments will hold good even if they are not exactly in compliance with the new norms. In a post-Cabinet statement, the government also said investments made through Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCBs) and Depository Receipts (DRs) would not be treated as foreign investment unless the debt is converted into equity. The proposal is aimed at simplification of FDI policy with a view to attracting foreign investments and also improving ease of doing business in India. Under the existing policy, there are different caps for separate investment categories like FDI, FII and NRIs. The proposal, mooted by the Commerce and Industry Ministry, would help remove ambiguity on application of sectoral caps, conditions and approval requirements in different sectors and simplify the foreign investment policy. In 2014-15, investment by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) grew over seven times to USD 40.92 billion. FDI grew 27 per cent to USD 30.93 billion in the previous fiscal. The Cabinet also gave nod to several key decisions such as redevelopment of railway stations and Eastern Peripheral Highways. The Cabinet gave its nod for the development of the six-laning of Eastern peripheral expressway in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The cost is estimated to be Rs 7,558 crore, including Rs 1,795.20 crore for land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities. Other key decisions: 1) Inter-state transmission lines with an expenditure of Rs 8,548 crore. As much as Rs 3,419 crore is to come from clean energy fund 2) Eastern peripheral expressway project to connect Palwal in Uttar Pradesh to Kundli in Haryana 3) Cabinet approved the second phase of eCourts Mission Mode Project at an estimated cost of Rs 1,670 crore. 4) Extending capital infusion for regional rural banks till 2016-17. As much as Rs 700 crore to be given as additional amount. 5) Two packages for cyclone affected areas of Rs 2,331 crore and Rs 2,361 cr 6) Repeal of 295 obsolete laws 7) Additional foodgrain relief to J&K at above poverty line prices as it was affected by floods 8) Centre to release caste part of scio-economic caste census after getting report from states( PTI also contributed to this story)
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There will be development where there is skilled manpower, says Modi. Arshad Khan reports Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a number of initiatives under the Skill India Mission on Wednesday (15 July) to impart skill development education to nearly 40 crore people by the year 2022. All the schemes launched are aimed at developing skills and promoting entrepreneurship among the massive workforce of the nation. The initiatives include the new National Skill Policy for Skill Development, Skill Card certified under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikash Yojan (PMKVY) and the Skill Loan scheme for under privileged students. Modi’s pet project PMKVY alone has been allotted Rs 1500 crore to reach out to 24 lach young people. “Our government has started a war against poverty and we are determined to win it. All the poor are our soldiers and our armour is skill education. Through the Skill India Mission we will provide a better life with full of opportunities to people living in remotest of area,” said the PM Modi in an event held in New Delhi on Wednesday (July 15). The event was also attended by CM of various states (mostly NDA ruling states) and his cabinet. "There would be development where there will be skilled manpower. The time for the reverse to happen has long gone," Modi said. Modi further said: "In the last century we were very proud of IITs. It is a very good thing no doubt but in this century we need to think about ITIs and give it the same importance," . Modi said, “India will be the major country in outsourcing workforce to the rest of the world. Very soon there will be a shortage of 4-5 crore of labour power around the globe and they will look on us to provide a solution for the mismatch.” For such a global demand we will have to equip our manpower will relevant skill, added PM. Making India Human Resource CapitalThe Skill India mission will have a three-tire decision making body and will constitute representatives of government, policy makers and the business section. Its governing council will be headed by the PM himself. India should emerge as the 'human resource capital' of the world as China has become a global 'manufacturing factory', Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday (15 July) while launching the ambitious 'Skill India' Mission as part of the government's "war against poverty". He said India has the potential to provide a workforce of about 4 to 5 crore to the world if the capabilities of the countrymen are honed through proper and dynamic training in skills and added that the government is focussed on this aspect. Noting that the world and technology is changing fast, he said, "We need to have futuristic vision and prepare plans for the next 10 years" and advocated the need for regular interaction between industry and technology experts. "If China is like a 'manufacturing factory' of the world, India should become the 'human resource capital' of the world. That should be our target and we should lay emphasis on that," Modi said addressing an event here to launch the 'Skill India' Mission, which was attended by several union ministers and Chief Ministers of various states.
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The Reserve Bank is likely to cut interest rates in its upcoming monetary policy review next month despite retail inflation surging to an eight-month high in June, rating agency Moody's said on Tuesday (14 July). According to Moody's Analytics, the rise in CPI inflation was largely due to base effect. "We still think the Reserve Bank of India will deliver another interest rate cut in 2015," Moody's Analytics Associate Economist Faraz Syed said in a research note. As per official data, retail inflation surged to an eight month high of 5.4 per cent in June, from 5.01 per cent in May. It was 6.77 per cent in June last year. "Despite higher CPI inflation, the RBI will deliver another rate cut at its upcoming monetary policy review scheduled for August 4," it said. The rise in inflation, a key factor considered by the RBI in deciding the monetary policy, comes in the backdrop of slowdown in factory output. The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) in May slowed to 2.7 per cent from 5.6 per cent a year ago, leading to demands of rate cut from the RBI in its next policy review on August 4. Syed further said that though food prices are rising, rainfalls have been "near average" levels in recent weeks which was one of the pre-condition, for the RBI to maintain an easing bias. Moreover, the small rise in minimum support prices for maize and rice has been well below the average increases in previous years and should limit food inflation in the coming months, the report added. RBI, in its last policy review on June 2, had cut the repo rate by 0.25 per cent for the third time this year to spur investment and growth, but hinted that there may not be any more cuts in the near term. Moody's Analytics expects the wholesale prices to fall further. The June wholesale price-inflation slipped to (-)2.4 per cent, from (-)2.36 per cent in May. According to Moody's Analytics, the WPI offers a better gauge of core inflation than the CPI and core inflation, in the WPI measure, has been falling in the past few months. WPI inflation has been in the negative zone since November, 2014. "Overall weak core inflation suggests GDP growth remains below potential. We think the RBI will cut the repo rate to 7 per cent in 2015," the report noted.(PTI)
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