The second BW|Businessworld Digital India summit on Wednesday (26 August) saw industry people, bureaucrats and politicians sharing their expertise on how to make India a digital democracy. Speaking at the event, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Communication and Information Technology, said, “Digital India, Make in India and Skill India are inter-linked and inter-dependent on each other. For the success of each, all of it has to be equally looked after and worked upon.” He said that there are programmes which have been transformational like Golden Quadrilateral project and introduction of computers in India. But, initially they had to face opposition and Digital India is also a transformational initiative taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi which is going to change the way we live and perform and also project India’s image of being a leader in digital world. He said, Digital India has three basic components; erecting of infrastructure, digital delivery and digital empowerment. He informed that nearly 250 villages will be covered under Bharat-Net laying of fibre optic cable to provide internet connectivity to the rural areas. He also spoke about Digital Locker facility under which anyone can store, save and access the e-documents from anywhere in this world. He said there has been 44 per cent increase in tourist arrivals in India due to the extension of e-Visa facility. There are 90 million Aadhaar number generated in India, which has been a revelation in providing door-step solutions like MGNREGA, healthcare, education and scholarship, pension etc at the click of a button. He also said that nearly 70,000 crore of transactions have been made under Jan Dhan Yojana and it will be 100,000 crore soon. He also talked about the opening of Rural BPOs in second and third tier towns of India to generate more employment which will help controlling of migration to the urban areas. 48,000 seats have been earmarked under this project. Digital India is not possible without Make in India and Skill India. We consume almost $100 billion of electronic goods, which will be around $400 billion by 2020. And the irony is, we are largely dependent on imports of electronic goods. 21 electronic plasters have been approved by NDA government and proposals of around Rs 1,07,000 crore have been received by the government of India out of which 42 proposals have been approved. Skill India is the need of the hour. "We have IITs but, we have to impart the skill and knowledge in the marginalised section of society. Start-up India is PM’s ambition where every youth in this country, who has an idea, can start and succeed," said the minister.
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Telecom operators cannot run from their responsibilities like laying the infrastructure of fibre optics across the country, says Ravi Shankar Prasad. Haider Ali Khan reportsWhile there is a debate going on in the country regarding the call drop issue, Minister of Communication and Information Technology, Ravi Shankar Prasad has asked the telcos to invest and reinforce their system to meet the ever increasing tele-density and put to an end the issue of call drop. At the second Businessworld Digital India event, Prasad urged telecom operators to optimise and re-look into the management of spectrum that they were allotted to meet and comply with growing numbers of mobile subscribers across India. He also said, “Government is doing its best and what it is supposed to do to end this problem. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also keeping a close watch into the matter of call drop and he himself wants it to get addressed as soon as possible.” He said that the telecom operators cannot run from their responsibilities like laying the infrastructure of fibre optics across the country. They cannot make it a profit making source. He told that India had a 980 million mobile subscriber base, second only to US. 300 million of these mobile subscribers are internet users. And Bharat Net which was earlier known as National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) is continuously laying the fibre network across the country. It has a goal of laying around 3 lakh kilometres across India soon. He also said that while the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government is known for laying the Highway projects in India like Golden Quadrilateral, the Narendra Modi government will be known for its initiatives like ‘Digital India’, ‘Make in India’ and ‘Skill India’.
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"We have allowed erection of towers at government buildings across India,” says Ravi Shankar Prasad. Haider Ali Khan reports The call drop issue has been in the eye of a storm of late, with even the Prime Minister giving a call to end this menace early this week. The telecom companies and the Department of Telecom (DoT) have been playing a blame-game while the consumers are suffering bad telecommunication services. While DoT is blaming operators for the shortage of towers, telcos have been pointing fingers at the government for not providing adequate spectrum to operate with. Speaking at the Businessworld ‘Digital India’ event, Communication and Information Technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Wednesday (26 August) "complaints against call drops and a motivated campaign against radiation cannot go together". He further pointed out that mobile tower radiation norms in India are 10 times more stringent as compared to many developed countries. Prasad also quoted several court judgments that say that radiation from mobile towers is within the prescribed limit set by WHO and the Government of India. Prasad urged mobile operators to optimise their network and said companies have been allowed to erect towers at government buildings across India. "When mobile operators told me that they don't get place to install towers, I wrote to all the CMs to offer government buildings for setting up towers", he said. In a recent development, telecom operators have asked the Government of India to allow them access to defence lands and areas in order to install towers to solve the call drop problem. There are vast areas in the country especially in the North-East and Kashmir where defence forces occupy large tracts of land that are not used by telcos or by any civilian installation. The quality of calls can be expected to improve if they opt for lower frequency. Mobile towers are currently using radio frequencies in the 300-3000 MHz range. Telcos are now pushing for the 900-1800 MHz range to improve services. The total number of mobile subscribers in India has reached the 980 million mark, but the shortage of bandwidth in relation to the number of operators is making the situation worse. There are only 5.5 lakh mobile towers available in India, which is half the optimum number urgently needed to save subscribers from call drops and, ultimately, monetary loss. When India is moving towards 4G technology, the government and telcos need to find a sustainable and feasible way to deal with the call-drop problem without compromising on national security, the minister urged. Initiatives like ‘Digital India’ need tech-based support; and mobile technology is the need of the hour, Ravi Shankar Prasad added.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to interact with technology and business leaders and focus on innovation, digital economy and renewable energy during his US trip next month, a top Indian diplomat has said. Modi is expected to travel to the US late September to attend the 70th annual session of the UN General Assembly. While no official announcement has been made yet, Modi is scheduled to travel to San Francisco to address the Indian- American community in the Silicon Valley on September 27. More than 25,000 people have signed up for the event at the SAP Centre, which has a seating capacity of 18,000. Both in New York and in San Jose ? hub of the Silicon Valley ? Modi is likely to meet people, experts and corporate leaders to further his twin agendas of inclusive growth and fast-tracking economic development. "The Prime Minister is expected to be here in the US in September in New York and in California. During his visit to California he would also interact with people representing the technology and business sector, wherein there would be emphasis on entrepreneurship, innovation, digital economy and renewable energy," Indian Ambassador Arun K Singh told PTI. Ahead of Modi's visit to the US, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal is visiting India and Sri Lanka. In New Delhi, Biswal is expected to hold talks with her Indian counterparts on forthcoming prime ministerial trip and the first India-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue in September. Climate change and renewable energy are the two issues that brings Modi and US President Barack Obama together. Climate change "will be at the fore front" of the leaders' agenda and that is dealing with its adverse consequences, said Peter Lavoy, Special Assistant to the US President for National Security Affairs. "Prime Minister Modi has talked about the obligation he has to the earth into India and to the Indian people and has set very ambitious carbon reduction guidelines... And each leader has agreed to work together to seek a very strong conclusion to the Paris conference later this year," he said. "This is one example of the many examples that they have come together, where our cooperation can produce tangible results for dealing with important world issues," Lavoy said.(PTI)
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The government on Tuesday (25 August) said it may reconvene Parliament's Monsoon Session to get key legislations, including the pending GST bill, passed, maintaining it has an "open mind" on amendments to reform measures even as it began consultations with leaders of opposition parties. With the government having failed to pass its legislative business in the Monsoon Session which was a near washout, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venakiah Naidu met Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and appealed to all political parties to cooperate in smooth functioning of Parliament in the "larger national interest". Naidu, who maintained that he has already consulted leaders of a number of parties on the issue, also expressed willingness to meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Vice President Rahul Gandhi, if required to ensure a smooth running of Parliament. "After discussions, the government shall, if required call the second part of Monsoon Session to pass key legislations. I appeal to all political parties to keep in mind the national interest. Parliament should function. There is no substitute to healthy debate in democracy. "The bills like GST, real estate regulation bill and land bill are very important. The delay in passage of the GST bill will hamper the aspirations of people of India and in particular the dreams of the youth, who are thirsty for jobs," Naidu said at a press conference here. Though the dates are yet to be finalised, the Monsoon Session is expected to be reconvened some time in September, sources said. Keen to ensure the passage of the GST bill, the government had kept open the option of reconvening the session with the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs deciding not to recommend immediate prorogation of the Houses after they were adjourned sine die on July 13. Appealing to the opposition parties to help and cooperate in passage of these bills, Naidu said the government is ready to discuss all issues and is committed to continuously reaching out to all parties to keep national interests above political interests. Naidu's fervent appeal to parties to help the government pass the GST bill came in the backdrop of the rupee registering a sharp fall and the benchmark sensex witnessing the biggest single day decline yesterday. Asking parties to think in national interest, he said, "This is even more important in the backdrop of the current financial situation across the globe." Replying to questions on Congress and some other parties pressing for amendments in the GST bill and whether the government is agreeable to them, Naidu said Parliament has to function even if these have to be approved. "Amendments cannot be approved outside (Parliament). Even if you approve outside, they do not have any relevance. They have to be approved inside. The government will be going to Parliament with an open mind. Once the session is called, we will be able to sort out these issues," he said. He also maintained that it was to the credit of the government and Finance Minister Arun Jaitely that most of the concerns expressed by different states -- manufacturing states, and non-manufacturing states were looked into and the minister took pains to talk to each and every state. "He consulted almost the whole spectrum of political opinion, was agreeable on arriving at a broad consensus," he said. Citing a study by international rating agency Moody's, Naidu said that India's growth story is running the risk of being jeopardised on account of slow progress on major legilsative reforms like GST and claimed that the legislation, if passed could add 1.5 per cent to 2 per cent to the GDP growth of the country. While the Parliamentary Affairs Minister today met Kharge, Congress remained non-committal on its support saying it would first read the fine print. "They (the government) want to call a special session and they are consulting all parties it seems. Unless we see what are the amended clauses or what is the agreement between the proposal of the standing committee and the government, unless we see the final bill, we cannot comment on that," Kharge said after the meeting. Asked whether Kharge told him to talk to Rahul Gandhi and whether the government has plans to talk to the Congress President and the Congress Vice President, Naidu said that he is following the norms by meeting leaders of different parties of both Houses but has no problem in meeting either Sonia Gandhi or Rahul. "I deal with parties and not individuals. But I have no problem in meeting Rahul also. During the last session, I had met Congress President Sonia Gandhi. If required, if they suggest, I can go to the Congress President, Vice President and even General Secretaries," Naidu said. The Parliamentary Affairs Minister said that he called the press conference to set the record straight as it was being said the government did not accommodate the opposition and Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not reach out to them. He said that five all-party meetings by him and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan were held and the government "walked the extra mile" to accommodate their concerns. Singling out Congress for disrupting the House, Naidu rejected as "unfair" the criticism of Modi, saying he was present during the first all-party meeting and had also gone to the opposition side and greeted them in the House. He, however, expressed the hope that political parties will see "reason" and cooperate with the government in passage of the GST and other bills. (PTI)
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Amid a bloodbath in the markets, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (24 August) reviewed the situation and favoured pushing ahead with the reforms agenda and taking more steps to strengthen the economy. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters that the Prime Minister took stock of equity and currency markets, and was of the opinion that "our economy is stable" but more needed to be done. The review of the economy at the highest level came against the backdrop of the benchmark Sensex plunging by 1,624.51 points to 25,741.56 -- its lowest level since August 2014 -- and nearly Rs 7 lakh crore getting wiped out from the investors' wealth. Besides, the rupee also fell the most in 23 months to hit two-year low at 66.64 against the US dollar. "PM is of the opinion that in order to further strengthen our economy, we should take more steps," Jaitley said, adding there will be no change in the strategy and the initiative to attract investors would continue. He said further discussion will be held with private and public partners to take "measures to attract investors and use the situation as an opportunity". The Prime Minister, he said, is keen that the present global crisis should be converted into an opportunity for India. "We are not (offering) any packages as of now as our internal fundamentals like industrial production, capital and public expenditure have improved," Jaitley said, adding normal reforms in the pipeline will continue. He said that the global factors are transient in nature and all global markets have been adversely impacted. Stating that the government and the regulators were keenly monitoring global developments, he said, "our parameters are strong. Our growth will be maintained." Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha said the PM discussed ways to push forward reforms agenda and hoped India will continue to be an attractive investment destination. Sinha also said the markets were expected to be volatile for some time. (PTI)
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India may support the waiver of the retrospective imposition of the controversial minimum alternate tax (MAT) on foreign portfolio investors at a hearing of the Supreme Court next month, a senior finance ministry official said. On Sept. 29, the Supreme Court is due to hear a legal challenge filed by Mauritius-based Castleton Investment Ltd against the government over a number of tax-related issues, including on whether MAT can be imposed on foreign investors. The government has already said it would no longer impose MAT from April, so its support for waiving any retrospective claims for the tax is seen as increasing the chances the Supreme Court will side with Castleton and rule that the tax cannot be imposed on foreign investors. The official, who declined to be named, said a specially appointed panel had recommended not imposing MAT on foreign investors, a position the government was considering adopting. "The panel has recommended relief for FIIs (foreign institutional investors)," the official said. "The government is favourably considering the recommendations." The government had sought time from the court earlier this month to study the recommendations before firming up its position on retrospective MAT claims.(Reuters)
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K Yatish Rajawat says the focus of the National Skill Development Corporation should be on rural population, a much wider range of skills and it should be measured on employabilityThe government seems to be unware that the most important aspect of its Skill India initiative is languishing as the primary agency for executing this -- the National Skill Development Corporation -- is mired in all kinds of ills. Skilling is more important for a populous country like ours it does not get the same kind of respect as education. Indians still rate education higher than skills, a Macualay complex that has destroyed the respect for people who work with their hands. Parents focus so highly on education and so little on skills of their children that they are willing to spend the bulk of their disposable income on education. The myth which is perpetuated from generation to generation is that with education everything is possible. K Yatish RajawatEducation up to the higher secondary level is necessary to learn the 3Rs, but in India, higher education even post- graduation is considered necessary. Parents feel that unless the child graduates he will not be able to get a job, get married or do anything in life. The constant refrain that you hear is “ child do your college’ after that you can do what you want. Students quickly realise that college is such a myth as it’s just a place for meeting others. There is hardly any education happening there. Unless and until it is an engineering college and that too a premier one, the daily schedule of each college is so loose that most students just waste those years. The concerned among them realise very soon that they need to add skills and so they join a computer course, or enroll in ICWA, ICAI etc. All these courses add real skills but are not easy, and especially learning computers is a mind mess. Moreover, these courses are not cheap, accessible or available to every student in the country. The worst is when a student from a rural area finishes his college from the nearest city and realizes that he in unemployable. NSDC as a PPP entity was supposed to use government resources to train people for the industry requirement. Unfortunately its objectives were loosely defined. While the government has been met its funding requirement, NSDC has not met the industry requirements. Nor has it been able to scale up as required. Basically, NSDC has been doling out funds to non-profit or corporates who are in the skill development business. It gives a derisory Rs 8000 or so for every individual who is certified as skilled by the companies getting the grants. It has established various councils for each sector to map the skills in a comprehensive manner. But as it is measured on the number of people provided skilled training it focuses on that number. When the focus should be on number of people trained and provided jobs. This is an important distinction as the focus should be on these skilled people being able to get a job or start a business. This was expected to happen automatically as NSDC had active support of the largest industry body CII. Unfortunately, CII may have supported but individual companies do not look at NSDC as a resource center for their requirements. This is due to myriad of reasons, most of the people who are involved in drafting the skills requirement for NSDC are not HR managers. HR professionals from corporates in manufacturing, engineering, construction and BPO sector need to look at NSDC as an employment and training partner. There is a dearth of shortage in construction sector for trained electricians and masons. But NSDC has not focused on this skill shortage as it is not something that urban aspirants want to do. This is also because most of the companies that NSDC has funded are based in major metros or cities. None of them have looked at rural population skilling. Therefore, a lot of people may have got trained for opening a parlour or for learning English skills but very few on masonry. |Urban youths are obsessed with white colour jobs, and most companies receiving funding from NSDC have focused only on this population. I have pointed out in detail in earlier article about addressing the aspirations of the youth. Interestingly, the only take away the Minister took from this article which had an huge impact was to insist on monitoring of NSDC, see his interview here. The challenge with the monitoring proposed by the minister is that it will effectively kill what little work NSDC is doing. The performance will further deteriorate if monitoring is on the lowest bidder. NSDC is the biggest vehicle for Skills India. It needs to be reformed and its focus should be on rural population, a much wider range of skills and should be measured on employability. K Yatish Rajawat is a senior journalist based in New Delhitweets @yatishrajawat
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The BJP policy mavens have to be alert to the clear and present dangers that an economic downturn across the world triggered by China could lead to, writes Sandeep BamzaiAs global headwinds rise and fires burn in Greece in Europe and China in Asia, even as the US Fed talks about a rate hike, India needs to start building a moat around itself and preparing for all eventualities. Friday morning's J M Financial India Strategy report paints a dismal picture for India. It says, "The recent devaluation of Yuan by China has led to a broad weakening of all Asian currencies including Indian Rupee (2.3 per cent vs USD). Exports from India excluding crude products has been weak (-5.8 per cent YoY in Apr-July) while imports ex. crude has been rising(+2.3 per cent YoY in Apr-July) exacerbating the trade deficit. In this back drop, there have been fears that yuan devaluation will further hurt exports and increase imports from China. While there is some credence to this argument, currency alone would not affect exports, in our opinion. While there are reasons (declining CPI inflation, currency) for an early rate cut, currency is not the key motivator and that a rate cut could very likely be preceded by currency stabilizing measures such as increasing FPI (foreign portfolio investment) limits in Gsecs (govt securities)." Yes unwinding of crude and commodity prices is great news for India, but other economic indicators are not shaping up adequately. The shake and rattle felt in global equity markets including India over the last few days has shaken India out of its complacency and if I may be bold enough to add stupor. If China were to continue to devalue its currency, the deleterious impact on India's currency will be far reaching. It is clear that the Chinese regime will stop at nothing to stave off the financial crisis threatening to engulf it. Business Insider deciphering the crisis in China wrote the other day, "The reality is that China is in the midst of what may be its most serious crisis since the days of Deng Xiaoping. And the model of government and economy Deng put in place is no longer effective at managing China, much less shifting it in a new direction...But the relative calmness on the surface belies disturbing deeper currents. The dark secret of consensus rule was that, while appearing to provide stability, by the late 2000s it was doing more to perpetuate underlying structural problems that could delay or even derail actual reforms or economic evolution. The lack of radical shifts and turns, the avoidance of major recessions and the ability to defer significant but potentially destabilizing reforms made China look like an unstoppable juggernaut...This is not to say China is on the verge of collapse, that the government and Party is about to fracture along internecine battle lines, or that economic reform is simply impossible in the face of entrenched interests. But none of these are out of the question...China has entered a stage of the uncertain...The transitory period is the most chaotic, the most fragile, and that is where China sits right now. " China has entered an uncertain stage and as Business Insider rightly points out a quantum surge in threat analysis for neighbouring India and other nations is imminent. Even as India grapples with the new bush fires, it has its own perils to deal with. The strife over One Rank One Pension scheme is a ticking time bomb which can cause financial havoc and set the clock back on the fiscal deficit targets. The off the books OROP is the right thing to do, no question about it for our veterans deserve every extra rupee, but the fiscal manoeuvrability at this stage is extremely limited. Much like P Chidamabaram's Rs 71,400 farm loan waiver, it has the potentiality to leave the fiscal regime in tatters. PM Modi knows this just as both Arun Jaitley and his deputy Jayant Sinha understand the financial implications of such a monumental decision. Implementing OROP will cost the government an estimated Rs 8300 crore annually and the finance ministry has to decide on this issue very soon for the pressure from the ex-servicemen is immense and intense. OROP is expected to benefit 25 lakh ex-servicemen. The rising external dangers from China and buffeting crises at home have to be navigated. India insulated itself adequately during the 1997 east Asian contagion, the dot com bust of 2000 and of course the global meltdown in 2008. The BJP has wasted 15 months obsessing over parliamentary obstructionism. In UPA's last budget, a meagre Rs 500 crore was allocated for OROP. But the BJP and PM Modi made this an election issue. In fact, one of Modi's earliest big rallies was in Rewari, a strong hold of armed forces veterans and he made a promise to deliver OROP there. Over promise versus delivery has become Modi dispensation's biggest bugbear. Incidentally the Supreme Court had ordered OROP roll out six years ago. In February this year, it politely reminded the Govt that nothing has moved on the front: Pension is not a bounty nor a matter of grace depending on the sweet will of the employer. The BJP needs to fortify itself adequately against external and internal threats, policy mavens have to be alert to the clear and present dangers that an economic downturn across the world triggered by China could lead to. The economic environment is no longer mono chrome, there are hidden dangers lurking everywhere. Tread softly, for you may tread on our dreams.
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The government will sell a 10 per cent stake in top state-run refiner Indian Oil Corp Ltd on Monday (24 August) through a stock market auction, the government said, as part of its drive to raise funds by selling off assets. At the current market price of the stock, that stake would be valued at about $1.5 billion. The government owns 68.6 per cent of IOC, whose stock hit a record high in July and has outperformed the broader market this year as the refiner benefits from cheaper global crude prices. It will sell about 242.8 million shares in Indian oil in Monday's auction, for which it will set a floor price on Saturday. Individual investors can buy the stock at a 5 per cent discount to the final bid price, the government said in a regulatory filing. New Delhi is seeking to raise as much as $11 billion by selling stakes in state-run companies this fiscal year, crucial to narrowing the fiscal deficit to a planned 3.9 per cent of gross domestic product in 2015/16. The government has missed its divestment target for the last five years in a row. Last month, the government raised about $260 million from the sale of a 5 per cent stake in Power Finance Corp Ltd, after the auction received bids for more than twice the number of shares on offer. Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Nomura and Indian investment banks JM Financial and Kotak Securities are the managers of the Indian Oil share sale.(Reuters)
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