Gov proposing Emigration Management Bill, 2009

by rakesh | Jan 8, 2010 | India News

The government is proposing to bring in a new legislation namely the Emigration Management Bill, 2009 to replace the existing Emigration Act, 1983. Addressing 8th Pravasiya Bhartiya Divas, Union Law Minister Dr. Veerappa Moily said that the proposed bill is aimed to transform emigration into a simple, transparent and efficient economic process, to facilitate legal migration and enhance the protection and welfare of workers.

He said in the field of Family law, marital disputes, divorce proceedings and child custody issues affect Indians residing abroad in a major way. Women married abroad are often abandoned and the cases can drag on for years without resolution. The National Commission for Women is setting up a committee which will also address issues faced by such wives. We are committed to ensuring speedy and fair justice to all. The Law Ministry proposes to create a special purpose vehicle (SPV) under the National Legal Mission (recently approved in principle by the Cabinet), to dispose of all pending cases by year-end 2012 and reduce pendency in courts from an average of 15 years to three years. We propose to achieve this goal by addressing manpower, infrastructure and technology issues.

Dr. Moily further said that Property disputes relating to both ancestral property as well as new property investments form a large part of the legal worries for Overseas Indians. Security of their investments in fixed assets must be guaranteed especially with the proliferation of schemes aimed especially at the Overseas Indian community. Easier and transparent access to state land records in order to verify titles in ancestral property disputes is being undertaken by various state governments. A policy for preventing encroachments and illegal occupation of properties owned by overseas Indians also needs to be put in place. In addition to “in bound” issues that Overseas Indians have to face in India we also need to examine “out bound” issues that Indian migrants face abroad. The legal migration process has been cumbersome, often involving misinformation, unscrupulous agents, and harassment. Indian workers abroad face mistreatment, confiscation of passports and irregular salary payments aside from substantial incident of illegal migration and human trafficking.
[size=xx-small][Source:PIB][/size]

Civil Services Examination, 2010

by rakesh | Jan 8, 2010 | India News

The candidates must apply in the Common Application Form devised by the Commission for its examinations, which can be purchased from the designated Head Post Offices/Post Offices (specified in Appendix-III of the Notice published in Employment News/Rozgar Samachar) throughout the country.

In case of any difficulty in obtaining the Application Forms from the designated HPOs/ POs the candidates should immediately contact the concerned Post Master or UPSC “Form Supply Monitoring Cell” over Telephone No.011-23389366/FAX No.011-23387310.

All applications must reach the “Secretary, Union Public Service Commission, Dholpur House, Shahjahan Road, New Delhi-110 069” either by hand or by Post/Speed Post or by Courier, on or before the 1st February, 2010.

However, in respect of candidates, residing abroad or in certain remote areas specified in the Notice, the last date for receipt of applications by Post/Speed Post only (Not by Hand or by Courier) is 8th February, 2010.

In case of any guidance/information/clarification regarding their applications, candidature etc. candidates can contact UPSC’s Facilitation Counter near ‘C’ Gate of its campus in person or over Telephone No.011-23385271/011-23381125/011-23098543 on working days between 1000 hrs and 17000 hrs.

The Commission also has a Website at address: http://www.upsc.gov.in over which the candidates can obtain details of the examination as well as information about registration of their applications, venue of the examination and results.

AP Meeting begins on Telangana issue, PC Appeals for Peace

by rakesh | Jan 5, 2010 | India News

“I welcome you to this consultation on the issues arising out of the recent agitations in Andhra Pradesh in favour of and against a separate State of Telangana.

We have invited the eight recognised political parties in Andhra Pradesh to this consultation. The founding fathers believed – and we believe – that parliamentary democracy is the best form of representative government and has the capacity to find solutions to all issues and problems. Debate, discussion and consultation are the best means to resolve differences and find answers. Political parties are integral to a parliamentary form of democracy. The wishes and aspirations of the people are reflected by the political parties. The argument that parliamentary democracy can be sustained without political parties is an argument that has to be stated to be rejected. Each one of you represents a recognised political party and, therefore, I would respectfully submit that each one of you bears a responsibility to help in resolving the differences and finding appropriate answers.

There are a number of misconceptions surrounding the issues that have brought us here today. There is a misconception that the Central Government acted in haste; that the political parties were not consulted; and that I, as Home Minister, acted as an individual. As you are well aware, none of these misconceptions is supported by facts, but I shall not waste your time refuting these misconceptions.

You are all aware of the long history behind the demand for a separate State of Telangana. It is sufficient to refer to the report of the States Reorganisation Commission; the Gentlemen’s Agreement of 1956 and the amendment of Article 371(1) of the Constitution; the Six Point Formula of 1973; and the introduction of Article 371D in the Constitution. More recently, in the elections to the State Assembly of Andhra Pradesh held in May, 2009, the political parties outlined their positions in their respective election manifestos. All this is in the public domain.

The Central Government was concerned when an agitation was started in November, 2009 demanding a separate State of Telangana. Quite rightly, the political parties in Andhra Pradesh were the first responders to the agitation. You are aware of the proceedings of the Business Advisory Committee of the Andhra Pradesh State Assembly on December 7, 2009 followed by the proceedings of the all party meeting convened by the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh later in the evening of the same day.

I wish to reiterate that the first statement on behalf of the Central Government was made on the basis of the minutes of the all party meeting held on December 7, 2009.

It is true that the situation on the ground has altered significantly since the all party meeting of December 7, 2009 and the first statement on behalf of the Central Government on December 9, 2009. Taking note of the altered situation, on December 23, 2009, the Central Government promised to hold wide ranging consultations with all political parties and groups in Andhra Pradesh. It is therefore that we have convened this meeting of the recognised political parties. As stated in my letter to you, the agenda is to “deliberate on the mechanism and lay down a road map for the consultations.”

I urge each of the political parties represented here to show accommodation and goodwill. Ultimately, you must find the answers and you must help the Central Government find a solution. The agenda for this meeting may appear limited, but I am confident that if we take one step at a time we will, eventually, find a solution. I request you, therefore, to give your views on the agenda. What is the mechanism that you visualise for the consultations with all political parties and groups in Andhra Pradesh? What is the road map for such consultations?

While we deliberate on these issues and take forward the process of consultations, we must recognise the fundamental importance of restoring normalcy in Andhra Pradesh. There must be a halt to agitations and bandhs. Law and order must be maintained. Children must go to schools and colleges. People must be allowed to carry on their normal day-to-day activities. Government must be able to focus on development and the welfare of the people. It is in the interest of all sections of the people of Andhra Pradesh that peace and harmony prevail while the consultations take place. I wish to caution all political parties that there are forces waiting on the wings who ridicule the parliamentary form of democracy and who would be happy if we collectively fail to find answers to the issues that concern us, and we should not give any room for these forces to gain strength or credence.

Let me conclude by saying that let us demonstrate the strength of our democracy and the capacity of our political parties to resolve differences and find solutions. I shall now ask each of the political parties to place their views on the agenda before us.”
[size=xx-small][Source: PIB][/size]

Govt’s Exhaustive Drought Management Manual

by rakesh | Jan 1, 2010 | India News

The drought manual is expected to prove an effective practical guideline for administrators, experts and civil society in implementing drought mitigation and relief measures and for alleviating distress of the drought affected people.

The Department of Agriculture and Cooperation had requested the National Institute of Disaster Management to prepare a manual reflecting a comprehensive and coordinated approach to management of drought recommending measures, which need to be implemented for effective drought relief and mitigation. The manual is to draw upon the rich and diverse past experience of drought management and suggest an extensive list of procedures and measures required to be taken for alleviating the impact of drought.

India has witnessed 22 major droughts in the past 120 years and 7 droughts during the last three decades alone. Increased climate variability coupled with global warming has made rainfall pattern more inconsistent and unpredictable leading to increase in the recurrence of droughts and drought like situations. Apart from resultant fall in agricultural production , droughts have other multifarious long drawn impacts , such as shortage of drinking water, fodder, deficiency of water in dams/reservoirs for power generation severely affecting overall growth of the economy.

MP:SB:CP: drought manual (01.01.2010)[size=xx-small]Source:[PIB][/size]

World Bank’s US$100M to Poverty Program in Andhra Pradesh

by rakesh | Dec 25, 2009 | India News

The project objectives will remain the same as the original project, to enable the rural poor, particularly the poorest of the poor, improve their livelihoods and quality of life. This is the second additional financing for this project and it will help scale up the impressive achievements to date.

“This program has had a remarkable impact on the lives of the rural poor in Andhra Pradesh,” said Roberto Zagha, World Bank Country Director for India. “We have seen incomes increase for close to 90 percent of poor rural households. This additional financing will help improve efficiency and effectiveness of the program by adopting new technologies and innovative service delivery models for achieving full inclusion of the poor households.”

The project has mobilized some 10 million poor women, or 90 percent of the poor in the project districts, into nearly 850,000 Self Help Groups. The groups have used seed money to pool resources and make small loans to help each other pay for education, medical treatment, food , and other small but important needs. The self-help groups have formed federations, leveraging their finances and influence, and even began to deliver insurance, ambulance, extension, commercial and government services.

The self-managed institutions of the poor have collective savings of US$805 million, and leveraged commercial bank linkages of US$4.3 billion. This means that every US$1 invested by the project has leveraged US$12 from the commercial banks. Meanwhile, the project’s community managed sustainable agriculture program has led to aggregate annual cost savings of US$69.5 million and the employment generation program has created 185,748 jobs for the rural youth.

“This additional financing will help build capacity of community institutions to enable them to deal more effectively with the commercial banks, the market institutions, public sector departments, and developing new partnerships with the cooperatives and the private sector,” said Parmesh Shah, World Bank Lead Rural Development Specialist and project team leader. “We expect this approach to bring even higher returns on the investments in the institutional platform of the poor already made. This phase will also work towards achieving significant decrease in malnutrition and maternal mortality for the rural poor”
The credit is provided by the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s concessionary lending arm and has 35 years to maturity and a 10-year grace period.
[size=small](source:worldbank.org)[/size]