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]

Amendment to “The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009”

by rakesh | Dec 25, 2009 | India News

Amendment to the Copyright Act, 1957

by rakesh | Dec 25, 2009 | India News

Amendments are being made to bring the Act in conformity with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Internet Treaties, namely WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) which have set the international standards in these spheres. The WCT deals with the protection for the authors of literary and artistic works such as writings, computer programmes, original databases, musical works, audiovisual works, works of fine art and photographs. The WPPT protects certain “related rights” which are the rights of the performers and producers of phonograms. While India has not yet signed the above two treaties it is necessary to amend domestic legislation to extend the copyright protection in the digital environment.

Amendments related to bring the Act in conformity with WCT and WPPT :

· Through a new section in the Act, it is proposed to ensure protection to the Right holders against circumvention of effective technological measures applied for purpose of protection of his rights like breaking of passwords etc. while maintaining an appropriate balance between the interests of the right holders on the one hand and of Technology innovators, Researchers and Educational Institutions on the other.

· The existing Performers’ Rights are proposed to be further enhanced by introducing a new section to provide exclusive rights compatible with WPPT.

· “The Moral Rights of Performers” are proposed to be introduced in a new section.

· Amendments have been proposed to protect the interests of researchers, students and educational institutions so as to ensure that Technological Measures do not act as a barrier for further development of the technology. These amendments also address the issue of access to information in the digital context and the liability of Internet service providers.

· The period of copyright for photographers is proposed to be enhanced to “Life plus sixty years” instead of only sixty years as at present.

Amendment to protect the Music and Film Industry and address its concerns :

· Statutory licence for version recordings and authorship to ensure that

while making a sound recording of any literary, dramatic or musical work the interest of the copyright holder is duly protected.

· Term of copyright for cinematograph films has been extended by making

the Producers and Principal director as joint authors.

· A copyright term of 70 years to Principal Director which automatically

extends the copyright term for the Producers for another 10 years provided he enters into an agreement with the Director;

Amendments to address the concerns of the physically challenged:

The physically challenged need access to copyright material in specialized formats, e.g. Braille text, talking text, electronic text, large print etc. for the visually challenged and sign language for the aurally challenged. Currently the cost of production of material in such formats is very high. With additional requirement of royalty payments the price of such material to the target groups would be even higher.

· A clause is proposed to be introduced as a fair deal clause to allow the production of copies of copyright material in formats specially designed for the physically challenged.

· A separate compulsory licensing provision has been proposed to allow for publication of copyright works in formats other than specifically suited for the physically challenged.

Amendments for rights to authors:

· Amendment is proposed to give independent rights to authors of literary and musical works in cinematograph films, which were hitherto denied and wrongfully exploited, by the producers and music companies.

· An amendment is proposed to ensure that the authors retain their right to receive royalties and the benefits enjoyed through the copyright societies.

· Another amendment ensures that the authors of the works, particularly songs included in the cinematograph film or sound recordings, receive royalty for the commercial exploitation of such work.

· It has been proposed to introduce a system of statutory licensing to ensure that the public has access to musical works over the FM Radio and Television networks and at the same time the owners of copyright works are also not subject to any disadvantages.

· It is proposed to amend existing provisions to provide compulsory license through Copyright Board to publish or communicate to the public such work or translation where the author is dead or unknown or cannot be traced or the owner of the copyright work in such work cannot be found.

Other amendments

· Amendments are being made for incidental changes, which are required in the context of digital technology to cover “storing of copyrights material by electronic means’.

· Amendments in relation to operational facilities, such as registration of Copyright Societies by providing that only authors can register and procedure for tariff schemes of copyright societies and commercial distinction between assignment and licence; and

· Enforcement of rights such as border measures, disposal of infringing copies and presumption of authorship under civil remedies.

Background :

In order to formulate the proposed amendments and to carry out wide-ranging consultations with all stakeholders, the Ministry of Human Resource Development had constituted a 30-member Core Group in the year 2005 under the Chairmanship of the Education Secretary with representatives of the other Ministries/Departments concerned with the subject and other key stakeholders like copyright-industry organizations, stakeholders, subject experts and Institutions of repute in related fields. The Core Group had deliberations at length in five sessions to cover all the provisions of the existing statute and made recommendations with regard to the proposed amendments. The Core Group then created a Drafting Committee to draw up the text of the proposed amendments and to fine-tune the recommendations of the Core Group.
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