The Hindu – 16 June 14 – Time for the final push

In the President’s address to Parliament, the NDA government announced its commitment to enacting the long-pending Bill that seeks to reserve a third of the seats in Parliament and the State Assemblies for women. <the percieved problem>>Recent reports suggest that with the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal — that had opposed the Bill in its present form in the past — now numerically reduced in the Lok Sabha, the government should have no problem in mustering a two-thirds majority to push through this contentious piece of legislation with the help of the Congress and the Left parties. This argument, however, does not factor in the reality that even during the UPA’s 10 year-long rule, the Congress, the BJP and the Left parties together had the numbers to pass the Bill in the Lok Sabha. <the actual problem>> The problem lay elsewhere: when the Rajya Sabha approved the Bill in March 2010, the UPA was forced to use marshals to physically check MPs who got unruly and violent, rendering the entire episode controversial, and acting as a deterrent to using the same tactics in the Lok Sabha. <And the situation now??>>In 2014, the SP, the BSP and the RJD may have been rendered ineffective, but at least two of the BJP’s partners in the NDA, the Shiv Sena and the Lok Jan Shakti Party, have traditionally opposed the Bill and it is not clear whether they have had a change of heart since.

<what is the core root of opposition??>> In the past, MPs belonging to the Other Backward Classes across all political parties — including the BJP — <1.>have argued vociferously that reservation for women in the legislatures would reduce the representation of OBCs who had fought a long and hard battle to get their share in Parliament, as women candidates would be drawn largely from the elite, upper-caste sections. <<notice the underlying assumption – that elected women would mostly be from upper class. And thus..>> This is a fallacious argument: for parties selecting candidates, men or women, generally factor in the caste composition of the individual constituency. Indeed, even in the 16th Lok Sabha, a third of the 62 women MPs belong to the OBCs, reflecting the increase in their numbers in the House over the years. The reason for the violent and rancorous opposition to the Bill springs not merely from the fact that <2.> many male legislators will lose their seats, nor from the fact that < 3.> the rotation of seats every five years will ensure that MPs may no longer be able to ‘nurture’ their constituencies. < 4.> The real battle is for political power: for, if the Bill does become law and at least 181 women sit in the Lok Sabha and corresponding numbers in State Assemblies across the country, it will result in a fundamental change in the power dynamics in an arena where it matters the most — decision-making in the highest echelons of the country. <Futuristic Conclusion>> Will the BJP government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi address the women’s reservation issue with the seriousness and determination it demands?

Q: Elaborate on the manifest problems and the hidden problems which have blocked the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill in India.

In which topic of the CS Mains syllabi, can this article fit in? –

• Paper -1, Role of women and women’s organization
• Paper -2 Parliament and State Legislatures; Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States
• Paper -4 laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance; accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance; Work culture

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The Hindu – 13 June 14 – Banking on Governance

The report of an RBI-appointed committee under the chairmanship of former Axis Bank head P.J. Nayak that reviewed issues of governance in banks was released just before the announcement of the parliamentary election results. <What is the issue??>> There is a risk of the report getting lost in the abundance of official and non-official recommendations and suggestions on financial sector reform that are now available to the new government. On the other hand, the committee’s report might well be the blueprint that a new government that is keen on reform might consider adopting, albeit with modifications. The report has already become controversial, <the issue of controversy is…>>>with major bank trade unions threatening to go on strike against its key recommendations that are centred on the dilution of government ownership in public sector banks (PSBs) to 50 per cent of their paid-up capital, and the revamping of their boards. <Why was this recommendation made??>>No one doubts that <1.>PSBs suffer from external constraints flowing from dual regulation by the Finance Ministry and the government. <2.>They also face severe restrictions in being subject to external vigilance — by the Central Vigilance Commission and the Central Bureau of Investigation. < 3.> Corporate governance has suffered because of weak board supervision and excessive government interference. These in turn have resulted in policy objectives rather than commercial considerations dictating business decisions. <4.> There has been a lack of transparency in appointing top managers of PSBs. Most of them are not able to stand up to government interference and this has largely contributed to weak governance. <5. & Outcome>>PSBs lag behind private banks with respect to a wide range of parameters such as profitability and asset quality.

<How do we resolve the condition of PSBs??>> An immediate task before the government as the majority owner stake-holder in these banks is<1.> to find very large amounts of capital to take care of their impaired assets and also meet the international capital adequacy norms following their shift to Basel-III, which is imminent. <What does the Nayak Comm. recommend on this?>> <1.>The Nayak Committee has proposed that the government stake in the banks be transferred to a separate bank investment company which will be professionally managed and be able to raise resources. <2.>A separate category of authorised bank investors (ABIs) will be allowed to own up to 20 per cent of a private bank without regulatory approval. <the criticism>> On the face of it, recommendations such as this are not for the PSBs, but they will be applicable once the government brings its stake down to 50 per cent or below. <Conclusive Comment>> It is therefore not surprising that many, even those who are not on the side of the bank unions, see the report as a push towards bank privatisation. It is precisely on that score that the report, though well-intentioned, needs a great deal of deliberation.

Q: In the light of the recommendations of the Nayak Committee, discuss the state of Public Sector Banks in India and the steps that can be taken to reinforce them.

In which topic of the CS Mains syllabi, can this article fit in? –

• Paper -2 Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary Ministries and Departments of the Government; pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in the Polity.
• Paper -3, Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment.
• Paper -3, Effects of liberalization on the economy
• Paper -4 laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance; accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance

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The Hindu – 13 June 14 – Opinion

1) Three elections, one story

TAKEAWAY – The recent elections in Algeria, Syria and Egypt – their mandate and meaning- MUST READ.

In which topic of the CS Mains syllabi, can this article fit in? –

• Paper -2  Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests
• Paper -4  Concept of public service; Probity in Governance, laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance, Moral and Political attitude

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2) Lokpal is no magic bullet

TAKEAWAY – A brush up to challenges of corruption – CAN READ for refreshing your memory.

In which topic of the CS Mains syllabi, can this article fit in? –

• Paper -2, Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability; Lokpal
• Paper -4  Probity in Governance, Challenges to corruption

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Indian Express – 13 June 14 – The great NGO scare

SUMMARY – Modi government must deal with, not try to wish away, pressures from civil society.

Less than a month after the Narendra Modi government took office, civil society organisations can be said to be feeling the heat. An Intelligence Bureau report to the prime minister’s office has warned against a range of NGOs, suggesting they pose a threat to the economy, <how??>> and that they have collectively cost India 2-3 per cent of its GDP. <who does it identify??>> The IB’s list includes not just international organisations like Greenpeace that have drawn attention to the environmental damage of coal-based and nuclear energy, or those with extensive foreign funding, but also many Gujarat-based NGOs that have campaigned for the victims of the 2002 riots, among other issues, including the People’s Union for Civil Liberties.

<The backgrounder 1.0>> This is not the first time a government has had occasion to complain about motivated civil society organisations — the UPA often deployed the FCRA to delay or revoke licences, and former PM Manmohan Singh has complained about the “foreign hand” instigating campaigns against nuclear energy. This charge is not entirely baseless. <What is the point of conflict??>> Many NGOs do have agendas that further the interests of their funders, while others are driven by the particular causes they speak for. They are not meant to take the large view and harmonise interests. By their very nature, advocacy groups take the narrow, intense position. The logic of the voluntary sector and private capital often work in concert, and try to supplant the legitimate functions of the state. They are often irritants to the government, but they also often aid governments in informal ways, fill gaps on the ground, bring a useful view to policy and legislation. In other words, there is no single theory of civil society organisations or one ideal approach to them. NGOs cannot be red-flagged and harassed — the government’s test is in how it reacts to their interventions.

<The backgrounder 2.0>>The UPA erred on the other side too, on occasion, treating NGO orthodoxy on GM crops as equivalent to the scientific consensus, for instance, or inviting civil society to take on an outsized role in drafting policy through the NAC. <The challenge for the government??>> But the Modi government must be wary of taking a repressive attitude to NGOs, merely because they articulate alternative priorities. It will be challenged, like all governments are, and its task is to accommodate diverse perspectives where possible, to shoulder past the ones that it judges irrelevant, and know that some criticism is inevitable given the tradeoffs of any decision-making. <Conclusive Comment>> It must realise that scapegoating NGOs is not going to strengthen the government.

Q: In light of the recent IB report warning against a range of NGO’s, discuss the nature of relationship between the Civil Society Organizations and the Government.

In which topic of the CS Mains syllabi, can this article fit in? –

• Paper -1, Developmental Issues
• Paper -2, Important aspects of governance,transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures.
• Paper -2, Development processes and the development industry- the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders.
• Paper -3, Effects of liberalization on the economy; Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.
• Paper -4 Accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance, ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions; laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance, Probity in Governance

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The Hindu & IE – 13 June 14 – Consistency and restraint & UPA to NDA

A quick end to an emerging controversy is in the interest of a new government, especially one that has set an ambitious agenda for itself. The question of succession in the Army leadership was expected to be one such impending row <the backgrounder>> as the Bharatiya Janata Party had raised issues of propriety when the outgoing Congress regime chose to name the next Chief of the Army Staff towards the fag end of its term and with well over two months to go for the incumbent to retire. <what has been done now??>> Defence Minister Arun Jaitley has done well to give an early quietus to this question by declaring in Parliament that Lt. Gen. Dalbir Singh Suhag’s appointment is final and that the government stands by it. <The various dimensions to it!!>>The National Democratic Alliance regime has chosen wisely to stay above the temptation to politicise it. By deciding that it would continue to defend the Army chief-designate against a legal challenge in the Supreme Court, the ruling party has indicated that it never had a problem with Lt. Gen. Suhag’s suitability or merit, and had reservations only about the timing of his appointment. For sections of the ruling party, the government’s error, if any, may have been in its consistency: it has repeated in a recent affidavit in the Supreme Court the contents of an affidavit that the previous UPA regime had submitted before the Armed Forces Tribunal. Those contents include remarks against V.K. Singh, former chief of the Army and a Minister in the present government, charging him with acting without material basis and in a premeditated manner while imposing a ‘discipline and vigilance ban’ on Lt. Gen. Suhag in 2012.<<This was the underlying incident then!!>

While the Defence Ministry is expected to maintain consistency in ongoing judicial proceedings, there can be no justification for Mr. Singh to comment on the government’s conduct and cast aspersions on the reputation of the Army chief-designate. Mr. Singh is no stranger to controversy, but it was hoped that he would give up his contentious ways after getting elected to the Lok Sabha with a massive victory margin and being appointed a Minister of State, for the North East, among others. The least that was expected of him was that he would avoid voicing an adverse opinion on an issue in which he was fully involved while in service. It is disquieting that one wing of the government casts aspersions on a Minister while he publicly questions the Union government’s stand. So far, the government has merely stated that there can be no politics over the Army chief’s appointment and does not seem to be embarrassed by the whole episode.<Conclusive Comment>> It can afford to ignore calls for his resignation or removal, but there is little doubt that there is a case for Minister V.K. Singh to be advised restraint, and the adverse remarks on him toned down.

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SUMMARY – Arun Jaitley’s defence of the previous government’s appointment of the next army chief is reassuring.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley has done well to distance the Centre from the intemperate remarks of his ministerial colleague, and former army chief, General V.K. Singh. More laudably, Jaitley has done so by stating the well-established principle in Indian democracy for governments: to keep issues relating to the armed forces unaffected by party politics. <What is the issue at hand??>>“The UPA government had made the appointment of [Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag as] the next army chief some weeks ago,” he told Parliament. “The present government also is fully defending that appointment.” This dispels any doubts over the defence ministry’s affidavit this week in the Supreme Court in response to a petition seeking a stay on the appointment. Jaitley’s statement also carries a larger promise that, after the bitterly contested general election and the all too often personalised campaign, the transition from the UPA to the NDA will not be disruptive for the sake of partisanship. These are early days for the Modi government, and the unambiguous iteration of a higher principle as guide is a collateral benefit of this unseemly episode.

<The backgrounder>> Jaitley’s clarification was occasioned by General Singh’s tweets contesting the defence ministry’s affidavit. The case goes back to Singh’s tenure as army chief. He had piloted a disciplinary ban on Suhag for allegedly being responsible for a raid conducted by the Corps Intelligence and Surveillance Unit while he was commander of the Dimapur-based 3 Corps. The ministry’s affidavit in the Supreme Court, similar (and necessarily so) to that submitted to the Armed Forces Tribunal, terms the ban “illegal”. The ban would, of course, have changed the line of succession to the top post in the Indian army — and the consequent speculation whether this was by design or not strengthened the impression of an army top brass that had still not recovered from the controversy over the row involving V.K. Singh’s date of birth.

<So, the army-government relationship should be… >>>Civilian oversight of the armed forces is essential to constitutional democracy. And for it to be honoured, it requires not just established codes of engagement, but also an ethos of mutual respect to maintain institutional goodwill. Whether or not V.K. Singh is aware of the strain this ethos came under during his last months as army chief, or of the collective ministerial responsibility that his new innings as a politician commits him to, <Conclusive Comment>> this episode should highlight to the Modi government the distance yet to go to reverse an unfortunate drift in the army-government dynamic it has inherited from the UPA.

Q: Elaborate on the controversy about the appointment of the next Army Chief. In light of it, discuss about the army and government relationship.

In which topic of the CS Mains syllabi, can this article fit in? –

• Paper -2, Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary Ministries and Departments of the Government; pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in the Polity.
• Paper -4 Accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance, ; laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance, Probity in Governance

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