MoHUA launches the Transport 4 All Challenge Stage-2 and Citizen Perception Survey-2022 (GS Paper 3, Economy)
Why in news?
- Recently, the Ministryof Housing and Urban Affairs launched the Transport 4 All Challenge Stage-2 and Citizen Perception Survey 2022 at an online event.
(Rissadiary)
Transport 4 All Challenge Stage-2:
- The Transport4All Challenge is an initiative of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairsthat aims at enhancing the mobility experience of citizens.
- The Challenge focuses on digital innovation and invites cities, citizens, and innovators to join hands to develop contextual digital solutions to improve formal as well as informal public transport to better serve the mobility needs of all citizens.
Three Stages of the Challenge:
- Stage I Problem Identification: Cities, with the support of NGOs, identify key recurring problems that citizens and public transport operators face.
- Stage II Solution Generation: Startups develop prototypes of solutions to improve public transport with inputs from cities and NGOs.
- Stage III Pilot Testing: Cities engage Startups for large-scale pilots and refine the solutions based on citizen feedback.
Significance:
- Solutions developed as part of the Challenge aim to integrate formal and informal modes of public transport wherever possible and desirable.
- Solutions that demonstrate the ability to meet the needs of citizens would be piloted in selected cities across the country.
Citizen Perception Survey 2022 (part of Ease of Living assessment)
- MoHUA launched the Urban Outcomes Framework 2022 in April, 2022 as an initiative to undertake a transparent and comprehensive assessment of cities based on cross-city outcomes across major sectors.
- The Framework also includes the third round of Ease of Living Index.
- The National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) is anchoring the program, along with its agency Quality Council of India (QCI), who are supporting MoHUA in undertaking the exercise.
Ease of Living Index:
- The Ease of Living Index, as a 360-degree assessment, aims to evaluate cities across India based on the Quality of Life, Economic Ability, and Sustainability.
- As part of the Ease of Living Index, a Citizen Perception Survey is being conducted (which carries 30% of the marks under the Ease of Living Index). This is a very important component of the assessment exercise as it will help in directly capturing of citizen feedback with respect to their city liveability.
- These views would highlight how citizens feel about different aspects of their cities including public transport, education facilities, healthcare services, water availability, cost of living, employment opportunities, among others.
- This survey, which is being administered both online and offline, commenced from 9th November 2022 and will continue till 23rd December 2022. The offline version involving face-to-face interviews will run parallelly with the online survey.
Participation:
- The Citizen Perception Survey was first conducted in 2020 across the 111 cities.
- In 2022, the Survey will be carried out across 264 cities with an aim to capture and reflect opinions of from more than 21 lakh citizens across the length and breadth of the country.
- The top performing cities will be rewarded under the 'City Engagement Award'.
Cabinet Approves “Guidelines for Uplinking and Downlinking of Satellite Television Channels in India, 2022”
(GS Paper 3, Science and Tech)
Why in news?
- The Union Cabinet has approved the “Guidelines for Uplinking and Downlinking of Television Channels in India, 2022”.
- The consolidated Guidelines shall ease
- issue of permissions to the companies/ LLPs registered in India for Uplinking and Downlinking of TV Channels,
- setting up of Teleports/ Teleport Hubs,
- use of Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG)/ Satellite News Gathering (SNG)/ Electronic News Gathering (ENG) systems,
- uplinking by Indian News agencies and temporary uplinking of a live event.
(Pragativadi)
The main advantages emanating from the revised guidelines are as follows: -
Ease of compliance for the permission holder:
- Requirement for seeking permission for live telecast of events has been done away with; only prior registration of events to be telecast live would be necessary;
- No requirement of prior permission for change of language or conversion of mode of transmission from Standard Definition (SD) to High Definition (HD) or vice versa; only prior intimation would be required.
- In case of emergency, for a company/ LLP with only two Directors/ Partners, a Director/ Partner can be changed, subject to security clearance post such appointment, to enable business decision making;
- A company/LLP can use News gathering equipments other than DSNG, such as optic fiber, Bag back, mobile, etc. for which no separate permission would be necessary.
Ease of Doing Business:
- Specific timelines have been proposed for grant for permission;
- Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) entities can also seek permission;
- LLPs / companies would be allowed to uplink foreign channels from Indian teleports which would create employment opportunities and make India a Teleport-hub for other countries.
- A news agency can get permission for a 5 year period as against one year at present;
- A channel can be uplinked by using facilities of more than one teleport/ satellite as against only one teleport/satellite at present;
- It has broadened the possibility of allowing transfer of TV Channel/Teleport to a company / LLP as permissible under the Companies Act/ Limited Liability Act.
Simplification and Rationalization:
- One composite set of Guidelines has replaced two separate Guidelines;
- Structure of the Guidelines has been systematized to avoid duplication and common parameters.
- The penalty clauses have been rationalized and separate nature of penalties have been proposed for different type of contraventions as against uniform penalty at present.
Other Highlights:
- The companies/LLPs having permission to uplink and downlink a channel may undertake public service broadcasting (except where it may not be feasible) for a minimum period of 30 mins in a day on themes of national importance and of social relevance.
- The TV Channels uplinking in frequency band other than C band are mandatorily required to encrypt their signals.
- Net worth requirement for Companies/LLPs holding permissions, to be as per the Guidelines at the time of renewals.
- Provision of Security Deposits to ensure payment of dues.
Report of Expert Committee on SVAMITVA Scheme released
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Why in news?
- Recently, the Report of Expert Committee on SVAMITVA Scheme was released during the National Conference on SVAMITVA Scheme and Rural Planning at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
- The report provides the guiding principles that States may adopt in order to realize the objectives of the SVAMITVA Scheme holistically.
(Exclusive News)
Background:
- The Expert Committee was formed in February, 2022 under the Chairmanship of B. K. Agarwal, Former Secretary to the Government of India and Former Chief Secretary, Government of Himachal Pradesh.
- It consisted of domain experts from Land Governance, Banking, Survey of India, NIC-GIS, State Revenue and Panchayati Raj Departments, Industry and premier Planning and Architecture Institutes.
Recommendations:
Through the recommendations, it is envisaged to
- create systems that promote transparency in the implementation of the scheme,
- promote the adoption of record of rights for availing bank loan,
- develop linkages between different departments for informed decision-making related to property tax assessment and collection,
- wider adoption of SVAMITVA data-sets by government and private agencies as per new geospatial guidelines,
- adoption of RADPFI (Rural Area Development Plan Formulation and Implementation) Guidelines and SVAMTIVA data for accurate village level-planning, and
- increasing capacity at State, District and Block level for GIS skillsets, among others.
About SVAMITVA Scheme:
- SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) Yojana’ was launched on Panchayati Raj Diwas (April 24th, 2020).
- The scheme aims to cover 6.62 lakh villages in the country from Financial Year 2020-21 to Financial Year 2024-25.
Aim:
- It aims to provide the ‘Record of Rights’ to village household owners possessing houses in inhabited areas, called Abadi in some States, with legal ownership rights (Property cards/Title deeds).
- Under the scheme, the land parcels in rural inhabited area of all the villages are surveyed using drone technology.
Components:
- Under the scheme, funds to Survey of India are provided for two components – Large Scale Mapping (LSM) using drones and establishment of Continuous Operating Reference Station (CORS).
- Funds on limited scale are also provided directly to States for Information, Education, Communication (IEC) and setting up of State Project Monitoring Unit (SPMU).
- Funds are also released to National Informatics Centre (NIC) through National Informatics Centre Services Inc (NICSI) for Enhancement of Spatial Planning Application ‘Gram Manchitra’ and Central Infrastructure.
Implementing Agency:
- It is being implemented with the collaborative efforts of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Survey of India (SoI), State Revenue Department, State Panchayati Raj Department and National Informatics Centre.
- States need to sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SoI for implementation of the scheme.
Significance of the scheme:
- The delivery of property rights through an official document will enable villagers to access bank finance using their property as collateral.
- The property records for a village will also be maintained at the Panchayat level, allowing for the collection of associated taxes from the owners. The money generated from these local taxes will be used to build rural infrastructure and facilities.
- Freeing the residential properties including land of title disputes and the creation of an official record is likely to result in appreciation in the market value of the properties.
- The accurate property records can be used for facilitating tax collection, new building and structure plan, issuing of permits and for thwarting attempts at property grabbing.
Pashmina shawls have Shahtoosh guard hair
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Why in news?
- Traders of Pashmina shawls are complaining that “obsolete testing methods” have resulted in many of their export consignments being flagged for presence of ‘Shahtoosh’ guard hair, which is obtained from endangered Tibetan antelopes.
- The traders claim the use of obsolete techniques such as ‘Light Microscopy’ by the authorities has resulted in several cases of ‘false positive’ leading to their wrongful prosecution.
Pashmina:
- Pashmina is obtained from breeds of mountain goats(capra hircus) found in the Changthang Plateau in Tibet and parts of Ladakh, in the Himalayan region of India.
- Manufacture of Pashmina is a largely unorganised cottage/handicraft industry providing employment and livelihood to approximately 6 lakh people, most notably to local skilled villagers and artisans in Kashmir.
Shahtoosh:
- Shahtoosh is the fine undercoat fibre obtained from the Tibetan Antelope, known locally as ‘Chiru’, a species living mainly in the northern parts of the Changthang Plateau in Tibet.
- As they offer high levels of smoothness and warmth, Shahtoosh shawls became a highly expensive commodity.
- Unfortunately, due to commercial poaching of the animal, their population declined dramatically.
- CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna & Flora) included the Tibetan Antelope in 1979 leading to prohibition in sale and trade of Shahtoosh shawls and scarves.
(Keahi Siberian Husky)
Concerns:
- As the two materials have similar physical properties and tangibility, differentiation is hard without advanced scientific forensic methods.
- The Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, employs Light Microscopy technique to look for the presence of Shahtoosh. Light Microscopy method is subjective and depended to a large extent on the expertise of the examiner.
- This is hurting the cottage industry which employs almost 10 lakh people directly and indirectly. Out of these, 6 lakh are artisans – weavers, embroiderers, etc. Basically, the grassroots level of society has been hit hard since exports are declining.
Legal Course:
- The Pashmina Exporters and Manufacturers Association has moved a petition before the Delhi High Court, for a direction to improve the existing testing infrastructure by incorporating the modern ‘Scanning Electron Miscrospcopic’ technique and DNA tests.
- The traders are subjected to both Customs prosecutions, on suspicion of presence of Shahtoosh guard hair - as well as criminal prosecutions by Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), CBI, and ED possibly leading to incarceration up to seven years, even when it is not clearly proved if the material used is in fact a contraband.
BIS for Pashmina:
- India contributes only about 1% of the world’s Pashmina, but the Pashmina produced in India is considered the best of the lot and occupies a unique position.
- Due to restricted availability and high prices, adulteration of Pashmina with sheep wool/ultra-fine merino wool is a common practice by manufacturers.
- In 2019, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) published an Indian Standard for identification, marking and labelling of Pashmina products to certify their purity.
- In 2021, the BIS released a revised report titled ‘Identification, Labelling and Marking of Pashmina Products’ that mandated directions for incorporating qualitative and quantitative identification of Shahtoosh guard hair.
- The Pashmina traders say the BIS testing standards are still to be implemented by the forensic authorities.
Policing with talent, resource sharing, not squabbling
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
Context:
- The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) recently convened a conference in New Delhi, which saw the participation of the Union Home Minister, a few State Home Ministers and police chiefs.
Significance:
- The Delhi conference was a very important occasion aimed at improving the quality of policing in the country through an exchange of ideas.
- The seriousness of the subject required attendance at the level of the Chief Minister and if some States gave it a miss, it was an unfortunate development and a reflection of the lack of seriousness in matters of governance affecting public order and crime.
Case of Tamil Nadu police:
- The debate now over the way the Tamil Nadu police have handled the case of a blast in Coimbatore that happened recently, and a possible terror-related plot, also fits in this scene and is relevant to the state of law and order in the State and elsewhere.
- There is a section of influential public opinion which has accused the Tamil Nadu government of having been slothful and delayed handing over investigation of the incident to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
- This has been rebutted by the State Director General of Police (DGP) who said that his force could not abruptly abandon the investigation and had to do the preliminary investigation to facilitate an NIA take-over.
- The exchange of barbs by the two sides has been an unfortunate and avoidable development and the truth lies in between. More important is an examination of the standard operating procedures in place, the identification of gaps and the initiation of corrective measures.
(The Hindu)
Patel’s vision:
- The first Home Minister of independent India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, would have been dismayed by the politics in Centre-State relations in a matter as serious as policing.
- He placed great value on professional policing, one reason why he insisted on an elitist and well-trained corps such as the Indian Police Service (IPS) which worked alongside the Indian Administrative Service (IAS).
- He was under immense pressure from various quarters, which included his own Congress party, to disband both the Indian Civil Service and IP, but as a distinguished and astute visionary, he was steadfast in his belief. Subsequent events proved him right.
- Despite all their faults, the two all-India services have been a cementing force and have greatly contributed to establishing nationally accepted standards of governance, especially in the area of law and order.
Concerns:
- After the passage of 75 years of independence, it is distressing that there is still conflict between the MHA and some States over utilising talent in the IPS and the sharing of resources available in the States.
- Both sides have to be partially blamed for this unfortunate state of affairs. Petulance in personnel management has occasionally affected administration in the Centre and States.
Camaraderie is essential:
- Many situation of public orderhave demanded large numbers of well-trained policemen. The Centre has always chipped in with support from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
- There have also been other outfits such as the Border Security Force (BSF), the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) which have also worked in tandem with the State Police.
- Therefore, it makes sense that the MHA and State Police stop squabbling but explore how best to forge a strong camaraderie.
Conflicts w.r.t CBI:
- There are frequent spats between States and the Centre over the use or alleged misuse of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Here again both parties have to share the blame.
- But the basic point that has been ignored is that crime and bureaucratic corruption have inter-State ramifications and only a national agency can bring in a much-needed and wide perspective.
- Insensitive action by a few States to withdraw consent to the CBI to function in a State smacks of politics and vindictiveness, which diminishes the fight against public servant graft.
What needs to be done?
- ‘Police’ is a State subject under the distribution of powers laid down in the Constitution of India. But that does not mean the Union government has no say in the matter.
- Training and technology are two areas where the Centre does greatly contribute to sharpening police ability to combat terrorism and other major public disturbances.
- The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy in Hyderabad is a world-class institution that has resources and the professional excellence which are generously available to State police forces.
- Petty squabbling reduces the exchange of ideas and goes to attenuating the police response to difficult situations that require police assistance. This is where need arises for a political leadership that does not get caught down in petty differences but promotes a free exchange of talent and resources between the Union and the States.
Conclusion:
- There is no point in blaming a DGP if he or she does not respond to a situation in a professional manner. The DGP looks up to the Chief Minister for directions. If the latter is driven by political considerations and gives unprofessional instructions, there is very little that the DGP can do.
- Despite all that the Supreme Court of India has done to insulate the chief of police from political caprice, the truth is that a DGP is perilously placed vis-à-vis the Chief Minister and his or her party men.
- It is lamentable that public opinion in the country has not asserted itself to impart a better sense of policing at all levels of government.
