‘Training is the Mantra’

News from e-generator.com

COVER STORY

civil services day pm awards 2013

‘Training is the Mantra’

Occasion: 8th Civil Services Day

Chief Guest: Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India

Venue: Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi

Date: April 21, 2013

Mantra: Training of Civil Servants is vital to keep pace with the world

by Anil Tyagi

Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India, is not a dramatic man. He enters calmly, sits down, looks around and does not talk at all during a function, except when he is delivering a speech. His speech on Sunday, April 21, was a clarion call to the Indian bureaucracy: "acclimatise yourself as per the new world order. The world is knocking on your door.”

Who better than Manmohan Singh – having headed the government for nine turbulent years – can understand that knowledge is power? It was on April 21, the Civil Services Day, organised every year to honour officers of India’s premier and administrative services for their work done in the respective fields, that the Prime Minister voiced his thoughts on what his expectations were from the lifeline of governance in the country. Read More

Educational Initiatives in Dantewada

Educational Initiatives in Dantewada

Fighting naxalites with literacy

 

Project in Brief

 

South Bastar and Dantewada are known for incidences of naxalism and consequent violence. As a result, children dropout of schools and the literacy rate is today as low as 33 per cent. The only way to contain extremism is to prevent future generations from following this violent ideology. With this view, Omprakash Choudhary, District Collector of Dantewada, embarked on a mission of mental transformation.Read More

Kaushalya Vardhan Kendra

Kaushalya Vardhan Kendra

Imparting skills to the rural sections

 

 

Project in Brief

 

With a goal of providing employment to the youth of Gujarat, the Directorate of Employment and Training, Government of Gujarat, started imparting skill development training to youth through village cluster training centres under Swarnim Gujarat Gramya Kaushalya Vardhan Kendra (KVK) Yojana. It was decided to establish KVKs in urban villages having a population of more than 10,000 in general areas, and over 7,000 in tribal area for a cluster of around 7 to 10 villages. The emphasis was also given to the villages where vocational training facilities were not yet initiated by the State Government.Read More

Daliya Jalao: Liberating Manual Scavengers and Moving Towards Total Sanitation

COVER STORY

civil services day pm awards 2013

 

 

Daliya Jalao: Liberating Manual Scavengers and

Moving Towards Total Sanitation

Providing a dignified way of life

 

Project in Brief

 

The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993, of Parliament, and Supreme Court ruling in a PIL in 2003 have banned the practice of manual scavenging. But the practice was continuing in Budaun district and an initiative was taken to eliminate it. A rehabilitation package for those involved in manual scavenging was developed. They were given the benefit of various loans schemes of the government, pension schemes, special scholarships for children, rural housing schemes and skill up-gradation training.Read More

Improving quality of urban life

COVER STORY

civil services day pm awards 2013

 

Saving Open Spaces and Urban Lakes (SOUL) and Cultural
Rejuvenation of the Twin City of Hubli–Dharwad

Improving quality of urban life

 

Project in Brief

 

The geographical location – at the cusp of the Western Ghats and beginning of the black cotton soil – make the twin cities of Hubli-Dharwad unique. The state of water bodies and green areas in the twin cities deteriorated with the drying up of lakes and pollution of parks due to encroachments, sewage and garbage disposal. In addition, they also became a hub for anti-social activities. Lack of recreational and open spaces encouraged Darpan Jain, Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad district, to initiate revitalisation of the city by restoring its open spaces and urban lakes to achieve sustainable development. Not only would the initiative make life better in the twin cities, it was thought, but it would also reinstate the trust of the citizens towards the development authorities.

 

In addition to the restoration of parks, open and recreational spaces, the second objective of the project was to restore the cultural legacy of Hubli-Dharwad, which was once the citadel for Hindustani music and known for it all over the country.Read More

Sugarcane Information System, Uttar Pradesh

COVER STORY

civil services day pm awards 2013

 

Sugarcane Information System, Uttar Pradesh

Saving over Rs 1,500 crore of public money

 

 

Project in Brief

 

Sugarcane procurement is a sensitive issue in any state. In Uttar Pradesh, which has half the national sugarcane producing area, it also has a bearing on law and order. Hence, to manage the process of procurement, the team of officers led by Kamran Rizvi, took measures that led to the development of sugarcane information system (SIS). The system has enabled a transparent and easy method of procurement and has benefitted both the farmer and the industry.Read More

Transformation of Commercial Tax Regime in Karnataka

COVER STORY

civil services day pm awards 2013

 

Transformation of Commercial Tax Regime in Karnataka

Unshackling tax transactions

 

Project in Brief

 

The Commercial Taxes Department is responsible for ensuring that millions of transactions that occur daily are being accounted for. Earlier, the tax payers were required to physically go to the offices every month to file returns, remit taxes and for other formalities. The bulky paper documentation was difficult to process and evaluate, besides lacking in transparency. To overcome this, the interface of the Department in Karnataka with its taxpayers was converted to interaction through internet only. The internal processes, laws and the rules were changed accordingly to suit the initiative of ‘Transforming the Commercial Taxes’.Read More

Excellence in Rural Management and Development in the Challenging Physical Environment of the Sikkim Himalaya

COVER STORY

civil services day pm awards 2013

 

Excellence in Rural Management and Development in the Challenging Physical Environment of the Sikkim Himalaya

Slashing poverty rate by over half

 

Project in Brief

 

Sikkim has no rail or air connectivity. The combination of a fragile ecosystem, weak geology along with heavy rainfalls has resulted in frequent natural calamities and road blocks. The project deals with providing basic infrastructure and services, earthquake resistant housing, increasing tourism activities and accessibility and development of the citizens who are living in difficult physical conditions. This was done by adopting a decentralised planning approach with the help of multi-sectoral plans at the gram panchayat level under the Village Development Action Plan (VDAP).Read More

PSEs: Pride of the nation

COVER STORY

public sector day

 

 

PSEs: Pride   of the nation

 

by Anil Tyagi

 

Had Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru been alive today, he would have been cheering with the nation that his dream of setting up the modern temples of India had ultimately come to the rescue of the country’s faltering economy. The votaries of liberalisation had to concede on this day that the public sector had not only saved the economy from a certain collapse but also emerged as the pioneers of social engineering. This is evident as private entrepreneurs are still hungry to add to their coffers at the expense of the poor.

 

The forward march of the public sector and its contribution to the national exchequer was in the focus at the 4th SCOPE Meritorious Awards (2011-12) on Public Sector Day at Vigyan Bhawan on April 26. President Pranab Mukherjee conferred the awards on 11 public sector enterprises (PSEs) for their excellent performance in different fields.Read More

O sancta simplicitas

GOVERNANCE

rti m g devasahayam

 

‘O sancta simplicitas’

 

The RTI Act has not served the core purpose of bringing about transparency and honesty in the functioning of governments

 

Liberalised, Privatised, Globalised’ India seems to have evolved a curious governance paradigm. Having become a ‘contracting state’, allowing scams to rule the roost and failing in their primary duty of providing honest, transparent governance and efficient delivery of goods and services, governments are deceiving the citizens by conferring on them ‘rights’ through verbose legislations! This is exemplified by the Right to Information Act, 2005 and its sister legislation, Right of Citizens for Time-Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and the Redressal of Grievances Bill, which is now on the anvil. The methodology is simple and scintillating for dogma-driven intellectuals, starry-eyed activists and unsuspecting public.

 

Right to Information has its moorings in the democratic philosophy that people are the masters and they have a right to know how governments, meant to serve them, are functioning. Further, every citizen pays taxes and therefore has the right to know how his/her money is being spent. These principles were laid down by the Supreme Court while saying that RTI is a part of our fundamental rights. There was no need to enact a law to confer something citizens already possess, but were denied because of the culture of secrecy in governments.Read More

Last mile steps for self-governance

GOVERNANCE

panchayats empowerment

 

Last mile steps for self-governance

 

Institutional re-engineering in local governance is very relevant in the context of 833 million people who continue to live in the rural hinterlands and a very large proportion of whom are either wholly or significantly still dependent for their livelihood on farm as well as non-farm activities.

 

by Abhilaksh Likhi

 

Schedule 11 of the Constitution of India mentions 29 subjects wherein Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) can be endowed with such power and authority that enables them to function as genuine institutions of self-governance. The inclusion of subjects ranging from sectors as diverse as agriculture, health, education, social development to industries and infrastructure underlines the fundamental belief of the Constitution makers in fostering greater control of village communities over natural resources. They also envisioned village communities to be locally able to identify synergies for effective implementation of rural development programmes.

 

Consequent to the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution in 1993, the Central Government, in unison with the States, have unleashed the process of ‘activity mapping’ in the 29 subjects based on the principle of subsidiarity – what can be best done at lower levels of the government should not be centralised at higher levels. Empowering PRIs with funds, functions and functionaries (3Fs) is a critical incentive to build the institutional capacity of these bodies for community-driven service delivery. One cannot, however, deny that the pattern of assignment of subjects as well as their coverage along with the 3Fs differs from State to State, fuelled also at times by political resistance.Read More

Enough is enough

GOVERNANCE

judiciary selections

 

Enough is enough

 

The Government now proposes to vest the power of appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts in a broad-based mechanism

 

by Rakesh Bhatnagar

 

The Supreme Court’s collegium of five judges, that choose who is suitable to adorn the prestigious black gown and become one amongst them, is believed to have shaken the Law Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office as it ignored the President’s recommendation to reconsider the nomination of three incumbents who were found to be qualified for slots in the top judiciary.

 

This was not the first time that the collegium had overlooked the President’s concern and proceeded on its determined path. This time, however, there’s been a massive uproar over judicial discretion, the vacant post of judges and, of course, the mounting backlog of cases. The collegium’s move came even as two cases were reported alleging corruption – one by Karnataka High Court judge P D Dinakaran and the other by Calcutta High Court judge Soumitra Sen. They faced impeachment proceedings. While Dinakaran resigned during the inquiry under the Judges Inquiry Act, Sen followed his footsteps and put in his papers when Rajya Sabha started proceedings against him. Both were appointed by the collegium. Read More

Mangolpuri

For Download Click Here

News from e-generator.com

Four-time Congress MLA and Minister in the Dikshit Government Rajkumar Chouhan has nursed the resettlement colony part of Mangolpuri quite well and hopes to serve another term   The BJP, which has never won the reserved (SC) constituency, seems to be in complete disarray with its 2008 candidate Yogesh Aatray in jail over a rape charge   Bahujan Samaj Party’s 2008 candidate Mukesh Kumar Ahlawat, who had stood at number three in the last elections, has already called it quits and is planning to contest from Sultanpuri   In January, when the Delhi Police arrested BJP candidate Yogesh Aatray on a rape charge, it was a huge blow to the saffron party which has been trying to gain a foothold in Mangolpuri, a Congress bastion since 1993, when the Delhi State Assembly came into being. Aatray (40), who lost to Delhi Minister and Congress candidate Rajkumar Chouhan by close to 30,000 votes, has since been cooling his heels in jail.Read More

Madipur

News from e-generator.com

Congress’ Mala Ram Gangwal is hoping to re-enter the Assembly for the fourth consecutive time from Madipur, which houses a large number of dalit migrants from Rajasthan and Gujarat

 

Kailash Sankla is once again in race for the BJP ticket. Manjinder Singh Sirsa, whose wife Satvinder Kaur is a Councillor from Punjabi Bagh, is also being considered a strong contender.

 

In Madipur, the Assembly constituency in West Delhi, in case you are going to apply for a ration card, birth certificate, death certificate, license or even Government entitlements meant for widows, you will need to buy an affidavit first. And if you wish to get your application ratified by the incumbent MLA Mala Ram Gangwal, it will only be possible if you buy the affidavit from his son who runs a stamp paper agency from his father’s premises.Read More

Gokalpur

BSP’s lone MLA Surendra Kumar is tipped to be renominated from Gokalpur, the constituency reserved for SC

People feel that unless the Congress and the BJP field good candidates, they may not be able to stop Kumar. Former BJP MLA Ch Fateh Singh is being seen as a strong candidate who can give the incumbent a run for his money.

 

In Gokalpur, the reserved assembly constituency in North East Delhi, bordering Uttar Pradesh, which holds the distinction for providing a foothold to the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in the national capital, the power of politics, property and pelf go hand in hand.Read More

Vishwas Nagar

News from e-generator.com

Sheila Dikshit’s former Parliamentary Secretary Naseeb Singh is looking for his fourth consecutive victory even as the State Government faces flak on account of inflation and rising prices

 

BJP’s Om Parkash Sharma does not want to target Naseeb Singh and would rather conserve his energies for attacking the State and Central Governments

 

The voters in Vishwas Nagar, a constituency which comprises five villages, few large slum clusters and around 110 housing societies of Patparganj, are in a bind. They do not want Sheila Dikshit to rule Delhi for the fourth time but would not vote her out because that would mean denial of the fourth term to Naseeb Singh, their MLA. Their fervent hope is that while they press the button on the hand in the Assembly polls, their counterparts in Delhi do the opposite.Read More

Badarpur

BSP’s Ram Singh Netaji holds the aces, as his foe Rambir Singh Bidhuri does not want to contest and wants to prop up NCP Councillor Narsingh Shah   

 

Though Bidhuri told gfiles he is not interested in contesting, electors in Badarpur do not discount the possibility of the former MLA jumping into the fray

 

The BJP may not have an option but to renominate Chaudhary Khemchand, who secured the best ever tally of votes for the party in 2008 (over 16,000)

 

Badarpur, a constituency bordering Faridabad in south Delhi, is a seat where the Congress seems to be cursed. The grand old party has never won from here since 1993 when Delhi got its first State Assembly.Read More

Delhi Cantt

News from e-generator.com

BJP’s three-time MLA Karan Singh Tanwar is unlikely to be dislodged from this constituency where a large number of voters reside in five villages and a few settlements but do not own them and are not even free to reconstruct or sell them    

 

Tanwar’s Congress opponent Ashok Ahuja is trying his best to wrest control but the former’s accessibility, amiability and ‘say-yes-to-every-demand’ nature makes his task difficult

 

It is straight out of Ripley’s ‘Believe It or Not’ – two slum clusters in Delhi have been without power for around 15 years! Located near Kirby Place and Brar Square railway station, a few kilometres from the seat of power in New Delhi, these clusters have been without electricity when their connection was snapped in 1998. They also have no (at least legally) supply of drinking water.Read More

Najafgarh

News from e-generator.com

Indian National Lok Dal’s Bharat Singh looks set to re-enter the Delhi Assembly for the second consecutive term from Najafgarh, where his fellow Jats are in an overwhelming majority, unless the BJP can find a strong Jat candidate to dislodge him  

Congress’ Kanwal Singh Yadav has alienated many of his voters due to his brash behaviour and may not be a match for the Jat strongman. Besides his party’s dwindling popularity will ensure that he stays out of contention.

 

Wish to see how the paths of criminals and politicians have criss-crossed over the years and helped the former to don starched white for protection from the proverbial long arm of the law, come to Najafgarh Assembly constituency which has been notorious for gang wars over property and ego. Read More

Tilak Nagar

For Download Click Here

News from e-generator.com

BJP MLA O P Babbar seems to be going strong despite having represented the seat thrice given the Sikh community’s antipathy towards the Congress over 1984 anti-Sikh riots   Congress’ Anita Babbar, a former Councillor who lost to Babbar in 2008, faces tough competition within her party, with former MLA Jaspal Singh and former Block Vice-President B R Malhotra being among those vying for nomination   Tilak Vihar has been to Congress what Naroda Patiya (Ahmedabad) has become for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). If the latter caused embarrassment to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and his party last year, when former Minister Maya Kodnani was convicted for the 2002 riots, Tilak Vihar continues to sear the Congress every now and then, with allegations that former Union Minister Jagdish Tytler and former MP Sajjan Kumar led murderous mobs, which killed hundreds of innocent Sikhs in the wake of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination.Read More