Dantewada attack: CoI gives report on role of 4 CRPF officers

A court of inquiry (CoI), set up by the CRPF to probe "specific acts of omission and commission" by an inspecter general and three other officers in connection with the April six Dantewada naxal attack, today submitted its report to the force headquarters here.

The inquiry was constituted in the aftermath of the recommendations of EN Rammohan Committee, which went probed the Dantewada massacre, that "specific" responsibility of the four officers should be "fixed" and disciplinary proceedings, if needed, be initiated. 75 CRPF personnel and a Chhattisgarh
policeman were killed by Naxalites in the attack.

The CoI, which was headed by CRPF Additional Director General DC Dey, submitted its report to the office of the Director General here as the force chief Vikram Srivastava is away on a visit to Chhattisgarh in the wake of yesterday's naxal attack killing 27 personnel.

The exact contents of the spiral bound report are immediately not known but, according to sources, the report is understood to have focussed on the role of the four officers before and after the April six attack and what more steps could have been taken by them.

After former BSF chief EN Rammohan submitted the report to Home Minister P Chidambaram on April 26, the three serving officers, including Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Nalin Prabhat, were shunted out of Chhattisgarh. The fourth officer-- Inspector General Ramesh Chandra-- has since retired.

The two other officers are the then Commandant of the 62nd battalion A K Bisht and Inspector Sanjeev Bangre.

While Prabhat was sent to Chandigarh as DIG, a charge he was already holding, Bisht was moved to a training centre at Aradi in Orissa and Bangre was shifted to Anantnag in Kashmir.

The CoI, apart from talking statements of the officers, also sought records and other documents which were a crucial part of the probe by Rammohan.

The inquiry also went into the order and flow of communication between the special sector headquarters of the CRPF located at Raipur and these officers.

The special sector of the CRPF is headed by a special director general rank officer who is responsible for anti-Naxal operations undertaken by various Central para-military forces like CRPF, ITBP and BSF and their coordination with different state police forces.

The transfer of Prabhat came as a surprise to the CRPF ranks as he was considered among the best officers in the para-military force. He is a recipient of President's Police Medal, Police Medal for Meritorious Service and Police Medal for Gallantry.

He was considered as best operational officer during his tenure as DIG in militancy-hit Jammu and Kashmir.

Chhattisgarh: How the CRPF was ambushed by Naxals

A day after the Naxal attack, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) top brass toured Chhattisgarh on Wednesday to take stock of what went wrong. The preliminary assessment says basic precautions were once again ignored. (Read: Maoists attack CRPF party, 26 jawans killed)

The mistakes began right at the start when the road opening party of CRPF's 39th battalion went out of the camp in Narayanpur on Tuesday morning. (Read: List of CRPF jawans killed)

Sources say, it forgot to follow a basic principle of counter-insurgency:
Occupy vantage points. It forgot to guard the heights. As it started the return journey to the camp, the mistakes multiplied.
The patrol party followed the same route back again not a done thing in insurgency area.
To compound the problem, the contingent also forgot to check if the adversary was lying in wait atop the hillocks adjoining the hills

The result: as the tail end of the tired and relaxed patrol party bunched together just three km short of the camp below a hillock, heavily armed Maoists opened fire, killing 27 CRPF troopers. (Watch: NDTV reports from Ground Zero)

"I have told the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister that some of the deployments must be revisited. We must deploy paramilitary forces when there's an operational or development needs," said P Chidambaram, Home Minister.

However, the irony is that the Home Ministry's own plan has been rejected by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). This is an indication perhaps, that the need for consensus within the government is more pressing than ever.

However, when asked about the lack of consensus in the government especially his own ministry's plan not being accepted by the CCS last time, the Home Minister chose to make light of it. He is, incidentally, also the spokesperson for the CCS.

"First, I am not the spokesperson of the CCS, whenever CCS takes a decision, it has to be shared. There is a spokesperson of the CCS but he rarely speaks for the CCS," said P Chidambaram.

suspicion over the death of suspected maoist in orissa

This is a horrifying story how a innocent tribal died in police custody due to torture , who was arrested by orissa police. and the Basadhara committee of maoist declared undefinite BUndh in four blocks-Muniguda, Bisamacuttuck, gudari and Chndrapur of rayagada distirct form 12th june and demanded 5lakh compenseation amount and 5 acre land to the deceased family.

The two member team of PUCL(people committee for Civil Liberties) visited Ryagada and derengguda of maoist infected Ryagada district of orissa on saturday. As per the complaints of the family member and the villagers of Derengguda it is found that pidira Kediekka(36) went to the jungle on 23 may for haunting with his licenced SBML(Single bore mozole loading) gun. police who were in the jungle for searching and combing operation took away Pidira under suspicion of maoist cadre. He was confined for 7 days till june 2nd at some undisclosed location. Then he was taken to the Rayagada, the district headquarter because of ill health. On the same day the SP of Rayagada in a press statement said, Huge quantity of explosives and some maoist related papers recovered form pidira, as Pidira was a hardcore maoist. Ironically Pidira was died in hospital under treatment. His relatives complained that police tortured him and at last he was succumbed to the death.

What Nathuram Godse said in court in his defence

"Born in a devotional Brahmin family, I instinctively came to revere Hindu religion, Hindu history and Hindu culture. I had, therefore, been intensely proud of Hinduism as a whole. As I grew up I developed a tendency to free thinking unfettered by any superstitious allegiance to any isms, political or religious. That is why I worked actively for the eradication of untouchability and the caste system based on birth alone. I openly joined anti-caste movements and maintained that all Hindus were of equal status as to rights, social and religious and should be considered high or low on merit alone and not through the accident of birth in a particular caste or profession. I used publicly to take part in organized anti-caste dinners in which thousands of Hindus, Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, Chamars and Bhangis participated. We broke the caste rules and dined in the company of each other.I have read the speeches and writings of Dadabhai Nairoji, Vivekanand, Gokhale, Tilak, along with the books of ancient and modern history of India and some prominent countries like England, France, America and’ Russia. Moreover I studied the tenets of Socialism and Marxism. But above all I studied very closely whatever Veer Savarkar and Gandhiji had written and spoken, as to my mind these two ideologies have contributed more to the moulding of the thought and action of the Indian people during the last thirty years or so, than any other single factor has done.

All this reading and thinking led me to believe it was my first duty to serve Hindudom and Hindus both as a patriot and as a world citizen. To secure the freedom and to safeguard the just interests of some thirty crores (300 million) of Hindus would automatically constitute the freedom and the well being of all India, one fifth of human race. This conviction led me naturally to devote myself to the Hindu Sanghtanist ideology and programme, which alone, I came to believe, could win and preserve the national independence of Hindustan, my Motherland, and enable her to render true service to humanity as well.

Since the year 1920, that is, after the demise of Lokamanya Tilak, Gandhiji’s influence in the Congress first increased and then became supreme. His activities for public awakening were phenomenal in their intensity and were reinforced by the slogan of truth and non-violence, which he paraded ostentatiously before the country. No sensible or enlightened person could object to those slogans. In fact there is nothing new or original in them. They are implicit in every constitutional public movement. But it is nothing but a mere dream if you imagine that the bulk of mankind is, or can ever become, capable of scrupulous adherence to these lofty principles in its normal life from day to day. In fact, honour, duty and love of one’s own kith and kin and country might often compel us to disregard non-violence and to use force. I could never conceive that an armed resistance to an aggression is unjust. I would consider it a religious and moral duty to resist and, if possible, to overpower such an enemy by use of force. [In the Ramayana] Rama killed Ravana in a tumultuous fight and relieved Sita. [In the Mahabharata], Krishna killed Kansa to end his wickedness; and Arjuna had to fight and slay quite a number of his friends and relations including the revered Bhishma because the latter was on the side of the aggressor. It is my firm belief that in dubbing Rama, Krishna and Arjuna as guilty of violence, the Mahatma betrayed a total ignorance of the springs of human action.

In more recent history, it was the heroic fight put up by Chhatrapati Shivaji that first checked and eventually destroyed the Muslim tyranny in India. It was absolutely essentially for Shivaji to overpower and kill an aggressive Afzal Khan, failing which he would have lost his own life. In condemning history’s towering warriors like Shivaji, Rana Pratap and Guru Gobind Singh as misguided patriots, Gandhiji has merely exposed his self-conceit. He was, paradoxical, as it may appear, a violent pacifist who brought untold calamities on the country in the name of truth and non-violence, while Rana Pratap, Shivaji and the Guru will remain enshrined in the hearts of their countrymen forever for the freedom they brought to them.

The accumulating provocation of thirty-two years, culminating in his last pro-Muslim fast, at last goaded me to the conclusion that the existence of Gandhi should be brought to an end immediately. Gandhi had done very well in South Africa to uphold the rights and well being of the Indian community there. But when he finally returned to India he developed a subjective mentality under which he alone was to be the final judge of what was right or wrong. If the country wanted his leadership, it had to accept his infallibility; if it did not, he would stand aloof from the Congress and carry on his own way. Against such an attitude there can be no halfway house. Either Congress had to surrender its will to his and had to be content with playing second fiddle to all his eccentricity, whimsicality, metaphysics and primitive vision, or it had to carry on without him. He alone was the Judge of everyone and everything; he was the master brain guiding the civil disobedience movement; no other could know the technique of that movement. He alone knew when to begin and when to withdraw it. The movement might succeed or fail, it might bring untold disaster and political reverses but that could make no difference to the Mahatma’s infallibility. ‘A Satyagrahi can never fail’ was his formula for declaring his own infallibility and nobody except himself knew what a Satyagrahi is.

Thus, the Mahatma became the judge and jury in his own cause. These childish insanities and obstinacies, coupled with a most severe austerity of life, ceaseless work and lofty character made Gandhi formidable and irresistible. Many people thought that his politics were irrational but they had either to withdraw from the Congress or place their intelligence at his feet to do with, as he liked. In a position of such absolute irresponsibility Gandhi was guilty of blunder after blunder, failure after failure, disaster after disaster.

Gandhi’s pro-Muslim policy is blatantly in his perverse attitude on the question of the national language of India. It is quite obvious that Hindi has the most prior claim to be accepted as the premier language. In the beginning of his career in India, Gandhi gave a great impetus to Hindi but as he found that the Muslims did not like it, he became a champion of what is called Hindustani. Everybody in India knows that there is no language called Hindustani; it has no grammar; it has no vocabulary. It is a mere dialect; it is spoken, but not written. It is a bastard tongue and crossbreed between Hindi and Urdu, and not even the Mahatma’s sophistry could make it popular. But in his desire to please the Muslims he insisted that Hindustani alone should be the national language of India. His blind followers, of course, supported him and the so-called hybrid language began to be used. The charm and purity of the Hindi language was to be prostituted to please the Muslims. All his experiments were at the expense of the Hindus.

From August 1946 onwards the private armies of the Muslim League began a massacre of the Hindus. The then Viceroy, Lord Wavell, though distressed at what was happening, would not use his powers under the Government of India Act of 1935 to prevent the rape, murder and arson. The Hindu blood began to flow from Bengal to Karachi with some retaliation by the Hindus. The Interim Government formed in September was sabotaged by its Muslim League members right from its inception, but the more they became disloyal and treasonable to the government of which they were a part, the greater was Gandhi’s infatuation for them. Lord Wavell had to resign as he could not bring about a settlement and he was succeeded by Lord Mountbatten. King Log was followed by King Stork.

The Congress, which had boasted of its nationalism and socialism, secretly accepted Pakistan literally at the point of the bayonet and abjectly surrendered to Jinnah. India was vivisected and one-third of the Indian territory became foreign land to us from August 15, 1947. Lord Mountbatten came to be described in Congress circles as the greatest Viceroy and Governor-General this country ever had. The official date for handing over power was fixed for June 30, 1948, but Mountbatten with his ruthless surgery gave us a gift of vivisected India ten months in advance. This is what Gandhi had achieved after thirty years of undisputed dictatorship and this is what Congress party calls ‘freedom’ and ‘peaceful transfer of power’. The Hindu-Muslim unity bubble was finally burst and a theocratic state was established with the consent of Nehru and his crowd and they have called ‘freedom won by them with sacrifice’ – whose sacrifice? When top leaders of Congress, with the consent of Gandhi, divided and tore the country – which we consider a deity of worship – my mind was filled with direful anger.

One of the conditions imposed by Gandhi for his breaking of the fast unto death related to the mosques in Delhi occupied by the Hindu refugees. But when Hindus in Pakistan were subjected to violent attacks he did not so much as utter a single word to protest and censure the Pakistan Government or the Muslims concerned. Gandhi was shrewd enough to know that while undertaking a fast unto death, had he imposed for its break some condition on the Muslims in Pakistan, there would have been found hardly any Muslims who could have shown some grief if the fast had ended in his death. It was for this reason that he purposely avoided imposing any condition on the Muslims. He was fully aware of from the experience that Jinnah was not at all perturbed or influenced by his fast and the Muslim League hardly attached any value to the inner voice of Gandhi.

Gandhi is being referred to as the Father of the Nation. But if that is so, he had failed his paternal duty inasmuch as he has acted very treacherously to the nation by his consenting to the partitioning of it. I stoutly maintain that Gandhi has failed in his duty. He has proved to be the Father of Pakistan. His inner-voice, his spiritual power and his doctrine of non-violence of which so much is made of, all crumbled before Jinnah’s iron will and proved to be powerless.

Briefly speaking, I thought to myself and foresaw I shall be totally ruined, and the only thing I could expect from the people would be nothing but hatred and that I shall have lost all my honour, even more valuable than my life, if I were to kill Gandhiji. But at the same time I felt that the Indian politics in the absence of Gandhiji would surely be proved practical, able to retaliate, and would be powerful with armed forces. No doubt, my own future would be totally ruined, but the nation would be saved from the inroads of Pakistan. People may even call me and dub me as devoid of any sense or foolish, but the nation would be free to follow the course founded on the reason which I consider to be necessary for sound nation-building. After having fully considered the question, I took the final decision in the matter, but I did not speak about it to anyone whatsoever. I took courage in both my hands and I did fire the shots at Gandhiji on 30th January 1948, on the prayer-grounds of Birla House.

I do say that my shots were fired at the person whose policy and action had brought rack and ruin and destruction to millions of Hindus. There was no legal machinery by which such an offender could be brought to book and for this reason I fired those fatal shots.

I bear no ill will towards anyone individually but I do say that I had no respect for the present government owing to their policy, which was unfairly favourable towards the Muslims. But at the same time I could clearly see that the policy was entirely due to the presence of Gandhi. I have to say with great regret that Prime Minister Nehru quite forgets that his preachings and deeds are at times at variances with each other when he talks about India as a secular state in season and out of season, because it is significant to note that Nehru has played a leading role in the establishment of the theocratic state of Pakistan, and his job was made easier by Gandhi’s persistent policy of appeasement towards the Muslims.

I now stand before the court to accept the full share of my responsibility for what I have done and the judge would, of course, pass against me such orders of sentence as may be considered proper. But I would like to add that I do not desire any mercy to be shown to me, nor do I wish that anyone else should beg for mercy on my behalf. My confidence about the moral side of my action has not been shaken even by the criticism levelled against it on all sides. I have no doubt that honest writers of history will weigh my act and find the true value thereof some day in future."
- NATHURAM GODSE

I personally feel his actions are justifiable.

where indian police crossed all the limits of barbarism and inhuman attitudes posed itself as terrorist of terrorist

Police officers, including a woman constable, asked a juvenile accused to strip and have sex with his mother inside a police post in Rajouri garden. The woman has lodged a written complaint with the police commissioner.

You may have heard shocking tales of nails being pulled out, beating up of suspects after making them lie naked on ice sheets, rendering of electric shocks etc as part of the police's third degree torture techniques. But if the story of a west Delhi family is to be believed, then the Delhi police has crossed the line between human decency and barbarism.


Wronged: Mukesh Jha with his wife and two sons pic/mid day

Mukesh Jha (45), who lives in Mayapuri with his wife Pooja (30) and two sons Raju (12) and Ramesh (10), learnt on May 21 that his boys had been detained by the police on charges of theft (all names changed to protect identity). The husband and wife rushed to the local police station but failed to find the boys.

"While returning home from the Mayapuri police station with my wife, I saw a crowd outside our house. While entering I saw a male and a female cop ransacking the place. When we objected and asked about our sons, the cops started hitting us," said Mukesh Jha.

"After beating us black and blue they took us to the Rajouri Garden police post around 7pm. I saw both my sons there; they had been severely beaten. The male and female police officers there started flogging all of us. They wanted to know about theft of certain items from a car," said Jha.

The torture ended at midnight. But only the parents were allowed to go. The children were kept in detention.
"They told me to go back home and come back the next morning at 10. But when we showed up the policemen asked us to go back and return at 4 pm. We went home. But suddenly around 2 pm on May 22, the cops came to our house and took us to the police post," Jha said.

"There they started beating us again. But after a few minutes one of the constables took me and my younger son out of the room and locked it from the inside. I was worried about the fate of my wife and elder son," he added.

Inside the room, something horrible was about to happen. And Pooja found herself right in the middle of it.
"They locked me and my elder son Raju. Then they started questioning us about the stolen goods. When my son and I denied all charges, the constable asked me to strip in front of my son. When I refused the constable started beating me with his lathi and forced me to strip," Pooja said.

"Then the cops asked me to have sex with my son. Both of us started crying and I begged them to let us go. Then one of the constables asked me to have sex with him instead if I couldn't do it with my son. We begged them again and again to let us go. Finally after about one or two hours they released us," she said. Terrified by the whole incident, Mukesh and Pooja went home, silently. But an NGO Society for Social Research Art & Culture got information regarding the episode. And they approached her for justice.

The Other Side
Top police officers refused to comment on the issue saying that the matter was being investigated. But after the NGO interfered a local cop took the victims to the police post to identify the culprits and assured action against them. The police had lodged an FIR against the victims under section 145/10 of IPC on May 24.

"One of Pooja's neighbours called us and related the whole incident. We found the victims and we encouraged them to file a complaint against the culprit cops. Then on June 8 Pooja wrote a letter to the Commissioner of Police, relating the whole matter. We have already emailed the victims' story to the NHRC," said Shahnawaz Akhtar Khan, an NGO worker.

MiD DAY has a copy of the letter written by the victims. When the accused policemen came to know that the family was planning to take action they allegedly tried to bribe them.

"They gave us Rs 3,500 and told us to go away from the area. But I declined and returned the money. They later offered me Rs 20,000 to back off," Jha claimed.

The report to the people 2009-10

The People 2009-10 is in continuation of the tradition of transparency and accountability set by the UPA-I Government.

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, released the "Report to the People" at a function in New Delhi today. Following are the highlights including the executive summary of the Report to the People 2009-10:
The People 2009-10 is in continuation of the tradition of transparency and accountability set by the UPA-I Government.

The Report begins with a foreword by the Prime Minister, which delineates the priorities and policies of the Government. As the Prime Minister mentions:

"The second UPA government is dedicated to building an economically stronger, a socially just, a culturally vibrant, a regionally balanced, a politically participative, a fully educated, a technologically modern, a creative and enterprising India. As we enter the second year of our second term we rededicate ourselves to these objectives and to the welfare of all our citizens."

The political philosophy informing the UPA government’s functioning is reflected in Smt. Sonia Gandhi’s view:

"It is the responsibility of every government to ensure that their legislative agenda has at its core, a genuine concern for the well-being of the common man, that it is reflective of their hopes and their aspirations."

The report is organized around 12 themes:

Enabling Human Development: (i) Education (ii) Health (iii) Child Rights
Social Inclusion: (i) Food Security (ii) Empowering Women (iii) Empowerment and Development of Weaker Section (iv) An Inclusive Agenda for the Minorities (v) Disability to Empowerment (vi) Caring for the Senior Citizens (vii) Welfare of Ex-Servicemen & Serving Defence Service Personnel (viii) Welfare of Workers (ix) Financial Inclusion
Rural Renewal: (i) Bharat Nirman (ii) Rural Employment (iii) Agriculture – Towards Food Security and Welfare of Farmers (iv) Panchayati Raj
Transforming Cities: (i) Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (ii) Mass Transport – Metro Projects and Buses (iii) Housing for the Urban Poor (iv) Public-Private Partnership Initiatives
Economic Resurgence: (i) Macroeconomic Overview (ii) Industrial Performance (iii) Energy (iv) Transport Infrastructure
Sustaining the Environment: (i) National Action Plan on Climate Change (ii) Compensatory Afforestation (iii) Green Tribunal (iv) Mission Clean Ganga
New Horizons: (i) Science and Technology (ii) Space Programme (iii) Information and Broadcasting (iv) Tourism (v) Culture (vi) Commonwealth Games (vii) National Youth Corps (viii) India post
Managing Disasters: (i) National Disaster Policy and Disaster-Specific Guidelines (ii) National Disaster Response Force (iii) Relief for Floods (iv) Cyclone Shelters
Addressing Special Development Needs: (i) The Northeast (ii) Jammu & Kashmir (iii) Bundelkhand
Security: (i) Internal Security Initiatives (ii) Managing Borders (iii) Defence
Governance and Civil Society: (i) Reforms (ii) Centre-State Relations
Building Bridges: (i) External Affairs (ii) Overseas Indians
The enclosed executive summary gives brief synopsis of Government’s initiatives and policies during 2009-2010.

REPORT TO THE PEOPLE 2010

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Education

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 was enacted in August 2009. Notifications have been issued for the enforcement of the Constitution (86th Amendment) Act and the RTE Act with effect from 1st April 2010.

In 2009-10, till 31st December 2009, 7400 new primary schools and 11847 upper primary schools were opened, 35427 teachers appointed, 9708 additional classrooms constructed, 26.62 lakh teachers provided in-service training and 9.54 crore children provided textbooks.

During 2009-10, about 11 crore children were benefited by the Mid-day meal scheme.

The Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan was launched in March 2009 with the objective of improving access to secondary education. During 2009-10, clearance was given to setting up 2478 new schools and improving 6998 existing schools.

A scheme for the establishment and management of girls’ hostels for students in the educationally backward blocks has also been launched. During 2009-10, approval has been given to set up 379 such hostels in 11 states.

It has been decided to replace the present system of awarding marks by grades in all subjects in the Class X Board examination conducted by CBSE in 2010.

The National Literacy Mission has been recast as Saakshar Bharat. To reduce gender disparity in literacy from 21% to 10%, six crore beneficiaries, out of the total target of seven crore, will be women. Within the overall target, 1.4 crore Scheduled Castes, 80 lakh Scheduled Tribes and 1.2 crore beneficiaries belonging to the minorities will be

Sixteen Central universities were established, including conversion of three State universities in the states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand into Central universities, under the Central Universities Act, 2009. Fourteen such universities have commenced functioning in 2009-10.

The UPA government has approved the setting up of six Indian Institutes of Management at Rohtak, Raipur, Ranchi, Tiruchirapalli, Kashipur and Udaipur. Two new IITs at Indore and Mandi started functioning from the academic year 2009-10. Government has also decided to set up 10 new NITs, to be located in Goa, Puducherry, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.

The UPA government has decided to provide full interest subsidy to poor students, whose parental income is limited to Rs.4.5 lakh per annum, on education loans taken by them to pursue technical and professional courses.

Health

During 2009-10, more than 36000 village health & sanitation committees were set up, over 1300 facility-based Rogi Kalyan Samitis were formed, over 53000 accredited social health activists (ASHAs) were selected and trained, and more than 20000 doctors and paramedical personnel were added to the public health system. Over 4984 new health sub-centre buildings, 254 primary health centre (PHC) buildings and 102 community health centre(CHC) buildings were completed; 3246 sub-centre buildings, 732 PHC buildings, 264 CHC buildings and 28 district hospital buildings were upgraded or renovated.

All disease control programmes showed sustained improvement. There was reduction in mortality due to malaria, kala-azar and dengue, as well as reduction in the incidence of filarial infection. In respect of tuberculosis, a cure rate of 87% has been maintained, while the case detection rate has increased from 70% in 2007 to 72% in 2009.

A scheme for augmenting nursing personnel by setting up 269 new auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM) and general nurse midwife (GNM) schools in backward and underserved districts of the country, at a cost of around Rs. 2000 crore, has been approved. This will create additional capacity of 16000 trained nurses annually.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana, work orders have been issued for the medical college complex for six AIIMS-like institutions, taken up under the first phase.

A modified scheme for mainstreaming of Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy has been sanctioned and is under implementation at a total cost of Rs. 675 crore. As part of this mainstreaming activity, 2368 doctors and 2184 AYUSH paramedic staff were appointed during 2009-10.

The H1N1 pandemic was managed effectively. More than one crore in-bound passengers were screened at international airports, new laboratories for testing H1N1 cases were established, the drug Oseltamivir was supplied to state governments free of cost, and vaccines were imported and supplied to state governments for vaccinating health workers.

The Central Research Institute, Kasuali, Pasteur Institute of India, Coonoor and BCG, Guindy have been enabled to resume production of vaccines.

Child Rights

An additional 792 projects and 291000 anganwadi centres (AWC) including mini anganwadis and 20000 anganwadis on demand have been approved to ensure that there is an operational anganwadi in every habitation of the country. This will take the total number of anganwadis to 14 lakhs. Nearly 725 lakh children below the age of 6 years and about 160 lakh pregnant and lactating women have currently been receiving benefits of supplementary nutrition. The number will increase further after the additional anganwadi centres become functional.

The UPA government has doubled the nutritional and feeding norms. Children in the age group 3-6 years will now be given a morning snack and a hot cooked meal.

Social Inclusion

The UPA government is committed to the enactment of the National Food Security Act. Consultations have been held with states and union territories and other stakeholders. A draft National Food Security bill is under preparation and it is proposed to be placed in the public domain for scrutiny and comments.

Political empowerment of women is a powerful and indispensable tool for eliminating gender inequality and discrimination. The Constitution (One Hundred and Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2008 providing for reservation for women in as nearly as one-third of the total seats of the Lok Sabha and of the State Legislative Assemblies, including the Legislative Assembly of the NCT of Delhi, for a period of 15 years, was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on 6th May 2008. The Rajya Sabha has passed the bill on 9th March 2010.

For ensuring 50% reservation for women at all levels in the three tiers of panchayats, a bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha to amend Article 243D of the Constitution. Presently, out of around 28.18 lakh elected representatives of panchayats, only 37% are women.

A bill has been introduced in the Lok Sabha to amend Article 243T of the Constitution for providing 50% reservation to women in urban local bodies.

During 2009-10, central assistance of Rs. 1015.96 crore was released under the post-matric scholarship scheme for Scheduled Caste students, covering approximately 40 lakh students.

Under the post-matric scholarship scheme for Scheduled Tribe students, Rs. 270.86 crore was released to assist 1376745 students during 2009-10. During 2009-10, central assistance of Rs. 172.97 crore was released as post-matric scholarship to approximately 14 lakh students belonging to the Other Backward Classes. During the same period, under the pre-matric scholarship scheme, central assistance of Rs.31.73 crore was released to assist approximately 17 lakh students belonging to the Other Backward Classes. During 2010-11, an outlay of Rs.50 crore has been allocated under the scheme.

During 2009-10, concessional loans amounting to about Rs. 394 crore were disbursed through the National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC), the National Safai Karmcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC) and the National Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation (NBCFDC) to two lakh members of the Scheduled Castes, Safai Karamcharis and Other Backward Classes.

The Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAGY) was announced in 2009-10. The PMAGY, launched on a pilot basis, with an allocation of Rs.100 crore, seeks the integrated development of 1000 villages where the population of SCs is about 50%, in five States, viz. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Assam. Each village would be able to avail gap funding of Rs.10 lakh over and above the allocation under rural development and poverty alleviation schemes.

Following up closely on the historic enactment conferring forest rights on the Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers, all measures have been taken to ensure its proper implementation. As on March 2010, more than 7.82 lakh titles have been distributed.

It has been ensured that 15% of targets and outlays for schemes included in the Prime Minister’s New 15-Point programme for the Welfare of Minorities and considered amenable to targeting, have been so earmarked.

64 projects, at an estimated cost of over Rs. 8600 crore, have been sanctioned under the Jawarharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) for implementation in 17 towns with a sizable minority population. 101 projects, at an estimated cost of more than Rs. 2500 crore, have been sanctioned in 83 such towns under the Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT) component.

In 2009-10, 4457 primary and upper primary schools have been constructed, 3530 primary and upper primary schools have been opened, 20588 additional class rooms have been constructed, 27 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidhyalaya (KGBV) have been sanctioned and 7765 teachers sanctioned in blocks and districts having a substantial minority population.

502 public sector bank branches were opened in 2009-10 (upto December 2009) in districts with a substantial minority population. Over Rs. 96000 crore of bank credit was provided to the minorities in 2009-10 (upto September 2009).

60 ITIs, located in minority concentration districts, are to be upgraded as part of the Prime Minister’s New 15 Point Programme.

During 2009-10, 17.29 lakh scholarships were given to children belonging to the minority communities for their pre-matric education. An amount of Rs. 202.94 crore was spent. 48% of the pre-matric scholarships were awarded to girls. Under the post-matric scholarship scheme, 3.88 lakh scholarships were awarded at a cost of Rs. 148.74 crore. Nearly 55% of those awarded scholarships were girls. 35982 merit-cum-means scholarships were awarded at a cost of Rs. 97.51 crore, with nearly one third being girl students. Under the Meritorious Scholarship Scheme of the Maulana Azad Education Foundation, for girl students in classes XI and XII, 15070 girls were awarded scholarships amounting to Rs. 18.08 crore.

A bill to amend the Waqf Act, 1995 was passed by Lok Sabha on 7th May 2010. It provides for timely completion of surveys of waqf properties, reduction of the scope of alienation of waqf properties, providing penal provisions to prevent encroachment of waqf properties, representation of women in the waqf boards, greater accountability and efficiency in the administration of the waqf properties by the waqf boards etc.

The district plans of 80 minority concentration districts have been approved at a total estimated cost of Rs. 2343.75 crore.

Welfare of ex-servicemen & serving defence service personnel

It is a constant endeavour of the UPA government to provide suitable employment for ex-servicemen as also to impart necessary training to prepare them to take on new assignments/jobs. This has enabled more than 50000 ex-servicemen to obtain employment during 2009-10.

The health coverage for the ex-servicemen has been widened by empanelling more civil hospitals and diagnostic centers. Disabled ex-servicemen are now entitled to get prosthetic aid from an additional 149 Central Government Health Scheme empanelled centres apart from the Artificial Limb Centre, Pune. The membership of Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) has crossed 30 lakhs.

A committee was set up to give specific recommendations for the welfare of defence service personnel and pensioners. The recommendations were accepted by the UPA government and this is likely to benefit about 12 lakh personnel. An Armed Forces Tribunal has been established to provide an appellate forum to the aggrieved personnel.

To boost the morale of troops, who are posted in far flung border areas and face difficult topographic and climatic conditions, chartering of civil flights has been sanctioned for their faster movement during leave.

Prime Minister's Scholarship Scheme was started under the aegis of the National Defence Fund. Under the scheme, scholarships are provided every year to wards of retired personnel and martyrs below officer rank of armed and para-military forces. In 2009-10, scholarships have been granted to 4525 students amounting to Rs.7.40 crore.

It has been decided to set up a National Social Security Fund for workers in the unorganized sector like weavers, toddy tappers, rickshaw pullers and bidi workers with an initial allocation of Rs. 1000 crore.

Government has also taken important steps for the benefit of workers in the organised sector. Workmen Compensation Act, 1923 has been amended to enhance the benefits to the workers. Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 has been amended to raise the limit of maximum gratuity payable from Rs.3.5 lakhs to Rs.10 lakhs. Comprehensive amendments have been made in the Employees State Insurance Act, 1948 to improve the quality of delivery of health care and other benefits being provided to the insured persons in the organized sector and also to enable ESI infrastructure to be used to provide health care to workers in the unorganised sector. Plantations Labour Act, 1951 has been amended for providing safety and occupational health care to plantations workers.

Rural Renewal and Agriculture

71.8 lakh houses were constructed during the first phase against a target of 60 lakhs. An ambitious target of constructing 120 lakh houses has been set for the second phase; against this, more than 31 lakh houses have already been constructed/upgraded at a cost of around Rs.11000 crore.

Over 35,000 habitations have been connected with all weather roads and over 1,90,000 kms existing rural roads have been upgraded/renewed since Bharat Nirman was launched. In 2009-10, 3344 habitations were connected and around 35500 kms of road length upgraded/renewed.

During the first phase, the emphasis was on providing safe drinking water to over 3.5 lakh habitations. With this work more or less complete, the priority has now shifted to cover water quality affected habitations. 28672 habitations affected with chemical contamination have been provided safe drinking water.

In 2009-10, under the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY), against a target of 17500 un-electrified villages, 18374 villages have been electrified. Against a target of 47 lakh BPL household connections, 47.18 lakh BPL households have been given free electricity connections.

Under Bharat Nirman, villages not having access to public telephones were to be provided with village public telephones (VPTs). 569385 villages, out of a total of 593601 villages in the country, have been provided with VPTs, as on 31st March 2010. Out of 250000 targeted village panchayats, about a third have been connected through broadband.

Since its inception in 2006, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme has provided nearly 600 crore person-days of work. During 2009-10, about 4.90 crore households have been provided employment through 40.98 lakh works with 251 crore person-days of employment being generated at a total expenditure of Rs. 33087 crore. The average wage rate per day has increased from Rs. 65 in 2006-07 to Rs. 90 in 2009-10.

Several amendments have been made in the schedules of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Act (MGNREGA) to facilitate its implementation. These include amendments to ensure transparency regarding custody of job cards and details to be contained in them, disbursement of wages through banks and post offices, maintenance of records, pro-active disclosure of information and processes and procedures to be followed during social audits.

The nation faced a severe drought in 2009. The UPA government approved assistance amounting to Rs. 4806 crore from the National Calamity Contingency Fund (NCCF) to help mitigate the effects of the drought. Various measures were taken to deal with the situation, including introduction of a diesel subsidy scheme for supplementary irrigation to save standing crops, additional allocation of power from the central pool, ensuring availability of inputs, and permitting use of funds under centrally sponsored schemes for creation of agriculture infrastructure to achieve higher production. The impact of drought on crop production was mitigated.

Fertilizer is a key input for increasing agricultural production and productivity. The demand for major fertilizers has been the highest ever during the year 2009-10. The UPA government has been able to manage the demand in spite of the fact that the domestic production of urea has been stagnant and reliance has had to be placed on imports for meeting the requirement. Nutrient based subsidy policy (NBS) for all fertilizers, other than urea, has been introduced from 1st April 2010 to correct the imbalance in nutrient application, encourage production of soil specific fertilizers containing micro-nutrients, and encourage efficient production of fertilizers.

Rs.266433 crore (upto January 2010) has been disbursed as credit in 2009-10. Farmers are receiving crop loans upto a principal amount of Rs. 3 lakh at 7% rate of interest. The UPA government is providing an additional 1% interest subvention as incentive to those farmers who repay short term crop loans as per schedule.

Funds of the order of Rs.3761.43 crore were released to States/UTs during 2009-10 under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana. An amount of Rs. 800 crore was released during 2009-10. Due to interventions under the National Horticulture Mission, production of fruits, vegetables and spices has increased by 25.6%, 22% and 11.9% respectively during 2009-10 over 2005-06.

The Backward Regions Grant Fund programme is being implemented through panchayats in 250 identified districts. The programme aims at removing regional imbalances by bridging critical gaps in development and encouraging decentralized planning. More than Rs.3600 crore were released to the identified districts in 2009-10. A major achievement was preparation of decentralized plans by the local bodies in 246 districts.

Transforming Cities

As on 31st March 2010, 524 projects have been sanctioned under the Urban Infrastructure Governance (UIG) component of JNNURM at an approved cost of over Rs.58000 crore including additional central assistance (ACA) of more than Rs. 27000 crore; around Rs. 12300 crore have been released for implementation of projects and procurement of buses.

Implementation of the first phase of the North Eastern Region Urban Development Programme (NERUDP) with an outlay of Rs. 1371 crore commenced in 2009-10.

45.83 km of metro line was added in Delhi and the National Capital Region; NOIDA was connected to the Delhi Metro network. New metro projects were taken up in Chennai for 45.046 kms at a total cost of Rs.14600 crore and in Mumbai for 11.07 kms at a cost of about Rs.2356 crore.

Economic Resurgence and Prices

The year, 2009-10, showed clear signs of recovery with the rate of growth being estimated at 7.2 per cent. This has occurred, despite a decline of 0.2 per cent in agricultural output on account of sub-normal monsoons. The recovery has been marked by renewed momentum in the manufacturing sector, which grew by 8.9 per cent in 2009-10, compared to 3.2 per cent in 2008-09. The recovery of the Indian economy owes largely to the stimulus measures initiated by the Government.

The increase in WPI inflation could be attributed to expectations of supply-side constraints of food items, especially due to the unfavorable south-west monsoon.

The UPA government has taken a number of short term and medium term measures to improve domestic availability of essential commodities and moderate inflation. There are enough food grains to intervene in the market to keep the prices at reasonable level. Allocation to State governments under the Open Market Sales Scheme (domestic) for release of 20.00 lakh tonnes of wheat has been made to check inflationary trends in the food economy from October 2009 to March 2010. The Central Issue Price (CIP) for rice and wheat has been maintained to protect the poor. Further, in order to check the inflationary trend in prices of rice, a quantity of 10.00 lakh tones of rice was allocated during October 2009 to March 2010 to State governments for distribution to retail consumers.

Other measures taken to contain prices of essential commodities include a selective ban on exports and futures trading in food grains, zero import duty on select food items, removal of restrictions on licensing, stock limits and movement of food articles under the Essential Commodities Act of 1955, permitting imports of pulses and sugar by public sector undertakings, distribution of imported pulses and edible oils through the public distribution system.

A Standing Core Group of Chief Ministers and some Central Ministers has been constituted on 15th March, 2010 to consider issues related to prices of essential commodities.

Reforms

To consolidate and carry forward the reforms in direct taxes, a draft Direct Taxes Code, along with a discussion paper, were released for public comment. It aims to improve the efficiency and equity of the tax system and promote voluntary compliance.

The disinvestment policy envisages development of 'People's Ownership' of public sector enterprises to share in their wealth and prosperity while Central public retaining majority ownership and control with government. In 2009-10, five public issues were completed and the funds raised by the government amounted to Rs.23552.97 crore. The disinvestment proceeds are being used for funding the capital expenditure under the social sector schemes of the government.

Industrial performance

The manufacturing sector has been the key driver in this revival of industrial growth. It recorded a cumulative growth of 9.9 per cent in (April-January) 2009-10 as compared to 3.4 percent in (April-January) 2008-09. The recovery in the manufacturing sector has been driven by domestic demand, backed by well-calibrated adjustments in monetary and fiscal policies, including the fiscal stimulus.

The aggregate turnover of 32 CPSEs, under the Department of Heavy Industries, increased by 14.02% (over the previous year) to Rs.38628 crore. Aggregate profit before tax increased by 21.62% to Rs.4247 crore. Exports of goods and services increased by 64% to Rs.13522 crore.

The government has accepted the recommendations of the high-level Task Force on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), including those in the area of credit, marketing, labour, rehabilitation and exit policy, infrastructure, technology, skill development, taxation and development of MSMEs in the North-East and Jammu & Kashmir.

During the year 2009-2010, the number of telephone connections is estimated to have gone up by over 44%, which included an increase of about 60% in rural telephone connections. Teledensity is estimated to have increased by 42%, including a 58% increase in rural teledensity. Number of wireless connections is estimated to have gone up by nearly 49%, while broadband connections are estimated to have increased from 62.2 lakh to 88 lakh over the year.

A complete and holistic reform in the mining sector is being attempted through a new legislation governing the development and regulation of mines and minerals. The reform process will place sustainability and local area development at the centre stage of the reform process. It will bring about transparency, ensure equity, provide a mechanism for addressing issues of delay and discretion, along with incentives to encourage induction of high technology for exploration and for scientific mining practices.

India emerged as the third largest steel producer in the world during the calendar year 2009; capacity for crude steel production grew from 66.36 million tonnes in 2008-09 to 72.76 million tonnes in 2009-10.

To develop powerlooms, handlooms and handicrafts in public private partnership mode, development of five new mega clusters was initiated during 2009-10, in Bhilwara, Mirzapur-Bhadohi, Srinagar, Virudh Nagar and Murshidabad.

The Foreign Trade Policy 2009-14 was announced with the objective of arresting decline in exports caused by the global financial crisis. Policy measures implemented include fiscal incentives, enhanced marked access and diversification of export markets, technological up-gradation, and procedural rationalization to reduce transaction cost and to create new employment opportunities.

Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) aims to leverage the infrastructure being created under the Dedicated Freight Corridor project to create a strong economic base with globally competitive environment and state-of-the-art infrastructure to activate local commerce, enhance investments and attain sustainable development in the identified area in six states. Perspective plan for overall DMIC Region has been completed and pre-feasibility studies of individual projects are under way.

In the Power sector, during the 2009-10, a capacity of 9585 MW has been commissioned. Under the Restructured Accelerated Power Development & Reforms Programme (APDRP), projects worth Rs. 6242.26 crore were sanctioned and Rs. 1331.46 crore disbursed to the state power utilities in the financial year 2009-10.

Great emphasis has been placed on enhancing energy security through rapid exploration of domestic oil and gas reserves, combined with acquisition abroad and enhancement of refining capacity. During the current year, the domestic production of natural gas has seen an 80% increase. The domestic crude oil production during 2009-10 has increased by 7% over last year. Crude oil production from Barmer in Rajasthan has commenced.

During 2009-10, international oil prices have been volatile and the Indian basket of crude oil has ranged between $ 47 and $ 81 per barrel. However, the UPA government has successfully insulated the consumer from the high volatility of international oil prices.

With the commissioning of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station Units 5 & 6 during the year, the total installed capacity of nuclear power has reached 4560 MWe with 19 reactors being operational. Four more reactors are under advanced stages of construction and on completion will take the installed capacity to 7280 MWe by 2011.

Transport Infrastructure

The government has set a target of developing 7000 km of National Highways per year, which translates into 20 km per day. To achieve this ambitious target, there has been a major thrust towards award of projects.

Indira Gandhi International airport at Delhi, designed to cater to 100 million passengers per annum by 2036, is soon going to be fully operational, well in time for the Commonwealth Games 2010. The modernization of 35 non-metro airports in under way.

The National Aviation Company of India Ltd (NACIL) is being restructured. A decision has been taken to infuse a sum of Rs 2000 crore as equity in NACIL, out of which Rs 800 crore has already been released.

During the year 2009-10, 13 port sector PPP projects, with private sector investment of Rs. 2653 crore, and capacity of 65.65 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) were awarded. Substantial progress has been made in the construction of the international container trans-shipment terminal at Cochin port.

The second container terminal at Chennai port, with a capacity of 9.6 MTPA, has been operationalised.

Despite the global economic meltdown, a growth of 6.56% in freight loading has been achieved by Indian Railways in the year 2009-10. 14 new train services by the name 'Duronto', with AC and non-AC sleeper coaches, have been introduced for non-stop point to point services between selected cities throughout the country. There has been no increase in passenger fares during the year.

Sustaining the Environment

The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission was launched by the Prime Minister on 11th January 2010. The mission has set an ambitious target of creating a capacity of 20000 MW grid solar power, 2000 MW off-grid solar applications and 20 million square metre of solar thermal collectors by the year 2022.

Instructions have been issued for the formation of State-level Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management & Planning Authorities for enabling release of 10% of the Rs 9900 crores available in the centralized account to state governments every year, for the next five years.

The National Green Tribunal Bill, 2009 has been passed. It provides for establishing a National Green Tribunal for effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection, conservation of forests and other natural resources, enforcement of legal rights relating to the environment, and giving relief and compensation for damages to persons and property.

It has been decided that under "Mission Clean Ganga" it would be ensured that by the year 2020 no untreated municipal sewage and industrial effluents flow into the Ganga.

New Horizons

To provide internationally competitive and contemporary infrastructure for research, product development in cutting edge areas of research in life sciences and biotechnology, the following five new institutions have been made operational:

Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, Faridabad
Regional Centre for Biotechnology in collaboration with UNESCO, Faridabad
National Institute of Biomedical Genomics, Kolkata
Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Bangalore
National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute and Bioprocessing Unit at Mohali, Punjab
In partnership with agricultural universities, the bi-weekly district-level agro-meteorological advisory services have been extended to provide information on rainfall, maximum and minimum temperature, cloud cover, humidity etc. to farmers in 500 meteorological districts.

CSIR, with Cadila Pharmaceuticals, has developed for the first time a novel therapy obtained from Ayurveda named as "RISORINE" for the treatment of tuberculosis.

The Indian space programme scaled new heights during the year with detection of traces of water, ice and hydroxyl molecules on the lunar surface through India`s unmanned mission to the Moon - Chandrayaan-1.

Policy guidelines were issued for Headend-in-the-Sky (HITS) operators for speeding up the process of digitalization of cable TV services.

Culture

Central government has recently amended the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, which prohibits construction, including public projects, within the 100 metre 'prohibited area'. A National Monuments Authority is being set up as the apex body to oversee the implementation of the Act.

Rs. 20 crore has been sanctioned for the upgradation of Sardar Patel's memorials at Ahmedabad and Karamsad.

Preparations have started to commemorate the 150th birth anniversaries of Rabindranath Tagore and Swami Vivekananda, both nationally and internationally. A project to set up a memorial for Shaheed Bhagat Singh, at his native place at Khatkar Kalan, has been sanctioned at a cost of Rs. 16.80 crore.

Commonwealth Games

The country is hosting the prestigious XIXth Commonwealth Games in October, 2010. The Games present an excellent opportunity to herald India's emergence as a significant sporting nation and showcase its organizational capacity to host such a major international event. Preparations for the event are at an advanced stage.

Managing Disasters

The National Policy on Disaster Management has been approved on 22nd October 2009. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has issued guidelines on management of landslides and snow avalanches, management of chemical terrorism and disasters, and psycho-social support & mental health services in disasters.

During the year 2009-10, the National Disaster Response Force was actively engaged in rescue and relief operations in the various states affected by cyclone, cyclonic storm, floods, landslides etc. The swift and highly skilled flood rescue operations of the force saved over 21000 human lives.

During the Southwest monsoon and the post-monsoon seasons of 2009-10, twenty States and one Union Territory reported damage due to cyclonic storms, heavy rains, floods, landslides, cloudburst, etc., to varying degrees. The UPA government extended prompt and timely logistic support to the affected States. In 2009-10 financial assistance amounting to Rs. 3791.86 crore was provided to States from the Calamity Relief Fund for dealing with various natural calamities. Besides, financial assistance to the tune of Rs. 3261.52 crore was provided to different States from the National Calamity Contingency Fund for the management of immediate relief operations in areas affected by calamities of a severe nature during 2009-10.

Addressing Special Development Needs: The Northeast, Jammu & Kashmir, and Bundelkhand

A regional coordination mechanism, covering all the Northeastern states, for gathering, analyzing and disseminating intelligence has been set up at Shillong and has been operationalized with effect from 23rd February 2010.

The UPA Government has been paying special attention to the development of national highways in the North-East region and 10 per cent of the total allocation is earmarked for that region. So far, about 596 km length has been completed during 2009-10. Development of roads & highways in Arunachal Pradesh involves about 2319 km of roads. Bids have already been received for four projects with a total length of 776 km, to be awarded shortly. The trans-Arunachal Highway forms an important part of this initiative.

The capital cities of the North Eastern states are getting progressively connected by rail. Guwahati and Agartala are already connected. Projects for connecting the capitals of Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh have been taken up.

Three greenfield airports have been approved, of which one at Pakyong in Sikkim, is already under construction involving a cost of Rs 264 crore. The development of Tezu airport, at a cost of Rs. 79.00 crore, has been approved during 2009-10. The project is being implemented by the Airports Authority of India. The airport will be ready for operations by March 2012.

The implementation of the Prime Minister's package for lighting up all the villages on the international border in Arunachal Pradesh was started in 2009. A total of 1058 villages are to be covered under this project out of which 512 villages have already been covered by solar photovoltaic systems.

Under RGGVY, 16 projects have been sanctioned for Rs. 537.69 crore for electrification of 2129 villages, intensive electrification of 1756 electrified villages and 40810 connections to BPL households.

The Assam Gas Cracker Project is expected to generate substantial downstream investment and employment in the region. The construction activities at project site are in full swing and Rs.744 crore has been spent till 31st March 2010. The project is scheduled for completion in April 2012.

The Prime Minister announced the construction of 11 hydel projects in Jammu & Kashmir, under the Prime Minister’s Reconstruction Programme. Out of these, three projects namely: Uri-I (480 MW), Salal-I & II (690 MW) and Dulhasti (390 MW) have already been completed and commissioned. A furthet 4 projects namely, Sewa-II HEP (120 MW), Nimoo Bazgo HEP (45 MW), Chutak HEP (44 MW) and Uri-II (240 MW) are likely to be completed within 2010.

RGGVY schemes for five districts namely Baramulla, Pulwama, Rajouri, Poonch and Doda have been sanctioned by the Rural Electrification Corporation on 27th November 2009. With this, RGGVY schemes for the entire state have been sanctioned.

In the Kashmir valley, five pairs of short distance service Diesel Multiple Units (DMU) trains have been put in operation between Budgam and Qazigund, Qazigund and Baramula and Baramula and Budgam.

The UPA government has approved a Special Bundelkhand Drought Mitigation Package to the tune of Rs. 7266 crore, comprising of Rs.3506 crore for Uttar Pradesh and Rs. 3760 crore for Madhya Pradesh, to be implemented over a period of three years starting with 2009-10.

Security

A number of important decisions and measures have been taken. These measures include augmentation of the strength of Central paramilitary forces, amendment of the Central Industrial Security Force Act to enable deployment of the force in joint venture industrial undertakings, establishment of National Security Guard (NSG) hubs at Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Mumbai, tighter immigration control, effective border management through round-the-clock surveillance & patrolling along the borders, establishment of observation posts, border fencing, flood-lighting, deployment of modern and hi-tech surveillance equipment, upgrade of the intelligence set-up and strengthening of coastal security.

UPA government has adopted an integrated approach in dealing with left wing extremists (LWE) in the area of security, development and public perception. The State governments deal with the various issues related to LWE issues in the states. The Central government supplements their efforts in several ways. These include providing Central paramilitary forces (CPMFs) and commando battalions; modernisation and up gradation of the State police and their intelligence apparatus under the Scheme for Modernisation of State Police Forces (MPF Scheme); re-imbursement of security related expenditure under the Security Related Expenditure (SRE) scheme; filling up critical infrastructure gaps under the scheme for Special Infrastructure (SIS) in left wing extremism affected States; assistance in training of State police through Ministry of Defence, central police organisations and Bureau of Police Research and Development; sharing of intelligence etc.

An amount of Rs. 668.61 crore has been released during 2009-10, under the schemes of Modernisation of Police Forces (Rs. 578.61 crore), Security Related Expenditure (Rs. 60.00 crore) and Special Infrastucture Scheme (Rs. 30.00 crore) to left wing extremism affected States. A sum of Rs. 1230.00 crore has been released to all the States for modernisation of State police forces.

Managing Borders

During 2009-10, construction of 210 km of fencing, 310 km of border roads and 400 km of floodlighting was completed along the India-Bangladesh border. Construction of 50 border out-posts was also commenced. Formation works along a length of 35.89 km and surfacing works along a length of 11.2 km were completed on 11 roads along the India-China border. In the Gujarat sector, along the Indo-Pakistan border, construction of 15 km length of border roads was completed.

Construction of seven integrated check posts has been taken up at Attari (India-Pakistan) and Raxaul (India-Nepal border) while work at Jogbani (India-Nepal border), Dawki (India-Bangladesh border), Akhaura (India-Bangladesh border), Moreh (India-Myanmar border) and Petrapole (India-Bangladesh border) will be also taken up shortly.

The UPA government is continuing with its focus on the modernisation of its armed forces and ensuring defence preparedness of the country. The raising of two mountain divisions to safeguard the North-Eastern borders, and setting up of the second Officers Training Academy (OTA) at Gaya, Bihar have been approved. The modernisation of Rashtriya Rifles was also approved to improve the counter insurgency grid in Jammu & Kashmir. Other areas being accorded high priority are the development of roads and infrastructure in the high altitude areas, and coastal and maritime security.

A decision has been taken to induct the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system, with precision strike capability against land targets. Akash surface to air missile system capable of multi-target handling, is also being inducted.

Governance and Civil Society

In 2009-10, 39615 additional Common Service Centres were established. Services being offered through these centres include birth, death, caste, income & domicile certificates, services relating to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, utility bill collection, employment exchange services, postal services, electoral roll registration, right to information services, record of rights, integration with online portals, and management information system & awareness services for National Rural Health Mission, disaster management, AIDS control and telemedicine.

The UPA government has taken a major initiative to provide a unique identification to all the resident Indian population. The Unique Identification Authority of India has been constituted to implement the UID scheme. This scheme shall ensure that various development deliverables reach the poor and needy in time, shall enable better monitoring and help plug leakages. Necessary action is being taken to ensure that it is possible to begin issuing UID numbers in 2010.

Efforts have been made to strengthen both the `demand' and `supply' side for effective implementation of the Right to Information Act. Information Commissions have been set up both at the Centre and in the States. Government departments are being encouraged to put more information in the public domain; training programmes have been organized for CPIOs and appellate authorities and guidebooks have been prepared for use of both government officials and the public.

A Delivery Monitoring Unit has been set up in the Prime Minister's Office to review selected flagship programmes, initiatives and iconic projects, with a view to ensuring effective delivery, through steady monitoring by the Ministry concerned. Ministries have also been advised to place information in the public domain on their respective websites and have begun so placing the information.

The 'NGO Partnership System' is a web based portal to provide Voluntary Organizations (VOs)/Non Government Organizations (NGOs) with a host of facilities. As many as 27752 VOs/NGOs have already signed up with the NGO-Partnership System.

Centre-State Relations

The share of States in the net proceeds of Union taxes has been enhanced to 32% from the 30.5% recommended by the Twelfth Finance Commission. The estimated total transfers to States, comprising share in central taxes and grants-in-aid during 2010-15 amount to Rs. 1766677 crore as against Rs. 755751.72 crore recommended for 2005-10.

Central loans administered by Ministries, other than the Ministry of Finance, to States, that are outstanding as at the end of 2009-10, will be written-off.

Building Bridges

The UPA government, in its second term, pursues its foreign policy objectives which are closely integrated with the country's fundamental security and development priorities. India's foreign policy aims at a global order in which India's overriding goals of rapid, sustained and inclusive socio-economic development and poverty alleviation are attained rapidly without any hindrance. To this end, India's foreign policy has combined firm commitment to our core national values with dynamic adaptation to changes in the international environment. As a corollary to these objectives, India is committed to close and good neighbourly relations with all countries in its immediate and extended neighbourhood.

India's commitment to its immediate neighbourhood has revitalised SAARC with the implementation of a number of regional and sub-regional projects focused primarily on development. New initiatives have included the setting up of the SAARC Development Fund, establishment of the SAARC Food Bank, implementation of regional projects in telemedicine, tele-education and agriculture and conclusion of the SAARC Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters.

India continued to press for reform of the United Nations, in particular, through expansion of its Security Council to make it more democratic and representative.

India continued to play a lead role in the Non-Aligned Movement to maintain the movement's relevance and strengthen its voice on international issues.

India has remained actively engaged in the multilateral negotiations on climate change to build a rule-based, transparent and equitable climate change regime that safeguards the interests of the developing countries and supports their endeavour for poverty alleviation and sustainable economic development.

Overseas Indians

Prime Minister's Global Advisory Council of Overseas Indians has been set up to draw upon the experience and knowledge of eminent people of Indian origin in diverse fields from across the world. The first meeting of the Council was held on 7th January 2010 at New Delhi.

The Global Indian Network of Knowledge (Global INK) is an electronic platform that will connect people of Indian Origin from a variety of disciplines, recognized as leaders in their respective fields, not just in their country of residence but globally as well, with knowledge users at the national and sub-national levels in India.

The eighth edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) convention was held in New Delhi on 7th to 9th January 2010. The Convention was attended by over 1500 delegates from different countries. On this occasion, Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards were conferred on 14 overseas Indians. The third mini-PBD called "PBD-Europe" was held at the World Forum in The Hague on 19th September 2009.

The government approved the proposal for setting up the Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) in the Indian Missions in 17 countries where emigration check is required, and the Maldives, in August 2009. The ICWF will enable extending on site welfare & emergency relief to overseas Indians in distress.

Chidambaram Calls for Doubling Capacity of Police Training Institues and Recruitment in States -----------

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15:5 IST
The Union Home Minister has called for doubling the capacity of Police Training Institutes in the States as well as the number of policemen and women being recruited every year. He was speaking at the inaugural function of the 40th All India Police Science Congress in Raipur this morning. Following is the text of his statement:

“I congratulate the Government of Chhattisgarh for hosting the 40th All India Police Science Congress.

Chhattisgarh is going through a difficult time. In the last 8 weeks, there have been 28 major incidents of violence in this State. Many lives have been lost; many more have been injured. I offer my sincere condolences to the families of the deceased and I pray for the recovery of the injured. I wish to tell the people of Chhattisgarh that, in this period of difficulty, the Central Government stands by you. We are ready and willing to render all assistance possible in order that Chhattisgarh will be able to overcome the challenges to the security of its people.

Policing a country of over 1.1 billion people is not an easy task. Policing a country in a troubled neighbourhood makes the task more difficult. And policing a country with insufficient police stations and inadequate and ill-equipped police forces makes the task almost formidable. Today, therefore, I wish to share with you some thoughts on the state of policing in India and ask you, in this Congress spread over three days, to reflect on the subject.

Let me begin with the size of the State police forces. I shall use broad and approximate numbers. According to figures given to the Central Government, the total number of sanctioned posts as on March 31, 2010, in all ranks, is about 21 lakhs. Of these, about 3,35,000 posts are vacant. Thus, the police: population ratio for the whole country is about 160 per 100,000 persons. This ratio, much lower than the international norm, conceals more than it reveals. It is an average. In a State like Bihar the number is about 75; in UP it is about 115; in Andhra Pradesh it is about 125; in Orissa it is about 135; in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, two States most affected by Left Wing Extremism, the number is about 205.

Further, the distribution of the police force among the police stations is badly skewed. First of all, there are not enough police stations. Even where there is a police station, the strength of the police force in a station is often no more than 20 persons. In some of the districts most affected by Left Wing Extremism, the police station exists only in name. I do not wish to name the States or the police stations but, believe me, there are police stations where the Station House has been blown up; there are police stations where there are no more than 8 men; and even these 8 or less men do not hold any weapons for fear of the weapons being looted. You will recall the case of Lalgarh police station in district West Midnapore in West Bengal. That police station was closed – and locked from the inside – for several months until the CRPF ‘liberated’ it.

Let me turn to the training imparted to our police forces in the States. Most States have barely sufficient capacity to impart basic training to newly recruited constables. It is not often realised that the capacity of the training institutes limits the number of constables that can be recruited in any year in that State. The result is that States are barely able to recruit the number of policemen and women necessary to fill vacancies that arise due to normal attrition – retirement, resignation, disablement or death. How will States be able to add to the net strength of their Police Forces? Unless capacity is increased manifold, States will not be able to fill the huge number of vacancies – estimated at 3,35,000 – and increase their sanctioned strength. Hence, the first order of business is to enhance the capacity of training institutes in the States to at least double the present capacity and to recruit at least double the number of policemen and women that are being recruited, at present, every year.

Even if the States do that, that would only take care of basic training. That basic training is not adequate to meet the new challenges to security such as terrorism, insurgency and Left Wing Extremism. Besides, specialised schools are necessary to train the police forces in forensic investigation, detective training, intelligence gathering, cyber crime and so on. I do not find States addressing these new and growing requirements. So far as the Central Government is concerned, in order to assist the State Governments, we have decided to set up one Central Academy for Police Training (CAPT) with a capacity to train 2,600 personnel; two Central Detective Training Schools (CDTS), each with a capacity to train 400 personnel; and twenty Counter Insurgency and Anti-Terrorist Schools (CIAT) each with a capacity to train 1,000 personnel, in a year. While CAPT and CDTS will take some time to be established, three CIAT schools are operational and twelve more are likely to be completed in the current year. You will note that all of the above adds to a total training capacity of 23,400 personnel per year, and that is hardly sufficient for a force level of nearly 21 lakhs for all the States put together. Obviously, more needs to be done, and this can be done only if the States set apart more resources for augmenting training capacity.

As far as officers are concerned, the Central Government has made it mandatory for IPS officers to go through a Mid-Career Training Programme in three phases. At three levels of promotion, that is from SP to DIG, DIG to IG, and IG to ADG, we have now stipulated that the IPS officers shall undergo in-service training before he is promoted.

While I shall presently deal with technology in policing, let me emphasise that, ultimately, policing depends upon the men and women that we are able to put on the ground. It is not only the number that matters; it is the quality of recruitment, the quality of training and the quality of human resource management that will matter. Hence the case for police reforms. The Central Government had recommended that State Governments adopt the Transparent Recruitment Process (TRP). Of the thirty States, only Uttar Pradesh has actually implemented TRP. Four States have reported that they have their own TRP; thirteen States have acknowledged the recommendation; and no response has been received from twelve States.

The Central Government had also urged the States to adopt the salient recommendations of the National Police Commission. Some of these recommendations, I may remind you, are mandatory by an order of the Supreme Court. Nevertheless, the progress is halting. Let me take three recommendations: enactment of a new Police Act based on the Model Police Act; constitution of a State Police Establishment Board and setting up a Police Complaints Board. Only twelve States have enacted a new Police Act, only fourteen States have constituted the Police Establishment Board and only ten States have set up the Police Complaints Board. I am afraid there is a long distance to go before we can say that the States have implemented the recommendations of the National Police Commission.

I shall conclude my remarks with a brief reference to technology. Technology is the best force multiplier. It also relieves police personnel from routine and repetitive chores and allows them to concentrate on tasks that require application of intelligence, analysis, forecasting and planning. Technology can be inducted quickly into functions such as surveillance, communication, data management, inventory management and personnel management. Advanced technologies are available and can be used for data collation and correlation, data mining, analysis and prediction. Towards these objectives, the Central Government is implementing, in collaboration with the State Governments, the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) project that will lay the basic framework and provide the connectivity throughout the country. NATGRID will employ advanced technology and help take the quality of policing to a higher level. And when the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) is set up, that body will also induct very advanced technologies into its processes and functions.

I am conscious of the fact that what I have stated so far is not an exposition of any subject that would qualify as a ‘science’. It may be more appropriate to describe the matters on which I have spoken as belonging to the realm of ‘commonsense’. Later today, and in the next two days, you will discuss matters relating to modernisation, counter terrorism, Left Wing Extremism, data management and future policing. I want you to know that despite criticism from every quarter – from hapless citizen to arm chair pundit, from defence lawyer to learned judge, from political parties to civil society organisations and from editorial writers to television anchors – you should be proud to wear your uniform and perform your duties. Because, when hit by a crisis or a tragedy, everyone – and I mean everyone -- turns to the police. More often than not the presence of a policeman is reassuring. More often than not the deployment of the police force restores law and order and security. More often than not the policeman turns out to be a friend and protector. And, let us remember, in a conflict situation, the person most likely to make the supreme sacrifice is a policeman. Therefore, let not criticism – sometimes justified, often unjustified -- deter or demoralise you. Your obligation is to the law. As long as you enforce the law, uphold human rights, use no more than the minimum force that is necessary, and act without fear or favour you can hold your head high as a member of the police force.

I have great pleasure in inaugurating the 40th All India Police Science Congress and wish your deliberations success.

Thank you”.