Separate NCTC meet

Giving into the pressure of its key ally Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, the Centre has convened a separate meeting on May 5 to exclusively discuss issues concerning the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) that has been held up due to stiff opposition from several states. The Union home ministry will draft standard operating procedures (SOPs) on the NCTC and share it with CMs ahead of the meeting, clarifying the proposed functioning of the anti-terror body through the mechanism of Standing Council, which will have adequate representation from all states. Earlier, the Centre was supposed to discuss the NCTC in the ‘internal security’ meeting of CMs as one of the agenda points on April 16. The move was, however, opposed by Banerjee, who last week wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding a stand-alone meeting to discuss the proposed anti-terror body. She had pointed out that the focus of the NCTC, a sensitive issue, would be lost if it were to be discussed along with other internal security matters, and demanded a separate meeting so that all states could air their views properly. Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa and Gujarat CM Narendra Modi too wrote to the PM, demanding exclusive meeting of CMs to discuss the anti-terror body. “Following the requests of three chief ministers, the Prime Minister has asked me to convey to the chief ministers that a separate meeting on NCTC can be held on May 5. I have written to all chief minister and I hope that they will all confirm their participation,” home minister P Chidambaram said on Tuesday. He said the April 16 meeting of the CMs will discuss issues referred on the agenda that was already circulated, while the May 5 meeting will primarily discuss the NCTC. The NCTC was notified by the Centre on February 3 but could it not be operationalized from March 1, as scheduled, due to stiff resistance from more than a dozen non-Congress CMs who expressed that the powers (of arrest, search and seizures) — given to the anti-terror body — would infringe upon states’ rights. Addressing a press conference, Chidambaram said he was confident that given the kind of situation in which many countries in the world, including India, faces, the CMs would respond positively.

India facts

There’s more to India than just its over-emphasized status of being the most populous democracy in the world. Random economic facts like India being the largest producer of milk, the largest consumer of sugar and spices as also the largest consumer of gold till last year, crop up now and then. But there have been achievements in the last few years which have put India on the world map. Over the last couple of years, India has been seen stamping its presence in the league of global leaders by the strength of its economic power. Consider these facts: The Tata Group is the largest manufacturing employer in the UK; Ireland’s richest person — Pallonji Mistry — is an Indian; Coal India is the single largest coal producer in the world; India is the largest whisky manufacturer in the world and the Taj Group is the largest chain of hotels in Asia. Despite a generous trickle of negative news, the list of these positives is also getting bigger. Household brand names such as Citigroup, Pepsi and Motorola are associated with an Indian CEO. Clearly, India has moved on from being a nation of snake charmers and appears to be on its way to become an economic power. The list includes, Nano, the cheapest car in the world from Tata Motors; Aakash, the cheapest tablet PC in the world, priced at $46; and other cheap tablet PC initiatives by private companies. Indian banks have only 2% bad loans versus 20% in China. In the mid-90s, on a representation made by Indian exporters, the government had removed the mandatory use of the ‘Made in India’ tag from goods exported. The law still exists on paper. Ostensibly, Indian exporters were embarrassed of using it then. But, today, no one is shying away from using the tag. Parachute is the world’s largest coconut oil brand. Bangalore has more Grade-A offices than Singapore.India is the largest diamond cutting and polishing centre in the world . Parle-G is the world’s largest selling biscuit brand. KEC is global leader in tower production capacity .

Somewhere in Chennai....

In a couple of months, TTK Road, Radhakrishnan Salai and Chamiers Road are likely to have pedestrian-friendly footpaths and benches for people to relax on. The corporation is in the process of re-designing and upgrading 11 roads in the city to “world-class standards”, as a step towards moving the focus away from cars and making walking and using public transport more convenient and comfortable. Mayor Saidai S Duraisamy told reporters that the cityscape will undergo radical changes. “In a few months, this land will look completely different,” he said. The 11 roads will be part of a pilot project as the civic agency has identified 60 roads for upgradation. “The final design will be presented to the mayor and the corporation commissioner on April 16. A tender will be put out soon,” said a source in the corporation. Work may start in two months, added the source. “Five roads, including those leading from Music Academy to Raj Bhavan and Fort St George, will have flyovers. Most of these are used by the chief minister regularly,” he said. The plan to improve roads was floated soon after the assembly elections last year. “The idea is to make roads people-friendly and move the focus away from just cars,” said one of the designers working on the project. They are also looking to utilise the space under flyovers. “We are thinking of having public toilets or maybe even turn them into spaces for cultural activities. We are also looking at options to grow plants there. As of now, it is dominated by parked vehicles,” he said. Bollards or special parking barriers will be installed to prevent vehicles from parking illegally. Footpaths will be made continuous and comfortable to make walking easy, and tiles will be replaced by concrete. “Obstructions such as electricity junction boxes and signboards will be aligned properly so that they do not get in the way of pedestrians,” said a source. “By providing continuous and wide footpaths, 80% of the battle is won,” said a source. The space around trees will have gratings to allow water seepage. There will be inlets for stormwater to prevent clogging by leaves and other objects. Sources said there are no constraints on funding for the project. “Both the mayor and the chief minister are keen on getting this done as fast as possible. This will be a learning experience for us to implement the improvements on the rest of the 49 roads,” said the designer. Similarly, the highways department has also initiated steps to implement these changes on three of its major roads — Anna Salai, Poonamallee High Road and Inner Ring Road. The department has identified a Mumbai-based consultant. Last month, a meeting was held with representatives from Metropolitan Transport Corporation, Chennai Metro Rail Limited, traffic police and others to discuss the challenges of implementing such changes.

Odisha buckles under Reds' pressure

The unprecedented swap deal — 27 prisoners for 2 hostages — that the Odisha government has decided to strike with Maoists has set alarm bells ringing in the administrative circle, which believes the move will set a bad precedent and encourage reruns of the tactic. Particularly anguished is the police department, which has borne the brunt of extremist violence in the past few years. Though it is still unclear whether at this juncture the rebels would finally agree to release the two hostages — MLA Jhina Hikaka and Bosusco Paolo, the Italian national — for 27 of their comrades and supporters, or extract more from a seemingly nervous Naveen Patnaik government. The Odisha government on Thursday named 27 people, including at least eight Maoists and top rebel Sabyasachi Panda’s wife Subhashree, to be released in exchange for the two hostages. “The government will take necessary legal steps of facilitating the release of a total of 27 persons,” CM Patnaik told the state Assembly while declaring the names. “The state government has made this gesture on humane grounds. I do hope the Maoists will reciprocate in a similar spirit and release the honourable MLA and also the Italian national immediately.’’ Those to be freed include six women.The government, official sources said, did not agree to Sabyasachi’s demand to free CMAS advisor Gananath Patra, Kamalakanta Sethy and his wife Sujatha and Sudarshan Mandal, among others. Officials feel the deal could prompt not just Maoists but even other agitating groups to adopt the hostage tactic as, besides escalating Maoist menace, Odisha has witnessed a series of movements against land acquisition by the government for private industries and unrest in other social sectors. Police records rank Odisha third after Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand in incidents of abduction by Maoists. In the past four years, the rebels have abducted nearly 140 people and killed 15 of them. But the trend to kidnap high profile people and force government to release their cadres from jail began in February 2011 when they abducted the then Malkangiri collector R Vineel Krishna at gunpoint. The extremists had succeeded in getting at least five of their people released from police custody then. This time, the Maoists with two Italians and one ruling BJD MLA in their captivity seemed more confident of getting the government to agree to their terms.

Somewhere in Vadodara....

Aerators installed in the Sursagar, were lit up as an experiment.

The Cable Television Amendment Act 2011

On June 30, 2012, television viewing in India is set to change forever. The Cable Television Amendment Act, 2011, will take come into force, making it mandatory for all cable operators in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai to digitally transmit their channels. TV viewing will be sharper, a desire most Indians harbour. Not only will digitization ensure better viewing coupled with superior service, it will also put an end to an illegal nexus that has thrived for years. For decades, entertainment in India has been almost free. Cable TV, as it stands today, has a distorted business model. Subscribers pay roughly Rs 20,000 crore ($4 billion), of which only Rs 4,000 crore ($800 million) reaches broadcasters. Due to the absence of an addressable system, subscription revenue transaction between broadcasters, multi-system operators (MSOs) and local cable operators (LCOs) is undertaken either on a fixedfee basis or on the basis of a negotiated subscriber base. Considering the strong bargaining power enjoyed by LCOs who own the last mile, the distribution of subscription revenue remains heavily skewed in their favour. The LCOs today declare about 15% of their subscribers to MSOs and broadcasters. This not only deprives MSOs and broadcasters of their fair share of value, but also results in service tax leakage for the government. Media Partners Asia estimates the government’s annual revenue loss at a staggering Rs 5,000 crore. By some estimates, there are more than 60,000 unlicensed LCOs, ensuring a high level of fragmentation in the distribution of TV content. As a digital distribution ecosystem takes shape, a coherent licensing regime is required, anchored to full subscriber declaration and payment of taxes, as well as a stipulation that the billing of TV subscribers must move from unorganized LCOs to organized, addressable MSOs. This will help redistribute leaked revenues into the hands of broadcasters and MSOs to reinvest in new content and employment, as well as into the hands of authorities losing out on taxes. Achieving this could lead to substantial national benefit. In particular, TV could contribute as much as 5% of the national GDP by 2017 as the gross economic output from the TV sector tops Rs 6,50,000 crore ($130 billion). That’s why most countries around the world have already gone digital. The other reason countries have gone digital is that analog does not provide enough bandwidth to carry a large number of channels. In India, the government allows down linking to over 600 channels and there’s a backlog of another 100 applications. They too will obviously need down linking. If one presumes that the speed of launching a new channel will remain the same as it was in the last three-four years, then by 2015 the number will rise to 1,000-odd channels. The analog cable system can accommodate 60-70 channels. There are already 700-plus licensed channels in India, but not all of them are broadcast. With demand for content rising and more channels expected to launch in the next few years, only a digital platform can support this growth. From the consumer’s point of view, digital technology will allow transmission of channels with DVD-like image and sound quality. Growing sales of flatpanel TV, such as LCD, LED and plasma, has created a large and expanding market for HD services, which can only be shown in digital mode. Also, unlike in analog, digital cable TV will allow consumers to choose and pay for only channels they want. Globally, cable TV operators provide bundled cable, broadband and telephony services through a single connection. Digital addressable systems in India will also see cable companies offering broadband and tripleplay services with voice. Achieving these three goals could lead to substantial national benefits. The MPA report foresees Rs 4,50,000 crore ($90 billion) in employment income by 2017 and more than Rs 2 lakh crore (S$40 billion) in annual investment and revenue, including multiplier effects across related sub-segments in the content production, technology, TV distribution and broadcast sectors. Secondly, three million new jobs are estimated to be created by 2017 as increased investment provides an exponential multiplier boost to domestic content and technology sectors, as well as helping enrich the TV sector with talent across a wide spectrum of functions including distribution, IT and content production.

CR plans new station in Thane

Central Railway is in talks with the Thane Municipal Corporation to build a new station near Kopri Road over-bridge to decongest Thane station. One of the busiest on the CR’s suburban network, Thane station witnesses about 15 lakh footfalls each day as it caters to commuters from the main line as well as the trans-harbour network. A number of long-distance trains also halt at Thane station, adding to the congestion. The new station will come up between Thane and Mulund, and the TMC has offered some land reserved for a mental hospital to build island platforms, a concourse and a booking office. The municipal corporation also plans to build a Metro station and a bus terminus to ensure seamless travel for commuters.” A senior Central Railway official said the main purpose of the new station being planned at Kopri is decongesting Thane railway station. “Nearly 124 locals originate/terminate from/at Thane. We plan to shift all the locals to the new station, which will help decongest the station by at least 20%,” the official said. TMC commissioner R A Rajeev and CR general manager Subodh Jain held preliminary discussions about the project a fortnight ago. Another top official said, “The project looks good on paper, but we are examining its feasibility on the ground. In any case, the final decision will be taken only after a formal proposal is submitted by the TMC.” The civic body will fund the project and may commercially exploit the space above the proposed station building or adjacent to the station to fund the project. There are six tracks south of Thane; CR will have to build two new tracks adjacent to the northbound slow tracks after Mulund. The platforms can be built adjacent to the Kopri ROB that crosses the railway tracks from Thane east to west. CR runs 785 services on the main line, of which 90% halt at Thane; 208 services ply on the trans-harbour route.