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  • Police Reforms – SC directives, NPC, other committees reports

    Reforms police in India need

    op-ed snap | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Governance, Transparency & Accountability, Citizens Charters

    The article highlights the challenges facing the police force in India and suggests the measures to deal with them.

    Urgency of the police reforms

    • In a well-ordered democracy, the police are supposed to be a disciplined force trained to uphold the law and enforce the functioning of democracy on constitutional lines.
    • However, police in India suffers from a triad of malaises:
    • 1) The lack of sensitisation of police personnel.
    • 2) Absence of accountability.
    • 3) Politicisation of the police.

    Objectives of the reforms:

    1) Police sensitisation about their role in society

    • The sensitisation module should aim at bringing about attitudinal change in police — especially pertaining to gender and power relations and police behaviour.
    • There has to be promptness of action and decency of behaviour.
    • They need to be trained in body language and strictly advised to refrain from abusive behaviour.
    • It is necessary to increase public confidence in the police by upgrading levels of police service delivery as well as by investigating and acting in cases of police misconduct.

    2) Increasing accountability

    • Public confidence in police decreases when the public perceives that police abuses are not investigated effectively.
    • Enhancing accountability will improve police legitimacy and increase public confidence, which, in turn, will reinforce the integrity of the system.
    • The Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland, the Danish Independent Police Complaints Authority are some examples of mechanisms for accountability of the police for acts of abuse of power.

    3) De-politicisation of the police

    • Linked to accountability is de-politicisation of the police force.
    • This is a must for the effective functioning of the country’s criminal justice system.
    • The police, as the custodian of maintenance of law and order, must stay away from agenda-driven politics.

    Need to resolve the structural issues

    In order to achieve the above-stated objectives, structural issues within the force must be given priority.

    1) Vacancies and fair representation to women

    • According to a report by Common Cause in 2019, the Indian police force is at only 77 per cent of its sanctioned strength.
    • India has 144 police personnel for one lakh population and, in some states, the figure is less than 100.
    • One in every five posts sanctioned in the Indian Police Service remains vacant.
    • In low and middle-rank posts, the vacancies of 5.28 lakh personnel account for nearly one-fourth of the total sanctioned strength of over 22 lakh.
    • A fully-staffed police force would only increase India’s police-to-population ratio to 185 against the UN recommended ratio of 222.
    • The police-to-people ratio should be improved by at least 50 per cent to meet the challenges faced by the force.
    • Women are grossly underrepresented in our police force at less than 7 per cent of our total police strength.
    • With the increase in the number of gender crimes, it has become a necessity to augment the strength of police by recruiting more and more women police personnel.
    • The situation in Uttar Pradesh is the worst where police are at roughly 50 per cent of sanctioned strength.
    • When the numbers are inadequate, police personnel are stretched, leading to shoddy policing.

    2) Lack of in-service training

    • The existing police personnel are also not adequately trained. Less than 7 per cent police get in-service training.
    • Gujarat scores the lowest, with less than one per cent having received any in-service training.

    3) Implementation of guidelines and recommendations

    • After the National Police Commission in 1977, several committees were set up, including the Gore Committee, Padmanabhaiah Committee and Malimath Committee.
    • These commissions and committees have made far-reaching recommendations.
    • The top police leadership should be selected by apolitical representatives and an impartial body as suggested by Dharma Vira Commission have farsighted implications.
    • It was a strong antidote to opportunistic appointments and transfers.
    • Recommendations of the commission, if implemented, along with the Supreme Court directives of 2006 by Justice Sabharwal, in true letter and spirit, will go a long way in police reform.

    4) Reforms in criminal justice system

    • Reforms in the criminal justice system and separation of law and order from investigation and prosecution are the other areas that need the attention of the authorities.
    • These aspects have been highlighted by many commissions and committees constituted by the Centre.

    Consider the question “What are the challenges facing the police force in the country? Suggest the measures to deal with these challenges.”

    Conclusion

    A new role and new philosophy have to be defined for the police to not only make it a capable and effective body but also one accountable to the law of the land and to the people whom they serve.

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  • Electoral Reforms In India

    Govt. hikes poll expenditure ceiling by 10%

    | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Representation Of People’s Act

    The Law Ministry has increased the ceiling on poll expenditure for Assembly and Lok Sabha elections by 10% following a recommendation by the Election Commission in view of curbs imposed during the coronavirus pandemic.

    Try answering this question:

    Q.Ceiling on election expenses ends up being counterproductive and encourages candidates to under-report their expenditure. Critically analyse.

    New ceiling on poll expenditure

    • The ceiling on poll expenditure varies across States, with candidates in Assembly elections in bigger States like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu now allowed to spend up to ₹30.8 lakhs as against ₹28 lakhs earlier.
    • For a candidate contesting a Lok Sabha poll in these States, the revised ceiling on poll expenditure is now ₹77 lakhs instead of the earlier amount of ₹70 lakhs.
    • Goa, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and a few Union Territories, based on the size of their constituencies and population, have a lower ceiling on poll expenditure.
    • Here while the enhanced ceiling for a Lok Sabha candidate is now ₹59.4 lakhs those contesting an Assembly can spend up to ₹22 lakhs.

    How are such ceilings made?

    • Such changes are made by amending the Conduct of Elections Rules.
    • The last time the expenditure ceiling was enhanced was in 2014 just ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

    What doesn’t account to Election expenditure?

    • The expenditure incurred by leaders of a political party on account of travel by air or by any other means of transport for propagating programme of the political party is not considered to be the election expenditure.
    • Any expenditure which is done for service of the Government and discharge of official duty is also not considered to be election expenditure.

    Role of Election Commission

    • The EC imposes limits on campaign expenditure incurred by a candidate and not political parties.
    • However, it does not cover expenses incurred either by a party or the leader of a party for propagating the party’s programme.
    • Also, candidates must mandatorily file a true account of election expenses with the EC.
    • An incorrect account or expenditure beyond the ceiling can attract disqualification for up to three years as per Section 10A of The Representation of the People Act, 1951.

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  • North-East India – Security and Developmental Issues

    Assam-Mizoram Boundary Dispute

    States | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Federalism

    The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked Assam and Mizoram to maintain peace and display “no aggressive posturing” after violent clashes took place at the border between the two States on Saturday night.

    Can you recall the chronology of reorganization of the entire North-East region?

    What is the issue?

    • Assam has had a boundary dispute with Mizoram for decades and several rounds of talks have been held since 1994-95 to solve the issue.
    • Till 1972, Mizoram was a part of Assam and acquired full statehood in 1987.
    • The 164.6 km-long border between the States runs along with Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj districts in Assam and Kolasib, Mamit and Aizawl districts in Mizoram.
    • There are several border areas where violence have been reported.

    How complex is this dispute?

    • In the Northeast’s complex boundary equations, showdowns between Assam and Mizoram residents are less frequent than they are.
    • The boundary between present-day Assam and Mizoram, 165 km long today, dates back to the colonial era when Mizoram was known as Lushai Hills, a district of Assam.
    • The dispute stems from a notification of 1875 that differentiated Lushai Hills from the plains of Cachar, and another of 1933 that demarcates a boundary between Lushai Hills and Manipur.
    • Mizoram believes the boundary should be demarcated on the basis of the 1875 notification, which is derived from the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR) Act, 1873.
    • Mizo leaders have argued in the past argued against the demarcation notified in 1933 because Mizo society was not consulted.

    Other boundary disputes in North-East

    During British rule, Assam included present-day Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya besides Mizoram, which became separate state one by one. Today, Assam has boundary problems with each of them.

    • Nagaland shares a 500-km boundary with Assam.
    • In two major incidents of violence in 1979 and 1985, at least 100 persons were killed. The boundary dispute is now in the Supreme Court
    • On the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh boundary (over 800 km), clashes were first reported in 1992, according to the same research paper.
    • Since then, there have been several accusations of illegal encroachment from both sides, and intermittent clashes. This boundary issue is being heard by the Supreme Court.
    • The 884-km Assam-Meghalaya boundary, too, witnesses flare-ups frequently. As per Meghalaya government statements, today there are 12 areas of dispute between the two states.

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  • Digital India Initiatives

    Ghar Tak Fibre Scheme

    | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Health & Education

    The government’s ambitious ‘Ghar Tak Fibre’ scheme — which aims to connect all the villages with high-speed internet — is off to a slow start in poll-bound Bihar.

    Note the features of FTTH connections. They make a perfect case for a statement based prelims question. Also, try this PYQ:

    Q.Consider the following statements regarding optical fibres:

    1. A layer called the cladding, which has a refractive index more than that of the core, surrounds the core of the optical fibre.
    2. Light is propagated in an optical fibre by refraction and internal reflection.

    Which of the above statements is/are correct?

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) Both 1 and 2

    (d) Neither 1 nor 2

    Ghar Tak Fibre scheme

    • The Scheme will be implemented by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
    • It aims to connect all 45,945 villages of Bihar with high-speed optical fibre internet by 31st March 2021.
    • Under the scheme, Bihar has to provide at least five fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) connections per village and at least one WiFi hotspot per village.

    What is FTTH?

    • Fiber to the home (FTTH), also called fibre to the premises (FTTP), is the installation and use of optical fibre from a central point directly to individual buildings such as residences, apartment buildings and businesses to provide high-speed internet access.
    • FTTH dramatically increases connection speeds available to computer users compared with technologies now used in most places.
    • FTTH promises connection speeds of up to 100 megabits per second (Mbps).

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  • Coronavirus – Health and Governance Issues

    Ayushman Sahakar Scheme

    Schemes | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Health & Education

    The Agriculture Ministry has rolled out the Ayushman Sahakar Scheme to assist cooperatives in the creation of healthcare infrastructure in the country.

    Can you find the peculiarity of this scheme? Yes. It’s the Agriculture and not the Health Ministry.

    Ayushman Sahakar Scheme

    • The scheme is formulated by the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), the apex autonomous development finance institution under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
    • The scheme would give a boost to the provision of healthcare services by cooperatives.
    • It specifically covers establishment, modernization, expansion, repairs, renovation of hospital and healthcare and education infrastructure.

    Why need such a scheme?

    • There is a huge need for medical and nursing education in rural areas. But the problem is a lack of infrastructure.
    • Co-ops find it difficult to access credit for such projects as banks may not give them loans for non-agricultural purposes.

    Financing the scheme

    • NCDC would extend term loans to prospective cooperatives to the tune of Rs 10000 Crore in the coming years.
    • Any Cooperative Society with a suitable provision in its byelaws to undertake healthcare-related activities would be able to access the NCDC fund.
    • NCDC assistance will flow either through the State Governments/ UT Administrations or directly to the eligible cooperatives.
    • Apart from working capital and margin money to meet operational requirements, the scheme will also provide interest subvention of 1% to women majority cooperatives.

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  • Wildlife Conservation Efforts

    Species in news: Lion-tailed Macaque

    Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

    The Union government allowed a geotechnical investigation that involved drilling of 12 boreholes inside Sharavathi Valley Lion-tailed Macaque Sanctuary in the Western Ghats in Karnataka.

    Try this PYQ:

    Which one of the following groups of animals belongs to the category of endangered species?

    (a) Great Indian Bustard, Musk Deer, Red Panda, Asiatic Wild Ass

    (b) Kashmir Stag, Cheetah, Blue Bull, Great Indian Bustard.

    (c) Snow Leopard, Swamp Deer, Rhesus Monkey, Saras (Crane)

    (d) Lion Tailed Macaque, Blue Bull, Hanuman Langur, Cheetah

    About Lion-tailed Macaque

    • Endemic to rainforests of the Western Ghats, the Lion-tailed Macaque (Macaca Silenus) is an Endangered species, according to IUCN assessment.
    • It is listed in Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
    • It is a Schedule 1 species under WPA, 1972 and thereby, accorded the highest protection under the Indian law.
    • Their total (global) population is 2,500 mature individuals.

    Why in news?

    • Sharavathi is likely one of the most exploited rivers.
    • It flows for mere 132 km, but four major power projects on it produce 40 per cent of all hydroelectric power in Karnataka.
    • Yet, in an attempt to squeeze more power from the river flowing through the Western Ghats, a new pumped hydro-storage project has been proposed.
    • This will only intensify the cumulative adverse impact of previous projects on the biodiversity of the Sharavathi valley.
    • In particular, the impacts on the iconic Lion-tailed Macaque are likely to be huge.

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  • Health Sector – UHC, National Health Policy, Family Planning, Health Insurance, etc.

    AIDS & India

    | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Health & Education

    The article highlights the achievement in the fight against AIDS. Most significant are the achievements in the prevention of transmission from mother-to-child.

    Significant gains

    • As per recently released 2019 HIV estimates by the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO)/Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with the technical support of UNAIDS there has been a 66.1% reduction in new HIV infections among children and a 65.3% reduction in AIDS-related deaths in India over a nine-year period.
    • The number of pregnant women living with HIV has reduced from 31,000 in 2010 to 20,000 in 2019.
    • Overall, antenatal coverage has expanded, and HIV testing has increased over time and within target range.
    • Treatment coverage has also expanded.

    Progress in preventing mother to child transmission

    • Under the leadership of NACO, a ‘Fast-Tracking of EMTCT (elimination of mother-to-child transmission) strategy-cum-action plan’ was outlined by June 2019.
    • The plan entailed mobilisation and reinforcement of all national, State and partners’ collective efforts to achieve the EMTCT goal.
    • Additionally, in March 2020, we began efforts to minimise challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
    • From 2010 to 2019, India made important progress in reducing the HIV impact on children through prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
    • This was done through education and communication programmes; increased access to HIV services with innovative delivery mechanisms for HIV testing; counselling and care; and treatment and follow-ups.
    • India made HIV testing for all pregnant women free and HIV treatment is offered the same way nationwide without cost to pregnant mothers living with HIV through the national ‘treat all’ policy.
    • For two years UNICEF has worked with the World Health Organization and NACO to identify high burden districts (in terms of density of pregnant women living with HIV) as the last mile towards disease elimination.
    • Since 2002, when the EMTCT of HIV programmes were launched in India, a series of policy, programmatic and implementation strategies were rolled out so that all pregnant women can access free HIV testing and free treatment regimens for life to prevent HIV transmission from mothers to babies.
    • This has been made possible in government health centres and grass-root level workers through village health and nutrition days and other grass-roots events under the National Health Mission.
    • Indeed, the approach being promoted by UNICEF in focusing attention and resources in high burden districts is supported by the HIV strategic information division of NACO and UNAIDS to better understand the locations and populations most HIV affected, so that technical support and HIV services can be directed towards these areas.

    Conclusion

    Using data-driven and decision-making approaches it is certain that AIDS will no longer be a public health threat for children in India by the end of 2030, if not before.

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  • Foreign Policy Watch: India-Bangladesh

    Opportunities for India in Bangladesh’s economic success

    op-ed snap | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and agreements involving India

    Bangladesh is expected to cross India in terms per capita income. This speaks volumes about the achievements of Bangladesh when contrasted with Pakistan. At the same time, it has several implications for the region. The elaborates on such implications.

    What other countries can learn from Bangladesh

    • The International Monetary Fund’s latest World Economic Outlook published recently predicts that Bangladesh’s per capita GDP will overtake that of India this year.
    • The projected difference is rather small — $1,888 to $1,877 — and unlikely to last beyond this year.
    • International development institutions are convinced that the rest of the subcontinent and developing countries around the world can learn much from Dhaka’s experience — the so-called “Bangladesh model”.

    5 Implications for the region

    1) Rising global interest in the subcontinent

    • Rapid and sustained economic growth in Bangladesh has begun to alter the world’s perception of the subcontinent.
    • India and Pakistan dominated the region and other countries were considered small.
    • But Bangladesh was far from being small, demographically it’s  the eighth-largest nation in the world.
    • The economic rise of Bangladesh is changing some of that.

    2) Changing economic weights of Bangladesh and Pakistan

    • This year, Bangladesh’s GDP is expected to reach about $320 billion.
    • The IMF did not have the 2020 numbers from Pakistan to report but in 2019, Pakistan’s economy was at $275 billion.
    • The IMF suggests that Pakistan’s economy will contract further this year.
    • Bangladesh has controlled its population growth and Pakistan has not.
    • Dhaka has a grip over its inflation and Islamabad does not.
    • There is no question that Pakistan’s negative geopolitical weight in the world will endure.
    • But Bangladesh’s growing economic muscle will help Dhaka steadily accumulate geopolitical salience in the years ahead.

    3) Accelerate regional integration

    • Bangladesh’s economic growth can accelerate regional integration in the eastern subcontinent.
    • The region’s prospects for a collective economic advance are rather dim.
    • Due to Pakistan’s opposition to economic cooperation with India and its support for cross-border terror, the main regional forum for the subcontinent, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc), is dormant.
    • Instead of merely praying for the revival of Saarc, Delhi could usefully focus on the BBIN.
    • BBIN is sub-regional forum among Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal, activated in the middle of last decade — has not advanced fast enough.
    • It is time for Delhi and Dhaka to take a fresh look at the forum and find ways to widen the scope and pace of BBIN activity.
    • Meanwhile, there is growing interest in Bhutan and Nepal for economic integration with Bangladesh.

    4) Increasing importance of Bangladesh in geopolitics of Indo-Pacific

    • The economic success of Bangladesh is drawing attention from a range of countries in East Asia, including China, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore.
    • The US, which traditionally focused on India and Pakistan, has woken up to the possibilities in Bangladesh.
    • Bangladesh does not want to get into the fight between Beijing and Washington, but the great power wooing of Dhaka is bound to intensify in the new geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific.

    5) Development of India’s eastern and north-eastern states could accelerate

    • Bangladesh’s economy is now one-and-a-half times as large as that of West Bengal; better integration between the two would provide a huge boost for eastern India.
    • Also, connectivity between India’s landlocked Northeast and Bangladesh would provide a boost to the development of north-eastern states.
    • Delhi and Dhaka are eager to promote greater cooperation, but there has been little political enthusiasm in Kolkata.
    • In Assam, the issue of migration continues to impose major political constraints.

    Way forward

    • Parliamentary approval of the boundary settlement in 2015, despite the opposition, was a step in the right direction from India.
    • So was the acceptance of the 2014 international arbitration award on the maritime boundary dispute between India and Bangladesh.
    • But the positive dynamic surrounding the bilateral relationship acquired a negative tone in the second amidst the poisonous rhetoric in India around the Citizenship Amendment Act.
    • There is much room for course correction in Delhi and to shift the focus from legacy issues to future possibilities.

    Conclusion

    Both the countries need to jointly develop and pursue with Dhaka an ambitious framework for shared prosperity.

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  • Terrorism and Challenges Related To It

    Security implications of Doha Accord for India

    op-ed snap | Security Issues | Mains Paper 3: External State & Non-State Actors: Challenges To Internal Security.

    We have been spared of some unfortunate news of terrorist attacks in the recent past, however, it would be mistake to discount the threat posed by the terrorist organisations especially when we consider the backdrop of Doha Accord. The article deals with the threat of terrorism.

    Declining support

    • Terrorist organisations like Taliban, al-Qaeda, Islamic State, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) have been dormant during a pandemic.
    • This is partly explained by the fact that open terror attacks have been reducing, presumably because:
    • 1) Terror outfits lack resources.
    • 2) Because of temporary loss of support from those normally hostile to the non-Islamic world and tolerant Muslims.
    • However, given their past resilience, they continue to pose threats to modern society, especially to India and its neighbourhood.

    But threat persists

    • These terrorist organisations continue to be attractive to misguided youth in India whose loyalties are extraterritorial.
    • Their numbers may not be formidable, but they can cause a ripple effect that cannot be underestimated.
    • Terrorist cells are probably engaged in the quiet process of collecting resources for future lethal assaults against India and other countries in the neighbourhood.
    • Once the pandemic eases, we may see a resurgence of terror.
    • The aggravation of poverty in developing nations due to COVID-19 could offer a fertile ground for recruitment.
    • The al-Qaeda and the Islamic State are carrying out their recruitment undiminished by the problems posed by the pandemic.
    • Only these two outfits have an impressive global reach backed by global ambitions.

    What are the implications of Doha Accord?

    • The Doha Accord signed this year between the Taliban and the U.S., which has brought about an improved relationship between the two.
    • The U.S. has agreed to a near-total withdrawal of its troops in return for the Taliban’s promise to preserve peace in Afghanistan.
    • The Taliban and the al-Qaeda need each other in many areas.
    • Both are friendly towards Pakistan and could pose a problem or two to India in the near future.
    • Many recent raids by the National Investigation Agency point to an al-Qaeda network in India.
    • Once the situation gets better, the al-Qaeda, in cahoots with other aggressive Islamic outfits in and around Pakistan, is bound to escalate the offensive against India.
    • This is one factor that makes the al-Qaeda and other terror outfits still relevant to India’s security calculus.

    Consider the question “What are the implications of Doha Acord for India’s security architecture?”

    Conclusion

    The threat posed by the changing geopolitical landscape is bound to increase in the coming days and hence India should prepare itself to tackle the challenge.

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  • Financial Inclusion in India and Its Challenges

    [pib] Framework for Regulatory Sandbox

    op-ed snap | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

    The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has introduced a framework for Regulatory Sandbox to tap into innovative Fin-tech solutions.

    Try answering this simple question:
    Q.What is Regulatory Sandbox? What are its salient features?

    Regulatory Sandbox

    • A regulatory sandbox usually refers to live testing of new products or services in a controlled/test regulatory environment for which regulators may permit certain regulatory relaxations for the limited purpose of the testing.
    • The objective of the sandbox is to foster responsible innovation in financial services, promote efficiency and bring benefit to consumers.
    • It provides a secure environment for fintech firms to experiment with products under supervision of a regulator.
    • It is an infrastructure that helps fintech players live test their products or solutions, before getting the necessary regulatory approvals for a mass launch, saving start-ups time and cost.

    Its inception

    • The concept of a regulatory sandbox or innovation hub for fintech firms was mooted by a committee headed by then RBI executive director Sudarshan Sen.
    • The panel submitted its report in Nov 2017 has called for a regulatory sandbox to help firms experiment with fintech solutions, where the consequences of failure can be contained and reasons for failure analysed.
    • If the product appears to have the potential to be successful, it might be authorised and brought to the broader market more quickly.

    What is the new framework?

    • IFSCA has introduced a framework for “Regulatory Sandbox”.
      Under this Sandbox framework, entities operating in the capital market, banking, insurance and financial services space shall be granted certain facilities and flexibilities.
    • It will experiment with innovative FinTech solutions in a live environment with a limited set of real customers for a limited time frame.
    • These features shall be fortified with necessary safeguards for investor protection and risk mitigation. The Regulatory Sandbox shall operate within the IFSC located at GIFT City (Gandhinagar).
    • IFSCA shall assess the applications and extend suitable regulatory relaxations to commence limited purpose testing in the Sandbox.

    Other propositions

    • As additional steps towards creating an innovation-centric ecosystem, the IFSCA has proposed the creation of an “Innovation Sandbox”.
    • It will be a testing environment where Fin-tech firms can test their solutions in isolation from the live market.
    • This would be based on market related data made available by the Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs) operating in the IFSC.
    • The Innovation Sandbox will be managed and facilitated by the MIIs operating within the IFSC.

    Back2Basics: GIFT City, Gandhinagar

    • GIFT city is India’s first operational smart city and international financial services centre (much like a modern IT park).
    • The idea for GIFT was conceived during the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investor Summit 2007 and the initial planning was done by East China Architectural Design & Research Institute (ECADI).
    • Currently approximately 225 units/companies are operational with more than 12000 professionals employed in the City.
    • The entire city is based on concept of FTTX (Fibre to the home / office).The fiber optic is laid in fault tolerant ring architecture so as to ensure maximum uptime of services.
    • Every building in GIFT City is an intelligent building. There is piped supply of cooking gas. India’s first city-level DCS (district cooling system) is also operational at GIFT City.

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