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  • Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana – Min Premium, Max Insurance

     

    The government’s new crop insurance scheme could be a lifesaver for farmers at a time when the pain of rural distress is unimaginable, as they are facing three successive crop failures due to inclement weather conditions.

    In 2015-16, the central assistance towards drought relief is several times higher than what it spends to subsidise crop insurance premiums every year.

    Before the scheme was announced, a RBI-constituted committee has also emphasized on the same.

    What were the recommendations of RBI-constituted committee?

    • The committee called for phasing out interest subsidy on short-term agricultural loans.
    • The money saved should be used for into an universal crop insurance scheme for farmers.

    Reasons underlying the recommendation:

    • NSSO data shows that banks and cooperative societies account for 57.7% of outstanding loans of farming households.
    • The dependence on informal credit increases with reduction in the landholding size.
    • Farming is increasingly done by tenant cultivators/ share croppers.
    • Since, farmer has no regular income, so they are forced to go to money lenders to sustain their consumption.
    • Govt. spends nearly Rs.13000 crore annually on interest subvention for crop loans, which can be redirected towards subsidy on insurance premium.

    <The govt. rolled out Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme for the XII plan period across India, but it failed to solve the agrarian crisis.>

    Let’s analyse the short-coming in the earlier crop-insurance scheme

    • Premium rates were as high as 25%.
    • Lack of awareness.
    • Sum insured were way below the gross value of output for most crops.
    • Policy claims can’t even cover half of the value of produce when the crop suffers heavy damage.
    • The money pay back procedure was too complicated.

     

    What are the features of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana?

    The scheme will replace the existing two schemes National Agricultural Insurance Scheme as well as the Modified NAIS. The new Crop Insurance Scheme is in line with ‘One Nation – One Scheme’ theme.

    Nodal Agency: Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare , Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare. It will implement the scheme in co-ordination with various other agencies such as financial institutions, PRIs, etc.

    • Uniform premium to be paid by farmers. <Rate of premium will be about 1/10th of existing rates>
      • Kharif crops – 2%
      • Rabi crops – 1.5%
      • Horticulture & commercial crops – 5% <of premium amount>
    • No upper limit on govt. subsidy, even if the balance premium is 90%, govt. will bear the burden.
    • Govt. liability on premium subsidy would be shared between Centre and States on a 50:50 basis.
    • Smart phones, remote-sensing drones and GPS technology will be used to capture and upload data of crop cutting to reduce the delays in claim payment to farmers.
    • The scheme aims to increase insurance coverage to 50% from the existing levels of 25-27% of crop area.
    • The new scheme will also be executed by private insurance companies.
    • There will be exemption from Service Tax liability of all the services involved in the implementation of the scheme.

    Risk Covered

    A Comprehensive risk insurance is provided to cover yield losses due to:

    • Non-preventable risks, such as Natural Fire and Lightning, Storm, Hailstorm, Cyclone, Typhoon, Tempest, Hurricane, Tornado.
    • Risks due to Flood, Inundation and Landslide, Drought, Dry spells, Pests/ Diseases.
    • In cases where majority of the insured farmers of a notified area, having intent to sow/plant and incurred expenditure for the purpose, are prevented from sowing/planting the insured crop due to adverse weather conditions, shall be eligible for indemnity claims upto a maximum of 25% of the sum-insured.
    • In post-harvest losses, coverage will be available up to a maximum period of 14 days from harvesting for those crops which are kept in “cut & spread” condition to dry in the field.

    International Experience

    The mechanism of higher subsidy for crop premiums in Indian scheme is not out of line with international standards.

    • The US covers over 120 million hectares and gives subsidy to the tune of around 70%.
    • China insures its farmers for a sown area of around 75 million hectares with a subsidy on premiums of about 80%.

    How the scheme overcomes the shortcomings of previous scheme?

    • Farmers will have to pay the low premium rates and balance premium will be paid by the govt. to provide full insured amount, against the crop loss on account of natural calamities.
    • The sum insured will be calculated by multiplying the MSP of a crop with the average 7-year threshold yield for the particular village panchayat area where it is grown.
    • The improvement over previous scheme is that the premiums will be determined by the sum insured, unlike currently where premium determines sum insured.
    • CACP( Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices) has argued that premium will drop to 3.5% of sum insured if 50% of India’s gross cropped area is insured.
    • Once the new scheme kicks in, farmers in high-risk areas would stand to benefit the most

    One of the best thing is that it will also rid farmers of the web of complex rules of the earlier insurance schemes.

    How is current Insurance coverage in the country?

    • Currently, only 45.82 million hectares out of 195 million hectares was covered under crop insurance in 2014.
    • Coverage is higher in states of Rajasthan, Karnataka, Bihar, Odisha and Chattisgarh.
    • UP, West Bengal and Gujarat are worst performers in terms of coverage.

    <There are various suggestions pouring from wide spectrum of society to implement scheme in a better manner to mitigate the agrarian distress and suicides>

    What steps could be taken to implement scheme in a better manner?

    • Crop insurance should be done in a transparent manner & within a specified period of time.
    • Make use of advanced technology like automatic weather stations, drones and low earth orbit satellites.
    • Compensation must be paid to farmers account directly, within a short duration after assessment of crop damage.
    • Accountability of each stakeholder needs to be clarified and fixed.
    • Crop-damage assessment must be done within 2 weeks of the extreme weather event.
    • Implementing the scheme will require huge premium subsidy outgo, more so in a drought year.

    What kinds of financial and technological infrastructure is required?

    • Information has to be digitised plot wise, the plot of the tiller who has paid the premium has to be synchronised/seeded with their bank account, Aadhar and mobile number.
      • Ministry of rural development will be required to clean up land records.
      • Ministry of agriculture and farmer’s welfare to digitise plot-wise information.
      • Banks to seed the account of tillers.
    Published with inputs from Pushpendra

  • Power and Privileges of Parliament

    One fine gentleman has been summoned recently by RS Parliamentary Committee of Privileges for making public a CAG report even before it could be placed before the Parliament. In this context let us discuss Art 105, the privileges and the contempt.

  • The Superman Collector

     

    Prashanth Nair is a 2007 batch IAS Officer. He is now currently serving as Collector, Kozhikode. The young IAS officer is known for his crowdsourcing campaigns.

    What is so s(pe)/(o)cial about him?

    Being social

    “The people are out there in social media, so we need to be there. It’s as simple as that. Pasting notices on the notice boards of the village office is no longer the way to reach out to the public. Social media as a platform makes administration more transparent, seamless, fast, publicly accountable, and ‘informal’,” says Prashanth.

    1. His followers fondly call him “Collector Bro”.
    2. He has 1, 69, 273 likes on Facebook to his page. Go have a look!
    3. Add to that, he has android & iOS apps to reach him.

     

    So famous a government official! how is that possible?

    # 1. Biryani to clean pond

    He made an offer which Kozhikode’s residents couldn’t refuse. He recently posted a message on his Facebook page asking people of Koyilandy in the district to help clean a 14-acre pond filled with water hyacinth and slush. In return, he promised them a plate of Kozhikode’s famous Malabar biriyani.

    In response to his call, quite a few volunteers got together to clean up the 14-acre Pisharikavu pond. Prashant took to Facebook to thank them all.

    The money for providing biriyani was taken out of the district administration’s drought prevention fund. Prashant has always batted for the need to keep water bodies clean.

    # 2. Operation Suleimani
    Named after the iconic spiced tea of the region, Operation Sulaimani is a decentralised participatory project to address hunger in urban areas. Through the scheme, poor people in the city could eat at restaurants by producing food coupons given by the district administration.

    # 3. Compassionate Kozhikode Project

    He had launched yet another social project called ‘Compassionate Kozhikode’ or CK, which aims to “generate and nurture the spirit of compassion in individuals”. CK is founded on a firm faith in the innate goodness in each one of us. CK believes that most of the human beings are basically compassionate and capable of expressing it when opportunities are made visible. “Some of these featured initiatives we hope will be a tipping point for building a compassionate destination out of Kozhikode. Compassionate Kozhikode is an attempt to trigger and develop the spirit of compassion in individuals.

    Here, go ahead give it a look –

    # 4. Kozipedia

    Kozhipedia, offers a platform for people to share information and to know more about Kozhikode.

    The gathered info can be useful for planning of developmental projects, disseminating essential information to the public, tourism, nature conservation are some of them.

    Do we expect such a guy to be without controversies?

    # 1. War against illegal quarrying

    Prasanth has been waging a relentless war against illegal quarrying and sand mining. A powerful pressure group involved in quarrying and sand mining in the district is intensely lobbying to remove district Collector N. Prasanth from the post.

    # 2. Blamed by politicians

    He has been criticised by politicians for keeping an active virtual profile, but he has no qualms about it. In a rapidly changing India where smartphones and Internet users multiply by the day, Prashant represents a new breed of administrators who wants to capitalise on the situation to reach out to more people.

    Prashanth Nair’s words on Kerala’s development

    Prashanth believes the public must be active stakeholders in the development process.

    Kerala may be endowed with high human development indicators and laudable literacy initiatives, but it is sorely lacking in infrastructure building and a push for jobs. A recent ‘Ease of doing business’ survey by the World Bank showed Kerala languishing in the 18th position.

    The public needs to be taken into confidence and strong and credible leadership should own up these initiatives. The public is often faced with a trust deficit issue when it comes to trusting new initiatives. This is where smart and credible social selling becomes relevant.

     

    When asked about his future aspirations, this is what he has to say: “I wish to see a compassionate population in my district, people who care for each other. Our focus should shift from structures and concrete to people.”

    Published with inputs from Swapnil | Image Credits - Facebook

     

  • Hybrid Annuity Model: A win- win for everyone. But how?

    Last week, government approved the hybrid annuity model ( HAM ) as one of the modes for implementing highway development projects. This model was proposed by NHAI as investment dried up in other modes of road development projects such as BOT (Toll) and BOT (annuity).

    In this article, we shall understand different modes of PPP projects for highway development.

    There are 4 modes under which projects are awarded to private developers –

    #1. BOT (toll) – Build Operate Transfer and Toll

    As the name suggests, private party is responsible for building the project i.e. acquire land, procure raw material, design and construct the road i.e. private party bears construction risk.

    They operate and maintain (O&M) the road during concession period as per agreed specifications i.e. private party bears O&M risk.

    During concession period, they collect the toll. They recover their costs via toll collected during concession period i.e. private party bears Traffic or Commercial risk.

    If traffic does not materialize as per their projections, they won’t be able to recover their investment or if goons of Shiv Sena assaults toll operators, private players again lose.

    Private party has to arrange all the finance to build the project. Government awards contract to the party which is willing to share maximum toll revenue with the govt. Sometimes upfront viability gap funding (VGF) is provided for financially unviable projects.

    Clearly private party bears maximum risk in BOT  (toll).

    #2. BOT (annuity)

    What is annuity?

    An annuity is a series of equal payments at regular intervals. Eg. pension payments, insurance payments etc.

    BOT (annuity) was designed because BOT (toll) entailed too much risk and private developers were not willing to invest in the project.

    This model is exactly similar to BOT (toll) except that private party does not bear traffic or commercial risk.

    How do they recover their investment then?

    NHAI pay them regular annuity during concession period. Obviously developer that demands minimum annuity will be selected.

    #3. EPC – Engineering Procurement Construction

    Govt policy paralysis, difficulty in land acquisition, high cost of financing etc meant that private interest dried up even in BOT (annuity) and govt. brought EPC mode to award the projects.

    As the name suggests, private party only design the project, acquire raw material and construct the road i.e. private party bears only construction risk.

    Immediately after the construction, the road is transferred to NHAI. 100 % upfront funding comes from government coffers. Government acquires the land, provides all the regulatory clearances.

    In strict terms, EPC is not actually a PPP project. Private player bears virtually zero risk. Private player behaves as a contractor and constructs the road just as contractors build our houses.

    As you could imagine, EPC model was putting lot of strain on government finances. Why? Well, one of the main motive of bringing private players is that private players will bring capital and supplement limited public capital. But here private players were bringing ZERO capital. Govt. had to think of an innovative project and along came… 

    #4. Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM)

    What is hybrid? Simply put, it’s a mix of EPC and BOT (annuity)

    • Annuity? Private players don’t collect toll but recover investment via annuities
    • EPC? Govt. provide 40% of project cost

    BOT (annuity) part – Private player brings 60 % of capital. NHAI will pay annuity over concession period. Private player will be responsible for O&M of the project.

    Other features of the project-

    1. Life cycle cost will be the bidding parameter
    2. Separate provision for O & M payments 
    3. Provision for inflation adjusted project cost over time

     

    How it is a win – win situation?

    1. Private player has to arrange for only 60% of project cost. Exposure and risk reduces
    2. All regulatory clearances risk, compensation risk, commercial risk and traffic risk is borne by government, so risk for private sector is minimal
    3. Govt. has to cough up only 40 % of initial funding
    4. Operation and maintenance by private player. Better expertise, better quality of services
    5. Finally comfort to lenders ( banks ) through assured annuity payments

     

    Hope you got the key differences! If I left out something, feel free to ping back on the comments.

    #Q1. What do you mean by the hybrid annuity model? Does this model provide for optimal risk sharing? Suggest some measures to reform overall PPP framework in the country with special reference to reasons for stalled PPP projects in last few years.

    #Q2. Funding for infrastructure projects remain weak in India. Discuss various steps taken by govt to provide funding to infrastructure sector. Also suggest measures govt. can take to develop corporate bond market to fund infrastructure projects.

  • All motivation no questions no debates

    It is wonderful to see everyone chipping in to suggest strategies and sharing motivational articles but equally disheartening to see the threads with questions gathering dust. In nutshell we are motivated enough to prepare but just not motivated enough to practice questions. So I guess there is not point in wasting time and efforts. Bye bye folks.

  • The Non-Dalit's Guide To Debating Meaningfully About Caste

    It’s heartbreaking that a bright, young man — Rohith Vemula — had to commit suicide for us to pay heed to caste-based injustices, but still, this is a conversation that has been long overdue.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.in/yashica-dutt-/so-you-want-to-meaningful_b_9129308.html?ncid=fcbklnkinhpmg00000001

  • SWOT Analysis of Indian Political System

    I bet ki kissi ne isse awesome speaker nahi dekha hoga. Mind blowing speech by the great JP Narayan on India as a democracy. Mentioning 4 important pillars which we miss out –

    1. Competitive elections
    2. Political Freedom
    3. The winners don’t punish the losers
    4. Elected govt is truly in power

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFjGGZ6iITo

  • Another glass ceiling shattered – Archana Ramasundram, the first Indian woman to head a Paramilitary Force

    58-year-old Archana Ramasundram, a Tamil Nadu cadre IPS officer, will take over as Director General of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).

     

    Who is Archana Ramasundaram?

    1. Archana Ramasundaram is a 1980-batch IPS officer.
    2. She is currently serving as the Director of National Crime Records Bureau.
    3. Sundaram holds an MSc and an MA degree and was awarded the President’s Medal in 1995.

    What is SSB and what’s interesting about her next assignment?

    SSB is a Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) responsible for guarding the country’s frontiers with Nepal and Bhutan. Including SSB, there are 5 CAPFs in India.

    In case you are wondering about the paramilitary forces, let’s define that for you

    Ministry Of Home Affairs adopted a uniform nomenclature of Central Armed Police Forces (formerly known as Paramilitary forces) in March 2011.

    These include – SSB, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

    Back to the IPS officer, here are few intriguing events related to her life

    #1. The only IPS lady of 1980 batch

    When Archana Ramasundaram made it to the police academy in Hyderabad in the Indian Police Service batch of 1980, she was the only woman in her class. The situation, she says, was ‘awkward’ sometimes because she was the only woman around.

    #2. The Telgi case cracker

    She headed the team that cracked the famous Abdul Karim Telgi case or the fake stamp paper racket.

     

    #3. Remember the CBI appointment controversy?

    On 8 May 2014, Ramasundaram was appointed the first woman Additional Director of CBI. However, her selection was disputed by the Tamil Nadu government in the Supreme Court on the very day she joined the CBI. On 17 June 2015, she was removed from the CBI and moved to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) as Director.

    Need more masala?

    1. A writ petition filed by a journalist in SC alleged that Archana Ramasundaram’s appointment to CBI was not in “accordance with the procedure contemplated under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act.”
    2. However, the Centre requested the SC to allow her to take charge but the Tamil Nadu government resisted the appeal saying that she was still an officer with the Tamil Nadu government
    3. Tamil Nadu government said that Ramasundaram hadn’t been “formally relieved from her duties as the DGP and Chairperson of Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board”
    4. She was suspended and charged for ‘deserting office’
    5. Archana Ramasundaram clarified that she’d written to the Chief Secretary that she would be joining the CBI but the government contended that her actions “lacked legal or procedural propriety.”

    Strange turns of events, right?

    But if you are an IAS aspirant and want to read more into the news, here are few pointers for you –

    #1. A strong message by the Government

    The government is no longer going to restrict the top posts for men and the male IPS Officers are no longer going to enjoy monopoly over the apex positions of these forces.

    #2. SSB – The platform for Women Empowerment

    • The appointment of Archana Ramasundaram is not the first time that SSB has been involved in such a bold and yet welcome step.
    • SSB was also the first Paramilitary Force to induct female troops and also the first force to send a female contingent to the Republic Day Parade.
    • Such was the effect of this bold move by SSB that subsequently other Forces too have started inducting women troops and their numbers are steadily increasing. The CRPF too recently accepted a proposal of giving 33% reservation to women for the post of constables.

    #3. Trickledown effect

    • When the upper strata is going to be free from any bias, slowly its effect will go down the ranks and workplaces in Government Offices may become more desirable for Indian Women.
    • Since Kiran Bedi was unjustifiably sidelined for promotion, we have come a long way and now we have appointed a female chief for a paramilitary force.

    #4. The sensitization effect

    • The women officers and constables serving within SSB will somehow not feel the fear of harassment given their minority numbers within the force and the social misconceptions.
    • A female head of the Force will definitely be more considerate towards the position of women within the force.
    • More importantly, this will go a long way in improving the attitude of Force Personnel towards the local women.

    The CAPFs perform a multitude of functions, one of these is maintaining close contact with the Locals. Unfortunately, instances of harassment of local women by the Personnel prove detrimental to this purpose.

    The condition will improve once a female head is appointed who can take such cases more seriously and take the requisite steps.

     

    Published with inputs from Swapnil | Image Credits - Facebook, Indiatimes

  • Now for some motivation 🙂

    Was watching general stuff and found this gem of stuff.

    R Madhava talks about situational awareness.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB7R8QTHJgw

  • LGBT Rights – Transgender Bill, Sec. 377, etc.

    IPC & the need for modernisation

     

    The promise of criminal law as an instrument of safety is matched only by its power to destroy. It is arguably the most direct expression of the relationship between a state and its citizens.

    Amid the debate on the archaic sedition law that should have no place in democratic India, President Pranab Mukherjee said that the IPC, 1860 requires a thorough revision to meet the needs of the 21st century. Click here to know everything about sedition law

    History:

    • The code was drafted in 1860 on the recommendations of first law commission of India established in 1834 under the Government of India Act 1833 under the Chairmanship of Thomas Babington MacaulayAnswer in comments.>
    • It came into force in British India(but not princely states) during the early British Raj period in 1862
    • After the partition of the British Indian Empire, the Indian Penal Code was inherited by its successor states, the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan, where it continues independently as the Pakistan Penal Code and later in B’desh also
    • Jammu and Kashmir does not follow IPC but has enacted a separate code known as Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) which is based on IPC

    Some notable points:

    • The IPC replaced Mohammedan Criminal Law, which had a very close relationship with Islam. Thus, the IPC laid the foundation of secularism
    • It was widely appreciated as a state-of-the-art code and was, indeed, the first codification of criminal law in the British Empire
    • Today, it is the longest serving criminal code in the common-law world
    • Today, most of the commonwealth follows the IPC

    Law Commission on IPC:

    • 42nd Report (1971)– Law Commission of India for the first time had recommended the repeal of Section 309 (criminalization of suicide)
    • 172nd Report (2000)– Recommended deletion of Section 377 (criminalization of unnatural sexual offences)
    • 210th Report (2008)– Recommended Humanization and Decriminalization of Attempt to Suicide under Section 309

    Past attempts at amendment:

    • Even though the IPC has been haphazardly amended more than 75 times, no comprehensive revision has been undertaken in spite of the 42nd report of the Law Commission in 1971 recommending it
    • Also the amendment bills of 1971 and 1978 lapsed due to the dissolution of the Lok Sabha
    • As a result, largely the courts have had to undertake this task, with unsatisfactory outcomes at times
    • Most amendments have been ad hoc and reactive, in response to immediate circumstances like the 2013 amendment after the Delhi gangrape case

    Why amend IPC?

    • The philosophical stance and fundamental principles of Macaulay’s code were the product of imperialist policy <designed to meet colonial needs to subjugation and exploitation of India and Indians, sedition law for instance>
    • Some of the concepts underlying the code are either problematic or have become obsolete
    • there are many new offences, which have to be properly defined and incorporated in the code
    • Macaulay had himself favoured regular revision of the code whenever gaps or ambiguities were found or experienced
    • In 1860, the IPC was certainly ahead of the times but has been unable to keep pace since then

    Specific cases or problems:

    1. Sedition law, inserted in 1898: It is legitimate to ask whether we need a law on sedition that we ourselves condemned during the Raj. Learn more about sedition law here
    2. Section 295A, The offence of blasphemy: It should have no place in a liberal democracy
    3. Criminal conspiracy: It can be invoked merely when two people agree to commit an offence without any overt act following the agreement.
      It was added in 1913 by the colonial masters to deal with political conspiracies.
      Kehar Singh etc were convicted and sentenced to death under the offence of conspiracy ,, though none of them participated in the actual crime or were present at the scene of the crime.
    4. Section 149, Unlawful assembly: The principle of constructive liability under this law is pushed to unduly harsh lengths.
      Mere membership of the assembly without any participation in the actual crime is sufficient for punishment.
      Several persons have been sentenced to death and hanged though they were not even present near the scene of the actual crime.
    5. The distinction between “culpable homicide” and “murder” is criticised as the “weakest part of the code”, as the definitions are obscure
    6. Sexual offences under the code reveal patriarchal values and Victorian morality.
    7. Section 377:  Unnatural sexual offences (LGBT right). Want to know about argument of Delhi high court in decriminalizing homosexuality, click here to read about Naz Foundation case

     

    Contrarian view point of Justice Hegde

    We should not repeal something just because it’s 150 years old.

    On Sedition: He favours the sedition law as some restrictions are needed to stop people from abusing and talking against the country. “I believe in sedition law. I am a patriot. Any patriot cannot go on abusing the country. There are certain parameters.” He points to distinction b/w criticizing the person (prime minister), policies, system v/s abusing the state

    On IPC:  We can not just scrap Indian Penal Code because somebody is involved in a crime (and wants it to be scrapped)

    We can not just ape west. Ground realities in India and west are very different and they demand different levels of freedom of expression and religious freedom.

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