Essays

POVERTY
The fruits of economic growth have not benefited everyone uniformly. Some are left
behind and some others are not touched by the benefits of economic growth. These
some when combined together define poverty. Poverty is the lack of basic human
needs like health, education, clean water, nutrition etc. It is a condition in which
ones income is not sufficient enough to fulfill his basic needs. It is curse and
something like nobody would want to own. Laster R. Brown in his book 'World
Without Borders' explains poverty thus; "Unfortunately it is not an economic
abstraction, it is a human condition. It is despair, grief and pain. It is the despair of
a father with a family of seven children in a poor country when he joins the,
swelling ranks of unemployed with no prospects of unemployment compensation.
Poverty is the longing of a young boy playing outside a village school but unable to
enter because his parents lack a few rupees needed to buy text books. Poverty is
the grief of parents watching a three year old chi ld die of a routine childhood
disease because they cannot afford any medical care."
Poverty exists because the economic system is organized in ways that encourage
the accumulation of wealth at one end and creates conditions of scarcity that make
poverty inevitable at the other. Rich in the society are getting richer; poor are
getting poorer. Poverty is both a structural aspect of the system and an ongoing
consequence of how the system is organized. In developing countries the poverty
stands as the major obstacle in development. The primary reason as a cause of
poverty is education. In a country like India one -third of the countrys population is
still illiterate and a majority is not educated up to the age of 15 years. Even among
the educated, everyone does not have employable skills of the modern economy.
The education system is not tuned to the changing economic scenario. The large
agriculture workforce in rural areas is not sustainable with dwindling cultivable land
and use of modern methods of cultivation . As a result, the rural labour is pushed
into cities in search of work but they do not have any employable skills in the urban
formal sector, and thus they often end up doing odd jobs in urban areas.
Developing nations around the world are getting financi al help from more
Industrialized nations. But still poverty is a problem in developing nations. One of
the reason is, this money that people receive in the form of aid solves the short
term problems like food for a week or month. The long term impact is ni l. One
should not forget the corruption level in these less developed nations. Most of the
money goes to the bank accounts of politicians of that country. For these reasons,
financial help alone does not solve poverty problem in developing nations.
Government employs many poverty alleviation programs to get rid of this
malignance. Involvement of the local communities is the key to the success of
poverty alleviation programs. In the absence of community involvement, the

programs are plagued with bureaucratic muddle and corruption at every level. At
the macro-level, there is a need to co-ordinate a myriad of poverty alleviation
programs of the central government and the State governments. The transfer of
central funds to the States for different programs shoul d be efficient. Currently,
such funds and goods like food grains are not fully utilized by the States. There is a
need to strengthen the financial management capacity of certain States to use the
funds efficiently.
Social problems are more than an accumula tion of individual woes, they cant be
solved through an accumulation of individual solutions. We must include social
solutions that take into account how economic and other systems really work. We
also have to identify proper steps to curb with this probl em. To understand where
poverty comes from, what makes it such a stubborn feature of social life, we have
to begin with the simple sociological fact that patterns of inequality result as much
from how social systems are organized as they do from how indivi duals participate
in them. Poverty is more of social marginalization of an individual, household or
group in the community/society rather than inadequacy of income to fulfill the basic
needs. Indeed, inadequate income is one of the factors of marginalizati on, but not
the sole factor. The poverty alleviation programmes and other measures to get rid
of poverty should not aim merely to increase the income level of individual,
household or group, but mainstreaming marginalized in the development process of
the country.

The fear of FEAR

Focus on where you want to go, not on what you fear." Anthony Robbins
It seems to me that right now people are consumed with FEAR. It's everywhere we
go. People are afraid of the economy, afraid for their jobs, business, afraid fo r our
country - FEAR seems to be the language of the day. Yet when we let fear in we
push out peace, creativity and JOY! Fear will rob us of productivity, opportunity and
relationship. Fear makes our world small and blinds us to solutions.
There has never been a better time to get out of our own way and get rid of FEAR.
It is possible. W e can choose to FOCUS on where we want to go instead of where
we may go. Often fear is tied up in letting our minds consider all the negative
outcomes that could happen. Th e key word is could - most of the time our fears
never materialize. But when we focus on what could happen we get off course. We
can choose to make a commitment to change our focus. To focus on where we want
to go, where we are inspired to go.
Some ways I feel we can overcome our fears could be :
>Taking a small risk everyday. By practicing taking risks we learn that they are
not so scary and that our fears usually never materialize.

>Change our language. Instead of saying, "I am afraid I may lose my job or
business." Try saying, "I will focus on being the best in my field and even if I lose
my job or business, I will find a place to apply my skills." All language can be
turned into something that focuses us towards our future and our dreams.
>Read something inspiring ever day. Biographies, success stories or other
inspirational material can help us keep on track.
>Limit our "whine sessions" to 10 to 15 minutes . We all need to vent or take a
few moments to "whine" but we need to limit this. Give ourselve s permission but
then move on - whining will do us no good in the long run :)
>Make a list of the worst possible outcomes around the things we fear . For
example, if we lose our job or business, one of the worst possible thing would be
that we would end up losing our home. When we look at the worst thing that could
happen, we then decide that we won't die if it happens and that more than likely it
will not get to that. By accepting the worst and reassuring ourselves we will be okay
- we do not need to fear.
>Focus on our priorities. Our family is the MOST important thing in our life. We
could lose our home, our job or business or our money but at the end of the day
what matters most is the people we love. Focusing on our priorities helps us to put
things into perspective.
Focus on where we want to go - let go of our fears and live our life to the
fullest today!

ELECTORAL REFORMS IN INDIA

This year, the worlds largest democracy will undergo a test of its strength in the Lok Sabha
elections. Elections are the strongest feature of any democracy and the most basic requirement
of honest representation in a nation, as long as they are free and fair. This is where India falls
short. But Indias first election commissioner, Su kumar Sen, noted that this was not an easy
task. Given the geographical, political and social circumstances, the electoral process requires
constant improvements for which electoral reforms are mandatory to make India successful
democracy.
The problems ailing the Indian electoral system are many and diverse. But steady reforms to
overcome each of them would pay rich dividends to Indias democracy.
The foremost problem is the lack of honest representation because of poor voter turnout. The
major worry is that half the country has no say in the nations policies since only half of the
population votes. The primary reason for this is the lack of interest in public affairs. If a

substantial part of the population is working to meet their basic needs, it cant be expected that
voting would feature in their priorities.
Some proportion of citizens claim to have lost faith in the political parties and their candidates.
Gurudas Gupta, a present member of Parliament points out that about 58% of Lok Sabha
members are crorepatis and 76 members have court cases pending against them. Thus, it is no
surprise that people doubt the integrity of candidates. Criminalization and the excessive use of
money have marred Indian politics. Unfortunately, the possibility of making money, serves as a
strong pull for people to join politics. This causes a decrease in the public exchequer and poor
development in certain constituencies. But the most negative impact caused is the loss of faith
among citizens who want to join politics as a service to the countrys development.
Other issues such as rigging the electoral roll, tampering with voting machines and voting on
behalf of someone elses identity undermine the quality of elections.
The need for electoral reforms is evident. It would not only lead to a greater representation of the
number of people but also qualitative improvement in the conduct of this practice. Irrespective of
peoples socio-economic inequalities, their worth (politically) in our society will be the same for
one day at least. Cleansing the system, increasing transparency would increase peoples faith in
this activity that would further inspire people with honest motivation and high credibility to join
politics.
The election commission has realized this and over the years brought about significant reforms
such as the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) to reduce the human error and tampering.
Similarly, there have been instances when the judiciary and the legislature have brought in
certain reforms.
In the run-up to the 2014 LokSabha elections, three particular reforms have come into
discussion. These are- the addition of the None of the Above (NOTA) option, six national parties
which have come under the purview of the Right to Information Act and the Representation of
People Amendment and Validation) Ordinance which was taken back.
A recent Supreme Court judgement requires the Election Commission to include a NOTA option
in the EVMs and ballot papers since it would lead parties to choose better candidates. This
would allow participation of voters who want to be involved in the political process but don't want
to vote for any candidate. It would help better classify between voter and non-voter categories.
This classification would help come out with more reforms targeted towards the non-voters.
Though it is a very positive reform, there is a requirement to further this reform. As L.K. Advani, a
senior politician points out, that selecting the NOTA option merely means not choosing a
candidate and doesn't apply to the rejection of candidates. This is because a person might select
the NOTA even if he is confused between candidates. He recommends that NOTA should mean
the rejection of each candidate in order to represent the exact number of voters who are
dissatisfied with the quality of candidates. This would encourage parties to improve their
candidates. Even without adding this provision, the NOTA is still a progressive reform. It will
discourage voters to sit at home and not vote if they are dissatisfied with the candidates.

The NOTA option reform came about without much debate, but the other two reforms have been
very controversial.
The SC gave a decision to put six national parties under the purview of the RTI Act since they
are largely publicly funded. Till then, the political parties had to inform the government of any
donations which were larger the Rs.20,000. It was widely believed that the parties had found
ways to dodge this. After this move, the entire accounts of these six parties will be available to
the public.
The parties arecontesting this reform by saying that this would reveal certainaspects of their
strategy that should remain within the party. Now, a committee has been set-up to give its
recommendation on the matter.
The SC carried out the third reform on10th July 2013 as it struck down a section of the
Representation of Peoples Act, 1951, which allowed immediate disqualification of a MP or MLA
who has been convicted in a crime.
To counter this, the cabinet passed the Representation of People (Amendment and Validation)
Ordinance which would protect these convicted MPs and MLAs, if they appealed within three
months of the conviction and their appeal is admitted by the by the higher court. This ordinance
nullified the reform that was made by SCs judgement.
But soon a controversy gave way to this ordinance being taken back.
These three recent reforms have all been based on a Supreme Court judgement. It needs to be a
combined effort by the legislature, judiciary and the election commission to guarantee free and
fair elections to further ensure that India becomes a successful democracy.

Mobile Phone: A Vital Body Part

A few days ago I lost my mobile phone and till I got it back I felt as if I had lost a vital body part! I
guess its true for most of us. Mobile phones have become an important part of our lives.If it's
missing we feel isolated, if it's not ringing for a long time, we will check our phone. No doubt,
Mobile phone revolution is probably the most important technical development of the past two
decades.
During late 90's nobody would have thought that mobile phones would become such a necessity.
But today we are addicted to Mobile phones and with the advent of mobile phones and
international connectivity, the world is indeed shrinking. The adoption of the mobile phone by
young people has been a global phenomenon in recent years. It is now an integral part of
peoples daily lives and is for the majority, the most popular form of electronic communication. In
fact, the mobile phone has turned from a technological tool to a social tool.
Young people use the mobile phone in positive ways to organise and maintain their social
networks. However, there are also negative impacts on young peoples peer relationships. These
can include ostracism and cyber bullying. Similarly, the mobile phone has lead to changed
dynamics in the family, with issues of safety and surveillance from a parental perspective leading
to negotiated changing freedoms for young people. While functional coordination can be

beneficial for the family, other problems can arise such as financial difficulties, non-custodial
parent access, as well as over reliance on the mobile phone for safety issues and intrusion into
young peoples lives. The impact of the mobile phone on the school as an institution has not
however, received as much research. Disruptions to lessons, incidences of cheating and bullying
are some of the negative impacts.
The potential impact of the kind of electromagnetic fields generated by cellular phones on the
human brain has received little attention until relatively recently, and its probably still much too
soon to pronounce on the possible adverse effects of long-term exposure. Accumulating
evidence indicate that microwave radiation from mobile phones may cause serious diseases and
disturbances in the physiology. This includes an increased cancer risk and genetic damage,
disturbed brain function and other effects. Mobile phone radiation and health concerns have
been raised, especially following the enormous increase in the use of wireless mobile telephony
throughout the world.
Mobile phones have changed not just communication but society as a whole. It has become an
inseparable part of peoples lives.New rules of etiquette have been introduced. Now it is OK to
answer a phone when in the company of others. Mobile phones have been accused of ruining
our language. It has also been blamed for damaging the English language and even affecting
literacy levels.The explosion in mobile use has also made some people rich, and not just the
phone companies. As mobile phones became something to customise, consumers were willing
to pay for downloadable ring tones, wallpaper graphics and replacement phone covers.The
introduction of cameras on phones has helped create a generation of citizen journalists, with
people using it to report events, to protest and even to catch criminals.
In retrospect, todays cellular devices can be very negative at times and may cause some
problems, but when used properly they may be a very wonderful thing. Any and all cell phone
users need to learn to use them at the correct times, use them only when necessary, and dont
let them come between relationships with other people. Only then will they be used as well as
possible.

Role of media in good governance

Good governance has been considered important since ancient times while the media in its
present day avatar is a relatively new industry. The ancient Roman Empire, which existed
approximately 2000 years ago, was formed on the basis of good governance of smaller, diverse
kingdoms. Since then, irrespective of whether a state was a republic or a dictatorship, good
governance has been a requirement for functioning of any society. Leaders are the supreme
authority accountable for good governance but if the quality did not satisfy people, they
challenged these authorities to ensure a worthy level of governance.
Media usually refers to mass media, which is any medium that provides citizens with information
regarding all the current affairs of any area at a large scale. It is unbiased reporting of facts
through print, television, radio or Internet.

Traditionally and constitutionally, the media has no defined role in governance. It doesn't have
the power to change any decisions made by the various arms of a statethe legislature,
executive and the judiciary. Yet, the media plays one of the most important roles in the
functioning of any society. It amplifies the voice of citizens and communicates their opinions to
the lawmakers. Pandit Nehru called media the watchdog of our democracy. This handed the
media a huge responsibility in the functioning of our society.

This is true in a global context as well. Recently, The Guardian and The New York Times, two
large media houses were responsible for uncovering information on the violation of privacy laws
by the US government tapping communications of officials from other countries. Similarly, in
India, the media was primarily responsible for revealing corruption in the coal, telecommunication
and environment sectors. Media, thus, brings illegal practices to the peoples notice. A vital
element in ensuring good governance.
The media protects the rights of citizens, especially the less privileged and whose voices go
unheard. This function helps countries like India where the judiciary is overburdened. It brings to
the judiciarys notice, incidents that would otherwise have been ignored.
The case of the IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal, who was suspended for no reason and the
case of Jessica Lalls murder are just two examples of how the media has protected individuals
and ensured that justice is done in society.
Newspapers and radios facilitated Indias freedom struggle and since then have continued to
play a central role in social and political movements that looked after the interests of diverse
communities and minorities. This led to them being governed better. The Narmada Bachao
Andolan is a prime example of this.
Any organization that functions efficiently requires a mechanism that allows it to receive
constructive feedback. The media is a feedback mechanism for every state run institution. It rates
the performance of these institutions as the people rate them and is a critic to all the policies
formed and laws enacted. The media is responsible for bringing opposition to poorly performing
institutions. It also plays a crucial part in bringing help to areas affected by natural calamities, as
it happened after the 2004 tsunami that devastated areas surrounding the Indian Ocean.
The defined role of media as the information provider is only a share of the real role it plays. It is,
in many ways ensuring efficient functioning of society. It does this by encouraging the people
responsible to provide good governance. Thus so we noticed that lately media and esp social
media played a very important role in the growth and development of India.
A society without media is hard to imagine and will be a deterrent to good governance. So media
is not just an ordinary industry in society, it is a necessity for good governance and efficient
functioning of society
In theory, the media appears to be a perfect check on good governance but it has been accused
of not fulfilling its responsibilities.

It is said to be biased towards some political parties and runs advertising campaigns for them.
Media companies are suspected of charging money for publishing articles, which leads to the
problem of news being influenced by wealthy people. Wealthy companies that tend to look after
their own interests are increasingly running media in India. All these problems are of grave
concern for the media, since it questions their ability and contribution to the societys proper
functioning.
In the 1999 Kargil War, a news channel was blamed for revealing strategic data, which led to the
death of Indian soldiers. If the media is not responsible, it will end up doing more harm than
good. Media persons must draw a moral line regarding their jurisdiction.
Sometimes the medias shallow but tangible goal of earning the maximum TRP influences its
news while its role as a watchdog is forgotten.
Nonetheless, the media has the power to shape peoples opinion. With this power, they are more
accountable to increasing the quality of governance. Thus, it becomes even more important for
the media to look into the criticisms its received and make the changes required. It is essential to
have a watchdog that is sincere and loyal to its true owners (the citizens).
Possibly we are looking forward to a day where the media (aka fourth pillar of our democracy)
will have a lot of power over the decisions being taken by the parliament since media at the end
represents majority of us.

India's Foreign policy

An Overview
India with the seventh largest military expenditure, third largest by way of purchasing power, the
ninth largest economy in the world, not to mention the most populous democracy in the world has
a working relationship with most of the countries. India has collaborated with several nations
globally and its growing international influence gives it a prominent voice globally.
Besides the Non-Aligned Movement [1961], India has been one of the founding members of
several international organizations. Most prominently, the United Nations Organization, Asian
Development Bank [1966] and G20 Industrial Nations have benefitted from Indias association
with them. India has also played a prominent role in other international organizations
like International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organizations and East Asia Summit. India
has taken part in several United Nations Peace Keeping Missions and in 2007 was considered
the second-largest contributor of troops to the UNO. In the Asia specific region, India is part
of SAARC and BIMSTEC. India is currently seeking a permanent seat in the UN Security
Council which is dominated by the Big 5, the United States of America, Russia, China, United
Kingdom and France. The Group of four or G4 are the regional powers that stand the chance of
becoming the new permanent members of the Security Council and that include India, besides
Germany, Brazil and Japan. The G4 mutually supports each others bids to be part of the UNSC.
Indias foreign policy has evolved since the times of British Raj. Post independence India became
part of the Commonwealth of Nations and strongly supported the independence of other British

Colonies, especially the Indonesian National Revolution. During the Cold War India adopted a
policy of non-alignment and did not lean towards any power bloc. However, it developed close
ties with the Soviet Union and received much military support from it.
Indias conflicts with both Pakistan[65 and 71] and China[1962] and the growing cooperation by
US and China towards Pakistan led India to do a balancing act and sign the Indo-Soviet Treaty of
Friendship and Cooperation in the year 1971. The closeness with the Soviet Union cut Indias
acceptance both as a regional power and an international influence as its proximity with Moscow
meant going soft on the Soviet Unions occupation of Afghanistan. The end of the Cold War and
the coming down of the Berlin Wall demolished the core principles of non-alignment. With the
changing face of world dynamics and mounting international and domestic problems for India, it
was forced to rethink its strategy on its foreign policy as it set out to add dynamic dimensions to
it. The end of the bipolar world meant that India lost on its high moral ground of maintaining equidistance with the US and the Soviet Union and drawing developmental assistance both from the
West and the East.
The disintegration of the Soviet Union led India to engage US, Canada, France, Japan and
Germany in the 1990s. The Pakistan sponsored terrorism in Kashmir and the Kargil conflict of
2001 brought India diplomatic victory. Post the 9/11 attacks and the consequent War on Terror
brought about much information sharing and closer strategic ties between two of the worlds
greatest democracies--India and US. The surge in the Indian economy has led to doubling of
trade between India and United States and the Economic Union in the last five years.
Salman Khurshid, Indias Foreign Minister in his recent utterances has nuanced that India plays
a crucial link between the developed nations and the developing world. While India favourably
engages both Washington and Beijing, it is developing strong national and economic relations
with the G20 Nations. G20 is a group of 19 developing economies plus the European Union
[represented by their Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors]. Collectively, the Group
incorporates two-thirds of the worlds population and 80 percent of the world trade.
India has also forged strong strategic ties with Association of Southeast Asian Nations
[ASEAN], the Arab League, the African Union and Iran. Israel has emerged Indias second
largest military partner and the Indo-American Civil Nuclear Deal signed and implemented in the
year 2008 reflects a watershed moment in the Indo-US ties.
While Indias foreign policy reflects a centricity of well meaning relationship with neighbours,
commonality of historical and cultural aspects plays a crucial role as its central axis. With more
than twenty two million Indians working and living abroad, protecting their interests and welfare
remains an important feature of the nations foreign policy.
Indias strategic location, surging economy and a huge and vibrant diaspora has earned it more
allies than enemies.

The Interpretation of India Budget to a Common

Man!!!

Budget is always driven by the mandate of the needs of the political party in power; after all
populism decides the electoral fortunes. Being an election year, a lot could have been expected
like the budget in 2009 where loan waiver, NREGA and other populist schemes tilted the results
in favour of the ruling alliance. However, government has played safe this time focusing on deficit
and fiscal consolidation. In reality, economics should be the prime driver of the budget where the
guiding mantra should be fiscal prudence and economic rationalism. But, good economics and
good politics do not go hand in hand especially in a developing country like India where there are
huge social responsibilities like poverty, underperforming healthcare, large unemployed
population and below par public education system. Our human development Index (HDI) in terms
of literacy, per capita income and life expectancy is mired with problems with little improvement
in recent years; we are often compared to sub-Sahara African countries on these accounts.
Thus, it is important to see what Budget 2014 has to offer for a common man.
Under the umbrella of social responsibilities government offers huge subsidies to poor and
under-privileged section of the Indian population. Government has earmarked Rs 246,397 crore
for food, fertilizer and fuel subsidy. UPAs ambitious scheme National Food Security Act seeks to
cover almost 2/3 of the Indian population (75% rural and 50% urban) which could cost around Rs
115,000 Cr to the exchequer. Though there is intent but still much needs to be done to plug
leakages and siphoning of funds where much of the benefits do not reach the intended
beneficiaries. As per government estimates almost one-third of the benefits are siphoned in
education and healthcare where outlay is almost the same with major work left to the next
government.
To ensure outcome based budget, government had unveiled its ambitious Aadhaar project (12
digit number for Digital identification) in 2009 for Indian residents, where identification based on
biometrics and technology can ensure de-duplication and recipients being traced at each step of
subsidy-dispensing process. Already Aadhaar number has been issued to around 400 million
people which can dramatically enhance the inclusiveness of public services. Aadhaar enabled
bank account following KYC norms can ensure direct transfer of benefits to individual bank
accounts of the beneficiaries. Next level would be how to scale the benefits to all in other
services. Thus, Aadhaar is one of the most promising works done by the Indian government in
this term.
However, all these measures are not panacea to the ills in the system, common man is still
grappling with price rise, high inflation especially food inflation where uncertainty in monsoons,
dismal warehousing , lack of proper supply chain management and inadequate storage facilities
have worsened the problems. Subsidies are just little respite to poor Indians where 67% of their
household expenditures as per Economic survey goes into food and healthcare.
After the liberalization, the picture has changed for the middle class with higher growth prospects
and more employment opportunities. The upwardly mobile population employed in services
sector has something to cheer in this budget considering their number today has swelled almost
to 300 million (close to population of United States). Though there is no change in the income tax
rates, still there are some incentives in automobiles sector, telecom, defense personnel and
students with education loans. The beleaguered automobile industry got some relief in terms of
excise duties to offset the unprecedented negative growth last year. Excise tax on small cars,

scooters, motorcycles, trucks and buses reduced to 8% from 12%. On sports-utility vehicles the
excise tax was cut to 24% from 30% and on sedans and mid-size cars from 27% and 24% to
24% or 20%.
Cellphones and smartphones by foreign companies will cost more after Indias finance minister
restructured taxes on imported handsets, and allowed local companies to offset 6% or 1% of
input taxes on their handsets depending on how much of the phone is made in India. Nokia and
Samsung which have the manufacturing units in India may see the reduction in excise duty.
Teledensity of the country stands at around 75% with mobile subscribers around 900
million. Economic low cost smartphones are much in demand with internet penetration too
reaching around 15% of Indian Population. Cellphones are one of the largest items on Indias
import bill, after crude oil and gold. Cheap Indian mobile would only boost domestic production
and usher more FDI and thus more opportunities. Price of many consumer goods such as
keyboards, digital cameras, electric irons, MP3 player, scanners, vacuum cleaners, TVs,
refrigerators, printers, computers, hair dryers, dish washers etc will be lowered down. Thus
manufacturing sector is set to regain its lost momentum of growth.
In the education sector, Students who took a loan for their studies before March 31, 2009 and
had interest owed on it up to Dec. 31, 2013 will be cheering Finance Ministers decision to
impose a moratorium on the payment of interest on those loans. The move is expected to
benefit nearly 900,000 students as the government has allocated funds to the tune of 26 billion
rupees ($419 million) to cover the interest on the loans.
Government raised the countrys defense budget for the next fiscal year by 10% defying
expectations along with major move one-rank one pension, a long-standing demand among
the defense services to ensure that retirees receive a pension to match the rank at which they
retired regardless of when they leave the forces. The pension decision will affect the over one
million people in the countrys military.
Overall Budget seems to be middle class friendly and restricted to the buyers of SUV and
automobiles, student with education loans, retired defense personnel and manufacturing
sector. But there is no respite to the problems of a poor man. Rising cost of vegetables, fruits
and other food items is still a problem. May be the next budget later this year with new
government can come up with renewed hope to accelerate the economy and meet the ex
Why are good politics and good economy misaligned?

What are the problems of Indian Human Development Index?

How has National Food Security Act and Aadhar project contributed so far?

Which economic reforms have changed the picture of Indian middle class?

How would one-rank one pension promote defense sector?

pectations of the citizenry.

Indias Relations with the EU

Relations between the European Union and India date way back to the 1960s. India officially
signed bilateral agreements with the EU in 1973 (once the United Kingdom joined), and was one
of the first countries to do so. These relations moved from a basic trade and development
agreement to overall cooperation, as laid down by the Cooperation Agreement signed in 1994.
This shift in the relations has led to various dialogues in the areas of politics, industry, security,
and ofcourse, trade. India and the EU have annual summits the latest one was held in Brussels
in 2013 where such topics are discussed and joint policy statements are then released for the
general public.
In 2004, Indias relations with the EU were upgraded to a Strategic Partnership keeping in mind
both partners wishes to cooperate on international issues in the face of ever-spreading
globalization. The EU-India Joint Action Plan (JAP) was formed in the 2005 Summit (and then
revised in 2008) this enlisted common objectives and defined cooperation measures in the
fields of politics, economics and development. Negotiations and talks related to the Fair Trade
Agreement are going on till this date. Joint Declarations over the years have focused on diverse
topics such as international terrorism, science, education and the like.
Ever since the Lisbon Treaty came into existence in 2007, EU and India have made significant
strides in the political and economic dimension, with several measures in the fields of counterterrorism, cyber security, counter-piracy, disarmament and non-proliferation being underway
and/or under discussion. This has led to increased dialogue about foreign policy and subsequent
cooperation between the two partners. The EU-India Human Rights Dialogue, which is held
locally in India every year, deals with human rights issues and partnership between EU and India
on the same. Issues that have been discussed include(but are not limited to) minority (and Dalit)
rights, death penalty, communal violence, womens rights, decent work, and human rights
activism.
EU accounts for 20% of Indias total trade, thus becoming Indias largest trade partner. However,
India accounts for only 1.8% of EUs trade and only 0.3% of European Foreign Direct Investment.
It still forms Indias largest source of Foreign Direct Investment, though. From 25.6 billion euros
in 2000 to 55.6 billion euros in 2007, trade between the two partners has more than doubled and
is predicted to increase even more. An understanding to reach an annual bilateral trade turnover
of 100 billion euros has been reached by India and EU. India is the eight largest trading partner
of the EU, behind Russia and China, according to a report that came out in 2010.
As interactions between the two partners increase in all spheres, one can only predict a greater
sense of closeness and increased cooperation in the coming years.

Indias Relations with the US

Historically, Indo-US relations have not been very close owing to Indias lead role in the Non
Alignment Movement. In fact, India had always been perceived to be closer to USSR, leaning on
it for military spares and other resources. The US, on the other hand, has traditionally been
closer to Pakistan to have a strategic base for Afghanistan, and to counter the USSR influence
on India.
After the Cold War ended, India, however, developed relations with NATO members, especially
France, Germany and Canada. Indias relationship with the US also flowered mostly as a result
of the fact that both countries are strong, populous democracies that have strategic and
economic importance in the world. In the year 1991, India also opened up its economy to the
world; it was the start of the Liberalization Privatization Globalization (LPG) age and Business
Process Outsourcing (BPO) to India especially from countries like the US increased multifold.
In 1998, as India tested its nuclear weapons in Pokhran, sanctions were imposed on trade by the
US, Japan and several European countries. The sanctions imposed by Bill Clinton under the
1994 US Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Act seemed serious, at least at first. The US protested
any international financial institution loans to non-development projects in India. The situation
was not helped by the then-Defence Minister supporting the tests by citing possible nuclear
threat from China. The US urged India to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). India
has thus far signed neither the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), nor the CTBT as it believes that
these favour the use and ownership of nuclear weapons by the five declared nuclear countries of
the world. In fact, before the Pokhran-II tests, India was all for systematic and gradual destruction
of all nuclear weapons owned by any country in the world a move that was not favoured by the
US and other European countries. However, most of these sanctions were lifted by 2001. India
has since categorically stated that it believes in the no first use of nuclear weapons policy and
believed in credible nuclear deterrence.
Relations with the US have improved since, with the latter signing the Indo-US Nuclear Pact on
cooperation in the civilian nuclear field with India in 2006, despite the former not being a part of
the Non-Proliferation Treaty. India agreed to separate its military and civilian nuclear
programmes and the latter would be brought under the guidance of the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA). The United States would, in turn, sell India the nuclear supplies, reactors
and fuel required to set up these civilian programmes. This deal required a special exemption
from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and an amendment of the US Law, apart from
overcoming several disturbances and disruptions in the Indian parliament, in order to become a
reality. The major finding from the US pursuing this deal with such fervour is the fact that the US
has finally realized that urging India to roll back its nuclear weapon arsenal is fruitless. Instead, it
has realized Indias strategic and geographic importance and is now aiming to use Indias
resources for its broader objectives of non-proliferation and counter-proliferation.
While Indo-Us relations have never been better with Barack Obama declaring in his address to
the Indian Parliament that the US would back Indias bid for a permanent seat in the UN Security
Council the present seems a little uncertain. The recent incident with Indian diplomat Devyani
Khobragade being allegedly manhandled and arrested for a matter of human trafficking and the
subsequent tit-for-tat rebuttal by the Indian government leaves relations a little unclear. While the
diplomat is back in India, the US is refusing to let the charges go.

It remains to be seen how exactly the two countries handle this standoff.

India's Foreign Relations with China, Pakistan & Sri

Lanka
Indias Relations with its Neighbours

Following the breakdown of the USSR and the resultant end of the Cold War, India began the
practicing theLook East Policy. Under this, it renewed relations with its South East Asian
neighbours and realized the strategic and economic importance it held in the area. Below are
discussed Indias relations with a few of its neighbours.
China
Perhaps the most important neighbour India has in terms of political boundaries as well as
competition in the economic sphere is China. While the 1962 Sino-Indian war created mistrust
between the two countries, and several trespassing incidents along Aksai Chin and Arunachal
Pradesh have led to tensions, Indias relationship with China has gradually and steadily been
improving. A number of high profile visits have helped improve the equation. In 1996, then-PRC
President Jian Zeming visited India while touring South Asia and signed a number of confidencebuilding measures relating to political and geographical boundaries. There was a setback in the
1998 as India tested its nuclear weapons and the then-Defence Minister of India justified these
tests giving apparent threats from China as a reason. However, this setback was minor as in
1999, during the Kargil crisis, Indias former Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh visited China and
said that China did not pose a threat. As soon as 2001, relations were on a mend. So much so,
that both countries handled the shift of the 17th Karmapa from Tibet to India with considerable
care and tact. In 2003, India recognized Tibet as a part of China and in return, China recognized
Sikkim as a part of India in 2004. Things have been on the rise not only in terms of friendly
relations, but also in terms of trade, since then. China became Indias single largest trading
partner in 2007 with Sino-Indian trade reaching US$ 36 billion. In a recent visit to India, Wen
Jibao made a pact with his Indian counterpart to increase this figure to US$ 100 billion. Both
countries are also in competition with each other, however, in Africa as they are both the biggest
Asian investors and compete for access to resources.

Pakistan
Relations with Pakistan are debatably the biggest source of tension to the Indian government,
out of all of Indias neighbours. This is an area with a lot of literal and metamorphical rocky
territory as centuries of joint history tie the two nations together. In 1998, Indias Pokhran-II tests
and Pakistans Chagai-I tests were symbolic of both countries flexing their muscles. The Lahore
Declaration in February 1999 briefly improved relations or at least it seemed so. A few months
later, Pakistan infiltrated Kashmir and this led to aggravation in the Kargil conflict as Indias
troops flushed out the militants. Though a war was avoided, Pakistan has always been dealt with

caution since the incident. Relations reached a new low in December 1999 as Pakistani
involvement in the attack on Indian Airlines flight IC814 was unearthed. Even peace measures
such as the Agra Summit in 2001 failed, as Pakistani involvement in the attack on the Indian
Parliament was suspected in December 2001. Although Pakistan denied this allegation and
condemned the attack, tensions escalated with the possibility of nuclear weapons being used
rife. This was successfully avoided with the initiation of a peace process that started in 2003. As
a part of this process, the Delhi-Lahore Bus Service and the Samjhauta Express were started
and led to an increase in contact between people in both the countries. Other Confidence
Building Measures (CBMs) were the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad Bus Service (2005) and the opening
of trade alone historic routes along the Line of Control (2008). After the Kashmir Earthquake of
2005, the Indian government had sent aid to affected areas in Pakistan, as well. After the
Mumbai attacks of 2008, however, mistrust has set in again as the Pakistani government is
allegedly being difficult in providing justice. Trade figures between the two countries surged 21%
last year to U$ 2.4 billion.

Sri Lanka
The two countries are separated only by the Palk Straight. Relations between the two have
always been good, disturbed only by Sri Lankas Civil War, Indias unwillingness to help and
Indias alleged support for the Liberation Tigers Tamil Eelam (LTTE). However, India remains of
utmost importance in Sri Lankas foreign policy. This is adequately shown in the increase in ties
between the two countries that are supported by both political parties in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has
also supported Indias candidature as a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

The Map that Democracy drew...

Elections & Democracy
At the stroke of midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A
moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new,
when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance.
Jahawar Lal Nehru, Tyrst with Destiny
India, the largest democracy in the world, witnessed its first-ever election in 1952 where countrys
first Chief Election Commissioner Sukumar Sen supervised the challenge of colossal proportions,
with 4500 seats about 500 Parliament and the rest provincial assemblies. 224,000 polling
booths, equipped 2 million ballot boxes with 56,000 presiding officers and 224,000 policemen to
guard against violence and intimidation. Throughout 1951, the Election Commission used the
media of film and radio to educate the public about this novel exercise in democracy.
In the past 64 years, India has seen magnanimous rate of growth; from 176 million voters in 1947
to 814 million voters in 2014. Today, the electoral exercise is even bigger in proportion and

grander with technology and system in place. And this only works to remind us the success of
electoral democracy in India, today we are more democratic than ever and idea of democracy is
more deeply etched among the citizens of the nation. From the past few months, the Lok Sabha
elections 2014 are hogging the limelight with poll predictions, analysis and election outcome. The
largest ritual of the democracy has been renewed with political consciousness, hope and
aspirations, these elections might set the pace for future generations.
Founding fathers of the Independent India envisioned political freedom for all and India adopted
multi-party system to address the needs of the diverse nation of the country. Indias diversity and
composite culture in terms of language, region and religion was unique and in spite of the
differences, the entire country was practically ruled by Congress at the centre and in the states
till 1967, when with the advent of regional parties like Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in
Tamilnadu, etc, power was distributed. The Telugu Desam Party (TDM) in Andhra Pradesh was
found mainly due to self respect movement, Telugu pride, regional sentiments, lack of redressel
of regional grievances and centralization of power by subsequent governments. Period of 70s
were tumultuous in Indian Political history, it was during this time that Prime Ministers
centralization of powers , misuse of constitutional provisions, infringement with the constitution
and further promulgation of emergency not only questioned the legitimacy of the government
but also created a phase of uncertainty, thus, eroding the faith of public at large, in the
democratic setup.
The phase of Emergency is considered as a blot on democracy, against the will of the
sovereignty and fundamental rights of the citizens. However, democracy and faith in institutions
resounded back when the ruling party was voted out of power after the emergency. This phase
also witnessed rise of caste assertions in form caste politics mainly in states like Bihar and Uttar
Pradesh where votes were cast in the name of caste, soon after the Mandal and the Mandir
movement. Defragmentation of Indian Polity on caste and religious lines created social fissures
weakening the secular fabric of the nation. Indian Political system was also engulfed with
corruption and criminalization of politics where the winning ability became the guiding mantra and
voters were swayed under the complex web of money, muscle power along with primordial
affiliations in form of caste, region, language and religion. The backward caste movement,
womens movement and rise of regional politics indubitably strengthened the Indian democratic
setup where political freedom created scope for bargaining and deepening of democracy.
After globalization, came the phase of coalition era, mainly due to prominence of regional parties
and decline in the influence of national parties. Initially there was confrontational attitude among
parties forming the governments which later changed to co-operative coalition based on
ideologies and political compulsions to provide stable governments at the centre. It only
emphasized the acceptance on the basis on mutual consensus and compromise.
Past decade in Lok Sabha was driven by coalition of Congress party i.e. United Progressive
Alliance (UPA), this phase proved to be mired with alleged corruption, policy paralysis, jobless
growth and price rise and governance deficit. Lok Sabha elections in 2004 was based on
common man and government initiated many welfare and populist schemes for the people, the
UPA government came back in power in 2009 on basis of populist schemes again. However, this
phase of past 5 years is known for its inefficiencies, corruption, scams and policy paralysis. It

also saw heightened political consciousness due to Jan Lokpal movement with participation of
youth, upwardly mobile middle class and surge in patriotic spirit to cleanse the system. Todays
voters are more assertive and seek development and good governance.
In a country where 70% of the population is under the age of 35, elections are the only hope for
their future. Lok Sabha elections 2014 is the election of hope and aspiration, the present
demographic dividend wants more opportunities, jobs and better quality of life. The voting
percentage in Lok
Sabha elections 2014 is expected to rise by almost 10% from previous Lok Sabha election in
2009; this signifies a quantum shift in the mood of the voters, their expectations and sense of
duty towards the nation. Democracy is strengthened only when voters have faith in the electoral
process and then seek real accountability from their political representatives. The writing is there
on the wall and it definitely is going to set the momentum where elections will be above
individuals social group and primordial affiliations and in future, only the nations interest will
drive the electoral outcome.

The Food Security Bill

Food Security Bill
Despite many efforts, food insecurity the lack of availability, accessibility and affordability
remains a formidable challenge for India. The National Food Security Bill (NFSB) is a step
towards changing this for the better.
The objective of the Bill is to provide for food and nutritional security in human life cycle
approach, by ensuring access to adequate quantity of quality food at affordable prices to people
to live a life with dignity. As a result of this, persons belonging to priority households and general
households are legally entitled to receive food grains (wheat, rice and millets) at a subsidized
price through the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS). This entitlement is available for up
to 75% of Indias rural population and up to 50% of Indias urban population. Furthermore, to
make things simpler, this Bill brings various existent food security schemes under one umbrella.
Now, there are some obvious advantages to this Bill. As mentioned above, India has an acute
food insecurity problem. Despite being an agrarian economy and having a considerably sized
buffer stock, we have not been able to correct this issue, so far. The government says that this
bill will help mitigate and ultimately eliminate food insecurity by getting rid of the food grains that
are currently in storage and are, thus, going to waste.
Opponents of the Bill, however, claim that the Bill will do more harm than good. Since the Public
Distribution System is to be used, the existing infrastructural difficulties being faced by the
system will hinder the implementation. Another worry is that families were entitled to 35kgs of
grains earlier as opposed to a family of four now getting 20kgs.
The major bone of contention is their belief that the NFSB will lead to an increase in Indias Fiscal
Deficit. This is countered by comparing Indias expenditure on food security related measures to
that of other lower middle income countries in Asia. In data released by The Asia Development

Bank, it has been found out that the average relevant expenditure of a lower middle income
country in Asia is around 3.4% of GDP while Indias is merely half of that at 1.7% of GDP.
It is said that this Bill is nothing but a populist measure undertaken by a government scrambling
to get its act together. The fear is that such a Bill and the way it was passed reform by stealth,
as it is termed by some will spell disaster for the Sensex and send wrong signals to the world
about the Indian economy.
The above view has led to prominent political analyst and former media advisor to Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh, Harish Khare, writing a biting article in The Hindu titled This Perverse Rage
Against The Poor in which he talks about the governments priorities. He elaborates on the fact
that India, being a socialist country, needs to take the poor under its wing and any measure to do
the same should be encouraged. He argues that capitalist sentiment has led us to become an
elitist society that worries more about the impression foreign investors have of us than we do
about the welfare of our own citizens.
All said and done, a Bill is only as good as its implementation. The issues and constraints need
to be worked out so as to ensure a smooth functioning of this bill. It is yet to be seen how this will
pan out. All we can do is wait and watch!

Demographic Dividend of India

Demographic Dividend is defined as that period in the demographic transition of a country when
the majority proportion of people is young. This period usually lasts 20-30 years. Since most of
the population belongs to the working age group in this period, there is a lower dependency ratio
and, as a result, higher economic growth.
Economists identify four mechanisms for high growth when a country is in this phase. First, there
is higher labour supply, as a result of more people in the working age group. Second, there
are increased savings, as there are fewer dependents and more earning members of the
society. Third, there is better and healthier human capital, as extra savings and income are
used to improve nutritional status and provide better healthcare to members of the family. Fourth,
there is increasing domestic demand, as a result of the combination of a higher Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) per capita and a lower dependency ratio.
India is currently in a position where it derives benefits from the Demographic Dividend period.
This period is expected to last till 2045, approximately. Currently, a third of Indias population is
below the age of 15 years. This is particularly advantageous for us as we are entering this phase
when China is exiting it, according to Mr.BikramSen, former Indian Census Board Director. Thus,
this period can prove to be one of great economic growth and development for India.
However, the Indian population is plagued with certain problems that make it difficult to derive
maximum benefits from this period. One such problem is the skewed sex ratio. According to the
2011 Census, there are 933 females for every 1000 males in our country. This is only a slight
improvement from the 1991 Census which indicated that there were 921 females for every 100
males. There are number of reasons for this alarming phenomenon, debatably the most
important of which are the practices of sex-selective abortion and female infanticide that are

prevalent in the country as a result of a strong son preference among many families. Moreover,
there is a high Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) of 301 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births.
This indicates that every seven minutes, a mother dies while giving birth! Early marriage,
repeated births, poor nutrition, inadequate or unhygienic birth conditions are some of the issues
that contribute to a high MMR. Not only do these affect the mother, but also her child. Studies
have shown that a child who has lost his mother is ten times more likely to die than the ones
with both parents alive.
Another problem that India faces is a high Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) of 60 deaths for every
1000 live births. While this is close to the world average, it is still in the unacceptable range. Also,
this rate is not uniform across India there are states like Kerala with figures as low as 40 deaths
per 1000 live births, states like Tamil Nadu and Punjab with figures below 50 deaths per 1000
live births, and states like Orissa with figures such as 96 deaths per 1000 live births. Enrolment
in Schools is another problem. Further, of these 100 children who are enrolled, 70 children drop
out by the time they reach secondary school. We are the country with the highest number of
child labourers. We also have the unfortunate privilege of being the country with the highest
incidence of child sexual abuse as high as 53% of children have been sexually abused at
some point.
Statistics show that 0.9% of our population suffers from HIV/AIDS. While this may seem like a
small proportion, it translates into huge numbers thanks to our large, ever-growing population.
However, NACO suggests that this rate has been slowing down, in recent times. More than the
disease itself that can be controlled to some extent by modern medicine, the social stigma
attached with HIV/AIDS is what needs to be corrected.
The government has already undertaken a number of measures to spread awareness about and
curb the various issues discussed above.