Election

Suspension of recognition of National People’s Party under para 16A of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order 1968.

Exercising power under para 16A of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order 1968 the Election Commission of India has suspended the recognition of the National People’s Party, a recognized state party in Meghalaya due to its failure in filing the election expenditure statement of the party. 

In pursuance of the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s judgement in the case of Common Cause Vs Union of India and others (AIR-1996 SC 3081), the ECI had earlier issued instructions to all political parties, to file their election expenditure statement within 75 days of assembly general elections and 90 days of Lok Sabha general elections. The general election to Lok Sabha, 2014 and elections to the Legislative Assemblies of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim, 2014 was completed on 28th May, 2014 and as per the Commission’s instructions, the political parties were required to submit their election expenditure statements in connection with the above elections by 26th August, 2014.

The Commission had issued two reminders to the National People’s Party to submit the required statement for Lok Sabha election 2014 after the due date had long expired, on 26th August 2014.

Finally, the Election Commission issued a notice on 17th March 2015 to the party to showcause as to why action should not be taken under para 16A of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment ) Order 1968 for failure to follow the lawful directions and instructions of the Commission;

On receipt of the Notice, the National People’s Party had requested time to submit its expenditure statement by 15th April 2015 and again for time up to by 15 May 2015 but failed to honor the deadline and did not file the expenditure statement of the party.

It may be mentioned that it is the first case that recognition of a party has been suspended by the Commission under Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order 1968, for its failure to follow the Lawful directions of the Commission.

Election Commission of India

New Delhi :16th June,2015

Fight against hunger too slow and uneven

The Millennium Development Goal of halving the proportion of chronically undernourished people in developing countries by 2015 is within reach. But progress must accelerate by the end of this year

Almost 800 million people, or one in nine in the world, continue to suffer from hunger. The number of hungry people has declined globally by more than 167 million over the last decade, and by more than 200 million since 1991; 780 million of the chronically hungry are in developing countries, where their share has declined from 23.4 per cent in 1991 to just under 13.0 per cent at the end of 2014.

Thus, according to the latest State of Food Insecurity in the World (SOFI 2015) report, the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving the proportion of chronically undernourished people in developing countries by 2015 is within reach, but only if progress accelerates sufficiently by the end of this year.

Progress too slow

At the 1996 World Food Summit (WFS), heads of government and the international community committed to reducing the number of hungry people in the world by half. Five years later, the MDGs lowered the level of ambition by seeking to halve the proportion of the chronically undernourished.

By the end of 2014, 72 developing countries had reached the MDG Goal 1 target. Of these, 29 have also achieved the more ambitious WFS goal. However, the number of hungry people in the world has only declined by a fifth from the billion estimated for 1991.

…and uneven

Overall progress has been highly uneven. Some countries and regions have seen only slow progress in reducing hunger, while the number of hungry has even increased in several cases.

In sub-Saharan Africa, more than one in four people remains chronically hungry, while Asia, the world’s most populous continent by far, is also home to over half a billion hungry people. Meanwhile, Latin America, the Caribbean, East and Southeast Asia have significantly reduced both the share and the number of undernourished. Most countries have reached the MDG target. West Asia and Central Africa have seen a rise in the share of the hungry compared to 1991, while progress in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Oceania has not been sufficient to meet the MDG hunger target by 2015.

Lessons from experience

While there is no one-size-fits-all solution for how to improve food security, SOFI 2015 identifies several factors that have played a critical role in achieving the hunger target.

Growth needs to be inclusive to reduce poverty and hunger. Access to food has improved rapidly and significantly in countries that have experienced inclusive economic growth, notably in East and South-East Asia. Better performers in Africa met the MDG hunger target while those that made slow progress did not.

Raising the productivity of family farmers can be an effective way out of poverty and hunger by increasing net incomes and in town investments for further improvements. improved agricultural productivity, especially by small holder family farmers and incomes, leads to poverty and hunger reduction.

Economic growth is usually helpful as it can expand the fiscal revenue base, including to finance social transfers and other assistance programmes. In Latin America and South Asia, social protection has made the difference, especially for the rural poor, who comprise 78 per cent of the poor globally.

The expansion of social protection — cash transfers to vulnerable households, food vouchers, health insurance or school meal programmes — correlates strongly with progress in hunger reduction. Besides the direct impact on relieving hunger and poverty, social protection can enable those with fewer assets to boost their incomes, and invest more, thus enhancing their resilience.

SOFI 2015 estimates that some 150 million people worldwide have escaped extreme poverty thanks to social protection. However, more than two-thirds of the world’s poor still do not have access to regular social support. Transfers help households manage risk and mitigate shocks that would otherwise trap them in poverty and hunger.

With the number of undernourished people remaining “unacceptably high”, the need to strengthen the political commitment to eliminate hunger cannot be overemphasised. The pledges of the Community of Latin America and the Caribbean at its 2013 summit and of the 2014 African Union summit to end hunger in their respective continents by 2025 are very encouraging. In 2015, the governments of the world are expected to strengthen financing for development, commit to the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals and ensure the needed collective action to address global warming. SOFA 2015 is a timely reminder of the enduring legacy of needless hunger and poverty which we must eliminate by 2030.

(Jomo Kwame Sundaram is the Coordinator for Economic and Social Development at the Food and Agriculture Organization and received the 2007 Wassily Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought.)

Bills that don’t match promises

The various pieces of legislation the government is contemplating give lie to its claims of being anti-corruption and pro-poor.

In the recently concluded session of Parliament, while some important Bills got passed, others had to be sent to parliamentary committees for further scrutiny.Some of the delayed Bills were termed as ‘game changers’ and the stock market indices reacted negatively. The Bills were passed in the Lok Sabha but were stalled in the Rajya Sabha since the government did not have the numbers. Politics played an important role in all this but there are genuine reasons why a reconsideration of the stalled Bills may be beneficial for the country.

A paper tiger

Let us start with the so-called “Black Money Bill” passed with ease in both Houses of Parliament. No party wanted to be seen opposing it given the prevalent anti-corruption climate in the country. Since the Bill seeks to bring back illegally stashed wealth from abroad, opposing it would have appeared to be anti-national. It also passed easily because most realise that it will do little to bring back the ‘treasure’! The views of the high-profile activists from within the ranks of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Ram Jethmalani and Subramanian Swamy, make it clear that the Bill is a paper tiger.

It provides for stringent punishment of those Indians who hold undisclosed wealth and/or earn undisclosed incomes abroad. Excluded from its purview are Non-Resident Indians (NRI) who are genuine holders of wealth abroad and can earn incomes there. They are not obliged to declare their assets or incomes to Indian authorities. So, Indians who are moneyed, work out an arrangement with NRIs to hold their wealth and show their incomes through legal arrangements.

Further, the provisions of the Bill will be applicable only if the government is able to detect incomes and wealth held abroad. The Bill has no mechanism for doing so. Hence, the draconian punishment — a jail term and 300 per cent fine — can hardly be implemented. An amnesty scheme is being offered to come clean. There will be no punishment if one discloses the assets and incomes abroad in the specified period and pays the taxes within six months. Thus, the inexperienced ones who had held illegal wealth abroad in their own names and earned incomes on them would have a chance to come clean. The HSBC list revealed that some Indians who did take out funds in their own names have now got caught. The ‘experienced’ ones would not have made the mistake of holding funds in their own names.

The process of “layering” has been available for a long time. It hides a person’s identity by using shell companies in tax havens to transfer funds. It is no surprise then that the Swiss government revealed that Indians hold only Rs.14,000 crore in Swiss banks. This is mostly legitimate money, of Indians, and in their own names. The black wealth of most ‘experienced’ Indians would be parked there via shell companies in tax havens and hence not be counted as Indian money. The largest amount of money in Swiss banks belongs to the British since they own the largest number of tax havens.

The loophole of amnesty

The Bill contains no mechanism to identify funds going out or being held abroad. The government argues repeatedly that it will get information via the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) or Tax Information Exchange (TIE) agreement with a number of governments. However, these agreements have been in place for more than two decades; it is ironic that under them, there has been no information on black wealth holders. Further, these agreements are about the declared incomes of individuals and not about their undisclosed wealth or incomes. Hence, this argument does not hold water.

The Bill does hold out a threat that if anyone is caught, the penalties will be harsher than for those with black wealth detected in India. There may be a deterrent effect but since the brief of clever lawyers, chartered accountants and bankers is to devise ways to hide incomes, it can only be a losing battle. Thus, the most significant aspect of the Bill is the amnesty to those to come clean who may have made the mistake in the past of putting money in their own names. It is no wonder then that the Bill was passed in Parliament.

A blow against corruption

Then, there is the Whistleblowers Bill, crucial in exposing rampant corruption in the country. While it is difficult for people outside to unearth corruption in institutions, insiders are often in the know and can reveal its extent provided they have protection under the act. But the amendments proposed will make action on complaints by whistle-blowers more difficult, and they can face prosecution. Together, both these will dissuade people with information from coming forward to expose wrongdoing. Is this the intention of the government? Corruption works to the disadvantage of the vast majority of Indians and if the amendments to the Whistleblowers Bill are passed, they will be the sufferers.

Affecting the small sector

The introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the country is being promoted as the biggest tax reform in India and a game changer. It is supposed to provide a seamless unified market for business, raise GDP growth by 1 per cent, tax-GDP ratio by 2 per cent, reduce the cost of indigenous goods by around 10 per cent and lead to the consolidation of manufacturing to reap economies of scale. However, the Bill proposing the constitution amendment to enable the implementation of this reform has been sent to a parliamentary committee, thus delaying its implementation. The United Progressive Alliance, which introduced this idea, has now backtracked since it does not wish to give the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) an advantage. Opposing it on genuine grounds are the manufacturing States that are worried about loss of revenue.

However, the real problem with GST in India is not being addressed by any of the political parties. India has a large, unorganised sector employing 93 per cent of the workforce. The small and tiny units under it produce locally and sell locally. The unified market sought to be created is of little help to them. Actually, they will lose as large-scale production gains. This will slow down employment generation and aggravate underemployment and distress in the farm sector. Excess labour in farming typically gets absorbed in the unorganised sector; if that sector declines, rural distress can only increase.

The small-scale sector that would be outside the GST net would not be able to sell to the large-scale sector because it would not have receipts for payment of Value Added Tax. Further, the unorganised sector cannot afford computerisation of accounts to calculate the value addition and pay tax on it. That is why it is kept outside the GST, but that would now be to its disadvantage.

Finally, there are contradictions in the argument being made for GST. The tax-GDP ratio can only rise if more tax is collected but then prices will rise leading to a slowdown in demand so that GDP growth rate cannot rise as claimed. Further, if the GST tax rate is not raised to the revenue neutral rate (RNR), then tax collection will fall and the tax-GDP ratio cannot rise. Thus, the macro-level story shows that either way, there is a contradiction in the government’s argument. It is for this reason that the States are right to worry about a potential loss of revenue. Clearly, GST is being introduced for the benefit of large businesses and would work against the interest of the small-scale sector and the majority in the country.

Marginalising the farmer

The Land Acquisition Bill is also to further the interests of big businesses and a part of creating the “ease of doing business”. In the process, the land owning-farming community is being sought to be marginalised. Farming is not just work but also a way of life and when the village community — with all its drawbacks — is broken up, then people are forced to give up a way of life. Many migrate to urban areas with few assets, to an alien and polluted slum environment and suffer a deterioration in their living conditions. Should these people not have the right to be consulted? In the past, excess land has been acquired cheap and has become an investment for big business.

In Gurgaon, land was acquired by big developers in the 1980s and developed for commercial and residential purposes rather than for essential purposes. The developers got advance information and acquired large parcels of land at a cheap rate in connivance with politicians. In fact, a Chief Minister got over a lakh acres of land notified for acquisition. But for the fall of the government this would have gone through at the expense of the farmers.

In brief, the Land Bill and the introduction of GST will further marginalise the already marginalised. The Black Money Bill and the proposed amendment to the Whistleblowers Bill will together make the task of unearthing black incomes in India or abroad more difficult, in turn adding to the difficulties of the common man. When the NDA came to power, the Finance Minister had argued that being pro-business is not being anti-poor, but the government’s actions seem to contradict that.

(Arun Kumar is the Sukhamoy Chakravarty Chair Professor at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University.)

MUDRA Bank

Microfinance industry is on the cusp of great change: Alok Prasad

Indian microfinance industry, which plunged into a crisis five years back, had made a turnaround in 2014-15. Its total loan portfolio year-on-year increased 61 per cent to Rs.40,138 crore during the year. As of March 31, 2015, it provided micro credit to 30.5 million borrowers, a growth of 29 per cent. The applications of 17 micro lenders seeking licences to operate small banks are under the consideration of RBI. Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) CEO, Alok Prasad, says in an e-mail interview to The Hindu that the industry is at the cusp of great change.   Excerpts:  

 What factors contributed to the steep growth of MFIs in 2014-15?

 The extremely rapid growth of the industry has to be seen in the broader context of the robust core demand for microfinance coupled with positive policy stance of the RBI and the Government. Within this big picture framework, the key drivers of growth have been the accelerated fund flows from banks and equity investors; the substantial scaling up of operations by a number of players; and, the geographical expansion of the industry to newer, less penetrated markets.          

What is the outlook for the industry in the current financial year?

 From the limited standpoint of the current fiscal, the outlook for the industry is pretty bullish. I believe the industry is at the cusp of great change. This change will play out over a 3-4 year time frame at the end of which we are likely to see a rather transformed sector. A good number of MFIs would have become ‘Small Finance Banks’; the Postal Bank would be in place; the BC model would have matured with many banks sharply increasing their direct exposure to microfinance clients. Even the way microfinance is defined would have changed to cover many more customer segments.

Another game changer would be the MUDRA Bank which, if things go as planned, would become a dominant driver of both fund flows and policy towards the microfinance sector.     

Have MFIs got out of the crisis they have faced in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana; If so, how? If not, when do you expect these issues to be resolved?

For the most part, the industry has moved on. The Andhra-based MFIs were financially stressed and a few could not deal with that. The worst sufferers of the crisis have been the low-income households of Andhra/Telengana. With the veritable exit of MFIs from the region, availability of micro-credit has dramatically reduced and money-lenders are doing well.          

 How many MFIs across the country so far transformed into NBFCs so far?

 Practically all significant MFIs today are NBFCs. Both in terms of gross loan portfolio (GLP) and number of clients the share of NBFC-MFIs is about 95 per cent of the industry total.   

What are regulatory problems MFIs are facing at present?

Over the past four years or so, for the NBFC-MFIs, the RBI has put in place a comprehensive and robust framework of regulations. The NGO-MFIs, of course, remain unregulated. A suitable law needs to be enacted for that purpose.    

What proactive measures the sector expects from the government to maintain its growth momentum?

 A stable and supportive policy environment is critical for sustained growth. With that, the industry can maintain its momentum. Another essential requirement is enhanced equity flows from domestic sources. For this, some Government support would be of value.          

As a self regulatory organisation, what aspects MFIN is currently looking into?

Responsible lending has to be the mantra for the industry. Very rapid growth can lead to process failures and overleveraging of vulnerable clients. The industry and MFIN as the SRO have to always be very watchful of what’s happening on the ground.

prashanthreddy.c@thehindu.co.in

Where are the engineers?

That only a third of IIT students go on to pursue technology is symptomatic of the deep crisis in engineering education today, and could be solved if practice is preferred to theory in the institutions.

A crisis, pundits on American television often say, is a terrible thing to waste. The recent unpleasantness following the de-recognition of the Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle by the Indian Institute of Technology administration is a case in point. That the administration found a graceful way to put an end to the impasse and come to some reconciliation with the small group of students involved is, of course, important. But it also gives us occasion to ponder over some bigger questions involving higher education in India.

The issues concerning greater inclusivity for long-marginalised groups and of freedom of speech on campus are important but most university administrators have found effective ways to resolve these problems through models such as affirmative action and diversity policies, gender and ethnic sensitivity training, modular learning programmes, remedial education and so on. Indian universities could adapt these to the local context. Periodic workshops and meetings of senior academic administrators could also help.

A broken engineering education

The bigger and perhaps far more serious predicament is that engineering education is completely broken. Ironically, this is because of the very success of the IITs and engineering colleges. One problem is that economic and public policy interpretations of the problem are inadequate to characterise it fully. Well-worn neo-Benthamite frameworks of interpretation, a resource efficiency study, for instance, might reveal poor teachers or infrastructure, but would miss fundamental insights from fields like culture studies and sociology.

Calling something a societal problem means that more is at stake than just an aggregate of individual ‘interests’ or ‘utilities’. Social scientists recognise that broad patterns of human interaction tend to coalesce into structured routines and maybe even have rules of their own, but that these are always situated in broader historically and spatially defined contexts. In engineering education, we see this in the mad rush for seats in the milieu of rising aspirations cutting across caste and class.

The race for a career

In the past two decades, young men (and rarely women) have been drawn in large numbers towards elite engineering colleges but they cannot simply be understood as autonomous souls drawn towards engineering as an academic discipline. Rather, there is a large set of other social influences pushing them — parents, peers and teachers but also the image of IIT graduates as smart, young, well-dressed professionals in high-paying careers. Most important, this rush has taken place in the context of great churning and economic opportunity, even as more than 95 per cent of the population struggles to find true forms of mobility. In my own case, my father, who had a degree in English literature and became a journalist and later a civil servant, was convinced that I, his only son, had to be educated in an IIT, which he termed a ‘passport’ to the good life. I did actually benefit from my IIT degree in aeronautical engineering, by using it to get advanced degrees in science and environmental policy, which again helped me gain entry into the humanities and social sciences.

For tens of thousands of IIT alumni, similar success stories are evident. But let us look at what happens to the entrants to the system. I categorise three broad sets of attitudes that students develop in IITs. First, there are those who are motivated by the prospect of the passport, largely having come from modest economic and social backgrounds. Earlier they used to have an eye on postgraduate education, primarily abroad, with the hope of securing corporate or academic positions. Today, with the global corporate market demanding IIT talent, students often skip further education. Indeed, the proportion of undergraduates from IITs doing their PhDs has diminished dramatically in recent decades.

The second group is characterised by a deep despondency of some sort, even with outstanding job prospects. Many turn towards non-engineering vocations, ranging from the arts to politics and entrepreneurship, as Chetan Bhagat, Arvind Kejriwal and Mansur Khan have famously done.

It is the third group that is the real motivation for the IITs. This group has a direct interest in solving challenges of technology. They could be experimenters or entrepreneurs but are mostly trying to engage with the material sense in which the transformation of human society is an undertaking in itself. Examples here range from Vinod Khosla and Subra Suresh to numerous other technology leaders across the world.

In all groups, however, students seem to experience many forms of alienation that could spiral into crises where one is forced to take a position unexpectedly. To the extent that IITs are also prone, like every other institution today in India, to asking socially relevant questions around gender, caste, and elite privilege and corruption, politics is always already within its midst. If it has been muted, it was only because of a self-fashioning by its members that the discourse could be ‘apolitical’, itself a doomed venture.

What’s the solution?

The fact that only a third of graduating IIT students fulfil the original vision of IITs to create ‘temples’ or true workshops of technology should give us pause. What does it mean that most of the engineering students today do not seek to work on real-world engineering problems?

Several of my colleagues in the Humanities and Social Sciences, increasingly seen as an oasis for engineering students but also as a threat by many, are routinely solicited for advice, to find options to exit their pre-organised trajectories. Most students are like unwilling recruits in the army, forced to do time, but seeking space to explore other interests. That the APSC issue was read by many as reinforcing the institute’s disciplinary authority, as if it were an extension of cheating, for instance, raised tensions and voices. What, then, should be done about IITs?

First, phase out the undergraduate BTech programme and replace it with a five-year engineering curriculum, but with roughly 50 per cent of time devoted to technology development as an end in itself. The reasons for doing so are many. Primarily, IIT education reinforces elite engineering status by emphasising theory and equations over practice. I learnt a lot of high-level mathematics before I came face-to-face with a real aircraft, where the equations I had studied seemed distant. But what one really needs to build skills and understanding is a greater emphasis on real-world technologies and their operations in relation to economy and society. This is not happening, except in some excellent initiatives such as the Centre for Innovation in IIT Madras. By preferring mathematical puzzle-solving over manual skills, the present system subtly reproduces prejudices in many Indian communities and accentuates certain routines of privilege, both within the student community and occasionally in faculty hiring and promotions. Even the entry into IITs should be based on problem-solving ability as well as demonstrated aptitude for materially engaging with tools and technologies.

Second, turn IITs into nodes that actively foster ‘living laboratories’ across India. If this were a part of a new national mission, each IIT would be expected to build communities of practice within its neighbourhood by drawing on all existing segments of local entrepreneurship, and India has outstanding models. Such relationships should be open-ended and truly experimental if even a few are to succeed.

Third, the Ministry of Human Resource Development should continue to stay at arm’s length from the IITs and indeed all higher education institutions in general. This does not imply privatising them, which would increase fees and further stratify education. Rather, such institutions should be encouraged to experiment with forms of curricula that are expansive rather than particular, and require them to take responsibility for building a collective, inclusive platform for higher education, while providing the resources, both economic and otherwise.

The bottled-up tensions that emerged in the recent IIT Madras crisis are symptoms of a larger, deeper crisis in which all of us are implicated. It is time to recognise these signs and find sustainable solutions.

(Sudhir Chella Rajan is a faculty member of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Madras. The views here are his own. Email: scrajan@iitm.ac.in.)

When marriage is less than sacred

By appropriating female consent in sexual matters, misogyny denies women the right to stand up to sexual abuse from violent husbands.

In April, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary said marriage in India is a sacrosanct institution. The concept of marital rape is not suitable in the Indian context, he said, due to illiteracy, poverty, social customs, values, religious beliefs, and other factors.

Many years ago, when I was travelling in rural north India on a research trip, I encountered some women in a village, who asked me if I was married. I said I was not. After giving me warnings about finding a “good boy” before it was too late, the women started joking about their men. And in an uncharacteristic move, they began to discuss their very first sexual encounters. I was shocked, not by the unexpectedly liberated manner of these women, but by the acts that they described on their wedding night, where their husbands had pounced on them in hormone and alcohol-fuelled frenzies. Their initiation into conjugal life was through an act that can only be described as rape.

They did not know the word for rape, but from what they described, they hated the encounter, which turned into a lifelong abhorrence for their husbands. At least one woman said that she had tried to lock the door the next night. You may be compelled to dismiss the argument saying, “but they were married” — much like some of our current politicians.

Appropriating consent

However, what I realised is that these women in ghoonghats had no desire for their men; they did not love them and hated the idea of intercourse. When we discuss marital rape and whether women need to be protected from it, we need to think about one key issue — women’s consent and its relationship to misogyny. Misogyny is a special type of hatred for women, much like racism, where a person believes that women deserve to be treated in particularly demeaning, hateful ways; that they are inferior simply because they are women. Misogyny is the ideology that undergirds patriarchy, a system where men dominate in all spheres of life. Misogyny formulates for patriarchy an “other” over whom a man can express superiority, ritually and through open violence. Without this female other to suppress, patriarchy would not be a system.

Misogyny is insidious because it is also an ideology that appropriates and controls female consent. Patriarchy is a system that can only thrive if women’s consent to the rules of the patriarchal game is pre-scripted and defined. The practice of misogyny is the practice of prejudice. Misogyny is an ideology that affects the lived experiences of women.

To understand this debate on marital rape, we need to first locate what Indian society’s relationship is to the idea of female consent. On the one hand, consent in many matters is taken as given. For instance, girls who are raped are “asking for it because they wore short skirts” (implied consent or availability for sexual acts), or if a woman marries someone she is consenting to intercourse always. On the other hand, it is precisely the lack of consent which is part of the allure for a misogynist. So misogynists, on the one hand feel entitled to a woman’s consent, on the other; when it is not given, men see it as extra encouragement to extract this consent by other means, usually by other means, usually violent.

Therefore, misogyny not only appropriates female consent in matters especially related to desire and sexuality, but when a woman begins to make choices, misogyny denies women the freedom to say no. When we do not recognise marital rape and sexual crimes against women, we are derecognising female consent. Derecognising consent in a sexual matter means that a woman’s “no” is equated with her saying “yes”. In other words, a woman can say whatever she wants; a man is still entitled to her body. Her voice does not matter. Neither does her choice making, nor her consent or lack thereof. When we do not recognise marital rape as rape, we are consigning women to lifelong sexual abuse at the hands of men, who should properly belong in jail. Consider that the National Family Heath Survey revealed that about one in twelve women had at some point faced sexual violence. Of these, as Kanika Sharma and Aashish Gupta report, 93 per cent had experienced this at the hands of their spouses.

To suggest that a husband has a right to his wife’s body is spurious. Let me illustrate this. Suppose a wife bakes a cake and asks her husband to eat it. He says no. So, she forcibly opens his mouth and shoves large chunks of cake down his throat without his consent. Even when he says he has had enough and asks her to stop, she continues to shove more cake down his throat. He then asks her again to stop but she does not. She slaps him and force-feeds him the whole cake until he throws up. Once he is done throwing up, she feeds him a second cake until he throws up again. He is terrified of her because this is a never-ending cycle. Technically, she is a good wife feeding her husband. But chances are that she would be booked for cruelty and abuse.

Differences in a ‘no’

Are we disturbed by this illustration? We are, and this is because when a man says “no”, society understands that he means “no”. Marriage does not mean that choice and consent are always given and non-contested. A woman's “no” should be treated at the same level as a man’s “no”. Our ministers and lawmakers are trying to deny women the right to say “no” to intercourse in a marriage in the name of culture, values and tradition. When they do this, they clearly do not have a clear picture of the type of abuse that women face in Indian marriages. They clearly also have not looked at data which ably demonstrates that sexual violence within families and by acquaintances is rather high for a country which mistakenly prides itself on culture and values. Their assessment rests on a circular logic that a husband cannot be a rapist because he is a husband. How logical is it to assume that men, who have abusive patterns of behaviour, will not somehow sexually harm a woman who they have complete control over because they married her?

As mentioned before, part of the allure of misogyny is to take consent by force when it is denied. If we can safely assume (and we can) that a majority of men are misogynist in India, then how can we possibly logically conclude either that marital rape does not occur, or if it does it is not quite so serious. If the housewife suicide rate between the ages of 18-35 and the number of cases of cruelty to wives are any indicators, then Indians are foolish to think either that marital rape doesn't happen, or, that it can be left out of policymaking.

Policymakers have a responsibility to protect their citizens from violence by putting in place preventive laws and generating consequences for perpetrators. A man who commits a violent crime against his wife should be tagged as a criminal for he has violated another rights-bearing individual. When we do not take marital rape seriously, we allow husband-rapists to get away with crimes that they would be prosecuted for had they not been married to the victim. We take away from women the right to choose when to give consent to an act of intercourse and we allow men to maintain a hateful entitlement to the body of women.

(Vasundhara Sirnate is the Chief Coordinator of Research at The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy.)

Coming south in search of a bride

The strange case of how women from Kerala are wedding men from Haryana in what often turn out to be disastrous marriages.

Some trends seem astonishing at first, but begin to make sense when closely examined. The case of Kerala women marrying Haryanvi men is one such example. Why would women from a State known for its excellent social and human development indicators, particularly its treatment of women, marry men from a State infamous for its skewed sex ratio?

Recent newspaper reports show that in the context of a huge sex ratio imbalance and an imminent shortage of brides, several Haryanvi men are heading to Bihar, West Bengal and Kerala in search of brides. In order to understand the nature of these marriages and the motivations of these women, we visited Kerala recently.

Women incur the costs

In a hegemonic and heteronormative society, not being married carries a huge cost, as desperate Haryanvi men seeking wives know only too well. In our study, we found that several men who may not have been seen as marriageable in the local context have made their way to Kerala with no expectation except that of getting a wife. Typically, the brides came from very poor families with more than one daughter. And when the women are above a certain ‘marriageable’ age, it is considered better for them to be married than remain single. It is these women, priced out of marriage in Kerala, who marry Haryanvi men. As the father of a recent such bride put it, “If the family was well off, the girl would not be married away in Haryana”.

The case of Rani (name changed) points to the troubling aspect of this arrangement: how marriage is regarded as indispensable, and how women, in particular, incur the greater costs in the process. Rani, about 32 years old, has studied up to Class 8. About eight or nine years ago, she married a man from Haryana and now has two children. She was introduced to her husband through a relative (also married in Haryana to a Haryanvi but returned to Kerala to marry a Malayali). But Rani did not see her fiancé or even his photo until the day of the wedding. “He was quite old,” she recalls. Rani’s wedding was not registered in the temple or in the Panchayat, as is the norm, as it took place on a holiday. She and her husband left for Haryana in a hurry and she does not have a photo of her wedding or even one of her husband and her together. Upon her arrival in Haryana, she discovered that her husband was an alcoholic, and he would regularly abuse her. Thankfully, with the support of her two brothers and her mother, who paid her train fare, Rani was able to keep coming home.

Finally, last year, Rani decided that she had had enough. She fought with her husband and returned to Kerala permanently. Soon after, her husband fell sick and died. When she went back to Haryana and asked for his death certificate, his elder brother convinced her to sign a blank sheet of paper and gave her a photocopy of the death certificate. She realised that the document would be used to cut her off from any claim to her late husband’s house and the little property his family owned, but signed it anyway. True to her fears, she has not heard from them since.

Several other cases show a pattern in the treatment of women in such marriages. In one, a woman tried contacting her Haryana husband’s family after his death, but she was told there was no one by that name. In another, a woman suffering from cancer died in Kerala, but her Haryana husband did not come to see her, either during treatment or after her death. Her mother told us, “We spent on her treatment because she is our daughter. Who else will do it?”

Ticket to a good future

All the families we spoke to said the same thing: that they had agreed to their daughters’ marriage to complete strangers and going away to a distant place so that they would have someone to take care of them in future. This underlined a bitter fact: that marriage in India is still believed to be the only route to a good future for a woman. If the marriage goes well, this wish is fulfilled; if not, she bears the consequences. Many families rush into such marriages with little knowledge about the groom or his circumstances. Some family members rationalised these marriages away as the woman’s ‘destiny’ —“whatever is written in one’s fate is what one gets” said a maternal uncle, whose niece married a Haryana man who turned out to be a different person from the man they saw in the photograph.

In all these marriages, both the family and the woman agree reluctantly to the marriage because the woman is desperate to reduce the “burden” on her family and the family is desperate to find her a good life in the form of a happy marriage. It was distressing to listen to how these women agreed to venture into the unknown, to settle in places where they didn’t speak the local language, where the food was unfamiliar, social norms restrictive, and where discrimination based on skin colour are prevalent. At the same time, their courage is equally startling. The only silver lining was that in some cases, the women managed to come back to Kerala along with their husbands, and both settled down there.

Recent research pointed out that development may have contributed to a rise in the age of marriage in India, but the institution remains strong and is unlikely to break down in the near future. Our study just reinforced this point.

(Sharada Srinivasan is Canada Research Chair in Gender, Justice and Development at the University of Guelph, Canada. Email: sharada@uoguelph.ca. S.Irudaya Rajan is Professor at the Centre for Development Studies, Kerala. Email: rajancds@gmail.com.)

Bibek debroy committee

A constructive engagement with the Debroy panel’s views on rail reform is called for

The Bibek Debroy panel on reform of Indian Railways (IR) has set the cat among the pigeons. There is no denying that the railways, a far more energy-efficient carrier of goods than road transport, must recover some of the ground it has lost to the latter since the late nineties. But to do so, it has to deliver both goods and people in a more cost-effective, safe and quick way than it does now. This calls for a thoroughgoing organisational revamp. The report has been bold — some would say brash — in advocating this and it is essential that the political class engage with its recommendations with a view to taking the railways forward, rather than whinge — unjustifiably — that they amount to no more than selling it lock, stock and barrel. A noteworthy suggestion is to create an independent regulator to fix rail fares, moving this function out of the ambit of populist politics. The recommendation to split up the railways into two units — infrastructure and track, and another that operates trains — is in line with what predominantly state-owned systems in France, Germany and China have. The issue here is not “privatisation”; it is whether the advantages of creating such verticals will unleash efficiencies that outweigh the synergies of running all operations under a single umbrella. The report is right in stressing that an independent regulator, accountable to Parliament, should be the first step forward. Right now, the railways needs autonomy more than it needs anything else.

The Debroy report calls for greater private involvement in non-core activities such as production and construction, perhaps drawing from China’s JV experience. Private entry into running freight and passenger trains in competition with railways may spur efficiency, but regulatory wrangles of the sort seen in the UK, Germany and France should be avoided. There has been a constant refrain in the UK over private operators gaming the system, with a lot of hidden subsidies going their way. The panel’s recommendations on parcelling out power and responsibility to the zones are unexceptionable. But in emphasising right sizing, it seems to have overlooked a crucial observation of the Anil Kakodkar report that one lakh posts related to safety lie vacant. This includes 16,000 loco drivers, all of which explains the ‘human error’ in accidents.

While the emphasis on making the railways lean and accountable cannot be faulted, efficiency cannot be measured by earnings alone. Railway investments translate into returns for other sectors, even if they take two decades or more to recover the cost. Therefore, the report’s over-emphasis on commercial accounting principles and ‘internal rate of return’ can prove counterproductive. The railways’ principal role is not to make money for itself, but to lubricate the wheels of the entire economy.

(Thehindubusinessline: This article was published on June 16, 2015)

Railways -

Overview, Initiatives and Action Plans of the Mechanical Directorate of Ministry of Railways

Member Mechanical, Railway Board Shri Hemant Kumar, briefed about following initiatives and action plans of Mechanical Directorate of Ministry of Railways during a press conference held today i.e. on 15^th June, 2015.

1.    An Overview

·         Indian Railways carries about 23 million passengers daily - equivalent to population of Australia.

·         Around 100 Coach Variants catering to all segments of passengers.

·         One rake of BOXNHL wagons carries about 4100MT - equivalent to more than 200 trucks of 20T capacity each.

·         Railways uses diesel fuel 6.57 times more efficiently than trucks to transport a given load.

·         84.8% less CO2 emission per tonne km in comparison to trucks.

·         Powerhouse on wheels - IR’s fleet of 5502 diesel locos generates appx. 13100 MW – more than double of Delhi/NCR’s projected peak power requirement for 2016-17.

·         We add about 1000 MW every year – equivalent to a Mega Thermal Power Plant, and without any transmission & distribution loss since power is generated at place of use.

·         No requirement of additional infrastructure for power generation.

·         Locos maintained in 42 Diesel Sheds and 10 Workshops.

·         350 Coaching and Freight Depots & 36 Workshops carrying out maintenance of Coaches and Wagons 24x7.

·         IR has 6 established Production Units manufacturing more than 600 Diesel & Electric locos and more than 3000 coaches per year.

·         More than 4000 Apprentices trained in various engineering trades every year in Production Units and workshops.

2.    Green initiatives:

·         In ICF and Rebarelli, all the coaches are produced using ‘green’energy. Both factories work entirely on alternate renewable energy.

Ø  Two MW Solar Plant at Rail Coach Factory, Raebareli: commissioned in July’2014.

Ø    7  Wind mills of 1.5 MW each owned by ICF

·         Alternate fuel: “Green” DEMU rake running on the Rewari-Rohtak section on Northern Railway : ICF  has manufactured the first “Green” Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) rake, consisting of two power cars and six trailer coaches. The rake has been developed to run on a combination of Diesel and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).

·         Auxiliary Power Units:  IR has fitted 07 Auxiliary Power Units (APU)  on 130 diesel locos. When train is stabled APU switches off main engine and starts a smaller engine for meeting the train requirements.   Saving of Rs 8 lakh/year/loco on account of less consumption of diesel oil, is expected.

·         Biodiesel for Traction: Indian Railways has planned phase-wise introduction of 5% blending of bio-diesel from 5^th June, 2015 – World Environment Day. This will help in reducing carbon footprint. In-house production of bio-diesel will also commence with commissioning of a Bio-diesel plant this year at Tondiarpet (Chennai) with installed capacity of 30 tonnes per day.

·         Coaches with solar lighting: Solar panels have been fitted on one coach for its lighting requirements. It is planned to introduce solar lighting on 15 DEMU coaches as well on trial basis.

·         ISO-14001:  All the 6 established Production Units and 21 workshops have already obtained IMS / EMS (ISO 14001) certification. Remaining workshops are expected to achieve the same during 2015-16. Efforts are on the increase the green cover in workshops and PUs.

·         ICF won the prestigious International “Golden Green Award” 2014 for its outstanding achievements and sustainable practices for its green energy initiatives.

·         RCF/Kapurthala was awarded the prestigious “Golden Peacock Award”-2014, given on the 16th World Congress on Environment Management held on 11/07/2014.

3.      Swachh Bharat Abhiyan:

·         Provision of dustbin on all the coaches: Dustbins on trains were hitherto being provided mainly on AC coaches and some Non AC coaches. After launching of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan by the Hon ‘ble PM, provision of dustbins on all the newly manufactured coaches, including Non AC coaches, have been planned to be started from 2015-16 onwards. Besides, retrofitment on existing coaches has also been planned. It is also planned to develop garbage compactors for coaches to take care of intensive usage.

·         Indian Railways participating in the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’.  Separate directorate for Environment and Housekeeping created.  Integrated policy for cleanliness is under formulation.

·         Fitment of Biotoilets: Biotoilets have been introduced on the coaches to eliminate open discharge of fecal matter on the track. In the bio-toilets the fecal matter is digested by specially developed colony of bacteria (inoculums), and only small amount of clean water is discharged. More than 17,000 Bio-toilets have been fitted till March, 2015 and target set for 2015-16 is fitment of 17,000 bio-toilets. We also produce inoculums as well as bio-toilets in-house.

Two  sections have been identified to be made ‘zero toilet discharge’ sections by 2^nd October, 2015 – Kanalus-Dwarka-Okha and Porbander-Wansjalya. Jammu-Katra and Manmadurai- Rameshwaram  will be covered later in the year.  All the trains originating/terminating and passing through will be equipped with Bio-toilets.

4.      Technologies and infrastructure:

·         Proliferation of LHB Coaches : All LHB coaches are fit to run at 160 kmph and are safer than the conventional coaches, especially in case of accidents. LHB coach manufacturing facilities were initially set up in Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala and have now been extended to Integral Coach Factory, Chennai as well as the new Rail Coach Factory at Rae Bareli. This year it has been planned to double the LHB coach production w.r.t. last year.

·         Coaches fit to run at 200 kmph: LHB coaches fit to run at 200 kmph are being developed by RCF, Kapurthala and will be ready this year.

·         DEMU Factory, Haldia: has been commissioned. The first fully furnished DEMU trainset has been turned out in Jan’2015 from the factory.

·         State-of-the art three–phase AC-AC DEMU trainsets: ICF has developed first of its kind stainless steel 3 phase energy efficient AC-AC transmission 1600 HP DEMU train-set.  In addition ICF will be manufacturing airconditioned DEMU trainsets also from 2016-17 onwards.  High speed air-conditioned DEMU trainsets with 2200 HP engines and speed potential of 160 kmph (upgradable to 200 kmph) is also scheduled for manufacture in 2016-17.

·         Hotel load on Diesel Locomotives: Provision of capability to handle hotel load (train’s lighting & Air-conditioning load) has been developed on Diesel Locomotives. It eliminates the use of diesel generator cars, thereby replacing one power car by a passenger carrying coach and the other power car would be standby. This helps in fuel saving of to the tune of 10-15% of the consumption in power cars. 10 locomotives equipped with hotel load the manufactured by DLW and regular running of hotel load trains have started. It is planned to convert the Ajmer Shatabdi to hotel load this year.

·          WDG5 Locomotive: 5500 HP Diesel locomotive introduced in  IR System: This locomotive is the diesel locomotive having the highest horse power on IR. The first locomotive was pressed into service in February 2015.

·         Diesel Locomotive Works at Varanasi is being expanded further by 25% of its installed capacity at a sanctioned cost of Rs. 266.25 cr.        .

5.      Make in India:

·         Rail Wheel Plant, Bela: has been commissioned. Regular production of wheels for rolling stock has commenced in this plant from Aug’2014. In due course this will reduce the requirement of import of wheels.

·         Factory for manufacture of traction alternators  for High horse Power locos  inaugurated at Vidisha, for which foundation stone has been laid, is being set up.

·         Planned forged wheel factory in Raebarelli: For manufacture of wheel for locos and LHB coaches being imported at present.

·         Rail Spring Karkhana : Has developed five out of 16 variants of LHB coach springs, which were being imported.

6.      Customer experience

Passengers

·         Provision of Braille Signages: To facilitate comfortable travel for visually impaired passengers, Indian Railways has taken an initiative of providing Braille signages on coaches.  IR will start providing Braille signages on all the coaches produced from the year 2015-16 onwards. Retrofitment on existing coaches has also been planned.

·         Setting up of mechanised laundries at 8 locations in 2014-15 to improve the quality of linen being supplied to AC class passengers: To improve the quality of linen being supplied to the passengers of AC class coaches, mechanised laundries are being set up on railway’s land and total of 35 laundries have already been set up.

·         Coverage of additional trains under On Board Housekeeping services scheme: OBHS services are being provided on select trains to maintain cleanliness during run of the train. In this scheme, a group of staff travels on board along with cleaning tools and chemicals and carries out the prescribed cleaning work. During the period from April 2014 to Feb 2015, an additional 109 trains were covered in 2014-15 under OBHS scheme totalling to around 525 trains. 100 trains planned further in 2015-16.

·         Clean Train Station: Mechanised cleaning through specialised machines on trains at nominated stations enroute introduced in 4 additional stations in 2014-15 bringing the total to 33. Five more planned in 2015-16.

·         Improved Coach Interiors:  Complete refurbishment of coach interiors, with upgraded design and materials is being done during mid-life rehabilitation of all coaches and also in some coaches in the workshops. Further improvements are being designed for coach interiors, in consultation with National Institute of Design.

Freight

·         Design and development of 25T axle load wagons: RDSO has developed BOXN25 Design B wagon. The wagon can carry 80 T Pay load with Pay to Tare ratio of 4.13.  With this new wagon the throughput per rake will increase to 4750T compared to 4118T for BOXNHL (an increase of 15%). Stores Dte. has placed Contract for the manufacture of prototype of this wagon on 4.3.15 on M/s Braithwaite.

o   Policy for private partnerships for building new types of wagons: Special purpose commodity specific wagons are being designed by RDSO and Railway Board is encouraging private participation in developing of prototype wagons for new designs.  E.g. a two-deck Autocar wagon (BCACBM) which can accommodate upto 318 cars per rake has been developed. This wagon has a movable middle deck and a depressed floor so that more cars can be accommodated.   This wagon has increased the throughput of car transport per rake by 17% over and above the previous design. The first rake was flagged off on 1.3.14 and at present 5 rakes are in operation. 

Further, a light weight frameless wagon for carrying petroleum products has also been developed which will lead to an increase in Rake throughput by 7 %. Serial production of these wagons has begun. Design for a new parcel van with capacity 25.6% over the existing ICF design and a speed potential of 100 kmph has been developed. Similarly , design has been developed for a special wagon for carrying steel coils which has the potential of carrying 68% more rake throughput vis-à-vis existing wagons.  

7.      Safety:

·         Provision of CCTV on coaches: In order to improve security measures on trains, especially for women passengers, it has been decided to provide CCTV cameras on coaches especially in ladies compartments’ doorway and aisle area. CCTV Cameras have been fitted on two SLRs on experimental basis to gain experience and feedback.

·          Provision of portable Fire extinguishers in Non AC passenger coaching vehicles on trial: Presently as one of the fire safety measures, fire extinguishers are being provided only in AC coaches, SLRs and Power Cars and Pantry Cars wherever provided. Locomotives are also being provided with such fire extinguishers. It has been decided to provide fire extinguishers in other Non AC passenger coaches as well for use during emergency on trial. Based on the successful trials further proliferation would also be considered.

·         Provision of Automatic Fire detection and suppression system on Power Car and Pantry Cars: Power cars and Pantry cars are more fire prone in comparison to other coaches owing to nature of equipment provided on these coaches. Automatic fire detectors will either trigger an alarm or activate a Water Mist based Fire suppression system, depending on the smoke density.

·         Manufacture of high speed self propelled Accident relief Trains: ICF has manufactured high speed self propelled Accident relief Trains (HS-SPART) with speed potential of 110 KMPH and equipped with Diesel Generator to meet power requirement at accident spot.

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AKS/MN/rv

Initiatives and Action Plans of Electrical, Signalling & Telecom Directorates of Ministry of Railways

Member Electrical, Railway Board Shri Navin Tandon, briefed about following initiatives and action plans of Electrical, Signalling & Telecom Directorates of Ministry of Railways during a press conference held on 3^rd June, 2015.

v  Railway Electrification: With a view to reduce its energy procurement cost as well as to make the Railway System more eco-friendly and to modernize the system, Indian Railways have been progressively electrifying its rail routes.

·      Highest ever 1375 Route Kilometres (RKM) electrified in 2014-15. Thus, 26269 RKM of Indian Railway tracks (39.92%) are now electrified. 65.40% of freight traffic and 51.20% of passenger traffic is hauled on electric traction with merely 36.32% of total traction fuel cost.

·      28 nos. new Railway Electrification projects covering 6608 (RKM) with total estimated cost of Rs. 6746.45 crore sanctioned in this year budget.

·      Target for current year (2015-16) of XII Plan is 1670 RKM with fund allotment of Rs. 2163 Cr including Rs 560 Cr through Extra Budgetary Resources i.e PPP and Institutional Financing.

·      1500 V DC to 25kV AC Traction conversion in Mumbai: Kurla – CSTM section completed and test charged in December’2014 and is expected to be commissioned on 25 kV AC traction in 2015-16. Thus about 1190 TKM out of total 1680 TKM have been commissioned on 25 kV AC electric traction.

v Infrastructure Projects:

·      Financial bid for Procurement cum Maintenance of 12000 HP High Capacity Locomotives and Setting up of a Factory at Madhepura will be opened on August 31, 2015. Earlier, four bidders namely Alstom, Bombardier, General Electric and Siemens were shortlisted for this project. Out of 800 locomotives to be procured 795 will be Made in India which will be mainly working in the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor. 

·      Bids for procurement of 200 (9000 HP) Electric Locomotives against STEP loan of JICA/Japan   are due on June 30, 2015. Out of 200 locos to be procured 40 would be imported from Japan and 60 will be assembled from CKD/SKD kits. Last 100 locos would be manufactured in CLWs Unit at Dankuni with Japanese TOT.

·      Electric Loco Assembly & Ancillary Unit of CLW at Dankuni : Work of Factory is nearing completion. 1^st loco expected to be turned out in 2015-16.

v Rolling Stock

EMU/Metro/Convention Passenger Coaches

·      Railway is planning to introduce a very modern train system called Train-Sets for providing superior riding experience and about 20% saving in journey time. Procurement process for 15 trains set has been initiated.

·      Two Stainless steel AC EMU rakes manufactured at ICF equipped with IGBT based 3-phase propulsion system supplied by M/s Bombardier Transportation against MUTP- Phase II have been introduced in Western Railway for Mumbai suburban. 36 more such rakes will be manufactured at ICF during 2015-16. These have speed potential of 110 Kmph.

·      Order has been placed for procurement of 14 fully furnished rakes equipped with IGBT based 3 phase propulsion system and stain less steel car body for Kolkata Metro on M/s Dalian/China for replacement of old rakes & additional services.

·      Indian Railways have planned to introduce one air conditioned EMU rake in Mumbai area on trial basis.

Electric locomotives

·      CLW Produced 250 electric locos in 2014-15 increasing the total holding of electric locomotives to 5049out of which 862 locomotives are 3-Phase locomotives. CLW plans to turn out last conventional loco in November 2015 and last GTO based 3-phase locomotive in October 2015. Thereafter only energy efficient, environment friendly IGBT based 3-Phase locomotives will be manufactured.

·      Trials of semi-High speed trains up to 160 km/h have been successfully conducted with WAP-5 locos between NDLS – AGC section. Further it has been planned to manufacture WAP-5 locos of 200 km/h within 2015.

·      A major achievement for ‘Green India’, two WAP-7 locos equipped with hotel load system have been turned out from CLW during 2014-15 and now there are 04 such electric  locos equipped with  hotel load system under trials thereby avoiding power car working, and creating clean/green environment as well as diesel fuel saving.

v Passenger Amenities:

·      Wi-Fi internet facility has been provided at 9 ‘A1’ category stations namely Agra Cantt., Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, CST Mumbai, Howrah, New Delhi, Secunderabad and Varanasi during the year. It is being planned to provide Wi-Fi facility at many other A1 and other important stations also.

·      All India Security Helpline ‘182’ and Passenger Helpline ‘138’ has been made functional as a public interface for queries/complaints related to Security, Medical Emergency, Cleanliness, Food & Catering, Coach Maintenance, Linen etc.

·      Integrated Security System (ISS) at 6 stations and additionally CCTV system at 10 Railway stations has been commissioned during last year.  Cumulatively, ISS at 64 stations and CCTV system at 21 stations commissioned. As a part of ‘SWACHCHH BHARAT ABHIYAAN’, the cleanliness activities monitored through the CCTV cameras.

·      36 Escalators and 5 Lift were installed at Railway stations in last year. Further, it has been planned to install 100 escalators and 100 lifts in current year.

·      Mobile charging facilities would be provided in General class coaches and the number of charging facilities would be increased in Sleeper class coaches. 3000 general and sleeper class coaches would be provided with 18 mobile charging points during 2015-16.

v Electrical Energy Management:

·      Initiatives and action plans to reduce cost of power procurement through Bi-lateral arrangements and Open Access mechanism:

-   50 MW power in NC Railway from DVC resulted in saving of Rs. 10.57 Cr. in March 15; annual saving of Rs 100 Cr. per year is expected

-   Power Purchase Agreement for 100 MW power signed with GUVNL on 05.3.15

-   Govt. of India has allocated 500 MW power from RPPGL at Rs 5.0 per unit.

-   To have arrangements for longer periods through market mechanism, tenders floated to procure 50 MW in NCR, 440 MW for Western, 220 MW for Northern and 350 MW for Eastern regions.  First tender of 50 MW will be open on 8^th June and rest by July 2016.

·      As part of setting up Captive Power Plant for Railways, the Boiler light up for first 250 MW unit at Nabinagar, being set up in JV with NTPC, took place on 30.03.15. It is likely to be commissioned by Dec- 15.

·      Renewal Power for Railways:

§   Solar Power:

-       10 MW Solar already installed: 2MW at Raibarely, 1MW on roof top at Katra, 30 KWp solar plant at Rail Bhawan , 40 KWp each on GM building at SCR, Tirupati station, Ajmer Stn and 5 MW at various other places.

-       Order for 2 MW issued and for another 4.5 MW in progress

-       Railway have been asked to plan 50 MW on roof tops  of Railway buildings

-       A general coach with about 4 KW solar panels working in Northern Railway since December 2014

§    Wind Power:

-       10.5 MW already installed 

-       Tender of 10.5 MW in progress

-        Contract  for  provision of 25 MW in Rajasthan awarded

-       Plan to install another 130 MW

·      Energy efficiency improvement: 

§  Railways will conduct 150 Energy Audits

§   As per the report of BEE Indian Railways save 3.3% on traction and non-traction energy last year which amounts to a saving of about Rs.400 crores

§  Directives have been issued to Zonal Railways on 27.03.2015 that for future use of LED  tube light fittings for new office buildings and for replacement

§  18 National Energy Conservation Awards bagged by Railways.

§   Developed a web based software ‘Rail Saver’.

§  Improving Energy Efficiency in Railways’ residential quarters under CDM (CFL distribution project): As part of this project, total 14 lakh CFLs were installed in Railway quarters by replacing incandescent bulbs. The project has earned total 2,48,609 carbon credits (CERs) till date out of which 1,38,493 carbon credits (CERs) were earned in 2014-15. The project received “Special Jury Prize”during UIC Sustainability Award’ 2012.

§  Railways have taken up key technologies as pilot projects to improve energy efficiency on IR in consultation with UNDP –which includes SCADA control system for New Delhi Station, Building Management System at Dadar, Pumping control system at GZB and Kishan Ganj, LED lights in Railway coaches, Smart sense and smart Grid system at Baroda House installed, automized light and fan control for New Delhi station.

v Signalling:

·      To enhance efficiency and safety in train operation, modern Electrical/Electronic interlocking systemwith Central Panel, complete track circuiting and MACLS have been provided at 245 stations during 2014-15. Panel/Electronic interlocking system has been provided at 5336 stations (85% of total interlocked stations).

·      Automatic Block Signalling is a proven low cost signaling solution for enhancing line capacity on a double line section. During 2014-15, Automatic Block Signalling have been provided on 208 Route KM, which is highest ever in last five years. This includes 95 Route Km on Ghaziabad- Mughalsarai section on NC Railway.

·      For safety of Road users, 290 Nos of LC gates interlocked with Signals during 2014-15

·      Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS) is a proven Automatic Train Protection (ATP) System for preventing Signal Passing At Danger (SPAD) and over speeding. During 2014-15, TPWS have been commissioned on DumDum – Kavi Subhash section of Kolkata Metro (25 Rkm) and TPWS trials completed with 35 Locomotives in Delhi- Agra section at 130 kmph and 160 kmph. Decision has been communicated recently to Zonal Railways to execute sanctioned TPWS works on 1244 Rkm of automatic signalling sections where EMUs ply.

·      A pilot project for indigenous development of Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) as a multi-vendor, interoperable cost-effective system is being carried out by RDSO. This ATP system has capability of preventing train accidents caused due to Signal Passing At Danger (SPAD) and over-speeding.  Field trials of TCAS conducted on 32 RKms section (4 Stations) with five locomotives during 2014-15. Extended trials on Lingampalli-Vikarabad-Wadi –Bidar section, SCR (250 Km) are planned for completion by 2015-16.

·      Centralised Traffic Control (CTC) consolidates train routing decisions that were previously carried out by local operators. This system optimizes the efficiency of train operations by centralized controlling of train traffic from a centre place. During 2014-15, CTC system has been installed at Tundla (NCR) & testing of 7 Stations completed for centralised and more efficient control of traffic in GZB- CNB section.

·      Signalling has been made fit for Semi- high Speed trains (160 KMPH) on Delhi-Agra section.

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