January 2015 National Affairs

· Delhi will be fist smart city

Delhi will be developed into a “global city” and the country’s first smart city will be set up here to
decongest the national capital and facilitate it with all modern amenities, Union urban development
minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said

The Narendra Modi-led NDA government has planned to set up 100 smart cities and Naidu said that
the first such city will come up in the national capital.
· KCR bats for Warangal
Telangana Government has decided to shift all new universities, institutions and information
technology companies to Warangal as Hyderabad was clogged for place. The objective was to create
infrastructure for a population of 20 lakh in Warangal, according to Chief Minister KCR. , he asked
officials of Warangal to conduct of Kakatiya festival and the construction of a textile park near
Kazipet.

He also decided that widening of roads up to 150 ft should be taken up from Rampur to Hanamkonda
crossroads and on the highway up to Dharmaram via Pochamma maidan. A similar widening must
take place on Hunter Road and National Institute of Technology – Kakatiya University campus

The highway to Karimnagar should be extended up to Kadipikonda, Hunter Road and road over
bridge that could be reached from Kazipet railway station.

He asked the descendents of Kakatiyas, mainly Kamalchandra Bhanj Dev who is residing in Bastar of
Chhattisgarh, should be officially invited for the festival.
· Mittal panel submits report
The D K Mittal Committee, formed to suggest ways and means to raise the revenue of Indian
Railways, on 30th December submitted its report to Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu. The report is
crucial for railways as its recommendations is expected to help the ailing national transporter to take
certain concrete measures which would be presented to Parliament in the Rail Budget for 2015-16 in
February.

Railway Ministry had set up the nine-member committee on December 4 under the chairmanship
of former Secretary (financial services) D K Mittal to examine the existing revenue structure and
recommend ways to raise fund for the ailing public sector behemoth.
The Committee, in its report, is learnt to have given a detailed study on the efficacy and sufficiency of
the existing revenue structure, and avenues for raising income besides identifying its leakages. On the
expenditure front, the Committee has suggested certain measures for reduction in spending.

The other members of the committee include, Chairmen and Managing Directors of railway PSUs --
RITES, Ircon and Concor and Railway Land Development Authority. The other two members on the
panel were from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Mckinsey India.
· Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Authority comes into being
The Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority Act, 2014 has come into effect from
30th December which paves way for creation of a new development authority.

The Government has notified that the capital authority would have an area spread over 7068 sq.km as
the capital region and the main capital broadly within 122 sq.km under its fold for governance.

Apart from notifying various mandals and villages that form part of the capital region, it has
identified 25 revenue villages located in Guntur district on the west of old national highway from
Prakasham barrage to Mangalagiri to form part of the capital.

The State Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu would be the chairman of the authority with the
minister for municipal administration and urban development as its vice chairman. Other members
include State Finance Minister, secretaries of some of the departments among others.
· Nod for National Judicial Appointment Bill
A national body to appoint judges - which will replace the current collegium system - came into force
on 31st December with the approval from President Pranab Mukherjee. The new system is expected
to open up the process of selection of judges for the high courts and the Supreme Court by making
politicians and citizens a part of the process.

The collegium system, under which a forum of judges used to conduct the selection following a
Supreme Court ruling of 1993, has been criticized for its opacity. Earlier the executive used to
appoint judges in consultation with the judiciary.

The judges contended that selection of judges by a national body might interfere with judicial
independence.
The National Judicial Appointments Commission will recommend the appointment, transfer of judges
and ensure their ability and merit.

The six-member panel will comprise two senior judges, the law minister and two eminent citizens. It
will be chaired by the Chief Justice of India.

The two citizens will be nominated by a collegium of the CJI, the Prime Minister and the leader of the
single largest opposition party.

One of the nominated members will have to belong to the Scheduled Castes, Schedules Tribes,
backward castes, minorities, or women. They will be selected for a term of three years and cannot be
re-nominated. The Judicial Appointments Commission bill was passed by both Houses of Parliament
in August, 2014. Since it proposed a change in the Constitution, it had to be ratified by at least half of
the state legislatures as well.

Sixteen states have ratified a constitutional amendment bill which seeks to scrap the collegium system
of judges appointing judges

Any Constitutional amendment bill requires ratification by at least 50 percent of the state legislatures.

Parliament had in August cleared the bill that will facilitate setting up of a commission for
appointment of judges, replacing the 20-year-old collegium system, which has been under severe
criticism.

The bill will make way for the setting up of National Judicial Appointments Commission, which
will appoint and transfer judges to the Supreme Court and the 24 High Courts. The bill will grant
Constitutional status to the NJAC and its composition. Chief Justice of India will head the NJAC.
· Recommendation for central anti-terror mechanism
Investigating agencies have recommended the setting up of a central anti-terror mechanism placing
intelligence and investigation wings under a single command for more coordinated action against
emerging internal security challenges.
The Union Home Ministry has received a proposal that such a unified body, encompassing the
intelligence gathering, analysis and dissemination wing; forensic divisions; and investigation and
prosecution wings, be created through an executive order. The Central Bureau of Investigation was
also set up in the same manner under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act.

It has been suggested that the Multi Agency Centre and the operations wings of the Intelligence
Bureau, other than those dealing with political intelligence, be brought under the new setup.

Even the National Investigation Agency, which has statutory powers under the NIA Act to probe
terrorism cases either with the consent of the State governments or on the direction of the Union
Home Ministry, can be brought in as the investigation and prosecution wing.

It was after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack that the then Home Minister, P. Chidambaram, suggested
setting up of the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), on the lines of the one in the United
States and the British Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, for coordinated counter-terror operations.
However, concerned that such an agency could well be abused by the Centre for political ends, many
Chief Ministers struck down the idea primarily because the unit was to function under the Intelligence
Bureau and, unlike the U.S. agency, it would be empowered to conduct searches and arrests under
Sections 43 and 43A of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

In 2012, the Centre came up with an office memorandum defining the functions, powers and duties
of the NCTC as a single and effective point of control and coordination of all counter-terrorism
measures, which would work through the existing agencies in the country.
· Telangana launched Comprehensive Financial Management System
Telangana finance minister Eatala Rajender on 31st December launched the comprehensive financial
management system in finance department for electronic sharing of information with its internal and
external stakeholders. The human resource management system module of CFMS will be extended
to entire Secretariat by February, all heads of departments by March and remaining offices between
April and June=.
· 50 MW allotted to AP from Kudankulam reactor
The unallocated 50 MW power out of the 1,000 MW being generated by the first reactor of
Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) has been allotted to Andhra Pradesh. In a statement,
KKNPP site Director R.S. Sundar said the 1,000 MW power, being transmitted from KKNPP’s
first reactor to the Southern Grid near Abhishekapatti in Tirunelveli, would be shared among Tamil
Nadu (562.50 MW), Puducherry (33.50 MW), Kerala (133 MW) and Karnataka (221 MW) and
the remaining unallocated power of 50 MW would be given to Andhra Pradesh, as per the latest
notification from Central Electricity Authority.

The reactor would generate 2.40 crore unit per day as it was being operated at maximum capacity
of 1,000 MW. Asked whether the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board granted permission for
conducting ‘hot run’ in the second reactor of KKNPP, Mr. Sundar said he was waiting for crossing
the milestone as the second unit was being expected to attain criticality before May next year. After
completion of the hot run, the reactor would be disassembled and the control rod drives removed.
· NITI Aayog to replace Plan panel
The 65-year-old Planning Commission was 1st January replaced by a new body, NITI Aayog or
National Institution for Transforming India, which will serve as a policy think-tank for the central as
well as state governments and have Prime Minister Narendra Modi as its Chairperson.

The NITI Aayog will have a governing council comprising……..

· All state Chief Ministers
· Lieutenant Governors
· The body will have a CEO and a Vice Chairperson, to be appointed by the Prime Minister
· In addition to some full-time members and
· Two part-time members
· Four union ministers would serve as ex-officio members.
Besides, there would be specific regional councils, while experts and specialists from various fields
would be there as “special invitees nominated by the Prime Minister”.

NITI Aayog will serve as a ‘Think Tank’ of the Government as “a directional and policy dynamo”
and would provide the governments at the Centre and in states with strategic and technical advice on
key policy matters including economic issues of national and international importance

While the two part-time members would be from leading universities and research organisations, the
number of full time members has not been specified as yet.

As per the Resolution, the NITI Aayog will provide a ‘national agenda’ for the Prime Minister and
Chief Ministers to foster cooperative federalism while recognising that “strong states make a strong
nation”.
It will also interact with other national and international Think Tanks, as also with educational and
policy research institutions.
· NITI Aayog first vice chairman- Arvind Panagariya
The newly set up NITI Aayog is likely to go full throttle as early as next week and noted economist,
Arvind Panagariya is tipped to be its first Vice-Chairman. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had
announced that Planning Commission will be succeeded by a more relevant policy-making and
advisory body in his Independence Day speech.

The resolution says the NITI Aayog:

· It will design strategic, long term policy & programme frameworks and initiatives and monitor
their progress as well as efficacy
· It will provide the Centre and state govts with relevant strategic and technical advice on all key
policy matters and even give specific issue-based support
· It will evolve a shared vision of development priorities with the active involvement of States in
light of national objectives
· It will foster cooperative federalism through structured support initiatives and mechanisms with
states, recognizing that strong States make a strong nation
· It will provide a platform for resolution of inter-sectoral & inter-departmental issues to accelerate
the developmental agenda
Three layer structure
The NITI Aayog, will have three layered structure. It will be headed by Prime Minister of India. The
three layers will be formed for a specified tenure.

The Regional Councils will be chaired by the Chairperson of the NITI Aayog, the Prime Minister, or
his nominee. Both General and Regional councils will have experts, specialists and practitioners with
relevant domain knowledge as special invitees nominated by the Prime Minister.

The new body will adopt a ‘Bottom Up’ approach, where decisions will be taken at the local level
and then endorsed at the Central level. This is also reflected in one of the approach which says, “To
develop mechanisms to formulate credible plans at the village level and aggregate these progressively
at higher levels of Government.”
The Cabinet in its meeting on August 13 approved the repeal of the Cabinet Resolution dated March
15, 1950 through which the Planning Commission was set up. The Cabinet also authorised the Prime
Minister to finalise the contours of the New Institution to replace the Planning Commission.
· Home Minister launches integrated women safety app ‘Himmat’
Himmat', a mobile application of Delhi Police that will allow women to send a distress call to Police
Control Room and their relatives in case of any emergency, was launched in New Delhi on 1st
January by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. The app will basically cater to employed women
who have smart phones and travel alone even late in the night.

Singh also distributed pepper spray to women and awarded girls who had successfully completed
Delhi Police self-defence programme. He lauded Delhi Police's efforts to use technology for better
policing.

To get this service one has to downloading the app, a new user has to register with the Delhi Police
website by sharing their name, mobile number and that of a minimum of two relatives/friends.
· Godavari-Krishna river link to be taken up with Rs.1, 300 crore
Andhra Pradesh Government has approved diversion of 80 tmc of water from Godavari river to
Krishna river as a part of the mega Polavaram multipurpose project entailing an investment of Rs.
1,300 crore.

The Department of Command Area development, Government of Andhra Pradesh, in an order issued
on 1st January outlined the contours of the project which seeks to divert water through Polavaram
project right main canal for domestic and industrial use.

A high-powered committee headed by the Chief Secretary has been made the competent authority
to take all steps necessary for the timely completion of the work which includes coordination with
district administration and forest department, land acquisition, relief and rehabilitation and forest
clearances which would allow unhindered execution of the work.

This is part of the Godavari-Krishna link taken to tap flood waters of Godavari river to Krishna on a
high priority so that it becomes operational as early as possible. It is estimated that more than 2000
tmc of flood water goes into the sea without being utilised.
· Tender process in Railways decentralised
In a major initiative to bring transparency and speed up decisions on tenders, Railway Minister
Suresh Prabhu has dissociated himself from the process and empowered zonal railways and heads of
production units to finalise them.

Currently, railways is plagued by long delays in tendering-related decisions. According to the new
directions, considered the first step towards internal reforms in railways fiscal administration, all
cases for acceptance of works and stores tenders, which as per extant delegations are referred to
Railway Board, will now be dealt with and finalised by Zonal Railways and Production Units.

Full powers have been delegated to General Managers and Director Generals of production units as
tender authority in this regard, said an official statement.

The step is expected to put General Managers and heads of PSUs in the driver's seat with regard to
tendering process.

According to the new guidelines……

· In respect of stores and works tenders which are to be invited solely by Railway Board, it has
been decided that for tenders up to Rs 500 crore
· Tender Committee will consist of concerned Executive Directors and will be accepted at the level
of concerned Additional Members who will be the Tender Accepting Authority.
· For tenders valuing more than Rs 500 crore, Tender Committee will be at Additional Member
level and Tender Accepting Authority will be the concerned Board Member.
· For tenders being accepted at the level of Executive Directors and below, the existing practice
will continue.
· Bezbaruah panel report accepted
The government has accepted the recommendations of a committee that has suggested immediate
measures to ensure the safety of people from India's northeast in Delhi and other major cities. The
committee was headed by Bezbaruah. Home Minister Rajnath Singh told that the recommendations
were accepted with immediate measures

The committee headed by M.P. Bezbaruah, a member of the North Eastern Council, was set up in
February 2014 after a 19-year-old student from Arunachal Pradesh, Nido Tania, died after he was
attacked. The panel was formed to look into the concerns of the people of the northeast living in other
parts of the country and suggest suitable remedial measures.
· Akodara village dedicated to nation
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 3rd January dedicated a digital village named Akodara to the
nation. The digital village has been developed by ICICI bank and was launched at an event to
commemorate 60 years of ICICI Group. Saying that banking sector can become the agent for social
transformation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked banks to extend their facilities to the unbanked
and poor so that these people do not stray towards investing in gold.

Prime Minister also advised banks to go for cashless transactions. He said that in this way banks can
help the government in rooting out the menace of black money.

Villagers from Akodara in Sabarkantha district of north Gujarat will now be able to use technology
in various aspects of their life including banking, education, payments, health care and more. The
village have a wi-fi connectivity and financial transactions have been made cashless through ATM
cards. In school, textbooks will be replaced by tabs and teachers will use digital smart boards and
projectors instead of traditional black-boards.

The village will also have e-health facility that will enable patients to avail the facility of tele
medicine among others.