NEXUSDemocracy and Development

August 2016 www.swaniti.in

A Monthly Compendium

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face

Disclaimer: The content of this compendium is for information purposes only. No legal liability or other responsibility is accepted by or on behalf of Swaniti Initiative for any errors, omissions, or statements in the compendium. Swaniti Initiative accepts no responsibility for any loss, damage or inconvenience caused as a result of reliance on such information.

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Dear Readers,

NEXUS is a monthly compilation of briefs, research insights, visualizations, and papers released by Swaniti. Our mission

is to provide information insights on developmental issues that will be catalytic in initiating ground level change.

Swaniti’s research insights are developed through a two-pronged approach: either elected officials request us for

research support on key policy pieces or Swaniti sees contextual value in developing certain research insights. We

currently work with Parliamentarians, policy makers and government enthusiasts on providing research insights on

cross-cutting issues. While we make all of our content available online, our intent through this publication is to create

a one-stop location for all Swaniti information.

Since our primary objective is to support the vision and work in development being done by elected representatives, we

also present the experience of our Associates working on different projects pertaining to health, education, gender and

livelihood across the country with the intention of highlighting the challenges and the action initiated on the ground.

Moreover, aligned with our belief that data-driven policy discourse will ensure that decision making is more evidence

based, we have launched our online portal, Jigyasa, which aims to provide quantitative evidence regarding the

performance of governments and policies and their impact on developmental outcomes Through this platform, we

present our analysis on critical and contextual issues to the public and we have also included these visualizations in

NEXUS. The key policy level actions taken by the Government on a weekly basis are also a part of this compendium

under the Weekly Policy Updates section.

It is our sincere effort to disseminate our work through this compendium and we seek your inputs and feedback to

further innovate and improve as we move forward.

In case you would like to know more about our monthly compendiums, please feel free to contact the below signed:

Aishwarya Ayushmaan

Associate, Swaniti Initiative

Email: ayushmaan.a@swaniti.in

About Swaniti: Swaniti is a non-profit, non-partisan group which works with elected representatives and senior policy

makers to deliver development solutions across the country. The vision of the organization is to create a vibrant, better

and inclusive India. In line with this, Swaniti provides knowledge support and human resource support to elected

representatives in order to catalyze development at the grassroots.

About NEXUS

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Parliamentarians Speak

"Swaniti gives parliamentarians like me a great opportunity to harness the talent of professionals

in the governance of our respective constituencies, and I can tell you from my personal experience

that I have started to benefit hugely from this initiative.”

- Dinesh Trivedi, Lok Sabha MP (Barrakpore)

“The Swaniti Fellows that worked with me were well qualified individuals with a sense of social

responsibility. They analyzed government data, understood local challenges and provided

solutions specific to my constituency. I strongly encourage young individuals to understand our

system of governance and engage with policy makers through fellowships as well as internships.

It’s good to have a new perspective to things and work together to bring about change!”

- Anurag Thakur, Lok Sabha MP (Hamirpur)

"More than anything else, the focus on human capital is what I wanted for my constituency. Swaniti

is rightly pursuing interventions to that effect. The partnership has been very fruitful as they

customize their initiatives in accordance with the requirements of the communities as well as the

elected representatives."

- Mr. Jitendra Choudhary, Lok Sabha MP, Tripura

East

"The Swaniti Team has shown exemplary effort and commitment towards developing an Adarsh

Gram in Nandurbar. With their support, I am more confident of realizing my vision of a Model

Village."

- Dr. Heena Gavit, Lok Sabha MP, Nandurbar

“Swaniti has added real value to my constituency work and policy approaches. They have a team

of passionate and committed Fellows who have worked closely and tirelessly with my office and

me to provide high quality deliverables. I am very happy and satisfied with their amazing work.”

- PD Rai, Lok Sabha MP (Sikkim)

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Table of Contents

About NEXUS ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 2

Parliamentarians Speak ........................................................................................................................................................................... 3

Tamra Patra .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 5

Micro-entrepreneurship in India ........................................................................................................................................................ 7

Housing scenario in Visakhapatnam ................................................................................................................................................. 12

Data and Democracy .............................................................................................................................................................................. 16

Domestic Air Traffic in India – Growth Story ................................................................................................................................... 18

Research Support and Engagement with Elected Officials ................................................................................................................. 21

Roundtable with Legislators on Maternal and Child Health Care................................................................................................... 23

Latuk Chochenpheri Women’s Association – A Step towards Active Representation of Women in Village Affairs ................... 26

Swaniti in the Media ............................................................................................................................................................................... 32

Farmers’ training workshop at Kalika gram panchayat .................................................................................................................. 34

Role of Youth and Technology in Governance: Swaniti Talk with Mr. Amitabh Kant ................................................................... 36

Weekly Policy Updates ........................................................................................................................................................................... 37

July 30th – August 5th, 2016 (Week 1) ............................................................................................................................................... 39

August 13th - August 19th, 2016 (Week 2) ........................................................................................................................................ 40

August 20th - August 26th, 2016 (Week 3) ........................................................................................................................................ 42

August 27th - September 2nd, 2016 (Week 4) ................................................................................................................................... 43

Upcoming... .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 46

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Tamra Patra

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Tamra Patra is Swaniti's knowledge repository through which we summarize briefs on government schemes and

programmes. We research implementation strategies and best practices that can be emulated across constituencies.

We also analyze programme approaches that can be beneficial for policy makers and development specialists. This

information is consolidated and disseminated in the form of brief to all the MPs, and is also uploaded on our website.

For the August issue of NEXUS, we worked on the following briefs:

Micro-entrepreneurship in India: Issues and Opportunities: Micro-entrepreneurship is being increasingly

recognized as one of the prominent ways of poverty alleviation and income generation in developing countries. This

concept note outlines key areas where governments can collaborate with industry to create opportunities for micro-

entrepreneurs.

Housing Scenario in Vishakhapatnam: With the rapid urbanization and changing socio-economic patterns, there is

an increase in housing shortage especially for the poor and low-income households. This brief examines the housing

shortage in Vishakhapatnam and the government schemes intended to remedy the same.

About Tamra Patra

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Micro-entrepreneurship in India Exploring opportunities with emphasis on the state of Andhra Pradesh

Introduction

Micro-entrepreneurship is being increasingly recognized as one of the prominent ways of poverty alleviation and

income generation in developing countries. Micro-entrepreneurship reduces the burden on job creation and

encourages self-sufficiency with the use of minimal resources. A typical marketplace in a developing country

comprises majorly of micro-entrepreneurs who range from agriculture to manufacturing and the service sector. In

recognition of the contribution of micro-entrepreneurs towards creating a robust economy, both Central and State

governments have launched several schemes to facilitate micro-entrepreneurship. This concept note outlines key

areas where governments can collaborate with industry to create opportunities for micro-entrepreneurs.

Who is a Micro-entrepreneur?

As per the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 an enterprise belonging to the

manufacturing sector is deemed micro, if the investment in plant and machinery does not exceed Rs.25 lakhs.

For enterprises belonging to the service sector, the investment may not exceed Rs. 10 lakhs, for an enterprise to

be deemed as micro.

Relevant Central and State Schemes

Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP)

A credit linked scheme to facilitate participation of financial institutions for higher credit flow to micro

sector. It aims to generate sustainable employment opportunities in rural and urban areas of the country

through start-ups.

ASPIRE

It aims to promote innovation & rural entrepreneurship through rural livelihood incubator and fund of

funds.

SFURTI (Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries)

It organizes the traditional industries and artisans into clusters in order to promote productivity and

competitiveness.

Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Schemes

It aims to enable micro and small enterprises to adopt modern technology to improve their productivity.

Coir Udyami Yojana

It offers credit linked subsidy to enterprises in the coir sector.

Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme

It provides funding assistance to banks and financial institutions so that they can in turn lend collateral

free credit to micro-enterprises.

Additionally, the Government of Andhra Pradesh through its Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Policy,

2015-20, aims to further boost micro entrepreneurship in the state by providing tax incentives, subsidies,

marketing assistance, skill development and creation of MSME parks for infrastructure facilities.

Relevant Definitions and Schemes

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Some of the key areas for collaboration, innovation and generation of new opportunities for micro-entrepreneurship

have been outlined below.

Transport

Transport is one of the emerging areas where micro-entrepreneurship has flourished, especially considering the

growing need for adequate transportation facilities in big cities. The entry of start-ups like Uber and Ola has opened

up the field for innovation and promoted self-sufficiency among cab drivers.

Ola Pink, a flagship taxi service for women run exclusively by women drivers, promotes gender empowerment through employment generation and exhibits the transformative potential of micro-enterprises The role of the government in any prospective collaboration with the key players of the industry could range from providing easy access to credit facilities for acquisition of the vehicle, to simplifying the norms for regulation of such cabs and taxis. Moreover, such collaboration could be implemented even in smaller cities by extending it to auto-rickshaws as in the case of Ola. Thus, transport serves as one of the key areas for development of micro-entrepreneurship opportunities while increasing the connectivity within the state.

In February 2016, Uber India signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of

Maharashtra’s Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Department (SDED) to create 75,000 new

economic opportunities, including a focus on training women and people from marginalized societies. As

part of the MoU, Uber India launched the Mi Pan Malak scheme, which aims to strengthen its vision of

creating economic opportunities and livelihood across Maharashtra and also offer an affordable and

convenient transportation solution to citizens. Under this scheme, regular cab owners can run their own

micro-enterprise and take complete possession of the car, by availing offers and services through Uber’s

partnerships with leading financial institutions and car manufacturers with a down payment as

economical as ₹25,000.

In order to operationalize this scheme and provide financial assistance, Uber Technologies have also

partnered with the Tata Group. As per this partnership, owners and drivers on the Uber platform will be

able to buy Tata cars like Indica and Indigo. The micro-entrepreneurs will also be eligible for flexible and

customized financing solutions offered by Tata Capital Financial Services and Tata Motors Finance besides

affordable insurance from Tata AIG. The Mi Pan Malak Scheme exemplifies how state governments can

partner with leading businesses to create opportunities for micro-entrepreneurs.

Uber India’s Mi Pan Malak Scheme

Uber India Regus Business Platinum Centre Pvt. Ltd. Level 13, Navi Mumbai – 400705, Maharashtra, India

Ola ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd., 4th Floor, Sunteck Centre, 37-40 Subhash Road, Vile Parle (East), Mumbai – 400057, Maharashtra Phone no: 022- 30947900

Mega Cabs 261, Ground Floor, Okhla Phase III New Delhi -110020 Contact No: 011-41516171

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Service

The service sector is one of the fastest growing sectors for micro-

entrepreneurship. With the use of minimal resources, individuals can start

their own businesses with adequate training. Service professionals range

from electricians, to plumbers, tutors, trainers, beauticians, among others.

Various state and central government schemes which aim to provide skill

development and training boosts the availability of skilled professionals.

Instead of getting hired in an organization, service professionals can start

their own freelancing micro enterprises.

Various technology platforms such as Urban Clap and Urban Pro connect the service professionals to their relevant

market and simplify the process of consumer acquisition.

The role of the government in this area is primarily in providing skill development facilities to the unemployed youth

but can also extend to providing credit facilities to set up their businesses. The government may also collaborate

with the leading start-ups in the service sector to create platforms to connect service professionals to their clients

even in rural markets.

Urban Clap UrbanClap Technologies India Pvt Ltd, Plot 19, Sewa Towers, 5th floor, Udyog Vihar Phase IV, Gurgaon- 122015

Urban Pro 2nd floor, Bannerghatta Road, 3rd phase, J.P. Nagar Bangalore - 560076

Technology plays a key role in promoting and sustaining micro-entrepreneurship. The use of

technology provides access to information, aids marketing and increases the connectivity with the

relevant markets. This hold true for both urban and rural areas. The example of Kerala, where

technology has been used to boost coastal fishing, serves as an apt example of how technology can be

harnessed to increase micro-entrepreneurship.

In a pioneering study by Robert Jensen on fishermen in the coastal state of Kerala, it was found that

within a few months of the availability of mobile network coverage in the fishing communities, about

80 per cent of all fishermen had purchased mobile phones. These fishermen were using mobile phones

as tools of business - they would communicate with contacts at each fish market while still at sea, and

bring their catch in to the markets that offered the best prices. Prices became much more uniform and

predictable, and fishermen’s profits increased on average by eight per cent, even as consumer prices

declined by four per cent. Dumping of unsold fish (which averaged five to eight per cent of daily catch

before mobile phones) was eliminated because buyers and sellers found each other more efficiently.

The Akshaya project, which is a public-private partnership between the Kerala government and small

entrepreneurs, has now spawned thousands of internet-based businesses that offer services ranging

from VoIP telephony to computer-based English lessons to online astrology readings.

The IT landscape of the Indian state of Kerala is being transformed as a result of access to the internet

via thousands of internet kiosks (called Akshaya Centres) distributed throughout the state and via a

statewide training drive by the IT authorities there.

Technology and Micro-entrepreneurship: The Kerala Example

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Fisheries

Large areas of coastal Andhra Pradesh depends primarily on fishing for sustenance and livelihood generation. Thus,

fishing serves as one of the major areas for micro-entrepreneurship. The use of technology can rapidly improve the

income generated from such enterprise as is illustrated in the case of Fisher Friend mobile application. Moreover,

government schemes which provide micro financing can be utilized to purchase better equipment for fishing and

also ensure safety.

Apiculture

The harvesting of honey from the forest has been in practice in Andhra Pradesh since long and generates huge profits.

In the recent past rural communities while diversifying their agricultural practices, have adopted this practice

gradually. Production of honey from farmlands can be a secondary activity for farmers as it requires less time as

compared with other activities and can be carried out by women in a house. On an estimate, about 80 per cent of

honey is used directly in medicines and 10 per cent is used in Ayurvedic and pharmaceutical production. Apiculture

is an excellent, esthetic livelihood generating micro-enterprise. It has a potential market with environmental

responsibility and worldwide medicinal and nutritional recognition.

Moreover, apiculture requires less investment, is easy-to-learn and also helps in pollination of crops and increases

seed setting in many crops.

Textile and Handloom

Andhra Pradesh is one of the important states in the handloom industry, with about 2 lakh weavers within the co-

operative fold and around 1.5 lakh weavers outside the cooperative fold. The Department of Handloom and Textiles,

Andhra Pradesh provides subsidies as well as tax exemptions to foster the textile and handloom micro-enterprise.

Setting up of textile and handloom parks for sharing infrastructure is also an effective way of encouraging more

micro-enterprises in this area.

Collaborating with organizations such as Fab India and the Khadi Board, which utilize textile produced from

handloom industry could provide an effective market for the existing industries and encourage new micro-

enterprises in this sector. Additionally, collaboration could also lead to promoting the locally produced textiles on a

national and international front and increasing demand for the same.

Coir Industry

Coir Industry utilizes coconut fiber, the natural resource which is available a plenty in the Godavari districts of

Andhra Pradesh. There is no dearth of market for coconut fibers and ropes as the product is in greater demand in

international market. Exports to Sri Lanka and China are also growing apart from the regular supply to neighboring

Fisher Friend Mobile Application

Fisher Friend is a mobile application developed by M S Swaminathan Research Foundation in partnership with

Qualcomm and is available for the coastal regions of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. The mobile

application provides critical information about weather and ocean conditions up to 100 kilometers from shore,

including disaster alerts, Potential Fishing Zone (PFZs) and current market prices of fish, helping the fishermen

improve their catch and income.

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states of Odisha and West Bengal. Moreover, coconut husk is also used as a raw material for mattresses industry

and serves as a potential area of partnership.

It costs about Rs. 2 to Rs. 5 lakh to set up a coir producing unit with a man power of 8 to 12 laborers a day. Partnership

with industries which use coir as a raw material such as the mattress industry can further boost the setting up of

coir producing micro-enterprises.

Tourism Encouraging Self Help Groups (SHGs) or local residents to operate tourism clusters is another area where micro-

entrepreneurship can flourish. This would involve operating and maintaining all essential functions of a tourist area,

including transportation, hospitality, tour guides, and market for local commodities. With assistance from

government, the local people can be trained to turn each of these aspects into opportunities for employment and

income generation. Websites like Airbnb which facilitate the renting of a house or a spare room could be utilized for

marketing and reaching out to potential customers. Other websites which list homestays, can also be used effectively

to promote a particular tourism cluster. This model of micro-entrepreneurship has previously been successfully

implemented in Kerala. The tourism sector has immense untapped opportunities for micro-entrepreneurship,

especially in Andhra Pradesh.

Micro-entrepreneurship is one of the significant ways of strengthening a developing economy, which

promises to generate income and employment and alleviates the burden on the government.

Collaboration between the government and the key players in the industry is essential to generating

new opportunities for micro-entrepreneurship and facilitating the same.

Several existing central and state schemes can be harnessed to facilitate the availability of finance for

the micro-enterprises, reduce the burden of taxation and provide training and infrastructure for their

sustenance.

Technology plays an important role in making micro-entrepreneurships cost effective and profitable

and the governments should focus on the development of sector specific technology to facilitate micro-

enterprises.

Transport, service and manufacturing sectors are key areas with immense scope for collaboration and

the scope for micro-enterprises.

Agriculture and allied sectors are also areas which government can encourage micro-entrepreneurship

by providing adequate incentives.

Key Takeaways

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Housing scenario in Visakhapatnam

With the rapid urbanization and changing socio-economic patterns, there is an increase in housing

shortage especially for the poor and low-income households. The housing sector is considered ‘engine of

growth’, which has immense potential of giving a push to the economy because of its link with the

construction sector impacting employment and livelihood. Therefore, housing assistance can make a

significant difference in the economic well-being of the low-income families, both in rural and urban areas.

Context

India is experiencing a high rate of population growth with an increase more than 181 million (17.64%)

during the decade 2001-2011 (Census 2011). Andhra Pradesh has a total housing stock (including

residences and other institutional buildings) of 1.55 crores. It is ranked fourth amongst the 10 states that

contribute to almost 75% of the total urban area housing shortage. The Andhra Pradesh Housing Board

(APHB) has estimated a total investment of Rs. 74,290 Crores to cover this housing shortage requirement

over a 10 year time-frame.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty has approved

69 projects under Basic Services to Urban Poor (BSUP)

and Integrated Housing for Slum Development

Programme (IHSDP) components of Jawaharlal Nehru

National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and Rajiv

Awas Yojana (RAY) including Affordable Housing

Programme (AHP) for constructing 80,999 houses in

Andhra Pradesh. Out of 80,999 houses approved,

64,942 houses have been constructed completely, out

of which 40,331 houses have been occupied by the

beneficiaries (As on 31.12.2015).

An Overview of Housing Schemes

Affordable housing is central to most Central Government programmes and schemes. In this context, the

Ministry of Housing and Poverty Alleviation has launched the ‘Housing for All by 2022’ Mission on

June 25th 2015, to provide “pucca” house for every family by 2022. This was launched as a centrally

sponsored scheme (except the credit link subsidy component, which is implemented as a central sector

Category

Housing

Shortage (in

Lakhs)

Investment

required (in

Crores)

EWS I 1.5 9,180

EWS II 1.5 9,180

LIG 7 55,930

Total 10 74,290

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scheme). Since land is a state subject, the scheme encourages states to decide their own relevant policies

related to provision of affordable housing. The scheme will eventually cover all urban areas consisting of

4041 statutory towns with an initial focus on 500 Class I cities and is spread across 3 phases. This mission

is implemented through the following four components:

1. In–Situ Slum Redevelopment

2. Affordable Housing Through Credit

3. Affordable housing through Public

4. Beneficiary-led Individual House Constructions or Enhancement

Under this scheme, Andhra Pradesh has approved 61 number of housing projects under which 1,93,147

EWS houses were involved and houses under progress are 1413.

Housing scenario in Visakhapatnam

Housing in Andhra Pradesh is handled by various departments such as APSHCL (Andhra Pradesh State

Housing Corporation Ltd.), Andhra Pradesh Housing Board (APHB), Andhra Pradesh Rajiv Swagruha

Corporation Ltd. (APRSCL), Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), Directorate of Town and Country Planning and so

on. The APHB or the APSHCL are the ones undertaking construction of affordable houses for EWS/LIG

category. Moreover, there is very limited participation by the private developers in providing affordable

houses.

For Economically Weaker Sections in Rural and Urban areas – Andhra State Housing

Corporation (APSHCL)

For Low Income and Middle Groups in Urban Areas Andhra Pradesh State Housing Board

(APHB)

For High Income and elite Groups AP Rajiv Swagruha Corporation (APRSGCL)

Visakhapatnam has a number of institutions involved in governing the city. Some of these are a part of

Andhra Pradesh’s governance framework while some are established through acts of legislature. Some of

the law bound institutions are as follows:

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The total number of houseless households in urban areas is 7,330. The total number of households living

in dilapidated houses amounts to 55,304. Semi-permanent, temporary and unclassifiable houses census

houses also add to the housing gap. The total number of such houses is 5,27,443.

Type Name of the scheme/programme

Centrally Sponsored Swarna Jayanthi Sahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY)

National Slum Development Program

State Sponsored

Rajeev Yuvasakthi

Rajeev Gruhakalpa

Indiramma

Andhra Pradesh State Affordable Housing Policy 2015 guidelines:

The draft policy elaborates the various parameters of affordable housing based on their classification. The

affordable housing is classified into different categories and aligned to the housing requirements of the

existing Central and State schemes based on the income criteria:

EWS (21-27 Sq mts)

LIG I (28-40 Sq mts)

LIG II (41-60 Sq mts)

MIG (61-80 Sq mts)

Planning Norms:

The planning norms as per Andhra Pradesh Building Rules focuses on mixed land use, development norms,

parking norms specific to affordable housing. There are specific guidelines for the mixed scheme project

for affordable housing over and above Mandatory reservation. In this context, if the project size is more

than 250 dwelling units and with plot size over 5 acres, then at least 60% of the FAR/FSI is to allocated for

1•Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC)

2•Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority (VUDA)

3•Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board

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affordable housing with dwelling units of carpet area not more than 60 Sq Mts. Moreover, of these dwelling

units, 35% is to be constructed for EWS/LIG I category.

The size and requirement of the designed units in the affordable housing component need to be as per the

National Building Code of India, 2005 (Special requirements for Low Income Housing of Part III).

Eligibility:

Developers involved in the affordable housing projects apart from a good track record and minimum of

three years experience need to have their total net worth equivalent to 25% o the project cost. This ensures

the credibility of the developer. Moreover, in case of special purpose vehicle or join venture by different

private developers, a maximum of 3 developers is feasible.

The beneficiaries are eligible only if they have been residing in AP for at least 3 years. In addition the

implementation agency will allot the houses only to those beneficiaries who fall under the defined annual

income criteria. Once allotted a house, the beneficiaries of EWS/LIG I/LIG II cannot sell/ sublet their

housing unit for at least 7 years while MIG units cannot sublet for 5 years.

The State Level Nodal Agency (SLNA) is the umbrella agency under which the existing housing related

schemes such as AHP, RAY, RRY are implemented and monitored. The SLNA through a single online

housing e-portal system processes all projects executed by various implementing agencies such as ULB,

UDA, developer and so on. The SLNA along with housing finance institution/commercial bank coordinate

and facilitate the sanction of loan for the beneficiaries.

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Data and Democracy

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About Data and Democracy

Data brings objectivity and efficiency in the delivery and assessment of development. There lies immense scope to

leverage the data available in public domain to understand the state of development across sectors. At Swaniti, we

analyze raw data to seek trends and present it to our audience in a streamlined format. The page can be viewed at

www.swaniti.com/jigyasa-features.

Keeping in mind recently occurred events, we analyzed the following in the month of August:

Domestic Air Traffic in India – Growth Story: The total passenger traffic in Domestic Airlines during Jan – May

2016 stood at 39.42 Million, 50% higher than the figure during the same period in 2014. This section examines the

growth of the civil aviation sector in India, in the last three years.

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Domestic Air Traffic in India – Growth Story

Passenger Traffic and Aircrafts Flown

Did you know that the CAGR of Domestic Flyers in India has been 22.4% between 2014 and 2016 compared for Jan-May? The growth rate for the period of 2012 to 2014 was a meagre 1.67%.

India’s Civil Aviation Industry is on a high-growth trajectory. The total passenger traffic in Domestic Airlines during

Jan – May 2016 stood at 39.42 Million, a whopping 50% higher compared to the figure during the same period in

2014. The primary causes for such vast expansion are increase in low-cost carriers, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

in domestic airlines, advanced Information Technology and improving regional connectivity. The graphs below show

cumulative Jan-May figures regarding progress in the domestic civil aviation space over the last 3 years.

Approximately 30% of the Passenger Traffic are in Category-I routes that connects 7 main cities across 12 routes: Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Trivandrum. The routes connecting 15 stations in North Eastern Region, Jammu & Kashmir, Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep are Category-II routes and carries 10% - 11% of the Passenger traffic. Routes other than those in Category-I and Category-II fall in Category-III

Category-I

MUMBAI-BANGALORE CALCUTTA-DELHI

MUMBAI-CALCUTTA CALCUTTA-BANGALORE

MUMBAI-DELHI CALCUTTA-CHENNAI

MUMBAI-HYDERABAD DELHI-BANGALORE

MUMBAI-CHENNAI DELHI-HYDERABAD

21.9%

22.8%

YoY

Growth

2.50

2.60

3.12

2014

2015

2016

Aircraft Departures (In L)

263.29

320.92

394.20

2014

2015

2016

Passenger Traffic (In L)

29.7%

10.8%

59.5%

Category I Category II Category III

Category-wise Traffic: May 2016

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Airline Market Share: May 2016 While Indigo remains market leader by a wide margin, Jet Airways and Air India are trying to catch up. Together they account for more than 70% of the domestic flyers. Indigo recorded a 55% increase in number of aircrafts flown (Departures) between Jan-May 2014 compared to the same period in 2016. The nearest competitor, Jet Airways witnessed an increase of 9% over the same period.

67,01785,211

1,03,782

Indigo: Total Departures

MUMBAI-TRIVANDRUM DELHI-CHENNAI

38.7%

16.1%

14.5%

12.7%

8.1%

9.9%

Indigo Jet Airways Air India SpiceJet Go Air Rest

55,578 58,78963,889

Jet Airways: Total Departures

43,229 42,602 44,873

Air India: Total Departures

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Top 20 City Pairs with Highest Domestic Traffic in May 2016 The busiest air route is Mumbai – Delhi that carried 5.84 Lac passengers in May 2016. The second busiest route between Bengaluru and Delhi carried only 3.37 Lac passengers. Delhi – Patna figures among the top 20 routes with close to 1 Lac passengers. IGIT Delhi is the busiest airport in India followed by CST Mumbai and Bengaluru Airport. Note: City 1, shown above, is Mumbai in Mumbai – Delhi route. Data Source: Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Government of India

From City 1 To City 1

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Research Support and Engagement with Elected Officials

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About Research Support and Engagement with Honorable MPs

Swaniti Initiative aims to inform MPs about development issues through dissemination of information on development

topics like health, education, gender or livelihood in the form of analysis of schemes, briefs, research insights etc. Our

research content is developed through consistent feedback and discussion with MPs. Additionally, Swaniti also provides

on-ground support and grassroots-level development insight at the constituency level in certain cases. The areas of

intervention are focused on our 4 core sectors (health, education, gender and livelihood). As part of engagements,

members from the Swaniti team travel to the constituency to study the issue at hand, interact with the different

stakeholders and subsequently draw a plan of action to address the issue. The Swaniti team also follows up with the

stakeholders at regular intervals to ensure that the project is completed in a time-bound manner.

In the month of August, our Engagement Associate visited Sikkim to work on the Saansad Adarsh Gram or Model Village

Program. This section highlights the activities undertaken in the constituency and stories from the field.

Additionally, a Roundtable was organized for the legislators of Bihar to familiarize them with the mobile application

developed by Swaniti Initiative to monitor Maternal and Child Health. This section features a report of the roundtable.

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Roundtable with Legislators on Maternal and Child Health Care

While the Central Government is considering the creation of a National e-Health Record System for every citizen,

various Departments of Government of India already collect data on specific health indicators. A few examples

include the Hospital Management Information System (HMIS), a huge data base which receives information from

public health facilities. As part of HMIS infrastructure, all Government run health facility centres receive a

computerized system, manpower and training for data entry. While this data cannot be utilized for analysing the

general health of the population (as it concentrates primarily on maternal and child health), it can be used for making

policy decisions based on the information provided by health centres. Besides HMIS, there are periodic surveys like

National Family Health Survey (NFHS - 2014), the Annual Health Survey (AHS - 2014) through Sample Registration

System (SRS), District Level household and facility Survey (DLHS), Registrar General Office and the Mother and Child

Tracking System which collect health related data. Apart from the above mentioned surveys, there are others which

are undertaken on an annual or a bi-annual basis. A tremendous amount of time and resources are spent on health

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data collection, however presently these extensive data bases are not being utilized by policy makers i.e. elected

officials or administrators for carrying out targeted interventions in the health sector.

There are two specific problems which plague the health data which are already available. Firstly, the data is spread

across multiple sources and secondly no medium or tool exists for utilizing this data at the constituency or district

level. However, health data is utilized for policy making at the Central and State level but the usage of the data is still

limited as it is not used to monitor the impact of these policies. The opportunity exists in the usage of extensive data

at the constituency or district level also for carrying out region specific developmental programmes. Recognizing the

problem and the potential, the Swaniti Team in association with Centre for Catalyzing Change (C3) , a non-profit

organisation which has field experience in working on maternal and child health care issues, decided to work

together to create a medium for efficient data utilization. The end result of this collaboration was an app which

collected real time data on maternal and child health from multiple sources and presented it on a single platform in

an easily accessible format.

The app was tailor made for elected officials as the data was presented constituency wise. The work involved in

developing the app was extensive and spread across diverse fields. Information and data was collected on multiple

health parameters. These health parameters were then matched to all the block and panchayats which fell under one

constituency. After the massive research exercise, the IT team was tasked with developing an algorithm which would

present this data in a comprehensive format and finally the outreach team had to create awareness about the app

amongst the interested sections of policy makers i.e. parliamentarians. The outcome was an interactive cross-

platform app which could support elected representatives to make data based interventions within their

parliamentary constituencies or local assembly constituencies, as the case maybe.

In order to popularise the app amongst the targeted audience, it was introduced to the MLAs of the State of Bihar in

the Bihar Vidhan Sabha. The presentation encompassed a brief introduction about the partner organizations, demo

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of the application and a detailed discussion of some specifics that emerged through data. The response was very

encouraging as the members were very expressive with their interest. What particularly caught their attention was

how they could see the performance of their own assembly constituency across certain health parameters in

comparison to other assembly constituencies. This would give them a comprehensive picture about the level of

health infrastructure accessible to their electorate which would lead their policy decisions to be better informed.

Our experience with this app leads us to believe that elected officials are interested in innovate methods which could

aid and actively support them in their decision making, however any new tool for policy making has to be specific to

the particularities of a developmental problem in order to create viable solutions.

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Latuk Chochenpheri Women’s Association – A Step towards Active Representation of Women in Village Affairs

Through the cohort of myriad performance measures, one of

the key objectives and performance indicators in the Sansad

Adarsh Gram Yojana is the improvement in ‘Access to Rights

and Entitlements’ among the communities in the Gram

Panchayat that leads to wider social mobilization and

ultimately helps in building an enriched social capital. A key

sub-component to this performance metric is women

empowerment.

The Government of Sikkim has been at the forefront of gender

empowerment in the country and the Hon’ble Chief Minister,

Mr. Pawan Chamling has stressed on the importance of

women participation in the grassroots level decision-making

process. Accordingly, the team had identified women

empowerment as a key focus area. With this objective in mind,

the team interacted with women members of the community

and understood their current socio-economic condition and involvement in village affairs. This report

details the key points from these discussions and the first step initiated towards women empowerment.

Women in Latuk Chochenpheri GPU – A SWOT Analysis

Nestled among the clouds, a few thousand feet above the sea level, Latuk Chochenpheri has traditionally

been a society respectful of women and in some measures, the society even represents a matriarchy. Case

in point, during marriages, the family members of the groom visit the bride’s family and pay in kind (which

is usually alcohol) and also sponsor the wedding. Female infanticide and foeticide are largely non-existent

and no significant cognitive biases against women exist in the society. This is further reflected by the fact

that Latuk Chochenpheri has a sex ratio of 964, which is much higher than the state average of 889.

Moreover, women’s economic contribution to the households is usually high through active involvement

Need for Women Empowerment

Latuk Chochenpheri, a GPU in Parkha

Block of Pakyong sub-division in East

Sikkim district, has been identified by Mr.

Prem Das Rai, the Honorable MP of Sikkim

under Phase II of the SAGY. Mr. Rai had

emphasized on the need for women

empowerment and their active

representation in planning activities for

development of the GPU.

Currently, there are 892 women across the

6 wards in the GPU. The GPU has a sex

ratio of 964 females per 1000 males (Total

population is 1,817). Interaction with the

women through FGDs indicated a lack of

leadership skills and negligible

participation in Gram Sabha or other

village forums. As a result, women centric

issues didn’t get highlighted.

“The women in our GPU not only handle all the household work but are also active participants in NREGA work. But they don’t have other economic opportunities available.”

- Mr. Krishan Bahadur Chhetri, Panchayat President, Latuk

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in agricultural production and also daily wage employment via MGNREGA. As per the data available with

the Gram Rozgar Sewak, 40 percent of the registered workers under NREGA are women and the women

participate in activities undertaken under the NREGA.

Through the course of interactions with the community and government representatives, the following

points were observed and taken into consideration:

3 wards – Latuk, Thek and Pheri – in the GP are reserved for women. This is in line with the Sikkim

Panchayat (Amendment) Act 2010 wherein 50 percent of the seats in rural local bodies have been

reserved for women. In the case of Latuk, only the women representative from Latuk ward is an active

participant in decision-making processes and Gram Sabha meetings. The other two Panchayat members

from Thek and Pheri are comparatively inactive and for all de facto purposes their husbands are

discharging their responsibilities on their behalf.

Negligible participation of women during the Gram Sabha even through the Sabhas were mostly led by

women – the ADC, Pakyong, Ms. Roshni Rai and Zilla Parishad member, Ms. Denka Bhutia. As a result,

women centric issues are not raised at this important platform and there is insignificant

institutionalization of their demands in the Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP).

Most women recalled the creation of a Self Help Group (SHG) a few years ago but stated that it was a

token measure and did not achieve any significant benefits. It did not lead to creation of any new

livelihood opportunities and negligible training was offered to them in terms of credit facilitation and

skill development.

Most women have been born and brought up in an environment where, just like their male counterparts,

their only focus was on the benefits that could be provided by the government. There was a lack of

initiative and no body wished to undertake any leadership roles or participate in any entrepreneurial

Name of Ward No. of

Females No. of Males

Chochen 169 171

Chochen Tadong

140 140

Latuk 93 112

Pheri 192 192

Thek 90 100

Zeeling 208 210

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activities. When asked if they would like to be a part of women’s SHG, the most common question that

arose was “If we do so, then what would the government give us?” The sole concern among women

centres on the discharging of household duties and working as daily wage labourers as part of

MGNREGA.

The following SWOT analysis provides a snapshot of the gender empowerment situation in Latuk

Chochenpheri.

STRENGTHS

• Significant economic contribution by

women to household income

• Anthropological benefits attributed to

women especially in Bhutia culture in which

women are treated equal to men

• Women state employees at senior levels in

state offices

WEAKNESS

• Lack of intrinsic marketable cultural/ traditional skills

• Low motivation to participate in governance and lack of desire to contribute outside the household

• Lack of awareness about potential role in social development

Internal

OPPORTUNITIES

• Scope for participation in government machineries and creation of GPDPs

• Creation of employment in agricultural allied sectors (example: packaging of cardamom) and tertiary sectors such as that in upcoming tourism infrastructure at Chochen Lake

THREATS

• Lack of financial support • Lack of infrastructural support through

communication and transport for aid in macro (non-household) participation

• Lack of any previously successful SHG. Failed past structures are a cause for resentment against new effort

External

Positive Negative

Planning the Next Step – Collaborating with the Panchayat

Based on the detailed discussion with the women and the general interaction and experience with the

community, the team had made three important observations, as highlighted below:

Latuk is spread across a large expanse of area and the population in different habitations is sparse. The

mountainous terrain, combined with lack of means for communication and travel is also a challenge.

There exist fundamental perceptive barriers and psychological biases among the women, as highlighted

in the previous section. Best illustrated in the form of low levels of motivation.

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The women members were contributing to the economic development of the community through

extensive involvement in agriculture and work carried out under NREGA.

Therefore, on the basis of further discussion with Panchayat President, Mr. Chhetri and Smt. Phur Diki

Sherpa (ward member from Latuk), it was decided that as a first step, the focus would be on helping the

women understand their role in decision making processes and human development in the community.

Moreover, the engagement has to be sustained and carried out in different phases to overcome the existing

challenges and ensure that any intervention, which comes out from the discussions, is not a short-term

measure.

Accordingly, the team decided to bring together the women on one common platform and engage with

them in a concerted manner. The idea was to hear their collective thoughts and grievances as well as work

with them to identify solutions to the issues voiced by them. As part of the SDP, a very important aspect is

to enable the community to become solution providers and the team wanted the women to not just raise

women-centric issues and become active participants in discussions pertaining to the development of the

village but also feel empowered enough to suggest solutions to the problems. Therefore, the Panchayat

members were requested to reach out to women from all socio-economic backgrounds and belonging to

different age groups, who shared the enthusiasm for taking up leadership roles within the community.

Subsequently, a total of 18 women from the 6 wards were identified and requested to assemble at the Gram

Prashashan Kendra office on 3rd September 2016.

Enhancing Women Participation in Decision Making Processes – A Women’s Association Takes Shape

Fostering the Spirit of ‘Unity’ – After a round of brief introduction from the assembled women, it was

apparent that the women were hesitant to speak up and felt shy to open up in a larger group. To allow a

sense of open space to percolate through the group, it was decided to use games as an ice breaking session.

For this purpose, all the 18 women were broken down into teams of 2 each (each team suggested a name

for their own self). As part of the activity, each team was asked to balance a pencil between their foreheads

and finish the race from the start to the finish line. Upon the completion of the task, the question – “What

did you learn from the activity?” was put forth. The most common response was ‘Unity’ and ‘not giving up

upon failure’. Post the activity, the women were briefed on the importance of working together in the form

of a women’s group across all the 6 wards in the GPU. The discussion also focused on putting forward their

perspectives in a collective manner at appropriate decision making forums so that the same could be part

of the development strategy for the entire GPU.

Highlighting the Concerns – Subsequently, the women were divided into two groups and requested to list

down the 10 most pressing issues faced by women in the GPU. The idea was to encourage the women to

participate in a group setting and feel free to discuss their problems and challenges. The following list of

items were put forth by the two groups:

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Group 1 (Orchid)

Group 2 (Rose)

1. Lack of availability of stationary items for children

going to school

2. Lack of availability of Sanitary Napkins

3. Lack of waste disposal mechanisms for sanitary

napkins

4. Shortage of medicines such as iron tablets,

paracetamol and painkillers

5. Lack of drinking water connectivity (women have

to travel to far off water sources)

6. Low widow pensions that are spent on running

entire household

7. Illiteracy among women above 40 years old

8. Limited number of workers at PHSC (shortage of

resources)

9. Low salaries for ASHA workers against the amount

of work (traversing of large distances in travelling)

10. Lack of vehicles for transportation during medical

emergencies and time of delivery

11. Alcohol addiction among husbands (since women

do a lot of household work and even agriculture,

men have free time to spend in consumption of

alcohol – point was also raised by MP, Mr. P.D Rai

during discussion with CMO)

12. Extensive household responsibilities because of

husband’s migration to Gangtok

13. Low salary of Anganwadi workers

14. Lack of vegetables due to major allocation of

agricultural land to cash crop - cardamom

15. Distant location of PHSC (especially from Latuk

and Thek)

16. Lack of any SHGs (last meeting of previously

formed SHG happened in 2014. No formal structure

and no one knew the list of members in the SHG)

After compilation of the problem statements by the two groups, one member from each group was

requested to come forth and express the problems listed out by their respective groups in front of the entire

audience. After each point, some amount of group discussion followed. The point pertaining to availability

of sanitary pads and medicines made up for the most active discussion among the members.

Defining the Solution – As both groups shared their problem statements, the sheet of paper on which each

group had written their list of problems was exchanged between the groups. Next, each group was asked

to write down the solutions to the problems pointed out by the members of the first group. This exercise,

extremely important in nature, showed the women that they were capable of coming up with their own set

of solutions for their own problems and did not require external support. Even though not all solutions

were feasible, some of the good suggestions put forth by the women are listed as below:

o Creation of stationary shops within or close to the school premises

o Creation of garbage pits by Urban Development and Housing Department

o Refilling of medicine kit for ASHA workers

o Setting up of more fair price shops in the GPU (Presently only 1 FPS exists)

o Literacy workshops for old women

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o Timely dispensation of salary for Anganwadi Workers (AWW) and ASHA Workers

Creation of Women’s Group – At the end of the session, the present members talked about the need to

promote their collective interests and the importance of not relying on men for the fulfillment of their

demands. Moreover, they expressed their willingness to come together as part of a Women’s Associate and

dedicate time to the same so that it could emerge as an important institution in the GPU. At the same time,

they openly requested the team members to maintain the process for some time and do some amount of

handholding.

From L-R: Women form teams of two to participate in the ice breaker session; two women from different wards work together to complete the assigned task; women working as a group to identify most pressing issues and a

young member from Team Rose presenting the solutions to the problems mentioned by Team Orchid

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Swaniti in the Media

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Swaniti in the Media covers the diverse range of articles authored by Swaniti on key developmental and policy issues.

The articles and research insights are published in leading broadsheets, news aggregators and daily newspapers.

This section also covers the media pieces which cover Swaniti’s work with elected officials and highlight the projects

that we have undertaken.

The August edition includes the following media article:

Farmers’ training workshop at Kalika gram panchayat: As part of the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana in Kalika,

Swaniti Initiative conducted a farmers training programme to sensitize them about the fertilizer requirements of the

soil. The article was published in The Statesman.

About Swaniti in the Media

34

Farmers’ training workshop at Kalika gram panchayat Published in The Statesman

A farmers training programme was conducted by Paradeep Phosphates Limited in Kalika Gram Panchayat, the

Adarsh Gram chosen by MP Mr. R. K. Jena in his constituency.

The session that benefitted more than 60 farmers focused on soil testing, balanced nutrient management and

improved package of crop production for higher crop yield.

The organizers from Bhubaneswar that included C. S. Roy, Biswajit Nanda, along with Marketing Manager Mr. R. K.

Satpathy also conducted a field training session and demonstrated the estimation of nutrient status of crop with Leaf

Color Chart. This helped the farmers understand the adequate fertilizer requirement for their crops.

“Till date, most of the agricultural training programme were conducted in a non-organized manner and focused on

too many aspects in a small time. This did not help us retain much knowledge for practical purposes,” stated one of

the farmers in the training class. The organizers encouraged the farmers to raise their problems and also provided

solution to each of them. After the training session, farmers were also given a Leaf Color Chart for their own purpose.

‘We are very happy to be associated with the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana project in Balasore and we extend our full

support to this cause’ said Mr. Nanda, Chief Manager at PPL.

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The Sarpanch, Gangadhar

Das, mentioned that this

was first such initiative for

the farming community in

his Panchayat in the last few

years. PPL plans to conduct

follow-up sessions in Kalika

over the next few weeks and

a training session in Kalika

over the next weeks and a

training session for 20

selected farmers at Farmers

Training School,

Bhubaneswar in September.

‘I highly appreciate the

initiative undertaken by

PPL in Kalika and I am sure that this will go a long way in transforming the lives of thousands of farmers in the region.

I would also like to thank Swaniti Initiative for coordinating the entire event,’ said MP Mr. R. K. Jena.

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Role of Youth and Technology in Governance: Swaniti Talk with

Mr. Amitabh Kant

On August 10, 2016, Swaniti Initiative organized a talk with Mr. Amitabh Kant, CEO of Niti Aayog at the Indian

Institute of Technology, Delhi. Mr. Kant is at the helm of policy and decision-making and is keenly interested in

technology and governance. The conversation was moderated by Mr. Shantanu Agarwal, Chairman and Program

Lead, Swaniti Initiative. The talk was on the 'Role of youth and technology in Governance' with focus on the shifts,

changes and patterns in the space of technology.

The discussion also looked at the Government's plan and vision in regard to technology where Mr. Kant highlighted

the key challenges and different ways of involving young citizens into supporting such technology driven initiatives.

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Weekly Policy Updates

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About Weekly Policy Updates

Weekly Policy Updates aim to keep the elected officials updated on policy development by providing them crisp

information. This initiative of ours has been recognized by many MPs during our interactions with them.

This section includes the key policy initiatives which were announced in the month of August. These included

developments in Transport, Motor Vehicles, Surrogacy, amongst others. The Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill was

approved by the cabinet in the first week of August. The Bill focuses on issues relating to improving road safety,

citizens’ facilitation while dealing with the Transport Department, strengthening rural transport, improving last

mile connectivity and public transport, automation and computerization and enabling online services. The cabinet

also approved the introduction of the "Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016. The National Apprenticeship Promotion

Scheme was notified by the government this month.

Weekly policy updates sent out to elected representatives have been summarized in subsequent pages.

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July 30th – August 5th, 2016 (Week 1)

1. Cabinet approves Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill 2016

The Union Cabinet has given its approval for Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill 2016. In the present Motor

Vehicle Act, there are 223 Sections out of which the Bill aims to amend 68 sections whereas Chapters 10 has

been deleted and a Chapter 11 is being replaced with new provisions to simplify third party insurance claims

and settlement process. The important provisions include increase in compensation for Hit & Run cases from

Rs. 25000 to Rs. 2 lakhs. It also has provision for payment of compensation upto Rs 10 lakh in road accidents

fatalities.

The Bill also proposes insertion of 28 new sections. The amendments mainly focus on issues relating to

improving road safety, citizens’ facilitation while dealing with the Transport Department. Strengthening

rural transport, last mile connectivity and public transport, automation and computerization and enabling

online services. The Bill propose to improve the transport scenario in the country by permitting the States

to grant exemptions in Stage carriage and contract carriage permits for promoting rural transport, public

transport, last mile connectivity and for passenger convenience and road safety. The Bill proposes that the

State Government can specify a multiplier, not less than one and not greater than ten, to be applied to each

fine under this Act and such modified fine.

In the area of road safety, bill proposes to increase penalties to act as deterrent against traffic

violations. Stricter provisions are being proposed in respect of offences like juvenile driving, drunken

driving, driving without licence, dangerous driving, over-speeding, overloading etc. Stricter provisions for

helmets have been introduced along with provisions for electronic detection of violations. To help the road

accident victims, Good Samaritan guidelines have been incorporated in the Bill. The Bill also proposes to

mandate the automated fitness testing for the transport vehicles with effect from 1st October 2018.

2. Cabinet approves Recommendations of the Sub-Group of Chief Minsters on Rationalization of Centrally

Sponsored Schemes

The Union Cabinet has accepted the major recommendations of the Sub-Group of Chief Minsters on

Rationalization of Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSSs). The Sub-Group had examined 66 CSSs and

recommended that the number of CSSs should not normally exceed 30. The rationalization of the CSSs would

ensure optimum utilization of resources with better outcomes through area specific interventions. This

would also ensure wider reach of the benefits to the target groups.

The sub-committee had recommended the classification of the CSS into three categories: Core of Core, Core

and Optional. States would be free to choose the optional schemes they wish to implement. Funds for these

schemes would be allocated to States by the Ministry of Finance as a lump sum. The core of core and core

schemes would comprise of the National Development Agenda priorities and social welfare/security

schemes.

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Existing Funding pattern of the Core of the Core Schemes would continue. For Core schemes the centre-state

funding ratio would be 60:40 while for optional schemes, the ratio would be 50:50. While designing the CSS,

the Central Ministries shall permit flexibility in the choice of components to the States as available under the

Rashtriya Krishi Vikaas Yojana (RKVY). Moreover, the flexi-funds available in each CSS has been raised from

the current level of 10% to 25% for the States and 30% for the UTs of the overall annual allocation under

each Scheme so that the implementation can be better attuned to the needs of individual State /UT.

3. Cabinet approves Spectrum Usage Charges for Forthcoming Auctions

The Union Cabinet has approved the rates for Spectrum Usage Charge (SUC) for various bands of spectrum

for which auction are going to be conducted shortly. With this decision the path is clear for issuance of the

Notice Inviting Application for spectrum auction by the Department of Telecommunications. This will

facilitate to move to a simple, transparent and flat ad-valorem SUC regime in accordance with the law and

avoid creative accounting to bypass the revenues. Spectrum acquired in forthcoming auction in 700, 800,

900, 1800, 2100, 2300 & 2500 MHz band is to be charged at the rate of 3% of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR)

excluding the revenue from wire-line services.

The weighted average of SUC rates across all spectrum assigned to an operator (whether assigned

administratively or through auction or through trading) in all access spectrum bands including BWA

spectrum obtained in 2010 auction shall be applied for charging SUC subject to a minimum of 3% of AGR

excluding revenues from wire-line services. The weighted average is to be derived by sum of product of

spectrum holdings and applicable SUC rate divided by total spectrum holding. The Weighted Average Rate

shall be determined operator wise for each service area.

The amount of SUC payable by the operators during 2015-16 at weighted average derived after taking into

consideration the spectrum acquired in the coming auction and excluding the spectrum in 2300 MHz/2500

MHz band acquired/ allocated prior to 2015-16, shall be treated as the floor amount of the SUC to be paid by

the operators. Further, in case there is a reduction in AGR of the service provider, the floor amount of SUC

shall be reduced proportionately.

August 13th - August 19th, 2016 (Week 2)

1. India Post Payments Bank Incorporated

The India Post Payments Bank Limited has received the Certificate of Incorporation from the Registrar of

Companies, Ministry of Corporate Affairs yesterday under the Companies Act 2013. This would be the first

PSU under the Department of Posts.

With the incorporation, the Board of the India Post Payments Bank Limited is likely to be constituted soon.

The incorporation of the IPPB Ltd is a significant step forward as this also paves the way for the bank to begin

hiring of banking professionals to set up the bank and begin its operations in 2017. The Department of Posts

is expected to complete the roll out of its branches all over the country by September 2017.

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The aspiration for the India Post Payments Bank is to become the most accessible bank in the world riding

on state of the art banking and payments technology. Coupled with the physical presence across 1.55 lakh

post offices and the reach of “The Dakiya”, the India Post Payments Bank aims to become a powerful and

effective vehicle of real financial inclusion in the country. It is poised to create a national payments

architecture riding on a modern payments platform and ubiquitous information and communication

technologies that can be accessed by all users and service providers like never before.

2. Consent Mechanism for Open Market Borrowings (OMBs) by the States Simplified

In the spirit of Co-operative federalism and in order to bring-in the transparency and predictability in the

Open Market Borrowings (OMBs) by the States, the Central Government has decided to simplify the consent

mechanism for OMBs under Article 293 (3) of the Constitution. Till now, the States were required to obtain

quarterly consent from the Central Government for raising OMBs within the Net Borrowing Ceiling (NBC)

fixed for each of the States as per the formula prescribed by the Fourteenth Finance Commission (FFC).

The simplified mechanism would, however, allow the States to prepare their borrowing calendar for the first

nine months and seek one-time consent for raising OMBs during the first nine months of the Financial Year.

Thereafter, based on the assessment of details of borrowings and repayment thereof (actuals for first 3

quarters and estimates for last quarter), consent for the first two months of Fourth Quarter will be given. The

consent for the last month i.e. March will be given based on the re-assessment of actual borrowings for the

first 11 months by the States.

Thus, the simplified procedure will ensure that consent under Article 293(3) is issued only on three

occasions during the year, one in the month of April for first nine months after fixation of borrowing ceilings,

second in the month of December for the first two months of the fourth quarter and last in the month of

March after the assessment of actual borrowings by the States.

3. Additional Facilities extended to persons residing in India on Long-Term Visa (LTV)

The Central Government has extended certain facilities in last two years to persons from Minority

community of Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, namely Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and

Christians staying on Long Term Visa (LTV) in India, such as affidavit in place of renunciation certificate,

LTV for five years instead of two years, facilities for education and employment, etc.

In order to provide them fair opportunities for a more comfortable living and hassle-free movement and

pursuit of economic activities within the territory of India, Government has decided to extend the following

additional facilities to this class of LTV holders: Permission to open bank account, Permission for purchase

of property for self-occupation and suitable accommodation for carrying out self–employment, Permission

to take self-employment, Issuance of driving licence, PAN card and Aadhar number.

42

Additional facilities also include allowing free movement within the State /UT where they are staying,

transfer of LTV papers from one State to other, Reduction of penalty amount on non–extension of Visa

/LTV, Permission to apply for LTV from the place of present residence when the applicants have changed

place without permission.

August 20th - August 26th, 2016 (Week 3)

1. Cabinet approves introduction of the "Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016"

The Union Cabinet has given its approval for introduction of the "Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016". The Bill

will regulate surrogacy in India by establishing National Surrogacy Board at the central level and State

Surrogacy Boards and Appropriate Authorities in the State and Union Territories. The legislation will ensure

effective regulation of surrogacy, prohibit commercial surrogacy and allow ethical surrogacy to the needy

infertile couples.

All infertile Indian married couple who want to avail ethical surrogacy will be benefited. Further the rights

of surrogate mother and children born out of surrogacy will be protected. The Bill shall apply to whole of

India, except the state of Jammu and Kashmir. No permanent structure is proposed to be created in the Draft

Bill. Neither there are proposals for creating new posts. The proposed legislation, while covering an

important area is framed in such a manner that it ensures effective regulation but does not add much

vertically to the current regulatory structure already in place at the central as well as states.

The major benefits of the Act would be that it will regulate the surrogacy services in the country. While

commercial surrogacy will be prohibited including sale and purchase of human embryo and gametes, ethical

surrogacy to the needy infertile couples will be allowed on fulfilment of certain conditions and for specific

purposes. As such, it will control the unethical practices in surrogacy, prevent commercialization of

surrogacy and will prohibit potential exploitation of surrogate mothers and children born through

surrogacy.

2. Cabinet approves National Highways Interconnectivity Improvement Project

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its approval for development of 1120 kms of National

Highways in the States of Karnataka, Odisha, Bihar, Rajasthan and West Bengal. The work for development

to two lane standards are under Phase-I of the National Highways Interconnectivity Improvement Project

(NHIIP) with World Bank assistance. The revised estimated cost is Rs. 6,461 crore including cost of land

acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities.

The proposal was initially approved for Rs.5,193 crore. The cost has increased due to higher bid prices, and

increase in cost of land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities.

The projects are already taken up for implementation and 429 kms has been completed. The civil works are

expected to be completed by July, 2019 and maintenance works are expected to be completed by July,

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2024. The project will ensure safe, fast and all weather movement of traffic on the proposed National

Highways mostly located in backward regions thereby improving socio economic development.

3. Spot Study of Water Situation in Drought Affected Areas of the country

The report on the Spot Study of Water Situation in Drought Affected Areas of the country (2015-16) has

recommended construction of water harvesting structures, mass awareness among citizen for water

conservation, construction of new water storage structures, interlinking of rivers, renovation and repair of

existing water bodies as some of the important measures to meet the challenges of overall water scarcity

scenario in the country. The study was carried out by Central Water Commission under the Ministry of Water

Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.

In some areas like Marathwada of Maharashtra, Bundelkhand of UP and MP interlinking projects have been

recommended. Water budgeting and planning the cropping patterns for the oncoming agricultural season(s),

the strategy for avoiding water intensive crops to the extent in consultation with the relevant expert

departments are also crucial for checking such situation. Micro irrigation (sprinkler and drip) should be

adopted to achieve more crops per drop.

The study says that at almost all places minimum domestic water requirements are being met through

importing water from other regions, if required; by digging local deep bore wells and also by tankers. Ground

water levels have been reported as falling in almost all regions of the country due to over exploitations and

inadequate recharging mechanism for ground water. However, no specific observation on water quality has

been reported at most of the areas except in Gujarat, where problem of salinity in coastal areas has been

reported.

August 27th - September 2nd, 2016 (Week 4)

1. Cabinet approves Initiatives to revive the Construction Sector

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved various measures to revive the construction

sector which has been undergoing stress. Under the proposal put forward by NITI Aayog and approved by

the CCEA, Government agencies would pay 75% of the arbitral award amount to an escrow account against

margin free bank guarantee, in those cases where the award is challenged.

The escrow account can be used to repay bank loans or to meet commitments in ongoing projects. This is a

major step which will allow recovery of loans by banks and allow construction companies to speed up

execution of ongoing projects. It will also increase the ability of construction companies to bid for new

contracts and the resulting competition will be beneficial in containing the costs of public works. This

measure will provide a stimulus to the construction industry and to employment.

Government Departments and PSUs have also been instructed to transfer cases under arbitration to the

amended Arbitration Act which has an expedited procedure, with the consent of the contractors. In the long

run, other measures are also under consideration, including changes to bid documents and model contracts,

44

and increased use of conciliation. NITI will also examine the idea of creating "claim take out funds" financed

by private sector investors, while the Department of Financial Services will examine a suitable scheme for

addressing stressed bank loans in the construction sector.

2. Incorporation of Sagarmala Development Company

As part of the efforts to promote port-led development in the country, the Sagarmala Development Company

(SDC) has been incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013. The company will have an initial Authorized

Share Capital of Rs. 1,000 Crore and a subscribed share capital of Rs. 90 Crore. The main objective of the

company is to identify port-led development projects under the Sagarmala Programme and provide equity

support for the project Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) set up by the Ports / State / Central Ministries and

funding window and /or implement only those residual projects which cannot be funded by any other means

/mode.

The Cabinet in July had approved the formation of the SDC under the administrative control of the Ministry

of Shipping. The company would help in structuring activities, bidding out projects for private sector

participation, identifying suitable risk management measures for strategic projects across multiple states /

regions and obtaining requisite approvals and clearances. The implementation of the identified projects

would be taken up by the relevant ports, state governments/Maritime Boards, central ministries, through

private or PPP mode. The Company would act as the nodal agency for coordination and monitoring of all the

currently identified projects under Sagarmala as well as other projects emerging from the master plans or

other sources.

SDC would be raising funds as debt/equity (as long term capital), as per the project requirements, by

leveraging resources provided by the Government of India and from multi-lateral and bilateral funding

agencies. It would also aim to increase the scope of private sector participation in project development. As

part of the programme, a National Perspective Plan (NPP) for the comprehensive development of the

coastline and maritime sector has been prepared. The NPP has identified more than 150 projects across the

areas of Port Modernization & New Port Development, Port Connectivity Enhancement, Port-led

Industrialization and Coastal Community Development.

3. Government notifies National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme

Government has notified National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme. It is for the first time a scheme has

been notified to offer financial incentives to employers. The Scheme has an outlay of Rs. 10,000 crore with a

target of 50 Lakh apprentices to be trained by 2019-20.Apprenticeship Training is considered to be one of

the most efficient ways to develop skilled manpower for the country. It provides for an industry led, practice

oriented, effective and efficient mode of formal training.

25% of the prescribed stipend payable to an apprentice would be reimbursed to the employers directly by

the Government of India. The scheme also supports basic training, which is an essential component of

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apprenticeship training by sharing of basic training cost with basic training providers in respect of

apprentices who come directly to apprenticeship without any formal trade training (fresher apprentices).

All transactions including registration by employers, apprentices, registration of contract and payment to

employers will be made as online mode. Eligible employers shall engage apprentices in a band of 2.5% to

10% of the total strength of the establishment. Employers need to register on the apprenticeship portal and

must have TIN/TAN and any one of EPFO/ESIC/LIN. Employers are invited to register on the apprenticeship

portal to avail benefits under the scheme.

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Upcoming... In Our Next Edition, grab hold of the following: 1. Tamra Patra

Tribal Welfare Schemes in North-East India Overview of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016

2. Data and Democracy

India Posts

3. Research Support and Engagement with Honorable MPs

A Step towards an Adarsh Gram – Kathalbari, Tripura.

4. Weekly Policy Updates from September, 2016

47

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