Agricultural Techniques in India and the

condition of farmers, Comment.

INDIA has been known to be an Agrarian country since centuries. Her great physiography, climate,
latitude, etc. has led to the production of great varieties of food consumed.
Since ancient times, man has been practising agriculture and also other activities like the animal
husbandry, poultry, etc. but the difference here is that he carried out 'Shifting Cultivation' until when
the time came in that he learned to grow crops using different techniques on one same land only.
This is how stability came into their life.
Agriculture has also been one of the major reasons for the British, French, Dutch, and Portuguese to
come and settle down in India for years. But today the scenario has changed. Globalisation has
brought in some positive and also some negative change within society and the activities. On one
hand, the scope of agriculture has widened, while on other-its contribution to India's total national
income has come down.
Historically over 80% land is suitable for raising crops but over 15% out of it has been laid waste by
poor management practices. The frequent climatic changes taking place has caused damage and a
great loss to the farmers wherein committing suicide is found to be the best solution to this problem
for them. On the other side, some have found in new techniques and new varieties of crops as well.
Due to growing population there is more need for food and due to urbanization there is more
demand for land so producing more in less available and cultivable land is a great challenge.
Nowadays, Organic Farming, Vertical Farming, Multicrop Farming, Greenhouse Farming, Polytunnel
or Polyhouse Farming, Terrace Farming, etc. are practised on a large scale.
Organic farming is an agricultural form that relies on Crop Rotation, Green Manure, Compost,
Biological Pest Control and also Mechanical Cultivation. This helps to maintain soil quality and also
limits use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. The growth of market for organic products since
1990, has led to the demand for organic farming.
Multi crop farming helps farmers to avail money from different types of crops and it also helps to
enhance the fertility of the soil. This almost gives farmers an opportunity for continuous income.
While green house farming not being a that very new concept, has been used in nurseries,
floriculture industry, etc. These farms help controlled and favourable environment for the crops to
grow in all seasons and also reduces consumption of irrigation water. Low- cost, medium- cost and
hi-tech green house are the different types of greenhouses found.
The Polyhouse or Polytunnel farming meaning cultivating crops under protected conditions has
advantages and also disadvantages. Whereas terrace farming is mostly carried out in city area. India
has thus been since years the largest producers of various agricultural products like Fresh Fruits,
Jute, Cotton, Rice, Wheat, Groundnuts, Tea, Coffee, etc. etc.

The major problems of farmers have been large families that is the land is fragmented into small
portions among the family members which reduces its productivity power and also less quantity gets
produced. Seeds, excess use of fertilizers and pesticides, lack of irrigation method i.e less
availability of proper water, lack of skills and mechanism, etc has also been reasons affecting
farming and the farmers. There are also few economic related problems like inadequate transport,
inadequate storage, scarcity of capital, agricultural marketing and much more.
The general stores selling every type of product are taking in all customers of the vendors selling
their produce in general markets. This can also be considered as a reason for less price to
agricultural produce sold in markets as compared to the price in malls or general stores.
For this scenario to be changed the farmers in India need to adopt new techniques, the government
needs to give a good price for the farmers produce. There's a need for giving employment to people
in an organised sector and also implementing properly the various policies planned and designed for
the betterment of farmers. The farmers should be given opportunity to contribute in the planning for
the policies for them as a person who has actual experience in this field can bring out better
solutions than the one who has just seen it.

Water Crisis and the Monsoon Factor in

India, Discuss the necessary measures.
India is largely a tropical country, with nearly two-thirds of its population eking out its meagre living
on agriculture. Agriculture's contribution in our economy is 13.9 per cent. Therefore one can infer
that our agriculture is a problem-silencer and problem-adder, the former because where the
employment is hidden by disguised employment and the latter because large amount of our workforce goes waste because of the dismal productivity. Discounting all these negativities, the fact of the
matter remains that ours is predominantly an agricultural economy. Farming community in India
derives its life-blood from the monsoon-dependent agriculture. People work hard, put in consistent
efforts but at the end of the day, the returns remain uncertain, and no less elusive. The primary
reason for the uncertainty is our uneven and uncertain water resources. Where large swathes of
land remain dry for large parts of the year, some months give farmers a big worry by floods and their
regular unseemliness.
Water-crisis in our country is an ever-pervading reality. Many a people die, directly and indirectly,
because of water deficiency, water depletion and water sufficiency but having become poison. With
increasing subsistence and use of water, it is no rocket-science to understand that a substantial
number of our north-Indian perennial rivers have either become dead, near-dead or heavily polluted.
The example of a dead river in recent times is Hindon river (Zero BOD) in western Uttar Pradesh,
Yamuna of Delhi is a near-dead river and our mighty Ganga, despite its large carrying capacity, is a
heavily-polluted river. The pollution of rivers has only made our worst fears come true and has
shattered our lives in general and of farmers in particular. The impact of pollution and subsequent
water crisis in Ganga on North-India can be measured from the sentence, "What is brain for human
machine, Ganga is for Northern plains. When brain is dead, the patient is brain-dead."
Water crisis in India is also deeply entrenched because of our mindless and historical over-reliance
on Monsoon, which comes at its own will and goes at its own, sometimes clicks and sometimes
strikes, sometimes earlier and sometimes delayed. Though, it is veritably true that Monsoon has
been the historical cornerstone of our agriculture but the absence, resulting out of reluctance of
subsequent regimes, of any concrete game plan to mitigate the effects of the gaps and inadequacies
in the monsoons has made Monsoon our weak point. Though there have been in place certain
measures like Rashtriya Kisan Vikas Yojana and other subsidies in place to help the farmers but the
zilch progress on setting the structure of the agriculture is the real grave problem. Present
government's scheme Rashtriya Krishi Sinchaaye Yojana for irrigation to agriculture is a step in the
right direction. Similarly "per drop more crop" is a positive step to ensure effective utilization of water.
Sprinkler irrigation on a country-wide scale can also help.
Since water-crisis has a direct impact on us all in general and poor agriculturists in particular, it is
imperative to keep the interests of the Indian farmers, largely having small landholdings, in mind, on
the forefront. There is a project named National River Linking Project (NRLP), a pet project of the

previous NDA government, which is being looked into a-new. From how it has been designed, one
can say that it may provide some kind of succour to the regions which experience a deficient rainfall
and no-temporary water crisis like Bundelkhand of UP and adjoining region of MP (where Sesame,
Arhar, Soyabean etc are grown), Vidharbha of Maharashtra (Where Cotton and Sugarcane are
Grown), arid and semi-arid regions of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh like Tumkur, Bellary, Anantpur
etc. It can be that our water unevenness gets somewhat solved by the project but the constraints
raised by different environmental and policy groups are a barrier yet in thinking of the project as a
panacea to every water-related problem that our country is confronted with.
Water-crisis is nowhere to go at least for the foreseeable future but it is within the realms of
possibility to strive and then usher in the energy to moderate its effects. Judicious use of the
resource, effective cycling and recycling of the used water and innovation in the water-delivery
systems for agriculture have the potential to make our water-woes much less painful, if not fully
painless.

Global E-Waste Monitor Report

E-waste is a term used to cover all items of electrical and electronic equipment and its parts that
have been discarded by its owner as waste without the intent of re-use, also known as WEEE
(Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment).
The 'Global E-Waste Monitor 2014', compiled by UN's think tank United Nations University (UNU),
said at 32 per cent, the US and China produced the most e-waste overall in 2014. India came in fifth,
behind the US, China, Japan and Germany, the report said.
Most e-waste in the world in 2014 was generated in Asia at 16 Mt or 3.7 kg per inhabitant. The top
three Asian nations with the highest e-waste generation in absolute quantities are China (6.0 Mt),
Japan (2.2 Mt) and India (1.7 Mt).
The top per capita producers by far are the wealthy nations of northern and western Europe, the top
five being Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Denmark, and the UK. The lowest amount of e-waste per
inhabitant was generated in Africa (1.7 kg/inhabitant).
In 2014, people worldwide discarded all but a small fraction of an estimated 41.8 Mt of electrical and
electronic equipment -- mostly end-of-life kitchen, laundry and bathroom equipment like microwave
ovens, washing machines and dishwashers.
The volume of e-waste is expected to rise by 21% to 50 Mt in 2018, said the report, which details the
location and composition of the world's fast-growing e-waste problem.
While only 7% of e-waste last year was made up of mobile phones, calculators, personal computers,
printers, and small information technology equipment, almost 60% was a mix of large and small
equipment used in homes and businesses, such as vacuum cleaners, toasters, electric shavers,
video cameras, washing machines, electric stoves, mobile phones, calculators, personal computers,
and lamps.
The 41.8 Mt weight of last year's e-waste is comparable to the distance from New York to Tokyo and
back. The global quantity of e-waste in 2014 is comprised of 1.0 Mt lamps, 3.0 Mt of Small IT, 6.3 Mt
of screens and monitors, 7.0 Mt of temperature exchange equipment (cooling and freezing
equipment), 11.8 Mt large equipment, and 12.8 Mt of small equipment. The amount of e-waste is
expected to grow to 49.8 Mt in 2018, with an annual growth rate of 4 to 5 per cent.
The e-waste generated in 2014 contained an estimated 16,500 kilotons of iron, 1,900 kilotons of
copper, 300 tons of gold (equal to 11 per cent of the world's total 2013 gold production), as well as
silver, aluminum, palladium plastic and other resources with a combined estimated value of USD 52
billion.
Toxins in that e-waste include 2.2 Mt of lead glass, 0.3 Mt of batteries, as well as mercury, cadmium,
chromium and 4,400 tones of ozone-depleting substances (CFCs). Health problems associated with

such toxins include impaired mental development, cancer, and damage to livers and kidneys, the
report added.
However, they are likely to be the gap between the e-waste generated, officially collected and the ewaste in the waste bin. Official data for the trans boundary movement of e-waste (mostly from
developed to developing countries) are unknown.
"The monitor provides a baseline for national policymakers, producers and the recycling industry, to
plan take-back systems. It can also facilitate cooperation around controlling illegal trade, supporting
necessary technology development and transfer, and assisting international organizations,
governments and research institutes in their efforts as they develop appropriate countermeasures.
"This will eventually lead to improved resource efficiency while reducing the environmental and
health impacts of e-waste."
Recyclable Materials in e-waste are valuable, secondary resources, and this "Urban Mine" needs to
be explored by efficient and environmental system. In the mean time, toxic material in e-Waste are
harmful to the environment, and this "toxic mine" need to be taken care of by proper handling system
as well.

China's refusal to aid Nepal due to

Indian Military Presence in Nepal, is it
justified?
It has always been a matter of fact that most of the times even a natural cause of humanitarian crisis
are taken on the grounds of political advantage or motive. The similar instance happened in Nepal,
which was shook by the disastrous earthquake that took place on April 25th. Amid such wide spread
impact on the lives of people, killing more than 8000 and injuring above 20,000 with scores of bodies
still to be recovered.
The Indian government was the first to active its synapses and get involved in the rescue
operation within six hours of the impact. India was followed by China which also endeavored a brisk
attempt to the rescue effort. This is when controversies have been raised when China claimed and at
the meantime showed reluctance to aid Nepal just because of Indias military presence. It is true
that Indo-Chinese relationship for decades is not on the right track. And over the past few months
being hassled by border disputes and other engagement related issues over the Indian Ocean and
the subcontinent.
China has always had an eye on Nepal for its own advantage. In 2014 China overtook India as the
biggest foreign direct investor in Nepal in a very unconventional and unfriendly way intensifying the
speculations about Chinas unfriendly nature. Many countries all over the world have sought help
to Nepal and they very well accomplished their jobs. China should also have focused on that point
rather than dragging implicitly all the disputes with India on the grounds of Nepal, making it more
victimized where the toll kept on rising every single day.
The question of ethics and humanity is raised over here is that-Does China always endeavors a
motive of political gain or profit irrespective of the conditions of any country? Indian military was in
Nepal not to challenge China but to help out its residents in every way possible. How come China
was having problem from this? It is really very saddening that China, one of the leading growing
economies in Asia is ready to compete with India, that too on the grounds of Nepal which was shortly
eradicated with all types of developmental aspects. This could never be justified for China or any
other country showing such apathy towards humanity. Humanity should prevail over every other
priority and that is what China ought to have forgotten.
India and China have a glorious history and similarly Nepal is amalgamated with majority of two
religions that is Hinduism and Buddhism, making it a sister country of both. Aspects related to
development should always be there in every country but when a country is facing such severe crisis
like Nepal at present. The superior ones should always lend a helping hand to them irrespective of
any profit motive. There are several prospects which the government of every nation should follow.
These are they should all possess the capability to learn from their histories both bad and good and
to rectify the former in the future. The principle of humanity should be clear to all and should be

prevailing over every other priority. All should maintain friendliness, cooperation, peaceful
movements and competition for development in a bona fide way. Great leaders have always spoken
that humanity is greater than religion and it should encapsulate all.

Government's 100,000 MV Solar

Energy Plan, Discuss
The world is facing a grave crisis of climate change caused by the excessive emission of green
house gases due to human activities. In tropical countries like India, the manifestation of climate
change has been in form of deadly heat waves, drought, flash floods unseasonal rains and so on
which claims hundreds of lives each year. It is the poor farmers, labourers, construction workers and
homeless who suffer the most. About 30% of this green house gases are emitted by power plants. In
the Indian culture we consider Sun as a God and we have turned towards him to help us to mitigate
the problem of climate change to an extent. The Government of India aims to install 100000 MW
capacity of solar power by the year 2022. This will provide us with clean energy without any green
house gas emissions. However, the question in front of us is that can India achieve such an
ambitious target of installing 100000 MW of solar power in seven years? This question must be
answered. This is because if this feat is achieved then it will be a great boost towards our goal of
energy security. It will also help us reduce air pollution and green house gas emissions and mitigate
climate change. The poor farmers whose crops are being destroyed due to erratic behavior of the
weather will get some respite. Finally, it will make India a leader on the world stage in terms of solar
energy just as Germany is in terms of wind energy. However, if we fail, then it will only lead to
wastage of resources which otherwise could have been invested in research and development to
search for other solutions to our problems. Although the goal is very challenging, it is achievable
provided we are able to meet some of the challenges which stand in our way.
Geography of India is such that it is perfect for solar power production. Being in the tropical and
subtropical region, it receives about 320 W/m2 of energy equivalent to about 5000 trillion units
annually. States like Rajasthan, Gujrat, Telangana, Karnataka and so on which have barren lands,
which cannot be used for agriculture, are well suited for setting up solar power plants.
The policy scenario in India is extremely conducive to solar power production. The government is
providing tax incentives for investors setting up solar power plant and lower custom duties for import
of solar power equipments. The procedures for setting up solar power plants have been greatly
simplified and the clearances are obtained smoothly to reduce the delays.
The support for solar industry is not only coming from Indian government but also from foreign
countries that recognize the threat of climate change, thanks to the IPCC reports. The UN has
devised various mechanisms like Kyoto protocol using which the countries can provide support for
solar industry in India to mitigate the effects of climate change. Very recently there was Renewable
Energy Conference organized in India where solar power got lot of investment promises from
companies like SunEdison and Adani power.
However, as mentioned earlier, the task ahead of us is very daunting. The current installed capacity
of solar power in India is about 3000 MW. Taking it to 100000 MW in 7 years will be a feat in itself.

The technology for solar power is still expensive and the cost of power comes out to be minimum Rs
7 compared to thermal power which costs Rs 3-4 per unit. Indian lower and middle class may not
agree to pay high rates. The solar power will be available during the day while peak demands in
India is during the night. The technology for storing electricity is expensive and may add to the cost.
The Grid in India is very unstable and weak and might not be able to absorb the solar power
generated.
The problems listed above mainly have to do with expensive technology and infrastructure
weakness. These problems are complex but solvable. India can use funding from Green Climate
Fund and loans from World Bank and newly opened New Development Bank and Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank to strengthen the power grid and remove other infrastructural
bottlenecks. Platforms like UNFCCC can be used to get solar technologies from developing
countries at lower costs under the principles of CBDR which will lead to lower cost of solar power.
The development of solar energy is imperative for India. It can be used to partly solve the problem of
climate change which affects all but most severely the poor and vulnerable. If the government
adopts the right plan and executes it well utilizing the global partnership for action against climate
change, India will definitely reach its goal of 100000 MW of solar power by 2022 and the sun of solar
energy will shine brightly in India.

Is the youth of India swayed by the use

of social media in politics.
With proliferation of social media into the masses there has been quite a tectonic change in the
mindset of the society as a whole and this change is visible in the way our general elections have
been conducted in recent times. Politicians today realize that they need to harness the power of
youth and social media. In modern times, social media has played a mammoth role as a
communication channel between the politicians and the public and has helped in connecting the two.
Just about a decade ago, the newer technologies neither attracted the audience nor the officials,
who were busy in giving traditional interviews to age old media outlet. Indias large population and
increasing teledensity especially in urban pockets has spurred impressive jump of people online and
that has resulted in political parties beginning to harness the power of social media, taking a leaf out
of
Barack
Obamas
online
Presidential
electioneering
book.
I believe social technologies are now fast moving out of the research labs into real life monitoring of
peoples reaction to politics, policy and rapid responses to crisis situations. In the recent years we
have seen how social networking has been at centre stage of dramatic rise of Narendra Modi from
an ordinary citizen to the Chief Minister of Gujarat and finally becoming the Prime Minister of largest
democracy of the world. Back in 2012 when his Government came to power in Gujarat, he became
the first CM to interact with the audience through an online medium. His movement gained high
popularity so much so that #Modihangout became a trending topic and similarly his #misssion_272
stormed the virtual and political world. He realized that the rules of the games have changed and
walking shoulder to shoulder with the youth of the color emerged as a game changer for his political
career.
Further it has not been long when Anna Hazare started the Lok Pall Bill movement and it didn t
take time for fire of unity to spread among Indians through the most widespread mean the virtual
media. Volunteers, social workers, activists, students and even artists came together in a fight
against corruption. Twitter and facebook in particular proved to be one of the liveliest
communications platforms for mobilizing youth and shifting them around. Desire to form a corruption
free government led to the emergence of a hero in the form of Arvind Kejriwal who formed a fairy tale
majority administration in Delhi with their backbone being youth. Public media has the power to
mould the plastic minds of the youth. This was again demonstrated by the Delhi Nirbhaya case
which gained humongous popularity principally through social media. Immense advertisements,
cartoons, jokes, debates, articles as well as blogs which are being viewed day in and day out by the
people of all the ages have led to a whole new governance. Due to this, officials who were once
sceptical about the use of social media are embracing it now with much more comfort.
The rapid growth of social media in recent years means people are exposed to an abundance of
information. Every day we are witnessing various political groups online, circulating a blog post
about political issue or forwarding political videos to friends thus making each other more politically
aware. It is also affirmed that if our friends share an article, they are more likely to be read and get

interested in the topic, giving evidence of peer effects in socialization. Dominance of social media as
the preferred mode of acquisition of political information by young people is indisputable and their
political knowledge is positively influenced by it. Time and again it has been proved that
parliamentary knowledge and political interest of the youth is interlinked and this is the reason why in
recent times we are seeing substantial number of young people across racial and ethnic divide
engaging in participatory politics. Rise of several younger politicians are perfect examples to
prove the above stated point. As leaders they have interacted and connected with the youth and
have emerged as major forces in the world of Indian politics, mainly predominated by elderly age
group.
In an era when publics time and attention is increasingly directed towards social media platforms it
is important to realize how young people especially youth of the color are using new media to
amplify their voices in the political realm that need not be only elections or governance but also
various other matters that may affect a larger society. This new trend has turned feeble voices into a
roar and has caused individuals to act, taking our country by a storm.

Gold Monetization Scheme (GMS),

Discuss.
Seeking to mobilize idle gold worth up to Rs 60 lakh crore held by households and institutions,
government proposed a new scheme offering tax-free interest on depositing the yellow metal with
banks.
The draft gold monetization scheme also provides for incentives to the banks, while individuals and
institutions can deposit as low as 30 gms of gold, while the interest earned on it would be exempt
from
income
tax
as
well
as
capital
gains
tax.
The stock of gold in India that is held by people of the country that is 'neither traded nor monetized'
is estimated to be over 20,000 tonnes, which would be worth about Rs 60 lakh crore at the current
market
price.
India is one of the largest consumers of gold in the world and imports as much as 800-1,000 tonnes
of
the
metal
each
year.
As per the draft guidelines, a person or institution holding surplus gold can get it valued from BISapproved hallmarking centers, open a Gold savings Account in banks for a minimum period of one
year
and
The scheme,

earn
which is

interest
proposed

in
to

be

either
initially

cash
introduced

or
only

gold
in select

units.
cities.

"The new scheme will allow the depositors of gold to earn interest in their metal accounts and the
jewelers to obtain loans in their metal account. Banks/other dealers would also be able to monetize
this
gold."
The proposed scheme is aimed at monetizing idle gold held by households and institutions provide a
fillip to the gems and jewellery sector and reduce reliance on import of the metal over time to meet
the
domestic
demand.
"The amount of interest rate to be given is proposed to be left to the banks to decide. Both principal
and interest to be paid to the depositors of gold will be valued in gold.
It added, as an example, that if a customer deposits 100 gms of gold and gets 1 per cent interest,
then,
on
maturity
he
has
a
credit
of
101
gms.
With regard to redemption, the guidelines said that customers will have the option of getting it back
either in cash or in gold which will have to be exercised at the time of making deposit.
The tenure of the scheme has been proposed at a minimum 1 year and with a roll out option in
multiples of one year, it said, adding that it would be like a fixed deposit, breaking of lock-in period
will
be
allowed.
"To incentivize banks, it is proposed that they may be permitted to deposit the mobilized gold as part
of their CRR/SLR requirements with RBI. This aspect is still under examination," it said.
Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) and Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) are mandatory requirement which
banks have to follow as per RBI directive.
Elaborating other benefits of the scheme, the guidelines said, banks may sell the gold to generate
foreign currency. The foreign currency thus generated can then be used for onward lending to

exporters

or

importers.

Bank may convert mobilized gold into coins for onward sale to their customers and can be used for
lending
to
jewelers,
it
said.
The government is also planning to commence work on developing an Indian Gold Coin, which will
carry
the
Ashok
Chakra
on
its
face.
While there is a mention about "mobilize the gold held by households and institutions in the country",
the real impact and benefit of this measure in terms of providing a major boost to the Indian
economy by release of the idle funds locked in these gold assets and its Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) multiplier effect has not been highlighted. Further, with India presently importing over 850
950 tons, mobilization under this Scheme will also enable in bringing down gold imports significantly
over a period of time, which will also provide a major relief to the Current Account Deficit being faced
in
the
balance
of
payments
in
foreign
exchange
by
the
Country.
The present draft of the Scheme does not bring out this objective and intent clearly and forcefully
and as such unless this is redrafted and re-positioned in a proper manner, the Scheme s objectives
and

ultimately

the

Scheme

itself

may

get

diluted.

Ultimately, scheme of gold is to boost the Indian economy using rest of the gold of India and getting
the foreign currencies.

The Role of National Tiger conservation

Authority.
Mrs. Indira Gandhi used to say "The tiger cannot be preserved in isolation. It is at the apex of a large
and complex biotope. Its habitat, threatened by human intrusion, commercial forestry and cattle
grazing, must first be made inviolate".
The tiger, India's national animal, is a symbol that is an intrinsic part of our culture. One of the
earliest portrayals of the tiger in India is found in the Harappan seals from the Indus valley culture,
dating back to 2500 BC, which depict an intricate association between people and tigers. India is
one of the thirteen tiger range countries and has the largest number of source sites with wild tigers.
The Indian government has always made Tiger protection a priority and Project Tiger, launched in
the early seventies, has put the endangered tiger on a definite path to recovery.
Role of National Tiger Conservation Authority:
i.

Anti-poaching initiatives

ii.

Strengthening infrastructure within tiger reserves

iii.

Habitat improvement and water development

iv.

Addressing man-animal conflicts

v.

Co-existence agenda in buffer / fringe areas with landscape approach

vi.

Deciding inviolate spaces and relocation of villages from crucial tiger habitats within a
timeframe by providing a better relocation package, apart from supporting States for
settlement of rights of such people

vii.

Rehabilitation of traditional hunting tribes living in and around tiger reserves

viii.

Providing support to States for research and field equipments

ix.

Supporting States for staff development and capacity building in tiger reserves.

x.

Mainstreaming wildlife concerns in tiger bearing forests outside tiger reserves, and fostering
corridor conservation in such areas through restorative strategy involving local people to
arrest fragmentation of habitats.

xi.

Providing safeguards / retrofitting measures in and around tiger reserves and tiger bearing
forests for wildlife conservation.

xii.

Strengthening the infrastructure of National Tiger Conservation Authority at the Centre.

xiii.

Carrying out independent monitoring and the evaluation of tiger reserves.

xiv.

Establishment and development of eight new tiger reserves.

xv.

Provision of project allowance to all categories of staff working in tiger reserves.

xvi.

Providing residential amenities to facilitate basic education to children of frontline field staff
posted in tiger reserves.

xvii.

Providing assistance to States for fostering ecotourism to benefit local people.

NTCA
accomplished
Key
Milestones
and
Major
achievements:
From nine tiger reserves in 1973, it expanded to 39 tiger reserves in 2010. In the early eighties, it
undertook path breaking radio-telemetry study. The recent All India Tiger Estimation, using a peer
reviewed internationally recognized scientific methodology, highlights the achievement of Project
Tiger by showing that viable tiger population exists only in Project Tiger areas, while outside
populations are highly depleted. Over the years, the Project envisioned a core-buffer-corridor
strategy. While the core area of a tiger reserve is managed for wildlife conservation, the buffer is
treated
as
a
multiple
use
zone.
Project Tiger has saved the endangered tiger from extinction, and has put the species on an assured
path to recovery by improving the protection and status of its habitat. The core buffer strategy of
Project Tiger has provided scope for eliciting local public support through site specific ecodevelopment in the buffer/fringe areas. The Project has contributed towards several intangible
environmental benefits to society, such as absorption of carbon dioxide, improvement of micro
climate, rainfall and river flow. The Project has generated considerable wages for the benefit of
fringe dwelling communities, who are deployed as local work force for protection. While conserving
the flagship species, the Project has saved several other species of plants and animals from
extinction. The local communities are benefiting from eco-tourism apart from eco developmental
inputs in fringe areas. The Project has served as a role model for wildlife management planning,
habitat restoration, protection and eco-development. States have been provided funding support for
enhancing protection through deployment of local work force, ex-army personnel. The field staff have
been provided allowance as an incentive for working in difficult conditions. Independent monitoring
of tiger reserves has been undertaken by a panel of experts, based on the framework of the World
Commission of Protected Areas of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural
Resources (IUCN). The All India Estimation of tiger, co-predators and prey animals has been refined
by Project Tiger in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India, with a peer review mechanism
comprising independent experts, both national and international (IUCN).

RBIs Strategic Debt Restructuring

Scheme
INTRODUCTION:
Indian Banks are witnessing rising NPA's (Non-Performing Assets) due to the slowdown in the Indian
economy and high interest costs. The Reserve Bank of India has introduced various measures for
controlling NPAs in the Bank including Asset Reconstruction Companies, SARFESI Act, Joint
Lenders Forum (JLF), etc., However, the NPA figure in banks continue to remain high and hence the
RBI has recently introduced the Strategic Debt Restructuring Scheme. In this article, we look at the
Strategic Debt Restructuring Scheme in detail.

Strategic Debt Restructuring Scheme:

The RBI in its "Framework for Revitalising Distressed Assets in the Economy - Guidelines on Joint
Lenders' Forum (JLF) and Corrective Action Plan (CAP)" has suggested change of management as
a
part
of
restructuring
of
stressed
assets.
With this principle in view and to ensure that the shareholders bear the first loss rather than the debt
holders, the RBI suggests transfer of equity shares of the company by promoters to lenders to
compensate
for
their
sacrifices.
Traditionally in many cases of restructuring, borrower companies are not able to come out of
financial stress due to operational or managerial inefficiencies despite substantial sacrifices made by
the
lending
banks.
In such cases, change of ownership will be the most preferred option for the Lenders. Hence, the
RBI suggests that Joint Lenders' Forum (JLF) should actively consider such change in ownership
and take necessary action.

Implementation of the Strategic Debt Restructuring Scheme:

The following are actions that borrowers may witness based on the implementation of the
strategic debt restructuring scheme by the Bank:
o

No loans will be restructured without conforming to the terms specified in the Strategic Debt
Restructuring Scheme.

At the time of initial restructuring, Joint Lender Forums will incorporate, in the terms and
conditions attached to the restructured loan/s agreed with the borrower, an option to convert
the entire loan (including unpaid interest), or part thereof, into shares in the company in the
event the borrower is not able to achieve the viability milestones.

The bank during initial restructuring will require the borrower to provide the necessary
approvals/authorisations (including special resolution by the shareholders) to enable the
lenders to exercise the transfer of equity option effectively, if required.

If the borrower is not able to achieve the viability milestones and/or adhere to restructuring
conditions, the JLF may review the account and effect a change in ownership, if required.

The decision to convert the whole or part of the loan into equity shares should be well
documented and approved by the majority of the JLF members (minimum of 75% of
creditors by value and 60% of creditors by number).

On effecting change in ownership under the Strategic Debt Restructuring Scheme, the
lenders would collectively become the majority shareholder by conversion of their dues from
the borrower into equity.

Hence, post the conversion, all lenders under the JLF will collectively hold 51% or more of
the equity shares issued by the company.

All banks will include the covenants to exercise the Strategic Debt Restructuring Scheme in
all loan agreements, including restructuring, supported by necessary
approvals/authorisations.

Valuation for Conversion of Debt into Equity:

The adjustment of equity against outstanding debt (principal as well as unpaid interest)
would be at a 'Fair Value' which will not exceed the lowest of the following:
o

Market value (for listed companies only): Average of the closing prices of the instrument on a

recognized stock exchange during the ten trading days preceding the 'reference date'.
Break-up value (for unlisted companies): Book value per share to be calculated from the
company's latest audited balance sheet (without considering 'revaluation reserves', if any)
adjusted for cash flows and financials post the earlier restructuring; the balance sheet should
not be more than a year old. In case the latest balance sheet is not available this break-up
value shall be Rs.1.

Advantages for Bankers under the SDR Scheme:

RBI has provided the following advantages to the Bankers to ensure the Strategic Debt
Restructuring Scheme is adopted by the Bankers aggressively:
o

On conversion of debt to equity as approved under SDR Scheme, the existing asset

classification of the account, as on the reference date will continue for a period of 18 months
from the reference date.
Acquisition of shares due to the execution of strategic debt restructuring scheme will be
exempted from regulatory ceilings or restrictions on capital market exposures, investment in
para-banking activities and intra-group exposure.

Equity shares acquired and held by banks under the SDR scheme will be exempt from the
requirement of periodic mark-to-market.

Conversion of debt into equity in an enterprise by a bank may result in the bank holding
more than 20% of voting power, which will normally result in an investor-associate
relationship under applicable accounting standards. However, as the lender acquires such
voting power in the borrower entity in satisfaction of its advances under the SDR, and the
rights exercised by the lenders are more protective in nature and not participative, such
investment may not be treated as investment in associate.

On divestment of banks' holding in favour of a 'new promoter', the asset classification of the
account may be upgraded to 'Standard'. Further, at the time of divestment of their holdings to
a 'new promoter', banks may refinance the existing debt of the company considering the
changed risk profile of the company without treating the exercise as 'restructuring' subject to
banks making provision for any diminution in fair value of the existing debt on account of the
refinance.

CONCLUSION:
"Post the conversion, all lenders under the JLF must collectively hold 51% or more of the
equity shares issued by the company," RBI said, adding that the invocation of SDR will not be
treated as restructuring for the purpose of asset classification and provisioning norms.
Banks will also have to closely monitor the performance of the company. At the same time, the
banks themselves should try and sell their stake "as soon as possible". As and when the equity is
transferred to a new owner, the banks can upgrade the loan category to 'standard' from 'stressed'
account.
However, the lenders will continue to carry the existing provisions as long as they have exposure to
the account, and as long the account is stressed in its repayment obligation. Alternatively, if the
banks manage to exit the company completely, they can write back the existing provision in their
books.

G7 Summit 2015, India's Role.

G7 the group of seven is informal block of highly industrialized democracies. Representing countries
with more than 64% of net global wealth e.g. U.S.A, U.K, Japan, Canada, France, Germany and
Italy. Previously known as G8, but the suspension of Russia, reduces it to G7 in March 2014 after
Russian annexation of Crimea, which led G7 to put sanctions on Russia and condemns its act.
G7 summit 2015 in Schloss Elmau has created a new chapter to many developing and developed
nations like India and China to be part of this group as a guest. Opens new vision for these nations
to get benefitted in its annual meeting. When these highly industrialized nations are discussing
multifaceted problems like Terrorism, Environment, women empowerment, economic development,
global economic balance etc.
Indian foreign policies reflect its agenda for equal distance with multipolar world representing worlds
superpowers. Which has indebted India's free global market and predictability of more economic
development nowadays.
A G7 Nations meeting so far by and large revolves around to combat with global crisis, security
threat, economic development and global economic balance etc. If its agenda for equal distance with
global economic market and commitment for global economic balance is followed on paper with true
spirit, as its initiative to assist South Africa will be good for third world. Otherwise cold war's replaced
developed Nations desire to led them towards more economic growth without caring about
underdeveloped Nations.
On its 41st summit of June 2015, G7 sends invitation to various countries like India and China to
burst as guests for their spin. India can raise not only the issues which is a problem for developing
nations, but it can also instil these countries for strong bilateral relations of which developing nations
is of desperate need. India as a leader of 3rd world representing world's fastest economic growth
can favour the developing Nations by pushing developed Nations to stop discrimination against
underdeveloped and let them lift up their countries from poverty and pull out their people from
marginalisation, diseases, food scarcity, hunger ,weak agriculture outcome and low productivity etc.

Although India is not the member of G7 but its role is to develop strong relation with G7 Nations
while protesting the negative actions initiated by G7 Nations. However India is already gaining
momentum in this sphere which can be traced by sidelined bilateral meeting of Shri Narendra Modi
and David Cameron in Nov 2014 at G20 summit. The recent Prime Ministers eight day three Nations
visit to France, Germany and Canada and bilateral partnership deal with U.S.A on Republic day of
India.
These multilateral trade relations will abruptly ensure promotion of economic ties, trade relations,
infrastructure and cooperation in security/defence related matters. By partnering these G7 Nations
which is relative to India's industrial program, will open up market for all investors at global level.
Developing Nations like India and China has emerged as fastest growing countries nowadays
reflected by BRICS summit representing 3 billion people with a combined nominal GDP of
US$16.039 trillion, putting G7 Nations on competition, at the same time when G7 Nations has put
sanctions on Russia giving little imbalance to its net global economy with fall of global market and
other global crisis. Which pushes G7 Nations to invite more developed and developing Nations on
their annual meeting
Due to dearth of conventional and non conventional energies like petroleum, nuclear energy and
lack of technology to generate renewable energies like wind, solar etc. India can achieve this end by
partnering these G7 Nations and flourish more civil nuclear agreements and deal for to upgrade its
energy technology process. Terrorism is one of the issues not only for India, but world at large
Terrorism groups like Islamic state, Boko Haram and Al-Qaida is a combined threat for global
security. India's role is to hit out against terrorism as a responsibility of all countries to protest and
combat with such global security crisis.
Therefore if India acts boldly and swiftly to safeguard the interests of third world as a leader. If India
as a geopolitical Nation mingle the interests of third world with its own and raise the voice on behalf
while thinking to safeguard its own trade relations and policies to ultimately train India ,prepare India
for more economic development, environment development, marines, women empowerment,
terrorism, unemployment, health care, education and infrastructure
In closing note India has to save the both sides of the coin, it's policies should bind powerful nations
to put legible sanctions on developing Nations relating to carbon emissions and other hindrances to
economic development and to combat crisis of any kind collectively no matter where it emerges and
free global trade relations with india and other developing Nations .it can be a best role india should
play on every such summit or outside the summit.