24-01-2017 (Important News Clippings)
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Date: 24-01-17
Leadership failure
Peaceful movement for jallikattu didn’t have to erupt in bloody clashes after achieving goal
The jallikattu protest has finally drawn blood. After remaining peaceful and apolitical for six days, the movement with Chennai’s Marina beach as its epicentre turned violent on Monday. At least 60 people, half of them policemen, were injured in clashes. In Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu life came to a standstill, with roads blocked and communication disrupted. The turn of events on Monday exposed poor leadership of both the government and the jallikattu movement.
Having promulgated an ordinance on Saturday to facilitate the traditional sport, the government failed to explain its implication. In fact, it kept details of the ordinance a secret, leaving protesters suspicious. Barely hours before the assembly was to introduce a bill to replace the jallikattu ordinance, the police used force to evict the campaigners from Marina beach. That backfired. On their part, jallikattu fans had no idea how to end the show. A people’s movement often takes birth through a combination of factors and garners strength spontaneously. But when a leadership fails to emerge, the end game becomes tricky. Had the protesters been guided properly, they would have seized the golden moment on Saturday when the ordinance was promulgated and ended the struggle.
But with virtually no one to make sense of the ordinance, and some vested interests spreading the idea that it was but a temporary permission that could be overturned sooner or later, the campaigners asked for a ‘permanent solution’. What that solution was, nobody knew. Even the saner voices in the crowd failed to drive home that a state ordinance – and the expected bill – would have the strength and legal validity of any other legislation, state or central.
Midway through the protest, some Tamil nationalist groups as well as Islamic hardliners eager to do some Modi-bashing joined in. In the initial days, their secessionist noise was drowned by the chorus for Tamil culture. But once the jallikattu goal was achieved, and some of the thought leaders sympathetic to the movement appealed to call off the protest, the vested interests instigated participants to stay put. The police action became a tool in their hands to get the campaigners to discard peace and turn violent. Anyone who supported the core cause of Occupy Marina should be sad with the bloody end. For both the government and campaigners, it should be a lesson in leadership and clarity of thought.
इलेक्ट्रॉनिक भुगतान क्षेत्र के लिये बनेगा नियामक
आधिकारिक सूत्रों का कहना है कि रिजर्व बैंक एक बैंकिंग नियामक के तौर पर बैंकों के फायदे के लिये नीतियां बनाता है वह भुगतान उद्योग में कंपनियों के कामकाज में प्रतिस्पर्धा और नवोन्मेष उद्देश्यों को लेकर जोर नहीं देता है। आधिकारिक सूत्रों ने बताया, ‘‘अब तक नियमन बैंकों पर केन्द्रित हैं। यदि अलग नियामक होगा तो उसका ध्यान लेनदेन को आसान बनाने और लागत को तर्कसंगत बनाने पर होगा। इसलिये भारत में एक सक्षम इलेक्ट्रानिक भुगतान प्रणाली के लिये एक प्राधिकरण स्थापित किये जाने की जरूरत है।’’ रिजर्व बैंक ने वाटल समिति के समक्ष अपनी बात रखते हुये कहा कि भुगतान का नियमन करना केन्द्रीय बैंक के अधिकार क्षेत्र में होना चाहिये क्योंकि मुद्रा आपूर्ति का नियमन करना उसके कामकाज का हिस्सा है। इसमें लेनदेन के लिये मुद्रा में विश्वास बनाये रखना भी उसके कामकाज का हिस्सा है।
Date: 24-01-17
जल्लीकट्टू के नाम पर परम्परा व संविधान में जंग
रोबोट लेखक
तो क्या लिखने वाले इंसान अब बीते जमाने की बात होने जा रहे हैं? इस कारोबार में लगे लोगों का कहना है कि इन मशीनी लेखकों में अभी बहुत कमियां हैं और फिलहाल वे इंसानी लेखकों को धंधे से पूरी तरह बाहर कर देने की स्थिति में नहीं हैं। मसलन, रोबोट पत्रकार किसी का इंटरव्यू बहुत अच्छे ढंग से ले सकता है, लेकिन उसमें वह जवाबों के लिहाज से प्रति-प्रश्न नहीं पूछ पाता। साथ ही, वह यह भी तय नहीं कर पाता कि इन जवाबों में आखिर वह कौन सी बात है, जिसे प्राथमिकता दी जानी चाहिए। यानी अखबारों की भाषा में वह इंटरव्यू का ‘न्यूज एंगल’ नहीं तय कर पाता। हालांकि वे कंप्यूटर विशेषज्ञ, जो कृत्रिम बुद्धि यानी आर्टिफिशियल इंटेलीजेंस को विकसित करने में जी जान से जुटे हैं, उनका मानना है कि जल्द ही वे अपने रोबोट में इतनी अक्ल तो डाल ही देंगे। दूसरी तरफ एक सोच यह भी है कि रोबोट में आप कितनी भी अक्ल क्यों न डाल दें, लेकिन वह डाली हुई अक्ल से ही काम कर सकेगा, जबकि इंसान के लिए ऐसी कोई सीमा नहीं है। यह माना जा रहा है कि जिनके लिए यह काम एक कारोबार है, वे इंसान के मुकाबले रोबोट को ही तरजीह देंगे।
क्या ऐसी स्थिति में इस क्षेत्र में लगे लोग बेरोजगार हो जाएंगे? आम धारणा यही है कि ऐसा कभी नहीं होगा। रोबोट कितना भी सयाना क्यों न हो जाए, वह पूरी तरह लेखक नहीं हो सकेगा। उसे सह-लेखक बनकर ही संतोष करना पड़ेगा। कम से कम उसके काम को जांचने-परखने के लिए तो इंसानों की जरूरत पड़ेगी ही। वैसे अभी किसी को भी पता नहीं है कि जो अंतिम स्थिति बनेगी, उसमें अंतत: क्या होगा? नई तकनीक के हर दौर में बेरोजगारी का मुद्दा उठाया जाता रहा है। यही औद्योगिक क्रांति में हुआ था, और यही कंप्यूटर के आगमन पर। एक और धारणा यह है कि बेरोजगारी की मूल वजह तकनीक नहीं, अर्थव्यवस्था होती है।
Date: 23-01-17
An uneasy force
Rumblings in the police ranks are a warning: Grievance redressal mechanisms need revisiting
And now, we have disturbing news from the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), whose personnel have vented their grievances through social media. The rumblings have been there for quite some time. The failure of leadership at different levels, from the battalion to the top echelon, was bound to erupt one day. Growing resentment over the allegedly poor quality food is symptomatic — the dissatisfaction runs much deeper. The personnel are not happy with service conditions, which are harsh for some of the CAPFs. Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel have to work in snow-bound areas round the year; there are hardly any peace stations for them. Border Security Force (BSF) personnel have to perform duties in snow-bound areas, in desert tracts and in jungle terrain, depending on the border they are deployed at. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel are over-stretched and on the move most of the time.
Suggestions have often been given to the home ministry to bring about some kind of rotation in the duties of these personnel, so they have time to refresh themselves and recuperate. However, these ideas did not find favour with the mandarins of North Block. No wonder there is considerable attrition within the forces and large numbers go on voluntary retirement after completing the mandatory 20 years of service.
An unplanned expansion of the forces has made human resource management a stupendous problem. Today, the CRPF has a strength of 240 battalions. More than 20 years ago, it was recorded in a policy document of the home ministry that an open-ended expansion of the Central Armed Police Forces must stop. However, expansion continues unabated, thanks to exaggerated demands from state governments and the inability of the central government to resist these or seek long-term solutions to the problem.
At the state level, there is a shortage of 5,00,000 police personnel. The Centre should work out a formula, in consultation with the state governments, to fill these vacancies so as to lessen their dependence on central forces. In fact, even if these vacancies are filled up, the states would still be short of manpower by international standards — our effort should be to attain a level of at least 200 policemen per 1,00,000 persons. Presently, the figure stands at 182 on paper — and 139 on the ground.
A haphazard expansion of the central forces has also meant that while manpower was raised, there were deficiencies in infrastructure. There is an acute shortage of housing in the forces. In the CRPF, for example, the level of satisfaction is only 12.5 per cent as against the target of 25 per cent. There are shortages of transport and arms and ammunition. Procurement procedures are complicated and result in considerable delays in acquisition of the necessary equipment. The home ministry officers who deal with these problems have no first-hand knowledge of the working conditions of the forces and therefore tend to be insensitive.
The deployment statement of the CAPFs makes very distressing reading. Every battalion has a training company which should normally never be sent on duty, except in grave emergencies. In our country, however, there is an emergency, real or imagined, round the year; so, these training companies are generally on duty. About 95 per cent of the force remains deployed throughout the year; this affects both training and the discipline and morale of the forces. The men aren’t even able to avail of their leave, which causes anger and resentment that sometimes erupts in grave incidents of fratricide. An absence of promotional opportunities is also causing frustration in some forces. This was brought to the notice of the author by BSF officers in his interactions with them.
Another factor, true of both state and central police forces, is the growing hiatus between the officers and the men. The kind of fellow feeling, the bonhomie and camaraderie which marked the relationship between the two, is gradually fading. A number of factors are responsible for this. The non-gazetted levels today are much more educated than they were in the past. These personnel have higher expectations — and their loyalty cannot be taken for granted. Police officers, on the other hand, do not have the power and authority which they enjoyed earlier. Politicisation has eroded the chain of command. Junior ranks also cultivate political masters, exploiting caste loyalties and political alignments to further their careers. Senior officers are quite often not able to transfer or punish delinquent junior officers because of their political linkages. The officers blame the men — the men blame the officers. All this has created a divide between the officers and the men.
The existing grievance redressal mechanism needs to be revisited. It will have to be made more broad-based. More channels need to be opened for grievances to be aired. Meanwhile, social media is here to stay. It cannot be wished away. However, it is a double-edged weapon. It can be turned to our advantage; it can also be used to devastating effect. It will not be possible to impose any kind of ban over the use of social media by personnel. However, rules could be framed and dos and dont’s prescribed for using social media.
All is not well and it would not be proper to adopt an ostrich-like policy. The quality of food may be improved today but a comprehensive approach is called for. The government of India would be well advised to set up a high-powered commission to look into the plethora of problems facing the Central Armed Police Forces and suggest long-term solutions for those.
Prakash Singh The writer is a former director general of the Border Security Force
अमेरिका की कमान
दुनिया में अमेरिका के प्रभाव को देखते हुए वहां के सत्ता परिवर्तन में तमाम देशों की दिलचस्पी स्वाभाविक है। पर अमेरिका के नए राष्ट्रपति ट्रंप को लेकर उत्सुकता के साथ-साथ अंदेशे भी बहुत हैं। इसका सीधा-सा कारण उनका आक्रामक व्यक्तित्व और विवादास्पद राजनीतिक एजेंडा रहा है। ट्रंप अमेरिका की महानता और गौरव की बहाली की बातें करते हैं। इस पर भला किसी को क्या एतराज हो सकता है? पर शब्दाडंबर हटा कर देखें तो उनका असली मतलब संरक्षणवाद से है। उन्होंने वादा कर रखा है कि रोजगार दूसरे देशों में नहीं जाने देंगे। यानी वे आउटसोर्सिंग के खिलाफ हैं। जाहिर है, इससे भारत समेत कई देशों की आईटी कंपनियां यह सोच कर चिंतित हैं कि उनके कारोबार पर बुरा असर पड़ सकता है। कह सकते हैं कि अमेरिका अपनी घरेलू आर्थिक नीति जो चाहे तय करे। पर दुनिया भर की प्रतिभाओं को अपनाकर ही अमेरिका सिरमौर बना है। इस नीति से किनारा करके ट्रंप अमेरिका को किधर ले जाएंगे? फिर, अमेरिका को वैश्विक जिम्मेदारियों से काट कर वे किस तरह उसका गौरव बढ़ाएंगे? गौरतलब है कि जलवायु संकट से निपटने के कार्यक्रमों में अमेरिका की हिस्सेदारी को वे बेकार की कवायद मानते हैं और संयुक्त राष्ट्र के संचालन में अमेरिका के योगदान को फिजूलखर्ची। दुनिया में सबसे ज्यादा परमाणु हथियार अमेरिका के पास हैं। पर डोनाल्ड ट्रंप को इससे संतोष नहीं है, वे इस क्षमता को और बढ़ाने की वकालत कर चुके हैं।
‘एक चीन की नीति’ यानी ताइवान को चीन का अंग मानने की नीति पर पुनर्विचार करने की जरूरत जताने और ईरान से हुए परमाणु समझौते को खारिज करने वाले ट्रंप के बयानों ने भी विश्व-राजनीति का तापमान बढ़ाया है। चीन, ईरान और खाड़ी देशों की तो बात ही क्या, यूरोप भी फिलहाल ट्रंप को लेकर सहज महसूस नहीं कर रहा है। जर्मन चांसलर मर्केल की शरणार्थी नीति को ट्रंप गलत मानते हैं। ब्रेक्जिट से हिले यूरोपीय संघ को भय सता रहा है कि आप्रवासियों के प्रति ट्रंप की सख्त नीति का असर यूरोपीय देशों में भी पड़ सकता है और इससे ब्रेक्जिट की प्रवृत्ति को बल मिलेगा, तथा भूमंडलीकरण की प्रक्रिया को और झटका लगेगा। हालांकि ट्रंप कितने भी आक्रामक हों, अपने विवादास्पद एजेंडे को लागू करना उनके लिए आसान नहीं होगा।
घरेलू राजनीति में उनके प्रति कितना विरोध-भाव है इसका अंदाजा इसी से लग जाता है कि वे भले राष्ट्रपति चुन लिये गए, पर ‘पापुलर वोट’ में डेमोक्रेट उम्मीदवार हिलेरी क्लिंटन से पीछे रहे। उन्हें डेमोक्रेट सांसदों के तीखे विरोध का सामना तो करना ही होगा, कई मामलों में खुद रिपब्लिकन पार्टी के भीतर से असहमति के स्वर उभर सकते हैं।जहां तक भारत का सवाल है, पिछले दो-ढाई दशक में अमेरिका से उसकी नजदीकी बढ़ती गई है, परमाणु समझौते को इसका प्रतीक कहा जा सकता है। ट्रंप न तो भारत के विशाल बाजार को नजरअंदाज कर सकते हैं न चीन के प्रभाव की काट में भारत की उपयोगिता को। फिर, ट्रंप प्रशासन में कई अहम पदों पर भारतवंशियों की मौजूदगी भी भारत को आश्वस्त करती है। फिर भी ट्रंप के कार्यकाल में अमेरिका में सख्त आव्रजन नीति तथा संरक्षणवाद की संभावना, अमेरिका और चीन के बीच तनातनी बढ़ने तथा जलवायु परिवर्तन और परमाणु अप्रसार जैसे मसलों पर यूरोप व अमेरिका के बीच भी मतभेद उभरने की आशंकाओं के चलते भारत को संभलकर चलना होगा।
Dealing with the deadwood
It has taken more than 40 years for the Centre to administer a shock to a complacent civil service
Such action was a long-needed corrective. There was a similar, but feeble, attempt in the wake of the Emergency under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. It has taken more than 40 years for the Centre to again administer a shock to a complacent and growingly dishonest civil service. Cynics may say this is a gimmick or a symbolic act that would hardly mend the ways of the bureaucracy. This is a defeatist approach. We need to uphold the basic democratic principle of a healthy executive control over the civil service, and actions like these, undertaken clinically and without malice, are a sine qua non if we want to enhance the currently poor standards of public administration.
Perks of the services
The public should know that our All India Services and the Central Services are paid well by Indian standards. Each Pay Commission has enlarged the civil service pay packet and perquisites. You don’t have to exert yourself on the job to earn a promotion. If you did not go to jail for some grave impropriety while in service, you still get to reach the peak and earn the maximum pension of Rs.1,12,500 per month. After passing the Union Public Service Commission examination, the system takes care of you. Only around 10 per cent of officers remain current in their knowledge and exert themselves to keep the administrative system in shape.
If Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to change this, we need to support his effort to convert the bureaucracy into an accountable body that is sensitive to public demands. Except for a few dedicated officers, both in the higher echelons and in the lower rungs, it is a sad fact that ordinary citizens mostly cannot get through to any senior member of the bureaucracy, either in person or over the telephone, to express their grievances. Even if we concede that pressures on senior officers have greatly multiplied, is it too much to expect every government official to respond to the common man who pays his taxes to fund the bureaucracy? It is sad that the IPS is no longer the ‘service’ it was meant to be; it is now a mere ‘force’.
The malady of non-performance arises from the fact that not all positions in governments at the Centre and in the States are meaningful. You have a bloated bureaucracy, and portfolios are created only to accommodate officers. As a result, many officers do not have more than a few hours of work a day. A product of this is indolence, and a long spell of inactivity leads to loss of initiative and a desire to be productive. It is against this backdrop that one should study the phenomenon of how some senior officers become deadwood, and how only a few select ones get to be in important positions during their careers.
Models of probity
The failure to show the right way to those getting into the services is of supervisory officers and not of the much-maligned politician who may be guilty of other misdeeds. If a District Collector or a District Superintendent of Police is himself not a model of efficiency and honesty, the trainee Assistant Collector or Assistant Superintendent of Police cannot go elsewhere to learn the virtues of hard work and probity.
If the system is functioning and has not collapsed, it is because we still have a handful of outstanding men and women in the higher bureaucracy, who are motivated by a spirit of service and have the conviction that they will be models to young officers. It is in this context that all of us should plead for an incessant drive against the deadwood in government services.
The only obstacle in the way of drastic civil service reform — like the one pursued by the present government at the Centre — is the judiciary that overturns or stays every administrative action against an erring senior officer. Courts would earn the admiration of a harassed public if they stopped interfering in disciplinary matters once they are satisfied that prescribed procedures had been followed in a case coming up before them and there is no malice writ large on a decision. Judicial overstepping, while correcting unjust action against a few honest civil servants, unwittingly promotes the cause of many unscrupulous elements. The track record of administrative tribunals in the country is a matter of great concern to those looking for a balanced and objective bureaucracy. There is need here for an immediate corrective by the Union Law Ministry.
R.K. Raghavan is a former CBI Director.