Should intelligence agencies be made accountable to legislature?

• intelligence agencies were effectively brought under parliamentary oversight in many democratic countries, improving their efficiency and accountability

• lack of a legal basis in India is in fact impacting on the functions of the agencies
• objective of his bill is to introduce a legislative and regulatory framework for the Intelligence Bureau, Research and Analysis Wing and the National Technical Research Organization

Salient features of private member bill

• National Intelligence Tribunal for the investigation of complaints against these agencies
• National Intelligence and Security Oversight Committee for an effective oversight mechanism of these agencies
• intelligence ombudsman for efficient functioning of the agencies

Counterpoints

• all efforts should be to strengthen the government, as the country is facing security threats from different players and countries
• parliamentary oversight should not become a hurdle for the intelligence agencies to carry out their activities effectively, because intelligence agencies are bodies which help the government to achieve its goals
• intelligence agencies, if they end up in regular interactions with the members of Parliament, there exists a possibility of the executive power being weakened in matters of vital security
• yardstick for introducing oversight mechanisms for intelligence agencies should be how it would help India in tackling the threat of terrorism in a more effective and efficient manner.

IS THERE ANY VIABLE ALTERNATIVE TO AFSPA

Armed forces are trained to operate in War zone. However in India, due to internal disturbances Army had to be called in certain areas facing internal disturbance. For Army to perform their duties effectively in populated areas,it was felt that Army needed certain special powers. The Government sanctioned these powers by passing Armed Forces Special Powers Act in 1950s.AFSPA provided immunity to Army personnel for their actions when deployed in populated areas to combat insurgency.

               The AFSPA  Act was first imposed in insurgency hit areas of North East in 1950.Army personnel had powers to shoot down people if they assembled in large numbers; powers to arrest or search without warrant. Later this Act was also imposed in Jammu and Kashmir in 1990 to combat terrorism. Over the years there has been a wide spread public protest against the Act in both Jammu Kashmir and North East. There are several allegations against Army of torture,rape ,and murder.               Recently several unmarked graves found in Kashmir lending credence to the allegation that army was committing human right violations. Army on other hand claims that AFSPA is essential for it to effectively fight terror. This is because , unlike in a  war zone where enemy can be easily spotted, a terrorist moves with the crowd. There is no denying the fact that army needs adequate autonomy for it to effectively combat terror and insurgency.

                For over a decade now there have been demands to repeal AFSPA from various quarters of society. Many allege that legal immunity to army has allowed them to commit human rights violation with impunity. However army has stuck to its stand that AFSPA is necessary for it to fight terrorism and insurgency. A way out of this impasse is to find a middle path that allows for prosecution of army personnel in cases involving gross human right violations and putting in place an internal ombudsman for army to inquire into other cases. This would meet the demands of both army and people while also reinforcing faith of people in its army  

DCT- should it complement or substitute PDS?

India spends close to two percent of its GDP as subsidies for the poor. Subsidies are seen as a means to provide basic livelihood security to the poor. Subsidies in form of both cash and kind are provided under various schemes of government. A common criticism against these schemes is that it is riddled with inefficiencies and leakages. As a result a large chunk of subsidies are not reaching the intended beneficiaries. Government is considering the idea of direct cash transfer as a means to correct the inefficiencies in existing system.

                Direct cash transfer aims at delivering subsidies directly to beneficiary in form of cash. Two major pillars of this scheme are Unique identity under UID and financial inclusion. While UID helps authenticate identity of the beneficiary ,financial inclusion would ensure that regular subsidy payments are made into beneficiaries bank account,there by acting as a source of insurance. This idea is largely based on the succesfull cash transfer schemes in Latin America. There are several inherent advantages in cash transfer schemes vis-à-vis in-kind subsidies. It is more transparent and simple, provides wider choice to beneficiary and provides income security to the poor. In this context there have been demands to replace the leaky public distribution system(PDS) with direct cash transfer

                PDS has been the mainstay of governments efforts to ensure food security of those living below the poverty line. Today fair price shops are spread across the length and breadth of the country. Despite large leakages, many still consider it a necessity.  With such a vast reach, it would be better to improve efficiency of existing system rather than replacing it with a new system without adequate infrastructure. The best way forward is to make use of UID in authenticating beneficiaries availing PDS. This would help eliminate ghost beneficiaries thereby cutting down leakages. Automation of processes will aid in real time monitoring of sale of grains.

                The direct cash transfer scheme in current scenario is useful in consolidating existing cash transfer schemes like pension and scholarship. While expanding the scope of DCT, government should consider the ground level infrastructure like bank branches, authentication tools etc. Mere transplantation of cash transfer model that was successful in a predominantly urban Latin America to Indian society would have deleterious impact.  A lot of grass root level changes need to be brought in before widening the scope of cash transfers to include essential goods like food grains.

Cost of black economy

Left wing extremism

source:http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=76575

What is objective of LW extremists?

• their objective is the violent overthrow of the Indian state
• their basic ideology is a complete rejection of parliamentary democracy

how to tackle them?

• we need a two-track approach--one that deals with the leadership of the Naxals, who wish to overthrow the Indian state and the other, which focuses on the concerns of the people they pretend/claim to serve

what are the current flaws?

• affirmative action programmes like reservations have had a very marginal impact on the welfare of the central and eastern Indian tribal communities. 
• Govyt has identified 60 naxalism affected districts for integrated action plan program
• Under this 25 cr is given to each district for undertaking local developmental works like school, water, roads etc
• However the “block” and not the district should be the basic unit for identification
• for instance, Guntur in Andhra Pradesh and Raipur in Chattisgarh, are not part of this 60 but there are certain blocks which are badly affected

characteristics of naxalism affected regions?

• substantial population of tribal communities
• significant area under good quality forest cove
• rich in minerals
• remote from the seat of power and have large administrative units.
• tri-junction areas of different states. 
• key tri-junction areas are 
• Chattisgarh-Maharashtra-Andhra Pradesh, 
• Orissa-Chattisgarh-Andhra Pradesh, 
• Orissa-Jharkhand-Chattisgarh, 
• Orissa-West Bengal-Jharkhand

What is the way forward?

• challenge is to quickly improve infrastructure—roads and bridges more specifically—that enables basic developmental activities to be carried out
• there is no alternative to the Central government stepping in for financing and executing these tri-junction infrastructure works
• transform administration in tribal areas so as not only to give people a sense of participation and involvement  but, more fundamentally, to preserve and protect their dignity”
• Empowering the tribals, who are essentially victims, by giving access to basics, by giving them what is theirs by right and by securing their livelihoods is an absolute undiluted must
• interventions to ensure the speedy settlement of land-related disputes to be high priority in the LWE-affected districts
• more humane policy of land acquisition with focus on effective rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) is the need of the hour
• it is the singular failure of successive governments both in states and governments to protect the dignity and the Constitutional rights of the poor and the disadvantaged that has created a fertile breeding ground for violence and given the Naxals space to speak the language of social welfare
• We need to work concertedly to restore people’s faith in the administration to be fair and just, to be prompt and caring, to be prepared to redress the injustices of the past, and to be both responsible and responsive in future