ANNUAL ESSAY PRIZE COMPETITION-2009 (IIPA)

NDIAN INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

INDRAPRASTHA ESTATE, RING ROAD

NEW DELHI-110002

ANNUAL ESSAY PRIZE COMPETITION-2009

Entries are invited for the Annual Essay Prize Competion-2009. The value of the prize for the competition will be as under:

First Prize Rs. 5,000/-

Second Prize Rs. 3,000/-

Third Prize Rs. 2,000/-

Any competitor who has got a prize on one occasion will not, on any subsequent occasion, be eligible for an equivalent or lower prize. The joint authorship of essays shall not be allowed and any essay under joint authorship shall not be considered for competition.

The following subjects have been prescribed and it is open to competitors to choose any of them.

1. Domestic Violence in India: Causes, Consequences and Remedies

2. Globalisation and Economic Recession: The Indian Context

3. The Importance of Agriculture in Sustainable Economic Growth in India

Essay should be based on personal research or experience of the competitors and show evidence of original thinking and scholarship as well as a critical analysis of the subject. Broad generalizations should be avoided.

The essay should be in English or Hindi. The length of an essay should approximately be 5000 words and the competitors must indicate the total number of words of the essay contributed by them. Essays exceeding 5,500 words will not be accepted. The contestants must indicate the total number of words of the failing which it will not be accepted. All essays must be typed in double space on one side of the paper only and those entries which do not adhere to the stipulation can be rejected. It should be submitted in triplicate under a “nom-de-plume” or alias. The full name and address of the competitor should be given on a separate sheet and enclosed in a sealed envelope bearing the nom-de-plume on the outer cover with the following inscription.

“Annual Essay Prize Competiton-2009, Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi.

All essays should be sent to the Director, Indian Institute of Public Administration, Indraprastha Estate, Ring Road, New Delhi-110002, by Registered Post, so as to reach him not later than the 31^st August, 2009. The envelope should be marked “Annual Essay Prize Competition 2009”. The entries received after the due date may not be entertained.

For detail see here

Cash Withdrawal at Point-of-Sale

RBI/2009-10/105
DPSS.CO.PD.No. 147/02.14.003/ 2009-10

22nd July 2009

To

All System Providers (VISA / MasterCard / American Express),
All Scheduled Commercial banks

Dear Sir,

Cash Withdrawal at Point-of-Sale (POS)

Presently cash withdrawal facility using plastic cards is available only at Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs). As on May 31, 2009, number of ATMs and POS terminals in the country stood at 44,857 and 4,70,237 respectively. The use of debit cards at Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals at different merchant establishments has been steadily increasing. As a further step towards enhancing the customer convenience in using the plastic money, it has been decided to permit cash withdrawals at POS terminals. To start with, this facility will be available for all debit cards issued in India, upto Rs.1000/- per day.

2. The conditions subject to which this facility is being extended is given in the Annex.

3. Banks may obtain the approval of their Board of Directors for offering this facility. The note put up to the Board should incorporate the product profile, risk perceived by the bank and the risk mitigation measures.

4. This circular is being issued in exercise of the powers conferred on the Reserve Bank under Section 18 of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (Act 51 of 2007).

Yours faithfully

(G.Padmanabhan)
Chief General Manager

Encl: as above

---

Annex

Conditions for 'cash withdrawal at Point of Sale (POS)

1. This facility is available only against debit cards issued in India.

2. The maximum amount that can be withdrawn at POS terminals is fixed at Rs.1000/- per day.

3. This facility may be made available at any merchant establishment designated by the bank after a process of due diligence.

4. The facility is available irrespective of whether the card holder makes a purchase or not.

5. In case the facility is being availed along with the purchase of merchandise, the receipt generated shall separately indicate the amount of cash withdrawn.

6. Banks offering this facility shall put in place a proper customer redressal mechanism. Complaints in this regard will fall within the ambit of the Banking Ombudsman Scheme.

7. Banks offering this facility shall on approval by their respective Boards obtain one time permission of Reserve Bank of India, Department of Banking Operations and Development under Section 23 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. (A copy of the Board note / approval may be enclosed.)

I-T dept can’t tax research work

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court, in a recent order, came down heavily on the Income-Tax Department, which unilaterally injected an application for

exemption for scientific and industrial research, without seeking guidance of experts on the matter. Tax authorities do not have the jurisdiction to decide on the issues pertaining to scientific research, according to a division bench of the HC comprising FI Rebello and JH Bhatia.

The observation was made while deciding on an appeal filed by Mumbai-based Indian Planetary Society (IPS), which claims to carry out planetary research, astrophysics, solar physics etc. IPS moved the HC, after the I-T Department declined to approve the body even after being accorded the status of Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (SIRO), by the Department of Scientific & Industrial Research of the ministry of science & technology.

The division bench pointed out that since the tax authorities do not have the required expertise to evaluate scientific research activities, it should have sought the advise of experts in the field before coming to a conclusion that a particular body has been genuinely carrying out the research activity. Any decision on such matters, taken without the guidance of experts in the filed, would be vitiated, the HC observed.

The tax authorities did not furnish any reasons for rejecting the application. It merely said IPS did not meet the requirements under Section 35 (1) (11) of the I-T Act, which deals with deductions for expenditure incurred on scientific and industrial research. The communication from CBDT to the IPS reads, “The basic requirement under Section 35 (1) (11) of the I-T Act undertaking adequate scientific research activity is not fulfilled.”

The division bench held that CBDT, which has the officers of the Income-Tax Department, is hardly an authority to decide whether an organisation is actually doing the scientific research or not. The HC pointed out that it is the central government which has the authority on such matters. The court also pointed out that recognition by the ministry of science and technology entails IPS to customs & excise deduction.

The HC further held that the authority to grant permission to such an organisation is of the Government of India and not CBDT. “Nothing has been shown before us to show that, CBDT under the business rules of the Government of India, has been allowed to discharge functions of the government under Section 35 (1) (11).”
Courtesy: Economic times

Ministry of finance permission to implement upgradation of scale (5500-175-9000 to 6500-200-10500) in other ministry from 15/09/2006

Courtesy: red hot

Re-fixation of HAG (S-30) in terms of OM dt 16/7/2009

India Heads High on Neem Patent Saga - Patent Analytics Report

A new study by Dolcera has confirmed that India has indeed lived up to the competitive neem research and development efforts from the West.
A new study by Dolcera has confirmed that India has indeed lived up to the competitive neem research and development efforts from the West. Neem is considered India’s heritage and an integral part of India’s culture. Neem has traditionally been used as an ingredient in Indian cuisine, as a medicinal treatment for several allergies and diseases, and in religious ceremoniesacross the country. Time and again, there has been a hue and cry to prevent other countries from patenting the age-old Indian knowledge of neem.

Dolcera’s study has answers to key questions, including:
• Are Indians holding a legal upper hand on neem usage?
• What are the neem patenting trends in India and the US?

The study also reveals that the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India, played a key role in India as well as in the US to remain one of the top patent owners in terms of number of patent filings on applications of neem. However, the complete picture is a little more complicated. Though CSIR is the top patent owner, individuals (41.84%) and private sector (31.63%) hold the majority of neem patents in India. Government institutes (which include CSIR, the Defense Research and Development Organization, and others) hold 26.53% of patents on India’s traditional asset.

While Indians have used neem for medicinal purposes in wound healing, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and skin care, US companies appear more interested in the areas of biodiesel production, fertilizers, dental formulations, food packaging, pharmaceutical compositions, etc.
Courtesy : LIVE-PR

Posting of details on award of tenders/contracts on websites., CVC OM Dt 14/07/2009

Union Audit Reports Scientific Departments (Compliance Audit - Report No. 16 of 2008-09) 2007-2008

Recovery of dues at the instance of Audit:-Inaction on part of National Institute of Oceanography, Goa in recovering rent and electricity charges etc., resulted in accumulation of dues amounting to Rs.47.71 lakh for over 17 years of which Rs.31.53 lakh were recovered at the instance of Audit.
Avoidable expenditure on electricity for staff quarters: Failure of Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research, Dhanbad to get separate electric connection for its staff quarters despite assurance given by CSIR in July 2003 resulted in avoidable expenditure of Rs.32.70 lakh from August 2003 to March 2008 due to payment of electricity charges at commercial rates for residential staff quarters.
Activities of Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology, Bhubaneswar: Although Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology developed 35 technologies from 27 projects, it failed to transfer and commercialise a single technology. There were shortfalls in achievement of targets for generation of revenue and filing of patents. Project documentation was weak in respect of in-house projects. Intellectual fees and service tax amounting to Rs.29.20 lakh was under-charged in a number of consultancy projects which indicated lack of internal controls. Delays in the range of 6 to 63 months were noticed in installation and commissioning of 26 imported equipment. Management Council did not meet for the mandated number of times and monitoring at higher levels was inadequate.
Development of technologies on batteries/cells and their commercialisation by Central Electro Chemical Research Institute, Karaikudi :Technologies/processes developed under nine disciplines of major R&D programmes could not be transferred to industries due to non-existence of demand from industries and deficiencies in technology developed thus rendering expenditure of Rs.3.72 crore by Central Electro Chemical Research Institute unfruitful.
Activities of Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute, Kolkata: Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute (CGCRI) could not reduce its dependence on government grants which continued to remain at 74 per cent. During the period 2003-08, CGCRI transferred six technologies. However, premium and royalty earned by transferring the technologies was not commensurate with the cost of development of these technologies. CGCRI could not achieve the target fixed for publishing research papers. Project management in CGCRI was deficient as a result of which projects objectives remained unachieved in many important projects.

Total report here

Change in HAG grade pay (22400-525-24500), GoI dt 16/07/02209

Enhancing the ceiling on furnishing etc, to be provided in the office & office portion of the residence of ministers, GoI OM dt 16/07/2009

Banks face fines for ATM errors

MUMBAI: Banks will now have to pay account holders a compensation of Rs 100 per day for every day of delay in reversing in failed transactions.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed stringent penalties on banks who fail to reverse a transaction where cash is not dispensed by the ATM but the customer’s account gets debited within 12 days.

In a circular issued on Friday, RBI has said banks must re-credit such customers’ accounts within 12 working days from the date of receipt of the complaint.

The circular is in response to complaints from customers who had to put up with delays in getting back money erroneously debited during failed ATM transactions. Besides imposing the stiff penalty, the central bank also made it clear that this amount needs to be credited to the customer’s account automatically on the day of the re-credit without the customer having to make a claim.
In case the delay is because of a third-party bank ATM through which the customer has transacted, the card-issuing bank must still pay the penalty to the customer. However, it will recover this amount from the bank that owns the ATM.

Similarly, if a non-bank network operator is the reason behind the delay, the bank will make the payment and recover the penalty from the operator.

Furthermore, the RBI has instructed banks to extend the scope of concurrent audit to cover cases of such delays. Banks are now also required to place a quarterly review of ATM transactions to its board of directors, indicating the quantum of penalties paid, reasons for the same, and the remedial action taken to prevent the recurrence of such cases. A copy will have to be forwarded to the central bank.

This apart, the Reserve Bank made a critical note of different banks setting different cutoff limits for permitting cash withdrawals from/for other bank customers.
Courtesy: Economic times

Provision of AC staff car to the officers of the level of JS & equivalent

Review of CGHS

The performance of the CGHS is regularly reviewed by the Government. The Committee of Secretaries has also been regularly reviewing the functioning of the CGHS since December, 2008, and has been giving directions to the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare for making it beneficiary friendly. Some of the recent initiatives are listed below:

(1) Extension of CGHS: CGHS today covers 24 cities, apart from Delhi. Dehradun, Ranchi, Bhubaneshwar and Jammu are the cities where CGHS was extended during the last four years. (2) Computerization: To keep pace with the modern times, a massive computerisation work has been taken up under CGHS in collaboration with the National Informatics Centre. Computerization of the CGHS will result in lesser waiting period for beneficiaries at the dispensaries; on-line placement of indents on local chemists; availability of patient profiles; availability of medicines / drugs usage pattern, which will enable the CGHS to prepare a realistic list of formulary drugs; reduction in use of paper; removal of jurisdictional restriction (as regards the dispensary) for the beneficiaries, etc.

(3) Introduction of Plastic Cards: As part of the computerisation process, it has been decided to issue plastic cards individually to each beneficiary of the CGHS. This will enable beneficiaries to avail CGHS facility in any city should they happen to be in that city either on official work or on leave. Inter-city treatment will be possible after all cities are computerised and networked.

(4) Accreditation of labs with National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) :

With a view to providing better quality treatment to CGHS beneficiaries, it was decided that only those private hospitals and diagnostic centres would be empanelled under the CGHS, as have been cleared by the Quality Council of India after it carried out inspection of the facilities available at these hospitals and diagnostic centres. It has also been decided that all the laboratories on the panel of CGHS have to get certificate issued by the NABL under the Quality Council of India.

(5) Medical Audit of Hospital Bills is an important exercise to assess the quality of services offered and expenditure incurred. In order to be sure that the bills raised by private empanelled hospitals are genuine and that the beneficiaries were required to undergo only that treatment as was required and that the hospital has not forced the beneficiary to undergo unnecessary tests / treatment at the hospital. The job of medical audit of Hospital bills has been outsourced to TPAs.

(6) Holding of Claims Adalats: Complaints were received in the CGHS and in the Ministry that old cases of reimbursement of medical expenses incurred by pensioners were pending for settlement for long time. It was decided that claims adalats be held in each Zonal office of CGHS, Delhi, under the chairmanship of the Additional Directors of the respective zones. Claims adalats were held annually, in each zone (East, Central, South and North Zones) in Delhi, during 2007 and 2008 and over 95% of the claims were settled in those adalats.

(7) Local Advisory Committees: Local Advisory Committee meetings are held in each CGHS dispensary on second Saturday of the month, which is attended by Area Welfare Officer appointed by the Chief Welfare Officer, Department of Personnel & Training, representatives from pensioners’ association, local chemist to resolve problems at dispensary level.

(8) Decentralisation and delegation of powers: Ministries / Departments have been delegated powers to handle all cases of reimbursement claims if no relaxation of rules was involved. Earlier they had powers to handle requests upto Rupees two lakhs and beyond that amount, the cases were referred to CGHS.

(9) Insulin: Orders have been issued to permit issue of Analogue (Insulin Vial/Cartridge) to CGHS beneficiaries and the extra cost would be borne by the CGHS. The beneficiaries would have to purchase the pen for utilization the analogue insulin.

(10) Outsourcing of cleaning process of dispensaries: As there were shortage of Class IV Staff in a large number of dispensaries in Delhi, it was decided to relocate Class IV staff from a few deficient dispensaries to other deficient dispensaries. To overcome the vacuum so created in some dispensaries, it was decided to outsource cleaning work for mechanised cleaning. The agency has been handling this work for the last five months, and the work done by them has been appreciated by all.

(11) Rate contract for purchase of drugs: It has been decided to run a pilot project under which dispensaries in Delhi will be permitted to place indents directly on the manufacturers on rate contract basis. If the proposal proves to be a success, then it may be extended to cover the entire CGHS. The benefit of this arrangement is that dispensaries / CGHS do not have to carry huge inventory of medicines and indents can be placed on a monthly basis depending on the need.

The Sixth Central Pay Commission recommended the introduction of health insurance scheme for Central Government employees and pensioners. It had recommended that for existing employees and pensioners, the scheme should be available on the voluntary basis, subject to their paying prescribed contribution. It has also recommended that the health insurance scheme should be compulsory for new Government employees who would be joining service after the introduction of the scheme. Similarly, it had recommended that new retirees, after the introduction of the insurance would be covered under the scheme.

An expression of interest has been floated by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare inviting suggestions from insurance companies providing health insurance and health consultants on the structure, feasibility and viability of such a scheme.

This information was given by Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

Government clarification on addition of NPA for pre 2006 pensioner , OM Dt 14/07/2009

Air Travel on Official account - Only by Air India , GoI OM Dated 13/07/2009

Grant of Variable Increment to high performers in the Pay Band 3 - recommendation of the 6th Cpc.(Invitation of suggestion for issue of guideline)

Scientist develop solar powered rickshaw

Kolkata (PTI): Weary rickshaw pullers will no longer have to toil to pedal the vehicle as scientists of CSIR's Central Mechanical and Engineering Research Institute (CMERI) have developed a solar electric rickshaw.

Named Soleckshaw, the solar electric rickshaw is a pollution-free, safe and economical solution to the woes of around 50 lakh rickshaw pullers in the country.

"The goal was to develop an optimally-designed, pedal-operated and motor-assisted, zero-carbon emission, urban transport vehicle," Tech Review quotes Samir K Brahmachari, Director General of CSIR as saying.

The new pedicab with a seating capacity for two to three passengers and a payload of 150-200 kgs, excluding the driver, will run at a speed of 15 km per hour. It can be driven for as much as 40 kms.

The new rickshaw is motor-assisted and therefore is likely to be driven easily both in the plains and the hills.

"One of the main aims of Soleckshaw is to reduce the effort required to pull a rickshaw. The 36V motor has been used to 'assist' the driver in pedaling. Even though it may not relieve him of pedaling, it will definitely make the task almost effortless for him," says Project Advisor Gopal Sinha.

While the driver's seat is adjustable and a suspension system ensures smooth ride, all the three wheels have brakes.

The new pedicab comes with features such as a head light, a tail lamp, and indicators. A lower foot board provides easy access for children, senior citizens and the disabled.
Courtesy: The Hindu

Safety rider to disabled posts

New Delhi, July 11: A person can be denied promotion if he has a disability that makes him unfit to carry out his job in a higher post or poses a safety risk, the Supreme Court has ruled.

The court, however, made it clear that a disability in itself cannot bar a person from promotion, as laid down by the disabilities act of 1995.

However, the court added that the act was not intended to jeopardise the safety of the public, the disabled employee himself or his co-employees, or the safety of the employers’ equipment or assets. Nor was the law aimed at accepting reduced standards of safety and efficiency merely because an employee suffered from a disability.

“If promotion is denied on the ground it will affect safety, security and performance, then it is not denial of promotion merely on the ground of disability but is denial by reason of the disability plus something more, i.e. (an) adverse effect upon (the) employee’s performance of (the) higher duties or functions attached to the promotional post,” a two-judge bench said on Thursday.

The court was ruling on a railway ministry appeal against a high court decision asking it to promote a colour-blind person to a higher grade.

Devender Kumar Pant was appointed lab assistant in the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) in 1972. He was promoted to junior research assistant in 1977 and senior research assistant in 1983.

In 1997, the ministry promoted him to chief research assistant on condition he get a medical certificate stating he was not colour blind. Pant moved the Lucknow bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal, asking it to quash the part of the order requiring him to produce the certificate, and other orders asking him to appear before medical officers.

The tribunal dismissed his case in May 2005, ruling that the ministry order was in keeping with job requirements and was in his own interest and that of other employees. It held that unless Pant obtained the fitness certificate, he would not be meeting the medical standards for the post.

Allahabad High Court, however, upheld Pant’s appeal, ruling that promotion could not be denied merely on the ground of disability unless the employer was exempted from certain provisions of the 1995 act by a notification. No such notification exempted the RDSO.

The Supreme Court, upholding the ministry appeal, also noted that the law often treated people with different disabilities differently.

For example, a provision of the act reserves jobs for people with blindness, low vision, hearing impairment, locomotor disability or cerebral palsy, but not for those with mental retardation or illness.

The court also said that colour blindness could not be construed as a disability under the 1995 Act, since it did not amount to blindness or low vision. So, it was doubtful whether a colour-blind person could claim benefits under the act.

Courtesy: The Telegraph

Revision of cost index for Delhi w.e.f 01/04/2009

Health Insurance for Government Employees

The Sixth Central Pay Commission recommended the introduction of health insurance scheme for Central Government Employees and pensioners. It had recommended that for existing employees and pensioners, the scheme should be available on a voluntary basis subject to their paying prescribed contribution. It had also recommended that the health scheme should be compulsory for new Government employees who would be joining service after the introduction of the Scheme. Similarly, it had recommended that new retirees after the introduction of the insurance scheme would be covered under the scheme.

Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has floated an Expression of Interest from Insurance companies providing health insurance and health insurance Consultants for implementation of the proposed Central Government Employees and Pensioners Health Insurance Scheme (CGEPHIS) for Central Government employees and pensioners on an all India basis.

This information was given by Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.


see my earlier post for detail here

Streptokinase, A Life Saving Drug, Developed in collaboration with CSIR launched for Indian Market

Shri Prithviraj Chavan, Minister of State for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences (IC), PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions and Parliamentary Affairs, today announced the launch of Streptokinase, a life saver, for marketing in India. Streptokinase is an effective and inexpensive clot dissolving drug used in the treatment of myocardial infarction and pulmonary embolism and belongs to the category of fibrinolytics/clot busters which work by activating plasminogen to produce plasmin which in turn helps in dissolving the clot.

The technology for this life-saver drug was developed at the Chandigarh based Institute of Microbial Technology, a constituent laboratory of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR). Chennai based Pharma major Shasun Chemicals and Drugs is making a foray into Biotherapeutics by launching Streptokinase in the Indian Market.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Prithviraj Chavan termed the launch as classic example of what public funded R&D can do. Lauding the efforts of the scientists he said that laboratories and markets must work in an environment of mutual respect to benefit the society. The Minister also expressed hope that CSIR will rededicate itself to make a difference to the life of common man.

Prof. Samir. K. Brahmachari, Director General, CSIR and Mr N. Govindarajan, CEO & MD, Shasun Chemicals & Drugs Ltd. were among those present during the launch.

The technology for the synthesis of this therapeutic protein was developed at Institute of Microbial technology (IMTech) by Dr. Girish Sahni, Director IMTech and his team, including Drs. Deb Sahoo and Kanak Dikshit. IMTech is a premier institute working on the frontiers of Science and Technology under the auspices of the Council of Scientific and Industrial research (CSIR), Government of India. Once developed, the technology was licensed to Shasun Chemicals and Drugs (Shasun) in the year 2002 and Shasun had undertaken enormous amounts of work to effect the transition of this technology from the labs in IMTech to the commercial market place. IMTech, through their guidance on the nuances of the technology, played a pivotal role in the commercialization of this technology. This development represents and endorses the importance of Public-Private-Partnerships to produce affordable medicines.

Over the last decade, treatment mechanism for patients with AMI (Acute Myocardial Infarction) has been by intravenous thrombolysis using Streptokinase. This mode of treatment makes it highly critical for the medicine to be of absolutely best purity. The Streptokinase developed being a recombinant protein does not have any traces of Streptolysin or Streptodornase (which are usually harmful) associated with natural streptokinase. Further studies in the lab have also demonstrated that Shasun’s Streptokinase has one of the best fibrinolytic activities amongst the products currently available in the market.

This medicine will provide immense benefit to the Indian population by reducing mortality among patients, increasing lifespan among the younger generation (young patients with fewer clots can be treated and they are safe for ~ 10 years) and in case of early thrombolytic treatment will avoid surgery and the huge expenses involved in surgical intervention. The medicine is highly affordable and eliminates the need for tPA which is highly expensive.

IMTech, it may be recalled, had also licensed an improved, new clot-specific thrombolytic to Nostrum Inc., USA and Symmetrix Biotech, India recently. This drug is undergoing regulatory testing and is expected to be commercialized in the year 2011.

Payment of Dearness Relief to re-employed pensioners and family pensioners

Insurence payment to beneficiary through electronic payment

Battle for multi-billion dollar e-governance projects hots up

Leslie D'Monte in New Delhi

The battle over standards for the multi-billion dollar e-governance projects is once again hotting up.

IT majors like IBM, Sun Microsystems and Red Hat have shot letters to industry bodies -- Nasscom (for software) and MAIT (for hardware) -- and the department of information technology, protesting over the inclusion of clauses which allow for 'multiple standards' and 'royalty on software' versus a 'single' standard and 'free' software.

At the second meeting of the apex body on standards for e-governance held on June 17 this year, all the members approved Unicode 5.1.0 as a standard for e-governance applications for all 22 Indian languages (except Kashmiri).

They also approved the Open Type Font as a mandatory standard for e-governance applications.

With regard to metadata (name, age, sex, etc. for land records and the like) and data standards, too, there was a consensus.

However, it was on the draft policy on 'Open Standards' that the differences emerged. While Nasscom presented that 'multiple' standards should be allowed, secretary DIT, R Chandrasekhar, himself pointed out that 'complete interoperability could possibly be achieved through single standard.' However, he added that the '. . .possibility of ensuring the same through multiple standards can also be considered in consultation with Industry.'

Nasscom and MAIT were to get back with industry feedback on this subject by July 7-8 which they did.

But players like IBM and Sun are not happy. Insisting that they do not subscribe to Nasscom's views on the subject, they have put on record that they were not consulted by the software body before it presented its view to the government.

"Sun Microsystems believes the Draft Policy on e-Governance Standards, ver 2.0 is an extremely well drafted policy evolved by the government and the policy will help save valuable tax payer's money from being wasted and in creating sustainable e-governance assets...Specifically, we believe that adopting multiple standards in any way will greatly damage the critical e-governance infrastructure of the country and would also increase its vulnerability.

"We also believe that adopting standards that are not Royalty free will compromise the technological sovereignty of the nation....Sun Microsystems was not consulted by Nasscom before presenting its view on the Draft Policy on e-Governance standards," stated Jaijit Bhattacharya, country director, Government Strategy (Asia South and India), Sun Microsystems India, in a letter addressed to Nasscom President Som Mittal.

Ashish Gautam, country leader (open standards), IBM India, confirmed the same and said: "We have written to the DIT, expressing our concern on these suggestions."

Venkatesh Hariharan, corporate affairs director, Red Hat, too, asserted that his company was not consulted, adding: "...We do not support the recommendations of Nasscom...since standards should belong to humanity and not be controlled or owned by anyone.

"In the physical world, we do not pay for using standards like weights and measures. . .In order to protect India's digital sovereignty, we must ensure that national data is stored in formats that are open and free of all encumbrances like royalties, patent claims etc. The government is the custodian of data that belongs to the citizens of India. It must therefore ensure that this data is not stored in formats that are owned and controlled by anyone."

Vinnie Mehta, executive director, MAIT, when contacted, said: "We are in the process of consulting our members, and will soon come up with a well thought-out stance." The e-governance apex committee is expected to meet shortly.

The draft 'Open Standards' policy for e-governance has been in the works for the last two years and several public consultations have been held on this subject. The two recommendations -- one of royalty under 'reasonable and Non Discriminatory' terms and multiple standards -- if accepted, will lead to multiple, proprietary standards, argue these companies.

Egovernment data like land records, etc., these companies point out, remain relevant for hundreds of years. If this data is stored in proprietary formats, it will prove expensive for the country in the long-term, and unnecessarily end up gobbling tax payers' money (if royalty has to be paid).

Incidentally, there has never been a more intense global industry debate over 'open standards'. On the one hand is Microsoft's Office Open XML file format backed by Apple, Novell, Wipro [Get Quote], Infosys [Get Quote], TCS [Get Quote], and Nasscom. On the other is the Open Document Format, supported by the likes of IBM, Sun Microsystems, Red Hat, Google, the Department of Information Technology, National Informatics Centre, CDAC, IIT-Mumbai and IIM-Ahmedabad.

India recently maintained its earlier stance of 'No' to the software major's OOXML (which has been accepted by the International Organisation for Standardisation as an international standard).

ODF proponents oppose OOXML on the grounds that 'multiple standards' are not good, while Microsoft argues that OOXML -- a recognised standard by ECMA International too -- is a response to evolving technology formats in line with continual evolving technology systems.

The debate appears to be a proxy for product competition in the marketplace, argue opponents. It is significant, in part, because it will influence the future success of Microsoft Office -- one of Microsoft's largest and most profitable product families.

Governments are wary of holding digital data in proprietary formats, which could make them hostage to a software vendor.

States such as Delhi, Kerala and others from the North-East are heavy adopters of ODF file formats which are open and free (excluding maintenance and support).

Courtesy: Rediff

CAG’s compliance Audit Report on Information Technology Applications in PSUs

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India’s (C&AG) Audit Report No. CA 23 of 2009-10 – Information Technology Applications in Public Sector Undertakings (Compliance Audit) was tabled in the Parliament today i.e., 9th July, 2009.

Report No. CA 23 of 2009-10 contains results of Information Technology Audit of different IT applications used in various areas of activity in nine Public Sector undertakings (PSUs) under five Ministries.

Some common deficiencies noted in audit were incorrect mapping of business rules, the business continuity plans, disaster recovery plans and IT security policy were either not in place and where formulated were deficient, weaknesses in input controls and validation checks did not ensure completeness, reliability and integrity of data.

The Information Technology Audit of various software programmes revealed the following weaknesses/deficiencies:

The Frequent Flyer Programme of National Aviation Company of India Limited is a customer loyalty reward programme. The IT audit revealed deficient input controls resulting in issuance of award tickets even when adequate mileage points were not available at credit of members. The system had deficient information security controls due to which confidentiality, integrity and availability of information could be compromised.

Coal India Limited (CIL) decided to implement computer network project ‘CoalNet’ for data sharing between the Ministry of Coal, CIL and its subsidiaries. The CoalNet project was not implemented completely in any of the subsidiary companies even after seven years due to non standardisation of the business process. Absence of standard back up procedure made the data unsafe against disasters. Lack of adequate training on CoalNet and non-availability of user manuals also indicated the absence of business continuity plan. The implementation of CoalNet remained unsatisfactory despite an investment of Rs.39.58 crore.

Bharat Electronics Limited introduced SAP in October 2006 in Bangalore Complex and subsequently in other units. Acquisition and implementation of SAP, utilisation of Production Planning and Material Management modules of SAP at Bangalore Complex were reviewed. The savings projected by implementation of SAP towards inventory carrying cost, cost of goods sold and reduction in sundry debtors by the Company did not materialise. Failure to design the required controls in the system, inappropriate customisation etc., during data migration resulted in non-utilisation of the SAP system to its full potential and as a result the integrity and accuracy of the data could not be ensured. Consequently the Company still depended on the legacy system and resorted to manual interventions.

Biecco Lawrie Limited undertook computerisation without formulating an IT policy and developed several modules. The deficiencies in system design like non-integration of different modules with finance modules and non-enforcement of data integrity resulted in manual intervention at each stage which rendered the system vulnerable to the risk of incorrect generation of data. In view of such deficiencies, the Company could not achieve the complete benefits of computerisation.

A review of RAMCO e-Application system in Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited revealed control weaknesses such as users IDs were not linked with employee ID and employee wise entry details (IN entries) did not match with exit details (OUT entries) which defeated the primary objective of access control. Non-integration of the RAMCO e Applications system among various units resulted in manual intervention and led to risk of data entry errors. Non-provision of maintaining history of changes in the system resulted in lack of audit trails.

GAIL (India) Ltd. switched over to SAP ERP system in August 2005. Review of the Financial Accounting module and e-Security issues for the period August 2005 to September 2008 revealed lacking input controls, validation checks and supervisory controls leading to unreliable database. Inadequate customisation of system led to incomplete or incorrect data. Non-rationalised user roles and authorisations to critical combinations and sensitive transactions posed the risk of misuse and manipulation.

Audit reviewed the implementation and customisation of Material Management module of Indian Oil Corporation Limited. The review revealed deficiencies in the input controls and validation checks which ran the risk of unreliable data entering into the system. Some features of the system were not adequately customised.

Human Resource module of the SAP system of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited was not customised for manpower planning activities, determination of staffing needs, selection of personnel for various postings based on pre-defined criteria. Lack of input controls in the system also resulted in feeding of erroneous and incomplete data affecting integrity of data maintained.

Bokaro Steel Plant (BSP) of Steel Authority of India Limited computerised the Invoicing System which comprised of a ‘File Server System’ using Oracle9i developed in house. It was seen that there were multiple data entries of the same source data which delayed the preparation of invoices. There were inadequate physical access controls, as well as environment controls which rendered the System and data unsafe against un-authorised access, as well as fire hazards.

Representation of women members on Selection Committees/Boards Mandatory

Government has initiated steps to ensure better representation of women members on various Committees/ Boards concerned with the selection to posts in Central Government and also to monitor the trend in recruitment of women. Accordingly, DoPT has written to the secretaries of all Ministries/Departments of GoI, UPSC and SSC to instruct all appointing authorities to scrupulously observe the following guidelines:-

(i) The composition of selection Committees should be representative. It should be mandatory to have one woman member in the Selection Boards/ Committees for making recruitment to• ten (10) or more vacancies and lady candidates are expected to be available for the service / Post.

(ii) Where the number of vacancies against which selection is to be made is less than 10, no efforts should be spared in finding a lady officer for inclusion in such Committees / Boards.

(iii) In the event of such an officer not being available in the Ministry / Department itself, there is no objection to nominating lady officer from any other office at the same station.

(iv) Wide Publicity should be given to all appointments in Government, Advertisements should be issued in the language (s) spoken by large number of people of the State/UTs, apart from English and Hindi.

Earlier, the Govt had issued such guidelines for various Committees/Boards concerned with selection to Group C&D posts only.

Further, for Group'C' level Posts, having only basic qualifying requirements, information about vacancies for recruitment should also be disseminated through schools and colleges in that area, in addition to normal channels.

With a view to monitoring the trend in recruitment of women, all Ministries/ Departments are requested to submit a consolidated report including attached/ subordinate offices on the total number of posts and employees group- wise and gender wise as on 31.03.2009 latest by 31.08.2009. The consolidated annual position as on 31st March of every year may also be furnished thereafter by 30th May of that year.

All Central Ministries/Departments asked to redress public grievances within two months

The total number of cases of public grievance received in the Prime Minister’s Office, Cabinet Secretariat and Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances is 109620, 101995, 124052 and 52933 during the years 2006,2007, 2008 and 2009 (upto 30.6.2009) respectively.

Out of the above figures 28489, 29591, 37879 and 18267 were respectively forwarded during these years to various Ministries and Departments for appropriate action. Directions have already been issued to all Ministries/Departments to redress grievances of the citizens within a period of two months. Redress of grievance is primarily the responsibility of the concerned Ministries/Departments/organizations. However, overall status is reviewed periodically. With the introduction of a Centralized Public Grievance Redressal and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS), citizen can view the status of his complaint on the web.

This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Shri Prithviraj Chavan in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

Central government's steps to eradicate corruption

The Government is fully committed to implement its policy of "Zero Tolerance against Corruption¨ and is moving progressively to eradicate corruption from all spheres of life by improving transparency & accountability. Several steps have been taken to combat corruption and to improve the functioning of Government. These includes:

„ Issue of Whistle Blowers Resolution, 2004;

„ Enactment of Right to Information Act, 2005;

„ The pro-active involvement of Ministry/Department through Annual Action Plan on Vigilance as a preventive measures;

„ Issues of comprehensive instructions on transparency in tendering & contracting process by the CVC;

„ Instructions issued by the CVC advising the organizations to adopt integrity pact in major Government procurement activities;

„ India is amongst the countries who have signed the United National convention against Corruption;

„ Introduction of e-Governance and simplification of procedures and systems; and

„ Issue of Citizen Charters.

This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Shri Prithviraj Chavan in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

Amendment to RTI Act

The Government proposes to strengthen right to information by suitably amending the laws to provide for disclosure by government in all non-strategic areas. In this regard, it is proposed to review the number of organizations in the second schedule to the Right to Information Act, 2005 and make rules for more disclosure of information by public authorities.

Government has received representations expressing doubts about the proposed amendments. Non-Governmental Organisations and Social activists will be consulted on the proposed amendments. However No time frame can be fixed for completion of the process.

This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Shri Prithviraj Chavan in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

Income of NPS Trust to be exempt from income tax; also from DDT and STT

Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Minister of Finance in his Budget Speech informed the Lok Sabha today that he proposes to exempt the income of New Pension System (NPS) Trust from the income tax and any dividend paid to this Trust from Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT). Similarly, all purchases sales of equity shares and derivatives by the NPS Trust will also be exempt from this Securities Transaction Tax (STT), he added.

The Finance Minister further proposed to enable self employed persons to participate in the NPS and avail of the tax benefits available thereto. Underlining that NPS will continue to be subjected to the Exempt-Exempt-Taxed (EET) method of tax treatment of savings, Shri Mukherjee said that it is proposed to provide necessary fiscal support to the NPS for the establishment this much needed social security system.

“The New Pension System is an important milestone in the development of a sustainable, efficient, voluntary and defined pension system in India”, Shri Mukherjee emphasized.

Was Election 2009 rigged?

The Election Commission has now officially taken up the investigation of charges of rigging and fraud through the Electronic Voting Machines.

Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla is sitting over a major scandal of a possible massive rigging of elections by manipulation of software of the Electronic Voting Machines.

But for the charge levelled by a former Delhi chief secretary five years senior to him in the Indian Administrative Service cadre, Chawla would have rejected such claims of rigging.

Omesh Saigal, a 1964 batch IAS officer of the Union Territory, stunned him with a presentation to force him to order an inquiry into any possibility of such a rigging.

Chawla is himself a Union Territory cadre IAS of 1969 batch.

Deputy Election Commissioner Balakrishnan has been asked to conduct the inquiry on the basis of a report handed over by Saigal to the CEC, with a software he got developed to show how the elections can be rigged.

Saigal, who is an Indian Institute of Technology alumni, has demanded an urgent check of the programme that runs the EVMs used in elections since 2004.

He demonstrated with his software that its manipulation ensured that one has to just key in a certain code number and that will ensure every fifth vote cast in a particular polling booth goes in favour of a certain candidate.

In his letter to the CEC, Saigal alleged that the software written onto the EVMs has never been checked by the Election Commission ever since these machines were manufactured than 6-7 years back.

His contention is that the EC merely relied on the certificates supplied by the manufacturers, the government-run BEL and ECIL. He alleged that these government firms had subcontracted private parties who actually provided these certificates.

"A public software audit of these machines from time to time, especially after and before an election, was a must to retain the credibility of the elections," Saigal affirmed, demanding that for the sake of transparency names and ownerships of these private companies must be disclosed, as also the details of the factories where they were actually manufactured.

The records retained in the factories must also be immediately taken over by the EC to prevent any tampering and to facilitate an audit, he said.

He also pointed out how, after nearly two years of deliberation, Germany's Supreme Court ruled last March that e-voting was unconstitutional because the average citizen could not be expected to understand the exact steps involved in the recording and tallying of votes. Earlier, Ireland had given up e-voting for similar reasons.

In the United States too, after considerable controversy the Federal Election Commission has come up in 2005 with detailed voting system guidelines which run into more than 400 pages.

Saigal said that it is noteworthy that not a single safeguard mentioned in these guidelines are in place in India.

Saigal said he had gone into all the safeguards built into the e-voting system in India with the help of former colleagues and IT experts and finds it both 'possible and plausible' to rig these machines and get a crooked result.

"If the credibility of the electoral process is to be ensured,pre- and post-election checks of the software now fused onto the chips of the EVMs is a must," Saigal said.

It is not that all the 10 lakh odd machines used in the poll need to be checked. If we take only those booths where one of the candidates has received 75 per cent of the votes and in constituencies where the
margin of the winner is less than 15,000, not more than 7,000-odd machines will need to be checked.

Saigal argued in his report that "if we cannot do this we must revert to the paper ballot."

"The need for a fair, free and transparent polling system transcends any reasons anyone may have to the contrary," he added.

USE OF HINDI IN BANKS (RBI MASTER CIRCULAR)

Acceptance of cheques drawn and signed in Hindi

(i) The offices of banks situated in Hindi speaking areas should display prominently in their Banking Halls notice-boards in Hindi and English indicating that the bank accepts cheques drawn/ signed in Hindi.

(ii) Cheques drawn, endorsed and signed in Hindi should be accepted for payment without observance of any additional formality.

(iii) The drawing officers of the Government offices whose specimen signatures are registered with the offices of the banks, should be permitted to use only one language, i.e. either Hindi or English, for the purpose of signing cheques.

Signature in Hindi on official documents

a) Official documents drawn up in English can be signed in Hindi. However, name of the signatory may be typed in English below the signature. Documents of financial nature (including pay bills) can also be signed in Hindi; the officer, should, however, record his signature in one script only on such documents in order to obviate chances of confusion or fraud.

b) The term “Official Documents” will include all notes, drafts/ fair copies of letters, sanctions/registers etc. wherein a person signs in his official capacity instead of his personal/individual capacity.

c) The official documents/correspondence can be signed in any language as the signature of a particular person is merely a symbol and it can be in any language.

NEIST (RRL Jorhat) selected

Imphal, July 03 2009:
The North East Institute of Science and Technology (NEIST), Lamphelpat substation has been selected as a centre for joint research programme between CSIR, New Delhi and the Third World Academy of Sciences.

Under this exchange programme, Godfrey Ngupula of Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute would do research programme on Lake Victoria, the largest lake of Africa under the supervision of Dr Huidrom Birkumar Singh, Scientist in-charge of NEIST substation, Lamphelpat, conveyed a press release.
Source: The Sangai Express

Compilation on instructions on mobility of personnel published

The Department of Pension and Pensioner's Welfare has brought out a compilation carrying all the instructions issued time to time on the mobility of personnel between Central Government and Central Autonomous Bodies, state government, Central Government to state autonomous bodies and vice versa. The instructions are brought out in a brochure and ready-to-use form.
To View Click Here

New TA entitlement for Shatabadi (EC)/ Rajdhani (FC)

Representation of Women Members on the various Committees/ Boards concerned with selection to Group C&D posts in Central Government.

Benefit of reservation to persons with disability who acquire disability after entering into Govt. service.

UTN not mendatory for filing it returns

PIB
The Central Board of Direct Taxes have further decided that the Notification No. 31 of 2009 dated 25.3.2009 amending or substituting Rules 30, 31, 31A and 31AA of the Income Tax Rules, 1962 shall be kept in abeyance for the time being.

Taxpayers filing their income tax returns for assessment year (AY) 2009-10, or any other earlier AY, may continue to file their returns without mentioning the Unique Transaction Number (UTN) as required under the said Notification. The filing of such returns shall be treated as valid and in compliance to the requirements under section 139 of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Further, the date from which the Notification No. 31 / 2009 shall become applicable on tax deducted at source (TDS) or tax collected at source (TCS) and deposited during the current financial year shall be notified by the Central Board of Direct Taxes subsequently.

All deductors / collectors of TDS / TCS may continue to deposit their TDS / TCS and file their quarterly TDS / TCS returns as per procedure existing prior to issuance of Notification No.31 / 2009 dated 25.3.2009.

BSC/BY/GN-154/09

Prithviraj Chavan announces standing committee for implementation of recommendations of task force for women in science

PIB

Government has constituted a Standing Committee to oversee the timely implementation of the recommendations of the task force for women in science. Announcing this at a press conference in New Delhi, Minister of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Shri Prithviraj Chavan said that the Committee under his chairmanship has 18 members. He said that the task force has submitted his report which is being studied and all feasible actions will be completed in a time bound manner. The Minister also said that a sub-committee will be constituted for development of women friendly policies and practical support systems inclusive of crèche, campus housing, transport, facilities for the elderly, mentoring, etc. Earlier, Shri Chavan interacted with several women scientists at the Women Scientists Meet 2009 organized by CSIR in coordination with DST and DBT. Some of the other outcome of the interactions are:

• Efficiency of existing gender sensitive scheme will be studied and actions taken to enhance their efficiency through revision of parameters and strengthening of implementation systems.

• A Nationwide survey of the reason for the pipeline leakage will be commissioned.

• Attempts will be made to make gender audit in scientific establishments obligatory: webpage information should carry statement of graduated goals and set up monitoring goals.

• Addressing the problems rather than achieving numerical goals will be the priority.

• Special schemes will be developed to avoid under employment of women.

Prof. S.K. Brahmachari, DG, CSIR, Dr. T. Ramasami, Secretary, DST and Dr. M.K. Bhan, Secretary, DBT were also present on the occasion.

PRA/SKK

Research labs (CSIR) in line

A GROWING trend in recent times is national research laboratories and R&D institutions seeking deemed university status so that they are able to award degrees (mainly PhD) in their own names.

Institutions declared to be deemed universities by the University Grants Commission are essentially of two kinds. One is the large number of unregulated and largely private-run teaching shops with little research component. They have acquired the deemed university status to gain degree awarding authority.

The other is institutions involved in research in specific disciplines. These institutions, with hardly any teaching programmes besides orientation-level graduate courses towards the doctoral programme, do not fulfil the objectives of a regular university. Thus many argue that they do not deserve to be granted deemed university status.

Many prominent research institutions have become deemed universities in the recent past. Among them, the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bangalore, and the National Brain Research Centre (NBRC), Manesar, Haryana, achieved the status in 2002, while the Department of Atomic Energy and its constituent institutes and laboratories got it in 2005.

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is seeking to become one as an umbrella organisation of all its constituent laboratories. Its proposal, made on September 29, 2002, has been conditionally recommended to be granted the status.

It is curious that the CSIR or the DAE wants to be a deemed university. One can understand that individual laboratories having special academic programmes, such as the TIFR, would like to be able to award degrees given the problems of university-institute linkages. But the entire umbrella organisation becoming one would seem illogical.

“Laboratories can offer degree-level programmes of a holistic nature in association with other institutions and can be recognised as universities. However, the organisations or departments themselves should not be treated as universities,” says the Yash Pal Committee report.

Until recently, these institutions were awarding PhD degrees through their affiliations with universities. The rigid structures of universities and their low administrative efficiency and below par academic calibre are the reasons institutions cite to acquire independent authority.

In a guest editorial in the journal Current Science in 2005, S.C. Lakhotia of Banaras Hindu University argued that these linkages failed because in this arrangement the university system did not gain either academically or financially.

“Ideally,” wrote Lakhotia, “scientists in research institutions and university departments should have developed academic linkages for joint supervision system so that the university also owned the research work. The research institutions took the university system only as a ‘post-office’.... Such an arrangement where one partner only gives and the other only receives cannot obviously continue for very long.... Recognising research institutes as ‘deemed universities’… is a negation of the original objective for which the dual system of universities and research institutes was set in place in the first instance…. The present mess in the system of higher education cannot be solved by research institutes ‘breaking away’ from the university system…. By creating more and more ‘deemed universities’ one would only help the other universities to be ‘doomed’.”

“I have this apprehension as well,” said S.K. Joshi, former Director-General of the CSIR, “that even the existing linkages would further weaken by seeking deemed university status for the CSIR. But we tried very hard for the National Physical Laboratory [NPL] to develop joint academic programmes, joint supervisors for PhDs, etc., but nothing worked.”

“We suffer from national laboratories-institutions syndrome,” wrote P.N. Srivastava, former Vice-Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University in Current Science, commenting on the issue of research institutions seeking deemed university status. “The standard of science in the country will never go up by taking care of national laboratories and may be utmost a score of universities,” he said.

“The present demand for seeking deemed university status could… be interpreted as an exercise to legitimise the current situation of the national laboratories and redefine their goals,” wrote N. Raghuram, a biologist of the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi, in an opinion piece in the journal. If the institutes are able to fulfil all the roles – teaching, curriculum development and examination – they may as well become full-fledged universities and work with comparable budgets, leaving aside the pretension of being national laboratories created for a different purpose, he said.

“The issue of deemed universities is just one of the many facets of the growing dichotomy between universities and national laboratories.”

Courtesy: R. Ramachandran (FRONTLINE)

Interview of Prof Yash Pal with FRONTLINE

The idea of deemed universities has come to such a stage that even R&D institutions such as the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) are aspiring to become deemed universities. The TIFR is one, the entire Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has also become, the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre….

I was at the new space institute of ISRO [Indian Space Research Organisation]. They have set up an institute. But again I told them, if you want to be able to give degrees, nothing wrong. Please try to become a university.

As regards the CSIR, I have nothing against individual laboratories developing an academic programme, but the CSIR as a whole, I don’t understand. It is babus becoming part of a university. A research laboratory could become a deemed university. This is not bad because, you have equipment, you have the people, you set up a proper programme, courses, then it is fine. If the CSIR headquarters decides the central courses, then it is not a university. And, similarly, if the DAE headquarters determines the courses, then the bureaucracy takes over.