Safe in USA, but not okayed in India ,Lalit Mohan ,Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, March 22

All that is safe and good for the USA need not be good for India. While the Food and Drug Administration ( FDA) of the USA has declared ‘Stevia sweetener’ safe for use in food and beverages and cleared the way for its use by Coca Cola and Pepsi in the USA, Government of India is yet to approve it as a food additive. If scientists at Palampur are to be believed, it is because the sugar daddies of India are not eager to encourage organic alternatives to sugar emerge in the market.

As a result, it is still being used as a herbal product here. Scientists believe it is the resistance from the sugarcane lobby that has prevented the promotion of the leaves which potentially can replace sugar. Curiously, the South American herb is said to be 300 times sweeter than conventional sugar but does not increase glucose level in the blood, making it safe for diabetics.

Institute of Himalayan Bio-resource Technology ( IHBT), a CSIR ( Council for Scientific and Industrial Research) center at Palampur has successfully used the organic product for preparing sweets, bakery products like pastries and ice-cream.

Stevioside, extracted from the leaves of stevia plant, is the first zero-calorie plant-based sweetener developed in the country, claimed scientists at IHBT. Dr. Anil Sood said that the only difference between stevioside and sugar extracted from cane is that the latter is sticky and can be used for making pastes and binding other ingredients. Stevioside cannot do that and hence cannot be used to make jalebi or laddoo, he informed.

IHBT director Dr P S Ahuja informed that the processing technology has already been patented by the institute. Technology has been transferred to three or four companies and the institute has entered into agreements to upgrade technology and set up processing plants.

Non Practicing Allowance @25% of their basic pay to Scientists Gr. IV

DG, CSIR has been pleased to approve to extend the benefit of Non Practicing Allowance @25% of their basic pay to Scientists Gr. IV having the qualification of full time degree in BAMS & MD (Ayurveda), subject to the condition that Basic Pay + NPA does not exceed Rs. 85000/- per month. The benefit will be available with effect from Date of issue of this order.

Departmental inquiry different from criminal proceedings: CAT

New Delhi, Mar 22 : A government employee who has been accused of irregularities cannot claim innocence in a departmental inquiry merely because he or she has already been absolved of the charges in criminal proceedings related to the case, the Central Administrative Tribunal has held.

"The approach and object in a departmental proceeding (against a government employee) is quite different. The preponderance of probability would be sufficient to come to a conclusion. The provisions of the Evidence Act do not strictly apply," CAT Vice-Chairman Justice M Ramachandran said.

The tribunal made the observation while dismissing an appeal filed by a UDC of Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Jagbir Chaudhary, who moved the HC to quash the departmental inquiry initiated against him after a CBI probe found nothing incriminating against him.

"A departmental inquiry is necessary to maintain discipline in the service in public interest, whereas the object of a criminal prosecution is mainly to determine whether a crime has been committed in violation of law," the CAT said while declining to interfere into the departmental inquiry.

The inquiry was initiated against Chaudhary for alleged irregularities, benefiting certain allottees whose documents seemed to be forged.

The irregularities include allegations that Chaudhary was involved in 43 of the 48 cases related to a realtor and a bribe of Rs four lakh was received by him.
Courtesy : Sahara samay

CVC questions global watchdog on corruption in India

Stung by Transparency International’s report showing India unexpectedly slip from 72 to 85 in the list of world’s corruption-plagued countries, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has sought a clarification from the global watchdog, disputing the claim and level of transparency in arriving at the conclusion.

“The 2008 survey came as a surprise to us. Since India's corruption index had shown a marginal improvement in previous years, the latest report left us wondering how could we suddenly slip to such a level and a perception was created that we have become more corrupt,” said a top CVC official.

Though the Commission formally sought a reply from the global watchdog on the methodology adopted in grading a country “more corrupt and less corrupt”, the official informed that the Commission did not get any convincing reply. “They said they follow certain methodologies but didn’t tell us which are those.”

Chief Vigilance Commissioner Pratyush Sinha, when contacted, confirmed that the CVC had strongly taken up with the matter with the Transparency International. "Immediately after the report was out, we took up the matter with their top officials. However, they didn't have proper answers. They were quite uncomfortable when we went into the specifics," the CVC added.

Another CVC member told HT: "After our efforts, what we got was just a vague reply — more in the realm of speculation. They told us that open display of currency notes by MPs in the Parliament might have affected the perception," another vigilance commissioner said. “But we aren’t convinced.They can't go by just one incident,” he added.

However, the officials rule out a deliberate attempt to malign India, though they say investor sentiment can be influenced by such rankings.

Asked how Transparency International (India) reacts to the CVC’s concern, its vice chairman S. K. Agarwal said its processes were transparent and considered various factors including perception of multinational executives.

A few months back, the Transparency International said India's integrity score had fallen from 3.5 in 2007 to 3.4 in 2008, indicating that corruption has further increased in the country. The watchdog said that Corruption Perception Index was prepared on the basis of surveys conducted in 180 countries by 13 international agencies associated with it.

© Copyright 2007 Hindustan Times

Safegaurd against fradulent Practice

COMPETITION FOR DESIGN

Government of India
Ministry of Finance,
Department of Economic Affairs
New Delhi
Dated, February ,2009

******

Major currencies of the world e.g. US Dollar, Pound Sterling, Yen and the Euro have an Identification symbol. The Government of India also proposes to have a symbol for the Indian rupee to be selected through public competition. Accordingly, all Resident Indians (both Professional artists and Non-professionals) are hereby invited to participate in a Competition for design of the ‘Symbol for Indian Rupee’.
Submission of Entries:
Interested persons may send their entries, along with a bank draft of Rs.500/- (Rupees five hundred only) in favour of the Pay & Accounts Officer, Department of Economic Affairs, New Delhi, drawn on a scheduled commercial bank/nationalised bank at New Delhi as registration fee, to the Under Secretary (Currency), Department of Economic Affairs, North Block, New Delhi – 110 001 to reach him latest by 1300 hours on 15th April 2009. Entries received after the stipulated time shall not be entertained and returned unopened. The Department shall not be
responsible for delay by postal services, courier agencies etc. The entries can also be deposited personally at the Information & Facilitation Counter of the Department, near gate No. 8, North Block, New Delhi.
The entries should be sent in a properly sealed envelope labelled “Entry for Symbol for the Indian Rupee”. The entry should be accompanied by a brief explanation of the Design and how it best symbolizes the Indian Rupee and also the bio-data of the applicant with a passport size photograph affixed on the top right hand corner.
Guidelines for preparing entries:
1. The symbol should be sent only on an A-4 size paper in black and white print.
2. A graphical construction of the symbol design in exact proportions in a bigger size, along with final design, Theme synopsis and concept is required to be submitted.
3. The symbol should represent the historical & cultural ethos of the country as widely accepted across the country.
4. The size of the final design should not be smaller than 232 square cm (36 sq inches). It is to be submitted along with minimum TEN different proportionally smaller sizes up to 4 points font size of the text matter.
5. The symbol should be applicable to standard keyboard. The symbol has to be in the Indian National Language Script or a visual representation.
6. The symbol should be original work of the participant and must not infringe the Intellectual Property Rights of any third party.
7. A participant can send a maximum of two entries.
8. The entry could be an individual project or a team project.
9. The entries received without the requisite fee shall be out rightly rejected.
Other Conditions:
1. The entries sent once shall not be returned.
2. The final selected symbol shall become the intellectual property of the Government of India and the designer shall not have any right over the same.
3. The responsibility to comply with the guidelines and other conditions fully lies with the participant and the Government of India shall not be liable for any dispute raised by a third party.
Selection Process:
a) All the entries received by the stipulated date and time and found in order, shall be evaluated by a Jury of Examiners comprising seven members drawn from Art Institutions of repute (such as Sir JJ Institute of Applied Art, National Institute of Design, Lalit Kala Academy, Indira Gandhi Centre for Art & Culture) – three members, Government of India – 2 members and Reserve Bank of India – 2 members.
b) Five entries shall be shortlisted for final selection. The shortlisted Designers would be required to make a presentation to the Jury and would be awarded a prize of Rs.25,000/- each. The date, time and venue of the presentation shall be communicated separately to the shortlisted designers.
c) The Designer of the finally selected design will get a prize of Rs.250, 000/- and would be required to surrender copyright of the design to the government of India.

(No.10/8/06- Cy.II)
(B S Rawat)
Deputy Secretary to the Government of India

New tray dryers to expedite spices post-production: Statesman News Service

DURGAPUR, March 18: Through advancements in heat power engineering, the Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI) has developed new tray dryers to improve the post-harvest process applied to ginger, turmeric and chilli.
CMERI ~ a Durgapur-based CSIR organisation ~ has already signed an MoU with the Tribal Development Foundation, Arunachal Pradesh. The conventional post-harvesting system applied to dried vegetable ginger rhizomes is time consuming and costly. The ginger rhizomes must be washed twice or thrice and then sun-dried for a day to remove excess water. The rhizomes are then packed in gunny bags and shifted to market. Experts argue that the post-harvest process applied to ginger would benefit from a complete overhaul. The CMERI has come forward to take on the task, in cooperation with North-East farmers.
The CMERI's newly-installed drying system utilises hot air as its drying medium. Thermostat-controlled air enters the drying system and gradually passes through trays of produce, vented finally through an exhaust. Dr SN Maity, director of the CMERI, explained: “The hot air is circulated in a zig-zag route, increasing the contact time between the gas and the produce resulting in increased system efficiency.”
After the MoU was signed, the CMERI began working on the development of five post-harvest process centres operating in Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh. “The centres will work on the drying, grinding and packaging of spice crops,” Dr Maity said.
Ginger, turmeric and chili are major cash crops for the North East states such as Mizoram and AP. The states have been in dire need of a sustained post-harvest process to preserve crops and add value to it. In absence of such a process, farmers have been selling crops immediately after harvest, causing them extensive cash loss.
Dr Maity said: “In the course of their work, the CMERI has decided to evolve a generic model of value addition through the deployment of low cost, stand-alone agro-processing units in various areas in disadvantaged states. Their objective is to boost the rural economy.” To start with, the CMERI has proposed establishing district-level centres in Mizoram and AP, which would be governed by Self Help Groups or NGOs.
Drying systems have held a prominent place in the global market since China introduced commercial vegetable drying systems in the year 2000. An earlier attempt had been made in India to dry ginger in solar cabinet dryers. Based on regional meteorological data collated over several years, Assam Agricultural University's Agricultural Engineering department developed a type of solar cabinet dryer to ensure that a proportion of the huge ginger surplus could be saved, thus minimising post-harvest losses. The university’s solar cabinet dryer was found to be useful for drying roughly peeled longitudinally split forms of ginger rhizomes to a safe moisture level within four to six days.

Central Recordkeeping Agency (CRA) & New Pension Scheme

National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) and The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) have entered into a formal agreement on November 26, 2007 relating to the setting up of a Central Recordkeeping Agency (CRA) for the New Pension System NPS). The NPS was introduced by Government of India for its new recruits (except the Armed Forces) w.e.f. January 1, 2004.

The CRA is a first of its kind venture in India and is critical to the successful operationalization of the NPS. The main functions and responsibilities of the CRA include:

i. Recordkeeping,Administration and customer service functions for all subscribers of the NPS.

ii. Issue of unique Permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN) to each subscriber, maintaining a database of all PRANs issued and recording transactions relating to each subscriber's PRAN.

iii. Acting as an operational interface between PFRDA and other NPS intermediaries such as Pension Funds, Annuity Service Providers, Trustee Bank etc.

CRA will monitor member contributions and instructions and transmit the information to the relevant Pension Fund and schemes on a daily basis. CRA will provide periodic, consolidated PRAN statements to each member and discharge such other duties and functions as may be determined by the guidelines, directions and regulations issued by the PFRDA from time to time.

CRA is also providing electronic interconnectivity to the PFRDA, other service providers (like banks, post offices and depository participants, among others), pension funds and annuity providers.

PFRDA

Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is an independent body established by the Government of India on 10^th October 2003. PFRDA is the Regulator for the New Pension System (NPS) and its regulatory responsibilities include regulating charges, entry and exit, quality and provision of services of NPSCAN, CRA, PFMs, Trustee Bank, Contracting with other service providers under NPS, Conducting systems Audit and other routine audits etc.

Link: www.pfrda.org.in

PFMs

Pension Fund Managers are appointed by PFRDA to maintain the Pension contribution of all subscribers through various schemes offered by PFM. Subscribers will have the option to invest their contributions into one or more schemes of the PFMs. The PFMs will responsible for providing the Net Asset Value of the Schemes offered to the CRA. PFMs will allot units based on NAV as applicable.

Link:

ASP

Annuity Service Providers (ASPs) are be appointed by PFRDA to maintain the annuity contribution of subscribers through their various schemes. Subscribers will have the option to invest their amount into one or more annuity schemes upon retirement/resignation. ASPs would be responsible for delivering a regular monthly pension (annuity) to the subscriber for the rest of his/her life.

YET TO BE APPOINTED

Trustee Bank

NPS Trust formed by PFRDA would be responsible for taking care of the funds under the NPS. The Trust would hold an account with the Trustee Bank appointed by PFRDA.The Trustee Bank upon receiving credits from Nodal offices would transmit the information to CRA for reconciliation.The Trustee Bank shall remit fund to the entities viz. PFMs, ASPs and subscribers on receipt of instructions from CRA.

Link:correspondent branches

Link:mapped list

CRA Facilitation Center

CRA-FC is the entity appointed by NSDL to extend various services under NPS, to its users across the country. The entities who have been appointed as CRA-FC shall establish multiple branches across the country to provide services to the nodal offices such as Pay & Accounts Office (PAO) or equivalent office under Central and State Government.
As per present scope of CRA, following services shal l be offered by the CRA-FC
a. Acceptance of Application for allotment of new PRAN
b. Acceptance of Subscriber request for change in signa ture and/or change in photograph.

CRA-FC Locations (for State Government)

Rites Signs MoU for Integrity Pact (PIB)

RITES Ltd, a Government of India Enterprise under the Ministry of Railways entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Transparency International India (TII) to maintain complete transparency in major contracts and procurements. The MOU was signed by Mr.V.K.Agarwal, Managing Director (RITES) and Admiral (Retd) R.H.Tahiliani, Chairman Transparency International India in the presence of Mrs. Ranjana Kumar, Vigilance Commissioner, Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).

Integrity Pact model is being followed by the Corporates worldwide as it binds a company and its suppliers to ethical conduct in contracts and implementation of projects. CVC has recommended adoption of this pact in respect of all major procurements. The pact will be monitored by the Independent External Monitors (IEM) who will provide an in-process integrity audit and conflict resolution mechanism to address to timely confusions, complaints and communication gaps.

For RITES, business ethics is the foremost among the set of its core values which form a component of the employee evaluation and promotion criterion.

Interview: Creating a new world (Chemical science )

Mukund Chorghade speaks to Elinor Richards about his fascination with natural products and their role in India's future

Mukund Chorghade is President of Chorghade Enterprises and Chief Scientific Officer at THINQ (Technology, Health, Innovation, Novelty and Quality) Pharma, where he provides consultations to pharmaceutical companies on collaborations with academic, government and industrial laboratories. He is also a member of the IUPAC Chemistry and Human Health division.

What inspired you to become a chemist?

My father bought me a book called Chemistry Creates a New World by Bernard Jaffe when I was a teenager. It opened my eyes to all the wonderful things that chemistry can do. I read it from cover to cover in a day and I was spellbound by a chapter on new pharmaceuticals. I decided that this was what I was going to study, much to the dismay of my father, who wanted me to be a physicist.

When did your interest in natural products begin?

"In India, there can be a gulf between the academic and industrial worlds. Some very good work from industry using state of the art techniques doesn't see the light of day."

When I started studying chemistry, a lot of the organic chemistry research was focused on natural products. In India, many professors were working on the isolation of natural products from traditional sources and I was fascinated by the rich variety of structures. We have come full circle because there is now an increased emphasis on the new ideas of reverse pharmacology. This concept brings natural products we have used for centuries back into mainstream sciences and proves the therapeutic efficacy due to their structures.

What projects are you currently involved in?
At THINQ (Technology, Health, Innovation, Novelty and Quality) Pharma, we define new scalable process routes to new chemical entities. Someone could approach us with a medicinal chemistry route and ask us to make it more efficient, or to find different routes. Our goal is to make the drug better, faster and cheaper. We develop these routes and transfer the technology to larger manufacturers. We are also involved in contract medicinal chemistry where we synthesise compounds and analogues; we aim to do the drug discovery work ourselves using collaborations we have established with academics.

One goal is to work on hybrid molecules; for example, the antimalarial drug Artemisinin, which when bonded with another drug, gives you a product that can be used in oncology.

What was your proudest moment?
In my industrial career, I was involved in the discovery of new processes, in particular a route to an antiepileptic drug called Tiagabine, which is now sold as Gabitril. My grandmother had suffered from epilepsy so it gives me a lot of pleasure to see a prescription filled using these particular antiepileptics. I also had the good fortune to develop a new technique called metalloporphyrin-assisted synthesis of drug metabolites that was useful in identifying drug metabolites and preparing them on a good scale. The technique, a predictive tool, could lead to a reduction in the use of animals for testing.

You are president of Chorghade Enterprises. Why was the company established and what is its role?
I set up this consulting company after my industrial tenure at Dow Chemicals and Abbott Laboratories in the US. At that point, there was a need to effect strategic collaborations between US and European pharma companies and their Indian counterparts. What started with process chemistry and manufacturing has expanded into medicinal and clinical chemistry.

You are also Chief Scientific Officer at THINQ Pharma. What are the aims of this company?
THINQ Pharma is a relatively new establishment that aims to inject new thinking in medicinal chemistry into the pharmaceutical enterprises. We are very privileged to have several outstanding Indian, European and North American academics and industry professionals on our scientific advisory board.

What is your involvement with IUPAC?
As a member of IUPAC's Chemistry and Human Health division, I have carried out some successful projects. These include compiling new glossaries of terms used in process chemistry and pharmaceutics and producing a report on the use of natural products in traditional medicines in India and China.

What is the situation for the pharma industry in India?
Drug discovery as a science is in its infancy, but is a rapidly growing area. Historically, the World Trade Organisation approved deals to allow poorer nations to import generic medicines manufactured in India and China, overriding international patents. Recent changes in the patent laws resulted in increased impetus for Indian pharmaceutical companies to invent new drugs. The government in India has been extraordinarily supportive of such ventures. There are a lot of new initiatives and some pharmaceutical companies have begun the research. As yet, there is no Indian drug on the market but I'm very optimistic.

Do academia and industry collaborate successfully in India?
In India, there can be a gulf between the academic and industrial worlds. Some very good work from industry using state of the art techniques doesn't see the light of day because of patent and confidentiality issues. Another problem is the lack of industrial scientists delivering lectures in symposia. Industry and academia need to be encouraged to collaborate more in order to obtain research funding. We have unique systems in India, where a lot of PhD work is done in very good institutions like the National Chemical Laboratory in Pune and the Institute of Chemical Technology in Hyderabad; these institutions do not grant their own degrees - there's a symbiotic relationship with universities.

Could you tell me more about the National Chemical Laboratory (NCL)?
The NCL is a constituent laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), an umbrella organisation, covering 40 national laboratories. Nine or ten of these cater to the chemistry enterprise. The CSIR employs about 23,000 professional scientists. A large number of students elect to pursue PhDs at the NCL; it has become an outstanding institution for promotion of higher learning because many of the full time scientists are distinguished people in their own right. They work across the borders of pure academic work as well as industrial collaborations. I have the highest regard for them and I've published papers with some of the scientists there.

What is funding like in India?

"I'm a tremendous supporter of chemistry, and not just because I am a chemist. I feel that chemistry is still the central science."

Now there are increased motivators for doing research in India, the whole scientific infrastructure has increased in size, sophistication and financing. The Indian government has announced many new initiatives where they will fund projects. If you have a good idea and if you can carry out the pioneering research, the government will fund it. Pharma companies in the West have been increasingly looking to India as a font of innovation.

How do you see the future of chemistry developing?
I'm a tremendous supporter of chemistry, and not just because I am a chemist. I feel that chemistry is still the central science. Sometimes there are new trends and some might say that the computer can solve all your problems, or that biology can solve all the problems. That is not the case. Chemistry, biology and all these other disciplines need to work synergistically with each other. I would not downplay the importance of chemistry.

What's your advice for young scientists?
Follow your heart. Do what you are interested in doing and don't be swayed by short-term trends. Have a basic honesty and integrity in your work. Do not do something for the sake of awards, do it because you love the basic science. Then the awards will come.

If you weren't a scientist, what would you be?
My second choice would have been to join the diplomatic service. I dreamt of joining the Indian civil service, in particular the foreign service because to me, developing good international relationships is very important. I'm happy to say that in a modest way I am an international ambassador for Indian science and chemistry. There is a joy in meeting talented people from a variety of scientific, cultural and ethnic backgrounds. We are all in this together.

Revision of provisions regulating special benefits in the cases of Death and Disability in service – payment of ex-gratia lumpsum compensation

ESI Act does not bar compensation claim

Scaria Meledum

THIRUVANATHAPURAM: The Employees State Insurance Act (ESI Act) is meant to provide for certain benefits to the employees in case of sickness, maternity and “employment injury”.Employment injury means a personal injury to an employee caused by accident or an occupational disease arising out of and in the course of his employment.If the employment is insurable under the Act it does not matter whether the accident occurs or the occupational disease is contracted within or outside the territorial limits of India. A person who sustains temporary disablement for not less than three days (excluding the day of accident), is entitled to periodical payment at such rates and for such period and subject to such conditions prescribed by the Central Government.
Similarly, a person who sustains permanent disablement, whether total or partial, is entitled to periodical payment in a similar fashion.These are called disablement benefits.The question is whether a person who has suffered a personal injury in a motor accident “arising out of and in the course of his employment”, and is receiving disablement benefits under the ESI Act can make a further claim for compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act for the injury he has suffered.Under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, a person who has sustained bodily injury out of an accident arising out of the use of motor vehicle can claim compensation.In cases where death has resulted from the accident all or any of the legal representatives of the deceased can claim compensation for the death.This crucial question arose because Section 53 of the ESI Act imposes a bar against receiving compensation or damages under any other law. The Section provides that an insured person (an employee covered under the ESI Act) or his dependents shall not be entitled to receive or recover, whether from the employer of the insured person, or “from any other person”, any compensation or damages under the Workmen’s Compensation Act or “any other law for the time being in force” in respect of an `employment injury’ sustained by the employee insured under the ESI Act.If one goes by the Supreme Court verdict in the Western India Plywoods case, he is not entitled to claim compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act for the injury suffered by him. In that case, the employee, Ashokan, after claiming and obtaining benefits under the ESI Act, had staked claim for compensation by filing a suit against his own employer. Hence, it was held that an employee who has already enjoyed benefit under the ESI Act could not stake claim for compensation against the employer as he is barred by Section 53 of the ESI Act.But, this is not the case if the claim for compensation is against a stranger to the contract of employment, according to a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court consisting of Justice R Basant and Justice C T Ravikumar.A claim for compensation in tort against a stranger can co-exist with a claim for benefits under the ESI Act. The expression “any other person” in Section 53 of the ESI Act does not take in a stranger who by his negligence caused the accident. The expression takes within its weep only such other person who is sought to be made liable under or on the basis of the contract of employment to compensate the employee for the employment injury suffered by him.If an injury is suffered in a motor accident and such injury is also an employment injury the Section 53 does not bar the claim in tort under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act against a stranger or tort-feasor; but it bars the claim against the employer under any other law, including the Motor Vehicles Act.The insurance coverage under the ESI Act is in addition to and not in substitution of the other remedies against a stranger (to the contract of employment), the Bench ruled.
Courtesy : Indian Express

Contract Law

The Law of Contracts is the basis of business law because the bulk of transactions of the people engaged in trade, commerce and industry is based on contracts. In India, the Law of Contracts is contained in the Indian Contract Act,1872. The Act lays down the general principles relating to formation, performance and enforceability of contracts and the rules relating to certain special types of contracts like, Indemnity and Guarantee; Bailment and Pledge, and Agency. The Partnership Act; the Sale of Goods Act; the Negotiable Instruments Act; the Companies Act, though technically belonging to the Law of Contracts, have been covered by separate enactments. However, the general principles of the Contract Law are the basis for all such contracts as well.

The principal features of the Law of Contract are:-

• The parties to the contract make the law for themselves.


• The Act is not exhaustive since it does not take into its purview all the relevant legislations.


• It does not override customs or usages.


• The Law of Contracts is not the whole law of agreements.

As per the Indian Contract Act,1872, a "contract" is an agreement enforceable by law. The agreements not enforceable by law are not contracts. An "agreement" means 'a promise or a set of promises' forming consideration for each other. And a promise arises when a proposal is accepted. By implication, an agreement is an accepted proposal. In other words, an agreement consists of an 'offer' and its 'acceptance'.

An "offer" is the starting point in the process of making an agreement. Every agreement begins with one party making an offer to sell something or to provide a service, etc. When one person who desires to create a legal obligation, communicates to another his willingness to do or not to do a thing, with a view to obtaining the consent of that other person towards such an act or abstinence, the person is said to be making a proposal or offer.

An agreement emerges from the acceptance of the offer. "Acceptance" is thus, the second stage of completing a contract. An acceptance is the act of manifestation by the offeree of his assent to the terms of the offer. It signifies the offeree's willingness to be bound by the terms of the proposal communicated to him. To be valid an acceptance must correspond exactly with the terms of the offer, it must be unconditional and absolute and it must be communicated to the offeror.

An "agreement" is a contract if 'it is made by the free consent of parties competent to contract, for a lawful consideration and with a lawful object, and is not expressly declared to be void'. The contract must be definite and its purpose should be to create a legal relationship. The parties to a contract must have the legal capacity to make it. According to the Contract Act, " Every person is competent to contract who is of the age of majority according to the law to which he is subject, and who is of a sound mind, and is not disqualified from contracting by any law to which he is subject". Thus, minors; persons of unsound mind and Persons disqualified from contracting by any law are incompetent to contract.

Essential Elements of a Contract

Minimum two parties :- Atleast two parties are needed to enter into a contact. One party has to make an offer and other must accept it. The person who makes the 'proposal' or 'offer' is called the 'promisor' or 'offeror'. While, the person to whom the offer is made is called the 'offeree' and the person who accepts the offer is called the 'acceptor'.

Offer and acceptance :- There must be an 'offer' and an 'acceptance' to the offer, resulting into an agreement. Both offer and acceptance should be lawful.

Legal obligations :- The parties must intend to create a legal obligation.The agreement sought to be enforced should contemplate legal relations between the parties to it.

Lawful consideration:- A contract is basically a bargain between two parties, each receiving 'something' of value or benefit to them. This 'something' is described in law as 'consideration'. Consideration is an essential element of a valid contract. It is the price for which the promise of the other is bought. A contract without consideration is void. The consideration may be in the form of money, services rendered, goods exchanged or a sacrifice which is of value to the other party. This consideration may be past, present or future, but it must be lawful.

Competent parties:- The parties making the contract must be legally competent in the sense that each must be of the age of majority, of a sound mind, and not expressly disqualified from contracting. An agreement by incompetent parties shall be a legal nullity.

Free consent:- The contracting parties must give their consent freely. 'Consent' means that the parties must agree about the subject matter of the agreement in the same sense and at the same time. Consent is said to be free if it is not induced by coercion, undue influence, fraud,misrepresentation or mistake. The absence of free consent would affect the legal enforceability of a contract.

Lawful object:- The object of the agreement must be lawful. An agreement is unlawful, if it is:- (i) illegal (ii) immoral (iii) fraudulent (iv) of a nature that, if permitted, it would defeat the provisions of any law (v) causes injury to the person or property of another (vi) opposed to public policy.

Not expressly declared void:- An agreement expressly declared to be void under the Contract Act or under any other law, is not enforceable and is, thus, not a contract. The Contract Act declares void certain types of agreements such as those in restraint of marriage, or trade, or legal proceedings as well as wagering agreements.

Certainity and possibility of performance:- The terms of a contract must not be vague or uncertain. If an agreement is vague and its meaning cannot be ascertained, it cannot be enforced. Also,the terms of a contract must be such as are capable of performance. An agreement to do an impossible act is void and is not enforceable by law.

Legal formalities:- Generally, a contract may be oral or in writing. However, certain contracts are required to be in writing and may even require registration. Therefore, where law requires an agreement to be put in writing or be registered, the same must be complied with. For instance, the Indian Trusts Act requires the creation of a trust to be reduced to writing.

Breach of Contract

The remedies available to the aggrieved party, in case of breach of contract by the other party are:-

• Suit for rescission of the contract :- Rescission is the revocation of a contract. When a contract is broken by one party, the other party may sue for rescission and refuse further performance. In such a case, the aggrieved party is absolved of all its obligations under the contract.


• Suit for damages:- the party who is injured by the breach of a contract may bring an action for damages. Damage is the monetary compensation allowed by the court to the aggrieved party for the loss or injury suffered by him as the result of breach by the other party.


• Suit for injunction:- An injunction is an order of the court requiring a person to refrain from doing some act which has been the subject matter of contract. The power to grant injunction is discretionary and it may be granted temporarily or for an indefinite period.


• Suit upon 'Quantum Meruit' :- The term "quantum meruit" means, 'as much as is merited' or 'as much as earned'. A suit of quantum meruit is a claim for the value of the material used or supplied under a contract that has become void on account of breach by the other party. When a contract becomes void, any person who has received any advantages under such contract is bound to restore it, to the person from whom he received it.


• Suit for specific performance:- When the loss suffered by breach of contract cannot be compensated by damages or where there are no standards to ascertain the quantum of damages, the aggrieved party may approach the Court for the grant of a decree for specific performance of the contract. Specific performance is granted when:-
  
  
  • Money is an adequate remedy
  
  
  • It will be inequitable to either party
  
  
  • The contract is of a personal nature
  
  
  • the court cannot supervise its execution

'Earth Hour' to be Observed on March 28 in India

`Earth Hour' will be observed by India as well as by the rest of the world to save energy as well as environment on March 28. The people will be observing the Day by switching off all the lights and electrical appliances for an hour from 8.30 pm to 9.30 pm. This year India, especially Delhi and Mumbai will participate. Lights would be switched off or dimmed at 11 PVR cinemas in Delhi and Mumbai and corporate offices. As per World Wide Fund for Nature (India), this year 50 lakh citizens of 377 cities from 74 nations are participating in this initiative.

Began with one hour switching off lights at Sydney in Australia two years back, the `Earth Hour' was observed in 35 countries last year in an attempt to reduce the carbon footprint. Earth hour is not about a quantitative measure about saving electricity but a powerful symbol for the fact that its possible to take action against climate change. It is to bring about awareness about the increasingly growing problem of climate change and to subsequently make changes in lifestyle that lead to wiser energy use.

Subject: Levy of service tax on educational institutions- regarding

Circular No. 107/01/2009 – ST

F.No137/23/2007-CX.4

Government of India

Ministry of Finance

Department of Revenue

Central Board of Excise and Customs

***

New Delhi, dated 28^th January 2009

Subject: Levy of service tax on educational institutions- regarding

****************

Various educational institutions impart training and conduct courses in different fields. Many of these institutions issue certificates/degrees/diplomas to the candidates upon their successfully completing such courses. Apart from government run or aided institutes imparting education, training or coaching, there are several private run institutes or centers, which impart education/ training/ coaching, teach skills, help in preparing for competitive examinations or run classes on various subjects. Service tax is leviable on services provided by ‘commercial training and coaching centers’, since the year 2003. Over a period of time, certain doubts /disputes have arisen in the field in respect of the chargeability of service tax on the fees/ charges collected by such institutes and education centers. Some of such issues have been discussed below.

2. COMMERCIAL NATURE OF INSTITUTE

The first issue arises from the very name i.e. Commercial training or coaching center’. Many service providers argue that the word ‘commercial’ appearing in the aforementioned phrase, suggests that to fall under this definition, the establishment or the institute must be commercial (i.e. having profit motive) in nature. It is argued that institutes which are run by charitable trusts or on no-profit basis would not fall within the phrase commercial training or coaching center and none of their activities would fall under the taxable service. This argument is clearly erroneous. As the phrase ‘commercial training or coaching center ‘has been defined in a statute, there is no scope to add or delete words while interpreting the same. The definition commercial training or coaching center has no mention that such institute must have ‘commercial’ (i.e. profit making) intent or motive. Therefore, there is no reason to give a restricted meaning to the phrase. Secondly, service tax, unlike direct taxes, is chargeable on the gross amount received towards the service charges, irrespective of whether the venture is ‘profit making, loss making or charity oriented’ in its motive or its outcome. The word “Commercial” used in the phrase is with reference to the activity of training or coaching and not to the nature or activity of the institute providing the training or coaching. Thus, services provided by all institutes or establishments, which fulfills the requirements of definition, are leviable to service tax.

3. POST SCHOOL EDUCATION

3.1 Determination of taxability of education, other than school education is more complex and poses more questions. This is because, it covers an entire gamut of educational courses, such as formal higher education (i.e. bachelors, masters, doctoral, post doctoral course), specialized education, vocational education, language (including foreign language) courses etc. These vary in terms of their content; purpose; scope; and the type of institutes or establishments, which impart them.

3.2 The system of statutory recognition of educational establishments or institutions in India is still in the state of evolution. As regards university education, University Grants Commission (UGC) is the apex regulating body. As per the objects of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 (which established UGC) the said Act is ‘to make provision for the co-ordination and determination of standards in Universities and for that purpose, to establish a University Grants Commission’.

·

As per the definition, in terms of Section 2(f) of the Act, a University means a University established or incorporated by or under a Central Act, a Provincial Act or a State Act, and includes any such institution as may, in consultation with the University concerned, be recognized by the Commission in accordance with the regulations made in this behalf under this Act. . Therefore, all universities which are a creature of a State or Union Act fall within this definition of ‘University’.

· Further, Section 3 of the Act, explains the scope of a ‘deemed university’ and defines that the Central Government may, on the advice of the Commission, declare by notification in the Official Gazette, that any institution for higher education, other than a University, shall be deemed to be a University for the purposes of this Act, and on such a declaration being made, all the provisions of this Act shall apply to such institution as if it were a University within the meaning of clause (f) of section 2.

· Also, UGC, with the approval of Central Government and under the Recognition of College in Terms of Regulations, 1974 framed under the UGC Act, can grant recognition to a college or institution run by a trust, a registered society or a body corporate or body incorporated under Central or state Act as an institution affiliated to or form as constituent member with a university, providing education up to a bachelors degree, masters degree or diploma of a duration of minimum one academic year

· As per National Policy on Education, 1986, a scheme of autonomous colleges was promoted. In the autonomous colleges, whereas the degree continues to be awarded by the university, the name of college is also included. These colleges develop and submit new courses of study for approval by the university. These autonomous colleges are fully responsible for the conduct of examination.

As all these institutions or establishment are either created or recognized in terms of the power conferred by statutes, they would fall in the category of institutes/ establishments which issues diploma or certificate recognized by the law for the time being in force. As regards issuance of degree, section 22(1) of the said Act, provides for right of conferring or granting degrees only by a ‘university’ (as defined above) or a ‘deemed university’ (as defined above).

3.3 In addition, for recognition of professional courses, promotion of professional institutions and providing grants to various programmes, a number of ‘professional councils (Such as All India Council for Technical Education-AICTE, Medical Council of India-MCI, Indian Council for Agricultural Research-ICAR, Bar Council of India-BCI) have been created through independent Union Acts. Since, inter alia these councils are entrusted with ensuring norms and standards of the courses, physical and instructional facilities, undertaking assessment etc., they have also been provided with powers to make subordinate legislations (i.e. through notifications, circulars, rules) that the institutions or the establishments within their ambit must abide. In case of default, the councils have the power to derecognize an institution or establishment or a particular course being conducted by them, even if they are recognized as a university, a deemed university or an affiliated college. If an institution or establishment is derecognized, then such institution or establishment cannot be called to be an institute or establishment which issues any certificate or diploma or degree or any educational qualification recognized by the law for the time being in force. With the result, the courses conducted would fall under the ambit of ‘commercial training or coaching centers’ and would be charged to tax. It may however, be noted that for exercising such power, there should be a valid rule / notification / circular, prescribing the minimum requirements or standards as also the consequences of default.

3.4 All India Council for Technical Education-AICTE, was started in 1945 with the objectives stated above. Based on the recommendations of a ‘National Working Group’ (constituted by the Government of India) that AICTE be vested with the necessary statutory authority, it was given legislative support through an Act, called the AICTE Act, 1987. AICTE, using the powers conferred on it through 1987 Act, issued the ‘AICTE (Grant of Approval for Starting New Technical Institutions, Introduction of Courses or Programme and Approval), Regulation 1994. Theses were amended in the years 1997 and 2000. Under Regulation 4 (Requirement of Grant of approval) of these Regulations, AICTE prescribed that,-

“After the commencement of these regulations,-

a. No new Technical Institution or University Technical Department shall be started; or

b. No course or programme shall be introduced by any Technical Institution, University including a Deemed University or University Department or Collage; or

c. No Technical Institution, University or Deemed University or University Department or College shall continue to admit students for Degree or Diploma course; or

d. No approved intake capacity of seats shall be increased or varied;

Except with the approval of the council.

The powers to issue regulations for approval are conferred on AICTE under Section 23 read with Section 10 of the AICTE Act.

3.5 In 2003, when service tax was first imposed on commercial training and coaching centers, the AICTE regulations required that for (a) starting or establishing new technical institutions; (b) introduction of additional programmes; or (c) increase in ‘intake’ in the existing programmes of AICTE approved institutions, a ‘no objection certificate’ from the concerned State government /UT would be required (notification F.37-3/Legal (iii)/2002 dated 10.09.2003). This notification does not prescribe any certification for existing institutes or establishments, which did not introduce any additional programme or did not increase in ‘intake’ in an existing programme. Thus, at that stage, not having a AICTE approval for such existing institution or establishment did not make them ineligible for being an institute or establishment which issues any certificate or diploma or degree or any educational qualification recognized by the law for the time being in force. Thus, if otherwise recognized or accepted, this sole reason of absence of AICTE approval did not cause such institutions or establishments to be within the service tax net. On 6.01.2005, vide notification No. F.37-3/Legal/2004, the previous AICTE Regulations was replaced by new Regulations. These Regulations expanded the scope and stated (Regulation No. 5) that no new technical institution of the Government, Government Aided or Private institution shall be introduced; no new courses or programs in technical education shall be introduced or no variation of intake shall be effected or no existing technical institution of the Government, Government Aided or Private institution shall conduct any technical course without prior approval of the council. The Regulation No. 7 of these Regulations also stated that the council shall, in every year publish the names of approved technical institutions, conducting course in technical education, the course and programs approved by the council and the number of seats permitted for each course etc. These Regulations were again superseded by another set of Regulations issued vide Not. No. F-37-3/Legal/2004 dated 28.11.2005, where the requirement of grant of approval by AICTE was further elaborated to specifically include universities, deemed universities and any admission authority etc. Vide notification No. F-2-1/2006 U.3 (A) dated 5.04.2006 the Central Government issued clarification regarding the role and the powers of AICTE and UGC with respect to ‘Deemed to be University’. From the above it emerges that from the year 2005 onwards, a technical institution or establishment (which is otherwise recognized being a university, or affiliate college) not having AICTE approval cannot be called to be the one issuing any certificate or diploma or degree or any educational qualification recognized by the law for the time being in force and thus be within the ambit of service tax. However ‘Deemed to be University’ have been exempt from this requirement. As per the said notification for the institutes ‘Deemed to be University’, it is not a pre-requisite to obtain the approval of AICTE to start any programme in technical or management education leading to an award, including degrees in disciplines covered under the AICTE Act, 1987. However, such institutes are required to ensure the maintenance of the minimum standards prescribed by the AICTE for various courses under the jurisdiction of the said council.

3.6 Similar would be the situation in case of other Statutory Councils.

3.7 A related issue is, that since the concept of recognition of an educational qualification in India has been dynamic in nature (i.e. the degree/ diploma/ certificate an institute or establishment may be recognized by the law at one time and not recognized at other, due to change in legal provisions) the taxability of the courses conducted would depend on the legal status of such institute or establishment at the point of time when such service is provided (i.e. course is conducted). It cannot be said that once recognized an institute or establishment would remain so even in future or was so in the past.

3.8 Many a time private institutes conduct courses and issue diplomas or certificates in collaboration with certain foreign institutes universities. In many cases private enterprises conduct campus interviews of the students of such institutes and offer them jobs. Such certificates / diplomas may be accepted for higher education abroad. However, such a certificate / diploma cannot be called as the one ‘recognized by the law for the time being in force’ unless such a diploma/ certificate has been specifically recognized by the statutory authorities such as UGC, AICTE. Consequently, such institutes would not fall under the exempted category and would be subjected to tax.

4. VOCATIONAL TRAINING INSTITUTE

The vocational training institutes are exempted from service tax vide notification no. 24/2004-ST, dated 10.09.2004 (as amended). By definition, such institutes should provide training or coaching that imparts skill to enable the trainee to seek employment or undertake self-employment, directly after such training or coaching. Disputes have arisen in respect of institutes that offer general course on improving communication skills, personality development, how to be effective in group discussions or personal interviews, general grooming and finishing etc. It is claimed that such training or coaching improves the job prospects of a candidate and therefore they are eligible for exemption as ‘vocational training institutes. However, a careful reading of the definition shows that the exemption is available only to such institutes that impart training to enable the trainee to seek employment or self-employment. The courses referred to above do not satisfy this condition because on their own such courses do not prepare a candidate to take up employment or self-employment directly after such training or coaching. They only improve the chances of success for a candidate who already has the required skill. Therefore, such institutes are not covered under the exemption.

5. CONCLUSION

All pending cases may be disposed of accordingly. In case any difficulty is faced in implementing these instructions, the same may be brought to the notice of the undersigned.

(Gautam Bhattacharya)

Commissioner (Service Tax)

CBEC, New Delhi

Rate of Daily Allowance for staff side member of JCM

Three IAF pilots die in test flight crash near Bangalore

IANS
BANGALORE: Three Indian Air Force (IAF) test pilots died Friday when the prototype aircraft Saras of the state-run National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) crashed near Bidadi, about 30 km from Bangalore, IAF sources said."The Saras aircraft, which took off from the HAL airport in the city at 2.55 p.m. on a test flight, crashed around 4.05 p.m. in a field near Bidadi on the outskirts of the city. The Bangalore rural police told us all the three pilots died after the aircraft caught fire," an official of the IAF's aircraft systems & testing establishment (ASTE) told IANS on phone.The deceased pilots were Squadron Leader Ilairaj, Wing Commander Praveen and Wing Commander Shah.The 14-seater multi-role Saras is an indigenous aircraft, designed and developed by the Bangalore-based NAL for use by the military and civil aviation sector. NAL is a constituent of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)."The new version of the aircraft was on a regular test flight. It had a smooth take-off from the HAL runway where ASTE is located. About an hour later, the aircraft lost contact with our air traffic control (ATC). We learnt about the crash from the police," the official said on condition of anonymity.The IAF has rushed a rescue team by helicopter to the crash site.With NAL director A.R. Upadhya away in Hyderabad, officials associated with the Saras project declined to comment, saying only the director was authorised to speak to the media."The director is rushing back to Bangalore from Hyderabad. We will get back with details," a NAL official said.

Allotment of Government Residences- Entitlement as per 6th pay Commission

TIPS FOR BOOKING RESERVED TRAIN TICKET IN ADVANCE - PIB Release

A reserved ticket may be booked for any train on the Indian Railways network from any originating station to any destination (subject to distance restrictions and availability of quotas) at any of the Computerised Reservation Centre, across the country. Tickets for onward and return journey may also be booked from any Computerised Reservation Centre.

Tickets may be got reserved 90 days in advance, excluding the date of journey at the rain originating station. At intermediate stations where the train arrives the following day, reservation can be done 91 days in advance. In the case of some intercity day express trains, the advance reservation period is less.

The reservation status will be clearly indicated in the ticket. The status can be either confirmed or RAC or waitlisted or combination thereof. If the ticket is confirmed, coach and berth numbers will be mentioned on the ticket in all classes other than First Class and AC First Class. In case of First Class and AC First Class, the word “Confirmed” will be printed alongside the class of travel. If the ticket is in RAC (Reservation against Cancellation)/Waitlisted status, the same will be mentioned on the ticket. As passenger holding an RAC ticket can board the train. He will be provided with sitting accommodation initially and allotted a berth (in case of passengers not turning up) in the train. Waiting list passengers are not supposed to board the reserved compartment.

While every effort is made to ensure a comfortable, hassle-free journey, Indian Railways are not liable to compensate a passenger due to non-provision of reserved accommodation or for any losses suffered due to late running of trains and other such unintended eventualities which are not willful or deliberately perpetrated.

For the convenience of the passengers, Indian Railways have exclusive counters where they can reserve their tickets through credit card. This facility is presently available only at important Computerised Reservation Centres. A additional service charge of Rs. 30/- is levied when reservation of tickets is done on a credit card.

Reserved tickets can be booked through mobile phones also. The procedures for booking is similar to that of booking tickets through internet. For details, the website www.irctc.co.in may be visited.

Tickets may be booked through the authorized Rail Travellers’ Service Agents (and Railway Tourist Agents), on payment of prescribed charges. No separate reservation quotas have been assigned to these agents and their staff has to take their turn in the queue at the Reservation office for purchasing rickets like any other passenger. Addresses and phone numbers of these Travel Agents can be obtained from the Station Managers.

Central secretariat Service Rules 2009 Notified