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MARCH 2012 Get Previous Issues Free of Cost on Our Website: www.changetabloid.com SOCIAL COVERAGE Total Number of Family Planning Acceptors in India increased by 3.5% between 2010 & 2011 As per the latest official data, the total number of family planning acceptors in India increased by 3.5 per cent between 2010 and 2011. The data revealed that condom is the most preferred method of family planning while sterilisations the least adopted means. The comparative figures between April and September 2010 and 2011 put the number of couples adopting some method for family planning, including spacing methods was found to be close to 24 million, with at least 15 million preferring condoms to any other means. Condom use was followed by oral pill user — though the number in this case came down to just over 5 million in 2011. IUD (intrauterine device) insertions by women was also another significant birth control measure adopted. Use of Condoms According to the figures available with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the highest jump of about 10 per cent (comparative figures) was recorded in the number of condom users while an equal quantum of decline was noted in oral pill users. The quantum of condoms sold by the commercial companies increased by 32.7%. The number of takers of free condoms increased in Rajsathan (though it was less compared to the previous year), Punjab and Haryana. Rajasthan has the largest number of oral pill users, followed by West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Vasectomy Only about 2 million people underwent sterilisation during the period under review. Sterilisations remained more or less the same with a marginal decline of 1.2 per cent. Of the total sterilisations conducted, vasectomy (male sterilisation) comprised only 4.2 per cent. Only Sikkim had 35 per cent men undergoing vasectomy while in the neighbouring Mizoram and Nagaland no vasectomy was done. In Arunachal Pradesh the number of vasectomy done stood at three. IUD Insertions At the national level, the number of IUD insertions during April-September 2011 showed an increase of 5.1 per cent against the same period in 2010. Among the States showing increase in performance are Bihar, Assam, Orissa, West Bengal, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat while usage has gone down in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. State-wise Study Bihar showed a jump of 92 per cent between 2010 and 2011 in sterilisations, 61 per cent in IUD users, 49 per cent in condom users and 71 per cent in oral pill users. Jharkhand on the other hand showed an overall decline in all methods used for family planning. Karnataka too showed all-round decline as also Tamil Nadu, except sterilisations, which showed a 6 per cent increase. Densely populated Uttar Pradesh indicated a 3.7 per cent increase in sterilisation figures, 12.7 per cent jump in IUD insertions, 17 and 18 per cent hike in condom use and oral pill use respectively. In terms of sterilisations per 10000 unsterilised couples exposed to higher order of birth (3 and above), Tamil Nadu showed the best performance at 1834 sterilisations followed by Karnataka (1197), Kerala (1101), Maharashtra (857), Gujarat (510), Punjab (501), Haryana (4170) and Madhya Pradesh (342). The achievement in all States is lower than the all India average of 315 sterilisations per 10000 unsterilised couples. UN-DESA Data Revealed Higher Female Infant Mortality Rate in India United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA) data for 150 countries over 40 years showed that India and China are the only two countries in the world where female infant mortality is higher than male infant mortality in the 2000s. India was found to be the most dangerous place in the world to be a baby girl. The data revealed that an Indian girl child aged 1-5 years is 75% more likely to die than an Indian boy, making this the worst gender differential in child mortality for any country in the world. Infant (0-1 years) and child (1-5 years) mortality were noticed to be declining in India and across the world. It was observed that most of the world was experiencing a faster fall in female infant and child mortality than in male, on account of well established biological factors which make girls better survivors of early infancy given equal access to resources. India and China were exceptions in this regard. As per the report there are 76 male infant deaths for every 100 female infant deaths in China compared with 122 male infant deaths for every 100 female infant deaths in the developing world as a whole. India was observed to have a better infant mortality sex ratio than China, with 97 male infant deaths for every 100 female. However the figure was still not in tune with the global trend, or with its neighbours Sri Lanka (125) or Pakistan (120). India is the worst performer when it comes to child mortality sex ratio. In the 2000s, there were 56 male child deaths for every 100 female, compared with 111 in the developing world. This ratio got progressively worse since the 1970s in India, even as Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Egypt and Iraq improved. THE UN REPORT The report explained high girl child mortality by socio-cultural values. According to the report, so strong is the biological advantage for girls in early childhood that higher mortality among girls ought to be seen as powerful warning that differential treatment or access to resources is putting girls at a disadvantage. Higher female mortality from age 1 (one) onwards indicated sustained discrimination. Neglect and discrimination was found to be in three areas: food and nutrition, healthcare and emotional wellbeing. Of these, neglect of the healthcare of the girl child was observed to be the most direct determinant of mortality. Earlier studies had shown that healthrelated neglect may involve waiting longer before taking a sick girl to a doctor than a sick boy, and is also reflected in lower rates of immunization for girls than boys. ILO’s Global Employment Trends 2012 Highlighted Challenge of Creating 600 million Productive Jobs The International Labour Organization (ILO) issued the annual report on global employment titled Global Employment Trends 2012: Preventing a deeper jobs crisis on 24 January 2012. As per the report, the world faces the urgent challenge of creating 600 million productive jobs over the next decade in order to generate sustainable growth and maintain social cohesion. The ILO highlighted that an estimated 900m living with their families below the US$ 2 a day poverty line, mostly in developing countries. THE REPORT It was found three years of continuous crisis conditions in global labour markets and the prospect of a further deterioration of economic activity, created a backlog of global unemployment of 200 million. 400 million new jobs will be needed over the next decade to absorb the estimated 40 million growth of the labour force each year. The report on global unemployment also pointed out that the recovery that started in 2009 was short-lived and there exists 27 million more unemployed workers than at the start of the crisis. The fact that economies are not generating enough employment is reflected in the employment-to-population ratio (the proportion of the working-age population in employment), which suffered the largest decline on record between 2007 (61.2 per cent) and 2010 (60.2 per cent). There are nearly 29 million fewer people in the labour force now than would be expected based on pre-crisis trends. If these discouraged workers were counted as unemployed, then global unemployment would swell from the current 197 million to 225 million, and the unemployment rate would rise from 6 per cent to 6.9 per cent. Three scenarios for the employment situation in the future as pointed by the report- The baseline projection shows an additional 3 million unemployed for 2012, rising to 206 million by 2016. If global growth rates fall below 2 per cent, then unemployment would rise to 204 million in 2012. If there is a quick resolution of the euro debt crisis, global unemployment would be around 1 million lower in 2012. EMPLOYMENT FOR THE YOUTH Young people continue to be among the hardest hit by the jobs crisis. Judging by the present course, there is little hope for a substantial improvement in their nearterm employment prospects. Global Employment Trends 2012 mentioned 74.8 million youth aged 15-24 were unemployed in 2011, an increase of more than 4 million since 2007. Globally, young people are nearly three times as likely as adults to be unemployed. The global youth unemployment rate, at 12.7 per cent, remained a full percentage point above the pre-crisis level. FINDINGS The report’s main findings also include: • Marked slowdown in the rate of progress in reducing the number of working poor. Nearly 30 per cent of all workers in the world, more than 900 million were found to be living with their families below the US$2 poverty line in 2011. About 55 million more than expected on the basis of pre-crisis trends. Of these 900 million working poor, about half were living below the US$1.25 extreme poverty line. • The number of workers in vulnerable employment globally in 2011 was estimated at 1.52 billion, an increase of 136 million since 2000 and of nearly 23 million since 2009. Among women, 50.5 per cent were in vulnerable employment, a rate that exceeds the corresponding share for men (48.2). • Favourable economic conditions pushed job creation rates above labour force growth, thereby supporting domestic demand, in particular in larger emerging economies in Latin America and East Asia. • The labour productivity gap between the developed and the developing world – an important indicator measuring the convergence of income levels across countries narrowed over the past two decades, but remained substantial. Output per worker in the Developed Economies and European Union region was US$ 72900 in 2011 versus an average of US$ 13,00 in developing regions. SUGGESTIONS 1. The report suggested targeted measures to support job growth in the real economy, warning that additional public support measures alone will not be enough to foster a sustainable recovery. 2. Policy-makers were advised to act decisively and in a coordinated fashion to reduce the fear and uncertainty that is hindering private investment so that the private sector can restart the main engine of global job creation. 3. It also warned that in times of faltering demand further stimulus is important and this can be done in a way that does not put the sustainability of public finances at risk. 4. The report called for for fiscal consolidation efforts to be carried out in a socially responsible manner, with growth and employment prospects as guiding principles. DEFINITIONS 1. A person who has decided to stop looking for work because they feel they have no chance at finding a job is considered economically inactive (i.e. outside the labour force) and is therefore not counted among the unemployed. This also applies to young people who choose to remain in schooling longer than they had hoped and wait to seek employment because of the perceived lack of job opportunities. 2. Vulnerable employment is defined as the sum of own-account workers and unpaid family workers. For More Social Coverage Read Our SOCIO ECONOMY MONTHLY The UN data on child mortality indicated that a campaign against female foeticide alone is not a complete solution. The report highlighted that pre-natal and postnatal discrimination were complementarily contributing to gender imbalance. As per the UN study, while pre-natal discrimination in the form of sexselective abortions is more common among better educated upper income households, postnatal discrimination or neglect is more common among poorer, less educated rural households. CHANGE THE ONLY CONSTANT THING : We Bring You More Informative and Detailed Coverage Every Month 16
MARCH 2012 2G case: SC Allows Swamy’s Petition on Grant of Sanction The Supreme Court on 31 January 2012 set aside the Delhi High Court order refusing to pass any direction to the Prime Minister for taking a decision on sanction of prosecution in 2G case. The Supreme Court held that filing of a complaint under the Prevention of Corruption Act is a constitutional right of a citizen. It said the competent authority should take a decision on giving the sanction within a time frame. In a case filed by Janata Party Chief Subramanian Swamy, seeking a direction to the Prime Minister for sanction to prosecute the then Telecom Minister A Raja, the two judge bench of the Apex Court held that if the sanction is not given within four months it would deem to have been granted. The bench comprising justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly held that Swamy had the locus standi to seek sanction for Raja’s prosecution. The court, however, said, it was not declaring as ultra vires, the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The Apex Court had reserved its judgment on 24 November, 2010 on the petition filed by Swamy alleging that there was delay in taking action on his plea seeking sanction to prosecute A. Raja. The PMO had, however, refuted all the allegations and filed an affidavit before the apex court maintaining that the request for sanction for prosecution of Raja was considered by the Prime Minister and that he was advised that evidence collected by CBI was necessary before taking a decision. The government said as the CBI probe was going on, it was necessary to wait for its completion before taking any decision on granting sanction. Swamy had approached the Apex Court challenging the Delhi High Court judgement that had refused to pass any direction to the Prime Minister for taking decision on sanction. The Law Commission: Anti-Dowry Law should be less Stringent The Law Commission of India on 18 January 2012 recommended the dilution of Anti-Dowry law to make it less stringent. The Commission, headed by Justice P V Reddi, recommended the Government to make Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with harassment for dowry and cruelty to a woman in her matrimonial home, a compoundable offence. Compoundable offences are those which can be compromised by the parties to the dispute. The permission of the court is not necessary. This means that those who would be booked in cases under this section would find it easier to get bail. The recommendation would allow the woman, involved in the case, to withdraw it with the permission of the court, provided she is not under any pressure. Law Commission of India:It is an executive body established by an order of the Government of India. Its main function is to work for legal reform. The Commission is established for a fixed tenure and works as an advisory body to the Ministry of Law and Justice. The first Law Commission was set up during the British rule in 1834 by the Charter Act of 1833. The Nineteenth and the current Law Commission was established on 1 September 2009 under the Chairmanship of Justice P.Venkatarama Reddy. Its tenure was fixed till 31 August 2012. SC Criticized Govt for Delay in Release of Foreign Prisoners The Supreme Court of India on 24 January 2012 criticized the Union government for total inaction in dealing with the prolonged imprisonment of several foreign nationals in Indian jails despite them having completed their sentences. The court directed the government to repatriate them within a month. For More Current Coverage and Daily Updates Visit Our Website: www.changetabloid.com LEGAL COVERAGE SC Directed CBI to File Status Report on 2G Scam to Central Vigilance Commission The Supreme Court on 2 February 2012 directed the CBI to file status report on its ongoing probe into the 2G spectrum allocation case to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). The apex court refused to appoint an SIT to oversee the probe in the 2G scam. It sought the assistance of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) to help it monitor the investigation done by different agencies in view of involvement of several influential persons in the scam. The apex court appointed the senior vigilance commissioner under Section 3(2) of the 2003 CVC Act to render assistance to the court in effectively monitoring further investigation of the case. The apex court directed the CBI, ED and other agencies to give their status report in sealed envelopes to the CVC which would give its suggestion to it on the probe done by them. It passed the order on a plea by an NGO, Centre for Public Interest Litigation, and Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy, seeking its direction to appoint an SIT. The court, however clearified that its order shall not in any manner be construed as a reflection on the integrity of the investigation so far done by the team of CBI and other investigating agency or which may be done in future or their competence to effectively perform the job in relation to 2G case. The court’s decision came on a plea filed by Centre of Public Interest Litigation led by Prashant Bhushan for setting up a Special Investigation Team to look into the case. The bench asked CBI to submit status reports on further investigation to the CVC which will assist the court. The appointment was made keeping in view the nature of the case and involvement of large number of influential persons. SC: A Person cannot be Detained under NSA without Valid Reasons The Supreme Court of India in the first week of January 2012 ruled that a person cannot be detained under the preventive detention law like National Security Act (NSA) without justifiable reasons. If it happens, it would impinge upon the individuals Constitutional right of personal liberty. The apex court observed that the State authorities have been granted the power to curb such rights under criminal laws as also under the laws of preventive detention. These laws are required to be exercised with due caution as well as upon a proper appreciation of the facts as to whether such acts are in any way prejudicial to the interest and the security of the State and its citizens, or seek to disturb public law and order, warranting the issuance of such an order. Important Information Article 21 in the Constitution of India states that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law. Article 22 in the Constitution of India has provision for protection against arrest and detention in certain cases. This article consists of two parts. Clauses(1) and (2) apply to persons arrested or detained under a law otherwise than a preventive detention law while clauses (4) to (7) apply to persons arrested or detained under a preventive detention law. Army Chief Age Row: SC Dismissed PIL The Supreme Court of India on 20 January 2012 dismissed a PIL seeking a direction to the government to restore the Army Chief Gen V K Singh’s date of birth as 10 May 1951 and not as 1950. A bench headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia ruled that the writ petition filed at the behest of an association is not maintainable. The court observed that this is purely a service matter. The court further said it is not expressing any opinion on the merits of the case. CIS: All Information Possessed by the Office of CJI not Completely Exempt from Disclosure The Central Information Commission (CIS) held in the first week of January 2012 that all information in possession of the office of the Chief Justice of India is not completely exempt from disclosure under the Right to Information (RTI) act. The CIC observed this while directing the Supreme Court to disclose communication exchange between Chief Justice of India and the Law Ministry on the question of proposed changes in appointment procedure for Judges. Chief Information Commissioner Satyananda Mishra ruled that, the procedure of appointment of judges or any proposal for modifying that procedure should necessarily be available in the public domain so that citizens know what is transpiring among the major stake holders. The order came on an appeal by RTI activist Subhash Agrawal on this issue. What is RTI Act The RTI act (The Right to Information Act, 2005) of Parliament received the assent of the President on the 15 June 2005. It is an act to provide for setting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens to secure access to information under the control of public authorities, in order to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority, the constitution of a Central Information Commission and State Information Commissions and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. Delhi HC Directed FSSAI to Frame Guidelines to make Healthy Food Available in School Canteens The Delhi High Court on 11 January 2012 directed Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, to hold deliberations with the experts and frame necessary guidelines to make healthy food available in school canteens. The court sought a compliance report from FSAAI, along with the guidelines to be submitted on 25 July 2012. During the hearing on 11 January, the ministry, through its affidavit, submitted that FSSAI has set up eight scientific panels and a committee to prescribe standards of various items of food, including those containing trans-fat acid residues, poisonous metals and microbiological parameters. The affidavit stated that junk food is not defined under the Food Safety Act, and items like samosas, burgers, etc, are classified as proprietary and novel food, which is not unsafe per se. However these food items had to conform to certain standards and safety parameters. The Food Safety Act does not empower the authorities to ban any particular category of food, and its implementation rests with the state governments. The decision to ban the sale of junk food in educational institutions is therefore to be an administrative decision, to be taken by the authorities in charge of running such institutions. According to experts, most junk food has high quantity of trans-fat acids and is low in minerals, vitamins and other essential food nutrients. They are also cited as a reason behind obesity among children. The Delhi High Court’s direction was issued in the backdrop of a PIL filed by social group Uday Foundation, seeking a complete ban on sale of junk food and aerated drinks in schools and other educational institutions. Dear Readers, If you would like to publish your work send to us and we will look at all works sent, but are subject to Editing. A bench of the apex court noted that prolonged detention of foreign nationals was violative of the constitutional right of life and liberty granted under Article 21 of the Constitution of India to every person The bench did not like that the PIL filed by the Grenadiers in the country, including foreign nationals. It said Association annexed the opinions of former chief violation of this right cannot be condoned by the courts. justices of India in the petition on the age row of Army There are 365 foreign nationals lodged in different jails Chief when they themselves said it is not for being including in Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Madhya putting up before the court. The bench directed the apex Pradesh who have completed their sentences ranging court registry not to accept any writ petitions in cases from one to 10 years where opinions of former chief justices are annexed. CHANGE THE ONLY CONSTANT THING : We Bring You More Informative and Detailed Coverage Every Month 17
Page 1 and 2: MARCH 2012 Govt Appoints B K Batra
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Page 5 and 6: MARCH 2012 SUMMIT | CONFERENCE 15th
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