For quite some time the Government has been seized with the idea of ushering in phenomenal police reforms. Two reasons have catalyzed this thinking. One is that of bridging State police structurally as well as functionally at par with national police standards for the sake of universality of police services. The second is new challenges thrown up in the backdrop of two-decade long militancy and turmoil in the State. In the light of developing national integration scenario, it had become necessary for the State police to adjust to working system at par with police structures available in other states. Militancy fuelled by support from outside the state has brought to fore situations in which the state police had not adequate expertise of handling. For example, the question of handling mass protests and rallies with the use of minimum force and no fatalities has been almost a new phenomenon in which the state police had to upgrade and streamline its delivery.
The State Government has been very seriously considering major reforms in the police establishment that needs the nod from the legislature in order to give teeth to the new structure. As such, a bill has been drafted by the Government with input from police, judicial and administrative sources. The Act has been drafted and is ready to be placed before the legislature in its forthcoming session. Having brought up its odds and ends, the Government has now brought it to the public domain where legal experts, academics, NGOs and all stakeholders are free to express themselves on the clauses of the draft Act. It means that they need to study the clauses and sub-clauses of the draft bill very closely and make their views known to the Government within the specified time. The full text of the draft bill has been made public. We have also published in the columns of this paper the main features of the bill. Obviously the cities of Srinagar and Jammu will have Police Commissioners but they will be under the control of the DGP.
Included in police restructuring policy is the proposal for constituting Police Complaints Authority, State Security Commission, Police Establishment Board and Police Welfare Board. The Act also proposes separation of the Investigation wing of Police Department from the Law and Order wing for better management of affairs. The Act deals with the details of modus operandi for constituting these organs within the police establishment, their chairmanship, membership and the terms of reference and scope of jurisdiction. All these matters have been elaborated in detail. Separation of investigation wing from law and order wing, for example, will be an effective step in speeding up the investigation of a criminal case and bringing the accused to justice. The Act, when passed by the State Legislature, will be a landmark step in streamlining internal administration of police department and its functionality on the ground, It has been rightly said that the proposed draft Legislation is aimed at consolidating and amending the law relating to the establishment, regulation, power and duties of Police Service in the State and for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto. Moreover, efficient policing of the State but the police in the forefront of the duty of maintaining law and order. Our police personnel have shown remarkable efficiency in controlling situation arising out of militancy and incidents related to it.
But police reforms and streamlining of delivery have not to be seen only from the prism of militancy and unrest with which the State is faced for last two decades. The fact is that the country is going through big social and economic change. These changes demand that laws governing the activities of the Indian civil society have to be made commensurate with rising aspirations and requirements. J&K, as an integral part of the Union has her share of socio-economic development which, in turn, also brings to fore new problems and challenges. Police reforms have essentially to be seen from that prism. It shows that these reforms were long due and should have come much earlier. However, believing that better late than never, we expect the legislature to give its nod to the bill and thus create history of bringing state police at par with national level of police administration. Once it comes into force, the Act will not the last step bringing us to the goalpost. There might be the need of further reforms in the police structure with the passage of time. That is what the dynamics of social development dictates. But for the present, the Act will be an historical event bound to have wide impact on our polity.
Redefining Police role
Mubarak Mandi heritage
The project of restoring Mubarak Mandi royal complex as part of Dogra heritage is going on at snail’s pace. Mubarak Mandi Heritage Society, the organization looking after the restoration work of the complex is soar at the very slow speed at which the proposed restoration is going on at the hands of Archaeological Survey of India. It thinks that with this speed it will take half a century to complete the task and by that time more damage will happen because of weathering effect. The kind of work that is to be done is delicate and time consuming and only the ASI has the specialization. That is why renovation of the heritage complex was entrusted to it in 2007. But the major constraint, as we are told, is of release of adequate funds. According to ASI sources the restoration of the entire complex would entail an expenditure of Rs 300 crore which will not be forthcoming. Therefore the project was divided into segments and the one segment that was undertaken by the ASI in 2007 has so far completed 80 per cent of the work. Two things need to be done forthwith if this heritage complex is to be kept intact for posterity. One is that installments of allocated funds should be released at their proper time and second is that the ASI should double the manpower deployed for restoration work. We hope concerned authorities will take these suggestions into consideration.
Kashmir Rail services remain off track, to resume from tomorrow
SRINAGAR : Rail services in the Kashmir valley remained suspended for the ninth day today and will resume from tomorrow.
The service was suspended due to imposition of curfew in the Valley as a precautionary measure in the wake of execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru in Delhi’s Tihar jail on February 9.
A meeting was held yesterday and it was decided to resume the rail services from tomorrow if there is no untoward incident, official sources said.
The Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, connecting the Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, was open and air traffic was also normal.
The breakaway Hurriyat Conference (HC) had extended the strike call till today to protest Guru’s execution.
(AGENCIES)
Cameron to arrive India tomorrow on three-day official visit
LONDON : Seeking to build “one of the great partnerships” of the 21st century, British Prime Minister David Cameron will begin a three-day official visit to India from tomorrow during which he will meet his counterpart Manmohan Singh and discuss issues of common interest.
Accompanied by a high-level business delegation, Cameron will arrive in Mumbai, where his programmes include a visit to Hindustan Unilever headquarters, a business interaction at Taj Palace Hotel, a visit to St Xavier School and laying a wreath at the Police Memorial.
Cameron will hold discussions with Prime Minister Singh in New Delhi on February 19 and discuss bilateral and global issues of common interest. He will also call on President Pranab Mukherjee on the same day. The British Prime Minister last visited India in July 2010.
His visit to India comes on the heel of a visit by French President Francois Hollande to drum up trade and bilateral relations.
Ahead of his visit, Cameron said that he wanted the relationship between India and the UK to be “one of the great partnerships of the 21st century”.
Cameron’s delegation will include representatives of Small and Medium enterprises. British retailers are keen to increase their presence in India and executives from the Tesco supermarket chain, Britain’s biggest retailer which already has a joint venture in India, are expected to accompany him.
The Prime Minister is confident that he will reach the goal of doubling Britain’s trade with India from 11.5 billion pounds in 2010 to 23 billion by 2015.
Cameron will also use the trip to correct any misunderstandings about his government’s drive to bring immigration numbers under control amid concerns that Indian students could be deterred from applying to study in Britain.
Admitting that the government “haven’t perhaps
communicated this properly” to would-be students, Cameron told the ethnic TV media here that there was “no limit” on the numbers of Indian students studying at British universities or staying on in graduate-level jobs.
He said he was “really, really enthusiastic” about the prospects for increased trade between the two countries.
“We both want to see jobs, we want to see growth, we want to see investment.
“It’s very special partnership between Britain and India. We’ve got these ties of history, language, culture, but really I see it as a very strong relationship about the future – huge investment from India into Britain, huge investment from Britain into India, lots of our businesses partnering, lots of trade and lots of jobs.”
About 700 Indian companies have operations in the UK with over 70 of them listed on the London Stock Exchange. (AGENCIES)
Green car startup Fisker aims to secure foreign partner in weeks
DETROIT, Feb 16: Fisker Automotive has received serious offers from at least three overseas automakers willing to invest in and partner with the cash-strapped U.S. hybrid maker, which hopes to finalize a deal within weeks, people familiar with the matter said.
Potential suitors for the green-car startup include at least two Chinese automakers and one European company, two sources said. Fisker is hoping to sew up a deal by mid-March, another source said.
Fisker is looking to raise between $200 million and $300 million, and sources said it could wind up forming a strategic pact with two or more partners.
‘The company has received detailed proposals from multiple parties in different continents which are now being evaluated by the company and its advisers,’ Fisker spokesman Roger Ormisher said in an email. He declined to comment further.
A strategic pact would give Fisker the funds to build its second model, the Atlantic plug-in hybrid. Such a deal is also important to gain favor with investors after a string of recalls and financial setbacks cast doubt on Fisker’s survival.
Over the past several months, Chief Executive Tony Posawatz and other Fisker executives have met with several investors and automakers, particularly in China. Executives met with officials from several Chinese automakers, including Dongfeng Motor , Geely Auto and Beijing Auto, sources said.
Officials from those companies were not immediately available to comment.
The company has also held discussions with Wanxiang Group, China’s largest auto parts maker that has since purchased bankrupt U.S. Lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems, Fisker’s primary battery supplier.
ATLANTIC SEDAN IS CRITICAL
The search for financial backers comes after a tough 2012 marred by the rocky and delayed introduction of Fisker’s first car, the $100,000-plus Karma, A123’s bankruptcy, and an election that turned the U.S. government-backed company into a political punching bag.
The Atlantic is critical toward restoring Fisker’s image. The family sedan, which Fisker showcased at the New York auto show last year, is expected to start at around $55,000 and be Fisker’s high-volume model.
Fisker planned to use the bulk of a $529 million line of credit from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to build the Atlantic at a Delaware factory previously owned by General Motors Co.
The loan was awarded to Fisker in 2009 as part of an Obama administration program to spur advanced vehicle development.
But Fisker’s plans were uprooted after the DOE decided to freeze the loan last year, citing delays in the Karma launch. Sources said Fisker is now running very low on cash.
DOE officials have been a part of Fisker’s ongoing search for a partner, the sources said. The agency has expressed its desire to keep Atlantic production in Delaware, as has Fisker.
Finding a strategic partner and building the Atlantic would lay the foundation for the company to stage an initial public offering.
‘Certainly, without a doubt, it is our desire to prepare the company to be a public company,’ Posawatz said during a speech in Detroit last year.
Fisker’s strategy echoes the one followed by electric carmaker Tesla Motors, which has partnerships with Toyota Motor Corp and Daimler AG and went public in 2010. (AGENCIES)
* Plan to focus on transfer pricing, tax-base erosion and e-commerce
MOSCOW, Feb 16: The British, French and German governments launched a joint initiative today to crack down on tax avoidance by multinational companies that will be presented to a G20 finance leaders meeting in July.
The plan, unveiled by the three countries’ finance ministers at a G20 meeting in Moscow, follows up on a report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that many big firms country-hop to pay less tax.
The OECD highlighted a growing trend for multinationals to shift profits to countries where tax rates are lowest, and urged a sweeping overhaul of international tax rules to prevent this.
“This work is the basis of increased international cooperation to make sure our tax rules reflect our international economy,” British finance minister George Osborne said.
“Unbelievably our tax rules were created a hundred years ago by the League of Nations, and much has happened to our international economy since then.”
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said the trio would examine ways to close loopholes that made it too easy for companies to decide where they paid taxes, particularly on “mobile income” such as interest, dividends and royalties.
“Multinationals should not be able to capture globalisation to unfairly reduce their taxes,” he said.
THREE-PRONGED APPROACH
In a briefing paper, the UK Treasury said that Britain will chair an OECD group on transfer pricing, Germany will chair one on tax-base erosion and France – with the United States – will examine jurisdiction issues, especially on electronic commerce.
Britain chairs the Group of Eight forum this year and has said tax compliance will be a major focus when the leaders of the major economies meet in Northern Ireland in June.
The tax reform plan comes at a time when governments are facing public outrage over how some multinational companies handle their international tax affairs.
In Britain, the issue of multinational tax avoidance has risen to the top of the political agenda, after revelations that companies such as Starbucks, Apple, Google and Amazon were using complex inter-company transactions to cut their tax bills.
“The economic context is now a globalised world, where there are more investment and capital flows and new kinds of businesses are developing, especially in the digital economy,” French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said.
“We must ensure that this new form of business also pays its fair share.”
(AGENCIES)
Gur ends flat on small buying
NEW DELHI, Feb 16: The wholesale gur prices ended flat in the national capital today following sporadic demand amid sufficient stocks position.
Muzaffarnagar and Muradnagar gur market also closed on previous closing levels on little doing.
Traders said sufficient supplies against lack of worthwhile buying activity from stockists and retailers mainly kept gur prices unaltered.
The following are today’s quotations per quintal:
Gur chakku 2,750-2,850, pedi 2,800-2,900, dhayya 3,000- 3,100 and shakkar 3,100-3,200.
Muzaffarnagar: Rasket 2,300-2,350, chakku 2,550-2,700 and khurpa 2,500-2550.
Muradnagar: Pedi 2550-2,600 and dhayya 2,550-2600. (PTI)
Kalaunji, methiseed up on fresh buying
NEW DELHI, Feb 16: Kalaunji and methiseed prices rose by Rs 200 per quintal here today, largely influenced by fresh buying support from retailers and stockists amid low stocks.
Kaluanji and methiseed prices rose by Rs 200 each to conclude at Rs 7,200-8,200 and Rs 3,700-4,700 per quintal, respectively.
Traders said buying support from retailers and stockists against fall in supplies from producing belts, mainly pushed up kalaunji and methiseed prices on the wholesale kirana market here.
The following are today’s quotations:
Ajwain 10,000-15,000, black pepper (per kg) 420-550, betel-nut (kg) 180-200, cardamom brown-Jhundiwali (kg) 800-900 and cardamom brown-Kanchicut (kg) 950-1,050.
Cardamom small (kg): Chitridar 750-890, cardamom (colour robin) 740-880, cardamom bold 750-840, cardamom extra (bold) 940-1,070 and cloves (kg) 600-750. (PTI)
Polaris opens sales office in New Zealand
CHENNAI, Feb 16: Financial technology company Polaris has opened its new sales office in Wellington, New Zealand as part of expanding its presence overseas.
The city-based company will serve local clients in New Zealand through its sales office in providing access to technologies and services, consultants with financial technology expertise and competitive service delivery models, Polaris said in a statement.
Polaris is well-positioned to develop differentiated solutions to unique customers of New Zealand market, it said.
“The launch of our new office in Wellington is an important step in our growth. It will allow us to demonstrate Polaris’ intellect-branded banking and insurance solutions”, Polaris Financial Technology, Country-Head, (Australia and New Zealand), Wayne Li said.
At present, Polaris has offices in Belfast, Bangalore, Chicago, Dublin, Dubai, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, London, Madrid and Melbourne, among others. (PTI)
Budget likely to focus on fiscal displine at the cost of growth
NEW DELHI, Feb 16: The last Budget of the UPA 11 government is all set to focus on fiscal discipline at the cost of sacrificing much needed growth in public sector expenditure.
Indications are available that despite being the second year of the 12th Plan, the Budgetary allocations will focus merely on maintaining the tempo of the welfare schemes and there would be hardly any infusion of new schemes or expansion of the ongoing schemes.
Informed sources are confident in indicating that in most of the cases allocations will be frozen at last year’s level and in areas where this is not possible like the rural connectivity scheme, which is mandated to be completed by 2013-end, will be given nominal additional allocation so as to carry on the implementation of the scheme. It would be ensured that more funds would be made available as and when required.
The type of arrangement will be worked out even for schemes which are potentially very important with even the thumb rule in allocation that there is inflation neutralisation.
Sectors like health, education and agriculture will get single digit increase, which clearly indicates that the focus will be on achieving economic stability. The move is different from selling India as a major growth destination.
The step is important as despite all assurances the country has not been able to control inflation and fall in the industrial sector growth.
Despite fiscal constraints, areas like water, science and technology and infrastructure will get relatively sustainable increase to ensure that during the pre-election year growth does touch the historically low level of the Hindu growth rate figure of 2.5 to three per cent, which if reached could cause a major political embarrassment to the economist-led government of UPA.
(UNI)