CABINET OKAYS REVISED FOOD SECURITY BILL

• The Cabinet has approved changes to the landmark Food Security Bill to grant the nation’s 67 per cent population the right to get monthly quota of 5 kg food grain at highly subsidized rates of Rs 1-3 per kg.

 AMENDMENTS:

• The amendments to the Bill will guarantee 5 kg food grain per person per month, while poorest of the poor families will continue to get 35 kg of grains per month.
•  Rice will be sold through ration shops at Rs 3 per kg, wheat at Rs 2 and millets at Re 1 in the first three years of the implementation of the Act. 
• Instead of dividing beneficiaries into two categories — priority and general households — with different entitlement and price, the revised Bill proposes only one category of beneficiary with uniform entitlement of 5 kg per person per month at uniform price of Rs 1-3/kg for all beneficiaries.
• The beneficiaries would be decided by state governments, while the criteria to exclude 33 per cent of population would be provided by the Planning Commission
• About 62 million tonnes of food grain would be required to implement the Bill, while the food subsidy is estimated at Rs 1,24,747 crore at 2013-14 costs, which is Rs 23,800 crore higher than the existing level.

LOK SABHA CLEARS TOUGH ANTI-RAPE BILL

• Ø  The Lok Sabha has passed a powerful anti-rape Bill that expands the definition of the crime beyond peno vaginal penetration and prescribes stricter penalties up to death for grave sexual assault.

 HIGHLIGHTS:

•  Gang rape will invite not less than 20 years RI extending up to life imprisonment
• Causing death or persistent vegetative state of the woman following rape will now be punishable with 20 years rigorous imprisonment going up to death. 
•  All repeat offenders of rape will face imprisonment in jail for the rest of their natural life and even death.
•  The age of consensual sex in the Bill has been fixed at 18 years and not 16 as was proposed in the Ordinance 
• Section 354, IPC, stands vastly amended with new offences to make unwelcome physical advances, stalking, voyeurism and disrobing punishable
• Only women can be victims of rape, not men & transgenders
• Perpetrators of acid attack will attract a 10-year jail term

Comparison of old and new syllabus

CABINET CLEARS BILL ENSURING TIME-BOUND SERVICES TO CITIZENS

• The Union Cabinet at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gave its nod to a Bill aimed at providing time-bound delivery of services such as passports, pensions and birth and death certificates, among others, to citizens.
•  The Legislation: The Right of Citizens for Time-Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill, 2011

 SALIENT FEATURES:

•  The Bill lays down an obligation upon every public authority to publish a citizen's charter stating the time within which specified goods shall be supplied and services be rendered and provides for a grievance redressal mechanism
• It envisages a penalty of up to Rs 50,000 against a government official failing to provide his or her duties
• Mandates a public authority to establish a call centre, customer care centre, help desk and people’s support system to ensure time-bound delivery of services.
• The proposed legislation, spearheaded by Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances once passed by Parliament will be binding on states.

BUDGET 2013-14

•  Presented by: Finance Minister P Chidambaram (His eighth Budget-second highest by anyone in the country after a record ten by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai.)
• First budget of independent India was presented by: then Finance Minister R K Shanmukham Chetty.

GROWTH, INFLATION:

• Overall GDP growth rate seen at 6.1-6.7% in FY14
• Global economic growth slowed to 3.2% in FY12 from 3.9% FY11
• India can become 7th largest economy by 2017
• Food inflation is worrying. Oilseed, pulses supply-demand mismatch pushes up inflation
• Efforts over last few months brought down WPI inflation to 7%

 FISCAL DEFICIT:

• Fiscal deficit seen at 5.2% of GDP in 2012/13
•  Fiscal deficit seen at 4.8 % of GDP in 2013/14

TAX REFORMS:

• To set up tax administration reform commission
• Draft bill on GST in Parliament in next few months

HIGHLIGHTS:

• A benefit of Rs 2,000 to individual tax payers with taxable income of up to Rs 5 lakh.
•  No review of tax slabs
•  Surcharge of 10% on those earning over Rs 1 crore in a year.
• Infrastructure Development Funds will be encouraged
• GAAR modified provisions seen effective Apr 1, 2016
• Rs. 1000-crore Nirbhaya Fund announced for the empowerment of women
• India's first women's bank as a PSU proposed, Rs. 1,000 crore working capital announced
• Additional sum of Rs. 200 crore to Women and Child Welfare
•  All Regional Rural Banks and cooperative banks to be e-linked by this year-end
• National Housing Bank (NHB) to set up urban housing bank fund and Rs. 2,000 crore will be allocated in this regard
• Only China and Indonesia growing faster than India
• India's greater worry is current account deficit
• Mobile phones, dinning out, cigarettes, SUVs, motorbikes, set-up boxes get expensive
• Securities and Exchange Board of India to simplify procedures for foreign portfolio investors
• Green revolution in east India significant. Rice output increased in Assam, Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal
• The Rajiv Gandhi Equity Scheme (RGESS) will be liberalized to allow first time investor to invest in mutual funds and equity.
• Proposal to launch Inflation Indexed Bonds or Inflation Indexed National Security Certificates to protect savings from inflation.
• Two new ports in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh
•  an investor has a stake of 10 per cent or less in a company, it will be treated as FII and, where an investor has a stake of more than 10 per cent, it will be treated as FDI

ECONOMIC SURVEY 2012-13

•  Presented by: Finance Minister P. Chidambaram
• The survey takes stock of the economic performance of the country over the preceding 12 months and serves as a guidebook for the budget estimates for the following financial year.

 HIGHLIGHTS:

• India's GDP growth seen around 5 per cent in 2012/13
• Economy likely to grow 6.1-6.7 per cent in 2013/14
•  Fiscal deficit in FY13 to be contained at 5.3 per cent
•  Fiscal consolidation roadmap says deficit at 3 per cent by FY17
•  Addressing key fiscal risks of petroleum subsidies is critical for fiscal consolidation
• Widening tax base and prioritizing expenditure seen as key ingredients of credible medium-term fiscal consolidation plan
• Raising tax to GDP ratio to more than 11 pct seen as critical for sustaining fiscal consolidation
• WPI inflation may decline to 6.2-6.6 per cent
•  Diesel price hike to put upward pressure on inflation
•  Economy looking up, downturn more or less over. Economic slowdown a wake-up call for stepping up reforms
• Trade, current account deficit matter of concern
• Focus on curbing imports, making oil prices more market determined to rein in current account deficit
•  Recommends curbing gold imports to reign in current account deficit
• Industrial output seen growing around 3 pct in 2012/13
•  Need long-term finance for infrastructure projects
• Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) flows need to be targeted towards long-term rupee instruments
• India on verge of creating quality jobs to seize 'demographic dividend'
• The Economic Survey is integral to the budget process, bringing out the economic trends in the country on the eve of the budget presentation. This facilitates a better appreciation of resource mobilization and allocation in the budget. The economic survey released by the government paints a "cautiously optimistic" picture of the economy.

Abimanus official statement on changed pattern of civil services

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