National Icons of Election Commission

The Election Commission has made London Olympic medallists Saina Nehwal and MC Mary Kom as its "national icons" to help promote voter participation in polls. The poll body already has former President APJ Abdul Kalam and Indian cricket captain MS Dhoni as its other "national icons". The Election Commission said that, Saina Nehwal and Mary Kom, who had won bronze medals in 2012 London games in badminton and boxing respectively, will help in increasing women participation during the forthcoming Gujarat Assembly elections.

Gujarat has a skewed sex ratio and women participation in polls has been also low. Saina Nehwal has earlier been the EC's 'state icon' in Andhra Pradesh, but now has now been elevated as its 'national icon'. The Commission has been using the services of prominent personalities across the country to help increase voter awareness and participation in the country and fight the public apathy towards elections.

Kalam and Dhoni have earlier helped the poll body in its campaigns for increasing voter participation in polls.

2012 Sports (in pics)

About NCTC

NCTC - National Counter Terrorism Center

• After the 26/11 attacks, Government felt the need to setup a separate body to deal with terrorism.
• NCTC is modeled on the American NCTC and Britain’s Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre.
• NCTC will derive its powers from the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967
• The basic idea is to prevent confusion regarding intelligence inputs and also ensure that none of the police forces from the states enter into a blame game regarding intelligence sharing as one got to see during the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai.

What will NCTC do?

 1.     It will have the power to conduct searches and arrests in any part of India.

2.     Will collect, collate and disseminate data on terrorism.

3.     Will also maintain a data base on terrorist and their associates including their families.

4.     In short, NCTC will serve as a single and effective point of control and coordination of all counter terrorism measures.

MAC - Multi Agency Centre

It is platform to share varied intelligence inputs coming from various agencies like the

1.     Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI),

2.     Economic Intelligence Agency,

3.     Enforcement Directorate etc.

Earlier this MAC was under Intelligence Bureau under Home Ministry.

But in future, the MAC will be placed under the NCTC.

How is it different from US and UK model?

• USA’s NCTC which deals only with strategic planning and integration of intelligence without any operational involvement
• UK‘s Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, which too plays a purely coordinating role.
• But the Indian NCTC will have not only intelligence functions but also powers to conduct operations, raids and arrests in any part of India.

What is the problem with NCTC?

 

 NCTC was to start working from March 2012, but it could not be launched due to opposition from a group of Non-Congress chief ministers who say that NCTC is against the federal structure of the country. They are worried about two important things that NCTC is totally against the federal structure of the Indian Constitution.

 (1) Power to arrest anyone without informing State government:-

v      Non-Congress chief ministers allege that the NCTC has been empowered to search and arrest people without informing the state government, police or anti-terror squad in the loop.

v      Take this scenario for example. A suspected terrorist is holed up in a state. The officials of the NCTC would have the right to enter into that state and pick him or her up without informing the state machinery and deal with him under their laws.

v      The role of the state becomes redundant with such powers and states would have no say or role to play in the fight against terrorism.

v      This would have a bearing on the rights and privileges of the states as enshrined in the Constitution.

v      To curb this fear, Home Ministry had altered the rules. Now, the senior most police officers in all states – the Director Generals of Police and the chiefs of anti-terror squads of all states will be members of the Standing Council of the NCTC. They will be informed before the NCTC conducts an operation in their state.

v      And Home Ministry had also assured the State Governments that NCTC will now be able to carry out anti-terror operations only in the rarest of rare cases.

 (2) Overlapping with NIA:-

v      National Investigating Agency (NIA) was established after the 26/11 attacks.

v      So, the establishment of a new NCTC would only add to the bureaucratic tangle in intelligence sharing and counter terrorist action.

v      However, Union govt had assured that NIA is merely a predecessor of NCTC. (so once NCTC comes into operation, the NIA will function under it or will be submerged into NCTC)

Present status of NCTC:-

 Ø       After Pranab become President, Chidambaram became Finance Minister and Shinde became the Home Minister.

Ø       But Shinde, in his first public speech, did not mention National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) or National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID).

Ø       That means Home Ministry has put the idea in back-burner for now.

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2G Spectrum scam

 What is Spectrum?

• Whenever we watch TV, receive phone call, send SMS, surf internet….data is being transferred from one place to another, say Chennai to Mumbai.
• So, if data was a “truck”, how would we transport it from Chennai to Mumbai (or vice versa)?
• Obviously via highway.
• Spectrum is that highway.

Based on the ‘width’ of the highways, we classify them into following

Cable TV	145-860MHz
2G	800-1900MHz
3G	2100MHz
4G, broadband internet	2300MHz

• So, we first send the truck from Chennai to a Satellite hovering in the sky, and from there, send the truck to Mumbai.
• Problem: satellite=expensive. Private Player (Businessman) cannot afford it.
• Solution: Government launches the satellite using ISRO. Thus the highway (spectrum) is created. Then Government will charge money to whoever (mobile company) uses this highway (spectrum).

You’re a business man; you want to launch your own mobile service (like Vodafone, Airtel etc).  Therefore you’re interested in using this 2G highway, to transport your trucks (data). You can also use 3G or 4G, which provide faster data transfer, but they’re more expensive.

New Problem: to access this 2G highway, you need two things

Problem (businessman’s side)	Solution
1.     Driver’s License (to operate the truck)	Apply to Department of Telecom.
2.     Pay rent/toll for using this highway (spectrum). Just like you pay for using Bandra-Worli sea-link or Yamuna Expressway.	Get loan from SBI. Pay the money to Government. Or even better, bribe minister so they give free spectrum.

Highways have fixed capacity. So Government cannot give license to 500000 truck-drivers else, it’ll create traffic jam. So, from Government’s side what should be the “ideal” solution?

1.     Check the application of driver: does he have previous experience of running telecom business?

2.     After verifying his record, sell the access to this highway (Spectrum).

Another problem: how should Government sell access to this Highway (Spectrum)?

Ans:- Two methods, 1) first come first serve 2) Auction.
Both have their advantages and problems.

Method 01: FCFS

• We already know how cinema tickets are sold. The person, who is first in the line, gets the ticket. If we come late, we don’t get the ticket.
• This also leads to ticket black-marketeering, for example, I come early, buy all the tickets. Another person comes late, all the tickets are sold, I offer my tickets to you @ higher price and make huge profit.
• This is not good for economy because I’m making money without producing any new goods/services=inflation.
• But according to a theory propounded by Mr. Kapil Sibal, this is “zero loss”. Because Cinema hall did receive money for ticket sale. So it’s not like Cinema-hall making losses!

Anyways, for common men:

1.     Buying ticket=not crime.

2. Buying ticket but not watching movie AND selling that ticket to third person @ higher price=crime.

Method 02: Auction Method 

• As the name suggest, auction the tickets. If person A offers Rs. 200 for a seat and Person B offers Rs. 500 for the same seat, then sell the ticket to Person B.
• From theatre owner (Govt)’s point of view: this method may look good, because now we can earn more money per ticket sold and use that money to finance whatever Development scheme we’ve in our mind.
• Here is the problem: if Person B was a doctor, and he had to shell out Rs. 500 for one movie ticket. Then he may charge more fees from patients @ his clinic to keep the profit margin same.
• So overall effect on economy = may not be good.

What happened in 2G scam?

Recall that we needed two things to run telecom business

1.     Driver’s license

2.     Access to Spectrum (via paying the money to Government)

Government decided that

1.     We will give license by “First come first serve basis”.

2.     To get this license, you’ll have to apply before 1^st October 2007 and pay money (Entry Fees) for license.

3.     And whoever gets the license, he will automatically get spectrum for free. So no need to pay separate money for accessing highway (spectrum). This is known as “Spectrum linked with License”.

4.     If we give you the license (+spectrum), then you’ll have to cover 10 per cent district headquarters within the first year of the allotment (i.e. you start serving customers in that area). This is known as “Roll out Obligation.”

And then, what happened next is a classic case of cinema ticket black-marketeering.

--> Swan Telecom (Sahid Balwa)

• A new company, it had no experience of running telecom business. Yet it applied for license and got it.
• (officially) SWAN telecom paid about Rs.1500 crore to Government, as 2G Spectrum License fees.
• But this company did not open a single outlet/mobile tower. So it did not meet the “Roll out Obligation”.
• It simply sold 45% stakes to UAE’s Etisalat for around Rs. 6000 crore rupees. (Calculate the profit %)
• Shahid Balwa was arrested in 2011, released on bail, thus proving that he is totally awesome.
• His argument in the court, “Since Mr. Kapil Sibal and the PM have both said that there was “no loss” to the government from the allocation of licenses in 2008, so I’m being wrongly accused of corruption and conspiracy.”

--> Unitech (Sanjay Chandra)

• This company did not have any prior experience of telecom business. Yet, Applied for license, paid $365 million as license fee to Government.
• Did not open any outlet/mobile tower.
• Then sold 60% stakes to Norway’s Telenor for $1.36 billion= huge profit without doing anything.
• Thus name of company changes: Unitech+Telenor=Uninor.
• Recall: bought the ticket, did not watch the movie and sold the ticket to third party @higher price.

--> Union Telecom Minister (A Raja)

• Ignored the advice of PM, Finance Ministry, Law ministry, TRAI etc.
• TRAI had advice Raja to sell the spectrum via ‘auctioning’.
• But Raja used “first come first serve basis.”
• Licenses were sold in 2008 but the price (entry fees) were kept very low @2001’s market rates.
• Initially the last date to apply for licenses = 1^st October 2007. But then Raja changed policy “we’ll give license to only those companies who applied before 25^th Sept.” This way later-comers could not get license (and had to buy it from ‘black market’).
• He allowed ineligible companies to apply and get license (e.g. Unitech)
• The companies who got license but did not start business (UNITECH and SWAN)…Raja did not take action against them. He should have cancelled their licenses or imposed heavy fines on them.
• Companies paid him the bribes he transferred money to bank accounts under his wife’s name in Mauritius and Seychelles (*)
• Arrested in 2011, got bail in 2012, came back in parliament, thus proving that he is totally (and that means totally) awesome.

--> Kanimozhi

• DMK MP, Daughter of former Tamil Nadu CM and DMK Supremo Karunanidhi.
• Shahid Balwa (SWAN) got benefit because of Raja. So he had to pay the ‘bribe’.
• He transferred Rs.200 crores to “Kalaignar TV channel”, which is owned by Kanimozhi and her step mom Dayalu Ammal and other family members.
• Arrested in 2011, got bail in 2012, and came back in parliament, thus proving that she too, is totally awesome.

--> Neera Radia

• There are some phone-tapes, in which this lady is talking with Barkha Dutt (NDTV fame) and some others.
• To put this bluntly, Radia allegedly paid money to Congress party, to get Raja appointed as telecom minister. Then Raja could use the office to benefit particular companies in 2G auction (who had financed his ‘posting’). This phone scandal is known as “Radia Gate”.
• Only questioned, not arrested, and it is said that she wore a Kashmiri  shawl worth Rs.1 lakh during questioning by Enforcement Directorate, so she too is totally awesome.
• Now that shawl has become so recognisable that Kashmiri shawl sellers have started referring to it as the Radia shawl and sales of it have shot up= good for economy, GDP increased.

There are some other players too- RK Chandolia, Siddharth Behura, etc, but we get the idea- they too are totally awesome.

Estimation of CAG:-

• The 122 2G licenses were given by Raja for over Rs 9,000 crore.
• While 3G auctions for a smaller number of licenses had fetched the government a sum of Rs 69,000 crore.
• Therefore Government has lost money (Besides, whatever money made by ticket black-marketers, is loss to the cinema hall owner)
• The question remains, how much money was lost?
• CAG says Government  lost Rs.1.76 crores, it has come to this figure, using extrapolations from

1.     licenses were sold in 2008, @the MRP of 2001

2.     The money received from 3G auction vs the money received from 2G license.

3.     2G Spectrum was allotted for free. (recall Government only asked for entry-fees for licenses. Spectrum was linked with License). 2G-Spectrum should have been auctioned.

Profit made by Swan and Unitech etc. through black-marketeering.

Parliament - JPC:-

In Feb-2011, Parliament Constituted a Joint parliamentary Committee to probe the 2G scam. No “real” progress so far.

SC Verdict:-

• Subramanian Swami, filled a petition in Supreme court, regarding the irregularities in 2G Auction.
• The case went on, finally in Feb 2012 the Supreme Court cancelled 122 licenses issued in 2008, by A Raja when he was Telecom Minister.
• Supreme Court said, these licenses were granted in an “arbitrary and unconstitutional” manner.
• SC asked the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to recommend a new process of allocation of licenses, along with guidelines for an auction of spectrum.
• Supreme Court has also ordered Government to finish the auctioning before Jan-2013.

Presidential Reference on SC Verdict:-

• After above verdict of Supreme court, Government decided to get clarification, on whether should every natural resources (coal, gas, petroleum, water etc) be allotted through auction only. (although technically “Spectrum” is not a natural resource, it is generated because of man made satellites.)
• But, PM cannot just call any SC judge and seek clarification. A procedure has to be followed.
• Through Article 143 of the Indian constitution, the president can refer matters of public interest to the Supreme Court and seek their opinion. This is known as “Presidential Reference”.
• Here, first the Cabinet headed by PM approves a resolution that “We need to send presidential reference in this xyz matter.”
• Letter goes to President of India, then he/she sends a new letter to Supreme court asking “what should be done in this XYZ matter?”

SC on Presidential Reference:-

• Supreme court said auction cannot be the only method of allocating natural resources, it should be considered on a case-by-case basis.
• Earning maximum revenue is secondary to serving the public good in allocating natural resources.
• But if allocation of a particular resource is going to get sudden huge profit to a company, then such resource should be allotted through auction only. (for example 2G spectrum).
• In any case, all decisions and actions of the government are open to being questioned by the court.

Apart from that, a committee on allocation of natural resources, headed by Ashok Chawla, also recommended the adoption of a transparent and competitive process for the allocation of natural resources.

Impact of SC Verdict:-

Customers

• Since the license are scrapped, and new auction will be held = input cost of mobile companies will increase.
• So, They’ll increase the call-rates to keep the profit margin same.
• Therefore final consumer (common man) become the innocent victim in this game.

Foreign Investors

• Norway’s Telenor and UAE’s Etisalat Company had paid heavy price to invest in the telecom sector of India.
• But since the licenses are cancelled, in future, the foreign investors will be extremely cautious before investing in India, particularly in the sectors related with “allocation” of spectrum, coal mines etc.

Government

• The reputation of Government =already down. So in terms of reputation they’ve got nothing to lose.
• They make excuse that 1) 2G =Zero loss. 2) Since licenses were not auctioned = companies got them cheap = call rates were cheaper = public benefited from this.
• Congress Government also maintains that we merely followed the policy of NDA (BJP), i.e. spectrum was linked with license and first-come-first serve basis. So, if our seniors did brutal ragging on us in the hostel, then we too will continue the glorious tradition by brutally ragging our juniors.
• Anyway nobody is a saint when it comes to allotment of land, coal reserves, spectrum etc be it congress, BJP, state Government, union Government. because everybody needs truckload of cash to finance election campaigns.
• Now Government will auction some 2G spectrum (Govt earned Rs 9400 crore from new auction on Nov 2012)
• And this money could be used to solve the fiscal deficit problem or to finance any new Government schemes for poor people (if govt wishes).

Banks

• SBI, PNB and other banks had landed to some of those telecom companies and now licenses are cancelled, so loan-money is stuck.
• Anyways, nothing new for SBI- their loan-money is stuck with Vijay Mallya (Kingfisher) also.

Innocent aspirants of competitive exams

• They’ve to prepare one more stupid topic for exams/group discussion /interview.
• Anyways, nothing new for them either, they’re used to this irony of life.

Sistema Issue:-

• Just like Telenor (Norway) and Etilsat (UAE), Sistema (Russia) is also a foreign telecom company.
• Sistema had bought stakes in an India company (Shyam Telecom), but then Supreme court cancelled their license.
• Now Sistema has appealed the Supreme court to restore its license, current matter is pending in court.
• In the light of this event, Russian Government has warned India that

1.     “If the issue of cancellation of 2G license to Sistema is not resolved in Indian courts, we will go for international arbitration.” (because Russian Government too holds about 17% in this Sistema-Shyam telecom company.)

2.     Row over Sistema will have “great repercussion” not only on Indo-Russian bilateral cooperation but also for foreign investments in India.

3.     We will not let Sistema’s USD 3.1 billion investment in its Indian telecom venture go waste due to “internal problems” here.