The Commercial Courts Bill 2015

In an effort to give a boost to Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' campaign and encourage foreign investments, the law commission on Thursday submitted a draft bill to the government on setting up of commercial courts. 

The Commercial Courts Bill 2015, likely to be introduced in the coming budget session, has proposed some key amendments that includes setting a time limit of 90 days for delivery of judgement after conclusion of arguments besides powers to the courts to impose 'exemplary costs against defaulting parties for wilful failure to disclose all documents'. 

Once the bill is passed by Parliament, it will lead to setting up of at least 60 commercial courts across the country or about two to three courts in each state, said law commission chairman Justice A P Shah. The bill also provides for appellate division benches in high courts which will hear the appeals from commercial courts. 

bureaucrat : Challenges and pblms

Lack of security of tenure for important posts in India had greatly hampered the morale and efficiency of civil service. Discuss. Suggest measures to address this issue.

The life of any bureaucrat is comprised of a wide array of activities such as decision making,
formulating plans for action, implementing them, monitoring progress, evaluating feedback etc. All of these require time which varies greatly depending upon the type of project. For the past few years there have been several instances of surprise transfers of public servants. Reasons for such transfers are sometimes vague and unacceptable.

1 Political interference : is a major cause of transfers and suspensions of civil servants. Some politicians who wish to have everything done their own way prefer to have dummy bureaucrats that they can bribe and control.

2 Corporate influence : Political parties that depend on large corporates to fund massive electorial campaigns are obliged to return the favour and when sincere officers attempt to protect interests of the common people, they are hastily relocated

Consequences
1 Impact on the Nation : Important social and economic projects begin with a vision and a change in leadership may lead to four major problems a) Distorted view of the goal that needs to be achieved b) new appointee will need time to understand and absorb the project to reach his predecessors level of efficiency c) lack of experience of the replacement officer regarding the project leads to unwanted delays and related complications d) Forceful and unexpected change in leadership creates a negative ripple effect on the efficiency of the assignment

2 Impact on the Officer : a) Officer morale is affected when he is not given an opportunity to complete the task that he has begun b) Uncertainty of tenure leads to fear and instability that may adversely impact performance at work c) Instability of tenure causes inefficiency due to de-motivation when honest officers are punished instead of being rewarded

Suggestions
1 Strict official norms need to be adhered to in situations relating to transfer of civil sevants. Detailed explainations stating reason and cause for the transfer need to be provided to the officer.

2 Unacceptable incidents of officers informed of their transfer/dismissal through government and media publications need to be legally dealt with. Every civil servant deserves to be given due notice before publishing the event to media houses.

Civil servants are the lifeline of a healthy democratic society. They are the caretakers of the peoples interests who implement ambitious political mandates. A confident, sincere and uncorrupt bureaucracy is essential for the development of India as a world power.

भिक्षुक / Nirala

वह आता--
दो टूक कलेजे के करता पछताता
पथ पर आता।

पेट पीठ दोनों मिलकर हैं एक,
चल रहा लकुटिया टेक,
मुट्ठी भर दाने को-- भूख मिटाने को
मुँह फटी पुरानी झोली का फैलाता--
दो टूक कलेजे के करता पछताता पथ पर आता।

साथ दो बच्चे भी हैं सदा हाथ फैलाये,
बायें से वे मलते हुए पेट को चलते,
और दाहिना दया दृष्टि-पाने की ओर बढ़ाये।
भूख से सूख ओठ जब जाते
दाता-भाग्य विधाता से क्या पाते?--
घूँट आँसुओं के पीकर रह जाते।
चाट रहे जूठी पत्तल वे सभी सड़क पर खड़े हुए,
और झपट लेने को उनसे कुत्ते भी हैं अड़े हुए!

- Suryakant Tripathi Nirala

नज्म बहुत आसान थी पहले / निदा फ़ाज़ली

नज्म बहुत आसान थी पहले
घर के आगे
पीपल की शाखों से उछल के
आते-जाते बच्चों के बस्तों से
निकल के
रंग बरंगी
चिडयों के चेहकार में ढल के
नज्म मेरे घर जब आती थी
मेरे कलम से जल्दी-जल्दी
खुद को पूरा लिख जाती थी,
अब सब मंजर बदल चुके हैं
छोटे-छोटे चौराहों से
चौडे रस्ते निकल चुके हैं
बडे-बडे बाजार
पुराने गली मुहल्ले निगल चुके हैं
नज्म से मुझ तक
अब मीलों लंबी दूरी है
इन मीलों लंबी दूरी में
कहीं अचानक बम फटते हैं
कोख में माओं के सोते बच्चे डरते हैं
मजहब और सियासत मिलकर
नये-नये नारे रटते हैं
बहुत से शहरों-बहुत से मुल्कों से अब होकर
नज्म मेरे घर जब आती है
इतनी ज्यादा थक जाती है
मेरी लिखने की टेबिल पर
खाली कागज को खाली ही छोड के 
रुख्ासत हो जाती है
और किसी फुटपाथ पे जाकर
शहर के सब से बूढे शहरी की पलकों पर
आँसू बन कर
सो जाती है।

मुझको भी तरकीब सिखा कोई, यार जुलाहे / गुलज़ार

मुझको भी तरकीब सिखा कोई यार जुलाहे 
अक्सर तुझको देखा है कि ताना बुनते 
जब कोई तागा टूट गया या ख़तम हुआ 
फिर से बाँध के 
और सिरा कोई जोड़ के उसमें 
आगे बुनने लगते हो 
तेरे इस ताने में लेकिन 
इक भी गाँठ गिरह बुनतर की
देख नहीं सकता है कोई 
मैंने तो इक बार बुना था एक ही रिश्ता 
लेकिन उसकी सारी गिरहें 
साफ़ नज़र आती हैं मेरे यार जुलाहे.

वह तोड़ती पत्थर / Nirala

वह तोड़ती पत्थर
देखा मैंने इलाहाबाद के पथ पर --
वह तोड़ती पत्थर ।

कोई न छायादार
पेड़, वह जिसके तले बैठी हुई स्वीकार;
श्याम तन, भर बँधा यौवन,
गुरु हथौड़ा हाथ
करती बार बार प्रहार;
सामने तरु - मालिका, अट्टालिका, प्राकार ।

चड़ रही थी धूप
गरमियों के दिन
दिवा का तमतमाता रूप;
उठी झुलसाती हुई लू
रुई ज्यों जलती हुई भू
गर्द चिनगी छा गयी

प्रायः हुई दुपहर,
वह तोड़ती पत्थर ।

देखते देखा, मुझे तो एक बार
उस भवन की ओर देखा छिन्न-तार
देखकर कोई नहीं
देखा मुझे उस दृष्टि से
जो मार खा रोयी नहीं
सजा सहज सितार,
सुनी मैंने वह नहीं जो थी सुनी झंकार ।
एक छन के बाद वह काँपी सुघर,
दुलक माथे से गिरे सीकार,
लीन होते कर्म में फिर ज्यों कहा --
"मैं तोड़ती पत्थर"
-Suryakant Tripathi 'Nirala'

Bio fuels

Bio fuels are liquid fuels obtained directly from plants and animal matters due to carbon fixation of geological past. the various generations of bio fuels are listed below..popular form of bio fuels are bio gas; bio diesel.vegetable oil.syngas etc

FIRST GENERATION

directly use the food crops like wheat and sugar for ethanol and oil seeds for bio diesel by conventional method of fermentation...

green house emission more...

SECOND GENERATION
here non- food crops used instead of food crops in first generation ....like wood ;organic waste etc

THIRD GENERATION
used specially engineared algae and its bio mass used to convert into bio fuels;; here green house emission will be low compared to others

since first generation completely depends on food directly the volume of food grains directing away from food market and been focusing on energy market..as every country is energy starved and good remuneration for farmers every one attracting to energy production..

with the third generation bio fuels the advantages are:
1)the algae are cultured to act as a low-cost
, high-energy and entirely renewable feedstock
2)t algae will have the potential to produce more energy per acre than conventional crops.
3) Algae can also be grown using land and water unsuitable for food production, therefore reducing the strain on already depleted water sources
4). algae based biofuels is that the fuel can be manufactured into a wide range of fuels such as diesel, petrol and jet fuel.

the fourth generation bio fuel which will further yet to reduce green house emission..itz a ray of hope for human kind for nurturing sustaninable development for upcoming generations

GAAR and its Effects

The idea of GAAR became popular in the backdrop of Vodafone tax case.. GAAR is general anti avoidance rules made to prevent intentional tax avoidance by manipulating tax laws. It empowers the Income Tax dept. to investigate any deal or joint ventures which involves huge capital. however the announcement of GAAR created havoc in Capital market and is believed might lead to tax terrorism.. Main reasons were:

1. The arbitrary method to investigate any commercial deal.
2. Due to the possibility of retrospective taxation 
3. Vagueness of tax laws might be used against a particular company. eg recent Vodafone case of transfer pricing . Under GAAR they have much more power.

Impact on economy:
1. Less investment by foreign companies so less growth.
2. Reduced employment 
3. Poor service delivery as less competition .

Impact on ease of doing business:

1. GAAR will weaken the investors faith in stability of Indian tax regime.
2. Cost benefit analysis favors delay in implementation unless a properly detailed and acceptable norms are formed.
3. One big case like Vodafone may have ripple effect on investor's confidence.

As shome panel recommended we should delay it's implementation for now and should strive toward a stable and predictable tax regime,avoid retrospective taxation and work to provide a transparent business environment in Indian economy.

Sending the right signal

The government’s decision not to appeal against the adverse verdict of the Bombay High Court in its Rs.3,200-crore tax case against Vodafone is the first concrete demonstration of its resolve to do away with what Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley termed “adversarial” taxation policies of the erstwhile UPA government. Though the BJP had during its election campaign, referred to “tax terrorism” in its election campaign there was little that happened in the first eight months of the new government to show that such policies would be reversed. The latest Cabinet decision sends out a strong signal to foreign investors that this government will be fair in its tax policies and avoid needless litigation. The decision not to appeal has implications for other such similar cases involving multinationals and is, in that sense, a significant one. It is also an acknowledgment that the Income Tax Department’s assessment of the case was erroneous. The Vodafone case was about wrong classification of a capital receipt as taxable income at the hands of the company. Applying transfer-pricing guidelines, the I.T. Department held that Vodafone had underpriced its shares issued to the parent. So it revalued the shares and deemed the difference to be a loan given to the parent. This was clearly high-handed and a wrong application of transfer-pricing regulations.

The government’s decision to accept the High Court verdict is also a signal to assessing officers that they should refrain from making unreasonable tax demands, relying on aggressive and faulty interpretations of rules and sections. Yet, it is also true that the government turns the heat on these officers when it decides that tax collections need to be augmented. If the tax official is confused he cannot be blamed. What is needed is a stable policy that sends out the signal to both assessing officers and taxpayers that the government will crack down on evasion but within the framework of the law; there will be no extraordinary interpretations of rules and sections even in times of revenue distress. The focus will now shift to whether the government moves to neutralise the mischief caused by the retrospective tax amendment; this is a major demand of foreign investors who were disappointed that it was not addressed in the first budget of this government in July last year. The General Anti Avoidance Rules, or GAAR, are a cause for worry for taxpayers and foreign investors as they confer wide discretionary powers on the I.T. Department. It will be interesting to see if Mr. Jaitley makes a Budget announcement to postpone its implementation once again as per the recommendations of the Parthasarathi Shome Committee.

source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/sending-the-right-signal/article6836457.ece

Consumer protection act

The CPA,1986 was enacted considering the large number of consumers in India who are illiterate and are susceptible to exploitation by unscrupulous businesses. Hence, a major objective of this Act was to make consumers aware of the various quality-control measures(e.g. Hallmark, BIS-mark etc.) being employed for the products and the rights available to them to seek redressal against unfair practices.

Although, the impacts have been largely positive as is visible in the increased consumer awareness and adherence of businesses to the quality-control standards, there have been certain issues as well. The movement has left many rural regions untouched. Also, the slow progress of addressing the cases has resulted in large-scale pendency. Provisions for addressing new-age cases such as e-commerce are also non-existent.

The recent amendments proposed to the CPA, 1986 are largely progressive in the sense that it seeks to decrease the time required to seek redressal by including provisions for online filling of complaints and setting a time limit of 21 days for scrutiny of cases before admission, effectively leveraging the District Forums by increasing their pecuniary jurisdiction from Rs.20 to Rs.50 lakh, and increasing the penalties to 10 times the cost of goods provided.

However, certain issues such as the appointment of mediators to settle disputes are contentious as this would lead to arm-twisting of the weaker parties and may encourage corruption. Also, the setting up of a Consumer Authority and absence of provisions to streamline the conducting of cases in courts may only lead to greater regulations and complexities. Addressing these issues is necessary to ensure that the new amendments bring about definitive improvements in the CPA.