Democracy and Development NEXUS A Monthly Compendium

June 2016 www.swaniti.in

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Disclaimer: The content of this compendium is for information purposes only. No legal liability or other responsibility is accepted by or on behalf of Swaniti Initiative for any errors, omissions, or statements in the compendium. Swaniti Initiative accepts no1 responsibility for any loss, damage or inconvenience caused as a result of reliance on such information.

About NEXUS

Dear Readers,

NEXUS is a monthly compilation of briefs, research insights, visualizations, and papers released by Swaniti. Our mission is to provide information insights on developmental issues that will be catalytic in initiating ground level change. Swaniti’s research insights are developed through a two-pronged approach: either elected officials request us for research support on key policy pieces or Swaniti sees contextual value in developing certain research insights. We currently work with Parliamentarians, policy makers and government enthusiasts on providing research insights on cross-cutting issues. While we make all of our content available online, our intent through this publication is to create a one-stop location for all Swaniti information.

Since our primary objective is to support the vision and work in development being done by elected representatives, we also present the experience of our Associates working on different projects pertaining to health, education, gender and livelihood across the country with the intention of highlighting the challenges and the action initiated on the ground.

Moreover, aligned with our belief that data-driven policy discourse will ensure that decision making is more evidence based, we have launched our online portal, Jigyasa, which aims to provide quantitative evidence regarding the performance of governments and policies and their impact on developmental outcomes Through this platform, we present our analysis on critical and contextual issues to the public and we have also included these visualizations in NEXUS. The key policy level actions taken by the Government on a weekly basis are also a part of this compendium under the Weekly Policy Updates section.

It is our sincere effort to disseminate our work through this compendium and we seek your inputs and feedback to further innovate and improve as we move forward.

In case you would like to know more about our monthly compendiums, please feel free to contact the below signed:

Aishwarya Ayushmaan Associate, Swaniti Initiative Email: [email protected]

About Swaniti: Swaniti is a non-profit, non-partisan group which works with elected representatives and senior policy makers to deliver development solutions across the country. The vision of the organization is to create a vibrant, better and inclusive India. In line with this, Swaniti provides knowledge support and human resource support to elected representatives in order to catalyze development at the grassroots.

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Parliamentarians Speak

"More than anything else, the focus on human capital is what I wanted for my constituency. Swaniti is rightly pursuing interventions to that effect. The partnership has been very fruitful as they customize their initiatives in accordance with the requirements of the communities as well as the elected representatives."

- Mr. Jitendra Choudhary, Lok Sabha MP, Tripura

East

“The Swaniti Fellows that worked with me were well qualified individuals with a sense of social responsibility. They analyzed government data, understood local challenges and provided solutions specific to my constituency. I strongly encourage young individuals to understand our system of governance and engage with policy makers through fellowships as well as internships. It’s good to have a new perspective to things and work together to bring about change!” - Anurag Thakur, Lok Sabha MP (Hamirpur)

"Swaniti gives parliamentarians like me a great opportunity to harness the talent of professionals in the governance of our respective constituencies, and I can tell you from my personal experience that I have started to benefit hugely from this initiative.” - Dinesh Trivedi, Lok Sabha MP (Barrakpore)

"The Swaniti Team has shown exemplary effort and commitment towards developing an Adarsh Gram in Nandurbar. With their support, I am more confident of realizing my vision of a Model Village."

- Dr. Heena Gavit, Lok Sabha MP, Nandurbar

“Swaniti has added real value to my constituency work and policy approaches. They have a team of passionate and committed Fellows who have worked closely and tirelessly with my office and me to provide high quality deliverables. I am very happy and satisfied with their amazing work.” - PD Rai, Lok Sabha MP (Sikkim)

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Table of Contents

Tamra Patra ...... 5 High Level Committee Report on Review of Environmental Laws ...... 7 The Geospatial Information Regulation Bill, 2016 ...... 12 Data and Democracy ...... 17 Inequities in LPG Access and Increased Reliance on Unclean Cooking Fuels ...... 19 Research Support and Engagement with Elected Officials...... 22 Kicking off Interventions in Kahatul – Adopting a Community led Approach towards Development ...... 24 Focusing on Ground Water Depletion in India – The Common Pool Resource under Threat ...... 30 Swaniti in the Media ...... 34 Sikkim Makes Efforts to Save its Future from Teen Alcoholism and Drug Abuse ...... 36 In South India, a Little Furniture, Toilets Makes All the Difference in Schools ...... 40 Kalika celebrates International Day of Yoga ...... 43 Weekly Policy Updates ...... 45 June 4th - June 10th, 2016 (Week 1) ...... 47 June 11th - June 17th, 2016 (Week 2) ...... 48 June 18th - June 24th, 2016 (Week 3) ...... 49 June 25th - July 1st, 2016 (Week 4) ...... 51 Upcoming...... 52

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Tamra Patra

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About Tamra Patra

Tamra Patra is Swaniti's knowledge repository through which we summarize briefs on government schemes and programmes. We research implementation strategies and best practices that can be emulated across constituencies. We also analyze programme approaches that can be beneficial for policy makers and development specialists. This information is consolidated and disseminated in the form of brief to all the MPs, and is also uploaded on our website.

For the June issue of NEXUS, we worked on the following briefs:

High Level Committee Report on Review of Environmental Laws: There is rampant destruction of the forest cover due to an increased industrial and real estate expansion coupled with weak enforcement of compensatory afforestation and increased judicial interventions in forest and environmental matters. There is need for a more robust and credible mechanism to implement environmental laws. A committee headed by TSR Subramanium, was entrusted with the task of reviewing and recommending amendments in the existing laws pertaining to environment in 2014.

The brief analyses the Report of the TSR Subramanium Committee and examines the effectiveness of its recommendations.

The Geospatial Information Regulation Bill, 2016: Geospatial information plays a significant role in a digital economy, as the targeted delivery of services through technology requires the creation and usage of geographical data. The draft Geospatial Information Regulation Bill, 2016 seeks to regulate “the acquisition, dissemination, publication and distribution of geospatial information of India” in the interest of national security, sovereignty and integrity of India. In its current form, the Bill is likely to affect not only digital providers of map services such as Google Maps, but also commonly used software applications which generate geospatial data in any form.

The brief examines the Bill and explores alternate approaches to address the concerns presented in it.

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High Level Committee Report on Review of Environmental Laws A Summary and Analysis of Recommendations for Environmental Governance

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), is the central nodal agency for planning, promotion, co-ordination and implementation of environmental and forest policies and programmes. The Constitution of India enumerates the responsibilities of the State towards environmental protection under the Directive Principles of State Policy (Article 48-A) 1 . The Ministry’s prime responsibilities encompass conservation of India’s natural resources including its lakes and rivers, its biodiversity, forests and wildlife along with prevention and diminution of pollution. About 21.34% of the total land area of the country is under forests (or tree cover)2. Despite significant increase in the areas with dense forest cover3 (2402 sq. kms) and open forest areas4 by 2402 sq kms and 4,744 sq kms respectively, there has been an alarming decrease of 3371 sq. kms in the areas with moderate dense forest cover5.

Forest Cover of India Classification of Forest Land Cover Non-forest(77.4%) Class Area (sq kms) Scrub(1.26%) Very Dense forest 85,904 Moderately dense Forest 3,15,374 Open Open Forest 3,00,395 Forest(9.14%) Total forest Cover 7,01,673 Moderately Dense forest(9.59%) Scrub 41,362 Very Dense Non - Forest 25,44,228 Forest(2.61%) Total Geographical Area 32,87,263

There is rampant destruction of the forest cover due to an increased industrial and real estate expansion coupled with weak enforcement of compensatory afforestation and increased judicial interventions in forest and environmental matters. There is need for a more robust and credible mechanism to implement environmental laws.

Context A committee headed by TSR Subramanium, was entrusted with the task of reviewing and recommending amendments in the existing laws pertaining to environment in 2014. The committee was tasked to assess the implementation of the 6 environment acts, namely,

1. Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 2. Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980

1 The State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country. 2 India State of Forest report, 2015 3 All lands with tree canopy density of 70% and above 4 All lands with tree canopy density between 10%-40% 5 All lands with tree canopy density between 40%-70% 7

3. Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 4. The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 5. The Air (Prevention and control of Pollution) Act, 1981 6. The Indian Forests Act, 1927(added on 18/09/2014)

The committee in its report “interprets the existing acts and realities towards redesigning policy space for administering environment, forest and wildlife related laws.”

Lack of performance by the state in environmental matters, delayed project proposals and failure to define any clear definition of ‘forest’ are some of the key reasons that has led to an increase in the number of judiciary interferences in environment cases. The TSR committee has recommended specific amendments for the acts to meet the overarching aim of improving environmental legislation. This was done with an intention to restore the executive bodies their authority by increasing their capacities to implement environment policies. The recommendations envisage tools for the executive to administer environment, forest and wildlife related laws, especially focused on global warming, environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity and the contestations of natural resources that may lead to conflicts.

Key Recommendations

1. Creation of new umbrella legislation; ELMA, Environment Law (Management) Act.

This is based on “single window” concept, which will strengthen the project clearance process, along with penalizing or prosecuting the non- performance condition of such clearances. Moreover, it will provide for an appellate mechanism against any decision taken by the ministry or bodies at the national and state level, in respect to clearances within a certain time (3 months recommended). At the later stage, the committee recommends the Air Act and the Water Act to be merged with the EP Act.

The concept of “utmost good faith” is induced through this new legislation such that the applicant seeking for clearance is made legally responsible for all his declarations. This concept is drawn from Marine Insurance Act 1993 wherein, the insured is required to disclose fully and accurately every material circumstance regarding the particular contract of insurance.6 The committee recommended this concept for clearance and monitoring the conditions of the environmental projects. Under this good faith concept, project proponent (applicant) self declares any material, report, and details about the project while applying for environmental clearance. Any misinterpretation or suppression of vital information /details found during clearance or post sanction of clearance will subject the applicant to heavy penalties or cancelation of the clearance and even possible imprisonment.

The committee proposes to create agencies at National and State level, National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and State Environment Management Authority (SEMA). All projects and activities are broadly categorized in two categories based on the spatial extent of potential impacts and potential impacts on human health and natural and manmade resources. 7 These agencies will be established to evaluate project clearances, using

6 Marine Insurance Act 1993 7 Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part-II, and Section 3, Sub-section (ii) MOEF, 2006 8

technology and expertise in a time bound manner, hence providing single window clearance for ‘Category A’ cases through NEMA and ‘Category B’ cases through SEMA. These agencies will also be responsible for formulating the conditions that are to be imposed on project components before giving ‘consent’, along with an impact assessment done of the potential environmental damage. NEMA at the Centre will be the designated body for processing approvals of all projects under the acts administered by the Ministry. Subsequently, the Central Pollution Control Board and corresponding state agencies will be subsumed. Moreover, a fast track procedure for all linear projects such as railways, roads and transmission lines along with power and mining projects are prescribed in this new mechanism.

2. Compensatory afforestation– ‘No- Go’ Areas

Compensatory afforestation involves increasing plantation in order to compensate loss of forest cover. However, this plantation does not ensure regeneration of forest ecosystem and its conservation. Afforestation is confined to meeting specific forest cover area as against the area cleared. It lacks the vision to develop environmental infrastructure that regenerates ecology that is lost during the process of deforestation. The committee in this regard, has recommended a revision in the existing Compensatory afforestation policy. They are as follows:

Net present value(NPV) of 3 times CA area in Double CA in revenue land forest land to be increased degraded forest land to atleast 5 times

In addition, such revisions aim to encourage industries and other holders of private land to participate. The Committee also recommends identification of ‘no go’ areas with 70% canopy cover and ‘Protected Areas’ that can’t be disturbed without the approval of the Union Cabinet.

National Compensatory Afforestation Fund management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) was established by the Supreme Court to manage the funds pooled by the user agencies. The State CAMPAs received 10% of the funds from this pool fund, for afforestation and forest conservation. The overall utilisation of the CA funds by the states was only 61%. Out of an amount of 2963.24 crores of CA funds released during the period 2009-12, only 1775.84 crores were utilised by the states8.

Table showing funds transferred by GOI to states

Year Amount in Crores 2009-10 983.86 2010-11 1036.31 2011-12 943.07 2012-13 971.88 2013-14 1049.87

8 Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change 9

2014-15 1054.909

The Compensatory Afforestation Bill, 2015 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on May 08, 2015, which proposed establishment of National Compensatory Afforestation Fund (NCAF) under Public account of India and State Compensatory Afforestation Fund (SCAF) under the Public account of each state. It also proposed a reversal in the fund distribution between centre and the state; 90% of the funds to the states and 10% to the centre.

3. Rationalization of the existing acts

The approach of the committee to assess the implementation of the acts was to first analyse the various court orders and judicial pronouncements, followed by recommending amendments for the specific acts. The committee recommended revisions in the ‘Wildlife Protection Act and Rules’. Eco sensitive zones around the protected areas need to be demarcated followed by enhanced punishments for the offences under the WLP Act. The National Wildlife Action Plan emphasises in situ conservation, with people’s support, for effective management of protected areas and protection of wildlife.

‘Environmental reduction cost’ is estimated for any industrial project and pre-identification of locations for industries are done through environmental management policies and programmes along with environmental mapping. A regime based on technology along with deterrent penal action is formulated for its effective monitoring.

Challenges

One of the major critiques of this report has been the non-involvement of the experts/institutions and NGOs from the field of environment. The Standing Committee Report of July 2015 stated that the HLC report was prepared by members not belonging to the concerned field of environment and had insufficient public hearings for public consultation.

1. Implementation

The HLC report focused majorly on the clearances and approvals rather than the nuances and complexities of environmental governance. The legal framework, ELMA as proposed by the committee, will replace the Central Pollution Control Board and State Pollution Control Board. However, there are no recommendations or guidelines defined by the committee regarding how ELMA will be harmonized with the existing Environmental Protection Act as well as the Water and Air Act. As noted by the civil society organizations before the standing committee, the recommendations of the HLC report may lead to multiplicity of institutions and authorities with very limited power and capacity, thus depriving the process of strengthening the existing bodies.

Reforming laws and streamlining of processes is feasible with adequate resources and functions. Currently the central and state pollution board lack manpower.

9 Lok Sabha question number 25 (unstarred) 10

2. Compensatory Afforestation (CA)

Compensatory Afforestation is limited only to tree plantations. Experts have recommended ecological restoration as an alternative to tree plantation. Otherwise, tree lands are noted to be poor substitute for forests as they do indicate increase in forest cover quantitatively but do not ensure the qualitative aspect of environmental restoration. In addition, most states do not have enough land for CA. The total forest cover of India in 2015 was 7,01,673 sq km (21.34%) and tree cover constituted 2.82% i.e. 92572 sq km of the total geographical area10.

3. Clearance procedures

One of the major challenges in the recommendation is the ‘good faith’ concept. If not monitored efficiently, it gives leverage for industries to break/alter environmental laws by suppressing facts or important details about the project. Moreover, this may dilute public participation, as local communities will no longer participate in the process of environmental clearance.

4. No Go areas:

HLC recommends that only areas with 70% canopy should be declared as a ‘no-go’ area. However, there are areas like grasslands, wetlands, deserts, which are extremely vital eco systems, need protection and have been excluded from the ‘No Go’ areas.

Conclusion

The TSR Subramanium Committee has made recommendations to balance the complex equilibrium between environment conservation and development for sustained equity. The new guidelines recommended by the committee are to develop a more vigorous and sound mechanism of implementing environment laws. However, one of the biggest challenges of these recommendations are that it has the possibility of diluting the existing legal and policy structure established to protect our environment. The process of recommending guidelines for environmental governance must involve reforming current laws, strengthening the existing institutions and streamlining the clearance and evaluation process.

10 State Forest Report, 2015 11

The Geospatial Information Regulation Bill, 2016 Context and Issues

Introduction

Geospatial information plays a significant role in a digital economy, as the targeted delivery of services through technology requires the creation and usage of geographical data. The draft Geospatial Information Regulation Bill, 2016 (the Bill) seeks to regulate the acquisition, dissemination, publication and distribution of geospatial information of India in the interests of national security, sovereignty and integrity of India. In its current form, the Bill is likely to affect not only digital cartographers such as Google Maps, but also commonly used software applications which generate geospatial data in any form. These concerns necessitate an examination of the Bill as well as exploring alternate approaches to address the security concerns, if any.

Understanding Geospatial Information

Geospatial information, or location information, refers to information regarding the location and names of features on, above or beneath the earth's surface. In its simplest form, geospatial information is represented as the basic topographical information found on a map. However, the depiction and usage of geospatial information is not restricted to topographical purposes only. It can also include different location-related datasets combined into layers that show information such as land use and population density.

Thus, many modern day human activities rely on geospatial information to know where things are and how they relate to one another. The usage of geospatial information manifests in a wide range of business, government and community activities like disaster management (locating the focal point of disasters) or planning and development of public services (deciding where to build a new hospital or school). Apart from this, geospatial information also aids businesses, non-profit organisations, research organisations, among others. As such, free access to geospatial information is crucial for the development of a nation.

The Geospatial Information Regulation Bill: Key Features

1. Regulation of Geospatial Information

The Geospatial Bill seeks to regulate four major functions with respect to geospatial data. These include:  Acquisition of geospatial information in India  Dissemination, publication or distribution of geospatial information in India  Usage of geospatial information outside India  Wrong depiction of map of India

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Dissemination, Acquisition Publication or Distribution

Wrong Usage outside depiction of India map of India

The Bill prohibits the acquisition of geospatial imagery or data including value addition of any part of India either through any space or aerial platforms such as satellite, aircrafts, airships, balloons, unmanned aerial vehicles or terrestrial vehicles, or any other means whatsoever, except under the procedure established by the Act. Moreover, every person who has already acquired any geospatial imagery or data of any part of India, has to within a period of one year, regularize the information by complying with the procedure under the Act.11

The Bill also prohibits the dissemination or visualization of any geospatial information of India, either through internet platforms or online services and the usage of geospatial information outside India, except under the procedure under the Act. 12

One of the central features of the Bill is its response to wrongful depictions of the India’s territorial boundaries by other nations as well as MNCs. Section 6 of the Bill that prohibits the depiction, dissemination, publication or distribution of any wrong or false topographic information of India including international boundaries through internet platforms or online services or in any electronic or physical form.13

2. Security Vetting Authority

The Bill provides for the setting up of a Security Vetting Authority to carry out security vetting of the Geospatial Information of India in a time bound manner. The Chairman of the Authority shall be of the rank of Joint Secretary

11 Section 3, The Geospatial Information Regulation Bill, 2016. 12 Section 4 & 5, The Geospatial Information Regulation Bill, 2016. 13 Section 6, The Geospatial Information Regulation Bill, 2016. 13

to the Government of India or above. The two remaining members of the committee shall include a technical expert a national security expert.14

3. Licensing Process

The Bill provides that a license shall be issued by the Security Vetting Authority to acquire, disseminate, publish or distribute any geospatial information of India. The license shall be issued after ensuring that the applicant has complied with all terms and conditions decided by the Authority.15

The license may be revoked if the licensee fails to comply with the terms and conditions prescribed under the license.16 Moreover, the licensee is obligated to ensure that information which is not vetted by the Authority is not published or disseminated.17

4. Penalties

The Bill provides a penalty ranging from Rs. 1 crore to Rs. 100 crore and/or imprisonment for a period upto seven years, for wrongful acquisition, dissemination, publication, distribution of geospatial information of India and its usage outside India. For the wrongful depiction of the map of India and for the violation of the terms and conditions of the license, the Bill provides a penalty ranging from Rs. 10 lakhs to Rs. 100 crore and/or imprisonment for a period upto seven years.

The Geospatial Information Regulation Bill: Major Concerns

1. Extent and Applicability

The Bill defines ‘geospatial information’ as geospatial imagery or data acquired through space or aerial platforms such as satellite, aircrafts, airships, balloons, unmanned aerial vehicles including value addition; or graphical or digital data depicting natural or man-made physical features, phenomenon or boundaries of the earth or any information related thereto including surveys, charts, maps, terrestrial photos referenced to a co-ordinate system and having attributes. As such it covers a wide range of applications which require the creation of or reference to any co-ordinate system. The definition does not distinguish between different forms of geospatial information such ‘big data’ and sensitive data which may be particularly important for protecting the security and integrity of the state.

In its present form, the Bill applies to a wide spectrum of applications such as those which use geospatial information for delivery of products, communication, locating services such as taxis, hotels and restaurants, health and fitness based applications which track distances using geo-spacial information among others. It also applies to application which link pictures or data to a geographical coordinate, commonly referred to as geo tagging.

14 Section 8, The Geospatial Information Regulation Bill, 2016 15 Section 9, The Geospatial Information Regulation Bill, 2016. 16 Section 10, The Geospatial Information Regulation Bill, 2016. 17 Section 11, The Geospatial Information Regulation Bill, 2016. 14

Moreover, since the Bill applies to individuals and not just corporations, by virtue of its extent, every user of such application becomes automatically liable under the Bill for acquisition and distribution of geospatial data. This extended overreach of the Bill, would make its implementation difficult and irrelevant. Therefore, the Bill must distinguish between sensitive data and data which is essential for day to day operation in a digital age.

Apps which allow geotagging of photos and text: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter,

E-commerce & delivery apps: Flipkart, Amazon, Snapdeal, Jabong

Taxi Booking Services: Ola, Uber

Communication Apps: Facebook MEssenger, Google Talk, Tinder

Location based Apps: Zomato, OYO , Tripvillas, Stayzilla

Health and Fitness Apps: Nike Run, Fitbit

2. Licensing regime

The provision for a licensing mechanism under the Bill is regressive and difficult to implement. Any acquisition of geospatial data has to be submitted to the Vetting Authority which in turn would vet the data and return it within a stipulated time frame. Given the potential of acquisition of geospatial data at the level of each user, there would be tremendous amount of information at the disposal of the Authority for vetting purposes. There is no fixed time limit for the review purpose, making it an implementational hazard.

Moreover, delays in vetting the information or issuing a license each time would defeat the purpose of using the information in real time for various purposes. Thus, the licensing regime would only create hurdles for the effective use of geospatial information.

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3. Conflicting Purposes The licensing regime created through the legislation comes in direct conflict with other government initiatives such as Start Up India, and Digital India which promote the dissemination of technology and foster the growth of private enterprises. Most new startups provide targeted services to consumers which require the acquisition and usage of geospatial information. To that effect, the Geospatial Bill would deter the progress made in these initiatives by creating additional hurdles for the setting up of new enterprises and for the dissemination of technology.

Existing Regulatory Framework: Geographical Data in India

India has had a history of regulating the depiction of its borders and dissemination of geographical data since colonial times. This can be attributed to security concerns and partly, to the conflict in the depiction of its borders. There have been policies in place which prevent the inaccurate depiction of maps and illegal distribution of geographical data. The National Map Policy, the Remote Sensing Data policy and the Civil Aviation Policy target the creation of geographical data in areas which are important for national security.

National Map Policy, 2005 • Guidelines regarding depiction of Indian territory issued by Survey of India

Remote Sensing Data Policy, • Regulates satellite-based mapping 2011

Civil Aviation Requirement, • Regulates mapping and photography using flights 2012 and drones.

Moreover, action against incorrect depiction of the Indian territory can also be pursued under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Official Secrets Act, 1923, which restricts the collection and sharing of information about ‘prohibited places’, the Customs Act, 1962, which prohibits the export and import of certain maps, and the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 1990. In the existence of these policies, the Geospatial Bill must consider its scope and effectiveness in regulating geospatial data at the behest of sovereignty and national security.

Conclusion

The Geospatial Information Regulation Bill, 2016 seeks to regulate the geospatial information with the intent to protect the sovereignty and national security of India. However, it fails to estimate the immense practical usage of geospatial information in the digital world. Moreover, such regulation creates unnecessary hurdles for the functioning of a digital economy which relies heavy on geospatial technology. The scope and extent of Geospatial Bill affects very individual with a smartphone. The Bill may require to be revisited to arrive at a reasonable way to distinguish between sensitive and non-sensitive data. 16

Data and Democracy

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About Data and Democracy

Data brings objectivity and efficiency in the delivery and assessment of development. There lies immense scope to leverage the data available in public domain to understand the state of development across sectors. At Swaniti, we analyze raw data to seek trends and present it to our audience in a streamlined format. The page can be viewed at www.swaniti.com/jigyasa-features.

Keeping in mind recently occurred events, we analyzed the following in the month of June:

Inequities in LPG Access and Increased Reliance on Unclean Cooking Fuels: A majority of Indian households use unclean fuels for cooking purposes. The visualization depicts the gender and area wise distribution of the usage of various fuels. It also charts the impact of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana in providing access to clean fuel sources.

The visualization can be found at http://www.swaniti.com/lpgaccess

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Inequities in LPG Access and Increased Reliance on Unclean Cooking Fuels

What is the most abundantly used cooking fuel in India?

Percentage of Households Using Different Types of Cooking Fuels in India Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana will provide free LPG connections to Women from Below Poverty Line (BPL) Households – targeting 1.5 crore BPL households in 2016-17 Fire-wood

Crop residue 28.5 . 49% households in India rely on Fire-wood and only Cowdung cake 28.5% on LPG/PNG for cooking. 49.0 Coal,Lignite,Charcoal . 4, 88,200 deaths in India per year due to indoor 2.9 Kerosene smoke from unclean cooking fuels (WHO estimate). 1.4 7.9 LPG/PNG 8.9 . 11.4% households in rural areas use LPG for cooking, less than half the national average.

How is the usage of different fuels divided across the country?

Bihar (8.1%) and Orissa (9.8%) have the lowest percentage of households using LPG/PNG for cooking.

More than 80% households in Chhattisgarh depend on fire-wood as a cooking fuel.

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How does the access of LPG vary in female versus male headed households?

80.0 67.5 65.5 70.0 62.45 60.0 Households 50.0 42.9 Using 40.0 35.8 Firewood 30.0 Households 19.8 Using 20.0 11.50 LPG/PNG 6.8

10.0 Percentage of Households of Percentage 0.0 Rural Urban Rural Urban Female Headed Male Headed

Female-headed households have a LPG usage especially low in female-headed greater reliance on fire-wood than households at 6.8% in rural areas and male-headed households, both in rural 42.9% in urban areas and urban areas.

How does the access of LPG vary in Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) Households?

Percentage of Households Using LPG and Firewood among SC/ST Population

90.0 85.6 78.4 80.0 68.8 70.0 62.9 60.0 55.9 54.9 48.3 49.2 50.0 40.9 40.0 33.9 33.1 31.4 30.0 16.9 20.0 14.4 14.2 9.3 10.0 6.2

Percentage of of Households Percentage 2.9 - Total Rural Urban Total Rural Urban Total Rural Urban Non SC ST SC ST

Firewood LPG/PNG

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. Overall usage of LPG in SC households is 16.9%, in ST households is 9.3% against 33.9% in non-SC/ST households

. Rural LPG coverage is particularly low at 2.9% (ST households) and 6.2% (SC households)

. The data hints towards inequities in access to LPG, especially for female-headed and SC/ST households.

. Data from rural areas shows excessive reliance on solid, unclean forms of fuel like fire-wood

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Research Support and Engagement with Elected Officials

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About Research Support and Engagement with Honorable MPs

Swaniti Initiative aims to inform MPs about development issues through dissemination of information on development topics like health, education, gender or livelihood in the form of analysis of schemes, briefs, research insights etc. Our research content is developed through consistent feedback and discussion with MPs. Additionally, Swaniti also provides on-ground support and grassroots-level development insight at the constituency level in certain cases. The areas of intervention are focused on our 4 core sectors (health, education, gender and livelihood). As part of engagements, members from the Swaniti team travel to the constituency to study the issue at hand, interact with the different stakeholders and subsequently draw a plan of action to address the issue. The Swaniti team also follows up with the stakeholders at regular intervals to ensure that the project is completed in a time-bound manner.

In the month of May, Swaniti organized a round table for MPs on groundwater. A detailed report of the event can be found in this section. During the month of June, our Engagement Associate visited Kahatul, in Nandurbar, Maharashtra to work on the Saansad Adarsh Gram or Model Village Program. This section highlights the interventions undertaken in the constituency and stories from the field.

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Kicking off Interventions in Kahatul – Adopting a Community led Approach towards Development

“In order to develop Kahatul as an Adarsh Gram, it is Community Participation very important for the community to participate and

come forward and become solution providers.” Kahatul, a GP in Shahada Block has been identified for development as - Dr. Heena Gavit, Hon’ble MP, Nandurbar an Adarsh Gram by Dr. Heena Gavit under the Saansad Adarsh Gram The Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana announced by the Yojana. When Dr. Gavit outlined her Government of India aims to instill certain values such as vision for the development of people’s participation and community mobilization for Kahatul, she placed special emphasis on the participation of the developing a model village, which can be sustainable in nature. community so as to empower the A similar vision for developing Kahatul was articulated by the people to come up with local Honorable Member of Parliament from Nandurbar, Dr. Heena solutions to local problems. Gavit when she discussed the rollout of the SAGY Development Programme with the Swaniti team. She also highlighted that Accordingly, when the team visited unless and until the villagers become active participants in the Kahatul, they focused on involving development process, Kahatul won’t become an Adarsh Gram in the community and encouraging them to talk about their everyday the true sense and requested the team to engage with the challenges. Subsequently, the team community and prepare a holistic development plan. and the villagers prioritized certain interventions with a focus on With this objective in mind, the team over the course of two introducing a community led visits not only understood the issues of villagers in detail but approach towards development. also focused on the preparation of a village development plan,

which while encompassing a series of infrastructural improvements, also had extensive community led interventions.

Setting the Agenda – Understanding the Development Challenges in Kahatul

In the development process, there are a large number of stakeholders such as the community, elected representatives, grassroots level workers in different thematic areas (such as Gram Rozgar Sewak, ANM, Anganwadi Workers, etc.), block and district level officials, the MPs office and civil society members. During the first visit to Kahatul, the team had interacted with all concerned stakeholders to not only understand the issues in Kahatul but also their priorities in terms of the most pressing needs of the community.

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Meeting the concerned Visiting the Point of Meeting the Village Meeting Block officials authorities at Block level Execution to observe Council to get a hang of again to convey to understand possible operational inefficiencies, the existing situation; bottlenecks and ensure roadblocks and existing if any. Planning talking to villagers to get smooth implementation plans for addressing systematically and in-depth perspective of the intervention issues discussing solutions

At the same time, the team spent a bulk of their time trying to gauge the expectations of the villagers as well as encouraging them to come forward and express themselves so that the village could be developed as a model village. This interaction and observation helped us understand the challenges pertaining to cleanliness, access to water for drinking and irrigation purposes, limited awareness about government initiatives such as universal coverage of Aadhar Card and Aadhar seeding with bank accounts and need for strengthening women livelihoods through promotion of Self Help Groups.

Subsequently, based on these priorities outlined by the community and a detailed assessment, the team went to the drawing board to develop a roadmap of possible interventions for Kahatul. The underlying idea was to come up with a bucket list of entry point activities, which would not just cater to the needs of the community but also engage them actively to address the issues highlighted by them. Therefore, during the second visit, a

Cleanliness and solid waste Almost 40 percent of the households in management are a major issue in Kahatul don’t have drinking water Kahatul. Ranging from the plastic waste connection. Moreover, irrigation is a all along the entrance road to the major concern and approx. 60 percent unkempt water storage area, this has farmers don’t have irrigation facilities. potential ecological and health risk. Activities under Jalyukt Shivar planned

Government initiatives such as Aadhar An important tool for combating poverty Card, Aadhar seeding with bank is the formation of Self Help Groups. accounts, coverage under pension Currently only 12 SHGs in Kahatul and schemes need to be strengthened to they also need to be linked to credit ensure benefits such as DBT and social access. Secondly, need to set up more security to intended beneficiaries. SHGs in the GP. series of interventions were initiated and the subsequent sections provide an elaborate description about the same.

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Holding a Gram Sabha – Initiating Development Interventions in Kahatul

As part of the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution, the Government of India decentralized democracy and conferred the right to participate directly in governance to every registered voter through the institution of the Gram Sabha. For any Adarsh Gram, the existing institutions should be strengthened and leveraged to deliver holistic and sustainable development. Before initiating different interventions in the GP, the team wished to discuss and consult the villagers and also get a buy in from them to ensure the success of the interventions. Therefore, the team worked with the block administration, Village Development Officer and PRI members to call a Gram Sabha to mobilise the villagers to think and act towards the developmental goals of the village and also generate awareness about key government schemes.

During the interactions with the community members it was decided that the eligibility criteria, supporting documents and procedure for entitlements of the important schemes will be put up at all the three notice boards in the village and also pasted outside important public buildings. The forms would be made available in the GP Bhawan. The VDO would fill these forms on behalf of the villagers and submit the forms along with the supporting documents to the Block Office for further processing. All stakeholders agreed that if such a structure were to be successfully established in the Gram Panchayat, no beneficiary would be deprived of any government scheme. Certain action items were also prioritized (listed below) and the

One of the most important components of a Model Village would be 100% Aadhar Card Aadhar Card Coverage Coverage as it would result in Direct Benefit Transfers. To be done in a drive mode with a biometrics unit in the GP

Seeding Aadhar Card To be done in a drive mode with cooperation from Union Bank of India Branch Manager and with bank account Village Council Members

Conducting Cleanliness Low levels of hygiene and sanitation. Cleanliness Drive can be done through the office of Drive Swacch Bharat Mission or through local resource mobilization from Village Council

Providing Internet With a BSNL Exchange Office in the GP, it was decided to push for Wi-Fi connectivity at the Connectivity GP Bhawan and the High School

Covering Beneficiaries With cooperation from the Block Development Office, a list of beneficiaries shall be for Pension Schemes generated and would be matched with the Village Council data. Discrepancies and gaps shall be taken care of

Pradhan Mantri Providing eligible women candidates from BPL households with LPG connections under the Ujjwala Yojana PM Ujjwala Yojana

Formation of Self Help Speeding up the process of SHG formation, taking the number from 12 to 40. Secondly, Groups linking the existing SHGs with Union Bank of India for Credit

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primary parameters for shortlisting the interventions for the first phase of development were tangibility, limited operational difficulties and immediate outcome.

A Solid Waste Management System for Kahatul – A Swacch Gram in the Making

At present, there exists no waste disposal mechanism in the village and the villagers dump their liquid waste in the agricultural fields and the solid waste which includes plastic is burnt once every couple of months, i.e. after a huge heap of garbage gets accumulated. However, we have purchased a tractor about 4 months back and it is lying idle. Do you think we can utilize it somehow to address the issue of solid waste management in the village?

- Harish Saindnane, Ward Member

As mentioned by Harish and as could be observed by any person, cleanliness and the lack of solid waste management posed a major problem for the village. At a time when the PM of India has articulated the vision for a Swacch India by 2019, it is imperative that the model villages in this country should aspire to not just be open defecation free but also have a sustainable solid waste management system in place. With this in mind and the fact that the GP had an asset in the form of an unused tractor, the team worked with the Tehsildar, Mr. Nitin Govali and the PRI members to come up with a system, based on promoting door- to-door garbage collection, encouraging community ownership and launching a monthly cleanliness drive to cater to the problem. Moreover, as a first step, the Tehsildar suggested that engaging high school students would create a positive impact and the Swacch Bharat Team from Shahada Block would follow it up by conducting a cleanliness drive on the 1st day of every month. For the Cleanliness Drive, 100 pairs of plastic hand-gloves were provided to the students of 8th, 9th and 10th Grade from the MPs office along with broomsticks to teachers and Village Council members. The tractor moved along with the volunteers so that the garbage collected could be dumped in the carrier of the tractor. This initiative symbolized the initiation of garbage collection through tractor in the village. The system has been highlighted below:

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Cleanliness Drive on every Dustbins to be installed at Tractor purchased by the first day of the month; to important locations such GP to be used for door-to- be carried out by block as public places and along door collection of garbage SBM team and villagers main road to prevent from households; the including students from littering of plastic waste ‘ghanta-gaadi’ will move High School here and there; MPLADs around the village for an project hour every morning

Other Interventions – A Brief Overview

1 2 3 Biometric unit set up by the Wi-Fi connection installed in On July 1st, the entire GP Tehsildar for ensuring GP Bhawan and High School by celebrated Van Mahotsav by universal coverage of Aadhar the BSNL Telephone Exchange planting 200 saplings near Card in Kahatul; form as part of Digital India; the GP PHC, GP Bhawan, PS and HS; developed by UBI and team to cleared the pending amount of organized in collaboration link bank account with Aadhar INR 4,000 to get the connection with the Eco Club of the High Card School

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From L-R: Plantation Drive, Cleanliness Drive, Wi-Fi at GP Bhawan and Gram Sabha meeting

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Focusing on Ground Water Depletion in India – The Common Pool Resource under Threat

Groundwater is a precious natural resource that forms the backbone of India’s drinking water security and agriculture growth Approximately 85 percent of the rural population and 50 percent of the urban population are dependent on groundwater for drinking and other domestic purposes. Thus the availability and reliability of groundwater is imperative to socio-economic development in the country and almost 45 percent of the irrigation potential in the country has been created through the utilization of groundwater resources.

Groundwater is a finite resource. Its unregulated extraction over the past four decades has led to depletion of water tables across India. Today, the country is faced with a situation where almost 16 percent of the groundwater assessment units have been classified as ‘dark blocks’ or over-exploited units by the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. In fact, a World Bank Report in 2005 suggested that if current trends of overexploitation continue, 60 percent of the country’s aquifers would be in a critical condition.

As we see trains carrying water enter the Latur Railway Station, it is important to understand the common pool resource nature of groundwater. Over the long run, extraction depletes the overall groundwater resource available affecting livelihoods dependent on it. Moreover, geo-genic contaminants in deeper groundwater such as Fluoride, Arsenic and other elements affect populations’ health adversely. At a time when, our reservoirs are at a historical low and stories of water distress dominate front pages, groundwater management needs legal and policy focus. There is a wide set of best practices being implemented across the country from where participatory water conservation and management could be replicated. Through Swaniti’s own experience, we have seen the extent of the problem and explored solutions. Subsequently, in the Budget Session, we organized a Roundtable Conference on Ground Water Management to discuss the issue with Parliamentarians and get their perspectives and experiences on the same.

India is the largest user of groundwater in the world - uses 25 percent of the global total. 91 percent of the groundwater used is for irrigation purpose and the country adds 0.8 million tubewells every year.

Understanding the Problem

Groundwater usage in early times was limited to drinking and domestic purposes. In the early 1970s, right after the Green Revolution, drilling technology was introduced and widely adopted in India owing to subsidies and easy availability of inexpensive pumps. Since then, farmers could dig tube/borewell and provide flexible, on-demand irrigation to support the growing needs and ensuring food security for the rural and urban populations. This, along with widespread drilling for domestic purposes has resulted in close to 30 million wells, tubewells and borewell in the country. We have over 20 million irrigation wells and add a 0.8 million more each year. As a result, the groundwater development, which was critical to food security and was conceived as a solution has now become a problem that needs urgent address. Over-extraction of groundwater in the last few decades has threatened drinking

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water security of at least 60% districts in the country. This single statistic necessitates the need for moving from ‘groundwater development’ to ‘groundwater management’ recognizing the indivisible nature of underlying aquifers.

Image 1: The data reveals the menace

Understanding the Solution

Groundwater management in India is still bound to supply augmentation rather than demand regulation as there is a lack of understanding about the resource itself. Wells (sources) are only mechanisms for accessing aquifers (resources), which are underground layers of water-bearing permeable rock that hold and transmit groundwater. Thus, understanding the hydrogeology and an aquifer-based management is the need of the hour. When a potential user overuses groundwater for personal consumption, it leads to a situation where it decreases the availability of water for a community. Similarly dilemmas arise about who develops and manages the groundwater because of its ‘invisible’ nature. Community participation brings a discipline into this process of management as it brings users together to arrive at mutually agreed decisions on recharge and protocols for water use. Simultaneously, it builds in 31

an ethos of self-regulation and sustainable use of groundwater to be followed by all. Moreover, groundwater management enables drought proofing of regions as well as addresses the issue of chemical contamination to a large extent. There is an emerging consensus that effective water management must happen at the community level anchored by PRIs and urban local bodies to ensure water security.

‘Jal Suraksha’ – the Roundtable sets the stage for further discussions on the topic

The roundtable took place on the 5th May 2016 and witnessed the participation of 15 MPs from both Houses of Parliament as well as experts from Arghyam and other organizations such as AWCADAM, ACT, SAMERTH, People’s Science Institute and WASSAN.

The Conference started with a presentation by the Swaniti team, comprising of Utkarsha and Abheek. The presentation was divided into three components:  Significance of Groundwater: Understanding the Extent of the Problem  Solutions from Across the Country: What’s mine is ours  Key Government Initiatives and Policy Measures: Addressing the Issue

The presentation highlighted solutions, which promoted community participation and active involvement in ground water management, implemented in different places across the country such as Bhuj, Rapar (both in Gujarat), Randullabad and Muthalane (in Maharashtra), Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. This was followed by the MPs sharing their thoughts pertaining to the issue and various initiatives taken by them or the government in their states to address those issues. The insights shared by MPs and the discussions that followed ranged from the ongoing implementation of the Mission Kakatiya program in Telangana to the harmful impact of over extraction of ground water due to the unregulated usage, utility of micro-irrigation projects vis-à-vis big irrigation projects and the fact that while some parts of the state have excess water, others suffer from drought. Suggestions to ensure access to groundwater and promote ground water management included the need to increase community awareness in order to understand the ‘common pool resource’ nature of groundwater, the need for bottom-up approach, skilling locals to draw up water security plans and map aquifers to address the data drought in the country, promotion of rainwater harvesting and recharge of ground water, and much more.

The exchange of ideas and thoughts on the issue reflected the potential for a change in the right direction and was the cause for much optimism among all present. The idea of ‘Jal Suraksha’ or ‘Sanrakshan’ had been discussed at length.

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Highlights of the Roundtable

15 5 4 MPs from 10 states Experts, who have worked MPs requested for follow- participated in the on Ground Water up action on the ground or Roundtable Conference and Management across the some more research and shared insights on issue country knowledge support

“The problems pertaining to water resources are many, but sustainable and scalable solutions few and far between and we don’t get to know about them. Your initiative to help us understand the issue and also talk about the solutions will be extremely helpful for all of us. You should organize even more extensive discussion on the subject so that we can exchange our views with the experts and learn from their inputs.”

- Mr. Balwinder Singh Bhunder, Member, Standing Committee on Water Resources

List of MPs who attended the Conference

Name of Member of Parliament Constituency (State) Mr. Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa Rajya Sabha (Punjab) Mr. Sher Singh Ghubaya Ferozepur (Punjab) Mr. Balwinder Singh Bhunder Rajya Sabha (Punjab) Mr. Nadimul Haque Rajya Sabha (WB) Mr. Sukhendu Sekhar Roy Rajya Sabha (WB) Mr. Rabindra Kumar Jena Balasore (Odisha) Dr. Heena Gavit Nandurbar (Maharashtra) Mr. A.V. Swamy Rajya Sabha (Odisha) Mr. Suresh Chanabasappa Angadi Belgaum (Karnataka) Mr. Konda Vishweshwar Reddy Chevella (Telangana) Mr. Idris Ali Basirhat (WB) Mr. Ananda Bhaskar Rapolu Rajya Sabha (Telangana) Mr. Lal Sinh Vadodia Rajya Sabha (Gujarat)

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Mr. B. Vinod Kumar Karimnagar (Telangana) Dr. Kambhampati Hari Babu Visakhapatnam (AP)

Swaniti in the Media

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About Swaniti in the Media

Swaniti in the Media covers the diverse range of articles authored by Swaniti on key developmental and policy issues. The articles and research insights are published in leading broadsheets, news aggregators and daily newspapers. This section also covers the media pieces which cover Swaniti’s work with elected officials and highlight the projects that we have undertaken.

The June edition includes the following media articles:

Sikkim Makes Efforts to Save its Future from Teen Alcoholism and Drug Abuse: Published at GrinNews In South India, a Little Furniture, Toilets Makes All the Difference in Schools: Published at GrinNews Kalika celebrates International Day of Yoga: Published in The Statesman and OdishaLive

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Sikkim Makes Efforts to Save its Future from Teen Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Published at Grin.News

Sikkim is one of the most beautiful regions in the country, if not the most. It was also declared a completely organic state last year. But on the other extreme, it is plagued by the problem of drug abuse, which has severe social and health repercussions. The smallest state has a higher than national average consumption of alcohol and tobacco with a high prevalence of substance abuse among children in both urban and rural areas regions.

SAATHI program awareness launch in school by MR PD Rai (in centre, black)

So, the Chief Minister decided to do something about it. In 2013, the Sikkim Government launched an initiative called ‘Sikkim Against Addiction and Towards Healthy India’ (SAATHI). SAATHI’s objective is to limit substance abuse and generate awareness amongst students, parents, school administration and community about the health, social and

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economic implications of substance abuse. The efforts were led by the Member of Parliament (MP) P.D. Rai as the Chairman of the Steering Committee.

To drive lasting change in the behaviours — the initiative developed a peer education model. As a pilot project, SAATHI was implemented in the two most affected schools in the Gangtok area where 2 teacher coordinators and 40 peer educators from each school selected and trained.

Peer counselling in process through SAATHI model

Individual and group counseling/therapy sessions were organized through counselors from private rehabilitation centres in the schools, and also enabled broader involvement of the parents and the community.

One of the peer educators at Deorali school in Gangtok narrating the impact of the SAATHI programme shared, ‘Initially when our classmates were using tobacco and alcohol, we couldn’t dissuade them. Many times they came to school under influence of alcohol. Once the SAATHI programme started, we were trained in counseling them. We

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understood how to initiate the discussion with the users and what methods to use to reduce and eliminate their use. Gradually, many users who did not understand how to abstain but couldn’t talk to teachers or parents about it, started approaching us and we were able to form a good bond with them. By the end of the year, many users had given up their use of alcohol and were participating in the school and social activities with increased interest. Many of these former users are now counselling other users along with us.’

Swaniti Initiative, a governance-focused organisation that works closely with MPs to catalyse change in their constituencies came on board to evaluate the effectiveness of the programme and advise on its scale up. The evaluation showed encouraging outcomes.

The peer-educator model, which is the keystone of the programme, was proved to be effective and acceptable to the students and teachers.

Training session for peer educators of SAATHI model in Sikkim

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‘There were 152 students in the pilot schools who were reported to consume some form of substance. More than 40% reduced their consumption after the programme with another 28% abstaining completely and showing improved academic performance,’ shares P.D. Rai, the MP of the constituency.

Based on Swaniti’s evaluation and recommendation, the SAATHI program is now being scaled-up to 100 schools over 3 years. The state government has decided to provide administrative support and raised extra-budgetary resources for funding the scale-up.

Moving forward, at the end of the three-year intervention, SAATHI’s goal is to embed its methods in school curriculum and become self-sustainable. It serves as an excellent example of how governments can partner for specialized support from agencies like Swaniti to truly effect change in their regions.

The article can be found at https://grin.news/sikkim-makes-efforts-to-save-its-future-from-teen-alcoholism-and-drug- abuse-6379bd1b2b#.1qa0zh8yx

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In South India, a Little Furniture, Toilets Makes All the Difference in Schools Published at Grin.News

In 2014, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Visakhapatnam, K. Haribabu, had an idea — why can’t every school in his domain have a functioning toilet? It seems like a simple idea but in a country where, says the United Nations, there are more mobile phones than toilets, this is easier said than done.

Students at Thotagavaru School, Vishakhapatnam, without furniture feel uncomfortable and restless in schools

Haribabu was able to efficiently rope in his own MP funds and those of the district administration for a Swachh Vidyalaya Campaign, taking off from the broader Swachh Bharat campaign run by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and ensured that 204 schools got toilets — 49 toilets in 20 schools were built from the MP’s constituency funds and the rest from private donations.

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Vizag MP, Haribabu, (3rd from left) with the team at Swaniti Initiative, a policy think tank that work with MPs to develop their constituencies

Then, Haribabu began working with Swaniti Initiative, a policy and developmental consultancy firm based out of Delhi, took up the task and proposed building a social coalition of elected officials, district administration officials and corporates to work in tandem to improve the standard of schools in Visakhapatnam. The Swaniti team reached out to the social organizations and corporates located in and around Visakhaptanam to engage them in the development process in their areas of operation.

One of the complaints they heard in schools is the need for furniture. At the local government high school, students said it was very uncomfortable to sit to the floor during the long school day and many class hours. Friday had become the favourite day of the week for students because that was the only day the children were allowed to sit in the only classroom that had furniture, i.e, benches for the students to sit on. More students attended school on Friday than any other day. Teachers also said that the students were happiest when they could sit on proper benches and chairs and use furniture rather than sitting on the floor. Research shows that a comfortable environment to study is a big motivation for the child to keep coming to the school. A child spends an average of 980 hours every year in the classroom. If the arrangement for seating is not satisfactory or comfortable, the incentive to attend school is considerably reduced.

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Now, the Swaniti team also discovered that there were local industrial training institutes where people were trained in everything from carpentry to welding and painting. But such institutes often did not get large orders. Simply put — here were craftspeople who could make, for instance, school benches but no one had ever given them an order!

The Swaniti team worked to mobilize funds to install furniture in the classrooms of school — making the environment conducive to learning and growth

A report was made marrying what the institutes could do and what the schools needed and the MP’s office approached more than 100 companies to request their participation in the project. More than 70% of the companies approached conveyed their interest to be a part of the social coalition. By May 2016, nearly 10 companies approved their corporate social responsibility budget for the programme to cover the entire cost of the project. The utility of the model was proved and it created a precedent for addressing other development issues in the constituency.

The MP has decided now decided to touch upon five key sectors of development in his constituency. He intends to leverage the model to ensure energy-saving street lights in all village councils, provide hot water facilities in all health centres and equip all skill development centres in Visakhapatnam with necessary equipment. The Visakhapatnam project highlights the importance of leveraging local resources to augment government efforts and the constructive role the elected representatives can play in delivering cross-cutting development solutions in their constituencies.

‘When I was elected to Lok Sabha from Visakhapatnam, the infrastructure in the schools was the top priority. I wanted to ensure that the learning environment is conducive and comfortable. And the key was to ensure that the improvement happens across all schools on a saturation basis and is not limited to a handful of schools. We began with the Swacch Vidyalaya Campaign and then expanded the project to providing school benches. The model of engaging companies has worked perfectly and wherever there are gaps I have provided resources through my MP funds. The school bench project will go a long way in improving the learning environment for thousands of students by providing comfortable furniture. I intend to leverage this model further for addressing other issues,’ says Haribabu.

The article can be found at https://grin.news/in-south-india-a-little-furniture-toilets-makes-all-the-difference-in-schools- ea458c43c71c#.6dlly6474

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Kalika celebrates International Day of Yoga Published in The Statesman and OdishaLive

Bhubaneswar, 22nd June, 2016 (OdishaLIVE Bureau): Millions around the globe practiced Yoga and celebrated the International Day of Yoga, students and teachers of 3 schools in Kalika joined in the celebration and learnt various asanas from the yoga gurus from Healthy Life Yoga. An initiative of Balasore MP, Rabindra Kumar Jena, the Yoga Day celebrations in Kalika witnessed participation of 200 students, teachers and health workers from the Hatigarh Primary School, Hatigarh Upper Primary School and Hatigarh High School.

Under the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) scheme of the Government of India, a major focus is on fostering healthy habits and promoting daily exercise. So when the world geared up to celebrate the Second International Day of Yoga, Mr. Jena decided to promote the ancient Indian discipline among the students, teachers and health workers in Kalika GP, which has been identified by him for development as an Adarsh Gram or Model Village. Accordingly, Subham Chirania and Utkarsha Bhardwaj from Swaniti Initiative approached Dr. Chittaranjan Sahu from Healthy Life Yoga, a prominent institute teaching Yoga in Balasore. Dr. Sahu assured full cooperation and support for this initiative and said that two yoga experts from his institute would lead the yoga day celebrations in Kalika. Gangadhar Das, the Sarpanch of Kalika said, “This initiative is important as a healthy body leads to a healthy mind and for becoming an Adarsh Gram, Kalika has to become a Swastha Gram.”

Furthermore, this initiative seeks to build on the momentum generated in the aftermath of the Classroom Canvas Project implemented across the schools in Kalika, where an arts and crafts workshop was conducted for the students and the classrooms painted with murals. Therefore, when the students came together to learn the asanas and pledged to practice yoga on a daily basis, it signified the next step in the plan to ensure holistic development of students. The yoga gurus emphasized on the benefits of practicing Yoga and post the session, many children expressed that they were feeling extremely fresh and they would love to practice yoga daily and also requested the gurus to come back and teach them more asanas.

“Ensuring a bright and healthy future for the residents is extremely important to realize the vision of an Adarsh Gram. Yoga has the power to introduce discipline and a new way of life. It was extremely heartening to see so many happy faces enthusiastically perform Yoga on this day”, said Subham Chirania, the coordinator of this project.

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Expressing confidence that with the active cooperation of the panchayat and district and block officials, Kalika would become an Adarsh Gram, Mr. Jena added, “Investing in the future is the key to achieving the long term vision of a Shikshit, Saksham, Swastha and Samriddha Gram. For me, the idea of a model village is more about promoting and fostering the personal development of the villagers. Yoga is not only a healthy habit but also a science, which would result in physical and mental well-being. Therefore, the fact that students and teachers turned up to celebrate this occasion of Yoga Day gives me immense satisfaction.”

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Weekly Policy Updates

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About Weekly Policy Updates

Weekly Policy Updates aim to keep the elected officials updated on policy development by providing them crisp information. This initiative of ours has been recognized by many MPs during our interactions with them.

This section includes the key policy initiatives which were announced in the month of June. These included developments in Civil Aviation, Agriculture, Mines and Minerals and Education, amongst others. The National Civil Aviation Policy and the National Mineral Exploration Policy was approved by the Union Cabinet this month. This month also saw the release of Draft Real Estate Rules and the launch of ’Suryamitra’ (a mobile app to enhance the role of youth in solar technologies) and ‘Vidyanjali’ (a school volunteer program).

Weekly policy updates sent out to elected representatives have been summarized in subsequent pages.

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June 4th - June 10th, 2016 (Week 1)

1. Ministry of New & Renewable Energy Launches “SURYAMITRA” Mobile App

 Ministry of New & Renewable Energy has launched “Surya Mitra” mobile App. The GPS based mobile app is developed by National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) which is an autonomous institution of Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE).

 The Surya Mitra Mobile App is currently available in Google play store, which can be downloaded and used across India. This App is a high end technology platform which can handle thousands of calls simultaneously and can efficiently monitor all visits of Suryamitra’s. The trained Suryamitra’s who opts for entrepreneurship have joined in the Mobile App in several states.

 This innovative mobile approach shall enhance the employment of trained youth in solar PV technology and also improve the businesses of solar entrepreneurs because of quality servicing, maintenance and repairing professionals are now available to customers at the click of a button on their mobiles.

2. NRDC inks MoA with Andhra Pradesh government to start Agribusiness Incubation Centres

 The Andhra Pradesh Government through its AP Food Processing Society has entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the National Research Development Corporation, an Enterprise of the Department of Scientific & Industrial Research, Ministry of Science & Technology, Govt. of India, New Delhi (NRDC) to strengthen the agribusiness & food processing sector by establishing Smart Agribusiness Platform Networks of Andhra Pradesh (SAPNAP).

 SAPNAP will have two key development platforms – Smart Agribusiness Value-chains and Smart Agribusiness Incubators & Accelerators. Smart Agribusiness Value Chains will focus on Intelligence / Analytics / Big Data, Innovations and Partnerships. The Smart Agribusiness incubators will focus on establishment of 13 district level incubators with enabling infrastructure and ecosystem for start-ups, enterprise development and FPO mentoring.

 NRDC shall be the knowledge partner in the programme and would provide the required technologies / know-how / IPRs and other value added techno-commercial services to the Start-ups of SAPNAP and linkages to the national and international Stakeholders.

3. Swachh Yug : Gram Panchayats along the Ganga to be made Open Defecation Free

 The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, in partnership with Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, and Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, is intensifying support to the five States of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, to make all villages along the banks of the Ganga Open Defecation Free (ODF). There are 5,169 villages along the river Ganga that fall under 1,651 Gram Panchayats (GPs), 52 districts, and 5 States.

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 The campaign, being a collaborative effort between the Swachh Bharat Mission, local youth leaders (युवा) and the Namami Gange project (गंगा) - is being called ‘Swachh य-ु ग’, which translates into ‘the age of Swachh’.

 The Ministry of Youth Affairs, under the coordination of the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan, is enlisting the support of youth agencies such as the Bharat Scouts and Guides, Nehru Yuva Kendras and National Service Scheme. These organizations will be called upon to provide a large number of local youth volunteers to support a behaviour change campaign in the 52 districts under the Swachh Bharat Mission.

June 11th - June 17th, 2016 (Week 2)

1. Launch of Vidyanjali by Ministry of Human Resource Development

 Ministry of Human Resource Development launched Vidyanjali, a school volunteer program, which is a step forward in creating an ecosystem, wherein education will be attached with imbibing knowledge and improving learning output.  The programme is designed to involve volunteers from different walks of life to strengthen the co-scholastic activities in government schools. Vidyanjali, which is being implemented under the overall aegis of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, will enhance the community involvement in Government run elementary schools and effectively engage children in reading, creative writing, public speaking, play acting, preparing story books etc.  The volunteers can register for free by visiting the MyGov.in or though the mobile app, which has been developed by MyGov. The programme is unique in that it gives the freedom to the volunteers to design their activities in consultation with the school.

2. Launch of Scheme for setting up 1000 MW CTU- connected Wind Power Project

 Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has launched Scheme for setting up of 1000 MW Wind Power Project connected to transmission network of Central Transmission Utility (CTU) with an objective to facilitate supply of wind power to the non-windy states at a price discovered through transparent bidding process. Ministry has designated Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) as nodal agency for implementation of the scheme.  The Scheme will encourage competitiveness through scaling up of project sizes and introduction of efficient and transparent e-bidding and e-auctioning processes. It will also facilitate fulfilment of Non-Solar Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) requirement of non-windy states.  The Scheme will be implemented for setting up 1000 MW capacity of CTU connected Wind Power Projects by Wind Project Developers on build, own and operate basis. However, the capacity may go higher than 1000 MW, if there is higher demand from Discoms of non-windy states.

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3. Cabinet approves Civil Aviation Policy

 The Union Cabinet has given its approval for the Civil Aviation Policy. This is the first time since Independence that an integrated Civil Aviation Policy has been brought out by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

 The policy covers critical areas such as- Regional connectivity, safety, air transport operations, and route dispersal guidelines.

 The 5/20 rule for commencement of international flight in operation since 2004 is replaced by a formulation which provides a level playing field and allows airlines, both new and old, to commence international operations provided they continue to meet some obligation for domestic operation. All airlines can commence international operations provided they deploy 20 aircraft or 20% of total capacity (in term of average number of seats on all departures put together), whichever is higher, for domestic operations.

June 18th - June 24th, 2016 (Week 3)

1. Ministry of HUPA releases Draft Real Estate Rules

 In fulfilment of its responsibility towards five Union Territories without legislatures, the Ministry of HUPA has formulated Draft ‘Union Territories of Chandigarh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Lakshadweep’ Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules, 2016 within two months of some sections of the Real Estate (Development and Regulation) Act, 2016 coming into force on first of May this year.

 The Rules provide for payments to be made for registration of projects and real estate agents with the Regulatory Authority, documents and information to be furnished by developers, procedures to be followed for registration, extension and renewal of registration, procedures for filing and hearing of complaints and appeals, appointment and service conditions of the Chairpersons and Members of Real Estate Regulatory Authorities and Appellate Tribunals and their powers etc.

 Rules require the Real Estate Regulatory Authority to be set up in States/UTs to ensure availability of information in respect of 60 aspects relating to the promoters and the projects. These relate to the profile of developer or group, track record of promoter, details of past or ongoing litigations relating to real estate projects, apartment and garage related details, location, details of registered agents and consultants, development plan, financials of the promoter, status of project along with that of approvals, contact details, copies of legal title deed, details of encumbrances etc.

2. Ministry of Urban Development approves setting up of District Level Advisory and Monitoring Committees

 To promote people centric planning and execution of new urban development schemes launched by the Government, Ministry of Urban Development has approved setting up of District Level Advisory and Monitoring Committees with the elected representatives of the people across the country. In a first of its

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kind, these Committees will oversee, review and monitor implementation of urban development, affordable housing and urban poverty alleviation programmes.

 Implementation of schemes to be monitored by these Committees are –Swachh Bharat Mission, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY), Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Housing for All (Urban) and Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission. The Committees shall meet at least once in three months and shall submit Action Taken Reports to State/UT Governments for necessary action. States/UTs in turn will submit consolidated reports every year to the Ministry of Urban Development and Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation.

 States/UTs will appoint the senior most Member of Parliament as the Chairperson of the Committee. Two more MPs, one each from Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha will be the Co-chairpersons. All MLAs from respective districts representing the Urban Local Bodies, Mayors and Chairpersons of ULBs, Chairpersons and Chief Executives of Urban Development Authorities in districts, Commissioners and Chief Executive Officers of ULBs, senior most representatives of the Department of Public Health Engineering and senior most officials of para-statal bodies like water board, sewerage board will be the members of the District Level Advisory and Monitoring Committees. District Collector or Municipal Commissioner of metropolitan cities will be the Member Secretary.

3. New Berthing Policy for Dry Bulk Cargo for Major Ports from August

 Ministry of Shipping has formulated a new Berthing Policy for Dry Bulk Cargo for all Major Ports which will come into effect from 20th August, 2016. The new Berthing Policy aims to provide a standardized framework for calculation of norms, specific to the commodity handled and the infrastructure available on the berth; define design norms with the objective of driving higher productivity and achieving near-design capacity of the available equipment/infrastructure.

 The policy also seeks to reassess the capacity of the berths based on the expected performance of the berth equipment and vessels derived from performance norms and standardize anchorage charges across Major Ports to reduce turnaround time. All the Major Ports will be holding trade meetings between 1st July to 18th July, 2016 to sensitize the norms, incentives, penalties & charges to be implemented. The policy will be implemented by all Major Ports by 20th August, 2016.

 Dry bulk cargo currently makes up >26% of the cargo handled at the 12 major ports. Furthermore growth in coastal shipping is expected to add around 100-150 MMTPA of additional dry bulk cargo at ports by 2020- 25. Currently performance norms are not being used optimally to improve productivity with no standardized, systematic method for arriving at norms for different commodities.

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June 25th - July 1st, 2016 (Week 4)

1. Cabinet approves National Mineral Exploration Policy

 The Union Cabinet has approved the National Mineral Exploration Policy (NMEP). The NMEP primarily aims at accelerating the exploration activity in the country through enhanced participation of the private sector. There is a need for comprehensive mineral exploration of the country to uncover its full mineral potential so as to put the nation's mineral resources (non-fuel and non-coal) to best use and thereby maximize sectoral contribution to the Indian economy.

 The policy emphasizes on making available baseline geoscientific data of world standards in the public domain, quality research in a public-private partnership, special initiatives for search of deep-seated and concealed deposits, quick aerogeophysical surveys of the country, and creation of a dedicated geoscience database etc. The Ministry of Mines will carry out auctioning of identified exploration blocks for exploration by private sector on revenue sharing basis in case their exploration leads to auctionable resources. The revenue will be borne by the successful bidder of those auctionable blocks. If the explorer agencies do not discover any auctionable resources, their exploration expenditure will be reimbursed on normative cost basis.

 On the lines of UNCOVER project of Australia, the government intends to launch a special initiative to probe deep-seated/ concealed minerals deposits in the country in collaboration with National Geophysical Research Institute and the proposed NCMT and Geoscience Australia. Government will engage private agencies for carrying out exploration in identified blocks / areas with the right to certain share in the revenue accruing to the State government through auction.

2. Enhanced Financial Powers to Different Ministries

 Government of India has decided to revise the financial limits for appraisal and approval of Non-Plan Schemes/Projects by competent authorities. As per the revised delegation, the Committee on Non-Plan Expenditure (CNE) will now appraise proposals involving expenditure of Rs.300 crore and above. The earlier limit for this was Rs.75 crore. Non-plan Schemes/projects of less than Rs.300 crore can now be appraised by Ministry / Standing Finance Committee of the Ministry concerned.

 The financial power of the Minister-in-charge of the administrative Ministry for approval of the Non-Plan schemes/projects has also been enhanced and the schemes/project costing less than Rs.500 crore can now be approved at his/her level. Finance Minister shall be competent financial authority for approving scheme/projects having financial implications of Rs.500 crore and above and upto Rs.1000 crore.

 Increase in cost upto 20% of the firmed up cost estimates can now be appraised by the Financial Adviser and approved by Secretary of the administrative Department, if the absolute cost escalation is upto Rs.75 crore, and by the Administrative Minister-in-charge if absolute cost escalation is above this.

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3. HRD Ministry launches ‘Prashikshak’- A Teacher Education Portal

 Union Ministry for Human Resource Development has launched ‘Prashikshak’ - a teacher education portal. ‘Prashikshak’ is launched with a vision to strengthen District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs) and bring quality teachers into the Indian school education system.

 Prashikshak is a unique IT initiative, a first of its kind in the country, which will contain a comprehensive database of all DIETs in the country with all relevant performance indicators. It will help benchmark DIETs, to enable aspiring teachers to make informed choices about their future. At the same time, it will give the opportunity to Central and State Governments to do real time monitoring of the institutions. Though the Prashiskshak Portal has started only for DIETs, it will cover block level institutes in the future and identify gaps at the bottom of the pyramid.

 The objective of Prashikshak is to define quality benchmarks and help DIETs to make informed decisions about their institutes, compare the performance of their institute against other DIETs in the state/country as well as helping aspiring teachers make informed decision making.

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Upcoming...

In Our Next Edition, grab hold of the following:

1. Tamra Patra

 DNA Profiling Bill, 2016  National Civil Aviation Policy  Housing for All by 2020

2. Data and Democracy

 Ground Water

3. Research Support and Engagement with Honorable MPs

 Issue briefings under RADA  Roundtable on Maternal Health

4. Weekly Policy Updates from July, 2016

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