Political and Social Issues

Statements of policy can sound grand but when it comes to promises of administrative reform, what India needs is a reality check.
The draft National Policy on Information Technology, 2011 claims that providing “ubiquitous, affordable, access to information and public services for enhancing efficiency, transparency, accountability and reliability” is among its important goals.
Take the key areas under the National e-Governance Plan. Income Tax, passport, visa, land records, property registration, pensions, road transport, police, municipalities, panchayats, and employment exchanges are all priority services, but these are not ready for electronic service provision even after years.
The IT Policy can bring about progress in service delivery if the Ministry of Information Technology starts with an audit of the status quo and sets deadlines for reform.
It is revealing, for instance, that the Department of Posts is yet to provide computer hardware to all post offices in the country.
Besides installing machines, ensuring robust communication networks is vital.
India also does not have national data networks in areas such as education and health that can aid research and informed policymaking
This needs to be done on priority in all areas of development, including agriculture.
It is worth emphasising that the UPA government must enact the Electronic Service Delivery Bill 2011, if the goal of providing high quality public services, outlined in the IT Policy, is to be met anytime soon.

Shipping Secretary K. Mohandass said that since SCI was a Navratna company, its board was empowered to take decisions on capital expenditure.
For the XI Plan, SCI placed orders for 28 vessels in a bid to enhance its fleet. These purchases were being financed by equity and debt
Denying that SCI was being forced to abandon its ship acquisition plans owing to its suffering a nominal loss in the first quarter of the current financial year, Mr. Mohandass said any decision regarding addition of ships to its fleet would be taken by the SCI Board keeping in mind the prevailing market conditions. SCI had reported a loss of Rs.5.90 crore in the first quarter of the current year.
SCI had been able to finance its long-term external commercial borrowings at an average rate of less than 3 per cent and its debt-equity ratio is at 0.66 per cent, against the industry average of 1:3.
SCI had a cash reserve of around Rs.2,500 crore and there was no cause for panic

The Government is planning to develop separate Centres of Excellence in various technical textiles to boost investments in the sector.
the technical textiles industry has grown to Rs 63,000 crore in 2010-11 from Rs 43,000 crore in 2007-08, which accounts for 11 per cent growth a year.
With a projected growth of 20 per cent a year, the trade will touch Rs 1,58,000 crore by 2016-17
The Government in its 12th Five-Year Plan has allocated funds to the development of Centres of Excellence (CoE) for the various technical textiles sectors.
The upcoming CoEs that have been established recently are for non-wovens and medical at Kolhapur in Maharashtra. Similarly, CoEs for sports will come up in Mumbai, composites in Ahmedabad and industrial applications in Coimbatore.
Currently, the industry is undergoing a major re-orientation towards non-clothing applications of textiles such as thermal protection and blood-absorbing materials, seatbelts, adhesive tape, and other specialised products and applications.
Furthermore, with the phasing out of the Multi-Fibre Arrangement, the Indian textile industry is optimistic due to new investment and Government initiatives.