Short Takes / NRC update and more

Assam NRC additional draft exclusion list

More than 1 lakh people, who were part of the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) published in July last year but were found unqualified thereafter, have been named in the additional draft exclusion list. They were found ineligible during re-verification for one of the following reasons…

* Persons who were found to be DF (declared foreigner) or DV (doubtful voter) or PFT (persons with cases Pending at Foreigners Tribunals) or their descendants, as applicable,  discovered after the publication of the draft NRC, persons who were found to be ineligible while appearing as a witness in hearings held for disposal of claims & objections, persons who were found to be ineligible during the process of verification carried out by the Local Registrars of Citizens Registration (LRCRs) after the publication of the draft NRC.

* The preparation of the draft exclusion list of the NRC was approved by the SC under Clause 5 of the Schedule of the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003.

* The provision of suo moto verification is mentioned in Section 4 (3) of the Schedule of the above mentioned Citizenship Rules, 2003, which says that the LRCR may at any time before the final publication of the NRC in the state of Assam verify names already in the final draft NRC if considered necessary.

Who is eligible for inclusion in the updated NRC?

* Persons whose names appear in the NRC, 1951.

* Persons whose names appear in the electoral rolls up to March 24, 1971.

* Descendants of the above persons.

* Persons who came to Assam from Bangladesh between January 1, 1966 and March 25, 1971 and registered themselves with the Foreigner Regional Registration Office and declared by the Foreigner Tribunal as an Indian citizen.

* All Indian citizens, including their children and descendants, who have moved to Assam after March 24, 1971 would be eligible for inclusion in the updated NRC on producing proof of residence in any part of the country (outside Assam) as on March 24, 1971.

* Persons who can provide any of the admissible documents issued until March 24, 1971.

Newsletter of North Eastern Council

Union Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region Jitendra Singh recently released the third issue of the newsletter of the North Eastern Council (NEC). The newsletter highlighted some of the initiatives taken by the NEC from July 2018 to March 2019.

Highlights

* Since inception, the NEC has focused on improving connectivity in the region, which has been a major bottleneck for development activities.

* In its endeavour, the NEC has contributed immensely towards the improvement of inter-state connectivity. A total of 10,911 km of roads have been built with NEC funding.

* Till date, the NEC has supported the installation of 694.5 MW of power plants and construction of 9,202 circuit km of transmission and distribution lines.

* The NEC has undertaken development work in sectors such as education, health care, agriculture, horticulture and tourism.

* Eleven Inter-State Bus Terminus projects have been taken up across the region to facilitate inter-state movement of people. Nine of these have been completed and two are under construction in Meghalaya and Manipur.

* To facilitate the movement of essential goods, three Inter-State Truck Terminus (two in Assam and 1 in Nagaland) have been built.

* The NEC has contributed for the upgradation of aviation infrastructure. Improvement of facilities in five major airports (Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Imphal and Umroi) have been taken up in collaboration with the Airports Authority of India on a 60:40 basis. Construction of three hangars and an apron at the Guwahati airport and extension of the apron at Jorhat airport have been completed.

History of NEC

* The NEC was established under the North Eastern Council Act, 1971, as an apex level body for securing balanced and coordinated development and facilitating coordination with the states.

* Subsequent to the amendment of 2002, the NEC was mandated to function as a regional planning body for the region. While formulating a regional plan, it was mandated to prioritise schemes and projects benefiting two or more states provided that in the case of Sikkim, the council shall formulate specific projects and schemes for that state.

* The NEC implements various projects through state and central agencies. Under the new arrangement with the Union home minister as the chairman and DoNER minister as vice-chairman, the NEC and all the governors and chief ministers from the region as members would provide a forum for discussing inter-state matters more comprehensively and also consider common approaches to be taken in future.

* The NEC can now perform the tasks undertaken by various zonal councils to discuss inter-state issues such as drug trafficking, smuggling of arms and ammunition, boundary disputes etc.

* This repositioning will help it become a more effective body for the region.

* The NEC shall review the implementation of the projects and recommend effective measures for coordination among states. The NEC shall have such powers as may be delegated to it by the Union government.

Beekeeping committee submits report

The Beekeeping Development Committee set up by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister under the chairmanship of Bibek Debroy has submitted its report.

The panel was constituted with the aim of identifying ways of advancing beekeeping, which can help in improving agricultural productivity, enhancing employment generation, augmenting nutritional security and sustaining biodiversity. Beekeeping can also be an important contributor in achieving the 2022 target of doubling farmers’ income.

As per the Food and Agricultural Organisation, in 2017-18, India ranked eighth in the world in terms of honey production with 65,000 tonnes, while China stood first with 551,000 tonnes.

The report mentions that beekeeping cannot be restricted to honey and wax only; products such as pollen, propolis, royal jelly and bee venom are also marketable and can greatly help Indian farmers. Based on the area under cultivation and bee forage crops, India has the potential of housing about 200 million bee colonies as against 3.4 million bee colonies today. Increasing the number of bee colonies will not only increase the production of bee-related products, but also boost overall agricultural and horticultural productivity.

India’s recent efforts to improve the state of beekeeping have helped increase the volume of honey exports from 29,600 tonnes to 51,500 tonnes between 2014-15 and 2017-18 (as per data from National Bee Board and Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare). However, challenges persist and a lot more can be done to enhance the scope and scale of beekeeping.

The recommendations include…

* Recognising honeybees as inputs to agriculture and considering landless beekeepers as farmers.

* Plantation of bee-friendly flora at appropriate places and engaging women self-help groups in managing such plantations.

* Institutionalising the National Bee Board and renaming it as the Honey and Pollinators Board of India under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.

* Such a body would engage in advancing beekeeping through multiple mechanisms such as setting up of new Integrated Bee Development Centres, strengthening the existing ones, creating a honey price stabilisation fund and collection of data on important aspects of apiculture.

* Recognition of apiculture as a subject for advanced research under the aegis of Indian Council for Agricultural Research.

* Training and development of beekeepers by state governments.

* Development of national and regional infrastructure for storage, processing and marketing of honey and other bee products.

* Simplifying procedures and specifying clear standards for ease of exporting honey and other bee products.