Govt OKs 33% quota for women in CRPF, CISF





Reservation Only For Constables; 15% In BSF, SSB & ITBP

The government on Tuesday took an important step to improve gender equality in the paramilitary by approving reservation of 33% women at the constable rank in two major central paramilitary forces CRPF and CISF and also setting a 15% quota in BSF , SSB and ITBP .These forces together comprise of around nine lakh personnel of whom only around 20,000 are women as of now.The reservation will come into effect immediately . The decision was taken by home minister Rajnath Singh after a meeting on Tuesday , said sources.
“With a view to enhance representation of women in central armed police forces, home minister Rajnath Singh has approved 33% posts at constable level for being filled up by women,“ a MHA statement said. This reservation would be horizontal, it said.
The move came following the recommendation of the committee on empowerment of women in its sixth report that said there is an urgent need to provide due representation to women in paramilitary forces. The CRPF , mostly deployed in law and order du ties and anti-Naxal operations, has just about 6,300 women in its ranks.
The parliamentary standing committee on home affairs recently found that women personnel constitute only a little over 9% of the Delhi police force and asked the home ministry to ensure their numbers are enhanced up to 33 per cent.

Source::: Jan 06 2016 : The Times of India (Mumbai), page 14,

http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31804&articlexml=Govt-OKs-33-quota-for-women-in-CRPF-06012016012017

Girl edu in focus on Savitribai's birth anniv.





To focus attention on educating the girl child, the state education department has asked schools to celebrate the birth anniversary of social reformer Savitribai Phule, with a series of activities commemorating her work, until January 26.

According to a government resolution, schools have been asked to implement the `Lek Shikva Lek Vaachva' (educate the daughter, save the girl) programme, in keeping with the work done by Savitribai, wife of social reformer Jyotiba Phule, for women empowerment.

Some schools have been highlighting the work of famous women across various fields. “We wanted to tell the children about women at the forefront in various walks of life so that girls are motivated to be ambitious and make a name for themselves,“ said Veena Donwalkar, principal, Chattrapati Shivaji Vidyalaya in Dharavi.

Source::: Jan 06 2016 : The Times of India (Mumbai), page 13,

http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31804&articlexml=Girl-edu-in-focus-on-Savitribais-birth-anniv-06012016011038

Maha plans sops for dalit, tribal entrepreneurs


The Maharashtra government is mulling over providing special incentives for dalit and tribal entrepreneurs both in terms of preferential land allotment and financial support.
Among the incentives being considered is preferential land allotment within the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) segment in the MIDC zone. Also on the anvil is financial support from the state's social welfare and tribal fund and a separate investment fund within the Small Industries Development Bank of India.

“The state government is considering proposals sent by the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI) for entrepreneurs from the Scheduled Castes and Tribes. A final decision will be taken by the state cabinet,“ said industries secretary Apurva Chandra.

The DICCI has 3,000 members across the country , a third of which are in Maharashtra. It estimates that SC and ST entrepreneurs comprise over 14-15% of the entrepreneurs within the MSME segment in the country .

“This policy will play a crucial role in boosting the confidence of dalit entrepreneurs.The corporate world has been a major beneficiary of the government's policies and equity,“ said DICCI founder Milind Kamble, who runs MPK Enterprises. The body had been pursuing proposals with the state government over six months.

Kamble says he is hoping for a financial layout of at least Rs 90 crores for the scheme. “Andhra Pradesh and Telengana have taken the lead in this area but Karnataka, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh have also offered similar schemes,“ he said.

Among the proposals put forward by the DICCI is that land should be allotted to SC and ST entrepreneurs in proportion to their population in the state in MIDC, CIDCO and maritime areas. It has also suggested direct lending, credit guarantee scheme and fiscal incentives.

Source::: Jan 06 2016 : The Times of India (Mumbai), page 12,
http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31804&articlexml=Maha-plans-sops-for-dalit-tribal-entrepreneurs-06012016010005

`Depression drives maximum farmers to suicide, not debt'

Health Aid Likely To Benefit More Than Loan Waivers: Study
Depression, and not debts, is responsible for the decades-long tragedy of farmer suicides in Maharashtra, said a paper by an American thinktank after analysing suicide-related information provided by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
The paper, written by Brookings Institution India fellow and Indian School of Business Professor Shamika Ravi, held illnesses -both mental and physical -as the underlying cause for a majority of farmer suicides.

Ravi's research paper, `A Reality Check on Suicides in India', says suicides due to bankruptcy or sudden change in economic status accounted for an average of 5% of farmer suicides in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh between 2002 and 2013. “In shocking contrast, illness or poor health (mental and physical) accounts for approximately 30% of all (farmer) suicides in Andhra and Maharashtra. So health reforms at the state level and particularly in rural areas are likely to have a greater impact on distress and suicides than forgiving institutional loans,“ said the report.

The deaths have been a politically sensitive issue since the 90s, with successive state and central governments intervening to release crores to write off famers' debts. This September, for the first time in 15 years, the Maharashtra government announced a mental health bailout plan for farmers involving psychiatrists, pscyhologists and community health workers.

A study by Yavatmal-based psychiatrist Dr Ramesh Chak psychiatrist Dr Ramesh Chakkarwar showed that 10 to 12% farmers in his district suffered from severe depression and 50 to 55% suffered from mild to moderate depression. “Overall, 67% of farmers were in various stages of depression. The agrarian crisis worsened the depression among farmers, leading to suicides,'' he added. Chakkarwar saw a sharp rise in substance abuse and addiction in areas that reported high incidence of suicide.

Debts are one of the causes of suicides, but it's not the leading one, insisted the Brookings report. It dispelled the debt-related suicide theory by pointing out that the Incidence of Indebtedness (IOI) in Maharashtra (percentage of households that are in debt from institutional and non-institutional lenders) was 31% in 2013, the same as the country average and close to the IOI in Bihar (29.1%) and Uttar Pradesh (29.6%).

“Data from the National Statistics Survey Organisation (NSSO) suggests that debt burden measured as debt to asset ratio declines with increase in asset holding. So, it is the poorer households that have a higher debt burden. This is true for both institutional as well as non-institutional debt,'' said the study .

In contrast, the suicide data reported by the Maharashtra government indicates that the incidence of suicide is much higher for households with larger land holdings. Nearly 86% farmers who killed themselves in the state had more than two acres of landholding and 60% had more than four acres, said the report.

The report points out that a look at the number of suicides for categories of professions unrelated to farming or cultivation, like government service, private service, or among students, shows Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra have reported significantly higher number of suicides in each category compared to UP and Bihar. “So from a public policy per spective, if we are to design appropriate interventions to check he incidence of suicides, Maharashtra and AP should overall rank higher in targeting han UP and Bihar. And these nterventions should be for the arger population beyond the arming community in these states,'' said Ravi.

Psychiatrist Dr Harish Shet y said even if the state government wrote off all farmer debts, he suicides wouldn't stop. “The armers have lost confidence in hemselves and their ability to be providers for their families,'' he said, adding that a comprehensive plan looking at physical and mental health of the farmers is needed. “ At present, the suicide issue is analysed as a po itical and poverty matter, but here are several layers to the problem.“

Source::: Oct 08 2015 : The Times of India (Mumbai). p.06.   http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31804&articlexml=Depression-drives-maximum-farmers-to-suicide-not-debt-08102015004021

`90% of Indians taking online courses benefit'





Finally there is data reflecting the impact of massively open online courses (MOOCs). When they burst onto the education scene about four years ago, there were questions about the evaluation mechanism and the worth of a MOOC certificate. Coursera, one of the largest purveyors of MOOCs, has conducted the first survey of “learning outcomes“ --essentially impact on professional andor academic careers of learners--and it answers at least some of those questions.Surprisingly , as per the survey conducted by Coursera and researchers at the Universities of Pennsylvania and Washington, Indian learners of the 51,954 surveyed, reported better outcomes than the global average. The respondents were learners who were “three or more months past completing at least one Coursera course.“ They were divided into two groups according to their primary objective for signing up for a MOOC--the “career builders“ are those who sought to advance their professional careers and “education seekers“ those who wanted academic help.
“The vast majority of learners who complete open online courses are reporting both career advancement (72%) and educational advancement (61%). Indian learners have reported a slightly higher career (82%) and educational (76%) benefit than the global average,“ says the study . 90% of career builders saw benefits, where the global average was 87%. Apparently , 30% “found a new job“.
Similarly, 91% of Indian education seekers saw a range of benefits where the global average was 88%; 68% “gained knowledge essential to a field of study“, an 33% “saw tangible benefits like receiving credit or fulfilling prerequisites“. But more startlingly, “30% of Indian learners are likely to report improved admissions to academic programs, the highest amongst other nationals“.

The survey was completed in December 2014.

Source::: Sep 30 2015 : The Times of India (Mumbai), p.18,  http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31804&articlexml=90-of-Indians-taking-online-courses-benefit-30092015016073

Right to Services Bill

The Maharashtra Right to Services Bill was the significant Bill to be introduced in the state assembly.The government said the Bill is to create a right to obtain public services in a stipulated time; to mandate public authorities to notify the public services, designated officers, appellate authorities and stipulate time limit. The Bill also provides for giving a unique number so that the complaint can be tracked online. It provides for penalties and disciplinary action against officials who fail to deliver public services within a stipulated time limit while giving cash incentives for those who deliver in time. It also provides for action against citizens who obtain public services by providing false information.

Bill for regulated edu fee

The Bill introduced is for regulation of admission and fees charged by unaided private professional educational institutions in the state.

Source| Times of India | 09.04.2015 | p.02  http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/index.aspx?eid=31804&dt=20150409

No stamp duty on transfer of properties to spouse, kids





Mumbai: The state on Wednesday introduced a Bill amending the Maharashtra Stamp Act to scrap the stamp duty on transfer of residential or agricultural property to wife, husband, son, daughter, grandson and grand-daughter. At present, the stamp duty is 5% of the market value of the property . Revenue minister Eknath Khadse, who announced the relief last week, urged the assembly to ensure it is passed by both Houses before the session ends so that citizens do not have to wait for the relief.

Source| Times of India | 09.04.2015 | p.02  http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/index.aspx?eid=31804&dt=20150409