Human Rights

Human Rights

• 1215 - Magna Carta, world first document to con tain Human Rights.
• 1864-1949 - Genevral Convention on Human Rights.
• 1948 - Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• 1948 - United Nations Commission on Human Rights was set up.
• 2005 - United Nations Human Rights Commission was founded.
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a non-binding declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. UDHR urges member nations to promote a number of human, civil, economic and social rights.
• The Commission on Human Rights had drafted the International Bill of Human Rights and it was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948 as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• 10 December is globally celebrated as Human Rights Day.

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UNHRC

The United Nations Human Rights Council was founded in 2005. It was founded to replace the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.

• UNHRC is a subsidiary body of the United Nations General Assembly and reports directly to it.
• UNHRC has fifty-three members out of total members of the United Nations General Assembly. Its members are elected by simple majority in a secret ballot of the United Nations General Assembly. Its Members are elected for the term of six years.
• UNHRC has its headquarter at Geneva.
• UNHRC can appoint independent experts to investigate alleged human rights abuses and to provide the council reports.
• UNHRC may request that the Security Council take action when human right violations occurs, this action may be direct action, or may involve sanctions and Security Council may also refer cases to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
• Besides UNHRC. Amnesty International and Red Cross Society also works for the protection and pro-motion of human rights internationally.

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National Human Rights Commission

• The National Human Rights Commission is a statutory body in India which came into existence through the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 and came into force in 1994.
• The protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 provides for setting up the National Human Rights Commission at the centre as well as one commission each at the state level.

Composition of NHRC
Chairperson - Hon’ble Justice Shri S.Rajendra Babu
Members - Hon’ble Dr. Justice Shivraj V. Patil Hon’ble Justice Y. Bhaskar Rao, Shri. R.S.Kalha, Shri. P.C. Sharma
Ex-officio-Members - Chairman, National Minorities Commission Chairman, National Commission for Women, Chairman, National Commis-sion for SCs & STs.
The National Human Rights Commission is designed to protect human rights, defined as rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the constitution or embodied in the International Covenant and which are enforceable by the Courts in India.
Composition

• National Human Rights Commission consists of a chairman and four members, all of them being full-time members.
• Apart from there full-time members, the commission also has its deemed members as the chairpersons of the National Commission for minorities, the National Commission for SCs and STs and the National Commission for women.
• The multi-membership is intended to rainforce the independence and impartiality of the commission of the five members including the chairperson, three are to possess high-level judicial background and the remaining must have knowledge of or practical experience in matters relating to Human Rights.
• The Chairman of NHRC must be a former Chief Justice of India.

Functioning of NHRC

• NHRC can intervene in any legal proceedings involving an allegation of violation of Human Rights.
• It can visit, with the prior approval of the State Government, any jail to study the living conditions of the inmates and make recommendations.
• It can review the safeguards provided by or under the constitution or any law for the protection of Human Rights and recommend measures for their effective implementation.
• The Commission also reviews the factors including acts of terrorism, that inhibit the enjoyment of Human Rights and recommends remedial measures.
• NHRC also undertakes and promotes research in the field of Human Rights.
• If encourages the NGOs working in the field of Human Rights.

Autonomy of the NHRC

• Appointment of its numbers for fixed tenure.
• The Chairperson and the members is of the commission are appointed by the president on the bass of recommendations of a committee comprising the Prime Minister as the Chairperson, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Home Minister, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and the Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha as members.

Domestic Violence Act, 2005

The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 which is popularly known as Domestic Violence Act, 2005 was enacted by the Parliament on 13th September 2005 and came into effect on 26th October 2006. It is a comprehensive Act which is primarily meant to provide protection to the wife or female live-in partner from violence at the hands of the husband or male live-in partner or his relatives.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACT, 2005

• The protection of women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005.
• Enacted by Parliament on 13th September, 2005.
• Come into effect on 26th October, 2006.
• It intends to provide protection to the wife or female live-in partner from violence at the hands of the husbands or male live-in partner or his relatives.
• It also extends its protection to women who are sisters, widows or mothers.
• Child abuse is also included in it.
• Harrassment by way of dowry demand is included under it as an offence.
• Act provides for the appointment of protection officers by the Government to help the victims.
• Puishment of one years maximum imprisonment and Twnety thousand rupees each or both to the offenders is mentioned
• The Domestic Violence Act, 2005 is to extend its protection to women who are sisters, widows or mothers.
• Domestic violence under the Domestic Violence Act 2005, includes actual abuse or the threat of abuse whether physical, sexual, verbal, emotional or economical.
• Harassment by way of unlawful dowry demands to the women or her relatives would also be covered under this act as an offence.

Main features of the Domestic Violence Act, 2005

1. Domestic Violence Act, 2005 widens the scope of the term women and also violence or abuse to them. The Act now covers women who are or have been in a relationship with the abuser where both parties have lived together in a shared household and are related by consanguineous marriage or a relationship in the nature of marriage, or adoption in addition relation-ship with family members living together as a joint family are also included. Sisters, widows, mothers, single women or living with the abuser are entitled to get legal protection under this Act.
2. The Definition of Domestic Violence has been modified under this Act and it includes actual abuse or the threat of abuse that is physical, sexual, verbal, emotional and economic and further harassment by way of unlawful dowry demands to the woman or her relatives would also be covered under this definition.
3. Right to Secure Housing is one of the most important features of the Domestic Violence Act, 2005. The Act provides for the woman’s right to reside in the matrimonial or shared household, whether or not she has any title or rights in the household. This right is secured by a residence order, which is passed by a court.
4. Under the Act, court can pass protection orders that prevent the abuser from aiding or committing an act of domestic violence or any other specified act, entering a workplace or any other place frequented by the abused, attempting to communicate with the abused, isolating any assets used by both the parties and causing violence to the abused, her relatives and others who provide her assistance from the domestic violence.
5. Domestic Violence Act, 2005, provides for appointment of protection officers and NGOs to provide assistance to the woman for medical examina tion, legal aid and safe Shelter.
6. Domestic Violence Act, 2005, provides for breach of protection order or interim protection order by the respondent as a cognisable and non-bailable offence punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine which may extend to twenty thousand rupees or with both. Non-compliance or discharge of duties by the protection officer is also sought to be made an offence under the Act with similar punishment.
7. Domestic Violence Act, 2005 has covered the legal loophole in the Justice delivery system for women in India, presently, where a woman is subjected to cruelty by her husband or his relatives. It is an offence under Section 498A of the IPC. The civil law does not, however address this issue in its entirety. Therefore, it was necessary to enact a law, keeping in view the rights guaranteed under articles 14, 15 and 21 in the Constitution of India to provide for a remedy under the Civil Law, which is intended to protect the women from being victims of domestic violence and to prevent the occurrence of domestic violence in the society. This Act is an important step in that direction.

Right to Information Act, 2005

Right to Information Act is a revolutionary step in the direction of making the system of governance and administration transparent and accountable to the people in India.

• RTI Act, 2005, was passed by the Parliament on 15th June 2005.
• The Parliament repealed the Freedom of Information Act, 2002.
• RTI Act, 2005, came into force on October 12, 2005.
• Right to Information Act 2005, is to extend to whole of India except the State of Jammu & Kashmir.

Composition of CIC

• Central Chief Information Commissioner - Shri Satyananda Mishra.
• Central Information Commissioners - Annapurna Dixit, Shailesh Gandhi, M.L. Sharma, Mrs. Deepak Sandhu, Mrs. Sushma Singh
• Chief Information Commissioner.
• Central Information Commissioners as required, but, should not be more than 10.
• RTI, confers upon the citizens of India the legal right to seek any information regarding public work public record, documents, memos, contracts, reports, data and any other matter of public importance from the public authority within prescribed time limit through the stipulated procedure of depositing specified amount of fee and writing application to the appropriate authority.
• Public authority means any body or institution of self-government established or constituted by or under the Constitution, by any other law made by the Parliament, by any other law made by State Legislature, any body setup by the government by notification and any NGO substantially owned or financed by the government.
• The public authorities are required to appoint Public Information Officers to provide Informatioin to the people within 30 days of submission of application.
• Information on certain matters and from certain agencies are being excluded from the purview of RTI, these are as follows -

1. Information regarding ‘File notings’.
2. Information, disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interest of the state, in relation with any foreign state.
3. Information from Securities and Intelligence agencies, infomation regarding privelege of Parliament and Legislative Assemblies, information which has been expressly forbidden to be published by any Court of Law or tribunal or the disclosure of which may constitute contempt of court.

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Central Information Commission

• Right to Information Act, 2005, provides that the Central Government is to constitute a body to be known as the Central Information Commission to exercise the powers on it and to perform the function mentioned under this Act.
• The headquarters of the CIC, is to be at Delhi and CIC may, with the previous approval of the Central Government, establish offices at other places.

Appointment
The Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners are to be appointed by the President of India on the recommendation of a committee consisting of -

1. The Prime Minister, who is to be the Chairman of the Committee.
2. The leader of opposition in Lok Sabha.
3. A Union Cabinet Minister to be nominated by the Prime Minister.

Qualification, Term of Office and Condition of Service

• The Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners are to be persons of eminence in public life with wide knowledge and experience in Law, Science and Technology, Social Service, Management, Journalism, Mass Media or Administration and Governance.
• The CIC and ICs should not be a Member of Parliament or Member of the Legislative of any State or UT, as the case may be, or hold any other office of profit or connected with any political party or carrying on any business or pursuing any profession.
• The Chief Information Commissioner is to hold office for a term of five years or upto 65 years from the date on which he enters upon his office and is not to be eligible for reappointment.
• Every Information Commissioner is to hold office for a term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office or till he attains the age of sixty-five years, whichever is earlier and not to be eligible for reappointment as such Information Com-missioner though he could be Chief Information Commissioner.
• The CIC and ICs before entering upon their offices are to make and subscribe before the President an oath or affirmation according to the form set up in the Act.
• The Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners may at any time, by writing under his hand addressed to the President, resign from his office. Besides, the Chief Information Com-missioner or an Information Commissioner may be removed in the manner specified under the Act.

 The salaries and allowances payable to and other terms and conditioins of service of –

1. The Chief Information Commissioner is to be the same as that of the Chief Election Commissioner.
2. The Information Commissioner is to be the same as that of an Election Commissioner.

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State Information Commissions

The Right to Information Act, 2005, mentions that every State Government is to constitute a body to be known as the Information Commission to exercise the powers conferred on, and to perform the functions as-signed to it under the RTI Act.
Appointment
The State Chief Information Commissioner and the State Information Commissioners are to be appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of a committee consisting of -
Composition

• The State Chief Information Commissioiner.
• The State Information Commissioners who should not be more than 10 number.
• Headquarter of State Information Commission is to be at such place in the State which the State Government may specify or the State Information Commission may with the previous approval of the State Government establish offices at other places in state

1. The Chief Minister, who shall be the chairperson of the committee.
2. The leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly.
3. A Cabinet Minister to be nominated by the Chief Minister.

The State Chief Information Commissioner is to supervise and manage the affairs of the State Information Commission and is to be assisted by the State Information Commissioners.
Qualification and Terms of office and Conditions of service

• The State Chief Information Commissioner and the State Information Commissioners are to be persons of eminence in public life with wide knowledge and experience in Law, Science and Technology, Social Service, Management, Journalism, Mass Media or Administration and Governance.
• The State Chief Information Commissioner or a State Information Commissioner are not to be a member of Parliament or member of State Legislative Assembly of any State or UT of hold any other office of profit or connected with any political party or carrying on any business or pursuing any profession.
• The State Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners are to hold office for five years or upto 65 years of age.
• The State Chief Information Commissioner and State Information Commissioner are required to take oath before the Governor of the State.
• The salaries and allowances payable to and other terms and conditions of service of the State Chief Information Commissioner is to be same as that of an Election Commissioner and of the State Information Commissioners same as that of the Chief Secretary to the State Government.
• The State Chief Information Commissioner or a State Information Commissioner may resign from his office by writing under his address to the Governor and can be removed from his office by the order of the Governor on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity after the Supreme Court, on a reference made to it by the Governor has on inquiry, reported that the grounds are valid.

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Powers and Functions of the Information Commissions

• The Central Information Commission or State Information Commission are empowered to receive and inquire into a complaint from any person who could not get information from any public authority due to the reason of no appointment of PIO in that organisation.
• If the made request by any person for Information has been turned down by the public authority.
• If the information seeker could not get information within the time limit specified under RTI.
• If the demanded fee by the public authority for providing information is unreasonably high.
• If the information seeker thinks that he or she has been given incomplete, misleading or false information.

• In respect of any other matter relating to requesting or obtainng access to records under this Act.
• The Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer as the case may be is to be provided a reasonable opportunity of being heard before any penalty is imposed on him.
• Burden of proving shall be upon the Information Officers.
• No suit is to be laid against any person for anything done in good faith.
• The provision of this Act are to have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in the Official Secrets Act, 1923.
• The Right to Information Act has been continously used by the active and aware member of Civil Society to expose corrupt practices in the administration and misappropriation of funds sanctioned for the execution of public welfare schemes.
• Mrs. Aruna Roy, a social activist and winner of Magsaysay Award is actively associated with the task of popularising Right to Information Act among the common people of the country.
• Arvind Kejriwal, won the Magaseysay Award for popularising Right to Information Act among the masses.

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Two State Solution for the Palestine-Israel Conflict

It seem Israel and Palestine conflict will never get resolved. Thousands of innocent people have been killed on both the sides in last 6 - 7 decades. Israel is militarily far superior and has backing of most of the western nations, especially the USA. Palestine lacks superior military hardware and it's economy is very weak. Palestine is supported by the Arab countries but merely in words [and that too always politically correct due to fear of the western powers]. The modern state of Israel came to existence on 18 May 1948. It is an artificial creation of winning powers of the world war 2, especially the United Kingdom. The genocide of the Jews by the Nazi Germany was one of the most horrendous crime. Before the creation of the State of Israel the Jews were a stateless nation. They were discriminated in all the countries. The Jews needed a permanent home of their own. The land of Israel is claimed to be their historical home. That's why a large number of the Jews wanted to settle in the land of Israel [Palestine]. But the Palestinian people call it an illegal state. They say Israel has no right to exist on Palestinian land. According to them the Zionists have occupied their land.

The winning powers of the world war 2 wanted to keep the West Asia under their control perpetual control. The defeated and divided the Ottoman empire in the first world war. Most of the countries of this region are an artificial creation of the Allies. The Holy Land, Petroleum, Suez Canal, Strategic location of these countries at the centre of the world, desire to control the Muslim world, etc are the main reasons for their interest in this region. Israel is their key to this region, a foothold from where they can keep whole of of West Asia under their dominance. And Palestine is the symbolic protest of the Arab countries against the continued hold of the western powers. Some may call it the clash of the civilizations, some may call it petro-politics, same may call it geo-politics, but it is only a mindless stubbornness in which innocent including children, hapless women, old and destitute are being  killed. People on both the sides want to live in peace but due to the  politicians and foreign powers they are living a life of fear. Rockets and bombs are destroying schools, hospitals, homes on both the sides. There is a continuous cycle of attack and counter attack, allegations and counter-allegations. 

The innocent people are paying the price for the stubbornness of their political masters. Both the countries have a right to exist. The Zionist state could have been set up in the empty land of Canada, Falklands, Australia, Siberia etc. But since majority of the Zionist people wanted to settle in their Holy  Land and most of them had already arrived there, the state of Israel was created  here only. But the total size of the land is very small, making it very difficult to defend. Israel is surrounded by hostile Arab countries. Between 1945-1995 about 74000 military personnel and 18000 civilians have lost their life in Arab-Israel conflict. Their is complete deadlock. Occasionally their are talks of resolving the issue through peaceful means but due to deep rooted mistrusted such talks soon break down. 

It is in the interest of both the nations to accept each other's right to exist. What has already happened cannot be undo. Neither Britain and America [or any other western power] is a well-wisher of the Israeli people nor the fellow Arab countries are genuinely interested in the welfare of the Palestinian  people. If it would have not been so then the western powers would have had granted land for the Zionist people in a conflict free area as mentioned above. It is true that the Arab countries have supported the Palestinian resistance movement but they had their own national interest behind such actions [read war]. The USA has given continued support to the Zionist state but not because it wants so but because of the powerful Zionist lobby. 

Israel Palestine Peace- Two state solution

There are two possible solutions. Two state or a secular federal state. The Zionist state and the Palestinian state can co-exist. There should be two separate states, each honoring other's right to exist. However at present the Palestinian state is divided in enclaves. Israel has very little land. Creating two states in such a tiny piece of land is nonviable. So their is an option of a secular federal democratic republic where both the communities will have equal share of power. However this one is quite difficult to achieve as both of them have different socio-religious beliefs and differing opinions on many matters. It will be very difficult to run such a country. There will be continuous mistrust on both the sides. 

If the two state solution is implemented then it has to be guaranteed by both the states they will honor each other's sovereignty and will not let their respective land to be used against the other. Major regional powers like Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the USA, the UK,the EU,Russia, China,India, etc should also be involved in this process. Israel-Palestine peace is important for peace in the West Asia. It is necessary for upholding human rights of innocent people. It is important for world peace. Two state solution for the Israel-Palestine conflict seems to be the best possible solution. But it requires genuine interest and will power of the both sides to make it a possible and a success.

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EUROPEAN UNION (EU)

The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 28 member states that are primarily located in Europe. The EU operates through a system of supranational independent institutions and intergovernmental negotiated decisions by the member states.  Institutions of the EU include the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the European Council, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Central Bank, the Court of Auditors, and the European Parliament.

The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Economic Community (EEC), formed by the Inner Six countries. The Maastricht Treaty established the European Union under its current name in 1993. The latest major amendment to the constitutional basis of the EU, the Treaty of Lisbon, came into force in 2009.

The EU has developed a single market through a standardized system of laws that apply in all member states. Within the Schengen Area, passport controls have been abolished. EU policies aim to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital, enact legislation in justice and home affairs, and maintain common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries, and regional development.

The monetary union was established in 1999 and came into full force in 2002. It is currently composed of 18 member states that use the euro as their legal tender. The union maintains permanent diplomatic missions throughout the world and represents itself at the United Nations, the WTO, the G8, and the G-20.

The six countries signed the Treaty of Rome, which extended the earlier co-operation within the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and created the European Economic Community (EEC), establishing a customs union. They also signed another treaty on the same day creating the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) for co-operation in developing nuclear energy.

Four countries forming the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) have partly committed to the EU’s economy and regulations: Iceland (a candidate country for EU membership), Liechtenstein and Norway, which are a part of the single market through the European Economic Area, and Switzerland, which has similar ties through bilateral treaties.

The European Union has seven institutions: the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, the European Commission, the European Council, the European Central Bank, the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Auditors.

The EU has five key points in its energy policy: increase competition in the internal market, encourage investment and boost interconnections between electricity grids; diversify energy resources with better systems to respond to a crisis; establish a new treaty framework for energy co-operation with Russia while improving relations with energy-rich states in Central Asia and North Africa; use existing energy supplies more efficiently while increasing renewable energy commercialization; and finally increase funding for new energy technologies.

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Types of Trade agreements

PTA

1. Preferential trade agreements
2. lower customs duty on the products originating from the member countries.

FTA

1. Free Trade Agreements
2. It is a special case of PTA where all tariff and non-tariff barriers are abolished
3. free access is allowed to the products of member countries.
4. Example NAFTA (among Mexico, US and Canada).

Customs Union

1. A Customs Union moves beyond a free trade area by establishing a common external tariff on all trade between, members and non-members.
2. Customs Unions typically contain mechanisms to redistribute tariff revenue among members
3. Example: Mercosur

Common Market

1. free flow labour, capital, and output (goods/services) among the members.
2. Example, SICA (in Central America)

Economic union

1. members share a common currency and macro-economic policies (Example European Union).
2. Example, European Union.

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13th ANNUAL INDIA-RUSSIA SUMMIT

Venue: New Delhi

• The Indian side was led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh while the Russian delegation was led by the visiting President Vladimir V. Putin
• Setting aside their differences over civil nuclear cooperation and Russian telecom giant Sistema’s investment, India and Russia have signed two key defence deals worth about Rs 25,000 crore for the supply of 42 new Su-30 MKI combat aircraft and 71 Mi-17V5 helicopters to India.
• The two countries also inked other agreements in fields, such as space, trade and investment, science and technology, education and culture, reinforcing the strong dynamics of their time-tested friendship.

 NEW ACCORD ON CIVIL NUCLEAR ENERGY:

• Under the new accord, Russia has committed that it would build another nuclear power plant in Koodankulam (Tamil Nadu) where it has already set up two plants for generating nuclear energy.
• The new plant will have a capacity of producing 1000 mw of nuclear energy every year. As a result, India’s nuclear energy generating capacity will go up to over 20,000 mw.

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INDO-FRENCH TIES

• The visit to New Delhi by French President Francois Hollande, for the first time to any Asian capital after he came to power in May last year, was a significant development.
• It came after India supported the French military action in Mali to restore the government’s authority.
• The deals for the Rafale aircraft and the Maitri surface-to-air missiles, for which negotiations have been completed, will mark a new beginning in Indo-French relations as these two defence items will be co-produced in India.
• The two countries have decided to establish an annual dialogue between their Finance Ministers to boost bilateral economic relationship.
• On Afghanistan, the two sides expressed commitment to the key principles for a peaceful inter-afghan dialogue: acceptance of the Afghan Constitution, renunciation to violence and breaking links with terrorism.
• France is among the countries which agreed to go in for nuclear trade with India soon after the India-US civilian nuclear deal
• The French are committed to building six next generation European pressurized reactors at Jaitapur.
• France has always been a supporter of India’s case of becoming a permanent member of the United Nations Security council.

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FLAG MEET WITH CHINA

• A second flag meeting between India and China to sort out the issue of intrusion by Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in northern Ladakh remained inconclusive even as the two countries traded charges against each other.
• Delhi reminded Beijing that the act of its troops of not moving back was a violation of an‘operational’ agreement signed between the two nations in April 2005. The flag meeting was held between Brigadier-level officers at Chushul in eastern Ladakhalong the LAC.

 

CURRENT STANDOFF:

• The current standoff is a result of Chinese intrusion in the Daulat Beg Oldie sector

 BORDER FACE-OFF:

• The Indian side proposed that troops on either side withdraw to the pre-incursion location at the second flag meet
• This was not agreeable to China, who, in turn, accused India of getting aggressive in the Daulat Beg Oldie sector in northern Ladakh
• Chinese troops had on April 15 pitched a tent around 8 km inside the LAC in the Raki Nallah area in northern Ladakh

 BEIJING’S OLD WAYS:

• The current incursion, wherein a tent has been pitched in Indian territory, is the first such incident in Ladakh after 1962
• In 1987, Chinese troops had resorted to a similar exercise at Sum Dorong Chu, north of Tawang in Arunachal. India had ramped up its forces and then withdrawn. China still holds that territory

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Doing Business Report 2013

The Doing Business Project provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 185 economies and selected cities at the sub-national and regional level.

The Doing Business Project, launched in 2002, looks at domestic small and medium-size companies and measures the regulations applying to them through their life cycle.

By gathering and analyzing comprehensive quantitative data to compare business regulation environments across economies and over time, Doing Business encourages countries to compete towards more efficient regulation; offers measurable benchmarks for reform; and serves as a resource for academics, journalists, private sector researchers and others interested in the business climate of each country.

In addition, Doing Business offers detailed sub-national reports, which exhaustively cover business regulation and reform in different cities and regions within a nation. These reports provide data on the ease of doing business, rank each location, and recommend reforms to improve performance in each of the indicator areas. Selected cities can compare their business regulations with other cities in the country or region and with the 185 economies that Doing Business has ranked.

The first Doing Business report, published in 2003, covered 5 indicator sets and 133 economies. This year’s report covers 11 indicator sets and 185 economies.

Doing Business captures several important dimensions of the regulatory environment as they apply to local firms. It provides quantitative measures of regulations for starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity,  registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading  across borders, enforcing contracts and  resolving insolvency. Doing Business also looks at regulations on employing workers. Pending further progress on research in this area, this year’s report does not present rankings of economies on the employing workers indicators or include the topic in the aggregate ranking on the ease of doing business. It does present the data on the employing workers indicators.

The economies that rank highest on the ease of doing business are not those where there is no regulation—but those where governments have managed to create rules that facilitate interactions in the marketplace without needlessly hindering the development of the private sector. In essence, Doing Business is about smart business regulations, not necessarily fewer regulations.

In constructing the indicators the Doing Business project uses 2 types of data. The first come from readings of laws and regulations in each economy

Key findings:

a) Singapore topped the global ranking on the ease of doing business for the seventh consecutive year, followed by Hong Kong SAR, China,; New Zealand; the United States; and Denmark.

b) Georgia was a new entrant to the top 10.

c) Poland was the global top improver in the past year. It enhanced the ease of doing business through four institutional or regulatory reforms, making it easier to register property, pay taxes, enforce contracts, and resolve insolvency.

d) Besides Poland, nine other economies are recognized as having the most improved ease of doing business across several areas of regulation as measured by the report: Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Burundi, Costa Rica, Mongolia, Greece, Serbia, and Kazakhstan.

e) The WB's report has ranked Sri Lanka at 81st, Maldives at 95th, Pakistan at 107th, Nepal 108th, India 132nd, Bangladesh 129th, Bhutan 148th and Afghanistan 168th in the 185 economies of the world.

f) Worldwide, 108 economies implemented 201 regulatory reforms in 2011/12 making it easier to do business as measured by Doing Business. Reform efforts globally have focused on making it easier to start a new business, increasing the efficiency of tax administration and facilitating trade across international borders. Of the 201 regulatory reforms recorded in the past year, 44% focused on these 3 policy areas alone. 

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Pan- African e-network project

India, in a joint initiative with the African Union, has launched the Pan-African e-network project, which will support tele-education, telemedicine, e-commerce, e-governance, infotainment, resource-mapping and meteorological services.

This project provides seamless and integrated satellite, fibre optics and wireless network, that connects 53 learning centres, 53 Remote Hospitals, 5 Regional Universities, and 5 Regional Hospitals spread all over Africa. From India 7 leading Universities and 12 Super Speciality Hospitals will provide the expert domain services through Tele-education and Tele-medicine respectively.

Phase 1 of Pan –African e-Network project was inaugurated by Hon’ble Mr.Pranab Mukherjee on 26th February 2009 whereas Phase 2 of Pan African e-Network project was inaugurated on 16th August 2010 by Hon’ble  Mr.S.M.Krishna.

Tele Medicine

The Tele-Medicine connectivity will enable 12 Super Specialty Hospitals to provide expert services to 53 Remote Hospitals that are equipped with the medical equipments such as Electro-Cardio-Gram (ECG), Ultra Sound, and pathology and X-Ray at each location.

Each remote location are to be equipped with Tele-Medicine hardware, camera and software. The software will be an integrated package capable of managing the patients, storing and forwarding the medical records and analyzing digitally signed prescription for advice to the remote patients.  Any doctor from any of the remote locations can refer the patient`s medical records to any of the Super Specialty Hospital and have a Tele-Medicine video session for live diagnosis and advice by the doctors on a scheduled time in association with the provider, Super Specialty Hospital, and the receiver and the Remote Tele-Medicine center.

Tele Education

The Tele-Education connectivity will enable 5 African Regional Leading Universities to be connected to the Hub via a 2mbbs broadband/VSAT (forward/uplink 2mbps/Return/downlink 512kbps) to 53 Remote Virtual Classes distributed in all the 53 countries.

Seven universities from India are connected via IPLC to the Hub located in Africa. India hosted a Tele-Education LMS portal comprising the university Tele-Education delivery system software that will incorporate the e-Learning, content management KMS (knowledge Management System) and digital library solutions for each university as an integrated package. All information about courses, Universities and learning Centers in India can be accessed from the portal.

Access to the Tele-Education will be possible from anywhere with an Internet connection for other registered student/users. Online and offline lecture sessions will be provided under the Tele-Education network. After a live session, the session will be recorded in a knowledge management system for offline Access.  The content management software will be flexible, scalable, and configurable. The African Universities will be able to configure and generate their own local content designed for local need. 

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