E-toll mop up rises 540 times as FASTags sell like hot cakes
Dipak Dash
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New Delhi:
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Demonetisation of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes has pushed toll payment through electronic mode rather than in cash, something the highways ministry failed to do in the past two years. In the past 20 days, toll collection through electronic mode increased by at least 540 times, according to NHAI data.Even the sale of FASTags, acommon tag that can be used across all toll plazas on NHs, has increased from only 1,462 on December 1 to 5,635 on December 20. The average daily sale of these tags is around 3,223. Since its launch two years back, the banks responsible for popularising the use of these tags had sold only 1.08 lakh tags till November 30.The toll collection through electronic mode went up from Rs 65,897 on December 3 to nearly Rs 3.58 crore on December 21, NHAI said.
“The numbers will in crease significantly next month. Now four banks -ICICI, Axis, IDFC and SBI -are selling tags. They will reach out to bulk buyers in a big way.What we need to do is increase the number of lanes that can process the tags to deduct toll,“ said an NHAI official.
Though at present, highway operators are also collecting user charges using point of sale machines, the aim is to convert more people to use FASTags, which enable vehicles to pass through toll lanes without stopping. According to estimates, toll plazas in India will be congestion-free when 60-70% users pay toll through electronic mode.
The proposal of large scale use of smart tags was first mooted in June 2010 and a pilot run was conducted in August 2012. But it did not get enough attention until recently .
Besides reducing the processing time, use of smart tags ensures no leakage in toll collection as all records are captured electronically .
“The numbers will in crease significantly next month. Now four banks -ICICI, Axis, IDFC and SBI -are selling tags. They will reach out to bulk buyers in a big way.What we need to do is increase the number of lanes that can process the tags to deduct toll,“ said an NHAI official.
Though at present, highway operators are also collecting user charges using point of sale machines, the aim is to convert more people to use FASTags, which enable vehicles to pass through toll lanes without stopping. According to estimates, toll plazas in India will be congestion-free when 60-70% users pay toll through electronic mode.
The proposal of large scale use of smart tags was first mooted in June 2010 and a pilot run was conducted in August 2012. But it did not get enough attention until recently .
Besides reducing the processing time, use of smart tags ensures no leakage in toll collection as all records are captured electronically .
Govt launches e-hub for farming sector
New Delhi
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
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The agriculture ministry on Wednesday launched an ICAR data centre -connecting 274 specialised institutions and universities -which will act as an information hub for the farm sector and eventually link the rural population with high speed internet network .The centrewill cater to research institutions by providing consultancy , project management, training and other value-added services.“This data centre of ICAR will play an important role in promoting the `Digital India Campaign' in the agriculture sector. The campaign aims at providing electronic services while reducing the requirements of paper,“ said agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh.
He said, “Many have expressed doubts about our production data.The new ICAR data centre will provide transparent and accurate data“. His remarks came in the backdrop of doubt over the government's production data in certain quarters. Traders of farm produce have recently questioned the wheat production estimate of 93.55 million tonnes for 2015-16 crop year, saying the actual output was around 86 million tonnes.
A mobile app for `Krishi Vigyan Kendra' was also launched.
He said, “Many have expressed doubts about our production data.The new ICAR data centre will provide transparent and accurate data“. His remarks came in the backdrop of doubt over the government's production data in certain quarters. Traders of farm produce have recently questioned the wheat production estimate of 93.55 million tonnes for 2015-16 crop year, saying the actual output was around 86 million tonnes.
A mobile app for `Krishi Vigyan Kendra' was also launched.
No fresh approval for cocktail drugs
Rupali Mukherjee
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Mumbai:
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Violations May Invite Criminal Prosecution
The government has reiterated that no fresh approval should be granted by state licensing authorities to companies for manufacturing “cocktail“ therapies, thus tightening the noose around “irrational and unsafe“ fixed-dose combination (FDC) drugs.Recently , two licences for FDC drugs, issued by Uttarakhand and Daman, were cancelled, official sources said.
This comes even as the government prepares for its legal fight against the pharmaceutical industry by filing an appeal in the Supreme Court against the Delhi high court's December 1 order that overturned the health ministry's ban on 344 FDCs. While the controversy has been raging for the past few months, there have been close to a dozen FDC launches, mostly by small pharma companies, in the diabetic, dermatology , respiratory and anti-infective categories (see graphic).
An FDC drug is a cocktail of two or more active drug ingredients in a fixed ratio of doses.Under the law, a combi nation drug is a `new' drug, and should undergo stringent clinical studies to prove it is safe and efficacious.
In one of the strictest directives yet, the health ministry and the Drugs Controller General have communicated that product approvals given to fixed-dose combinations by state licensing authorities will be deemed illegal and render them liable to criminal prosecution, sources added.
In March, the government had banned common combination medicines, including Crocin Cold & Flu, D-Cold Total, Sumo, Oflox, Chericof, Kofnil, Dolo Cold, Decoff, O2, dermatology drug Panderm Plus, gastro-intestinal drug Zenflox and cough syrups Phensedyl and Corex. The notification included medicines “likely to involve risk to human beings“, where safer alternatives to the drug are available, and which were found to have “no therapeutic justification“.
Since the ban would have caused a huge loss to the industry, eroding value of thousands of crores, pharma companies went to court and finally managed to get it quashed in the Delhi high court.
FDCs have faced flak over the years, with the drug regulator directing states to stop giving licences and ban some of them.The popularity of FDCs has been driven by advantages of better compliance, reduced cost and the perception of improved efficacy (without adequate scientific data), in dustry experts say . C M Gulhati, editor of medical journal `Monthly Index of Medical Specialities', who has been championing the use of safe and rational medicines over the decades, had earlier told TOI: “Not a single drug combination (from the banned list) is marketed in any of the developed markets like the US, the UK, Australia, Canada and Ireland.
“Unfortunately , the entry of fiercely competitive drug manufacturers and greed for profits, aided... by a lax regulatory system, continued to overpower medical science, with the result that over 900 irrational FDCs have been introduced here.“ Developed countries, on the other hand, have approved just over 200 rational FDCs after intense scrutiny.
This comes even as the government prepares for its legal fight against the pharmaceutical industry by filing an appeal in the Supreme Court against the Delhi high court's December 1 order that overturned the health ministry's ban on 344 FDCs. While the controversy has been raging for the past few months, there have been close to a dozen FDC launches, mostly by small pharma companies, in the diabetic, dermatology , respiratory and anti-infective categories (see graphic).
An FDC drug is a cocktail of two or more active drug ingredients in a fixed ratio of doses.Under the law, a combi nation drug is a `new' drug, and should undergo stringent clinical studies to prove it is safe and efficacious.
In one of the strictest directives yet, the health ministry and the Drugs Controller General have communicated that product approvals given to fixed-dose combinations by state licensing authorities will be deemed illegal and render them liable to criminal prosecution, sources added.
In March, the government had banned common combination medicines, including Crocin Cold & Flu, D-Cold Total, Sumo, Oflox, Chericof, Kofnil, Dolo Cold, Decoff, O2, dermatology drug Panderm Plus, gastro-intestinal drug Zenflox and cough syrups Phensedyl and Corex. The notification included medicines “likely to involve risk to human beings“, where safer alternatives to the drug are available, and which were found to have “no therapeutic justification“.
Since the ban would have caused a huge loss to the industry, eroding value of thousands of crores, pharma companies went to court and finally managed to get it quashed in the Delhi high court.
FDCs have faced flak over the years, with the drug regulator directing states to stop giving licences and ban some of them.The popularity of FDCs has been driven by advantages of better compliance, reduced cost and the perception of improved efficacy (without adequate scientific data), in dustry experts say . C M Gulhati, editor of medical journal `Monthly Index of Medical Specialities', who has been championing the use of safe and rational medicines over the decades, had earlier told TOI: “Not a single drug combination (from the banned list) is marketed in any of the developed markets like the US, the UK, Australia, Canada and Ireland.
“Unfortunately , the entry of fiercely competitive drug manufacturers and greed for profits, aided... by a lax regulatory system, continued to overpower medical science, with the result that over 900 irrational FDCs have been introduced here.“ Developed countries, on the other hand, have approved just over 200 rational FDCs after intense scrutiny.
HC backs draft policy on app cabs
New Delhi
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
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The Delhi high court asked states on Wednesday to “view with an open mind“ a draft policy to regulate app-based cab aggregators. The policy has been drafted by a panel appointed by the high court.The court has given state governments, including Delhi's, time till February 6 to study the new policy and present their objections, if any.
Justice Manmohan said that the framing of a policy “is a big step forward“. He added, however, that market forces should be allowed to operate, as even regulation could “bring in corruption“ in the sector.
The panel's suggestions were placed before the court by the Centre's standing counsels Manish Mohan and Kirtiman Singh. The Centre told the HC that if the suggestions were acceptable to states, they would be asked to come up with their own schemes within the framework of the policy .
Hearing a batch of petitions filed by radio taxi operators against the Delhi government for allowing Ola and Uber to operate without any licence, the court had set up the panel to formulate a policy to regulate such companies.
The panel's recommendations include a cap on minimum fare chargeable by aggregators.
Justice Manmohan said that the framing of a policy “is a big step forward“. He added, however, that market forces should be allowed to operate, as even regulation could “bring in corruption“ in the sector.
The panel's suggestions were placed before the court by the Centre's standing counsels Manish Mohan and Kirtiman Singh. The Centre told the HC that if the suggestions were acceptable to states, they would be asked to come up with their own schemes within the framework of the policy .
Hearing a batch of petitions filed by radio taxi operators against the Delhi government for allowing Ola and Uber to operate without any licence, the court had set up the panel to formulate a policy to regulate such companies.
The panel's recommendations include a cap on minimum fare chargeable by aggregators.
Obama `ties' Trump's hands, bans Atlantic, Arctic drilling
Coral Davenport
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NYT & AGENCIES
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Prez Invokes Obscure Clause Of A 1953 Law
US President Barack Obama announced on Tuesday a permanent ban on offshore oil and gas drilling along the Arctic and the Atlantic Seaboard as he tried to nail down an environmental legacy that cannot quickly be reversed by his successor Donald Trump.Obama invoked an obscure provision of a 1953 law, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which he said gave him the authority to act unilaterally. The move, announced in tandem with Canada, would ban drilling in about 98% of federally owned Arctic waters, or about 115 million acres, a region home to endangered species, including polar bears and bowhead whales. It would also block drilling off the Atlantic Coast around a series of coral canyons in 3.8 million acres stretching from Norfolk to the Canadian border.
The declaration's fate will be decided by the federal courts. The move is one of many efforts by Obama to protect what environmental policies he can from a successor who has vowed to roll them back.The president hadrushed co untries to ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change, putting the accord into force in record time, before Trump's inauguration.
“These actions, and Canada's parallel actions, protect a sensitive and unique ecosystem that is unlike any other region on earth,“ said Obama. “They reflect the scientific assessment that even with the high safety standards that both our countries have put in place, the risks of an oil spill in this region are significant and our ability to clean up from a spill in the region's harsh conditions is limited.“
Opponents of Obama's environmental agenda said that they expected Trump to take actions to legally undo the ban. The American Petroleum Institute, an industry lobby group, warned that Oba ma's decision “blocking offshore exploration would weaken our national security , destroy good-paying jobs, and could make energy less affordable for consumers“. “We don't see how this could be permanent,“ said Andrew Radford, a policy adviser.
Obama's legal experts said that they were confident that the ban would withstand legal challenge. They pointed to the specific language of the law, “The US president may , from time to time, withdraw from disposition any of the unleased lands of the Outer Continental Shelf.“ Nowhere does the law say that a future president could reinstate those areas, an official said.
Experts said that there could be one avenue for Republicans to undo the ban: Congress could amend the 1953 law, explicitly allowing presidents to reverse the drilling bans However, that would require a 60-vote Senate majority, a challenge in a Senate with 52 Republicans.
Environmentalists have lauded Obama's action as “heroic“. “As Trump stacks his cabinet with Big Oil cronies and polluters, Obama has acted to protect our oceans, air, and climate for our coastal communities and future generations,“ said NextGen President Tom Steyer. “Obama's legacy of climate action stands in stark contrast to Trump, who only cares about climate change when it affects his golf courses.“
US kids get nod for climate change suit
Eight Seattle children should have “their day in court“ to argue that Washington state and others weren't protecting them from climate change, a judge has ruled. King County superior court judge Hollis Hill said on Monday that “it is time for these youth to have the opportunity to address their concerns in a court of law, concerns raised under statute and under the state and federal constitutions“. The petitioners, between 12 and 16 years old, had asked the judge to hold the ecology department in contempt for failing to protect them from global warming. The judge said that the department had complied with her orders by adopting the Clean Air Rule, and so denied the youth's contempt request. But the judge allowed the young people to amend their complaint and move ahead with their constitutional claims.
The declaration's fate will be decided by the federal courts. The move is one of many efforts by Obama to protect what environmental policies he can from a successor who has vowed to roll them back.The president hadrushed co untries to ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change, putting the accord into force in record time, before Trump's inauguration.
“These actions, and Canada's parallel actions, protect a sensitive and unique ecosystem that is unlike any other region on earth,“ said Obama. “They reflect the scientific assessment that even with the high safety standards that both our countries have put in place, the risks of an oil spill in this region are significant and our ability to clean up from a spill in the region's harsh conditions is limited.“
Opponents of Obama's environmental agenda said that they expected Trump to take actions to legally undo the ban. The American Petroleum Institute, an industry lobby group, warned that Oba ma's decision “blocking offshore exploration would weaken our national security , destroy good-paying jobs, and could make energy less affordable for consumers“. “We don't see how this could be permanent,“ said Andrew Radford, a policy adviser.
Obama's legal experts said that they were confident that the ban would withstand legal challenge. They pointed to the specific language of the law, “The US president may , from time to time, withdraw from disposition any of the unleased lands of the Outer Continental Shelf.“ Nowhere does the law say that a future president could reinstate those areas, an official said.
Experts said that there could be one avenue for Republicans to undo the ban: Congress could amend the 1953 law, explicitly allowing presidents to reverse the drilling bans However, that would require a 60-vote Senate majority, a challenge in a Senate with 52 Republicans.
Environmentalists have lauded Obama's action as “heroic“. “As Trump stacks his cabinet with Big Oil cronies and polluters, Obama has acted to protect our oceans, air, and climate for our coastal communities and future generations,“ said NextGen President Tom Steyer. “Obama's legacy of climate action stands in stark contrast to Trump, who only cares about climate change when it affects his golf courses.“
US kids get nod for climate change suit
Eight Seattle children should have “their day in court“ to argue that Washington state and others weren't protecting them from climate change, a judge has ruled. King County superior court judge Hollis Hill said on Monday that “it is time for these youth to have the opportunity to address their concerns in a court of law, concerns raised under statute and under the state and federal constitutions“. The petitioners, between 12 and 16 years old, had asked the judge to hold the ecology department in contempt for failing to protect them from global warming. The judge said that the department had complied with her orders by adopting the Clean Air Rule, and so denied the youth's contempt request. But the judge allowed the young people to amend their complaint and move ahead with their constitutional claims.
Demonetisation strains relations between RBI, govt
MumbaiNew Delhi
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
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Coordination Gap Affects Smooth Implementation Of Some Steps
The central bank and the government often don't see eye to eye even in the best of times, which these certainly are not. The stress of managing the process of demonetisation has brought to the fore some lapses in communication between the Reserve Bank of India and the government.The lack of coordination between the two, has come in the way of smoother implementation of several measures.The most recent instance is handling of the notification that put conditions on deposit of old notes worth over Rs 5,000 after December 20. Though finance ministry took the decision, sources in the government told TOI that the RBI notification was “badly drafted“, particularly the section that made it mandatory to explain the reasons for delaying deposit of scrapped notes. The notification was amended on Wednesday removing limits on deposits.
Sources in RBI feel that its image is being tarnished by frequent changes in circulars, most of which are issued on directions from the government. Asection within the government feels that RBI has been slow in reacting to cues. For example, it took the central bank three days to frame the rules that allowed families that had a wedding during November and December to withdraw Rs 2.5 lakh in new currency . When RBI did come out with the rules, they were so stringent that it was almost impossible to withdraw the money . The government had to step in and RBI ea sed one condition. Another bone of contention has been the amount of old notes which have come back. The government has also contested the figure released by RBI on amount of old currency that is deposited with banks. Last week economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das asked RBI and banks to check the figures for any possible double counting.
Sources in the central bank say RBI is torn between the peo ple who are resentful of how the institution is being treated and people who are happily complying with the finance ministry orders. RBI sources also believe that it is unfair to make the bank, and the banking system in general, responsible for tax compliance by depositors.
Not only that it is not the central bank's sole job, checking for tax compliance at every banking transaction disrupts the smooth functioning.
Sources in RBI feel that its image is being tarnished by frequent changes in circulars, most of which are issued on directions from the government. Asection within the government feels that RBI has been slow in reacting to cues. For example, it took the central bank three days to frame the rules that allowed families that had a wedding during November and December to withdraw Rs 2.5 lakh in new currency . When RBI did come out with the rules, they were so stringent that it was almost impossible to withdraw the money . The government had to step in and RBI ea sed one condition. Another bone of contention has been the amount of old notes which have come back. The government has also contested the figure released by RBI on amount of old currency that is deposited with banks. Last week economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das asked RBI and banks to check the figures for any possible double counting.
Sources in the central bank say RBI is torn between the peo ple who are resentful of how the institution is being treated and people who are happily complying with the finance ministry orders. RBI sources also believe that it is unfair to make the bank, and the banking system in general, responsible for tax compliance by depositors.
Not only that it is not the central bank's sole job, checking for tax compliance at every banking transaction disrupts the smooth functioning.
Reform Tax Regime to Cut Black Money: Panagariya
Yogima Seth Sharma, Deepshikha Sikarwar & Vinay Pandey
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New Delhi:
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Demonetisation to bring significant gains: Niti V-C
Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya called for a simpler tax regime, elimination of exemptions and precise taxation rules to minimise discretion to prevent the accumulation of black money and build on the benefits that will accrue from demonetisation.“To discourage the creation of black money and curb corruption, we will also need to tackle election funding,“ Panagariya told ET in an interview, backing the Election Commission's call for a cap on anonymous donations at ` . 2,000.
“There is also a propo sal for state funding of elections, which may be considered.“
Tax reforms will also help lower rates, encouraging savings and boosting revenue through greater compliance. He said demonetisation is likely to bring significant gains in tax revenue, which may allow the government to raise expenditure without violating any of its fiscal goals.
Panagariya said without data it may be difficult to estimate impact of demonetisation on the economy in current year but “we will more than recover any decline in the growth rate this year in subsequent years“. He also called for more ef forts to make digital transactions a habit instead of a one-time affair. “Right now the shortage of cash is an obvious reason for individuals to transact digitally but it is important that this compulsion is turned into a choice and indeed habit.” Panagariya is also not in favour of universal cash transfers and instead prefers a more targeted approach to reach out to the poor. “I lean in favor of a strategy that places a larger volume of cash in pockets of the poor than the one that gives cash to everyone in smaller amounts,” he said.
“There is also a propo sal for state funding of elections, which may be considered.“
Tax reforms will also help lower rates, encouraging savings and boosting revenue through greater compliance. He said demonetisation is likely to bring significant gains in tax revenue, which may allow the government to raise expenditure without violating any of its fiscal goals.
Panagariya said without data it may be difficult to estimate impact of demonetisation on the economy in current year but “we will more than recover any decline in the growth rate this year in subsequent years“. He also called for more ef forts to make digital transactions a habit instead of a one-time affair. “Right now the shortage of cash is an obvious reason for individuals to transact digitally but it is important that this compulsion is turned into a choice and indeed habit.” Panagariya is also not in favour of universal cash transfers and instead prefers a more targeted approach to reach out to the poor. “I lean in favor of a strategy that places a larger volume of cash in pockets of the poor than the one that gives cash to everyone in smaller amounts,” he said.
KEEPING 2019 IN MIND - Simultaneous Poll Possibility: EC Getting Ready
Anubhuti Vishnoi
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New Delhi
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Modi Govt sanctions Rs 1,009 crore to poll panel for purchase of new EVMs
The Election Commission seems to be getting ready for an eventuality of holding simultaneous polls to assemblies and the Lok Sabha -an idea that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has suggested time and again -although no bill for amending the Constitution for the purpose is on the anvil.The government has sanctioned `1,009 crore to the Election Commission for purchase of new Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).According to sources, EC had indicated that about 14 lakh new EVMs would be necessary were India to hold simultaneous polls in 2019. With the Finance Ministry giving the go ahead for purchase of the first tranche, and an approval for a similar amount for the next three years, the EC will be able to procure enough EVMs if there is such a need. It has already placed orders for the first lot, EC sources confirmed to ET. About 5 lakh EVMs will be pur chased per year for the next three years, significantly increasing EC's preparedness for simultaneous polls.
“While there is no direction from the government on simultaneous polls, approval for new EVM purchases over the next three years is a sus building with all political parties.The latter had failed to build a consensus even on how to run Parliament during the winter session.
Simultaneous polls in 2019 would mean reduction in tenure of state ass e m b l i e s, b a r r i n g A n d h r a , Telangana, Odisha, Arunachal and Sikkim, where assembly polls were held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha in 2014. It could mean extension of tenure of Rajasthan, MP and Chhattisgarh assemblies which go to the polls around six months before the Lok Sabha polls.
Votaries of simultaneous polls have said it would reduce poll expenses and ensure uninterrupted governance.However, there are no fair solutions on what to do in case a government loses a majority midway and it becomes impossible to form an alternate government, as it happens frequently in states and happened even at the Centre in 1991, 1998 and 1999.
“While there is no direction from the government on simultaneous polls, approval for new EVM purchases over the next three years is a sus building with all political parties.The latter had failed to build a consensus even on how to run Parliament during the winter session.
Simultaneous polls in 2019 would mean reduction in tenure of state ass e m b l i e s, b a r r i n g A n d h r a , Telangana, Odisha, Arunachal and Sikkim, where assembly polls were held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha in 2014. It could mean extension of tenure of Rajasthan, MP and Chhattisgarh assemblies which go to the polls around six months before the Lok Sabha polls.
Votaries of simultaneous polls have said it would reduce poll expenses and ensure uninterrupted governance.However, there are no fair solutions on what to do in case a government loses a majority midway and it becomes impossible to form an alternate government, as it happens frequently in states and happened even at the Centre in 1991, 1998 and 1999.
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