THE HINDU – CURRENT NOTE 14 February
Crime cases cross 2 lakh, but rapes, murders see a dip
2016 annual report released by Delhi Police shows 420 of 574 crimes reported daily go unsolved:
•Of the 574 cases reported in the Capital on a daily basis, nearly 420 remain unsolved, shows a comparison of figures shared by the Delhi Police. The figures state that the percentage of cases solved have gone up but there has been a dip in the total number of heinous cases registered, which include murder, rape and molestation of women.
•According to figures released by the Delhi Police, the overall number of criminal cases registered in the city have coninued to see a rise, crossing the 2 lakh mark for the first time. In 2016, the city saw 2,09,519 cases registered under the Indian Penal Code which is 9.4 per cent more than the previous year when 1,91,377 were reported under different categories.
•The number of solved cases among these are 55,957 (26 per cent) implying that the remaining 1,53,562 remained unsolved. The number of heinous crimes in the Capital saw a dip, coming down by 26.36 per cent compared to last year. The annual report released on Monday claims that the police also showed a better detection rate as far as these henious crimes are concerned as it improved by 12.82 per cent.
•This impovement is in comparison with the detection rate compared to crimes registered in 2015. The number of heinous crimes – which includes murder, attempted murder, robbery, rape and molestation of women — in 2016 was 8,238, nearly 3,000 less than the corresponding figures in 2015 which was 1,1187. The police said that 71.67 per cent of such cases were solved.
•The report says that incidents of dacoity reduced by 38.67 per cent, murder by 7.37 per cent, attempt to murder by 16.10 per cent, robbery by 35.72 per cent, riot by 39.23 per cent, kidnapping for ransom by 36.11 per cent and rape by 2 per cent.
•Joint Commissionner of Police (South Western Range) Dependra Pathak said strategies such as crime-mapping and identification of hotspots with the help of PCR prompted the decline in registration and improved the detection rate.
•This figure when compared to the overall detection rate of 26 per cent appears paltry. The reason of overall numbers remaining low is a huge number of unsolved cases of theft, burglary and motor vehicle thefts.
•Last year, 85 per cent of vehicle thefts and house thefts remained unsolved. While 40 per cent of kidnapping cases went unsolved, 65 per cent of snatchings and 40 per cent of extortion cases weren't cracked either.
Rehabilitation: NGT slaps cost onUttarakhand for delayed response
•The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has slapped fines on the Uttarakhand government and its agencies for not filing responses on a plea highlighting human–wildlife conflict and seeking rehabilitation of villagers living inside Rajaji National Park in the State.
•The green panel was hearing a plea filed by Uttarakhand resident Madan Singh Bisht seeking setting up of a committee to look into the issue of rehabilitation of the revenue village ‘chaks’ (estates) which lie within the boundaries of the national park, known for tigers, panthers, elephants and other animals.
Rs. 20,000 fine imposed
•A Bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar slammed the authorities for not filing their replies and slapped a fine of Rs. 20,000 each on the Uttarakhand government, State Forest Department, Rural Development Ministry, Chief Conservator of Forests and SSP of Pauri Garhwal district.
•The NGT passed the order noting that on the last date of hearing, the State government had sought a week’s time for filing replies but had failed to do so.
Karnataka amends law to allow kambala
•Paving the way for the conduct of kambala, traditional buffalo race, the Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Monday passed the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Karnataka Amendment) Bill, 2017.The Bill seeks to exempt kambala and bullock-cart racing from the ambit of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960.
•Kambala is currently stayed by the High Court following a petition by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
•Thousands in the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi, where kambala is widely held, had protested the ban. They argued that the annual kambala races in paddy fields were part of their tradition. The sport did not torture animals, they said. The movement gathered momentum after the jallikattu agitation in the neighbouring Tamil Nadu.
•Governor Vajubhai R. Vala is likely to refer the Bill to the President for his assent.
PETA criticises move
•PETA, in a press release, called the amended Bill “a setback to the welfare of buffaloes.”
•The cruelty inherent in events such as bull and buffalo races violated the PCA Act, 1960, it said.
•Poorva Joshipura, CEO, PETA India, said three kambala events inspected by the Animal Welfare Board of India had resulted in the filing of 65 non-cognisable offence complaints and an FIR in 2014-15.
Allegation of cruelty
•PETA said the inspection reports contained a scientific assessment of the welfare of buffaloes that were forced to participate in such events, including evidence of different forms of cruelty inflicted on the animals. “Many of the buffaloes frothed at the mouth, salivated heavily, and displayed increased respiration rates, demonstrating that they struggle, and are anatomically unfit to be forced to take part,” said the statement.
Swimming out of a numerical soup
In
a reasoned and realistic Budget, the Finance Minister missed a couple of tricks
while reducing the income tax rate for the first slab and the corporate tax
rate for small companies
Several
commentators have remarked that Finance
Minister Arun Jaitley’s budget for 2017-18 lacks much fizz. But
everything has to be viewed in perspective. This year’s Budget was presented at
a time when there are several storm clouds hanging over the economy. We are still
reeling from the effects of demonetisation, which must have earned a prominent
place in the record books as one of the biggest policy induced disasters of all
time. The International
Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates the effect of demonetisation to be a 1% reduction in
the GDP growth rate. Even the Economic Survey admits some adverse effect on the
economy, but naturally claims that it will be much lower. To make matters
worse, the introduction of the uniform Goods and Services Tax (GST), as well as
advancing the date of the presentation of the Budget by a month meant that the
government did not really have firm estimates of either the rate of growth of
the economy or the amount of indirect tax revenues that it could hope to
collect during the year. Finally, this was also the first time that the Railway
Budget was being integrated with the general Budget.
The
electoral temptation
The
political atmosphere, with elections in several States, including the crucial
one of Uttar Pradesh, being just round the corner, was also not propitious for
good Budget-making. It must have been tempting for Mr. Jaitley to indulge in
some cheap populism in order to counter any negative reaction of voters to the
demonetisation. The Election Commission would not have interfered — by agreeing
to allow the government to present the Budget just before the elections, it had
signalled that it would treat the budget as a routine and necessary piece of
government policy.
North Korea lobsa missile challenge
The missile is believed to have splashed down into the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
•North Korea reportedly fired a ballistic missile early Sunday in what would be its first such test of the year and an implicit challenge to President Donald Trump’s new administration.
•Details of the launch, including the type of missile, were scant.
•There was no immediate confirmation from the North, which had recently warned it is ready to test its first intercontinental ballistic missile. The reports come as Mr. Trump was hosting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and just days before the North is to mark the birthday of leader Kim Jong Un’s late father, Kim Jong Il.
•Mr. Trump ignored a shouted question about the developing situation as he, Mr. Abe and their wives posed for photos before heading to dinner at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. In Washington, public affairs officers for the Defense Department and the State Department had no immediate comment on the report.
•The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement the missile was fired from around Banghyon, North Pyongan Province, which is where South Korean officials have said the North test launched its powerful midrange Musudan missile on Oct. 15 and 20.
•The military in Seoul said that the missile flew about 500 kilometers (310 miles). But Yonhap reported that while determinations are still being made, it was not believed to be an ICBM.
•The missile is believed to have splashed down into the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters the missile did not hit Japanese territorial seas. The North conducted two nuclear tests and a slew of rocket launches last year in continued efforts to expand its nuclear weapons and missile programs. Kim Jong Un said in his New Year’s address that the country has reached the final stages of readiness to test an ICBM, which would be a major step forward in its efforts to build a credible nuclear threat to the United States.
•Though Pyongyang has been relatively quiet about the transfer of power to the Trump administration, its state media has repeatedly called for Washington to abandon its “hostile policy” and vowed to continue its nuclear and missile development programs until the U.S. changes its diplomatic approach.
•Just days ago, it also reaffirmed its plan to conduct more space launches, which it staunchly defends but which have been criticized because they involve dual use technology that can be transferred to improve missiles.
•Kim Dong-yeop, an analyst at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies in Seoul, speculated the missile could be a Musudan or a similar rocket designed to test engines for an intercontinental ballistic missile that could hit the U.S. mainland. Analysts are divided, however, over how close the North is to having a reliable long-range rocket that could be coupled with a nuclear warhead capable to striking U.S. targets.
•South Korea’s Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn said that his country will punish North Korea for the missile launch. He did not elaborate.
•“Our government, in tandem with the international community, is doing its best to ensure a corresponding response to punish the North,” Hwang said.
J&K govt launchese-Prison project
•The Jammu and Kashmir government on Monday launched the e-Prison project to enumerate jail inmates in the State, where numbers of detainees keep swelling during unrest.
•State Minister for Information Technology Molvi Imran Raza Ansari, who inaugurated the project in Jammu, said, “The information about jail inmates is currently being maintained manually. To avoid delays in processing the information and manage all the jails efficiently, the automation of prison department has been started.”
•The government has already digitised records of 500 inmates. The project will digitise 25 district jails, two Central jails and one sub-jail in the State. The second phase of the project will focus on videoconferencing between jails and prison headquarters, e-court, tele-medication in jails.
Allow PSUs to sell power onexchanges without States’ nod
•Power Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday called for the “immediate” implementation of a policy allowing public sector power generators like NTPC to sell surplus power on exchanges without waiting for permission from the State governments.
•“Can we have the policy implemented immediately, that if the State does not say ‘no’, then even NTPC should be allowed to sell surplus power on the exchange,” Mr. Goyal asked officials of his Ministry gathered for the Indian Power Stations Conference 2017 organised by NTPC. “That way, unless the State expressly objects, you have an automatic approval to sell the power.”
•The Power Minister said that he doesn’t expect States to object to the policy because it would only benefit them by reducing the costs and losses to the States. He further asked his Ministry officials to speak to the State government representatives as soon as possible and get the policy in place soon.
•“And with enough power on the exchange, should the States feel a need, then they can buy power from the exchange, it’s not a big deal,” Mr. Goyal said. “But more often than not, they will save money.”
•Mr. Goyal said that the decision to implement such a policy was made during the monsoon of last year. “And if it has taken five months to go ahead with it, then I am not happy,” he added. “The speed of decision making is the essence of good governance.”
Plant renovation
•Mr. Goyal also said that NTPC should not incur any more expenditure on the renovation of power plants older than 25 years. He said that he had already asked NTPC to replace 11,000 MW worth of plant capacity that is older than 25 years.
•Mr. Goyal added that companies will incur only a nominal increase in their capital expenditure if they replace old plants with new ones with modern technology.
•“Power companies will not incur more than ₹4,000 crore per megawatt if they replace old plants,” he said.
