Universality of Marriage

The debate is on the definition of the term marriage. There is barrier because of unimaginative variation in the institution of human marriage.
Earlier definition is given by Westermarck, Malinowski and Radcliffe Brown and Murdock.

Westermarck: Marriage is a relation of one or more men with one or more women which is recognized by custom or law and which involves certain rights and duties. This definition defies many ethnic situations such as male-male marriages,female-female marriages and sham marriages among kwukiutl Negroes. These cannot fit into this definition of marriage.Hence fails universal applicability.

Malinowski and Radcliffe Brown :It is a union of a man and woman in which they are  the jural father and mother of the children born to the woman. But in Trukese in Micronesia, marriage is not necessary to get legitimate offspring.

Murdock: Marriage involves residential cohabitation,economic cooperation and formation of nuclear family.Marriage is therefore a social transaction that establishes a nuclear family.But in Nayars of Kerela, there is no residential cohabitation. Among Kibbutz communities in Israel there is no economic cooperation between mating pairs.

Modern Definition: K.Gough studied Nayars of Kerela and opined that any institution of marriage must fulfill two conditions
1.Social acceptability of relationship
2. Legitimacy of children

In western societies these requirements are taken care by transaction of marriage and registration of birth.

Research undertaken by Stephen Levy, Mogey and others proved that it is very difficult to arrive at definition of marriage because there are many societies where the sexual rights,economic responsibilities and the socialization of children are not derived from the relation resulting from marriage but are part of rights and responsibilities of social groups

The institution of marriage is universal,only the definition is not.

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Imparting sex education in schools in India.

 Sex education means imparting basic knowledge to school children at
secondary and senior secondary levels about the human body, the functioning of its
various organs including reproductive organs of both the sexes and about the associated
diseases. The twin objectives of sex education are:-

i. To increase awareness which will reduce the unreasonable curiosity and to fill in
  the gap left by reluctant parents to answer the queries by children.
ii. It will also help to create insight and prevent inappropriate perversions to which
   children are prone to be exposed.
The WHO report claims that early sex education delays the start of sexual activity, reduces
sexual activity among young people and encourages those already sexually active to have
safer sex. With the spread of HIV infection and other sex-related infections, it is
considered necessary to impart sex education. The government of India is in favour of the
States and UTs imparting sex education to fight the spread of HIV infection.
But a section of the parents is opposed to imparting sex education on the ground that it is a
reflection of decadent western morality and may lead to an increase in sexual activity
among children. They argue that sex education and contraceptions are not the panacea to
all sex related ills in the society. The state governments of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh
and Gujarat have banned sex education in schools on the ground that the modules used to
impart sex education were too explicit and some pictures were too graphic.
Should it be banned?
What is being objected to in general is the way in which sex education is imparted. The
course and curriculum should be more scientific and designed in line with India‟s culture
and social fabric with emphasis on health. It should also be modeled to inculcate moral,
religious and cultural values among children. The emphasis should not be merely on safe
sex. Further sex education should start from home and not left to schools to impart. As
Gandhiji remarked, providing information about how organs function is one thing and to
encourage using them even inadvertently is another. What is to be objected is the latter.

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Safety measures incorporated in the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant

As a part of the endeavour to constantly improve the safety aspects of

nuclear reactors and also from the past experiences such as the Fukushima nuclear

accident in Japan, many safety measures have been incorporated in the Kudankulam

Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP). These include:-

i. The VVER type reactor of KKNPP has been certified by the IAEA as one of the

  safest nuclear reactors in the world having many inbuilt safety measures. It is a

 third generation plus reactor unlike first generation reactors of Fukushima.

ii. The site falls under Zone III of seismic zones and is unlikely to experience a severe

   earthquake.

iii. The site is sheltered by Sri Lanka from any possible tsunami waves posing safety

    threats to KKNPP site.

iv. The emergency standby equipments such as diesel generators, cooling plants have

   been housed at a height of 9 to 13 metres above the Mean Sea Level (MSL)

  whereas the tsunami waves are likely to reach not more than 5 metres above MSL

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Rehabilitation Robotics and its practical applications:

• Rehabilitation robotics is a field of research dedicated to understanding and augmenting rehabilitation through the application of robotic devices. Rehabilitation robotics includes development of robotic therapies, and the use of robots as therapy aids instead of solely as assistive devices.
• Rehabilitation using robotics is generally well tolerated by patients, and has been found to be an effective adjunct to therapy in individuals suffering from motor impairments, especially due to stroke.
• Current robotic devices include exoskeletons for aiding limb or hand movement such as the Tibion Bionic Leg, the Myomo Neuro-robotic System and the Berkeley Bionics eLegs; enhanced treadmills such as Hocoma's Lokomat; and robotic arms to retrain motor movement of the limb such as the MIT-MANUS(An MIT robot for physical therapy of the arm and wrists).
• Often robotic technologies attempt to leverage the principles of neuroplasticity (The brain's natural ability to form new connections in order to compensate for injury or changes in one's environment) by improving quality of movement, and increasing the intensity and repetition of the task.
• Rehabilitation robotics can also be applied to individuals with cerebral palsy, or those recovering from orthopaedic surgery
• Rehabilitation robotics may also include virtual reality technology.

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Various techniques, which are employed to derive energy from the waste material.

Combustion or Incineration

•  It is direct burning of wastes in the presence of excess air (oxygen) at high temperatures
  (about 800 C).
•  It results in conversion of 65%-80% of heat content of organic matter into hot air, steam and hot water.
•  
• The steam generated can be used in steam turbines to generate power.

Biomethanation or Anaerobic Bigestion

•  In this, the organic waste is segregated and fed into a biogas digester.
• The waste undergoes biodegradation under anaerobic conditions to produce methane rich biogas.
• The so produced biogas can be used for cooking, heating, generating electricity etc.
•  The sludge can be used as a manure depending on the composition of the input waste.

Pyrolysis / Gasification

•  It is chemical decomposition of organic matter through heat.
• The organic matter is heated in the absence or restricted supply of air till it breaks down into smaller molecules of gas (known collectively as syngas).
• Syngas so produced is known as producer gas which constitutes carbon monoxide (25%),hydrogen and hydrocarbons(15%), carbon dioxide and nitrogen(60%). 
• The producer gas is burnt in internal combustion (IC) generator sets or turbines to produce electricity.

Landfill Gas Recovery

• In this the waste slowly decomposes to produce “Landfill gas”.
•  This gas consists of high percentage of methane (approximately 50%) and has a high calorific value of about 4500kcal/cubic meter. 
• It can be used for heating cooking and generating power.

Plasma Arc

•  A relatively new technology for disposal of wastes, particularly, hazardous and radioactive wastes.
• Since it involves nearly complete destruction of waste while producing energy, it is less polluting.
•  It does not produce oxides of nitrogen and sulphur and makes toxic ash left in the process easier to handle.
• However, the technology is costly and has not been tried in India.

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Difference between Automation and Robotics.

1. Set operations and Sequence: Automation can only follow one set of operations, and it cannot be
changed once programmed. Robots are made to perform several jobs at once, and the sequence of
operations can be switched around to make the processes more efficient. The timing of the
operations also can be changed in robotics, if needed.
2. Outside stimuli: The automated machine will not react; even if there is an object blocking the
automation, it will continue doing the same operation. Robots are made to react so, if something
blocks or stops the robot, it will change operations to best fit the situation.
3. Artificial intelligence (AI ): Automated machines are unable to collect knowledge and can't be
programmed with any form of intelligence. Robots can be made with intelligence and they are able
to learn from mistakes; this allows the robot to fix problems, if it is exposed to them long enough.
4. Level of movement: The amount of movement and overall velocity of both a robot and automation
are generally very different. Automated machines are made for slow work and are typically
programmed with very simple movements. For example, an automated arm may be able to pick up a
chip, rotate and then place the chip somewhere else. A robot can work faster and is able to
accommodate complex movements.

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Schools of Art

1. Gandhara School of Art

• This new school of  Indian sculpture developed in the region, which extended from Punjab to the Afghanisthan borders, an important centre of Mahayana Bhuddism up to the 5th century.
• Due to the proximity of this region to the foreign influences like the Persian, Greek, Roman, this art represents a fusion of foreign and native elements.
• There are two stages in the development of tis school: The first in stone( and the second in stucco(from 4th century).
• Chief charecteristics of Gandhara sculpture are : (i)Most of the Gandharan icons portray episodes from the life of Bhuddha or scenes from Bhuddhist saints. The buddha images resembled the portrayal of God Apollo.(ii) Use of rich carving, elaborate ornamentation and complex symbolism.  (iii)Natural display of folds and turns of dresses and physical features like muscles, etc.  (iv) The images have a gentle,compassionate and graceful look. Therefore, more attention is given towards refinement and polishing
• However, the buddha images lack the spirituality of the  images of the Gupta period.
• Examples: Dharmarajika Stupa(Taxila),Hadda monastic cluster, Afghanistan.       

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Reasons for NRIs not investing in India

On their part, remittances from the Indian diaspora have helped the local economy in some states which have a high number of emigrant families. However, when it comes to investing in the Indian economy, the NRI has not contributed as much as would be expected. This especially contrasts with the attitude of the Chinese immigrants, who have made substantial investments in their motherland. Among the major reasons cited by potential investors are the lack of transparency in decision making, corruption, and break in continuity when a government changes, especially at the state level. While these are valid concerns, the NRIs, too, need to make proactive efforts to contribute more to the Indian economy in a meaningful way by investing in the growth of Indian industry. Only then would they have, as the Americans say somewhat inelegantly, put their money where their mouth is.

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The pros and cons of FDI in housing

Out of the four main factors of production — land , labour, capital, and organisation — capital becomes a critical factor, especially in the case of developing economies where there is shortage of capital and various sectors vie with each other for more and more investments. It is but natural that those who invest capital look for safety, security, and good returns.

In a globalised environment, the movement of capital investment can sometimes be volatile and sometimes can corner ownership to the detriment of domestic ventures. In order to protect domestic business, regulation becomes necessary and sometimes it can be counter-productive.

In the construction business this 100 per cent investment was extended in the year 2005. NRIs and PIOs were only permitted to invest in housing and real estate. Foreign investors other than NRIs were allowed to invest only in development of integrated townships and settlements either through wholly owned subsidiaries or through joint venture companies in India along with a local partner

Advantages of FDI

Major benefits are:

* Application of international standards to construction.

* Large inflow of funds at comparatively low cost

* Support of experienced workforce in good numbers

The perceived fears are:

* Foreign control

* Takeover of domestic companies, especially small and medium construction companies

* Withdrawal of investment at unexpected times

For any developing economy, there is need for a cautious approach in allowing substantial foreign investment. Some sort of protection to domestic entrepreneurship, especially the small and medium industries, needs to be enshrined in the rules and regulations.

Employment opportunity to local talent is another area which needs protection. Semi-skilled and even unskilled domestic labour need to be upgraded to avoid overdependence on foreign help.

For sectors such as infrastructure and housing, the gap between funds availability and actual requirements needs to be reduced for reasonably fast and sustained growth. A balanced approach can be the best solution.

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F1 and Indian Economy

For the resolute few who had nurtured this sport from its earliest days over five decades ago, this was a day for India to truly celebrate. Yet, justifiably, questions have been raised on the relevance of Formula 1 to India.

First, we must recognise at least three manifestations of Formula 1 — as a pinnacle sport, a technology and auto-industry showpiece, and a global entertainment and media extravaganza.

As a sport, Formula 1 uniquely challenges brain and brawn. Take the physical strain, for example. An F1 driver typically loses about 3 litres of sweat and about 3-4 kg of weight over 90 minutes. 

Researchers have recorded sustained heart rates of over 150 beats per minute over this period and up to 240 beats per minute at the start. Drivers make about 100 gear-changes every lap for over 60 laps, each typically timed to be within a tenth of a second of its optimum.

At Buddh, drivers braked from over 280 km/h to less than 100 km/h, a bare 100 metres from the apex of the corner, enduring five times the gravitational force in deceleration. 

While doing this, they were managing throttle, braking and gear-shifts with a cockpit that combines the complexity of an aircraft and a sophisticated video game. All the while, their engineers in the pits, monitoring over 80 channels of telemetry, provide fresh inputs through their headsets: “...KERS position 5, DRS disabled this lap, Button plus 2..”.

Technology and glamour

Formula 1 has always revelled in its role as a technology tour de force. Imagine an engine, barely larger than that in a family car, capable of 800 horsepower. 

Consider that they run up to 18,000 rpm — which translates into 300 revolutions every second. Imagine pistons that rocket from rest to 90 km/h and then come to a complete stop all within four cm. 

Imagine a body-structure that weighs less than 100 kg and can protect the driver from a 180 km/h crash into a barrier. Formula 1 has also evolved from era to era reflecting societal and industry priorities. 

Engines have been downsized and while electric hybrid road-cars are still rare, most Formula 1 teams now employ KERS — a form of regenerating energy during braking.

It is also no coincidence that all the new destinations of Formula 1 are new global auto manufacturing centres and markets — China, Korea, Turkey and, now, India. Here, where auto manufacturing capacity crossed the annual one-million mark only a few years ago, it has now rocketed past the three-million figure.

Much of the new capacity at Maruti, Nissan and Hyundai is expected to also feed export markets. Honda, 

during its heyday in Formula 1, routinely rotated hand-picked technical staff through a tour of duty in Formula 1 — the exposure bred better and faster development. And while not all Formula 1 technologies have a direct bearing on the cars you can buy, they have a strong influence on technologies linked to driver aids — traction control, automated gear-shifts, etc.

Finally, few platforms offer the visible combination of glamour and technology as Formula 1 does. The races at Monaco, and now Abu Dhabi and Singapore, are major annual tourist events, attracting a huge number of foreign visitors and bringing global exposure to a degree that is seldom rivalled by any other sport.

Just recall Tata's entry into Formula 1, with the sponsorship of India's first Formula 1 driver, Narain Karthikeyan. The global exposure gained by the brand was very timely. We now see many new Indian brands leveraging this forum.

Extravaganza justified?

As for the race, well, after the CWG episode, it was comforting to see things come together. The track, built to international standards, was described by drivers as technically challenging and very fast. 

Unlike in Korea, fans and corporates seem to have taken to the event with great enthusiasm. And the race was run very well, with the top three teams finishing in the top three positions.

So, where do we go from here? For India, any public expenditure or allocation of its assets must have as its result, common good. So, will this milestone lead to a more mature, globally competitive auto industry, creating more jobs? Will corporates such as Airtel, Sahara and Amul build upon this exposure to global sales conquests like Red Bull?

Will this emerge as an important tourism magnet? Will this be another step in India's slow but determined march to becoming an economic power to reckon with? If the answer is ‘yes', then we can justify this extravaganza. If we fail to capitalise on this investment, then the voices that question this indulgence would be justified.

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New manufacturing policy

 THE National Manufacturing Policy (NMP) cleared by the Cabinet recently comes in the backdrop of falling business confidence, slowing investments and slowdown in manufacturing. The growth of the sector was at a 21 month low at 2.3 per cent in July this year.

It has been saddled with assorted problems including lack of infrastructure, multiple clearances and compliance issues, regulatory environment and multi-tier decision making, land acquisition problems, lack of skilled manpower, bad business sentiment, lack of labour reforms and delayed environmental clearances. Data compiled by the centre for monitoring Indian Economy reveals that investment has declined sharply in the manufacturing sector. Foreign Direct Investment too has shown a major decline. According to World Bank parameters for ease of doing business, out of 183 countries, India ranked at 134, way behind Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan.

The NMP has set a target of creating 100 million jobs by 2025. Manufacturing has a multiplier effect as each job creates 2-3 additional jobs in the ancilliary sectors. The sector contributes 12 per cent of the work force which compared to other developing and advanced countries is low. The creation of seven National Investment and Manufacturing Zones (NIMZ) on the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor is the first step in creating large scale China style industrial zones where compliance is easier and faster clearances are provided with softer labour and environmental clearances.

The policy is a positive initiative but only the actual results on the ground will prove its success. One will have to see how fast the seven NIMZs take off. Interestingly, some of the problems with manufacturing are already being addressed by some states which are able to attract huge investments. Entrepreneurs and capital go where there is opportunity to make money. If the NMP is one such game changer it will revive manufacturing projects at a time when few are in the mood to invest.

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RTE Act and further steps

India has achieved close to universal enrolment. The small proportion of children who are still out of school, the hardest to reach, will be pulled in by the efforts emanating from the Right to Education (RTE) Act. Now we must focus on the next challenge, a massive and less visible one, that of ensuring that every child gets an effective education of good quality. Schools must give children a real chance to reach grade-level skill and knowledge. This is not happening now. This is a time bomb: On current trends, the bulk of the current generation of children will come into the labour market without the skills demanded of a globalising India, creating a slow-burning crisis for equality, growth and democracy.
The last five years have produced ample evidence to show that India is in a 'big stuck' as far as children's basic learning levels are concerned. Huge, nationwide annual surveys by Annual Status of Education Report (Aser) Centre, in-depth research by Educational Initiatives and the government's own studies of student achievement show that learning levels are totally unsatisfactory and have experienced little improvement over time. A study of 900 schools in 15 districts released by Aser Centre last week followed 30,000 Class 2 and Class 4 students over 15 months. The results show that children learned modest amounts during this time, but most remained at least two grade levels behind where they should be, including in the best performing states.
So what can be done? This is a systemic problem. We can think of two system-wide strategies. First, the curriculum and textbooks need to be aligned with the ability of most children, most teachers, most schools and most families, especially for the early years in school. Absent of such alignment, then, in the words of Harvard economist Lant Pritchett, the "overambitious curriculum" destroys the very foundation of the education system we are trying to build. Our current curriculum framework emerged from a large national consultation effort in 2005, but it needs to be adapted to the new information on the depth and nature of the quality problem. And it is unacceptable that even in Class 1, the level of the textbook is far beyond what children can do in their first year in school.
Second, whether or not, we leave the curriculum and textbooks as they are, there is evidence on the potential for reorienting efforts within the system. Recent rigorous research studies, involving randomised evaluations, in different parts of India, point to promising strategies. Some of this is described in Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo's new book Poor Economics. Additional work is being done by Karthik Muralidharan and his team with government schools in Andhra Pradesh.
Here, we highlight the evidence from a study of a joint intervention carried out by the government of Bihar and Pratham in West Champaran district in Bihar. Three important findings are relevant. First, when children are taught from where they are - rather than based on where they ought to be - they make progress. The Bihar government, in the summer of 2008, carried out one-month summer camps for children who were in Classes 3-5 but were unable to read or do arithmetic even at the Class 2 level.
The pedagogy was aligned with their levels and used existing teachers. Children who attended enjoyed significant learning gains, which persisted over the following two years. Second, while government school teachers were able to effectively help children in the summer camp, the same teachers made no difference during the regular school year, which remained locked into the age-grade-curriculum-textbook gridlock. Third, the study showed, in common with earlier studies, that village volunteers can also improve learning levels when they are trained in a pedagogy that is aligned with where children start from.
The movement for effectively implementing the RTE is gathering steam across the country. Whichever path we choose as a country or as states, it is clear that business as usual will fail to solve the problem of improving learning outcomes. All the recent empirical studies indicate that just inputs are not enough. New thinking, new strategies, new actions are needed. The good news is the evidence that learning can occur with existing teachers. The bad news is that this happens rarely, because the system is not allowing it. The RTE's main objective is "age-appropriate mainstreaming" for all children. This will occur only if the system changes curriculum, adopts practical pedagogy and begins to measure what works. The challenge is for policymakers and practitioners to take a hard look at reality, absorb the available evidence and plot the new steps ahead that will genuinely enable every child in India to learn well. This is what our education guarantee should be.

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Government E-Payment System to be Inaugurated

The Controller General of Accounts (CGA), Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance has developed a fully secured Government e-payment system for direct credit of dues from the Government of India into the account of beneficiaries using digitally signed electronic advice (e-advice) through the ‘Government e-Payment Gateway’ (GePG).  
 Government e-Payment Gateway (GePG) is a portal which enables the successful delivery of payment services from Pay & Accounts Offices (PAOs) for online payment into beneficiaries’ accounts in a seamless manner under a secured environment. 
GePG serves as middleware between COMPACT (Computerized Payment and Accounts) application at Pay & Accounts Offices and the Core Banking Solution (CBS) of the agency banks/RBI to facilitate paperless transaction, reducing overall transaction cost and promoting green banking.

This system will bring transparency and expedite direct payments from central paying units relating to subsidies to the users and consumers of fertilizer, kerosene and cooking gas which is already a declared objective of the government. This will increase the adoption of other e-services due to its efficiency and ease-of-use for all Central Government Ministries and Departments for online payment transactions. 
The digitally signed e-advices uploaded by the PAOs on GePG portal is downloaded by the concerned banks to credit the beneficiaries’ accounts through CBS/NEFT/RTGS as applicable. 
The e-payment system will save time and efforts in effecting payments and will facilitate elimination of physical cheques and their manual processing. Further the constraints of manual deposit of cheque by the payees into their bank account would also be eliminated. The system will also have online reconciliation of transactions and efficient compilation of payment accounts.

This system covering all Central government departments and ministries is expected to eliminate almost two crore cheques. When it becomes fully operational in Civil Ministries, Defence and Railways, it is expected to cover a total payment of over Rs 6,00,000 crore. 

The consulting firm McKinsey, in its report last year had remarked that the infrastructure to enable an e-payment model will entail a one-time cost of Rs 60,000-70,000 crore, an amount that can potentially be paid back within one year from the savings incurred through an e-payment infrastructure.

The report talked about how the current payment inefficiencies cost Rs 1 lakh crore annually with a large share of that amount — Rs 71,000 crore — attributed to welfare schemes disbursed by the Government.

Employees of 11 Central ministries and departments, such as Petroleum and Natural Gas, Civil Aviation, Coal, Health and National Information Centre, will get their salary through the new mechanism.

Outside entities working for these ministries will also receive their payment through the mechanism. The Government aims to bring all the Civil Ministries and departments into the system by March 31, 2012. Defence, Post & Telegraph and Railways are the civil ministries

Under the traditional system of government payments, paying units in central government are using cheque, cash, DD or in few ministries ECS for payments to employees and vendors. In the past few years RTGS and NET faculties provided by RBI are also being utilized for central government payments in various ministries through the banking channel.

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Formula 1 Grand Prix Race To Help India Brand Promotion Globally

The Formula 1 Grand Prix race in India could generate revenues of over Rs 90,000 crore in the next ten years and create 15 lakh new jobs opportunities for technical, skilled and commercial workers.

The first ever event at Greater Noida this weekend is expected to generate business worth Rs 10,000 crore from sale of tickets, advertisements, hospitality and travelling, besides creating new business hubs and giving a boost to commercial and residential properties.

The intangible benefits could be much more as India has thousands of companies with ambition to compete on the global stage. While many of these companies have blue-chip brands domestically, they are either lesser known or unknown to a global audience.

“Indian companies can get their message across to a much wider audience using F1,” said Mr D.S. Rawat, secretary general of The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

India is way behind in international branded merchandise market. Events like the F1 can prove to be unconventional avenues to position high-end value-added designer products like apparel, gems and jewellery, engineering goods, software, hospitality, food and beverage, automobiles and airlines, he said.

“Companies can use their association with F1 or one of its 12 racing teams to engage with a global audience in a cost-efficient and targeted way, which will yield superior and tangibly measurable results compared to traditional media.”

For an Indian company breaking into new markets, the power of three-day gala motor event should not be ignored. “Not only will the hotel and tourism industry get an immediate boost, the country’s profile too will get a lift. It is a great opportunity to tell the world that India is growing and world-class sports facilities are becoming affordable to a large number of people,” said Mr Rawat.

F1 represents cutting-edge technology, reliability, speed, efficiency, teamwork, high performance, innovation, dynamism, fun and glamour – positive values that companies can spend decades trying to associate with their brands.

Sport is a powerful marketing medium because it engenders strong emotions. F1 offers the opportunity to tap into the passion of viewers to link those emotions with the brand. “Companies can create brand engagement in a compressed timeframe, and this can drive measurable business performance

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RBI frees deposit interest rates

For decades, those who deposited their money in bank savings accounts had little choice - they got the same interest rate no matter which bank they chose, and predictably this rate of interest was low, as banks felt no need to compete among themselves for the deposits of investors. That may be about to change, with the recent notification by the Reserve Bank of India, freeing banks to determine their savings deposit interest rates.

In its 25 October circular to all scheduled commercial banks, the RBI issued new guidelines for savings bank deposits. The circular sets two conditions, subject to which banks may freely set their own rates. These conditions are that (a) for amounts less than Rs.1 lakh, the rate of interest shall be uniform to all account holders, no matter what the amount in the account is; and (b) the banks shall not discriminate between depositors who invest the same amounts on any given date.

The RBI also clarified that the freed rates are also limited, for the moment, to accounts held by resident Indians only, and accounts of non-residents would continue to attract regulated rates of interest (currently at four per cent).

Consumers can now look forward to competition between banks to get their savings deposit funds. In the coming weeks, it should become evident if banks are responding to RBI's move by hiking interest rates for deposits (the current rate of interest on savings depostis is 4%, set earlier this year). If that happens, hundreds of millions of bank accounts will yield better returns for their holders.

But where will this money come from? The bank 'spread' in India - the difference between the interest rate paid to depositors and the interest rate charged to borrowers by the bank - is quite high, compared to global norms. This has provided banks with a giant cushion across their operations. With this move by RBI, banks may find that their cost of funds obtained from depositors is no longer as low as it has been so far. To maintain the same level of profits, therefore, their loans to borrowers - e.g. businesses, mortgage owners - would have be that much more efficiently disbursed and managed.

Another result of the new rules could be higher churn in the deposits themselves - as customers move their money between banks to take advantage of better rates through comparison shopping. The rise of electronic transfers (one in seven transactions is now carried out online, up from just 1% in 2007, according to a McKinsey report, and this share is rapidly growing while the share of in-branch transactions is dropping) means that it is also quite easy to move money between banks, further requiring banks to work hard to retain their depositors in a competitive market.

For the RBI, this move is part of a broader pattern of reforms and deregulation it has been pursuing, to make financial services more accessible to all Indians and to give consumers better control over the application of their funds. Also this week, the central bank proposed to relax the rules for opening bank branches in Tier 2 towns (population above 50,000 but less than 1 lakh), which would allow the banks to set up their branches without first seeking the RBI's permission.

For consumers, who have in recent times been battered by inflation and rising interest rates for almost every kind of borrowing, the possibility of higher yields from their deposits is much-needed relief. But they will have to wait to see if the bounty really arrives. Banks may not be quite ready to give up the generous interest spreads they have enjoyed for decades

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Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS)

The hantaviruses are a relatively newly discovered genus of viruses. Several thousand United Nations soldiers became ill with “Korean haemorrhagic fever” (now called HFRS) during the Korean War. This outbreak sparked a 25-year search for the etiologic agent. The isolation of Hantaan virus, or HTNV, was reported by Ho-Wang Lee of South Korea in 1978.

In 1993, an outbreak of Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS, see below) occurred in the Four Corners region in the southwestern United States. The viral cause of the disease was found only weeks later and was called the Sin Nombre virus (SNV, in Spanish, “Virus sin nombre”, for “nameless virus”). Its rodent host, Peromyscus maniculatus, was first identified by Terry Yates, a professor at the University of New Mexico. In addition to Hantaan virus and Sin Nombre virus, several other hantaviruses have been implicated as etiologic agents for either HFRS or HPS. Other identified hantaviruses have not been associated with disease.

What is hantavirus pulmonary syndrome?

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a lung infection caused by viruses found in the saliva, urine, and droppings of some rodents. The illness is rare but can be deadly.

The first known outbreak of HPS in the United States occurred in 1993. Most of the U.S. cases have happened during the spring and summer in the Southwest.

What causes HPS?

Most cases of HPS in the U.S. are caused by one type of hantavirus found in the deer mouse. People can become infected by:

• Breathing in tiny airborne particles that come from rodent urine.
• Touching rodent urine, saliva, or droppings.
• Coming in contact with dust contaminated with the virus.
• Being bitten by an infected mouse.

North America has never had a known case of one person spreading the illness to another. And people do not get HPS from farm animals, pets, or insects. But your pet may bring home an infected rodent.

What is the infectious agent that causes hantavirus pulmonary syndrome?

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is caused by the Sin Nombre virus. This virus is a type of hantavirus. Most hantaviruses attack the kidneys, but the Sin Nombre virus attacks the lungs. It infects the walls of the capillaries (tiny blood vessels in the lungs), making them leak and flooding the lungs with fluid.

What are the symptoms?

Symptoms usually start 2 to 3 weeks after a person has been exposed to the virus. Early symptoms may include:

• A fever and chills.
• Muscle aches and headache.
• Fatigue.
• Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and belly pain.

You quickly will become very sick. Within a few days, you’ll start to have more serious symptoms, such as:

• Shortness of breath.
• Coughing.
• A fast heartbeat and fast breathing. These are signs of fluid buildup in the lungs (pulmonary edema).

After a person with HPS starts having trouble breathing, he or she may die within hours. Most deaths occur within 1 to 2 days after severe breathing problems begin. About 4 out of 10 people who get HPS do not survive.¹

How is HPS diagnosed?

Your doctor will do a physical exam and ask you questions about your symptoms, past health, and exposure to rodents. You may have other tests, such as chest X-rays, a complete blood count, and anoxygen saturation test.

Your doctor will know for sure that you have HPS only if you have the signs of HPS and if tests show that the virus is or has been in your blood or tissues.

How is it treated?

HPS requires treatment in a hospital right away, even if the case is mild. You will get treatment to support you through the illness, such as intravenous (IV) fluids and medicines. You may need a ventilator to help you breathe.

People who survive the illness usually recover quickly. Most are able to leave the hospital after 7 days.

Where is hantavirus pulmonary syndrome found?

Hantaviruses are found in rodents in different parts of the world. Each hantavirus has a preferred rodent host. The Sin Nombre virus is carried by the deer mouse, the cotton rat, and perhaps other rodents common throughout North America. These rodents live in semi-rural and rural areas and infest camps, old buildings, barns, and homes.

How do people get hantavirus pulmonary syndrome?

Wild rodents spread HPS to people. The Sin Nombre virus is passed in the saliva, urine, and droppings of infected rodents. The virus can live for a few days in contaminated dirt and dust. People are infected when they breathe in tiny particles of these materials in dust from places where rodents are living and active. People can also be infected by handling contaminated materials and then touching the mouth or nose.

HPS is not spread from person to person. Cats and dogs do not spread the illness either, although they can bring infected rodents into contact with humans.

How is hantavirus pulmonary syndrome diagnosed?

Because the early symptoms are not specific and vary from person to person, HPS is hard to identify in its early stages. It is usually detected only when it affects the lungs and causes breathing problems.

Who is at risk for hantavirus pulmonary syndrome?

Unlike many illnesses that mainly strike people with weakened immune systems, HPS has hit mostly strong, healthy persons. Those who work, play, or live in closed spaces with active rodent infestation are at risk, although the chances of infection are low. The risk to campers, hikers, and tourists is very small.

People who should take special precautions against HPS are: 1) people who often handle or are exposed to rodents, such as wildlife biologists and exterminators, 2) people who clean or work in attics or crawl spaces where rodents might be living and active, and 3) people who clean or renovate buildings that might be actively infested with rodents.

Can HPS be prevented?

The best way to prevent hantavirus infection is to avoid contact with rodents and their droppings. If you live in or visit an area where the viruses have been found:

• Set metal traps to catch rodents, and block areas where rodents can get into your home.
• Keep garbage in tightly covered containers.
• Clean up rodent bedding sites around your house. You may need to call a professional exterminator. If you do the cleanup yourself, be very careful and:
  • Air out closed buildings well before you go inside to clean them.
  • Wear gloves and a mask.
  • Clean with a wet mop and disinfectant soap (rather than sweeping or vacuuming).
• When you are camping or hiking, avoid rodent droppings, burrows, and possible rodent shelters. Use only bottled water or water that has been disinfected.
• Do not use a cabin or any other closed shelter that has rodents until it has been aired out, cleaned, and disinfected.

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Why crop holiday in AP?

Farmers' distress has been “official” for at least ten years now, with no sign of let-up. Low prices, shortage and high cost of inputs such as seeds, fertilisers and power continue, but they have become “old movies”; the new latest movie is called “crop holiday”.

When people usually go on a holiday it means they are a happy lot; but when paddy belt farmers in AP declared a crop holiday it was full of pathos: short of committing suicide, they went on strike; they downed their tools, blocked the irrigation channels and declared ‘enough is enough; we cannot afford any more losses; we will not cultivate this season'.

In other parts of AP, farmers are on undeclared crop holiday. Crop holiday in the paddy belt of AP has become news because paddy is a major cereal crop for all of India, and secondly, the farmers there are influential. In other parts of AP , farmers who grow crops other than paddy don't make news. Migration and fallowing of crop lands is the norm today rather than an exception.

Dryland farming of millets, pulses and oilseeds are being given up, because of uncertainty of rains, yields as well as prices. Paddy is being given up because of uncertainty of water and power. Cultivation of vegetables for home/local consumption is being given up because there would be a net loss, unless you grow vegetables for the market year after year, so that losses in one season may be recovered in another season. Dairying is being given up because low yielders are a net loss.

Farmers reason like this: Why go to so much trouble and losses trying to produce them? Just manage somehow with rations from the PDS — rice, palm oil and pulses and sugar — which meet some of your requirements, and for the rest, get them from the market.

MANGO DISASTER

To make matters worse, the government has, during the last few years, promoted massive plantation of mango trees in AP as part of NREGA, without giving any thought to forward and backward linkages, markets and prices. (The same applies to other seasonal fruit crops.) This year, even with a lean crop, themandis were flooded with mangoes and the prices plummeted.

The factories which convert mangoes into pulp and juice cartelised and refused to raise the price, citing a sluggish export market and unsold stocks from last year. So the honeymoon with mangoes is now over. Except that the farmers are stuck with the mango trees! Once you plant perennial tree-crops such as mango, the land and crops cannot be changed with the rise and fall in prices — unlike the annual-seasonal crops such as paddy, millets, pulses, vegetables, which are of short duration, so crop change is possible, at least in principle.

Also the crops which can be consumed everyday — cereals, pulses, vegetables and oils — have a steady market throughout the year, even without state support; but how much mango can you consume in a year?

So why are the farmers going for mango instead of the other crops? Simple: year-on-year losses in growing everyday crops such as paddy and pulses. So, in desperation, they keep trying out different crops. Rush to where subsidies are being offered. There was a subsidy for planting mango under the NREGA, so they all rushed there. Now there is a subsidy for growing maize, they are queuing up there.

The other reason: organisationally, perennial tree crops are relatively easy to handle; once planted the operations are less; and one doesn't have to deal with truant workers/tenants; it makes absentee landownership possible; the farmer can take up non-farm jobs.

HURT BY ‘HOLIDAY'

Coming back to the crop holiday by paddy farmers, one of the main reasons is that cost of cultivation has been higher than the prices they have been getting for many years now. This, in spite of high production levels, as well as high prices at the consumer end. Rice output in Andhra Pradesh increased from 104 lakh tonnes in 2009-10 to 140 lakh tonnes in 2010-11. Price of rice is anywhere between Rs 15 to 40. So why is the farmer going on strike? (See table.) How are they to meet these year-on-year losses?

But there is another story behind all this. A strike always affects the poor, the workers, more than the rich, and the owners. In the case of the paddy belt in AP, it is the tenants and agricultural wage workers who suffered the most, rather than the owners, many of whom are absentee land owners. Seventy to 80 per cent of lands in these areas are being cultivated by tenant farmers, who double up as agricultural daily wage workers during the cultivation season. Absentee landownership is rampant. In fact, tenants and wage workers can hardly afford the strike and yet they agreed to go along, because of year-on-year losses.

Often, farmers blame NREGA for all their ills. It is true that even if NREGA doesn't provide the 100 days of employment it is supposed to provide, it has increased wage rates across the board for all kinds of farm operations. But NREGA has come only a day later than sooner. And other input costs have increased much more than labour costs.

But the farmers cannot pinpoint the culprits because the other input prices are increased by the government or companies. It is the workers who are right in front of them, in flesh and blood, with whom they can fight! Especially since most of the tenants and agricultural wage workers are dalits and they have been on an utterly dependent relationship to farmers, historically.

Today, when they are getting a better wage and when on the other hand the farmers are losing heavily, the farmers blame the NREGA for their problems.

NOTHING CHANGES

Crop holiday wasn't a joke. It covered more than 90,000 acres in the paddy belt and got the government worried. And what was the response of the government? Yet another committee! The Committee took 60 days to say in no uncertain terms that the government should at least cover the cost of cultivation. But it didn't recommend any concrete increase in the MSP, nor any bonus to be paid to the distressed farmers.

There have been recommendations and committees galore, amounting to little. At a meeting a farmers' leader quoted a proverb, “Karna's death has many causes”, meaning none can be pinpointed — an excuse for inaction.

But the sum of it is that the farmers' distress continues…

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CAG

For some time now, there has been a stream of criticism aimed at the Comptroller and Auditor General. There has been a series of media ‘reports' and even editorials questioning the accuracy, motivation and propriety of the CAG's reports. Many of the criticisms of the CAG are based on ignorance, misperception and elementary error (leaving dubious motivations aside) and it seems necessary to put matters in the right perspective.

The CAG is the institution through which the accountability of the government and other public authorities — all those who spend public funds — to Parliament and State Legislatures and through them to the people is ensured. Accountability is not the same thing as accounting, though the latter may be a part of the former; the word ‘accountability' really means answerability. We are of course talking about financial answerability. The Executive is answerable to Parliament and to the people for all its decisions, but that answerability is enforced through the CAG where it involves finance and accounts.

If we understand accountability to mean answerability, much of the confusion disappears. Vouching expenditures and rendering accounts are of course important: Parliament votes funds to the Executive and those funds have to be accounted for. However, answerability is more than that: it also means exercising prudence, avoiding waste, not incurring infructuous expenditure, showing results for moneys spent, and achieving those results at least cost. If the CAG is our prime accountability-ensuring institution, that institution must go into all these matters.

If the CAG were ‘merely' an auditor, why should Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, during the debates in the Constituent Assembly, describe the CAG as the most important functionary in the Constitution, more important than even the judiciary? Again, if the CAG was meant to be merely an auditor, why did the Constitution prescribe for this functionary an oath identical with that prescribed for the Chief Justice and Judges of the Supreme Court, including the words “I will uphold the Constitution and the laws” while a Minister of the Union swears or solemnly affirms only that he will act “in accordance with the Constitution”? Those who try to belittle the importance of the institution and limit its functions must really ask themselves these two crucial questions.

Should the CAG question policy decisions? The answer that immediately suggests itself would be “No”, but consider the following hypothetical cases: (i) the financial implications of a policy were not gone into at all before the decision was made; (ii) the assessment of financial implications was quite clearly wrong; (iii) the numbers were correct but the reasoning behind the decision was specious or fallacious; or (iv) the financial implications in fact turn out to be far higher than the assessment on which the decision was made. In such cases, would it not be within the CAG's mandate, would it not in fact be the CAG's duty as the instrument of accountability, to comment on such a policy?

Further, if the CAG is bound by his (or her) oath of office to uphold the Constitution, can he (she) refrain from commenting on something that prima facie seems unconstitutional? If the government were to formulate a scheme or policy that selectively confers benefits from public funds on an individual or group to the exclusion of others on no stated grounds, or on grounds which seem questionable, would it not be the CAG's duty to point this out?

If the above understanding is correct, then the various activities that the CAG has been undertaking, such as propriety audit, performance evaluations, and so on, are clearly well within his ambit, as different modalities of ensuring accountability. Moreover, there are two other grounds for this understanding: century-old traditions, and international consensus.

Even during British rule there was an Auditor General, and traditions of the independence and objectivity of that office were fairly strong. Gradations of audit were recognised proceeding from simple vouching and expenditure audit through regularity audit, audit of authorisation, audit of the sanctions themselves, and propriety audit, to what used to be called ‘Higher Audit'. After the constitution, the CAGs have been following that tradition and adding some technical and methodological innovations.

Internationally, there are Auditors General, Comptrollers General, Audit Commissions, and other forms of what are known as Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) not only in democratic countries, but even in authoritarian systems. In India, the CAG is the SAI. There are professional organisations such as the International Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) and the Asian counterpart (ASOSAI) in which the Indian SAI plays an important part, and is held in high esteem. The relevant point in the present context is that the Indian CAG has not stretched the audit function beyond the functions performed by other SAIs.

For instance, the National Audit Office of the U.K. has published, among others, reports on: Information and Communications Technology in Government: Landscape Review; Delivering Regulatory Reform; Assessing the Impact of Proposed New Policies; and so on. Some of the reports of the U.S. Government Accountability Office include those on: The U.S. Postal service (“Mail Trends Highlight Need to Fundamentally Change Business Model”); Aviation Safety (“Status of FAA's Actions to Oversee the Safety of Composite Airplanes”); Electronic Waste: Strengthening the Role of the Federal Government in Encouraging Recycling and Reuse; and so on. Having regard to those examples, it can hardly be said that the CAG of India has been guilty of over-reach.

In the CAG's report on the 2G case, the notional loss figure of Rs. 176000 crore has been much criticised. The report in fact makes it clear that it is difficult to arrive at a firm figure of loss, calculates it in three different ways through different methods, and makes no claim that any of the figures is definitive. However, the media delight in reporting that the CAG's figures have been questioned by various people, and a Cabinet Minister immortalised himself by claiming that there was zero loss.

That leads us to the relationship between the CAG and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Committee on Public Undertakings (COPU). The CAG finalises his reports after taking the government's and PEs' responses to his initial queries and observations and his draft reports, signs them, and submits them to the President of India, who causes them to be laid before Parliament. They are then taken up by the PAC and COPU. It is not the Reports that are under examination but the Ministries and other government offices and PEs, on the basis of those Reports. The CAG assists and advises the parliamentary committees in that examination.

Unlike the CAG of the U.K. (an officer of Parliament) or the CG of the U.S. (a part of the Legislative Branch), the Indian CAG is not an officer of Parliament, but an independent constitutional functionary. The reason for this is that the CAG is CAG for the Union as well as the States, which is a unique feature of the Indian quasi-federal system.

Finally, we come to the question of publicity. The CAG's reports have suffered from too little and not too much publicity. One of the major weaknesses of the Indian system is that very few of the CAG's reports are widely known, and that not all of them get discussed in Parliament. Some years ago, press conferences began to be held after the Audit Reports were placed before Parliament, and that practice continues. This is not a new departure introduced by the present CAG. If the CAG is to become more effective as an institution for the enforcement of accountability, it is necessary that Audit Reports be more widely known and discussed. The people have a right to know their contents. If, as a result of the CWG and the 2G controversies, the CAG and his reports are now better known than before, that is a very good development. If the present CAG manages to enhance the effectiveness of this constitutional institution, the country would owe a debt of gratitude to him.

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A culture of integrity in police

Policemen deliver to the public what they receive from their department. If there is openness and fairness within the department, if there is transparency and justice in postings, transfers and promotions, policemen will carry a high sense of justice and, in turn, this is what they will deliver to the citizens

PUBLIC trust and legitimacy is vital for police functioning. The public demands a more exemplary conduct from police officers as from the very nature of their job of law enforcement they are bound by an exacting code. Police deviance not only hits the people who are already in distress and very often belong to a disadvantaged section, but is also very visible. Still every other day there are incidents reported that draw flak and derision from society, undoing all the hard work done by a large number of officers.

Systemic issues

The solution to the problem of unethical practices in police has a much deeper undercurrent than just being a matter of enforcing discipline and strict supervision. First, a serious role conflict always exists in policing -- between the ideals of crime control and ideals of policing. While society tends to judge police performance based on the achievement of goals and outcomes, there are many limitations in our criminal justice system which hampers the efficient and effective functioning of the police. It is amazing that John Beam’s description in his Memoirs of a Bengal Civilian, of the investigative skills of the police of the pre-1861 era remains relevant even today:
‘Darogah’s powers of harassment were enormous; he would have a person indicted for harbouring a bad character, or failing to assist an officer in arresting a criminal. Obtaining witnesses presented no problems to the Darogah. They were splendid detectives. They were close the people and were themselves wily and unscrupulous enough to meet the criminal on his own ground. The ‘new’ police by contrast, after 1861, were quite inferior in detective ability. They were ‘over drilled’ and ‘over regulated’. They failed, until they learnt to use the extra-legal methods of the old police without being found out.’
This gives rise to the ‘noble cause corruption’ or unethical conduct not for personal gain but for the good of society. Examples of noble cause corruption are planting or fabricating evidence, lying on reports or in court, and generally abusing police authority to make a charge stick. This can often be how the officers cross the line towards abandoning their integrity. In Punjab itself as on 12/10/06 there were 462 police officers facing criminal writs, trials and investigations against them for allegations of acts of omission or commission performed during the period of terrorism in Punjab. Writs faced by officers include 2 ADGPs, 3 IGs, 2 DIGs & 12 SPs. There were court trials underway of CBI cases against 20 SPs, 21 DSPs, 57 Inspectors, 52 Sub- Inspectors, 53 Assistant Sub Inspectors, 42 Head Constables and 51 constables for this period.
To add to the complexity of the situation are the core subculture beliefs of the police that: They are the only real crime fighters, no one else understands them, loyalties are to each other because everyone is out to get them, can't win the war against crime without bending rules and the public is unsupportive and too demanding.
Confronted by the ethical issues, the response of the department has been strongly reactive rather than adopting a proactive strategy. As a result, the police service today is seen as a beleaguered institution which has lost a clear sense of direction.

Integrity framework

For the Indian Police today there is an urgent need to regain public trust and the strategies towards achieving this need to be given serious consideration. Therefore, a holistic approach for developing an integrity framework that considers all the three dimensions - the environment; the organisation; and personal characteristics, values and behaviour of the individuals involved in the process can address the problem.
Police service is all about values. The department needs to own up a set of core values that are inspirational, after developing them through a collective exercise within the police organisation. Having done so, monitoring and control mechanisms should be put in place to oversee the conduct of the individuals and the department as a whole, in relation to these core values, cherishing them above competencies.
Within the organisation, there is need to address both the structural issues and the culture issues. This would include the recruitment of only those individuals who are aligned to the core values, training that inculcates desired values and a rewards and recognition programme that provides incentives to live out the core values. The standardisation of key services and procedures can ensure adherence to policies, practices and behaviours that reflect the core values.
The role of authentic leadership, that is centre of gravity in sustaining and developing a culture of integrity, and reaction to critical incidents are crucial to the integrity framework. Finally, the constitution of an ‘ethic committee’ in police departments in states would help in implementing measures, identifying areas to reduce corruption and coordination and partnership with outside agencies. An expert ethics policy body for the police at the national level would be useful for advice and guidance on complex ethical dilemmas and to disseminate best practices in this area to the states.

Intrinsic motivation

The policing paradox suggests that the discretionary power tends to be the maximum at the bottom of the hierarchy in the police department. This is where patrol officers apply laws, policies and regulations and make discretionary choices away from the scrutiny of the supervisors and mostly away from the reach of accountability measures. Therefore, to promote a culture of integrity, there is also need to consider methodologies that use the power of employee commitment, organisational culture, peer norms and values to shape behaviour and build motivation in the police force.
The emerging field of Positive Organisational Behaviour suggests that the police force need to build in a culture of trust, respect and principle-based working, to create an environment where the officers and men can be inspired. The process of change from the culture of mistrust and manipulation to one of trust, friendship and respect can transform the police department from a micro-managed high-control, autocratic environment to a place of high involvement, empowerment and rapid response to citizens.
As a matter of straightforward and simple principle, the policemen would deliver to the public what they ‘receive from the department’. If there is openness and fairness within the department, there is transparency and justice in the postings, transfers and promotions, the policemen will carry a high sense of justice. In turn, this is what they will deliver to the citizens. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that the selection of Station House Officers, Senior Superintends of Police and other field officers is done on merit in a transparent manner.

Practices abroad

In the South African police important selections for those in charge of police stations and the districts are done on the basis of open process in assessment centres to determine the competency levels of officers under consideration. The South African Police Service‘s Assessment Centre can be described as a multi-method, multi-trait technique. Essentially, it is a series of individual and group exercises in which a number of candidates participate while being observed by several observers. The exercises are simulations of managerial tasks designed to test various managerial skills. The Selection process for senior officers is spread over two consecutive days.
At the time of recruitment in the Royal Mounted Canadian Police core values are well advertised and people apply for employment there because they subscribe to these values. To verify their authenticity they can be subjected to polygraph testing and conscientious testing. At the time of being confronted with these tests, 30% of candidates opt out.
In the Singapore Police Force the core values are first instilled in the officers during their induction programme and translated into the desired behaviour through policies and programmes and practices. The rewards and recognition programme then provides the incentives to live out the core values. Finally, the standardisation of key services and procedures ensures adherence to policies, practices and behaviours that reflect the core values.
Given the complexity of the problem of police integrity the Hong Kong Police adopted a holistic four-pronged approach to address the issue of police integrity in 1996. The prongs are: Education and training; minimising opportunities for malfeasance; Police and Independent Commission Against Corruption partnership and co-operation; and discipline. A series of specific measures in 1996 included an anti-smoking campaign, station fitness rooms, stress management publications and training and anti-gambling publicity. The strategy’s success could be judged from the figures: in 1974 some 47% of corruption complaints in Hong Kong were against the police compared with 13% by 2002.
Considering the ethical conduct as an essential requirement, several police departments like the Canadian and Dutch have officers as Ethics Commissioners. The Hong Kong police has an Anti-Corruption Steering Committee chaired by a Senior Assistant Commissioner. The committee is not just concerned with corruption but also with the related issues of integrity and ethics. Australia has an integrity framework in place to promote and foster such culture in the organisation and have the Office of Professional Responsibility and Professional Integrity.
When the overall effectiveness of the police in terms of crime control is under consideration it needs to be stressed that being at the first line of contact, the police may determine who enters the criminal justice system but they do not influence the eventual outcomes.
By addressing the challenges of ethical conduct and decision-making in a proactive manner, a culture of integrity can be developed and sustained in the police departments in India. And the police service can present itself to the outside world as a professional institution with credible practices, values and beliefs.

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