Summary of the President's Address to Parliament, 2012

Karan - March 12, 2012

The President addressed the Parliament on 12 March 2012. Below are some items from the agenda of the central government as outlined in the speech. Legislation

A Bill to eliminate manual scavenging and insanitary latrines shall be introduced in Parliament.
New legislation is being considered for persons with disabilities, in order to replace the existing Act.
A Bill to provide for a uniform regulatory environment to protect consumer interests, enable speedy adjudication and ensure growth of the real estate sector shall be introduced.
A Bill to create a Civil Aviation Authority to ensure safe and affordable air services will be introduced this year.
The government is working on legislation for safeguarding and promoting the livelihoods of street vendors.
Amendments shall be made to the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act to prohibit employment of children less than 14 years of age.
Government will aim for early enactment of the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill.

Workforce Development

1500 new Industrial Training Institutes and 5000 Skill Development Centres shall be set up. Skill training will be provided to 85 lakh people during 2012-13 and to 800 lakh people during the 12^th Plan.
A National Mission for Teachers shall be established to improve teacher education and faculty development .
The National Urban Livelihoods Mission shall be launched for large-scale skill upgradation, entrepreneurship development and providing wage employment and self-employment opportunities.
The expenditure on Research & Development shall be increased from 1 percent to 2 percent of GDP.
A Higher Education Credit Guarantee Authority shall be set up in order to provide limited credit guarantees through risk pooling for educational loans.

Health

The government will increase national Plan and Non-Plan public expenditure on health to 2.5 percent of GDP by the end of the 12^th Plan.
The National Rural Health Mission will be converted to a National Health Mission during the 12^th Plan, which will also cover urban areas. Around 7 crore families will be provided health insurance cover under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana by the end of the 12^th Plan.
A Multi-sectoral Nutrition Programme will be launched in 200 districts for maternal and child nutrition needs.
A Department for Disability Affairs and the National Council for Senior Citizens shall be set up.

Economy

Steps will be taken to reduce the gap of 10 million hectares between irrigation potential created and realized.
A scheme for Minimum Support Price for minor forest produce is being considered.
A roadmap to double merchandise exports to US$ 500 billion by 2013-14 has been prepared.
Public sector banks shall be recapitalized to maintain their financial health.
A scheme for promotion of the capital goods industry will be launched during the 12^th Plan.
Rs 17,500 crore shall be provided to the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor for infrastructure projects.
The National Electricity Fund shall be set up to provide interest subsidy on loans disbursed to State Power Utilities.
Installed capacity of nuclear plants shall be increased to 10,080 MW from 4,780 MW by the end of the 12^th Plan.

Parliament

'Jack of all trades: How can MPs fulfil all their roles?'

Anil - October 25, 2010

At an event organised by the Hansard Society, a UK based political research and education charity, MPs spoke about what their role entails and the challenges the face in fulfilling their role. It is striking to note the similarity between what our Parliamentarians have to share about the challenges they face in their roles as representative of the people and what the UK MPs have shared.

Management of their diary i.e. Time Management and prioritizing issues are important to the MP being able to do justice to his various roles
The MPs stated that the constituency expects action from them on issues which fall within the purview of the local Government and should have been taken up with the councillor. These could be issues related to public works, schools and the like.
Quite often the local councillor is unknown to the population and since the MP is easily recognizable, local issues are taken up with him. The MP is obliged to take up the issue because he cannot be seen to turn anyone away.
People assume that if you are not seen on the streets you aren't doing your job. Therefore constituency visits are deemed important and end up taking quite a bit of time, which could have been otherwise devoted to legislative work.
MPs with a thin majority tend to focus more on local issues for fear of not being able to retain their seat. They tend to try that much harder to address local issues, even with the knowledge that it is not their primary responsibility.
Some MPs felt that the committee work should be of foremost priority instead of just an additional responsibility for the MP, as it is at the committee level that all aspects of the legislation can be examined and worked on in detail.
MPs should be encouraged to specialize in subjects so that they develop their knowledge in there area of interest.

In general, there are three views the MP has to balance: The Party's, The Constituency's and his or her Personal views. For example the debate on Wind Farms for renewable energy which spoil the landscape, or immigration. These are subjects where the three views may be vary greatly from each other and the MP has to balance each of these. Ultimately, loyalty to party is a must, since the MP won on the party’s ticket, so the MP owes his/her allegiance to the Party and should endorse the Party’s views.

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Summary of the President's Address to Parliament, 2012

'Jack of all trades: How can MPs fulfil all their roles?'

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