BLOGS
What is a ketogenic or “keto” diet ?
Actor Mishti Mukherjee, 27, who had worked in Bengali, Telugu and some Hindi films, died on October 2 in a Bengaluru hospital. His family said Mukherjee suffered from kidney failure because he was on a ketogenic diet.
What is a ketogenic or “keto” diet and when can it become unhealthy?
The ketogenic diet is one of the most popular weight loss diets in the world. It is a high fat, moderate protein and low carbohydrate diet that helps you lose weight by reaching ketosis, a metabolic state in which the liver burns body fat and provides fuel to the body as access to glucose is limited.
- A classic ketogenic diet requires that 90% of a person’s calories come from fat, 6% from protein, and 4% from carbohydrates. But there are many versions, since this one was designed for children with epilepsy to take control of their seizures. Typically, popular ketogenic diets suggest an average of 70-80% fat, 5-10% carbohydrate, and 10-20% protein.
- There are many versions of ketogenic diets, but they ban all foods high in carbohydrates. At first it may seem easier to stick to a ketogenic diet because you don’t need to count calories and the rules are very simple, but eventually adherence becomes very difficult.
What foods are in the diet?
Eggs, chicken and turkey can be eaten in poultry, oily fish such as salmon and mackerel, fatty dairy products, nuts and seeds such as macadamia nuts, almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, peanuts and flax seeds.
- There are also nut butters like the natural peanut, almond, and cashew butters. It is also made up of healthy fats like coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil, coconut butter, and sesame oil.
- There are avocados and non-starchy vegetables like green leafy vegetables, broccoli, tomatoes, mushrooms, and peppers.
How does ketogen affect the body?
If you deprive the body of carbohydrates, after you burn glucose, the liver starts breaking down fat for energy. Ketosis is common in all types of fasting, but on a ketogenic diet, when you give it a lot of fat from the outside without carbs, it can become slightly toxic.
- This can lead to many deficiencies of nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins (especially vitamins A, D, E and K) and minerals such as calcium, phosphorus and sodium. These are essential food groups and their absence in the diet can be the cause of many deficiency diseases.
- Extreme carbohydrate restriction can lead to hunger, fatigue, bad mood, irritability, constipation, headaches, and mental confusion, which can last from a few days to several weeks.
What impact does it have on our kidneys?
Even the moderate increase in protein should be carefully monitored, especially in those who already have chronic kidney disease, as it could lead to kidney failure, a thorough evaluation and ensuring they have normal kidney function before choosing this diet.
- This diet could put more stress on the kidneys and lead to kidney stones as they are forced to work overtime, if a person dies while on a ketogenic diet, there is likely an underlying kidney disease.
How did the ketogenic diet become popular?
Keto had gained popularity as a treatment for pediatric epilepsy in the 1920s and 1930s. But it gained considerable attention as a potential weight loss strategy when the low-carb fad began in the 1970s with a diet Atkins (a very low-carb, high-protein diet that became commercially successful and popularized low-carb diets to a new level).
- Over the past five years, the ketogenic diet has grown in popularity after many celebrities, including Halle Berry, Kim Kardashian, and Gwyneth Paltrow, began to endorse it. In India, she made the headlines after comedian Tanmay Bhat found out she was on a diet to lose weight.
Why is it so popular?
Because it has turned out to be one of the fastest ways to lose weight. In the first few days after starting the diet, there is significant water weight loss, and for the average person, the diet seems to be working.
- Today, everyone is looking for quick solutions. Many have failed conventional diets and want something extreme. As with most fad diets, you can lose weight fast on the ketogenic diet, but it’s hard not to get it off because adherence is so low.
Who should follow a ketogenic diet?
A ketogenic diet may be an option for people who have struggled to lose weight with other methods. But if you’re looking to lose weight on keto, put the idea aside. That urge or desperation to lose weight in four to eight weeks that you’ve been developing for months and years can turn fatal.
Should You Take Keto Without Medical Supervision?
A person is advised to follow the diet under the strict supervision of a nutritionist or dietitian. A health care provider or nutritionist can assess your needs and guide you on clean keto compared to anything available on the internet. Clean Keto focuses on whole foods that are high in nutrients and puts more emphasis on food quality. Dirty keto is also known as lazy keto because it allows for highly processed and packaged foods.
Common mistakes
Go to Google and start your diet on your own, While technically you can go into ketosis and reap some of the benefits of using this approach, there are several key nutrients that can be overlooked and increase your risk for disease. By choosing processed foods over nutritious whole foods, you can become deficient in micronutrients such as calcium, magnesium, zinc, folic acid, and vitamins C, D and K, ”says Dr. Mithal, adding that ‘A number of supplements and Ketogenic alternatives, such as keto coffee, keto chocolates, available in the market are unreliable.
What precautions should take?
Doctors suggest increasing your water intake if you are on keto. They should make sure to stay under medical supervision for side effects. You have to watch how you stick to extreme diets and remember that ‘yo-yo diets’ that cause rapid fluctuation in weight loss are associated with higher mortality. Instead of committing to the diets of the following people, you should eat a long-term sustainable diet. A balanced, unprocessed diet rich in colorful fruits and vegetables, lean meats, fish, whole grains, nuts, seeds, olive oil and plenty of water is a better idea.
How is the ketogenic diet different from a low-carb diet?
Most modern weight loss diets are low in carbohydrates, but the difference is that some of them only contain refined carbohydrates and are high in protein.
- But in the ketogenic diet, carbs are less than 10%, which puts you off eating fruits and vegetables, says Dr. Mithal. When you’re on a low-carb diet, it’s common to increase your intake of protein, healthy fats, and vegetables to replace carbs and promote fullness. By limiting carbohydrates, you are eliminating a lot of high calorie foods from your diet. All of these factors can work together to lower your total calorie intake and promote weight loss.
- A low-carbohydrate diet has been linked to several health benefits for people with diabetes, including weight loss and better control of blood sugar and cardiovascular risk factors. Whereas when you are on a ketogenic diet, the goal is to achieve nutritional ketosis. This is accomplished by consuming less than 50 grams of carbohydrates per day while maintaining a moderate protein intake and dramatically increasing fat intake.
What is 2018VP1, the “Election Day Asteroid”?
On the eve of the United States’ presidential vote, an asteroid colliding with Earth could approach the planet, according to the Center for Near Object Studies at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. While numerous social networks expressed concern at the news of the astroid
“Asteroid 2018VP1 is very small, approx. 6.5 feet and no threat to Earth! It currently has a 0.41% chance of entering our planet’s atmosphere, but if it did, it would disintegrate due to its extremely small size. “
NASA downplayed its risk and tweeted on Sunday
What is 2018VP1, the “Election Day Astroid”?
The asteroid, named 2018VP, was first discovered at the Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California two years ago. A 13-day observation arc followed, after which the asteroid was no longer detected.
When it was first discovered?
- The asteroid, which has an orbital period of two years, was about 2,80000 miles from Earth, according to Science Alert. This year, however, the asteroid could be as close as 4,700 miles according to NASA’s Close-Approach Database. Asteroid 2018VP1: Should we be worried?
- NASA said there is a 0.41% chance, or 1 in 240, that 2018VP1 will hit Earth. Even if the asteroid enters our planet’s atmosphere, it is unlikely to cause damage on November 2.
- According to The Planetary Society, it is estimated that there are around 1 billion asteroids over a meter in diameter. Objects that can cause significant damage on impact measure over 30 meters.
- The Chicxulub impactor, the celestial object that caused the sudden extinction of most dinosaur species 66 million years ago, was over 10 kilometers in diameter.
- 2018VP1 is almost 2 meters in diameter, about the size of a small car, and would likely burn in an impressive fireball after entering Earth’s atmosphere before hitting the ground. According to NASA, such an event occurs once a year.
- According to NASA’s Near-Earth Object Observation Program, asteroids 140 meters or more (larger than a small football stadium) are “the biggest concern” because of the level of devastation their impact can cause. However, it has been pointed out that no asteroid longer than 140 meters has a “significant” chance of hitting Earth in the next 100 years.
Deflect the asteroids
Over the years, scientists have suggested different ways to protect against threats of more serious impact events, such as detonating the asteroid before it reaches Earth or diverting it from its Earth course by hitting with a spaceship.
- The most drastic measure undertaken to date is the Asteroid Deflection and Impact Assessment (AIDA), which includes NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) and European Space Agency’s Hera ( ESA).
- The target of the mission is Didymos, a binary asteroid close to Earth, one of whose bodies is the size that could pose the greatest threat to Earth.
- In 2018, NASA announced that it had started construction of DART, which is slated to launch in 2021 with the aim of crashing into the smallest asteroid in the Didymos system at around 6 km per second in 2022 Hera, scheduled for launch.
- In 2024, it will arrive at the Didymos system in 2027 to measure the impact crater produced by the DART collision and study the change in the orbital trajectory of the asteroid.
What are polygraph tests and narco analysis?
A spokesman for the Uttar Pradesh government said on Friday (October 2) that polygraph tests and narco-analysis would be carried out as part of the investigation into the alleged theft and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit woman by four caste men from Thakur to Hathras last month. The spokesman said that the tests would be carried out on “all the people on the accused and victim side”, in addition to “the police involved in the case and others related to the case.
What are polygraph tests and narcoanalysis?
A polygraph test is based on the assumption that the physiological responses triggered when a person lies are different than they would be otherwise.
- Instruments such as cardiovascular bracelets or sensitive electrodes, and variables such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, change in sweat gland activity, blood flow, etc. are attached to the person measured as it is they ask you questions.
- A numerical value is assigned to each answer to determine whether the person is telling the truth, cheating or not sure.
- A test like this was reportedly first conducted in the 19th century by Italian criminologist Cesare Lombroso, who used a machine to measure changes in suspects’ blood pressure during questioning.
- Later, the American psychologist William Marstron created similar devices in 1914 and the Californian policeman John Larson in 1921.
- Narcoanalysis, on the other hand, involves the injection of a drug, sodium pentothal, which induces a hypnotic or sedative state in which the subject’s imagination is neutralized and it is supposed to divulge truthful information.
- The drug, called “truth serum” in this context, was used in larger doses as an anesthetic during surgery and was said to have been used during World War II for intelligence operations.
- More recently, investigating agencies have attempted to use this evidence in the investigation and are sometimes seen as a “softer alternative” to torture or “third degree” to extract the truth from suspects.
- However, neither method has been scientifically proven to have a 100% success rate and it remains controversial in the medical field as well.
Can Indian investigators subject the accused to these tests?
In “Selvi & Ors vs State of Karnataka & Anr ” (2010), a Supreme Court bench made up of the Chief Justice of India, KG Balakrishnan and Justices RV Raveendran and JM Panchal, ruled that Evidence from the Lie detectors should not be performed “except with the consent of the accused.”
- Those who volunteer must have access to a lawyer, and the police and the lawyer explain the physical, emotional and legal implications of the test, the bank said.
- He said that the “Guidelines for the administration of polygraph tests to an accused” issued by the National Human Rights Commission in 2000 must be strictly followed. The subject’s consent must be registered with a judicial magistrate, the court said.
- Test results cannot be considered a “confession” because people with drug addiction cannot choose to answer the questions posed to them.
- However, any information or material that is later discovered through voluntary testing can be admitted as evidence, the court said.
- Therefore, if a defendant reveals the location of a murder weapon during testing and the police later find the weapon there, the defendant’s statement will not be evidence, but the weapon will.
- The Court took into consideration international human rights standards, the right to a fair trial, and the right not to incriminate oneself in accordance with Article 20 (3) of the Constitution.
- “We have to recognize that forced interference with a person’s mental processes is also an affront to human dignity and freedom, often with serious and long-lasting consequences,” the court said, noting that the state’s claim that the use of these scientific techniques.
- The reduction of “third degree” methods “is a circular reasoning that seeks to replace one form of inappropriate behavior with another.”
- Are investigators allowed to subject persons other than the accused (witnesses, victims, their families) to a criminal investigation based on this evidence?
- Are investigators allowed to subject other people besides the accused to a criminal investigation (witnesses, victims, their families) using this evidence?
- The Supreme Court said in its order that “no one should be subjected to force by any of the techniques in question, whether as part of a criminal investigation or otherwise”, and extended the same rule to others, which cannot be done. the test if they give their consent.
- They said that forcing a person to undergo these tests amounted to “an unwarranted interference with personal freedom” but left the possibility of “voluntary administration” of these techniques if people consented.
- The court considered the scope of section 20 (3), the right against self-incrimination, which states that no defendant can be compelled to testify against himself.
- They said that while this required a person to be formally named an accused, other provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code also extend this protection to witnesses.
- With regard to victims, especially of sex crimes, the judiciary has stated that regardless of the need to expedite the investigation in such cases, a victim of a crime cannot be forced to submit to such cases tests as this would constitute “an unwarranted invasion of privacy and could lead to further stigmatization of the victim. “
In which criminal cases have these tests been used in recent years?
In most cases, investigative agencies seek permission to conduct such tests on accused or suspects, but rarely on victims or witnesses.
- Legal experts say investigative agencies can present to a court that evidence is needed to aid them in their investigation, but consent or refusal to be interviewed by an individual does not reflect innocence or guilt.
- More recently, the IWC attempted to perform these tests on the driver and aid of the truck that struck rape victim Unnao in Uttar Pradesh in July of last year. He also tried to test a defendant in the case of alleged fraud at the National Bank of the Punjab, but the court rejected the statement after the defendant did not give his consent.
- In May 2017, INX Media founder Indrani Mukerjea, facing a trial for the alleged murder of his daughter Sheena Bora in 2012, offered to take the lie detector test, which was rejected by the CBI, claiming have sufficient evidence against you.
- The polygraph test was also performed on Dr Rajesh Talwar and Dr Nupur Talwar, accused of killing their daughter Aayushi and aiding Hemraj in Noida. A video of his trainer Krishna’s narco scan test was leaked.
- The Supreme Court, in its ruling, warned against such leaks, calling them a “worrying practice”.
What are defence offsets?
The Defense Ministry presented its last defense procurement procedure of 2020 (DAP 2020) on Monday, which will take effect from Thursday, October 1.
- By amending a 15-year policy, the government decided to remove the compensation clause if the equipment is purchased under agreements or arrangements between two countries, or under an ab initio supplier agreement only.
What are defense offsets?
- In simpler terms, compensation is an obligation for an international player to boost India’s national defense industry if India purchases defense equipment from it.
- With defense contracts expensive, the government wants some of that money to either benefit Indian industry or allow the country to benefit from the technology.
- The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), in a report presented on September 23, defined remuneration as a “mechanism generally put in place with the threefold objective of: (a) partially compensating for a significant outflow of resources from a purchasing country in a large purchase of foreign products (b) facilitating the introduction of technology and (c) strengthening the capacities and capacities of the domestic industry ”.
- An offsetting provision in a contract requires the supplier to “cancel the purchase, fulfill export orders or invest in local industry or research and development” in the buyer’s domestic industry, according to CAG .
When was the policy introduced?
- Amit Cowshish, a former Defense Ministry financial adviser, who retired in 2012 and continues to be part of the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis, said the policy was adopted on the recommendations of the Vijay Kelkar committee in 2005.
“The idea was that since we buy a lot of defense equipment from foreign countries, we can harness our purchasing power by taxing it to meet compensation obligations, which is the norm around the world.”
Cowshish said.
“The first policy says that all defense acquisitions exceeding Rs 300 crore, the estimated cost, will involve compensation obligations of at least 30%, which could increase or decrease the DAC (Defense Acquisition Council),”
Cowshish said.
- In December 2005, the Sixth Standing Defense Committee (2005-2006) recommended in its report on defense procurement policy and procedure that modalities be established for the implementation of compensation contracts.
The first offsets contract was signed in 2007
- The government declared the “defense compensation target” for the first time on August 1, 2012: “The main objective of defense compensation policy is to leverage capital acquisitions to develop the defense industry. Defense of India by (i) promoting the development of internationally competitive enterprises, (ii) increasing research, design and development capabilities related to defense products and services and (iii) promoting development synergistic sectors such as civil aerospace and internal security ”.
How can a foreign supplier meet its compensation obligations?
- There are several routes. Until 2016, the supplier had to declare at the time of signing the contract the details of how it will do so.
- In April 2016, the new policy amended it to allow you to provide it “either at the time of the offset credit request or one year before the offset obligations are met.
- The August 2012 Defense Ministry note mentioned these routes.
- Direct purchase or fulfillment of export orders for qualified products manufactured or services provided by Indian companies.
- Foreign direct investment in joint ventures with Indian companies (equity investment) for eligible products and services.
- In-kind investment in terms of technology transfer (TOT) to Indian companies, through joint ventures or non-participatory channels for eligible products and services.
- Investment in “kind” in Indian companies concerning the supply of equipment by non-participatory means for the manufacture and / or maintenance of products and services
- Supply of equipment and / or TOT to government institutions and establishments engaged in the manufacture and / or maintenance of eligible products and provision of eligible services including DRDO (unlike Indian companies).
- Acquisition of technology by DRDO in high technology fields.
- Cowshish said the 2012 note also introduced bank and clearing multipliers. “Banking means that while waiting to get a contract from the Department of Defense, a seller can ditch the offsets and get credit that could be deposited. Later, if you have obtained the contract, you will be able to use the credits in the bank, under certain conditions. ” He said.
- For multipliers, says Cowshish, “if you meet the compensation obligation by taking an MSME unit as IOP (Indian clearing partner for foreign provider), you get the multiplier of 1.5, that is – Let’s say if you meet a compensation obligation of Rs 100, but your IOP is an MSME unit, you will get a compensation credit of Rs 150 ”.
- DAP 2020 gave the critical technology transfer to DRDO the highest multiplier of 4.
Will no defense contract now have compensation clauses?
- Only government-to-government (G2G) agreements, single-source ab initio contracts, or intergovernmental agreements (IGA) will no longer have offset clauses.
- For example, the purchase agreement for 36 Rafale fighter jets, signed between the governments of India and France in 2016, was an IGA.
“Ab initio a single vendor means that when you start the process, you only have one vendor … There may be a situation where you start with two or three vendors and send them a Request for Proposal (RFP), and end with a single vendor, resulting in a single vendor situation, ”
said Cowshish.
- The Department of Defense issues the RFP to a single vendor.
- The IGA is an agreement between two countries and could be a framework contract, under which individual contracts can continue to be signed, Cowshish said.
- G2G is a specific transaction or a specific acquisition agreement, he said.
- Under DAP 2020, all other international offers that are competitive and competing with multiple providers will continue to have a 30% offset clause.
Why was the article removed?
- Apurva Chandra, general manager of acquisitions, said on Monday that suppliers would “charge” additional costs on the contract to balance the costs and that the elimination of offsets could reduce the costs of those contracts.
- The sources explained that the fulfillment of the compensation obligations entails an “administrative fee” paid by the sellers.
- Chandra had also mentioned recent criticism of the CAG.
What did the CAG say?
- The ACG criticized the entire policy. From the first contract signed in 2007 to March 2018, CAG said, 46 compensation contracts were signed for Rs 66,427 crore.
- “Overall from 2007 to December 2018. Rs 19,223 crore should have been released in compensation. However, the claimed exemption from sellers’ compensation obligation as of December 2018 was Rs 11,396 crore. This only represented 59% of the compensation owed in December 2018. “
- It said that the competent authority had accepted claims of only Rs 5,457 crore over Rs 11,396 crore and the rest are pending or rejected. “The remaining clearing obligation of approximately Rs 55 billion should be completed by 2024.”
- The ACG is not very optimistic about meeting the obligations by 2024. It said the audit “found that foreign suppliers have made various compensation commitments to qualify for the main supply contract, but then they have not decided to fulfill those commitments. ”.
- The ACG found “no case in which the foreign supplier transferred high technology to the Indian industry.”
What are bonds?
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the drop in performance of the government’s new 10-year security bonds to 5.79%, the lowest since February 2009. This reflects aggressive rate cuts and central bank liquidity injection.
In post-issue trading, the bond closed at 5.72% at the price of Rs. 100.55. While the G-sec auction was announced for Rs.10000 crore , the RBI exercised the option of green shoes for Rs.2000.
The new bond yield of 6.45% in 2029, which was the previous benchmark, forced a readjustment of the prices of all existing government bonds, leading to capital gains for bond holders. Bond prices and yields are moving in opposite directions. RBI cut rates by 210 basis points in 16 months and also took several steps to manage long-term liquidity and returns.
Falling 10-year government bond yields showed that bond investors expected future demand for money to drop. That is why future interest rates should be lower. In turn, a drop in the demand for money in the future will only occur when growth slows further. Therefore, the decline in government bond yields generally suggests that economic actors “expect” growth to slow down in the future. Of course, bond yields simply “suggest” that they do not “slow down” future growth.
What are bonds?
A bond is an instrument for borrowing money. It’s like a promissory note. A bond could be issued / issued by the government of a country or by a fundraising company. Since government bonds (called G-sec in India, Trésor in the United States, and Gilts in the United Kingdom) come with a sovereign guarantee, they are considered one of the safest investments. As a result, they also give the lowest returns on investment (or returns). Investments in corporate bonds tend to be more risky because the chances of failure (and therefore the chances that the company will not repay the loan) are greater.
What are bonds yields?
Simply put, the yield on a bond is the effective rate of return it earns. But the rate of return is not fixed, it changes with the price of the bond. Each bond has a face value and a coupon payment. There is also the price of the bond, which may or may not be equal to the face value of the bond.
Suppose that the face value of a 10-year G-sec is 100 rupees and that your coupon payment is 5 rupees. Buyers of this bond will give the government 100 rupees (face value); in exchange, the government will pay them 5 rupees (coupon payment) each year for the next 10 years and reimburse their 100 rupees at the end of the term. In this case, the yield on the bond, or effective interest rate, is 5%. Return is the investor’s reward for parting with Rs 100 today, but for running out of it for 10 years.
Why and how do yields go up and down?
Imagine a situation where there is only one bond and two buyers (or people willing to lend to the government). In such a scenario, the sale price of the bond can go from Rs 100 to Rs 105 or Rs 110 due to the competitive offers of the two buyers.
Above all, even if the bond sells for Rs 110, the coupon payment of Rs 5 will not change. Consequently, as the price of bonds increases from Rs 100 to Rs 110, the yield drops to 4.5%. Likewise, if the economy-wide interest rate is different from the initial coupon payment promised by a bond, market forces will quickly ensure that the yield aligns with the interest rate of the economy.
In this sense, G-sec yields are closely synchronized with the interest rate prevailing in an economy. Referring to the example above, if the interest rate in effect is 4% and the government announces a bond with a yield of 5% (i.e. a nominal value of 100 rupees and many 5 rupees), many people will rush to buy this bond to earn a higher interest rate. This surge in demand will start to raise bond prices, even if yields fall.
This will continue until the bond price reaches Rs 125, at that time, a coupon payment Rs-5 would be equivalent to a yield of 4%, the same as in the rest of the economy. This process of aligning yields with the prevailing interest rate in the economy works in reverse when interest rates are higher than the yields originally promised.
And what is a yield curve, and what does it signify?
A yield curve is a graphical representation of bond yields (with an equal credit rating) across different time horizons. Generally, the term is used for government bonds, which come with the same sovereign guarantee.
If bond investors expect the US economy to grow normally, they would expect to receive more rewards (that is, get more returns) when they lend for a longer period. This results in a normal yield curve, with an upward slope (see graph). The steepness of this yield curve is determined by the speed at which an economy is expected to grow. The longer you expect it to grow faster, the higher the performance for longer durations. When the economy is expected to grow only marginally, the yield curve is “flat.”
What then is yield inversion, and what does it mean?
Performance reversal occurs when the return on a longer holding link becomes lower than the return on a shorter holding link. It also happened last week when the 10-year Treasury yield fell below the 2-year Treasury yield.
A performance investment generally announces a recession. An inverted yield curve shows that investors expect a sharp fall in future growth; In other words, the demand for silver would be much lower than it is today, and therefore the returns are also lower. A yield inversion has always been followed by a recession.
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Welcome to the Ministry of Co-operation
In a historic gesture, the Modi government has established a separate “Ministry of Cooperation” to realize the vision of “Sahkar se Samriddhi”. The Ministry of Cooperation will provide a separate administrative, legal and political framework to strengthen the cooperative movement in the country.
- This will help deepen cooperatives as a true grassroots movement. The ministry will work to streamline “ease of doing business” processes for cooperatives and allow for the development of multi-state cooperatives (MSCS).
- The former Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Peasant Welfare consisted of 27 divisions, 5 attached offices, 21 subordinate offices, 1 public sector company, 8 autonomous organizations and 2 authorities.
- The central government has expressed its deep commitment to a community development association. The creation of an independent Ministry of Cooperation also responds to the budget announcement made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
In the past, the government changed the name of several ministries to broaden their work profile. For example, the Ministry of the Environment has been named the Ministry of the Environment, Forests and Climate Change; In addition, the scope of the Ministry of Livestock was expanded to include fishing, livestock and dairy production, and the Ministry of Human Resources was renamed the Ministry of Education.
- A new ministry “Jal Shakti” was also formed, in which the former ministries of water resources and drinking water and sanitation were merged.
What is a cooperative society?
Cooperatives are businesses owned, controlled and managed by their members to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations. Co-operative societies operate for a common benefit with a motive to help their members. Cooperative societies in India have played an important role in strengthening the rural economy.
- According to the International Co-operative Alliance, co-operatives are people-centered businesses that are owned, controlled and managed by their members to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations.
What is the history of the cooperative movement in India?
The history of cooperative societies dates back to pre-independence, in response to agrarian angst and general indebtedness.
- The first cooperative society legislation came into effect with the Cooperative Credit Societies Act of 1904.
- In 1912 another law was passed to rectify some of the drawbacks. The next landmark law came in 1919 under the Montague-Chelmsford reforms, under which cooperation became a provincial matter. It allowed provinces to draft their own legislation to govern co-ops.
- Later, in 1942, the British government announced the Multiple Unit Cooperative Societies Act to cover cooperative societies whose members extended beyond a province.
- In post-independence India, in 1958, the National Development Council (NDC) recommended a national policy on cooperatives as well as staff training and the establishment of cooperative marketing societies.
- In 1984, Parliament enacted the Multistate Cooperative Societies Act to eliminate the plethora of laws governing the same types of companies.
- In 2002, the then NDA government, under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, announced a national policy on cooperatives to support the promotion and development of cooperatives. It also aims to reduce regional imbalances and strengthen cooperative education, training and human resource development.
What laws govern cooperative societies?
Like agriculture, cooperation is on the concurrent list, which means central and state governments can rule them. Most cooperative societies are governed by the laws of their respective states, with a cooperation commissioner and the registrar of societies as the government office.
- In 2002, the Center passed a Multistate Cooperative Societies Act which allowed the registration of companies with operations in more than one state.
- These are mainly banks, dairies and sugar factories whose area of activity covers all states. The Central Register of Companies is its supervisory authority, but in the field the State Register acts on its behalf.
Types of Cooperative Societies
There are six main types of cooperative societies:
- Consumer cooperative societies,
- Cooperative societies of producers,
- Cooperative marketing companies,
- Housing cooperative societies,
- Cooperative credit societies,
- Agricultural cooperative societies.
Government weapons that oversee the area
The National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI) and the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) work to promote the cooperative movement in India.
- The NCDC was initially responsible for planning, promoting and financing programs for the production, processing, marketing, storage, export and import of agricultural products, food, and notified products.
- Later, however, it was expanded to help different types of cooperatives and broaden its financial base.
- It also finances projects in rural industrial cooperative sectors such as water conservation, irrigation, agro-insurance, agro-credit, sanitation and animal health.
How much finances do these institutions control?
NABARD‘s annual report for 2019-2020 counts 95,238 PACS, 363 DCCB and 33 state cooperative banks in the country. The state cooperative banks reported total paid-up capital of Rs 6.104 crore and deposits of Rs 1.35,393 crore, while DCCB’s paid-up capital stood at Rs 21.447 crore and deposits at Rs 3 78.248 crore.
- The DCCB, whose main function is the disbursement of short-term loans for the agricultural sector (agricultural loans), distributed 3,00,034 crore in the form of loans.
- The state cooperative banks, which mainly finance food industries such as sugar factories or spinning mills, disbursed Rs 148,625 million in the form of loans. (Annual report, NABARD, 2019-20).
- In urban areas, urban cooperative banks (UCBs) and cooperative credit societies extend banking services to many sectors that would otherwise have had difficulty fitting into the institutional credit structure.
- According to the Reserve Bank of India data, the country has 1,539 UCBs with a total capital in 2019-2020 of Rs 14,933.54 crore with a total loan portfolio of Rs 3,05,368.27 crore.
Various facets of cooperatives in India
Cooperatives in India have grown exponentially. In agriculture, dairy and sugar cooperatives, spinning mills, etc. They are formed with the pooled resources of farmers who want to transform their products.
- The country has 1,945,195 dairy cooperatives and 330 sugar cooperatives.
- In 2019-2020, dairy cooperatives bought 4.80 million liters of milk from 1.7 million members and sold 3.7 million million liters of fluid milk per day. (Annual Report, National Dairy Development Board, 2019-2020) Cooperative sweets represent 35% of the sugar produced in the country.
- In banking and finance, cooperative institutions are distributed in rural and urban areas. Village Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) made up of farmers’ associations are the best example of credit flow at the local level.
- These companies anticipate the credit demand of a village and apply for the Central District Cooperative Banks (DCCB).
- State cooperative banks are at the top of the rural cooperative credit structure. Since PACS are a collective of farmers, they have much more bargaining power than an individual farmer arguing at a commercial bank.
- In the banking sector, according to the RBI, its contribution to rural credit increased from 3.1 percent in 1951 to an impressive 27.3 percent in 2002.
- The data show that the combined balance sheet of all state cooperative banks, at March 31, 2015, it was Rs 1.98 lakh crore and that of the district central cooperative banks amounted to Rs 4.06 lakh crore, their net earnings were respectively 1,005 crore and Rs 793 crore.
- Cooperatives have also evolved in different forms, such as consumer cooperative societies such as Kendriya Bhandar, a welfare society for central government employees established in 1963; Apna Bazar, one of the largest and oldest multi-state cooperatives, and Sahakari Bhandar, a cooperative chain of retail stores.
- Then there are producer cooperatives like APCO or the Andhra Pradesh State Hand Weavers Cooperative Society; and Boyanika, representing the Odisha weaving cooperative societies, and Haryana Handloom.
- Maharashtra alone has around 2 lakhs of cooperative societies with an estimated total of 50.5 million members. According to official state data, there are 21,000 primary agricultural credit societies and 31 district cooperative banks.
- Apart from these, there are sugar cooperatives, dairy cooperatives, power looms, urban and rural non-agricultural credit societies.
Examples of cooperative societies and their functioning
Amul is a successful example of a dairy cooperative society. It is managed by the Federation of Gujarat Milk Marketing Cooperatives and is jointly owned by some 36 million dairy farmers in the western state.
- AMUL, the largest food and dairy company in the country with an annual turnover of over Rs 38,000 crore.
- The Federation of Gujarat Milk Marketing Cooperatives which sells AMUL dairy products is an example of a cooperative marketing society, which is made up of small producers and manufacturers who find it difficult to sell products individually. The company collects the products and takes responsibility for their sale.
- The cooperative collects and distributes products from milk producers, eliminating the need for middlemen. Gujarati dairy farmers have benefited tremendously as they would otherwise have had difficulty selling individually to customers directly.
- According to the National Dairy Development Board’s 2019-2020 annual report, there are 1,945,195 cooperative dairy companies in the country.
- Some other prominent examples of cooperative societies are Kendriya Bhandar and Sahkari Bhandar, which purchase goods directly from producers / manufacturers, thereby eliminating middlemen and delivering the product at lower cost to end consumers, thus protecting the interests of both producers and from customer manufacturers.
- Cooperative societies are not limited to agriculture. In the banking and financial field, cooperative institutions are distributed in rural and urban areas in the form of credit companies.
- For example, at the village level, there are Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) at the village level, which anticipate a particular village’s credit demand and obtain loans from central district cooperative banks (DCCBs).
- At the top of the rural credit lending structure are the state cooperative banks. This is another successful example of a cooperative partnership, as individual farmers do not have the bargaining power to argue their case with a bank.
- According to the NABARD 2019-20 report, there are 95,238 PACS, 363 DCCB and 33 state cooperative banks in India.
- In addition to credit companies, there are also housing cooperative societies in urban areas and marketing cooperative societies in rural areas.
Vulnerable Jobs
Given the structure of the economy and the demographic profile, it is necessary to address the vulnerabilities of informal jobs; the contraction of the economy raises concerns about the employment situation, as the contracting sectors are the ones that create the most new jobs.
- While the ‘Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan’ launched in June (intended to provide livelihoods in rural India) could be an immediate relief, a 50 billion rupee employment program cannot replace decent urban jobs.
- Given the structure of the economy and demographic profile, it is important to focus on reducing the vulnerabilities of informal urban jobs in the long term.
Economy and employment
Recent data on the downturn in the economy raise concerns about the employment situation in India. The contracting sectors most affected – construction (–50%), commerce, hotels and other services (–47%), manufacturing (–39%) and mining (–23%) – are the ones that create the most new jobs.
- In a scenario where each of these sectors is contracting so drastically, this would lead to increasing numbers of people losing their jobs, not getting one, or both.
- In other words, there is the possibility of a drop in employment and a subsequent rise in unemployment. This sharp contraction must be seen in light of the fact that India witnessed a wave of massive ‘reverse migration’ during the first phase of the shutdown, with millions of workers returning to their home countries due to the loss of their livelihoods.
- It is doubtful when and if they would return to their workplace, and it would not be unreasonable to assume that most workers might not return there in the near future.
- The strong announcement of the closure has highlighted the serious vulnerabilities of low-level informal urban jobs, as the share of vulnerable jobs is higher in India than in the world or in the South Asian region.
- Vulnerable employment is characterized by insufficient income, low productivity, and difficult working conditions that undermine the basic rights of workers.
- They are more likely to be in informal employment and not effectively represented by unions. According to the International Labor Organization, of the 535 million workers in India in 2019, some 398.6 million will have low-quality jobs.
- The poor quality of jobs and the high level of informality are central to the high level of the “working poor” or those who live on incomes below Rs 198 per day.
- Therefore, despite the higher economic growth in recent years, working poverty in India also remains high.
- Given the contraction and lack of demand in the economy, it is quite plausible that there is a significant decrease in urban job creation.
- Thus, policy interventions face two challenges in securing workers’ livelihoods in urban areas: first, creating more jobs, and second, reducing vulnerabilities by providing living wages and some form of job security.
Situation in India
The high and persistent incidence of vulnerable employment reflects the nature of the structural transformation process, whereby capital and labor are transferred from low value added sectors to higher value sectors.
- India makes a curious case in this regard, as capital and labor shift from low value-added activities in one sector to another, but not to higher value-added activities.
- This leads to a situation where a large part of the jobs created are of poor quality (and should remain so).
- Growth driven by the services sector in recent years has intensified, as strong job creation coexists in some services intensive in information and communication technologies (ICT), as well as a significant part of jobs created in “traditional low-value-added services, where informal and vulnerable forms of employment dominate.
- The result of such a process is the high incidence of informality that continues to undermine the prospects for reducing working poverty. ”The pandemic and associated policy responses have highlighted the vulnerability of these urban jobs.
Action
- The current crisis calls for a multifaceted strategy to tackle the problem of urban jobs.
- First, given the scale of urbanization, the emphasis on urban job creation programs must be coordinated with local governments; this is the key to “solving other problems that cities face”. As these problems are overwhelming, local actors need more resources. Resource mobilization could be facilitated by forming local alliances involving elected representatives, unions, employers and community groups ”.
- Second, an important local initiative would be to design and implement employment-intensive investment policies. These policies should encompass the initiatives of private entrepreneurs and government.
- Private investment must be facilitated by favorable contractual relations between labor and capital.
- Business creation should be an integral part of the strategy, with converging interests for workers and entrepreneurs on issues related to technology and improving productivity.
- Small and micro enterprises, the axis of industrialization, need additional support to balance interests between labor and capital, as neither of them has collective bargaining power.
- The third element would be to give priority to urban infrastructures, as they represent a large part of the total investments in the local economy.
Investing in infrastructure
However, many of these investments rarely benefit the urban poor, as housing, roads, sewers and water systems do not meet their needs. A labor-intensive approach to municipal infrastructure construction can be a cost-effective alternative to the capital-intensive approach, since wages are low.
- Investments in infrastructure would boost employment, generate profits and help create small businesses.
- The construction of low-cost housing is another activity that can be achieved using labor-intensive methods, while producing significant collateral benefits for city dwellers, ”as a document from the ILO.
- The fourth element could be the immediate launch of an urban employment plan aimed at building large-scale medical, health and sanitation infrastructure in cities and towns in India.
- Another immediate generation of jobs may be the expansion of essential service networks as part of state and local government social interventions.
- The capacity of our rural economy to absorb workers returning from cities is weak and the viability of agriculture to provide these workers with a decent life is questionable.
- In fact, many of these workers could have left their traditional jobs in the agricultural sector because the income from farming would be insufficient for their survival.
- MNREGA alone is not enough: furthermore, under the current circumstances, it is not valid to assume that Mahatma Gandhi’s Employment Guarantee Law (MGNREGA) or its substitutes can absorb a significant proportion of these workers.
- It is important that the MGNREGA is expanded by increasing both budget allocations and the guaranteed minimum number of working days. At the same time, it is highly idealistic to conclude that the entire workforce, which has returned to the respective home states, will be housed by an expanded MGNREGA or a close substitute.
- These workers could have chosen not to take a job with MGNREGA in the first place and instead chose to migrate and work in other states for higher wages.
- There is a need to strengthen MGNREGA and rural employment programs and increase their capacity, but only part of the workforce could be accommodated there.
- There will always be a large number of workers who will need other sources of employment, and the creation of decent urban jobs seems to be the only way out.
Vizag Gas Leakage
About 500 kg of chemicals were flown from Gujarat and shipped to Visakhapatnam on Thursday to neutralize the impact of the dangerous styrene gas that seeped into the factory in the first hours and left made more than half a dozen lives. Officials of LG Polymers Private Ltd, where the gas leak occurred, asked government officials to organize a chemical called 4-Teritiary Butylcatchol (PTBC). It was available at a Gujarat chemical plant, which would help to contain the reaction in an early stage.
The source of the leak was a styrene factory belonging to the South Korean electronics giant LG, located at RRV Puram, near Gopalapatnam, about 15 kilometers from the coastal city. The first reports indicate that several people from the surrounding villages (RRV Puram, Venkatapuram, BC Colony, Padmapuram and Kamparapalem) fell unconscious on the roads. While six died from prolonged exposure to the gas, two others died while trying to escape the leak.
The source of the leak joined a styrene factory belonging to the South Korean electronics giant LG, located at RRV Puram, near Gopalapatnam, in an environment 15 kilometers from the coastal city. Initial reports indicate that more people from the villages (RRV Puram, Venkatapuram, BC Colony, Padmapuram and Kamparapalem) fell unconscious on the roads. While six died from prolonged exposure to the gas, two others died while trying to escape the leak.
The leak has been plugged and NDRF teams moved into the five affected villages and have started opening the houses to find out if anyone was stranded inside.The spread of the gas depends on wind speeds. So far it is estimated that areas within a five kilometre radius have been affected.
As medical experts say, Styrene could cause harm to humans by ingestion and inhalation, Irritation in throat can lead to breathing difficulty, wheezing and respiratory distress. It affects the brain leading to headache, nausea, vomiting, unsteadiness and problems in walking. In cases of high exposure, it can lead to coma and an irregular heartbeat. Effect on skin is mild and can also affect eyes, no specific antidote and no treatment to reverse, its impact and the treatment was mostly supportive.
It is recommended during exposure, clothes should be removed, exposed eyes can be washed with water, some should be placed on ventilators, many will need oxygen. Nebulization can also be administered in severe cases, steroids have been administered. It is a disease that is not universally fatal.
What caused the leak?
A statement by LG Polymers said stagnation and temperature changes within the storage tank could have resulted in automatic polymerization and could have caused vaporization. “We are investigating the incident. Currently, there are no leaks as it has been contained. We will observe the facilities for another four hours and give the green light after a thorough inspection, ” an official said.
What is styrene gas?
It is a flammable liquid used in the manufacture of polystyrene, fiberglass, rubber and latex plastics, styrene is also found in vehicle exhaust fumes, cigarette smoke, and natural foods like fruits and vegetables.
What happens when anybody exposed to styrene?
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), short-term exposure to the substance can cause respiratory problems, eye irritation, irritation of the mucous membranes and gastrointestinal problems. And long-term exposure could significantly affect the central nervous system and cause other related problems, such as peripheral neuropathy. It could also cause cancer and depression in some cases. However, the EPA notes that there is insufficient evidence despite several epidemiological studies indicating that there may be an association between styrene exposure and an increased risk of leukemia and lymphoma.
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms include headache, hearing loss, fatigue, weakness, difficulty concentrating, etc. Animal studies, according to the EPA, have reported effects on the CNS, liver, kidney and eyes and nasal irritation due to inhalation exposure to styrene.
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VISTA TO INVEST Rs. 11,367 CRORE IN JIO PLATFORMS
Reliance Industries Limited and Jio Platforms Limited announced today that Vista Equity Partners will invest rupees. Rs 11.367 million on Jio platforms. This investment values the Jio platforms at a capital value of Rs. 4.91 lakh crore and a commercial value of Rs. 5.16 lakh crore. Vista’s investment will translate into a 2.32% stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis, making Vista the largest investor in Jio Platforms behind Reliance Industries and Facebook. Jio Platforms has now raised Rs. 60,596.37 crore from leading technology investors in less than three weeks.
Vista is a leading global investment company focused on empowering and growing enterprise software, data and technology companies that are reinventing industries and catalyzing change. Vista has more than $ 57 billion in accumulated capital commitments and its global network of companies collectively represents the fifth largest enterprise software company in the world. With 20 years of experience investing exclusively in enterprise software, Vista believes that the transformative power of technology is the key to an even better future: a healthier planet, a smarter economy, a diverse and inclusive community and a wider path. towards prosperity. Currently, Vista’s portfolio companies have a significant presence in India with more than 13,000 employees. This Vista investment, which focuses exclusively on enterprise software, enterprise, and data-driven technologies, is further testimony to the world-class digital platform that Jio has built, powered by cutting-edge technologies such as as broadband connectivity, smart devices, Cloud and Edge Computing, Big Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Augmented and Mixed Reality and Blockchain.
RIL is the largest private sector company in India, with consolidated turnover of 659,205 INR crore ($ 87.1 billion), cash profit of INR 71,446 crore ($ 9.4 billion) and a net profit of 39,880 INR crores ($ 5.3 billion) for the year ended March 31, 2020. RIL’s activities include the exploration and production of hydrocarbons, the refining and marketing of petroleum, petrochemicals, retail and digital services. RIL is the highest ranked company in India that is on the Fortune Global 500 list of “the world’s largest companies”, currently ranking 106th in terms of revenue and profits. The company is ranked 71 in the “Forbes Global 2000” ranking for 2019, the highest among Indian companies. It ranks 10th among LinkedIn’s “best companies to work for in India” (2019).
Jio Platforms Limited provides connectivity to over 388 million subscribers in India. Jio’s vision is to enable a Digital India for 1.3 billion people and businesses throughout India, especially small merchants, micro-businesses and farmers. Jio has brought transformational changes in the Indian digital services space and propelled India on the path towards becoming a global technology leader and among the leading digital economies in the world.
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