President’s Addresses to Parliament since the beginning of UPA II

Karan - March 12, 2012

The President addressed the Parliament after the 2009 Lok Sabha Elections on 4^th June 2009. She also addressed Parliament on 22^nd February 2010, as well as on 21^st February 2011. The tables below highlight some items from the agenda of the central government as outlined in these speeches, as well as the initiatives undertaken with respect to these agenda items. Table 1: Some Items from the President’s Address to Parliament on 4^th June 2009

Agenda Items outlined in the President’s Speech	Current Status
Establishment of National Counter-Terrorism Centre	Proposed launch of NCTC in March 2011 on hold
Enactment of legislation for prevention of communal violence	Communal Violence Bill 2005 pending in Parliament. New bill drafted by NAC but not introduced in Parliament
Unique Identity Card scheme to be implemented in three years	Unique Identification Authority of India created under Planning Commission on 28 January 2009. Bill to give statutory status pending in Parliament
Establishment of a regulator for the pension sector	Bill introduced in Lok Sabha on 24 March 2011
Convergence of NREGA with other programs; expansion of works permitted; independent monitoring and grievance redressal
Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana to cover all families below the poverty line in five years
Enactment of Right to Free and Compulsory Education Bill	Bill passed in 2009 and brought into force on 1 April 2009
Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan to universalize access to secondary education	Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan launched in March 2009
National Mission for Female Literacy to make every woman literate in five years	National Literacy Mission recast in 2009 to focus on female literacy
Construction of 1.2 crore rural houses under Indira Awas Yojana in five years
Introduction of Rajiv Awas Yojana for slum dwellers and urban poor	Phase I approved by Cabinet on 2 June 2011
Enactment of National Food Security Act	Introduced in Lok Sabha on 22 December 2011
Enactment of Amendment Bill to Land Acquisition Act and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill	Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill 2011 introduced in Lok Sabha on 7 September 2011
Enactment of Women’s Reservation Bill	Passed by Rajya Sabha, pending in Lok Sabha
Constitutional Amendment for 50 percent reservation for women in panchayats and urban local bodies	Two Bills introduced in Lok Sabha in November 2009; both pending in Parliament
Amendment of RTI to provide for disclosure by government in all non-strategic areas
Model Public Services Law to be drawn up in consultation with states	Right of Citizens for Time Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievance Bill, 2011 introduced in Lok Sabha on 20 December 2011
Introduction of Goods and Services Tax	Constitutional Amendment Bill introduced in Lok Sabha on 22 March 2011
National Council for Human Resources in Health	Introduced in Rajya Sabha on 22 December 2011
National Council for Higher Education	Bill introduced in Rajya Sabha on 28 December 2011

*Note: Blank cells indicate that PRS has not been able to find official information in the public domain. Table 2: Some Items from the President’s speech to Parliament on 22^nd February 2010

Agenda Items outlined in the President’s Speech	Current Status
Introduction of legislation to ensure food security	Introduced in Lok Sabha on 22 December 2011
Rural teledensity of 40 percent by 2014	Rural teledensity of 33% as of February 2011
Introduction of Rajiv Awas Yojana for urban poor and slum dwellers	Phase I approved by Cabinet on 2 June 2011
Disposal of remaining claims under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers Act
Introduction of amendment to the Wakf Act	Passed by Lok Sabha; pending in Rajya Sabha
Enactment of Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill, 2005	Pending in Rajya Sabha since 2005
Enactment of Women’s Reservation Bill	Passed by Rajya Sabha; pending in Lok Sabha
Constitutional amendments for 50 percent reservation for women in panchayats and urban local bodies	Two Bills introduced in Lok Sabha in November 2009; both pending in Parliament
Establishment of National Council for Higher Education and Research	Higher Education and Research Bill, 2011 introduced in Rajya Sabha on 28 December 2011
Legislation for facilitating participation of foreign academic institutions in the education sector	Foreign Educational Institutions Bill, 2010 introduced in Lok Sabha on 3 May 2010
Voting rights for Indian citizens living abroad	Bill passed. NRIs can vote at the place of residence that is mentioned in their passport

Table 3: Some Items from the President’s speech to Parliament on 21^st February 2011

Agenda Items outlined in the President’s Speech	Current Status
Enactment of Food Security Law	Introduced in Lok Sabha on 22 December 2011
Whistleblower Bill	Bill passed by Lok Sabha; pending in Rajya Sabha
Enactment of Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill	Introduced in Lok Sabha on 1 December 2010
Enactment of new Mines and Minerals Bill	Introduced in Lok Sabha on 12 December 2011
Rural teledensity of 40 percent by 2014	Rural teledensity of 33% as of February 2011
Construction of 1.2 crore rural houses during 2009-14
Enactment of Women’s Reservation Bill	Passed by Rajya Sabha; pending in Lok Sabha
Introduction of Bill regarding protection of children from sexual offences	Introduced in Rajya Sabha on 23 March 2011
Introduction of Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill	Not introduced till date

Policy

Arguments regarding FDI in retail

Vishnu - December 4, 2012

After months of discussion, the issue of FDI in retail is being deliberated in the Lok Sabha today. In September 2012, the Cabinet had approved 51% of FDI in multi-brand retail (stores selling more than one brand). Under these regulations, foreign retail giants like Walmart and Tesco can set up shop in India. Discussions on permitting FDI in retail have focused on the effect of FDI on unorganised retailers, farmers and consumers. Earlier, the central government commissioned the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) to examine the impact of organised retail on unorganised retail. The Standing Committee on Commerce also tabled a report on Foreign and Domestic Investment in the Retail Sector in May, 2009 while the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) released a discussion paper examining FDI in multi-brand retail in July, 2010. Other experts have also made arguments – both in support of, and in opposition to, the move to permit FDI in retail sales. The table below summarises some of these arguments from the perspective of various stakeholders as collated from the above reports examining the issue.

Stakeholder	Supporting arguments (source)	Opposing arguments (source)
Unorganised retail	No evidence of impact on job losses (ICRIER). The rate of closure of unorganised retail shops (4.2%) is lower than international standards (ICRIER). Evidence from Indonesia and China show that traditional and modern retail can coexist and grow (Reardon and Gulati). Majority of small retailers keen to remain in operation even after emergence of organised retail (ICRIER).	Unorganised retailers in the vicinity of organised retailers saw their volume of business and profit decline but this effect weakens over time (ICRIER). Other studies have estimated that traditional fruit and vegetable retailers experienced a 20-30% decline in incomes with the presence of supermarkets (Singh). There is potential for employment loss in the value chain. A supermarket may create fewer jobs for the volume of produce handled (Singh). Unemployment to increase as a result of retailers practicing product bundling (selling goods in combinations and bargains) and predatory pricing (Standing Committee).
Farmers	Significant positive impact on farmers as a result of direct sales to organised retailers. For instance, cauliflower farmers receive a 25% higher price selling directly to organised retailers instead of government regulated markets (mandis). Profits for farmers selling to organised retailers are about 60% higher than when selling to mandis (ICRIER). Organised retail could remove supply chain inefficiencies through direct purchase from farmers and investment in better storage, distribution and transport systems. FDI, in particular, could bring in new technology and ideas (DIPP).	Current organised retail procures 60-70% from wholesale markets rather than farmers. There has been no significant impact on backend infrastructure investment (Singh). There are other issues like irrigation, technology and credit in agriculture which FDI may not address (Singh). Increased monopolistic strength could force farmers to sell at lower prices (Standing Committee).
Consumers	Organised retail lowers prices. Consumer spending increases with the entry of organised retail and lower income groups tend to save more (ICRIER). It will lead to better quality and safety standards of products (DIPP).	Evidence from some Latin American countries (Mexico, Nicaragua, Argentina), Africa (Kenya, Madagascar) and Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, India) reveal that supermarket prices for fruits and vegetables were higher than traditional retail prices (Singh). Even with lower prices at supermarkets, low income households may prefer traditional retailers because they live far from supermarkets, they can bargain with traditional retailers and buy loose items (Singh). Monopolistic power for retailers could result in high prices for consumers.

Source: ICRIER [1. "Impact of Organized Retailing on the Unorganized Sector", ICRIER, September 2008]; Standing Committee [2. "Foreign and domestic investment in retail sector", Standing Committee on Commerce, May 13, 2009]; Singh (2011) [3. "FDI in Retail: Misplaced Expectations and Half-truths", Sukhpal Singh, Economic and Political Weekly, December 17, 2011]; Reardon and Gulati (2008) [4. "Rise of supermarkets and their development implications," IFPRI Discussion Paper, Thomas Reardon and Ashok Gulati, February 2008.]; DIPP [5. "Discussion Paper on FDI in Multi-brand Retail Trading", Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, July 6, 2010]

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President’s Addresses to Parliament since the beginning of UPA II

Arguments regarding FDI in retail

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