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The President addressed the Parliament after the 2009 Lok Sabha Elections on 4th June 2009. She also addressed Parliament on 22nd February 2010, as well as on 21st 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 4th 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 22nd 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 21st 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 |
Mr. Vaghul, our first Chairperson, passed away on Saturday. I write this note to express my deep gratitude to him, and to celebrate his life. And what a life he lived!
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Mr. Vaghul and I at his residence |
Our past and present Chairpersons, |
Industry stalwarts have spoken about his contributions to the financial sector, his mentorship of people and institutions across finance, industry and non-profits. I don’t want to repeat that (though I was a beneficiary as a young professional starting my career at ICICI Securities). I want to note here some of the ways he helped shape PRS.
Mr Vaghul was our first chairman, from 2012 to 2018. When he joined the board, we were in deep financial crisis. Our FCRA application had been turned down (I still don’t know the reason), and we were trying to survive on monthly fund raise. Mr Vaghul advised us to raise funds from domestic philanthropists. “PRS works to make Indian democracy more effective. We should not rely on foreigners to do this.”. He was sure that Indian philanthropists would fund us. “We’ll try our best. But if it doesn’t work, we may shut down. Are you okay with that?” Of course, with him calling up people, we survived the crisis.
He also suggested that we should have an independent board without any representation from funders. The output should be completely independent of funders’ interest given that we were working in the policy space. We have stuck to this advice.
Even when he was 80, he could read faster than anyone and remember everything. I once said something in a board meeting which had been written in the note sent earlier. “We have all read the note. Let us discuss the implications.” And he could think three steps ahead of everyone else.
He had a light touch as a chairman. When I asked for management advice, he would ask me to solve the problem on my own. He saw his role as guiding the larger strategy, help raise funds and ensure that the organisation had a strong value system. Indeed, he was the original Karmayogi – I have an email from him which says, “Continue with the good work. We should neither be euphoric with appreciation or distracted by criticism.” And another, "Those who adhere to the truth need not be afraid of the consequences".
The best part about board meetings was the chat afterwards. He would have us in splits with stories from his experience. Some of these are in his memoirs, but we heard a few juicier ones too!
Even after he retired from our Board, he was always available to meet. I just needed to message him whenever I was in Madras, and he would ask me to come home. And Mrs. Vaghul was a welcoming host. Filter coffee, great advice, juicy stories, what more could one ask for?
Goodbye Mr. Vaghul. Your life lives on through the institutions you nurtured. And hope that we live up to your standards.
Madhavan
