Emotional Intelligence

What is Emotional Intelligence ? 

Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify, assess, and control the emotions of oneself, of others, and of groups.Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to perceive, control and evaluate emotions.The earliest roots of emotional intelligence can be traced to Charles Darwin's work on the importance of emotional expression for survival and, second, adaptation.

Since 1990, Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer have been the leading researchers on emotional intelligence. In their influential article "Emotional Intelligence," they defined emotional intelligence as, "the subset of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one's own and others' feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one's thinking and actions" .Following their continuing research, their initial definition of Emotional intelligence was revised to "The ability to perceive emotion, integrate emotion to facilitate thought, understand emotions and to regulate emotions to promote personal growth."

Substantial disagreement exists regarding the definition of  Emotional intelligence,with respect to both terminology and operationalizations. Currently, there are three main models of Emotional intelligence :

1. Ability model
2. Mixed model
3. Trait model 

Ability model : Salovey and Mayer

The model proposes that individuals vary in their ability to process information of an emotional nature and in their ability to relate emotional processing to a wider cognition. This ability is seen to manifest itself in certain adaptive behaviors. The model identified four different factors of emotional intelligence:

Perceiving emotions – the ability to detect and decipher emotions in faces, pictures, voices,body langauge and cultural artifacts—including the ability to identify one's own emotions. Perceiving emotions represents a basic aspect of emotional intelligence, as it makes all other processing of emotional information possible.

Using emotions – Using emotions to promote thinking and cognitive activity. Emotions help prioritize what we pay attention and react to; we respond emotionally to things that garner our attention.The emotionally intelligent person can capitalize fully upon his or her changing moods in order to best fit the task at hand.

Understanding emotions – the ability to comprehend emotion language and to appreciate complicated relationships among emotions. For example, understanding emotions encompasses the ability to be sensitive to slight variations between emotions, and the ability to recognize and describe how emotions evolve over time.

Managing emotions – the ability to regulate emotions in both ourselves and in others, responding appropriately and responding to the emotions of others are all important aspect of emotional management. Therefore, the emotionally intelligent person can harness emotions, even negative ones, and manage them to achieve intended goals.

Mixed model : Daniel Goleman

The model introduced by Daniel Goleman focuses on Emotional Intelligence as a wide array of competencies and skills that drive leadership performance. Goleman's model outlines five main Emotional Intelligence constructs :

Self-awareness – the ability to know one's emotions, strengths, weaknesses, drives, values and goals and recognize their impact on others while using gut feelings to guide decisions.( (emotional self-awareness, accurate self-assessment and self confidence)

Self-regulation – involves controlling or redirecting one's disruptive emotions and impulses and adapting to changing circumstances.(emotional self-control, transparency, trustworthiness, adaptability, achievement orientation, initiative, optimism, conscientiousness)

Social skill – managing relationships to move people in the desired direction.

Empathy - considering other people's feelings especially when making decisions and

Motivation - being driven to achieve for the sake of achievement.

Emotional Intelligence Traits

The research of Psychologists, Medical Doctors and other researchers have found thirteen key emotional intelligence traits.

EMOTIONAL ENERGY: The amount of energy available to cope with frustration, conflict, or pressure.

EMOTIONAL STRESS: The amount of inner stress experienced.

OPTIMISM: To consider what is positive or right; to be optimistic.

SELF-ESTEEM: To value self and to be self-accepting.

COMMITMENT TO WORK: To work hard; to get things done; to take on responsibility.

ATTENTION TO DETAIL: To think things through; to concentrate on details; to be thorough; to be careful; to strive to be accurate.

DESIRE FOR CHANGE: To create changes or improvements in one's environment; to vary one's patterns of behavior.

COURAGE: To do what is challenging, or unfamiliar; to risk injury, loss, hardship, or discomfort to reach a desired goal.

SELF-DIRECTION: To make decisions/goals; to set priorities; to initiate action.

ASSERTIVENESS: Saying what one thinks. Trying to convince others. Telling others what one wants, needs, requires, or expects. Exercising power and authority. Engaging in interpersonal conflict. Confronting, openly disagreeing, saying no, taking unpopular positions.

TOLERANCE: To be tolerant, patient, accepting, and cooperative.

CONSIDERATION FOR OTHERS: To be considerate, understanding, helpful, honest, and responsible.

SOCIABILITY: To be outgoing and sociable. To seek and to enjoy others' company and conversation.

Facets --------High Scorers in Emotional Intelligence are..

Adaptability --- flexible and willing to adapt to new conditions.

Assertiveness ---.forthright, frank, and willing to stand up for their rights.

Emotion perception (self and others)---clear about their own and other people’s feelings.

Emotion expression --- capable of communicating their feelings to others.

Emotion management (others) --- capable of influencing other people’s feelings.

Emotion regulation --- capable of controlling their emotions.

Impulsiveness (low) --- reflective and less likely to give in to their urges.

Relationships --- capable of having fulfilling personal relationships.

Self-esteem --- successful and self-confident.

Self-motivation --- driven and unlikely to give up in the face of adversity.

Social awareness --- accomplished networkers with excellent social skills.

Stress management --- capable of withstanding pressure and regulating stress.

Trait empathy --- capable of taking someone else’s perspective.

Trait happiness --- cheerful and satisfied with their lives.

Trait optimism --- confident and likely to “look on the bright side” of life.

Application in Administration and Governance 

• Emotional Intelligence has a significant impact on team member relationships and their effectiveness in reaching a team’s goals. Understanding our own EI strengths and weaknesses, as well as those of other team members, provides a means for improving the interpersonal dynamics of teamwork. 
• Since research on Emotional Intelligence began, results overwhelmingly show that people high in various combinations of emotional competencies outperform people who are weak in those areas. When emotional competencies are used in leader selection, for example, performance and retention rates increase significantly.
• Emotional Intelligence significantly influences how we go about solving interpersonal problems. Thus, conflict in organizations often stems from EI differences. Understanding how to use our EI more effectively helps us solve interpersonal problems more effectively and efficiently and increases the overall effectiveness of work teams.
• Employees need consistency from their leaders,they need to know that a leader will respond in a consistent manner to a certain situation, so that they can bring questions, concerns, problems to their leader and know they will get a fair hearing and a consistent response. The best leaders use Emotional Intelligence to manage their emotions so that their responses are consistent, calm, and fair, and not reactive in nature.
• Emotional Intelligence is comprised of intrapersonal skills – understanding yourself, how you react and respond in different situations emotionally; and interpersonal skills – understanding others, and how they react and respond emotionally in different situations. As we think through how certain thoughts, actions, or triggers set off certain emotional responses, we can better manage those thoughts, actions or triggers, so that we respond rather than react. By not allowing the emotional trigger to take over, we maintain control over the situation, and can then create a positive interaction instead of an emotional hijacking.

Some ways for developing Emotional Intelligence 

-Look at yourself honestly and commit to specific areas of self-improvement.
-Think through the possible impact of your words before you speak.
-Avoid judging the actions of others before you have all of the facts.
-Be accountable for what you do and follow through on what you say you will do.
-Listen to opposing viewpoints and admit when you are wrong.
-Praise others and give credit where credit is due.
-Analyze your common emotions in times of stress, and work to control them.
-Be consistently and genuinely respectful.
-Curb negative thoughts and work to foster optimism.
-Work at becoming a better listener.
-Agree to disagree with those who have incompatible beliefs.

Attitude - Content , Structure , Function

What is an Attitude?

The word attitude crops up often in our everyday conversation.We speak of having attitude about something.In this usage,attitude usually implies feelings that are either positive or negative.We also speak of someone who has a "bad attitude".We may for example think that a colleague has an "attitude problem".In this usage,attitude implies some personality characteristic or behaviour pattern that offends us.Attitude is a mental and neural state of readiness,organized through experience,exerting a directive or dynamic influence on the individual's response to all objects and situations with which it is related.

Psychologists define attitudes as a learned tendency to evaluate things in a certain way. This can include evaluations of people, issues, objects or events. Such evaluations are often positive or negative, but they can also be uncertain at times. For example, you might have mixed feelings about a particular person or issue.

Attitude structure 

Researchers also suggest that there are several different components that make up attitudes

Affective component: this involves a person’s feelings / emotions about the attitude object(refers to the emotional reactions or feelings an individual has towards an object, person, group, event or issue.). For example: “I am scared of spiders”.

Behavioral (or conative) component: the way the attitude we have influences how we act or behave ( refers to the way in which an attitude is expressed through our actions.) .For example: “I will avoid spiders and scream if I see one”.

Cognitive component: this involves a person’s belief / knowledge about an attitude object(refers to the beliefs we have abou an object, person, group, event or issue.). For example: “I believe spiders are dangerous”.

This model is known as the ABC model of attitudes. The three components are usually linked. However, there is evidence that the cognitive and affective components of behavior do not always match with behavior. This is shown in a study by LaPiere (1934).

Attitudes can also be explicit and implicit. Explicit attitudes are those that we are consciously aware of and that clearly influence our behaviors and beliefs. Implicit attitudes are unconscious, but still have an effect on our beliefs and behaviors.

How are attitudes formed?

Attitudes form directly as a result of experience. They may emerge due to direct personal experience, or they may result from observation. Social roles and social norms can have a strong influence on attitudes. Social roles relate to how people are expected to behave in a particular role or context. Social norms involve society's rules for what behaviors are considered appropriate.Process of socialization influences the attitude formation.

Attitudes can be learned in a variety of ways. Consider how advertisers use classical conditioning to influence your attitude toward a particular product. In a television commercial, you see young, beautiful people having fun in on a tropical beach while enjoying a sport drink. This attractive and appealing imagery causes you to develop a positive association with this particular beverage.(Classical conditioning or Pavlovian conditioning is a reflexive or automatic type of learning in which a stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a response that was originally evoked by another stimulus.)

Operant conditioning can also be used to influence how attitudes develop. Imagine a young man who has just started smoking. Whenever he lights up a cigarette, people complain, chastise him and ask him to leave their vicinity. This negative feedback from those around him eventually causes him to develop an unfavorable opinion of smoking and he decides to give up the habit.(Operant conditioning ,sometimes referred to as instrumental conditioning is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior.It is the learning based on direct experience with the object. Through operant conditioning, an association is made between a behavior and a consequence for that behavior.)

Finally, people also learn attitudes by observing the people around them. When someone you admire greatly espouses a particular attitude, you are more likely to develop the same beliefs. For example, children spend a great deal of time observing the attitudes of their parents and usually begin to demonstrate similar outlooks.

Details :

Theories of attitude formation and change :

Functionalist theory:

Daniel Katz proposed a functionalist theory of attitudes. He takes the view that attitudes are determined by the functions they serve for us. People hold given attitudes because these attitudes help them achieve their basic goals. Katz distinguishes four types of psychological functions that attitudes meet.

A. Instrumental - we develop favorable attitudes towards things that aid or reward us. We want to maximize rewards and minimize penalties. Katz says we develop attitudes that help us meet this goal. We favor political parties that will advance our economic lot - if we are in business, we favor the party that will keep our taxes low, if unemployed we favor one that will increase social welfare benefits. We are more likely to change our attitudes if doing so allows us to fulfill our goals or avoid undesirable consequences.

B. Knowledge - attitudes provide meaningful, structured environment. In life we seek some degree of order, clarity, and stability in our personal frame of reference. Attitudes help supply us with standards of evaluation. Via such attitudes as stereotypes, we can bring order and clarity to the complexities of human life.

C. Value-expressive - Express basic values, reinforce self-image. EX: if you view yourself as a Catholic, you can reinforce that image by adopting Catholic beliefs and values. EX: We may have a self-image of ourselves as an enlightened conservative or a militant radical, and we therefore cultivate attitudes that we believe indicate such a core value.

D. Ego-defensive - Some attitudes serve to protect us from acknowledging basic truths about ourselves or the harsh realities of life. They serve as defense mechanisms. EX: Those with feelings of inferiority may develop attitude of superiority.

Katz's functionalist theory also offers an explanation as to why attitudes change. According to Katz, an attitude changes when it no longer serves its function and the individual feels blocked or frustrated. That is, according to Katz, attitude change is achieved not so much by changing a person's information or perception about an object, but rather by changing the person's underlying motivational and personality needs.

EX: As your social status increases, your attitudes toward your old car may change - you need something that better reflects your new status. (For that matter, your attitudes toward your old friends may change as well).


Learning theory 

There are several means by which we learn attitudes.

a. Classical conditioning- EX: A father angrily denounces the latest increase in income taxes. A mother happily announces the election of a candidate she worked for. These parents are expressing opinions, but they are also displaying nonverbal behavior that expresses their emotions. For a child watching the parents, the association between the topic and the nonverbal behavior will become obvious if repeated often enough. And the nonverbal behavior will trigger emotional responses in the child: the child feels upset and disturbed when listening to the father and happy when listening to the mother.

This is an example of classical conditioning: when two stimuli are repeatedly associated, the child learns to respond to them with a similar emotional reaction. In this case, the stimuli are the attitude topic and the parental emotion. Through repeated association, a formerly neutral stimulus (the attitude topic - taxes or politicians) begins to elicit an emotional reaction (the response) that was previously solicited only by another stimulus (the parental emotion). Whenever tax increases are mentioned, the child feels an unpleasant emotion; when the elected official is mentioned, the child feels a pleasant emotion.

EX: Pavlov's dogs. Bell was rung when dogs received food. Food made dogs salivate. Then whenever a bell was rung, dogs salivated even when food was not present.

EX: When you were a child, parents may have cheered for N.D. football. You may not have even known what N.D. football was, but you liked your parents happy attitude. Now N.D. football evokes that same response in you.

EX: Men with bow ties. Meet a bad man who wears bow ties, and you may come to hate all bow ties.

COMMENT: This explains why behaviors can persist even after reinforcement is withdrawn. Also helps explain self-reinforcement.

b. Instrumental, or operant, conditioning-Behaviors or attitudes that are followed by positive consequences are reinforced and are more likely to be repeated than are behaviors and attitudes that are followed by negative consequences.

c. Observational learning-Children watch the behavior of people around them and imitate what they see. EX: If a young girl hears her mother denounce all elected officials as crooks, she may repeat that opinion in class the next day. Whether she continues to repeat that opinion depends on the responses of her classmates, teacher, and parents. That is, observations determine the responses we learn, but reinforcement determines the responses we express.


Cognitive-Dissonance theory

 Cognition means individuals perception of own attitudes, beliefs, behaviors. Cognitive dissonance means feelings of tension that arise when one is simultaneously aware of two inconsistent cognitions. For example, when we act contrary to our attitudes; or, when we make a decision favoring one alternative despite reasons favoring another.


Dissonance theory says relationships among two cognitions can be either consonant, dissonant, irrelevant.Cognitive dissonance is a noxious state. It produces unpleasant physical arousal.Individual will attempt to reduce or eliminate dissonance - and will try to avoid things that increase dissonance.People can change their attitudes when they have conflicting beliefs about a topic. In order to reduce the tension created by these incompatible beliefs, people often shift their attitudes.


Theory of persuasion

This theory suggests that people can alter their attitudes in two ways. First, they can be motivated to listen and think about the message, thus leading to an attitude shift. Or, they might be influenced by characteristics of the speaker, leading to a temporary or surface shift in attitude. Messages that are thought-provoking and that appeal to logic are more likely to lead to permanent changes in attitudes.


Other theories include balance theory, originally proposed by Heider (1958), and the self-perception theory, originally proposed by Daryl Bem.


Functions of Attitude :


Attitudes can serve functions for the individual. Daniel Katz (1960) outlines four functional areas:

• Knowledge: Attitudes provide meaning (knowledge) for life. The knowledge function refers to our need for a world which is consistent and relatively stable. This allows us to predict what is likely to happen, and so gives us a sense of control. Attitudes can help us organize and structure our experience. Knowing a person’s attitude helps us predict their behavior. For example, knowing that a person is religious we can predict they will go to Church.

• Self / Ego-expressive: The attitudes we express (1) help communicate who we are and (2) may make us feel good because we have asserted our identity. Self-expression of attitudes can be non-verbal too: think bumper sticker, cap, or T-shirt slogan. Therefore, our attitudes are part of our identify, and help us to be aware through expression of our feelings, beliefs and values.

• Adaptive: If a person holds and/or expresses socially acceptable attitudes, other people will reward them with approval and social acceptance. For example, when people flatter their bosses or instructors (and believe it) or keep silent if they think an attitude is unpopular. Again, expression can be nonverbal [think politician kissing baby]. Attitudes then, are to do with being apart of a social group and the adaptive functions helps us fit in with a social group. People seek out others who share their attitudes, and develop similar attitudes to those they like.

• The ego-defensive function : refers to holding attitudes that protect our self-esteem or that justify actions that make us feel guilty. For example, one way children might defend themselves against the feelings of humiliation they have experienced in P.E. lessons is to adopt a strongly negative attitude to all sport. People whose pride has suffered following a defeat in sport might similarly adopt a defensive attitude: “I’m not bothered, I’m sick of rugby anyway…”. This function has psychiatric overtones. Positive attitudes towards ourselves, for example, have a protective function (i.e. an ego-defensive role) in helping us reserve our self-image.

The basic idea behind the functional approach is that attitudes help a person to mediate between their own inner needs (expression, defense) and the outside world (adaptive and knowledge).






More Info :Click Here

Indo-Japan relations

Throughout history, India–Japan relations have always been strong. For centuries, India and Japan have engaged in cultural exchanges, primarily as a result of Buddhism which spread indirectly from India to China and then to Japan. During the Second World War, Subhas Chandra Bose's Indian National Army and the Japanese Imperial Army fought together in battles against the British forces.India is the largest recipient of Japanese official development assistance (ODA).

Political relations between the two nations have remained warm since India's independence. Japanese companies, such as Sony, Toyota, and Honda, have manufacturing facilities in India, and with the growth of the Indian economy, India is a big market for Japanese firms. Japanese firms were, in fact, some of the first firms to invest in India. The most prominent Japanese company to have an investment in India is automobiles giant Suzuki, which is in partnership with Indian automobiles company Maruti Suzuki, the largest car manufacturer in the Indian market and a subsidiary of the Japanese company.

In December 2006, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Japan culminated in the signing of the "Joint Statement Towards Japan-India Strategic and Global Partnership". Japan has funded many infrastructure projects in India, most notably the Delhi Metro system. Also, in the year 2007, the Japanese Self-Defence Forces took part in a naval exercise in the Indian Ocean, known as Malabar 2007, which also involved the naval forces of India, Australia, Singapore and the United States. The year 2007 was declared "India-Japan Friendship Year."

According to a 2013 BBC World Service Poll, 42% of Japanese people view India positively, with only 4% expressing a negative view.

Prime Minister visit to Japan - 2013

Highlights 

The main message covered by PM during his range of activities in Tokyo is that India looks forward to expanding the strategic and global partnership with Japan.This covers political exchanges, economic interactions and strategic affairs.

 On Tuesday, March 26, Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr. Fumio Kishida held the Seventh Japan-India Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue with  Mr. Salman Khurshid, External Affairs Minister of India, during the latter’s visit to Japan.The two Ministers affirmed that Japan and India will continue to move forward with talks on this issue of Civil Nuclear Energy Cooperation.Minister Kishida expressed his intention to hold the second round of the Japan-India Cyber Dialogue and the Japan-India Maritime Affairs Dialogue within this year.

India and Japan have agreed to institutionalize bilateral naval exercises, to conduct them regularly and with increased frequency.

The Japanese Government has offered to sell the US-2 amphibious aircraft to India.Japan’s unwavering support for India’s development process, and the DMIC, the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor, and now what is emerging as a new area of cooperation which is the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor are all symbols of this commitment of Japan.

Co-finance a joint feasibility study on the possible introduction of high-speed railways or Shinkansen on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route in India.

India and Japan are also cooperating in the field of rare earths. A government-to-government memorandum was signed by the Ambassador last November and it is already in place. Companies from India and Japan – the Indian Rare Earths Limited and Toyota Tsusho – are negotiating the sale of rare earth oxide.

The Genesis programme under which Prime Minister Abe said he would like to have more than a thousand young Indian people come and visit Japan

Japan’s contribution to the Nalanda University, which is coming up, through the Faculty of Peace Studies .

Prime Minister Singh appreciated the pledge by Prime Minister Abe for the Campus Development Project of Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (Phase 2) for 17.7 billion yen and the “Tamil Nadu Investment Promotion Programme” for 13 billion yen.

More Info : Joint Statement on Prime Minister's visit to Japan

Indian Wildlife (Documentaries)

Home to over a billion people, India is best known as a diverse mass of noise, crowds, colour and religious devotion. She also has a wild side, populated by giants, predators and exotic creatures. Wild India gives you a fascinating insight into this world-within-a-world, as each show explores the country's extraordinary landscapes and their inhabitants.

Elephant Kingdom

To the south of the Himalayas lie wild plains, divided by the Brahmaputra river and home to the magnificent Indian Elephant. In this episode you'll also see red silk cotton trees and rare and beautiful creatures, from the smooth-coated otter to the endangered one-horned rhinoceros, all living together in a perfectly balanced ecosystem.

Tiger Jungles



The setting for Rudyard Kipling's 'The Jungle Book', these forests are filled with real-life stories - from langur monkeys intoxicated on fermented Mahua fruit to the Bengal tiger, a beautiful killer combining stealth and power to kill with a single bite.


Desert Lions

Marusthali is India's region of death - a dune-covered desert where existence demands resilience and adaptation. Yet even in this unrelenting heat, life thrives, from the Asiatic lion to the Demoiselle crane. Each creature is living proof that wildlife can survive in even the most hostile of environments.

Financial Stability and Development Council

Union Budget 2013-14 : Highlights

Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram presented his much anticipated budget proposals for the year 2013-14, bringing a partial relief for the lower income groups as no changes were made in Income Tax rates or slabs. His budget could be lauded for certain proposals like set up of a first women’s bank, Rs 1 lakh deduction for home loans and more focus on health, education, HRD and rural development.

However, most of the commodities and articles get costlier in the budget proposals. Smartphones, Cigarettes, watching movies and eating out in AC restaurants will be more expensive in the coming days. Even though, Chidambaram called “higher growth leading to inclusive, sustainable development” as his government’s mantra, he failed to satisfy middle class society presenting the budget today. The government expected to get Rs 13,300 crore from change in direct tax and indirect tax proposal to yield Rs 4,700 crore.

The Fiscal deficit was marginally lower(5.2) than Economic Survey deficit figure of 5.3%, but it is enough to stop market decline for time being, as the minister expected.

Chidambaram looked more energetic while announcing the proposals for the fiscal 2013-14, which is the last budget before the general elections. He looked forward to change the fortunes of India, Asia’s third largest economy, after years of policy paralysis and global economic turmoil. He admitted that Indian export has been hit and global economy has slowed in the current fiscal. He said that Indian economy has slowed after 2010.

However, he defended the government for Food inflation and price hike that put pressure on common men in India. The slow economy has affected all the nations, only China and Indonesia are growing faster than India. Hence, there was no reason for gloom or pessimism. He stressed on the encouragement of foreign investment, which should be the economic objective for a developing nation. He claimed that the government is committed to work towards development of the nation. He talked about the proposed National Food Security Bill, which is the promise of the UPA government.

Proposals:

1. Rs 1630825 crore total expenditure, Rs 555322 crore plan expenditure, non-plan Rs 1199074 crore
2. Rs 41000 crore for Scheduled Caste and Rs 28500 crore for tribal welfare.
3. Rs 3,511 crore allocated to Minority Affairs Ministry which is 60% of the revised estimates.
4. Health and education for all remain priorities. Over Rs 33000 crore to health
5. Rs 4727 crore for medical research. Rs 1069 cr for the development in the ayurveda, allopathy and Homeopathy medical science
6. Rs 21,000 crore allocation for health sector
7. Allocation of Rs 65,000 crore for education sector
8. Rs 65000 crore to ministry of education, Rs 27257 crore to Sarva Shiksha Avijan
9. Rs 3983 for Rashtriya Madhyamik siksha abhiyan
10. Rs 13215 crore for mid-day meal scheme
11. Rs 17700 crore for ministry of children
12. Rs 110 crore to dept of disability affairs under specific scheme
13. Rs 1400 crore for water purification
14. Rs 65,867 cr allocated to ministry of human resources, 17% increase in budgetary support.
15. Rs 33000 crore for MNREGA
16. Rs 3400 crore for agricultural research
17. Rs 700000 crore for agricultural credit schemes.
18. Rs 1000 crore to support increased rice production in Eastern Indian states.
19. Rs 9954 crore and Rs 2250 crore for crop diversification under different schemes.
20. Rs 500 crore for crop diversification
21. Rs 15269 crore for water and sanitation
22. Rs 14,800 crore under JNNURM. Positive for Ashok Leyland, Tata Motors
23. National Livestock Mission launched with Rs 307 crore
24. Rs 10000 crore set apart for National Food Security Bill (if passed)
25. Rs 1650 crore for six more AIIMS-like medical institutes, which will start functioning this year.
26. All flagship programmes fully funded
27. Indian Institute of BioTechnology to be set up at Ranchi
28. Flagship Education scheme, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan will receive 27,258 crore
29. Rs 5000 crore to NABARD to build cold storages and godowns
30. Rs 25000 crore to be raised from four infrastructure bonds
31. Rs 100 crore in machinery investment can avail an extra 15 per cent exemption over and above existing relaxations
32. Infra debt fund to be encouraged
33. First home loan up to Rs 25 lakh during 2013-14 will get an additional Rs 1 lakh interest deduction.
34. Income level for Rajiv Gandhi Equity Scheme raised by Rs 2 lakh
35. Zero custom duty for electrical machinery
36. Foodgrain production in 2013-14 will be over 250 million tonnes
37. RGESS to be liberalised to enable first time investor, income limit to be raised to Rs 10 lakh
38. Inflation indexed bonds and NSCs to be introduced
39. Coal imports to rise to 185 million tonnes from 100 million in four years.
40. A PPP project with Coal India in the pipeline to stem the outflow of forex.
41. New regulatory authority for road sector
42. Technology Upgrade scheme for textile sector to get Rs 2400 crore
43. Cabinet Committee on Investment formed to look into investments in various sectors
44. Work has started on the Bengaluru-Mumbai industrial corridor
45. RG Equity Saving Scheme to be liberalised to enable first time investor, income limit to be raised to Rs 12 lakh
46. Handloom sector to get an additional Rs 96 crore
47. Rs 80194 crore for rural development projects
48. To Introduce Inflation Indexed Bonds for two new ports in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.
49. 13 Public Sector Banks to get Rs 14000 crore
50. All Public Sector bank branches to have ATMs by end of 2014.
51. Proposal to set up first women’s public sector bank with Rs 1,000 crore by October 2013.
52. Rural housing to get Rs 6000 crore, urban housing Rs 2000 crore
53. NHB to set up Urban Housing bank
54. Banks permitted to act as insurance brokers; public sector banks can now set up ‘adalats’ and settle disputes over claims
55. Domestic workers, Anganwadi workers, etc to get group insurance
56. to review natural gas pricing policy
57. Comprehensive social security package for the most down-trodden and poor in the anvil
58. KYC of banks enough to get insurance
59. 17 per cent hike in education, 22 per cent in agriculture, 46 per cent for rural development
60. All towns of India with a population of over 10000 to have an LIC office
61. Rs 11500 crore for backward areas
62. National Skill Development Corporation to train 5 crore people in current plan period.
63. Rs 11,500 cr allocated as Backward Regions Grant Fund for Bihar, Bundelkhand and KBK region of Odisha
64. Defence gets Rs 2,20,000 crore (additional funds to be provided if needed), 86721 crore for capital expenditure.
65. Rs 5400 crore to department of space and Rs 5600 crore to department of atomic energy.
66. National Institute of Sports Coaching to be set up in Patiala at a cost of Rs 253 crore
67. Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana to include rickshaw pullers, taxi drivers and ragpickers.
68. Rs 5,80,000 crore to states and Union Territories
69. Rs 1,000 crore for Nirbhaya Fund proposed for safety of women
70. Women, youth and poor are priority for the Government

Tax Proposals:

1. No changes in Income Tax rates or slabs
2. Relief for Rs 2-5 lakh income group. Rs 2000 tax credit for those earning up to Rs 5 lakh per annum.
3. Surcharge of 10% on income above Rs 1 crore per annum. Additional surcharge is only for a year
4. Surcharge on corporate taxes increased.
5. Slabs of 30%, 20% and 10% will continue.
6. DDT surcharge raised to 10% for 1 Year.
7. The educational cess for all taxpayers shall continue for one year
8. Education cess to continue at 3 per cent
9. 10 pc tax deduction for donations to National Children’s fund
10. TDS at 1 per cent on value of transfer of immovable property of over Rs 50 lakh
11. Introduces commodity transaction tax
12. proposes cut in STT rate
13. Agricultural commodity exempt from CTT
14. No change in basic rates in customs and excise duty
15. 1 per cent TDS on sale of immovable property over Rs. 50 lakh, not applicable to agricultural land.
16. Lower securities transaction tax on mutual fund payouts
17. Cigarettes and SUVs get costlier. 100 per cent Customs Duty on luxury cars. Specific excise duty on cigarettes increased by 18 per cent
18. Import duty on raw silk hiked to 15%
19. Six per cent duty on mobiles worth more than Rs 2,000.
20. Tax on motor vehicles up from 75 per cent to 100 per cent. Excise duty on certain SUVs hiked to 30 per cent
21. Set Top box import duty raised
22. Gold duty free limit raised to Rs 50,000 for men and to Rs 1 lakh for women travellers
23. Service tax to now apply on all A/C restaurants. All AC restaurants will have to pay service tax whether or not they serve alcohol.

Where does the government get its revenue from? - click here

Green Accounting System in India

Green Accounting

Double-digit GDP fixation is threatening India’s biodiversity and its long-term growth and security. Green accounting methods have estimated the loss of ecological wealth in India. GDP measures the value of output produced within a country over a certain time period. However, any depreciation measurements used, will account only for manmade capital and not the negative impact of growth on valuable natural capital, such as water, land, forests, biodiversity and the resulting negative effects on human health and welfare.Over the course of the last fifty years, India has lost over half its forests, 40 per cent of its mangroves and a significant part of its wetlands. At least 40 species of plants and animals have become extinct with several hundred more endangered.

In “green accounting” approach national accounts are adjusted to include the value of nature´s goods and services. Mr Jairam Ramesh, the former environment minister, advocated greening India’s national accounts by 2015 and encouraged policy makers to recognise the trade-off between pursuing high growth economic policies against the extensive impact they could have on India’s natural capital.

The Green Indian States Trust (GIST) which, in 2003 unleashed a series of environmentally adjusted accounts under the Green Accounting for Indian States Project. According to their results, the loss of forest ecological services (i.e.soil erosion prevention, flood control and ground water augmentation) over three years (2001-03) due to declining dense forests was estimated at an astounding 1.1 per cent of GDP.According to GIST´s latest results, the North-Eastern states continue to be most affected, particularly Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram where the loss of forest ecological services is more than 12 per cent of their NSDP.

India to have green national accounting system

  India expects to put in place in five years a system of green national accounting that would take into account the environmental costs of development and reflect the use of precious depletable natural resources in the process of generating national income.Economists estimate gross domestic product (GDP) as a broad measure of national income, while net domestic product (NDP) accounts for the use of physical capital.As yet, we have no generally accepted system to convert gross domestic product into green domestic product that would reflect the use up of precious depletable natural resources in the process of generating national income.

  Economists all over the world have been at work for quite some time on developing a robust system of green national accounting but "we are not there as yet". "Ideally, if we can report both gross domestic product and green domestic product, we will get a better picture of the trade-offs involved in the process of economic growth.  

World Bank launches ‘green' national accounts initiative

A new global partnership to help developing countries integrate the economics of ecosystems into national accounting systems has been launched by the World Bank.The alarming loss of biological diversity around the world is attributable to the lack of proper valuation of the ecosystems and the services they provide. The valuation and its integration into national accounts are expected to lead to better management of natural environments. According to Mr Robert B. Zoellick, Former President, World Bank Group, the natural wealth of nations should be a capital asset valued in combination with its financial capital, manufactured capital and human capital. The national accounts should reflect the vital carbon storage services that forests provide and the coastal protection values that come from coral reefs and mangroves, he said at a Convention on Biological Diversity held in Nagoya, Japan. 

The first phase of the partnership to ‘green' national accounts has been launched starting with India and Colombia, which will be in a group of six to 10 countries. A forthcoming World Bank Publication, titled ‘The Changing Wealth of Nations', states that the commercial value of farmlands, forests, minerals and energy worldwide is more than $44 trillion, of which, the developing countries account for $29 trillion. But, there is more value in the services provided by ecosystems such as forests, like hydrology regulation, soil retention and pollination.

United Nations Environment Programme


The partnership initiative builds on ‘The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity' (TEEB) project of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). It will include developing and developed countries, non-governmental organisations and the global organisation for legislators.

During the initial five-year pilot period, the programme will focus on how countries can quantify the ecosystems and their services in terms of income and asset values; developing ways to incorporate these values into policies on wealth and economic growth; and evolve guidelines for implementation of the valuations worldwide, according to a World Bank report. The feasibility studies to identify priority ecosystems will start soon in India and Colombia, while many other countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Central Europe have evinced interest to become partners in the pilot programme.

India, Brazil lead in building green economies


India and Brazil lead the number of countries who are willing to draw on findings from the three-year study project The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) to make their economies more environment-friendly and effectively use the services of nature.The Brazilian and Indian governments are among those keen to use findings from The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (Teeb) project. Final results from the three-year study were unveiled here at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity meeting.Nature's services must be counted if they are to be valued, its leader said.  

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http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/importance-of-green-accounting/article3559301.ece