The India Climate Observatory

Commentary, action and research on climate and development in India

Cancun Climate Talks: Mexico finds its mojo and India emerges a winner – 17 Dec 2010

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Cancun Climate Talks: Mexico finds its mojo and India emerges a winner

17 December 2010

For those looking for lessons in Indian diplomacy, Cancun hit a high-water mark. The reason was Jairam Ramesh.  The Mexicans found their mojo and India finally emerged as a climate winner.

By Malini Mehra

The UN climate conference’s surprise outcome was not pre-determined. Just two weeks ago, most scribes had written off the prospects of an agreement – in keeping with a whole year of downplaying expectations. Copenhagen had handed Cancun a poisoned chalice and the bitter taste lingered.

No-one wanted a repeat of the stratospheric expectations, incoherent political process, murky last-minute deals and crushing results. Both trust and nerves had been shredded.

The Latins lead

The Mexican hosts listened – they promised an inclusive and transparent process, and delivered. The sustained applause, the multiple standing ovations that followed COP 16 President, Patricia Espinosa, as she gavelled through the agreement at 3:30am on 11 December were there for a reason. They were borne out of pure wonder, longing, pleasure and relief that the moment had arrived– the battered climate process had rescued itself.

Did having women in charge make a difference? You bet it did. Mexico’s foreign secretary, Patricia Espinosa, and Costa Rica’s Christina Figueres, the new Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, were a powerful double act. They knew just how much was riding on a successful conclusion to the talks and hit the right personal note at every step.

This is the human and emotional context in which India’s shifting position on climate must be seen. Negotiations are not just about red lines, rationality and hardball positions, they are about psychology, atmosphere and relationships. This is the backdrop against which a break with the past was made.

India develops nuance

The truth is that India’s position has been evolving ever since environment minister, Jairam Ramesh took office in May 2008. This is a good thing. From the acceptance of the 2 degree Celsius limit at L’Aquila in 2008, to Ramesh’s imaginative proposals on technology, international consultation and analysis this year, to his consensus-building language on the legal form of the agreement in the last days of Cancun, we have seen a steady evolution of the Indian position on climate change.

Ramesh has combined style with substance to bring new standing to India in the climate negotiations. He quickly understood the sticky issues around finance, monitoring and verification and worked hard to find solutions to release the pressure valves. In doing so he demonstrated that he had skin in the game and was willing to be a problem-solver and consensus builder.

A refreshing change from the traditional role of India as ideological blocker – long on pompous rhetoric and short on constructive action.

Climate and national interests

The UN climate negotiations are probably the most complex, technically demanding and politically charged. They are far-reaching in scope and the stakes could not be higher. But they have become ossified with negotiators unable to see the wood for the trees, or craft an effective collective response to growing warnings of climate calamity.

At root this is because governments do not fully understood what their national interests are in terms of climate change. If they did, there would be less talk of national sovereignty and more of collective effort. India is a case in point.

India’s failed approach

For more than a decade our policymakers acted as if climate change was somebody else’s problem. The west was to blame and we were victims. In a neatly-ordered world all we had to do was make strenuous demands for per capita equity as a populous third world nation, and we would deservedly get our fair share of global environmental space. The world owed us.

In the real world, the dialogue of the deaf in the UN climate negotiations continued and the poles began to melt faster. We kept doing the same thing and kept getting the same results. During this lost decade, we did not address the critical issue of our own domestic climate risks, impacts or lack of resilience. We failed to give our industry a head start to prepare for a low-carbon competitive future, and we failed to address the adaptation needs of our poorest and most vulnerable.

Not because we couldn’t have. But we chose not to. India has no shortage of wealth or entrepreneurialism. We have no dearth of intellectual, scientific or technological talent.

What we have is a dearth of vision and belief in ourselves.

The Jairam effect

Enter Jairam Ramesh. In one year he has been a one-man motor of change with a lorry load of ideas and the energy to put them in motion. We now have a pro-active climate policy that seeks to understand and address India’s risks while playing a constructive leadership role internationally.

For the first time we have our scientific assets systematically deployed to study climate impacts on India. We have an environment ministry that seeks to enforce its own laws and stand-up to vested interests. Under Ramesh, transparency is fast becoming the norm and the ministry’s website has set new standards for content, disclosure and design. No other minister in the entire Indian government addresses citizens so directly using his web platform.

Such open government is not for everyone and Ramesh has done little to strategically mobilise a domestic support base. He has his share of detractors and India’s climate politics are still dominated by the cold warriors. But his reforms have thumping resonance.

A recent Sanctuary Asia poll on his decision to commit India to a leadership role in Cancun resulted in a 94% approval rating. Young people and entrepreneurs, in particular, are keen on his focus on solutions and the business opportunities inherent in such an approach.

New role for India

At Cancun, Ramesh’s effectiveness lay in his skill in reading the political tea leaves. He realised moral authority now lay with the newly-assertive small island states and poorer nations. As the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases India had a responsibility to curb its own emissions. New alliances such as the Cartagena Dialogue[i]had emerged bringing together rich and poor nations on a shared progressive agenda challenging the old order.

The significance of these new alignments has been little remarked in the Indian media. As a result, political discussion is ill-informed and out of date. To appreciate Ramesh’s stance one has to understand the changed negotiating environment and expectations of India as a rising power.

The Cancun Agreements will not arrest climate change. As UNEP’s recent report[ii] shows, we still have a mountain to climb to close the gap between current and projected emissions to remain below 2 degrees C of warming. Cancun’s significance lies in its restorative function. The multilateral system was re-booted and nations did the rare thing of embracing in the political equivalent of a group hug and vowing to work together.

Licence for leadership

India emerged as a star at Cancun because of Ramesh. Effective diplomacy requires risk-taking and he helped make things work. If we are to build on this, we will need better informed parliamentary and public discussion so that politicians can gain a mandate for leadership. This has been Ramesh’s Achilles heel but it says less about him and more about the state of the climate debate in India.

What is clear is that we need a debate not just about our domestic duties, but our international obligations as an emerging power in an interdependent world threatened by climate change. The good news is that under Ramesh we have finally made a start.

MaliniMehra is founder and chief executive of the Centre for Social Markets

For more like this, please visit Malini’s blog ‘Honest Opinion’ on the India Climate Portal: www.indiaclimateportal.org

 

[i] The Cartagena Dialogue includes, among others: Antigua & Barbuda, Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, European Commission, France, Germany, Ghana, Indonesia, Malawi, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mexico (as COP President), Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Peru, Rwanda, Samoa, Spain, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, United Kingdom and Uruguay.

 

[ii]The Emissions Gap Report, United Nations Environment Programme. December 2010.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A binding deal at Cancun – why India must do the right thing – 9 Dec 2010

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A binding deal at Cancun – why India must do the right thing


9 December, 2010

In December 2009, when environment minister Jairam Ramesh went to Copenhagen, he was seen off by a group of bright-eyed young Indian climate activists urging him to come back with a FAB (fair, ambitious and binding) deal. He promised to do so. Fast-forward to December 2010 and the Indian delegation is fighting tooth-and-nail to eviscerate any language on a binding deal at the UN’s climate talks in Cancun.
 
In resisting this, India is in shabby company – countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United States and Japan have been notoriously prevaricating or setting hurdles in the way of internationally binding commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
 
Leading the charge for a legally-binding instrument are the most vulnerable nations on earth – the small island developing states and African countries. United in political blocs such as AOSIS (Alliance of Small Island States) and the Africa Group, these nations are fighting for their very survival in the face of indifference by many major powers – developed and emerging alike.
 
Both AOSIS and the Africa group have managed to organise themselves into effective political forces with strong moral authority as unwitting victims of climate change. In so doing they have lifted the stranglehold of more powerful countries within the G-77 lobby group of developing countries, that had long prevented the concerns of the most vulnerable from surfacing.
 
In recent days, AOSIS and the Africa Group have managed to bring along a range of nations to their cause for a legally binding instrument under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change curbing greenhouse gas emissions. AOSIS has recommended specific language under the Ad-hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action that has been supported by the European Union, Costa Rica and many others. All in all, support for this could run into more than 100 countries.
 
Only India and a small clutch of countries are resisting this move. In this, India has been virtually isolated from others in the BASIC grouping – South Africa, Brazil and China – with whom it has closely allied since last year. These nations are not blocking but are either supporting AOSIS or are open to further dialogue – but not India.
 
India has legitimate concerns in asking for clarity on issues such as the content of legally binding, the penalty of non-compliance and the system of monitoring. But so do others – yet, they are not blocking progress as India is doing because they recognise that some progress on the issue of ‘legal form’ of commitments is a deal-maker issue at this vital meeting.

There is also widespread commitment from most countries supporting the call for a decision to put in place a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol – the only internationally legally-binding mechanism we have for greenhouse gas reduction. A second commitment period to the Kyoto Protocol is essential. As the Kyoto Protocol only covers 18% of global emissions, however, there is a stand-off between developed and emerging nations as to who should be covered by international emissions controls.

For the most vulnerable countries, this battle between the major emitters can seem academic and that is why they are looking at innovative strategies to close the divide between the main political players.

The environment minister has taken to describing India as ‘the most vulnerable’ country in the world. Yet his rhetoric will cut little ice with vulnerable neighbours such as Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal and Bhutan who have all called for a legally binding agreement at Cancun.
 
Jairam Ramesh has won a following in India amongst environmentalists for the courage he has shown in the face of vested interests in the mining sector and flown the flag for India’s environmental integrity. He has also made singularly imaginative efforts to advance a more pro-active domestic climate policy in India. For this we salute him.
 
But if India’s old guard of bureaucrats prevent a similarly courageous and imaginative approach being taken at the international policy level, they should know they will receive the opprobrium of young and old Indians alike.

Time is running out and the window of opportunity on climate action is closing. With every day and hour that passes without international agreement, we condemn our poorest and most vulnerable to an uncertain and insecure future.

As Indians, we call on the Minister and our government to do the right thing and join the ranks of those calling for a fair, ambitious and legally-binding agreement at Cancun. The UN cannot afford another failed climate summit and India has it in her power to make a difference. She must make the right choice.

Malini Mehra & Harish Hande
Malini Mehra is founder and chief executive, Centre for Social Markets, and H. Harish Hande, PhD is Managing Director, SELCO SOLAR Light (P) Ltd.

Our Parliament

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Parliament is the supreme legislative body of a country. Our Parliament comprises of the President and the two Houses—Lok Sabha (House of the People) and Rajya Sabha (Council of States). The President has the power to summon and prorogue either House of Parliament or to dissolve Lok Sabha.
The Constitution of India came into force on January 26, 1950. The first general elections under the new Constitution were held during the year 1951-52 and the first elected Parliament came into being in April, 1952, the Second Lok Sabha in April, 1957, the Third Lok Sabha in April, 1962, the Fourth Lok Sabha in March, 1967, the Fifth Lok Sabha in March, 1971, the Sixth Lok Sabha in March, 1977, the Seventh Lok Sabha in January, 1980, the Eighth Lok Sabha in December, 1984, the Ninth Lok Sabha in December, 1989, the Tenth Lok Sabha in June, 1991, the Eleventh Lok Sabha in May, 1996, the Twelfth Lok Sabha in March, 1998 and Thirteenth Lok Sabha in October, 1999.

LOK SABHA
The Lok Sabha is also known as the “House of the People” or the lower house. Almost all of its members are directly elected by citizens of India. It is the more powerful of the two houses and can precede or overrule the Rajya Sabha (upper house) in certain matters.

The Lok Sabha can have up to 552 members as envisaged in the Constitution of India (Article 81). It has a term of 5 years but it may be dissolved earlier by the President in the event of no confidence motion. Its duration may also be increased during any national emergency. To be eligible for membership of Lok Sabha, a person must be a citizen of India and must be more than 25 years of age. Up to 530 members can be elected from the states, up to 20 members from the Union territories and no more than two members from the Anglo-Indian community can be nominated by the President of India,that is if the president feels that the Anglo-Indian community is not adequacy represented.

As of now,the Lok Sabha has 543 members, 530 members from the states, 13 members from the Union territories and two nominated members representing the Anglo Indian community. Some seats are reserved for representatives of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

The representatives from States and Union territories are directly elected by the people on the basis of universal adult suffrage. Every citizen who is over 18 years of age, irrespective of gender, caste, religion or race, who is otherwise not disqualified, is eligible to vote.

The number is divided among the different States and Union Territories as follows:

(1) Andhra Pradesh 42
(2) Arunachal Pradesh 2
(3) Assam 14
(4) Bihar 40
(5) Chhattisgarh 11
(6) Goa 2
(7) Gujarat 26
(8) Haryana 10
(9) Himachal Pradesh 4
(10) Jammu & Kashmir 6
(11) Jharkhand 14
(12) Karnataka 28
(13) Kerala 20
(14) Madhya Pradesh 29
(15) Maharashtra 48
(16) Manipur 2
(17) Meghalaya 2
(18) Mizoram 1
(19) Nagaland 1
(20) Orissa 21
(21) Punjab 13
(22) Rajasthan 25
(23) Sikkim 1
(24) Tamil Nadu 39
(25) Tripura 2
(26) Uttaranchal 5
(27) Uttar Pradesh 80
(28) West Bengal 42
(29) Andaman & Nicobar Islands 1
(30) Chandigarh 1
(31) Dadra & Nagar Haveli 1
(32) Daman & Diu 1
(33) NCT of Delhi 7
(34) Lakshadweep 1
(35) Pondicherry 1
(36) Anglo-Indians (if nominated 2 by the President under Article 331 of the Constitution)

RAJYA SABHA
Rajya Sabha is the Upper House of Parliament. It has not more than 250 members. Members of Rajya Sabha are not elected by the people directly but indirectly by the Legislative Assemblies of the various States. Every State is allotted a certain number of members. No member of Rajya Sabha can be under 30 years of age.
Twelve of Rajya Sabha members are nominated by the President from persons who have earned distinction in the fields of literature, art, science and social service.
Rajya Sabha is a permanent body. It is not subject to dissolution but one-third of its members retire every two years. Rajya Sabha was duly constituted for the first time on April 3, 1952 and it held its first sitting on May 13, that year.

There are at present 245 members in Rajya Sabha, distributed among different States and Union Territories as follows:

(1) Andhra Pradesh 18
(2) Arunachal Pradesh 1
(3) Assam 7
(4) Bihar 16
(5) Chhattisgarh 5
(6) Goa 1
(7) Gujarat 11
(8) Haryana 5
(9) Himachal Pradesh 3
(10) Jammu & Kashmir 4
(11) Jharkhand 6
(12) Karnataka 12
(13) Kerala 9
(14) Madhya Pradesh 11
(15) Maharashtra 19
(16) Manipur 1
(17) Meghalaya 1
(18) Mizoram 1
(19) Nagaland 1
(20) Orissa 10
(21) Punjab 7
(22) Rajasthan 10
(23) Sikkim 1
(24) Tamil Nadu 18
(25) Tripura 1
(26) Uttaranchal 3
(27) Uttar Pradesh 31
(28) West Bengal 16
(29) NCT of Delhi 3
(30) Pondicherry 1
(31) Nominated by the President under 12 Article 80(1)(a) of the Constitution

Presiding Officers
Lok Sabha elects one of its own members as its Presiding Officer and he is called the Speaker. He is assisted by the  Deputy Speaker who is also elected by Lok Sabha. The conduct of business in Lok Sabha is the responsibility of the Speaker.
The Vice-President of India is the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha. He is elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of members of both Houses of Parliament. Rajya Sabha also elects one of its members to be the Deputy Chairman.

Functions of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

The main function of both the Houses is to pass laws. Every Bill has to be passed by both the Houses and assented to by the President before it becomes law. The subjects over which Parliament can legislate are the subjects mentioned under the Union List in the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. Broadly speaking, Union subjects are those important subjects which for reasons of convenience, efficiency and security are administered on all-India basis. The principal Union subjects are Defence, Foreign Affairs, Railways, Transport and Communications, Currency and Coinage, Banking, Customs and Excise Duties. There are numerous other subjects on which both Parliament and State Legislatures can legislate.

Under this category mention may be made of economic and social planning, social security and insurance, labour welfare, price control and vital statistics.
Besides passing laws, Parliament can by means of resolutions, motions for adjournment, discussions and questions addressed by members to Ministers exercise control over the administration of the country and safeguard people’s liberties.

Difference between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha
(1) Members of Lok Sabha are directly elected by the eligible voters. Members of Rajya Sabha are elected by the elected members of State Legislative Assemblies in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote.
(2) The normal life of every Lok Sabha is 5 years only while Rajya Sabha is a permanent body.
(3) Lok Sabha is the House to which the Council of Ministers is responsible under the Constitution. Money Bills can only be introduced in Lok Sabha. Also it is Lok Sabha which grants the money for running the administration of the country.
(4) Rajya Sabha has special powers to declare that it is necessary and expedient in the national interest that Parliament may make laws with respect to a matter in the State List or to create by law one or more all-India services common to the Union and the States.

Overview of debates held

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Type of Debate: SHORT DURATION DISCUSSIONS (RULE-193)

Title: Discussion regarding issues arising out of Prime Minister’s recent visit to foreign countries.

Date: 29-07-2009

Participants: Dr. Manmohan Singh ,Shri Yashwant Sinha,Shri P.C. Chacko,Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav,Shri Sharad Yadav,Smt. Sushma Swaraj,Shri Basudeb Acharia

Ref.Keywords: Afghanistan,Bilateral Relations,Defence Deals,Disarmament,Foreign Policy,Foreign Relations,Infiltration,Modernization,Nuclear Policy,Pakistan,Peace Keeping,Terrorism,Inter-Services Intelligence,Internal Security,Poverty Eradication,Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT),United Nations (UN),Cross-border Terrorism,Global Warming,Indo-US relations,Indo-Pak Relation,Climate Change,Green House Gases,Nuclear Supplier Group,Nuclear Agreement,Indo-US Nuclear Deal,Non-alignment Policy

Type of Debate:    STATEMENT BY PRIME MINISTER

Title: Statement regarding Prime Minister’s recent visits to Italy, France and Egypt.

Date: 17-07-2009

Participants: Dr. Manmohan Singh

Ref.Keywords: Economic Recession,Financial Aid,Foreign Policy,Foreign Relations,Pakistan,Terrorism,Political Dialogue,Technology Up-gradation,Climate Change

Type of Debate:    MATTERS UNDER RULE-377

Title: Need to take effective steps to mitigate the impact of global warming.

Date: 16-07-2009

Participants: Shri N.S.V. Chitthan

Ref.Keywords: Climate Change


Type of Debate:    SUBMISSIONS BY MEMBERS

Title: Regarding drought situation in various parts of the Country.

Date: 15-07-2009

Participants: Shri Sharad Yadav,Shri Munde Gopinathrao Pandurang,Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav,Shri Dara Singh Chauhan,Shri T.K.S. Elangovan,Shri Basudeb Acharia,Shri Bhartruhari Mahtab,Shri Anant Gangaram Geete,Shri Sudip Bandyopadhyay,Shri M. Tambidural,Shri Gurudas Das Gupta,Shri Nama Nageswara Rao,Shri Lalu Prasad, Annu Tandon,Shri Ghansyam Anuragi,Shri Shailendra Kumar,Shri Ramkishun,Shri R.K. Singh Patel,Dr. Ram Chandra Dome,Shri J.M. Aaron Rashid,Smt. P. Jaya Prada Nahata,Smt. Susmita Bauri,Smt. Jhansi Botcha Lakshmi,Dr. Rattan Singh Ajnala

Ref.Keywords: Agricultural Production,Drinking Water,Drought Relief,Employment Opportunities,Glaciers,Godowns,Migration Policy,Natural Calamities,Starvation,Subsidies,Water Shortage,Crop Failure,Inquiry,Foodgrains,Global Warming,Inter-linking of rivers,Water level,Farmers’ Welfare,Climate Change

 
Type of Debate:    PRIVATE MEMBERS’ BILLS

Title: Introduction of Couil for Environment Protection Bill, 2009.

Date: 31-07-2009

Participants: Shri K.C. Singh Baba

Ref.Keywords: Ecological Balance,Environmental Protection

Type of Debate:    MATTERS UNDER RULE-377

Title: Need to check the emission of Gases and pollution caused by chemical manufacturing units in Ujjain district of Madhya Pradesh posing grave threat to human life and environment.

Date: 29-07-2009

Participants: Shri Premchandra Guddu

Ref.Keywords: Environmental Protection,Pollution Control

Type of Debate:    GOVERNMENT BILLS

Title: Further discussion on the Finance (No. 2) Bill, 2009 moved by Shri Pranab Mukherjee on 24-07-2009. (Discussion concluded and Bill passed)

Date: 27-07-2009

Participants: Shri Sanjay Brijkishorilal Nirupam,Shri Mangani Lal Mandal,Shri P.C. Chacko,Shri Tufani Saroj,Shri Chauhan Mahendrasinh,Shri P.L. Punia,Shri Prabodh Panda,Shri Vijay Bahadur Singh,Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal,Shri N.S.V. Chitthan,Shri Gorakhnath,Dr. Solanki Kiritbhai Premajibhai,Muhammed Hamdulla A. B. Sayeed,Shri Radhey Mohan Singh,Shri M. Krishnaswamy,Shri Khagen Das, Meenakshi Natrajan,Shri Adhi Sankar,Shri Bishnu Pada Ray,Dr. G. Vivekanand,Shri Kamal Kishor,Shri Ramkishun,Shri Nama Nageswara Rao,Shri Satpal Maharaj,Shri Pranab Mukherjee

Type of Debate:    CALLING ATTENTION (RULE-197)

Title: Shri Yogi Adityanath called the attention of the Minister of Environment and Forests to the need to check pollution in rivers and lakes in the country.

Date: 17-07-2009

Participants: Shri Yogi Adityanath ,Shri Yogi Adityanath ,Shri Jairam Ramesh,Shri Jairam Ramesh

Ref.Keywords: Fund Allocation,Ganga Action Plan,Industrial Wastes,Industrialization,Lakes,Pollution Control,River Pollution,Sanitation,Sewage Disposal,Water Pollution,Water Treatment,Monitoring,Power Projects,Centrally Sponsored Schemes,Urbanisation,Hydro electric Power,River Cleaning,Sewage Treatment Plants

Type of Debate:    STATEMENT BY MINISTER

Title: The Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Earth Sciences laid a statement regarding status of implementation of recommendations
Contained in the 181st and 200th Reports of the Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests on the Demands for Grants (2007-08 and 2008-2009, respectively), pertaining to the Ministry of Earth Science.

Date: 15-07-2009


Type of Debate:    SPECIAL MENTION

Title: Regarding World Earth Day

Date: 22-04-2008

Participants: Shri K. Francis George,Shri Bhartruhari Mahtab

Ref.Keywords: Environmental Protection,Global Warming,Climate Change

Type of Debate:    SPECIAL MENTION

Title: Regarding drying up of Indian rivers like Bhagirathi as reported in the website ”Google Earth”.

Date: 21-04-2008

Participants: Shri Rupchand Pal

Ref.Keywords: Global Warming,Climate Change

Type of Debate:    MATTERS UNDER RULE-377

Title: Need to bifurcate Ministry of Environment and Forest to facilitate  quick  action  and  decision making in the matters concerning Environment and Forests.

Date: 19-03-2008

Participants: Shri K.C. Singh Baba

Ref.Keywords: Ecological Balance,Climate Change

Type of Debate:    PRESIDENT ADDRESS

Title: President’s address to both the Houses of Parliament assembled together on the 25th February, 2008.

Date: 25-02-2008

Participants: Secretary-General

Ref.Keywords:    Agricultural Sector,Armed Forces,Civil Aviation,Education,Employment Opportunities,Food Processing,Health Services,Housing Policy,Industrial Development,Inflation,Irrigation Development,Literacy,Malnutrition,Modernization,Pension Schemes,Price Control,Railways,Regional Imbalances,Rehabilitation,Rural Development,SC & ST Welfare,Social Security,Space Research,Terrorism,Textile Industry,UN General Assembly,Women Welfare,Telecommunication Services,Internal Security,Public Sector Undertakings,Panchayati Raj,Cooperative Sector,Industrial Revival,Infrastructure Development,Unorganised Sector,Disaster Management,Tribal Welfare,Women Empowerment,Basic Amenities,Food Security,Centrally Sponsored Schemes,Farmers’ Welfare,Self-help Groups,Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan,Food Parks,Special Economic Zones,Climate Change