Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 73
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Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
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Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 74
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Code Context
            if (Configure::read('debug')) {

                trigger_error($message, E_USER_WARNING);

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		&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;UPA-2 ministers, plan panel say they have no discretionary powers by Vikas Dhoot&#039;,
		&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
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-The Economic Times
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&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;quot;We have no power.&amp;quot; That&#039;s the message from India&#039;s most powerful - ministers in the central government&#039;s Cabinet - when asked to list the discretionary authority each enjoyed. Only one ministry concedes that it has some discretionary powers, which it is eager to shed.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Prodded by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, a group of ministers (GoM) has the job of finding the discretionary powers enjoyed by each ministry and prune these. That would be one approach to clean up the way government buys things and allocates natural resources. Both activities are believed, with justification, to be hotbeds of graft.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
But how can you give up powers you don&#039;t have? The telecom ministry, notorious for the activities of ex-minister A Raja who is now in jail, claims that it has no powers, except over two rather irrelevant things.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
One is to grant phone connections &#039;out of turn&#039; to applicants - an exercise that became obsolete after reforms in the mid-1990s, when anyone who wanted a phone could get one. The other is to nominate members to the Telephone Advisory Committee.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
The urban development ministry has said it can only nominate 10 members to Delhi&#039;s India Habitat Centre and grant out-of-turn allotments of general pool residential accommodation. Thirteen other departments have claimed similar perks, but no powers, for their ministers.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
These include nominating members to official bodies or selecting and transferring personnel. The ministries include the departments of agriculture, coal, minority affairs, road transport and fertilizers.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;
60 Depts Say They Have no Power&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Sixty out of 84 departments have told the GoM that they have no discretionary powers. These include the ministries of finance, civil aviation, power, oil &amp;amp; gas as well as the Planning Commission. To outsiders, each of these ministries seems to enjoy and exercise huge discretionary powers.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
For instance, people believe that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee&#039;s office has the final word on the appointment of regulators such as Sebi and the top management of public sector banks and insurance companies. Now, an apparently &#039;powerless&#039; finance ministry wants to debunk this popular belief.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has no &#039;absolute discretionary powers&#039; since all decisions - be it appointing advisors or allocating funds to ministries - involve due process.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;quot;If the finance ministry and Planning Commission say they don&#039;t have discretionary powers, I can only say it is an astonishing statement,&amp;quot; said National Advisory Council Member NC Saxena. &amp;quot;A minister&#039;s job is coveted because of the powers that come with it - be it transferring officers at will or allocating funds or licences,&amp;quot; he said.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;quot;The clearance of a Bengal bailout package out of turn by the finance ministry is a discretionary power. Similarly, the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission enjoys great discretion on fund allocation. If you define discretion loosely, you can&#039;t capture the powers of discretion that can be misused,&amp;quot; Saxena added.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
The mines ministry, under the independent charge of minister of state Dinsha Patel, is the only one to have conceded that it does have critical discretionary powers. It has, however, told the GoM that it is bringing a new mining law in Parliament to minimise the powers.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
In many cases, departments frame proposals which they alone have the power to approve of. For example, officials close to Ahluwalia often draft proposals for ministries which they subsequently endorse in the commission.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
A senior government official said, on condition of anonymity, &amp;quot;Discretionary powers should have been reviewed by an independent body rather than a group of ministers.&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Seven ministries, including railways, defence and sports, have conceded that they have the power to allocate annual financial assistance from Rs 10,000 to a couple of lakh rupees to deserving or needy individuals or organisations. The foreign minister can allocate some seats on the Haj trip to Mecca.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Ministries such as civil aviation have said the existence of laws, rules and policies for their sectors deter them from &#039;exercising any discretionary power&#039;. P Chidambaram&#039;s home ministry has been the most articulate, listing 10 distinct powers ranging from allocation of funds for police modernisation to promotions of IPS officers.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Wednesday&#039;s GoM meeting approved the draft of a new law to make government procurement more transparent, but there was little movement on pruning ministries&#039; discretionary powers.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Recently, Bank of Singapore Chief Economist Richard Jerram said the perception of graft in India has increased over time. &amp;quot;This has led to a decline in the investment-to-GDP ratio. This has been a major factor behind infrastructure bottlenecks, persistently high inflation and a slowing trend growth rate,&amp;quot; he noted.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
		&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Economic Times, 23 February, 2012, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/upa-2-ministers-plan-panel-say-they-have-no-discretionary-powers/articleshow/11998165.cms&#039;,
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-The Economic Times





&amp;quot;We have no power.&amp;quot; That&#039;s the message from India&#039;s most powerful - ministers in the central government&#039;s Cabinet - when asked to list the discretionary authority each enjoyed. Only one ministry concedes that it has some discretionary powers,...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;-The Economic Times&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;We have no power.&amp;quot; That&#039;s the message from India&#039;s most powerful - ministers in the central government&#039;s Cabinet - when asked to list the discretionary authority each enjoyed. Only one ministry concedes that it has some discretionary powers, which it is eager to shed.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Prodded by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, a group of ministers (GoM) has the job of finding the discretionary powers enjoyed by each ministry and prune these. That would be one approach to clean up the way government buys things and allocates natural resources. Both activities are believed, with justification, to be hotbeds of graft.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;But how can you give up powers you don&#039;t have? The telecom ministry, notorious for the activities of ex-minister A Raja who is now in jail, claims that it has no powers, except over two rather irrelevant things.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;One is to grant phone connections &#039;out of turn&#039; to applicants - an exercise that became obsolete after reforms in the mid-1990s, when anyone who wanted a phone could get one. The other is to nominate members to the Telephone Advisory Committee.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The urban development ministry has said it can only nominate 10 members to Delhi&#039;s India Habitat Centre and grant out-of-turn allotments of general pool residential accommodation. Thirteen other departments have claimed similar perks, but no powers, for their ministers.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;These include nominating members to official bodies or selecting and transferring personnel. The ministries include the departments of agriculture, coal, minority affairs, road transport and fertilizers.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;60 Depts Say They Have no Power&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Sixty out of 84 departments have told the GoM that they have no discretionary powers. These include the ministries of finance, civil aviation, power, oil &amp;amp; gas as well as the Planning Commission. To outsiders, each of these ministries seems to enjoy and exercise huge discretionary powers.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;For instance, people believe that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee&#039;s office has the final word on the appointment of regulators such as Sebi and the top management of public sector banks and insurance companies. Now, an apparently &#039;powerless&#039; finance ministry wants to debunk this popular belief.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has no &#039;absolute discretionary powers&#039; since all decisions - be it appointing advisors or allocating funds to ministries - involve due process.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;If the finance ministry and Planning Commission say they don&#039;t have discretionary powers, I can only say it is an astonishing statement,&amp;quot; said National Advisory Council Member NC Saxena. &amp;quot;A minister&#039;s job is coveted because of the powers that come with it - be it transferring officers at will or allocating funds or licences,&amp;quot; he said.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;The clearance of a Bengal bailout package out of turn by the finance ministry is a discretionary power. Similarly, the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission enjoys great discretion on fund allocation. If you define discretion loosely, you can&#039;t capture the powers of discretion that can be misused,&amp;quot; Saxena added.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The mines ministry, under the independent charge of minister of state Dinsha Patel, is the only one to have conceded that it does have critical discretionary powers. It has, however, told the GoM that it is bringing a new mining law in Parliament to minimise the powers.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;In many cases, departments frame proposals which they alone have the power to approve of. For example, officials close to Ahluwalia often draft proposals for ministries which they subsequently endorse in the commission.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;A senior government official said, on condition of anonymity, &amp;quot;Discretionary powers should have been reviewed by an independent body rather than a group of ministers.&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Seven ministries, including railways, defence and sports, have conceded that they have the power to allocate annual financial assistance from Rs 10,000 to a couple of lakh rupees to deserving or needy individuals or organisations. The foreign minister can allocate some seats on the Haj trip to Mecca.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Ministries such as civil aviation have said the existence of laws, rules and policies for their sectors deter them from &#039;exercising any discretionary power&#039;. P Chidambaram&#039;s home ministry has been the most articulate, listing 10 distinct powers ranging from allocation of funds for police modernisation to promotions of IPS officers.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Wednesday&#039;s GoM meeting approved the draft of a new law to make government procurement more transparent, but there was little movement on pruning ministries&#039; discretionary powers.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Recently, Bank of Singapore Chief Economist Richard Jerram said the perception of graft in India has increased over time. &amp;quot;This has led to a decline in the investment-to-GDP ratio. This has been a major factor behind infrastructure bottlenecks, persistently high inflation and a slowing trend growth rate,&amp;quot; he noted.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
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	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;UPA-2 ministers, plan panel say they have no discretionary powers by Vikas Dhoot&#039;,
	&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
-The Economic Times
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;quot;We have no power.&amp;quot; That&#039;s the message from India&#039;s most powerful - ministers in the central government&#039;s Cabinet - when asked to list the discretionary authority each enjoyed. Only one ministry concedes that it has some discretionary powers, which it is eager to shed.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Prodded by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, a group of ministers (GoM) has the job of finding the discretionary powers enjoyed by each ministry and prune these. That would be one approach to clean up the way government buys things and allocates natural resources. Both activities are believed, with justification, to be hotbeds of graft.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
But how can you give up powers you don&#039;t have? The telecom ministry, notorious for the activities of ex-minister A Raja who is now in jail, claims that it has no powers, except over two rather irrelevant things.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
One is to grant phone connections &#039;out of turn&#039; to applicants - an exercise that became obsolete after reforms in the mid-1990s, when anyone who wanted a phone could get one. The other is to nominate members to the Telephone Advisory Committee.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
The urban development ministry has said it can only nominate 10 members to Delhi&#039;s India Habitat Centre and grant out-of-turn allotments of general pool residential accommodation. Thirteen other departments have claimed similar perks, but no powers, for their ministers.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
These include nominating members to official bodies or selecting and transferring personnel. The ministries include the departments of agriculture, coal, minority affairs, road transport and fertilizers.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;
60 Depts Say They Have no Power&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Sixty out of 84 departments have told the GoM that they have no discretionary powers. These include the ministries of finance, civil aviation, power, oil &amp;amp; gas as well as the Planning Commission. To outsiders, each of these ministries seems to enjoy and exercise huge discretionary powers.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
For instance, people believe that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee&#039;s office has the final word on the appointment of regulators such as Sebi and the top management of public sector banks and insurance companies. Now, an apparently &#039;powerless&#039; finance ministry wants to debunk this popular belief.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has no &#039;absolute discretionary powers&#039; since all decisions - be it appointing advisors or allocating funds to ministries - involve due process.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;quot;If the finance ministry and Planning Commission say they don&#039;t have discretionary powers, I can only say it is an astonishing statement,&amp;quot; said National Advisory Council Member NC Saxena. &amp;quot;A minister&#039;s job is coveted because of the powers that come with it - be it transferring officers at will or allocating funds or licences,&amp;quot; he said.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;quot;The clearance of a Bengal bailout package out of turn by the finance ministry is a discretionary power. Similarly, the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission enjoys great discretion on fund allocation. If you define discretion loosely, you can&#039;t capture the powers of discretion that can be misused,&amp;quot; Saxena added.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
The mines ministry, under the independent charge of minister of state Dinsha Patel, is the only one to have conceded that it does have critical discretionary powers. It has, however, told the GoM that it is bringing a new mining law in Parliament to minimise the powers.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
In many cases, departments frame proposals which they alone have the power to approve of. For example, officials close to Ahluwalia often draft proposals for ministries which they subsequently endorse in the commission.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
A senior government official said, on condition of anonymity, &amp;quot;Discretionary powers should have been reviewed by an independent body rather than a group of ministers.&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Seven ministries, including railways, defence and sports, have conceded that they have the power to allocate annual financial assistance from Rs 10,000 to a couple of lakh rupees to deserving or needy individuals or organisations. The foreign minister can allocate some seats on the Haj trip to Mecca.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Ministries such as civil aviation have said the existence of laws, rules and policies for their sectors deter them from &#039;exercising any discretionary power&#039;. P Chidambaram&#039;s home ministry has been the most articulate, listing 10 distinct powers ranging from allocation of funds for police modernisation to promotions of IPS officers.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Wednesday&#039;s GoM meeting approved the draft of a new law to make government procurement more transparent, but there was little movement on pruning ministries&#039; discretionary powers.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Recently, Bank of Singapore Chief Economist Richard Jerram said the perception of graft in India has increased over time. &amp;quot;This has led to a decline in the investment-to-GDP ratio. This has been a major factor behind infrastructure bottlenecks, persistently high inflation and a slowing trend growth rate,&amp;quot; he noted.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Economic Times, 23 February, 2012, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/upa-2-ministers-plan-panel-say-they-have-no-discretionary-powers/articleshow/11998165.cms&#039;,
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$metaTitle = &#039;LATEST NEWS UPDATES | UPA-2 ministers, plan panel say they have no discretionary powers by Vikas Dhoot&#039;
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-The Economic Times





&amp;quot;We have no power.&amp;quot; That&#039;s the message from India&#039;s most powerful - ministers in the central government&#039;s Cabinet - when asked to list the discretionary authority each enjoyed. Only one ministry concedes that it has some discretionary powers,...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;-The Economic Times&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;We have no power.&amp;quot; That&#039;s the message from India&#039;s most powerful - ministers in the central government&#039;s Cabinet - when asked to list the discretionary authority each enjoyed. Only one ministry concedes that it has some discretionary powers, which it is eager to shed.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Prodded by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, a group of ministers (GoM) has the job of finding the discretionary powers enjoyed by each ministry and prune these. That would be one approach to clean up the way government buys things and allocates natural resources. Both activities are believed, with justification, to be hotbeds of graft.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;But how can you give up powers you don&#039;t have? The telecom ministry, notorious for the activities of ex-minister A Raja who is now in jail, claims that it has no powers, except over two rather irrelevant things.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;One is to grant phone connections &#039;out of turn&#039; to applicants - an exercise that became obsolete after reforms in the mid-1990s, when anyone who wanted a phone could get one. The other is to nominate members to the Telephone Advisory Committee.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The urban development ministry has said it can only nominate 10 members to Delhi&#039;s India Habitat Centre and grant out-of-turn allotments of general pool residential accommodation. Thirteen other departments have claimed similar perks, but no powers, for their ministers.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;These include nominating members to official bodies or selecting and transferring personnel. The ministries include the departments of agriculture, coal, minority affairs, road transport and fertilizers.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;60 Depts Say They Have no Power&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Sixty out of 84 departments have told the GoM that they have no discretionary powers. These include the ministries of finance, civil aviation, power, oil &amp;amp; gas as well as the Planning Commission. To outsiders, each of these ministries seems to enjoy and exercise huge discretionary powers.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;For instance, people believe that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee&#039;s office has the final word on the appointment of regulators such as Sebi and the top management of public sector banks and insurance companies. Now, an apparently &#039;powerless&#039; finance ministry wants to debunk this popular belief.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has no &#039;absolute discretionary powers&#039; since all decisions - be it appointing advisors or allocating funds to ministries - involve due process.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;If the finance ministry and Planning Commission say they don&#039;t have discretionary powers, I can only say it is an astonishing statement,&amp;quot; said National Advisory Council Member NC Saxena. &amp;quot;A minister&#039;s job is coveted because of the powers that come with it - be it transferring officers at will or allocating funds or licences,&amp;quot; he said.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;The clearance of a Bengal bailout package out of turn by the finance ministry is a discretionary power. Similarly, the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission enjoys great discretion on fund allocation. If you define discretion loosely, you can&#039;t capture the powers of discretion that can be misused,&amp;quot; Saxena added.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The mines ministry, under the independent charge of minister of state Dinsha Patel, is the only one to have conceded that it does have critical discretionary powers. It has, however, told the GoM that it is bringing a new mining law in Parliament to minimise the powers.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;In many cases, departments frame proposals which they alone have the power to approve of. For example, officials close to Ahluwalia often draft proposals for ministries which they subsequently endorse in the commission.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;A senior government official said, on condition of anonymity, &amp;quot;Discretionary powers should have been reviewed by an independent body rather than a group of ministers.&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Seven ministries, including railways, defence and sports, have conceded that they have the power to allocate annual financial assistance from Rs 10,000 to a couple of lakh rupees to deserving or needy individuals or organisations. The foreign minister can allocate some seats on the Haj trip to Mecca.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Ministries such as civil aviation have said the existence of laws, rules and policies for their sectors deter them from &#039;exercising any discretionary power&#039;. P Chidambaram&#039;s home ministry has been the most articulate, listing 10 distinct powers ranging from allocation of funds for police modernisation to promotions of IPS officers.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Wednesday&#039;s GoM meeting approved the draft of a new law to make government procurement more transparent, but there was little movement on pruning ministries&#039; discretionary powers.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Recently, Bank of Singapore Chief Economist Richard Jerram said the perception of graft in India has increased over time. &amp;quot;This has led to a decline in the investment-to-GDP ratio. This has been a major factor behind infrastructure bottlenecks, persistently high inflation and a slowing trend growth rate,&amp;quot; he noted.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;
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-The Economic Times





&quot;We have no power.&quot; That's the message from India's most powerful - ministers in the central government's Cabinet - when asked to list the discretionary authority each enjoyed. Only one ministry concedes that it has some discretionary powers,..."/>
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                <strong>UPA-2 ministers, plan panel say they have no discretionary powers by Vikas Dhoot</strong></h1>
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                <div style="text-align: justify">-The Economic Times</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&quot;We have no power.&quot; That's the message from India's most powerful - ministers in the central government's Cabinet - when asked to list the discretionary authority each enjoyed. Only one ministry concedes that it has some discretionary powers, which it is eager to shed.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Prodded by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, a group of ministers (GoM) has the job of finding the discretionary powers enjoyed by each ministry and prune these. That would be one approach to clean up the way government buys things and allocates natural resources. Both activities are believed, with justification, to be hotbeds of graft.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">But how can you give up powers you don't have? The telecom ministry, notorious for the activities of ex-minister A Raja who is now in jail, claims that it has no powers, except over two rather irrelevant things.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">One is to grant phone connections 'out of turn' to applicants - an exercise that became obsolete after reforms in the mid-1990s, when anyone who wanted a phone could get one. The other is to nominate members to the Telephone Advisory Committee.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The urban development ministry has said it can only nominate 10 members to Delhi's India Habitat Centre and grant out-of-turn allotments of general pool residential accommodation. Thirteen other departments have claimed similar perks, but no powers, for their ministers.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">These include nominating members to official bodies or selecting and transferring personnel. The ministries include the departments of agriculture, coal, minority affairs, road transport and fertilizers.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify"><em>60 Depts Say They Have no Power&nbsp;</em></div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Sixty out of 84 departments have told the GoM that they have no discretionary powers. These include the ministries of finance, civil aviation, power, oil &amp; gas as well as the Planning Commission. To outsiders, each of these ministries seems to enjoy and exercise huge discretionary powers.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">For instance, people believe that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's office has the final word on the appointment of regulators such as Sebi and the top management of public sector banks and insurance companies. Now, an apparently 'powerless' finance ministry wants to debunk this popular belief.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has no 'absolute discretionary powers' since all decisions - be it appointing advisors or allocating funds to ministries - involve due process.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&quot;If the finance ministry and Planning Commission say they don't have discretionary powers, I can only say it is an astonishing statement,&quot; said National Advisory Council Member NC Saxena. &quot;A minister's job is coveted because of the powers that come with it - be it transferring officers at will or allocating funds or licences,&quot; he said.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&quot;The clearance of a Bengal bailout package out of turn by the finance ministry is a discretionary power. Similarly, the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission enjoys great discretion on fund allocation. If you define discretion loosely, you can't capture the powers of discretion that can be misused,&quot; Saxena added.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The mines ministry, under the independent charge of minister of state Dinsha Patel, is the only one to have conceded that it does have critical discretionary powers. It has, however, told the GoM that it is bringing a new mining law in Parliament to minimise the powers.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">In many cases, departments frame proposals which they alone have the power to approve of. For example, officials close to Ahluwalia often draft proposals for ministries which they subsequently endorse in the commission.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">A senior government official said, on condition of anonymity, &quot;Discretionary powers should have been reviewed by an independent body rather than a group of ministers.&quot;&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Seven ministries, including railways, defence and sports, have conceded that they have the power to allocate annual financial assistance from Rs 10,000 to a couple of lakh rupees to deserving or needy individuals or organisations. The foreign minister can allocate some seats on the Haj trip to Mecca.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Ministries such as civil aviation have said the existence of laws, rules and policies for their sectors deter them from 'exercising any discretionary power'. P Chidambaram's home ministry has been the most articulate, listing 10 distinct powers ranging from allocation of funds for police modernisation to promotions of IPS officers.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Wednesday's GoM meeting approved the draft of a new law to make government procurement more transparent, but there was little movement on pruning ministries' discretionary powers.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Recently, Bank of Singapore Chief Economist Richard Jerram said the perception of graft in India has increased over time. &quot;This has led to a decline in the investment-to-GDP ratio. This has been a major factor behind infrastructure bottlenecks, persistently high inflation and a slowing trend growth rate,&quot; he noted.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div>               </font>
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    <link rel="canonical" href="https://im4change.in/<pre class="cake-error"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f50c1674af1-trace').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f50c1674af1-trace').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none');"><b>Notice</b> (8)</a>: Undefined variable: urlPrefix [<b>APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp</b>, line <b>8</b>]<div id="cakeErr67f50c1674af1-trace" class="cake-stack-trace" style="display: none;"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f50c1674af1-code').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f50c1674af1-code').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Code</a> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f50c1674af1-context').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f50c1674af1-context').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Context</a><pre id="cakeErr67f50c1674af1-code" class="cake-code-dump" style="display: none;"><code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB"></span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">head</span><span style="color: #007700">&gt;
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</span></code></span>
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		&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;UPA-2 ministers, plan panel say they have no discretionary powers by Vikas Dhoot&#039;,
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-The Economic Times
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&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;quot;We have no power.&amp;quot; That&#039;s the message from India&#039;s most powerful - ministers in the central government&#039;s Cabinet - when asked to list the discretionary authority each enjoyed. Only one ministry concedes that it has some discretionary powers, which it is eager to shed.&amp;nbsp;
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Prodded by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, a group of ministers (GoM) has the job of finding the discretionary powers enjoyed by each ministry and prune these. That would be one approach to clean up the way government buys things and allocates natural resources. Both activities are believed, with justification, to be hotbeds of graft.&amp;nbsp;
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&lt;br /&gt;
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But how can you give up powers you don&#039;t have? The telecom ministry, notorious for the activities of ex-minister A Raja who is now in jail, claims that it has no powers, except over two rather irrelevant things.&amp;nbsp;
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One is to grant phone connections &#039;out of turn&#039; to applicants - an exercise that became obsolete after reforms in the mid-1990s, when anyone who wanted a phone could get one. The other is to nominate members to the Telephone Advisory Committee.&amp;nbsp;
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&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
The urban development ministry has said it can only nominate 10 members to Delhi&#039;s India Habitat Centre and grant out-of-turn allotments of general pool residential accommodation. Thirteen other departments have claimed similar perks, but no powers, for their ministers.&amp;nbsp;
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These include nominating members to official bodies or selecting and transferring personnel. The ministries include the departments of agriculture, coal, minority affairs, road transport and fertilizers.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;em&gt;
60 Depts Say They Have no Power&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/em&gt;
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&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
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Sixty out of 84 departments have told the GoM that they have no discretionary powers. These include the ministries of finance, civil aviation, power, oil &amp;amp; gas as well as the Planning Commission. To outsiders, each of these ministries seems to enjoy and exercise huge discretionary powers.&amp;nbsp;
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&lt;br /&gt;
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For instance, people believe that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee&#039;s office has the final word on the appointment of regulators such as Sebi and the top management of public sector banks and insurance companies. Now, an apparently &#039;powerless&#039; finance ministry wants to debunk this popular belief.&amp;nbsp;
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&lt;br /&gt;
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Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has no &#039;absolute discretionary powers&#039; since all decisions - be it appointing advisors or allocating funds to ministries - involve due process.&amp;nbsp;
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&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
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&amp;quot;If the finance ministry and Planning Commission say they don&#039;t have discretionary powers, I can only say it is an astonishing statement,&amp;quot; said National Advisory Council Member NC Saxena. &amp;quot;A minister&#039;s job is coveted because of the powers that come with it - be it transferring officers at will or allocating funds or licences,&amp;quot; he said.&amp;nbsp;
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&lt;br /&gt;
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&amp;quot;The clearance of a Bengal bailout package out of turn by the finance ministry is a discretionary power. Similarly, the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission enjoys great discretion on fund allocation. If you define discretion loosely, you can&#039;t capture the powers of discretion that can be misused,&amp;quot; Saxena added.&amp;nbsp;
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&lt;br /&gt;
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The mines ministry, under the independent charge of minister of state Dinsha Patel, is the only one to have conceded that it does have critical discretionary powers. It has, however, told the GoM that it is bringing a new mining law in Parliament to minimise the powers.
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&lt;br /&gt;
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In many cases, departments frame proposals which they alone have the power to approve of. For example, officials close to Ahluwalia often draft proposals for ministries which they subsequently endorse in the commission.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
A senior government official said, on condition of anonymity, &amp;quot;Discretionary powers should have been reviewed by an independent body rather than a group of ministers.&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp;
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&lt;br /&gt;
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Seven ministries, including railways, defence and sports, have conceded that they have the power to allocate annual financial assistance from Rs 10,000 to a couple of lakh rupees to deserving or needy individuals or organisations. The foreign minister can allocate some seats on the Haj trip to Mecca.&amp;nbsp;
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&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
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Ministries such as civil aviation have said the existence of laws, rules and policies for their sectors deter them from &#039;exercising any discretionary power&#039;. P Chidambaram&#039;s home ministry has been the most articulate, listing 10 distinct powers ranging from allocation of funds for police modernisation to promotions of IPS officers.&amp;nbsp;
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&lt;br /&gt;
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Wednesday&#039;s GoM meeting approved the draft of a new law to make government procurement more transparent, but there was little movement on pruning ministries&#039; discretionary powers.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Recently, Bank of Singapore Chief Economist Richard Jerram said the perception of graft in India has increased over time. &amp;quot;This has led to a decline in the investment-to-GDP ratio. This has been a major factor behind infrastructure bottlenecks, persistently high inflation and a slowing trend growth rate,&amp;quot; he noted.
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&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
		&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Economic Times, 23 February, 2012, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/upa-2-ministers-plan-panel-say-they-have-no-discretionary-powers/articleshow/11998165.cms&#039;,
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&amp;quot;We have no power.&amp;quot; That&#039;s the message from India&#039;s most powerful - ministers in the central government&#039;s Cabinet - when asked to list the discretionary authority each enjoyed. Only one ministry concedes that it has some discretionary powers,...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;-The Economic Times&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;We have no power.&amp;quot; That&#039;s the message from India&#039;s most powerful - ministers in the central government&#039;s Cabinet - when asked to list the discretionary authority each enjoyed. Only one ministry concedes that it has some discretionary powers, which it is eager to shed.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Prodded by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, a group of ministers (GoM) has the job of finding the discretionary powers enjoyed by each ministry and prune these. That would be one approach to clean up the way government buys things and allocates natural resources. Both activities are believed, with justification, to be hotbeds of graft.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;But how can you give up powers you don&#039;t have? The telecom ministry, notorious for the activities of ex-minister A Raja who is now in jail, claims that it has no powers, except over two rather irrelevant things.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;One is to grant phone connections &#039;out of turn&#039; to applicants - an exercise that became obsolete after reforms in the mid-1990s, when anyone who wanted a phone could get one. The other is to nominate members to the Telephone Advisory Committee.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The urban development ministry has said it can only nominate 10 members to Delhi&#039;s India Habitat Centre and grant out-of-turn allotments of general pool residential accommodation. Thirteen other departments have claimed similar perks, but no powers, for their ministers.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;These include nominating members to official bodies or selecting and transferring personnel. The ministries include the departments of agriculture, coal, minority affairs, road transport and fertilizers.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;60 Depts Say They Have no Power&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Sixty out of 84 departments have told the GoM that they have no discretionary powers. These include the ministries of finance, civil aviation, power, oil &amp;amp; gas as well as the Planning Commission. To outsiders, each of these ministries seems to enjoy and exercise huge discretionary powers.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;For instance, people believe that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee&#039;s office has the final word on the appointment of regulators such as Sebi and the top management of public sector banks and insurance companies. Now, an apparently &#039;powerless&#039; finance ministry wants to debunk this popular belief.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has no &#039;absolute discretionary powers&#039; since all decisions - be it appointing advisors or allocating funds to ministries - involve due process.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;If the finance ministry and Planning Commission say they don&#039;t have discretionary powers, I can only say it is an astonishing statement,&amp;quot; said National Advisory Council Member NC Saxena. &amp;quot;A minister&#039;s job is coveted because of the powers that come with it - be it transferring officers at will or allocating funds or licences,&amp;quot; he said.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;The clearance of a Bengal bailout package out of turn by the finance ministry is a discretionary power. Similarly, the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission enjoys great discretion on fund allocation. If you define discretion loosely, you can&#039;t capture the powers of discretion that can be misused,&amp;quot; Saxena added.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The mines ministry, under the independent charge of minister of state Dinsha Patel, is the only one to have conceded that it does have critical discretionary powers. It has, however, told the GoM that it is bringing a new mining law in Parliament to minimise the powers.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;In many cases, departments frame proposals which they alone have the power to approve of. 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The foreign minister can allocate some seats on the Haj trip to Mecca.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Ministries such as civil aviation have said the existence of laws, rules and policies for their sectors deter them from &#039;exercising any discretionary power&#039;. 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This has been a major factor behind infrastructure bottlenecks, persistently high inflation and a slowing trend growth rate,&amp;quot; he noted.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
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-The Economic Times
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&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;quot;We have no power.&amp;quot; That&#039;s the message from India&#039;s most powerful - ministers in the central government&#039;s Cabinet - when asked to list the discretionary authority each enjoyed. Only one ministry concedes that it has some discretionary powers, which it is eager to shed.&amp;nbsp;
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&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Prodded by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, a group of ministers (GoM) has the job of finding the discretionary powers enjoyed by each ministry and prune these. That would be one approach to clean up the way government buys things and allocates natural resources. Both activities are believed, with justification, to be hotbeds of graft.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
But how can you give up powers you don&#039;t have? The telecom ministry, notorious for the activities of ex-minister A Raja who is now in jail, claims that it has no powers, except over two rather irrelevant things.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
One is to grant phone connections &#039;out of turn&#039; to applicants - an exercise that became obsolete after reforms in the mid-1990s, when anyone who wanted a phone could get one. The other is to nominate members to the Telephone Advisory Committee.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
The urban development ministry has said it can only nominate 10 members to Delhi&#039;s India Habitat Centre and grant out-of-turn allotments of general pool residential accommodation. Thirteen other departments have claimed similar perks, but no powers, for their ministers.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
These include nominating members to official bodies or selecting and transferring personnel. The ministries include the departments of agriculture, coal, minority affairs, road transport and fertilizers.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;
60 Depts Say They Have no Power&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Sixty out of 84 departments have told the GoM that they have no discretionary powers. These include the ministries of finance, civil aviation, power, oil &amp;amp; gas as well as the Planning Commission. To outsiders, each of these ministries seems to enjoy and exercise huge discretionary powers.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
For instance, people believe that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee&#039;s office has the final word on the appointment of regulators such as Sebi and the top management of public sector banks and insurance companies. Now, an apparently &#039;powerless&#039; finance ministry wants to debunk this popular belief.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has no &#039;absolute discretionary powers&#039; since all decisions - be it appointing advisors or allocating funds to ministries - involve due process.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;quot;If the finance ministry and Planning Commission say they don&#039;t have discretionary powers, I can only say it is an astonishing statement,&amp;quot; said National Advisory Council Member NC Saxena. &amp;quot;A minister&#039;s job is coveted because of the powers that come with it - be it transferring officers at will or allocating funds or licences,&amp;quot; he said.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;quot;The clearance of a Bengal bailout package out of turn by the finance ministry is a discretionary power. Similarly, the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission enjoys great discretion on fund allocation. If you define discretion loosely, you can&#039;t capture the powers of discretion that can be misused,&amp;quot; Saxena added.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
The mines ministry, under the independent charge of minister of state Dinsha Patel, is the only one to have conceded that it does have critical discretionary powers. It has, however, told the GoM that it is bringing a new mining law in Parliament to minimise the powers.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
In many cases, departments frame proposals which they alone have the power to approve of. For example, officials close to Ahluwalia often draft proposals for ministries which they subsequently endorse in the commission.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
A senior government official said, on condition of anonymity, &amp;quot;Discretionary powers should have been reviewed by an independent body rather than a group of ministers.&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Seven ministries, including railways, defence and sports, have conceded that they have the power to allocate annual financial assistance from Rs 10,000 to a couple of lakh rupees to deserving or needy individuals or organisations. The foreign minister can allocate some seats on the Haj trip to Mecca.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Ministries such as civil aviation have said the existence of laws, rules and policies for their sectors deter them from &#039;exercising any discretionary power&#039;. P Chidambaram&#039;s home ministry has been the most articulate, listing 10 distinct powers ranging from allocation of funds for police modernisation to promotions of IPS officers.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Wednesday&#039;s GoM meeting approved the draft of a new law to make government procurement more transparent, but there was little movement on pruning ministries&#039; discretionary powers.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Recently, Bank of Singapore Chief Economist Richard Jerram said the perception of graft in India has increased over time. &amp;quot;This has led to a decline in the investment-to-GDP ratio. This has been a major factor behind infrastructure bottlenecks, persistently high inflation and a slowing trend growth rate,&amp;quot; he noted.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Economic Times, 23 February, 2012, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/upa-2-ministers-plan-panel-say-they-have-no-discretionary-powers/articleshow/11998165.cms&#039;,
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-The Economic Times





&amp;quot;We have no power.&amp;quot; That&#039;s the message from India&#039;s most powerful - ministers in the central government&#039;s Cabinet - when asked to list the discretionary authority each enjoyed. Only one ministry concedes that it has some discretionary powers,...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;-The Economic Times&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;We have no power.&amp;quot; That&#039;s the message from India&#039;s most powerful - ministers in the central government&#039;s Cabinet - when asked to list the discretionary authority each enjoyed. Only one ministry concedes that it has some discretionary powers, which it is eager to shed.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Prodded by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, a group of ministers (GoM) has the job of finding the discretionary powers enjoyed by each ministry and prune these. That would be one approach to clean up the way government buys things and allocates natural resources. Both activities are believed, with justification, to be hotbeds of graft.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;But how can you give up powers you don&#039;t have? The telecom ministry, notorious for the activities of ex-minister A Raja who is now in jail, claims that it has no powers, except over two rather irrelevant things.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;One is to grant phone connections &#039;out of turn&#039; to applicants - an exercise that became obsolete after reforms in the mid-1990s, when anyone who wanted a phone could get one. The other is to nominate members to the Telephone Advisory Committee.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The urban development ministry has said it can only nominate 10 members to Delhi&#039;s India Habitat Centre and grant out-of-turn allotments of general pool residential accommodation. Thirteen other departments have claimed similar perks, but no powers, for their ministers.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;These include nominating members to official bodies or selecting and transferring personnel. The ministries include the departments of agriculture, coal, minority affairs, road transport and fertilizers.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;60 Depts Say They Have no Power&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Sixty out of 84 departments have told the GoM that they have no discretionary powers. These include the ministries of finance, civil aviation, power, oil &amp;amp; gas as well as the Planning Commission. To outsiders, each of these ministries seems to enjoy and exercise huge discretionary powers.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;For instance, people believe that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee&#039;s office has the final word on the appointment of regulators such as Sebi and the top management of public sector banks and insurance companies. Now, an apparently &#039;powerless&#039; finance ministry wants to debunk this popular belief.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has no &#039;absolute discretionary powers&#039; since all decisions - be it appointing advisors or allocating funds to ministries - involve due process.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;If the finance ministry and Planning Commission say they don&#039;t have discretionary powers, I can only say it is an astonishing statement,&amp;quot; said National Advisory Council Member NC Saxena. &amp;quot;A minister&#039;s job is coveted because of the powers that come with it - be it transferring officers at will or allocating funds or licences,&amp;quot; he said.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;The clearance of a Bengal bailout package out of turn by the finance ministry is a discretionary power. Similarly, the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission enjoys great discretion on fund allocation. If you define discretion loosely, you can&#039;t capture the powers of discretion that can be misused,&amp;quot; Saxena added.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The mines ministry, under the independent charge of minister of state Dinsha Patel, is the only one to have conceded that it does have critical discretionary powers. It has, however, told the GoM that it is bringing a new mining law in Parliament to minimise the powers.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;In many cases, departments frame proposals which they alone have the power to approve of. For example, officials close to Ahluwalia often draft proposals for ministries which they subsequently endorse in the commission.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;A senior government official said, on condition of anonymity, &amp;quot;Discretionary powers should have been reviewed by an independent body rather than a group of ministers.&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Seven ministries, including railways, defence and sports, have conceded that they have the power to allocate annual financial assistance from Rs 10,000 to a couple of lakh rupees to deserving or needy individuals or organisations. The foreign minister can allocate some seats on the Haj trip to Mecca.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Ministries such as civil aviation have said the existence of laws, rules and policies for their sectors deter them from &#039;exercising any discretionary power&#039;. P Chidambaram&#039;s home ministry has been the most articulate, listing 10 distinct powers ranging from allocation of funds for police modernisation to promotions of IPS officers.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Wednesday&#039;s GoM meeting approved the draft of a new law to make government procurement more transparent, but there was little movement on pruning ministries&#039; discretionary powers.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Recently, Bank of Singapore Chief Economist Richard Jerram said the perception of graft in India has increased over time. &amp;quot;This has led to a decline in the investment-to-GDP ratio. This has been a major factor behind infrastructure bottlenecks, persistently high inflation and a slowing trend growth rate,&amp;quot; he noted.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;
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-The Economic Times





&quot;We have no power.&quot; That's the message from India's most powerful - ministers in the central government's Cabinet - when asked to list the discretionary authority each enjoyed. Only one ministry concedes that it has some discretionary powers,..."/>
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                <strong>UPA-2 ministers, plan panel say they have no discretionary powers by Vikas Dhoot</strong></h1>
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                <div style="text-align: justify">-The Economic Times</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&quot;We have no power.&quot; That's the message from India's most powerful - ministers in the central government's Cabinet - when asked to list the discretionary authority each enjoyed. Only one ministry concedes that it has some discretionary powers, which it is eager to shed.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Prodded by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, a group of ministers (GoM) has the job of finding the discretionary powers enjoyed by each ministry and prune these. That would be one approach to clean up the way government buys things and allocates natural resources. Both activities are believed, with justification, to be hotbeds of graft.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">But how can you give up powers you don't have? The telecom ministry, notorious for the activities of ex-minister A Raja who is now in jail, claims that it has no powers, except over two rather irrelevant things.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">One is to grant phone connections 'out of turn' to applicants - an exercise that became obsolete after reforms in the mid-1990s, when anyone who wanted a phone could get one. The other is to nominate members to the Telephone Advisory Committee.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The urban development ministry has said it can only nominate 10 members to Delhi's India Habitat Centre and grant out-of-turn allotments of general pool residential accommodation. Thirteen other departments have claimed similar perks, but no powers, for their ministers.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">These include nominating members to official bodies or selecting and transferring personnel. The ministries include the departments of agriculture, coal, minority affairs, road transport and fertilizers.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify"><em>60 Depts Say They Have no Power&nbsp;</em></div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Sixty out of 84 departments have told the GoM that they have no discretionary powers. These include the ministries of finance, civil aviation, power, oil &amp; gas as well as the Planning Commission. To outsiders, each of these ministries seems to enjoy and exercise huge discretionary powers.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">For instance, people believe that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's office has the final word on the appointment of regulators such as Sebi and the top management of public sector banks and insurance companies. Now, an apparently 'powerless' finance ministry wants to debunk this popular belief.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has no 'absolute discretionary powers' since all decisions - be it appointing advisors or allocating funds to ministries - involve due process.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&quot;If the finance ministry and Planning Commission say they don't have discretionary powers, I can only say it is an astonishing statement,&quot; said National Advisory Council Member NC Saxena. &quot;A minister's job is coveted because of the powers that come with it - be it transferring officers at will or allocating funds or licences,&quot; he said.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&quot;The clearance of a Bengal bailout package out of turn by the finance ministry is a discretionary power. Similarly, the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission enjoys great discretion on fund allocation. If you define discretion loosely, you can't capture the powers of discretion that can be misused,&quot; Saxena added.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The mines ministry, under the independent charge of minister of state Dinsha Patel, is the only one to have conceded that it does have critical discretionary powers. It has, however, told the GoM that it is bringing a new mining law in Parliament to minimise the powers.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">In many cases, departments frame proposals which they alone have the power to approve of. For example, officials close to Ahluwalia often draft proposals for ministries which they subsequently endorse in the commission.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">A senior government official said, on condition of anonymity, &quot;Discretionary powers should have been reviewed by an independent body rather than a group of ministers.&quot;&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Seven ministries, including railways, defence and sports, have conceded that they have the power to allocate annual financial assistance from Rs 10,000 to a couple of lakh rupees to deserving or needy individuals or organisations. The foreign minister can allocate some seats on the Haj trip to Mecca.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Ministries such as civil aviation have said the existence of laws, rules and policies for their sectors deter them from 'exercising any discretionary power'. P Chidambaram's home ministry has been the most articulate, listing 10 distinct powers ranging from allocation of funds for police modernisation to promotions of IPS officers.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Wednesday's GoM meeting approved the draft of a new law to make government procurement more transparent, but there was little movement on pruning ministries' discretionary powers.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Recently, Bank of Singapore Chief Economist Richard Jerram said the perception of graft in India has increased over time. &quot;This has led to a decline in the investment-to-GDP ratio. This has been a major factor behind infrastructure bottlenecks, persistently high inflation and a slowing trend growth rate,&quot; he noted.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div>               </font>
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-The Economic Times
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&lt;br /&gt;
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&amp;quot;We have no power.&amp;quot; That&#039;s the message from India&#039;s most powerful - ministers in the central government&#039;s Cabinet - when asked to list the discretionary authority each enjoyed. Only one ministry concedes that it has some discretionary powers, which it is eager to shed.&amp;nbsp;
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Prodded by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, a group of ministers (GoM) has the job of finding the discretionary powers enjoyed by each ministry and prune these. That would be one approach to clean up the way government buys things and allocates natural resources. Both activities are believed, with justification, to be hotbeds of graft.&amp;nbsp;
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&lt;br /&gt;
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But how can you give up powers you don&#039;t have? The telecom ministry, notorious for the activities of ex-minister A Raja who is now in jail, claims that it has no powers, except over two rather irrelevant things.&amp;nbsp;
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One is to grant phone connections &#039;out of turn&#039; to applicants - an exercise that became obsolete after reforms in the mid-1990s, when anyone who wanted a phone could get one. The other is to nominate members to the Telephone Advisory Committee.&amp;nbsp;
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The urban development ministry has said it can only nominate 10 members to Delhi&#039;s India Habitat Centre and grant out-of-turn allotments of general pool residential accommodation. Thirteen other departments have claimed similar perks, but no powers, for their ministers.&amp;nbsp;
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These include nominating members to official bodies or selecting and transferring personnel. The ministries include the departments of agriculture, coal, minority affairs, road transport and fertilizers.&amp;nbsp;
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&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;em&gt;
60 Depts Say They Have no Power&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/em&gt;
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&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
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Sixty out of 84 departments have told the GoM that they have no discretionary powers. These include the ministries of finance, civil aviation, power, oil &amp;amp; gas as well as the Planning Commission. To outsiders, each of these ministries seems to enjoy and exercise huge discretionary powers.&amp;nbsp;
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&lt;br /&gt;
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For instance, people believe that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee&#039;s office has the final word on the appointment of regulators such as Sebi and the top management of public sector banks and insurance companies. Now, an apparently &#039;powerless&#039; finance ministry wants to debunk this popular belief.&amp;nbsp;
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&lt;br /&gt;
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Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has no &#039;absolute discretionary powers&#039; since all decisions - be it appointing advisors or allocating funds to ministries - involve due process.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
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&amp;quot;If the finance ministry and Planning Commission say they don&#039;t have discretionary powers, I can only say it is an astonishing statement,&amp;quot; said National Advisory Council Member NC Saxena. &amp;quot;A minister&#039;s job is coveted because of the powers that come with it - be it transferring officers at will or allocating funds or licences,&amp;quot; he said.&amp;nbsp;
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&lt;br /&gt;
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&amp;quot;The clearance of a Bengal bailout package out of turn by the finance ministry is a discretionary power. Similarly, the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission enjoys great discretion on fund allocation. If you define discretion loosely, you can&#039;t capture the powers of discretion that can be misused,&amp;quot; Saxena added.&amp;nbsp;
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&lt;br /&gt;
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The mines ministry, under the independent charge of minister of state Dinsha Patel, is the only one to have conceded that it does have critical discretionary powers. It has, however, told the GoM that it is bringing a new mining law in Parliament to minimise the powers.
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&lt;br /&gt;
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In many cases, departments frame proposals which they alone have the power to approve of. For example, officials close to Ahluwalia often draft proposals for ministries which they subsequently endorse in the commission.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
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A senior government official said, on condition of anonymity, &amp;quot;Discretionary powers should have been reviewed by an independent body rather than a group of ministers.&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp;
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&lt;br /&gt;
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Seven ministries, including railways, defence and sports, have conceded that they have the power to allocate annual financial assistance from Rs 10,000 to a couple of lakh rupees to deserving or needy individuals or organisations. The foreign minister can allocate some seats on the Haj trip to Mecca.&amp;nbsp;
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&lt;br /&gt;
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Ministries such as civil aviation have said the existence of laws, rules and policies for their sectors deter them from &#039;exercising any discretionary power&#039;. P Chidambaram&#039;s home ministry has been the most articulate, listing 10 distinct powers ranging from allocation of funds for police modernisation to promotions of IPS officers.&amp;nbsp;
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&lt;br /&gt;
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Wednesday&#039;s GoM meeting approved the draft of a new law to make government procurement more transparent, but there was little movement on pruning ministries&#039; discretionary powers.&amp;nbsp;
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Recently, Bank of Singapore Chief Economist Richard Jerram said the perception of graft in India has increased over time. &amp;quot;This has led to a decline in the investment-to-GDP ratio. This has been a major factor behind infrastructure bottlenecks, persistently high inflation and a slowing trend growth rate,&amp;quot; he noted.
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&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
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&amp;quot;We have no power.&amp;quot; That&#039;s the message from India&#039;s most powerful - ministers in the central government&#039;s Cabinet - when asked to list the discretionary authority each enjoyed. Only one ministry concedes that it has some discretionary powers,...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;-The Economic Times&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;We have no power.&amp;quot; That&#039;s the message from India&#039;s most powerful - ministers in the central government&#039;s Cabinet - when asked to list the discretionary authority each enjoyed. Only one ministry concedes that it has some discretionary powers, which it is eager to shed.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Prodded by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, a group of ministers (GoM) has the job of finding the discretionary powers enjoyed by each ministry and prune these. That would be one approach to clean up the way government buys things and allocates natural resources. Both activities are believed, with justification, to be hotbeds of graft.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;But how can you give up powers you don&#039;t have? The telecom ministry, notorious for the activities of ex-minister A Raja who is now in jail, claims that it has no powers, except over two rather irrelevant things.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;One is to grant phone connections &#039;out of turn&#039; to applicants - an exercise that became obsolete after reforms in the mid-1990s, when anyone who wanted a phone could get one. The other is to nominate members to the Telephone Advisory Committee.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The urban development ministry has said it can only nominate 10 members to Delhi&#039;s India Habitat Centre and grant out-of-turn allotments of general pool residential accommodation. Thirteen other departments have claimed similar perks, but no powers, for their ministers.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;These include nominating members to official bodies or selecting and transferring personnel. The ministries include the departments of agriculture, coal, minority affairs, road transport and fertilizers.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;60 Depts Say They Have no Power&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Sixty out of 84 departments have told the GoM that they have no discretionary powers. These include the ministries of finance, civil aviation, power, oil &amp;amp; gas as well as the Planning Commission. To outsiders, each of these ministries seems to enjoy and exercise huge discretionary powers.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;For instance, people believe that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee&#039;s office has the final word on the appointment of regulators such as Sebi and the top management of public sector banks and insurance companies. Now, an apparently &#039;powerless&#039; finance ministry wants to debunk this popular belief.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has no &#039;absolute discretionary powers&#039; since all decisions - be it appointing advisors or allocating funds to ministries - involve due process.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;If the finance ministry and Planning Commission say they don&#039;t have discretionary powers, I can only say it is an astonishing statement,&amp;quot; said National Advisory Council Member NC Saxena. &amp;quot;A minister&#039;s job is coveted because of the powers that come with it - be it transferring officers at will or allocating funds or licences,&amp;quot; he said.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;The clearance of a Bengal bailout package out of turn by the finance ministry is a discretionary power. Similarly, the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission enjoys great discretion on fund allocation. If you define discretion loosely, you can&#039;t capture the powers of discretion that can be misused,&amp;quot; Saxena added.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The mines ministry, under the independent charge of minister of state Dinsha Patel, is the only one to have conceded that it does have critical discretionary powers. It has, however, told the GoM that it is bringing a new mining law in Parliament to minimise the powers.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;In many cases, departments frame proposals which they alone have the power to approve of. For example, officials close to Ahluwalia often draft proposals for ministries which they subsequently endorse in the commission.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;A senior government official said, on condition of anonymity, &amp;quot;Discretionary powers should have been reviewed by an independent body rather than a group of ministers.&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Seven ministries, including railways, defence and sports, have conceded that they have the power to allocate annual financial assistance from Rs 10,000 to a couple of lakh rupees to deserving or needy individuals or organisations. The foreign minister can allocate some seats on the Haj trip to Mecca.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Ministries such as civil aviation have said the existence of laws, rules and policies for their sectors deter them from &#039;exercising any discretionary power&#039;. 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	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;UPA-2 ministers, plan panel say they have no discretionary powers by Vikas Dhoot&#039;,
	&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
-The Economic Times
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;quot;We have no power.&amp;quot; That&#039;s the message from India&#039;s most powerful - ministers in the central government&#039;s Cabinet - when asked to list the discretionary authority each enjoyed. Only one ministry concedes that it has some discretionary powers, which it is eager to shed.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Prodded by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, a group of ministers (GoM) has the job of finding the discretionary powers enjoyed by each ministry and prune these. That would be one approach to clean up the way government buys things and allocates natural resources. Both activities are believed, with justification, to be hotbeds of graft.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
But how can you give up powers you don&#039;t have? The telecom ministry, notorious for the activities of ex-minister A Raja who is now in jail, claims that it has no powers, except over two rather irrelevant things.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
One is to grant phone connections &#039;out of turn&#039; to applicants - an exercise that became obsolete after reforms in the mid-1990s, when anyone who wanted a phone could get one. The other is to nominate members to the Telephone Advisory Committee.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
The urban development ministry has said it can only nominate 10 members to Delhi&#039;s India Habitat Centre and grant out-of-turn allotments of general pool residential accommodation. Thirteen other departments have claimed similar perks, but no powers, for their ministers.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
These include nominating members to official bodies or selecting and transferring personnel. The ministries include the departments of agriculture, coal, minority affairs, road transport and fertilizers.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;
60 Depts Say They Have no Power&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Sixty out of 84 departments have told the GoM that they have no discretionary powers. These include the ministries of finance, civil aviation, power, oil &amp;amp; gas as well as the Planning Commission. To outsiders, each of these ministries seems to enjoy and exercise huge discretionary powers.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
For instance, people believe that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee&#039;s office has the final word on the appointment of regulators such as Sebi and the top management of public sector banks and insurance companies. Now, an apparently &#039;powerless&#039; finance ministry wants to debunk this popular belief.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has no &#039;absolute discretionary powers&#039; since all decisions - be it appointing advisors or allocating funds to ministries - involve due process.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;quot;If the finance ministry and Planning Commission say they don&#039;t have discretionary powers, I can only say it is an astonishing statement,&amp;quot; said National Advisory Council Member NC Saxena. &amp;quot;A minister&#039;s job is coveted because of the powers that come with it - be it transferring officers at will or allocating funds or licences,&amp;quot; he said.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;quot;The clearance of a Bengal bailout package out of turn by the finance ministry is a discretionary power. Similarly, the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission enjoys great discretion on fund allocation. If you define discretion loosely, you can&#039;t capture the powers of discretion that can be misused,&amp;quot; Saxena added.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
The mines ministry, under the independent charge of minister of state Dinsha Patel, is the only one to have conceded that it does have critical discretionary powers. It has, however, told the GoM that it is bringing a new mining law in Parliament to minimise the powers.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
In many cases, departments frame proposals which they alone have the power to approve of. For example, officials close to Ahluwalia often draft proposals for ministries which they subsequently endorse in the commission.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
A senior government official said, on condition of anonymity, &amp;quot;Discretionary powers should have been reviewed by an independent body rather than a group of ministers.&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Seven ministries, including railways, defence and sports, have conceded that they have the power to allocate annual financial assistance from Rs 10,000 to a couple of lakh rupees to deserving or needy individuals or organisations. The foreign minister can allocate some seats on the Haj trip to Mecca.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Ministries such as civil aviation have said the existence of laws, rules and policies for their sectors deter them from &#039;exercising any discretionary power&#039;. P Chidambaram&#039;s home ministry has been the most articulate, listing 10 distinct powers ranging from allocation of funds for police modernisation to promotions of IPS officers.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Wednesday&#039;s GoM meeting approved the draft of a new law to make government procurement more transparent, but there was little movement on pruning ministries&#039; discretionary powers.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Recently, Bank of Singapore Chief Economist Richard Jerram said the perception of graft in India has increased over time. &amp;quot;This has led to a decline in the investment-to-GDP ratio. This has been a major factor behind infrastructure bottlenecks, persistently high inflation and a slowing trend growth rate,&amp;quot; he noted.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Economic Times, 23 February, 2012, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/upa-2-ministers-plan-panel-say-they-have-no-discretionary-powers/articleshow/11998165.cms&#039;,
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-The Economic Times





&amp;quot;We have no power.&amp;quot; That&#039;s the message from India&#039;s most powerful - ministers in the central government&#039;s Cabinet - when asked to list the discretionary authority each enjoyed. Only one ministry concedes that it has some discretionary powers,...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;-The Economic Times&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;We have no power.&amp;quot; That&#039;s the message from India&#039;s most powerful - ministers in the central government&#039;s Cabinet - when asked to list the discretionary authority each enjoyed. Only one ministry concedes that it has some discretionary powers, which it is eager to shed.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Prodded by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, a group of ministers (GoM) has the job of finding the discretionary powers enjoyed by each ministry and prune these. That would be one approach to clean up the way government buys things and allocates natural resources. Both activities are believed, with justification, to be hotbeds of graft.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;But how can you give up powers you don&#039;t have? The telecom ministry, notorious for the activities of ex-minister A Raja who is now in jail, claims that it has no powers, except over two rather irrelevant things.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;One is to grant phone connections &#039;out of turn&#039; to applicants - an exercise that became obsolete after reforms in the mid-1990s, when anyone who wanted a phone could get one. The other is to nominate members to the Telephone Advisory Committee.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The urban development ministry has said it can only nominate 10 members to Delhi&#039;s India Habitat Centre and grant out-of-turn allotments of general pool residential accommodation. Thirteen other departments have claimed similar perks, but no powers, for their ministers.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;These include nominating members to official bodies or selecting and transferring personnel. The ministries include the departments of agriculture, coal, minority affairs, road transport and fertilizers.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;60 Depts Say They Have no Power&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Sixty out of 84 departments have told the GoM that they have no discretionary powers. These include the ministries of finance, civil aviation, power, oil &amp;amp; gas as well as the Planning Commission. To outsiders, each of these ministries seems to enjoy and exercise huge discretionary powers.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;For instance, people believe that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee&#039;s office has the final word on the appointment of regulators such as Sebi and the top management of public sector banks and insurance companies. Now, an apparently &#039;powerless&#039; finance ministry wants to debunk this popular belief.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has no &#039;absolute discretionary powers&#039; since all decisions - be it appointing advisors or allocating funds to ministries - involve due process.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;If the finance ministry and Planning Commission say they don&#039;t have discretionary powers, I can only say it is an astonishing statement,&amp;quot; said National Advisory Council Member NC Saxena. &amp;quot;A minister&#039;s job is coveted because of the powers that come with it - be it transferring officers at will or allocating funds or licences,&amp;quot; he said.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;The clearance of a Bengal bailout package out of turn by the finance ministry is a discretionary power. Similarly, the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission enjoys great discretion on fund allocation. If you define discretion loosely, you can&#039;t capture the powers of discretion that can be misused,&amp;quot; Saxena added.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The mines ministry, under the independent charge of minister of state Dinsha Patel, is the only one to have conceded that it does have critical discretionary powers. It has, however, told the GoM that it is bringing a new mining law in Parliament to minimise the powers.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;In many cases, departments frame proposals which they alone have the power to approve of. For example, officials close to Ahluwalia often draft proposals for ministries which they subsequently endorse in the commission.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;A senior government official said, on condition of anonymity, &amp;quot;Discretionary powers should have been reviewed by an independent body rather than a group of ministers.&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Seven ministries, including railways, defence and sports, have conceded that they have the power to allocate annual financial assistance from Rs 10,000 to a couple of lakh rupees to deserving or needy individuals or organisations. The foreign minister can allocate some seats on the Haj trip to Mecca.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Ministries such as civil aviation have said the existence of laws, rules and policies for their sectors deter them from &#039;exercising any discretionary power&#039;. P Chidambaram&#039;s home ministry has been the most articulate, listing 10 distinct powers ranging from allocation of funds for police modernisation to promotions of IPS officers.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Wednesday&#039;s GoM meeting approved the draft of a new law to make government procurement more transparent, but there was little movement on pruning ministries&#039; discretionary powers.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Recently, Bank of Singapore Chief Economist Richard Jerram said the perception of graft in India has increased over time. &amp;quot;This has led to a decline in the investment-to-GDP ratio. This has been a major factor behind infrastructure bottlenecks, persistently high inflation and a slowing trend growth rate,&amp;quot; he noted.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;
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-The Economic Times





&quot;We have no power.&quot; That's the message from India's most powerful - ministers in the central government's Cabinet - when asked to list the discretionary authority each enjoyed. Only one ministry concedes that it has some discretionary powers,..."/>
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                <strong>UPA-2 ministers, plan panel say they have no discretionary powers by Vikas Dhoot</strong></h1>
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                <div style="text-align: justify">-The Economic Times</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&quot;We have no power.&quot; That's the message from India's most powerful - ministers in the central government's Cabinet - when asked to list the discretionary authority each enjoyed. Only one ministry concedes that it has some discretionary powers, which it is eager to shed.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Prodded by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, a group of ministers (GoM) has the job of finding the discretionary powers enjoyed by each ministry and prune these. That would be one approach to clean up the way government buys things and allocates natural resources. Both activities are believed, with justification, to be hotbeds of graft.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">But how can you give up powers you don't have? The telecom ministry, notorious for the activities of ex-minister A Raja who is now in jail, claims that it has no powers, except over two rather irrelevant things.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">One is to grant phone connections 'out of turn' to applicants - an exercise that became obsolete after reforms in the mid-1990s, when anyone who wanted a phone could get one. The other is to nominate members to the Telephone Advisory Committee.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The urban development ministry has said it can only nominate 10 members to Delhi's India Habitat Centre and grant out-of-turn allotments of general pool residential accommodation. Thirteen other departments have claimed similar perks, but no powers, for their ministers.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">These include nominating members to official bodies or selecting and transferring personnel. The ministries include the departments of agriculture, coal, minority affairs, road transport and fertilizers.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify"><em>60 Depts Say They Have no Power&nbsp;</em></div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Sixty out of 84 departments have told the GoM that they have no discretionary powers. These include the ministries of finance, civil aviation, power, oil &amp; gas as well as the Planning Commission. To outsiders, each of these ministries seems to enjoy and exercise huge discretionary powers.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">For instance, people believe that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's office has the final word on the appointment of regulators such as Sebi and the top management of public sector banks and insurance companies. Now, an apparently 'powerless' finance ministry wants to debunk this popular belief.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has no 'absolute discretionary powers' since all decisions - be it appointing advisors or allocating funds to ministries - involve due process.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&quot;If the finance ministry and Planning Commission say they don't have discretionary powers, I can only say it is an astonishing statement,&quot; said National Advisory Council Member NC Saxena. &quot;A minister's job is coveted because of the powers that come with it - be it transferring officers at will or allocating funds or licences,&quot; he said.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&quot;The clearance of a Bengal bailout package out of turn by the finance ministry is a discretionary power. Similarly, the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission enjoys great discretion on fund allocation. If you define discretion loosely, you can't capture the powers of discretion that can be misused,&quot; Saxena added.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The mines ministry, under the independent charge of minister of state Dinsha Patel, is the only one to have conceded that it does have critical discretionary powers. It has, however, told the GoM that it is bringing a new mining law in Parliament to minimise the powers.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">In many cases, departments frame proposals which they alone have the power to approve of. For example, officials close to Ahluwalia often draft proposals for ministries which they subsequently endorse in the commission.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">A senior government official said, on condition of anonymity, &quot;Discretionary powers should have been reviewed by an independent body rather than a group of ministers.&quot;&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Seven ministries, including railways, defence and sports, have conceded that they have the power to allocate annual financial assistance from Rs 10,000 to a couple of lakh rupees to deserving or needy individuals or organisations. The foreign minister can allocate some seats on the Haj trip to Mecca.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Ministries such as civil aviation have said the existence of laws, rules and policies for their sectors deter them from 'exercising any discretionary power'. P Chidambaram's home ministry has been the most articulate, listing 10 distinct powers ranging from allocation of funds for police modernisation to promotions of IPS officers.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Wednesday's GoM meeting approved the draft of a new law to make government procurement more transparent, but there was little movement on pruning ministries' discretionary powers.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Recently, Bank of Singapore Chief Economist Richard Jerram said the perception of graft in India has increased over time. &quot;This has led to a decline in the investment-to-GDP ratio. This has been a major factor behind infrastructure bottlenecks, persistently high inflation and a slowing trend growth rate,&quot; he noted.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div>               </font>
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		'title' => 'UPA-2 ministers, plan panel say they have no discretionary powers by Vikas Dhoot',
		'subheading' => '',
		'description' => '<div style="text-align: justify">
-The Economic Times
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
&quot;We have no power.&quot; That's the message from India's most powerful - ministers in the central government's Cabinet - when asked to list the discretionary authority each enjoyed. Only one ministry concedes that it has some discretionary powers, which it is eager to shed.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
Prodded by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, a group of ministers (GoM) has the job of finding the discretionary powers enjoyed by each ministry and prune these. That would be one approach to clean up the way government buys things and allocates natural resources. Both activities are believed, with justification, to be hotbeds of graft.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
But how can you give up powers you don't have? The telecom ministry, notorious for the activities of ex-minister A Raja who is now in jail, claims that it has no powers, except over two rather irrelevant things.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
One is to grant phone connections 'out of turn' to applicants - an exercise that became obsolete after reforms in the mid-1990s, when anyone who wanted a phone could get one. The other is to nominate members to the Telephone Advisory Committee.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
The urban development ministry has said it can only nominate 10 members to Delhi's India Habitat Centre and grant out-of-turn allotments of general pool residential accommodation. Thirteen other departments have claimed similar perks, but no powers, for their ministers.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
These include nominating members to official bodies or selecting and transferring personnel. The ministries include the departments of agriculture, coal, minority affairs, road transport and fertilizers.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<em>
60 Depts Say They Have no Power&nbsp;
</em>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
Sixty out of 84 departments have told the GoM that they have no discretionary powers. These include the ministries of finance, civil aviation, power, oil &amp; gas as well as the Planning Commission. To outsiders, each of these ministries seems to enjoy and exercise huge discretionary powers.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
For instance, people believe that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's office has the final word on the appointment of regulators such as Sebi and the top management of public sector banks and insurance companies. Now, an apparently 'powerless' finance ministry wants to debunk this popular belief.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has no 'absolute discretionary powers' since all decisions - be it appointing advisors or allocating funds to ministries - involve due process.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
&quot;If the finance ministry and Planning Commission say they don't have discretionary powers, I can only say it is an astonishing statement,&quot; said National Advisory Council Member NC Saxena. &quot;A minister's job is coveted because of the powers that come with it - be it transferring officers at will or allocating funds or licences,&quot; he said.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
&quot;The clearance of a Bengal bailout package out of turn by the finance ministry is a discretionary power. Similarly, the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission enjoys great discretion on fund allocation. If you define discretion loosely, you can't capture the powers of discretion that can be misused,&quot; Saxena added.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
The mines ministry, under the independent charge of minister of state Dinsha Patel, is the only one to have conceded that it does have critical discretionary powers. It has, however, told the GoM that it is bringing a new mining law in Parliament to minimise the powers.
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
In many cases, departments frame proposals which they alone have the power to approve of. For example, officials close to Ahluwalia often draft proposals for ministries which they subsequently endorse in the commission.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
A senior government official said, on condition of anonymity, &quot;Discretionary powers should have been reviewed by an independent body rather than a group of ministers.&quot;&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
Seven ministries, including railways, defence and sports, have conceded that they have the power to allocate annual financial assistance from Rs 10,000 to a couple of lakh rupees to deserving or needy individuals or organisations. The foreign minister can allocate some seats on the Haj trip to Mecca.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
Ministries such as civil aviation have said the existence of laws, rules and policies for their sectors deter them from 'exercising any discretionary power'. P Chidambaram's home ministry has been the most articulate, listing 10 distinct powers ranging from allocation of funds for police modernisation to promotions of IPS officers.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
Wednesday's GoM meeting approved the draft of a new law to make government procurement more transparent, but there was little movement on pruning ministries' discretionary powers.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
Recently, Bank of Singapore Chief Economist Richard Jerram said the perception of graft in India has increased over time. &quot;This has led to a decline in the investment-to-GDP ratio. This has been a major factor behind infrastructure bottlenecks, persistently high inflation and a slowing trend growth rate,&quot; he noted.
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-The Economic Times





&quot;We have no power.&quot; That's the message from India's most powerful - ministers in the central government's Cabinet - when asked to list the discretionary authority each enjoyed. Only one ministry concedes that it has some discretionary powers,...',
	'disp' => '<div style="text-align: justify">-The Economic Times</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&quot;We have no power.&quot; That's the message from India's most powerful - ministers in the central government's Cabinet - when asked to list the discretionary authority each enjoyed. Only one ministry concedes that it has some discretionary powers, which it is eager to shed.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Prodded by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, a group of ministers (GoM) has the job of finding the discretionary powers enjoyed by each ministry and prune these. That would be one approach to clean up the way government buys things and allocates natural resources. Both activities are believed, with justification, to be hotbeds of graft.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">But how can you give up powers you don't have? The telecom ministry, notorious for the activities of ex-minister A Raja who is now in jail, claims that it has no powers, except over two rather irrelevant things.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">One is to grant phone connections 'out of turn' to applicants - an exercise that became obsolete after reforms in the mid-1990s, when anyone who wanted a phone could get one. The other is to nominate members to the Telephone Advisory Committee.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The urban development ministry has said it can only nominate 10 members to Delhi's India Habitat Centre and grant out-of-turn allotments of general pool residential accommodation. Thirteen other departments have claimed similar perks, but no powers, for their ministers.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">These include nominating members to official bodies or selecting and transferring personnel. The ministries include the departments of agriculture, coal, minority affairs, road transport and fertilizers.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify"><em>60 Depts Say They Have no Power&nbsp;</em></div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Sixty out of 84 departments have told the GoM that they have no discretionary powers. These include the ministries of finance, civil aviation, power, oil &amp; gas as well as the Planning Commission. To outsiders, each of these ministries seems to enjoy and exercise huge discretionary powers.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">For instance, people believe that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's office has the final word on the appointment of regulators such as Sebi and the top management of public sector banks and insurance companies. Now, an apparently 'powerless' finance ministry wants to debunk this popular belief.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has no 'absolute discretionary powers' since all decisions - be it appointing advisors or allocating funds to ministries - involve due process.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&quot;If the finance ministry and Planning Commission say they don't have discretionary powers, I can only say it is an astonishing statement,&quot; said National Advisory Council Member NC Saxena. &quot;A minister's job is coveted because of the powers that come with it - be it transferring officers at will or allocating funds or licences,&quot; he said.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&quot;The clearance of a Bengal bailout package out of turn by the finance ministry is a discretionary power. Similarly, the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission enjoys great discretion on fund allocation. If you define discretion loosely, you can't capture the powers of discretion that can be misused,&quot; Saxena added.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The mines ministry, under the independent charge of minister of state Dinsha Patel, is the only one to have conceded that it does have critical discretionary powers. It has, however, told the GoM that it is bringing a new mining law in Parliament to minimise the powers.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">In many cases, departments frame proposals which they alone have the power to approve of. For example, officials close to Ahluwalia often draft proposals for ministries which they subsequently endorse in the commission.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">A senior government official said, on condition of anonymity, &quot;Discretionary powers should have been reviewed by an independent body rather than a group of ministers.&quot;&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Seven ministries, including railways, defence and sports, have conceded that they have the power to allocate annual financial assistance from Rs 10,000 to a couple of lakh rupees to deserving or needy individuals or organisations. The foreign minister can allocate some seats on the Haj trip to Mecca.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Ministries such as civil aviation have said the existence of laws, rules and policies for their sectors deter them from 'exercising any discretionary power'. P Chidambaram's home ministry has been the most articulate, listing 10 distinct powers ranging from allocation of funds for police modernisation to promotions of IPS officers.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Wednesday's GoM meeting approved the draft of a new law to make government procurement more transparent, but there was little movement on pruning ministries' discretionary powers.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Recently, Bank of Singapore Chief Economist Richard Jerram said the perception of graft in India has increased over time. &quot;This has led to a decline in the investment-to-GDP ratio. This has been a major factor behind infrastructure bottlenecks, persistently high inflation and a slowing trend growth rate,&quot; he noted.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div>',
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	'id' => (int) 13201,
	'title' => 'UPA-2 ministers, plan panel say they have no discretionary powers by Vikas Dhoot',
	'subheading' => '',
	'description' => '<div style="text-align: justify">
-The Economic Times
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
&quot;We have no power.&quot; That's the message from India's most powerful - ministers in the central government's Cabinet - when asked to list the discretionary authority each enjoyed. Only one ministry concedes that it has some discretionary powers, which it is eager to shed.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
Prodded by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, a group of ministers (GoM) has the job of finding the discretionary powers enjoyed by each ministry and prune these. That would be one approach to clean up the way government buys things and allocates natural resources. Both activities are believed, with justification, to be hotbeds of graft.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
But how can you give up powers you don't have? The telecom ministry, notorious for the activities of ex-minister A Raja who is now in jail, claims that it has no powers, except over two rather irrelevant things.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
One is to grant phone connections 'out of turn' to applicants - an exercise that became obsolete after reforms in the mid-1990s, when anyone who wanted a phone could get one. The other is to nominate members to the Telephone Advisory Committee.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
The urban development ministry has said it can only nominate 10 members to Delhi's India Habitat Centre and grant out-of-turn allotments of general pool residential accommodation. Thirteen other departments have claimed similar perks, but no powers, for their ministers.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
These include nominating members to official bodies or selecting and transferring personnel. The ministries include the departments of agriculture, coal, minority affairs, road transport and fertilizers.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<em>
60 Depts Say They Have no Power&nbsp;
</em>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
Sixty out of 84 departments have told the GoM that they have no discretionary powers. These include the ministries of finance, civil aviation, power, oil &amp; gas as well as the Planning Commission. To outsiders, each of these ministries seems to enjoy and exercise huge discretionary powers.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
For instance, people believe that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's office has the final word on the appointment of regulators such as Sebi and the top management of public sector banks and insurance companies. Now, an apparently 'powerless' finance ministry wants to debunk this popular belief.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has no 'absolute discretionary powers' since all decisions - be it appointing advisors or allocating funds to ministries - involve due process.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
&quot;If the finance ministry and Planning Commission say they don't have discretionary powers, I can only say it is an astonishing statement,&quot; said National Advisory Council Member NC Saxena. &quot;A minister's job is coveted because of the powers that come with it - be it transferring officers at will or allocating funds or licences,&quot; he said.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
&quot;The clearance of a Bengal bailout package out of turn by the finance ministry is a discretionary power. Similarly, the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission enjoys great discretion on fund allocation. If you define discretion loosely, you can't capture the powers of discretion that can be misused,&quot; Saxena added.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
The mines ministry, under the independent charge of minister of state Dinsha Patel, is the only one to have conceded that it does have critical discretionary powers. It has, however, told the GoM that it is bringing a new mining law in Parliament to minimise the powers.
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
In many cases, departments frame proposals which they alone have the power to approve of. For example, officials close to Ahluwalia often draft proposals for ministries which they subsequently endorse in the commission.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
A senior government official said, on condition of anonymity, &quot;Discretionary powers should have been reviewed by an independent body rather than a group of ministers.&quot;&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
Seven ministries, including railways, defence and sports, have conceded that they have the power to allocate annual financial assistance from Rs 10,000 to a couple of lakh rupees to deserving or needy individuals or organisations. The foreign minister can allocate some seats on the Haj trip to Mecca.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
Ministries such as civil aviation have said the existence of laws, rules and policies for their sectors deter them from 'exercising any discretionary power'. P Chidambaram's home ministry has been the most articulate, listing 10 distinct powers ranging from allocation of funds for police modernisation to promotions of IPS officers.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
Wednesday's GoM meeting approved the draft of a new law to make government procurement more transparent, but there was little movement on pruning ministries' discretionary powers.&nbsp;
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
Recently, Bank of Singapore Chief Economist Richard Jerram said the perception of graft in India has increased over time. &quot;This has led to a decline in the investment-to-GDP ratio. This has been a major factor behind infrastructure bottlenecks, persistently high inflation and a slowing trend growth rate,&quot; he noted.
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>',
	'credit_writer' => 'The Economic Times, 23 February, 2012, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/upa-2-ministers-plan-panel-say-they-have-no-discretionary-powers/articleshow/11998165.cms',
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$metaTitle = 'LATEST NEWS UPDATES | UPA-2 ministers, plan panel say they have no discretionary powers by Vikas Dhoot'
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-The Economic Times





&quot;We have no power.&quot; That's the message from India's most powerful - ministers in the central government's Cabinet - when asked to list the discretionary authority each enjoyed. Only one ministry concedes that it has some discretionary powers,...'
$disp = '<div style="text-align: justify">-The Economic Times</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&quot;We have no power.&quot; That's the message from India's most powerful - ministers in the central government's Cabinet - when asked to list the discretionary authority each enjoyed. Only one ministry concedes that it has some discretionary powers, which it is eager to shed.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Prodded by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, a group of ministers (GoM) has the job of finding the discretionary powers enjoyed by each ministry and prune these. That would be one approach to clean up the way government buys things and allocates natural resources. Both activities are believed, with justification, to be hotbeds of graft.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">But how can you give up powers you don't have? The telecom ministry, notorious for the activities of ex-minister A Raja who is now in jail, claims that it has no powers, except over two rather irrelevant things.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">One is to grant phone connections 'out of turn' to applicants - an exercise that became obsolete after reforms in the mid-1990s, when anyone who wanted a phone could get one. The other is to nominate members to the Telephone Advisory Committee.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The urban development ministry has said it can only nominate 10 members to Delhi's India Habitat Centre and grant out-of-turn allotments of general pool residential accommodation. Thirteen other departments have claimed similar perks, but no powers, for their ministers.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">These include nominating members to official bodies or selecting and transferring personnel. The ministries include the departments of agriculture, coal, minority affairs, road transport and fertilizers.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify"><em>60 Depts Say They Have no Power&nbsp;</em></div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Sixty out of 84 departments have told the GoM that they have no discretionary powers. These include the ministries of finance, civil aviation, power, oil &amp; gas as well as the Planning Commission. To outsiders, each of these ministries seems to enjoy and exercise huge discretionary powers.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">For instance, people believe that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's office has the final word on the appointment of regulators such as Sebi and the top management of public sector banks and insurance companies. Now, an apparently 'powerless' finance ministry wants to debunk this popular belief.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has no 'absolute discretionary powers' since all decisions - be it appointing advisors or allocating funds to ministries - involve due process.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&quot;If the finance ministry and Planning Commission say they don't have discretionary powers, I can only say it is an astonishing statement,&quot; said National Advisory Council Member NC Saxena. &quot;A minister's job is coveted because of the powers that come with it - be it transferring officers at will or allocating funds or licences,&quot; he said.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&quot;The clearance of a Bengal bailout package out of turn by the finance ministry is a discretionary power. Similarly, the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission enjoys great discretion on fund allocation. If you define discretion loosely, you can't capture the powers of discretion that can be misused,&quot; Saxena added.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The mines ministry, under the independent charge of minister of state Dinsha Patel, is the only one to have conceded that it does have critical discretionary powers. It has, however, told the GoM that it is bringing a new mining law in Parliament to minimise the powers.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">In many cases, departments frame proposals which they alone have the power to approve of. For example, officials close to Ahluwalia often draft proposals for ministries which they subsequently endorse in the commission.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">A senior government official said, on condition of anonymity, &quot;Discretionary powers should have been reviewed by an independent body rather than a group of ministers.&quot;&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Seven ministries, including railways, defence and sports, have conceded that they have the power to allocate annual financial assistance from Rs 10,000 to a couple of lakh rupees to deserving or needy individuals or organisations. The foreign minister can allocate some seats on the Haj trip to Mecca.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Ministries such as civil aviation have said the existence of laws, rules and policies for their sectors deter them from 'exercising any discretionary power'. P Chidambaram's home ministry has been the most articulate, listing 10 distinct powers ranging from allocation of funds for police modernisation to promotions of IPS officers.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Wednesday's GoM meeting approved the draft of a new law to make government procurement more transparent, but there was little movement on pruning ministries' discretionary powers.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Recently, Bank of Singapore Chief Economist Richard Jerram said the perception of graft in India has increased over time. &quot;This has led to a decline in the investment-to-GDP ratio. This has been a major factor behind infrastructure bottlenecks, persistently high inflation and a slowing trend growth rate,&quot; he noted.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div>'
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UPA-2 ministers, plan panel say they have no discretionary powers by Vikas Dhoot

-The Economic Times "We have no power." That's the message from India's most powerful - ministers in the central government's Cabinet - when asked to list the discretionary authority each enjoyed. Only one ministry concedes that it has some discretionary powers, which it is eager to shed.  Prodded by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, a group of ministers (GoM) has the job of finding the discretionary powers enjoyed by each ministry and prune these. That would be one approach to clean up the way government buys things and allocates natural resources. Both activities are believed, with justification, to be hotbeds of graft.  But how can you give up powers you don't have? The telecom ministry, notorious for the activities of ex-minister A Raja who is now in jail, claims that it has no powers, except over two rather irrelevant things.  One is to grant phone connections 'out of turn' to applicants - an exercise that became obsolete after reforms in the mid-1990s, when anyone who wanted a phone could get one. The other is to nominate members to the Telephone Advisory Committee.  The urban development ministry has said it can only nominate 10 members to Delhi's India Habitat Centre and grant out-of-turn allotments of general pool residential accommodation. Thirteen other departments have claimed similar perks, but no powers, for their ministers.  These include nominating members to official bodies or selecting and transferring personnel. The ministries include the departments of agriculture, coal, minority affairs, road transport and fertilizers.  60 Depts Say They Have no Power  Sixty out of 84 departments have told the GoM that they have no discretionary powers. These include the ministries of finance, civil aviation, power, oil & gas as well as the Planning Commission. To outsiders, each of these ministries seems to enjoy and exercise huge discretionary powers.  For instance, people believe that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's office has the final word on the appointment of regulators such as Sebi and the top management of public sector banks and insurance companies. Now, an apparently 'powerless' finance ministry wants to debunk this popular belief.  Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has no 'absolute discretionary powers' since all decisions - be it appointing advisors or allocating funds to ministries - involve due process.  "If the finance ministry and Planning Commission say they don't have discretionary powers, I can only say it is an astonishing statement," said National Advisory Council Member NC Saxena. "A minister's job is coveted because of the powers that come with it - be it transferring officers at will or allocating funds or licences," he said.  "The clearance of a Bengal bailout package out of turn by the finance ministry is a discretionary power. Similarly, the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission enjoys great discretion on fund allocation. If you define discretion loosely, you can't capture the powers of discretion that can be misused," Saxena added.  The mines ministry, under the independent charge of minister of state Dinsha Patel, is the only one to have conceded that it does have critical discretionary powers. It has, however, told the GoM that it is bringing a new mining law in Parliament to minimise the powers. In many cases, departments frame proposals which they alone have the power to approve of. For example, officials close to Ahluwalia often draft proposals for ministries which they subsequently endorse in the commission.  A senior government official said, on condition of anonymity, "Discretionary powers should have been reviewed by an independent body rather than a group of ministers."  Seven ministries, including railways, defence and sports, have conceded that they have the power to allocate annual financial assistance from Rs 10,000 to a couple of lakh rupees to deserving or needy individuals or organisations. The foreign minister can allocate some seats on the Haj trip to Mecca.  Ministries such as civil aviation have said the existence of laws, rules and policies for their sectors deter them from 'exercising any discretionary power'. P Chidambaram's home ministry has been the most articulate, listing 10 distinct powers ranging from allocation of funds for police modernisation to promotions of IPS officers.  Wednesday's GoM meeting approved the draft of a new law to make government procurement more transparent, but there was little movement on pruning ministries' discretionary powers.  Recently, Bank of Singapore Chief Economist Richard Jerram said the perception of graft in India has increased over time. "This has led to a decline in the investment-to-GDP ratio. This has been a major factor behind infrastructure bottlenecks, persistently high inflation and a slowing trend growth rate," he noted.