Stressing that the ministers should discuss bills and policies with one another before they are brought before the union cabinet, the cabinet secretariat asked for better communication to ensure no decisions are taken by the ministries in isolation.
The cabinet secretariat under the instructions of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed all ministries to bridge the consultancy gap in the decisions. In a circular issued to all the ministries, they have been asked not to send any proposal to the cabinet, without taking on-board all concerned. This circular was issued following a tiff between the agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh voicing concern on a proposal vetted by the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ramvilas Paswan and Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi voiced that she too was not consulted on another proposal.
The provocation was the commerce ministry proposal to grant 100% FDI under automatic route for trading, including through e-commerce, in respect of food products manufactured and/or produced in India. Sources said that Radha Mohan Singh objected and forced to amend. Instead of automatic route, it was later agreed to provided 100% FDI, but under government route. That means that proposals will be vetted by the government case-to-case basis to avoid any fallout on small food processing industries and on farmers.
Though, this proposal had a nod of Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ramvilas Paswan, it was not sent for consultation to the Agriculture Ministry. Radha Mohan Singh also raised the issue of earlier cabinet decision on the import of pulses without taking him on board. He mentioned the embarrassment he faced when reporters bombarded him with questions on the skyrocketing prices of pulses. Maneka Gandhi had an issue that she was not consulted on the final draft of the Surrogacy Bill approved by the cabinet last week and she was even kept out of the concerned group of ministers. Her grouse is that many provisions of the Surrogacy Bill overlap with her existing bill on adoptions. Health Minister JP Nadda earlier during the press conference to announce the proposed surrogacy law could not reply on the discrepancies between the two bills.
Stressing that the ministers should discuss bills and policies with one another before they are brought before the union cabinet, the cabinet secretariat asked for better communication to ensure no decisions are taken by the ministries in isolation.
"Ministry/department has been advised to circulate the proposals for consideration of cabinet/cabinet committees to all the ministries/departments concerned, whose business is likely to be impacted by the proposal," says the directive issued.
The circular clearly mentions the context that it has been observed that in some cases, on issues related to macroeconomics, trade and commerce, sometimes the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare is not consulted even though the matter or commodity relates to the agriculture sector. It further stated that accordingly all the ministries should ensure that the Ministry of Agriculture should be consulted in all matters related to the agriculture sector.
"Further, Rule 4 of the Government of India (transaction of business) Rules, 1961, provides that when the subject of a case concerns more than one department, no decision be taken or order issued until all such departments have concurred, or failing such concurrence, a decision thereon has been taken by or under the authority of the cabinet," it said. It went on to add that if a decision taken in one department is likely to affect the business allotted to another department, it "shall be deemed to be subject which concerns more than one department."
A senior official here said though instructions in the directive are already part of the existing rules of operations of the government, the need to issue fresh directive arose in the wake of many ministries not following the rulebook.
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