Question 1 Essay Example

Question 1 Essay According to Hickling(2001), the Malaysian Government follows the Constitution of the Federation of Malaya which was established on Merdeka day, August 31, 1957 in setting up its administrative and policy making decisions. Malaysia practices parliamentary democracy and is ruled as a constitutional Monarchy with Yang di Pertuan Agong as the head of the country. Under the constitution, Malaysia as a federation is ruled as a Constitutional Monarchy with the appointment of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King or Supreme Sovereign) as the head of the country. The federal Constitution of Malaysia divides the authority of the federation into its Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary authority. As stated in My Government, executive Authority refers to the power to govern the country. The Yang Di-Pertuan Agong is the head of the Executive Authority. However, he acts on the advice of the Prime Minister who heads the Cabinet. Hence, the Prime Minister is the Chief Executive and the head of the Government. The Prime Minister, Cabinet and the government administrative machinery are given the task of carrying out executive functions. We will write a custom essay sample on Question 1 specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Question 1 specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Question 1 specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer According to Wu(1975), legislative authority is in the hands of the Parliament, which comprises the Senate, House of Representatives and the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong who heads the Legislative Council. The Legislative Council functions as a law maker and has the authority to raise taxes and authorise expenditure. As stated in the Federal Constitution by Chang(2006), the judiciary is given the authority to hear and determine criminal matters, interpret the legality of any legislative and executive acts and the Federal and State Constitutions. The Head of the Judiciary is the Lord President of the Federal Court, which is the highest court in Malaysia. The Malaysia society places a high value on business. One can always hear and see news about businesses and the market news everywhere on the media. The government of Malaysia endorses free market society where entrepreneurship is thoroughly encouraged alot. Another aspect of Malaysian government is that it follows Islamic rules as a main guidelines in any business.Any country that hopes to trade or do business in Malaysia must understand that Islam is not just a religion within the country, it is entrenched in all aspects of the country even those thought to be secular. A company may want to look into past research of other countries they have tackled with such a dominant religious counterpart in government or do an even more in-depth analysis in general on how to approach the governmental system of the country as a whole. Tackling the Malaysian government poses not only the regular difficulties associated with entering a country but presents an even more complicated issue in the se nse that the company must also cooperate with a long Islamic tradition as well. For example, when McDonald’s first came to Malaysia in 1982, they are restricted to sell foods that are branded as â€Å"Halal’ by Islamic law. This means that they can’t sell their famous hamburgers which were made of pork meat. Besides that they also have to follow strict food preparation methods as implemented by de current government when preparing food for example, chicken n cows must be slay and killed through the means of cutting the throat only. Question 2 According to Radcliffe(2011), trade barriers are regulations or policies that are established to both protect an economy and support an infant economy from international markets. Trade barriers are sometimes seen as a detriment to the economy because it limits trade. By doing this it forces people to buy locally which can encourage growth but may also drive up the cost of living. Trade barriers are divided into two sections. The first is called tariffs which directly tax a good entering a country. They can be charged to individual goods or on all goods. According to Business Press(2009), in Malaysia the average tariff on all goods has dropped from 8.56% to 8.4% between 2005 and 2008. The second type of trade barrier is a nontariff barrier. These can include subsidies, Loans and aids, Customs Valuation, Quotas, Standards and Labels, Administrative Delays and many others. Malaysia has used a great deal of these barriers to protect its automotive industry. Since free trade typically results in more profitable trade many of the trade association such as The World Trade Organization and the ASEAN have required a drop in automotive tariffs. According to Asian Trade(2009), they have dropped from 40% to 20% in 2005 and 5% in 2008. Malaysia’s Ministry of International trade and Industry has developed a system of approved permits (AP). These permits allow foreign automobiles to be imported and then distributed. The system of AP acts as a quota by restricting the number of vehicles allowed into Malaysia. The current cap is 10 percent of the market. Malaysia also has strict traffic regulation and noise standards that act as a non-tariff trade barrier, by not allowing foreign vehicles that do not fit the requirements into the country. Malaysia uses an industrial adjustment fund to provide for locally assembled vehicles. Components sourced from locally registered components manufacturing companies are eligible for tax reductions, raising concerns that this fund revives the local content program that had been abolished in 2004. Because of the small-scale operations of many foreign carmakers in Malaysia, they cannot source components locally, thus preventing them from benefiting from this fund.

Free Essays on Enlightenment

The Enlightenment is a name given by historians to an intellectual movement that was main period in the Western world during the 18th century. The Age of Enlightenment was a period that took place after the Renaissance and is characterized by profound changes in the mind and attitude, and lives of many Europeans. Strongly influenced by the rise of modern science and by the result of the long religious conflict that followed the Reformation, the People of the Enlightenment (who were called philosopher in France) were committed to worldly views based on reason or human understanding only, which they hoped would provide a basis for changes that would affect every area of life and thought. There were many changes that took place during the Enlightenment. Some of the most effective changes had to do with technological aspects, which made a huge change in the religious, political, and social aspects of European life. When all of the new technological aspect of life came in to the world a lot of things were much easier to do and control. A lot of the other changes that happened had to do with reasoning, it was known as a period of reasoning. At the start of the seventeen hundreds, came the Age of Enlightenment. During this time, there existed a strong desire for knowledge, readiness to exchange new ideas, and a belief that rational thought and action could help solve problems. Man had become mature enough to find his own way. The people became leaders, instead looking at ancient times, and following the ancient Greek traditions and ideas. There was a drive to understand nature and the natural world by methods of science. The enlightenment was a time was people began to question politics, religions and society. Ideas were attacked with new ideas that governed logic and reason. During the enlightenment there was a religious revolution, a scientific revolution, a technological revolution and a revolution in the attitudes and minds of man all t... Free Essays on Enlightenment Free Essays on Enlightenment The Enlightenment is a name given by historians to an intellectual movement that was main period in the Western world during the 18th century. The Age of Enlightenment was a period that took place after the Renaissance and is characterized by profound changes in the mind and attitude, and lives of many Europeans. Strongly influenced by the rise of modern science and by the result of the long religious conflict that followed the Reformation, the People of the Enlightenment (who were called philosopher in France) were committed to worldly views based on reason or human understanding only, which they hoped would provide a basis for changes that would affect every area of life and thought. There were many changes that took place during the Enlightenment. Some of the most effective changes had to do with technological aspects, which made a huge change in the religious, political, and social aspects of European life. When all of the new technological aspect of life came in to the world a lot of things were much easier to do and control. A lot of the other changes that happened had to do with reasoning, it was known as a period of reasoning. At the start of the seventeen hundreds, came the Age of Enlightenment. During this time, there existed a strong desire for knowledge, readiness to exchange new ideas, and a belief that rational thought and action could help solve problems. Man had become mature enough to find his own way. The people became leaders, instead looking at ancient times, and following the ancient Greek traditions and ideas. There was a drive to understand nature and the natural world by methods of science. The enlightenment was a time was people began to question politics, religions and society. Ideas were attacked with new ideas that governed logic and reason. During the enlightenment there was a religious revolution, a scientific revolution, a technological revolution and a revolution in the attitudes and minds of man all t...

How to Get Copies of Your Past Income Tax Returns

How to Get Copies of Your Past Income Tax Returns You can get either exact copies or brief â€Å"transcript† of your past U.S. federal tax returns from the IRS. Typically, you can request copies or transcripts of Tax Forms 1040, 1040A, and 1040EZ for up to 6 years after they were filed (after which they are destroyed by law). Copies of other types of tax forms may be available for longer than 6 years. Exact Copies - $50 Each You can request an exact copy of a past tax return by using IRS Tax Form 4506 (Request for Copy of Tax Return). Note that you can only order 1 type of tax return per request form, which means you must submit separate Forms 4506 if you need different types of returns. Make sure your full payment (of $50 per copy) is included with your request. Also keep in mind that it may take the IRS up to 75 days to process your request.Copies of jointly filed tax returns may be requested by either spouse and only one signature is required. Allow 60 calendar days to receive your copies. Transcripts of Tax Returns No Charge For many purposes, you can meet the requirements for past tax returns with a â€Å"transcript† – a computer print-out of the information on your old tax return – rather than an exact copy. A transcript may be an acceptable substitute for an exact copy of a return by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and lending agencies for student loans and mortgages.A tax return transcript will show most line items contained on the return as it was originally filed. If you need a statement of your tax account which shows changes that you or the IRS made after the original return was filed, however, you must request a tax account transcript. Both transcripts are generally available for the current and past three years and are provided free of charge. The period in which you will receive the transcript varies from within ten to thirty business days from the time the IRS receives your request for the tax return or tax account transcript.You can obtain a free t ranscript by calling the IRS at toll-free 800-829-1040 and following the prompts in the recorded message. You can also obtain a free transcript by completing IRS Form 4506-T (PDF), Request for Transcript of Tax Return, and mailing it to the address listed in the instructions. Why Would You Need Old Tax Returns? Why do thousands of taxpayers request copies of past returns every year? According to the IRS, there are lots of reasons, including: You Miscalculated: Something as simple as a minor math mistake on a tax form can leave you needing to resolve an issue with the IRS. Typically, you will need to re-file the return to resolve the problem.You Lost the Old Ones: Lots of taxpayers like or need to keep detailed tax records.You Need Proof: Many financial chores, like applying for a loan require proof of your past tax records.You Forgot Some Documents: The IRS might require you to recalculate your taxes is you forgot to attach certain documents. For example, you might need documents proving your deductions or a copy of a W2 form.You Are Filing for Bankruptcy: Let’s hope you never do, but if you are filing for bankruptcy you’ll need copies of your past tax returns. Being able to provide the bankruptcy court with a complete financial history is a top priority in the process. Note for Taxpayers Trying to Get or Modify a Home Loan To help taxpayers trying to obtain, modify or refinance a home mortgage, the IRS has created IRS Form 4506T-EZ, Short Form Request for Individual Tax Return Transcript. Transcripts ordered using Form 4506T may also be mailed to a third party, such as a mortgage institution  if specified on the form. You must sign and date the form giving your consent for the disclosure. Businesses, partnerships or individuals who need transcript information from other forms, such as Form W-2 or Form 1099, can use Form 4506-T (PDF), Request for Transcript of Tax Return, to obtain the information. These transcripts may also be mailed to a third party if there is consent for the disclosure. Note for Taxpayers Impacted by Federally Declared Disasters For taxpayer impacted by a federally declared disaster, the IRS will waive the usual fees and expedite requests for copies of tax returns for people who need them to apply for benefits or to file amended returns claiming disaster-related losses. For additional information, refer to IRS Tax Topic 107, Tax Relief Disaster Situations, or call the IRS Disaster Assistance Hotline at 866-562-5227.

Multimedia Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Multimedia - Assignment Example The company will also be happy to avail additional services and reference upon the client’s request. The company has a precise understanding of software development needs, and the company also has the skills, experience and knowledge to complete the project in a successful manner. The company is also recognized by the association of software companies within the state and has been placed on the map to show its competency. The company shall be involved in developing the system from the start and customize it according to NPC needs that will make the system easy to use even minus technical support. Once agreed, the development phase takes off and a prototype is availed for demo is when NPC commits a down payment. After complete system development, the company shall offer training to the staff members and be available for any technical support that may be needed. NPC shall use the system for a period of three months for convenience purpose is when the final payment is made. IMS shall avail free consultancy service to the NPC for a period of six months from the time of system delivery. The system contains a home screen that can be viewed by both site visitors and staff members. The home screen has a login area that can be used by staff members while logging into the system. The clients can place orders and at the same time seek for vet services. A good system is supposed to be easily navigable by any type of user; hence the system should be simple to understand (Eurospi 2007, & Abrahamsson, 2007). This can be achieved by use of few pages to avoid mix up. The system uses a well-organized database that enables retrieval to be easy and secure. For security reasons, a back server is set on the cloud. Cloud computing is taking technology miles away and most tech companies prefer using cloud for the purpose of storing data and can be retrieved in case the primary storage fails at some pint. The main page is

Business Arrangements & Global Business Law Coursework

Business Arrangements & Global Business Law - Coursework Example The main advantage is that there would be more than one headcount to take care of the work. Since there are more than one the cost of running would get equally divided and more capital would be available. The income split will make the tax liability less for each of the partners. The business affairs would be private and there would be limited regulations from the external sources (MacIntyre, 2007). It would be easy to change the legal structures with the changing circumstances. Along with the advantages, there are disadvantages as well if they run it in the current model of operation. The liability of debts for each partner might become unlimited. Since there is no written document of the partnership past two years there might be cha ance of friction between the partners. If Barbara, Helen, and Maureen have a written document with all the valid points of their partnership it would be easy for them to avoid any kind of confusion in the future, which might lead to conflict in partners hip. As they are going to expand their business and employee, two people, it is advised to have everything in writing. Task 2 When Barbara, Helen, and Maureen are planning to make their business a limited liability company or LLC it is necessary for them to know about various types of LLCs (GCSE Business Studies, 2004).

From Songs of Limbs and Flesh and Heart Perhaps Too :: Creative Writing Essays

From Songs of Limbs and Flesh and Heart Perhaps Too "Am I desirable?" le dà ©sir/ desire Without the consistent reminder that the amorous subject is found sexually appealing, there is an attention to physical detail, a reassessment of worth, and of balance between what is called "inner and outer beauty" 1. In the mirror I am searching for what the other will be drawn to. And not only the other, but anyone: strangers, foes, past lovers. I am scanning legs, hair, and curve of thigh. Is it elbow, or nape of neck? For though in the past I fled from those who took little interest in me "as a person," I now crave this one-track regard just when I at last seem to be appreciated for "who I am." Hence a constant sense of unrest, seeking an other who balances these two desires. (Although I am inclined to believe that the latter must have, to some degree, the same lure to the superficial, only is more capable of hiding it for reasons of character or perhaps sexual feat.) 2. I have bought these new clothes - tighter/shorter/more exposing - for the purpose that the other will take note of the way my body looks in them, for a possible verbal response to a carnal reaction. Here I do not expect much, but wish perhaps the other could muster the words of Federico Garcia Lorca, "To see you naked is to remember the earth." I am thus seeking affirmation, approval. It boils down to ordinary sexual attention. I need to be reminded that the other finds me more than sufficiently, irresistibly at times, alluring. II. Looking at Lips I was once told that the dent between our lips and our noses is the fingerprint of an angel who has erased all knowledge of past lives before we are reborn into new ones. I find that my pinky fits nicely into mine, and wonder if perhaps fuller-lipped people had more memory that needed erasing, more interesting lives to be forgotten. Today my lips feel warm. They are chapping and at last picking up color, which I welcome (sans chapstick) to my otherwise pale features. In elementary school, my teachers seemed thin-lipped. In fashion magazines, gaunt women are featured with round, luscious lips. I can imagine the way their lips bundle up for the lipstick, then relax, allowing the colored stick to pull them side to side.

Food Security in India

Food security is access to enough food by all people at all time for an active and healthy life. In the past concentrated efforts were made to achieve food security by increasing food grain production. Thanks to the impact of green revolution though, it was limited to same crops and too in limited states. To ensure easy access to food at household level, government monopolizes grain management and subsidized food gains. Paradoxically, India attained national food self-sufficiency 35 years ago yet about 35% of its population remains food insecure. Low incomes and high food prices prevent individual food security. Another aspect of Indian food security situation is that after over three decades of operation, public distribution system meets less than 10% of consumption of PDS grains– rice and wheat –by the poor. At the global level, poor harvest coupled with rising demand has led to and overall increase in food prices. Unfavorable weather conditions in parts of Europe and North Africa, together with worst ever drought in Australia put stocks of major food crops, especially wheat, at record low levels. Tight supply pushed up the prices of wheat to unprecedented heights, significantly affecting food inflation across the globe including India. Surging food grain prices and worsening global supplies are now bringing the domestic food crisis to the boil. The crisis has been building up for sometime. The food grains yields of India farmers are not going up. Grain output has been stagnating for over a decade and there is a growing gap between supply and demand. Attaining long-term food security requires the raising of incomes and making food affordable. To ensure food security for the vulnerable section of the society a multiple pronged stately is to be evolved. To begin with all the existing social safety net programmes need amalgamation and should focus on vulnerable and underprivileged regions and groups. The existing anti-poverty programmes may be made more transparent with better government that minimizes leakages and benefits from such programmes. Simultaneously, agriculture needs to be reformed by improving incentives, incentives, increasing in vestment etc. So that production of traditional and high-value commodities can be increased. Unfortunately agriculture is in the grip of poor performance. Traditional sources of augmenting income are ceresin. Production environment is changing it is not dominated by small holders. With the shrinking land holdings, their sustainability and viability can not rely solely on production of food grains. To augment their income, small holders need to diversify their production and crops. Ten years after the dismantling of the universal public distribution system systems, the statistical jugglery of the targeted food distribution system actually excludes millions of poor in both the BPL and APL categories. Targeting is linked to neoli9beral policies that seek to limit, if not eliminate, the government’s welfare responsibilities. The denial of the right to food for a large section of the Indian population reflected in increased malnourishment strutted growth, ill health and loss of energy and therefore productivity is an issue that deserves more national attention. If countries agree to be graded in terms of provision of food security to their citizens, India would rank along with Ethiopia at the lower end. The United Nations children’s fund report that tone out of every tow children in India in malnourished confirms the lopsided priorities of successive governments at the centre that seek to narrow fiscal deficits by reducing food subsidies. Until 1996, India has universal PDS. There it introduced the targeted system with the mistaken notion that the infirmities of the PDS should be curbed and that it would enable subsidized grain to reach those who actually needed it. India now has 10 years of experience of the targeted (into APL and BPL ouseholds with access to foodgrain at different prices) and further targeted (into BPL and Antyodaya households) system. Last year, the planning commission did an evolutions of the PDS and found that 57% of the poor hand been actually excluded from the BPL system. Earlier the Abhijit Sen committee had also come up with similar findings, pointing to the utter failure of the targeted system, and suggested a return to the universal PDS. For these schemes is a major problem. If only those who are officially identified as poor can have access to food, then clearly the method has ensured accuracy. The prevailing method of identification is entirely unsatisfactory. There are two sets of estimates. The estimate that is linked to allocations of foodgrain is made by the planning commission. According to a replay given in parliament, the present concept of the poverty line is based on the per capita consumption expenditure needed to attain a minimum amount of calorie intake out of food consumption along with a minimum amount of not-food expenditure in order to meet the requirements of clothing, shelter and transport, among other things. This is based on the methodology suggested by the Lakdawala committee in 1993 and the population projections of the registrar-general of India as of march 12000. Shockingly, according to the current assessments, it works out to around Rs. 11 an adult a day clearly; this is not a poverty line but a destitution line. Earlier foodgrain allocations were not linked to poverty line assessments but were open-ended depending on past utilization by the states. The linkages came along with the targeted system. This creates another anomaly. The rural development ministry has set of programmes for BPL families. According to current estimates, 6 crore households in India come under the BPL category. That such a large number of people are earning less than Rs 330 a month is shocking enough. But what is cruel is that anyone earning above this meager monthly income is classified as APL and excluded from the right to subsidized foodgrain. The very words ‘Above Poverty Line’ misleading because they include a vast section of poor who have been denied their entitlements through statistical fraud and jugglery to serve a neoliberal agenda. The need for subsidized food grains for a wider section of people is also reflected in increased off take. While the off take in the Antyodaya system is around 90%, showing the desperate need of people for cheap foodgrain, the off take for BPL has doubled in the past few 73. 67 lakh tones to 228. 45 lakh tones in 2005-06 out of an allocation of 273. 20 lakh tones which constitutes 83%- of the allocation. As far as APL is concerned, the off take is much lower not because people do not need the grain but because for several years there was not much difference in the APL price and the market price. The central issue price for wheat is Rs 7. 50 a kg. For rice the price range is from Rs 10 in Gujarat and Maharashtra for a kg to Rs 9 in Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. As current market prices of foodgrain have shot up, the demand for APL foodgrain will definitely increase but the poor offtake of the grain in the demand for APL foodgrain will definitely increase but the poor off take of the grains in the past few years is being cited by the government to cut allocations, precisely when people require it more. Since rise procurement is reportedly up by around 28 lakh tones, it is possible for the central government to replace wheat allocations will rise at least for the time being in consultation with the states. Instead of taking such a step, the Centre is proposing a cut in allocation. The demand for a revision of poverty assessment also needed. Secondly, the neglect of foodgrain production consequent to the new agricultural policy’s emphasis on export-oriented cash crops is a major reason for current shortfalls in wheat production. The third Issue is that of procurement of wheat. Wheat deficits to the extent of 29 lakh tones below the buffer stock norms leading to imports for the first time in decades are a result of the deliberate policy of the government to cut down procurement on the one hand and encourage private trade on the other. Big farmers who could hold on to their stocks would have benefited from the higher price offered later, but the bulk of the peasantry sold their produce to traders at price below the Rs 700 offered three week too late by the government, the FCI had been given the same leeway as private trade, then the present dismal record of low procurement could have been avoided. Shockingly, the government offered the Indian farmer almost Rs 100 less than what it paid foreign trades. The concerning of the stock by private trade has permitted wheat hoarding, which has pushed market prices up by Rs 5-6 a kg. Decades of building a food security system can be wiped out by such neoliberal ideologies that undermine the principal of self-reliance. Besides, it reflects a naive belief that international prices will remain static whereas clearing international trades are waiting to maximize profits through wheat imports as higher, price to India. Further, a dangerous concession by way of lowering of phytosanitary standards in the quality of wheat is also being planned- This must be opposed strongly. India can spend thousands of crores to protect itself through nuclear might but can render itself completely vulnerable by losing its greatest achievement, the backbone of sovereignty—– food self-sufficiency. With this approach, the situation on the rice front could follow a similar disastrous pattern in the future. It also raises the question of whether it is appropriate to combine the Agriculture Ministry with the food and Public Distribution Ministry. Fourthly, the FCI is being weakened systematically. The employment schemes of Government, which offer part of the payment in food grains. Play an important part in the provision of food security, through inadequate. The move to cut back on this component will also cut down on the real wages of the worker. With the current high prices of wheat and other essential commodities, What the worker grains in cash is less than what he/she has to pay for his/her foodgrain needs in the market. What needs to be done is improve the system – whether of procurement agencies, the fair price shops or the methods of distribution – but not to destroy them. But that is what the Food and Public Distribution Department seems to be proposing. People –centered reform requires a return to the universal PDS. During periods of high inflation in food prices, governments must provide a basic minimum quantity of food grain and other food items at low prices through public distribution systems to low-income, food-insecure, and vulnerable populations. In India, the ostensible purpose of the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) was to take food to the poor; in practice, it has resulted in the large scale exclusion of the poor and food-insecure from the public food system. Recent evidence from a report titled Public Distribution system and other Sources of Household Consumption 2004-5 (GOI. 2007), which presents data from the 61st Round of the National Sample Survey (NSS), establishes that targeting has led to high rates of exclusion of needy household from the Public Distribution System (PDS) and cleared deterioration of coverage in States like Kerala where the universal PDS was most effective. Let me illustrate with evidence from rural India. The recent report of the National Sample Survey gives us an insight into the magnitude and nature of this exclusion from the PDS. At the all-India level, 70. 5 per cent of rural households either possessed no card or held an APL card. Since household with APL card are effectively excluded from the PDS, the majority of rural households in India are excluded from the PDS. The NSS Report also allows us to classify-by caste, occupation, land ownership and consumer expenditure category-the household that are excluded from the PDS. The NSS maintains five types of rural households, based on information on source of income; self-employed (agriculture), self employed (non-agriculture), agricultural labour, other labour and other households. We focus on agricultural labour, since manual agricultural labour households are undoubtedly among those most in need of access to the PDS. The all India average indicates that 52percent of agricultural households either had no card or an APL card. The corresponding proportion was 96 per cent in Manipur, 68 per cent in Rajasthan and Assam, 71 per cent in Bihar and 73 percent in Uttar Pradesh. Can 70 per cent of agricultural labour households be considered as ineligible for the PDS? There were only four States in which two thirds or more of agricultural labour households were not excluded from the PDS (that is, held a BPL or Antyodaya ration card). These States were Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir and Tripura. Secondly, we examine the social back-ground of households, focusing on Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Treble households. We have selected only those States where the rural Scheduled Caste population is more than 10 percent of the total population. In rural areas, there is known to be substantial degree of overlap between the Scheduled Caste status, blandness and poverty. The NSS data shows that 70 per cent or more of Scheduled Caste households had no card or an APL card in rural area of Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Utter Pradesh. Among these states, only Punjab is a cereal-surplus State. At the all-India level, 60 per cent of the scheduled Caste households in rural areas were effectively excluded from the PDS. States with a lower degree of exclusion of Scheduled Caste households were Karnataka (27 per cent excluded), Andhra Pradesh (31 per cent), and Kerala (38 per cent). A large number of households belonging to the Scheduled Tribes, Again, do not have access to the PDS: to illustrate, 90 per cent of rural Scheduled Tribe households in Assam, 79 per cent in Arunachal Pradesh and 68 per cent in Chhattisgarh were excluded from the PDS. Surprisingly, the North Eastern Sates did not perform too well on this count (though again there may be a problem of data quality). There were only four states – Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Gujarat and Maharashtra-where more than 50 per cent of rural Scheduled Tribe Households had received a BPL or Antyodaya card. The NSS report classifies households by the extent of land they possessed. It is not noted that land possessed† refers to all types of land and includes agricultural land, homestead land and non-agricultural land. It is not surprising, then, that a very small proportion of households are reported as landless. I have therefore grouped together the two categories of landless. Again, the conclusion is that a very high proportion of landless and near landless household did not possess BPL or Antyodaya cards (86 per cent in Sikkim, 80 percent Goa, 79 per in Uttar Pradesh. 6 per cent in Haryana, 75 per cent in Jharkhand, and 74 per cent in Uttaranchal, for example) and were thus effectively excluded from the PDS. In striving for â€Å"efficiency† by means of narrow targeting households that should be entitled to basic food security through the PDS have been left out. The data from the 61st round of the NSS make it quite clear that a high proportion of agricultural labour and o ther labour households, of households belonging to Scheduled Caste and the scheduled Tribes, of households with little or no land and households in the lowest expenditure classes, are effectively excluded from the PDS today.