NATIONAL AUGUST 2016
- Minister Javadekar formally inaugurates IIT-Dharwad
The long cherished dream of Karnataka to have an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) was fulfilled on 28th August when Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar formally inaugurated the institute in Dharwad. The first batch of IIT-Dharwad began on August 1 with 120 students.
- Expert committee on alternatives to pellet guns submits its report to Govt
An expert committee on alternatives to pellet guns has submitted its report to Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi in New Delhi on 29th August. The seven member committee headed by T V S N Prasad, Joint Secretary in the Ministry, was set up to explore the possible alternatives to pellet guns as non-lethal weapons.
The panel was formed in the backdrop of casualties and serious injuries caused by pellet guns during the ongoing unrest in Kashmir valley. Political parties have been demanding that the guns which have proved to be lethal should not be used to disperse the unruly crowd. - Centre certifies 10 towns as ‘Open Defecation Free’
The Ministry of Urban Development has certified 10 towns — five towns each in Maharashtra and Telangana — as ‘Open Defecation Free’ (ODF).
With this, the Ministry has begun the process of third party verification of ODF claims by towns under Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban). It received ODF claims of 11 towns independently verified by the Quality Council of India and certified ten.
While Kagal, Panchgani, Vengurla, Murgud and Panhala in Maharashtra and Siddipet, Shadnagar, Suryapet, Achampet and Huzurnagar in Telangana have become ODF. Overall, the Centre is verifying claims of a total 141 towns in 7 States which include 100 towns in Maharashtra alone.
According to the reports received by Centre from States, a total of 974 cities and towns will eliminate open defecation next year.
A ward or city can be declared as ODF if, at any point of the day, not a single person is found to be defecating in the open. The verification process includes self declaration by the city and on intimation of the same by the respective urban local body or State, the Ministry gets such claims verified in 30 days based on assessment of service level status. - PM launches first phase of SAUNI project in Gujrat
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 30th August launched the first phase of SAUNI-Saurastra Narmada Avataran for Irrigation project at Sanodara of Jamnagar district of Gujarat. In a function, Mr Modi released water from AJI-3 Dam.
He said, people of Kutch once were finding it difficult to get water even for drinking, are now able to get water in sufficient quantity because of the Narmada yojna. Emphasizing on the significance of water he said, if a farmer from any part of the country is given water he can do the wonders. He stressed on the need to conserve water for future generations.
115 dams of Saurastra will be filled by the Narmada water under the project. The overflowing water of the Narmada is sent to different reservoirs through network of canals. Under the project, nearly 10 dams and reservoirs of Rajkot, Jamnagar and Morbi will be filled up with the water of Narmada River.
The 12,000 crore rupees project is considered to be an ambitious one for Prime Minister. It was announced in 2012 when Mr. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. - Madhukar Gupta Committee on border protection submits report to MHA
The Madhukar Gupta Committee on border protection has submitted its report to the Home Minister Rajnath Singh. The Committee headed by former Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta was appointed in April, this year for strengthening border protection and addressing the issue of gaps and vulnerability in border fencing along Indo-Pakistan Border. The panel has made a detailed study on threat perception, field visits and made a detailed recommendations pertaining to strengthening of border protection on Indo-Pakistan Border. - India's first military heritage website launched
India's first military heritage website colours of glory.org was launched by Glory Foundation. A veteran of the 1971 Indo Pak war, city based Captain D.P.Ramachandran who is also the executive trustee of the foundation said, the war heroes of South India held great significance to the history of India.
The foundation will conduct various awareness programs throughout major cities in the Country to educate the people about the Nation's military history and heritage. The programs will be in the nature of exhibitions, films, seminars and talks. The foundation is also planning battle re-enactments or military tattoos, before Independence. - Centre to launch ‘Asli Tarakki campaign to promote awareness about sanitation
Centre will soon launch an ‘Asli Tarakki (Real development)’ campaign in the five cities of the National Capital Region to promote awareness about the need for sanitation. As many as 450 select youth with communication skills and leadership qualities will be engaged in the campaign as lead motivators.
The Urban Development Ministry on 30th August signed a MoU with Nehru Yuvak Kendra(NYK) in this regard. As per the MoU, NYK will deploy 50 enthusiastic, experienced in public speaking and educated youth for 52 days each of the five municipal areas of Delhi, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad and Noida for a mass awareness movement for successful implementation of Swachh Bharat Mission.
The youth will be selected during a two day orientation workshop and will be given further training to undertake awareness and motivational campaigns. They would also use social media extensively. The Ministry would enable a dedicated page on Swachh Bharat Urban portal for weekly uploading of activities and furnishing information on number of citizens reached out and other activities.
Under the 4.70 crore rupees pilot youth engagement, a total of 23,400 man days would be spent promoting Swachh Bharat Mission objectives in urban areas. - Increasing in riots: NCRB
According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), incidents of rioting remained almost the same in 2015 as compared to 2014, but as communal riots decreased, big increases were seen in other categories – agrarian riots, sectarian riots, student riots and caste conflicts
The NCRB released “Crime in India” report for 2015 released. Recorded incidents of agrarian riots saw a 327 per cent increase from 628 in 2014 to 2683 in 2015.
The number of people arrested also increased nearly threefold from 3540 to 10353. Sectarian riots — defined as violence between different sects of the same religion not considering caste conflict — showed a 2,700 and 9,000 per cent jump in incidents and convictions from a low base in 2014 (31 and 71 in 2014) to 884 and 6,642 in 2015. Much of these incidents occurred in Uttar Pradesh alone.
The decrease in communal riots incidents recorded by NCRB — from 1,227 in 2014 to 789 in 2015 — however does not mesh with data released by the Ministry of Home Affairs in response to a parliamentary question in July 2016.
Ministry data showed a slight increase from 644 incidents in 2014 to 751 in 2015. Chennai recorded the lowest rate of total crimes among major cities (154.3 per 1 lakh population). Among all cities, only Surat (86.9), Kannur and Dhanbad had better rates. - Supreme Court quashes Singur land acquisition for Tata's Nano plant
The Supreme Court has quashed the acquisition of agricultural land for Tata Motors’ plant in Singur town of West Bengal. The earlier Left Front government in the State had acquired 997 acres of land in 2006 for setting up Tata Motors' Nano car manufacturing plant.
The apex court termed as illegal and void the acquisition of land. It ordered restoration of the land to farmers who will retain the compensation received. The court said the state government cannot claim back the amount of compensation as it had enjoyed the right over the acquired land for ten years.
Finding fault with the land acquisition process, the Supreme Court said that the acquired land be returned to the cultivators within 12 weeks. The court, in its judgment, said land acquisition collector has not properly conducted the inquiry into the complaints of cultivators with regard to acquisition of plots. It held that the acquisition of land by the State for a company does not fall under the purview of public purpose. - 2011 census, Jains top in share of graduates
The Muslim community in India has the lowest share of graduates compared with other communities and just half the share of the nationwide average of under 6%. The Jains continue to be the most educationally advanced community with over a quarter of its members qualified as graduate or above. The share of technical diploma holders is the highest among Christians at 2.2%, again continuing a previous trend, with Sikhs following at 0.8%.
Most educationally deprived communities like Muslims and Buddhist are surging forward with shares increasing at a faster pace than other communities when compared to a decade earlier.
These details emerge from the latest release of Census 2011 data on educational levels across religious communities. The Census office is in the process of releasing such specific data over 5 years after the headcount took place.
While illiteracy has declined and educational levels at primary or secondary level have risen rapidly across all communities, at the higher levels the dead weight of the past still casts a shadow. Those of college-going age were in primary school in the early to mid-90s and enrolment in schools was deficient, especially among Muslims. This historic deprivation is reflected in the current lag in higher education participation levels.
But even the overall share of graduates continues to be abysmally low at 6%, while the technical education level at just 0.6% is appalling. Most advanced countries have a graduate share of 30-50% accompanied by a high share of technical personnel
The changes between 2001 and 2011 Census show that the Muslim community has seen an almost 60% increase in share of graduates compared with about 55% for Hindus. But the most striking increase is among Buddhists - mainly neo-Buddhists who were Dalits that embraced Buddhism at the call of B R Ambedkar. The share of graduates among them has jumped by as much as 74% in the decade between the two censuses. The country average is about 54% increase in the share of graduates.
The share of technical diploma holders too shows a similar change - the most deprived communities are surging ahead, in relative terms. Thus, among Muslim this share increased by 81% and among Buddhists by a jaw dropping 130% compared with a countrywide average of about 68%. - Centre constitutes expert committee to study silt in river Ganga in Bihar
The Centre will send a team to Bihar to study silt in river Ganga. The Centre has constituted an expert committee of four members to study the silt in the river. The team has been instructed to submit its report within 10 days.
Member of Ganga Flood Control commission A .K. Sinha has been made Chairman of the committee. Other members are Chief Engineer of Central Water Commission S.K.Sahu, Prof. of IIT, A.K. Gosain and members of National Disaster Management Authority Dr. Rajnish Ranjan.
During meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had requested him to send an expert team to study silt in Ganga which caused devastating prevailing flood in the state. Mr. Kumar also said the centre should frame National Silt Policy to sort out various problems related to rivers throughout the state. - Women Parliamentarians from BRICS for growth
Women Parliamentarians from BRICS nations on 21st Augustexpressed commitment to work together in the field of economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection in the 'Jaipur Declaration' adopted by them on the concluding day of the Forum's meeting in Jaipur.
The Declaration also called upon international financial institutions to extend support to developing and least developed countries and help them gain easier access to new and affordable technologies as envisaged under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement.
The Declaration mentions the need to address climate change and protection of ecological system and forest as well as food security, expeditious parliamentary approval of SDG related legislation and adequate budgetary resources.
It also emphasizes on plans for incorporating gender concerns and greater involvement of women parliamentarians in integrating citizens in the development process.
Besides, the need to inform and educate citizens about the developmental schemes and institutionalisation of the BRICS Women Parliamentarians' Forum were also taken up in the declaration which was unanimously adopted. Heads and members of delegation from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa were present in the two-day meeting which began on 20th August. - Pasighat advanced landing ground gets operational
The upgraded Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) at Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh was inaugurated by MoS for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju in the presence of Air Marshal C Hari Kumar AVSM VM VSM, Air Officer Commanding-in-chief (AOC-in-C), Eastern Air Command on 20th August.
The new runway surface and other infrastructure built are similar to the other upgraded ALGs that have been inaugurated in the recent months. Replete with facilities such as aprons for ground manouevering, Air Traffic Control Tower, perimeter road and a security wall, the ALG will facilitate operations of fixed wing aircraft as well as helicopters of both civil and military operators.
The ALG at Pasighat will facilitate air connectivity with rest of the country and give a huge fillip to tourism in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. The pristine and picturesque landscape of Pasighat, on the banks of river Siang, will become accessible to rest of the world.
The unspoilt natural beauty of the area is sure to attract many a tourist, which in turn will usher in a new round of prosperity and happiness for the local population.
AAI is in the process of setting up a civil terminal, the construction of which has yet to commence. Now the need of the hour is for all agencies to get together and make it happen.
The ALG at Pasighat was taken over by the IAF in February2010. Previously, it was small strip that was partly paved, partly grassy, and reinforced with perforated steel plates. It was utilized in the past for air maintenance sorties and casualty evacuation by the IAF. Commercial helicopter operations were also being undertaken from the helipads that existed earlier.
It may be recalled that following a MoU between Government of Arunachal Pradesh and Ministry of Defence in June 2009, the IAF had embarked on an ambitious reconstruction plan to upgrade eight ALGs, including infrastructure development at an overall outlay of nearly Rs. 1,000 Crore. The ALGs a Walong, Ziro, Along, Mechuka and Pasighat have since been upgraded and are operational now.
Two ALGs at Tuting and Tawang are expected to be ready by the year end, while the ALG at Vijaynagar would undertake for reconstruction as soon as the road connectivity between Miao and Vijaynagar is restored. - Free high-speed Wi-Fi for commuters at 8 railway stations
Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on 22nd August inaugurated a free high-speed wi-fi internet facility for railway commuters at eight stations in Mumbai and Thane. The wi-fi service shall be available on Central Railway stations at Kalyan (Thane district) and Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Dadar CR and on Western Railway stations at Bandra, Bandra Terminus, Khar, Dadar WR and Churchgate stations.
The users can follow instructions on their mobiles to avail the high-speed wi-fi for the first 30 minutes after which the speed will drop and the user must login afresh.
Presently, Mumbai Central is the only station which has the free wi-fi facility from the among the 100 across the country announced in the last Railway Budget.
Additionally, Prabhu dedicated several other amenities for commuters on WR, CR and Harbour Line including 12-car EMU services, two new 12 coach platforms, two lifts at Andheri, new booking offices at Borivali, Nallasopara and Goregaon, a FOBs at Karjat, Shahad, Kurla, Kings Circle, Reay Road, Vasai and Chembur, escalators at Varai and Nallasopara station.
Other facilities thrown open were a graden at Dadar station, a bio-toilet for handicapped, an airconditioned dormitory and water recycling plant at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. - Pranab Mukherjee launches Akashvani Moitree Channel for listeners in Bangladesh
Indian President Pranab Mukherjee on 23rd August launched Kolkata Akashvani Kendra’s Moitree Service in Bangla for listeners in Bangladesh. He said it can be an important channel of communication between India and Bangladesh. Both the countries can work together for SAARC initiative.
The President will also attend the 125th anniversary celebrations of Bangiya Sahitya Parisad and inaugurate a new building of the Bharat Chamber of Commerce. - Maharashtra, Telangana sign pact for 3 irrigation projects
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on 23rd August signed a pact with his Telangana counterpart K. Chandrasekhar Rao for three irrigation projects to be constructed on Godavari, Pranahita and Painganga rivers. Under the agreement, the two States would take up Tummidi Hatti, Medigadda and Chanaka-Korata projects. Apart from being a bone of contention between the two States, these projects are known for blatant violations of environmental laws, allege activists.
The Tummidi Hatti project has even been a highlight of the Jalayagnam scam unearthed by the Comptroller and Auditor General for the then united Andhra Pradesh in 2012. To resolve the water dispute between the two States, an inter-State board was formed. In its first meeting on Tuesday, the board cleared all three projects.
According to Fadnavis about 30,000 hectares of land in Chandrapur, Gadchiroli and Yavatmal in Maharashtra will come under irrigation with these three projects. He said not a single village from Maharashtra would be submerged because of the schemes. All the expenses for the projects will be borne by Telangana
According to a report published by the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP), the pact signed between Maharashtra and Telangana ‘is one of the most blatant and outright violations of India’s environmental laws.’
The report says the Medigadda Kaleshwaram project was inaugurated by Mr. Rao even when the dam’s height and location were not finalised and detailed project report was yet to be prepared.
All these projects are in violations of environmental laws, waste of public money and cause ecological damage, says the SANDRP report prepared by Amruta Pradhan, which was published a day ago following field visits and interaction with stakeholders. - Poor dam management responsible for Bihar flood
Bihar has been battling floods despite receiving less than normal rains this year. Long at the receiving end due to release of water from Nepal, this time though the blame lies squarely on mismanagement of a dam and a barrage in neighbouring states of Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.
The situation has become so bad in the past four days that state chief minister Nitish Kumar on 23rd August rushed to Delhi and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention to get immediate help and look for a long-lasting solution in the form of a national policy on silt management.
The Bansagar dam had been accumulating water for the past over one month. But it started releasing water only when it was 95.22% full and had little capacity to store any more water. The dam authority had opened 16 of its 18 gates on August 19, releasing a huge amount of water in one go. It led to the Ganga rising to unprecedented levels in Patna and elsewhere in Bihar and UP.
Release of water from the Bansagar dam in Madhya Pradesh along the Sone in an unregulated manner has even flooded certain areas in Uttar Pradesh.
An absence of a national policy on silt management has made the situation worse where most of the rivers including Ganga and Sone were choked with silt, points out Thakkar, river expert with the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP). He said the drainage congestion and siltation in Ganga, created by Farakka barrage, led to an avoidable disaster in Bihar this year.
Presently, the main reason for the flood in Ganga is the excessive deposit of silt in the river due to the construction of Farakka barrage. - Probe on submarine data leak
The Union government on 24th August began multiple investigations to determine the extent of damage caused by the reported leak of huge quantity of secret data detailing the combat and stealth capabilities of the Indian Navy’s soon-to-be-inducted Scorpene submarines. The Navy, in its early response, said the leak was from outside India while downplaying the operational impact of the leak.
The source of the leak, if confirmed, can have a serious bearing on the significantly large defence ties between India and France with French companies in the race for deals worth billions of dollars including the Rafale fighter deal. The incident emerged in a news report on 23rd August in The Australian, which also released a few sample documents. - Supreme Court reprimands Jayalalitha for using defamation cases to curb dissent
The Supreme Court has again reprimanded Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa for using defamation cases to what it described as throttling democracy and asked her to face criticism as she was a public figure. The bench said, Government cannot use state machinery to file criminal defamation cases against political opponents. The bench asserted, it should focus more on good governance. The court's observations came on a petition filed by DMDK chief A Vijayakanth seeking quashing of defamation cases filed against him by state government.
The bench issued fresh summons against the public prosecutor and posted the matter for further hearing on September 21. The apex court had on July 28 said defamation cases should not be used as a political counter weapon against the critics of governments. It had stayed non-bailable warrants issued against the actor-turned-politician Vijayakanth and his wife Premlata in such matters. - Govt launches Accessible E-Library 'Sugamya Pustakalaya'
The government on 24th August launched Accessible E-Library 'Sugamya Pustakalaya' for Divyang under Prime Minister's Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan. Union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad, Prakash Javadekar and Thawar Chand Gehlot jointly launched the e-library
Sugamya Pustakalaya is an online library for Divyang and houses publications across diverse subjects and languages and multiple accessible formats. Books are available in Accessible formats for people with visual impairment and other print disabilities.
Over 2 lakhs books in diverse languages will be there. The online library has been created in collaboration with National Institute of Visually Handicapped, member organisations of Daisy Forum of India and Bookshare. - Cabinet nod to Draft Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill
In a major change to the surrogacy laws in India, the government has decided to completely ban commercial surrogacy in the country. As the Union Cabinet has approved the Draft Assisted Reproductive Technology Regulation Bill, 2015, it gave a strong signal that the exploitation of poor women for surrogacy will not be allowed and surrogacy will be possible only be possible if the couple confirm to various parameters that have been made prerequisite for the procedure.
The Draft Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2015 incorporates sweeping changes in the surrogacy regulations in India. The government has brought in many stringent conditions which will seek to to prevent misuse of surrogacy and regulate it for the safety of mother.
The new bill has made banned commercial surrogacy in India, in effect making the fledging surrogate industry ineffective at one go. It will bring surrogacy within the ambit of law. At Present, there is no legislation for regulation of surrogacy in India it is regulated under the national guidelines for accreditation, supervision and regulation of ART clinics of India 2005.
The biggest change is that commercial surrogacy as it exists in India has been banned completely. The draft bill approved by the cabinet has many conditions which must be met by the couple before they will be eligible for a surrogate child. The government has made it necessary for them to fulfill many conditions.
The couple who are wishing to go for surrogacy must be Indian citizens. No foreign national, not even overseas citizens of India will be allowed the services. - Centre okays 2 new National Highways
Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has given approval for giving status of National Highways to 52 kilometer Gurgaon-Pataudi-Rewari road and 120 kilometer Patiala-Pehowa-Kurukshetra-Ladwa-Yamuna Nagar road. Also, the Ministry would provide financial aid of 100 crore rupees through Central Road Fund to the Haryana Government. - Maneka Gandhi launches POCSO e-box
Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Sanjay Gandhi on 26th August launched Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses, POCSO e-box, in New Delhi. POCSO e-box is a platform where a child victim of sexual abuse can report such cases online. It is initiative of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, for direct online Reporting of Child Sexual Abuse.
The idea of an e-Box came out of a police initiative in which physical complaint boxes were placed in schools. The e-Box will make it possible to implement it on a large scale throughout the country. She said, a large number of incidents of abuse are against close relatives and so they get pushed under the carpet. E-Box is very simple to operate and will help to maintain the confidentiality of the complaint.
The e-Box is incorporated prominently in the home page of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights website www.ncpcr.gov.in, where a user has to simply push a button named POSCO e-Box. - India ranked 77 in disaster risk index of the world
India has been ranked 77th on the World Risk Index, topped by Island state of Vanuatu. The World Risk Report 2016, published by the UNU Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) and Bundnis Entwicklung Hilft, analyses the role that infrastructure plays in shaping a country’s disaster risk.
The Index, calculated by the University of Stuttgart, ranks 171 countries according to their risk of becoming a victim of a disaster as a result of natural hazards such as floods, cyclones, or earthquakes.
The Island state of Vanuatu has been ranked no 1 on the index. Pakistan ranks 72th while Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at 63rd and 5th position respectively. China and Nepal are in a better position than India on 85th and 108th position. - PM announces task force to prepare for next three Olympics
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced setting up of a task force to prepare action Plan for the next three Olympics Games. The task force will prepare a comprehensive action plan for effective participation of Indian sports persons in the Olympic games to be held in 2020, 2024 and 2028. The task force comprising members in house as well as outside experts, will prepare overall strategy for sports facility, training, selection procedure and other related matters. - FM demanded international arbitration in BRICS countries
Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on 27th August underlined the need to constitute a task force of experts to deliberate on the challenges in international arbitration in the BRICS countries.
He said there is a need to put in place institutional mechanisms to establish arbitral centres in these nations. Delivering the valedictory address at the conference on International Arbitration in BRICS in New Delhi, Mr. Jaitley emphasised upon the need to have lawyers of credibility and said it was necessary to make enforcement of awards largely free from the interference by domestic courts. Mr Jaitley said this was imperative as many countries fear that the arbitral awards are loaded against the emerging countries.
The Finance Minister said, free trade should also mean fair trade, which is not detached from local commitments. He pointed out that the challenges posed by economic slowdown continue to haunt the global economy. He said the emerging economies would have to shoulder the responsibility of driving global growth. The Minister said, Government wants India to become a centre of global arbitration. He said, international arbitration must also appreciate the social constraints of investments in a country. - Telangana gets 15 tmcft, AP 36 tmcft
In a significant decision, the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) has allocated 36 tmcft of water to Andhra Pradesh and 15 tmcft to Telangana for September. The allocations are against the 47 tmcft requisitioned by AP and 40 tmcft sought by Telangana on 26th August.
The allocation to Andhra Pradesh had been on the higher side as the State insisted that it would need more water during September, but the Board asserted that the 63:37 ratio would ultimately be maintained between the two States.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the three-member committee, comprising KRMB member-secretary Sameer Chatterjee and engineers-in-chief of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh C. Muralidhar and M. Venkateswara Rao on 27th August.
The panel met again as the Board could not arrive at a consensus at the close to two-hour meeting, it was decided to maintain the 63:37 ratio for next month. Of the 15 tmcft allocated to Telangana, 12 tmcft would be for the Nagarjunasagar left canal and 1.5 tmcft each for meeting drinking water requirement of Hyderabad and A. Madhav Reddy project.
Of the allocation made to Andhra Pradesh, 10 tmcft each would be released for Krishna delta system, Pothireddypadu and Nagarjunasagar right canal, four tmcft to Handri-Neeva Sujala Sravanthi and two tmcft to the left bank canal. - Centre issues advisory on use of National Flag
Ahead of the Independence Day, the Ministry of Home Affairs has issued an Advisory to ensure strict compliance of the provisions of Flag Code of India. As per government's advisory, flags made of paper only should be used and such paper Flags should not be discarded or thrown on the ground after the event. Rather, such flags are to be disposed of, in private, consistent with the dignity of the Flag.
The advisory also states that, since plastic flags are not biodegradable like paper flags, wide publicity should be made for not using the National Flag made of plastic. - Govt releases commemorative postage stamp on Tourism
Minister of State Manoj Sinha on 15th August released a commemorative postage stamp on Tourism in India on the occasion of 70th Independence Day. The theme tourism was selected on account of tourism sector being an economically important and rapidly growing industry. Tourism is fast emerging, as one of the majors sectors of the economy and generating huge employment opportunity across the country.
- 1st BIO-CNG project in India inaugurated in Pune
The first ever BIO-CNG project in India was inaugurated on 14th August in Pune, by the hands of Union Minister of surface Transport Nitin Gadkari and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. Bio-Fuel will help in reducing the import of diesel up to 50 % and therefore the huge amount of Foreign Exchange will be saved. This energy source is also cost effective and pollution free. - Drones better than satellites to gauge crop loss, says panel
A committee tasked by the government’s apex planning body with studying how unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can be used in crop insurance schemes has said drones trump satellite technology for the purpose.
The ideal alternative is to gather data from low heights. The current satellites which are even better than 10m spatial resolution would not be sufficient due to their non-availability during cloud cover, limited revisit possibility during the crop season and high price
The sub-committee is expected to submit its report to the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) on August 20. It is constituted of experts from the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Indian Agriculture Research Institute, weather technology firm Skymet and international reinsurance company Swiss Re.
There are several sub-groups too constituted by the NITI Ayog to look at ways to use technology in agriculture insurance schemes. This year, the government launched the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), replacing the existing National Agricultural Insurance Scheme, which will allow farmers relatively lower premiums. It also allows them to be insured against post-harvest losses. The States will bear the bulk of the premiums and farmers pay depending on the type of crop.
The government’s apparent objective is to increase the number of insured farmers from the current 20 per cent to 50 per cent within three years. So far, 22 States have come forward to implement the scheme and Rs. 5,500 crore has been earmarked for the scheme for the 2016-17 period. Though several crop insurance schemes are available, availing funds and determining the right price is a challenge.
The committee has recommended pilot surveys that can estimate varying risk profiles for different regions of the country, and that for schemes such as PMFBY, drones are a better bet than satellite imagery. - India climbs 15 spots in innovation ranking
India climbed 15 spots, to 66 in the Global Innovation Index (GII) and maintained the top spot in the Central and South Asia regions. Index says India has all the ingredients needed to become a global driver of innovation. - Rahman concert at UN Assembly
A R Rahman performed at the iconic UN General Assembly hall with his renditions of Indian Carnatic legend M S Subbulakshmi's music, Sufi songs and the foot-tapping 'Jai Ho' at a concert to mark India's 70th Independence Day. Rahman became only the second Indian artist after Subbulakshmi to perform in the General Assembly hall, which is the usual platform for global leaders to address the world.
The concert, organised by India's Permanent Mission to the UN with the support of Sankara Nethralaya, an India-based civil society organisation, on India's 70th Independence Day, was a tribute by Rahman to Subbulakshmion the occasion of her birth centenary. This year also marks the 50th anniversary of her performance at the UN.
The first ever musician to be awarded India's highest civilian honour the Bharat Ratna,Subbulakshmiwas invited by the then UN Secretary General Late U Thant to perform at the General Assembly in October 1966, becoming the first Indian to perform there. - Over 10000-Year-Old Camping Site Discovered in Ladakh
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has discovered an ancient camping site dating 8500 BC in Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir, indicating humans were camping in the area 10,500 years ago. The site was unearthed at 14,000 feet above the sea level on the way from Saser La to Ladakh
While exploring in Nubra valley during 2015-16, ASI Joint Director General SB Ota noticed a section, exposed due to road construction, showing successive layers comprising burning residue. A charcoal sample collected from the site, which was sent to Beta Lab, Florida for radiocarbon, dated it back to 8500 BC. Realising the significance of the evidence, a team of ASI officials were sent for further inspection in July, 2016.
Further, charcoal samples from lower and upper deposits sent for dating have provided radiocarbon dates of 8500 BC and 7300 BC respectively, indicating repeated human activity at this camping site for about eight hundred years.
Preliminary studies of charred bones collected from the site, carried out by PP Joglekar of Deccan Collage, Pune, have shown the presence of Gorel and Yak, it added. - World Culture Festival destroyed biodiversity of Yamuna
The committee of experts, appointed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to assess the damage caused to the Yamuna floodplain in Delhi where the World Culture Festival of The Art of Living was held last March, has found that the “entire floodplain area used for the main event site” has been “completely destroyed” causing “invisible loss of biodiversity” that “may never be able to return”.
In its report, submitted to the NGT on July 28, the seven-member panel, headed by Shashi Shekhar, Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, said “the entire floodplain area used for the main event site, i.e. between the DND flyover and Barapullah drain (on the right bank of river Yamuna) has been completely destroyed. The ground is now totally levelled, compacted and hardened, totally devoid of water bodies or depressions, and almost completely devoid of any vegetation (except a few large cattails at the base of the DND flyover)”.
The committee pointed out that its members were “prevented from making any study and were forced to retreat by the AOL volunteers on the site” on April 15, and that they visited the site again on June 6 “for a visual assessment”. It said its observations were supported by satellite images of the site taken on March 15 and May 10. - Centre accepts some suggestions of collegium
The Central government has accepted some recommendations of the Supreme Court collegium on draft memorandum of procedures for appointment of judges, while reinforcing its views regarding certain other key clauses on which the collegium had earlier raised objections.
The government has, in its recent communication to the collegium, agreed to lift the proposed cap on the number of jurists and lawyers for appointment as judges in the Supreme Court. The draft sent to the Chief Justice of India in March had recommended that up to three judges from among jurists and lawyers could be appointed.
While the government had earlier proposed merit-cum-seniority as the criterion for elevation of judges, only seniority is now being considered to be the main condition.
However, the government has not changed its stand on the proposed clause under which it will have powers to reject any candidate recommended by the collegium on grounds of public interest and national security.
The collegium had earlier rejected the proposal. The revised draft proposes that the government will communicate to the collegium the reasons for rejecting any name recommended by it. - J P Nadda inaugurates AMRIT outlets in Shillong, Imphal & Jodhpur
Union Health Minister J P Nadda on 17th August inaugurated Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment (AMRIT) outlets in Shillong, Imphal and Jodhpur through videoconferencing from New Delhi. These outlets are aimed at reducing the expenditure incurred by common patients on treatment of cancer and heart diseases.
With this the number of AMRIT outlets have reached at 12 across the country where more than 2141 drugs are being sold at a discount of more than 70 percent.
Mr. Nadda said the benefits of the AMRIT clinics are available for in-patients as well as out-patients in the hospitals where these outlets are located.
He informed that about 300 outlets will be started by the end of this year and basket of choices of drugs will also be enhanced further. The Minister said the Centre has urged state governments consider opening such pharmacies in their areas. - IIT-Kanpur adopts five villages under Namami Gange programme
In Uttar Pradesh, IIT-Kanpur has adopted five villages under the Namami Gange programme. Under the initiative, IIT-Kanpur will ensure sewage water is not disposed of in the river, and also keep a check on quality of drinking water and sanitation.
The villages are Ramel Nagar, Khoyra Katree, Pratapur, Hari Hindpur, and Katri Ladhva Khera. A professor of civil engineering at the institute said, IIT-Kanpur is one of the 13 educational institutes directed by the Centre to adopt villages and turn them into role models in sanitation. - Tendulkar adopts village in Maharashtra
Rajya Sabha MP Sachin Tendulkar has selected Donja village in Osmanabad district, Maharashtra, for development under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojna. Osmanabad has been reeling under a serve drought over the last few years and has also recorded a rise in farmer suicides. The village of Donja has 582 families, according to the 2011 census. - Government caps prices of 22 essential drugs
Government has capped the prices of 22 essential drugs used for treatment of cancer, HIV, bacterial infections and malaria among others reducing the cost in the range of 10 to 45 per cent. Drug price regulator National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority, NPPA has also fixed the retail price of 13 formulations under Drug Price Control Order, DPCO 2013.
In respect of medicines not under price control,manufacturers are allowed to increase the maximum retail price by 10 per cent annually. The calculation for essential drugs is based on the simple average of all medicines in a particular therapeutic segment with sales of more than 1 per cent.
The government had notified the DPCO 2013, which covers 680 formulations, with effect from May 15, 2014, replacing the 1995 order that regulated prices of only 74 bulk drugs. - Sankhachil' selected for Montreal Film Festival
Director Goutam Ghosh's National award-winning film "Sankhachil", an Indo-Bangla joint production, has been selected for the coveted 40th Montreal World Film Festival. Sankhachil", starring Prosenjit Chatterjee, essays the pain and anguish of people living on both sides of the border following the partition of Bengal.
Confirming the news, Ghosh said on Saturday that he was sure "Sankhachil" would be liked by the international audience for its universal language.
Chatterjee, who has also co-produced the movie, said, "The flight of our bird Sankhachil has started and will continue." "Sankhachil" is an Indo-Bangla production. - New district draft in Telangana
The Telangana state government unveiled plans for the reorganization of districts at an all-party meeting on 20th August. According to the Chief Minister KCR the creation of the new districts would take place only after eliciting views from the people.
People have every freedom and right to express their opinion and objections on the proposed districts, mandals and revenue divisions mentioned in the draft notification to the District Collectors or CCLA (Chief Commissioner Land Administration).
He said the government would duly consider the suggestions and aspirations of the people before issuing a final notification.
Stating that the government had adopted the AP District Formation Act for the speedy process, he said the creation of new districts is being done for the administrative convenience and people’s comfort.
The government is planning to reorganize each district with 15 to 20 mandals. Though population has been taken as one of the main criterion, he said, in some cases geo–physical factors played a main role in the carving of districts.
For instance, the proposed Bhupalpally district would have less population with tribal domination. But area-wise, the rural district would be a big one. Similarly, it was proposed to carve four districts out of Warangal district in a bid to help the growth of urban and rural districts, separately.
KCR said the creation of new courts and the process of changing jurisdiction would be completed in a year in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court.
KCR clarified that it is not necessary that the entire area of a particular Assembly or the Lok Sabha constituency remain in a single district only. There were several instances that a constituency is covered in two or three districts such as the Bhongir Parliamentary constituency.
All the elected bodies like Zilla Parishads, Panchayat Raj members and other local bodies would continue to be the members until their term ends in the new districts. The government would hold another all-party meeting before finalizing the new districts. - PM launches series of developmental projects in Telangana
On his maiden to Telangana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 7th August inaugurated various projects including a thermal power plant at Gazwel.
The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of 1st phase of NTPC Super Thermal Power Project in Medak. He inaugurated Mission Bhagiratha, the piped drinking water scheme at Gajwel in Medak district.
Prime Minister unveiled a pylon at Komatibanda village to launch Mission Bhagiratha, the flagship scheme of the state government aimed at provide piped drinking water to every household. - President gives nod for uniform admission test to medical, dental courses
There will be single test-National Eligibility cum Entrance Exam (NEET) for admissions to medical and dental courses across the country, as President Pranab Mukherjee has given nod to two bills recently passed by Parliament in this regard. Mr Mukherjee has given assent to Indian Medical Council Amendment Bill 2016 and Dentists Amendment Bill 2016.
These Bills were passed by Rajya Sabha on 1st of this month to pave way for the NEET, which is designed to curb corruption by bringing in transparency, checking multiplicity of exams and to stop exploitation of students in counselling.
The bills seek to amend the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 and the Dentists Act, 1948 to replace the ordinances that were promulgated in May to keep state boards out of the ambit of National Eligibility Entrance Examination, NEET for admission to MBBS and BDS courses for this year.
The Bills provide for conduct of uniform entrance examination for admission to all medical educational institutions at the undergraduate and post-graduate courses. These Bills were passed by the Lok Sabha last month. - Cow vigilantism: Centre issues advisory
Cracking the whip on cow vigilantism, the Centre has asked all states not to tolerate anyone taking law into their hands in the name of protecting cows and take prompt action against such offenders
Home Ministry's advisory comes two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi denounced cow vigilantes and asked people to beware of 'fake' protectors trying to divide the society and the country. It asked the states to severely punish them. The advisory states that the states are expected to ensure that any person who takes law into his own hands is dealt with promptly, and punished as per law. - 16-year fast of Iron Lady of Manipur comes to an end
The “Iron Lady” of Manipur, Irom Sharmila Chanu, who had been on a hunger strike since November 2000 in protest against alleged atrocities by security forces on civilians in the northeastern state of Manipur, ended her 16-year fast on 9th August.
All these years, Sharmila was kept under detention at a prison hospital in Imphal (Manipur) and force-fed through a nasal tube. The 44-year-old has now expressed her willingness to enter politics
Afspa, enacted in 1958, gives powers to the army and state and police forces to shoot to kill, search houses, and destroy any property likely to be used by insurgents in areas declared as “disturbed” by the Union home ministry. For many years, the state has been witnessing civilian resistance and protests against alleged cases of human rights violations by security forces.
The mood in Manipur is that AFSPA is the root cause behind army atrocities and that the act should be lifted from the state.
Sharmila was 28-years old when on November 2, 2000; ten people were shot dead by security forces at a bus stop at Malom, near Imphal town. The ‘Malom Massacre’ as it referred to, shocked the whole state of Manipur. Two days later, Sharmila decided to sit on hunger-strike demanding repeal of AFSPA, which she finally ended on 9th August.
Soon after she began her hunger-strike, Sharmila was arrested on the charges of attempt to suicide, which is still a crime in India though the Parliament is about to decriminalise it soon. She was released many times too but was rearrested immediately on the same charges and forced-fed through the nasal tube. Sharmila is a recipient of many awards and was declared as 'Prisoner of conscience' by Amnesty International in 2013. - Nayeem, the gangster, shot dead
Renegade Maoist-turned gangster Mohammed Nayeemuddin, wanted by the CBI in connection with Sohrabuddin Sheikh's 'encounter' case in Gujarat, and was gunned down by Telangana police at Shadnagar town in Mahbubnagar district on 8th August
Nayeem, who led an underground life for over two decades, is the gangster, an accused in over 15 murder cases, including that of IPS officer K S Vyas in 1993, was wanted by central and state agencies. In 2007, he made a dramatic escape from a court
Nayeem was arrested on February 12, 1993 and a .32 revolver was seized from his possession. He was expelled from PWG for indulging in extortion and settlements. He was released on bail on May 4, 2000, and arrested again on November 27, 2000 for killing APCLC member K Purushotham at Madhuranagar in Hyderabad. Nayeem started eliminating former Naxalites who posed a challenge to his land grabbing activities. - Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project dedicated to nation
The first unit of the ambitious Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project has been dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The 1000 megawatt facility is India’s single largest nuclear generation unit and was dedicated by the leaders through video conferencing from Delhi and Moscow.
They were joined by Tamil Nadu chief minister J.Jayalalithaa from Chennai. The VVER type light water reactor and its ancillary equipment were supplied by Russian atomic agency Atomstroy export under an Indo-Russian agreement of 1988.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address said in Kudankulam, five more nuclear reactors would come up. He said the first unit of Kudankulam project signals the joint commitment of India and Russia towards green growth.
In Kudankulam, the second unit has already attained criticality and is expected to get connected to the grid in a month’s time. Preliminary works are also going on for the construction of third and fourth reactors with Russian technical expertise.
The first unit of Kudankulam nuclear power plant attained criticality in July 2013. Till now more than 10,800 million units of power has been generated from the first unit.
The 1000 Mega watt nuclear power plant was built with Russian expertise following a pact between the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Soviet leader Mikahil Gorbachev in November 1988.
The pact got revived in 1998 with Russia and construction works started in March 2002. Enhanced safety features were incorporated in the water cooled, water moderated reactor complex after the Fukushima nuclear incident in Japan, and the first unit got connected to the power grid in October 2013. After much delay, it began commercial operation in December 2014.
The second unit is also soon to be commissioned. Though the project was planned at a cost of Rs 13,171 crore, inordinate delays led to cost escalation and got shot up to Rs 17,270 crore.
Newer reactors may cost much higher as insurance costs are to be added to the project cost, say experts. Kudankulam has become synonymous with nuclear energy and is set to help the southern states to ensure their energy security, with Tamil Nadu getting a major share of the clean energy. - Cabinet approves amendment to Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill
The Union Cabinet on 10th August approved amendments to Section 44 and consequential amendments of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 by introducing the Lokpal and Lokayuktas (Amendment) Bill, 2016 in Parliament.
The approved amendments will address concerns and apprehensions expressed by different categories of public servants and addresses the difficulties being faced in implementing the provision of section 44 of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013. The amendments are in line with one of the recommendations of the Standing Committee - Govt notifies national 'Early Childhood Care and Education' policy
Government has notified the national 'Early Childhood Care and Education' policy. Its aim is to achieve holistic development of children below six years of age. According to the Minister of State for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi- The Centre's reaction to a UNICEF Survey that indicated 34 per cent of Muslim and 25 per cent of Christian children below six years do not attend pre-school.
- The government has reaffirmed its commitment to promote early childhood care and education by formulating and notifying National Early Childhood Care and Education policy.
- Parliament passes Central Agricultural University Bill
Parliament has passed the Central Agricultural University Bill with the Rajya Sabha adopting it on 11th August by voice vote without discussion. The main Act provides for the establishment of a University in the north eastern region for the development of agriculture, and advancement of research in agriculture and allied sciences. The amendment brings Nagaland under the ambit of Central Agricultural University. The Lok Sabha has already passed it. - Nod for Maternity Benefits bill
According to Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, the Maternity Benefits (Amendment) Bill would vault India to the third position in terms of the number of weeks allowed for maternity leave, behind Norway (44) and Canada (50). The Bill was aimed at increasing women’s participation in the workforce which is “decreasing day-by-day.” However, a woman who has two or more children will continue to get only 12 weeks maternity leave.
For the first time, women adopting a newborn, aged below three, and ‘commissioning mothers’ will also be entitled to maternity benefits and will get leave for three months.
A commissioning mother is defined as “a biological mother who uses her egg to create an embryo implanted in another woman.” The Bill has an enabling provision which states that if the “nature of work” permits, woman may also be allowed to ‘work from home’ after the period of maternity leave. Establishments with at least 50 workers will have to provide crèche facilities within a certain distance and women will be allowed four visits to the crèche in a day. - Gujarat sets world record for Hand Washing in Narmada District
A national record was created when more than 6 lakh people washed their hands on 11th August in Gujarat's Narmada district at the same time. This tribal district in Gujarat will also become Open defecation free by this month end- First district in the Gujarat to do so.
Building of toilets in all the 561 villages of Narmada is almost over and it will be the first district in Gujarat to be declared open-defecation free, district development officer Ranjit Sinh said. The main programme was organised at Kalaghoda village in Tilakvada tehsil.
UNICEF representative Lakshmiben Bhavani was present on the occasion in Kalaghoda village. Simultaneously, programmes were organised in remaining 560 villages. As per the officer, before the activity commenced, district officials spoke on the benefits of cleanliness. - Resolution passed to restore peace
The Lok Sabha on 12th August appealed to all sections of society to work for the early restoration of normalcy and harmony in the Kashmir valley. In a unanimous resolution adopted by it on the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the House called for restoring confidence in people, in general and youth in particular in the valley. The resolution expressed serious concern over prolonged curfew, violence and loss of lives there. It also said the House has a firm view that there cannot be any compromise on India's unity, integrity and national security. - 13 key bills passed in monsoon session
Both the Houses of Parliament were adjourned sine die on 12th August. With this, the Monsoon Session, which began on 18th of last month, came to an end. Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha had 20 sittings each
Rajya Sabha passed 14 government bills of various Ministries and held an animated debate while considering and passing the Constitution 122nd (Amendment) Bill 2014 which paves the way for rolling out the Goods and Services Tax bill from 2017.
Lok Sabha saw the disposal of important financial, legislative and other business. During the session, 14 bills were introduced. In all 13 bills were passed. - Smart Ganga City programme launched in 10 cities
In an attempt to give pace to the ambitious Clean Ganga project, Union ministers Venkaiah Naidu and Uma Bharti on 13th August launched “Smart Ganga City” programme in 10 locations along the river.
The focus of the Centrally-sponsored programme, which will be extended to other cities, would be to build and upgrade sewage treatment infrastructure and improve drainage networks. The work would be done based on hybrid annuity model in which first 40 per cent of the project cost will be paid by the government annually over a fixed period to the developer while the remaining 60 per cent will be disbursed on the basis of the quality of the asset created.
Ten cities chosen in the first phase of the project are Rishikesh and Haridwar in Uttrakhand; Mathura, Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi and Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh; Patna in Bihar; Sahibganj in Jharkhand and Barrackpore in West Bengal.
According to the Union water resources minister Uma Bharti said, in previous schemes, Centre and states have borne 70 per cent of the costs for setting up sewage treatment plants (STPs). Now the programme will be completely Centre-sponsored- Several foreign companies have come forward to work under hybrid annuity model
- This is the first time that the Centre’s assistance in a project is 100 per cent for 15 years. Therefore, it is imperative on the part of the states to make sure that quality is maintained.
- An outlay of Rs 20,000 crore was approved for the clean Ganga mission by the Centre in 2014.
- In five Ganga basin states, a total of 7,030 million litres of sewage is generated per day. Out of this, about 4,200 MLD sewage is treated.
- Touch-and-feel garden for visually impaired
A first-of-its-kind touch and feel garden for the visually impaired people in the country was inaugurated near Calicut University campus by Kerala Assembly Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan.
The garden has nearly 70 aromatic, medicinal and herbal plants brought from various parts the country. The visually impaired will get an opportunity to study the plants not only by touching, feeling and smelling them, but also getting information about them through audio inputs.
The garden is arranged in such a way that the visually impaired can move around freely. It has been constructed in a year with an aid of Rs 17 lakh from the Environment Ministry. The names of the plants are written in English, Malayalam and in Braille and are set on at a higher level to help them.
By touching a Sonic Labeller in the shape of a pen on the nameplate, the visitors can listen to complete details about the plants. - Maiden broad-gauge train service between Agartala and Delhi
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on 31st July flagged off maiden broad-gauge train service between Agartala and Delhi and unveiled foundation stone for Agartala-Akhaura international rail Project. The ‘Tripura Sundari Express’ will run weekly between Agartala and Anand Vihar in Delhi. - PM Modi sets up a virtual digital cabinet
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set up a virtual digital cabinet as he communicates with all the cabinet colleagues via mobile app. This allows free flow of uninterrupted and secure information between the cabinet ministers without the formal requirement of everyone being present at one place to share the ideas. - Parliament passes NIT, Science Education & Research Bill
Parliament has passed the National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research (Amendment),Bill,2016 with Rajya Sabha approving it on 1st August. The Lok Sabha has already cleared it. The Bill seeks to establish the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Andhra Pradesh as an institute of national importance under the National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research (NITSER) Act, 2007.
For the current year, an amount of 40 crore rupees have been allocated for the establishment of the Institute.
Moving the bill, Human Resource and Development Minister Prakash Javadekar said, the government is focussing on quality and affordability of education as well as promoting innovation and research. - Foundation stone laid for permanent NDRF station in Pune
National Disaster Response Force Director General, OP Singh laid the foundation stone for a permanent NDRF station at Sudumbare village in Pune district of Maharashtra.
The station at Sudumbare will house NDRF’s fifth battalion. The fifth battalion is among their most important battalions. It has played important roles in the biggest disasters in recent times, during the tsunami in Japan, the earthquake in Nepal, the Malin landslide, Chennai floods, Jammu and Kashmir floods or Uttarakhand floods.
The site at Sudumbare, which was allotted to the NDRF in 2009, covers an area of 62.5 acre. Construction on the site is on and six structures have been partially completed till now. Mr Singh said, a total of 17 buildings will come up on the site comprising offices, administrative blocks, training facilities and housing barracks. - Rajasthan becomes first state to approve sewage & waste water policy
Rajasthan has become the first state to approve sewage and waste water policy. State Cabinet in its meeting in Jaipur on 2nd August approved the policy. All district headquarters, heritage cities, and cities which have more than one lakh population will be included in this policy.
According to Minister Rajendra Rathore, the water treated in the scheme will be used in irrigation and agriculture work. He said that the requirement of next 30 years will be covered in this scheme. He informed that it will be compulsory for every house to connect with sewage system in those cities which have 100 per cent sewage system in next five years.
He further informed that second phase of Mukhyamantri Jal Swavlamban Abhiyan will be started in 4200 villages on 16th November this year with a cost of Rs. 6300 crores. - Parliament passes Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Bill
Parliament has passed the Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Bill- 2016 to set up six new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) with Rajya Sabha approving it on 2nd August. The new IITs will be established in Tirupati, Palakkad, Goa, Dharwad, Bhilai and Jammu. Besides the Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad has been brought within the ambit of the IIT Act. - FSSAI bans silver leaf of animal origin in food items
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has banned the use of any material of animal origin in silver leaf (chandi ka warq), commonly used in confectionaries and sweets like barfi for decoration and also in pan and packaged supari.
According to sources in the ministry, the move comes in the wake of concerns over use of intestines of cows and buffaloes in making these thin strips of silver. The silver leaf is prepared by placing small thin strips of silver between the intestines of cows and buffaloes and continuously hammering these bundles for up to eight hour a day till desired thickness of silver leaf is achieved. The process was found to be offensive and unhygienic posing potential risk to consumers. Moreover, such silver sheets do not carry any green dot or maroon dot. Hence, consumers fail to differentiate between a vegetarian and non-vegetarian product.
There were also concerns that the silver leaf contained heavy metal traces such as nickel, lead, chromium and cadmium - which are harmful for health. - Centre to set up One Stop Centre in each district to help women affected by violence
The Centre has decided to set up One Stop Centre, OSC in each district of the country to provide integrated support and assistance under one roof to women affected by violence.
Intervening in a debate on sustainable development goals in the Lok Sabha, Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said, the Centres will be in place by next year.
She said, the government is also implementing the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme in 161 districts of the country for survival, protection and education of the girl child. It also aims at addressing the issue of declining Child Sex Ratio.
She said, the results of the scheme are overwhelming with an increase in girl child sex ratio from 830 to 907 in just one year of the implementation of the scheme. Mrs Gandhi also informed the House that installing panic button in all the mobile phones has been made mandatory from 1st of January 2017 to help women in distress. - Govt sets up panels to help meet Paris climate change pact targets
The Union environment, forests and climate change ministry has set up five inter-ministerial groups that shall project the changes in schemes, programmes and laws required for India to achieve its greenhouse gas emission intensity reduction targets under the Paris Agreement.
The thematic inter-ministerial groups, with some representation from industry groups on board, are expected to present their reports by the end of the year.
India had committed to reducing the emission intensity of its economy by 33-35 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030. To achieve this target, it had made international commitment on two sectoral targets as well. India has committed to achieve 40 per cent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030 and create a carbon sink of 2.5 to three billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.
The Paris Agreement, once operationalised, will also require a mandatory reporting of inventories and data on action taken to achieve these targets. The data and information will be open to international scrutiny.
The government does collect data and build inventories on these lines, but the level of accuracy and sourcing of data would have to be brought in alignment with rules that are set in place in future under the Paris Agreement.
The committees, now set up by the environment ministry, are to each go into specific elements of the Paris Agreement such as emission reduction, adaptation and finance. - Aadhaar-based e-signature launched
Online legal documentation startup, LegalDesk.com, has announced the launch of its electronic signing feature ‘eSignDesk’ that allows people to sign documents from remote places.
Built on the Aadhaar platform, eSign is an initiative of the Government of India and meant to save money and time for citizens. It was launched on 3rd August by Nandan Nilekani, former Chairman of UIDAI — which rolled out the identification number for civic services.
Its users need to have a registered mobile number associated with the Aadhaar card. The service will be available on www.eSignDesk.com and will be offered for free to the first 1,000 users.
The documents signed electronically will be legally valid in the country, the startup said. The e-signature deters fraud to a large extent as it cannot be replicated or forged, and the content of the document cannot be tampered with.
With over a billion Aadhaar cardholders and about 25 million transactions taking place every quarter, digital signatures are expected to save time, money and paper, it said. Mr. Nilekani said, “Digital signatures are an excellent initiative. This can make the entire documentation process paperless.”
According to Krupesh Bhat and Ashok Kadsur, co-founders of LegalDesk.com, there are many opportunities in the legal-technology space for Aadhaar based services. - Court quashes 123 GO of Telangana
Justice Suresh Kumar Kait of Hyderabad High Court on 3rd August quashed the Government Order 123 issued by Telangana Government which provides for quick acquisition of lands from land owners for public purpose.
The court found that the GO bypasses The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 ( Act 30 of 2013) and reminded that the government was not a private property dealer.
The court was allowing a writ petition filed by Tukkamma and 22 other agricultural labourers of Bardipur village, Jarasangham Mandal, Medak district.
GO 123 issued in July 2015 does not provide for any relief to these helpless labourers. The main contention of the petitioners was that landless poor could not be left in the lurch and the government could not resort to land acquisition, bypassing the poor people without any rehabilitation.
The government contended that this GO was only an alternative way to acquire the lands expeditiously for public purpose and when the land of the petitioners was not taken; they could not have any complaint. - India's first tiger cell to be set up in Dehradun
The country's first tiger cell will soon take shape at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) campus in Dehradun. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) regarding the setting up of the cell will be signed between the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and WII on 6th August. The cell will house a database of tigers as well as DNA and stripes samples of the big cats from over 50 tiger reserves, and will aid conservation efforts by keeping an update on tiger numbers as well as tracking poaching incidents throughout the country. YV Jhala, senior scientist at WII will head the cell. He will be supported by four other scientists. - Govt launches nation-wide programme MAA for promoting breastfeeding
Health Minister J P Nadda on 5th August launched a nation-wide programme MAA - Mothers’ Absolute Affection for promoting breastfeeding.
The goal of the programme is to enhance optimal breastfeeding practices. MAA is an intensified programme of the Health Ministry for creating an enabling environment to ensure that mothers, husbands and families receive adequate information and support for promotion of breastfeeding.
The Ministry has allocated 30 crore rupees for the Programme and 4.3 lakh rupees for each district will be allotted for implementing the various activities under MAA programme. The practice of breastfeeding enhance immunity level in the child which will help reduce the child mortality rate.
Breastfeeding is one of the important interventions for child survival. Around 20 per cent newborn deaths and 13 per cent under-five deaths can be prevented by breastfeeding. Besides this, breastfeeding can prevent child deaths associated with Diarrhoea and Pneumonia.
Infants who are not breastfed are 15 times more likely to die from pneumonia and 11 times more to die from diarrhea than children who are exclusively breastfed. Breastfed infant also have higher intelligence quotient. - Swachh Survekshan, 2017 launched
Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on 6th August launched Swachh Survekshan or Sanitation Survey 2017 of 500 cities in New Delhi. People from Dhanbad and Mysore shared their success stories through video conferencing and also kept forth their demands in front of the minister.
Venkaiah Naidu launched Guide Book, Idea Book and MSW Manual on the occasion. The main objective of Swach Survekshan is not to point out shortcomings but to suggest ways to improve the state of cleanliness in the particular area.
During the function, the minister also launched "self assessment tool" for city progress and "Swachh Survekshan-2017 short films" to create awareness on cleanliness. - 739 cities will achieve Open Defecation
Urban development Minister Venkaiah Naidu has said that 739 cities will achieve Open Defecation Free status during this financial year. He said, three States - Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala have committed to be 100 per cent Open Defecation Free by March next year. The Minister informed that 115 cities have reported to have achieved Open Defecation Free status.
He also appealed to the Media to highlight best practices on Swachh Bharat, so that it will continue to capture people's attention.
With the other 500 AMRUT Cities spread across 363 district in India, Kohima city also attended the launching of ‘Swachh Survekshan-2017’ kick-off workshop through Video Conference on 6thth August.
The launching programme was conducted from Delhi where representative of 500 cities attended the Video Conference from their respective district headquarters.
Union Minister for Urban Development M. Venkaiah Naidu, while launching the programme in New Delhi, said that cities will be ranked based on reports from urban local bodies on the progress made towards construction of toilets, feedback of citizens and independent observation of sanitation levels.
The first round of Swachh Survekshan was held during the month of January 2016 rating 73 cities including Kohima city, where it was ranked 69. The second round of Swachh Survekshan will be held during January 2017, for which the kick-off timeworkshop was convened on 6th August.
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