NATIONAL DECEMBER 2014

NATIONAL DECEMBER 2014

• Raghubar Das sworn-in as CM of Jharkhand
  BJP leader Raghubar Das was on 28th December sworn-in as the new Chief Minister of Jharkhand, becoming the first non-tribal leader to rule the state. Governor Syed Ahmed administered the oath of office and secrecy to Das at the Birsa Munda Football Stadium in Ranchi. 
  
  Nilkanth Singh Munda, Chandreswar Prasad Singh, Louis Marandi (all BJP) and Chandraprakash Choudhary (Ajsu party) were also sworn-in as cabinet ministers. Jharkhand has a maximum limit of 12 ministers, including the chief minister. 
  
  Das became the tenth chief minister after Babulal Marandi (once), Arjun Munda (thrice), Shibu Soren (thrice), Madhu Koda (once) and Hemant Soren (once) of Jharkhand governments in the 14 years of its creation. After being elected as the BJP's legislature party leader, Das had staked claim to form government on 26th December at the head of BJP-Asju alliance. As a Minister he held portfolios of finance, labour and urban development during his stint as cabinet minister. 
  
• PM chairs high-level meeting on 'Smart City' initiative
  The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has on 29th December chaired a high-level meeting with Government officials on the Smart City initiative. This is part of a series of consultations on Smart Cities. The Prime Minister has asked the Ministry of Urban Development to convene a workshop of all central and state Urban Development Authorities at the earliest. In the meeting he said that…..
  • One of the aims of the smart city initiative should be to improve the quality of urban governance, thereby lending greater strength to the overall governance processes of the country.
  • The workshop should also focus on reforms in laws related to urban development.
  
  
• Only 17% have health insurance cover
  According to official data the number of people covered by health insurance in India could be far fewer than estimated. Only 21.62 crore people, or 17 per cent of the total population, were covered by health insurance at the end of March 2014. 
  
  The estimate, prepared by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) and tabled in Parliament by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on 20th December 
  
  According to the World Bank estimates that over 30 crore people, or more than 25 per cent of the population, gained access to some form of health insurance by 2010, up from 5.5 crore during 2003-04. More than 18 crore of them were people below the poverty line, the report said. 
  
  Noting that health spending was one of the important causes of poverty in India, the report found that from 2007 to 2012, government-sponsored schemes contributed to a significant increase in the population covered by health insurance, at a pace possibly unseen elsewhere in the world. 
  
  On the basis of these trends, the report projected that more than 63 crore people, or about half of the population, could be covered with health insurance by 2015. 
  
  By then, spending through health insurance was also forecast to reach 8.4 per cent of the total health spending, up from 6.4 per cent during 2009-10. 
  
  The country’s public financing for health care is less than 1 per cent of the world’s total health expenditure, although it is home to over 16 per cent of the world’s population, the World Bank had estimated. Families meet almost 70 per cent of their health expenses out of their own pockets, placing considerable financial burden on poor households, often pushing them deeper into poverty, it said. 
  
  This was the World Bank’s first comprehensive review of India’s major government sponsored health insurance schemes undertaken in keeping with plans for significant increases in public spending on health care. 
  
• U.P. signs pact for NRI investment
  To boost medical infrastructure in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on 21st December signed a pact with a U.S.-based group, Tenacity, under SVADESH (Silicon Valley and Avadh’s Development for Entrepreneurial Services for Humanity), an investment initiative by NRIs that would connect the State government with the U.S. businesses and NRIs in Silicon Valley. The project is part of UP government’s initiatives to reform health sector. 
  
• Heritage conservation scheme for 12 cities
  The Centre would soon launch a 500 crore rupees scheme for conservation of heritage and development of 12 cities across the country. Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said that 12 cities would be covered under the National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana, HRIDAY, which is likely to be rolled out next month. The 12 cities are Amritsar, Varanasi, Gaya, Puri, Ajmer, Mathura, Dwarka, Badami, Velankanni, Kanchipuram, Warangal and Amaravati. 
  
• Lokpal bill referred to LS
  Lok Sabha on 22nd December referred to Parliament's Standing Commmittee a bill seeking to amend Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act to include leader of the largest opposition party in the House in a panel to select chairperson and members of the anti-corruption body. 
  
  Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai referred to the bill to the Standing Committee after the government agreed. The bill, introduced on December 18, has been brought to address the lacunae in the existing law which provides for inclusion of the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the panel. However, since there is no LoP in the current House, the amendment was necessitated. 
  
• Panel for permanent resident status for West Pakistan refugees
  The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs has recommended that West Pakistani Refugees should be given permanent resident certificates and voting rights in the State elections in Jammu and Kashmir. Being citizens of India, they enjoy the right to vote in parliamentary elections. 
  
  At the time of partition, over 7,000 families had crossed over to the Indian side of the Line of Control and International Border from the Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir and the then Western Pakistan. Then, during the Indo-Pakistan wars in 1965 and 1971, about 10,000 more families were dislocated from 47 villages of Chhamb area. 
  
  In its 183-page report on problems being faced by refugees and displaced persons in the State, which was tabled in Rajya Sabha on 22nd December, the committee observed that the West Pakistani refugees could not purchase land in the State and as their rights were not protected, they were living as slaves. 
  
  Although the Centre had requested the State government to consider issuing Permanent Resident Certificate to them, the committee expressed serious concern over the delay in granting voting rights . The committee also said that a provision of reservation in jobs for the refugees should be implemented soon. 
  
  Apart from opening of government schools for their wards, it recommended that the Centre impress upon the State government for early finalisation of one-time financial package. “One-time compensation of Rs. 30 lakh may be provided within one year and there should not be any delay in the matter,” the report said. 
  
  For displaced persons, the panel said there was a need for fresh enumeration as non-registered families were not given proper relief and compensation. It suggested that the Union government take up the matter of de-freezing eight State Assembly seats for them. 
  
  However, on the demand of inclusion of displaced persons from Pakistan-occupied J&K for inclusion in any dialogue on the State, the Committee said the issue should be examined cautiously. 
  
• AP Assembly passes CRDA Bill 
  The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly passed the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) Bill on 22nd December. The bill is aimed at constructing capital in Andhra Pradesh. 
  
• Farmer suicides on rise: IB report
  According to Intelligence bureau there has been an upward trend in cases of farmer suicides in Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka and Punjab recently, besides reporting of instances in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The report was submitted to government in December 2nd week
  
  According to report the reason for rising farmer suicides on erratic monsoon (at the onset stage) this year, outstanding loans, rising debt, low crop yield, poor procurement rate of crops and successive crop failure. It also linked the agriculturists' woes to a depleted water table, unsuitable macro-economic policies with respect to taxes, non-farm loans and faulty prices of import and export. 
  
  According to the IB, "the main reason of farmers' suicides can be attributed to both natural and manmade factors...while natural factors like uneven rains, hailstorm, drought and floods adversely affect crop yield, the manmade factors, i.e. pricing policies and inadequate marketing facilities result in post-yield losses". 
  
  The all-India report titled 'Spate of Cases of Suicide by Farmers' emphasizes how government relief packages are of limited use as they do not address the plight of farmers who borrow from private moneylenders. As per figures placed in Parliament by the government, 204 farmers committed suicide until April this year in Maharashtra, 69 in Telangana (until October), 19 in Karnataka (up to mid-November), and three each in Gujarat (up to Oct) , Kerala (up to Oct) and Andhra Pradesh (up to June). 
  
  Worst-hit Maharashtra provides Rs 1 lakh relief to kin of farmers who have committed suicide, besides writing off their agricultural loans, electricity bills and educational fees for their children studying in Class X and XII. The state government has also demanded a Rs 4,500-crore drought relief package from the Centre. As per the policy in Punjab, the kin of farmers who commit suicide out of indebtedness or poverty get Rs 2 lakh as compensation. 
  
  Gujarat, meanwhile, recently declared a Rs 1,100-crore package for farmers' welfare, which will essentially take care of their electricity bills and interest on short-term loans. 
  
• Election result: BJP’s way
  BJP has come into power in another state, i.e. Jharkhand, it has emerged as single largest party in that state, and however it had a pre election alliance with the All Jharkhand Students Union, which won 5 seats. The total number of seats in Jharkhand is 81. Raghubar Das was elected as leader of the house, eventually he will become Chief Minister of the state. Incumbent Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on 23rd December resigned from the post 
  
  In Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP won 25 seats, a sharp increase from the 11 it won in 2008. The Congress won 12 seats, five down from the last election. While the ruling Jammu & Kashmir National Conference won 15 seats, down 13 from last time, the Jammu & Kashmir People’s Democratic Party won 28 seats, improving its tally by seven. 
  
  Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah submitted his resignation on 24th December to state Governor N N Vohra. The chief minister, whose party National Conference won 17 seats, including two independents from Zanskar and Udhampur supported by his party, gave the indication about his resignation. 
  
• Bird fair held in Udaipur
  A three day bird fair was held in Udaipur division in South Rajasthan. Over a thousand bird, wildlife, environment and nature lovers experienced the wonderful sights and sounds of the wildlife rich habitats of Udaipur and its environs in the fair from December 20 to 22 and they also gave their suggestions to develop the potential sites after discussing with local people, Satish Kumar Sharma, Assistant Conservator of Forest-Udaipur said on 22nd December. 
  
  Four groups headed by experts separately visited Gap Sagar in Dungarpur, Jawai dam in Pali, Menar in Udaipur and one site in Chittorgarh on Sunday to explore the sites. 
  
  Sharma said a few rare birds were spotted during the fair which was organised by the forest department in coordination with the tourism department. Udaipur, popularly known as Lake City of India, has numerous water bodies and forest areas which support a large diversity of arboreal, terrestrial and aquatic resident and migratory birds. During the winter season, the water bodies are visited by migratory water fowls from Himalayas, Central Asia and Europe. 
  
• Panel on 1984 riots constituted
  The Central Government on 23rd December constituted a committee to look into various grievances relating to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. The Union Home Ministry has been receiving a large number of complaints from various individuals/associations in the matter of 1984 riots. The Committee comprises Justice G. P. Mathur (Retired Supreme Court Judge) as Chairman and J. P. Aggarwal, Joint Secretary Judicial) in the Home Ministry as Member Secretary. 
  
• India's birth rate declined
  India's birth rate has declined by 0.2 points with Kerala registering the lowest in 2013, according to the latest official data. The crude birth rate (CBR) at the national level during 2013 stands at 21.4, a decline of 0.2 points over 2012. The highest CBR has been reported in Bihar (27.6) and the minimum in Kerala (14.7), Sample Registration System (SRS) 
  
  SRS is the largest demographic survey in the country, done by the Registrar General of India, mandated to provide annual estimates of fertility as well as mortality indicators at the state and national levels. The survey further said there had been a decline of 1.4 points in the CBR for the country from 2008 to 2013. The corresponding decline in rural CBR is 1.5 points and in urban CBR 1.2 points, the survey said. 
  
  The report said the total fertility rate (TFR) - the average number of children born to a woman - for the country has declined 2.3 in 2013 as against 2.4 in 2012. About states, it said that during 2013, Bihar had reported the highest TFR (3.4) while West Bengal reported the lowest TFR (1.6). 
  
  The survey said the replacement level TFR, of 2.1, has been attained by West Bengal (1.6), Delhi (1.7), Himachal Pradesh (1.7), Punjab (1.7), Tamil Nadu (1.7), Andhra Pradesh (1.8), Kerala (1.8), Maharashtra (1.8), Jammu & Kashmir (1.9), Karnataka (1.9) & Odisha (2.1). 
  
• TS to get a major power boost
  The Telangana government has decided to construct two thermal power stations with an aggregate capacity of 7,600 MW at Veerlapalem and Dilawarpur villages of Damaracharla mandal in Nalgonda district. While the Telangana Generation Corporation will take up a 5,200 MW station, the National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd. will be asked to construct a 2,400 MW station, a release said after Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao undertook an aerial survey of the site. 
  
  The 7,600 MW power stations in Damaracharla will partly meet the commitment of the Centre to Telangana to enhance its installed generation capacity. The Centre had promised as part of bifurcation of the State that it will make NTPC create an additional capacity of 4,000 MW. While 1,600 MW will be added at the existing NTPC station at Ramagundam, the balance 2,400 MW can come up at Damaracharla. 
  
  The State government proposed to install on its own 6,000 MW, of which 5,200 MW will come up at Damaracharla and the remaining was under construction at Ramanujapalli near Manuguru in Khammam. 
  
• Consumer Affairs Ministry to go paperless
  Ministry of Consumer Affairs has decided to create a paperless office by next March. It has decided to have all official work on e-files within three months. The initiative comes as part of the government’s decision to observe Good Governance Day on December 25. The decisions was taken in a meeting conducted chaired by Food Minister Ram Villas Paswan, the other decisions are……
  • The Ministry decided to review public grievances disposal mechanism to increase the disposal rate, which is 89 per cent at the moment.
  • Another proposal was that disposal of official work should be time-bound and directed Secretaries of his Ministry to draw a time-frame for the same.
  • Paswan also received the progress report of end-to-end computerisation of the public distribution system being implemented across the country.
  
  
• Christian Finance Corporation to be set up
  Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said on 24th December that a Christian Finance Corporation would be set up with a corpus fund of Rs.10 crore to extend financial assistance to entrepreneurs from the community. 
  
• Seats in AP council to go up
  The amendment was made to the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act on 24th December; with this the number of seats in AP Legislative Council would be increased from 50 to 58. There was an error in allocation of number of constituencies in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. The number in the Act was 50, but actually it should have been 58. 
  
• Govt endorses SC guidelines on passive Euthanasia
  Three years after a Supreme Court judgment legalised passive euthanasia under “exceptional circumstances,” the government has fully endorsed the apex court’s guidelines giving High Courts the power to decide on applications seeking permission to withdraw life support in the best interest of the patient. On March 7, 2011, a Bench of Justices Markandeya Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra set out a series of guidelines for High Courts to process applications seeking passive euthanasia by “near relatives or next friend or the doctors/hospital staff.” 
  
  The Bench then observed that these guidelines would hold good until Parliament decides or passes a law on passive euthanasia. The court was deciding the case of Aruna Shaunbag, who was paralysed and slipped into a coma after a brutal attack on November 27, 1973 at Mumbai’s King Edward Memorial Hospital by a staffer. 
  
• Indradhanush launched
  Government has launched Mission Indradhanush which aims to cover all those children by 2020 who are either unvaccinated or partially vaccinated against seven vaccine preventable diseases. The diseases are diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles and hepatitis B. Union Health Minister JP Nadda on 25th December launched the mission on Good Governance Day. 
  
  According to JP Nadda under the programme, four special vaccination campaigns will be conducted between January and June next year. 201 districts will be covered in the first phase and 297 will be targeted for the second phase. 
  
• Good governance day observed
  The Union Government has observed Good Governance day on 25th December, coinciding the birth day of former Prime Minister Atal Bihiari Vajpayee. Most of the Union Ministries marked the day with e-governance initiatives, launch of new programmes and websites. Some dedicated existing initiatives to the nation, while others released year-end reviews of their programmes. 
  
  Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited his Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency, launching development activities and participating in the “Clean India” campaign. 
  
  At Banaras Hindu University, Mr. Modi launched a mission in the name of the university’s founder, Madan Mohan Malaviya. 
  
• Labour courts in factory premises: Parliamentary panel
  The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour, looking into the changes proposed in the Factories Amendment Bill, 2014, has suggested that labour courts be set up within the factory complex for on-the-spot disposal of complaints/grievances. 
  
  The committee, headed by BJP leader Virendra Kumar, suggested that all factory workers be controlled by the Labour Commissioner concerned, and called for periodical audit by an independent agency to certify compliance to the rules and regulations made under the Factories Act so as to make it foolproof. 
  
  The committee said it did not accept the amendment to raise the threshold limit of employment (for falling under the purview of the Factories Act) from 10 to 20 workers (in case of factories using power) and from 20 to 40 workers (in case of factories not using power). It said it was not convinced with the Labour Ministry’s reasoning (that some States had demanded flexibility), as State Governments are empowered under the Concurrent List to propose their own amendments to the Factories Act from time to time depending on their requirement. 
  
  As regards the amendment to increase the spread of working hours from the existing 10.5 hours to 12 hours, the committee urged the Labour Ministry to revisit the matter, as it feared that it may lead to the harassment of the workers on being compelled to stay in the workplace for a longer period without adequate compensation. 
  
  The Bill, one of the key labour reforms being pushed by the Narendra Modi Government, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 7 this year. It was referred to the committee by the Speaker for examination and report within three months after several MPs sought clarifications. The Committee later got time extension to present the report to the House by December 23. 
  
• Initiation to prevent deaths from Diarrhea, Pneumonia
  The Centre has decided to launch an action plan against diarrhea and pneumonia in four States (Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Rajasthan). The aim is to end preventable child deaths from these two by 2025. As high as 36 per cent of all child deaths, below the age of 5, in India are caused by these two conditions. India accounts for the highest number of diarrhea and pneumonia deaths among children in the world with over 2 lakh children dying of diarrhea and over 3.8 lakh children of pneumonia annually, accounting for the mortality of 4 in every 10 children under-five. The highest burden is being borne by the poorest sections of society. The four States account for half of under-five mortality in the country which stands at 62 deaths per 1,000 live births nationally. The under-five mortality rate of Rajasthan is 59 per 1,000 live births. 
  
  The action plan is a follow-up of the Global Action Plan for Diarrhea and Pneumonia that was launched by WHO and UNICEF in April 2013 which aims to reduce pneumonia mortality to less than 3 per 1,000 live births, diarrhoea deaths to less than 1 per 1,000 live births, reduce incidence of severe pneumonia and diarrhoea by 75 per cent compared to 2010 levels and reduce by 40 per cent the global number who are stunted as compared to 2010 levels by 2025. 
  
  While India has taken several measures to reduce maternal and child mortality over the years, including launching of the National Rural Health Mission; Reproductive Maternal Neonatal Child Health plus Adolescent programme and the India Newborn Action Plan to end preventable newborn deaths, the success in reducing under-five mortality has not been uniform. 
  
  Seven States have achieved the MDG-4 target of U5MR of 38 per 1,000 live births and nine States are showing a decline of more than the national average. 
  
  While Delhi, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have achieved the MDG target, the rate of decline is 7.3 per cent in Rajasthan, 5.6 per cent in Madhya Pradesh, 7 per cent in Uttar Pradesh and 6 per cent in Bihar. Twenty per cent districts in Rajasthan have shown an increase in U5MR between 2010-11 and 2012-13 in the annual health surveys. 
  
  The WHO and UNICEF have been entrusted to collaborate with the respective governments in implementing the action plan which is not a new project or a programme but a framework for strengthening coordination of existing interventions where the coverage remains low like in exclusive breastfeeding (39 per cent), vitamin A supplement (75 per cent), DTP3 immunization (83 per cent), measles immunization (84 per cent), HiB 3 immunization (43 per cent) and other interventions like access to antibiotics and ORS solutions, sanitation, better living condition, hand wash and clean drinking water. Since diarrhea and pneumonia are caused by multiple pathogens, no single intervention, including vaccine, will help in protecting children. 
  
• Implementation decentralized
  The Centre has decentralized implementation of Swachh Bharat Mission in urban areas, and has targeted private investment of Rs 42,512 crore. 
  
  The Ministry of Urban Development has withdrawn itself from appraisal and approval of various project proposals under the Swachh Bharat Mission… and urban local bodies (ULBs) and State/UT Governments have been fully empowered to propose and approve projects 
  
  The decentralization would augment capacities of urban local bodies, besides enabling quicker implementation of the mission, under which cleanliness is to be ensured by 2019 across 4,041 towns and cities. Urban local bodies are now authorized to prepare, sanction and implement projects in respect of constructing individual household toilets, besides community and public toilets, under the broad directions of State/Union Territory governments. 
  
  Under different components of the mission in urban areas, States would make a matching contribution of 25 per cent of the share of Centre, while North-Eastern and Special Category States would need to pitch in 10 per cent of Central share. Accordingly, a private investment of Rs 42,512 crore is being targeted 
  
  Component-wise, the Centre will provide an incentive of Rs 4,000 for each individual household toilet to be built, 40 per cent as grant or viability gap fund (VGF) for community toilets and 20 per cent grant/VGF in respect of solid waste management projects. Public toilets will be built entirely with private investment, it said. To finance building of public toilets, States and urban local bodies can identify land and go for advertisements to encourage private investment for construction and maintenance through public-private partnership agreements 
  
  As much as 15 per cent of the total Central allocation (Rs 2,139 crore) has been earmarked for behavior change communication to sensitise urbanites and Rs 428 crore will be used for capacity building of urban local bodies. 
  
  Also, Rs 2,924 crore (20 per cent of central share) has been earmarked as performance fund out of which allocation will be made to performing States/UTs. The mission aims to build one crore individual household toilets besides 2.52 crore community toilet seats and 2.56 crore community toilet seats. 
  
• India to adopt hydrology project
  India is poised to adopt a World Bank-funded hydrology project. Such a project has already made a difference in 13 States which opted for it in the earlier two phases. Under the proposed expansion of the project, States will be able to generate and digitize their own data without waiting for central help. The project for the whole country is estimated to cost Rs. 3,000 crore. 
  
  The project, the first phase of which began 20 years back, has digitized real time data in 13 States. Some of the main reasons for floods are poor reservoir management systems as was witnessed some years ago in Western Maharashtra. Farmers sometimes face problems as they plant crops without knowing if there is assured water from reservoirs. 
  
  There is no reliable hydrological data and some of the figures are as old as 1993. The project, in partnership with the Union Water Resources Ministry and other agencies, was aimed at developing monitoring systems in the States. The use of such data on water storage and availability is unlimited; Ms. Gaur pointed out and can be used in decision support system (DSS). The project has completed two phases and established the basis for a Hydrological Information System (HIS) for reliable records. 
  
  Data collection was near primitive till as recent as 2009 when in Karnataka, gauge readers from drought-affected areas would send in figures on post cards. Karnataka first asked for mobile phones so that data could be sent speedily and later moved to setting up systems for real-time data since gauge readers often did not venture into the field. 
  
  The major handicap was the unwillingness to share data across States citing confidentiality issues. There is a culture of not sharing data and the project resulted in a major breakthrough by the government which introduced a data policy, she said. 
  
• WB advised linking of policies and behavior
  According to World Bank of India development policies and human behavior should be combined, for their effectiveness. World Bank has issued – World Development Report 2015: Mind, Society, and Behaviour. 
  
  The report has found that…………
  • Policy decisions informed by behavioural economics have delivered impressive improvements in healthcare and education in parts of India.
  • Open defecation dropped 11 per cent from very high levels, the report found, after a Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) programme was combined in some chosen villages with the standard approach of subsidies for toilet construction and information on the transmission of diseases.
  • The likelihood of default on loans became three times less likely with a simple change in the periodicity of meetings between microfinance clients and their repayment groups to weekly rather than monthly, according to the report.
  • Boys from backward classes were just as good at solving puzzles as boys from the upper castes when caste identity was not revealed.
  • However, in mixed-caste groups, revealing the boys’ castes before puzzle-solving sessions created a significant “caste gap” in achievement with the boys from backward classes underperforming by 23 per cent.
  • Making caste salient to the test takers invoked identities, which in turn affected performance, the report says.
  
  
• 10 Crore Aadhars linked
  According to Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) the number of Aadhaar numbers that have been linked to bank accounts has touched 10 crore, enabling these individuals to digitally receive subsidies and benefits under government schemes. In a statement UIDAI said that establishing a link between an Aadhaar number and a bank account makes it easy for the government to identify genuine beneficiaries and route welfare payments and subsidies directly into their bank accounts. 
  
  As on December 9, the Aadhaar Payment Bridge saw transactions cross the 7.94 crore-mark across government welfare programmes such as Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MNREGA)scheme, Tribal welfare schemes and Pensions amounting to more than 5,150 crore rupees. Issuance of Aadhaars has already crossed the 72 crore-mark. Over 10 crore Aadhaar numbers have been generated in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh. These four states with a combined population of about 34 crore, were allocated to UIDAI earlier this year. 
  
  The individuals can benefit from this system as it is portable across any bank in the country and the beneficiaries can access these subsidies even if they move to another part of the country, making the whole process hassle-free. As many as 333 banks are live on Aadhaar platform. These are using Aadhaar Payment Bridge for financial transactions. The Aadhaar identity platform is the largest biometric database in the world and serves users ranging from LPG consumers, MNREGA workers, PDS, remittance and scholarship beneficiaries. The statement added that for linking Aadhaar number to their bank account, the residents need to provide a copy of their Aadhaar letter or their e-Aadhaar to the bank branch in which they maintain the account. Once the account is seeded with Aadhaar number, it will be used by government departments to transfer subsidies directly into Aadhaar linked bank account. 
  
• National Research Centre on tribal issues in Odisha
  The government has agreed in principle to set up a National Research Centre on tribal issues in Odisha. All national level research studies and seminars on the subject are to be organised at the proposed centre. According to Tribal Affairs Minister of state Mansukhbhai Vasava the Tribal Ministry has declared the Odia Department of Visva-Bharati at Santiniketan in West Bengal as a Centre of Excellence in the field of tribal literature and language. About Rs. 3 crore has been sanctioned for the Centre to focus on compiling tribal literature. 
  
• Task force to check food adulteration
  The government has set up a task force to give suggestions to make the Food Safety Standards Act more stringent and deal with the menace of food adulteration. The task force will submit its report in 45 days, according to Health Minister J.P. Nadda said
  
  The government has also decided to revisit all the food related legislations for making them more effective. Expressing concern over the cases of food adulteration, he said, the Centre is committed to deal with rising cases. He said, out of around 70 thousand samples, 13,500 were found adulterated and prosecution was initiated in 10,235 cases. 
  
• Census of Elephants in Bengal
  A three-day exercise on estimating the number of elephants in forests of North Bengal began on 15th December V.K. Sood, the Chief Conservator of Forests, (wildlife) North told that over 1,500 people, including forest officials and 60 trained elephants, will be engaged in the process. The census will be carried out across 2,700 square km which includes 1,800 sq. km of forest area between Meichi River bordering Nepal and Sankosh River, bordering Assam. 
  
  The last census in 2010, has given a figure of 529 elephants in north Bengal. Despite unusual deaths of elephants in north Bengal mostly after being run over by speeding trains, the number of elephants has increased, due to conservation efforts. 
  
• Panel on E-commerce rules
  The government is learnt to have set up a committee, with representatives from the finance and commerce ministries, to devise a clear mechanism for the e-commerce sector. The move comes against the backdrop of some mega discounts by online retailers lately evoking protests from traditional chains. 
  
  The newly constituted committee is understood to have been tasked with studying e-commerce models in other countries and assessing what lessons could be drawn for the Indian market. The panel is expected to come up with its first view in a few weeks. At present, most online retailers follow the marketplace model, where traders are hosted on the websites of companies like Flipkart, Amazon and snapdeal. 
  
• Minorities from neighbouring counties to be given 5 year visa
  Members of the minority communities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh will be given five years visa instead of one-year as part of government's effort to address their grievances and according citizenship in future. A Home Ministry statement said that the central government has decided that henceforth the long-term visa will be granted initially by the Home Ministry for five years at a time on the specific recommendation of the state government or union territory administration instead of one year at present. 
  
  Powers have been delegated to Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) and Foreigners Registration Officer (FRO) concerned to grant extension for a period up to six months on the short-term visa of the minority nationals from neighboring countries applying for long-term visa. A time-line of one month for FRRO and FRO and 21 days for the state government and union territory administration has been fixed for processing of such applications. 
  
• India bans IS
  The IS terror group has been banned in India, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh disclosed on 16th December, days after a Bangalore techie was allegedly found tweeting in support of the terrorist organisation. The Home Minister said the group has been proscribed under the provisions of the UAPA that relates to organisations listed in the Schedule to the U.N. Prevention and Suppression of Terrorism (Implementation of Security Council Resolutions) Order, 2007, made under section two of the United Nations (Security Council) Act, 1947 and amended from time to time. 
  
• LS passes bill protecting unauthorized colonies from action for 3 years
  The Lok Sabha on 16th December passed the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws ( Special Provisions) Amendment Bill, 2014. The Bill intends to extend the validity of the Act which exempts the residents of unauthorised colonies from punitive action by three years. 
  
• Bill to protect unauthorized colonies
  The Centre on 16th December revised the cutoff date for all unauthorized colonies and slums from 2007 to June 2014 to provide them immunity from demolition and sealing. Now all such unauthorized colonies will be eligible for regularization. 
  
  While passing the extension of National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Amendment Bill 2014 for three years, the Lok Sabha adopted June 2014 as the cut-off date for unauthorized colonies 
  
  These segments have been seen as weak spots for BJP and the Delhi state unit had recently demanded that the cut-off date be revised to 2014. BJP had to face some flak for demolition of slums on forest land with Congress and AAP jumping into the fray on behalf of the dwellers. 
  
  According to Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu the government will try to regularize the 1,200 plus colonies and would see that the Bill to extend this immunity does not come to Parliament again. 
  
• CBI to quiz Manmohan Singh
  The CBI on 16th December directed by a special court to record statements of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was holding charge as Coal Minister in 2005, and others in a coal blocks allocation scam case allegedly involving top industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla. The court also directed the agency to file status report of its further probe in the case on January 27, next year. 
  
  The court passed the order in a case in which an FIR was lodged against Birla, ex-coal Secretary P. C. Parakh and others relating to allocation of Talabira II and III coal blocks in Odisha in 2005 to Hindalco. 
  
  Earlier, on December 12, court had reserved its order for today on the CBI's closure report filed in the matter, in which the agency had also submitted the case diary and crime files in a sealed cover. 
  
  On November 25, CBI had come in for some tough questioning from the court which had asked why the agency did not question former Prime Minister Singh, who was also holding the Coal portfolio between 2005 and 2009. 
  
  The court's observations had came after CBI had submitted that initially it felt Singh's examination was required, but later it was found to be not necessary. Singh was heading the Coal Ministry when Birla's firm Hindalco was allocated Talabira II & III coal blocks in 2005. 
  
  The FIR against Birla, Parakh and others was registered in October last year by CBI which had alleged that Parakh had first rejected coal block allocation to Hindalco but had reversed his decision within months "without any valid basis or change in circumstances" and shown "undue favours".
  
• TPSPC formed
  Telangana Government formed Telangana State Public Service Commission, Academician Ghanta Chakrapani has been appointed as the first Chairman of this body. Three other members were also appointed while the Governor is said to have rejected the names of few other members. Prof. Chakrapani, presently the Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Open University (BRAOU). He will hold the TSPSC office for six years. 
  
  The constitution of the TSPSC was approved by the Governor with these members but he rejected recommendation of the government to nominate T. Srinivas, Dinesh Kumar (of Kakatiya University), Rajeshwar Reddy (OU) and advocates Sriranga Rao, Gopu Chandrashekhar Reddy. 
  
• Cabinet expansion in Telangana
  Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on 16th December expanded his six month old Cabinet by inducting 6 ministers to the existing 12 member team. The permitted 18 berths in the Council of Ministers has now been filled. Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan administered the oath of office and secrecy to Tummala Nageswara Rao, A. Indrakaran Reddy, Talasani Srinivas Yadav, C. Laxma Reddy, Ajmeera Chandulal and Jupally Krishna Rao. 
  
  The expansion was significant for the omission of women as the entire Cabinet of 18 will have none of them for the first time in several decades. 
  
• Jaitley adopted Karnali village
  Union Finance, Corporate Affairs and Information & Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley has decided to adopt Karnali, a village situated on the banks of Narmada river in Vadodara’s Dabhoi taluka under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana. The village, situated around 60 kms from Vadodara, is a major pilgrimage site for devotees across Gujarat and Maharashtra. 
  
  The village panchayat which includes three other villages – Pipalia, Vadia and Baglipura – has a population of 2,506, and are situated in the vicinity of another major pilgrimage site, Chandod. 
  
  The village Karnali has an ancient temple of Lord Kuber Bhandari, situated on the banks of river Narmada which is said to be as old as 2,500 years. The temple attracts thousands of devotees from all over Gujarat and Maharashtra every year. The village has a number of other ancient temples. 
  
  The SAGY was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the birth anniversary of Jaiprakash Narayan on October 11 this year that requires Member of Parliaments cutting across party lines to adopt a village and take responsibility for its physical and institutional infrastructure development. 
  
• The Lunchbox named best first film 
  Ritesh Batra's much lauded epistolary romance drama 'The Lunchbox' has been named best first feature by Toronto Film Critics. The film, which won the Critics Week Viewers Choice Award at Cannes Film Festival in 2013, tells the nostalgic love story between a lonely housewife and an about to retire widower, who get connected through a wrongly delivered lunchbox. 
  
  The Mumbai-set film starred Irrfan, Nimrat Kaur and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in key roles. 'The Lunchbox' released in India on September 20, 2013. 
  
• Ban on ‘Gutka’ has positive impact: WHO
  Stringent state-level laws banning gutka have a positive impact as reduced product availability has resulted in decreased consumption of gutka, according to World Health Organisation (WHO). In a study conducted by the WHO in seven states comprising of Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha along with the National Capital Region (NCR), 92 per cent respondents supported ban on sale of gutka, while a whopping 99 per cent said the ban was good for the health of Indian youth. 
  
• Delhi Metro ranked 2nd among 18 international metro systems
  Delhi Metro has been ranked second among 18 international Metro systems in terms of overall customer satisfaction in an online customer survey. In the survey conducted among the commuters of those Metro systems by Global Metro Benchmarking Groups 'NOVA' and 'CoMET', Delhi Metro along with London DLR and Bangkok were the best three performers in the 'Net Promoters Score' (NPS) category. 
  
  Under this category the survey analysed the likelihood of customers recommending the service to others on the basis of their satisfaction. More than 41,000 respondents gave their feedback worldwide in this survey conducted online through the websites and social media links of 18 major Metros of the world from April 28th to May 25th earlier this year. 
  
  DMRC is a member of the NOVA group of Metros which is a benchmarking community comprising of 17 metro systems (small and medium size metros) from around the world. It provides a platform to share experiences, ideas and good practices followed by member Metro systems across the world. 
  
  It also helps in evaluating the performance of Metro systems by studying their key performance indicators. The forum is co-ordinated by the Rail Transport Strategic Centre (RTSC) of Imperial College, London. This year, DMRC hosted the NOVA Phase-17 Management Meeting in New Delhi from September 24-26. The CoMET is a group of 16 of the world's largest Metros. To qualify for becoming a member of CoMET, the average ridership should be above 20 lakh and the city should be the primary city of country. 
  
• India has second-highest number of child marriages: UN
  India had the highest number of unregistered children under age five between 2000 and 2012 and the second-highest number of child marriages, according to a UN report which said the country still needs to improve immunisation coverage and stop gender-based sex selection. 
  
  The report “Improving Children’s Lives, Transforming the Future 25 years of Child Rights in South Asia” by the United Nations' children agency UNICEF analyzes the progress made over the last quarter century on key issues that directly affect the lives of children in the region. 
  
  At 71 million, India had the largest number of children under the age of five whose births were not registered between 2000-2012. The report said that birth registration levels in South Asia have increased since 2000, but progress has been slow. 
  
  India, along with Afghanistan, Bangladesh and the Maldives, has been recording "significant improvements" in birth registration but about 100 million children in the region are still not registered at birth. India has the greatest disparity between the poorest and richest households, with children in the poorest households being three times less likely to be registered than those in the richest. 
  
  Religion also appears to play a role as Muslims have the lowest level of birth registration in India (39 per cent) followed by Hindus (40 per cent) while the Jains have the highest (87 per cent). The highest rate of child marriage is in Bangladesh (where two out of every three girls marry before age 18), followed by India, Nepal and Afghanistan. Almost half of all girls in South Asia marry before the age of 18. One in five girls are married before the age of 15. These are the highest rates in the world. 
  
  Girls with no education are 5.5 times more likely to marry or enter into union as those with at least 10 years of education. On gender-biased sex selection, the report said the practice is more prevalent in the west and northwest part of the country. 
  
  The child sex ratio, which is the number of girls per 1,000 boys, among children aged 0-4 in India was 924. On immunisation coverage, it said some countries in South Asia, particularly Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, have made significant improvements since 1990 but coverage is still far too low in Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. 
  
• AP Cabinet approves draft CRDA Bill
  The Andhra Pradesh State Cabinet on 17th December approved the draft Capital Regional Development Authority (CRDA) Bill with four changes. The Bill will be tabled in the Assembly on December 19. Besides giving nod to the changes in CRDA Bill, the meeting chaired by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu also discussed the Debt Redemption Scheme and the strategy to be adopted in the Assembly. 
  
  The Cabinet approved transfer of assets and liabilities of Vijayawada-Guntur-Tenali-Mangalagiri Urban Development Authority to the CRDA. The Chief Minister will be chairman of the 14-member CRDA and the Municipal Administration Minister vice chairman. The CRDA will have Rs. 1000 crore as development fund and Rs. 250 crore as working capital. A detailed master plan for the capital region will be ready in six months. 
  
  Bill in assembly
  Andhra Pradesh municipal administration and urban development minister P Narayana on 20th December introduced Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) Bill-2014 in the assembly. 
  
  The bill, meant to create the CRDA with the authority to prepare a perspective plan for 100 years, a concept master plan for 20 years and a detailed master plan for 10 year for the new capital near Guntur and Vijayawada 
  • The CRDA is to be the supreme authority as far as controlling every activity down from the development of the concept to the administration of the capital region in the future.
  • The CRDA include preparation and implementation of developmental schemes namely land pooling scheme, town planning scheme and special areas development scheme.
  • The principal objective of the CRDA is to ensure planning, coordination, execution, financing, funding, and for promoting and securing the planned development of the capital region.
  • The bill reserved 10 per cent of the total area of the land pooling scheme for parks, play grounds, gardens and open spaces.
  • Thirty per cent of the area goes to roads and utility services while five per cent has been earmarked for social amenities such as schools, dispensaries and other community facilities.
  • About five per cent of the area is expected to be allotted for providing affordable housing for the poor. The authority will later specify the share that goes to the land owners.
  • Similarly, a share of land in lieu of the cost of development of infrastructure goes to the government which may be used for the development of capital area or residential or commercial, public or semi-public or any other purpose approved by the authority.
  • The CRDA is also authorized to declare the "Capital Area" for the state of Andhra Pradesh and undertake the construction of the new capital and work towards improving the quality of life of citizens residing in the capital area.
  • The bill provides for the creation of a capital region development fund with a seed capital of Rs. 1,000 crore for the purpose of administering the Act.
  • The bill also authorizes the CRDA to create a revolving fund with Rs. 250 crore for the development of amenities and infrastructure facilities in the capital region.
  • The bill gives absolute power to the CRDA to acquire, sell, transfer, or grant license or in any way alienate to use or occupy the belonging to the authority for the purpose of development or redevelopment of the land.
  • To look after the plans and proposals, projects and policies related to transportation in the capital under the provisions of the Act, a unified transport authority will be created. A competent authority for land pooling (CALP) is to be also created soon to notify the process of land pooling.
  • The bill also authorizes the state government to constitute the CRDA with chief minister as chairman. The minister for municipal administration and urban development under whose jurisdiction the subject falls and the finance minister are the members from the cabinet.
  • From the officials, the chief secretary, principal secretaries of MAUD, finance, TR&B and energy are the members while the CRDA commissioner will be the member-convener.
  • The committee will have four experts - national or international, who possess knowledge in urban governance. The bill also has room for the induction of any other officer or expert whom the government thinks necessary as special invitee. The bill also provides for the creation of an executive committee for the authority headed by secretary MA&UD.
  
  
• Digital literacy mission in 4 mandals
  The National Digital Literacy Mission (NDLM) to make one person in every household e-literate will be rolled out in Telangana with pilot projects in a mandal each in four districts. Gajwel mandal in Medak district; Suryapet (Nalgonda); Sircilla (Karimnagar); and Achampet (Mahabubnagar) have been identified from where the ‘Prati Inta e-Sakshatha’ programme, as the Mission is to be called in the State, will be piloted. The four mandals will get NDLM learning centres, where training and assessments are to be conducted, at locations easily accessible to the beneficiaries. In the first phase, a total of 30,000 people are to be trained by March 2015. These details were shared at a NDLM workshop organised on 20th December by the Information Technology, Electronics and Communications Department. Department Secretary Harpreet Singh, who launched the programme in the State, explained the significance of digital literacy for people living in rural areas. 
  
  The objective is to make at least one person – in the 14- 60 age group – in every household IT Literate to ensure that he/she can operate computer and mobile phone, send and receive emails besides surfing the Internet. Two courses will be offered – one for 20 hours and another spread over 40 hours. 
  
• Karnataka becomes first state to have green growth strategy
  Karnataka State became the first to get a green growth strategy which details what can be done in adapting to the climate change and how the state can play its part in reducing carbon emissions. 
  
  A consortium of institutions led by the Bangalore Climate Change Initiative – Karnataka (BCCI-K) in partnership with Seoul-based Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) has conducted the study. 
  
  The Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP), Bengaluru, London School of Economics (LSE), Integrated Natural Resources Management Consultants, New Delhi and Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi have contributed to conduct the study for about two years. 
  
  The report, based on a nearly two years of research in Karnataka, identifies financial resources and suggests investment opportunities for the government, private sector and multilateral banks to encourage and enable the development of sustainable practices across sectors. 
  
  The Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah, who released the report, said: “The government is taking conscious steps to ensure that growth is socially inclusive, and does not come at the cost of environment. The state government will examine the report and seriously consider the policy recommendations for implementation.” 
  
• Bar-prescribed qualification must to practise law: SC
  A Bench of Supreme Court has clarified that to practise law; a candidate must be a graduate of any university or must possess such academic qualifications which are considered equivalent to a graduate degree of a university recognised by the Bar Council
  
  In this case, appellant Archana Girish Sabnis, after completion of professional course — Licentiate of the Court of Examiners in Homoeopathy medicines (LCEH) — took admission to the LL.B. course conducted by the University of Mumbai. At the time of admission, the university considered LCEH equivalent to graduation degree by the Central Council of Homoeopathy and such decision was even approved by the Government of India for equating the pay scales. After the completion of the course when she wanted to practise, the BCI rejected her plea on the ground that LCEH was not considered equivalent to a degree course and hence her law degree would not entitle her for enrolment to practise. 
  
  On a writ petition, the Bombay High Court concurred with the BCI’s decision and rejected her plea to practise. Aggrieved, she moved the apex court. Dismissing the appeal, Justice Eqbal, who wrote the judgment, said: “One can pursue law, but for the purpose of obtaining licence to practise, he or she must fulfil all the requirements and conditions prescribed by the BCI.” 
  
• India ranks 65th on tourism index
  India ranks 11th in Asia and Pacific region and 65th amongst 140 countries in tourism competitiveness, as per the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) 2013 of the World Economic Forum. 
  
  Improving ranking of India from 65th to 62nd position in travel and tourism competitiveness index has been set as a target in the Result Framework Document of Tourism Minister for the year 2014-15, Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma said in a written reply. 
  
• Free Wi-Fi launched at New Delhi station
  Wi-Fi services were launched at New Delhi Railway station, the busiest in the country, on 8th December. People thronging the station can now access Wi-Fi internet on any of the 16 platforms free of cost for an initial period of 30 minutes after which they would be required to register for the same using their mobile phones. 
  
  Beyond 30 minutes, the user would have to purchase scratch cards costing Rs. 25 for 30 minutes and Rs. 35 for an hour and valid for 24 hours. Users can buy them at Wi-Fi helpdesks on the concourse at the Paharganj and Ajmeri Gate sides of the railway station. The project is being implemented by RailTel, a railway PSU which is mandated to provide the service. 
  
• Uber cab service banned in Delhi
  The Delhi Government has banned Uber Taxi Service from functioning in the national capital with effect from 8th December after one of its drivers was accused of raping a 27-year-old woman. 
  
• Mobileone services in Karnataka
  Karnataka has started MobileOne, service which facilitates to access around 4,500 services, both public and private, at their fingertips. President Pranab Mukherjee on 8th December launched the multi-mode mobile governance platform of the Karnataka government, a pioneering initiative in India for delivery of citizens’ services. The app is available across all platforms, including iOS and Android. 
  
  With MobileOne, people will now be able to access a number of services, including payment of utility bills and property tax, booking railway tickets, applying for driving licences and filing income-tax returns. 
  
  The platform also enables users to bring to the civic authorities’ attention non-functioning services. People can take pictures of potholes on roads or streetlights that do not work and send them to officials concerned for redressal. 
  
  Around 4,500 services can be availed of through this mobile governance initiative. These anytime, anywhere, anyhow services will be available throughout the year from anywhere in the world on any mobile device. 
  
  Payments on MobileOne can be made through debit or credit cards and online wallets. The government has also introduced ‘Karnataka Wallet’, through which payments can be integrated. 
  
• India ranked 31 in performance Index 2015
  India has been named a moderate-performing country in combating climate change with Australia being the worst, according to a report released at climate negotiations in Lima, capital of Peru. India was ranked 31. According to Climate Change Performance Index 2015 reported by German watch and Climate Action Network Europe India climbed five places and continues to profit from the very low level of per capita emissions, but overall CO2 emissions have risen constantly over the past five years to about 40 per cent 
  Australia was the worst performing industrial country in terms of climate change in 2014. The report by two NGOs said the poor ranking was due in part to policy changes made by the current coalition government. The Climate Change Performance Index ranks emissions and climate policies of the 58 highest CO2 emitters worldwide. 
  
  It ranked Denmark as the best performing nation, followed by Sweden and the U.K. Saudi Arabia ranked last on the index. 
  
• Centre asked to stop web-based taxi services
  Centre has asked states and union territories not to allow web based taxi services such as Uber. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh assured the Rajya Sabha that the Government will take all effective steps to ensure safety of women and children. 
  
  Earlier this week, a court in the Netherlands, where Uber’s European headquarters are based, has banned one of its car-hailing services. A Spanish judge ordered a temporary halt to Uber’s operations in the country following several protests by licensed taxi drivers against the ride-sharing service. The company has also faced court challenges in Germany, France and Belgium. Uber has also felt pressure in the US. It suspended operations in Nevada after a judge issued an injunction against the start-up amid accusations that it competes unfairly with taxis because it doesn’t follow the same rules regarding drivers, insurance and more. 
  
• OBCs to get 27% of govt petrol pumps
  The oil ministry has for the first time implemented a 27% quota for OBCs (other backward castes) in allotment of petrol pumps, even as it has decided to auction outlets on 'premium sites' and distribute others through lottery with a view to ensuring transparency. 
  
  The latest round of reforms by the ministry, under the watch of Dharmendra Pradhan, displays a fine blend of welfare politics and sound commercial sense. The reservation will impact power equations in rural areas, while the auction will help maximize revenue and attract serious players. 
  
  The OBC quota will also apply in the allotment of cooking gas dealerships. Over the last 2-3 months, state-run fuel retailers have advertised 35,668 locations for setting up petrol pumps and 7,000 cooking gas dealerships, both under regular and low-cost rural categories. 
  
  The allotment policy also provides for 22.5% reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. After the OBC quota, the general category will come down to 49.5%. Reservation for other groups such as sportsmen, former defence personnel and family of martyrs will be accommodated under these three categories. 
  
  The ministry has now asked fuel retailers to auction outlets on what it calls 'A Sites'. These are pumps where the retailers spend a minimum of Rs 50-60 lakh for setting up all infrastructure and facilities, even purchase or lease the land. The dealer is then chosen to operate the pumps. 
  
• Govt to decriminalising suicide attempt
  The government has decided to delete Section 309 of Indian Penal Code from the statute book which makes attempting suicide a crime. In Rajya Sabha today, Minister of State for Home Affairs, Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary said, the decision has been taken following the Law Commission’s report which recommended that Section 309 of IPC needs to be effaced from the law book. He said, 18 states and four Union Territories are in favour of deletion of the section. 
  
• Nod for School of Planning and Architecture Bill 
  Parliament on 10th December passed the School of Planning and Architecture Bill 2014 with the Rajya Sabha approving it by a voice vote. The Bill will make three premium institutions of School of Planning and Architecture into centres of excellence and enable them to confer degrees to their students. The institutes are located in Delhi, Bhopal and Vijayawada. 
  
• Fellowships of research scholars, associates increased: Govt
  Fellowships of research scholars and research associates engaged in R&D programmes of the Central government have been increased up to 66 per cent. The junior research fellows got an increase of 56.2 per cent to Rs 25,000 per month from earlier Rs 16,000 with effect from October 1, 2014 and senior research fellow got a hike of 55.5 per cent -- to Rs 28,000 from earlier Rs 18,000. 
  
  Research associates-I will now get Rs 36,000 from earlier Rs 22,000 an increase of 63.6 per cent, research associates-II will get Rs 38,000 from earlier Rs 23,000 -- an increase of 65.2 per cent and research associates-III will get Rs 40,000 from earlier Rs 24,000 -- an increase of 66.7 per cent. 
  
  There are 21,000 junior research fellows, 29,000 senior research fellows and 2,500 research associates who will be benefitted for the increase in fellowships. 
  
  The Central government has spent Rs 189.7 crore while providing fellowship to research fellows and research associates till November 30, 2014 in the current fiscal, Rs 264.27 crore in 2013-14 and Rs 287.85 crore in 2012-13, he said. 
  
• India last among BRICS in Web index
  India ranks behind BRICS nations in a comprehensive index aimed at measuring the Internet’s contribution to social, economic and political progress. According to Web Index released by World Wide Web Foundation on 10th December, though China is notorious for its great Internet firewall, the nation is far ahead of India when it comes to translating the power of the Internet into economic potential. 
  
  India’s low ranking among BRICS countries in the “economic impact” sub-index is especially stinging, coming as it does on the heels of the Delhi government’s decision to ban all app-based taxi services. 
  
  India’s Internet penetration rate is comparable to Nepal or Namibia’s, and despite promises of a digital revolution, the Web is still inaccessible to a large swathe of the population, says the report. Affordability is India’s biggest concern as the cost of broadband access in the country is greater than in countries in the neighbourhood such as Bangladesh. 
  
  Yet, in the poorest countries, the relative costs of basic Internet access remain over 80 times higher than in the rich world — a phenomenon that seems to be widening existing inequalities. 
  
• Rs 5 lakh for 1984 victims
  A proposal to give Rs.5 lakh each to the kin of the 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims, triggered after the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, was approved by the government on 10th December. The decision was taken by the Union Cabinet at a meeting 
  The compensation to the families of the riot victims will be given in addition to what they have received so far from the government and other agencies. Of the 3,325 victims, 2,733 were killed in Delhi and the rest in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and other States. The fresh compensation, which will cost the exchequer Rs.166 crore In 2006, the UPA government had announced a package of Rs.717 crore. Of this, Rs.517 crore has been spent, while the remaining Rs.200 crore could not be distributed due to dispute over claimants. 
  
• High pollution levels recorded at world heritage site
  According to Pune based Indian Institute of Tropical Meterology, the birthplace of Lord Buddha Lumbini is threatened by high pollution levels. 
  
  In view of the findings that highlighted deteriorating air quality, an international conference on promotion, protection and preservation of Buddhist culture and heritage was organised by the UNESCO in Lumbini recently. IITM scientist Gufran Beig presented a paper on the pollution levels that have been monitored in Lumbini. 
  
  The main cause of concern is the levels of hazardous fine particles that are less than 2.5 microns in size (PM2.5) that peaked to up to 260 micrograms per metre cube in winter. This is 10 times higher than the air quality guidelines laid down by the WHO. The levels of particulate matter less than 10 microns in size (PM10) was also well above the WHO norms, he said. 
  
  The pollution levels were highest in the industrial and urban areas of the city, but in certain seasons (post-monsoon and winter) the levels were way above the prescribed limits in the sacred garden area of the city as well, Beig said. 
  
  There are about 57 factories in the area including bricks, cement, steel, noodles, paper, flour, and others. Apart from the emissions released into the atmosphere, these industries also release effluents and solid waste causing further damage to the environment, Beig added. 
  
• Bring water in the concurrent list, says PAC
  The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), headed by Congress leader KV Thomas, has recommended bringing water in the concurrent list of the Constitution. The panel, in a report titled ‘Water Pollution in India’, urged the Centre to come up with a national legislation on water. At the moment, water is a State subject. 
  
  The committee said………..
  • There is a need to recognise water as a finite and vulnerable resource.
  • Existing legislations on water should be comprehensively reviewed.
  • Funds available for control and prevention of water pollution were meagre and urged the Centre to strictly monitor its projects in the area.
  
  
• Govt brings 52 new drugs under price control mechanism
  To keep a check on prices of essential medicines, the government has brought 52 new drugs under its price control mechanism. It includes some commonly used painkillers and antibiotics, as also those useful in treatment of cancer and skin diseases. Following the latest move, more than 450 drug formulation packs are now under the price control mechanism of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), which entails the regulator fixing ceiling and retail prices for such medicines. The NPPA said yesterday that it has fixed the prices in respect of 52 drugs under the Drugs Prices Control Order (DPCO), 2013. The NPPA was established by the government to fix or revise the prices of controlled bulk drugs and formulations and to enforce prices and availability of the medicines in the country under the DPCO. 
  
  The NPPA is also entrusted with the task of recovering amounts overcharged by manufacturers for the controlled drugs from the consumers. It also monitors the prices of decontrolled drugs in order to keep them at reasonable levels. 
  
• Dahi Handi declared adventure sport
  The Maharashtra government on 12th December declared Dahi Handi ( Human pyramids formed on the occasion of Krishan Janmashtami) as "adventurous sport" in order to make it a safe sport. It is a traditional sport in Maharashtra. 
  
  The Bombay High Court had banned the participation of children below 18 years of age in Dahi Handiin August this year citing fatal accidents at the events.The Supreme Court, however, had reduced the age limit to 12 years and had asked the organizers to use proper safety measure at Dahi Handi events. 
  
• 1000 weeks of DDLJ
  The famous Indian movie, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge has been running successfully, 1000th week, in a theatre in Mumbai. When the film, debut-directed by Aditya Chopra, released Oct 20, 1995. Produced by the late Yash Chopra, the film this year started its 20th year of uninterrupted run at the iconic Maratha Mandir cinema hall in Mumbai and it now holds the record of the longest running film in the history of Indian cinema. 
  • Hero: Sharukh Khan
  • Heroine: Kajol
  
  
• 13 bills passed in LS during first three weeks 
  The ongoing winter session of Parliament is set for a record performance in transacting legislative business. 13 bills have been passed in the Lok Sabha during the first three weeks of the session while the Rajya Sabha has cleared nine of them. 
  
  The Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Bill, 2014, The Textile Undertakings (Nationalisation) Laws (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2014 and the Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2014 are among those cleared by both the Houses. Besides, four bills including Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, 2014 passed by the Lok Sabha are awaiting approval of the Upper House. 
  
  The government has proposed to move reform oriented bills like the Insurance and Companies Amendments Bills in the next week. While the Insurance Bill seeks to enhance FDI limit from 26 per cent to 49 per cent in the insurance sector, the Companies Bill aims at facilitating ease of doing business. 
  
• Swachh Bharat: centre to spend Rs. 2 lakh cr in 5 yrs
  The Centre would spend around Rs 2,00,000 crore over the next five years for the Swachh Bharat Mission, said M. Venkaiah Naidu, Union minister for urban development. 
  
  The minister also said the government would set up a 'Swachh Bharat Kosh' to provide tax and fiscal incentives. The minister said urban India generates about 68.8 million tonnes of municipal solid waste per year, which means about 1.88 lakh tonnes every day. It is estimated to touch 160 mt per year by 2041. Solid waste generated in rural areas is around 0.4 mt per day. Nearly one-third of garbage in urban areas is not treated. About 14 mt of garbage is left to rot in the open. 
  
  About 38 billion litres of sewage is generated every day by 498 tier-I cities in 2009. About 26 bl of sewage is let out in the open untreated. 
  
• Debt scheme will benefit 33 lakh ryots
  Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on 11th December said the Debt Redemption Scheme would provide relief to 33 lakh farmers in the State, a national record as no other government dared to take such a decision. He gave away cheques to the tune of Rs. 349.27 crore to the farmers marking the event. 
  
  He said that the scale of finance rule was made applicable only to farmers whose debts had crossed over Rs. 50,000, with period covering since 2007. In order to bail out the farmers under horticulture, a decision was taken to give Rs. 10,000 an acre. He elaborated on the difficulties faced by his government to realise the Debt Redemption Scheme. 
  
• AP announced land pooling policy 
  The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has announced the land pooling policy for development of the new capital. 
  
  As per the policy…….
  • For farmers who have patta lands, and whose one acre land has been taken for capital development, they will be given 1000 yards of residential and 200 yards of developed commercial land.
  • In the case of assigned lands, were one care land has been taken away from the farmer, he would get 800 yards of developed residential area and 100 yards of commercial land.
  • In addition, for one acre, a farmer parts with, he would get Rs. 30,000 per year with an escalation of Rs. 3,000 per year.
  • Once a farmer hands over the land, he would be handed over a Land Pooling Ownership Certificate. And the developed land would be handed over within three years.
  • In the case of farmers who are residing in the area where capital is being developed, all the 22,405 farmers would be exempt from farm loans.
  Accordingly, about Rs. 200 crore would be earmarked for loan waiver of these farmers. In case of farmers who offer their land located in different places in the capital region, they would be allotted developed land at one place if they so wish. 
  
  Singapore, AP partner for capital city master plan
  Singapore and Andhra Pradesh governments on 8th December signed a memorandum of understanding wherein the former would develop a master plan for the new capital city to come up in Guntur-Vijayawada region. 
  
  After the memorandum was inked at the State Secretariat, AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and S. Iswaran, Minister in the Singapore PM’s Office and Minister for Home affairs, Trade and Industry, Singapore government, said both the governments were committed to the development of the capital region and the master plan is likely to be ready within six months. 
  
• Jenasena Party gets EC nod
  The Janasena Party of Telugu actor Pavan Kalyan, is now registered with the Election Commission, paving the way for its foray into electoral politics. The Election Commission of India has given registration to the 'Janasena Party' as a political party Under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 with effect from 24.11.2014 
  
  The EC has set aside the objections received to the party's registration in response to the public notice published in news papers treating them as unsustainable, it said. The party has already applied for registration in both the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for local body election purpose.
  

Sex ratio declinedThe government has admitted that gender ratio has declined over the years, falling from 945 in 1991 to 927 in 2001 and slipping further to 918 in 2011.

 

• The lowest sex ratio in the country- Haryana
• Haryana has 12 gender-critical districts,
• Haryana has 834 girls for 1000 boys
• Haryana is followed by Punjab which has 11 such districts and 846 girls for 1000 boys in the zero-six age group.
• Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, each with 10 such districts, are in the third spot.
• Andhra Pradesh has slipped from 975 (1991) to 939 (2011), West Bengal from 967 to 956.
• In the Northeast, Manipur, Meghalaya and Nagaland have shown a decline from 974 to 936, 986 to 970 and 993 to 943 respectively; only Mizoram has shown a marginal correction from 969 to 970.
• Punjab, which has 11 critical districts, has also shown a small improvement from 798 in 2001 to 846 in 2011.
• Kerala has shown an overall improvement from 958 in 1991 to 960 in 2001 and 964 in 2011. Himachal Pradesh, which had slipped from 951 in 1991 to 896 in 2001 has increased its ratio to 909 in 2011.

Need of smart policing: Modi
Advocating the concept of 'SMART' policing, PM Modi on 30th November said a country which has an efficient intelligence network does not need any arms and ammunition to run the government. Focusing on the police force and intelligence agencies, the Prime Minister said he wanted a force which takes care of the country's law and order in an efficient manner.

"By 'SMART' policing, he said that S for strict but sensitive, M for modern and mobile, A for alert and accountable, R for reliable and responsive and T for techno-savvy and trained", he addressed the DGP's conference.

The police force should inculcate these values to ensure best policing which will go a long way in improving its image and work culture, he said. The Prime Minister also highlighted the need to honor 33,000 police personnel martyred in the country after Independence as "this was not a small number and their sacrifice should not go waste".

He said an e-book should be brought out in every state on these martyrs in the local language as well as the national language and "this may seem to be a small gesture but will be a big inspiration". 

High-level panel counsels caution
The government-appointed High Level Committee (HLC) to review environmental laws, while proposing a near complete overhaul of the regulatory system, has sounded a note of caution on genetically modified (GM) food crops.

In a report submitted recently on its review of six laws, the HLC headed by former Cabinet Secretary T.S.R. Subramanian, said………..

• The potential consequences of mindless use of science and technology could possibly be illustrated by referring to the potential for medium/ long-term adverse affects through unprepared introduction of GM food crops.
• While other Ministries naturally would aggressively push for early field trials and induction, the HLC said the role of the Environment Ministry may have to be one of being a Devil’s Advocate to advise due caution.
• It said that Europe does not permit field trials, and that the average Indian farm is of very small size and also noted that there are no independent expert agencies in the country, and perhaps the Ministry of Environment may ask for greater assurance in respect of potential adverse effects in the medium and long run.
• The HLC takes this aspect of assurance and good faith further in its new proposed law, the Environment Laws (Management) Act (ELMA). The new law prescribes new offences, as also for establishing special environment courts presided over by a session’s judge and higher penalties.
• The proposed new law will have an overriding effect on all other relevant laws.
• The Committee which was criticized for inadequate consultation and its brief time frame of three months, however, felt that most pending issues were addressed constructively, and equally a roadmap has been suggested for continuous monitoring of the legal, legislative and management framework in this field.
• It noted that among the most important gaps in the present regime, the issue of enforcement of conditions of approval remains nearly totally unattended and needs to be addressed effectively.
• It called for the setting up of a new All India Service called the Indian Environment Service. The present monitoring regime is heavily dependent on field verification through ‘inspectors’. It also noted that the cause of environment preservation is not adequately met by the present monitoring methods.
• The HLC has said forest areas with 70 per cent or more canopy cover and protected areas should be notified as ‘no go’ areas and suggested a slew of other measures for forest protection.
• It called for Wildlife Management plans to be made mandatory; the demarcation of eco sensitive zones to be enforced around all protected areas and proposed the banning of polythene bags and plastic bottles into protected areas.

AG mooted new arbitration law
In a legal opinion to the Law Ministry, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi has recommended the repeal of an 18-year-old law on arbitration procedures in tune with the government’s larger push to provide a business-friendly environment for foreign investors.

The country’s top law officer, whose opinion was sought by the Ministry on the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996, advised replacement of the present law with a new one stressing timely settlement of business disputes and fixing greater onus on arbitrators against delay.

ITeS employees’ union launched
With a view to address various employee-related issues, a national confederation of the Union for ITeS Professionals (UNITES) has been launched. The National Confederation of UNITES is the coming together of registered unions from Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

The IT-enabled services (ITeS) industry in the country needs a different approach to employee-management relations for better human capital. The confederation will focus on a health and safety strategy, education, training, employee retention policies, healthy environment, social protection and non-discrimination at work, among others The one-day conference was attended by 300 participants from across the country. Headquartered in Bangalore, UNITES was founded in 2005 in Mumbai and now operates in six States.

Bill sought to ratify boundary pact
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs tabled its report in Parliament, recommending a Constitution amendment Bill to enable the swapping of enclaves and end a 67-year-old dispute between the two countries. (India and Bangladesh)

Tabling the report in Parliament on 1st December, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, Shashi Tharoor, said the report had been “unanimously” passed by members who included those of the BJP and the Trinamool Congress, both of which had earlier opposed swapping of the enclaves.

The swap will involve handing over 17,000 acres of land to Bangladesh in return for 7,000 acres in 111 enclaves in West Bengal, Assam, Tripura and Meghalaya, and was first decided under the 1974 Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) between India and Bangladesh, but never ratified by Parliament. It will require an amendment to the Constitution (the 119th amendment) ratified by both Houses of Parliament with a two-thirds majority.

The standing committee’s report notes that “a number of Indian nationals living in Indian enclaves in Bangladesh territory are going to be adversely affected as they would lose their claim to Indian citizenship,” and directs the governments of India and Bangladesh to ensure there is no “discrimination” against them. The number of people to be involved in the whole swap is approximately 52,000, of which about 15,000 are on the Indian side of the border.

SC asks BCCI to give information on its financial working
The Supreme Court on 1st December directed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to give information regarding its financial working. The Apex Court reacted sharply on the IPL scandal by asking the BCCI to come clean on the financial aspects in terms of broadcasting rights and ticket sale. 

A bench comprising Justices TS Thakur and FMI Kalifulla sought detailed financial information from the Board. The Court also put the onus on BCCI President-in-exile N Srinivasan to prove that there was no conflict of interest involving him that came in the way of a probe into the IPL-6 scam. The apex court adjourned the hearing till December 8.

PM inaugurates second unit of Palatana power project
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 1st December inaugurated the second unit of ONGC Tripura Power Company (OTPC) powered Palatana power project in Udaipur. He said that the development would be ushered in the North East on the basis of a four-point revolution.

Modi identified the four pronged strategy the Centre had in mind to develop the region -- the second green revolution, the white revolution, the saffron revolution and the blue revolution.

He said that the central government wanted to develop a gas based Urea fertilizer plant in the region besides, other key projects including a petro-chemical hub as earlier suggested by Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar.

The Palatana power plant would be generating power to Tripura and all other states of the NE region besides, its contribution to the national grid.

14 CRPF men die in Maoist strike
In Chhattisgarh, Maoists struck again in tribal Bastar division of Chhattisgarh, killing 13 CRPF personnel and injuring more than a dozen others this evening. About 1000 CRPF personnel, drawn from various battalions, were on an area domination exercise near Chintagufa area in Sukma district when the Maoists ambushed them. Maoists ambushed the joint team of security forces near Kasalnar.

India 6th rank in world spam
India, is sixth largest source of spam globally, a new study by Kaspersky Lab indicates. Apple’s iPhone 6 launches along with the Ice Bucket Challenge initiative were two main topics used by spammers to promote junk mailings in the quarter ended September 30. Industry watchers believe that lax cyber laws encourage spammers to route operations through India. In January, February and March of 2012, Kaspersky had found India to be the top spam producer.

The US (14 per cent), Russia (6.1 per cent) and Vietnam (6 per cent) were the three biggest sources of spam in the quarter gone by, it said.

LS passes School of Planning & Architecture Bill 2014
The Lok Sabha passed the School of Planning and Architecture Bill, 2014. The Bill intends to declare three existing Schools of Planning and Architecture as Institutions of National importance to promote education and research in architectural studies. These institutes are located in New Delhi, Bhopal and Vijayawada and they will also be entitled to grant degrees to the students under the provision of the Bill. 

It also proposes to set up a council for the institutes similar to the Indian Institutes of Technology, IITs and and National Institutes of Technology, NITs to advise the Centre on policy matters in the field of architecture and planning. Responding to the concerns of the members on the Bill in the House, Human Resource Development Minister said that reservation policy for admission and others will be applicable in lines with IITs and NITs.

SC asks Centre to complete IT probe by March 2015
The Supreme Court asked the Centre to ensure that the ongoing income tax probe for suspected black money concerning 627 Indians who have accounts in HSBC bank, Geneva, be completed by March next year. The court also said that if for any reasons the probe remains inconclusive, the Centre will take appropriate decision to extend the deadline.

SC raps Centre over 50-yr-old border tiff between Assam, Nagaland
The Supreme Court on 3rd December came down heavily on the Centre saying that it cannot remain a mute spectator to the 50-year-old border dispute between Assam and Nagaland. A bench headed by Justice T S Thakur was hearing the original suit filed by Assam under a provision of the Constitution nearly 26 years ago. The court asked the Centre to file a response within 10 days.

Assam and Nagaland share a 434-km boundary and the border dispute dates back to 1963 when Nagaland was carved out of Assam's Naga Hills district. Nagaland has been demanding some portions that it believes historically belong to it and seeks restoration of all Naga territories. However, the Assam government wants to maintain the boundary which has been decided on December 1, 1963 when Nagaland was created

Truce between Ukraine, rebels
Ukraine and the pro-Russian rebels on 4th November had agreed to halt fire across the eastern war zone on December 9 under the terms of a Kremlin-brokered truce. President Petro Poroshenko said the terms of the new truce were already included in an earlier peace deal concluded in Minsk on September. But the pact made no mention of a specific date on which the two sides were due to lay down their arms. A source said the President’s statement meant that Ukraine would begin withdrawing heavy weapons from the eastern frontline on December 10 as long as the separatists also do.

Compensate developing nations India
India has demanded compensation from the develop nations for causing the green house gas emissions. On the third day i.e. on 4th December of the climate summit in the Peruvian capital, India said it was “not equitable to talk about what a country is emitting now” because that country could be at present reducing their emissions.

India said that it believed that developed countries should be held responsible for their high levels of emissions, which have caused harm to developing countries. That responsibility should come in the form of compensation and a fair 2015 Paris agreement.

Mr. Kumar, Indian representative said India’s goal on adaptation during the 12-day U.N. climate change summit talks was for it “to be there in the entire text.”

The U.N.’s definition of ‘climate finance’, meanwhile, came under the scrutiny of developing countries and civil society here on Thursday after it emerged that about $1 billion in Japanese funding meant for combating global warming was used to build three coal-fired power plants in Indonesia. 

Kerosene subsidy through PDS scrapped
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has scrapped the supply of subsidized kerosene through the Public Distribution System (PDS). The Centre plans to write to States asking them to provide subsidised kerosene only to un-electrified households.

States which have achieved near 100 per cent electrification will be incentivized to become kerosene-free. In the remaining States, un-electrified households will be given the choice between cash subsidy in lieu of kerosene allocation and upfront subsidy for greener solar lighting systems.

This decision comes close on the heels of cuts in the Centre’s social sector spending allocations aimed at aligning plan expenditure with subdued revenue collections. The allocation of kerosene subsidy will now be in accordance with Census 2011 data, which shows that it’s no longer a fuel of choice for cooking but is used for lighting purposes.

The Census showed that kerosene has been almost completely replaced by LPG in urban and semi-urban areas and biomass is the cooking fuel of choice in the rural areas. Less than 2 per cent of India’s rural households use kerosene as cooking fuel, according to the Census.

Kerosene subsidy outgo is estimated to come down to Rs. 5,852.14 crore in the next year’s budget to be presented in February. There will no longer be a budget line for PDS kerosene. Total petroleum subsidy (for PDS kerosene, LPG and diesel) was Rs. 63,427 crore in the current year’s budget. Going by the Census data, the UPA government too was gradually phasing out PDS kerosene.

Two Indian universities in world list
The Indian Institute of Science (Bangalore) is India’s top ranked university but stands at 25th in a ranking of universities from BRICS and other emerging economies according to new data. The Times Higher Education BRICS & Emerging Economies Rankings 2015 covering 18 countries was published early on 4th December. The rankings show that India now has four universities in the top 40 – IISc, IIT Bombay, IIT Roorkee and Panjab University, Chandigarh – and seven more in the top 100. China tops the list with 27 universities in the top 100.

India betters rank in net freedom
India is only “partly free” with a rank of 30 out of 65 countries in Internet freedom but as of May this year, it has improved its score

The improvement in India’s score, from 47 out of 100 in 2012-13 to 42 out of 100 in 2013-14, is the largest by any country. Among BRICS and South Asian nations, Brazil and South Africa rank better.

In its ‘Freedom on the Net 2014’ report released on 4th December, Freedom House, an independent US-based watchdog group, ranked the countries on 21 categories under three broad heads -- obstacles to access, limits on content and violations of individuals’ rights.

Key Internet controls that existed in India between May 2013 and May 2014 included political, social, and/or religious content being blocked, localised or nationwide shutting down of information communication technology, pro-government commentators manipulating online discussions and Internet or phone users being arrested for political or social writings.

AP to clear farm loans of up to Rs 50,000 in Phase I
Farm loan waiver was announced by Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on 4th December. The government would clear these loans of the size of up to Rs 50,000 per family with immediate effect.

The first phase of loan clearance involves 2.6 million farmers who were grouped into 2.2 million family units since the government had set Rs 1.5 lakh as an upper limit for each eligible family. The chief minister said crop loans and tied-loans (loans given to cane and tobacco growers) would get the first priority.

There are over 8.2 million agriculture accounts in operation in Andhra Pradesh of which 4.2 million accounts have been considered for the waiver in the first phase, according to the government. The remaining would be processed in the second phase, which is expected to commence a month later, it said.

Govt. eases norms for e-rickshaws in NCR
Paving the way for environment-friendly transportation, the Union Cabinet on 5th December approved easier norms for battery-operated e-rickshaws in the National Capital Region (NCR). The e-rickshaws were banned by the Delhi High Court late in July over safety concerns.

The new rules provide that e-rickshaws will be allowed to carry four passengers and 40-kg of luggage, while e-carts can transport goods up to 310 kg. The Cabinet said e-rickshaws and e-carts provide affordable and clean last-mile connectivity in the transport system and proposed to remove difficulties in granting licences to the drivers of these vehicles.

Under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, no person can be granted a learner’s licence to drive a transport vehicle unless he/she has held the driving licence for at least one year 

In addition, the definition of e-rickshaw and e-cart has been included under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. In October, the Government had notified the rules for plying of e-rickshaws, making a driver’s licence mandatory to operate them and limiting the maximum speed to 25 kmph.

The Delhi High Court had said the illegally running e-rickshaws were hazardous to other traffic as well as citizens. One reason cited was the overloading of these vehicles when they had a provision to carry only four people, at the most.

But the Centre and associations of e-rickshaw owners moved the court requesting a review of the order banning e-rickshaws, as the livelihood of many people would be affected by the ban. The Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, had also supported the cause.

FICCI bats for cigarette companies
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) wants the government to reconsider its order to have pictorial warnings on both sides and covering 85 per cent of the pack. 

FICCI has said more prominent pictorial warnings will impact the domestic cigarette industry as a large percentage of non-cigarette tobacco products sold in unpackaged and unbranded packs will escape this regulation. It wants the warnings limited to the current 20 per cent (or 40 per cent of the front panel).

In October this year the Ministry issued a notification making it mandatory for cigarette manufacturing companies to carry statutory warning with pictorial depiction of throat cancer and a message in English, Hindi or any Indian language on both sides of a cigarette pack and covering at least 85 per cent of the packaging starting April,1.

The FICCI has asked the Ministry to revisit the proposed amendments to the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 or COTPA 2003 as these would allow the illegal tobacco industry to grow.

WHO norms
Article 11 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) (India is a signatory to it) requires Parties to the Convention to implement large, rotating health warnings on all tobacco product packaging and labelling.

Guidelines for Article 11 of the WHO FCTC recommend that Parties should mandate full colour pictures or pictograms, in their packaging and labelling requirements.

The Government data shows the total economic costs attributable to tobacco use from all diseases in India for people in the 35-69 age group was more than Rs. 1.4 lakh crore in 2011.

E-Sarkar in Punjab
Punjab would soon become the first state in the country that has the status of e-Sarkar covering all the 47 departments and its 143 branches with Integrated Workflow and Document Management System (IWDMS) to process common tasks online.

Besides, 22 treasuries and 74 sub-treasuries across the state have been connected with the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) to distribute and sanction budget online.

Describing it a unique initiative to streamline and bring efficiency and transparency in public functioning, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal added that a three-tier governing mechanism has been institutionalized by Punjab Infotech for effective implementation and review of this project. He said that e-Sarkar would also provide for an online repository of various circulars, acts, gazette notifications and reports.

He said e-Sarkar has automated various common tasks in secretariat functioning such as right to information (RTI), legislative Assembly questions, and court cases, appointment scheduler, Visitor Pass Management System (VPMS) and various employee services including leave, salary and GPF. The application helps in management of court cases related to the departments by monitoring and tracking of the cases through its various stages and reminding the next date of hearing.

A dedicated e-payment gateway for inward remittances to state treasury for various types of taxes and fees has also developed.

Terrorists attack in J & K
A series of four terror attacks rocked Kashmir on 5th December as militants struck a heavily-fortified military camp at Uri in Baramulla district as well as police and civilian targets in three other districts. At least 21 have been killed, among them eight soldiers, including the commanding officer in Uri, three policemen, two civilians and the remaining militants.

The concerted attacks in Uri, Pulwama, Shopian and Srinagar were seen to be aimed at disrupting the state elections which have so far witnessed record voter turnouts despite dire terror threats. The worst attack was in Uri which goes to the polls in the next round 

All six militants who attacked the Uri military base were eliminated by the Army, and two other terrorists were shot dead in Soura area of Srinagar. In Uri, 100km from Srinagar and 18km from the Line of Control, terrorists hurled grenades and fired from automatic guns trying to storm their way into a forward artillery base of the 32 Field regiment.

The attacks set off a massive security alert across several cities and in New Delhi Army chief Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag briefed Modi. The hand of banned terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba is being widely suspected.