NATIONAL DECEMBER 2015

NATIONAL DECEMBER 2015

• To monitor air quality, Delhi to get its own index
  Delhi will soon have its own air quality index to monitor its toxic air. In the pipeline for some months now, the environment department is expected to launch a mobile application for the new index by the end of this year. With the new index, Delhi will get three separate government-run portals to give information about air quality. The other two are the National Air Quality Index and the SAFAR index . 
  
  The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) is already monitoring air quality levels at six different locations. The DPCC shares this data with the Central Pollution Control Board that manages the National Air Quality Index. Out of the six DPCC stations, five monitor the concentration of ammonia, benzene, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxide, oxides of nitrogen, ozone, p-Xylene, sulphur dioxide, toluene, particulate matter 2.5 and particulate matter 10. Of these, particulate matter is the biggest pollutant in Delhi. In summers, high concentration of ozone is also a persistent problem. 
  
  The environment department has set a target of January first week to kick off a number of projects that aim to tackle as well as monitor air pollution. It will monitor air quality before, during and after the 15-day odd-even formula that starts on January 1. 
  
• MTNL launches nationwide free roaming
   Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited, MTNL, on 28th December launched nationwide free roaming. With this the public sector telecom company catering to the two metropolises of Mumbai and Delhi will provide free incoming roaming service to its subscribers across the country. 
  
  According to the Communication and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad the government will install Wi-Fi at 2 thousand and 5 hundred locations in different parts of the country by March next year. The Minister also inaugurated wi-fi hotspots at 'Har Ki Pauri' in Haridwar and Dargah Ajmer Sharif in Rajasthan through remote control. The BSNL is already providing free roaming services to its subscribers in the rest of the country. 
  
• Former Solicitor-General to head DDCA probe panel
  The former Solicitor-General, Gopal Subramanium, has formally accepted the Delhi government’s offer to head the Commission of Inquiry to probe the alleged scam in the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA). 
  
  Former Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium has pitched for live telecast of the proceedings of the Commission of Inquiry probing alleged irregularities in DDCA affairs to make it transparent. Mr Subramanium who is heading the Commission said he would like anybody in the world to watch how the Commission is proceeding to deal with this matter. 
  
  In a letter to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, he said, he always believed that the judiciary has gained by televised court proceedings. Mr Subramanium said in view of the resolution passed by Delhi Assembly to form the Commission, it was incumbent upon the city government to set up the same as the House was a State legislature for all practical purposes. 
  
• Arunachal to host Film Northeast-2016
  Arunachal Pradesh will host 'Film Northeast-2016,' a film festival of the region from February 17 to 20 next year in Itanagar to promote understanding and appreciation of the diversity of cinema in the Northeast. 
  
• Using calcium carbide for fruits punishable: FSSAI
  Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) warned on 28th December that any person who uses calcium carbide for ripening of fruits or sells fruits ripened with calcium carbide would be punishable with imprisonment or fine under the FSS Act. 
  
  The use of calcium carbide for ripening fruits is injurious to health and as per regulation 2.3.5 of food safety (Prohibition and restrictions on sale) regulations 2011
  
  A government order issued in public interest by principal secretary Rajeshwar Tiwari on 28th December stated that the Government of India enacted integrated food safety and standards act 2006 (Hereinafter called FSS Act) by repealing the various existing food laws/orders to regulate and monitor the manufacture, process, pack, transport, store, distribute, sell and import of any food or food ingredient, so as to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption. 
  
• NSCCC approves four projects for Climate change funding
  The National Steering Committee on Climate Change, NSCCC has approved four projects including management and rehabilitation of coastal habitats for climate change adaptation in the Gulf of Mannar in Tamil Nadu. 
  
  The NSCCC approved four projects from Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Punjab and considered one project submitted by Madhya Pradesh at its eighth meeting held in New Delhi on 28th December. 
  
  According to the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the meeting was held to consider Detailed Project Reports submitted by Tamil Nadu and Kerala for funding under the National Adaptation Fund on Climate Change. It said, the projects will create a platform for knowledge development through regular meeting amongst departments like fisheries, forest and others and facilitate planning of roadmap for future conservation efforts. 
  
• Supreme Court upholds liquor policy of Kerala govt restricting sale of alcohol to only five star bars
  The Supreme Court on 29th December upheld the Kerala Government’s liquor policy limiting issuance of bar licence to five star hotels only. A bench comprising justice Vikramjit Sen and justice Shiva Kirti Singh passed the order on petitions moved by bar owners who challenged the liquor policy terming it discriminatory. 
  
  Earlier, the Kerala High Court had upheld the State Government’s liquor policy which is targeted to make Kerala a liquor-free State by 2023. On October 30, 2014, the Kerala High Court had upheld the State Government’s decision to close down more than 700 bars, but had exempted heritage and four star hotels. Attorney General, Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the bar owners, had said the policy would create a situation where only the rich have access to liquor. 
  
  However, Kerala Government had argued that the decision not to renew licences was a policy decision. Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has welcomed the apex court’s verdict terming it as a historic one. Reacting to the Supreme Court order, Opposition Leader V.S. Achudanandan has said what is needed is complete prohibition and not restrictions. 
  
• Haryana extends education rule to municipal polls
  After Panchayat polls, the Haryana government on 29th December decided to impose similar minimum education criteria for candidates seeking to contest the municipal elections. The state cabinet decided to amend Section 13-A of the Haryana Municipal Act, 1973 and Section 8 of the Haryana Municipal Corporation Act, 1994, to stipulate the eligibility conditions for candidates for the urban local bodies. 
  
  According to these changes, in the general category, male candidates must have passed Class X, while female candidates must have passed Class VIII. In the reserved category, male candidates must have passed Class VIII, while female candidates must have passed Class V. 
  
  The cabinet also decided that persons who have been charged with grave criminal offences punishable with more than 10 years imprisonment will be debarred from contesting the elections till they are acquitted by the courts. Similarly, defaulters of cooperative loans and payment of electricity bills will also be debarred. 
  
• Guinness record of kids, largest practical science lesson
  The Guinness record for the "largest practical science lesson" was created Delhi students. Two thousand students from Delhi-NCR schools had gathered at IIT-Delhi on December 7 to together decolourise methylene blue and decompose hydrogen peroxide. The number of successful participants was more than Northern Ireland's 1,339. They held the record till now. 
  
  The science lesson was organised by Vijnana Bharatian organisation promoting 'swadeshi' sciences presided by IIT-D director Vijay P Bhatkaras part of the India International Science Festival. It included Fenton's reaction and elephant's toothpaste reaction, which involve a clearly visible change in colour or form. 
  
  The large number of kids participating and the venue meant the regular process of conducting the experiment had to be tweaked. Cochin University of Science and Technology professor and Vibha member, K Girish Kumar tried the altered methods in his own laboratory first. Experiments that can be conducted at room temperature require no hazardous chemicals were selected. 
  
• Delhi forms panel to probe DDCA ‘scam’
   The Delhi government has formed an inquiry commission to probe the issue of DDCA scam. Gopal Subramaniam, retired Solicitor General of India, will head the panel. There were allegations against Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, when he was heading the Delhi Cricket Association. 
  
  Agencies reported that Mr. Jaitley rejected the allegations calling them a propaganda ploy of the AAP to deflect attention from its own ‘misdeeds.’ 
  
  AAP’s Ashutosh urged that “a case should be immediately registered” against Mr. Jaitley. He called for his immediate removal. Otherwise the AAP would launch a “nationwide campaign against this corruption.” 
  
  The AAP leaders also claimed that a DDCA officer who acted as a “whistle-blower” had been regularly meeting Mr. Kejriwal in connection with the alleged corruption. 
  
• Juvenile convict in Dec 16 gangrape case walks free
  The juvenile convict in the December 16 gangrape was released on 20th December and sent to an NGO at an undisclosed destination with police no longer guarding him. The freedom for the 20 year-old convict came as parents of the gangrape victim continued their protest for the second day along with activists protesting against his release and demanding death for him. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court will hear Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) plea on Nirbhaya case on 21st December. 
  
  The convict, who is now 20 years old and was known to be the most brutal of the attackers, kept under observation of an NGO under protection of Delhi Police. 
  
• TS to have 4,000 MW solar power
  According to the Vice Chairman Srinivas Rao, Telangana New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation Limited, the Telangana State can generate 2,000 megawatts of power through solar energy. The State government was also determined to encourage skilled unemployed youth to start solar energy generating units in all districts with a target of 400 MW each. State government had a proposal to set up Solar Power projects on every government office. 
  
• Delhi cabinet approves inquiry panel to probe DDCA scam
  Delhi Cabinet has approved setting up of commission of inquiry to probe the alleged irregularities in Delhi District Cricket Association, DDCA. According to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Government has also called for one day special session of assembly to discuss the alleged scam and CBI raid at Delhi Secretariat. The one member commission of inquiry will be headed former Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium. 
  
• Lok Sabha passes National Waterways Bill
  The Lok Sabha on 21st December passed the National Waterways Bill, 2015 by voice vote. The bill intends to declare 106 additional inland waterways as national waterways.After the inclusion of 106 additional inland waterways to the existing five national waterways, the total number of national waterways will go up to 111. 
  
  According to Shipping, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, the government has given high priority to the development of waterways. He said there are 12 major ports in the country and 3 more will come up next year. He said, waterways will help reduce the logistic cost of transportation of goods and ultimately lead to reduction in their price in the market. It will also help trade, industry, farmers, fishermen to carry on their profession easily. 
  
• Odisha govt launches Anwesha scheme to provide free education to SC/ST students
  The Odisha government has launched a scheme Anwesha to provide free education to scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students from remote areas in urban area public schools. As per the scheme, 5 thousand children would be enrolled in class-I every year. At present around 3.5 lakh SC and ST students are availing the residential facility in the state. Quoting sources, AIR correspondent reports, the facility will be extended to two lakh more students. 
  
• RS passes SC/ST Amendment Bill unanimously
  The Rajya Sabha unanimously on 21st December passed the crucial SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill along with two bills on supplementary demands for 2015-16, within minutes without any debate
  
  The House returned to Lok Sabha the Appropriation (No. 4) Bill and the Appropriation (No. 5) Bill containing the second batch of supplementary demands as part of grants for 2015-16 to meet government's expenditure. 
  
  The SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, 2015 was passed unanimously through a voice vote without any discussion. There was thumping on the desk as the House passed the Bill. The two Appropriations Bills were also passed in a similar manner without any discussion. 
  
• Juvenile Justice Bill passed in Rajya Sabha
  Juvenile Justice Bill has been passed in the Rajya Sabha on 22nd December. There was consensus by most of the parties in the Rajya Sabha on the bill. Now the child welfare board will decide whether the convicts of heinous crimes between the age bracket of 16-18 will be tried under the laws applicable to adults or the juvenile be sent to a reform home. Under the prevalent law, convicted juveniles can be sent to a reform home for a max of three years. 
  
  Highlights and the features of Bill
  It clears the way for the replacement of the previous law which kept offenders aged below 18 years in the juvenile category ensuring lighter punishment compared to adults. 
  
  According to the provisions of the new law: 
  • Offenders aged between 16-18 years who commit heinous crimes like rape & murder can be tried as adults
  • Offenders aged between 16-18 years committing serious crimes can be tried as adults only if they are arrested after completing 21 years
  • 16-18 year-olds found guilty of committing heinous crimes can be jailed but cannot be given life or death sentences
  • Juvenile Justice Boards and Child Welfare Committees will be constituted as district level
  • JJBs will decide if 16-18 year-old offenders will be sent to reform homes or tried as adults
  • Penalties for cruelty against children, offering narcotics to a child, abducting or selling a child remain unchanged
  • Heinous crimes are those where the punishment is jail for 7 years or more.
  • Serious crimes entail a jail term or 3-7 years. The need for harsher law was felt in recent years as the number of crimes committed by juveniles has increased sharply.
  • In 2012, juveniles committed a total of 31,973 crimes
  • In 2013, the figure went up to 35,861 and in 2014, crimes committed by juveniles climbed up to 38,563
  • What raises an alarm is that more than half these crimes were committed against women. The number of crimes committed by juveniles against women went up by 92% between 2012 and 2014.
  • The data also points out that the number of heinous crimes committed by juveniles in the last 10 years has gone up by over 50%.
  • It can only be hoped that with the new law, crimes committed by younger offenders can be curbed effectively.
  
  
• Lucknow Metro project gets Cabinet nod
  Union Cabinet has approved the Lucknow Metro Rail Project Phase-1 A. It will cover a length of around 23 kilometer with 22 stations. The project will cost 6,928 crore rupees of which the Centre will give 1,300 crore rupees in form of equity and subordinate debt. 
  
  It will be implemented by the Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation. Lucknow has been experiencing mounting pressure on its transport infrastructure and the metro will help reduce traffic congestion on roads. 
  
• Stricter emission standards notified for coal-based thermal power plants
  The government has come up with stricter standards for coal-based thermal power plants to make them less polluting. The Ministry of Environment, which notified the new standards, proposes to implement them in a phased manner. The standards have been made stringent for recent plants, compared to earlier ones and most stringent for those plants to be set up in the future. 
  
  These standards are based on the recommendation of the Central Pollution Control Board after consultations with stakeholders, the release added. 
  
  The technology employed for the control of the proposed limit of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide will also help in control of mercury emission as a co-benefit. 
  
• FSSAI sets up 9 panels to strengthen food regulatory mechanism: Govt
  FSSAI has set up nine new panels for expediting work relating to strengthen the food regulatory mechanism in the country, the government said on 21st December. The FSSAI has also notified 12 referral laboratories and 82 National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories-accredited private laboratories. In addition, there are 72 State and Public food laboratories to test food samples. 
  
• Lok Sabha passes 14 bills, Rajya Sabha clears 9 as winter session of Parliament ends
  Both the houses of Parliament were adjourned sine die marking the completion of the winter session after passing of 14 bills in Lok Sabha and nine bills in Rajya Sabha amid persistent uproar by opposition over various issues. 
  
  In this session, the Lok Sabha passed 14 Bills registering 104 per cent productivity while the Rajya Sabha passed only nine bills witnessing 46 per cent productivity. 
  
• Govt launches 2 mobile Apps to assist crores of farmers
  Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Radha Mohan Singh on 24th December launched two mobile apps for farmers. Mobile app "Crop Insurance" will help farmers not only find out complete details about insurance cover available in their area but also calculate the insurance premium for notified crops, coverage amount, and loan amount in case of a loaned farmer. 
  
  Mobile app "AgriMarket Mobile" can be used by farmers to get market prices of crops in the mandi within 50 km radius of the device, and other mandis in the country. 
  
• Odisha to give free bus passes for regular blood donors
  In a bid to encourage general people to donate blood, Odisha government has decided to issue bus passes to those who do it regularly. The decision, taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The state government will prepare a directory of blood donors according to their blood groups. Initially people with rare blood groups will be registered and a blood help line will be operational. At least 3.65 lakh units of blood were collected this year. Of it 45 per cent came from voluntary blood donors. A total of 1,206 voluntary blood donation camps were organized this year. 
  
• Women, VIPs, 2-wheelers out of Delhi traffic plan
  Women drivers, women driving with children below 12, CNG, electric and hybrid vehicles, two-wheelers, emergency service vehicles, and cars belonging to a long list of VVIPs are among the 20 categories exempted from the odd-even formula to be enforced in Delhi from January 1, 2016, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced 
  
  According to him, the formula had got all the necessary approvals, including from the Lt Governor, and would be notified on 28th December. Under the scheme, odd numbered cars will ply on odd days, and even numbered cars on even days. 
  
  In the Capital, which is battling a high level of air pollution, the odd-even traffic formula is expected to keep about 10 lakh private cars off the road. The formula, which will be in effect from 8 am to 8 pm, imposes a fine of Rs. 2,000 for offenders. 
  
• HRD Ministry, UGC fare poorly in OBC quota implementation: Panel
  The Committee on Welfare of OBCs (2015-16) has found the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) and University Grants Commission (UGC) lagging behind in implementing 27 per cent reservation requirement. The Committee, which submitted its report to Parliament on December 23, noted that despite the guidelines issued by government to implement 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the Central educational institutions (CEI), the intended objective is yet to be attained fully. The additional grant given by the Ministry to these institutions to upgrade infrastructure to facilitate implementation of OBC reservation has not been fully utilised. 
  
  Parliament had enacted the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006 to provide reservation to students of socially and educationally backward classes of citizens in admission in central educational institutions. 
  
  The implementation of the Act was delayed due to litigations etc., which led to the passing of the CEI (Reservation in Admission) Amendment Act in 2012. However, many universities still lag behind meeting the prescribed percentage for reservation. 
  
  Even, IITs and NITs did not perform well. While IIT Delhi has given 21.52 per cent reservation and NIT Srinagar provided 17 per cent in 2014-15. The Committee has recommended that the Ministry of HRD hold periodic review meetings with all central institutions and take remedial measures to ensure the quota is fulfilled. 
  
  Moreover, Rs. 2,166 crore additional funds were allocated to central universities and Rs. 4,227 crore to centrally funded technical institutions for 54 per cent capacity expansion in each CEI to provide OBC reservation without reducing general category seats. 
  
  While the Ministry was unable to provide detailed information with respect to funds utilisation in central technical institutes, the Committee said that funds haven’t been fully utilised at most central universities. As far as the 27 per cent reservation in faculty posts is concerned, the Committee said that despite various circulars issued by Department of Personnel and Training for holding special recruitment drives to fill vacant faculty posts, the CEIs have neither implemented DoPT guidelines nor conducted the drives. 
  
• Govt announces 4 new IT-based initiatives on Good Governance Day 
  Union Health Minister J P Nadda on 25th December announced four new IT-based initiatives on Good Governance Day to mark the birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Mr Nadda announced this during the launch of the AIIMS OPD Transformation Project in New Delhi. 
  
  He said, the first initiative is Kilkari which will be an audio-based mobile service that delivers weekly audio messages to families about pregnancy, child birth and child care. 
  
  The Health Minister also stated that a new mobile-based application, Mobile Academy, has been developed through which about 90 lakh ASHAs will be trained. 
  
  Mr Nadda also informed about making the Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP) more patient-centric. He said, a dedicated toll free number, with a call centre is being started to provide round the clock support for patient counselling and treatment support services. 
  
  The initiative is being started in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi. Mr Nadda also announced an M-Cessation initiative which will be an IT-enabled tool to help tobacco users to quit tobacco. 
  
• Students light oil lamps to set a new Guinness record
  Students of Government School, Mahabubnagar District, Telangana state have set a new Guinness World Record by lighting most oil lamps simultaneously at a single venue
  
  Total of 569 students participated in the event. Of the total, 552 participants have successfully lit the lamps whereas 17 failed to light them. The event was organised by Vandemataram Foundation at Aksharavanam Education Research Centre at Kalwakurthy, Mahabubnagar district recently. 
  
  Dr Vangeepuram Sreena thachary, a Guinness World Record holder among other dignitaries, announced that record was measured by the number of oil lamps that have been successfully lit simultaneously at the same location. He explained that the Guinness authorities have clearly explicated the international guidelines for setting the record. The participants had to light up only one oil lamp and 30 seconds time was given to do so. 
  
• Telangana Govt releases Rs 14.74 cr for SHGs
  According to the Union Labour and Employment Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, the Centre was considering providing financial support to the Telangana State government’s ambitious programme of providing two-bedroom houses to the poor. The Centre was also planning to help poor women through Mudra Bank Scheme, one of the initiatives of Prime Minister Narendra Modi
  
  The minister was speaking at the asset distribution programme held by GHMC, where a revolving fund of Rs 14.74 crore was given to a total of 14,743 self-help groups (SHGs) of poor women through bank linkage system. 
  
  At the event, the government under Deepam scheme released 8,453 new LPG connections to women belonging to poor sections in a total of 14 constituencies including Jubilee Hills, Khairtabad and Secunderabad. In the year 2014-2015, the government released 75,000 Deepam connections to poor women. This facility was being provided to poor women so that their dependency on forests for firewood was decreased and also to improve the environment in the State. 
  
• Construction work of Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India TAPI gas pipeline project begins
   Ground breaking ceremony of Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project was held on 13th December at the ancient city of Mary of Turkmenistan. 
  
  Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani Pakistan Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif and Vice President Mohd Hamid Ansari were present at the function. 
  
  The leaders appreciated the project and termed it an initiative to connect energy rich Central Asia with energy starved South Asia for a new dawn of economic engagement through regional connectivity. 
  
• Govt appoints judicial commission on OROP
  With the appointment of a one-man judicial commission to look into the implementation of the one rank, one pension (OROP) scheme for ex-servicemen, the government has tried in vain to signal flexibility in resolving this vexed dispute. 
  
  On 14th December, the defence ministry (MoD) named Justice L Narasimha Reddy, retired chief justice of the Patna High Court, as the head of the one-man commission. A MoD release says the committee will make recommendations on "removal of anomalies that may arise in the implementation of the OROP", which the government notified on November 7. It will also address inter-service anomalies, and "any other matter referred by the Central Government." 
  
  On September 5, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar announced OROP, but the ex-servicemen agitation continued, with their leader’s discontent with the implementation. Now the Justice Reddy commission has six months to submit its recommendations on issues that will be raised before it. It may also submit interim reports, if necessary. 
  
  Ex-servicemen bodies at the forefront of the agitation, like the United Front of Ex-Servicemen (UFESM), first cautiously welcomed, then rejected the commission. 
  
• India ranks 130th out of 188 on Human Development Index in 2014
  India’s ranking on Human Development Index (HDI) rose by a notch in 2014 — to 130th from 131st a year earlier — according to the 2015 edition of the Global Human Development report, released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on 14th December. From 2009 to 2014, the country moved six positions up in the HDI ranking. 
  
  With a score of 0.609 on HDI, India stands well below the average score of 0.630 for countries in the medium human development group. But it is marginally above the South Asian countries’ average score of 0.607. According to the latest ranking, India stands higher than neighbours Bangladesh and Pakistan but lower than countries like Namibia, Guatemala and Tajikistan, even Iraq. Norway tops the HDI ranking, followed by Australia, Switzerland and Denmark. The latest ranking is based on data from 188 countries. 
  
  The Human Development Index is based on assessing progress on three dimensions of human development. 
  • First, a long and healthy life measured through life expectancy of the population.
  • Second, access to knowledge measured by mean years of education among the adult population, and access to learning and knowledge measured by expected years of schooling for children of school-entry age.
  • And third, standard of living measured by the country’s per-capita gross national income (GNI).
  
  
• India racing ahead of China when it comes to pollution
  An evaluation of the National Air Quality Index (NAQI) data maintained by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) released on 15th December has revealed that as many as 15 out of the 17 cities that are being monitored fail to meet the ambient air quality standard by a considerable margin. 
  
  The evaluation, done by Greenpeace India, also found that infrastructure to monitor air pollution is abysmal in India despite such severe levels of pollution. 
  
  For instance, compared to an average of four real-time air quality monitoring stations in all big cities in the US, around 5 stations in the major cities across Europe and 8 stations in major Chinese cities, India has an average of just 2.5 stations across the only 17 cities that are being monitored. 
  
  The evaluation also found Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Faridabad among many others to be extremely polluted — between July and November for instance, Jaipur was below the desired air quality standards on 100% of days, Delhi on 93% days, Faridabad on 69% Patna on 98% of days. 
  
  The AQI is an index for reporting daily air quality — it says how unhealthy the air is through numbers and colour codes. India started issuing AQI from March last year. Several pollutants like PM 2.5, CO, Ozone, NO2 and SO2 are monitored as part of the AQI. 
  
  As the political capital - and indeed, the most polluted of all cities - the bad air in Delhi gets the most attention. But, scratch below the murky surface, and you will find concentrations of PM2.5 in several other cities - Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Muzaffarpur and Faridabad, among others - that would justify the triggering of a 'red alert', like Beijing does. 
  
  The evaluation, that also compares PM 2.5 concentrations between July to November 2015 among some Chinese cities like Jinan, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Indian cities monitored by AQI, showed most Indian cities to have exceeded China's levels. 
  
• Approval for 350 MW solar park in Andhra Pradesh
  SB Energy, a three-way venture between SoftBank Group Corp of Japan, Bharti Enterprises Limited and Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Group has bagged a mandate to develop a 350 MW solar plant from NTPC under the National Solar Mission at a 25-year tariff of Rs. 4.63/ kWh. 
  
  The price offered by SB Energy has become a new benchmark for lowest tariff in the country after Sun Edison bagged a 500 MW solar project mandate also in Andhra Pradesh from NTPC. 
  
  For SoftBank, which has indicated at big investments in India in the renewable energy sector, the project to come up in the Ghani Sakunala Solar Park in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh, marks its first project in the country. This is SoftBank’s first step towards realising its $20 billion commitment to promote clean and safe energy in India. 
  
  This solar project comes under the flagship Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM). The State-promoted solar park provides land and facilities such as roads, drainage and evacuation to developers. Winning the bid reaffirms the commitment made by SB Energy to commission 20GW in India. 
  
  SB Energy, formerly known as SBG Cleantech, is headquartered in New Delhi and has Bharti veteran Manoj Kohli as its Executive Chairman and SoftBank executive Raman Nanda as CEO. 
  
• Supreme Court asks Centre to prepare MoP on appointment of judges
  The Supreme Court directed the Centre to finalise a draft memorandum of procedure on Judges’ appointments to High Courts and the Supreme Court in consultation with the Chief Justice of India. With this the Bench assured that the CJI plays a dominating role in the finalisation of the procedure of judicial appointments. 
  
  On the issue of appointment of judges to Supreme Court and High Courts, judiciary would have the final say, but the draft appointment procedure would have to be made by the Centre. 
  
  The five judge constitution bench giving its verdict on improving the collegium system said that the Centre can prepare the new appointment process wherein the existing weaknesses can be removed. 
  
  However, the Constitution bench headed by Justice J S Khehar made it clear that the final decision on these changes can only be taken by the Chief Justice of India based on the unanimous view of the collegium comprising the four senior most Judges of the Supreme Court. 
  
  Among the areas where there are possibilities of improvement are: 
  • Eligibility criteria like minimum age should be fixed in appointment of judges of Supreme Court and High Court
  • For transparency, proceedings for the appointment and every aspect related to it should be on the websites of the Ministry of Law and Justice and the concerned high court and Supreme Court.
  • Minutes of discussion and consultations should be recorded including that of dissent if any but the transparency has to be balanced with the requirement of confidentiality.
  • For improving the process, setting up Secretariat in Supreme Court and every High Court
  • Appropriate complaint mechanism should be set up 
  While striking down the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, the five bench Constitution bench agreed that there is a need to bring reforms in the present collegium system. 
  
  The Supreme Court has taken all these points by way of suggestions, on the basis of which the draft of the new appointment process could be prepared. 
  
• Cabinet approves amendments in bill on Commercial Courts
  The Cabinet has given its ex-post facto approval to official amendments in the Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Bill 2015. Under the amendment the words, Commercial Appellate Division will be substituted by the words, Commercial Division. It would reduce burden on the Division Bench. The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on 16th December. 
  
  The Cabinet has given its nod for certain amendments in the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order- 1950 to modify the list of Scheduled Castes in Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Kerala, Odisha and West Bengal. It has also approved amendments in the Central List of Other Backward Classes in Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Kerala due to inclusion of certain castes or parts thereof in the lists of Scheduled Castes. 
  
  The members of 17 different communities of these states will be included in the list of Scheduled Castes and they will be able to derive benefits under the existing schemes meant for the SCs. 
  
  The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) today gave its approval to methodology for fixing upfront payment and reserve price for allotment of coal mines and blocks for sale to PSUs. 
  
  A decision in this regard was taken this evening. This will enhance domestic production of coal to meet the demand of national economy thereby reducing import. The coal bearing States will be getting additional revenue from such coal mines. The demand for coal in the country is much higher than the current level of production. The gap between consumption and domestic supply is met through imports Cabinet has also approved a policy framework for development of Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) in coal and lignite bearing areas in the country. UCG is a method of extraction of energy from coal and lignite resources. 
  
  A policy on the lines broadly similar to the existing policy for Coal Bed Methane development on revenue sharing basis will be adopted for offering the blocks through competitive bidding. 
  
  Development of UCG is envisaged to provide for energy security. Coal Ministry may engage a consultant for development of the contract document. Central Mine Planning and Design Institute Limited will be the nodal agency for development of bid documents, work programme, evaluation of bids, monitoring and process protocols. In the next two years, some explored blocks will be identified for offer and subsequently, additional blocks will be identified for offer in the long term. 
  
  The Cabinet has approved revised model text for the Bilateral Investment Treaty(BIT). It will be used for re-negotiation of existing BITs and negotiation of future BITs and investment chapters in Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreements, Partnership Agreements and Free Trade Agreements. The new text will provide appropriate protection to foreign investors in India and Indian investors in the foreign countries. 
  
  Cabinet has given its approval for signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Spain on cooperation in Port matters. The MoU will provide a cooperation platform for enhancing and stimulating steady growth of maritime traffic, exchange of information necessary for accelerating and facilitating the flow of commercial goods at sea and at ports. 
  
• Judicial panel to probe gas row
  The government has set up a judicial commission headed by a former chief justice of the Delhi High Court, Ajit Prakash Shah, to look into the findings of the international consultant DeGolyer & MacNaughton in the gas dispute between Reliance Industries (RIL) and state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). 
  
  The judicial commission will look at acts of omission and commission of all the parties involved, including RIL, ONGC, the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons and the government
  
  The consultant had said 11 billion cubic meter of gas may have flown from ONGC’s Godavari PML and KG-D5 blocks to RIL’s KG-D6 block in the Krishna-Godavari basin off the Andhra Pradesh coast. While D&M did not delve into the financial value of the gas migration, the volume of gas belonging to ONGC works out to around $1.7 billion (about Rs 11,300 crore) at a gas price of $4.2 per million British thermal units. The single-member commission has been asked to consider the report of the international consultant and recommend action to be taken by the government considering the legal, financial and contractual provisions, including those contained in the Oilfield Regulations and Development Act, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules, and the relevant production sharing contracts. The official said the commission would also quantify any “unfair enrichment” that might have happened to the contractors of the KG-D6 block and measures to prevent further unfair enrichment on account of gas migration. 
  
  The commission will also recommend action to be taken to make good the loss to ONGC or government on account of such unfair enrichment. 
  
  The block, KG-DWN 98/2 (or KG-D5), has been operated by ONGC since 2005. While KG-D6 is under production since 2009, the field development plan for the block KG-DWN-98/2 is yet to be approved. The official said the commission would have the freedom to formulate its own procedure and call for any records or examine any witness while the petroleum ministry would provide the necessary administrative support. The commission has been asked to submit its report in three months. 
  
  Justice Shah had also chaired a high-level committee to look into the applicability of the minimum alternate tax on capital gains made by foreign institutional investors. That panel’s recommendations were accepted by the government in September. 
  
  Texas-based D&M had earlier this month submitted its final report on the natural gas row between the two oil companies to the government, establishing gas reservoirs belonging to the two companies in the KG basin were continuous. It said RIL had already produced 317 billion cubic feet of the 393 billion cubic feet of gas that had migrated from ONGC’s blocks. ONGC had approached the Delhi High Court in April, alleging gas migration from its blocks to RIL’s block. The court had asked the company to give the government six months time ending June 1, 2016, to act on the consultant’s report. 
  
• Google's Sundar Pichai unveils plans for India, to open new campus in Hyderabad
  Google CEO Sundar Pichai ;on 16th December announced that the company will build new campus and ramp up engineering presence in Hyderabad to make products for India. 
  
  He said Google's rail Wi-Fi is coming up at at Mumbai Central in January. Sharing Google's vision for Indian users, Chennai born Pichai said Google will help women from three lakh villages across the country to get online in three years. 
  
• 1st session of Arunachal assembly held outside of its premises; Deputy Speaker removes Speaker
  Amid high drama, the first sitting of the 6th session the Arunachal Legislative Assembly was conducted at a makeshift venue Techi Takar Community Hall, a kilometer away from the State Assembly Hall. Deputy Speaker TN Thondok presided over the house. A resolution on the removal of Speaker Nabam Rebia was passed unanimously by 33 MLAs by a signature voting. 
  
  The house was chaired by Deputy Speaker, TN Thodok and was attended by 11 Members from BJP, 2 Independent and 21 from the Congress party, including the 14 disqualified MLAs whose disqualifications were quashed by the Deputy Speaker. 27 members of the House, including the Chief Minister, his ministerial colleagues and 16 Congress MLAs abstained from the proceedings. 
  
  Arunachal Pradesh has a 60-member Assembly. Speaker Nabam Rebia has called the whole process illegal and unconstitutional. Earlier today the Speaker by an order had sealed the gate of the Assembly and no one, including the MLAs, was allowed to enter the Assembly premises. As a result of which the Deputy Speaker had shifted the venue to a new place. 
  
• Gauhati HC steps in Arunachal political row stays proceedings of current assembly session till Feb 1
  The Gauhati High Court on 17th December kept in abeyance on all decisions taken by the Arunachal Pradesh assembly on 16th December in which it removed Speaker of the assembly Nabam Rebia. Hearing a writ petition filed by the Speaker, Justice Hrishikesh Roy has passed this order. The Speaker Mr. Rebia has filed the petition challenging the notification issued by the Governor on advancing the state assembly session. The next hearing will be held on 1st of February next year. 
  
  Issuing notice, Justice Roy kept in abeyance the impugned decisions including the notification issued by the Deputy Speaker restoring the membership of 14 suspended MLAs. The Judge also put a stay on the holding of the Arunachal Pradesh session at a new place and also to remove the Speaker. 
  
• Rs.40,000-cr. defence deal gets nod
  A defence deal potentially worth Rs. 40,000 crore, one of the biggest of its kind to be approved by the Union government. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on 17th December cleared the purchase of five S-400 Triumf long-range air defence systems from Russia. This issue is likely to be discussed during Mr. Modi’s talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In addition to this, the DAC also cleared six proposals worth about Rs. 26,000 crore. 
  
  Union government has been leveraging defence deals to reach out and further strategic cooperation with other nations. During his visit to France last year, he surprised everyone with the announcement for the direct purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets. Recently, the Cabinet Committee on Security gave the final approval for the purchase of Apache and Chinook helicopters from the U.S. worth over $2.5 billion, in addition to other deals in the pipeline. 
  
  In other decisions, the DAC cleared the procurement of six additional Pinaka Multi-Barrel Rocket Launch Systems (MRLS) for Rs.14,600 to be jointly built by Tata Power Company Ltd (TPCL), Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML). Officials said that Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), which developed the system, had been asked to continue development of newer systems to meet future requirements as Pinaka has proven its mettle. 
  
  The Army will also get 571 light bullet-proof vehicles to be used in counter-insurgency operations for Rs.310 crore, 120 trawls for T-72 and T-90 tanks for Rs.50 crore and two electronic warfare systems costing Rs.425 crore for the mountains to be developed by DRDO and produced by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL). For the Navy, change in categorisation has been accorded for five fleet support ships, the proposal for which was cleared in July last year. 
  
  Hindustan Shipyard Limited is the designated shipyard to build them with foreign assistance of Rs.9,000 crore and these ships will be larger than the Deepak class tankers in service with on-board workshops. 
  
• Telangana State gets CNBC Promising State of 2015 Award
  Telangana State has been chosen for Promising State of the Year Award by CNBC-NETWORK 18 for 2015. The award will be presented at a programme in Mumbai on January 13. The CNBC-NETWORK 18 has been offering this award since 11 years and this year offered the award to Telangana State for its commitment for development of all sectors and efforts for inclusive growth. 
  
• Army Aviation Corps facing serious crisis with 32% deficiency: CAG
  The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has said that Army Aviation Corps is facing serious crisis with 32 percent deficiency against its authorized fleet strength. The CAG in its reports on Army, Ordinance factories and Defense Public Sector Undertaking tabled in Parliament on 18th December mentioned that the Army Aviation Crops is having old and ageing helicopters with 52 percent of the fleet more than 30 years old. 
  
  The report observed that despite these shortcomings Army Aviation could not replace its fleet of Cheetah and Chetak helicopters being used for reconnaissance and observation. 
  
  These helicopters were due for de-induction since 2002. The report also observed that failure in meeting the targets and objectives of the acquisition plans and tardiness in procurement were the main reasons for delay in suitable replacement for the old and ageing fleet. The central auditor has pointed out unauthorized use of Army helicopters by several senior ranking officers. 
  
• Dec 16 Gang rape case: Juvenile to be released 
  The juvenile involved in the Nirbahaya rape case three years ago will be released on the 20th of December. The Delhi court while hearing an appeal for his stay making it clear that under exsisting laws, his release cannot be stayed. This clears the way for his release. 
  
  Nirbhaya's parents say they are disappointed with the verdict. Echoing the sentiment the chairperson of the Delhi commission for women has said that they will write to the CJI and the President to reconsider the decision. The govt has told the Lok Sabha that an increase of more than 50 per cent was reported in cognisable cases involving juveniles over the last ten years. 
  
  According to available figures between 2010 and 2014, 844 cases of murder cases were registered which were alleged to be committed between juveniles between 16-18 years of age. This is 1.2 percent of the total murders reported in the country. In the same period 1488 cases of rape were registered against people between 16-18 years, which is 3.08 percent of the reported rapes. 
  
  In 2014, 33526 cases of heinous crimes were registered against juveniles. Of this 1989 cases pertained to rape and 1591 of molestation. There has been a 70 percent rise in rape related incidents by minors. 
  
  Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi has said that the Juvenile Justice Amendment bill, 2014 recommending reducing the age of juvenile from 18 to 16 in case of heinous crimes such as Rape and Murder, will effectively curb such crimes. The Bill however is pending in Parliament, stuck, due to continuous disruption in the Rajya Sabha. 
  
  All about Juvenile Justice Amendment Bill: 
  • The complete name of the bill is Juvenile Justice (care and protection of children) Amendment Bill, 2014
  • A provision under this states that anyone over the age of 16, who indulges in a heinous criminal act, should be treated as an adult.
  • A minor involved in such a crime can be given a jail term though he cannot be sentenced to life or awarded the death penalty. In India currently anyone under the age of 18 is treated as a minor.
  • In countries like America a person under 14 involved in heinous crimes is tried as an adult. Similarly in Britain and the Netherlands minors involved in serious crimes are treated as adults and can be punished accordingly.
  
  Juvenile Justice Amendment Bill
  • Juvenile Justice (care and protection of children) Amendment Bill, 2014
  • Person over 16 yrs involved in heinous crimes to be treated as adult
  • minor committing heinous crime to be given jail term
  • minor cannot be awarded life term or death penalty
  • currently anyone under age of 18 treated as minor
  
  
• Call money: accused to be tried under Nirbhaya Act in AP
  The Andhra Pradesh State government has resolved to apply the amended Sections of the IPC, Nirbhaya Act, in cases where money lending is linked to sexual harassment of women borrowers. 
  
  Accordingly, the government will establish a special court in Vijayawada with a Special Public Prosecutor to try Nirbhaya cases. This is in addition to efforts under way to introduce a very stringent Act to regulate money lending business, according to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. 
  
  The Chief Minister, who made a statement in the Legislative Assembly on the call money racket, said that the government would act tough on unscrupulous money lenders. It is also considering enacting a law to regulate money lending business in the State in the current session. 
  
  Meanwhile, police have registered as many as 227 cases across the State so far, including five cases that involved sexual harassment and charging of exorbitant interest rates. In all, 188 accused have been arrested, and they include sympathisers of the YSRC (65), TDP (20), Congress (12), BJP (4), CPI (6) and CPI (M) (1), while cases have been registered against 78 others. 
  
  Meanwhile, YSRC members objected to the statement of the Chief Minister, who claimed that the ruling TDP did not want a comprehensive debate on the issue. Leader of the Opposition Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, quoting rules, said the statement issued by the Chief Minister could end up in allowing a couple of clarifications sought by the members. He alleged that the government had adopted a lenient approach towards the accused who included an MLA and MLC of the ruling party. 
  
• Sonia, Rahul get bail in National Herald case
  Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul on 19th December got bail in the National Herald case after a Delhi court rejected complainant Subramanian Swamy's opposition to the relief for them on the ground they are influential and can flee the country. 
  
  Sonia and Rahul and three other accused Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes and Suman Dubey appeared before Metropolitan Magistrate Lovleen in the Patiala House courts complex in pursuance of the summons issued to them on Dec 8. 
  
  The Magistrate noted, while granting them bail on furnishing personal bond of 50,000 Rupees each and one surety that the accused are reputed persons having deep political grassroots and there is no apprehension that they will flee. The judge posted the case for further hearing at 2 P.M. on February 20, next year. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stood surety for Sonia, while Priyanka Vadra gave surety for her brother Rahul. 
  
  A K Antony stood surety for Fernandes and Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ajay Maken for the other accused. Sam Pitroda, yet another accused, was granted exemption from personal appearance on medical grounds. 
  
• Nadda lays foundation stone for AIIMS in AP
  Union Health Minister JP Nadda on 19th December laid the foundation stone for the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Mangalagir in Andhra Pradesh. The estimated cost for the project for the 960-bed institute is Rs 1,618 crore. Nadda said that to bridge the wide gap between the requirement of beds at hospitals and the actual availability of the same, the Centre has decided to set up one AIIMS in every state. The process has started for establishing 11 new AIIMS in addition to the existing six, he added. The minister said that each AIIMS will have 960 beds and the total number of beds from the 17 AIIMS in the country will be 16,300. 
  
• PM Modi releases commemorative coins on Dr B R Ambedkar
  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on 6th November released two commemorative coins, as part of the 125th birth anniversary year celebrations of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. The coins, which are ten rupee and one hundred and twenty five rupee denomination, were issued on the Mahaparinirvan Divas of Babasaheb Ambedkar. 
  
• Tata and Khan Academy partnered for imparting education
   Silicon Valley-based Salman Khan’s free online education initiative Khan Academy is now set to roll out in India. The not-for-profit platform, one of the world’s largest online educators, with over 30 million users worldwide, on 6th December announced a five-year partnership with Tata Trusts aimed at making localised content accessible to students across the country. While Tata Trusts did not disclose the amount of funds being allocated for the initiative, Khan said it will be in millions of dollars, to ensure that students in India get access to world-class education. 
  
  Tata Trusts Chairman Ratan Tata said that though the Trusts have been supporting education for almost 100 years, mostly in the traditional form, the initiative by Salman Khan is refreshingly different. 
  
  Two-stage plan
  While Khan Academy’s English content is already available on YouTube, through the partnership with Tata Trusts, the Academy plans to make it more relevant for Indian students in two stages. The initial stage of two years will involve developing educational resources that are tuned to the particular needs of middle- and low-income students in urban environments. 
  
  This includes developing an android app and a technology platform that enables a seamless user experience across desktop and mobile. The second stage will involve moving into vernacular languages such as Marathi and Bengali, targeting rural areas. 
  
• TS bags CSI award for e-governance
  National Food Security Cards application developed by NIC - Telangana unit, and being implemented by State Civil Supplies Department was adjudged among the best projects in CSI Nihilent e-Governance Award for 2014-15. 
  
  The National Food Security Cards (NFSC) application developed by using state-of-art technology and software was being used by Civil Supplies Department in digitising the entire ration card database, seeding ration card data with Aadhaar, generating dynamic key register, allocating essential commodities to all eligible BPL families through fair price shops without any discretion or manual intervention, recording closing balances by fair price shop dealers, authentication of beneficiaries with Aadhaar data and so on. 
  
  With the initiatives of Civil Supplies Commissioner, about 21.13 lakh bogus units could be eliminated due to dead/duplicate cards/units with Aadhaar authentication resulting in deactivation of all such bogus units and saving about Rs 30.87 crore per month. 
  
  Computer Society of India (CSI) is the largest association of information technology professionals in India, which works as a catalyst in promoting e-governance by way of recognition and organising knowledge sharing summits. 
  
  These awards will turn focus on the initiatives being taken up in e-governance in India for providing public services. Civil Supplies Department and NIC, Telangana unit, were honoured with CSI Nihilent e-Governance Award. 
  
• Supreme Court: Acid victims under disability act
  In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court on 7th December asked the Centre and state government to bring acid attack survivors within the ambit of disable person to get the benefits of reservation in government jobs. 
  
  The apex court said that acid attack survivors must be brought to national mainstream and bringing them within the ambit of disable persons would help in their rehabilitation. The court directed the Bihar government to pay a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to a acid attack victim. The apex court said that it is the duty of government to provide free treatment to them. 
  
  The Supreme Court had earlier passed a slew of measures for treatment and rehabilitation of acid attack victims. It had directed all government and private hospitals to provide free treatment to them. It had also fixed minimum compensation of Rs 2 lakh to them which is to be paid by the state government. 
  
• India announced eight new observatories
  India on 7th December announced a programme to open eight more long-term ecological observatories to study the effects of climate change. The new facilities under the Indian Long Term Ecological Observatories (I-LTEO) would assess the health of eight different biomes (types of habitat) and come up with long-term research findings on the changes there that were happening due to climate change. 
  
  It will cover the Western Himalayas to Western Ghats, Eastern Himalayas to Andaman and Nicobar islands, central India to the Sundarbans, and from Jammu and Kashmir to Rajasthan and Gujarat. 
  
• Parliamentary panel recommends full integration of CVC and CBI with Lokpal
  A Parliamentary panel has recommended full integration of Central Vigilance Commission and CBI with the Lokpal. It is of the view that the post of Director of Inquiry in the CVC can be utilised by the Lokpal and there would be no need for creation of another post. 
  
  The Standing Committee on Public Grievances, Law and Justice in its report on the Lokpal and Lokayuktas and other related law amendment bill, 2014, suggested that the Lokpal should be at the top of anti-corruption institution and CVC and anti-corruption wing of CBI should work under its control. 
  
  The Committee, headed by Dr EMS Natchiappan, submitted its report to Parliament on 7th December. It recommended that the post of Director of Prosecution should be upgraded to the level of a Secretary with a fixed tenure. 
  
  The Standing Committee has favoured the existing provisions for declaration of assets and liabilities by public servants recommending that a public servant should furnish declaration of assets and liabilities of his or her dependents including spouse, children, father and mother. 
  
  The Committee recommended that the leader of the single largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha should be part of the Selection Panel of the Lokpal in the absence of Leader of Opposition in the House. 
  
• Five dead, 15 ill after consuming liquor in Andhra Pradesh
  In Andhra Pradesh, at least five persons died and 15 others seriously fell ill after consuming illicit liquor at a local bar in Krishna Lanka area in Vijayawada on 7th December. The victims, who are said to be daily wagers, allegedly consumed the adulterated liquor before going to the work. Three persons died instantly and 15 others hospitalised. Two more died while undergoing treatment. The condition of four persons is said to be serious. The excise department officials immediately seized the bar and collected samples of the liquor sold. 
  
• 137 heritage buildings scrapped under the rule
  In a significant change in the existing heritage conservation policy, the Telangana governnment on 7th December scrapped a rule that identified and notified 137 heritage buildings and precincts in Hyderabad for conservation. 
  
  Government scraps the rule under which 137 heritage buildings and precincts in Hyderabad were notified, paving way for demolition of dilapidated structures. 
  
  This would effectively mean the government can demolish dilapidated heritage buildings in the city, including Osmania General Hospital at Afzalgunj, Chest Hospital at Erragadda, Golden Threshold at Abids and G Block in Secretariat and put the lands under them for other public purposes. A government order was issued, deleting Regulation No. 13 that was added by way of amendment to the Hyderabad Urban Development Authority Zoning Regulations, 1981. 
  
  The scrapping of the rule, intended to prop the heritage conservation system, would also help individuals owning listed property to demolish the structures and use the land for other purposes. The new orders deleting related clause from the rules of Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority would virtually remove several old buildings in the city from the list of Heritage Buildings and Heritage Precincts. 
  
  These include Raj Bhavan old building, Secunderabad Clock Tower, Nizamia Observatory, Puranapul Bridge, Osmania Arts College, Golden Threshold, Chow Mahalla Palace, Paigah Palace, Parsi Dharmasala, Amberpet Burj, Mahbub Mansion, Falaknumah Palace and Osmania General Hospital and gate portion of Dewan Devdi. Though the government may not go in for demolition of all these structures, it can now go ahead with its plan of razing the dilapidated heritage structures and construct new buildings in their places. Hitherto, Regulation 13 has been a major hurdle for the government to implement its demolition plans, such as that of Osmania General Hospital. 
  
• Sanitation programmes have failed to achieve targets: CAG
  The CAG report on Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan tabled in Parliament on 8th December has revealed large-scale diversions, wastages and irregularities in implementation of sanitation programme. It said, nearly 10,000 crore rupees were spent on the rural sanitation programme in the five years in which wastages and irregularities were noted. 
  
  The CAG said the Swachh Bharat Mission launched in October 2014 by the present NDA government is aimed at making India open defecation free by 2019. It said, similar targets for eradication of open defecation were earlier set out for 2012, which were revised to 2017 and again for 2022. 
  
  It said, the lessons learnt and experimentations through this long journey do not seem to have made much impact on the sanitation status in the country. The CAG pointed out that more than 30 per cent of individual household toilets were defunct or non-functional for reasons like poor quality of construction, incomplete structure or non- maintenance. 
  
• Govt imposes ban on 39 terrorist organizations
  The government has imposed a ban on 39 terrorist organizations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act so far. According to Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary government is closely monitoring the situation arising from the activities of ISIS specifically through social media to attract the youth. 
  
  He said, though the ISIS has not been able to influence many youth form India but the matter continues to be a long term national security concern for India. The Minister informed that India has Joint Working Groups, JWG to counter terrorism with 24 countries. Meetings with these working groups are being held from time to time to discuss counter terror issues including the activities of ISIS and to share intelligence and issues of mutual concern. 
  
• Govt approves 150 specialized Investigative Units on crime against women in States
  The government has approved setting up of 150 specialized Investigative Units on crime against women in States. According to Minister of State for Home Affairs, Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary 50 per cent of expenses over the units will be borne by the Centre. He said, a comprehensive advisory on crimes against women has also been issued to States. 
  
  He said, besides the Home Ministry has also issued advisories regarding the missing children and trafficking in persons including women. The Minister informed that Women and Child Development Ministry has also developed a national portal called Track Child to track missing and found children. 
  
• CAG says 160% rise in fire accidents in rail passenger coaches
  The cases of fire accidents in the passenger coaches of Indian Railways jumped 160 per cent between 2012 and 2014 even as they were expected to come down by 80 per cent, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has found. 
  
  The auditor, in its latest report on Indian Railways tabled in Parliament on 8th December, has said short circuit, poor maintenance and lack of awareness are among the major reasons of fire in trains while the automatic smoke and fire detection devices in the running trains are not successfully implemented. 
  
  A joint survey conducted by CAG and railway officials found fire prone activities like cigarette smoking, cooking by vendors at stations, carrying of inflammable articles by unauthorised persons, accumulation of empty cardboard boxes and other waste materials were unchecked aggravating the risk of fire. 
  
  The audit also found a disproportionate revenue sharing formula adopted by the Western Railway and Kutch Railway Company (KRCL) led to undue benefit to the tune of Rs 300 crore to KRCL for the period between July 2006 and March 2014. 
  
  The auditor also found Indian Railways could not tap into revenue potential due to delays in construction of private sidings near railways stations. The CAG found in 26 of the 293 private railways sidings, the shortfall in traffic with respect to projects was more than 50 per cent. No effort was made by railways to review the volume of traffic generated from sidings, it said. 
  
  The CAG also pointed out several issue in the functioning of the Kapurthala Railway Coach factory (RCF). It has delivered only 470 LHB coaches till date leading to the failure of the project aimed at complete switchover to stainless steel coaches by Indian Railways. Also, material worth Rs 31 crore was idling in RCF as the railway board changed the production programme too often. 
  
• India adds 112 sq. km. to mangrove cover
  According to the latest report of the Forest Survey of India (FSI), 2015 it has been recorded that a net increase of 112 sq. km. of mangroves forest — one of the regions most vulnerable to climate change. 
  
  The earlier FSI report in 2013 recorded a net decrease of 34 sq. km. of mangrove forest. According to the latest report, the overall mangrove cover in the country stands at 4,740 sq. km., which is 0.14 sq. km. of India’s overall geographical area. 
  
  In fact, there are only 12 States and Union Territories along the country’s coastline that can boast of mangroves. West Bengal, which has a total mangrove cover of 2,106 sq. km., accounts for 44.5 per cent, the highest in the country. It is followed by Gujarat with about 1,107 sq. km, Andaman and Nicobar islands also has a considerable mangrove forest cover with 617 sq. km. of it. 
  
  As per the report, the very dense mangrove forest in the country comprises 1,472 sq. km. (31.05 per cent), moderately dense mangrove spans 1,391 sq. km (29.75 per cent) and open mangroves constitute 1,877 sq. km. (39.60 per cent). 
  
• Indian Trusts Amendment Bill 2015 passed in LS
  The Lok Sabha on 9th December passed the Indian Trusts Amendment Bill 2015 to remove the archaic provisions of the 133 year old legislation which have no relevance. The bill seeks to empower the Central Government to notify a class of securities for the purposes of investment of trust-money by the trustees. It also seeks to do away with the requirement of case to case approval by the Government for investment in any security. The bill also provides greater autonomy and flexibility for the trustees to take decisions on investment of trust money based on their assessment of the risk return. 
  
  The bill was moved by Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha for consideration and passing in the House. The bill was passed by a voice vote amidst sloganeering against the government by the Congress members. 
  
• India using thorium in nuclear power generation: Govt
  India has developed indigenous technology for using thorium in nuclear power generation. Thorium utilization has been a part of the ongoing activities of the Atomic Energy Department. 
  
  This is a prelude to the third stage of India’s nuclear power programme, according to Minister of State in PMO Jitendra Singh who gave this information in the Lok Sabha. 
  
  In a written answer, he informed the House that besides India, China, USA, France, Russia and Czech Republic have restarted thorium-related technology development for nuclear power generation. This is a novel technology involving several challenges, he said. 
  
• Govt to set up skill development centres in parliamentary constituencies
  The government is to set up skill development centres in all parliamentary constituencies. The National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015 envisages fostering technology innovation at the grass-root level. Fiscal incentives and legal support are given for market linkages. 
  
• Ganga rejuvenation: NGT bans plastic from Gomukh to Haridwar
  The National Green Tribunal, NGT on 10th December banned use of plastic of any kind from Gomukh to Haridwar along Ganga with effect from 1st February 2016 while slapping a penalty of 5,000 rupees per day on erring hotels, dharamshalas and ashrams spewing waste into the river. 
  
  It also banned camping activity in the entire belt of Kaudiyala to Rishikesh on the banks of river Ganga in Uttarakhand till the regulatory regime comes into force but permitted the adventure sport rafting with immediate effect. 
  
  The Tribunal passed a slew of directions to keep the river pollution free. It held that if any hotel, dharamshala or ashram releases their domestic waste and sewage into Ganga or its tributaries then it shall be liable to pay environmental compensation for causing pollution of the river at the rate of Rs 5,000 per day. 
  
  Besides the plastic ban, the Tribunal also prohibited throwing of any municipal waste, construction and demolition wastes into Ganga and its tributaries while announcing that violators will have to pay an environmental compensation at the rate of Rs 5,000 per incident. 
  
  The green bench further held that all the seriously polluting industries which are operating without consent from Uttarakhand Environment Protection and Pollution Control Board shall be closed with immediate effect. 
  
• Union Govt declares Tamil Nadu flood as Calamity of Severe Nature
  The Union Government has declared the recent Tamil Nadu flood as a “Calamity of Severe Nature.” In a statement in Chennai, the state chief minister J.Jayalalithaa has said, the centre has made the declaration as requested by her. 
  
  She has added that the Parliament Secretariat has also issued a circular permitting the Members of Parliament to spend upto 1 crore rupees under their Local Area Development Scheme for reconstruction and rehabilitation works in the flood affected areas. 
  
• Pollution at 'serious' level, needs multi-pronged approach: Supreme Court
  Stepping into the raging debate on pollution, the Supreme Court on 10th December agreed to examine a suggestion to ban entry of all diesel-run trucks, except those carrying essential goods, into the national capital. The Supreme Court agreed while asking the Centre to come up with common minimum acceptable programmes on the issue after consulting all stakeholders. 
  
  Coming out in support of Delhi Government's odd and even number policy, allowing private cars to run on alternate days from first January, a bench of Chief Justice T S Thakur and R Banumathi said that it was an emergency measure. Terming the rising pollution level in Delhi as very serious, the bench advocated a multi-pronged approach to deal with the situation. 
  
• Illiterate can't contest Haryana Panchayat polls: Supreme Court
  The Supreme Court on 10th December upheld validity of Haryana law specifying minimum educational and other criteria for candidates to contest Panchayat election in the state. 
  
  As per the Clauses of amended act, to contest panchayat elections in Haryana, a general category candidate has to pass at least Class X and a Scheduled Caste candidate at least Class VIII. 
  
  The educational requirement for women candidates from the SC category was fifth pass. All candidates should have functional toilets at their residences, face no criminal charges framed in the court and should not be defaulters of any cooperative bank. 
  
• Salman Khan acquitted of all charges in 2002 hit-and-run case by Bombay HC
  The Bombay High Court on 10th December gave a huge relief to Bollywood actor Salman Khan in the infamous 2002 hit-and-run case. The HC acquitted Salman of all the charges in the case and termed lower court's verdict as erred. 
  
  The HC even rapped the prosecution over its failed presentation of any proof. It ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove "beyond reasonable doubt" that actor was driving the vehicle at the time of the accident and was drunk. 
  
  The judgement came on an appeal by the Salman Khan, seven months after he was pronounced guilty by the trial court of running over five people sleeping on a pavement outside a laundry in suburban Bandra with his Toyota Land Cruiser, killing one and causing injury to four others on October 28, 2002 and sentenced him to five years in jail. 
  
  The judge further said that the investigation was conducted in a faulty manner with many loose ends and as such benefit of this had to be given in favour of the accused. 
  
• Panel urges more funds for green energy schemes
  The Standing Committee on Energy in its report for the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has recommended that the Ministry should ask the Finance Ministry for more funds so that the green energy programmes do not face a setback. It said that this will also ensure that the targets set for 2015-16 are fully achieved. Scrutiny of the information supplied by the MNRE reveals that the Ministry’s programmes such as wind and solar power have suffered a setback due to shortage of funds thereby creating pending liabilities of future,” the Second Report on Demands for Grants of the Ministry of New and Renewal Energy for 2014-15. 
  
• Safe Water Network, Honeywell India to set up iJal stations in Telangana
  Safe and affordable drinking water is what at least 60,000 people in the backward regions of Karimnagar and Adilabad districts of Telangana state can look forward to getting in the next 24 months. 
  
  To make this a reality, global technology giant Honeywell and Safe Water Network have joined hands to provide the technology, fund, and implement the iJal stations. 
  
  Initially, 25 iJal stations will be installed. Each of the stations, costing approximately $35,000 to $40,000 in capital investment, is expected to serve 2,500 people. Once operational, the local community will be a stakeholder in the station, and would be engaged in running and generating funds to maintain it, said Kurt Soderlund, Chief Executive Officer of the Network. 
  
  The approximate cost works out to Rs. 4 per 20 litres. Since access to safe drinking water is a high priority and the ‘local ownership model’ is scrupulously implemented, the projects are expected to be a success. Already, 10 iJal stations have been operationalised
  
  The Network collaborates with the local Government (Panchayati Raj) and ensures that the community goes on to owning and maintaining the stations, besides paying affordable costs. So far, 112 iJal stations have been commissioned in the country, bringing affordable, safe drinking water access to more than 3,80,000 people in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Telangana. 
  
  The bigger plan is to build 300 such stations to reach 900,000 people by the end of 2017. Through its operations in India, the Safe Water Network has been recognised as a National Key Resource Centre by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. 
  
• Develop India into a hub of institutional arbitration, says Parliamentary Panel
  The Centre should develop India into a hub of institutional arbitration to enable foreign investors settle their disputes within the country in a faster and reliable manner. This recommendation has been made in the report of a Parliamentary Panel that went into the Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Bill 2015. 
  
  The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice headed by EM Sudarsana Natchiappan submitted this report, which was tabled in Parliament on 10th December. 
  
  This report highlighted that most of the commercial entities prefer international arbitration available in Singapore, London and Dubai. 
  
  The Parliamentary Panel has suggested that institutional arbitration with accredited arbitrators may be provided to the commercial entities so that they could avail themselves in India the route of either commercial court or arbitration for resolving their commercial disputes. 
  
  The committee also said in its report that the award of the arbitration should be binding on the parties without giving the option to the parties to challenge the same in the court of law. 
  
  The parties should decide ab-initio to take the route of commercial court or arbitration on commercial disputes, the Panel report said. Meanwhile, the report also urged the Centre to establish commercial courts/divisions on a pilot basis in some States where commercial disputes are large in number. Thereafter, this should be replicated in remaining States depending on their requirement. 
  
  The Parliamentary Panel recommended that data of pendency of commercial cases be obtained and financial implication on the exchequer be calculated during the pilot phase of the implementation of the Bill. The committee also felt that the appointment of judges of commercial courts by the High Court concerned will encroach upon the powers of the State Government and infringe upon the federal structure provided under the Constitution. 
  
• Nod for Medak NIMZ 
  The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) of the Union ministry of commerce & industry has granted final approval to the Medak National Investment and Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ) project on 10th December
  
  This apart, the Telangana government's ambitious 'Pharma City' project was also accorded an 'in-principle' approval by the DIPP -- which means even the Union government will be assisting the state in this project. 
  
  The Union government will be allocating Rs 1,000 crore for the first phase of Medak NIMZ, which is largely setting up infrastructure. The overall Medak NIMZ will be developed in three phases and will be spread over 12,000 acres. It has a potential to generate over one lakh jobs in the first phase alone. 
  
  The project is being reviewed by Telangana chief secretary Rajiv Sharma and has been put on a fast-track mode. To begin with, the state government plans to acquire 2,500 acres by December. Aerospace and defence manufacturing will be one of the major sectors having a manufacturing base in NIMZ, Kumar said. He added that plans are afoot to have clusters for Chinese as well as South Korean SMEs in the first phase of the NIMZ project. 
  
  In 2013, the erstwhile UPA government had accorded in-principle approval for setting up NIMZ at Medak. The unified AP government had then estimated that the Medak NIMZ could attract investments to the tune of over Rs 43,000 crore. 
  
• Southern India likely to see higher than normal rainfall: UN
  A recent UN report has warned about higher than normal rainfall in South India that can cause further flooding early next year. The report attributes it to El Nino, a phenomena which sparks global weather extremes. 
  
  The ongoing El Nino weather pattern in the Asia and Pacific is likely to be one of the strongest since 1998 and will continue into early 2016, according to the advisory issued jointly by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific UN-ESCAP and the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia called RIMES. 
  
  According to the report, while many southeast Asian countries, particularly India and Sri Lanka, expect to face severe flooding caused by heavy rain falls, some Pacific islands have been experiencing a serious drought, causing water shortage and food insecurity. 
  
  Noting that the current Paris climate summit has discussed and addressed the impacts brought by El Nino, the report stresses on regional cooperation given the transboundary nature of El Nino risks. 
  
• TS signs up with Centre for ‘Power for All’
  Telangana became the sixth State in the country to sign up for ‘Power for All’ scheme when Energy Secretary Arvind Kumar exchanged documents on behalf of the State government with the Centre in New Delhi on 11th December. 
  
  Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal was present when Mr. Arvind Kumar and Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Power Jyoti Arora signed the document, a release here said. `Power for All’ is a joint initiative of the Centre in collaboration with State governments for supply of quality and reliable 24 x 7 power to agricultural, industrial and domestic consumers. 
  
  The scheme will address all the key aspects and activities to be undertaken across generation, transmission and distribution, including achieving 100 per cent household electrification. An investment of Rs 18,983 crore and Rs 23,817 crore was planned for 2018-19 for strengthening and augmenting transmission and distribution network respectively in the State. 
  
  In addition to strengthening the network and massive capacity expansion programme of the State government, the document laid emphasis on sustainability through capacity addition by solar and wind power and energy efficiency measures. 
  
  About 11.4 lakh agricultural pumpsets were proposed to be replaced with an investment of Rs 2,280 crore as part of energy efficiency measures. It was also contemplated to replace traditional lighting in households and street lights with LED bulbs in a time-bound manner. 
  
  The meeting of a high-level committee to approve projects under National Investment and Manufacturing Zones at New Delhi accorded final approval to the NIMZ project in Medak district. Though the detailed project report for international pharma city at Macherla in Ranga Reddy district was submitted instantly, the meeting accepted it in-principle. 
  
• Centre signs MoU for establishing IIITs at Ranchi, Nagpur & Pune
  The Centre on 12th December signed Memorandum of Understanding for establishing three Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIITs) in the country. These IIITs are being set up at Ranchi, Nagpur and Pune. The agreement to this effect was signed between Department of Higher Education and private agencies including Tata Consultancy Services. These institutions will be operated on a Public-Private-Partnership mode with participation of state government and Industry, apart from the Central Government. 
  
  These IIITs are expected to bring out high quality IT manpower required for building up IT industry in the country. The admission process in all the three IIITs will be done through Joint Entrance Examination-2016 and the intake of students will be 120 in each institutions. 
  
• Centro to establish 20 State Cancer Institutions and 50 Tertiary Care Cancer Centres
  Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare JP Nadda on 12th December announced to establish 20 State Cancer Institutions and 50 Tertiary Care Cancer Centres in the country. These institutes and centres will mentor all cancer related activities in their respective areas. 
  
  The Union Minister said that the institute is being constructed at a cost of two thousand 35 crore rupees in 32 acres of land as per the norms of World Health Organisation. Terming it independent India’s largest Government Funded Hospital Project the minister said that the National Cancer Centre will act as an apex body for the network of the state cancer institutions and Tertiary Care Cancer Centres. 
  
• Malayalam film Ottal sweeps four major awards in 20th IFFK
  Malayalam film Ottal (The Trap) directed by R. Jayaraj has sweeped four major awards including the Golden Crow Pheasant for the Best Film in the week-long 20th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) which was concluded in Thiruvananthapuram on 12th December. 
  
• Andhra Pradesh suffers loss of 3,759.97 crore rupees due to rains
  Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu informed to Central team that the state has suffered a loss of 3,759.97 crore rupees due to rains. He called for assistance from the Centre to restore normalcy. Explaining the extent of damage due to unseasonal rains in Nellore, Chittoor and Kadapa districts, Mr. Naidu said that the rainfall was 6-11 times higher than the normal. 
  
  The Central teams to assess the rain related and drought related losses in the State called on the Chief Minister in his camp office in Vijayawada Friday after completing their assessments. 
  
  In an official release, the government said agriculture incurred a loss of 426.94 crore rupees, horticulture 335.27 crore rupees, animal husbandry 17.97 crore rupees and handicrafts, textile industries 4.77 crore rupees. 
  
  Water resources incurred a loss of 818.29 crore rupees, roads and buildings 711.9 crore rupees, electricity department 35.05 crore rupees, Panchayat Raj and Municipal and Urban Development Department 589.54 crore rupees. Over 6,507 pucca houses and 17,089 huts were damaged due to the rains. 
  
  The Chief Minister informed the Central team that over 1.25 lakh people were shifted to relief camps and were provided free food and water packets to the affected people and over 12,000 bed sheets were supplied to the relief camps. 
  
• TRS wins 6 out of 12 MLC seats in Telangana
  Out of 12 MLC seats in Telangana, the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi has captured six in the local body quota with two more MLC seats won unanimously in Karimnagar district on 12th December. Two candidates, who were in the fray for MLC election, withdrew their nominations on the last day for withdrawal. The TRS has already won the seats each in Adilabad, Warangal, Nizamabad and Medak districts. 
  
• India among top 10 countries affected by HIV
  India, China and Pakistan are among the 10 countries in the Asia-Pacific that account for almost 98 per cent of adolescents aged 10 to 19 living with HIV, according to a UN report that reported the region is facing a ‘hidden epidemic’ of HIV among youngsters. 
  
  The report ‘Adolescents: Under the Radar in the Asia-Pacific AIDS Response’, published by the Asia-Pacific Inter-Agency Task Team on Young Key Populations, which includes UNICEF and the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS warned that the AIDS epidemic cannot be ended as a public health threat by 2030 without tackling the issue of adolescents. In 2014, 220,000 adolescents aged 10-19 were estimated to be living with HIV in Asia and the Pacific. 
  
  The other countries are Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Prevalence is particularly high in large cities like Mumbai, Hanoi, Jakarta, Bangkok, Chiang Mai and other urban areas. 
  
  In general, female sex workers in Asia and the Pacific are 29 times more likely to be living with HIV compared with all women of reproductive age. “The Asia-Pacific region is facing a hidden epidemic of HIV among adolescents, with an estimated 50,000 new infections in 2014 among those aged 15 to 19,” the report said. 
  
  Those at highest risk include gay men and other men who have sex with men, transgender people, injecting drug users, and people who buy and sell sex. In India, HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men is 3.5% for those younger than 25 years while it is 4.9% for men older than 25. HIV prevalence among sex workers under 25 years of age in India was 1.7 %for the 2007-2014 period. 
  
• Women’s presence increased in politics
  Of the 45 ministers in the central council of ministers in 2015, eight are women. This amounted to roughly 17 per cent of the strength of the central council of ministers, said a report by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI). 
  
  In 2004, women comprised only 10 per cent of the council of ministers. The difference in absolute terms was marginal. But in percentage terms it reflected a sharp increase. 
  
  Of the eight ministers in 2015, six are Cabinet ministers and two are ministers of state. In all, 62 women were elected in the 2014 General Elections — roughly 11 per cent of the strength of the Lok Sabha. 
  
  Of these 62 members of Parliament (MPs), 34 per cent were social and political workers and 18 per cent were farmers, according to the report, Women and Men in India. 
  
  As many as 44 per cent of these MPs were postgraduates and 29 per cent were graduates. Only 29 per cent of the male members were postgraduates, while 44 per cent were graduates. 
  
  Among state Assemblies, Bihar, Haryana and Rajasthan have the highest women participation. Mizoram, Nagaland and Puduchery have no women representation in the Assembly. 
  
  In the judiciary, though, women’s participation continued to be limited. There was only one woman judge out of 28 in the Supreme Court. 
  
  At the high courts, there were only 65 women judges out of 546 judges. In percentage terms, the highest women participation was seen in Sikkim (33 per cent), followed by Delhi (23 per cent), Punjab and Haryana (17 per cent) and Mumbai (16 per cent). Surprisingly, there were no women judges in the High Courts in Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura and Uttarakhand. 
  
  In the Indian Administrative Service, only 14 per cent were women in 2012. In comparison, the Indian Economic Service saw 30 per cent in 2014. The Indian Foreign Service, at 19 per cent, had higher women participation than the Indian Administrative Service. 
  
• States cannot remit sentences of convicts without centre's consent: SC
  Supreme Court held on 2nd November that States cannot exercise statutory power to remit sentences of convicts, tried under central laws and probed by central agencies like CBI without consulting the Union government. 
  
  Settling the constitutional issues that had arisen out of the Tamil Nadu government's decision to set free the convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, the apex court said that though the states have power to grant remission, they cannot exercise it suo motu. 
  
  A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice H L Dattu, who is demitting office today, also said that the Centre will have primacy in granting remission to convicts in cases registered under central law and probed by central agencies like CBI. The bench referred to a three-judge bench the factual and legal aspects of grant of remission to convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. 
  
  The apex court had on February 20, last year stayed Tamil Nadu government's decision to release three convicts -- Murugan, Santhan and Arivu, whose death sentence had been commuted to life term by it. The court had later also stayed the release of four other convicts saying there were procedural lapses on part of the state government. 
  
• PM announces additional relief of Rs.1,000 crore more for flood-hit Tamil Nadu
  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced additional Rs 1000-crore financial package to the flood-hit Tamil Nadu to undertake immediate relief efforts in the affected areas. The fund is in addition to the sum of Rs 940 crore released from the National Disaster Relief Fund immediately after the submission of the report by the state government on 23rd last month. 
  
  After taking aerial view by helicopter, the Prime Minister reviewed the situation with the state chief minister J.Jayalalithaa and Governor K.Rosiah at the regional naval headquarters INS Adyar in which the chief minister explained the grim situation. 
  
  Meanwhile, flood situation continues to be grim in Chennai and its deluged suburbs, though rain has come down. Surplus water being released in huge quantities from major reservoirs in the adjoining districts continue to cause heavy flooding in many Chennai residential areas. Vehicular traffic is affected in the city and roads are in battered condition. 
  
  The NDRF has pressed into service 100 boats for rescue missions and has deployed three more teams into service. With this, the NDRF has doubled its strength to 1200. Four additional columns of the Army has arrived Chennai for rescue and relief operations. The Indian Air Force is utilizing its Tambaram base for evacuation and relief works.On the other hand, the death toll due to flood in Chennai has gone up to 269. 
  
• Navy has deployed ships, tankers for Operation Madad 
  The navy has deployed a number of ships and tankers besides opening up its base as an alternative airport as part of 'Operation Madad' to help the rain-ravaged city of Chennai. It has also deployed unmanned aerial vehicles ( UAV) to identity the worst-hit areas in flooded Chennai to help civilian authorities. 
  
• Govt releases postage stamp to mark centenary year of Zoological Survey of India
  The center has released a commemorative postage stamp to mark the Centenary year of Zoological Survey of India. The stamp was released by Communication and IT Minister Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad. 
  
• Delhi Assembly passes Jan Lokpal bill
  The Delhi Assembly on 4th December passed the anti-corruption ombudsman Delhi Jan Lokpal Bill-2015. It provides for an ombudsman with powers to act against any government functionary, including those of the Centre, in the national capital through its own investigation wing. 
  
  According to the Bill, the Lokpal will have to complete the investigation within a period of six months and assets accumulated through corrupt means will be confiscated. 
  
  The Bill provides for imprisonment upto ten years which may extend to life term. It also has a provision to punish those who file false cases against public functionaries. 
  
• PMO hands over 1st batch of Netaji files for declassification
  The first batch of 33 secret files related to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose were on 4th December handed over by the Prime Minister's Office, PMO to the National Archives, setting the stage for their declassification next month. 
  
  The files were handed over by Principal Secretary in the PMO, Nripendra Misra to Director General of National Archives of India for further processing, preservation and digitization. It is in preparation for the final release to the nation of all 58 files in the PMO. 
  
  Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on October this year announced that the first batch of the secret files will be declassified from the birth anniversary of Netaji next year, meeting the long-pending demand of Bose's family. 
  
• Accessible India Campaign rolled out
  Govt on 3rd December rolled out “Accessible India Campaign” on the occasion of The International Day of Persons with Disabilities; aims to make 50 major cities more accessible to the specially abled. 
  
  According to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the union government is making smart cities fully accessible for persons with disabilities and wants the Centre and states to combine their efforts to make "Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan" successful. 
  
  The Union minister also conferred 52 National Awards on outstanding persons with disabilities; individuals and organizations that are working for empowerment of persons with disabilities. 
  
  The targets set by the govt under the Accessible India campaign are: 
  • At least 50% of all government buildings in the national capital and all state capitals are to be made fully accessible for persons with disabilities by July 2018.
  • All international airports in the country and major railway stations are to be made fully accessible for them by July 2016.
  • At least 10% of government owned public transport carriers in the country are to be converted into fully accessible carriers by March 2018.
  • At least 50% of all public documents issued by the Centre and state governments are to meet accessibility standards for persons with disabilities by March 2018.
  
  
• KCR launches new polio vaccine
  Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao formally launched “SHAN-IPV” Polio vaccine manufactured by Shantha Biotechnics on 4th December. The IPV (Injectable Polio Vaccine) is one of the safest vaccines to use and is required to eliminate the risk of further existence of Polio. This is being launched at a time when no polio cases are reported in India during the last four years and at a time when India is switching from Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) to IPV. 
  
  Oral Polio Vaccine has a 1 per cent of failure risk whereas IPV is considered to be without any risk. KCR launched the vaccine handed over the first sample of five doses pack to the representative of UNICEF. The chairman of the Shantha Biotechnics Varaprasad Reddy informed though IPVs are priced at Rs 1,050 per unit in the international market, Shantha Biotechnics will be supplying to UNICEF and Government of India at Rs 55 only. 
  
  After this is launched, Indian Government will supply IPV manufactured by Shantha to the entire country through UNICEF. Telangana will get this from UNICEF at free of cost. 
  
  IPV is effective in preventing paralytic disease caused by all three types of polio virus and carries no risk of vaccine associated risks. Manufacturing of SHAN-IPV is a pride for Telangana State said KCR. UNICEF has already indented for 2.5 million doses of this vaccine and will be supplying to both the Telugu speaking states free of cost. 
  
  Government of India also indented for this vaccine. Both Government of India and UNICEF decided to use this vaccine as part of total eradication of polio. Shantha plans to produce a total of more than 10 million doses next year with additional increases planned in subsequent years. 
  
  Pakistan and Afghanistan are still classified as polio endemic, meaning that wild polio virus passes routinely between members of the community. However, progress has been made in both countries and the last case of polio in the world may possibly be only months away. India has had a strong focus on polio eradication and this move to introduce IPV in the UIP will provide the required impetus for a polio free India. 
  
  In line with the WHO’s Global endgame strategy, India is introducing one dose of IPV at 14 weeks of age. IPV is to be given in addition to the existing oral polio vaccine. This introduction is a critical step towards achieving a polio-free world by 2019 to meet the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) Endgame Strategic Plan. 
  
• Odd-even formula for Delhi Vehicles
  The Arvind Kejriwal-led government on 4th December launched a major offensive against the alarming air pollution in the National Capital by announcing an ‘odd and even number’ formula for cars. Under this, cars with odd and even numbers would ply on alternate days, thus reducing the number of cars on roads by 50 percent. It comes into effect from 1 January, 2016. 
  
  The government also wants to strengthen the public transport system and crack the whip on entry of trucks in the city to control smog. 
  
  While the Delhi government has decided to shut down one of its oldest and least efficient thermal power plants at Badarpur commissioned in 1970s, it will ask the UP government to shut down the Dadri power plant as well. 
  
  If it succeeds in implementing the odd-even number formula, it’ll be the second city after Beijing to do so. In Beijing it was adopted in 2013. There are nearly 90 lakh registered vehicles in Delhi, and 1,500 new vehicles are added every day. 
  
  Delhi government’s initiatives: 
  • Odd and even numbered cars to ply on Delhi roads on alternative days.
  • Extra buses to be added to DTC’s fleet; Delhi Metro asked to add new trains; thrust is on public transport.
  • Auto-rickshaws to supplement.
  • Entry of trucks inside Delhi after 11 pm (now 9 pm).
  • Government will ask UP to shut down Dadri power plant.
  • PWD to start urban forestry project on arid land.
  • Restrict vehicles on roads.
  • Stricter checking of pollution in vehicles
  • EURO VI by 2017.
  
  
• Telangana to launch 4 new policies
  Telangana government is planning to launch four new policies on December 28 coinciding with the visit of Microsoft chief to T-Hub, the new start-up incubator established at IIIT-Hyderabad. 
  
  According to K T Rama Rao, Telangana Information Technology minister, four new policies one each for 
  • Information Technology,
  • Innovation/Start-up,
  • IMAGE and
  • ESDM (Electronic System Design & Manufacturing) will be launched on December 28.