NATIONAL JUNE 2016
- Govt sets target of 70% employment of urban poor through skill training
Government has set a target of 70 per cent employment of urban poor through skill training. Urban development Ministry said, during the last two years, around five lakh urban poor have been imparted skill training out of which about one lakh had either got jobs or self-employed.
The Ministry has organised, a daylong National Conference in New Delhi on 27th June on ‘Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana- National Urban Livelihoods Mission’ to scale up skill training to urban poor.
It said, Central Ministers concerned, state governments, bankers, experts and NGOs will discuss ways and means of scaling up skills training and credit flow for self-employment of urban poor in a bid to reduce urban poverty in a speedy manner.
The Conference is being organized to enable the urban poor meet their aspirations of employment in the context of growing migration to urban poor in line with the assertion of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi that urbanization mitigates poverty. Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, HUPA has proposed to appoint a central Nodal Agency for speeding up disbursal of bank loans to urban poor besides involving Non-Banking Finance Institutions and micro-credit agencies for delivery of loans. Bank lending for self-employment is proposed to be dovetailed with loans under Prime Minister’s MUDRA Yojana. Government has provided more than one lakh crore rupees to youth for self employment under the Mudra Yojna. - Web portal launched for environmental approvals
A new web portal has been launched for online submission and monitoring of environmental approvals for mining of sand and minor minerals.
The web portal will lead to the empowerment of the project proponent, as it not only enhances transparency of the entire application process, but also enables the proponents to track their applications online.
The web portal is a district-level, web-based and role-based workflow application for online submission and monitoring of proposals. The web-based application automates the entire tracking of proposals, which includes online submissions of a new proposal, editing and updating the details of proposals at each stage of the work flow. - MoU signed for coal quality analysis
The CSIR- Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (CSIR-CIMFR) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU with coal supplying companies including Coal India Limited and power utilities for quality analysis of coal being supplied to power utilities.
The MoU was signed in presence of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan and Power Minister Piyush Goyal at a function in New Delhi.
As per the MoU, the CSIR-CIMFR would make use of its knowledgebase support in maintaining the quality of coal at national level for the entire power sector.Speaking on the occasion, Power Minister Piyush Goyal said,the government has put in place a robust mechanism to examine grading of coal and its sampling. He said, in the last two years, there has been significant improvement in quality of coal being supplied to the consumers.
Mr Goyal also informed that National Thermal Power Corporation has reported a reduction of nearly twenty per cent in coal cost largely due to reduction in import of coal.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan said that energy has always been a top priority for the government and this MoU embarks a historic moment for the energy production chapter of the country. He further said that CSIR - CIMFR has been assigned a very crucial task and it will deliver best possible results in a transparent environment for quality maintenance in coal sector of the country. - PM releases book titled “The Birds of Banni Grassland”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 28th June released a book titled “The Birds of Banni Grassland” in New Delhi. The Book is a compilation of the research work, relating to more than 250 species of birds found in the Banni area of Kutch, Gujarat.
The book was presented to the Prime Minister by the Scientists of Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology. The Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology, located at Bhuj, has been studying the plant, bird and marine life in the Rann of Kutch for over 15 years. - Cabinet approves Rs. 13,990-cr revised cost estimate for eight new IITs
The setting up of eight new Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) will now cost an estimated Rs. 13,990 crore as against Rs. 6,080 crore, after the Cabinet approved the revised cost estimates on 29th June.
The initial cost estimate was over a period of 11 years from 2008-09 till 2018-19 and an official statement said that the increase in expenditure was due to the escalation in time and cost overruns.
The new IITs will come up in Bhubaneswar, Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, Indore, Jodhpur, Mandi, Patna and Ropar. The student strength at each IIT at the end of the project will be 2,360. Further, the total student capacity in the eight IITs will be 12,880 by March 2019.
Further, the Cabinet also gave an ex-post-facto approval for extension of Addendum IX from April 1, 2011 till March 31, 2016 and renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of India and Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (SICI) for five years by way of signing a supplementary Addendum X to the MoU first signed in 1968.
Under Addendum X, the Ministry of Human Resource Development has approved an expenditure of Rs.33,176 crore for the period from April 1, 2016 till March 31, 2021 or the entire five-year period.
The Cabinet also approved the signing of an MoU between India and Tanzania for bilateral cooperation in water resources management and development. The signing of an MoU between the Union Public Service Commission and the Royal Civil Service Commission of Bhutan was also approved. - NSSO survey: Among durables, households spend highest on vehicles
Households spent the highest proportion of their consumer durable expenditure on vehicles during 2014-15 (July-June), according to a study by the National Sample Survey Office.
The study, Key Indicators of Household Expenditure on Services and Durable Goods, was based on a survey carried out by the National Sample Survey Organisation. The survey collected information on household expenditure from July 2014 to June 2015.It covered 47,535 households in rural areas and 36,065 households in urban areas
Within the durable goods category, households allocated the most to expenditure on transport equipment. In rural areas, expenditure on transport equipment accounted for 83 per cent of total expenditure on durable goods when the purchase was done mainly for enterprise purpose.
It was followed by expenditure on heating, cooling and electricity generation devices, information technology (IT) communication devices and productive equipment accounted for four per cent of the budget separately.
For domestic consumption, too, households allocated the highest share to transport equipment, at 45 per cent. It was followed by jewellery (23 per cent) heating, cooling and electricity generation devices and IT and communication devices (both at seven per cent each).
A similar pattern was observed in urban areas. Expenditure on transport equipment accounted for a lion’s share of total expenditure on durables, followed by expenditure on heating, cooling and electricity generation devices (about 7.9 per cent) and IT and communication devices (7.8 per cent) for enterprises and jewellery for domestic consumption.
In the miscellaneous consumer services category, which includes items such as communication services, domestic and business services, households spent the most on communication services. - Supreme Court refuses to modify its 2014 order on transgenders saying gays are not third gender
Supreme Court on 30th June refused to recognise lesbians, gays and bisexuals, as third gender. The court said it will not modify its 15 April 2014 order which recognised the transgender community as a third gender along with male and female. The apex court was hearing a petition filed by the Centre, challenging the definition of ‘transgender’. - HRD Minister launches teacher education portal 'Prashikshak'
Human Resources Development Minister Smriti Irani on 30th June launched teacher education portal Prashikshak, for District Institutes of Education and Training in New Delhi.
The objective of Prashikshak is to help DIETs make informed decisions about their institutes, compare the performance of their institute against other DIETs in the state and country as well as help aspiring teachers make informed decisions about which institute to join.
The major users of Prashikshak will be Pre-service teacher educators, DIET principals and faculty, Policy makers at District, State Government and National Level, and the General public.
Prashikshak is a unique IT Initiative taken up by the HRD Ministry which would entail the establishment of a strong monitoring mechanism with a database of teacher education institutes with all relevant performance indicators. - Buses most preferred mode of transport in India: Survey
Buses are the most preferred mode of transport in both rural and urban India followed by auto rickshaws, according to a National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) report. Expenditure on air transport is negligible in rural areas while air transport accounts for 2.53 per cent of all transport expenditures in urban areas.
Trams have been clubbed with buses in a single category in the report titled, 'Key Indicators of Household Expenditure on Services and Durable Goods' in the 2014-15 survey.
According to the study, auto rickshaws are used by about 38 per cent rural households and about 47 per cent urban households. Taxi, railways and rickshaw are the other major modes of transport, both in rural and urban areas, as per the survey.
Expenditure on bus/tram, auto rickshaw, taxi and train constitute more than 90 per cent of the total expenditure on transport both in rural and urban areas.
The report is based on information collected during July, 2014 to June 2015 as part of National Sample Survey, 72nd Round.
The monthly per-capita expenditure on air transport was negligible in rural areas but air transport accounts for 2.53 per cent of all transport expenditures in urban areas.
The expenditure share of railways contributes much higher proportion in urban areas (12.54 per cent) than that of rural areas (4.41 per cent). The survey was conducted in 7,969 villages and 6,048 urban blocks in the country.
It covered 47,535 households in rural areas and 36,065 households in urban areas to understand their expenditure in 14 broad services.
These included domestic services, barber & beauty shops, TV & radio services, laundry, dry cleaning, etc., repair & maintenance, communication, religious services, recreational & cultural services, cremation-related services, business services, services incidental to transport, tailoring services and sewage disposal & sanitation.
As per the study in cities as well as villages, about 90 per cent or more households reported expenditure on barber & beauty shops and communication services. - Govt asks Law Commission to examine uniform civil code issue
Government has asked the Law Commission to examine the issue of implementing the Uniform Civil Code in the country. The code will mean a set of common civil laws for all citizens in place of multitude of personal laws for different religious groups.
According to Law Minister, Sadananda Gowda:- After getting the report, the government will do a detailed study and then will take it further.
- There are thousands of personal laws in India and Centre wants to take in confidence all states and communities on the matter.
- India's first integrated defence communication network launched
India's first integrated defence communication network was launched on 30th June enabling the army, air force, navy and the Special Forces Command to share situational awareness for a faster decision-making process. The Defence Communication Network (DCN), a strategic, highly secure and scalable system, has a pan-India reach - from Ladakh to the North East to island territories.
according to Defence Minister Parrikar, this network is a step towards jointmanship that the government is pushing for in the armed forces. While all the three forces have their own command, communication and intelligence networks, this is the first time when there will be a dedicated network for greater synergy. - No threat to polio free status of India: WHO
Responding to reports of re-surfacing of polio cases in India, the World Health Organisation said there is "no threat" to the polio-free status of all South East Asian region countries, including India, and the detection of a rare strain of the crippling disease is "not unusual
Noting that all the countries including India maintain a "high vigil" for the detection of the disease, the World Health Organisation's South-East Asia Regional Office said that no child has been afflicted by wild polio virus since the last case was reported from West Bengal in January, 2011.
The statement comes after a 6-year-old child of Balrampur district in Uttar Pradesh was admitted to a hospital on suspicion of polio, following which the state health officials have sent a report to the WHO. - War heroes inspiring storey in Britain digital Archive
Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has launched a new digital archive telling the inspiring stories of war heroes, including six Indians, as part of the UK government's centenary celebrations to mark World War I
As many as 175 men from 11 overseas countries were awarded Britain’s highest award for valour, the Victoria Cross (VC), during the war.
These included six soldiers from undivided India who fought in the war as part of the British Indian Army and honoured in a commemorative plaque presented to India back in 2014.
The new Digital Archive launched on 20th June to chronicle individual biographies of- Risaldar Badlu Singh from Punjab,
- Sepoy Chatta Singh from UP,
- Naik Darwan Singh Negi and
- Rifleman Gabar Sing Negi from modern day Uttarakhand,
- Lance-Daffadar Gobind Singh from Rajasthan, and
- Lance Naik Lala from Himachal Pradesh.
- Use of Potassium Bromate as food additive banned
The government on 20th June banned use of potassium bromate as a food additive following a CSE study that found its presence in bread as causing cancer. The Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), however, has referred potassium iodate -- also claimed to be carcinogenic used as a food additive -- to a scientific panel.
In May, the regulator had recommended to the Health Ministry removal of potassium bromate from the list of permissible food additives after a study by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). The CSE study had found that 84 per cent of 38 commonly available brands of pre-packaged breads, including pav and buns, tested positive for potassium bromate and potassium iodate.
These two food additives are banned in many countries and listed as "hazardous" for public health. According to CSE, potassium bromate typically increases dough strength, leads to higher rising and uniform finish to baked products while potassium iodate is a flour treatment agent.
CSE had also urged FSSAI to ban the use of potassium bromate and potassium iodate with immediate effect and prevent their routine exposure to Indian population.
After the CSE study, a bread manufacturers' body had said they will stop using controversial potassium bromate and potassium iodate as additives. - Relaxations proosed in coastal zone regulations
The Shailesh Nayak Committee of the environment ministry has proposed several relaxations in the coastal zone regulations. These relaxations could provide a boost to real estate, construction, ports and tourism sectors in coastal states.
As per recommendations:- The role of Central Government and Central Environmental rules over coastal areas may be diminished
- State government would get a larger say through their town and country planning departments.
- Rural coastal zones, too, could get greater room to develop under such a revised regime, when compared to the restrictions in place.
- The report commissioned in June 2014 to relook at the coastal regulations was submitted in January 2015. It was kept under wraps since then by the environment ministry.
- The report was released in June 2016 to Kanchi Kohli of the CPR-Namati Environment Justice Program after the Central Information Commissioner ordered so — 18 months after the first Right to Information application was filed.
- The coastal regulations were last amended in 2011. The amendment did not go down well with most coastal states.
- The states had protested strongly about the impediment the regulations would have on development. The 2011 regulations required development of coastal development plans, which have been pending ever since with the Centre extending the timeline for finishing these.
- The Nayak committee report has not been implemented so far.
- Aadhaar to be linked with caste, domicile certificates
Centre has asked all state governments to link Aadhaar with caste and domicile certificates to be issued to school students. It has also asked them to ensure that such certificates are issued within 60 days time to the students of Class V or VIII. The development assumes significance in the backdrop of complaints of delay in grant of scholarship to students belonging to SC and ST communities.
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) issues Aadhaar a 12-digit number which acts as a proof of identity and address, anywhere in the country. - India among ‘worst’ countries for workers’ rights
Pointing to the “weakening” of workers’ rights across almost all regions in the world, a new report has ranked India among the world’s 10 “worst” countries.
ITUC’s Global Rights Index 2016, which ranked 141 countries on a scale of 1-5 on the basis of 97 international indicators such right to organise, collective bargaining, civil rights, freedom of association among others, has ranked India in Group 5 (no guarantee of rights), along with 25 countries, citing rising contracterisation and “disproportionate violence” against workers by the police and hired private security guards by some companies.
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) is an umbrella organisation of national trade unions across the world. Its affiliates in India are Hind Mazdoor Sabha, Indian National Trade Union Congress and Self-Employed Women’s Association.
According to the report, “countries with the rating of 5 are the worst countries in the world to work in. While the legislation may spell out certain rights, workers have effectively no access to these rights and are, therefore, exposed to autocratic regimes and unfair labour practices.”
Out of the 25 countries in group 5, “the 10 worst countries for working people are Belarus, China, Colombia, Cambodia, Guatemala, India, Iran, Qatar, Turkey and United Arab Emirates”, it said. At a time when the NDA government in India is going in for massive labour reforms to facilitate “ease of doing business”, the report apprehends that the “situation is likely to get worse as the government has proposed to make changes to the labour laws which would undermine fundamental rights.”
According to the index, the countries with the “best” record are Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Sweden and Uruguay, while the worst ever (5+) record are Burundi, Central African Republic, Eritrea, Iraq, Libya, Palestine, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Syria as there is “no guarantee of rights due to the breakdown of the rule of law” in these countries. - Govt releases Yog Geet
The Union government has released a Yog geet (song). It was released ahead of International Yoga day. It has been released by the MoS for AYUSH Shripad Naik at New Delhi.- This song is of 3 minutes and 15 seconds in Hindi language
- Written and produced by Deeraj Saraswat and
- Voice given by Gandhar T.D. Jadhav and Gatha Jadhav
- The Music of the song is composed by Sumanto Ray.
- International conference on Yoga inaugurated
Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari on 22nd June inaugurated two day international conference on 'Yoga for Body and Beyond' in New Delhi. About 70 international delegates from 32 countries are attending the Conference. The conference highlighted the importance of Yoga in the normal Physical and Mental life of the people. - UGC notifies rules for tie-ups with foreign institutions
The University Grants Commission (UGC) on 22nd June notified regulations under which the highest graded Indian educational institutions can engage in academic collaboration with foreign educational institutions of the highest grade in their country of origin. The move aims to increase joint collaborative attempts between institutions which will also help ‘internationalise’ the curricula of domestic educational organisations.
In 2012, a similar facility was provided for enhancing engagement with foreign institutions. However, the UGC has informed us that that they received no application under those regulations
This, she said, was because only the foreign institution could approach the UGC — Indian institutions had no such engagement available under the previous UGC regulation. Now, an Indian institution can also approach the regulator. This, however, also does not mean that foreign universities can open up franchises Under the new regulations, the credits of the course that a student undertakes will be recognised by the foreign partner under the MoU.
An undergraduate student will have to mandatorily spend two semesters abroad while a post-graduate student will spend one semester abroad.
Academic institutions that seek collaborations can apply with the UGC online. Within 30 days, all applications have to be responded to. It has also been made mandatory for the regulator to accept or reject the application in 60 working days.
Under the new regulations, a UGC committee to process applications will comprise persons with expertise in international academics and international jurisprudence.
Institutions that seek foreign academic collaboration will need experts in that particular field or in the field of international jurisprudence to help process applications. - Swachhta Mission in 10 prominent wildlife sanctuaries
As part of a Swachh Bharat Mission drive, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has decided to do away with garbage bins in 10 prominent wildlife parks, and make visitors take their litter home
10 prominent national parks, tiger reserves and wildlife sanctuaries across the country will now be brought under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
Under this special campaign, the Environment and Forests Ministry is focussing on keeping these places pollution-free and ensure cleanliness and waste management. In this regard, the government plans to disallow use of dustbin and plastic bags inside the reserves and sanctuaries.
The ten places identified for Swachh Bharat drive include—- Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary, Andhra Pradesh
- Gir National Park, Gujarat
- Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh
- Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, Maharshtra
- Flamingo Sanctuary, Maharashtra
- Nagarhole Tiger Reserve, Karnataka
- Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala
- Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan
- Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu
- Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve, Uttarakhand
The sanctuaries are spread over approximately 1.61 lakh sq. km. and about 32 lakh visitors visit them every year. Besides ensuring cleanliness of international excellence-level at these ten places, the government will also implement standard operating procedures or SOP for getting rid of garbage.
A campaign was launched as part of Swachh Bharat fortnight from 1st June to 15th June. All the Principal Chief Conservators of Forest, Chief Wildlife Wardens, National Tiger Conservation Authority, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau and other agencies associated with the wildlife wing of the Environment Ministry took part in the campaign. Considering success of the campaign, the government has decided to continue its implementation for the whole year. - EU Film Festival begin
The European Union (EU) Film Festival began in Kolkata on 24th June with a screening of German film ‘Jack. Organized by the Delegation of the European Union and embassies of EU Member States, the festival is being held in partnership with Federation of Film Societies of India, Cine Central, West Bengal Film Centre ‘Nandan’ and British Council
European Union Film Festival will be hosted in Kolkata across two venues - Nandan and British Council, till July 2. The festival will feature 24 acclaimed and award winning European films from Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
The inaugural film ‘Jack’ tells the story of a ten year old abandoned boy who picks up his six-year- old brother and finds his way to life on his own. At the end of the film, he holds up a mirror to the audience.
The film directed by Edward Berger in 2014 has won international awards including the Silver Award for Best film in LOLA 2015 (Deutscher Filmpreis 2015).
The festival, currently running in Delhi, Chennai, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Bangalore, will traverse further through Kolkata, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Ahmedabad, Pune, and Jodhpur till August 14, 2016. - India loses bid to join Nuclear Suppliers Group
After a nail-biting two-day plenary session in Seoul, the elite Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) turned down India’s membership bid despite an unprecedented diplomatic push by the government, with deliberations moving to a new dimension – the issue of including countries that are not party to non-proliferation treaty (NPT).
The main reason why India was unable to make it to the NSG’s high table was because it is not a signatory to the NPT. Although it was China that mainly stressed on this point, other countries such as Austria, New Zealand, Ireland and Turkey also joined the chorus
In a statement issued by the NSG, the grouping said discussions on the issue of “Technical, Legal and Political Aspects of the Participation of non-NPT States in the NSG” were held.
The issue was discussed by the 48-nation nuclear bloc till 23rd June when a special session of the NSG was convened, which went on for three hours, to discuss the ‘participation’ of non-NPT members into the grouping. However, by 24th June, as the day came to a close in Seoul, it was clear that India’s membership bid had failed.
Brazil had reservations over whether membership to countries can be granted on a non-discriminatory basis. But, it was Switzerland that sprung a surprise. Although the Swiss government had assured India of its support when their President met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it raised questi-ons against India’s participation.
In 2008, India had obtained a waiver from the NSG to have civil nuclear cooperation with countries bilaterally, despite not being a signatory of the NPT and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). The waiver immunes India’s nuclear facilities from NSG’s control and its ability to conduct commerce on nuclear energy.
The government also highlighted that an “early decision” on India’s NSG application “remains in larger global interest” of energy security and combating climate change. In fact, the MEA stressed on the fact that its application has gained momentum in view of the India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) in the climate change agreement that was signed in Paris. - Smart city mission launched
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 25th June launched the 'Smart City Mission' involving 83 projects from 20 different cities in the country. According to him:- Smart City Mission is people’s movement as people want change and they also wish to participate in the change.
- Development is achieved not only because of the projects but riding on of people’s aspirations.
- People should not think urbanization as a problem but an opportunity
- Cities can fight poverty
The Smart City Mission' projects which were launched included 14 projects of Pune and 69 projects from 20 different cities in the country to be implemented at a cost of Rs. 1,770 crore.
These projects are related to solid waste management under Swachh Bharat Mission, water supply projects, sewage treatment plants and development of open and green spaces under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation.
It also includes housing projects for urban poor under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and area development and technology based pan-city solutions under Smart Cities Mission.
Modi also inaugurated 'Make Your City SMART' contest, aimed at involving citizens in designing smart cities. The prime minister also inaugurated 'Smart Net Portal' which enables the cities under different urban missions to share ideas and solutions for various issues during the implementation of various missions. - 150 million-year-old dino footprints found in Rajasthan
A team from the geological department of Jainarayan Vyas University, Jodhpur has discovered 150 million-year-old footprints of Eubrontes Gleneronsensis Theropod dinosaurs in Lathi formation in Jaisalmer district. These carnivores were 1-3 metres in height and seem to belong to the coastal environment.
Fossils of Eubrontes Theropod dinosaurs have been found worldwide in France, Poland, Slovakia, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Australia and the US. The footprints of Eubrontes Gleneronsensis Theropod dinosaurs have been discovered for the first time by Dr Virendra Singh Parihar, Dr Suresh Chandra Mathur and Dr Shankar Lal Nama.
Morphologically, footprints of Eubrontes Gleneronsesis Theropod dinosaurs are large about 30 cm long, tridactyle, strong with thick toes. Their body is estimated to be 1-3m tall and 5-7m in length," Parihar said. "The Katrol formation of Kutch basin and Baisakhi formation of Jaisalmer basin are potential sites for remains of dinosaurs."
This discovery might open new vistas in searching dinosaur fossils in equivalent rocks. The finding is important as professor Mathur along with his team discovered mass mortality horizon (bone bed) containing fossils of dinosaur, crocodile, gastropods and fishes from Fategarh formation with magnetic spherules.
Mathur said this discovery shows the cause and effect relationship and can help solve the mystery of the extinction of dinosaurs. - Centre forms team to assess existing water bodies in Western UP
Centre has constituted a five member team to assess the existing water bodies, farm pond and other sources of irrigation in the selected districts of Western Uttar Pradesh including Meerut and Muzaffarnagar.
The team will be on a two day visit to several villages of these areas from tomorrow to study status of irrigation development and implementation of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojna.
The team of officers established by the Agriculture Ministry will suggest various measures for improving ground water recharge besides studying the feasibility of promoting micro irrigation and linking with available sources of water. It will also assess the irrigation requirement in sugarcane areas, the water use efficiency for sugarcane crop and measures to promote precision irrigation in sugarcane farms. - Govt to set up central agricultural university in Shillong: Minister
Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, Radha Mohan Singh on 14th June said Central Government will set up a central agricultural university in Umiam, Shillong. The Central Government has initiated a new scheme for promoting organic farming exclusively for the North East region, adding that earlier there was no such scheme to promote organic farming in the country. He said, Meghalaya is taking gigantic steps to become an organic state like Sikkim. - Underwater robots in Bay of Bengal to better predict monsoon
To better understand and predict South Asia's seasonal monsoon, scientists are getting ready to release robots in the Bay of Bengal in a study of how ocean conditions might affect rainfall patterns.
The monsoon, which hits between June and September, delivers more than 70% of India's annual rainfall. Its arrival is eagerly awaited by hundreds of millions of subsistence farmers, and delays can ruin crops or exacerbate drought.
Yet, the rains are hard to predict and depend on the complex interplay between global atmospheric and oceanic movements in ways not yet fully understood. They can be affected by weather phenomena such as El Nino, and could become even more erratic with climate change and even air pollution.
One of the biggest mysteries is how the water currents work, with colder and fresher water streaming into the northern part of the bay, while warmer and saltier water flows in further south from the Arabian Sea.
The colder water tends to stay at the surface, while warmer saline water swirls in below. But as the two masses mix, the warmer water moves toward the surface and releases heat and moisture, which then powers atmospheric storms.
While scientists have known that small changes in the water's surface temperatures can have a big impact, they have never thoroughly studied those temperature changes during the monsoon season — partly because working from a ship during severe weather involves navigating strong winds and high waves.
Working from an Indian research ship departing the southern port city of Chennai later this month, the British scientists will spend a month at sea releasing seven underwater robots across a 400-kilometer (250-mile) stretch of water. - Govt approves 12 desinations for Krishna circuit, 11 proposed for Ramayana
The government has approved to set up 12 destinations across five states under the Krishna circuit. As many as 11 destinations are also proposed to be developed under the Ramayana circuit in six states.
The twin proposals came up during the first meeting of the National Committees on Ramayana and Krishna circuits held under the chairmanship of Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma at New Delhi on 14th June. - Govt launches scheme for setting up of 1000 MW wind power project
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has launched a scheme for setting up of 1000 Mega Watt Wind Power Project connected to transmission network of Central Transmission Utility. The objective of the scheme is to facilitate supply of wind power to the non-windy states at a price discovered through transparent bidding process.
Ministry has designated Solar Energy Corporation of India as nodal agency for implementation of the scheme. Government has set an ambitious target of achieving 175 Giga Watt power capacity from renewable energy resources by 2022. Out of this, 60 Giga Watt has to come from wind power. - Government nod to 6 international agreements
The government on 15th June gave its nod to six international agreements, including one which will allow India undertake exploration of high value mineral deposits at seabed and another to improve air connectivity with Taiwan.
The Union Cabinet which met approved signing of the memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with various countries and international agencies in the fields of science and technology, air travel and labour welfare.
The agreement between the Ministry of Earth Sciences and the International Seabed Authority (ISA) will allow India to undertake exploration and other developmental activities related to polymetallic sulphides in the allotted area of 10,000 sq km.
It will be done in parts of Central and South-West Indian Ridges (SWIR), located in the Indian Ocean. By signing the 15-year contract, India's exclusive rights for exploration of polymetallic sulphides in the allotted area in the Central Indian Ridge, and South West Indian Ridge in Indian Ocean will be formalised.
It will also enhance India's presence in the Indian Ocean where other players like China, Korea and Germany are active. - Govt launches Vidyanjali School Volunteer programme
To boost community participation in government schools, HRD Minister Smriti Irani launches Vidyanjali School Volunteer programme. Under it, volunteers, including Indian diaspora and retired teachers among others will provide co-scholastic activities for children.
In an apparent effort to improve the functioning of primary schools in the country and enhance the learning abilities of the students, government has come up with a novel beginning.
Under the Sarv Sikhsha Abhiyaan, Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani launched the Vidyanjali School Volunteer programme, terming it a constructive effort to engage participatory citizenry.
The scheme intends to encourage all round development of the child by inculcating reading culture, enhancing writing, speaking and theatre skills at the school and community level.
The online platform is targeted at creating reading culture at the school and community level by engaging volunteers in government schools.
NRIs, retired teachers and government officials, former defense officers, professionals and home makers can all become volunteers under the scheme. The registration for the same can be done at mygov portal or mygov mobile app. The initiative is aimed at enhancing community participation in government schools. More than 2200 government schools are already associated with Vidyanjali. The target is to connect every government school to the scheme by the end of this year. - Congressional resolution introduced backing India's UNSC bid
A resolution has been introduced in the US House of Representatives supporting India's bid for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council. The resolution, introduced in the House, says that a permanent seat for India in the UNSC will strengthen democracy around the world.
It was introduced by Congressman Frank Pallone, the co-founder of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans and Congressman Ami Bera, the only Indian-American in the Congress and current co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans. India is the only country which has been endorsed by the Obama administration for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council.
In a statement after he introduced the bill, Mr Pallone said, at a time when international relations are being redefined, the US should acknowledge and empower those nations that share America's enduring core values. - Union Minister Ananth Kumar launches India Chem 2016 in Mumbai
Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers Ananth Kumar launched the India-Chem 2016, in Mumbai on 16th June. The event has been jointly organised by Ministry of Chemical and Petrochemicals and FICCI. India currently ranks 6th in the world in chemical sector. - 2002 Gulberg Society case: Court awards life sentence to 11
In Gujarat, Ahmedabad Special court awarded life imprisonment to 11 persons, who were held guilty of murder in the Gulberg society massacre case.
Pronouncing the quantum of sentenced on 17th June, the court also awarded 7 years imprisonment to 12 persons while 10 years imprisonment to one convict. Ruling out the capital punishment to any of the convicts, the court said that the accused posed no danger to the society.
The massacre occurred on 28th February 2002 in Gulbarg society of Ahmedabad after the Godhra train carnage. The verdict came after more than 14 years of massacre.
The court found 11 persons guilty of murder while remaining 13 was convicted for charges such as arson and rioting. 36 accused in this case had been acquitted by the court. - India to export missile systems to 'certain' friendly nations
According to the Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Government has decided in principle to allow export of missile systems to 'certain' countries who have friendly relationship with India, according to him:- Policy of export was always existing earlier, but the problem was lack of spare capacity after meeting requirement of the country's armed forces
- The production capacity for various missile systems like ' Akash ' had been been improved now
- In-principle decision has been taken to allow exports to certain countries who are in friendly relationship with India, if they manage to export, then we would enhance the capacity by 10 per cent so that the forces are not deprived
- On possible export of BrahMos missiles to Vietnam, which he had visited earlier this month, he said the southeast Asian country had expressed interest and a group would be set up to discuss about their requirement.
- India scripts history as IAF inducts 3 women fighter pilots
Three women flight cadets made history on 18th June as they were commissioned as fighter pilots in the Indian Air Force for the first time ever.
Bhawana Kanth, Avani Chatuvedi and Mohana Singh were commissioned in presence of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar at a ceremony at the Air Force Academy, Dundigal on the outskirts of Hyderabad.
Earlier, the defence minister conferred President's Commission behalf of the President of India, on flying Cadets Avani Chaturvedi from Madhya Pradesh, Bhawana Kanth from Bihar anwd Mohana Singh from Gujarat and 126 others and commissioned into service on their successful completion of various graduation courses conducted by the Indian Air Force and the Navy. - Boeing, Tata sets up plant to make Apache fuselages in Hyderabad
Boeing and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) have joined hands to set up a facility in Hyderabd to co-produce Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopter fuselages and other aerostructures.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on 18th June laid the foundation stone of Tata Boeing Aerospace Limited (TBAL) at the aerospace Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Adibatla on the city outskirts. The facility will also deal in integrated systems in aerospace and will eventually be the sole producer of AH-64 fuselage globally.
The AH-64 Apache is the world's most advanced multi-role combat helicopter and used by the US forces as well as many other countries, including India.
Parrikar termed the joint venture one of the initial big foreign direct investment in defence and aerospace under the government's 'Make in India' initiative. He noted that Boeing kept its word given to him at the concluding of Apache and Chinok deals.
TASL, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons, is already on contract to manufacture aerostructures for Boeing's CH-47 Chinook and AH-6i helicopters. - Railway Minister flags off Tiger Express
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on 5th June flagged off Tiger Express, a semi-luxury tourist train, from Safdarjung station New Delhi.
Flagging off the train using a remote control from Mumbai, Mr Prabhu said the train has been launched on the World Environment Day with an aim to spread awareness among people on tiger conservation. He said Railways is fully committed to address environmental issues. Mr Prabhu announced that IRCTC will launch more tourist circuit trains like elephant circuit, desert circuit etc.
The Tiger Express is one of the most innovative tourist products launched by Railways.
The semi-luxury train will take the guests on board to the world famous Bandhavgarh and Kanha National Parks in Madhya Pradesh. The 5 days and 6 nights itinerary of the Tiger Express includes two Tiger Safaris. - Guwahati becomes first city to have City Animal
The Assam state capital Guwahati on 6th June become the first city in the country to have its own City Animal with the Kamrup Metropolitan district administration declaring the Gangetic River Dolphin as the mascot. Kamrup Metropolitan Deputy Commissioner M Angamuthu said that the animal, locally known as ‘Sihu’, would be the ‘City Animal’ of Guwahati.
The district administration had organised online and off-line voting among three protected creatures, which are on the verge of extinction, to decide the mascot.
Along with Gangetic River Dolphin, the other two animals were Black Softshell Turtle (Bor Kaso) and Greater Adjutant Stork (Hargila). - Election Commission wants law amended to empower it to postpone, cancel polls
The Election Commission on 6th June asked the government to amend the electoral law to empower it to either postpone or countermand elections if evidence emerge of use of money to influence voters.
In a letter to the Law Ministry, the Commission said a new clause '58 B' may be inserted in the Representation of the People Act for the purpose. It has requested the government to take "early action" on its proposal. The Election Commission's move comes against the backdrop of parties allegedly doling out cash and gifts to woo the electorate. - Ajit Jogi announces formation of new party
Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi on 6th June announced to float a new party. He said his party will fight against poverty, unemployment and hunger. In the meeting he invited suggestions from his supporters over the name of new party and its symbol. - India, ADB sign $120 mn loan pact for irrigation in Odisha
India on 7th June signed loan agreement of USD 12 crore with the Asian Development Bank in New Delhi to improve irrigation and water management infrastructure in Odisha. The financing will be used for modernizing seven irrigation subprojects resulting in improved irrigation in over one lakh hectares and strengthening the institutional capacity of Odisha’s Department of Water Resources.
The agriculture is a priority sector for the country and especially for Odisha because of its high potential to generate jobs and contribute to inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
The project aims to improve existing irrigation infrastructure, operation and maintenance, and water use efficiency that will lead to higher agricultural productivity. - India truly aligned with America now, PM Modi hints in his address to US Congress
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 8th June eased India towards an informal alliance with the United States, saying the relationship has "overcome the hesitations of history" and suggesting the time is propitious for Washington and New Delhi to become ideal partners even through occasional differences.
In a 45-minute address to the joint session of the US Congress , Modi invoked former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's expression of "natural allies" - a term had been discarded in the years since - to indicate India was well and truly aligned with the United States now.
He cited a range of common objectives and collaborations - from securing the Indian Ocean to science and technology cooperation - to emphasize that New Delhi is ready to fulfill President Obama's vision of India and the US forming the defining partnership of the 21st century. Modi said that- Constitution is the only holy book for his government
- The people of India enjoyed freedom and equality regardless of their religion and faith
- Asserted India's claim for a seat at the high table -- balked largely by China -- without once mentioning Beijing.
- Emphasized that India is ready to be the net security provider for the Indian Ocean region, anchoring peace and prosperity from Asia to Africa, from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific, but it's effectiveness would increase only if such institutions reflect the realities of now
- Implicitly criticized past US policies towards Pakistan, reminding them (without naming Pakistan) that terrorism was incubated in India's neighborhood, and refusing to reward those who sponsored terrorism is the first step in holding them accountable.
6th PM to address, US house
Modi has become 6th Prime Minister to address in US Congress. The other Prime Ministers are…- Jawaharlal Nehru (October 13th, 1949)
- Rajiv Gandhi (June 13th, 1985)
- PV Narasimha Rao ( 18th May, 1994)
- AB Vajpayee (14th September, 2000)
- Manmohan Singh (19th July, 2005)
- India ranked 141 in global peace index
India was on 8th June ranked 141 on a Global Peace Index -- making it less peaceful than countries like Burundi, Serbia and Burkina Faso -- with violence taking a USD 680-billion toll on its economy in 2015.
In a ranking of 163 countries, compiled by global think tank Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), Syria has been named the least peaceful, followed by South Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia. On the other hand, Iceland was ranked as the world’s most peaceful country, followed by Denmark and Austria.
India has moved up two position, from 141st last year, but the study said the country’s peace score has “deteriorated” over the past year -- which means the slight rise in ranking could be due to worse performance of others.
The report said that in the last decade, India’s position deteriorated when it came to peace “by 5 % largely due to deteriorations in the indicators measuring UN peacekeeping funding and the level of political terror”.
Within South Asia, Bhutan was ranked best (13th overall rank), while India was fifth followed by Pakistan at sixth (overall 153rd) and Afghanistan at sixth place (global 160th).
The report said, “India’s scores for ongoing domestic and international conflict and militarisation have deteriorated slightly. The country remains vulnerable to acts of terror and security threats at its shared border with Pakistan.
At the same time, Sri Lanka saw the greatest upswing in its score in the region and the report attributed the country’s increased peacefulness to “better relations with neighbouring countries, particularly India”. The GPI 2016 ranks 163 independent states and territories according to their level of peacefulness. It further said that “violence impacted India’s economy by USD 679.80 billion in 2016, 9 % of India’s GDP, or USD 525 per person”. - CBI forms SIT to probe corruption cases including Agusta deal, Mallya issue
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on 9th June set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to expedite probe into the high profile corruption related cases including the irregularities in Agusta Westland deal and alleged loan fraud by businessman Vijay Mallya.
The SIT will be headed by the agency Additional Director Rakesh Asthana. The SIT will initially look into the cases like the VVIP chopper scam and alleged bank loan fraud by Mallya.
The CBI had already registered an FIR into the VVIP chopper deal on the basis of some important documents that it had obtained from Italian probe agencies in connection with the alleged payment of kickbacks by the AgustaWestland to bag the deal.
Recently an Italian court had observed that there is a reasonable belief of corruption in the helicopters deal .The deal was related to purchase of 12 helicopters during UPA rule. - Swachh Yug campaign to make villages located along Ganga open defecation-free
As part of its efforts to make villages located along Ganga open defecation-free, Government has launched a campaign ‘Swachh Yug’, a collaborative effort of three Union Ministries, to bring about behavioural change among people staying in villages along the holy river.
There are 5,169 villages located along Ganga falling under 1,651 gram panchayats (GPs) in 52 districts of five states - UP, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal from where the holy river flows through. The Union Ministries of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Water Resources and Youth Affairs are working on the campaign in a collaborative manner
As part of the campaign, the Ministry of Youth Affairs, under the coordination of the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan, will enlist support of youth agencies such as the Bharat Scouts and Guides, Nehru Yuva Kendras and National Service Scheme.
These organisations will be called upon to provide a large number of local youth volunteers to support a behaviour change campaign in the 52 districts under the Swachh Bharat Mission
To take this initiative forward, a nodal officer has been identified for each district to work on making area under their jurisdiction open defecation free (ODF) in a “mission mode” as well as to focus on cleanliness at village through proper solid and liquid waste management.
As part of the same, the first virtual classroom will be launched tomorrow in 12 districts of Bihar, where five-day training will be provided to 50 youth volunteers in each location, connected to the trainer virtually.
The districts and states have been assured of full support from Central government in these efforts. The state teams have, in turn, expressed their enthusiasm for and commitment towards the initiative, the statement said. - Centre announces new Print Media Advertisement policy
Information and Broadcasting ministry today framed a New Print Media Advertisement Policy for Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) with the objective to promote transparency and accountability in issuing of advertisements in print media.
The policy focuses on streamlining release of Government advertisements and to also promote equity and fairness among various categories of newspapers and periodicals.
The Ministry in a release said, for the first time the policy introduces a New Marking System for newspapers to incentivize Newspapers who have better professional standing and get their circulation verified by ABC and RNI. This will also ensure transparency and accountability in the release of advertisements by DAVP.
For payment and adjustment of Bills, the policy framework mandates that DAVP will release payment of advertisement bills in the name of newspaper or company account directly through ECS or NEFT.
The policy has classified newspaper and journals into three categories namely small, that is upto 25,000 copies, medium between 25,001 and 75,000 copies and big, 75,000 copies or more, per publishing day.
DAVP is the nodal agency of the Government of India for advertising on behalf of various Ministries and Departments which are funded by the government. - BJP wins 11 out of 27 seats across seven states
In Rajya Sabha elections held on 11th June in seven states to elect 27 members, BJP has won 11 seats, Samajwadi Party got seven and Congress bagged 6 seats.
In Rajasthan, BJP has won all four seats. The winning candidates including Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiya Naidu and Party's National vice president Om prakash Mathur. The other candidates who stood victorious are Harsh Vardhan singh and Ramkumar Verma.
In Uttar Pradesh, all the seven candidates of the ruling Samajwadi Party recorded victory. It's candidates Beni Prasad Verma, Reoti Raman Singh, Amar Singh, Sanjay Seth, Vishwambhar Prasad Nishad, Suresh Nagar and Sukhram Singh Yadav were declared victorious in preferential votes.
Both candidates of BSP Satish Chand Mishra and Ashok Siddhartha have also won the Rajyasabha seats. Lone BJP candidate Shiv Pratap Shukla also succeded. Kapil Sibal of Congress defeated Independent Priti Mahapatra, a BJP supported candidate.
For the lone Rajya Sabha seat in Uttarakhand, Congress candidate Pradeep Tamta defeated BJP supported independent candidate Anil Goyal. The Congress candidate got the support of party’s 26 MLAs and 6 MLAs of the PDF.
In Jharkhand, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Mahesh Poddar of BJP won both the seats. In Haryana, BJP candidate Choudhry Birendra Singh and independent Subhash Chandra stood victorious in a high velocity counting.
Union Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitaraman of BJP secured a second term in Rajya Sabha winning from Karnataka. Congress romped home with three seats.
The Congress winners included former Union Ministers Oscar Fernandes and Jairam Ramesh, the third Congress nominee, K C Ramamurthy, won the seat with the help of votes from Independents and JD(S) rebel legislators.
In Madhya Pradesh, BJP candidates Anil Madhav Dave and MJ Akbar and Congress nominee Vivek Tankha got elected to the upper house. 30 candidates were already declared elected unopposed at the end of withdrawal of nominations on June 3.
Prominent among them are Union Ministers - Suresh Prabhu and Piyush Goyal, eminent lawyer Ram Jethmalani, Lalu Prasad's daughter Misa Bharati and former JD(U) president Sharad Yadav. - With 4 new vaccines, govt to revamp immunisation drive
The health ministry will soon revamp its flagship immunisation programme 'Mission Indradhanush' to include four new vaccines.
The mission, currently providing coverage against seven life-threatening diseases, will soon also include vaccines for rotavirus, measles rubella, inactivated polio vaccine bivalent and Japanese Encephalitis for adults, according to the health minister Jagat Prakash Nadda.
Mission Indradhanush — depicting the seven colours of the rainbow — will also be rechristened. It currently provides immunisation coverage against diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles and hepatitis B.
Under Mission Indradhanush, the ministry identified 201 high-focus districts which account for nearly 50% of all unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children in the country. Of these, 82 districts are in just the four states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and account for nearly 25% of all unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children of the country. - Govt doctors' retirement age extended to 65 years
Government on 31st May approved extending retirement age of doctors of Central Health Services to 65 years with effect from June 1st, 2016. This will enable the government to retain experienced doctors for a longer period and to provide better services in its public health facilities.
Health Minister J P Nadda has said that this step will empower the government to strengthen the healthcare sector in the country. He said, it will help in providing additional doctors in the health pool of the country. - Fire at Pulgaon army depot kills 16; Defence Minister rules out sabotage
A fire at a massive military ammunition depot in Pulgaon in Maharashtra has killed two Army officers, a jawan and 13 civilian fire fighters. 17 people were injured and reported to be are in stable condition, the Army. The fire, has been completely doused and situation brought under control. According to the Defence Minister said there was no sabotage involved in the fire at the central ammunition depot. - PM releases National Disaster Management Plan
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 1st June released the National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP). This is the first ever national Disaster Management plan prepared in the country.
It will focus on making India disaster resilient and significantly reduce the loss of lives and assets. The plan is based on the four priority themes of the Sendai Framework. These include understanding disaster risk, improving the risk governance, investing in disaster risk reduction and disaster preparedness, early warning and building back better in the aftermath of a disaster.
The plan covers all phases of disaster management, prevention, mitigation, response and recovery. It provides for horizontal and vertical integration among all the agencies and departments of the Government. - NCPCR recommends reimbursement of school fees by drought-affected states
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has recommended that drought-affected states reimburse fees and other entitlement of children of farmers and economically-weaker section people studying in private schools for one year.
The Commission has written letters to the chief ministers of 12 drought-affected states to reimburse the fee and education entitlement such as school bags, uniforms, notebooks, under the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan. The move is aimed to ensure that education of the children studying in private schools in those states is not affected due to non-payment of fees. - Govt notifies setting up of company law tribunal
The government has notified the setting up of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).
This comes into effect from June 1. Former Supreme Court Judge SJ Mukhopadhaya has joined as Chairperson of the NCLAT and former Chief Justice Jammu and Kashmir High Court MM Kumar has joined as the President of the NCLT.
With the constitution of the NCLT, the Company Law Board constituted under the Companies Act, 1956 stands dissolved. Initially, NCLT will have 11 Benches, two at New Delhi and one each at Ahmedabad, Allahabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai. - Tourist visa and e-visa for foreigners wanting to do Yoga course
In a first, India will give tourist visa and e-tourist visa to foreigners willing to undergo short term course on Yoga in its bid to popularise the ancient spiritual and ascetic practice globally.
Realising the spread and importance of yoga world over, the government has decided to include attending a short term yoga programme in the list of permissible activities under tourist visa.
Besides, the government has decided to include attending a short term yoga programme and short duration medical treatment under Indian systems of medicine in the list of permissible activities under e-tourist visa.
Presently, a tourist visa is granted to a foreigner whose sole objective of visiting India is recreation, sight seeing and casual visit to meet friends or relatives, short duration medical treatment or casual business visit.
All Indian Mission abroad and Foreigners Regional Registration Officers (FRROs)/ Foreigners Registration Officers (FROs) in the country have been requested to take action as per the latest decision
TVoA (tourist visa on arrival), enabled by Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), popularly known as e-tourist visa scheme, was launched on November 27, 2014. Under the e-tourist visa scheme, an applicant receives an email authorising him or her to travel to India after it is approved and he or she can travel with a print-out of this authorisation.
On arrival, the visitor has to present the authorisation to the immigration authorities who would then stamp the entry into the country. Till now, the scheme has been extended to 150 countries at 16 Indian airports designated for providing e-tourist visa service.
Since the launch of the scheme, more than around 9 lakh visas have been issued. At present, on an average, 3,500 e-tourist visas are being granted daily to foreign nationals.
In addition, Japanese nationals are given visa-on-arrival facility, a move that is expected to boost inflow of tourists and business visitors.
The visa-on-arrival for Japanese is issued in business, tourist, medical and conference categories. It has a validity of 30 days. - Special court convicts 24 persons in 2002 Gulbarg society riots case
In Gujarat, a special court in Ahmedabad on 2nd June convicted 24 persons in 2002 post Godhra riots case of Gulberg society. Out of these, 11 have been charged for murder. 36 persons have been acquitted in the case.
The Special Court Judge PB Desai also acquitted 36 others including sitting BJP corporator Bipin Patel. The Court also dropped the conspiracy charges against all of them. Those convicted include VHP leader Atul Vaidya.
Congress corporator Meghsinh Chaudhari and KG Erda, then police inspector of the area under which the Gulberg Society was located, are among those acquitted. The special court’s verdict of 2002 Gulberg Society massacre received mixed reactions in the state as the opposition party has criticised the verdict.
The court will pronounce the sentence for the convicts on 6th June.
Gubarg Society, is a Muslim residential pocket in Naroda Patiya area of Ahmedabad, which was attacked a day after the Sabarmati Express was burnt in Godhra in 2002. 69 people, including former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, were killed in the attacks." - Govt to integrate rivers to boost inland water ways
The government has decided to integrate rivers to boost inland water ways. The development of inland water ways will also reduce the logistic costs.
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways and Shipping Mr. Nitin Gadkari said this while addressing a Video-link Press Conference with 9 coastal states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal through NIC network in Mumbai.
He said that Parliament has cleared 5 river projects as inland water ways. More 111 rivers are being planned along with 200 ports in Ganga.
The Union Minister further stated that, 4 lakh crores investment is expected in development of infrastructure. This will also be an impetus to the employment field as it will generate 60 lakhs jobs. He further added that 27 industrial cluster are being developed which will be a game changer.
Mr. Gadkari informed that new port Bellakeri is being constructed at the cost of 4000 crores. It will help in the developemnet of the state of Karnataka. The centre has Rs. 6250 crores plan in Karnataka. He also added that Port rail connectivity office has been started in Mumbai and said that passenger jetty is being planned at Mangalor.
Referring to the state of Orissa, Mr. Gadkari said that Talcher to Paradeep rail line has been planned at the cost of 8000 crores .
He said that Paradeep port is very important as it will become World's biggest port after its plan expansion. He further assured that the Cost of power will be reduced once cost of transportation of coal is reduced.
He hailed the profit potential all the ports. He said that at present the profit generated from the ports is 6000 crores and next year it will be 8000 crores. - Suresh Prabhu, Chidambaram, Goyal elected to Rajya Sabha
Railways minister Suresh Prabhu, power minister Piyush Goyal and Congress leader P Chidambaram were on 3rd June elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha.
Goyal (Bharatiya Janata Party) and Chidambaram were elected from Maharashtra, along with four others. These were Praful Patel of the Nationalist Congress Party, Vinay Sahasrabuddhe and Vikas Mahatme of the BJP and Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut.
The deadline for withdrawal of nominations for the biennial polls to 58 seats of the Rajya Sabha ended on 3rd June afternoon. As none of the six candidates for as many Rajya Sabha vacancies from Maharashtra pulled out, all were elected to the Upper House.
Similarly, all four who had filed nominations for that many vacancies in Andhra Pradesh were also elected to the Rajya Sabha.
These included Prabhu and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader and Union minister of state for science and technology Y Satyanarayana Chowdary. Two other candidates - TDP’s T G Venkatesh and V Vijaysai Reddy of YSR Congress were also elected unopposed. Prabhu was elected with the support from the BJP ally TDP.
Candidates in Bihar and Tamil Nadu were also elected unopposed. In Tamil Nadu, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam candidates R Vaithilingam, A Navaneethakrishnan, A Vijayakumar, former Union Minister S R Balasubramoniyan, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam nominees R S Bharathi and T K S Elangovan were declared elected to fill the vacancies of the six members from the state.
With the election of four MPs, the strength of AIADMK will go up to 12 from the present 11 in the Rajya Sabha, while that of DMK’s will remain four.
Five candidates declared elected from Bihar are Janata Dal (United)’s Sharad Yadav and R P Singh; Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Misa Bharti and Supreme Court lawyer Ram Jethmalani; and BJP’s Gopal Narayan Singh. Bharti is the daughter of RJD chief Lalu Prasad while Jethmalani is his lawyer in the fodder scam. The RJD, prior to this, had no members in the Rajya Sabha, while JD(U) now has nine.
In Punjab, Congress leader Ambika Soni and Shiromani Akali Dal's Balwinder Singh Bhunder were declared elected to the two Rajya Sabha seats from the state falling vacant on July 4, with the end of the terms of both Bhunder and Soni.
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