NATIONAL MAY 2011

NATIONAL MAY 2011

• Union Government on 28 May 2011 decided to set up a high level committee under the chairmanship of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to tackle the menace of black money. The members of the committee include the director, Enforcement Directorate(ED), Director-General, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Director-General (Currency), and other top tax and revenue department officials. The commissioner of income tax (Investigations) of the CBDT would be its member secretary. The panel was set up to examine tightening of laws to curb the growth of black money as well as to suggest ways to declare illegally generated wealth as national asset. 
• UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi laid the foundation stone for the construction of a permanent bridge over river Ravi at Basohli in Kathua district of Jammu region. The bridge upon competition will link Jammu & Kashmir with the neighbouring states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. The construction of the bridge is likely open up new areas for development and tourism in Kathua and Doda districts and along the Ranjit Sagar Dam. The 592 meter bridge is to be built by the Border Roads Organization of the Ministry of Defence at a cost of 145 Crore rupees and will open up an alternative route to National Highway 1A and to the Kashmir Valley via Basohli, Bani, Bhaderwah, Kishtwar, Chhatroo and Anantnag, boosting development and better connectivity. The Bridge is scheduled to be completed by September 2014. 
• The UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) shortlisted Western Ghats for inclusion in the World heritage List. This will help in protecting this biodiversity rich area from land-use change and other development activities. The UNESCO shortlist comprised four sites in Maharashtra (Sahyadri)- Kas Plateau, Radhanagri wildlife sanctuary, Chandoli national park, Koyna wildlife sanctuary. The other sites which are shortlisted by UNESCO are spread across Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra. 
• The Union Cabinet of India gave approval for conducting the Below Poverty Line (BPL) Census in rural and urban areas. The Census would be conducted by the Ministry of Rural Development in association with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) and the Registrar General of India (RGI). The BPL Census would pave the way to identify the households living below the poverty line in rural and urban areas of the country. The entire process will be completed by December 2011. The results of the BPL Census would be utilized in the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-13 to 2016-17). The enumeration of castes will also be done simultaneously along with the BPL census. 
• The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare decided to provide free nutritious food, transportation and treatment to all pregnant women who visit government facilities for delivery. Moreover, free health care services will also be given to the newborn babies. The ministry took this decision with the objective of improving the maternal and infant mortality in India. This scheme will be launched on 1 June 2011 from Mewat, Haryana. It will apply for all women from the sub-centre to the district level hospital levels, covered under the National Rural Health Mission. Whatever the costs involved in transporting pregnant women to and from medical centres, it will be incurred by the government of India. 
• A memorandum of Understanding was signed between OP Jindal Global University and the National Institute of Administrative Research of the Lal Bahadur National Academy of Administration, Mussorie. The MoU will provide for exchange of faculty, hosting of visiting academic delegations, research scholars, training of IAS officers and organisation of conferences. The National Institute of Administrative Research of the Lal Bahadur National Academy of Administration, Mussorie is the premier national-level training institution for IAS officers. 
• India and the World Bank signed IDA (International Development Association) credit of 162.7 million dollars for Rajasthan Rural Livelihoods Project, which will finance livelihood opportunities for some 400000 village households in 17 districts of Rajasthan. The funding for the Rajasthan Rural Livelihoods Project will help improve economic opportunities for rural communities, especially women and marginal groups, in 9000 villages of the state. 
• J Jayalalithaa was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on 16 May 2011 by Governor SS Barnala along with 33 cabinet ministers at the Madras University. Her party All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) stomped to victory in the state elections, landing 203 of the 234 seats in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. The DMK and the Congress parties contested the election jointly, and were hammered, with the DMK delivering one of its worst performances ever, managing barely 22 seats. 
• Tarun Gogoi from the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) was sworn in Assam Chief Minister for the third consecutive term on 18 May 2011 by Governor Janaki Ballav Patnaik at the Raj Bhavan in Guwahati. Gogoi contested and won the election from the Titabar constituency. 
• Data on infant deaths across states in India was released in May 2011. The data revealed that infant mortality rate for India as a whole stood at 50 in 2009, down by 30% compared to a decade ago. The rate is much higher than developed countries but the pace at which it is declining is encouraging. The data, a part of the latest Sample Registration Survey (SRS) report released by the Census office at New Delhi covered a sample of 15 lakh households or nearly 72 lakh persons. The survey was done in 2009. Kerala continues to top the rankings by having the lowest Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) of 12 among all Indian states. Delhi is the only major state which has registered a worsening of the IMR over the past decade, driven by an increase in infant mortality in the rural areas. Three states – Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Maharashtra emerged as front runners in reducing baby deaths over the past decade. Tamil Nadu reduced infant mortality by a whopping 46%, West Bengal by 37% and Maharashtra by 35%. 
• The Working group of NAC (National Advisory Council) drafted a detailed note on land acquisition and relief and rehabilitation. The two bills that the Working Group proposed to merge are the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill, 2009 which proposed amendments to the Land Acquisition Act 1894 and the resettlement and Rehabilitation Bill, 2009 a statutory framework for Rehabilitation and Resettlement of persons and affected by any development project. 
• Human rights activist Binayak Sen was appointed member of the Planning Commission's 40 member Steering Committee on Health, which will advise the panel on the Twelfth Five-Year Plan (2012-2017). He will represent the Bilaspur-based healthcare organisation, Jan Swasthya Sahyog. His experience of having worked as a paediatrician in Chhattisgarh's tribal belt will enable him to provide his input on the health of tribal children. It will be expected to suggest effective initiatives for the monitoring and evaluation of health programmes and recommend measurable indicators for the 12th Plan. 
• Karnataka on 12 May 2011 became the first state in India to launch an e-payment system for commercial tax payers. With e-payment system in place, the dealers can remit their commercial taxes anytime, anywhere. They need not approach an office of Commercial Taxes Department (CTD) in person. At present, e-remittances can be made from six banks-SBI, SBM, SBH, Syndicate Bank, Canara Bank and Union Bank of India. The CTD collection is more than Rs 2,000 crore per month and till now, these collections were made through cheques by the dealers. 
• Supreme Court of India stayed the Allahabad High Court Judgment on Ram Janmabhoomi- Babri Masjid dispute according to which two-thirds of the disputed site was given to Hindu Claimants while keeping aside the rest for Muslim groups. A bench of Supreme Court comprising Justices Aftab Alam and RM Lodha gave the stay order after hearing the petitioners Sunni Waqf Board, Nirmohi Akhara and guardian of the idol of Lord Ram. The Supreme Court reasoned that by dividing the disputed land among the groups the high court gave a very new dimension to the case. The partition of land was never sought by any party as a solution. The Supreme Court termed the High Court judgment as surprising and strange. The Allahabad High Court had given the judgment on 30 September 2010 which gave two-thirds of disputed Ram Janmabhoomi- Babri Masjid site to Hindu Claminants while keeping aside the rest for Muslim groups. 
• The Supreme Court of India directed the high courts and trial courts in India to award the death sentence to people convicted in crimes related to honour killings. A bench of Supreme Court comprising Justice Markandey Katju and Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra gave the judgment. The bench stated that honour killings come within the category of rarest of rare cases deserving death punishment. The bench observed that death penalty is needed to stamp out the barbaric and feudal practice of honour killings. 
• A division bench of the Bombay High Court ruled that dying declarations could not be accepted as truth and set aside the life imprisonment given to Ashok Jadhav by a trial court. The wife of Ashok Jadhav, Sangita had suffered 98 percent burns in June 2002 and gave two dying declarations stating that her husband had set her on fire following a quarrel. Bombay high Court stated that there was no circumstantial evidence to prove the authenticity of the statements. The dying declarations made in this case lack any trustworthiness. 
• The Central Information Commission (CIC) overturned its own decision and ruled that the Supreme Court cannot refuse information on judicial matters if an applicant has asked for it under the Right to Information Act. At present, information disclosure related to a person’s own case could be applied to the Supreme Court under the RTI act. However, in case of a third party, the Supreme Court ruled that application must be made under court rules. According to Rule 2 of the Supreme Court, the applicant must establish good cause before the court if he wants information regarding any case. But CIC objected to that by saying it goes against the RTI act. Information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi gave the order stating that all citizens have the right to access information under Section 3 of the Right to Information Act. 
• Mamata Banerjee terminated the Left Front's 34-year stranglehold on West Bengal. The Banerjee-led alliance was set to capture over two-thirds majority by winning over 225 seats in the 294 seat assembly. Banerjee, railway minister at the Centre, did not contest the elections. 
• Jayalalitha wrested power with a landslide victory over DMK in the T.N assembly elections. Congress added to Left's discomfiture by snatching power in Kerala by a slender margin while it scored a spectacular hat trick in Assam bagging a near two-third majority to retain power. However, the party surrendered power to a rebel, Rangasvamy in Puducherry who left the party only a few months ago and teamed up with AIADMK to secure two-thirds majority in the 30-member assembly. 
• The Congress was humiliated in Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh. YS Jagan Mohan Reddy won with a majority of around 5. 45 lakh votes and his mother Vijayamma won in Pulivendula with a majority of around 85 thousand votes. 
• The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), in collaboration with the Centre for Science Development and Media Studies (CSDMS) and Elets Technomedia Pvt. Ltd decided to host a World Education Summit (WES) 2011 from 13 to 15 July 2011 in New Delhi. IGNOU will give away World Education Awards during the summit under the categories of School Education, Higher Education, Vocational and Skills Education, Government Initiatives and Private Initiatives. These awards were instituted with the aim of felicitating and acknowledging unique and innovative initiatives in the field of education globally. 
• Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Dorji Khandu on a flight from Tawang died along with four others after their helicopter crashed in bad weather in the mountains. The Pawan Hans helicopter carrying among others Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Dorjee Khandu had gone missing on 30 April 2011. The search operation that followed came to an end on 4 May 2011 when Dorjee's body was found among the wreckage of the Pawan Hans at 15,000ft near Luguthang, 60 km from Tawang town. Luguthang is one of the world's highest villages and India's remotest polling station. The chopper was spotted in a place between Kyela and Lobothang in the north east of the Sila pass in the mountainous region of Arunachal Pradesh. A total of five people including the pilot perished in the crash of single-engined EuroCopter B8 of Pawan Hans. Khandu who was born in Tawang District of North East Frontier Agency on 3 March 1955 belonged to Monpa tribe. Khandu had worked in the military intelligence and participated in the Bangladesh liberation war of 1971. He had received a gold medal for meritorious service during the war.He belonged to the Indian National Congress and was the sixth Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh. 
• The Postal Department on 3 May 2011 launched the new social security scheme for Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS) to provide post-retirement financial security to over 2.73 GDS. The Postal Department decided to deposit Rs.200 per GDS per month. Union Minister of State for Communications and IT Sachin Pilot launched the Service Discharge Benefit Scheme (SDBS) for GDS .The scheme has been designed to benefit the GDSs working mainly in the rural, remote and far-flung areas across the country. Some modifications in the NPS-Lite scheme were made under the SDBS to suit the needs of the GDS. 
• The new Foreign Contribution Regulation Act came into force on 1 May 2011. Under the new law, no political party can receive foreign funds as donation. The legislation is set to prevent powers which want to use foreign funds to divide India on religious basis. According to the new law, in case, any organisation receives funds over Rs. 10 lakh, the bank will immediately inform the government to enable the agencies to track the funds. 
• The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Intel on 5 May 2011. The MoU was signed with an objective to announce a national initiative for empowering teachers through in-service programmes. The programme will be delivered through IGNOU Institute of Competency Advancement of Teacher (iCAT) centres.