NATIONAL OCTOBER 2014
- Home ministry support for Aadhar
The Union Home Ministry has come out in full support of the Aadhaar scheme, saying it will facilitate “anytime, anywhere, anyhow” authentication of beneficiaries. The Ministry said that every person got only one Aadhaar number, universal verification of identity was made possible. The Aadhaar number enabled the deprived and the needy to access services such as banking.
In its latest letter to the State governments, the Home Ministry said the benefits of Aadhaar were many and it could be used at multiple places to prove one’s identity very easily.
Aadhaar number could be used while opening a bank account as it met the ‘Know Your Customer’ norms of the RBI. The card could also be used for booking tickets online, applying for passport. “Aadhaar will give migrants universal mobility of identity. The government can now provide services and facilities to people, especially in rural areas, in a more effective manner.”
Aadhaar and the National Population Register (NPR) are national identity programmes of the Government of India. The former is being implemented by the UIDAI and the latter by the Registrar-General of India under the Home Ministry. - Contribution to Swachi Bharat, Clean Ganga come under CSR ambit
Corporate contributions towards two key initiatives of Swachh Bharat and Clean Ganga will now be counted as CSR spend. The Corporate Affairs Ministry has amended Schedule VII of Companies Act to specify that contributions to ‘Swachh Bharat Kosh’ and ‘Clean Ganga Fund’ would be eligible CSR spend.Under the CSR framework, certain companies have to fork out 2 per cent of their three-year average annual net profit towards CSR activities.
The mandatory CSR norm applies to companies having at least Rs 5 crore net profit, Rs 1,000-crore turnover or Rs 500 crore net worth. The CSR framework came into effect from April 1 this year after the enactment of a new company law in 2013. - Telangana to restore 9,000 irrigation tanks
The Telangana government will commence restoration work of 9,000 minor irrigation tanks out of 45,300 in the State from December at a cost of Rs. 4,500 crore. All the 9,000 tanks should be filled in the rainy season next year and water should be supplied to fields, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao told irrigation officials at a meeting convened by him to discuss the massive restoration work.
A release said restoration of tanks was crucial for optimum utilisation of 265 tmcft of water available to Telangana from Krishna and Godavari rivers.The tanks in Telangana had the storage capacity of 265 tmcft in the past, but they were neglected in the united State which shrunk the storage which resulted in failure to make full use of the river water.
He asked the officials to ensure that the restoration work was transparent and fast. The work should be entrusted to contractors by bidding process in e-procurement mode. There was no intention of giving the works by nomination.
The limits of the officials to invite tenders should be enhanced so that they don’t have to seek sanctions from the government. The Executive Engineers could invite tenders for works up to Rs. 50 lakh, Superintending Engineers up to Rs. One crore and Chief Engineers over and above Rupees One crore, Mr. Rao said. - VKY scheme for tribal
Union Tribal Welfare Minister Jual Oram launched the Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana (VKY), aimed at improving the infrastructure and human development indices of the tribal population, on 28th October. The scheme, modelled on one with a similar name in Gujarat, allots Rs. 10 crore to each block with a tribal population of over 33 per cent. The scheme is being piloted in Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. - India slips further in gender gap index
According to World Economic Development India stood at 114th rank in the Gender Gap Index-2014. In total 142 countries ranks were released. According to WEF, the poor rank of India is mainly down to deterioration in economic participation and opportunity, as well as educational attainment
In economic terms, India ranks 134th overall, with low scores in terms of labour force participation, wage equality and estimated earned income. Equality in terms of health and survival, too, remains a problem, where it ranks 141 out of 142 only behind Armenia. As regards, the sex ratio, India is at a poor 134th
The only silver lining is the country remains a role model in terms of political empowerment, in which it ranks 15th. India has 111 women in Parliament, with 107 women in Ministerial positions. This is the ninth year of the index, introduced by WEF in 2006. WEF said that in nine years, the world has seen only a small improvement in equality for women in the workplace, with the gender gap for economic participation and opportunity at 60 per cent worldwide having closed by only 4 per cent from 56 per cent in 2006. According to report it will take 81 years for the world to close this gap completely- India also tops the list of countries on the years with woman head of state (over the past 50 years). While it fell 13 places to 114th slot, politically it is ranked higher than the United States and the United Kingdom.
- It ranks 111 on the list of countries which have women in Parliament and 107 on the list of countries with women ministers.
- On economic participation and opportunity, India ranks 134, while on educational attainment it ranks 126. But on the health and survival parameter India’s rank is among the lowest at 142.
- Owing to its low sex ratio at birth India slumps to 114th position overall, which makes it the lowest-ranked BRICS nation and one of the few countries where female labour force participation is shrinking, the report states.
- Pointing out that it will take 81 years for gender parity at the workplace, the report shows Nordic nations dominate the Global Gender Gap Index in 2014; Nicaragua, Rwanda and the Philippines all make the top 10.
- The report says on average, in 2014, over 96 per cent of the gap in health outcomes, 94 per cent of the gap in educational attainment, 60 per cent of the gap in economic participation and 21 per cent of the gap in political empowerment has been closed. No country in the world has achieved gender equality.
- UP bags commonwealth award for kumbh mela 2013
The successful organization of Kumbh Mela-2013 has earned Uttar Pradesh the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM) award for this year. The management of Kumbh Mela-2013 was declared the overall Gold Medal winner of CAPAM 2014 International Innovations Awards.
Besides, the state was also winner in the category of Innovations in Government Services and Programmes. The awards were announced and presented during the President’s Dinner at Putrajaya International Convention Centre, Putrajaya, Malaysia on October 21, 2014,
Kumbh Mela was held at Prayag, Allahabad. An estimated 100 million people converged in the city during the 55-day Mela which had started on January 14, 2013. Maha Kumbh is held every 12 years. A temporary city spread over 2,000 hectares in Prayag was developed/redeveloped for pilgrims and tourists.
The Mela’s success has been attributed to the teamwork by both public and private sector stakeholders under the supervision of state chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and Urban Development Minister Azam Khan. Logistical operations, apart from technological and management innovations, have been appreciated and recognized as a model for governance and management of urban conglomerations, temporary cities developed at other pilgrimage destinations and camps for victims of disasters and civil strife. The then divisional commissioner of Allahabad, Devesh Chaturvedi, who is currently posted as UP planning department principal secretary, represented the state at the function. Delegates from 53 Commonwealth countries had participated in CAPAM in the biennial conference. - AP not active in implementing projects: ASSOCHAM
Andhra Pradesh paints a grim picture vis-à-vis implementation of investment projects. Over 49% projects have remained non-starter. Of these, about 28.5% projects are in announcement stage, while implementation of about 7% projects has been stalled and there is no information about projects comprising 13.5% share in total outstanding investments, according to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) Most of the investment projects attracted by AP were facing significant delays in implementation owing to a plethora of reasons like land acquisition delays, fund constraints, delay in environmental and other clearances along with law and order problems. "The new government must focus more on implementing the delayed projects on priority", the apex industry body stated in its recently-concluded paper tiled 'Strategy for Developing the New Andhra Pradesh State'.
As of March 31, 2014, Assocham said, AP had attracted total outstanding investments worth about Rs 8.2 lakh crore with power (28%), manufacturing (other than food processing - 18%), infrastructure (17%) and refinery (12%) sectors together comprising over 75% share. - Centre submitted list of 627 account holders list
The Centre on 29th October submitted a sealed cover to the Supreme Court containing a list of 627 Indians holding black money in bank accounts abroad along with a status report on the investigation conducted against them.
The Bench made it clear to Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi that it did not intend to open the three envelopes submitted by him and asked the Registry to send them to the Special Investigation Team. It directed that the envelopes should be opened only by SIT Chairman Justice MB Shah and Vice-Chairman Justice Arijit Pasayat, for a further probe in respect of the 627 names.
Investigations against over 600 people accused of stashing money abroad illegally are going on and a status report will be submitted on time, said MB Shah, chief of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money. - Government to set up tech centres
The Government is setting up 15 new technology centres to scale up competitiveness of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through clusters. MSME Secretary Madhav Lal said that capacity building in areas of cost, productivity, design and soft skills training can altogether transform the growth trajectory of an existing enterprise without a need to invest in infrastructural requirements like land, machinery etc. He launched the CII-ZED clusters, which aim to focus on fast-track competence building of the Indian manufacturing sector through intervention in areas like discipline, team work, ‘zero defect, zero effect’ on environment, the Confederation of Indian Industry said in a statement. - Two-thirds of prison inmates in India are under trials
Two of every three persons incarcerated in India have not yet been convicted of any crime, and Muslims are over-represented among such under trials, new official data show.
Despite repeated Supreme Court orders on the rights of under trials, the jails are filling ever faster with them, shows Prisons Statistics for 2013 released by the National Crime Records Bureau. The number of convicts grew by 1.4 per cent from 2012 to 2013, but the number of under trials shot up by 9.3 per cent during the period.
Men make up 96 per cent of all prison inmates. Nearly 2,000 children of women inmates live behind bars, 80 per cent of those women being under trials. - Rs 5 lakh more for 1984 riot victims
The Home Ministry is learnt to have decided to give Rs. 5 lakh additional compensation per head to the families of 3,325 people killed in the 1984 anti-Sikh violence. The decision comes on the eve of three decades of the riots.The decision, for which a formal announcement has not yet been made, could become a contentious issue, with three Assembly by-elections already announced in Delhi and Assembly elections in the near future a strong possibility.
The sum of Rs. 5 lakh each is over and above the previously announced compensation, sources said. In a related development, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh approved a proposal to enhance the compensation to civilian victims of communal, terrorist or Naxal violence from Rs 3 lakh to Rs.5 lakh. - Health scheme launched in Andhra Pradesh
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has launched Employees’ Health Scheme on 30th October. Outlining the benefits of health cards issued under ‘NTR Arogyaseva Trust’, Naidu said the cards will benefit 22 lakh persons, including 3.9 lakh employees and 3.5 lakh pensioners, together with their families. Outpatient facility is being offered for 25 kinds of ailments, along with 24X7 emergency and call centre support.
Cashless treatment will be offered through the health card, at all government and private hospitals. The scheme is estimated to cost Rs.220 crore, of which 40 per cent will be collected from the beneficiaries, and the remaining, borne by the government. Fifteen per cent of the cost will be spent on diagnostics, medicines and doctors’ appointments.
Employees over 40 years may get health checkups done free of cost in the notified hospitals once a year. The guidelines for same will be released separately. As per guidelines already issued, special clinics will be run between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., in all area, district and teaching hospitals for employees suffering from chronic ailments such as diabetes, hypertension, cancer, kidney and heart related ailments, apart from tuberculosis and leprosy.
The clinics will have sample collection and radiology facilities, and charge Rs.50 per patient for doctor’s consultation, and Rs.100 for super specialty health services. Appointments with doctors can be taken online. Medicines will be supplied by APMSIDC. - A.P. Formation Day to be celebrated on June 2
Andhra Pradesh Cabinet has decided to celebrate the formation day of the State on June 2, the appointed day on which the erstwhile AP was bifurcated instead of November 1 as was followed in the unified State.
The Cabinet approved ‘Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana’ to benefit 3.3 lakh drivers of unorganized sector by providing insurance cover of Rs.5 lakh to each of them. Government would be paying a premium of Rs.21.5 crore. The scheme would not be applicable for RTC and government drivers.
It was also decided to observe Vana Mahotsavam on a huge scale with Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu participating in the event at Visakhapatnam on November 10. Thousands of saplings would be planted on that day since thousands were uprooted by Cyclone Hudhud, the Minister added. - AP to buy 30,000 acres for new capital
Andhra Pradesh government said it would take over 30,000 acres of farm land in the 17 identified villages south of Krishna river in the Guntur district for the proposed capital city in the next three months. The government would acquire the aforesaid land through a pooling system, wherein a land owner would be given a 1,000 square-yard plot in exchange for one acre of land taken from him.
Also, they would be given Rs 25,000 per acre as compensation towards the loss of livelihood for the next ten years or till such time the plot remains unsold with the owner. An additional Rs 1,250 would be added to the compensation every year.
According to the minister, there are about 21,000 farmers living in these 17 villages. While 14 of these villages are situated in Tullur mandal, the remaining three villages belong to the neighboring Mangalagiri mandal. Rao said the government was confident of convincing all the farmers to agree to the land pooling arrangement.
According to the land pooling formula, farmers will get a share of 40 per cent of the net developed area of 2,420 square- yards that is left after keeping aside an equal extent of land (around 4,800 square yards will make one acre land) for the development of common infrastructure, the minister explained.
The entire 30,000 acre land would be divided into six sectors each having a size of 5,000 acre, and each of these sectors will have the developed plots to be given out to the farmers closer to their villages. - SC sought relaxation of Code
The Supreme Court on 31st October asked it wanted to know whether the Election Commission could consider relaxing the Model Code of Conduct in the State so that essential relief could be distributed to stranded victims.
A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India H.L. Dattu sought to know why political parties and the Omar Abdullah government did not put the requirements of the victims first and ask the Centre to postpone the elections. The Bench was hearing a PIL petition filed on behalf of the flood victims. Chief Justice Dattu said the court could not ignore the code of conduct and order the State government to distribute flood relief. - Devendra Fadnavis takes over as Maharashtra CM
Devendra Fadnavis sworn in as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra on 31st October. He is the first Chief Minister from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - BJP won in Maharashtra and Haryana
Bharatiya Janata Party has won absolute majority in Haryana, where as it emerged as a single largest party in Maharashtra. Final tallies of two states……..
Maharashtra- Total number of 288, BJP got 122, the number of seats required to form the government- 145.
- Second largest party- Shivasena. It won 63 seats
- The Congress has got 42 while NCP has got 41 seats
- Total number of Assembly seats- 90
- BJP has got 47, to form the government 46 seats required.
- INLD has emerged as the second largest party, it got 19 seats, and congress has got 15
BJP's Pritam Munde, contesting from the Beed Lok Sabha seat in Maharashtra, won by nearly 7 lakh votes - the highest ever in India's electoral history. The seat fell vacant after Pritam's father and Union minister Gopinath Munde died in a car accident.
According to the Election Commission, Pritam Munde bagged a total of 9,16,923 votes while her nearest rival, Ashokrao Shankarrao Patil of the Congress, secured 2,24,678 votes.
Munde's margin of 6,92,245 is way above the 5.7 lakh vote margin secured by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the Vadodara Lok Sabha seat in May However, the highest victory margin ever till October 18, 2014, was Left leader Anil Basu's margin of 5,92,502 votes from Arambagh.
Modi's is now the third highest victory margin, followed by Ram Vilas Paswan's 1989 margin of 5,04,448 votes.
Other important points- Savitri Jindal, who is the mother of business magnate and Congress leader Naveen Jindal, a former MP, lost to BJP's Dr Kamal Gupta by 13,646 votes from Hisar.
- Jindal, who is also stated to be the richest woman in Asia, is a minister in the outgoing Bhupinder Singh Hooda government. She is the non-executive chairperson of O P Jindal Group that has interests in the steel, power and mining sectors. She was named India's richest woman by Forbes.
- In Maharashtra, Ganpatrao Deshmukh, 88, who represented Sangola seat in Solapur district, had in 2009 become the second legislator in India after DMK Chief M Karunanidhi to have won 10 elections.
- Now he won 11 times. Deshmukh, who has worked in his drought-prone constituency, is also a former minister. He was first elected an MLA in 1962 and since then, except for the 1972 and 1995 polls, has won 10 elections. In 2012, Deshmukh completed 50 years in the Assembly and was felicitated by the House and the government.
- BSP set to lose status of national party
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is all set to lose its status as a national party after it failed to win the two seats the party needed to hold on to this status. BSP ended up winning one seat in Haryana and none in Maharashtra. The election commission will now take a formal decision on this. The party had contested on all 90 seats of Harayana and 260 seats in Maharashra. BSP candidate Tek Chand Sharma won from Prithla in Harayna, defeating Nainpal Rawat of BJP by a margin of 1,179 votes.
Winning at least two seats was crucial for BSP to save its national status, months after it got decimated in the Lok Sabha elections where it failed to win any seat.
Soon after the Lok Sabha polls, the EC had sought an explanation from BSP chief Mayawati as to why her party's national status should not be cancelled. But the party had managed to buy some time citing Haryana and Maharashtra assembly elections.
Losing the national status would deprive BSP of some benefits given by the EC like contesting elections on a common symbol, using All India Radio and Doordarshan for election campaign broadcast and free copies of electoral rolls.
Even BSP's lone sitting MLA from Jagadhari, Akram Khan, who was also the deputy speaker in Haryana assembly, lost. The BSP managed to bag barely 4.4 per cent vote share in Haryana, suggesting that Mayawati's core vote base, dalits, and once again parted ways with her. - 5-phase polls in J&K
The Election Commission (EC) announced on 25th October that Jammu and Kashmir, along with Jharkhand, will go to the polls in five phases — on November 25, and December 2, 9, 14 and 20. The counting of votes will take place on December 23 to enable the new governments in the two States to be sworn in before January 3 in Jharkhand and January 19 in Jammu and Kashmir. - Expert group on river development
The Government has constituted an Expert Advisory Group to assist the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. The group will have a Chief Adviser BN Navalawala, former secretary to the Ministry of Water Resources. It also consists of two other advisers from time to time, appointed in consultation with the chief advisers - Swasthya Bima Yojana to be merged with UHAM
The Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), which insures families of unorganized sector workers for up to Rs. 30,000 of medical care, is expected to be transferred from the Ministry of Labor and Employment to the Union Health Ministry.
The RSBY, operationalised in 2008 by the UPA government, will be merged with the Universal Health Assurance Mission (UHAM) proposed by the NDA government.
The scheme, which covers secondary care, hospitalization expenses up to Rs. 30,000 at empanelled public and private hospitals at present, is set to be expanded to include tertiary care for major surgeries, accompanied by increasing coverage beyond Rs. 30,000. - Govt frames stringent rules for airlines to check Ebola spread
India has made stringent rules for airlines to prevent the spread of Ebola virus disease (EVD). Now, both Indian and foreign carriers flying into the country will have to limit contact of passengers showing symptoms of this disease and earmark a toilet on the aircraft for their exclusive use.
Also, airline crew has been directed to use surgical face masks to cover nose and mouth of flyers showing symptoms "compatible with Ebola" like fever, weakness, sore throat, bleeding and vomiting. "Airlines must not allow other passengers to share a toilet with unwell flyers showing symptoms of Ebola. The virus mainly spreads through body fluids. Supposing an undetected Ebola patient showing the symptoms touches the toilet tap and then other flyers also do the same, the disease may spread," said a Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) official.
The regulator has adopted these guidelines from operational procedures recommended by the International Air Transport Association. Airlines have been directed to have on board additional universal precaution kits for crew cabin crew attending to the ill passengers.
Airlines have been directed to comply with these directives latest by 24th October. DGCA chief Prabhat Kumar has formed special teams at all 25 international airports in the country that will check whether airlines are complying with these directives. In case a flyer tests positive for Ebola on arrival, the plane will have to be fumigated. - Hi-tech surveillance cameras to help security forces zoom in on China
In the wake of increasing Chinese aggression and the difficulty of physically manning the vast India-China border, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is acquiring high-end surveillance cameras that can see over 20 km deep into Chinese territory. One such camera has been installed at a border outpost (BoP) in Leh and at least 50 more are in the pipeline.
The acquisition is part of a large-scale revamp in China border security infrastructure being undertaken by the government following frequent Chinese incursions in the past couple of years, the latest being over fortnight-long face-offs in Demchok and Chumar areas of Ladakh last month. Government is already in the process of acquiring vehicles and choppers for the force.
The camera is equipped for thermal imaging as well and thus can see at night too. The footage from the camera recorded over a period of 10 days would be analyzed to gauge the pattern of Chinese troop movement or infrastructure buildup.
The ITBP DG also said two of the 27 proposed roads on the border had been completed are were functioning well. He said the force had also started electronic procurement of its requirements and this had not only brought transparency but also reduced cost and widened the playing field. "We now have 100% e-procurement. This has brought prices of goods down by 20% - Smart City Kochi gets environmental nod
Smart City Kochi, Kerala's ambitious information technology business township project, has received environmental clearance for the entire project covering 246 acres even as the construction of its first IT building is nearing completion. The 6.5 lakh square feet building is fast nearing completion.
SCK will develop no less than 8.8 million sq. ft. of built-up area with substantial extent of land area being left for greenery and open spaces, to house Information and Communication Technology, Media, Finance and Research & Innovation clusters, attracting companies from within India and from abroad, the release said. The environmental clearance was given at a meeting of State Environment Impact Assessment Authority Kerala (SEIAA-K) of the Ministry of Environment and Forests followed by the State Expert Appraisal Committee's (SEAC) recommendations.
Once complete, the building is aimed to be one of the largest LEED Platinum-rated IT buildings in India, as well as all of the forthcoming structures coming up here are being developed as environment friendly, the release said. SCK has also entered into agreements for joint developments with leading IT, hospitality, realty and education companies, to make the hub coming up here an integrated township with facilities for stay, work and play. - KCR unveils new health scheme for govt. staff
The Government of Telangana has announced a new healthcare scheme for its employees, pensioners and their family members, covering all ailments and removing the ceiling on the upper limit on medical expenses.
Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao launched distribution of new health cards to employees on 22nd October at the Secretariat. The cashless healthcare scheme will benefit the families of about 4 lakh employees and about 2 lakh pensioners. The Chief Minister said that 100 per cent medical expenses of government employees and pensions would be borne by the State Government under the new scheme. There is an upper limit on the coverage of medical expenses up to Rs. 2 lakh and coverage of about 300 ailments and procedures under the current scheme.
Besides, the employees had to contribute Rs. 120 to Rs. 190 per month under the existing scheme. However, the new scheme is devoid of all such limits and contributions as the entire premium for the insurance scheme under which the treatment is given free of cost would be borne by the government.
The scheme would cover employees and their family members first and pensioners, university employees, aided employees and public sector employees would be extended the facility in a phased manner. They said that the Chief Minister promised to give best pay revision to the employees. - Rs. 6,000-cr. project for migrant shelters
The Union Housing and Poverty Alleviation Ministry has earmarked a special component for providing rental accommodation to the homeless and migrant workers in urban areas. Under its flagship Rs. 35,810-crore Housing for All by 2022 project, the Ministry will offer them a place to stay for a stipulated period and monthly rent.
The Ministry, which has earmarked Rs. 6,000 crore for rental housing, has proposed different types of dwellings for families and individuals. Rental housing has been proposed as in the absence of affordable spaces in urban areas, the migrant workforce is forced to stay in slums. The scheme envisages a house up to 30 sq.m. for families and a single room or dormitory for individuals. The Centre will fund up to 75 per cent of the construction cost of these dwellings
The corporate sector can partner in the initiative as part of its corporate social responsibility activity. Urban local bodies (ULB) will be mandated to identify the beneficiaries, work out the specifications of the rental agreements and decide the rent. “The houses can be given on rent for a period of up to five years in case of migrant workers; the time stipulation will not be followed for the destitute and the homeless
The ULBs will also be responsible for planning, execution and management of these rental accommodations; they will have to carry out city-wide surveys, GIS mapping of the city and available land. As per the government data, the housing shortage in the country is expected to go up from the current 18.78 million to 30 million by 2022, which means a shortage of one million houses in urban areas every year. - Aid for J & K
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 23rd October announced a package of Rs. 745 crore for the reconstruction of flood-ravaged houses and hospitals in Jammu and Kashmir. Modi’s announcement came after he met political and civil society delegations at the Raj Bhavan on conditions in the Valley after the September floods.
Earlier, the Prime Minister held a meeting at the airport with the Governor, Chief Minister and senior officials. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah sought liberal financial assistance from the Centre for reconstruction.
Of the Centre’s package, Rs. 570 crore has been allocated for the reconstruction of houses and Rs. 175 crore for restoration of six hospitals. - Ganga to act as fuel carriageway for 21 power projects
Ganga is all set to become the lifeline for 21 power projects in eastern India. The Inland Water Authority of India (IWAI) has prepared a plan to transport coal to these plants located between Allahabad and Haldia.
After successfully moving imported coal to one of NTPC’s plants and food grains to the North- Eastern region, the Authority is working on transporting coal to NTPC’s Barh power project in Bihar.
The Authority is planning to transport coal to 11 existing power projects and 10 projects to become operational soon in the next 5-6 years. Since the country has few barges at present, the Authority has issued expressions of interest (EOI) for getting 8-10 barges from domestic and international operators each with a carrying capacity of 2,000 tones. It also plans to lease barges to interested domestic entities. - Telangana announces many sops for farmers
The Telangana Council of Ministers has taken several farmer-friendly decisions at its meeting on 24th October, including large-scale promotion of micro irrigation and poly-house cultivation and enhancement of milk procurement price.
Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao said after the Cabinet meeting that his government had sanctioned Rs. 300 crore for promotion of micro irrigation, keeping in view the conditions in the State. Under the new scheme, farmers belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes would get 100 per cent subsidy on the drip and sprinkler implements.
Small and marginal farmers would be given 90 per cent subsidy and other farmers would get 80 per cent subsidy for cultivating their lands with the help of micro irrigation.
The government had sanctioned Rs. 252 crore for the scheme. The government had decided to provide 70 per cent subsidy up to 3 acres per farmer for cultivating vegetables. In the first year, it would be sanctioned for 1,000 acres around Hyderabad for improving vegetable supplies to the State capital, he said. Besides, the government had sanctioned Rs. 200 crore for farm mechanization, under which the farmers would get 50 per cent subsidy for procuring implements. Announcing another sop, this one to dairy farmers, the Chief Minister said the government would give Rs. 4 per litre incentive to milk producers of Vijaya Dairy.
‘SHE’ teams to crack down on eve teasers
Cracking the whip on men sexually harassing women at public places by passing lewd comments or making indecent gestures, the city police on 24th October formed ‘SHE’ teams to catch such persons. Hundred such teams, each comprising policewomen and policemen carrying secret video cameras, will look out for men harassing the fairer sex at bus-stops, colleges, junctions
Clad in plainclothes, members of ‘SHE’ teams would mix with the general public and lay in wait searching for men stalking or pestering women. “First they will record acts of men troubling women. Two members would catch the person while the other three would stand in support in case of emergency,” the Commissioner said.
The accused would be taken to the Central Crime Station (CCS) where they would be counseled in the presence of their family members after being shown video footage of their objectionable behaviour. Mr. Reddy said 100 ‘hotspots’ -- places such as bus stops, crowded junctions and transit points where women are harassed -- in the city were identified by the police. - India’s first fish hospital
The country’s first hospital to treat abnormalities and diseases in fish is set to come up in Kolkata by mid-2015. Senior scientist T J Abraham, who is spearheading the project, told that the work has already started on the project.
He said that nearly 60-65 kinds of disease and abnormality were found in fishes in India and the one reason why West Bengal slipped from the number one position in fish production was due to the fact that 10-20 per cent of them died of diseases. The institutes will not only help fish farmers increase yield by reducing the number of fish deaths, but will also ensure that people will consume healthy fish, he points out.
According to Abraham, the hospital will have 50 glass aquariums, 25 circular water tanks, each with a capacity of 500 litres, to admit and treat diseased fish. The hospital will also have a separate well-equipped pathological lab to diagnose various fish diseases.
He said that the diseased fish would be kept in aquariums for observation and after ascertaining the disease/ abnormality, medicines and tips would be provided to the growers. The fish hospital, which is funded by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, under the Union Ministry of Agriculture, has a budget of Rs five crore. Apart from Abraham, who is heading the project, there will be another scientist and the team of the two will be assisted by 4-6 research scholars initially. - President releases stamp on Anagarika Dharmapala
President Pranab Mukherjee released a commemorative postage stamp on Anagarika Dharmapala, considered one of the founding contributors of Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism and a pioneer in the revival of Buddhism in India, at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 25th October. - India @ 55 in Global Hunger Index
India has made significant progress in reducing hunger, especially among children, between 2005-06 and 2013-14 taking it to the 55th position in the Global Hunger Index 2014 (GHI) from 63rd last year
Overall, however, 2 billion people in the developing world are still under-nourished and suffer from ‘hidden hunger’, with the situation “alarming” in 14 countries, even as the deadline for the 2015 Millennium Development Goals nears.
This is despite the level of hunger in developing countries falling by 39 per cent since 1990, says a report released on 13th October by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Welthungerhilfe, a German non-profit body, and Concern Worldwide, an Irish non-profit body.
India has made a marked improvement in the GHI 2014 and no longer ranks second-to-last in the world on underweight in children. It has moved into the 120th spot among 128 countries, with the prevalence of underweight in children declining by almost 13 percentage points between 2005-06 and 2013-14.
The country’s score is better than Pakistan (rank 57) and Bangladesh (57) but it still trails behind Nepal (44) and Sri Lanka (39). India was at the 63rd position on GHI last year.
The report also notes the contribution of “indirect factors” that contributed to less hunger, saying it may have included the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and reforms in the public distribution system that distributes food to the poor.
Progress on child underweight helped India’s 2014 GHI score fall to 17.8 points, a decline of 26 per cent, between the 2005 GHI and the 2014 GHI.
Overall, the whole of South Asia has made progress in reducing hunger levels, mainly through a decline of almost 9 percentage points in underweight children.
According to the report, “hidden hunger is often hard to detect, but is potentially devastating, as it weakens the immune system, stunts physical and intellectual growth, and can lead to death.”
The 2014 GHI ranked the countries on three equally weighted indicators – the proportion of people who are under-nourished, the proportion of children under five who are underweight, and the mortality rate of children under five.
About Index:
The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a multidimensional statistical tool used to describe the state of countries’ hunger situation. The GHI measures progress and failures in the global fight against hunger. The GHI is updated once a year.
The Index was adopted and further developed by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and was first published in 2006 with the Welthungerhilfe, a German non-profit organization (NGO). Since 2007, the Irish NGO Concern Worldwide joined the group as co-publisher.
The 2014 GHI was calculated for 120 developing countries and countries in transition, 55 of which with a serious or worse hunger situation.
In addition to the ranking, the Global Hunger Index report every year focuses on a main topic: in 2014 the thematic focus was on hidden hunger, a form of under nutrition characterized by micronutrient deficiencies. - Most Indian women engaged in unpaid house work
Close to two out of every three Indian women are, in their prime working years, primarily engaged in unpaid housework, new NSSO data shows. This phenomenon, on the rise over the last decade, is least common in the southern and north-eastern States and most common in the northern States, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in particular.
In data released on 12th October, the National Sample Survey Office’s 68th round, which covered one lakh households in every State and Union Territory, looked at women’s usual employment status. Over 60 per cent of adult women, the NSSO found, are primarily engaged in housework — slightly more so among urban women. The data shows that women, in both rural and urban areas, are increasingly reporting domestic work as their main occupation.
Even though a majority of the women surveyed were engaged in productive activity — collecting firewood or rearing household poultry — they could not be classified as ‘workers’ as the value added by and the number of hours spent on these actions were not sufficient to constitute ‘economically productive activity’.
Among women who spend most of their time on domestic duties, the survey noted that over 60 per cent said they did so because there was no other family member to help out with the household chores.
A third of women doing domestic work also said during the survey they would be willing to take up regular paid home-based work, particularly of tailoring. The survey did not ask women engaged in domestic work if they would like to take up work outside the house.
Moreover, while the NSSO asks home-bound women what they would need to take up paid work (easy finance, for instance), it does not ask if women would like someone to share the domestic burden with them. - Project to clean Yamuna
The Delhi government has embarked on an ambitious project to rejuvenate theYamuna with an aim to rid the river of pollutants, stop discharge of all sorts of effluents into it and making its river-front beautiful as well as environment friendly.
The "Rejuvenation of River Yamuna" project is being implemented by the Delhi government with assistance from the Centre and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).
Assistance of the Netherlands in areas of its expertise like in river engineering and modelling, water resources management and pollution control to clean the Yamuna has been sought.
he plan to rejuvenate the river is being coordinated by DJB through its interceptor sewage project while the riverfront development has been entrusted to DDA which will set up biodiversity parks and recreational spaces.
The first phase of the project involves data collection and compilation, its analysis, identification of gaps and conducting requisite investigations and surveys, if required.
It also involves carrying out river engineering studies and water flow assessment management and suggesting measures for creation of water storage, navigation etc. A timeline of six months have been fixed for the first phase. - Animal tested cosmetics banned
India has imposed a ban on importing such products that test on animals and thus become the first country in south Asia to do so. The government on 13th October notified a rule to this effect, prohibiting "import of cosmetics tested on animals" from November 13.
This amended Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, imposing dual ban (test and import), has now put India in the league of European Union and Israel that had imposed such ban long ago.
Many countries including Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, Taiwan and the United States have already introduced bills proposing national cosmetic animal test bans. - Malnourishment declined: UNICEF
According to survey by Government and UNICEF the proportion of underweight children in India might have declined from 45.1 per cent in 2005-6 to a historic low of 30.7 per cent last year
Since 2005-6, there has been no new data on child and adult weights and heights, key in determining malnutrition, because of a delay in the National Family Health Survey.
UNICEF and the union Ministry of Women and Child Development carried out a `Rapid Survey on Children’ in 2013-14, the key provisional data for which it made available. According to this survey…..
India’s proportion of children underweight fell from 45.1 per cent in 2005-6 to 30.1 per cent in 2013-14 and this makes the decline in one indicator of child undernourishment the sharpest in the 25 years that such data has been collected.
The new data indicates, as opposed to the widespread belief that countries like Bangladesh had done a better job on reducing malnutrition than India despite India’s faster economic growth.
According to IFPRI the causes of changes are………- IFPRI credits the government’s push to extend nutrition schemes like the Integrated Child Development Services along with better monitoring by a Supreme Court-appointed committee, improve access to health under the National Rural Health Mission, provide access to work under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and strengthen the implementation of the Public Delivery System for subsidized grain.
- Even so, India still has the highest number of underweight children under five in the world and 70% of children are anaemic. The proportion of undernourished people in the overall population has fallen from 21.5 per cent in 2004-06 to 17 per cent in 2011-13, according to IFPRI estimates.
- Globally, two billion people are suffering from “hidden hunger”, a lack of essential vitamins and minerals in their diet, IFPRI said while releasing the 2014 Global Hunger Index on 13th October. The Index is comprised of three equally weighted indicators: proportion of undernourished people in the population, proportion of children who are underweight and child mortality.
What is IFPRI?
The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) is an international agricultural research center founded in the early 1970s to improve the understanding of national agricultural and food policies to promote the adoption of innovations in agricultural technology. Additionally, IFPRI was meant to shed more light on the role of agricultural and rural development in the broader development pathway of a country. The mission of IFPRI is to seek sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty through research.
IFPRI carries out food policy research and disseminates it through hundreds of publications, bulletins, conferences, and other initiatives. IFPRI was organized as a District of Columbia non-profit, non-stock corporation on March 5, 1975 and its first research bulletin was produced in February 1976. IFPRI has offices in several developing countries, including China, Ethiopia, and India, and has research staff working in many more countries around the world. Most of the research takes place in developing countries inCentral America, South America, Africa, and Asia.
IFPRI is part of a network of international research institutes funded in part by the CGIAR, which in turn is funded by governments, private businesses and foundations, and the World Bank - UK firm Penspen to study feasibility of TAPI pipeline
British company Penspen has been awarded the contract for studying the feasibility of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline, by the project’s principal financier, the Asian Development Bank.
Estimated in 2008 to cost $7.6 billion, the pipeline is designed to carry 90 million cubic metres a day of gas from Turkmenistan’s prolific Galkynysh gas field to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
If the pipeline becomes a reality, it will mean a lot to India, but it is still a long way, for the project to reach even ground-breaking. Issues such as price and security would first need to be resolved. The pipeline would run 735 km across Afghanistan and another 800 km through Pakistan.
The initial feasibility study was conducted in 2004, but project negotiations gathered steam only in mid-2010, and by the end of 2010 an intergovernmental agreement, gas pipeline framework agreement and Heads of Agreement were signed in Turkmenistan.
About TAPI:
The Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline (also known as Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India Pipeline, TAP or TAPI) is a proposed natural gas pipeline being developed by the Asian Development Bank. The pipeline will transport Caspian Sea natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India. The abbreviation comes from the first letters of those countries. Proponents of the project see it as a modern continuation of the Silk Road. Estimated cost of the pipeline project is reported at $7.6 billion. GAIL India may become a part of TAPI project - Rs 105 cr for drinking water grid survey
Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on 14th October ordered release of Rs. 105 crore for the survey of works pertaining to the drinking water grid and directed the officials concerned to take up all works simultaneously after completing the survey at the earliest.
Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao said the drinking water grid was top priority to the State government as it was aimed at providing piped drinking water to every household. - PM rolls out labour reforms
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 16th October unveiled new measures for the youth, workers and employers to improve ease of doing business for enterprises while expanding government support for training workers.
Modi also launched the Universal Account Number scheme (UAN) for all Provident Fund contributors which will allow portability and online tracking of PF benefits.
Inaugurating the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Shramev Jayate Karyakram, organised by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Modi said the aim of the programme was to emphasise the dignity of labour, especially that performed by blue-collar workers, referring to them as “shram yogi.”
Various schemes launched by Modi- Shram Suvidha Portal: It allots labour identification numbers to nearly 6 lakh firms. It also allows e-filing of compliance reports
- Random Inspection Scheme: Computerised system to select units for inspection and reporting will be uploaded with 72 hours of inspection
- Universal Account Number: 4.17 crore employees to be given portable Provident Fund Accounts
- Apprentice Protsahan Yojana: Government to reimburse 50% of stipend paid to apprentices during first two years of training
- Revamped Rashtriya Swasthya Bima YOjana: smart cards of unorganised sector workers to be seeded with two more social security schemes
- Election Commission moots proxy voting for NRIs
In a relief for over one crore Non-Resident Indians, mostly migrants from Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the Election Commission of India submitted a report in the Supreme Court on 16th October recommending proxy voting and e-postal ballots as alternatives to remove an “unreasonable restriction” requiring overseas electors to be physically present in their electoral constituencies to vote.
The 50-page report was prepared by a 12-member committee led by Vinod Zutshi, Deputy Election Commissioner, for ‘Exploring Feasibility of Alternative Options for Voting by Overseas Electors.’
What is Proxy voting?
Proxy voting is a form of voting whereby some members of a decision-making body may delegate their voting power to other members of the same body to vote in their absence, and/or to select additional representatives. A person so designated is called a "proxy" and the person designating him or her is called a "principal". Proxy appointments can be used to form a voting bloc that can exercise greater influence in deliberations or negotiations. Proxy voting is a particularly important practice with respect to corporations; in the United States, investment advisers often vote proxies on behalf of their client account - Air pollution index launched
The Ministry of Environment and Forests launched a new Air Pollution Index on 17th October to identify the most polluted regions in the country and raise awareness about health implications.
The index, which has been developed with the help of health and environmental experts from organisations such as the Centre for Science and Environment, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Maulana Azad Medical College, and IIT Kanpur, expands the bandwidth of the existing air quality standard to monitor eight particulate matters, against the three scrutinised earlier.
The index, which will be based on existing National Air Quality Standards, will also include a public health component, defining the quality of air in real-time and what kind of health impact it could have.
The index will be coded into six categories — good, satisfactory, moderately polluted, poor, very poor and severe — and will be launched in cities with populations of over a million by mid-December.
While launching the index, Prakash Javadekar, Minister of State for Environment, Forests and Climate Change, said this is an extension of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan started by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In five years, the index will cover at least 66 cities. The next rung, cities with population of half a million, will follow after that. - Telangana State steps up crime monitoring
The Government of Telangana on 17th October formed three separate panels – State Apex Committee, State Empowered Committee and State Mission Team to review progress in the implementation of Crime and Criminal Tracking System Project. The committees have been formed on the suggestion of the Director General of National Crime Records Bureau for the purpose. The project has been launched by the Government of India and has been approved by the Planning Commission as Mission Mode Project under e-governance plan. The 11-member State Apex Committee will review the progress of the project, monitor utilisation of funds and issue policy directions and guidelines. - Tata offers to set up 1,000 MW plant
Tata Power has offered to set up a 1,000 MW thermal power plant in Telangana which will commence commercial production in the next two years. The offer was made when representatives of Tata group called on Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao at the Secretariat on 17th October.
Besides the coal fired power project, Tata also offered its services to add solar power capacity and also establish a decentralised distributed generation system using solar power for rural areas. It will also set up roof top solar units and energy plantation on waste lands for biomass power, Tata Power chief executive officer Anil Kumar Sardana informed Mr. Rao.
Regarding the thermal power plant, Mr. Sardana said it will use domestic or imported fuel on tolling basis and will be run on design, build, finance, own, operate and maintain basis. He added that Tata Power could act as a catalyst to develop amenities for world class smart cities with state of the art facility and services of power infrastructure.
Mr. Rao asked the company to invest Rs. 30,000 to 40,000 crore for an integrated development of Hyderabad to make it a world class smart city. The delegation included Rahul Shah, Deepankar Tiwari and Madhu Kannan of Tata Sons and Tata Motors. - TS has data on all 198 varieties of its soil
The Nagpur-based National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSS & LUP) has submitted to the Telangana government a ‘soil legend’, giving details about the characteristics of the 196 kinds of soil in the State. It contains data pertaining to 114.88 lakh hectares of agricultural land, which was prepared by using Geographical Information System. The information included soil depth, texture, available water, soil drainage and degradation, according to Principal Agriculture Secretary Poonam Malakondaiah.
The State’s data on 114.88 lakh hectares will be useful for the purpose. A pilot project would be launched on November 1 in Gajwel mandal of Medak district, Indravelli of Adilabad and another mandal in Mahabubnagar district. - Campaign on women rights
U.N. Women on 18th October launched a campaign, aiming at ensuring greater participation of men in promoting women’s rights and gender equality. The goal is to engage men and boys as advocates and agents of change in the effort to achieve equality. When women are empowered, the whole of humanity benefits,” U.N. Women Representative, Rebecca Tavares, said.
Emphasising the need for sensitising the youth on issues related to gender equality, Ms. Gandhi said: “The WCD ministry has started many initiatives over the last four months to empower women including: the one—stop crisis centres for women, the national mission on malnutrition, and the ‘beti bachayo beti padhayo’ campaign.”
U.N. Women is partnering with MenEngage, an acclaimed international forum that mobilises men and boys from around the world, to advocate for gender equality. - Sachin adopted a village
Former Indian cricket captain and Rajya Sabha member Sachin Tendulkar has adopted Puttamraju Kandrika village located in Gudur mandal, Nellore district for developing it as a smart village with nearly Rs. 4 crore from his MPLADS funds. Once the project works start, facilities will be significantly improved with regard to roads, lanes, electricity, drinking water supply, community halls, school amenities and so on. It is also proposed to provide Wi-Fi connectivity to the residents. - Plant at Tihar jail
A new factory has been opened in South Asia's largest prison. For eight hours a day, six days a week, inmates of Tihar Jail gather in an airy tin-roofed shed in Jail Two to tape long strands of insulated wire into harnesses for the Alto 800, one of Maruti Suzuki's most popular cars.
The plant, operated by Minda Furukawa Electric (MFE) - a joint venture between Ashok Minda Group, a leading automobile component supplier with an annual turnover of Rs 3,000 crore, and Furukawa of Japan - is a public-private-partnership between the Tihar prison complex and the private auto component maker. The company has trained 30 inmates, and work is underway to build a much larger facility, to employ 250 prisoners on two shifts.
The project, a first for the Indian auto sector, is part of MFE's corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme. On-job training, authorities say, will provide inmates employable skills at the time of their release. Tihar inmates are paid Rs 99 a day for eight hours of skilled work, and Rs 70 a day for unskilled work. A quarter of these wages is deducted and directed towards a victims' relief fund.
Minda Furukawa pays 15 per cent more than prison wages, or Rs 113.85 a day, for skilled workers. It contributes 10 per cent, or Rs 11.30 per worker, per day, to the prison welfare fund - a total cost of Rs 125.15 per worker, per day for skilled work. Minimum wages in Delhi are three times higher - Rs 399 a day for skilled work and Rs 329 a day for unskilled work.
Tihar jail:
Tihar Prisons, also called Tihar Jail and Tihar Ashram, is a prison complex in India and the largest complex of prisons in South Asia. Run by Department of Delhi Prisons, Government of Delhi, the prison contains nine central prisons, and is one of the two prison complexes in Delhi, along with a district prison at Rohini Prison Complex. It is located in Tihar village, approximately 7 km from Chanakya Puri, to the west of New Delhi, India. The surrounding area is called Hari Nagar. - Five speech, hearing institutes to be set up
Five more institutes of speech and hearing have been proposed to be set up in the country. Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan said ON 17th October, the centres to be set up in the next five years would be at different locations. Prime Minister had promised funds for the new centres. - Tatas’ Land Rover is the only Indian-owned brand in world’s top 100
Tata group’s Land Rover has made it to the elite club of world’s 100 most valuable brands as the only Indian-owned entity, while iconic Apple has retained its top slot with a valuation of nearly $119 billion. Land Rover, an iconic British car brand owned by the Tatas, has been ranked 91st with a brand value of $4.47 billion and is one of the five new entrants to this annual list compiled by leading brand consultancy Interbrand.
Apple — maker of iPhone mobiles, Mac computers, iPad tablets and iPod music players, among others — is followed by Google in the second position ($107 billion).
These are the only two with brand values in excess of $100 billion. While Land Rover is the only Indian-owned entity on the list, there are at least six other brands ranked among top 100 that are part of the entities run by Indian-origin CEOs.
These include Satya Nadella-led Microsoft (fifth with a brand value of $61 billion), Indra Nooyi-led Pepsi (24th; $19 billion), Shantanu Narayen-led Adobe (77th; $5.3 billion) and Ajay Banga-led MasterCard (88th; $4.7 billion).
Ivan Menezes-led Diageo, which also owns majority stake in India’s largest alcoholic beverage manufacturer United Spirits, has two brands — Smirnoff (34th; $13 billion) and Johnnie Walker (86th; $4.8 billion) — in the top 100 list.
Land Rover has been ranked higher than many big global brands such as FedEx, Huawei, Heineken, Pizza Hut, BOSS, Nokia, Gap and Nintendo. - AERB sets 2015 deadline for additional nuclear safety
The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has set December 2015 as the deadline for implementing long-term additional safety measures in nuclear installations, said its Chairman S.S. Bajaj. According to him during the safety audit in nuclear installations conducted after the Fukushima disaster, it was found that some additional safety measures had to be put in place for environmental and public safety.
These were classified as short-term, medium-term and long-term measures and all the short-term measures had already been implemented. While the medium-term measures were being implemented, the Board had set December 2015 as the deadline for the nuclear installations to put in place the long-term safety measures.
About Atomic Energy Regulatory Board
The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) was constituted on November 15, 1983 by the President of India by exercising the powers conferred by Section 27 of the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 (33 of 1962) to carry out certain regulatory and safety functions under the Act. The regulatory authority of AERB is derived from the rules and notifications promulgated under the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986. The headquarters is in Mumbai.
The mission of the Board is to ensure that the use of ionizing radiation and nuclear energy in India does not cause undue risk to health and the environment. Currently, the Board consists of a full-time Chairman, an ex officio Member, three part-time Members and a Secretary. - Hudhud destructed coastal Andhra Pradesh
Cyclone Hudhud unleashed its full fury with devastating effect on Visakhapatnam on 12th October, making landfall at noon and hurling through neighbouring areas, ripping apart coastal cities and towns and leaving a trail of destruction. Massive evacuation ensured that the death toll was restricted to three.
Authorities evacuated more than five lakh people to relief camps in Andhra Pradesh. While Visakhapatnam city and the wider district bore the brunt of the havoc, the cyclonic storm caused widespread damage in the north coastal districts of Srikakulam and Vizianagaram, besides affecting normal life in East Godavari.
Gale force winds accompanied by rain battered Visakhapatnam, disrupting communication, and uprooted electric poles, trees, flexi boards and hoardings at several places. The authorities had suspended power supply and stopped traffic on the national highways
Other Important points- The Cyclone Warning Centre in the city that forecasts weather bulletins whenever cyclonic storm occurs in the Bay was reportedly shut down following loss of signals.
- Cyclone Hudhud was virtually a ‘nightmarish’ experience for people of the district as hundreds of villages reeled under darkness for close to two days as the power supply network suffered maximum damage.
- Telephone communication went haywire from about 11 a.m. till 6 p.m. and the district officials found it hard to contact their higher officials in Hyderabad and their counterparts in Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram.
- The situation was grim at Kalingapatnam, Bandaruvanipeta, Mogadalapadu and other areas which are close to the sea coast. The sea water moved 40 feet towards coast, causing tension among the people. Over 40 thatched houses were damaged in Mogadalapadu area.
- According to Andhra Pradesh’s Revenue (Disaster Management) Department, a total of 2,48,004 people were affected by Hudhud, which also damaged 70 houses and left 34 animals dead.
- As many as 24 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, two Army columns, 56 boats/launches and six helicopters were deployed for relief measures.
- The state government also rushed 155 medical teams to prevent outbreak of diseases. The navy will lead a joint armed forces relief operation, code named Lehar.
- Operations at Visakhapatnam and Gangavaram ports were suspended.
- NDRF, naval and air force teams would be deputed for road clearance from 13th October along with boats to rescue people marooned due to flooding in some areas.
- Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu asked the Centre to declare the very severe cyclone storm ‘Hudhud’ that hit the state’s coast as a national calamity and also sought an ad hoc relief package of Rs 2,000 crore.
The Andhra Pradesh government, with the support of the Army, the Navy, the National Disaster Response Force and other authorities, swung into action on 13th October to provide relief to over 2,80,000 people in 44 mandals in four districts of north Andhra Pradesh affected by Cyclone Hudhud that crossed the coast on 13th October, claiming 21 lives.
The cyclone, which made landfall , was a 400-km-long system that wreaked havoc across the four districts. Fifteen lives were lost in Visakhapatnam district, five in Vizianagaram and one in Srikakulam. Over 6,695 houses and 5,727 electric poles and transformers were damaged in the four districts. Nineteen tanks and canals breached their banks in Vizianagaram district.
The focus of restoration was Visakhapatnam city, which has a large number of industrial establishments, apart from being the headquarters of the Eastern Naval Command. The 12 NDRF teams deployed in the district have been systematically cutting the fallen trees and clearing the National Highway and main thoroughfares in the city. Power distribution companies have deployed over 5,000 employees, apart from hiring 1,000 people to work on restoring power supply.
India’s progress in managing disaster- In the Hudhud cyclone though a few casualties have been reported, a historic analysis of fatality data shows that the life of an Indian stuck in the path of an oncoming cyclone is valued more now than even 10 years ago.
- The National Crime Records Bureau, which tracks all unnatural deaths, records a steep decline in cyclone-related deaths over the past decade. While the mega-storm that hit Odisha in 1999 killed 3,958 people (unofficial estimates put the number at 10,000), fewer than 100 were killed in a cyclone annually, on average, over the past five years.
- India’s evacuation and rescue efforts in response to Cyclone Phailin last year may have grabbed the world’s attention, but the year before that, the country recorded the lowest number of cyclone-related deaths in nearly two decades. In a country where botched disaster relief is the norm, as the Uttarakhand floods in 2013 demonstrated, cyclone response may perhaps be one area where significant gains have been made.
- The threat posed by Phailin last year was identified four days in advance, which is an unprecedented lead time compared to India’s capabilities in the late 1990s. A significant amount of funding has also been funnelled into the States since the setting up of the National Disaster Management Authority in 2006.
- India used to spend around $300 million a year on disaster preparedness, evacuation and relief in the early 2000s. But last year, the country spent over $1.6 billion. Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, which will bear the brunt of Cyclone Hudhud, accounted for a fifth of the expenditure.
- Instances of inefficient fund utilisation come up, as a CAG report pointed out last year. Setting up of an array of Doppler weather radars suffered delays and cost overruns, a disaster response communication grid is still not functional six years after the purchase of equipment and several States used the money for other purposes — Gujarat, for instance, spent over Rs. 200 crore from its disaster relief fund when no official disaster was declared.
- Rs 1000 cr aid for Vizag
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 14th October announced interim assistance of Rs 1,000 crore towards relief and rehabilitation measures in the cyclone-affected areas of Andhra Pradesh. He assured further assistance would be provided after a detailed survey of the devastation caused by cyclone Hudhud.
The PM visited Visakhapatnam, said the kin of the deceased would be given Rs 2 lakh each, while each of the injured would be provided Rs 50,000 from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.
According to CM of Andhra Pradesh Chandra Babu Naidu the damage caused by the cyclone was huge. Eastern Power Distribution Company is estimated have incurred a loss of Rs 40,000 crore. About 6,000 transformers and 16,000 electric poles have been uprooted by gales.
Naidu said preliminary estimates showed the loss suffered by Visakhapatnam Steel Plant would be Rs 1,000 crore, Indian Navy Rs 2,000 crore and the Visakhapatnam airport Rs 500 crore. Losses to the state’s roads stood at Rs 800 crore.
Revenue officials said due to the cyclone, the industrial sector in the three coastal districts of Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam and Vizianagaram would see a daily production loss of Rs 170 crore. For 2013-14, gross domestic industrial production in the three districts was worth Rs 60,000 crore; of this, Visakhapatnam accounted for Rs 35,000 crore.
Owing to disruption in power supply, industrial activity in the three districts has come to a standstill. A Hindustan Petroleum Corporation refinery, NTPC’s 2,000-Mw power plant and all pharmaceutical units in Visakhapatnam, as well as hundreds of small and medium enterprises in the region, have suspended production. The services sector in the three districts is said to be incurring daily losses of Rs 20-25 crore.
The South Central Railway has said it incurred a revenue loss of about Rs 15.6 crore through the past three days — Rs 4.6 crore in the passenger segment and Rs 11 crore in the freight segment. The entity started restoring train services on 14th September.
Other important points- The Andhra Pradesh-Odisha coastline has always remained vulnerable to high-intensity cyclones and natural calamities. The Bay of Bengal itself has been among the most frequented areas for severe cyclones, and Hudhud is the 75th such to hit the Andhra coast since 1871.
- With the evolution of the National Policy on Disaster Management and the creation of special teams to manage such disasters, India has clearly succeeded in vastly reducing the number of casualties over the years. But there is no way the damage could have been minimised.
- Neighbouring States have offered relief to get the power lines back on track and the Prime Minister should provide much-needed relief to Andhra Pradesh to overcome the havoc.
- The newly bifurcated State has already been seeking special category status to be eligible for substantial grants from the Centre to build a new capital and infrastructure.
- The major National and State highways have suffered extensive damage and have to be relaid to their original standards. Given the massive number of trees felled by the cyclone, the authorities need to get the greenery back in place. It will be a major challenge to rebuild Visakhapatnam and its environs.
Odisha’s 1999 ‘super cyclone’ killed 10,000 people. The October 2013 ‘Phailin’, that battered Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, claimed less than 50 lives. The States are aiming to further lower the human loss caused by the latest ‘Hudhud’ cyclone, that hit the east coast exactly a year after Phailin, by brining it below last year’s toll.
This has become possible because- Combination of advancements in weather monitoring technology,
- Preparedness by respective State administrations and co-ordination with disaster mitigation and defence personnel to tackle natural calamities.
The continuous bulletins giving alerts and warnings helped the State Government of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha gear up preparations to minimise loss, especially human, while taking steps to reduce economic destruction as well. Learning from the havoc of the super cyclone, the IMD and other meteorology agencies, built up infrastructure like a network of satellite, ocean and ground-based technological tools to improve accuracy of forecasts, as they tracked Phailin.
Interestingly, the IMD’s forecasts, which differed from those of some global agencies and raised a controversy, finally proved right in the case of Phailin. The preparedness of both the Odisha and AP Governments in co-ordination with the National Disaster Response Force efforts proved fruitful in keeping damages to the minimum.
This time around, the IMD and related agencies have moved fast in tracking Hudhud. Ahead of the approach of the Hudhud cyclone, which battered Visakhapatnam and several coastal districts in the two States with winds reaching 200 kmph and heavy rains wrecking much economic loss, people were moved to safe places and provided relief. The impact was so high that the radars and the weather stations in the area also got affected.
The Wave Rider Buoys and Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) deployed in Visakhapatnam and Gopalpur by INCOIS have been getting real time sea and weather related information. The wave height forecast at 9.4 m was recorded, while the AWS on board RVS Kaustubh, a research vessel that is
Better infrastructure
Both AP and Odisha, which perennially face the threat of natural disasters like cyclones and floods, have been improving their forecast and relief-cum-rehabilitation infrastructure. A series of Doppler Radars, weather stations, ocean-based buoys and tracking systems are being set up, though at a slow pace. The NDRF, under the National Disaster Management Authority, is also proposing to set up some units and training facilities in the coastal States.
The AP Government’s initiative to use crowd sourcing, by seeking pictures on the cyclone’s impact, contributions for a specially designed Website on the National Remote Sensing Centre through an Android app, a Facebook page and optimally utilising the imagery from the Centre, has also brought in encouraging response to improve administrative steps in handling natural disasters.
Vizag 1st Indian city directly hit by cyclone
The damage caused by Cyclone Hudhud not only changed the landscape of the port city, but also made it the first city in the country to be directly hit by a cyclone since 1891 as per the records of the IMD.
Confirming this, IMD Hyderabad director K Seetharam said, according to him, all cyclones made landfall in the plains and semi-urban areas along the Indian coast. For the first time in IMD's recorded history, Cyclone Hudhud ran over a green city like Visakhapatnam, which was never hit by cyclones.
Hudhud not only emerged as first high intensity cyclonic storm in 2014 to make landfall at wind speeds of 206 kmph, but also the third highest intensity cyclonic storm out of the 515 cyclonic storms that developed in either the Bay of Bengal or the Arabian Sea since 1891.
The 1999 Orissa cyclone is the strongest storm to hit the Indian coast since 1891 with a wind speed of nearly 250 kmph, Seetharam said, adding that the second strongest storm was Phailin which hit Gopalpur in Odisha at a wind speed of 220 kmph.
Assistant meteorologist N Narasimha Rao said the closest a cyclone ventured near a city was during the 1999 Odisha Cyclone, where the outer layer of the cyclone touched Bhubaneswar city.
While elaborating on the cyclonic conditions over the Indian coast, Seetharam said that out of the total 515 cyclonic storms, 231 cyclones were severe ones. The ratio of formation of cyclones in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea is 4:1, he added.
Generally, cyclones that develop in the Bay of Bengal hit the Odisha coast followed by Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal in that order. Similarly, cyclones formed in Arabian Sea mostly hit Gujarat followed by countries such as Oman, Pakistan and Indian states like Maharashtra and Kerala.
At the same time, in Andhra Pradesh, the highest number of cyclones target Nellore and Krishna districts followed by east Godavari and Srikakulam. Agreeing with Seetharam, Prof SSVS Ramakrishna, head of the department of meteorology, Andhra University, who specialises in cyclones and monsoons, said Hudhud removed the misconception that Visakhapatnam is safe from cyclones. - Policies & Schemes
Recently Government unveiled a few new policies and also new schemes- New urea policy
- Mental health policy
- Village adoption program
In order to increase domestic urea production, the Fertilizer Ministry has notified New Urea Investment Policy for setting up and expansion of urea plants.
According to the policy…………….- Interested private companies are required to give a bank guarantee of Rs 300 crore for every project, while PSUs firms have been exempted from it.
- The companies will get a subsidy on production only if the urea production starts in the next 5 years.
- The subsidy will continue till 8 years after the commencement of production.
Mental health policy
The first ever National Mental Health Policy was launched on 10th October in an attempt to provide universal psychiatry care to the population, 20 % of which are likely to suffer some form of mental illness by 2020.
The policy, unveiled by Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, seeks to include mental treatment at primary health care at a time when India is estimated to have only about 3,500 psychiatrists and over 50 % of the mentally ill have no access to health care.
As part of the Ministry's efforts to boost mental health care, many hospitals dedicated to curing mental illness would be upgraded to Bangalore-based National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, the country's foremost such institute.
Vardhan also called for de-criminalizing attempt to suicide, which is presently a crime, saying people often having mental trouble attempt to take the extreme step and need human care not prosecution. A recent WHO report had said that India sees largest numbers of suicides globally and in the 15-29 years age group, it has the highest suicide rate.
The Centre will allocate funds to all hospitals in the country to enable them to open departments for treating patients in need of psychological and psychiatric health care and help those which want to upgrade their mental health care facilities. - Village adoption programme launched
Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi on 11th October unveiled a blueprint for the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) on Jayaprakash Narayan’s birth anniversary.
The scheme encourages Members of Parliament from both Houses to identify and develop one village from their constituency as a model village by 2016, and two more by 2019, covering over 2,500 villages of the 6 lakh villages country-wide.
The 65-page outline for the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana, released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 11th October, requires MPs to identify one village with a population of 3,000-5,000 in the plains and 1,000-3,000 in the hills within a month for convergence of existing schemes for socio-economic development of the area. MPs can choose any village except their own or their spouse’s. There is no other criterion.
MPs are expected to facilitate a village development plan, motivate villagers to take up activities and use the Rs.5-crore MPLAD fund to fill gaps for funds besides mobilising “additional resources especially from Corporate Social Responsibility” in sewage and water supply schemes. The activities and outcomes will cover broad development indicators such as health, nutrition and education through organising immunization drives, improving mid-day meal schemes, improving Aadhaar enrolment, setting up “smart schools” with IT-enabled classrooms and e-libraries, improving panchayat infrastructure under schemes such as MNREGA and Backward Regions Grants Fund.
There will be real-time web-based monitoring and a first review after five months by an independent agency. District Collectors will carry out a baseline surveys and then chair monthly review meetings to monitor progress. At the State-level, Chief Secretaries will lead an empowered committee on the same and the Minister for Rural Development and Secretary, Rural Development, will chair two national-level committees to track the scheme.
About MP Lads:
Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) is a scheme formulated by Government of India on 23 December 1993 that provides that each member of [parliament of India] has the choice to suggest to the Head of the District works to the tune of Rs.5 crore per year, to be taken up in his/her constituency. Initially, this scheme was administered by Ministry of Rural Development. Later, in October 1994, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) has been looking into its working. Elected Members of Rajya Sabha representing the whole of the State as they do, may select works for implementation in one or more district(s) as they may choose. Nominated Members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha may also select works for implementation in one or more districts, anywhere in the country. The allocation per MP per year stands increased to Rs.2 crores from the year 1998-1999 which has been further enhanced to Rs 5 crores from the year 2011. It also allows MPs to spend up to 10 lacs in any other constituency in India - Tsunami hit Indian coast 1,000 years ago
Looking for data on past tsunamis for a better understanding of the natural phenomenon, a team of researchers has come upon evidence which suggests that the Indian coast was hit by a sea surge some 1,000 years back, before the tsunami of 2004 which caused massive destruction in the country.
The team from the Centre for Earth Sciences (CEaS) at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) made its finding while pursuing studies in tsunami geology. The team undertook search at different sites, including the Andaman group of islands and Kaveripattinam on the Indian east coast to collect evidence and study how the geomorphic settings of these locations make them useful archives for paleo-tsunami deposits. Coastal strips affected by regular sea surges and by anthropogenic, or human, activities are unlikely to preserve tsunami sands whereas inland lakes and streams have a greater potential of preserving these records. Due to their greater inland penetration, tsunami deposits tend to occupy higher elevations as compared to storm deposits. Researchers found that locally-extensive occurrence of deposits such as sand, gravel and boulders, and their typically upward and inland presence are the two important characteristics of tsunami deposits. - Apex court panel comes out with guideline on govt ads
A Supreme Court-appointed high- powered committee has recommended that names and pictures of political parties and their office bearers like presidents be not mentioned in government advertisements. The three-member committee headed Professor NR Madhava Menon has framed guidelines to regulate expenditure and contents of such advertisements paid out of tax payers' money.The report, submitted to the apex court, has emphasised that only pictures and names of the President, the Prime Minister, Governor and Chief Ministers be published to keep politics away from such ads.
The Committee has also endorsed the suggestions of the Election Commission that there must be "severe" restrictions on such advertisements six months prior to elections.It recommended that a deadline should be fixed for prohibiting their publication and the poll panel should be authorized for the purpose.
The committee, also comprising TK Viswanathan, former Secretary General of Lok Sabha and Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar, recommended that there should only be a single advertisement, preferably by Information and Broadcasting Ministry, in respect of commemorative advertisements, which are given on birth and death anniversary of an important personality. - India ranks 18th on ‘most desirable place to work’ lists
According to a new report India has been ranked 18th globally on the list of most desirable destinations to work, even as 70-80 per cent of Indians are willing to work in an overseas locationThe US has been ranked on the top, followed by the UK, Canada, Germany and Switzerland, making them the five most desirable countries to work on the list compiled by the Boston Consulting Group, total jobs.com and The Network.
The other countries in the top 10, where foreigners said they would like to work include — France (6th), Australia (7th), Spain (8th), Italy (9th) and Sweden (10th). As a desirable work destination, India was ranked 18th among G20 nations.
Globally, one in every five participants already has international work experience and almost 64 per cent said they would be willing to go to another country for work.According to the survey, around 70-80 per cent of Indians are already living abroad or are willing to move to a foreign country for work. Some of the most important workplace attribute in India include good work life balance, job security, learning and career development and appreciation for your work.
The report noted that most people are willing to uproot themselves and head for a foreign country for work mainly because they want to broaden their life experience and that of their families
Around 94 per cent of survey respondents in Netherlands said they would consider moving to another country for work. In France, where the economy has been showing signs of stagnating, the same proportion (94 per cent) is willing to leave home.
On the other hand, people in the US, Germany and the UK, three economies that have rebounded more convincingly, are not as willing to go abroad for work. Barely a third of US respondents say they would consider the idea and only 44 per cent of those in the UK and Germany say they would be interested in taking a job in another country, the report said. - Rashtrapati Bhavan to get new museum in two years
President Pranab Mukherjee on 7th October laid the foundation stone of a new Museum that will come up in the Rashtrapati Bhavan precincts, and showcase past and current presidencies. This museum will be in addition to the existing ones that are already open to public within the President’s Estate.
Spread over 10,000 sq. meters, it will compliment the architecture of Rashtrapati Bhavan. Mr. Mukherjee said. It would preserve historic objects, paintings, photographs and documents related to the socio-economic-political events originating from Rashtrapati Bhavan. It would use techniques involving augmented reality, holographic projection and animatronics multi-screen panoramic projection. - Jaitley is richest minister; PM has assets worth Rs 1.3 cr
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has only Rs 38,700 ‘cash in hand’, while his Home Minister Rajnath Singh is richer at Rs 70,000, according to details of assets of the Union Council of Ministers posted on the PMO website. In his declaration, the Prime Minister lists Rs 26.12 lakh in movable assets and about Rs 1 crore in immovable ones, which includes a share in a residential building in Gandhinagar.
Incidentally, most of the declarations are not current as many ministers chose to recycle the affidavits they filed for the Lok Sabha elections. Even the format of declaration varies from minister to minister. While Defense Minister Arun Jaitley and Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari have filed 13 pages, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has submitted just one page.
Jaitley, who holds finance, defence and corporate affairs portfolios, owns plots in Faridabad and Gurgaon besides plots in prime areas of Delhi. A sought-after lawyer, he lists Rs 1.3 crore as ‘cash in hand’, while his wife has Rs 7.5 lakh. - ADB to work with AP on Vizag-Chennai Corridors
In a major boost to Andhra Pradesh’s industrial development, Asian Development Bank (ADB) has said that it will help set up industrial zones in the State as a part of the Visakhaptnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor.
At a meeting with the State Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu at Secretariat Office on 7th October, ADB’s country director Hun Kim said they would help the State government establish industrial zones with an outlay of $2.5 billion (about Rs 15,000 crore).
The project includes developing five industrial zones as part of the Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor. These zones would come up in Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Machilipatnam, Anantapur and Erpedu-Srikalahasti. ADB has assured that a special officer would be appointed to monitor the project’s progress. - Monitoring system to be set up to clean Ganga
All polluting industries along the river Ganga will have to set up sensor-based real-time online effluent monitoring system by March 31 next year. The government also said that its long-term goal was to implement "zero liquid discharge" where all the water used by industries could be recycled and re-used.
The idea of setting up a sensor-based online monitoring system is to reduce human intervention and bring transparency in the process of monitoring which has, so far, failed to stop discharge of untreated industrial waste into various rivers across the country.
Under the new system…………..- The industries are required to install "continuous effluent and emission monitoring devices" at their ends (discharge outlets).
- The devices would be linked online with State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) offices in state capitals and with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) headquarters in Delhi.
- It will allow the central pollution watchdog to monitor the discharges from the industries on real-time basis.
- Can’t fix cool-off time for judges: SC
The Supreme Court on 8th October refused to fix any cooling off period for judges to take up government assignments after retirement, an issue which has been widely debated after former CJI P Sathasivam took governorship soon after his tenure ended.
A bench headed Chief Justice H L Dattu dismissed a PIL seeking its direction for stipulating cooling off period for retired judges and restraining governments from appointing retired judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts to any post without the consultation and concurrence of the Chief Justice of India or the Chief Justices of the High Courts. - Gas production to rise by two-thirds over five years
India’s domestic gas production is set to rise by two-thirds from 100 million standard cubic meters per day (mscmd) in the current financial year to 163 mscmd, or 59 billion cubic metres (bcm), over the next five years through March 2019.
The petroleum ministry has informed the power ministry about the estimated jump in production at a time when there has been a steep drop in domestic output, leaving 24,000 Mw of gas-based power capacity stranded. The two ministries are also working on a strategy to pool gas prices, to resolve differences between stakeholders in oil and power sectors over the new gas price.
India’s domestic production fell 13 per cent from 111 mscmd in 2012-13 to 97 mscmd the previous financial year (2013-14). Output is expected to pick up marginally to 100 mscmd (or 36 bcm) in the current financial year, including 24 bcm from state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), 2.8 bcm from Oil India Limited (OIL) and 9.7 bcm from production sharing contracts (PSC) regime blocks.
The bulk of the additional gas would come from ONGC’s ramp-up in output from the 24 bcm in the current financial year to 35 bcm by 2019, on the back of development of the C-26 cluster next financial year, the Daman offshore block, additional production in east coast from deepwater wells of the G1 field and from commissioning of Nelp (New Exploration Licensing Policy) block KG-98/2 in the Krishna Godavari basin after 2017.
OIL is expected to increase production from the current 2.8 bcm to 4 bcm by 2018-19. Production begins from the Baghjan field in Assam next financial year and incremental output will be from Nelp blocks in the northeast and KG-basin in 2018-19. - Cities still lacks basic infra: President
Urban India now-a-days lacks basic amenities and infrastructure, with a huge populace lacking access to safe drinking water and toilets, said President Pranab Mukherjee in his valedictory speech at the Metropolis World Congress.
Mukherjee emphasized on the need for planned urbanization as it is key to tapping the country's potential. The President complimented Hyderabad for taking the right steps towards development and lauded the state government's initiative to turn it into a Wi-Fi enabled city. He also elaborated on various initiatives which have been taken up by the government, including HRIDAY or Heritage City Development & Augmentation Yojna. HRIDAY is aimed at sustainable development of heritage centers by bringing together urban planning, economic growth and heritage conservation in an inclusive and integrated manner.
What is Urbanization?
Urbanisation is the increase in the proportion of people living in towns and cities.
Urbanization occurs because people move from rural areas (countryside) to urban areas (towns and cities). This usually occurs when a country is still developing
The main causes of urbanisation…- Rural to urban migration is happening on a massive scale due to population pressure and lack of resources in rural areas. This is 'push' factors.
- People living in rural areas are 'pulled' to the city. Often they believe that the standard of living in urban areas will be much better than in rural areas. They are usually wrong. People also hope for well paid jobs, the greater opportunities to find casual or 'informal' work, better health care and education.
- Natural increase caused by a decrease in death rates while birth rates remain high.
- Action plan on energy conservation
Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI) and the Andhra Pradesh government have joined hands to prepare an action plan, outlining energy conservation and measures to reduce carbon footprint in the state.
As per the understanding, TERI will study best practices in energy conservation and environment-friendly practices from various states and share them with Andhra Pradesh. In this connection, TERI director RK Pachauri, who called on the chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on 9th October, briefed the latter on the strategies to achieve energy conservation and the state's adherence to environmental norms. - SC Panel says J&K Government failed
A Supreme Court-appointed committee on the floods in Jammu and Kashmir details the failures of the State government — from failing to evacuate people residing in vulnerable areas to leaving the victims to fend for themselves with hardly any food or drinking water.
The committee, in its field report dated October 9, recorded the statements of survivors who said supply of free ration that was promised did not reach them, that they still lived mostly in makeshift places with hardly any blankets for the oncoming winter and no ex-gratia had been paid to them.
The report said doctors deputed to the State by the Centre have either been sent back or remain there with no work while stinking garbage line the streets along with animal carcasses.
The committee was set up by a three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India (retired) R.M. Lodha on writ petitions filed lawyers and activists, represented by senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, from Jammu and Kashmir on September 24. It was directed to conduct an independent evaluation of the ground situation in the flood-affected State and file a report on October 10.
The report pointed out that “no effective steps were taken to warn people residing in vulnerable areas of Srinagar city of the fast-approaching deluge of flood and to evacuate them.” It said “people remained stranded for days together without food and drinking water, waiting for rescue, which was being elusive.”
The report added that it was only their “fierce sense of survival” and ultimately the valiant efforts of the defence forces, NDRF and local volunteers that rescued them. The report said there is “intense anguish and resentment against [the] authorities.” - Centre to set up virology labs in 120 districts
The country will have state-of-the-art virology diagnostic laboratories operational in 120 districts by 2015, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has announced.
A swine flu outbreak in 2009 exposed the lack of preparedness and infrastructure, after it became known that only two laboratories – the National Institute of Virology, Pune, and the National Centre for Disease Control in Delhi – had the wherewithal to test for the disease causing H1N1 virus.
The outbreak of the Ebola virus has again highlighted the need for setting up testing facilities at various places to cope with the pressure exerted on the systems.
Under the programme there will be 10 regional laboratories set up in PGI Chandigarh, AIIMS and JIPMER, Puducherry. These will be guided by the local units of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Twenty State-level labs and 120 district level labs will also be made functional in established hospitals by 2015.
The Ministry is also strengthening the Model Rural Health Research Units which will be advanced to improve the coverage of health services and early detection of diseases. - Panner Selvam is the new CM of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu Finance Minister O Panneerselvam is the new Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Panneerselvam was unanimously elected leader of the AIADMK Legislature party. Governor K Rosaiah invited him to form the Ministry.
Panneerselvam, Treasurer of AIADMK, met the Governor on 28th September and submitted a letter and the resolution passed by the AIADMK legislators electing him leader of the party.
Panneerselvam has become the Chief Minister for the second time. He is MLA from Bodinayakanur, he was in 2001 chosen by the AIADMK supremo to fill her shoes in a similar situation when she had to step down following her conviction in the Tansi land deal case for which she was awarded a two-year jail term. She subsequently returned after she was acquitted on appeal. - Uttar Pradesh bans veterinary use of Diclofenac
Uttar Pradesh has banned medicines containing Diclofenac for veterinary purposes in a bid to check the drop in the population of vultures as a result of consuming livestock that had been administered the drug. The Drug Controller General of India has cancelled the licence for use of Diclofenac for animals. - India may miss MDG: Report
According to reports India, which accounts for the largest number of maternal deaths in the world, is unlikely to achieve the fifth Millennium Development Goal of reducing maternal mortality to 109 per 1,00,000 live births by 2015.
Though India has been reporting a steady decline in the maternal mortality rate (MMR), the latest figure of 178 per 1,00,000 live births in 2010-12 is an indication that the United Nations’ goal will be missed, say two reports — “Dead women talking: a civil society report on maternal deaths in India” drafted by CommonHealth and Jan Swasthya Abhiyan and “India infrastructure report — the road to universal health coverage,” released by the Infrastructure Development Finance Company.
In their report, CommonHealth and Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, a coalition for maternal-neonatal health and safe abortion, have cited gaps in the implementation of interventions by the government through the National Rural Health Mission. Their report says a significant percentage of women who died were from socially and economically disadvantaged sections.
The public health system, it says, failed women belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, minority religious groups, those living in geographically remote areas and migrants because of the way services such as antenatal and post-partum care are structured and delivered at present.
Noting that almost all of these deaths were preventable, the report pins the blame on the health system for failure to provide maternal health care, even emergency care. - Himachal Roadways launches high-tech bus tracking system
The Himachal Roadways Transport Corporation (HRTC) on 30th September launched sophisticated software to track and regulate state-run buses in the state, for passenger safety. The cost of the software was Rs 6.5 crore. With the help of this in case a bus is over-speeding or over-loaded, a text message will be sent to the conductor and action will be taken against the erring driver. - EC guidelines to political parties
Election Commission guidelines making it virtually mandatory for political parties to deposit their funds in banks and not to exceed ceiling limits in financial assistance for candidates to ensure transparency and accountability came into effect
The Election Commission order of August 29 in this regard under Article 324 of the Constitution (superintendence, direction and control of elections) was part of a set of comprehensive guidelines on transparency and accountability in party funds and election expenditure. The poll body had said that guidelines will come into effect from October 1.
Under the guidelines, the treasurer of a political party is now required to ensure maintenance of accounts at all state and lower levels and consolidated accounts at the central party headquarters.
The accounts maintained by the treasurer shall conform to the guidance note on accounting and auditing of political parties issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants. The annual accounts shall be audited and certified by certified chartered accountants as required under the Income Tax Act.
Under the guidelines, a party should ensure that no payment in excess of Rs 20,000 is made to any person or company in cash, except in a village or in town not served by a bank. Also it will not apply to payments made to any employee or party functionary towards salary, pension or reimbursement of expenses or where cash payment is required under any statute.
Referring to the Representation of the People Act provision regarding ceiling for election expenditure of a candidate, the EC guidelines make it clear that such assistance from a political party shall not exceed the prescribed ceiling.
While the recognized political parties shall file all reports, namely the contribution reports in Form 24A, the audited annual accounts as certified by the chartered accountants and the election expenditure statements with the Commission. The unrecognized parties shall file them with the chief electoral officer of the states.
The EC said in order to bring uniformity, all political parties shall submit to the Commission or to any authority mentioned by it a copy of the annual accounts with auditor’s report for each financial year before October 31 of each year.
The Income Tax provisions do not allow any deduction on the contributions made in cash by any person or company to a political party. Accordingly, the Commission guidelines say, the political party shall maintain names and address of all such individuals, companies or entities making donation to it excepting petty sums donated by public during rallies.
Further, any amount or donation received in cash shall be duly accounted in the account books deposited in the party's bank account within a week of its receipt. - NIIT, Microsoft join hands to attract women talent in IT sector
NIIT will partner with Microsoft India for ‘Women in Tech’ initiative, which would offer specialized courses to girl students and women, to attract and retain women talent in the IT industry.
Under the partnership announced on 1st October, NIIT will roll out eight new specialized courses across its 500 centres to train and certify women in latest Microsoft technologies. Each course would range from Rs 7,000 to Rs 10,000 and would be offered via NIIT cloud campus, said Vijay Thadani, CEO, NIIT.
The courses would be on mobile apps, cloud computing, big data, software testing, etc. Post this, the company would also organize job fairs in top 10 cities for women. - Indian institutes dismal performance
The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has made its debut in Times Higher Education's ranking of the world's best universities, taking India's representation in top 300 to two. IISc shares its number-one position among Indian institutions with Panjab University, which first appeared on the list last year.
Apart from this no Indian institution figures among top 200 globally. And, IISc's position, along with Panjab University's, is between 276th and 300th. This also means the latter's ranking has slipped from last year, when it was between 226th and 250th.
The total number of institutions ranked worldwide is 400. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings uses 13 separate performance indicators to examine a university's strengths against its core missions: Teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook. The top-200 list now features 28 countries, compared with 26 last year - Italy and Russia joined this year. Participation in the rankings is voluntary and free of charge.
There are 11 countries with one representative each in the top 200. There is an equal number keeping India Company with no presence in top 200 - Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Greece, Iceland, Iran, Macau, Poland, Portugal and Thailand.
Last year, four Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) - Delhi, Kharagpur, Kanpur and Roorkee - figured in the 351-400 ranking band. IIT Bombay has joined the list in this band this year (it wasn't ranked last year). IIT Roorkee has retained its place this year, too. Till the time of going to press, it was not known whether the other three IITs had made it to the rankings or some other Indian institutes had joined the list for top 400. - Government allows e-rickshaws on Delhi roads
E-rickshaws can now officially ply on city roads as the government on 1st October recognized them as special category three-wheeled vehicles with a maximum speed of 25 kilometres per hour. The Delhi High Court had put a ban on plying of e-rickshaws due to safety issues.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on 29th September notified that e-rickshaw means a special purpose battery operated vehicle having three wheels and intended to provide last mile connectivity for transport of passengers.
The government said that such a vehicle is constructed or adapted to carry not more than four passengers, excluding the driver, and not more than 40 kg luggage in total. The netpower of its motor is not more than 2,000 watts and the maximum speed of the vehicle is not more than 25 km per hour. - Toilet a must for contesting local body elections in Gujarat
The Gujarat government on 1st October amended the 1993 Gujarat Panchayat Act, making it mandatory for those contesting district, taluka and gram panchayat elections to have toilets at their respective homes.
Gujarat government has also given six months time to construct toilets at the homes of those who are currently members of local bodies but do not have toilets at their homes. Such members of the local body will also have to obtain certificate from their gram panchayat and furnish the same to Taluka Development Officer (TDO). - Swachchh bharat launched
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 2nd October launched clean India campaign, in the name of Swachchh Bharat The programme launched at Rajpath by taking a broom himself and sweeping the road. Modi also announced starting a campaign on cleanliness through social media, using his website MyGov.in and other such platforms, including a new website dedicated to the clean India campaign.
Modi highlighted the cleanliness thrust of the Father of the Nation and said India must realise his unfulfilled dream of a clean country, by 2019, the year of Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary.
The PM’s campaign is strong reminiscent of a similar campaign for cleanliness launched by Singapore in 1968. Started by former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, the Keep Singapore Clean Campaign was one of the first campaigns launched by the government. The objective was to make Singapore the cleanest city in the region, in order to boost tourism and the attraction of foreign investment.
Sanitation in India, fact file- Less than a third of India's 1.2 billion people have access to sanitation and more than 186,000 children under five die every year from diarrhoeal diseases caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation, according to the charity WaterAid.
- A United Nations report in May said half of India's population still practise open defecation - putting them at risk of cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A and typhoid. The resulting diseases and deaths cause major economic losses, and a World Bank report in 2006 estimated that India was losing 6.4 percent of GDP annually because of poor access to sanitation.
- According to WaterAid research, about 16 million Indians a year gain access to a basic toilet. This will need to increase to more than 100 million a year if the whole population is to have a toilet by 2019.
- Industry chamber CII has announced it would mobilise its members to build 10,000 toilets across the country by 2015-16.
- Earlier a number of companies including Tata Consultancy Services and Bharti Foundation, an arm of Bharti Enterprises had pledged a total of Rs 300 crore each to build toilets in schools. Vedanta, which has oil and gas wells, mines and power stations, said it was already constructing 30,000 toilets in rural Rajasthan and had plans to build 10,000 more.
- The government has also set up a Swachchh Bharat Kosh, encouraging companies to donate funds from their CSR budget to improve sanitation facilities in the country.
- Aid workers said that while increased investment in infrastructure was important, there must also be a change in attitudes.
- The rural development ministry will provide Rs 20 lakh to each village per year for the next five years under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, taking the total annual allocation under the scheme to 6.5 lakh villages to Rs 13,000 crore per annum. This will be part of the Rs 1,34,000 crore earmarked by the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pet project that aims to construct 11.11 crore toilets in rural India by 2019.
- SBA will replace the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan of the previous UPA government that had targeted sanitation for all by 2022.
- Under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan the government has increased the unit cost of individual household latrines by Rs 2,000 per unit to Rs 12,000 so as to provide for water availability, including for storing, hand-washing and cleaning of toilets.
- Besides, it has de-linked it from the rural employment guarantee scheme — the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act — and transferred the responsibility of construction of school and Anganwadi toilets to department of school education and the women and child development ministry.
- The overall project cost, for both rural and urban India, has been estimated at Rs 1,96,009 crore that will help in construction of 12 crore toilets across the country. Out of this, Rs 62,000 crore will be spent in urban India for construction of toilets.
- The mission will culminate on October 2, 2019, which will mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
- According to a calculation done by TERI in 1998, the garbage generated till 2011 would cover 2,20,000 football fields piled 9 meters (27 feet) high with garbage.
- Increasing amount of garbage generation is to be expected as population and GDP grow. But here's the thing: nearly one third of the garbage is not collected at all - it is just left to rot away in streets and alleys. So, in one year, about 14 million tons of garbage is left to rot in urban India's streets.
- The 70% that is collected is taken and dumped either in landfills or just any space available outside the main habitation. Only about 18% of the collected garbage is treated to recycle or make fuel. In other words, about 27 million tons of garbage is collected and dumped out of the city.
- The campaign needs a plan for collection, segregation, proper dumping and treatment across the country. An estimate of the urban development ministry in 2009 had put the cost for doing this at about Rs.48,582 crore.
- The other dimension of sanitation is sewage or wastewater disposal. CPCB estimates that in 2009, 38 billion liters of sewage was generated per day from 498 tier I cities. Installed capacity to treat this giant river of wastewater is 12 billion litres or less than one-third of the requirement. This means the remaining 26 billion liters is getting dumped into our streams and rivers daily, making many of them terminally sick.
- live refinery in Rajasthan
Rajasthan on 3rd October started the country’s first olive refinery. Chief Minister of Rajasthan Vasundhara Raje inaugurated the refinery set up with a cost of Rs. 3.75 crore in Lunkaransar area in the district and said it was an achievement for Rajasthan to become the first state in the country to set up such refinery.
The olive oil produced in the refinery will be marked under the brand name of ‘Raj Olive Oil’ and will be available in markets after some time.
282 hectare areas of land in districts like Bikaner, Nagaur, Jhunjhunu and others have been covered with olive plantation and the government wants to increase the area to 5,000 hectare in coming years so that the refinery can get more fruits for getting the oil in increased quantity.
Olive is a small tree belonging to the oleaceae family and is found in coastal areas of eastern Mediterranean (Italy and Spain), northern Iraq and northern Iran south of the Caspian Sea. - Govt jobs barred for tobacco users in Rajasthan
Tobacco users, including smokers and tobacco chewers, will not be eligible for government jobs in Rajasthan. A beginning towards this has been made by the Department of Commercial Taxes by declaring tobacco chewers ineligible for writing the Tax Assistant’s competitive test scheduled for December 7. The aspirants will have to submit an affidavit stating they do not smoke or chew tobacco in any form including gutka.
Also barred for appearing in the test for 182 posts of Tax Assistants are those who have more than two children as on or after June 1, 2002 as per the two-child norm policy, and those candidates have a second wife or a second husband without separating from the first one legally.
In addition to submitting a marriage registration certificate at the time of filling the form to apply for the test, the candidates will also have to give an affidavit saying that there was no exchange of dowry at the time or his/her marriage.
Rajasthan government has imposed 65 per cent VAT (value added taxes) on tobacco products, which is among the highest in the country and has resulted in a decline in smoking and tobacco consumption in the State.
Bilateral: - At UN, PM took firm climate stand
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given country’s views on the necessary actions to be taken to face the challenges of climate change during his UN general assembly speech on 27th of September.
In a remark which may disappoint rich nations, specifically the US, Canada and the European Union (EU) countries, Modi insisted on the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" (CBDR) and made it clear that this should "form the basis of continued action" in future.
It's a clear signal that India will not dilute its well-stated position when the country representatives would assemble in Lima, Peru in December for climate change negotiations in the run up to the global deal in Paris next year.
India's apprehension of the rich nations' likely stand during future climate negotiation in the run up to the 2015 Paris deal is not based on mere assumption. The developing countries have been hearing the rich nations' demand for flexibility in the key CBDR principle for the last couple of years.
It was become quite obvious recently when EU commissioner for climate action, Connie Hedegaard, met India's environment minister Prakash Javadekar and raised this point once again. She appealed him and others to prepare themselves for adjusting to new realities as far as CBDR were concerned. - Modi speech at Maidson Square
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a packed Madison Square, New York on 28th September. The important points that he discussed are….- India, it took only Rs 7 per km to reach Mars
- India has given importance to skill development. For that he said that a separate Ministry for skill development was created
- He also talked on cleanliness of river Ganga
- He assured that lifelong visas for PIO card holders
- Modi discussions with investor in US
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 29th September discussed with CEOs of large American companies to invest in India in key sectors including infrastructure. 11 CEO’s were present, including PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt and Citigroup chief Michael Corbat, Modi said India was open minded and wanted the change, which is “not one-sided”. Listening to concerns raised by the business leaders, Modi assured them that his Government will address their issues and try to make the environment in India more business-friendly. - India-US 10 years defence pact
India and US have in principle agreed to extend their defence agreement for another 10 years which will take forward the cooperation between the two countries in the crucial area.
The framework agreement, which will expire next year, was signed in 2005 by then Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his US counterpart Donald Rumsfeld. Earlier, US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed issues relating to defence cooperation and combating terrorism.
The pact had laid strong foundations leading to mutually beneficial defence cooperation between the two countries through security dialogue, service-level exchanges, defence exercises and defence trade and technology collaboration.
In the meeting, both sides had decided to take steps for extension of the pact besides agreeing to enhance cooperation in joint production and development of defence equipment.
The US has been pushing defence deals with India worth over Rs. 20,000 crore, including the sale of Apache attack choppers, Chinook heavylift helicopters and the Javelin anti—tank guided missiles.
It has already sold equipment worth Rs. 60,000 crore in the last 10 years to India but none of these weapon sales programme is about joint production or co—development and does not include transfer of technology.
India has raised the FDI cap in defence sector recently from 26 per cent to 49 per cent with an aim of boosting indigenous defence production. India imports almost 70 per cent of its defence needs from foreign sources.
Other important points- The Prime Minister of India invited American companies to participate in Indian defence manufacturing sector.
- The Indo-US nuclear deal concluded between the previous Manmohan Singh government and the Bush Administration has been stalled because of issues relating to libality laws. India and US decided to take this agreement to next level.
- Sharing concerns over the threat of terrorism in South Asia and emerging challenges in West Asia, where Islamist group ISIS has been on the rampage, Modi said the two countries agreed to intensify cooperation in counter terrorism and intelligence sharing. Obama said India was emerging as a major power for peace and security in the region.
123 Agreement: Section 123 of the United States Atomic Energy Act of 1954, titled "Cooperation With Other Nations", establishes an agreement for cooperation as a prerequisite for nuclear deals between the US and any other nation. Such an agreement is called a 123 Agreement. To date, the U.S. has entered into roughly twenty-five 123 Agreements with various countries.
The 123 Agreement signed between the United States of America and the Republic of India is known as the U.S.–India Civil Nuclear Agreement or Indo-US nuclear deal. The framework for this agreement was a July 18, 2005, joint statement by then Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and then U.S. President George W. Bush, under which India agreed to separate its civil and military nuclear facilities and to place all its civil nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards and, in exchange, the United States agreed to work toward full civil nuclear cooperation with India. This U.S.-India deal took more than three years to come to fruition as it had to go through several complex stages, including amendment of U.S. domestic law, especially the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, a civil-military nuclear Separation Plan in India, an India-IAEA safeguards (inspections) agreement and the grant of an exemption for India by the Nuclear Suppliers Group, an export-control cartel that had been formed mainly in response to India's first nuclear test in 1974. In its final shape, the deal places under permanent safeguards those nuclear facilities that India has identified as "civil" and permits broad civil nuclear cooperation, while excluding the transfer of "sensitive" equipment and technologies, including civil enrichment and reprocessing items even under IAEA safeguards. On August 18, 2008 the IAEA Board of Governors approved, and on February 2, 2009, India signed an India-specific safeguards agreement with the IAEA. Once India brings this agreement into force, inspections began in a phased manner on the 35 civilian nuclear installations India has identified in its Separation Plan. The deal is seen as a watershed in U.S.-India relations and introduces a new aspect to international nonproliferation efforts. On August 1, 2008, the IAEA approved the safeguards agreement with India, after which the United States approached the Nuclear Suppliers Group] (NSG) to grant a waiver to India to commence civilian nuclear trade. The 48-nation NSG granted the waiver to India on September 6, 2008 allowing it to access, civilian nuclear technology and fuel from other countries. The implementation of this waiver made India the only known country with nuclear weapons which is not a party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) but is still allowed to carry out nuclear commerce with the rest of the world.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill to approve the deal on September 28, 2008. Two days later, India and France inked a similar nuclear pact making France the first country to have such an agreement with India. On October 1, 2008 the U.S. Senate also approved the civilian nuclear agreement allowing India to purchase nuclear fuel and technology from -- and sell them to -- the United States. U.S. President, George W. Bush, signed the legislation on the Indo-US nuclear deal, approved by the U.S. Congress, into law, now called the United States-India Nuclear Cooperation Approval and Non-proliferation Enhancement Act, on October 8, 2008. The agreement was signed by then Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his counterpart then Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, on October 10 - India-US to set up inter-agency
Furthering Indo-US cooperation on terrorism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama on 30th September agreed to make "joint and concerted efforts" to dismantle safe havens for terror and criminal networks like LeT, JeM, D-company, al Qaeda and Haqqani network.
In their first Summit meeting spread over two hours at the White House, the two leaders also agreed that the two countries will take steps to disrupt financial and tactical support to these terror outfits.
They also said that the "joint and concerted efforts" on dismantling safe havens for terrorist groups and criminal networks do not mean that India and the US were not going to launch operations but carry out any UN-mandated task.
An inter-agency contact group will be set up to address the issues of liability, administrative and technical issues. From the Indian side, agencies like DAE, MEA and Finance Ministry will be involved.
The US will also cooperate as knowledge partner for India's planned National Defence University as well as technology partner in the Indian Navy. The US will also participate in expansion of India's infrastructure projects. The US will also be the lead partner in developing Allahabad, Ajmer and Vishakapatnam as 'Smart Cities'. The two countries will also cooperate in the Mars Mission.
They also agreed on cooperation between their central banks on regulation of their financial institutions and cross-border banking arrangements. The US will also participate in India's endeavour in the renewable energy sector with one billion dollars being pledged by the EXIM bank.
The two sides also agreed to set up Water and Sanitation Alliance (WASH).Modi and Obama pledged to push the bilateral relationship to "new levels".
All agreements between India and US- To intensify cooperation in maritime security; important as China's maritime ambitions expand
- Both leaders express concern about rising tensions over maritime territorial disputes
- Obama promises to enhance India's voice and vote in international financial institutions
- USAID to support the national urban development mission and Clean India campaign
- Both sides discuss role US can play in modernising India's railway network
- Modi and Obama to hold public-private discussions in early 2015 on new areas of cooperation, including advanced manufacturing
- To strengthen US-India Partnership to Advance Clean Energy
- To ease travel between the two countries, India to introduce visa-on-arrival for US citizens in 2015
- Obama to support Modi achieve his goal of preparing young Indians for 21st century jobs
- Leaders commit to partner on the Digital India initiative
- To launch new phase of programme to develop affordable vaccines for dengue, malaria and tuberculosis
- New pact likely soon to support the Nasa-Isro Synthetic Aperture Radar mission, to be launched in 2021
- IISc signs pact with UK research centre
The UK’s Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on key challenges such as water security, impact of air pollution, soil health and sustainability.
The two organizations are expected to identify opportunities for development of collaborative research, exchange of research scientists, and joint staff and studentships
An initial project is for CEH scientists to work with an IISc team to monitor soil moisture at the IISc catchment near Mysore. The CEH will supply cosmic ray soil moisture measuring device Cosmos and train IISc staff and students on its use - India-China stand-off ends: MEA
The 20-day “stand-off” between Indian and Chinese troops in Eastern Ladakh has ended. The External Affairs Ministry announced on 30th September that both sides “carried out disengagement and redeployment of border troops” on September 26 and 27. The statement said that status quo — as on September 1 — had been re-established. The border commanders met on 30th September at the Spanggur Gap to confirm that the stand-off had been terminated.
On September 10, China’s People’s Liberation Army reportedly moved around 500 soldiers to Chumar village on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control, 300 km south-east of Leh in Jammu and Kashmir. Chinese nomads called Rebos pitched tents 500 metres into India in Demchok.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to India in September. - India Promises Nepal Grant
India on 29th September pledged to provide a grant assistance of Rs 41.83 million for the construction of a cooperative promotion centre in Nepal. A MoU was signed between officials of the Embassy of India and the District Cooperative Union of Lalitpur, bordering Kathmandu. The District Cooperative Union Lalitpur was established in 1972 with the aim to promote, support and coordinate its member cooperatives. It has been carrying out promotional activities to develop and strengthen cooperatives and its member farmers. - India, Bhutan ink power project pact
In a major boost to the 600-Mw Kholongchu hydroelectric project in Bhutan, being developed by Shimla-based power public sector unit (PSU) SJVN Ltd, a shareholders agreement was signed in Bhutan, officials said on 1st October. The pact was signed between R P Singh, chairman and managing director, SJVN, and Dasho Chhewang Rinzin, managing director of Druk Green Power Corporation.
This is the first hydroelectric project being developed by a joint venture between PSUs of both the countries, to be implemented in Bhutan, under the BOOT (build, own, operate and transfer) model. In April, the two parties signed an agreement to execute the project. Singh said it is a run-of- the-river scheme located on the Kholongchu River in Bhutan.
On completion, it will generate 2,568 million units of energy. The project is estimated to cost Rs 3,868.87 crore, to be shared equally by the two partners, he added. It will provide 12 per cent of the saleable energy to Bhutan free of cost as royalty energy during the first 12 years of commercial operations.
The project will be financed under a debt equity ratio of 70:30. For the 70 per cent saleable energy generated, long-term power purchase agreements will be entered into with the beneficiaries and the balance power will be sold through market mechanism. - India-Myanmar container shipping service launched
The Look East Policy of the Central Government got a boost with the launch of India-Myanmar container shipping service at Chennai port. The service, run by the State-owned Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), was launched by Shipping Secretary Vishwapati Trivedi.
The Government is looking at starting a similar service to countries such as Thailand and Vietnam as part of the Look East policy, he said at the launch function at the DP World Chennai container terminal. The dedicated service was started with a commercial consideration but also as a friendly consideration to strengthen bilateral relationship between the two countries. The service rotation will be Chennai, Krishnapatnam, Yangoon, Colombo and Chennai. - Anti-dumping duty on phenol from US, Chinese Taipei
India has imposed anti-dumping duty on phenol imported from the US and Chinese Taipei to safeguard the interest of domestic manufacturers. The duty, ranging from $47.29-$196.24 a tonne, has been levied for five years, a circular of the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) said.
Giving reasons for imposing anti-dumping duty, the CBEC said Phenol has been exported to India from the United States and Taipei below their normal value, thus resulting in the dumping of the product. It further said that the domestic industry has suffered material injury because of dumping of imports. Phenol is a basic organic chemical used in manufacturing of antiseptics, industrial paints and cosmetics.
No comments:
Post a Comment