PIB: - WINTER SEASON OF PARLIAMENT 2013
5 December to 20 December (I am trying to cover maximum news but coverage will not be descriptive otherwise it will go long so you have to take this initiative by yourself)
Drinking Water and Sanitation Facilities
* Uniform drinking water quality monitoring protocol have been made available to the States to improve performance of rural drinking water supply schemes.
* Provision of incentives for the construction of Individual household latrines (IHHL) extended to identify Above Poverty Line (APL) households (all SCs /STs, small and marginal farmers, landless labourers with homestead, physically handicapped and women-headed households.
* Recasting the component of Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM) under NBA (BHARAT NIRMAN ABHIYAN) to a project mode approach in convergence with Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
Promoting Organic Farming in the Country
* The Government is promoting organic farming through various schemes like National Project on Organic Farming (NPOF), National Horticulture Mission (NHM), and Horticulture Mission for North East & Himalayan States (HMNEH), National Project on Management of Soil Health and Fertility (NPMSH&F) Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and also Network Project on Organic Farming of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
* Under National Project on Organic Farming (NPOF) scheme, assistance up to 25% and 33% of financial outlay is provided as back ended subsidy through NABARD for establishment of bio pesticides/bio-fertilizers production units and agro waste compost production units respectively.
Steps to Control Leaf Spot Disease in Banana
* Sigatoka Leaf Spot disease of banana has affected the banana plantations in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat, Bihar and Assam.
* The National Research Centre for Banana, Tiruchirapalli has developed effective management technology for the control of leaf spot disease in banana by integrated management practices. The disease can be controlled effectively by application of fungicides and petroleum oil coupled with field sanitation and removal of affected leaves.
Rural Wireline Broadband Scheme
* Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) has launched Rural Wireline Broadband Scheme for providing broadband connectivity to rural and remote areas, USOF has signed an Agreement with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) on January 20, 2009 under the Rural Wireline Broadband Scheme to provide wireline broadband connectivity to rural and broadband by leveraging the existing rural exchanges infrastructure and copper wireline network.
Flow of Foreign Capital
* The US Fed Indications in late May 2013 about the possible tapering of the quantitative easing programme led to substantial outflow of FIIs from Emerging Market Economies (EMEs) including India. Further, EMEs currencies, particularly those with high CAD, also witnessed sharp exchange rate depreciation.
* In order to augment capital inflows, various measures have been taken in the recent period, including liberalized FDI norms through review of limits and (or) routes for select sectors viz., telecom, asset reconstruction companies, credit information companies, petroleum and natural gas, courier services, commodity exchanges, infrastructure companies in the securities market and power exchanges, offering a window for the banks to swap the fresh FCNR(B) dollar funds with the Reserve Bank increase in the overseas borrowing limit from 50 to 100 per cent of the unimpaired Tier I capital of banks (with the option of swap with the Reserve Bank) permission to avail of ECB under the approval route from their foreign equity holder company for general corporate purposes.
Drugs Prohibited / Suspended in the Country
* The Government has suspended the manufacture for sale, sale and distribution of following drugs in 2013 as the use of these drugs was likely to involve risk to the human health:
* Dextropropoxyphene and formulations containing Dextropropoxyphene for human use.
* Analgin and all formulations containing analgin for human use.
* Fixed Dose Combination of Flupenthixol+Melitracen for human use.
* Pioglitazone and all formulations containing Pioglitazone for human use.
Measles Special Immunization Activity
* World Health Organization (WHO) on 24th February, 2012 removed India from the list of countries with active endemic wild poliovirus transmission.
* The Government is also working to eliminate measles and control Rubella and Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS) by 2020 in association with South-East Asia Region.
Drugs & Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill, 2013
* The Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940 has been amended on several occasions since its enactment.
* on the basis of the recommendations of the Mashelkar Committee, the Act was amended by the Drugs & Cosmetics (Amendment) Act, 2008 to provide stringent penalties for manufacture of spurious and adulterated drugs.
* Certain offences were made cognizable and non-bailable.
* It also enabled setting up of special designated courts for speedy disposal of cases to deal with the cases of offences under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. 16 States/UTs have already set up these special Courts.
South-South Cooperation on Child Rights
* The Government of India recently hosted the Second High Level Meeting (HLM) on South-South Cooperation for Child Rights in Asia and the Pacific in New Delhi from 23rd to 25th October 2013.
* The meeting provided a forum to the development of networks for knowledge exchange, promotion of peer learning, and coordination for cooperation on child rights in the countries of Asia and the Pacific.
* The deliberations during the HLM focused on three themes:
* Urban setting as an opportunity for realizing all child rights; Adolescents: current rights for future opportunities and Fulfilling Child Rights through Early Childhood Development.
* The Meeting also assessed the progress made in the area of child rights since the first HLM held in Beijing in 2010.
* The HLM concluded with the adoption of a New Delhi Declaration on South-South Cooperation for Child Rights in Asia and the Pacific.
* The New Delhi Declaration provided an overview on status of children in Asia and the Pacific.
* It provided overall and specific recommendations on the three themes of Adolescents, Early Childhood Development and Urban Settings.
* The overall recommendations included improving data collection methodologies and use data for the purpose of advancing child rights; enhancing inter-country learning and exchange of best practices; and encouraging multi-country research studies on childrens issues.
* The specific recommendations included improving access and quality of lower secondary education and vocational training for children and adolescents; reviewing and enhancing national and regional coordination of early childhood development policies, programmes and service components and; enhancing services to children living in urban areas, particularly the most marginalized and excluded children.
National Institute for Women Affairs
* There is a proposal to set up a National Institute for Women Affairs (NIWA) under the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
* However, at present the National Resource Centre for Women (NRCW) under the National Mission for Empowerment of Women (NMEW) is working towards ensuring the operationalization of the Mission at National, State and District levels.
Discussions with Bangladesh Regarding Hydro-Electric Projects in Manipur/Meghalaya
* Discussions are being held between India and Bangladesh regarding the construction of Hydro Power Projects in Meghalaya and Manipur. Bangladesh had raised its concern regarding the Tipaimukh Hydro-Electric (Multipurpose) Project (1500 MW) in Manipur and Mawphu (85MW) and Myntdu (84 MW) dam in Meghalaya.
* Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPPA) Signed Between India and Government of UAE to Boost Investment Flows Between the two Countries.
Weather Forecast
* Government has launched the National Monsoon Mission to build state-of-the-art coupled ocean-atmospheric climate model framework for a) improved prediction of monsoon rainfall on extended range to seasonal time scale (16 days to one season) and b) improved prediction of temperature, rainfall and extreme weather events on short to medium range time scale (up to 15 days).
* Most Recommendations of the Damodaran Committee Taken Into Account in the Companies Act, 2013
Entry of Foreign Universities to set up their Campuses in India
* The Government has prepared the University Grants Commission (UGC) (Establishment and Operation of Campuses of Foreign Educational Institutions) Rules, 2013.
* Under the proposed Rules, Foreign Educational Institutions (FEIs) can set up campuses in India once the FEIs have been notified as Foreign Education Provider (FEPs) by the UGC, subject to fulfillment of certain eligibility conditions.
New National Textile Policy
* Government has constituted an Expert Committee to review the National Textile Policy 2000 and formulate the National Textile Policy 2013.
* The existing National Textile Policy 2000 was framed about 13 years ago and since then the industry has undergone various changes on the domestic and international fronts.
* The domestic textile industry has seen large scale modernization and technological up-gradation in the last decade and faces new challenges.
* In the international trade scenario, while the export quota regime has been removed in 2004, recent trends in the global textile industry offer an enormous opportunity to Indian industry to enhance its share in world trade with a supportive policy framework.
* Hence, the Government aims to formulate a new improved Textile Policy to address concerns of adequate skilled work force, labour reforms, attracting investments in the Textile Sector, as well as providing a future road map for the textile and clothing industry.
Setting up of Heavy Water Reactors in the Country
* The Government propose to build heavy water reactors in the country;
* Start of work on eight new Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) each of 700 MW capacity is envisaged in the XII Five Year Plan, in the states of Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan& Karnataka.
Promoting Organic Farming in the Country
* The Government is promoting organic farming in the country through schemes like National Project on Organic Farming (NPOF), National Horticulture Mission (NHM), Horticulture Mission for North East and Himalayan States (HMNEH), Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and also Network Project on Organic Farming of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
Schemes for Farmers Skill Development and Training
* A number of ongoing schemes have an inbuilt component of skill development and training in agriculture sector.
* Continuous efforts are being made to improve the coverage and quality of these programmes through regular reviews, monitoring and formulation of new strategies.
The details of Schemes providing skill development and training for the farmers are given below:
Department of Agriculture & Cooperation
1. Support to State Extension Programmes for Extension Reforms: a new institutional arrangement for technology dissemination in the form of Agricultural technology management Agency(ATMA) at district level. The activities taken up under the scheme includes capacity building of extension functionaries and farmers, front line demonstration, exposure visits, kisan melas, farmers group mobilization, farm schools and farmers-scientist interaction. Through these activities, latest agriculture technologies are disseminated to farmers of the country.
1. National Food Security Mission (NFSM): Amongst different interventions, under NFSM, Farmer Field Schools (FFS) are being implemented on a large scale to provide first-hand information to the farmers in their fields and equip them with necessary skills to enable them to adopt the improved crop production technologies for higher productivity Plant Protection Scheme & also under Cotton/Jute Technology Missions.
2. National Horticulture Mission (NHM): Human Resource Development through training and demonstration is an integral component of the NHM. Under this Mission, training programmes for the farmers are conducted at district level, State level and outside the State on emerging issues of Horticulture.
3. Horticulture Mission for North Eastern and Himalayan States (HMNEH): The HMNEH scheme, being run in North Eastern and Himalayan States, has also got component of transfer of technology through training/exposure visit of farmers.
1. Development and Strengthening of Infrastructure Facilities for Production and Distribution of Quality Seeds: Skill development through training and demonstration is provided for farmers and seed growers on techniques to be adopted for hybrid rice seed production.
1. Promotion and strengthening of Agriculture Mechanization through Training, Testing and Demonstration: Information & latest technologies in the field of Agriculture Mechanization are being disseminated to farmers and rural unemployed youth through training programmes and demonstrations.
2. Post-Harvest Technology and Management: Assistant is provided to the State governments and other implementing agencies in organising demonstration & trainings on post-harvest technology.
3. Integrated Scheme of Oilseeds, Pulses, Oilpalm and Maize (ISOPOM): Trainings are conducted for farmers for skill development in the area of adopting new technologies related to new varieties, pest management/control and adoption of new package of practices including new implements.
Department of Agricultural Research and Education
1. Krishi Vigyan Kendras: The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has created a network of 634 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) in the country aiming at assessment, refinement and demonstration of technology/products. As part of this process, the KVKs also organize a number of training programmes to update the knowledge and skills of farmers.
Technologies Evolved for Preparation of Enriched Manures From Organic Wastes
* The Government through National Project on Management of Soil Health and Fertility (NPMSHF) and National Project on Organic Farming (NPOF) is promoting use of composts/manures in the country. Farmers are being educated on this aspect through training and demonstrations.
Relaxation of Norms for Sezs
* The amendments to the SEZs Rules, 2006 include reduced minimum area requirements for establishing SEZs, reforms in vacancy norms for land for SEZs, sectoral broad-banding and graded scale for minimum land criteria in order to allow greater flexibility and to facilitate optimal utilization of SEZ land, clarification of norms for transfer of assets by SEZ Units upon their exit etc.
* The amendments also provide that while there will be no minimum land area requirement for setting up IT/ITES SEZs such IT/ITES SEZs will have to conform with a minimum built up area requirement which is graded as per category of cities based on their IT density.
Tsunami Warning System
* The Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC) was established and made fully functional since 2007 and is now rendering operational services as a Regional Tsunami Watch Provider (RTWP) for whole of the Indian Ocean Region by the Earth System Science Organization - Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Sciences (ESSO-INCOIS) of the Ministry of Earth Sciences located in Hyderabad.
National Resource Centre for Women
* The Government of India has set up a National Resource Centre for Women (NRCW) under National Mission for Empowerment of Women (NMEW).
* The NRCW comprises of gender experts from various thematic domains like health and nutrition, gender budgeting and gender mainstreaming, gender rights and gender based violence, economic empowerment and poverty alleviation, communication and advocacy etc.
'Earn While you Learn' Programme
* The Ministry of Tourism is implementing a Scheme titled Earn While You Learn with a view to inculcate appropriate tourism travel traits and knowledge amongst trainees to enable them to work as student volunteers.
* The salient features of the Scheme are:
* College-going students pursuing graduation courses or graduates in the age group of 18 to 25 years will be eligible for the training programme.
* The candidates are selected by following a transparent procedure.
* The duration of each programme is 21 working days.
* The course content is finalized by the Ministry of Tourism/implementing Institutes in consultation with stakeholders.
Setting up of Equal Opportunity Commission
* A High Level Committee under the chairpersonship of Justice (Retd.) Rajindar Sachar had, inter alia, made recommendation for setting up of an Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC) to address the grievances of deprived groups.
* Government had set up an Expert Group to examine and determine, inter alia, the structure and functions of an EOC.
* Based on the Expert Group Report, recommendations of Group of Ministers constituted for this purpose and comments/ inputs received from various stakeholders, a draft Equal Opportunity Commission Bill for setting up of EOC is under consideration of the Government.
4th Korea - India Finance Ministerial Working Level Meeting Held; Both Sides Recognize the Necessity for Strengthening Economic Cooperation Between the two Countries to Overcome Global Crisis.
* In his opening remarks Dr Mayaram, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs said that India and Korea have strong bilateral relations in field of Finance, Science and Technology and Cultural exchange among others.
National rural drinking water programme
Under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation provides technical and financial assistance to the States to provide safe and adequate drinking water to the rural population.
* The Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation has prepared a Strategic Plan for coverage of rural households with Piped Water. Under the Plan the following timelines have been laid out:
By 2017,
* Ensure that at least 50% of rural households are provided with piped water supply; at least 35% of rural households have piped water supply with a household connection; less than 20% use public taps and less than 45% use handpumps or other safe and adequate private water sources. All services meet set standards in terms of quality and number of hours of supply every day.
By 2022,
* Ensure that at least 90% of rural households are provided with piped water supply; at least 80% of rural households have piped water supply with a household connection; less than 10% use public taps and less than 10% use handpumps or other safe and adequate private water sources.
National Project on Biogas
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has formulated the following Schemes for exploring the potential of bio-energy-
* Biomass Power and Biomass Cogeneration in Sugar Mills
* Biogas Power Generation Programme (BPGP)
* Biomass Gasifier Programme
* Waste to Energy Programme
* National Biogas and Manure Management Programme (NBMMP)
* Biomass Cogeneration Non-bagasse
* MNRE provides Central Financial Assistance for setting up bioenergy plants, training and awareness raising. Besides, fiscal incentives such as custom and excise duties concession, accelerated depreciation, income tax holiday and preferential tariff are also provided for grid connected bioenergy power generation projects.
PMs address at the release of postage stamp in honour of Sardar Beant Singh
* Sardar Beant Singhji is best remembered for providing strong and determined leadership to the State of Punjab in very troubled times.
North East Rural Livelihood Project
* North East Rural Livelihood Project (NERLP) is being implemented in four North Eastern States of Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
* As the objective of NERLP is to improve livelihoods of the poor, especially that of women and the disadvantaged people in the project area, identification of Districts for the project was done by the State Governments based on social and economic backwardness.
* There is no plan to extend NERLP to other Districts except to the newly carved districts out of the existing 8 districts. As the project has commenced its work recently, it is too early to assess the impact of the project in increasing the per capita income of the Self Help Groups.
National Crop Insurance Programme being Implemented from Current Rabi Season
* A new central sector scheme, National Crop Insurance Programme (NCIP) has been introduced by merging Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS), Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS) and Coconut Palm Insurance Scheme (CPIS) throughout the country from Rabi 2013-14.
* NCIP has been introduced to provide financial support to the farmers for losses in their crop yield, to help in maintaining flow of agricultural credit, to encourage farmers to adopt progressive farming practices and higher technology in Agriculture and thereby, to help in maintaining production, employment & economic growth.
Plastic Parks
* Odisa ,aasam, m.p. tamilnadu
New Greenfield Airports Approved
* Maharashtra, Karanataka, Kerala, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Sikkim, Pudducherry,Uttar Pradesh.
* Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kolkata and Chennai International Airports have been identified for development as international hubs.
* Government Contemplates to Make Raipur Airport International
* Ensuring Environmental Sustainability Included in the List of Activities for CSR Policies
* First Japan-India Maritime Exercise (JIMEX) in Indian Waters From 19-22 Dec
* India and the Government of Republic of Macedonia Signed an Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income
Steps By Government To Reduce Infant Mortality Rate
* Navjaat Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (NSSK), a programme for training health care providers on essential newborn care and resuscitation.
* Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK) has been launched on 1st June, 2011, which entitles all pregnant women delivering in public health institutions to absolutely free and no expense delivery including Caesarean section. The initiative stipulates free drugs, diagnostics, blood and diet, besides free transport from home to institution, between facilities in case of a referral and drop back home. Similar entitlements have been put in place for all sick infants accessing public health institutions for treatment.
* Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK), an introduction of child health screening for 4Ds i.e. defects at birth, deficiencies, diseases, development delays and their management among the children 0-18 years of age.
National Programme For Health Care of the Elderly
Following facilities are being provided under the Programme:
* Geriatric OPD, 30 bedded Geriatric ward for in-patient care, etc at Regional Geriatric Centres. The Regional Geriatric Centres will also undertake PG Courses in Geriatric for developing Human Resource.
* Geriatric OPD and 10 bed Geriatric Ward at District Hospitals.
* Bi-weekly Geriatric Clinic at Community Health Centres (CHCs)
* Weekly Geriatric Clinic at Primary Health Centre (PHCs).
* Provision of Aids and Appliances at Sub-centres.
Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad Launches Reverse Dot Blot Hybridization (RDB) Thalassemia Diagnostic Kit
* Reverse Dot Blot Hybridization (RDB) Kit for thalassemia is developed by scientists of National Institute of Immunohaematolgoy (NIIH) and the Indian Council for Medical research (ICMR) and is now being domestically manufactured by IMGENEX Ltd.
* The role of the molecular kit is to meet the need for affordable and sensitive tests for diagnosis of affected children and for prenatal diagnosis in the first trimester itself.
The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2011
Some of the important features in the Bill are as below:-
* Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayukta at the level of the States.
* The Lokpal will consist of a Chairperson and a maximum of eight Members, of which fifty percent shall be judicial members.
* Fifty per cent of members of Lokpal shall be from amongst SC/ST/OBCs, Minorities and Women.
* The selection of Chairperson and Members of Lokpal shall be through a Selection Committee consisting of:-
* Prime Minister;
* Speaker of Lok Sabha;
* Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha;
* Chief Justice of India or a sitting Supreme Court judge nominated by CJI;
* Eminent jurist to be nominated by the President of India on the basis of recommendations of the first four members of the Selection Committee.
* Prime Minister has been brought under the purview of the Lokpal.
* Lokpals jurisdiction will cover all categories of public servants.
* All entities receiving donations from foreign source in the context of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) in excess of Rs. 10 lakhs per year are brought under the jurisdiction of Lokpal.
* Provides adequate protection for honest and upright Public Servants.
* Lokpal will have power of superintendence and direction over any investigation agency including CBI for cases referred to them by Lokpal.
* A high powered Committee chaired by the Prime Minister will recommend selection of the Director,CBI.
* Directorate of Prosecution headed by a Director of Prosecution under the overall control of Director;
* The appointment of the Director of Prosecution, CBI on the recommendation of the Central Vigilance Commission;
* Transfer of officers of CBI investigating cases referred by Lokpal with the approval of Lokpal;
* The Bill also incorporates provisions for attachment and confiscation of property acquired by corrupt means, even while prosecution is pending.
* The Bill lays down clear time lines for Preliminary enquiry & investigation and trial and
towards this end, the Bill provides for setting up of Special Courts.
* A mandate for setting up of the institution of Lokayukta through enactment of a law by the State Legislature within a period of 365 days from the date of commencement of the Act.
* Statement of Finance Minister on Bilateral Currency Swap Arrangement Between the Reserve Bank of India and Bank of Japan to Enhance Facility of Currency Swap From US $15 Billion To US $ 50 Billion
* Smt Sushma Singh takes over as Chief Information Commissioner
* Sub-Committee on Promotion of Urdu Language and Enhancement of Compatibility Amongst Minorities Through Knowledge of Englishrecommended the setting up of a monitoring committee of experts to ensure the implementation of programmes related to promotion of Urdu in the light of the recommendations of the Sub-Committee and other proposals that might come up as an offshoot of these recommendations.
* Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) Signed Between India And San Marino.
* India and Venezuela Sign Programme on Cultural Exchange.
* CCEA approves Exploration and Exploitation of Coal Bed Methane areas under Coal Mining Lease allotted to Coal India Limited.
* Inclusion of Jat community in the Central List of OBCs for the States of Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Uttarakhand and Bihar.Programme for bovine breeding and dairy development
* The Scheme will have two components (a) National Programme for Bovine Breeding (NPBB) and (b) National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD). NPBB will focus amongst other things on extension of the Field Artificial Insemination (Al) Net work, monitoring of Al programme, development and conservation of indigenous breeds and establishment of breeders' associations and societies to encourage conservation and development of recognized indigenous breeds.
Election Commission Heads and Representatives From Eight Countries (Iraq, Lebanon, Nigeria and Senegal, south Sudan) Witness Assembly Elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi Countries Seek ECI Support in Capacity Building and Election TechnologyPolicy for Corporate Governance On account of increasing importance of businesses to the economics and complexities of operating in an inter-dependent world necessitated this Ministry to constitute a Committee to formulate a Policy document on Corporate Governance under the Chairmanship of Shri Adi Godrej on 07.03.2012. The Committee has since submitted its report to the Central Government.i) Faster incorporation / registration of companies through fully electronic MCA-21 Registry provided;ii) Companies allowed to maintain records and hold meetings through e- governance mode;iii) Companies empowered to function in a manner which is self-regulated with disclosures/transparency rather than Government/regulatory approval based regime;iv) Concepts of One Person Company and Small Company recognized to allow new entrepreneurs to take advantage of corporate form of business;v) Faster mergers and acquisitions including short form of merger and cross border mergers allowed;vi) Time bound approvals through National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT); vii) Summary liquidation process for a class of companies provided.New National Competition PolicyThe Bill seeks to regulate public procurement by all Ministries/Departments of the Central Government, Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs), autonomous and statutory bodies controlled by the Central Government and other procuring entities with the objectives of ensuring transparency, accountability and probity in the procurement process, fair and equitable treatment of bidders, promoting competition, enhancing efficiency and economy, maintaining integrity and public confidence in the public procurement process.National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture Being Launched in Twelfth Plan The National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture is being launched during the Twelfth Five Year Plan. National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) seeks to transform Indian agriculture into a climate resilient production system through suitable adaptation and mitigation measures in domains of both crops and animal husbandry. NMSA as a programmatic intervention focuses on promotion of location specific integrated/composite farming systems; resource conservation technologies; comprehensive soil health management; efficient on-farm water management and mainstreaming rainfed technologies.Neha Shrivastava
Showing posts with label PIB. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PIB. Show all posts
Monday, January 13, 2014
PIB Revision Notes
PIB Revision Notes
Economy
1. 7th Meeting of FSDC held under its chairman Union Finance Minister
Matters Discussed :
1. It reviewed the asset quality and capital adequacy of the banks, assessed the capital requirement by banks as per BASEL III.
2. Financial sector legislative reforms commissions report(FSLRC) which was completed in 2013 was reviewed , Measures taken by the RBI for Financial inclusion was appraised.
Backgrounders
1. FSDC Financial stability & Development council Apex Super regulatory body.
2. Composition of FSDC Union.Fin.Min + Gov of RBI + Chief Economic advisor + Chairman(IRDA,PFRDA,SEBI )+ Or any other person invited by Minister.
3. Roles- Financial (stability, Inclusion, literacy. etc.) , Regulatory co ordination
4. Asset quality of the bank Interest/Profits through loans , Bonds etc..
5. FSLRC Set up by GOI under former supreme court judge B.N. Srikrishna in 2011 to review, rewrite legislations related to financial market and making those legislations simpler and consistent with each other.
Agriculture Biosecurity Bill
Salient Features
1. Establishment of authority for pest, pest infestation controland disease control. Integration of plant and quarantine services
2. To meet international standards for export, import of plant, plant products, animal, animal products and aquatic organisms.
3. Regulation of agriculturally important microorganisms.
4. Declaration of an area as pest control area for the purpose of pest control.
5. To ensure Phytosanitary and sanitary measures Provision to search premises, seize, treat disposal of plants, animals to prevent spread of pest by designated officers.
6. Declaration of biosecurity Emergency in case of outbreak.
7. Removal of plants, animal and other imported objects which violates any provision of the bill.
Arts and Culture
UNESCO has approved to enlist 6 forts of Rajasthan in its World heritage list, following are the 6 forts
1. Chittaurgarh
2. Kumbhalgarh
3. Ranthambore
4. Jaislamer
5. Amber
6. Gagron
Backgrounders
1. World heritage list is covered under World heritage convention, 1972 (India ratified this in 1977)
2. Another site Great Himalayan national park (HP) is in pipeline to get approval from UNESCO.
Vaccine derived polio virus (VDPV) detected in Maharashtra.
What is VDPV?
Oral polio vaccine (OPV) is an attenuated (Weak) virus When a child is immunized with OPV, the weakened vaccine-virus replicates in the intestine for a limited period, thereby developing immunity by building up antibodies . When a child is immunized with OPV, the weakened vaccine-virus replicates in the intestine for a limited period, thereby developing immunity by building up antibodies. During this time, the vaccine-virus is also excreted. In areas of inadequate sanitation (read open defecation), this excreted vaccine-virus can spread in the immediate community- Very rarely, vaccine-derived poliovirus can cause paralysis, if the community around is seriously under immunized.
VDVP
(OPV)
VDPV - 3 types
1. Circulated VDPV VDPV will be getting circulated in a community where immunization is very low Lower the immunization, longer the virus thrives and exchanges its genetic variation with other enterovirus
2. Immunodeficiency VDPV - These occur through some people who have much lesser immunity than the others these are the persons who are unable to get rid of the intestinal vaccine virus for long time (Usually they are cleared with 6 8 weeks).
3. Ambiguous VDPV Very little know about them.
Solution for the all the above cases is to immunize the child several times.
WHO removed India from the list of polio endemic countries in 2012 following one year without any case due to wild poliovirus in the country.
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* 29t June be celebrated as statistics day in recognition of the economist Prof P.C. Mahalanobis, Theme for the this years statistics day is Labor and employment statistics
P C mahaloanobis Noted economist, Held position in GOI as statistical advisor and he was member in the planning commission as well. The formulation of the D-Statistics, derivation of its properties and its application are some of his contributions. he setup National Sample Survey (NSS) entrusted with key responsibilities for the design, collection and analysis of sample survey data.
1. Weather satellite INSAT 3D launched from Kourou, French Guyana It is placed in geosynchronous transfer orbit by Ariane5 - Used in weather reporting , Meteorological observation, maritime, land rescue operations
2. INSAT 3D is equipped with Atmospheric sounding system which provides vertical profiles of temperature/humidity from surface to top of the atmosphere. Imager to take pictures. Data relay transponder relays weather accurately from collecting it from remote locations. Satellite aided search and rescue collect signals from place of distress and send it to control center.
National Teeka Express launched
What is it?
It is launched to protect children from life threatening diseases. Itll distribute vaccines from cold chain points to vaccination centers.
It also brings back unused, open vaccines to cold chain back for subsequent usage so that costly vaccines can be better utilized.
Itll bring back the immunization related biomedical waste to storage points for safe disposal. Itll also collect immunization performance reports.
Itll act as a mobile health care delivery unit in areas which lack health care facility or worker.
Why it is launched?
1. Vaccine delivery to remote areas is becoming difficult and time consuming.
2. Under Routine immunization program, Often ANMs have to collect vaccines a day before the immunization which may compromise the cold chain maintenance and its vaccines efficacy will be lost or even improper storage could lead to adverse effects.
Recently there was news on CIC ruling which included political parties as public authority and subsequent to that Union cabinet has approved a legislation to exclude political parties from the ambit of RTI. The new proposal by the Cabinet argues that enough facilities are provided within the Representation of peoples act to check political parties accountability like below
Under Rep. of Peoples Act, 1951.
1. The act provides for the registration of political parties with election commission
2. Political parties can accept donations but have to declare it along with assets and liabilities.
3. Account of election expenses is to be maintained and submitted to the dist. Election officer. failure to do so will attract 3yr disqualification of the particular candidate
4. Penalty for filing false affidavit
Minor Forest produce or Non timber Forest produces now to get Minimum support price (MSP) which will improve the livelihood of the tribal people in heavily Naxal infested area .
India has so far signed civil nuclear cooperation agreement with 9 following countries
USA, Russia, Canada, Argentina, Namibia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Korea (south of course)
Talks are in progress with Japan, UK, Australia and Srilanka.
Yuva Saathi Program launched by Ministry of culture The Programme envisages the deployment of Volunteer guides, Yuva Saathi, to provided guided tours to school children in National museum.
Science and Tech :
Defence Research Lab (DRDO) has developed a Chilly spray called CAPSISPRAY , an ecofriendly non-lethal spray for personal protection and self-defense. It is extracted from Worlds hottest chilli, Bhut Jolokia (cultivated in Assas and other NE states). The prototype is developed and in pipeline for testing.
Shri Zubin Mehta to be the second recipient of the Tagore Award, 2013 in recognition of his outstanding contribution to cultural harmony.
The annual award was instituted by the Govt. of India during the commemoration of 150th Birth Anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. The first Tagore Award was conferred on Pt. Ravi Shankar, the Indian Sitar Maestro in 2012.
The award is open to all persons regardless of nationality, race, language, caste, creed or sex.
Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel (The Longest Transportation Tunnel of India) - 17.7 Km)
Ircon International Ltd oversaw the project from Dharam to Qazigund (including banihal to Quazikund)
The Kashmir Valley railway is a long (119 Km) modern railway line. It is an island railway, not yet connected to the Indian Railway network. It connects Baramula in the western part of Kashmir to Qazigund at the other end of the Valley, via Srinagar
The 17.7 km long rail link paves way for the future railway connectivity of Kashmir region with the national railway network.
Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) Lab setup by Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC), technical arm of Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications & IT, has earned a unique distinction of being approved by the IPv6 Ready Logo Committee under IPv6 Forum, an International body. This achievement is significant for TEC and the country as only five other labs in the world have achieved this milestone. (Europe, USA, Japan, China and Taiwan)
The internet and the internet facing devices are moving to new addressing scheme IPv6 since IPv4 addresses are no longer available. So Government had set up lab so that the service providers, content providers and the customer premises equipment vendors are encouraged to move to IPv6 address implementation. It is one of the objectives of National telecom policy-2012.
Backgrounder
Normally to access internet we use a device and these devices are numbered. Earlier we used IPV4 version for numbering devices, presently we have about 4.3 billion which will be exceeded soon ( Or is it exceeded ?) , so we need a new versioning of numbering here comes IPV6, it has 3.8 * 10^38 possibilities.
IPV4 uses 32 bits , ITV6 uses 128 bits
Vignesh Raja P
Sources:
Pib.nic.in
www.isi-web.org
http://www.polioeradication.org
http://www.who.int
Isro.org
Thehindu.com
Economy
1. 7th Meeting of FSDC held under its chairman Union Finance Minister
Matters Discussed :
1. It reviewed the asset quality and capital adequacy of the banks, assessed the capital requirement by banks as per BASEL III.
2. Financial sector legislative reforms commissions report(FSLRC) which was completed in 2013 was reviewed , Measures taken by the RBI for Financial inclusion was appraised.
Backgrounders
1. FSDC Financial stability & Development council Apex Super regulatory body.
2. Composition of FSDC Union.Fin.Min + Gov of RBI + Chief Economic advisor + Chairman(IRDA,PFRDA,SEBI )+ Or any other person invited by Minister.
3. Roles- Financial (stability, Inclusion, literacy. etc.) , Regulatory co ordination
4. Asset quality of the bank Interest/Profits through loans , Bonds etc..
5. FSLRC Set up by GOI under former supreme court judge B.N. Srikrishna in 2011 to review, rewrite legislations related to financial market and making those legislations simpler and consistent with each other.
Agriculture Biosecurity Bill
Salient Features
1. Establishment of authority for pest, pest infestation controland disease control. Integration of plant and quarantine services
2. To meet international standards for export, import of plant, plant products, animal, animal products and aquatic organisms.
3. Regulation of agriculturally important microorganisms.
4. Declaration of an area as pest control area for the purpose of pest control.
5. To ensure Phytosanitary and sanitary measures Provision to search premises, seize, treat disposal of plants, animals to prevent spread of pest by designated officers.
6. Declaration of biosecurity Emergency in case of outbreak.
7. Removal of plants, animal and other imported objects which violates any provision of the bill.
Arts and Culture
UNESCO has approved to enlist 6 forts of Rajasthan in its World heritage list, following are the 6 forts
1. Chittaurgarh
2. Kumbhalgarh
3. Ranthambore
4. Jaislamer
5. Amber
6. Gagron
Backgrounders
1. World heritage list is covered under World heritage convention, 1972 (India ratified this in 1977)
2. Another site Great Himalayan national park (HP) is in pipeline to get approval from UNESCO.
Vaccine derived polio virus (VDPV) detected in Maharashtra.
What is VDPV?
Oral polio vaccine (OPV) is an attenuated (Weak) virus When a child is immunized with OPV, the weakened vaccine-virus replicates in the intestine for a limited period, thereby developing immunity by building up antibodies . When a child is immunized with OPV, the weakened vaccine-virus replicates in the intestine for a limited period, thereby developing immunity by building up antibodies. During this time, the vaccine-virus is also excreted. In areas of inadequate sanitation (read open defecation), this excreted vaccine-virus can spread in the immediate community- Very rarely, vaccine-derived poliovirus can cause paralysis, if the community around is seriously under immunized.
VDVP
(OPV)
VDPV - 3 types
1. Circulated VDPV VDPV will be getting circulated in a community where immunization is very low Lower the immunization, longer the virus thrives and exchanges its genetic variation with other enterovirus
2. Immunodeficiency VDPV - These occur through some people who have much lesser immunity than the others these are the persons who are unable to get rid of the intestinal vaccine virus for long time (Usually they are cleared with 6 8 weeks).
3. Ambiguous VDPV Very little know about them.
Solution for the all the above cases is to immunize the child several times.
WHO removed India from the list of polio endemic countries in 2012 following one year without any case due to wild poliovirus in the country.
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* 29t June be celebrated as statistics day in recognition of the economist Prof P.C. Mahalanobis, Theme for the this years statistics day is Labor and employment statistics
P C mahaloanobis Noted economist, Held position in GOI as statistical advisor and he was member in the planning commission as well. The formulation of the D-Statistics, derivation of its properties and its application are some of his contributions. he setup National Sample Survey (NSS) entrusted with key responsibilities for the design, collection and analysis of sample survey data.
1. Weather satellite INSAT 3D launched from Kourou, French Guyana It is placed in geosynchronous transfer orbit by Ariane5 - Used in weather reporting , Meteorological observation, maritime, land rescue operations
2. INSAT 3D is equipped with Atmospheric sounding system which provides vertical profiles of temperature/humidity from surface to top of the atmosphere. Imager to take pictures. Data relay transponder relays weather accurately from collecting it from remote locations. Satellite aided search and rescue collect signals from place of distress and send it to control center.
National Teeka Express launched
What is it?
It is launched to protect children from life threatening diseases. Itll distribute vaccines from cold chain points to vaccination centers.
It also brings back unused, open vaccines to cold chain back for subsequent usage so that costly vaccines can be better utilized.
Itll bring back the immunization related biomedical waste to storage points for safe disposal. Itll also collect immunization performance reports.
Itll act as a mobile health care delivery unit in areas which lack health care facility or worker.
Why it is launched?
1. Vaccine delivery to remote areas is becoming difficult and time consuming.
2. Under Routine immunization program, Often ANMs have to collect vaccines a day before the immunization which may compromise the cold chain maintenance and its vaccines efficacy will be lost or even improper storage could lead to adverse effects.
Recently there was news on CIC ruling which included political parties as public authority and subsequent to that Union cabinet has approved a legislation to exclude political parties from the ambit of RTI. The new proposal by the Cabinet argues that enough facilities are provided within the Representation of peoples act to check political parties accountability like below
Under Rep. of Peoples Act, 1951.
1. The act provides for the registration of political parties with election commission
2. Political parties can accept donations but have to declare it along with assets and liabilities.
3. Account of election expenses is to be maintained and submitted to the dist. Election officer. failure to do so will attract 3yr disqualification of the particular candidate
4. Penalty for filing false affidavit
Minor Forest produce or Non timber Forest produces now to get Minimum support price (MSP) which will improve the livelihood of the tribal people in heavily Naxal infested area .
India has so far signed civil nuclear cooperation agreement with 9 following countries
USA, Russia, Canada, Argentina, Namibia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Korea (south of course)
Talks are in progress with Japan, UK, Australia and Srilanka.
Yuva Saathi Program launched by Ministry of culture The Programme envisages the deployment of Volunteer guides, Yuva Saathi, to provided guided tours to school children in National museum.
Science and Tech :
Defence Research Lab (DRDO) has developed a Chilly spray called CAPSISPRAY , an ecofriendly non-lethal spray for personal protection and self-defense. It is extracted from Worlds hottest chilli, Bhut Jolokia (cultivated in Assas and other NE states). The prototype is developed and in pipeline for testing.
Shri Zubin Mehta to be the second recipient of the Tagore Award, 2013 in recognition of his outstanding contribution to cultural harmony.
The annual award was instituted by the Govt. of India during the commemoration of 150th Birth Anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. The first Tagore Award was conferred on Pt. Ravi Shankar, the Indian Sitar Maestro in 2012.
The award is open to all persons regardless of nationality, race, language, caste, creed or sex.
Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel (The Longest Transportation Tunnel of India) - 17.7 Km)
Ircon International Ltd oversaw the project from Dharam to Qazigund (including banihal to Quazikund)
The Kashmir Valley railway is a long (119 Km) modern railway line. It is an island railway, not yet connected to the Indian Railway network. It connects Baramula in the western part of Kashmir to Qazigund at the other end of the Valley, via Srinagar
The 17.7 km long rail link paves way for the future railway connectivity of Kashmir region with the national railway network.
Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) Lab setup by Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC), technical arm of Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications & IT, has earned a unique distinction of being approved by the IPv6 Ready Logo Committee under IPv6 Forum, an International body. This achievement is significant for TEC and the country as only five other labs in the world have achieved this milestone. (Europe, USA, Japan, China and Taiwan)
The internet and the internet facing devices are moving to new addressing scheme IPv6 since IPv4 addresses are no longer available. So Government had set up lab so that the service providers, content providers and the customer premises equipment vendors are encouraged to move to IPv6 address implementation. It is one of the objectives of National telecom policy-2012.
Backgrounder
Normally to access internet we use a device and these devices are numbered. Earlier we used IPV4 version for numbering devices, presently we have about 4.3 billion which will be exceeded soon ( Or is it exceeded ?) , so we need a new versioning of numbering here comes IPV6, it has 3.8 * 10^38 possibilities.
IPV4 uses 32 bits , ITV6 uses 128 bits
Vignesh Raja P
Sources:
Pib.nic.in
www.isi-web.org
http://www.polioeradication.org
http://www.who.int
Isro.org
Thehindu.com
JUNE AND JULY PIB CONSOLIDATION
JUNE AND JULY PIB CONSOLIDATION
Sorry friends, this article doesnt contain full month consolidation. Im working on it.
NHFDC and Punjab National bank:
Signed memoranda of understanding to facilitate concessional credit to persons with disabilities on all India.
As per MOU, NHFDC will refinance to the Punjab National bank in respect of disbursement of loan to PWD for self-employment for those activities which are covered under Credit Guarantee scheme of CGTMSE of the government. In addition, NHFDC will also refinance the education loan for higher education to PWDs. The arrangement will be of great help to the students with disabilities who wish to pursue higher education after taking education loan.
NHFDC has so far tied up with three public sector banks (Andhra bank, Bank of Baroda and IDBI) and 24 Regional Rural banks in Uttar Pradesh, Koran, Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Assam.NHFDC has also tied up with north-eastern the Finance Corporation for extending financial assistance to the PWDs in entire north-eastern region. Both these tie ups are under Credit Guarantee scheme of CGTMSE.
National handicapped Finance and development Corporation, Department of disability affairs has been set by the Ministry of social Justice and empowerment, government of India in 19 97.It is a non-profit company, wholly owned by the government of India. It functions as an apex institution for channelizing the funds to persons with disabilities through the state channelizing agencies nominated by the state government.
CGTMSE-An availability of bank credit without the hassles of collaterals and third-party candidates would be a major source of support to the first-generation entrepreneur to realize their dream of setting up a new unit of their own micro and small enterprises (MSE). Keeping this objective in view, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium enterprises (MSME), Government of India launched the Credit Guarantee scheme (CGS) so as to strengthen credit delivery system and facilitate flow of credit to the Micro and Small enterprises sector. To operationalize the scheme, government of India and setup the credit guarantee fund trust for micro and small enterprises. The credit facility will be available to both new and existing one.
Arms Trade Treaty:
The UN Gen assembly adopted the landmark Arms trade Treaty, regulating the international trade in conventional arms, from small arms to battle tanks, combat aircraft and warships. The treaty will foster peace and security by putting a stop to destabilizing arms flow to conflict regions. It will provide human rights abusers and violators of the law of war from being supplied with arms. And it will keep warlord, pirates and gangs from acquiring these deadly tools.
Articles:
1. Establish the highest possible common international standards for regulating international trade in conventional arms and prevent illicit trade in conventional arms and prevent the diversion.
For the purpose of contributing to international and regional peace, security and stability; reducing human suffering.
2. Conventional arms including:
battle tanks, armoured combat vehicles, larger caliber- artillery system, compact character, attack helicopters, warships, missiles and missile launchers, small arms and light weapons.
3 and 4. Maintain your national control system to regulate the export of ammunition and munitions fired, parts and components.
5. Each State party shall establish and maintain your national control system including national control lists, in order to implement the provisions of this treaty publicly.
6. A State party shall not authorize any transfer of conventional arms, if the transfer violates the measures adopted by the United Nations Security Council, international agreements, used in the crimes against humanity, genocide, breaches of the Geneva Convention of 1949.
7. An exporting state party should consider and verify that the arms would not be used to undermine peace and security, violation of international humanitarian law and human rights law in importing nations.
8. Each importing state party should provide relevant information to an exporting party and regulate the import.
9. Each State party shall take appropriate measures to regulate the transit trans-shipment under its jurisdiction of conventional arms.
10. Each State party shall take measures to regulate brokering take place under its jurisdiction for conventional arms.
11. Each State party involved in the transfer of conventional arms shall take measures to prevent the diversion.
Bangladesh Hindu Charitable Endowments Law:
Sheikh Hasina Cabinet gave approval to your draft law to ensure proper development and management of the Hindu charitable endowments and make the transfer of those properties, donated to Hindu places of worship, completely legal.
In Bangladesh, there is a law meant for protection as well as management of the Muslim endowments. But no such laws have been designed for the Hindu endowments. Due to increasing demands of the Hindus for curtailing the incidents of an encroachment of Devottar property.
In India, the religious endowments act, 1863-was enacted to protect and support of mosque, Hindu temples and churches and their properties.
Department Of Industrial Policy and Promotion:
Gave new definition of Group Company-two or more enterprises, directly or indirectly are in a position to exercise 26% or more voting rights in the other enterprise and can appoint more than 50% of members of the board of directors in the other enterprise.
US sanctions target Irans currency:
US sanctions on Iran and its nuclear program, targeting the countrys currency and auto industry and seeking to render Iranian money useless outside the country. The sanctions apply to financial institutions that buy or sell significant amounts of the riyal, as well as to those who hold significant amounts of the currency in accounts outside Iran.
The hope is that banks and businesses holding Iranian currency will dump the funds, making the riyal weaker. The penalties will be imposed on anyone who provides material support to Iranians and others who have been blacklisted under previous US sanctions. An exception will be made for some activities related to a pipeline project to move natural gas from Azerbaijan to Europe and Turkey.
V.G.Sekaran:
Chief designer of long-range missile Agni-V and Director of the Advanced System Laboratory has been appointed as Chief controller R&D (missile and strategy system), DRDO and Program Director, Agni. He is one of the core members of the ballistic missile programmer. His pioneering contribution and research in solid propellant rocket motor is now the main thrust and backbone of the long-range missile system.
Bindeshwar Pathak:
Indian philanthropists, Bindeshwar Pathak, received the legend of planet award from VP of the French Senate at the Palais Du Luxembourg in Paris. He is one of Indias most notable activists, founded Sulabh International in 1973 and campaigned for the use of simple indoor toilets and also fought for causes of Dalits.
Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission:
The Ministry of Finance, government of India, constituted the commission on 24 March 2011. The commission has been tasked with examining and reviewing the legislative and regulatory systems; the interplay of jurisdiction of various regulators; the manner of drafting and implementation of subordinate legislation. The commission is chaired by former judge of the Supreme Court of India, Justice B.N.Srikrishna, and nine members and secretary.
The Ministry of Finance, Government of India, constituted the Commission on dated the 24thMarch, 2011, with a view to rewriting and cleaning up the financial sector laws to bring them in tune with the current requirements.
Sutent:
It is used for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). In 2007, Pfizer got the patent for Sutent in India and in the following year Cipla opposed it, contending that the invention was publicly known or publicly used.
Birds:
The population of 4 bird species-Pheasnt tailed Jacana,Bronze winged Jacana, Weaver Bird and Bee-eater is dwindling in Kanyakumari.
India-Australia Defense Ties:
Indian Minister of Defence A. K. Antony and the Australian Minister for Defence Stephen Smith met in Perth on 4 June and Canberra on 5 June 2013 to discuss shared strategic and security interests, including maritime security and bilateral defence cooperation. The Ministers exchanged ideas concerning regional and international security as well as defence cooperation and exchanges between Australia and India. They agreed to continue to contribute to the peace, stability and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region and to promote cooperation in the Indian Ocean region.Both sides acknowledged that maritime security and freedom of navigation in accordance with principles of international law is critical for the growth and prosperity of the Asia Pacific and Indian Ocean regions.
Ministers agreed to continue consultations and cooperation on issues concerning the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions both bilaterally and multilaterally, including through the East Asia Summit (EAS), ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus), Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) and the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC). Ministers noted both countries are already cooperating through the IONS, which Australia will Chair next year, along with hosting the IONS Conclave of Chiefs in Perth in March 2014, and the IOR-ARC of which India is currently Chair and Australia the next Chair.
Ministers agreed that efforts to promote cooperation between the defence establishments should continue. In this regard, both Ministers agreed to the following activities:
i. to continue to have regular bilateral Defence Ministers Meetings;
ii. to promote exchanges between the defence establishments and the Armed Forces of both sides, including through the regular conduct of the Defence Policy Dialogue, Armed Forces Staff Talks and professional military exchanges;
iii. to continue ongoing bilateral naval exchanges to build confidence and familiarity between our Navies and work towards a bilateral maritime exercise in 2015;
iv. to continue to cooperate in the Asia-Pacific region bilaterally and through various multilateral fora including the EAS, ARF and ADMM-Plus;
v. to enhance Indian Ocean cooperation, including through the framework and priorities of the IONS and the IOR-ARC; and
vi. to promote the sharing and exchange of professional knowledge and experiences through participation in training courses in each others military training institutions.
Both Ministers look forward to implementing these defence cooperation initiatives to further strengthen the strategic partnership between Australia and India.
Competition Commission Of India:
Competition Commission of India is a body of the Government of India responsible for enforcing The Competition Act, 2002 throughout India and to prevent activities that have an adverse effect on competition in India.
The objectives are: to prevent practices having adverse effect on competition, to promote and sustain competition in markets, to protect the interests of consumers and to ensure freedom of trade carried on by other participants in markets, in India, and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
In news,the commission found evidence of sugar mills deciding to fix price of ethanol tfor the supply to the oil marketing companies(OMC).The CCEA approved mandatory 5% blending of ethanol with etrol and also decided that procurement price would be decided between the buyer and the supplier.
Bio-Energy and Bio-Plastics:
In the quest for alternative, renewable and eco-friendly fuels, scientists have developed a novel method to produce bio-energy and value-added products through wastewater treatment because combustion of fossil fuels was adding about six gigatons of carbon per year in the form of CO. Several factors have led scientists to look for renewable and carbon-neutral forms of energy.
Senior scientist, Dr. S. Venkata Mohan and his group at IICT, Hyderabad have adopted a bio-refinery approach and produced futuristic green fuels, bio-hydrogen and bio-electricity. In the process a value added product that came out bio-plastics.
With the aim of developing processes that could be adopted by Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) and to achieve objectives of treating water, producing energy as well as value-added products, the scientists have been operating a 50-litre capacity reactor to produce bio-hydrogen and bio-plastics under a project funded by the Ministry of Non-Renewable Energy. Once that was achieved, he said the ETPs could replace anaerobic reactors to produce the environmentally sustainable bio-hydrogen instead of methane. Currently, bio-methane was being produced by treatment plants of most distilleries and other industries. The sludge that gets generated in the process was being used as fertiliser. The volatile fatty acids produced along with hydrogen were used as a substrate for bio-plastics synthesis. These bio-plastics could replace to some extent synthetic plastics in future.
He said bio-electricity was being produced from anaerobic bacterial metabolism using microbial fuel cell. The organic form of pollutants in waste water was a good substrate for bacterial growth. I am trying to improve performance by using various electrode materials. If we catalyse the electrodes, the yields will improve, Dr. Mohan added.
Significantly, besides generating bio-electricity, the waste treatment efficiency improved vastly through this method, especially with respect to toxicity, carbon and salts removal. We have named it Bio-electric Chemical Treatment System.
Next Generation Batteries from rice husk:
Nano-size silicon particles for the next-generation Lithium-ion batteries could be produced from rice husk, an abundant agricultural waste, according to research recently published in Scientific Reports.
Nano silicon had attracted considerable attention as a promising anode material for such high-performance batteries, which would power future electric vehicles and portable devices, observed Yi Cui, an associate professor of materials science and engineering at Stanford University in the U.S., and his colleagues in their paper.
Although nano silicon anodes were superior to graphite ones in terms of performance, methods to produce the silicon anodes at a cost and with scalability comparable to graphite were needed. Current processes to form silicon nanomaterials were usually complex, costly and energy-intensive, they pointed out. In rice husk, silica existed naturally in the form of nanoparticles and accounted for as much as 20 per cent of its dry weight. Using a simple, energy-efficient and easily scalable method , nano silicon could be produced. The silicon that was recovered maintained the unique nanostructure of silica as it existed in the husk, which made for excellent battery performance.
Apart from its use in Lithium-ion batteries, there were many potential large-scale applications for such nanostructured silicon, they added.
UK To Pay 20 Million Pounds To Mau Mau Victims:
The British government has agreed to pay an amount of 20m as compensation to those tortured and treated with brutality by British Forces in the Mau Mau uprising in colonial era in Kenya.
Thousands of Kenyans were killed during the Mau Mau revolt against British rule in Kenya in the 1950s; many too were subjected to all kinds of inhuman treatment including rape, mass imprisonment in appalling condition among others.
The surviving victims have been battling the UK government for years in a legal suite in the UK. The victims wanted the UK government to be held legally liable for the atrocities committed against them during colonial era by British Forces
The British government recognizes that Kenyans were subject to torture and other forms of ill-treatment at the hands of the colonial administration.The British government sincerely regrets that these abuses took place and that they marred Kenyas progress towards independence, Mr. Hague,Foreign Secretary told the House of Commons.
Mau Mau Uprising:
The Mau Mau Uprising (also known as the Mau Mau Revolt, Mau Mau Rebellion and Kenya Emergency) was a military conflict that took place in Kenya between 1952 and 1960. It involved Kikuyu-dominated anti-colonial groups summarily called Mau Mau and elements of the British Army, the local Kenya Regiment mostly consisting of white Kenyans, auxiliaries and anti-Mau Mau Kikuyu. The capture of rebel leader Dedan Kimathi on 21 October 1956 signalled the ultimate defeat of Mau Mau, and essentially ended the British military campaign.
Mau Mau failed to capture widespread public support, partly due to the British policy of divide and rule, and the movement remained internally divided, despite attempts to unify its various strands.
The primary British interest in Kenya was land, which, observed the British East Africa Commission of 1925, constituted "some of the richest agricultural soils in the world, mostly in districts where the elevation and climate make it possible for Europeans to reside permanently.
Greyhounds:
Stunned by the massacre of senior Chhattisgarh Congress leaders by Maoists last month, the Centre has decided to help all Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-affected States to raise Greyhounds, after the Andhra Pradesh model of an elite police commando force.
It also planned to take a uniform approach under a national policy to deal with this growing menace. However, it was decided that the Army and the Air Force would not be used in anti-Maoist operations.
The LWE-hit States will adopt the Andhra Pradesh model, which, besides Greyhounds, includes strengthening the intelligence-gathering mechanism, enhancing the role of local police stations in operations, and making efforts to infiltrate the Maoist hierarchy.
The States that would raise the Greyhounds are Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
The Chief Ministers also discussed the issue of the Army and the Air Force assisting operations in view of the growing lethality and surprise element in the Maoist attacks. It was decided that the State forces, along with the paramilitary personnel, were enough to deal with the Maoists. The State governments would evolve a mechanism to carry out trade of tendu leaves(used for making bidis), which is a major source of revenue in most of these States. At present, the tendu leaves business is being run by contractors who face extortion by Naxals. (used for making bidis), which is a major source of revenue in most of these States. At present, the tendu leaves business is being run by contractors who face extortion by Naxals.
DIPP Clarification On Franchisee Route:
On FDI policy for multi-brand retail trading (MBRT), the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) said the front-end stores set up by MBRT entity will have to be company-owned and company operated only. Foreign retailers entering Indias multi-brand segment will not be allowed to franchise their stores, and will have to put 50 per cent of their investments in back-end infrastructure specifically for the chain they are setting up.
The DIPP also said the mandatory 30 per cent sourcing from small industries will be counted only for sales through the front-end stores. Giving clarity on the sourcing part, it said: The sourcing condition pertains only to manufactured and processed products. Procurement of fresh produce is not covered by this condition.
On the contentious issue of investment in the back-end, the DIPP said investments in multiple infrastructure companies would not be counted towards fulfilment of condition of mandatorily investing 50 per cent in the back-end infrastructure. Fifty per cent of the investments brought in, must be invested in back-end infrastructure, and any amount spent in acquiring front-end retail stores would not be counted towards back-end infrastructure, the DIPP said.
It clarified that as per the conditions for wholesale cash & carry trading, such an entity is not permitted to undertake retailing of any form. As regards supplies by MBRT company to franchisees run by its partners, it is clarified that the policy envisages multi-brand trading in retail and the MBRT entity is not envisaged to undertake wholesale activity, that is, B2B. It said the cash & carry trading cannot be considered to be providing back-end infrastructure to the multi-brand retail store.
Department Of Industrial Policy And Promotion (DIPP):
The Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion was established in 1995 and has been reconstituted in the year 2000 with the merger of the Department of Industrial Development. The Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion was established in the wake of the economic liberalization of India with an intention of regulation and administration of the industrial sector. The Departments role and functions have grown steadily ever. Today, the DIPP not only regulates the industrial sector but also a facilitator of technology and investment flows in an ever growing and liberalized Indian economy.
Following the Department's key focus areas:
Formulation and Implementation of India's Industrial Policy
The Department is responsible for formulation and implementation of promotional and developmental measures for growth of the industrial sector, keeping in view the national priorities and socio-economic objectives. It is responsible for the overall Industrial Policy. It also monitors the growth and development in certain key industrial areas and makes appropriate policy amendments to address the emerging concerns.
Formulation and Amendment of the FDI policy
The DIPP is responsible for formulation of the FDI policy and facilitation of FDI inflows into the country. The department provides direct assistance in the resolution of problems faced by foreign investors. It also disseminates information about the positive investment climate that exists in the Indian economy to promote investments. The Department also encourages and facilitates foreign technology collaborations among Indian companies and bilateral Economic cooperation agreements in the region.
Industrial Promotion
The Department is involved in promotion of industry throughout the country. As a part of this responsibility, the Department monitors and stimulates industrial growth, promotes industrial activity in remote and underdeveloped areas of the country and undertakes programmes for improving productivity and quality. Through its Infrastructure Up gradation Scheme (IIUS) the department works towards enhancing competitiveness of the domestic industry.
Formulation and Implementation of Intellectual property Rights Policy
The DIPP recognize the importance of Intellectual Property in the day to days' global business environment. The Department formulates and implements a comprehensive Intellectual Property Rights policy covering Patents, Designs, Trade Marks and Geographical Indications of Goods. Apart from this the Department works towards creating awareness regarding IPRs by working closely with organizations such as the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB):
IPAB has been constituted by a Gazette notification of the Central Government in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on 15th September 2003 to hear appeals against the decisions of the Registrar under the Trade Marks Act, 1999 and the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999. IPAB has its headquarters at Chennai and shall have sittings at Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Ahmedabad. By the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, the provisions of the Patent Amendment Act, 2002 and the Patents Amendment Act, 2005, relating to the Intellectual Property Appellate Board have been brought into force. Thus, all the Appeals pending before the various High Courts , will stand transferred to the IPAB. Likewise, fresh Rectification Applications under the Patents Act, 1970, will have to be filed before the IPAB.
Jurisdiction:
The object of setting up the Appellate Board is to hear and decide appeals from the order or decision of the Registrar of Trade Marks which were under the jurisdiction of the High Courts.
The Appellate Board can also entertain original applications for rectifications of the register of trademarks under sections 47 and 57 of the above Act. It can also entertain applications for rectifications of the register under section 125 of the above Act.
Appeals from an order or decision of the Registrar under rule 162 of The Trade Marks Rules, 2002 shall also be heard by the IPAB.
It is provided that similar matters arising under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 shall also be heard and decided byIPAB.
The Trade Marks Act, 1999 and the corresponding Trade Mark Rules, 2002 as well as the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection ) Act, 1999 and the Geographical Indications of Goods ( Registration and Protection ) Rules, 2002 have all come into force with effect from 15th September, 2003.
NEW GOVERNOR APPOINTMENTS:
The President of India has been pleased to make the following appointments:-
1. Dr. K.K. Paul, as Governor of Meghalaya vice Shri Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary.
2.Lt.General A.K. Singh (Retd.), PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, to be the Lt. Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands vice Lt. General Bhopinder Singh (Retd.).
3. Shri Najeeb Jung, to be the Lt. Governor of National Capital Territory of Delhi vice Shri Tejendra Khanna.
4. Shri Virendra Kataria, to be the Lt. Governor of Puducherry vice Shri Iqbal Singh.
Late Shri Vasantrao Naik:
The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee attended the concluding ceremony of the Birth Centenary Celebrations of Late Shri Vasantrao Naik, former Chief Minister.
The President said Shri Naik launched the revolutionary Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme which proved to be a boon for millions of farmers ravaged by two ferocious famines afflicting the state. The Planning Commission later approved the scheme and the same was adopted on national scale. This is the programme known today as MNREGA.
National e-Governance Plan (NeGP):
E-Governance in India has steadily evolved from computerization of Government Departments to initiatives that encapsulate the finer points of Governance, such as citizen centricity, service orientation and transparency. Lessons from previous e-Governance initiatives have played an important role in shaping the progressive e-Governance strategy of the country. Due cognizance has been taken of the notion that to speed up e-Governance implementation across the various arms of Government at National, State, and Local levels, a programme approach needs to be adopted, guided by common vision and strategy. This approach has the potential of enabling huge savings in costs through sharing of core and support infrastructure, enabling interoperability through standards, and of presenting a seamless view of Government to citizens.
The National e-Governance Plan (NeGP), takes a holistic view of e-Governance initiatives across the country, integrating them into a collective vision, a shared cause. Around this idea, a massive countrywide infrastructure reaching down to the remotest of villages is evolving, and large-scale digitization of records is taking place to enable easy, reliable access over the internet. The ultimate objective is to bring public services closer home to citizens.
VISION OF NeGP-Make all Government services accessible to the common man in his locality, through common service delivery outlets and ensure efficiency, transparency & reliability of such services at affordable costs to realize the basic needs of the common man.
A mission mode project (MMP) is an individual project within the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) that focuses on one aspect of electronic governance, such as banking, land records or commercial taxes etc. Within NeGP, "mission mode" implies that projects have clearly defined objectives, scopes, and implementation timelines and milestones, as well as measurable outcomes and service levels. NeGP comprises 31 mission mode projects (MMPs), which are further classified as state (13), central (11) or integrated projects (7). Each state government can also define five MMPs specific to its individual needs.
Two Expert Groups, viz., an Expert Committee for preparation of an HR policy for e-Governance headed by Shri Nandan Nilekani and an Expert Group on NeGP chaired by Dr Sam Pitroda were constituted. The recommendations of both the committees will be of immense benefit for fast tracking the implementation of all e-Governance initiatives in the country. During the meeting today, the implementation of the recommendations of these committees was reviewed.
The Committee also deliberated upon the following issues:
* Status of implementation of Mission Mode Projects (MMPs): The Committee noted that out of the 31 MMPs, 14 MMPs are delivering the full range of services while 9 have started delivering some services to the citizens.
* Focus on Outcome Orientation e-TAAL: In order to develop an outcome orientation amongst the e-Governance initiatives in the country, the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) has developed a web portal e-TAAL (e-Transactions Aggregation and Analysis Layer). The portal aggregates and analyses the transaction statistics of central and state level e-governance projects including Mission Mode Projects, on a real time basis. E-TAAL is expected to enhance the outcome focus of e-Governance programs in the country. The portal is available at etaal.gov.in.
* DeitY has launched Mobile Seva, a unique countrywide initiative on mobile governance to provide public services to the citizens through mobile phones and handheld devices. The portal is available at mgov.gov.in. As on date, 444 departments across the country have been integrated with MSDG. They are offering over 200 unique services to the citizens. Using this platform, over 15 crore transactional messages for various government services have been sent to the citizens.
* Recently, DeitY has implemented a pilot project covering 59 panchayats in three blocks in three states on using the hi-speed connectivity of National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) for delivery of public services like tele-medicine, tele-education, skill development courses and banking services. The lessons from this pilot will be useful in utilising the NoFN infrastructure being planned to connect 2,50,000 gram panchayats.
* DeitY has developed an e-Gov AppStore to host successful e-governance applications. These applications can be replicated by all government departments intending to implement e-Gov initiatives, thereby saving immense time and costs in application development and hosting.
* In order to make public procurement more transparent and efficient, the Committee directed that e-Procurement shall be adopted both for publication and processing of tenders by all Government Ministries/Departments.
* To harness the benefits of cloud technology, DeitY has launched a new initiative named as MeghRaj for creating a Government of India cloud (GI Cloud) computing environment at the national level. This initiative will not only optimise utilisation of IT infrastructure, but also enable rapid deployment/replication of e-Gov services.
* Considering the requirement for an apex institution in the domain of capacity building, training and R&D for e-Governance, the Committee desired that a National e-Governance Academy be established as a national institution.
The Committee also discussed how the emergence of new technologies, concepts and platforms such as cloud computing, mobile platform and the advent of Aadhaar can be leveraged to make the NeGP more effective and speed up its implementation. Incorporating the latest technological advancements and new service delivery mechanisms in NeGP would usher the country into a new era of e-governance. It will be possible to provide ICT infrastructure on demand for implementation of these projects. Integration of the Aadhaar platform in e-governance projects would help in interoperability, electronic authentication and faster delivery of services to the intended recipients. Further, the integration of the mobile platform for service delivery would enable the government to reach out to citizens in the remotest corners of the country. To achieve this vision, the Committee directed DeitY to formulate the next version of the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP 2.0) to tap the potential of significant technological advancements and emergence of new implementation models & delivery mechanisms.
Indian IPv6 Lab
Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) Lab setup by Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC), technical arm of Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications & IT, has earned a unique distinction of being approved by the IPv6 Ready Logo Committee under IPv6 Forum, an International body. This achievement is significant for TEC and the country as only five other labs in the world have achieved this milestone. India has thus joined Europe and a select group of countries which include USA, Japan, China and Taiwan having IPv6 Ready Logo test lab facilities. The announcement to this effect was made on 25th June.
TEC has setup the IPv6 Ready Logo test lab as per standards prescribed by IPv6 Ready Logo Committee and addresses Conformance as well as Interoperability testing for various equipments with IPv6 implementation. The approval process additionally involved the evaluation of the competence of TEC team to not only test the equipment but also the ability to correctly examine the test results from other international labs.
The internet and the internet facing devices are moving to new addressing scheme IPv6 since IPv4 addresses are no longer available. The Government has taken several policy initiatives so that the service providers, content providers and the customer premises equipment vendors are encouraged to move to IPv6 address implementation. Setting up testing infrastructure is one of the objectives of NTP-2012. Establishment and designation of TEC lab as IPv6 Ready Logo lab is one such step which shall enable indigenous vendors/developers to avail the facility of internationally recognized test lab in India. Availability of approved TEST BED shall promote end-user confidence in using IPv6 Ready Logo approved products.
TEC will play an instrumental role in the Interoperability and testing of IPv6 products as a major piece of the India IPv6 Strategy roadmap announced by the India Government in building the New Internet infrastructure as interoperability creates genuine end-user confidence in new technologies said Latif Ladid, IPv6 ForumPresident.
The establishment of IPv6 Ready Logo Lab in India, expecting a huge growth in the deployment of IPv6 in the world, is very welcome, and we expect their contribution to the world-wide IPv6 deployment. We really appreciate the great efforts of Indian team for their success, including the future success. said Hiroshi Esaki, Chairman of the IPv6 Logo Committee, Executive Director of IPv6 Promotion Council Japan and Board member of WIDE Project.
Aakash IV:
Aakash is a series of Android-based tablet computers produced by an initiative of the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development. It is a low-cost tablet computer with a 7-inch touch screen. The device was developed as part of the country`s aim to link 25,000 colleges and 400 universities in an e-learning program. The cost of basic version for a student was only Rs.1500, which was around USD35. In July 2010, the Minister of Human Resource Development, Sri Kapil Sibal unveiled a prototype of Aakash, which was later given out to 500 college students to collect feedback. The tablet was officially launched as Aakash in New Delhi on 5 October 2011. The Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India announced an upgraded second-generation model called Aakash 2 in April 2012. In this series, the new version of Aakash has been named Aakash IV.
The Institute of Company Secretaries of India(ICSI):
The Institute of Company Secretaries of India(ICSI) is constituted under an Act of Parliament i.e. the Company Secretaries Act, 1980 (Act No. 56 of 1980). ICSI is the only recognized professional body in India to develop and regulate the profession of Company Secretaries in India. The Institute of Company Secretaries of India awards the certificate of bestowing the designation of Company Secretary(CS) to a candidate qualifying for the membership of the Institute. It was in 1960 that the Company Law Board started a course in Company Secretaryship leading to the award of Government Diploma in Company Secretaryship. As the number of students taking up the Company Secretaryship course grew, the Government promoted on 4th October, 1968, Institute of Company Secretaries of India under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956 for taking over from the
Government the conduct of Company Secretaryship examination. The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) has since been converted into a statutory body w.e.f. 1.1.1981 under the Company Secretaries Act, 1980. The Institute of Company Secretaries of India(ICSI) has on its rolls 32,580 members including 5,467 members holding certificate of the practice. The number of current students is over 3,60,000.
The Institute of company Secretaries of India (ICSI) has its headquarters at New Delhi and four regional offices at New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai.
Lieutenant General Anil Chait:
Lieutenant General Anil Chait, has taken over as Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC).He has been associated with the Special Action Group (The Black Cats) of the National Security Guards and was awarded the VishishtSeva Medal. He has served with an infantry division, as Colonel General Staff on the Line of Control during Operation Parakram. The General Officer has tenanted staff assignment in the Military Secretarys Branch in the Colonels rank and the Perspective Planning Directorate in the Brigadiers rank dealing with formulation of National and Military Security Strategy & Policy.
OPERATION PARAKRAM- The 20012002 IndiaPakistan standoff was a military standoff between India and Pakistan that resulted in the massing of troops on either side of the International Border (IB) and along the Line of Control (LoC) in the region of Kashmir. The military build up was initiated by India responding to a terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament on 13 December 2001 (during which twelve people, including the five men who attacked the building, were killed) and Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly on 1 October 2001. India claimed that the attacks were carried out by two Pakistan based Terrorist groups fighting Indian rule in Kashmir, LeT and JeM, both of whom India has said are backed by Pakistan's ISI. Tensions de-escalated following international diplomatic mediation which resulted in the October 2002 withdrawal of Indian and Pakistani troops from the international border. The Indian Codename for the mobilization was Operation Parakram.
C-17 Globemaster-III:
Having touched down on Indian soil on 18 Jun 2013, the IAFs latest acquisition C-17 Globemaster-III made its maiden flight to the Andaman & Nicobar Islands on 30 Jun 2013. Climbing an altitude of 28,000 feet with an unrefueled range of 2400 nautical miles, the aircraft landed at Port Blair to induct the rotational Infantry Battalion into the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
Manufactured by Messrs Boeing of the United States, the C-17 Globemaster-III is a heavy-lift transport military aircraft, developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). India has become the largest customer, of this sophisticated aircraft, after the United States. C-17 Globemaster-III is 174 feet in length, with a wing span of 170 feet. The maximum all up weight is 2,65,350 kg, with an ultra modernized palletized cargo handling capability.
eKuber:
Reserve Bank of India, has christened its Core Banking Solution as eKuber. The quest by RBI to have its own CBS begun in June 2007, when in RBIs Financial Sector Technology Vision, the Department of Information Technology, broached the concept of CBS in RBI.
Core banking solution:
Core banking is services provided by a group of networked bank branches. Bank customers may access their funds and other simple transactions from any of the member branch offices. CORE Banking stands for "centralized online real-time electronic banking". This basically means that all the bank's branches access applications from centralized datacenters. This means that the deposits made are reflected immediately on the bank's servers and the customer can withdraw the deposited money from any of the bank's branches throughout the world. These applications now also have the capability to address the needs of corporate customers, providing a comprehensive banking solution.
The platform where communication technology and information technology are merged to suit core needs of banking is known as core banking solutions. Here, computer software is developed to perform core operations of banking like recording of transactions, passbook maintenance, interest calculations on loans and deposits, customer records, balance of payments and withdrawal. This software is installed at different branches of bank and then interconnected by means of communication lines like telephones, satellite, internet etc. It allows the user (customers) to operate accounts from any branch if it has installed core banking solutions. This new platform has changed the way banks are working.
Competitive Bid:
A step in the initial public offering process whereby an underwriter submits a sealed bid to a company that is making its first issue of stock. After collecting competitive bids from several underwriters, the issuer awards the contract to the underwriter (investor) with the best price and contract terms. Competitive bidding is considerably less common than negotiated bidding, the other main method by which issuing companies contract with underwriters. Competitive bidding is more common with municipal bonds issued by utility companies.
Non-Competitive Bid:
One of the two bid processes for buying debt issuances. Non-competitive tender is for small investors, while competitive tender is for large institutional investors. The price that a non-competitive bidder receives is the average bid price of all competitive bids.
When Issued (WI):
Securities trade on a when issued basis when they have been announced, but not yet issued. The transaction is settled only after the security has been issued. A when-issued market exists where when issued instruments are traded. When issued markets can provide an indication regarding the level of interest that a new issue will attract. When issued transactions are dependent upon the actual security being issued and the exchange or National Association of Securities Dealers ruling that the transactions will be settled.
Action taken by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for relief operations in Uttarakhand:
A three member high level team from the Ministry is stationed in Dehradun to assess the public health situation and coordinate with the State Health Authorities to provide whatever assistance is needed. It consists of the Director, Emergency Medical Response, Director, National Centre for Disease Control and Joint Director, National Vector Borne Diseases Control Programme (NVBDCP).
40 chloroscopes and a large quantity of reagents, sufficient to test upto 5000 water samples have been sent, to ensure safe drinking water supplies. More Chloroscopes are being procured for delivery.Chlorine tablets has been provided.
A 3-member team from NIMHANS, Bangalore for Psycho-social support.
District units of Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), NRHM is conducting health surveillance in all affected districts.
IRCS (Indian Red Cross Society) has provided relief materials that include tents, family packs, kitchen sets, blankets, lanterns etc.
IDSP:
Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP) was launched with World Bank assistance in November 2004 to detect and respond to disease outbreaks quickly. The project was extended for 2 years in March 2010. From April 2010 to March 2012, World Bank funds were available for Central Surveillance Unit (CSU) at NCDC & 9 identified states (Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Punjab, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal) and the rest 26 states/UTs were funded from domestic budget. The Programme will continue during 12th Plan under NRHM with outlay of Rs. 640.40 Crore from domestic budget only.
* Surveillance units have been established in all states/districts (SSU/DSU). Central Surveillance Unit (CSU) established and integrated in the National Centre for Disease Control, Delhi.
* Training of State/District Surveillance Teams and Rapid Response Teams (RRT) has been completed for all 35 States/UTs.
* IT network connecting 776 sites in States/District HQ and premier institutes has been established with the help of National Informatics Centre (NIC) and Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for data entry, training, video conferencing and outbreak discussion.
* Under the project weekly disease surveillance data on epidemic prone disease are being collected from reporting units such as sub centres, primary health centres, community health centres, hospitals including government and private sector hospitals and medical colleges
States/districts have been asked to notify the outbreaks immediately to the system.
Media scanning and verification cell was established under IDSP in July 2008. It detects and shares media alerts with the concerned states/districts for verification and response.
A 24X7 call center was established in February 2008 to receive disease alerts on a Toll Free telephone number (1075).
Considering the non-availability of health professionals in the field of Epidemiology, microbiology and Entomology at district and state levels, MOHFW approved the recruitment of trained professionals under NRHM in order to strengthen the disease surveillance and response system by placing one Epidemiologist each at state/district headquarters, one Microbiologist and Entomologist each at the state headquarters. Recruitment of 354 Epidemiologists, 60 Microbiologists and 17 Entomologists has been completed so far.
Codex Alimentarius Commission:
The Codex Commission is shouldering the responsibility of laying down the global parameters of quality and safety of food products for human consumption. This ensures the health of the consumers and fair practices in the export and import of food products.
Shrinking of the world due to faster means of travel and communications has led to globalization and commercialization of all sectors including food production, processing and consumption. Whatever is produced in one part of the world is available in other parts due to improved means for import and export today. It is a matter of satisfaction that the Codex Alimentarius has achieved several milestones since its inception in meeting the challenges of health of consumers and fair practices in the trade of food products. The membership of the Commission has grown from 30 countries to 150 countries over the last 50 years. This is on account of the keen interest and trust evinced by the developing countries in the Codex process, making Codex a truly international food standards-setting organization of the United Nations. Another achievement is that Codex has expanded its role into a variety of products and subject matters to address quality, safety and nutrition issues. The science-based framework adopted by Codex gives this institution a pre-eminent position in the area of safety of human health and fair trade practices.
The C O D E X A L I M E N T A R I U S international food standards, guidelines and codes of practice contribute to the safety, quality and fairness of this international food trade. Consumers can trust the safety and quality of the food products they buy and importers can trust that the food they ordered will be in accordance with their specifications.
Ethanol Blended Petrol:
Ethanol is a non-fossil fuel that is produced from a variety of agricultural crops such as sugar cane and grains. Petrol is blended with the ethanol produced from the renewable products.
Maternity Benefit Act 1961:
Maternity protection is an essential pre-requisite for womens rights to gender equality with regard to their work and profession. The right to maternity protection is enshrined in the Constitution of India, along with international instruments such as the International Human Rights Instruments and the International Labour Conventions. It is implemented through the Maternity Benefits Act, 1961.
An Act to regulate the employment of women in certain establishment for certain period before and after child-birth and to provide for maternity benefit and certain other benefits.
It applies in the first instance, to every establishment being a factory, mine or plantation [including any such establishment belonging to Government and to every establishment wherein persons are employed for the exhibition of equestrian, acrobatic and other performances]. In the official on In the official Gazette, declare that all or any of the provisions of this Act shall apply also to any other establishment or class of establishments, industrial, commercial, agricultural or otherwise.
IRNSS:
ISROs Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C22, has successfully launched IRNSS-1A, the first satellite in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. This is the twenty third consecutively successful mission of PSLV. The XL configuration of PSLV was used for the mission. Previously, the same configuration of the vehicle was used thrice to launch Chandrayaan-1, GSAT-12 and RISAT-1 satellites.
IRNSS-1A is the first of the seven satellites constituting the space segment of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System. IRNSS is an independent regional navigation satellite system designed to provide position information in the Indian region and 1500 km around the Indian mainland. IRNSS would provide two types of services, namely, Standard Positioning Services (SPS) provided to all users and Restricted Services (RS) provided only to authorised users.
A number of ground stations responsible for the generation and transmission of navigation parameters, satellite control, satellite ranging and monitoring, etc., have been established in as many as 15 locations across the country.
NFSM:
The General Council of NFSM is the apex policy making body of NFSM. It is chaired by Agriculture Minister and has representatives from various Departments and research organizations.
In the 11th Plan, NFSM exceeded its target of adding 20 million tonne foodgrain production per year in 2011-12, a year before the target date. In the first year of the current Plan, i.e. 2012-13, as against the target of producing additional 2 MT rice, 1 MT wheat and 1.25 MT pulses, NFSM has achieved significantly higher production - 7 MT rice, 9 MT wheat and 2.5 MT pulses.
Since the Mission seeks to improve productivity of crops in districts with low productivity, an exercise is being undertaken to include new districts in which productivity has remained lower than the national and states averages. Simultaneously, districts that have attained higher than average productivity will be taken out of the purview of NFSM.
As the strategies adopted by NFSM proved successful in the 11th Plan, coarse cereals and fodder crops have been brought under it in the 12th Plan (besides rice, wheat and pulses which were the crops under NFSM in the 11th Plan).
National Cyber Security Policy:
National Cyber Security Policy aims to provide protection for information, such as personal information, financial/banking information, sovereign data etc. In order to empower people with information, we need to secure the information/data.
This policy aims at facilitating creation of secure computing environment and enabling adequate trust and confidence in electronic transactions and also guiding stakeholders actions for protection of cyber space.
The National Cyber Security Policy document outlines a road-map to create a framework for comprehensive, collaborative and collective response to deal with the issue of cyber security at all levels within the country.
The policy recognises the need for objectives and strategies that need to be adopted both at the national level as well as international level.
The objectives and strategies outlined in the National Cyber Security Policy together serve as a means to:
Articulate our concerns, understanding, priorities for action as well as directed efforts.
Provide confidence and reasonable assurance to all stakeholders in the country (Government, business, industry and general public) and global community, about the safety, resiliency and security of cyber space.
Adopt a suitable posturing that can signal our determined efforts to effectively monitor, deter & deal with cyber-crime and cyber-attacks.
Salient features of the policy:
A vision and mission statement aimed at building a secure and resilience cyber space for citizens, businesses and Government.
Enabling goals aimed at reducing national vulnerability to cyber-attacks, preventing cyber-attacks & cybercrimes, minimizing response & recover time and effective cybercrime investigation and prosecution.
Focused actions at the level of Govt., public-private partnership arrangements, cyber security related technology actions, protection of critical information infrastructure and national alerts and advice mechanism, awareness & capacity building and promoting information sharing and cooperation.
Enhancing cooperation and coordination between all the stakeholder entities within the country.
Objectives and strategies in support of the National cyber security vision and mission.
Framework and initiatives that can be pursued at the Govt. level, sectoral levels as well as in public private partnership mode.
Facilitating monitoring key trends at the national level such as trends in cyber security compliance, cyber-attacks, cybercrime and cyber infrastructure growth.
Institute of Chartered Accountants of India:
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is a statutory body established under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 (Act No. XXXVIII of 1949) for the regulation of the profession of Chartered Accountants in India. During its 64 years of existence, ICAI has achieved recognition as a premier accounting body not only in the country but also globally, for its contribution in the fields of education, professional development, maintenance of high accounting, auditing and ethical standards. ICAI now is the second largest accounting body in the whole world.
by Siva Ramakrishnan
List of References:
1. PIB English Release
2. Respective Official Websites and Wikipedia
Sorry friends, this article doesnt contain full month consolidation. Im working on it.
NHFDC and Punjab National bank:
Signed memoranda of understanding to facilitate concessional credit to persons with disabilities on all India.
As per MOU, NHFDC will refinance to the Punjab National bank in respect of disbursement of loan to PWD for self-employment for those activities which are covered under Credit Guarantee scheme of CGTMSE of the government. In addition, NHFDC will also refinance the education loan for higher education to PWDs. The arrangement will be of great help to the students with disabilities who wish to pursue higher education after taking education loan.
NHFDC has so far tied up with three public sector banks (Andhra bank, Bank of Baroda and IDBI) and 24 Regional Rural banks in Uttar Pradesh, Koran, Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Assam.NHFDC has also tied up with north-eastern the Finance Corporation for extending financial assistance to the PWDs in entire north-eastern region. Both these tie ups are under Credit Guarantee scheme of CGTMSE.
National handicapped Finance and development Corporation, Department of disability affairs has been set by the Ministry of social Justice and empowerment, government of India in 19 97.It is a non-profit company, wholly owned by the government of India. It functions as an apex institution for channelizing the funds to persons with disabilities through the state channelizing agencies nominated by the state government.
CGTMSE-An availability of bank credit without the hassles of collaterals and third-party candidates would be a major source of support to the first-generation entrepreneur to realize their dream of setting up a new unit of their own micro and small enterprises (MSE). Keeping this objective in view, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium enterprises (MSME), Government of India launched the Credit Guarantee scheme (CGS) so as to strengthen credit delivery system and facilitate flow of credit to the Micro and Small enterprises sector. To operationalize the scheme, government of India and setup the credit guarantee fund trust for micro and small enterprises. The credit facility will be available to both new and existing one.
Arms Trade Treaty:
The UN Gen assembly adopted the landmark Arms trade Treaty, regulating the international trade in conventional arms, from small arms to battle tanks, combat aircraft and warships. The treaty will foster peace and security by putting a stop to destabilizing arms flow to conflict regions. It will provide human rights abusers and violators of the law of war from being supplied with arms. And it will keep warlord, pirates and gangs from acquiring these deadly tools.
Articles:
1. Establish the highest possible common international standards for regulating international trade in conventional arms and prevent illicit trade in conventional arms and prevent the diversion.
For the purpose of contributing to international and regional peace, security and stability; reducing human suffering.
2. Conventional arms including:
battle tanks, armoured combat vehicles, larger caliber- artillery system, compact character, attack helicopters, warships, missiles and missile launchers, small arms and light weapons.
3 and 4. Maintain your national control system to regulate the export of ammunition and munitions fired, parts and components.
5. Each State party shall establish and maintain your national control system including national control lists, in order to implement the provisions of this treaty publicly.
6. A State party shall not authorize any transfer of conventional arms, if the transfer violates the measures adopted by the United Nations Security Council, international agreements, used in the crimes against humanity, genocide, breaches of the Geneva Convention of 1949.
7. An exporting state party should consider and verify that the arms would not be used to undermine peace and security, violation of international humanitarian law and human rights law in importing nations.
8. Each importing state party should provide relevant information to an exporting party and regulate the import.
9. Each State party shall take appropriate measures to regulate the transit trans-shipment under its jurisdiction of conventional arms.
10. Each State party shall take measures to regulate brokering take place under its jurisdiction for conventional arms.
11. Each State party involved in the transfer of conventional arms shall take measures to prevent the diversion.
Bangladesh Hindu Charitable Endowments Law:
Sheikh Hasina Cabinet gave approval to your draft law to ensure proper development and management of the Hindu charitable endowments and make the transfer of those properties, donated to Hindu places of worship, completely legal.
In Bangladesh, there is a law meant for protection as well as management of the Muslim endowments. But no such laws have been designed for the Hindu endowments. Due to increasing demands of the Hindus for curtailing the incidents of an encroachment of Devottar property.
In India, the religious endowments act, 1863-was enacted to protect and support of mosque, Hindu temples and churches and their properties.
Department Of Industrial Policy and Promotion:
Gave new definition of Group Company-two or more enterprises, directly or indirectly are in a position to exercise 26% or more voting rights in the other enterprise and can appoint more than 50% of members of the board of directors in the other enterprise.
US sanctions target Irans currency:
US sanctions on Iran and its nuclear program, targeting the countrys currency and auto industry and seeking to render Iranian money useless outside the country. The sanctions apply to financial institutions that buy or sell significant amounts of the riyal, as well as to those who hold significant amounts of the currency in accounts outside Iran.
The hope is that banks and businesses holding Iranian currency will dump the funds, making the riyal weaker. The penalties will be imposed on anyone who provides material support to Iranians and others who have been blacklisted under previous US sanctions. An exception will be made for some activities related to a pipeline project to move natural gas from Azerbaijan to Europe and Turkey.
V.G.Sekaran:
Chief designer of long-range missile Agni-V and Director of the Advanced System Laboratory has been appointed as Chief controller R&D (missile and strategy system), DRDO and Program Director, Agni. He is one of the core members of the ballistic missile programmer. His pioneering contribution and research in solid propellant rocket motor is now the main thrust and backbone of the long-range missile system.
Bindeshwar Pathak:
Indian philanthropists, Bindeshwar Pathak, received the legend of planet award from VP of the French Senate at the Palais Du Luxembourg in Paris. He is one of Indias most notable activists, founded Sulabh International in 1973 and campaigned for the use of simple indoor toilets and also fought for causes of Dalits.
Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission:
The Ministry of Finance, government of India, constituted the commission on 24 March 2011. The commission has been tasked with examining and reviewing the legislative and regulatory systems; the interplay of jurisdiction of various regulators; the manner of drafting and implementation of subordinate legislation. The commission is chaired by former judge of the Supreme Court of India, Justice B.N.Srikrishna, and nine members and secretary.
The Ministry of Finance, Government of India, constituted the Commission on dated the 24thMarch, 2011, with a view to rewriting and cleaning up the financial sector laws to bring them in tune with the current requirements.
Sutent:
It is used for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). In 2007, Pfizer got the patent for Sutent in India and in the following year Cipla opposed it, contending that the invention was publicly known or publicly used.
Birds:
The population of 4 bird species-Pheasnt tailed Jacana,Bronze winged Jacana, Weaver Bird and Bee-eater is dwindling in Kanyakumari.
India-Australia Defense Ties:
Indian Minister of Defence A. K. Antony and the Australian Minister for Defence Stephen Smith met in Perth on 4 June and Canberra on 5 June 2013 to discuss shared strategic and security interests, including maritime security and bilateral defence cooperation. The Ministers exchanged ideas concerning regional and international security as well as defence cooperation and exchanges between Australia and India. They agreed to continue to contribute to the peace, stability and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region and to promote cooperation in the Indian Ocean region.Both sides acknowledged that maritime security and freedom of navigation in accordance with principles of international law is critical for the growth and prosperity of the Asia Pacific and Indian Ocean regions.
Ministers agreed to continue consultations and cooperation on issues concerning the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions both bilaterally and multilaterally, including through the East Asia Summit (EAS), ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus), Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) and the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC). Ministers noted both countries are already cooperating through the IONS, which Australia will Chair next year, along with hosting the IONS Conclave of Chiefs in Perth in March 2014, and the IOR-ARC of which India is currently Chair and Australia the next Chair.
Ministers agreed that efforts to promote cooperation between the defence establishments should continue. In this regard, both Ministers agreed to the following activities:
i. to continue to have regular bilateral Defence Ministers Meetings;
ii. to promote exchanges between the defence establishments and the Armed Forces of both sides, including through the regular conduct of the Defence Policy Dialogue, Armed Forces Staff Talks and professional military exchanges;
iii. to continue ongoing bilateral naval exchanges to build confidence and familiarity between our Navies and work towards a bilateral maritime exercise in 2015;
iv. to continue to cooperate in the Asia-Pacific region bilaterally and through various multilateral fora including the EAS, ARF and ADMM-Plus;
v. to enhance Indian Ocean cooperation, including through the framework and priorities of the IONS and the IOR-ARC; and
vi. to promote the sharing and exchange of professional knowledge and experiences through participation in training courses in each others military training institutions.
Both Ministers look forward to implementing these defence cooperation initiatives to further strengthen the strategic partnership between Australia and India.
Competition Commission Of India:
Competition Commission of India is a body of the Government of India responsible for enforcing The Competition Act, 2002 throughout India and to prevent activities that have an adverse effect on competition in India.
The objectives are: to prevent practices having adverse effect on competition, to promote and sustain competition in markets, to protect the interests of consumers and to ensure freedom of trade carried on by other participants in markets, in India, and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
In news,the commission found evidence of sugar mills deciding to fix price of ethanol tfor the supply to the oil marketing companies(OMC).The CCEA approved mandatory 5% blending of ethanol with etrol and also decided that procurement price would be decided between the buyer and the supplier.
Bio-Energy and Bio-Plastics:
In the quest for alternative, renewable and eco-friendly fuels, scientists have developed a novel method to produce bio-energy and value-added products through wastewater treatment because combustion of fossil fuels was adding about six gigatons of carbon per year in the form of CO. Several factors have led scientists to look for renewable and carbon-neutral forms of energy.
Senior scientist, Dr. S. Venkata Mohan and his group at IICT, Hyderabad have adopted a bio-refinery approach and produced futuristic green fuels, bio-hydrogen and bio-electricity. In the process a value added product that came out bio-plastics.
With the aim of developing processes that could be adopted by Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) and to achieve objectives of treating water, producing energy as well as value-added products, the scientists have been operating a 50-litre capacity reactor to produce bio-hydrogen and bio-plastics under a project funded by the Ministry of Non-Renewable Energy. Once that was achieved, he said the ETPs could replace anaerobic reactors to produce the environmentally sustainable bio-hydrogen instead of methane. Currently, bio-methane was being produced by treatment plants of most distilleries and other industries. The sludge that gets generated in the process was being used as fertiliser. The volatile fatty acids produced along with hydrogen were used as a substrate for bio-plastics synthesis. These bio-plastics could replace to some extent synthetic plastics in future.
He said bio-electricity was being produced from anaerobic bacterial metabolism using microbial fuel cell. The organic form of pollutants in waste water was a good substrate for bacterial growth. I am trying to improve performance by using various electrode materials. If we catalyse the electrodes, the yields will improve, Dr. Mohan added.
Significantly, besides generating bio-electricity, the waste treatment efficiency improved vastly through this method, especially with respect to toxicity, carbon and salts removal. We have named it Bio-electric Chemical Treatment System.
Next Generation Batteries from rice husk:
Nano-size silicon particles for the next-generation Lithium-ion batteries could be produced from rice husk, an abundant agricultural waste, according to research recently published in Scientific Reports.
Nano silicon had attracted considerable attention as a promising anode material for such high-performance batteries, which would power future electric vehicles and portable devices, observed Yi Cui, an associate professor of materials science and engineering at Stanford University in the U.S., and his colleagues in their paper.
Although nano silicon anodes were superior to graphite ones in terms of performance, methods to produce the silicon anodes at a cost and with scalability comparable to graphite were needed. Current processes to form silicon nanomaterials were usually complex, costly and energy-intensive, they pointed out. In rice husk, silica existed naturally in the form of nanoparticles and accounted for as much as 20 per cent of its dry weight. Using a simple, energy-efficient and easily scalable method , nano silicon could be produced. The silicon that was recovered maintained the unique nanostructure of silica as it existed in the husk, which made for excellent battery performance.
Apart from its use in Lithium-ion batteries, there were many potential large-scale applications for such nanostructured silicon, they added.
UK To Pay 20 Million Pounds To Mau Mau Victims:
The British government has agreed to pay an amount of 20m as compensation to those tortured and treated with brutality by British Forces in the Mau Mau uprising in colonial era in Kenya.
Thousands of Kenyans were killed during the Mau Mau revolt against British rule in Kenya in the 1950s; many too were subjected to all kinds of inhuman treatment including rape, mass imprisonment in appalling condition among others.
The surviving victims have been battling the UK government for years in a legal suite in the UK. The victims wanted the UK government to be held legally liable for the atrocities committed against them during colonial era by British Forces
The British government recognizes that Kenyans were subject to torture and other forms of ill-treatment at the hands of the colonial administration.The British government sincerely regrets that these abuses took place and that they marred Kenyas progress towards independence, Mr. Hague,Foreign Secretary told the House of Commons.
Mau Mau Uprising:
The Mau Mau Uprising (also known as the Mau Mau Revolt, Mau Mau Rebellion and Kenya Emergency) was a military conflict that took place in Kenya between 1952 and 1960. It involved Kikuyu-dominated anti-colonial groups summarily called Mau Mau and elements of the British Army, the local Kenya Regiment mostly consisting of white Kenyans, auxiliaries and anti-Mau Mau Kikuyu. The capture of rebel leader Dedan Kimathi on 21 October 1956 signalled the ultimate defeat of Mau Mau, and essentially ended the British military campaign.
Mau Mau failed to capture widespread public support, partly due to the British policy of divide and rule, and the movement remained internally divided, despite attempts to unify its various strands.
The primary British interest in Kenya was land, which, observed the British East Africa Commission of 1925, constituted "some of the richest agricultural soils in the world, mostly in districts where the elevation and climate make it possible for Europeans to reside permanently.
Greyhounds:
Stunned by the massacre of senior Chhattisgarh Congress leaders by Maoists last month, the Centre has decided to help all Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-affected States to raise Greyhounds, after the Andhra Pradesh model of an elite police commando force.
It also planned to take a uniform approach under a national policy to deal with this growing menace. However, it was decided that the Army and the Air Force would not be used in anti-Maoist operations.
The LWE-hit States will adopt the Andhra Pradesh model, which, besides Greyhounds, includes strengthening the intelligence-gathering mechanism, enhancing the role of local police stations in operations, and making efforts to infiltrate the Maoist hierarchy.
The States that would raise the Greyhounds are Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
The Chief Ministers also discussed the issue of the Army and the Air Force assisting operations in view of the growing lethality and surprise element in the Maoist attacks. It was decided that the State forces, along with the paramilitary personnel, were enough to deal with the Maoists. The State governments would evolve a mechanism to carry out trade of tendu leaves(used for making bidis), which is a major source of revenue in most of these States. At present, the tendu leaves business is being run by contractors who face extortion by Naxals. (used for making bidis), which is a major source of revenue in most of these States. At present, the tendu leaves business is being run by contractors who face extortion by Naxals.
DIPP Clarification On Franchisee Route:
On FDI policy for multi-brand retail trading (MBRT), the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) said the front-end stores set up by MBRT entity will have to be company-owned and company operated only. Foreign retailers entering Indias multi-brand segment will not be allowed to franchise their stores, and will have to put 50 per cent of their investments in back-end infrastructure specifically for the chain they are setting up.
The DIPP also said the mandatory 30 per cent sourcing from small industries will be counted only for sales through the front-end stores. Giving clarity on the sourcing part, it said: The sourcing condition pertains only to manufactured and processed products. Procurement of fresh produce is not covered by this condition.
On the contentious issue of investment in the back-end, the DIPP said investments in multiple infrastructure companies would not be counted towards fulfilment of condition of mandatorily investing 50 per cent in the back-end infrastructure. Fifty per cent of the investments brought in, must be invested in back-end infrastructure, and any amount spent in acquiring front-end retail stores would not be counted towards back-end infrastructure, the DIPP said.
It clarified that as per the conditions for wholesale cash & carry trading, such an entity is not permitted to undertake retailing of any form. As regards supplies by MBRT company to franchisees run by its partners, it is clarified that the policy envisages multi-brand trading in retail and the MBRT entity is not envisaged to undertake wholesale activity, that is, B2B. It said the cash & carry trading cannot be considered to be providing back-end infrastructure to the multi-brand retail store.
Department Of Industrial Policy And Promotion (DIPP):
The Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion was established in 1995 and has been reconstituted in the year 2000 with the merger of the Department of Industrial Development. The Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion was established in the wake of the economic liberalization of India with an intention of regulation and administration of the industrial sector. The Departments role and functions have grown steadily ever. Today, the DIPP not only regulates the industrial sector but also a facilitator of technology and investment flows in an ever growing and liberalized Indian economy.
Following the Department's key focus areas:
Formulation and Implementation of India's Industrial Policy
The Department is responsible for formulation and implementation of promotional and developmental measures for growth of the industrial sector, keeping in view the national priorities and socio-economic objectives. It is responsible for the overall Industrial Policy. It also monitors the growth and development in certain key industrial areas and makes appropriate policy amendments to address the emerging concerns.
Formulation and Amendment of the FDI policy
The DIPP is responsible for formulation of the FDI policy and facilitation of FDI inflows into the country. The department provides direct assistance in the resolution of problems faced by foreign investors. It also disseminates information about the positive investment climate that exists in the Indian economy to promote investments. The Department also encourages and facilitates foreign technology collaborations among Indian companies and bilateral Economic cooperation agreements in the region.
Industrial Promotion
The Department is involved in promotion of industry throughout the country. As a part of this responsibility, the Department monitors and stimulates industrial growth, promotes industrial activity in remote and underdeveloped areas of the country and undertakes programmes for improving productivity and quality. Through its Infrastructure Up gradation Scheme (IIUS) the department works towards enhancing competitiveness of the domestic industry.
Formulation and Implementation of Intellectual property Rights Policy
The DIPP recognize the importance of Intellectual Property in the day to days' global business environment. The Department formulates and implements a comprehensive Intellectual Property Rights policy covering Patents, Designs, Trade Marks and Geographical Indications of Goods. Apart from this the Department works towards creating awareness regarding IPRs by working closely with organizations such as the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB):
IPAB has been constituted by a Gazette notification of the Central Government in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on 15th September 2003 to hear appeals against the decisions of the Registrar under the Trade Marks Act, 1999 and the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999. IPAB has its headquarters at Chennai and shall have sittings at Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Ahmedabad. By the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, the provisions of the Patent Amendment Act, 2002 and the Patents Amendment Act, 2005, relating to the Intellectual Property Appellate Board have been brought into force. Thus, all the Appeals pending before the various High Courts , will stand transferred to the IPAB. Likewise, fresh Rectification Applications under the Patents Act, 1970, will have to be filed before the IPAB.
Jurisdiction:
The object of setting up the Appellate Board is to hear and decide appeals from the order or decision of the Registrar of Trade Marks which were under the jurisdiction of the High Courts.
The Appellate Board can also entertain original applications for rectifications of the register of trademarks under sections 47 and 57 of the above Act. It can also entertain applications for rectifications of the register under section 125 of the above Act.
Appeals from an order or decision of the Registrar under rule 162 of The Trade Marks Rules, 2002 shall also be heard by the IPAB.
It is provided that similar matters arising under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 shall also be heard and decided byIPAB.
The Trade Marks Act, 1999 and the corresponding Trade Mark Rules, 2002 as well as the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection ) Act, 1999 and the Geographical Indications of Goods ( Registration and Protection ) Rules, 2002 have all come into force with effect from 15th September, 2003.
NEW GOVERNOR APPOINTMENTS:
The President of India has been pleased to make the following appointments:-
1. Dr. K.K. Paul, as Governor of Meghalaya vice Shri Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary.
2.Lt.General A.K. Singh (Retd.), PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, to be the Lt. Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands vice Lt. General Bhopinder Singh (Retd.).
3. Shri Najeeb Jung, to be the Lt. Governor of National Capital Territory of Delhi vice Shri Tejendra Khanna.
4. Shri Virendra Kataria, to be the Lt. Governor of Puducherry vice Shri Iqbal Singh.
Late Shri Vasantrao Naik:
The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee attended the concluding ceremony of the Birth Centenary Celebrations of Late Shri Vasantrao Naik, former Chief Minister.
The President said Shri Naik launched the revolutionary Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme which proved to be a boon for millions of farmers ravaged by two ferocious famines afflicting the state. The Planning Commission later approved the scheme and the same was adopted on national scale. This is the programme known today as MNREGA.
National e-Governance Plan (NeGP):
E-Governance in India has steadily evolved from computerization of Government Departments to initiatives that encapsulate the finer points of Governance, such as citizen centricity, service orientation and transparency. Lessons from previous e-Governance initiatives have played an important role in shaping the progressive e-Governance strategy of the country. Due cognizance has been taken of the notion that to speed up e-Governance implementation across the various arms of Government at National, State, and Local levels, a programme approach needs to be adopted, guided by common vision and strategy. This approach has the potential of enabling huge savings in costs through sharing of core and support infrastructure, enabling interoperability through standards, and of presenting a seamless view of Government to citizens.
The National e-Governance Plan (NeGP), takes a holistic view of e-Governance initiatives across the country, integrating them into a collective vision, a shared cause. Around this idea, a massive countrywide infrastructure reaching down to the remotest of villages is evolving, and large-scale digitization of records is taking place to enable easy, reliable access over the internet. The ultimate objective is to bring public services closer home to citizens.
VISION OF NeGP-Make all Government services accessible to the common man in his locality, through common service delivery outlets and ensure efficiency, transparency & reliability of such services at affordable costs to realize the basic needs of the common man.
A mission mode project (MMP) is an individual project within the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) that focuses on one aspect of electronic governance, such as banking, land records or commercial taxes etc. Within NeGP, "mission mode" implies that projects have clearly defined objectives, scopes, and implementation timelines and milestones, as well as measurable outcomes and service levels. NeGP comprises 31 mission mode projects (MMPs), which are further classified as state (13), central (11) or integrated projects (7). Each state government can also define five MMPs specific to its individual needs.
Two Expert Groups, viz., an Expert Committee for preparation of an HR policy for e-Governance headed by Shri Nandan Nilekani and an Expert Group on NeGP chaired by Dr Sam Pitroda were constituted. The recommendations of both the committees will be of immense benefit for fast tracking the implementation of all e-Governance initiatives in the country. During the meeting today, the implementation of the recommendations of these committees was reviewed.
The Committee also deliberated upon the following issues:
* Status of implementation of Mission Mode Projects (MMPs): The Committee noted that out of the 31 MMPs, 14 MMPs are delivering the full range of services while 9 have started delivering some services to the citizens.
* Focus on Outcome Orientation e-TAAL: In order to develop an outcome orientation amongst the e-Governance initiatives in the country, the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) has developed a web portal e-TAAL (e-Transactions Aggregation and Analysis Layer). The portal aggregates and analyses the transaction statistics of central and state level e-governance projects including Mission Mode Projects, on a real time basis. E-TAAL is expected to enhance the outcome focus of e-Governance programs in the country. The portal is available at etaal.gov.in.
* DeitY has launched Mobile Seva, a unique countrywide initiative on mobile governance to provide public services to the citizens through mobile phones and handheld devices. The portal is available at mgov.gov.in. As on date, 444 departments across the country have been integrated with MSDG. They are offering over 200 unique services to the citizens. Using this platform, over 15 crore transactional messages for various government services have been sent to the citizens.
* Recently, DeitY has implemented a pilot project covering 59 panchayats in three blocks in three states on using the hi-speed connectivity of National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) for delivery of public services like tele-medicine, tele-education, skill development courses and banking services. The lessons from this pilot will be useful in utilising the NoFN infrastructure being planned to connect 2,50,000 gram panchayats.
* DeitY has developed an e-Gov AppStore to host successful e-governance applications. These applications can be replicated by all government departments intending to implement e-Gov initiatives, thereby saving immense time and costs in application development and hosting.
* In order to make public procurement more transparent and efficient, the Committee directed that e-Procurement shall be adopted both for publication and processing of tenders by all Government Ministries/Departments.
* To harness the benefits of cloud technology, DeitY has launched a new initiative named as MeghRaj for creating a Government of India cloud (GI Cloud) computing environment at the national level. This initiative will not only optimise utilisation of IT infrastructure, but also enable rapid deployment/replication of e-Gov services.
* Considering the requirement for an apex institution in the domain of capacity building, training and R&D for e-Governance, the Committee desired that a National e-Governance Academy be established as a national institution.
The Committee also discussed how the emergence of new technologies, concepts and platforms such as cloud computing, mobile platform and the advent of Aadhaar can be leveraged to make the NeGP more effective and speed up its implementation. Incorporating the latest technological advancements and new service delivery mechanisms in NeGP would usher the country into a new era of e-governance. It will be possible to provide ICT infrastructure on demand for implementation of these projects. Integration of the Aadhaar platform in e-governance projects would help in interoperability, electronic authentication and faster delivery of services to the intended recipients. Further, the integration of the mobile platform for service delivery would enable the government to reach out to citizens in the remotest corners of the country. To achieve this vision, the Committee directed DeitY to formulate the next version of the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP 2.0) to tap the potential of significant technological advancements and emergence of new implementation models & delivery mechanisms.
Indian IPv6 Lab
Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) Lab setup by Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC), technical arm of Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications & IT, has earned a unique distinction of being approved by the IPv6 Ready Logo Committee under IPv6 Forum, an International body. This achievement is significant for TEC and the country as only five other labs in the world have achieved this milestone. India has thus joined Europe and a select group of countries which include USA, Japan, China and Taiwan having IPv6 Ready Logo test lab facilities. The announcement to this effect was made on 25th June.
TEC has setup the IPv6 Ready Logo test lab as per standards prescribed by IPv6 Ready Logo Committee and addresses Conformance as well as Interoperability testing for various equipments with IPv6 implementation. The approval process additionally involved the evaluation of the competence of TEC team to not only test the equipment but also the ability to correctly examine the test results from other international labs.
The internet and the internet facing devices are moving to new addressing scheme IPv6 since IPv4 addresses are no longer available. The Government has taken several policy initiatives so that the service providers, content providers and the customer premises equipment vendors are encouraged to move to IPv6 address implementation. Setting up testing infrastructure is one of the objectives of NTP-2012. Establishment and designation of TEC lab as IPv6 Ready Logo lab is one such step which shall enable indigenous vendors/developers to avail the facility of internationally recognized test lab in India. Availability of approved TEST BED shall promote end-user confidence in using IPv6 Ready Logo approved products.
TEC will play an instrumental role in the Interoperability and testing of IPv6 products as a major piece of the India IPv6 Strategy roadmap announced by the India Government in building the New Internet infrastructure as interoperability creates genuine end-user confidence in new technologies said Latif Ladid, IPv6 ForumPresident.
The establishment of IPv6 Ready Logo Lab in India, expecting a huge growth in the deployment of IPv6 in the world, is very welcome, and we expect their contribution to the world-wide IPv6 deployment. We really appreciate the great efforts of Indian team for their success, including the future success. said Hiroshi Esaki, Chairman of the IPv6 Logo Committee, Executive Director of IPv6 Promotion Council Japan and Board member of WIDE Project.
Aakash IV:
Aakash is a series of Android-based tablet computers produced by an initiative of the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development. It is a low-cost tablet computer with a 7-inch touch screen. The device was developed as part of the country`s aim to link 25,000 colleges and 400 universities in an e-learning program. The cost of basic version for a student was only Rs.1500, which was around USD35. In July 2010, the Minister of Human Resource Development, Sri Kapil Sibal unveiled a prototype of Aakash, which was later given out to 500 college students to collect feedback. The tablet was officially launched as Aakash in New Delhi on 5 October 2011. The Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India announced an upgraded second-generation model called Aakash 2 in April 2012. In this series, the new version of Aakash has been named Aakash IV.
The Institute of Company Secretaries of India(ICSI):
The Institute of Company Secretaries of India(ICSI) is constituted under an Act of Parliament i.e. the Company Secretaries Act, 1980 (Act No. 56 of 1980). ICSI is the only recognized professional body in India to develop and regulate the profession of Company Secretaries in India. The Institute of Company Secretaries of India awards the certificate of bestowing the designation of Company Secretary(CS) to a candidate qualifying for the membership of the Institute. It was in 1960 that the Company Law Board started a course in Company Secretaryship leading to the award of Government Diploma in Company Secretaryship. As the number of students taking up the Company Secretaryship course grew, the Government promoted on 4th October, 1968, Institute of Company Secretaries of India under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956 for taking over from the
Government the conduct of Company Secretaryship examination. The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) has since been converted into a statutory body w.e.f. 1.1.1981 under the Company Secretaries Act, 1980. The Institute of Company Secretaries of India(ICSI) has on its rolls 32,580 members including 5,467 members holding certificate of the practice. The number of current students is over 3,60,000.
The Institute of company Secretaries of India (ICSI) has its headquarters at New Delhi and four regional offices at New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai.
Lieutenant General Anil Chait:
Lieutenant General Anil Chait, has taken over as Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC).He has been associated with the Special Action Group (The Black Cats) of the National Security Guards and was awarded the VishishtSeva Medal. He has served with an infantry division, as Colonel General Staff on the Line of Control during Operation Parakram. The General Officer has tenanted staff assignment in the Military Secretarys Branch in the Colonels rank and the Perspective Planning Directorate in the Brigadiers rank dealing with formulation of National and Military Security Strategy & Policy.
OPERATION PARAKRAM- The 20012002 IndiaPakistan standoff was a military standoff between India and Pakistan that resulted in the massing of troops on either side of the International Border (IB) and along the Line of Control (LoC) in the region of Kashmir. The military build up was initiated by India responding to a terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament on 13 December 2001 (during which twelve people, including the five men who attacked the building, were killed) and Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly on 1 October 2001. India claimed that the attacks were carried out by two Pakistan based Terrorist groups fighting Indian rule in Kashmir, LeT and JeM, both of whom India has said are backed by Pakistan's ISI. Tensions de-escalated following international diplomatic mediation which resulted in the October 2002 withdrawal of Indian and Pakistani troops from the international border. The Indian Codename for the mobilization was Operation Parakram.
C-17 Globemaster-III:
Having touched down on Indian soil on 18 Jun 2013, the IAFs latest acquisition C-17 Globemaster-III made its maiden flight to the Andaman & Nicobar Islands on 30 Jun 2013. Climbing an altitude of 28,000 feet with an unrefueled range of 2400 nautical miles, the aircraft landed at Port Blair to induct the rotational Infantry Battalion into the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
Manufactured by Messrs Boeing of the United States, the C-17 Globemaster-III is a heavy-lift transport military aircraft, developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). India has become the largest customer, of this sophisticated aircraft, after the United States. C-17 Globemaster-III is 174 feet in length, with a wing span of 170 feet. The maximum all up weight is 2,65,350 kg, with an ultra modernized palletized cargo handling capability.
eKuber:
Reserve Bank of India, has christened its Core Banking Solution as eKuber. The quest by RBI to have its own CBS begun in June 2007, when in RBIs Financial Sector Technology Vision, the Department of Information Technology, broached the concept of CBS in RBI.
Core banking solution:
Core banking is services provided by a group of networked bank branches. Bank customers may access their funds and other simple transactions from any of the member branch offices. CORE Banking stands for "centralized online real-time electronic banking". This basically means that all the bank's branches access applications from centralized datacenters. This means that the deposits made are reflected immediately on the bank's servers and the customer can withdraw the deposited money from any of the bank's branches throughout the world. These applications now also have the capability to address the needs of corporate customers, providing a comprehensive banking solution.
The platform where communication technology and information technology are merged to suit core needs of banking is known as core banking solutions. Here, computer software is developed to perform core operations of banking like recording of transactions, passbook maintenance, interest calculations on loans and deposits, customer records, balance of payments and withdrawal. This software is installed at different branches of bank and then interconnected by means of communication lines like telephones, satellite, internet etc. It allows the user (customers) to operate accounts from any branch if it has installed core banking solutions. This new platform has changed the way banks are working.
Competitive Bid:
A step in the initial public offering process whereby an underwriter submits a sealed bid to a company that is making its first issue of stock. After collecting competitive bids from several underwriters, the issuer awards the contract to the underwriter (investor) with the best price and contract terms. Competitive bidding is considerably less common than negotiated bidding, the other main method by which issuing companies contract with underwriters. Competitive bidding is more common with municipal bonds issued by utility companies.
Non-Competitive Bid:
One of the two bid processes for buying debt issuances. Non-competitive tender is for small investors, while competitive tender is for large institutional investors. The price that a non-competitive bidder receives is the average bid price of all competitive bids.
When Issued (WI):
Securities trade on a when issued basis when they have been announced, but not yet issued. The transaction is settled only after the security has been issued. A when-issued market exists where when issued instruments are traded. When issued markets can provide an indication regarding the level of interest that a new issue will attract. When issued transactions are dependent upon the actual security being issued and the exchange or National Association of Securities Dealers ruling that the transactions will be settled.
Action taken by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for relief operations in Uttarakhand:
A three member high level team from the Ministry is stationed in Dehradun to assess the public health situation and coordinate with the State Health Authorities to provide whatever assistance is needed. It consists of the Director, Emergency Medical Response, Director, National Centre for Disease Control and Joint Director, National Vector Borne Diseases Control Programme (NVBDCP).
40 chloroscopes and a large quantity of reagents, sufficient to test upto 5000 water samples have been sent, to ensure safe drinking water supplies. More Chloroscopes are being procured for delivery.Chlorine tablets has been provided.
A 3-member team from NIMHANS, Bangalore for Psycho-social support.
District units of Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), NRHM is conducting health surveillance in all affected districts.
IRCS (Indian Red Cross Society) has provided relief materials that include tents, family packs, kitchen sets, blankets, lanterns etc.
IDSP:
Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP) was launched with World Bank assistance in November 2004 to detect and respond to disease outbreaks quickly. The project was extended for 2 years in March 2010. From April 2010 to March 2012, World Bank funds were available for Central Surveillance Unit (CSU) at NCDC & 9 identified states (Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Punjab, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal) and the rest 26 states/UTs were funded from domestic budget. The Programme will continue during 12th Plan under NRHM with outlay of Rs. 640.40 Crore from domestic budget only.
* Surveillance units have been established in all states/districts (SSU/DSU). Central Surveillance Unit (CSU) established and integrated in the National Centre for Disease Control, Delhi.
* Training of State/District Surveillance Teams and Rapid Response Teams (RRT) has been completed for all 35 States/UTs.
* IT network connecting 776 sites in States/District HQ and premier institutes has been established with the help of National Informatics Centre (NIC) and Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for data entry, training, video conferencing and outbreak discussion.
* Under the project weekly disease surveillance data on epidemic prone disease are being collected from reporting units such as sub centres, primary health centres, community health centres, hospitals including government and private sector hospitals and medical colleges
States/districts have been asked to notify the outbreaks immediately to the system.
Media scanning and verification cell was established under IDSP in July 2008. It detects and shares media alerts with the concerned states/districts for verification and response.
A 24X7 call center was established in February 2008 to receive disease alerts on a Toll Free telephone number (1075).
Considering the non-availability of health professionals in the field of Epidemiology, microbiology and Entomology at district and state levels, MOHFW approved the recruitment of trained professionals under NRHM in order to strengthen the disease surveillance and response system by placing one Epidemiologist each at state/district headquarters, one Microbiologist and Entomologist each at the state headquarters. Recruitment of 354 Epidemiologists, 60 Microbiologists and 17 Entomologists has been completed so far.
Codex Alimentarius Commission:
The Codex Commission is shouldering the responsibility of laying down the global parameters of quality and safety of food products for human consumption. This ensures the health of the consumers and fair practices in the export and import of food products.
Shrinking of the world due to faster means of travel and communications has led to globalization and commercialization of all sectors including food production, processing and consumption. Whatever is produced in one part of the world is available in other parts due to improved means for import and export today. It is a matter of satisfaction that the Codex Alimentarius has achieved several milestones since its inception in meeting the challenges of health of consumers and fair practices in the trade of food products. The membership of the Commission has grown from 30 countries to 150 countries over the last 50 years. This is on account of the keen interest and trust evinced by the developing countries in the Codex process, making Codex a truly international food standards-setting organization of the United Nations. Another achievement is that Codex has expanded its role into a variety of products and subject matters to address quality, safety and nutrition issues. The science-based framework adopted by Codex gives this institution a pre-eminent position in the area of safety of human health and fair trade practices.
The C O D E X A L I M E N T A R I U S international food standards, guidelines and codes of practice contribute to the safety, quality and fairness of this international food trade. Consumers can trust the safety and quality of the food products they buy and importers can trust that the food they ordered will be in accordance with their specifications.
Ethanol Blended Petrol:
Ethanol is a non-fossil fuel that is produced from a variety of agricultural crops such as sugar cane and grains. Petrol is blended with the ethanol produced from the renewable products.
Maternity Benefit Act 1961:
Maternity protection is an essential pre-requisite for womens rights to gender equality with regard to their work and profession. The right to maternity protection is enshrined in the Constitution of India, along with international instruments such as the International Human Rights Instruments and the International Labour Conventions. It is implemented through the Maternity Benefits Act, 1961.
An Act to regulate the employment of women in certain establishment for certain period before and after child-birth and to provide for maternity benefit and certain other benefits.
It applies in the first instance, to every establishment being a factory, mine or plantation [including any such establishment belonging to Government and to every establishment wherein persons are employed for the exhibition of equestrian, acrobatic and other performances]. In the official on In the official Gazette, declare that all or any of the provisions of this Act shall apply also to any other establishment or class of establishments, industrial, commercial, agricultural or otherwise.
IRNSS:
ISROs Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C22, has successfully launched IRNSS-1A, the first satellite in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. This is the twenty third consecutively successful mission of PSLV. The XL configuration of PSLV was used for the mission. Previously, the same configuration of the vehicle was used thrice to launch Chandrayaan-1, GSAT-12 and RISAT-1 satellites.
IRNSS-1A is the first of the seven satellites constituting the space segment of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System. IRNSS is an independent regional navigation satellite system designed to provide position information in the Indian region and 1500 km around the Indian mainland. IRNSS would provide two types of services, namely, Standard Positioning Services (SPS) provided to all users and Restricted Services (RS) provided only to authorised users.
A number of ground stations responsible for the generation and transmission of navigation parameters, satellite control, satellite ranging and monitoring, etc., have been established in as many as 15 locations across the country.
NFSM:
The General Council of NFSM is the apex policy making body of NFSM. It is chaired by Agriculture Minister and has representatives from various Departments and research organizations.
In the 11th Plan, NFSM exceeded its target of adding 20 million tonne foodgrain production per year in 2011-12, a year before the target date. In the first year of the current Plan, i.e. 2012-13, as against the target of producing additional 2 MT rice, 1 MT wheat and 1.25 MT pulses, NFSM has achieved significantly higher production - 7 MT rice, 9 MT wheat and 2.5 MT pulses.
Since the Mission seeks to improve productivity of crops in districts with low productivity, an exercise is being undertaken to include new districts in which productivity has remained lower than the national and states averages. Simultaneously, districts that have attained higher than average productivity will be taken out of the purview of NFSM.
As the strategies adopted by NFSM proved successful in the 11th Plan, coarse cereals and fodder crops have been brought under it in the 12th Plan (besides rice, wheat and pulses which were the crops under NFSM in the 11th Plan).
National Cyber Security Policy:
National Cyber Security Policy aims to provide protection for information, such as personal information, financial/banking information, sovereign data etc. In order to empower people with information, we need to secure the information/data.
This policy aims at facilitating creation of secure computing environment and enabling adequate trust and confidence in electronic transactions and also guiding stakeholders actions for protection of cyber space.
The National Cyber Security Policy document outlines a road-map to create a framework for comprehensive, collaborative and collective response to deal with the issue of cyber security at all levels within the country.
The policy recognises the need for objectives and strategies that need to be adopted both at the national level as well as international level.
The objectives and strategies outlined in the National Cyber Security Policy together serve as a means to:
Articulate our concerns, understanding, priorities for action as well as directed efforts.
Provide confidence and reasonable assurance to all stakeholders in the country (Government, business, industry and general public) and global community, about the safety, resiliency and security of cyber space.
Adopt a suitable posturing that can signal our determined efforts to effectively monitor, deter & deal with cyber-crime and cyber-attacks.
Salient features of the policy:
A vision and mission statement aimed at building a secure and resilience cyber space for citizens, businesses and Government.
Enabling goals aimed at reducing national vulnerability to cyber-attacks, preventing cyber-attacks & cybercrimes, minimizing response & recover time and effective cybercrime investigation and prosecution.
Focused actions at the level of Govt., public-private partnership arrangements, cyber security related technology actions, protection of critical information infrastructure and national alerts and advice mechanism, awareness & capacity building and promoting information sharing and cooperation.
Enhancing cooperation and coordination between all the stakeholder entities within the country.
Objectives and strategies in support of the National cyber security vision and mission.
Framework and initiatives that can be pursued at the Govt. level, sectoral levels as well as in public private partnership mode.
Facilitating monitoring key trends at the national level such as trends in cyber security compliance, cyber-attacks, cybercrime and cyber infrastructure growth.
Institute of Chartered Accountants of India:
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is a statutory body established under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 (Act No. XXXVIII of 1949) for the regulation of the profession of Chartered Accountants in India. During its 64 years of existence, ICAI has achieved recognition as a premier accounting body not only in the country but also globally, for its contribution in the fields of education, professional development, maintenance of high accounting, auditing and ethical standards. ICAI now is the second largest accounting body in the whole world.
by Siva Ramakrishnan
List of References:
1. PIB English Release
2. Respective Official Websites and Wikipedia
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