JUSTICE HS BEDI PANEL

The Supreme Court of India on 2 March 2012 appointed its former judge, Justice H S Bedi as the chairman of the monitoring authority. He will investigate the case of 22 alleged fake encounter killings in Gujarat between
2002 and 2006. It also rejected the plea of government to extend the time till 12 March 2012 to sort out the issue of appointment of chairman. It also  directed the Gujarat government to provide full facility and cooperation to Justice Bedi. The monitoring authority  will submit its interim report within threemonths.

AMENDMENTS IN MOTOR VEHICLE ACT 1988 APPROVED

The Union cabinet of India on 1 March 2012 approved the proposed changes in the Motor Vehicle Act 1988, which includes longer jail terms and higher fines for repeat traffic violations. The new act has a provision of 500 rupees fine if one does not wear seat belt and helmet or jumps a red light. Anybody caught using mobile phone while driving will be fined. Repeat traffic offences like jumping red lights or not using seat belts and helmets will attract fine between 500 rupees to 1500 rupees. Crossing the speed limits could attract a fine of 1000 rupees, if the offence is committed first time. In case the offence is repeated, the penalty could be asmuch as 5000 rupees. In case, the same offender violates the traffic rules again, the fines will multiply. The new act also provides that the offence of drunk driving will be awarded with a punishment of a twoyear jail termand a fine of 5000 rupees or both. The fines are increased in the new act with the objective of targeting the major causes of accidents on Indian roads which are- speeding, use of cell phones, not wearing seatbelts and helmet and drunk driving. Motor VehicleAct 1988 governs licensing rules and offences on Indian roads. An expert committee appointed by ministry of road transport and highways suggested the changes.

PORTAL FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF NSIGSE

Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry launched a web portal for implementation of the National Scheme of Incentive to Girls for Secondary Education (NSIGSE) in New Delhi. Web portal was developed by the
Canara Bank to implement the scheme. The portal will facilitate on line submission of data of the beneficiaries and on line disbursement of the amount on the day of the maturity into their  accounts directly after certification by the State Nodal Officer on line that the beneficiary is 18 years old and passed class X examination. Now, the proposals under the scheme will be submitted by the State Governments on line. This will eliminate the possibility of feeding incorrect data and bank account numbers which was themajor cause for delay in the processing of the proposals and ensure error free entry of data and timely release of funds. The online system will also ensure total transparency and quicker disbursement of benefits to the beneficiary girls and on time submission of proposals by the State Governments. The web portal will make sure that there is transparency and quicker disbursement of advantages to the beneficiary girls. The NSIGSE Scheme was sponsored by the central government and it was launched in May 2008 with the aim of establishing a conducive environment
to reduce the drop-outs and to promote the enrolment of girl child belonging specially to SC/ST communities in secondary schools.

INDIA’S MANGROVE COVER RISES

India recorded a net increase of 23.34 sq. km of mangrove cover between 2009 and 2011, thanks to efforts of one of the most industrialised states, Gujarat, in planting and regenerating the ecosystem rich in biodiversity. The new biennial assessment report by the Forest Survey of India (FSI) has commended Gujarat’s contribution in planting and regenerating the mangroves, a salt tolerant plant community, which harbours a number of critically endangered flora and fauna species. “Comparedwith 2009 assessment, there has been a net increase of 23.34 sq. km in the mangrove cover of the country. This can be attributed to increased plantations particularly in Gujarat state and regeneration of natural mangrove areas,” according to the assessment by the FSI, an arm of Union Environment Ministry. Mangroves in India account for about three per cent of the world’s
mangrove vegetation. The report says mangrove cover in India is 4,662 sq. km, which is 0.14 per cent of the country’s total geographical area. Sundarbans in West Bengal accounts for almost half of the total area undermangroves in the country. The very dense mangrove comprises 1,403 sq. km(30.10 per cent of the total mangrove cover), moderately densemangrove is 1,658.12 sq. km (35.57 per cent) while open mangroves cover an area of 1,600.44 sq. km(33 per cent). Mangrove forests are regarded as the most productive wetlands in the world on account of the large quantities of organic and inorganic nutrients released in the coastal waters by these ecosystems. They also act as nurseries for fin fish, shell fish, crustaceans and molluscs.

INTERLINKING OF RIVERS PROJECT TO BE IMPLEMENTED

The Supreme Court of India directed the union government of India to implement the ambitious interlinking of rivers project in a time-bound manner. Observing that the project has already been delayed resulting in an
increase in its cost, a three-judge bench, headed by S H Kapadia, appointed a high-powered committee to chart out and execute the project. The committee will comprise of Union Minister ofWater Resources, its
Secretary, Secretary of Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) and four expert members appointed by Water Resources Ministry, Finance Ministry, Planning Commission and the MoEF. Representatives from state
governments, two social activists and senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, who has been assisting the court in the case, will also be members of the committee.

AYUSHTO BE INCLUDED IN NATIONAL HEALTH SCHEMES

The Centre is planning to launch a special scheme for delivery of healthcare services in 100 out of 264 focus districts across the country where the health indicators are very low, by integrating allopathic and other Indian
systems of medicine soon. Under the scheme, joint teams of doctors of allopathy, Ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and homoeopathy systems of medicine will visit villages frequently to bring about an improvement in the general health condition of people. Modalities were being worked out to include AYUSH systems of medicine in all national health programmes within two years.

WHO REMOVED INDIA FROM POLIO-ENDEMIC COUNTRIES

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has removed India from the list of polio-endemic countries, suggesting that the wild polio virus had been totally eliminated from the environment. The disease paralysed thousands of children every year for several decades. This announcement was made by Health and Family Planning Minister Ghulam Nabi  Azad at the Polio Summit 2012 in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, amidst a thunderous applause.The feat came after India successfully completed an entire year without an incidence of polio. “WHO has taken India’s name off the list of polio endemic countries in view of the remarkable progress that we have made during the past one year.” However, India will have to remain polio free for two more years before it is declared polio-free by the WHO. There were only four countries in the WHO endemic list, including Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan.

PMAGY TO BETRANSFERREDTO MORD

In a major administrative move, the Planning Commission has cleared the transfer of the Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAGY) to the Ministry of RuralDevelopment (MoRD) from the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has conveyed the in principle approval of transfer of the scheme to Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh saying that the PMAGY had a synergy with the programmes run by the MoRD and underlined the merit of converging it with the Total Sanitation Campaign. The PMAGY was announced in 2009-10 for integrated development of
all villages with more than 50 percent scheduled caste population. Presently, there are 44,000 such villages. As a pilot project, it has been implemented in 1,000 villages in Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Naduwith an allocation of Rs.100 crore with each village to get Rs.10 lakh per year. The annual funding was raised to Rs.20 lakh per village in September and Rs.194 crore has been spent in these villages.

ADVANCE RESERVATION OF  BERTHS EXTENDED

Railway Ministry extended the time period for the advance booking of Railway tickets from 90 days to 120 days. This new reservation policy will come into effect from March 10, 2012. No change has been proposed for
daytime trains such as the Taj Express and Gomti Express. The advance reservation periods for these trains are 15 days and it will remain unchanged. There will also be no change in case of   the limit of 360 days for foreign tourists. The Indian Railways carry approximately 30 million passengers everyday and the move of increasing the advance reservation period will help the commuters to plan their journey better.

THE NEW VERSION OF MGNREGA

More than 25 agriculture and allied activities were included in the new version of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, MGNREGA, which will be implemented from 1 April 2012. The
new version of MGNREGA will lead to better farm output. After receiving a report on revised operational guidelines for MGNREGA. The new version of act was prepared after receiving a report on revised Operational Guidelines for MGNREGA. It will also respond to demands of the states for location specific flexibility in permissible works as valuable suggestions from the states are incorporated in the guidelines. The Report was prepared by a committee headed by Planning Commission Member Mihir Shah.

4TH PHASE OF IT MP BEGINS

The fourth phase of an “Intensive Tiger Monitoring Programme” envisaged by the Tiger Task Force of the Union Government has begun at the Kalakkad - Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR) in Tirunelveli (Tamil Nadu).In the fourth phase now the setting up of 100 cameras in every four sq. km. area has begun. The camera trapping will cover a 400 sq. km. area in the 890 sq. km. spread of KMTR. The 400 sq. km. area has been identified as important tiger habitat. Already the KMTR official shave 20 cameras and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has provided funds to buy 60 cameras. Besides these, World Wide Fund for Nature – India (WWF-I) has provided another 20 cameras. In the present intensive system movement of every tiger in a reserve can be identified.

KOSI MAHASETHU INAUGURATED

The fertile and chronically flood lacerated swathe of the Mithilanchal belt in north Bihar witnessed a watershed moment in its urban ecosystem when Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar inaugurated the ‘Kosi Maha Sethu’—a rail-cum-road bridge — in Supaul district. The bridge was destroyed in the 1934 Bihar-Nepal earthquake, dividing Mithilanchal intotwo halves and reducing the entire townships to rubble and killing tens of thousands of people. The loss of this bridge, known as the ‘Lifeline of Mithilanchal,’ had hampered traffic and commerce for several decades. The 10.63 km-long bridge, of which 1.87km is built over water was completed at a cost of more than Rs. 400 crore.

BIGGEST COORDINATED MOCK DRILLS

The biggest coordinated mock drills were carried out on 15 February 2012 in New Delhi, to check the alertness and preparedness of various public agencies, if an earthquake of high magnitude rocks the national capital.
The drills were conducted in several places, including six Metro stations, across the national capital by the National Disaster Management Authority and Delhi Disaster Management Authority. Six metro stations were closed for over half-an hour and road traffic in many areas in  Central, South and North Delhi were diverted as part of the exercise. A number of simulated situations like collapse of flyovers, crack in metro pillars, damage to hospitals and collapse of residential buildings due to an earthquake measuring 7 on the Richter scale were created. Officials from all the important Emergency Support Functionary departments like police, MCD, DMRC, Health department, Delhi Jal Board and Food and Civil Supplies coordinated with senior officials of all the nine districts to make the drill a success.

INDIA TO BE A YOUNGEST NATION BY 2020

India will be one of the youngest nations by 2020 and this changing demographic condition, while providing great opportunities, could pose some challenges too, the Economic Survey 2011-12 has said. India is passing through a phase of unprecedented demographic changes, wherein the proportion of the working age population (15-59 years) is likely to rise from around 58 per cent in 2001 to over 64 per cent by 2021, according to
the Survey. The comparative figures for China and the U.S. are 37 years, while it is 45 for West Europe and 48 Japan. The ‘demographic dividend’ would pose  a challenge, as the average Indian will be only 29 years old in 2020, the Survey notes. In absolute numbers, there will be around 63.5 million new entrants to the working age group between 2011 and 2016. These changes are likely to contribute to a substantially increased labour force. However, it will benefit India only if the population is “healthy, educated, and appropriately skilled.” The bulk of this increase is likely to take place in the relatively younger age group of 20-35.

RIVER DIVERSION AND SOIL EROSION THREATEN TURTLE NESTING

Erosion and diversion of Rushikulya river mouth in Odisha’s  Ganjam district are posing a serious threat to the annual mass nesting of the endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles. The marine species started sporadic
nesting in the area this season along the four-km-long stretch from Purunabandh to Gokharakuda near the Rushikulya rivermouth. The entire site  is now submerged due to shifting of the river mouth, which is likely to cause
problem for the Olive Ridley turtles to lay eggs in mass. They are likely to choose some other site for their annual nesting off  Ganjam coast. There are doubts now over continuity of the mass nesting near the coast, when their traditional nesting site was wiped out. Rapid erosion and shifting of the river mouth was due to the climate change and a natural phenomenon.

NCPCR GUIDELINES FOR SCHOOLS

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)  released guidelines to eliminate physical punishment and to discipline schools. The NCPCR survey disclosed that the use of physical punishments is common in Indian schools and corporal punishments are often used by teachers as a means to discipline children. Even children in the age group of 3 to five years are not spared. The NCPCR released the Guidelines after a detailed study. The study was conducted in 2009-10 and it involved 6632 children across seven states in India. The guidelines suggested the formation of Corporal Punishment Monitoring Cells (CPMCs) by schools. Besides hearing grievances related to corporal punishment, child sexual abuse and mental harassment, CPMCs will forward recommendations to district level authorities within 48 hours of the occurrence.

NATIONAL DATA SHARING AND ACCESSIBILITY POLICY APPROVED

Union cabinet of India on 9 February 2012 approved the National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy (NDSAP-2012) to facilitate access to central government owned shareable data and information. The data can be
shared in both human readable and machine readable formats through a network across the country. The NDSAP policy is designed to promote data sharing and enable access to central government owned data for national planning and development. The Union Cabinet also approved the guidelines for establishing Joint Venture Companies by Defence Public Sector Undertakings, DPSUs. The guidelines will provide a streamlined, fair and transparent framework for entering into Joint Ventures with the ultimate objective of better risk-management, greater-efficiency and enhancing self reliance in the defence sector as a whole. It is expected that the guidelines will foster better and deeper partnerships between the DPSUs and private partners.

CONSERVATION RESERVE STATUS FOR JAWAI FORESTS

Rajasthan will soon accord the bio-diversity rich Jawai Bandh forests in Pali district the status of a conservation reserve. The rich forests and the water bodies along the Jawai dam in Sumerpur tehsil have a large presence of crocodiles. The wildlife census in 2011 had put their number at 288. The standing committee of the Rajasthan Board for Wild life, which met here on Wednesday under the chairpersonship of Minister for Environment & Forests Bina Kak, cleared the new conservation reserve under Section 36 of the amended Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The reserve is fifth in the category in the State. The conservation reserves, a concept introduced in the Act through the amendments, replaces the “closed area” concept. The census report of wild animals for three years from 2009 to 2011 was released by Ms. Kak on the occasion. The existing conservation reserves in the State are Jhodbede in Bikaner district, Bisalpur in Tonk district, Soonda Mata in Jalore district and Gudha Vishnoi in Jodhpur district. Rajasthan has a lone community reserve — also introduced after the 2002 amendment to the Act — in Rotu in Nagaur district.

INDIAN BLACK EAGLE WAS SPOTTED IN THE ARAVALI BIODIVERSITY PARK

The Indian Black Eagle was spotted in the Aravali Biodiversity Park after a gap of 90 years. The bird was last seen in 1920-21 by Basin Edwardes. The Indian Black Eagle is usually found, along the base of the Himalayas from Himachal to Bhutan, northeast peninsula in Odisha, in the south Assam hills to the Lushai hills, in northeast Pakistan, the northeastern and southeastern Ghats and Sri Lanka.

OPPOSITION TO MONSANTO PATENT ON INDIAN MELONS

Activist Vandana Shiva and an Europe-based NGO have jointly opposed a patent awarded to an American company on virus resistance traits taken from indigenous melon varieties in India. The NGOs — Navdanya and No Patent on Seeds — contend that, armed with this patent, the U.S. company (Monsanto) could block access to all breeding material  inheriting the virus resistance derived from the Indian melon. Seeking complete revocation of the patent the NGOs, in their application filed in the European Patent Office in Munich on  Friday, said that the patent (EP 1 962 578) on Closterovirus-resistant Melon plants should not have been granted as
it was not an invention but a case of “bio-piracy.” Melons have a natural resistance to certain plant viruses. In the case of Cucurbit Yellow Stunting Disorder virus (CYSDV) — which has been spreading through North
America, Europe and North Africa for several years — certain melons are known to be naturally resistant to it. Using conventional breeding methods, this type of resistance was introduced from an Indian melon to other melons and has now been patented as a Monsanto “invention.”

DHARMADHIKARI PANEL REPORT SUBMITTED

Former Supreme Court judge Justice D. M. Dharmadhikari, who headed a four-member committee on integration of thousands of employees after the merger of two State-owned carriers—Air India and Indian Airlines
— on Tuesday submitted his report to the Civil Aviation Minister, Ajit Singh. The report takes into account the views of the pilots, cabin crew and engineers on integration of about 29,000 employees of Indian Airlines and Air India which were merged five years ago into unified Air India. The employees have been agitating over disparities in their pay scales, promotional avenues and areas of responsibilities. The report runs into more than100 pages and there are so many people involved in it—the pilots, the other people in the airline management. The Ministry will examine the report and then do whatever needs to be done.” Though details of the report were not available immediately, the Dharmadhikari Committee is understood to have made several recommendations on critical issues such as career progression, integration across various cadre, rationalisation of their pay scale, allowances and incentives and overall restructuring of the entire staff of the erstwhile Indian Airlines and Air India.

SETTING UP OF A NATIONAL CENTRE FOR COLD CHAIN DEVELOPMENT APPROVED

The government of India approved setting up of a national centre for cold chain development and allocated a one-time grant of 25 crore rupees for its corpus fund. The decision was taken in a Cabinet meeting held in
New Delhi under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The move comes in the wake of post harvest  losses to the tune of 50000 crore rupees annually in absence of proper storage facilities. The Cabinet gave its ex-post facto approval for registering National Centre for Cold Chain Development, NCCD, as a society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. The NCCD will be having a Governing Council under the Chairmanship of Secretary with 22 members, covering government officials, Confederation of Indian Industry, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, FICCI and other stake holders. India is
the second largest producer of horticultural commodities in the world.  However, a significant portion of the produce, particularly perishables like fruits, vegetables, flowers go waste due to post harvest losses. A robust cold chain infrastructure will go a long way in reducing the losses of perishables. India, the world’s second largest producer of horticulture products after China , accounts for 71.5million tonnes of fruits, 133.7 million tonnes of vegetables and 17.8 million tonnes of other commodities like flowers, spices, coconut, cashew, mushroom, honey among others. A significant portion of the produce like fruits, vegetables,  flowers go waste due to post harvest losses in absence of proper cold storage facilities.

NATIONAL COUNTERTERRORISM CENTRE (NCTC)

The Union government decided to operationalise the ambitious National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) from 1 March 2012. A pet project of Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, the NCTC got approval from the
Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in January 2012. The operations division of the counter-terrorism body were powers to arrest and carry out searches under Section 43A of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act,
1967. TheNCTC is to be located in the Intelligence Bureau and headed by a Director who will be an officer in the rank of Additional Director, IB. It will have three units — gathering intelligence, analysis of intelligence and
carrying out operations. Each of these divisions will be headed by a joint director of the IB.

NATIONAL POLICY ON NARCOTIC DRUGS

The Union government unveiled a comprehensive policy on narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, as announced by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee during the budget presentation last year. The need for
such a policy assumes significance in the light of the fact that trafficking in narcotic drugs also contributes to generation of black money in the country. Unveiling the policy at a function, Mr. Mukherjee said the deleterious effect of black economy, generated in the world through drug trafficking, could well be imagined and the money could finance several other forms of criminal activity, including terror financing and other forms of transnational organised crime. “The released policy, presents evidence of India’s strong commitment and its intent to rise to the challenges posed by the drug menace. It also reflects the country’s willingness to shoulder the
responsibility that is cast upon it because of its strategic position, sandwiched between two major regions of the world producing illicit narcotics, and on account of being a traditional cultivator of illicit opiumand a supplier
of this raw material for medical and scientific needs of pharmaceutical industry, which makes use of such narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances to make critical medicines. The policy recommends the production
of Concentrate of Poppy Straw (CPS) in India by a company or body corporate that would enable the country to retain its status of a traditional supplier of Opiate Raw Material (ORM) to the rest of world, while remaining competitive.

NATIONAL INFANT MORTALITY RATE REDUCED

As per the latest Sample Registration System (SRS) bulletin released by the Registrar  General of India (RGI), it is noted that Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) has dropped further by 3 points from 50 to 47 infants deaths per 1000 live births during 2010. The IMR for rural areas has dropped by 4 points from55 to 51 infant deaths per 1000 live births while the Urban rate now stands at 31 from the previous 34/1000. State of Goa still has the lowest IMR of 10 infant deaths followed by Kerala with 13 infant deaths  per 1000 live births (as against 12/1000 in January 2011 figures) – the Urban IMR in Kerala has however reduced to 10 against 11 of previous figures. Madhya Pradesh has the highest IMR of 62/1000 followed by UP and Odisha with 61/1000 IMR. States/UTs of Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Meghalaya still have IMRs more than the national average of 47. The Sample Registration System (SRS) is a large-scale demographic survey for providing reliable annual estimates of birth rate, death rate and other fertility &mortality indicators at the national and sub-national levels. The field investigation consists of continuous enumeration of births and deaths in selected sample units by resident part time enumerators, generally anganwadi workers & teachers, and an independent survey
every six months by SRS supervisors. The data obtained by these two independent functionaries arematched. The unmatched and partially matched events are re-verified in the field and thereafter an unduplicated count of births and deaths is obtained.

STAMPEDE AT JUNAGADH IN GUJARAT

A stampede erupted at Junagadh during the Mahashivratri fair on 19 February 2012. The stampede turned deadly as it left at least six people including three women, two children and a man dead, and 30 injured. The stampede took place in the wake of a heavy traffic jam on Pannchnaka Bridge, the only road to Bhavnath temple at the foothill of Mount Girnar. The annual fair is held every year on the festival of Shivratri. Lakhs of devotees every year visit the Junagadh to pay their obeisance to the famous shrine of Lord Shiva on the occasion of Shivratri festival. Junagadh is the seventh largest city of Gujarat, situated at the foot of the Girnar Hill, 355 km south west of state capital Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad.

NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR SENIOR  CITIZENS

The Union Government of India gave the approval for setting up a National Council for Senior Citizens. It will be headed by the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment. It will advice the Central and State Governments on issues related to welfare of senior citizens. The Council will suggest special policies and programmes for the physical and financial security of the senior citizens in the country. The Council will comprise of 20 members including the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment along with the oldest members from both the Houses of Parliament and distinguished personalities from different fields.

RUDRASAGAR DEVELOPMENT SCHEME APPROVED

Planning commission od India approved investment clearance for the scheme – Rudrasagar Drainage Development Scheme, Tripura. The scheme is an estimated to cost of Rs. 14.8978 Crore (Rs Fourteen crore,
Eighty Nine Lakhs and Seventy Eight Thousand Only). The project is to be completed by the financial year 2012- 13 and Plan account would be closed by 31st March 2013. The implementation of the scheme will restrict water spread area of the lake during monsoon and maintain water level of 13 m during winter and maintain water level of 11 m for boosting the ecology of the area. An area of 2200 ha with a population of 1000 will benefit from the scheme.

TRIVEDI PROPOSES REGULATORY BODYTO DECIDE RAILWAY FARES

After failing to effect a hike in rail fares as a measure to generate internal resources, Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi proposed an independent body to take decisions on rail fares without being influenced by political exigencies.He also favoured the restructuring of the Railway Board. The Minister was addressing a conference organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Mr. Trivedi called for a national
policy for the railways that would set forth a revenue model with stress on safety and customer benefit. His emphasis on need to de-politicise the railways came amid rumours that he failed to get Trinamool Congress leader
and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s approval for fare increase. He, however, denied that his call for keeping politics at bay was because of anypolitical interference. Instead, he said, his emphasis was on the growth of the railways over the next five decades. He hoped the UPA government and Parliament would give their nod for setting up a regulatory body on fares. As for the Railway Board, he said now it was oriented to operations; it should focus on customer comfort and safety.