Daily News Notes

· Congress leaders said that political leaders should not participate in the open debate organised by Team Anna as Parliament is the best platform to hold discussions. They regarded it as the insult to the democracy and prestige of the institution as the parliament is still under session. While leader who are participating in open debate said that they respect democracy and its arm, and appreciated the work of anna as he has created a new atmosphere and awakened the consciousness of the people of the country against corruption.
· The government today said an inter-ministerial committee of senior officers at the central level has been constituted comprising representatives from Environment ministry, urban development ministry and central pollution control board to review the implementation of bio-medical waste in the country, asking all state pollution control boards to ensure effective implementation of the bio-medical waste rules and creating awareness and capacity building programmes on bio-medical waste management.
· The government today said that it has taken a series of measures for the upliftment of the weavers including a 3,884 crore package for them and 21 new integrated textiles parks, and has introduced several export promotion measures through schemes of foreign trade policy 2009-14. Government has constituted six high level inter-ministerial committees to address specific policy challenges to ensure effective and timely implementation of government schemes. Five schemes which area currently under implementations are integrated handloom development scheme, handloom weavers comprehensive welfare scheme and Marketing & Exports promotion scheme.
· States and Union Territories have been asked to strictly enforce the provisions of the Essential Commodities Act and laws to prevent black marketing and curb mal practices. During last three years about 28 thousand persons have been arrested on charges of hoarding and black marketing.
· The Government says that 1300 Megawatt of Solar Power will be generated under Jawahar Lal Nehru Solar Mission in the country and target of producing 20,000 MW under the mission will be achieved in three phases by 2022. The advent of modern technology and several government initiatives makes the cost of solar power to come down from 18 to 7.5 INR. 36 Research Projects are being pursued at this time and 5 centers of excellence have been set up at IIT-B (ongoing) and IIT- Jodhpur (sanctioned) for this purpose.
· Power Minister said that the country’s power generation touched the mark of 1,85,000 MW as against the consumption of 1,08,000 MW, thus making a history of achieving 60,000 MW in 5.5 years. He denied the opposition allegation that there is slow progress in the implementation of electrification programmes under the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana. He also denied the allegation that the states have been discriminated against in the allocation of coal for power generation and said the states having coal mines are given preference compared to other states. He said coal is available in 30 per cent of the country’s geographical area and still many states have not started coal mining.
· The Standing Committee on Human Resource Development in its report has underlined the need for a legislation to protect women against sexual harassment at workplaces so that women can work with dignity. The report later presented in Parliament.
· The Lok Sabha today greeted a Parliamentary delegation from Myanmar. Earlier delegation from Bhutan, Bulgaria and Italy has already welcomed.
· The Lok Sabha today congratulated citizens of the country on the completion of 100 years of its capital Delhi and said that Delhi has emerged to become the largest metropolis by area and the second largest by population in the country and it is not only one of the greenest capitals in the world but also boasts of world class infrastructure and many heritage buildings. On 12th December, 1911 the National Capital of the colonized India was shifted by the British from Kolkata to Delhi. Between the 12th and the 19th century AD, Delhi was the capital for many rulers. Siri, Tughlakabad, Jahanapanah, Ferozabad, Dinpanah, Shergarh and Shahajahanabad are the historic seven cities that took shape in Delhi.
· Cabinet will take up National Food Security Bill for discussion and approval in its meeting scheduled tomorrow. Government is taking effective measures to modernise the Public distribution System and increasing the food grain storage capacity in the country.
· The Lok Sabha today unanimously passed the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Bill of 2011 to ensure continued implementation of all the ongoing schemes for its betterment and the revised master plan of Delhi will have a long-term vision of 25 years to address the problems specially faced by the weaker sections of the society. The government intends to implement the second phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission after its current phase is over.
· India's industrial output shrunk by 5.1% (measured by the Index of Industrial Production) in October after witnessing a sustained slowdown over the past few months, led by a steep fall in production of almost sectors, particularly manufacturing, mining and capital goods
· Indian Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta has won the London Chess Classic's open section, with a hard-earned victory over Grandmaster Keith Arkell of England. Another Indian, International Master Sahaj Grover pulled himself to the second spot after defeating English Grandmaster Peter Wells in the final round of the event.