Political and Social Issues:

The infant mortality rate (IMR) has shown a 3 point decline, dropping from 50 deaths per 1,000 live births to 47 and moving a step closer to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) target of 30.
- However, IMR increased by one point in Kerala, Mizoram and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
- The two worst performing States — Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh — have shown an impressive 5 point decline.
- Bihar, Gujarat, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Meghalaya, Sikkim and Tripura had shown a four-point decline in the IMR.
While the IMR national average is 47, it stands at 51 in the rural areas and 31 in the urban regions. However, neo-natal deaths continue to be a challenge where 34 babies are still dying for every 1,000 born.
Home-based newborn-care through Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) has been initiated by providing an incentive of Rs. 250.
The purpose of home-based newborn-care is to improve newborn practices at the community level and early detection and referral of sick newborns.
Importantly, the government intended to set up facilities such as Special New Born Care Units, New Born Stabilisation Units and New Born Baby Corners at different levels with at least one at the district level.

The Parliament on Wednesday passed the crucial Constitution (111{+t}{+h}Amendment) Bill to insulate about six lakh cooperative societies from political and government interference and to strengthen the cooperative movement.
The amendment will grant citizens a fundamental right to form cooperative societies and allow for voluntary formation, autonomous functioning, democratic control and professional management of cooperative societies.
To the demand from several members for reservation to OBCs and minorities on the boards of cooperative societies, the Minister said first these sections should become members.
In many cases, cooperatives were heavily dependent on financial support from the government, which had led to intervention in their day-to-day functioning.

Three proposed Bills pertaining to higher education are unconstitutional, as Parliament lacks the legislative competence to enact them, according to the Association of Self-Financing Universities, New Delhi.
- The Bills are the Educational Tribunals Bill, 2010, Medical Educational Institutions and Universities Bill, 2010, and the National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institutions Bill, 2010.
Parliament does not have the legislative competence for matters of universities in view of clear exclusion of universities from Entry 44 in List I (the Union List) and express inclusion in Entry 32 of List II (the State List).
While Entry 44 in the Union List deals with “Incorporation, regulation and winding up of corporations, whether trading or not, with objects not confined to one State, but not including universities,” Entry 32 in the State List refers to “Incorporation, regulation and winding up of corporations, other than those specified in List I, and universities, unincorporated trading, literacy, scientific, religious and other societies and associations, cooperative societies.”

The Centre has taken note of the longstanding demand of All India Forward Bloc that the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose be observed as “Desh Prem Diwas” across the country.
The matters regarding observance of centenaries and anniversaries of important national personalities and events are covered in the mandate of the Ministry of Culture