Daily News Notes: 14th March, 2012

· Railway Budget for 2012-13: [1.] Additional funding for Pradhan Mantri Rail Vikas Yojana (PMRVY) is under formulation; [2.] With a view to further enhancing the carrying capacity of suburban services additional services are being introduced in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata; [3.] To have cordial and improved relations with the neighbouring countries, Indian Railways takes up projects to provide rail connectivity from Agartala to Akhaura in Bangladesh (Last year, two projects namely, Jogbani-Biratnagar new line and Jaynagar-Bijalpura-Bardibas line to provide connectivity to Nepal were taken up); [4.] Indian Railways has taken initiative to start manufacturing specially designed coaches (so far manufactured 2100 such coaches) having earmarked compartments and toilets adopted to the needs of wheel chair borne/differently-abled persons to one such coach in each mail/express train; [5.] Indian Railways are extremely environmental friendly as it proposed -> Setting up of 72 MW capacity windmill plants in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal -> Setting up of 200 remote railway stations as ‘green energy stations’ powered entirely by solar energy -> Providing solar lighting system at 1000 manned level crossing gates -> Introduction of mobile emission test cards to measure pollution level of diesel locomotives -> Commissioning of two bio diesel plants at Raipur and Tondiarpet -> Introduction of a ‘Green Train’ to run through the pristine forests of North Bengal -> 2500 coaches to be equipped with bio toilets; [6.] Railway Minister exuded confidence that building a new, safe and modern passenger and freight transportation system, would contribute at least 2 to 2.5 per cent to the GDP of the nation as against less than one per cent at present and provide employment opportunities; [7.] There is a steep increase in passenger fare as there has been no increase in almost last 8 years; [8.] Railway Minister proposed to set up an independent Railway Safety Authority as a statutory regulatory body in line with international practices in the best interests of passenger safety; [9.] He also proposed to set up a Railway Research and Development Council at the apex level to spearhead security efforts in line with recommendations of Kakodkar Committee; [10.] Drawing the recommendations of Kakodar and Pitroda Committees, he have chosen five focus areas, which would leads to strengthen the basic infrastructure of Indian Railways resulting in safety decongestion, capacity augmentation and modernization of system creating more efficient, faster and safer Railways.
· The colourful Kutchi shawl has been given the geographical indications (GI) tag. Made from locally available wool and traditionally worn as a veil, this Gujarati craft has a 500-year-old history.GI is a sign used on products, which correspond to a specific town, region or country. It certifies that the product possesses qualities or enjoys a certain reputation due to its geographical origin.The shawl is the sixth Gujarati craft to get this recognition, others being Kutchi embroidery, agate of Cambay, Sankheda furniture, Tangaliya shawl and Surti zari.Kutch is the only regional cluster of weavers in India which can create intricate motifs in thicker yarns of wool, cotton and silk. Artisans still design and produce shawls for the local market, as it is widely worn across Kutch in the winter.
· The Central Government has adopted an integrated approach in dealing with naxalite activities in the areas of security, development ensuring good governance and public perception management. Police and public order being State subjects, action with regard to the law and order lies primarily in the domain of State Governments concerned. However, the Central Government closely monitors the situation and supplements the efforts of State Governments over a wide range of issues, both on security and development front. This, inter-alia, includes deployment of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Commando Battalions for Resolute Action (CoBRA); sanction of India Reserve (IR) battalions; setting up of Counter Insurgency and Anti-Terrorist (CIAT) Schools; reimbursement of security-related expenditure under the Security Related Expenditure (SRE) Scheme; filling up critical infrastructure gaps under the Special Infrastructure Scheme (SIS) in Left Wing Extremist affected States; and construction/strengthening of fortified police stations under the Scheme for Construction/ Strengthening of 400 Fortified Police Stations in LWE affected districts . At present, 83 LWE affected districts in 9 States are included under the Security Related Expenditure Scheme (SRE) which are eligible for reimbursement of the expenditure incurred by the State Governments on Anti-naxal operations. The quantum of violence as well as the resultant killings perpetrated by the Left Wing Extremists in 2011 was relatively low compared to 2010. In the year 2011, 1755 LWE incidents took place causing 606 deaths (464 civilians and 142 security forces) compared to 2213 incidents with 1005 deaths (720 civilians and 285 security forces) during 2010.
· Many women CPI (Maoist) cadres, who have surrendered, have disclosed several instances of sexual exploitation in Maoist camps. Such instances of sexual exploitation include rape, forced marriage and molestation by senior male CPI (Maoist) cadres. During an operation launched by the Border Security Force, a large number of pregnancy test kits, condoms, contraceptive pills, etc. were recovered. There are allegations that women cadres of CPI (Maoist), who become pregnant, are forced to undergo abortion against their will. The surrendered women cadres have also disclosed that even if they are married to male cadres, they are not allowed to give birth to children since the senior leadership of CPI (Maoist) feel that it impairs their fighting capability and mobility. This problem has to be seen in the overall context of LWE menace. The State Governments initiate legal action when they receive complaints of sexual exploitation of women Maoist cadres, under the relevant provisions of law.
· India’s mobile subscriber base increased to 903.73 million in January, up from 893.84 million in the preceding month, registering a growth of 1.11 per cent, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said in a statement. The overall tele-density (telephones per 100 people) in India reached 77.57 per cent. However, the number of active mobile subscribers, according to the visitor location register (VLR) data, was 659.97 million on the date of Peak VLR for the month of January 2012. VLR numbers provide details on active customers at any given point of time; excluding switched-off and out-of-the coverage area customers. The growth in the wireless category was led by Uninor followed by Idea Cellular.
· Policy/guidelines for setting up Sanskriti type schools in the country have been framed with a provision of 60% seats for the wards of transferable officers of All India Service/Central Services. In case land is provided free of cost by the State Government 10% (out of the above 60%) seats will be reserved for wards of State Government employees.
· In order to meet its operational requirements the Indian Air Force (IAF) plans to increase the strength of Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA or drone) in a phased manner. These include Micro and Medium Altitude Long Endurance Remotely Piloted Aircraft. The Remotely Piloted Aircraft are employed for surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence gathering tasks and not for filling gaps in our Air Defence capability.
· Addressing a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) event on Tuesday, state urban development minister announced that the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) is planning to build a 100-km-long flyover (will be the longest flyover on earth). Fifty-four-km-long Bang Na Expressway in Thailand is now the longest single flyover in the world. If everything goes according to plan, it should not take more than three years to complete the project.
· A 17-month-old baby girl on the southern fringes of Kolkata is showing symptoms similar to polio, although she had apparently not missed a single dose in the immunization programme. Doctors say it will be a month before the lab reports come in to confirm or rule out polio. If she tests positive, it will be a huge blow to the country, just weeks after it was taken off the endemic list by the World Health Organization. As of now, it is a case of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP), an uncommon but not rare disease in children. Doctors have assured her parents that not all AFP cases lead to polio.
· The policy paralysis of the UPA-II Government is once again in focus with the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) virtually washing its hands off critical issues faced by the power sector, including the ambitious ultra-mega power projects (UMPPs). On the issue of change in law and regulatory changes in countries such as Indonesia and Australia on export of coal, that has led to per unit fuel cost increase of around 70 paise to one rupee, the PMO had no solution. The Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) is a legally binding document, which does not have any provision for change in law in coal sourcing countries.
· BSE, on Tuesday, launched operations of its SME Exchange platform. Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had granted permission to BSE last September to launch SME Exchange to offer a platform to small and medium companies to raise capital. Meanwhile, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) also announced the launch of its SME platform on Tuesday. The new platform will be called, ‘EMERGE'. It has the potential to significantly improve access to risk capital for emerging economies.
· India will make a concerted push into Central Asia by taking charge of a crucial transportation network through Iran into Central Asia and beyond. After getting a thumbs up from 14 stakeholder countries in the region in January, experts from all the countries will meet in New Delhi on March 29 to put final touches to the project — the International North-South Corridor. The project envisages a multi-modal transportation network that connects ports on India’s west coast to Bandar Abbas in Iran, then overland to Bandar Anzali port on the Caspian Sea and through Rasht and Astara on the Azerbaijan border onwards to Russia. India will build the missing sections of the rail and road link in Iran, thus skirting US sanctions and paying for Iranian oil not with hard currency but through infrastructure projects like the corridor. Once complete, the International North-South Corridor would connect Europe and Asia in a unique way — experts estimate the distance could be covered in 25-30 days in what currently takes 45-60 days through the Suez Canal. This has been a win-win proposition for India since the North-South Corridor agreement was signed between India, Iran and Russia in September 2000. But over the years, the project fell into disuse. Iran made little attempt to complete construction on its side, expending little political or administrative energy. Neither did Russia or India, which preferred to talk about it but did little to push it. Meanwhile, 11 other countries, including all the Central Asian states, joined up. Several recent developments have changed India’s timid approach. First, China has been building an extensive road and railway network through Central Asia, aiming to touch Europe. It is fast, efficient and already on the ground. While this has made Central Asia accessible to China and others, it is worrying these countries no end. Over the past few years, Central Asian states have repeatedly approached India to play the balancing role. Second, with Pakistan in a state of almost chronic instability, India can never hope to access Central Asia through Pakistan. Its best bet remains Iran.
· Heading an 80-member trade delegation to Iran, joint secretary of the Indian commerce ministry said that India and Iran plan to reach $25 billion in annual bilateral trade in the next four years. The present bilateral trade is around $15 billion.
· The Union Labour & Employment Minister has informed the Rajya Sabha that the International Labour Conference of ILO (ILC) at its 100th Session held in Geneva in June, 2011 adopted the Domestic Workers Convention (C-189) supplemented by the Domestic Workers Recommendation (R-201). The ratification of an ILO Convention is a voluntary process. As per existing policy, Government of India ratifies an ILO Convention only when its laws and practices are in total conformity with the provisions of the Convention. He further said that the State Governments are empowered to enact legislation for domestic workers. The Central Government has also enacted the Unorganized Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008 for providing social security to the unorganized workers which include domestic workers.
· China's lawmakers have proposed the construction of a new highway linking southwestern Yunnan with Tibet, which would for the first time provide year-round access to a remote region which borders Arunachal Pradesh. The plans are part of a recent move to boost infrastructure in border regions, particularly in Tibet and Xinjiang which have seen recent unrest. While China says the projects are aimed at economic development along the road, Indian defence officials have expressed concern about their strategic implications and the growing asymmetry in infrastructure across the disputed border.