Daily News Notes: 22th March, 2012

· The government announced partial roll back in the passenger fares in the Railways for the benefit of the common man. Rail Minister Mukul Roy announced roll back in third AC, AC Chair Cars, Sleeper classes and sub-urban trains. He also announced the roll back of the proposal for restructuring the Railway Board. Later, the Lower House passed the Railway Budget 2012-13.
· The Congress Party said that the leakage of the draft CAG report on Coal allocation is a serious matter, and the government should take congnisance of the matter. Meanwhile, both houses of Parliament were adjourned till noon following uproar by opposition parties demanding suspension of question hour to discuss a media report on the allocation of coal blocks. A newspaper quoting CAG draft report on coal mining, has accused the government of causing an estimated loss of 10.67 lakh crore rupees to the national exchequer.
· Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Minister Praful Patel informed that the government has approved the Policy for Acquisition of Raw Material Assets abroad by Central Public Sector Enterprises, CPSEs. This policy is applicable to CPSEs in Agriculture, Mining, Manufacturing and Electricity sectors having a three year record of making net profits.
· On the occasion of the World Forestry Day, Dr. R.K. Pachauri (Chief of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) delivered the keynote address on the occasion highlighting the role of forests in achieving Millennium Development Goals. The World Forestry Day is celebrated worldwide every year on 21st March to recognize the importance of forests in human well being as well as their critical role as life sustaining system. This day coincides with spring equinox in the northern hemisphere. The World Forestry Day originated at 23rd General Assembly of European Confederation of Agriculture in 1971. India forests are primarily social and environmental resources, only secondarily as commercial resource. Indian forests contribute directly towards achieving the poverty alleviation, food security and environmental safety goals of Millennium Developmental Goals (MDGs) and indirectly contribute other five goals of MDGs. As the people living in and around forests are poor because of various reasons (they are totally dependent on forests for day to day needs), the national forest policy and strategies are mandated to enhance the livelihood of forest dependent communities particularly tribal on sustained basis securing the ecosystem services and biodiversity conservation.
· Minister of Panchayati Raj, Shri V. Kishore Chandra Deo informed that the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Yojana (RGSY) has two components; Training and Capacity Building and Infrastructure Development. The RGSY has enabled States to undertake large scale training of Elected Representatives (ERs) and Functionaries and provide Gram Panchayat buildings. Thus, his Ministry has proposed higher allocations for Capacity Building during 12^th Five Year Plan.
· Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers, Shri Srikant Kumar Jena informed that in order to adopt an effective strategy to channel subsidies to beneficiaries, the Government has constituted a Task Force to work out the modalities for formulation of a new scheme to give subsidy on fertilizers, kerosene and LPG directly to the farmers. Currently, Department of Fertilizers, with the technical support of National Informatics Centre (NIC) has developed a mobile and web application of mobile Fertiliser Monitoring System (mFMS) which provides information about stock position, sale, and receipt of fertiliser at national, state and district level. The pilot project for Phase-I was launched in November 2011 and countrywide rollout and stabilization is currently in progress.
· Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas informed that natural gas is imported from Qatar, Malaysia, Russia, UAE, Oman, Australia, Algeria, Nigeria, USA, Norway, Trinidad & Tobago, Equatorial Guinea, Belgium, Indonesia and Yemen.
· Minister of State in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs informed that the term ‘Vanishing Companies’ is applied both to the Companies which cease to file their statements of return or where, after raising capital, the whereabouts of their Registered Office or their Directors are not known. A Central Coordination and Monitoring Committee was constituted in 1999 to identify such companies and recommend further action against them. Initially, 238 such companies were identified, out of which 119 companies subsequently started filing their returns with the Registrars of Companies [RoCs] concerned and were, therefore, removed from the list of Vanishing Companies. Currently there are 87 companies that are falling in the list of Vanishing Companies.
· Union Cabinet Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Shri Virbhadra Singh informed that his Ministry is operating a scheme for technology upgradation called, Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme (CLCSS). Under the Scheme, capital subsidy at 15% of value of plant & machinery is provided on loans upto Rs.1 crore. The scheme is implemented through 11 Nodal Banks/agencies viz. Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), State Bank of India, National Small Industries Corporation Ltd. (NSIC) etc. The beneficiaries eligible under the Scheme include sole Proprietorships, Partnerships, Co-operative societies, Private and Public Limited companies in the Micro and Small Enterprises sector. The Scheme applies to projects where term loans have been sanctioned by the eligible Primary Lending Institutions (PLI) on or after September 29, 2005.
· Minister for Women and Child Development, Smt. Krishna Tirath informed that a total of 23785 creches (child care facilities) have been operational in the country under the Rajiv Gandhi National Crèche Scheme (RGNCS) during 2011-2012. No new crèches have been sanctioned by the Government during the last three years and the current year. RGNCS is being implemented through the Central Social Welfare Board (CSWB) and Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW).
· Minister of State of Road Transport and Highways informed that there is no risk of losing Highways projects due to land acquisition problems in various States including those in the state of Andhra Pradesh. However, the projects are delayed due to various reasons such as delay in land acquisition, shifting of utilities, obtaining environmental & forest clearances and railway approvals for road over bridges & road under bridges, arbitrations, court litigations and law & order problems in some States. The steps taken by the Union Government to avoid delays in implementation of projects include setting up of Special Land Acquisition Units (SLAUs) in various States to carry out land acquisition activities under National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and to coordinate with the district level officials. These SLAUs are assisting in processing the notifications and also in disbursement of compensation awards and possession of land in these States.
· Minister for Women and Child Development informed that according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-3, the level of malnutrition amongst children below 5 years is 42.5%. The level of malnutrition amongst children below 3 years has declined from 42.7% in 1998-99 (NFHS-2) to 40.4% in 2005-06 (NFHS-3). determinants of malnutrition include household food insecurity; illiteracy specially in women; poor access to health services; lack of availability of safe drinking water; poor sanitation and environmental conditions and low purchasing power etc. The issue of malnutrition therefore cannot be addressed by single sector scheme or intervention alone, but requires multi sectoral, direct and indirect interventions.Thus, Integrated Child Development Service (ICDS) Scheme, a direct targeted intervention programme, is being implemented by her Ministry. It provides a package of six services to children below 6 years and pregnant and lactating mothers, supplementary nutrition being one of them, thuus making it a self selecting scheme. It is not a full nutrition programme; the supplementary nutrition is meant to bridge the gap between the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) and the Actual Dietary Intake (ADI). The Government has accorded priority to the issue of malnutrition and is implementing several schemes & programmes of different Ministries. The schemes/programmes include the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme, National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDM), Rajiv Gandhi Schemes for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (RGSEAG) namely SABLA, Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY) as Direct targeted interventions. Besides, indirect Multi-sectoral interventions include Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), National Horticulture Mission, National Food Security Mission, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Total Sanitation Campaign, National Rural Drinking Water Programme etc.
· Minister of State for Planning informed that the issue of poverty estimates has been the subject matter of public debate, and thus many methodologies for arriving at poverty estimates have been in place for the last several years and various committees in the past have arrived at estimates based upon certain indices of poverty from time to time. These Committees include the Alagh Committee (1977), the Lakdawala Committee (1989) followed by the Tendulkar Committee (2005) which submitted its recommendations in 2009. Further, the Government had accordingly decided to undertake the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC), 2011 based on the recommendations of Saxena and Hashim Committees mandated to capture various kinds of deprivations, which is now on going whose results are expected shortly.
· Minister of State for Railways informed that the Indian Railways have decided to eliminate unmanned level crossings by constructing Road Under Bridge or Road Over Bridge etc. Railways have also decided to progressively man such unmanned level crossings, which cannot be eliminated by any other means. As on 1st April 2011, there are 14896 unmanned and 17839 manned level crossings on Indian Railways. There is around 3 to 5 per cent loss in punctuality of trains due to level crossings.
· Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment informed that the Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS) of his Ministry is a Central Sector Scheme that includes projects for providing educational and vocational training and rehabilitation of person with mental disabilities .Under the this scheme grant-in-aid is provided to Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) running projects for the welfare of the persons with disabilities, including children.
· Minister of Overseas Indian Affair informed that about 18,056 Indians have received benefits from Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) in the last two years. The ICWF is aimed at providing the following services on a means tested basis: [1.] Boarding and lodging for distressed Overseas Indian workers in Household / domestic sectors and unskilled labourers; [2.] Extending emergency medical care to Overseas Indians in need; [3.] Providing initial legal assistance to Overseas Indians in deserving cases; [4.] Providing air passage to stranded Overseas Indians in need; [5.] Expenditure on incidentals and for airlifting the mortal remains to India or local cremation/burial of the deceased Overseas Indians in such cases where the sponsor is unable or unwilling to do so as per the contract and the family is unable to meet the cost.
· World Water Day is being observed today. The theme for 2012 is 'The World is Thirsty because we are Hungry'. The World Water Day is held annually on the 22nd of March to create awareness about the importance of fresh water and advocating the sustainable management of fresh water resources. In India, the Rajya Sabha associated itself with the concept of preserving freshwater and providing food security on the occasion of World Water Day.
· Mutinous troops in Mali (Africa) say they have ended the rule of President Amadou Toumani Toure and suspended the constitution. The announcement comes hours after they attacked the Presidential palace and claimed to have arrested several ministries. The renegade soldiers said they will form a government of unity and pledged to hold elections as soon as possible. The unrest began yesterday as the country's Defence Minister started a tour of military barracks north of the capital. Troops are upset with the government's handling of a Tuareg rebellion in the north of the country, and are also reportedly opposed to any potential talks with the rebels.
· Libya says Mauritania has agreed to hand over Muammar Gaddafi’s former spy chief Abdullah Senussi for trial on home soil. Since two more arrest warrants and extradition requests are pending by the International Criminal Court in Hague and a court in Paris on separate charges against Gaddafi’s former spy chief, there has been no formal word from Mauritanian Government whether it will hand over Senussi for trial in Libya. On behalf of Libya, Interpol has issued red notice for Senussi for embezzlement of public funds and misuse of power for personal gains. However the Libyan Spokesman said, the extradition of Senussi will take place soon once the legal formalities are completed. Amnesty International has said a fair trial is not possible in Libya and asked for the trial by the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity.
· The U.N. Security Council has unanimously backed Kofi Annan's plan to halt violence and start a political process that could end the crisis in Syria, without calling for President Bashar al-Assad to step down. The presidential statement, which is a non-bonding document, said the U.N. envoy's plan would “facilitate a Syrian-led political transition to a democratic, plural political system, in which citizens are equal regardless of their affiliations or ethnicities or beliefs, including through commencing a comprehensive political dialogue between the Syrian government and the whole spectrum of the Syrian opposition”. Russia and China saw in the unified stand taken by the Council, a vindication of the core aspect of their position.With all Council members now supporting Mr. Annan's position, both Moscow and Beijing sounded triumphant. Earlier, the Arab League, with Saudi Arabia and Qatar in the lead, had insisted on Mr. Assad's exit as a prelude to the formation of national unity government headed by the country's Vice-President. Both Riyadh and Doha also showed considerable enthusiasm to arm the Syrian opposition — a position that even the West found unacceptable, given the fractious nature of Mr. Assad's foes.
· China's People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) conducted a first-of-its-kind live-fire air attack drill on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau (Chengdu military region). The PLAAF's J-10 fighters conducted ground attack training in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), testing its capabilities at the 3,500-metre-high plateau amid freezing temperatures. It is said that J-10 was designed “as an air superiority fighter, focusing on air combat and interception capability” but with modern sensors “can also perform well in ground attack roles”. The drills would help deal with the particular obstacles posed by the plateau such as low oxygen density, which makes it harder to ignite aircraft engines, and shorter runways. Indian analysts have pointed out that the Chengdu military region and the PLAAF in Tibet are primarily tasked with defending the disputed border with India.