Daily News Notes: 26th March, 2012

· The Defence Minister A.K.Antony has ordered a CBI probe into an alleged attempted bribe of 14 crore rupees to the Army Chief Gen.V.K.Singh by the lobbyist. The Army Chief in his interview said he has already informed the Defence Minister.
· Defence Minister has informed that the government is constantly doing its best to speed up the development of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle or UAV called Rustom-2. Further he said htat its first flight is scheduled in February 2014 and will be a Medium Altitude Long Endurance unmanned aircraft. The Defence Research and Development Organisation, DRDO has taken up the project.
· With the aim of providing integrated services for the holistic development of all children from the prenatal period to six years, the government has proposed a National Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Policy that lays down the way forward for a comprehensive approach towards ensuring a sound foundation for every child. Broadly, the policy focuses on re-structuring the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme and integrating early childhood education with the Right to Education Act to ensure a smooth transition into formal schooling. The Anganwadi Centre would be repositioned as a “vibrant child-friendly Early Childhood Development Centre” with adequate infrastructure and resources for ensuring a continuum of the ECCE in a life-cycle approach and child-related outcomes.India has 158.7 million children in the 0-6 age group as per the 2011 Census. Early childhood is acknowledged as the most crucial period in a person's life, when the rate of development is very high and foundations are laid for cumulative lifelong learning and human development. There is growing scientific evidence that the development of the brain in the early years is a pathway that affects physical and mental health, learning and behaviour throughout the life cycle.
· Forest & Environment Minister introduced the Indian Forest Amendment Bill, 2012 in the Rajya Sabha today. The Bill proposes to insert a new sub-section in section 68 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 to make it mandatory for the Forest officer to obtain and record the views of the Gram Sabha before compounding the offence. The purpose is to ensure transparency in compounding of the offences and participation of the people at Gram Sabha level. Section 68 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 has provisions for compounding of offences. It confers the power upon a Forest officer appointed by the State Government, to accept from any person against whom a reasonable suspicion exists that he has committed any forest-offence, a sum of money by way of compensation for the offence which such person is suspected to have committed.
· The 980 cyber crimes registered in the country last year under Information Technology Act was not a true reflection of the menace as a survey had shown that only two per cent of the crimes were reported to police, said SP, Cyber Crimes Wing, Crime Investigation Department (CID). He said people approached the police only to seek help when their computers were targeted by criminals but they did not want cases to be booked. The harassment of women, particularly, went unreported.Quoting an example, he said, 43 members of a gang involved in Nigerian model of cyber crimes were recently arrested in a fraud of Rs. 1.5 crore but not a rupee was recovered from them. He also said investigation of cyber crimes was a difficult job as there were no eye witnesses and servers of major IT companies were located outside the country. For instance, the police had to contact Interpol or use Letters Rogatory to access the server of Google.
· Minister of State for Finance has said , with a view to provide quality health care at an affordable cost and at the same time help the insured to optimally utilize the Sum Insured under their Insurance Policies, the Preferred Provider Network (PPN) was an initiative launched by the four Public Sector General Insurance Companies (PSGICs) on 1st July, 2010. The objective of the initiative was rationalization of empanelment of hospitals and standardization of rates for specified procedures. Presently, 928 hospitals have joined the PPN Network in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Ahemdabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh (including Jallandar, Ambala and Mohali) and Kolkata.
· Minister of New and Renewable Energy has also informed that Bio-diesel plants have been set up by private companies and a model demonstration plant for production of three tonnes bio-diesel per day had been set up by the Chattisgarh Bio-fuel Development Board in the year 2005. He also informed that about 3.70 lakh biogas plants have been set up in various States and Union Territories during the last two years and the current year up to February 29, 2012.
· Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Industries informed that the Government have given significant importance to develop irrigation potential through Major and Medium Irrigation Projects which has increased irrigation potential to five fold by March 2010. Technical and financial assistance is provided to State Governments through various schemes/programmes such as Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP), Command Area Development and Water Management (CAD&WM) and Repair Renovation and Restoration (RRR) of Water Bodies etc. As per available estimates (2009-10), about 63 million ha (45%) of the net sown area of 140 million ha is irrigated.
· Minister of State for Power informed that a number of representations/reports of agitations have been received from various organizations especially on the issues of safety and downstream impact due to the construction of Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project (2000 MW) in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. A two-Member Technical Expert Committee along with a Joint Steering Committee has been constituted by NHPC to study issues relating to flood control, bank erosion and sediment control and give recommendations for taking preventive measures in downstream area.
· Minister of Defence has informed that at present, there are 24 Sainik Schools under the Ministry of Defence in the country. Sainik Schools are established on receipt of a request from a State Government agreeing to provide land alongwith funds for the creation and maintenance of basic infrastructure, equipment and facilities besides scholarships for the cadets of the states. As regards opening new Sainik Schools, proposals have been received from the State Governments of Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh for setting up new Sainik Schools in Sambalpur, Sagar and Chittoor districts respectively.
· Minister of State for Commerce & Industry informed that in 2008-2012 the Board of Approval on Special Economic Zone has approved 46 requests for de-notification on SEZs. Reasons given by developers for de-notification include economic meltdown, poor market response, non-availability of skilled labour force, lack of demand for space and imposition to Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) and Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) on SEZ. He further noted that in addition to 7 Central Government SEZ’s and 12 State/Private Sector SEZs set up prior to the enactment of SEZ Act, 2005, formal approval has been accorded to 587 proposals out of which 380 SEZs have been notified. A total of 154 SEZs are already exporting.
· Addressing the 1st World Summit on Accreditation in New Delhi, Mr Sibal stressed on the need for quality education in basic Sciences. He asserted that innovation is the heart of quality and called for uniformity in it and there is an urgent need to improve the quality of higher education to meet the growing challenges the world faces.
· The Minister of State for Environment and Forests informed that at the 17th session of the Conference of Parties (COP-17, Durban) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which concluded in Durban, on Dec 10, 2011, the Parties adopted a set of decisions. The key decisions include a decision to establish the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, operationalising the Green Climate Fund and the Technology Mechanism and adoption of the guidelines for transparency arrangements. It was also decided at Durban to launch a process under the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action, to develop a protocol, another legal instrument, or an agreed outcome with legal force under the Convention applicable to all Parties for the post-2020 period. The process under the Durban Platform is to be completed as early as possible but no later than 2015 for the new arrangement to come into effect and be implemented from 2020. The Minister further stated that at Durban, India ensured that the importance of some of the unresolved issues relating to Bali Action Plan adopted at the COP-13, Bali viz. Equity, Unilateral Trade Measures and Technology- related Intellectual Property Rights is recognized. India remains committed to implementation of decisions taken in Durban in accordance with the principles of equity and Common But Differentiated Responsibility (CBDR) of the Convention.
· Minister of New and Renewable Energy informed that the subject of domestic content was raised by US in the fifth trade policy review of India which took place at WTO Geneva in Sep, 2011. US has viewed the condition of domestic content stipulated in the guidelines for selection of Solar Power Projects under Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) to be inconsistent with the WTO obligations. The reaction of the Government has been that domestic content requirement is applicable to Grid Solar Power Projects of Phase-I of JNNSM which is essentially procurement of solar power by Government through designated entity NVVN. Hence there is no violation of WTO obligations. The Government has targeted to achieve generation of 20,000 MW of solar power by 2022. Government has also put in place policies for Phase-I (upto 2012-13) of the Mission to support sourcing from domestic firms. For this, a condition of domestic content has been stipulated in the Guidelines for Selection of Grid Connected Solar Projects which states that in case of PV projects, based on crystalline silicon technology, being selected in Phase-I, Batch-I -- use of solar modules, Batch-II -- use of solar cells and modules of Indian origin is mandatory. Import of thin film modules and CPV modules is permitted. Also, 30% domestic content is mandatory for all new solar thermal power projects sanctioned under Phase-I of the Mission.
· Minister of Road Transport & Highways informed that his Ministry had amended Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 in March, 2001 to mandate fitment of High Security Registration Plates (HSRP) in all categories of new as well as in-use motor vehicles. Implementation of the scheme, in accordance with the rules framed by the Central Government, is the responsibility of the State Government. The Hon’ble Supreme Court, suo motu, is presently monitoring the implementation of the scheme of High Security Registration Plates (HSRP) in all States/UTs in the country and is delivering its directions to the States/UTs. The Hon’ble Court, in its recent order, has issued a show cause notice to Andhra Pradesh Government for contempt of Court’s directions and has instructed all the States and Union Territories to complete the process of the implementation of HSRPs in the entire State, positively, by 30th April, 2012 for new vehicles and 15th June 2012 for old vehicles, mentioning specifically that no extension of time will be granted.
· Minister of Defence has said that there’s the disputes in the international Boundary between India and China. He explained, there is no commonly delineated 'Line of Actual Control’ (LAC) between the two countries. Both sides patrol up to their respective perceptions of LAC. From time to time, on account of differences in the perception of the LAC, situations have arisen on the ground that could have been avoided if we had a common perception of the LAC. He futher said, Incidents of transgressions are taken up with the Chinese side through established mechanisms such as Hot Lines, Flag Meetings, Border Personnel Meetings and normal diplomatic channels. These mechanisms facilitate maintenance of peace. The Minister informed that the Government is aware of the infrastructure development in Tibet by China and their undertaking infrastructure projects in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). Thus, as for the necessary steps taken by GoI, as required, have been initiated for ensuring that national security concerns are adequately addressed through development of infrastructure, including rail, roads and forward air fields, as well as operational capabilities of the Armed forces to secure the desired national security objectives.
· South Korea has offered to build nuclear reactors in India and sought land for the project. The move is significant on another count too — it indicates a renewed interest in the Indian nuclear power sector with the impending resolution of the Kudankulam crisis. New Delhi, in turn, is likely to launch Korean satellites, adding South Korea to a clientele that includes Israel, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Algeria. Korea, in many ways, rewrote nuclear history a few years ago by winning a contract to build reactors in the UAE, undercutting French giant Areva. Given the delays in working out a nuclear deal with Japan, which is holding up deals with France among others, some quarters in India feel Korean reactors could be the answer.
· Election Commission officials from Maldives are being imparted training by the Election Commission of India at the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management IIIDEM at New Delhi. The two weeks training which commenced today is being organized at the request of the Election Commission of Maldives for strengthening the seven policies adopted by them in their Strategic Plan including: [1.] Establish and strengthen the institution to deliver services in an independent, professional, trustworthy and transparent manner; establish and maintain an electoral environment conducive to free and fair elections; [2.] ensure an accurate and reliable voters registry and effective voter verification; [3.] enforce the regulatory mechanism of political parties and encourage their active participation in a multi-party democracy. Addressing the participants from Maldives, the Chief Election Commissioner, Dr S Y Quraishi underlined the importance of a zero-error election for strengthening electoral democracy in the South Asian region. He also pointed out that electoral challenges in SAARC countries are quite similar and as such IIIDEM can serve as resource center for all stake-holders in the region. This is the fourth International training programme being held in the IIIDEM since its establishment in June 2011. The Commission has already conducted training programmes for delegations from Kenya, Nigeria and Bhutan.
· INS Chakra, the nuclear-powered Akula-II class submarine taken on lease from Russia for 10 years, will reach Indian shores in the next few days. It will formally be inducted into the Navy at Visakhapatnam on April 4. But this does not mean India now has an operational nuclear weapon triad – the capability to fire nukes from land, air and sea – since INS Chakra is not armed with nuclear-tipped missiles due to international non-proliferation treaties. The triad will be in place only when the indigenous nuclear submarine, the 6,000-tonne INS Arihant, equipped to carry a dozen K-15 (750-km) or four K-4 (3,500-km) nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles, becomes fully operational next year. The 8,140-tonne INS Chakra, which makes India the world’s sixth country after US, Russia, France, UK and China to operate nuclear powered submarines, of course, has boosted India’s underwater combat arm that is currently grappling with just 14 ageing conventional diesel-electric submarines. Armed with the 300-km range Klub-S land-attack cruise missiles as well as other missiles and advanced torpedoes, INS Chakra will be potent ‘hunter-killer’ of enemy submarines and warships as well as provide effective protection to a fleet at sea. INS Chakra will also be used to train sailors in the intricate art of operating nuclear submarines. Incidentally, the ‘Charlie-I’ class nuclear submarine India had leased from Russia from 1988 to 1991 was also named INS Chakra but the expertise gained on it was steadily lost since Indian Navy did not operate any other nuclear submarine thereafter. The new 10-year lease flows from the January, 2004, agreement, with India funding a major part of Nerpa’s construction at Komsomolskon-Amur shipyard after Russia stopped it midway due to funds crunch. It was slated for induction much earlier but technical glitches delayed the process, which included a toxic gas leak in November, 2008, that killed 20 Russian sailors.
· The second Nuclear Security Summit opens in the South Korean capital Seoul today with over 50 heads of states will be attending the summit. Heads of international organisations like UN, IAEA, European Union and INTERPOL are also participating in the two-day summit. The main objective of the Nuclear Security Summit has been high-level attention on the global threat posed by nuclear terrorism and measures required to prevent terrorists and other non-state actors from gaining access to sensitive nuclear materials and technologies. While nuclear security is a national responsibility, there is scope for international cooperation. The IAEA has a central role in strengthening global nuclear security framework. The Seoul Summit is intended to take stock of progress in implementation of the communiqué and work plan arrived during the Washington Summit.
· UN Special envoy Kofi Annan will be heading for Beijing today to hold talks with the Chinese leaders to find ways to end the violence in Syria. Annan held talks with the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow who said Russia backs his initiative. Annan was grateful for Russia’s firm support for his mediation efforts to reach a swift and peaceful solution to this bloody conflict and asked Russia to continue providing support.
· South Korea's Defence Ministry said that it is preparing to shoot down a North Korean rocket if it strays into its airspace during a launch planned for next month. North Korea has announced it will fire the rocket between the 12th and 16th of next month to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of founding President Kim Il Sung.
· Five-time world champion MC Mary Kom and L Sarita Devi clinched gold medals in the 6th Asian Boxing Championships in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, helping India finish a creditable second in the overall standings. Sarita Devi defeated Chorieva Mavzuna of Tajkistan in the 60 kilo grams category. With 2 gold medals, 4 silver and 2 bronze, India finished runners-up behind China.