{Current Affairs} Daily News Notes: 17th to 28th Feb, 2013

• Ahead of the next general elections in 2014, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government has proposed constitution of a high-power committee to review and assess the implementation of Justice Rajinder Sachar Committee’s recommendations and Prime Minister’s 15-Point Programme. Background: The Rajinder Sachar Committee, appointed in 2005 by the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, was commissioned to prepare a report on the latest social, economic and educational condition of the Muslim community of India. The committee was headed by the former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Rajinder Sachar. The committee prepared a report of 403 pages, and presented in the lower house (Lok Sabha) of the Indian Parliament on 30 November 2006. The report is first of its kind revealing the backwardness of Indian Muslims, according to Sachar Committee report some of the major concers are: [1.] The status of Indian Muslims are below the conditions of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes; [2.] The overall percentage of Muslims in bureaucracy in India is just 2.5% whereas Muslims constitute above 14% of Indian population. On 16 August 2011 Sachar was arrested in New Delhi during protests over the detention of Anna Hazare and his supporters.

{Current Affairs} Daily News Notes: 3rd to 17th Feb, 2013

• Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways C.P. Joshi on Tuesday revealed that only 100 km of the 2,400-km Trans-Arunachal Highway announced on January 31, 2008 under the Prime Minister’s package for Arunachal Pradesh had been completed so far. The Trans-Arunachal (declared as National Highway 229) highway from Tawang to Mahadevpur will pass through Bomdila, Nechipur, Seppa, Sagalee, Ziro, Daporijo, Along, Pasighat, Roing, Teju, Mahadevpur, Namchik, Changlang, Khonsa and Kanubari. The project components include construction of two-lane feeder roads connecting all district headquarters. The Minister said that under the Special Accelerated Road Development Programme (SARDP-NE) construction, 10,141 km of two-lane highway had been planned for providing connectivity to all district headquarters of the northeastern region in two phases. So far 1,000 km had been constructed. 

{Current Affairs} Daily News Notes: 29th Jan to 2nd Feb, 2013

• The government, on Thursday, announced a downward revision in GDP (gross domestic product) growth to 6.2 per cent for fiscal year 2011-12 from the earlier provisional estimate of 6.5 per cent. Alongside, however, the GDP growth for 2010-11 fiscal stands revised upwards to 9.3 per cent from 8.4 per cent, as per the first revised estimates of ‘National income, consumption expenditure, saving and capital formation’, released here by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) for 2011-12 along with second revised estimates for 2010-11 and the third revised estimates for 2009-10. Other Highlights: [1.] GDP at factor cost at constant (2004-05) prices in 2011-12 is estimated at ` 52,43,582 crore as against ` 49,37,006 crore in 2010-11 registering a growth of 6.2 per cent during the year as against a growth of 9.3 per cent in the year 2010-11. At current prices, GDP in 2011-12 is estimated at `83,53,495 crore as against ` 72,66,967 crore in 2010-11, showing an increase of 15.0 per cent during the year, as against an increase of 19.0 per cent in the previous year. GDP at market prices at constant (2004-05) prices in 2011-12 is estimated at ` 56,31,379crore as against ` 52,96,108 crore in 2010-11 registering a growth of 6.3 per cent during the year as against a growth of 10.5 per cent in the year 2010-11.; [2.] At constant (2004-05) prices, the Gross National Income at factor cost in 2011-12 is estimated at ` 51,96,848 crore as against` 48,82,249 crore in 2010-11 showing a rise of 6.4 per cent during the year, as against an increase of 8.8 per cent in the previous year. At current prices, the Gross National Income in 2011-12 is estimated at` 82,76,665 crore as compared to `71,85,160 crore in 2010-11, showing a rise of 15.2 per cent during the year, as against an increase of 18.4 per cent in the previous year;[3.] The growth rate of 6.2 per cent in the GDP during 2011-12 has been achieved due to growth in financing, insurance, real estate & business services (11.7%), transport, storage and communication (8.4%), electricity, gas & water supply (6.5%) and trade, hotels & restaurants (6.2%); [4.] At constant prices, the primary sector, i.e. agriculture, forestry & fishing has shown a growth of 3.6 per cent during 2011-12 as against 7.9 per cent during the year 2010-11. The growth of secondary sector is 3.5 per cent and that of service sector is 8.2 per cent during 2011-12, as against a growth of 9.2 per cent and 9.8 per cent, respectively, in the previous year; [5.] Gross Domestic Capital Formation has increased from ` 28,71,649 crore in 2010-11 to ` 31,41,465 crore in 2011-12 at current prices and it increased from `21,20,377 crore in 2010-11 to `21,31,839 crore in 2011-12 at constant (2004-05) prices. The rate of Gross Capital Formation at current prices is 35.0 per cent in 2011-12 as against 36.8 per cent in 2010-11; [6.] The per capita income (per capita Net National Income at factor cost) in real terms, i.e. at 2004-05 prices, is estimated at ` 38,037 for 2011-12 as against `36,342 in 2010-11, registering an increase of 4.7 per cent during the year, as against an increase of 7.2% during the previous year. The per capita income at current prices is estimated at ` 61,564 in 2011-12 as against ` 54,151 for the previous year depicting a growth of 13.7 per cent, as against an increase of 17.1% during the previous year. [InfoGraphic]
• Section 126 of the Representation of the People, 1951, prohibits displaying any election matter by means, inter alia, of television or similar apparatus, during the period of 48 hours before the hour fixed for conclusion of poll in a constituency. Violation of the aforesaid provisions of Section 126 is punishable with imprisonment upto a period of two years, or with fine or both. Concerned TV/Radio/Cable/FM channels are free to approach the state/district/local authorities for necessary permission for conducting any broadcast related events which must also conform to the provisions of the model code of conduct and the programme code laid down by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting under the Cable Network (Regulation) Act with regard to decency, maintenance of communal harmony, etc.

{News Notes} Daily News Notes: 15th to 20th Dec, 2012