Daily News Notes

· The Prime Minister has called for voluntary put information in public domain, without waiting for applications from information seekers, proactively for greater transparency by the government as well as corporate sectors as Right to Information is a huge step forward to curb corruption and improving the process of governance. The Prime Minister said that the RTI enables access to information even from a private body that comes under a regulatory framework, projects being taken up in the Public Private Partnership mode. Elaborating the need to strike a balance between request for information and limited time and resources available with public authorities, he asserted that requests for information having no bearing on public interest, is not really desirable.
· On the occation of visiting Myanmar President U. Thein Sein, India and Myanmar have signed an agreement to strengthen cooperation in the areas of science and technology, energy sector and a MoU in health care. The two leaders also held a discussions on security and defence fields and key transport projects to accelerate connectivity between the two countries. The bilateral trade is at present at 1.28 billion dollars is expected to touch three billion dollars by 2015. Mr. Thein Sein will also visit the Indian Council of Agriculture Research on Saturday to boost cooperation in agriculture sector as Myanmar has vast tracts of cultivable land.
· The government has decided to offer e-auction of coal to ensure faster supply to Power generation units. E-auction is a process whereby coal is sold at spot market price. Around 10 per cent of the total coal produced by state-run Coal India is sold through e-auction.
· A new policy for making it mandatory to build earthquake resistant buildings is on the anvil which will be on the lines on environmental clearance given to buildings before their construction.
· In Andhra Pradesh, a 2^nd time, about 124 trains have been due to the call for Rail Roko agitation by Telegana protestors. However, about 20 trains will be run with security for the convenience of passengers.
· In Assam, two persons were injured in a bomb blast. The Centre has advised authorities in four metros besides Hyderabad and Bangalore to remain on high alert and to intensify vigil and deploy additional forces in all sensitive locations, religious places, markets, airports, railway stations, bus terminals and other crowded places to ensure peace as terrorists may try to strike during the festival season.
· A Parliamentary panel has invited suggestions from individuals, stake holders and related groups on the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011 which seeks to ensure a humane, participatory, informed consultative and transparent process for land acquisition and also seeks development of essential infrastructural facilities and urbanization with least disturbance to the owners of the land and other affected families.
· In Jammu and Kashmir, the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna, jointly sponsored by the Centre and State governments which will entitled to cashless hospitalization coverage for most of the diseases through the network of identified hospitals up to expenditure of Rs. 30,000/- per family per annum and will cover five members of a family which include the head of the household (to whom smart card will be provided), spouse and up to three dependents. The Central and State Governments will pay the premium to the healthcare providers (insurance companies) in the ratio of 90:10.
· India and the United States have agreed to explore new models for educational institutions to take knowledge partnership to a higher level in which there will be teacher exchange programmes to promote development of human resources and New Delhi intends to sponsor initially up to 1,500 faculty and junior scholars to leading universities and research institutes in the United States.
· The Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is facing a key confidence vote in Parliament today amid questions over his handling of the economy and personal scandals as Italy's government credit rating was recently downgraded.
· Australian scientists claim to have created the world's first drug which can prevent blindness from cataracts. Cataracts are formed when a protein, known as calpain, clouds the eye lens and impairs vision which can be activated by various triggers, including aging. Currently, the only treatment is to have the cloudy lens surgically removed and replaced with a synthetic lens.
· Assam Chief Minister Mr. Tarun Gogoi has expressed willingness on using expertise from neighboring Bangladesh to tackle soil erosion in the state as flood and erosion affect lakhs of people every year across the state and it also damages standing crops leaving many farmers in miserable conditions. According to official reports, Assam has lost more than four lakh hectare lands due to erosion since 1950.
· Human Rights Commission, NHRC today urged the government to enhance international co-operation for empowerment of the visually impaired people in the country by setting up of more schools and institutions for the disabled.
· Overall inflation, as measured by the Wholesale Price Index, eased marginally to 9.72 per cent in September, this year, from 8.98 per cent in September 2010. Prices of manufactured products, which have a weight of around 65 per cent in the WPI basket, rose 7.69 per cent on y-o-y basis.