Daily News Notes

· A grateful nation pays homage to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose (Born in Cuttack in 1897) on his 115th birth anniversary. The WB State Government is observing the day as "Desh Prem Divas".
· The Holy city of Pushkar in Rajasthan has found a place in the Railway map. Two major religious and tourist places of Rajasthan, Ajmer and Pushkar are now connected by rail.
· In Himachal Pradesh, more than 1.20 lakh migratory birds from Siberia and Central Asian countries have descended on Maharana Pratap Sagar, popularly known as Pong Dam Lake, in Kangra district. It is for the first time that 'salcaded duck' has arrived in this wetland. Besides a maximum of 25,000 bar-headed geese, various other species landed in good numbers, including common pochard, ruddy shell ducks, Eurasion wigeon and pintail. The Wildlife department, in collaboration with the Bombay National History Society, has put 15 collar bands and seven transmitters on 22 migratory birds with an objective to get their location details, flying path and breeding grounds to understand their migration routes.
· The Animal Welfare Fortnight is celebrated every year from January 14 to January 30 to create awareness in the civic society to create awareness to treat all animal life with respect kindness and compassion. Animals have contributed immensely for the welfare of human beings from the dawn of civilization. It is the obligation of human beings not to abuse and exploit animals for their greed. Animal Lovers and representatives of the Animal Welfare Organizations (AWOs), Animal Welfare Activists, Government officials connected to Animal welfare, State Animal Welfare Boards, Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCAs) create this awareness and also sensitize enforcement authorities and all concerned stake holders to protect animals from abuse. The concept of preventing cruelties to animals will be greatly served through awareness campaigns.
· Funds from Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) can be converged with MGNREGA with the objective of creating more durable assets. MPs may recommend under MPLADS, works from out of the shelf of MGNREGA projects approved by the Zilla Panchayat for the year when recommendation is being made, and should have been sanctioned by the District Programme Coordinator which constitutes the approved Annual Work Plan under MGNREGA of the district. The Gram Panchayat shall be nominated as the Implementing Agency by the District Planning Committee (DPC) for the convergence works under MPLADS.
· While inaugurating the two day India Energy Congress in New Delhi, Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde revealed that around 1,15,000 villages in the country will be electrified by the end of this fiscal and private sector will have a greater role to play in achieving the capacity addition target for the next five year plan. Reiterating the government's commitment to provide cheaper, sustainable and clean power to all, the Minister expressed concern that nearly 25 percent of the population still does not have access to electricity. His ministry has also proposed a capacity addition target of 1,00,000 Mega Watt to the Planning Commission for the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2012-2017). The government had set a target of 78,577 Mega Watt during the 11th Five-Year Plan period, which was curtailed to 62,000 Mega Watt by the Planning Commission in its mid-term review citing coal shortage and environment reasons.
· Sunil Verma, who was named in the first FIR with former minister Babu Singh Kushwaha and a key accused in the multi-crore NRHM scam of Uttar Pradesh, committed suicide as he had been under depression, after the CBI carried out searches at his residence on January 4th. He was the project Manager for the scheme. His death is the fourth mysterious death related to the scam. Earlier, after the murders of two Chief Medical Officers and a Deputy Chief Medical Officer, the Allahabad High Court had directed the CBI to inquire into the misuse of NRHM funds.
· The 130th Session of the Executive Board of the World Health Organization (WHO) has adopted a Resolution on ‘Global Burden of Mental Disorders and the need for a comprehensive, coordinated response from health and social sectors at the country level’. This marks the first time in over a decade that WHO has, at its highest levels, taken note of this very major public health concern. Mental disorders account for 13% of the global burden of the diseases and, in keeping with latest thinking, the Resolution recognizes the importance of early identification, care and recovery, the problems of stigma, poverty and homelessness and the need for community based intervention including deinstitutionalised care. It is clearly recognized that all countries must take steps to promote mental health and empower persons with mental disorders to lead a full and productive life in the community.
· During the SAARC Business Summit in New Delhi, India has urged the Nations of the South Asian Region to invest more in each other to strengthen economic cooperation. India's global trade has grown to 750 billion US dollar with services at 950 billion US dollars, and India's trade with SAARC countries stands at 15 billion US dollars. Earlier, Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai stressed the need to build up inclusive growth of the region by having institutional linkages and regional production chains. India is also providing technical assistance to SAARC Development Fund for the purpose.
· Syria has rejected the Arab League plan for President Bashar al-Assad to hand over the power to the Vice President by saying the decisions taken which are outside an Arab working plan, and considers them an attack on its national sovereignty and a flagrant interference in internal affairs. Saudi Arabia announced it will pull out its observers since Syria has not delivered on its promises.
· Chinese New Year celebrations are on after Colorful parades and spectacular fireworks ushered in the Year of the Dragon. The New Year is the most important holiday in China.
· Pakistani authorities have arrested 31 Indian fishermen from the Gulf of Kutch for alleged violation of the country's maritime boundary.
The Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan are meeting today to discuss the ten years of ceasefire, which has been in place since their border war ended nearly 20 years ago. Both sides have been building their military capacity.