Daily News Notes: 12th April, 2012

· The Human Resources Development ministry has formed an inter-Ministerial task force to check the mushroom growth of unregulated media institutes which charge exorbitant fees but provide sub standard education. According to officials, the task force would examine and identify the issues related to the standards of education in media institutes and suggest measures to strengthen the regulatory framework. The task force will also explore the possibility of an accreditation mechanism for media-related education and other such issues.
· The Cabinet has approved a proposal to set up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) namely Goods and Services Tax Network SPV (GSTN SPV) to create enabling environment for smooth introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST). GSTN SPV will provide IT infrastructure and services to various stakeholders including the Centre and the States. The GSTN SPV would be incorporated as a Section 25 (not-for-profit), non-Government, private limited company in which the Government will retain strategic control. The Centre and States wil have equal stakes of 24.5% each and Non-Government institutions would hold 51% equity, while no single institution would hold more that 10% equity. GTSN SPV would have a self-sustaining revenue model, based on levy of user charges on tax payers and tax authorities availing its services.
· Making a case for opening up the multibrand retail and atomic power sectors to foreign investments, an RBI study said policy uncertainty is partly responsible for slowdown in FDI into the country. “The government should consider allowing foreign investment in sectors such as multi-brand retail and atomic power, a globally preferred FDI sector,” the RBI paper on ‘Foreign Direct Investment Flows to India’ said. The study suggested that “institutional factors, such as, policy uncertainty”, are causing the slowdown in FDI inflows to India despite robustness of macroeconomic variables. Following opposition, including by its own ally Trinamool Congress, the government had to suspend its decision to open the multi-brand retail sector to foreign investments. The paper said, “Given the international experience, it is argued that FDI in retail would help in reaping benefits of organized supply chains and reduction in wastage in terms of better prices to both farmers and consumers.”
· Via introduction of Article 21(A) in the Constitution, the law was brought which held that the state shall provide free and compulsory education to all children between 6 and 14 years in such a manner as the state may, by law, determine. Thereafter, a lot of petitions were filed by private unaided institutions which had argued that the RTE Act violates the rights of private educational institutions under Article 19(1) (g) which provides autonomy to private managements to run their institutions without governmental intervention. The petitions had argued that the RTE Act was “unconstitutional” and “violative” of fundamental rights. To this the Centre defended the law, holding that it was directed at elating the socially and economically weaker sections of the society. The Centre had stressed the need to delink merit and talent from social and economic differences amongst various sections of society and held that, the Act calls for “moving towards composite classrooms with children from diverse backgrounds, rather than homogeneous and exclusivist schools”. Thus on this issue, the Supreme Court today upheld the constitutional validity of the Right to Education Act, 2009, which mandates 25 per cent free seats to the poor in government and private unaided schools uniformly except unaided private minority schools across the country. The apex court clarified that its judgement will come into force from today. The Supreme Court clarified that its judgement will come into force from April 12, 2012 and, thus it will not apply to admissions granted after the enactment of the legislation i.e. the judgement will only have a prospective affect and not retrospective affect. Upholding the provisions of the law, the apex court said the impugned act should be construed as child specific.
· President approved the Presidential reference seeking clarification on the judgement of the Supreme Court’s 122 licences for the 2G spectrum. The advantage of seeking a presidential reference is that once the President writes to the Chief Justice of India, he will set-up a special constitution bench comprising at least five judges to decide upon questions raised by the government. The Supreme Court has already admitted the government's petition for review of its judgement while canceling review petition by private telecom companies.
· The Union Cabinet approved the introduction of a Bill in the Budget Session of Parliament to amend the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 and Anand Marriage Act, 1909 to include registration of marriages. The proposed Bills will be beneficial for the women from unnecessary harassment in matrimonial and maintenance cases. It will also provide evidentiary value in the matters of custody of children, right of children born from the wedlock of the two persons whose marriage is registered and the age of the parties to the marriage. The Supreme Court vide its judgment in Seema Vs. Ashwani Kumar has directed the State Governments and the Central Government that marriages of all persons who are citizens of India belonging to various religious denominations should be made compulsorily registerable in their respective States where such marriages are solemnized and inter alia directing that as and when the Central Government enacts a comprehensive statute, the same shall be placed before that Court for scrutiny. Also, both the Committee on Empowerment of Women (2006-2007) in its Twelfth Report and the 18th Law Commission of India in its 205th Report titled" Proposal to Amend the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 and Other Allied Laws" recommended for such amendment.
· The Union Cabinet approved the extension of funding support for implementing the Swavalamban Scheme under the New Pension System (NPS) from present three years to five years for all subscribers who were enrolled during 2010-13. The exit norms of the scheme have been relaxed to enable subscribers under Swavalamban to exit at the age of 50 years instead of 60 years, or a minimum tenure of 20 years, which ever is later. The Swavalamban Scheme is a co-contributory pension scheme whereby the Central Government would contribute a sum of Rs.1000 per annum in each NPS account opened having a saving of Rs.1000 to Rs.12000 per annum. The Swavalamban Scheme is targeted to benefit anganwadi workers, construction workers, occupational classes like weaver, fishermen, farmers, dairy workers etc.
· The Union Cabinet approved the Public Procurement Bill, 2012 for introduction in the current session of the Parliament. The Bill would create a statutory framework for public procurement which will provide greater accountability, transparency and enforceability of the regulatory framework. The Bill provides for the following: [1.] It provides mandatory provisions regarding key aspects (such as efficiency, combating corruption etc.) of the procurement process and requires establishment of time frames for decision making; [2.] Ensuring that competition will be maximised in procurement in the interests of economy, efficiency, integrity; [3.] Providing for adequate flexibility to take into account diversity of needs and types of procuring entities, types of procurement needs and methods of procurement.
· The Union Cabinet approved India's Second National Communication to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change towards fulfilment of the reporting obligation under the Convention. The range of studies included in this report has been conducted broadly at the national level, with some specific case studies highlighting the enormous diversity of India and their regional imperatives. India is a Party to the UNFCCC.
· In Madhya Pradesh, 47 villages out of targeted 100 of Rajgarh district have been lit up with solar energy under District Poverty Initiative Project. Under the Project, villagers have been provided facility of recharging their solar lanterns through solar charging stations. Gram Uthhan Samitis will run them.
· The Rajasthan Government will establish third Science Park in Nawalgarh of Jhunjhunu district. State government has established a Satellite Communication studio in Jaipur with the help of ISRO and training is being given to economically backward students of engineering in this studio.
· The Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court has directed the Centre and Uttar Pradesh government to ensure that there is no reporting on movement of troops by print or electronic media. The bench held that the issue of movement of army troops is not a matter which should need public discussion at the cost of defence secrecy and the security of the nation.
· In a shift in its family planning strategy, the Centre has decided to focus more on spacing of children than sterilisation. Young mothers will be provided two kinds of Intrauterine Contraceptive Device (IUCD) — Suraksha-5 and Surakhsa-10, an assured method. Suraksha-5 will be recommended for short-term spacing, while Suraksha-10 will give women security for 10 years. “We have seen that most of the maternal deaths occur in the age group 15-24. We cannot expect women in that age group to go for sterilisation. IUCD is infection free and does not leave any emotional trauma which is normally associated with sterilisation.” it said. The Health and Family Welfare Ministry will train two lakh auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs) for IUCD insertions at the sub-centre and primary health centre levels so that women have access to contraceptives on their doorstep. The move is expected to help stabilise population in Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and other highly populated States where women often do not have access to contraceptives.
· The government has made it compulsory to file their tax returns for 2011-12 electronically for individuals or a Hindu Undivided Family with his or its total income, or the total income in respect of which he is or it is assessable under the Act during the preceding year, exceeds Rs 10 lakh for assessment year 2012-13. The e-filing was optional till the previous financial year. The recently-introduced tax returns forms also ask individuals to furnish details of donations made for claiming tax deductions.
· The Cabinet has approved the proposal for introduction of a Bill in the Parliament for giving effect to some castes / communities for their inclusion and exclusion, as per approved Modalities, in the list of Scheduled Castes to derive benefits meant for them under the existing schemes. Some of the major schemes of this kind include Post Matric Scholarship, National Overseas Scholarship, Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship, Top Class Education, Concessional Loans from National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation, Hostels for SC Boys and Girls etc. The Constitution of India provides certain privileges / concessions to the members of Scheduled Castes which are notified under the provisions of Article 341 of the Constitution of India.
· During the financial year (FY) 2011-12, the Investigation Directorates of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) conducted searches and unearthed undisclosed income exceeding Rs.9,200 crore. Disclosure of details regarding assets held abroad is being made mandatory in the income tax returns. Non-furnishing of such information in the income tax returns, and its subsequent detection, will invariably lead to prosecution under the Income Tax Act. Searches are conducted under the Income Tax Act on the basis of credible information regarding tax evasion after conducting necessary verification. Information technology tools such as Integrated Taxpayer Data Management System (ITDMS) have been developed and are being extensively utilized to process and verify information before taking intrusive action.
· The growth of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) is monitored by the Ministry of MSME by conducting the All India Census of the sector, periodically in the country. As per the Third & Forth All India Census of Small Scale Industries (SSIs), this sector have recorded annual compound growth rate of 2.61% during the period from 2001-02 to 2006-2007. The Ministry facilitates the promotion and development of MSMEs through implementation of various schemes/programmes relating to credit, infrastructure development, technology upgradation, marketing, entrepreneurial/skill development, etc. The Major schemes include Credit Guarantee Scheme, Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme, Performance and Credit Rating Scheme, Cluster Development Programme, National Manufacturing Competitiveness Programme and Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme.
· The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today approved the proposal to hive off Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul (MRO) business of Air India Engineering Services Limited to tap the potential of nearly US$ 1.5 billion MRO business in the Asia Pacific Region. Earliar, Justice Dharmadhikari Committee has recommended this measure. The company is projected to be a profit making company from financial year 2017-18. The Government has also decided to operationalise Air India Transport Services Limited as a new subsidiary of Air India to hive off Ground Handling (GH) business of Air India in order to develop it as a separate profit centre.
· Union minister of Commerce, Industry & Textiles and Pakistan Commerce Secretary have inaugurated the Lifestyle Pakistan 2012. The first 'Lifestyle Pakistan' exhibits designers in various categories like fashion textiles, jewellery, designer furniture and leather goods showcasing high-end items. The exhibition is one of the steps taken by both India and Pakistan to enhance bilateral commerce and open new channels for shipment of goods. This is the first collaborative exhibition of Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) and India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO). The bilateral trade between the two nation, which was barely US$ 300 million in 2004, have now stands at US$ 2.7 billion, a 9-fold growth in a period of 7 years.
· The Central Government has imposed anti-dumping duty on imports of phosphoric acid from Israel and Taiwan for five years. The duty will be levied on all grades and concentrations of the acid, except for use in agriculture and fertilizer.
· Explaining why tremors were felt in several Indian cities, scientist said: “Tremors are felt at faraway locations due to surface waves produced by an earthquake. Surface waves cause a lateral movement of the particles in the earth's medium. The earth behaves like an elastic medium when seismic waves are travelling.” Unlike the December 26, 2004 quake caused by a thrust fault, Wednesday's quake was caused by a strike-slip fault. The reason why the 8.6-magnitude quake did not cause killer tsunami waves was the nature of the faulting. “To generate giant tsunami waves, there should be great vertical displacement of the water column. This happens only in the case of a thrust fault [the December 2004 quake] or a dip-slip fault. Strike-slip fault will not generate tsunami waves. Though the quake was a strike-slip fault, there should have been a small amount of oblique movement along the fault. This is the reason why Wednesday's quake caused small tsunami waves.” [Click here for graphic]
· The northeastern U.S. state of Connecticut has become the latest nation to abolish the death penalty and replaces it with a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
· In Mali, speaker of parliament, Diocounda Traore, is scheduled to be sworn- in as the country's Interim President today. Mr. Traore has to organize a new election within 40 days. He assumes power as part of a transition agreement between the Economic Community of West African States and renegade Malian soldiers who ousted former president Amadou Toumani Toure last month. Since the military coup, Tuareg rebels, with the help of Islamist militants, seized control of a large area of northern Mali and proclaimed an independent state.
· South Korea's ruling Saenuri party has won the majority of seats in parliamentary polls. President Lee Myung-bak said people had made wise choices. Yesterday's vote is being seen as a key test for the leader ahead of presidential elections later this year.
· The GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) states and the US have decided to build a regional missile defence shield aimed at protecting the oil wells and ports in the region from attacks. Details of the agreement are being worked out. The final decision by the 6 members of the Gulf alliance (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE) and the US will be taken in June 2012. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pushed the missile shield idea at the first Strategic Cooperation Forum in Riyadh lately.