Daily News Notes: 8th April, 2012

· Christians around the world today are celebrating Easter, that marks what Christians believe is the triumphant resurrection of Jesus three days after his crucifixion. People are sharing their love by giving gifts and greetings on this auspicious day, signifying the victory of Christ over the evil of death.
· Spice Board of India, the nodal organization of Ministry of Commerce, Govt. of India, in an effort to promote exports of spices from India will establish 10 spice parks across the most strategic locations in the country by end of 2012. Three such parks are already completed in Chhihdwara in MP, Puttady in Kerela and in Jodhpur. The other parks will be completed during the year in states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Kota in Rajasthan.
· Union Minister for Corporate Affairs M. Veerappa Moily has said that his Ministry is studying the impact of the retrospective tax proposals that are included in the Finance Bill on the investment climate. Mr. Moily said that representatives of trade and industry had conveyed to his Ministry their opposition to the retrospective tax proposals.Mr. Moily also said that the Finance Bill was yet to be approved by Parliament and the government would take into consideration the opposition to the retrospective tax proposals on 25 items in the Finance Bill and its overall impact on the investment climate, Foreign Direct Investment, and institutional finance before going ahead with the proposals.
· Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh launched the Prime Minister's Rural Development Fellowship (PMRDF) programme. Under the programme, 156 youth selected for the fellowship would work in 78 Left-wing extremism (LWE)-affected districts covered in the integrated action plan (IAP) in nine States – Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand for two years. After two-month training, they would work closely with local elected bodies and women self-help groups to improve the implementation of government schemes, due to lack of which the areas remained under-developed, he said. He complimented Andhra Pradesh for doing exceptionally well over the last 30 years in containing Left-wing extremism with the help of security operation, development activities and political mobilisation together. The new initiative would be extended to all Schedule V and VI areas later, he said. However, Union Minister for Panchayati Raj and Tribal Affairs V. Kishore Chandra Deo attributed the high prevalence of unemployment, under-employment, poor development to the hold of extremist groups on the IAP areas. He expressed dissatisfaction over non-implementation of Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act even 15 years after it had come into existence.
· The Indian Nav y is all set to commission its first Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) squadron on the East Coast at Uchipuli near Rameswaram (TN) and third of the Navy. Established in 2006, the Indian Navy's first UAV squadron, INAS 342 in Kochi, already performs operational missions as well as training. The 2{+n}{+d}squadron was commissioned at Porbandar in Guajarat in 2011. It is considered a significant step towards strengthening maritime surveillance and reconnaissance in Palk Strait, Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay off the Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh coast. The commissioning of the UAV squadron near Rameswaram assumes significance not only due to its close proximity to Sri Lanka but also due to the strategic importance of the region. It has been christened INAS 344 and it will be operated from INS Parundu, a naval air station.
· Union Finance Minister stressed the need for banks to play a key role in promoting inclusive growth. He said the ‘Financial Inclusion Fund' for meeting the cost of developmental and promotional interventions had been set up with NABARD. The government was furthering the process of financial inclusion through Swabhiman (aimed at providing basic banking services in remote areas), Swawalamban (a pension scheme for people working in the unorganised sector), Aam Admi Bima Yojana (providing insurance cover for the poor) and MGNREGA, he said. “Our objectives are somewhat different from those of the developed economies. We need to indigenously develop a workable business model and an integrated delivery model geared to promote financial inclusion, and in turn, sustainable economic growth,” he said. He also said financial stability had become an integral part of policy planning across the world, in the post-crisis period.
· After facing a barrage of criticism on the issue of poverty line during the last few months, the Planning Commission has decided to appoint a technical committee to look into the whole issue afresh. The committee of experts would be appointed in a couple of weeks. On the much debated figures of Rs. 32 per capita income per day in urban areas and Rs. 26 per capita income per day in rural areas to decide the status of poverty, the Plan panel deputy chief said the numbers were arrived at by social activists and not by the Planning Commission. “What we told the Supreme Court was that Rs. 4,800 income per family per month in urban areas and Rs. 3,900 in rural areas is the line of poverty,” he said. However, Mr. Ahluwalia said the poverty line was not linked to the implementation of programmes such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, Right to Education Act and Food Security Act (FSA). “It is the Planning Commission which recommended coverage of 46 per cent population under the FSA,” he reminded. Earlier,the Suresh Tendulkar Committee had put the people below poverty line (BPL) at slightly lesser than 30 per cent (360 million) in 2009-10, down from 37.2 per cent in 2004-05.
· Amid the sylvan surroundings of coconut groves, shrubs, lawns and cottages on the tiny Wheeler Island off Odisha coast, hectic preparations are on for the launch of Agni-V missile any day between April 15 and 20. Capable of covering 5,000 km, Agni-V is India's longest-range missile which can carry a nuclear warhead. If the test-flight is successful, it will catapult India into a select band of countries possessing the technology for Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM). Except the U.S., Russia, France and China, no other country had designed and developed this range of systems. Agni-V is 17 metres tall and weighs 50 tonnes. Its diameter is two metres. All its three stages are powered by solid propellants. It can carry a nuclear warhead weighing 1.1 tonne and a dummy payload. The entire flight will last more than 1,000 seconds. While many critical technologies went into the making of this system, the most important challenges involved ensuring a high degree of accuracy of flight (with the missile plunging into the Bay of Bengal only a few hundred metres from the designated impact-point) and make the nose-cone withstand a scorching temperature of about 5,000 degrees Celsius as the missile re-enters the atmosphere.
· Radical Sikh organisation Dal Khalsa has written to the United Nations to ensure that India joined the league of countries that had abolished the death penalty in practice as well as from their respective statutes. The demand comes in the background of the Centre halting the execution of Balwant Singh Rajoana, who has been convicted in the former Chief Minister Beant Singh assassination case, for the time-being. Taking a cue from the U.N. resolution passed on September 20, 2010 appealing to all nations to observe a moratorium on the death penalty if they are not agreeable to passing a legislation abolishing it, the European chapter of the Dal Khalsa last week urged the world body to influence India to continue its undeclared moratorium and work towards abolishing death penalty. The memorandum mentioned that the Supreme Court of India was seized of more than 33 cases of people on death row whose petitions were pending review by the President. It further stated that, India had had not executed anyone since 2004, though the courts had been giving out death penalty punishments in supposedly “rarest of the rare cases.” Also, 139 countries across the world had already abolished death penalty while 150 countries had put a moratorium on the same. Recalling the legacy of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the letter pointed out that the Sikh ruler during his 40-year-rule of the Sarkar-e-Khalsa (1799-1839), did not execute any person, including the person who attempted to murder him. The Sikh ethical approach of compassion, forgiveness and scope for reformation of one's life was a prerequisite for progressive modern civil society, it further stated.
· Kerala's rich biodiversity and conservation efforts are expected to be showcased on a global arena at the 11th Conference of the Parties (CoP 11) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) scheduled to be held in Hyderabad in October. Hyderabad is preparing to host 10,000 delegates from 193 countries at the conference that is billed as the largest biodiversity event in the history of mankind. It is also significant because the year 2012 represents the 40{+t}{+h}anniversary of the Stockholm conference, 20{+t}{+h}anniversary of the Rio Earth Summit and the 10{+t}{+h}anniversary of the Johannesburg Summit, all landmark events in the history of global efforts to protect biodiversity. Some of the major themes to be discussed at the conference include Cities and biodiversity, Island biodiversity, Marine and coastal biodiversity, Ecosystem restoration and Traditional knowledge. The impact of climate change, bio-fuels and invasive alien species on biodiversity conservation will also figure in the deliberations. A benefit sharing system for the use of medicinal plants, mostly endemic to the Western Ghats, is another major proposal being considered for the side events. The findings of the fish survey conducted by KSBB would also be highlighted. For India, CoP 11 will be an opportunity to influence the global agenda on sustainable development and demonstrate the country's role in conservation of natural resources. An international treaty to sustain the rich diversity of life on earth, CBD was negotiated and signed by nations at the Earth Summit held at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992. The convention came into force on December 29, 1993. India became a party to the convention in 1994.
· The Madhya Pradesh government has begun the process of computerizing village panchayats and available 29 public utility services through three tier panchayat system under centre sponsored National E-governance Programme. The main objective of the programme is to enable village panchayats to deliver mandated services to the citizens in a better way through Information Technology and to facilitate e-transfer of funds from different levels to village panchayats. Issuance of ration cards and birth-death, income, domicile and caste certificates has been included in these services. Madhya Pradesh has in-all 23,012 gram panchayats and the state government has planned to fully computerize all the village panchayats by the year 2015. Every panchayat building will have a room for e-panchayat. Initially 2,636 village panchayats of the state will be computerized where BSNL’s broad band connection is available. Rest of village panchayats where both WIMAX and broadband connections of BSNL are not available will be computerized by the V-Sat Connection.
· Maharashtra farmers can now sell their produce directly to anyone without the interference of APMCs (Agriculture Produce Marketing Company). The state government has issued a notification for moving 30 fruits and vegetables out of APMC regulation. APMCs will not charge any cess on the excluded commodities. Farmers have for long demanded that the state tackle the hassles created by APMCs. Though Maharashtra has incorporated some provisions of the Model APMC Act in its state marketing act, organised retail has been facing difficulties in sourcing fruits and vegetables from farmers despite having direct marketing licences. There were allegations that middlemen were forcing vehicles carrying vegetables to organised retail stores to go via Vashi APMC. The compulsion of selling agriculture commodities at APMCs has been one of the important reasons for the inflation in the prices of perishable commodities. The average difference in wholesale and retail prices of fruits and vegetables is 40-50%. The system also causes delays in the supply chain. Vegetable growers are happy about the development.
· The Prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has said that the normalisation of relations with Pakistan is the common desire of the two neighbours. "I am grateful to Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India for inviting me for Lunch although I am on a private visit here but we had some very fruitful bilateral talks together. India and Pakistan are neighbours. We would like to have better relations with India. We spoken on all topics that we could have spoken about and we are hoping to meet on Pakistan soil very soon," President Zardari said.
· The 15-member multi-party delegation (led by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj) with the representatives from the Congress, BJP, DMK, AIADMK and Left parties will travel Sri Lanka to assess the resettlement and political process in war-torn areas. The delegation will visit with an aim of reinforcing India's commitment towards ethnic Sri Lankan Tamils. The MPs, while assessing the process of resettlement of Tamils displaced by the war that ended three years back, would press for an early political solution which involves devolution of powers to the Tamils. The leaders would travel to Jaffna and Kilinochchi, the de-facto capital of the now vanquished LTTE, and see for themselves the resettlement process taken up after the end of the war. The long-awaited visit by the delegation comes close on the heels of India voting against Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on March 23.
· India’s Atomic Energy Regulatory Board admitted as the 11th member of MEDP (Multinational Design Evaluation Programme). India’s Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) became the first new member in the MDEP since its inception in 2006. India awarded FULL Membership in MEDP. The members of MEDP are: Canada, China, Finland, France, INDIA, Japan, Russia, South Korea, South Africa, UK, US. The Multinational Design Evaluation Programme (MDEP) was launched in 2006 by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the French Nuclear Safety Authority ((Autorite de Surete Nucleaire, ASN) with the aim of developing innovative approaches to leverage the resources and knowledge of national regulatory authorities reviewing new reactor designs. The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) acts as the Technical Secretariat for the MDEP. The International Atomic Energy Agency participates in many of the MDEP activities, including the harmonization efforts. The MDEP programme incorporates a broad range of activities including: [1.] Enhanced multilateral co-operation within existing regulatory frameworks; [2.] Multinational convergence of codes, standards and safety goals; [3.] Implementation of MDEP products to facilitate licensing of new reactors, including those being developed by the Generation IV International Forum; [4.] A key concept throughout the work of MDEP is that national regulators retain sovereign authority for all licensing and regulatory decisions.Thus, the membership will enable India to participate in the review of new reactor designs in the various working groups of the MDEP and other such works.
· State-owned ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation) inked an MoU with the US oil major ConocoPhillips to conduct a joint study of shale gas potential in all domestic basins, as well as some global ones owned by ConocoPhillips. The companies intend to initiate the cooperation in shale gas exploration through joint studies of opportunities in India, North America, and elsewhere.In addition, both companies also aim to explore possible cooperation in deepwater areas in eastern offshore fields of India. The cooperation b/w the two majors is expected to accelerate the learnings in shale gas for India. It will assist towards India in achieving energy security for sustaining its booming economy.
· International aid to developing countries has fallen for the first time in fourteen years as wealthy nations adopt austerity measures following the global recession. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said aid fell by 2.7 per cent last year at a time when poorer countries, hit by the slowdown in world economy, needed it most.
· U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is urging Mali's military junta to quickly carry out the accord signed with West African leaders to transfer power back to civilian leaders. Mr. Ban also called on the junta to refrain from any activities that would undermine the tenets of the agreement with the 15-member Economic Community of West African States - ECOWAS. Under a deal with a regional group in ECOWAS, to end the coup, its leader captain Amadou Sanago has agreed to step down.
· Fragments of a defunct Russian military communications satellite, Molniya-1T, fell into the Pacific Ocean last night. The Russian state-owned news agency, RIA Novosti, quoted a space agency source as saying that the fragments, which did not burn up in the upper atmosphere, reached the earth's surface before plunging into the Pacific Ocean. The reports didn't identify the specific location where the satellite fragments might land. The 1.6-tonne satellite was launched in August 1996 and was replaced by the Meridian-series in 2006. The service life of the Molniya-1T satellites is two years.
· Malawi's Vice President Ms Joyce Banda took over power in the southern African nation following the official announcement of the death of President Bingu wa Mutharika. Under Malawi's Constitution the Vice President takes over in the absence of the president.
· As per a Study in the Science Journal “Nature”, UK and US Scientists have discovered for the first time a human gene “Interferon-induced transmembrane protein 3 (IFITM3)” that influences how people respond to flu infections, making some people more susceptible than others. The research assists in explaining why during the 2009-2010 pandemic of H1N1 (or swine flu), majority of people infected had only mild symptoms, whilst others healthy young adults - got seriously ill and died. The gene found by the Scientists “ITFITM3” appears to be a "crucial first line of defense" against flu. When IFITM3 is present in large quantities, the spread of the virus in lungs is hindered but when IFITM3 levels are lower, the virus can replicate and spread more easily, causing more severe symptoms. People who carried a particular variant of IFTIM3 were far more likely to be taken into hospital when they got flu than people who carried other variants. The research suggest that individuals and populations with less IFITM3 activity may be at increased risk during a pandemic, and that IFITM3 could be vital for defending human populations against other viruses such as avian influenza. IFITM3 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the IFITM3 gene. It is reported to play a critical role in the immune system's defense against Swine Flu, where heightened levels of IFITM3 keep viral levels low, and the removal of IFITM3 allows the virus to multiply unchecked.