Daily News Notes: 1st, 2nd & 3rd May, 2012

· The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has released the Reserve List of candidates for Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2010. As sought by the Department of Personnel & Training, the Commission has now recommended 119 candidates which include 89 General, 26 OBC and 04 SC, to fill up the remaining posts based on the Civil Services Examination, 2010. The results of the Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2010 were declared vide Press Note dated 11.05.2011 recommending 920 candidates in order of merit for appointment to IAS, IFS, IPS and Central Services Group ‘A’ and Group ‘B’ against 1043 vacancies.
· Some State Governments have sought increase in the quota for IAS & IPS officers in view of their increased administrative, social and other obligations (including various internal security challenges) towards the people. Thus, the top two All India Services of Indian bureaucracy — IAS and IPS — face a shortage of over 3,100 officers across the country. While the Indian Police Service (IPS) is short of 1,327 officers, the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) faces a shortage of 1,777 officers, with maximum vacancy reported from Uttar Pradesh (216), followed by Bihar (128), Madhya Pradesh (118), Rajasthan (112) and Jharkhand (100). Citing one of the reasons for this huge vacancy, Union home secretary R K Singh had told that the government in the past had reduced the number of seats to about 40 or 30 a year. “For a huge country like ours, recruiting 30 IPS officers a year was not advisable… The number of districts has increased, challenges have increased… The requirements of IPS officers have increased,” the home secretary said.
· A jawan of the Territorial Army was killed in a fierce gunbattle with militants in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir.
· The government has decided to remove curbs on sugar exports, allowing producers to benefit from higher prices in overseas markets. However, some experts feel that sugar prices should be freed from state control too. Presently, states have the power to regulate price of sugar. India is the biggest consumer and second biggest producer of sugar and controls the industry through procurement prices set by both centre and the state governments, to keep its prices stable. The government also removed the minimum export price on onions for the next two months. The government, on Monday decided to allow exports of cotton.
· The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have made a forceful plea for amending the Constitution to provide for reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in promotions in the jobs. Senior party leader Mr. Satish Chandra Mishra (from Bhramin community) said that in the wake of the recent judgement by the Supreme Court, there is an urgent need for amending relevant Articles of the Constitution. He also drew the attention of the House to such cases with respect to Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
· The government today said the centrally sponsored conditional maternity benefit scheme -- Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana is operational since October 2010 in 52 districts of the country on a pilot basis. The scheme is aimed at improving the health and nutrition status of the pregnant and lactating women and their young infants.
· A reference was received from the State Government of Punjab appealing to the central government to do away with the population ratio-based quota system for recruitment in the Army as it had drastically decreased the number of youths from Punjab getting into the forces. However, the present recruitment system in the Army, based on the Recruitable Male Population (RMP) of each State, gives equitable opportunity to candidates from all States.
· Minister of Defence has released year-wise details of suicide/fratricide of armed forces personnel, since 2000. In the report published, in 2011 nearly 129 personnels from armed forces had committed sucide, while in 2012 (till date) it is arround 31. The Minister said that the possible causative factors for soldiers committing suicide/fratricide are Stress, Personal problems and Financial problems. However, the Minister replied that erosion in quality of leadership is not a contributing factor.
· Dumping of e-waste, comprising electronic items like television sets, mobile phones and computers is illegal from now on. It is also illegal to sell e-waste to local scrap dealers. Under the Electronic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules 2011, notified a year ago has come into effect from today, such waste must be routed to one of 73 authorized recyclers in India. As per the law, non-compliance can entail imprisonment or a fine. As of now, these penalties are only for manufactures and bulk consumers. India's e-waste has hit an all-time high estimated at around eight lakh metric tonnes in 2012.
· Minister of State for HRD has informed that the Council of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) had constituted a Committee comprising of experts from the fields of Education and industry, under the Chairmanship of Dr. Anil Kakodkar with a view to suggest roadmap for enhancing the autonomy of the IIT system and to make them world class institutions for research and higher learning. He further said that the Council accepted the Committee’s Report and constituted an Empowered Task Force for implementation of its recommendations for enhancing the autonomy of the IIT system with the intention inter-alia of expanding its research output to produce 10,000 Ph. D graduates annually from around 1000 presently and increase faculty strength from around 4000 presently to 16000 by 2020 enabling the creation of a large pool of high quality faculty and researchers to meet the demands of a nation in high trajectory growth.
· Giving away Awards for best performance to various Tiger Reserves of the country, Minister of State for Environment & Forest has said that Karnataka has emerged as the 1st state to deploy Special Tiger Protection Force (STPS) and despite 100% central assistance to four States (Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Orisa), the deployment of STPF in these states has not taken place. She also informed that Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Project Tiger was revised in August, 2011. Several additional components have also been included: (i) Change in the funding pattern in respect of North Eastern States (90:10), (ii) Raising compensation for man-animal conflict to Rs. 2 lakh, (iii) Acquisition of private land for making the core/critical tiger habitat inviolate, (iv) establishment of Tiger Safari, interpretation/awareness centres under the existing component of ‘co-existence agenda in buffer/fringe areas’, and management of such centres through the respective Panchayati Raj Institution, and (v) Re-introduction of Cheetah.
· Minister of State of Home Affairs has said that at present, there is no proposal to raise tribal battalion for Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected States. However, recruitment of constables (General Duty) in Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) is being done through Staff Selection Commission, wherein 20% vacancies in Border Guarding Forces and 40% vacancies in forces other than Border Guarding Forces are allotted to militancy affected areas, including LWE affected areas.
· A study has been undertaken by Central Electrical Authority (CEA) to ‘Analyze the performance of Chinese Equipment vis a vis Indian equipment (BHEL)’. The study says that Power Plants set up with Chinese equipment have not shown better performance than those using equipments supplied by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) during the last three years. It further said, Average Plant Load Factor (PLF) for the period 2008-09 to 2010-11 of Chinese make units is as low as 68% as compared to BHEL’s 79%.
· Secretary, Ministry of Culture has released the Facsimile Edition of the Gilgit Lotus Sutra Manuscripts. The Gilgit Manuscripts are among the most ancient in the world going back to the 6th century A.D. It represents an unlimited philosophy of happiness and peace, a sacred text eternal in nature and unending in the creation of value. They are perhaps the only corpus of Buddhist Manuscripts discovered in India. These manuscripts on Bhoj bark were discovered by cattle grazers in 1931 and were sent to Srinagar where they were studied by Sir Auriel Stein who announced their discovery.
· Minister of State for Water Resources has said that as per the report of Task Force on Irrigation (2009) brought out by Planning Commission, Ground water meets nearly 55% of irrigation requirements of the country besides meeting more than 85% of water requirement for domestic use in rural areas and over 50% for urban areas. Water being a State subject, several measures for development and improved management of water resources are undertaken by the respective State Governments which include creation of storages, restoration of water bodies, rain water harvesting, artificial recharge to ground water and adoption of better management practices etc. In order to supplement the efforts of the State Governments, Government of India provides technical and financial assistance to State Governments to encourage sustainable development and efficient management of water resources through various schemes and programmes.
· Union Labour & Employment Minister has released a quarterly news letter “SHRAM SANSAR” on the occasion of International Labour Day. The news letter will provide extensive awareness regarding a number of good labour practices and initiatives taken by the Central as well as state governments to all concerned stakeholders on a regular basis. The Minister also formally launched the Electronic Challan-cum-Return (ECR) initiative introduced by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to brings various services to the doorsteps of employees and employers and introduces new levels of transparency and accessibility in the system as the employers can file their returns online from anywhere anytime with a click of a mouse. Further, realizing the demographic dividend for India, the Minister said that it is necessary to create ample employment opportunities for the Young labour force. For this purpose the Ministry of Labour and Employment is developing and coordinating vocational skill training and employment services. The social security needs of the Unorganised sector workers (including construction workers, street vendors, railway porters & vendors, MGNREGA workers, domestic workers and beedi workers) are being addressed through the “Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana”.
· The HSBC Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) — an index designed to measure the health of the manufacturing sector — has said that the Indian manufacturing sector gathered some strength in April on the back of an increase in new business and export orders, but price pressures and power shortage continued to hurt. The data is based on replies from purchasing executives in over 500 manufacturing companies.
· Indian Exports contracted for the first time since 2009 due to poor demand from Europe and raised concerns of an industrial slowdown on the back of an only 2% rise in output in the eight core sectors. Latest data released by the commerce department estimated that exports fell 5.8% to $28.7 billion, although the annual target of $300 billion was exceeded. With oil prices pushing up the import bill by 32% to $488.6 billion in 2011-12, the trade deficit widened to nearly $185 billion from $118.6 billion in the previous year. While policymakers and economists have been worrying about the implications on current account deficit, the industry is more worried about dealing with a prolonged period of industrial slowdown. All core sectors, barring coal, showed little or no growth. Given that the eight core industry segments — cement, coal, steel, electricity, fertilizer, oil, gas and refined petroleum products — have a near 40% weight, economists are predicting that industrial production will grow around 2% in March, although it has a tendency to surprise given the data volatility. The commerce ministry is predicting a tough year ahead for exports, especially with the US economy slowing down. Further, the poor increments are expected to affect consumer sentiment and may impact domestic demand.
· A Tropical Butterfly conservatory would be set up in Srirangam, Tamil Nadu. The conservatory is being established to protect butterfly species and creating awareness among public the importance of butterfly in maintaining ecological balance and biodiversity.
· The Balaraman Committee appointed by the Kerala Government to study the nursing sector has recommended a substantial salary hike for nurses in private hospitals and also to get rid of the bond system. The committee was appointed by the Government, when the nurses in private hospitals went on strike demanding better pay and working conditions.
· Vice President Presented 59th National Film Awards including the DADA Saheb Phalke Award 2011 to Renowned Bengali theatre Actor Shri Soumitra Chatterjee.
· The President Mrs Pratibha Devi Singh Patil has re-appointed Goolam E. Vahanvati as Attorney-General for two more years effective from 8th of next month. Mr. Vahanvati was appointed to the post in 2009 for three years. Earlier, Mr. Vahanvati has served as Solicitor-General.
· Shri Subash Joshi, IPS (UK:76), presently working as Special Director General, CRPF, has been appointed as Director General, National Security Guards (NSG), Ministry of Home Affairs.
· Noted Bollywood actor Vidya Balan was roped in by the Ministry of Rural Development, Drinking Water and Sanitation as brand ambassador to spread awareness about sanitation and cleanliness in the country. According to UNICEF-WHO Joint Monitoring Programme Report 2010, nearly 60 per cent of India's 1.1 billion people still practice open defecation and close to 58% of all open defecations in the World is in India. It may be recalled that India loses 54 billion US dollars that is about 24,000 crore rupees a year due to poor sanitation and hygiene.
· Manu Raju an Indian-American journalist was among the journalists, who have won the White House Correspondents Journalism award for 2012.
· Indian-American Vikram Singh has been appointed to a key Pentagon position to look after entire South and Southeast Asia. Mr. Singh was a close associate of late Richard Holbrooke, the Special US Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
· Border trade at Nathula, one of the three open trading border posts between China and India resumed in Sikkim's East district this morning and will continue till 30 November, 2012. Agreements between New Delhi and Beijing limit trade across Nathula to 29 types of goods from India and 15 from the Chinese side after it was reopened in 2006.
· A Pakistani court has issued a notice to the federal government on two petitions asking it to stop Yousuf Raza Gilani from holding the post of Prime Minister after his conviction while another court has dismissed a similar petition.
· In Nepal, Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai is set to dissolve the cabinet later today to pave the way for formation of a national consensus government. With the deadline of the promulgation of the new constitution drawing near , intense negotiations have been on within the political parties , the UCPN ( Maoist) , Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and the Madhesi Morcha. According to Nepali Congress leader Ram Chandra Poudel, the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML are all set to join the government. With the formation of a consensus government, the parties are expected to resolve their differences and conclude the peace process and constitution drafting within the stipulated time of May 27th.
· Inaugurating the two-day talks of annual high-level strategic and economic dialogue between US and China in Beijing, Chinese President Hu Jintao called for a new type of relationship between the two countries to break the traditional belief that big powers only have conflicts and sought new ways to develop ties. Chinese Premier said that whatever changes may take place in the world and no matter how the domestic situations in the two countries may evolve, China and US should be firmly committed to advancing the cooperative partnership. The dialogue began amid controversy over the blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng seeking shelter in the US Embassy in the Chinese capital as well as tensions between Philippines and China over disputed islands.
· In Syria, the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported that 30 civilians and 22 Syrian troops were killed in the violence across the country on yesterday despite a truce brokered by UN Special Envoy Kofi Annan. The violence in Syria has led to a refugee crisis. Thousands of refugees have taken shelter in neighbouring countries like Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan. The Jordanian Government says it is hosting around one lakh Syrian refugees. A visiting US congressional delegation met King Abdullah II of Jordan in Amman yesterday.
· In Libya, the ruling National Transitional Council ,NTC has scrapped the move to ban religious ,regional, ethnic or tribal parties from contesting elections for the Constituent assembly. The regime has also said any attempt to glorify the Gaddafi regime will be punishable by life imprisonment. The elections for 200 member constituent assembly are to be held by 19th June in Libya. Several new parties have sprung up offering democratic, Islamist, free-market and nationalist agendas or even a mix of them. In order to regulate them, the Libyan election commission had asked to frame laws but was opposed strongly by the Islamist and federal groups and thus ruling NTC regime has decided to drop the clause. Political organizations of any kind were banned for decades under the Gaddafi regime. The ruling regime scrapped the provision banning political organizations from contesting elections after coming to power.
· World Press Freedom day is being observed. The United Nations General Assembly declared 3rd May the World Press Freedom Day in 1991 to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression.
· Fifteen million babies, or one in 10 around the world are born premature every year, and 1.1 million of those infants die. World Health Organization says the study defined pre-term birth as occurring before 37 weeks of pregnancy are complete. Typical pregnancies last 38-40 weeks.