Daily News Notes: 25th & 26th July, 2012

· The Centre is ready with a contingency plan for 450 districts across the country to deal with any sort of drought situation. Minister of State for Agriculture has said that the plan has been set up by the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture in consultation with the state governments and the district agriculture departments.
· Derek o’ Brian, became the first Anglo Indian to vote in the Indian Presidential elections. Brian, a Rajya Sabha MP from West Bengal, belongs to Trinamool Congress. President nominates 12 members in Rajya Sabha and constitution of India says that these nominated MP to either of the house of the Indian Parliament is not eligible for casting vote in Presidential election. As per article 331 of Indian constitution, the President can nominate not more than 2 members to the Lok Sabha from the Anglo-Indian community, if he finds that Anglo-Indian community is not adequately represented in the Lok Sabha. As per Article 80 (1) of the Indian constitution 12 members are nominated by the President from persons with special knowledge or practical experience in areas like literature, science, art and social service. Article 84 (b) demands that a person shall be of not less than 30 years of age. Anglo-Indians: These are people with mixed Indian and British ancestry, or people who have British descent born or living in the Indian Subcontinent or Burma, now mainly historical in the latter sense.
· The Ministry of Women and Child Development has drafted the National Policy for Children 2012 and has sought comments from the general public. It defines a child as a person below eighteen years of age, and acknowledges the inalienable and inherent rights of the child and aims to realize the full potential of children’s rights throughout the country. The first National Policy on Children was formulated in 1974. The first policy of 1974 described children as a supremely important asset and made the state responsible for providing equal opportunities for growth and development of all children. The policy primarily focused on health and education of the children.
· The Centre has told the Supreme Court that a political party cannot be de-recognised for indulging in violent agitation leading to destruction of public property. The Centre was responding to the July 17 query of the apex court whether there was any law to deal with de-recognition of a political party for such a situation. The Court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by former IPS officer seeking its direction to frame guidelines for preventing agitation leading to large-scale destruction of property and disruption of traffic through blockade of roads, highways and railway tracks.
· A MOU has been signed between DRDO & Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation for implementation of “Bio-Digestor based Eco friendly Toilets” in Gram Panchayats. Addressing the gathering Union Minister of State for Statistics and Programme Implementation has congratulated the Defence Minister under whose aegis, on one hand various missile programmes like Prithvi-I, Prithvi-II, Dhanush, Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems, etc. have been developed, while on the other hand under the Accelerated Technology Assessment and Commercialisation (ATAC) programme, DRDO is bringing out a pathway to deliver various technologies developed by DRDO for appropriate commercial markets for use in civilian products and services in an affordable manner, especially for the economically weaker section of our society. Further, the Minister for Rural Development, Drinking Water and Sanitation said that one lakh bio-toilets will be installed in about 300 backward Gram Pachayats of the country in the next two years to make them open defecation free.
· Union Minister of Human Resource Development inaugurated the Anti-Ragging Web Portal. The portal has been developed by the University Grants Commission (UGC). The Hon’ble Supreme Court in its judgment dated 8th May, 2009, while expressing great concern on the increasing incidences of ragging in educational institutions in the country ordered implementation of a ragging prevention programme comprising, inter-alia, setting up Toll-free Anti-Ragging Helpline /Call Centre, Database of institutions/students, engaging an independent non-government agency. The web portal is a term being used for all background software development that is necessary for smooth functioning of the Ragging Prevention Program and comprises of the following components: [1.] All calls received by Anti-ragging Helpline will be managed and followed up in a structured software system; [2.] Complaints follow up, log creation and display system on the web. Students can see the progress of their complaint any time; [3.] Online anti ragging affidavits can be downloaded by students; [4.] Creation of the colleges and universities data base; [5.] Reporting and statistics.
· In Bihar, Scheme of free gas connection to BPL families in villages is expected to be started at the end of this month. In the first phase 25,000 BPL families would be benefited by this scheme.
· In Uttar Pradesh the Allahabad High Court has ruled that to levy entertainment tax on entertainment provided by either cable TV network or DTH services or any other emerging technology by the state is not illegal.
· The apex Court permitted Tamil Nadu government to execute a repair and maintenance work on the Mullaperiyar dam. Mullaperiyar Dam was constructed in 1895 by the British Government on the Periyar River in Kerala. The objective of its construction was to feed the water needs of the state of Tamil Nadu. The Periyar National Park is located around the dam's reservoir. Over the past few years a bitter disagreement has arisen b/w the Tamil Nadu and Kerala government over the safety of the dam.
· Celebrating Earth Sciences Foundation Day: Taking into account India’s vast coastline of about 7500 km. length and the fact that approximately 37 % of India’s population live in the coastal areas, deriving benefits from the seas, Government of India approved formation of the Earth Commission and re-organization of the Ministry of Ocean Development as Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), which came into being on 12 July 2007 having the Department of Ocean Development, India Meteorological Department, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology & National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting, under it. The Earth System Science Organization (ESSO) was set up in October 2007. ESSO operates as an executive arm to implement policies and programmes of the Ministry. The ESSO has been addressing holistically various aspects relating to earth processes for understanding the variability of earth system and for improving forecast of the weather, climate and hazard. With the intention of creating awareness about this important sector and also to highlight activities of national importance being undertaken by the Ministry, the Foundation Day of this Ministry is being celebrated on 27 July every year since 2004.
· India received its first investment via the QFI (Qualified Framework Investor) route, thus ending speculations that the India's efforts to get investors to buy shares directly will be on the fritz. The strategy to pull investment via the QIF route is anticipated to draw in investment worth about $30 billion in 2012-13 period, thereby assisting the country fund a chunk of the CAD (Current Account Deficit) pegged at 4.2% of GDP in 2011-12. The finance ministry had in the recent past conducted road shows in 5 countries in the Gulf region- Bahrain, Dubai, Kuwait, Muscat and Riyadh - to protrude India as the incredible investment destination for wealthy investors. Qualified Foreign Investor: A QFI is a person or a trust resident in a country which is a member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) can invest directly in India.
· US President Barack Obama has appointed another Indian American to a key administration post, by announcing Ranee Ramaswamy (60), as a member of the prestigious National Council on the Arts. Ramaswamy has been a master choreographer, performer, and teacher of Bharatanatyam dance since 1978.
· Kulandai Francis who has been awarded with Magsaysay says, working with the objective of eradicating poverty and empowering more than one lakh rural women for 35 long years has got him the award. His organisation, the Integrated Village Development Project provides training to rural students and also in enhancing their skills namely training in rural sanitation, accountancy, management, giving educational assistance for students in high schools, scholarships and also computer skills.
· India has called on all parties within and outside Syria to fully cooperate with international envoy Kofi Annan to bring an end to the crisis. India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri, addressing a Security Council open debate on the situation in the Middle East, said India does not see an alternative to the full implementation of UN resolutions 2042 and 2043 for a political resolution of the crisis without any further bloodshed. The crisis in Syria has continued unabated since the uprising against President Bashar Al Assad began 16 months ago. The UN estimates that more than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Syria and tens of thousands displaced.
· The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the United States is increasing its efforts to help Syrian rebels, in the form of non-lethal aid such as medical and communications support, fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad. Clinton said Washington is working outside of the U.N. Security Council, where Russia and China have vetoed three resolutions that would have taken strong action against the Assad government.
· The President of Ghana John Atta Mills, who was suffering from throat cancer, has died in hospital in the capital, Accra.
· NASA says Greenland's massive ice sheet has melted unprecedentedly this month over an unusually large area than ever detected in three decades of satellite observation. Melting even occurred at Greenland's coldest and highest place, Summit station. The thawed ice area jumped from 40 per cent of the ice sheet to 97 per cent in just four days from 8th July. Although about half of Greenland's ice sheet normally melts over the summer months, the speed and scale of this year's melting surprised scientists, who described the phenomenon as extraordinary.
· Scientists have claim to have discovered the gene (RhoC) that encourages the spread of breast cancer, paving the way for new treatments for the deadly disease. Chemotherapy often stops working because it doesn't kill cancer stem cells that fuel the spread of tumors. RhoC has previously been shown to promote metastasis, the spread of cancer cells to distant organs, including the bone which is more likely to kill them than a primary breast tumour.
· World Anti-Doping Agency, WADA Director General David Howman has confirmed that for the first time a sophisticated new test for human growth hormone, HGH would be used at the London Olympics Games. He said, the new "bio-marker" test was capable of distinguishing between HGH produced naturally in the body and synthetic HGH.
· The North Korean women's football team walked off the pitch before their opening match at the London Olympics after their images were shown on a screen beside a South Korean flag. The match against Columbia in Glasgow was delayed for more than an hour. After the Olympic organisers apologised, the match started and North Korea won the match by two goals to nil.
· The Indian hockey team’s quest in the Olympics has been a story of highs and lows. During the golden run, hockey won India six consecutive gold medals from 1928 to 1956. India won another gold in 1964 and then in 1980 . But, it has been 32 years now since the last medal. The lowest ebb during this phase came when India failed to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. But this time, India is returning in style, after a gap of 8 years. The team booked a place in the Olympics going unbeaten in the qualifiers and beating France 8-1 in the finals. This time, under the guidance of coach Michael Nobbs, the Bharat Chettri-led 16 member Indian team will enter the River Bank Arena in the Olympic park.