Daily News Notes: 5th & 6th August, 2012

· The government has said that a special Commission will soon be set up to fix the Minimum Support Price, MSP for the Minor Forest Products, MFP, produced by tribals to earn their livelihoods. Planning Commission has already given its nod for setting up the commission. Tribal Affairs Minister has said that the definition of MFP will be expanded to include items such as bamboo and tendu leaves to provide more options to the forest dwellers. The Minister said that Central government will provide financial support for procurement, creation of enabling infrastructure, training for sustainable harvesting and also provide subsidy to state level agencies in case they incur any loss in the transactions. Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited, TRIFED is the nodal agency for marketing various products developed by tribals and manages a chain of 27 retail outlets called 'Tribes India' in 16 states.
· The Centre is considering action against 127 IAS officers for failing to submit their last year's Immovable Property Returns (IPRs) to the government. Out of these total 127 IAS officers, 32 are from Madhya Pradesh cadre, 16 from Uttar Pradesh, 14 from Punjab, 12 from Odisha cadre and remaining from other states' cadres. The total sanctioned strength of IAS is 6,154, including 1,885 promotion posts. Of these, 4,377 officers are in position. An all-India service officer is bound to file property returns of a year by January end of the following year.
· The Centre has amended the Mineral Concession Rules (MCR) and have vested powers with the State governments to cancel licences if a person holding the lease is convicted of carrying out unauthorised mining. Amending another provision in the MCR, the Ministry in its notification said, the state government may also refuse to renew mining lease in the event of an applicant for renewal of mining lease is convicted of illegal mining. The Centre has resorted to a multi-pronged strategy including setting up of an Inquiry Commission and asking states to make action plans to curb illegal mining.
· India sees its first drought in last three years due to deficient Monsoon rains. As per India Meteorological Department (IMD) the El Nino weather pattern (the weather phenomenon that is seen to cause drier conditions by disrupting the ocean-temperature system) may reduce rains again in the second half of the June to September season. Monsoon rains are considered deficient if they fall below 90% of a 50-year average. The monsoon is crucial for around 55 % of farmlands that do not have irrigation. India last suffered a drought in 2009, which forced it to import sugar that pushed global prices higher. This time global grain prices are towering as the United States is also going the worst drought in the country in a half a century.
· The IIT Joint Admission Board (JAB), comprising heads of the top engineering institutes have approved the Common Entrance Test (CET) for admission to the UG programme for 2013 based on percentile ranking. The new format adopted by the IIT council comprises a two-tier system -- a main and an advance test. Students clearing the advance test would be considered for admission provided they are among the top 20 percentile in their boards. Joint Admission Board has decided to keep number of students filtered for advanced exam at 1.5 lakh.Also it was agreed that for the advanced exam, the pattern and syllabus would the same as in 2012. Moreover, JAB is in fovor of subjective type questions for advance test in tune with the existing format and keeping in mind the 2012 pass-out students who have already appeared this year's IIT-JEE and have another chance next year to crack the test. IIT Delhi and IIT Kanpur had earlier rejected the common entrance test under a proposed format, forcing the HRD Ministry to float a compromise formula which was adopted by the IIT council based on percentile ranking.
· The Department of Posts will soon implement a mobile-based money remittance service (mobile money transfer or m-money trasfer) in various parts of the country. Presently, it has selected 4 circles (KL, BR, PB, DL) in which the services will be implemented. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) would provide technical assistance in the implementation of the service.
· D R Mehta who is known for popularising Jaipur Foot will be awarded 20th Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award. The Award is being given to him for his exceptional contribution towards promotion of communal harmony, peace and goodwill.
· As per a group of researchers traces of Paleo- river has been found in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh. Paleo-river is an inactive river or water stream buried under sediment. The 65 million year-old river got buried under basaltic lava due to geological activities. The river flowed in the same direction (East to West) as the Narmada.
· Orissa is the first Indian state to commence e-payment facility for government employees from August 1, 2012. Govt employees will get their salaries and pensions through the online Portal of the RBI. Salaries and pensions will be directly transferred to their bank account.
· Instigating, financing or even participating in an illegal strike could land a person in jail in Maharashtra. If convicted, any person engaged in an essential or public service who supports a strike will face jail of up to one year, or be slapped with a fine. The police can arrest offenders without a warrant and the offence has been made nonbailable. A notification to this effect came into force on Friday, following a presidential nod to amendments in the Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act, 2011. Those booked in an illegal strike case will have to move court to get bail. According to the amendments, an essential service includes public transport such as autorickshaws, taxis and school buses, or individuals employed in hospitals, government, semi-government establishments, high court employees, civic staff, teaching staff, or even those engaged in the supply of milk, water, gas and electricity.
· Just when the four districts under Bodoland Territorial Council were limping back to normal after Bodo-Muslim ethnic riots in which 56 people were killed, police found more bodies in Chirang and Kokrajhar, creating panic and taking the toll in the clashes to 60. On hearing about the recovery of bodies, an angry mob attacked bus passengers in retaliation around 10am in Chirang. The arson took place even as the administration sent back relief camp inmates to their villages amid tight security. Clashes and the recovery of bodies in Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD: Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Chirang and Baksa) also renewed fears of a return to violence among people. The state government had set an August 15 deadline for all camp inmates to return to their homes. Some Bodo leaders suggested that relief camp inmates should be sent home only after peace committees involving the two communities were formed to allay people’s fears.
· In Odisha, high-value platinum has been discovered at Bangur in mineral-rich Keonjhar district, near the Hadgarh Wildlife Sanctuary. The ore has an average grade of more than one gram per tonne. The deposits are workable and can be analysed. Odisha has also reported gold deposits in the past though these are yet to be worked.
· The RBI with the aim to promote co-operation in information sharing b/w regulators, inked 3 MoUs with financial regulators of nine countries. The newly signed are with: [1.] Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC); [2.] Financial Services Authority of UK; [3.] Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway.
· India and Belgium have inked a MoU on bilateral co-operation for effective development and modernization of railway sector of both the countries. For this, Indian Railways have selected about 50 stations including New Delhi, Howrah, Mumbai, Patna, Bhubaneswar and Chennai for transforming them into world class stations. Railways will utilize Belgium expertise in modernization of railway stations involving commercialization of real estate around stations. Railways have 30,000 hectares of land around various stations.
· Accusing India of following a two track policy on Tibet by supporting separatists on one hand while recognizing the region as part of China on the other, a Chinese daily has warned that exiled Tibetans may be a “hidden danger” to India’s own stability in future. A write-up in the web edition of Global Times said unlike Western countries India does not directly interfere in China’s domestic issues but appears to be reserving the “card of exiled Tibetans for future use”. Over the years. the article said, Indian policies towards the Dalai Lama group have changed “from comprehensive support to selective support”. It said there is a contradiction between India’s official ‘one-China’ stance and the actual indulgence of some Tibetans’ separatist activities.
· In Syria, the fight for control of the country’s largest city and the commercial hub, Aleppo continues. Syrian State television said, the Government forces were driving out the terrorists (while US & allied says them as “Friends of Syria”) from the country. Rebel Free Syrian Army has claimed responsibility for kidnapping 48 Iranian pilgrims in Syria. Tehran has asked Turkey and Qatar to help secure the release of the 48 kidnapped men which it said were pilgrims.
· Vietnamese police has detained at least 20 people as they broke up a protest in Hanoi against Beijing's territorial claims in the disputed South China Sea. Before being forcibly dispersed, the activists shouted anti-China slogans and waved Vietnamese flags and banners. The protest is the fourth such rally in just over a month to be staged by activists in Hanoi. There were no arrests at the previous three. The demonstrations come at a time of rising regional tensions over the South China Sea, which is believed to contain vast oil and gas deposits.
· The Nepalese President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav is holding a meeting with the leaders of the political parties of the dissolved Constituent Assembly in Kathmandu. He has summoned the meeting to find a way out of the present political uncertainty following the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly on May 27. Senior leaders of the political parties including Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai are attending it. The meeting is also significant following the Election Commission formally announcing it’s inability to hold fresh elections to the Constituent Assembly.
· US has welcomed the oil sharing deal between Sudan and South Sudan. The agreement opened the door for a future greater prosperity for both countries. The deal follows a dispute that South Sudan shut down its oil production in January leaving both countries close to bankruptcy.
· International Telecommunication Union (ITU) finalized standards to introduce UHDTV () which will have stupendous clarity. In the 1st phase, UHDTV picture sizes will be of the order of 8 mega pixels (3840 x 2160 pixels) while in 2nd phase it’ll have 32 mega pixels in size (7680 x 4320 pixels). Thus, Ultra High Definition TV will have much higher resolution than conventional Standard Definition (704 or 720 x 480) and High Definition TV (1280 x 720 pixels and 1920 x 1080 pixels).
· As per latest research tumors have been found to contain their own pool of stem cells that can multiply and keep fueling the cancer, seeding re-growth. The study deals with a different type of cancer stem cells. Stem cells are special cells found in all multi-cellular organisms. These cells have potential to multiply, to self-renew and to transform into diverse cells which can carry specific functions. Stem cell has its application in the treatment of diseases like leukemia, Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injuries, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, and muscle damage. On a broader basis Stem cells can be classified into two groups: [1.] Embryonic stem cells: They are pluripotent cells wich can multiply and transform into any of the 3 germ layers (Endoderm, Mesoderm and Ectoderm); [2.] Adult stem cells: Adult stem cells or somatic stem cells are undifferentiated cells found throughout the body after development. They replenish dying cells and regenerate damaged tissues. They can be found in juvenile as well as adult humans or animals.
· The US space agency, NASA has landed a huge new robot Rover (named Curiosity) on Mars, the Red Planet. The robot will look for evidence that Mars could once have supported life. The successful landing of the 2.5 billion US Dollars Mars Rover was greeted with a roar of approval at mission control at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.