{DNN} Daily News Notes: 14th to 24th Sep, 2012

· The Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath has launched an initiative to identify the missing and non-voters to bring them into the mainstream of voting. The Commission has also developed a YUVA or Youth Unite for Voter Awareness to encourage increased participation of young women and men in the electoral process.
· The Samajwadi Party & Bahujan Samaj Party have extended its support to the UPA government as they does not want to let communal forces (BJP) come to power at Centre after. It comes as a big relief to the Congress on a day the Trinamool Congress has to pull out of the UPA, with TMC Ministers have tender their resignations. After the TMC announcement of withdrawal, the UPA numbers in the Lok Sabha had come down from 273 to 254. With the outside support of SP, which has 22 seats and BSP with 21 seats, the coalition has continues to have the backing of over 300 MPs in the 545-member Lok Sabha. For a simple majority, the government needs the support of at least 273 MPs.
· The Supreme Court has directed the Centre, to explain (within 8 weeks) if the guidelines were strictly followed in allotting coal blocks to private companies. It turned down the Government’s plea that it should not go into the issue as the Public Accounts Committee, PAC is looking into it. Further, PMO has rejected the media report (Mumbai Mirror) about Prime Minister’s communication to the UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi that his office had cleared the coal block allotment on the recommendation of her political secretary.
· The Ministry of Women and Child Development will start a scheme called Saksham for the empowerment of adolescent boys (b/w age group 10-18 years) by imparting education on gender sensitivity and moral behavior. Further, the Ministry has also unveiled a portal Track Child to function as a central database of all those children who have gone missing in different parts of the country. The portal will aid coordination b/w child homes, police departments and state governments.
· The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved continuation of MCA21 Project for its second cycle from January, 2013 to July, 2021 as a Non-Plan Scheme. The project will benefit all the companies and limited liability partnership (LLP) registered in India. In addition, the project benefits citizens through its IEPF ( Investor Education Protection Fund) sub-portal for investor awareness and disclosures. Banks and financial institutions also benefit immensely from MCA21 as it acts as a repository of charge information on company/company's assets. MCA21 project has also benefited various state governments through innovative use of electronic stamps (e-stamp). The Ministry of Corporate Affairs had launched "MCA21 Project" in February 2006. It is a major e-Governance initiative covering all aspects of incorporation and regulation of companies as defined under the Companies Act. It is an end-to-end e-Governance program envisaging electronic filing of documents, registration of companies and public access to corporate information online through a secure interactive portal. The portal services can be accessed/ availed from anywhere, at any time that best suits the corporate entities, professionals and the public at large. Ministry envisages redesigning of the portal to improve the stakeholder's experience. New services like SMS and mobile enabled interfaces will be provided for improved service delivery.
· The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the Strengthening and Restructuring of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme. ICDS is a universal programme for children under 6 years and pregnant and lactating mothers. Currently it is benefitting 9.65 crore beneficiaries of which 7.82 crore is children under-6 and 1.83 crore is pregnant and lactating mothers. ICDS introduced in 1975 has been universalised largely post 2005-06 and finally in 2008-09 through 7076 approved Projects and 14 lakh AWCs across the country. The universalization, however, did not match with the concomitant human and financial resources as a result of which programmatic, management and institutional gaps have crept in. This necessitated the strengthening and restructuring of ICDS. Some highlights of the structured scheme as follows: [1.] Continued implementation of ICDS Scheme in 12th Five Year Plan and ICDS in Mission mode; [2.] Programmatic, management and institutional reforms to be initiated with widened and revised package of services to focus on under-3 children, maternal care, and Early Childhood Care Education (ECCE) as per the broad framework for implementation with necessary changes in financial norms/allocations and outcomes as recommended by the EFC along with flexibility to the States with scope for innovations; [3.] New ICDS Scheme would prevent and reduce young child under-nutrition by 10 percentage points in 0-3 years; [4.] It will enhance early development and learning outcomes in all children below six years of age; [5.] It will also improve care and nutrition of girls and women and reduce anaemia prevalence in young children, girls and women by one-fifth.
· The Cabinet has recently approved the National Policy on Information Technology 2012. The thrust areas of the policy include: [1.] To increase revenues of IT and ITES (Information Technology Enabled Services) Industry from 100 Billion USD currently to 300 Billion USD by 2020 and expand exports from 69 Billion USD currently to 200 Billion USD by 2020; [2.] To promote innovation and R&D in cutting edge technologies and development of applications and solutions in areas like localization, location based services, mobile value added services, Cloud Computing, Social Media and Utility models; [3.] To provide fiscal benefits to SMEs and Startups for adoption of IT in value creation; [4.] To create a pool of 10 million additional skilled manpower in ICT; [5.] To make at least one individual in every household e-literate; [6.] To leverage ICT for key Social Sector initiatives like Education, Health, Rural Development and Financial Services to promote equity and quality; [7.] To strengthen the Regulatory and Security Framework for ensuring a Secure and legally compliant Cyberspace ecosystem; [8.] To adopt Open standards and promote open source and open technologies; [9.] To enhance transparency, accountability, efficiency, reliability and decentralization in Government and in particular, in delivery of public services in electronic mode; [10.] To make India the global hub for development of language technologies, to encourage and facilitate development of content accessible in all Indian languages and thereby help bridge the digital divide.
· The Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure has approved the implementation of the construction of tunnel along the exiting NH-1 (old NH -1D) at Z-Morh for all weather connectivity from Srinagar to Leh. Besides enhancing the safety of road users, it will increase the employment potential to local labourers for project activities and development of industry in the region. This will boost the industrial growth and local economic activities, with better commuting facilities in villages, towns and urban/semi urban areas, falling in, or situated close to the project highway. Background: Leh is connected to the mainland via the Jammu-Srinagar-Zozila-Kargil-Leh and Manali-Sarchu-Leh route. This is the only life line, not only for the strategic interests of the Indian Army, but also for the survival of thepeople of Laddakh and their socio-economic development. Both these routes remain completely cut off for six to seven months during winter (November to May), due to heavy snow fall and avalanche prone areas, on both sides along both routes. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is responsible for development and maintenance of these stretch of NH-1. The implementing agency for this NH is Border Roads Organisation.
· The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the proposal for permitting foreign airlines to make foreign investment, up to 49% in scheduled and non-scheduled air transport services. Until now, foreign airlines were allowed to participate in the equity of companies operating cargo airlines, helicopter and seaplane services, but not in the equity of an air transport. Removing the existing restriction on investment by foreign airlines would assist in bringing in strategic investors into the civil aviation sector. The total FDI inflows into the air transport sector, during January, 2000 – April, 2012, were US $ 434.75 million, constituting only 0.25 percent of the total FDI inflows into the country.
· The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the proposal for Review of the policy on Foreign Investment (FI) in companies operating in the Broadcasting Sector. Some highlights: [1.] Teleports (such as Direct to Home or Cable Networks: It has been decided to now increase the foreign investment limit from 49% to 74%; [2.] Mobile TV: There is no specific dispensation under FDI policy for mobile TV. It has now been decided to permit Foreign Investment up to 74%; [3.] Headend-in-the Sky Broadcasting Service: The existing limit of 74% foreign investment would continue; [4.] Foreign investment, in companies engaged in all the aforestated services, will be subject to sectoral and security conditionalities and guidelines; [5.] The existing Foreign Investment limits in companies engaged in the activity of providing broadcasting services are not uniform. TRAI had recommended for a holistic review of the extant Foreign Investment limits for companies.
· The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the proposal for permitting foreign investment up to 49% in Power Trading Exchanges. FII investments would be permitted under the automatic route and FDI would be permitted under the government approval route. The approval is expected to strengthen the power trading exchanges and to enhance the availability of power, as well as improve its distribution for inclusive development. Introduction of global best practices, concomitant with the induction of FDI, is expected to lead to higher service standards in power trading exchanges. Power trading is the purchase of electricity for resale thereof, while a power trading exchange provides an organized platform for fair, neutral, efficient and robust price discovery; extensive and quick price dissemination; and price risk management for the generators, distributors, traders, consumers and other stakeholders in the power sector. Power trading exchanges are transparent electronic platforms which help promote competition in power markets. They are in a nascent stage of development in India.
· Union Cabinet permits 51% FDI in multi-brand retail. But the Govt left it to the state governments to allow establishment of multi-brand retail stores. Further, in the area of single-brand retail, any firm seeking waiver of the mandatory 30% local sourcing norms would have to establish a manufacturing facility in the country. For new investors, local sourcing was one of the key impediments that had hitched the entry of new investment. Foreign retail chains putting in more than 51% via FDI in the single-brand sector must still source 30% of their products from India. But the sourcing is no longer mandatory from small- and medium-sized industries. The condition to source to from small industries had proved a barrier for companies such as furniture giant IKEA, which is eyeing to invest in India. [Click here for Graphics: 1; 2; 3; 4; 5]
· To further divestment programme, Govt of India cleared stake sales in four state-run companies: Hindustan Copper Ltd, National Aluminium Co Ltd, MMTC Ltd and Oil India Ltd. The govt targets to generate 300 billion rupees through share sales in state-run companies in the current fiscal year that ends in March 2013, but weak market conditions are proving hindrance to the objective.
· Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued a direction prescribing additional measures with a view to enhance transparency in the matter of charging on “blackout” days. The term ‘blackout” days refers to the days on which the service providers do not allow free or concessional voice calls/ SMS offered by them under any plan/ package. This award is based on the accident free year for the performance year 2010. It is also worth mentioning that BNP, Dewas is continuously achieving this award since 1996 as a winner/runner-up based on Lowest Average Frequency Rate or Accident Free Year
· Government has doubled Raj Bhasha fortnight celebrations by gifting SANDHAN (the Indian language search engine in Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu) for Tourism Sector. This will fill the wide gap that exists in fulfilling the information needs of Indians not conversant with English-estimated at 90% of the population. Although designed mainly for tourism, sectors such as business and academia would also benefit from SANDHAN. It can also be deployed as part of e-governance and e-learning. Further, addressing a function, Tourism Minister (Subodh Kant Sahai) said that the government has a target of achieving 12 per cent growth in tourism sector by 2016, and with this target country would be able to create 25 million additional jobs. Aiming at a higher number of inbound tourists, Mr Sahai said, the target is to attain one per cent share of the world tourism arrivals by the end of the 12th Five Year Plan. He said that the tourism sector would be a major source of employment in the years ahead. Citing a Planning Commission finding, Mr Sahai said while the agriculture sector provides jobs to 45 people per lakh, tourism provides employment to 78 people per per lakh.
· On the occasion of Hindi Diwas, the President has said that the development programmes of the government can only be implemented effectively through the use of Hindi and other regional languages (imp. w.r.t. the Art. 343-351). Hindi Diwas is being observed across the country to commemorate the historic occasion, as Hindi was adopted as the official language by the Constituent Assembly on this very day in 1949. He said the language has played a pivotal role in the successful implementation of flagship programmes of the government, like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Pradhanmantri Grameen Sadak Yojana and Rashtriya Swasthya Mission. Wishing all success to the 9th Hindi World conference at Johannesburg in South Africa, Mr. Mukherjee expressed the hope that the event will help Hindi in establishing itself as an international language. Some highlights: [1.] Hindi is being taught in 150 Universities across the world; [2.] Hindi has also been recognised as one of the seven heritage languages of UNESCO; [3.] given the importance of the language, several international television channels have begun their telecast in Hindi and other Indian languages; [4.] several software have been prepared with the help of Information and Communication Technology to encourage the use of Hindi.
· Shri Rajiv Mehta, IPS has been appointed as Director General, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).
· The Vice President has deeply condoled the passing away of former Chief Justice of India and Member of Parliament, Ranganath Misra. Justice Misra was the first Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission.
· The Planning Commission has given its approval to a proposal in which BR, UP, WB, HP, UK and 4 other states with literacy levels below the national average will get enhanced Central share under the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan. The proposal has to be vetted by the National Development Council before coming into effect. The Sarva Siksha Abhiyan is the government's flagship programme for achievement of universalisation of elementary education in a time-bound manner. The programme seeks to open new schools in those areas which do not have such facilities and strengthen the existing infrastructure through provision of additional classrooms, toilets, drinking water, maintenance grant and school improvement grants.
· Telecom Minister has said that mobile phone subscribers would be freed from paying roaming charges from the next year. The National Telecom Policy, 2012 (NTP 2012), approved in May, aims to abolish roaming charges and allow mobile phone subscribers to use same number across the country without having to pay extra charges for services once they are outside their telecom circle.
· The Medical Council of India (MCI, chairman Dr K K Talwar) has finally cleared introduction of the three-and-a-half-year long medical course, named as B.Sc. in Community Health. The course will be open to anybody after class 12 and this special cadre of health workers will be trained mainly in district hospitals. They will be placed in sub-centres or primary health centres and will be promoted to the level of public health officers after 10 years of service. The health ministry has been strongly pushing for the introduction of this cadre, in order to tackle the menace of doctors unwilling to serve in rural areas. Experts said, the selection of students would be based on merit in the Class 12 examination with physics, chemistry and biology as subjects.
· The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) joined the government to add momentum to growth by cutting the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) by 25 basis points to 4.50%. CRR is the portion of deposits and advances that banks must park with RBI. The move will immediately inject Rs 17,000 crore into the banking system. Banks are expected to respond by lowering their base rates (the floor price below which they cannot lend). While CRR is a liquidity tool and not so much a monetary tool, RBI's move is a clear signal for banks to cut lending rates. Since January, RBI has cut CRR by a total of 150 basis points, infusing Rs 1,02,000 crore into the system. Further, the policy Repo Rate under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility - LAF remains at 8%. Consequently, the Reverse Repo Rate will remain unchanged at 7%. Repo Rate is the rate at which RBI lends money to banks while the Reverse Repo rate is the rate at which RBI borrows money from banks. The Marginal Standing Facility - MSF rate and the Bank Rate remains at 9%. Lauding the government’s economic reforms, the RBI has said that the Government has undertaken long anticipated measures (recent upward revision in diesel prices and rationalisation of subsidy for LPG) towards fiscal consolidation which should contribute to both greater capital inflows and in the long run towards higher productivity, particularly in the food supply chain. On the rainfall front, the RBI has said late rains have augmented storage in reservoirs which should improve prospects for the rabi crop, mitigating to some extent the concerns about agricultural prospects. Kharif sowing however is still below normal. RBI has further said that the global economic situation is also not good; exerting pressure on global asset prices, and particularly, commodity prices. [Click here for Graphics]
· In a major relief to the common man, the Centre has removed all taxes on non-subsidised LPG cylinders. The Finance Minister also welcomed the decision by some of the states to raise the cap on maximum number of subsidised LPG cylinders, a family can buy in a year, from 6 to 9. He also announced that the Centre had cut tax on External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) by Indian companies to five per cent from 20 per cent. The reduction in tax will encourage Indian companies to raise funds from overseas markets. This will apply to all borrowings between July 2012 and June 2015.
· The Finance Minister approved the Rajiv Gandhi Equity Schemes, tailor-made to encourage first time investors. The investors will get 50 per cent tax rebate on investment under the Rajiv Gandhi Equity Schemes. The maximum investment that can be made under the scheme is 50,000 rupees. The Scheme not only encourages the flow of savings and improves the depth of domestic capital markets, but also aims to promote an ‘equity culture’ in India. This is also expected to widen the retail investor base in the Indian securities markets.
· Addressing the 12th Plan Meet in New Delhi, the Prime Minister & Finance Minister have welcomed the revised growth rate target (from 9% to 8.2%) envisaged in the 12th five year plan saying it is a realistic assumption compared to the growth rate during the previous plan periods. FM said, the gross budgetary support during the plan period has been estimated at 35.68 lakh crore rupees which translates into 5.23 per cent of GDP over the five year period. He also said that India’s fiscal deficit is too high and is attracting adverse comment from analysts. Thus, he has urged the government that the three major subsidies (food, fertilisers and petroleum) be rolled out across the country by the end of 12th plan through direct cash transfer of subsidy to the beneficiaries as it will help in the reduction of non-plan expenditure and prevent leakages. He said the major subsidies are projected to decline from 1.9 per cent of GDP as per the Budget Estimates for 2012-13 to 1.2 per cent in 2016-17. However, the estimated major subsidies in 2012-13 would be around 2.4 per cent of GDP. Also, he suggested creation of National Investment Board chaired by the Prime Minister to decide on major investment proposals above 1000 crore rupees in the infrastructure sector. Further, PM said that the aim of the government is not just growth of GDP but an inclusive and sustainable growth. The programmes in infrastructure development, health, education, water resource management skill development, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, Pradhanmantri Grameen Sadak Yojana and Integrated wasteland Development programme are aimed at inclusiveness. On Power Sector, he said that India’s Energy Prices are out of line with world prices. Thus, the recent increase in diesel prices is an important step in the right direction. He informed that Referring to the agricultural growth, he said, it must be accelerated to about 4 per cent which was 3.3 per cent in the 11th plan. Manufacturing must grow much faster than it has, to generate the employment growth we need. Infrastructure development is vital. It needs a combination of public investment and Public Private Partnership. Further, he informed that for the first time a chapter in Good Governance is being introduced in the 12th Plan. (imp. for Essay writing)
· Bank Note Press, Dewas (a unit of Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited, SPMCIL) has been awarded a prestigious National Safety Award in the category of industries engaged in Manufacturing of Paper & Paper Products, publishing, printing, production of recorded media. SPMCIL was incorporated on 13.01.2006 and all nine units of Govt. of India engaged in minting of coins and printing of banknotes, passport, postal stationery, non-judicial stamp papers and other security documents and security paper.
· India took yet another step in bolstering its nuclear reach by successfully test-firing Agni-IV, a surface-to-surface nuclear-capable missile with a strike range of around 4000km. The test was conducted at a range on Wheeler Island off the Odisha coast. Agni-IV is a modified version of the Agni-II strategic missile and was originally called Agni-II Prime whose first test in December 10 last year failed. While Agni-II Prime had a range of 2,750km and the capability to carry 1,000 kg payload, Agni-IV can carry an 800kg warhead. India has also successfully test-fired nuclear-capable Agni-III missile from the same island. It can carry warhead of 1500 tones and hit a target within the range of 3,000 kms. It may be mentioned here that in the last five months, all the Agni class of missiles were tested successfully. Agni-I, Agni-II, Agni-III, Agni-IV and Agni-V with different ranges were successfully test fired. Also, in the last 11 months, there were as many as 12 test launches of different missiles developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation, apart from the Agni class missiles.
· Director General of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Ranjit Sinha has said that the ITBP is recruiting a large number of people from the naxal affected states and border areas to bring them into the mainstream. Talking about the ITBP preparedness to combat naxalism in the country, he said, it is committed to fight the menace and has already deployed around 15 companies in the affected areas, especially, in Chattishgarh.
· The Government has asked the Ministry of Home Affairs to lead a group of ministries in forming a policy to prevent misuse of the Internet and social media. A Cyber Surveillance Agency will be set up to forewarn the Government about malicious content. This is part of a three-pronged strategy formed after communally offensive morphed pictures and videos played havoc across the country July onwards. The Home Ministry has also been asked to authorise the Intelligence Bureau, Defence Research and Development Organisation and three others to monitor the web and social media services for malicious content that could possibly have law and order implications. Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh Assembly has passed a resolution, condemning the controversial films on the internet social networking sites, and demanding Central Government to ban such films which are threatening communal harmony.
· India’s much-awaited advanced communication satellite GSAT-10 will be launched from Kourou, French Guiana on September 29. The GSAT-10 is configured to carry a total of 30 communication transponders in normal C-band, lower extended C-band and Ku-band, as well as a GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) payload operating in L 1 and L 5 bands. GSAT-10 is the second satellite to carry GAGAN payload after GSAT-8.
· The Indian meteorological department (IMD) has said, “for the seventh consecutive year, the withdrawal of southwest monsoon has been delayed.” It said, over the last few days, conditions have been becoming favourable for the withdrawal of the southwest monsoon from many parts of northwest and west India. The southwest monsoon usually starts receding after 1st of September following the abeyance of rainfall for five successive days, the establishment of an anti-cyclonic depression in the lower troposphere and considerable reduction in moisture content. The IMD further stated that mainly dry weather would prevail over remaining parts of the country. [Click here for Graphics]
· The humble Guar Plant has literally turned into a cash crop in the semi-arid regions of Rajasthan. India, is the single-largest producer and exporter of guar gum and accounts for more than 70% of the global output. Rajasthan produces close to 80% of the country’s guar. The semi-arid regions of Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh make up the rest. The price of guar gum, a derivative of the seeds, had zoomed from Rs 6,364 per quintal (in January last year) to Rs 1 lakh (in March this year) before future trading of the commodity was banned, bringing down the price somewhat. The reason for this high demand is because oil drilling companies use guar gum to make hydraulic drilling fluids. These are pumped underground at high pressure during fracking, the process used to extract shale gas. Guar also has other applications. Guar gum powder is used in the textile industry to keep yarn smooth and strong. It increases the strength of paper and is used in the food industry to enhance taste and texture. Large parts of rural Rajasthan have tasted the first signs of prosperity, thanks to this plant.
· A Satyagraha of its own kind in Khandawa district of Madhya Pradesh named Jal Satyagraha came to an end on a winning note after continuing for 17 days at Omkareshwar Dam Project. The agitators were demanding for their rehabilitation after their lands and homes were deluged by the Omkareshwar Dam water. The water has flooded over 1000 acres of arable land with at least 60 odd villages that have disappeared from the map of India. They also had demands like lowering down the water level stored in the dam to 189 meters and to provide land for land compensation. The state government agreed to meet the demands of villagers and provide them land in exchange for the lands lost due to the dam. The state government had also agreed to reduce the water levels of the reservoir of the dam.
· Gujrat CM has decided to approve a 25 per cent increase in the floor space index (FSI) for the benefit of common people of Rajkot and Jamnagar.
· A conservation region in the Shonkaliya Region of Ajmer District, Rajasthan will be provided for the endangered Great Indian Bustard and Lesser Florican dedicated land for their breeding.
· In Arunachal Pradesh, Rashtriya Aarogya Nidhi Scheme was launched by the State Health Minister. The scheme which is under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, provides financial assistance upto 1.5 lakh rupees to BPL patients suffering from life threatening diseases in the form of a one time grant.
· The Bombay High Court has slammed the Mumbai Police for arresting cartoonist Aseem Trivedi on frivolous grounds (charge of sedition), saying its action breached his freedom of speech and expression (Art. 19), claiming that his arrest was illegal and unjustified. The Judges said, they intended to lay down certain parameters for application of the law of sedition. The Bench said, the sedition law was a pre-independence provision when government wanted protection from the citizens. The court wanted to know the Maharashtra government's stand on the issue and asked if it intends to drop the sedition charge on the cartoonist.
· In Tamil Nadu, the Mettur Dam (and the Grand Anicut Kallanai canal) has been opened for irrigation in Cauvery delta districts of Tamil Nadu. Mettur dam is opened for irrigation on June 12 every year for Kuruvai cultivation. But, this time because of scanty rainfall in Karnataka, the opening of shutters from Mettur dam was delayed by about three months.
· In Rajasthan, the 3rd round of measles vaccination has started from today in 9 districts. Measles is one of the main cause for infant deaths. But this vaccine is very effective and 85% children developed immunity after vaccination. A special dose will be provided to the children at Aanganbari centers and Schools. Earlier in 2010 the state health department vaccinated about 37 lakh children in 10 districts. This campaign will reduce the risk of measles in newborns also.
· In Madhya Pradesh, the state government has decided to accord status of industry to health services in its Health Services Investment Policy. The objective of the policy is to expand and promote health services in Madhya Pradesh. Capital Investment Subsidy amounting to 25% will be given on starting minimum 100-bed hospital, medical college, nursing and paramedical school and college in cities with less than 10 lakh population. If multi and super speciality hospital is proposed in an area outside municipal limits then five acre land will be made available for 200-bed hospital and 10 acre for 500-bed hospital at 25% premium.
· Anurag Basu’s Barfi! has been selected as India’s official entry to the Oscars this year. The movie was chosen from the 20 entries sent from the country. The others in the running were Kahaani, The Dirty Picture, Paan Singh Tomar, Gangs of Wasseypur 1 & 2, Heroine, Ferrari Ki Sawari, Gattu and Anhey Ghorhey Da Daan (Punjabi). Three Marathi films— Kaksparsh, Deool and Tukaram—were also sent. Balaji Sakthivel’s Vazhakku ENN 18/9 and Rajmouli’s Eega were shortlisted as well.
· India has undertaken several initiatives to tap the booming software and electronics markets in West Asia and North Africa region. In order to encourage the small and medium exporters to help diversify and expand their global base, the Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ECSEPC) will send a delegation of over 40 companies from India at the Global Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX) in Dubai in October, 2012. The Regional Director of the Council said that India has a great stake in the markets of West Asia, Africa and Europe for which Dubai is the Gateway. According to estimates, the overall growth in exports of Electronics and Software to Middle East countries during 2011-12 is estimated to be 37 percent, making Middle East Countries as the 2nd top destination for India’s Electronics Hardware Export. GITEX is the largest and the most impressive ICT event of its kind in the Middle East and is now ranked as one of the top three ICT exhibitions in the world. The event will provide the Indian ICT companies opportunities to expand in this region.
· Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh has said that he has conveyed his views to the Government that the Indian military would not like to move out of the strategically important heights of Siachen. He said, it is very important to hold on to the vital areas of heights and position won by laying down several lives. General Singh's statement comes in the backdrop of Pakistan pushing for demilitarisation of Siachen, however India has maintained that this cannot take place without proper authentication by both sides of the present troop positions on the Glacier. On the presence of Chinese troops in PoK, Gen Singh said, the matter has already been conveyed to the Government and whatever is there, the country's frontiers are guarded well.
· Visiting Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has laid the foundation stone for the International University of Buddhist & Indic Studies at Sanchi in Madhya Pradesh.
· India has extended a line of credit of 40 million USD development assistance to Burundi, both countries also signed MOU's in the areas of health and medicine, Education and Urban Development. India will also set up an Information and technology Excellence Centre in Burundi. President of Burundi (Mr. Pierre Nkurunziza) has informed that Burundi will be hosting the India-Africa Institute of Educational Planning and Administration. He also extended his country's support for India's bid for a permanent Membership at the reformed and expanded United Nations Security Council.
· Commerce, Industry and Textiles Minister of India had visited South Africa for bilateral meetings with his counterpart. He mentioned that South Africa will be hosting the next BRICS Summit next year and India is preparing to host the IBSA Summit in June next year. The Minister also emphasized the need for early conclusion of the India-SACU Preferential Trade Agreement as it would complete IBSA-SACU-Mercosur trilateral. Both the countries have expressed satisfaction at the fact that the bilateral trade had crossed US$14 billion last year and that we would be able to meet the target of US$ 15 billion this year itself, well ahead of the 2014 timeline.
· India and China have expressed their willingness to strengthen bilateral tourism cooperation. Tour Operators and Travel Agents of both the countries may interact with each other in order to promote two way tourism between India and China. Both the countries would like to exchange relevant information/statistics with regard to tourist arrivals, targets and projection, infrastructure facilities, etc. Now that Hotels and Tourism sector has been opened for Foreign Direct Investment up to 100% on automatic routes, Chinese investment in tourism infrastructure in India could be one of the major areas of cooperation. It was also decided that exchange visit of students and faculty from Hotel Management Institutes between the two countries which started in September 2007 may be continued on regular basis. Both the sides were of the opinion that Faculty exchange programmes should be organized between the Human Resource Development Institutes in India and China.
· Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams has taken over the command of the International Space Station. She became the second woman in history to do so. In addition to holding the record for the longest space flight time among female space travelers, she holds the record for number of spacewalks for a female, and most spacewalk time for a female. Sunita will be sharing the Space Station with veteran Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide until mid-October, when three more astronauts, including NASA astronaut Kevin Ford, will arrive and round out the full crew of Expedition 33.
· India and United Kingdom ink MoU on Urban Regeneration and Development. The MoU envisages promotion of cooperation in the areas of sustainable master planning; transport planning; land economics; heritage management; regeneration governance; Regeneration capacity building and public private partnership financing arrangements. Indian Minister of Urban Development has expressed appreciation of the urban regeneration works carried out in London and felt that India could benefit from the British experience in the next phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission.
· India and Egypt today signed a MoU to establish an institutional framework for their ongoing cooperation in the field of election management and administration. Election Commission of India has so far signed 13 MOUs with Election Management Bodies and international organizations across the world. India and Egypt are already collaborating in the areas of Electronic Voting, Voters Education and Election Tracking Technology. Recently, the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt has upheld its ruling to dissolve the newly elected parliament on the appeal which had called for reinstating two-third of the parliament and exclude the remaining one-third which was deemed to have been elected unconstitutionally. The apex court in its earlier order had declared null and void the elections for one third seats in the Parliament which were earmarked for independent candidates. The court said that the parties had fielded their candidates on these seats which were unconstitutional. However, the President Mohammed Morsi after his victory in the Presidential elections had issued a decree annulling the court order and reinstated the Parliament. But, the Parliament met once and decided to wait for the review of the Supreme Court judgement. Thus, the decision by the apex court has cleared the decks for fresh Parliament elections in the country. Islamist parties led by Muslim Brotherhood had got two third majority in the elections held in February this year. (this point of DNN has 2 news and both are imp.)
· In his key note address at the inaugural session of TurkmenTEL 2012 at the Turkmenistan capital Ashgabat, Indian Communication Minister (Kapil Sibal) has assured Turkmenistan of all cooperation in ICT (e-health, e-education and e-governance services) to the mutual benefit of both the countries. Turkmenistan can be connected to Indian Universities through National Knowledge Network and students sitting in Turkmenistan can directly be part of academic sessions in various disciplines in India. He also emphasized the need for regional cooperation to uplift the social and economic status of the people in the region. Further, he shared the success story of Indian Telecom Sector and gave an overview of the spectrum of policy initiatives in India’s National Telecom Policy 2012. He also invited the Turkmenistan Minister to participate in India Telecom 2012 in Delhi.
· Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs inaugurated the 7th Heads of Indian Missions (HoMs) conference here in Bengaluru to discuss the issues related to protection and welfare of Overseas Indian workers. He asked HoMs to cooperate on the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana which provides the overseas Indian workers a pension, a sum for return and resettlement and life insurance during the period of five years. The Minister also mentioned that Government has given the voting rights to NRIs. The Government is also getting the PIO and OCI Card Scheme merged into one Scheme. He announced revised Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) scheme, which includes: [1.] Assistance towards boarding expenses per head by HOMs is enhanced from 15 to 30 days; [2.] Payment of penalties in respect of Indian nationals for illegal stay in the host country where prima facie the worker is not at fault; [3.] Payment of small fines/penalties for the release of Indian nationals in jail/detention centre; [4.] Providing support to local Overseas Indian Associations to establish Overseas Indian Community Centres in countries that have populations of Overseas Indians exceeding 1,00,000; [5.] Providing support to start and run Overseas Indian Community-based student welfare centres in Countries that have more than 20,000 Indian students’ presence.
· India, Myanmar and Thailand reviewed the Trilateral Connectivity Project of Highway Construction and decided to put all efforts to establish it by 2016. The idea was conceived at the trilateral ministerial meeting on transport linkages in Yangon in April 2002. The trilateral highway will connect Moreh in Manipur to Mae Sot in Thailand through Myanmar.
· In the United States, cutting across party lines, a group of over 80 lawmakers has introduced a key resolution in the House of Representatives seeking for the first time documentation of hate crimes against Sikhs. They lauded the contributions of the Sikh-American community. The resolution condemned a slew of attacks against Sikhs and their religious institutions over the past year, including the August 5 Gurdwara shooting at Oak Creek, Wisconsin, which killed six worshippers. It came hours after the House passed a resolution introduced by Republican Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan condemning the Wisconsin Gurdwara attack.
· The 58th Commonwealth Parliamentarian conference has concluded in Colombo. Nearly 800 members of Parliament and Speakers from 54 Commonwealth countries attended the conference. The next conference will be held in South Africa next year.
· A suspected policeman has killed four NATO troops in Afghanistan, in the latest apparent attack involving Afghan security forces killing their Western allies. Recently, 2 British soldiers died in a similar attack. Afghanistan is passing through the third phase of the security transition and by the end of this year Afghan security forces will be responsible for defending two third area of their country. But the number of insider attacks on foreign troops is going up unabated. As a precautionary measure the US army recently withheld the training of new recruits of the Afghan Local Police. But the killing of six foreign soldiers within past 24 hours indicates a disturbing trend in Afghanistan.
· Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has urged China to ensure the safety of Japanese citizens and Japan’s businesses in China are not in danger as protests intensify over disputed islands. Anti-Japanese protests were reported in dozens of cities across China over disputed islands in the East China Sea. The islands, known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan, are also claimed by Taiwan and have been a long-running source of friction in the region.
· The United Arab Emirates Government has issued orders that all those employees of Abu Dhabi Government departments and agencies who are living outside the emirate must shift to Abu Dhabi within a grace period of one year. The move is aimed at ensuring the safety of its employees and achieving social stability for them and their families. The Government also hopes that workers will now be less tired from commuting long distances and that roads will be less congested.
· The US Secretary of State has said that Islamabad is a sovereign nations and carry certain obligations like preventing threats to neighbours and the international community. Her statement was counter respone of the demand put by the then visiting Pakistani External Affairs Minister (Hina Rabbani Khar) in Washington for an end to the drone strikes alleging that they violate Pakistan's sovereignty. The US has ruled out stopping its highly successful drone programme which targets terrorists operating inside the Pakistan tribal areas. Meanwhile, at least 3 suspected militants were killed when a US drone targeted a car in Pakistan's restive North Waziristan tribal region. However, the Drones continued hovering over the area after the strike, causing tensions among local residents. Afghan and US officials describe North Waziristan as a safe haven for Al Qaeda and Taliban elements, including the Haqqani network. Further, Afghanistan has banned all Pakistani newspapers from entering the country. The move is an attempt to block the Taliban from influencing public opinion through the press.
· The International Day of Peace, also known as World Peace Day, is being observed across the world on 21st Sep, 2012. The day is dedicated to observance of peace and specifically the absence of war and violence. The day was first celebrated in 1982, and recognised by many nations, political groups, military groups and the people. It is also an occasion for adhering to temporary ceasefire in combat zones for providing access to humanitarian aid to the strife torn people.
· The World Alzheimer's Day is being observed on 21st Sep, 2012. The day is meant to spread awareness about Alzheimer's disease across the world. Doctors say, with an increasing elderly population falling prey to it, Alzheimer's disease, a kind of dementia, stands as one of the biggest health threats in India. The disease, caused by the degeneration of brain cells and nerves, impacts the functioning of the brain, effecting the day-to-day activities of its victims. Though the causes of the disease are not completely known yet, India has almost a fourth of the world's Alzheimer's patients.
· The World Ozone Day is being observed on 16th Sep, 2012. It aims to make people aware to use ultra violet protector sun glasses while exposed to the sun and use products which are ozone friendly. It also encourages people to repair refrigerators and air conditioners, recover and recycle old ozone depleting substances so that they are not released into the atmosphere. The ozone layer occurs in the stratospheric layer of the earth’s atmosphere and it prevents most harmful wavelengths of ultra violet lights from passing through the atmosphere.
· The Indian Cricket team’s Vice-Captain, Virat Kohli was awarded as the ODI Cricketer of the year. He was honored with this title for smashing 1733 runs in 31 matches at an average of 66.65, which included eight centuries and six half-centuries. Some Highlights: [1.] The ICC Cricketer of the year, ICC Test Cricketer of the Year and the People`s Choice Award: Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka); [2.] The ICC Twenty20 International Performance of the Year : Richard Levi (South Africa); [3.] The Women`s ODI Cricketer of the Year : Stafanie Taylor (West Indies); [4.] Women`s T20 Cricketer of the Year : Sarah Taylor (England); [5.] Associate and Affiliate Cricketer of the Year : George Dockrell (Ireland).
· The boxing Champion, Muhammad Ali who to retirement from the game in the year 1981 was awarded Liberty Medal in Philadelphia. The boxer was given this the honor for his contribution towards the humanitarian causes like religious freedom and civil rights. The Liberty Medal is administered by National Constitution Center of the US. The award is conferred on the leaders who fight for the pursuit of Freedom. Muhammad Ali, who was born as Cassius Marcellus Clay changed his name to be Muhammad Ali after joining the Nation of Islam in the year 1964. Ali clinched the world heavyweight title 3 times and is nicknamed as The Greatest.
· The All India Tennis Association, AITA had extended the ban on Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna from the national team till June 30, 2014. Bhupathi and Bopanna had objected to partnering with Leander Paes at the London Olympics, following which AITA had sent two doubles team - one of Bhupathi and Bopanna, and the other of Paes and Vishnu Vardhan to the Olympics. However, the Karnataka High Court has stayed the ban on Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna imposed by the All India Tennnis Association.
· Indian archer Deepika Kumari has won the silver medal in recurve event at World Archery in Tokyo. She lost to World No.1 Ki Bo-Bae of Korea. Earlier, Deepika qualified for the final after defeating Jennifer Nichols of USA.