INSIGHTS: Komagata Maru, Manual Scavenging Act, NABARD, ED

INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS: 01
OCTOBER 2014

30 SEPTEMBER 2014
Komagata Maru centenary observed
A year-long centenary commemoration of the Komagata Maru was launched in the presence of three
granddaughters of Baba Gurdit Singh who was among the leaders of the 376 immigrants aboard the
ship that had been turned away from Canada and forced to return to India.
The British imperial government saw the men on the ship as dangerous political agitators, and sent
the police to arrest Singh and others. While Singh escaped arrest, 19 men were killed in the firing.
About Komagata Maru incident:
A Japanese steam ship named Komagata maru, filled with Indian immigrants was forced to return to
India on September 29, 1914 from Canada when the passengers were not allowed to land in
Canada(only 24 out of 352 passengers were admitted to Canada). This was due to the Continuous
passage act enacted by the Canadian government to check the immigrants and particularly from
India.
In this incident, 19 Canada-bound Indian immigrants were killed in police firing and many were
arrested by the British police. This incident made the Ghadar Party proclaim war and inspired
thousands of Indian immigrants to come back and organize an armed rebellion against British
imperialism. However, this movement was crushed by the British.
Sources: The Hindu, Wiki.

Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013
The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 which
came into force on 6th December, 2013, is an important tool for achieving the governments
objective of complete sanitation.
The Act addresses the twin problems of insanitary latrines and manual scavengers in a very
comprehensive manner. It provides for elaborate mechanisms at the local, state and central level to
ensure that the insanitary latrines which are the root cause of manual scavenging are eliminated and
the manual scavengers are rehabilitated in alternative occupations on a sustainable basis.

Highlights
The act prohibits the employment of manual scavengers, the manual cleaning of sewers and septic
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tanks without protective equipment, and the construction of insanitary latrines.
It seeks to rehabilitate manual scavengers and provide for their alternative employment.
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Each local authority, cantonment board and railway authority is responsible for surveying
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insanitary latrines within its jurisdiction. They shall also construct a number of sanitary community
latrines.
Each occupier of insanitary latrines shall be responsible for converting or demolishing the latrine
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at his own cost. If he fails to do so, the local authority shall convert the latrine and recover the cost
from him.
The District Magistrate and the local authority shall be the implementing authorities.
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Offences under this act shall be cognizable and non-bailable, and may be tried summarily.
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As per the Act, the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis has been mandated to monitor the
implementation of the Act. It states that the Commission shall perform the following functions:
To monitor the implementation of the Act;
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To enquire into complaints regarding contravention of the provisions of the Act, and to convey its
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findings to the concerned authorities with recommendations requiring further action; and
To advise the Central and the State Governments for effective implementation of the provisions of
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the Act.
To take suo motu notice of matter relating to non-implementation of the Act.
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In the discharge of its above mentioned functions, the Commission has been given the powers to call
for information with respect to any matter specified above from any Government or local or other
authority.
Sources: PIB, www.prsindia.org.

About NABARD
It is an apex development and specialized bank established on 12 July 1982 by an act by the
parliament of India.
Its main focus is to uplift rural India by increasing the credit flow for elevation of agriculture & rural
non farm sector.
It was established based on the recommendations of the Committee set up by the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) under the chairmanship of Shri B. shivaraman.
It replaced the Agricultural Credit Department (ACD) and Rural Planning and Credit Cell (RPCC) of
Reserve Bank of India, and Agricultural Refinance and Development Corporation (ARDC).
It is one of the premier agencies to provide credit in rural areas.
It has been accredited with matters concerning policy, planning and operations in the field of credit
for agriculture and other economic activities in rural areas in India.
NABARD is active in developing financial inclusion policy and is a member of the Alliance for
Financial Inclusion.
Its role and functions:
It looks after the development of the cottage industry, small industry and village industry, and other
rural industries.
The Bank has been given certain roles as follows:
It Serves as an apex financing agency for the institutions providing investment and production
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credit for promoting the various developmental activities in rural areas
It takes measures towards institution building for improving absorptive capacity of the credit
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delivery system, including monitoring, formulation of rehabilitation schemes, restructuring of
credit institutions, training of personnel, etc.
Co-ordinates the rural financing activities of all institutions engaged in developmental work at the
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field level and maintains liaison with Government of India, State Governments, Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) and other national level institutions concerned with policy formulation
It Undertakes monitoring and evaluation of projects refinanced by it.
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NABARD refinances the financial institutions which finances the rural sector.
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It regulates the institution which provides financial help to the rural economy.
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It provides training facilities to the institutions working the field of rural upliftment.
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It regulates the cooperative banks and the RRBs, and manages talent acquisition through IBPS
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CWE.
NABARD is also known for its SHG Bank Linkage Programme which encourages Indias banks to
lend to SHGs.
Sources: The Hindu, www.nabard.org, Wiki.
01 OCTOBER 2014
About Enforcement Directorate
Enforcement Directorate, established in the year 1956, is a law enforcement agency and economic
intelligence agency responsible for enforcing economic laws and fighting economic crime in India.
Directorate of Enforcement is a specialized financial investigation agency under the Department
of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, which enforces the following laws:
Foreign Exchange Management Act,1999 (FEMA) A civil law having quasi judicial powers, for
investigating suspected contraventions of the Exchange Control laws and regulations with powers to
impose penalties on those adjudged guilty.
Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) A Criminal Law, with the officers
empowered to conduct investigations to trace assets derived out of the proceeds of crime, and to
provisionally attach/ confiscate the same, to arrest and prosecute the offenders found to be involved
in Money Laundering.
The other functions include:
To collect, develop and disseminate intelligence relating to violations of FEMA, 1999, the
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intelligence inputs are received from various sources such as Central and State Intelligence
agencies, complaints etc.
To investigate suspected violations of the provisions of the FEMA, 1999 relating to activities such
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as hawala foreign exchange racketeering, non-realization of export proceeds, non-repatriation of
foreign exchange and other forms of violations under FEMA, 1999.
To adjudicate cases of violations of the erstwhile FERA, 1973 and FEMA, 1999.
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To realize penalties imposed on conclusion of adjudication proceedings.
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To handle adjudication, appeals and prosecution cases under the erstwhile FERA, 1973
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To process and recommend cases for preventive detention under the Conservation of Foreign
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Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (COFEPOSA)
To undertake survey, search, seizure, arrest, prosecution action etc. against offender of PMLA
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offence.
To provide and seek mutual legal assistance to/from contracting states in respect of
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attachment/confiscation of proceeds of crime as well as in respect of transfer of accused persons
under PMLA.
Sources: The Hindu, Wiki, http://www.enforcementdirectorate.gov.in/.

Vigilance Commissioner Rajiv to act as CVC
President Pranab Mukherjee has authorised Vigilance Commissioner Rajiv to act as Central
Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) until a regular appointment is made.
About CVC:
Established in 1964, it is the Main agency to address governmental corruption.
The CVC is not an investigating agency, and works through either the CBI or through the
Departmental Chief Vigilance Officers.
It was created by a resolution of the central government on the recommendation of the Santhanam
commission.
The CVC is headed by a Central Vigilance Commissioner who is assisted by two Vigilance
Commissioners. They are appointed by the President of India by warrant under his hand and seal on
the recommendation of a 3 member committee consisting of Prime Minister, central Home Minister
and the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha.
The term of office of the Central Vigilance Commissioner and the Vigilance Commissioners would be
four years from the date on which they enter their office or till they attain the age of 65 years,
whichever is earlier and they are not eligible for further reappointment.

The Central Vigilance Commissioner or any Vigilance Commissioner can be removed from his office
only by order of the President on the ground of proved misbehavior or incapacity after the Supreme
Court, on a reference made to it by the President, has, on inquiry, reported that the Central
Vigilance Commissioner or any Vigilance Commissioner, as the case may be, ought to be removed.

CVC is only an advisory body. Central Government Departments are free to either accept or reject
CVCs advice in corruption cases.
The Ordinance of 1998 conferred statutory status to the CVC and the powers to exercise
superintendence over functioning of the Delhi Special Police Establishment, and also to review the
progress of the investigations pertaining to alleged offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act,
1988 conducted by them.
Sources: The Hindu, Wiki, cvc.nic.in.

Rift between Hong Kong and China
China has failed to keep up the political commitments it made before taking control of Hong Kong
from Britain in 1997. And hence protests are going on in Hong Kong demanding Democratic
elections.
About Hong Kong and its relationship with China:
Hong Kong is officially known as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic
of China and is an autonomous region on the southern coast of China geographically enclosed by the
Pearl River Delta and South China Sea.
It is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. It is also known for its deep natural
harbour.
Hong Kong became a colony of the British Empire after the First Opium War (183942). Hong Kong
Island was first ceded to the UK in perpetuity, followed by Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and then the
New Territories was put under lease in 1898. It was occupied by Japan during the Pacific War
(194145), after which the British resumed control until 1997.
As a result of the negotiations and the 1984 agreement between China and Britain, Hong Kong was
handed over to the Peoples Republic of China and became its first Special Administrative Region on
1 July 1997, under the principle of one country, two systems.
As the last Crown Colony of the United Kingdom, loss of Hong Kong also represented the end of the
British Empire.
It has a different political system from mainland China. Hong Kongs independent judiciary functions
under the common law framework. The Hong Kong Basic Law, the constitutional document drafted
by the Chinese side before the handover based on the terms enshrined in the Joint Declaration,
governs its political system, and stipulates that Hong Kong shall have a high degree of autonomy in
all matters except foreign relations and military defence.
Points of tension between the Mainland and the Special Administrative Region (SAR), handed back
to Beijing in 1997 after British rule ended, have been demonstrated in terms of marked differences
in public behaviour to business ethics, as well as language and colloquialism barriers.
Recent protests:
The agreement signed by Britain and China allowed Hong Kong to retain its free-market economy, a
legal system with an independent judiciary and other rights, including greater civil liberties than
residents of the mainland. China also promised free elections for Hong Kongs chief executive in
2017, but, in august 2014, Chinas legislature called for limiting the candidates who would be
allowed to run, among other restrictions. With the government insisting on controlling the
nomination process, the protesters demand for fully democratic elections looked to be slipping
away, so they took to the streets.
China blocked moves by Hong Kong to move to full democracy, by ruling that only three candidates
could run for elections as leader in 2017, and they would not be chosen by any process in Hong
Kong, but by a nomination committee established by China.
Hong Kongers will be able to vote for their next chief executive in 2017 elections but only two or
three candidates vetted by a pro-Beijing committee will be allowed to stand something
demonstrators have labelled a fake democracy that shows Hong Kong cannot trust its mainland
overseers.
Civil liberties have also been increasingly restricted, while the election of the regions chief
executive is largely seen as a farce puppet-stringed by Beijing.
The crisis is also raising concerns in Taiwan, a self-governing island that the Chinese government
insists is a province of China that must one day be reunited with the mainland. After whats
happened in Hong Kong, the Taiwanese will have no reason ever to trust Chinas promise of one
country, two systems.
Sources: The Hindu, www.nytimes.com, wiki.

Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002
The Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), which came into force in July 2005, is aimed
at combating money laundering in India with three main objectives
to prevent and control money laundering.
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to confiscate and seize the property obtained from laundered money, and
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to deal with any other issue connected with money laundering in India.
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The Act provides that whosoever directly or indirectly attempts to indulge or knowingly assists or
knowingly is a party or is actually involved in any process or activity connected with the proceeds of
crime and projecting it as untainted property, shall be guilty of offences of money-laundering. For
the purpose of money-laundering, the PMLA identifies certain offences under the Indian Penal Code,
the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, the Arms Act, the Wild Life (Protection) Act,
the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act and the Prevention of Corruption Act, the proceeds of which
would be covered under this Act.
Special Court under Section 43 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) says that the
Central Government, in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court, shall, for trial of
offence punishable under Section 4, by notification, designate one or more Courts of Session as
Special Court or Special Courts for such area or areas or for such case or class or group of cases as
may be specified in the notification.
A person, who is accused of having committed the offence of money laundering, has to prove that
alleged proceeds of crime are in fact lawful property.
This act extends to the whole of India including the state of Jammu & Kashmir.
The Directorate of Enforcement in the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance is responsible for
investigating the cases of offence of money laundering under Prevention of Money Laundering Act,
2002.
Financial Intelligence Unit India (FIU-IND) under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance
is the central national agency responsible for receiving, processing, analyzing and disseminating
information relating to suspect financial transactions to enforcement agencies and foreign FIUs.
For further reference: http://www.enforcementdirectorate.gov.in/faqs_on_pmla.pdf.
Sources: The Hindu, Wiki, www.enforcementdirectorate.gov.in, fiuindia.gov.in.

Reserve Bank keeps policy rates unchanged
Repo rate unchanged : 8 per cent.
Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) : 4 per cent.
(The repo rate is the rate at which the central bank lends money to banks. The CRR is the portion of
total deposits of customers, which commercial banks have to hold as reserves either in cash or as
deposits with the central bank).
Medium-term objective: inflation target of 6 per cent by January 2016.
Sources: The Hindu.

OCTOBER 2014
New NATO head takes over
Former two-term Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg started to work as NATOs
Secretary-General, the 13th in the trans-Atlantic organisations 65-year existence.
About NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an alliance of 28 countries from North America
and Europe committed to fulfilling the goals of the North Atlantic Treaty signed on 4 April 1949. In
accordance with the Treaty, the fundamental role of NATO is to safeguard the freedom and security
of its member countries by political and military means. NATO is playing an increasingly important
role in crisis management and peacekeeping.
NATOs essential purpose is to safeguard the freedom and security of its members through political
and military means.
POLITICAL NATO promotes democratic values and encourages consultation and cooperation on
defence and security issues to build trust and, in the long run, prevent conflict.
MILITARY NATO is committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes. If diplomatic efforts fail, it
has the military capacity needed to undertake crisis-management operations. These are carried out
under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty NATOs founding treaty or under a UN mandate, alone
or in cooperation with other countries and international organizations.
NATO provides a unique opportunity for member countries to consult and take decisions on security
issues at all levels and in a variety of fields.
A NATO decision is the expression of the collective will of all 28 member countries since all
decisions are taken by consensus.
All member countries that participate in the military aspect of the Alliance contribute forces and
equipment, which together constitute the integrated military structure of the Alliance. These forces
and assets remain under national command and control until a time when they are required by
NATO for a specific purpose (i.e. conflict or crisis, peacekeeping). NATO, however, does possess
some common capabilities owned and operated by the Alliance, such as the AWACS early warning
radar aircraft.
NATO against Terrorism:
NATOs work on counter-terrorism focuses on improved threat awareness and preparedness,
developing adequate capabilities and enhancing engagement with partner countries and other
international actors.
On 12 September 2001, less than 24 hours after the terrorist attacks against the United States,
NATO declared the attacks to be an attack against all the 28 NATO member countries within the
terms of Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.
This landmark decision was followed by practical measures aimed at assisting the United States in
different fields, in relation to its campaign against terrorism.
NATO and CYBER DEFENCE:
Against the background of increasing dependence on technology and on the Internet, the Alliance is
advancing its efforts to confront the wide range of cyber threats targeting NATOs networks on a
daily basis. The growing sophistication of cyber attacks makes the protection of the Alliances
communications and information systems (CIS) an urgent task. This objective has been recognised
as a priority in NATOs Strategic Concept.
Sources: The Hindu, wiki, www.nato.int.
National Green Tribunal (NGT)
The National Green Tribunal has been established under the National Green Tribunal Act
2010 for effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and
conservation of forests and other natural resources including enforcement of any legal right relating
to environment and giving relief and compensation for damages to persons and property and for
matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
It is a specialized body equipped with the necessary expertise to handle environmental disputes
involving multi-disciplinary issues. The Tribunal shall not be bound by the procedure laid down
under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, but shall be guided by principles of natural justice.
The Tribunals dedicated jurisdiction in environmental matters shall provide speedy environmental
justice and help reduce the burden of litigation in the higher courts.
The Tribunal is mandated to make and endeavour for disposal of applications or appeals finally
within 6 months of filing of the same.
Members:
The sanctioned strength of the tribunal is currently 10 expert members and 10 judicial members
although the act allows for up to 20 of each.
The Chairman of the tribunal who is the administrative head of the tribunal also serves as a judicial
member.
Every bench of the tribunal must consist of at least one expert member and one judicial member.
The Chairman of the tribunal is required to be a serving or retired Chief Justice of a High Court or a
judge of the Supreme Court of India.
Members are chosen by a selection committee (headed by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court of
India) that reviews their applications and conducts interviews.
The Judicial members are chosen from applicants who are serving or retired judges of High Courts.
Expert members are chosen from applicants who are either serving or retired bureaucrats not below
the rank of an Additional Secretary to the Government of India (not below the rank of Principal
Secretary if serving under a state government) with a minimum administrative experience of five
years in dealing with environmental matters. Or, the expert members must have a doctorate in a
related field.
Jurisdiction:
The Tribunal has Original Jurisdiction on matters of substantial question relating to environment
(i.e. a community at large is affected, damage to public health at broader level) & damage to
environment due to specific activity (such as pollution). However there is no specific method is
defined in Law for determining substantial damage to environment, property or public health.
The powers of tribunal related to an award are equivalent to Civil court and tribunal may transmit
any order/award to civil court have local jurisdiction. The Act specifies that an application for
dispute related to environment can be filled within six months only when first time dispute arose
(provided tribunal can accept application after 60 days if it is satisfied that appellant was prevented
by sufficient cause from filling the application).
Also Tribunal is competent to hear cases for several acts such as Forest (Conservation) Act,
Biological Diversity Act, Environment (Protection) Act, Water & Air (Prevention & control of
Pollution) Acts etc. and also have appellate jurisdiction related to above acts after establishment of
Tribunal within a period of 30 days of award or order received by aggrieved party.
The Act says that decision taken by majority of members shall be binding and every order of
Tribunal shall be final. Any person aggrieved by an award, decision, or order of the Tribunal may
appeal to the Supreme Court within 90 days of commencement of award but Supreme Court can
entertain appeal even after 90 days if appellant satisfied SC by giving sufficient reasons.
Sources: The Hindu, wiki, http://www.greentribunal.gov.in/.
Punarjagaran- Mass Awakening Campaign for youth
It will be launched by The Ministry of Skill Development, Entrepreneurship, Youth Affairs and
Sports.
Punarjagaran aims at creating awareness among youth and empower them to become active
partners in nation building activities.
The yearlong Campaign also aims to make aware and educate youth on key issues in thematic areas,
provide information on the avenues for skill development, encourage and empower them with the
spirit of nationalism and volunteerism. The thematic areas of the campaign are encouraging
Nationalism, promoting Swachh Bharat, Shramadaan and popularizing the recently launched Jan
Dhan Yojana.
Sources: PIB.
PIO Card valid for Life Time
In pursuance of the announcement made by the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi at
Madison Square Garden in New York on September 28, 2014, now, Person of Indian Origin (PIO)
Card shall be valid for life time and the PIO Card holder shall be exempt from police reporting /
registration.
It has been further clarified that all PIO Cards issued till September 30, 2014 are automatically
deemed to have life time validity.
About PIO card:
A PIO card allows visa free travel and several other benefits to the card holder.
All persons of Indian origin who are in possession of the passport of any other country except
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, China, Sri Lanka or any other country specified
by the government, are eligible for PIO Card if:
He/She had any time held an Indian passport.
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He/She or either of his/her parents or grand parents or great grand parents was born in India or
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permanent resident in India provided neither was at any time a citizen of any other specific
country.
He/She is a spouse of a citizen of India or a person of Indian origin covered under 1 & 2 above.
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Iranian nationals of Indian Origin can be granted PIO card after MHA approval.
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Sources: PIB, http://boi.gov.in/.

ECI Launches Video Game to Educate Voters
In a first of its kind effort, the Election Commission of India has developed a video game titled Get!
Set! Vote!
The game has been created to broadly engage citizens of all age groups to learn on democracy and
electoral process.
In a fun-filled and interactive manner, the video game gives out pieces of information and interesting
details in10 levels of mazes. With every successive level, the information becomes more specific to
subjects such as Indian democracy, registering to vote, ethical voting, help from ECI and so on. The
mazes also get more challenging with the player clearing each level.
Under the Commissions SVEEP (Systematic Voter Education and Electoral Participation)
programme, the video game has been developed in collaboration with UNDP India.
A series of edutainment materials including picture book Proud to be a Voter and Garv se bane
Matdata; Cartoon Strips Wah Election Wah; board game Ready! Steady! Vote! and Vote
kiBaazi; and radio programme Loktantra Express has been developed for imparting voter
education through entertainment.
Sources: PIB.
OCTOBER 2014
Food Security Act: Odisha to digitise ration cards
Moving ahead in the implementation of the National Food Security Act (NFSA), the Odisha
government plans to take up digitisation for new ration cards.
About National Food Security Act, 2013:
It is also called as Right to Food act.
This is an act of the Parliament of India which aims to provide subsidized food grains to
approximately two thirds of Indias 1.2 billion people.
It extends to the whole of India.
Under the provisions of this act, beneficiaries are able to purchase 5 kilograms per eligible person
per month of cereals at the following prices:
rice at 3 Rupees per kg
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wheat at 2 Rupees per kg
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coarse grains (millet) at 1 rupee per kg.
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Pregnant women, lactating mothers, and certain categories of children are eligible for daily free
meals.
Salient features:
75% rural and 50% of the urban population are entitled for three years from enactment to five kg
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food grains per month at 3 Rupees , 2 Rupees, 1 Rupee per kg for rice, wheat and coarse grains
(millet), respectively.
The states are responsible for determining eligibility.
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Pregnant women and lactating mothers are entitled to a nutritious take home ration of 600
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Calories and a maternity benefit of at least Rs 6,000 for six months.
Children 6 months to 14 years of age are to receive free hot meals or take home rations.
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The central government will provide funds to states in case of short supplies of food grains.
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The state government will provide a food security allowance to the beneficiaries in case of non-
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supply of food grains.
The Public Distribution System is to be reformed.
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The eldest woman in the household, 18 years or above, is the head of the household for the
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issuance of the ration card.
There will be state- and district-level redress mechanisms; and
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State Food Commissions will be formed for implementation and monitoring of the provisions of the
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Act.
The cost of the implementation is estimated to be $22 billion(1.25 lac crore), approximately 1.5%
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of GDP.
The poorest who are covered under the Antodaya yojana will remain entitled to the 35 kg of grains
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allotted to them under the mentioned scheme.

Sources: http://www.business-standard.com/ , Wiki.
United Nations Convention against Corruption
The United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), which entered into force in December
2005, is the ever-first binding global anti-corruption instrument. It obliges the States to prevent and
criminalize different corrupt practices, promote international cooperation, cooperate for the
recovery of stolen assets and enhance technical assistance and information exchange.
The Convention addresses both the public and private spheres and provides a set of comprehensive
agreed-upon obligations and provisions to criminalize corruption and enhance transparency and
accountability. In order to monitor the progress in the implementation of the Convention, Member
States have agreed to conduct peer-review mechanisms among themselves, for which UNODC acts
as a Secretariat.
It is the first global legally binding international anti-corruption instrument. And is a multilateral
convention negotiated by members of the United Nations.
UNCAC requires that States Parties implement several anti-corruption measures which may affect
their laws, institutions and practices. These measures aim at preventing corruption, criminalizing
certain conducts, strengthening international law enforcement and judicial cooperation, providing
effective legal mechanisms for asset recovery, technical assistance and information exchange, and
mechanisms for implementation of the Convention, including the Conference of the States Parties to
the United Nations Convention against Corruption (CoSP).
UNCAC was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 31 October 2003 by Resolution.
Currently, there are 172 parties, including the European Union.
UNCAC covers five main areas: preventive measures, criminalization and law enforcement,
international cooperation, asset recovery, and technical assistance and information exchange. It
includes both mandatory and non-mandatory provisions.
In May 2011, the Indian Government ratified the United Nations Convention against Corruption
(UNCAC) convention.
So ur c e s : Wi ki , ht t p: / / www. uno dc . o r g/ ,
http://www. busi ness- standard. com/.
OCTOBER 2014
Move to Deny Foreign Nationals Access to Surrogacy Draws
Flak
The view among experts looking into the new Assisted Reproductive Technologies
(Regulation) Bill 2014 that single parents and foreign nationals should not be allowed to
have children through surrogates in India has come in for criticism.
Some experts opine that single men or women cant be deprived of the right to have
children through surrogacy. Any restriction on foreign parent, single or couple, may be
questioned as foreigners, irrespective of marital status, are allowed inter-country adoptions
under Indian law. Even, the Supreme Court allows religion and gender-free secular
adoptions. Even transgenders will have rights. A right to reproductive autonomy as part of
Right to Life under Article 21 is available even to foreigners as persons and cannot be
unreasonably curtailed.
The view to disallow foreign nationals stems from the concern over citizenship rights of
children born to Indian surrogate mothers as several countries have banned surrogacy and
do not recognise the children born through assisted means as their citizens.
The Supreme Court had asked the government to clarify its stand on the citizenship of
children born via an Indian surrogate mother in India, but whose biological mother is a
foreign national. A Supreme Court Bench led by Justice Ranjan Gogoi asked: Under the
Constitution, a child born in India from an Indian surrogate mother is entitled to Indian
citizenship, but what happens if the biological mother is a foreign citizen and the child
applies for citizenship of that country. The Bench is looking into the larger issue of the
need for a comprehensive legislation dealing with all the issues and situations, including
citizenship of a surrogate child, created by the latest reproductive technology.
There has been an intense debate on the provisions of the ART Bill, with a majority of the
stakeholders favouring that only married Indian couples be allowed to hire surrogates. A
small section says it could be extended to couples where at least one parent is an Indian
national. It is now left to the government to take a decision and present the Bill in
Parliament
Indian Council for Medical Research guidelines on Surrogacy:
The Indian Council for Medical Research has given Guidelines in the year 2005 regulating
Assisted Reproductive Technology procedures. The following observations have been made
by the Law Commission in its report:
Surrogacy arrangement will continue to be governed by contract amongst parties, which
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will contain all the terms requiring consent of surrogate mother to bear child, agreement
of her husband and other family members for the same, medical procedures of artificial
insemination, reimbursement of all reasonable expenses for carrying child to full term,
willingness to hand over the child born to the commissioning parent(s), etc. But such an
arrangement should not be for commercial purposes.
A surrogacy arrangement should provide for financial support for surrogate child in the
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event of death of the commissioning couple or individual before delivery of the child, or
divorce between the intended parents and subsequent willingness of none to take delivery
of the child.
A surrogacy contract should necessarily take care of life insurance cover for surrogate
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mother.
One of the intended parents should be a donor as well, because the bond of love and
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affection with a child primarily emanates from biological relationship. Also, the chances of
various kinds of child-abuse, which have been noticed in cases of adoptions, will be
reduced. In case the intended parent is single, he or she should be a donor to be able to
have a surrogate child. Otherwise, adoption is the way to have a child which is resorted to
if biological (natural) parents and adoptive parents are different.
Legislation itself should recognize a surrogate child to be the legitimate child of the
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commissioning parent(s) without there being any need for adoption or even declaration
of guardian.
The birth certificate of the surrogate child should contain the name(s) of the
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commissioning parent(s) only.
Right to privacy of donor as well as surrogate mother should be protected.
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Sex-selective surrogacy should be prohibited.
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Cases of abortions should be governed by the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act 1971
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only.
Sources: The Hindu, wiki.

Intellectual Property Rights
Intellectual property (IP) rights are the legally recognized exclusive rights to creations of
the mind. Under intellectual property law, owners are granted certain exclusive rights to a
variety of intangible assets, such as musical, literary, and artistic works; discoveries and
inventions; and words, phrases, symbols, and designs. Common types of intellectual
property rights include copyright, trademarks, patents, industrial design rights, trade dress,
and in some jurisdictions trade secrets.
IPR plays a key role in almost every sector and has become a crucial factor for investment
decisions by many companies.
INDIA and IPR Regime:
In todays globalised scenario of expanding multilateral trade and commerce, it has become
inevitable for any country to protect its intellectual property by providing statutory rights to
the creators and inventors and thus help them fetch adequate commercial value for their
efforts in the world market.
This innovative and creative capacity is protected under the intellectual property system of
WTO. Recognising this fact, India as a founder member of WTO has ratified the Agreement
on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). As per the agreement, all member
countries including India are to abide by the mutually negotiated norms and standards
within the stipulated timeframe. Accordingly, India has set up an Intellectual Property Right
(IPR) regime, which is WTO compatible and is well established at all levels whether
statutory, administrative or judicial.
TRIPS is an international agreement administered by the World Trade Organization (WTO),
which sets down minimum standards for many forms of intellectual property (IP) regulations
as applied to the nationals of other WTO Members.
IPR-related issues in India like patents, trademarks, copyrights, designs and geographical
indications are governed by the Patents Act 1970 and Patent Rules 2003, Trademarks Act
1999 and the Trademarks Rules 2002, Indian Copyrights Act, 1957, Design Act 2000 and
Rules 2001, and The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act,
1999 and The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Rules 2002,
respectively. All these Acts and regulations are at par with international standards.
The very well-balanced IPR regime in India acts as an incentive for foreign players to
protect their Intellectual Property in India. This can be established by the very fact that
approximately 80% of patent filings in India are from the MNCs.
While the IPR regime in India consists of robust IP laws, it lacks effective enforcement, for
which least priority given to adjudication of IP matters is often quoted as a reason.
The key challenge is to sensitize the enforcement officials and the Judiciary to take up IP
matters, at par with other economic offences, by bringing them under their policy radar.
The IPR division tries to provide proactive business solutions through research, interactions
at the highest political level while facilitating global networking. Further, since the IPR
provides exclusive rights over assets, it is a major challenge for the country to balance the
interests of the innovators and the interests of the society at large.
In todays highly competitive global economy, IPRs are giving companies the cutting edge
and increasing their competitiveness.
American companies, particularly from the pharma sector, have alleged that Indian IPR laws
discriminate against U.S. companies and violate global norms.
In the report
titled special 301 report
brought out by the U.S., India has been classified as a priority watch list country. On the
report, India has said that the Special 301 process is a unilateral measure taken by the U.S.
under their Trade Act, 1974, to create pressure on countries to increase IPR protection
beyond the TRIPS agreement.
But, India has consistently pointed out that the intellectual property rights (IPR) legal
regime in India is fully TRIPS compliant and that any issues to be discussed have to be
discussed in bilateral forums such as the Trade Policy Forum (TPF),.
For further reference:
http://www.ficci.com/sector/24/Project_docs/IPR-profile.pdf.
Sources: The Hindu, www.ficci.com, http://business.gov.in/.
International Convention for the Control and Management of
Ships Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM)
Invasive aquatic species present a major threat to the marine ecosystems, and shipping has
been identified as a major pathway for introducing species to new environments. The
problem increased as trade and traffic volume expanded over the last few decades, and in
particular with the introduction of steel hulls, allowing vessels to use water instead of solid
materials as ballast. The effects of the introduction of new species have in many areas of the
world been devastating. Quantitative data show the rate of bio-invasions is continuing to
increase at an alarming rate.
The Ballast Water Management Convention, adopted in 2004, aims to prevent the
spread of harmful aquatic organisms from one region to another, by establishing standards
and procedures for the management and control of ships ballast water and sediments.
Under the Convention, all ships in international traffic are required to manage their ballast
water and sediments to a certain standard, according to a ship-specific ballast water
management plan. All ships will also have to carry a ballast water record book and an
international ballast water management certificate.
The Convention will require all ships to implement a Ballast Water and Sediments
Management Plan. All ships will have to carry a Ballast Water Record Book and will be
required to carry out ballast water management procedures to a given standard. Existing
ships will be required to do the same, but after a phase-in period.
Parties to the Convention are given the option to take additional measures which are subject
to criteria set out in the Convention and to IMO guidelines.
General Obligations:
Under General Obligations, Parties undertake to give full and complete effect to the
provisions of the Convention and the Annex in order to prevent, minimize and ultimately
eliminate the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens through the control and
management of ships ballast water and sediments.
Parties are given the right to take, individually or jointly with other Parties, more stringent
measures with respect to the prevention, reduction or elimination of the transfer of harmful
aquatic organisms and pathogens through the control and management of ships ballast
water and sediments, consistent with international law. Parties should ensure that ballast
water management practices do not cause greater harm than they prevent to their
environment, human health, property or resources, or those of other States.
This convention also calls for Parties individually or jointly to promote and facilitate
scientific and technical research on ballast water management; and monitor the effects of
ballast water management in waters under their jurisdiction.
http://www.imo.org/About/Conventions/ListOfConventions/Pages/International-Convention-f
or-the-Control-and-Management-of-Ships-Ballast-Water-and-Sediments-(BWM).aspx.
Sources: The Hindu, http://www.imo.org/.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
It is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and
weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to
further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament.
The Treaty entered into force in 1970.
More countries have adhered to the NPT than any other arms limitation and disarmament
agreement, a testament to the Treatys significance.
A total of 190 states have joined the Treaty. Four UN member states have never joined the
NPT: India, Israel, Pakistan and South Sudan. North Korea, which acceded to the NPT in
1985 but never came into compliance, announced its withdrawal in 2003.
The treaty recognizes five states as nuclear-weapon states: the United States, Russia, the
United Kingdom, France, and China. Four other states are known or believed to possess
nuclear weapons: India, Pakistan and North Korea have openly tested and declared that
they possess nuclear weapons, while Israel has had a policy of opacity regarding its nuclear
weapons program.
The NPT is interpreted as a three-pillar system, with an implicit balance among them: the
three pillars are:
non-proliferation,
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disarmament, and
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The right to peacefully use nuclear technology.
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The NPT non-nuclear-weapon states agree never to acquire nuclear weapons and the NPT
nuclear-weapon states in exchange agree to share the benefits of peaceful nuclear
technology and to pursue nuclear disarmament aimed at the ultimate elimination of their
nuclear arsenals.
The treaty is reviewed every five years in meetings called Review Conferences of the Parties
to the Treaty of Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Even though the treaty was
originally conceived with a limited duration of 25 years, the signing parties decided, by
consensus, to extend the treaty indefinitely and without conditions.
Several additional measures have been adopted to strengthen the NPT and the broader
nuclear non-proliferation regime and make it difficult for states to acquire the capability to
produce nuclear weapons, including the export controls of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and
the enhanced verification measures of the IAEA Additional Protocol.
Important articles in the Treaty:
Each nuclear-weapons state (NWS) undertakes not to transfer, to any recipient, nuclear
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weapons, or other nuclear explosive devices, and not to assist any non-nuclear weapon
state to manufacture or acquire such weapons or devices.
Each non-NWS party undertakes not to receive, from any source, nuclear weapons, or
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other nuclear explosive devices; not to manufacture or acquire such weapons or devices;
and not to receive any assistance in their manufacture.
Each non-NWS party undertakes to conclude an agreement with the IAEA for the
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application of its safeguards to all nuclear material in all of the states peaceful nuclear
activities and to prevent diversion of such material to nuclear weapons or other nuclear
explosive devices.
Nothing in this Treaty shall be interpreted as affecting the inalienable right of all the
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Parties to the Treaty to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for
peaceful purposes without discrimination.
All the Parties to the Treaty undertake to facilitate, and have the right to participate in, the
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fullest possible exchange of equipment, materials and scientific and technological
information for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Parties to the Treaty in a position to
do so shall also co-operate in contributing alone or together with other States or
international organizations to the further development of the applications of nuclear
energy for peaceful purposes, especially in the territories of non-nuclear-weapon States
Party to the Treaty, with due consideration for the needs of the developing areas of the
world.
The states undertake to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating
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to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, and
towards a Treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective
international control.
Sources: The Hindu, Wiki, http://www.un.org/.

OCTOBER 2014
National Investigation Agency
National Investigation Agency (NIA) is a federal agency established by the Indian Government to
combat terror in India. It acts as the Central Counter Terrorism Law Enforcement Agency. The
agency is empowered to deal with terror related crimes across states without special permission
from the states.
The Agency came into existence with the enactment of the National Investigation Agency Act
2008 by the Parliament of India on 31 December 2008.
NIA was created after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks as need for a central agency to combat
terrorism was realised.
NIA has concurrent jurisdiction which empowers the Centre to probe terror attacks in any part of
the country, covering offences, including challenge to the countrys sovereignty and integrity, bomb
blasts, hijacking of aircraft and ships, and attacks on nuclear installations.
Other than offenses of terrorism, it also deals with counterfeit currency, human trafficking, narcotics
or drugs, organised crime (extortion mobs and gangs), plane hijacking and violations of atomic
energy act and weapons of mass destruction act.
Jurisdiction:
The Agency has been empowered to conduct investigation and prosecution of offenses under the
Acts specified in the Schedule of the NIA Act.
A State Government may request the Central Government to hand over the investigation of a case to
the NIA, provided the case has been registered for the offenses as contained in the schedule to the
NIA Act.
Central Government can also order NIA to take over investigation of any scheduled offense
anywhere in the India.
Officers of the NIA who are drawn from the Indian Revenue Service and the Indian Police Service
have all powers, privileges and liabilities which the police officers have in connection with
investigation of any offense.
Special Courts:
Various Special Courts have been notified by the Central Government of India for trial of the cases
registered at various police stations of NIA under the NIA Act 2008. Any question as to the
jurisdiction of these courts is decided by the Central Government. These are presided over by a
judge appointed by the Central Government on the recommendation of the Chief Justice of the High
Court with jurisdiction in that region.
Supreme Court of India has also been empowered to transfer the cases from one special court to any
other special court within or outside the state if the same is in the interest of justice in light of the
prevailing circumstances in any particular state. They are empowered with all powers of the court of
sessions under Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 for trial of any offense.
An appeal from any judgment, sentence or order, not being an interlocutory order, of a Special Court
lies to the High Court both on facts and on law. Such an appeal is heard by a bench of two Judges of
the High Court.
At present there are 38 Special NIA Courts. State Governments have also been empowered to
appoint one or more such special courts in their states.
Sources: The Hindu, Wiki, http://www.nia.gov.in/.
Mautana
Mautana or monetary compensation is a tradition where the victims family receive a settlement
when one of their own passes away from the accused family. It is a custom started by a Tribal
Community in Rajasthan. It is imposed as a social-penalty, (mostly in accidental death-cases), heavy
cash-fine is imposed on the culprit/s in favor of family of victim and his community.
Mautana, for death, started with the noble intention of providing relief to the victims family. The
meaning of the word mautana is Money against Death.
This age-old tribal criminal justice system is being misused by unscrupulous elements and this is
causing law-and-order problem in the Mewar region of Rajasthan. For moneylenders, it is good
business since the compensation is often huge, making the accused borrow from them. The money
will be in the range of Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 15 lakh depending on the social status of the dead and the
accused.
Though it is a Bhil tribal tradition, Mautana has been adopted by various communities in the region.
Among the Bhil tribes, a person or a family used to be pronounced as an accused just because the
body of the victim was found in their property be it a house, farm or well even if it is a case of
natural death, suicide or accident. If a woman died in her natal house, her in-laws would demand
Mautana from her parents.
The family or the community would not cremate the body even for days together until its demand
was met. If the family was unable to pay, the victims side would simply destroy its property, forcing
it to migrate from the village in what is known as Chadhotra.
Unfortunately, what was confined to tribal communities in remote areas, where there is no interface
with the government, has been adopted by other communities as well. Most of these cases go
unreported, or even if the police take cognisance of them, Mautana and the legal system run
parallel.
Essential Commodities Act
The Essential Commodities Act (ECA) was enacted by the Central Government in 1955 to control and
regulate trade and prices of commodities declared essential under the Act.
The Act empowers the Central and state governments concurrently to control production, supply and
distribution of certain commodities in view of rising prices. The measures that can be taken under
the provision of the Act include, among others, licensing, distribution and imposing stock limits. The
governments also have the power to fix price limits, and selling the particular commodities above
the limit will attract penalties. Black marketing of essential commodities was a major problem in the
past and this has now been controlled to a large extent. The Drug Price Control Order (DPCO) and
such other orders have been issued under the powers of the ECA.
Some of the major commodities covered under the act are:
Petroleum and its products, including petrol, diesel, kerosene, Naphtha, solvents etc
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Food stuff, including edible oil and seeds, vanaspati, pulses, sugarcane and its products like,
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khandsari and sugar, rice paddy
Jute and textiles
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Drugs- prices of essential drugs are still controlled by the DPCO
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Fertilisers- the Fertiliser Control Order prescribes restrictions on transfer and stock of fertilizers
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apart from prices
The Act empowers the Centre to order states to impose stock limits and bring hoarders to task, in
order to smoothen supplies and cool prices. Generally the Centre specifies upper limits in the case of
stock holding and states prescribe specific limits. However in case there is a difference between
states and the Centre, the act specifies that the latter will prevail.
Food and civil supply authorities execute the provisions of the Act.
Sources: http://www.business-standard.com/, consumeraffairs.nic.in.

Article 370
Under Part XXI of the Indian constitution, which deals with Temporary, Transitional and Special
provisions, Article 370 is a temporary provision granting special autonomous status to J&K.
This implies that Concurrence of the state government is required in all matters except for Defence,
Foreign Affairs, Communications and ancillary matters (matters specified in the instrument of
accession). Thus the states residents live under a separate set of laws, including those related to
citizenship, ownership of property, and fundamental rights, as compared to other Indians.
Similar protections for unique status exist in tribal areas of India including those in Himachal
Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Nagaland.
Article 370(3) says that:
Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of this article, the President may, by public
notification, declare that this article shall cease to be operative or shall be operative only with such
exceptions and modifications and from such date as he may specify:
Provided that the recommendation of the Constituent Assembly of the State referred to in clause
(2) shall be necessary before the President issues such a notification.
Jammu and Kashmir has no Constituent Assembly now. Hence the question arises as to how the
article can be amended or removed from the Indian Constitution.
Some argue that the President may, by public notification under article 370(3), declare that Article
370 shall cease to be operative and no recommendation of the Constituent Assembly is needed as it
does not exist any longer. Others say it can be amended by an amendment Act under Article 368 of
the Constitution and the amendment extended under Article 370(1).

Sources: The Hindu, Wiki, jammu.nic.in/.
OCTOBER 2014
New government advertisement norms
A Supreme Court-appointed panel headed by eminent legal expert N.R. Madhava Menon has
released a set of guidelines to prevent Funds misuse.
The panel said the issue of multiple advertisements by different departments and public sector
undertakings should be avoided in commemorative advertisement and only one advertisement must
be issued. As far as possible during the period prior to elections, only those advertisements required
by law such as public health and safety advisories or job and contract advertisements alone should
be released by the government. The government should appoint an Ombudsman to receive
complaints of violations of guidelines and recommend action in accordance with the guidelines.
The guidelines include:
Government advertisement must not mention the party in government by name.
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Government advertisement must not directly attack the views or actions of the Opposition.
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It must not include party political symbol or logo or flag.
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It must not aim to influence public support for a political party or candidate for election.
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It should not refer or link to the websites of political parties or politicians.
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The panel also came to the conclusion that the existing Directorate of Advertising and Visual
Publicity (DAVP) guidelines did not govern the issues.
The panels guidelines are intended to prevent misuse of public funds on advertisements to gain
political mileage as distinct from legitimate government messaging and would apply to all
institutions of government; public sector undertakings; and local bodies and other autonomous
bodies or organisations established under a statute.
The report makes it clear that the objects of these guidelines are to prevent arbitrary use of public
funds for advertising by public authorities to project particular personalities, parties or governments
without any attendant public interest.
Sources: The Hindu.

Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana
In order to attain National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) goal of providing access to
electricity to all rural households and electrification of all villages, Government of India, in April,
2005 conceived Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) to electrify all un-electrified
villages / habitations and to provide access to electricity to all rural households in un-electrified and
electrified villages in the entire country.
The scheme covers electrification of all the villages in the country except the villages under the
programme of Ministry of Non-conventional Sources (MNES) for providing electricity from non-
conventional energy sources under their remote village electrification programme. With the launch
of this scheme the existing Accelerated Electrification of One lakh Villages and One Crore
Households and the Minimum Needs Programme for rural electrification got merged with RGGVY.
The scheme has been launched to fulfil the commitment of the National Common Minimum
Programme (NCMP) of completing the household electrification in next 5 years and modernizing the
rural electricity infrastructure.
The scheme is being implemented through the Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) which has
been designated as Nodal Agency by Ministry of Power.
The scheme provides for free of cost connection to all rural households living below poverty line. The
programme aims at a qualitative transformation of the rural electricity infrastructure. It envisages
that there will not be any discrimination between urban and rural areas in respect of hours of
supply. 24 hours supply of good quality power would also enable dispersal of small industries, khadi
and village industries in the rural areas. It will also facilitate delivery of modern health care,
education and application of information technologies. This is aimed at accelerated rural
development, employment generation and poverty alleviation.
SALIENT FEATURES
The scheme has the following important features:
Ninety per cent capital subsidy is provided towards overall cost of the projects under the scheme.
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10% of the project cost is contributed by States through own resources / loan from financial
institutions.
Prior commitment of the States has been obtained before sanction of projects under the scheme
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for:
Guarantee by State Government for a minimum daily supply of 6- 8 hours.
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Free of cost service connection to all families Below Poverty Lines.
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Sources: The Hindu, http://rggvy.gov.in/.
Big Data
Big data is an all-encompassing term for any collection of data sets so large and complex that it
becomes difficult to process using traditional data processing applications. Big data usually includes
data sets with sizes beyond the ability of commonly used software tools to capture, curate, manage,
and process data within a tolerable elapsed time. Big data size is a constantly moving target.
Advertising and marketing are a major source of revenue for many companies and Big Data is
quickly becoming one of the core priorities for advertisers and marketers. Big Data is seen by
marketers as a tool for creating targeted and effective advertising.
Big Data can drive an integrated marketing and business strategy like nothing else. According to a
recent IBM study, high-performing Chief Marketing Officers are integrating internal and external
data to garner deep insights which, in turn, provide them with a much deeper understanding of their
customers.
What is considered big data varies depending on the capabilities of the organization managing the
set, and on the capabilities of the applications that are traditionally used to process and analyze the
data set in its domain. Big data requires exceptional technologies to efficiently process large
quantities of data within tolerable elapsed times.
Big Data and analytics technologies help marketers overlay offline transaction data with all of these
other online data types including data from various third-party sources to gain insights and
improve Returns On Investment. With the right interpretation of data, advertisers can understand
their customers as individuals, know each customer in context and co-create authentic brand
experiences.
A McKinsey study last year stated that companies using Big Data and data analytics effectively show
productivity rates and profitability that are 5-6 per cent higher than competitors.
With Big Data technologies, advertisers can:
Conduct real time analysis of customer behaviour to produce tailored experiences and targeted
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promotions
Measure the effectiveness of online advertising to fine-tune campaigns while they are in progress
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Adopt advanced content analytics solutions to mine social media posts and call centre logs in order
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to assess customer sentiment and avoid churn
Analyse data continuously streaming in from to increase service uptime, facilitate better planning
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Implement predictive analytics solutions to anticipate future customer behaviour.
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The Big Data has been changing few (so called) market rules. First, it has brought the customer
back into focus, whether in terms of what they think of products or how they react to marketing.
Second, it seems to have queered the pitch for big marketers. The spread of marketing automation
systems and database applications has taken all the customer data out of the technology
departments and into marketing cubicles.
One can also say the arrival of such complex data sets has changed the role of the marketer from
being largely creative to being slightly more technical, and that at a macro level, small businesses
and their larger counterparts can finally compete on a level playing field.
Sources: http://www.business-standard.com/, Wiki.
The Electricity Act, 2003
It is an Act of the Parliament of India which covers major issues involving generation, distribution,
transmission and trading in power.
It is an Act enacted to consolidate the laws relating to generation, transmission, distribution,
trading and use of electricity industry, promoting competition therein, protecting interest of
consumers and supply of electricity to all areas, rationalization of electricity traffic, ensuring
transparent policies regarding subsidies, promotion of efficient and environmentally benign
policies constitution central electricity authority, regulatory commissions and establishment of
appellate tribunal and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
Before Electricity Act, 2003, the Indian electricity sector was guided by The Indian Electricity Act,
1910 and The Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948. The generation, distribution and transmission were
carried out mainly by the State Electricity Boards in various States. Due to politico-economic
situation, the cross-subsidies reached at an unsustainable level. For the purpose of distancing state
governments form tariff determination, The Electricity Regulatory Commissions Act was enacted in
1998. So as to reform electricity sector further by participation of private sector and to bring in
competition, Electricity Act was enacted in 2003.
The Act delicenses power generation completely (except for hydro-power projects over a certain
size).As per the Act, 10 per cent of the power supplied by suppliers and distributors to the
consumers has to be generated using renewable and non-conventional sources of energy so that
the energy is reliable.
The Act delicenses distribution in rural areas and brings in a licensing regime for distribution in
urban areas. However, as per the Act, only 16 states in India have notified what constitutes as
rural areas and therefore the rural distribution is yet to be freed up in nearly one third of the
country.
The main features of the Act are as follows:

Generation has been delicensed and captive generation freely permitted, i.e. any generating
I
company may establish, operate and maintain a generating station without obtaining a licence
under this Act with the only exception that it should comply with the technical standards
relating to connectivity with the grid.
No person shall
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transmit electricity; or 1.
distribute electricity; or 2.
undertake trading in electricity, 3.
Unless he is authorised to do so by a licence issued, exceptions are informed by authorised
commissions through notifications.
Transmission utility at the central and state level to be a government company with responsibility
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of planned and coordinated development of transmission network.
Open access in transmission with provision for surcharge for taking care of current level of cross-
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subsidy, with the surcharge being gradually phased out.
The state governments are required to unbundle State Electricity Boards. However they may
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continue with them as distribution licensees and state transmission utilities.
Setting up State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) has been made mandatory.
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An appellate tribunal to hear appeals against the decision of (CERCs) and SERCs.
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Thrust to complete rural electrification and provide for management of rural distribution by
I
panchayat, cooperative societies, NGOs, franchisees etc.
Central government to prepare National Electricity Policy and Tariff Policy.
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Central Electricity Authority (CEA) to prepare National Electricity Plan.
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Fo r f u r t h e r r e f e r e n c e :
http://www.gercin.org/index.php?option=com_chapter2&view=category&id=53&Itemid=95&lang=
en.
Sources: http://www.business-standard.com/, Wiki, powermin.nic.in.

OCTOBER 2014
Alert in Rajasthan as polio strikes Pakistan
With Pakistan reporting the highest number of polio cases in the past 15 years, India has stepped up
surveillance along the international border, particularly in Rajasthan, to check any spread of the
infection.
While India was given the polio-free certificate by the World Health Organisation this February,
Pakistan has recorded 202 polio cases this year the highest in the world accounting for 83 per
cent of the cases reported globally until last week.
Other than Pakistan, neighbouring Afghanistan, and Nigeria, where polio is endemic, outbreaks have
been reported from Syria, Somalia, Iraq and several African countries in the recent years. However,
for India, the risk of transmission of this crippling and potentially deadly disease is more from
Pakistan because of cross-border population movement both legal and illegal.
About POLIO:
Polio (also called poliomyelitis) is a contagious, historically devastating disease that was virtually
eliminated from the Western hemisphere in the second half of the 20th century. Although polio has
been around since ancient times, its most extensive outbreak occurred in the first half of the 1900s
until the polio vaccine was introduced in 1955.
It is a highly infectious viral disease, which mainly affects young children. The virus is transmitted
by person-to-person spread mainly through the faecal-oral route or, less frequently, by a common
vehicle (e.g. contaminated water or food) and multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade
the nervous system and can cause paralysis.
Symptoms and Cure:
Although approximately 90% of polio infections cause no symptoms at all, affected individuals can
exhibit a range of symptoms if the virus enters the blood stream. In about 1% of cases, the virus
enters the central nervous system, preferentially infecting and destroying motor neurons, leading to
muscle weakness and acute flaccid paralysis.
Initial symptoms of polio include fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness in the neck, and pain in
the limbs. In a small proportion of cases, the disease causes paralysis, which is often permanent.
There is no cure for polio, it can only be prevented by immunization.
The focus of modern treatment has been on providing relief of symptoms, speeding recovery and
preventing complications. Supportive measures include antibiotics to prevent infections in weakened
muscles, analgesics for pain, moderate exercise and a nutritious diet. Treatment of polio often
requires long-term rehabilitation, including occupational therapy, physical therapy, braces,
corrective shoes and, in some cases, orthopedic surgery.
Pulse Polio in India:
Pulse Polio is an immunisation campaign established by the government of India in 1995-96 to
eradicate poliomyelitis (polio) in India by vaccinating all children under the age of five years against
polio virus. This project deals with the ways to fight poliomyelitis through a large scale immunisation
programme, co-operating with various international institutions, state governments and Non
Governmental Organisations, as part of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, spearheaded by
Rotary International, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
In 1995, following the Polio Eradication Initiative of World Health Organization (1988), India
launched Pulse Polio Immunisation Program along with Universal Immunisation Program which
aimed at 100% coverage.
On 27 March 2014, World Health Organization (WHO) declared India a polio free country with no
case of disease being reported in last three years.
Sources: The Hindu, Wiki, www.unicef.org, www.who.int.

SAT upholds SEBI order against Angel Broking
The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) has upheld the Securities and Exchange Board of Indias
order against Angel Broking in case related to violations of stock broker norms and fraudulent
dealings in shares of Sterling Green Woods.
About SAT:
Securities Appellate Tribunal is a statutory body established under the provisions of Section 15K of
the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 to hear and dispose of appeals against orders
passed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India or by an adjudicating officer under the Act
and to exercise jurisdiction, powers and authority conferred on the Tribunal by or under this Act or
any other law for the time being in force.
It covers the whole of India.
Memorandum of Understanding Between MoES and USA
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Earth System Science Organization-Ministry
of Earth Sciences (ESSO-MoES) and the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR),
USA was signed for cooperation in Earth System Sciences.
This collaboration is expected to act as a step to bring together academia and application scientists
to come together.
The present MoU will provide a mechanism to jointly undertake research and developmental work to
address Earth System Science issues of common concern through exchange of excellent scientific
knowledge and technological know how existing in the two countries.
Collaborations are expected to include aircraft and radar technology, now casting of severe weather
events, hydrometeorology, satellite data, oceanic and climate research, urban flooding as well as
capacity building through scientific lectures and distance learning. A particularly important area is
the long-range forecasting, which has extreme value to the Indian economy and caters to the need of
the farmers with planting decisions and agricultural practices based on the projected intensity and
timing of the next monsoon season.
The MoU covers scientists from a range of institutions from India, to be coordinated and funded by
the ESSO-Ministry of Earth Sciences with the scientists from UCARs 104 member universities, as
well as NCAR (National Centre for Atmospheric Research). Through the MoU, the regional expertise
available with Indian scientists will be complemented by the domain expertise available with UCAR.
Sources: PIB.
Pashmina Promotion Programme (P-3) to be launched
Under Pashmina Promotion Programme, major provision has been made for establishment of latest
technology imported Pashmina Dehairing Plant at Leh with total grant of Rs.19.35 crore including
other machineries like Scouring, Drying, and boiler along with construction of building for
installation of these machineries at Leh.
The existing Deharing Plant has obsolete Chinese dehairing machine and is not sufficient to de-hair
45 ton of Pashmina wool produced here and with present capacity it can only de-hair up to five ton
pashmina, leaving 40 ton sold into the market as raw which renders loss of value addition of
Pashmina.
Under this new Programme, financial assistance would be provided under different components like
Creation of Common Pashmina Facilitation Centre for Wool testing, Disease Surveillance Centre,
Geographic Information System (GIS) Lab, Shelter for Nomads, Portable Electric Units for
Handloom Spinning/Weaving, Solarised Community Centres, Open Fodder enclosures, establishment
of Pashmina Dehairing Plant, Distribution for Foundation Stock to farmers and construction of
Shelter for Housing of Pashmina Stock.
The Ministry of Textiles is implementing Pashmina Wool Development Scheme with the help of
Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh from 10th Five Year Plan for development of this
Sector in Ladakh region. In the 12th Plan, this programme has been expanded with enhanced
financial assistance of Rs. 41.21 crore.
Ladakh region produces the finest Pashmina wool (specialty fiber) in the world, which has high
demand globally. Ladakh region grow about 45 ton of Pashmina wool every year from the population
of about 2.50 lakh Pashmina goats.
Sources: PIB.
The Broad Spectrum Confocal Microscope
India recently launched an ingeniously manufactured microscope-that generates 3D images of
objects-under CSIR-New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative (CSIR-NMITLI): A
Unique Public -Private Partnership (PPP) Programme. The Broad Spectrum Confocal Microscope
has several applications in medicine and materials sciences. It uses an infrared beam which passes
through a patented photonic crystal fibre.
This project is an ideal and successful example of a hand in hand participation programme of a
private industry and a publicly funded CSIRs laboratory, that too in a very highly advanced
technology area. This is an effort launched by the CSIR over a decade ago to develop technologies
through collaborative efforts by research laboratories and technology companies in India.
This is a humble beginning towards Prime Ministers Made in India and reach Global strategy. This
is a first of its kind in India and is designed to make it affordable to the researchers. A few
laboratories have already expressed their intention to procure the developed product.
Confocal Microscopes are used to obtain three dimensional features at microscopic level and play
vital role in scientific understanding of nano-materials, biological objects etc. At present, these are
only available at limited number of science laboratories in India due to their prohibitive cost. As
science advances, Scientists want to also understand the spectroscopic behavior of materials and
this can be achieved only using Broad Spectrum Confocal Microscope. It can also do resonant
scanning up to 10241024 pixels.
The unique nature of supercontinuum light makes spectral coverage for all forms of confocal
microscopy and for fluorescence imaging over wide range of wavelength. Here, the confocal
microscope is illuminated using a Supercontinuum Light Source. At the global level, there are only a
few Supercontinuum Source manufacturers as well as Confocal Microscope manufacturers. While
using the broadband source, the optics has to be carefully designed to take care of chromatic
aberrations too.
The Supercontinuum Source uses patented photonic crystal fiber technology developed by CSIR-
CGCRI,Kolkata. Only a handful all over the world has this capability and facilities.
The optic fibre produces multiple wavelengths from the laser due to its surface which has very small
holes. This is similar to the way a peacocks feather scatters light. This is projected on to the target
object which allows us to see a three dimensional structure of the object.
This is also cost effective since similar confocal microscopes cost about Rs. 4 crore to import, these
will be priced between Rs. 1.25 crore and Rs. 1.5 crore.
Sources: The Hindu, Wiki, PIB.

Fracking Technology
Fracking /Hydraulic fracturing (also called as hydrofracturing or fraccing) is a well-stimulation
technique in which rock is fractured by a hydraulically pressurized liquid. A high-pressure fluid
(usually chemicals and sand suspended in water) is injected into a wellbore to create cracks in the
deep-rock formations through which natural gas, petroleum, and brine will flow more freely. When
the hydraulic pressure is removed from the well, small grains of hydraulic fracturing particles
(either sand or aluminium oxide) hold the fractures open once the deep rock achieves geologic
equilibrium. Some hydraulic fractures form naturallycertain veins or dikes are examples.
The hydraulic fracturing technique is commonly applied to wells for shale gas, tight gas, tight oil,
and coal seam gas. Such well-stimulation is common throughout the exploitation of the field to
greatly increase the flow rate. Stimulation is intensified to extend the period before production
declines.
Hydraulic fracturing is highly controversial, proponents advocating economic benefits of readily
accessible hydrocarbons, and opponents concerned for the environmental impact of hydraulic
fracturing including contamination of ground water, depletion of fresh water, degradation of the air
quality, the triggering of earthquakes, noise pollution, surface pollution, and the consequential risks
to health and the environment. This technology also results in methane emissions which is cause of
concern.
Increases in seismic activity following hydraulic fracturing are usually caused by the deep-injection
disposal of flowback and brine (which is produced from hydraulically fractured wells). For these
reasons, hydraulic fracturing is under international scrutiny, restricted in some countries, and
banned altogether in others. Some of those countries, notably the U.K., have repealed bans on
hydraulic fracturing in favour of regulation. The European Union is drafting regulations that would
permit controlled application of hydraulic fracturing.
While the main industrial use of hydraulic fracturing is in stimulating production from oil and gas
wells, hydraulic fracturing is also applied:
To stimulate groundwater wells
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To precondition or induce rock cave-ins mining
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As a means of enhancing waste remediation, usually hydrocarbon waste or spills
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To dispose waste by injection deep into rock
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To measure stress in the Earth
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For electricity generation in enhanced geothermal systems.
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To increase injection rates for geologic sequestration of CO2.
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Environmental Concerns:
Hydraulic fracturing has raised environmental concerns and is challenging the adequacy of existing
regulatory regimes. These concerns have included ground water contamination, risks to air quality,
migration of gases and hydraulic fracturing chemicals to the surface, mishandling of waste, and the
health effects of all these. An additional concern is that oil obtained through hydraulic fracturing
contains chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, which may increase the rate at which rail tank cars
and pipelines corrode, potentially releasing their load and its gases.
Concern has been expressed over the possible long and short term health effects of air and water
contamination and radiation exposure by gas production. Health consequences of concern include
infertility, birth defects and cancer.
Sources: The Hindu, Wiki.

OCTOBER 2014
Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE)
It is a National Programme implemented by the Ministry of Science & Technology for
attraction of talent amongst students to study science and pursue career with research.
INSPIRE is an innovative programme developed by the Department of Science &
Technology to attract talent to the excitement and study of science at an early age, and to
help the country build the required critical resource pool for strengthening and expanding
the S&T system and R&D base. It is a programme with long term foresight.
The programme was launched on 13th December 2008. The implementation started during
2009-10.
INSPIRE Programme covers students in the age group 10-32 years, and has five
components: INSPIRE Award (for 10-15 age group), INSPIRE Internship at a science camp
with opportunity for interaction with global science leaders (for 16-17 age group), INSPIRE
Scholarship for Higher Education (SHE) @ Rs 80000/ per year for continuing education at
B.Sc. and M.Sc. levels (for 17-22 age group), INSPIRE Fellowship for doctoral research (for
22-27 age group) and INSPIRE faculty for assured career opportunity (for 27-32 age group).
Sources: PIB, http://www.inspire-dst.gov.in/.
Digital India
Digital India is an initiative of Government of India to integrate the government
departments and the people of India and to ensure effective governance. It also aims at
ensuring the government services made available to citizens electronically by reducing
paperwork. The initiative also includes plan to connect rural areas under high-speed
internet networks. The project is stated to be completed by 2019. This is a two-way platform
where both the service offerers and the consumers stand to benefit through.
The scheme will be monitored and controlled by the Digital India Advisory group which will
be chaired by the Ministry of Communications and IT. It will be an inter-ministerial initiative
where all ministries and departments shall offer their own services to the public Healthcare,
Education, Judicial services etc. The Public-private-partnership model shall be adopted
selectively. The scheme has plans also to restructure the National Informatics Centre.

Sources: Wiki, PIB.
Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act
It is a law enacted by the Parliament of India aimed at effective prevention of unlawful
activities associations in India. Its main objective is to make powers available for dealing
with activities directed against the integrity and sovereignty of India.
The National Integration Council appointed a Committee on National Integration and
Regionalisation to look into, the aspect of putting reasonable restrictions in the interests of
the sovereignty and integrity of India.
Pursuant to the acceptance by Government of a unanimous recommendation of the
Committee on National Integration and Regionalism appointed by the National Integration
Council, the Constitution (Sixteenth Amendment) Act, 1963, was enacted empowering
Parliament to impose, by law, reasonable restrictions in the interests of sovereignty and
integrity of India, on the:
Freedom of Speech and Expression;
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Right to Assemble peaceably and without arms; and
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Right to Form Associations or Unions.
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The Act makes it a crime to support any secessionist movement, or to support claims by a
foreign power to what India claims as its territory. It includes the following:
> Unlawful activity, in relation to an individual or association, means any action taken by
such individual or association (whether by committing an act or by words, either spoken or
written, or by signs or by visible representation or otherwise),
which is intended, or supports any claim, to bring about, on any ground whatsoever, the
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cession of a part of the territory of India or the secession of a part of the territory of India
from the Union, or which incites any individual or group of individuals to bring about such
cession or secession; or
which disclaims, questions, disrupts or is intended to disrupt the sovereignty and
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territorial integrity of India; or
which causes or is intended to cause disaffection against India.
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The Act has been amended to make the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 more
effective in preventing unlawful activities, and meet commitments made at the Financial
Action Task Force (an intergovernmental organization to combat money laundering and
terrorism financing).
Fo r f ur t he r r e f e r e nc e :
http://www.prsindia.org/billtrack/the-unlawful-activities-prevention-amendment-bill-2011-21
59/.
Sources: The Hindu, PRSindia.org, Wiki.
Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Two Americans and a German scientist have won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for finding
ways to make microscopes more powerful than previously thought possible by using glowing
molecules to peer inside tiny components of life, allowing scientists to see how diseases
develop inside the tiniest cells.
Nobel Prize for Chemistry has been equally divided among the Laureates Eric Betzig, Stefan
W. Hell and William E. Moerner for having bypassed a presumed scientific limitation
stipulating that an optical microscope can never yield a resolution better than 0.2
micrometres (half the wavelength of light).
Their breakthroughs, starting in the 1990s, have enabled scientists to study diseases such
as Parkinsons, Alzheimers and Huntingtons at a molecular level. Due to their
achievements the optical microscope can now peer into the nanoworld. Using the
fluorescence of molecules, scientists can now monitor the interplay between individual
molecules inside cells; they can observe disease-related proteins aggregate and they can
track cell division at the nanolevel. The instrument opened a new window to studying living
organisms non-invasively.
Despite the advantages, the optical microscope suffers from a major drawback a physical
restriction as to what size of structures is possible to resolve. Ernst Abbe in 1873 said that
microscope resolution is limited by, among other things, the wavelength of the light (0.2
micrometres).
While Abbes microscope resolution limitation still hold true, the Laureates have
successfully demonstrated ways of bypassing the limitation. The three have taken optical
microscopy into a new dimension using fluorescent molecules. Two different principles have
been able to do this and they developed independently of each other.
Using fluorescence microscopy it was possible for scientists to see where a certain molecule
was located. But only clusters of molecules, like entangled strands of DNA, could be located.
The resolution was too low to discern individual DNA strings.
The smaller the volume allowed to fluoresce at a single moment, the higher the resolution of
the final image. Hence, there is, in principle, no longer any limit to the resolution of optical
microscopes.
About Nobel Prize:
The Nobel Prize is a set of annual international awards bestowed in a number of categories
by Swedish and Norwegian committees in recognition of cultural and/or scientific advances.
The will of the Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel established the prizes in 1895.
The Nobel Prize is widely regarded as the most prestigious award available in the fields of
literature, medicine, physics, chemistry, peace, and economics.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awards the Nobel Prize in Physics, the Nobel Prize
in Chemistry, and the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences; the Nobel Assembly at
Karolinska Institute awards the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine; the Swedish
Academy grants the Nobel Prize in Literature; and the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by the
Norwegian Nobel Committee.
The various prizes are awarded yearly. Each recipient, or laureate, receives a gold medal, a
diploma and a sum of money, which is decided by the Nobel Foundation.
Posthumous
nominations:
Although posthumous nominations are not permitted, individuals who die in the months
between their nomination and the decision of the prize committee were originally eligible to
receive the prize.
Nobel Prize in Physics
This year the Nobel prize in physics goes to Isamu Akasaki, Meijo University and Nagoya
University, Hiroshi Amano, Nagoya University, and Shuji Nakamura, University of
California, Santa Barbara, for inventing the blue light emitting diode (blue LED) 20 years
ago.
Blue LED:
The blue LED forms the long-awaited third in the set (red, green were already produced) of
coloured LEDs that can together produce white light, in a way that is environment-friendly
and energy-efficient. The blue LED can also be made to excite a phosphor into emitting red
and green lights, with the mixture yielding white light.
LEDs basically consist of a junction of p-type (electron deficient or hole rich) and n-type
(electron rich) semiconductors. When a voltage is applied across this junction, the holes and
electrons flow across the junction and recombine, in the process, releasing light.
They do not use mercury or any such gas as is used in the fluorescent light. This makes
them environment friendly.
They do not require a filament to get heated and glow to shed light unlike the case of the
tungsten light bulb.
In contrast to the incandescent bulbs and fluorescent lamps, the LEDS directly convert
electricity to light particles.
As a result, there is greater efficiency; in the other two cases, a great part of the electricity
gets converted to heat.
The colour of the light emitted by the LED when voltage is applied may range from infrared
to ultraviolet. Red and green LEDs have been around since the late 1950s, and these have
been used extensively in digital displays and the like.
This application has advanced the technology for storing music, pictures and movies.
Today, LED lights are used in smart phones and lamps. White light from LEDs is more
power-efficient than from other sources: If the amount of light flux produced per unit of
power supplied is 16 for a tungsten bulb, and 70 for a fluorescent bulb, it is 300 for a LED
supplied source. This would drastically lower our power consumption if LED lights are used
more.
Solar-powered LED lights are also taking the world by storm. From providing illumination to
possible future applications such as generating UV light for treating bacteria-infested water,
the blue LED has come to stay.
Sources: The Hindu.
National Early Childhood Care & Education policy
The National Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Policy reaffirms the commitment
of the Government of India to provide integrated services for holistic development of all
children, along the continuum, from the prenatal period to six years of age. The Policy lays
down the way forward for a comprehensive approach towards ensuring a sound foundation,
with focus on early learning, for every Indian child.
Early childhood refers to the first six years of life. This is acknowledged as the most crucial
period, when the rate of development is very high and foundations are laid for cumulative
lifelong learning and human development. There is growing scientific evidence that the
development of the brain in the early years is a pathway that affects physical and mental
health, learning and behaviour throughout the life cycle.
Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) is an indispensable foundation for lifelong
learning and development, And has critical impact on success at the primary stage of
education. It therefore becomes imperative to accord priority attention to ECCE and invest
adequately by providing commensurate resources.
The Government of India recognizes the significance of ECCE, which has been included as a
constitutional provision through the amended Article 45 (The Constitution Act, 2002) which
directs that The State shall endeavour to provide ECCE for all children until they complete
the age of six years.
The Vision of the policy is to promote inclusive, equitable and contextualised opportunities
for promoting optimal development and active learning capacity of all children below 6
years of age. It envisages to improve pathways for a successful and smooth transition from
care and education provided at home to centre based ECCE and thereafter to school-age
provision by facilitating an enabling environment through appropriate systems, processes
and provisions across the country.
The key areas of this policy are universal access with equity and inclusion, quality in ECCE,
strengthening capacity, monitoring and supervision, advocacy, research and review.
The policy also includes standards like:
An ECCE programme for three-four hours
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One classroom for a group of 30 children measuring at least 35 square meters and with
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the availability of a minimum outdoor space of 30 square meters
Separate space for cooking nutritionally balanced meals and nap time for children
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Caregiver and student ratio of 1:20 for children between three-six years and 1:10 for
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under three years
Primary medium of instruction will be mother tongue or local language
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Fo r f ur t he r r e f e r e nc e :
http://wcd.nic.in/schemes/ECCE/National%20ECCE%20Policy%20draft%20(1).pdf.
Sources: PIB, The Hindu.
OCTOBER 2014
Super Tuesday
In a unique move, the Karnataka government has decided to observe every Tuesday as Super
Tuesday to guarantee availability of medical treatment to mentally challenged persons in taluk
hospitals, community health centres and primary health centres (PHCs) across the State.
In a first-of-its-kind scheme in the country, the State launched two major programmes
Manochaitanya and Manasadhara to provide free treatment, counselling and medicines to people
suffering from mental disabilities and their rehabilitation. The World Mental Health Day is observed
on 10
th
of October every year.
According to the programme all psychiatrists of district hospitals must visit taluk hospitals and
community and primary health centres on that day and offer treatment and drugs to people suffering
from various mental disabilities.
Doctors of PHCs will provide guidance to people with mental disabilities. Resident doctors,
postgraduate students and teaching and non-teaching staff of medical colleges would also
participate in the programme. Doctors of respective hospitals or health centres would be held
responsible if there is dereliction of duty or non-availability of medicines.
The programme is aimed at promoting social wellbeing of people suffering from mental disabilities,
and for rehabilitation to increase their economic productivity and promote happiness among
families.
Sources: The Hindu.

cyclones and their naming
Cyclones were usually not named. The tradition started with hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean, where
tropical storms that reach sustained wind speeds of 39 miles per hour were given names. (
hurricanes, typhoons, cyclones are all the same, just different names for tropical storms in different
parts of the world; Hurricane in the Atlantic, Typhoon in the Pacific and Cyclone in the Indian
Ocean). If the storms wind speed reaches or crosses 74 mph, it is then classified into a
hurricane/cyclone/typhoon. Tropical storms are given names and they retain the name if they
develop into a cyclone/hurricane/typhoon.
Naming of cyclones in North Indian Ocean by India and other SAARC countries and Oman and
Thailand began 10 years ago for easy reference, documentation and research. Naming of storms is
done for effective forecasting and getting it circulated through mass media. It is also useful for
academic research
The latest storm Hudhud, which is expected to hit the odisha coast, is named by Oman after Arabic
word, Hoopoe, a blue-crested bird found in Afro Eurasia known for its beautiful crest of feathers.
The next is named by Pakistan as Nilofer. Phailin was named by Thailand after the word, sapphire.
Naming of cyclones is done by turns in the following sequence after Nilofer by Pakistan: Priya (Sri
Lanka), Komen (Thailand), Chapala (Bangladesh), Megh (India), Roanu (Maldives), Kyant
(Myanmer), Nada (Oman) and Asiri (Sri Lanka). International committee of World Meteorological
Organisation and UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific play a key role in cyclone
naming.
Re a d mo r e a t :
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/phailin-how-are-cyclones-named-what-does-phailin-mean/1/314282.
html
Sources: The Hindu, indiatoday.

Nobel Literature Prize
Frances Patrick Modiano has won the Nobel Literature Prize for his enigmatic novels rooted in the
trauma of the Nazi occupation and his own loveless childhood.
The Swedish Academy said it wanted to celebrate Mr. Modianos art of memory in capturing the
lives of ordinary French people living under the Nazis during World War II.
His first novel La place de letoile ( The Stars Place ), was a direct reference to that mark of shame
inflicted on the Jews.
It was the first of many recreations of wartime Paris stuffed with meticulous detail street names,
cafes, metro stations and real-life crime cases of the day earning him the moniker of literary
archaeologist.
Sources: The Hindu.
Japan Plus
The Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) has set up a special management team to
facilitate and fast track investment proposals from Japan. The team, known as Japan Plus, will
comprise representatives from Government of India and METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and
Industry), Government of Japan.
It is an outcome of the recently concluded visit of the Prime Minister of India to Japan. The mandate
of the Japan Plus team runs through the entire spectrum of investment promotion research,
outreach, promotion, facilitation and aftercare. The team will support the Government of India in
initiating, attracting, facilitating, fast tracking and handholding Japanese investments across sectors.
The team will also be responsible for providing updated information on investment opportunities
across sectors, in specific projects and in industrial corridors in particular. In addition, the Japan
Plus team will identify prospective Japanese companies, including, Small and Medium Enterprises
(SMEs) and facilitate their investments in India.
The Japan Plus team will also provide assistance to DIPP in undertaking regular benchmarking
studies, identifying bottlenecks and areas of concern in sectors of interest to Japanese companies,
and analyzing their impact on industrial development production in India.
Japan is the 4th largest FDI contributor to India, with major interests in pharmaceuticals,
automobiles and services sectors and accounts for 7.46% of total FDI equity inflows into India. Over
the last decade, the number of Japanese establishments in India have increased by 11 times,
reflecting the positive sentiments of Japanese investors for Indian market.
Sources: PIB.

Draft Road Transport and Safety Bill 2014
It is a Bill which aims to provide a framework for safer, faster, cost effective and inclusive movement
of passengers and freight in the country thus enabling the mission of Make in India.
Highlights of the Bill:
2 lakhs lives to be saved in first 5 years due to reduction in road traffic accident deaths
4% GDP improvement on account of increased efficiency and safety of road transport sector
10 lac Jobs to be created with increase in investment in the sector
The bill proposes to include:
Motor Vehicle Regulation & Road Safety Authority of India
Independent agency for vehicle regulation and road safety
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Dedicated institutional setup to save over 200,000 lives in first 5 years
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Legally empowered & fully functional agency, accountable to Parliament
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Innovative financing mechanism for funding safety programs
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Unified Driver Licensing System
Simplified application and issuance procedures for driver licensing system
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Unified biometric system to avoid duplication
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Technology adoption for driver testing facilities
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Transparent, single window driver licencing system. Automated driving test for increased capacity
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with private sector participation.
Unified Vehicle Registration System
Unified registration in a dynamic information system
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Integration of all stakeholders. Easy (online) transfer of vehicles across states. Increased private
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sector participation in fitness testing to create more jobs
Manufacturer, owner, transport authority, insurer, enforcement agency all in one eco-system
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Private sector participation in establishing fitness certification centres
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Road Safety & Traffic Management
Provision for enforcement of modern safety technologies
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Creation of a motor accident fund for immediate relief to accident victim
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Special emphasis on safety of school children and security of women
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Electronic enforcement in urban clusters. Special emphasis for safety of vulnerable road users
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National Road Transport & Multimodal Coordination Authority
Single national authority for improving quality of road transportation
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Focus on developing integrated transport systems & multi-modal hubs
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Feeder system and last mile connectivity for people friendly mobility
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Institutional setup to facilitate Make in India vision. Seamless movement of goods and passengers
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across various modes
Goods Transport & National Freight Policy
Identification and development of freight networks
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Address bottlenecks concerning trucking industry
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Simplified permits and single portal clearances
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The DRTSB also includes the setting up of a Highway Traffic Regulation and Protection Force
(HTRPF).
http://morth.nic.in/writereaddata/linkimages/Road%20Transport%20and%20Safety%20Bill%202014
%20Draft-0068086402.pdf.
Sources: www.business-standard.com, PIB.

OCTOBER 2014
Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana
It is a village development project under which each Member of Parliament will take the
responsibility of developing physical and institutional infrastructure in three villages by
2019.
The goal is to develop three Adarsh Grams or model villages by March 2019, of which one
would be achieved by 2016. Thereafter, five such Adarsh Grams (one per year) will be
selected and developed by 2024.
The Project to be launched on the occasion of birth anniversary of Lok Nayak Jai Prakash
Narayan aims to keep the soul of rural India alive while providing its people with quality
access to basic amenities and opportunities to enable them to shape their own destiny.
Inspired by the principles and values of Mahatma Gandhi, the Scheme places equal stress
on nurturing values of national pride, patriotism, community spirit, self-confidence and on
developing infrastructure.
The Scheme is unique and transformative as it has a holistic approach towards
development. It envisages integrated development of the selected village across multiple
areas such as agriculture, health, education, sanitation, environment, livelihoods etc. Far
beyond mere infrastructure development, SAGY aims at instilling certain values, such as
peoples participation, Antyodaya, gender equality, dignity of women, social justice, spirit of
community service, cleanliness, eco-friendliness, maintaining ecological balance, peace and
harmony, mutual cooperation, self-reliance, local self-government, transparency and
accountability in public life, etc., in the villages and their people so that they get
transformed into models for others.
The scheme will be implemented through a village development plan that would be
prepared for every identified gram panchayat with special focus on enabling every poor
household to come out of poverty. The constituency fund, MPLADS, would be available to fill
critical financing gaps. The planning process in each village will be a participatory exercise
coordinated by the District Collector. The MP will play an active facilitating role in this
exercise.
SAGY gives focus to community participation. Social mobilization of village community can
trigger a chain of other development activities in the village. For instance, reducing risk
behaviours like alcoholism, smoking, substance abuse (drugs/tobacco/gutkha etc) among all
age groups of population. Women participation in the decision-making process will be
encouraged.
Adoption and adaptation of technology and introduction of innovations are critical to this
programme. This will include use of space application and remote sensing for planning,
mobile based technology for monitoring, agriculture technology for increasing productivity
etc.
At the national level, a separate, real time web based monitoring system will be put in place
for the scheme covering all aspects and components. The Ministry will put in place a
specially designed capacity building programme for Government functionaries at different
levels including Gram Panchayats. At the state level there will be an Empowered Committee
headed by the Chief Secretary consisting of the relevant Departments and including
experts, as required with at least two Civil Society representatives. The district Collector
will be the nodal officer for implementing the SAGY. He will conduct a monthly review
meeting with representatives of the participating Line Departments. The Members of
Parliament concerned will chair the review meetings.
Sources: PIB.
National Optical Fibre Network
The National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) is a project to provide broadband connectivity
to over two lakh Gram panchayats of India at a cost of Rs.20,000 crore.
The project provides internet access using existing optical fibre and extending it to the
Gram panchayats. The project was intended to enable the government of India to provide e-
services and e-applications nationally. A special purpose vehicle Bharat Broadband Network
Limited (BBNL) was created as a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Companies Act
of 1956 for the execution of the project. The project will be funded by the Universal Service
Obligation Fund (USOF).
All the Service Providers like Telecom Service Providers (TSPs), ISPs, Cable TV operators
etc. will be given non-discriminatory access to the National Optic Fibre Network and can
launch various services in rural areas. NOFN has the potential to transform many aspects of
our lives including video, data, internet, telephone services in areas such as education,
business, entertainment, environment, health households and e-governance services.
National Optic Fibre Network uses Gigabit passive optical network (GPON) technology
indigenously developed by Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT). A passive optical
network (PON) brings fiber cabling and signals to the home using a point-to-multipoint
scheme that enables a single optical fiber to serve multiple premises. Encryption maintains
data security in this shared environment. The architecture uses passive (unpowered) optical
splitters, reducing the cost of equipment compared to point-to-point architectures.
Sources: PIB, Wiki, www.bbnl.nic.in.
About UNIVERSAL SERVICE OBLIGATION FUND
The New Telecom Policy 1999 (NTP 99), approved by the Union Cabinet, sought to
achieve the following Universal Service Objectives:
Provision of Voice and Low speed data service to the balance 2.98 lakh uncovered villages,
I
Achieve Internet access to all district headquarters, and
I
Achieve telephone on demand in urban and rural areas.
I
The New Telecom Policy 1999 provided that the resources for meeting the Universal
Service Obligation (USO) would be raised through a Universal Access Levy (UAL), which
would be a percentage of the revenue earned by the operators under various licenses, to be
decided in consultation with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
It envisaged that the implementation of USO Obligation for rural/remote areas would be
undertaken by all fixed service providers who shall be reimbursed from the USO Fund.
Other service providers would also be encouraged to participate in USO provision subject to
technical feasibility and would be reimbursed from the funds.
The Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Act, 2003 giving statutory status to the Universal
Service Obligation Fund (USOF) was passed by both Houses of Parliament in December
2003.
The resources for implementation of USO are raised through a Universal Service Levy (USL)
which has presently been fixed at 5% of the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) of all Telecom
Service Providers except the pure value added service providers like Internet, Voice Mall, E-
Mail service providers etc. In addition, the Central Govt. may also give grants and loans.
The Fund is to be utilized exclusively for meeting the Universal Service Obligation. It has
been defined in the Act as the obligation to provide access to telegraph services to people in
rural and remote areas at affordable and reasonable prices.
Support from the fund is being carried out by means of a bidding process on the least
quoted subsidy support basis (reverse auction).
Credits to the Fund are through Parliamentary approvals and the balance to the credit of
the Fund does not lapse at the end of the financial year. USOF activities fall under Plan
Budget. They were previously carried out under Non-Plan Budget till 2010-2011.
Sources:
http://www.usof.gov.in/.
Consumer Protection Act, 1986
Consumer Protection Act, 1986 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted in 1986 to
protect interests of consumers in India. It makes provision for the establishment of
consumer councils and other authorities for the settlement of consumers disputes and for
matters connected therewith.
Consumer Protection Councils are established at the national, state and district level to
increase consumer awareness.
Central Consumer Protection Council
It is established by the Central Government which consists of the following members:
The Minister of Consumer Affairs, Chairman, and
I
Such number of other official or non-official members representing such interests as may
I
be prescribed.
State Consumer Protection Council
It is established by the State Government which consists of the following members:
The Minister in charge of consumer affairs in the State Government Chairman.
I
Such number of other official or non-official members representing such interests as may
I
be prescribed by the State Government.
such number of other official or non-official members, not exceeding ten, as may be
I
nominated by the Central Government.
The State Council is required to meet as and when necessary but not less than two meetings
every year.
Consumer Disputes Redressal Agencies
District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum (DCDRF): Also known as the District
I
Forum will be established by the State Government in each district of the State. The State
Government may establish more than one District Forum in a district. It is a district level
court that deals with cases valuing up to 20 lakhs.
State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (SCDRC): Also known as the State
I
Commission will be established by the State Government in the State. It is a state level
court that takes up cases valuing less than 1 crore.
National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC): Established by the Central
I
Government. It is a national level court that works for the whole country and deals with
amount more than 1 crore.
http://dc-siwan.bih.nic.in/Consumer_Act.pdf.
Sources: PIB, Wiki, www.ncdrc.nic.in.
Countrys first ever Mental Health Policy
The Mental Health Policy was launched on the first ever National Mental Health Day
organised by the government.
The National Mental Health Policy outlines the prioritized agenda for extending within a
pragmatic time-frame basic mental health care facilities to all sections of the population
across the country by the year 2020. It also pushes for decriminalisation of attempted
suicide.
The Policys objective is to provide universal access to mental health care by enhancing
understanding of mental health and strengthening leadership in the mental health sector at
all levels. It will have a pro-poor orientation because only the creamy layer of society
presently has access to mental healthcare in India today.
The Policy is backed up by the Mental Health Action Plan 365. It clearly spells out the
specific roles to be played by the Central government, the state governments, local bodies
and civil society organisations.
Earlier laws governing the mentally ill, the Indian Lunatic Asylum Act, 1858, and Indian
Lunacy Act, 1912, ignored the human rights aspect and were concerned only with custodial
issues.
The National Mental Health Policy is aimed at doing the greatest good to the largest
number through five interdependent and mutually synergistic strategies, to be
implemented in a phased manner over the next two decades
Extension of basic mental health care facilities to, the primary level.
I
Strengthening of psychiatric training in Medical Colleges at the undergraduate as well as
I
postgraduate level.
Modernization and rationalization of mental hospitals to develop them into tertiary care
I
centers of excellence.
Empowerment of Central and State Mental Health Authorities for effective monitoring,
I
regulation and planning of mental health care delivery systems.
Promoting research in frontier areas to evolve better and more cost-effective therapeutic
I
interventions as well as to generate seminal inputs for future planning.
http://www.wbhealth.gov.in/download/MH%20Policy%20rewrite.pdf.
Sources: PIB, http://www.wbhealth.gov.in/, The Hindu.
India, Pak. crusaders share Nobel
Kailash Satyarthi, 60-year-old child rights activist from Madhya Pradesh, and Malala
Yousafzai, who has risked her life to wage a campaign for girls education in Pakistan, are
the joint winners of this years Nobel Peace Prize.
It is an important point for a Hindu and a Muslim, an Indian and a Pakistani, to join in a
common struggle for education and extremism.
Mr. Satyarthi showed great personal courage and maintaining Gandhis tradition, has
headed various forms of protests and demonstrations, all peaceful, focusing on the grave
exploitation of children for financial gain. The peace prize winner has saved thousands of
children from bonded labour in factories through the Bachpan Bachao Andolan which he
founded in 1980, and other organisations. He is a member of the high-level group formed by
UNESCO on Education for All on which selected presidents, Prime Ministers and UN agency
heads are represented.
Despite her youth, Malala has already fought for several years for the rights of girls to
education, and has shown by example that children and young people, too, can contribute to
improve their own situations. Malala became a global symbol of the fight against extremism
after she was shot by Taliban militants two years ago in Swat.
<

OCTOBER 2014
Centre to set inflation targets for RBI
The Centre has given the go-ahead for a major overhaul of the current monetary policy
framework wherein the Centre will specify inflation targets for the Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) to achieve.
Under the proposed new regime, the RBI will set inflation as its top priority in its policy
statements.
An expert committee of the RBI, appointed to examine monetary policy, headed by Reserve
Bank Deputy Governor Urjit R. Patel, had recommended that the monetary policy decision-
making should be vested with a monetary policy committee, chaired by the RBI Governor.
But this new decision of the centre departs from the recommendation made.
Inflation targeting is a monetary policy strategy used by central banks for maintaining
inflation at a certain level or within a specific range. In general, central banks normally
follow a policy of keeping inflation sufficiently low. However, in inflation targeting, there is
a preset, publicly declared target. Using methods such as interest rate changes, the central
bank and other monetary authorities are expected to guide inflation to a targeted level or
range.
The committee, headed by Urjit Patel, was constituted with the aim of making Monetary
policy framework transparent and predictable.
The key recommendations, related to inflation, made by the committee are ass follows,
CPI (combined) should be used as the nominal anchor for a flexible inflation targeting
I
framework.
Target range of inflation should be 4% with a tolerance band of 2% to be achieved in a 2
I
year time frame.
The transition path to the targeted range should be graduated to bring down inflation from
I
the current level of around 10% to 8% over a period not exceeding 12 months and to 6%
over a period not exceeding 24 months.
Administered prices and interest rates should be eliminated as they as impediments to
I
monetary policy transmission and achievement to price stability.
The committee also suggested to use CPI headline inflation instead of core inflation.
I

Sources: The Hindu, Economic survey.

Huge response to crowd sourcing
Andhra Pradesh government, for the first time, is using space technology with the help of
ISRO and NRSC in disaster management.
Responding to tech-savvy Andhra Pradesh Chief Ministers appeal, people from cyclone-hit
areas have uploaded over 3,000 photos for crowd sourcing on NRSC website using an
android app which allows mapping of neighbourhood in an easy manner.
Besides seeking the help of National Remote Sensing Centre, the Disaster Management
Department of AP government created a Facebook page. NRSC was directed to use GIS,
GPS and remote sensing technologies to spot the damage and put them on the satellite
through geo-tagging. This would enable the government to have data on damages on the
map.
What is Crowdsourcing?
Crowdsourcing is the process of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting
contributions from a large group of people, and especially from an online community, rather
than from traditional employees or suppliers.
The process of crowdsourcing is often used to subdivide tedious work and to obtain real
time information.
Green-rated buildings not keeping their promise, says CSE
report
Green-rated buildings are falling below the minimum benchmarks of their official star rating
by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), says a report Building sense beyond the green
faade of sustainable habitat by the Centre for Science and Environment released
recently.
Data put out by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) on energy consumption of large
commercial buildings that were rated and awarded silver, gold and platinum ratings, under
the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green-rating programme, show
they are grossly underperforming.
India started to mirror the global trends in green rating when the United States Green
Building Council (USGBC) began rating buildings in India.
In 2007, LEED India (Leadership in Energy and environmental Design-India) was adapted
from the USGBC LEED programme. This is a private initiative run by the IGBC.
India adopted the Green-rated Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) as the national
rating system for buildings in 2007.
About GRIHA:
GRIHA is a rating tool that helps people assesses the performance of their building against
certain nationally acceptable benchmarks. It evaluates the environmental performance of a
building holistically over its entire life cycle, thereby providing a definitive standard for
what constitutes a green building. The rating system, based on accepted energy and
environmental principles, will seek to strike a balance between the established practices
and emerging concepts, both national and international.
GRIHA attempts to minimize a buildings resource consumption, waste generation, and
overall ecological impact to within certain nationally acceptable limits / benchmarks. It
attempts to quantify aspects such as energy consumption, waste generation, renewable
energy adoption, etc. so as to manage, control and reduce the same to the best possible
extent.
With over two decades of experience on green and energy efficient buildings, TERI has
developed GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment), which was adopted as
the national rating system for green buildings by the Government of India in 2007.
This tool has been adopted by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. This tool, by its
qualitative and quantitative assessment criteria, is able to rate a building on the degree of
its greenness.
The basic features of GRIHA:
The system has been developed to help design and evaluate new buildings (buildings that
are still at the inception stages). A building is assessed based on its predicted performance
over its entire life cycle inception through operation. The stages of the life cycle that have
been identified for evaluation are:

Pre-construction stage: (intra- and inter-site issues like proximity to public transport, type
I
of soil, kind of land, where the property is located, the flora and fauna on the land before
construction activity starts, the natural landscape and land features).
Building planning and construction stages: (issues of resource conservation and reduction
I
in resource demand, resource utilization efficiency, resource recovery and reuse, and
provisions for occupant health and well-being). The prime resources that are considered in
this section are land, water, energy, air, and green cover.
Building operation and maintenance stage: (issues of operation and maintenance of
I
building systems and processes, monitoring and recording of energy consumption, and
occupant health and well-being, and also issues that affect the global and local
environment).

The benefits:
On a broader scale, this system, along with the activities and processes that lead up to it,
will benefit the community at large with the improvement in the environment by reducing
GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions, reducing energy consumption and the stress on natural
resources.
Some of the benefits of a green design to a building owner, user, and the society as a whole
are as follows:
Reduced energy consumption without sacrificing the comfort levels
I
Reduced destruction of natural areas, habitats, and biodiversity, and reduced soil loss from
I
erosion etc.
Reduced air and water pollution (with direct health benefits)
I
Reduced water consumption
I
Limited waste generation due to recycling and reuse
I
Reduced pollution loads
I
Increased user productivity
I
Enhanced image and marketability
I
http://www. asci . org. i n/eei be/Resources/Presentati ons/Mr. %20Si va%20Ki shan. pdf.
Sources: The Hindu, http://www.grihaindia.org.

TFA implementation problem a shame
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim has described the worlds inability to get across the
finish line with the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) as really, really a shame, adding
that the market would punish those who are putting their heads in the sand.
Trade Facilitation was one of the important elements of the outcome from the Bali
ministerial conference.
About TFA:
The Trade Facilitation Agreement forms part of the Bali Package agreed by members at the
Ninth Ministerial Conference in Bali.
The Trade Facilitation Agreement contains provisions for faster and more efficient customs
procedures through effective cooperation between customs and other appropriate
authorities on trade facilitation and customs compliance issues. It also contains provisions
for technical assistance and capacity building in this area.
It is a trade protocol aiming to give a spur and do away with the stumbling blocks in doing
international trade between various countries. The deadline to sign the agreement is July 31
and the deal has to come into force fully by 2015.
It is being believed, especially by the proponents of the agreement that deal could add $1
trillion to global GDP and also can generate 21 million jobs by slashing red tape and
streamlining customs.
India and FTA:
India fears that agreeing to the trade facilitation agreement (TFA) could compromise its
own food security.
The problem with TFA runs in a clause that says farm subsidies cannot be more than 10% of
the value of agricultural production. If the cap is breached, other members can challenge it
and also go on to impose trade sanctions on the country.
The developing countries have a problem with the solutions offered by the developed
countries as without the subsidies the food security of the developing nations could be
seriously harmed. India agreed to the TFA in Bali only under the condition that interim relief
would be provided to the developing nations. It said no legal actions or sanctions would be
imposed on the developing nations till 2017, by which time a solution would be worked out
among the nations. However, this interim relief would not be applicable if such subsidies
would lead to trade distortions, by which one means, that prices of exports and imports
cannot be affected by this.
Indias Food Security Act, which is binding on the government by law now, implies that the
government will provide very cheap food to the most vulnerable part of the population at
low prices. Apart from providing subsidies to the consumers, through the public distribution
system, it also provides subsidies to the producers of food grains. So it buys food grains
from farmers at a minimum support price, and subsidises inputs like electricity and
fertiliser.
Concerns expressed by India:
The 10% cap on subsidies which will not be possible for India to achieve. And the 10% cap
I
is calculated based on 1986-88 prices when the prices of food grains were much lower. So
the cap has to be updated taking into account the present prices of foodgrains.
India will have to open up its own stockpiling to international monitoring, even for
I
providing subsidised food.
The United States has been providing farm subsidies to its farmers to the tune of more
I
than $20 billion per year which seems unfair to the developing countries to not crack down
on that issue.
India which is home to about 25% of the worlds hungry, feels that it is a Governments
responsibility and duty to ensure availability of proper food to its people.
Sources: The Hindu, Wiki, www.wto.org.

OCTOBER 2014
OP LEHAR
It is the rescue operation conducted under which The Defence Crisis Management Group
has nominated Indian Navy as the lead service for conduct of rescue and relief operations in
Andhra Pradesh and Odisha affected by Cyclone Hudhud.
Sources: PIB.
Strong Measures to be Introduced Against Female Foeticide
The Union Health Minister has decided to set up an expert group to examine the new
methods being used for gender determination of foetuses to get around the existing
regulation of ultra sound machines.
While misuse of ultra sound machines is still prevalent because it is cheap, newer medical
technologies are increasingly being used in the name of genetic testing.
The use of simple blood tests that give away the sex of the foetus represents a new
dimension to gender-specific foeticide. At IVF-ART clinics, couples are given the option of
accepting or rejecting a foetus depending on the sex. While rules are in place to prevent
misuse of ultra-sound machines, very little is known about recent innovations brought to
bear on sex selection. Therefore, it is necessary to form an expert group to identify the
approaches and formulate responses in the form of an Amendment to the Act.
About Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act:
It is an Act enacted in 1994 by the Parliament of India to stop female foeticides and arrest
the declining sex ratio in India. The act banned prenatal sex determination. It is an Act to
provide for the prohibition of sex selection, before or after conception, and for regulation of
pre-natal diagnostic techniques for the purposes of detecting genetic abnormalities or
metabolic disorders or chromosomal abnormalities or certain congenital malformations or
sex-linked disorders and for the prevention of their misuse for sex determination leading to
female foeticide; and, for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
The main purpose of enacting the act is to ban the use of sex selection techniques before or
after conception and prevent the misuse of prenatal diagnostic technique for sex selective
abortion.
Sex selection is any act of identifying the sex of the foetus and elimination of the foetus if it
is of the unwanted sex.
Salient features:
Offences under this act include conducting or helping in the conduct of prenatal diagnostic
technique in the unregistered units, sex selection on a man or woman, conducting PND test
for any purpose other than the one mentioned in the act, sale, distribution, supply, renting
etc. of any ultra sound machine or any other equipment capable of detecting sex of the
foetus. Main provisions in the act are
The Act provides for the prohibition of sex selection, before or after conception.
I
It regulates the use of pre-natal diagnostic techniques, like ultrasound and amniocentesis
I
by allowing them their use only to detect :
genetic abnormalities 1.
metabolic disorders 2.
chromosomal abnormalities 3.
certain congenital malformations 4.
haemoglobinopathies 5.
sex linked disorders. 6.
No laboratory or centre or clinic will conduct any test including ultrasonography for the
I
purpose of determining the sex of the foetus.
No person, including the one who is conducting the procedure as per the law, will
I
communicate the sex of the foetus to the pregnant woman or her relatives by words, signs
or any other method.
Any person who puts an advertisement for pre-natal and pre-conception sex determination
I
facilities in the form of a notice, circular, label, wrapper or any document, or advertises
through interior or other media in electronic or print form or engages in any visible
representation made by means of hoarding, wall painting, signal, light, sound, smoke or
gas, can be imprisoned for up to three years and fined Rs. 10,000.
The Act mandates compulsory registration of all diagnostic laboratories, all genetic
I
counselling centres, genetic laboratories, genetic clinics and ultrasound clinics.
Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994 (PNDT),
was amended in 2003 to The Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques
(Prohibition Of Sex Selection) Act (PCPNDT Act) to improve the regulation of the technology
used in sex selection.
The Act was amended to bring the technique of pre conception sex selection and ultrasound
technique within the ambit of the act. The amendment also empowered the central
supervisory board, state level supervisory board was constituted.
http://www.rajswasthya.nic.in/PCPNDT%2005.12.08/PCPNDT%20Act%20(2).pdf.
Sources: PIB, Wiki, http://www.rajswasthya.nic.in/.

Most Indian women engaged in unpaid housework
A recently released NSSO data shows that Close to two out of every three Indian women
are, in their prime working years, primarily engaged in unpaid housework. This
phenomenon, on the rise over the last decade, is least common in the southern and north-
eastern States and most common in the northern States, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar
Pradesh in particular.
Observations made by the Report:
Over 60 per cent of adult women are primarily engaged in housework slightly more so
among urban women. The data shows that women, in both rural and urban areas, are
increasingly reporting domestic work as their main occupation.
Even though a majority of the women surveyed were engaged in productive activity
collecting firewood or rearing household poultry they could not be classified as workers
as the value added by and the number of hours spent on these actions were not sufficient to
constitute economically productive activity.
Among women who spend most of their time on domestic duties, over 60 per cent said they
did so because there was no other family member to help out with household chores. A third
of women doing domestic work said they would be willing to take up regular paid home-
based work, particularly of tailoring.
<

OCTOBER 2014
Standards Compliance for Consumer Products to be Monitored
Strictly
The Government is working with Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to introduce the regime
of strict quality standards for consumer products and services. BIS Act will be amended
soon with this propose.
Why is it required?
Indian products should meet international quality standards in all respects. Compliance to
I
standards by industry will pave way for the success of recently launched Make in India
initiative by the Government.
The adoption of standards facilitates in providing a level playing field to all enterprises,
I
helps them to overcome the technical gaps to reach global markets and to improve quality
of life for all.
Govt. regulations are intended to provide fairness to all players to play by the same set of
I
rules.
Standards provide practical tools for tackling many of todays global challenges from
I
managing global resources.
BIS is playing a committed role at National and International level by developing standards
in tune with world trade and at the same time keeping in mind the requirements of our
society for standardization.
About BIS:
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is the national Standards Body of India working under
the aegis of Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Government of India.
It is established by the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986 which came into effect on 23
December 1986.
The organization was formerly the Indian Standards Institution (ISI), set up under the
Resolution of the then Department of Industries and Supplies. The ISI was registered under
the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
BIS is a founder member of International Organisation for Standardization (ISO). It
represents India in ISO, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and the World
Standards Service Network (WSSN).
Functions:
One of the major functions of the Bureau is the formulation, recognition and promotion of
the Indian Standards covering important segments of economy, which help the industry in
upgrading the quality of their products and services.
Product Certifications are to be obtained voluntarily. For some of the products like Milk
powder, Drinking Water, LPG Cylinders, Thermometers etc., certification is mandatory as
these products are concerned with health and safety.
All foreign manufacturers of products who intend to export to India are required to obtain a
BIS product certification license. Towards this, BIS launched its Product Certification
Scheme for overseas manufacturers in the year 1999. Under the provisions of this scheme,
foreign manufacturers can seek certification from BIS for marking their product(s) with BIS
Standard Mark. If or otherwise, the foreign manufacturer has not signed an MoU with BIS,
it has to set up a liaison office in India with the permission of Reserve Bank of India.
Otherwise, an authorized representative or agent needs to be appointed by the foreign firm.
Sources: PIB, Wiki, http://www.bis.org.in/.
skill development of urban poor
The Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation (MHUPA) has convened a Conference
of about one hundred leading employers for assessing their skilled manpower requirements
so as to undertake necessary skill development programmes for urban poor under Deen
Dayal Antyodaya Yojana (DAY).
Under DAY, the Ministry of HUPA intends to undertake skill development of five lakh urban
poor per year based on identified market needs. An expenditure of up to Rs.15,000/-per
person is admissible under the Employment through Skills Training & Placement (EST&P)
component of DAY. First phase of DAY in urban areas is to be implemented till 2016-17.
The meeting with leading employers, particularly, in manpower intensive sectors will help in
identifying the different kinds of skills required by the different sectors, both qualitatively
and quantitatively. Thereafter, Ministry of HUPA, in association with the states would plan
for training and skill development programmes across the country.
For effective and time bound execution of quality training programmes, the Ministry of
HUPA has signed a Memorandum of Undertaking (MoU) with National Skill Development
Corporation (NSDC). As per the MoU, NSDC will assist in training of urban poor as per
market needs. NSDC will also help in identification of beneficiaries besides certification of
training programmes through 31 Sector Skill Councils (SSCs). SSCs are industry led bodies
that define the Occupation Standards and curriculum for different training programmes.
Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana DAY:
It is an overarching scheme for uplift of urban and rural poor through enhancement of
livelihood opportunities through skill development and other means.
If India is to emerge as the manufacturing base to meet global needs, the only certain way is
to empower every youth of the country with the necessary skills. Skill development has
multiple outcomes including enhancing employment opportunities, stimulating economic
growth and promoting self-worth of beneficiaries.
Under the urban component of DAY, focus will be on:
Imparting skills with an expenditure of Rs.15,000 Rs.18,000 on each urban poor;
I
Promotion of self-employment through setting up individual micro-enterprises and group
I
enterprises with interest subsidy for individual projects costing Rs.2.00 lakhs and Rs.10.00
lakhs for group enterprises. Subsidized interest rate will be 7%;
Training urban poor to meet the huge demand from urban citizens by imparting market
I
oriented skills through City Livelihood Centres. Each Centre would be given a capital
grant of Rs.10.00 lakhs.
Enabling urban poor form Self-Help Groups for meeting financial and social needs with a
I
support of Rs.10,000/- per each group who would in turn would be helped with bank
linkages;
Development of vendor markets besides promotion of skills of vendors; and
I
Construction of permanent shelters for urban homeless and provision of other essential
I
services.
Sources: PIB.
Malnourishment declined sharply among children in India:
survey
New provisional data from a survey conducted by the government and UNICEF shows that
Indias proportion of children underweight fell from 45.1 per cent in 2005-06 to 30.1 per
cent in 2013-14.
This makes the decline in one indicator of child undernourishment the sharpest in the 25
years.
Since 2005-06, there has been no new data on child and adult weights and heights, key in
determining malnutrition, because of a delay in the National Family Health Survey, Indias
official source of health data.
Ending what has been referred to as a data drought, these provisional numbers have
significantly altered Indias position in global health indices. Indias hunger status no
longer ranks as alarming in the International Food Policy Research Institutes (IFPRI)
Global Hunger Index, but has instead been reclassified as serious.
In the last decade, India has improved its health status faster than other South Asian
countries, the new data indicates, as opposed to the widespread belief that countries such
as Bangladesh had done a better job on reducing malnutrition than India despite Indias
faster economic growth.
IFPRI credits the governments push to extend nutrition schemes like the Integrated Child
Development Services along with better monitoring by a Supreme Court-appointed
committee, improve access to health under the National Rural Health Mission, provide
access to work under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and strengthen the
implementation of the Public Delivery System for subsidised grain.
India still has the highest number of underweight children under five in the world and 70%
of children are anaemic. The proportion of undernourished people in the overall population
has fallen from 21.5 per cent in 2004-06 to 17 per cent in 2011-13, according to IFPRI
estimates. Moreover, State-wise differences are not yet known.
According to the survey, globally, two billion people are suffering from hidden hunger, a
lack of essential vitamins and minerals in their diet.
Sources: The Hindu.

U.S. wins WTO case against India
In a setback, India lost a case filed by the U.S. in the WTO against restrictions it imposed on
poultry imports from America.
Giving its ruling, the World Trade Organisations dispute panel said restrictions imposed by
India on imports of poultry from America were inconsistent with international norms.
In March 2012, the U.S. dragged India to the WTO against Indias ban on imports of certain
American farm products, including poultry meat and eggs. India had banned imports of
various agricultural products from the U.S. in 2007, as a precautionary measure to prevent
outbreaks of avian influenza in the country.
The ruling said that Indias Avian Influenza (AI) measures are inconsistent with several
articles of the SPS [sanitary and phyto-sanitary) Agreement because they are not based on
the relevant international standard.
SPS Agreement:
The Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, also known as
the SPS Agreement, is an international treaty of the World Trade Organization. It was
negotiated during the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, and
entered into force with the establishment of the WTO at the beginning of 1995.
Under the SPS agreement, the WTO sets constraints on member-states policies relating to
food safety (bacterial contaminants, pesticides, inspection and labelling) as well as animal
and plant health (phytosanitation) with respect to imported pests and diseases.
There are 3 standards organizations who set standards that WTO members should base
their SPS methodologies on. They are the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), World
Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the Secreatariat of the International Plant
Protection Convention (IPPC).
The SPS agreement is closely linked to the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, which
was signed in the same year and has similar goals.
The SPS agreement gives the WTO the power to override a countrys use of the
precautionary principle a principle which allows them to act on the side of caution if there
is no scientific certainty about potential threats to human health and the environment.
Under SPS rules, the burden of proof is on countries to demonstrate scientifically that
something is dangerous before it can be regulated.
Sources: The Hindu, Wiki, http://www.wto.org/.

New Bill for total ban on child labour
The proposed amendments in the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment
(CLPRA) Bill will for the first time ban employment of children below 14 years in any
occupation, bringing the law in consistency with the Right to Children to Free and
Compulsory Education Act 2009. The Bill prohibits employment of adolescents aged 14-18
years in hazardous occupations.
The Bill will regulate conditions of work for adolescents, and of children working in audio-
visual entertainment industry. In 1996, the Supreme Court had prescribed a penalty of Rs.
20,000 from employers and Rs. 5,000 from State government for every child worker
rescued. This will now be introduced in law and indexed to price rise.
The 1986 law prohibits employing children only in certain occupations such as mines, work
in hazardous process and with inflammable substances or explosives.
Minors working in middle class homes as domestic workers and those employed at hotels,
dhabas were included as a category of child labourers only after an amendment in 2006.
The Standing Committee on Labour and Employment under D.S. Chauhan had in its report
on CLPRA Bill, in December 2013, recommended that the Bill give details for regulation for
prescribing the conditions of work for adolescents criteria for wages, hours of work,
settlement of disputes. This was incorporated. It had suggested that adolescents should
have completed Class VIII before being allowed to join an occupation. It suggested the
explicit exception in the Bill granted to children helping their family after school hours be
deleted. Both suggestions were not accepted.
Despite the amendment, different Acts continue to define child differently. While the RTE
Act 2009 and CLPRA 2012 define a child as 14-year-old, the Juvenile Justice (Care and
Protection of Children) Act, 2000 considers this to be 18 years.
Other provisions in the Bill:
The Bill enhances the punishment for employing any child in an occupation. It also
I
includes penalty for employing an adolescent in a hazardous occupation.
The government may confer powers on a District Magistrate to ensure that the provisions
I
of the law are properly carried out.
The Bill empowers the government to make periodic inspection of places at which
I
employment of children and adolescents are prohibited.
The central government may add or omit any hazardous occupation from the list included
I
in the Bill.
The penalty for employing an adolescent in hazardous occupation is imprisonment
I
between 6 months and two years or a fine of Rs 20,000 to Rs 50,000 or both.

Sources: The Hindu, prsindia.org.
India bans import of animal-tested cosmetics
Coming just a few months after implementation of a national ban on cruel cosmetics testing
in Indias labs, the import ban now makes India the first cruelty-free cosmetics zone in
South Asia and an example for other nations to follow.
The ban comes in the form of Rule 135-B that states, No cosmetic that has been tested on
animals after the commencement of Drugs and Cosmetics (Fifth Amendment) Rules, 2014
shall be imported into the country.
This is a huge achievement that could not have been possible without the compassion of
government, consumers and industry. If this vision is applied to other areas of product
testing, this can be a defining moment in the modernisation of Indias safety science, with
potentially hundreds of thousands more animals spared of pain and suffering.
After intensive efforts by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, the
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has made this announcement that will save millions
of animals from being blinded, poisoned and killed in cruel and useless tests for products
sold to Indias billion plus population.
Indias dual test and import ban mirrors that of the European Union and is the latest victory
in a string of achievements for the BeCrueltyFree campaign globally. Earlier this year
BeCrueltyFree campaigners in Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, Taiwan and the United States
have all celebrated the introduction of bills proposing national cosmetic animal test bans.
Efforts by BeCrueltyFree China also resulted in China removing mandatory animal testing
for many domestically-produced cosmetics.
Be Cruelty-Free India is part of the largest campaign in the world to end cosmetics animal
testing. Globally there are Be Cruelty-Free campaigns in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China,
India, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Russia, Taiwan and the U.S.where the campaign is led by
The Humane Society of the United States.
Sources: The Hindu, TOI.
J&K policewoman wins U.N. peacekeeper award
An inspector with the Jammu and Kashmir Police has bagged the International Female
Police Peacekeeper Award 2014 instituted by the U.N. for her exceptional achievements
while serving with the U.N. mission in Afghanistan.
It is a competitive award given to an outstanding female police peacekeeper serving in a
U.N. peace operation.
Shakti Devi, 38, currently deployed in the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA),
was also cited for her efforts towards helping victims of sexual and gender-based violence.
The award is instituted by the U.N. Police Division.
The U.N. communication said Ms. Devi has contributed to the improvement of the status of
female police and has effectively helped the police of Afghanistan move towards achieving
their goals of fully adopting democratic principles of policing.
Sources: The Hindu.
U.K. Commons votes in favour of Palestinian state
In a political development that will have enormous symbolic importance for the cause of
Palestine, the British House of Commons voted overwhelmingly in favour of recognising
Palestine as a state alongside Israel.
Although it is the government and not the House of Commons that recognises states, the
voting result at 274 to 12 will strengthen the moral case for Palestine internationally while
simultaneously isolating Israel for its illegal occupation of Palestine.
The United Kingdom had not recognised the state of Palestine, and was one of the 41
countries that abstained from voting at the U.N. General Assembly in 2012 when a majority
voted to upgrade the status of Palestine to that of a non-member observer state. Its current
policy on Palestine reserves the right to recognise a Palestinian state bilaterally at the
moment of our choosing and when it can best help bring about peace.
Sources: The Hindu.
New procuring model for e-governance apps from start-ups
The Kerala State government is mulling over the scope of introducing the Swiss challenge
model for procuring e-governance application software from startups under its new
Entrepreneurship and Innovation policy.
Swiss challenge is a public procurement model usually adopted by an agency or government
whereby the bid for a product or service is published inviting third parties to match or
exceed it.
As per the proposal, once a startup comes up with an e-governance application along with
its cost, the government would invoke the Swiss challenge mode.
Under the new proposal if no other bidder comes forward, then the bid would go to the
startup concerned. Even if a third party offers a bid, even then the startup would be given
the opportunity to match it and win the bid. Its a new thinking and would be a great
encouragement to the young startups.
The new policy, the draft of which was completed last week, is also expected to give a fillip
to m-governance initiative, as it would open up the possibility of government procuring
mobile phone applications developed by young startups.
Swiss challenge system:
Swiss Challenge System is a bidding process to help private sector initiative in core sector
projects. Its an offer made by the original proponent to the government ensuring his
process to be best (in terms of effectiveness including both the factors cost and time) by his
initiative as a result of his own innovative approach or on the demand of the government to
perform certain task.
The Swiss challenge system, like the bonus system, further allows third parties to make
better offers (challenges) for a project during a designated period with simple objective to
discourage frivolous project, or to avoid exaggerated project development costs. Then
accordingly, the original proponent gets the right to counter-match any superior offers
given by the third party.
The system basically works on two different patterns, it is up to the government to decide as
to which one they want to adopt. The two main ways are as follows:
The government can either purchase the intellectual property rights for a project concept
I
from the proponent or then award the project through a competitive bidding process in
which no bidder has a predefined advantage.
The government can offer the original proponent an advantage in a competitive bidding
I
process. In this case the government should create rewards that satisfy the original
proponent while still allowing a truly competitive process.

There are various attributes, which the government takes into account while dealing with
the Swiss challenge system it includes:
Offering cost reimbursement: Advantage of offering cost reimbursement maintains private
I
sector interest during the development phase of an infrastructure project, helps to ensure
that the source of ideas is not limited to large investors with deep pockets, and encourages
proponents to allocate the resources needed to ensure that projects are professionally
developed.
Setting time limits: Government often sets time limits on the approval and bidding phases.
I
Time constraints on counterproposals give an obvious competitive advantage to the
original project proponent.
However it has been observed that in both bonus and Swiss challenge systems it is not easy
to find the right balance between incentives to propose beneficial projects and incentives for
third parties to submit counter proposals.
The questions relating to legal validity of using the Swiss challenge system when a
counterproposal contains different specifications than the original proposal was always
being raised.
Finally system provides companies with considerable incentives to propose new ideas. If
they are able to propose a sufficiently innovative idea there is likelihood that the company
gets the contract. The system allows a competitive platform for every one and at the same
time, it protects the government from making expensive mistakes if the idea is not specific
to the originating company and other companies are able to provide the services at a lower
price.
Sources: The Hindu, Wiki.
OCTOBER 2014
World Food Day
Every year 16th October is observed as World Food Day to mark the founding of the Food
and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations (UN). The intention of observing
this Day is to raise public awareness about the plight of the hungry and malnourished
people all over the world and initiate comprehensive action to tackle and mitigate the
menace of malnutrition and hunger.
The theme selected for this years World Food Day is Family Farming: Feeding the
World, Caring for the Earth.
Sources: PIB.
India and UK sign MOU to step up Cultural Cooperation over
the next five years
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the two countries on Cultural
Cooperation which will form the bulwark of the India-UK cultural relations for the period
2014 to 2019.
The agreement envisages collaboration in the field of museums, libraries, archaeology,
performing arts, capacity building programs, skill development, joint publications, archives,
cinematography and literature.
The priorities set by the two governments include enhanced efforts for preservation of
monuments, preservation of Buddhist heritage, infrastructure development at
archaeological sites, enhanced people to people contact through Festivals of India abroad
for projection of Indias soft power diplomacy and promotion of tourism, improved records
management in Government and the National Missions on Libraries and Manuscripts.
Future areas of collaboration between India and the UK include collaboration between
Indian National Museum and British Museum, development of a conservation policy and
applied conservation techniques & training, digitization and improved records management
practices and conservation of built heritage.
Sources: PIB.

PFBR awaits clearance
Loading of the 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) with liquid sodium awaits
clearance from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB).
BHAVINI, a public sector undertaking of the Department of Atomic Energy, has built the
PFBR at Kalpakkam, 60 km from Chennai. The PFBR uses plutonium-uranium oxide as fuel
and liquid sodium as coolant.

About Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor:
It is a 500MWe fast breeder nuclear reactor presently being constructed in Kalpakkam,
India. The Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) is responsible for the design
of this reactor.
The reactor will use sodium as the coolant. It shall generate electrical power of 500MW. It
will make use of MOX fuel, a mixture of PuO
2
and UO
2
. A fuel burnup of 100GWd/t is
expected. It will have an operational life of 40 years.
The fact that PFBR will be cooled by liquid sodium creates additional safety requirements to
isolate the coolant from the environment, since sodium explodes if it comes into contact
with water and burns when in contact with air. Another hazard associated with the use of
sodium as a coolant is the absorption of neutrons to generate the radioactive isotope
24
Na.
The PFBR will use plutonium-uranium oxide as fuel, and liquid sodium as coolant. If sodium
comes into contact with water, it will catch fire. At Fukushima in Japan in March, four
reactors nuclear fuel core could not be cooled because the station suffered a black-out after
the tsunami, which also knocked out the pumps and the diesel generator sets. So water
could not be pumped for cooling the fuel core.
In the case of sodium fire in an open place, sodium bicarbonate a dry chemical powder
would be used to douse the fire. If sodium caught fire in an enclosed place, nitrogen would
be injected to extinguish it. Sodium fire is milder than oil catching fire.
After the Fukushima accident, two committees reviewed the safety at the Atomic Power
Station (MAPS) at Kalpakkam. Mobile power generation sets had been procured. MAPS
emergency core cooling equipment was relocated to a higher level after the 2004 tsunami.
About Atomic Energy Regulatory Board:
Atomic Energy Regulatory Board was constituted on November 15, 1983 by the President of
India by exercising the powers conferred by the Atomic Energy Act to carry out certain
regulatory and safety functions under the Act. The regulatory authority of AERB is derived
from the rules and notifications promulgated under the Atomic Energy Act and the
Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
The mission of the Board is to ensure that the use of ionizing radiation and nuclear energy
in India does not cause undue risk to health and the environment.
Currently, the Board consists of a full-time Chairman, an ex-officio Member, three part-time
Members and a Secretary.
FUNCTIONS OF AERB:
Develop safety policies in nuclear, radiation and industrial safety areas.
I
Develop Safety Codes, Guides and Standards for siting, design, construction,
I
commissioning, operation and decommissioning of different types of nuclear and radiation
facilities.
Grant consents for siting, construction, commissioning, operation and decommissioning,
I
after an appropriate safety review and assessment, for establishment of nuclear and
radiation facilities.
Ensure compliance of the regulatory requirements prescribed by AERB during all stages of
I
consenting through a system of review and assessment, regulatory inspection and
enforcement.
Prescribe the acceptance limits of radiation exposure to occupational workers and
I
members of the public and approve acceptable limits of environmental releases of
radioactive substances.
Review of the emergency preparedness plans for nuclear and radiation facilities.
I
Safety reviews for transport of large radioactive sources, irradiated fuel and fissile
I
material.
Review of the training program, qualifications and licensing policies for personnel of
I
nuclear and radiation facilities and prescribe the syllabi for training of personnel in safety
aspects at all levels.
Take such steps as necessary to keep the public informed on major issues of radiological
I
safety significance.
Promote research and development efforts in the areas of safety.
I
Maintain liaison with statutory bodies in the country as well as abroad regarding safety
I
matters.
Sources: The Hindu, http://www.aerb.gov.in/.

Euromoney award
Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan has received the Euromoneys Central
Bank Governor of the Year Award 2014.
Euromoney is an English-language monthly magazine focused on business and finance.
Euromoney publishes the Euromoney Awards for Excellence, with an annual awards event
recognising the top banks in the world. It also publishes awards for Central Banker of the
Year and Finance Minister of the Year.

Ban sale of loose cigarette sticks
An experts committee, headed by Ramesh Chandra, constituted by the Union health
ministry to review the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003, has come
out with various recommendations, including a ban on the sale of loose cigarette sticks, a
ban on advertisements of tobacco products at points of sale and heftier fines on violations of
the Act.
Recommendations made by the committee:
The panel proposed the amended Act be called the COTPA, 2014.
I
It recommended the sale of loose cigarette sticks or tobacco products be banned, as
I
youngsters were finding it cheap and convenient to consume tobacco products.
It also recommended only those aged at least 25 be allowed to buy tobacco products,
I
against the current 18 years. If implemented, the move might hit the profits of major
cigarette companies in India, as a large number of their consumers are aged 18-25.
The panel recommended the penalty for not specifying nicotine and tar contents, under
I
section 20 of the COTPA, 2003, be increased from the current Rs 5,000 to Rs 50,000 (for
the first conviction). For smoking in public places, the penalty shouldnt be less than Rs
200, which could go up to Rs 1,000, the panel said.
For selling tobacco products to someone aged less than 18, the fine should be Rs 500-
I
1,000, the committee said.
The committee recommended deleting section 4 of the Act, which would result in hotels
I
and restaurants doing away with smoking zones in their premises.

About COTPA Act:
It is an Act of Parliament of India enacted in 2003 to prohibit advertisement and regulation
of tobacco business in India. The Act put restriction on tobacco products including
cigarettes, gutka, panmasala (containing tobacco), cigar, cheerot, Beedi, Snuff, chewing
tobacco, hookah, tooth powder containing tobacco.
It was enacted mainly to discourage the consumption of Cigarettes and other Tobacco
products through imposing progressive restrictions and to protect non-smokers from second
hand smoke.
The Key provisions under the Act include:-
Prohibition of smoking in public places
I
Prohibition on all forms of direct / indirect advertisement, promotion and sponsorship of
I
tobacco products
Prohibition and sale of tobacco products to minors (any person who is under eighteen
I
years of age)
Prohibition and sale of tobacco products in an area within a radius of one hundred yards of
I
any educational institution
Mandatory depiction of specified health warnings on all tobacco products
I

Sources: www.business-standard.com, www.mohfw.nic.in.

MIT questions feasibility of Mars One mission
Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have questioned the
technical feasibility of the Mars One project that aims to establish the first human colony
on the Red Planet by 2025.
Mars One Project:
Mars One is a non-profit organisation based in the Netherlands that has put forward
conceptual plans to establish a permanent human colony on Mars.
The mission plans to initially send four astronauts on a one-way trip to Mars where they
would spend the rest of their lives building the first permanent human settlement.
The Mars One mission plan consists of cargo missions and unmanned preparation of a
habitable settlement, followed by human landings. In the coming years, a demonstration
mission, communication satellites, two rovers and several cargo missions will be sent to
Mars. These missions will set up the outpost where the human crew will live and work.
The mission design takes into account the expansion of the human colony where a new crew
will arrive every two years. Mars One will select and train the human crew for permanent
settlement.
Mars One has received a variety of criticism, mostly relating to medical, technical and
financial feasibility.
Sources: The Hindu, wiki, http://www.mars-one.com/.

ISRO successfully launches navigation satellite IRNSS 1C
ISRO successfully launched IRNSS 1C, the third member of the seven satellite constellation
of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS).
The satellite, which is similar in composition to its predecessors 1A and 1B, carries
navigation and ranging payloads. It will play a vital role in the IRNSS operations right from
guiding drivers on city roads to aerial navigation, disaster management, mapping and
surveillance activities.
The IRNSS with a 1500km range will make India self-reliant on navigation and surveillance
from outer space as it is expected to cover the Asian region. It will be utilized for two
services standard positioning service (SPS) extended to all users and restricted service
(RS) which will be encrypted.
About Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System:
IRNSS is an independent regional navigation satellite system being developed by India. It is
designed to provide accurate position information service to users in India as well as the
region extending up to 1500 km from its boundary, which is its primary service area.
IRNSS will provide two types of services, namely, Standard Positioning Service (SPS) which
is provided to all the users and Restricted Service (RS), which is an encrypted service
provided only to the authorised users. The IRNSS System is expected to provide a position
accuracy of better than 20 m in the primary service area.
IRNSS comprises of a space segment and a ground segment. The IRNSS space segment
consists of seven satellites, with three satellites in geostationary orbit and four satellites in
inclined geosynchronous orbit. IRNSS-1A, the first satellite of the IRNSS constellation, has
already started functioning from its designated orbital slot after extensive on orbit test and
evaluation to confirm its satisfactory performance.

IRNSS ground segment is responsible for navigation parameter generation and
transmission, satellite control, ranging and integrity monitoring and time keeping.
Applications of IRNSS:
Terrestrial, Aerial and Marine Navigation
I
Disaster Management
I
Vehicle tracking and fleet management
I
Integration with mobile phones
I
Precise Timing
I
Mapping and Geodetic data capture
I
Terrestrial navigation aid for hikers and travellers
I
Visual and voice navigation for drivers
I
Sources: TOI, http://www.isro.org/.
OCTOBER 2014
PM rolls out labour reforms
Prime Minister unveiled new measures for the youth, workers and employers to improve
ease of doing business for enterprises while expanding government support for training
workers.
Details of the Schemes launched are as follows:
Apprenticeship Protsahan Yojna
The Apprentices Act 1961 was enacted for regulating the Apprenticeship Training Scheme
in the industry for imparting on-the-job training to apprentices. Presently, there are only
2.82 lakh apprentices undergoing training against 4.9 lakh seats.
Apprenticeship Scheme has huge potential for training the large number of young persons
to make them employable. If properly revamped, it could also significantly contribute to
Make in India Mission. Similar schemes have been highly successful in countries like
Germany, China and Japan where the number of apprentices are stated to be 3 million, 20
million and 10 million respectively.
The Apprentice Protsahan Yojana will support one lakh apprentices during the period upto
March 2017. Selected Apprentices and the Establishments ready to participate in this
scheme from various states will be invited and it is proposed that Prime Minister will give
sanction letters to these to mark the launch of the new scheme.
Present framework tightly regulates the number of apprentices trade-wise, and is not
attractive to youth because of low rate of stipend. Further the industry is averse to
participate because the scheme is not viable for the small industries. There are a large
number of establishments including MSMEs where training facilities are available but could
not be utilized so far.
A major initiative has been undertaken to revamp the apprenticeship Scheme in India after
extensive consultation with industry, states and other stakeholders with the vision of
increasing apprenticeship seats to more than 20 lakhs in next few years. There are four
components of this initiative, which are given below:
Making the legal framework friendly to both, industry and youth.
I
Enhancing the rate of stipend and indexing it to minimum wages of semi skilled workers.
I
Apprentice Protsahan Yojana which will support manufacturing units mainly and other
I
establishments by reimbursing 50% of the stipend paid to apprentices during first two
years of their training.
Basic training component (mainly class room training part) of the curricula is being
I
restructured on scientific principles to make it more effective, and MSMEs will be
supported financially by permitting this component in government funded SDI scheme.
Sources: PIB.

Universal Account Number (UAN) for Employees Provident Fund:
Under the scheme complete information for approximately 4 crore subscribers of EPF has
been centrally compiled and digitized and a UAN has been allotted to all. The UAN is being
seeded with Bank account and Aadhar Card and other KYC details for financial inclusion of
vulnerable section of society and their unique identification.
Camps are being organized to facilitate opening of bank account and Aadhar card for those
subscribers who have no bank account or Aadhar card as on date. This will ensure
portability of the Social Security Benefits to the labour of organised sector across the jobs
and geographic areas.
The EPF account of employee will be now be updated monthly and at the same time he will
be informed through sms. Finally it will ensure that each of the 4 crore or more EPF account
holders have direct access to their EPF accounts and will also enable them to consolidate all
their previous accounts .
The minimum pension for employees has been introduced first time so that employees
pension is not less than Rs. 1000 per month. The wage ceiling has been raised from Rs.
6500 to Rs. 15000 per month to ensure that vulnerable groups are covered under EPF
Scheme.
Sources: PIB.

Labour Inspection Scheme:
To bring in transparency in labour inspection, a transparent Labour Inspection scheme is
being developed. The four features of the inspection scheme are:
Serious matters are to be covered under the mandatory inspection list.
I
A computerized list of inspections will be generated randomly based on pre-determined
I
objective criteria.
Complaints based inspections will also be determined centrally after examination based on
I
data and evidence.
There will be provision of Emergency List for inspection of serious cases in specific
I
circumstances.

A transparent Inspection Scheme will provide a check on the arbitrariness in compliance
mechanism.
Sources: PIB.

Shram Suvidha Portal
Ministry Labour & Employment has developed a Shram Suvidha Portal in central sphere to
create a conducive environment for industrial development. The 4 main features of this
Portal are:
Unique labour identification number (LIN) will be allotted to Units to facilitate online
I
registration.
Filing of self-certified and simplified Single Online Return by the industry. Now Units will
I
only file a single consolidated Return online instead of filing 16 separate Returns.
Mandatory uploading of inspection Reports within 72 hours by the Labour inspectors.
I
Timely redressal of grievances will be ensured with the help of the portal.
I

This will bring in the necessary ease in compliance of provisions related to labour and will
be a step forward in promoting the ease of doing business. The complete database available
centrally at unified portal will also add to the informed policy process. The portal will be
operative in 4 central organizations namely Chief Labour Commissioner, Directorate
General of Mines Safety, Employee Provident Fund and Employees State insurance
Corporation. In this endeavor of the Ministry, complete information of all 11 lakh units for
these organizations has been collected, digitized and de-duplicated reducing the total
number to 6-7 lakh. It is proposed to allot LIN to all these 6-7 lakh units.
Sources: PIB.
World Food Prize
Sanjaya Rajaram, an eminent Indian scientist, has been awarded the World Food Prize in
recognition of his significant contributions to global wheat production.
Mr. Rajaram, currently a Senior Scientific Advisor at the International Centre for
Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), has developed some 480 wheat varieties
that have been released in 51 countries across six continents and an estimated 58 million
hectares. His wheat improvement research has helped secure a 1.3 per cent rise in global
wheat production per annum in the last four decades.
About World Food Prize:
THE WORLD FOOD PRIZE is the foremost international award recognizing without
regard to race, religion, nationality, or political beliefs the achievements of individuals
who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of
food in the world.
The Prize recognizes contributions in any field involved in the world food supply food and
agriculture science and technology, manufacturing, marketing, nutrition, economics,
poverty alleviation, political leadership and the social sciences.
The World Food Prize emphasizes the importance of a nutritious and sustainable food
supply for all people. By honoring those who have worked successfully toward this goal, The
Prize calls attention to what has been done to improve global food security and to what can
be accomplished in the future.
Sources: The Hindu, http://www.worldfoodprize.org/.

Indias new CEA
US-based economist Arvind Subramanian took charge as chief economic advisor (CEA) in
the finance ministry.
He is a former International Monetary Fund economist. His key task will be to work out a
new monetary policy framework in which the government will set the inflation target, to be
implemented by a policy panel of the central bank.
He heads a team who are to bring out the governments annual Economic Survey during the
Budget session, and the Mid-Year Analysis of the economy in the Winter Session of
Parliament in December. The challenge before him will be to defend policies and actions of
the government, such as Indias stand at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Chief Economic Adviser heads the Economic Division of Government of India. The main
functions of the Division are advisory in nature. The Division examines domestic and
international economic trends and undertakes research studies having a bearing on
economic policies and management of the economy and renders policy advice.
Main activities of the Economic Division include:
Monitoring of Prices and policies relating to price control.
I
Monitoring of trends in Agricultural and Industrial Production and related policy issues.
I
Monitoring of Production, Public Distribution and Stocks of food grains and related policy
I
issues.
Monitoring of Monetary and Credit Aggregates.
I
Monitoring of Public Finance.
I
Monitoring of Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms.
I
Monitoring of Foreign Trade and Balance of Payments.
I
International Economic Institutions: World Bank and IMF, ADB and G-20 related issues.
I
Preparation of Annual Economic Survey and Mid Year Review of the Economy.
I
For further reference: http://finmin.nic.in/the_ministry/dept_eco_affairs/economic_div/ed_index.asp.
Sources: business-standard, PIB, finmin.nic.in.
OCTOBER 2014
Nirbhay
India`s first indigenously designed and developed long range sub-sonic cruise missile
Nirbhay was successfully flight tested.
About Nirbhay:
Nirbhay is an all-weather low-cost long-range cruise missile with stealth and high accuracy.
The missile has a range of more than 1000 km. It weighs about one tonne and has a length
of 6 metres. Its relatively slow flight speed, just 1,000 km per hour, allows it to navigate its
way precisely to the target.
The Nirbhay cruise missile is an Indian version of the American Tomahawk, which became
an icon of high-tech warfare in the 1991 Gulf War through televised CNN footage of
Tomahawks flying through the streets of Baghdad and precisely entering target buildings
through open windows.
It carries a ring laser gyroscope for high-accuracy navigation and a radio altimeter for the
height determination. It is capable of being launched from multiple platforms on land, sea
and air and shall be inducted into Indian Navy, Army, and Air Force. In particular, Nirbhay
is being adapted for the Indo/Russian Su-30MKI. The missile is capable of carrying nuclear
warheads.
The two-stage missile Nirbhay is able to pick out a target and attack it among multiple
targets. The missile has a loitering capability, i.e., it can go round a target and perform
several manoeuvres and then re-engage it. Flying at treetop level and navigating its way
through heavily defended enemy airspace where a manned fighter would be quickly shot
down by anti-aircraft missiles and guns, the Nirbhay is better equipped to survive the flight
to its target.
The missile is capable of flying at different altitudes ranging from 500 m to 4 km above the
ground and can also fly at low altitudes to avoid detection by enemy radar.
A key hurdle to developing a long-range cruise missile like the Nirbhay is the Missile
Technology Control Regime (MTCR), which forbids signatory countries from assisting or
providing technology to any other country developing a cruise missile with a range of 300
km or more. India and Russia legally collaborated in developing the Brahmos supersonic
cruise missile because its range was pegged at 295 km, just below the MTCR limit. In
building the Nirbhay, India has had to go it alone.
Sources: PIB, business-standard, wiki.

The National Air Quality Index
The National Air Quality Index which was inaugurated recently is One Number- One
Colour-One Description for the common man to judge the air quality within his vicinity. The
formulation of the index was a continuation of the initiatives under Swachh Bharat Mission
envisioned by the Honble Prime Minister.
The index constituted part of the Governments mission to introduce the culture of
cleanliness. Institutional and infrastructural measures were being undertaken in order to
ensure that the mandate of cleanliness was fulfilled across the country. As a part of the
process, clean air would be a part of Peoples campaign to take up the issue in a mission
mode.
Under the new measurement process, an effort has been made to include a comprehensive
set of parameters. While the earlier measuring index was limited to three indicators, the
current measurement index had been made quite comprehensive by the addition of five
additional parameters. The initiatives aim at balancing environment and conservation and
development.
Traditionally, air quality status has been reported through voluminous data. Thus, it was
important that information on air quality is put up in public domain in simple linguistic
terms that is easily understood by a common person. Air Quality Index (AQI) is one such tool
for effective dissemination of air quality information to people. An Expert Group comprising
medical professionals, air quality experts, academia, advocacy groups, and SPCBs was
constituted and a technical study was awarded to IIT Kanpur. IIT Kanpur and the Expert
Group recommended an AQI scheme.
There are six AQI categories, namely Good, Satisfactory, Moderately polluted, Poor, Very
Poor, and Severe. The proposed AQI will consider eight pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, NO2,
SO2, CO, O3, NH3, and Pb) for which short-term (up to 24-hourly averaging period)
National Ambient Air Quality Standards are prescribed.
Based on the measured ambient concentrations, corresponding standards and likely health
impact, a sub-index is calculated for each of these pollutants. The worst sub-index reflects
overall AQI. Associated likely health impacts for different AQI categories and pollutants
have been also been suggested, with primary inputs from the medical expert members of
the group.
The AQI values and associated likely health impacts for the identified eight pollutants are as
follows:
AQI Associated Health Impacts
Good
(050)
Minimal Impact
Satisfactory
(51100)
May cause minor breathing discomfort to sensitive people.
Moderately polluted
(101200)
May cause breathing discomfort to people with lung disease such as asthma, and
discomfort to people with heart disease, children and older adults.
Poor
(201300)
May cause breathing discomfort to people on prolonged exposure, and discomfort to
people with heart disease
Very Poor
(301400)
May cause respiratory illness to the people on prolonged exposure. Effect may be more
pronounced in people with lung and heart diseases.
Severe
(401-500)
May cause respiratory impact even on healthy people, and serious health impacts on
people with lung/heart disease. The health impacts may be experienced even during light
physical activity.

Sources: PIB, wiki.

Kachchh Mahotsav
As a first step towards promoting handloom and craft based textiles from the famous
Kachchh region of Gujarat, `Kachchh Mahotsav was launched.
The exhibition focuses on Kachchh crafts such as Soof, Mirror work, Rabari, Ahir,
Patchwork and other embroidered products, Ajrak, Tie & Dye, Batik and Block Printed
Textile products, Hand woven Embroidered Shawls, Wooden Lacquerware, Wood Carving,
Copper Coated Iron Bell, Embroidered Leather Accessories, Mud/ Clay Work, Rogan
Painting.
In an endeavour to promote Indian handicrafts and handlooms, the Union Government had
announced setting up of a Handicraft mega cluster in Kachchh. The mega cluster will focus
on handcrafted items and craft based textiles from the region.
Kachchh is known for its distinctive traditional crafts, from embroidery to jewellery-making
and carving. Using simple materials, the artisans create objects of great beauty. The
Mahotsav includes Kachchi crafts range from Block printing on textiles, Bandhni of the
Khatris, Patch work of Bhirandiyara, leather creations by Meghwal artisans, besides
traditional wood and lacquer work and Rogan, the extremely fine lacquer work on cloth
produced by the artisans of Chobari and Nirona villages, Ajrakh printing from Khavda
village to the exquisite beadwork of Rabari women. The folk embroidery of Kachchh is an
ongoing and dynamic tradition. Some of the villages and communities have specialised for
generations in certain crafts and thereby create masterpieces that delight a connoisseur.
Sources: PIB.

Scheme to check blindness under review
With 30,000 fresh cases of blindness being reported in the country every year, Union
Minister for Health and Family Welfare has announced a review of the National Programme
for Control of Blindness (NPCB).
A Centrally-funded scheme, the NPCB was launched in 1976 to reduce the prevalence of
blindness.
India has the largest burden of global blindness about 3.5 million with 30,000 new cases
being added each year.
National Programme for Control of Blindness:
National Programme for Control of Blindness was launched in the year 1976 as a 100%
Centrally Sponsored scheme with the goal to reduce the prevalence of blindness from 1.4%
to 0.3%. As per Survey in 2001-02, prevalence of blindness is estimated to be 1.1%. Rapid
Survey on Avoidable Blindness conducted under NPCB during 2006-07 showed reduction in
the prevalence of blindness from 1.1% (2001-02) to 1% (2006-07). Various
activities/initiatives undertaken during the Five Year Plans under NPCB are targeted
towards achieving the goal of reducing the prevalence of blindness to 0.3% by the year
2020.
Main causes of blindness are: Cataract (62.6%) Refractive Error (19.70%) Corneal
Blindness (0.90%), Glaucoma (5.80%), Surgical Complication (1.20%) Posterior Capsular
Opacification (0.90%) Posterior Segment Disorder (4.70%), Others (4.19%) Estimated
National Prevalence of Childhood Blindness /Low Vision is 0.80 per thousand.
Goals & Objectives of NPCB:

To reduce the backlog of blindness through identification and treatment of blind at
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primary, secondary and tertiary levels based on assessment of the overall burden of visual
impairment in the country.
Develop and strengthen the strategy of NPCB for Eye Health and prevention of visual
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impairment; through provision of comprehensive eye care services and quality service
delivery.
Strengthening and upgradation of RIOs to become centre of excellence in various sub-
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specialities of ophthalmology
Strengthening the existing and developing additional human resources and infrastructure
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facilities for providing high quality comprehensive Eye Care in all Districts of the country;
To enhance community awareness on eye care and lay stress on preventive measures;
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Increase and expand research for prevention of blindness and visual impairment
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To secure participation of Voluntary Organizations/Private Practitioners in eye Care.
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Sources: The Hindu, npcb.nic.in/.

OCTOBER 2014
Productivity Linked Bonus for Railway Employees
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister gave its ex-post facto approval for the
payment of Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) equivalent to 78 days` wages for the
financial year 2013-14 to all eligible non-gazetted Railway employees.
The PLB on Railway covers all non-gazetted Railway employees (excluding RPF/RPSF
personnel) throughout the country.
Background:
The Railways were the first departmental undertaking of the Government of India where the
concept of PLB was introduced. The main consideration at that time was the important role
of the Railways as an infrastructural support in the performance of the economy as a whole.
In the overall context of Railway working, it was considered desirable to introduce the
concept of PLB as against the concept of Bonus on the lines of the Payment of Bonus Act -
1965. Even though the Payment of Bonus Act does not apply to the Railways, yet the broad
principles contained in that Act were kept in view for the purpose of determining the
Wage/Pay Ceiling, definition of `Salary`/`Wage`, etc.
The PLB Scheme for the Railways came into force from the year 1979-80 onwards and was
evolved in consultation with the two recognised federations, the All India Railwaymen`s
Federation and National Federation of Indian Railwaymen and with the approval of the
Cabinet. The scheme envisages a review every three years.
Sources: PIB.

New domestic gas pricing policy
The Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister, approved the
new domestic gas pricing policy.
The salient features of the new Gas Pricing Policy are follows:
Upward revision in gas prices will be approximately 75% less as compared to the price
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arrived at using Rangarajan formula.
Approximately 80% of the additional revenue due to revision in gas price will go to the
I
Government companies.
Government will get additional revenue of approximately Rs. 3800 crore per annum on
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account of higher royalty, higher profit petroleum and higher taxes.
The Committee, which was constituted to look into the matters relating to
the Domestic Natural Gas Pricing Guidelines, has recommended an approach for gas price
determination, which is based on the modification to the Rangarajan formula by:
Removal of both the Japanese and Indian LNG import components in the formula.
I
Consideration of Alberta Gas Reference price in place of Henry Hub Prices for Canadian
I
consumption.
Consideration of Russian actual price in place of National Balancing Point price for the
I
Russian consumption considered under Former Soviet Union (FSU) countries.
Consideration of appropriate deductions on account of transportation and treatment
I
charges, etc., for different hub prices.
The options of bi-annual and annual price revision instead of quarterly revision may be
I
considered.
The Committee also recommended applicability of the modified approach prospectively and
to apply it uniformly to all sectors of the economy, along with prevailing gas allocation
policy of the Government. The Committee was of the view that the National Oil Companies
(NOCs) may also get the same price as determined under the proposed dispensation,
including the gas from the nomination fields. In addition, the Committee also drew attention
to the fact that although in India gas is historically being priced on National Calorific Value
(NCV), the input prices being used in the Rangarajan formula are based on Gross Calorific
Value (GCV).
Sources: PIB.

Policy Framework for Relaxations, Extensions and
clarifications under PSC regime for early Monetization of
hydrocarbon discoveries
The Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister approved the
proposal of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas regarding Policy Framework for
Relaxations, Extensions and clarifications at the Development and Production stage under
PSC regime for early Monetization of hydrocarbon discoveries.
Under the Production Sharing Contracts (PSC), there is commitment on the part of the
contractor to carry out Minimum Work Programme (MWP) specified under each exploration
phase.
These are reform initiatives which would help in monetization of some of the pending
discoveries, lead to resolution of various long pending operational issues which are
hampering E&P operations and create better climate for investment. The salient features of
this Reform Measure are as follows:-
Extension of Appraisal period for submission of Declaration of Commerciality (DOC) in
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respect of Hydrocarbon discovery.
Extension of time period for submission of Field Development Plan (FDP) after review of
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DOC by the Management Committee.
Reduction in Minimum Work Program (MWP) in case a block or its part is not available for
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exploration activities consequent to denial of permission by Government Agencies.
In cases where the committed Minimum Work Programme of any particular exploration
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phase is not completed, entry into subsequent exploration phases, would be permitted
after paying cost of unfinished MWP of previous phases.
Condoning delays in submission of notice for entering into next phase.
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Condoning delays in submission of Annual Work Programme and Budget and the Appraisal
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work programme.
Permission for drilling of Appraisal Wells after submission of DOC.
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Probing additional reservoirs during appraisal programme.
I
These changes do not change the basic structure of the PSC and have been approved in the
overall interest of the energy security of the country.
These proposals are expected to yield the following benefits:
Monetization of some of the discoveries which are struck because of expiry of timelines.
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Additional discoveries in the appraisal period.
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Improvement in investment climate because of resolution of disputes between the
I
contractors and the Government.
Enhancement of production of oil and gas from these blocks.
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Preparation of a more robust FDP.
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Jammu Kashmir Arogya Gram Yojana
Jammu Kashmir Arogya Gram Yojana was launched recently under which the CSIR
(Council for Scientific & Industrial Research), affiliated with the Ministry of Science &
Technology, will identify thousand villages in Jammu & Kashmir for the growth of aromatic
plants with active participation of local farmers and owners of the land. The Government
will initially spend over Rs.25 crores on this scheme in addition to technical support by a
team of CSIR scientists.
This scheme is a new concept whereby the agricultural land with the potential for growth of
aromatic plants will be identified and CSIR scientists as well as aroma experts from
different parts of the country will educate and train the local farmers to bring up this
cultivation. This will not only enable the local farmers to usher in a new area of cultivation
but will also prove economically beneficial to them since the net profit for the farmers
through this venture has been estimated to be Rs. 1 1.5 lakhs per hectare per annum.
one of the important reasons to start this new scheme from Jammu region was that the IIIM
(Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine), Jammu has been actively pursuing research and
production of aromatic medicinal and perfumery products for several decades and some of
the products produced from this laboratory are of international export quality. Nine
varieties of scientifically tested and commercially beneficial plant saplings will be provided
by IIIM Jammu and under the guidance CSIR experts.
The scheme is a part of the new innovative initiatives being under taken by CSIR and the
Ministry of Science & Technology. Once the new scheme gets going successfully from its
initial start in Jammu & Kashmir, the same will then be extended to other States and also
other parts of the country as well.
Sources: PIB.

Diesel deregulation
The Union Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister approved
the issues relating to the under-recovery on sale of diesel and its present status. The prices
of Diesel will be market determined at both Retail and Refinery Gate level.
Diesel prices will henceforth be market determined. This will facilitate greater competition
in the Auto Fuels Retail segment and enhanced efficiency in service delivery of the oil
companies. This is expected to benefit consumers due to greater competition among oil
companies and more choices. The competition is also expected to foster greater efficiency in
oil companies benefitting the consumers.
Some experts are also of the view that the Deregulation of Diesel will not only help in
controlling the fiscal deficit but also be advantageous for the consumers as they will now
pay market rates for the fuel which is lower by more than Rs. 3 per litre. This will also leave
more money with upstream companies for investment in the exploration and production
sector, thereby enhancing our efforts for energy security for the country.
Diesel deregulation will also bring the retail network of private oil marketing companies into
system. This will increase competition, benefiting the end consumer.
The governments decision to deregulate diesel prices is a step in the right direction as it
will help cut subsidies and balance the fiscal deficit in the long run. This was long overdue.
Sources: The Hindu, PIB.

U.N. Women launches campaign in India
U.N. Women launched a campaign called HeForShe, aiming at ensuring greater
participation of men in promoting womens rights and gender equality.
The goal is to engage men and boys as advocates and agents of change in the effort to
achieve equality. When women are empowered, the whole of humanity will be benefited.
HeForShe is a global solidarity movement to end gender inequality by 2030. It is a
campaign for gender equality initiated by UN Women. It aims to engage men and boys as
agents of change for the achievement of gender equality and womens rights, by
encouraging them to take action against inequalities faced by women and girls. Grounded in
the idea that gender equality is an issue that affects all people socially, economically and
politically it seeks to actively involve men and boys in a movement that was originally
conceived as a struggle for women by women.
Sources: The Hindu, Wiki, www.heforshe.org.

Cabinet approves Iran port project
The Union Cabinet gave its approval to Indias participation in the Chahbahar port project in
Iran. This is a move that could offer significant geo-strategic advantage to India by way of
smooth access to Afghanistan.
An Indian Joint Venture (JV) company will lease two fully constructed berths the ports first
phase for a period of 10 years, with an investment of $ 85.21 million within 12 months.
Located along the Makran coast in the Gulf of Oman, Chahbahar is in close proximity to the
Strait of Hormuz which facilitates about 40 per cent of the worlds oil trade, and hence has
significant strategic implications for India.
The road or rail link from Chahbahar would provide India the shortest access to Pashtun
areas of Afghanistan, from the Nimroz province.
Not only would it allow India to gain easier access to Afghanistan and central Asia without
having to depend on Pakistan, it is also being touted as Indias answer to Chinese control
over Pakistans Gwadar port, just 76 km from Chahbahar.

Sources: The Hindu.
INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS: 21 October
2014
Govt. to e-auction coal mines
The Union Cabinet recommended the promulgation of an Ordinance to acquire the land of
214 coal blocks mines whose allocations were quashed by the Supreme Court.
It also approved a plan for e-auctioning the cancelled blocks to end-user private players of
coal from the power, steel and cement sectors. Government entities, including public sector
units such as NTPC and State Electricity Boards, however, will not have to go through the
auction route as a pool of coal mines will be reserved for allocation to them from the
cancelled blocks.
The Cabinets decisions are with the view of cleaning up the coal mess due to allocations via
the screening committee mechanism that the Supreme Court quashed.
The proceeds from the e-auction of coal mines will go entirely to the States where they are
located mainly in Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh. And this would lead
to financial empowerment of these States.
The land to be acquired back from owners of mines that stand de-allocated following the
Supreme Court ruling would be valued by an independent authority under the Coal
Nationalisation Act.
The expeditious disposal of the process will provide a huge impetus to the manufacturing
sector and the country will save precious foreign exchange on coal imports and this will also
help banks that have funds stuck as a fallout of the Supreme Courts verdict.
Sources: The Hindu.

Scientists improve tractor beam tech
The Australian National University (ANU) announced that Laser physicists in Australia have
built a tractor beam that can repel and attract objects, using a hollow laser beam that is
bright around the edges and dark in its centre.
It is the first long-distance optical tractor beam and moved particles one-fifth of a millimetre
in diameter a distance of up to 20 cm, around 100 times further than previous experiments.
The new technique is versatile because it requires only a single laser beam. It could be
used, for example, in controlling atmospheric pollution or for the retrieval of tiny, delicate
or dangerous particles for sampling.
Unlike previous techniques, which used photon momentum to impart motion, the ANU
tractor beam relies on the energy of the laser heating up the particles and the air around
them.
The particles are trapped in the dark centre of the beam. Energy from the laser hits the
particle and travels across its surface, where it is absorbed creating hotspots on the surface.
Air particles colliding with the hotspots heat up and shoot away from the surface, which
causes the particle to recoil, in the opposite direction.

About Tractor Beam:
A tractor beam is a device with the ability to attract one object to another from a distance.

Tractor beams are most commonly used on spaceships and space stations. They are
generally used in two ways:
As a device for securing or retrieving cargo, passengers, shuttlecraft, etc. This is
I
analogous to cranes on modern ships.
As a means of preventing an enemy from escaping, analogous to grappling hooks.
I
Tractor beams and pressor beams can be used together as a weapon: by attracting one side
of an enemy spaceship while repelling the other, one can create severely damaging shear
effects in its hull. Another mode of destructive use of such beams is rapid alternating
between pressing and pulling force in order to cause structural damage to the ship as well
as inflicting lethal forces on its crew.

Swasthya Bima Yojana to be merged with UHAM
The Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), which insures families of unorganised sector
workers for up to Rs. 30,000 of medical care, is expected to be transferred from the Ministry
of Labour and Employment to the Union Health Ministry.
The RSBY, operationalised in 2008 by the UPA government, will be merged with the
Universal Health Assurance Mission (UHAM) proposed by the NDA government.
The scheme, which covers secondary care, hospitalisation expenses up to Rs. 30,000 at
empanelled public and private hospitals at present, is set to be expanded to include tertiary
care for major surgeries, accompanied by increasing coverage beyond Rs. 30,000.
The Labour Ministry had identified three main challenges not enough hospitals were
empanelled in blocks and districts, pathways for disease to be outlined to avoid hospitals
carrying out unnecessary medical procedures and insurance companies had not been paid
dues on time.
Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana:
RSBY has been launched by Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India to
provide health insurance coverage for Below Poverty Line (BPL) families.
The objective of RSBY is to provide protection to BPL households from financial liabilities
arising out of health shocks that involve hospitalization. Beneficiaries under RSBY are
entitled to hospitalization coverage up to Rs. 30,000/- for most of the diseases that require
hospitalization. Government has even fixed the package rates for the hospitals for a large
number of interventions. Pre-existing conditions are covered from day one and there is no
age limit. Coverage extends to five members of the family which includes the head of
household, spouse and up to three dependents. Beneficiaries need to pay only Rs. 30/- as
registration fee while Central and State Government pays the premium to the insurer
selected by the State Government on the basis of a competitive bidding.
The scheme has won plaudits from the World Bank, the UN and the ILO as one of the
worlds best health insurance schemes.
Unique Features of RSBY:
The RSBY scheme differs from other schemes in several important ways.

Empowering the beneficiary RSBY provides the participating BPL household with freedom of
I
choice between public and private hospitals and makes him a potential client worth attracting on
account of the significant revenues that hospitals stand to earn through the scheme.
Business Model for all Stakeholders The scheme has been designed as a business model for a
I
social sector scheme with incentives built for each stakeholder.
Hospitals A hospital has the incentive to provide treatment to large number of beneficiaries as it
I
is paid per beneficiary treated.
Intermediaries The inclusion of intermediaries such as NGOs and MFIs which have a greater
I
stake in assisting BPL households.
Information Technology (IT) Intensive For the first time IT applications are being used for social
I
sector scheme on such a large scale. Every beneficiary family is issued a biometric enabled smart
card containing their fingerprints and photographs. All the hospitals empanelled under RSBY are
IT enabled and connected to the server at the district level. This will ensure a smooth data flow
regarding service utilization periodically.
Safe and foolproof The use of biometric enabled smart card and a key management system makes
I
this scheme safe and foolproof. The key management system of RSBY ensures that the card
reaches the correct beneficiary and there remains accountability in terms of issuance of the smart
card and its usage. The biometric enabled smart card ensures that only the real beneficiary can
use the smart card.
Portability The key feature of RSBY is that a beneficiary who has been enrolled in a particular
I
district will be able to use his/ her smart card in any RSBY empanelled hospital across India. This
makes the scheme truly unique and beneficial to the poor families that migrate from one place to
the other. Cards can also be split for migrant workers to carry a share of the coverage with them
separately.
Cash less and Paperless transactions A beneficiary of RSBY gets cashless benefit in any of the
I
empanelled hospitals. He/ she only needs to carry his/ her smart card and provide

For further reference: http://www.rsby.gov.in/about_rsby.aspx.
Sources: The Hindu, www.rsby.gov.in.

Norms for defence sector companies eased
The government allowed private companies in the defence sector to sell equipment to state-
run entities without prior approval of the defence ministry, a move that could attract
investments in the sector. The decision came after the government opened the sector for
higher foreign direct investments (FDI) and relaxed compulsory licensing for a number of
equipment.
The licencee shall be allowed to sell defence items to government entities under the control
of ministry of home affairs, state governments, public sector units and other valid defence
licensed companies without prior approval of the Department of Defence Production
(DoDP).
However, it said, for sale of the items to any other entity, the licencee shall take prior
permission from DoDP. The government also decided to deregulate the annual capacity for
production of defence items by industrial licencees with the condition that licencees shall
submit half-yearly production returns to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion
and DoDP.
As a measure of ease of doing business, two extensions of two years each in the initial
validity of three years of the industrial license would be allowed up to seven years.
Earlier, the government had raised FDI cap in the defence sector to 49 per cent from
existing 26 per cent and allowed even beyond that limit on a case-to-case basis if results in
infusion of state- of-art technology.
The steps would help India in improving its ranking the ease of doing business and attract
investments in the defence sector.
According to a World Bank report, India has slipped three positions to 134th spot in the
latest ease of doing business list, which is topped by Singapore.
Sources: The Hindu, http://www.business-standard.com/.

OCTOBER 2014
Spending reforms
Union Finance Minister has rolled out reforms aimed at the efficient management of
government expenditure through speedy project approvals, decentralisation of more
financial powers to Ministries and reduced transaction costs.
Now, the Ministries have got a four-fold increase in the powers for approving expenditure
without seeking the Finance Ministrys nod. The Secretary of an administrative Ministry can
now approve schemes and projects that cost up to Rs. 100 crore, up from the present Rs. 25
crore. The Union Cabinets approval will be needed only for those that cost more than Rs.
1,000 crore, not Rs. 300 crore.
The proposals attempt to address the issue of quality of government spending through the
stipulation that all schemes and programmes be monitored and evaluated in terms of
measurably defined outcomes.
The administrative Ministries are beginning to take advantage of the new rules that have
been in place for about a month now.
The Finance Ministry estimates that the resultant savings on time and cost overruns could
lift the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth by 0.5-1 percentage point.
Sources: The Hindu.
India wins another term at UNHRC
India received the most number of votes in the Asia-Pacific group of the U.N. Human Rights
Council, winning a second consecutive two-year term at the world body.
162 of 190 countries voted for India. Three other countries including Indonesia, Bangladesh
and Qatar were elected. This was a reflection of Indias standing in the world.
About UNHRC:
The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system
responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the
globe and for addressing situations of human rights violations and make recommendations
on them. It has the ability to discuss all thematic human rights issues and situations that
require its attention throughout the year. It meets at the UN Office at Geneva.
The Council is made up of 47 United Nations Member States which are elected by the UN
General Assembly. The Human Rights Council replaced the former United Nations
Commission on Human Rights and is a subsidiary body of the UN General Assembly. The
council works closely with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and
engages the United Nations special procedures.
The General Assembly established the UNHRC by adopting a resolution on 15 March 2006,
in order to replace the previous CHR, which had been heavily criticised for allowing
countries with poor human rights records to be members. One year later, the Council
adopted its Institution-building package to guide its work and set up its procedures and
mechanisms.
The Human Rights Council also works with the UN Special Procedures established by the
former Commission on Human Rights and now assumed by the Council. These are made up
of special rapporteurs, special representatives, independent experts and working groups
that monitor, examine, advise and publicly report on thematic issues or human rights
situations in specific countries.
The members of the General Assembly elect the members who occupy the UNHRCs 47
seats. The term of each seat is three years, and no member may occupy a seat for more than
two consecutive terms.
The General Assembly can suspend the rights and privileges of any Council member that it
decides has persistently committed gross and systematic violations of human rights during
its term of membership. The suspension process requires a two-thirds majority vote by the
General Assembly.
Sources: The Hindu, Wiki, http://www.ohchr.org/.

Revised protocols for health workers caring for Ebola
patients
Tightening previous infection control guidelines, the Centres for Disease Control (CDC)
revised the protocols for health workers caring for Ebola patients.
Under the new guidelines, health workers are required to wear waterproof fabric and boots
and leave no part of the skin uncovered. Every step of putting on and taking off equipment
must be done under the supervision of a senior medical professional to reduce the margin
for error.
Hospital workers treating Ebola patients should wear double sets of gloves, disposable
hoods with full face shields and special masks.
These procedures are based on the stringent protocols used by Doctors Without Borders for
years while caring for Ebola patients.
Meanwhile, India has put in place the same surveillance and tracking systems that Nigeria
used to check the entry of infected patients into the country.
In India, all international airports and sea ports will soon be equipped with thermal
scanners and other Ebola detection equipment. These scanners, which resemble the radar
guns used by police officers to catch speeding motorists, can detect high body temperature
among people queued up before immigration counters. Fever is one of the commonest
symptoms of EVD (Ebola virus disease).
Sources: PIB, The Hindu.

Project Report on DRISHTI Submitted
The Government constituted High Powered Committee on DRISHTI -(Driving Information
System for Holistic Tax Initiatives) has submitted its Report to the Finance Minister. The
Report, after examining the existing business processes and the current status of IT
Systems in CBEC (Central Board of Excise & Customs), has highlighted the areas for
improvement. The recommendations of the Committee aim at leveraging IT for improving
the quality and extent of taxpayer services, encouraging voluntary tax compliance and
detecting tax evasion.
The Strategic Recommendations of the Committee include the following:
Creation of National Taxpayer Services Directorate, National Assessment Centre for
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Customs & National Processing Centre for Central Excise & Service Tax Returns, National
Targeting Centre & Directorate of International Customs
Setting up of specialised function-based units for Data Analytics & Business Intelligence,
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Tax Dispute Resolution and Litigation, BPR, etc
Leveraging Service Oriented Architecture for IT Applications
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Merging different Customs IT Applications into a Single System
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Enabling Mobility solutions in Business Workflows
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Introduction of Entity-based Risk Management System
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Introduction of IT Centric HR Policy
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The Committee also examined the suitable options for an appropriate IT Governance Model
for CBEC. The recommendations have been classified as Short (upto 2 years), Medium (2 to
4 years) and Long Term (4 to 6 years). The Committee has also suggested steps for
overseeing the implementation of the above Recommendations.
Sources: PIB.
INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS: 24 October
2014
Nirbhay will be backbone of cold-start
Defence analysts and strategic experts feel that Nirbhay, Indias first long-range subsonic cruise
missile, which was test-fired recently, can be a game-changer in Indias strategic calculus.
Capable of flying at a tree-top altitude for over 1,000 km, Nirbhay can carry out surgical strikes and
thus back up Indias cold start doctrine that envisages limited, precise strikes across the border.
In the event of an Indian offensive, a volley of missiles flying low can effectively take out key
command and control centres, blunting the resistance to the advancing armoured columns.
The successful indigenous development of Nirbhay cruise missile will fill a vital gap in the war-
fighting capabilities of Indian armed forces. It is felt that Nirbhay will be a force multiplier to the in-
waiting cold start doctrine, but the doctrine itself is a non-starter as of now for lack of critical
assets such as artillery, armour and helicopters.
What is Cold-start Doctrine?
Cold Start is a military doctrine developed by the Indian Armed Forces for use in a possible war with
Pakistan. It involves the various branches of Indias military conducting offensive operations as part
of unified battle groups. The Cold Start doctrine is intended to allow Indias conventional forces to
perform holding attacks in order to prevent a nuclear retaliation from Pakistan in case of a conflict.
Cold start has been put forward as an offensive doctrine by the Indian strategic establishment.
Though officially denied, its presence is widely acknowledged in strategic circles.
The development of this doctrine represents a significant change in Indian defence planning.
Exercises aimed at reducing mobilisation time and improved network-centric warfare capabilities
have contributed to the development of the Cold Start doctrine. Despite the advances, this doctrine
remains in the experimental stage.
The doctrine deviates from the defence posture that Indias military had employed since
independence in 1947. The goal of this limited war doctrine is to establish the capacity to launch a
retaliatory conventional strike against Pakistan that would inflict significant harm on the Pakistan
Army before the international community could intercede, and at the same time, pursue narrow
enough aims to deny Islamabad a justification to escalate the clash to the nuclear level.
Drawing on the experience of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War as well as the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971,
Indian defence planners envisioned this doctrine. It would involve limited, rapid armoured thrusts,
with infantry and necessary air support.
As per Cold Start promulgation, offensive operations could begin within 48 hours after orders have
been issued. Such a limited response time would enable Indian forces to surprise their Pakistani
counterparts. Operations would involve armoured spearheads launched from forward positions in
Punjab and Rajasthan.
The Cold Start doctrine has invited criticism from Pakistani media and former generals who claim
that although the doctrine was designed to punish Pakistan in a limited manner without triggering
nuclear retaliation, the Indian Army cannot be sure if Pakistans leadership will, in fact, refrain from
such a response.
The threat of the Indian Cold Start doctrine and increase in Indian Defence Budget from $24 Billion
to $40 Billion between 2007 and 2009 has apparently prompted the Pakistan government to sharply
increase its defence budget to 32% of their federal governments net revenue receipts, further
increasing the strain on that countrys already tenuous economy.
Mobile shopping set to drive e-commerce in India
India is the second largest mobile phone market with more than 930 million customers. According to
IDC data, the domestic smartphone market grew 84 per cent in the second quarter of 2014 and is
expected to grow rapidly.
The online retailers are taking the smartphones route to tap the market opportunity offered in Tier-II
and Tier-III cities. Most leading players expect 90 per cent of their online shopping to come through
smartphones and tablets within the next few years.
With the huge market potential offered by smartphones, companies such as Snapdeal, Flipkart,
Myntra, among others, have already launched mobile applications.
The growth in internet usage in India, largely on mobile devices, is the key driver for e-commerce
growth. Specifically for fashion, the non-availability of the latest brands in Tier-II and Tier-III cities
has led to high interest in online shopping.
Another reason for the increase in mobile commerce is the penetration of smartphone into the rural
markets. Around 45per cent of the online users in India access internet only through their mobile
phones. As per industry experts, out of all shopping queries in India, 30 per cent come from mobile
phones, however, presently less than 5per cent of total digital commerce happens through mobile
According to a recent report from IT research and advisory firm Gartner, the eCommerce market is
expected to grow 70 per cent and touch $6 billion in 2015.

Mobile commerce will help organisation skip the desktop wave with increasing penetration of
affordable smart devices with connectivity and a rapidly growing ecosystem to engage customers on
mobile.
Sources: The Hindu.
Pre-primary education in tribal language
The Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) will implement an educational
package for tribal pre-primary children in their own language.
The initiative is aimed at ending the feeling of alienation among tribal children when they get
initiated into the world of letters in Malayalam, which is an alien language to them.
The project that will introduce the children to formal education will be implemented as a pilot
project in Attappady block in Palakkad district. It will be expanded across the State later.
Titled Early Childhood Curriculum Care and Education (ECCCE), it will be implemented in
anganwadis in tribal areas with the active participation of government agencies. Anganwadi
teachers will use languages of different tribal ethnic groups to impart pre-primary education.
The curriculum has been prepared, and it includes details of the origin, history, cultural diversity,
and social life among different tribal groups. The teachers in anganwadis will be trained with the
help of tribal village elders.
When the tribal children begin their education, at the pre-primary stage in the anganwadis near
their settlements, they find themselves lost. The language used for instruction and communication
here is frighteningly strange. The process flows on to the primary level too. Majority of these
children drop out of school as they find it difficult to fully comprehend classroom teaching and the
activities, or read the language and understand textbooks.Hence, this concept has been developed
on the thought that the use of tribal language in the initial years can go a long way in making them
comfortable with the process of education.
Sources: The Hindu.

Chinese slowdown
According to International Monetary Funds World Economic Outlook, released earlier this month,
China is expected to grow 7.4 per cent in the current calendar year, against 7.7 per cent in 2013.
The countrys economy is likely to slow down further to 7.1 per cent in 2015 and 6.8 per cent in
2016.
For global commodity producers that were counting on continued rapid growth in Chinese demand,
this has come as a rude shock. It helps explain the sharp drop in iron ore and coal prices. It might
also be responsible for some of the weakness in oil prices. For many of the individual base metals,
however, specific fundamentals are playing a more significant role than generic Chinese growth; for
example, Indonesias ban on exports of unprocessed raw materials.
These changes are expected to lead to permanently slower Chinese growth, so some commodity
markets might have to adjust to a materially different trajectory of demand growth.
A decline in Chinese appetite for commodities would be felt the most by Indian metal producers like
Tata Steel, JSW Steel, SAIL, Sesa Sterlite and Hindalco. Lower international prices would hurt
realisations and profitability. Integrated players like Tata Steel and SAIL, which have own mines will
feel the biggest impact; while those like JSW, which buy coal and iron ore from open market would
be the least affected.
On the brighter side, a moderation in commodity prices would provide a relief to user industries like
automobiles, auto ancillaries, capital goods, consumer durables, tyres and cement. Companies in
these sectors could see an expansion in margins, as raw material costs would decline.
The worrying part for companies is the risk of a spike in low-cost imports, as Chinese manufacturers
push their excess production in export markets globally, including India. Tyre and steel makers are
already feeling the pressure of a dip in Chinese prices for their respective products.
This has raised some concern about Indias growth prospects. Since the Lehman crisis, China has
accounted for nearly a third of incremental growth in world economy and cushions the impact of a
recession in the US and euro zone. Chinas share in world gross domestic product growth is
expected to fall to a fifth by 2016, according to IMF data for 178 countries.
This might have some negative impact on Indias export growth, which has been a key driver of
economy and corporate earnings growth in the past three years.
Imports from China, however, remained strong and accounted for 12.1 per cent of Indias total
merchandise imports in the June quarter, against 1.3 per cent in the same period a year before and
10.7 per cent in 2008-09.
But economists rule out an immediate impact of Chinas slowdown on Indias GDP growth. There is
no one-to-one correlation between Chinese expansion and Indias economic growth. China is still a
minor export market for us when compared with the US or Europe. If growth in the US economy
recovers as expected, the export upside to the US both for merchandise and IT services will
more than make up for any slack from China.
Others see in the Chinese slowdown a stimulus for the Indian economy, with a decline in prices of
crude oil and metals. At the macro level, inflation through imports would tend to come down; that
will improve cost structures of companies and help them improve their margins at the time when
the economic conditions are looking up. This reduction in commodity prices has been quite
fortuitous for India Inc. At a broader level, this can be the starting point of seriously contemplating a
rate cut by the central bank.
The impact of Chinas slowdown on India Inc would depend on interplay of lower input prices, higher
competition from cheaper imports and a potentially slower global growth.
Sources: http://www.business-standard.com/.
INSIGHTS CURRENT AFFAIRS: 25
OCTOBER 2014
DIPP Constitutes IPR Think Tank to Draft National
Intellectual Property Rights Policy
Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion has constituted an IPR Think Tank to draft
the National Intellectual Property Rights Policy and to advice the Department of Industrial
Policy and Promotion on IPR issues.
The panel, to be chaired by retired Justice Prabha Sridevan, will identify areas in IPRs
where study needs to be conducted and furnish recommendations in this regard to the
Commerce and Industry ministry. The expert group will also advise the government on best
practices to be followed in trademark offices, patent offices and other government offices
dealing with IPRs to create an efficient and transparent system of functioning in the said
offices.
The terms of reference of the IPR Think Tank will be as follows:
To draft National Intellectual Property Rights Policy.
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To identify areas in the IPRs where study needs to be conducted and to furnish
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recommendations in this regard to the Ministry.
To provide views on the possible implications of demands placed by the negotiating
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partners.
To keep the Government regularly informed about the developments taking place in IPR
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cases which have an impact upon India`s IPR Policy.
To advise the Government on best practices to be followed in Trademark Offices, Patent
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Offices and other Government Offices dealing with IPR in order to create an efficient and
transparent system of functioning in the said offices.
To prepare periodic reports on best practice followed in foreign countries.
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To highlight anomalies in the present IPR legislations and to advice possible solutions to
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the Ministry.
To give suggestions on the steps that may be taken for improving infrastructure in IP
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offices and Tribunals.
To examine the current issues raised by industry associations and those that may have
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appeared in media and to give suggestions to the Ministry on such issues.
The decision assumes significance as the Obama administration in the recent times has been
strongly criticising Indias investment climate and IPR laws, especially in the
pharmaceuticals and the solar sectors.
Sources: PIB, The Hindu.

Rashtriya Ekta Diwas
The Government has decided to observe the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
as the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day) on 31st October every year. This
occasion will provide an opportunity to re-affirm the inherent strength and resilience of our
nation to withstand the actual and potential threats to the unity, integrity and security of
our country.
All the Government Offices, Public Sector Undertakings and other Public Institutions will
arrange a pledge taking ceremony to observe the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas. The Ministry of
Human Resource Development has been requested to issue suitable instructions that the
students of Schools and Colleges may be administered the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas Pledge to
motivate them to strive to maintain the unity and integrity of the country.
Al l Mi ni stri es/ Departments of the Government of Indi a and al l the State
Governments/Administrators of all the Union Territories have been requested to organize
appropriate programmes on the occasion in a befitting manner, including the Pledge-taking
Ceremony, Run for Unity involving people from all sections of society, March-Past in the
evening by the Police, the Central Armed Police Forces and other organizations like the
National Cadet Corps (NCC), National Service Scheme (NSS), Scouts and Guides, Home
Guards etc.
Sources: PIB.

MEA to oversee foreign investments in States
Aiming to streamline foreign infrastructure investment, the government has announced a
new division in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), appointing a joint secretary for
Centre-State relations.
The new post will increase engagement between the MEA and State governments to
coordinate State delegations visiting abroad, passport issues and political clearances, as
well as to set up a database of State-level tie-ups and work on sister cities.
With more foreign dignitaries expressing their desire to visit cities other than Delhi, the
special section will also coordinate visits to Tier Two cities. However, the new division will
not deal with policy disagreements of the kind seen between the Centre and Tamil Nadu
over Sri Lanka and with West Bengal over the Teesta accord with Bangladesh.
The move had followed several complaints from other countries on the lack of coordination
between State governments and the Centre. In one such case in August, the Japan Chamber
of Commerce and Industry in India had written to the government, seeking urgent
intervention to help iron out differences in commitments by the Centre that were not
implemented by the States on major projects such as the Chennai-Bangalore Industrial
Corridor and the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial corridor, for which Japan had committed $100
billion in 2009.
Sources: The Hindu.

India signs up for Chinas Asian bank
India signed a memorandum of understanding, along with Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh
and Nepal and others, as the founding member of the AIIB.
With an initial subscribed capital of $50 billion, the setting up of the Beijing-headquartered
AIIB has been welcomed by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. However, the
U.S. has expressed concerns over the banks ambiguous nature and lack of transparency.
China led 21 Asian nations, including India, in forming a multilateral financial front in the
form of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), being seen as a challenger to the
U.S.-backed Bretton Woods institutions.
The 21-nation group comprises Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Kazakhstan,
Kuwait, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, the Philippines, Qatar,
Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
It is being called as a very positive development in the sense that it opens up more
borrowing opportunities. However, not everyone was optimistic about Indias potential gains
from multilateral financial partnership.
Sources: The Hindu
Kolkata girl bags Panda award
Ashwika Kapur of Kolkata won the prestigious Panda Award, as part of the annual
Wildscreen Film Festival held at Bristol, U.K. She is the first Indian woman to win the
coveted wildlife photography award for her film on a Kakapo parrot.
Ms. Kapurs film Sirocco how a dud became a stud is based on Sirocco, a Kakapo
parrot, which is perhaps the only bird to have bagged a government job.
The male bird was appointed as the Official Spokesbird for Conservation in New Zealand
and it helps in conservation advocacy on social media.
Kakapo parrot:
The Kakapo parrot, a nocturnal and flightless species of the parrot, is classified as a
critically endangered species since 2012 on the IUCN Red List.
The bird, found in New Zealand, is known to be one of the longest-living birds and its known
population is 125. Over 14,000 people from 162 countries voted the Kakapo the worlds
favourite species in 2013.

Sources: The Hindu.
OCTOBER 2014
Commemorative Postage Stamp on Anagarika Dharmapala
Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications & IT has brought out a Commemorating Postage
Stamp on Srimath Anagarika Dharmapala, the great Buddhist thinker and visionary from Sri Lanka.
The release of the commemorative postage stamp on Anagarika Dharmapala is expected to
contribute towards further strengthening the bilateral ties between India and Sri Lanka and bring
the two nations closer.
Anagarika Dharmapala
He was one of the founding contributors of Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism and was also a pioneer in
the revival of Buddhism in India. He not only embraced Buddhism but also lent it Sinhalese
nationalist character. He waged a protracted struggle to protect and conserve the foundations of
Buddhism in its place of birth, India.
He joined the Theosophical Society and spearheaded the reform and revival of Ceylonese Buddhism
and its propagation. He later entered the order of Buddhist monks as Venerable Sri Devamitta
Dharmapala and is considered a Bodhisattva in Sri Lanka. He was ordained a bhikkhu at Sarnath in
1933 and he died there in December of the same year.
In 1891, Anagarika Dharmapala went on a pilgrimage to the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya,
where the Buddha had attained enlightenment. He decided to work towards restoring its glory.
Accordingly, the Maha Bodhi Society at Colombo was founded in 1891 and one of its primary aims
was the restoration to Buddhist control of the Mahabodhi temple at Bodh Gaya.
Many people remember Anagarika Dharmapala for his religious zeal. But there was another aspect
to this towering figure his practical vision regarding the alleviation of poverty. The voice of
Anagarika Dharmapala was also a significant factor in Ceylons historical struggle for freedom from
the British Raj. He spoke of the importance of a firm educational and economic foundation if the
struggle for freedom was to succeed. He also concentrated on establishing schools and hospitals in
his country. He had a vision of a newly emerging Ceylon, which could effectively link up with other
countries and forge ahead.
In 1893 Dharmapala was invited to attend the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago as a
representative of Southern Buddhism which was the term applied at that time to the Theravada.
There he met Swami Vivekananda and like him, he was also a great success at the Parliament.
Sources: PIB.
India off Fragile Five list
Among emerging markets and BRICS countries, India stands out for accomplishing the sharpest
turnaround in its macro economy since the U.S. Federal Reserve started reversing its zero-interest
rates monetary policy. As a result, of all these economies, India is best prepared to deal with the
Feds monetary policy actions.
The IMF had raised its 2014 India growth forecast to 5.6 per cent as against its 5.4 per cent in April
projection while cutting its world Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth projection to 3.3 per cent.
The Feds initiation of the tapering of its monetary policy triggered sharp volatility in the rupee and
a spike in the current account deficit. The CAD is down from the level of 4.7 per cent of the GDP to
1.7 per cent of GDP. Substantial dollar inflows have led to Indias foreign exchange reserves rising
from $270 billion in August to $315 billion.
Fragile five:
Fragile Five is a term coined in August of 2013 by a research analyst at Morgan Stanley to represent
emerging market economies that have become too dependent on unreliable foreign investment to
finance their growth ambitions.
Members of the Fragile Five are:
Turkey
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Brazil
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India
I
South Africa
I
Indonesia
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The Fragile Five came into focus in 2013 and 2014 as emerging market economies that relied on
foreign investments to cover current account deficits and finance growth began to see capital
outflows as a result of improvements in developed economies.
Sources: The Hindu.
New law proposed for small factories
The Labour Ministry has proposed the Small Factories (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of
Services) Bill to govern wages and conditions of work in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The
Bill envisages rules for wages, overtime hours, social security and appointment of factory inspectors
in units employing fewer than 40 workers.
The new Bill has been proposed to align the work conditions in the SMEs with the Factories Act
amendments and allow enterprises to file compliance forms online as the government announced
earlier this month.
There was a demand from the SME sector for a separate Act to govern them. In line with that, this
Act will reduce the number of forms required for compliance with rules. It will allow the SMEs to
employ women in night shifts based on the fulfilment of certain conditions. It will change the
inspection system to one based on self-certification and inspections based on computer lots as
announced by the government earlier this month.
The Bill builds on the Labour Laws (Exemption from Furnishing Returns and Maintaining Registers
by Certain Establishments) Amendment Bill, 2011, which increases the number of laws under which
units will be exempt from maintaining registers and filings returns.
The Factories Act (Amendment) Bill is for allowing the States to raise the minimum number of
workers employed to 20 where power was used and 40 for others, from 10 and 20, respectively.
Based on the suggestions in a June 2011 report by an expert committee under former Planning
Commission member Narendra Jadhav, the Bill removes prohibitions on women working on certain
machines in motion and near cotton openers and allows the State governments to make rules
allowing women to work night shifts in factories upon fulfilling certain conditions. It doubled the
permissible overtime hours from 50 hours in one quarter to 100 hours and from 75 hours to 125
hours in certain cases.
The Small Factories Bill will bring the SMEs, which account for over 30 per cent of industrial
production, in line with the amendments to the Factories Act.

Sources: The Hindu.
The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill
The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008, with a view to amend the Insurance Act 1938, the
General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act, 1972 and the Insurance Regulatory and
Development Authority Act, 1999 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on the 22nd December, 2008.
In India, insurance companies are not permitted to have foreign holding of more than 26%. This Bill
raises the limit to 49% and allows entry of foreign re-insurers (companies that insure insurance
companies). It also provides for permanent registration of insurance companies. It permits the
holder of a life insurance policy to name the beneficiary.
These amendments in the bill are aimed at removing archaic and redundant provisions in the
legislations and incorporating certain provisions to provide Insurance Regulatory Development
Authority (IRDA) with flexibility to discharge its functions effectively and efficiently. The overall
objective is to further deepen the reform process which is already underway in the insurance sector.
With foreign participants playing a bigger role, there will be more variety in products and more
professionalism in selling these. With more competition, mis-selling will reduce. Simplifying the
norms for expansion of re-insurance companies will also help penetration.
The Bill seeks to amend clause 45 to the effect that no claim can be repudiated (rejected) after three
years of the policy issuance under any circumstances. With the aim to reduce the dependence on
agents the Bill seeks to have more channels for distribution, in addition to the existing ones such as
agents and bancassurance.
The Bill proposes to give insurance companies the freedom to collect premiums in instalments for
more products. Currently, general insurance companies can collect premiums in the form of
instalments only in health insurance. But if they are given the freedom to collect premiums for
products like motor and fire, this will help them in product diversification and also give flexibility to
customers.
To strengthen redressal of policyholders complaints, the Bill proposes an independent grievance
redressal authority, with powers similar to a civil court. The authority should be composed of judicial
and technical members. The current ombudsman scheme is held to be insufficient to tackle the large
number of complaints against companies.
The Bill also stresses on technology to increase electronic issuance of policies. This will help improve
claims payout. Since electronic issuance and dematerialising of policies can facilitate data sharing
between companies, any cases of fraud can be detected faster.
As an added precaution to prevent mis-selling, the Bill proposes that insurance companies not pay
any agent commission in excess of what is prescribed in the regulation. Currently there are cases
where companies reward agents through gifts such as cars or foreign trips. In the absence of such
incentives, there are less of chances that agents would try and push policies that are not suited for
customers.
Other provisions in the Bill:
The Bill allows foreign investors to hold up to 49% of the capital in an Indian insurance company. It
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allows for nationalised general insurance companies to raise funds from the capital markets.
Companies or co-operative societies in the life or general insurance business must have a minimum
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equity capital of Rs 100 crore, while those in health insurance must have a minimum equity capital
of Rs 50 crore.
An insurer cannot challenge a life insurance policy for any reason, after a period of five years.
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Insurers who fail to meet their obligations with respect to underwriting third party motor
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insurance, or underwriting policies in rural and social sectors or with vulnerable sections, face a
fine of Rs 25 crore.
The Bill provides for appeals against decisions by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority
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to lie with the Securities Appellate Tribunal set up under the SEBI Act, 1992.

Sources: www.business-standard.com/, prsindia.org.

OCTOBER 2014
World Bank predicts 5.6 % growth
A World Bank report, released recently, said that Indias GDP is likely to expand at 5.6 per cent this
fiscal as reforms gain momentum and the growth is expected to accelerate as proposed measures
such as the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will give a boost to the manufacturing sector. In the
following years, the gross domestic product (GDP) growth is likely to rise further to 6.4 per cent and
7 per cent in 2015-16 and 2016-17, respectively.
Other important observations made:
Indias growth is likely to accelerate towards its high long-run potential and implementation of the
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GST as well as dismantling of inter-State check posts can significantly improve the global
competitiveness of Indian manufacturing firms. Implementing the GST will transform India into a
common market, eliminate inefficient tax cascading, and go a long way in boosting the
manufacturing sector.
The transformational impact of reform, particularly if enhanced by a systematic dismantling of
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inter-State check posts, can dramatically boost competitiveness and help offset both domestic and
external risks to the outlook.
With economic reforms gaining momentum, long-term prospects for growth remain bright for
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India. To realise its full potential, India needs to continue making progress on its domestic reforms
agenda and encourage investments. The governments efforts at improving the performance of the
manufacturing sector will lead to more jobs for young Indian women and men.
The Growth has rebounded significantly due to a strong industrial recovery. Capital flows are back,
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signalling growing investor confidence as inflation has moderated from double digits, exchange
rate has stabilised and financial sector stress has plateaued. Long-term growth potential in India
remains high on favourable demographics, high savings and recent policy and efforts to improve
skills and education.
Improved growth prospects in the U.S. will support India s merchandise and services exports,
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while stronger remittance inflows and declining oil prices are expected to support domestic
demand.
The projections may face risks from external shocks, such as financial market disruptions on the
back of monetary policy changes in high income countries, slower global growth, higher oil prices,
and adverse investor sentiment on geo-political tensions in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
In the domestic front energy supply, fiscal pressures from weak revenue collection in short term can
pose challenges. However, risks could be mitigated to a large extent by focusing on reforms that
help the manufacturing sector.
Sources: The Hindu.
CCI directs CIL to desist from unfair business ways
In a directive against Coal India for abusing its dominant position, the Competition Commission of
India asked the state-owned miner to cease and desist from unfair business practices.
About CCI:
Competition Commission of India is a body of the Government of India responsible for enforcing The
Competition Act, 2002 throughout India and to prevent activities that have an adverse effect on
competition in India. It was established on 14 October 2003. It became fully functional in May 2009.
The objectives of the Act are sought to be achieved through the Competition Commission of India
(CCI).
CCI consists of a Chairperson and 6 Members appointed by the Central Government. It is the duty of
the Commission to eliminate practices having adverse effect on competition, promote and sustain
competition, protect the interests of consumers and ensure freedom of trade in the markets of India.
The Commission is also required to give opinion on competition issues on a reference received from
a statutory authority established under any law and to undertake competition advocacy, create
public awareness and impart training on competition issues.
The Competition Act, 2002, as amended by the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2007, follows the
philosophy of modern competition laws. The Act prohibits anti-competitive agreements, abuse of
dominant position by enterprises and regulates combinations (acquisition, acquiring of control and
Merger and acquisition), which causes or likely to cause an appreciable adverse effect on
competition within India.
To achieve its objectives, the Competition Commission of India endeavours to do the following:
Make the markets work for the benefit and welfare of consumers.
I
Ensure fair and healthy competition in economic activities in the country for faster and inclusive
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growth and development of economy.
Implement competition policies with an aim to effectuate the most efficient utilization of economic
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resources.
Develop and nurture effective relations and interactions with sectoral regulators to ensure smooth
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alignment of sectoral regulatory laws in tandem with the competition law.
Effectively carry out competition advocacy and spread the information on benefits of competition
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among all stakeholders to establish and nurture competition culture in Indian economy.
Sources: The Hindu, Wiki, http://www.cci.gov.in/.

Project 75I
Recently, a decision was taken by the Defence Minister relating to build six state-of-the-art
submarines for the navy under Project 75I.
About Project 75I:
Under Project 75I India will purchase 6 next generation diesel submarines with Air Independent
Propulsion System (AIP) technology for the Indian Navy by 2022.
Conventional diesel-electric submarines have to surface every few days to get oxygen to recharge
their batteries. With AIP systems, they can stay submerged for much longer periods.
Project 75-I will have both vertical launched BrahMos for the sea & land targets and tube-launched
torpedoes for anti-submarine warfare. The new Project 75-I submarines are huge in value, estimated
at around $10 billion-plus, depending upon the offsets and transfer of technology (ToT). The defense
offsets policy mandates a minimum investment of 30 per cent to be put back in a related defence
industrial venture in India.
Acceptance of Necessity for acquisition of six submarines under Project-75(I) has been accorded by
the Defence Acquisition Council in August 2010. The case is being progressed in accordance with
the Defence Procurement Procedure.
The Indian navy requested information from firms who had independently designed and constructed
a complete modern conventional submarine which is currently in service / undergoing sea trials. The
submarine should be capable of operating in open ocean and littoral / shallow waters in dense
environment and able to undertake following missions:-
anti surface and anti submarine warfare.
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supporting operations ashore.
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ISR missions.
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special force and mining ops.
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Sources: The Hindu, http://www.globalsecurity.org/.

Govt chalks out plans for massive solar power push
With Prime Minister asking the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) to prepare an action
plan by November first week, India is about to witness a massive scaling up of solar power capacity
to 100,000 Mw.
The Bharatiya Janata Partys election manifesto had promised a considerable push to clean energy.
The target is five times the target designated under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission
(JNNSM), one of the key programmes of the earlier United Progressive Alliance government. Large
solar projects similar to coal-based ultra mega power projects, solar parks, micro grids and solar
rooftops all would be a part of the project.
The cost of gas-based power plants has gone up and with coal looking at fresh auctions; thermal
power prices would also go up. The current price of solar power production is Rs 6.5 crore per Mw.
So, with a viability gap funding (VGF) support of Rs 1 crore per Mw, solar is looking at parity with
coal very soon. The government, though, would look at all possible models VGF, power bundling,
state support according to size and type of project.
The ministry is also setting up a single-window clearance agency to promote investment in solar
power.
Following the directions from the Minister of State for Coal, Power and Renewable Energy, the
ministry of new and renewable energy is also approaching top 500 private companies and 50 public
sector companies, to sign commitment for developing solar power and set a trend for the sector.
About Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission:
The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (also known as the National Solar Mission) is a major
initiative of the Government of India and State Governments to promote ecologically sustainable
growth while addressing Indias energy security challenges. It will also constitute a major
contribution by India to the global effort to meet the challenges of climate change.
The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission was launched on the 11th January, 2010 by the Prime
Minister. The Mission has set the ambitious target of deploying 20,000 MW of grid connected solar
power by 2022 and is aimed at reducing the cost of solar power generation in the country through
long term policy;
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large scale deployment goals;
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aggressive R&D; and
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Domestic production of critical raw materials, components and products, as a result to achieve grid
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tariff parity by 2022.
Mission will create an enabling policy framework to achieve this objective and make India a global
leader in solar energy.
The objective of the National Solar Mission is to establish India as a global leader in solar energy, by
creating the policy conditions for its diffusion across the country as quickly as possible. The
immediate aim of the Mission is to focus on setting up an enabling environment for solar technology
penetration in the country both at a centralized and decentralized level.
The Mission under the aegis of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy will adopt a 3-phase
approach, spanning the remaining period of the 11th Plan and first year of the 12th Plan (up to
2012-13) as Phase 1, the remaining 4 years of the 12th Plan (201317) as Phase 2 and the 13th Plan
(201722) as Phase 3. At the end of each plan, and mid-term during the 12th and 13th Plans, there
will be an evaluation of progress, review of capacity and targets for subsequent phases, based on
emerging cost and technology trends, both domestic and global. The aim would be to protect
Government from subsidy exposure in case expected cost reduction does not materialize or is more
rapid than expected.

Sources: www.business-standard.com/ ,www.mnre.gov.in/.
OCTOBER 2014
Bangalore Railway Station Becomes the First Station in the Country to Have Wifi Facility
The Indian Railways has successfully implemented Wi-Fi facility in Bangalore City Railway station
for providing high speed internet to the passengers. RailWire the retail Broadband distribution
model of RailTel Corporation of India Ltd, a PSU of the Ministry of Railways, is the powering engine
for distributing internet bandwidth through WiFi. The facility at Bangalore is taken up as a pilot
project. The Minister of Railways recently inaugurated the facility and dedicated the service for
passengers.
This service will be great help for the commuters at Bangalore City Railway station to stay
connected and surf internet on the go. With the implementation of this service, Bangalore railway
station becomes the first station in the country to have WiFi facility for passengers.
RailTel has been mandated by Railways to provide Wi-Fi facility at A1 & A category stations and
Bangalore is the first such stations being taken up this facility by RailTel as a pilot. The facility has
been created by RailTel with a Gigabit Ethernet network using Optic Fibre in a ring.
RailTel Corporation a Mini Ratna (Category-I) PSU is the largest neutral telecom services
providers in the country owning a Pan-India optic fiber network covering all important towns &
cities of the country and several rural areas covering 70% of Indias population. RailTel is in the
forefront in providing nationwide Broadband Telecom & Multimedia Network in all parts of the
country in addition to modernization of Train operations and administration network systems for
Indian Railways. With its Pan India high capacity network, RailTel is working towards creating a
knowledge society at various fronts and has been selected for implementation of various.
Sources: PIB.
Celiac Disease Diagnostics Kits launched commercially
Minister for Science and Technology, Government of India, launched Diagnostic kits for Celiac
Disease. These kits have been developed through a collaborative, multi-institutional, inter-
disciplinary approach funded by the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science &
Technology, Government of India.
Celiac Microlisa is useful for centralized diagnostic laboratories with adequate infrastructure where
large number of samples could be handled. The Celiac Cardcan be used by smaller hospitals and
clinicswhich lack adequate facilities.
The newly launched diagnostic kits are expected to cater to the need for accurate identification of
Celiac Disease in Indian population. These indigenous kits are rapid, sensitive, specific and would be
much cheaper as compared to the imported kits.
Celiac Disease:
Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that can occur in genetically predisposed people where
the ingestion of gluten leads to damage in the small intestine. It is estimated to affect 1 in 100
people worldwide. Two and one-half million Americans are undiagnosed and are at risk for long-term
health complications.
The disease is a lifelong digestive and auto-immune disorder that results in damage to the lining of
the small intestine when foods with gluten such as wheat, rye, barley and oats are eaten. The
affected individuals display symptoms like prolonged diarrhea, abdominal, fullness and anemia,
owing to decreased absorption of nutrients by the intestine.
When people with celiac disease eat gluten (a protein found in wheat, rye and barley), their body
mounts an immune response that attacks the small intestine. These attacks lead to damage on the
villi, small fingerlike projections that line the small intestine, that promote nutrient absorption.
When the villi get damaged, nutrients cannot be absorbed properly into the body.
Celiac disease is hereditary, meaning that it runs in families. People with a first-degree relative with
celiac disease (parent, child, sibling) have a 1 in 10 risk of developing celiac disease.
Currently, the only treatment for celiac disease is lifelong adherence to a strict gluten-free diet.
People living gluten-free must avoid foods with wheat, rye and barley, such as bread and beer.
Ingesting small amounts of gluten, like crumbs from a cutting board or toaster, can trigger small
intestine damage.

Sources: PIB, celiac.org/.
Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana
Centre has launched Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana (VKY) for welfare of Tribals. The scheme was
launched on the occasion of the meeting of the Tribal Welfare Ministers of States/UTs. The scheme
is aimed at improving the infrastructure and human development indices of the tribal population.
The scheme been launched on pilot basis in one block each of the States of AP, MP, HP, Telangana,
Orissa, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat. Under the scheme centre will
provide Rs. 10 crore for each block for the development of various facilities for the Tribals. These
blocks have been selected on the recommendations of the concerned States and have very low
literacy rate.
This scheme mainly focuses on bridging infrastructural gaps and gap in human development indices
between Schedule tribes and other social groups. VKY also envisages to focus on convergence of
different schemes of development of Central Ministries/Departments and State Governments with
outcome oriented approach. Initially the blocks having at least 33% of tribal population in
comparison to total population of the block will be targeted.
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has taken up initiatives for strengthening of existing institutions meant
for delivery of goods and services to tribal people i.e Integrated Tribal Development Agencies
/Integrated Development Project and creation of new ones wherever necessary. Specific funds are
allocated to the State Governments for this purpose to be utilized judiciously with a view to build the
institutional mechanism more robust by way of strengthening these institutions.
Under the scheme maximum selling price for Minor Forest Produce (MFP) is being implemented in
schedule V States initially. A web based portal has also been developed which indicate current price
of MFPs on real time basis across different mandis of the States. 12 MFP products have been
included in the programme namely (i) Tendu Leave (ii) Bamboo (iii) Mahuwa Seeds (iv) Sal Leaf (v)
Sal Seed (vi) Lac (vii) Chironjee (viii) Wild Honey (ix) Myrobalan (x) Tamarind (xi) Gums (Gum
Karaya) and (xii) Karanji.
Sources: PIB.

It will take 81 years for gender parity at workplace, says WEF report
The annual gender survey of the World Economic Forum shows that India, which ranks low on
narrowing the gender gap in education, health and equal pay for equal work, has, however, taken a
high position on the political empowerment sub-index.
Placing India at 114 out of 142 countries vis--vis removing gender-based disparities, the survey
puts the country at number 15 on the scorecard for political empowerment. India also tops the list of
countries on the years with woman head of state (over the past 50 years). While it fell 13 places to
114th slot, politically it is ranked higher than the United States and the United Kingdom. It ranks
111 on the list of countries which have women in Parliament and 107 on the list of countries with
women ministers.
Other observations made:
India experienced a drop [in absolute and relative value] on the health and survival sub-index
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compared with 2006, mainly due to a decrease in the female-to-male sex ratio at birth. In 2014, it
also performed below average on the Economic Participation and Opportunity and Educational
Attainment sub-indexes
On economic participation and opportunity, India ranks 134, while on educational attainment it
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ranks 126. But on the health and survival parameter Indias rank is among the lowest at 142.
Owing to its low sex ratio at birth India slumps to 114th position overall, which makes it the
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lowest-ranked BRICS nation and one of the few countries where female labour force participation
is shrinking.
Pointing out that it will take 81 years for gender parity at the workplace, the report shows Nordic
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nations dominate the Global Gender Gap Index in 2014.
On average, in 2014, over 96 per cent of the gap in health outcomes, 94 per cent of the gap in
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educational attainment, 60 per cent of the gap in economic participation and 21 per cent of the gap
in political empowerment has been closed. No country in the world has achieved gender equality.
The index was first introduced by the World Economic Forum in 2006 as a framework for capturing
the magnitude of gender-based disparities and tracking their progress. The index benchmarks
national gender gaps on economic, political, education and health criteria.
Sources: The Hindu.
Campaign to highlight violations of RTE Act
Several NGOs are set to launch a 150-day campaign to highlight violations of the Right to Education
(RTE) Act. The campaign organised by the RTE Forum involves 10,000 NGOs across 18 States.
It is being observed that more than 10,000 schools are not implementing the Act and there was a
shortage of 1.2 million teachers. Ten per cent of the schools have only one teacher and more than
one lakh schools have been shut after the passage of the Act in 2009.
The campaign is expected to take place from November 1 to March 31, 2015 which is the deadline
for complete implementation of the Act.
RTE Act:
The Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002 inserted Article 21-A in the Constitution of
India to provide free and compulsory education of all children in the age group of six to fourteen
years as a Fundamental Right in such a manner as the State may, by law, determine. The Right of
Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, which represents the consequential
legislation envisaged under Article 21-A, means that every child has a right to full time elementary
education of satisfactory and equitable quality in a formal school which satisfies certain essential
norms and standards. Article 21-A and the RTE Act came into effect on 1 April 2010.
With this, India has moved forward to a rights based framework that casts a legal obligation on the
Central and State Governments to implement this fundamental child right as enshrined in the Article
21A of the Constitution, in accordance with the provisions of the RTE Act.
The RTE Act provides for the:
Right of children to free and compulsory education till completion of elementary education in a
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neighbourhood school.
It clarifies that compulsory education means obligation of the appropriate government to provide
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free elementary education and ensure compulsory admission, attendance and completion of
elementary education to every child in the six to fourteen age group. Free means that no child
shall be liable to pay any kind of fee or charges or expenses which may prevent him or her from
pursuing and completing elementary education.
It makes provisions for a non-admitted child to be admitted to an age appropriate class.
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It specifies the duties and responsibilities of appropriate Governments, local authority and parents
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in providing free and compulsory education, and sharing of financial and other responsibilities
between the Central and State Governments.
It lays down the norms and standards relating inter alia to Pupil Teacher Ratios (PTRs), buildings
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and infrastructure, school-working days, teacher-working hours.
It provides for rational deployment of teachers by ensuring that the specified pupil teacher ratio is
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maintained for each school, rather than just as an average for the State or District or Block, thus
ensuring that there is no urban-rural imbalance in teacher postings. It also provides for prohibition
of deployment of teachers for non-educational work, other than decennial census, elections to local
authority, state legislatures and parliament, and disaster relief.
It provides for appointment of appropriately trained teachers, i.e. teachers with the requisite entry
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and academic qualifications.
It prohibits (a) physical punishment and mental harassment; (b) screening procedures for
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admission of children; (c) capitation fee; (d) private tuition by teachers and (e) running of schools
without recognition,
It provides for development of curriculum in consonance with the values enshrined in the
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Constitution, and which would ensure the all-round development of the child, building on the
childs knowledge, potentiality and talent and making the child free of fear, trauma and anxiety
through a system of child friendly and child centred learning.
Sources: The Hindu, http://mhrd.gov.in/.

Global warming has doubled risk of harsh winters in Eurasia: report
According to new research, the risk of severe winters in Europe and northern Asia has been doubled
by global warming. The counter-intuitive finding is the result of climate change melting the Arctic
ice cap and causing new wind patterns that push freezing air and snow southwards. Severe winters
over the last decade have been associated with those years in which the melting of Arctic sea ice
was greatest.
The new work is the most comprehensive computer modelling study to date and indicates the frozen
winters are being caused by climate change, not simply by natural variations in weather.
Climate change is heating the Arctic much faster than lower latitudes and the discovery that the
chances of severe winters has already doubled shows that the impacts of global warming are not
only a future threat. Melting Arctic ice has also been implicated in recent wet summers in the UK.
The research also shows that the increased risk of icy winters will persist for the next few decades.
But beyond that continued global warming overwhelms the colder winter weather.
The Arctic is expected to be ice-free in late summer by the 2030s, halting the changes to wind
patterns, while climate change will continue to increase average temperatures.
Climate scientists have warned for many years that global warming is not simply leading to a slow,
gradual rise in temperature. Instead, it is putting more energy into the climate system which drives
more frequent extreme events.
Sources: The Hindu.

Urbanization in India: Facts and Issues
Introduction
Urban areas have been recognized as engines of inclusive economic growth. Of the 121
crore Indians, 83.3 crore live in rural areas while 37.7 crore stay in urban areas, i.e approx
32 % of the population. The census of India, 2011 defines urban settlement as :-
All the places which have municipality, corporation, cantonment board or notified town area
committee
All the other places which satisfy following criteria :
a. A minimum population of 5000 persons ;
b. At least 75 % of male main working population engaged in non-agricultural pursuits ;
and
c. A density of population of at least 400 persons per square kilometer
The first category of urban units are known as Statutory town. These town are notified
under law by respective State/UT government and have local bodies like municipal
corporation, municipality, etc, irrespective of demographic characteristics. For example-
Vadodara (Municipal corporation), Shimla (Municipal corporation)
The second category of towns is known as Census Town. These were identified on the basis
of census 2001 data.Cities are urban areas with more than 100,000 population. Urban areas
below 100,000 are called towns in India
Similarly Census of India defines:-
Urban Agglomeration (UA): An urban agglomeration is a continuous urban spread
constituting a town and its adjoining outgrowths (OGs), or two or more physically
contiguous towns together with or without outgrowths of such towns. An Urban
Agglomeration must consist of at least a statutory town and its total population (i.e. all the
constituents put together) should not be less than 20,000 as per the 2001 Census. In varying
local conditions, there were similar other combinations which have been treated as urban
agglomerations satisfying the basic condition of contiguity. Examples: Greater Mumbai UA,
Delhi UA, etc.
Out Growths (OG): An Out Growth (OG) is a viable unit such as a village or a hamlet or an
enumeration block made up of such village or hamlet and clearly identifiable in terms of its
boundaries and location. Some of the examples are railway colony, university campus, port
area, military camps, etc., which have come up near a statutory town outside its statutory
limits but within the revenue limits of a village or villages contiguous to the town.
While determining the outgrowth of a town, it has been ensured that it possesses the urban
features in terms of infrastructure and amenities such as pucca roads, electricity, taps,
drainage system for disposal of waste water etc. educational institutions, post offices,
medical facilities, banks etc. and physically contiguous with the core town of the UA.
Examples: Central Railway Colony (OG), Triveni Nagar (N.E.C.S.W.) (OG), etc.
Each such town together with its outgrowth(s) is treated as an integrated urban area and is
designated as an urban agglomeration. Number of towns/UA/OG 2011, according to
Census 2011 Census are :-
1 Statutory Towns 4,041
2 Census Towns 3,894
3 Urban Agglomerations 475
4 Out Growths 981
At the central level, nodal agencies which look after program and policies for urban
development are Ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation (MoHUPA) and
Ministry of Urban development. Urban development is a state subject. At state level
there are respective ministries, but according to 74th Constitutional Amendment act,1992,
it is mandatory for every state to form ULBs and devolve power, conduct regular election,
etc. Under 12 schedule of Indian constitution , 18 such functions have been defined which
are to be performed by ULBs and for that states should support the ULBs through finances
and decentralization of power, for more autonomy. But this is not uniform throughout all the
states and still more is need to be done to empower ULBs in India.
Urban areas are managed by urban local bodies(ULBs), who look after the service delivery
and grievance redressal of citizens. There are eight type of urban local government in India-
municipal corporation municipality, notified area committee, town area committee,
cantonment board, township, port trust and special purpose agencies.
Migration is the key process underlying growth of urbanisation; and the process of
urbanization is closely related with rural to urban migration of people. In most developing
countries of the world where rate of urban growth is relatively higher the urban-ward
migration is usually high. Rural to urban migration is by far the major component of
urbanisation and is the chief mechanism by which urbanisation trends all the world-over
has been accomplished
After independence, urbanization in India is increasing at very high pace, but at the same
time there are some problems, which are becoming barriers for balance, equitable and
inclusive development.
History of Urbanization in India
In 1687- 88, the first municipal corporation in India was set up at Madras. In 1726,
Municipal Corporation were set up in Bombay and Calcutta. In 1882,a resolution was passed
and according to which, panchayat were to be formed at village level, district boards, taluq
boards and municipalities also came into existence. At that time Lord Ripon was Viceroy of
India, and for this Lord Ripon is known as father of local self-government in India.
Urbanization since independence has been focused through respective five year plans as
follows:
First two plan focused on institution and organization building and same was instructed to
the states to do.
For ex. Delhi development Authority, Town and country planning organization came during
this period.
Third plan (1961-66) was turning point in urban planning history, as it emphasized on
importance of towns and cities in balanced regional development. So, it advised urban
planning to adopt regional approach. It also emphasized the need for urban land regulation,
checking of urban land prices, preparation of master plan, etc.
Forth plan (1969-74), continued with the theme of third plan and development plans for 72
urban areas were undertaken. Regional studies in respect of metropolitan regions around
Delhi, Mumbai and Calcutta were initiated.
During fifth plan, urban land ceiling act was passed in 1976. It also advised the state
governments to create metropolitan planning regions to take care of the growing areas
outside administrative city limits. Mumbai metropolitan region development authority
(MMRDA) in 1974 and Housing and urban development cooperation in 1975 were
established. It also emphasized the urban and industrial decentralization.
The sixth five year (1978-83) plan stressed the need to develop small and medium sized
towns (less than 1 lakh), and a scheme of Integrated development of Small and Medium
towns(IDSMT) was launched in 1979 by central government.
During the seventh plan, some important institutional developments were done, which
shaped the urban development policy and planning.
The National commission on urbanization submitted its report in 1988 and 65th
constitutional amendment was introduced in Lok Sabha in 1989, this was first attempt to
give urban local bodies a constitutional status with three tier federal structure. But it was
not passed and was finally passed in 1992 as 74th constitutional amendment act and came
into force in 1993.
During Eighth plan, the Mega city scheme was introduced in 1993-94 covering five mega
cities of Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Also IDSMT scheme was
revamped through it infrastructural development programs for boosting employment
generation for diverting migration from big cities to the small and medium towns.
The ninth plan, continued with the schemes of the eighth plan and also emphasized on
decentralization and financial autonomy of urban local bodies. A new program called
Swarna jayanti Shahari Rozgar yojna (SJSRY) in 1997 with two sub plan 1. Urban self-
employment program and 2. Urban wage employment programme, i.e. targeting for urban
poverty reduction and employment. It was decided by central government to revamp SJSRY
in 2013 as National urban Livelihood Mission (NULM).
The Tenth plan(2002-07) recognized the fact that urbanization played a key role in
accelerating the economic growth in 1980s and 1990s as a result of the economic
liberalization and also stressed that without strengthening the urban local bodies, the goal
of urbanization cannot be achieved.
The eleventh plan (2007-2012) introduced some innovative changes through capacity
building, increasing the efficiency and productivity of the cities, dismantling the monopoly
of public sector over urban infrastructure, using technology as a tool for rapid urbanization.
In thi s di recti on maj or i ni ti ati ve l aunched by central government was
JNNURM(Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban renewal mission) in 2005 for
focused and integrated development of the urban infrastructure and services, initially
for 63 cities. This program was to be continued till 2012, but it has been extended,
covering more number of cities.
Focus of JNNURM was on provisions for urban poor, including housing, water supply
and sanitation, urban transport, road network, and the development of inner/old city
areas, etc. The earlier programs, as mentioned above like Mega city, IDSMT, etc. were
merged with it.
Under JNNURM it was made mandatory for each cities to formulate City Development
Plan(CDP) for long term vision of development. It also aimed to make private players
part of urban development through PPP(Public private partnership)
Rajiv Awas Yojana, was launched in 2011 for creating slum free India as a pilot
project for two years. But now it has been extended till 2022. It is applicable to all
slums in the city whether notified or non-notified. It is also applicable to urban
homeless and pavement dwellers.
The 2011 Census was the first one that collected data on people living in slums that
have become commonplace in a rapidly urbanizing India. It found that around one out
of every six households in urban India (17.4%) is in a slum, and that well over one-third
of all slum households in the country (38%) are in cities with a population in excess of a
million.
The twelfth five year plan (2012-2017) proposed to consolidate JNNURM and envisaged its
wider role in urban reforms. During twelfth plan , the components of JNNURM are :-
Urban infrastructure governance(UIG)
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Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY)
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Slum rehabilitation in cities not covered under RAY
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Capacity building
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The plan has also highlighted the reasons which are acting as hurdles in the success of the
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program as:-
Failure to mainstream the urban planning
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Incomplete reform and slow progress in project implementation
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Delay in securing land for projects
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Delay in getting approval from various regulators
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Challenges in urban development
Institutional challenges
Urban Governance
74th amendment act has been implemented half-heartedly by the states, which has not
fully empowered the Urban local bodies (ULBs). ULBs comprise of municipal
corporations, municipalities and nagar panchayats, which are to be supported by state
governments to manage the urban development. For this , ULBs need clear delegation of
functions, financial resources and autonomy. At present urban governance needs
improvement for urban development, which can be done by enhancing technology,
administrative and managerial capacity of ULBs.
Planning
Planning is mainly centralized and till now the state planning boards and commissions
have not come out with any specific planning strategies an depend on Planning
commission for it. This is expected to change in present government, as planning
commission has been abolished and now focus is on empowering the states and
strengthening the federal structure.
In fact for big cities the plans have become outdated and do not reflect the concern of
urban local dwellers, this needs to be take care by Metropolitan planning committee as
per provisions of 74th amendment act. Now the planning needs to be decentralized and
participatory to accommodate the needs of the urban dwellers.
Also there is lack of human resource for undertaking planning on full scale. State
planning departments and national planning institutions lack qualified planning
professional. Need is to expand the scope of planners from physical to integrated
planning- Land use, infrastructure, environmental sustainability, social inclusion, risk
reduction, economic productivity and financial diversity.
Finances
Major challenge is of revenue generation with the ULBs. This problem can be analyzed form
two perspectives. First, the states have not given enough autonomy to ULBs to generate
revenues and Second in some case the ULBs have failed to utilize even those tax and fee
powers that they have been vested with.
There are two sources of municipal revenue i.e. municipal own revenue and assigned
revenue. Municipal own revenue are generated by municipal own revenue through
taxes and fee levied by them. Assigned revenues are those which are assigned to local
governments by higher tier of government.
There is growing trend of declining ratio of own revenue. There is poor collection
property taxes. Use of geographical information system to map all the properties in a
city can have a huge impact on the assessment rate of properties that are not in tax
net.
There is need to broaden the user charge fee for water supply, sewerage and garbage
disposal. Since these are the goods which have a private characteristics and no public
spill over, so charging user fee will be feasible and will improve the revenue of ULBs ,
along with periodic revision. Once the own revenue generating capacity of the cities
will improve, they can easily get loans from the banks. At present due to lack of
revenue generation capabilities, banks dont give loan to ULBs for further
development. For financing urban projects, Municipal bonds are also famous, which
work on the concept of pooled financing.
Regulator
There is exponential increase in the real estate, encroaching the agricultural lands.
Also the rates are very high, which are not affordable and other irregularities are also
in practice. For this, we need regulator, which can make level playing field and will be
instrumental for affordable housing and checking corrupt practices in Real estate
sector.
Infrastructural challenges
Housing
Housing provision for the growing urban population will be the biggest challenge before the
government. The growing cost of houses comparison to the income of the urban middle
class, has made it impossible for majority of lower income groups and are residing in
congested accommodation and many of those are devoid of proper ventilation, lighting,
water supply, sewage system, etc. For instance in Delhi, the current estimate is of a
shortage of 5,00,000 dwelling units the coming decades. The United Nations Centre for
Human Settlements (UNCHS) introduced the concept of Housing Poverty which includes
Individuals and households who lack safe, secure and healthy shelter, with basic
infrastructure such as piped water and adequate provision for sanitation, drainage and the
removal of household waste.
Safe Drinking Water
The safe drinking water sources are also found to be contaminated because of water in the
cities are inadequate and in the future, the expected population cannot be accommodated
without a drastic improvement in the availability of water. The expenses on water treatment
and reuse will grow manifold.
Sanitation
The poor sanitation condition is another gloomy feature in urban areas and particularly in
slums and unauthorized colonies of urban areas. The drainage system in many unorganized
colonies and slums are either not existing and if existing are in a bad shape and in bits
resulting in blockage of waste water. This unsanitary conditions lead to many sanitation
related diseases such as diahorrea and malaria. Unsafe garbage disposal is one of the
critical problem in urban areas and garbage management always remained a major
challenge.
Health conditions
The important indicators of human development are education and health. The health
condition of urban poor in some areas are even more adverse compared to rural areas. As
many as 20 million children in the developing countries are dying consequent to drinking
water. About 6, 00,000 persons are losing their lives on account of indoor air pollution
(Jagmohan, 2005).
The National Family Health Survey, 2006-07 has envisaged that a lot of women and children
are suffering from nutritional anaemia and diseases like tuberculosis and asthma are
occurring in good number. Providing health care services to the growing urban population
is major challenge before the government health care delivery system.
They have to take the help of private players as public health facilities are poor. In case of
migrants, they cannot take the benefit of government policies, so they have to pay very high
charges, which keep them in the vicious cycle of poverty. Urban education system also is
becoming elite in private institution due to limited seats and high charged fee. The condition
of public educational institution is dismal.
Urban public transport
As high income individual are buying more private vehicle and use less public transport.
Such huge number of vehicles in cities is causing more traffic jam, which in turn decreases
the efficiency of public transport. Also the penetration of public transport is less, which
make people use private vehicle. Public transport
is less disabled friendly. There is also lack of infrastructure and poor maintenance of
existing public transport infrastructure

Other challenges
Environmental concern
Vulnerability to risk posed by the increasing man-made and natural disasters. According to
UNDP 70 % of Indian population is at risk to floods and 60% susceptible to earthquakes.
The risk are higher in urban areas owing to density and overcrowding. Urban areas are
becoming heat islands, ground water is not being recharged and water crisis is persistent.
Here making, water harvesting compulsory will be beneficial
Urban Crime
Prevention of urban crime is another challenge before the government of States having
more number of urban areas and particularly metropolitan cities. The mega cities are facing
increased criminal activities on account of unchecked migration, illegal settlements and
diverse socio-cultural disparities, organized groups, gangsters, professional criminals for
wishing a lavish life in metropolis. The cities of Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru have
accounted for 16.2 percent, 9.5 percent and 8.1 percent respectively of the total crime
reported from 35 mega cities. Prevention of crime in mega cities is a challenge before the
city government in India.
Poverty
Roughly a third of the urban population today lives below the poverty line. There are glaring
disparities between haves and have-nots in urban areas. The most demanding of the urban
challenges, unquestionably is the challenge posed by poverty; the challenge of reducing
exploitation, relieving misery and creating more human condition for urban poor. There is
rise in urban inequality, as per UN habitat report, 2010, urban inequality in India rose from
34 to 38 % based on consumption in period of 1995 to 2005.
Provision of Employment
Providing gainful employment to the growing urban population is a major challenge before
the government. It is generally observed that the literate and semi-literate migrants are
absorbed with minimal works, carrying lower wage and more hour of work. The Un Habitat
Report (2003) has rightly remarked The cities have become a dumping ground for surplus
population working in unskilled, unprotected and low wage informal service industries and
trade.
The urban workers are increasingly being pushed into the informal sector and without any
adequate activities in the cities were carried on in public places like footpaths, open empty
spaces, parks or just in the streets. The plight of rickshaw pullers and street vendor is
widely noted and commented upon. As the rural agriculture sectors is shrinking day by day
the challenges before the urban sector to
provide viable employment to migrating population will be a daunting task in the coming
year.
Steps Taken by Government to improve urban Development
The Constitution (74th Amendment) Act
came into effect in 1993, emphasizes to strengthen urban planning, regulation of land use,
roads and bridges and providing urban amenities.
National Urban Transport Policy,2006:
Its main purpose is to provide affordable, comfortable, safe and rapid, reliable and
sustainable urban transport system, for the growing number of city resident to jobs,
education and recreation and such other needs with in our cities.
Encouraging integrated land use and transport planning in all cities so that travel distances
are minimized and access to livelihoods, education, and other social needs, especially for the
marginal segments of the urban population is improved
National Urban Renewal Mission(NURM), 2005
The primary objective of the JnNURM is to create economically productive, efficient,
equitable and responsive cities. The JnNURM consists of two sub-missions Urban
Infrastructure and Governance (UIG) and Basic Services for Urban Poor (BSUP).
The Mission focuses on: Integrated development of infrastructure services; securing
linkages between asset creation and maintenance for long run project sustainability;
accelerating the flow of investment into urban infrastructure services; planned development
of cities including the peri-urban areas, out growths, and urban corridors; renewal and re-
development of inner city areas;
Universalisation of urban services so as to ensure their availability to the urban poor.
Introduction to Metro trains
in Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore etc. are part of above mentioned initiatives. Recently cabinet
has also passes proposal for second phase of Bangalore Metro (Namma Metro). In addition
to this government has done many feasibility studies in Tier-II & III cities. Now one million
plus cities can go for metro project according to new urban policy.
Indias first monorail
It will be thrown open to the public, eight years after it was first proposed, with the
Maharashtra government. With this, India will join countries like the U.S., Germany, China,
Japan, Australia and Malaysia that run monorails.
Smart city concept
In the budget, 2014, it was projected for one hundred Smart cities, as satellite towns of
larger cities and modernizing the existing mid- sized cities. Though there is no clear
definition of smart cities, but it may include creative, cyber, digital, e-governed,
entrepreneurial, intelligent, knowledge, harnessing the power of Information and
communication technology (ICT). Smartness has to be there with respect to governance and
service delivery.
Its feature can be :-
e-governance (through Digital India initiative, National e-governance plan, National Optical
fiber network, e- panchayat project of MRD)
Continuous improvements in design and management
I
Climate oriented development
I
Mass transit oriented development
I
People centric technological applications (m-health, e- learning )
I
Planning can be bottom up for future urbanization
I
Smart PDS rationing
I
Social inclusive and economically diverse.
I
Swachh Bharat
Clean urban areas will attract tourists and can increase the economic diversity of the urban
dwellers and it will be also source for revenue generation for ULB.
Suggestions
There should be focussed attention to integrated development of infrastructure services in
cities covered under the Mission and there should be establishment of linkages between
asset-creation and asset-management through a slew of reforms for long-term project
sustainability ; Green building concepts should be implemented.
Along the lines suggested by the administrative reforms commission over seven years
ago, states should undertake activity mapping for municipal governments to be clear
about which activities are essentially for them to manage, which require them to act as
agents for higher tiers of government, and which involve sharing responsibility with other
tiers of government. There is no one size fits all here the answer will vary across
municipalities.
The office of an empowered mayor (instead of the municipal commissioner) must take
responsibility for administrative co-ordination internally between municipal
departments, and externally with state and central government agencies.
Urban planning mechanisms need an overhaul to unify land record keeping, integrate land
use with transport planning, and embed municipal plans into district and regional plans.
-local bodies should fill vacancies
I
-time tested master plans should be strengthen instead of preparing quick fix City
I
development plans
-populist policies and reforms should have their logical conclusion and should be not done
I
in great haste.
-land development should be the part of planning of urban development
I
-project management skills needs to be enhanced = timely completion of projects
I
-more PPP projects
I
Successful/Unique/Innovative examples of urban development model-
Kudumbshree model
It is social empowerment scheme, launched by the Government of Kerala in 1998
for wiping out absolute poverty from the State through concerted community
action under the leadership of Local Self Governments, Kudumbashree is today
one of the largest women-empowering projects in the country. The programme
has 41 lakh members and covers more than 50% of the households in Kerala. Built
a r o und t hr e e c r i t i c a l c o mpo ne nt s , mi c r o
credit, entrepreneurship and empowerment, the Kudumbashree initiative has
today succeeded in addressing the basic needs of the less privileged women, thus
providing them a more dignified life and a better future. Literal meaning of
Kudumbashree is prosperity (shree) of family (Kudumbam).
Chhattisgarh PDS model
State government has started managing information systems.It began
with computerization of Fair Prices Shops (FPS) and data related with stocks and sales
to enable swift allocation of grains. Mobile based applications including SMS alerts for
interested beneficiaries were offered which improved the access to information about
food grains lifted from godowns and their delivery at ration shops.
In Raipur, individuals are given the choice of the fair price shop of his/her liking,
flexibility of buying in smaller quantities rather than in only on transaction, etc.
Portability of ration card across the shops helped to improve customer satisfaction.
Solid waste management in OKHLA
Waste management is the concern for any urban city with respect to its safe disposal,
recycling of waste products and also generating energy from wastes.
Timarpur Okhla Municipal Solid Waste Management project is the first commercial
waste-to-energy facility in India that aims to convert one-third of the Delhi garbage into
the much-needed electricity, enough to serving 6 lakh homes. It has become the first to
get carbon credits from United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in
the country in 2013.
Delhi metro
It is one of the world-class metro. To ensure reliability and safety in train operations, it
is equipped with the most modern communication and train control system. For its
energy efficient practises, it has earned carbon credit points from UN.
Community policing for security
Community Policing for Students, adopting Student Police Cadet model of Kerala which
is a school-based youth development initiative that trains high school students by
inculcating in them respect for law, discipline, civic sense, empathy for vulnerable
sections of society and resistance to social evils.
The Kerala model, which is meant for all government, government-aided and private
unaided schools, imparts training to students through various camps and classroom
activities involving local police personnel who interact with them at regular intervals
with instructions on certain dos and donts.
The concept of the community policing is aimed at associating citizens with the local
police in solving neighbourhood problems in enforcing laws, preventing and detecting
crimes, restoring order and peace in the area and reducing crimes against women and
weaker sections.
Locating and reporting to the police about strangers and other persons of doubtful
character, assisting local police in patrolling at night in crime prone areas, ensuring
timely flow of crime related intelligence from the community to the police and ensuring
communal harmony through collective efforts particularly during festivals, religious
processions and public functions are some of the key functions of community policing.
Conclusion
Urbanization has undermined old forms of political mobilization based on caste and
religious identities and favors local issues to be resolved on right based approach.
Urbanisation has its impact on all aspects of day-to-day life. Family structure has also
been influenced by urbanisation. In the rural society the concept of family living is
different from that in the urban society.
In the urban society usually the families are nuclear, a very small percentage of
households have joint families, whereas in rural society most of the households have
joint families. This change in family structure is a direct result of urbanisation. In urban
areas, especially in the metropolitan cities, people of extremely divergent cultures live
together. This has a positive impact. People come to know about each others culture
and they exchange their ideas, breaking the barriers which earlier used to exist
between them. This results in cultural hybridisation.
Sources: Yojana, The Hindu and others
OCTOBER 2014
The Registration (Amendment) Bill, 2013
The Registration (Amendment) Bill, 2013 has been re-referred by the Speaker, Lok Sabha to the
Departmentally Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development for examination
and report.
The Registration (Amendment) Bill, 2013 seeks to amend the Registration Act, 1908. It inter alia
provides for compulsory registration for the leases of immovable property for any term, registration
of immovable property only in the State in which it is actually located.
Provisions in the Bill:
Under the Act it is not compulsory to register immovable property that is leased for less than one
I
year. The Bill makes registration compulsory, irrespective of the term of the lease of the
immovable property, that is, even property that is leased for less than one year must be registered.
It provides that wills, authority to adopt by a will and any documents notified by the state
I
government may be registered by the concerned parties.
The Bill prohibits registration in certain cases, specifically relating to transactions which (a) are
I
prohibited by any central or state act; (b) entail transfer of property owned by the central and state
governments or by any person who is not statutorily empowered to do so; (c) entail transfer of
property which is attached permanently by a competent authority; and (d) may adversely affect
accrued interest in immovable properties of the central, state and local governments and
educational, cultural, religious and charitable institutions.
It specifies that immovable property can only be registered in the state within which it is located.
I
Any person presenting a document at the registration office must affix a passport size colour
I
photograph, get photographed by a digital camera and affix their thumb impression on the
document.
The Bill makes new provisions relating to the recovery of inadequate payment of registration fee
I
and refund in case the fee paid is in excess of what is legally payable.
Amendments have been proposed as a result of the rapid computerisation of land records in the
I
country. For example, the Bill includes provisions for enclosing scanned copies of documents in
certain cases.
All banks and financial institutions that grant loans on the basis of equitable mortgage may send an
I
e-copy of the same to the registering officer under whose jurisdiction the property to be mortgaged
is situated.

Sources: PIB, prsindia.org.
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation in the field of oil and gas between
India and Mozambique
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister gave its approval for signing of a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) for cooperation in the field of oil and gas between India and Mozambique for a
period of five years.
Offshore gas discoveries in 2010 in two adjacent offshore blocks have seen the emergence of
Mozambique as a significant hydrocarbon rich nation. Mozambique is strategically located near
India and is ideally suited for bringing natural gas to India at market determined price. Participation
of Indian energy companies in the project will facilitate access to LNG for the growing Indian gas
market.
The MoU seeks cooperation in the areas of upstream and downstream oil and gas sector; encourage
and promote trade and investment between the parties or through their affiliated companies;
promote dialogue and consultations among all concerned parties with regard to sharing of
information; enhance capacity-building, including forging closer cooperation between research and
training centres and intensifying technology transfer, conduct of applied research and development
activities and installation of demonstration facilities.
Sources: PIB, Wiki.
Union Home Minister reviews the citizenship issue of Goans
The issue of dual citizenship, being faced by nearly 50,000 Goans, is likely to be settled soon with
Home Minister issuing an order to find a lasting solution to it at the earliest.
In the meeting, the Chief Minister of Goa briefed the participants on the present situation and
requested them to resolve the issue. The issue was discussed in detail by all participants. The Home
Minister asked the Home Secretary to find out an amicable solution at the earliest to resolve the
citizenship issue being faced by thousands of Goans.
The Union Home Ministry via a notification dated March 28, 1962, had notified the Goa, Daman and
Diu (Citizenship) Order, 1962, under Section 7 of the Citizenship Act 1955, which ensured that every
person who or either of whose parents or any of whose grandparents was born before December 20,
1961, in the then Union Territories of Goa, Daman and Diu, shall be deemed to have become citizens
of India on that day, except where any such person had made a declaration in writing within one
month that he had chosen to retain the citizenship which he had immediately before December 20,
1961.
Many people in Goa have registered their names in the Portuguese birth registry, a facility they
were offered by Portugal as citizens of their erstwhile colony, to get access to the European Union in
pursuit of better career and economic prospects.
Sources: PIB, www.business-standard.com/.
India and Oman Sign Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement
The Union Home Minister and the Minister of Commerce & Industry, Sultanate of Oman signed
Agreement on Legal and Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters between the two countries.
The Agreement provides for substantial engagement in the areas of pursuing and eliminating
transnational crimes and terrorism in its different forms.
The Memorandum of Agreement also contains provisions for transfer of documents, records and
objects, search and seizure, availability of persons to give evidence and assist in investigation. The
Agreement will also be a deterrent to those who directly or indirectly obtain benefit from proceeds
of crime.
India and Oman enjoy friendly bilateral relations based on strong foundation of mutual trust and
respect and people to people linkages. Oman is an important trading partner of India in the Gulf
region with bilateral trade exceeding US$ 5.70 billion in 2013-14. The contribution of over 700,000
strong Indian community in the progress and development of Oman is well acknowledged and
appreciated.
Sources: PIB.
Ratification of the Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur supplementary protocol on liability and redress
to the Cartagena protocol on biosafety by India
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister gave its approval for ratifying the `Nagoya-
KualaLumpur supplementary protocol on liability and redress to the Cartagena protocol on bio-
safety` by India.
The proposed approach provides for an international regulatory framework in the field of liability
and redress related to living modified organisms that reconciles trade and environment protection.
The Supplementary Protocol would promote sound application of biotechnology making it possible to
accrue benefits arising from modern biotechnology while minimizing the risk to the environment and
human health.
The proposal will protect the interests of all Indians without distinction or differentiation.
The proposal is based on the principles of the Convention on Biological Diversity and Cartagena
Protocol on Biosafety, both internationally negotiated and binding legal instruments. It will promote
innovation in agricultural and healthcare research and development that is safe for the environment
and human beings.
About the Protocol:
The Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress is a supplementary
protocol to the Cartagena protocol on Biosafety. After several years of negotiations, the Parties to
the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety adopted the Supplementary Protocol on 15 October 2010, in
Nagoya, Japan.
The Supplementary Protocol aims to contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of
biodiversity by providing international rules and procedures for liability and redress in the event of
damage resulting from living modified organisms (LMOs).
The Supplementary Protocol fulfils the commitment set forth in Article 27 of the Cartagena Protocol
to elaborate international rules and procedures on liability and redress for damage to biodiversity
resulting from transboundary movements of LMOs. It is also inspired by Principle 13 of the 1992 Rio
Declaration on Environment and Development which calls on States to cooperate in an expeditious
and more determined manner to develop further international law regarding liability and
compensation for adverse effects of environmental damage caused by activities within their
jurisdiction or control.
The Supplementary Protocol takes an administrative approach whereby response measures are
required of the operator (person or entity in control of the LMO) or the competent authority if the
operator is unable to take response measures. This would cover situations where event of damage to
biological diversity has already occurred, or when there is a sufficient likelihood that damage will
result if timely response measures are not taken.
However, countries can still provide for civil liability in their domestic law and the first review of the
Supplementary Protocol (five years after its entry into force) will assess the effectiveness of
domestic civil liability regimes. This could trigger further work on an international civil liability
regime.
The Supplementary Protocol is the second liability and redress treaty to be concluded in the context
of multilateral environmental agreements next to the 1999 Protocol on Liability and Compensation to
the Basel Convention on the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes.
Sources: PIB, http://www.gmo.hr/.
Two-thirds of prison inmates are undertrials
New official data show that two of every three persons incarcerated in India have not yet been
convicted of any crime, and Muslims are over-represented among such undertrials.
Despite repeated Supreme Court orders on the rights of undertrials, the jails are filling ever faster
with them, shows Prisons Statistics for 2013 released by the National Crime Records Bureau. The
number of convicts grew by 1.4 per cent from 2012 to 2013, but the number of undertrials shot up
by 9.3 per cent during the period.
Men make up 96 per cent of all prison inmates. Nearly 2,000 children of women inmates live behind
bars, 80 per cent of those women being undertrials.
A sharp increase in the number of undertrials charged with crimes against women contributes to the
rise in the number of all undertrials. The number of those incarcerated on charges of rape rose by
over 30 per cent from 2012 to 2013, and the number facing charges of molestation grew by over 50
per cent. The number of men convicted of rape rose dramatically too, by 16 per cent the biggest
increase among major sections of the Indian Penal Code.
Undertrials are younger than convicts nearly half are under the age of 30 and over 70 per cent
have not completed school. Muslims form 21 per cent of them. On the other hand, 17 per cent of
those convicted are Muslims.
These numbers point to a failure of the delivery of justice, and it also appears that the system is
unequally unjust. The disproportionate presence of members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes and Muslims among undertrials points not simply to a technical breakdown but also to the
increased vulnerability of these groups.
Among the 2.8 lakh undertrials, over 3,000 have been behind bars for over five years. Between them,
Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are home to 1,500 of those undertrials. Most undertrials 60 per cent of
them have, however, been behind bars for less than six months. While most States have a little
over twice as many undertrials as convicts, Bihar has a staggering six times as many.
The NCRB numbers also provide the only insight available into the number of people on death row;
at the end of 2013, 382 persons had been sentenced to death and were awaiting either legal relief or
the execution of sentence.
Sources: The Hindu.
7 new frog species reported from Western Ghats and Sri Lanka
A team of researchers from India and Sri Lanka has discovered seven new species of Golden-backed
frogs in the Western Ghats-Sri Lanka global biodiversity hot spot, throwing new light on the highly-
distinct and diverse fauna in the two countries.
The results show that the frogs in Sri Lanka and those in India belong to distinctly different species.
It was earlier believed that some of the Golden-backed frogs ( Genus Hylarana ) found in the two
countries were of the same species.
The team, led by Delhi Universitys Prof used DNA techniques and morphological evidence as tools
to identify species and understand the frogs distribution.
The survey yielded 14 distinct Golden-backed frogs, with seven new species, including one (
Hylarana serendipi ) from Sri Lanka. Of the six new species from the Western Ghats, four ( H. doni,
H.urbis, H.magna and H sreeni ) are found in Kerala and one each in Karnataka ( H. indica ) and
Maharashtra ( H.caesari ).
The distribution pattern of the species highlights the need to reassess the conservation status of the
amphibians and work out separate conservation strategies.
The study also indicates that frogs in the region are under threat due to habitat destruction.
Interestingly, one of the newly-named species, Hylarana urbis , had remained unnoticed though its
habitat is in urban areas in and around Kochi and is under threat due to human activity.
Globally, Golden-backed frogs are one of the most widely-distributed group of frogs. Their
distribution extends across Africa, Asia and Australia.
The land bridge connection between the Indian subcontinent and the island of Sri Lanka that existed
50,000 years ago led to the assumption that two Golden-backed frog species ( Hylarana aurantiaca
and H temporalis ) were common to both the countries.
At present, there are nearly 200 known amphibian species in the Western Ghats, of which 100 were
discovered only in the last 15 years.
Sources: The Hindu.
India slips further in ease of business ranking
India ranked 142 among the 189 countries surveyed for the latest World Banks Ease of Doing
Business report released recently, a drop by two places from the last years ranking, as Singapore
topped the list.
The fall in ranking from last years 140 is mainly because other nations performed much better,
Bank officials said. Indias ranking originally stood at 134 last year, but was adjusted to 140 to
account for fresh data.
In the 2014 report, India had 52.78 points and this year it scored 53.97 points.
The latest ranking, however, does not take into account a slew of measures taken by the New
government to make India a business friendly destination.
Appreciative of the steps taken by the new government, World Bank officials said that there was a
very high likelihood of India significantly jumping up the ladder in the next report.
Sources: The Hindu.
Conditional nod from WHO for new drug to treat MDR TB
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed a new drug to stem the global spread of multi-
drug resistant (MDR) tuberculosis, but has cautioned that its use must follow a set of guidelines
issued by it.
Pointing out that since information about this new drug, Delamanid, remains limited, as it has only
been through Phase IIb trial [the phase specifically designed to study efficacy how well the drug
works at the prescribed dosage] and studies for safety and efficacy, the WHO has issued interim
policy guidance that lists five conditions that must be in place if the new drug is used to for
treatment of MDR-TB.
According to the WHO 4,80,000 people developed MDR-TB in the world in 2013 and more than half
of these cases occurred in India, China and the Russian federation. Almost 84,000 patients with
MDR-TB were notified to the WHO globally in 2012, up from 62,000 in 2011. The biggest increases
were in India, South Africa and Ukraine. The new drug is being described as a novel mechanism of
action for treatment of adults with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). (MDR-TB is TB that
does not respond to at least isoniazid and rifampicin, the two most powerful anti-TB drugs.)
Delamanid has been granted conditional approval by the European Medicine Agency in April 2014
and can be used for the treatment of tuberculosis resistant to at least isoniazid and rifampicin, the
main first-line drugs.
The WHO has advocated special caution for the use of Delamanid in people aged 65 and over, in
adults living with HIV, patients with diabetes, hepatic or severe renal impairment, or those who use
alcohol or substances.
WHO has cautioned that When Delamanid is included in treatment, all principles on which the
WHO-recommended MDR-TB treatment regimens are based must be followed, particularly the
inclusion of four effective second-line drugs as well as pyrazinamide. Delamanid should not be
introduced alone into a regimen in which the companion drugs are failing to show effectiveness.
Sources: The Hindu.
India third largest start-up ecosystem in world: Nasscom
India is the fastest growing and third largest start-up ecosystem in the world after the U.S. and the
U.K., according to a Nasscom (National Association of Software and Services Companies) a study.
The study, India Start-up Report 2014, by Nasscom also says India is poised to see a rapid growth in
the number of product start-up operational by 2020. At present, there are around 3,100 start-ups in
India, and is expected to grow to 11,500 by the end of 2020, says the study.
The Indian start-up ecosystem is rapidly evolving driven by extremely young, diverse and inclusive
entrepreneurial landscape. An additional driving force is a four-fold increase in access to capital
through VCs, angel investment and seed funding for the Indian entrepreneurs.
Further, the study says the rapid growth in start-up will create an employment for around 250,000
people by 2020 as against the current 75,000.
The Nasscom study also states that in the last five years there were more than 70 VC/PE have
investment worth over $2 billion in the domestic start-up ecosystem. According to Nasscom data,
there were over 20 merger and acquisition deals worth $ 1billion in the last three years.
The presence of more than 80 business incubators and accelerators providing seed stage support to
start-ups is also another major reason for the growth of start-ups in the country. Major cities such as
Bangalore, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune and Chennai account for 90 per cent of the start-
up activity.
Sources: The Hindu.
School of Planning and Architecture Bill, 2014
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister gave its approval to introduce the School of
Planning and Architecture Bill, 2014 in the Parliament to bring all three Schools of Planning and
Architecture(SPAs) within the ambit of the School of Planning and Architecture Bill, 2014. The Bill
would adhere to Government policies on reservations from time to time. The proposed Act will
empower these Schools to award degrees through an Act of Parliament.
This would enable the School of Planning and Architecture to become centres of excellence like IITs,
NITs and help fulfil the need of the country for quality manpower in the field of architecture and
planning.
All the money spent from public exchequer will be accounted for and audited by the Comptroller and
Auditor General of India. Annual Report and Audited Accounts of each SPA will be placed before
Parliament.
Sources: PIB.

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