India to set up an autonomous nuclear regulatory authority

• The government will introduce a bill in the nest session of parliament to create an independent and autonomous Nuclear Regulatory Authority of India that will subsume the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB)
• This was decided at a meeting convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the current status of the 9,000 MW Jaitapur nuclear project and the impact of Japan's Fukushima atomic tragedy on India's nuclear programme.
• The meeting also decided to use best available expertise to ensure the highest levels of safety.
• The government will invite the Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) of the International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA) to assist its own safety reviews and audit. Each of the six reactors in Jaitapur will have their own individual stand alone safety and operation systems
• The government has also decided that the initial results of the six safety review committees set up by the prime minister after the Fukushima accident in Japan will be made public and action taken on previous safety reviews will be put in the public domain.
  

Rajasthan solar experiments: bird sanctuary, dargah go green

• As part of its plans to tap the solar energy option that is abundant in the state, solar plants have already been set up at the Ajmer dargah and measures are afoot to do the same at the Keoladeo National Park in Bharatpur. Also on the list is the tourist hotspot Chittorgarh fort, one of the largest forts in Rajasthan.
• Officials said that at the dargah in Ajmer a 20 KW plant has been installed to function at least for six hours when the sun is out in full force. The plant has been set up under a Central government demonstration project.
• While providing power for lighting purposes inside the dargah, the plant also enables solar water heaters to function to provide hot water to devotees.
• "We have installed solar water heaters of 500 litres and 1500 litres capacity to heat the water used by devotees to perform their pre-namaz ablutions. Earlier wood and electric heaters were used for the purpose," said R R Chowdhry, an official of the Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Limited, the state's nodal agency for promoting and developing non-conventional energy.
• At the Keoladeo National Park at Bharatpur, a World Heritage Site, the authority is setting up plants to equip pumps and tubewells to function with solar energy. "The ponds at the park need to be kept filled with water for birds to remain there. The tubewells and pumps used to pull water to the ponds are being turned solar," he said.
• Besides, an 8 KW plant has also been installed to make the office and the museum at the sanctuary solar sufficient. This includes the computers at the sanctuary's office and the water heaters, that will now draw energy from the sun.
• The Rs 1 crore Bharatpur project is expected to be implemented by October this year. A portion of the power needed at the sanctuary will come from renewable source, though conventional sources will continue to be used.
• The bird sanctuary hosts thousands of rare species of birds including the Siberian Crane, and over 230 birds have made the park their home.
• At Chittorgarh, a major tourist destination of the state, an 8 KW plant will supply power to some sections of the fort.
• Solar energy will be used to generate power to illuminate the two main towers of the fort -- the Vijay Stambh and the Kirti Stambh.
• Rajasthan government has drawn up a solar energy policy to promote the use of the energy from the sun as an alternate source of power. The policy was cleared by the cabinet earlier this month.

More funds for cleaning the Ganga

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic (CCEA) Affairs on Thursday approved a Rs 7000-crore project for cleaning of River Ganga to be implemented by the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA).
• The share of central government will be Rs 5,100 crore and that of the State governments of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal will be Rs 1,900 crore.
• The World Bank has agreed in-principle to provide a loan assistance of USD one billion (approx Rs 4,600 crore) for the NGRBA project which will form part of the central share of the project.
• The duration of the project will be eight years. NGRBA was constituted in February, 2009 as an empowered planning, financing, monitoring and coordinating authority for the Ganga River under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
• The objective of the Authority, which is chaired by the Prime Minister, is to ensure conservation of the river Ganga by comprehensive planning and management, adopting a river basin approach.
• The project is envisaged as the first phase in a long-term programme of World Bank support to NGRBA.
• The project, which will support NGRBA's objective of Mission Clean Ganga, has been designed keeping in view the lessons learnt from the previous Ganga Action Plan and international river clean-ups.
• The project will have components relating to institutional development for setting up dedicated institutions for implementing the NGRBA programme, setting up Ganga Knowledge Centre and strengthening environmental regulators (Pollution Control Boards) and local institutions.
• It will also have components relating to infrastructure investments including for municipal sewage, industrial pollution, solid wastes and river front management, and project implementation support.
• Meanwhile, the CCEA also cleared an intensified malaria control programme for the seven north-eastern States at a cost of Rs 417 crore. The programme is being run under the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) with support from Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM - Round 9).
• The approval envisages continuance of erstwhile Global Fund Supported Intensified Malaria Control Project (IMCP-I) (2005-10) with revised geographical focus in high endemic seven north-eastern States for accelerated control of malaria, a government spokesperson said.
  

STOCKHOLM CONVENTION ON PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS (POPs)

http://www.pops.int/documents/meetings/poprc/about.htm

Facts about Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant

Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant derived its name From Jaitapur lighthouse which is mentioned in many international maps. Government of India has decided to promote nuclear power at a large scale in view of rapidly rising demand for electricity, limited and depleting fossil resources, environmentally benign and safe nature of nuclear power etc. Accordingly, Government of India accorded its sanction in October 2005 to set up the Nuclear Power Plant at Jaitapur besides three other locations.

 Technical and Economic Reasons for Selection of  Jaitapur Site

 The Site Selection Committee recommended setting up a nuclear power plant at Jaitapur, based on the suitability of meeting criteria like  which include availability of land vs. population density, available source of cooling water , seismicity, safe-grade elevation at site (flood analysis etc), environment aspects and proper access for transportation of heavy/over-dimensional equipment to plant site. Along with these conditions and based on some other considerations the Government approved Jaitapur site for the establishment of the NPP.
The site selection for is carried out by the Site Selection Committee, notified by the Government of India which selects site for  setting up a nuclear power plant, revied various parameters as per the requirements laid down in the code of Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and the laid-down criteria.

 
Earthquake-prone Site

 The Jaitapur site is not considered earthquake-prone. As per seismic zoning map of Government of India, Jaitapur site falls within zone III. The longitude and latitude of the land covered for Jaitapur nuclear power project are given below:

Latitude of JNPP site: 16° 34' 38" N to 16° 36' 29" N
Longitude of JNPP site: 73° 19' 02" E to 73° 20' 48" E

 As per the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) codal requirement, there should not be any active fault within 5 km radius from the proposed site of an NPP. Further, based on the studies carried out by various government institutes/ organisations, there is no active fault found up to 30 km radius from JNPP site. Hence, the site is not considered earthquake-prone. This is to further confirm that based on the available data of seismicity prevailing in the geographical region, all the structures, buildings and equipments of JNPP would be designed to qualify the "ground motion acceleration"

 

Benefits of the Project

 
The benefits of project are-

 i) The project will augment electricity generation in the country, in a benign and environment-friendly way, which is the need of the hour.
ii) Development of areas around project site.
iii) Direct and indirect employment opportunities.
iv) Contribution of National Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) in social and community development of surrounding areas, especially nearby villages, in the field of education, health and infrastructure facilities.

 
Generation Capacity of JNPP

 One unit of 1650 MWe plant operating at full capacity shall generate 36-39 million units per day. Presently, generation capacity of six units is 1650 MWe capacity each. Evolutionary Pressurised Reactors (EPR) from AREVA, France is under consideration of the Government of India.

 
Number  of  Reactor Units

 There will be six reactor units of 1650 MWe each at JNPP. The distance between each adjacent reactor unit is planned to be 250-300 meters.

 
Completion of Project

 
5 to 6 months' time is required to declare commercial operation after completion of construction. The time required for completion of each unit is approximately six years  from the start date. Approximately all the six units of 1650 MWe each will be constructed in a twin-unit mode in phased manner and implemented in a period of 15-18 years.

 
Life Span of Each Plant

 The guaranteed life of the proposed plant is 60 years.

 

 Type of Fuel

 
This plant will be "PWR-type", based on enriched uranium fuel. Irrespective of the fuel type, all the safety guidelines based on International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)/Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) regulations are strictly adhered to by NPCIL to ensure that there is no adverse effect on environment, health and life of people through air, sea and land as a result of the operation of the NPP.The uranium will be supplied by AREVA, France, which will be also supplying the reactor units.

 
Source of Fresh Water

 The fresh water requirement of the plant units and the proposed residential complex of JNPP will be met from a desalination plant facility installed by (NPCIL).

Committee Studying Effects of Endosulfan being asked to Expedite Report.

An all party delegation from Kerala met the Prime Minister on Friday, 22 April, 2011 urging him to impose a nationwide ban on the use of Endosulfan, an organic insecticide used in agricultural operations. Explaining the ill effects of the Endosulfan, members of the delegation stated that the use of this insecticide had led to serious health hazards in Kasargod district of Kerala. They urged the Central Government to take up this issue in the Stocholm Convention for a worldwide ban on the use of this insecticide. 

 The Prime Minister informed the delegation on the 22nd and Shri Oommen Chandy and Shri Ramesh Chennithala today that the Government of India has an open mind on the issue. The use of Endosulfan has been banned in Kerala. However, imposing a nationwide ban would require national consensus backed by scientific study. A committee chaired by the DG, ICMR is presently examining the harmful effects of Endosulfan on the health of people. The Committee would be asked to expedite its report. Based on the findings a view would be taken in the best interest of the country. 

 

Record food production in 2010-11

• India's food production crossed 235 million tonnes during 2010-11 as per the latest estimates and this is the highest since Independence, S. Ayyappan, Director-General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, said on Saturday.
• In 2010-11, the country produced 30.2 million tonnes of oilseeds, and 17.2 million tonnes of pulses — which had never crossed the 15 million tonne-mark in the past — apart from 94.5 million tonnes of rice and 84 million tonnes of wheat. Maize production was 30 million tonnes, sugarcane 340 million tonnes and cotton 39 million bales.
• The record food production was possible, thanks to a good monsoon, spread uniformly across the country barring parts of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and a few districts of West Bengal. More important, it was backed up by vigorous monitoring of crops with timely technological interventions, and integrated pest management modules were implemented. Timely supply of inputs and a strong disease surveillance mechanism helped to augment production.
  

Nutrient-based subsidy

Dr. Ayyappan attributed the rise in production partly to the introduction of a nutrient-based subsidy, which encourages farmers to use micronutrients depending on deficiency, unlike the earlier rampant use of nitrogen fertilizers.

Food production could be doubled if a good variety of seeds were made available to farmers, if weeds and pests were controlled and if post-harvest losses were reduced, he said. However, Indian agriculture was grappling with major problems including a reduction in land due to urbanisation. An area of 142 million hectares was under agriculture but it could be shrinking.

To overcome this problem, authorities were contemplating increasing cropping intensity by which farmers would be encouraged to opt for multiple cropping, diversify into horticultural crops and take up inter-cropping and short-duration crops, all of which could help to maintain soil fertility.

Degradation of land, soil alkalinity and emergence of new crop diseases in the wake of changing climatic conditions were other factors that could affect agriculture. Hence the government was establishing laboratories to study the biotic and abiotic stress factors on crops, said Dr. Ayyappan.

To augment food production, the emphasis would shift from primary to secondary agriculture in the next Five-Year Plan, he said. Secondary agriculture includes value addition, post-harvest crop management and quality assurance.

49-O Rule

Rule 49-O is a rule in The Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 of India, which governs elections in the country. It describes the procedure to be followed when a valid voter decides not to cast his vote, and decides to record this fact. The apparent purpose of this section is to prevent the election fraud or the misuse of votes.

Since the ballot paper / Electronic voting machine (EVM) contains only the list of candidates, a voter cannot record his vote under Section 49-O directly. He must inform the presiding officer at the election booth. This violates the secrecy of the ballot. However, with paper ballot a different method is used to "waste" ones vote, which is stamping on multiple candidates. In fact this was the standard method of giving null votes without violating secrecy before the advent of the EVM.

At present, in an election, a winner will be declared irrespective of the number of 'non-votes'. However, a note of every 'non-vote' will be made with the Election Officer, and the total number of non-voters will, presumably, be available under the Right to Information Act.

Goodluck Jonathan has won Nigeria’s presidential election

President Goodluck Jonathan has won Nigeria's presidential election by securing 60.02 percent of the vote, results showed, he will be sworn-in on 29th May to serve a four-year tenure after which he is free to go for a second term.

• Jonathan, 64, beat his main rival Muhammadu Buhari of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) by a wide margin, with Bukhari capturing only 30 percent of the vote, the country's Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
• Jonathan – a Christian from the oil-producing Niger Delta – was the clear front-runner among several candidates going into the race. His main opponent Buhari, a former military ruler, is from the Muslim north.
• Jonathan came to power last year when his predecessor died in office following a lengthy illness.
• The former governor of southern Bayelsa state was born to a family of canoe makers in the riverine town of Otuoke situated in the oil-rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria.
• He is the first president to come from the Southern minority group that has been agitating for resource control since petroleum exploration started in the early seventies.
• Jonathan will be sworn-in on 29^th May to serve a four-year tenure after which he is free to go for a second term.
• Nigeria with a population of 150 million is divided between a largely Muslim North and mostly Christian South.
• The oil-rich country returned to democratic system in 1999 after several years of military rule. It has conducted elections every four years since then.
• It is the third time general elections are being held in Nigeria since military rule ended.
• The previous ones – in 2003 and 2007 – were marred by allegations of widespread rigging, voter intimidation and ballot vote snatching.

India Ready to Test Barak-2 Missile in the Current Year

• The much anticipated test-flight of the Indo-Israeli Barak-2 long range surface-to-air missile (LR-SAM) will take place this year. Currently, the Barak -2 LR-SAM is undergoing simulated tests in Israel. The Barak-2 LR-SAM is being developed and produced for both the Indian and the Israeli militaries and is capable of multiple engagements and providing defence against a host of airborne platforms and munitions from short as well as medium ranges.
• The state-run Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) is the main developer of the Barak-2 LR-SAM and roughly 70 per cent of the missile content is indigenous. The main partner in this missile development programme is the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). The Barak-2 missile system, at an estimated cost of $ 581 million, has reached the final stage. The venture is a tripartite one between the DRDO, the Indian Navy, and IAI and was initiated in 2007. The Barak-2 missiles are to equip the three guided missile destroyers of the Project 15A class which will join the Indian Navy in one year intervals beginning in 2012. In the first phase, the missile will arm the three Kolkata-class destroyers and each ship will have four vertical launch units (VLUs), each housing eight missiles.
• The Barak missile will be used as a point-defense system on warships, defending against aircraft, anti-ship missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles. The missile can hit targets at a range of 70-100 kilometres. These missiles are mounted in an eight-cell container and are launched straight up. The radar system provides 360 degree coverage while the missiles can take down an incoming target as close as 500 meters from the ship.
• The Barak-2 LR-SAM will fulfill the longer-range requirement of the Indian defense system. The first test of the missile was held in Israel last year when the Barak-II missile was successfully test fired at an electronic target and met with its initial objectives. The second test of the missile will be held in India later this year and the missile will be integrated by Indian technicians.
• Earlier this month, a high level Israeli team had visited India to discuss various details pertaining to the missile programme. In fact, a second variant called the Medium-Range SAM (MR-SAM) is also being developed for the Indian Air Force (IAF) at a cost of $ 2.2 billion. The project, signed in 2009, is expected to replace all the IAF's aging Soviet-made Pechora SAM missiles. Besides this, a 100 kilometres range theatre defence version called the Extended Range SAM is being developed for the four Project 15B destroyers as well.

The Enforcement Directorate

Its Headquarters is at New Delhi has seven zones at Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Jalandhar, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Bangalore. The offices are headed by the Deputy Directors. The Directorate has nine sub-zones at Agra. Srinagar, Jaipur, Varanasi, Trivandrum, Calicut, Hyderabad, Guwahati Pajjim which are headed by the Assistant Directors. The Directorate has also a unit at Madurai which is headed by a Chief Enforcement Officer. Besides, there are three Special Directors of Enforcement and one Additional Director of Enforcement and two Deputy Director at Head Office

FUNCTIONS

The main functions of the Directorate are as under
1 To enforce Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999 and Prevention of money Laundering Act 2002.
2 To collect and develop intelligence relating to violation of the provisions of Foreign Exchange Management Act and Prevention of money Laundering Act 2002.
3 To conduct searches of suspected persons, conveyances and premises and seize incriminating materials (including Indian and foreign currencies involved)
4 To enquire into and investigate suspected violations of provisions of Foreign Exchange Management Act and Prevention of money Laundering Act 2002.
5 To adjudicate cases of violations of Foreign Exchange Management Act penalties departmentally and also for confiscating the amounts involved in violations.
6 To realize the penalties imposed in departmental adjudication;
7 To attach and confiscate properties involved in the act of Money laundering.
8 To arrest the person suspected to be involved in the act of money laundering.
9 To prosecute the person involved in the act of money laundering.
In addition to the above functions relating to the Foreign Exchange Management Act. Directorate also processes and recommends cases for detention of habitual offender under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act,1974 (COFEPOSA), which provides interalia for detention of a person with a intention of preventing him from acting in a manner prejudicial to the conservation and augmentation of exchange.

India’s exports post 37.1 p.c. rise during 2010-11

• India's exports posted an impressive 37.1 per cent rise at $245.9 billion for the fiscal ending 2010-11. During March 2011, the growth stood at 43.9 per cent at $29.1 billion.
• Trade deficit figure has come down to $10.4.4 billion
• Engineering goods by far constituted the largest component of the exports entailing considerable domestic value addition and engineering exports crossed $60 billion registering a growth of 84.76 per cent. Petroleum products export stood in the range of $42.45 billion registering a growth of 50.58 per cent. Gems and Jewellery sector which is a considerable employer of people saw an export of $33.54 billion showing a growth of 15.34 per cent. Drugs and pharmaceuticals sectors for which India has gained a considerable global reputation saw total exports of $10.32 billion showing a growth of 15.08 per cent.
• In the readymade garments exports crossed $11.1 billion showing a growth of 4.23 per cent. Cotton yarn 34 fabrics saw an export of $5.66 billion registering a growth of 42.87 per cent. Exports of carpet, jute and leather which are the labour intensive sectors assured considerable dynamism in growth. Agricultural exports and allied sectors including tea, coffee, tobacco, spices, cashew, oil meals, fruit and vegetables and marine products crossed the $12.92 billion. Iron ore exports have actually gone down by 25 per cent at $4.5 billion.

India, Kazakhstan sign pacts

• The two countries moved a step towards more intensive collaboration in nuclear energy with the signing of the Agreement on Cooperation in Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy but this is subject to both sides "adhering to their existing obligations under multilateral nuclear regimes."
• They also inked a memorandum in the area of information security and India agreed to set up an Indian-Kazakhstan Centre of Excellence in the Eurasian University in Astana.
• The Prime Minister highlighted the pacts on nuclear energy, mutual legal assistance, agriculture, cyber security and healthcare and hoped that diversification would take place in pharmaceuticals, IT, mining, fertilizers and science & technology to broad base bilateral ties.
• This biggest and economically most virile Central Asian country has always appreciated Indian culture and Bollywood movies ranging from Raj Kapoor-Dilip Kumar starrers to ones featuring new age actors such as Neha Dhupia and Aishwaria Rai.
• The summit meeting follows a two-day Pakistan-Kazakhstan Joint Ministerial Commission in Islamabad which basically focussed on strengthening trade and investment ties.

PSLV-C16 launched three satellites

The PSLV-C16 will put into orbit three satellites — India's remote-sensing satellite Resourcesat-2; an India-Russian satellite named Youthsat; and a mini-satellite, X-Sat, from the Nangyang Technological University of Singapore.

Resourcesat-2, weighing 1206 kg, has a rare combination of three cameras with high, medium and coarse resolutions. The high resolution cameras can take both black & white and colour pictures. It can take images of land as wide as 70 km. The images can be used for locating ground water or minerals, estimate crop acreage, find out the health of the crops, identify rich fishing zones in the sea, categorise wastelands that can help in their reclamation, map coastal zones, keep a watch on water-bodies such as reservoirs, lakes and canals, and so on.

Resourcesat-2 has an additional payload called Automatic Identification System from Canada. This can provide information on the position of ships, their speed etc. The satellite has a mission life of five years.

The 92-kg Youthsat has three payloads — one from Russia and two from the ISRO. They can be used to study the ionosphere, solar X-ray fluxes and their effect on the upper layers of the earth's atmosphere.

The 106-kg X-Sat is a remote-sensing satellite. It can take images of the earth, process them and transmit more refined images to the ground.

Poverty rate declines from 37.2% to 32%

• The latest data of the Planning Commission indicates that poverty has declined to 32 per cent in 2009-10 from 37.2 per cent five years ago.The preliminary estimates are based on the formula suggested by the Tendulkar Committee for computing the number of poor.
• The Tendulkar Committee had suggested that poverty be estimated on the basis of consumption based on the cost of living index instead of caloric intake. It said that the basket of goods should also include services such as health and education. The new poverty line, as suggested by the Tendulkar Committee, is different for rich and poor States, and for rural and urban areas within a State. "These are preliminary data. Mr. Sen has worked on them. He has reported that the 2009-10 data shows a decline in poverty from 37.2 per cent in 2004 to 32 per cent in 2009. I agree with him," Dr. Ahluwalia said

Cabinet panel's nod for roll out of e-district project

• The Union Cabinet's Committee on Infrastructure on Wednesday approved the rollout of the e-district mission mode project in all the 640 districts of the country, including the 41 districts where pilot projects of the scheme have already been initiated.
• The e-district project is part of the national e-governance plan approved by the Centre in 2006 to make all government services accessible to the common man in his locality, through common service delivery outlets at affordable costs and in the most efficient, transparent and reliable manner.
• The project is estimated to cost Rs. 1,663 crore, out of which government's share is estimated at Rs. 1,233 crore. The States will bear the balance estimated cost of Rs. 430 crore.
• The project envisages modernisation of offices and sub-offices of district administration and automation of various government processes. Citizens would be able to track their applications and requests for various government services online.
  

Ramaswamy panel proposes common entrance test for engineering colleges

• Coming close on the heels of a common entrance test for undergraduate medical courses, the government now proposes to hold a single test for admissions to engineering and technical courses, including that of Indian Institutes of Technology. The proposed National Aptitude Test will benefit more than seven lakh students annually, who at present have to take multiple examinations to get into engineering courses.
• The objective behind holding the National Aptitude Test is to reduce psychological and financial stress on students and give more emphasis on class 12th results than coaching, T. Ramaswamy, Secretary Department of Science and Technology has suggested in his report. He had been entrusted with the task of "re-looking" at the test methodology of selecting students and having a common system for admission for the IITs, Indian Institutes of Science, Engineering and Research, Nation Institutes of Technology, and other engineering colleges.
  

BRICS: Shifting global Calculus

• Multilateral groupings existed before between the BRICS states, such as the trilateral meetings of Russia-China-India (taking off from Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov's suggestion in December 1998), India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA –from 2003), Brazil-South Africa-India-China (BASIC) on climate change proposals at the 2009 Copenhagen Summit meeting, these initiatives remained either geographically confined or limited in focus.
  
• The third meeting at Sanya thus expands not only the geographical reach of the grouping to include Africa, but also increased the number of issues like exploring cooperation in local currencies, curbing cross-border capital flows in emerging economies, food security, bio-diversity, countering cyber crime, sports, etc. Previously, the trilateral meetings (from the 2005 Vladivostok event) have mentioned the necessity for reforming the structure of the United Nations, including its Security Council.
  
• The Sanya declaration mentioned support to India, Brazil and South Africa (currently all these three are non-permanent members of UN Security Council) in their "aspiration to play a greater role in the UN" and possible coordination in the UN.
  
• Secondly, a strong imprint of the South-South dialogue and multipolarity is unmistakable at Sanya and indicates to the long-term experience and work of the BRICS countries in this field. In the "Broad Vision and Shared Prosperity" speeches of the four presidents and one prime minister at Sanya, it is clear that the common minimum agreeable propositions have been laid out and resolved to work for an equitable world order based on rules, sustainability, predictability and of peaceful transition. 
  
• Thirdly, although the BRICS economic and financial status has risen in the last decade, several indicators indicate that they are still marginal in their influence on the global and economic order. By deciding that the BRICS constituents would work together in coordination and cooperation with each other at several levels, the Sanya deliberations and declaration re-emphasised such work in the multilateral field. For instance, despite the BRICS emerging significantly as larger economies with higher economic growth rates, the intra-BRICS trade is currently marginal and at best lopsided in nature, with huge favourable balance of trade in favour of one or another. 
  
• As such the BRICS countries trade very less as compared to their other trading partners, specifically with that of the United States and Europe. Diversifying trade from these countries as well as cooperating among themselves could benefit the BRICS.
  
• The action plan prepared at the venue, viz.on periodic meetings between finance ministers, central bank governors, representatives of international organisations, and inancial cooperation between development banks further provides concrete steps for the growth of the BRICS. 
  
• Fourthly, despite divergent political systems in the BRICS, the Sanya declaration was unequivocal in criticising the recent no-fly-zone and military action by the NATO forces in Libya and suggested that the UN Charter respecting the sovereignty of the member states should be respected. 
  
• The declaration called for multilateral initiatives such as by the African Union and deliberations at the UN. Nevertheless, the declaration was significant in mentioning that the "legitimate aspirations of their [Libyan] people" should also be respected.
  
• Overall, the significance of the BRICS should not be under-estimated. In a span of three years, the multilateral grouping not only was expanded, but also had attracted global attention. While the impact of the BRICS on the international order may not be known immediately, the BRICS are making an effort, as Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh said in his speech at Sanya, to "harness the vast potential" that exists among this multilateral grouping.

Cabinet approves signing of Nagoya Protocol on biodiversity

• According to the Environment Ministry, the genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge can be used to develop a wide range of products and services for human benefit, such as medicines, agricultural practices, cosmetics etc.
• India is a Party to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) which is one of the agreements adopted during the Rio Earth Summit held in 1992.
• One of the three objectives of the CBD relates to ABS, which refers to the way in which genetic resources may be accessed, and benefits resulting from their use shared by the users with the countries that provide them.The CBD prescribes that access to genetic resources is subject to national legislation. Accordingly, India after extensive consultative process had enacted Biological Diversity Act in 2002 for giving effect to the provisions of the CBD.However, in the near absence of user country measures, once the resource leaves the country providing the resources, there is no way to ensure compliance of ABS provisions in the country where it is used.Towards this, a protocol on access and benefit sharing has been negotiated under the aegis of CBD, and adopted by the tenth Conference of Parties (CoP-10) held in Nagoya.India has participated actively and contributed meaningfully in the ABS negotiations which formally started about six years back.
• "The objective of the Nagoya Protocol on ABS is fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources, including by appropriate access to genetic resources and by appropriate transfer of relevant technologies," the Ministry said.It is expected that the ABS Protocol which is a key missing pillar of the CBD, would address the concern of misappropriation or biopiracy of its genetic resources.

Tiger population rises on the back of conservation efforts

According to the 2010 tiger census, whose results were declared on Monday, there are approximately 1,706 of the big cats in the country, which includes about 70 in the marshes of the Sunderbans, which have never been scientifically surveyed before. The 2006 census had estimated that there were 1,411 tigers, without including any from the Sunderbans.

Thirty per cent of the tiger population lives in areas outside the government's reserves, giving conservationists a new challenge in the effort to protect them.

The celebrations, however, were muted by the decrease in land area where tigers can thrive. "Tiger occupancy areas shrunk from 9 million hectares to less than 7.5 million hectares over the last four years," said Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh. "This means that tiger corridors are under severe threat, especially in central India…in Madhya Pradesh and northern Andhra Pradesh."

Not surprisingly, these are the two States that have fared the worst in the census, with tiger populations falling to 213 in Madhya Pradesh and 65 in Andhra Pradesh.

Successful efforts

The largest number of tigers lives in Karnataka – about 280 – and conservation efforts have been successful in the entire Western Ghats area, with Tamil Nadu and Kerala also seeing good results. The Terai belt of grasslands at the Himalayan foothills in Uttarakhand have also done surprisingly well in nurturing their tiger populations.

While Kaziranga in Assam has 100 tigers, the largest in a single reserve, there are worrying signs from the North Eastern area. These forested hills are capable of supporting far more than the number of tigers that were found in the area, but poaching and the pressure of developmental activities have kept the numbers low.

Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Water Resources Minister Salman Khursheed flanked Mr. Ramesh as he announced the census results.

Developmental issue

"We can deal with the threat of poachers, of the real estate and mining mafias, but it's much harder to deal with the developmental dynamic," said Mr. Ramesh, pointing to energy projects — whether coal, hydel or nuclear — irrigation schemes, and highway proposals as among the developments endangering tigers and their ecosystem.

"A country of 1.4 billion cannot survive on solar, wind and biogas alone, so we do need commercial sources of energy, but we also need to conserve these forests," he told Mr. Ahluwalia. "We must decide whether we can afford a 9 per cent growth agenda which would destroy our forests and the cultures and livelihoods that depend on them." He added that river linking, hydel and irrigation projects could destroy the Panna, Buxa and Valmiki tiger reserves.

Joint Statement on the State Visit of Prime Minister of Thailand

Summary 

The two Prime Ministers held wide-ranging discussions on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues, including on the need to energize bilateral institutional mechanisms, to enhance cooperation in security matters and to upgrade the bilateral dialogue on defence matters. The two leaders stressed the significance of enhancing connectivity between the two countries and regions, and the importance of further enhancing bilateral trade and investment. In this context the two leaders noted that the next meeting of the Joint Commission will be held in 2011 during which new initiative for enhancing cooperation would be identified. Discussions were also held on cooperation between the two sides to minimize the damage caused by natural disasters such as earthquake and tsunami and to deploy effective multilateral early warning systems against them. 

The two Prime Ministers reaffirmed the importance attached to the strengthening and enhancement of trade and economic through the bilateral and regional frameworks viz. ASEAN-India, BIMSTEC and MGC

At bilateral level, the two Prime Ministers expressed satisfaction at the growing trend of bilateral trade and investment between the two countries. They noted that the bilateral trade turnover had reached US$ 6.7 billion in 2010 and agreed to double the trade volume by 2014. Noting that ongoing negotiations on a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement between India and Thailand that would promote trade in goods and services, and investment were proceeding well, they directed the negotiators to finalize the text of the Agreement by the end of 2011. They also desired that the Second Protocol to Amend the Framework Agreement for Establishing Free Trade Area between Thailand and India founded in 2003 be signed at the earliest possible date. 

The Leaders reiterated their commitment to realization of the Trilateral Highway connecting India to Thailand via Myanmar to enhance regional transport networks. The highway while promoting trade and people to people contacts will also help revive the shared civilizational and cultural contacts and the ancient routes of knowledge and pilgrimage.

 The two leaders unequivocally condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and stressed that there could be no justification whatsoever for any act of terrorism. 

Noting that India and Thailand are discussing Extradition Treaty, Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in Civil and Commercial Matters and Agreement on Transfer of Sentenced Persons, the two sides agreed that the above mentioned agreements may be concluded at the earliest. 

The Prime Minister of Thailand welcomed the fact that almost 800,000 Indian tourists had visited Thailand in the year 2010 and observed that visitors from India were the fastest-growing segment in the tourist inflow into Thailand. 

India announced support to the India Studies Centre set up at the Thammasat University in Thailand recently through visiting Chairs in areas to be selected jointly by the University and the ICCR, collaboration in India related research programmes through exchange of senior scholars for a period of one year and extending scholarships to the students from the Centre for Studies in India at the Post Graduate level and for Ph. D programmes. He expressed the hope that the India Study Centre would ignite a new interest in young Thai people in the great currents of contemporary India as well as renew interest in the ideas, values, arts and philosophy of the India of times past. 

 Recalling the long history of cultural and historical ties between the two countries, the two leaders agreed that to lift relations to a higher level, the two countries shall increase and expand existing cultural exchanges and strengthen people-to-people contacts to raise visibility and profile of the other country. The two countries will also continue to explore opportunities to promote cultural exchanges in fields such as conservation, traditional art, contemporary art, literature, film making, music, dance, theatre etc. In this context, Thailand and India mutually agreed that the Executive Programme of Cultural Exchange between the two countries should be renewed at the earliest opportunity for the year 2011-2013 in order to facilitate and promote deeper and varied cultural exchanges." 

The two leaders welcomed the recent progress made towards the revival of the Nalanda University, including the passage by Indian Parliament of the Nalanda University Bill and the regular meetings of the Nalanda Mentor Group, The Prime Ministers were pleased to note that the revival of the Nalanda University would rejuvenate the close cultural and religious ties that link India and Thailand since the ancient period. 

 The two leaders held discussions on regional cooperation within ASEAN. The Prime Minister of India expressed his appreciation for Thailand's role as a valued partner within ASEAN and expressed his satisfaction that Thailand was one of the largest participants at the successful India-ASEAN Business Fair that was held in New Delhi in March 2011. The two Leaders noted that the Fair has also witnessed the first meeting of India-ASEAN Trade/Commerce Ministers in India. He also appreciated the visit of Foreign Minister of Thailand to deliver the key note address at the recently held Delhi Dialogue – III Conference focusing on India-ASEAN Engagement. The two leaders recalled the Action Plan for ASEAN-India Partnership 2010-15 that was adopted in Hanoi in November 2010 and reiterated their resolve to further promote a multi-faceted India-ASEAN relationship. The two Prime Ministers looked forward to the India-ASEAN Commemorative Summit scheduled to be held in New Delhi in 2012. 

At regional level, the two Prime Ministers welcomed the entry into force of the India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement on Trade in Goods on 1 January 2010 and the increase in bilateral trade as a result thereof, and hoped that the Agreement would further contribute to the envisaged trade target of USD 70 billion as set by ASEAN and India. The two Prime Ministers looked forward to an early finalization of the India-ASEAN services and investment agreements currently under negotiation. 

The two leaders also discussed regional cooperation in other formats such as BIMSTEC and Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC). Both the leaders expressed satisfaction that the last BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting held in January 2011 had agreed to locate the Permanent Secretariat of BIMSTEC in Bangladesh and looked forward to greater progress in realizing a need based programme of regional cooperation suited to the needs of the BIMSTEC member countries. The two leaders also looked forward to synergizing economic cooperation and capacity building in the Mekong region under the MGC. 

Ivory Coast’s incumbent President Gbagbo arrested

• Ivory Coast's incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo was arrested on Monday at his Abidjan residence, a spokesman for his rival Alassane Ouattara confirmed.
• Mr. Outtara is internationally recognized as having won presidential elections at the end of last year, but Mr. Gbagbo had refused to step down, sparking months of bloodshed.
• More than 1,000 people, many of them civilians, are said to have been killed during the conflict, including hundreds killed in a massacre suspected of being carried out by pro-Ouattara forces in Duekoue, western Ivory Coast.
• Human Rights Watch said there had been widespread abuses by Mr. Ouattara's forces.

NDM-1 superbugs found in seepage, tap water

The NDM-1 gene enables Gram-negative bacterial strains to become resistant to carbapenem, a powerful antibiotic. Bacteria that carry the antibiotic resistant gene were found in two drinking-water samples and 51 seepage water samples.

The two drinking-water samples were collected from west of the Yamuna River in the district of Ramesh Nagar and from south of the Red Fort, respectively. The seepage samples that tested positive for the NDM-1 gene were collected close to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Gol Market and other sites.

No panic situation

Since none of the tap water samples had stable plasmids, "the situation has not yet [become] utterly miserable," writes Mohd Shahid in an accompanying Comment piece in the journal. Dr. Shahid is from the Department of Medical Microbiology, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, Aligarh Muslim University, U.P.

In all, the researchers had collected 50 drinking-water samples (public tap water samples) and 171 seepage samples from sites within a 12 km radius of central New Delhi.

70 sewage effluent samples from Cardiff Wastewater Treatment Works were also collected as control samples.

NDM-1 was in the news in August last year when the same journal reported that 37 U.K. patients who had undergone elective and cosmetic surgeries in India and two neighbouring countries (Pakistan and Bangladesh) were harbouring the drug-resistant bacterial strains.


The latest finding clearly indicates that the drug-resistant bacterial strain carrying NDM-1 gene is no longer a hospital-born infection, but is found in the environment.

The authors of the study have found that NDM-1 gene has also spread to families of bacteria that populate the human gut and cause urinary tract infection, diahorrea, to name a few. It has also spread to pathogenic bacteria species that cause cholera and dysentery.

It is indeed really possible for the NDM-1 gene that confers antibiotic resistance to move from one species to another.

The easy spread is made possible as the NDM-1 gene is carried in the plasmids of the Gram-negative bacteria. And the plasmids can move from one bacterium to another of its kind, and even to different bacterial species.

Role of temperature

But a bigger concern is the temperature conditions under which the plasmids carrying the antibiotic resistant gene get transferred to another bacterium.

It was highest at 30 degree C. In fact, it was 1 to 10,000 times higher than at 25 degree C, and 1 to 10,00,000 times higher than at 37 degree C.

What does that mean in terms of public health? 30 degree C is the average peak temperature in New Delhi, and is also the temperature that lies within the daily range of temperature of the city for seven months of the year — from April to October.

The April to October period includes the monsoon season. And that would mean that the spread of the antibiotic resistant strains to other areas is easily facilitated by rain water carrying the seepage water.

ROUTE OF TRANSMISSION

That not all patients from the U.K. or other European countries who had visited India had any hospitalisation history underlines the fact that bacteria with this resistance are present in the environment.

The authors state: "NDM-1 is widely disseminated in New Delhi and has spread into key enteric pathogens."

Faecal-oral transmission would have been the possible route for the E. coli with the NDM-1 gene to enter the gut of these patients.

In fact, about 650 million people in India do not have access to toilets. And only about 60 per cent of New Delhi's population is served by the sewerage system.

"The data presented by [the authors] clearly show the grave potential for widespread dissemination of NDM-1 in the environment," writes Shahid.

"NDM-1 gene has just got into the environment but is yet to be established in tap water as the isolates from the tap water did not have stable plasmids. So there is no need to worry right now if we implement policies to control the spread," said Dr. Shahid to this Correspondent. "The sample size is also small and only two tap water samples tested positive for NDM-1 gene."

ResourceSat-2 launch scheduled for April 20

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C16) will launch the 1,206-kg satellite along with two other satellites — YouthSat and X-Sat — from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.

ResourceSat-2, built by ISRO, is an advanced remote sensing satellite and designed for the study and management of natural resources.

YouthSat, weighing 92 kg, is a joint Indo-Russian satellite for stellar and atmospheric studies. X-Sat is a microsatellite for imaging applications built by the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

All the three satellites have been integrated into the launcher, an ISRO release said. After the final phase of vehicle operations assessment is completed, the pre-launch and launch rehearsal procedures will be carried out.

Anna Hazare calls off fast

• Gandhian Anna Hazare on Saturday called off his hunger strike bringing to an end his 98-hour protest after government issued a gazette notification constituting a 10-member Joint Committee of ministers and civil society activists, including him, to draft an effective Lok Pal Bill.
• Curtains were drawn on the anti-corruption campaign that drew instant nationwide support with a little girl giving the 73-year-old activist a glass of water at 10.45 am at Jantar Mantar, the nerve-centre of the agitation for a strong legislation to combat political and administrative graft.
  

Members of joint committee

The five ministers are Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Chairperson, Home Minister P Chidamabaram, Law Minister Veerappa Moily (Convenor), HRD Minister Kapil Sibal and Water Resources Minister Salman Khurshid.

The civil society will be represented by Hazare, former Supreme Court judge N Santosh Hegde, former Law Minister Shanti Bhushan (Co-Chairperson), lawyer Prashant Bhushan and RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal.

Deadline Aug. 15

He set August 15 as the deadline for passage of the proposed bill. "If the government does not get the legislation passed, I will hold the national flag and join you people here for another agitation.

India signs chemicals test data-sharing pact

• India took another step towards quality parity with international standards in the realm of non-clinical chemicals manufacturing when it joined the system for the Mutual Acceptance of Data (MAD) in the Assessment of Chemicals, a multilateral agreement supported by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
• Its decision to join the OECD pact this week makes India the third key emerging economy to get on board the platform for ensuring that the results of its non-clinical chemical safety testing will be accepted in all other participating countries, the OECD said in a statement.
• MAD system saved governments and chemical producers around €150 million every year by allowing the results of a variety of non-clinical safety tests done on chemicals and chemical products, such as industrial chemicals and pesticides, to be shared across OECD and other countries that adhere to the system. Under the system it would be mandatory for testing to be carried out using OECD standards for test methods and for data quality and governments would have to verify compliance of laboratories by using the OECD-agreed procedures. These procedures would now apply to India, as they do to all OECD countries and also emerging markets in South Africa and Singapore.
  

How are Koya Commandos appointed, asks Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Wednesday expressed concern over the creation of Koya Commandos by the Chhattisgarh government and giving them arms to deal with Maoists .

A Bench of Justices B. Sudershan Reddy and S.S. Nijjar, taking a serious note of the statements made by social activist Agnivesh, who was attacked during his recent visit to the State, said in its order: "We direct the State of Chhattisgarh to provide the details as to under what authority and rules the Koya Commandos are appointed and arms are provided to them."

Mr. Justice Reddy asked senior counsel Harish Salve, appearing for the State: "What is this Koya Commandos? How are they appointed and how are they given training? It is very dangerous to give them arms to fight the people."

The Bench was hearing a petition filed by Nandini Sundar and others challenging the continued presence of Salwa Judum despite denial by the government. Petitioner's counsel Nitya Ramakrishnan read out Swami Agnivesh's affidavit explaining the sequence of events and said the Salwa Judum was still active and the Chief Minister was indulging in double-speak and people in the three villages were denied even basic relief materials. She said that since social activist Harsh Mander and another person were already in the State, they might be asked to submit a report.

Government approves India's First Bio Remediation project for Buddha Nala, Ludhiana

• This project, one of the first of its kind, will employ the use of microbes to eat away the waste component of effluents that are discharged into the Buddha Nala, Ludhiana. In effect, the microbial consortia applied in the technology will 'chew away' the organic load and industrial pollutants leaving behind the clean water. The visible impact of this technology is expected to become manifest in a period of 3 months.
• This 'In Situ Bio-Remediation' project will tackle the effluent load of industrial and domestic waste being emptied out into the Buddha Nala. By erecting 'Green bridges', i.e. temporary barricades fortified with microbial consortia, the MoEF will attempt to build filters through which the untreated waters may pass. With every successive Green Bridge that the water passes through there will be an expected reduction in what is known as 'Bio-chemical oxygen demand'  (BoD)  and  'Chemical oxidation demand' (CoD) levels. These Green bridges will be at set up intervals of 1 Km each or as mandated by the flow and quantum of water found in the Nala.
• The microbial consortia deployed  in the use of this technology  are harmless and indigenously found in nature. No  genetically modified organisms would be used in the execution of this project. This is an environmentally benign process that has no harmful impact on the surrounding ecosystem including on human or animal health.
• It may also be noted that  Buddha Nala represents the largest project of this magnitude undertaken in the country. The cost of the entire project will be borne by the National River Conservation Directorate, Ministry of Environment and Forests
  

Cabinet Approves Creation of National Clean Energy Fund

• The CCEA has approved constitution of an 'National Clean Energy Fund' (NCEF) in the public account of India along with the guidelines as well as modalities for approval of projects to be funded from the Fund.
  
• The Finance Bill 2010-11 provided for creation of a corpus called National Clean Energy Fund to invest in entrepreneurial ventures and research in the field of clean energy technologies. Subsequent to the budget announcement, the Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC) issued a notification dated June 22, 2010 to notify the Clean Energy Cess Rules, 2010.
•  An Inter Ministerial Group (IMG) has been constituted to approve the projects/schemes eligible for financing under the National Clean Energy Fund, consisting of following members: 
  

(i) Finance Secretary-Chairperson
(ii) Secretary (Expenditure)-Member
(iii) Secretary (Revenue)-Member
(iv) Representatives from Ministries of Power, Coal, Chemicals & Fertilizers, Petroleum & Natural Gas, New & Renewable Energy and Environment & Forests. 

The National Clean Energy Fund will be used for funding research and innovative projects in clean energy technologies. Any project/scheme for innovative methods to adopt to clean energy technology and research & development shall be eligible for funding under the NCEF.

Such projects may be: 

(a) Sponsored by a Ministry/Department of the Government; and
(b) Submitted by individual/ consortium of organizations in the government/public sector/private sector in the form of loan or viability gap funding, as the IMG deems fit on case to case basis. Government assistance under the NCEF shall in no case exceed 40% of the total project cost. 

A standard format for submission and evaluation of projects shall be designed by the IMG to receive proposals from various ministries of Government of India. 
Proposals for loan or viability gap funding by Individuals/ consortiums are to be submitted to the concerned Ministry first, which, after due consideration, shall place them before the IMG. The IMG may seek the views of technical experts from related organizations and individuals of repute in the area of clean energy to review, evaluate and recommend projects. There will be a time frame specified under the scheme for processing of applications at each stage. The IMG will identify/appoint appropriate professional agencies to monitor progress of NCEF funded projects

India's 1st Youth Employability Skill Project Inaugurated in Manipur

• The scheme has been launched keeping in view the Prime Minister's vision to create 500 million certified and skilled persons by the year, 2022 throughout the Country.
• Shri Ajay Maken, Union Minister of State (I/C) for Youth Affairs and Sports, inaugurated Youth Employability Skill (YES) Project at Imphal, Manipur, yesterday by enrolling 100 youths for skill development. Under the Project, skill relating training would be given to the youths in the North-Eastern Region to boost their chances of finding jobs or starting their own enterprises. About 8000 youths would be covered under this scheme in the North East. 
• The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), which has been co-promoted by the Ministry of Finance to catalyze private sector involvement in skill development, would partner the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports (M/oYAS) for the YES venture.
• Market mapping and skill gap analysis is being undertaken in North East before launching of the Project in other districts. The training duration is approximately for two to four months, depending upon the nature of the Vocational Training. The training will be through a class room, use of remote learning technologies (VSAT, IP based web conferencing etc). 
• The Project focuses on Youth who plan to seek jobs locally and also those who wish to migrate. The opportunities of self employment are also addressed in the Training Modules. Linkages with financial institutions and industry partners are the hall mark of this unique initiative for providing sustained livelihoods to the youths of the region.
  

Hamara Khaata Hamara Swabhimaan : A Unique Financial Inclusion Initiative

• A nationwide programme on financial inclusion, "Swabhimaan" was launched in February, 2011 by the Government, which is focused on bringing the deprived sections of the society in banking network to ensure that the benefits of economic growth reach everyone at all levels. This campaign is a big step towards socio-economic equality by bringing the underprivileged segments of Indian population into the formal banking fold for the first time.
• "Swabhimaan" is a path-breaking initiative by the Government and the Indian Banks' Association to cover economic distance between rural and urban India.  This campaign promises to bring basic banking services to 73,000 unbanked villages with a population of 2,000 and above by March, 2012 and at least 5 crore new accounts will be opened.  The movement will facilitate opening of banks accounts, provide need-based credit, remittance facilities and help to promote financial literacy in rural India.  The programme will increase the demand for credit among the millions of small and marginal farmers and rural artisans who will benefit by having access to banking facilities.
• "Swabhimaan" aims at providing branchless banking services through the use of technology. The vision for this programme is social application of modern technology. Banks will provide basic services like deposits, withdrawals and remittances using the services of Business Correspondents also known as Bank Saathi.  This initiative also enables Government subsidies and social security benefits to now be directly credited to the accounts of the beneficiaries so that they could draw the money from the Business Correspondents in their village itself. The Government hopes to reach the benefits of micro insurance and micro pension products to the masses through this banking linkage. It would now be possible for the large number of migrant workers in urban areas to remit money to their relatives in distant villages quickly and safely.
• The facilities provided through banking outlets will enhance social security by facilitating the availability of allied services in course of time like micro insurance, access to mutual funds, pensions, etc.  Banking facilities like Savings Bank, recurring Deposits, Fixed deposits, Remittances, Overdraft facility, Kisan Credit Card (KCCs), General Credit Cards (GCC) and collection of cheques will be provided. 
• The Banks are also working together with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) for enrolment, opening bank accounts and also to facilitate transfer of government subsidies and other payments.
• The success of this programme will depend on the proper utilization of the Business Correspondents (BCs) or Bank Saathis,  who are persons engaged by Banks to create a closer relationship between the formal financial system and the people living in the rural hinterland, far away from brick and mortar bank branches.  The BCs will help in making available banking facilities to the interior areas through various handheld mobile devices and other technologies that reduce cost and have the ability to record banking transactions and to communicate the record of such transactions to the Bank using the internet facilities / GPRS.
• The progress of "Swbhimaan" programe will be monitored through the State Level Bankers Committee mechanism.  District Magistrates/Collectors are being sensitized in this regard to ensure proper monitoring of the programme through coordinated efforts of all stake-holders.  The State Governments have been advised to route all Government benefits and social security payments through the banking system so that the benefits reach the beneficiaries timely and efficiently and leakages are reduced substantially. 
•  "Swabhimaan" campaign is expected to benefit millions of small and marginal farmers and rural artisans by providing them easy access to credit at lower rates and save them from clutches and exploitation by moneylenders.

punctilious

punc·til·i·ous
1. Strictly attentive to minute details of form in action or conduct. See Synonyms at meticulous.
2. Precise; scrupulous.

The elaborate institutions of Vigilance Commissions and their hoards of field officers called Central Vigilance Officers and the prescription of punctilious procedures and rule books have not obviously helped

Satellite-based system for tracking trains

• Tired of getting inaccurate and snail-paced information on movement of trains? Help is expected soon with the Railways going ahead with the Rs 110 crore satellite-based system to replace manual tracking of trains to provide its exact position on real-time basis.
• The real-time train information system (RTIS) aims to provide train running information to the public through internet, SMS on mobile phones, call centres and through train indication boards at stations.
• As per the plan, Railways is to install loco devices in all locomotives and stations to receive dynamic data on train movement through satellite.
• Name of the incoming train, speed, time duration and all relevant information required by passengers will be made available automatically once the system becomes operational.
• The system developed by IIT-Kanpur and RDSO uses global positioning system (GPS) and global system (GS) for mobile communication technology to transmit information.
  

Census 2011: population pegged at 1,210.2 million

• India's population has jumped to 1.21 billion, showing an increase by more than 181 million during the 2001-2011 decade, according to the provisional data of Census 2011 which was released on Thursday.
• Though the country's population is almost equal to the combined population of the U.S., Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Japan put together [1214.3 million], the silver lining is that 2001-2011 is the first decade with the exception of 1911-1921 which has actually added lesser population compared to the previous decade.
• Of the total provisional population of 1210.2 million, the number of males was pegged at 623.7 million and the population of females stood at 586.5 million. The percentage growth in 2001-2011 was 17.64 – males 17.19 and females 18.12. India's population accounts for world's 17.5 per cent population.

Uttar Pradesh most populous state

Among the States and Union Territories, Uttar Pradesh is the most populous State with 199 million people followed by Maharashtra at 112 million people and Lakshadweep is the least populated at 64,429 persons. The combined population of U.P. and Maharashtra is greater than that of the U.S.

The percentage decadal growth rates of the six most populous States have declined during 2001-2011 as compared to 1991-2001. The graph of population growth in U.P. shows a decline from 25.85 per cent to 20.09 per cent, in Maharashtra from 22.73 per cent to 15.99 per cent, Bihar from 28.62 per cent to 25.07 per cent, West Bengal from 17.77 per cent to 13.93 per cent, Andhra Pradesh from 14.59 per cent to 11.10 per cent and Madhya Pradesh from 24.26 per cent to 20.30 per cent. ``This shows that we have added population but the growth has been less,'' Dr. Chandramouli said.

Sex-ratio at national level increases

Overall sex ratio at the national level has increased by seven points to reach 940 as provisional data for Census 2011 showed as against 933 in Census 2001. Increase in sex ratio was observed in 29 States/Union Territories.

Kerala with 1084 has the highest sex ratio followed by Puducherry with 1038. Daman and Diu has the lowest sex ratio of 618. ``This is the highest sex ratio at the national level since Census 1971 and a shade lower than 1961. Three major States – Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar and Gujarat – have shown a decline in sex ratio as compared to Census 2001,'' Dr. Chandramouli said. India's skewed sex ratio due to female foeticide and the practice of selective sex determination has been a cause for concern. Sex ratio is the number of females per 1000 males.

Child sex ratio a concern

However, the areas of grave concern, Dr. Chanramouli said, remains the lowest ever child sex ratio of 914. The provisional data showed that the child sex ratio [0 to 6 years] came down to 914 females per 1000 males as against 927 in the Census 2001. It showed a continuing preference for male children over females in the last decade. Increasing trend in the child sex ratio was seen in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Mizoram and Andaman and Nicobar Island but in all the remaining 27 States / Union Territories, the child sex ratio showed decline over Census 2001. Whereas overall sex ratio has shown improvement since 1991, decline in child sex ratio has been unabated since 1961 Census. The total number of children in 0 to 6 year age group is now 158.8 million, less by five million since 2001.

Literacy rate has gone up from 64.83 per cent in 2001 to 74.04 per cent, showing an increase of 9.21 percentage points.

FDI norms fine-tuned to attract more investment

• Concerned over the continued decline in foreign direct investment (FDI) over the last few months, the Central Government on Thursday unveiled a major policy reform allowing flexibility for Indian companies to raise funds from abroad. At the same time, it plugged the loopholes for backdoor FDI entry breaching sectoral caps.
• The new circular issued by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) on Thursday states that under the new norms, Indian companies have been allowed to issue equity against import of capital goods and liberalise conditions for seeking foreign investment for production and development of agriculture seeds.
• The facility of conversion of capital goods import into equity was earlier available for companies raising external commercial borrowings (ECBs).
• The government also removed the restrictive condition of obtaining prior approval of Indian companies for making investments in the same field. "It is expected that this measure will promote the competitiveness of India as an investment destination and be instrumental in attracting higher levels of FDI and technology inflows into the country," it said.
• In order to plug the loopholes in the system, the government has classified companies into two categories — companies owned or controlled by foreign investors and companies owned and controlled by Indian investors.
• The government has done away with the earlier category of investing companies, operating companies and investing-cum-operating companies.
• It further said that the companies would be free to prescribe a formula for transforming convertible instruments (like debentures, partly paid shares, preferential shares and the like) into equity in accordance with the guidelines of FEMA and SEBI. Earlier, they were required to specify upfront the price of convertible instruments. The decision would help the recipient companies in obtaining a better valuation based upon their performance, it added.
• Officials said the fine-tuning of the FDI norms was aimed at ensuring the country attracted more and more FDI. During the 11-month period (April-February) this fiscal, FDI inflows into India declined by 25 per cent to $18.3 billion.