The Civil Service Times: May 2011

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

India, Pakistan to continue talks on Siachen

India and Pakistan on Tuesday inched forward in their talks on Siachen saying it has enhanced understanding of each other’s position and agreed to continue the discussions in a meaningful and result-oriented manner.At the end of the two day-long talks between their Defence Secretaries, the two sides came out with a one-page joint statement. This was interpreted by officials as an indication of “some progress” towards resolution of boundary demarcation on Siachen.

Seeking to widen consultations, the Centre on Tuesday wrote to all Chief Ministers and leaders of political parties eliciting their views on issues including whether to bring the Prime Minister under Lokpal.A day after civil society activists on the Joint Drafting Committee on the Bill threatened to take to streets, Home Minister P. Chidambaram and HRD Minister Kapil Sibal addressed a press conference to make it clear that the government was committed to bringing a Bill in the Monsoon session of Parliament.

The record leap in global greenhouse gas emissions last year has thrown the spotlight on the world’s only concerted attempt to stem the tide of global warming — the United Nations climate negotiations.Next week, governments will convene in Bonn, Germany, for the latest round of more than 20 years of tortuous talks, aimed at forging a binding international agreement on climate change which so far has eluded them.

The Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Shri Kapil Sibal today discussed with his German counterpart, a consortia approach of twinning between universities of the two countries where two to three Indian Universities could partner with two to three German Universities for conducing degree level courses. The Minister was speaking on the occasion of his meeting with the German Federal Minister of Education and Research, Dr. Annettee Schavan in New Delhi today.

Govt. against bringing Prime Minister under Lokpal

Sharp differences came to the surface at a meeting of the drafting committee for Lokpal bill on Monday with the government strongly opposing proposals for inclusion of Prime Minister, higher judiciary and acts of Members of Parliament inside Parliament under its purview.At the meeting held under the Chairmanship of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, contentious issues came up for discussion in the committee for the first time.

As a follow up of the umbrella agreement signed by Government of India with Government of Afghanistan and UNDP on 30th March 2010 to develop the capacity of Afghan Ministries / Agencies in Afghanistan through the project called National Institution Building Project, Dr. M. S. Gill, Minister of Statistics and Programme Implementation signed an MOU with Mr. Abdul Rahman Ghafoori, President General, Central Statistics Organisation, Afghanistan here today for cooperation in the field of official statistics.

The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 has come into effect from May 1, 2011. The Ministry of Home Affairs issued the necessary Gazette Notification on 29th April, 2011 in this regard. Consequently, the earlier Act, viz., the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 1976 has been repealed.

Harnessing solar power is now an economic imperative for Asia and no longer just an environmental issue, the vice president of the Asian Development Bank said Monday.

Speaking at the Asia Solar Energy Forum in Bangkok, Xiaoyu Zhao said the region must manage its energy,security and develop sustainable, low-carbon economic growth and wean itself off total dependence on high resource, high carbon development. “Harnessing the power of the sun to fuel Asia’s growth is no longer simply an option, it is a necessity,” he said.

Germany’s coalition government agreed early on Monday to shut down all the country’s nuclear power plants by 2022, the environment minister said, making it the first major industrialized nation in the last quarter century to announce plans to go nuclear-free. The country’s seven oldest reactors that were already taken off the grid pending safety inspections following the catastrophe at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant in March will remain offline permanently, Norbert Roettgen added. The country has 17 reactors in total.

Punishment for top corrupt officials on agenda in Lokpal Bill committee meet

Civil society members are expected to make a strong pitch for graver punishment, including life imprisonment for high ranking officials in cases of corruption, when the joint committee to draft the Lokpal Bill meets in New Delhi on Monday.They will also demand that a corrupt government official serve a minimum of one year rigorous imprisonment and a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.

Averting a major Constitutional crisis, Nepal's key parties on Sunday struck a last-minute deal to extend the term of the Constituent Assembly (CA) by three months under which Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal will step down for the formation of a national unity govt.

The breakthrough came after overnight consultations between main political parties -Nepali Congress, the Maoists and CPN-UML to forge a five-point agreement on the peace process and extending the term of CA which expired last night.

Stage set for monsoon onset in Andaman, Kerala

The stage is set for a grand entry of south-west monsoon in Andamans and in quick succession in Kerala, raising hopes for a favourable season for millions of farmers across the country.“Conditions are favourable for setting in of the south-west monsoon over Andaman Sea during the next 24-48 hours,” the India Meteorological Department said this evening.

Probably the first thing that many people attempt to do when they get married is to either make sure that their partners don't dominate them or, as a pre-emptive measure, try and establish their dominance over the partner. “Who's the boss?”, often becomes a very emotive issue in the marriage because of the popular, though fallacious, belief that one partner should have the casting vote in any contentious marital situation. Also, there is a popular cultural belief that men should be the dominant partner in a marriage, and even if during the courtship, the man is actually relatively mild, he ends up becoming domineering soon after the knot is tied. Many young brides are mystified when their hitherto gentle, sensitive and romantic suitors suddenly turn into demanding, aggressive and insensitive husbands.

Girls. Dowry. The two go together. No matter what you do to separate them, they somehow get conjoined, like twins that have remained connected in one body. We are told this is one of the main reasons parents don't want girls. So avoid girls.But girls cannot, and should not, be avoided. So the government makes laws, NGOs campaign for the ‘girl child', there are special schemes and incentives for families to ensure that their daughters survive and prosper. It would be politically incorrect to do the contrary, to encourage killing girls, or to encourage dowry. At least, that is what you would conclude.

It is not raining on the Moon, but it does seem to be getting wetter and wetter.For decades, the prevailing view of the Moon was that it was dry. Then, two years ago, a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) probe crashed into a deep crater near the Moon's south pole and confirmed large amounts of water ice within the shadows. Meanwhile, measurements by an orbiting Indian spacecraft suggested that a veneer of water, generated by the bombardment of solar wind particles, covered much of the Moon's surface. Now, scientists analysing tiny fragments of hardened lava from long-ago lunar eruptions report that the fragments contain about as much water as similar magmas on Earth, meaning there is plenty of water inside the Moon too.

The Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad has cleared the new pictorial warnings for implementation for tobacco products packages. The new notification issued on 27.5.2011, provides for strong pictorial warnings for smoking (cigarettes, bidis, cigars etc) and smokeless or chewing forms of tobacco products (click here to see the details.). A set of four pictures each of lung and oral cancer have been notified and will come into effect from 1.12.2011. The warnings will be rotated every two years from then onwards.In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 7, sub-section (2) of section 8, section 10 and section 31 of the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 (34 of 2003), the Central Government hereby makes the following rules further to amend the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Rules, 2008. These Rules may be called the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2011.

Courtesy : PIB

Committee constituted under chairman, CBDT to examine ways to strengthen laws to curb the generation of black money in the country, its illegal transfer abroad and its recovery.

The Government has constituted a Committee under the Chairmanship of Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to examine ways to strengthen laws to curb the generation of black money in the country, its illegal transfer abroad and its recovery.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh left for home this afternoon at the end of his six-day two-nation tour of Ethiopia and Tanzania. During his visit Dr. Singh announced a number of plans to give a further boost to ties between India and resurgent Africa. Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete along with his senior colleagues gave a warm send-off to Dr Singh who described his visit very satisfactory and fruitful. During the tour, Dr Singh attended the second India-Africa summit at Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and interacted with a number of African leaders to cement India's ties the mineral-rich continent.

Citing the recent events in Pakistan, India has highlighted risks posed by the "epicentre of terrorism" based in that country and pushed the US for announcement of security cooperation that will entail pre-emptive steps and effective response to terror incidents.Launching the Homeland Security Dialogue in New Delhi on Friday, India and the US vowed to defeat the forces of terrorism through a series of steps like intelligence sharing and pressed Pakistan to move expeditiously in prosecuting those involved in Mumbai attacks.

Rejecting Sikkim Chief Justice P D Dinakaran's plea that he can't be impeached for alleged misconduct not connected with discharge of judicial duties, the Supreme Court on Friday said a judge's conduct "must be exemplary" both within and outside the court.A bench of justices G S Singhvi and C K Patnaik said a judge cannot walk into a shopping mall, pick up an article of his choice and simply walk away without footing the bill.

With only hours to go for the term of the Nepalese Constituent Assembly to end, senior leaders of the UCPN ( maoist), Nepali Congress and CPN-UML are holding crucial meeting to break the deadlock. The meeting is taking place in the Assembly premises , in Kathmandu.

For the first time, the Union government will carry out a survey on the use and acceptability of the alternative systems of medicine and employ the results for effective planning of a road map for Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH).The National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) has agreed to include some questions, in its Consumer Expenditure Schedule for the 68th annual round of socio-economic surveys, for collecting information on AYUSH.

Lokpal Bill joint draft committee member Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday alleged that vested interests seemed to have ganged up to discredit the proposed legislation by unleashing a sustained campaign to spread misconceptions and falsehood.He said vested interests first made an attack on the individual members of the committee and now they are attacking the bill per se questioning the provisions of the bill.

Social activist Medha Patkar ended her nine—day—fast after the Maharashtra government agreed to her demands related to slum—dwellers and rehabilitation projects.“Medha ended her fast at 1.45 pm. The government of Maharashtra issued a notification accepting all her demands.Mumbai Suburban District Collector Nirmal Deshmukh came up with the notification (to the fast site),” Madhuresh Kumar, Ms. Patkar’s associate, said.

RBI eases norms to help India Inc increase global footprint

In order to encourage Indian companies to expand their global footprint and showcase entrepreneurial skills, the Reserve Bank on Friday relaxed norms for overseas direct investments.The regulations relating to overseas direct investments, RBI said in a circular, are being liberalised “with a view to providing more operational flexibility to Indian corporates having investments abroad.”

Kannada development authority’s plea to Kerala Govt.

Kannada Development Authority today appealed to Kerala Government to withdraw its circular making learning of Malayalam the first language from first to tenth standard in all schools in the border district of Kasargod.The May 6 circular would cause hardship to students as majority of those living in Kasargod are Kannadigas, KDA Chairman ‘Mukyamantri’ Chandru told reporters in Bangalore.In a federal system, States have to respect all languages and Karnataka has been following this principle, he said.It is not advisable to impose Malayalam on linguistic minorities living in Kasargod, he said.Mr. Chandru said he would request Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri to write to their Kerala counterparts seeking withdrawal of the circular.

Courtesy : The Hindu

Benevolence, technology save lives of two infants

It's a perfect case of kindness and technology coming to the aid of two four month-old infants born with defective heart valves in the city.Thanks to the courageous and noble act of parents of Sony, a 40-day-old brain-dead infant, in allowing the doctors to harvest the vital organs, Devi Priya and Sahil have received a fresh lease of life. Both the children, now around four-months old received the heart valves, harvested from Sony recently.

Worried over the mounting under-recoveries of the oil marketing companies (OMCs), the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM), headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, is likely to meet on June 9 to consider a hike in prices of diesel, kerosene and domestic LPG.

The Union Ministry of Agriculture has launched a programme to set up Agriclinics and Agribusiness centres in each district in the State to provide quality extension services to farmers.The programme is being implemented by Kerala Agricultural University and MANAGE, Hyderabad. It aims at developing agricultural graduates into consultants or entrepreneurs by imparting specialised training in areas related to Agriclincs, Agribusiness and agri consultancy.

Eleven months after Apple’s next-generation smartphone hit stores worldwide, the iPhone 4 was launched on Friday in India, the world’s second biggest market for mobile phones.Declaring the rollout of one of the most expected smartphone in the world by Bharti airtel in Kolkata and in 34 other cities in India, Airtel CEO (West Bengal and Orissa) P.D. Sharma told PTI the iPhone 4 will create a separate space from the clutter of smartphone in the market, many of them having copied Apple features.

The Reserve Bank on Friday directed banks to reimburse customers for amounts wrongfully debited from their accounts in failed ATM transactions within seven days of an account holder’s complaint or else pay a Rs. 100 per day compensation.“The time limit for resolution of customer complaints by the issuing banks shall stand reduced from 12 working days to seven working days from the date of receipt of customer complaint,” the RBI said in a notification.

The Ernakulam Permanent Lok Adalat, on Thursday, directed Railways and the Pollution Control Board to give their view on a petition seeking a directive to Railways to prevent dumping of toilet waste from running trains into the open.The petition complained that the waste was neither collected nor treated before being dumped into the open environment. The petitioner, D.B. Binu, a lawyer, said the practice had an adverse effect on the health of the people. Human excreta contained a large number of germs that could cause diarrhoea, cholera, typhoid, and other parasitic infections.

The United States has offered assistance to India to deal with money laundering and fake currency menace, besides cooperation in issues related to cross-border terrorism.The visiting Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Janet Napolitano called on Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi on Friday and the two leaders explored the areas of bilateral cooperation.

India has announced a new line of credit of USD 180 mn for Tanzania and signed a pact on avoidance of double taxation as the two countries agreed to intensify cooperation to combat terrorism and piracy and work closely for comprehensive UN reforms.On a three-day visit in Tanzania, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said after wide-ranging discussions with Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete that the new line of credit will be for water supply projects in country's capital Dar es Salaam.

The Indian community in Dar es Salaam came in for praise from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who said they have earned a reputation for entrepreneurial spirit, perseverance and hard work making remarkable contributions to the development of Tanzania.On a three-day visit to give a fresh impetus to bilateral ties, Dr. Singh met the Indian community in Dar es Salaam last night and said they symbolized the contemporary face of civilizational and historical linkages with Tanzania and with East Africa as a whole.

As per latest reports received from different States, sowing of kharif pulses and oilseeds has further progressed in different parts of the country.In Uttar Pradesh, moong has been sown in 1.12 lakh hectare and urad in 38,000 hectare. Moong has been sown in 31,000 hectare in Gujarat and in 40,000 hectares in Bihar. The crop condition of summer pulses is reported to be satisfactory.Groundnut has been sown in 15,800 lakh hectare so far.Cotton has been sown in 9.5 lakh hectare as compared to 8.11 lakh hectare last year. No incidence of insect, pest and disease has been reported by the States.Sowing of Jute and Mesta is also in progress. 8.13 lakh hectare has been covered under the cultivation of jute and mesta till date as compared to 7.18 lakh hectare last year.Sugarcane has been planted in 48.96 lakh hectare so far as compared to 46.69 lakh hectare at this point of time last year..

Courtesy : PIB

Chinese military sets up special cyber warfare unit

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA), of China has formed a special cyber warfare unit called Blue Team, to safeguard the Internet security of the military, Chinese Defence Ministry has said.It is important for the military to strengthen its defence capabilities against internet attacks, Defence Ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng has been quoted as saying in the official media here today.“China is a victim of cyber attacks. Cyber attacks have become an international problem affecting both civilian and military areas. China is relatively weak in cyber security and has often been targeted. This temporary programme is aimed at improving our defences against such attacks,” Geng said. He added that it was only a training programme based on their needs and warning others not to exaggerate the issue.

Cloud-based security solutions provider Panda Security today announced the launch of Panda Cloud Office Protection (PCOP) solution in India.In a statement the company said, “Designed to protect all endpoints devices, static or mobile, anytime and anywhere, PCOP applies profile based policies in real time to users providing them with highest security, in real time”.Ideal for mobile workers, decentralised and franchised businesses, PCOP is offered to consumers over a ‘SaaS’ architecture designed for fast deployment and implementation. PCOP includes firewall protection, personal or managed, as well as protection for files, email, http/ftp and instant messaging.

Courtesy : The Hindu

CARAPP: an iPhone app to rent out your car

Researchers have developed a new iPhone application which can allow you to share your car with others and potentially generate some good rental income. The new app by Getaround, a car-sharing service provider in the US, enables car owners to “un-idle” their cars and offset the cost of vehicle ownership by sharing it with others.

Leaders of G-8 countries urged for more stringent international rules on nuclear safety following the disaster at Japan's Fukushima plant. Talking to reporters at G-8 summit in the northern French seaside town of Deauville, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the members of G-8 wish to get a very high standard of regulation on nuclear safety, that will apply to all countries involved in civilian nuclear energy and which will take safety to the highest levels ever.

A grateful nation today pays homage to the country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on his 47th death anniversary. President Pratibha Devisingh Patil, Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit were among the first to pay floral tributes to the late leader at his memorial, Shanti Van, in New Delhi. Several functions including seminar and symposiums are being organised across the country to mark the occasion.

Courtesy : AIR

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Central Sector Scholarship Scheme for College and University

To provide financial assistance to meritorious students from weaker section for pursing higher studies and professional courses, the Ministry of Human Resource Development has started Central Sector Scholarship Scheme for college and University Students. From the academic year 2010-11, the eligibility criteria has been revised from 80 percent to 80th percentile in the relevant stream for a particular Board of Examination, in class XII of 10+2 or equivalent. Students, whose parent’s income is less than Rs.4.50 lakh per annum, pursuing higher studies or professional courses from recognized institutions as regular candidates, are eligible under this scheme. There will also be reservation as per Reservation Policy of the Government, subject to internal earmarking. At present, reservations for the various categories are as follows: SCs-15%, STs-71/2%, OBCs-27% and horizontally 3% for physically Handicapped in all the categories. The income-ceiling is Rs.4.5 lakh per annum.

Courtesy : PIB

NASA plans asteroid mission

The U.S. space agency will send an unmanned spacecraft to a nearby asteroid in 2016 and bring back a sample to provide clues about the formation of the solar system, NASA said on Wednesday.The mission known as Osiris-Rex will be the first U.S. effort to bring back a sample from an asteroid.

Italian luxury sports car Ferrari today officially entered the Indian market with popular models such as the California, 458 Italia, 599GTB Fiorano and the latest FF at prices starting from Rs 2.2 crore onward.“Till yesterday, Ferrari was present in 57 countries. Now we are in the 58th country, which is India. We should have been in India much before and we expect to be able to sell more than 100 cars in the next 2-3 years,” Ferrari SpA Chief Executive Officer Amedeo Felisa told reporters.

Food inflation shot up to 8.55 per cent for the week ended May 14, the highest level in four weeks, as prices of fruits, cereals and protein-based items escalated.Food inflation, as measured by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), was on a declining trajectory for the previous three weeks. The figure for the seven-day period under review was 1.08 percentage points higher than the 7.47 per cent inflation rate recorded in the previous week.

Constitution of Working Group on “Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Growth” for the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-2017)

The first meeting of Working Group on “Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Growth “ for the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-2017) was held here today under the Chairmanship of Secretary MSME, Shri. Uday Kumar Varma.

The 15th Meeting of the Ganga Flood Control Board was held here today at Vigyan Bhawan under the Chairmanship of Shri Salman Khurshid, Minister of Water Resources. Ministers dealing with Water Resources from the basin States of Rajasthan, Haryana, Bihar, U.P. and West Bengal; representatives from the States of MP, Himachal Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Uttrakhand and Delhi; representatives from some of the Union Ministries; Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources; Chairman, Ganga Flood Control Commission and other senior officers of the Ministry of Water Resources dealing with the issue were also present.

Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation and Prime Minister’s 15-Point Programme for the Welfare of Minority Communities

The Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation is concerned with following two points of the Prime Minister’s 15-Point Programme for the Welfare of Minority Communities:

India has said the terror attack on a naval base in Karachi was a cause of serious concern, particularly with regards to the safety of nuclear arsenal in Pakistan."Naturally it (nuclear arsenal) is a concern not only for us but for everybody," Defence Minister A K Antony told reporters after addressing a Naval Commander's Conference.

The Karnataka Government has embarked upon a mega project for reclamation of soil affected by salinity of water. The State Water Resources and Irrigation minister, Basavaraj Bommai informed this in Bangalore on Wednesday. He said the project costing over 600 crore rupees is envisaged jointly with the Central Government. He said excess use of water or water clogging leads to degradation of soil thereby affecting cultivation.

India and China are all set to resume defence dialogue. It had suffered a setback after Beijing had denied a visa to an army commander based in Jammu and Kashmir. Defence Minister A K Antony on Wednesday said in New Delhi, the two sides will soon resume the fourth round of defence secretary level talks. He said all the issues have been sorted out between both the governments. He also informed that Chinese defence secretary was willing to visit New Delhi and hold the defence dialogue in the first week of June.

After prolonged delay, government will soon notify new pictorial warnings on tobacco products, which will be “harsher” in case of chewing tobacco as it has been found more harmful than smoking.“The pictorial warnings are in the process of notification and can be notified any day. The Directorate of Visual Publicity has selected some pictures. There will be two types of warnings — for cigarettes and for smokeless tobacco,” Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said.

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