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Guard Station Karaikal. Karaikal is the fifth coast guard station on the Puducherry-Tamil Nadu coastline. The station is part of ongoing efforts by the Coast Guard to strengthen coastal security along the Indian coastline. The station at Karaikal will help augment patrolling along the east coast and prevent illicit activities such as infiltration, smuggling and illegal fishing. Coast Guard Station Karaikal will function under the administrative and operational control of the Commander Coast Guard Region (East) through the Commander Coast Guard District Headquarter- 5 located at Chennai. Commandant PR Lochen was appointed as the Commanding Officer of the station.

• Supreme Court Modified Order on Rehabilitation of Sex Workers: The Supreme Court of on 26 July 2012 modified one of its order on welfare and rehabilitation of sex workers. A special bench of Justices Altamas Kabir and Gyan Sudha Misra modified its earlier order, saying, "the modification shall not be construed that by this order any encouragement is being given to prostitution." Modifying its earlier order, the bench clarified that it would only examine the conditions conducive for sex workers to work with dignity in accordance with provisions of Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The bench added that it was keen that sex workers should be given an opportunity to avail rehabilitation measures of the government and other agencies for them. While adjudicating a petition for rehabilitation of former sex workers, the Supreme Court had on July 19, 2011 had framed three terms of reference. Article 21 in the Constitution of India states that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law

• Ministry of Women and Child Development drafted the National Policy for Children 2012: The Ministry of Women and Child Development on 26 July 2012 drafted the National Policy for Children 2012. The revised draft policy reaffirms the government's commitment towards children and addresses new challenges, seeking to realize the full potential of children’s rights throughout the country. It defines a child as a person below eighteen years of age, and acknowledges the inalienable and inherent rights of the child and aims to realize the full range of child rights for all children in the country. The draft has stated that every child has a right to be safeguarded against hunger, deprivation and malnutrition. According to the draft policy, the state is bound to secure the rights and entitlement of children in difficult circumstances such as migration, displacement, disasters and communal violence. The first National Policy on Children was formulated in 1974. The first policy of 1974 described children as a supremely important asset and made the state responsible for providing equal opportunities for growth and development of all children. The policy primarily focused on health and education of the children.

• ‘Anti-Ragging Web Portal’ inaugurated: Kapil Sibal, the Union Human Resource Minister inaugurated the ‘Anti- Ragging Web Portal’ on 26 July 2012. The University Grants Commission (UGC) has developed the portal in collaboration with Ed.CIL (India) Ltd. and Planet E-Com Solutions. Rajendra Kachroo, father of Aman who lost his life to ragging at a medical college in in 2009 has also contributed in the UGC managed portal. Supreme Court, in its judgment dated 8 May, 2009 ordered implementation of a ragging prevention programme comprising, setting up toll-free anti-ragging helpline /call centre, database of institutions/students, engaging an independent non-government agency.All calls that would be received by the Anti-ragging Helpline (18001805522) will be managed and followed up in a structured software system. Moreover, students can see the progress of their complaint any time on www.antiragging.in .

• Cabinet extends tenure of M B Shah Commission of Inquiry : The Union Cabinet on 20th July, approved extension of the tenure by a year till July 16 2013 of Justice M B Shah Commission of Inquiry which was set up to look into cases of illegal mining. An additional expenditure of Rs.50 lakh will be incurred because of the extension. It will cover Odisha, , , , Andhra Pradesh, and . The Justice M.B.Shah Commission of Inquiry was set up on November 22, 2011. It is based in Ahmadabad and was required to submit its report by July 16.

• Cabinet OKs Bill to make laws on sexual assault more stringent: The Union Cabinet on 19th July, has approved introduction of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2012, in Parliament seeking to widen the scope of sexual offence and replace the word 'rape' by the words 'sexual assault' to make the offence gender neutral. According to official spokesperson, the highlights of the Bill include substituting sections 375, 376, 376A and 376B by replacing the existing sections 375, 376, 376A, 376B, 376C

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and 376D of the Indian Penal Code,1860, replacing the word 'rape' wherever it occurs by the words 'sexual assault' to make the offence of sexual assault gender neutral.

• India recorded 3.8 Percent Unemployment Rate: According to the findings of unemployment survey conducted by the Labour Bureau of the Government of India, the country recorded 3.8 % unemployment rate in the year 2010-11 . The earlier figure (2009-10) was 9.4 %. The survey was conducted in all 28 states and 7 Union Territories. The findings of the survey were released on 9 July 2012. As per the survey report, the official unemployment rate of the country was 3.8 %, with urban unemployment and rural unemployment stood at 5.1% and 3.5 % respectively. Women unemployment at 6.7 % stood significantly ahead of men unemployment rate at 2.8 %. The report stated that of those with a livelihood, the majority were self-employed or casual labour. While 48.6 % were self-employed, 31% were casual labor. Based on social stratum the rates of employment for the SC, ST, and OBC groups stood at 55.9 per cent, 59.7 %, and 53.3 % respectively, as compared to 48.5 % for the general category. The unemployment rate was found maximum in states such as Goa (16 %), Kerala (9 %) , while (1 %) had the lowest number of unemployment rate.

• Pranab Mukherjee is 13th President of India: Pranab Mukherjee was elected as the 13th President of India on 22 July 2012, by defeating his nearest rival PA Sangma with a huge margin as he secured nearly 69 percent of total valid votes. In an electoral college of 10.5 lakh, Pranab Mukherjee secured a vote value of 713763, while, PA Sangma managed to get only a vote value 315987. Returning Officer announced the victory of Pranab Mukherjee for the Presidential election VK Agnihotri. Pranab Mukherjee will be sworn in as the thirteenth President of India on 25 July 2012. The election is held through the system of proportional representation by means of the single - transferable vote by secret ballot. The 1971 census is currently under consideration. The candidate who gets 50 percent of votes is considered elected. Supreme Court looks into all disputes related to Presidential election. V V Giri is the only person who was elected as the President of the country as an independent candidate in 1969. Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy was the only person to be elected to the office of President of India unopposed, as no other candidate filed nomination for the post of the President. He was elected to the office of President in July 1977.

• Supreme Court upholds life term for Bihar ex-MP The Supreme Court on 10th July, upheld the conviction and life imprisonment of ex-MP Anand Mohan Singh in the 1994 murder case of Gopalganj District Magistrate G. Krishnaiah. A bench headed by Justice A.K. Patnaik dismissed the plea of Singh, a gangster-turned- politician from Bihar, who had approached the Supreme Court against his conviction and life imprisonment in the murder case. Singh, who was the leader of the then Bihar People's Party (BPP), was accused of inciting a mob accompanying the cortege of a BPP leader to lynch Krishnaiah on December 5, 1994. The BPP is now defunct.The officer was pulled out of a car, beaten up mercilessly and then shot dead. Singh, a former MP from Sheohar, was awarded death sentence under Sections 302 (murder) and 109 (abetment of offence) of the Indian Penal Code by Additional District and Sessions Judge R.S. Rai on October 3, 2007. However, the Patna High Court in its December 2008 verdict had commuted Singh's death penalty to life sentence, against which he had moved the Supreme Court.

• Shettar sworn in Karnataka Chief Minister: Fifty-six year-old Lingayat leader from north Karnataka, , was sworn-in as chief minister on 12th July, along with a full-fledged team of 33 ministers. This included two deputy chief ministers - Party State President K. S. Eshwarappa and former Home Minister R. Ashok. Mr. Shettar is the third chief minister of the Bharatiya that came to power in 2008. He will have a short tenure of only about 10 months as the State Assembly's term ends in May 2013. While all the 21 ministers who were part of the previous dispensation have been continued in the new government, 12 new ministers have also been included. With this, the ministry has reached the maximum size of 34 members including the chief minister that has been allowed for Karnataka considering the numerical strength of its Assembly. This is the first time since the formation of the BJP government that all the ministerial berths have been filled up. Also, this is the first time that the state is having two deputy chief ministers though five other previous governments had single deputy chief ministers. The members of the Shettar ministry are: K. S. Eshwarappa and R. Ashok (Deputy Chief Ministers), , Umesh Katti, C. M. Udasi, Suresh Kumar, Visveshwara Hegde Kageri, , Murugesh Nirani, B. N. Bachche Gowda, C. P.

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Yogeshwar, V. Somanna, M. P. Renukacharya, S. A. Ravindranath, S. A. Ramdas, Balachandra Jharkiholi, Anand Asnotikar, A. Narayanaswamy, Revunayak Belamagi, Varthur Prakash, Raju Gowda (who were part of the earlier dispensation); S. K. Bellubbi, C. T. Ravi, D. N. Jeevaraj, Sogadhu Shivanna, Arvind Limbavali, B. J. Puttaswamy, Appachchu Ranjan, Anand Singh, Kalakappa Bandi, Kota Srinivas Poojary and Sunil Valyapure. The swearing-in ceremony was held at the Glass House in Raj Bhavan.

• India is the third most desirable destination for FDI: As per the report from UNCTADWorld Investment Report 2012 released on 5 July , India is the third most desirable destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) .The report said, the two large emerging economies, China and India, saw inflows rise by nearly 8 per cent and by 31 per cent, respectively. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development(UNCTAD) is an inter- governmental body that seeks to maximize trade, investment and development in developing nations. The UNCTAD report said that,in South Asia, FDI inflows have turned around after a slide in 2009–2010, reaching $39 billion, mainly as a result of rising inflows in India, which accounted for more than four fifths of the region’s FDI. FDI outflows from India rose by 12 per cent to $15 billion in 2011. The UNCTAD report, however, shows that FDI inflows by multionational companies was third-highest in India, only behind China and the US. It also found that India remains the third highest prospective host economy for FDI by multionational companies from 2012-2014, only behind China and the US. Last year, the coalition United Progressive Alliance government approved 49 per cent FDI in retail but had to quickly dial back the development after political parties, including allies, protested.

• World Population Day celebrated: World Population Day was celebrated on 11 July 2012. It aims to make aware people about the increasing population in the country. The main theme of the year 2012 was “Universal Access to Reproductive Health Services”. Since 1987, the population day is being celebrated world wide.

• Vetaran congress leader Pranab Mukherjee, resigned as the Union Finance Minister on 26 June 2012 as he is going to contest in the presidential elections.. He was appointed as the Union Finance Minister on 24 January 2009, during the UPA I government. Mukherjee was first appointed as the Finance minister of India during the Indira Gandhi government in 1982 and he got his maiden annual budget presented in the Parliament in 1982- 83.His first instance as the Union Minister started in 1973, when he was appointed the Union Deputy Minister for Industrial Development in the Indira Gandhi government. He was first elected to the Loksabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament, in 2004 from Jangipur constituency in West Bengal and was made the leader of the house by the ruling coalition. Mukherjee served in various capacities under three different Prime Ministers including Indira Gandhi, PV Narsimha Rao and Manmohan Singh.In a Parliamentary career spanning more than four decades, Mukherjee held various key positions such as the Union Minister of External Affairs and Union Minister of Defence in various Congress governments. As the Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission during PV Narsimha Rao government from 24 June 1991 to 15 May 1996, he was instrumental in the growth of Indian economy in the post economic reform era.A key figure of the Congress led UPA government, Mukherjee was heading nearly a dozen Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on various crucial issues such as telecom, divestment, food security, water issues, gas pricing and large power projects, among others. His candidature for the Presidential Elections also made him to quit as the head of numerous EGoM.

• In a first, the Central Vigilance Commission of India has been chosen to lead a global task force to promote international cooperation in enforcement and prevention of corruption offences. The objectives of the task force is to facilitate exchange of information about anti-corruption organisations, systems, procedures and practices. It will also promote international cooperation in enforcement and prevention, define best practices and develop benchmarks and new approaches to tackle corruption in its various manifestations and assist in capacity building of anti-corruption authorities (ACAs). The decision to assign the role of heading the task force to CVC was taken recently by the International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities (IAACA ), an independent, non-political anti-corruption organisation. Central Vigilance Commissioner Pradeep Kumar had in April proposed creation of the task force and expressed interest in leading it during an executive committee meeting of IAACA in Tanzania which was attended by chiefs of anti-corruption watchdogs from various nations including India.

• The Union Government of India on 4 July 2012 announced the 5.4 billion dollar free drug policy , which will benefit the country's 120 crore population .Under the new policy, every citizen of the country will be

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provided free medicines in all public health centres spreaded across the country. As the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare kept branded drugs out of this policy, the patients will be given only generic drugs. The policy which will remain effective over the next five years will provide a much needed support to nearly 40 percent people of the country, which spends 1.25 dollar or less a day on health.Now, india spends only about 1.2 percent of its annual GDP on health, making it a country with least spending on public health services.

• The Supreme Court of India on 3 July 2012 declared the area within a five-kilometre radius around the Jarawa Tribal Reserve in Andaman and Nicobar Islands as “no go zone”. The Apex Court banned all commercial and tourism activities near the Jarawa habitat.The court's verdict came following a news report which showed some tourists throwing money, food and bananas at the tribal people. The news report had forced the government to order an inquiry.Jarawas are one of the oldest living indigenous people in the world. The tribe has their home in the forests of the Andaman Islands in India. The present number of Jarawa tribe is estimated to be about 250-400. Jarawas have been living in the forests of the Andaman Islands for past thousands of years.

• In a major relief to the former Chief Minister, the Supreme Court on 6th July, quashed a First Information Report registered against Mayawati by the CBI, alleging that she acquired assets disproportionate to the known sources of her income. A Bench of Justices P. Sathasivam and Dipak Misra said ''The impugned FIR is without jurisdiction and any investigation pursuant thereto is illegal. After reading all the orders of this Court, we are satisfied that this court, being the ultimate custodian of fundamental rights, did not issue any direction to the CBI to conduct a roving inquiry into the assets of the petitioner commencing from 1995 to 2003 even though the Taj Heritage Corridor Project was conceived only in July, 2002 and an amount of Rs. 17 crore was released in August/September 2002.'' Writing the judgment, Justice Sathasivam said: ''The method adopted by the CBI is unwarranted and without jurisdiction. We are also satisfied that the CBI has proceeded without a proper understanding of various orders passed by this court. We are also satisfied that there was no such direction relating to second FIR (relating to disproportionate assets), dated 05.10.2003.''

• The Union government on 6th July, appointed Home Minister P. Chidambaram the chairman of the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on spectrum, which has a daunting task to accomplish in a matter of days. With this, Mr. Chidambaram has become the third chairman of the EGoM, replacing Sharad Pawar, who took the place of Pranab Mukherjee The most important part of the EGOM’s work is to fix the reserve price for spectrum in the 2G auctions scheduled for August. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended a reserve price of Rs.18, 348 crore for 4.4 MHz of pan-India spectrum — a quantum leap from Rs.1,658 crore at which the former Telecom Minister, A. Raja, allocated pan-India licences in 2008.

August

• The Madras High Court on 31 August cleared the decks for the commissioning of Units I and II of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP), holding that there was no impediment to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd to proceed with the project. However, it made it clear that the regulatory authorities should periodically oversee the compliance and maintenance of standards of pollution. In its nearly 300-page order, the Bench said Tirunelveli District Collector should conduct offshore drill periodically in all villages. The Tamil Nadu government should initiate the developmental schemes contemplated by it for the villages around the plant immediately. The court concurred with former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s suggestion to establish a multispecialty hospital with all facilities in the area, apart from establishing various schools with the CBSE and State government syllabus with hostel facilities. Infrastructural facilities should be provided for fishermen for repair of mechanised boats in and around Kudankulam. After going through the records, the specially constituted Bench held that there was no violation of environmental safeguards. Various safety and other aspects of the KKNPP were being monitored continuously by the authorities. As and when required, they could always give suitable directions for maintaining ecological balance. An expert committee appointed by the State government had categorically stated that historically there had never been a big earthquake or tsunami in the Kudankulam area.

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• Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 27 August attacked the Comptroller and Auditor-General’s report on the coal blocks allocation during 2004-09, saying any allegation of impropriety was without basis and unsupported by facts.

• The Union government on 27 August told the Supreme Court that the Cabinet had cleared the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Bill, 2012. On August 24, the court pulled up the government for its callousness in not enacting a law to ban manual scavenging despite repeated assurances that it would come out with law to eliminate this heinous practice. Additional Solicitor General Harin Rawal said to the court that as per Article 117(1), the Bill had to be introduced in Parliament on the President’s recommendation.

• Supreme Court of India on 29 August 2012 upheld the death sentence of Mumbai terror attack convict Ajmal Amir Kasab. Upholding the death sentence of Kasab the Supreme Court bench of Justice Aftab Alam and Justice CK Prasad held that waging war against the country was the primary and foremost offence committed by the Pakistani terrorist. Kasab was awarded the death sentence by a special anti-terror court on 6 May 2010 on charges of criminal conspiracy, waging war against the nation and various other provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. As the Supreme Court confirmed his death sentence, became the 309th prisoner on death row in India. If executed, he will be the 52nd person to be hanged after India got independence.

• The Union Government on 28 August 2012 cleared a proposal to put a complete ban on employment of children up to the age of 14 both in hazardous and non-hazardous work by amending an anti-child labour Act. The Union Cabinet approved bringing amendment to the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, which has also penal provisions for non compliance. As per the existing Act, children below 14 years of age are allowed to work in industries not considered to be hazardous.

• The Supreme Court of India on 17 August 2012 ruled that it would not allow resumption of mining activities of iron ore in Karnataka unless there is a statutory compliance and full implementation of reclamation and rehabilitation measures. A special forest bench comprised of Justice Aftab Alam, K.S. Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar accepted all recommendations of August 16 report of the apex court- appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC). The Supreme Court was hearing to a petition filed by an NGO Samaj Parivartana Samudaya against the illegal mining and encroachment of forest areas in the state. Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan appeared for NGO. An alleged 35 lakh metric tons of iron ore have been illegally exported by private firms in Karnataka. Accepting the recommendations of CEC, the Supreme Court on 13 April 2012 had suspended new mining leases in Bellary, Tumkur and Chitradurga districts of Karnataka unless rehabilitation plans for the existing leases were executed.

• A special court on 29 August 2012 convicted 32 people, including former Gujarat Minister Maya Kodnani and Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi in the 2002 Naroda Patiya riots case . The communal riot in Naroda Patiya in Gujarat had claimed the lives of 97 people from the minority community. Kodnani, a three-time BJP MLA from Naroda area and Bajrangi were held guilty under sections 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of IPC in the post-Godhra riots case. The court acquitted 29 other accused in the same case as it didn’t find any solid evidence against them. The court will award the punishment to all the convicts on 31 August 2012. The trial in the case began in August 2009 and charges were framed against 62 accused. The massacre in the Naroda Patiya area had taken place a day after the Godhra train burning incident of 27 February 2002. On February 28, 2002 when a bandh call was given by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a large crowd gathered in the Naroda Patiya area and attacked people belonging to minority community that resulted in the death of 97 people while 33 others were injured in the violence. • India's ruling United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi has been ranked sixth, in the Forbes magazine list of 100 powerful women. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is ranked the most powerful in the world for the second year in a row. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is placed second, followed by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, making the top three spots unchanged from that of last year. US first lady Michelle Obama, who had topped the list in 2010, was ranked No.7. Also in the top five were Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and wife of Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates, and Jill Abramson, executive editor of the New York Times. Besides Sonia Gandhi, the list released on 21 august

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features three other Indians. Padmasree Warrior, chief technology and strategy officer, Cisco Systems, and Chanda Kochhar, managing director and CEO, ICICI Bank, are ranked 58th and 59th, while Kiran Mazumdar- Shaw, founder and chair, Biocon Ltd, is placed 80th. PepsiCo's Indian-American chairperson and CEO Indra Nooyi is ranked 12th. The list named women involved in policymaking, entertainment, technology and nonprofit organisations, among other fields. They were ranked according to influence, the amount of money they control or earn, and media presence.

• Government has given an ultimatum on 21 August, to social networking site Twitter to block nearly 30 of its webpages which continue to host morphed and inflammatory contents or face punitive action .The move comes after Union Home Secretary RK Singh asked the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEIT) to serve the ultimatum on Twitter as it failed to comply with the government order to block 28 WebPages in its site. Government had already ordered blocking of 310 webpages where morphed and inflammatory contents were uploaded with the aim to incite Muslims in India leading to the mass exodus of people of the northeastern region from places in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and .

• Members of Parliament, cutting across party lines, on 18 august, sent out a strong message to the northeast people that the whole country was for them and with them and that, they need not have any apprehension about their safety. Like any other citizen, they have every right to study, work and reside in any part of India.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh intervened in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha when the Houses took up for discussion, by suspending question hour, attacks on the northeast people and their exodus. He said the growing sense of insecurity among the northeast people was “more reprehensible”. Union Home Secretary R.K. Singh said that to check rumours, bulk SMSs and MMSs have been banned for 15 days with immediate effect. No one would be allowed to send more than 5 SMSs at a time and more than 20 KB of data through mobile phones.

• The re-designed website of the President of India was launched at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 3 August. The re- designed website has some new features, which include direct connectivity from the website to social networking media of the President i.e. Facebook and You-Tube. These two features have been initiated after assumption of charge by the President Pranab Mukherjee. The new website also has a Video Gallery. Citizens can connect to the President directly by clicking the button ‘Write to the President’, which will take them directly to the helpline portal. Moreover, visuals have been conceptualized and made user friendly. Launching the website, Secretary to the President, Ms. Omita Paul expressed the hope that it would be a step forward to bring the President of India closer to the people. She also said that efforts would be made to ensure that the website is in line with the best global practices.

• A parliamentary panel on agriculture asked the government to ban all field trials of GM crops until it develops a better system of monitoring and oversight. In the 389-page report submitted in the parliament on 9 August 2012, the panel also demanded a complete probe into how permission was granted in 2009 for the commercialisation of Bt brinjal (also known as aubergine, or eggplant). Experts say that, it will be a major setback to the production of genetically modified (GM) foods in the country.Bt Brinjal was developed by Pune- based Mahyco (Maharashtra Hybrid Company) in a joint venture with US seed giant Monsanto. The Genetic Engeneering Appraisal Committee had cleared the commercialization of Bt Brinjal on 14 October 2009, though soon after its clearance it was caught amidst bitter controversies ranging from its environmental impacts to ethical concerns such as corporate control of the food supply and intellectual property rights. Bt cotton was the only GM crop before Bt Brinjal which had got clearance for commercialization.

• Former Chief Minister of Gujarat, launched Gujarat Parivartan (GPP) Party on 6 August 2012. Keshubhai Patel and the former union textile minister Kanshiram Rana resigned from Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) on 4 August 2012. This Party would contest all the 182 seats in Gujarat assembly elections which will be held by the end of 2012.

• Naresh Chandra Committee , a 14-member task force on national security, submitted its report to the government on 8 August 2012. The committee was set up by the Union government on 21 June 2012 to suggest ways to revamp of defence management in the country. Naresh Chandra, a former bureaucrat, headed the committee which members included former military officers, intelligence chiefs, diplomats and strategic analysts. The main objective behind the constitution of the committee was to contemporarise the Kargil Review

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Committee’s recommendations, which was tabled in the Parliament on 23 February 2000. Besides, the task force was also asked to examine the state of country's border management and restructuring system.

• Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 2 August, approved relaxations in the land transfer policy by Clearing bottlenecks in transfer of Government land, which would also remove any delays in awarding concessions for infrastructure projects. The decision to relax the ban imposed on all transfer of government owned land for certain categories would speed up the award of PPP projects from this month onwards significantly. Early last year, a ban had been imposed on all transfer of government owned land to any entity except in cases where land was to be transferred from one government department to another. With this decision, all cases of land transfer from Ministries to statutory authorities or PSUs will be allowed as also development and use of railway land by the Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA). All PPP infrastructure projects — roads, railways, ports, civil aviation and metros have some element of land alienation as the projects are often built on government owned land. The government continues to own the land that is leased or licensed out.

• The Union Cabinet on 3 August, fixed a reserve (minimum) price of Rs. 14,000 crore for 5 MHz of pan- India 2G spectrum in the 1800-MHz GSM band for auctioning spectrum to be vacated by companies whose 122 licences were cancelled by the Supreme Court on February 2, 2012. The reserve price for 5 MHz of CDMA spectrum has been put at Rs. 18,200 crore, 1.3 times the price of GSM spectrum. Only two slots of 5 MHz each will be put on the block, though spectrum will be available for bidding in multiple blocks of 1.25 MHz. Taking a bold political decision, the government shaved $750 million, or roughly Rs. 4,100 crore, off the roughly Rs 18,000-crore reserve price recommended by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

• Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare, ending his "indefinite" hunger strike after six days, announced the launch of a new political party. The 75-year-old broke his fast with a glass of juice offered by former army chief Gen. V. K. Singh.His team said, candidates for the party would be chosen by the people.His campaign also demanded a special probe into possible graft allegations against 15 ministers, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

• The Centre has decided to frame a new National Water Framework Act with guiding principles on water laws the States may adopt, which will have far-reaching implications. States that adopt and reform will be incentivised for water projects. That such a law would be made is buried in the pages of the draft new national water policy that is yet to be considered by the National Water Council, the supreme policy body chaired by the Prime Minister.

• A top official of ONGC said, will emerge as the biggest on—land natural gas producing state in the country by 2014 with the capacity of producing 50 lakh cubic meter natural gas (5 MMSCMD) per day, Now 18 lakh cubic meter gas (1.83 MMSCMD) is produced daily from the operational wells in Tripura. Sources said, 15 wells have been drilled across the state and there are plans to drill 15 more wells during 2012- 13.The 726 MW gas based thermal power project at Palatana in Gomati district would start producing power this year. It was set up by ONGC Tripura Power Corporation (OTPC) .The Prime Minister had laid the foundation stone for the project at Palatana, 60 km from Agartala in 2005.

• Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray’s 1955 classic ’Pather Panchali’ has featured in the 50 greatest films of all time list, which was dominated by Alfred Hichcock’s thriller ’Vertigo’. ‘Pather Panchali’ (Song of the Road) was made on a budget of Rs. 1,50,000. With 31 votes ‘Pather Panchali’ came 42nd in the Sight & Sound poll. The film is a lyrical, closely observed story of a peasant family in 1920s rural India.

• The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) has swept the first-ever elections to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) winning all 45 seats in the regional autonomous body. The GJM had gained control of the body with its candidates winning from 28 constituencies unopposed. Elections to the remaining 17 constituencies were held on July 29 and the results were announced on 2 August. West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chairperson announced on July 21 the withdrawal of her party candidates from the fray, making things easier for the GJM.

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• The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs ( CCPA ), headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on 3 August, approved the longstanding demand of the people of Karnataka to provide special status, under Article 371-D of the Constitution , to develop six backward districts of the Hyderabad Karnataka region in the State. This will be on the lines of special status given to the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh. The six districts that will benefit in Karnataka are Bidar, Gulbarga, Yadgir, Koppal, Raichur and Bellary.

• Union Government, Shipping Minister G K Vasan, as part of efforts to enhance maritime security, on 3 August launched the Rs 132 crore National Automatic Identification System (NAIS), which will ensure effective search and co-ordination besides broadcasting warnings to merchant ships. Authorities describing the project as the most important component of coastal surveillance, and it will enhance safe navigation along the 7,500—km long Indian coastline.

September

• Acting further on the recommendations of the Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) set up to review the allocation of coal blocks, the Coal Ministry on 18 september, de-allocated two more blocks , including one linked to Sudhir Kant Sahay, brother of Union Tourism Minister Subodh Kant Sahay, and recommended stiff penal action against Congress MP Naveen Jindal-owned Jitpur coal block in Chhattisgarh.The Ministry also decided to deduct bank guarantees of Tata Sponge Iron and Bhushan Power and Steel Ltd for having failed to develop the blocks allocated to them in Odisha within the time frame.With the de-allocation of two more blocks, the total number of mines that have faced this action has increased to seven. The bank guarantee of seven firms has been deducted. The IMG has so far recommended de-allocation of eight blocks and deduction of bank guarantee in the case of 10 blocks.

• The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development on 18 September 2012 decided to launch a scheme called” Saksham” to empower adolescent boys by educating them on gender sensitivity and moral behaviour. Saksham aims to target young boys in the age group 10-18 years for their holistic development by giving lessons in gender sensitivity and inculcating in them respect for women.The Union government has already allocated ten lakh rupees for preparatory work for the scheme which is expected to be rolled out from the next financial year 2012-13.

• The Automotive Skill Development Council (ASDC), India’s first Sector Skill Council (SSC), held its first convocation in Begaluru on 17 september.The ASDC is funded by the National Skills Development Corporation (NSDC) and Ministry of Heavy Industry.Pawan Goenka, chairman, ASDC, said there was a lot of scope for growth of the automotive industry in India.Its share of the GDP has grown from 3 per cent to 6.7 per cent. By 2020, India will be the third largest automotive producer from its present sixth position.

• The Kerala Council for Historical Research (KCHR) and the British Museum have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for collaboration on 17 september in kochi.The collaboration would be in effect for five years and may be extended. Both the organisations are keen on building on their existing cooperation and working together on research, conservation, loans, exhibitions and other key areas of museum activity for the benefit of audiences in Kerala, London and worldwide.

• Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 19 september, directed Karnataka to release 9,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu at Biligundlu (the border) daily from September 21 till October 15 . Both the States said the ruling was “unacceptable’’.Chairing the seventh meeting of the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) to resolve the issue of sharing of Cauvery waters, the Prime Minister initially appealed to the States to reach an amicable and mutually acceptable solution on pro rata sharing of distress this season, when the monsoon has been deficient in the both the States, but there was no consensus.For a while the meeting was adjourned mid-way for all parties to confabulate, but still no agreement could be reached.Expressing her “total disappointment’’ with the verdict, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa told that she had no option but to knock at the doors of the Supreme Court to seek justice to sustain the samba crop. Reacting to Tamil

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Nadu’s decision to approach the Supreme Court, Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid said since there was no consensus a decision had to be taken and it was expected that the States would accept it.

• Moving a step closer towards transparency and clarity, the Coal Ministry on 19 september,has invited the comments of coal producing States on rules for auction of assets through competitive bidding. Allocation of coal blocks to companies for specified end use other than power generation shall be done through competitive bidding, in which even government firms can participate.The Ministry has engaged a professional consultant to frame exhaustive guidelines for ensuring transparency in allocation of natural resources. Competitive bidding, for which the government has already identified 54 coal blocks, is likely to take off only early next year.

• The Union Commerce and Textile Minister Anand Sharma said in Ahmedabad on 19 september that,the Ahmedabad-based National Institute of Design will soon be given the status of “Institute of Excellence, Mr. Sharma, who inaugurated the Gandhinagar campus, said a Bill was being drafted to give the NID the status of institute of excellence on a par with the IIMs and the IITs.Mr. Sharma said. The NID is the only institute of its kind in the country.

• A day after Ministers of the Trinamool Congress resigned from the Union Council of Ministers, six Ministers of the Congress in the West Bengal government handed over their resignations to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the State Secretariat on 22 september,in kolkata.Senior Congress leader and former Minister in the government Manas Ranjan Bhunia described the developments here as a “sequel” to the Trinamool Congress withdrawing support from the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre in a “complex political situation.”

• India's first child witness court room inaugurated: India's first child witness court room (CWCR), designed to present friendly image of courts for child witnesses, was today inaugurated at the Karkardooma courts complex in New on 17 September. The CWCR has been opened to help children, who are sometimes witnesses in cases pertaining to sexual offences, to depose freely in the court.

• All imported cosmetics to be regulated for safety : In a first-time move to legally regulate the multi-crore imported personal care product industry, the Health Ministry has approved draft guidelines which bar the sales of imported cosmetics in India unless their manufacturers get the products registered with the apex drug regulator Central Drug Standards Control Organisation. For this purpose, the government is setting up a dedicated wing under the CDSCO's Drug Controller General of India, which will act as the registration authority for imported cosmetics. The wing will come up at CDSCO's Noida complex. The wing will be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities to monitor the range of imported cosmetics for their safety. At present, there is no system to regulate such imports. The step will ensure the safety of consumers using these products, a senior Health Ministry official told. The government has notified amendments to the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules making it compulsory for global cosmetic manufacturers or their authorised agents and subsidiaries in India to seek registrations of cosmetic brands before sale in the country. The Guidelines for Import and Registration of Cosmetics mentions, Each cosmetic category — like lipstick, mascara, tooth pastes, soaps etc will carry a registration fee of USD 250 or equivalent Indian rupees. Any violation will evoke penalties in the form of fines and even jail term. At the time of registration, manufacturers of imported cosmetics will be required to declare the chemical composition of raw materials used and finished products. The strength of raw materials and the shelf life of cosmetics must also be provided and all these should be in conformity with the specifications laid down by the Bureau of Indian Standards, the Draft Guidelines for Import of Cosmetics says. The idea is to ensure consumer safety. Imported cosmetics worth thousands of crores are being used and these are unregulated at present, Health Ministry officials say. The need for regulation was felt in the wake of unsafe cosmetic products entering the supply chain. A WHO study recently warned against the use of skin lightening soaps, creams and cosmetics like eye make-ups, cleansing products and mascaras saying these could contain mercury.

• New measures announced for the welfare of overseas Indians: Vayalar Ravi, Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs inaugurated the 7th Heads of Indian Missions (HoMs)

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conference on 17 September 2012. He announced revised Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) scheme, which includes: a. Assistance towards boarding expenses per head by HOMs is enhanced from 15 to 30 days. b. Payment of penalties in respect of Indian nationals for illegal stay in the host country where prima facie the worker is not at fault. c. Payment of small fines/penalties for the release of Indian nationals in jail/detention centre. d. Providing support to local Overseas Indian Associations to establish Overseas Indian Community Centres in countries that have populations of Overseas Indians exceeding 1,00,000. e. Providing support to start and run Overseas Indian Community-based student welfare centres in Countries that have more than 20,000 Indian students’ presence.

The Minister also mentioned that Government has given the voting rights to NRIs. The Government is also getting the PIO and OCI Card Scheme merged into one Scheme. The conference was attended by Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries as well as Jordan, Yemen, Malaysia, Maldives, Angola, Thailand, Nigeria, Iraq and Libya. The conference is organized by the Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs every year to discuss the issues related to protection and welfare of Overseas Indian workers. There are approximately 7.5 million semi-skilled and unskilled overseas Indian workers in the GCC countries and Malaysia on temporary employment/ contract visas, predominantly in the construction, healthcare and household services sectors. The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) is the nodal Ministry for protection and welfare of Overseas Indian workers.

• Shimla Municipal Corporation introduced Green Tax on vehicles entering Shimla: Shimla Municipal Corporation on 15 September 2012 introduced Green Tax on Shimla entry of vehicles not registered in Himachal Pradesh. The Corporation Commissioner M.P. Sood stated that the vehicles crossing the entry points of the town will have to pay the imposed tax. The tax will be imposed on automobiles on both commercial and non-commercial category. By imposing the tax, the corporation will increase its revenue by Rs 6 crore per year. The taxes will be charged on the four entry points of the city namely, Totu, Tara Devi, Dhalli and Mahali.

• Tax imposed as per the category of vehicles: 1.Two wheelers- Rs 100 per entry 2. Car- Rs 200 per entry 3. Utility Vehicles- Rs300 per entry 4. Bus/truck- Rs 500 per entry

• Congress-ruled states to increase LPG subsidy cap to 9 cylinders: The Congress has decided to increase the cap on subsidised LPG cylinders from 6 to 9 in the states ruled by the party. Congress leader Janardan Dwivedi said party president Sonia Gandhi had spoken to the Congress chief ministers and directed them to increase the number of subsidised cylinders to 9. The Congress-led UPA Government had, on 13th September, announced an annual six-cylinder cap on subsidised cylinder for every family. The Delhi government has already announced that it will give three more cylinders to the families belonging to economically weaker sections under a scheme to make the state kerosene-free

• SC: Land belonging to Scheduled Castes or Tribes cannot be bought by Non-Dalits: The Supreme Court of India on 20 September 2012 ruled that the land belonging to scheduled castes or tribes cannot be bought by non-dalits, including companies as such transactions are unconstitutional. A bench of justices KS Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra gave the verdict on an appeal by the government against the state High Court's order holding such a sale to be valid in law. The Rajasthan High Court had passed its order on an appeal by a private firm against the refusal by the state authorities to recognise or grant mutation to the purchase of a plot by the company from a person belonging to scheduled caste.

• 2500 developers achieve Guinness World Record Nearly 3000 developers made history on 22 September by setting a world record for the 'Most Participants in a Software Development Marathon in One Location' organised by software giant Microsoft in Bangalore. The

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record has been set at 2567 developers coding non-stop for 18 hours since yesterday (21 September). Developers came from all over India and beyond to participate in the event hosted by Microsoft -- building, designing and testing apps for the Windows platform. Emceed by Gaurav Kapoor and Roshan Abbas, the event was filled with activities throughout the day and night including performances from DJRink, rock band Swarathma and morning yoga sessions and build new apps for Windows. As the clock struck 0800 hrs the world's largest app marathon was realised, a company release said. Mr Paul O'Neill, Vice President Guinness World Records Commercial, announced Microsoft's entry into the Guinness World Records for the Most Participants in a Software Development Marathon in One Location. A certificate validating the record was presented to Jon DeVaan, Corporate Vice President for Windows Development at Microsoft and Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman, Microsoft Corporation India Pvt. Ltd.

• On instructions from the Central Vigilance Commission, the CBI on 24 September, decided to expand the scope of its investigation into the scam in coal blocks allocation to private firms between 1993 and 2004 . The probe will now cover the blocks given during the six-year tenure of the BJP-led NDA government, from 1998 to 2004, besides those allotted by the Congress government led by P.V. Narasimha Rao after 1993 and the United Front government from 1996 to 1998. Till now, the CBI was investigating private companies that got blocks between 2004 and 2009.As per the Comptroller and Auditor-General’s report on the allocation between 1993 and 2009, 215 blocks were allotted and 99 of them went to government companies and 105 to private firms, while 11 were allotted for ultra-mega power projects. Twenty-four blocks were de-allocated between 2003 and 2011 for non-performance by companies. On representations from MPs, Coal Minister Shriprakash Jaiswal wrote to the CVC, seeking a CBI probe into the allocations since 1993 when the government started giving blocks to private players for captive use. Mainly Congress MPs alleged massive irregularities in the allocations under the NDA rule.

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs ( CCEA ) , which met under the leadership of the Prime Minister, on 24 September, approved a Rs. 1.90-lakh crore debt restructuring package for the State Electricity Boards to facilitate a turnaround of the State distribution companies (discoms). The package may force the distribution companies, which are in the red, to begin a fresh round of tariff increase. A Cabinet note said that, restructuring by lenders is subject to certain steps to be taken by the State government/discoms and their commitment to fulfill mandatory conditions aimed at bridging the gap between the average cost of supply and the average revenue realised to restore the viability of the sector. In other words, it will be mandatory for the State governments or distribution companies to revise their tariffs regularly to avail themselves of the package. The scheme provides for 50 per cent of the outstanding short-term liabilities as of March 31, 2012 to be taken over by the States governments. This shall be first converted into bonds to be issued by the distributing companies to lenders and guaranteed by the State governments. The scheme also makes prepaid meters mandatory by March 31, 2013 for all government consumers and large consumers (1 MW and above), in whose cases defaults have occurred.

• The Union Cabinet on 24 September broadly approved the scheme of one rank, one pension (OROP), which is the long-standing demand of ex-servicemen. Cabinet also gave its nod for enhancement of family pension and dual family pension. These decisions will cost the government about Rs. 2300 crore annually. It also approved the grant of family pension to mentally and physically challenged children of armed forces personnel. The decisions on pension issues of ex-servicemen may be implemented from a prospective date and payment made accordingly. The Cabinet nod for the OROP came weeks after the six-member committee, set up by the Prime Minister, submitted its report. Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth headed the committee. It was set up after a Rajya Sabha panel last year recommended granting one rank, one pension to defence personnel.

• Hyderabad is hosting the ninth general assembly of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), which is being billed as the biggest ever conference on eye care. The gathering has nearly 1,600 participants from 87 countries. Delegates include ophthalmologists and optometrists. IAPB is an umbrella organisation that leads international efforts in blindness prevention. Its previous general assembly, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2008, attracted 800 participants from 60 countries. The meet, titled 'Eye Health: Everyone's Business', focuses on eliminating avoidable blindness globally by 2020. It is part of a joint programme of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the IAPB, called 'Vision 2020 - The Right to Sight', and includes international NGOs, professional associations, eye care institutions and corporations. According to WHO data

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shared by officials of the L.V. Prasad Eye Institute, which is involved in organising the Hyderabad event, India has some 63 million cases of visual impairment out of a total of 285 million cases worldwide. An estimated 80 per cent of all visual impairment is avoidable, which means that it can be prevented, treated or cured. Inaugurating the event on September 17, former president of India A.P.J. Abdul Kalam said India needed to build research capacity, make laws donor-friendly and improve accessibility to eye care. The conference ends on September 20.

• The Supreme Court on 28 September, expressed its displeasure over Karnataka not complying with a direction issued by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, heading the Cauvery River Authority (CRA), to release 9,000 cusecs of Cauvery water daily to Tamil Nadu from September 20 to October 15. The Bench comprising Justice D.K. Jain and Justice Madan B. Lokur directed Karnataka to comply with the CRA’s order. It issued notice to Karnataka seeking its response within a week to Tamil Nadu’s application, and a rejoinder from Tamil Nadu within a week thereafter. Senior counsel C.S. Vaidyanathan, appearing for Tamil Nadu, told the court that the CRA had directed Karnataka on September 19 to release 9,000 cusecs from September 20, but the order was not complied with. Since Karnataka had failed to obey the order, it should be treated as constitutional breakdown, and the court should direct the Centre to invoke Article 355 or 356. He said the court might order deployment of the Army in Karnataka to ensure it complied with the order.

• The committee, headed by former finance secretary Vijay Kelkar, formed to prepare a fiscal consolidation plan for the government, on 28 September, recommended withdrawal of all subsidies, saying the Indian economy is poised on the edge of a "fiscal precipice". But officials in the finance ministry said the committee's suggestion cannot be accepted as it is, as some subsidies are necessary, given the government's stated policy of inclusive growth. The committee said half of diesel subsidy should be eliminated by March 2013 and the rest by fiscal 2014.It recommended kerosene price should be raised by Rs.2 per litre and that the subsidy on the fuel needed to be reduced by one-third by fiscal 2015. It also suggested phased elimination of subsidy on LPG in the next four years. In case of food, the panel favoured rising of issue price of food grain at ration shops. On fertiliser subsidies, it wanted the government to raise the urea price. The report advised the government to sell residual stake in BALCO. The committee warned the government that in the absence of these corrective measures, the fiscal deficit of the government could shoot up to 6.1 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in the current financial year against the budget estimate of 5.1 per cent.

• Country’s first Aquifer Atlas was released in New Delhi on 27 September. There has been a sharp decline in groundwater levels in several parts of Delhi, West Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan over the years. According to the data released , which is part of country's first ever aquifer atlas, Himachal Pradesh has the best groundwater level as water exploited is quickly recharged. The atlas, first ever compilation of aquifer systems in India, says that within the national capital, South-West Delhi is the worst affected by depleting groundwater levels. The Central Ground Water Board Chairman S C Dhiman said that the construction around Aravali Hills has created a situation which has disturbed the groundwater recharge system. He said over exploitation due to population concentration has led to depletion of levels and the recharge process is slow due to the type of soil in the region. Dhiman also said hard rock areas of South India are also severely affected. The atlas has been prepared on 1:250000-grid map scale. Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said that, it would be better if the scale is 1:10000 so that every village in the country is covered. Then it will help the farmers and the common man to understand the water level in their area.

• An All India Survey on Higher Education, conducted by the Ministry of Human Resource Development has revealed that the percentage of students from the Other Backward Communities who have enrolled in higher education has gone past 27 per cent, but the number of students from the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes continues to be very low . Indicating an impressive increase in the Gross Enrolment Ratio from 15 per cent in 2009-10 to 18.8 per cent in 2010-11, the survey shows that the enrolment of women has increased substantially from 12.7 per cent to 16.5 per cent during this period, as against that of men, where the increase has been from 17.1 per cent to 20.9 per cent. Of the students in higher educational institutions, OBC students comprise 27.1 per cent, with 27.3 per cent being male and 26.8 per cent being female. However, the Scheduled Castes comprise only 10.2 per cent of the enrolment, with 10.3 per cent male and 10.1 female, while the Scheduled Tribe enrolment is extremely low at 4.4 per cent, with males and females almost on a par, according to “Higher enrolment indicates growing interest in higher education in India. The figures show that

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India has the highest number of students in colleges after the United States,” Mr. Sibal said, after releasing a first-of-its-kind survey. There is reservation for all these categories in higher educational institutions. Twenty- seven per cent seats are reserved for OBC students, 15 per cent for the Scheduled Castes, and 7.5 per cent for the Scheduled Tribes. However, quotas are applicable only in Central educational institutions. The data on these categories is based primarily on the reservations in publicly-funded institutions, as well as voluntary disclosures. The initial survey released by Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal was based on information collected from 448 universities, 8,123 colleges, and 4,076 standalone institutions, until July 31. It is a voluntary exercise, and will help in gathering relevant statistics on higher education on various parameters.

• Coming out in support of the Union government, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on 28 September, said the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu was safe and there was no need for people living in its surrounding areas to protest. NDMA Vice-Chairman M. Shashidhar Reddy said, there is no need for concern on any of the [nuclear] plan, not only Kudankulam but also the Kalpakkam atomic power station, which too is located in Tamil Nadu, is also safe. The government has taken several safety measures and would continue to do so. Speaking to journalists after a day-long session on disaster management organised to mark the eighth foundation day of the NDMA, Mr. Reddy said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who also heads the NDMA, and nuclear experts have repeatedly assured that the Kudankulam plant was safe and there would be no compromise on the safety standards of any of the nuclear plants. The government has already announced a Rs. 500-crore development project for the areas surrounding the Kudankulam plant. Drills were being carried out in six States which have nuclear plants to make people aware about how to deal with any disaster. Mr. Reddy said Rs. 35,000 crore would be spent under the 12th Five Year Plan for strengthening various disaster management mechanisms in the country.

• Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on 21 September, laid the foundation stone of a Buddhist university in Sanchi and called for tolerance and understanding in the world, saying it was of great relevance in view of the violence sparked due to religious causes. The Sri Lankan president’s visit to Sanchi came even as MDMK chief Vaiko and around 750 of his party workers were arrested for protesting against the visit. He said the University, which is aimed at promoting mutual relationships between Asian countries, would help to revive Buddhist and Indic studies based on the ancient concepts of teaching, self enquiry and traditional knowledge.

• The Union Cabinet on 20 September has approved the National Policy on Information Technology 2012 .The policy aims to leverage Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to address country's economic and developmental challenges, and envisages growth of the IT market to three hundred billion U.S. dollars, besides creation of additional 10 million employments by 2020.

• The thrust areas of the policy include : o To increase revenues of IT and ITES (Information Technology Enabled Services) Industry from 100 Billion USD currently to 300 Billion USD by 2020 and expand exports from 69 Billion USD currently to 200 Billion USD by 2020. o To gain significant global market-share in emerging technologies and Services. o To promote innovation and R and D in cutting edge technologies and development of applications and solutions in areas like localization, location based services, mobile value added services, Cloud Computing, Social Media and Utility models. o To encourage adoption of ICTs in key economic and strategic sectors to improve their competitiveness and productivity. o To provide fiscal benefits to SMEs and Startups for adoption of IT in value creation o To create a pool of 10 million additional skilled manpower in ICT. o To make at least one individual in every household e-literate. o To provide for mandatory delivery of and affordable access to all public services in electronic mode. o To enhance transparency, accountability, efficiency, reliability and decentralization in Government and in particular, in delivery of public services. o To leverage ICT for key Social Sector initiatives like Education, Health, Rural Development and Financial Services to promote equity and quality.

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o To make India the global hub for development of language technologies, to encourage and facilitate development of content accessible in all Indian languages and thereby help bridge the digital divide. o To enable access of content and ICT applications by differently-abled people to foster inclusive development. o To leverage ICT for expanding the workforce and enabling life-long learning. o To strengthen the Regulatory and Security Framework for ensuring a Secure and legally compliant Cyberspace ecosystem. o To adopt Open standards and promote open source and open technologies

The Policy will be notified in the Gazette shortly . Detailed proposals for individual initiatives will be formulated in consultation with the concerned Ministries.

Ajmal Amir Kasab's mercy petition , addressed to President Pranab Mukherjee, has been "rejected" by Maharashtra Home Ministry ; days after the lone surviving perpetrator of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks set in motion the last option available to save his life. "The Home Ministry has rejected Kasab's petition and has forwarded it to the Chief Minister's Office," sources in the home department said on 24 September. Under the rules, the Chief Minister's Office will forward the mercy plea to the Union Home Ministry, which in turn will send it to the Rashtrapati Bhavan with its recommendation.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on 26 September said his government will allow foreign players to set shops in the state in tune with the Centre's decision allowing foreign FDI in multi-brand retail."The multi-national companies will invest Rs 500 crore on infrastructure activity like cold storages under the FDI norms. Such investments will directly benefit the farm sector and farmers will get more prices for their produce," Reddy said while interacting with fishermen at Chavalipadu village in district under the state government's reaching out programme 'Indiramma Bata'. He said the state government was initiating measures to raise the fish produce from current Rs 11,000 crore to Rs 25,000 crore in the next five years. "The government has decided to abolish Non-Agricultural Land Assessment (NALA) Tax to the tune of Rs 469 crore on fishing farms," Reddy added.

The Group of Ministers (GoM), headed by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, on 27 September, gave its approval to the final pharma pricing policy, bringing 348 essential drugs under the government’s price control regime . The GoM, at its last meeting, had agreed to study how emerging countries such as Mexico, South Africa, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka fixed the prices of essential medicines, before finalising the drug pricing policy in India. After the meeting, Mr. Pawar told reporters that the GoM would forward its recommendations to the Cabinet within a week for approval to bring the drugs under the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM). These drugs with total sales of around Rs.29,000 crore account for about 60 per cent of the domestic market. At present, the government, through the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), controls prices of 74 bulk drugs and their formulations. The Supreme Court had recently criticised the government on this issue, and had given the government a two-week ultimatum to finalise the policy.

The Election commission on 27 September 2012 directed the Political Parties and candidates not to use birds and animals in the campaigns . The commission also directed that in case the use of animal is unavoidable then the party or candidate will have to ensure that no harm is caused to the animal including violation of any law as well as cruelty towards the creature. To justify the decision the commission pointed towards Article 51(g) of the Indian Constitution that states compassion for all living creature as well as Prevention of Cruelty of Animals Act, 1960. The commission also pointed towards the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 that prohibits overloading and torturing of the animals. The Election Commission has also sent letters to the political parties as well as the Chief Electoral Officers of every state and union territories. The decision was made following the representations received by the election commission by some organization and individual stating the cruelty that animals suffered during the election campaign of the political parties.

Procuring passport will be costlier from October 1 . The Government has decided to increase the Passport and related services fees from Rs 1000 to Rs 1500 under the normal category and from Rs 2500 to Rs 3500 under Tatkal scheme, a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs Ministry said. The Passport and related

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Pre-paid mobile numbers to lose ISD facility soon: Telecom regulator TRAI has asked telecom companies to de-activate the international calling facility in pre-paid numbers and restore it only after a subscriber gives his explicit consent to avail this facility. "Inform all pre-paid subscribers having ISD facility, through SMS, within 10 days of the date of issue of this direction, that ISD facility of the subscribers shall be discontinued after sixty days," Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said in a directive to telcos. "If such subscribers want to continue with ISD facility, they should give their explicit consent for availing such facility within 60 days of the receipt of the SMS," it added. TRAI has issued this directive following complaints from consumers about missed calls from international telephone numbers which are often premium numbers charging high tariff, prompting the consumers to make call to such numbers. Trai said it has also been receiving complaints from consumers about receiving calls and SMSes from international numbers informing them about winning of prizes or lottery and prompting consumers to call a particular number to claim the prize or lottery money."These numbers are international numbers, which are often premium numbers charging higher tariffs. By responding to such calls/SMS the consumers have to pay unintended charges," Trai said. The regulator has asked telecom operators to inform subscribers through SMS, within 10 days of the direction, that pre-paid cellular mobile telephone service consumers need not respond to all missed calls from unknown international numbers or calls about winning prizes or lottery

Jal Satyagraha wins, MP govt to reduce dam water level: Bhopal: Bowing before the villagers who have standing in neck-deep water for 17 days demanding reduction in the water level of the Omkareshwar dam, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister on 10 September, announced the reduction of the water level to 189 metres. The Madhya Pradesh CM said, “Taking into account of the present situation, the state government has decided to reduce the water level to 189 metres from the current 190.5 metres.” Expressing concern on the adverse affect of the decision, Chouhan said, “Reducing the water level would affect the irrigation process and 20,000 hectares of land will not get water. Decreasing the water level will also lead to loss of 120 megawatt electricity.” The Omkareshwar dam is built across the Narmada River. The Chief Minister also announced that the affected villagers will be given land-for-land within 90 days.

Goa Government ordered Temporary Suspension of Mining Operations: The Goa Government on 10 September 2012 ordered temporary suspension of all mining operations in the state. An order to this effect was issued by the Principal Secretary, Department of Mines and Geology. The suspension came into effect from 11 September 2012. The decision comes in view of the serious illegalities and irregularities mentioned in the report of the Justice M.B. Shah commission of inquiry constituted by the Union Government of India to look into the aspect of illegal mining in various states including Goa. However, the suspension of mining operations will have no effect on trade and transportation of ore already mined and existing in the lease-hold area, in transit or stored or stocked on the jetties.

Journalists must not cross the line of contempt: SC The Supreme Court on 11 September, laid down a constitutional principle where aggrieved parties can seek from appropriate court the postponement of the publication of court hearings and a decision taken on a case-by-case basis. The court, however, refrained from framing broad guidelines for reporting of sub-judice court matters, saying it cannot be done across the board. The bench observed that freedom of speech and expression is not an absolute right under the Constitution and the journalists should understand the 'lakshman rekha' so that they do not cross the line of contempt. A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia said it was laying down the constitutional principle which will allow the aggrieved parties to seek from appropriate court the postponement of the publication of court hearings. The bench said the concerned court will decide the question of postponement of reporting court proceedings on case-by-case basis. We are not framing guidelines but we have laid down constitutional principle and appropriate writ courts will decide when the postponement order has to be passed on case-by -case basis, the bench also comprising justices D K Jain, S S Nijjar, Ranjana Prakash Desai and J S Khehar saidv

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Now Delhi bans plastic bags: Taking a giant leap forward towards protecting the environment, the Delhi Government has imposed a blanket ban on manufacture, sale, storage and use of plastic bags in the city. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Delhi Cabinet on 11 September. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said: “After considering the adverse effects of plastic carry bags on the environment, we decided to ban them. It has also been observed that plastic bags cause blockage of gutters, drains and sewerage system, thereby resulting in serious environmental and public health-related problems”. She said her government would soon issue a notification stating that no person including any shopkeeper, vendor, wholesaler or retailer, trader or hawker would sell or store or use any kind of plastic carry bags. No person will manufacture, import, store, sell or transport any kind of plastic carry bags in the city. Also, no person will use any kind of plastic cover or plastic sheet or plastic film or plastic tube to pack or cover any book including magazine, invitation or greeting card. The notification will, however, not affect the use of plastic carry bags as specified under the Bio-Medical Waste Management & Handling Rules, 1998.The Delhi Pollution Control Committee member- secretary will ensure overall monitoring and implementation of the ban. The notification will come into force with effect from the date to be decided by the Government in the official Gazette.

Karnataka agreed to release 10,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu: Karnataka showcased a gesture of goodwill on 10 September 2012 in front of the Supreme Court of India and agreed to release 10,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu from the Cauvery River, till 20 September 2012. As a response to this act of Karnataka, the bench of Justices D.K. Jain and Madan Lokur didn’t pass any verdict for the plea of directing the state to release 2 tmcft (thousand million cubic foot of water). Supreme Court expressed its hope that a fine and friendly solution will be brought forward by the Cauvery River Authority that is headed by the Prime Minister. The bench also stated that in case Karnataka’s plea is kept pending than the bench will have to come forward for making a decision on the issue.

Vice president of India M. Hamid Ansari released a book : Vice president of India Hamid Ansari released the book “Muslim in Indian cities” on 10 September 2012. The book is edited by Laurent Gayer and Christopher Jafferlot. On the occasion of book release, Vice-President denoted Indian muslim as sui generic that means unique in characteristics. The book speaks about Muslim life in India. Numbering more than 150 million, Muslims constitute the largest minority in India, yet they suffer the most politically and socioeconomically. The books argue that the quality of Muslim life may lag behind that of Hindus nationally, local and inclusive cultures had resilient in the south and the east. Within India’s cities, however, the challenges Muslims face can be harder to read. As per the book, In the Hindi belt and in the north, Muslims have known less peace, especially in the riot-prone areas of Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Jaipur, and Aligarh, and in the capitals of former Muslim states—Delhi, Hyderabad, Bhopal, and Lucknow. These cities are rife with Muslim ghettos and slums. However, self-segregation has also played a part in forming Muslim enclaves, such as in Delhi and Aligarh, where traditional elites and a new Muslim middle class have regrouped for physical and cultural protection. Combining firsthand testimony with sound critical analysis, the book follows urban Muslim life in eleven Indian cities, providing uncommon insight into a little-known but highly consequential subject. The book is published by Harper Collins publisher, India.

First single entrance test for MBBS, BDS admissions: The first-ever National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to MBBS and BDS courses across the country will be held on May 5 next year, the CBSE announced on 13 September. The NEET aims at mitigating the need of students to appear in multiple tests and promote merit in admission process. It will allow class XII students to sit in a single entrance examination to get admission to almost all medical colleges in India, including private medical colleges. A single merit list will be created for the MBBS and BDS seats across the country, which will show state, minorities and SC/ST quotas. Announcing the date, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) said that Medical Council of India (MCI) and Dental Council of India (DCI) have already notified that the Board will be conducting the test for entry to medical and dental colleges in the country. The syllabus has already been notified by the Medical Council of India (MCI) and all admissions to MBBS and BDS will be held on the basis of the common merit list.

UPA government approves FDI in multi-brand retail, aviation, broadcasting and power exchanges : -In a major decision signalling the end of policy paralysis in the UPA government, the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 13 September, accepted 51 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail. The government has, however, left the option to invite multi-brand retail on the states. There is an opt out

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National Affairs – 2012 clause in the FDI in multi-brand retail, which has been the most contagious of the issues. According to the clause, "Retail sales outlets maybe set up in those states which have agreed or agree in the future to allow FDI in multi- brand retail under this policy. This is an enabling clause. This means that no FDI in retail will be allowed in any state unless the state explicitly agrees to come on board and agree to the policy." Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said at the meeting that the time had come for big bang reforms. "If we have to go down, we have to go down fighting," he said. Notably, the issue had been pending for quite long because of opposition from key UPA allies such as the Trinamool Congress. The government also approved foreign direct investment in aviation, broadcasting and power exchanges. The decision means that foreign airlines will now be allowed to invest as much as 49 per cent in the Indian carriers. Also, the FDI cap on various streams of broadcast services has been raised to up to 74 per cent. In another important decision, the government approved the disinvestment of five Public Sector Units (PSUs), including Oil India (10 per cent), Nalco (12.5 per cent) and Hindustan Copper (9.59 per cent).

Diesel price hiked by Rs 5: The government on 13 September, hiked the price of diesel by Rs 5 per litre, to be effective from midnight. The Cabinet Committee of Political Affairs (CCPA), however, decided not to hike the price of kerosene. The CCPA, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, also ended the subsidy on branded diesel fuel saying it would be sold at market rates. In another major decision, it was decided that a household would get a maximum of six LPG cylinders at the subsidised price per year. The government, however, spared an increase in petrol price by cutting excise duty of Rs 5.50 per litre.

Golden jubilee of the National Pledge : The Pledge, the students across the country take every day in their schools was first written in Telugu by Paidimarri Venkata Subba Rao in 1962, when he was working as the District Treasury Officer of Visakhapatnam. It was first introduced in the Visakhapatnam City Schools in 1963 and later in all schools in the state. Later, the Education Department of Central Government got it translated into English and other languages and introduced in all schools across the country from January 26, 1965. The golden jubilee celebration of The Pledge is going on in a befitting manner. Now a group of Vizagties geared themselves up to celebrate golden jubilee of the plege from September last week to November last week in a grand manner. President of Uttarandhra Rakshana Vedika, SS Siva Shankar said that Venkata Subba Rao was a native of Nalgonda but he was totally neglected by successive governments. Unfortunately Subba Rao’s name was not mentioned anywhere in the history with regard to the pledge.

Appoint people with judicial background to CIC: Supreme Court Holding that Central and State Information Commissions perform quasi-judicial functions, the Supreme Court on 14 September, asked the government to appoint people from judicial background also as its members. A bench of justices A K Patnaik and Swatanter Kumar also lifted the stay on appointment of information commissioners.

National Students Union of India wins Delhi University elections: The Congress-backed National Students' Union of India (NSUI) has won the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) elections, bagging the top three seats in the union. NSUI's Arun Hooda, Varun Khari and Varun Chaudhry recorded the highest votes for the posts of President, Vice-President and Secretary posts respectively. Their campaign this year touched on several issues like increase in the number of hostels, special consideration for sportspersons, cheap study material for students and subsidised metro cards. Their main opponent, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-backed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), had centred their campaign around corruption at the centre. 13 candidates were in the fray for the post of president this year: Seven for vice-president and nine each for the posts of secretary and joint secretary. Last year, NSUI had won only the post of the president. The other three were won by ABVP.

Nagaland Peace Channel organizes NE Youth Peace Festival: Nagaland Peace Channel has announced to organize the fifth annual 'North East Youth Peace and cultural Festival' (NEYPCF) from September 21 to 23 at Holy Cross Higher Secondary School Campus in Dimapur, on the theme 'Sustainable peace for a sustainable future.' According to sources here today The North Eastern Youth Cultural & Peace Festival is an annual gathering of the Peace Club members, associates and representatives of various organizations, peace activists and thinkers from across the North East and invitees from across the country and the world. The three day event would enable integration through inter-cultural interaction and sharing, facilitate learning through input sessions, panel discussions and discourses from leading personalities, provide entertainment through exposition of cultural dances, songs and art forms, and above all inculcate Peace in the mind and hearts of the

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National Affairs – 2012 participants through the thematic stream , 'Sustainable peace for a sustainable future.' The delegates are expected to reach the venue on September 21.

The Union Cabinet on 4 September approved an amendment to the Constitution to provide special status to Bidar, Gulbarga, Yadgir, Koppal, Raichur and Bellary districts in the Hyderabad Karnataka region . Union Labour Minister says, the Bill will enable reservation in education and jobs, besides development.

To check misuse of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards, the government has asked telecom service providers not to provide mobile connection for more than three months to any foreign tourist visiting India. According to fresh guidelines, which came into effect recently, the Department of Telecom (DoT) has told the service providers that the proof for issuance of a mobile connection to any foreigner would be the passport having a valid visa

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill, 2010 that seeks to protect women, including domestic workers, from sexual harassment at workplace was passed in the Lok Sabha on 3 September. According to the bill, piloted by Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath, sexual harassment includes any unwelcome act or behaviour such as physical contact and advances, a demand or request for sexual favours or making sexually coloured remarks or showing pornography. The acts or behaviour — direct or by implication — will also include any other physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature. Non-compliance with the provisions of the law will be punishable with a fine of up to Rs 50,000. Repeated violations may lead to higher penalties and cancellation of licence or registration to do business. The bill defines domestic worker as a woman employed to do household work for remuneration. A Parliamentary Standing Committee, which examined the bill, held the firm view that preventive aspects had to be strictly in line with the Supreme Court guidelines in the 1997 Vishaka case. The judgment not only defines sexual harassment at workplace but also lays down guidelines for its prevention and disciplinary action. The bill makes it mandatory for all offices, hospitals, institutions and other workplaces to have an internal complaints redress mechanism.

The Lok Sabha passed by voice vote, a bill to bifurcate the civil services cadre of and Tripura — The North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Amendment Bill, 2011 . At present, the two States have a joint cadre of the Indian Administrative Service, the Indian Police Service and the Indian Forest Service.

The other Bill passed by the Lok Sabha, without discussion, is to expand the National Highways Authority of India. At present, the NHAI consists of a Chairman, up to five full-time members and up to four part- time members. The National Highways Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2011, seeks to increase the strength to six full-time members and six part-time members, besides the Chairman. At least two of the part-time members should be non-government professionals with knowledge of, or experience in, financial management, transport planning or any other relevant discipline.

Raj Kiran, the third of a series of eight indigenously built In-shore Patrol Vessels, was commissioned for the east coast guard region in Visakhapatnam by the chief of eastern naval command (ENC), Vice-admiral Anil Chopra. Raj Kiran would be under the operational control of the commander of north-east coast guard region and would help in taking up various close coast operations such as surveillance, interdiction, search and rescue and medical evacuation. The 50-metre vessel commanded by Lieutenant commander Sumantho Roy with a crew of 5 officers and 30 sailors features an integrated bridge management system, integrated machinery control system and an integrated gun mount with fire control system. The vessel which displaces 300 tonnes with a maximum speed of 34 knots and an endurance limit of 1500 nautical miles at an economical speed of 16 knots is equipped with state-of- the-art weaponry and advanced navigational and communication equipment

Gutka and pan masala will be banned in Gujarat from September 11 . The government issued a notification on this.

Satyajit Ray’s “Pather Panchali” has secured the 42nd place, with 31 votes to its name, in ‘The Top 50 Greatest Films of All Time’ poll by Sight & Sound magazine . It is the only Indian film to secure a place in the list.846 film critics, programmers, academics and distributors voted for the Sight and Sound decadal poll for the greatest films of all time. First among the Apu Trilogy, Pather Panchali entered the poll list in 1962 at number 72

National Affairs – 2012

11.First position has been taken over by Hitchcock’s “Vertigo”. Hitchcock’s 45th feature won the throne by 34 votes to its credit.

The Union Cabinet on 6 September 2012 gave its approval to continue interest subsidy to Public Sector Banks (PSBs), Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), Cooperatives Banks and NABARD enabling them to provide short-term crop loans of up to Rs 3 lakhs to farmers at 7% p.a. during the year 2012-13. It was also decided to provide additional interest subsidy of 3% p.a. to those farmers who repay loans within one year of disbursement in the current fiscal year. The Cabinet allowed the release of 10901 crore Rupees as interest subvention for 2012-13. Interest subsidy is allowed for small and marginal farmers having Kisan Credit Cards for loan. Centre has subsidized short-term crop loans to farmers since 2006-07 to ensure the availability of crop loans to farmers of upto Rs.3 lakh at 7% p.a. For the year 2012-13, the target for agricultural credit flow has been raised to Rs 575000 crore from Rs 475000 crore in the year 2011-12.

Govt clears SC/ST quota proposal for promotion in state jobs: The government on 4th September, cleared a proposal that would allow it to provide reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in promotion in state jobs. The Union Cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, approved the proposal for making provisions for quotas for SC/STs in promotions in government jobs. Most political parties had favoured a legally sustainable legislation in the backdrop of the Supreme Court order. The proposed bill seeks to amend at least four articles of the Constitution to enable the government to provide quota in promotions to SC/STs. BSP leader Mayawati had raised the issue in Parliament after the Supreme Court had on April 28 struck down her government's decision in this regard. Parliament had witnessed disruptions on the issue in the current as well as the previous session.

CBI on 4th September, registered cases against five companies and unknown government officials as part of its probe into alleged irregularities in allocation of coal blocks and carried out searches across 10 cities. According to CBI spokesperson, five FIRs have been filed against five companies and unknown government officials for alleged cheating. The agency sleuths were also conducting searches at 30 places in ten cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Patna, Hyderabad, Dhanbad and Nagpur, the spokesperson said. The filing of FIRs comes three months after registration of a Preliminary Enquiry into the coal scam by the agency on the directions of the Central Vigilance Commission. Hyderabad, Dhanbad and Nagpur, the spokesperson said. The filing of FIRs comes three months after registration of a Preliminary Enquiry into the coal scam by the agency on the directions of the Central Vigilance Commission.

The A.P. High Court directed the State Election Commission on 4 Septemebr, to commence the process of elections to panchayat raj (PR) bodies immediately and complete it within three months from the date on which the percentage of reservations is finalised by the State government. In a far-reaching judgment, a division bench comprising acting Chief Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose and Justice Vilas V. Afzulpurkar made it clear that the reservations for various categories in the PR institutions shall not cross 50 per cent.

India’s Internet subscriber base is expected to reach 150 million by the end of this year. According to a report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India and IMRB said: “The number of claimed Internet users has seen a growth of 16 per cent over last year. This number is estimated to grow up to 150 million by December 2012.” There will be 105 million users in urban India while the rural areas will contribute 45 million subscribers, the report added. Claimed users are those who have used Internet at least once in their lifetime while active users have used Internet at least once in the last one month

India recorded sharpest decline in its decadal growth in its population since Independence in 2001-11 when it decreased by 3.90 per cent to 17.64 per cent, government informed Parliament on 7 September. Stating that growth rate of Indian population is slowing down, government told Rajya Sabha, "As per 2011 census data, the percentage decadal growth during 2001-2011 has registered the sharpest decline since Independence". "For 2001-11, the decadal growth has decreased to 17.64 per cent, a decline of 3.90 percentage points," Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said in a written reply. "It declined from 23.87 per cent in 1981-1991 to 21.54 per cent for the period 1991-2001, a decrease of 2.33 percentage points," he added. He said government adopted the National Population Policy in February 2000 for achieving population stabilisation and United Nations Population Fund contributed 15.81 million dollars in four years since 2008 to help India achieve the objective. United Nations

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Population Fund contributed 44,00,000 dollars in 2008, 50,00,000 dollars in 2009, 31,19,475 dollars in 2010 and 33,00,000 dollars in 2011 to the government reproductive child health programme, he added.

October • The AP State, Rajiv Vidya Mission, Health and Family Welfare, National Rural Health Mission, and National Programme for the Control of Blindness with a host of NGOs in eye care as a consortium have initiated a mammoth programme ‘Chinnari choopu – Samrakshna’ (right to sight) with the objective of elimination of treatable causes of visual impairment and blindness among 80 lakh children of government schools in the State. The programme was launched in Hyderabad by Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy . The programme aims at identifying the children with visual defects with the help of about 7,000 education teachers and vidya volunteers across the State. The trained persons will screen all the school-going and out-of-school children.Efforts will be made to identify the children with cataract, glaucoma, corneal opacity, lid defects, squint, retinoblastoma, cleft lip and cleft palate with the help of a flip chart. During the second phase (December 5 to January 31, 2013), camps will be organised at mandal level with teams of optometrists under the supervision of District Blindness Control Society. The children with treatable refractive errors will be provided with plastic lens with a frame chosen by the child. The children requiring further intervention – either medical or surgical – will be referred to the third phase -- district level screening by empanelled eye hospitals across the State.The identification of children for surgical intervention and the required surgeries will be completed by February 15, 2013.

• Union Minister of Agriculture and Food Processing Industries Sharad Pawar on 31 October, informed Members of Parliament that “in order to ensure that funds get adequately devolved for women specific needs, 30% funds are being allocated for development of women farmers under various schemes/programmes with a focus on formation of Women Self Help Groups.” Speaking at the Meeting of the Consultative Committee on “Women in Agriculture”, he expressed that rural women play a pivotal role in the entire gamut of agricultural operations ranging from land preparation to post-harvesting operations. He said, “Their access to productive assets like seed, water, credit, subsidy needs to be enhanced. Women are often not recognized as farmers for want of ownership of land and are not considered as beneficiaries under various government programmes / services. Due to wage differentials between men and women in some parts of the country, the situation gets further aggravated.”

• Transparency Portal has been started for Public Distribution System. The portal has been developed with the objective of providing all PDS related information through a single platform in the public domain. The portal contains information relating to Fair Price Shops (FPSs) and ration cards attached to the FPSs. Information on FCI and State storage godowns with capacity utilization and data on Central Pool stocks is also published on the portal. The portal further hosts information like the monthly allocation orders, State-specific commodity sale prices, lifting position, etc. for public view.All States/UTs have been requested to maintain and update the data on the portal through use of PDS application software for end-to-end computerization of TPDS. The Transparency portal may be accessed at http://pdsportal.nic.in . Citizens may also access the Portals of State/UT Food & Civil Supplies Departments through the links provided.

• A Parliamentary panel on 30 October rejected a Bill that seeks to provide for mechanism for maintenance, co-ordination and regulation of standards of health education throughout the country. The Standing Committee on Health in its report submitted today said that following apprehensions expressed by various stakeholders on the effectiveness of the Bill, it is asking the Health Ministry to "to consider all shades of opinion and all the suggestions and bring forward a revised comprehensive Bill before Parliament.

• The state of on 29 October 2012 tops the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) list of being best-performing States and Union territories in terms of environmental well-being released by Planning Commission. Uttarakhand is followed by Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Sikkim, and Andhra Pradesh on the Planning Commission’s Environmental Performance Index(EPI) list. Environmental well-being is one of the considerations for decentralization of funds to the States under the Gadgil formula. The State of Uttarakhand was given a cumulative score point of 0.8123 which is followed by Himachal Pradesh with score point of 0.7316, Chandigarh with 0.7270, Sikkim (0.7149), and Andhra Pradesh with 0.7147 of Score point. Mizoram, Kerala, Goa, Sikkim, Tripura, Puducherry and Andaman and Nicobar, with an average score of 1, were ranked as the best States 74

National Affairs – 2012 in terms of air quality. Amazingly, except for Uttarakhand, all the States met the prescribed national ambient air quality standard in respect of the sulphur dioxide which is of 20 micrograms per cubic metre. In terms of Nitrogen oxide, the national standard set of 30 microgram per cubic metre was not met by more than 10 states. Also, in term of suspended particles no states met the 60 microgram per cubic metre national standard except state of Goa, Kerala, and Mizoram.Water quality standards, of all the states indicated a very pathetic standard except for Himachal Pradesh, which has set up 100 per cent treatment capacity for sewage, the treatment capacity in the remaining States ranges from 0 (13 States) to less than 20 per cent (8 States) and more than 50 per cent in four States. Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Daman and Diu, and Puducherry extract more water than they recharge, but Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry are the only States which show a semblance of adherence to river water quality.Talking about forest conservation, Chandigarh, Sikkim, , Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh are among the five best-performing States that have preserved forests as well as increased cover.

• Cable television in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata switched over from analogue to digital mode at midnight on October 31, with about 4.5 lakh subscribers who have not yet installed a set-top box set to wake up to a television blackout on November 1. However, over 1.5 lakh tardy subscribers in Chennai can breathe easy for a few more days with the Madras High Court granting a further extension of the switchover deadline in that city until November 5.

• Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P), which has two Lok Sabha MPs, announced that it was withdrawing support over the decision to permit FDI in multi-brand retail. JVM-P is against FDI in the retail sector, hike in diesel prices and a limit on subsidised LPG cylinders. The JVM-P and the Congress had fought 2009 assembly polls together.

• The Prime Minister met the CMDs of twenty-five major Maharatna and Navaratna CPSEs on 25 October, in New Delhi. These enterprises account for a large proportion of the India's market capitalization, organized sector employment and are a major contributor to India’s economic growth. The PM spoke of the contributions of the CPSEs to our economy today. They contribute over 6% of our GDP and their profits are at a record levels of almost Rs 1,00,000 crore. Drawing attention to the large cash surpluses of CPSEs, the PM asked the CPSEs to use that surplus for their own benefit and the benefit of the economy.

• Union Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology Sachin Pilot on 25 October, reviewed connectivity related issues in the border areas of Jammu and Kashmir at Poonch. Officials from the State Government, Ministry of Home Affairs, Army, BSNL, Department of Telecom and others were present. This is second review by the Minister in the last few months in view of the sensitivity of the area and the high priority the Government attaches to development of telecom facilities in the region. At Rajouri, Mr. Pilot launched WIMAX across the state. This would be implemented at a cost of Rs. 12.8 crores, enabling high-speed broadband access wirelessly in rural and remote parts of the state. Dedicating the modernized Head Post Office at Rajouri, Pilot said world class postal facilities would now be available to people of Rajouri. Under Project Arrow 17 post offices in the state have been modernized at an expenditure of over Rs. 2.2 crores, including the post offices at Jammu, Udhampur, Kathua, and Poonch. The Minister also inaugurated the Cyber Forensic Lab at Jammu, saying that with the widespread use of IT in all areas of personal and professional life, cybercrime has become a challenge.

• The three-day International Conference of Commonwealth Association of Public Administration and Management (CAPAM) and the fourth Common Public Service Ministers’ Forum concluded in New Delhi on 26 October, with a call for efficient and effective public administration that can enhance the role of just and honest government to spur socio-economic and political development, leading to transformation of societies. The Ministers’ Forum agreed on the important role of public policy in improving governance and strengthening public administration in support of national development objectives and to meet international challenges. The forum also reaffirmed the importance of public administration and agreed that the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2013 in Sri Lanka should consider the elevation of the Commonwealth Public Service Ministers Forum to a ministerial level meeting, scheduled annually if feasible. The aim is to deepen and broaden the dialogue and the sharing of knowledge, experiences and best fit practices to build excellence in public administration. The Forum welcomed the proposal by the Government of India to host an annual Commonwealth Symposium on Public Service Excellence from 2013, to be held in India, in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat. The three day CAPAM conference was attended by Ministers and senior officials from 21 countries besides India. The theme

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National Affairs – 2012 of the Conference was “A Public Service Fit for the Future.” During the conference learned scholars made important presentations on the challenges of good governance and public service excellence.

• The Minister of Communications & IT Kapil Sibal on 26 October, called the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN )-a project, which would connect all the 2, 50,000 Gram Panchayats (GPs) in the country through Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) in two years, as a paradigm shift which would transform the way India works. 13 State governments and 3 Union territories signed tripartite Memorandums of Understanding in New Delhi, for free Right of Way (RoW) with the Central Government and Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL--the SPV incorporated for execution of the project). The Central Government, through Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), will fund the project while the contribution of State Government would be by providing free Right of Way (RoW) for laying OFC. The Bharat Broadband Network Ld.(BBNL) will soon commence the work in these States/UTs immediately taking OFC to Gram Panchayats and in remaining States work will be taken by BBNL as and when States are ready to sign MoU. With the availability of NOFN at 2,50,000 Gram Panchayats, a minimum bandwidth of 100 Mbps will be available at each GP and will lead to proliferation of broadband services.

• Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) of India has dropped by 3 points from 47 to 44 infant deaths per 1000 live births during 2011. As per October 2012 bulletin of the Sample Registration System (SRS) released by the Registrar General of India (RGI), the IMR for rural areas has dropped by 3 points from 51 to 48 infant deaths per 1000 live births while the urban rate now stands at 29 from the previous 31/1000. Among the states, Goa and Manipur have the lowest IMR of 11 infant deaths followed by Kerala with 12 infant deaths per 1000 live births. Madhya Pradesh has the highest IMR of 59/1000 followed by UP and Odisha with 57/1000 IMR. , Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Meghalaya have IMRs more than the national average of 44.

• In view of mismatch between demand and supply of pulses and lower acreage under pulses in 2012-13, and delayed monsoon the Government has decided on 26 October, to provide Rs. 20/-as subsidy on the import of pulses to state Governments. Imported pulses will be supplied at reasonable prices to the BPL population through PDS. Designated import agencies will directly enter into contract with the States/UTs for supply of imported pulses. The proposed scheme will make available pulses, a critical protein requirement to the vulnerable sections of society, BPL card holder, at subsidized rates. This scheme will be in operation till 31.03.2013 and a decision regarding its continuation will be taken early next year.

• Soon one can get to know the status of one’s application for ration card, electricity connection or for some other government service just by dialing 166 . The government is working to start this automated telephone service by December. This automated telephone service, like railway enquiry number, give people access to government services that can be offered through phone like checking status of any application, filling forms and many other services that are being developed .At present, the Department is operating five digit phone number 51969. Its services are, however, limited for sending and receiving information through SMS. 166 will have IVRS (interactive voice response system) service. It will help people to follow instruction being provided through phone to access services. The call rates will be as per the tariff plan of the subscriber for using ‘166’ services.

• Prime Minister Manmohan Singh effected a major Cabinet reshuffle on 28 October. Several ministers were elevated to the Cabinet rank, with many new faces being included at the MoS level, even as portfolios of several ministers were changed.

• NEW CABINET MINISTERS : K. Rahman Khan : Minority affairs Dinsha J. Patel : Mines Ajay Maken : Housing and urban poverty alleviation M.M. Pallam Raju : Human resource development Ashwani Kumar : Law and justice Harish Rawat : Water resources Chandresh Kumari Katoch : Culture

CHANGES IN PORTFOLIOS OF CABINET MINISTERS M. : Petroleum and natural gas

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S. Jaipal Reddy : Science and technology and earth sciences Kamal Nath : Urban development and parliamentary affairs Vayalar Ravi : Overseas Indian affairs Kapil Sibal : Communications and information technology CP Joshi : Road transport and highways Kumari Selja : Social justice and empowerment Pawan Kumar Bansal : Railways Salman Khurshid : External affairs Jairam Ramesh : Rural development NEW MINISTERS OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) Manish Tewari : Information and broadcasting K. Chiranjeevi : Tourism

CHANGES IN PORTFOLIOS OF MINISTERS OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) Jyotiraditya Scindia :Power K.H. Muniappa : Micro, small and medium enterprises Bharatsinh Madhavsinh Solanki : Drinking water and sanitation Sachin Pilot : Corporate affairs Jitendra Singh : Youth affairs and sports

NEW MINISTERS OF STATE Shashi Tharoor : Human resources development Kodikunnil Suresh : Labour and employment Tariq Anwar : Agriculture and food processing industries K.J. Surya Prakash Reddy : Railways Ranee Narah : Tribal affairs Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury : Railways A.H. Khan Choudhury : Health and family welfare Sarve Sathyanarayana : Road transport and highways Ninong Ering : Minority affairs Deepa Dasmunsi : Urban development Porika Balram Naik :Social justice and empowerment Killi Kruparani : Communications and information technology Lalchand Kataria : Defence

CHANGES IN PORTFOLIOS OF MINISTERS OF STATE E. Ahmed : External affairs D. Purandeswari : Commerce and industry Jitin Prasada : Defence and human resource development S. Jagatharakshakan : New and renewable energy RPN. Singh :Home KC Venugopal : Civil aviation Rajeev Shukla : Parliamentary affairs and planning

• The Home Ministry on 23 October rejected the mercy plea of 26/11 lone surviving terrorist Ajmal Kasab. The ministry has sent its recommendation to President Pranab Mukherjee. The Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist had filed his mercy plea before the President on September 18 after he lost the battle in the Supreme Court. The apex court had upheld Kasab's conviction and death sentence in August this year. Kasab was the only terrorist captured alive after the attacks in Mumbai that began on November 26, 2008

• The City of Hyderabad was named as World Third best city to visit in 2013 by Travel guidebook Lonely Planet published on 22 October 2012. Hyderabad the capital city of Andhra Pradesh was described as "elegant and blossoming" by the Lonely Planet. The top 10 cities according to Lonely Planet to visit in 2013 are San Francisco, Amsterdam, Hyderabad, Derry/Londonderry, Beijing, Christchurch, Hobart, Montreal, Addis Ababa and Puerto Iguazu. Earlier in 2011, New York Times rated Hyderabad among the 41 top destinations to visit in the world.

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• Andhra Pradesh Government on 25 October, reconstituted the Group of Ministers reviewing the status and steps taken to control spread of malaria and swine flu in the tribal areas . The reconstituted GoM comprises: minister for medical education, minister for health and family welfare, minister for panchayat raj, minister for municipal administration, municipal tribal welfare and minister for women development, child welfare, a Government Order (GO) issued by the Chief Secretary said.

• The Indira Gandhi International Airport operator, D elhi International Airport (P) Limited (DIAL) on 22 October 2012 got an ISO 20000 international certification for eliminating and controlling information technology- related threats. With the getting of ISO certification, Delhi International Airport (P) Limited (DIAL) became the sixth airport operator to receive the ISO 20000 certification in IT Service Management System (ITSMS) after Dubai, Munich, Abu Dhabi, Incheon and Hyderabad. ISO 20000-1:2011 is a service management system (SMS) standard which specifies requirements for the service provider to plan, establish, implement, operate, monitor, review, maintain and improve an SMS. IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) of Delhi International Airport (P) Limited consists of 13 processes that are used in ITSMS to ensure cost effectiveness, availability, zero tolerance and customer satisfaction. Also in June 2012, DIAL had attained ISO 27001 Continuity, which was an IT information security framework which certifies that the company was demonstrating and following best of the world IT information security principles, processes and procedures. The continuity of the ISO 27001 certification was assessed and adjudged by British Standards Institution (BSI) during their annual audit.

• India’s National Security Advisor Sh Shivshankar Menon released a report on the “Recommendations of Joint Working Group on Engagement with Private Sector on Cyber Security”, in New Delhi on 15 October. Making public the report, Sh Menon said facing the challenges from cyber space requires both the government and industry to work together; the government cannot do this alone nor can the private sector do it on its own. The JWG was set up under the chairpersonship of Ms Latha Reddy, Deputy National Security Advisor to work out the roadmap for engaging the private sector in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) for strengthening the cyber security architecture in the country. It included representatives of both government and private sector. The JWG has identified the principles and objectives that would underpin the overall framework and roadmap for PPP on cyber security. It has recommended a “Roadmap” for PPP on Cyber Security which includes setting up of an institutional framework, Capacity-Building in the area of cyber security, development of cyber security standards and assurance mechanisms, augmentation of testing & certification facilities for IT products.

• Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India jointly with Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), organises on 15 October, in New Delhi, the 4th OECD World Forum on Statistics, Knowledge and Policy under the theme “Measuring Well-Being for Development and Policy Making”. The inaugural session of the four-day conference (16-19 October 2012) will be addressed by the Minister of State (I/C) for Statistics & Programme Implementation Shri Srikant Kumar Jena and the Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission Shri Montek Singh Ahluwalia. Building on the Better Life Initiative, the main objectives of the Forum are to further the discussions on the different aspects that make for a good life today and in the future in different countries of the world, and to promote the development and use of new measures of well-being for effective and accountable policy making. Thus, an important expected outcome of the Forum is to contribute to the post-2015 development agenda. The four-day Forum will gather around 900-1000 participants from all over the world, including policy-makers as well as representatives from international organisations, national statistical offices, government agencies, academia and civil society.

• The Supreme Court of India on 19 October 2012 made it mandatory for every state, union territory and regulatory bodies to bring in practice/operations the legal mechanism for implementation of the guidelines issued in Vishaka Case that requires the employers to observe and ensure prevention of sexual harassment of women at workplaces. The three Judge Bench of Supreme Court that included Justices, R.M. Lodha, Anil R. Dave and Ranjan Gogoi explained that the implementation of the guidelines issued in Vishaka Case was not only to be followed in a form but was also a matter of substantiating the same with an spirit to make sure that a safe and secured space and environment in all aspects was made available to the woman at her workplace, which enables them to work with decency, dignity and respect as a whole. The bench also pointed out towards the lack of a legislation and proper mechanism to address the complaints of sexual harassment of women at their work place.

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• As per results of the two most recent rounds of quinquennial labour force surveys conducted by the Union Labour & Employment Ministry on employment and unemployment conducted by National Sample Survey Office during 2004-05 and 2009-10, about 20 million additional job opportunities were created at an average rate of growth of around 1 per cent per year during 2004-05 to 2009-10. It is noteworthy that Eleventh Five year Plan aimed at creating 58 million additional job opportunities for skilled and unskilled labour force on current daily status basis at an average rate of growth of 2.73 percent per annum from projected employment of about 402 million at the beginning of the Eleventh Five Year Plan to about 460 million at the end of the Plan. Gross Domestic Product has grown at a compound growth rate of 8.6 percent per annum during 2004-05 to 2009-10 whereas employment estimated on current daily status basis has grown at the rate of about 1 percent during the same period.

• AIIMS has been ranked as the best medical college in the country . It continues to fulfill the objectives of developing teaching patterns, providing educational facilities of the highest order and attaining self-sufficiency in post-graduate medical education. Ghulam Nabi Azad, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare said this at New Delhi on addressing the 40th Convocation of AIIMS. The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare took up the following initiatives to strengthen healthcare delivery in Government sector.

• 1) Six new AIIMS were taken up in the first phase of Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Surakhsha Yojana . The Medical Colleges at these six AIIMS have started from the current academic session. 2) 19 medical colleges were taken up for up-gradations to provide advanced tertiary level and super-speciality care, spread in different parts of the country under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Surakhsha Yojana. 3) To ease pressure on Delhi AIIMS, the green- field development of the second campus of AIIMS at Jhajjar would provide state of the art facilities for teaching, patient care and research. To overcome the shortage of faculty in Medical Colleges the ceiling on age limit has been raised from 60 to 70 years, DNB qualifications have been recognized for appointment as faculty, number of students in PG, the Teacher student ratio relaxed from 1:1 to 1:2 for post-graduate and super-speciality coursesFor encouraging posting of doctors in rural areas the following steps have been taken:1) Additional marks will be given in the Post Graduate Entrance Examination at the rate of 10% for each year of rural service subject to a maximum of 30%. 2) 50% Seats in post graduate diploma courses have been reserved for medical officers in Government service who have served for at least three years in remote and difficult areas.

• Films Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, announced its plan of establishing a National Museum of Indian Cinema (NMIC). The Museum would be located in the Films Division Complex, Mumbai and is predicted to come up by June 2013. The development of the museum was planned to mark the occasion of Indian Cinema that will complete its 100 years of journey from the day of first screening of Raja Harishchandra in 1913. The Museum would come up in two different phases and developed at an initial budget of 120 crore Rupees. This museum would be serving as the monument of Indian cinema and the first phase of the museum would start functioning from May 2013, the very day of release of Indian first film, Raja Harishchandra.

• The XIth Conference of the Parties (COP 11) - Convention on Biological Diversity was organised by the Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India from 8 October to 19 October 2012. The COP 11 was held at Hyderabad International Convention Centre. Mobilisation of financial resources was the theme for the COP 11 summit. The next round of the conference is scheduled to take place in Korea after 2 years. Finding out the commendable solution by discussions over the issues of the Earth’s bio-diversity is the main agenda of the conference. The conference was attended by more than 5000 delegates from 180 countries. Enrollment of about 14,400 participants in the convention made it the largest biodiversity gathering of its time. African countries like Namibia demanded developed nations to stand by their promise fund allocation for saving the bio-diversity, made in the 2010 protocol. Discussion over the 20 identified targets at 2010 Nagoya Protocol was also done to find out the problems that it faced for implementation. India also demanded steps to be taken for ecosystem restoration and establishment of a relationship between biodiversity and climate change, identification of ecologically and biologically significant areas in marine ecosystems.

• India will be Chairing the Conference as its President for next two years. The Union Environment and Forests Minister Jayanthi Natarajan took over the charge of COP-11 as its President for next two years . She emphasised on the issue of resource mobilization that remained an unfinished agenda of COP-10 at Nagoya in Japan.

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• Manmohan Singh the Prime Minister of India announced a grant of $50 million for strengthening the institutional mechanism of biodiversity conservation in India and other developing countries by the name of Hyderabad Pledge. The Prime Minister also launched the high level segment of the 11th conference of parties during the UN Convention on Biodiversity meeting at Hyderabad. This conference was the first conference after the launch of Decade of Biodiversity by United Nations in 2011.The high level meet took place during the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity (UNBD) that was declared by the United Nations General Assembly following its resolution 65/161. This plan was designed to find out the solutions for the objectives like Strategic Plan for Biodiversity and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. Across the UNBD, a trial to encourage government and representatives of different countries to develop, implement and communicate the results established by their national strategies designed for fine implementation of the strategic plan over biodiversity.

• BirdLife International on 16 October 2012 launched an e-Atlas of Marine-Important Bird Areas during COP11. The e-Atlas would act as an inventory and carry data of around 3000 important bird areas from across the world and can play a major role in conserving the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) target for protection of 10 percent coastal and marine Areas by 2020.

• Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 16 October, unveiled the CoP-11 Commemorative Plyon at Biodiversity Park in Hyderabad. The Pylon has been built to mark the international conference on bio-diversity being held in the city from October 1 to 19. Its construction was entrusted to M/s S and S Green Projects (Private Limited). The Andhra Pradesh Government has allotted 15 acres of land in APIIC lay out Gachibowli for Pylon, Biodiversity Museum and park. The Department of forests is setting up a separate bio-diversity park in 10 acres at Dulapally Reserve forests. Close to 300-400 rare and endangered plant species which are being planted by visiting dignitaries have been procured for the proposed biodiversity park. There are six national parks,21 wildlife sanctuaries a biosphere reserve comprising 13,000 sq kms out of 63,180 sq km forest area. The biodiversity museum and park are coming up at a cost of Rs 100 crore, official sources said. The entire cost of the museum will be borne by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF).

• A team of officials will study aquaria in various countries to decide on the model best suited for the world-class aquarium proposed to be established in Hyderabad as part of the biodiversity complex. Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, announced the Rs.500-crore aquarium, proposed to be funded by the National Fisheries Development Board , during his visit to Hyderabad, earlier this year. Mr. Kiran Reddy said Hyderabad had joined the league of reputed cities such as Singapore, Bonn and Brussels following the release of the ‘Greater Hyderabad City Biodiversity Index’. Hyderabad may have just got ‘pass marks’ on the biodiversity index, but was the first city in India and 15 in the world to have such an index. The Chief Minister said although the CoP was hosted in 10 cities earlier, Hyderabad was the first to erect a commemorative pylon and a biodiversity complex in which a national biodiversity museum would be established.

• The Cabinet Committee on security on 18 October 2012 approved proposals worth over 8000 crore rupees for procuring around 10000 Invar missiles from Russia for the Army's T-90 tanks and over 200 air-launched versions of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles for the Indian Air Force . Also, the Union Cabinet approved the waiver of the outstanding loan along with interest for the 370 tsunami affected fishermen and to reimburse the same to concerned banks. The Union Cabinet also approved setting up of a National Automotive Board , NAB a body which would act as a facilitator between the government and the industry and promote Research and Development activities in the sector.

• The Centre on 19 October, approved a Rs 4,000-crore joint action plan for tackling Japanese Encephalitis in the country, particularly in worst affected states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh . Accepting most of the recommendations made by a GoM that had been set up to deal with the deadly disease, the Cabinet approved a comprehensive multi-pronged strategy for the prevention and control of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES). The proposal of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for the implementation of the intervention/activities recommended by the GoM will be implemented in 60 priority districts for a period of five years from next year. The other states to benefit include Assam, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. In another decision, the Centre approved a Rs 2.10 crore loan waiver for tsunami-affected fishermen of Andaman and Nicobar islands that will directly benefit 370 fishermen.

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• Union Culture Minister Kumari Selja declared on 14 October 2012 that the five sites in Tamil Nadu, including famous Lord Sri Ranganathar temple in Srirangam, have been included in the tentative list by the Union Culture ministry for UNESCO's world heritage status. The 17th century Fort St George in Chennai, Chettinad, Kazhugumalai rock sculptures and Pulikat Lake were the other sites in the list.

• The Chhattisgarh government established a Livelihood College in Dantewada to fight unemployment in the Naxal affected areas of the state. Dantewada district has always been ridden with Maoist violence but nowadays this district is in news for its innovative initiative to fight unemployment. District administration recently started a unique livelihood college where educated and even illiterate youth are being given skill enhancement training so that they could earn livelihood. Livelihood College runs a course in repair and maintenance of solar energy equipment, hand pumps, carpentry, plumbing, office management, hospitality, sales and marketing. More than 1000 local youth have been trained from this college and were successfully employed in different places.

• Group of Ministers has approved the controversial Land Acquisition Bill, with few changes from the version presented to the Union Cabinet last month. This paves the way for the Bill to be introduced in Parliament in the winter session. Despite sharp divisions over the consent requirements, sources at the GoM indicated that the final draft says only two-thirds of landowners will have to agree before land can be acquired for private sector projects as well as joint private-public partnerships. The original Bill had called for 80 per cent consent from both landowners as well as those who stood to lose their livelihood. Industry lobbyists had pushed for this requirement to be diluted.

• Workers of Singareni Collieries will get a 17 per cent special incentive , as per an announcement made by the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy on 16 October. In a statement, he said Rs 60.91 crore would be disbursed before the Dasara festival to the workers. He was responding to a request made by Civil Supplies Minister D. Sreedhar Babu and MLC Venkata Rao.

• Uttarakhand government has banned the sale of gutkha, pan masala and other similar products with nicotine content for a year. The manufacturing, sale and hoarding of gutkha and similar stuff have been put under a blanket ban for the next one year, Food Commissioner Ranbeer Singh said on 17 October. The ban will be reviewed after a year and its period may also be extended, he said, warning stern action against violators.

• The government on 17 October constituted a task force chaired by Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh and co-chaired by Tribal Affairs Minister Kishore Chandra Deo to work on land reform issues. Constitution of a task force to work on land reform was one of the decisions arrived in an agreement signed last week between the government and Jan Satyagrah activists, who fought for a National Land Reforms Policy.

• Leader of the movement P V Rajagopal, Trinamool Congress MP D Bandhopadhyay, Planning Commission member Mihir Shah, B N Yugandar, Aruna Roy, Praveen Jha, Bina Agrawal and Videh Upadhya are the members of the task force. Secretaries of the National Advisory Council, Dept of Land Resources, Panchayath Raj and Tribal welfare and Law are also the members of the committee. The first formal meeting of the task force will be held on November 16.

• Millions across the country may soon get benefits of various government schemes such as cooking gas subsidies and old age pension with the launch of the much-awaited Aadhaar-enabled direct cash transfer system. Prime Minster Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi launched the much touted payment mechanism on 20 October, which is aimed at checking corruption and pilferage in the social sector schemes that seek to promote financial inclusion. The launch of the scheme coincides with the second anniversary of Aadhaar project, which is being implemented by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). In the last two years, the UIDAI has generated over 20 crore Aadhaar numbers. The Aadhaar number 21 crore was handed over to a villager in Dudu by Sonia Gandhi at a function here which was also attended by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Chief Minister of Rajasthan , Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Union Ministers Sachin Pilot, Ashwani Kumar and Namo Narain Meena among others. “This is very significant thing and it will help reducing wastage, fraud and corruption,” said UIDAI Chairman Nandan Nilekani.Use of Aadhaar-based delivery mechanism will improve compliance management, reduce leakages and increase efficiency and accountability of the government’s social sector schemes. The government is rolling out Aadhaar enabled service delivery initiative in 51 districts across the country. It will be used for making pension payments, MNREGA payments, PDS distribution,

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National Affairs – 2012 scholarship payments, an official statement said. UIDAI Director General R S Sharma said, 80 per cent of the work in the 20 districts out of total 51 districts, will be completed by December 2012. Around 80 per cent work in the remaining 31 districts will be completed by the March 31, 2013. UIDAI has been mandated to cover a total population of 60 crore by March 2014 across 18 states including Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan.

• The Union Cabinet on 11 October, approved the introduction of Amendments to the "Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986" in Parliament. Some important amendments proposed are as follows: (i) Broaden the scope of the law to cover the audio-visual media and material in electronic form. (ii) Penalties to be enhanced to a maximum of three years of imprisonment and fine of between Rs.50,000 to Rs.1,00,000 for first conviction, and imprisonment of not less than two years, but which may extend to seven years, and a fine between Rs.1,00,000 to Rs.5,00,000 for second conviction. (iii) Police officers not below the rank of Inspectors authorized to carry out search and seizure, in addition to State and Central Government officers authorized by the State or Central Government. These amendments seek to ensure that more effective protection is provided against indecent representation of women by covering newer forms of communication like internet, multimedia messaging etc., beyond the print and audio-visual media. This would aid in addressing the problem of increased objectification of women thereby ensuring dignity of women. The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986 was enacted with the objective of prohibiting indecent representation of women in any advertisement or publication. However, since the existing legislation lacks the focus that is necessary to protect women from exploitation, particularly in the face of the increasing use of advanced technology and communication devices in our everyday life, it was felt that the scope of the Act may need to be amended. Extensive consultations have been held with stakeholders including lawyers and civil society organizations on the draft Bill, before its finalization.

• The Union Cabinet discussed the Draft Twelfth Five Year Plan document (2012-2017), and approved the proposal to place the Plan Document before the National Development Council. The Plan proposes an acceleration of growth over the plan period to reach 9 percent in the terminal year, yielding an average growth rate of 8.2 percent for the plan period as a whole. It emphasizes that the growth must be both inclusive and sustainable, and to achieve these objectives it proposes a comprehensive game plan in terms of policies and programmes. The estimates show resource availability for the Twelfth Plan at Rs.80,50,123 crore in current prices for the Centre and States taken together. This implies the public sector resources for the Twelfth Plan (2012-2017) would be 11.8 per cent of GDP. To achieve the targeted growth rate, the fixed investment rate should increase to 35 per cent of GDP (at constant prices) by the end of the Twelfth Plan, yielding an average fixed investment rate of 34 per cent of GDP (at constant prices) for the Twelfth Plan period as a whole. The projected average rate of gross domestic capital formation in the Twelfth Plan is 37 per cent of GDP, the projected gross domestic savings rate is 34.2 per cent of GDP and the net external financing needed for macro-economic balance would average around 2.9 per cent of GDP. The Plan emphasizes a broad definition of inclusiveness, which encompasses a spread of benefits to the weaker sections, including especially the SC/STs, OBCs and Minorities, and also regional balance in development.

• The Union Cabinet approved the introduction of Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Amendment Bill, 2012 in Parliament. The Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1959 was enacted in the year 1959 and with the passage of time some of its provisions have become obsolete and require modifications. With this in mind, the Act is being amended. Employment Exchanges will be renamed as "Employment Guidance and Promotion Centres" as the focus is now on vocational guidance and career counseling besides registration, submission and placement etc. Establishments in the private sector employing between 10-24 persons are being brought under the purview of the Act for the purpose of submission of returns. This is likely to result in a more realistic estimate of employment in the organised sector. The employer is being mandated to furnish information relating to the result of selection against the vacancies notified within thirty days from the date of selection, to make the registration data more rational. The definitions of employee and employer are being broad based to include contract labour that has worked for more than 240 days in a year.

• The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to further amend the Competition Act, 2002 , with a view to fine tune it and to meet the present day needs in the field of competition, in the light of the experiences gained in the actual working of the Competition Commission of India in the last few years. Major amendments approved by the Cabinet relate to changing the definition of “turnover”, “Group”,

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National Affairs – 2012 reducing the overall time limit of finalization of combinations from 210 days to 180 days and insertion of a new Section 5A enabling the Central Government to lay down, in consultation with the Competition Commission of India, different thresholds for any class or classes of enterprises for the purpose of examining acquisitions, mergers and amalgamations by the Commission. The other amendments relate to procedural aspects in working of the Commission.

• The Union Finance Minister and Leader of the Indian Delegation P. Chidamabaram participated at the 26th Meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) in Tokyo on 12 October. He represented the Constituency consisting of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Sri Lanka. By siting the global economic slow down, he told that they should continue to act collectively to restore confidence, rekindle growth and create jobs. It is, therefore, appropriate to take stock of the progress made in realizing their goals so that we should be better prepared to face the emerging challenges.

• Prime Minister had set up a committee under the chairmanship of Dr. C. Rangarajan, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister to look into all the issues relating to the deregulation of the sugar sector . The committee has completed its task, after several rounds of deliberations, consultations with stakeholders, and discussion with Chief Ministers of major sugar-producing states. The report was submitted to the Prime Minster on 10-10-2012. A major recommendation of the committee relates to revising the existing arrangement for the price to be paid to sugarcane farmers, which suffers from problems of accumulation of arrears of cane dues in years of high price and low price for farmers in other years. The committee has also recommended dismantling of the levy obligation for sourcing PDS sugar at a price below the market price. States should be allowed henceforth to fix the issue price of PDS sugar, while the existing subsidy to states for PDS sugar transport and the difference between the levy price and the issue price would continue at the existing level, augmented by the current level of implicit subsidy on account of the difference between the levy price and the open market price. This will free the industry from the burden of a government welfare programme, and indirectly benefit both the farmer and the general consumer since the industry passes on the cost of levy mechanism to farmers and consumers.

• Union minister for HRD (human resource development) Kapil Sibal will visit Meghalaya on October 12 to lay the foundation stone for construction of permanent campus of the National Institute of Technology (NIT) at Sohra . The NIT campus at Sohra would be built in an area of about 200 acres which is already in the possession of the State Government has been allotted to the NIT. NIT director Prof DK Saikia said that the NIT Sohra is among the 30 NITs in the country. NIT Sohra has been established by HRD ministry as an institute of National Importance to play catalyst role in the development of the state.

• The President on 11 October, 2012 performed the Bhoomi Puja of Swami Vivekananda Value Education and Cultural Centre in , Karnataka . He visited the room where Swami Vivekananda had stayed for four days during his visit to Belgaum in October 1892. He also unveiled a plaque for restoration of Swami Vivekananda memorial. The President said there is need to restore faith in humanity in the minds of our youth. If the youth of India, who are more than fifty percent of population, can imbibe the soaring idealism, the approach of rationalism, love of the universal, abandon all dogma and prejudice and serve mankind, India will find its rightful place in the world.

• Suvarna Soudha, the second secretariat building in Karnataka, was inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee in Belgaum on 11 October, marking the fulfillment of the long-cherished dream of the people of the region. Mr. Mukherjee said that with the inauguration of the Suvarna Soudha, the administration and governance would come closer to the people of the region, and this would lead to economic growth and removal of regional disparities.

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its approval to continue the sharing pattern of costs between the Central and State/UT Governments in the ratio of 75:25 during the year 2012-13 in respect of State sector component of the Scheme for setting up of 6,000 model schools at block level as benchmark of excellence. For the year 2012-13, an amount of Rs.1080.00 crore has been allocated for the Scheme. Any financial liability arising due to continuation of sharing pattern of 75:25 would be taken care of within the said allocation. As each school will have 560 students, total number of beneficiaries for 3,500 schools will be 19.60 lakh students. The programme is to be implemented through State Implementing Societies set up by State/UT Governments for this

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National Affairs – 2012 purpose. Till March, 2012, a total of 1,954 model schools have been approved in 22 States and financial sanctions amounting to Rs. 1790.76 crore has been issued for setting up of 1,587 model schools in 21 States. The Model School Scheme was launched in November, 2008 in pursuance of the announcement of the Prime Minister in his Independence Day speech of 2007. The objective of the Scheme is to set up one senior secondary school each in 6,000 blocks as benchmark of excellence. 3,500 of these schools are to be set up under State/UT Governments in Educationally Backward Blocks (EBBs) and the remaining 2,500 schools are to be established under PPP mode in blocks which are not educationally backward. The State Sector component of the scheme is operational since the launch of the scheme in November, 2008.

• Signing of A Tripartite MoS among Central Government, Govt. of Assam and Factions of DIMA Halam Daogah was taken place in New Delhi. After realizing the futility of violence, both the factions of DHD came forward and expressed their willingness to give up violence and seek solutions to its problems peacefully within the framework of the Constitution. The MoS provides for enhanced autonomy for the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council in Assam and also a special package for speedier socio-economic and educational development of the area for which the Council has been set up . Under the Memorandum of Settlement, a Committee will be constituted to deal with the matters relating to the 6th Schedule Councils. The DHD shall dissolve itself as an organization within a reasonable time as a precursor to the Government initiating further process to implement the agreed decisions of this agreement. As part of the restructuring and empowerment process, the existing North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council (NCHAC) will be renamed as the Dima Hasao Autonomous Territorial Council (DHATC). A Special economic package of Rs 200 Crore (Rs. 40 crore per annum) over and above the Plan fund over the next five years will be provided to the DHATC to undertake special projects by the Council. The State Government of Assam has agreed in principle to set up a Development Council with a suitable package for preservation and promotion of culture, language, etc.

• Uttar Pradesh government decided to ban gutkha , which is pan masala mixed with tobacco, as per the order of the Allahabad high court order and the Food Security Act passed by the parliament. However, the order will come into effect from April 1, 2013. Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav said that six months time has been given to find other source of employment for the people rendered jobless due to ban. The Allahabad high court had on September 18 ordered the UP government to restrain manufacturing, sale and distribution of 'gutkha' in the state and inform the court after 14 days steps taken to implement the order. Fixing October 10 for filing compliance report to implement the Central government's directions under the Food Safety Act, the court in its order, passed on a public interest litigation filed by Indian Dental Association, also said that if the state government failed to act within the stipulated time, it might consider passing an order banning gutkha..

• Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on 11 October, met Jan Satyagrah activists in Agra and agreed to their demands for framing a National Land Reforms Policy , defusing a crisis that could have been triggered by their march to the national capital. The march, which started on October 2 from Gwalior, was discontinued after Ramesh signed an agreement with Jan Satyagrah leader P V Rajagopal for brining in land reforms and addressing the issues of the landless poor in the country. Jai ram Ramesh said while addressing thousands of landless poor in Agra, the government was "committed" to bring the draft of the policy within the time frame, A task force will be set up under the Rural Development Minister to take the process forward and the first meeting will be held on October 17.Government also agreed to the demand for setting up Fast Track Land Tribunals for speedy disposal of the cases pending in revenue and judicial courts.

• The report 'Children in India 2012-A Statistical Appraisal', conducted by the Central Statistical Organisation, said Crime against children rose by an alarming 24 per cent last year in the country, with Uttar Pradesh topping the list. The highest number of crimes against children was reported from Uttar Pradesh (16.6 per cent) followed by Madhya Pradesh (13.2 per cent), Delhi (12.8 per cent) and Maharashtra (10.2 per cent). According to the report, there was an increase of 43 per cent in kidnapping and abduction cases in 2011 while rape cases where the victims were children rose by 30 per cent in the same period. While UP and Delhi together accounted for 47.6 per cent of kidnappings and abductions of children reported in the country last year, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra together accounted for 44.5 per cent of child rape cases. The report also said that procuration of minor girls (862 cases) last year recorded an increase of 27 per cent and foeticide reported an increase of 19 per cent as compared to the previous year. As many as 113 cases under prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006 were reported in the country in 2011, out of which the highest were in West Bengal (25) followed by Maharashtra (19),

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