POLITY AND GOVERNANCE NATURAL ECONOMIC ZONE (NEZ) Entire Northeast region has a ―Natural Economic Zone (NEZ)‖ and said that it would be his priority to nourish the NEZ and tap its potential for the benefit of the region. Northeast region as India‘s ―capital of organic agriculture‖ HORNBILL FESTIVAL celebration held every year in the first week of December, in Nagaland held at Naga Heritage Village, Kisama which is about 12 km from Kohima All the tribes of Nagaland take part aim of the festival is to revive and protect the rich culture of Nagaland and display its extravaganza and traditions Festival is named after the hornbill, the globally respected bird and which is displayed in folklore in most of the state‘s tribes. INITIATIVES FOR NORTHEAST REGION modern apparel and garment manufacturing centre would be set up immediately in the State capitals of Assam, Nagaland and Sikkim Ishan Uday special scholarships for 10,000 students from the Northeast Ishan Vikas scheme for facilitating exposure visits of 2000 students and 500 teachers of colleges in the region NATIONAL LOK ADALAT organised by the National Legal Service Authority (NALSA) cases settled out of court include family disputes, matrimonial cases, motor accident claims, bank recoveries, petty criminal matters, revenue matters, disbursement of payment under the MGNREGA and other government welfare schemes. T.S.R SUBRAMANIAN COMMITTEE examine six laws administered by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change six laws to be put under the scanner o Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 o Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 o Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 o The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 o The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 o Indian Forest Act (IFA) of 1927. GENETICALLY MODIFIED (GM) FOOD CROPS Europe does not permit field trials and that the average Indian farm is of very small size (which could lead to severe adverse impact on biodiversity through gene-flow). no independent expert agencies in the country MAIN RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE Proposed new law, the Environment Laws (Management) Act (ELMA). The application for environmental clearances expects the applicant to be honest and truthful. Setting up of special environment courts presided over by a session‘s judge and higher penalties. proposes to create new agencies, the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) at the national level and the State Environment Management Authority (SEMA) as the pivotal authorities to process applications for a one-window composite environmental clearance NEMA and SEMA will replace the Central/State Pollution Control Board. Takes away the role of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which, under the proposed ELMA, will only be able to judicially review the decisions of the Appellate Boards. Special environment courts shall dispose of cases expeditiously within six months. Aggrieved parties may approach an appellate board presided over by a retired High Court judge. for linear projects, it is recommended that FRA needs amendment to consider removal of the condition of Gram Sabha approval o Forest and environmental clearances should time bound and streamlined. o Wildlife Management plans to be made mandatory; o The demarcation of eco sensitive zones to be enforced around all protected areas and o Proposed the banning of polythene bags and plastic bottles into protected areas. Only environmental, rehabilitation and resettlement issues are captured in the public hearing. "Only genuine local participation" is permitted. creating an Environment Reconstruction Fund for facilitating research STILLWELL ROAD Stillwell road‘, as a trade route from Assam to China‘s Yunnan province. GLOBAL FINANCIAL INTEGRITY non-profit, research and advocacy organization located in Washington, D.C research on national and multilateral policies, safeguards, and agreements aimed at curtailing illicit financial flows and enhancing global development and security ranked the country third globally ANTI-HIJACKING (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2014 Brought by Beijing Protocol, 2010, of the UN body International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), which have been signed and ratified by India. Stringent measures to deal with civilian aircraft being used as a weapon of mass destruction by terrorists as 9/11. Powers to concerned agencies and security forces to immobilise an aircraft and allow the Indian Air Force to scramble its fighters to intercept a hijacked aircraft and force it to land. A hostile plane could also be shot down if there was evidence that it could be used as a missile to hit a vital installation. INDIA BANS IS Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) or Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is a Sunni Islamist rebel group that controls territory in Iraq and Syria and also operates in eastern Libya, the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt, and other areas of the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. ORDINANCE TO AMEND LAND ACT The Cabinet has amended the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. Amendments have now relaxed the requirements of consent and Social Impact Assessment survey for projects in the following areas: o Defence and defence production o Rural infrastructure (including rural electrification) o Affordable housing o Industrial corridors o Social infrastructure projects including PPPs in which ownership rests with the government Under the 2013 Act, compensations were hiked up to four times and twice the market value in rural areas and urban areas Consent from 70 per cent of the affected land owners in case of their lands being acquired for a public private partnership (PPP) project. If the acquisition was meant for private companies, consent from 80 per cent of the affected owners was required. WHAT DOES THE ORDINANCE MEAN? For Industries Ordinance envisages projects in defence, rural housing and industrial corridors as exempt from seeking 80% approval from affected persons. Private hospitals, educational institutions and hotels will be included under definition of public purpose, and exempt from SIA. The Ordinance aims to make land acquisition easier for industries, as delays in approvals have restricted growth in industry and infrastructure, according to stakeholders. For Farmers Farmers' compensation will remain the same — four times the market rate for urban areas, and twice for rural areas. 13 statutes that were previously exempted from the rigours of compensation have now been included. Multi-crop land can be acquired for five purposes without consent of affected families: national security, defence, rural infrastructure, industrial corridors and social infrastructure. ORDINANCE TO HIKE FDI IN INSURANCE TO 49% Hike Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap in the insurance sector to 49 per cent from 26 per cent. The 49 per cent cap would include both FDI and foreign portfolio investments. GIC is the sole national reinsurer. COAL MINES (SPECIAL PROVISIONS) BILL 2015 The coal bill opens the sector for commercial mining and aims to facilitate the auction of over 200 cancelled coal blocks. There will be a concrete arrangement of computerized auction of coal and mineral blocks. The auction of these blocks was being carried out through an e-auction process to transparency of the process. The main purpose of the ordinances, which are now being replaced by the bill, was to overcome acute shortage of coal in core sectors and ensure energy security. They facilitated allocation of coal mines to steel, cement and power utilities which are vital for development. Assuring states that their interests would be taken care of, Govt said upfront fees as well as their share in royalty payment would go to the states. However, Congress found fault with the government's plan to let states having coal blocks alone to have the lion's share of revenue generated by the their auction and demanded other states should also be given a slice of the cake. Government entities including public sector units such as NTPC and State Electricity Boards, however, will not have to go through the auction route as a pool of coal mines will be reserved for allocations to them from the cancelled blocks. The proceeds from the e-auction will go entirely to the state government where the coal mines are located including Jharkhand, Orrisa, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) UNODC is a global leader in the fight against illicit drugs and international crime. It is established in 1997 through a merger between the United Nations Drug Control Programme and the Centre for International Crime Prevention. UNODC operates in all regions of the world through an extensive network of field offices MAKING ‗MAKE IN INDI A‘ HAPPEN India must become a manufacturing powerhouse in order to gainfully employ its demographic dividend. improve the ease of doing business in India are these —stop tax terrorism, improve infrastructure, reform labour laws, invest in skills development, make it easier to acquire land, implement Goods and Services Tax (GST) and fast track approvals. FOR AN INDUSTRIAL POLICY India must have a clear industrial policy that spells out priority sectors and how we will build competitive advantage in a way that is consistent with our obligations to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Five priority industries: Defence, because we are the world‘s leading arms importer. The second critical industry is electronics