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Our aim is to help the candidates in their effort to get through the examinations. Your efforts and dedication inspire us to keep going. It is our sincere effort to make your journey easier. Best Wishes Editorial Board Team Aspirant Forum Courtesy: The Hindu Press Information Bureau (PIB) aspirantforum.com Vol. 36 Aug 2017 36 Aug Vol. Visit Aspirantforum.com for guidance and study material for IAS Exam. aspirantforum.com Hindu and PIB Crux Vol. 36 News and Events of August 2017 ‘ cant adverse impact on India’s underwater nuclear capa- bilities. Responding to the petition filed by Commander S.S. Lu- National thra, the AFT said it was “disturbing and surprising that the Indian Navy does not have an inbuilt system to en- sure such probable occurrence between relatives are Methanol a clean, cheaper fuel’ addressed institutionally, so that such a situation, as oc- Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari curred in this case, does not manifest”. held a high-level stakeholders meeting to deliberate upon Commander Luthra had alleged that Vice-Admiral P.K. a strategy to use methanol as an alternative fuel in auto- Chatterjee, Inspector General, Nuclear Safety, had sys- mobiles. The Minister has asked government think-tank tematically favoured his son-in-law Capt. A.V. Agashe by NITI Aayog to study the automobile standards developed discriminating against Luthra and other competent offic- in China to use methanol as an alternative fuel. ers, most of them pioneers trained in Russia to run the ‘Import substitution’ reactors of nuclear submarines, in the nuclear submarine “Methanol economy will help India use its vast reserves arm of the Navy. of coal while driving import substitution. Research in con- Admiral Chatterjee not only “intervened in the case of the verting carbon dioxide to methanol is promising and can applicant and brought down his quantitative assessment be a game-changer for methanol economy,” Mr. Gadkari convincingly, but he has in the same period steeply up- said after chairing the meeting. Petroleum and Natural graded the quantitative assessment of his son-in-law,” the Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, New and Renew- AFT said. It also pointed out that all officers in the chain of able Energy Minister PiyushGoyal along with former un- reporting of Capt. Agashe were officers who were directly ion minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief or indirectly reporting to his father-in-law. SharadPawar were also present in the meeting. Admiral Chatterjee “at no stage has made known to Navy “Mr. Gadkari stressed on the use of local or indigenous the fact that he was consistently reporting on his son- materials for production of fuel like making ethanol from in-law and when not reporting was fully in the position agriculture produce or waste and from coal,” a Road of influencing” his son-in-law’s command chain, the AFT Transport and Highways Ministry spokesperson said. In order said. its presentation, NitiAayog said methanol is a promising Damage to nuclear arm fuel for waterways as it is clean, cheaper than fossil fuels The AFT order tellingly captures what the nepotism of the and a good substitute for heavy fuels. It suggested that senior Admiral has done to the Navy’s nuclear submarine ethanol could be made out of coal and informed that a arm. pilot project was already underway in Talcher in Odisha. The order points out that the Navy has until now inducted India imports methanol from Saudi Arabia and Iran at pre- two nuclear submarines – INS Chakra and INS Arihant . sent, the think-tank said, adding that it is working on a INS Chakra was the first nuclear submarine and it was roadmap for conversion from coal to methanol. leased from Russia to India. A total of seven officers were The government think-tank also said that methanol can trained as Reactor Operators in Russia. Commander Lu- be produced from municipal waste as well. thra was one of those pioneering seven officers aboard ‘Economic sense’ INS Chakra who were trained in Russia at an exorbitant “All stakeholders agreed that methanol is a promising fuel cost. In contrast, INS Arihant is the submarine which was used in many parts of the world. While in most countries made in India and the crew had been trained domesti- it is being made from natural gas, for India it makes much cally, and Capt. Agashe was aboard Arihant . more economic sense to use locally available coal,” the The order points out that Commander Luthra was sent spokesperson said. to Russia twice for a total duration of approximately 40 months for his training. Commander Luthra presented Vice-Admiral’s actionsaspirantforum.com impacted before the AFT that the nepotism was visible in the pro- motion boards: “In the results of Promotion Board 2B/14, n-capabilities where no Reactor Operator other than his son-in-law The unusual move of the Armed Forces Tribunal to im- Capt. A.V. Agashe, was promoted. In PB 2B/14 and PB pose a fine of Rs. 5 lakh on a retired Vice-Admiral for 2/15, no Reactor Operator from INS Chakra was promot- Vol. 36 Aug 2017 36 Aug Vol. nepotism maybe telling, but his actions have had signifi- Visit Aspirantforum.com for guidance and study material for IAS Exam. aspirantforum.com Hindu and PIB Crux Vol. 36 News and Events of August 2017 ed,” Commander Luthra submitted in the AFT. “Similar participation should be encouraged by other However, the damage done to the nuclear arm and the States for protection and conservation of natural water massive losses incurred in the expensive training is for- bodies and creation of new water conservation struc- ever, admit Navy officers. tures,” stated the declaration. Works under the JSA’s first phase were undertaken all Water conservation scheme a big success over Rajasthan at an expenditure of Rs. 1,300 crore. The Rajasthan government’s flagship water conserva- Another project tion programme – Jal SwavalambanAbhiyan (JSA) – has Rajasthan River Basin Authority chairperson SriramVe- turned out to be a success in Pratapgarh district, where dire said the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests the groundwater table has increased, green agricultural had agreed to fund a JSA pilot project in Banswara from fields have expanded and no tankers with drinking water the National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change. Dis- had to be sent to as many as 94 villages this year. cussions were under way with the Ministry for getting the NGT hails efforts support for the JSA’s future phases from the Green Cli- The National Green Tribunal lauded the efforts made un- mate Fund, he said. der the programme at its regional conference on environ- ment in Bhopal. India’s first private missile production facility In the Bhopal declaration, the JSA was praised as an ini- unveiled tiative which would make every village of the State self- India’s first private sector missile sub-systems manu- reliant in water by using scientific tools for rejuvenating facturing facility, a joint venture between the $2.5 billion traditional water bodies.