Monday, 2nd April, 2012

HEADLINES

• NLD claims landslide in Myanmar by – elections though official results not out yet in a fairly incidence free elections.
• Pranab upbeat about west Bengal's investment climate
• Zardari to meet Manmohan over lunch during his day long visit to Ajmer

NATIONAL NEWS

• RISAT – 1 , India's indigenous radar imaging satellite that can take images of earth during day and night and in cloudy conditions is likely to be launched this month
  
  
• Symposium on cryosphere and climate change
  • The Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is organising a three-day international symposium on Cryosphere and Climate Change (C3) from Monday in Manali, Himachal Pradesh.
    
    
• Dementia society of India formed
  • The DSI, seeks to respond to this challenge by sensitising primary care physicians and providing awareness to family care givers to promote early diagnosis, better management and dissemination of preventive messages.
  • M. Suresh Kumar, DSI secretary, says it is important to recognise that there are several types of dementia; the common forms being vascular dementia, neurological ones like Alzheimer's disease and dementias set off by infections or injuries.
  • Vascular factors such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, obesity and arrhythmias are also associated with greater risk of cognitive impairment and dementia.
    
    
• Online survey seeks inputs on Sparrow
  • The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) launched an online survey, inviting inputs from the public in documenting the decline in the population and distribution of sparrows all over the country.
  • The project, ‘Citizen Sparrow,' is supported by a number of nature and conservation organisations across the country.
    
    
• New central scheme to supply free generic drugs
  • Moving towards major reforms, the Centre is in the process of rolling out a universal health coverage package in at least one district in each State on an experimental basis.
  • This would include a clearly defined basket of services to those who come to any public health facility for treatment or free supply of generic drugs, doing away with user charges and upgrading public health infrastructure right from the primary to tertiary levels.
  • These recommendations had been made by the High Level Expert Group (HLEG) in its report on universal health coverage. The panel had also recommended against any insurance scheme as a mechanism for health coverage. The HLEG had been set up by the Planning Commission.
  • The Centre has already approved a Central Procurement Agency (CPA) for supplying generic drugs to the States right up to the district level, from where the secondary and primary centres will procure these drugs.
  • The States will have to draw up standard treatment guidelines as provided under the Clinical Establishment (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2011. This will help in ensuring checking the irrational use of drugs, and encourage use of generic drugs. Maharashtra and Delhi already have such guidelines.

• President, PM attend first CBI day
  • In a welcome departure from protocol practices, President Pratibha Patil, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a number of Union Ministers, top bureaucrats and police officials attended a reception held to mark “CBI Day”.
  • The CBI traces its origin to the Special Police Establishment, which was set up in 1941. It was mandated to probe cases of bribery and corruption in transactions with the War and Supply Department of India during World War II. The Delhi Special Police Establishment Act came into force in 1946 and the name of ‘CBI' was given to it on April 1, 1963, with D.P. Kohli becoming its founder-Director.

INTERNATIONAL

• In china, Gilani pitches for investment in energy
  • Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani made a strong pitch for China to boost its support for hydropower and civilian nuclear projects as his country grapples with an energy crisis, even as the “all-weather” allies declared they would stand together “in all circumstances”.

• UK move to snoop on private e-mails, phone calls
  • In a controversial move dubbed “the Big Brother's Charter”, the British government proposes to acquire unprecedented powers to snoop on phone calls and online activity of ordinary people irrespective of whether they are suspected of any unlawful action.
  • The proposed law will not allow GCHQ to read the contents of such communications without a warrant but it will be able to use the information “to trace whom a person or group had contacted, when, for how long and how often”

EDITORIALS, OPINIONS AND COLUMNS

• An article on BRICS
• Editorial on Tobacco