Thursday, April 12, 2012

HEADLINES

• Quake near Sumatra, off the coast of Aceh, Indonesia causes tsunami panic across the region
• Union Health Ministry denies claims that the swine flu virus A (H1N1) has mutated into a new strain
• Birth anniversary of Jyotirao Phule celebrated across the country

NATIONAL NEWS

• Kashmir report rules out 'simple return to pre-1953 situation'
  • Asserting that “a pure and simple return to the pre-1953 situation” would “create a dangerous constitutional vacuum” in the relationship between the Centre and Jammu & Kashmir, the Interlocutors appointed by the Govt to identify the political contours of a solution to the problems of the State has recommended instead a “case-by-case review of all Central laws and Articles of the Constitution of India extended to the State” since 1952;
  • The report proposes the setting up of a Constitutional Committee that would review the applicability of Central statutes extended to Jammu and Kashmir after the July 1952 Delhi Agreement. The review process — once ratified by Parliament and the State legislature — would eventually end the extension by presidential order of further Central laws to the State. One of the key recommendations of the report is that Parliament will make no new laws applicable to Jammu and Kashmir unless these relate to the country's internal and external security and its vital economic interest.
• Attari integrated checkpost to open tomorrow
  • The Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari is scheduled to become operational for trade across the India-Pakistan border on the Punjabi New Year's Day, Baisakhi, on April 13. At present, about 200 trucks cross the border daily with restricted merchandise that accounts for about Rs.1500 crore of annual business. A study released by the Assocham said that with the ICP becoming operational and Pakistan granting the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India, the annual bilateral trade between the two countries would increase from $2.6 billion to $8 billion within the next two years;
  • Though India and Pakistan had decided to set up 13 such facilities, the Attari ICP will be the first to become operational. Located about 30 km from Amritsar, it has been set up on an area of 130 acres at an overall cost of Rs. 120 crore. It will house state-of-the-art facilities to deal with security, customs and immigrations requirements for passenger and cargo traffic through rail and road;
  • The Attari ICP is located on the international border along the historic GT road that was reconstructed in the 16th century by the Afghan ruler, Sher Shah Suri, to connect Bengal with Peshawar. Since the Radcliffe line was drawn in 1947, this route has hardly been used for commerce and trade;
  • Hopes of the Attari-Wagah becoming the gateway for trade with Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asian countries is growing. However, the information that only 137 items would be allowed has come as a dampener.
• Cauvery tribunal chief quits on health grounds
  • Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal Chairman N.P. Singh resigned on Wednesday on health grounds, after having remained in office for about 16 years. Justice Singh (80) was appointed chairman of the Tribunal a few days prior to his superannuation as Supreme Court judge in December 1996;
  • A few days ago, Tamil Nadu filed an application to restrain Karnataka from proceeding with summer irrigation and it was listed for hearing on April 17. However, due to the resignation of Justice Singh, the application will not be heard that day and a fresh hearing will take place only after the appointment of a new chairman. Under the Inter State Water Disputes Act, only a sitting Supreme Court judge who is on the verge of retirement can be appointed to head the Tribunal.
  • The Tribunal was constituted on June 2, 1990 and, by an interim award on June 25, 1991, it directed Karnataka to release 205 tmcft each year to Tamil Nadu at Mettur. Of this, Tamil Nadu was to release 6 tmcft to Puducherry;
  • The Cauvery River Authority was constituted in 1998 to ensure proper implementation of the interim award. The Tribunal, after holding sittings for over 500 days spread over 17 years, gave its final award. For Tamil Nadu, it recommended 419 tmcft (as against the demand for 562 tmcft); Karnataka 270 tmcft (465 tmcft); Kerala 30 tmcft; and Puducherry 7 tmcft. The actual releases by Karnataka to Tamil Nadu are to be 192 tmcft annually; of this, Tamil Nadu will release 7 tmcft to Puducherry;
  • As review applications were filed, the Tribunal continued to function even after it had submitted the final award in February 2007. As Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala filed appeals challenging the award in the Supreme Court, the Tribunal was unable to take up the review applications.
• Presidential reference plunges telecom sector into deep uncertainty
  • The Presidential Reference on the 2G judgment has created serious uncertainty for investors, customers and banks by placing 102 additional licences either directly or indirectly, under a dark legal shadow;
  • The Supreme Court had cancelled 122 licences awarded by ex-Telecom Minister A. Raja in 2008 on February 2, 2012. The Presidential Reference has stirred up more grief by seeking clarity from the Supreme Court on the legality of the original 8 (now 7 – after an M&A in the Chennai circle) cellular mobile licences allocated in 1994 since they were not granted through an auction process;
  • Similar questions have been raised on the 22 basic telecom services (BTS) licences which were allocated under the limited mobility regime in 2001. These licences were converted into Unified Access Service (UAS) licences in 2003. An additional 51 UAS licences granted between 2003 and 2007 on a first come, first served (FCFS) basis based on the 2001 entry fee paid for the fourth cellular mobile licence have also been placed under the legal scanner. Of these, 26 were granted by the NDA government under Arun Shourie's tenure as Telecom Minister and the remaining 25 by UPA-I when Dayanidhi Maran was the Telecom Minister;
  • n effect, of the 281 mobile telephony licences awarded so far, 122 stand cancelled while the Presidential Reference places an additional 102 under the legal scanner for months, if not years. This leaves merely 57 licences unscathed, including 34 that were granted through a bidding process in 1995, 6 granted in 1997, and 17 awarded through auctions for the fourth cellular mobile licence in mid-2001;
  • With its sweeping range of questions, including even the pricing of spectrum for CDMA and other bands which could impact spectrum allocated beyond 6.2 MHz, the Presidential Reference makes it increasingly difficult for banks to lend to even existing telecom operators with a large number of their licences now under legal scrutiny. It is a further deterrent to any mergers and acquisitions over the next 12-18 months since licences embroiled in litigation and potential cancellation are hardly likely to attract bidders;
  • The approval of the Presidential Reference by the Cabinet could bring an already bleeding sector to a grinding halt in terms of any forward movement. Legal experts confirm that the Supreme Court is under no obligation to rush its opinion. Rather, given the complexity of the issues and the need to hear all sides on a licence-by-licence basis, any legal reconciliation of the matter promises to be a long and tedious affair.
• UAV squadron at Uchipuli to expand reach
  • The commissioning of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle squadron at the naval air station near Uchipuli in Ramanathapuram district will expand the reach of the Indian Navy along the eastern coast to a great extent;
  • With the commissioning of INAS 344, the navy's third UAV squadron at the INS Parundu, and the planned extension of the runway of INS Parundu, the operation reach, sustenance and relevance of the base will increase exponentially. The development of Sethusamudram project also underscored the significance of INS Parundu in general and INAS with her UAVs particular;
  • The INS Parundu airfield at Uchipuli was taken over by the Navy from the Airport Authority of India in 1985 and the air base was activated during Operation Pawan in 1987 and had been extensively utilised for operations of fixed and rotary wing assets in support of naval operations. INS Parundu had been located at a strategic location of the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Bay. The air station had been undertaking operational tasking of immense import to the nation and Navy. And now, with the induction of UAVs, the Indian Navy and the air station would vastly enhance the surveillance capabilities in the region.
• NABARD adds more power to solar mission
  • National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has enhanced its support to a Central Government scheme to promote solar power. To promote commercial marketing of solar accessories, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), had launched the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission with subsidy for solar lighting and small capacity photovoltaic systems, which would be routed through NABARD;
  • The NABARD had formulated the modified guidelines in consultation with MNRE and it would be applicable for all applications financed by banks after March 15. As per the guidelines, the units could be located both in urban and rural areas and the models could be home lighting systems or inverter-based systems capable of handling general AC loads. Beneficiaries were eligible for capital subsidy of 40 per cent;
  • The loan would be released directly to manufacturers, who have been approved by the Union Ministry. They have to provide Compact Fluorescent lamps (CFLs) of 9 W/11 W and LED (Light Emitting Diode) for home lighting systems as per specifications and modules prescribed by MNRE.
• Montek points to hurdles in river grid project
  • In a reference to the recent Supreme Court direction asking the Centre to constitute a committee for implementing the inter-linking of rivers, Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has said that several issues needed to be looked at before the programme could be undertaken;
  • While expressing the hope that the panel would strive hard to implement the project, he pointed out that various technical, environmental and economic issues must be addressed first. He pointed out that the himalayan component was dependant on several international agreements and it was not a decision that india could take alone;
  • He also raised issues of environment and said that interference with the natural flow of a river was not a good idea as any diversion which led to reduction in flows to the Bay of Bengal will alter the layers of salinity.
• Exclusive university for women to come up in Puducherry soon

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

• Rick Santorum quits presidential race leaving Mitt Romney the only one against Barack Obama

EDITORIALS, OPINIONS & COLUMNS

• Read this article on the presidential reference on the 2G case
• Read this article which critically looks at the food security bill
• Read this article on the refinements that are required in the census exercise
• Read this editorial on the issue of telecom equipment and national security

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

• Delhi students can access Internet telescope
  • Students from nearly 80 Delhi schools will soon get an opportunity to explore the night skies in the US while sitting in India using internet telescope through a project in collaboration with IASC (International Astronomical Search Collaboration);
  • Students sitting at their desks in India will remotely control telescopes to see and explore the night sky visible in the U.S. and take in-depth pictures of celestial objects such as asteroids, galaxies, nebulae and clusters;
  • Internet Telescope enables school students to control and monitor 10 inch and 16 inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes located at the Ironwood North Observatory, USA while sitting in New Delhi.
• Pigeon navigation: magnetic sensors in beak a fallacy says study
  • Many animals and migratory birds use some kind of navigation system based on magnetic clues. This helps them find their way even when they travel hundreds of kilometres. According to current evidence, a light-dependent “compass” that is located in the retina is one such tool;
  • But in the case of homing pigeons ( Columbia livia ), scientists have come to accept that supramagnetic magnetite found on the upper part of the beak behaves as a “magnetic sensory apparatus.” Bobolink ( Dolichonyx oryzivorus ) was the first bird in which such a magnetic sensory apparatus that transmits the signal as neurons was observed;
  • The magnetite-rich cells in the beak are believed to play a vital role as magnetoreceptors for detecting both the magnetic direction and intensity. Most importantly, these studies showed that these cells are found at six specific locations in the beak of the pigeons;
  • However a recent study has challenged this theory. While the researchers failed to find the six bilateral clusters in the beak as postulated by other authors, they found the macrophages widespread in the body of the birds (stratum laxum of the subepidermis, the basal region of the respiratory epithelium and the apex of feather follicles);
  • The latter find severely undermines the hypothesis of magnetite behaving as a sensory system. In fact, it contradicts the work by many researchers who went on to find similar sensory system based on iron-mineral containing structures in other birds.
• If you have time read this article on the move to save Kangayam cattle