Tuesday, April 10, 2012

HEADLINES

• 23 convicted and 23 acquitted in post-Godhra riots case for the ode riots – where 24 people were burnt alive
• Parliamentary Panel summons military chiefs before it to testify on the preparedness of a two-front war; the chiefs have been saying will not be possible due to slow procurement by Govt
• Talks between the Centre, the Assam Govt and the ULFA make tangible progress

NATIONAL NEWS

• Vector borne diseases: States asked to take preventive steps
  • Concerned over the increasing frequency of outbreaks of vector-borne diseases, the Centre has asked the States to undertake effective control activities during the ‘inter-epidemic' period. Importantly, it wanted the Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) to be trained, along with other programme personnel, so that their services can be utilised when needed;
  • Vector-borne diseases include malaria, dengue, chikungunya and Japanese encephalitis (JE). While their frequency and intensity increased in recent years, they also spread to new geographical areas. For these disease, timely detection and control of epidemic is very important;
  • In recent years due to unplanned construction activities, life style changes and deficient water management, including improper water storage, have led to proliferation of vector breeding sites. The list of measures suggested by the Centre include enhancing disease surveillance, awareness campaigns, indoor spraying, use of Long-lasting Insecticide Nets and regular monitoring of larval breeding sites.
• Csoma's resting place in Darjeeling getting a facelift
  • The Hungarian government, in collaboration with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) , is renovating the resting place of the famed orientalist, Sándor Kõrösi Csoma, also known as Alexander Csoma, in Darjeeling and giving the room that he occupied in the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal in Kolkata a facelift;
  • This year marks the 170th death anniversary of Alexander Csoma, author of the first Tibetan-English dictionary and grammar book. He travelled to Asia in search of more information on the original Hungarians or Magyar people as they are known;
  • Csoma undertook the journey to unravel and trace the origin of the Magyar people in 1820, and arrived at Ladakh. A monastery in Zanskar was his home while he studied the Tibetan language and compiled the first English-Tibetan dictionary while living at Zangla Monastery in 1823. Csoma spent a few years at the Asiatic Society. He died in 1842 just ahead of his travel to Lhasa.
• Kisan Call Centres to be modernised
  • Kisan call centres, set up across the country to provide instantaneous agri extension services to farmers over telephone, are set to be modernised from April 16 with the inclusion of several new features;
  • A main addition to these call centres will be the voice mail system. If the telephone lines are busy when a farmer calls, or if he makes a call after office hours, his queries will be recorded along with personal details such as his name and telephone number. The experts at the call centre would give him a return call. At present these call centres were operating only from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m;
  • Also, the farmers would also get a summary of the reply in written form through SMS in addition to the oral reply, so that they do not forget technical details.
• Assam Rhino population swells by 304
  • Assam has recorded an increase in the total population of the world-famous one-horned rhinos over the past three years. The figures of the just-concluded 2012 census have revealed the presence of 2,505 rhinos as against 2,201 found during the 2009 count — an increase of 304;
  • The Kaziranga National Park (KNP) had 2,290 rhinos and the Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park 100. The Pabitora Wildlife Sanctuary recorded 93 rhinos while the Manas National Park housed 22 rhinos received through translocations from Kaziranga and Pabitora under the Indian Rhino Vision (IRV) 2020 programme;
  • In 2009 Kaziranga accounted for 2,048 of the animals. The census figures show that rhino population in this world heritage site has increased by 242 over the past three years. The Pabitora Wildlife Sanctuary has recorded an increase of nine rhinos from 84 in 2009. However, the actual increase would be 17 as eight had been translocated to Manas. The sanctuary has the highest density of rhinos in the world. The Orang National Park which accounted for 64 in 2009 recorded 100 rhinos this time, an increase of 36 rhinos.
• S.M. Krishna's comments on South China Sea a mistake says Chinese paper
  • Chinese officials and the State media have taken exception to S.M. Krishna's comments last week that the disputed South China Sea was “the property of the world,” describing the External Affairs Minister's remarks as “a mistake”;
  • “Other countries can't denote one country's territory as global property,” said a commentary published by the Communist Party-run Global Times newspaper. “Describing the South China Sea as global property is a mistake”;
  • A spokesperson said that “anyone who is objective and fair is well aware” that the freedom of navigation on the South China Sea, whose islands are disputed by China and 10 other countries, had been “fully guaranteed according to international law”;
  • The spokesperson also said that China had “indisputable sovereignty” over the Spratly Islands, which are also contested by Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines and other countries. China's position was that the dispute “should be resolved through negotiation between sovereign states that are directly concerned.”
• India and Qatar take forward initiatives in mutual investments
  • At a meeting, the Emir of Qatar, Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh took forward the initiatives on mutual investments agreed upon during their previous detailed interaction in 2008. Four pacts, including one setting in place the framework for a more intensive partnership in the hydrocarbons sector, were signed in their presence. They also discussed issues like the opening of the Taliban office in Doha, the issues in Bahrain and Syria;
  • Although Qatar is among the few countries in the region with which India has a structure for joint maritime security and training besides an agreement on security and law enforcement seeking to check money laundering and transnational crime, official sources maintained that the discussions did not touch the political realm. This could probably be because after having voted against Syria and wholeheartedly supporting the Arab League plan, India had edged politically closer to the petro-monarchies in the region;
  • Building on a previous agreement to set up a $100-million fund to indicate their genuineness and credibility in investing in India's infrastructure sector, the sources said $5.5 billion of investments could be expected from Qatar.
• Delhi Govt urges centre to fast track Renuka Dam project
  • Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has written to Union Water Resources Minister P. K. Bansal to fast track the Renuka Dam project. The Chief Minister has expressed concern that further stalling of the project will jeopardise the city's water security. The dam has been proposed on the Giri River in Himachal Pradesh and is expected to provide Delhi 275 million gallons of water a day;
  • Delhi has been pressing the Centre for its intervention to secure clearances for the Renuka Dam project, claiming it is the only source of water for the city's future use. “There are limited sources of water for the city; and Renuka Dam is the primary source that assures water for the future needs. The project is important for securing the drinking water needs of the people and to take forward the plans for the development of the city;
  • After former Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh put a stop to the Renuka Dam project, in 2010 because of the large number of trees (about 1.77 lakh) that would have to be sacrificed, Delhi administration has been pushing for a reversal of the order;
  • There was a hope for Delhi when Mr. Ramesh in 2011 had agreed to undertake an inspection of the Nahan Valley, where the dam will be constructed. “Delhi has taken up the issue with the Planning Commission and subsequently with the Centre. We are again brining it to the notice of the concerned people, because a lot depends on whether Delhi will get the water from Renuka or not,” the official said;
  • The Delhi Government has already given Rs.215 crore to the Himachal Pradesh Government for procuring land for the national project that is expected to take at least five to six years to complete.
• NABARD to double loan for grain storage capacities in Punjab
  • The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) on Monday said it expects to double its concessional lending towards building new warehouses for food grain storage to Rs. 500 crore in Punjab;
  • The basic idea for launching this scheme was to create storage space in order to facilitate distribution of foodgrain to poor families under Centre's proposed Food Security Act;
  • The Centre has allocated about 50 lakh tonne of new storage capacities for Punjab in a bid to prevent wastage of wheat and rice in the wake of inadequate storage capacities in the State. Punjab is massively short of storage space with State procuring agencies being forced to place the crop n rice mills, sugar mills and in the open.
• Nitish firm on Motihari for Central University
  • Talks of setting up Central University of Bihar (CUB) in Gaya instead of Motihari is a conspiracy by the Centre to create discord among the people of the two places, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Monday;
  • Stating that he would stick to his demand for opening of the university at Motihari, he told journalists that “it is impossible for us to go back ... We have already sent the proposal for setting up CUB at Motihari to the Centre.”
• Olive Ridley eggs get washed away by high tide
  • A large number of Olive ridley nests at Rushikulya rookery coast in Ganjam district of the State got washed away by high tide of sea. This large scale destruction of Olive ridley eggs happened just a few days before their hatching;
  • Each Olive ridley nest contains 100 to 120 eggs. They incubate by the temperature of the sand. The high tide would have changed the temperature of the surrounding sand. Also, the newborn hatchlings would find it too hard to come out of the tight sand.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

• Iran and world powers to meet in Istanbul, Turkey for nuclear talks
• Concerns skyrocket over N.Korea's satellite mission and rocket launch which is expected in the coming week

EDITORIALS, OPINIONS & COLUMNS

• Read this article on the actions against Maoists in Chhattisgarh
• Read this article on the emergence of BRICS and some of the issues they need to consider
• Just give this article on Kyrgyzstan's new anti-corruption policy
• Read this article on Fort Museum in Chennai

ECONOMY & BUSINESS NEWS

• India-Pakistan talks to focus on removal of non-tariff walls
  • Trade and commerce ministers of Pakistan and India are likely to hold parleys here on enhancing economic engagement and removal of non-tariff barriers, including a liberal visa regime, to give a fillip to trade relations between the two neighbours;
  • “Trade is set to take from the sea and railway route but it will take time for things to move along the surface transport front. Discussions are on to open up more trade through the land route, including a new one in Rajasthan,'' a senior official said. Talks are expected now that Pakistan has notified its negative list for trade last month;
  • Out of the 8,000-odd items notified under the newly-released negative list, only 150-odd items could be traded through trucks across the border, something that needed to be urgently expanded;
  • Both countries have discussed recently the issue of trade in electricity and petroleum products. In fact, India has offered power-starved Pakistan 5,000 MW of electricity and an expert group had met last month in Lahore to work out the modalities for such an exchange in the future. Similarly, the expert group on petroleum had met last month in India. Pakistan had sought from India a supply of petrol. India reciprocated instantly to the Pakistan request. It has left it to the officials to work out modalities;
  • Interestingly, Pakistan has already notified transportation of petrochemical products through the land route on trucks some months ago. However, the Indian oil marketing companies have been guarded in their approach to supply the much-needed raw material to its neighbour.