NATIONAL
NEWS
- Bill to repeal Legislative Council Act for Tamil Nadu introduced in Rajya Sabha
- Union Law Minister Salman Khursheed has introduced a Bill in the Rajya Sabha seeking repeal of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Council Act, 2010, passed after a resolution by the State Assembly during the DMK rule;
- The Act was meant to provide for the creation of Legislative Council for the State of Tamil Nadu. After the return of the AIADMK to power the Assembly passed another resolution in June last year for withdrawal of the decision to create the Legislative Council;
- Section 3 of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Council Act, 2010 confers power upon the President for issuing an order appointing a date on which the name of State of Tamil Nadu shall be inserted in sub-clause (a) of clause (1) of article 168 of the Constitution for the purpose of constitution of Legislative Council in that State;
- The President has so far not issued any order for the said purpose. After the repeal of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Council Act, 2010 there would be no need to amend Article 168 of the Constitution as the State of Tamil Nadu has not been included in the said article for the purpose of constitution.
- Otter Sanctuary planned in Karnataka
- A sanctuary for oriental short-clawed otter, a first in the State of Karnataka, is likely to be set up along the banks of the Tungabhadra;
- The Chief Conservator of Forests, Bellary Circle, submitted a proposal to the State Board for Wildlife seeking approval to set up a sanctuary to conserve the habitat of this mammal;
- The oriental short-clawed otter ( Aonyx cinerea ), also known as Asian small-clawed otter, is the smallest otter species in the world, weighing about 2 to 6 kg. It is listed as vulnerable in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species;
- It is found in south India, south China, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines, in shallow water near the mouth of rivers and in the coastal region, according to officials in the Department of Forests;
- Sources said that a 30-km stretch of the river bank between the Tungabhadra reservoir and Kampli has been identified as ‘protected area' for otters. The sources said that people living along the riverbank in Koppal and Bellary districts would be informed about the importance of protecting the otters.
- NTR National Literary Award for Ashokamitran
- Noted Tamil writer Ashokamitran, known for his novel Thanneer and other works, is the recipient of the 6th NTR National Literary Award.
- Gujarat says it will not ban distribution of Monsanto hybrid maize seeds
- Despite opposition from various quarters, including the agricultural experts and the farmers' organisations, the Gujarat government has refused to impose a total ban on distribution of the Monsanto hybrid maize seed named “Prabal” to the farmers in the State, particularly the tribal agriculturists;
- The State government had been distributing Prabal, the hybrid maize seeds developed by the American multi-national company Monsanto, to the tribal farmers since 2008. The agricultural scientists and experts, however, maintain that Prabal, which required more water and fertilizers than other varieties and needed deep soil, was not suitable for the usually dry and rain-fed areas like Gujarat, and particularly for the poor tribal farmers.
- Indian President visits a new wonder of nature
- Just a day after the New7Wonders Foundation based in Switzerland confirmed that the Table Mountain here has been given the “official” status of one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature following a global voting process, President Pratibha Patil on Friday became the first international dignitary to visit Cape Town's famous icon, which is around 260 million years old;
- The Table Mountain located off the tip of Cape Peninsula, where the warmer Indian Ocean is on the east and the colder Atlantic Ocean is on the west. Its flat top was draped in white mist, called “tablecloth,” due to the mixing of the thermally divergent water currents in the vicinity;
- On World Environment Day in 1998, the then South African President Nelson declared the Table Mountain “a gift to the Earth.” While announcing its new status, Bernard Weber, Founder-President of New7Wonders, noted that “along with possessing a biodiversity that is exceptionally important, given its proximity to a major city, Table Mountain is notable for the historic role it played in helping Nelson Mandela cope with his long years of imprisonment”;
- The Table Mountain is the fifth site whose status as one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature has been confirmed: the others being the Halong Bay, the Iguazu Falls, the Jeju Island and the Puerto Princesa Underground River, with the Amazon and the Komodo Island on the provisional list.
- RTI for NRIs made easier
- Indians living abroad can now seek information from public authorities in their home country through the Right to Information Act. In order to ensure that NRIs can use the RTI, the Indian Government has in principle agreed to provide Indian Postal Orders (IPOs) through the Internet on payment in foreign currency. The Reserve Bank of India had already earlier allowed NRIs to purchase IPOs through credit cards;
- Though Indian citizens living in the country were able to seek information through the RTI Act since it was passed in 2005, NRIs were having a tough time arranging for the mandatory fees which is supposed to be paid either through cash or IPOs;
- While easier norms would help NRIs in getting information from the Union Government, it is yet to be seen how they negotiate with the State governments which have created a new set of rules for giving information under the RTI Act. For instance, while one has to pay a mere Rs.10 as fee to the Central Government departments for seeking information, State governments like Chhattisgarh have fixed the fee at Rs.500 for seeking any information related to the State Assembly.
- MPs demand that the 150th birth anniversary of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore on May 8 this year be declared a national holiday
INTERNATIONAL
NEWS
- Japan to go nuclear free
- Japan is set to go without nuclear energy for the first time since 1970 from Saturday, when the last operating reactor — the Tomari nuclear plant in northern Hokkaido — shuts down for maintenance for 70 days, heightening fears of a looming power crunch this summer.
- Nepali parties agree to form Unity Government
- For the first time since elections to the 2008 Constituent Assembly (CA), Nepal's major parties have agreed to form a national unity government to smoothen the path toward a new Constitution. To facilitate this, the entire Cabinet consisting of Maoist and Madhesi Ministers — except Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai — resigned en masse late on Thursday night;
- In accordance with a five-point agreement between major parties, the unity government will first be led by the incumbent Premier, and Maoist party vice-chairman, Dr. Bhattarai. Besides the Maoists, it will include representatives of the Nepali Congress (NC), Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) and the United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF). Dr. Bhattarai will resign and leadership will be handed over to the Nepali Congress (NC) before Constitution promulgation, which is to happen before May 27 when the CA's term expires. The NC -led government will hold fresh elections according to the new constitutional design within a year;
- Consensus on power sharing had been elusive for the past four years as NC had refused to join a Maoist-led government as long as the peace process remained incomplete. With the handover of Maoist army cantonments to the Nepal Army, and integration of the former combatants reaching an “irreversible” stage, the ground was prepared for a political consensus. Political sources said that with the agreement on unity government, the efforts by “spoilers” — who had been floating the idea of filing a no-confidence motion against the government in order to derail the constitutional process — had been foiled.
EDITORIALS,
OPINIONS & COLUMNS
ECONOMY
& BUSINESS NEWS
- Pension system subscribers can choose annuity service provider
- Subscribers to the National Pension System (NPS) will now have a choice of six annuity service providers from whom they can choose their annuity schemes on exit from the NPS on attaining the age of 60;
- According to an official release here, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has empanelled six life insurance companies that have been approved by the Insurance and Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA) for providing annuity services to the NPS subscribers;
- The six insurance companies selected for providing annuity services are: Life Insurance Corporation of India, SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd., ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd., Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Co. Ltd., Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. and Reliance Life Insurance Co. Ltd;
- Under the provisions of the NPS, a maximum of 60 per cent of corpus accumulated at the time of exit — normally on attaining the age of 60 — can be withdrawn;
- However, a minimum of 40 per cent corpus has to be utilised for purchasing an annuity from one of the six empanelled annuity service providers. Subscriber can choose any of the six providers and can also select one of the annuity schemes from amongst those being offered by them.
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