Friday, June 8th, 2012

HEADLINES

• Chidambaram to face trial on poll petition : Court
• New army chief lifts ban on Lt.General Suhag
• Bhupathi – Sania wins French open title

NATIONAL NEWS

• Russia plays hardball on ENR transfer to India
  • India's negotiations with Russia on civil nuclear energy are set to enter an intense phase
  • “Russia is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and it intends to comply with its provisions. The transfer of ENR technology will be restrained to countries that want to develop this sensitive technology. Russia will observe all international obligations as per the treaties [it has signed].” said a top Rusatom (Russia's nuclear giant) official)
  • India has been particularly concerned about one clause — 6(a)(i) — which has been amended to state that ENR facilities, equipment and technology will be given only to NPT members which had fulfilled all its treaty obligations.
  • India will find it difficult to reach the third phase of nuclear technology development without the ENR technology — which would enable it to use its rich Thorium resources.
    
    
• After public outcry centre back off on water pricing
  • Public outcry against indiscriminate pricing of water and privatisation of water delivery services has forced the Centre to back off on both counts in its revised draft of the new national water policy
  • The revised draft, that incorporates suggestions from the public as well as state governments, allows for subsidy to the poor and in non-commercial farming.
  • Fearing infringement of their rights, some States expressed reservations on the proposal for having an overarching national legal framework as a basis for enacting legislation in ‘water governance.'
  • Although the idea of ‘maximising value from water' has been abandoned in the new policy, the natural resource will henceforth be treated as an economic good to promote its conservation and efficient use.
  • A Water Regulatory Authority is envisaged in each State to regulate and fix water charges. The charges will be determined on volumetric basis with Water Users Association given the responsibility to manage the distribution of water.
  • However, in keeping with the idea that “under-pricing” of electricity for irrigation purposes “is wasteful,” the new policy provides for setting up separate, dedicated electric feeder systems that are energised “for a limited time” for agriculture.
    
    
• Equity top of India's Rio Agenda; targets to be avoided
  • India will head to the Rio+20 summit in Brazil with a negotiating brief focussed on defending the principle of “common but differentiated responsibility” (CBDR) and preventing any attempt to pin down specific goals or targets regarding sustainable development.
  • While the June 20 to 22 meeting at the Brazilian city has been billed as the launch-site for a new set of post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), India is one of the countries that prefer an “aspirational,” rather than a mandatory or “prescriptive” approach.
  • Without any agreed definition of a “green economy,” India plans to insist that any such concept does not lead to trade protectionism which could affect the livelihoods of vulnerable Indians
  • The Indian wishlist for the SDGs: they should be “universal and global, aspirational and non-binding, based on the principles of equity and CBDR
  • India also opposes the idea of upgrading the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to a specialised agency status, which would give it universal membership and more predictable funding.The opposition stems from a fear of “disproportionately strengthening the environmental pillar of sustainable development without addressing the pressing needs of socio-economic development.

• Rethink on no detention up to class VIII
  • The Central Advisory Board of Education has decided to constitute a committee to revisit the ‘no detention' provision under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. The panel will submit a report in three months.
  • The Advisory Board also endorsed the government's initiative to create a Credit Guarantee Fund to provide better flow of credit to deserving students. The Rs. 5,000-crore corpus will stand guarantee in case any student defaults on repayment of education loans.
  • The Advisory Board also decided to constitute a committee for developing the framework and processes of the National Mission on Teachers and Teaching. This committee will be headed by Minister of State D. Purandeswari. It will include State Education Ministers and have representation from academics and civil society. The committee will focus on teacher educators and developing teachers for inclusive education of children with special needs.
  • The report of the Advisory Board's Committee on Information and Communication Technology in School Education and the draft of the National Policy on ICT were unanimously adopted. Suggestions were given on making the digital version of textbooks on Akaash Tablets, for use by both teachers and students in schools and the capacity building of teachers' educators.
    
    
• Pranab urges states to use the aadhar platform
  • Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday pitched for streamlining the delivery mechanism for distributing subsidised commodities such as food ration, cooking gas and all other targeted government schemes for the ‘Aadhaar' platform.
  • While pilot projects are being planned for distribution of PDS food grains, LPG cylinders and kerosene to the targeted beneficiaries, other programmes such as ‘Janani Suraksha Yojana,' pension schemes, government scholarships, financial inclusion, Kisan Credit Cards (KCCs) and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme wage disbursal would also be brought under the pilot project mode.

• More spending for toilets in rural areas
  • In a bid to banish the spectre of open defecation within a decade, the government has increased its spending on toilets for rural areas, hiking the amount to be spent for a household latrine from the existing Rs.4,600 to Rs.10,000
  • The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the increased allocation for the Total Sanitation Campaign — now renamed the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA) — from Rs.1,500 crore in the last financial year to Rs.3,000 crore in the current one.
  • Under the revised scheme, toilets will be built using Rs.3,200 from the Centre and Rs.1,400 from the State government. The homeowner will contribute Rs.900, while the remaining Rs.4,500 will be leveraged through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
  • The scheme brings solid and liquid waste management — usually found only in cities — to the rural landscape for the first time. Gram panchayats will receive anywhere between Rs.7 lakh and Rs.20 lakh for this.

INTERNATIONAL

• India backs greater SCO role in Afganistan
  • India said it backed the six-member Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) security grouping to play a greater role in Afghanistan, and expressed its interest to coordinate more closely with the group in tackling terrorism in the region.
  • Chinese President Hu Jintao also lent his backing to the stepping up the SCO's engagement in the country in the lead-up to the withdrawal of NATO forces by 2014
  • India had already committed over $2 billion towards the reconstruction.
  • The External Affairs Minister also lent India's support to boosting regional connectivity, highlighting India's role in “re-energising” the International North South Transport Corridor project, which will link India, Central Asia and Russia passing through Iran
  • Mr. Krishna reiterated India's interest in becoming a full-fledged member of the organisation.

• India looks to China to expand ties in new areas
  • Citing the development of relations that were moving “smoothly” and had turned the corner after years of “hiccups,” Indian and Chinese officials on Thursday discussed expanding the ties in new areas, from taking forward talks on Central Asia and trans-boundary rivers to looking into opening new consulates to boost engagement.
  • Chinese officials also expressed their interest in opening a third consulate in India, and expanding China's diplomatic presence beyond the consulates in Mumbai and Kolkata, and the embassy in New Delhi
  • India is also understood to be keen on expanding its diplomatic presence in China — India has consulates in Shanghai and Guangzhou.
  • Both countries said they would take forward language cooperation between their Education Ministries to train teachers in India in Mandarin

• Israeli plan infuriates palestine
  • Israel's Prime Minister has ordered construction of 300 homes in a West Bank settlement, a move aimed at placating settler anger over the planned demolition of an illegally built outpost nearby.
  • The decision infuriated the Palestinians, who have refused to conduct peace talks while Israel expands its settlements on occupied land. It also risked drawing an international backlash.

EDITORIALS, OPINIONS AND COLUMNS

• If you have time read this article on the future trends in oil imports
• Editorial on election disputes
• A nice article on the recent changes brought about by the HRD ministry in JEE entrance exams