Wednesday, August 29, 2012

HEADLINES

• The Supreme Court will deliver on Wednesday its verdict on Ajmal Kasab’s plea against the death sentence awarded to him by the trial court in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case
• With violence spreading in Assam, Union Home Secretary R.K. Singh on Tuesday asked the State government to take strict action against rioters and anti-socials

NATIONAL NEWS

• Union Cabinet refers land acquisition bill to a Group of Ministers
  • The controversial Bill on land acquisition and the compensation and rehabilitation of those whose land is sought to be acquired ran into opposition in the Cabinet on Tuesday, resulting in referral to a Group of Ministers (GoM);
  • The original Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011, was introduced in Parliament last September and referred to a Parliamentary Standing Committee. The panel’s report was submitted in May this year, following which the Rural Development Ministry re-wrote the Bill to incorporate many of its recommendations;
  • Despite the revisions, the Bill has come in for vociferous objections from two sides. Provisions such as mandatory consent by 80 per cent of landowners, a social impact assessment of projects, and the need for resettlement rather than mere cash compensation have raised the ire of business lobbies, who feel that industrial and infrastructure projects will be stalled. However farmer and civil groups still feel the legislation isnt strong enough;
  • Last week, the Cabinet deferred discussion on the Bill which was newly renamed Right to Fair Compensation, Resettlement, Rehabilitation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Bill, which was scheduled to be introduced in Parliament in the monsoon session.
• Cabinet clears ban on hiring children below 14
  • The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved a proposal for amending the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, to ban employment of children aged up to 14 in any form of industry. It will be an offence to employ such children not only in factories or industries but also in homes or on farms, if their labour is meant to serve any commercial interest. The Ministry of Labour is likely to introduce the amendment bill in Parliament soon;
  • The Cabinet also approved another amendment to define children aged 14-18 as “adolescents” and prohibit their employment in mines, explosives industries, chemical and paint industries and other hazardous establishments;
  • The government’s decision is in line with the convention of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which prohibits any form of child labour until the age of 14. Since the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act or RTE now stipulates compulsory and free education of children up to the age of 14, the upper age limit in the Child Labour Act has been kept at 14.
• Parliamentary panel pulls up Govt over nuclear liability rules
  • A parliamentary panel has come down heavily on the Govt for imposing limitations on liability amount as well as the duration of the liability period under the proposed rules under the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLNDA);
  • Noting that the limitations imposed under Rule 24 of the CLND Rules were not contemplated under the Act, the panel pointed out rules must be consistent with the substantial provisions of legislation.
  • The panel said that - Rule 24 of the CLND Rules has the effect of diluting the stringent liability provided in Section 17 of the CLNDA by imposing limitations in terms of the amount, which can be claimed exercising the right of recourse [limiting to the extent of operator’s liability or the value of the contract, whichever is less] and also the duration for which a supplier can be held liable, [which is not] not contemplated under the CLNDA;
  • Urging the government to amend Rule 24 suitably to remove the limitations, the panel also urged that a suitable enabling provision be incorporated either in the CLNDA or the rules to provide that the amount awarded by the Claims Commissioner or the Nuclear Damage Claims Commission was treated as interim relief and disbursed pending the court verdict;
  • The panel also noted that though 15 days has been stipulated in the Act to notify a nuclear incident, in the event of such an incident the matter should be handled on a war footing and no time should be lost in “bureaucratic procedures” in notifying it;
  • The panel pulled up the Department of Atomic Energy for the “inordinate” delay in enforcement of the Act and expressed the hope that it would initiate timely action in framing rules while drafting legislation in future.
• Press Club of India (PCI) wants to bring TV, social media under its umbrella
  • Terming broadcasters’ attempts at self-regulation “futile and meaningless,” the PCI has asked the government to amend law and bring the electronic media — both broadcast and social — under the ambit of an expanded and renamed Media Council;
  • PCI chairman Markandey Katju has been urging the inclusion of the electronic media under the Council’s regulatory umbrella ever since he took charge last year. However, the recent exodus of people from the northeast from several metros, allegedly misled by an unregulated electronic media, seems to have been a trigger for the PCI’s new resolve;
  • At a meeting here on Monday, the PCI passed a resolution asking the Union government to amend the Press Council Act, 1978, by bringing the electronic media within the purview of the Act, renaming it as The Media Council, and giving it more powers. Interestingly, the PCI resolution specifically refers to the social media as well as the broadcast media.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

• Chinese Media reports test of 14,000 km range Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
  • China’s official broadcaster, China Central Television (CCTV), reported that the military had successfully tested the new 14,000 km-range Dongfeng-41 ICBM last month, amid renewed speculation surrounding the status of China’s most advanced missile;
  • The development of the missile, representing the third generation of China’s ICBMs, is a significant boost to the country’s deterrence capabilities. It can carry between three and 10 nuclear warheads, and is regarded as the first Chinese missile that can penetrate American missile defence systems with its mobility making it hard to detect;
  • The DF-41 has been seen as reflecting China’s rapidly developing ICBM programme, which now has a range that can reach U.S. cities. In April, India tested its longest range ICBM, the 5,000 km Agni-V. While the development of the DF-41 was much discussed in recent years, whether or not it was tested had been a matter of much speculation in recent weeks;
  • This has not been officially confirmed by the Chinese Govt or the Army.

EDITORIALS, OPINIONS & COLUMNS

• Read this editorial on why residences in India need to be made more energy efficient
• If you have time, read this article on the Kamaraj Plan of the 1960s and why it is required again now

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

• Shrinking heat shield of the planet
  • The reflective Arctic sea ice that serves as a heat shield for the planet has melted to a new record low and government-backed scientists on Monday said the Arctic may be largely ice-free as soon as 2020;
  • This month, up to 100,000 square miles of sea ice a day disappeared, bringing overall shrinkage over the past three decades to 40%. Another 150,000 square miles of sea ice could melt before the middle of next month, when refreezing typically begins;
  • The past six years have brought the six lowest levels of sea ice since 1979, when measurements began. The climate scientists said the melting will open shipping routes for energy companies hoping to claim untapped oil and gas, while also worsening climate change worldwide;
  • A previous Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, published in 2007, projected ice-free conditions around 2100. However, at the current pace it is likely to happen much sooner than that.