Tuesday, 30th July, 2013

HEADLINES

• Telengana in fast forward mode; CWC decision today

NATIONAL NEWS

• Article 371 – J : State issues notification
  • The State government has issued a notification to delegate the powers of framing the rules for the implementation of Article 371 (J) of the Constitution to the Governor and forwarded it to the Union government for Presidential assent.
  • The State Cabinet has also given its approval to the recommendations made by the Cabinet subcommittee headed by Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister H.K. Patil on fixing the quantum of reservation in educational institutions, government departments, boards and corporations and the constitution of a statutory development board for the Hyderabad Karnataka region

• Tribals “no” to mining in niyamgiri hills hailed
  • Vedanta Aluminium Limited belonging to London-listed Vedanta Resources Plc appears to have received a setback on Monday with the rejection of the proposal by tribal people at all gram sabhas held in Odisha to find out whether mining bauxite ore in Niyamigir hills was an infringement of religious, community, cultural and individual rights of Dongria Kondhs, primitive tribal group and other traditional forest dwellers.
  • The gram sabhas are being conducted on a directive by the Supreme Court on April 18. The Centre is disputing the Odisha government’s decision to restrict the number of gram sabhas to 12 villages whereas the Naveen Patnaik government strongly defended its decision
  • “The overwhelming rejection, by Dongria Kondh Adivasi (indigenous) communities, of a proposal to mine their sacred lands is an unprecedented victory for indigenous rights in the face of business interests

• Urban households have shown overall improvement says study
  • As the government gears up to meet the overall housing shortfall of nearly 18.7 million in the urban areas, a statistical compendium of households with basic amenities, including water, electricity and sanitation, better building materials, more rooms and assets, has shown an overall improvement.
  • Also, households that have access to sanitation and drainage facilities, too, have registered an increase, though States like Bihar, Odisha and Chhattisgarh have shown the lowest improvement in terms of households with improved sanitation.
  • Issues of sanitation, open defecation, provision for closed drains have been targeted through several schemes, including the Union Urban Development Ministry’s flagship programme -- the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.
  • Households that use solar energy have risen sharply by over 30 per cent, while the use of kerosene for lighting has fallen by 18 per cent
  • The condition of dwellings has shown an increase, with the households that have been described as “good” registering a growth of 56.59 per cent and the “liveable” ones, too, having gone up from 17.31 million in 2001 to 22.61 million 2011.
  • The data sourced from the Census of 2011 shows more people now own houses than before; there is a 69 per cent increase in the number of households that are “owned” with “rented” accommodations marking a dip of 21.72 per cent. Availability of drinking water and water from taps within the household has gone up as have assets like television and telephones.

• Rubber board proposes extending development through MGNREGS
  • Keeping in mind the scope for convergence, the Rubber Board has formulated a proposal for extending plantation development activities through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). This collaboration will be undertaken as pilot projects in Kerala and Assam in accordance with convergence guidelines.

• India pins hope on Bali meet for WTA doha round talks to move forward
  • Pinning hopes on the Bali Ministerial meet in December for further progress of the WTO Doha round trade negotiations, India on Monday warned that if no progress was made on the G-33 proposal of developing countries like India to deal with food security issues, the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) progress could also stand stalled.
  • The G-33 proposal, mooted by developing countries like India and China, is for food security and flexibility in their public stock holding operations for public distribution system

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

• Myanmar pipeline to diversify china energy supply
  • China has started receiving natural gas from Myanmar through an 800 km-long pipeline project.
  • The gas pipeline, which can transport 12 billion cubic metres annually, runs from Kyaukpyu to Ruili in southwestern Yunnan province, which borders Myanmar. China is also building an oil pipeline that will bring 22 million tons annually to Yunnan when completed
  • the opening of the gas pipeline had “substantially changed the strategic map of China’s energy supply channels” by alleviating what officials have described as the “Malacca dilemma” of being dependant on an energy route through the narrow straits
  • “At present, as many as 80 per cent of China’s oil imports depend on the supply line going through the Malacca and Singapore straits, while the maritime route is patrolled by fleets headed by the U.S. Navy,”

• Gulf of thailand oil spill affects tourist spot
  • A major oil spill triggered by an offshore pipe leak in the Gulf of Thailand has reached a popular tourist destination on the eastern coastline, forcing Thai navy to launch a clean-up operation
  • The oil reached Ao Phrao beach on the Samet Island where hundreds of navy personnel.

OPINION/EDITORIALS

• A brilliant article on poverty estimation by Utsa patnaik
• Article on Russia – China relations
• Editorial on India – Bangladesh relations
• Editorial on SEBI ordinance