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National Events

September - 2014

‘Zero tolerance on rhino poaching’

•  Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change PrakashJavadekar announced that a Special Rhino Protection Force of local youth would be raised to check poaching in the Kaziranga National Park (KNP) and other rhino-populated areas in Assam.

•  “There will be zero tolerance towards rhino poaching and our efforts would be to bring down the number of rhino poaching incidents to zero,” he said.

•  Addressing a press conference after two-day visit to the national park, the Minister announced that his Ministry would request the CBI to expand the scope of its ongoing probe into rhino poaching in the KNP by including more cases and fast-track it.

•  A comprehensive plan would be undertaken to ensure free movement of park animals through the six animal corridors across the National Highway 37 passing through the world heritage site.
  Modi offers assistance for PoK flood relief

•  In a humanitarian gesture, Prime Minister NarendraModi on offered all possible assistance to Pakistan for carrying out relief operations in the flood-ravaged Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK).

•  Making the offer after undertaking a visit to flood-hit Jammu and Kashmir for a first-hand assessment of the situation, Mr. Modi expressed his anguish at the loss that has been caused in PoK.

Home Ministry asks States to fasttrack cases against MPs, MLAs

• The Home Ministry has asked all State governments to speed up cases against MPs and MLAs facing charges which attract disqualification, directing them to seek day-to-day trial in courts, appoint special public prosecutors and ensure regular monitoring.

•  The direction came in the wake of Supreme Court setting a deadline to complete trial in cases involving lawmakers.

•  The step is also in line with Prime Minister NarendraModi’s direction on July 24 asking the Home Minister and Law Minister to work out a mechanism to settle cases against politicians within a year to cleanse politics from tainted lawmakers.

•  Any sentence which attracts punishment of two years and above can lead to disqualification from Parliament or state legislature.

•  According to a March 10, 2014 direction of the Supreme Court, cases against MPs and MLAs which attract disqualification under Section 8(1), 8(2) and 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act needed to be completed within one year of framing charges.

Govt to go ahead with key appointments without LoP

•  The Government has decided to go ahead with the appointments to various statutory bodies like CVC, NHRC and Lokpal without the Leader of Opposition in the LokSabha as a member of the selection committee choosing them.

•  The move comes following a recent reference from the LokSabha secretariat in this regard, official sources said.

•  The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) had written to the LokSabha seeking information on the LoP. The secretariat has informed the DoPT that there is no recognisedLoP in the LokSabha, they said.

•  The Government will go ahead with the appointments to various statutory bodies without the LoP, the sources said.

•  LokSabha Speaker SumitraMahajan had rejected the Congress’ demand for LoP status for its nominee.

•  Congress with 44 seats in the 543-member LokSabha has emerged as the second largest party after BJP’s 282 but fell short by 11 to stake claim for the LoP for which it requires a strength of 55.

•  There is no mandatory requirement of the LoP in the selection committee that recommends persons for Central Vigilance Commissioner, Vigilance Commissioner, chairpersons and members for the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and Lokpal, they said.

•  The appointment of a Central Vigilance Commissioner and Vigilance Commissioner is done by the President on the basis of recommendation from a three member selection committee headed by Prime Minister and comprising Minister for Home Affairs and the Leader of Opposition in the House of the People, as per the Central Vigilance Act 2003.

•  The Act further has a provision that when no such leader (LoP) has been recognised then the selection committee can include the leader of the single largest group in opposition in the LokSabha.

•  “No appointment of a Central Vigilance Commissioner or a Vigilance Commissioner shall be invalid merely by reason of any vacancy in the Committee,” the Act says.

Government of India can print Re 1 note: Law Ministry

•  Putting to rest the debate on printing of one rupee notes, the Law Ministry has opined that the Government of India has all the powers to print currency notes of this denomination.

•  While the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has the authority to issue bank notes of denominational values of Rs. 2, Rs. 5, Rs. 10, Rs. 20, Rs. 50, Rs. 100, Rs. 500, Rs. 1,000, Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 10,000, the one rupee note was printed and issued by the central government.

•  The Government of India also has the sole right to mint coins of all denominations.

•  However, since the RBI was of the view that with the repeal of Section 2 of the Currency Ordinance, the Government of India is not empowered to issue note of denominational value of one rupee, the law ministry opinion was taken.

•  The Law Ministry in its opinion stated that the Coinage Act of 2011, which consolidates the laws relating to coinage and the mints, does not bar the Government of India from printing one rupee notes.

•  Section 4 of the Act provides that the central government may authorise minting of coin of denomination not higher than Rs. 1,000, it said, adding that the definition of coin in the Act makes it clear that Government of India one rupee note is included in the definition of coin.

•  The Act defines a coin as “made of any metal or any other material stamped by the Government or any other authority empowered by the Government in this behalf and which is a legal tender including commemorative coin and Government of India one rupee note,” the ministry said in its opinion.“Further, apart from the metal, the coin may be made of any other material,” it said.

•  The ministry said while repealing the Currency Ordinance, 1940, “necessary provisions for inclusion of Government of India one rupee note within the meaning of ‘Coin’ have been consciously incorporated in the Coinage Act, 2011. Further, the RBI, as per Section 24(1) of the RBI Act, 1934, is not empowered to issue bank note of denomination of value of one rupee.”

•  “Central government is not precluded to issue one rupee Government of India note under the Coinage Act, 2011. The dimension, design, material and standard weight of such One Rupee Note have to be prescribed by the Central Government in terms of Section 4 and 5 of the Coinage Act, 2011,” the opinion said.

•  The printing of notes in the denominations of Re. 1 and Rs. 2 has been discontinued as these denominations have been coinised. However, such notes issued earlier are still in circulation.

Modi greets Malayalis on Onam

•  Prime Minister NarendraModi on Sunday greeted Malayalis on the occasion of Onam, the State festival of Kerala.

•  He also remarked on the significance of Onam as a symbol of national integration, justice, peace and prosperity.

•  He also said Onam reminds us of the glorious era of King Mahabali and is a day to “reaffirm our commitment to create a just, peaceful and prosperous society”.

•  Onam is celebrated to mark the return of legendary King Mahabali to Kerala who was loved by his subjects for being a just and benevolent ruler. 

N-deal highlights growing energy ties

•  Australia boosted its credentials as India’s core energy partner by signing a deal for uranium supplies, and imparted urgency to the transfer of coal for thermal power plants, facing severe shortage of the resource.

•  Visiting Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot unveiled Canberra’s aspirations by pointing out that Canberra could become an “utterly reliable source of energy, resource and food security for India.”

•  Analysts point out that the deeper engagement in energy and food security could pave the way for a broader strategic relationship between the two countries, which could include a significant defence component.

•  A joint statement on defence cooperation signed last year had emphasised joint forays specifically in the Asia-Pacific region — an area of growing tensions because of rival claims on South China Sea resources between China and other littoral States — as well as the Indian Ocean region.

India suicide capital of Southeast Asia, says WHO

•  India recorded the highest number of suicides in Southeast Asia in 2012, says a report released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Geneva.

•  The number of victims was 2,58,075 — 1,58,098 men and 99,977 women — that year. Globally, the number was 8,04,000.

•  Suicide by pesticide ingestion is among the most common methods employed globally and is of particular concern in rural areas in Southeast Asia.

SC moots dual citizenship for surrogate children

•  The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the government to clarify its stand on the citizenship of children born to surrogate mothers in India, but whose biological mother was a foreign national.

•  “Under the Constitution, a child born here from an Indian surrogate mother is entitled to Indian citizenship. But what happens if the biological mother is a foreign citizen and the child applies for citizenship of that country,” a Bench led by Justice RanjanGogoi asked.

•  Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Tushar Mehta acknowledged the problem, adding that in countries such as Germany, surrogacy was banned by law.

•  The Bench was looking into the larger issue on the need for a “comprehensive legislation” dealing with all issues and situations, including the citizenship of a surrogate child, created by new reproductive technology.

•  The problem of citizenship of a surrogate child was highlighted in the case of twin babies born to an Indian surrogate mother and a German father, Jan Balaz, in 2008.

•  The two boys, Balaz Nikolas and Balaz Leonard, were conceived by an Indian woman in Gujarat’s Anand district in January 2008.

•  Justice Gogoi suggested that the government could consider dual citizenship for surrogate children born in such circumstances.

World Media Summit invites entries for Global Awards for Excellence

•  The World Media Summit (WMS) has invited entries for the first WMS Global Awards for Excellence, instituted to honour “truth, objectivity, excellence” in journalism.

•  These are “the first comprehensive news and news-related awards at the international level recognising professional excellence across the print, television, radio, and digital-only platforms.

•  The four awards announced fall under three categories: contributions to public welfare by exemplary news teams and news professionals in developing countries; media innovation; and new media reporting.

India, Australia to sign civil nuclear deal

•  India is set to win another endorsement for its status as a peaceful nuclear power, with Prime Minister NarendraModi and his Australian counterpart, Tony Abbott, expected to sign an India-Australia civil nuclear cooperation agreement here.

•  The agreement, which will enable Australia to export uranium to India in return for safeguards from India on its use, will bolster India’s plans to increase nuclear energy production.

•  India offers the potential to double Australia’s uranium exports to more than a billion dollars by 2018, say experts.

Lokpal search panel gets freedom of choice

•  The Department of Personnel and Training has notified amendments giving autonomy to the Lokpal search committee to shortlist and recommend names independently for selection of Chairman and members of the anti-corruption body.

•  The amendments act as a course correction after the former Supreme Court judge Justice K.T. Thomas opted out from heading the search committee in March 2014, citing lack of autonomy.

•  Eminent jurist FaliNariman too had turned down the post of a member of the panel for that reason.

•  Justice Thomas had objected to the provision that the search committee should only shortlist candidates from a list provided by the department.

•  The amendment made in Rule 10 of the Search Committee Rules removed this roadblock by omitting the words “from among the list of persons provided by the Central Government in the Department of Personnel and Training.”

SC wants to monitor Ganga clean-up

•  Unhappy with the government’s affidavit setting out its plans to clean the Ganga, the Supreme Court said it wanted to monitor the progress made in efforts to restore the river and asked for a roadmap.

•  It is better if you can show us a PowerPoint presentation. Also, fix milestones so that we can assess the progress, a Bench comprising Justices T.S. Thakur and R. Banumathi said.

•  “It seems the Ganga will not be cleaned even after 200 years,” the Bench observed after perusing an affidavit filed by the Director of the National Mission for Clean Ganga, which outlined plans to rejuvenate the river and its ecology.

Toilets mandatory in aided schools

•  The State Cabinet decided to impose strict norms for providing fitness certificates to aided recognised schools by making it mandatory to build toilets.

•  The norms relating to issuance of fitness certificates for aided recognised schools will be amended by including a provision for setting up facilities in addition to the present one related to safety of the school building.

•  Erring schools will not be issued a fitness certificate and would not be allowed to take up new admissions.

India talking to WTO members on food subsidy issue’

•  India is talking to “good number” of countries to garner support on its stand on the food security issue at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) with a view to carrying forward the talks for freer trade.

•  The WTO has resumed work at Geneva from September 1 after a month long vacation.

•  “We will start from where we have left. The bottom line is already made clear. We are willing to talk but achieve the same objectives in whatever manner,” Commerce Secretary Rajeev Kher told reporters.

•  He said that it was now up to the WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo to convene meetings in the form of either calling heads of delegation or in smaller groups.

•  At its last meeting at Geneva on July 31, the 160-member WTO failed to agree on a global customs pact popularly called the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA).

•  India had decided not to ratify WTO’s TFA, which is dear to the developed world, without any concrete movement in finding a permanent solution to its public food stock-holding issue for food security purposes.

•  New Delhi has asked WTO to amend the norms for calculating agriculture subsidies so that the country could continue to procure foodgrains from farmers at minimum support price and sell them to poor at cheaper rates without violating the norms.

•  The current WTO norms limit the value of food subsidies at 10 per cent of the total value of foodgrain production. However, the quantum of subsidy is computed after taking into consideration prices that prevailed two decades ago.

‘Protect rights of minorities’

•  The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) has asked the government to send out a clear message to minorities reassuring them that their Constitutional rights would be preserved and protected.

•  The Commission sent a communication to this effect to the Home and the Minority Affairs Ministries after discussing the complaint against BJP member Yogi Adityanath for a “hate speech” he is said to have delivered.

•  According to sources, the Commission has taken a serious view of such speeches; particularly by prominent persons.

Audit of community policing scheme

•  After a successful stint of over six years, the JanamaithriSuraksha Project (Community Policing) initiative of the Kerala Police is set for a professional audit on its effectiveness in bridging the gap between the police and the community.

•  An external agency will study the project in detail and its effect in over 250 police stations across Kerala.

•  The Kozhikode city and rural police officers who head the scheme in various stations will share their experience with the professional agency appointed by the government to review the progress of the scheme.

Singrauli to be developed as energy city: Chouhan

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that Singrauli will be developed as ‘energy city’ of the State. “Singrauli will be developed as energy city of the state,” Mr. Chouhan announced while launching development works worth Rs. 161 crore in the city during the DeendayalAnyodayaMela. Apart from other measures, an industrial area will also be developed for all-round development of the district. He said Rs. 100 crore will be spent on infrastructure development in Singrauli during five years.

It will be connected with air and rail facilities. A Central School will also be established in the city for providing education facilities to the wards of those working in the energy city, he said. He also provided benefits under various welfare schemes totallingRs. one crore to 516 beneficiaries. Deoband condemns ‘love jihad,’ says such marriages are illegal DarulUloomDeoband, one of the most influential Islamic seminaries in South Asia, condemned “love jihad,” a headline-grabbing name given by SanghParivarorganisations for inter-religious marriages that are allegedly a ruse for conversion . Without naming any political party, the seminary said the “bogey of ‘love jihad’” was being raised by people with vested interests.

 The Islamic seminary termed “illegal” marriages with Hindu girls after their forcible conversion to Islam. Axe 72 obsolete laws urgently: Law Commission Even as the Union government prepares to bring in a comprehensive law during the winter session of Parliament to weed out obsolete laws, the Law Commission identified 72 outdated laws which required urgent repealing. The oldest among them is the Bengal District Act, 1836, which relates to the administration and development of local areas.  Second in line is the Bengal Bonded Warehouse Association Act, 1838, which mandates that only “residents of the presidency of Fort William in Bengal can be directors of the Bengal Bonded Warehouse Association and that the association can sell property only to the East India Company.” The Sheriffs Fees Act, 1852, is another antique law which needs to be axed.

 The Act deals with payment to the sheriffs of the “presidency towns of Bombay, Calcutta and Madras.” The 72 laws are part of the 261 statutes that “prima facie require repeal as they are inconsistent with modern times” as recommended in an interim report handed over by the Law Commission to the government. Other laws identified have been enacted from 1838 to 1898. The commission said it found during its research that 34 repealed laws still remained on the government website. Press Council panel to probe KCR’s remarks Press Council of India Chairman MarkandeyKatju appointed a three-member committee to inquire into the remarks of Telangana Chief Minister K. ChandrashekarRao allegedly against the media. In an order communicated to the media, Mr. Katju said that on the basis of material available in the public domain, he believed that Mr. Rao’s remarks “amount to intimidation of media personnel under threat of dire consequences and violate the fundamental right of freedom of expression and speech.” The panel comprises senior journalists, with Rajeev Ranjan Nag as convener and K. Amarnath and Krishna Prasad of the Outlook magazine as members.

  It was asked to investigate if Mr. Rao made the statements attributed to him that he would break the necks of, and bury underground, mediapersons and that “they should salute the Telangana people if they wish to live in Telangana”; if there was any threat perception to the media in the State; and what steps were necessary for the media’s protection there. The order was in response to complaints from representatives of the Indian Journalists Union and its affiliate, the Telangana Union of Working Journalists.

‘3 p.c. quota for disabled covers all employees’

The Supreme Court clarified that the three per cent reservation for disabled persons in government jobs covered all classes of employees, including appontments and promotions to the Indian Administrative Services.
Although 19 years had passed since the passage of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act of 1995, the disabled were struggling for their rights, a Bench headed by Chief Justice R.M. Lodha said.

Himachal student makes bullet train model

A Himachal Pradesh student has created a bullet train model that has been selected for a national—level exhibition, a school official said.  Shilpa, a class 10 student in Government Senior Secondary School at Sudhial near Nadaun in Hamirpur district, has prepared the bullet train model that is based on the magnetic repulsion effect of similar poles of magnets.  The model, declared the best in the state—level science exhibition, will now be displayed at the national—level Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) exhibition to be held in New Delhi Oct 6—8, school principal Om Prakash said.  INSPIRE is a programme of the department of science and technology of the Union Government to sharpen young minds in science.

RajdeepSardesai to join TV

Former IBN 18 Editor-in-Chief RajdeepSardesai will join the India Today group as Consulting Editor . Mr. Sardesai quit IBN 18, in July after the MukeshAmbani-led Reliance Industries Limited bought a controlling stake in Network 18 and its subsidiaries.  He founded Cable News Network- Indian Broadcasting Network (CNN-IBN) in 2005, after quitting New Delhi Television (NDTV).  Recently, India Today group’s former Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta was re-designated as Editorial Advisor — just two months after he moved over from the Express Group. Nalin Mehta, Managing Editor of India Today’s English news channel Headlines Today, also quit in May.

‘Right to sell liquor no fundamental right’

The Kerala government submitted before a Bench of the Supreme Court that the right to sell liquor was not a fundamental right. Government counsel KapilSibal, arguing against a petition challenging the decision to close 730 bars in the State, said the decision to close the bars was a policy decision. Bar licences could be cancelled any time. In an urgent mentioning to stop the State from enforcing the policy, a battery of senior counsel appearing for the bar owners termed the policy “discriminatory.”

Govt. to reconstitute wildlife board

The government has decided to reconstitute the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) after the Supreme Court stayed decisions of its newly constituted standing committee in August for violating provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act. The new committee is in keeping with the legal provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act which prescribes 10 non-official members and five independent NGOs and representatives from 10 States or Union Territories. The Supreme Court on August 25 had in response to a petition put on hold the over 100 proposals approved by a truncated standing committee of the Board notified on July 22 which had only two non-official members and one government organisation on board, apart from a representative only from Andhra Pradesh.

The government did not constitute a full fledged Board.

The apex court while staying the August 12 decisions of the standing committee, said they were not in consonance with section 5 A the Wildlife Act, 1972.  The Bench directed that none of the orders passed by the standing committee would be given effect to until the next date of hearing after two weeks from August 25.  The order came in response to a petition filed by Pune resident Chandra Bhal Singh. Bihar tops in growth: CSO
Bihar is the fastest growing State while Tamil Nadu is the worst performer, the latest data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has revealed. Bihar’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) grew 10.73 per cent during 2012-13 — the only State that clocked a double-digit growth rate during the year. 

The growth rate was 10.29 per cent in 2011-12 and 15.03 per cent in 2010-11. Tamil Nadu recorded the slowest growth rate — 3.39 per cent — slower than the national average of 4.5 per cent in 2012-13. The second-best performing State is Madhya Pradesh, which grew at 9.89 per cent. Delhi is third with a growth rate of 9.33 per cent.The CSO-verified growth rate for 2012-13, however, is lower than that reported by Bihar’s Statistics Directorate. The State government had reported a growth rate of 15.05 per cent. All major industrial States lag behind Bihar. Growing at 7.96 per cent, Gujarat is ranked sixth and Maharashtra ninth with 6.18 per cent. As the growth rate for the bulk of the States is higher than the national GDP, the economic slowdown is not reflected in the data.

 Normally, the States’ GDP adds up to about 90 per cent of the national GDP. The difference is the output of the sectors that do not belong to any State such as the Bombay High. Over the years, discrepancies have been increasing between the GSDP data in the States’ reports and the figures that finally come out after discussions with the CSO and validation. India inks free trade agreement with ASEANIndia has formally signed a free trade agreement for services and investments with ASEAN. Philippines, now the only ASEAN country yet to sign the pact, is also expected to do so soon. All ASEAN members — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam — are expected to get the agreement ratified by their Parliaments after which it will be formally adopted during the next India–ASEAN summit later this year.

The services agreement will open up opportunities of movement of both manpower and investments. The pact will allow India to leverage its competitive edge in the areas of finance, education, health, IT, telecommunications and transport.  This will be especially helpful for balancing India’s deficit with ASEAN countries in trade of goods.  The India–ASEAN Agreement on trade in goods was operationalised in 2010. Key to India’s interests is a brief annex in the agreement on the movement of natural persons that defines business visitors, intra corporate transferees (managers, executives and specialists) and contractual service suppliers.

Global biodiversity prize for Indian

R. Kamal Bawa, president, the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), India, and Distinguished Professor, University of Massachusetts, Boston, is among the three winners of the MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity, 2014. The winners were announced in Tokyo and Montreal.  The other two who bagged the prize are Alfred Oteng-Yeboah, Chair, Ghana National Biodiversity Committee, and Bibiana Vila, principal researcher, National Research Council and Director, Vicunas, Camelids and Environment (VICAM), Argentina.

 The MIDORI prize is a biennial international prize given by the AEON Environmental Foundation and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to honour individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity at global, regional or local levels. According to a press release, each recipient will be given a wooden plaque, a commemorative gift and $100,000 to support their work in safeguarding biodiversity. They will be honoured at an award ceremony in Pyeongchang in South Korea on October 15

Data glitches stall rollout of Food Security Act

•  Technological and procedural delays in identifying the intended beneficiaries of the National  Food Security Act (NFSA) has seen the agencies involved — the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), the Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), the nodal agency to provide enumeration devices and data entry operators, and state officials -- indulge in a blame game.

•  For the Socio-Economic Caste Census survey, proposed as the basis of the identification process, enumerators used scanned images of handwritten data from the National Population Register (NPR) to verify household members’ basic details.

•  They were accompanied by data entry operators (DEOs) who entered the responses into a tablet computer.

L.K. Advani as the chairman of the Ethics Committee of LokSabha.

•  LokSabha Speaker SumitraMahajan appointed BJP veteran L.K. Advani as the chairman of the prestigious Ethics Committee of LokSabha.

•  ManikraoGavit of Congress was heading the Committee in the last LokSabha.

•  Other members of the Committee are A Arunmozhithevan, NinongEring, Sher Singh Ghubaya, HemantTukaramGodse, Pralhad Joshi, BhagatsinghKoshyari, Arjun Ram Meghwal, BhartruhariMahtab,

KariyaMunda, Jayshreeben Patel, Malla Reddy, SumedhanandSaraswati and Bhola Singh.

•  The 86-year-old Advani is a member of the Committee on Public Undertakings headed by Shanta Kumar (BJP) and Committee on Information Technology headed by young BJP MP Anurag Thakur.

•  Another BJP veteran MurliManohar Joshi is heading the Committee on Estimates. Party senior Maj Gen B C Khanduri is heading the Committee on Defence.

•  The Ethics Committee examines every complaint relating to unethical conduct of a member referred to it.

BCIM (Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar) corridor

•  India has warmed to the idea of the BCIM (Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar) corridor that could prove to be a game-changer in regional linkages among the four countries.

•  The BCIM corridor, long promoted by China, is intended to link Kunming to Kolkata, Mandalay (Myanmar), Dhaka and Chittagong.

•  It is intended to advance multi-modal connectivity, harness economic complementarities, promote investment and trade and facilitate people-to-people contacts.

Key to Xi Jinping’s visit to India

•  20 MoUs and agreements are expected to be signed by the two countries on issues related to infrastructure development, cultural ties among others during Mr. Xi's visit.

•  Beijing is expected to push its new-generation APC1000 nuclear reactors. The two leaders are expected to discuss the possibility of a civil nuclear cooperation agreement.

•  Is the Gujarat model, the way forward for India-China ties? Gujarat has been among the biggest destinations for Chinese investment in India, with Beijing looking to take forward plans to set up industrial parks in India, in part based on its experience in Gujarat.

•  India has warmed up to the idea of the BCIM (Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar) corridor. Long promoted by China, BCIM is intended to link Kunming to Kolkata, Mandalay (Myanmar), Dhaka and Chittagong. It is intended to advance multi-modal connectivity, harness economic complementarities, promote investment and trade, and facilitate people-to-people contacts.

•  China has amplified the pitch on its vision of the Maritime Silk Road (MSR) amid the repositioning of American forces in the Asia-Pacific and an emerging trade deal between Washington and its traditional regional allies.

•  Over $10 billion investment is expected from China during Mr. Xi’s visit. Currently, Chinese investment in India stands at $400 million.

•  'Progress has been made in the negotiations on the boundary question, and the two sides have worked together to maintain peace in the border area,' wrote the Chinese Premier in connection with the decades-old border issues that have marred Sino-Indo ties for long.

•  President Xi’s visit may provide NarendraModi a rare chance to seize the moment by stating India’s political intent on solving the border row between the two countries, beginning with measurable steps to clarify the Line of Actual Control, and to root out border incidents.

•  With India and China deciding to mark 2014 as a “year of friendly exchanges”, talks on the issue of stapled visas might figure in the meeting.

India host the Third Meeting of SAARC Cultural Ministers

•  India will host the Third Meeting of SAARC Cultural Ministers in New Delhi from September 24-26.

•  Of the seven states invited to the event, six — Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal and Bhutan — have already confirmed that they will attend the meet.

One legislation for all central universities

•  To introduce one legislation for all central universities, the Human Resource Development Ministry has circulated the draft bill to all such varsities, asking them to revert with suggestions within three weeks.

•  There are currently 40 central universities under the Ministry, of which 16 were created in 2009 under one Act, while the rest are governed by separate Acts of Parliament.

•  The draft bill is based on recommendations of the A M Pathan committee and has been criticised for compromising the autonomy of these universities.

Indo-China Audio-Visual Co-production Agreement

•  India made a strong pitch with the visiting Chinese delegation to get actor Jackie Chan to attend the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) due to start in Goa on November 20.

•  India has already decided to have a China focus at IFFI with a dozen Chinese films lined up for screening. Participation of stars from China would be a major attraction, Mr. Javadekar said.

•  The two sides signed an Indo-China Audio-Visual Co-production Agreement through which India hopes to secure Indian filmmakers a foothold in the Chinese market.

•  As per a commitment to WTO, China imports only 34 films a year. This quota is strictly applied in case of foreign films that opt to release in China via the revenue-sharing model.

•  The other route is outright sale where the Chinese distributor buys a film for a fixed price and retains the profits.

•  India is hopeful that the Chinese will at some point agree to extend the revenue sharing model to Indian films made under the co-production agreement as the film exhibition industry in China is already double of the size of India’s and set to boom over the next decade.

India Newborn Action Plan

•  The Centre launched a programme to reduce infant mortality and bring down the number of deaths to a single digit by 2030 from the current 29 deaths per 1,000 live births.

•  The ‘India Newborn Action Plan (INAP),’ inaugurated by Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, is the first step towards arresting infant deaths.

•  Asserting that India can reduce the deaths through “simple, cost-effective interventions” before and immediately after delivery, Dr. Vardhan said of the 2.8 million who die at birth worldwide, India contributes seven lakh.

•  The programme will be implemented under the existing Reproductive, Maternal, Child Health and Adolescents Plus (RMNCHA+) framework.

To wipe out kalaazar

•  The Gates Foundation is now planning to work with the new Indian government to wipe out kalaazar.

•  The foundation’s co-chairs, Melinda Gates and her husband, former Microsoft co-founder and CEO Bill Gates, are in India to meet the new government, including Prime Minister NarendraModi and his Cabinet colleagues.

•  The second largest parasitic killer in the world after malaria, kalaazar is concentrated in 52 districts in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

•  India officially reported fewer than 5,000 kalaazar cases in 2011 and fewer than 100 deaths due to the disease, according to the World Health Organisation.

•  However, the international health community believes these to be gross underestimation; while India reported just over 1,000 malaria deaths in 2011, medical journal Lancet placed the estimate 40 times higher.

SC objected to UGC

•  A Bench led by Justice DipakMisra said the Commission may be misled by the visual images and arrive at wrong conclusions about the facilities in the varsities under scanner.

•  The Supreme Court objected to the University Grants Commission (UGC) preparing its report on the educational standards of 44 deemed universities on the basis of photographs and video footage sent by the varsities instead of an actual field inspection of the facilities.

•  The observation came when the UGC said it would finalise its report by September 30.

•  The Commission said physical inspection would further delay the filing of its report.

•  The court had asked the UGC to assess the quality of education imparted by the 44 institutions in the light of the P.N. Tandon Committee report.

•  The panel had recommended de-recognition of these institutions as they were merely functioning as colleges without any research on the curricula or innovation in teaching.

Bilawal Bhutto statement on Kashmir

•  Political reactions across party lines have strongly condemned the statement by Bilawal Bhutto that his party, the Pakistan People’s Party, would take over the whole of Kashmir.

•  The BJP described the statement as “immature” and “childish,” and said Kashmir would always remain an integral part of India.

•  Mr. Bhutto’s PPP was wiped out in Multan in the 2013 general elections.

•  According to an analyst in Pakistan, “He [Bhutto] thinks he can gain this region back, where pro-Taliban forces are strong, with such statements on Kashmir.

NGT gave order to MoEF for the demarcation of Eco-Sensitive area

•  The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) submitted a confusing affidavit to the National Green Tribunal saying State governments in the Western Ghats region may, after undertaking demarcation of eco sensitive areas (ESA) by physical verification, propose the exclusion/inclusion of certain areas in the draft notification dated March 10, 2014.

•  This draft notification issued by MoEF was based on the ESA demarcated by the high-level working group (HLWG) headed by K. Kasturirangan.

•  Justice Swatanter Kumar of the NGT asked the counsel for the Ministry to take direction from secretary or additional secretary on the question of demarcating ESAs. He said that if Kerala had completed its demarcation of ESAs, then let it be finalized.

No government can force anyone to declare his religion: Bombay High Court

• No person in India can be compelled to declare his religion, the Bombay high court ruled while hearing a PIL seeking direction to the Maharashtra government to not insist on declaration of religion on official forms and documents.

•  The petition was filed by DrRanjeetMohite, Kishore Nazare and SubhashRanaware, who claimed to be members of Full Gospel Church of God, which they said had more than 4,000 members. Though they believe in Jesus Christ, they do not believe in Christianity or any other religion.

•  The court said that "every individual has the right to claim that he does not belong to any religion and that he does not practice or profess any religion".

•  The HC reminded the governments that India is a secular, democratic republic with no state religion. The court held that no state authority could infringe upon a person’s fundamental right under the Constitution of India (Article 25) of freedom of conscience and freely practicing, professing or propagating a religion.

•  The HC said that if an individual is told by the state to disclose his religion, he can say that he does not practice or belong to any religion.

SC cancelled allocation of 214 coal blocks

•  In an order with far-reaching implications, the Supreme Court cancelled all but four of the 218 coal block allocations declared arbitrary and illegal by it in an August 25 judgment.

•  The decision comes as a windfall for the government as the court has ordered the owners of the cancelled coal blocks to cough up Rs. 295 as compensation for every tone of coal they extracted illegally, to make up for the loss to the exchequer.

•  The levy was calculated with reference to the figures of loss arrived at by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

•  The government is expected to get Rs. 8,000- 10,000 crore this way. The government is also free to auction the cancelled blocks.

Ganga clean-up programme

•  The Supreme Court said it wants the NDA government to give it a “commitment” that river Ganga will be cleaned in a phased manner and said the court will keep a close watch on the executive's efforts to rejuvenate the 2,500 km-long river.

•  In response, the government said the Centre's efforts alone will not help the river get a second lease of life, instead the “thought to keep the Ganga clean must come from within” for the general public, and moreover, the State governments in the five Ganga river basin States - Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal – should rise above political differences and chip in to save the Ganga.

•  Another proposal is by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation to make all 1,649 grampanchayats located along the Ganga banks free from open defecation.

•  The third is to enforce zero liquid discharge from “grossly” polluting industries located across the five Ganga river basin States

The ‘Save Kappatagudda’ campaign

•  The ‘Save Kappatagudda’ campaign, to urge the State government not to drop the plans to declare Kappatagudda hill ranges in Gadag district a wildlife sanctuary, was launched.

•  Environmental activists, religious leaders, farmers, academics, students, wildlife experts, residents of villages surrounding Kappatagudda and others, led by the former chairman of the Western Ghats Task Force AnantHegdeAshisar and Nandiveri Math seer Sri Shivakumara Swami, conducted a meeting near the Deputy Commissioner’s office.

•  Mr. Ashisar said the government had dropped declaring Kappatagudda a wildlife sanctuary citing the livelihood of the poor. However, the wildlife sanctuary status for the region would not affect the livelihood of the people as there was no proposal either to vacate village residents or ban farming activities. It will only prevent mining activities. If it is not declared a wildlife sanctuary, it will provide scope for the exploitation of the mineral deposits and harm the ecology, he explained.

•  Mr. Ashisar said the seer of GadagTontadarya Math, Siddhalinga Swami, who led the agitation against setting up the POSCO steel plant, and AnnadaneshwaraMahashivayogi Math seer, AbhinavaAnnadaneshwara Swami, have extended support to the ‘Save Kappatagudda’ campaign.

Apple Festival starts in Himachal Pradesh

•  The Himachal Pradesh State Tourism Department has launched an Apple Festival to showcase and promote locally produced apples and apple made products among tourist.

•  The Tourism Departments also plans to take the tourists to the apple orchards itself so that they may have a more hands-on experience of the plucking, packaging and marketing processes involved. The department also conducted a competition for farmers growing exotic varieties of apples. Various local hotels and food chains have also set up stalls selling apple based products.

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