The Ministry of Environment & Forests is
implementing a Scheme to provide financial assistance for setting up of
treatment, disposal and storage facility for hazardous and integrated
recycling facilities for E-waste on public private partnership mode.
Based on a survey carried out by the Central Pollution Control Board
(CPCB), it is estimated that 1.47 lakh MT of e-waste was generated in
the country in the year 2005. This is expected to increase to about 8.0
lakh MT by 2012. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh,
West Bengal, Delhi, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab are
among top ten states generating about 70% of total e-waste. There are
about 75 authorized and registered e-waste recyclers with recycling
capacity of about 2.46 lakh MTA of e-waste.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests has notified the
E-Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011, for proper management
and handling of e-waste. These Rules have come in to force from 1st May
2012. As per these Rules, `e-waste` means waste electrical and
electronic equipment, whole or in part or rejects from their
manufacturing and repair process, which are intended to be discarded.
The concept of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) has been enshrined
in these rules. As per these Rules the producers are required to
collect e-waste generated from the end of life of their products by
setting up collections centers or take back systems either individually
or collectively. E-waste recycling can be undertaken only in facilities
authorized and registered with State Pollution Control Boards/Pollution
Control Committees. Waste generated is required to be sent or sold to a
registered or authorized recycler or re-processor having
environmentally sound facilities.
The Guidelines for Environmentally Sound Management of e-waste
published by CPCB provide the approach and methodology for
environmentally sound management of e-waste. They provide approach for
setting up collection mechanism, dismantling and recycling operations.
Tuesday, 21 August 2012
Monday, 20 August 2012
VVS Laxman announced Retirement from International Cricket
V.V.S. Laxman, on 18 August 2012 announced his retirement from
international cricket, ending a glorious career spanning 16 years.
Laxman played 134 Tests, amassing 8781 runs at an average of 45.97. He
scored 17 hundreds and 56 half centuries and earned the sobriquet Very
Very Special. Laxman made his Test debut in 1996 against South Africa at
Ahmedabad.
Laxman, played 86 ODI matches for an aggregate of 2338 at an average of 30.76. But he could never become the part of Indian team in any cricket world cup edition.
Laxman, played 86 ODI matches for an aggregate of 2338 at an average of 30.76. But he could never become the part of Indian team in any cricket world cup edition.
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Arjuna Awards Announced
The Government has announced the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Arjuna Awards for the year 2012.
A large number of nominations were received for these awards this year, which were considered by Selection Committee consisting of eminent sportspersons and sports administrators; headed by Col Rajya Vardhan Singh Rathore. Based on the recommendations of the Committee and after due scrutiny, the Government has approved to confer awards upon the following sportspersons.
Khel Ratna Award – 2012
1. Shri Vijay Kumar Shooting
2. Shri Yogeshwar Dutt Wrestling
B. Arjuna Awards 2012:
Sl. No. Name Discipline
1. Ms. Deepika Kumari Archery
2. Ms. Laishram Bombayla Devi Archery
3. Ms. Sudha Singh Athletics
4 Ms. Kavita Ramdas Raut Athletics
5 Ms. Ashwani Ponnappa Badminton
6 Mr. Parupalli Kashyap Badminton
7 Mr. Aditya S. Mehta Billiards & Snooker
8 Mr. Vikas Krishan Boxing
9 Mr. Yuvraj Singh Cricket
10 Mr. Sardar Singh Hockey
11 Mr. Yashpal Solanki Judo
12 Mr. Anup Kumar Kabaddi
13 Mr. Samir Suhag Polo
14 Ms. Annu Raj Singh Shooting
15 Mr. Omkar Singh Shooting
16 Mr. Joydeep Karmakar Shooting
17 Ms. Deepika Pallikal Squash
18 Mr. Sandeep Sejwal Swimming
19 Ms. Ng. Sonia Chanu Weightlifting
20 Mr. Narsingh Yadav Wrestling
21 Mr. Rajinder Kumar Wrestling
22 Ms. Geeta Phogat Wrestling
23 Mr. M. Bimoljit Singh Wushu
24 Mrs. Deepa Mallick Athletics – Paralympics
25 Mr. Ramkaran Singh Athletics – Paralympics
Normally only one award of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna is given every year to an individual sportsperson. However, the Scheme provides that this condition can be relaxed in exceptional circumstances viz., winning of an Olympic medal. Like wise for the Arjuna Awards, normally not more than 15 awards are to be given in any calendar year. However, the Scheme of Arjuna Awards also provides that keeping in view the performance of Indian sportspersons in the Commonwealth, Asian Games and Olympic Games during a particular year, Arjuna Awards exceeding 15 in number may be allowed with proper justification and approval of the Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports. The Selection Committee noted that 2012 is the Olympic year and India has won 6 medals in the London Olympics, which is country’s best performance in Olympic Games, and recommended that the condition of one award in case of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and 15 awards in case of Arjuna Awards may be relaxed and the number of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award may be increased from 1 (one) to 2 (two) and Arjun Awards may be increased from 15 (fifteen) to 25 (twenty five).
National Sports Awards are given every year to recognize and reward excellence in sports. Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is given for spectacular performance in the year under consideration; Arjuna Award is given for consistently outstanding performance for three consecutive years preceding the year of award. Apart from a medal and a citation, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardees will receive a cash prize of Rs.7.5 lakh each and Arjuna Awardees will receive statuettes, citations and cash prize of Rs.5 lakh each.
Miss World 2012 is Wenxia YU of China
In a glittering ceremony held at the Dongsheng Stadium Wenxia YU of China won the title of Miss World 2012. In a record breaking event 116 contestants represented their countries on the world stage. It was the second time a Miss China contestant was awarded the title. The last time was in 2007 when Zhang Zilin took the honor. The 23-year-old Ms. Yu is a music student who said she wants to become a music teacher. Femina Miss India managed to win the Seventh position.
History of Miss World
The Miss world competition was started ads part of the Festival of Britain celebrations in 1951. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley. The first Miss World, Sweden's Kiki Haakonson. Opposition to the wearing of bikinis led to their replacement with more modest swimwear after the first contest. In 1959, the BBC started broadcasting the competition. The pageant's popularity grew with the advent of television. During the 1960s and 1970s, Miss World would normally be the highest rated programme of the year on British television. In the 1980s, the pageant repositioned itself with the slogan “Beauty With a Purpose”, with added tests of intelligence and personality. Miss World is franchised in more than 120 countries and has raised over 500 million for children charities around the globe.
-
In 1966, India enjoyed its first success and Reita Feria proved to be a popular winner.
List of Winners
winner 1951 - Kiki Haakonson, Sweden
winner 1952 - May Louise Flodin, Sweden
winner 1953 - Denise Perrier, France
winner 1954 - Antigone Costanda, Egypt
winner 1955 - Carmen Zubillaga, Venezuela
winner 1956 - Petra Schurmann, Germany
winner 1957 - Marita Lindahl, Finland
winner 1958 - Penelope Coelen, South Africa
winner 1959 - Corine Rottschafer, Holland
winner 1960 - Norma Cappagli, Argentina
winner 1961 - Rosemarie Frankland, United Kingdom
winner 1962 - Catharine Lodders, Holland
winner 1963 - Carole Crawford, Jamaica
winner 1964 - Ann Sidney, United Kingdom
winner 1965 - Lesley Langley, United Kingdom
winner 1966 - Reita Faria, India
winner 1967 - Madeiline Hartog Bel, Peru
winner 1968 - Penelope Plummer, Australia
winner 1969 - Eva Reuber Staier, Austria
winner 1970 - Jennifer Hosten, Grenada
winner 1971 - Lucia Petterle, Brazil
winner 1972 - Belina Green, Australia
winner 1973 - Marjorie Wallace, USA
winner 1974 - Anneline Kriel, South Africa
winner 1975 - Winelia Merced, Puerto Rico
winner 1976 - Cindy Breakspeare, Jamaica
winner 1977 - Mary Stavin, Sweden
winner 1978 - Silvana Suarez, Argentina
winner 1979 - Gina Swainson, Bermuda
winner 1980 - Kimberly Santos, Guam
winner 1981 - Pilin Leon, Venezuela
winner 1982 - Mariasela Lebron, Dominican Republic
winner 1983 - Sarah Jane Hutt, United Kingdom
winner 1984 - Astrid Herrera, Venezuela
winner 1985 - Hofi Karlsdottir, Iceland
winner 1986 - Giselle Laronde, Trinidad
winner 1987 - Ulla Weigerstorfer, Austria
winner 1988 - Linda Petursdottir, Iceland
winner 1989 - Andeta Kreglicka, Poland
winner 1990 - Gina Marie Tolleson, USA
winner 1991 - Ninebeth Jiminez, Venezuela
winner 1992 - Julia Kourotchkina, Russia
winner 1993 - Lisa Hanna, Jamaica
winner 1994 - Aishwariya Rai, India
winner 1995 - Jacqueline Aquilera, Venezuela
winner 1996 - Irene Skliva ,Greece
winner 1997 - Diana Hayden, India
winner 1998 - Linor Abargil, Israel
winner 1999 - Yukta Mookhey, India
winner 2000 - Priyanka Chopra, India
winner 2001 - Ibiagbanidokibubo Asenite Darego—Nigeria
winner 2002 - Azra Akin—Turkey
winner 2003 - Rosanna Davidson, Ireland
winner 2004 - Maria Julia Mantilla Garcia, Peru
winner 2005 - Unnur Birna Vilhjalmsdottir, Iceland
winner 2006 - Tat’ana Kucharova, Czech Republic
winner 2007 - Zhang Zhi Li, China PR
winner 2008 - Ksenia Sukhinova, Russia
winner 2009 - Kaiane Aldorino, Gibraltar
winner 2010 - Alexandria Mills, USA
winner 2011 - Ivian Sarcos, Venezuela
winner 2012 - Wen Xia Yu, China PR
Friday, 17 August 2012
Monsoon scenario in the country
At least four States, Karnataka, Haryana,
Rajasthan and Maharashtra are drought hit. Gujarat too is severely
affected as the sluggish monsoon has not reached its crucial sowing
areas. In the northwest monsoon has been 35 per cent deficient. Farmers
in Punjab and Haryana have had to incur higher input costs to pump
groundwater for saving the standing paddy crop. The two States are
irrigated but water releases from depleted reservoirs have been
restricted to conserve supply for drinking and power generation
purposes. At the same time floods are reported in other parts of the
country.
Flash floods in Himalayan region
The Himalayan States, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, as well as Uttar Pradesh, faced cloudbursts, landslips and floods, causing at least 31 deaths. The level in the Chenab, Tawi, Ujh and Basantar rivers approached the danger mark in Jammu. In Himachal Pradesh, flash floods hit Solang Valley. As river water levels rose, many vehicles were stranded on the Manali-Rohtang Pass. One death was reported. The Chandigarh-Manali National Highway was closed. Border Roads Organisation personnel, with the help of local authorities, were providing relief to the affected people. In Uttar Pradesh, two children drowned in the Ghaghra in Azamgarh. The Saryu and the Ghaghra were rising. Houses in villages of Barabanki and Faizabad districts were washed away.
In the worst-hit Uttarakhand, 28 persons including two children and three firefighters were killed and others went missing after being washed away by flash floods in Uttarkashi and Chamoli districts.. A dozen bridges were washed away and debris from landslips blocked most roads including national highways leading to Gangotri, Yamunotri, Badrinath, Kedarnath and Hemkunt Sahib. The Bhagirathi soared above the danger level in Uttarkashi and the Ganga was just short of the danger mark at Haridwar. An alert was sounded in areas along the Ganga and its tributaries. Those living in low-lying areas were asked to shift.
Odisha
Water levels continued to rise in major rivers including Mahanadi following heavy rains in their catchment areas and release of surplus water from various reservoirs in Odisha. Collectors of all districts have been asked to remain alert as rainfall was likely to continue in different parts of the state for the next two days due to low pressure which might lead to a flood like situation, official sources said.As water level continued to increase steadily in the Mahanadi, as many as 19 sluice gates were opened so far in Hirakud dam on the river located in Sambalpur district, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P.K. Mohapatra said.
The level touched 609.69 feet as against its capacity of 630 ft at Hirakud reservoir where inflow of water was recorded at 4,37,955 cusecs while outflow stood at 3,08,666 cusecs, a senior official said. Despite rising water levels, there was no immediate threat of flood in major rivers like Brahmani and Baitarani which were flowing much below the danger marks, the SRC said.Similarly, water levels were much below the danger marks in Subarnarekha and Budhabalang rivers.
However, due to heavy downpour in the catchment area and release of surplus water from Indravati project, Hati river was in spate in Kalahandi. Two feet high flood water was flowing over the bridge on the river near Junagarh, disrupting road communication. As more water was being released through 5 gates of Mangalpur barrage into Hati River, it was apprehended that the flood situation of Hati and Tel may be aggravated.Heavy downpour in Thuamul Rampur, Jaipatna and Koksara has paralysed normal life as road communication to interior areas of the block has been disrupted.
Uttarakhand
In Uttarakhand flood cased 34 deaths. Six people were still missing in the Uttarkashi district, said a top government official. During the past two days, incessant rains battered the hill state triggering landslides, cloud bursts and flash floods which flattened homes and stranded hundreds of pilgrims with the chardham yatra coming to a grinding halt.
The Garhwal region was affected by heavy rains and government issued high alert. The Army has also been alerted in the wake of the heavy rains in the hill state. The government has launched relief and rescue operations and has sent food packets to the affected people. Nearly, 250 families have already been taken to safer areas in the different areas of Uttarkashi and Chamoli districts.Efforts were on to reopen blocked highways leading to chardham yatra as scores of pilgrims were still stranded at various places at Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag and Chamoli districts.The landslides are common in the fragile hills of Garhwal region causing disruption of roads which in turn often cause road accidents leading to fatalities.
Uttar Pradesh
Major rivers in Uttar Pradesh have crossed the danger mark as monsoon remained active over the state bringing continuous rainfall in many areas. Rivers like Sharda and Ghagra have crossed the danger mark due to which flood looms large in various parts, official sources said here. According the report of the Central Water commission, Sharda is flowing one meter above the danger mark at Palliakalan (Kheri) while Ghagra is flowing above the mark at Elgin Bridge (barabanki), Ayodhya (Faizabad) and Turtipar (Ballia). Similarly, river Rapti is flowing above the danger mark at Bhinga (Shravasti), river Budhi Rapti is flowing at danger mark at Siddharthnagar, the report said.
River Ganga is rising in Kannauj, Kanpur dehat, Kanpur, Dalmau, Allahabad, Mirzapur, Varanasi, Ghazipur and Ballia while river Yamuna is flowing at danger mark in Mavi and rising in Naini (Allahabad). River Ramganga is also flowing just below the red mark at Moradabad and rising at Bareilly and Shahjahanpur, it said. A rainfall of 48 mm was received in Bijnor, 38.4 mm at Chatnag (Allahabad), 24 mm at Turtipar (Ballia).
Meanwhile, keeping in view the flood-like situation in many parts of UP, the state government has asked concerned district magistrates to provide timely relief to the affected people.
Flash floods in Himalayan region
The Himalayan States, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, as well as Uttar Pradesh, faced cloudbursts, landslips and floods, causing at least 31 deaths. The level in the Chenab, Tawi, Ujh and Basantar rivers approached the danger mark in Jammu. In Himachal Pradesh, flash floods hit Solang Valley. As river water levels rose, many vehicles were stranded on the Manali-Rohtang Pass. One death was reported. The Chandigarh-Manali National Highway was closed. Border Roads Organisation personnel, with the help of local authorities, were providing relief to the affected people. In Uttar Pradesh, two children drowned in the Ghaghra in Azamgarh. The Saryu and the Ghaghra were rising. Houses in villages of Barabanki and Faizabad districts were washed away.
In the worst-hit Uttarakhand, 28 persons including two children and three firefighters were killed and others went missing after being washed away by flash floods in Uttarkashi and Chamoli districts.. A dozen bridges were washed away and debris from landslips blocked most roads including national highways leading to Gangotri, Yamunotri, Badrinath, Kedarnath and Hemkunt Sahib. The Bhagirathi soared above the danger level in Uttarkashi and the Ganga was just short of the danger mark at Haridwar. An alert was sounded in areas along the Ganga and its tributaries. Those living in low-lying areas were asked to shift.
Odisha
Water levels continued to rise in major rivers including Mahanadi following heavy rains in their catchment areas and release of surplus water from various reservoirs in Odisha. Collectors of all districts have been asked to remain alert as rainfall was likely to continue in different parts of the state for the next two days due to low pressure which might lead to a flood like situation, official sources said.As water level continued to increase steadily in the Mahanadi, as many as 19 sluice gates were opened so far in Hirakud dam on the river located in Sambalpur district, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P.K. Mohapatra said.
The level touched 609.69 feet as against its capacity of 630 ft at Hirakud reservoir where inflow of water was recorded at 4,37,955 cusecs while outflow stood at 3,08,666 cusecs, a senior official said. Despite rising water levels, there was no immediate threat of flood in major rivers like Brahmani and Baitarani which were flowing much below the danger marks, the SRC said.Similarly, water levels were much below the danger marks in Subarnarekha and Budhabalang rivers.
However, due to heavy downpour in the catchment area and release of surplus water from Indravati project, Hati river was in spate in Kalahandi. Two feet high flood water was flowing over the bridge on the river near Junagarh, disrupting road communication. As more water was being released through 5 gates of Mangalpur barrage into Hati River, it was apprehended that the flood situation of Hati and Tel may be aggravated.Heavy downpour in Thuamul Rampur, Jaipatna and Koksara has paralysed normal life as road communication to interior areas of the block has been disrupted.
Uttarakhand
In Uttarakhand flood cased 34 deaths. Six people were still missing in the Uttarkashi district, said a top government official. During the past two days, incessant rains battered the hill state triggering landslides, cloud bursts and flash floods which flattened homes and stranded hundreds of pilgrims with the chardham yatra coming to a grinding halt.
The Garhwal region was affected by heavy rains and government issued high alert. The Army has also been alerted in the wake of the heavy rains in the hill state. The government has launched relief and rescue operations and has sent food packets to the affected people. Nearly, 250 families have already been taken to safer areas in the different areas of Uttarkashi and Chamoli districts.Efforts were on to reopen blocked highways leading to chardham yatra as scores of pilgrims were still stranded at various places at Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag and Chamoli districts.The landslides are common in the fragile hills of Garhwal region causing disruption of roads which in turn often cause road accidents leading to fatalities.
Uttar Pradesh
Major rivers in Uttar Pradesh have crossed the danger mark as monsoon remained active over the state bringing continuous rainfall in many areas. Rivers like Sharda and Ghagra have crossed the danger mark due to which flood looms large in various parts, official sources said here. According the report of the Central Water commission, Sharda is flowing one meter above the danger mark at Palliakalan (Kheri) while Ghagra is flowing above the mark at Elgin Bridge (barabanki), Ayodhya (Faizabad) and Turtipar (Ballia). Similarly, river Rapti is flowing above the danger mark at Bhinga (Shravasti), river Budhi Rapti is flowing at danger mark at Siddharthnagar, the report said.
River Ganga is rising in Kannauj, Kanpur dehat, Kanpur, Dalmau, Allahabad, Mirzapur, Varanasi, Ghazipur and Ballia while river Yamuna is flowing at danger mark in Mavi and rising in Naini (Allahabad). River Ramganga is also flowing just below the red mark at Moradabad and rising at Bareilly and Shahjahanpur, it said. A rainfall of 48 mm was received in Bijnor, 38.4 mm at Chatnag (Allahabad), 24 mm at Turtipar (Ballia).
Meanwhile, keeping in view the flood-like situation in many parts of UP, the state government has asked concerned district magistrates to provide timely relief to the affected people.
Wednesday, 15 August 2012
Highlights of Prime Minister’s Speech on 15 August, 2012
-- You are aware that these days the global economy
is passing through a difficult phase. We cannot do much about the
conditions that prevail outside our country. But we must make every
effort to resolve the problems inside our country so that our economic
growth and the creation of employment opportunities in the country are
again speeded up.
-- If we do not increase the pace of the country’s economic growth, take steps to encourage new investment in the economy, improve the management of Government finances and work for the livelihood security of the common man and energy security of the country, then it most certainly affects our national security.
-- I believe that this period of difficulties will not last long. Even as we face these problems, we should be encouraged by the fact that we have achieved extraordinary successes in many areas in the last 8 years. We now need to replicate these successes in newer areas.
-- Today, one out of every 5 households in the country has become eligible to benefit from the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Act through a job card. In only the last one year we have provided employment to more than 8 crore people under this scheme.
-- When the UPA Government came to power in 2004, we had promised that we would provide electricity to all villages. To fulfill this promise, we launched the Rajiv Gandhi Rural Electrification Scheme. More than 1 lakh new villages have been provided with electricity connections under this scheme and now almost all the villages in the country have been electrified. Our next target is to provide electricity to each and every household in our country in the next 5 years and to also improve the supply of electricity.
-- Today almost all children in the age group 6-14 years are being admitted to schools. More than 51,000 new schools have been opened in the country and about 7 lakh teachers appointed in them in just the last 2 years. Now we will focus on improving the quality of education. In the next few months we will put in place a system of continuous assessment of the benefit our children are getting from teaching. Participation of the community and parents would be ensured so that they can be satisfied with the quality of teaching.
-- The National Skill Development Council has formulated a major scheme for skill development in which 8 crore people will be trained in the next 5 years. This is an ambitious scheme which can be implemented only through a specialized agency of the Central Government. Therefore, we are considering the establishment of a National Skill Development Authority so that skill development programmes all over the country can be implemented in a coordinated manner.
-- Recently we have taken new measures to accelerate infrastructure development. Ambitious targets have been fixed in roads, airports, railways, electricity generation and coal production. The Government will take steps to increase investment for infrastructure development with the help of the private sector. To attract foreign capital, we will have to create confidence at the international level that there are no barriers to investment in India.
-- Just 10 years back only 3 out of every 10 households in our villages were benefitting from banking services. Today more than half of the rural households get the benefit of bank accounts. It will be our endeavour to ensure that all households benefit from bank accounts in the next 2 years.
-- We want to create a system in which money from Government schemes - pension for old people, scholarship for students and wages for labourers - can be credited directly into people’s bank accounts. This would reduce inconvenience to the beneficiaries, make it easy for them to receive payment and increase transparency. For this work, we will take help from the Aadhar scheme under which about 20 crore people have been registered so far.
-- To provide housing for our poor brothers and sisters residing in urban areas of our country we will soon launch the Rajiv Housing Loan Scheme. Under this scheme, people belonging to the economically weaker sections would be given relief on interest for housing loans of less than Rs. 5 lakh.
--The incidents of violence which occurred in Assam recently are very unfortunate. I know that these incidents have resulted in the disruption of the lives of a large number of people. We fully sympathize with those families which have been affected by the violence. We are doing everything possible to provide relief to them. I also promise to you that our Government will make every effort to understand the reasons behind the violence and work hard with the State Governments to ensure that such incidents are not repeated in any part of the country.
--I would like to congratulate our scientists and technologists who have enhanced our prestige by successfully testing the Agni V Missile and launching the RISAT- I Satellite in space this year. Recently the Cabinet has approved the Mars Orbiter Mission. Under this Mission, our spaceship will go near Mars and collect important scientific information. This spaceship to Mars will be a huge step for us in the area of science and technology.
--Our Government has set up a committee to examine issues relating to pay and pension of armed forces personnel. This committee will also look into matters concerning pension of retired men and officers and family pension being paid to their families. We will take prompt action on the recommendations of the committee, once they are received.
--Our commitment to make the work of the Government and administration transparent and accountable stands. On the last Independence Day, I promised you that we would take many steps for this purpose. I am happy to state that during the last 1 year we have achieved good progress in this area. The Lok Sabha has cleared the Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill. We hope that all political parties will help us in passing this Bill in the Rajya Sabha. A number of other Bills have also been presented before the Parliament. The Cabinet has cleared a Public Procurement Bill.
-- If we do not increase the pace of the country’s economic growth, take steps to encourage new investment in the economy, improve the management of Government finances and work for the livelihood security of the common man and energy security of the country, then it most certainly affects our national security.
-- I believe that this period of difficulties will not last long. Even as we face these problems, we should be encouraged by the fact that we have achieved extraordinary successes in many areas in the last 8 years. We now need to replicate these successes in newer areas.
-- Today, one out of every 5 households in the country has become eligible to benefit from the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Act through a job card. In only the last one year we have provided employment to more than 8 crore people under this scheme.
-- When the UPA Government came to power in 2004, we had promised that we would provide electricity to all villages. To fulfill this promise, we launched the Rajiv Gandhi Rural Electrification Scheme. More than 1 lakh new villages have been provided with electricity connections under this scheme and now almost all the villages in the country have been electrified. Our next target is to provide electricity to each and every household in our country in the next 5 years and to also improve the supply of electricity.
-- Today almost all children in the age group 6-14 years are being admitted to schools. More than 51,000 new schools have been opened in the country and about 7 lakh teachers appointed in them in just the last 2 years. Now we will focus on improving the quality of education. In the next few months we will put in place a system of continuous assessment of the benefit our children are getting from teaching. Participation of the community and parents would be ensured so that they can be satisfied with the quality of teaching.
-- The National Skill Development Council has formulated a major scheme for skill development in which 8 crore people will be trained in the next 5 years. This is an ambitious scheme which can be implemented only through a specialized agency of the Central Government. Therefore, we are considering the establishment of a National Skill Development Authority so that skill development programmes all over the country can be implemented in a coordinated manner.
-- Recently we have taken new measures to accelerate infrastructure development. Ambitious targets have been fixed in roads, airports, railways, electricity generation and coal production. The Government will take steps to increase investment for infrastructure development with the help of the private sector. To attract foreign capital, we will have to create confidence at the international level that there are no barriers to investment in India.
-- Just 10 years back only 3 out of every 10 households in our villages were benefitting from banking services. Today more than half of the rural households get the benefit of bank accounts. It will be our endeavour to ensure that all households benefit from bank accounts in the next 2 years.
-- We want to create a system in which money from Government schemes - pension for old people, scholarship for students and wages for labourers - can be credited directly into people’s bank accounts. This would reduce inconvenience to the beneficiaries, make it easy for them to receive payment and increase transparency. For this work, we will take help from the Aadhar scheme under which about 20 crore people have been registered so far.
-- To provide housing for our poor brothers and sisters residing in urban areas of our country we will soon launch the Rajiv Housing Loan Scheme. Under this scheme, people belonging to the economically weaker sections would be given relief on interest for housing loans of less than Rs. 5 lakh.
--The incidents of violence which occurred in Assam recently are very unfortunate. I know that these incidents have resulted in the disruption of the lives of a large number of people. We fully sympathize with those families which have been affected by the violence. We are doing everything possible to provide relief to them. I also promise to you that our Government will make every effort to understand the reasons behind the violence and work hard with the State Governments to ensure that such incidents are not repeated in any part of the country.
--I would like to congratulate our scientists and technologists who have enhanced our prestige by successfully testing the Agni V Missile and launching the RISAT- I Satellite in space this year. Recently the Cabinet has approved the Mars Orbiter Mission. Under this Mission, our spaceship will go near Mars and collect important scientific information. This spaceship to Mars will be a huge step for us in the area of science and technology.
--Our Government has set up a committee to examine issues relating to pay and pension of armed forces personnel. This committee will also look into matters concerning pension of retired men and officers and family pension being paid to their families. We will take prompt action on the recommendations of the committee, once they are received.
--Our commitment to make the work of the Government and administration transparent and accountable stands. On the last Independence Day, I promised you that we would take many steps for this purpose. I am happy to state that during the last 1 year we have achieved good progress in this area. The Lok Sabha has cleared the Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill. We hope that all political parties will help us in passing this Bill in the Rajya Sabha. A number of other Bills have also been presented before the Parliament. The Cabinet has cleared a Public Procurement Bill.
Tuesday, 14 August 2012
Parliamentary Panel on Agriculture recommended to ban GM Food Crops
In a major setback to the production of genetically modified (GM)
foods in the country, a parliamentary panel on agriculture asked the
government to ban all field trials of GM crops until it develops until
it develops a better system of monitoring and oversight.
In the 389-page report submitted in the parliament on 9 August 2012, the panel also demanded a complete probe into how permission was granted in 2009 for the commercialisation of Bt brinjal (also known as aubergine, or eggplant). Bt Brinjal was developed by Pune-based Mahyco (Maharashtra Hybrid Company) in a joint venture with US seed giant Monsanto.
The Genetic Engeneering Appraisal Committee had cleared the commercialization of Bt Brinjal on 14 October 2009, though soon after its clearance it was caught amidst bitter controversies ranging from its environmental impacts to ethical concerns such as corporate control of the food supply and intellectual property rights. Bt cotton was the only GM crop before Bt Brinjal which had got clearance for commercialization.
In the 389-page report submitted in the parliament on 9 August 2012, the panel also demanded a complete probe into how permission was granted in 2009 for the commercialisation of Bt brinjal (also known as aubergine, or eggplant). Bt Brinjal was developed by Pune-based Mahyco (Maharashtra Hybrid Company) in a joint venture with US seed giant Monsanto.
The Genetic Engeneering Appraisal Committee had cleared the commercialization of Bt Brinjal on 14 October 2009, though soon after its clearance it was caught amidst bitter controversies ranging from its environmental impacts to ethical concerns such as corporate control of the food supply and intellectual property rights. Bt cotton was the only GM crop before Bt Brinjal which had got clearance for commercialization.
Improving Access to Justice – National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms
The
National Mission for Justice Delivery and legal Reforms was set up in June,
2011 to achieve the twin goals of increasing access by reducing delays and
arrears; and enhancing accountability through structural changes and by setting
performance standards and capacities. The Mission has become fully functional
from 2012-13 and is pursuing strategic initiatives: outlining policy and
legislative changes; re-engineering of procedures and court processes;
focussing on Human Resource Development; and leveraging Information and
Communication Technology & tools for better justice delivery. The Mission
will adopt a coordinated approach for phased liquidation of arrears and
pendency in judicial administration which would, inter alia, involve better
infrastructure for courts including computerisation, increase in strength of
subordinate judiciary, policy and legislative measures in the areas prone to
excessive litigation, re-engineering of court procedure for quick disposal of
cases.
Policy and Legislative Changes
In short span of its existence, the
Mission has taken several steps in each of the strategic areas towards
fulfillment of its objectives. Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill has
been prepared. The Bill has already been
passed by the Lok Sabha and is now before the Rajya Sabha for consideration. Constitution amendment bill for raising the
retirement age of High Court Judges is also before the Parliament.
A comprehensive proposal has been formulated
for constitution of All India Judicial Service and the proposal is before
Committee of Secretaries. 25 States have formulated their Litigation Policies with
a view to reduce the Governmental litigation.
Litigation Policy at the national level is also on the anvil.
An
Inter-Ministerial Group has been constituted to suggest necessary amendments to
the Negotiable Instruments Act along with other policy and administrative
measures to check increasing litigation relating to cheque bounce cases. First
meeting of IMG was held on 30th, May 2012 and decisions taken in the
meeting are being pursued for follow up action with Department of Financial
Services, Reserve Bank of India and Indian Banks Association for reducing the
burden of cheque bouncing cases on our criminal justice system.
Re-Engineering Court Procedures and Court
Processes
An important aspect of the judicial
reforms relates to re-engineering court procedures and court processes for
early disposal of cases. A National
Court Management System has been recently notified by the Supreme Court for
addressing the issues of case management, court management, setting measurable
standards for performance of the courts and the National System of Judicial
Statistics in the country. The National Mission would coordinate with NCMS and
would render necessary assistance in achieving the goal of reducing pendency in
courts.
A
Sub Group on improving the court procedure and court processes for better
criminal justice system has been constituted under Chairman, Law Commission to
suggest necessary changes in this regard. The Commission has already prepared a
Report on inordinate delays in investigation and prosecution of criminal cases
against influential persons and measures needed to reform the criminal justice
system.
Infrastructure Development
Infrastructure development for the subordinate judiciary is a major
thrust area of the National Mission.
With a view to enhancing the resources of the State Governments, the
Government has increased the central share by revising the funding pattern from
50:50 to 75:25 (for States other than North Eastern States) under modified
Centrally Sponsored Scheme for development of infrastructure facilities for the
judiciary from the year 2011-12 onwards.
The funding pattern for North-Eastern States has been kept as 90:10 from
2010-11. Central assistance amounting to
over ` two thousand crore has been released to States and Union Territories
since inception of the scheme out of which an amount of over ` two hundred
crore has been released so far during current financial year.
Gram Nyayalayas
The Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 has been enacted
for establishment of Gram Nyayalayas at the grass roots level for providing
access to justice to citizens at their doorstep.The Central Government provides
assistance to States for non-recurring expenses for setting up of Gram
Nyayalayas and for meeting the cost of recurring expenses for running these
Gram Nyayalayas for the first three years.
At
the time of enactment of Gram Nyayalayas Act it was envisaged that 5067 Gram
Nyayalayas would be set up throughout the country for which Central Government
would provide recurring and non-recurring assistance to States as per
prescribed norms. The progress of the Gram Nyayalayas Scheme has not
been up to expectations so far.
To further incentivize the State
Governments for early operationalisation of Gram Nyayalayas, a comprehensive
proposal for merger of Gram Nyayalayas scheme with the Centrally sponsored
Scheme for development of infrastructure facilities for the subordinate
judiciary has been prepared. The norms
for providing central assistance towards recurring expenditure are also
proposed to be revised upwards. The proposal is presently awaiting approval of
Planning Commission and Ministry of Finance.
Pendency Reduction Drive
The Government had launched a
pendency reduction drive from July 2011 to December, 2011. Chief Justices of the High Courts were
requested by the Minister of Law and Justice to initiate a campaign mode
approach towards clearing long pending cases and cases relating to marginalized
sections of the society. As per feedback
received from various High Courts, total pendency was reduced by over 6 lakh
cases out of which about 1.36 lakh cases belonged to targeted groups such as
senior citizens, disabled, minors and marginalized sections of society.
One
of the important components of pendency reduction drive related to release of
under-trial prisoners from jail. In terms of the extant provisions of Criminal
Procedure Code, the under-trials who have completed half of the maximum
specified punishment for various offences in jail need to be released on
personal bond. As per the information
received from various High Courts, around 3.16 lakh under-trial prisoners were
released from the prisons during the campaign period.
A
similar drive has been launched by the Minister of Law and Justice this year as
well from July, 2012 to December, 2012. The main focus of pendency reduction
drive this year is to make our judicial system ‘five plus’ free. Simultaneously
emphasis is being laid on increasing the number of judges in subordinate
judiciary by filling the existing vacancies and creating additional posts so
that disposal of cases is expedited by setting up of additional courts.
Monday, 13 August 2012
London Olympics 2012 Medal Tally India
Silver
● Vijay Kumar - Shooting (Men's 25m Rapid Fire Pistol)
● Sushil Kumar - Wrestling (Men's 66kg Freestyle)
Bronze
● Saina Nehwal - Badminton (Women's Singles)
● Chungneijang Mery Kom Hmangte - Boxing [Women's Fly (51kg)]
● Gagan Narang - Shooting (Men's 10m Air Rifle)
● Yogeshwar Dutt - Wrestling (Men's 60kg Freestyle)
London Olympics 2012 Medals Tally
| Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| USA | 46 | 29 | 29 | 104 |
| China | 38 | 27 | 22 | 87 |
| Great Britain | 29 | 17 | 19 | 65 |
| Russia | 24 | 25 | 33 | 82 |
| Republic of Korea | 13 | 8 | 7 | 28 |
| Germany | 11 | 19 | 14 | 44 |
| France | 11 | 11 | 12 | 34 |
| Italy | 8 | 9 | 11 | 28 |
| Hungary | 8 | 4 | 5 | 17 |
| Australia | 7 | 16 | 12 | 35 |
| Japan | 7 | 14 | 17 | 38 |
| Kazakhstan | 7 | 1 | 5 | 13 |
| Netherlands | 6 | 6 | 8 | 20 |
| Ukraine | 6 | 5 | 9 | 20 |
| Cuba | 5 | 3 | 6 | 14 |
| New Zealand | 5 | 3 | 5 | 13 |
| Islamic Republic of Iran | 4 | 5 | 3 | 12 |
| Jamaica | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| Czech Republic | 4 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| DPR Korea | 4 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| Spain | 3 | 10 | 4 | 17 |
| Brazil | 3 | 5 | 9 | 17 |
| Belarus | 3 | 5 | 5 | 13 |
| South Africa | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| Ethiopia | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| Croatia | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Romania | 2 | 5 | 2 | 9 |
| Kenya | 2 | 4 | 5 | 11 |
| Denmark | 2 | 4 | 3 | 9 |
| Poland | 2 | 2 | 6 | 10 |
| Azerbaijan | 2 | 2 | 6 | 10 |
| Turkey | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Switzerland | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Lithuania | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Norway | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Canada | 1 | 5 | 12 | 18 |
| Sweden | 1 | 4 | 3 | 8 |
| Colombia | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 |
| Georgia | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| Mexico | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| Ireland | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Serbia | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Argentina | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Slovenia | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Tunisia | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Dominican Republic | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Trinidad & Tobago | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Uzbekistan | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Latvia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Algeria | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Grenada | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Bahamas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Uganda | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Venezuela | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| India | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Mongolia | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Thailand | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Egypt | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Slovakia | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Armenia | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Belgium | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Finland | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Puerto Rico | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Taipei (Chinese Taipei) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Indonesia | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Estonia | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Bulgaria | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Malaysia | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Gabon | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Botswana | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Guatemala | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Cyprus | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Portugal | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Greece | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Singapore | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Qatar | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Republic of Moldova | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Bahrain | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Afghanistan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Honk Kong, China | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Tajikistan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Saudi Arabia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Kuwait | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Morocco | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
INDIA PROFILE IN OLYMPICS
The first authentic Indian team took part at the 1920 Antwerp Olympic Games in athletics and wrestling.
A National Olympic Committee was finally formed in 1927.
India's greatest successes at the Olympics have come in men's hockey. They won every men's title from 1928 to 1956. In 1960 they reached the final but lost to Pakistan to end the sequence.
India's first gold medal winning squad at the Amsterdam Olympic Games in 1928 included legendary hockey player Dhyan CHAND, known as the “ wizard of hockey” who won three consecutive gold medals.
After independence India continued their hockey success with a gold at the London Olympic Games. The final was played on grass at Wembley Stadium. India were an ever present on the men's hockey medal podium until 1976 and their last gold medal success in this sport came at the Moscow 1980 Olympic Games.
Indian shooters have challenged for medals in the new millennium. Rajyavardhan Singh RATHORE won silver in the men's double trap in Athens 2004. Shooter Abinav BHINDRA became India's first individual gold medallist when won the 10m air rifle at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
At the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris, Norman PRITCHARD won silver medals in the men's 200m and the now discontinued 200m hurdles. He was the first medal winner born in India but confusion surrounds his nationality as India was then under British rule.
India have not yet staged the Olympic Games but have hosted IOC sessions.
Anthem: Title
Jana Gana Mana (Thou Art the Ruler of the Minds of all People)
Anthem: Year of Induction
1950
Anthem: Composer
Words and music Rabindranath TAGORE.
Official NOC/NPC name
India
IOC recognition date
1927
NOC/NPC President's name
Professor Vijay KUMAR MALHOTRA
NOC/NPC General Secretary's name
Raja Randhir SINGH
IOC Member's Name
Raja Randhir SINGH, Mr Ashwini KUMAR (Honorary)
Year of first appearance in an Olympic and Paralympic Games
1900
Number of appearances in Olympic and Paralympic Games
23, including Paris 1900 and London 2012
Summary of Olympic and Paralympic Games Appearances
A National Olympic Committee was finally formed in 1927.
India's greatest successes at the Olympics have come in men's hockey. They won every men's title from 1928 to 1956. In 1960 they reached the final but lost to Pakistan to end the sequence.
India's first gold medal winning squad at the Amsterdam Olympic Games in 1928 included legendary hockey player Dhyan CHAND, known as the “ wizard of hockey” who won three consecutive gold medals.
After independence India continued their hockey success with a gold at the London Olympic Games. The final was played on grass at Wembley Stadium. India were an ever present on the men's hockey medal podium until 1976 and their last gold medal success in this sport came at the Moscow 1980 Olympic Games.
Indian shooters have challenged for medals in the new millennium. Rajyavardhan Singh RATHORE won silver in the men's double trap in Athens 2004. Shooter Abinav BHINDRA became India's first individual gold medallist when won the 10m air rifle at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
At the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris, Norman PRITCHARD won silver medals in the men's 200m and the now discontinued 200m hurdles. He was the first medal winner born in India but confusion surrounds his nationality as India was then under British rule.
India have not yet staged the Olympic Games but have hosted IOC sessions.
Anthem: Title
Jana Gana Mana (Thou Art the Ruler of the Minds of all People)
Anthem: Year of Induction
1950
Anthem: Composer
Words and music Rabindranath TAGORE.
Official NOC/NPC name
India
IOC recognition date
1927
NOC/NPC President's name
Professor Vijay KUMAR MALHOTRA
NOC/NPC General Secretary's name
Raja Randhir SINGH
IOC Member's Name
Raja Randhir SINGH, Mr Ashwini KUMAR (Honorary)
Year of first appearance in an Olympic and Paralympic Games
1900
Number of appearances in Olympic and Paralympic Games
23, including Paris 1900 and London 2012
Summary of Olympic and Paralympic Games Appearances
| Medals per sport | ||||||||||||
| Sport | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | ||||||||
| Boxing | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| Hockey | 8 | 1 | 2 | 11 | ||||||||
| Shooting | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||
| Tennis | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| Weightlifting | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| Wrestling - Freestyle | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||
| Total | 9 | 2 | 7 | 18 | ||||||||
| Medals per year | ||||||||||||
| Year | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | ||||||||
| 1928 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| 1932 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| 1936 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| 1948 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| 1952 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||
| 1956 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| 1960 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| 1964 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| 1968 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| 1972 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| 1980 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| 1996 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| 2000 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| 2004 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| 2008 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||
| 2012 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
Wednesday, 8 August 2012
US imposed Fresh Sanctions on Belligerent Iran
In pursuit of its goal to debilitate Iran’s oil exporting economy,
the US government on 2 August 2012 announced to impose some fresh
sanctions on Iran. Sanctions, imposed under Comprehensive Iran
Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (CISADA), put
punitive regulation on those who continued to maintain ties with Iran.
Under the sanction Bank of Kunlun in China and Elaf Islamic Bank in Iraq faced cut off from transactions with US institutions. The two banks were punished for facilitating transactions worth millions of dollars on behalf of sanctioned Iranian banks. The new sanctions categorically target the Iranian energy and petrochemical sectors.
The sanctions are aimed at preventing Iran from establishing payment mechanisms for the purchase of Iranian oil to circumvent existing sanctions, and utilises the existing structure of our sanctions law, including exceptions for significant reductions in the purchase of Iranian oil.
Earlier this year India, China and a host of other nations had opposed US’ dictate to cut down their oil imports from Iran. US and European Union have come down heavily on Iran’s nuclear programme seeking all possible diplomatic methods to stop the belligerent nation to carry on its nuclear programme. Though the heavy sanctions imposed by the US and EU over Iran have not yielded them the desired result as Iran has thus far not gave up its plan to build nuclear armaments.
Under the sanction Bank of Kunlun in China and Elaf Islamic Bank in Iraq faced cut off from transactions with US institutions. The two banks were punished for facilitating transactions worth millions of dollars on behalf of sanctioned Iranian banks. The new sanctions categorically target the Iranian energy and petrochemical sectors.
The sanctions are aimed at preventing Iran from establishing payment mechanisms for the purchase of Iranian oil to circumvent existing sanctions, and utilises the existing structure of our sanctions law, including exceptions for significant reductions in the purchase of Iranian oil.
Earlier this year India, China and a host of other nations had opposed US’ dictate to cut down their oil imports from Iran. US and European Union have come down heavily on Iran’s nuclear programme seeking all possible diplomatic methods to stop the belligerent nation to carry on its nuclear programme. Though the heavy sanctions imposed by the US and EU over Iran have not yielded them the desired result as Iran has thus far not gave up its plan to build nuclear armaments.
Goa Launched Ladli Laxmi Scheme
State Government of Goa launched Ladli Laxmi Scheme on 6 July 2012.
Women and Child Welfare department initiated this scheme. The meeting
was headed by the Chief Minister of Goa. It aims to prevent female
foeticide in the state.
Under this scheme, girls who are 18 years and above would be provided with Rs. 1 Lakh for their marriage. This scheme is for those girls who lie between the age group of 18-40 years.
This scheme is valid for those girls whose parents are living in Goa for the last 25 years. In addition, the girl should have been born and brought up in the state.
The State Government had reserved the fund of Rs. 150 crore for this scheme. Five banks were enrolled with the Women and Child Welfare department. Goa registers 1000 marriages (approx) every year.
Under this scheme, girls who are 18 years and above would be provided with Rs. 1 Lakh for their marriage. This scheme is for those girls who lie between the age group of 18-40 years.
This scheme is valid for those girls whose parents are living in Goa for the last 25 years. In addition, the girl should have been born and brought up in the state.
The State Government had reserved the fund of Rs. 150 crore for this scheme. Five banks were enrolled with the Women and Child Welfare department. Goa registers 1000 marriages (approx) every year.
Monday, 6 August 2012
Kishore Chandra Deo Inaugurates Silver Jubilee Celebration TRIFED
V. Kishore Chandra Deo, Union Minister of Tribal
Affairs and Panchayati Raj inaugurated the Silver Jubilee celebration of
the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India
Limited (TRIFED) here today. In his inaugural address, Sheri Deo said
there is a need to concentrate on Minor Forest Produce, termed as
Non-Timber Forest Produce (NTFP) by TRIFED. The NTFP has significant
economic and social value for the forest dwellers. He said that Central
Government has enacted two major legislations, namely PESA and FRA to
empower the forest dwellers. He further that said the Minimum Support
Price Scheme for NTFPs is in the offing and Central Government will
provide financial support for procurement, creation of enabling
infrastructure, training for sustainable harvesting and also provide
subsidy to State level agencies in case they incur any loss in the
transaction so that they do not hesitate from procurement of NTFPs from
tribals, a major source of income for tribals. The TRIFED has an
important role as the nodal agency for implementation of this scheme, in
order to translate the objectives of these Acts into reality. He said
Central Govt. will provide financial support for procurement, creation
of enabling infrastructure, training for sustainable harvesting and also
provide subsidy to State level agencies in case they incur any loss in
the transaction so that they do not hesitate from procurement of NTFPs
from tribals, a major source of income for tribals.
The Minister said the Silver Jubilee function of TRIFED’ provides us an opportunity to take stock of the situation, ponder over the future challenges and redefine the role for the organization in the rapidly changing environment. He said that TRIFED was started in August1987 with the main objective of providing marketing support for the tribal products so that remunerative prices can be ensured to the tribals for the products collected/cultivated by them. TRIFED’s effort to build “TRIBES INDIA” as a brand needs special mention as it provided tribal handicrafts and textile products a distinct identity in the market. The TRIFED has been consistently growing in terms of sales and from a single store in 1999 at Delhi now TRIBES India network has covered 16 States with 26 stores and still expanding. The Minister expressed his support to TRIFED and expressed the hope that TRIFED would emerge as a big and successful organization.
Shri Mahadeo Singh Khandela, Minister of State for Tribal Affairs, Dr. Rameswar Oraon, Chairman, ST Comission, Smt. Vibha Puri Das, Secretary of the Ministry and Jiji Thomson, MD, TRIFED were also present in the function. Eminent Gandhian, Dr. Abhay Basng delivered a lecture on tribal issue on the occasion.
The Minister said the Silver Jubilee function of TRIFED’ provides us an opportunity to take stock of the situation, ponder over the future challenges and redefine the role for the organization in the rapidly changing environment. He said that TRIFED was started in August1987 with the main objective of providing marketing support for the tribal products so that remunerative prices can be ensured to the tribals for the products collected/cultivated by them. TRIFED’s effort to build “TRIBES INDIA” as a brand needs special mention as it provided tribal handicrafts and textile products a distinct identity in the market. The TRIFED has been consistently growing in terms of sales and from a single store in 1999 at Delhi now TRIBES India network has covered 16 States with 26 stores and still expanding. The Minister expressed his support to TRIFED and expressed the hope that TRIFED would emerge as a big and successful organization.
Shri Mahadeo Singh Khandela, Minister of State for Tribal Affairs, Dr. Rameswar Oraon, Chairman, ST Comission, Smt. Vibha Puri Das, Secretary of the Ministry and Jiji Thomson, MD, TRIFED were also present in the function. Eminent Gandhian, Dr. Abhay Basng delivered a lecture on tribal issue on the occasion.
Keshubhai launches new political party Gujarat Parivartan Party'
Former Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel launched a new political outfit 'Gujarat Parivartan Party' ahead
of the assembly elections, marking a decisive phase in his campaign
against his bete noire and successor Narendra Modi.
Announcing the launch of the party that could signal a realignment of anti-Modi forces, 83-year-old Patel, a known baiter of the BJP strongman, said his party GPP would contest all the 182 seats in Gujarat assembly elections due to be held by the end of this year.
Announcing the launch of the party that could signal a realignment of anti-Modi forces, 83-year-old Patel, a known baiter of the BJP strongman, said his party GPP would contest all the 182 seats in Gujarat assembly elections due to be held by the end of this year.
Mars rover Curiosity touches down on the Red Planet
The Mars science rover Curiosity
landed on the Martian surface to begin a two-year mission
seeking evidence the Red Planet once hosted ingredients for life, NASA said.
Mission controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory near Los Angeles burst into applause and cheered as they received signals relayed by a Mars orbiter confirming that the rover had survived a make-or-break descent and touched down within its landing zone.
NASA described the feat as perhaps the most complex achieved in robotic spaceflight.
Moments later, Curiosity beamed back its first three images from the Martian surface, one of them showing a wheel of the vehicle.
"I can't believe this. This is unbelievable," said Allen Chen, the deputy leader of the rover's descent and landing team.
The car-sized rover apparently came to rest at its planned destination near the foot of a tall mountain rising from the floor of Gale Crater in Mars' southern hemisphere, mission controllers said.
The $2.5 billion Curiosity project, formally called the Mars Science Laboratory, is NASA's first astrobiology mission since the 1970s-era Viking probes.
The landing marks a major victory and milestone for a U.S. space agency beleaguered by budget cuts and the recent loss of its 30-year-old space shuttle program.
"It's an enormous step forward in planetary exploration. Nobody has ever done anything like this," said John Holdren, the top science advisor to President Barack Obama, who was visiting JPL for the event. "It was an incredible performance."
The exact condition of the one-ton, six-wheeled, nuclear powered vehicle upon its arrival could not be immediately ascertained.
Mission controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory near Los Angeles burst into applause and cheered as they received signals relayed by a Mars orbiter confirming that the rover had survived a make-or-break descent and touched down within its landing zone.
NASA described the feat as perhaps the most complex achieved in robotic spaceflight.
Moments later, Curiosity beamed back its first three images from the Martian surface, one of them showing a wheel of the vehicle.
"I can't believe this. This is unbelievable," said Allen Chen, the deputy leader of the rover's descent and landing team.
The car-sized rover apparently came to rest at its planned destination near the foot of a tall mountain rising from the floor of Gale Crater in Mars' southern hemisphere, mission controllers said.
The $2.5 billion Curiosity project, formally called the Mars Science Laboratory, is NASA's first astrobiology mission since the 1970s-era Viking probes.
The landing marks a major victory and milestone for a U.S. space agency beleaguered by budget cuts and the recent loss of its 30-year-old space shuttle program.
"It's an enormous step forward in planetary exploration. Nobody has ever done anything like this," said John Holdren, the top science advisor to President Barack Obama, who was visiting JPL for the event. "It was an incredible performance."
The exact condition of the one-ton, six-wheeled, nuclear powered vehicle upon its arrival could not be immediately ascertained.
Union Cabinet approved the Launch of Satellite to study Mars
The Union Cabinet on 3 August 2012 gave its consent to the launch of
satellite to the Mars proposed in 2013. The Cabinet decision came
following a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The Department of Space had sent a proposal to the Union Cabinet, in which it had sought government’s permission to launch a satellite to study Mars, also called Red Planet. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is expected to launch a Mars Orbiter in November 2013 with a 25kg scientific payload.
The Mars mission will be launched by ISRO’s advanced Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The objective of the mission is to study the climate, geology, origin, evolution and sustainability of life on the planet. If the ISRO fails to launch the Mars Mission next year, other opportunites are available in 2016 and 2018.
India has undertaken the massive space project with the help of United States, Russia, Europe, Japan and China. The mission is estimated to cost the government exchequer about 450 crore rupees. An initial allocation of 125 crore rupees was already made in the budget 2012-13.
The Department of Space had sent a proposal to the Union Cabinet, in which it had sought government’s permission to launch a satellite to study Mars, also called Red Planet. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is expected to launch a Mars Orbiter in November 2013 with a 25kg scientific payload.
The Mars mission will be launched by ISRO’s advanced Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The objective of the mission is to study the climate, geology, origin, evolution and sustainability of life on the planet. If the ISRO fails to launch the Mars Mission next year, other opportunites are available in 2016 and 2018.
India has undertaken the massive space project with the help of United States, Russia, Europe, Japan and China. The mission is estimated to cost the government exchequer about 450 crore rupees. An initial allocation of 125 crore rupees was already made in the budget 2012-13.
Saturday, 4 August 2012
Human Resource Development Projects of North East Council
The North Eastern Council (NEC) is the nodal agency
for the economic and social development of the North Eastern Region
(NER). The Council’s Secretariat had been functioning to bring expediate
socio-economic development of the Region including Sikkim. Consisting
of many Sectors such as Planning, Transport and Communication,
Agriculture and Allied, Medical and Health, Power, Human Resource
Development & Employment, Evaluation and Monitoring, Banking,
Industries and Tourism, Information and Public Relations, Science and
Technology and Irrigation and Flood Control, the NEC has taken up many
developmental projects for overall development of the Region.
In order to implement and complete the projects and programmes sanctioned by the North Eastern Council on time, without delay and cost overrun, the Council has taken concerte effort in monitoring and evaluation of the projects being implemented in different states and as a result of which more than 82 projects were inspected and assessed.
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs, jointly with the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DONER)/NEC, have initiated the works on construction of a 500 seats capacity girls’ hostel in Delhi University for girl students from the NER and other tribal girl students studying in Delhi University. Total cost of the project amounting to Rs.23.33 crores is being shared between the NEC and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs on 60:40 basis, i.e., the NEC shares an amount of Rs13.998 Crores(60%) towards the project. Out of this amount, the NEC has so far released an amount of Rs.11.50. crores.
A 500-seater Working Women’s Hostel in Jasola Delhi was constructed in association with the Ministry of Women and Child Development. Accommodation will be provided for the working women hailing from North Eastern States. Total cost of the project is Rs.17.44 crores, wherein the NEC’s share is 25%. Land cost for the hostel is being shared in 50:50 ratio. NEC has released Rs.4.36 crores for construction and Rs.0.42 Lakhs for Furniture, Electricity, Water Supply etc.
Pilot Project of sponsoring students in school has been taken up and accordingly 23 students each for all 7 North Eastern States and two for Sikkim are being sponsored at Assam Rifles Public School, Laitkor, Shillong for Financial Year 2011-12 in class VI. Selection/Examination conducted by Assam Rifles in all the States after proper advertisement. Besides that, brilliant students and girl children and students from economically backward classes also need to be supported in schools and colleges. About 5,500 students have so far been benefited under this scheme during the last Financial year and equal number, if not more, are to benefit this Financial year also.
The ‘Youth to the Edge’ programme was taken up to promote integration and a sense of brotherhood in the country. This programme will help mitigate to some extend the notion of North East being a foreign country. More than thousand youth from rest of India will be visiting the North Eastern Region where combined adventure activities are being conducted to promote the spirit of brotherhood, adventure, environmental awareness, national integration, disaster management, promotion of adventure tourism, channelizing youth in a positive direction, sense of self-employment and self-recognition, etc. The programme will expose the youth to the Flora, Fauna, culture, livelihood, practices and to the people in general of the North Eastern State. It is to promote general understanding of the region and promote integration. To start with, three trails namely; Dzukou Velley in Nagaland, Roing and Hayuliang in Arunachal Pradesh are identified and more than nine hundred youth are already exposed under this programme.
To encourage and develop sport talent in the region, the NEC had constituted the Chairman’s Sport Award for Excellence on International and National Sport where Cash Awards are given to Medal Winners of Olympic, Asian Games, Common Wealth Games and National Games. This is a popular scheme amongst the Achievers and also act as an encouraging factor for the sport persons to perform better in the sport events. More than Rs. 7.00 crores were distributed to the medal winners of the recently held National Games at Jharkhand. It may be mentioned that the Manipur Stated had bagged 2nd highest medals next only to the services.
To encourage football skills and inculcate the sense of competitiveness amongst the players, the Dr. T. Ao Football Tournament was constituted for the NE States to be held annually in the states on rotation. The tournament is aptly named after the legendary Barefoot Indian Football Captain and is a great morale booster for the players.
In line with the skill development mission of the Union government, the NEC has sponsored many job Oriented Training programmes to cater to the need of unemployed youth in the field of computer hardware and software, BPO, Hair Style and Beauty Care, Banana Fiber Extraction, Ayurveda Therapist, Hearing Disability sector, adventure sports, CNC technology and Machinery Operation, Plastic Processing and Recycle, Retail Management, Automobile Repairs etc. These programmes are conducted for various levels of educational background including school drop outs who forms majority of the unemployed youths and who needs this value addition the most. More than 6000 youth have been trained with good placement report. These training programmes help develop their personalities and confidence of the trainees and also supplement the family income.
To increase competitiveness among NER students for preparation in entrance examinations and Government job opportunities, the NEC has for the first time sponsored coaching programmes for various examinations.
In order to implement and complete the projects and programmes sanctioned by the North Eastern Council on time, without delay and cost overrun, the Council has taken concerte effort in monitoring and evaluation of the projects being implemented in different states and as a result of which more than 82 projects were inspected and assessed.
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs, jointly with the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DONER)/NEC, have initiated the works on construction of a 500 seats capacity girls’ hostel in Delhi University for girl students from the NER and other tribal girl students studying in Delhi University. Total cost of the project amounting to Rs.23.33 crores is being shared between the NEC and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs on 60:40 basis, i.e., the NEC shares an amount of Rs13.998 Crores(60%) towards the project. Out of this amount, the NEC has so far released an amount of Rs.11.50. crores.
A 500-seater Working Women’s Hostel in Jasola Delhi was constructed in association with the Ministry of Women and Child Development. Accommodation will be provided for the working women hailing from North Eastern States. Total cost of the project is Rs.17.44 crores, wherein the NEC’s share is 25%. Land cost for the hostel is being shared in 50:50 ratio. NEC has released Rs.4.36 crores for construction and Rs.0.42 Lakhs for Furniture, Electricity, Water Supply etc.
Pilot Project of sponsoring students in school has been taken up and accordingly 23 students each for all 7 North Eastern States and two for Sikkim are being sponsored at Assam Rifles Public School, Laitkor, Shillong for Financial Year 2011-12 in class VI. Selection/Examination conducted by Assam Rifles in all the States after proper advertisement. Besides that, brilliant students and girl children and students from economically backward classes also need to be supported in schools and colleges. About 5,500 students have so far been benefited under this scheme during the last Financial year and equal number, if not more, are to benefit this Financial year also.
The ‘Youth to the Edge’ programme was taken up to promote integration and a sense of brotherhood in the country. This programme will help mitigate to some extend the notion of North East being a foreign country. More than thousand youth from rest of India will be visiting the North Eastern Region where combined adventure activities are being conducted to promote the spirit of brotherhood, adventure, environmental awareness, national integration, disaster management, promotion of adventure tourism, channelizing youth in a positive direction, sense of self-employment and self-recognition, etc. The programme will expose the youth to the Flora, Fauna, culture, livelihood, practices and to the people in general of the North Eastern State. It is to promote general understanding of the region and promote integration. To start with, three trails namely; Dzukou Velley in Nagaland, Roing and Hayuliang in Arunachal Pradesh are identified and more than nine hundred youth are already exposed under this programme.
To encourage and develop sport talent in the region, the NEC had constituted the Chairman’s Sport Award for Excellence on International and National Sport where Cash Awards are given to Medal Winners of Olympic, Asian Games, Common Wealth Games and National Games. This is a popular scheme amongst the Achievers and also act as an encouraging factor for the sport persons to perform better in the sport events. More than Rs. 7.00 crores were distributed to the medal winners of the recently held National Games at Jharkhand. It may be mentioned that the Manipur Stated had bagged 2nd highest medals next only to the services.
To encourage football skills and inculcate the sense of competitiveness amongst the players, the Dr. T. Ao Football Tournament was constituted for the NE States to be held annually in the states on rotation. The tournament is aptly named after the legendary Barefoot Indian Football Captain and is a great morale booster for the players.
In line with the skill development mission of the Union government, the NEC has sponsored many job Oriented Training programmes to cater to the need of unemployed youth in the field of computer hardware and software, BPO, Hair Style and Beauty Care, Banana Fiber Extraction, Ayurveda Therapist, Hearing Disability sector, adventure sports, CNC technology and Machinery Operation, Plastic Processing and Recycle, Retail Management, Automobile Repairs etc. These programmes are conducted for various levels of educational background including school drop outs who forms majority of the unemployed youths and who needs this value addition the most. More than 6000 youth have been trained with good placement report. These training programmes help develop their personalities and confidence of the trainees and also supplement the family income.
To increase competitiveness among NER students for preparation in entrance examinations and Government job opportunities, the NEC has for the first time sponsored coaching programmes for various examinations.
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