1.Gujarat Bill an undeclared Emergency: activistsActivists and members of civil society have flagged the draconian provisions of the Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime Bill 2015 which was passed by the State Assembly on Tuesday.This is an undeclared Emergency intended to muzzle dissent in the State. The government wants to spread fear and terror among activists, NGO workers and civil society persons with its stringent provisions. If there is no bail and period of probe is lengthened, it effectively means that a person can be detained for 180 days merely on the basis of phone records, Gautam Thaker, general secretary, Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Gujarat, toldThe Hindu.The draconian provisions of the Bill include Clause 16 that stipulates that a confession made by a person before a police officer not below the rank of Superintendent of Policeshall be admissible in the trial of such accused, co-accused, abettor or conspirator.The Bill also provides for extension of the period of investigation from the stipulated 90 days to 180 days.No bailFurthermore, the legislation makes offences under the Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime Act, 2015, non-bailable. Clause 20 (4) of the Bill states, Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, no person accused of an offence punishable under this Act shall, if in custody, be released on bail or on his own bond.The Bill makes evidence collected through the interception of wire, electronic or oral communication admissible in the court.It provides immunity to the State government from legal action. Clause 25 of the Bill states, No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against the State government or any officer or authority of the State government for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of this Act.Congress opposesStrongly criticising the new Bill, Congress MLA Shaktisinh Gohil said the legislation went against nationally applicable criminal laws such as the National Security Act, CrPC and the Indian Evidence Act. He said the State government was not empowered to bring a law that contradicted national laws.President Kalam had returned the Bill recommending the deletion of the clauses pertaining to confession in police custody, tapping phone and online communication, period of investigation and non-grant of bail.However, Gujarat again passed the same Bill in 2009 for the third time, which is now pending with the President. The new Bill of 2015 retains the same provisions of GUJCOC.The intention of the government is only to play politics in the name of terrorism, Mr. Gohil toldThe Hindu.2.AERB should get regulatory independence by lawThe draft report submitted by the Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) after reviewing legal and regulatory framework related to the safety of nuclear power plants and projects within India, has recommended regulatory independence to the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) by law.The previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had introduced a Bill in the Lok Sabha to grant regulatory independence to the AERB following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. However, following the general election and constitution of new the Lok Sabha, the Bill lapsed and needs to be introduced again.The Board is functionally independent from the Department of Atomic energy (DAE) as well as from the influence of licensees, but theres scope for strengthening that independence by enacting an Act, said S. S. Bajaj, Chairman, AERB, while addressing a press conference at Anushakti Bhavan in Mumbai.Among other recommendations, the report has asked the Central government to promulgate a national policy and strategy for safety and radioactive waste management strategy.The AERB is working on a strategy to segregate high-level radioactive waste to make it benign sooner.In India, we recycle the spent fuel and process the plutonium and other material and reuse them. The remaining radioactive waste, mainly the actinides, is vitrified and stored at safe storage. We are now working on further segregating these minor actinides, mainly responsible for the long shelf life of the radioactive waste, so that the remaining waste will become benign in three hundred years, making storage easy, explained Mr. Bajaj.The report, while acknowledging Indias comprehensive and well-established national educational and training system that supports competence-building for its nuclear programme, has also suggested a number of vital initiatives to the AERB.IRRS, a peer review service of IAEA, made the recommendation3. Govt. backtracks on pictorial warningsThe Union Health Ministry on Tuesday asserted that there was no change in the commitment to curb the consumption of tobacco in all possible forms, even as it put in abeyance its earlier notification increasing the pictorial warnings from 40 per cent to 85 per cent on the packages of tobacco products from April 1.The Congress and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) have described the Ministrys decision following a recommendation by a committee on subordinate legislation as appeasement of corporate lobbies.The Ministrys explanation that it is merely following the committees recommendation to put the notification in abeyance as all stakeholders have not been consulted has also been dismissed. TMC leader Dinesh Trivedi toldThe Hinduthat the committee does not have the power to make the government change the notification. The committee has no power and no business to meddle in this. The government is bluffing, it shows their weakness. On the one hand, we have Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeting that by saying no to tobacco, we lay the foundation of a healthy India, and then you have a party MP asking for evidence of cancer-tobacco link, Mr. Trivedi said.Congress leaders also criticised the Ministry's decision, with Milind Deora tweeting: Sad day for Indias anti-tobacco crusaders (including my late father, whose PIL led to the smoking ban in public places) & cancer survivors. Party spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi alleged that the NDA government seemed to be openly lobbying for corporates.On the back foot over party MP Dilipbhai Gandhis remark, asking for research to prove the correlation between cancer and tobacco, Union Environment and Forest Minister Prakash Javadekar said: Do not listen to these things. Science is science. You cannot compromise on science.While the social media was abuzz with criticism, Monica Arora of the Voluntary Health Association of India said an earlier committee on subordinate legislation of the Rajya Sabha had recommended that pictorial warnings and rules against tobacco advertisement should be made stronger. The committee, in 2013, observed that the pictorial warning needs to be 90 per cent. So all those earlier reports have not been reviewed when this committee made its recommendations, Dr. Arora pointed out.Appeasement of corporate lobbies, says Opposition

4. Centre sets sights on doubling exportsThe Modi government has set the yearly exports target at $900 billion by 2020, which is nearly twice the countrys current export performance.Announcing the much-delayed Foreign Trade Policy on Wednesday, the Centre said it aims to raise Indias share in global trade over the five-year period of 2015-2020 to 3.5 per cent from the 2 per cent at present.Releasing the policy document, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that it was aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modis pet initiatives, the Make in India, Digital India and Skills India.To ensure stability and consistency, the Government gives its commitment that the five-year policy will not be altered annually as has been the practice It will be evaluated through a mid-course review after two and half years, Ms. Sitharaman said.Commerce Secretary Rajeev Kher said that the tariff cuts being announced for some raw material and intermediary product imports would appear threatening to Indian players in those areas but lower tariffs were essential for intermediate goods so that Indian manufacturing can become more competitive and further integrate with global supply chains.He also said that for the first time the countrys position on global trade pacts was being addressed in the policy.India has not been invited to join pacts such as the U.S.-led 12 country Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and is not in a position to join, partly because tariffs are not competitive, he said.5.Around half of Indian kids under 5 are stuntedA major project that aims to map global malnutrition trends has found that while India is home to third-highest number of obese people after the U.S. and China, 48 per cent of women of reproductive age and 59 per cent of children under the age of five are anaemic, and close to 48 per cent of children under the age of five are stunted.Leading up to World Health Day on April 7, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) in partnership with Amway has launched the Malnutrition Mapping Project, which they describe as A new education and advocacy tool that shows the multiple impacts of malnutrition around the world using global data from 30 low-, middle- and high-income countries.The aim of the study is to raise awareness of malnutrition in all its forms in the hope that that political, health and business leaders could then discuss, develop and ultimately implement policy solutions for this preventable problem. Delving deep into the data for India, the GAIN-Amway project found that the country has over 58 million children under the age of five who were stunted and around 2.3 million children in the age cohort who were obese.High among the causes of childhood malnutrition in India are vitamin and mineral deficiencies, as well as sub-optimal breastfeeding practices.According to the projects report, the high proportion of anaemic women of reproductive age is linked to 62 per cent of children in the country showing insufficient vitamin A status, which raises the risk of decreased immune function, increased morbidity and mortality and blindness. So far as breastfeeding was concerned, the project authors noted: Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life followed by continued breastfeeding until two years of age and beyond gives babies the foundation for optimal health and development.The GAIN-Amway project highlighted the deleterious effects of this malnutrition status, arguing that several non-comunicable diseases were associated with unhealthy diet, sedentary lifestyles and obesity in India, particularly cardiovascular disease has apparently emerged as the biggest killer, attributed with 26 per cent of deaths. Further, under-nutrition in the form of stunting was associated with increased risk of nutrition-related non-communicable diseases when accompanied by excessive weight gain later in childhood, the report said. It is also linked to high blood pressure, which is now a leading cause of death and a major risk factor for heart disease, according to the malnutrition mapping project, roughly 21 per cent for men and women.6.No non-lethal strategy on bordersIndicating a hardline approach in dealing with smuggling along the India-Bangladesh border, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said here on Wednesday that there was no such thing as a non-lethal strategy in place for the Border Security Force (BSF).There is nothing like a non-lethal strategy. What is paramount is that our border needs to be protected. I cannot allow [a situation in which] the jawans are attacked and they cannot fire in self-defence, Mr. Singh, who visited a floating border outpost (BOP) of the BSF in West Bengals North 24 Parganas district, said.During the United Progressive Alliance governments rule, the BSF was asked to adopt a non-lethal strategy on the eastern border. The instruction was issued soon after reports of killings of Indian and Bangladeshi nationals by the BSF surfaced. Those killed were allegedly trying to smuggle goods or illegally cross the border.After touring the eastern border last August, BSF chief D.K. Pathak indicated that the force was keen to continue with the non-lethal strategy. Bangladesh is a friendly neighbour and the policy to use non-lethal weapons on this frontier should continue, Mr. Pathak had said, adding there is no need to review this arrangement for the time being.Describing such an approach as a myth, Mr. Singh said friendly ties with Bangladesh could not be at the cost of jawans lives.He clarified that he was not expressing any doubts over the intentions of the Bangladesh government but that the sanctity of the border needed to be maintained.According to BSF officials, at least three jawans have been killed and about 500 injured in South Bengal alone, allegedly by smugglers, in the past three years.Mr. Singh said the BSF had successfully reduced cattle smuggling. In the past three to four months, there has been a decline in cattle smuggling. The prices of beef in Bangladesh have, therefore, increased by over 30 per cent.The Home Minister said the government was expecting in a month a report of the review committee set up to tackle issues like cattle smuggling and fake Indian currency along the India-Bangladesh border. He stressed on the need for more floating BOPs to monitor the riverine borders and increased fencing along the border. On the grievances of BSF personnel over delays in promotions and cadre review, the Minister said steps had been taken and more were in the offing.Sanctity of India-Bangladesh border needs to be maintained7. Resolution adopted on re-naming Andhra capitalHours after the government approved the first phase of the master plan of the new capital and decided to name it Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu declared that his government was determined to complete the initial phase of capital construction within four years.Briefing the media on the cabinet decisions, Mr. Naidu said the Singapore government had presented the master plan details of the first phase of capital construction on Tuesday.It would furnish the entire capital city master plan details before May 15 and seed capital action plan by June containing many more minute details. After that, the government will appoint a master developer who will bring in global companies so that economic activity will pick up.The capital will be connected to satellite towns, while Machilipatnam will be developed into a logistic hub.There will be a 210-km outer ring road connecting Vijayawada and Guntur. Regional expressways, five bridges across river Krishna, urban transportation, inland waterways from Kakinada to Pondicherry and also from Rajahmundry to Bhadrachalam will be developed. The airport at Gannavaram in Vijayawada will be developed into an international airport, while there is scope to develop another airport at Mangalagiri, he said.The industrial corridors would be developed as also dedicated freight corridors to generate economic activity in the capital region.Mr. Naidu said the Cabinet had unanimously adopted a resolution on naming the capital as Amaravati.It was felt that Amaravati was the appropriate name because of its historic, mythological and spiritual significance.8.Health data of patients to be centralisedThe Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry is mulling over centralising medical history of patients for easy access of hospitals and laboratories through a new platform called the National eHealth Authority (NeHA). The initiative will allow healthcare professionals access to complete and accurate health history for better diagnosis and treatment without compromising on patient confidentiality.In the concept note circulated, the Ministry pointed out that a major challenge faced by people is when they visit a healthcare provider for examination and undergo some tests, and the care provider initiates a treatment plan, they need to carry the whole history for their next visit.If there is a subsequent need to visit another healthcare provider either within the same care setting or, as is more often than not, a different one, he/she is likely to undergo the same process of repeating examination, testing and treatment unless and until he carries around his medical records diligently irrespective of its size or form, the Ministry noted.Like the information systems developed by private hospitals, the government too wants to create a platform for information saving that will allow continuity of care. The Ministry says the initiative will help meet the challenges posed by the acute shortage of physicians and quality paramedics. As per the government data, there are seven doctors per 10,000 population, way below the WHO recommendation of 23 per 10,000 population in rural areas.9.Cities struggle to stay afloatIndias biggest cities are simply unable to raise funds to sustain themselves, budgets presented over the past month show. Major sources of revenue, including parking fees, go untapped.Janaagraha, a non-profit organisation in Bengaluru, andThe Hinduanalysed data from municipal corporation budgets presented in February and March. We studied 21 cities, including 18 State capitals last year, and found that either own revenues as a percentage of total receipts are very low or total revenues themselves are very low compared with the capital expenditure requirements, said Srikanth Viswanathan, coordinator for Advocacy, Research and Capacity Building at Janaagraha. So both in terms of total revenues and in terms of own revenues, urban local bodies are significantly under-resourced.Mumbai is by far the richest city with its civic body proposing a total expenditure of Rs. 33,500 crore for the upcoming year. Mumbais budget was more than that of the corporations of Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai put together.More than the sources of revenue they tap, the numbers tell a sorry tale of untapped potential. Chennai expects to raise just Rs. 1 crore in parking fees despite 40 lakh vehicles on its streets. Despite owning prime property in the city, Mumbai expects to raise less than Rs. 40 crore in rents. Bengaluru will raise less than Rs. 50 lakh in advertisement charges.10. Rajasthan brings Bill against witchcraftBranding women as witches, witchcraft and such practices will soon become punishable offences in Rajasthan.The Rajasthan Prevention of Witch-Hunting Bill, tabled in the Assembly, provides for life imprisonment if witch-hunting causes death, and imprisonment up to five years and a fine for practising witch-hunting, witchcraft and so on. At least 60 per cent of the fine will go to the victim for her treatment and rehabilitation.Importantly, the Bill proposes to impose a collective fine on the inhabitants of a place who abet the crime, harbour persons committing it, suppress evidence or fail to render all assistance in their powers to discover or apprehend the offenders. The fine shall be spent on the rehabilitation and resettlement of the victim. The State government proposes to roll out one or more schemes for the rehabilitation and resettlement of the victim and to conduct awareness programmes on superstitions and such practices.At present, there is no penal provision in the law to prohibit or punish those accused of witch-hunting and such practices in the State. The Bill prohibits any acts derogatory to human dignity such as forcing a woman to drink or eat any inedible or obnoxious substance or parading her naked or in scanty clothes or with painted face or body. Displacing her from her house and other property will be a punishable offence.In the Bill, the term witch is described as a woman, locally known as Dayan, Dakan or Dakin, who has been identified by any person or persons believing her to be in possession of, or as having, any evil power for causing any harm to any person or property. Witchcraft has been described in the Bill as use of supernatural or magical powers with evil intention to call up a spirit or cast a spell or discover stolen goods. It includes such other practices which are known as Tona-Totaka, Tantra-Mantra, Jadu-Tona and Jhad-Phunk. Witch doctor means a person who is locally known as Gunia, Tantrik or otherwise and claims that he has supernatural or magical power to control or cure a witch or performs any ritual purportedly to free a woman from evil spirit. Witch-hunting means any act or conduct on the part of any person, identifying, accusing or defaming a woman as a witch or harassing, harming or injuring such woman whether mentally or physically or by damaging her property.To make branding of women as witches and such practices punishable offences11. CAG reports pick holes in Gujarat modelPointing to many lacunae in the development of social infrastructure, disturbing data on the status of the girl child, poor fiscal health and growth claims made on questionable premises, a series of reports by the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India have cast doubts on the Gujarat model of development.The reports were tabled in the Assembly on Tuesday.In an important observation, a report says Gujarat based its claim of higher average agriculture growth on the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, but evaluation studies of the schemes impact are absent.During the 11th Five Year Plan (2007-2012), the average annual agricultural growth rate of Gujarat was 5.49 per cent, which was higher than the national average of 4.06 per cent.In the absence of relevant data or evaluation studies, the impact of the Yojana on agriculture and allied sectors and the extent to which the programme facilitated the overall growth of agriculture in the State could not be assessed by us. The government stated in March 2014 that RKVY funds helped to achieve the average growth rate in spite of natural calamities. The evaluation of RKVY was stated to be in progress, the report said.Furthermore, Gujarats GDP in agriculture recorded a negative growth at -7.17 per cent and -6.96 per cent in 2008-09 and 2009-12, respectively. The growth was again negative at -6.96 per cent in 2012-13, the first year of the 12th Five Year Plan.The State is in an unenviable fiscal position, with the fiscal deficit increasing from Rs. 15,153 crore in 2009-10 to Rs. 18,422 crore in 2013-14. The CAG noted that a portion of expenditure was wrongly budgeted under a different head, resulting in understatement of revenue expenditure and overstatement of revenue surplus to the tune of Rs. 1,633.5 crore.Social sectorThe declining sex ratio, compounded by poor action against sex selection practices and a dearth of adoption centres, raises serious concerns over Gujarats approach to gender equality.Though Gujarat improved its child sex ratio marginally from at 890 girls per 1,000 boys (in the 0-6 age group) in 2001 to 919 by the 2011 Census, the figure remains below the national average. Urban areas have a poorer record on child sex ratio than rural.Though the overall infant mortality rate has come down, for both male as well as female child, the mortality of female child as compared to male child remained higher during 2009-2013, the CAG notes.Out of 681 cases of abandoned children registered during 2009-14, 216 baby girls were found dead. However, till last September, Gujarat had not nominated a single special adoption agency as a cradle baby reception centre.Adivasi welfare was given the short shrift in Gujarat. Funds released from the Centre and the State were diverted for general utilisation and for the Tribal Sub Plan (TSP). However, audit of five Adivasi-dominated districts found that no separate account of expenditure incurred under general and TSP [except for the mid-day meal scheme] were maintained.In two districts, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan funds were diverted to ashram schools and Eklavya Model residential schools of the Tribal Development Department.In the five audited districts, the requisite teacher-student ratio was not maintained. School buildings were found to be lacking in basic facilities, and computers in 1,368 schools were lying idle as teachers had not been appointed. Overall, out of 43,176 schools in Gujarat, 64 with 5,698 students had no teachers and 874 had only one teacher as of March 2014.12. Rain-hit areas to get NREGS boostThe Union government will increase the number of work days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme from 100 to 150 in places where the recent unseasonal rain and hailstorms have affected crops. The relief package will include cash compensation.In addition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought recommendations from NITI Aayog on how insurance can be used to protect farmers from losses arising out of crop damage, Arvind Panagariya, Vice-Chairman of the organisation, said.The Finance Ministry and the Agriculture Ministry are readying a relief package that will include cash compensation for damaged crops to farmers hit by the unseasonal rain and hailstorms, Dr. Panagariya toldThe Hindu. It will not be possible for the Finance Ministry to provide funds to fully compensate farmers, but some cash relief will be provided.Union Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan has proposed enhanced wheat allocations to the affected families under the public distribution system. An inter-ministerial group, headed by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, deliberating upon relief for farmers has, however, rejected the proposal. Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley are the members of the group.A source in the inter-ministerial group said the cash compensation would be paid out from the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) and the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF). Both also allow for food compensation in case of crop damage That option is also available, the source said. The Centre allocates more funds to the States in case the expenditure is more than the money available in the SDRF.13.Changes planned in offset clausesIn line with the governments assurances to streamline defence procurements, the Defence Ministry is set to bring about major changes in offset provisions in the new Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2015, to be released in the next two months.Offset obligations were introduced in 2005 to develop the defence industrial base in the country. It stipulates that for deals worth over Rs. 300 crore, the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) has to reinvest 30 per cent of the contract value in the country.One of the key changes in the DPP will be an option to migrate from offset obligations to Buy and Make category, sources said. Under the new provision, the value of Foreign Direct Investment by the OEM and the eligible products being manufactured in India will be counted against offset obligations. This will provide a boost to Make in India programme in defence and bring in greater FDI, sources said.Of the 24 contracts signed between 2007 and 2013, total offset obligations were close to Rs. 30,000 crore. Ninety per cent of them under-performed their targets and annual offset obligations remained unfulfilled, the sources observed. In addition, the cost of contract goes up as OEMs charge for technology transfer and also significantly slowed the procurement process while no meaningful technology was accrued.Speaking at Aero India 2015 in Bengaluru, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed the importance of offsets and said, I want our offsets policy not as a means to export low-end products, but to acquire state-of-the art technology and skills.He further added: We have introduced significant reforms in our offsets policy. I am acutely aware that it still needs a lot of improvements. We will pursue them in consultation with domestic industry and our foreign partners.Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar too had assured that the offset policy would be made more lucrative to derive better value out of it.However, noted defence analyst Brigadier (Retd.) Gurmeet Kanwal sounded a note of caution. At present our defence industrys technological base is not of the level that we can absorb 50 per cent offsets of the project like the Rafale. The proposed amendments to the policy are unlikely to change this substantially.The industry responded positively. The new policy will help in getting work in India and technology which will develop our manufacturing capability further, said Ashok Wadhawan, president, Manufacturing Business, Punj Lloyd.New Defence Procurement Procedure 2015 will be released in the next two months14. Meet revisits judicial values, to review selection processThe Chief Justices Conference on Friday took an introspective turn with the highest judiciary making the need to re-examine judicial values a topic of discussion in the conclaves 25-point agenda.The two-day conclave, led by the Chief Justice of India H.L. Dattu and two senior-most judges of the Supreme Court, Justices T.S. Thakur and Anil R. Dave, has the Chief Justices of 24 High Courts in attendance, and is being held at the Supreme Court after two years.The judiciarys code of conduct was adopted 18 years ago, in May 1997 in a Full Court Meeting of the Supreme Court. This document, the Restatement of Values of Judicial Life, serves as a guide to be observed by judges in the impartial administration of justice.This code was the outcome of a resolution passed in another Chief Justices Conference held way back in September 1992. The cardinal rule of the 1997 document is that justice must not merely be done but it must also be seen as done. Its first tenet being that the behaviour and conduct of members of the higher judiciary must reaffirm the peoples faith in the impartiality of the judiciary.Clearing backlogThe conference would have the Chief Justices consider the need for a review of the selection process of judges and judicial officers at all levels. They would also decide steps to be taken for capacity building and identification of potential within the institution.On the problem of case backlog, the Chief Justices would consider the establishment of an arrears committee at the High Court level and create uniformity in giving the pendency figures. There are 2.64 crore undecided cases in the subordinate courts and 42 lakh pending in the High Courts.The conclave is proposing to make the High Courts financially independent and further increase the salaries, emoluments and post-retirement benefits for High Court Chief Justices and judges.Dissent noteChief Justice Dattu decided to go ahead with the judicial conference despite objection from within his brethren about it being held on Good Friday. Justice Kurian Joseph, a Supreme Court judge, has reportedly written to him taking exception to hosting such an important conference on a day when some of the judges are otherwise engaged in religious ceremonies and family obligations. The Chief Justice is reported to have replied that the conference was scheduled to resolve immediate issues concerning the judicial institution and institutional interests overcame individual interests.On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate a joint conference of the Chief Justices of the High Courts and the Chief Ministers.Pendency of cases, capacity building discussed atjudges conclave15. India hails Iran nuclear agreementIndia hailed the agreement reached between Iran and the P5+1 group U.S., U.K., France, Russia, China and Germany on Tehrans nuclear programme, calling it a significant step towards a comprehensive settlement. A statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, after the agreement was announced in the Swiss town of Lausanne on Thursday night, said: The announcement underlines the success of diplomacy and dialogue, which India has always supported.After several delays and an extended deadline, the Foreign Ministers of all the countries involved in what are called the E3+3 (Europe 3+3 or P5+1 of the Security Council and Germany) group and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif announced that they had a framework agreement to take forward their twin objectives of reducing Irans nuclear capabilities for civilian use only, while lifting financial sanctions imposed by the U.N., the European Union and the United States.According to the draft agreement released by U.S. officials, Iran will reduce the number of installed centrifuges by two-thirds, bring uranium stocks down from 10,000 kg to 300 kg LEU (low-enriched uranium) and turn its nuclear facility in Fordow into an R&D facility for 15 years. All the excess stockpile and nuclear parts will be kept at an IAEA-monitored location, while the U.N., the U.S. and the EU will withdraw all sanctions that have crippled the Iranian economy for years.Indian officials were cautious about the completion of the final agreement, but say once the deal is finalised, India could stand to benefit greatly. If there is a significant withdrawal of sanctions, that would benefit our economic engagement greatly as even the most normal transactions had become very tedious for Indian businesses. From insurance to raising capital, every deal faced international hurdles, a senior official toldThe Hindu.India and Iran have an annual bilateral trade of about $14 billion, with an extremely high balance of trade problem, as India has been unable to pay Iran about $8.8 billion for oil due to sanctions, according to Commerce Ministry figures. The government has also had to bow to U.S. and international pressure on cutting its oil imports from Iran, and in March 2015 halted oil imports altogether for the first time in more than a decade in order to keep its international commitments.Some are also warning that the Lausanne agreement could face a strain if the U.S. and the Iranian governments come under pressure from their hardline domestic constituencies in the months ahead. Both sides are trying to play this as a great win for domestic reasons, and say that they have taken the other side for a ride, explained former Indian Ambassador to Iran K.C. Singh. With both President Rouhani and President Obama in weakened political positions at home, neither can afford to be seen as a loser from the agreement, he toldThe Hindu.If the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreement is finalised as hoped, opinion is divided over how much India will benefit. While economists are predicting India-Iran trade could double, given old business ties between the two countries, officials concede that once sanctions are lifted on Iran, India would also have to compete with the U.S. and European suppliers for the prosperous middle-class market that Iran represents. In the short run, the big advantage for India could be a further reduction in the price of oil that India used to source at a much higher quantity pre-2012, when Iran was Indias second biggest supplier.Once the deal is finalised, India could stand to benefit greatly16. Kurian says secularism is being tinkered withSupreme Court judge Justice Kurian Joseph said his written objection to the Chief Justice of India holding the Chief Justices Conference over the Good Friday weekend was an expression of his anguish at the way secularism is being tinkered with.This is my pain, anguish and concern about the way secularism is being tinkered with. Secularism practised in India is unique in the world. A constitutional institution like the judiciary, expected to protect secular ethos, cannot even remotely give any message otherwise, Justice Joseph toldThe Hinduon the phone on Saturday from Kerala where he has gone to attend Easter services.The former Chief Justice of India V.N. Khare toldThe Hinduthat Justice Josephs position reflected the apprehensions of religious minorities. The whole incident is very unfortunate. I see it in a broader perspective ... and the broader perspective is that his [Justice Josephs] letters be seen in the context of the fears felt by the religious minorities, he said.Through another letter, Justice Joseph declined Prime Minister Narendra Modis invitation to a dinner on Saturday for the judges attending the conference. He requested the Prime Minister to benevolently show equal importance and respect to the sacred days of all religions which are also declared as national holidays while scheduling events.Our religious and cultural festivals and hues, irrespective of caste and creed, have contributed to the vibrancy of our rich pluralistic culture and ethos, Justice Joseph wrote to the Prime Minister.Chief Justice H.L. Dattu refused to comment on the letter.17. Evacuation plans may be hitIncreasingly worried by the deteriorating security situation in Yemen, the Union government is trying to step up efforts to evacuate nearly 2,000 Indian nationals from the capital city of Sanaa and other places.On Saturday, Air India planes were given clearance to conduct another rescue operation for another batch of 350 passengers, who will land in India overnight by the C-17 aircraft of the Indian Air Force from Djibouti.Since Tuesday, when the Indian Navy and Air Force launched Operation Raahat to evacuate the remaining Indians from Yemen, they have been able to bring 1,350 people to safety, the government says. Those numbers include 11 foreign nationals three Pakistanis, three Bangladeshis, two Nepalese, two Ugandan and one Djibouti national who were working for an Indian company. India has also accepted the Sri Lankan governments request to evacuate their nationals, but said they could only bring them from the point and time of evacuation when the opportunity arises.A difficult operation is under way to evacuate those stranded at Aden, after the port there was closed due to increased fighting between groups, including Houthi rebels, government troops and even Al Qaeda fighters.Fortunately, we have been able to maintain contact with the warring factions in control there, and Indians have not been targeted, a senior government official said. Even so, with the port closed, officials have had to organise small boats to take passengers out to the high sea where Indian ships are waiting to bring them to Djibouti. From the passenger boats, they have to scale rope-ladders to a three-metre height, an arduous climb, especially for women and children, officials said.A majority of the stranded Indians remain in Sanaa where the airport was damaged by airstrikes launched by a Saudi-led coalition. Even after repairs, only smaller planes can land. While the Saudi Arabian government has no international mandate, it unofficially controls the Yemeni airspace, and Indian officials have to negotiate timings for further missions into Sanaa on a day-by-day basis for verbal clearances, which considerably delays the planning process.The permissions for using the Sanaa airport, the only one working in Yemen, are also tenuous, as Houthi rebels controlling the area keep moving their missiles around at night, making the flight path unsafe. A sand-storm formation has been worrying pilots for the past two days.Amid all the worries, including increased fighting, officials are hopeful of bringing out all the Indians registered for evacuation in the next few days, if they continue to get permission to land Air India planes in Sanaa, whileINS Mumbaiis docked off Aden waters and other passenger ships are hopeful of making another evacuation from Al Hudaydah.Arrangements are being made for road travel by others from smaller towns such as Al-Mukalla, Taizz, Ibb and Hadhramaut. To boost the numbers of officials processing them in the neighbouring country of Djibouti, which is the pivot of the Indian operations, External Affairs Ministry officials said six more officers were being sent to Djibouti on Saturday.Closed Aden port, damaged Sanaa airport and a possible sand-storm formation have complicated the rescue operation18. Every culprit entertains false hopeO my lord, forgive this man. He knows not what he does! Yakub Memon had screamed like a caged animal, his angry eyes fixed on the judge when the Tada Court sentenced him to death in July 2007. The outburst stunned the court room into silence, but Judge P.D. Kode remained unperturbed by the drama, and went on with his business with the usual calmness associated with him.Recalling the incident, Justice Kode, who retired last month after serving in the Bombay High Court, says Yakub Memon, the younger brother of prime bombings conspirator Tiger Memon, has had several outbursts during the 14-year long trial.Anything that happens at the time of sentencing has to be ignored because nobody in this world readily accepts punishment. Every culprit, till the last moment, entertains false hope that he may escape the consequences of his actions, says Justice Kode in an exclusive chat his first after retirement withThe Hinduat his residence in central Mumbai.Yakub Memons review petition seeking the recall of the March 21 2013 apex court order upholding his death sentence is presently before the Supreme Court which has stayed his execution.Anyway, judicial certificates are not required from the culprits. The apex court is there for giving us certification. Above all, it is also the society, the people of India who give us certification, he says, when asked about the allegations made by the accused against the judiciary.If they [Memons] felt they had not done anything wrong, why did they run away from the clutches of law? But when they came back, they were given a fair opportunity to defend themselves. Eight of them were tried and those who had no role to play were acquitted. Guilt of others has been established, he says. The 12 serial explosions on March 12, 1993 killed 270 people and injured 700 and is one of the biggest terror strikes before 9/11.Given the sheer magnitude of the 1993 serial bombings case a 10,000 page chargesheet, 13,000 pages of oral evidence, 7000 pages of documents and 6,700 pages of statements of accused, and over 120 accused it was a daunting task for any judge. But, Justice Kode relentlessly pursued the case, not taking leave even when he lost his parents or when his hand was fractured in an accident.During the trial, Justice Kode also had to dwell on the question whether actor Sanjay Dutt was a terrorist. Sanjay Dutt always maintained decorum in the court...After assessing the evidence, no guilt could be proved regarding his involvement in terrorist act, and he was found to be guilty only for offences under the Arms Act. It was thus clarified that he wasnt a terrorist, he says.Asked about public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikams controversial revelation that he cooked up a story about Ajmal Kasab asking for mutton biryani in jail to counter public sympathy towards him, Justice Kode says It is not the job of the prosecutor to twist the real facts. Officers have to protect the interest of the society, including that of the accused. Mr. Nikam also worked as the Special Public Prosecutor for the 1993 serial bombings case.19. Trial in criminal cases will be completed in 5 years: CJIChief Justice of India H.L. Dattu said here on Sunday that the joint conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices had decided to complete criminal trials in five years.We have taken a decision to try our best that five year should be the maximum time to finish a case [at the district level]. My priority is that it should not go beyond two years. But please keep in mind the judge-population ratio and lack of infrastructure also, he said during an interaction with the media.There are 2.64 crore undecided cases in the subordinate courts and 42 lakh pending in the High Courts. Earlier in the inaugural session of the conference, the CJI said the current judge0population ratio of 1:61,865 was unacceptable.On the delay in deciding the December 16 Delhi gang rape case, the CJI said the appeal filed by the four condemned men came to the apex court only last year. There are already 23 death reference cases pending in the SC. It [Delhi case] would certainly be decided on priority, if the matter is mentioned before the court, he said.Chief Justice Dattu said the highest judiciary worked 24x7 during 190 working days, and spent court holidays writing judgments.It is not an easy-go life. Having 20 years experience as judge, I can say, we work 24x7, he said.Law Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda said that almost 96 per cent of the subordinate courts had been computerised.20.Guard against 5-star activists: PMNoting that the judiciary should attain perfection as it grows more powerful, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged judges to evolve an in-built self-correction mechanism to prevent rot from within.Speaking at the inaugural session of the Joint Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices here, he said the common mans expectations from the judiciary were huge. In fact, judges were considered divine by ordinary citizens.The credibility of the judiciary was so high in the public eye that even a condemned man came out thinking that the judge had not wronged him, he said.He said the political classes, besides being under public scrutiny 24 hours a day, had several checks, in the form of the Election Commission, the Right to Information Act and now the Lokpal. But none of these applied to the judiciary. Even the slightest wound to the judiciary, in the form of corruption, would endanger the image of the entire nation, he said.If the government commits a fault, we have you to correct us. But you cannot afford to be seen in the wrong, he said.Mr. Modi said the judiciary should be cautious about delivering perception-driven verdicts, especially when perceptions were sourced from five-star activists.Earlier, Chief Justice of India H.L. Dattu described the relationship between the judiciary and the executive as that of siblings who hold each others hands and correct each other when needed. The judiciary, he said, was open to suggestions, change and dialogue to improve the administration of justice.Even as the CJI laid emphasis on the governments cooperation to upgrade court infrastructure, the Prime Minister expressed unhappiness over the existence of more than a 100 tribunals and the way they were eating into financial resources.21.Amend Mines Act to contain silicosis: Rajasthan HRCThe Rajasthan State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has asked the government to take a fresh look at the Mines Act, 1952 to contain the alarming spread of occupational diseases and effectively deal with violators.The commission has recommended the constitution of an independent agency with adequate powers to deal with all issues relating to occupational diseases and another panel to conduct studies and research.In a special report on silicosis submitted to the government, the SHRC has said it should be made compulsory for mine owners to use modern technology for extraction of sandstone and other dimensional stones.Silicosis is an incurable respiratory disease caused by inhaling silica dust and is widespread among miners.The problem will be prevalent among workers engaged in several other occupations such as stone crushers, quartz mining and processing, foundries, sand blasting, ceramic industries, gem cutting and polishing, slate and pencil industries, glass manufacturing, and construction workers, the report said.Taking on the government for failing to launch a State-wide study on silicosis as recommended in the commission's first special report on silicosis, the panel has said not even the terms of reference for the study had been framed after 15 months. The departments concerned also have not displayed any urgency or sensitivity in implementing the other important decisions taken.The majority of stone mines are in the unorganised and small-scale sector and provide employment to lakhs of people living around the mines. Reliable data about these workers are not available since employment details are not maintained, though rough estimates suggest that 25 lakh workers are engaged in mining operations in Rajasthan.Roughly 57 silicosis deaths have been reported from the State since 2009-10 and over 891 cases detected. These workers are among the poorest of the poor.Working conditions in stone quarries are far from satisfactory. Most of the small mine operators are reluctant to adopt safety and health measures and do not comply with the provisions of the Mines Act, 1952.There is need to give identity cards to mineworkers. In view of the endemic nature of silicosis in the State and widespread violation of provisions relating to record of employment and daily attendance, the identity card should be a biometric one that contains the record of employment and medical history of the holder, the report said.The commission is of the view the employment of workers, either regular or employed on contract/casual basis, without identity cards and exposing them to occupational diseases, should be prohibited.Medical exam:A medical examination at the time of employment and periodic medical examination prescribed under the Mines Act and the Factories Act should be made mandatory for contract and casual labour in hazardous occupations.The commission has pointed out that the requirement of certification of silicosis by the Pneumoconiosis Board for claiming compensation in the case of death and disability is a futile exercise as far as most of the mineworkers are concerned since even the Board members do not have any expertise on the disease.The panel has said the doctors in the districts with adequate training in pneumoconiosis may be appointed as Certifying Physicians or a Pneumoconiosis Medical Board consisting of a group of doctors posted in the district may be authorised to issue such certificates.Most small mine operators are reluctant to adopt safety and health measures22.Delhi air quality to be very poor over next few daysThe air quality in Delhi and Mumbai will be very poor in the next few days, particularly on Tuesday and Wednesday, due to a dust storm, which originated in the Gulf region last week.According to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), a body under the Ministry of Earth Science, this is mainly due to the remnants of a major dust storm, which was experienced in the Gulf region early last week that has now crossed the Arabian Sea.This has also disturbed the air quality in Delhi, which was categorised as good by SAFAR last week.Air quality in Delhi is again going to become poor to very poor on Tuesday/Wednesday and PM2.5 is likely to touch a value of 130-150 microgram/m3 as per the prediction made by the SAFAR model. The dust storm has disturbed the wind patterns. And some parcels rich in pollution are likely to drift towards northern parts of India including Delhi. But Mumbai will be the most affected, said Gufran Beig, Project Director, SAFAR at ESSO-IITM Pune, Ministry of Earth Sciences.PM2.5 is considered to be very dangerous as it affects lungs and enters the blood stream. The normal level of PM2.5 should be 60. PTIRemnants of a major dust storm in the Gulf region that has now crossed the Arabian Sea has disturbed Delhi air quality, said a weather body23.Archaic laws contributing to backlog, says ModiChief Justice of India H.L. Dattu has said that judges should be consulted before budgetary allocations are made for the judiciary.He was speaking at the inaugural session of the Joint Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices here on Sunday.Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed with the Chief Justice that the judiciary could not solve pendency alone and a coordinated effort was required.Mr. Modi said pendency had been a constant refrain at joint conferences held in the past. He reminisced about being a witness to threadbare discussions at earlier conferences, and pointed out that no solution had been arrived at so far. Instead, he drew attention to how unnecessary and archaic laws had held up court proceedings, adding to pendency. Courts take years to interpret these poorly drafted laws. This is a reason for pendency. Again, our justice delivery system is caught up in a morass of unnecessary laws.While Mr. Modi highlighted the need to sustain quality in the judiciary, Mr. Justice Dattu pointed out that the best minds were hardly attracted to the judiciary. He pointed out that the judge-population ratio had dipped to 1:61,865. The stark reality is that the salary of a judge is somewhat that of a fresh graduate working in a law firm. I fear for the future, he said.Union Law Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda agreed that the judicial system was under strain.TribunalsJayant Sriram reports:Expressing concern over the low rate of case disposal by the countrys various tribunals, Mr. Modi said it should be noted if these bodies were actually helping the functioning of the judiciary.I want all seniors in the Supreme Court to contemplate if tribunals are actually helping in improving functioning of judiciary as a lot of budget goes waste in tribunals and we need to rectify that in a positive way, Mr. Modi said.The Prime Minister asked those present at the conference to consider if the expenditure incurred on tribunals could be used to strengthen the court system if it was found they were not serving the purpose for which they were set up.The Prime Ministers remarks come in the wake of recent efforts being made by the government to prune down the number of tribunals in the country. The Department of Legal Affairs in the Law Ministry had recently written to all Union Ministries and departments to furnish details of tribunals functioning under their administrative control and explain the possibility of merging the functions of tribunals with some other tribunals.The Law Ministry is of the view that there is a possibility that some of the tribunals can be converged/merged to avoid overlapping/identical functions being discharged by them.In February, a parliamentary standing committee also highlighted the high pendency of cases in tribunals, and said the matter needed urgent attention. The committees report said that as on December 31, 2014, there were 1.55 lakh cases pending at the Central Administrative Tribunal, 99,349 at the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, 96,039 at the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal and 44,756 cases at the Railway Claim Tribunal. The pendency in those tribunals has defeated the purpose for which those tribunals have been created as parallel to high courts, the report noted.24. Govt. moves to clear the airAmid growing concerns over deteriorating air quality in Indias major cities, the government on Monday launched the National Air Quality Index (AQI) that will put out real time data about the level of pollutants in the air and inform people about the possible impacts on health.Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the two-day conference of Environment and Forest Ministers, the new index will initially cover 10 cities Delhi, Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow, Varanasi, Faridabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad each of which would have monitoring stations with AQI display boards. The aim was to eventually deploy the index in all cities with a population of over one million.The government has been under immense pressure to take a strong stand on air pollution after a World Health Organization study of 1,600 cities released last year showed that Delhi was the worlds most polluted capital. Another study, conducted by economists and public policy experts from the Energy Policy Institute at Chicago, Yale and Harvard University, found that Indias poor air quality reduces the lifespan of the average citizen by 3.2 years.The Air Quality Index may prove to be a major impetus to improving air quality in urban areas, as it will improve public awareness in cities to take steps for air pollution mitigation, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said at the conference.The AQI is a global standard. It takes multiple data on pollution already available with the countrys Central Pollution Control Board and presents them as a colour-coded scale with six levels.Dark green, the first level, indicates good air quality while maroon at the other end indicates severe pollution. For each category, the index identifies associated health impacts. For example, when the scale touches maroon, the advisory reads: May cause respiratory impact even on healthy people, and serious health impacts on people with lung/heart disease. The health impacts may be experienced even during light physical activity.CPCB officials stress need for uniform air quality dataThe new National Air Quality Index launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, gives current as well as 24-hour average data on particulate matter PM2.5 or very fine particles smaller than 2.5 micrometres in diameter, and PM 10 which are less than 10 micrometers in diameter as well as other pollutants including nitrogen dioxide, ozone and carbon monoxide. PM 2.5 levels are commonly used as the best indicator of severe air pollution, while PM 10 particles are also a cause of public health concern, but less lethal.India now grades air quality along a colour-coded chart based on pollutant levels.Officials from the Central Pollution Control Board warned that the quality of new monitoring stations was mixed across the country, and said Delhi was likely to have the most rigorous data. There is still a lot of standardisation work we need to do to get all cities and all monitoring stations comparable. The new index should be seen as indicative, the official said, asking not to be named.The Hinduanalysed data from 17 location across the country based on this data and found that despite its reputation, Delhi had better air quality that south Bangalore for the first week of April.While comparable data for these 17 locations is available only for the last few weeks, particulate matter is heavily influenced by weather patterns. Anumita Roychowdhury, head of the Centre for Science and Environments air pollution and clean transportation programmes, compiled data for Delhi from October 2014 onwards. The data shows that while there were moderate days in October, February and March, the second halves of November and December, and the first half of January were consistently very poor.Delhi the worstIn 2014, the World Health Organisation compiled average annual PM 2.5 numbers for over 1600 cities across the world, including 124 from India. Delhi had the worst air quality in the world by that estimate, but 12 other Indian cities were among the worlds worst 20 Patna, Gwalior, Raipur, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Firozabad, Kanpur, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Allahabad, Agra and Khanna.The Centre for Science and Environment, which has for long advocated the adoption of the AQI, welcomed the government's move For the first time, the government has taken the initiative to inform people about daily air quality with simple descriptions that people can understand. This can help build public awareness as well as public support for hard decisions needed to get cleaner air,said CSE's executive director Anumita Roychowdhury.No preventivesHowever, in stark contrast with other countries that have air quality warning systems, India does not yet have a mechanism or measures in place to bring down peak pollution levels. Beijing for instance, puts in motion a slew of operations when the warning signal for severe pollution is issued. On such days kindergartens, primary and middle schools close, there is a cap on the number of cars allowed on the roads and polluting factories either cut down emissions or shut down completely. Similarly, when the air quality index rose in Paris recently, the city made public transport free and removed almost 50 per cent of the vehicles off the road.25. Need to relook law on juveniles: SCThe Supreme Court on Monday asked the government to re-visit the law so that a juvenile accused of rape and murder cannot get away by claiming he is too young to understand the consequences of his crime.In a written order, a Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and P.C. Pant observed it can no longer shut its eyes to the danger posed to society by juveniles accused of heinous crimes like rape, dacoity, murder and drug-peddling.The order comes even as Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi showed grave concern and admitted to an increase in such crimes by juveniles.Make them payInstead, the court asked the government to take action, and convince legislators to change the law and make juveniles accountable.There can be a situation where a commission of an offence may be totally innocuous or emerging from a circumstance where a young boy is not aware of the consequences. But in cases of rape, dacoity, murder, which are heinous crimes, it is extremely difficult to conceive that the juvenile was not aware of the consequences, Justice Misra wrote in his order.The court was hearing a plea by a murder accused, who claimed that he was less than 18 years old at the time of the alleged crime in May 2000.The order records Mr. Rohatgis statement that the rate at which juveniles are being involved in heinous crimes has actually become a matter of grave concern for the government.

26.Ignoring SOPs reason for submarine mishaps: ParrikarDefence Minister Manohar Parrikar claimed that recent accidents involving submarines were the result of not following Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).Mr. Parrikar was speaking to the press at the Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) after commemorating the undocking of the first of class submarine of Project 75, named Kalvari, the Tiger Shark. It is the first of the six Scorpene submarines in which DCNS of France is a collaborator with MDL as the builder.Replying to the questions on the growing anxiety around safety of submarines, Mr. Parrikar said: Majority of accidents are the result of relaxed attitude towards following SOPs. There would have been no accident had they acted as per SOP. Now, we have asked the staff to follow SOP strictly, he said.On the Scorpene submarines, Mr Parrikar said, India will fulfil its requirement of submarines to protect its sea waters by 2022. We expect the rest of the construction to be completed as per the schedule. Any delay in achieving the deadline will result in heavy penalty, he said.Acknowledging the efforts of MDL in construction of this partially indigenous submarine, the Defence Minister said the government had an ambitious plan to fulfil the requirements of the armed forces as per which all Public Sector Undertakings would double their production in the next two years.We want to build a Blue Water Navy which can survive despite operating across the deep ocean waters without any problems. We will ensure that we become one such navy, he said.On the rescue mission of stranded Indians from Yemen, Mr. Parrikar said almost all Indians would be evacuated by Monday night.Following the undocking of submarine on Monday, the launching of the submarine will take place in September 2015. Till September 2016, it will undergo rigorous trials and tests, both in harbour and at sea, while on surface and underwater. Thereafter it would be commissioned into the Navy as INS Kalvari.Superior stealthThe state-of-the-art features of the Scorpene include superior stealth and ability to launch a crippling attack on the enemy using precision guided weapons. The attack can be launched with torpedoes, as well as tube launched anti-ship missiles, whilst underwater or on surface.It is designed to operate in all theatres including the tropics. All means and communications are provided to ensure interoperability with other components of a naval task force. It can undertake multifarious warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine laying, area surveillance etc.Built from special steel capable of withstanding high yield stress and having high tensile strength, it can withstand high hydrostatic force and enabling it to dive deeper.The Scorpene is equipped with Weapons Launching tubes (WLT) and can carry weapons on board which can be easily reloaded at sea.27. Gulf storm haze triggers pollution fears in MaharashtraParts of Maharashtra continue to suffer low visibility due to the after-effects of last weeks major sandstorm in the Gulf region.The effects of the haboob (Arabic for intense dust storm) will be felt in the State for the next 48 hours, say meteorologists. The haze seen over Mumbai, Pune and Nashik is the residual element of the Gulf sandstorm which has now crossed the Arabian Sea, said Dr. Gufran Beig, senior scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM).Dr. Beig, project director of the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), said that the particulate matter in the air was likely to increase in the next two days.Air quality is monitored by measuring the presence of particulate matter (PM) in air. PM10 refers to particles that are 10 micrometres (less than the width of a human hair) in diameter or less. It is feared that the PM10 levels in the air over Maharashtra may shoot up to 200 micrograms per cubic metre of air in the next two days. PM10 levels in Mumbai and Pune were about 70 micrograms per cubic metre of air on Sunday.The phenomenon has alarmed physicians who are worried that the pollution may trigger asthma attacks and cause respiratory ailments.28.Union Cabinet clears Real Estate BillThe Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved the Real Estate (Regulation and Development Bill) which will address a long-standing demand to bring in a regulator for the real estate sector.The Cabinet, however, deferred its decision on the proposed juvenile justice amendment bill that will allow minors between the age of 16-18 years accused of heinous crimes like murder or rape to be treated as adults.The Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Bill seeks to protect the interests of consumers and establish regulatory bodies at the Centre and States for ethical and transparent business practices in the real estate sector.The Bill provides for mandatory registration of all projects and real estate agents who intend to sell any plot, apartment or building with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority. It makes mandatory the disclosure of all information for registered projects like details of promoters, layout plan, land status, schedule of execution and status of various approvals. The Bill also seeks to enforce the contract between the developer and buyer and a fast track mechanism to settle disputes.The government said the Bill is expected ensure greater accountability towards consumers, and to significantly reduce frauds and delays. It said the proposed legislation is expected to promote regulated and orderly growth of the real estate sector through efficiency, professionalism and standardizationThese measures are expected to boost domestic and foreign investment in the sector and help achieve the objective of the Government of India to provide Housing for All by 2022, through enhanced private participation, a government release said.The Real Estate Regulation Bill was first introduced by the UPA government in the Rajya Sabha in August 2013 and was then referred to a Parliamentary Standing Committee, which had submitted its report in February 2014.The NDA government had made some important changes to the original legislation. The earlier Bill had mandated that a developer put 70 per cent of the buyer's investment into an escrow account that would be used only for the construction of that project. Last year, the Housing Ministry brought this down to 50 per cent, reportedly after much lobbying from the real estate companies. The other major change was to bring the commercial segment of the real estate sector within the ambit of the Bill, which was earlier limited to regulating only the residential segment.The Bill also now includes a condition that prohibits a developer from changing the plan in a project unless 2/3rd of the allottees have agreed for such a change.29.Many discriminatory laws against leprosy patientsIn 2014, India had the largest number of new leprosy cases globally (58 per cent). From 2005 to 2014, the National Leprosy Eradication Programme has recorded 1.25 lakh to 1.35 lakh new cases every year, a majority of those affected being children, the Law Commission has found.In its 256th report submitted to the Law Ministry on Tuesday, the commission listed many laws that discriminate against leprosy patients.Despite the disease, caused by bacteria that spreads through air and can lead to severe deformity, being fully curable now, these laws continue to exist in India. For one, the Lepers Act (1898), which provides for the exclusion, segregation and medical treatment of pauper lepers and for the establishment of leper asylums, remains on the statute books of India, though many States have repealed it.Under several personal laws of all religions, leprosy for more than two years serves as a legitimate ground for divorce or separation between spouses. Under the State Beggary Acts, persons with leprosy are put under the same category as those with mental ailments, and medical examination, arrest and detention of persons affected by leprosy is allowed.The Life Insurance Corporation Act charges higher premium rates from persons with leprosy. Several State Municipal and Panchayat Raj Acts bar persons with leprosy from holding or contesting civic posts.30.NGOs get Rs. 11,000 crore in foreign funds a yearNon-governmental organisations in India receive Rs. 11,000 crore in foreign donations a year from over 150 countries. Of the 69 blacklisted from receiving foreign funds, 14 are from Andhra Pradesh, 12 from Tamil Nadu and five each from Odisha and Gujarat. The others are based in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Jammu and Kashmir.The Bertha Foundation, the latest to be included on the prior-approval list for giving donations, is yet to give its reaction to the Union governments move. Greenpeace India, which receives funds from the Netherlands-based advocacy group, has not reverted to questions.Although a hue and cry is being raised to project that the government is cracking down on the entire NGO sector, there is no truth in such assertions. While thousands of service-delivery NGOs have been operating without interference, action is being taken only against a minuscule number of advocacy groups as per law, a Home Ministry official says.The others in the prior-approval list are the U.S.-based 350.Org, Mercy Corps (which operated in Kashmir), Bank Information Centre, Sierra Club Foundation and Avaaz.org; the Netherlands-based ICCO Stretegische Samenwerking, HIVOS, Catholic Organisation for Relief and Development Aid and Inter-Church Peace Council; and the Denmark-based Danish Institute of Human Rights and Danish International Development Agency.31. NGT bans decade-old diesel vehicles in Delhi, NCRThe National Green Tribunal on Tuesday banned all diesel vehicles over ten years old from plying in Delhi and the National Capital Region and also cracked the whip on rampant construction activity adding dust to the air.Reiterating that diesel vehicles are major source of pollution in the ambient air quality and citing examples of countries which are in the process of controlling or banning diesel vehicles, the NGT ordered, We direct all diesel vehicles, heavy or light, which are ten years old will not be permitted on roads of NCR of Delhi.The order comes 22 days after the NGT asked Delhi government to consider the proposal of banning diesel vehicles. There are more than six lakh diesel vehicles registered in Delhi, which include more than five lakh private cars. The entire public transport fleet in Delhi runs on CNG now. However, heavy goods vehicles are still on diesel.Tuesdays order is in furtherance of the NGTs order dated November 26, 2014 by which it had directed that all vehicles, diesel or petrol, which are more than 15 years old shall not be permitted to ply on the roads.The Tribunal also directed Delhi government to ensure vehicles are checked for weight, age and pollution levels at all entry points of Delhi and overloaded and polluting vehicles are prevented from entering the city limits.Before passing the order, the NGT Bench headed by its chairperson Swatanter Kumar noted that number of countries in the world are in the process of or have prohibited diesel vehicles. Countries like Brazil, China, Denmark, Sri Lanka and Paris are in the process of doing away with diesel vehicles or are imposing very heavy taxes/ levies.We have already noticed that certain stringent measures need to be taken to ensure that residents of this region do not travel closer to ill-health by each breath they take, remarked the Bench as it directed all registering authorities in Delhi and adjoining cities of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to furnish before it a list of all diesel vehicles over ten year old.The NGT also expressed its disquiet on how rampant unchecked construction in Delhi and NCR was adding dust to the air which when combines with particulate matter turns into a lethal mix.It directed State of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, Noida and Greater Noida authority, Haryana Urban Development Authority and the Delhi government to immediately stop construction activity like on the two-km stretch from NH-24 to Char Murti Chowk which are emanating dust.The Bench minced no words in stating how the agencies had failed in implementing its order on checking vehicular pollution and sought files from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi government to see if any action has been taken on its orders.32. TRAI recommends 112 on the lines of Americas 911Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Tuesday recommended use of a single number 112 for all emergency services in the country, including police, fire brigade and ambulance.Presently, callers in India need to dial in different numbers for different emergencies such as 100 for police, 101 for fire, 102 for ambulance and 108 for emergency disaster management.Every second countsIn its recommendations, TRAI said, In emergency situations every passing second counts, whether it is a burglary, theft, road rage, or a fire spreading, or a citizen struggling with a heart attack the first few minutes are crucial. It is likely that crucial time may be lost in figuring out what number to dial.From a users perspective, it is simpler and desirable to have a single number for all types of emergencies, it added.The regulator proposed that existing emergency numbers be retained as secondary numbers and the calls made to them be re-routed to 112. However, once calls to the secondary numbers reduce significantly, they can be withdrawn gradually.As per the recommendations, callers seeking help should be able to dial 112 even from mobile or landline phones where outgoing facility has been debarred or the service temporarily suspended.SMS-based access for the emergency services has also been proposed.The regulator has recommended setting up of Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs), which will be akin to a call centre, through which all calls to 112 will be routed.When an emergency call is received at the PSAP, it would be answered by a specially trained officer/call taker/operator... based on the type of emergency, dispatchers activate police, fire, medical and other response mechanisms, TRAI said.33.India ranks lower than even NepalOut of 133 countries rated on indicators of well-being such as health, water and sanitation, personal safety, access to opportunity, tolerance, inclusion, personal freedom and choice India has secured the 101th place. This is lower than Indias rank, of 93, for GDP per capita income. Even Nepal and Bangladesh rank higher than India on the Social Progress Index (SPI) ratings to be released globally on Thursday. Norway has bagged the first rank; the U.S. is at the 16th place.On the parameter Tolerance and inclusion India ranks 128th and is at the 120th place on health and wellness that, says economist and executive director of the SPI, Michael Green, is the toughest parameter for a country to excel at. As a country becomes richer while tackling sanitation and water becomes easier, tougher challenges emerge such as air pollution and obesity, Dr. Green toldThe Hinduin an exclusive phone interview. The U.S. despite its high levels of spending on health and wellness ranks 68th.Even harder to tackle are freedom and tolerance, he says. The most striking findings for India are the worst performance on the tolerance and inclusion frontIts a complex problem in a diverse countryanother thing I will be watching for as India grows economically is when obesity as a crisis will start hitting. The SPI was launched in 2013 and is based on 52 indicators of countries social and environmental performance. It includes no economic indicators and measures outcomes. The UNs Human Development Index and Bhutans Gross National Happiness Index are also alternate measures for well being but they use GDP or other economic measures.Focusing exclusively on GDP implies measuring progress in purely monetary terms and failing to consider the wider picture of the real things that matter to real people, Dr. Green says. GDP isnt bad but its not the whole story alongside economic growth social progress is more important for policymaking.34. India will be able to create 109.7 mn jobs by 2022: studyIndia will be able to create only 109.7 million jobs by 2022, latest estimates and studies on sector-wise human resource and skill requirements, commissioned by the newly-created Skills Ministry, show.An earlier official estimate said that by 2022, India will have to impart skills training to 500 million people. Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajiv Pratap Rudy will release the new estimates on Thursday.The estimate of 109.7 million jobs is for Indias qualitative skill gap in key job roles, explained a government source. It is a demand-side projection from the industrys point of view... it is different from the estimate of the labour-supply side for the need for jobs that was earlier projected at 500 million, the source said.The studies for calculating Indias Skill Gap were undertaken in the wake of the launch of the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana that the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved last month. They involve mapping of top job roles in 24 sectors including unorganised parts and also of current supply infrastructure (both private and public)- capacity, quality and challenges. Government schemes for skill development for the sector were also factored into the assessment.The Modi governments skills initiative is central to the success of the Prime Ministers other pet schemes such as Make in India and Digital India.The studies have made recommendations for government, training partners, industry and the National Skills Development Council.35 PM announces enhanced input subsidyPrime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday announced enhanced input subsidy relief for farmers in distress.Farmers will now be eligible for input subsidy if 33 per cent of their crop has been damaged, as opposed to 50 per cent or more, which was the norm till now, the Prime Minister said at the launch of the Pradhan Mantri Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency Ltd (MUDRA) Yojana here.Further, the input subsidy given to distressed farmers will be enhanced by 50 per cent of the existing amount.The Prime Minister expressed concern over the problems faced by farmers due to the abnormal weather in the past year. Helping farmers in this time of distress is our responsibility, and therefore, the government has sent teams of Central Ministers to affected areas to assess the extent of the damage, Mr. Modi said, according to an official release.He also gave the assurance that the Centre, State governments, banks and insurance companies would do their utmost to provide relief to the farmers.Mr. Modi said banks had been asked to restructure loans of farmers hit by unseasonal rain and insurance companies had been advised to pro-actively settle claims.MUDRA bank launchedHe also launched the MUDRA bank with a corpus of Rs. 20,000 crore and credit guarantee of Rs. 3,000 crore.The bank will be responsible for refinancing micro-finance institutions in the business of lending to small entities.While big industrial houses provide jobs to only 1.25 crore people, small entrepreneurs have given employment to nearly 12 crore people, Mr. Modi said. The postal network would be used for increasing access to the formal financial system.Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the MUDRA Bank was a step in the right direction for funding the unfunded. He had proposed the MUDRA Bank in his budget speech in February.MUDRA will be set up through a statutory enactment. It will be responsible for developing and refinancing all micro-finance institutions (MFIs) which are in the business of lending to micro and small business entities engaged in manufacturing, trading and service activities.Banks roleIt will also partner with State and regional-level coordinators to provide finance to last-mile financiers of small and micro business enterprises. Its proposed role includes laying down policy guidelines for micro enterprise financing business, registration, accreditation and rating of MFI entities.The agency will also lay down responsible financing practices to ward off over-indebtedness and ensure proper client protection principles and methods of recovery, according to an official release.These measures are targeted towards mainstreaming young, educated or skilled workers and entrepreneurs, including women entrepreneurs, the release said.A vast part of the non-corporate sector operates as unregistered enterprises and formal or institutional architecture has not been able to reach out to meet its financial requirements. Providing access to institutional finance to such micro, small business units, enterprises will not only help in improving the quality of life of these entrepreneurs, but also turn them into strong instruments of GDP growth and employment generation, the release said.Banks asked to restructure loans of farmers hit by unseasonal rain, the PM says36. Son preference leads to unequal allocationA preference for sons in India, encompassing both a desire to have at least one son and for the eldest son to be healthy, generates a starkly unequal allocation of resources within families in India, suggests new research.Seema Jayachandran, Associate Professor in the Department of Economics of Northwestern University, and Rohini Pande, Mohammed Kamal Professor of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School, analysed data for over 1.7 lakh Indian and sub-Saharan African children, drawn from Demographic and Health Surveys, in a National Bureau for Economic Research working paper published this week.The explanations for Indias height disadvantage with respect to Africa vary. While Columbia University economist Arvind Panagariya, now Vice-Chairperson of the NITI Aayog, attributes it to genetics and bad measurement, others like Dean Spears of the Research Institute for Compassionate Economics say that poor sanitation resulting in loss of nutrients accounts for the difference.While Indias economic growth rate and development gains are far greater than those of sub-Saharan Africa, children born in India are on an average shorter than those born there. India has been slow in reducing child stunting.This becomes a concern because economic and health literature shows that child heights reflect net nutritional intake and are a strong predictor of cognition and other development outcomes in adulthood.Only among HindusWithin India, the researchers find that heights decline with birth order only among Hindus and not Muslims. Kerala does not have any such fall in height with the birth order either.With the spread of illegal pre-natal sex determination and the general move towards smaller families, this is likely to get worse. [I]t is likely that the discrimination against girls will become more extreme [and take the form of missing girls rather than short girls]. Its clear that we need to directly tackle the root cause son preference, Ms. Pande said in an e-mail toThe Hindu.The new study is likely to add to the heated debate over child heights in India. I think the challenge is that it is tough any time anyone tries to seek to identify single explanations for the story of high under-nutrition in India, said Purnima Menon, senior nutrition specialist at the International Food Policy Research Institute.There are massive inter-State differences in fertility rate and the higher birth order children are likely those who live in the poorest districts of the poorest States and are subject to living conditions that are simply not conducive to better linear growth, Ms. Menon suggested.37.Need for a complete model to measure growth: SPI officialUnlike GDP, a country cannot boost its SPI score just by improving the lives of the most well off, or even the majority. At any level of GDP per capita, countries with lower poverty tend to have higher social progress, the SPI shows.Richer countries do better on the SPI as more GDP in general makes lives better but that is not the whole storythere is good correlation between GDP and social progress but not perfect correlation as other things matterand therefore there is need for a complete model not just a GDP methodology, says executive director of the Social Progress Index, Michael Green.As the GDP is increasingly seen as an adequate measure of only economic progress but not overall well-being, the World Bank, OECD and European Commission are in discussions to adopt measures of social progress as an indicator of inclusive growth.Time is right for new thinkingThe inequality debate over the last ten years has showed that there is need to bring inclusion on board. Kuznets when he created the GDP knew and said it was not perfect, Dr. Green says. The concept of GDP was introduced in the 1930s by economist Simon Kuznets, who warned at the time that the welfare of a nation can scarcely be inferred from a measurement of a national income such as GDP.The European Commission is set to create an SPI for the regions of the European Union. Paraguay is using it to guide an inclusive national development plan for 2030. Cities across Latin America, such as Rio de Janeiro and Bogota, are setting up SPIs to guide urban renewal strategies.World Bank, OECD and European Commission planning to adopt social progress index38. Moodys ups India outlookMoodys, a global ratings agency, raised Indias rating outlook to positive from stable on Thursday, but retained the Baa3 rating.All rating agencies maintain India at the last rung of investment grade.Moodys is the first to give the country a positive outlook after downgrading it as the economy sagged.The change in outlook, its release said, has been driven by the view that there is an increasing probability of actions by policymakers enhancing Indias economic strength. India has grown faster than similarly rated peers over the last decade due to favourable demographics, economic diversity, as well as high savings and investment rates. Moodys expects these structural advantages, supported by relatively benign global commodity prices and liquidity conditions, will keep Indias growth higher than that of its peers over the rating horizon, the release said.The rationale for affirming the Baa3 rating, it said, reflects Indias weaker performance, relative to peers, on fiscal, inflation and infrastructure-related metrics. Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian said the upgrade validated the direction of the Centres reform programme. It confirms something that we have been saying that the growth prospects and the macro-economic prospects for the economy are improving.39.UNESCO report lauds Indias progressIndia has made remarkable strides towards ensuring education for all, a new global monitoring report shows. While access is now close to universal, the quality of education remains a major challenge, it says.In April 2000, the governments of 164 countries adopted the Dakar Framework to deliver Education for All commitments by 2015. On Thursday, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) published the Education for All Global Monitoring Report to evaluate the progress of countries on these goals.India is likely to reach the first goal of 80 per cent enrolment in pre-primary education by 2015, has already reached the second goal of universal primary enrolment, and will fall just short of universal youth literacy by 2015, the report said. The one measurable goal India will not reach is reducing its adult illiteracy rate by half (it has reduced it by 26 per cent). The countrys major success has been in reaching gender parity for primary and lower secondary enrolment, the only country in South and West Asia to do so. It has also made progress towards improving the quality of education, but major gaps remain.The report says nearly half of all countries have achieved universal pre-primary, primary and lower secondary enrolment.Only 25 per cent of the countries have reduced by half their levels of adult illiteracy, and women continue to make up two-thirds of the illiterate. Two-thirds of the countries have achieved gender parity at the primary level, but fewer than half at the secondary level.Overall, not even the target of universal primary education was reached, let alone the more ambitious Education for All goals, and the most disadvantaged continue to be the last to benefit. But there have been achievements that should not be underestimated. By 2015, the world has advanced beyond where it would have been if the trends of the 1990s had persisted, the report says. A lesson re-emerging over the past 15 years is that while technical solutions are important, gaining political influence and traction is of even greater significance, it notes.However, major challen