Programmes/Initiatives

Incentives-linked plan to detect TB cases

The national strategic plan for TB control for 2012-17 developed by the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has raised the bar for tackling the fast- growing TB epidemic in the country. The main goal of the strategic plan is to provide universal access to early diagnosis and effective treatment. According to the draft report of the fifth Joint Monitoring Mission (JMM) of the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme, the strategic plan, if implemented in full earnest, would save about 7,50,000 lives over the next five years. To achieve this goal, the JMM has recommended some commendable strategies. At the outset it has recognised the compulsion to comprehensively engage with the private sector for prompt and accurate diagnosis, and appropriate care. The government had very recently made TB a notifiable disease. This will help in maintaining a national record of every patient who is diagnosed with TB by doctors in the private and public sector. In order to achieve maximum co-operation from the doctors, the report has, for the first time, spelled out the need to provide incentives for reporting cases. Apart from stopping easy availability of anti-TB drugs, there are plans of restricting the availability of impending new anti-TB drugs to authorised outlets. This would be done by putting in place stringent and accountable distribution controls. Another novel recommendation is to make available subsidised anti-TB drug kits to the private sector on a quid pro basis. The availability of the subsidised kits would be linked to notification and programme -provided treatment support. A tectonic shift is being planned in the way new cases are detected. The current system is a passive one, wherein case detection is initiated by the patients themselves. This greatly reduces case detection. To overcome this hurdle, there are plans of introducing a provider -initiated screening pathway. This will focus on clinical risk groups and socially vulnerable groups. Another way of increasing the number of TB patients diagnosed is to provide automated electronic payments for both referrals and treatment support. Using automated electronic payment mode would avoid the problems of delay or failure in payment.

Super optic highway to connect 2.5 lakh villages

The governments largest-ever Rs. 20,000 crore ($4 billion) investment in building a National Optic Fibre Network (NOFN), popularly known as the Bharat Broadband Project, is set for commercial testing and deployment this month. The project, based on a unique PPP or Public Private Panchayat Model, is laying incremental fibre to the pre -last mile stage aimed at reaching 2.5 lakh gram panchayats. The government is expected to make the project p ublic in the next few weeks, with 61 gram panchayats spread across Ajmer (30), Visakhapatnam (16) and North Tripura (15) likely to be available for commercial tests with complete electronic equipment in place. These pilot projects will be the first real test of fostering e-services in these panchayats.

Draft proposal on restructuring child development schemes ready

The Union Women and Child Development Ministry is ready with the restructured draft of its flagship programme, the Integrated Child Development Services Scheme, which is to be placed for approval in the Cabinet soon. The Ministry, on 20 September 2012, proposed major restructuring of the programme and the highlights include running of ICDS in mission mode, intensifying monitoring, improving training and capacity building, more ownership by States and revision of cost norm of rent and medicine kits. Also a State Child Development Society will be set up at the State level with powers to set up its own district units, district mission unit would be set up as per the phasing plan of the ICDS Mission. It has also been proposed to constitute a mission steering group and empowered programme committee at the national and State level for effective governance. The Ministry is also looking at programme that can be put in place to supplement and provide value addition on the existing ICDS programmes.

The strengthened/restructured ICDS is to be rolled out in three years (2012-13 to 2014-15) and also seeks approval for construction of two lakh anganwadi centres (AWCs) and include new components crche and nutrition counsellor (in high burden districts).

States against any overarching Central legislation on water

A conference of Water Resources and Irrigation Ministers in New Delhi on 3 October 2012, saw opposition to the Centres proposal to evolve an overarching national legal framework of principles on water, to link financial assistance to aggressive water sector reforms and to set up a Permanent Forum of Water Resources and Irrigation Ministers to deliberate on issues/disputes. States objections Some States said the Union governments tactics were coercive. Others like Assam objected to pricing of water for irrigation and on a volumetric basis, while Kerala categorically said it did not support the proposal for an overarching legal framework. Draft policy A draft National Water Policy, evolved after extensive consultations, would be deliberated on at a meeting of the National Water Resources Council, scheduled for October 30. The Council has Chief Ministers as members and that will be the last stage for the policy to be approved.

Foundation of Z-Morh tunnel laid

Foundation for construction of the Z-Morh tunnel was laid down in Jammu & Kashmir on 4 October 2012 that will provide all-weather, round-the-year connectivity with the rest of the country. The 6.5 km-long tunnel gets its name from its Z formation between Sonamarg and Gagangir that would avoid the regions of snowfall and avalanches and ensure connectivity with Srinagar. The two-lane, 10 metre-wide tunnel will be constructed at a cost of Rs. 2,716.90 crore. It will also include an egress of 3.5 metres to be used in emergency. The tunnel, located 2,637 metres above sea level, will ensure the passage of 1,000 vehicles an hour at an approved maximum speed of 80 km per hour. The Z-Morh tunnel is the first of the two proposed tunnels, which together will provide all-weather connectivity between Srinagar-Kargil-Leh and Ladakh. The second the Zojila Tunnel of 13.8 km length just about 20 km away from this point is estimated to cost Rs. 5,500 crore and is likely to be approved by the Union government soon. The foundation for this tunnel is likely to be laid in April. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is executing the project. Supporting these two tunnels are the ChenaniNashri and Banihal-Quazigund tunnels, which are under construction to ensure connectivity with the valley and Jammu and the rest of the country.

EC modifies guidelines on paid news

The Election Commission has slightly modified its guidelines on paid news. Amending its guidelines dated August 27, 2012, relating to paid news, that is, publicity for monetary consideration given to the candidate/political parties in the guise of news in the print media/TV or radio channels but not accounted, the Commission made it clear on 9 October 2012, that the candidate who receive notices in this regard from the District-level or State-level Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC), should reply to them within 48 hours of receipt. If no reply is received from the candidate within the stipulated time, the decision of the MCMC will be final. District/State-level MCMC shall decide on the reply expeditiously, preferably within 48 hours of receiving the reply, and convey to the candidate/party its final decision. The EC clarified that the MCMC, which had to approve the political/campaign advertisements before they were publicised, would take care of such advertisements in cinema halls, TV channels/Cable Networks and Radio, including Private FM channels.

Goa fixes up to 2 km buffer zone for mining near sanctuaries

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, on 22 October 2012, said the State government will not allow any new mining leases up to 2 km of wildlife sanctuaries and national parks. He said that those mines situated between 100 metres to 1 km of the wildlife sanctuaries be closed in a phased manner over a period of 5 to 10 years. Keeping the environment in mind, the government has decided to have a 1 km buffer zone for wildlife sanctuaries, he said and

added that it would be site-specific in some cases which would mean wherever water bodies form natural boundaries, they would be accepted. Goa had 33 per cent of forests, including 5 per cent private forests, another 5 per cent of area under coastal regulation zone (CRZ), 40 per cent under agricultural land that hardly left 16 per cent land mass for economic development, the Chief Minister said.

Project Lakshya streamlines LPG supply

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry, on 11 November 2012, launched Project Lakshya to reduce waiting time for delivery of LPG cylinders and track duplicate connections, by enrolling the assistance of the National Informatics Centre and the Pune-based Centre for Development of Advanced Computing through a new software.

President launches advanced version of low-cost Aakash-2 tablet

The advanced version of low cost tablet Aakash was launched in New Delhi by President Pranab Mukherjee on November 11, 2012. Coming at a price tag of Rs 1,130 for students, the new version Aakash 2 which will be made available to students of engineering colleges and universities to begin with is now powered by a processor running at 1 GHz, has a 512 MB, a 7-inch capacitative touch screen and a battery working for three hours of normal operations. It has been developed under the aegis of IIT Bombay with the active support of Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC). Datawind is rolling out the device. The price is Rs. 2,263 at which the government purchases the device. The government subsidises it by 50 per cent and it will be distributed to students at Rs. 1,130. The first one lakh devices will be provided to students of engineering colleges and universities and subsequently these will be distributed to others. About 22 crore students will get the device across the country in the next five to six years.

Comprehensive strategy for prevention and control of Japanese Encephalitis/Acute Encephalitis Syndrome approved
The Union Cabinet, on 18 October 2012, approved a comprehensive strategy for prevention and control of Japanese Encephalitis and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome. The Rs.4,038-crore proposal of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare for intervention/activities recommended by the Group of Ministers will be implemented in 60 priority districts for five years from 2012-13 to 2016-17. The Ministries of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Social Justice and Empowerment, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Women and Child Development will also be involved in the implementation. Initially, the programme will focus high-burden States such as Assam, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Japanese Encephalitis/Acute Encephalitis Syndrome is a major public health challenge, with the children below 15 years being the worst affected. The disease has a mortality rate of 25 per cent; among the survivors, 30-40 per cent suffer from physical and mental impairment. Last year, it claimed 1,169 lives, and so far this year, 967 deaths have been reported, with Uttar Pradesh alone accounting for 362. Tamil Nadu has reported 40 deaths and 541 cases. Of the total disease burden, 75 per cent in 2010 and 50 per cent in 2011 is in Uttar Pradesh. The proposal envisages public health interventions, expansion of vaccination, and improved case management, medical and social rehabilitation, drinking water supply and sanitation in rural and urban areas and nutrition. The plan will help to reduce the number of Japanese Encephalitis cases by strengthening of vaccination and vector control, and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome cases by checking the transmission of entero-virus in children through safe drinking water and enhanced nutrition. The States affected by the disease this year include Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Goa, Delhi, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Manipur, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Nagaland.

Anti-collision trial of trains successful

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The Indian Railways successfully tested a path-breaking technology called Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), about 150 km from Hyderabad, on October 16, 2012. The TCAS technology The TCAS technology, based on a combination of GPS and Radio Frequency enabled technology, applies brakes without the intervention of the loco (train) pilots once it detects another locomotive on the move or stationary on the same track and avoids collision. The technology includes installation of some electronic gadgets on the trains, in the stations and along the tracks. The technology is jointly developed by RDSO of the Railways and Hyderabad-based private firm HBL Power Systems Ltd. Advantages TCAS would not only help avoid collisions due to human errors in signalling and invisibility of signals due to heavy rain or fog, but alerts about fire on trains and warns about damage to the tracks during natural calamities or sabotage.

Track Child project to be implemented across the country

With the country registering a sharp rise in the number of missing children, the Union Women & Child Development Ministry on 17 October 2012 decided to implement the Track Child project all over the country simultaneously instead of on a pilot basis. Aim The track child scheme envisages putting in place a child tracking system which is aimed at maintaining real time data of all children availing rehabilitation services under the Integrated Child Protection Scheme. The software also provides for setting up a national portal containing identification details of the children under various schemes as well as missing children reported in the police stations. The portal would facilitate matching of the children availing services under the Integrated Child Protection Scheme with the reported missing children. The project is being implemented by the Ministry through the National Informatics Centre. The Ministry has now asked all the States to appoint a nodal officer for implementation of the project which they claim will require intensive co-ordination between the police and agencies working for rescues and rehabilitation of children. WCD has also advised the States to facilitate data entry at the field level, provide computers with Internet connections in child welfare committees, juvenile justice boards, children homes, shelters and adoption agencies for which funds will be provided under the Integrated Child Protection Scheme. The letter issued by the WCD Ministry also noted that it will be organising training of functionaries through the National Informatics Centre in every State to train trainers and help states upload already available data. Efforts are also being made to sensitise the police and Integrated Child Protection Scheme functionaries regarding track child with the Ministry keen that the benefits of the project starts flowing in by the end of this year.

Centre clears National Policy on Electronics

The Union Cabinet, on 25 October 2012, cleared the National Policy on Electronics 2012, which aims to make the domestic electronic hardware manufacturing segment a $400-billion industry by 2020. Details Under the policy, the Government has set an objective to create an eco -system for a globally competitive ESDM [Electronic System and Design and Manufacturing] sector in the country to achieve a turnover of about $400 billion by 2020 involving investment of about $100 billion and employment to around 28 million people at various levels. The Government also approved a Rs. 3,150-crore package for development of backward regions in Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Under the Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF), which was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), Rs. 1,500 crore will provided to Bihar as Special Plan Assistance. Similarly Additional Central Assistance of Rs. 1,400 crore will be provided for drought mitigation strategies in Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The CCEA also approved Rs. 250 crore for Special Plan for development of Kalahandi-Bolangir-Koraput (KBK) districts of Odisha. The BRGF, which aims to catalyse development in backward areas, was approved by the CCEA in August, 2006.

In its present form, the BRGF has two components, namely, district component covering 272 backward districts in 27 States and a State component, which includes Special Plan for Bihar, West Bengal, KBK districts, Integrated Action Plan (IAP) for selected tribal and backward districts and Bundelkhand Package.

Direct benefit transfer system launched

United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi, on 15 December 201 2, launched the Delhi governments ambitious food security programme, Dilli Annshree Yojana, a direct benefit transfer system and described it as a first-of-its-kind food security scheme integrated with the UID Aadhar in the country. Under the scheme a monthly cash subsidy of Rs. 600 will be directly transferred to the bank account of the senior most female member of two lakh poor families. Delhi government had decided to provide assistance to 25 lakh people under the first phase. Ms. Gandhi said the Central governments Direct Benefit Transfer system would be implemented in 51 districts from January 1, 2013, facilitating cash entitlement in a total of 32 schemes. She clarified that these did not include food safety and subsidy schemes. The Union government, she pointed out, would come up with a Food Security Bill to overcome hunger in the country. Purpose The purpose of this scheme was to make sure that the governments money being disbursed in pension, scholarship, MNREGA wage payment and social benefit schemes reached the beneficiaries directly, without any delay. There were many problems related to the BPL list, as a number of needy and poor families were not included in these lists. The direct transfer system would provide food security to the people who had been left out, she said. Benefits The scheme was not an alternative to the public distribution system, but was an extension of existing food security efforts being undertaken under the PDS. It would provide an option to beneficiaries to purchase food items and essentials whenever required.

Single, nationwide helpline coming for women

The government is planning a single, toll-free helpline number across India to help women in distress, and the States have been asked to look into the possibility of creating a separate fleet of all-women PCR (police control room) vehicles, particularly in cities where crime is on the rise. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on 7 January 2013 sought opinion from the Department of Telecommunications for setting up a single helpline to help women reach the police or other departments. Online registration of complaints will likely begin when the MHAs flagship Crime & Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS), which was launched recently, becomes fully operational in a majority of 14,000 police stations across India.

National Institute of Design now an institution of National Importance

The Union Cabinet, on January 2013, approved the declaration of the National Institute of Design (NID) by Parliament by law as an `Institution of National Importance`. The status of `Institution of National Importance` would authorise NID, Ahmedabad to award degree to its students. This, in turn, may prove to be beneficial for students who wish to pursue post graduation. This will fulfill the need to professionalize, standardize and internationally benchmark professional design education in India, so as to take full advantage of opportunities opening up for the design industry, both in domestic as well as in international markets.

Kargil gets first civil air connectivity

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah launched the first ever civil aviation service between Kargil and Jammu on 7 January 2013 and created history as never before has a civil passenger aircraft been spotted at Kargil as he travelled on the landing of Mantra Airlines 17-seater.

Kargil is one of the worlds coldest towns, frozen under a minus 20 degree Celsius temperature. Air Mantra aircraft conducted a trial flight between Jammu and Kargil on November 3 last year. The Indian Air Force has been operating an AN-32 aircraft three times a week in the Jammu-Kargil sector and once a week between Srinagar and Kargil. It carries 40 to 45 passengers. Regular operations in the Kargil-Jammu sector would start on January 10.

President launches the National Immunization Day, 2013

President of India, on 13 January 2013, launched the National Immunization Day, 2013 on the day India completes two years without a single case of polio by administering polio drops to children. On 25th February 2012, the World Health Organization removed India from the list of polio endemic countries, which was a historical achievement since there was a perception among many experts that India would be the last country to eradicate polio. This was more so because, until 2009, India accounted for half of the total polio cases in the world. Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria still continue to be polio endemic countries in the world. Government plan The government has put in place an Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan which is to be implemented in all States across the country. Under this plan, a case of poliovirus anywhere in the country will be treated as a public health emergency. Rapid Response Teams have been formed in all the States and Union Territories, to effectively respond to any case of polio importation. The focus of the Ministry and the partners continues to be on the most vulnerable migrant, mobile populations, youngest children and under-served populations, which remain at the highest risk of contracting the disease.

PM Unveils New Science, Technology and Innovation Policy

The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh unveiled the Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (STI) 2013 at the inaugural session of the Centenary session of the Indian Science Congress at Kolkata on January 3, 2013. Aim and objectives The STI Policy seeks to send a signal to the Indian scientific community, both in the private and public domain, that science, technology and innovation should focus on faster, sustainable and inclusive development of the people. The policy seeks to focus on both STI for people and people for STI. It aims to bring all the benefits of Science, Technology & Innovation to the national development and sustainable and more inclusive growth. It seeks the right sizing of the gross expenditure on research and development by encouraging and incentivizing private sector participation in R&D, technology and innovation activities. The policy also seeks to trigger an ecosystem for innovative abilities to flourish by leveraging partnerships among diverse stakeholders and by encouraging and facilitating enterprises to invest in innovations. It also seeks to bring in mechanisms for achieving gender parity in STI activities and gaining global competitiveness in select technological areas through international cooperation and alliances. The policy goal is to accelerate the pace of discovery, diffusion and delivery of science led solutions for serving the aspirational goals of India for faster, sustainable and inclusive growth. A strong and viable Science, Research and Innovation system for High Technology led path for India (SRISHTI) are the goal for the STI policy. Key features of the STI policy 2013 Promoting the spread of scientific temper amongst all sections of society.

Enhancing skills for applications of science among the young from all social sectors. Making careers in science, research and innovation attractive enough for talented and bright minds. Establishing world class infrastructure for R&D for gaining global leadership in some select frontier areas of science. Positioning India among the top five global scientific powers by 2020 (by increasing the share of global scientific publications from 3.5% to over 7% and quadrupling the number of papers in top 1% journals from the current levels). Linking contributions of Science Research and innovation system with the inclusive economic growth agenda and combining priorities of excellence and relevance. Creating an environment for enhanced private sector participation in R&D. Enabling conversion of R&D output with societal and commercial applications by replicating hitherto successful models, as well as establishing of new PPP structures. Seeking S&T based high risk innovation through new mechanisms. Fostering resource optimized cost-effective innovation across size and technology domains. Triggering in the mindset & value systems to recognize respect and reward performances which create wealth from S&T derived knowledge. Creating a robust national innovation system. Policy Implementation Implementation of the proposals contained in the Policy will necessitate consultations with different government departments/ministries and agencies besides consultations with overarching, science and engineering academies industry and business associations etc. Accordingly DST will establish a Policy Implementation Group to expeditiously operationalise the proposals within the next two years. Backdrop Prime Minister, Mrs Indira Gandhi had announced the Technology Policy Statement (TPS) at the Science Congress in January 1983. It focused on the need to attain technological competence and self-reliance. Several of the statements of TPS were implemented. Subsequently, a Science and Technology Policy (STP) was announced in 2003, seeking to bring science and technology (S&T) together. It basically called for integrating programmes of socio-economic sectors with the national R&D system and the creation of a national innovation system. The world has changed vastly since then in all spheres of human activity. New paradigms of innovation have emerged, arising, among others, out of the pervasive intrusion of internet and globalization. Even then systems that foster innovation have become country and context specific. India has declared 2010-20 as the Decade of Innovation. India`s demographics have changed significantly too. The youthful populations have high expectations and aspirations of the nation. The Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (STI) 2013 approved by the Union Cabinet is in furtherance of this declaration and aims to bring perspectives to bear on Science & Technology led innovations in the changing context.

National Electric Mobility Mission Plan launched

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on 9 January 2013, unveiled the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020. Objective The principal end objectives of the National Mission for Electric Mobility (NMEM) are National energy security, mitigation of the adverse impact of vehicles on the environment and growth of domestic manufacturing capabilities. The NEMMP 2020, the mission document for the NMEM that was approved by the National Council for Electric Mobility (NCEM) on 29th August, 2012, sets the vision, lays the targets and provides the joint Government industry vision for realizing the huge potential that exists for full range of efficient and environmentally friendly electric vehicle (including hybrids) technologies by 2020.

The NEMMP 2020 relies on in-depth primary data based study conducted jointly by the Government and the Industry which indicates that high latent demand for environmentally friendly electric vehicle technologies exists in the country. As per these projections, 6-7 million units of new vehicle sales of the full range of electric vehicles, along with resultant liquid fuel savings of 2.2 2.5 million tonnes can be achieved in 2020. This will also result in substantial lowering of vehicular emissions and decrease in carbon dioxide emissions by 1.3% to 1.5% in 2020 as compared to a status quo scenario. Focus needed However, there are certain areas where Governments need to focus their efforts and provide support that is necessary for creation of the eco system and viable self sustaining business in the near future. This includes providing initial impetus through demand support measures that facilitate faster consumer acceptance of these expensive newer technologies. In addition, Government will also need to facilitate automotive R&D and put in place charging infrastructure. It is estimated that the Government will need to provide support to the tune of Rs 13000 Rs 14000 crore over the next 5-6 years. The industry will also need to match this with a much larger investment for developing the products and creating the manufacturing eco-system. The NEMMP 2020 projections also indicate that the savings from the decrease in liquid fossil fuel consumption as a result of shift to electric mobility alone will far exceed the support provided thereby making this a highly economically viable proposition. Therefore on all counts encouraging the faster adoption of hybrid & electric vehicles and their manufacture in India is a wise investment for our future generations. Significance NMEM is amongst the most significant interventions of the Government that promises to transform the automotive paradigm of the future by lessening the dependence on fossil fuels, increasing energy efficiency of vehicles and by providing the means to achieve ultimate objective of cleaner transportation that is compatible with sustainable renewable energy generation. This Intervention will also help encourage the Indian Automotive Industry to shift to newer, cleaner technologies so that it builds its future competitive advantage around environmentally sustainable products, high end technologies, innovation and knowledge. Implementation The implementation and roll out of the NEMMP 2020 will be done through various specific schemes, interventions, policies that are currently under formulation and will be considered by the Government in the near future.

Water policy adopted by National Water Resources Council

Despite opposition from the States to several contentious clauses in the draft National Water Resources Policy, 2012, the National Water Resources Council meeting on 28 December 2012, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, adopted the policy with modifications and decided to hold wider consultations with them in a follow-up action. The States, including those ruled by the Congress, which opposed the proposal to set up an overarching national legal framework for water governance are Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, and Tripura. They said this would impinge on their rights, water being a State subject. As in FDI in multibrand retail, the official line is that the States are free to take a call on adopting the revised policy. However, there is a catch: reforms will be linked to Central funding for water projects.

181 women helpline extended to all states

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A month after releasing the three-digit emergency number for women in Delhi, the Central government on 21 January 2013 said it will make available the 181 women helpline number to all states. After allocation of the emergency number, the state governments will be required to set up their call centres.

India to have a common emergency number now

Finally, India seems to have woken up to the urgency of having a single emergency response number on the lines of Americas 911. This number may be called for any emerge ncy police, fire or ambulance. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is planning to bring a consultation paper in this connection soon to kick-start the process of having a single emergency helpline where a call centre will receive all distress calls and then accordingly alert departments or agencies concerned depending upon the type of emergency.

Cash incentives to States for lower neonatal deaths

With India unlikely to achieve the millennium development goal (MDG) of 28 per 1,000 live births by 2015, the Centre on 28 January 2013 approved a monetary incentive for States to encourage them to further bring down neonatal deaths. The Rs. 1,500-crore incentive will be given to the States that have made impressive reduction in the IMR between 2009 and 2011. Despite making huge achievements, India is unlikely to reach the international target of reducing infant mortality rate, set by the United Nations in 2000, considering that in 2011 the national IMR stood at 44, with the picture in rural areas worse than in urban settings. Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim and Nagaland account for 50 per cent of the total grant. Maharashtra, Punjab and Tamil Nadu account for another Rs. 400 crore, and the remaining money is distributed among the rest of the States and Union Territories. Manipur, with an IMR of 11 per 1,000 live births, will receive the highest amount of Rs. 458 crore, followed by Tamil Nadu that gets Rs. 168 crore. The IMR of Tamil Nadu is 22. Among the smaller States, Meghalaya will get Rs. 6.2 crore, Mizoram Rs. 3.13 crore, Nagaland will get Rs. 159 crore, Sikkim Rs. 150 crore and Tripura Rs. 84 crore. As for big States, Maharashtra will get Rs. 133 crore, Punjab Rs. 106 crore, Karnataka will receive Rs. 53 crore, West Bengal Rs. 26 crore and Uttarakhand Rs. 42 crore. The grant is payable to the States based on the data available in the Sample Registration System Survey of 2009 and 2012. Only 11 States and Union Territories have achieved the MDG as far as IMR is concerned. Of these, only three bigger States Maharashtra, Kerala and Delhi have been able to achieve the target.

Sonia Gandhi launches child health screening programme

UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, on 6 February 2013, launched the Child Health Screening and Early Intervention Services programme at the tribal tehsil in Thane district, aimed at providing comprehensive care to children in the country. Details The initiative, titled Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram, under the aegis of the National Rural Health Mission (NHRM), aims to provide a comprehensive healthcare package for all children up to 18 years of age. The programme is expected to cover around 27 crore children below 18 years from all districts of the country in a phased manner. The programme is an initiative of the National Rural Health Mission of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. The objective is to improve the overall quality of life of children through early detection of birth defects, diseases, deficiencies, development delays, including disability. A set of 30 common health conditions in children have been identified for screening and further management including birth and heart defects, deficiency conditions, developmental delays and disabilities like hearing impairment, vision impairment, among others.

These services are built on the existing school health services and these services will be provided through dedicated mobile health teams placed in every block. While in the past children up to 6 years were examined in aanganwadis by a medical officer, those from 6 to 18 years were covered under the school health programme. As part of the programme, District Early Intervention Centres are to be made operational in all districts to treat cases referred from block levels. Tertiary health services would also be made available for cases requiring surgery.

Maharashtra women can now choose their surname

Women and children in Maharashtra will now have the freedom to use any surname of their choice, the government said in the draft of the States womens policy released in Pune on March 8, 2013. In another first, the draft also includes policy changes for the treatment of transgenders. The draft states that the government will issue a directive to all the departments asking to respect the womans choice to use any name she wants. Women will have the right to complain to the district collectors if they encounter a failure to implement the rule. Apart from this, the draft also seeks to address name issues related to single women.

Tourism Ministrys clean India drive begins from Benaras ghats

Tourism Ministry, on 12 March 2013, announced it would aggressively launch the Clean India Campaign and the Benaras ghats would be launch pad for the movement. Union Tourism Minister Chiranjeevi said the Clean India Campaign would be taken up across the country in phases. All Buddhist sites will also be part of the campaign.

New surrender policy for Maoists from April

Alarmed over growing threats from Left Wing Extremism (LWE), the Union government is preparing a new surrender policy where Maoists would be given enhanced compensation and financial support for their rehabilitation. Details To be operational from April this year, under the new surrender policy, a senior Maoist will receive an aid of Rs.2.5 lakh as one-time surrender payment and a monthly stipend of Rs. 3,000 for three years that would help support his self-employment efforts. Similarly, a junior Maoist will get a compensation of Rs.1.5 lakh. For surrender of weapons, the government has decided on compensation ranging from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 30,000, depending upon the size and sophistication of the weapon. Similarly, the MHA has decided to hike the grant envisaged under the community policing scheme from Rs. 5 lakh to Rs.10 lakh to conduct community programmes and sporting tournaments to bring youths to the mainstream of society. In another major decision, the proposal to install 2,200 mobile towers at a cost of Rs. 3,000 crore in nine LWE-hit States has been cleared. The Centre has also decided to construct eight bridges in these States to ensure better connectivity for transport of men and material to various locations.

Centre announces new crisis centres for women

The Union Government, on 22 February 2013, announced setting up of One Stop Crisis Centres, a specialised facility for providing all necessary services for women subjected to violence. The National Mission for Empowerment of Women will implement a pilot project in public hospitals in 100 districts. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs sent a detailed advisory to the States and Union Territories on September 4, 2009, carrying instructions to deal with cases of rape. Most important among these was the setting up of Rape Crisis Centres (RCCs) and specialised Sexual Assault Treatment Units (SATUs).

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The RCCs were to be set up by the Health Departments to help rape victims and facilitate coordination between the police and health department facilities for medical examination to establish forensic evidence and to treat the after-effects of trauma. Hence these RCCs could act as an interface between the victims and other agencies. The specialised Sexual Assault Treatment units were to be developed at government hospitals having a large maternity section. However, the proposal did not move forward.

One lakh youth will get jobs under Himayat in J&K: Minister
Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh, on 3 April 2013, said that the scheme Himayat launched in Jammu and Kashmir in 2011 is progressing well to realise the goal of providing training and jobs to one lakh youth in five year period (2011-12 to 2016-17). He said, over 5,000 youth had been provided jobs in various companies within and outside the State since the inception of the scheme and over 15,000 would be given training and placements during the year 2013-14. Priority will be given to youth who are school drop-outs, have studied up to 10th class or 12th class and those who are college drop-outs. As of now, 45 HIMAYAT training centres have been set up across 19 districts (out of the total 22 districts in the state).

Global declaration on polio

Hundreds of scientists, doctors and other experts from around the world on 11 April 2013, launched the Scientific Declaration on Polio Eradication, emphasising that an end to the paralyzing disease was achievable, and endorsed a comprehensive new strategy to secure a lasting polio-free world by 2018. The event coincides with the 58th anniversary of the announcement of Jonas Salks revolutionary vaccine. Main features The declaration calls for full funding and implementation of the Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan 2013-2018, developed by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). With polio cases at an all-time low and the disease remaining endemic in just three countries, the GPEI estimates that it can be completely ended by 2018 at a cost of $5.5 billion. The declaration notes that vaccines have already protected hundreds of millions of children, and eliminated one of the three types of wild poliovirus, proving that eradication is scientifically feasible. It calls on the international community to meet the goals in the GPEI plan for delivering vaccines to more children at risk, particularly in Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan, where polio remains endemic and emergency action plans launched over the past year have resulted in significant improvements in vaccine coverage. Achieving polio eradication requires efforts interrelated with strengthening routine immunisation, a new focus of the GPEI plan. As the last cases of polio are contained, high levels of routine immunisation will be critical. At the same time, resources and learning from polio eradication efforts can be used to strengthen coverage of other life-saving vaccines, including for children who have never been reached with any health intervention before, says the declaration. The declaration notes that only 223 new cases due to wild poliovirus were recorded in 2012, a historic low and more than 99 per cent decrease from the estimated 350,000 cases in 1988. This year, just 16 new cases were reported as of April 9. India, long regarded as the most difficult place to eliminate polio, has not recorded a case in more than two years, it says.

Copyright Rules notified

The government, on 18 March 2013, enhanced the registration and license fee for copyrights issued by the Registrar of Copyrights. This follows an amendment in the Copyrights Act, 1957. Under the new Copyright Rules, 2013, the minimum fee for registration has been increased from Rs. 50 per work to Rs. 500 and the maximum fee from Rs. 600 to Rs. 5,000. The minimum fee for licences has been increased from Rs. 200 to Rs. 2,000 per work and the maximum fee from Rs. 400 to Rs. 40,000. The new fee structure provided under

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Second Schedule of the Rules is applicable from March 14. The Copyright Rules, 2013, have been notified by the Copyright Division, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development.

RTI applications for NRIs simplified

The government of India, on 22 March 2013, took a major step forward in enabling Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) to file applications under the Right to Information Act, announcing that it has launched a service called elPO, or Electronic Indian Postal Order. Using this, NRIs across the world may now be in a position to file RTI applications conveniently via direct payment of fees. According to an Office Memorandum put out by the governments Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, the Department of Posts service will permit NRIs to purchase an Indian Postal Order, electronically by paying a fee on-line through e-Post Office Portal. It could also be accessed through India Post website. The Ministrys note clarified that at present the facility was pro vided only for Indian citizens abroad across the globe to facilitate them to seek information from the Central Public Information Officers (CPIOs) under the RTI Act, 2005, and debit/credit cards could be used to purchase the elPO. In terms of process, users are required to get themselves registered at the website, select the Ministry or Department from whom they desire the information under the RTI Act and then elPO so generated can be used to seek information from that Ministry or Department only. Further, the memorandum explained, a printout of the elPO is required to be attached with the RTI application, or if it was being filed electronically, the elPO must be attached.

Cashless treatment for road accident victims

Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways CP Joshi, on 26 March 2013, unveiled a pilot project under which road accident victims would be provided cashless treatment. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) signed an MoU with ICICI Lombard to jointly launch the pilot project by May on the 225-km DelhiGurgaon-Jaipur route that claims about 250 lives annually. The project will be launched with a corpus of Rs. 20 crore to be provided by the Ministry and the private insurance company providing back end support for managing the control room, monitoring ambulances and tying up with hospitals to provide the golden period treatment. Under the scheme, cashless treatment of up to Rs. 30,000 would be provided to the victims during the first two days of treatment at 51 hospitals identified on the route at CGHS rates. A maximum of 10 ambulances would be stationed at a distance of about 20 km of each other to respond to an accident within six to seven minutes and take the victims to a nominated hospital.

Declaration of the Year 2013 as Water Conservation Year-2013

The Union Cabinet, on 9 May 2013, gave its approval for declaring the year 2013 as Water Conservation Year 2013. A number of mass awareness activities will be undertaken during Water Conservation Year 2013 with emphasis on sensitizing the masses on water related issues, encourage them to conserve and use it judiciously. The policies and programmes of the Ministry of Water Resources will be propagated to create a sustainable society and economy. An effective and sustained mass awareness programme will be launched with the involvement of all stakeholders to achieve the objectives identified in the National Water Policy, 2012 and National Water Mission.

Urban Health Mission to cover 7.75 crore people

The Union Cabinet, on 2 May 2013, approved the Rs. 22,507-crore National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) that seeks to address healthcare challenges in towns and cities with focus on urban poor. The scheme will now be introduced as a sub-mission under the National Health Mission (NHM). The mission will be implemented in 779 cities and towns, each with a population of more than 50,000, and cover over 7.75 crore people. Aim The NUHM aims to improve the health status of the urban population in general, and the poor and other disadvantaged sections in particular, by facilitating equitable access to quality health care through a

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revamped primary public health care system, targeted outreach services and involvement of the community and urban local bodies. Detailed provisions The NUHM will be on the lines of the Health and Family Welfare Ministrys flagship National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) launched in 2005 to address the health challenges of rural India. The interventions under this sub-mission will aim to result in the reduction of the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR), universal access to reproductive health care and the convergence of all health-related interventions Under the scheme, the government proposes to set up one Urban Primary Health Centre for a population of 50,000-60,000, one Urban Community Health Centre for five to six urban Primary Health Centres in big cities, an Auxiliary Nursing Midwives (ANM) for a population of 10,000 and an Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) (community link worker) for 200 to 500 households. Funding The Central government is to provide a share of Rs. 16,955 crore toward the estimated cost of NUHM for five years Rs. 22,507 crore. While the Centre will fund 75 per cent of the mission and the State 25 per cent, the funding ratio for North Eastern States and special category States of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand will be 90:10. The existing mechanism and systems created and functioning under NRHM will be strengthened to meet the needs of NUHM and city-wise implementation plans will be prepared based on baseline surveys and felt needs. The urban local bodies will be fully involved in the implementation of the scheme. Need of the bill The scheme had been pending for a long time but not cleared due to shortage of financial resources. Even now, funds earmarked for it in the current year (2013-14) are abysmally low at Rs. one crore only. At present, there is no dedicated health delivery system for the urban poor. The health indicators among them are also bad and nutrition levels of urban children living in slums are alarmingly low. Estimates have shown that one in 10 children born in the slums did not see their fifth birthday while less than half were immunised.

Government approves National Cyber Security Policy

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), on 9 May 2013, approved the National Cyber Security Policy that aims to create a secure computing environment in the country and build capacities to strengthen the current set up with focus on manpower training and stresses on augmenting India's indigenous capabilities in terms of developing the cyber security set up. The policy strives for a secure computing environment and seeks to build adequate trust and confidence in electronic transactions. This policy caters for the whole spectrum of ICT users and providers including small and home users, medium and large enterprises and government and non-government entities. It aims to create a cyber security framework that will address all related issues over a long period. The framework will lead to specific actions and programmes to enhance the security posture of country's cyber space. Besides, cyber security intelligence forms an integral component to be able to anticipate attacks and quickly adopt counter measures.

Umeed launched for J&K

Rahul Gandhi launched the Union Rural Development Ministrys ambitious programme, Umeed, for the empowerment of nine lakh women in central Badgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on June 15, 2013. Details Part of the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM), Umeed, worth Rs. 755 crore, had been launched initially in four community blocks of Khansahab (Budgam), Lar (Ganderbal), Chenani (Udhampur) and Basohli (Kathua) last

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year. As the Centre and the State government would be contributing funds in a 90:10 ratio and the four districts would remain in sharp focus in the current financial year, Umeed is being extended to all the 143 blocks in J&K. With ten members in each of the proposed 90,000 Self Help Groups (SHGs), nine lakh women in the State are being associated with the campaign. Building low-cost sanitation units, to eliminate the menace of unhygienic conditions and open defecation, is going to be Umeeds maiden activity.

Rashtriya Swastya Bima Yojna extended to other sectors

The Union government, on 7 June 2013, brought mine workers, sanitation workers, autorickshaw drivers, taxi drivers and rickshaw pullers within the ambit of the Rashtriya Swastya Bima Yojna. The scheme provides smart-card based cashless health insurance cover of Rs. 30,000 an year to below poverty line families with five members. Initially, it covered street vendors, beedi workers, domestic workers, building and other construction workers and workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme who worked more than 15 days in the previous financial year. It would cost Rs. 209.95 crore to the exchequer in 2013-14 and it would be Rs. 419.89 crore during 2014-15.

Government sets up the National Skill Development Agency

Pursuant to the Union Cabinet approval, the Government on 6 June 2013 constituted the National Skill Development Agency (NSDA) by subsuming the Prime Ministers National Council on Skill Development (PMNCSD), the National Skill Development Coordination Board (NSDCB) and the Office of the Adviser to the PM on Skill Development. Details The NSDA will coordinate and harmonize the skill development efforts of the Government of India and the private sector to achieve the skilling targets of the 12th Plan and beyond. It will endeavour to bridge the social, regional, gender and economic divide by ensuring that the skilling needs of the disadvantaged and marginalized groups like SCs, STs, OBCs, minorities, women and differently-abled persons are taken care of through the various skill development programmes. While the Central Ministries and National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) will continue to implement schemes in their remit, the NSDA will develop and monitor an overarching framework for skill development, anchor the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) and facilitate the setting-up of professional certifying bodies in addition to the existing ones. NSDA will be an autonomous body chaired by a person of the rank and status of a Cabinet Minister supported by a Director General and other support staff.

50,000 youth in 24 naxal affected districts to get jobs under Roshni

In a bid to further reach out to rural youth in the countrys 24 most critical Left -Wing-Extremism-affected districts, the Centre on 7 June 2013 introduced a placement-oriented skill-development scheme targeting 50,000 persons, mostly tribals. Details At least 50 per cent of the candidates covered under the scheme would be women and extra efforts would be made to proactively cover Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) on a priority basis. The Minister for Rural Development Mr Jairam Ramesh said Roshni would show a new path to the youths being targeted by the Maoists.

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The programme entails providing beneficiaries aged between 18-35 years with requisite training for the trade or job chosen as per the Participatory Identification of Poor. The employment programme would be on the lines of Himayat, being run in Jammu and Kashmir, and two pilot projects being run in Jharkhands west Singhbhum and Chhattisgarhs Sukma districts. The training will be imparted through public-private and public partnerships. Four training modules of durations ranging from three months to one year shall be taken up to meet the diverse needs of the youth, depending on their entry-level qualifications. Placement-linked, market-driven, fully-residential skills training will be provided in fields such as tailoring, construction, mobile repairing, nursing and retail. The training providers will ensure 75 per cent placement defined as continuous employment for three months at higher than minimum wages. Placements will be provided anywhere in India. Several training strategies will be used for diverse groups of youths, ranging from school dropouts to those with college education. The projects will be funded jointly by the Central and State governments in the ratio of 75:25. Six districts each from Jharkhand and Odisha, five from Chhattisgarh, two from Bihar and one each from Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra have been chosen for the scheme, which will be implemented at a cost of Rs.100 crore over the next three years. Cabinet clears mobile towers for Maoist-hit States (box with above news) The Union Cabinet, on 4 June 2013, cleared a proposal to install 2,199 mobile towers in nine Left-Wing-Extremismaffected States at a cost of over Rs.3,000 crore. The towers will come up in locations identified by the Home Ministry in the next 15 months. The ambitious project has been hanging fire for the past three years. The project would be executed by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited. Universal Service Obligation Fund would fund the capital expenditure and operational expenditure net of revenue for five years. Maximum outgo from the USO Fund is estimated to be Rs.3,046.12 crore.

Cabinet revises income criterion to exclude creamy layer from OBC list
The Union Cabinet, on 16 May 2013, gave its approval for increasing the creamy layer income criterion from Rs. 4.5 lakh to Rs. six lakh per annum throughout the country. The socially advanced persons and sections, known as the creamy layer, are barred from reservation benefits for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). The increase in the income limit to exclude the creamy layer is in keeping with the increase in the consumer price index and would enable more persons to take advantage of reservation benefits extended to OBCs in government services and admission to central educational institutions. Granting approval to the proposal, the Cabinet said it would bring about equity and greater inclusiveness in society. Earlier, the limit for annual income was fixed in 2008, which specified that families with an annual income of Rs. 4.5 lakh and above could not be allowed the benefits. As per a recommendation made by the OBC Commission, the ceiling was kept at Rs.12 lakh per annum for urban and Rs. nine lakh per annum for rural areas.

Central varsities to be set up instead of minority ones

The Union Ministry of Minority Affairs, which initially proposed to set up universities for minorities, will now set up six Central universities in areas predominantly inhabited by minorities across the country, including one in Srirangapatna in Karnataka. These six Central universities would be set up in Murshidabad in West Bengal, Mallapuram in Kerala, Kishanganj in Bihar, Ajmer in Rajasthan and Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh, besides Srirangapatna. Background The decision to establish the six universities comes in the wake of a recommendation made by a committee of experts headed by Sukhadeo Thorat to set up the universities in areas predominantly inhabited by minority population so that more and more youth from minority communities can join the higher educational streams.

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Meanwhile the proposal to establish minority universities, as originally proposed by the Ministry of Minority Affairs, was not legally feasible and referred to cases pending before the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court challenging the minority institution tag given to Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia University. Hence, a recommendation was made to establish Central universities in places where there is large population of minorities, through an Act of Parliament.

Centre unveils national water framework law

The Centre, on 29 May 2013, unveiled the proposed National Water Framework Law, and National Guidelines for Inter-State Water Sharing and River Basin Authorities, but the agenda was so heavy and controversial that the meeting of National Forum of (select) State Water Resources Ministers decided to study the documents and discuss them at a meeting of all the States. Aim The law envisages a larger role for markets and places a crucial role for River Basin Development. Details The Framework provides for provision of a minimum requirement of water free of cost, but beyond that it should be increasingly priced on economic principles to avoid waste and ensure supplies. The law provides for support mechanism for States and local bodies in state-of-the-art technologies. The only prescriptive aspect at the Centres level was the proposed requirement of a minimum 25 litres of potable water per individual per day. Apart from that, the States can set their own standards. Secondly, the report by the T.S. Daobia Committee, which was asked to suggest a legal framework to constitute an Inter-State River Basin Organisation, has recommended that the defunct River Boards Act, 1956 be replaced with a River Basin Management Act under which River Basin Authorities for different inter-State river basins may be constituted. The earlier plan to have a National River Basin Authority was abandoned as it was apprehended that States would oppose it as an infringement upon their rights. The Justice Daobia Committee, therefore, proposed a two-tier structure for River Basin Authority for each basin, namely, an upper layer of Governing Council with membership of Chief Ministers of co-basin States, and an Executive Board under it. An authority will prepare a River Basin Master Plan and ensure compliance. In case of inter-State dispute, the Council shall try for reconciliation, failing which, refer the dispute to a tribunal for adjudication under the Inter-State Water Disputes Act, 1956. Thirdly, the meeting looked at the Draft National Policy Guidelines that are being evolved for sharing and distributing inter-State waters on the principle of equity. This will not cover sharing of waters of trans -boundary river basins.

NCCC to be a reality soon

The Indian government, on 9 June 2013, set the ball rolling for creating its own multi-agency body National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC) that would carry out real-time assessment of cyber security threats and generate actionable reports/alerts for proactive actions by law enforcement agencies. The setting up of the federal Internet scanning agency will give law enforcement agencies direct access to all Internet accounts, be it your emails, blogs or social networking data. The NCCC will collect, integrate and scan [Internet] traffic data from different gateway routers of major ISPs at a centralised location for analysis, international gateway traffic and domestic traffic will be aggregated separately. The NCCC will facilitate real-time assessment of cyber security threats in the country and generate actionable reports/alerts for proactive actions by the concerned agencies. All top government spy and technical agencies will be part of the NCCC that would be set up at a cost of around Rs. 1,000 crore. Other agencies Other government agencies that will play an active role in the NCCC include the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS), Intelligence Bureau (IB), Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Indian Computer Emergency

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Response Team (CERT-In), National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), DIARA, Army, Navy, Air Force, and Department of Telecommunications. The government would also involve Internet service providers (ISPs) to ensure round-the-clock monitoring of the Internet, while expertise of other private sector organisations would be utilised when required. It wi ll be Indias first layer for cyber threat monitoring and all communication with government and private service providers would be through this body only. The NCCC would be in virtual contact with the control room of all ISPs to scan traffic within the country, flowing at the point of entry and exit, including international gateway. Apart from monitoring the Internet, the NCCC would look into various threats posed by cyber attacks. Before the NCCC comes into being, the National Information Board (NIB) has mandated the Operational Group on Cyber Security to have dialogue with stakeholders and share information to prepare a road map for setting up the cyber monitoring agency.

Government renews focus on polio eradication

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), on 25 June 2013, set up an expert group to work out a strategy to ensure eradication of wild poliovirus and minimise the risk of emergence and circulation of Vaccine-Derived Polio Virus (VDPV) in the country. The government is also working in coordination with the Global Polio Eradication Initiative on polio end-game strategy. VDPV are extremely rare and are detected in children with immunodeficiency or in populations with low levels of immunisation. VDPVs are different from wild polioviruses and India has not reported any case of wild poliovirus since January 2011.

Country-wide war on adolescent anaemia

In a major initiative to address adolescent anaemia, the government is launching a Weekly Iron Folic Acid Supplementation (WIFS) Programme from Karnataka from July 17, 2013. Supervised Iron-Folic Acid (IFA) would be administered, and sessions would be held in schools and Anganwadi centres to counsel adolescents and their care-givers on nutrition and related health issues. WIFS, which is already being implemented in some States for pregnant and lactating mothers, will cover the population in the age group 10-19. The programme, to be implemented across the country in both rural and urban areas, will cover 13 crore adolescents 6 crore girls and 7 crore boys enrolled in classes VI-XII in government and aided schools, and 7 crore out-of-school adolescent girls. Key features The key features of WIFS include administering supervised Weekly IFA supplements of 100 mg elemental iron and 500 mg folic acid; screening of target groups for moderate/severe anaemia and referring these cases to an appropriate health facility; bi-annual de-worming (Albendazole 400 mg), six months apart, for control of helminth (parasitic worm) infestation, and imparting information on improving dietary intake and prevention of intestinal worm infestation.

Livelihoods project for Maoist-hit places

In keeping with the Centres sustained efforts to enhance livelihood opportunities, the Ministry of Rural Development introduced a Governance and Accelerated Livelihoods Security project (GOALS) in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha, which are affected by Left Wing Extremism. This is an important initiative that will facilitate improved access to services and entitlement and ensure sustainable and commercially viable enterprises, particularly for the women and youth of these backward areas. Aim GOALS, which will be executed in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme, aims at strengthening the effectiveness of governance and livelihood promotion programmes in Naxal -affected districts. Expanse The project will be implemented in 12 backward tribal districts of Chhattisgarh (Sukhma, Bijapur, Narayanpur, Balrampur), Jharkhand (West Singhbhum, Latehar, Palamu, Gumla) and Odisha (Malkangiri, Koraput, Nuapada, Kalahandi). Benefits

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The five-year Rs. 50-crore project will attempt to enhance community participation in local governance and improve market linkages for the poor. Additionally, the focus will remain on engaging communities in local governance, simultaneously ensuring that State governments are more responsive. The Ministry is hopeful that the project will yield 200 agriculture and forest-based enterprises owned and run by women and tribal youth, extend access to financial services for 3,00,000 tribal households, provide training in market-required skills to 50,000 youth, ensure MGNREGA assets are durable and raise awareness about entitlements as well as grievance redress mechanisms. Previously, the government had extended the Integrated Action Plan (IAP), a specially conceived development programme for worst Maoist-affected districts, for four more years with an annual allocation of Rs. 1,000 crore. Now onwards, each of the 82 IAP districts will be given Rs. 5 crore annually while the remaining Rs. 590 crore will be distributed among the districts on the basis of their population and area.

Watershed management programme made flagship scheme

The Cabinet, on 20 June 2013, approved Integrated Watershed Management Programme as a flagship programme of the government. Following are the main features of the scheme: The former area development programmes of the Department of Land Resources, including the Drought Prone Areas Programme (DPAP), the Desert Development Programme (DDP) and the Integrated Wastelands Development Programme (IWDP) have been integrated into a single modified programme called Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) and launched in 2009-10. Additionally, an amount of Rs. 29,296 crore was allocated for IWMP in 12th Plan. Since the IWMP being an area development programme, all the people living in the area shall be benefitted by the program. Nearly 60 per cent of cultivated area across India is rain-fed. Further, these areas are also plagued by poverty, water scarcity, low productivity, malnutrition and prone to severe land degradation. The watershed development programme has been adopted as a tool to address problems of the rain-fed or degraded areas in the country. The cost of the project shall be shared in the ratio of 90:10 between Central Government and State Government. While 9 per cent of the project cost is earmarked for development of livelihoods for asset-less people, 10 per cent of the project cost is for productivity enhancement and development of microenterprises for small & marginal farmers. The cost norm under the IWMP has been enhanced to Rs. 15,000 per ha in difficult and hilly areas, up to Rs. 15,000 per ha. in the Integrated Action Plan (IAP) districts and Rs. 12,000 per hectare in other areas. More specifically, an average size of project under the IWMP is about 5,000 ha which is cluster of microwatersheds. A component of institution & capacity building (5 per cent of the total project cost) has been provided to establish institutional mechanism at State, District, Project and Village levels and to build capacities of stakeholders. The scheme also entails involvement of primary stakeholders in the form of grassroots community organisations. Benefits The benefits that are expected to accrue under the IWMP include increase in availability of surface water & groundwater, changes in cropping pattern from one to two crops annually, increase in fodder availability and increase in milk yield, increase in agriculture productivity and increase in employment opportunities and household income.

National Cyber Security Policy roadmap launched

Mr Kapil Sibbal, union minister for communications and IT, while unveiling the Cyber Security Policy in New Delhi on 2 July 2013, underlined that this policy should be seen as about protecting of information, such as personal information, financial/banking information, sovereign data etc. He also flagged the need to distinguish between data which can freely flow and data which needs to be protected. He pointed out that the real challenge is in the operationalisation of this policy. He also stated that the government, through incentives and subsidies, will need to

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support Small and Medium Enterprises for accessing the technology to make their systems safe. He also called on businesses to set aside finances for keeping themselves safe in cyber space. The "National Cyber Security Policy" has been prepared in consultation with all relevant stakeholders, user entities and public. This policy aims at facilitating creation of secure computing environment and enabling adequate trust and confidence in electronic transactions and also guiding stakeholders actions for protection of cyber space. The National Cyber Security Policy document outlines a road -map to create a framework for comprehensive, collaborative and collective response to deal with the issue of cyber security at all levels within the country. The policy recognises the need for objectives and strategies that need to be adopted both at the national level as well as international level. The objectives and strategies outlined in the National Cyber Security Policy together serve as a means to: i. Articulate our concerns, understanding, priorities for action as well as directed efforts. ii. Provide confidence and reasonable assurance to all stakeholders in the country (Government, business, industry and general public) and global community, about the safety, resiliency and security of cyber space. iii. Adopt a suitable posturing that can signal our resolve to make determined efforts to effectively monitor, deter & deal with cyber crime and cyber attacks. Salient features of the policy In brief, the National Cyber Security Policy covers the following aspects: A vision and mission statement aimed at building a secure and resilience cyber space for citizens, businesses and Government. Enabling goals aimed at reducing national vulnerability to cyber attacks, preventing cyber attacks & cyber crimes, minimising response & recover time and effective cyber crime investigation and prosecution. Focused actions at the level of Govt., public-private partnership arrangements, cyber security related technology actions, protection of critical information infrastructure and national alerts and advice mechanism, awareness & capacity building and promoting information sharing and cooperation. Enhancing cooperation and coordination between all the stakeholder entities within the country. Objectives and strategies in support of the National cyber security vision and mission. Framework and initiatives that can be pursued at the Govt. level, sectoral levels as well as in public private partnership mode. Facilitating monitoring key trends at the national level such as trends in cyber security compliance, cyber attacks, cyber crime and cyber infrastructure growth.

NSA puts cyber security initiative on fast track

The government of India, on 19 July 2013, put its cyber security initiative on fast track after years of neglect and looming threat of cyber-attacks. Going a step further, the Guidelines for Protection of National Critical Information Infrastructure, were placed in the public domain. The first version of the guidelines was released by National Security Adviser to Prime Minister, Shivshankar Menon. The detailed document was prepared by the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) which is to function as a specialised unit under the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO).

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The guidelines present 40 controls for protection of critical information infrastructure across sectors. These are generic and guiding controls, with each individual sector being left to evolve their own sector-specific controls.

Centre de-links spectrum from operational permits

The government, on 2 August 2013, unveiled the long-awaited unified licence norms that provide for de-linking of spectrum from operational permits, and allows companies to offer services using any technology. Details The new licence regime will allow companies to offer intra and inter-circle roaming, but bars operations from acquiring subscribers in areas where they dont own licence. All telecom companies will have to migrate to the new licensing regime upon expiry of their current permits. They will have to pay a licence fee of 8 per cent of annual revenues from telecom services. Telecom companies would be allowed to offer mobile and fixed-line services using any technology. They can also provide Internet TV services. The new licences will be valid for 20 years, and would be renewable for another 10 years. The licence agreement unveiled by the Department of Telecom bars telecom service providers from holding any beneficial stake in other operator in the service areas they operate.

Six more districts brought under action plan for Naxal-hit States
The tug of war between the Home Ministry and the Finance Ministry on the one side and the Planning Commission and the Rural Development Ministry on the other over implementation of the multicrore Integrated Action Plan (IAP) in select districts of the nine worst Naxal-affected States on 10 August 2013 ended with the Cabinet deciding to continue with the existing model of spending Rs. 30 crore per district through a district-level committee. Last week, the Cabinet also decided to increase the number of districts under the IAP from 82 to 88. Six new districts four in Chhattisgarh and two in Maharashtra have been brought under the IAP.

Ahimsa Messenger Programme launched

Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson, UPA launched the Ahimsa Messenger Programme of the Ministry of Women and Child Development on August 31, 2013. The Ahimsa Messenger programme aims at preventing violence against women and children and generating awareness about basic legal rights, procedures and provisions amongst women and children at the grassroots. The programme involves both men and women including youths to address and eliminate all forms of violence against women and children at grassroots and facilitate social/community mobilization to fight social evils. Ahimsa Messengers would also serve as link workers in case of any violence and also facilitate the women to approach the concerned authorities in case of incidences of violence for suitable redressal and follow up on the case. The programme envisages generating awareness amongst the community and giving intensive training to the various cadres of grass root level workers under various programmes across the country, besides generating awareness amongst the community especially adolescent girls and boys about their civic responsibilities and duties. The Ahimsa messengers will facilitate an enabling environment for safety and security of women and children in the community. They will also create women and child friendly environment in villages through community participation, especially of local leaders, adolescent boys and men, opinion makers, village elders etc.

Cabinet nod to set up Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation

The Union Cabinet, on 3 September 2013, approved the proposal for setting up of the Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation (BRLF) as an independent charitable society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 to facilitate and upscale civil society action in partnership with Government for transforming livelihoods and lives of rural households, with an emphasis on women, particularly in the Central Indian Tribal Region. It will provide financial

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grants to Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to meet their human resource and institutional costs for upscaling of proven interventions; invest in institutional strengthening of smaller CSOs and capacity building of professional resources working at the grassroots. Projects supported by BRLF would be able to reach 10 lakh poor families by the end of the fifth year. Even though BRLF will have an India wide mandate, the initial focus of the organization will be on the Central Indian Tribal Region, centered on blocks having significant tribal population across 170 districts in the States of Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Rs 500 crore will be released for creating the corpus fund of the new Society, in two tranches. The society will be constituted as a partnership between Government on the one hand and private sector philanthropies, private and public sector undertakings (under Corporate Social Responsibility) on the other hand.

In Naxal areas, security forces will now reach out to individuals

The Home Ministry, on 25 August 2013, tweaked its Civic Action Programme (CAP), which allows central armed paramilitary forces (CAPFs) to carry out development programmes in the nine-Left Wing Extremism (LWE)affected States. They have now been asked to be individual-oriented rather than project-oriented as this approach will help in bridging the gap between locals and security personnel more efficiently. Under the project christened Winning Hearts and Minds, the Central Reserve Police Force and the Border Security Force have till now been spending funds on small projects and development activities, which included building small bridges and roads, implementing drinking water and irrigation scheme. Under the revised guidelines, the security forces have been told to spend the money, which is Rs. 20 crore per annum, on welfare activities directed at individuals and families. The CAPFs would give them seeds and manure or livestock, donate household items or help with setting up hand-pumps so that they could live a comfortable and dignified life. Other new initiatives would include organising medical camps and funding vocational training programmes for children of villagers, and donating essential items for schools or health centres in backward and remote areas. Genesis The banned CPI (Maoist) had been luring the local population to support its so-called, protracted peoples war through petty incentives to local communities or by following a coercive strategy. Their propaganda is targeted against the security forces and the government/administrative set up. Under such circumstances, it is of paramount importance that efforts are made to project the human face of the security forces so that they can win the hearts and the minds of the people. It was decided to provide CAPFs funds to undertake civic activities for people residing in remote LWE-affected areas. This initiative has been successful in many conflict zones across the world and we have also been implementing it to a great degree of success.

Centre allocates Rs. 46,970 million to support cancer care

Union Cabinet cleared a proposal that would allocate a whopping Rs. 46,970 million towards strengthening cancer care facilities across the country over the next three years. This is the first ever time the country has made such a large investment to tackle cancer, indicating that the government is likely taking on the bull of non communicable diseases by its horns. While the money will be spent at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels, the bulk of the investment would go into building care centres at the tertiary level. There are an estimated 2.8 million cases; 1.1 million new cases per year and o.5 million deaths annually. Only 1 in three cases of cancers are diagnosed early. Details A total of 20 State Cancer Institutes (SCIs) would be set up with assistance of Rs. 1,200 million each, and 50 tertiary cancer care centres with assistance of Rs. 450 million each during the next 3 years. These funds would go only towards infrastructure and equipment costs and the State would have to bear recurring expenditures. The SCIs would have 100 beds each, and the TCCs, 50 beds each. This would mean an additional 4,500 beds to be available for cancer care in the country within the next three years. Currently, the Union government is supporting 27 regional cancer centres, and NGOs are also eligible for support if recommended by their respective state governments. In order to arrive at reliable statistics about the incidence and deaths due to cancer, it has been decided to expand and strengthen the Cancer registries in the country at a cost of Rs. 423 million. At present, there are 29 registries, and most of them are hospital based, with only a few in rural areas.

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Nirbhaya Fund initiative launched

Union Ministry of Women & Child Welfare, on 12 September 2013, drew up a national plan under the Nirbhaya Fund to provide protection to vulnerable women. Titled Shubh, this is the Ministrys first programme undertaken with financial aid from the Rs.1,000-crore Nirbhaya Corpus Fund. Shubh is aimed at mapping vulnerabilities and identifying areas and categories of women who need special protection measures such as women in prostitution or widowed women. Hundred per cent financial assistance would be provided to State Governments/Union Territories for 2.6 years of this Plan period to implement the various components of the scheme in a public-private partnership model.

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