Current events for the week 5-12 Jan, 2014

TABLE OF CONTENTS
national perspective ___________________________________________________________________________ 4 Tribal clashes in Assam_________________________________________________________________________ A Statehood demand _________________________________________________________________________ Collaborating MGNREGS and NBA______________________________________________________________ About Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan _______________________________________________________________ Fresh guidelines for phone interception ___________________________________________________ 4 4 4 5 6

Assam to follow Chaibagaan time __________________________________________________________ 7 global perspective ________________________________________________________________________ 7

What is a polar vortex? _______________________________________________________________ 7

economic perspective _____________________________________________________________________ 8

FDI in railways ________________________________________________________________________ 8

Retreating Himalayas _________________________________________________________________________ 8 health & medicine _________________________________________________________________________ Advantages of Xpert test __________________________________________________________________ TB in India ________________________________________________________________________________ Efforts by Indian government ___________________________________________________________________ 9 9 9 9

personalities _____________________________________________________________________________ 10

Notes & References very water tribunal __________________________________________________ 10 Interstate water sharing disputes in India _____________________________________________________ 10 Dispute settling mechanism _______________________________________________________________ 11 About water dispute tribunals _____________________________________________________________ 11
Constitution of Tribunal ________________________________________________________________________ Composition _________________________________________________________________________________ Adjudication of water disputes ___________________________________________________________________ Powers of Tribunal ____________________________________________________________________________ Filling of Vacancies____________________________________________________________________________ Dissolution of Tribunal _________________________________________________________________________ 11 11 11 12 12 13

NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
GLOBAL LEARNING CENTRE FOR INDIA INAUGURATED
India has laid the foundation stone for the global learning centre to be set up by the software services firm, Tata Consultancy Services; on the Techno city campus in Thiruvananthapuram and will have facilities to train 50,000 professionals every year. TCS claims it as the worlds largest corporate learning and development centre. The centre would produce world class professionals to meet the future needs of the IT industry. The project is expected to provide direct employment to over 2000 skilled and unskilled people for four years. The TCS will run programmes to upgrade the skills of the local youth and equip them to work in the construction of the centre. TRIBAL CLASHES IN ASSAM Karbi and Rengma Naga tribes faced violent clashes between the ethnic insurgent Karbi Peoples Liberation Tigers (KPLT) and the Rengma Naga Hills Protection Force (RNHPF) in relief camps in the Bokajan area of central Assams Karbi Anglong hills district.
A STATEHOOD DEMAND

The KPLT is a breakaway faction of the ethnic insurgent Karbi Longri N.C. Hills Liberation Front (KLNLF). The KLNLF is demanding a separate State comprising two hill districts Kabri Anglong and Dima Hasao and is now engaged in talks with the Centre and the State government. When the KLNLF signed the Suspension of Operation agreement with the Centre and the Assam government, about 20 cadres of the outfit parted ways and formed the KPLT in 2010. The KPLT has been demanding creation of a Hemprek Kanthim (self-ruled homeland) for the Karbi people. The KLNLF itself was a breakaway faction of the erstwhile insurgent outfit United Peoples Democratic Solidarity. The RNHPF was formed in 2012 for protection of the Rengma Nagas from KPLT attacks. The outfit has been demanding creation of a regional council for the Rengma Nagas of Karbi Anglong. COLLABORATING MGNREGS AND NBA With over 620 million people practicing open defecation in the country, GOI has decided to widen the scope of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to include works relating to rural sanitation in collaboration with the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyaan (NBA). This is aimed at strengthening the base of rural livelihood and creating durable assets in rural areas and infrastructure at a village level. More specifically, it shall accelerate sanitation coverage in rural areas to provide privacy and dignity particularly to women. As per Para 4 (1) IV (i) of the Schedule- I of the MGNREG Act rural sanitation related works, such as individual household latrines, school toilets, Anganwadi toilets can be taken up either independently or in convergence with schemes of other Government Departments to achieve an open defecation-free status. The amendment made to the existing guidelines incorporates various changes including taking up Individual Household Latrine (IHHL) works either under NBA or independently under MGNREGS, as per the choice of the beneficiary. The design and specifications shall continue to be laid down by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.

For all works taken up by the Gram Panchayats, including the rural sanitation works taken up based on the above guidelines, the cost of the material component including the wages of the skilled and semi-skilled workers shall not exceed forty per cent at the Gram Panchayat level.

ABOUT NIRMAL BHARAT ABHIYAN

In order to ensure sanitation facilities in rural areas with the broader goal to eradicate the practice of open defecation, a comprehensive programme called Total Sanitation Campaign was launched by Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission, Government of India to cover all households with water and sanitation facilities and promote hygiene behaviour for overall improvement of health and sanitation in rural areas. The Total Sanitation Campaign which was introduced in Cuddalore and Coimbatore districts initially in 1999 was extended in phases to all other districts in Tamil Nadu by 2004. A nominal subsidy in the form of incentive is given to the rural poor households for construction of toilets. The key intervention areas have been identified as Individual Household Latrines (IHHL), School Sanitation & Hygiene Education, Community Sanitary Complex and Anganwadi Toilets. The Scheme laid strong emphasis on Information, Education and Communication (IEC), capacity building and hygiene education for effective behaviour change, with the involvement of PRIs, Community Based Organizations (CBOs), NGOs, etc. The Scheme has now been renamed as Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA). OBJECTIVES: The main objectives of the NBA are as under: Bring about an improvement in the general quality of life in the rural areas. Accelerate sanitation coverage in rural areas to achieve the vision of Nirmal Bharat by 2022 with all gram Panchayats in the country attaining Nirmal status. Motivate communities and Panchayati Raj Institutions promoting sustainable sanitation facilities through awareness creation and health education. To cover the remaining schools not covered under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Anganwadi Centres in the rural areas with proper sanitation facilities and undertake proactive promotion of hygiene education and sanitary habits among students. Encourage cost effective and appropriate technologies for ecologically safe and sustainable sanitation. Develop community managed environmental sanitation systems focusing on solid & liquid waste management for overall cleanliness in the rural areas. ELIGIBILITY FOR AVAILING INCENTIVE/ ASSISTANCE UNDER NBA/ MGNREGS FOR CONSTRUCTION OF IHHL Above Poverty Line (APL) households restricted to SCs/STs, Small and Marginal farmers, Landless labourers with homestead, Differently Abled and Women headed households. Households under these categories should be identified by a Committee comprising of Block Development Officer (Village Panchayats), Deputy Block Development Officer (Adi-Dravidar Welfare) and Village Panchayat President concerned and the list prepared by the Committee should be approved by the Gram Sabha. Below Poverty Line (BPL) Household.

 All houses constructed under Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) or Chief Ministers Solar Powered Green House Programme or any other Central/State housing scheme shall also be eligible for IHHL under Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA) and MGNREGS. However, the households which have availed the benefit of IHHL under TSC/NBA or already have a toilet shall not be eligible for assistance /incentive. SANCTION OF WORKS A combined list of all the eligible beneficiaries from a Village Panchayat desirous of constructing Individual Household latrines (IHHL) shall be prepared. The District Programme Coordinator/ District Collector will issue the administrative sanction under MGNREGS for all the IHHLs that are approved by Grama Sabha for the year, clearly indicating the labour portion under MGNREGS and the material portion to be converged from NBA. The Village Panchayat is the implementing Agency.

FRESH GUIDELINES FOR PHONE INTERCEPTION

The Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for Lawful Interception and Monitoring of Telecom Service Providers (TSP) have been announced by The Union government for interception of telephones. According to the norms: Requests would include interception and monitoring under the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, for voice, SMS, GPRS, MMS, Video and VoIP calls. Apart from the nine Central agencies namely, the IB, the NCB, the DE, the CBDT, the DRI, the CBI, the NIA, RAW and the Defence Ministry State Directors-General of Police and the Commissioner of Police in Delhi, are authorised to request intercepts. Additionally, authorised security agencies can seek information under Section 92 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) of call records (CDRs), home and roaming network, CDR by tower location and by calling/called number, location details of target number within home or roaming network, and so on. Only the Chief Nodal Officer of a telecom company can provide interception if the order is issued by the Secretary to the Government of India in the Home Ministry, in case of Government of India, or a Secretary to the State Government in charge of Home Department, in case of State Government. In unavoidable circumstances, such orders can be issued by an officer not below the rank of Joint Secretary to the GOI who has been fully authorised by the Union Home Secretary or the State Home Secretary. Interception is subject to eight checks before monitoring is allowed. These include receiving the request in a sealed envelope, ensuring the delivery of interception by an officer not below the rank of sub-inspector of police or equivalent. The SOP mandates that, any request received by telephone, SMS and fax, should not be accepted under any circumstances. The SOP require that if a request is made on e-mail, unless a physical copy is not reached to the telecom service provider within 48 hours the interception should be terminated and an intimation provided to the concerned Home Secretary as a part of the fortnightly report.

The SOP require that records pertaining to such interception, such as letter and envelope, intercept form and internal interception request form should be destroyed within 2 months of discontinuance of interception of such messages. The date and time of the actual provisioning of target in the TSP network should be mentioned, too. The interception order of the State Home Secretary in which the subscriber is registered should be honoured by the State in which the subscriber is roaming. In effect, no new order from a second State that may be involved, or from the Union Home Secretary, is needed.

ASSAM TO FOLLOW CHAIBAGAAN TIME Assam has decided to follow chaibagaan time, a daylight schedule British tea planters introduced more than 150 years ago. The state government feels that it will help save energy and improve lifestyles impacted by the IST( Indian Standard Time)-induced late start of daylight work schedule. Chaibagaan or bagaan time was set one hour ahead of IST for tea estates, collieries and oil industry of Assam. Most tea estates still follow this time, so does the 112-year-old Digboi Refinery in eastern Assam. Established on September 1, 1947, IST corresponds to the time schedule along the 82.5E longitude near Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh. States located to the west of this longitude have more daylight hours compared to those in the east. Advocates of dual time zones say bagaan time would help increase productivity, reduce domestic and commercial power consumption and curb alcoholism. But the Centre's Department of Science and Technology (DST), after examining the feasibility of setting up dual time in 2007, turned down a proposal to advance the clock in the northeast by an hour citing acute administrative challenges.

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
POLAR VORTEX BREAKS TEMPERATURE RECORDS IN US
The so-called "polar vortex" of dense, frigid air blamed for at least 21 cold-related deaths across the US spread to the East and the Deep South, shattering records that in some cases had stood for more than a century. WHAT IS A POLAR VORTEX? Polar vortex is a lobe of dense, cold air that's normally bound in by a jet stream. The polar vortex is not like a hurricane or easterlies that develops and goes away. Its a normal feature thats part of the polar climate. On Earth, the polar vortices are located in the middle and upper troposphere and the stratosphere. They surround the polar highs and lie in the wake of the polar front. These cold-core low-pressure areas strengthen in the winter and weaken in the summer due to their reliance upon the temperature differential between the equator and the poles. They usually span less than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) in which the air is circulating in anticlockwise fashion (in the Northern Hemisphere). As with other cyclones, their rotation is caused by the Coriolis effect.

ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE
FDI IN RAILWAYS The Indian government is likely to allow foreign direct investment in high-speed trains and other projects including development of rail lines between project sites and existing network. At present, there is a complete ban on any kind of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the railways sector except mass rapid transport systems. Besides, proposing 100 per cent FDI through automatic route in the cash-starved railway sector, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has also proposed to de-license and de-reserve few areas of the sector. Some other key proposals:

Allow 100 per cent FDI through automatic route. However Foreign investment would also be allowed in "sub-urban corridor, high-speed train systems and dedicated freight line projects implemented in PPP mode. Widen the definition of 'infrastructure' by including railway line and railway sidings. Foreign companies would be allowed to pick up 100 per cent stake in the special purpose vehicle (SPV) that will construct and maintain rail lines connecting ports, mines and industrial hubs with the existing rail network .

EN V I RO N MEN T & ECOL O G Y

RETREATING HIMALAYAS
As per the new research paper published in Current Science the Himalayas lost 13 per cent of its glaciers in just four decades. Approximately 443 billion tonnes (Gt) of glacier ice was lost in this timeframe out of the total glacial water stored in the Indian Himalaya to be around 4,000 Gt. The scientists reviewed information on 11,000 sq km of Himalayan glaciers, from existing field investigations, satellite imagery, inventories of the Geological Survey of India, scientific papers and maps, and conclude that most of the Himalayan glaciers are retreating. The rate of retreat however varies from glacier to glacier, ranging from a few metres to almost 61 m/year. The report finds Karakoram as the only stable range. The others are retreating at different rates. Glaciers are retreating faster in Western Himalaya than in Sikkim. Several predictions have been made about the impact of global warming on the Himalayas many of which have been speculative. One such assessment was made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2007 which explained that if the present rate [of glacial retreat] continues, the likelihood of them disappearing by year 2035 and perhaps sooner is very high if the earth keeps warming at the current rate.

HEALTH & MEDICINE

TUBERCULOSIS CONTROL IN INDIA
The number of labs/private hospitals in the country offering the WHO-approved tests like Gene Xpert, Line Probe Assay (LPA) for diagnosing TB disease at a subsidised price has reached 54. With the launch of Improving Access to Affordable & Quality TB Tests (IPAQT) the number people accessing these labs for the subsidised tests has risen to 30,000. Of them, over 15,000 people have availed the Xpert test.

ADVANTAGES OF XPERT TEST

It can diagnose more people who have TB and with a greater degree of confidence. It can turn in results in about two hours. And unlike smear microscopy, Xpert can also indicate resistance to rifampicin a first-line TB drug. Almost 98 per cent of people who are resistant to rifampicin are also resistant to isoniazid, another firstline TB drug. Xpert can help doctors know if a patient suffers from MDR-TB even before starting treatment. While the Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP) uses Xpert and other WHO-approved diagnostic tests like LPA only for retreatment cases (where the patient had earlier been successfully treated for TB), private practitioners prefer Xpert even in the case of fresh cases (those who have never before been down with TB disease). A ban on the serological test, one of the major decisions taken in early 2012 by the government of India, will go a long way in correctly diagnosing TB disease on time. The serological TB test diagnoses TB disease based on the presence of antibody response. But its a fact that the presence or absence of antibody response does not reflect the true TB disease status. Hence, serological test is a highly unreliable for diagnosing TB disease. With the serological test banned, many labs are offering TB Gold blood test. TB Gold test can only diagnose latent TB (TB infection) and cannot and should not be used for diagnosing TB disease. TB IN INDIA India has the world's highest burden of TB. TB kills one person every 2 min in India and 750 people every day. Global TB control is unattainable without enhanced control of TB in India. EFFORTS BY INDIAN GOVERNMENT India's Revised National TB Control Program (RNTCP) has made great progress in the last decade, and free, quality-assured TB diagnosis and treatment is available to all patients who seek care in the public sector. The Government of India (GOI) recently approved the National Strategic Plan for 2012-2017 with an ambitious goal of universal access to quality TB diagnosis and treatment for all patients in India. This goal of universal access will mean increasing the capacity to manage and treat all forms of TB (including drug-resistant TB), as well as substantially great engagement of the private sector in India which manages nearly half of all TB cases. INITIATIVE FOR PROMOTING AFFORDABLE QUALITY TB TESTS (IPAQT) Initiative for Promoting Affordable, Quality TB tests (IPAQT) was launched in March 2013, to improve the affordability of WHO-endorsed TB tests. It is a coalition of private labs in India, supported by industry and nonprofit groups (e.g., Clinton Health Access Initiative), that has made WHO-endorsed tests available at affordable prices to patients in the private sector. IPAQT aims to facilitate the delivery of WHO-endorsed tests to the TB patient at affordable prices, and
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promote the use of WHO-endorsed TB tests by building awareness about these new, validated/endorsed tests among health providers, laboratories, and patients.

PERSONALITIES
JUSTICE B.S. CHAUHAN
Justice B.S. Chauhan, a Judge of the Supreme Court, has been selected to Chair the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal. The tribunal has been without Chairman since April 2012, when Justice N.P. Singh resigned on health grounds.

Notes & ReferencesVERY WATER TRIBUNAL

The tribunal was constituted on June 2, 1990. By an interim award issued on June 25, 1991, it directed Karnataka to release 205 tmcft each year to Tamil Nadu. Of this quantum, Tamil Nadu was to release 6 tmcft to Pondicherry. The tribunal gave its final award on February 5, 2007. Thereafter, the Tamil Nadu government filed applications for certain clarification on the award and sought some directions. Petitions filed by the party States and the Centre under Section 5(3) of the Inter State River Water Disputes Act, seeking an explanation or guidance, have been pending before the tribunal since 2007.

INTERSTATE WATER SHA RING DISPUTES IN INDIA

Dispute States involved

1. The Krishna-Godavari Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh (AP), Madhya Pradesh water dispute (MP), and Orissa 2. Godavari Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha

3. Narmada 4. The Cauvery dispute 5. The Ravi-Beas

Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra water Karnataka and Tamil Nadu Punjab and Haryana Andhra Pradesh and Odisha Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra

6. Vansadhara-7. Mandovi/Mahadayi

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DISPUTE SETTLING MECHANISM

Constitutional provisions Entry 17 in the state list: Water, irrigation and canal water development and storage is a state subject. Entry 56 in the union list: regulation and development of water under the control of the union is declared by parliament by law to be expedient in the public interest. Article 262: Explicitly grants parliament the right to legislate over the matter in entry 56 and also gives primacy over Supreme Court.

Inter-state River Water Dispute Act (ISRWD) 1956

Include provisions for the establishment of tribunals to adjudicate where direct negotiations have failed. Centre has been entitled with the power of establishment of tribunals and confirms the enforcement of the adjudication of the tribunals.

ABOUT WATER DISPUTE TRIBUNALS

CONSTITUTION OF TRIBUNAL When any request under section 3 is received from any State Government in respect of any water dispute and the Central Government is of opinion that the water dispute cannot be settled by negotiations, the Central Government shall, within a period not exceeding one year from the date of receipt of such request, constitute a Water Disputes Tribunal for the adjudication of the water dispute: Provided that any dispute settled by a Tribunal before the commencement of Inter-State Water Disputes (Amendment) Act, 2002 shall not be re-opened. COMPOSITION The Tribunal shall consist of a Chairman and two other members nominated in this behalf by the Chief Justice of India from among persons who at the time of such nomination are Judges of the Supreme Court or of a High Court. The Central Government may, in consultation with the Tribunal, appoint two or more persons as assessors to advise the Tribunal in the proceedings before it. ADJUDICATION OF WATER DISPUTES

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As per the ISRWD act when a Tribunal has been constituted the Central Government shall refer the water dispute and any matter appearing to be connected with or relevant to the water dispute to the Tribunal for adjudication. The Tribunal shall investigate the matters referred to it and forward to the Central Government a report setting out the facts as found by it and giving its decision on the matters referred to it within a period of three years. Provided that if the decision cannot be given for unavoidable reason, within a period of three years, the Central Government may extend the period for a further period not exceeding two years. If, upon consideration of the decision of the Tribunal, the Central Government or any State Government is of opinion that anything therein contained requires explanation or that guidance is needed upon any point not originally referred to the Tribunal, the Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be, within three months from the date of the decision, again refer the matter to the Tribunal for further consideration, and on such reference, the Tribunal may forward to the Central Government a further report within one year from the date of such reference giving such explanation or guidance as it deems fit and in such a case, the decision of the Tribunal shall be deemed to be modified accordingly: Provided that the period of one year within which the Tribunal may forward its report to the Central Government may be extended by the Central Government, for such further period as it considers necessary. If the members of the Tribunal differ in opinion on any point, the point shall be decided according to the opinion of the majority. The Central Government shall publish the decision of the Tribunal in the Official Gazette and the decision shall be final and binding on the parties to the dispute and shall be given effect to by them. The decision of the Tribunal shall have the same force as an order or decree of the Supreme Court. POWERS OF TRIBUNAL

The Tribunal shall have the same powers as are vested in a civil court in respect of the following matters, namely : summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath Requiring the discovery and production of documents and material objects requisitioning of any data, as may be required by it. Issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses or for local investigation; Any other matter which may be prescribed. The Tribunal may require any State Government to carry out, or permit to be carried out, such surveys and investigation as may be considered necessary for the adjudication of any water dispute pending before it. A decision of the Tribunal may contain directions as to the Government by which the expenses of the Tribunal and any costs incurred by any State Government in appearing before the Tribunal are to be paid, and may fix the amount of any expenses or costs to be so paid, and so far as it relates to expenses or costs, may be enforced as if it were an order made by the Supreme Court. FILLING OF VACANCIES If, for any reason a vacancy (other than a temporary absence) occurs in the office of the Chairman or any other member of a Tribunal, such vacancy shall be filled by a person to be nominated in this behalf by the Chief Justice of India and the investigation of the matter referred to the Tribunal may be continued by the Tribunal after the vacancy is filled and from the stage at which the vacancy occurred.

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DISSOLUTION OF TRIBUNAL The Central Government shall dissolve the Tribunal after it has forwarded its report and as soon as the Central Government is satisfied that no further reference to the Tribunal in the matter would be necessary.

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