The Union Cabinet, in its letter sent on 9 January 2013, to the high courts as well as the state governments asked them to enhance strength of the subordinate judiciary from 18000 at present to 20000. The Law Ministry approved 80 crore Rupees for recruiting these 2000 additional judges in the country for the fast track courts.
The Law Ministry asked for an approval from the cabinet in the last week of December 2012 which was granted to it. This happened in light of the gang rape of the 23-year-old Para-medical student on 16 December 2012, after which lawyers, officials as well as jurists discussed how long trials put the victims at a disadvantage.
The government additionally was also working upon the proposals to enable states for using the funds which were available for morning as well as evening courts, in order to increase the number of fast track courts even more.
The morning as well as evening courts were set up by the law ministry in 2010. However, the scheme was not successful because only a few states availed it, which resulted in unused funds. The government now proposed to divert these funds for setting up the fast track courts.
Inspite of all such efforts, there are over 3.20 crore cases pending in the various courts of the country. Out of these, a total of 2.76 crore cases were pending in the subordinate courts and 44 lakh were pending in the high courts, as per the Law Ministry.
Thursday, 17 January 2013
Parliamentary Standing Committee recommended Entitlement of Food for 67 percent Population
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Food and Consumer Affairs in January 2013 suggested the entitlement of the food under the National Food Security Act to the 67 percent population leaving behind the 33 percent people who are tax-payers and have pucca houses of their own.
The Priority (BPL-below poverty line) and general (APL-above poverty line) are to be replaced with the exclusion and inclusion categories. The beneficiaries would be identified by the state government for the public distribution system of the subsidized rice and wheat.
As per the plans of the standing committee the Union Government would be distributing the subsidized food grains to the 67 percent population that includes 75 percent rural and 50 percent urban population.
This act was sent to the Parliamentary Panel for its reference in December 2011 after it was tabled in the Lok Sabha and was followed by the demands of the Food Security Bill.
Parliamentary Committees
The Parliamentary committees are constituted to take care of the legislative businesses of the Parliament and it comprises of several committees.
Among these the two main committees are:
• The Ad hoc Committee
• The Standing Committee
Ad hoc Committee – these are appointed for specific purpose and they are dissolved after the task assigned to them is completed and the final report is submitted. These committees are the joint and select committees over the Bills and are appointed for specific purposes like Committees on the Draft Five Year Plans, Railway Convention Committee, Hindi Equivalents Committee and more.
The Standing Committee – Each house of the Indian Parliament are supported by standing committees, which includes the Committee on Petitions, the Business Advisory Committee, the Rules Committee, the Committee of Privileges and more.
The Priority (BPL-below poverty line) and general (APL-above poverty line) are to be replaced with the exclusion and inclusion categories. The beneficiaries would be identified by the state government for the public distribution system of the subsidized rice and wheat.
As per the plans of the standing committee the Union Government would be distributing the subsidized food grains to the 67 percent population that includes 75 percent rural and 50 percent urban population.
This act was sent to the Parliamentary Panel for its reference in December 2011 after it was tabled in the Lok Sabha and was followed by the demands of the Food Security Bill.
Parliamentary Committees
The Parliamentary committees are constituted to take care of the legislative businesses of the Parliament and it comprises of several committees.
Among these the two main committees are:
• The Ad hoc Committee
• The Standing Committee
Ad hoc Committee – these are appointed for specific purpose and they are dissolved after the task assigned to them is completed and the final report is submitted. These committees are the joint and select committees over the Bills and are appointed for specific purposes like Committees on the Draft Five Year Plans, Railway Convention Committee, Hindi Equivalents Committee and more.
The Standing Committee – Each house of the Indian Parliament are supported by standing committees, which includes the Committee on Petitions, the Business Advisory Committee, the Rules Committee, the Committee of Privileges and more.
India and Bangladesh Decided Increasing Rail Link Projects
India and Bangladesh decided in the third week of January 2013, to speed up its rail link projects in order to increase the contact among the people of two neighbouring nations. As of now, there are four ongoing rail link projects and these are Chilahati (Bangladesh)-Haldibari (India), Birol (Bangladesh)-Radhikapur (India), Akhaura (Bangladesh)-Agartala (India) and Shahbazpur (Bangladesh)- Mahishashan (India).
The senior railway officials from the two countries decided in the joint meeting to also examine feasibility of establishment of rail link between Feni (Bangladesh) and Belonia (India). Railway delegations from India and Bangladesh discussed about the operational, technical as well as financial matters as well. Discussions on reforming inter-country freight train operations, improving functioning of Maitree Express, upgrading the infrastructure as well as establishment of even more rail connectivity points, were held.
Delegations from India and Bangladesh also agreed in the meanwhile to increase frequency of the Maitree Express as well as introduction of the system of return tickets.
Working group which includes government officials from India and Bangladesh were formed in order to check the range of issues such as operational, financial, commercial as well as security of the Maitree Express.
The senior railway officials from the two countries decided in the joint meeting to also examine feasibility of establishment of rail link between Feni (Bangladesh) and Belonia (India). Railway delegations from India and Bangladesh discussed about the operational, technical as well as financial matters as well. Discussions on reforming inter-country freight train operations, improving functioning of Maitree Express, upgrading the infrastructure as well as establishment of even more rail connectivity points, were held.
Delegations from India and Bangladesh also agreed in the meanwhile to increase frequency of the Maitree Express as well as introduction of the system of return tickets.
Working group which includes government officials from India and Bangladesh were formed in order to check the range of issues such as operational, financial, commercial as well as security of the Maitree Express.
World Bank slashed the Global Growth Forecast to 2.4 Percent
The World Bank on 15 January 2013 projected that the world economy would expand 2.4 percent in 2013, little higher than the 2.3 percent achieved in 2012. In June 2012, the Bank forecasted the growth up to 3 percent, but due to the slow growth rate, high unemployment rate and less confidence in businesses across the developing nations it managed to revise the forecast earlier made.
The World Bank has reduced the projected growth rate of different countries. It has slashed the growth rate of Japan to its half from the one projected earlier and in case of US the growth rate has been slashed by 0.5 percent points. The bank also projected narrowing in the growth rate of the Euro Region. For emerging markets of Mexico, Brazil and India also the projection was lowered.
The report from the lead author of the Bank’s Global Economic Prospects Andrew Burns describes that the predicted recoveries of the bank in 2012 would be carried forward towards the end of the first quarter and second quarter of 2013.
The bank report also has claimed that the ongoing political battle in United States for raising the borrowing limit and spending cuts by the Government would bring loss of confidence in the rate of dollar creating an alarming situation for the world financial market and effect the growth rate. It also pointed out the diplomatic tensions between China and Japan would also have an impact on the growth rate.
The World Bank has reduced the projected growth rate of different countries. It has slashed the growth rate of Japan to its half from the one projected earlier and in case of US the growth rate has been slashed by 0.5 percent points. The bank also projected narrowing in the growth rate of the Euro Region. For emerging markets of Mexico, Brazil and India also the projection was lowered.
The report from the lead author of the Bank’s Global Economic Prospects Andrew Burns describes that the predicted recoveries of the bank in 2012 would be carried forward towards the end of the first quarter and second quarter of 2013.
The bank report also has claimed that the ongoing political battle in United States for raising the borrowing limit and spending cuts by the Government would bring loss of confidence in the rate of dollar creating an alarming situation for the world financial market and effect the growth rate. It also pointed out the diplomatic tensions between China and Japan would also have an impact on the growth rate.
Five most frightening findings of National Climate Assessment Federal Report
The draft National Climate Assessment, released for public comment this week, explains that climate change is already delivering hotter summers, more flooding and periods of extreme heat that “last longer than any living American has ever experienced.” But the report also offers five particularly disturbing predictions about climate change, according to scientists with the Center for Biological Diversity. The Center was the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit that forced the federal government to release the second national climate assessment in 2008.
“This report gives Americans a disturbing preview of a harsh future ruled by climate chaos,” said Shaye Wolf, the Center's climate science director. “Our country will suffer searing heat, surging seas and terrifying storms unless we act immediately against greenhouse gas pollution. Fighting climate change should be the first thing on President Obama’s mind in the morning and his last thought before bed.”
Here are the five most disturbing findings of the draft National Climate Assessment:
- More extreme heat: America will warm by as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100 if carbon emissions keep rising, the report says. Greenhouse gas pollution has already roughly doubled the risk of extreme heat events (such as the scorching summer of 2011 in Texas), and major heat waves will become more intense and more common. ...
- Rising seas and more damaging extreme weather: The power of the strongest hurricanes will continue to rise, the report says, and most areas of the United States will see more frequent and more intense downpours, which can lead to harmful flooding. ...
- Endangered food supply: Food insecurity will increase in America and around the world. ...
- Biodiversity threatened: Many plants and animals and their habitats may be overwhelmed by climate change and other stressors....
- Carbon emissions rising rapidly: Carbon pollution is still increasing, with global emissions “on track to be even higher than the high emissions scenario” analyzed in the report. America’s contribution to global emissions is about 20 percent, the report notes, and our efforts to reduce pollution are too slight to comply with international agreements to avoid dangerous climate change....
Global warming opening up Russia's Arctic
Russia's natural resources ministry proposed on Jan. 15 that offshore oil and gas fields on the country's Arctic shelf that isn't wanted by state-controlled firms should be explored and developed by non-state companies.
Private companies have so far failed to break the monopoly of Gazprom and Rosneft on hydrocarbons exploration on Russia's offshore continental maritime shelf, as currently only Russian state-controlled companies, including Rosneft and Gazprom, are allowed to hold offshore licenses in Russian territorial waters, Russkoe Informatsionnoe Agenstvo news agency reported on Tuesday.
Currently energy companies that want to acquire licenses to work on the Russian continental offshore shelf have to have a minimum of 50 percent state ownership and foreign and Russian private companies have to sign contracts with either Gazprom or Rosneft.
In further bad news for Russian private energy firms, Gazprom is not interested in relinquishing to state control the licenses for those offshore fields it is not interested in, according to Gazprom CEO Aleksei Miller, speaking to reporters in Novy Urengoi, above the Arctic Circle....
Three icebreakers, some of them Russian, shot by US Department of "Homeland Security," public domain
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