Five-day mission to satellite-track Amur Falcons in Nagaland
Two scientists from Hungary reached Nagaland on Sunday to satellite-tag Amur Falcons there — the first time that such a project is being undertaken in the country.
The five-day mission, began on Tuesday and ending on Saturday, is taking place in collaboration with scientists from the Wildlife Institute of India Dehradun, the Programme Officer - Birds of Prey (Raptors), the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the Convention on Migratory Species, the United Nations Environment Programme, the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi, and the Nagaland Forest Department.Every year, from October to November, a large number of Amur Falcons arrive in the northeast, especially in Nagaland, from South-eastern Siberia and Northern China en route to their final destination — Somalia, Kenya and South Africa.Amur Falcons travel up to 22,000 km a year — known to be one of the longest distance migration of birds. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and head of Forest Force Nagaland, M. Lokeswara Rao told
The Hindu that the team of scientists will tag five Amur Falcons with satellite transmitters in the Doyang area of Wokha district. “The bird of prey visits Nagaland, probably before taking a giant leap across the Indian Ocean. The raptor spends its day in search of food and settles on trees for roosting during the night. This is the first time in the country that satellite transmitters are being fitted on Amur Falcons,” Mr. Rao said.
He also said there were threats related to conservation of Amur Falcons, particularly during their seasonal migration.
“A comprehensive understanding of the seasonal migration patterns of Amur Falcons is needed for preparing a ‘Conservation Action Plan’ for the species. As they are long-distant migrants, we need to use specialised satellite transmitters which can track their seasonal movements,” he said.
The senior forest official hoped that satellite tagging would bolster conservation efforts initiated by the Nagaland Forest Department as well as NGOs, and prevent hunting of the migratory birds.
As a result of the joint effort of churches, village councils, NGOs, educational institutions and the Forest department in building awareness on the importance of conserving the species, no Amur Falcon has been hunted this year, he said.
Previously, a large number of Amur Falcons were captured and killed in the State.
With focus on terrorism, India-China begin joint military drills
The 10-day drill is the first such exercise between the neighbours in five years.
India and China on Tuesday began a 10-day joint military drill on counterterrorism — the first such exercise between the neighbours in five years — in southwestern China, with around 300 soldiers from both countries taking part in exercises aimed at boosting trust between the militaries.
The drills began on Tuesday morning in Miaoergang, a town southwest of Chengdu — the provincial capital of the western Sichuan province — with displays of Kungfu by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) contingent and the Gatka martial art, from Punjab, by Indian soldiers. Soldiers also conducted weapons displays with the objective of allowing the other side to become more familiar with the characteristics of weaponry used across the border.
Over the next 10 days, the two contingents — comprising around 160 soldiers each, according to Indian officials, from the 16 Sikh Light Infantry and the 1st Battalion Infantry division of the PLA — will conduct counter-terrorism drills involving tactical hand signals, arrest and escort, hostage rescue, joint attacks and “a comprehensive anti-terror combat drill”, the Chinese State-run Xinhua news agency said.
The drills — the first held in five years — take place only a week after both countries signed a Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) to expand confidence-building measures.
Chengdu is the headquarters of one of the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) seven Military Area Commands (MACs). The Chengdu MAC holds responsibility for the entire Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), as well as the middle and eastern sections of the border with India.
The drills, analysts say, are more symbolic than substantial: the counterterrorism drills are nowhere near as comprehensive as a full-fledged exercise between two armies. The larger objective is to expand confidence and trust between two militaries, which are often grappling with tensions along the border.
At the same time, the 10-day counterterrorism drill has been seen as being particularly significant in China for two reasons. For one, the exercise follows the recent signing of the BDCA during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit in late October.
Also, the issue of terrorism has come under renewed attention in China in recent days, after last week’s incident in Tiananmen Square where a jeep carrying three Uighurs from the Muslim-majority Xinjiang region drove into a crowd, killing two tourists and injuring 40 others.
This was the message highlighted at Tuesday's opening ceremony by PLA Lieutenant General Yang Jinshan and Lieutenant General Vinod Bhatia, who headed the Indian Army observer group.
Lieutenant General Yang, the deputy commander of the Chengdu MAC, highlighted terrorism “as a global challenge” and said, in unusually direct remarks from a Chinese senior official considering China’s “all-weather ties” with Pakistan, that India and China “face similar threats”.
“It is a signal to both sides that the militaries can do something to improve the bilateral relationship,” said Lan Jianxue, a South Asia scholar at the China Institute for International Studies (CIIS), a Beijing think-tank affiliated to the Foreign Ministry, in an interview with The Hindu. “As a result of the historical background, it is good for the two militaries to communicate more with each other directly. The resumption of exercises will help to increase confidence about the other side.”
Lieutenant General Yang was quoted by Xinhua as saying the training was intended “to exchange anti-terror experiences, enhance mutual understanding and trust, and boost cooperation between the Chinese and Indian Armies”.
Lieutenant General Bhatia said the exercise was “a perfect beginning” for renewed bilateral cooperation. “We intend on learning best practices of each other, which would be mutually beneficial for both the Armies,” he said.
Echoing that message, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei told reporters the drill “showed the enhanced political mutual trust between our two countries”.
The 10-day exercise is the third round of the “hand-in-hand” drills that the two countries initiated in 2007 in Kunming, in southwestern Yunnan province. The second round was held in Belgaum, Karnataka, the following year.
Defence exchanges were suspended for more than a year, in 2009, after China refused to host the then head of the Northern Command, citing its “sensitivities” on Kashmir. The move came amid a disputed over China’s issuing of stapled visas to Indian residents of Jammu and Kashmir.
India agreed to resume defence ties after China withdrew the stapled visa policy, following the former Premier Wen Jiabao’s visit to India in 2010, and agreed to host senior officials from the Northern Command in several subsequent delegations.
Military ties were further strained earlier this year following a three-week-long stand-off between troops along the border in Depsang, Ladakh, triggered by Chinese soldiers pitching a tent on disputed territory.
Last month, both sides signed a Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) aimed at expanding confidence-building measures and preventing the recurrence of face-offs, by formalising rules such as no tailing of patrols and widening direct contact between military commands.
SEBI revises system audit guidelines
Market regulator SEBI on Wednesday asked bourses to report all major non-compliances and observations by system auditors of stock brokers on a quarterly basis.
The exchanges are also required to ensure that all major audit findings specifically in critical areas, are rectified or complied in a time-bound manner.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had in 2008 mandated that exchanges and depositories have to conduct an annual system audit by a reputed independent auditor.
In the audit report, exchanges need to report major non-compliance issues and other important instances of deviations, if any.
“Stock exchange should report all major non-compliances/ observations of system auditors, broker wise, on a quarterly basis to SEBI,” the regulator said in a circular.
Besides, exchanges are advised to keep track of findings of system audits of brokers on a quarterly basis and “ensure that all major audit findings, specifically in critical areas, are rectified/complied in a time bound manner failing which follow up inspection of such brokers may be taken up for necessary corrective steps thereafter, if any.”
As per SEBI, technological advancements and various market events have necessitated reviewing the existing system audit framework for stock brokers. Accordingly, system audit guidelines have been revised.
For the current year, in case the stock brokers have commenced their annual system audit, they may follow existing annual system audit framework prescribed by exchanges.
“However, stock brokers who are yet to commence annual system audit should carry out their annual system audit as per the framework given in this circular,” it added.
India’s voyage to Mars
India’s first interplanetary probe, the Mars Orbiter Mission, has left home on the first leg of a voyage of scientific discovery. Once again, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation performed its task with impeccable ease. A long and difficult trek now lies ahead of the spacecraft. It will circle Earth for the rest of this month, repeatedly firing an onboard liquid-propellant engine to gain velocity. Shortly after midnight on November 30, the engine will fire again to put it on course for the Red Planet, a journey of 680 million kilometres that will take almost 300 days to complete. Such deep space missions have inherent risks, especially for a country attempting one for the very first time, and failures litter the history of Mars exploration. Only the Soviet Union, the U.S. and Europe have succeeded in getting spacecraft to the fourth planet from the Sun. Japan, a nation whose space programme began well before India’s and which has rich experience in a variety of space missions, ran into problems that ultimately crippled its maiden Martian venture launched in 1998. The Nozomi spacecraft’s propulsion system malfunctioned and then powerful solar flares seriously damaged key components. The probe ended up shooting past Mars, instead of going into orbit around it. China tried to hitch a ride for its Yinghuo-1 spacecraft on Russia’s Phobos-Grunt. But the latter was unable to leave Earth orbit and burnt up as it fell to the ground early last year.
If India does triumph with its Mars mission, it will have stolen a march on its Asian rivals. But it will not mean that this country has pulled ahead of Japan or China, which have far more advanced capabilities in many areas of space technology. However, with efforts like the Chandrayaan-1 lunar probe launched five years back, the present Mars mission, and Chandrayaan-2, which will attempt to put a lander and rover on the Moon in a few years’ time, ISRO is unmistakably signalling its intention of being a significant player in space exploration. Should money be spent on such ventures? Questions about the worthwhileness of the space programme are nothing new. Studies have, however, shown that the country has more than recouped the money it invested in space. But those returns were not immediate and took many years, even decades, to materialise. It is difficult to predict all the benefits that might accrue from something like the Mars mission, some of which may be intangible but nevertheless vital for the country in the long run. The most important of such benefits could well be to fire the imagination of young minds in this country, getting them to dream about possibilities for tomorrow.
Musharraf out on bail
Former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf is now out on bail after his lawyers posted the surety on Wednesday as ordered by the court.
Two days ago he was granted bail and directed to submit two bonds worth Rs 100,000 each as surety. This is the last case in which Musharraf was arrested and with this he has managed to secure bail in all the cases against him.
However, he is expected to remain at his heavily guarded farmhouse at Chak Shahzad since he has received many terror threats. His lawyers said that they would apply to the high court to get his name off the Exit Control List. His party has been saying that he has no plans to leave the country as yet.
He has also managed to seek exemption from appearing in court in the Benazir Bhutto trial which is going on.
Reservation in education, jobs in Hyderabad-Karnataka notified
Article 371 (J) aims at bringing about all-round development in the region
The provisions of Article 371 (J) of the Constitution, aimed at bringing about all-round development in six districts of the Hyderabad-Karnataka region — Gulbarga, Yadgir, Bellary, Bidar, Raichur and Koppal, will come into effect straightway with Governor H.R. Bhardwaj approving relevant notifications on Tuesday ensuring reservation in employment and education.
The Governor has approved four important notifications as provided for under the 118th amendment — Article 371 (J) — to the Constitution and, among other things, this will enable the formation of the Hyderabad-Karnataka Region Development Board Order 2013. Henceforth, the Governor would play a significant role in the development of the region.
Other notifications
The other notifications are the Karnataka Educational Institutions (Regulations of Admission in the Hyderabad-Karnataka Region) Order 2013, which provides for reservation of 70 per cent of the available seats in Hyderabad-Karnataka Region and 8 per cent seats in State-wide institutions, the Karnataka Public Employment (Reservation in Appointment for Hyderabad-Karnataka Region) Order 2013, which provides for the creation of a local cadre and reservation in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region as: Group A Junior Scale — 75 per cent, Group B — 75 per cent, Group C — 80 per cent and Group D — 85 per cent, besides reservation of 8 per cent of the posts in the State-level offices or institutions or apex institutions.
Mr. Bhardwaj has, by an order, also notified the Karnataka Private Unaided Educational Institutions (Regulations of Admission in the Hyderabad Karnataka Region) Order 2013, which provides for reservation of 70 per cent of the available seats in every course of study in any regional university or educational institution referred to in the First Schedule, 8 per cent of the available seats in every course of study in a State-wide university or a State-wide educational institution.
Among the States that enjoy a special status under Article 371 are Andhra Pradesh (Telangana, Rayalaseema and Andhra), Maharashtra (Marathwada and Vidarbha), Gujarat (Kutch and Saurashtra), Nagaland, Goa, Manipur, Assam, Mizoram, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra were accorded the status in 1956, and subsequently (in 1973 — 32nd amendment), Andhra Pradesh was segregated from this group.
Given the provisions in the Constitutional amendment (which was approved by Parliament), the President (the Presidential Order) has entrusted special responsibility to the Governor to oversee the development of the region apart from the reservations in education and employment.
The all-important amendment to Article 371 came about at a time when Karnataka was heading for elections to the Legislative Assembly.
It is common knowledge that all political parties have over the past four decades appealed to the Union government of the day to enable a special status to the districts of the Hyderabad-karnataka region which have, by and large, remained backward since the reorganisation of States in 1956.
It is another matter that the D.M. Nanjundappa committee report had made certain special recommendations for the overall development of the region, with funds drawn from the State’s coffers but a special provision made under the Constitution is now expected to make a difference.
Governor approves four important notifications under 118th amendment
Among others, approval enables formation of Hyderabad-Karnataka Region Development Board
‘Every rupee spent benefits people’
: ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan on Tuesday dismissed arguments that the spending of Rs.460 crore on the Mars orbiter project was a waste of money. He asserted that the country’s 50-year space programme had “no wrong priorities” and “it is only right priorities” that it had. “India had been a role-model in space applications” and ISRO had contributed to the country’s development process, he noted.
When a reporter asked him whether it was necessary that India should spend money on the Mars mission when poverty prevailed, he said the nation’s space programme was society-centric and science-centric. The country had built satellites for communication, remote-sensing, forecasting weather and navigation. It had also built spacecraft such as Chandrayaan-1 and the Mars orbiter now. It was a world leader in building remote-sensing satellites and its weather satellites were used for disaster management. All these were of immense benefit to decision-makers and people at the ground-level. Every rupee spent on the space programme was of “direct benefit to people.” Thousands of lives were saved recently when INSATs beamed pictures of the approaching Phailin cyclone. The India Meteorological Department used them to warn people and they were evacuated to safer places. Satellite Astrosat, which is yet to be flown, would play an important role in space exploration. It would have applications too. There were spin-offs such as charged-coupled device camera from space missions. India had 20 operating satellites now. There were plans to build small remote-sensing satellites for identifying problem-areas such as forest fire or deforestation. The Mars mission added to “new knowledge.” “People want to know about our existence in the solar system. If we do not do this, we will become stagnant. There is no ambiguity in our space programme.”
The former ISRO chief, U.R. Rao, said that when his friends in the U.S. asked him whether India should spend Rs. 500 crore on the Mars mission, he told them that when Rs. 10,000 crore was spent on Diwali crackers by people, this money was worth spending on the project.
Pakistan tests Nasr missile
Pakistan on Tuesday successfully test-fired Hatf IX (Nasr) missile, a surface-to-surface missile with a range of 60 km.
Anti-superstition bill may be tabled in Karnataka Assembly session
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said that the government would work towards tabling the proposed Bill on anti-superstitious practices in the winter session of the legislature at Belgaum.
Speaking after receiving a “model legislation” on controlling and eradicating harmful superstitious practices prepared by the Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy (CSSEIP), National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore, he said that the Law Department was working on various aspects of the issue.
The model legislation by CSSEIP was prepared after extensive rounds of consultations with experts and it has clauses that speak of both penalisation and mechanisms to create awareness. It proposes the setting up of Karnataka Anti-Superstition Authority at the State-level and vigilance committees on superstitious practices at district levels for prevention and control of superstitious practices and protection of those exposed to their ill-effects.
The “model bill” contains a definition of superstitious practices as those that “cause grave physical or mental harm, financial or sexual exploitation, or offend human dignity of a person or group of persons” by invoking a purported supernatural power.
Cognisable offences
It lists a set of 13 practices as “cognisable” offences that attract punishment ranging from imprisonment of between one and five years or fine. In the case of human sacrifice, it specifies life imprisonment or death penalty as punishment. It also criminalises practices such “maata” , “bettale seve” and “pankti bheda”.
Even though the “model bill” does not specifically bring practices such as Vaastu, astrology or numerology as the policy note prepared by a panel of CSSEIP prior to the framing of the “model bill” had proposed, it states that “predictions that result in harm caused such as stigmatisation of a person or severe financial loss” should be categorised as offences.
Penal provisions apart, the State authority and district vigilance committees proposed will be constituted by the government and civil society members who will address the harmful effects of superstition. The authority will be responsible for a number of tasks such as the scrutiny of curriculum to assist in the spreading of scientific temper and facilitation of research on the effects of superstitious practices.
The district vigilance committees will look into individual complaints of offences under the law.
It’s for Centre to decide on opinion polls: Election Commission
The Commission deferred the matter amid list of electoral reforms sent to government
Amid a variety of views doing the rounds on the need to ban opinion polls for the duration of the election process, the Election Commission is looking to leave it to the Centre to decide on the issue. At present, the ban on displaying election material, including election survey results — under Section 126(1)(b) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 — applies only to the electronic media, cinematograph or other similar apparatuses and not to the print media. Similarly, the ban on conducting or publicising an exit poll is valid from the commencement of poll hours for the first phase till the end of poll for the last phase.
The proposal to defer the matter to the government is part of a list of electoral reforms the EC has sent to the government.
At an all-party meeting in 2004, the EC had recommended placing some restriction on the publication of results of Opinion/Exit Polls. “Such a restriction would only be in the wider interests of free and fair elections”. Refuting the argument that dissemination of survey results was linked to right to information, the EC opined that election results have, in the past, differed from the predictions made on the basis of exit polls: “Thus, the information claimed to be disseminated turned out to be disinformation in many cases.”
The EC recommended that there should be a restriction on publishing the results of such poll surveys for a specified period during the election process, as prevailed in many western democracies. The all-party meeting was convened in April 2004 after the Supreme Court struck down the EC’s 1998 order issuing guidelines on regulating opinion and exit polls. The Supreme Court had then observed that the EC did not have the power to enforce the guidelines. Later, the guidelines were withdrawn.
It was decided by all members at the 2004 meeting that conducting of opinion polls and publishing of their results should be proscribed from the day of issue of notifications till the completion of the polls. Approached by the Law Ministry, the then Attorney-General of India Soli Sorabjee had said prohibition of publication of opinion/exit polls would be a breach of Article 19(1) of the Constitution of India.
In all-party meet in 2004, EC recommended placing curb on publication of exit poll results
‘In many cases, information disseminated as exit poll results has turned out to be disinformation’
Nod for IIT, IIM, 3 central varsities in Seemandhra
The HRD Ministry has given its nod for an IIT, an IIM and three central universities among other institutes for the Seemandhra region.
The Ministry has conveyed its decision to the Home Ministry which had forwarded representations made by different stakeholders to it earlier in response to the GoM on Telangana inviting suggestions on bifurcation of the state.
The decision would be placed before the GoM for consideration, sources in the Ministry said. The Ministry has also cleared an IISER and an IIIT for the region.The move is aimed at striking a balance between Telangana and Seemandhra as far as establishment of premier institutes are concerned, though the end objective is to ensure that students derive maximum benefit, they said. Rough estimate suggests an investment in the range of Rs. 6,000 crore to Rs. 7,000 crore for establishment of institutes in Seemandhra.
“Most of the highly developed educational institutions are going to Telangana. The Centre should immediately grant the above said institutions and they should come into operation within a year,” the representations said.In its October 19 meeting, the GoM had fixed November 5 as the last day for receiving suggestions on bifurcation of the State from public, including political parties and public representatives.
HRD Minister M.M. Pallam Raju represents the Kakinanda constituency in Seemandhra.
UNESCO could declare Darjeeling toy train ‘endangered’, fears MoS
Fearing that the Darjeeling Himalayan Railways (DHR) - declared a world heritage site by the UNESCO in 1999 - may lose the status unless renovation of the damaged railway tracks is undertaken, Minister of State for Railways Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury urged the West Bengal government on Monday to begin work immediately.
“Since the tracks are on a national highway, the Ministry of Railways approached the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways regarding this, and funds amounting to Rs. 87 crore were sanctioned about a year ago. But the State government has been apathetic and has not done its work as yet,” Mr. Chowdhury told The Hinduover telephone from Berhampore.
“If the railway tracks are not repaired, the DHR could be declared ‘endangered’ by the UNESCO. This will be humiliating for the entire country,” Mr. Chowdhury added.
DHR toy train services are available for only half of the 83-km-long route between Kurseong to Darjeeling and from Siliguri to Rongtong. The other tracks were damaged in landslides in 2011.
“The Public Works Department is responsible for carrying out renovation work. Landslides at Paglajhora and Tindharia had destroyed the tracks and we are unable to take the trains beyond a point,” said A.K Sharma, Divisional Railway Manager, Katihar division of the North East Frontier Railway within whose jurisdiction the DHR falls.
Meanwhile, the DHR had taken up an initiative to revamp the 14 railway stations under it, he said, adding that work in the Sukna railway station has been completed as a pilot project.
The revamping of stations involves improving the overall infrastructure to attract more tourists, Mr. Sharma added.
Senior railway officials admit that due to the damaged tracks and frequent shutdowns in the hills called for political reasons, the DHR has not been able to attract many tourists this year.
Charles, Camilla begin nine-day trip to India with a trip to Rishikesh
UCKNOW: Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, paid an official visit to Parmarth Niketan Ashram, Rishikesh as the first destination of their nine-day visit to India on Wednesday.
Arriving just before sunset, the royal highnesses took part in the sacred evening 'aarti' ceremony (ritual of lights), which is an internationally-renowned highlight of Parmarth Niketan's daily activities. Prior to the 'aarti', they observed the final offering of a 'yagna' (fire ceremony) for world peace and environmental preservation, led by the president of Parmarth Niketan, Swami Chidanand Saraswati. Offering traditional herbs and seeds into the fire to the rhythm of ancient Vedic prayers, the royals took part in one of the most ancient rituals of the Indian tradition, performed on this occasion as a prayer for a healthy environment and peaceful world.
Following the yagna ceremony, they took part in a water blessing ceremony, led by Saraswati, in which waters from the world's sacred rivers were offered onto a large globe, symbolizing a prayer that all people across the world should have access to safe and sufficient water. Explaining the ceremony, Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati of Parmarth Niketan said, "Water is life. Tragically today, many of our brothers and sisters are living without access to safe and sufficient water. The Water Blessing Ceremony signifies a prayer and blessing that all beings and all creatures on Earth should have access to sufficient and safe, life-sustaining water."
Chidanand Saraswati is also the founder of Ganga Action Parivar, an environmental organization of scientists, engineers and activists working to clean the waters and banks of the Ganga, and the co-founder of the Global Interfaith WASH Alliance, an international, interfaith coalition of faith leaders working to bring water, sanitation and hygiene to all. In alignment with his life's work, Saraswati offered the royals a sacred tree sapling as a symbol of the trees being planted in theHimalayas, and a beautiful container of water from the source of the Ganga. Pujya Swamiji presented them with a sacred sapling, rudraksh malas and shawls made by Uttarakhand's tribal community.
