Ramaswamy R. Iyer

Renowned water policy expert Ramaswamy R. Iyer passed away in New Delhi following a severe bout of viral fever. He was 86. He was instrumental in drafting India’s first National Water Policy in 1987. Ramaswamy R. Iyer was born in October 1929 in Thakkalai district of Tamil Nadu. He was best known for producing a rich body of commentary on water policy and environmental issues. He was an officer of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IAAS) and also had served as Secretary of Water Resources in the Union Government. His last held position was that of an honorary research professor at the New Delhi based Centre for Policy Research.

ancestral species

Scientists have discovered a new ancestral species in the human family tree dubbed as Homonaledi in South Africa. The new discovered species were named after the location where it was found i.e. naledi which means star in Sesotho, a local South African language. The species has been classified in the genus Homo to which modern humans belong. Discovery: It was made inside the Rising Star Cave in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site in South Africa by team of scientists led by Lee Berger, professor at University of the Witwatersrand. They have discovered a huge haul of fossilised bones of these species which is the largest fossil hominin found on the African continent. Characteristic of Homonaledi species These species are among the first of our kind (genus Homo) and could have lived in Africa up to 3 million years ago. They have a tiny brain, a primitive pelvis and shoulders. They have more progressive human like body shape of its skull and have relatively small modern-looking teeth, primitive fingers, modern-looking feet and characteristic long legs.

India and Indonesia have signed a pact

India and Indonesia have signed a pact for repatriation of wanted prisoners and cooperate in all criminal matters, including gathering evidence. In this regard Union Ministry of Home Affairs has issued an official gazette notification for service or execution of summons or warrant in relation to criminal matters in both countries. Under the agreement India will execute summons to an accused person (or any person) requiring to produce documents and attend or a search-warrant issued by an Indonesian court. Indonesia will reciprocate with similar action to execute summons if there is any request from any Indian court. Such summons or warrant would be sent to its Internal Security Division-II for transmission to the central authority i.e. the Ministry of Law and Human Rights of Indonesia.

Haryana Assembly has passed Haryana Panchayati Raj

Haryana Assembly has passed Haryana Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2015 that seeks to fix matriculation as minimum educational qualification for elections to Panchayati Raj institutions (PRIs). With this Haryana became second state in India after Rajasthan to fix educational and other qualifications for the candidates contesting Panchayat elections. Key provisions of bill General candidates contesting the Panchayat elections should have class X certificates i.e. matriculation as essential qualification. For Women (general) and Scheduled Caste candidates’, class VIII mark-sheet is mandatory. The educational qualification for SC candidates for the post of ‘panch’ is class V. Mandatory for the candidates contesting PRI elections to have functional toilets and payment of power bills. Candidates should not have been charge-sheeted by any court of law and must not be loan defaulters. Comment State government has taken this decision to improve the quality of leadership and governance in PRIs. The amendment bill will also enable elected representatives of PRIs to be more accountable to people, as they would no longer be able to cite illiteracy as an excuse.

The sixth Indo-Maldives joint Training Exercise

The sixth Indo-Maldives joint Training Exercise has commenced at Pangode Military Station in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala. Aim of the Joint Exercise is to acquaint forces of both countries with each other’s operating procedure and increase understanding and interoperability between Armies of both countries. In this edition of joint exercise, total of 45 soldiers each from Indian Army (BIHAR Regiment) and the Maldivian National Defence Force will take part. The exercise will cover varied military training activities in order to enhance interoperability between the two defence forces. It will conclude with tactical exercises. It should be noted that the sixth Indo-Maldives joint Training Exercise commenced on 31 August 2015 and it will conclude on 13 September 2015 with the closing ceremony involving cultural events by various military display teams along with aerial acrobatics display by Sarang Team of Indian Air force.

GSAT-6

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has successfully positioned India’s latest communication satellite GSAT-6 into its orbital slot. It was positioned in its orbital slot 83 Degree east after carrying out four drift arresting maneuvers. It has been collocated with other four communication satellites INSAT-4A, IRNSS1C, GSAT 12 and GSAT 10. About GSAT-6 satellite GSAT-6 satellite was carrying S-Band and C-Band transponders meant for public and strategic purposes. It weighs 2117 kg and has mission life of nine years. The satellite is having S-Band Unfurlable Antenna (UFA) of 6 m diameter. This is the largest antenna ever made by ISRO for a satellite. This antenna is utilized for five spot beams over the Indian mainland to exploit the frequency reuse scheme and to increase frequency spectrum utilization efficiency in India. GSAT-6 is the 25th geostationary communication satellite of India and 12th in the GSAT series. Application: It will provide S-band multimedia communication and broadcasting services across the country. C-Band is for strategic purpose and it will provide national security and law enforcement agencies a secured satellite telephony services. Background ISRO had successfully launched GSAT-6 from an indigenous cryogenic engine GSLV-D6 rocket from Sriharikota on 27 August 2015. ISRO had performed successive orbit raising operation of the satellite and had deployed the UFA successfully after the launch.

South Asian Association on Regional Cooperation

Disaster Mitigation conference of member counties of South Asian Association on Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has begun in New Delhi on 3 September 2015. The two day conference seeks to chalk out and undertake various joint efforts on various issues related to disaster mapping and mitigation in the member nations. Key facts The conference is being held by keeping in mind the prevalent geo-climatic conditions as well as increased frequency of natural disaster and calamities in the SAARC region. It is also being held in the wake of the recent Nepal earthquake (April 2015). It calls for enhanced levels of preparedness and risk resilience amongst member countries. It also seeks collaborative action amongst member countries to deal jointly and individually in disaster situations and ensure minimal loss of lives and property. South Asian Annual Disaster Management Exercise (SAADMEx) India has taken the lead to begin SAADMEx, a simulation exercises on disaster management in the region. In this regard, India has requested all SAARC countries to participate in this exercise. SAADMEx aims at augmenting current levels of individual and joint preparedness of member countries in the rescue, relief and response operations during disaster situations. The exercise will be conducted in two phases. First phase is the current coordination conference which will discuss the requirements and modalities of the main exercise. Second phase will cover the main exercise which will be held from November 23-26, 2015 in New Delhi. Three components of second phase of SAADMEx are Table Top Exercise (TTx) Field Training Exercise (FTx) and After Action Review (AAR).

Greenpeace India

Union Government has cancelled licence of Greenpeace India, a non-profit Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) to receive foreign donations. The license was cancelled by Union Ministry of Home Affairs as per under Section 13 of Foreign Contribution Regulations Act (FCRA), 2011. Henceforth, Greenpeace India will be not able to receive any kind of foreign donations from its international network. Earlier in April 2015, MHA had suspended the license of Greenpeace India for six months for mixing foreign and domestic funds and not disclosing the movement of its funds. Greenpeace India had filed a petition challenging this suspension in the Delhi High Court. The court had allowed the NGO to use two of its accounts for the purpose of receiving and utilising fresh domestic donations for its day-to-day functioning. About Greenpeace India Greenpeace India is the subsidiary of the global environmental group Greenpeace, a non-profit NGO. Greenpeace has its presence in 40 countries across the world including in Europe, America, Asia and Pacific. Its operations in India run mainly in four broad campaigns viz. stop climate change, preserving the oceans, sustainable agriculture and preventing another nuclear catastrophe.

Forward Markets Commission

Union Government has notified the merger of commodities market regulator Forward Markets Commission (FMC) with Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) with an effect from 28 September 2015. In this regard, Union Finance Ministry has issued a notification mentioning that Regulation of Commodity Derivatives Market will shift to SEBI under Securities Contracts Regulation Act (SCRA) 1956. Forward Contracts Regulation Act (FCRA), 1952 gets repealed so does the FMC cease to exist. With this merger, all three national and six regional commodity exchanges will come under the ambit of national capital market regulator SEBI. Implication: This merger will create a unified regulator for commodities and capital markets which in turn will help streamline monitoring of commodity futures trading and curb wild speculations in the market. Background Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget speech of February 2015 had announced the merger of FMC with the capital market regulator SEBI in order to strengthen the regulation of commodity futures market. The Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) also had recommended merger of SEBI, IRDA, FMC and PFRDA into a single entity called Unified Financial Agency (UFA).