Friday, December 27, 2013

The Ministry of Home Affairs- 2013 Report

During the year 2013, the Ministry of Home Affairs  dealt with the challenges of security, law and order, disaster management, police modernisation and border management among other issues.  Important consultation  meetings with the Chief Ministers, DGPs of States/UTs on law and order and naxalities management were also held.  The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013,  launch of Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS), Strengthening of Unlawful activities  (Prevention)  Act, 1967 were other highlights during the year.
The Conference of Chief Ministers was held in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on April 15,2013 to discuss the recommendations contained in the 5th report of 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission.   During the Chief Ministers’ Conference on June 5, 2013, the Union Home Minister Shri Sushilkumar Shinde had a separate meeting with the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Orissa, Maharashtra, Finance Minister of West Bengal and the Governor of Jharkhand on security related issues in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected states.
 The  Special Industry Initiatives “UDAAN” in J&K was also taken up during the year.  On the bilateral and multi-lateral areas, revised travel arrangements between India and Bangladesh, 33rd Asia and Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators (APCCA) and bilateral discussions with the Homeland Security Department of US in Washington and at New Delhi were other highlights during the year.
Strengthening of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967
 The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act, 2012 as passed by the Parliament has come into force from February 01,2013.  The Act enlarges the ambit of the “Terrorist Act” by incorporating threats/dangers to the economic security of the country and the monetary stability of India by way of production, smuggling or circulation of high quality counterfeit Indian paper currency.  The law increases the period of declaration of an association as unlawful from two years to five years, criminalizes high quality counterfeiting and includes within its scope offences by companies, societies or trusts and provides for punishment to them.
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013:  
A Committee headed by Justice J. S. Verma, former Chief Justice of Supreme Court was set up on 23rd December, 2012 to give recommendations on amending laws to provide for speedy justice and enhanced punishment for criminals in sexual assault cases. The Justice Verma Committee in its Report submitted on the 23rd January 2013, agreed to most of the provisions of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2012. Government wanted to amend criminal laws affecting women immediately and since the Parliament was not in session, the Criminal Law (amendment) Ordinance, 2013 was promulgated on 03.02.2013. In the Budget Session, the Criminal Law [Amendment] Bill, 2013 was passed by the Lok Sabha on 19th March, 2013 and by the Rajya Sabha on 21st March, 2013. The President of India has accorded his assent to the Bill on 2nd April, 2013.
Substantive amendments in IPC, Cr. P. C and Indian Evidence Act have been made to effectively deal with the crime against women. Sentence of death has been provided as punishment in case of rape followed by death or vegetative state of the victim. For the first time acid attack, human trafficking, voyeurism, stalking etc. have been included as a specific offence and severe punishment has been prescribed. Non- treatment of victims of rape and acid attack by the hospitals (Government/ Private) has been made punishable. The police has been made accountable and disobeying of any directions of law (like not recording of FIR) has been made punishable.  Adequate provisions have been made to protect the women victim from harassment and humiliation during investigation and trial.
 Internal Security
            Terrorist activities in the hinterland continue to remain a threat.  There have been three incidents of bomb blasts:- first in Hyderabad in which 17 persons died, the second in Bengaluru in which there was no casualty and the third in Bodh Gaya in which no casualty was reported. The MHA has agreed to the request of the Bihar Government  for handing over the security of Bodh Gaya Complex to CISF.  In some of these incidents, the Investigating Agencies have been able to identify and arrest the persons responsible and in other cases the investigations are on.  The Government is committed for safety and security  of its citizens and in this regard the   arrest of Yasin Bhatkal, Tunda, Haddi and solving  of recent blasts cases proves this resolve.
 Uttarakhand Disaster of June 2013
The State of Uttarakhand witnessed a severe disaster due to heavy rainfall, cloudbursts and landslides on 16-17th June, 2013.  All the 13 districts of Uttarakhand were affected.  The disaster was so massive that 580 people lost their lives, while 4473 people were injured.  Besides over 5526 people are missing.  .  In a massive rescue operation 1,10,000 persons were rescued.  Rs. 145 crore from State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) were released to the State Government on 20th June 2013.  In addition, Rs. 250 crore on an ‘on account’ basis were released from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to the State on 19th July 2013.  Prime Minister announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs.2.00 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased and  Rs.50,000/ each to injured persons from Prime Minister Relief Fund.
 Modernisation of State Police Forces
The Scheme for Modernization of State Police Forces (MPF Scheme) has been extended for a further period of five years with effect from the financial year 2012-13 to 2016-17, with funding partly under Non-Plan and partly under Plan.   The items required by the State Police under mobility, weapons, equipment, training equipment, forensic equipment are funded under Non-Plan.  The construction/upgradation of police stations/outposts, police lines, police housing, forensic science laboratories and training infrastructure, construction of buildings are funded under Plan budget. 
Under the Scheme, an allocation of Rs. 8195.53 crore has been approved under Non-Plan and Rs.3750.87 crore under Plan during the XII Plan period (2012-13 – 2016-17).   In the current year, outlay for MPF Scheme is Rs.750 crore under Non-Plan and Rs.1097 crore under Plan. Mega City Policing in six cities namely, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Bengaluru has been approved as a sub-set under Non-Plan component of MPF Scheme.  
 Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems
Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS), Mission Mode Scheme was approved in 2009 with a provision of Rs 2000 Crores as a 100 % Centrally Sponsored Scheme to be implemented during 2009-2012. This has now been extended up to 31st March, 2015.   A Pilot launch of CCTNS was launched on 4th January, 2013 which earmarked connectivity of nearly 2000 CCTNS locations in 25 States/Uts.   The implementation of the project has picked up and  contracts with System Integrators have been signed in different States/Uts.
 Special Industry Initiative (SII) for J&K – ‘UDAAN’
The Ministry of Home Affairs have launched a Scheme Special Industry Initiative for Jammu & Kashmir known as “UDAAN”, in the nature of partnership between the corporate of India and Ministry of Home Affairs. The scheme is being implemented by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).  About 35 leading corporate have partnered with NSDC to train  more than 54,000 youth from the State over the next five years. ‘UDAAN’ partners include leading PSUs such as NTPC, BHEL, BSNL, ONGC, HAL and Canara Bank and private organizations such as Wipro, TCS, HCL Technologies, Infosys, Bajaj Allianz, CMC, Cognizant, Yes Bank, Future Learning, IL &FS, CII, Edusports, Religare, Accenture, Tata Motors, etc.
 Revised Travel Arrangements between India and Bangladesh
 In order to liberalize the existing Visa Regime between India and Bangladesh and with a view to removing certain difficulties faced by the nationals of either country in obtaining visa, the Revised Travel Arrangements (RTA) between India and Bangladesh was signed at Dhaka on 28th January, 2013.     The Visa free regime has been agreed on reciprocal basis for holders of Diplomatic and Official Passports for a period up to 45 days of stay. Grant of double entry visa valid for a maximum period of three months can be granted to Bangladeshi nationals applying visa for third countries, whose representative Missions are concurrently accredited to Bangladesh from India. It also provides for medical visa, long term multiple employment visa and multiple entry student visa etc. Necessary Circular amending the provisions in the Visa Manual to incorporate the provisions of the new RTA was issued on 12th February, 2013.
 33rd Asia and Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators (APCCA)
 The 33rd Asia and Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators (APCCA) was held from 22-27th September, 2013 in New Delhi. Delegates from 23 member countries and the representatives from States/Uts participated in the Conference. The major theme of the Conference was to exchange views on challenges and initiatives in Prison Administration, induction of organisational culture, meeting the challenges posed by high risk offenders, alternatives to imprisonment etc. The delegates also visited the Tihar Prison on Sept.23, 2013. The deliberations resulted in a number of useful suggestions and ideas which will be further crystallised in next APCCA Conference to be held in Canada in 2014. 

Establishment of National Cancer Institute (NCI) at Jhajjar Campus of AIIMS


The Union Cabinet today approved the proposal for setting up of National Cancer Institute at a cost of Rs.2035 crore. NCI will be set up in the Jhajjar campus of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi located in Badhsa village, Jhajjar, Haryana. The project is estimated to be completed in 45 months. 

This is a landmark step in the arena of cancer research in the country and shall lessen the deficit of tertiary cancer care in the Northern region. Cancer is emerging as a major public health concern in India, where every year 11 lakhs new cases are diagnosed, with a mortality rate of 5.5 lakhs per year. There has been a lag of cancer treatment facilities in India, compared to WHO standard; which requires one radiotherapy machine per million population. India at present has 0.41 machines per million population. Hence, setting up of this institute will herald a new chapter in the government initiative against cancer. 

NCI will operate on the lines of NCI, USA and DKFZ, Germany as a nodal center for indigenous research, promotive, preventive and curative aspects of care and human resource development. This institute is aimed to plan, conduct and coordinate research on cancers which are more specific to India; like tobacco related cancers, cancer of the uterine cervix, gall bladder cancer and liver cancers. The focus will be on understanding, analyzing the cause and genesis of the above cancers. This will further translate the knowledge gained to develop feasible strategies to improve cancer care services by improvement in detection, diagnosis, treatment and quality of life of patients. 

The proposed institute will broadly have clinical division, research divisions, and disease management groups (DMGs). These DMGs will go in to the details of all issues pertaining to management of various cancers, site wise, besides other facilities. NCI will have 710 beds for different facilities viz. Surgical Oncology, Radiation Oncology, Medical Oncology, Anesthesia and palliative care, Nuclear Medicine etc. It will have a Tissue Repository which is the first of its kind in India. 

HSCC (India) Ltd, a public sector enterprise under the administrative control of the Health & Family Welfare Ministry has been appointed as Project Consultant by AIIMS New Delhi. The Project Consultant is responsible for concept, detailed design & engineering, contracting, project management and medical equipment procurement, installations and commissioning. 

Payment of statutory dues, salary and wages in sick/loss making CPSEs


The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) today approved the proposal for providing non-plan budgetary support of Rs. 116.86 crore for liquidation of statutory dues (Provident Fund, Gratuity, Pension, Employees State Insurance and Bonus) and salary and wages from 01-04-2013 to 31-08-2013 in respect of eleven Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) under the Department of Heavy Industry, namely Hindustan Cables Ltd., HMT Machine Tools Ltd., HMT (Watches) Ltd., HMT (Chinar Watches) Ltd., Nagaland Pulp & Paper Co. Ltd., Triveni Structurals Ltd., Tungbhadra Steel Products Ltd., Nepa Ltd., HMT Bearings Ltd. Hindustan Photo Films Limited and Tyre Corporation of India Ltd. 

Revival/closure plans of Hindustan Cables Limited, Triveni Structurals Ltd., HMT (Watches) Ltd., HMT (Chinar Watches) Ltd., Hindustan Photo Films Ltd. and HMT Machine Tools Ltd. are yet to be finalized; revival plans of Nepa Ltd. and Nagaland Pulp & Paper Co. Ltd. have recently been approved; revival plans of HMT Bearings Ltd. and Tungbhadra Steel Products Ltd. are yet to materialize; and disinvestment of Tyre Corporation of India Ltd. is under process. It was, therefore, considered essential that the interim financial support from the Government be provided so that the operation of these companies may not be affected. Non-settlement of these liabilities has been causing serious hardship not only to the employees of the companies but also adversely affecting the day-to-day operation of the companies resulting in further deterioration of their performance. 

Payment of outstanding dues of salary and wages would mitigate the hardships of the employees thereby motivating them for better output and prepare them to achieve the goal of revival/re-structuring of the companies. In addition, clearance of outstanding statutory dues (Provident Fund, Gratuity, Pension, Employees State Insurance) would result in fulfilment of statutory obligations. 

New Directors General of NSG and CISF Appointed


The competent authority in the Central Government has approved the following: 

(i) Shri J.N.Choudhury, IPS(AM:78) as Director General, National Security Guard (NSG) with effect from the date of his joining the post and till his superannuation on 31.05.2015, or until further orders, whichever event takes place earlier. 

(ii) Shri Arvind Ranjan, IPS (KL:77), DG, NSG as Director General in Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) from the date of taking over the charge of the post and till the date of his superannuation on 30.04.2015 or until further orders, whichever event takes place earlier. He will continue to hold the charge of the post of DG, NSG in addition to DG,CISF till joining of new incumbent or till further orders. 

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Achievements and initiatives of Department of Sports during 2013

YEAR END REVIEW 2013                                                                                 

I.          Constitution of Steering Committee to Monitor and Coordinate the Work Related to Major International Sports Events: To monitor  and coordinate the work relating to major international sports events,  upto  Olympic Games 2020, a Steering Committee has been constitutedunder the Chairmanship of Secretary (Sports) and consisting of Director General, Sports Authority of India, Joint Secretary (Sports), Joint Secretary (Development), Government Observers of the concerned sports disciplines, representatives of concerned National Sports Federations, representative of Indian Olympic Association, chief coach of the concerned sports disciplines and Executive Director (Teams), Sports Authority of India.  The Functions of the Steering Committee are, inter alia, deciding core probables and reviewing performance of the core probables regularly for deciding who needs to be retained/dropped/added.
II.        Approval of 13 sports infrastructure projects under the Ministry's Urban Sports Infrastructure Scheme:  The Ministry has approved 13 sports infrastructure projects under the Ministry's Urban Sports Infrastructure Scheme during the year.
III.       Inclusion of Wrestling in the 2020 Olympics:  International Olympic Committee (IOC) at its 125th session held in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 8th September 2013 decided to include wrestling in the 2020 Olympics in addition to the 25 core sports. Wrestling, squash and baseball/softball were in contention for being included as an additional sport in the 2020 Olympics. Earlier, Executive Board (EB) of the IOC at its meeting held on 12th February 2013 had recommended that wrestling be not included in the list of core sports for the 2020 Olympics.  The Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports took the lead in taking up the matter with IOC and the countries where wrestling is popular to ensure that wrestling is retained in the Olympic Games.
IV.       Launch of Scheme of Human Resources Development in Sports: The Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports have revised the existing ‘Scheme relating to Talent Search & Training’ and renamed it as ‘Scheme of Human Resources Development in Sports’. Under the revised Scheme, the Government intends to focus on developing human resources in sports sciences and sports medicine for the overall development of sports and games in the country. This will help the country be self reliant in these fields over a period of time in general and meet the requirements of the proposed National Institute of Sports Sciences and Medicines in particular. Approval has already been given for support to 2 doctors for advanced studies in sports science/sports medicine.
V.        Government's approval for Under 17 World Cup Football Tournament in 2017: The Cabinet at its meeting held on 13.6.2013 approved the proposal for submitting guarantees sought by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) from the Government of India for their bid to host the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Under 17 World Cup Football Tournament in 2017 in India. FIFA has awrded the vent to India. The FIFA Under 17 World Cup is a prestigious event and would be held in India for the first time. The AIFF have proposed holding of matches in five States, namely Delhi, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka and one among the States of Assam, Goa and Kerala. The Under-17 World Cup would encourage more youngsters to participate in sports and also help develop the sport of football in the country. It will also promote tourism in the country. The event also has a lot of importance from the point of view of playing technique, training, coaching and competition exposure, etc., especially at under-17 level, and thus would be good for the future of football in India.  
VI.       Standard Operative Procedure (SOP) to identify circumstances (female hyperandrogenism) in which a particular sports person will not be eligible to participate in competitions in the female category: There have been reports in the press about the female athletes who have physical characteristics of male gender.  In such cases, the athletes have faced humiliation and public discussion on their gender.  To avoid such controversies, the Ministry requested the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to identify the tests and procedures which can give a conclusive finding about the gender of an athlete.  Taking into consideration the recommendations made by the Medical Board of AIIMS and the regulations of the International Olympic Committee on Female Hyperandrogenism, the Department framed and circulated on 19.3.2013 Standard Operative Procedure (SOP) to identify circumstances (female hyperandrogenism) in which a particular sportsperson will not be eligible to participate in competitions in the female category. 
VII.     Signing of MOU on cooperation in sports between India and Hungary A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on cooperation in the field of sports was signed between India and Hungary on 17th October 2013 during the Prime Minister of Hungary's visit to India. The MOU provides, inter alia, for cooperation between the Olympic Committees, Sports Federations, universities, sports scientific bodies as well as authorities of the two countries for sharing of know-how and experience in the field of building sport infrastructure, management and administration of sports facilities.
VIII.    Draft National Sports Development Bill, 2013: A Working Group was constituted on 21.3.2013 under the chairmanship of Justice (Retd) Mukul Mudgal for drafting of the National Sports Development Bill 2013.  The Working Group was asked to examine the existing draft Bill from both sports governance and legal angles and fine-tune/revise the same with the purpose of making it more precise and succinct, to recommend draft model rules to be framed under the Bill, to examine the requirement for a separate model Sports Development Bill for enactment by the States, to examine the possibility of constituting separate bodies like a Sports Election Commission, a Dispute Resolution Tribunal and an Ethics Committee and suggest their powers, functions, constitution, funding provision, etc., to make specific recommendations on preparation of Electoral College and streamlining of State/District bodies.  The Working Group submitted the draft National Sports Development Bill, 2013, on 10th July 2013, which was placed in public domain for inviting suggestions/comments of general public and stakeholders by 31st July 2013. A revised draft National Sports Development Bill 2013 incorporating the feedback received on the draft Bill has been submitted by the Working Group. Further action is being taken in the matter. 
IX.       Prevention of Sporting Fraud Bill, 2013:
In its continuing efforts for cleansing of sports in the country, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, in consultation with the Ministry of Law has drafted a specialized legislation namely the PREVENTION OF SPORTING FRAUD BILL, 2013. The Draft Bill was uploaded on the website of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports for inviting suggestions/comments of the general public and stakeholders by 3rd December, 2013.  The comments received have been considered and the Ministry will shortly place the matter for consideration by the Cabinet.
X.        Adoption of age and tenure limits in respect of office bearers by National Sports Federations: All 53 National Sports Federations have given undertakings in writing to amend their constitutions to incorporate age and tenure limits for office bearers as prescribed in the National Sports Development Code 2011. Out of the 53 NSFs, 45 have already amended their constitutions to incorporate age and tenure restrictions. 
XI.         Signing of MOU between the Department of Sports and the Department of AIDS Control: Department of Sports and Department of AIDS Control signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 29th November, 2013.  Objectives of the MOU are to reach a large number of youth engaged in sports activities at village, district and state level with information on STI/HIV/AIDS prevention and related services; build the capacity of sports educators, administrators and coaches on “Minimizing the risk of HIV transmission on and outside the sports field; involving youth organizations, sports  federations in HIV/AIDS prevention activities; promoting awareness generation through hoardings and banners at prominent places and sports infrastructure during state/national events and tournaments; and involving eminent sports personalities  for  addressing social stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS.

Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad Launches ‘AV Magni-Visualiser’ Screening Device for Cervical Cancer


The Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad launched screening device for cervical cancer, called ‘AV Magni-Visualiser’, here today. The device has been designed and developed at Institute of Cytology and Preventive Oncology (ICPO), NOIDA which is one of the premier Institutes of ICMR and is involved in epidemiology and development of indigenous HPV vaccine. 

Speaking at the launch function, Shri Azad congratulated the scientists at ICMR and ICPO for designing and developing this cost-effective and affordable device for screening cervical cancer in its early stages. He stated that cervical cancer is still the number one killer cancer in several parts of rural and semi-urban India. It has been estimated that about 1 lakh 32 thousand cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed every year and 74, 000 deaths occur due to it every year. It accounted for 9% of total deaths due to cancer in 2010. He further said that many of the cases may still be going unreported in many rural areas taking the number even higher. 

The Health Minister stated that with this device it will be easy to screen and detect cervical cancer in its early stages thus making treatment more effective. He stated that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched the “National Programme on Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, CVDs, and Stroke” in 2010 in 100 selected districts taken up initially as pilot project across 21 States to address the challenges posed by the rapidly increasing burden of NCDs, particularly Cancer, Diabetes and CVDs. 

Sh Azad said that presently screening for cervical cancer is available only in the regional cancer institutes and medical colleges. He added that the equipment presently being used is expensive, as a result of which not many medical colleges can afford this equipment. This device, which will be much cost effective, will be first rolled out in the district and sub-district community health centres (CMCs) and subsequently in the primary health centres (PHCs), he noted. As not all PHCs have lady doctors and nurses, staffing and training will form an important part of roll out paln, he stated. 

Dr. V M Katoch, DG, ICMR said that this will benefit a large number of women in the country and bring down the rates of morbidity and mortality due to cervical cancer, which is high at present as it is not detected in the early stages. Cervical cancer does not occur de-novo. It starts from certain pre-cancerous states/lesions called dysplasias and it takes about a decade for cancer to develop from pre-cancerous lesions. Detection and appropriate treatment of pre-cancerous lesions will halt their progression to invasive cancers. He further stated that the accuracy and efficacy of the device has been evaluated through tests in five regions during the past two years. He also said that this device has a white light source with variable interchangeable magnification and it can be operated on 12 Volt battery in rural and semi urban areas where electric supply is not regular. Magnivisualizer has been found to pick up 1.5 times more High grade pre-cancerous and cancerous lesions than the ordinary tungsten light. 

Also present at the launch function were Smt. Santosh Chowdhary, MoS (Health), Shri A. H. Khan Chowdhury, MoS (Health), Shri K Desiraju, Secy (Health), Sh Lov Verma, Secy (DAC), and senior officers of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and scientists. 

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Inclusion of Jat community in the Central List of OBCs for the States of Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Uttarakhand and Bihar

The Union Cabinet today approved the following as suggested by the Group of Ministers. 

Jats are already included in the State List of OBCs in nine States. Formal reports of the State Backward Class Commissions on the subject for the States of Haryana (2012) and Himachal Pradesh (2002) and books relating to socio economic status of farming communities in northern India and caste, land and political power in Uttar Pradesh are available. These may contain valuable and relevant material which can be utilized by the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) to give its advice on the demand for inclusion of Jats in the Central List of OBCs in the States of Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan (two districts), Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Uttarakhand and Bihar. 

This decision would enable the Jat Community to avail the benefits of reservation available to the Other Backward Classes for employment/ admission in /to Central Government services and posts/ educational Institutions. 

Background: 

Jat Community has been demanding inclusion in the Central List of Other Backward Classes for various states. The NCBC which was set up under the NCBC Act 1993, has been entrusted with the function of examining requests for inclusion of any Class of citizens as a backward class in the lists (Central List of Other Backward Classes) and hear complaints of over inclusion or under inclusion of any backward class in such lists, and tender advice to the Central Government as desired appropriate. At present, the Jat Community is included, in the Central List of OBCs for the States of Gujarat - Jat (Muslim) and Rajasthan (except in Bharatpur and Dhaulpur districts). They are, at present, included in the State Lists of nine States. The requests of Jats for inclusion in the Central List of OBCs for the States of Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bharatpur and Dhaulpur districts of Rajasthan was earlier rejected by NCBC in 1997. The NCBC under the NCBC (Power to Review Advice) Rules 2011, decided to consider requests for inclusion of the Jat community after collecting additional socio-economic data through the ICSSR, in addition to data from the SECC. A GoM was constituted on 20.8.2013 to (i) engage with the representatives of the Jat community periodically; and (ii) apprise itself of the progress of the survey being conducted by NCBC through ICSSR in six states. 

IIMC Commences Five Months Diploma Course in Urdu Journalism


In a major initiative to mainstream the use of Urdu in journalism, the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi has commenced a five month Diploma Course in Urdu Journalism. The course intends to promote the proficiency of working journalists in Urdu language newspapers and the capabilities of media professionals in the Urdu language. 

The initiative to launch the course had been taken after Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Shri Manish Tewari had detailed discussions with working journalists and editors of Urdu language newspapers at the All India Conference of Urdu Editors. During the discussions, the representatives of the Urdu newspapers had requested the Minister to initiate skill and capacity building measures through short term courses in the medium. 

The course currently initiated by the Institute is non residential. It focuses on contemporary trends and practices in the field of journalism, use of technology, copy-writing and writing for TV. The course aims at capacity building and enhancing the skills of practitioners of Urdu journalism. 

The Indian Institute of Mass Communication invited applications on 16th Sept. 2013 by placing advertisements in leading Hindi and Urdu newspapers. The entrance exam for the Urdu Journalism Course was held on 20th Oct. 2013. Interviews were held on 9th Nov. 2013. The course commenced on 2nd Dec. 2013 with 8 students, 12 candidates had appeared for the Entrance Examination and out of them 11 had been shortlisted for the interview. The course is expected to be completed by April 2014. 

Sexual Harassment of Women Sports-Persons



The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs & Sports Shri Jitendra Singh has said that during the past, a few cases of sexual harassment of women sportspersons in various sports bodies were received by the Government.  While action on such complaints including seeking reports from the concerned NSFs and giving suitable advice to NSFs was taken by the Government, state-wise data is not maintained.
In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today Shri Jitendra Singh said, in order to bring in transparency and good governance in sports bodies, the Government has issued guidelines which, inter-alia, provide for prevention of sexual harassment of women in sports.  These guidelines are contained in the National Sports Development Code of India, 2011 (NSDCI) which are effective from 31.1.2011.  Under these instructions, the National Sports Federations (NSFs) are to take the following steps:

(i)                Notify, publish and circulate in appropriate ways, express prohibition of sexual harassment.
(ii)             Include rules/regulations prohibiting sexual harassment in their rules and regulations and provide for appropriate penalties in such rules against the offender.
(iii)           Provide appropriate conditions in respect of work, leisure, health and hygiene to further ensure that there is no hostile environment towards women and no employee woman should have reasonable grounds to believe that she is disadvantaged in connection with her career.
(iv)           Women should be allowed to raise issues of sexual harassment in appropriate forums and it should be affirmatively discussed.
(v)             Complaint Mechanism: The NSFs should set up a complaint mechanism for redressal of the complaint made by the victim. Such complaint mechanism should ensure time bound treatment of complaints.
(vi)           Disciplinary Action: Where such conduct amounts to misconduct, appropriate disciplinary action should he initiated in accordance with rules.
(vii)        Criminal Proceedings: Where such conduct amounts to a specific offence under the Indian Penal Code or under any other law, the NSFs shall initiate appropriate action in accordance with law by making a complaint with the appropriate authority.  In particular, it should ensure that victims or witnesses are not victimized or discriminated against while dealing with complaints of sexual harassment.  The victim of sexual harassment should have the option to seek transfer of the perpetrator or their own transfer.
(viii)      Complaints Committee: The complaint mechanism referred to in (g) above, should be adequate to provide, where necessary, Complaints Committee, a special counselor or other support service, including the maintenance of confidentiality.  The Complaints Committee should be headed by a woman and not less than half of its member should be women.  Further, to prevent the possibility of any undue pressure or influence from senior levels, such Complaints Committee should involve a third party, either NGO or other body who is familiar with the issue of sexual harassment.
(ix)           Awareness: Awareness of the rights of the female employees in this regard should be created in particular by prominently notifying the guidelines in a suitable manner.
(x)             Third Party Harassment: Where sexual harassment occurs as a result of an act or omission by any third party or outsider, the NSFs will take all steps necessary and reasonable to assist the affected person in terms of support and preventive action.

Scheme for Promotion of Sports and Games in Schools and Colleges



The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs & Sports Shri Jitendra Singh has said that primary responsibility for promotion and development of sports including in schools and colleges is that of States, as ‘Sports’ is a State subject.  However, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and the Sports Authority of India supplements the efforts of the States.

          In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today Shri Jitendra Singh said, School Games Federation of India (SGFI) and Association of Indian Universities (AIU) have been recognized by the Government of India as National Sports Promotion Organizations (NSPOs) and are eligible for the same level of assistance as are available for National Sports Federations (NSFs).  The Scheme of Assistance to NSFs provides for assistance for conduct of National Championships and International tournaments in India, participation in International competitions abroad, organizing coaching camps, procurement of sports equipments, engagement of foreign coaches.  SGFI and AIU are involved in promotion and development of sports and games in schools and colleges/universities respectively.

           The Minister said, conduct of National Championships in the Senior Category (both for men and women) and  inJunior and Sub-Junior Categories (both for boys and girls) is part of  the annual calendar of training and competitions of the NSFs. Participants in junior and sub-junior Championships are basically from schools. State-wise allocation of funds is not made under the above Scheme of Assistance to NSFs. However, funds allocated to the SGFI and AIU for promotion of sports in schools and colleges in the last three years and current year  is as follows :
                                                                                                                     (Rs. in lakhs)
Name of the Federation
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13

2013-14
(upto30.9.2013)
School Games Federation of India, Bhopal
5.20
0.00
6.14
61.52
Association of Indian Universities (NSPO)
381.00
160.89
8.09
0.00

Subsidy to Electrical Vehicles


The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has provided Central Financial Assistance for purchasing of new battery operated vehicles (four wheelers and two wheelers) and has supported 47000 vehicles. However, no new proposal could be supported due to utilization of budget for liquidating the committed liabilities in the past years. 

While the Society of Manufactures of Electrical Vehicles (SMEV) has informed about reduction in sale of electrical vehicles, this can not be attributed to non availability of subsidy alone. 

The Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises has taken initiatives to support promotion of large scale electric vehicles under its National Electric Mobility Mission to continue the subsidy for promoting electrical vehicles 

This information was given by the Minister of New and Renewable Energy Dr. Farooq Abdullah in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on 17 December

Railways to Run Special Trains to Clear Winter Rush




            On the occasion of Christmas, New Year and Winter Rush period, Indian Railways are running following specials trains from Delhi to Goa/Mumbai/Thiruvananthapuram so as to clear the heavy rush of traffic. The details of such special trains are as under:-

S. No.
Train No.
Period of run
Days of run
From-To
Departure and Arrival
1
09006
19.12.13 to 30.12.13
Mon, Thurs
 New Delhi- Mumbai Central
D 23:40
A 21:15
2
09004
18.12.13 to 29.12.13
Wed, Sun
New Delhi- Mumbai Central
D 23:40
A 21:15
3
04094
18.12.13 to 29.01.14
Tue, Wed
New Delhi-TrivandrumKouchuveli
D 21:35
A 20:30
4
09022
18.12.13 to 01.01.14
Wed
Delhi Safdarjung-Bandra Terminus
D 18:00
A 16:35
5
04014
21.12.13 to 01.02.14
Sat
New Delhi- Vasco Da Gama
D 00:10
A 11:40

Shortage of Trained Nurses and Midwives


There is a shortage of trained nurses and midwives in the country. As per Planning Commission’s National Taskforce Report there would be a gap of 9.55 lakhs nurses by 2012 of which 2 to 3 lakhs would be in the Government facilities alone.  The nurse-patient ratio varies from state to state, district to district and institution to institution.  Further, the ratio varies to meet the needs of different units and shifts according to acuity of care, size and location.

The number of nursing diploma schools, nursing degree schools and nursing colleges in the country indicating the number of seats therein, State/Union Territory-wise is as below-
DIPLOMA INSTITUTES as on 31st October, 2013
DEGREE INSTITUTES as on 31stOctober, 2013
Name of State/UT
No. of Schools/Instt.
No. of Seats
No. of Schools/Instt.
No. of Seats
Andaman & Nicobar
1
20
0
0
Andhra Pradesh
267
11679
231
11961
Arunachal Pradesh
3
70
0
0
Assam
26
698
8
420
Bihar
15
676
3
120
Chandigarh
0
0
2
95
Chattisgarh
43
1545
66
2990
Dadra & Nagar Haveli
1
20
1
40
Delhi
25
930
13
715
Goa
2
70
3
180
Gujarat
103
4160
47
2140
Haryana
68
2780
30
1365
Himachal Pradesh
35
1350
15
660
Jammu & Kashmir
14
585
5
260
Jharkhand
23
825
6
270
Karnataka
559
25896
344
18773
Kerala
231
7210
129
7000
Madhya Pradesh
293
11445
128
6200
Maharashtra
215
6569
96
4315
Manipur
14
440
6
240
Meghalaya
7
195
2
90
Mizoram
5
140
2
65
Nagaland
3
90
1
40
Orissa
62
2480
15
740
Pondicherry
6
200
14
955
Punjab
216
10423
95
4560
Rajasthan
182
8570
140
6156
Sikkim
2
80
2
160
Tamilnadu
212
6305
171
9650
Tripura
5
230
4
180
Uttar Pradesh
219
10070
54
2540
Uttaranchal
18
620
10
480
West Bengal
65
2543
18
915
TOTAL
2940
118914
1661
84275

A number of steps are proposed by Government to open more such educational institutions to impart nursing training across the country. Under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Strengthening/upgradation of Nursing Services the Government has released funds for opening of Auxillary Nurse Midwife (ANM)/General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM) Institutes in various states. Opening of Institutes under the said scheme depends on proposals received from the States as per the scheme guidelines.

This was stated by Sh Ghulam Nabi Azad, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha today.