July 2013 News 21 NEW WARSHIP FIRES BRAH-MOS SUCCESSFULLY

NEW WARSHIP FIRES BRAH-MOS SUCCESSFULLY

India successfully test-fired the 290-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from the Navy's latest guided missile warship INS Tarkash off the coast of Goa on May 22, 2013. The missile performed the high-level 'C' manoeuvre in the predetermined flight path and successfully hit the target. The missile was launched from the Russian-built warship at 1100 hours, said BrahMos Aerospace Chief A. Sivathanu Pillai. "The launch was carried out by the Navy as part of the Acceptance Test Firing of the ship," he said. INS Tarkash was commissioned on November 9, 2012. The warship has been built as part of an over Rs. 8,000 crore contract.

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July 2013 News 20 US SENATE APPROVES FIRST INDIA BORN SENIOR JUDGE

US SENATE APPROVES FIRST INDIA BORN SENIOR JUDGE

The United States senate on May 23, 2013 approved the first  Indian-American, Sri Srinivasan, as judge of the US Court
of Appeals, DC circuit.
The senate voted 97-0 to confirm him as the judge,  a stepping stone to the i Supreme Court. Srinivasan, 46, will become the first Indian American of a circuit court of appeals judge, a milestone for the three million Indian-American community.
"This is a historic moment for all Indian-Americans and Asian Americans," said Ami Bera, the only Indian American in US Congress. Srinivasan's confirmation also puts him in line for Supreme Court, four of whose judges, including Chief Justice John Roberts came from the D C circuit.

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July 2013 News 19 MALAYALAM GET, CLASSICAL STATES

MALAYALAM GET, CLASSICAL STATES

Malayalam's long wait for 'Classical' status is over. On May 23, 2013, the Union Cabinet decided to grant the coveted recognition to the language, spoken by 333 crore Malayalis all over the world.
Malayalam now joins Tamil, Kannada and Telugu, all members of the Dravidian linguistic family, as the four'Classical' language of South India.

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July 2013 News 18 GOVT. SIGNS IBSA RESOLUTION TO EMPOWER WOMEN

GOVT. SIGNS IBSA RESOLUTION TO EMPOWER WOMEN

Union Minister for Women and Child Development Krishna Tirath signed the Fifth India Brazil South Africa (IBSA) Women's Forum Resolution on May 16, 2013 in New Delhi. The joint resolution between the three countries will look at recognising the key role of governments with the support of civil  society in ensuring and  accelerating efforts towards achieving gender equality and empowerment of women.
Speaking at the signing event, the Minister said : "The resolution signed at the end of the three-day meet shows our commitment to
work for women's empowerment and for fighting gender-
based discrimination and violence against women in all forms.
Stating that ending violence against women must be the goal for a more equitable society, the Minister said: "The 'Stop Rape Campaign' of South Africa is particularly appreciable for intrinsic value in gender sensitising school children. Also, the social programmes, such as Bolsa Familia of Brazil, have popularised the model for effective delivery of financial benefits to poor families."

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July 2013 News 17 SCORES OF CIVIL SERVICE EXAMINATION MADE PUBLIC

SCORES OF CIVIL SERVICE EXAMINATION MADE PUBLIC

[UPSC topper scores 53%] 

As the Times of India has published, for the first time in the history of the elite Civil Service examination, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on May 16, 2013 made public the final marks of all successful candidates who were recently recommended for appointment to IAS, IFS, IPS and other key Central Services.
Curiously enough, only four of them, including two women, obtained more than 50% marks in the examination. Three of the four are from Kerala.
The list for this year shows that the topper, Haritha V. Kumar, a woman engineer from Kerala, scored 53% marks (1193 out of 2250). It also shows that general category candidates who scored between 48% and 50% got selected for the top three services-IAS, IFS and IPS.
In the general category, the cut off was 42%, while in other categories it went as low as 35%. The marks of successful candidates, which were a closely guarded secret for long, also brought into the open the scores in the interview (personality test), which carried 250 marks and which used to play a key role in deciding the future of aspirants.

General category candidates who got between 48% and 50% marks got selected for top three services, indicating that it is tough to score high marks in Civil Services exam.
42% is the minimum cut-off in the general category. In other categories, it went as low as 35%. Move to display final marks on UPSC website comes after a CIC directive.

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July 2013 News 16 GOVT. TO ESTABLISH BUREAU OF WATER USE EFFICIENCY

GOVT. TO ESTABLISH BUREAU OF WATER USE EFFICIENCY

The Centre will establish a National Bureau of Water Use Efficiency as an authority for promotion, regulation and control of efficient use of water in irrigation, municipal and industrial uses.
This was decided in the first meeting of the Advisory Board of the National Water Mission (NWM) that was established as part of the National Action Plan on Climate Change.
It was also decided that for improving water use efficiency by 20 per cent, the Mission will review the National and State Water Policies and prepare State specific Action Plans for water sector through consultation process.
During the first meeting in New Delhi on May 3, 2013 the members were informed that the National Bureau of water use Efficiency, will have the responsibility of improving water use efficiency across various sectors namely irrigation, drinking water supply, power generation and industry.
The Bureau will take up five bench marking irrigation projects in parts of the country to demonstrate water use efficiency through water supply on volumetric basis, empowering Water Users Associations to price water and collect water charges and demonstrating state-of-the-art technologies. 

Guide Lines To States
 
States will have to establish Water Regulatory Authorities for overseeing water pricing and mandatory water audits. Several States have in the past expressed reservations on such a move.
The Mission will issue guidelines to States for basin wise uses of water for irrigation, drinking and industrial use. At the centre of the plan is the strategy to open up the water sector and incentivise States that reform based on the principle that 'incentivising is more effective in bringing out reforms.'

Simultaneously, studies will be undertaken on impact of climate change, if any, on water resources. The inter-departmental meeting was attended among others by State Irrigation and Water Resources Ministers from Arunanchal Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh who are members on the Board. During
2013-14, water use efficiency is targeted to be raised by five per cent and by 20 per cent in two years.
With funding and technical assistance from the Asian Development Bank, the Ministry will initiate a National Water Use Efficiency Improvement Support Programme to identify 'priority actions'.
The Central Water Commission has identified 138 major and 73 medium irrigation projects for baseline study of water use efficiency in two years.
Towards this purpose, Secretary, Water Resources S.K. Sarkar, on May 11 asked States to adopt an integrated water resources planning approach at the basin level for water conservation, recharge and management of aquifers and improvement of water use efficiency.

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July 2013 News 15 NAVY GETS FIRST FIGHTER SQUADRON IN 30 YEARS

NAVY GETS FIRST FIGHTER SQUADRON IN 30 YEARS

The Navy has commissioned its first fighter squadron in three decades with the 303 'Black Panthers' squadron getting formal status but will have to wait till the end of this year for the INS Vikramaditya aircraft carrier to arrive from Russia to start  sea-borne operations.
The new Indian Navy Air Squadron (INAS), commissioned  at  a  ceremony, in the second week of May 2013, led by Defence
Minister A. K.Antony, operates the MiG 29 K fighters that were inducted into service in 2010 and have been going through trials and training missions over the past three years before the arrival of the carrier.
The commissioning marks the beginning of an event ful year for the Navy that is set to see many of its major projects reach critical milestones in the coming months. The first will be the activation of the nuclear reactor on board the INS Arihant nuclear missile submarine later this month, following which the vessel will go for sea trials before a formal commissioning by next year.
The naval squadron, which has been nick-named 'Black Panthers', is the first fighter squadron to be commissioned after the Sea Harrier fighters were inducted in December 1983. It comprises 16 aircraft that have till now collectively clocked 2500 hours in training missions and has been termed as the 'sword arm' of the Navy. The INS Hansa airbase in Dabolim where the squadron is
based is also equipped with a shore-based training facility (SBTF) to train pilots on landing and taking off from an aircraft carrier. The SBTF, which comprises a ski jump and an arrested recovery system, is likely to be commissioned in a few months.

The new squadron, which is likely to embark on the INS Vikramaditya after it arrives from Russia after a five-year delay is a major capability jump for the Navy that has till now operated Sea Harrier fighters on board the INS Viraat, which is likely to be decommissioned in the next two years.
The new fighters will give a major edge due to their modern avionics, range and weapons suite that has been compared to the best in the world. The navy has termed the new squadron 'the game changers' to reflect the increase in capability. The squadron has been christened as the 303 after the 303 cartridge that  revolutionised warfare in the mid 19th century with its now legendary design.
With 29 additional fighters on order from Russia as part of a $ 1.2 billion follow on contract, the navy will induct another fighter squadron within the next two years.

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