[PDF] 13 Feb 2015

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News Bits - 13 Feb 2015

   

1. ICAR to set up model mechanised farms at 100 villages across country.
2. A pint-sized Japanese robot “Kirobo” that became the first android to converse with an astronaut in space has returned to Earth after 18 months in orbit, project organisers said on Thursday.
3. The prestigious $500,000 National Science Foundation CAREER award was won by Gurpreet Singh, assistant professor of mechanical and nuclear engineering at Kansas State University , to develop

[PIB] Centre approves revised Guidelines for Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana

The model villages adopted by the Members of Parliament under the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) will now get rural roads under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) on priority basis. Similarly, in these model villages, rural roads constructed or upgraded under PMGSY would have to be maintained by the State Governments up to prescribed standards and even beyond the built in period of first five years. A decision to issue these amended guidelines was taken in a meeting chaired by Union Minister for Rural Development. This is in accordance with

[Ed] The debt story less told

Small and marginal farmers in rainfed regions are trapped in a losing battle with agriculture — and with life
The lot of the poor Indian farmer keeps deteriorating with the passage of time. According to the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) data released on December 19, 2014, during the last decade, the bloated debt of Indian agricultural households increased almost 400 per cent Even the

[Ed] A time for healing

The deep sense of hurt and mistrust among Tamils towards Colombo has come to the fore with the Northern Provincial Council, the elected body of the predominantly Tamil region in northern Sri Lanka, passing a resolution on Tuesday seeking a UN-led probe into the alleged genocide against the community by the state. The resolution presents a slew of charges against the Sri Lankan state and accuses it of carrying out “anti-Tamil pogroms, massacres, sexual violence, and acts of

[Ed] A hasty, half-baked report on environment

The report of the High-Level Committee for reviewing environmental laws has a misplaced focus on speedy project clearances and wrongly attributes their delays to environmental laws
The report of the High-Level Committee (HLC) on a review of environmental laws may no longer be in the news, but its potential for impacting environmental governance in the country has not diminished. That potential will become real soon enough. A note of caution at this stage is

[Ed] Reset of a policy of equidistance

Given Narendra Modi’s growth and development agenda, for which he requires the U.S., China, Japan and others, he cannot afford to antagonise Beijing. The U.S. is vital for India’s rise and a hedge to China. So, New Delhi will necessarily be on a razor edge. In any realisation of the Asian century, Washington will be large and looming
Soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office, an Indian TV channel held a discussion on likely foreign policy reorientation. When the doyen of South Asian Studies, Stephen Cohen, was asked in which direction Mr. Modi would tilt – the U.S. or China — without

The Hindu News - 13 Feb 2015

China ‘respects’ India’s U.N. seat bidSteering clear of outright support, China has said it respects the aspiration of India and Brazil to play bigger roles at the U.N. Security Council.
Asked whether China had become more supportive about India’s application for permanent membership of the Security Council than Brazil, following the joint statement released after the recent meeting of Chinese, Russian and Indian foreign ministers, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said that “the reform of the U.N. Security Council should give priority to increasing the representativeness of