Current Affairs Assam – October 2017 e-Magazine
October 22
Linking Aadhaar to bank accounts mandatory: RBI
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said biometric identity number Aadhaar linkage with bank accounts is mandatory.The RBI clarification followed media reports quoting a reply to a Right to Information (RTI) application that suggested the apex bank has not issued any order for mandatory Aadhaar linkage with bank accounts.
“The Reserve Bank clarifies that, in applicable cases, linkage of Aadhaar number to bank account is mandatory under the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Second Amendment Rules, 2017 published in the Official Gazette on June 1, 2017,” the central bank said in a statement.
These rules have statutory force and, as such, banks have to implement them without awaiting further instructions, it said.
Existing bank account holders have been asked to furnish the Aadhaar number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) by December 31, 2017, failing which the account will cease to be operational, the government notification had said.
There were reports in media quoting an RTI query in which RBI had said it “has not issued any instruction so far regarding mandatory linking of Aadhaar number with bank accounts”.
The government in Budget 2017 had already mandated seeding of Aadhaar number with Permanent Account Number to avoid individuals using multiple PANs to evade taxes.
The notification issued amending the Prevention of Money- laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005, mandated quoting of Aadhaar along with PAN or Form 60 by individuals, companies and partnership firms for all financial transactions of Rs 50,000 or above.
Rs 544-cr Tata Trust funding for cancer care in Assam
The Tata Trust has announced a package of Rs 544 crore for cancer care treatment in Assam, the biggest ever funding for a particular disease in the history of State’s health sector.
The Tata Trust had announced a total package of Rs 1,000 crore for five states – Assam, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand, of which Assam’s share is highest (Rs 544 crore).
State Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma informed media persons that the funds will be utilised as per the joint initiative for creating quality care infrastructure in the State and all the existing medical colleges will have a cancer care hospital.
The initiative will be under the aegis of the South East Asia Cancer Society, a collaborative programme by the State government and Tata Trust on cancer care.
As per the project, besides cancer care facilities in all the civil hospitals and medical colleges, a state-level cancer hospital will also be set up along with a research institute billed as the South Asia Cancer Research Institute.
The envisaged three-tier cancer care grid would need a total of Rs 1,400 crore, the minister said. He further informed that a plot of three acre land has already been allotted to each of the hospitals by the State government.
The Tata Trust will provide the State government the technology support in the initiative.
“We have invited Ratan Tata to lay the foundation stone of the project,” Sarma said, stating that at least 30,000 new cancer patients are registered every year in the State and more than 80,000 cancer patients are seeking for hospitals every year.
“In Assam, we need to facilitate treatment for these 80,000 patients. We need five 200-bed cancer hospitals. We are lagging far behind. We need 528 surgery beds but we have just 128 such beds,” Sarma pointed out.
October 23
India, Bangladesh vow to fight terror
India and Bangladesh discussed the common challenge of terrorism and resolved to fight the scourge together even as New Delhi reaffirmed its status as a reliable development partner of Dhaka.
“We are both determined to protect our societies from the threat of ideologies of hate, violence and terror by adopting a zero tolerance policy and a comprehensive approach in fighting violent extremism and terrorism at all levels,” External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said after talks with the Bangladeshi side as part of the fourth Joint Consultative Commission. “We discussed the common challenges that we are faced with today. One such challenge is that of terrorism, extremism and radicalisation and we will continue to fight this
scourge together and along with other like-minded countries,” she said.
Point2beNoted: Following points are important for Foreign Relation b/w India and Bangladesh
“Three lines of credit amounting to US $ 8 billion have been extended by India to Bangladesh so far. This is by far the largest development assistance that India has extended to any country worldwide,” she said.
India has also been extending grant assistance for small socio-economic projects in Bangladesh. In the past three years alone, 24 such grant projects have been completed which include construction of students’ hostels, tubewells, cultural centres, and orphanages among others. Presently 58 projects, including city development projects in Rajshahi, Khulna and Sylhet, are under implementation, she said.
“India is now supplying 660 MW of much needed power to the Bangladesh people and this figure will double, if not triple, in the foreseeable future. We will work together as founding members of the International Solar Alliance, for which Bangladesh has just confirmed its accession. This alliance is expected to make solar energy affordable,” Swaraj said.
The two nations have already agreed on the construction of a petroleum products pipeline that will link Siliguri with Parbatipur, for the benefit of the people of northwestern Bangladesh, as a grant in aid project.
The setting up of LNG terminal, supply of natural gas by pipeline and investments in the upstream sector are also under consideration, she said.
She said restoration of pre-1965 links encompassing road, rail, water and coastal shipping links is being planned to increase connectivity, citing increase in frequency of the Dhaka-Maitri express.
The inaugural run with end-to-end Immigration and Customs services for the Maitri Express and the inaugural commercial run of the Kolkata-Khulna Bandhan service are all expected soon, she said.
In order to facilitate people-to-people contacts, she said the Indian Mission and Posts in Bangladesh issued 9.76 lakh visas in 2016 and these are expected to grow to about 14 lakh visas in 2017.
Swaraj said India will also offer five-year multiple entry visas for Bangladeshi freedom fighters and is planning a scheme for their medical treatment in India.
This is Swaraj’s second visit to Bangladesh and comes after the recent trip of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley during which India operationalised a US $ 4.5 billion line of credit to Bangladesh to enable implementation of development projects in key areas, including power, railways, roads and shipping.
The development is also seen as India’s attempt to counter rising Chinese influence in Bangladesh, where Beijing is trying to make inroads in infrastructure ventures.
Formation of national park in Karbi Anglong proposed
The State is set to get its sixth national park and the first in the two hills districts, with the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) formally proposing the formation of a larger protected area by merging the North Karbi Anglong and East Karbi Anglong wildlife sanctuaries into a national park.
Although the conjoined districts of Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao account for much of the State’s green cover, particularly dense forest cover, they are yet to have a national park. Dima Hasao does not even have a wildlife sanctuary.
The objective behind the move is to bring more forest area under security cover and boost protection along the contiguous belts that link the Karbi Anglong forests with Kaziranga National Park.
“The proposal is in the best interests of Karbi Anglong forests as well as Kaziranga. The two hill districts of Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao do not have a single national park despite having vast stretches of pristine forests. The KAAC authorities are submitting the proposal for the national park to the State government,” Abhijit Rabha, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), KAAC, told.
The combined area of the North and East Karbi Anglong wildlife sanctuaries comes to around 318 sq km, with the former covering 96 sq km and the latter 221.81 sq km – both being contiguous forests.
“The entire area actually forms a single contiguous belt for wildlife, necessitating enhanced security measures,” he said.
With migration of wildlife from Kaziranga National Park to the Karbi Anglong forests beyond its southern boundary showing an increasing trend, conservationists have long been stressing the need for a long-term safety mechanism for the animals.
Dr Bibhab Talukdar of conservation group Aaranyak, while welcoming the KAAC move, said that long-term well-being of Kaziranga’s wildlife warranted precisely such a step. “It’s a contiguous ecological belt, and with the increase in Kaziranga’s animals, especially herbivores, there is an urgent need for more space, which can be provided by the Karbi Anglong forests. Long-ranging animals like elephant and tiger also naturally require extended space. A better security mechanism is, therefore, urgently needed,” he said.
The North and East Karbi Anglong wildlife sanctuaries are home to diverse wildlife including tiger, elephant, bear, hoolock gibbon, leopard, clouded leopard, pangolin, lesser cats, deer, etc., besides a large variety of reptiles and birds.
Seminar on customary laws of NE concludes
“The customary practices among different tribes of North East India reflect small practices of the whole of India. But there is a difference between mainstream and periphery regions.” This was stated by Prof (Dr) Poonam Saxena, Vice Chancellor, National Law University, Jodhpur, while addressing a two-day national seminar on “Customary Laws of North East India: Practice and Prevalence” organised from October 21 by University School of Law and Research, University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM).
Prof Saxena, spoke on customary laws and their contradictions with modern legislation and said that the force and power of customs is still very much continuing in many parts of India, for example, female foeticide, child marriage, and dowry.
Bangladesh signs Gas Oil deal with India
Bangladesh signed long-term sales and purchase agreement with an Indian refiner to import gas oil to meet the country’s energy demand. The deal between Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) and Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) was signed in presence of India’s external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, who arrived in Dhaka recently on a two-day visit to discuss bilateral issues.
October 24
SC tells EC to look into plea to bring parties under RTI
The Supreme Court asked the Election Commission (EC) to examine a representation for bringing political parties under the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act to make them accountable and to curb the use of black money in elections.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud asked the petitioner, Delhi BJP spokesperson and lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay, to first make the representation before the EC regarding the issue. The petitioner has sought direction to the Centre to take steps to deal with the menace of corruption and communalisation.
Point2beNoted: Following points are important reforms needed in political organization
“Declare the political parties, registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, a ‘Public Authority’ under Section 2(h) of the Right to Information Act, 2005, to make them transparent and accountable to the people and curb use of black money in elections,” it has said.
The PIL has sought a direction to the EC to ensure compliance of the RTI Act and other laws related to political parties and deregister them if they fail to abide by them.
“Direct the EC to ensure compliance of the Representation of the People Act, Right to Information Act, Income Tax Act and other election laws and rules so for as they relate to political parties and deregister them if they fail to comply with the election laws and rules,” it has said.
Highlighting the instances of corruption and indirect funding to political parties, the petition has said the Central and state governments have allotted land/buildings and other accommodation in prime locations to the parties all over the country either free of cost or on concessional rates.
“This amounts to indirect financing of the political parties. Doordarshan allots free airtime to political parties during the elections. This is another instance of indirect financing,” it has alleged. The plea has also said that “a body or entity does not become a political party in the legal sense until the EC under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act registers it. Tfore, this registration lends it the colour of Public Authority.”
Centre to invest Rs 1.45 lakh cr in NE road infra
To upgrade infrastructure in the Northeast, the government is planning to undertake highway projects worth about Rs 1.45 lakh crore in next two to three years, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said.The government has already taken up many road improvement projects under the Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for Northeast for better connectivity in the region, besides setting up National Highways &Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd to augment capacity of the agencies involved in development and maintenance of highways in the region.
“The government is planning to invest about Rs 1.45 lakh crore in the Northeast for development of national highways,” told Road Transport, Highways, Shipping and Water Resources Minister Gadkari.
Of the proposed Rs 1.45 lakh crore investment, the government plans to invest about Rs 48,000 crore in Assam, Rs 22,000 crore in Manipur and Rs 20,000 crore in Nagaland for building roads.
Projects worth Rs 17,000 crore are planned in Sikkim, Rs 12,000 crore in Mizoram, Rs 10,000 crore in Arunachal Pradesh and Rs 8,000 crore each in Meghalaya and Tripura, he said.
The government has earlier said that it is giving special attention to infrastructure development projects, such as road, rail, communication, and telecom network in the Northeast.
A total of 197 ongoing road development projects are being implemented under various programmes/schemes of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in the northeastern states.
United Nations Day is observed on 24th October
United Nations Day is observed globally on 24 October. It marks the 72nd anniversary of the UN Charter’s entry into force and celebrates everything that the UN represents and has achieved since its establishment in 1945. All the member states of the United Nations contribute finances to its operation to help further its goals.
FACTFILE – UN
- The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization tasked to promote international cooperation and to create and maintain international order.
- The UN is the largest, most familiar, most internationally represented and most powerful intergovernmental organization in the world.
- Headquarters – Manhattan, New York City
- Secretary-General – António Guterres
- A replacement for the ineffective League of Nations, the organization was established on 24 October 1945 after World War II with the aim of preventing another such conflict.
- At its founding, the UN had 51 member states; there are now 193.
- Further main offices are situated in Geneva, Nairobi, and Vienna.
- The organization is financed by assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states.
- Its objectives include maintaining international peace and security, promoting human rights, fostering social and economic development, protecting the environment, and providing humanitarian aid in cases of famine, natural disaster, and armed conflict.
- The UN Charter was drafted at a conference between April–June 1945 in San Francisco, and was took effect on 24 October 1945
- The organization participated in major actions in Korea and the Congo, as well as approving the creation of the state of Israel in 1947.
- The organization’s membership grew significantly following widespread decolonization in the 1960s, and by the 1970s its budget for economic and social development programmes far outstripped its spending on peacekeeping.
- After the end of the Cold War, the UN took on major military and peacekeeping missions across the world with varying degrees of success.
The UN has six principal organs:
- the General Assembly (the main deliberative assembly);
- the Security Council (for deciding certain resolutions for peace and security);
- the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC; for promoting international economic and social co-operation and development);
- the Secretariat (for providing studies, information, and facilities needed by the UN);
- the International Court of Justice (the primary judicial organ);
- the UN Trusteeship Council (inactive since 1994).
UN System agencies include the World Bank Group, the World Health Organization, the World Food Programme, UNESCO, and UNICEF.
