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Shambhu Singh Yadav appointed Deputy Lokayukta ,UP

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Lokayukta-indianbureaucracy

The governor today appointed Shri Shambhu Singh Yadav as the new Deputy Lokayukta (UP-Lokayukta) of the state,” ,on joint recommendation of Chief Minister Shri Akhilesh Yadav and Lokayukta Justice Sanjay Misra.

The government had recommended Shri Yadav, a 1997-batch IAS officer, presently posted at the Chief Ministers secretariat on extension. Shri Yadav, considered close to ruling Samajwadi Party, had retired three years ago and served as special secretary to former Chief Minister Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav in the previous SP government in 2003.

The Deputy Lokayukta is appointed in consultation with Lokayukta and the CM. The post of Deputy Lokayukta was vacant since Shri  Swatantra Singh’s term ended last year.

IndianBureaucracy.com wishes Shri S S Yadav the very best.

MoU signed between Railways and CII on Green Industrial Units

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Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu -indianbureaucracy
Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu -indianbureaucracy

In the august presence of Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhu, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Ministry of Railways and Confederation of Indian Industry(CII) to evaluate the Green Initiatives and rate the performance of Industrial Units of Indian Railways which are pursuing environmentally sustainable practices, was signed and “Final Report on the Passenger Feedback Survey at major Railway Stations for Cleanliness Ranking” was E-Released on 26.07.2016.   Minister of State for Railways & Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Communication Shri Manoj Sinha and Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain was present to grace the occasion. On the event of Signing Ceremony, Chairman Railway Board Shri A. K. Mital, Member Mechanical Shri Hemant Kumar, and other Board Members and Senior Officials were present. On behalf of the Railway Ministry Smt. Kalyani Chadda,EDME(W) signed the MoU whereas on behalf of CII Shri S. Raghupathy, Dy. Director General, CII signed theMoU. The MoU was signed in the backdrop of Railway Minister’s Budget announcement.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Suresh Prabhu pointed out that notwithstanding the fact that Railways is an environment friendly transport, multi pronged green initiatives are being taken by Indian Railways. This includes the share of renewables in energy consumed, better Water Management including Water Audit, Solid Waste Management including Waste to Energy plants etc. The association with CII will enable Railways to weigh their green initiatives against the global standards. The partnership with CII has come in the right time when Railways are in the change mode for a sustainable growth. Indian Railways have been playing a key role in every aspect of Government’s initiatives. The provision of bio toilets in a large scale to avoid open discharge from the coaches is a major step towards this. Recently, the Manmadurai – Rameshwaram section of Southern Railway was declared as a first green railway section. Indian Railways have so far provided more than 40,000 bio toilets. During this year, another 30,000 bio toilets are proposed to be added. The unique effort of bio vacuum toilets by Indian Railways will be a big game changer in this regard if the trials prove successful.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Manoj Sinha said that Railways which has its production units in almost all parts of the country should ensure some environment friendly measures like solar energy, energy audit, water harvesting. He said that keeping in mind all these measures, today’s MoU has been signed so that environment friendly measures could be taken.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain said that Railways being the biggest industry of the country is conscious towards the environment friendly measures and these measures could bring drastic change after implementation.

The MOU has been signed for GBC-CII to extend technical co-operation for various Green initiatives in 3 Railway’s Industrial establishments, with an objective to make Indian Railways, as a leading Government organisation in the field of Environment.Initially following two programmes will be taken up under this MOU:

(i) Green Rating for Railway Industrial units – In the first phase – Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW)/Varanasi Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennaiand Carriage & Wagon Workshop,Perambur /Chennai, Southern Railway, have been selected for thisimportant initiative.All the Green initiatives of these units will be rated on a common Platform applicable to all the industries. Based on the experience remaining Units will be taken up under this scheme.

(ii)Energy Efficiency studies at 6 Production Units and 4 major workshops over Indian Railways. This will include Capacity Building, Knowledge sharing and exchange of best practices on Energy efficiency between Railways and other industrial sectors.

Govt bats for promoting e-pharmacy

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FICCI
FICCI_logo_indianbureaucracy
The Centre is working towards amending the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 to develop a framework to benefit consumers as the existing Act does not differentiate between offline and online pharmacies, a top Health Ministry official said on Monday.
“With the advent of e-pharmacy, there is a need to amend the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 as it does not differentiate between offline and online pharmacies. The government is seized of the issue and is working towards amending the existing law to develop a framework where the consumers are benefited,” Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare KB Aggarwal said.
“e-pharmacy will allow easy availability of drugs at all hours. But he flagged concerns with respect to legitimacy of e-pharmacies, patients’ safety and privacy, misuse of e-pharmacy and adverse effect on retailers business,” Aggarwal said while speaking at a FICCI event.
He touched upon the need to create e-pharmacy guidelines that will allow proper tracking and monitoring of sales of drugs, authenticity of online pharmacists and prescriptions, details of patients, helping in reducing drug abuse and counterfeiting.
He suggested that linking a person’s Aadhar with e-pharmacy will ensure correct identification of the person seeking medicines. Deliberations on ensuring privacy and confidentiality of information, are going on and soon, suggestions will be put up for discussion among stakeholders, Aggarwal said.

National Tourism Awards for Travel, Tourism & Hospitality on 30th July 2016

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national-awards_indianbureaucrcay
national-awards_indianbureaucrcay

The Speaker, Lok Sabha Smt. Sumitra Mahajan will present the “National Tourism Awards for 2014-15 to various segments of the Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Industry” at a function organised by Ministry of Tourism on 30th July, 2016 in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State for Tourism & Culture (Independent Charge) will preside over the function. The function will be attended by Chief Ministers and Tourism Ministers of States, Central and State Government Officials, Members from the Travel and Hospitality Industries, including leading Hoteliers, Travel Agents and Tour Operators, Travel Media and Mainstream Media.

National Tourism Awards have over the years emerged as a prestigious recognition of achievements in the travel, tourism and hospitality sectors. These are presented annually by M/o Tourism to various segments of the travel, tourism and hospitality industry. These segments include State Governments / Union Territories, classified hotels, heritage hotels, approved travel agents, tour operators and tourist transport operators, individuals and other private organizations in recognition of their performance in their respective fields and also to encourage healthy competition with an aim to promote tourism.

The achievements of organisations and individuals who have delivered quality service in the Tourism industry are important to keep the India’s Tourism Sector on an upward growth track. The Government is committed to working in partnership with the Tourism sector to build on the success achieved to date and to help deliver further economic growth for tourism related businesses across the country.

The different categories under which awards would be given this year (2016), for excellence in performance during the financial year 2014-15 are:

  1. States and Union Territories

(i)         Best State/Union Territory : Comprehensive Development of Tourism

(ii)        Most Film Promotion Friendly State/UT

(iii)       Best Civic Management of a Tourist Destination in India

  1. Travel Agents/Tour Operators/Tourist Transport Operators

(i)         Best Inbound Tour Operators / Travel Agents

(ii)        Best Domestic Tour Operators

(iii)       Best Tourist Transport Operators

(iv)       Most Innovative Tour Operator

(v)        Best Adventure Tour Operator

(vi)       Best MICE Operator (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions)

(vii)      Tour Operator Promoting Niche Segments other than Adventure & MICE

  1. Classified Hotels / Incredible India Bed & Breakfast Establishments

(i)         Best Hotels in the different Star Categories (1 star to 5 star deluxe)

(ii)        Best Heritage Hotels

(iii)       Best Eco Friendly Hotel

(iv)       Hotel providing Best facilities for the Differently Abled Guests

(v)        Incredible India Bed & Breakfast Establishments

  1. Tourism Promotion and Publicity

(i)         Excellence in Publishing

(ii)        Best Tourism Film

(iii)       Best Tourism Promotion Publicity Material (produced by States / Union Territories and

            Private Stakeholders)

(iv)       Most Innovative use of Information Technology – Social Media / Mobile App

  1. Overseas Awards

(i)         Best Foreign Journalist for India

(ii)        Best Foreign Photographer for India

  1. Other Categories

(i)         Best Rural Tourism Project

(ii)        Responsible Tourism Project / Initiative

(iii)       Innovative/Unique Tourism Project

(iv)       Best Wellness Centre

(v)        Best Medical Tourism Facility

(vi)       Best Tourist Friendly Railway Station

(vii)      Best Airport

(viii)     Best Tourism Friendly Golf Course

(ix)       Best Maintained and Disabled Friendly Monument

(x)        Best Chefs of India

(xi)       Best Standalone Convention Centre

(xii)      Best Hotel Based Meeting Venue

(xiii)     Best Heritage City

(xiv)     Best Heritage Walk

Report on Calcification: Does it pay off in the future ocean ?

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Calcification_indianbureaucracy
Calcification_indianbureaucracy

Summary:An international research team has calculated the costs and benefits of calcification for phytoplankton and the impact of climate change on their important role in the world’s oceans, a new report explains.

An international research team has calculated the costs and benefits of calcification for phytoplankton and the impact of climate change on their important role in the world’s oceans.

Single-celled phytoplankton play an important role in marine biochemical cycling, in marine food webs and in the global climate system. Coccolithophores are a particular group that cover themselves with calcium carbonate shields, known as coccoliths. Some wrap themselves in an impenetrable coat of coccoliths, some make coccoliths in the form of sharp spikes, some use them as parasols against the sun and some form funnel-shaped light collectors..

But this requires a lot of energy — and the price for the artful armour could rise further due to global change. With the help of a new model, the researchers analysed the energetic costs and benefits of calcification. The results, published in the current issue of the journal Science Advances, suggest that the ecological niche for calcifying algae will become narrower in the future.

The study’s lead author, Dr Fanny Monteiro, lecturer and NERC research fellow from the school of Geographical Sciences at the University of Bristol, said: “Calcification in coccolithophores has high energy demand but brings multiple benefits enabling the currently observed diversity of their ecology and form.”

Professor Toby Tyrrell, Professor in Earth System Science at the University of Southampton and co-author of the study, added: “In the future ocean, the trade-off between changing ecological and physiological costs of calcification and their benefits will ultimately decide how this important group is affected by ocean acidification and global warming. There are signs that their distribution in the oceans is changing over time. If we understand better the costs and benefits of their distinguishing feature (coccoliths) then this should help us understand why their bio geography is shifting.”

To better understand the purpose of the elaborate armour and assess to what extent they will suffer the consequences of global change, researchers from Germany, Great Britain, France and the United States combined results from evolutionary history and cell biology studies, laboratory, field and modelling experiments.

“Presumably, the algae built their calcareous shells as a protection against predators. However, since the different structures had other benefits as well, a variety of forms was developed to make further use of these advantages,” explains Professor Ulf Riebesell, marine biologist at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and co-author of the study.

So far, the high energetic costs have paid off: “Coccolithophorids have survived over 200 million years. But now it is questionable whether they are also able to withstand climate change,” says Professor Riebesell.

The 200 coccolithophore species produce up to ten percent of the biomass in the oceans and keep the marine carbon cycle running. Stuck to their calcium carbonate platelets, organic matter sinks to the ocean floor — allowing surface layers to take up a new carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and process it.

Whether these unicellular multi-talented organisms will be able to fulfil their functions in the future, depends on how much extra energy they have to spend on calcification — and how their competitors in the food web react to ocean change. The amount of carbon dioxide dissolved in seawater is increasing due to fossil fuel emissions. This slightly stimulates photosynthesis.

On the other hand, the associated reduction in pH (ocean acidification) hampers calcification. “Compared to other planktonic organisms, coccolithophores will find themselves in a disadvantage. Their decline would also have an impact on the climate system,” says Dr Lennart Bach, second co-author of the study from GEOMAR. “Therefore, new model approaches such as ours are important in order to explore how increasing energy costs, as required for calcification, will pay off in the future.”

More: Science

B V Sudhakar appointed Secretary- Department of Posts

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b v sudhar_indianbureaucracy

Shri Boyapati Venkat Sudhakar (IPoS 1981) has been appointed as Secretary, Department of Posts vice Ms. Kavery Banerjee (IPoS:1978), who superannuated on 30.4.2016.

IndianBureaucracy.com wishes Shri Sudhakar the very best.

Stroke largely preventable, says global study

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science indianbureaucracy
science indianbureaucracy

Summary:Ten risk factors that can be modified are responsible for nine of 10 strokes worldwide, but the ranking of those factors vary regionally, according to a study of 26,000 people worldwide. This should influence the development of strategies for stroke reduction, the researchers say.

Ten risk factors that can be modified are responsible for nine of 10 strokes worldwide, but the ranking of those factors vary regionally, says a study led by researchers of the Population Health Research Institute (PHRI) of McMaster University.

Prevention of stroke is a major public health priority, but the variation by region should influence the development of strategies for reducing stroke risk, say the authors of the study published in The Lancet.

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability, particularly in low-income and middle-income countries. The two major types of stroke include ischaemic stroke caused by blood clots, which accounts for 85% of strokes, and haemorrhagic stroke or bleeding into the brain, which accounts for 15% of strokes.

The study led by Dr. Martin O’Donnell and Dr. Salim Yusuf of the Population Health Research Institute at McMaster and collaborators from 32 countries, builds on findings from the first phase of the INTERSTROKE study which identified ten modifiable risk factors for stroke in 6,000 participants from 22 countries. This full-scale INTERSTROKE study added 20,000 individuals from 32 countries in Europe, Asia, America, Africa and Australia, and sought to identify the main causes of stroke in diverse populations, young and old, men and women and within subtypes of stroke.

“This study has the size and scope to explore stroke risk factors in all major regions of the world and within key populations,” said O’Donnell, a principal investigator for the PHRI and professor of translational medicine at HRB-Clinical Research Facility, NUI Galway.

“We have confirmed the ten modifiable risk factors associated with 90% of stroke cases in all regions, young and older and in men and women. The study also confirms that hypertension is the most important modifiable risk factor in all regions, and the key target in reducing the burden of stroke globally.”

The investigators looked at the different risk factors, and determined the proportion of strokes which would be cut if the risk factor disappeared.

The number of strokes would be practically cut in half (48%) if hypertension was eliminated; trimmed by more than a third (36%) if people were physically active; and shaved by almost one fifth (19%) if they had better diets. In addition, this proportion was cut back by 12% if smoking was eliminated; 9% for cardiac (heart) causes, 4% for diabetes, 6% for alcohol intake, 6% for stress, and 27% for lipids (the study used apolipoproteins, which was found to be a better predictor of stroke than total cholesterol).

Many of these risk factors are known to also be associated with each other (such as obesity and diabetes), and when were combined together, the total for all 10 risk factors was 91%, which was similar in all regions, age groups and in men and women.

However, the importance of some risk factors appeared to vary by region. For example, the importance of hypertension ranged from practically 40% in Western Europe, North America, and Australia to 60% in Southeast Asia. The risk of alcohol was lowest in Western Europe, North America and Australia but highest in Africa and south Asia, while the potential impact of physical inactivity was highest in China.

An irregular heart rhythm, or atrial fibrillation, was significantly associated with ischaemic stroke in all regions, but was of greater importance in Western Europe, North America and Australia, than in China or South Asia.

However, when all 10 risk factors were included together, their collective importance was similar in all regions.

“Our findings will inform the development of global population-level interventions to reduce stroke, and how such programs may be tailored to individual regions,” said Yusuf, a professor of medicine of McMaster’s Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine and director of the PHRI. “This includes better health education, more affordable healthy food, avoidance of tobacco and more affordable medication for hypertension and dyslipidaemia.”

Along with the study, The Lancet published a related comment from New Zealand researchers Valery L. Feigin and Rita Krishnamurthi of the National Institute for Stroke and Applied Neurosciences, of Auckland’s University of Technology.

They said the key messages from the study were that stroke is a highly preventable disease globally, regardless of age and sex; that the relative importance of modifiable risk factors means there should be development of regional or ethnic-specific primary prevention programs, and that additional research on stroke risk factors is needed for countries and ethnic groups not included in INTERSTROKE.

“Now is the time for governments, health organizations, and individuals to proactively reduce the global burden of stroke. Governments of all countries should develop and implement an emergency action plan for the primary prevention of stroke,” they wrote.

More: Science

Cabinet approval to Bilateral Investment Treaty between India & Cambodia

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India and Cambodia-indianbureaucracy
India and Cambodia-indianbureaucracy

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) between India and Cambodia.

The Treaty seeks to promote and protect investments from either country in the territory of the other country with the objective of increasing bilateral investment flows. The Treaty encourages each country to create favourable conditions for investors of the other country to make investments in its territory and to admit investments in accordance with its laws.

The Treaty is the first Bilateral Investment Treaty in accordance with the text of the Indian Model BIT, approved by the Cabinet in December, 2015.

IndianBureaucracy.com wishes the very best.

4th Home Minister level talks between India & Bangladesh today

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India and Bangladesh Flag-indianbureaucracy
India and Bangladesh Flag-indianbureaucracy

The Fourth Home Minister level talks between India and Bangladesh will be held here . The talks are expected to further strengthen and enhance the excellent cooperation between the two countries on security and border management matters.

Mr. Asaduzzaman Khan, the Home Minister of Bangladesh is leading a high level delegation to India from 27th July to 30th July, 2016.

During this visit, the Bangladeshi delegation will call on the President and Prime Minister of India. On July 28, 2016, there will be Home Minister level talks between delegation led by Bangladesh Home Minister and Union Home Minister of India. Indian delegation will consist of National Security Advisor, Union Home Secretary and officers of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Border Security Force (BSF), Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Coast Guard and others. During these talks, there will be review of Land Boundary Agreement implementation, security and border management and related issues.

The delegation will also be visiting Udaipur and Kolkata during stay in India.

World’s greatest concentration of unique mammal species on Philippine Island

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unique mammal_indianbureaucracy

Summary:Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines, is home to the world’s greatest concentration of unique mammal species — 93 percent of the land mammals there are found nowhere else. A new paper announces that 52 of the island’s 56 non-flying mammals live nowhere else in the world. Of these 56 species, 28 were discovered during the course of the 15-year project. The study provides insight into how island evolution works, and could inform future conservation efforts.

Where is the world’s greatest concentration of unique species of mammals? A team of American and Filipino authors have concluded that it is Luzon Island, in the Philippines. Their 15-year project, summarised in a paper published in the scientific journal Frontiers of Biogeography, has shown that out of 56 species of non-flying mammal species that are now known to live on the island, 52 live nowhere else in the world. Of those 56 species, 28 were discovered during the course of the project. Nineteen of the species have been formally described in scientific journals, and nine are currently “in the works.”

“We started our study on Luzon in 2000 because we knew at the time that most of the native mammal species on the island were unique to the island, and we wanted to understand why that is the case. We did not expect that we would double the number already known,” said Lawrence Heaney, the project’s leader, who is the Negaunee Curator of Mammals at The Field Museum in Chicago.

Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines; at about 40,000 square miles, it’s a bit larger than Indiana. According to the authors, Luzon has never been connected to any continental land–the species have been isolated, like the animals that live in Hawaii. But Luzon is much larger and at least five times older than the oldest island in Hawaii, and so has had time for the few species that arrived from the Asian mainland to evolve and diversify greatly.

On islands, scientists sometimes see a “sped-up” version of evolution–when animals are closed off from the rest of the world, in places where there are few or no predators or competitors, they are able to branch out into special adaptations, eventually forming new species. And not only is the island of Luzon isolated, but it’s covered in mountains. The mountaintops form what scientists call “sky islands”–little pockets of distinctive habitat that the animals further adapt to. “The animals are isolated high on the scattered mountains, so they inevitably diverge. Given enough time, you begin to see huge biodiversity,” explained Heaney. “In the process of trying to understand how that happens, we doubled the number of known species on Luzon.”

Among the 28 new species discovered by the team are four species of tiny tree-mice with whiskers so long they reach nearly to their ankles, and five species of mice that look like shrews and feed primarily on earthworms. Most of the new species live in tropical cloud forest high in the mountains, where frequent typhoons can drop four or five meters (12 to 15 feet) of rain per year.

“All 28 of the species we discovered during the project are members of two branches on the tree of life that are confined to the Philippines,” according to Eric Rickart, a team member who is based at the Natural History Museum of Utah. “There are individual mountains on Luzon that have five species of mammals that live nowhere else. That’s more unique species on one mountain than live in any country in continental Europe. The concentration of unique biodiversity in the Philippines is really staggering.”

Luzon also supports 57 species of bats; most live in the hot, humid lowlands. These include the golden-crowned flying fox, which is one of the heaviest bats in the world at up to two and a half pounds. Another, the lesser flat-headed bat, is so tiny that it can roost inside the hollow spaces inside bamboo stems.

“We also wanted to learn more about the conservation status of these wonderful animals,” said Danny Balete, a Research Associate at the Field Museum who is based in the Philippines. “The Philippines is one of the most heavily deforested countries in the tropics; only about seven percent of the old-growth tropical forest is left. We learned that quite a few of the species are seriously threatened by habitat loss and over-hunting, but none are yet extinct.” Luzon has a human population of about 50 million, including about 23 million in greater Manila, the country’s capital. “Protecting all of these species from extinction is going to be a big challenge. The good news is that when the native forest is allowed to regenerate, the native mammals move back in, and the pest rats get kicked out.”

Other co-authors of the paper are based at the University of the Philippines, the University of Minnesota, and Florida State University. Heaney, Balete, and Rickart are also authors of a book about the mammals of Luzon Island, just published by Johns Hopkins University Press, that will be used in the Philippines as a college-level textbook. The team works closely with conservation organizations and the Philippine government, and many of their recommendations regarding expanded and new national parks have been adopted.

“Learning about the tremendous diversity of mammal species present on Luzon is crucial to conservation efforts,” explained Heaney. “In order to be effective at conserving an environment, we have to know what’s out there.”

More:Science

Afforestation Fund, Corruption, Benami transactions, Whistleblowers Protection on Agenda of Monsoon session

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rajyaa sabha_indianbureaucracy

Following the productive first week of the current Monsoon session of Parliament during when five of the 16 Bills proposed by the Government were passed, four more Bills have been proposed by the Government for consideration and passing. These include the Benami Transactions (Prevention) Amendment Bill, 2015 and the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill,2016in Lok Sabha and the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2013 and the Whistleblowers Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2015 in Rajya Sabha.

Other Bills on the agenda of Rajya Sabha during the second week beginning Monday i. e July 25,2016 include ; the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2015, the Indian Medical Council Bill,2016, the Dentists (Amendment) Bill,2016 and the National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research Bill,2016, all passed by Lok Sabha already.

Other Bills proposed to be taken up in Lok Sabha include; the Institution of Technology (Amendment) Bill,2016, the High Courts (Alteration of Names) Bill,2016 and the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill,2012. The first two of these Bills would go to Rajya Sabha after passed by the Lower House while the Child Labour Bill has been passed by the Upper House last week.

During the second week of this Session beginning Monday, Lok Sabha is likely to take up a Calling Attention Motion moved by Shri Bhartrihari Mahtab (BJD) on the ‘Undertaking of a barrage project over river Mahanadi by Chattisgarh Government thereby severely impacting flow of water into Hirakud dam in Odisha’.

The Government also proposed for consideration in both the Houses a Resolution seeking to approve the recommendation of the Railway Convention Committee to revise the rate of dividend payable by the Railways to general revenues and other related ancillary matters as contained in the Committee’s report of December,2015.

On taking up of GST Bill (The Constitution 122nd Amendment Bill,2014) for consideration and passage in Rajya Sabha, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Shri Ananth Kumar told Press Information Bureau :

“There is a widespread demand for early introduction of GST from almost all the political parties, State Governments, trade and industrial bodies and even general public. The Government is engaged in talks with political parties to ensure passage of the GST Bill during the current Monsoon session. The Business Advisory Committee has already allocated five hours for discussing this Bills in Rajya Sabha which is an important development. The Government on its part would the best possible to make this long pending legislation see the light of the day during this session. I appeal to all parties to sense the mood of the nation and cooperate in this regard”.

During the first week of this Monsoon session, Lok Sabha has cleared four Bills during the five sittings viz., the Indian Medical Council Bill,2016, the Dentists (Amendment) Bill,2016 and the National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research Bill (Amendment) Bill, 2016. These were among the six Bills introduced in the House last week. Besides, the lower house also considered and accepted an amendment to the Indian Trustees (Amendment) Bill, 2015 as passed by the Upper House in earlier session.

During the last week Rajya Sabha passed two Bills viz., the Regional Centre for Biotechnology Bill, 2016, earlier passed by the Lok Sabha and the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Bill,2012.

While both the Houses discussed the Kashmir events during last week, Rajya Sabha in addition took up the incidents of attacks on dalits and a Calling Attention Motion on floods in the country with specific reference to floods in Odisha.

Latha Rao appointed Secretary – Dept of Social Justice & Empowerment

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Latha Krishna Rao_indianbureaucracy
Latha Krishna Rao_indianbureaucracy

Ms. Latha Krishna Rao IAS (Karnataka 82) presently in the cadre, has been appointed as Secretary, Department of Social Justice & Empowerment, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, vice Ms. Anita Agnihotri, on her superannuation.

IndianBureaucracy.com wishes Ms. Rao the very best.