National affairs (2ndJanuary, 2016 )

Women’s presence increased in politics
 Of the 45 ministers in the central council of ministers in 2015, eight are women. This amounted to roughly 17 per cent of the strength of the central council of ministers, said a report by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI). 

In 2004, women comprised only 10 per cent of the council of ministers. The difference in absolute terms was marginal. But in percentage terms it reflected a sharp increase. 

Of the eight ministers in 2015, six are Cabinet ministers and two are ministers of state. In all, 62 women were elected in the 2014 General Elections — roughly 11 per cent of the strength of the Lok Sabha. 

Of these 62 members of Parliament (MPs), 34 per cent were social and political workers and 18 per cent were farmers, according to the report, Women and Men in India. 

As many as 44 per cent of these MPs were postgraduates and 29 per cent were graduates. Only 29 per cent of the male members were postgraduates, while 44 per cent were graduates. 

Among state Assemblies, Bihar, Haryana and Rajasthan have the highest women participation. Mizoram, Nagaland and Puduchery have no women representation in the Assembly. 

In the judiciary, though, women’s participation continued to be limited. There was only one woman judge out of 28 in the Supreme Court. 

At the high courts, there were only 65 women judges out of 546 judges. In percentage terms, the highest women participation was seen in Sikkim (33 per cent), followed by Delhi (23 per cent), Punjab and Haryana (17 per cent) and Mumbai (16 per cent). Surprisingly, there were no women judges in the High Courts in Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura and Uttarakhand. 

In the Indian Administrative Service, only 14 per cent were women in 2012. In comparison, the Indian Economic Service saw 30 per cent in 2014. The Indian Foreign Service, at 19 per cent, had higher women participation than the Indian Administrative Service. 

• PM announces additional relief of Rs.1,000 crore more for flood-hit Tamil NaduIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced additional Rs 1000-crore financial package to the flood-hit Tamil Nadu to undertake immediate relief efforts in the affected areas. The fund is in addition to the sum of Rs 940 crore released from the National Disaster Relief Fund immediately after the submission of the report by the state government on 23rd last month.
  
  After taking aerial view by helicopter, the Prime Minister reviewed the situation with the state chief minister J.Jayalalithaa and Governor K.Rosiah at the regional naval headquarters INS Adyar in which the chief minister explained the grim situation.
  
  Meanwhile, flood situation continues to be grim in Chennai and its deluged suburbs, though rain has come down. Surplus water being released in huge quantities from major reservoirs in the adjoining districts continue to cause heavy flooding in many Chennai residential areas. Vehicular traffic is affected in the city and roads are in battered condition.
  
  The NDRF has pressed into service 100 boats for rescue missions and has deployed three more teams into service. With this, the NDRF has doubled its strength to 1200. Four additional columns of the Army has arrived Chennai for rescue and relief operations. The Indian Air Force is utilizing its Tambaram base for evacuation and relief works.On the other hand, the death toll due to flood in Chennai has gone up to 269.
  
• Navy has deployed ships, tankers for Operation Madad The navy has deployed a number of ships and tankers besides opening up its base as an alternative airport as part of 'Operation Madad' to help the rain-ravaged city of Chennai. It has also deployed unmanned aerial vehicles ( UAV) to identity the worst-hit areas in flooded Chennai to help civilian authorities.
  
• Govt releases postage stamp to mark centenary year of Zoological Survey of IndiaThe center has released a commemorative postage stamp to mark the Centenary year of Zoological Survey of India. The stamp was released by Communication and IT Minister Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad. 
• KCR launches new polio vaccineTelangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao formally launched “SHAN-IPV” Polio vaccine manufactured by Shantha Biotechnics on 4th December. The IPV (Injectable Polio Vaccine) is one of the safest vaccines to use and is required to eliminate the risk of further existence of Polio. This is being launched at a time when no polio cases are reported in India during the last four years and at a time when India is switching from Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) to IPV.
  
  Oral Polio Vaccine has a 1 per cent of failure risk whereas IPV is considered to be without any risk. KCR launched the vaccine handed over the first sample of five doses pack to the representative of UNICEF. The chairman of the Shantha Biotechnics Varaprasad Reddy informed though IPVs are priced at Rs 1,050 per unit in the international market, Shantha Biotechnics will be supplying to UNICEF and Government of India at Rs 55 only.
  
  After this is launched, Indian Government will supply IPV manufactured by Shantha to the entire country through UNICEF. Telangana will get this from UNICEF at free of cost.
  
  IPV is effective in preventing paralytic disease caused by all three types of polio virus and carries no risk of vaccine associated risks. Manufacturing of SHAN-IPV is a pride for Telangana State said KCR. UNICEF has already indented for 2.5 million doses of this vaccine and will be supplying to both the Telugu speaking states free of cost.
  
  Government of India also indented for this vaccine. Both Government of India and UNICEF decided to use this vaccine as part of total eradication of polio. Shantha plans to produce a total of more than 10 million doses next year with additional increases planned in subsequent years.
  
  Pakistan and Afghanistan are still classified as polio endemic, meaning that wild polio virus passes routinely between members of the community. However, progress has been made in both countries and the last case of polio in the world may possibly be only months away. India has had a strong focus on polio eradication and this move to introduce IPV in the UIP will provide the required impetus for a polio free India.
  
  In line with the WHO’s Global endgame strategy, India is introducing one dose of IPV at 14 weeks of age. IPV is to be given in addition to the existing oral polio vaccine. This introduction is a critical step towards achieving a polio-free world by 2019 to meet the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) Endgame Strategic Plan. 
• Delhi government’s initiatives: 
  • Odd and even numbered cars to ply on Delhi roads on alternative days.
  • Extra buses to be added to DTC’s fleet; Delhi Metro asked to add new trains; thrust is on public transport.
  • Auto-rickshaws to supplement.
  • Entry of trucks inside Delhi after 11 pm (now 9 pm).
  • Government will ask UP to shut down Dadri power plant.
  • PWD to start urban forestry project on arid land.
  • Restrict vehicles on roads.
  • Stricter checking of pollution in vehicles
  • EURO VI by 2017.
  
  
• Telangana to launch 4 new policiesTelangana government is planning to launch four new policies on December 28 coinciding with the visit of Microsoft chief to T-Hub, the new start-up incubator established at IIIT-Hyderabad.
  
  According to K T Rama Rao, Telangana Information Technology minister, four new policies one each for 
  • Information Technology,
  • Innovation/Start-up,
  • IMAGE and
  • ESDM (Electronic System Design & Manufacturing) will be launched on December 28.