1. GSLV Mark III Rocket Launch a Great Milestone: ISRO Ex-Chairman
The heavy-lift GSLV Mark III rocket, slated to be launched by space agency ISRO on Monday, would open up opportunities for India to launch 4-ton class of satellites, according to a senior space scientist.
The launch of the first developmental flight of the rocket is a ‘great milestone’ as ISRO is almost doubling the capacity to launch from 2.2-2.3 tons to 3.5-4 tons, former ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan said.
Today if India has to launch communication satellites beyond 2.3 tons, we have to go abroad (to launch them). We (will) have self-reliance in launching communication satellites (once GSLV Mk III becomes operational), and also we will be able to attract foreign customers.
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2. Stone-Pelting MP Dairy Farmers Unleash Buffalo Shield on Police, Choke Highway
Buffaloes are their livelihood and on Saturday, the cattle were their first line of defence.
Dairy owners facing eviction for running businesses illegally in Imlia village in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur let loose hundreds of buffaloes on National Highway-7 to prevent the authorities from dismantling their units.
Members of the local administration, Jabalpur municipal corporation and pollution board and a police team watched helplessly as dairy owners and their staff stopped them in their tracks, shouting slogans from behind the impenetrable buffalo wall.
Animals took over the road, blocking JCB machines and trucks brought by the civic body and also holding up vehicles on the busy Jabalpur-Sihora stretch of the highway.
The standoff continued for one-and-a-half-hour, forcing the administration to call in for more police. But dairy owners, planted firmly behind the buffalo wall, started throwing stones.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. BJP-RSS Want to Impose One Idea; Opposition Will Defeat Them: Rahul Gandhi
Accusing the BJP and the RSS of “imposing one idea” on a country that embraces diversity, Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi on Sunday insisted that the Opposition will stand as a united force and “fight and defeat” the ideologies of saffron organisations. Addressing reporters in Chennai, the Congress scion said each state had a “culture, (its) own thinking, own way of expression and food” and that such diversity was the country’s strength and not weakness.
He also said he wanted to tell the people of Tamil Nadu and India that “India is not one idea” and that the attitude of the BJP was conveyed by leaders at the DMK event on Saturday.
We are not going to allow one single idea of the RSS – the bankrupt idea, to invade this country and we are going to fight the RSS together.
(Source: Indian Express)
4. Note Ban: RBI Governor Urjit Patel Gets Third Summons From Parliamentary Panel
For a rare third time, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel will appear before a parliamentary panel, to face questions on demonetisation and cashless economy.
The House panel on finance has called Patel again after the Indian Bank Association claimed that the process to go cashless has slowed down
Patel, who had been targeted by a section of the Opposition over demonetisation, had earlier appeared before the finance panel and the Public Accounts Committee.
“He is likely to appear next week. He will have a lot of questions to answer,” said a member of the panel.
Many opposition leaders have questioned RBI’s autonomy and wondered if the decision to withdraw the old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes was taken by the central bank.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
5. Drug Control Body Orders 'Strong Vigil' on Combiflam
After finding batches of Combiflam to be “substandard” on 10 March this year, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has asked all its sub-offices to keep “strong vigil” on the “movement” of this drug.
It has also asked them to take “necessary action” if any such movement is reported.
You are hereby requested to instruct your inspectorate staff under your jurisdiction to keep strong vigil on the movement of subject drug in your state. If any movement of such drug is reported, necessary action may kindly be taken in the matter, and required information may be forwarded directly to this office at the earliest.Bangarurajan, Deputy Drugs Controller (India), West Zone, CDSCO
In India, drug regulation is done by state licensing authorities as well as CDSCO.
According to a senior official from Goa’s state licensing authority, it is not clear what “necessary action” has to be taken if any “movement” of this drug is observed.
(Source: Indian Express)
6. Palam 47 Degree Celsius: Delhi's Hottest Day in 2 Years
Hot loo winds sweeping in from Rajasthan scorched the capital on Sunday, sending the mercury shooting up to a blistering 47 degrees Celsius at Palam. The city's main weather station, Safdarjung, touched 44.6 degrees, making it the hottest day in Delhi since May 2015.
The last time June temperatures touched 47 degrees at Palam was three years ago (47.8 degrees on June 9). The met office has warned of similar conditions on Monday and Tuesday. However, rain is expected from Tuesday night.
Sunday's maximum temperature at Palam was only the third instance when the mercury had touched the 47-degree mark in June in the past 10 years.
The maximum of 44.6 degree Celsius at Safdarjung, four notches above normal, was the highest temperature recorded since 26 May 2015, when the mercury had touched 45.5 degrees.
(Source: The Times of India)
7. Niti Ayog Wants Independent Railway Safety Body
As Railways struggle to check increase in deaths due to derailments and accidents, Niti Aayog has recommended for setting up an independent body "Railway Safety Authority" with statutory backing to improve overall safety situation of the national transporter.
The suggestion came as the Aayog, in its latest discussion note, found that accidents due to derailments and at level crossings accounted for 90 per cent of total accidents, 85 per cent casualties and 82 per cent injuries on railway networks.
The note, prepared by Niti Aayog member Bibek Debroy and its OSD Kishore Desai, found that human failures accounted for about 87 per cent of all accidents while 46 per cent of these are a result of railway staff failure and 41 per cent failure of road users.
After announcement of setting up of 'Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh' (RRSK) in 2017-18 budget, railways urged the Aayog to help in prioritisation of works to be undertaken by the transporter.
(Source: The Times of India)
8. Women to Be Allowed in Combat Roles in Indian Army, Says Gen Bipin Rawat
The Indian Army is all set to open up combat positions for women, a gender barrier broken by only a few countries globally.
Army chief general Bipin Rawat said the process to allow women in combat roles, currently an exclusive domain of men, is moving fast and initially women will be recruited for positions in military police.
Giving details of the move to allow women in the male-dominated positions in the army, he said:
I am looking at women coming as jawans. I am going to start it soon. Firstly, we will start with women as military police jawans.
Currently, women are allowed in a number of select areas, including in medical, legal, educational, signals and engineering wings of the Army, but combat roles are kept off limit for them due to operational concerns and logistical issues.
The army chief said he was ready to recruit women as jawans and the matter is being taken up with the government.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
9. Over 100 'Video Vans' to Record Classes at Teacher-Training Colleges
A fleet of more than a hundred “video vans” will fan out across the country to record classes at teacher training colleges, a move aimed at assessing faculty, facilities and overall standard of these institutes.
The government decided the step after reports of falling standards of such colleges that have multiplied rapidly in India. It was also decided that no new college will be cleared for accreditation in 2017-18.
“We have decided to commission more than 100 video vans” to record teachers teaching in class, a Union Human Resource Development Ministry official said.
The National Council for Teachers Education (NCTE), the regulator for schoolteachers’ training, is likely to start the exercise soon. It oversees procedures and standards for the Indian education system, and clears new teaching institutes.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
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