SAI IAS

All 10 soldiers declared dead

The 10 soldiers trapped in ice after an avalanche on the Siachen glacier were declared dead late on Thursday evening. However rescue efforts are still on to locate and retrieve the bodies, officials said.

“Demise of soldiers in Siachen is very tragic. I salute the brave soldiers who gave their lives to the nation. Condolences to their families,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted late in the day.

The soldiers belong to the Madras regiment of the Army and have been posted there recently. They include one Junior Commissioned Officer and nine soldiers.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar too expressed “heartfelt condolences” to the bereaved families of the soldiers “martyred in the line of duty.”

Earlier in the day a senior officer said that “rescue teams are braving adverse weather and the effects of the rarified atmosphere to locate and rescue survivors.”

A very large rescue team has been deployed to reach down to the swamped Army post. The rescuers are working at extremely low temperatures hovering between -25 to -45 degrees putting their lives at risk.

As per inputs received complete blocks of snow and ice had fallen on the post burying it very deep and clearing it was a very difficult task, the officer said.

“Heavy snow cutters and major equipment are being used to clear and cut the ice blocks,” the officer said. A rescue dog too was flown to the spot in an Air Force Mi-17 helicopter.

The major avalanche struck the Army post in Northern Siachen Glacier located at a height of 19600 feet in the early hours of Wednesday. The Indian Army has been controlling the dominant heights of the glacier, the world’s highest battlefield, since occupying it in April 1984 under Operation Meghdoot pre-empting Pakistan’s move which controls heights at the lower altitudes.

Pakistan offers help

The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) of Pakistan tweeted an offer to help in the search mission.

However the Indian Army, while appreciating the gesture, declined it as “adequate resources and personnel have already been pressed into service.”

Big-ticket divestment likely

The big thrust areas of Union Budget 2016-17, which is Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s most closely watched budget, will be the agriculture and transport sectors and big-ticket disinvestment, including strategic sales in high-value companies such as Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), and oil and defence public sector units (PSUs) such as Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML).

Mr. Jaitley will announce in his budget speech a new centrally sponsored scheme for irrigation.

On the expenditure side, the big outgo will be on account of the implementation of the 7th Central Pay Commission recommendations for pay and pension hikes with effect from January 1 this year.

The government has decided, an official source told The Hindu , to announce hikes slightly more generous than the Commission’s recommendations. The payouts that will begin from April 1 will include arrears for three months. More than Rs. 1 lakh crore has been budgeted under the head.

Although this payout has turned out to be the biggest challenge for the Finance Minister in meeting the fiscal deficit target, the source said “full effort is [on] to ensure there are no further pauses in the committed fiscal consolidation targets.”

The Finance Ministry earlier sent its budget calculations including proposals related to the fiscal deficit for approval to the Prime Minister, the source said. Mr. Jaitley will present the budget in Parliament on February 29.

To meet the fiscal deficit target, the government will rely on proceeds from disinvestment for which the budget will set ambitious targets.

Indian firm develops Zika vaccine candidates

Vaccines manufacturer Bharat Biotech on Wednesday announced a breakthrough in developing the world’s first Zika vaccine. The Hyderabad-based company has submitted to the government two vaccine candidates: one inactivated and one recombinant.

It said pre-clinical studies would be concluded in the next five months, and then the process for regulatory approval would start. An inactivated vaccine consists of the disease-causing microbe killed with chemicals, heat, or radiation. This is more stable and safer than live vaccines. A recombinant vaccine is produced through the recombinant DNA technology. This involves inserting the DNA encoding an antigen (such as a bacterial surface protein) that stimulates an immune response.

Zika virus is transmitted through an Aedes mosquito, which also causes dengue and chikungunya.

The World Health Organization has reported 22 countries and territories in Americas from where the transmission of Zika virus has been reported.

Speaking to The Hindu , Krishna Ella, Chairman and Managing Director of the company, said the two candidates were in an advanced stage of development and could be ready soon. “In the coming two weeks, we will be able to start animal tests of one of the two candidates. Since this is a pandemic situation, we are hoping that the Indian government will move quickly and give approvals for the trials,” he said.

Bharat Biotech has submitted necessary information to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) four days ago. The company is now planning to seek Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s help in expediting regulatory clearances. “When Ebola vaccine candidates were being discussed, the company had skipped Phase-II trials and went on to Phase-III with a small sample size. Given the urgency of the situation, something of that sort will be required,” Dr. Ella said. At present, getting regulatory approvals for conducting clinical trials can take up to 6-8 months.

Bharat Biotech filed patents for both candidates in July 2015, Dr. Ella said. Since the company had already worked on chikungunya, this was the next logical step.

“At the time we started working on the Zika vaccine, there was not a market incentive or any demand for it, largely because the symptoms are mild. But we were already working on chukungunya, and our hypothesis was that the same vector transmitted this disease, so we thought we needed to look at this aspect as well,” he added.

Zika transmitted through Aedes mosquito

Zika virus is transmitted through an Aedes mosquito, which also causes dengue and chikungunya. The World Health Organisation has reported 22 countries and territories in the Americas from where the transmission of the virus has been reported.

Speaking to The Hindu , Krishna Ella, Chairman and Managing Director of the company, said the two candidates were in an advanced stage of development and could be ready soon.

“In the coming two weeks, we will be able to start animal tests of one of the two candidates. Since this is a pandemic situation, we are hoping that the Indian government will move quickly and give approvals for the trials,” he said.

Bharat Biotech submitted necessary information to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) four days ago. The company is now planning to seek Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s help in expediting regulatory clearances. “When Ebola vaccine candidates were being discussed, the company skipped Phase-II trials and went on to Phase-III with a small sample size. Given the urgency of the situation, something of that sort will be required,” Dr. Ella said.

At present, getting regulatory approvals for conducting clinical trials can take up to 6-8 months.

Bharat Biotech filed patents for both candidates in July 2015, Dr. Ella said. Since the company had already worked on chikungunya, this was the next logical step.

“At the time we started working on the Zika vaccine, there was not a market incentive or any demand for it, largely because the symptoms are mild. But we were already working on chukungunya, and our hypothesis was that the same vector transmitted this disease, so we thought we needed to look at this aspect as well,” he added.

Most terror attacks originate from Pakistan, says Rajnath

Sending out a dual message to Pakistan, the government said on Wednesday that it would continue to engage with it to ensure it makes progress on the Pathankot investigation, but also made it clear that the Sharif government would have to show “sincerity” as it is from their territory that most attacks come from.

“Most of the terror attacks emanate from Pakistan. It has to show some sincerity and take action against terrorists operating from its soil,” Home Minister Rajnath Singh said at a counter-terror conference here. “Our government will stand by Pakistan if it takes decisive action against terrorists and their organisations,” he added.

Earlier in the day, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar said that despite the attacks, India would continue to engage Pakistan at both the Foreign Secretary and National Security Adviser levels.

“Only by remaining in touch, we can expect them to progress on issues of terror on the basis of information which we have provided to them,” Mr. Jaishankar said, answering a question from The Hindu on whether the government is now prepared for ‘talks and terror’ to go together.

Steps under discussion

The statements by the Foreign Secretary and the Home Minister, as well as those made on Tuesday by President Pranab Mukherjee and NSA Ajit Doval indicate the government’s next steps with Pakistan are still under discussion, with no clear signs on whether India will go ahead with Foreign Secretary-level talks that were called off last month.

‘Woman having child through surrogacy entitled to maternity leave’

The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the Central Railway (CR) to grant three months’ maternity leave to its employee who became a mother by using a surrogate.
A Division Bench of Justice Anoop Mohta and Justice G.S. Kulkarni gave this verdict while hearing a petition filed by a nurse working at the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Railway Hospital in Byculla East. She moved court after the CR refused to grant her leave on the ground that the Railways had no rule that allowed leave.
The court ruled that a mother enjoys the same benefits of maternity leave as any other working woman under the Child Adoption Leave and Rules. “There is nothing in the rules that disentitles maternity leave to a woman who has attained motherhood through surrogacy procedure,” the court added.
While challenging the CR for disallowing her leave, the woman’s lawyers argued that if the maternity leave was refused, it would certainly violate the right of a child to develop a bond with the mother. The petitioner got married in 2004 and underwent IVF in 2007 on two occasions but lost her baby. In 2012, she was advised to have a child through surrogacy. When the surrogate mother completed 33 weeks, the petitioner applied for maternity leave in January 2014 as the baby was expected to be delivered in the first week of February.
In its reply, the CR asked her if she had sought permission before opting for surrogacy. She wrote back saying that she can claim maternity leave for surrogacy under the Indian Railway Establishment Board that provides for a Child Adoptive Leave. However, she was not granted the leave.
On January 29, 2014, the surrogate mother delivered twins and again the petitioner wrote a letter to the medical officer seeking leave under Child Care Leave. The officer forwarded it to the CR.
The High Court Bench on Monday directed the Central Railway to grant her maternity leave of 180 days. The petitioner’s lawyers referred to an earlier judgment of a Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court which, in a similar case, said: “a woman cannot be discriminated as far as the maternity benefits are concerned, only on the ground that she has obtained the baby through surrogacy.
“Though the petitioner did not give birth to the child, the child was placed in the secure hands of the petitioner as soon as it (child) was born. A newly-born child cannot be left at the mercy of others,” the judgment said.

Do you want to break away from the Union, court asks Gujarat

Does the Gujarat government think itself so “unique” that it can say ‘no’ to a law passed by Parliament? The Supreme Court verbally thrashed the State government and the Centre on Monday for not implementing the National Food Security Act passed by Parliament in 2013 to ensure that the poor in the nation do not go hungry.
“Do you want to break away from the Union of India? Can a State say it cannot implement a law passed by Parliament? Are you saying you are not part of India? What is the Government of India doing about this,” a Bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and R.K. Agarwal asked Solicitor-General Ranjit Kumar, who appeared for the Centre.
When Hemantika Wahi, counsel for Gujarat, responded that the implementation of the law was under “active consideration,” Justice Lokur replied: “Then, it’s a pity,” asking whether Gujarat thinks that it has a choice not to implement the law.
“So, tomorrow Bihar can say it will not implement the Criminal Procedure Code and some other States will say they do not believe in the Indian Penal Code or other laws of Parliament. The food security law extends to the whole of India... So, Gujarat thinks it is unique,” Justice Lokur said. “What is Parliament doing about this? We have absolutely no idea what you are all doing,” he said.
Supreme Court thrashes the
State for not implementing
food security law

Supreme Court recalls notice to Governor

Just a few days after ordering Arunachal Pradesh Governor J.P. Rajkhowa to respond why he recommended President’s rule in the sensitive border State, the Supreme Court recalled the order on Monday, saying it made a “mistake” by not realising that Governors have “complete immunity” and are not answerable to courts for acts done in their official capacity.
A five-judge Bench, led by Justice J.S. Khehar, graciously accepted its slip-up, saying it would be only “just and appropriate” to take back the notice issued to Mr. Rajkhowa on January 27.
The notice was issued on a petition by Rajesh Tacho, chief whip of the Congress Legislature Party, contending that the Governor and the Centre “played [a] fraud on the Constitution” and President’s rule should be quashed.
“If we have made a mistake, we will recall our order... there is no problem,” Justice Khehar said.
The turn of events was triggered by Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi, for the Centre, drawing the Bench’s attention to Article 361 (1) of the Constitution which gives the President and the Governor protection from legal action.
Under the Article, both the President and the Governor of a State “shall not be answerable to any court” for acts done in performance of their powers and duties.
“The Governor has complete immunity and a notice cannot be issued to him,” Mr. Rohatgi submitted.
To prove his point, he referred to the Constitution Bench judgment of 2006 in the Bihar Assembly dissolution case concerning Governor Buta Singh.

Push for IMF reform

Finally, the International Monetary Fund has made country quota reformsagreed by the G20 in 2010 a reality. One could imagine a collective, global sigh of relief as the chief objector to the changes, the U.S. Congress, dropped its intransigence in December and allowed the multilateral lender to adopt a country quota distribution that better reflects the power balance of emerging markets in the global economy. With this structural shift, more than 6 percentage points of the quota, including both the Fund’s capital and its proportionate voting rights, have been transferred from developed to emerging economies. The greatest gains from the reforms accrue to the IMF itself, as the combined capital that its 188 member-countries contribute will increase to approximately $659 billion from nearly $329 billion. Other winners are India and China, who have respectively increased their voting shares by 0.292 and 2.265 percentage points. The emerging economies wrested a 2.6 percentage points increase. The developed nations have had a haircut in their voting share, somewhere between 0.2 and 0.5 percentage points. Consequently, India, China, Brazil, and Russia will be among the 10 largest members alongside large advanced economies. As IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said, it is appropriate to “commend [the IMF] for ratifying these truly historic reforms”. But the reforms have come so late and after so much wrangling that, similar to its crisis-lending policies, they leave a bitter taste in the mouth.
Back in May 2011, the Fund’s Executive Directors from the BRICS economies openly revolted against the prospect of the position of Managing Director reverting to a European, deepening the woes of an organisation that had been rocked by the resignation of Dominique Strauss-Kahn following sexual assault allegations. At the time, Arvind Virmani, Executive Director, from India, argued that the 2008 global financial crisis erupted in developed countries and its provenance “underscored the urgency of reforming international financial institutions so as to reflect the growing role of developing countries in the world economy”. Multi-year Republican Party obstructionism in the U.S. meant that the negotiations were dragged into the mud of dirty domestic politics, with some threatening to veto them unless President Barack Obama’s landmark health-care reform was repealed. Law-makers relented only after years of persuasion made them realise that their inaction was hurting U.S. diplomacy. Even so, they extracted their pound of flesh, and the final reform plan acquiesces to their demand to rescind the “systemic exemption” loophole, which allowed the Fund to lend to Greece in 2010. It is also a shame that BRICS nations had to launch their own bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, before the high priests of the Fund felt the need to modernise their quota structure. Despite all these push-factors, the process of governance restructuring at the IMF has not ended; it has only just begun.

India, Arab League vow to check terror, funding sources

Strongly pitching for delinking terrorism from religion, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday said India and the Arab world must join hands to eliminate the menace as she warned that those who silently sponsor terror groups could end up being used by them.

?Those who believe that silent sponsorship of such terrorist groups can bring rewards must realise that they have their own agenda; they are adept at using the benefactor more effectively than the sponsor has used them,? Ms. Swaraj told the Foreign Ministers of Arab League states.

Speaking at the first First Ministerial Meeting of the Arab-India Cooperation Forum which she described as a ?turning point? in India?s ties with the Arab world, she made a strong pitch for delinking religion from terrorism, saying the only distinction is between those who believe in humanity and those who do not.

?Terrorists use religion, but inflict harm on people of all faiths,? said Ms. Swaraj, who arrived in Manama on Saturday on a two-day visit.

She cited ?India?s model of unity in diversity? as an example for the world to counter indoctrination and radicalisation.

Ms. Swaraj?s citing of India?s religious and cultural diversity at the world stage assumes significance as it comes in the backdrop of the intolerance debate that had raged recently in the country with many writers, artists and civil society members expressing alarm over the issue.

?We in India have citizens who belong to every existing faith. Our Constitution is committed to the fundamental principle of faith-equality: the equality of all faiths not just before the law but also in daily behaviour.

?In every corner of my country, the music of the azaan welcomes the dawn, followed by the chime of a Hanuman temple?s bells, followed by the melody of the Guru Granth Sahib being recited by priests in a gurdwara, followed by the peal of church bells every Sunday,? she said.

?This philosophy is not just a construct of our Constitution, adopted in 1950; it is the essence of our ancient belief that the world is family,? she asserted.

Ms. Swaraj, in her speech, also quoted from the Quran, saying that faith harmony is the message of the Holy Quran as well.

?I will quote only two verses: La ikra fi al deen (Let there be no compulsion in religion) and La qum deen o qum wa il ya deen (Your faith for you, and my faith for me),? she said in her address to the key Arab nations.

She stressed that dangers of radicalisation and indoctrination cannot be ignored.

?We have seen repeatedly that terrorism does not respect national borders. It seeks to subvert societies through its pernicious doctrine of a clash of civilisations,? Ms. Swaraj said.

?The only antidote to this violent philosophy is the path of peace, tolerance and harmony, a path that was illustrated centuries ago by Buddha and Mahavira and which was taken into the modern age by the Father of our nation Mahatma Gandhi. As he famously said, ?an eye for an eye ends up making the whole world blind?,? she said.

Having tackled business-to-business issues at their meeting in Chandigarh on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Francois Hollande are likely to focus on inter-governmental issues on Monday.

These include the completion of the agreement for the purchase of Rafale aircraft.

Expectations have been rising ahead of Mr. Hollande’s visit of a breakthrough in price negotiations, similar to the one in the India-U.S. nuclear deal that was announced when President Barack Obama visited India for Republic Day in 2015.

Mr. Modi and Mr. Hollande will take up the pricing issue on Monday, officials confirmed.

Both sides are likely to announce a new phase of space cooperation between the space agencies ISRO and CNES, with a special satellite dedicated to climate change research.

In addition, India and France will discuss more cooperation on the lines of the renewable energy agreement signed last April. Shortly after their meeting in Delhi on Monday, Mr. Modi and Mr. Hollande will travel to Gurgaon to inaugurate the International Solar Alliance Secretariat.

Officials said the two sides could announce new partnerships for more nuclear energy plants, while discussing the hurdles to land acquisition for the six-reactor 9,900-MW Jaitapur facility for which Areva and NPCIL signed an agreement in 2010.

The leaders will end the day by attending a banquet hosted by President Pranab Mukherjee and will officiate at the Republic Day parade on the morning of January 26. This is the fifth time a French President is being invited as the chief guest for the parade, marking a record honour for any country invited by India.