SC seeks report on elephant abuse in Kerala festival

Author(s): M Suchitra

About 100 elephants are paraded every year during Thrissur Pooram

Credit : N A Naseer

The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Kerala government seeking an explanation on how captive elephants were paraded and abused during the Pooram festival. The festival was held in Kerala's Thrissur city on April 29.

The court was considering a report that was filed by the Animal Welfare Board of India. Submitted on May 4, the report detailed the physical and mental torture that captive elephants were subjected to during the festival. The petition pointed out that both the state government and the festival organisers had violated various laws while parading the elephants.

Thrissur Pooram is the biggest annual temple festival in Kerala.

About 100 elephants are paraded every year during this festival by two groups of temples. Down To Earth had published a report when the festival was being held.

According to the report submitted by the board, Pooram organisers did not have the mandatory permission from the board to parade the captive elephants. 

The Kerala government, instead of strictly implementing the rules and regulations, turned a blind eye to the abuses while being hand in glove with the festival organisers, accused the Board. The complaint also said there was no proper document on the physical and mental status of the elephants paraded in the festival. Though 79 out of 84 elephants had fitness certificate issued by veterinary doctors of the state animal husbandry department, many of them actually suffered from "very poor body condition, painful abscesses, infected wounds and bruises, partial vision loss, mutilated tail and foot diseases", said the report. It further added that some of the elephants also showed signs of severe mental stress.

Before the festival, the board had written a letter to the state government pointing out that the festival organisers had not secured the mandatory permission from the board for parading the elephants. However, the state government had made it clear that it would not intervene with the age-old practice of parading elephants during Pooram. "If anyone has any complaints with regard to the upkeep of the animals during the festivities, they can bring it to the notice of the government which will then look into it. But there is no question of any interference with the traditional practices and rituals of the Pooram," said state forest minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan while responding to the complaint.

India performs poorly in sanitation and water accessibility

Author(s): Jitendra @jitendrachoube1 

A global index finds no significant correlation between GDP and performance as China and India, the two fastest growing Asian economies, are nowhere in the top five category

India has performed abysmally by occupying the 93rd position in the global index on water and sanitation even after the launch of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Photo: Pradip Saha)

A new global index report shows that India has performed poorly when it comes to water accessibility and water equity. The country has also not made much progress on sanitation equity and accessibility.

Besides India, Russia, Philippines, and North Korea have also fared badly. The study points out that while South and Southeast Asian countries lag behind in sanitation accessibility, sub-Saharan nations lag behind in water accessibility.

The Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Performance Index 2015, developed by the Water Institute at the University of North Carolina, was released recently at Gillings School of Global Public Health.

About the index

The index contains a comparison of country-wise performance on water, sanitation and hygiene fronts. It assesses performance in the following four categories: water access, water equity, sanitation access and sanitation equity.

The top-five countries are El Salvador, Niger, Egypt, Maldives and Pakistan. The bottom-five performers are the Dominican Republic, Gambia, Ghana, Samoa and Timor-Leste.

Pakistan performed exceptionally well by occupying the fifth place on the index whereas India’s rank stands at 93. This abysmal performance comes after the launch of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

No link between GDP and performance

The index finds no significant correlation between gross domestic product (GDP) and performance. China and India, the two fastest growing Asian economies, are nowhere in the top five. China stands at 11 in the index.

Out of the top 10 performing countries, two belong to the low-income bracket, five are in the lower-middle income bracket and three are in the upper middle income bracket.

Among the countries which are at the bottom of the index, three are low-income nations, five are lower-middle income countries and two belong to the upper-middle income bracket.

The top performing countries are mostly from South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Among the bottom 10 countries, three are from East Asia and the Pacific and four are from sub-Saharan Africa.

UN predicts fall in world’s food import bill to a five-year low

Author(s): DTE Staff @ 

International food prices are likely to stay under downward pressure due to large supplies, low freight rates and a strong US dollar

Prices of sugar, cereals and vegetable oils also declined despite fall in harvest (Credit: Sam Blackman/Flickr)

The United Nations (UN) has released a report on agricultural commodity prices where the international agency says that hefty supply levels will mean reduced rates, despite a slight fall in harvests worldwide. The reduction in import bills is likely to benefit low-income countries.

“The world food import bill is forecast to reach a five-year low in 2015,” says Food Outlook, a biannual publication by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

“Currency movements and macroeconomic developments may have important implications for markets again in 2015-16,” the report adds.

The Food Price Index, a database that tracks and aggregates on a monthly basis the prices of cereals, meat, dairy products, vegetable oils and sugar in international markets, reflected the decline. There has been a 1.2 per cent overall drop in April from March.

The index reached 171 points, its lowest level since June 2010, and 19.2 per cent less than a year ago.

Prices to remain low

According to Food Outlook, international food prices are likely to stay under downward pressure due to large supplies, low freight rates and a strong US dollar.

Despite a reduction in harvests expected this year, exceptionally high levels of existing stocks will offset the pressure, according to the report.

Dairy prices reduced the most, buoying imports in Africa, while the abolition of the European Union’s (EU) milk quota system was also one of the main drivers of the 6.7 per cent monthly drop.

Prices of sugar, cereals and vegetable oils also declined. By contrast, meat values rose in April, which was the first increase since August 2014.

US non-profits introduce new industry standard for antibiotic use in poultry

Author(s): Mouna Nagaraju @ 

The standard developed by these organisations and certified by the US Department of Agriculture advocates minimal antibiotic use in chickens

Chicken is the most popular food item served in US schools ( Credit: Mouna Nagaraju)

Two United States-based non-profits have come up with a new standard for antibiotic use in chickens. The Pew Charitable Trusts and School Food FOCUS (a New York-based national body that ensures healthy school meals) have developed the Certified Responsible Antibiotic Use (CRAU), in compliance with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The organisations have come together to address antibiotic use in poultry, as chicken is the most popular food item served in US schools. Schools across the country buy millions of pounds of chicken meat every year.

Reduction of antibiotics in chickens

PEW’s press release issued recently mentions that by complying with CRAU guidelines, antibiotic use in poultry can be reduced. This, in turn, can slow down the emergence of resistance-developing bacteria and protect the efficacy of antibiotics.

Antibiotic resistance is a serious global health concern which renders antibiotics ineffective. The development of resistance is aided by the misuse and sometimes overuse of antibiotics in humans and food-producing animals.

Poultry farmers, who want to be certified with CRAU, are prohibited from using antibiotics which are closely related to antibiotics used in medicines for humans or without clear medical justification.

Some of the other requirements of CRAU say that veterinarians should be consulted prior to medical use and that antibiotics are not to be administered before eggs are hatched. It also lays emphasis on preventive programmes, including vaccination, and asks for regular third-party verification of antibiotic use documentation and on-site practices by the USDA. Till date, only one supplier of chicken meat in the US has been verified as it meets all the standards.

The press release also mentions that the standard is market-driven. Consumer demand had also pushed McDonald’s to announce that they will not source chickens raised with antibiotics, which are important from the point of view of human health. Demands from US consumers are driving chicken meat suppliers to supply antibiotic-free chickens or chicken raised with their reduced use.

Similar demand in India can also force the hotel industry, including quick-service restaurants (QSRs), to source antibiotic-free chickens or chickens raised with reduced use of antibiotics.

7.3 magnitude temblor rocks Nepal

Author(s): DTE Staff @ 

This is a fresh earthquake and not an aftershock, says expert

A 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck 18 km southeast of Kodari in Nepal around 12.35 pm today. It comes only two weeks after a massive 7.9 magnitude earthquake claimed more than 8,000 lives and caused large-scale damage in the Himalayan nation.

At least 35 people have been killed and more than 1,000 have been injured in Nepal. Many buildings have collapsed in a town called Chautara in Tuesday's quake, an official with the International Organization for Migration was quoted by the Associated Press as saying. Authorities say Dolakha, Sindhupalchowk, Kathmandu and Lalitpur were most affected. 

According to the Indian home ministry, the quake claimed 16 lives in Bihar and one in Uttar Pradesh. Thirty-nine people were also injured.

Today’s earthquake occurred at a depth of between 15 and 18 km, according to the US Geological Survey. The epicentre is 76 km east-northeast of capital city Kathmandu. Media reports say people rushed out of buildings in Kathmandu when the tremors started.

Tremors were also felt in many places in northern Indian states as well as in parts of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Southeast Asia.

The US Geological Survey calls today's quake "the largest aftershock to date of the M 7.8 April 25, 2015 Nepal earthquake". But Indian experts disagree.

“As it is of 7.3 magnitude as per the US Geological Survey, it cannot be termed as an aftershock,” says Supriyo Mitra, associate professor at Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata. “This is a fresh earthquake, but is associated with the earthquake in Nepal in other ways,” he said.

Mitra explains that aftershocks are generally at least one magnitude weaker than the main earthquake. Since the M 7.3 earthquake on Tuesday, at least seven tremors between 4.5 and 6.2 magnitude were recorded in the region around Kodari, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre.

CURRENT AFFAIRS MAY/11/2015

CURRENT AFFAIRS MAY/11/2015

1. SHASHI KAPOOR CONFERRED WITH DADA SAHEB PHALKE AWARD:

i. Veteran Actor Shashi Kapoor is conferred with the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award 2014.

ii. The Award was presented to Shashi Kapoor by Union Information and Broadcasting Minister, Arun Jaitley at afunction in Mumbai.

iii.  Shashi Kapoor is 46^th Film personality to receive this award.

2.   LIBERIA DECLARED AS EBOLA FREE:

i.    WHO has declared Liberia as an Ebola Free state.

ii. Among the three Ebola hit areas, Liberia, Sierra and Guinea. Liberia is declared Ebola Free.

WHO- World Health Organization

Headquarter – Geneva, Switzerland

Head – Margaret Chan

3. ROHAN BOPANNA AND FLORIN MERGEA WON MEN’S DOUBLES:

i. Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea have won Men’s Doubles title of Madrid Tennis Open

ii. The Duo received 247560 Euro prize money

Player Name	Country
Rohan Bopanna	India
Florin Mergea	Romania
Defeated
Nenand Zimonjic	Serbia
Martin Matkowski	Poland

CURRENT AFFAIRS MAY/10/2015

CURRENT AFFAIRS MAY/10/2015

• 1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi released commemorative coin on Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a commemorative coin to mark the birth centenary of Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati in New Delhi
  • Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati was born as Balakrishna Menon on 8 May 1916. He was known for teaching Bhagavad gita, the Upanishads, and other ancient Hindu scriptures
  • He was Hindu spiritual leader and teacher who had inspired the formation of a global NGO called Chinmaya Mission to spread the knowledge of Advaita Vedanta.
  • Through his Vedantic teachings, publications, centres, ashrams, temples, and social service projects around the globe, his work continues to provide cultural and spiritual instruction to members of the Hindu diaspora. He died on 3 August 1993
  
  
• 2.David Cameron back to power with clear majority
  • Conservative Party, led by David Cameron, was swept back to power to govern the United Kingdom for another five years.
  • The Conservative Party won with 331 seats, comfortably crossing the 326 mid-way mark in the 650-seat House of Commons.
  • Opposition Labour Party won 232 seats, a loss of 26 seats. Its leader Ed Miliband has stepped down.

    Party	Seats	Vote Share
    Conservative Party	331	36.9%
    Labour Party	232	30.4%
    Scottish National Party	56	4.7%
    Liberal Democratic Party	8	7.9%
    UK Independence Party	1	12.6%
    Democratic Unionist Party	8	0.6%

    
    
• 3. Haryana Government includes Deaflympics in its sports policy
  • In a move to uplift the morale of differently-abled sportspersons in Haryana, the government today decided to include Deaflympics in its Sports Policy so that the Deaflympian medalists would be able to get cash rewards, jobs
  • The Deaflympics (previously called World Games for the Deaf and International Games for the Deaf) are an International Olympic Committee (IOC) sanctioned event, at which deaf athletes compete at an elite level
  About Deaflympics:-
  • The Deaflympics (previously called World Games for the Deaf and International Games for the Deaf) are an International Olympic Committee (IOC) sanctioned event, at which deaf athletes compete at an elite level organised by the Committee International des Sports des Sourds (The International Committee of Sports for the Deaf)
  • Deaflympics are held every four years and are the longest multi-sports event, excluding the Olympic themselves .To qualify for the games, athletes must have a hearing loss of at least 55db in their better ear. Hearing aids, coachlear implants and the like are not allowed to be used in competition, to place all athletes on the same level 
• 4. Arvind Saxena, first RAW officer appointed as member of UPSC
  •  Arvind Saxena, in-charge of Aviation and Research Centre of external snooping agency RAW appointed as a member of UPSC
  • Arvind Saxena  became first officer of 32-year Research and Analysis Service to be named to the commission
  •  Prior to the appointment as an UPSC member Arvind  Saxena was Director and ex-officio Special Secretary, Aviation Research Centre (ARC)
  What is ARC?
  The ARC carries out aerial surveillance of borders using its unmanned aerial vehicles and other aircraft including MIGs and helicopters. It also has the responsibility with IAF to transport Special Frontier Force commandos.
  • After the appointment of Saxena, who was due to retire in August, Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is left with only one vacancy. 
  • UPSC is a 10 member body besides a chairperson
  • According to the order, Saxena's tenure will commence from the date he assumes the office of member, UPSC.
  • After formation in 1983 of RAS service, all officers who were with Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) were given option of either going back to their service or joining the newly formed RAS along with their seniority.
• 5. BrahMos land-attack cruise missile successfully test-fired
  • India on Saturday successfully test-fired an advanced version of the BrahMos land-attack cruise missile from the Car Nicobar Islands
  • The land-to-land configuration of BrahMos Block-III version was test launched from a Mobile Autonomous Launcher (MAL) for its full-range of 290-km at 1330 hours
  • The supersonic cruise missile hit the designated land- based target with the desired accuracy 
  About BrahMos:-
  • The BrahMos missile has been jointly developed by India and Russia. 
  • The multi-mission missile, having a range of 290-km and a Mach 2.8 speed, is capable of being launched from land, sea, sub-sea and air against sea and land targets. 
  • The air version BrahMos is being readied for flight trials soon on Indian Air Force's Su-30MKI strike fighter
• 6. INS Sardar Patel the new base of Indian Navy commissioned in Gujarat
  • With an aim of  boosting  security of Gujarat's 1600-km coastline a strategically important new Naval base INS Sardar Patel has been commissioned in Gujarat 
  • The base was commissioned by Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel
  • According to the Navy, the commissioning of INS Sardar Patel would ensure coordination requirements of our ships, submarines and aircraft that will be deployed in coastal regions of Gujarat. Their operational and administrative support and logistic support will be given by the new base,
  About coastel line of Gujarat :-
  Gujarat has a coastline of 1600 km interspersed with 43 ports. Of these, besides Kandla being a major port, 11 are intermediate and 31 are minor ports. The ports of Gujarat handle 300 million tons of cargo annually, which is 43% of the total maritime trade handled by the various ports of India. 
• 7. During PM Narendra Modi's visit to Dantewada (Chhattisgarh) MoUs worth Rs 24,000 cr signed for infrastructural development in Chhattisgarh
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday appealed to extremists to spend just “five days” with a child who has lost his parents to the violence to realise that “if there is any future, it is in peace”.
  • For infrastructure development in Chhattisgarh, MoUs worth Rs 24,000 crore were signed at Dantewada in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi The MoU included from railway lines to steel plants and pipelines, the MoUs are meant to enhance development of the state
  •  At an Estimated project cost of Rs 2,000 crore MoU was signed between Government of Chhattisgarh, NMDC, IRCON and SAIL for 140 km rail line between  Rowghat and Jagdalpur.
  • With an investment of approximately Rs 18,000 crore MoU between Ministry of Steel, Government of Chhattisgarh, SAIL and NMDC for 3 million ton Ultra Mega Steel Plant was signed 
  • MoU between Government of Chhattisgarh and NMDC for Slurry Pipeline and 2MTPA Pellet Plant at Nagarnar in Bastar District with an investment of Rs 4,000 crore 
  • MoU between Government of Chhattisgarh and SAIL for setting up 1MTPA Pellet Plant at Dalli-Rajhara, Balod District with an investment of Rs 826 crore.
  • At a cost of Rs 24,000 crore the 140-km rail link will be constructed that will connect Bastar region with important cities of the state like Raipur, Bilaspur and Durg. The rail link will also help in easy and cheaper transportation of iron ore for industries 
• 8. A record number of Indian-origin MPs elected to the parliament of United Kingdom
  Indian-origin MPs who have been elected to the parliament of United Kingdom

  S.no	Name	constituency
  1	Priti Patel	Witham constituency
  2	Rishi Sunak	Richmond (Yorks) constituency. He is son-in-law of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy
  3	Alok Sharma	Reading West constituency
  4	Shailesh Vara	Cambridgeshire Northwest constituency
  5	Suella Fernandes	Fareham constituency
  6	Keith Vaz	Leicester East constituency
  7	Valerie Vaz	Walsall South constituency
  8	Virendra Sharma	Ealing Southall constituency.
  9	Seema Malhotra	south west London constituency
  10	Lisa Nandy	Wigan constituency.

  
  
• 9. PM Narendra Modi launches three social security schemes
  Since Narendra Modi  assumed his office he shared the stage with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the first time during his visit to Kolkata
  He announced three major Social Security Scheme in Kolkata 
  • Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana(PMSBY)
  • Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana(PMJJBY)
  • Atal Pension Yojana (APY)
  Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana(PMSBY):-
  The Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana will offer a renewable one-year accidental death-cum-disability cover of Rs 2 lakh for partial/permanent disability to all savings bank account holders in the age group of 18-70 years for a premium of Rs 12 per annum per subscriber.
  Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana(PMJJBY):-
  The Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana will offer a renewable one-year life cover of Rs 2 lakh to all savings bank account holders in the age group of 18-50 years, covering death due to any reason, for a premium of Rs 330 per annum.
  Atal Pension Yojana (APY):-
  Atal Pension Yojana will focus on the unorganised sector and provide subscribers a fixed minimum pension of Rs 1,000, Rs 2,000, Rs 3,000, Rs 4,000 or Rs 5,000 per month, starting at the age of 60 years, depending on the contribution option exercised on entering at an age between 18 and 40 years. 
• 10. West Bengal's Nadia district bags UN Public Service Award
  • West Bengal's Nadia district has been declared the winner for the '2015 United Nations Public Service Award' in the category of improving delivery of public services
  • Nadia district has been declared the First Place Winner for the 2015 United Nations Public Service Award in the category of Improving the Delivery of Public Services for the initiative 'Sabar Shouchagar' (toilet for all)
  • Nadia has become the winner of this global award from our entire country through a tough competition with multiple entries from 187 countries
  • The Award would be handed over by the UN Secretary General on June 23, 2015 in Medellin, Republic of Colombia
• 11. Indian Army signs MoU with Bank of India on defence salary package
  The Indian Army and Bank of India (BOI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on defence salary package of the Army personnel.
  The MoU was signed at a ceremony chaired by the Adjutant General Lt. Gen. Rakesh Sharma and was attended by senior dignitaries of BOI, headed by Executive Director Arun Shrivastava
  The features of MoU include facilities like the standard bundle of concessional services including free drafts, free cheque books, free funds transfers to any bank in India through RTGS or NEFT and free ATM cards among others.
  The Personal Accident Insurance (PAI) cover has been doubled to Rs. 10 lakhs, including air insurance, home loan insurance on Army Welfare housing Organisation (AWHO) for deaths on account of war/external aggression/ terrorist attack up to Rs 50 lakhs.
  Two major additions are the applicability of PAI and overdraft facility to pensioners and waiver of merchant service fee (MSF) for transaction on BoI POS Terminal installed at CSD Canteens for BOI Card holders. The MoU also has a provision for yearly review of specific features and requests.
• 12. Noted Assamese historian Dr Amalendu Guha takes his last breath
  Eminent historian and social scientist  of Assam Dr Amalendu Guha took his last breath Governor, Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya, expressed his deep sense of grief at the demise of the renowned Dr Guha.
  About Dr Amalendu Guha:-
  • Dr Guha was born on January 30, 1924 in Imphal. He graduated from Presidency College in Calcutta and secured his master’s degree from Calcutta University.
  • He started his career in teaching as a lecturer at Darrang College in Sonitpur district of Assam. He did research on Afghanistan’s economy for his Ph.D. degree.He was a prolific writer and had written several books in English, Assamese and Bengali.
  • His most acclaimed book was ‘Planter Raj to Swaraj: Freedom Struggle and Electoral Politics in Assam’ which was outcome of his remarkable historical research related to the socio-economic history of state.
  • His other books are Economy and Central Asia: Movement of Peoples and Ideas from Times Prehistoric to Modern and Medieval and Early Colonial Assam: Society, Polity.
  • Dr Guha also had composed poems both in Asomiya and Bengali. His published poetry collections were Tumaloi (Asomiya) and Luit Parrar Gatha (Bengali).
  • He was President of Indian History Congress Modern India Session in 1983. He was also an executive member of the Indian History Congress (IHC) from 1975 to 77. He also had served as President of North East History Association (NEHA) from 1981 to 82.
  Awards and honour:-
  • He was honoured with the Sahityacharya Sanman of the Asam Sahitya Sabha, Pt Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar Gold Plaque of Asiatic Society, 
  • Asom Prakashan Parishad Award, Netaji Smarak Garima Award, Aniruddhadev Chair Award of Dibrugarh University among others.