General Awareness Updates – April 2010

Miscellaneous-2:

RS passes historic Women’s Reservation Bill

Despite vociferous opposition, the Rajya Sabha passed the historic Women’s Reservation Bill that reserves 33 per cent legislative seats in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies for women.

Fourteen years after the first attempt was made in the Lok Sabha and after repeated failures subsequently, the Constitution Amendment Bill was adopted with 186 members voting for it and one voting against.

In the 245-member House with an effective strength of 233, the bill required the backing of at least 155 members and the UPA had the clear support of 165 in the run up to the event.

Ruling UPA constituent Trinamool Congress, which has two members, kept away from voting, while 15-member BSP, which has opposed the bill in its present form, walked out before voting.

JD(U), whose president Sharad Yadav is a staunch opponent of the bill, appears to have backed the bill fully with most of its 7 members voting for it in response to the call by one of its senior leaders and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh called the bill historic and assured the members that it is not against SC, ST and minorities. He also expressed profound apology to Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari for the disrespect shown to the Chair by members in the House over the past two days.

UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi further said it was a great step for empowerment of women. Stating that the bill was a dream of the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Ms. Gandhi expressed confidence about the stability of the UPA government despite withdrawal of support by the RJD and SP on the women’s reservation issue.

The 14-year journey of the Women’s Reservation Bill was marked by high drama and hit roadblocks in each of its outings in Parliament before the historic measure cleared the first legislative hurdle.

Following is the chronology of developments related to Women’s Reservation Bill:

1974: The issue of women’s representation in Parliament was first raised in a report submitted to the Ministry of Education and Social Welfare by a Committee on Status of Women in India.

Highlighting the low number of women in political bodies, the report recommended that seats be reserved for women in panchayats and municipal bodies.

1993: The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments reserve one-third of seats for women in panchayats and municipal bodies.

September 1996: Women’s Reservation Bill was first introduced in Parliament by H. D. Deve Gowda’s government as 81st Constitution Amendment Bill. Soon after, Mr. Gowda’s government became a minority and the 11th Lok Sabha was dissolved.

The Bill was referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee chaired by CPI MP Geeta Mukherjee which presented its report to the Lok Sabha on December 9, 1996.

June 1998: The bill was reintroduced by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in the 12th Lok Sabha as the 84th Constitution Amendment Bill. This time, too, the bill lapsed as the 12th Lok Sabha was dissolved prematurely with the Vajpayee government being reduced to a minority.

November 1999: The bill was once again introduced by the NDA government in the 13th Lok Sabha. But the government again failed to gather consensus on the issue.

The NDA government brought the bill to the Lok Sabha twice in 2002 and 2003 but could never get it passed even though the Congress and the Left, constituting a majority, had assured NDA of their support.

May 2004: After coming to power, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government announced its intention to pass the bill as part of its commitments in the Common Minimum Programme (CMP).

May 2008: The Bill was introduced in Rajya Sabha and referred to the Standing Committee on Law and Justice.

December 2009: The Standing Committee presented its report and the bill was tabled in both Houses of Parliament amid protests from Samajwadi Party, JD (U) and RJD.

February 2010: In her address to Parliament, President Pratibha Patil said the government was committed to early passage of the bill.

February 2010: Union Cabinet approved Women’s Reservation Bill.

March 2010: Bill moved in Rajya Sabha, but voting on it deferred after unruly scenes and threats of withdrawal support to the UPA government by SP and RJD.

March 2010: Women’s Reservation Bill passed by Rajya Sabha with overwhelming majority.

UPA approves Foreign Universities Bill

The Central Government has approved a bill to allow foreign education providers to set up campuses in India and offer degrees. The Bill seeks to regulate the entry and operation of foreign institutions, which will set up centre and offer degrees in India.

The Foreign Educational Institution (Regulation of Entry and Operation) Bill, 2010, was cleared by the Union Cabinet. This paves the way for its introduction in Parliament.

“This is a milestone which will enhance choices, increase competition and benchmark quality,” HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said after the approval of the Bill by Cabinet.

This Bill was hanging fire for the last four years owing to opposition from various quarters, including the Left parties, over certain provisions. Last year, it was referred to a Committee of Secretaries which brought modifications to certain provisions. The Bill was approved by the Cabinet without any change.

The proposed law prescribes eight-month time-bound format for granting approval to foreign educational institutions to set up campuses. They will go through different levels of registration process during this period and will be finally registered with UGC or any other regulatory body in place.

The regulatory body in higher education, either UGC or any other body that would replace UGC, will scrutinise the proposals of aspiring institution as per India’s priorities and advice government whether to allow the institute to operate in India.

Mr. Sibal has already said that quota laws will not be applicable to foreign universities setting up campuses in India.

Though 100 per cent foreign direct investment through automatic route is permitted in the education sector since 2000, the present legal structure in India does not allow granting of degrees by foreign educational institutions here.

The proposed law would facilitate the globally-renowned institutes to participate in India’s higher education sector. It will bring in foreign education providers for vocational education training also. Says Mr. Sibal: “A revolution larger than the one in the telecom sector awaits the education sector.”

UN launches independent review of IPCC climate panel

The United Nations has launched an independent review of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which has come under much criticism in the recent months due to the claims made in its fourth report released in 2007 pertaining to the receding of Himalayan glaciers.

The decision was announced by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and IPCC Chairperson Rajendra Kumar Pachauri in the wake of a report by the body which erroneously claimed that Himalayan glaciers would melt away by 2035.

“[We] need to ensure full transparency, accuracy and objectivity and minimise the potential of any error going forward. I have initiated in tandem with the head of the IPCC a comprehensive independent review of the IPCC’s procedures and processes,” Mr. Ban said. “This review will be conducted by the Inter Academy Council; it will be done completely independent of the United Nations.”

The Inter Academy Council (IAC) is a multinational organisation of science academies created to produce reports on scientific, technological and health issues. “The IAC is ready to take on the challenge of the review of the IPCC. Our goal will be to ensure nations around the world that they will receive sound scientific advice on climate science with which governments and citizens alike can make informed decisions,” the IAC co-chair Robbert Dijkgraaf said.

The 2007 report of the IPCC erroneously claimed that the Himalayan glaciers would melt away by 2035. The error has also been attributed to a typographical error with the words 2035 appearing instead of 2350.

Since then, there have been several calls for inquiry into the work of the IPCC and the resignation of Mr. Pachauri, who refused to step down. The present debacle was preceded by another controversy, referred to as Climategate, which surfaced at the same time as the Climate Change Conference kicked off at Copenhagen in December 2009.

Hackers gained access to the data of the climate research centre of the UK-based East Anglia University and leaked confidential data including thousands of e-mails and documents between British and American scientists over the past ten years that have led to accusations that scientists amplified the nature and scope of the man-made climate crisis.

“In recent months we have seen some criticism. We are receptive and sensitive to that and we are doing something about it,” Mr. Pachauri said. “It was in this context that last month the IPCC informed the governments that we would like to carry review of our processes and procedures.”

Chandrayaan-I discovers water on the Moon

Scientists have detected more than 40 ice filled craters in the Moon’s North Pole using data from a NASA radar that flew aboard India’s Chandrayaan-I.

NASA’s Mini-SAR instrument, lightweight, synthetic aperture radar, found more than 40 small craters with water ice. The craters range in size from 2 to 15 km in diameter.

The finding would give future missions a new target to further explore and exploit, NASA said, adding it is estimated that there could be at least 600 million metric tons of water ice in the craters.

“The emerging picture from the multiple measurements and resulting data of the instruments on lunar missions indicates that water creation, migration, deposition and retention are occurring on the Moon,” Paul Spudis, principal investigator of the Mini-SAR experiment at the Lunar and Planetary Institute, said.

The new discoveries show that the Moon is an even more interesting and attractive scientific, exploration and operational destination than previously thought, he said.

Aboard Chandrayaan-I, the Mini-SAR mapped the Moon’s permanently-shadowed polar craters that are not visible from the earth. The radar uses the polarisation properties of reflected radio waves to characterise surface properties.

According to the findings which are being published in the latest issue of the Geophysical Research Letters journal, results from the mapping showed deposits having radar characteristics similar to ice.

“After analysing the data, our science team determined a strong indication of water ice, a finding which will give future missions a new target to further explore and exploit,” Jason Crusan, programme executive for the Mini-RF Program for NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate, said.

The space agency said these results are consistent with recent findings of other NASA instruments and adds to growing scientific understanding of the multiple forms of water found on the moon.

The agency’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper discovered water molecules in the Moon’s polar regions, while water vapour was detected by NASA’s Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite.

Mini-SAR and Moon Mineralogy Mapper are two of 11 instruments on India’s first unmanned mission to the moon – Chandrayaan-I.

‘BCI’ highly influential at the WTO

India along with China and Brazil have come to enjoy a “new level of influence” in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and would be expected to accept greater responsibilities in the global trade deal under Doha negotiations, the U.S. has said. China and India are the two fastest growing economies in the world expanding between 7.5-9.5 per cent even during the global slowdown.

“As today’s fastest growing economies, China, Brazil and India have enjoyed a new level of influence (in the WTO) and each will be expected to take on an increased level of responsibility,” the U.S. President Barack Obama’s Trade Policy Agenda for 2010 said.

Describing these countries as “advanced developing countries”, the U.S. sought “meaningful new market access” from the three. “The recent emergence of China, Brazil, and India as recognized ‘majors’ within the World Trade Organisation (WTO) represented an important step forward, moving the overall negotiating dynamics to more closely reflect the dynamic economic reality of today’s trading system,” the trade agenda said.

Opening up markets in the advanced developing countries for products from advanced economies remains the “core challenge” of the nine-year-old Doha negotiations, the U.S. said.

India, Brazil, and China want removal of the historical distortions like huge domestic and export subsidies in the rich nations for the ‘development agenda’ of the negotiating round to be achieved. The three nations have emerged as prominent voice of the developing countries not only in the WTO but also on other international issues like climate change.

An overwhelming majority of 153 WTO members want conclusion of the global trade negotiations, which began in 2001, but have been stalled by protectionist trends in the rich nations like the U.S..