National Press Day

PM's message on

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh has greeted the members of the Press on the occasion of National Press Day. In a message, the Prime Minister said, "A free and fair media has been an essential pillar of our democracy. Since our struggle for freedom, media has been guiding social change, informing readers of their rights and contributing to the nation-building process by spreading awareness. As a country, we believe in complete independence of the media from external control. It is true that sometimes irresponsible journalism can have serious consequences for social harmony and public order, which the public authorities have an obligation to maintain, but censorship is no answer. It is for the members of the Fourth Estate themselves to collectively ensure that objectivity is promoted and sensationalism is curbed. It is for them to introspect how best they can serve our country and society and advance their well being."

According to Credit Suisse, the top one per cent of India’s population owns 16 per cent of its assets; the top 10 per cent owns more than half.

According to Credit Suisse, the top one per cent of India’s population owns 16 per cent of its assets; the top 10 per cent owns more than half.

Manish Swarup/Associated Press

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai met with Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi during his visit to New Delhi. 

Uttarakhand tops Planning Commission's green ranking


Uttarakhand has been rated top in the Plan Panel's green ranking based on quality of air and water, waste management, forest cover and climate change.

NEW DELHI: Uttarakhand has been rated top in the Planning Commission's green ranking based on quality of air and water, waste management, forest cover and climate change.

The panel lists Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Sikkim and Andhra Pradesh as the other top four states on its Environmental Performance Index, which will serve as a measure of a state's green initiative and be linked to financial assistance from the Centre.

The index was prepared after the government in 2010 decided to rework the Gadgil-Mukherjee formula for determining central assistance to states to include an environmental parameter.

Environment performance will account for 2% of a state's overall performance. The measure is meant to be both an incentive and compensation to states for green initiatives. For allocating funds tied to environmental performance, the government has two options. The first is to devolve 2% of the gross budgetary support on the basis of the performance index. The second is to allocate funds by giving an additional weightage of 2% to the performance criteria of the Gadgil formula.

The index, which gives equal weightage to each of the five parameters for environmental performance, lists Mizoram, Kerala, Goa, Sikkim, Tripura and Puducherry as the best performing states with regard to air quality.

A state's performance on air quality is based on its deviation from target amounts of nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur oxides (SOx) and respirable suspended particulate material (RSPM) in the atmosphere.

Performance on water is based on waste management and sewage disposal, water quality determined as the biochemical oxygen demand in local rivers, and the coliform count.

According to the panel, Himachal Pradesh is the only state to have set up 100% capacity in sewage treatment. The performance of the other states in this regard ranges from no effort to about 20%. Not only is the performance on sewage disposal dismal, the total fecal coliform is as high as 92%. The states that show a semblance of having adhered to the prescribed river-water quality are Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry. Delhi, Rajasthan, Punjab, Diu and Daman, and Puducherry extract more water than they recharge, according to the index.

Chhattisgarh outperforms all states in waste management. It collects 98% of the municipal solid waste, treats 100% of the biomedical waste and has capacity to dispose 89% of hazardous waste.

In keeping with India's efforts to counter climate change, increase in forest cover is considered as in input. Chandigarh, Sikkim

C M GREETINGS ON DEWALI

The Chief Minister of Sikkim Shri Pawan Chamling and Smt Tika Maya Chamling has extended their warm greetings and good wishes to the people of Sikkim on the auspicious occasion of Diwali.

The Chief Minister in his message to the people of Sikkim has said that the festival of light may not only light the houses of the people but even ignite the minds of the people towards positive thoughts, words and deeds. The Chief Minister has further wished that the blessings of Goddess Laxmi be bestowed upon every household and bring good health, peace, prosperity and happiness to every individual of the society.

India needs 4 m civil engineers & 4 lacs Architect-Survey

A survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors estimates that in 2010 India had just over 500,000 civil engineers when it needed nearly 4 m, and 45,000 architects when it needed over 4 lakh. It predicts that by 2020 the cumulative shortfall of core professionsl involved in the building trade could be in the tens of millions. This data was recently published by Economist. As seen in the chart, Indians lag their BRIC peers by a huge margin when it comes to enrolments for secondary and tertiary education. The national literacy rate is up from 52% in 1991 to 74%, according to the 2011 census. But gains beyond that are coming far too slowly. 

Data source: Economist