April 17

The Supreme Court upheld the department of telecom's appeal that the comptrolle
r and auditor general of India can audit the accounts of private telecom service
providing companies. So, their profit-loss accounts could be looked into by the
CAG.
* The court passed the order on a batch of petitions filed by telecom companies'
associations, including Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of Ind
ia (AUTSP) and Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), challenging the D
elhi high court verdict which had given green signal for CAG audit of the firms'
accounts.
The fifth phase of polling in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections saw a higher turnout
in constituencies in 10 out of 12 states compared with the percentage of voters
casting their ballots in 2009. The only two states registered a lower turnout i
n comparison to 2009 are Manipur (74% against 77%) and West Bengal (78.89% again
st 80.85%).
STATES AND THEIR RESPECTIVE PERCENTAGE OF POLLING:
* In Jammu and Kashmir, where voting was held in the Udhampur constituency, the
turnout rose 24 percentage points to 69.08% from 45.15% in 2009.
* Bihar saw an impressive improvement in its turnout from its previous count of
39.30% in seven constituencies, up by 16 percentage points to 56%.
* In Uttar Pradesh, 11 constituencies saw a turnout of 62.52%, compared with 55.
09% in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.
* Maharashtra, which is voting in three phases, registered a total polling of 62
%, in 19 constituencies that went to the polls including Pune, Parbhani and Ratn
agiri-Sindhudurg. The state sends 48 representatives to the Lok Sabha, second on
ly to Uttar Pradeshs 80.
* A total of 10 constituencies in Madhya Pradesh saw 54.41% of the electorate co
ming out to vote in comparison with 46.21% in the previous national elections.
* Odishas 11 consituencies and Chhattisgarhs three constituencies registered a tur
nout of 70% and 63.44%, respectively.
* Rajasthans 20 constituencies had 63.25% voters casting their votes. This figure
stood at 48.09% in 2009. The remaining five will have polling on 24 April.
* Karnataka, improved on its turnout tally this year, registering a total turnou
t of 68% compared with 58.88% in 2009.
* Jharkhands capital Ranchi, industrial town Jamshedpur and four other constituen
cies went to the polls registered a total turnout of 62%, a four percentage impr
ovement from 2009.
* The results of all the 543 constituencies will be announced on 16 May. Four mo
re phases of polling remain24 April, 30 April, 7 May and 12 May.
April 18
The Election Commission of India launched its own internet-based media arm call
ed "Voter Education Channel", in order to motivate voters to exercise their fran
chise and provide information on the polling process.
* Viewers can be visited on social media platform 'YouTube' also. In the first c
lip showcases a recorded speech of Chief Election Commissioner V.S. Sampath aski
ng voters to exercise their voting right, a number of other video links have spo
rt persons like M.S. Dhoni, Saina Nehwal and M.C. Mary Kom urging the young and
the old to go for the most important right of an Indian citizen that of the vote
.
* Voters can also view videos of EC brand ambassadors such as former President A
.P.J. Abdul Kalam and actor Aamir Khan on the e-link.
Monster India (www.monsterindia.com), one of the leading online career and recr
uitment solutions provider and Indian Air Force Placement Cell (IAFPC) collabora
ted to provide a platform to assist the retired and shortly retiring Air warrior
s Commissioned Officers and Warranted Officer/ Senior Non-Commissioned Officer (
SNCO), who seek a suitable second career opportunity in the civil world.
The Delhi Police Department launched a toll free number 1064 for any complaints
against its officials. This toll-free helpline number, allocated exclusively to
the Delhi Police, is operated by the Vigilance Department of Telecom (DOT).
* Another toll-free, anti-corruption number 1031 is already functional in Delhi.
It is operated by the state government. The Delhi Police does not come under am
bit of the state government.
April 19
The State Public Works Department detected High manganese level in the Selaulim
reservoir in Goa, which supplies drinking water to more than half of the coasta
l State.
* The manganese level in the water from the reservoir has risen up from 0.1 to 0
.8 mg per liter, but there is no need to panic. The reservoir has production cap
acity of 214 MLD of water, which is supplied to entire South Goa and some parts
of north district.
A 450-kg bomb of World War II vintage was found three feet under the ground whi
le digging for a lamp post near Kalaikunda air base in West Bengal.
* The explosive, encased in a thick iron barrel and measuring about 4 feet in le
ngth, was found at Moulishol village while digging to erect the lamp post in a s
ub-station of the state electricity board. The bomb was manufactured in 1939 and
would be defused permanently in nearby Dudhkundi forest soon.
April 20
The Election Commission (EC) sought the withdrawal of tax exemption benefits to
ten political parties from the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on the grou
nds that they failed to submit their mandatory expenditure contribution reports
on time to the poll body.
* The EC, in its latest communication, asked the CBDT to take action against the
defaulting parties under provisions of Section 29C (Declaration of donation rec
eived by the political parties) of the Representation of the People Act in conso
nance with I-T laws.
April 21
The Supreme Court of India lifted the complete ban on extraction of iron ore in
the state but made resumption of mining activities conditional on issuance of f
resh leases.
* A special forest bench headed by Justice AK Patnaik said the panel would also
advise how the extracted dumps are to be utilized. Further, no mining lease woul
d be granted around one kilometer of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, di
recting the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) to identify such eco-sens
itive areas.
April 22
India and Bhutan signed an agreement for the development of joint hydropower pr
oject. The agreement was signed by P.K. Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Power, fro
m the Indian side and Sonam Tshering, Bhutans Secretary, Ministry of Economic Aff
airs.
* The Inter-Governmental agreement provides the framework for implementing four
hydro-electric projects (HEPs) - 600 MW Kholongchu project, 180 MW Bunakha proje
ct (with 230 MW downstream benefits from Tala, Chukha and Wangchu HEPs), 570 MW
Wangchu project and 770 MW Chamkarchu project - totalling 2120 MW.
April 23
Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), the information and technology a
rm of railways, launched a new mobile application which can be used for various
enquiries including train timings. Now rail users can get information on expecte
d arrival and departure timings of a particular train on their mobile phones bes
ides tracking its position on a real time basis.
* National Train Enquiry System (NTES) is railways' back-end system which provid
es information to the public about train schedules on a near real time basis thr
ough various interfaces like nationwide unique rail enquiry number 139, website
(trainenquiry.com), mobile interfaces, touch screens, enquiry counters and displ
ay boards at stations.
The GMR-Mega wide consortium signed the concession agreement with the Philippin
es Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and Mactan Cebu Interna
tional Airport Authority (MCIAA) for expanding the Mactan Cebu International Air
port (MCIA). The concession agreement was signed after the consortium paid $320
million as upfront premium.
The Railways inked an integrity pact with Transparency International vowing to
maintain transparency, integrity and accountability in all its major contracts a
nd procurement. Ircon International Limited, a Public Sector undertaking under t
he Mi