The Ken-Betwa river interlinking project may yet see delays due to disagreements over water-sharing and difficulty in acquiring non-forest land between the two states involved Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Uttar Pradesh (UP).

KEY-DETAILS OF THE PROJECT

• The Ken-Betwa project was conceived as part of the thirty- Interlinking river projects across the country 15 years ago.

• The Ken-Betwa Project(KBP), a two-part, Rs. 18,000 Crore plan, is the first river inter-linking project and perceived by the government as a model plan for similar interstate river transfer missions.

• The key structure of Phase I involves a 77-meter-high and a 2 km-wide Daudhan Dam across the Ken and a 231.45 km canal to transfer the surplus water from the Uttar Pradesh section of the Ken to the Betwa in Madhya Pradesh.

• The project will transfer the surplus water from the Ken river to the Betwa basin in order to help irrigate the drought-prone Bundelkhand region and the adjoining areas.

CORE OBJECTIVE OF THE LINKING

For the most part of the year, the region around Betwa experience acute scarcity of water for agricultural, industrial and domestic use. In the region, water sources are varied and often seasonal, ranging from ponds, tanks, lakes, and streams to open wells, bore wells and irrigation canal radiating out from large-scale dams.

The agriculture is confined to a single-crop and is rain fed with supplementary water from open wells. A large number of farmers are highly dependent on the monsoon rains to recharge these wells. To improve the water situation in the region, the Ken-Betwa project is aimed at the following:

• Irrigation: The Ken-Betwa interlinking project aims at diverting the surplus waters of Ken basin to water deficit Betwa basin.

• Drinking water supply: The project will also provide for drinking water supply to the en route villages of Chhatarpur & Tikamgarh districts of MP and Hamirpur & Jhansi districts of UP.

APPROVAL TO THE PROJECT

• Environment Ministry: The ambitious project had received approval from union environment ministry’s expert committee.

• National Board for Wildlife: The Ken-Betwa river interlinking project has received the approval of the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL).

OTHER PROJECTS TO PROVIDE WATER TO DEFICIT REGION

Apart from the Ken-Betwa interlinking project, the other such projects are the Manas-Sankosh-Teesta-Ganga, involving Assam, West Bengal, and Bihar; Par-Tapi-Narmada Link to transfer water from the water surplus regions of Western Ghats to the water deficit regions of Saurashtra and Kutch; and Damanganga-Pinjal link, which will provide water for the Greater Mumbai.

HURDLES COMING IN THE WAY

• India’s first river interlinking project has run into a roadblock again when it was thought to be ready for its implementation, more than 15 years after it was conceived.

• Interstate Disputes: Now, the ambitious project, which has received almost all the major clearances, had hit a roadblock when MP objected to it. The state of MP has raised the issue of sharing of water of the project. Both the states involved are in dispute over how they will share the water.

• Environmental concerns: The project is the unending expanse of Panna (MP), a National Park, declared tiger reserve in 1994 under Project Tiger. A large part of Panna is going to be diverted for the Ken-Betwa interlinking project.

Earlier too the project had run into a thicket of environmental problems, mainly of partially submerging the forest land. Though it got an environmental clearance from the National Green Tribunal.

TIGERS IN TROUBLE

• The Ken-Betwa river interlining project will wipe out a portion of the Panna Tiger Reserve with its flora and fauna.

• Panna was declared a tiger reserve in 1994, under Project Tiger, the Government’s tiger conservation programme.

• This place attracts a lot of wildlife animals such as deer-like sambar, nilgai, and chital apart from the verdant teak and Kardhai forests. This is the only big chunk of wildlife habitat present in the northern part of Madhya Pradesh

• The Tiger Reserve was awarded India’s best-maintained national park by the Ministry of Tourism in 2007. Though, it lost its entire tiger population by 2009. A large part of the tiger reserve is going to be diverted for the Ken-Betwa interlinking project.

CONCLUSION:

Though the project will provide irrigation benefits to the districts of both the states involved but to take care of the wildlife, the project proponent should ensure that similar extent of revenue areas be added to Panna, either as part of core or corridor with other habitats and consider the entire area as one conservation unit allowing for development and livelihood needs. Panna landscape has to be managed as a single landscape in the interest of long-term conservation.

India and Italy have agreed to boost cooperation in counter-terrorism and cybersecurity during the meeting of External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj with the top Italian leadership.

KEY-HIGHLIGHTS OF THE VISIT

• On the first leg of her tour, she met with Italian counterpart Enzo MoaveroMilanesi. They exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest.

• Both the sides agreed to mutually identify new areas of cooperation to boost trade and investment linkages.

• Both the leaders shared concerns relating to counter-terrorism and cybersecurity and agreed to continue cooperation in this area.

• Indian EAM called on Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, who assumed charge early this month, and their discussion focused on forging bilateral cooperation across sectors and steps to revitalize the bilateral relationship.

• She also conveyed the need for India and Italy to continue to work together and coordinate positions in multilateral forums.

OTHER IMPORTANT EVENTS

• 70th Anniversary: The year 2018 marks the 70th year of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Italy.

• Both the sides welcomed the celebrations in both countries to mark 70 years of diplomatic relations and agreed to work together to build a robust and wide-ranging partnership covering political consultations, trade and commerce, science & technology, culture and people-to-people ties.

• JCEC Meet: To extend collaboration in areas of mutual benefit, the Ministries agreed to hold the next meeting of the Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation (JCEC) in India later this year.

• Tech Summit: Both countries also welcomed Italy’s participation as a partner country at the Tech Summit in India in November 2018, which would boost cooperation in technology and innovation.

• Further, both leaders also welcomed the growing India-Italy convergence on contemporary global issues and agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation in multilateral forums.

INDIA-ITALY

• India and Italy have been trading partners since the Roman era. Italy is among India’s top five trading partners in the EU and the 12th largest investor in India.

• Indian diaspora: The Indian community in Italy is the second largest community of Indians in Europe after the United Kingdom.

• The problem in ties: Ties between two countries took a hit after two Italian marines were arrested for allegedly killing two Indian fishermen off the coast of Kerala in 2012. It also impacted European Union’s relationship with India.

VISITS ON CARD

• Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is on her seven-day tour from June 17-23  of four European nations- Italy, France, Luxembourg, and Belgium, which is aimed at deepening India’s strategic engagement and trade with the European countries.

  • France: Indian EAM will visit France, where she will meet her counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian and both the sides will review the bilateral relations. India and France are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their Strategic Partnership.

  • Luxembourg: Visit to Luxembourg will be the first ever by an Indian External Affairs Minister. She will meet the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Henri Albert Gabriel Félix Marie Guillaume and Prime Minister Xavier Bettel there.

  • Belgium: Indian EAM will be in Belgium from June 20-23, where she will meet Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Didier Reynders.

• This visit will provide an opportunity to hold in-depth discussions with political leadership on a wide range of global, regional, and bilateral issues and advance India’s growing strategic engagement with the European Union.

THE ROAD AHEAD:

Over the next few days, Indian EAM will visit other European nations to discuss issues related to India-EU free trade agreement (FTA). India and EU had been looking to resume stalled negotiations over some time, but uncertainties over Brexit and inflexibility on both sides prevented the resumption of formal talks. Indian EAM will deliver a keynote speech at the high-level event- “Climate, Peace, and Security: Time for Action”, lead the International Yoga Day celebrations at the European Parliament and also interact with the Indian community.

The Union Cabinet has given its approval to the proposal for introduction of Dam Safety Bill, 2018 in the Parliament.

WHAT DOES THE BILL PROVIDE FOR

• Proper functioning: The Bill provides for proper surveillance, inspection, operation and maintenance of all specified dams in the country in order to ensure their safe and proper functioning.

• National Committee on Dam Safety: The Bill provides for constitution of a National Committee on Dam Safety which shall evolve dam safety policies and recommend necessary regulations as may be required for the purpose.

• National Dam Safety Authority: The Bill provides for the establishment of National Dam Safety Authority as a regulatory authority which shall discharge functions to implement the policy, guidelines, and standards for dam safety in the country.

• State Committee: The Bill also provides for constitution of a State Committee on Dam Safety by the respective State Government.

DAM SAFETY BILL, 2018

• The Dam Safety Bill, 2018 will address all the issues concerning dam safety including regular inspection of dams, Emergency Action Plan, comprehensive dam safety review, adequate repair and maintenance funds for dam safety, Instrumentation and Safety Manuals.

• It lays responsibility of dam safety on the dam owner and provides for penal provisions for commission and omission of certain acts

CONDITION OF DAMS IN INDIA

• In India, there are over 5200 large dams and about 450 are under construction and in addition to this, there are thousands of medium and small dams.

  • Large dams: Maximum height of more than 15 meters from its deepest foundation of the crest.

  • The largest dam in India: Tehri dam (height-260 meters, Inflow- Bhagirathi, Location-Uttarakhand)

• Dam safety in the country is an issue of concern due to lack of legal and institutional architecture for dam safety.

• Unsafe dams are a hazard and dam break may cause disasters, leading to huge loss of life and property.

• Till now, 36 dam disasters have been reported in the country and the worst was in 1979 in Gujarat (Machudam in Morbi), where around 2,000 people died and 12,700 houses were destroyed.

• In 2012, the Centre initiated the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP-I) for strengthening dam safety and operational performance through comprehensive repair and rehabilitation work. The project will continue till June 2020.

FUNCTION OF NATIONAL DAM SAFETY AUTHORITY

• To communicate and cooperate: To maintain liaison with the State Dam Safety Organisations and the owners of the dam for standardization of dam safety-related data practices.

• National level database and records: To maintain a national level database of all the dams in the country and the records of major dam failures and it shall examine the cause of any major dam failure.

• Publish guidelines and to inspect timely: To publish and update the standard guidelines and checklists for the routine inspection and detailed investigations of dams and appurtenances.

• Assistance: To provide the technical and managerial assistance to the States and State Dam Safety Organisations

• Grant recognition: To accord recognition or accreditations to the organizations that can be entrusted with the works of investigation, design or construction of new dams.

• Resolve issues: To look into unresolved points of issue between the State Dam Safety Organisation of two states, or between the State Dam Safety Organisation of a State and the owner of a dam in the State, for a proper solution.

• Whereas, in certain cases, such as dams of one State falling under the territory of another States, the National Authority shall also perform the role of State Dam Safety Organisation thereby eliminating potential causes for inter-state conflicts.

STATE COMMITTEE ON DAM SAFETY

• The State Committee on Dam Safety will ensure proper surveillance, inspection, operation, and maintenance of all specified dams in that State and ensure their safe functioning.

• It further provides that every State shall establish a ‘State Dam Safety Organisation’, which will be manned by officers from the field dam safety preferably from the areas of dam-designs, hydro-mechanical engineering, hydrology, geotechnical investigation, instrumentation, and dem-rehabilitation.

HOW THE BILL WILL BE BENEFICIAL

• Safety: The bill will help the states and union territories to adopt uniform safety procedures that will help in ensuring the safety of reservoirs.

• Regulatory body: The bill provides for a regulatory body to regulate the dams across the country. The body will not ensure proper implementation of the safety guidelines but also ensure timely inspection, standards for dam safety.

• Uniform Power: Earlier version of the legislation provided the State more power, in which the dam was located. The state could restrict the water storage level, even though the dam was owned by another State. The bill will ensure uniform safety procedures for all the states and union territories.

• Responsibility: The bill makes the owner of the dam responsible for any damage or loss, which will further help in ensuring proper implementation and safety.

THE ROAD AHEAD:

The draft law, ‘Dam Safety Bill, 2018’ approved by the Union Cabinet has been finalized after wide consultation with leading experts and international experts. It will be introduced in the Parliament in the forthcoming monsoon session beginning in July. After the final approval, the bill will come in force and ensure the safety of dams and help in safeguarding human life, livestock, and property.

12th June is celebrated as the World Day against Child Labour

Child labour refers to involvement/employment of children below a certain age. This leads to deprivation of child rights and exploitation of the children as well as missing out on school education.

Reasons for high prevalence of child labour in India includes-

• Poverty - as many families live below poverty line, there is a tendency to employ their children into labour market to augment income of the family

• Illiteracy - many families fail to realize the value of education and indulge in child labour to get short term gain of child's income. School reach at upper primary level is also less than adequate.

• Lax implementation of Child labour prohibition law - by the authorities

• Society does not reject Child labour - Therefore, many small shops freely employ children below 14years in their shops,

• Organized Crime - leads to trafficking of children and using them in criminal acts, begging, etc.

Following are various legal mechanisms in place-

• Child Labour (Prohibition) Act- to ensure that children below 14 years of age are not employed. And children between 14-18 years of age are not employed in hazardous activities, mining, etc

• Right to Education Act, 2009 which gives a constitutional right to children below 14 years of age to get school education.

• India has ratified United Nations Convention on Protection of Child Rights.

• India recently ratified ILO conventions 138 and 182, which deals with eliminating child labour.

• Various provisions of CrPC & IPC that prevent human trafficking, child labour.

• Various measures by government such as PENCIL portal by Ministry of Labour.

The semi-high speed train manufactured by Integral Coach  Factory (ICF) in Chennai to promote Make in India is code named TRAIN 18. The train which runs at  160 kmph is expected to be rolled out in  September. Train 18 does not require an engine to run as it will be self-propelled on electric traction like the metro trains. It will replace existing intercity express trains including Shatabdis. The train has striking features to enhance passenger comfort such as automatic doors, onboard Wi-Fi, infotainment, GPS-based passenger information system, modular toilets with the bio-vacuum system, LED lighting, electro-pneumatic brake system etc.

Dipa  Karmakar wins gold at Artistic Gymnastics World Challenge Cup held at  Mersin, Turkey. The  Tripura girl won the gold at the vault event. This is Dipa Karmakar's first medal in a World  Challenge Cup with a score of 14.150  points.

Mumbai's Art Deco buildings and Victorian Gothic architectures were added to the UNESCO's World Heritage List. The decision was approved at a recently held UNESCO meeting in Manama (Bahrain).

Project Sashakt is a 5-point plan to resolve the issue of mounting non-performing assets. Under the project, financial institutions will enter into an inter-creditor agreement to authorise the lead bank to implement a resolution plan in 180 days. The agreement is the basis for the bank- led resolution approach for loans between Rs50-500 crore. This inter-creditor agreement will be a legal document and enforceable in any court of law. The agreement will make sure there is effective, good communication amongst banks. The proposal includes setting up of an asset management company. The banks will also set up alternative investment funds (AIFs) to raise money and back the asset management company. The report had recommended a five-pronged approach for loans up to Rs 50 crore, loans of Rs 50-500 crore and loans above Rs 500 crore.

Six global aviation companies are competing for Inidan AirForce contract for procuring 110 fighter jets. This includes Boeing's F/A-18E/F SuperHornet, Lockheed Martin's F-16 Fighting Falcon, Dassault Aviation's Rafale , Eurofighter Typhoon, Saab's Gripen and Russian United Aircraft Corporation's MiG-35.The contract includes both single engine and twin engine fighter aircraft. Both F-16 and Gripen are single engined aircraft whereas the remaining four are twin-engined.

NASA's  Parker Solar Probe is the robotic spacecraft to probe the outer  corona of the sun. The cutting-edge heat shield called the Thermal Protection System  has been installed on  Parker  Solar Probe scheduled for August launch. The heat shield will help the spacecraft remain safe  as it collects data about the inner workings of the corona. The heat shield is made of two panels of superheated  carbon composite sandwiching a lightweight  4.5 inch thick carbon foam core.

Noah is a fully electric city car built by students from TU  Eindhoven University of Technology (Netherlands). The car is made out of biocomposite with  flax  and sugar being the main component.The  car  weighs only  350 kilograms and seats two people.The Noah electric car is called as world's first circular car as it involves circular economy concept in the design process.

Rohit Sharma hit the third century in T20 international to power India to a seven-wicket victory against England at Bristol. Rohit Sharma and New Zealand's Colin Munro are the only batsmen to have scored three T20 International Centuries.

Magento Installation for beginners

Magento is an ecommerce platform built on open source technology which provides online merchants with a flexible shopping cart system, as well as control over the look, content and functionality of their online store. Magento has powerful marketing, search engine optimization, and catalog-management tools.

The growth of online business as well as the development of software market has brought about the development of magento, a very useful and effective tool in building site and online store. It has rich functionality, Open Source Software, Large Number of Modules and Themes, Multi-language and Multi-site Support.

How To install:

Download a magento latest version file in official Magento website. The magento file has too large, so use Filezilla, winSCP  to upload the files  into the sever. After uploading your  files into server extract the files in to your public_html directory. It has your magento root directory. The files includes database also, create a database in phpmyadmin and upload the sql file.

Magento Setup:

Enter the following URL :  http://www.xxxxxx.com/setup.

i. Click on Agree and Setup

ii. Readiness Check:

Click Start Readiness Check.  Before readiness check make  sure your server , version , settings extentions , file permission  and environment set ups are correctly for magento 2.0  If not, it will through errors. Mostly it will display errors  in extensions and version. To rectify this problem we need to add the extension in our server. It will be in cpanel ->slect php version-> add extentions.

iii. Click on the Next button to go to the next page already created MySQL database name, username and its password. If you want to add a prefix to the database  you can do.

iv. The next step is web configuration. To choose your admin panel URL of your website.v. Now you should choose the store default Time Zone, Currency and Language and press the Next button.

vi. Next step is to create an admin account. Make sure the the password has too strong.

vii.The final step is click on install.

That's it! Your Magento application is successfully installed now.

MoU was signed between IIT Delhi and All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) under which projects would be launched which aims to give scientific validation to the ancient medical science and integrate it with technology. The projects would be funded by the Ayush Ministry.
 

India recently became the vice-chair (regional head) of the Asia Pacific region of the World  Customs  Organisation (WCO)  for  a period of 2 years upto June 2020. The organisation has divided its membership into six regions. Each of the regions is represented by an elected vice-chairperson to the WCO  Council. WCO  represents 182 customs administrations across the globe which collectively process approximately 98% of world trade.  WCO  is an intergovernmental organisation headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. The  WCO is noted for its work in various areas which includes among others international trade facilitation, customs enforcement activities, combating counterfeiting in support of Intellectual  Property  Rights, drugs enforcement, illegal weapons trading and integrity promotion. WCO also administers the technical aspects of the World Trade Organisation Agreements on Customs Valuation and Rules of Origin.

According to Asian Development Bank report India will be the fastest growing economy in Asia and South Asia will continue to be the fastest growing economic area. As per the report, growth in Asia and the Pacific's developing economies for 2018 and 2019 will remain solid despite the rising trade tensions (protectionist trade measures) being a concern. As per the report, prudent macroeconomic and fiscal policymaking will help the region prepare to respond to external shocks.

According to the Asian Development Bank report, India will be the fastest growing economy in Asia and South Asia will continue to be the fastest growing economic area. As per the report, growth in Asia and the Pacific's developing economies for 2018 and 2019 will remain solid despite the rising trade tensions (protectionist trade measures) being a concern. As per the report, prudent macroeconomic and fiscal policymaking will help the region prepare to respond to external shocks.