Tuesday, November 29, 2011

World temperatures maintain the heat of global warming

The U.N. weather office says world temperatures maintained a long-term upward trend and Arctic sea ice shrank to record low volumes this year.
The report by the International Meteorological Organization, released in Geneva and at the U.N. climate talks on Tuesday, provided a bleak backdrop to negotiators seeking ways to limit pollution blamed for global warming.
The report says 2011 was tied for the 10th hottest year since records began in 1850.
It says the 13 hottest years on the books all occurred in the last 15 years.
The extent of Arctic sea ice in 2011 was the second lowest on record, and its volume was the lowest.
The report came on the second day of the two-week conference in South Africa among 192 parties seeking agreement on future action to curb climate change.

Infrastructure in Cities/Towns

The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM) was launched on 3rd December, 2005 with the objective of reforms driven and fast track development of cities across the country, with focus on bringing about efficiency in urban infrastructure, service delivery mechanisms, community participation and accountability of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and Parastatal agencies towards citizens. 65 Cities based on population as per 2001 census are covered under the Urban Infrastructure & Governance (UIG) component of JnNURM. Details as annexed. The remaining cities are eligible for Additional Central Assistance (ACA) under Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT) subject to availability of funds. This was stated by the Minister of State for Urban Development, Shri Saugata Roy in a written reply in Lok Sabha.
            It was proposed to include the following 28 cities/urban agglomerations with population of 5 lakh and above under the UIG component of JnNURM:-
S.No.
Name of the State
Name of Town
1         
Andhra Pradesh
Guntur
Warangal
2         
Chattisgarh
Durg- Bhilai Nagar
3         
Gujarat
Bhavnagar
Jamnagar
4         
Karnataka
Belgaum
Hubli-Dharwad
Mangalore
5         
Kerala
Kozhikode
6         
Madhya Pradesh
Gwalior
7         
Maharashtra
Amravati
Aurangabad
Bhiwandi
Kolhapur
Solapur
8         
Orissa
Cuttak
9         
Punjab
Jalandhar
10     
Rajasthan
Bikaner
Jodhpur
Kota
11     
Tamilnadu
Salem
Tiruchirappalli
Tiruppur
12     
Uttar Pradesh
Aligarh 
Bareilly
Ghaziabad
Gorakhpur
Moradabad

On account of resource constraints,  the Planning Commission and Ministry of Finance could not agree to include these cities under UIG of JnNURM.  JnNURM aims to leverage and incorporate private sector efficiencies in development, management, implementation and financing of projects, through Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangements, wherever  appropriate.   Encouraging private partnership for provision of various services is one of the key reforms to be undertaken by the States/Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) under the Mission. To achieve this, cities are to undertake a number of reforms aimed at improvement of municipal governance and financial sustainability. The Mission Directorate has prepared and circulated a “Toolkit for analysis of Urban Infrastructure Projects for Public-Private-Partnerships under JnNURM”. This toolkit contains a simple checklist for the ULB functionaries to determine whether the project is amenable to PPP. The Mission Directorate has also provided support to select cities to operationalise  the toolkit.

Annexure  
LIST OF CITIES INCLUDED UNDER UIG OF JNNURM
Sl.
No.
City/Urban Agglomeration
Name of the State
Population as per 2001 census
(in lakh)
a)
  Mega Cities
1.
Delhi
Delhi
128.77
2.
Greater Mumbai
Maharashtra
164.34
3.
Ahmedabad
Gujarat
45.25
4.
Bangalore
Karnataka
57.01
5.
Chennai
Tamil Nadu
65.60
6.
Kolkata
West Bengal
132.06
7.
Hyderabad
Andhra Pradesh
57.42
b)
  Million-plus Cities
1.
Patna
Bihar
16.98
2.
Faridabad
Haryana
10.56
3.
Bhopal
Madhya Pradesh
14.58
4.
Ludhiana
Punjab
13.98
5.
Jaipur
Rajasthan
23.27
6.
Lucknow
Uttar Pradesh
22.46
7.
Madurai
Tamil Nadu
12.03
8.
Nashik
Maharashtra
11.52
9.
Pune
Maharashtra
37.60
10.
Cochin
Kerala
13.55
11.
Varanasi
Uttar Pradesh
12.04
12.
Agra
Uttar Pradesh
13.31
13.
Amritsar
Punjab
10.03
14.
Visakhapatnam
Andhra Pradesh
13.45
15.
Vadodara
Gujarat
14.91
16.
Surat
Gujarat
28.11
17.
Kanpur
Uttar Pradesh
27.15
18.
Nagpur
Maharashtra
21.29
19.
Coimbatore
Tamil Nadu
14.61
20.
Meerut
Uttar Pradesh
11.61
21.
Jabalpur
Madhya Pradesh
10.98
22.
Jamshedpur
Jharkhand
11.04
23.
Asansol
West Bengal
10.67
24.
Allahabad
Uttar Pradesh
10.42
25.
Vijayawada
Andhra Pradesh
10.39
26.
Rajkot
Gujarat
10.03
27.
Dhanbad
Jharkhand
10.65
28
Indore
Madhya Pradesh
16.40
c)
Identified cities/ Urban Agglomerations (UAs) with less than one million population.

1.
Guwahati
Assam
8.19

2.
Itanagar
Arunachal Pradesh
0.35

3.
Jammu
Jammu & Kashmir
6.12

4.
Raipur
Chhattisgarh
7.00

5.
Panaji
Goa
0.99

6.
Shimla
Himachal Pradesh
1.45

7.
Ranchi
Jharkhand
8.63

8.
Thiruvananthapuram
Kerala
8.90

9.
Imphal
Manipur
2.50

10.
Shillong
Meghalaya
2.68

11.
Aizawal
Mizoram
2.28

12.
Kohima
Nagaland
0.77

13.
Bhubaneswar
Orissa
6.58

14.
Gangtok
Sikkim
0.29

15.
Agartala
Tripura
1.90

16.
Dehradun
Uttaranchal
5.30

17.
Bodh Gaya
Bihar
3.94

18.
Ujjain
Madhya Pradesh
4.31

19.
Puri
Orissa
1.57

20.
Ajmer-Pushkar
Rajasthan
5.04

21.
Nainital
Uttaranchal
2.20

22.
Mysore
Karnataka
7.99

23.
Pondicherry
Pondicherry
5.05

24.
Chandigarh
Punjab & Haryana
8.08

25.
Srinagar
Jammu & Kashmir
9.88

26
Mathura
Uttar Pradesh
3.23

27
Hardwar
Uttaranchal
2.21

28
Nanded
Maharashtra
4.31

29

Porbander
Gujarat
1.58

30

Tirupati
Andhra Pradesh
2.28

National Urban Transport Policy

The Government has formulated a National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP) in April, 2006 which envisages safe, affordable, quick, comfortable, reliable and sustainable urban transport systems, establishment of quality focused multi-modal public transport systems that are well integrated, providing seamless travel across modes, land use transport integration, introducing intelligent transport systems for traffic management etc. The implementation of the policy is an ongoing process. This was stated by the Minister of State for Urban Development, Shri Saugata Roy in a written reply in Lok Sabha on November 29.

The policy provides for general guidelines for financial support. However, central assistance to States/UTs for urban transport is provided under the various schemes of the Ministry.

Improved Health Indicators

Infant Mortality Rate has come down from 58 per 1000 live births in the year 2005 to 50 in 2009; Maternal Mortality Ration has also come down to 212 per 100,000 live births during 2007-09 from 254 per 100,000 live births in 2004-06; Total Fertility Rate has come down from 2.9 in 2005 to 2.6 in 2009; Institutional Delivery has increased from 108.40 lakhs in 2005-06 to 168.04 in 2010-11; The Immunization Programme is being successfully implemented in the country and as per Coverage Evaluation Survey (CES 2009) conducted by UNICEF, 61% of children aged 12-24 months in India are fully immunized against 6 vaccine preventable diseases; Number of reported Polio cases have reduced from 676 (2006) to 42 (2010) and only one (1) case during 2011 till date; Number of reported deaths due to malaria reduced from 1707 (2006) to 767 (2010); Number of reported deaths due to Kala Azar reduced from 187 (2006) to 105 (2010); Reduction in fatality rate from 1.68% in 2003 to 0.39% in 2010. Number of reported deaths due to Dengue reduced from 149 (2006) to 110 (2010); 70% case detection rate and 85% Cure rate have been achieved under Revised National Tuberculosis Programme; The target of cataract operations under NRHM has been achieved annually since 2005.

Under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) financial assistance has been provided to the States for augmentation of health human resources, improvement of infrastructure of public health care facilities, drug and equipment, Mobile Medical Units, Emergency and Referral transport etc. Untied Funds, Annual Maintenance Grants and Rogi Kalyan Samiti funds are also provided to each public health facility to improve health facilities and provide better services. 7823 Primary Health Centres have been converted into 24x7 facilities and 2510 First Referral Units have also been established to provide round-the-clock referral services.

Prevention of Female Foeticide

The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has adopted a multi-pronged strategy to check female foeticide, which includes legislative measures, awareness generation as well as programmes for socio-economic empowerment of women.  The steps taken by the government to prevent female foeticide under the Pre conception and Pre natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994, PC & PNDT Act include the following:

·        Reconstitution of statutory bodies under the Act and regular meetings of the Central Supervisory Board, State Supervisory Board and Advisory Committees to monitor effective implementation of the law.
·        Rule 11(2) of the PC & PNDT Rules, 1996 has been amended to provide for confiscation of unregistered machines and further punishment of organizations which fail to register themselves under the Act.
·        Dedicated PNDT cells have been set up at State/district level for enhancing in-house capacities for building credible cases for conviction against violations of the Act.
·        Surprise field inspections of ultrasound clinics by the National Inspection and Monitoring Committee (NIMC) in states/UTs against violations under the Act.
·        NIMC has been further empowered to oversee follow-up action by Appropriate Authorities against organizations found guilty of violations under the Act during  inspections.
·        Sensitization and training programme have been conducted for law enforcers,  medical practitioners, judiciary etc. for effective implementation of the Act.
·        Comprehensive Information, Education & Communication (IEC) activities including mass media awareness campaign through print and electronic media and community mobilization through Non-Governmental Organizations have also been undertaken. 

Population of the Country Under Insurance Net

Based on the  working population as per census 2001 data, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has reported that the approximate total number of insurable persons in the country is  57,03,35,944.

The names of the insurance companies, both private and public sector is at Annexure.


The IRDA has informed that the details of insured persons, institutions  etc.  company-wise are not maintained.

As at 31.03.2010, the total number of policies in force relating to private life insurers are 4,03,63,200 and the lives covered under group new business by private life insurers are  4,19,59,796.  IRDA has informed that the details of insured people belonging to Above the Poverty Line (APL) and Below the Poverty Line (BPL) category are not maintained.

The objectives achieved are as follows:

(i) The insurance penetration has increased from 2.32% to 5.51% over the period ` 2000 to 2010.
(ii) The number of insurance offices has increased from 2,199 in 2000 to 12,018 in 2010.
(iii) From the single channel system of tied agents which was predominant before opening up of the sector in 2000, multiple channels of distribution comprising brokers, bancassurance, corporate agents emerged in the decade and accounted for nearly 21 percent of the new business in the year 2009-10. These channels have aided in expanding the market as well as in better outreach.
(iv) The first year life insurance premium grew from Rs.19,857.28 crore in 2001-02 to Rs.1,09,894.02 crore in 2009-10. The total life insurance premium rose from Rs.50,094.46 crore in 2001-02 to Rs.2,65,450.37 crore in 2009-10.


ANNEXURE
Life Insurers (As on 20.06.2011)
Non-Life Insurers(As on 05.08.2011)
Public Sector:

  1. Life Insurance Corporation of India

     Private Sector:
1.    Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Ltd
  1. Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Ltd
  2. HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Ltd
  3. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd
  4. ING Vysa Life Insurance Company Ltd
  5. Max New York Life Insurance Co Ltd
  6. Met Life Insurance Company Ltd
  7. Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Company Ltd
  8. SBI Life Insurance Co Ltd
  9. Tata AIG LIFE Insurance Co. Ltd
  10. Reliance Life Insurance Co Limited
  11. Aviva Life Insurance Co Ltd
  12. Sahara India Life Insurance Co. Ltd
  13. Shriram Life Insurance Co. Ltd
  14. Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company  Ltd
  15. Future Generali India Life Insurance Co.Ltd
  16. IDBI Federal Life Insurance Co. Ltd
  17. Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Co. Ltd
  18. AEGON Religare Life Insurance Co. Ltd
  19. DLF Paramica Life Insurance Co. Ltd
  20. Star Union Dia-ichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd
  21. India First Life Inasurance Co. Ltd.
  22. Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
Public Sector:
  1. National Insurance Co. Ltd
  2. The New India Assurance Co. Ltd
  3. The Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd
  4. United India Insurance Co. Ltd.
Private Sector:
  1. Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co. Ltd
  2. ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co Ltd
  3. IFFCO Tokio General Insurance Co. Ltd
  4. Reliance  General Insurance Co. Ltd
  5. Royal Sundaram Alliance Insurance Co. Ltd
  6. Tata AIG General Insurance Co. Ltd
  7. Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Co. Ltd
  8. HDFC ERGO General Insurance Co. Ltd
  9. Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Ltd
  10. Agriculture Insurance Co. Ltd
  11. Star Health Insurance Co. Ltd
  12. Apollo Munich Health Insurance Co. Ltd
  13. Future Generalli India Insurance Co. Ltd
  14. Universal Sompo General Insurance Co. Ltd
  15. Shriram General Insurance Co Ltd
  16. Bharti AXA General Insurance Company Limited
  17. Raheja QBE General Insurance Company Limited
  18. SBI General Insurance Co. Ltd
  19. Max Bupa Health Insurance Co. Ltd
  20. L&T General Insurance Co. Ltd
Re-Insurer:
  1. General Insurance Corporation of India