Lok Sabha passed Atomic Energy (Amendment) Bill, 2015
The
Lok Sabha on 14 December 2015 passed the landmark Atomic Energy
(Amendment) Bill, 2015. The bill seeks to overcome difficulties
encountered in the setting up of new nuclear projects and enhancement of
nuclear power generation. The Bill seeks to amend the Atomic Energy
Act, 1962. The Act empowers the central government to produce, develop,
control, and use atomic energy. Under this act license will only be
granted to entities such as a government company or a department of
union government.
United Nations Human Development Report 2015
The
United Nations Human Development Report 2015 was released on 14
December 2015 with the title Work for Human Development in Ethiopia. As
per the report, 2 billion people lifted out of low human development in
last 25 years. In the 2015 report, India with a score of 0.609 has been
ranked 130 out of 188 countries in terms of Human Development Index
(HDI). In the 2014 report, India was ranked 135 out of 187 countries.
With better health and education outcomes and reductions in extreme
poverty, 2 billion people have moved out of low human development levels
in the last 25 years. 830 million people are classified as working poor
who live on under 2 US dollars a day. The report stresses the key roles
that work can play in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDG). It estimates that around 45 million additional health workers
will be needed to meet SDG.
L Narasimha Reddy Judicial Committee on OROP
The
Union Government on 14 December 2015 appointed Justice L Narasimha
Reddy, retired Chief Justice of Patna High Court, to head the Judicial
Committee which will look into the implementation of One Rank One
Pension (OROP) scheme for the ex-servicemen. The Committee will submit
its recommendations in six months. It may give interim reports to the
Government on any of the matters related to its terms of reference. The
committee will look on measures for the removal of anomalies that may
arise in the implementation of the OROP as notified by the Government on
7 November 2015, any other matter referred by the Union Government on
implementation of the OROP or related issues. In making its
recommendations, the Committee shall take into account the financial
impact of its recommendations.
Gambia declares itself an ‘Islamic republic’
Republic
of the Gambia a West African country has been declared as the Islamic
republic by it’s President Yahya Jammeh. The decision was taken as Islam
is the religion of the majority of its citizens and to break the impac
of nation’s colonial past. About 90 percent of Gambia’s 1.8 million
people are Muslim. It is the smallest country on mainland Africa. Banjul
is the capital of Gambia. On 18 February 1965, the Gambia gained
independence from the United Kingdom. The Gambia’s economy is dominated
by farming, fishing, and especially tourism. About a third of the
population lives below the international poverty line of USD 1.25 a day.