Here are some important reports from the biggest newspapers of India:
1. Army grapples with arms, gear shortage
Long-winded procedures and bureaucratic bottlenecks continue to stymie the already long-delayed modernisation of the Army , which is grappling with shortages in several areas ranging from modern assault rifles, bullet-proof jackets and night-fighting capabilities to howitzers, missiles and helicopters, a Times of India report said.
The Navy and IAF, however, have done much better. Defence minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday told Lok Sabha that 162 arms contracts worth Rs 1.33 lakh crore with Indian and foreign manufacturers were signed from 2012-13 to 2014-15. In the ongoing fiscal, 44 such contracts worth Rs 39,955 crore have been inked so far.
2. Art of Living faces 120-crore fine for damaging Yamuna floodplains
A National Green Tribunal (NGT) panel has estimated ` 100-120 crore as the cost of restoration of the western side of the floodplains after examining the extent of damage, and recommended that the amount be collected before the event.
"The committee is of a strong view that the organisers i.e. the Art of Living Foundation should be responsible for funding the restoration plan as a penalty. The committee in its rough estimation feels that the total cost of restoration of the floodplains on the western side of the river alone, as proposed by the principal committee, will now be of the order of ` 100-120 crore,” the four-member panel said as part of its recommendations to the tribunal.
The panel — headed by Shashi Shekhar, secretary of the water resources ministry, and comprising CR Babu of the environment and forests ministry, Prof AK Gosain of IIT-Delhi and Prof Brij Gopal of Jaipur — gave its report, viewed by the Hindustan Times, after visiting the site of the foundation’ s World Culture Festival.
3. 7 babies branded in 2 months, mega health campaign starts today in Nabarangpur
Starting Sunday, officials in India’s poorest district are mounting a massive awareness campaign to counter the rash of medical emergencies involving tribal infants, including two deaths, caused by homegrown cures and remedies prescribed by traditional community healers and quacks.
But it will be an uphill task, warn experts. For, the 45-day campaign across all 169 gram panchayats in Nabarangpur will come up against a well-entrenched belief system that prompts tribals to rush their children to the nearest healer, instead of a primary health centre, The Indian Express reported.
Tribals comprise nearly 56 per cent of the 12.2 lakh population of this southern Odisha district. And doctors at the main hospital here have recorded at least seven cases of newborns falling victims to ‘treatment’ fuelled by superstition, such as branding with hot bangles and iron nails, over the last two months.
4. About 35-40 lakh to be hit by water shortage in Central, Old Delhi
The water woes of the Capital are set to aggravate on Sunday as operations at the water treatment plants at Wazirabad and Chandrawal were shut on Saturday because of increase in ammonia levels.
According to a senior Delhi Jal Board official, about 35-40 lakh people will be impacted by this fresh crisis, mostly in Central and Old Delhi. The Capital has been grappling with a water crisis for the past 10 days, ever since Jat protesters demanding quota in government jobs, damaged the Munak Canal in Haryana.
The crisis has returned as the ammonia level at the Wazirabad pond has risen. The DJB suspects that drain 8, which supplies water to the Wazirabad pond, is being contaminated by sewer water because of which the pollution level is rising, a Hindustan Times report said.
5. Trials underway on secure, exclusive phone lines for government
As a part of a new high-security intra-government communications project, about 700 secured phones are being used on a trial basis across four key installations in the national capital — Sena Bhavan in central Delhi, Cabinet Secretariat at CGO complex, NSG headquarters near the airport and Lok Nayak Bhavan near Khan Market.
The Secure and Dedicated Communication Network (SDCN) system is being deployed on the network of state-owned MTNL with secure VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phones on which the calls can be accessed with biometric authentication, The Indian Express reported.
Initially, the Centre hopes to deploy SDCN on a network of 5,000 secured phones in Delhi. It may then expand it further to 20,000 phones across state capitals, “vulnerable and strategic” installations, and districts in Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast. The phones will be designated for the exclusive use of government departments, independent of existing public and private communication infrastructure.
6. JNU Professor's lecture at TISS cancelled
Days after JNU Professor Vivek Kumar’s lecture on Dr Bababsaheb Ambedkar met with a protest from Bharatiya Janata Party members in Gwalior, his lecture at the Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS) on Saturday was cancelled for 'technical' reasons.
According to Hindu, while the TISS Director said the Professor missed his flight from Delhi to Mumbai due to him being caught in traffic, heavy police deployment on the campus led to raised eyebrows as several faculty members indicated that the lecture was cancelled fearing protests.
Prof Kumar was scheduled to speak on 'Appropriation of Dr BR Ambedkar in the contemporary Era' at the 12th Ambedkar Memorial Lecture organised by TISS.
7. Online tuition classes all the rage this exam season
Instead of switching off laptops and burying heads in books, students are actively going online this exam season. The Internet is proving to be a valuable resource, and online tuition classes through video chats are gaining popularity. The advantages are many.
Many coaching classes that offer this facility — prices range from Rs 200 to Rs 800 for an hour-long session — say that they source tutors who are experts in subjects students struggle with, such as physics, chemistry and mathematics, said a report in Hindu.
8. Watch issue raked up as I am from BC community, says Siddaramaiah
The ongoing feud between Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy over the luxury watch got a backward classes twist on Saturday.
While Siddaramaiah accused Kumaraswamy of gunning for him because he was "jealous" of a backward classes' leader becoming Chief Minister, the latter attacked the former for "using the backward classes tag" to protect himself from the issue, which has reached the party high command, the Hindu reported.
9. To raise funds, students to sell 'exclusive' photos, video footage of Umar, Anirban
It was about a week ago on February 16 that a section of students and teachers in support of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar had officially launched the 'Stand with JNU' media campaign. Taking it a step further, the media team has decided to sell "exclusive" photographs and video footage of Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya — arrested on charges of sedition — on campus to gather funds to fight the "legal and logistical battle".
According to The Indian Express, The students have already approached media houses through emails, asking if they are interesting in purchasing the material.
10. Opposition to move privilege motion against Smriti
The Opposition has decided to charge human resource development minister Smriti Irani with breach of privilege in Parliament, indicating that Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula’s suicide and the JNU row will continue to cast a shadow on the budget session.
Finance minister Arun Jaitley will present the general budget on Monday and the ruling coalition hopes to shift the political discourse from controversial students’ issues to economic matters. But on the same day, the Congress, the CPI(M) and the Janata Dal (United) could move a privilege motion against Irani in both houses of Parliament.
CPI(M) leader Mohd Salim told Hindustan Times that he would move the privilege motion in the Lok Sabha while KC Tyagi of the JD(U) said his party would move the motion in the Rajya Sabha.
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