22 OCT 2013 SC:Clinical Trials of 162 New Chemicals continue to be on Hold

Supreme Court of India on 21 October 2013 ruled that the clinical trials of 162 new chemical entities will continue to be on hold. The court added that 157 new chemical entities which were cleared for clinical trials on 31 December 2012, would be reviewed by the two apex committees. The technical and apex committees would look into the assessment of risk versus benefits to the patients, innovation through existing therapeutic options and the unmet medical needs of the country. The committees will ascertain whether the new chemical entities that are being put to clinical trials are actually required in the country.

The court gave the judgment after reviewing the clearance for clinical trials of 157 new chemical entities by the National Drugs Advisory Committee and the Drug Controller General of India.

The next hearing of the matter will take place on 16 December 2013

22 oct 2013 North East Regional Political Front Formed by Ten Regional Parties of North East India

Ten regional parties of North East India on 20 October 2013 formed the North East Regional Political Front (NERPF).The North East Regional Political Front will work to safeguard the political ,economic, social  and ethnic identity of the people of the North East region.

Neiphiu Rio, the Nagaland chief minister appointed as NERPF convener and Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, Asom Gana Parishad President appointed as NERPF’s chief advisor.

Whlie announcing the formation of the North East Regional Political Front (NERPF) Neiphiu Rio told that NERPF is a political party and it is a federation of the regional parties. He also told that NERPF will contest in 2014 General Elections.

21 OCT 2013 Lata Mangeshkar was Presented the First National Yash Chopra Memorial Award

Lata Mangeshkar was presented the first national Yash Chopra Memorial Award at a star studded function in Mumbai on 19 October 2013 by the Ministry for Information and Broadcasting. 
The Yash Chopra Memorial Award has been instituted by the TSR Foundation of T. Subbarami Reddy.  Yash Chopra was a victim of dengue in Mumbai on 21 October 2013.

19-OCT 2013 The Largest Air Traffic Control Tower of India Inaugurated at Mumbai Airport

The largest Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower of India was inaugurated outside the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai on 18 October 2013. The tallest ATC tower stands at the length of 84 metres or around 30 storey building. 

The tower was inaugurated by the Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh and Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan.  
The ATC tower is spread over an area of 2800 square metre area and is also equipped with state-of-the-art technology such as electronic flight strips that can reduce the workload of controllers and enhance safety and capacity of the airport. 

It is important to note that India is the 9th largest aviation market of the world and has the traffic increasing at 10 percent annually.

The designing of the ATC was done by Hong Kong-based architectural firm HOK as well as the international engineering designer ARUP. These were chosen after the global competition.

19-oct-2013 US Agreed on a Deal with Romania to Use Its Air Base for Afghan Pullout

The deal will enable the US to switch the flight operations to Romania from Kyrgyzstan's Manas air base. It is important to note that the US lease on Kyrgyzstan's Manas air base will expire in July 2014. The US has already planned to withdraw most of the 52000 troops from Afghanistan by 2014 end.

The Mihail Kogalniceanu air base is near the Black Sea town of Constanta. In June 2013, Kyrgyzstan voted in order to end the US lease on Manas in July 2014. It is worth noticing that the US pays 60 million US Dollar every year in order to lease the base. The base has remained operational since 2001.

19-OCT-2013 Lok Sabha Speaker Rejected the Resignations of 13 Seemandhra Mps

Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on 18 October 2013 rejected the resignation of 13 Seemandhra MPs (Member of Parliament).

While rejecting the resignations of 13 Seemandhra MPs, Lok Sabha Speaker clarified that resignation letters were not genuine or voluntary.

Lok Sabha official explained that the Speaker used the provisions of Article 101 (3) of the Constitution and Rule 240 Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha which deals with the procedure to be adopted by the Speaker when a member wants to quit the Lok Sabha.

Lok Sabha official also explained that there is no time frame fixed in the Constitution or the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha for the Speaker to take her decision on such resignation issue. It is the exclusive jurisdiction of the Speaker and no one could intervene.

The 13 Seemandhra MPs resigned from Lok Sabha in protest against the Centre’s decision to bifurcate the State of Andhra Pradesh into Seemandhra and Telangana.


About the Article 101(3) (b) of the Indian Constitution  

According to the Article 101(3)(b) of the Indian Constitution  when such letter of resignation is received, the Speaker has to make appropriate enquiry as he/she deems fit to get satisfied that the member has taken such a decision on his/her own volition.