Chinese troops erect another tent at Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO)

Chinese troops have erected another tent in Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) sector in Ladakh raising the number of such structures in the area of incursion to five, as the standoff between India and China entered the third week.

With China showing no signs of withdrawing its troops from the Indian territory, sources said efforts to break the impasse over the incursion yielded no results because of its insistence that some bunkers constructed by India at a key vantage point be dismantled.

China laid down this condition for pulling back from the place 19 km inside the Indian territory in DBO, where around 50 troops have been camping for the last over two weeks, sources said.

Activists oppose forest advisory panel’s clearance of land for Kalu dam

he Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has recommended clearance of land for the controversial Kalu dam in Thane district, drawing sharp criticism from activists and tribals affected by the project.

Dreamliner test flight lands successfully in Tokyo

A Dreamliner test flight with top Boeing and All Nippon Airways’ (ANA) executives aboard landed at a Tokyo airport .

Earlier, The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration grounded the worldwide fleet mid-January after failures of the lithium-ion batteries on the jetliner caused a fire on board one parked plane in Boston and forced the emergency landing of an ANA-operated aircraft in Japan.

The test flight by ANA, one of largest customers of the Boeing 787 Dreamliners, came a day after Ethiopian Airlines became the first carrier to resume flying the 787s that have been grounded worldwide since January due to battery problems.

New Bill for protection and welfare of widows

The proposed Protection, Welfare and Maintenance of Widows Bill, 2013 is prepared by Sulabh International.

The Proposed bill is a slight improvement on a similar document tabled in the Lok Sabha by Professor Mahadeorao Shiwankar in 2007 as Private Member’s Bill that lapsed due to the dissolution of the House.

The major recommendations are The National Widows Welfare Board is proposed to be chaired by the Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment

The members will include MPs, widows, civil society representatives and State officials

The Central and State governments would contribute to the Fund and all donations would be credited to it for use for the welfare of widows.

The draft Bill proposes a subsistence allowance of Rs. 2,000 per month for each woman — to be revised as per price index —

It also recommends free residential accommodation, education, vocational training, employment and medical facilities.

widow shall not be evicted or thrown out of the house of her in-laws or parents, and would be entitled to property as per inheritance laws, in addition to maintenance allowance from the heir or in-laws who do not keep her in the family.

Maharashtra starts water release into Jayakwadi dam in Marathwada region

In a measure that is long overdue and that is expected to bring some relief to the parched districts of Maharashtra’s Marathwada region, the State government has finally ordered water release from upstream reservoirs into the Jayakwadi dam in the region.

Akhilesh cancels Consulate reception in U.S

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav canceled the Indian Consulate reception in his honour, upset over the brief detention of his Cabinet colleague Azam Khan at the Boston airport.

HAL to produce cryogenic engines for ISRO

The Indian Space Research Organisation is setting up a Rs.139-crore facility at the Bangalore unit of the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. to produce cryogenic engines and complex components for its GSLV and future rockets and it will be ready in three years.

At present, ISRO is developing cryogenic engines with a consortium of Godrej and Hyderabad’s MTAR. HAL is said to have been approved as a second source of assemblage by the Space Commission last month.