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 3^rd 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: Life Insurance Corporation of India      Private Sector: 1.    Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Ltd Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Ltd HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Ltd ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd ING Vysa Life Insurance Company Ltd Max New York Life Insurance Co Ltd Met Life Insurance Company Ltd Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Company Ltd SBI Life Insurance Co Ltd Tata AIG LIFE Insurance Co. Ltd Reliance Life Insurance Co Limited Aviva Life Insurance Co Ltd Sahara India Life Insurance Co. Ltd Shriram Life Insurance Co. Ltd Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company  Ltd Future Generali India Life Insurance Co.Ltd IDBI Federal Life Insurance Co. Ltd Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Co. Ltd AEGON Religare Life Insurance Co. Ltd DLF Paramica Life Insurance Co. Ltd Star Union Dia-ichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd India First Life Inasurance Co. Ltd. Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

Public Sector: National Insurance Co. Ltd The New India Assurance Co. Ltd The Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd United India Insurance Co. Ltd. Private Sector: Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co. Ltd ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co Ltd IFFCO Tokio General Insurance Co. Ltd Reliance  General Insurance Co. Ltd Royal Sundaram Alliance Insurance Co. Ltd Tata AIG General Insurance Co. Ltd Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Co. Ltd HDFC ERGO General Insurance Co. Ltd Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Ltd Agriculture Insurance Co. Ltd Star Health Insurance Co. Ltd Apollo Munich Health Insurance Co. Ltd Future Generalli India Insurance Co. Ltd Universal Sompo General Insurance Co. Ltd Shriram General Insurance Co Ltd Bharti AXA General Insurance Company Limited Raheja QBE General Insurance Company Limited SBI General Insurance Co. Ltd Max Bupa Health Insurance Co. Ltd L&T General Insurance Co. Ltd Re-Insurer: General Insurance Corporation of India