NATIONAL DISASTER

1. National disasters do occur sometime or the other and are common to mankind .But in our country the frequency of disaster are quit often certain disasters are quit often. Certain Disasters are beyond the control of human beings and some can be controlled by planning and taking adequate Measures. These can be Classified as:-

(a) Natural calamities like earthquakes, typhoons and hoods.

(b) Epidemics.

(c) War like Situations.

2. Natural Calamities

India is highly prone to natural calamities. It has the glaciers on Himalayas in the north, Thar Desert in the west, thick jungles in the North-East, Bay of Bengal and Arabian Ocean in the South. State like Bihar and Assam are highly prone to Hoods with result in loss of life and property in large seat. Large Typhoons affect eastern coastal state like Orissa, Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh, Uttranchal, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh are prone to earthquakes.  All these disasters are expected to be minimized by our National Disaster Management Committee which comprises of ministers, Bureaucrats, eminent scientists and experts. The job of this committee is to study these areas and suggest suitable measures to minimize the loss. Contingency plans have been drawn giving the resources and responsibility to meet these types of disasters.  Also general public, student at Schools and colleges are to be taught, how to react in such situations.

3. Epidemics

Spread of epidemics or large scale diseases are not unknown to India. These can assume very dangerous proportions and wipe out the whole village or a large area within a short span of time. Polio, AIDS, Birds Flue, Swine Flue, Malaria or Dangue seem round the corner at all times. These can be prevented and controlled by the adoption of proper methods of hygiene sanitation proper medicines. Public awareness campaign should be organized to educate the public about hygiene and sanitation and proper medicines.

4. War Like Situations

Every time we fight a war, it hits our economy. Since independence, first war with Pakistan generally known as kabaili (Tribes of Kabul) action took place in 1948. In 1962, the Second was fought between India and China. Three more which followed were again between India and Pakistan in1965 was code named as 'op Riddle' of 1971 was 'OP CACTUS LILY’ and of 1999 was `OP VIJAY’. As and when the war taxes place resources are diverted to defence during the war, the economy of the country suffers. In addition, low-intensity conflicts (LIC) or insurgency which we are being fought in Jammu and Kashmir and north East is also a drain to our resources So during the war in LIC situations, the civilians should be trained so that they can be employed as part of the civil defense in border areas or in areas or in areas in depth.

5. Managing the disaster is very important as it can be reduce casualties and chaos, we should have contingency plan at each level and practiced from time to time.

NATIONAL HIGHWAY AUTHORITY OF INDIA

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is an autonomous agency of the Govt of India, responsible for the development and maintenance of National Highways, totalling over 92,851.05 kms in length. It is also responsible for the toll collection on several highways. The current Chairman of NHAI is Mr Raghav Chandra (IAS).

Recent developments in NHAI

1. To cut down on delays in highway projects, NHAI has decentralised power, by authorising regional officers to undertake urgent repair works of up to Rs 1 crore, besides hiring of equipment and workers of up to Rs 10 lakh in a given project.

2. India has over one lakh kilometres of national highways (NHs), but there is no scientific road network pattern and drivers can't take a straight road to reach from one place to the other. To address this, NHAI has prepared a grid of 27 horizontal and vertical national highway corridors at a distance of every 250 km crisscrossing the entire country. All these stretches will be of four lanes and will provide more road space for seamless transport.

3. NHAI has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian Space Research Organisation for satellite mapping of highways.

Conclusion
Road construction in India has accelerated to an all-time high pace of 30 kilometres per day. Investor interest in the roads and highways sector has grown in recent months after the govt resolved four major issues responsible for stalled projects or slow progress. Land acquisition has been expedited and in the first five months of this financial year 4,272 sq km have been acquired.

Good roads mean easier proximity & faster development

INDIA IN COMING 10 YEARS

As an Indian I do believe that in the next ten years India will be a super power. The progress that the country has made in the past ten years indicates its rapid development in near future. Being the youngest population and the largest democracy we can definitely guarantee that in the next ten years India will be a superpower.

Here are some of the latest developments that the country has made in the last few years in various sectors:

Agriculture: Indian agriculture has undergone rapid transformation in the past two decades. India has emerged as a major player in the global agriculture market. In the last five years, the country’s agriculture exports have tripled from around Rs 80,000 crore to Rs 2.32 trillion. About 65% of India population is dependent on agriculture and so to develop this majority, our ministers tried to increase the then 2% agricultural growth to 4% in the 11th five yr plan. Eventually this target was achieved in June-09. To maintain it in 2009-10, the 1st general budget of 15th Lok Sabha, our F.M. Mr. P. Mukherjee announced an increased budgetary. Allocation of Rs 3, 25,000 crores as against Rs 2, 87,000 crores in the previous budget, also 500 mobile soil testing laboratory, Cartostat satellite especially for agriculture to boost agricultural growth. Agricultural contributes to 19% of India’s GDP and also boosts of being the second largest granary. SAARC and BIMSTEC countries urged India to establish food banks for them. This will develop India’s relations with these countries. Also improving the financial stability of our farmers. Indian government has also started a plethora of flagship schemes. In the general budget 2009-10, the flagship schemes have been allotted humongous amount of money.

Literacy: The Literacy rate of India was 65.38% in 2001 which shooted up by 9% in 2011. The Right to Education Bill which was passed in 2009 has boosted the literacy rate tremendously. To improve the literacy percent, H&D minister Mr. Kapil Sibal tried to standardize the entire education system. In the general budget of 2009-10, Rs 2800 crore per year for 14 proposed national universities for research and development was allotted. In the 11th five year plan, 30 new universities in which 16 with broad band connectivity, 370 new colleges for rural areas, 08 new IITs, 07 IIMs, 05 IIS, 44,000 primary schools, 1500 I.T.I and 1100 polytechnic schools were planned. India’s lead in IT sector is unmatchable.

Privatisation: Private investors have invested in various sectors of telecommunication, power generation, airport, ports, roads and railways. Increase in privatisation resultantly increases employment. It also encourages businessmen to invest in and earn more.

Space technology: India has entered the elite group of nations when it launched modern missiles and satellites. ISRO has been constantly developing modern air craft’s and fighter planes.

Policies to curb poverty: To boost the rural infrastructure, construction of roads, provide electricity & clean drinking water, houses for B.P.L and create slum free cities. In the general budget of 2009-10, Rs 27,800 Crore for Bharat Nirman comprising of Rs 12,000 Crore for P.M.G.S.Y (Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana), Rs 7,000 crore for R.G.G.V.Y (Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidutikaran Yojana), Rs 8,800 crore for I.A.Y (Indira Gandhi Awas Yojana) have been allotted for the development of urban areas and to create a slum free area, Rs 12,887 Crore has been allotted under J.N.U.R.M. (Jawahar Lal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission).

Foreign relations: In Services sector, we have established bilateral trade ties with 13 countries amounting of $ 300 Billion in 2008, which was completed in 2010. India also signed the civil nuclear co-operation with 4 countries (USA, France, Australia, and Kazakhstan). Geographically India is situated at centre of BIMSTEC and SAARC countries and controlling 18 countries through SAARC, BIMSTEC and ASEAN countries, also controlling ¼ part of world market. India has also signed many agreements with its neighbouring countries. Though there are some neighbouring countries that do not want India to progress, however, it is important to build relations with them. During his second presidential term, Mr. Barack Obama said that India will be a part of his plans for America. This means that India has started creating a global impact and status for its own.

Though there are some short comings, but we must remember that no country is perfect. We have to work hard to bring India to near perfect. The fourth pillar of democracy, ‘media’ is keeping a close watch on the three pillars, the legislative, executive and judiciary. The increasing power of media can be used as a weapon to empower India to become a super power in the next ten years.

INDIA'S NUCLEAR ENERGY CHALLENGES

India has announced an ambitious plan to expand its nuclear energy program by nearly 15 fold in the next 20 years, from the current 4,500 MW to about 62,000 MW by 2032.

The challenges faced at current nuclear plants and further challenges are:

Financing- Nuclear reactors being built today are almost 300% more expensive, than before.

Manufacturing Risks- Presence of foreign materials in parts, defects in steam generator tubing or weld material not meeting specifications, are all examples of things that could go wrong in the process of production.

Nuclear Waste- India does not have a long term waste disposal policy. Although the amount of nuclear waste (often referred to as radio-waste) is relatively small, much of it is highly radioactive and must therefore be carefully managed as hazardous waste or else the scope for damage is enormous.

Not prepared for emergency- Most nuclear power plants are situated near the border between two states. In case of an emergency, there are no relevant preparation plans for the neighbouring state. In case of the need for evacuation, The evacuation plans cover only a 16 km distance, whereas, the effects of radiation do not confine to only this distance.

Lack of public access to details- The public has no access to the details of even the routine releases from nuclear power plants. There is no independent agency in the country which can look into the safety records of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). Under the secrecy provisions of the Atomic Energy Act 1962, the Govt refuses to give the public access to critical information.

Conclusion-These nuclear power plant criticalities will become a major issue, if not addressed soon and adequately. The govt must step in forthwith, if it wishes to develop clean, abundant, reliable, and safe energy.

CURRENT NATIONAL PROBLEMS

Corruption     

One of the biggest problem being faced by our country today is corruption. Because of corruption, we are not able to execute our developmental programmes. Following steps need to be taken to obliterate corruption:- 

1. Implementation of RTI. 
2. Appointment of an Effective Lokpal. 
3. Expedite the slow delivery mechanism of our judiciary. 
4. Bring reforms in police and investigating agencies like CBI. 
5. The discretionary powers of the ministers should be taken away. 
6. Curb the nexus between politicians and bureaucrats.

Intelligence failure- Friends, today we have a fragmented and obsolete intelligence gathering and dissemination system. Let us merge & strengthen all the int agencies into one central agency with modern infrastructure.

Naxalism- 222 districts out of 636 districts in the country are badly affected by naxalism,. This is hindering our economic development. However, we must understand the root cause of the problem and solve it. Employment, better education, health and infrastructure are the solutions and not alone the arms.

Lack of Infrastructure- is another problem which is hindering our progress. We definitely need better roads, rail, power and better storage capacities. Better infrastructure would provide basic facilities to citizens and also bring more investors in the country.

Lack of Energy- is forcing the nation to procure approx 40,000 barrels of oil from foreign countries. However it is heartening to see that our country is going all out to seek renewable source of energy like solar energy. We are also building a No. of nuclear plants for energy production. We have taken steps and yet the problem persists.

International Equation- Friends, we aspire to become a super power in the coming decade, but it can’t be achieved without reaching out and seeking help of outside world. We cannot remain embroiled with our internal problems alone. We have started reaching out and the results are obvious in the case of Pakistan and Bhutan, wherein America and Japan respectively are helping us.

DRONES

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) commonly known as a drone is an aircraft, without a human pilot aboard. Its flight is controlled either remotely or autonomously.

USES OF DRONES:

1. Military- Drones are used in situations where manned flight is considered risky or difficult. They deliver precision strikes; carry out aerial reconnaissance etc, without the need of intrusive military action. 
2. Farming - Farmers can use it to monitor irrigation, plant growth; they can even see if any of the plants are sick, by using infrared technology. This can also enable farmers to make critical decisions about where and when to fertilize, plant or water. 
3. Movie Making- Drones enables creators to achieve the effects easily that would otherwise require lot of wires, spider cam cranes, and crane operators. 
4. Covering the news- In what may become the next trend in journalism; some reporters have already begun using UAVs to capture the news. 
5. Putting out wildfires- Drones are becoming an incredibly useful tool for fire-fighters. 
6. Protecting endangered species- Scientists have been using drones to keep track of a population of endangered animals and finding out ways to increase their number. 
7. Monitoring pollution level- NASA is even using drones to test the makeup of the ozone. In Italy, drones have been used to monitor illegal dumping for years. 
8. Helping in disaster relief-  Drones are used to drop food and medical aid in places where roads become impassable in rainy seasons, or where they might not exist at all. UAVs can prove to be an asset in time-critical situations, such as ski patrollers using beacons on small drones to search for buried avalanche victims. 
9. Sports- Drones are being used to develop everything from game strategy to analyzing athlete performance. Drones have even made an appearance at the Olympics, where they were used to film ski and snowboarding events in Sochi. 
10. Fighting crime- Police and FBI departments in various countries use drones for surveillance and other protection-related activities.

ASEAN

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a political and economic organization of 10 Southeastern countries i.e Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, & Vietnam. 2.It was formed on 8 August 1967, its chairman is Mr. Najib Rajak, headquarter is in Jakarta, Indonesia.

It aims to accelerate the growth, social progress, and socio-cultural evolution in the region. In 2015, ASEAN’s combined nominal G.D.P had grown to more than US$ 2.6 trillion. The next steps by the ASEAN are to create:- 

1. Single market and production base. 
2. Competitive economic region. 
3. Region of equitable economic development. 
4. Region fully integrated into the global economy.

ASEAN is a part of India’s, “Act East Policy” and Myanmar is its launching pad in the region. India is 6th largest investor of FDI in ASEAN with an increase of 48% in the last 5 years. India imports oil and natural gas from ASEAN and exports automobiles and electronic machines to them. India has got a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with ASEAN, which is operational since 2011. The 30th ASEAN summit took place in Manila, Philippines on 29 Apr 2017, in which the ASEAN leaders underscored the importance of India`s cooperation in implementing the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER).