Recently government has sanctioned 5,595 electric buses under Fame India Phase-II.
'Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India’(FAME) was launched to promote manufacturing of electric and hybrid vehicle and to ensure sustainable growth.
It was lauched by ‘Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises’.
The main objective is to encourage,
Faster adoption of Electric and hybrid vehicle,
Offering upfront Incentive on purchase of Electric vehicles,
Establishing a necessary charging Infrastructure,
To address environmental pollution and fuel security.
It will offer incentives to manufacturers investing in developing electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, electric motors.
The centre has asked states to frame their EV policy and provide additional fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to manufacturers and buyers.
Only buses priced up to Rs 2 crore, plug-in hybrids under Rs 15 lakh, 3-wheelers under Rs 5 lakh and 2-wheelers under Rs 1.5 lakh will be eligible for incentives.
It will also encourage interlinking of renewable energy sources with charging infrastructure.
National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC)
Recently Cabinet Secretary chairs NCMC meeting to review flood situation in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Gujarat.
It is a temporary committee set up by the Government in the wake of a natural calamity.
It is for effective coordination and implementation of relief measures and operations.
It oversee the command, control and coordination of the disaster response.
Composition-
Cabinet Secretary - Chairperson
Other members - Secretary to Prime Minister Member, Secretaries of Ministries/Departments with specific Disaster management responsibilities.
It gives direction to the ‘Crisis Management Group’ (CMG) as deemed necessary.
CMG
This group deals with matters relating to relief in the wake of major natural calamities.
It consists of Relief Commissioner (Chairman) and other nodal officers from various concerned Ministries.
Its functions are to review:
The contingency plans formulated by various Ministries, Departments and Organizations in their respective sectors.
Measures required for dealing with a natural disaster.
Coordinate the activities of the Central Ministries and the State Governments in relation to disaster preparedness and relief.
Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB)
Recently a state-wise data of SRB was tabled by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in Parliament.
The SRB in the country, defined as the number of female births per 1,000 male births.
It has improved from 914 to 919 between 2005-06 and 2015-16, National Family Health Surveys (NFHS).
The highest improvement was in Punjab at 126 points, but its SRB remained lowest among the states at 860 in NFHS-4.
The sharpest decline was in Sikkim, where the SRB dropped to 809, the lowest among all states in 2015-16.
The 2nd highest improvement in SRB was in Kerala, by 122 points from 925 in 2005-06.
Its 1,047 in 2015-16 was the highest SRB among all states.
SRB has been falling in states like Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh.
In North Eastern states such as Sikkim, Assam the sex ratio at birth has fallen dramatically over 10 years.
