February 2012 National affairs

In the new version of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, MGNREGA, Government included more than 25 agriculture and allied activities from 1 April 2012. The new version of act was prepared after receiving a report on revised Operational Guidelines for MGNREGA. The Report was prepared by a committee headed by Planning Commission Member Mihir Shah.

Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram inaugurated the fourth and final regional hub of the National Security Guard (NSG) in Marol, Mumbai on 23 February 2012. The regional hubs at Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai and Mumbai were set up to reduce the response time and reach the area of operation as quickly as possible. The state-of-the-art training facility at Ibrahimpatnam, Hyderabad will train commandos for southern and western States.

President Pratibha Devi Singh Patil on 9 February 2012 released a special commemorative stamp to mark the Golden Jubilee of the India International Centre (IIC) in New Delhi. This centre plays a major role in promoting awareness and creating public opinion.The Stamp priced at five rupees promotes the nations image and depicts the rich diverse culture of the country.

The Union government decided to operationalise the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) from 1 March 2012. The NCTC is to be located in the Intelligence Bureau and headed by a Director who will be an officer in the rank of Additional Director, IB. It is having three units, gathering intelligence, analysis of intelligence and carrying out operations.

Union cabinet of India on 9 February 2012 approved the National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy (NDSAP-2012) to facilitate access to central government owned shareable data and information. The NDSAP policy is designed to promote data sharing and enable access to central government owned data for national planning and development.

Input From Sakshi