The Congress party on Friday asked the Kerala government to explain why service firm KPMG is being paid Rs 66 lakh to design a website of a state government organisation.

The Congress had already expressed its reservation over the selection of the international company as consultant partner for rebuilding the state in the wake of the worst flood disaster that it faced in nearly a century.

“Now with the government order of giving the job of web designing of Roots-Norka to KPMG for a whopping Rs 66 lakh, the state government should explain the relation between the government and the firm,” Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala said.

He also reminded them that the government had earlier said that the KPMG was doing the rebuilding of Kerala for free.

“What’s more important is that the contract to redesign the website was given to KPMG, on August 17 — the day when the state was passing through its worst ever floods,” the senior Congress leader said. 

“It should be noted that the job of redesigning a website was given to KPMG, when there are several state government agencies who are experts in this job. 

“The state government owes an explanation on why this happened and should come clean on if there are any more contracts that has been awarded on the sly,” added Chennithala.

Chennithala earlier in September had written to State Industries Minister E.P. Jayarajan, who is spearheading the rebuilding operations, to first verify the numerous complaints that have surfaced against KPMG, even if their offer is free.

Chennithala said the government should instead accept the offer of the Netherlands government to help rebuild the state.

Jayarajan then had said that there was nothing binding on the state government with the KPMG and there was nothing wrong in getting a report from them for free.

India has climbed one spot to 130 in the latest human development rankings released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). India’s HDI value for 2017 is 0.640, which put the country in the medium human development category. Between 1990 and 2017, India’s HDI value increased from 0.427 to 0.640, an increase of nearly 50 percent – and an indicator of the country’s remarkable achievement in lifting millions of people out of poverty.

Of a total of 189 countries, Norway, Switzerland, Australia, Ireland and Germany lead the ranking, while Niger, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Chad and Burundi have the lowest scores in the HDI’s measurement of national achievements in health, education and income. Within South Asia, India’s HDI value is above the average of 0.638 for the region, with Bangladesh and Pakistan, countries with similar population size, being ranked 136 and 150 respectively.

The overall trend globally is toward continued human development improvements, with many countries moving up through the human development categories: out of the 189 countries for which the HDI is calculated, 59 countries are today in the very high human development group and only 38 countries fall in the low HDI group. Just eight years ago in 2010, the figures were 46 and 49countries respectively.

Movements in the HDI are driven by changes in health, education and income. Health has improved considerably as shown by life expectancy at birth, which has increased by almost seven years globally, with Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia showing the greatest progress, each experiencing increases of about 11 years since 1990. And, today’s school-age children can expect to be in school for 3.4 years longer than those in 1990.

Between 1990 and 2017, India’s life expectancy at birth too increased by nearly 11 years, with even more significant gains in expected years of schooling. Today’s Indian school-age children can expect to stay in school for 4.7 years longer than in 1990. Whereas, India’s GNI per capita increased by a staggering 266.6 percent between 1990 and 2017.

Average HDI levels have risen significantly since 1990-22 percent globally and 51percent in least developed countries – reflecting that on average people are living longer, are more educated and have greater income. But there remain massive differences across the world in people’s well-being.

A child born today in Norway, the country with the highest HDI, can expect to live beyond 82 years old and spend almost 18 years in school. While a child born in Niger, the country with the lowest HDI, can expect only to live to 60 and spend just five years in school. Such striking differences can be seen again and again.

“On average, a child born today in a country with low human development can expect to live just over 60 years, while a child born in a country with very high human development can expect to live to almost 80.   Similarly, children in low human development countries can expect to be in school seven years less than children in very high human development countries,” said Achim Steiner UNDP Administrator. Â“While these statistics present a stark picture in themselves, they also speak to the tragedy of millions of individuals whose lives are affected by inequity and lost opportunities, neither of which are inevitable.”

A closer look at the HDI’s components sheds light on the unequal distribution of outcomes in education, life expectancy and income within countries. The Inequality-Adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI) allows one to compare levels of inequality within countries, and the greater the inequality, the more a country’s HDI falls.

While significant inequality occurs in many countries, including in some of the wealthiest ones, on average it takes a bigger toll on countries with lower human development levels. Low and medium human development countries lose respectively 31 and 25 percent of their human development level from inequality, while for very high human development countries, the average loss is 11 percent.

“While there is ground for optimism that the gaps are narrowing, disparities in people’s well-being are still unacceptably wide. Inequality in all its forms and dimensions, between and within countries, limits people’s choices and opportunities, withholding progress,” said Selim Jahan, Director of the Human Development Report Office at UNDP. 

As much as 26.8 percent of India’s HDI value is lost on account of inequalities — a greater loss than for most of its South Asian neighbours (the average loss for the region is 26.1 percent). This confirms that inequality remains a challenge for India as it progresses economically, though the Government of India and various state governments have, through a variety of social protection measures, attempted to ensure that the gains of economic development are shared widely and reach the farthest first.

Francine Pickup, Country Director, UNDP India, noted the steady progress made by India in improving its HDI value. “The Government of India is committed to improve the quality of life for all its people. The success of India’s national development schemes like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Swachh Bharat, Make in India, and initiatives aimed at universalizing school education and health care, will be crucial in ensuring that the upward trend on human development accelerates and also achieve the Prime Minister’s vision of development for all and the key principle of the Sustainable Development Goals — to leave no one behind.”

One key source of inequality within countries is the gap in opportunities, achievements and empowerment between women and men. Worldwide the average HDI for women is six percent lower than for men, due to women’s lower income and educational attainment in many countries.

Although there has been laudable progress in the number of girls attending school, there remain big differences between other key aspects of men and women’s lives. Women’s empowerment remains a particular challenge.

Global labour force participation rates for women are lower than for men-49 percent versus 75 percent.  And when women are in the labour market, their unemployment rates are 24 percent higher than their male counterparts. Women globally also do much more unpaid domestic and care work than men.

Overall, women’s share of parliamentary seats remains low although it varies across regions, from 17.5 and 18 percent in South Asia and the Arab States, respectively; to 29 percent in Latin America and Caribbean and OECD countries. Violence against women affects all societies, and in some regions childhood marriage and high adolescence birth rates undermine the opportunities for many young women and girls. In South Asia, 29 percent of women between the ages of 20 and 24 were married before their 18^thbirthday.

These challenges are also evident in India, where despite considerable progress at the policy and legislative levels, women remain significantly less politically, economically and socially empowered than men. For instance, women hold only 11.6 percent of parliamentary seats, and only 39 percent of adult women have reached at least a secondary level of education as compared to 64 percent males.  Female participation in the labour market is 27.2 percent compared to 78.8 for men. Still, India performs better than its neighbours Bangladesh and Pakistan, ranking 127 out 160 countries on the Gender Inequality Index.

US-based Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) President Rhea Suh has announced a partnership with the Gujarat-based Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) to improve the lives of women and their families.

The NRDC and SEWA have supported thousands of women salt farmers in getting solar-powered pumps to replace diesel pumps in Gujarat.

This source of clean, cheap energy does three things, Suh told .

“No diesel means there’s a major drop in air pollution, and we have better health. With far less emissions, it helps address climate change. So it helps families move out of poverty,” she said.

Her announcement came at a side event a day ahead of the Global Climate Action Summita¿s two-day opening plenary session that began in this California city on Thursday.

“We went from a pilot of a dozen solar pumps, to 200, to 400, to 700 and now we are expanding to 15,000,” she said.

“We’ve helped thousands of families improve their lives.”

“When we interviewed some of the members and asked, ‘What are you doing with the money?’ They said the’re using it for the education for their children,” an energetic Suh said.

“Like myself, they have young daughters, and now a new generation has access to a better, brighter future.

“This is a prime example on how we can all come together and help lift women and girls out of poverty while we take on climate change,” she said.

The NRDC and SEWA are launching a new project on “Village Level Clean Energy Access” to increase access to clean energy for everything from solar-powered lights to cleaner cook stoves to more efficient appliances.

“We’re starting with two pilot villages and plan to scale to 10 villages across India.”

On the occasion, a new case study titled “Worth Their Salt” was also released.

“These families don’t just benefit from clean energy in the salt fields. They will benefit from clean energy in all aspects of their lives, and that’s what this new initiative is, true sustainable development,” Suh, while poiting towards two community leaders from Gujarat who were invited at the project launch ceremony.

Countries need to keep global temperatures in check by meeting the goals set out in the Paris Agreement, or more people could die because of extreme temperatures, researchers have warned.

The Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015 under the auspices of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), binds nations to hold warming well below 2 degrees Celsius in global mean temperature, relative to pre-industrial levels. 

It also urges countries to make additional efforts to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The study by researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) indicated dramatic increases of heat-related deaths under extreme warming (3 degrees Celsius and 4 degrees Celsius) compared to the mildest threshold (1.5 degrees Celsius), with additional excess mortality ranging from over 0.73 per cent to nearly 9 per cent across all regions. 

“Our projections suggest that large increases in temperature-related deaths could be limited in most regions if warming was kept below 2 degrees Celsius,” said lead author Ana Maria Vicedo-Cabrera from the varsity. 

The net difference remained positive and high in most of the areas, even when potential decreases in cold-related deaths were considered.

However, net increase in deaths was still projected for warmer regions such as South America, South Europe, and South-East Asia (with changes ranging from more than 0.19 per cent to nearly one per cent), while in cooler regions the excess mortality was predicted to stay stable or drop slightly.

“Under extreme changes in climate, large parts of the world could experience a dramatic increase in excess mortality due to heat. This would not be balanced by decreases in cold-related deaths,” Vicedo-Cabrera added.

The results, appearing in the journal Climatic Change, is based on historical data on temperature-related deaths from 451 locations in 23 countries with different socio-economic and climatic conditions. 

Currently, we are on a trajectory to reach over 3 degrees Celsius of warming, and if this trend continues there would be serious consequences for health in many parts of the world, the researchers noted.

“Efforts to limit the increase in global temperature to below 1.5 degrees Celsius could provide additional benefits in tropical or arid regions, including the most populous and often poorest countries,” Vicedo-Cabrera said.

NEW DELHI: The Parliamentary Committee on External Affairs has expressed its concern that Chinese infrastructure built uncomfortably close to the tri-junction at Doklam has not yet been dismantled.

In its 22^nd report on “Sino-India Relations, including Doklam, Border Situation and Cooperation’’ presented to the Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on September 4, the 30-member Committee termed the uncalled for Chinese intrusion at Doklam during 2017 summer as a “blatant but unsuccessful attempt to unilaterally change the status-quo.’’

It noted that the Chinese attempt was to change the status quo “by shifting the India, Bhutan, China tri-junction from Batang La to Gyomochen, thereby seriously affecting India’s security interests by enhancing China’s ability to dominate the vulnerable Siliguri corridor.’’

The Parliamentary Committee, headed by senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, a former Minister of State for External Affairs, observed that Chinese actions were in clear violation of the 1988 and 1998 agreements between Bhutan and China which stipulated no change in the status quo while boundary negotiations were still in progress.

“Doklam was not a sovereignty issue for India, as the disputed territory was Bhutanese, but nevertheless it was a major security challenge for us,’’ the Committee noted in its report.

The panel put on record their highest appreciation for the brave and timely action of Indian security forces which checked the PLA troops from continuing with their road construction activity in South Doklam. The Committee also appreciated the skilful diplomatic efforts of the External Affairs Ministry due to which the stand-off was defused without bloodshed.

Noting that during the entire period of the face-off situation at Doklam, India maintained close consultations and coordination with Bhutan at various levels and between various agencies, the Committee said it attests to the enduring and time tested relations between India and Bhutan.

From the specific deliberations held about road construction activities in Doklam area, the Committee concluded that it was not the first time that PLA troops entered the Doklam area.

“As the Doklam area is a disputed territory between Bhutan and China, PLA has been crossing the Batang La- Meruga La- Sinchela Ridge Line over the years and making ingress into the Bhutanese territory. But this time, the PLA came with the objective of changing the status quo because they came in substantial numbers and brought along construction equipment with them,’’ it said in the report.

The Committee was informed that Chinese had built the track across the Batang La- Meruga La- Sinchela 22 Ridge Line over the last 25 years. It was because of this track that they were able to reach the face-off site. It is clear to the Committee that the PLA took advantage of the absence of the Bhutanese troops at Batangla- Meruga La- Sinchela Ridge Line which is Bhutan’s sovereign territory.

The Committee recommended that India should constantly engage with Bhutan on the subject of North Doklam so as to dissuade the PLA from making direct ingress into Southern Doklam in future and trying to shift the tri-junction point southwards.

When asked by the Committee during the course of the briefing to point out some takeaways from the Doklam incident, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale stated on February 22, 2018: “This was perhaps the most serious border tension in a long time and by far the longest face-off that we have had with China, with very sharp political rhetoric by the Chinese side. However, both sides were able to resolve matters through dialogue.’’  

On being asked to provide the views of the Ministry of Defence on Doklam, the Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra during the course of evidence on the same day said that he agreed with the Foreign Secretary’s views that the Doklam incident was an attempt to change the status quo.

“We made it clear that the road would not be constructed and further progress towards Torsa Nala and Zompelri Ridge was not to be permitted. There was a standoff after 72-day faceoff. The planned road could not be constructed and both forces were disengaged at the faceoff site. This is essentially due to very mature and considered view by the Defence Forces as well as from the diplomatic engagement. Other than that, at this point, the status quo continued, forces were disengaged and we have consolidated our presence on our own side of the border to counter any contingency. We are continuously monitoring the Chinese activities in the area and we are well prepared to respond to any contingency,’’ the Defence Secretary told the Committee.

On the basis of India’s diplomatic communication with China, the issue was eventually resolved with the disengagement of border personnel at the face-off site at Doklam on August 28, 2017, the report said.

 The BJP on Thursday alleged that the UPA government gave “sweet deals” to fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya, while claiming that Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s family “partially owned the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines through proxy”.

“There are documents that show how the RBI and UPA under Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh had given sweet deals to Kingfisher Airlines,” Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sambit Patra told the media. 

“And it appears through these chain of documents that Kingfisher Airlines was owned not by Mallya but by the Gandhi family through proxy,” he alleged showing the letters written by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to the State Bank of India (SBI) requesting for the restructuring of the loans of Kingfisher Airline

The accuracy of the documents could not be ascertained. There was no immediate response from Rahul Gandhi’s office.

The BJP leader’s remarks came a day after Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday demanded the resignation of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley while referring to the statement of Mallya alleging that he met the BJP leader before leaving the country. 

Patra also alleged that the party has enough evidence which shows that Rahul Gandhi was “using black money” and the Gandhi family was helping Mallya with sweet deals. 

He said that Rahul Gandhi travelled free in Kingfisher Airlines, which was once owned by Mallya.

“Rahul Gandhi took one crore loan from a shell company, we have the confession of the company director Umashankar Gupta,” Prasad said.

The BJP leader also demanded that the Congress President “clear the air over his family’s relations” with Mallya.

Mallya, who left India on March 2, 2016, and is facing charges of fraud and money laundering amounting to around Rs 9,000 crore and fighting an extradition case, had told reporters in London that he met the finance minister before leaving India and offered to settle with the banks.

However, Jaitley rejected Mallya’s claim as factually false.

“My attention has been drawn to a statement made to the media by Vijay Mallya on having met me with an offer of settlement. The statement is factually false in as much as it does not reflect truth,” Jaitley had said in a Facebook post.

Earlier in the day, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters that all the allegations against Jaitley were “false”. 

“All these allegations are false. I want to question one thing, all these remarks are being made after Rahul Gandhi’s London visit,” Prasad said. 

“Is there anything common between them (Mallya and Rahul Gandhi)?” the Law Minister asked. 

He also said that since 1947 till 2008 the banks in the country gave loans to the tune of Rs 18 lakh crore. 

“And from 2008 to 2014 it increased to 52 lakh crore. So when Mallya got the maximum loan under which government you all know,” Prasad added. 

In India, suicide is the leading cause of death in the 15-39-year age group with 37 per cent of the total global suicide deaths among women coming from the country, according to a new study.

Conducted by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare along with health experts and stakeholders released the study on Wednesday.

“Women make more suicide attempts, but it is men who die more. Globally, the age between 15-19 years is the phase where majority of the women commit suicide,” Rakhi Dandona, PHFI, said.

“An important finding is the very high contribution of India to the total suicide deaths in the world, especially among women. The ten-fold variation between the states in the suicide death rate for women emphasises the need to better understand the reasons behind these suicides and make concerted efforts to reduce this avoidable loss of predominantly young lives,” said Professor Balram Bhargava, Secretary, Health Ministry and Director ICMR.

The study suggested that prevalence of ischemic heart diseases (IHD) and stroke has increased by over 50 per cent between 1990 and 2016 in India, leading to doubling of deaths caused by them.

Punjab has been ranked at the top for the burden of IHDs, followed by Tamil Nadu, and vice-versa for diabetes. West Bengal was at the top position for the burden of stroke, followed by Odisha, according to the comprehensive analysis of several major non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

The study noted that diabetes prevalence in India has more than doubled in the period from 26 million to 65 million.

The proportional contribution of cancers to the total health loss in India has doubled from 1990 to 2016, but the incidence of different types of cancers varies widely between the states. Kerala was ranked at the top for the burden of cancer, followed by Assam.

According to the study, contribution of air pollution to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) was found to be higher than that of smoking in India.

The study also found that chronic obstructive lung disease cases in India has increased from 28 million to 55 million between 1990 to 2016 leading to a rise in death rate among these cases twice has high in the less developed states than in the more developed states.

Drinking coffee may help reduce the risk of death for people with chronic kidney disease, suggests a study.

Comparing with people that consumed less caffeine, patients that consumed higher levels of caffeine presented a nearly 25% reduction in the risk of death over a median follow-up of 60 months.

The possible protective effect of caffeine might be related with effects at vascular level as caffeine is known to promote the release of substances, such as nitric oxide, that improve the function of the vessel, the researchers said.

“Our study showed a protective effect of caffeine consumption among patients with chronic kidney disease. The reduction in mortality was present even after considering other important factors such as age, gender, race, smoking, other diseases, and diet,” said lead author Miguel Bigotte Vieira from the Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte in Portugal.

“These results suggest that advising patients with kidney disease to drink more caffeine may reduce their mortality. This would represent a simple, clinically beneficial, and inexpensive option,” Vieira added.

For the study, described in the journal Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, the team involved data from 4,863 people. 

However, the researchers emphasised that this observational study cannot prove that caffeine reduces the risk of death in patients with chronic kidney disease, but only suggests the possibility of such a protective effect.

Rafale jets will power the Indian Air Force (IAF) to fight “grave threats” India faces from Pakistan and China, Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa said on Wednesday, strongly batting for the French-made fourth generation aircraft whose purchase has triggered allegations of financial irregularities.

The IAF chief said that by acquiring the French fighters, the IAF would also be able strengthen its depleting fleet of fighters at a time when India’s neighbours were “not sitting idle” and continuously modernizing their air warfare capabilities.

Speaking at a seminar here, Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa said the Russian-made S-400 Triumf advanced air defence systems to be bought from Moscow would also enhance the capability of the air force.

“By providing the Rafale and the S-400 (anti-missile system), the government is strengthening the IAF to counter the shortfall of our depleting numbers of aircraft,” he said. 

“The hi-tech fighters like Rafale are needed because medium-tech fighters like Tejas alone cannot do.” 

He said the IAF was already down with only 31 squadrons from the sanctioned strength of 42. “Even when we do have 42 (squadrons), we will be below the combined strength of our two adversaries,” he said, adding that the gap was being “partially fulfilled by getting the hi-tech aircraft.

“The question that is asked very often in public domain is why 42 squadrons when older aircraft like MiG-21s are being replaced by more capable aircraft.

“There are reasons (for that) because our neighbours are not sitting idle. Pakistan has upgraded F-16s and made them 4.5 generation as far as avionic electronics goes and is inducting JF-17 (from China) in large numbers.

“China is rapidly replacing its 2nd and 3rd generation fighters with 4th generation fighters and is developing 5th generation fighter which is likely to be deployed very soon.”

He said very few countries were facing challenges like India, which is surrounded by “two nuclear-armed neighbours”.

“We have to match neighbours Pakistan and China to tackle a two-front war. Intentions of our adversaries can change overnight. We need to match force level of our adversaries,” he said.

The IAF chief’s comments come a day after former Bharatiya Janata Party ministers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie alleged Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “personal culpability” in the Rafale deal which they dubbed as the country’s “biggest defence scam”.

The procurement of 36 Rafale fighters from France’s Dassault Aviation has come under fire from the Congress, alleging that the Modi government had compromised national security and bought the bombers at a higher price than what the UPA had negotiated with the French government.

Earlier this month, IAF Vice Chief Air Marshal S.B. Deo too endorsed the Rafale, saying the aircraft will give India “unprecedented combat capabilities”.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday rejected Vijay Mallya’s claim that the fugitive businessman met him before he left India two years ago.

“My attention has been drawn to a statement made to the media by Vijay Mallya on having met me with an offer of settlement. The statement is factually false inasmuch as it does not reflect truth,” he said in a Facebook post shortly after the fugitive businessman made the claim outside a London court where he is facing extradition trial.

Jaitley said he had never given Mallya any appointment to meet him since 2014 and “the question of his having met me does not arise”. 

“However, since he was a Member of Rajya Sabha and he occasionally attended the House, he misused that privilege on one occasion while I was walking out of the House to go to my room. 

“He paced up to catch up with me and while walking uttered a sentence that ‘I am making an offer of settlement’,” the Minister said.

Jaitley said having been fully briefed about his earlier “bluff offers”, without allowing him to proceed with the conversation, “I curtly told him ‘there was no point talking to me and he must make offers to his bankers’. I did not even receive the papers that he was holding in his hand.” 

The Minister said besides this one-sentence exchange where he misused his privilege as a Rajya Sabha Member in order to further his commercial interest as a bank debtor, he never gave Mallya any appointment to meet him. 

Mallya, who left India on March 2, 2016, also claimed that he was disliked by both the major parties in India — the BJP and Congress. 

“I had a scheduled meeting in Geneva. I met the Finance Minister before I left… repeated my offer to settle with the banks. That is the truth,” he told reporters outside a Westminster Magistrate court where he is fighting an extradition case filed by Indian authorities.

“I am a political football… As far as I am concerned, I have made a comprehensive settlement offer before the Karnataka High Court. I hope the honourable judges will consider it favourably.” 

Fugitive business tycoon Vijay Mallya, wanted in India for his alleged role in a multi-crore bank loan fraud case, claimed on Wednesday that he met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley before leaving India in 2016.

Asked if he could settle his dues, Mallya, who headed the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines and the United Breweries, said: “Obviously. That is why a settlement offer has been made.” 

Mallya, who faces charges of defrauding banks to the tune of Rs 9,000 crore, said he did not file any clemency plea in the Karnataka High Court where he was ready to settle all dues.

“I put almost Rs 15,000 crore offer on the table of the Karnataka High Court. I feel like a scapegoat. Both political parties don’t like me,” he said, adding that the banks had rejected his settlement offers.