The Hindu NewsPaper Analysis: 08 March 2016

Teachers to hold accountable if students bunk classes: Government The Hindu Page 04

1) Delhi Government has released a circular asking all city schools to ensure that students do not bunk classes.

2) This has been done after the mysterious death of a 6 year old student from Ryan International School.

3) According to the circular, teachers and Heads of schools should ensure that no student leaves the premises before the school is closed.

Haryana’s global investment summit to begin today The Hindu Page 07

1) Haryana’s first two-day summit to attract investors from across the globe — ‘Happening Haryana: Global Investors’ Summit, 2016 — will begin at a five-star hotel here on Monday. As many as 12 countries and entrepreneurs from several multi-national companies are expected to participate.

2) The partner countries for the summit include Japan, Mauritius, New Zealand, China, Republic of Korea, Malawi, Peru, Poland, Spain, Tunisia, and the United Kingdom. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will be the chief guest at the inaugural session. Several Union Ministers, including Manohar Parrikar and , are expected to take part in the summit, as part of which the Haryana government is expecting to close deals worth about  Rs. 1 lakh crore.

3) The ‘Parvasi Haryana Divas’ scheduled for March 9 has been cancelled. Further, the Associated Chambers of Commerce of India (ASSOCHAM) had advised that the summit be renamed as “Resilient Haryana” to reassure the industry.

Change in territory but not in woes Former Bangladesh enclave dwellers are practically living within “another enclave” in India: The Hindu Page: 08

1) The article looks into the erroneous way in which survey to decide who dwells in enclave of India and Bangladesh under Land Boundary Agreement between the countries.

A summer resort built by British officials atop the Kambakam Durgam hill, Andhra Pradesh is all set to get a facelift The Hindu page 08

2) A summer resort built in 1913 by British officials atop the Kambakam Durgam hill in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh is all set to get a facelift, with the objective of attracting tourists from neighbouring Tamil Nadu.

3) The 774-foot hillock, spread over B.N. Kandriga and Varadaiahpalem mandals, is surrounded by thick forests in an area of about 30 sq. km. Since the hill happens to be the only high elevation point for over  200 miles along the east coast in the vicinity of erstwhile Madras overlooking the Bay of Bengal, the British officials built a summer resort and a watchtower here. 

4) The bridle path used to carry many a British officer atop the hill on horseback. During World War I and II, the watchtower was used to monitor the movement of warships along the east coast.

Actor Kalabhavan Mani dead The Hindu Page 09

1) Popular Malayalam actor Kalabhavan Mani died at a private hospital here on Sunday evening. He was 45. The death occurred around 7.15 p.m.

2) He also made an excellent villain, in films such as Gemini (Tamil).  He was a good singer and the folk songs he rendered were extremely popular. His untimely death has dealt another blow to Malayalam cinema in 2016, which recently lost actor Kalpana, lyricist O.N.V. Kurup, directors Rajesh Pillai and Mohan Roop, cinematographer Anandakuttan, composer Rajamani and musician Shan Johnson.

A ray of hope for nature enthusiasts The Hindu Page: 09

1) The banks of the Tungabhadra in Karnataka’s Sirguppa taluk have provided a ray  of hope for the revival of the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard (GIB).

2) They were among the first to spot the species here in 2006. In the years preceding that, it was assumed that the GIB had been wiped out from Karnataka.

3) Since then, more birds have been sighted, and recently, an egg was also found. “We will start a survey of the entire area to find out whether there are other groups of GIBs and document the findings.”

4) The semi-arid and arid grasslands in the interiors of Sirguppa taluk could potentially be a perfect habitat for the Bustard. However, the expanse of irrigation networks has seen the habitat shrinking through the years. “Though sighting a group of GIBs repeatedly in this area has made us very happy, we are concerned that nothing is being done for its conservation or the habitat.

Now, priority for wait-listed Tatkal tickets in EQ release The Hindu page 09

1) The Railways have gone one step ahead in making the emergency quota (EQ) system more responsive and commuter-friendly by giving priority to wait-listed Tatkal tickets. From now, wait-listed tickets purchased from travel agents will not be considered for allotment of seats and berths under EQ. 

2) This is aimed at preventing misuse of EQ and to ensure that its benefits reach needy commuters.

3) The directive follows a decision of the Railways to make the EQ facility more commuter-friendly and to provide senior citizens and the needy priority during allocation of lower berths and to open a helpline. 

4) The EQ facility has so far been confined to stations from where trains originate, major stations, and divisional headquarters.

WILDLIFE DIVERSITY New snake species found in Gujarat The reptile has been named Wallaceophis Gujaratensis The Hindu Page 20

1) Nine years after they first saw it in a photograph, two researchers from Mumbai and three others from Gujarat have confirmed the discovery of a new snake species. The find is one of the rarest of moments in the recent reptile history of India. 

2) The new snake genus, Wallaceophis is named after Alfred Russel Wallace for his pioneering work on biogeography, and for co-discovering the theory of natural selection. 

3) The species has been named gujaratensis. The findings were published in the journal Plos One.

4) Mumbaikar researchers Zeeshan A. Mirza and Rajesh Sanap, along with three wildlife enthusiasts from Gujarat; Raju Vyas; Harshil Patel and Jaydeep Maheta were instrumental in the discovery.

5) Mr. Mirza, a herpetologist from National Centre for Biological Science, Bangalore, and the lead author of the study, came across an image of this snake in a paper published by Mr. Vyas back in 2007.