Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 17 September 2014

National

The foster care proposal will cover children below 18, who are either deserted or unable to get care at home.
Minors in conflict with the law would also be eligible for foster care services.
To reverse the declining child sex ratio (CSR) across the States, the Minister said 100 critical districts have been identified and efforts would be made to correct the imbalance.
The Child Line (1098), an emergency outreach service for children in need of care and protection, is to be expanded from 282 locations to 343 locations by the end of Financial Year 2014-15.
The Union Ministry for Women and Child Development (WCD) which has set a target to bring down malnutrition levels and improve the skewed sex ratio has decided to bolster child care in the country by introducing the concept of foster homes and creating awareness about sexual abuse.
Presenting the Ministry’s 100-day report, Union WCD Minister Maneka Gandhi said that in collaboration with the Union Human Resource Development Ministry, a project would be undertaken in schools where with the aid of teachers and non-governmental organisations, students would be made aware of “inappropriate touch.”

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan appointed BJP veteran L.K. Advani as the chairman of the prestigious Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha.
Manikrao Gavit of Congress was heading the Committee in the last Lok Sabha.
Other members of the Committee are A Arunmozhithevan, Ninong Ering, Sher Singh Ghubaya, Hemant Tukaram Godse, Pralhad Joshi, Bhagatsingh Koshyari, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Bhartruhari Mahtab, Kariya Munda, Jayshreeben Patel, Malla Reddy, Sumedhanand Saraswati and Bhola Singh.
The 86-year-old Advani is a member of the Committee on Public Undertakings headed by Shanta Kumar (BJP) and Committee on Information Technology headed by young BJP MP Anurag Thakur.
Another BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi is heading the Committee on Estimates. Party senior Maj Gen B C Khanduri is heading the Committee on Defence.
The Ethics Committee examines every complaint relating to unethical conduct of a member referred to it.

India has warmed to the idea of the BCIM (Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar) corridor that could prove to be a game-changer in regional linkages among the four countries.
The BCIM corridor, long promoted by China, is intended to link Kunming to Kolkata, Mandalay (Myanmar), Dhaka and Chittagong.
It is intended to advance multi-modal connectivity, harness economic complementarities, promote investment and trade and facilitate people-to-people contacts.