Page 1 of 4 3rd July 2013

National: Himachal is the first ‘smoke-free’ State Himachal Pradesh has been declared the first “smoke-free” State in the country in compliance with Section 4 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003. The State has achieved 85.42 per cent compliance with the relevant parameters. State government has committed to eliminating tobacco products and had hiked taxes on bidis and cigarettes from 11 and 18 per cent to 22 and 36 per cent, respectively in the 2013-14 budget. Kataria is Puducherry Lieutenant Governor The Raj Nivas, the official residence of Lieutenant Governor, is all set to get a new guest in the place of incumbent Dr. Iqbal Singh, who has been at the helm of affairs of Puducherry since July, 2009. Virendra Kataria (80), former Member of Parliament and former president of Punjab Congress Committee, has been appointed the new Lt. Governor of Puducherry. Vishwapati Trivedi takes over as Shipping Secretary Vishwapati Trivedi, a 1977 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, took over as the Shipping Secretary succeeding Pradeep Kumar Sinha, who was appointed as Secretary (Power). Before joining Shipping Ministry, Trivedi was heading Inland Waterways Authority of India. He has also served as Secretary in the department of Social Justice and Empowerment and Mines. Apte to be next NTRO chief Alhad G Apte, a former scientist of the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and presently senior adviser with the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), would be the next chief of the technical intelligence agency. The government had in the second week of June announced the name of R Chandrasekhar, an IAS officer of 1975 batch of Andhra Pradesh cadre, who retired on March 31, as the new NTRO chief to succeed incumbent P V Kumar. ‘Nitaqat’ deadline extended till Nov. 3 Overseas Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi said Saudi Arabia King Abdullah had extended the deadline for implementing the legislation “Nitaqat” (naturalisation) by the country’s Labour Ministry from July 3 to November 3, 2013. This decision would give some more breathing time to Indian expatriates to either find a new employment or return home. Nanavati panel’s term extended for 20th time The Nanavati Commission probing the 2002 riots in Gujarat has been granted another extension of six months till December 31, 2013 by the Gujarat government. It is the 20th time that the tenure of the Commission, currently comprising retired Justices G T Nanavati and Akshay Mehta, has been extended. The riot panel had in 2008 submitted one part of its finding where it concluded that the burning of S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express near the Godhra railway station was a planned conspiracy. Rajasthan extends free diagnostic tests scheme The Rajasthan Government has launched the second phase of its free diagnostic tests scheme by extending it to all Community Health Centres (CHCs) across the State. Over 25 types of tests will be conducted free of cost at 431 CHCs under the scheme. A. A. Khan, State Medical and Health Minister, pointed out that the scheme would benefit patients who were earlier forced to incur debt or sell their property to meet medical expenses. The government has been running the free medicine supply scheme in all hospitals since October 2, 2011.

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Navigational satellite of no use till 2016 India’s first dedicated navigation satellite, the IRNSS-1A, developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation, was successfully put in orbit. The launch vehicle, PSLV-C22, bearing the 1,425-kg navigation satellite, blasted off the launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. It will be of no use to the country till 2016, The IRNSS-1A is the first of the proposed seven satellites in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System. The PSLV-XL used for the launch does not directly transfer satellites into a geosynchronous orbit. Instead, it puts the satellite into an interim sub Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (sub-GTO), from where thrusters are used to push the satellite into geosynchronous orbit. Once it has been injected into the preliminary orbit, solar panels of the satellite are automatically deployed and the Master Control Facility at Hassan, Karnataka, takes over the control of the satellite from the initial orbit raising manoeuvres to the final placement in the circular geosynchronous orbit. Some of the features of the IRNSS-1A are two solar panels with ultra triple junction solar cells that can generate about 1,660 watts of electrical power, Sun and star sensors as well as gyroscopes to provide orientation. It also carries Corner Cube Retro Reflectors for laser imaging and is endowed with a highly accurate Rubidium atomic clock. Govt releases National Cyber Security Policy 2013 With an aim to protect information and build capabilities to prevent cyber attacks, the government has released the National Cyber Security Policy 2013 to safeguard both physical and business assets of the country. Minister of Communications and IT Kapil Sibal said the critical infrastructure such as air defence system, power infrastructure, nuclear plants, telecommunications system have to be protected otherwise it may create economic instability. In order to create a secure cyber ecosystem, the policy plans to set up a national nodal agency to coordinate all matters related to cyber security in the country with clearly defined roles and responsibilities. SP among six killed in Maoist ambush In one of their most fierce strikes this year, the cadre of the banned CPI (Maoist) ambushed a police vehicle carrying Pakur district Superintendent of Police (SP) Amarjeet Balihar, 53, killing six policemen, including the recently-appointed SP. The policemen were travelling to Pakur after attending an official meeting in Dumka, the adjoining district. Jharkhand Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar termed the attack as Maoist tactic “to divert police’s focus from ongoing operations.” Maoists ambushed the police vehicle while it was passing through Kathikund forest in Pakur, more than 350 km from Ranchi. Mr. Balihar was returning to the district after attending a meeting called by Deputy Inspector General (Dumka Range) Priya Dubey in Dumka, 60 km away.

International: Malala’s friend joins her, calls her a ‘role model’ After Malala Yousafzai, another Pakistani schoolgirl has been allowed to come to Britain to study following threats from extremist groups opposed to women’s education. Shazia Ramzan , injured in the Taliban attack on Ms. Yousafzai and spent a month in hospital, said that things were extremely difficult for girls back home as parents were afraid to allow them to go to school. Gordon Brown, former British Prime Minister and currently U.N.’s special envoy for global education, helped Ms. Ramzan get a special student visa. He said he was impressed by her courage and determination. A global campaign for girls’ education will be launched on July 12, named “Malala Day” to mark Malala’s 16th birthday. China, Russia to have largest ever joint naval drills China has sent its largest fleet of seven warships to conduct exercises with Russian navy as the two strategic partners forged closer military ties in the face of a major US military push into Asia-Pacific. This is the biggest fleet committed by China in the exercises with Russia. the two navies will hold "Joint Sea-2013" drill in Peter the Great Bay, Sea of Japan from July 5 to July 12, and China-Russia joint anti-terrorism military drill code-named Peace Mission-2013 in Russia's Chelyabinsk from July 27 to August 15.

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US court allows teaching yoga in California school A US court has allowed teaching yoga in a Southern California district school as part of curriculum, rejecting the petition by parents that the ancient Indian practice is promoting Hindu religious beliefs. San Diego Superior Court Judge John Meyer has ruled that the yoga programme of Encinitas Union School District does not endorse any religion. The 30-minute programme in Encinitas, funded by the Jois Foundation, is composed of stretching and breathing exercises and is designed to help keep students active while learning basic relaxation techniques. While the Jois Foundation is a proponent of Ashtanga yoga, an eight-limbed practice based in Hindu philosophy with the ultimate goal of moksha, or liberation, the programme for public schools is stripped of spiritual teachings, chanting, and even the Sanskrit language. India refuses asylum to Snowden India became the first among 21 countries to turn down Edward Snowden’s plea for asylum. India thus effectively distanced itself from the controversy though it was among those singed by the surveillance programme of the National Security Agency of the United States that was exposed by Mr. Snowden. Eight other countries said the application was not valid as it had to be submitted on their soil.

Business & Economy: India Ranks 66th India ranked 66th in the Global Innovation Index 2013, published by Cornell University, INSEAD, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) as a knowledge partner. The study ranked 142 economies across the world on their innovation capacity and efficiency. India ranked 1 in the Central and South Asia region followed by Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka, and 11th overall in Innovation efficiency ratio. (Innovation efficiency reflects the Innovation output per unit of Innovation input in the economy). The strength áreas for India has been its Gross Capital formation (% of GDP) (Rank: 9), Investment in new business (Rank: 20), Industrial Cluster Development (Rank: 29), Growth rate % of PPP GDP/Worker (Rank:14), Computer & Info. Services exports (Rank:1), Creative goods exports (%) (Rank:11). India ranked poor in the áreas such as political stability (Rank:123), Ease of starting business (Rank: 128), School life expectancy (Rank: 109), Pupil-teacher ratio (Rank:108), Knowledge absorption (Ran:122) and others. Telecom Commission approves hike in FDI to 100 per cent The Telecom Commission has approved the enhancement of the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in the telecom sector from 74 per cent to 100 per cent. The cumulative FDI between 2000 and 2012 was Rs.57,079 crore or nearly $10 billion. The Telecom Commission’s decision will now be submitted to the Union Cabinet for its approval. The move comes on the eve of Finance Minister P. Chidambaram’s visit to the U.S. on July 11, followed by Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal’s week-long visit to the U.S. starting July 15. The announcement also comes on the heels of new balance of payment challenges, with the rupee at an all-time low of nearly 60 per dollar. The National Telecom Policy 1994 allowed up to 49 per cent FDI in telecom services. Former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran increased the FDI limit to 74 per cent in 2005. Service tax refund norms eased for SEZs The Revenue Department said special economic zone (SEZ) developers and units will not be required to pay tax on certain services for which they had to seek refund.The SEZs have been exempted from service tax. However, the developers and unit owners have to first pay the tax and then claim refund. Approval Committee of SEZs will specify such services. The government had decided to exempt the services on which service tax was leviable (under Section 66B of the said SEZ Act), received by a SEZ unit or developer and used for the authorised operation from the whole of the service tax, education cess, and secondary and higher education cess. Tata Power ties up funds for wind project in S.Africa Tata Power has tied up funds for the 95 MW Tsitsikamma wind energy project in South Africa, which is estimated to cost about Rs.1,750 crore. The project is being implemented by Cennergi, an equal joint venture between Tata Power and South Africa’s Exxaro Resources.

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ONGC loses race for Kashagan oil field Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has lost the giant Kashagan oilfield to the Chinese after Kazakhstan blocked its $5-billion deal to buy U.S. energy major ConocoPhillips’ stake in the Caspian Sea oilfield. ONGC Videsh, the overseas investment arm of ONGC, had struck a deal to buy ConocoPhillips’ 8.4 per cent stake in Kazakhstan’s biggest oilfield, Kashagan for $5 billion.

Sport: Top woman shot-putter tests positive for dope On the eve of the Asian athletics championship, India had its share of embarrassment as one of its top athletes, woman shot-putter P. Udayalaxmi of Andhra Pradesh, tested positive for banned substance methylhexaneamine. The National Anti-Doping Agency had collected 153 samples from the 53rd National inter-State athletics championship held in Chennai. Udayalaxmi had thrown the iron ball to a distance of 13.68m to claim the gold medal in Chennai. Indian women eighth Indian women finished a disappointing eighth after losing 3-1 to Malaysia in the team event while the men lost 3-2 to Singapore in the Asian table tennis championships in Bushan, South Korea. The Indian eves lost their 7th-8th play-off match to their much-fancied opponent. Qatari wins top IOC award Ahlam Salem Mubarak Al Mana, a sports administrator who helped Qatar send its first female athletes to the Olympics, received the IOC’s top award for women in sports. She was awarded the annual World Trophy for her work as president of the Qatar Women’s Sport Committee. The International Olympic Committee called her “a pioneer for women’s rights in Qatar”.