1st april to 7th april 2014

8/12/2019 1st April to 7th April 2014

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1STAPRIL 2014 TO 7THAPRIL 2014

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CHRONICLEIAS ACADEMYA CIVIL SERVICES CHRONICLE INITIATIVE

Weekly Current Affairs Bulletin


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CONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTS

TOPICS Pg. No.

National ......................................................................................................................... 4-8

International ............................................................................................................... 9-12

India and the World .............................................................................................13-15

Economy ....................................................................................................................16-19

Science & Technology ..........................................................................................20-24

Health .........................................................................................................................25-26

News in Brief...........................................................................................................27-29

Editorials ....................................................................................................................30-61

Message from Sri Lankan polls .................................................................................. 30

Maintaining the status quo.......................................................................................... 30

Poorly performing public services ............................................................................. 31

The endless calamity in West Asia ............................................................................ 33

Public purpose of architecture .................................................................................... 35

Voting while in the Army ........................................................................................... 35

Tax theatrics.................................................................................................................... 37

Threat of disintegration ............................................................................................... 37

US built a secret 'Cuban Twitter' to stir unrest against communist

govt, says AP .................................................................................................................. 38

A cautious beginning.................................................................................................... 39

An inclusive growth policy ......................................................................................... 39

Diplomatic gains from a strategic abstention ......................................................... 41


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Week l y Cu r r en t A f f a i r s 1stA p r i l t o 7 thAp r i l , 2014 [3]

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Funny money.................................................................................................................. 42

The two RBIs................................................................................................................... 43

Manila peace? ................................................................................................................. 43

A bank is born................................................................................................................ 44

The wisdom of abstaining ........................................................................................... 44

Hope prevails ................................................................................................................. 45

A touch here, a tweak there......................................................................................... 46

RIP repo rate? ................................................................................................................. 47

Indias new political economy .................................................................................... 48

The ten crore question .................................................................................................. 49

Licensing for competition ............................................................................................ 51One Inc ............................................................................................................................. 51

Coalition govt: Spokes without a hub? ..................................................................... 52

A policy with clarity of purpose................................................................................. 53

Watching the watchdogs.............................................................................................. 55

For a world of freer labour flows............................................................................... 55

Life is an injection.......................................................................................................... 56The run of rains in Indian agriculture ...................................................................... 57

The changing face of global risk ................................................................................ 58

Election 2014: a polarized vote .................................................................................. 59

Worshipping false gods in India................................................................................ 60


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[4] Week l y Cu r r en t A f f a i r s 1stA p r i l t o 7 thApr i l , 2014

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NATIONAL

40 % WOMEN AMONG NEW VOTERS

Women have historically been outsiders inpolitics, legally barred from voting until thetwentieth century. From the local to the global level,womens leadership and political participation arerestricted. Women are underrepresented as voters,as well as in leading positions, whether in electedoffice, the civil service, the private sector oracademia. Women face several obstacles toparticipating in political life.

In India a look at the demographic profile ofnewly-eligible voters shows that the share ofwomen in the electorate aged between 18 and 19years is too low the percentage of women in thecountry's total electorate.

Compared to 47.6% women in the nationalelectorate this year, women constitute just41.4% of the 2.3 crore electors in the 18-19

group. The gender gap in newly-eligible voters is

more pronounced in the 10 states and Unionterritories, where women constitute less than40% of voters in the 18-19 years age group.As many as 15 states and UTs fall short ofthe national proportion of female voters inthis category.

The worst-performing states includeHaryana, where the percentage of female

voters in the 18-19 age group is a just 28.3%,against 45.8% women in the state's totalelectorate.

Very young women voters in Maharashtraconstitute just 35.5% of the 18-19 year oldelectorate, followed by Punjab, Gujarat andChandigarh (36.2% each), Uttarakhand(36.4%), Odisha (37.9%), Delhi (38.9%) andUP (39.6%).

Compared to eight states/UTs with a larger

percentage of women voters, only Nagaland

has more women electors in the 18-19 agegroup.

The other states/UTs faring better in terms ofproportion of women in the 18-19 electorategroup are Mizoram (49.9%), Arunachal(49.6%), Lakshadweep (49.1%), Meghalaya(48%) and Goa (48.1%).

The Election Commission of India is targetingthis difficulty in voter recognition programmes aspart of a Systematic Voters Education and ElectoralParticipation (SVEEP) initiative, through which theCommission is reaching out to immature citizens incollege campuses by girl fests and campusambassadors.

SVEEP

The Systematic Voter Education and Electoral

Participation Wing (SVEEP)formulates policies, laysdown the framework, plans interventions andmonitors implementation besides carrying outcontinuous discourse with voting publics, civilsociety groups and media. It handles work relatedto all aspects of Voters Awareness & Educationaimed towards improving Electoral Participationin the country and building up a culture ofparticipative democracy among citizens. TheSVEEP Wing commenced work since 2009.

It promotes dissemination of knowledge,information, materials, designed to sensitize thevoters about voting process. It initiated newmeasures regarding about voter facilitation in areasof registration, issuing voter identity cards andsuggests ways and means to make the electionprocess voter- friendly. ECI has developed specialstrategies to encourage participation of young andnewly eligible voters bringing about a particularlysignificant progress in their registration onelectoral rolls.


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ALARMING CONDITIONS OF CHILDREN IN DELHI SLUMS

The census defines a slum as residential areaswhere dwellings are unfit for human habitation

because they are dilapidated, cramped, poorlyventilated and unclean. Over 65 million people livein slums. Slum populations have grown slower than

the average urban population. The average householdliving in a slum is no larger than an average urbanIndian household, with 4.7 family members

With over 11 million of its residents in slums,Maharashtra has the highest slum population; 4.6million of them in identified slums. AndhraPradesh follows with over 10 million in slums, andWest Bengal and Uttar Pradesh have over 6 millionslum residents each.

Over 1 million of Delhis 1.7 million slum

residents live in identified slums. With an infantmortality rate of 35.6 per 1,000 and an under five-year-old mortality rate at 73.6 per 1,000 in slums,Delhi has registered itself as a high-risk zone forchildren.

The absence of day-care arrangement leads tomany accidents. Poor quality of schools,anganwadis and dispensaries adversely impactedthe children. The worst hit are differently-abledchildren and those whose lives have been disrupted

by relocation and slum clearances.

Gangsters roam in the areas of urban slumclusters where both parents work and childrenoften go missing from these localities. Shockingly,at least 14 children go missing every day.

Eviction from slums is another major issue andhas adverse impact on women and children due tothe absence of basic services, anganwadis, schools,etc., in the area that they are relocated into.

More than one-third of under-five year oldsliving in the Indian capital's slums aremalnourished. This is especially challenging fornewborns and infants whose health entirelydepends on the availability of the mother to

breast feed, the abil ity of the caregiver andhousehold to provide nutritious meals, the quality

of the public healthcare system and overallcommunity support.

Practices such as bottle-feeding, child marriageand discrimination against women were occurringin slum communities with little awareness that theywere contributing to child malnutrition.

More than 50 percent of the malnourishedchildren did not have access to clean drinking waterand defecated in the open, leading to frequent boutsof water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea.

CLIMATE CHANGE: DIRE CONSEQUENCES

Climate change is a fundamental threat todevelopment and the fight against poverty. Thegrim reality of increasing food insecurity as a resultof climate change is highlighted by the UnitedNations Intergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange's (IPCC) in its report. The climate disordercan result in flooding, heat-related mortality,droughts and food shortage. India is likely to be hithard by global warming. It is already one of themost disaster-prone nations in the world and manyof its 1.2 billion people live in areas vulnerable tohazards such as floods, cyclones and droughts.

All aspects of food security are potentiallyaffected by climate change including food access,utilisation of land, and price stability and the yieldsof wheat and rice have decreased due to climatechange.

MAIN POINTS:

Like other developing economies, India maylose up to 1.7% of its Gross Domestic Product

if the annual mean temperature rises by 1degree Celsius.

It has been predicted that extreme weatherevents such as last year's flash floods inUttarakhand and cyclone Phailin in Odishawould become unavoidable if steps are nottaken to control the rise in temperature.

The report has predicted a rise in globaltemperatures of between 0.3 and 4.8 degreesCelsius and a rise of up to 32 inches in sealevels by the late 21st century due to meltingice.

Irregular weather patterns will not only affectagricultural output and food security, but willalso lead to water shortages and result inoutbreaks of water and mosquito-bornediseases such as diarrhea and malaria.

India is likely to suffer loss in all major sectorsof the economy including energy, transport,farming and tourism. India ranked as the


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most vulnerable of 51 countries in terms ofbeach tourism.

Extreme weather may also harm infra-structure such as roads, ports and airports,impacting delivery of goods and services.

The changes taking place either in the Indusriver basin or in Brahmputra river system due

to climate change can not be ignored in thelong run.The IPCC report mentions that in coming years

there will be extreme weather events, like floods,cyclones, cloud bursts, unseasonal excessive rainsand drought etc in most parts of the world andcountries like the Maldives, China, India, Pakistan,Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will be among the mostaffected.Over-exploitation of fresh water resources

in South Asia and China may become a reason forarmed conflict in the region by middle of the 21stcentury as climate change is likely to become adetermining factor in national security policies. Itis pointed out that some fish and other marineanimals will become extinct by 2050, adverselyaffecting fishing community.

In many regions, changing precipitation ormelting snow and ice are altering hydrologicalsystems, affecting water resources in terms ofquantity and quality. Glaciers (includingHimalayan) continue to shrink almost worldwidedue to climate change, affecting run-off and waterresources downstream. Climate change will impacthuman health mainly by exacerbating healthproblems that already exist.

DEGREES FAIL TO CURB UNEMPLOYMENT

The growing level of unemployment is a muchbigger cause for concern as the rate ofunemployment has progressively increased withrising level of education for both men and women.The situation is more or less same for the highlypopulated developing countries across the world.There is a rise in the unemployment rate in syncwith the level of education as boys and girls withouteducation often belong to low income households

and hence, cannot afford to remain unemployedfor long.

According to the NSSO estimates, 16.3 % ofwho are graduates or above in the age groupof up to 29 years are unemployed.

The rate of unemployment goes up by another12.5 per cent if diploma and certificate holdersare included.

The chances of getting employment for youngmen and women become less once theyacquire vocational skills or a college degree.

The situation is worse for women diplomaholders and those with graduate degreescompared with men, in both rural and urbanareas.

Women who went for diplomas in varioustrades had a higher unemployment rate of17.3 per cent, three times the percentage forno-jobs figures for those who had completedonly middle school, in urban areas

Broadly one in every four men with a graduate

degree or a vocational education in this age groupis likely to be unemployed in India. The highlydisturbing trend holds true for all categories,

including men in rural India and women in bothurban and rural areas.

Skill- development programmes and collegeeducation are not creating the sort of training thatis in demand in the manufacturing and servicessector. Even though educational attainment hasrisen quickly in recent years, gaining a foothold inthe labour market remains elusive for many youngIndians.

NSSO

National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO)which is now known as National Sample SurveyOffice, is an organization under the Ministry ofStatistics of the Government of India. It wasestablished in 1950 and is the largest organisationin India conducting regular socio-economic surveys.

NSSO has four divisions, namely, Survey Designand Research Division, Field Operations Division,

Data Processing Division and the Co-ordinationand Publication Division.

The main functions of the NSSO is to conductlarge scale sample surveys on subjects like householdconsumer expenditure, employment andunemployment, health and medical services etc.

It decides the topics to be covered in a particularsurvey round and also conducts annual survey ofindustries every year. NSSO every year brings outreports on status of estimation of agricultural

production in India. NSSO has the centralresponsibility of coordinating the results of the cropestimation surveys conducted by the states.


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POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN: A MYTH

Indias 11.4% representation of women in the15th Lok Sabha is lower than even the Asianaverage. In a ranking of 189 countries, the worldslargest democracy figures at a poor 111. The needfor greater representation is perhaps underscored

at a time when women voters are increasinglyturning out in larger numbers than men to casttheir ballot.

In India, states with the high sex ratios andgender indices elect the fewest women toParliament while states with poorer gender indiceshave the highest percentage of women Members ofParliament.

The top five states with the highest percentageof women MPs are, in order of ranking, Punjab,

Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and WestBengal.

Punjab, with a sex ratio of 893 women forevery 1,000 men, far below the nationalaverage of 940, as per the 2011 Census, has31% or the highest percentage of women MPsin the country.

Haryana, with one of the countrys worst sexratios of 877 women for 1,000 men, has 20%women MPs, finds the report.

states that do well on gender tend to havepoor representation of women in Parliament.Kerala has the countrys best sex ratio of 1,084and 91.8% female literacy, and has 20 LokSabha seats. None is occupied by a woman.

The representation of women is just as dismalin the state assemblies. None of the five states thatwent to the polls last yearMadhya Pradesh,Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Mizoramelected more than 10% women. Mizoram, in fact,

has not had a woman MLA for the past 10 years.

A large proportion of women MPs are backedby politically well-connected families.

Jammu and Kashmir is the only exception

that fares poorly on gender indices and alsodoes not have a single woman MP. The statehas a sex ratio of 883, female literacy of just58.1%.

There is no connection between developmentand the growth of womens leadership. In the

backward states, men are opposed to womensreservation and the only women who advance arewomen they can control. They are mostly theproxies for male politicians.

The conclusions are based on two parameters:the gender development index (GDI) and the genderempowerment measure (GEM). The GDI looks athealth, including infant mortality and lifeexpectancy, education and income and standardof living among women. GEM has threeparameters: political participation and decision-making, economic participation and decision-making and power over economic resources.

It is observed that women are more likely tocontest elections in constituencies where the sex

ratio of electors is worse. States like Haryana andPunjab are far more likely to see women candidatesthan, say Kerala and Tamil Nadu. In states with ahigher sex ratio, women seek representation throughvoting.

Moreover, women have lower chances ofwinning elections in constituencies that have a lowsex ratio. So, either women dont contest in sociallyadvanced states or they contest from socially

backward states but dont win.

RISING INCOME-POOR SERVICES: WIDENING RIFT

Income inequality can lead to slower or lesssustainable economic growth. India is a well-established middle-income country in terms of itsgross GDP and is the tenth richest country in theworld. The country is also macro-economicallyrobust, having maintained moderately stable fiscaland monetary bases. The Indian growth-inequalityparadox is easy to pin downthe wealth that India

creates is not evenly redistributed. This lies at theroot of Indias rising inequality.

Data from the 2011-12 round of India Human

Development Survey (IHDS) conducted by theNational Council for Applied Economic Research(NCAER) has brought to light some eye-opening points:

1. Families with an annual income of Rs 1.5lakh are among the richest 20 per cent in thecountry.

2. Incomes have grown considerably in the lastseven years but access to adequate publicservices is still severely lacking, as mentionedin the data collected from 42,000 householdsacross the country.


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3. For the 2011-12 IHDS, the NCAER researchteam surveyed over 80 per cent of thehouseholds to make an estimate of the changeover the last seven years.

4. In 2004-05, a family earning Rs. 70,000annually would have been among the richest20 per cent in the country, while in 2011-12,

the same family would find a place in themiddle of the distribution.

5. An annual household income of Rs. 25,000placed a family in the middle of the order in2004-05. In 2011-12, Rs. 25,000 is the annualincome of the poorest 20 per cent of Indians.

6. The situation on the public services front isworse. Piped water available indoors hasgrown by only 2% and is now available to27% households.

7. In urban areas, piped water is available tobetween half and two-thirds of families. Offamilies which get piped water, less than athird get three hours of supply a day.

8. Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa and Delhi havethe highest coverage of families for pipedwater (60%). Delhi gives its residents water

for the most number of hours in a day.

9. Flush toilets are now accessible to one-thirdof all households and over two-thirds ofurban households. Toilet coverage is thehighest in Kerala (92%), Delhi (79%) andPunjab (74%).

10. Access to electricity is inching towards

becoming universal with 83 per cent of allhouseholds getting supply. Jammu andKashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi have100% access to some electricity.

11. Just 45% households with access to powerget 18 hours or more of electricity in the day.Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala, Delhi andGujarat lead the country in terms of supplyof 18 hours or more.

NCAER

The NCAER is the only research organisationwith a large sample survey to estimate householdincome. The governments National Sample SurveyOrganisation (NSSO) collects data on consumptionexpenditure, which is often used as a proxy forincome.


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INTERNATIONAL

SAUDI DECLARES ATHEISTS AS TERRORISTS

Recently, Saudi Arabia has introduced a seriesof new laws which define atheists as terrorists. Ina string of royal decrees, the Saudi King Abdullahhas clamped down on all forms of political dissentand protests that could "harm public order". Thenew provisions define terrorism as calling for atheistthought in any form, or calling into question thefundamentals of the Islamic religion on which this

country is based.The new laws have largely been brought in to

combat the growing number of Saudis travelling totake part in the civil war in Syria, who havepreviously returned with newfound training andideas about overthrowing the monarchy.

Under the new decree by King Abdullah, SaudiArabia will jail for up to 20 years anyone whofights in conflicts abroad - an apparent move todeter Saudis from joining rebels in Syria.

But the law also applies to any Saudi citizen ora foreigner residing in the kingdom that 'calls foratheist thought in any form or calls into questionthe fundamentals of the Islamic religion on whichthis country is based.

Yet last month further regulations were issuedin Saudi, identifying a broad list of groups whichthe government considers to be terrorist

organisations - including the Muslim Brotherhood.Saudi authorities have never tolerated criticism oftheir policies, but these recent laws and regulationsturn almost any critical expression or independentassociation into crimes of terrorism. Theseregulations dash any hope that King Abdullahintends to open a space for peaceful dissent orindependent groups.

Riyadh fears returning fighters will target theruling Al Saud royal family - as happened afterthe wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. An appealcontained in the counter-terrorism measures forfighters to turn themselves in had not beenanswered. Saudi authorities fear that the MuslimBrotherhood, whose Sunni Islamist doctrineschallenge the Saudi principle of dynastic rule, hastried to build support inside the kingdom since theArab Spring revolutions.

According to the Human Rights Watch, thenew regulations were also a setback to campaignsfor the protection and release of a number ofprominent human rights activists currently jailedin Saudi Arabia. The new "terrorism" provisionscontain language that prosecutors and judges arealready using to prosecute and convict independentactivists and peaceful dissidents.

DOMESTIC WORKERS IN U.K. ENSLAVED WITH TIED VISA RULES

Migrant domestic workers accompanying theiremployers to the United Kingdom are beingsubjected to serious abuses including forced laboras has been reported by the Human Rights Watchin its report, Hidden away: migrant domesticabuses in the U.K.. According to the report, theUK government is not interested in safeguardingthese vulnerable workers, and recent changes toUK immigration rules make it harder for workersto flee abuse.

With the confiscation of the passport,confinement to the home, physical and emotionalabuse, long working hours with no rest time, no

holidays, and low wages or non-payment of wages,the plight of the migrant domestic workers in theUnited Kingdom has worsened.

According to the Home Office, 15,000domestic workers enter the U.K. every year.

Mainly poorly educated women, they comefrom Asia and Africa with their employersas child-minders, careers for the elderly, cooksand cleaners.

Their lives were made considerably worse,when in 2012, the Home Office, underTheresa Mays drive to control immigration,introduced a new tied visa rule.


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This disallows a domestic worker who hasbeen brought by an employer into the countryto change employers, thus effectively trappingthe worker in an exploitive workplace.

Thus, those who flee abusive workenvironments become illegal immigrants. Ifthey return they must face the employers

fury.On April 1, a campaign coalition comprising

trade union Unite, and the charities Justice forDomestic Workers, and Kalayaan, submitted asigned petition to Prime Minister David Cameron,calling for scrapping of the tied visa rule, andrestoration of the1998 Overseas Domestic Workersvisa. According to this, a migrant domestic workerneed only work for an employer for a minimumperiod of a year, after which she is free to changeemployers.

The powerful alliance that achieved theOverseas Domestic Workers visa in 1998 shouldcome together again to expose the slavery statusreintroduced by the new tied visa, which hasprevented migrant domestic workers from gainingtheir rights.

Domestic workers here work up to 18 hours a

day without breaks, going hungry and have to eatleftovers, of being not allowed to use mobile phones,and of not being able to contact their families orleave the homes of employers. Some received wagesas little as 100 a month.

Before the rule was changed Kalayaan wasgetting from 300 350 domestic workersapproaching its centre for assistance every year.After the introduction of the tied visa, 100 or soless approach it, possibly because of the difficultiesworkers have of getting out of the house.

TIBETAN REFUGEES UNDER

SUEVEIL LANCE IN NEPAL

Nepal has long been a way station for Tibetansfleeing China. Many continue on to India, wherethe Dalai Lama lives and where they can obtainrefugee status. Still, some 20,000 Tibetans live inNepal. Most were born there, yet the governmentof Nepal refuses, according to Human Rights

Watch, to issue at least half of them officialidentification. Even those Tibetans who arrivedbefore a 1989 rapprochement with China have noright to own property, or to gain officialemployment or access to higher education.

Human Rights Watch has accused the Nepalgovernment of exerting increased surveillance andabuse of Tibetan refugees under China pressure.The Nepal government is accused of forciblyreturning fleeing Tibetans to China, where theywere allegedly persecuted. In effect, Nepal hasturned itself into a partner of Chinas anti-Tibetanpolicies.

Tibetan refugee communities were now facinga de facto ban on political protests, sharprestrictions on public activities promoting Tibetanculture and religion, and routine abuses by Nepalisecurity forces. These include excessive use of force,arbitrary detention, ill-treatment in detention,threats and intimidation, intrusive surveillance, andarbitrary application of vaguely formulated security

offenses.Wherever Tibetans in Nepal gather to socialize

or worship, they are likely to be spied on byNepalese security forces who make no secret oftheir close links with Chinese authorities. Non-governmental organizations that seek to monitorthe situation or are engaged in humanitarian workwith Tibetans in Nepal are also under surveillanceand have been accused of disloyalty.

In February, Nepals Parliament elected SushilKoirala Prime Minister. Nepals ConstituentAssembly is tasked with drafting a new constitution

before February 2015. Nepal now has a freshopportunity to reform its unjust policies towardTibetan residents and refugees. B

China, which was fully aware of Nepalseconomic needs, invited Mr. Koirala to attend theChina-South Asia Exposition in Kunming, China,in June and pledged to increase tourism to Nepal,a poor country heavily dependent on Chinese helpand investment. China has also offered lawmakers

financial assistance in drafting the new constitution.The government of Nepal has every right to

seek positive trade and diplomatic relations withChina. But it must stop allowing China to dictatepolicy regarding Tibetans in Nepal.

A quick move by Koirala and NepalsConstituent Assembly is the need of the hour toguarantee resident Tibetans legal status that respectstheir basic rights, and to treat Tibetan refugees inaccordance with Nepalese and international law,

without which, Nepals struggle to achieve lastingdemocratic governance will remain incomplete.


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UKRAINE: IN NEED FOR REFORM

Through an inclusive constitutional reform,Russia and the United States have agreed to workfor a diplomatic solution in the Ukraine crisis.Russias Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S.Secretary of State John Kerry summed up theiragreement after stating that Russia and the U.S.differed on the causes of the crisis in Ukraine.

The diplomatic solution points towards fourpriority goals:

To assure minority and language rights;

To disarm irregulars and provocateurs;

To launch an inclusive constitutional reform;

To hold free and fair elections.

It is by far the most important part of the

Russian-American agreement while theconstitutional reform came closer to the end of theannounced list of priorities. It has been made clearthat nobody can impose any configuration onUkrainians and that federalisation was the onlyway to prevent Ukraine from splitting along theeast-west fault lines.

The U.S. opposes the federal structure for

Ukraine for the same reason as Kiev does thereform would give Russian-speaking eastern andsouthern regions veto power over a possible decision

by the central government to join NATO or theEuropean Union (EU).

Russia Makes Gas Cost l y for U kraine

Russia has scrapped the last discount on gasprice granted by Moscow to Ukraine, effectivelyraising the price by $100 to $485 for every 1,000cubic metres. Russia had granted this earlierdiscount to its neighbour in exchange for keepingits Black Sea Fleet facilities in Crimeas port ofSevastopol.

This will result in rising the price on gas forUkraine automatically, going up to $485 for 1000cm starting in April.

Ukraine is a dependent on imports from itsresource-rich former Soviet master to keep thecountry running. Russia has repeatedly shownreadiness to use gas as a lever in conflicts withUkraine, which remains dependent on imports.

NATORUSSIA: END OF CO-OPERATION

NATO's foreign ministers have ordered an endto civilian and military cooperation with Russiaand are searching out ways to better protect alliancemembers that feel threatened by the Kremlin.

A kremlin is a major fortified central complexfound in historic Russian cities. This word is oftenused to refer to the most famous one, the MoscowKremlin, or to the government that is based there.The complex serves as the official residence of the

President of the Russian Federation.The suspension of all practical civilian andmilitary cooperation between NATO and Russiamay result into

The possible deployment and reinforcementof military assets in eastern NATO members,such as Poland and the Baltic states, that feelmenaced by Moscow's latest actions.

A possible increase of readiness levels for theNATO rapid response force.

A possible review of NATO's crisis response

plans, as well as its military training andexercise schedules.

To reassure alliance members closest to Russiaand Ukraine, NATO already has stepped up airpatrols over the Baltic Sea and AWACSsurveillance flights over Poland and Romania.

The Nort h At l antic Treaty O rganizati on (NATO)

Also called the (North) Atlantic Alliance, it

is an intergovernmental military alliancebased on the North Atlantic Treaty whichwas signed on 4 April 1949.

NATO's headquarters are in Brussels,Belgium.

It has 28 member states the newest of which,Albania and Croatia, joined in April 2009.

The organization constitutes a system ofcollective defence whereby its member statesagree to mutual defense in response to an

attack by any external party.


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PALESTINE DEFIES TO JOIN GLOBAL AGENCIES

After President Mahmoud Abbas of thePalestinian Authority defied the United States andIsrael by taking concrete steps to join 15international agencies the Middle East peace talksverged on a breakdown.

The move was to gain the benefits of statehoodoutside the negotiations process. In the emergingdeal, the United States would release an Americanconvicted of spying for Israel more than 25 yearsago, while Israel would free hundreds of Palestinianprisoners and slow down construction of Jewishsettlements in the West Bank

Abbas had vowed not to seek membership ininternational bodies because Israel had failed torelease a fourth batch of long-serving Palestinian

prisoners by the end of March, as promised.As per Israeli officials they are not bound by

their pledge because no meaningful negotiationshave taken place since last year.

According to the American officials thePalestinians appeared to be using leverage againstIsrael rather than trying to scuttle the negotiations.Abbas did not move toward joining theInternational Criminal Court, a step Israel fearsmost because the Palestinians could use the courtto contest Israels presence in the West Bank.

Mr. Abbas has argued his moves right. He hasbeen under pressure from other Palestinian leadersand the public to leverage the non-memberobserver-state status they won at the UnitedNations in 2012 to join a total of 63 international

bodies.

Despite these events, the White House, believesthat the mediating efforts have reached their limit

and that the two sides need to work their way outof the current impasse.

TRADE GAP WIDENS IN U.S.

U.S. exports fell in February amid weakoverseas demand resulting in the largest trade deficitsince September. The nation's exports declined 1.1%to $190.43 billion, while imports rose 0.4% to

$232.73 billion. As a result of which, the nation'strade gap widened 7.7% to $42.3 billion, more thanthe $38.6 billion. February's export decline followeda 0.6% gain in January. That suggests the surge inoverseas sales that helped boost economic growthlate last year was likely unsustainable.

February's meager import growth provided newevidence of weak spending by U.S. consumers and

businesses in the early part of the year.

What are the Reasons?

Growth in China is slow while Europe'srecovery remains fragile, tempering demandfor U.S. exports.

Domestic demand looks even weaker afteradjusting the import data for inflation.

Stripping out the effect of higher prices forpetroleum and other products, imports fellslightly.

Imports of capital goods, industrial suppliesand petroleum products all declined.

Imports of crude oil fell to $19.5 billion, thelowest level since late 2010, a reflection ofexpanded domestic energy production.

The U.S. economy trade data showed also somesigns of strengthening in March. Recent datashowed auto sales surging to one of the strongestrates in years after weakening in January and

February, while manufacturing activitystrengthened.

A bout of financial volatility in emerging marketsearly in the year has subsided, providing a morestable outlook that should help support U.S. exports.

The Challenges:

China's growth engine is downshifting.

Economists believe Europe risks entering aperiod of deflation.

Tensions with Russia over Ukraine couldfurther harm the global economy.

U.S. exports to the European Union in Februarywere down 2.5% from January, while exports toChina were 4.6% lower.

The recovery is taking hold, but is too slow.Unless countries come together to take the rightkind of policy measures, we could be facing yearsof slow and subpar growth. The report hastriggered a spate of downward revisions to first-

quarter growth estimates, which had already comedown substantially due to economic disruptionscaused by unusually cold and stormy weather.


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INDIA AND THE WORLD

INDIA-RUSSIA DEFENCE CO-OPERATION

India and Russia have signed defence dealsworth almost Rs 25,000 crore, including the onesfor 42 Sukhoi-30MKI fighters and 71 additionalMi-17 V5 armed helicopters.The two countriesinked the over Rs 16,000 crore deal for 42 Sukhois,which will add to the 230 Sukhois contracted inprevious years, and the one for 71 Mi-17 V5helicopters , to add to the 80 of these choppers

already been inducted.India will not order anymore Sukhois, 272 of them come at an overall priceof over $12 billion with a bulk of them beingproduced by Hindustan Aeronautics. Instead, Indiais preparing a plan to upgrade them into "SuperSukhois" in the years ahead with more advancedavionics, weapons and AESA (active electronicallyscanned array) radars.

Key Points of the Deal:

India and Russia will also ink the final design

contract for the joint development of afuturistic stealth fifth-generation fighter at alater stage since it is still being drafted. ThisR&D contract is pegged at $11 billion, withthe two countries supposed to chip in with$5.5 billion each.

Each 5th Gen fighter - IAF hopes to inductaround 200 of them from 2022 onwards -will cost at least $100 million extra.Consequently, India will eventually spendaround $35 billion on this gigantic project.

Russia has also assured India that INSVikramaditya, the refurbished 44,570-tonneAdmiral Gorshkov for which $2.33 billion has

been paid, will not be delayed.

The "technical problems" being faced byIndia's solitary nuclear-powered submarineINS Chakra, the Akula-II attack submarineleased from Russia for 10 years at a cost of

around $1 billion, will also be sorted out. India and Russia also agreed to take the first

steps towards operating a ranging stationthat will help accurately fix the location ofsatellites. A military side agreement onreceiving precision signals from Glonass wassigned last year, following active interestshown by National Security Advisor ShivShankar Menon.

Russia and India have agreed to further extend

their partnership in the energy sector, which hasmoved beyond investment in Sakhalin-I to directtrade (Gazprom-Gail). Both are now seemingly setfor joint investment in downstream and upstreamsectors. India put its interest areas as equityparticipation through ONGC-OVL in existing andnew projects in Siberia, Russias Far East and theArctic Shelf, besides showing interest in acquiringequity stake in discovered or producing assets andin proposed Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) projectsin Russia.

INDIAN POLICIES HAMPERING AMERICAN TRADE

A US Trade Representative (USTR) report hasmentioned that Indias policies pose barriers toAmerican trade and that the US will pursue Indiato remove obstacles in a bid to smoothen businessrelations. The US will continue to press India toresolve these issues in 2014. The 2014 report onTechnical Barriers to Trade takes note of the talkswith India at both bilateral and the World Trade

Organization levels and listed some of the issuesobstructing trade relations. The trade barriershighlighted were Indian policies on wholesale food

labelling, security regulations on telecom equipment,safety testing requirements for electronics and ITequipment, and a proposed amendment to theHazardous Wastes Act.

According to the report, the proposed FifthAmendment to the Hazardous Waste Act,published in November 2013, but not notified tothe WTO, sets out conditions for the import and

movement of used and refurbished electrical andelectronic equipment (EEE).


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The United States fully supports the protectionof the environment and health against adverseimpacts of wastes. US industry has expressedconcerns that, under the proposed FifthAmendment, hazardous waste controls on importsof used EEE for direct reuse and imports ofrefurbished EEE pursuant to a service warranty,

and other similar controls on EEE, would imposeunnecessary burdens on trade that facilitates reuseand extension of life of EEE to the benefit of theenvironment. US electronics and IT goodsmanufacturers have raised concerns about theIndian Department of Electronics and InformationTechnologys (DEITY) September 2012 order thatmandates compulsory registration for 15 categoriesof imported electronic and IT goods.

The policy mandates exporters to register theirproducts with laboratories affiliated or certified by

the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). This is despitethe fact that all US electronic exports currently soldin India are fully certified in internationallyrecognised laboratories, and the government ofIndia has never articulated how such a domesticcertification requirement advances Indias legitimatepublic safety objectives. Notwithstanding ongoingefforts by global industry to engage the governmentof India to resolve concerns and ambiguities in thepolicy the Order entered into force in January 2014.

An important first step is to seek an exemptionfor Highly Specialised Equipment (HSE), includingservers, storage, printing machines, and IT productsthat are installed, operated, and maintained byprofessionals who are trained to manage theproducts inherent safety risks. USTR said theUnited States will continue to seek clarification on

the scope and application of the revised PreferentialMarket Access (PMA) policy for domesticallymanufactured telecommunications equipment andclosely monitor its implementation in 2014.

The United States has detailed concerns aboutIndia-specific labelling issues. Indias responses havefailed to provide additional or reliable informationwith regard to how the elements of this measureadvances safety or efficacy or quality of the productsin question or meets the specific needs of India.

The Legal Metrology Rules create mandatorypackage sizes in metric units. Highly impactedcommodities include canned and bottled drinks,packaged biscuits and bottled vegetable oils.Mandatory package size requirements are notrecommended by international standards. Netweight declaration, supported by Codex and otherinternational bodies, protects consumers fromfraudulent packaging practices, as was mentionedin the USTR Report.

JAPANESE LOAN FOR DELHI METRO

A loan agreement for the five projects wassigned between the Japanese Ambassador to India,Takeshi Yagi, and Joint Secretary in the Departmentof Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, RajeshKhullar, in New Delhi recently.

Japan has committed a loan of Rs.15,188 croreto India under its Official Development Assistancefor implementation of five projects relating to

enhancement of transportation capacity of the DelhiMetro, new and renewable energy development,energy conservation by micro, small and mediumenterprises, upgradation of power distributioninfrastructure in Haryana, and renovation andexpansion of water supply facilities in Agra, UttarPradesh.

The loan for the projects relating to new andrenewable energy development, energyconservation by MSMEs and upgradation of powerdistribution infrastructure in Haryana was pledged

by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during hissummit meeting with Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh in January this year.

The Japanese government has granted a newloan amounting to Rs.8,933 crore forenhancing the transportation capacity ofDelhi Mass Rapid Transport System Project(Phase 3)in order to enhance its trans-portation capacity.

The objective of the project is to link theexisting 190 km radially developed network

with additional 116-km belt line including sixroutes and six intervals which connect IndiraGandhi International Airport and Noidadistrict and construction of a heritage lineconnecting Central Secretariat, Delhi Gate,Lal Qila and Kashmiri Gate.

The project on completion will extend thenetwork length to 329.4 km and transformDelhi Metro into a global standard urbantransportation system comparable to theTokyo Metro.

The Japanese government has been providingfinancial support amounting to Rs.30,162crore for development of Delhi Metro.


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The agreement grants a new Rs.1,800 crore loanto power producers through the Indian RenewableEnergy Development Agency Ltd for developmentof new and renewable energy including solar andwind power succeeding phase-I of the project.

The ongoing project includes wind powerprojects to the tune of Rs.1,160 crore in

Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, andsolar power projects to the tune of Rs.220crore in Andhra Pradesh.

The MSME energy saving project aims toenhance energy efficiency and eliminatepower shortage in the country.

Under phase-III of the project, an ODA loanof up to Rs.1,800 crore has been granted to2,000 small and medium-sized enterprisesthrough the Small Industries Development

Bank of India for investment in energyconservation equipment.

The financing facility will enable SMEs toutilise energy efficient equipment including

Japanese cutting-edge technology at a low cost.

The Rs.1,608 crore Haryana power distributionsystem upgradation project, covered under theODA loan agreement, is aimed at improving power

supply in all of the 21 districts of the state.

It will increase capacity of the sub-stationsby 1,905 MVA and br ing down powerdistribution loss rate to 30 per cent in theregion.

The Japanese government has been providingfinancial support totalling Rs.65,664 crore for

73 power projects in the country.The Japanese ODA loan of Rs.977 crore for the

Agra water supply improvement project, whichcommenced in 2007, has been granted taking intoconsideration the increase in project cost due torise in material prices.

The ongoing project includes a loan of Rs 1,160crore for wind power projects in Andhra Pradesh,Gujarat and Karnataka and Rs 220 crore for solarpower project in Andhra Pradesh.

India is ranked fifth among the wind powerintroducing countries in the world as of end of2012, shows its willingness to further increaserenewable energy including solar power asillustrated in 'Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-2017)'.This project reaffirms our commitment tosustainable development of India.

FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM

The United States has provided counter-terrorequipment to Mumbai Police in order to fightterrorism in a better way. The explosive incidentcounter measures equipment, worth $300,000,includes explosive ordnance disposal suits, speciallydesigned helmets, disruptors and scanners.

The outgoing U.S. Ambassador, Nancy J. Powellhanded over the equipment to Mumbai Policementioning that the relationship between the U.S.and India, the oldest and largest democracies in

the world, was very deep and strategic. The twonations are committed to fighting terrorism andworking to make life safe for all. The explosiveincident countermeasures equipment are worth$300,000.

The Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD-9) bombsuit and helmet have been designed with directinput from bomb disposal technicians to providethe highest degree of modular protection andoperational flexibility, the statement said. The helmet

offers protection against fragments with velocitiesof over 683 metre per second is made of high-strength fibre and weighs only 3.6 kg with visor.

The ergonomic design allows easy movement andgood visibility without strain.

Since the first anti-terrorist assistanceprogramme in 1995, the U.S. State Department haspartnered with the Government of India indelivering 113 courses to the Indian Police. Morethan 2,000 officers have received training. The U.S.has, in current year, already contributedapproximately $10 million in training andequipment through the anti-terrorist assistance

programme.

Nancy Powell

Nancy Jo Powell is the United StatesAmbassador to India. In sudden development ofevents, the US ambassador resigned and will leaveher post by the end of May. The move comes aftera row between the US and India over the arrestand brief jailing of an Indian diplomat in NewYork on a visa fraud charge. The arrest of DevyaniKhobragade in December triggered a furiousresponse in India, exposing deep misunderstandings

between two states who were supposedly becomingcloser allies.


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ECONOMY

NOW, ROTATION OF AUDITORS COMPULSORY

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs, retros-pectively, has made the rotation of auditorsmandatory for listed companies, unlisted companieswith a share capital for more than Rs.10 crore, allprivate companies with paid-up capital of Rs.20crore or more, and all companies with publicdeposits of a minimum of Rs.50 crore.

For the first time ever, India is introducingmandatory auditor rotation both at an individualauditor level and at the audit firm level.

Main Features:

The rules will apply not from the date ofnotification of the rules, but retrospectivelyfrom the date the auditors were appointed

The auditor or audit firm will usually havean extra three years as a transition period.

Prior to the new law, an auditor or an audit

firm could be appointed by shareholders fora maximum period of one year.

The rules also rule out rotation to a networkfirm or an associate or affiliate of the existingaudit firm. Several audit firms had createdsuch firms in anticipation of the rotationmandated by the companies legislation.

The rules notified pertain to three more

chapters of the new companies law andcomes into force from 1 April.

The new rules also require auditors to get aresponse from a companys board or the auditcommittee before reporting a fraud to theUnion government which has to be reportedwithin 60 days.

The auditor is first required to report the fraudto the board or audit committee seeking theirreply within a 45-day period and post receiptof the reply, within 15-day period report thefraud to the central government. along withthe response received from the board or auditcommittee.

As of now, there is no duty cast upon theauditors. They are not mandated to report fraud.

Auditor's early resignation and removal havebeen made possible.

The provision for rotation of auditors wasapproved by the Parliamentary Standing Committeeon Finance earlier. According to the Committeeinstead of year-to-year basis, an auditor can beappointment by members in general meeting forfive years. This would ensure that promoter orcompany or management does not change auditorprematurely who is doing good job.

CONSUMER PRICE INDEX TO MEASURE INFLATION

In the first bi-monthly monetary policystatement, the Reserve Bank of India adopted theconsumer price index on April 1, 2014 as a measureto curb inflation. Till date, the RBI was usingWholesale price index to measure indicativeinflation projections.

It was adopted on the basis of therecommendations of Urjit R. Patel Committee reporton revising and strengthening the monetary policy

framework.The recommendations also include explicit

recognition of the path for disinflation, transition

to a bi-monthly monetary policy cycle, progressivereduction in access to overnight liquidity at thefixed repo rate, and a corresponding increase inaccess to liquidity through term repos, andintroduction of longer-tenor term repos as well as,going forward, term reverse repos.

Based on the recommendations of the high-leveladvisory committee chaired by Bimal Jalan, the RBIis all set to announce in-principle approval for new

bank licences. It will also set out categories ofdifferentiated bank licences that will allow a widerpool of entrants into banking.


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In order to expand the market for corporatebonds, banks would be allowed to offer partialcredit enhancements to them. The feasibility oflimited re-repo/re-hypothecation of governmentsecurities is also being explored.

The RBI would be working to ease entry costsfor foreign investors. It would also strive to reduce

risk for investors and the volatility of flows.Towards this end the modalities for allowingforeign portfolio investors to hedge their currencyrisks through exchange-traded currency futureswere being worked out in consultation with theSecurities and Exchange Board of India.

To encourage longer-term flows and reducevolatility, FPI investments in G-Secs would bepermitted only in dated securities of maturity ofone-year and above. The existing investment in T-

bills would be allowed to taper off on maturity.Any investment limits vacated at the shorter endwould be available at longer maturities, so thatoverall FPI limits do not get diminished.

To enlarge the base for banking correspondent(BC) the inclusion of new entities and a relaxation

of existing distance restrictions, was beingconsidered.

The RBI would frame comprehensive consumerprotection regulations based on domestic experienceand global best practices. In the interest of theirconsumers, banks should consider allowing their

borrowers the possibility of prepaying floating rate

term-loans without any penalty. Banks should alsonot take advantage of customer difficulty andprovide and guide them with all possible help.

In order to tackle discrepancies in the system, thecomprehensive framework to help banks reduce theirnon-performing assets (NPAs) even while puttingdistressed projects back on track was made effective.Adoption of CPI as a measure of inflation will helpRBI in managing the monetary policy in a better way.

A consumer price index (CPI) measures

changes in the price level of a market basket ofconsumer goods and services purchased byhouseholds. A CPI can be used to index the realvalue of wages, salaries, pensions, for regulatingprices and for deflating monetary magnitudes toshow changes in real values.

Urj it Patel Committ ee

In September, 2013 the Reserve Bank of Indiahad set up an expert committee Chaired by DeputyGovernor Urjit Patel to revise and strengthen themonetary policy framework to make it transparentand predictable. The committee submitted its reportin January, 2014.

The main recommendations of committee areas follows:-

(a) Inflation should be the nominal anchor ofthe monetary policy framework, and it should

be defined without any ambiguity.

(b) RBI should adopt CPI (Consumer Price Index)inflation as the new nominal anchor, as it isthe closest reflection of cost of living andinflation expectations.

(c) It suggests adopting a longer-term target of 4per cent for CPI inflation with a band of +/- 2 per cent.

(d) Inflation from the current level of 10 per centto be brought down to 8 per cent over aperiod not exceeding the next 12 months andto 6 per cent over a period not exceeding thenext 24 month period before formally

adopting the recommended target of 4 percent inflation with a band of +/- 2 per cent.

(e) The committee asked the Central Government

to ensure that the fiscal deficit as a ratio toGross Domestic Product is brought down to3.0 per cent by 2016-17.

(f) That the monetary policy decision-making

should be vested with a Monetary PolicyCommittee (MPC). It went on to recommendthat the Governor of the RBI should be theChairman of the MPC. The term of office ofthe MPC could be three years, withoutprospect of renewal. Besides it alsorecommended that MPC should also havetwo external members.

(g) It suggested that dependence on marketstabilisation scheme (MSS) and cashmanagement bills (CMBs) may be phased out,consistent with government debt and cashmanagement being taken over by thegovernment's Debt Management Office.

(h) All fixed income financial products shouldbe treated on a par with bank deposits forthe purposes of taxation and Tax Deductionat Source.

(i) On Open Market Operations (OMOs) haveto be detached from fiscal operations andinstead linked solely to liquidity management.

Further the panel said, OMOs should not beused for managing yields on governmentsecurities.


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Wholesale Price Index (WPI) represents theprice of goods at a wholesale stage i.e. goods thatare sold in bulk and traded between organizationsinstead of consumers. WPI is used as a measure ofinflation in some economies. WPI is used as an

important measure of inflation in India. Fiscal andmonetary policy changes are greatly influenced bychanges in WPI. In the United States, ProducerPrice Index (PPI) is used to measure inflation.

GOLD GLITTERS IN CHINA

According to the World Gold Council, Chinasgold demand has doubled from 10% to 21%. Earlierthis year, it replaced India as the worlds biggestconsumer of gold Chinese demand reached 1,189.8tonnes last year, a 32 per cent year-on-year jump.The frenetic buying of gold in China, which led toa temporary shortage of physical stocks, wassparked by the 28 per cent fall in the preciousmetals price in 2013.

With 400 tonnes of domestic production andover 600 tonnes of physical imports in 2013, Chinasgold consumption has now exceeded a thousandtonnes, making it the real mover and shaker of theworld gold market. Chinas hunger for gold is theresult of rising wealth among its young population,rapid urbanisation and evolving lifestyles.

Indian consumption rose 5 per cent to 987.2tonnes last year, but was held back by new importtariffs and restrictions. In China there were no

brakes. Gold jewellery fabrication rose nearly athird to 724 tonnes, surpassing India for the firsttime, and the retail sector boomed. In July andAugust, more than 200 gold showrooms opened inthe southern city of Shenzhen.

Because many Chinese buy jewellery forinvestment reasons rather than adornment, highpurity 24 carat gold products dominated sales.Purchases of physical bars mostly kilobars andsmaller weights rose 47 per cent to 366 tonnes, anew record.

Chinese hold gold in the physical form; andhas a price-sensitive market too. Demand for

jewellery fabrication in China has been growingrobustly alongwith retail demand for bars and coins.The physical demand in the form of jewellery andcoins hit a record high.

With large-scale redemptions since mid-April2013, estimated at over 600 tonnes, after the pricemeltdown from $1600 an ounce to $ 1200/oz levels,

a significant part of the outflow has reportedlymoved to China. With prices moving down, therisk of further outflow has increased. In recentyears, Chinas gold demand growth has faroutstripped its GDP growth.

Trade data from the US, the UK andSwitzerland point to large shipments of gold toHong Kong from where the goods move over tothe mainland. Gold coin shipments from Switzerlandto China and Hong Kong have also increased.

Over the last five years, Chinas domesticproduction of gold has been growing on an averageat eight per cent a year. These reserves were builtfrom domestic production rather than from imports.Gold has always been popular in China and nowis increasingly seen as an asset class for individuals.Greater wealth and disposable incomes createdpent-up demand when prices were high, so whenthey dropped there was this phenomenal surge in

buying.

WAY TO PROGRESSIVE TAXATION

The Indian rich people may have to pay moretaxes as countrys government is mulling to proposeheavy taxes for super rich class on basis of therecommendations in the draft Direct Taxes CodeBill, 2013, which was put in the public domain onApril 1, 2014. The original Direct Taxes Code Bill,2010, will lapse with the end of the 15th Lok Sabha

and the new Government will have to initiate theprocess for the introduction of the Bill.

The structure of Income Tax system in the

country will not be disturbed and will remain as itis now. However, a surcharge for income aboveparticular level is likely to be added. Thegovernment needs to raise more revenues and thepeople with larger incomes must be willing tocontribute more.

In India taxes on income are levied at three

rates 10 per cent, 20 per cent and 30 per cent.These rates were fixed in 1997. With a view tomaintain overall progressivity in levy of income tax,


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the revised Code provides for a fourth slab forindividuals, Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) andartificial juridical persons. In their case, if the totalincome exceeds Rs 10 crore, it is proposed to betaxed at the rate of 35 per cent. There is anadditional surcharge of 10 per cent on incomeexceeding Rs 1 crore.

There have been repeated calls within India thatrich people should pay more taxes. People have

been demanding that rich people should pay moretax as they enjoy more amenities and more facilities.

The Finance Ministry has not accepted arecommendation on revising the tax slabs asproposed by the Standing Committee on Finance,headed by Yashwant Sinha, as it will result in hugerevenue loss.

The Committee favoured revising the slab with

no tax on income up to Rs 3 lakh (now Rs 2 lakh),

10 per cent on income between Rs 3 lakh and Rs10lakh (Rs 2-5 lakh), 20 per cent on Rs 10-20 lakh (Rs5-10 lakh) and 30 per cent for income beyond Rs20 lakh (now Rs 10 lakh and above).

There is a 10 per cent additional tax on therecipient if the total dividend in his hand exceedsRs 1 crore. Under the present regime as well as the

one proposed by the original DTC in 2010, dividenddistribution tax is to be levied at the rate of 15 percent.

The draft has retained the dividend taxationprovision which favours high net-worth taxpayerswho only pay a fraction of their earnings as tax ontheir investments in the capital market.

Now it needs to be seen whether Indiangovernment proposes higher taxes for rich of thecountry and whether there is any resentment from

the rich or super rich class.

WORLD BANK TO CURB POVERTY

The World Bank Group (WBG) is all set toachieve its ambitious twin goals of ending extremepoverty by 2030 and boosting shared prosperityfor the bottom 40 percent of the population indeveloping countries.

According to the World Bank president, JimYong Kim, the development lender will focus on10 countries -- including India, China, Bangladeshand Democratic Republic of Congo -- that are hometo 80 percent of the world's extreme poor. Theseresidents live on less than $1.25 a day.

The World Bank is nearly doubling its lendingcapacity to middle-income countries because theycan provide insight to poorer countries in solvingproblems. These countries will benefit by being ableto borrow another 2.5 billion dollars a year overand above their current limits.

The increase will boost annual lending to middleincome countries from the current 15 billion dollarsa year to 26 billion-28 billion dollars. The moveresponds to demand from middle income countriesthat had reached their borrowing limits. Very poorcountries will benefit from a record 52 billiondollars in grants and loans pledged in December.

The World Bank's proposal to support thebuilding of the world's largest hydroelectric damon the Congo River - called Grand Inga Dam is anexample of the bank's bold steps on its way toeliminating world poverty by 2030.

The bank said there will be expansions in all ofits major branches, including a $100 billion boostin the fund for middle-income countries, known asthe International Bank for Reconstruction andDevelopment. The bank's private sector arm, theInternational Finance Corporation, will boostannual commitments to $26 billion a year. And the

Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, whichprovides political risk insurance, aims to increaseits guarantees by 50 percent over four years.TheWBGs effort to shore up support for middle incomecountries reflects the changing geography ofpoverty, which is now home to three-quarters ofthe worlds extreme poor. Middle-income countriessuch as China, India and Indonesia continue tostruggle with rising inequality and deep pockets ofpoverty, where large segments of the populationremain in extreme poverty or are vulnerable tofalling below the $1.25 per day line. By increasingavailable funds for these countries, the Bank isdemonstrating its strong commitment to endingpoverty in all corners of the world.

The World Bank will help developing countriesend extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity,

by providing them with more financial resources,more solutions-based knowledge, and help leveragemore private sector investment. The bank alsofocuses on improving the quality of its lending

rather than just the amount thrown as loan.


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coatings in buildings to produce energy.

This approach is also very environment-friendly.

Several aspects of this system should continueto reduce the cost of solar energy, and whenwidely used, our carbon footprint.

In this process, simulated sunlight is focusedon the solar microreactor to rapidly heat it. Thework is based on the use of a "continuous flow"

microreactor to produce nanoparticle inks thatmake solar cells by printing.

The solar materials were made with copperindium diselenide, but to lower material costs itmight also be possible to use a compound such ascopper zinc tin sulfide. The chalcogenide-based, thinfilm solar cells have already returned a fairly high

solar energy conversion efficiency of about 20percent in the laboratory, researchers said, whilecosting less than silicon technology.

INDIA ADDS YET ANOTHER FEATHER TO ITS CAP

IRNSS is equivalent to Global PositioningSystem of the United States. India has successfullylaunched its second navigational satellite IRNSS1B onboard PSLV-C24 from the Satish DhawanSpace Centre.

Indian Space Research Organisation'sworkhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C24 placed the IRNSS IB in precise orbit about 19minutes after a perfect lift-off at 5.14 pm.

The navigational system has a total budget of

around Rs 1,420 crore and will provide accurateposition information to users within the countryand up to 1,500 km from the nations boundaries.It is similar to the global positioning system of theUS, Glonass of Russia, Galileo of Europe, ChinaBeidou and the Japanese Quasi Zenith Satellite System.

There will be multiple uses of the system,including for terrestrial, aerial and marinenavigation, disaster management, vehicle trackingand fleet management. It can also be integratedwith mobile phones and mapping.

About IRNSS-1B :

IRNSS-1B is the second dedicated navigationsatellite of India.

It is one of the seven satellites constitutingthe IRNSS space segment.

Its predecessor, IRNSS-1A, was launched byPSLV-C22 in July 2013.

IRNSS-1B has a lift-off mass of 1432 kg.

The configuration of IRNSS-1B is similar tothat of IRNSS-1A

IRNSS -1B carries two types of payloads -navigation payload and ranging payload.Thenavigation payload of IRNSS-1B will transmit

navigation service signals to the users.

This payload will be operating in L5 band(1176.45 MHz) and S band (2492.028 MHz).

The ranging payload of IRNSS-1B consists ofa C-band transponder which facilitatesaccurate determination of the range of thesatellite.

IRNSS-1B also carries Corner Cube RetroReflectors for laser ranging.

The design of the payload makes the IRNSSsystem interoperable and compatible withGlobal Positioning System (GPS) and Galileo.

The satellite is powered by two solar arrays,which generate power up to 1,660 watts, andhas a life-time of ten years.

INDIAS OWN GPS: THE KARGIL FACTOR

Geopolitical needs can very much be a factorfor making advanced developments in R&D, at leastin case of India. When Pakistani troops tookpositions in Kargil in 1999, the Indian militarysought GPS data for the region but the space-

based navigation system maintained by the US

government denied it to India. The Kargilexperience made the nation realise the inevitabilityof having for an indigenous satellite navigation

system. Indian Space Research Organisation tookthe nation closer to the goal, which it would achievein less than two years. By making reality the IndianRegional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) whichworks on a combination of seven satellites whichwould 'look' at the region from different angles,

and, in the process, helps calculate from relativedata, real-time movement of objects by as less as10m. Isro launched the first of the satellites in the


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group, IRNSS-1A, in July 2013. By mid-2015, itplans to have all the seven in place. Three of theseven satellites will be in geostationary orbits andthe other four in inclined geosynchronous orbits.Apart from navigation, the system will help inprecise time keeping, disaster management, fleetmanagement and mapping.

The IRNSS will be offering two types ofservices: the first is called Standard PositioningService (SPS) which is for civilian use while thesecond is called Restricted Services (RS), which candetect movement of objects by less than 10m. Itwill put India in the company of select nationswhich have their own positioning systems.

INDIA GETTING HIGH ON SOLAR CAPACITY

The solar market potential remains as large asever. As power shortfalls continue, peak shortageis a critical problem that has stifled industrialgrowth, and back-up generation is becomingincreasingly expensive. The total grid-connectedsolar capacity, commissioned under the NationalSolar Mission, crossed the 2,500-MW mark andstood at 2,632 MW as on March 31, 2014.

In January 2014 , Indias total grid-interactiverenewable energy capacity crossed 30,000MW and the total installed capacity of windsegment crossed 20,000 MW.

State-policy driven contributions stand tallestat 1,322 MW, followed by MNRE projects at688 MW, REC Scheme at 491 MW, with therest coming from renewable purchaseobligation private sector rooftop and centralgovernment organisations.

Gujarat (916 MW) is on the top of the listwith Rajasthan (730 MW), Madhya Pradesh(347 MW) and Maharashtra (249 MW)following it among others.

During fiscal 2013-14, a total capacity of 947

MW was commissioned of which MP addedthe highest capacity of 310 MW.

Hikes in diesel prices have made solar a veryattractive option thereby increasing its potentialeven in a slower-growing economy. With continuedpower shortfalls, peak shortage becomes a criticalproblem and increases the costs involved in backup generation thereby stifling industrial growth.

The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission

was launched on the 11th January, 2010 by thePrime Minister. Also known as the National SolarMission is a major initiative of the Government ofIndia and State Governments to promoteecologically sustainable growth while addressingIndias energy security challenges. The Mission hasset the ambitious target of deploying 20,000 MWof grid connected solar power by 2022. It is aimedat reducing the cost of solar power generation in

the country through (i) long term policy; (ii) largescale deployment goals; (iii) aggressive R&D; and(iv) domestic production of critical raw materials,components and products, as a result to achievegrid tariff parity by 2022.

INSAT 3E DECOMMISSIONED

INSAT-3E is a third-generation communicationsatellite which was launched in September 2003with 36 transponders 24 C-band and 12extended C-band transponders, out of which only25 of them have been working since 2009. Thesatellite has completed its life and gone out ofservice. Built to last 15 years, it has completed ten-and-a-half years in orbit.

Few days back, it ran out of the on-boardoxidiser, which, along with fuel, keeps it Earth-locked or fixed over the Indian sub-continent andruns its daily functions. The ISRO had apparentlyexpected that the satellite, positioned at 55 degrees

E longitude, would last a few more months andthat it would be smoothly replaced with GSAT-16.Now the space agency is getting set to launch

IRNSS-1B, second of its seven regional navigationsatellites.

A start has been made of shifting users ofINSAT-3E on to standby capacities on some of theother satellites. The spare capacity includes thethree-month-old GSAT-14.

INSAT-3Es 10 extended C-band transponderssupported VSAT operators; its C-band supportedBSNL and captive communication networks of theNational Thermal Power Corporation and the Oiland Natural Gas Corporation, among others.

The ISRO is now left with 189 transponders on

its INSAT/GSAT fleet and 91 additionaltransponders leased on foreign satellites.

INSAT-3E had briefly blinked and disrupted


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How to overcome this ailment?

Changes that need to be urgently initiated toreinvigorate research is to decouple fundingand government control.

Indian science needs public funding, but notgovernment control.

There are numerous examples in othercountries and in Europe where such a systemhas been operating successfully.

The tenure of heads of institutions should alsobe limited and they should be encouraged toreturn to active research.

The rotation should be every five years.


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HEALTH

GENES RESPONSIBLE FOR OBESITY

People who have fewer copies of a gene AMY1 that helps the body digest carbohydrates are ata greater risk of obesity. Obesity may be geneticallylinked to how our bodies digest the starch found incarbohydrate-rich foods like bread, rice andpotatoes.

The scientific study investigated the relationshipbetween body weight and the gene AMY1, whichis responsible for an enzyme present in our salivaknown as salivary amylase. This enzyme is the firstto be encountered by food when it enters themouth, and it begins the process of starch digestionthat then continues in the gut. When we eat, anenzyme in saliva called salivary amylase kick-startsdigestion by breaking down some of the starchfound in carbohydrates into sugars. This enzyme isproduced by the gene AMY1.

It's an unusual gene, in that people can have

multiple copies of it, unlike most genes where thereare just two. The more copies one has, the moreenzyme he produces. It is believed that humansevolved to carry more copies of the gene as ourdiets shifted towards carbohydrate-rich foods.

The number of copies of AMY1 can be highlyvariable between people, and it is believed thathigher numbers of copies of the salivary amylasegene have evolved in response to a shift towardsdiets containing more starch since prehistoric times.

Researchers looked at the number of copies ofthe gene AMY1 present in the DNA of thousandsof people from the UK, France, Sweden andSingapore.They found that people who carried alow number of copies of the salivary amylase gene

were at greater risk of obesity. The chance of beingobese for people with less than four copies of theAMY1 gene was approximately eight times higherthan in those with more than nine copies of thisgene.

The researchers estimated that with everyadditional copy of the salivary amylase gene therewas approximately a 20 per cent decrease in theodds of becoming obese.

This is discovery is important because itsuggests that how we digest starch and how theend products from the digestion of complexcarbohydrates behave in the gut could be importantfactors in the risk of obesity. The number of copiesof a gene that a person carries can vary throughouttheir DNA, although people usually have two copiesof each gene. The researchers found that thenumber of copies of AMY1, however, can vary

wildly between people. The study found that peoplewith a low number of copies of AMY1 were mostlikely to become obese.

The researchers examined the number of copiesof AMY1 present in the DNA of more than 6,000people from the UK, France, Sweden andSingapore. According to the results of the study,people with a low number of copies of AMY1 weremost likely to become obese. From this data, theyfound that AMY1 was the

1st april to 7th april 2014

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