e-preptalk nov 2009

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Simplifying knowledge dissemination

Editor-in-Chief :

Marketing and Sales :

Sandeep Manudhane

Manish Saraf - 97555-99509

2008 All rights reserved.

Published by Manish Saraf on behalf of

PTETSL, 4th Floor, Yeshwant Plaza,Opp. Railway Station, Indore 452001.

Volume 8. Edition 05. November 2009

Editorial Office :

E-mail : [email protected]

4th Floor, Yeshwant Plaza,

Opp. Railway Station Indore - 452001

Ph : 0731-307 00 00

Fax : 0731-3070099

Reproduction or translation in any language in whole orin parts without permission is prohibited.

Articles and contributions courier or emails shouldbe addressed to

PREP-TALK DEPT., c/o Mr. B. S. Supekar.Unaccepted articles may not be returned.

The information given in this magazine is true to the bestof our knowledge. However, PT or any of its associateswill not be responsible in any manner for inadvertenterrors that may have crept into this publication. PT doesnot take responsibility for returning unsolicitedpublicationmaterial.

Disclaimer :

To be a world class training and educationorganisation shaping careers through innovative

products and services & the use of human

technologies.

Major news stories

Cover story

Current events

Profiles

News in brief

Regulars

Assembly polls 09.................................................................. 11

Climate change ..................................................................... 14

The seven vistas of the mobile world .................................. 05

India ........................................................................................ 18

...................................................................................... 24

Business and economy .......................................................... 46

Dr. Pratap Reddy ................................................................... 30

Naina Lal Kidwai ................................................................... 32

India ........................................................................................ 64

World....................................................................................... 66

Business and economy ......................................................... 68

Sports ..................................................................................... 70

Logo Quiz .............................................................................. 34

Brand icon: Gucci.................................................................. 36

Opinion .................................................................................. 38

Brand Trivia: Castrol ............................................................. 41

Brand icon: Canon ................................................................ 44

Business Trivia ...................................................................... 52

General knowledge ............................................................... 54

Book review: The Da Vinci Code ......................................... 72

World

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Contents


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Take Quoteake QuoteThegreatest part of ourhappiness

depends on our dispositions, not

our circumstances.

Martha Washington

There are no eternal facts as there

areno absolutemyths.

Friedrich Nietzsche

God brings men into deep waters,

not to drown them, but to cleansethem.

John Aughey

If you love somebody, let them go,

for if they return, they were always

yours. And if they don't, they never

were.

Kahlil Gibran

Knowledge is power, if you know it

aboutthe rightperson.

Ethel Mumford

Get the facts, or the facts will get

you. And when you get them, get

them right, or they will get you

wrong.

Dr. Thomas Fuller

Literature is an occupation in

whichyou have to keep provingyour

talentto peoplewho have none.

Jules Renard

A good novel tells us the truth

about its hero; but a bad novel tells

us thetruth aboutits author.

G. K. Chesterton

I believe in equality for everyone,

e x c e p t r e p o r t e r s a n d

photographers.

Mahatma Gandhi

Dear friends / PTzens,

Mobile is here, now, and only going to dwarf the first Internet wave due

to its ubiquity, essentialness, convenience, and proximity to nearly all we

do.

- Andrew Dod

God meant us to be wireless. The last chord we were connected to was

cutat birth.

Manish Saraf

The ubiquitous cell phone has permeated cultures round the globe and hasbecome the favourite addictionof millions. The extraordinary potentialof this devicecannotbe undermined as the number of features and functionsit can bring togetheris constantly increasing. Our cover story showcases the multifarious applications of

this engineering marvel and provides insights into a mobile world that has so muchto offer.

There is a big shift fromholding a phone toyourear to holding it in your hand,says David Edelstein of the Grameen Foundation. It opens the door to informationservices. It's not the web, but it's a web of services that can be offered on mobiledevices. The mobile phone is getting more advanced every day in terms offunctionality and offers; in addition to telephony, valuable services like messaging,contact, calendar, mobile commerce, gaming, etc. are available. It is becoming more

visible to the userand offeringgreater userexperience withhigher resolution screen,better sound quality, easier navigation facility, etc.

In places with bad roads, unreliable postal services, few trains and parlous

landlines, mobile phones can substitute for travel, allow quicker and easier access toinformation , enable traders to reach wider markets, boost entrepreneurship andgenerally make it easier to do business. Today business is next to impossible withouta mobilephone.

Then we have Mobile Education (M-Education) which will bring a paradigmshift from the paper format to mobile format and impact both people and education.It will help to develop and disseminate mobile education, an additional vehicle indistance learning, to reach the masses for remote teaching and learning in ruralcommunities and physicallychallenged.

Mobile technology has also been piloted in a range of health-related areas,including improving dissemination of public health information (e.g. disease

outbreak and prevention messages); facilitating remote consultation, diagnosis, andtreatment.

However, though the advantages mobile technology has brought out isindisputable, yet one cannot turn a blind eye to the harmful effects it can entail. Isincerelywishthatyou make a judicioususe ofthis technology.

COO, PT education


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Letters to the editoretters to the editorTime to slay the CAT

CAT 2009: Common Queries

The article provided deep insightsinto the preparation of the mostdreaded examination CAT. The tips

werehandyand useful. This issue had

everything regarding CAT that onecould ask for .I read the articles manytimes over. It enabled me to take theexam with a positive frame of mind. Ithink I have done justice to the longhours of study I put in for this exam.The exhaustive study material givenby PT educationcovered everything. Ithink many students will vouch withme if I say that this issue of PrepTalk

was like a mini encyclopedia for theCAT takers. The valuable nuggets of

wisdom helped me to sharpen my

intellect. The articles also helped meto ward off all apprehensions I had forCAT. The article set the right pace toace the CAT. I look forward to moresuch enriching articles from thePrepTalk throughoutthe year.

This article really helped me tosatisfy all the queries I had regarding

CAT. Prior to reading this I was quiteintimidated by the idea of CAT goingo nl in e a s i t h ad u nd er go ne atransition from the paper pencilformat to being a computer basedone. But all my fears were laid to restafter going through the article. I thinkithashelpedmekeepmyfearsatbay.Ifeel destressed nowand am sure that I

willnotmessupwithexam.

Ramesh Sahu, Indore

Brajesh Sharma, Raipur

Vinod Khosla

Power of concentration

I really appreciate PrepTalk forcoming out with articles regardingentrepreneurs. These articles about thefamous personalities always inspire thebudding entrepreneurs to carve a nichein the challenging corporate world. Thearticle on Vinod Khosla exhorted me tobecome a Venture Capitalist. Reading

such awe inspiring stories helps one todraw strength and energizes one totread the untrodden path. There havebeen many trailblazers and I would liketo follow suit.

The article 'Power on concentration'taught me how to remain focused and

Vivek Patidar, Jaipur

maintain my composure while takingthe CAT. While answering thequestions a lot of concentration isrequired and one cannot undermineits importance. All students who hadthis in ample measure will surelyc r a c k a n d s l a y t h e C A T.

Concentration is imperative foracademically oriented subjects. Thisarticle gave me valuable tips on howtoremain focused and free myself fromthetangles of stress.

I would like to thank PrepTalk fortaking into account this importantaspect. It would be in the deepinterest of many test takers like me todevelop the power of concentration.By doing so they will be able to graspthe questions easily and answer in a

bettermanner. They will cutdownthechances of committing errors.

Ravi Verma, Bhopal

FEEDBACK !Your comments and

views on PrepTalk

are needed to help

Us make it better.

Which articles did you like?Which columns do you

like to read regularly?

Which are the best parts of

the magazine?

Which are not?

How to improve?

Send feedback to:

[email protected]


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PTs PrepTalk November 2009 05

F

MOBILEEDUCATIONANDLEARNING

rom the invention of fire to the digital world, man has forced his scientificadvance. In this fast moving generation

computers are considered to be thegreatestgift ofscience. Cell phones are modified forms ofcomputers which are utilized mainly forcommunication that have rapidly spread throughoutthe worldin less than 20 years.Today more andmorepeople in theworld aregoing mobile.

With changing lifestyles and easy availability ofmobile phone aided with good connectivity,mobile is no more a luxury, its a necessity. With

this change of attitude, people have now realizedthat mobile is notjusta means totalk to each other,its also a great companion. It serves as yourpersonal assistant, your gaming console, yourcamera,yourmobileoffice,andalotmore.

For business professionals it offers great deal of productivityand usability, for basic users it offers games, fun applicationsand more such engaging activities. Its all been possible due tonumerous applications available today which can also be namedas the The seven Vistas of Mobile world which can be broadlyclass if ied int o:

The term m- education, or"mobile learning", has differentm e an i n gs f o r d i ff e re n tcommunities. Although relatedto e-learning and distanceeducation, it is distinct in itsf o cu s o n l e ar n in g a c ro sscontexts and learning withmobile devices.

m - c o m p u t i n g , m - e d u c a t i o n , m -

e n t e r t a i n m e n t , m - b u s i n e s s , m - a d v e r t i s i n g , m - t r a c e r a n d

t h e w i d e l y u s e d m - m u l t i m e d i a .

Onedefinition of mobilelearningis: Anysortof learning thathappens when the learner is not at a fixed, predeterminedlocation, or learning that happens when the learner takesadvantage of the learning opportunities offered by mobiletechnologies. In other words, mobile learning decreaseslimitation of learning location with the mobility of general

portable devices.

The seven vistas of the

mobile world

C o v e r y s t o r y

mLearning is learning that can take place anytime,

anywhere with the help of a mobile computer device. The

device must be capable of presenting learning content

and providing wireless two-way communication between

teacher(s) and student(s). Typically, an educational

organization administrates both the course content and

the communication services.


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06 PTs PrepTalk November 2009

T h e t e r m c o v e r s :

V a l u e

C h a l l e n g e s

T e c h n i c a l c h a l l e n g e s i n c l u d e :

learning with portable technologies,where the focus is on the technology (which could be in a fixedlocation, such as a classroom); learning across contexts, wherethe focus is on the mobility of the learner, interacting withportable or fixed technology; and learning in a mobile society,

with a focus on how society and its institutions canaccommodate and support the learning of an increasinglymobile population that is not satisfied with existing learningmethodologies.

Tutors commented on the value of mobile learning asfollows:

It is important to bring new technology into the classroom.Mobile learning could be utilised as part of a learning approach

which uses different types of activities (or a blended learningapproach). Mobile learning supports the learning process ratherthan being integral to it. Mobile learning needs to be usedappropriately, according to the groups of students involved.Mobile learning can be a useful add-on tool for students withspecial needs.

The challenges can be broadly classified into: Technical,social and educational

Connectivityand battery lifeScreensizeand key size

Ability for authors to visualize mobile phones fordeliveryMultiple standards, multiple screen sizes, multipleoperating systemsRepurposing existing e-Learning materials for mobileplatforms

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S o c i a l a n d e d u c a t i o n a l c h a l l e n g e s i n c l u d e :

G r o w t h

D e l i v e r y

T h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n f o r M o b i l e L e a r n i n g

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Accessibility and cost barriers for end users: Digital

divide.Howto assess learning outside the classroomHowto support learning across manycontextsDeveloping an appropriate theory of learning for the

mobileageConceptual differences between e- and m-learningDesignof technology tosupporta lifetimeof learningTracking of results and proper use of thisinformationNo restriction on learning timetablePersonal and private information and contentNo demographic boundaryDisruption of students'personaland academic lives

Access to and use of the technology in developing

countries

Over the past ten years mobile learning has grown from a

minor research interest to a setof significant projectsin schools,

workplaces, museums, cities and rural areas around the world.

The mLearning community is still fragmented, with different

national perspectives, differences between academia and

industry, and between the school, higher education and lifelong

learning sectors.Current areas of growth include:Testing,

surveys, job aids and just in time learning ,location-based and

contextuallearning.

Smart phones are one of the platforms used for mobile

learning. Today, any number of portable devices can quickly and

easilydeliver and support these functions. Cell or smart phones,

multi-game devices, personal media players (PMPs), personal

digital assistants (PDAs), or wireless single-purpose devices

can help deliver coaching and mentoring, conduct assessments

and evaluations (e.g., quizzes; tests; surveys/polls; and

certifications), provide on-the-job support and access to

information, education and references, and deliver podcasts,

update alerts, forms and checklists. In these ways, mobile

learning can enhance and support more traditional learning

modes, making it more portable and accessible. Mobile devices

can also serve as powerful data collection tools and facilitate the

capture of usercreatedcontent.

(IamLearn) has been formed as a membership organization to

promote excellence in research, development and application of

mobile and contextual learning. It organizes the annual mLearn

international conference series. Iam Learnmanages a website to

collate and disseminate information about new projects,

emergingtechnologies, and teachingresources.


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The increasing ubiquity of mobile phones has helpedenabled pilots looking at mobile gaming to support literacy in

India. Even the World Bank has got into the act, throughDevelopment Marketplace funding for a small pilot inBangladesh. Perhaps the most well known, and biggest, of thesepilot programs is the text2teach project in the Philippines,

which provides a way for teachers to request educational videosvia text message, with the videos delivered to a television at theschool via satellite.

You have probably seen the commercial. A woman, hangingfrom the side of the mountain, receives a text message on hercell phone from the bank. The message is about informing herthat the amount from her account is about to be withdrawn. Shetransfers funds from her savings account to her checking

account with just a fewc l ic ks o n h er p ho ne .Problem resolved! Shefinishes her climb andremains confident abouther financialsecurity.

According to JuniperResearch, the number ofpeoplewho would prefer to

do their banking transactions via their mobile phones wouldexceed 150 million around the world by 2011. Around 70% oftotal number of users would be from developed nations of

Western Europe, Far East andNorth America.Users will be ableto check account transactions, payments as well as check theiraccount balance via mobile banking application. The wave oftechnological and cultural change extends to banking andfinance as well, where customers have adjusted from banktellers to ATMsto online banking.

Its mobile banking, or m-banking, which enables mobilephone users toaccess basic financialservices even when they aremilesaway from theirnearest branch or homecomputer. Severaltrends will drive this growth. First, more banks are rolling outmobile banking solutions, paralleling a move by major cellularcarriers to upgrade their networksto deliver faster dataspeeds.

A specific sequence of SMS messages will enable the systemto verify if the client has sufficient funds in his or her wallet andauthorizea deposit or withdrawal transaction at theagent. Whendepositing money, the merchant receives cash and the systemcredits the client's bank account or mobile wallet. In the same

way the client can also withdraw money at the merchant:through exchanging SMS to provide authorization, themerchant hands the client cash and debits the merchant'saccount.

MOBILEBANKING/BUSINESS

Although, mobile banking looks fascinating but, it has got

some limitations as well.Some ofthe prominent challenges are

Handset operabilitySecurityScalability and Reliability

ApplicationdistributionPersonalization

Mobile software development companies today are making

amazing applications which help you a lot. As many as 90% of

smart phone users want to have computer like functionalities in

their devices, and in practice already close to 40% of aggregateface time is based on Internet browsing, multimedia features

and other new applications instead of talking on the phone,

writing or reading text messages, or using the phonebook.

Potentialusageof new applications couldbe evenhigher.

During recent years, mobile devices have become tools for

versatileactivities related to multimediacontent. Special mobile

phones have emerged in this field, integrating the features of

music players and digital and video cameras into mobile

communication technologies. Gaming has revolutionized the

mobile technology.

Mobile gamers frequently play games as a distraction fromdaily life issues, to relax, to relieve stress and improve their

moodeven if its during the middle of their work day. The

research says that, approximately 120 million urban Indians

used their mobile phones to play games during quarter ending

July2009,areachof41%.

In terms of time spent in playing games, 37% of the

population spends less than an hour in a week playing games

whileontheotherendofthespectrum9%spendover5hourson

an average. Also, 30% of mobile gamers play for 1 to 2 hours in a

weekand15%playfor3to5hoursinaweek.

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MOBILEENTERTAINMENTANDMULTIMEDIA



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Games like Cricket, Soccer, bowling etc is the most populargenre of games played on mobile phones. Gaming on mobilephones has a large upside potential with 40% of phone ownersplaying games, the sheer numbers speak to the opportunity forproviders in thisspace.

Theprominent entertainment modes of mobile are-

Point-and-click! Phones capture picturesand let us save them for posterity or transfer them to others and

to computers.

Mobile phones can be used to recordconversations or even brief notes to one.

Phones are becoming video cameras also some of the newest cell phones can record an hour or more of

video.

Everything recorded can beshared with othersby using MMS

Phones will also be able to read bar

codes and that can have very interesting applications incommerce.

One very important phone feature is the ability to easilyconnect to your computer. Some mobile phones come with adata cable butothers don't anddata cablesspecificto each phonecan be a bit difficult to find. If you are using an external memorycard in your mobile, this canbe removed andplaced in a memorycard reader (some computers have in-built ones or you can buyan external USBone)to transfer thefiles.

D i g i t a l c a m e r a :

A u d i o r e c o r d e r :

V i d e o r e c o r d e r :

M u l t i m e d i a m e s s a g i n g :

B a r - c o d e r e a d e r s :

L i n k i n g t o y o u r C o m p u t e r

Otherwise it is best if your computer can support datatransfer via bluetooth or infrared. Consider your existingoperating system and version (e.g. Mac/Windows/Linux) toensure thatyour mobile willbe compatible withyour computer.

Mobile phone tracking tracks the current position of amobile phone even on the move. To locate the phone, it mustemit at least the roaming signal to contact the next nearbyantenna tower, but the process does not require an active call.GSM localization is then done by multilateration based on thesignal strengthto nearby antenna masts.

i.e. location based service thatdiscloses the actual coordinates of a mobile phone bearer, is atechnology used by telecommunication companies toapproximate where a mobile phone, and thereby also its user(bearer), temporarily resides. The more properly applied termlocating refers to the purpose rather than a positioning process.Such serviceis offered as an option of theclassof location-basedservices.

The technology of locating is basedon measuring power levels and antennapatterns and uses the concept that amobile phone always communicates

wirelessly with one of the closest basestations, so if you know which basestation the phone communicates with,

you know that the phone is close to therespective basestation.

Advanced systems determine the sector in which the mobilephone resides and roughly estimate also the distance to the basestation. Further approximation can be done by interpolatingsignals between adjacent antenna towers. Qualified servicesmay achieve a precision of down to 50 meters in urban areas

where mobile traffic and density of antenna towers (basestations) is sufficiently high. Rural and desolate areas may see

miles between base stations and therefore determine locationsless precisely.

is the use of multilateration todetermine the location of GSM mobile phones, usually with theintent to locate the user.

Localization-BasedSystems can be broadly divided into:Network basedHandset basedHybridNetwork Base

M o b i l e p o s i t i o n i n g ,

T e c h n o l o g y

G S M l o c a l i z a t i o n

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MOBILEPHONETRACKING


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O p e r a t i o n a l p u r p o s e

B e a r e r i n t e r e s t

P r i v a c y

In order to route calls to a phone the cell towers listen for asignal sent from the phone and negotiate which tower is bestable to communicate with the phone. As the phone changeslocation,the antenna towers monitor the signal and the phone isroamed to an adjacent tower as appropriate.

By comparing the relative signal strength from multipleantenna towers a general location of a phone can be roughlydetermined. Other means is the antenna pattern that supportsangular determination and phasediscrimination. Newer phonesmay also allow the tracking of the phone even when turned onand not active in a telephone call. This results from the roamingprocedures that perform hand over of the phone from one basestationto another.

A phone's location can be uploaded to a common web sitewhere one's "friends and family" can view one's last reportedposition. Newer phones may have built-in GPS receivers whichcould be used in a similar fashion, but with much higheraccuracy.

Locating or positioning touches upon delicate privacyissues, since it enables someone to check where a person is

without the person's consent. Strict ethics and securitymeasures are strongly recommended for services that employpositioning, and the user must give an informed, explicitconsent to a service provider before the service provider cancomputepositioning datafrom theuser's mobile phone.

In Europe, where most countries have a constitutionalguarantee on the secrecy of correspondence, location data

obtained from mobile phone networks is usually given the sameprotection as the communication itself. The United States

however has no explicit constitutional guarantee on the privacyof telecommunications, so use of location data is not limited bylaw.

With tolling systems, as in Germany, the locating of vehiclesis equally sensitive to theconstitutionalguaranteeon the secrecyof correspondence and thus any further use of tollinginformation beyond deducting the road fee is prohibited. Thatleads to the strange situation that even obviously criminal intentmaynot be interfered by such yetavailable technicalmeans.

Officially, the authorities (like the police) can obtainpermission to positionphones in emergency caseswhere people

(includingcriminals)are missing.

It is possible in user agreements on the site offering "Free"service that one is, in fact, allowing the cellular telephonenumber beingtrackedto be addedto telemarketers' lists.

Asthe internet becomes an integral part or ourdailylives, thefuture of computing rests in devices that are truly mobile,provide all-day use, are always connected and deliver richinternet experiences.

Mobile computing is a generic term describing one's abilityto use technology while moving, as opposed to portablecomputers, which are only practical for use while deployed in astationary configuration. Many types of mobile computers havebeenintroduced sincethe 1990s, includingthe,Smartphone.

A smart phone is a mobile phone offering advancedcapabilities, often with PC-like functionality (PC-mobilehandset convergence). There is no industry standard definitionof a smartphone. For some, a smart phone is a phone that runscomplete operating system software providing a standardized

interface and platform forapplication developers.For others, a smartphoneis simply a phone withadvanced features like e-mail, Internet and e-bookreader capabilities, and/ora built-in full keyboard orexternal USB keyboardand VGA connector. Ino th er wo rd s, i t i s aminiature computer thathas phone capability.

F r e e S e r v i c e s

MOBILECOMPUTING



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Like every coin has two sides there are certain limitations ofmobile computing. Technical and other limitations of mobilecomputing areas follows:

Insufficient bandwidth

Power consumption

Potential health hazards

Human interfacewithdevice

Mobile computing technology can improve managementeffectiveness by improving information quality, informationflow, and ability to control a mobile workforce. It makes themostcurrent and accurate information available to both the mobile

worker and theusers of thefixed information systemwith whichthemobile worker communicates. These benefits canbe seen inall areas of the information system, from the fixed reportsgeneratedby a management information system all theway to adhoc systems such as decision support and executive informationsystems.

Mobile computing is versatile. It extends the reach of anorganizational information system and enables interaction with

e m p l o y e e s w h ootherwise would nothave access. The true

versatility of mobile

computingcan be seenby recalling examplesof how it is currentlyb e in g u t il i ze d t oenhance business andother operations.

It delivers criticalmedical information

from mobile emergency medical technicians to emergencyrooms, so the doctors can be ready to treat the patientimmediately upon arrival. It enables a salesperson todemonstrate product options, calculate delivery fees, check

availability, verify customer credit, and accept payment allduring one short visit.

Mobile computing is an important, evolving technology. Itenables mobile personnel to effectively communicate andinteract with the fixed organizational information system whileremainingunconstrainedby physical location.

Mobile computing may be implemented using manycombinations of hardware, software, and communicationstechnologies. The technologies must be carefully selected andthe applications designed to achieve the business needs

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C e r t a i n b e n e f i t s o f m o b i l e c o m p u t i n g a r e a s f o l l o w s :

required from the overall organizational information system.The mobile framework can assist information technology

professionals in determining the applicability of mobiletechnology to an organizational problem, opportunity, ordirective.

Mobile media hasbegun to draw more

significant attentionfrom media giants andadvertising industrysince the mid-2000s,

based on a view thatmobile media was toc h a n g e t h e w a y advertisements weremade, and that mobiledevices can forma newmedia sector. In other

w o r d s , m o b i l etechnology will come up with a strongpush foridentifying newerand unheard-of mobile multimedia, with the result thatsubsequent media migration will greatly stimulate a consumerbehavioral shift and establish a paradigm shift in mobile

advertising.

Almost 63 million urban Indians accessed Internet usingtheir phone in February, 2009. Checking emails and searchinginformation using search engines are the two most popularreason cited by almost 3 in 4 urban Indians. 16 million urbanIndians accessInternet on their phone almoston a daily basis.

Another report discussed here is SMS voting for TVcontests. Voting in reality TV shows is the most popular contesttype urban Indians participate in by sending SMS to preserved

short code. 45 million urban Indians mentioned voting in realityTV shows, the most popular SMS contest/vote type followed by

voting in newspolls (31.64 million).

In the final month leading up to the election in US, theObama campaign used mobile advertising to target the youthdemographic and voters.

Another technology that has been around for a long time isbluecasting technology. For instance, Blue Casting technologyinanyofficewouldbe usedto survey the lobby and tokeep a trackon visitors. These visitors will soon receive the SMS informingabout the services. Therefore, a relationship would beestablished with the customer, which otherwise would not have

beenpossible.

MOBILEADVERTISING


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C

ongress 3, Rest 0. With this stunning result in the latestpolitical superbowl, the Congress fortified its "top dog"status, while pushing the main opposition party, BJP,

into itsgravestpolitical crisisin over two decades. RajThackerayand Om Prakash Chautala are likely to be important in theirareas of influence but bit players nonetheless in the biggerpolitical canvas.

Indias ruling Congress Party and itsallies have swept all three of state(Maharashtra, Haryana and ArunachalPradesh) elections in a vote that was seenas a referendum on partys performancesince returning to power for a secondterm in June. Congress had alreadycontrolled all these three states -

Maharashtra, Haryana and ArunachalPradesh but its repeat hat trick has dealtanother blow to the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP), theHindu nationalist force that hadbeen Congresss main opposition. TheBJP has been reeling since Congress wonan overwhelming mandate in the Maygeneral elections. The party has beenriven with internal divisionsand hasseen anumber of high-ranking members purgedasaresult.

Overall, the party bosses would be very pleased with the

outcome because it marks not just the shrinking of BJP, but alsoputs other sources of trouble for Congress, like the BSP andSharad Pawar's NCP, on the back foot. In fact, some politicalpundits felt Congress could well be on the way to regaining itspre-1996status when as the key player in most states, it could befought onlyby a united opposition.

Despite the hat-trick in Maharashtra, face-saving inHaryana and the sweep in Arunachal Pradesh, Sonia doesn'trhyme with surge or soar, but she continues to shine in a politylittered with carbonised reputations of certain oppositiongrandees. It is the victory of a master strategist and a leader whounderstands the limits of her spheres of influence and the value

of political partnership. She has retained the momentum. Soniahas rebuilt the Congress as the natural ruling party of India onthewreckage ofthe IndianRight.

Sonia has made best use of her worst opposition. She is fastturning outto be a fine practitioner of coalition dharma, that toodespite Rahul Gandhi's go-alone experiments in the heartland.Mrs Gandhi encourages strong regional leadership-an AshokChavan in Maharashtra and a Bhupinder Singh Hooda inH ary ana, leaders w ho are w inners as w ell as goo dadministrators. And she has consistently succeeded in keepingthe traditional anti-Congress vote divided or exploiting it to heradvantage in the name of secularism. That is why she is not

particularly scared of either Mayawati or Mulayam, both ofwhom may have no love for the Congress president but care forher definition of secularism. And in an India where dissentrhymes with shrillness, Sonia appeals to what one of her youngMPs callsthe constituency of sobriety.

Some riders are in order. The win in Maharashtra has beenfacilitated by Raj Thackeray playing spoiler again on a biggerscale. In Haryana, the party failed to get a majority despite athree-way split of anti-Congress votes. The resurrection ofChautala shows the resilience of old-fashioned politics andshould be sobering for those whofeel traditional political tools caste/community havelostsalience.

Assembly polls '09:Congress victory stuns BJP

' S o n i a i s t h e a r c h i t e c t o f v i c t o r y '

M a j o r n e w s s t o r i e s


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Still, Congress' pre-eminence seems obvious whencontrasted with the BJP's continued decline. This is the secondtime since 2004 that the party and its partner, Shiv Sena, havefailed to capitalise on the unremarkable performance of theCongress-NCPgovernment in Maharashtra.

The Congress leadership rewarded Ashok Chavan with asecond term as Maharashtra Chief Minister for his goodperformance and record of winning two elections for the party

withinagapoffivemonthsduringhisshorttenureasCM.

Chavan was considered as the front-runner for the CM'spost, though there was stiff competition from former Shiv Senaleaderand ChiefMinister Narayan Rane.

Even during last year, when Chavan replaced thec u rr e nt U n io n H e av y Industries Minister VilasraoDeshmukh,Ranehadraisedabannerofrevoltbuteventuallychosetoremainintheparty.

Later, Chavan managedto mollify him and eveninducted him int o t hecabinet, giving him theplumrevenueportfolio.

A n o t h er a m b i t i ou sperson eyeing the post wasDeshmukh. He apparentlyopted out of the race after am e e t i n g w i t h P a r t y PresidentSonia Gandhi.

Chavan had secured theunexpected backing offormer Chief Minister andUnio n Po w er M inis terSushilkumarShinde.

Ashok Chavan - son of the late S.B. Chavan - took over asChief Minister Dec 4, 2008, creating history as the first father-sonduo tobecome chief ministersin thestate.

In the new assembly, the Cong-NCP alliance in the statenamed Democratic Front bagged a total 144 seats of which theCongress bagged 82 seats and the NCP secured 62 seats in the288-memberhouse.

ASHOK CHAVAN REWARDED WITH REPEAT TENURE AS

CHIEFMINISTER

The sources said that Chavan has already created a lot ofgoodwill in the party by overseeing two crucial elections during

his short tenure as the Chief Minister.

First, it was the May 2009 Lok Sabha polls followed by theOct 2009 assembly elections. In both, the Congress not only

performed handsomely but improved its tally vis-a-vis its allyNationalist CongressParty (NCP).

In the outgoing house (2004), the NCP held 71 seats against

the69seatsheldbytheCongress-thealliancetotalcomingto140.

Ashok Chavan along with 37 other cabinet ministers wereadministered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor S C

Jamir here at the Raj Bhawan, as the Congress-NCP allianceformed government after a wait of 16 days since poll results ofthe State Assemblywere announced.

NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal, who will be the Deputy ChiefMinister, was alsosworn in.

Bhupinder Singh Hooda, chosen by Congress Chief SoniaGandhi for the top job in

Haryana despite decline inthe party's strength in the

Assembly, was sworn-in asC hief M inist er for t hesecond consecutive term.

The Congress emergedas the single largest partybagging 40 seats in the 90-member House, but cobbleda majority after securing"unconditional" support of

seven independents.

The party had rompedhome in 67 constituencies in

the last Assembly election,but this time its tally camedownby27seats.

The INLD, led by OmPrakash Chautala, finishedsecond garnering 31 seats asthe October 13 Assemblyelection threw up a hung

House.

M a h a r a s h t r a g e t s a n e w g o v t :

HOODASWORNINASHARYANACM

T A L L Y

T o t a l : 2 8 8 / 2 8 8

T A L L Y

T o t a l : 9 0 / 9 0

PARTIES RESULTS


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The Haryana Janhit Congress-BL won six seats, the BJPfourandtheBSPandtheSADoneeach.

Hoodafirst becamethe Chief Minister on March 5,2005.

Dorjee Khandu, who led the Congress to a two-thirdsmajority in the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly elections, wassworn in thefifth Chief Minister ofthe borderState.

Mr. Khandu, who started his career in the Army IntelligenceCorps before graduating to politics, was administered the oathof officeand secrecy bythe Governor, Gen. (retd) J.J. Singh.

Mr. Khandu(54),who returns as Chief Minister fora secondc o ns e cu t iv e t e rm , h a dr e vo l t e d a g a i ns t a n ddislodged the powerfulGegong Apang, who ruledthe State for 23 years, in2007.

M r. Khandu t urnedsocial activist before joiningpolitics in 1980. He waselected unopposed in March

1 99 0 f ro m t he M uk toconstituency.

He was re-elected inMarch 1995 from the sameconstituency and was giventhe portfolio of Minister ofState for Cooperation.

In 1996, Mr. Khandu waselevated to the Cabinet ranka nd g iv en t he A ni ma lHusbandry & Veterinary,and Dairy Developmentdepartment.

The p olitical mes sages t hat hav e come up aremultidimensional. They have emerged essentially from thecalibrated nature of the verdict, particularly in Maharashtra andHaryana.

In Maharashtra, the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party(NCP) combine just about managed to reach the halfway markof 144 in the 288-member Assembly.

DORJEEKHANDUSWORNINFORSECONDTERM

SKEPTICISM

In Haryana, the party was reduced to 40 seats from theformidable 67 it had before in the 90-member Assembly. Theparty was compelled to seek the support of independents tosecure a baremajority.

Even in Arunachal Pradesh, where the Congress was given aclear mandate, some of these nuanced messages have foundexpression, albeiton a smaller scale.

Broadly, these messages can be categorised as follows: One,an expression of strong reservations aboutthe functioning of theState governments in Maharashtra and Haryana, particularlytheir economic policy priorities and performance in the ruralareas. Two, the electoral preference shown to regional forcessuch as the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and theMaharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) in many pockets of thetwo States while giving expression to these reservations. Three,the overriding goodwill for the UPA government at the Centreand its leadership, which neutralised much of the opposition tothe State governments and their leaderships.

The Congress meanwhile will be cheered by the electionresults, which will be read as an endorsement of its policies sofar. But in India it is always dangerous to draw insights intonational politics from state elections, which are usually decidedon local issues. So Congress ought not to become complacent.

Just twelve months ago, the conventional wisdom was that theCongress was a moribund party that would have to be lucky to

winanother term.

T h e m a n d a t e f o r t h e C o n g r e s s i n t h e r e c e n t A s s e m b l y

r o u n d c o m e s w i t h a s t e r n w a r n i n g f r o m t h e e l e c t o r a t e .

T o t a l : 6 0 / 6 0

T A L L Y

We would take steps to correct thedevelopment imbalance in the State. Ouraim is to make Maharashtra a

with Mumbai as our focus, After takingoath, Maharashtra Chief Minister AshokChavan said.

g l o b a l S t a t e



15/73


Lives of great men all remind us; we can make our lives

sublime. And, departing,leave behindus footprintson the

sands of time.

The above lines by Henry Longfellow inspire us to do

something worthwhile, useful and memorable of our seeminglyinsignificant existence so that we are remembered long after weare no more on this earth. But this inspiring quotation needs tobealtered to keepin syncwiththecurrent times thatweare living in, as and departing leave behind us

less carbon footprints on the sands of time.Today every civilized, environmentconscious person worth his/her salt

religiously calculates his/her carbonfootprints on everyday basis. Diehard environmentalists live life

frugally which many times seemsweird to ordinary mortals!

A r e c e n t n e ws r e p o r tsuggested that in Sweden soon thefood packets will be carrying details

regarding the carbon emissionsassociated with the production offoods, so that buyers are aware of the

Green House Gas(GHG) emissions theyare contributing to while buying the packet. So

you cannot even eat sumptuously without feeling

guilty of contributing to global warming! There are evensuggestions that meat eating people would soon become sociallyunacceptable as farmed ruminant animals, including cattle and

sheep are thought ofto beresponsible for upto a quarter ofman-made methane emissions worldwide. Peoples notion of eating

will change, as they will ask about the carbon content of theirfood.

However all this frenzy over climate change, itsrepercussions, the reasons which contributed towards it and

how we all can do our bit in culling and controlling the speed isnot withoutreason.

The harsh realities of climate change arecompelling peopleto adapt themselves to the new, unpredictable and unendurable

environment. In fact earning carboncredits hasbecome a meansof earning bucks for the developing countries, as they get dollars

from the developed countries for every reduction in carbonemission they effect. States such as Jammu and Kashmir in theNorth to Sikkimin theNorth East are fighting with theCentre to

provide funds for conserving forests which act as carbon sinks.The Government is spending crores of rupees on research todevelop drought resistant, submergence tolerant and heat

resistant varieties of crops, limiting use of nitrogenfertilizers, developing new building materials

which can be used instead of cement, taking

greenfarming to remote villages.

The above steps point out to the fact

that man is the only species on thisplanet which has the power ofu n d er s t an d i ng , i n t el l e ct a n d

reflection through which he can alter

and adapt to the natures course. Theonly thing which poses a threat tomans existence on this planet is his

greed. As Mahatma Gandhi had truly

said,

Meanwhile, let us do a quick revision of theseterms,which have started to bring chill downthe spines

of even themost powerful nations.

Climate change is the effect of global warming on weather.As wind and water get warmer, the earths climate cycles willchange dramatically, leading to shifts in agricultural productionand water supply. As the earths temperature rises, evaporation

goes up, leading to more pronounced dry spells. At the sametime, all the moisture in the air collects over the oceans, and

when these clouds finally roll over land, they release torrential

and sudden rains.

Over the last 100 years, the average temperature of the air

near the earths surface has risen a little less than 10C and

Earth provides enough to

satisfy every man's need, but not

every man's greed

1. Whatis climate change?

2. Globalwarming:

Climate change:The harsh reality of our times!

M a j o r n e w s s t o r i e s


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although it doesnt seem to be more, scientists are certain that a

temperature rise as fast as the one we have seen over the last 30yearshas neverhappened before..

Global warming is defined as the increase of the averagetemperature on Earth. There have always been natural climatechanges Ice Ages and the warm intermediate times between

them but those evolved over periods of 50,000to 100,000 years.For the next few years a temperature rise of about 1-20C hasbeen predicted by 2020. As the earth is getting hotter, disasters

like hurricanes, raging forest fires, droughts and floods aregetting more frequent. Out of the 20 warmest years during thelast thousand years, 19 have occurred since 1980. The threehottest years ever observed have all occurred in the last eight

years. Thus it is not only about how much the earth is warming,itisalsoabouthowfastitiswarming.

The green house effect got its name from the artificial green

house created by man to foster the growth of certain plants thatneed high temperature. Sunrays enter the glass roof and walls ofa greenhouse. But once they heat up the ground, which in turn,

heats up the air inside the greenhouse the glass panels trap thatwarm air and temperatures increase. The atmosphere acts asthe glass walls and traps the solar heat which makes the

temperatureof theearthconducive to life.

Trouble starts when the gases in the atmosphere

accumulate, and do not allow reflection of the radiation of thissolar energyback into space.Thicker theGHG cover, higherthetrapping of solarenergy, causing green houseeffect.

Nitrogen, oxygen, and argon make up 98 percent of theEarths atmosphere. But they do not absorb significant amounts

of infrared radiation, and thus do not contribute to thegreenhouse effect. It is the more exotic components like water

3. GreenhouseEffect:

vapour, carbon dioxide, ozone, methane, nitrous oxide, andchlorofluorocarbons that absorb heat and thus increase

atmospherictemperatures. Theseare known as the greenhousegases. These gases in the atmosphere prevent reflection ofradiation back into space.

In what seems like natures brutal irony, the gases that makelife on Earth possible now threaten our very existence. Naturalgreenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous

oxide have always been in the atmosphere. Throughout Earthshistory, temperatures have varied greatly, mostly depending onthe concentration of greenhouses gases in the atmosphere. All

signs now suggest that a major temperature change ishappeningagain, butthis time humanity is thecause.

Also known as laughing gas, nitrous oxide seems less funnysince scientists branded it as the third most important

greenhousegas emitted through humanactivities.

Contributionto Human-Induced Climate Change: 7%

Global Warming Potential (100 years): 298 timesstronger than CO

Like most other greenhouse gases, nitrous oxide is neither

toxic nor destructive but a fundamental part of the mechanismsthat keep our planet healthy and green. Produced by digesting

bacteria, nitrous oxides are part of the nitrogen cycle, one of themostimportant chemical reactions on Earth.

The indiscriminate use of nitrogen fertilizers by chemistsand farmers to increase crop yields increased the amount of

nitrous oxide thrownback in theatmosphereto more than twice.

Mankinds binge on fertilizers and fossil fuels, another

source of the gas, has increased nitrous oxide levels in theatmosphere by about 18 percent since 1750. Fortunately, nitrousoxide appears only in scarce quantities; it is about a thousand

times rarer than carbon dioxide. But its long atmosphericlifetime of about 150 years and its strong warming potential,

more than 300 times stronger than CO , make it an effectiveagent of globalwarming.

But the picture is not all bleak. Emissions fromtransportation, once a major source of nitrous oxide, have

decreased recently due to the use of catalytic converters inmodern cars. Reducing nitrous oxide emissions is also cheaperthan reducing CO or methane emissions, according to the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency. A study published by British

farming associations calculates that more efficient use ofnitrogen fertilizers could reduce nitrous oxide emissions by upto20percent.

4. Greenhousegases :

1. Nitrous Oxide Nothing toLaugh About

r

r


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2. Methane A TickingBomb

3. Carbon Dioxide - Endless Warming

Methane is number two among the man-made climate

warmers worldwide. Its concentration in the atmosphere hasincreased threefold since the industrial revolution. But withmore warming, theworstcould still be to come.

Contribution to Human-Induced Climate Change:23%

Global Warming Potential (100 years): 25 timesstronger than CO

Methane, the second most important greenhouse gas aftercarbon dioxide and the primary component of natural gas, is

virtually omnipresent. The odorless, colorless gas leaksfrom theEarths mantle through volcanoes, vents from the stomachs of

millions of livestock, rises from wetlands, marshes, and coalmines,and bubbles up from allthings decaying.

Since 1750 methane levels have increased by about 150

percent, according to the UN Intergovernmental Panel onClimate Change. This has been responsible for about a fifth oftheenhancedgreenhouseeffect over thepast 200 years.

Scientists fear that a lot of methane is trapped in permafrostsoils and under the worlds oceans could be freed by further

globalwarming.More methane could come from melting methane deposits

in oceanseabeds if watertemperatures rise sufficiently.

One of the mostconvenient strategies

to reduce methaneemissions is burningthe excess gas that

rises from landfills,natural gas productionsites, or other naturalsources. However, this

releases CO into the

atmosphere, also a greenhouse gas but with a lower globalwarming potential.

Even better is using the methane to power gas turbines orfuel cars. A numberof farmers now usetheir animals manuretoproduce methane for heating or electricity, while landfills and

gas producers switch from simply flaring the gas to actuallyusing it as a sourceof energy.

Carbon dioxide the number-one reason for man-madeclimate change!

Contribution to Human-Induced Climate Change:70%Global Warming Potential (100 years): 1

r

r

r

r

r

The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has beenin flux throughout the Earths history, but the United NationsIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that inpre-industrial times CO made up around 280 ppmv (parts per

million volume) of the Earths atmosphere which increased by

nearly40 % to more than 380ppmvpost industrial revolution.

This increase in CO s share of the atmosphere is mostly

due to anthropogenic (man-induced) factors, such as burning

fossil fuels, deforestation and industrialproduction.

In total, humans emit around 32 gigatons of carbon dioxide

each year. Half of this stays in the atmosphere; the rest is

absorbed by oceans and vegetation. With sharp increases inman-made CO emissions, the natural CO cycle gets thrown

out of balance: vegetationcan no longer transform the increased

amount of CO into oxygen, and oceans are steadily reaching

saturation level. The result of the increasing amount of carbondioxide in the atmosphere is an enhanced greenhouse effectand, subsequently, climate change. While CO is only

responsible for 20 percent of the natural greenhouse effect, it

accounts for about 60 percent of the anthropogenic greenhouseeffectthat is causing thelatest wave of global warming.

The above details help us to gain an insight into the

reasons and effects of climate change but at the same timeprovide hope that although the effects are irreversible, further

damagecan be haltedif timelystepsare taken.

The tsunami of Andaman Nicobar -2005, the super cylone

striking the eastern coast of India in Orissa -1999, Katrinahurricane-2005 which shook America, the floodsin Philippinesduring September end this year which displaced more than

3,30,000 people. In our own country, just when the newspaperswere reportinga drought like situationin the State,the monsoon

Lets take a look at some harsh realities of climate

change!

P rotes tors d res se d i n C O m ole c ul e c ostu me s ,

demonstrate in Essen June 1, 2007, as part of the initiative

'ByeBye CO ' against carbon dioxide pollution


18/73


delivered a deadly lash with its tail killing more than 160 peoplein three days torrential rains across Karnataka and AndhraPradesh. The world has never seen so many natural disasters

occurring in such quick succession i.e within the last threedecades.

According to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climatechange about 7 per cent of the ice of theHimalayan glaciers is melting away each

year. The report predicts that these

glaciers may disappear entirely as early as2030. Rising sea levels, brought about byglacier melt, could submerge islands and

coastal towns. This is also likely to turnthe perennial rivers into seasonal ones.The Intergovernmental Panel for

Climate Change projects an increase of1.80C to 40Cin temperature by the end

of the century. Farmers in India are losing more than 50% of

their annual income due to climate change. A rise intemperature by 1- 20C is predicted by 2020, which besidesaffectingagriculture, will throw the ecological biodiversity out of

balance, and add to new emergence of pests and pathogens, which will make disease management difficult for farmers.More heat waves, erratic rainfalls, higher incidence of droughts

andfloods, frequenthurricanes are predictedby scientists in thenear future.

Climate change is no longer the threat of tomorrow. It ishere, changing the lives of all of us, as we feel the effects of a

warming climate. Theworld leaders will meet in Copenhagen in

December, to chart out a policy for all the countries to cull theeffects of climate change!

Environment ministersfrom about 190 nations will gatherin

Copenhagen to build on the existing Kyoto Protocol which willexpire by 2012, by ensuring rich nations sign up to deeper

emission cuts while offering greater

a s s is t a n ce t o d e v e lo p i n g

countries to help them curbgreenhouse gas pollution.

While the richc o u n t r i e s a r e

responsible for 72p er c en t o f t ot al G HGemissions between 1950 and2000, they are of the view that

developing nations like Chinaand India too have becomemajor contributors of carbon

emissions.

TheKyoto protocol andthe Copenhagen summit

And the debate between the haves and have-nots

continues

Lets do ourbit in reducing theGHG emissions

why didnt we stop climatechange when we had the

chance?

This year the world leaders have the opportunity to set thecourse for a new international climate treaty in the Copenhagenconference in December-09. However there is a snag the

developed nations do not want to pay for the carbon reductionprojects in the developing nations and wants them to commit toemission cuts, whereas developing countries like India whichhas become the worlds fourth largest emitter of GHG insists

that it wont accept binding cuts on its GHG emissions becausethecuts might limit economic growth.

W h il e t h e b i gw i gs o f t h einternational arena draw up a policy forall the nations to cope with climate

change, we as individuals can do ouro wn b it i n re du ci ng t he G HGemissions. Small steps like using less

fossil fuel by making use of car poolsand bicycles, creating awareness of theill effects of blatant consumerism,

conserving energy, minimizing use ofpaper, wood, encouraging use of natural source of energy likesolar, wind, etc, water reharvesting can go a long way in saving

ourplanetfromdying, beforeit is toolate!

The effects of climate change, bare and naked are staring at

our face. Andalthough we cannot stop the process, we cansurelyput a limit on the amount of GHG emissionsand adapting to theeffects. It is high time, that joint efforts are put in by all the

parties at stake to check further deterioration of the globalenvironment and think of measures to cope effectively with theclimate change. If no such concrete steps are taken, the scene

from the film, where an old man living in thedevastated world of 2055, watching archival footage from 2008

asks,

might come true!

A g e o f S t u p i d ,

GreenDrinks: An Eco-friendlysocialnetworkingjoint

Green Drinks is an event that was born in England in 1989;its creators were taking something in a

pub in London with fellow designers andnoted that at the next table there wereother people talking about issues relatedto the environment. Soon the tables are

joined and the movement was born.Whatisit?

A group of people interested in the environment and

sustainable development meet in a bar for drinks and sharecontacts,makesynergies or simplyhaving a goodtime.

Did you know?


19/73


FIVE-PHASE JHARKHAND ASSEMBLY POLLS FROM

NOV 27

E l e c t i o n C o m m i s s i o n

announced five-phase assemblypolls in Jharkhand spread overNovember-December.

Faced with a serious threat ofMaoist violence, five-phasee l ec ti o n f o r 8 1 a ss e mb l y constituencies will take place on

November 27, December 2, 8, 12 and 18. Results will beannounced on December 23. Jharkhand assembly has beenunder suspended animation since January and President's ruleendsonJanuary18.

Thirty constituencies will go to polls in the first phase, 15 inthe second, seven in the third, 14 in the fourth and 15 in the lastphase. Going by the schedule, most areas under Maoistinfluencewillgo topollsin thelasttwo phases.

Jharkhand has 1.8 crore voters and 23,944 polling stations.While photo electoral rolls have been prepared in the case of74.19% voters, 77.63% voters haveelectoralphoto identity cards.

Admitting that conducting election in Jharkhand could be aproblem due to the Maoist menace, chiefelectioncommissionerNavin Chawla said home ministry has agreed to providesufficient central paramilitary forces. However, he refused to

give details of the security arrangement. The last assemblyelection in Jharkhandwas conductedin three phases.

Unlike his predecessor N Gopalaswami, Chawla has doneaway with vulnerabilitymapping of areas. However, the standardoperating procedure of randomisation of EVMs twice,deployment of observers and micro-observers has beenfollowedasinthepast.

Adequate number of observers would be deployed to ensuresmooth conduct of elections, micro-observers would overseeproceedings in the polling stations on Election Day in selectedcritical polling stations,Chawla said.

The state government has also been asked to transfer allofficers against whomEC has recommended disciplinary actionor who have been charged with any lapse during previouselections or for any election related work from positionsentailing any election work, Chawla said.Elections to theJharkhand assembly would be held in five phases from Nov 27 toDec 18,the ElectionCommission announced.

Votes would be counted on Dec 23, Chief ElectionCommissionerNavinChawlatoldreporters.

With the approval of union cabinet, the 81-member Jharkhand assembly, which was kept in suspended animationsince January this year, was dissolved. The cabinet acted on therecommendation of state GovernorK. Sankaranarayanan.

Thepresident's rule wasimposedin thestate on Jan19, 2009after then chief minister Shibhu Soren lost a by-poll and had to

resign.

Mumbai will host thefinaland Mohali oneof thesemi-finals,according to the allocation of India'sshare of matches in the 2011 cricketWorldCup announced.

India, w hich co -ho s ts t heshowpiece event with Sri Lanka andBangladesh in February-March2011, will organise 29 matches ateight venues, the Indian cricketboardsaid in a statement.

The Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, being renovated for theWorld Cup, will host three matches, including the final, whileMohaliwill stage onesemi-final andtwo othergames.

The one quarter-final allotted to India will be held in thewestern city of Ahmedabad, which will also host two morematches.

tututu

MUMBAITOHOST2011WORLD CUP FINAL

India

C u r r e n t e v e n t s


20/73


New Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore,Nagpur and Kolkata will each stagefour matches, including one featuringthehometeam.

S ri L an ka w il l h os t 1 2 a ndBangladesh eight of the remaining 20games in the 49-match tournamentafterPakistan was removed as co-hostsby the International Cricket Councildue to security concerns.

Sri Lanka will stage the othersemi-finaland one quarter-final, whileBangladesh will host the opening

ceremony on February 18, 2011 andtwo quarter-finals.

The 14teams have been divided intotwo groupswith the topfourfromeach qualifyingforthe quarter-finals.

Group A features defending champions Australia, Pakistan,New Zealand, SriLanka, Zimbabwe,Canada and Kenya.

Group B comprises India, South Africa, England, WestIndies, Bangladesh, Ireland and theNetherlands.

Mumbai- Final plus twomatchesMohali - Semi-finalplus twomatches.Ahmedabad- Quarter-final plus twomatches.

New Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Nagpur, Kolkata will hostfourmatches each.

Despite several hurdles still to be crossed over for theambitious expansion of nuclear power production in India, N-power is inevitable for the country's growth as well as to savefuture generation from inflation, a top executive ofPricewaterhouse,Coopers said.

"India should focus on manufacturing of equipment for thenuclear industry, aim for becoming part of global supply chainand export of cost effective small reactors which many of thesmall countries are looking for," Kameshwara Rao, executivedirector, Industry Leader for Electricity and mining, PWC, toldreporters on the sidelines of Second Indo-French NuclearIndustry Business Meet.

D i s t r i b u t i o n o f I n d i a ' s m a t c h e s :

tututu

N-POWER INEVITABLE FOR INDIAS GROWTH: PWC

PWC released a study on'Opportunities and challenges forIndo-French cooperation inNuclear Power' interviewing 35companies of various sizes frombothIndia and France.

The study was released by theambassador of Franceto India, Jerome Bonnafont.

Rao pointed out that India is carrying out several parallelprocesses at various levels from local, company andgovernment levels to make thebilateral agreementwith France areality but even after six years it may not be possible to get amegawatt of power as there are several scientifically and

otherwise complex issues involved.

Indian nuclear power plants are cost effective compared tothe global players, and since so many countries whose grids aresmall are showing interest in India's 220 MW, 540 MW nuclearreactors Indian industry should get ready for the export of suchsmallreactors, he said.

Manufacturing is a good strength for India and Indiancompanies have huge potential, he said adding although thereare some restrictions on dual use equipment, there is a lot oflearning curve to be undertaken.

India and China signed a major agreement on cooperation inaddressing climate change issues on October 21, 2009.

The five-year agreement was signed by Environment andForest Minister Jairam Ramesh and Chinas Minister forNational Development and Reforms Xie Zhehua. It calls forcooperation on various issues related to climate change at

various levels.

Speakingon the occasion Zhehua saidChinaconsiders Indiaa sincere and devoted friend andexpressed confidence that bothcountries would make a positive contribution at theCopenhagen Summit.

Both India and China are collaborating to ensure a fair andequitable outcome at Copenhagen. An outcome that is inkeeping with the principles of the Rio Convention of 1992, theKyoto Protocol of 1997 and theBali ActionPlan of 2007.Thereisto my mind virtually no difference between the Indian and theChinese negotiating position, Ramesh said.

tututu

INDIA AND CHINASIGN THEIR FIRSTBILATERAL

AGREEMENT ONCLIMATE


21/73


We will be discussing further what India and China should be

doing to ensuring a successfuloutcome at Copenhagen that fullyprotects and promotes, not onlyprotects but also promotes theinterest of developingcountrieslikeChinaandlikeIndia,headded.

According to the new agreement both India and China willhold regular ministerial consultations aimed at deepening theircooperation in combatingclimatechange.

An India -China Working Group will be established for anexchange of views on an annual basis on matters related to

international negotiations on climate change.

The two sides agreed to increase their cooperation intechnology development relating to reduction of green housegas emission in the fields of energy conservation, clean coal,afforestation, sustainable habitat and transportation amongotherissues.

Both India and China will also enhance their cooperationmitigating the impact of climate change. Joint research, capacitybuilding, public private partnership aresome of other aspects ofclimate changein which thetwo sides will cooperate.

The eligibility criteria of 60 percent marks in class-XII forappearing in IIT Joint Entrance Examination will be raisedfrom next year to make students pay more attention to theboard exam.

In a significant move to checkthe growth of coaching centres, which are thriving on imparting

coaching to students for IIT-JEE,the government decided to changethe criteria, so that students'attention will be more focused onthe board examat Class-XII.

The present criteria are thatstudents need to secure 60 percent

at class-XII for appearing in IIT-JEE. This is not acceptable.Theminimum marks requiredfor IIT-JEEcouldbe raisedup to80 to 85 percent, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal told after themeeting of the IIT Council, the apex decision making body forthe eliteinstitutes, at New Delhi.

tututu

IIT-JEECRITERIATOBETOUGH FROMNEXTYEAR

He said the three-member committee has been set up tolook into the curriculum and the IIT-JEE system and submit its

report within three months, suggesting requiredchanges.

The committee comprises Science and TechnologySecretary T Ramasamy, Secretary Department of BiotechnologyM K Bhan andDirector General CSIR SameerBrahmachari.

The coaching centres are giving training for the IITentrance. As a result, the students are not studying seriously forClass-XII exam and giving more attention to entrance. We wantto getrid of thecoachingcentres by givingmoreweightage totheboard exam, Sibal said.

The three-member committee will also review the

curriculumof theIITsand suggest the modification required tohelp these institutes moveforward.

The committee will decide what should be the curriculumof the IIT's so that the institutes will be able tocompete withtheglobal brands, Sibal said.

Besides, the government has decided to change theeligibility of students for availing the merit-cum-meansscholarshipbeinggivenat theend ofclass-XII.

The income criteria, which was Rs two lakh per annum asfamilyincome,hasbeenchangedtoRs4.5lakh.

The IIT Council also discussed about the impact foreignuniversities and their entry into India after the governmentpasses the Foreign EducationProvidersBill.

Some of the IITs are interested to collaborate with theforeign universities, he said.

To attract more foreign students, the government willreduce the fee structure for students from SAARC and Africancountries,Sibal said.

Gearing up to host the Commonwealth Games next year,India has reinforced its commitment to check doping in theevent and has contributed $20,000 to the International Fund forthe Elimination of Doping in Sports.

India, in 2007, ratified the International Convention againstDopingin Sport,whichhas been developedby UNESCO. Thereare105othercountriessignatorytotheconvention.

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INDIA ANNOUNCES $20,000 TOANTI-DOPINGFUNDS

AHEADOFCWG


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The Human Resource Development Ministry coordinateswithUNESCOon internationalcooperation on theissue.

Given India's commitment to the international campaignagainst doping in Sports, it has announced a contribution of$20,000 to the International Fund for the Elimination of Dopingin Sports,a ministry source said.

The convention helps formalise global anti-doping rules,policies and guidelines in order to provide an equitable playingenvironment forall athletes.

The convention also aims to ensure the effectiveness of the World Anti-Doping Code in international law, creatingobligations on nations to take steps in accordance with its

principles.

Under the convention, the government will need to takespecific action to restrict the availability of prohibitedsubstances to athletes, including measures against traffickingand withhold financial support to athletes and support topersonnel whocommit any anti-doping codeviolation.

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan launched a mobiletestingunitfordiabetesinGoaon25October2009.

The bus, known as a MobileD i a be t e s A s s es s m en t U n i t,capable of testing diabetes withinminutes, was donated by theBritish-based Silver Star charity, with whom Bachchan works asinternationalpatron.

Talking to reporters, Bachchan

said that his endorsement ofhealthcare related initiative was afalloutofhisbrushwiththehealthcaresystem.

I must admit that a lot of it came into my mind after myown several escapades with the medical profession in Indiabecause of my various accidents and my own visits to ICUs ofseveral hospitals and I felt that if I can contribute in anymanner towards the healthcare I will be very happy to do that,he added.

Vaz, a British MP said India was on course to becoming thediabetes capital of the world.

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AMITABHBACHCHANLAUNCHESMOBILE DIABETES

TESTING UNIT INGOA

We have approximately 14 million people in India who havebeen diagnosed with diabetes and there are many millions morewho have not been diagnosed and it is supposed that unless wedo something about this. By the year 2025, we will be here inIndia, SaidKeithVaz,Memberof British Parliament.

The charity has launched India's first Mobile DiabetesAssessment Unit in Goa and plans to launch more in cities likeMumbaiand Delhi in near future.

India has been ranked in the bottom half among 134countries in terms of gender equality, in WEF's latest rankingthat assessed the distribution of resources and opportunitiesamongmalesandfemales.

Slipping one place from lastyear, Indiahas corneredthe 114thposition in the World EconomicForum's 'The Global GenderGap Index 2009 rankings' whichis toppedby Iceland.

Apart from Iceland, the list features three more Nordicnations at the top Finland (2), Norway (3) and Sweden (4)whileNewZealandisatthefifthspot.

Though placed way ahead of India, neighbouring China hasdropped to the60thposition. Thecountry hadcorneredthe 57thspotlast year.

India (114), Korea (115), Iran (128) and Pakistan (132)continue to hold some of the lowest positions in the Asianrankings.

While India, Iran and Pakistan perform very poorly on the

economic, education and health subindexes, their overall scoresare partially bolstered by relatively good performances onpoliticalempowerment,the WEFsaid.

In 2007 too, India was ranked 114th while the country hadcornered the98thplacein 2006.

Othercountries in thetop tenare South Africa(6), Denmark(7),Ireland (8),Philippines (9) and Lesotho (10).

The UK is ranked 15th while the US is at the 31st place.Among other BRIC nations, Brazil is at the 82nd spot whileRussia is ranked 51st.

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INDIA SLIPS TO 114TH PLACE INGLOBALGENDERGAP

RANKING:WEF


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NCERTLAUNCHES ALL-INDIA SURVEYONQUALITYOF

SCHOOL EDUCATION

RADHAKRISHNAN NEWISRO CHIEF

In an exercise that will help the government plan out properpolicy for inclusion of physically challenged children ineducation, the NCERThas embarked upon a nationwide surveyto find out degree of disability of such students and also thequality of elementary education.

The NCERT has started the 8th All IndiaSchool Education Survey under which it will findout the age-specific data of students in aparticular class, the degree of disability ofphysically challenged students, enrollment,

drop-out rates and the quality of elementaryeducationin thecountry.

For the first of time, we have included provision forcollecting data on degree of disability of physically challengedstudents. This will show what kind of disability the students arehaving. It will help to plan outpolicy on howto provide educationto them in a comprehensive manner, NCERT Director ProfKrishnaKumarsaid.

The NCERT conducts the all-India survey on the quality ofelementary education every five years. The survey intends tocreate a database on status of school education system with

respect to access, class-wise enrolment, achievement andavailability of basisfacilityin schools.

The age-wise data of students in a particular class will showwhether any over-aged or under-aged students are studying intheclass.

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K Radhakrishnan, director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centrein Thiruvananthapuram, was named the next chairman of the

IndianSpace ResearchOrganisation.

A rm ed w it h a f ax c op y o f h isappointment, Radhakrishnan, who takesover from G Madhavan Nair, visited thefamed Guruvayoor Sree Krishna Templein Thrissur.

One of the key persons behind theChandrayaan-1 mission, the senior Isroscientist says his immediate priority will

be the successful flight of GSLV-D3 in December 2009 with anIndiancryogenicstage.

INDIA TO LAUNCHNATIONALMISSION FORWOMEN

The Government of India will soon launch a nationalprogramme, called the National Mission for Women, to combatsocial evils against women. This will be chaired by PrimeMinister ManmohanSingh.

Proposed by the Ministry ofWomen and Child Development,the 'umbrella mission' will coverall existing programmes for women's welfare and evaluateand monitor their efficacy.

The idea of the NationalM i ss i on f o r Wo m en w a sproposed initially by PresidentPratibha Patil. There are many women-centric programmes indifferent ministries and thismission will converge them alland monitor them," Women and Child Development MinisterKrishna Tirathsaid.

Themission,whichwill be on till 2018, will compare figures ofmaternal mortality, child sexratio, ageof a girl getting married andother such socialdevelopment indicators at thebeginning andat

the end and then suggest policy changes and new schemes toimprovethestatusofwomen.

ThePlanning Commission has allocated Rs 8,670crore for aperiodof nine years forthe mission.

Women and Child Development Ministry also proposed"Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of AdolescentGirls" to improve the nutritional status of girls, who are outof school.

"This programme will be implemented in anganwadicentres,"Tirath said.

The Minister, who chaired a national meeting of StateMinisters and State Secretaries in-Charge of Women and ChildDevelopment, said that from just seven states which had agreedto implement the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS),nowall others have expressedtheirinterest in it.

ICPS is a scheme that was launched this year to increaseawareness and work on issues of child rights like setting up offoster care homes. Seven states had signed a MoU till now withthe centre to jointly handle this scheme financially, but all theother states have said that they will sign it in the next twomonths.


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NOPRE-PAIDMOBILES IN J-K FROMNOV. 1

MASSIVE FIREAT INDIANOIL DEPOT IN JAIPUR

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has decided that nopre-paid mobile connections should be issued and existing pre-paid SIM cards should not be renewed in Jammu and KashmirafterNovember1, 2009.

The Ministry has asked theDept. of Telecommunicationsto take appropriate action in thematter for implementation ofthedecision.

The step comes in the wake

of the reports that proper verification is not being donewhile providing such pre-paid

mobile connections by the serviceproviders/vendors.

In some cases,a single personhad been issuedwith multiplenumber of connections.

The fake documents/identity numbers are also reportedlybeing used by the vendors particularly, in the case of pre-paidconnections. This situation had given rise to serious securityconcerns.

A massive fire due to an explosion at the 100,000 kilolitrecapacityIndianOil Depotat Sitapura industrial area in Jaipur, onOctober 29, 2009 killing at least five people and injuring 150others.

The fire, which could be seen miles away as well as the thickblack smoke, has reduced to cinder nearby dwellings and afactory.

As the depot went up in flames, the administration quicklyevacuated residential colonies and shut down colleges andindustrial units in a 3-km radius. Roads up to 5 km radius havebeenblocked by theadministration.

The army was also pressed into action to help in the rescueefforts.

A local industry association member said nearly 1,100industrial units in the vicinity of the site have been shut down.Hundreds of units suffered damage to their building due theblasts at the depot. The damages suffered are reportedly to thetune of nearlyRs 500 crore.

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We can't do muchfirefighting in suchkind of fires. We justhavetowaitforthefuelto burn out, said anIndian Oil official.

I n d i a n O i lanno unced an ex -gratia payment of Rs10 lakh to the next ofkin of each employee killed, Rs 2 lakh for each of those seriouslyinjuredandRs1lakhforthosewithminorinjuries.

An addition, thestate government has already announced Rs2 lakh for the families of each of those killed and Rs 1 lakh eachfor theseriouslyinjured.

Union Petroleum Minister MurliDeora also announced thata high-level enquiry committee has been set up, tobe headed byformer chairman and managing director of HindustanPetroleumCorp LtdM.B.Lal.

The committee has been given six weeks to submit a reportto the petroleumministry.

Hindustan Petroleum, which has recently commissioned apetroleum product terminal at Bagru, near Jaipur on its Mudra-Delhi product pipeline, will take care of the requirements of theproductsin theareaalongwithothernearby oildepots.

A s f i r e d i e s d o w n , e n v i r o n m e n t a l c r i s i s l o o m s l a r g e

The fire raging has led to an environmental crisis in thecapital city. The thick black plumes of smoke have spread todozens of villages and residential colonies, hampering visibilityand creatingpanic.

Hundreds of people are visiting hospitals with thecomplaints of breathing problem, sore throat, irritation in the

eye, allergy and itching. In addition to the mobile medical teamsthat are making rounds in thevillages,all primary health centresin the rural terrain have been asked to remain open round-the-clock.

Environmental experts here fear that the smoke, apart fromaffecting the health of the people in and around the city, wouldalso hit agriculture in the surrounding villages which supplyvegetablesand foodgrain to Jaipur.

With the onset of winter, the smoke billowing from the hugeverticaltanksat theIOC terminal is likelyto settleover thecityasahazeinthedaystocome.


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OBAMA SIGNS MILITARY BUDGET BILL;

PAK TO GET USD 2.3 BILLION

US President BarackObama signed a USD6 8 0 -b i l l io n d e f en c ebudget bill that providesUSD 2.3 billion militaryassistance to Pakistanwith tough condition tomake sure that the fundsare not squandered ordiverted to affect the"balance of power in theregion".

Obama said the Defence Authorisation Bill for 2010

eliminates some of the waste and inefficiency in the defenceprocess that will better protect the nation, troops and savetaxpayerstens of billions of dollars.

"The bill includes a commitment to the stability of Afghanistan and Pakistan, expanded programmes to keepnuclear weapons out of the hands of rogue states and terrorists,and a reformed system of defence acquisition to save taxpayermoney," saidHouse MajorityLeader StenyH Hoyer.

The military aid money to Pakistan for the fiscal 2010 asmentionedin thebill hastwo major components USD1.6 billionfor the Coalition Support Fund and USD 700 million for the

Pakistan CounterinsurgencyCapability Fund.

For the USD 1.6 billion Coalition Support Fund, the billwould require that, before any more such money is spent, theObama administration must certify that doing so is in the USnational interest will not adversely affect the region's balance ofpower.

India feels that the American assistance to Pakistan shouldbe more focused on building counter-insurgency capabilitiesrather than conventional defence equipment which can bediverted for other purposes.

INDIA RECEIVES CW GAMES BATON FROM THE QUEEN

English Queen Elizabeth IIpassed the Queen's baton for the

2010 Commonwealth Games toPresident Pratibha DevisinghPatil, starting the countdown tothe sporting event to be held inNew Delhinext year.

The baton was handed over to President Patil at London'sBuckingham Palace in the presence of Union Sports MinisterM.S. Gill, Commonwealth Games Federation president MikeFennell and Suresh Kalmadi, Chief of the 2010 GamesOrganisingCommittee.

The Baton Relay is one of the great traditions of the

CommonwealthGames.

Indian Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra began thebaton relay amid loud cheers from the crowd, some of whomwereseen waving theIndian flag.

Bindra was joined in the run one byone by Indian and international sportinggreats. Among them were Kapil Dev,Sania Mirza, Milkha Singh, MontyPanesar, Vijender Singh, Sushil KumarandKarnamMalleswari.

The baton handover was preceded bythe national anthems of India and Britain.The baton will go on a journey across thewold, visiting all the 70 Commonwealthnations.

Aftera journey of 240 days, it will reachthe Indianshores andgotoallthestatecapitalsandsomeothercities.

The journey will finally end on 3rd October next year inDelhi, signalling the beginning of the 2010 Games. This will beone of the longest baton relays in the history of the sportingevent.

C u r r e n t e v e n t s

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The relay ceremony proceedings began with schoolchildren, dressed in blue uniforms, singing verses from the RigVeda. The verses symbolised unity and oneness in the spirit ofthe Commonwealth. The choir singing was followed by severalIndiandance performances.

"The baton journey is symbolic in many ways but it's morethanjustthat.It enables somany morepeople tofeela partof thegame," Fennell said.

A preparation meetingfor the nuclear securitys u mm i t, w h ic h U SPresident Barack Obamap la ns t o c on ve ne i n Washington next spring, will be held in Japan inD ecember, a vis it inge xe cu ti ve o f t he U Snuclear security agencyhas said.

Referring to Japan's technical expertise and long history ofwork on peaceful uses of nuclear energy, Thomas D'Agostino,administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration,said, "I expect the world will h

e-preptalk nov 2009

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