weekly 28th jan to 3rd feb 2013 web

8/22/2019 Weekly 28th Jan to 3rd Feb 2013 Web

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28TH JANUARY, 2013 TO 3RD FEBRUARY, 2013

Strictly for Internal Circulation (Not for sale)

WEEKLY CURRENT

AFFAIRS BULLETIN

Visit:ias100.in

Call: 09582948810, 09953007628


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Week l y Cu r r en t A f f a i r s 28t h J anu a r y t o 3 rd Feb rua r y , 2013 [3]

CHRON ICL E I AS ACAD EMY I AS 2013 PT Cr ash Cour se Star ts f r om 10th F eb. 2013. Ca l l : 9582948810

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Programme Assistance:

Email id:[email protected]

Technical Assistance : Sushil Singh

Email id: [email protected]

Call: 9582948810, 9953007628

Mail: [email protected]

Production and productivity, Microirrigation,Urbanization, Government Initiatives......

6th January: Indian Economy Basics, Planning & Trade1. Industry Services, Agriculture, Energy.....2. Balance of Payments. Foreign Direct Investment.......3. Growth, Development and Other Issues.........4. Poverty Estimates, Impact of Poverty........5. Exchange rate. Role of RBI.....6. Nature of Planning - Five Year Plan, Planning after

1991 (LPG), Inflation.....

13th January: Governance and Contemporary PoliticalDevelopments : Development Politics, Political andAdministrative Institutions, Good Governance, InternalSecurity....

SCHEDULE FOR SECTIONAL TESTS(PAPER I & II)

20th January ... Ecology and environment27th January ... Comprehension3rd February .. Polity and Governance10th February. English Language Comprehension

+ Logical Reasoning17th February . Geography24th February. Decision Making and Problem

Solving3rd March ....... Mental Ability, Basic Numeracy,

Data Interpretation and DataSufficiency

10th March ..... General Science and Science andTechnology

17th March ..... History24th March ..... Indian Economy

FULL MOCK SCHEDULE

31st March ...... Mock 1 Paper 1, Mock 1 Paper 2

7th April ......... Mock 2 Paper 1, Mock 2 Paper 2

14th April ....... Mock 3 Paper 1, Mock 3 Paper 221st April ........ Mock 4 Paper 1, Mock 4 Paper 2

SCHEDULE FOR GS TOPICAL TESTS

2nd December: Infrastructure & Resources

1. Transportation infrastructure: Road and HighwayNetworks, Mass Transit Systems, Railways,Waterways, Ports....

2. Energy infrastructure:- Thermal Power Generation,Natural Gas Pipelines & Petroleum Pipelines, NuclearEnergy, Renewable Energy......

3. Water management infrastructure:- Drinking water

supply, Sewage Collection and Disposal of Wastewater, Flood Control, Water Harwesting.....

4. Communications infrastructure:- Television andRadio Transmission, Internet, Social Network, SearchEngines, Communications Satellites......

5. Solid Waste Management

6. Economic Infrastructure: Manufacturing Infrastructure,including Industrial Parks and Special Economic zones,Agricultural, Forestry and Fisheries Infrastructure....

7. Resources: Water Resources, Forest Resources, LandResources, Energy Resources, Minerals, ResourceManagement.....

9th December: Demography : Population Composition,Density, Literacy, Sex Ratio...

16th December: Environmental Problems & GlobalEnvironmental Governance : Deforestation, Pollution:Air, Water, Land, Noise, Desertification, BiodiversityDepletion, Global Warming, SD.......

23rd December: Human Development, Social SectorInitiatives and Programmes & Policies

1. Concept of Human Development, Developmentvs. Growth, Human Development Index, MPI,Innovation.....

2. Social Inclusion, Child Welfare, Women Welfare....

30th December: Agriculture, Urbanisation, Health :Agriculture and GDP, Agricultural Regionalization,

40Qs of IAS 2012 prelims paper were close and directly from Chronicles 2012 test series. When it comes to matching theformat of question in the exam it was 100% identical. Have you ever heard of such claim in IAS exam, indeed we

do it habitually! After all it is a matter of experiences. Testimonial is available at chronicleias.com as well in the public domain,

since it was conducted in 22 cities of India. We dont claim your success, but our performance. Lets begin...

Call us at: +91-9953120676, +91-9582948815, +91-9582263947 www.chronicleias.com

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[ 4 ] Week l y Cu r r en t A f f a i r s 28t h J anu a r y t o 3 rd Feb rua r y , 2013


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NATIONAL

I&B Ministry Constitutes Expert Committee toReview Functioning of Prasar Bharti

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has

constituted an Expert Committee for the purpose of

reviewing the institutional framework of Prasar

Bharati including its relationship with Government,

its continuing role as a public broadcaster and

measures needed to ensure technical upgradation

of the organization. The Expert Committee will be

headed by Shri Sam Pitroda, Advisor to the Prime

Minister of India on Public InformationInfrastructure & Innovations. Other members will

be: Smt. Asha Swaroop; Dr. B.K. Gairola; Sh.

Shekhar Kapur; Prof. M.P. Gupta; Sh. Jitendra

Shankar Mathur and Shri Jawhar Sircar.

The terms of r eference of t he Commi t t ee are as

fol lows:-

a) To suggest measures to sustain, strengthen and

amplify Prasar Bharati`s role as a Public

Broadcaster with special reference to its

relationship with Government in the emergingcontext.

b) To review the status of implementation of the

recommendations made by various committees

that have undertaken study of Prasar Bharati,

namely, the Sengupta committee, the Bakshi

Committee and the Narayanamurthy committee

and suggest a road map ahead for enhancing

the reach and potential of Prasar Bharati.

c) To suggest measures to digitize the archival

material in the possession of Doordarshan (DD)and All India Radio (AIR) including material

from Independence Movement era, and develop

enabling infrastructure, in the form of data

digitalization systems, data centers and

networks etc.

d) To suggest ways of using the new media to

deliver digital content - both in broadcast mode

(DTH) and in a demand-based mode (Free on

social media like You-Tube, and on payment

through IPTV).e) To suggest a strategy for creating a network of

domestic and overseas business partners for

ensuring wider reach to a worldwide audienceincluding creating an exclusive overseas service.

Government approves amendments on Lokpal

and Lokayuktas Bill 2011

The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2011 was passed

by the Lok Sabha on 27th December, 2011. The Bill

was taken up for discussion and passing in the Rajya

Sabha on 29.12.2011. Discussions remained

inconclusive. Thereafter, the Rajya Sabha adopted a

motion and referred the Bill to a Select Committee

of the Rajya Sabha for examination and report.

The Select Committee submitted its report to the

Rajya Sabha. The Union Cabinet has approved the

proposals submitted by the Department of Personnel

& Training for moving official amendments to the

Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2011, as suggested by

the Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha.

Sal i ent feat ures of amendment s t o lokpal and

lokay ukt as bi l l 2011 approv ed by the cabinet ar e as

bel ow :-

a) Collegium for Selection of Lokpal: The Bill

provides for selection of Members of Lokpal by

a Selection Committee comprising the Prime

Minister, Speaker (Lok Sabha), Leader of

Opposition (Rajya Sabha), Cheif Justice of India

or a Supreme Court judge nominated by CJI and

an eminent jurist nominated by the President.

The Select Committee has recommended that the

fifth member of the Selection Committee (i.e.,

eminent jurist) may be nominated by the

President on the basis of recommendation of the

first four members of the Selection Committee.

Government has accepted this recommendation.

b) Jurisdiction over bodies receiving donations

from public: The Select Committee has

recommended exclusion of bodies and

institutions receiving donations from the public

from the purview of Lokpal. Government has

decided to exempt only such bodies or

authorities established, constituted or appointed

by or under any Central or State or ProvincialAct providing for administration of public

religious or charitable trusts or endowments or


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societies for religious or charitable purposes

registered under the societies Registration Act.

Other non governmental bodies receiving

donation from the public would thus remain

within the purview of Lokpal.

c) Power to order investigation straight away:

Select Committee has recommended that the

Lokpal should be given power to order aninvestigation straightaway (without first

ordering a preliminary inquiry) in case Lokpal

finds that a prima facie case exists. Government

has accepted this recommendation subject to the

modification that the Lokpal should, before

coming to a conclusion that there exists a prima

facie case for entrusting the matter for

investigation, call for the explanation of the

public servant and then decide whether there

exists a prima facie case for orderinginvestigation.

d) Opportunity of Hearing to public servant: The

Select Committee has recommended that the

seeking of comments from the public servant

during the preliminary inquiry by the

investigating agency should not be mandatory

[clause 20 (2)]. Committee has also

recommended that the opportunity of hearing

by Lokpal before ordering investigation may be

dispensed with [clause 20 (3)]. The affording of

an opportunity to the public servant and to the

government/competent authority at the

preliminary inquiry stage and before ordering

formal investigation would help clear doubts in

several cases and would substantially reduce the

number of cases going for regular investigation.

Therefore, Government has decided not to accept

this recommendation of the Select Committee

and move an official amendment for the

purpose.

e) Power to order prosecution of public servants:

The Select Committee has recommended that the

power to grant sanction for prosecution of public

servants could be shifted to the Lokpal in place

of the Government. The Select Committee has

also recommended that Lokpal may be required

to seek comments of the competent authority

and the public servant before taking such

decision. Government has decided to accept this

recommendation of the Select Committee.

f) Strengthening of CBI: The Select Committeehas recommended a number of amendments in

the Bill for strengthening the CBI. These include-

..... The setting up of a Directorate of prosecutionheaded by a Director of Prosecution under the

overall control of Director, CBI;

II. The appointment of the Director of Prosecutionon the recommendation of the Central Vigilance

Commission;

III. Maintenance of a panel of advocates by CBI,

other than the Government Advocates, with the

consent of the Lokpal for handling Lokpal

referred cases;

IV. Provision of adequate funds to CBI forinvestigating cases referred by Lokpal;

V. Transfer of officers of CBI investigating cases

referred by Lokpal with the approval of Lokpal.

Government has decided to accept all these

recommendations except the last one, i.e., seeking

approval of Lokpal for transfer of officers of CBIinvestigating cases referred by the Lokpal, which is

proposed not to be accepted as it would affect the

smooth functioning of the CBI.

Ot her sali ent features of t he Bi ll

a) Powers of supervision over CBI : The Bill

confers powers of superintendence on the Lokpal

over the Delhi Special Police Establishment (CBI)

in respect of matters referred by the Lokpal for

inquiry/investigation.

b) Appointment of Director, CBI: A high poweredCommittee chaired by the Prime Minister will

recommend selection of the Director, CBI.

c) Attachment/confiscation of ill-gotten property:

The Bill contains provisions for attachment/

confiscation of property acquired by corrupt

means, even while prosecution is pending.

d) Enhancement of punishments under Prevention

of Corruption Act: The Bill proposes to enhance

punishments under Prevention of Corruption

Act:

i) Maximum punishment from 7 years to 10

years

ii) Minimum punishment from 6 months to 2

years.

Executive Committee on Climate Change

constituted

The implementation of eight missions to fight

climate change were in poor condition as there was

no inter-ministerial coordination, thus PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh has constituted a

secretary level panel to assist the PM's council on


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climate change in implementing the eight missions

to fight climate change.

The committee will be headed by principal

secretary to Prime Minister Pulok Chatterji. The

Executive Committee on Climate Change would

focus on the following tasks:

a) Assist the PM's Council on Climate Change in

evolving a coordinated response to issues

relating to climate change at the National level.

b) Regularly monitor the implementation of the

eight national missions and other initiatives on

Climate Change.

c) Advise the PM's Council on Climate Change on

modifications in the objectives, strategies and

structure of the missions, as may be necessary.

d) Co-ordinate with various agencies on issues

relating to climate change.

The Chairman of the Executive Committee on

Climate Change will be the Principal Secretary to

the Prime Minister and Secretary, Ministry of

Environment and Forests will be the Member-

Convenor. Other members of the Committee include

Cabinet Secretary, Finance Secretary, Secretary,

Planning Commission, Secretary, Ministry of Power,

Secretary, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy,

Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, Secretary,

Water Resources, Secretary, Department of Science

& Technology, Secretary, Department of Agriculture

& co-operation, Secretary, Department of

Agricultural Research & Education, Secretary,

Department of Earth Sciences, Secretary, Ministry

of Coal, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural

Gas, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs. The

Chairman of Executive Committee on Climate

Change may invite any other officer/Expert to the

meetings as may be necessary.The PM's Council on Climate Change and the

Executive Committee on Climate Change would be

serviced by Ministry of Environment and Forests.

The Prime Minister's Council on Climate Change

was constituted in 2007, in order to co-ordinate

National Action for Assessment, Adaptation and

Mitigation of Climate Change. The National Action

Plan of Climate Change (NAPCC) was released by

the Prime Minister in June 2008. Under the NAPCC,

with the approval of PM's Council on ClimateChange, eight national missions are being

implemented.

National Green Tribunal bans throwing ofdebris into Yamuna

With a view to cleaning the Yamuna, theNational Green Tribunal has restrained anybody,person or authority from throwing debris of anykind, including solid wastes, on the banks of the

Yamuna or the water body near the grand old river.

A Full Bench of the Tribunal, comprising itsChairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar, judicialmember Justice P. Jyotimani and expert membersD.K. Agrawal, G.K. Pandey and A.R. Yousuf, passedthis order after hearing counsel for various parties.

Even private parties are throwing debris on theriver bank, on the basis of the principle of 'polluterpays' it will be in the interest of justice that theseauthorities are directed to recover amounts spent

for removal of debris which are thrown by the

private persons, from them.According to the judgement "persons" will

include a company, partnership, sole proprietorshipand individuals. All these authorities should exercisetheir statutory powers and not only preventing allpersons throwing debris on the river bank, but evenrequire them to pay for the purposes of removal ofdebris which are thrown by them. This shall be inthe discretion of the authorities and will beimplemented upon compliance with the principleof natural justice.

Further the Bench has issued the following

directions: The State of Uttar Pradesh, DDA,Government of NCT Delhi and East Delhi MunicipalCorporation shall forthwith start removing debrisfrom the river bank of Yamuna and the water body.The construction and other materials shall beremoved to other identified sites. In the event nosites have been identified by any authority, all theCorporations and the DDA, State of Uttar Pradeshand the NCT of Delhi will have to notify within two

weeks of notification the sites for dumping of debris.In the event of no site being available, as temporarymeasure all the above public Authorities/Corporations and State of Uttar Pradesh shall startremoving debris and bring them to the end of'highest flood level' of river Yamuna. The storeddebris shall be converted into a wall at that endpoint. It would prevent unauthorised entry, floodand prevent pollution of the Yamuna.

New health scheme launched for rural kids in

Uttar PradeshThe UP government has launched a new scheme

"Aashirvad Child Health Guarantee Scheme" for the


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health care of over six crore children in the age group

of two years to 18 years living in the rural areas of

Uttar Pradesh. It will be implemented under the

National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). Regular

health check-ups, diagnosis and treatment of

ailments form the core of the ambitious programme

of the Samajwadi Party government.

According to the 2011 Census, U.P.'s populationwas around 20 crore, of which about 8.5 crore

children were in the 2-to-8-years age group. This

included around 6 crore kids residing in the rural

and far flung areas where health facilities are

negligible. Studies have revealed that about 50 per

cent of the rural children in this age bracket suffer

from malnutrition and were anaemic.

The scheme will be implemented in three phases.

The first phase will cover children studying in

primary and secondary schools in the rural areas. Inthe second phase children from Class 1 to 12 in

government and government-aided schools, informal

education schools, schools run by the Labour and

Social Welfare departments, juvenile reform homes

and Aanganbari schools will be covered. The third

phase will cover children not going to school,

including the kids living with their parents at

construction sites, brick kilns and those belonging

to the families of gypsies.

For better health care facilities 54 digital X-raymachines, 118 coloured ultrasound machines, 20 X-

ray machines and 33 operation machines for

orthopaedic operations would be installed in the

government hospitals. Further 100 X-ray machines,

99 ultrasound machines and 455 ECG (electro

cardiogram ) machines would be provided to

different community health centres.

Cash incentives to States for lower neonatal

deaths

To achieve the millennium development goal

(MDG) of 28 per 1,000 live births by 2015, the

Ministry of Finance has approved the release of

incentive grant-in-aid for reduction in the Infant

Mortality Rate (IMR) during 2012-13. The Rs. 1,500-

crore incentive will be given to the States that have

made impressive reduction in the IMR between 2009

and 2011. This has been done on the

recommendations of the 13th Finance Commission.

Despite making huge achievements, India is

unlikely to reach the international target of reducinginfant mortality rate, set by the United Nations in

2000, considering that in 2011 the national IMR stood

at 44, with the picture in rural areas worse than in

urban settings.

Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim and

Nagaland account for 50 per cent of the total grant.

Maharashtra, Punjab and Tamil Nadu account for

another Rs. 400 crore, and the remaining money is

distributed among the rest of the States and Union

Territories.

Manipur, with an IMR of 11 per 1,000 live births,

will receive the highest amount of Rs. 458 crore,

followed by Tamil Nadu that gets Rs. 168 crore. The

IMR of Tamil Nadu is 22. Among the smaller States,

Meghalaya will get Rs. 6.2 crore, Mizoram Rs. 3.13

crore, Nagaland will get Rs. 159 crore, Sikkim Rs.

150 crore and Tripura Rs. 84 crore.

As for big States, Maharashtra will get Rs. 133

crore, Punjab Rs. 106 crore, Karnataka will receive

Rs. 53 crore, West Bengal Rs. 26 crore andUttarakhand Rs. 42 crore.

The grant is payable to the States based on the

data available in the Sample Registration System

Survey of 2009 and 2012. Only 11 States and Union

Territories have achieved the MDG as far as IMR is

concerned. Of these, only three bigger States -

Maharashtra, Kerala and Delhi - have been able to

achieve the target.

Strengthen RTE guidelines to enddiscrimination: NAC

The Working Group, headed by Farah Naqvi,

has recommended that The Right to Education Act's

guidelines need to be strengthened to help end

discrimination in schools, whether based on caste,

religion, gender, disability, class or language, by

setting up an effective grievance redress and

monitoring machinery.

According to the Working Group, the Human

Resource Development Ministry should ask theStates to establish a monitoring and grievance

redress architecture from local to the State and

National levels; that the Ministry, along with the

States, institutionalize mechanisms for dialogue

and mediation that ensures the participation of

all stakeholders in resolving grievances, individual

and systemic; and make provisions for capacity-

building of all personnel involved with this task

while creating inter-ministerial coordination

mechanisms at the Centre and the State level for

better convergence.

The Working Group also wants the Ministry of

Women and Child Development to strengthen the


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National Commission for the Protection of Child

Rights (NCPCR) and the State Commissions for

Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) by

undertaking institutional reform measures within

the SCPCRs and augmenting both human and

financial resources.

It has also suggested reforms in teacher education

and training for preparing and training teachers tohandle discrimination and engaging with issues of

identity, diversity, processes of social exclusion and

inclusion. Grievance redress, it feels, should be done

as far as possible in a non-adversarial manner

through dialogue, training of school management

committees and local authorities on discrimination

and by evolving a time-bound and confidential way

of resolution, in which civil society groups could be

involved. However, if the non-adversarial route does

not work, then it wants punitive action taken.

ADB $100 million Loan to Provide Sustainable

Urban Services in Five Uttarakhand Towns

Government of India has signed an agreement

for a $100 million loan with Asian Development

Bank (ADB) as second tranche of Uttarakhand Urban

Sector Development Investment Program which will

support rehabilitation and expansion of basic urban

infrastructure in five major urban centers of

Uttarakhand and ensure sustainable municipalservice delivery.

The project will supplement the urban

infrastructure program already initiated under the

first tranche in Dehradun, Haridwar and Nainital

and will be extended to cover in addition Haldwani,

Roorkee and Ramnagar towns specially for

improving the water supply infrastructure that will

benefit about 800,000 residents. A comprehensive

sewerage system will also be developed under the

project, which will provide improved sanitation

facilities to about 100,000 residents of Roorkee town.

The project will address this objective and helpalleviate infrastructure deficiencies, tap economic

potential, and improve the living environment. The

project will improve the quality life and employment

opportunities for the people living in five project

towns. It will also improve the ability of participating

institutions to manage sector reforms and deliver

better services. The contribution of tourism in the

state economy is significant, so upgrades to key

infrastructure will also help draw visitors and

generate more employment opportunities.The second tranche loan from the ADB's

Ordinary Capital Resources has a 25-year term

including a grace period of five years, commitment

charges of 0.15% and interest rate to be determined

in accordance with ADB's LIBOR-based lending

facility. The Government of India will provide

counterpart funds of $42.86 million for a total second

tranche project investment cost of $142.86 million.

Asian Development Bank, based in Manila,

is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and thePacific through inclusive economic growth,

environmentally sustainable growth, and

regional integration. Established in 1966, it is

owned by 67 members - 48 from the region.


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World Press Freedom Index 2013The Press Freedom Index is an annual ranking

of countries compiled and published by ReportersWithout Borders based upon the organization'sassessment of the countries' press freedom recordsin the previous year. A smaller score in the indexcorresponds to greater freedom of the press.

This year's index is a better reflection of theattitudes and intentions of governments towardsmedia freedom in the medium or long term.

For the third year running, Finland hasdistinguished itself as the country that most respectsmedia freedom. It is followed by the Netherlandsand Norway. Although many criteria are considered,

ranging from legislation to violence againstjournalists, democratic countries occupy the top ofthe index while dictatorial countries occupy the lastthree positions. Again it is the same three as lastyear - Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea.

India has dropped nine places to 140th rank inthe list of 179 countries because of increasing

impunity for violence against journalists andbecause Internet censorship continues to grow. Itis the lowest for the "world's biggest democracy"since 2002. China (173rd, +1) shows no sign of

improving. Its prisons still hold many journalistsand netizens, while increasingly unpopular Internetcensorship continues to be a major obstacle toaccess to information.

The Press Freedom Index published by ReportersWithout Borders does not take direct account of the

kind of political system but it is clear thatdemocracies provide better protection for thefreedom to produce and circulate accurate news andinformation than countries where human rights areflouted. In dictatorships, news providers and their

families are exposed to ruthless reprisals, while indemocracies news providers have to cope with themedia's economic crises and conflicts of interest.

Coinciding with the release of its 2013 PressFreedom Index, Reporters Without Borders for thefirst time has published an annual global "indicator"of worldwide media freedom. This new analytic toolmeasures the overall level of freedom of informationin the world and the performance of the world's

INTERNATIONAL

governments in their entirety as regards this keyfreedom In view of the emergence of newtechnologies and the interdependence ofgovernments and peoples, the freedom to produceand circulate news and information needs to beevaluated at the planetary as well as national level.Today, in 2013, the media freedom "indicator" standsat 3395, a point of reference for the years to come.

The indicator can also be broken down by regionand, by means of weighting based on the populationof each region, can be used to produce a score from

zero to 100 in which zero represents total respect formedia freedom. This produces a score of 17.5 forEurope, 30.0 for the Americas, 34.3 for Africa, 42.2for Asia-Pacific and 45.3 for the former Sovietrepublics. Despite the Arab springs, the Middle Eastand North Africa region comes last with 48.5.

The high number of journalists and netizenskilled in the course of their work in 2012 (thedeadliest year ever registered by Reporters WithoutBorders in its annual roundup), naturally had a

significant impact on the ranking of the countrieswhere these murders took place, above all Somalia(175th, -11), Syria (176th, 0), Mexico (153rd, -4) andPakistan (159th, -8).

ICJ asked Britain to explain acquisition ofDiego Garcia

In a blow to the British government, theInternational Court of Justice in The Hague has askedBritain to explain its decision to acquire the ChagosIslands in the Indian Ocean from Mauritius in 1965

and sub-lease its biggest island Diego Garcia to theUS, much to India's discomfort, especially duringthe 1971 Indo-Pak war when Washington tilted infavour of Islamabad. Diego Garcia is used by longrange bombers belonging to the US Air Force and astaging post for missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The hearing will be on the basis of the UNlaw of the sea; and the final verdict will be

binding on Britain.

After purchasing the Chagos archipelago, ofwhich Diego Garcia is a part, Britain forcibly evictedaround 1,500 islanders - deporting them to Mauritiusand Seychelles - to pave the way for the US base.The deportation of Chagos islanders is a matter of


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alleged human rights violation and legal battlesin British courts. A defeat for Britain at the ICJcould result in a return of the islanders to theiroriginal habitat.

UK's flourishing tongues: Punjabi, Bengali,Gujarati

The 2011 Census conducted by UK Office forNational Statistics (ONS) has for the first time triedto see how well the population could speak Englishwhen this was not their main language. It showedEnglish remained the main language for 92% (50m)residents aged 3 and over. The remaining 8% (4m)had a different main language, but most wereproficient in English.

The second most reported main language inEngland and Wales was Polish (1% - 546,000).

For the first time three Indian tongues figuredin the list of top six spoken languages spoken inBritain, with Punjabi being the third most commonlanguage used in England and Wales, after Englishand Polish. It is spoken by 2.73 lakh people.

Bengali is the fifth commonest languagefollowed by Gujarati, jointly spoken by 4.34 lakhpeople in England and Wales. Tamil took 12th spotwith just over a lakh people using it as the main

spoken language.

The top 10 languages included English, Polish,

Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati, Arabic, French,Chinese and Portuguese. The census revealed therewere 49 main languages (spoken by groups of morethan 15,000 people). The top 20 included five SouthAsian languages and nine European. Interestingly,22,000 people used sign language.

Of the 4 million residents aged 3 and over witha main language other than English, 1.7 million couldspeak English very well, 1.6 million well, and 726,000not well. The remaining 138,000 could not speak

English at all.

China gives go-ahead for three newBrahmaputra dams

China has given the go-ahead for the

construction of three new hydropower dams onthe middle reaches of the Brahmaputra River,ending a two-year halt in approving new projectson the river amid concerns from India andenvironmental groups.

China has, so far, only begun construction onone major hydropower dam on the main stream ofthe middle reaches of the Brahmaputra or YarlungZangbo as it is known in China - a 510 MW project

in Zangmu in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR),which began to be built in 2010. One of the threeapproved new dams is bigger than the Zangmuproject. A 640 MW dam will be built in Dagu, whichlies 18 km upstream of Zangmu. Another 320 MWdam will be built at Jiacha, also on the middlereaches of the Brahmaputura downstream of

Zangmu. A third dam will be built at Jiexu, 11 kmupstream of Zangmu. The capacity of the Jiexu damis, as yet, unconfirmed.

The three projects were listed in the StateCouncil's energy plan for the Twelfth Five Year Planperiod (2011-15), which was released on January 23.

The catchment area at the dam site, according tothe Huadong Engineering Corporation, is 157,400square kilometres, and the average annual dischargeis 1010 cubic metres per second.

The dam will be built with a height of 124 metresand 640 MW capacity. The construction of theZangmu dam in 2010 had triggered concerns in Indiaregarding possible impact on downstream flows.Chinese officials, however, assured their Indiancounterparts that the project was only a run-of-the-river hydropower station, which would not divertthe Brahmaputra's waters. The government has also

built at least six smaller hydropower projects on theYarlung Zangbo's tributaries which will have noimpact on downstream flows.

The government has, for now, shelved a long-discussed plan to divert the Yarlung Zangbo's watersto the arid north, citing technical difficulties. Theplan is part of the proposed Western route of themassive South-to-North diversion project, on whichconstruction is yet to begin.

However, with the three new approvals underthe energy plan, four hydropower projects will now

be built - all located within a few dozen kilometresof each other - on the main stream of the middlereaches of the Brahmaputra.

While they are run-of-the-river projects, they willbe required to store large volumes of water forgenerating power. Their construction is likely totrigger fresh concerns in India on how the flows ofthe Brahmaputra downstream will be impacted.

China gets Pakistan's strategic Gwadar port

Pakistan's cabinet formally agreed to hand overthe operation of its strategically located Gwadarport from Singapore's PSA (Port of SingaporeAuthority) International to China's Overseas PortHoldings. This puts in place China's famed "stringof pearls" strategy which may have significantimplications for India.


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In 2011, the Pakistani defence minister hadannounced in Beijing that Islamabad would transferownership to a Chinese company. China haddemurred then, but despite the worsening securitysituation in Balochistan, the Chinese have apparentlyagreed to take it over.

Gwadar was built by China but during its

operation by PSA, it barely attracted any commercialtraffic. There is also a lot of port development thatremains to be built. Pakistan expects China tocomplete that construction in record time, given itspast performance. More than that, Pakistan expectsChina to turn Gwadar into a naval base. For China,Gwadar could also be a conduit for energy flowsinto northwestern China, by transporting oil andgas from the port through pipelines that traverseBalochistan and the federal agencies to feed intoChina's Xinjiang province. As China's oil imports

increase, it would prefer to insulate its energy flowsfrom the turbulent waters of the Straits of Malaccaand the South China Sea.

As China moves into the Indian Ocean, Gwadarport would be ideal as a staging ground for Chineseships. China already has a steady presence in SriLanka's Hambantota port, it is wooing Maldives,though no port presence is planned yet. China isalso building a port in Chittagong, Bangladesh, aswell as Sonadiya, near Cox's Bazar. From the

security point of view, India could find itselfconsiderably constrained.

New United Nations report calls Israelisettlements in Palestinian areas 'illegal'

The report of the International Fact-FindingMission on Israeli Settlements in the OccupiedPalestinian Territory (OPT) states that a multitudeof the human rights of the Palestinians are violatedin various forms and ways due to the existence ofthe settlements. These violations are all interrelated,

forming part of an overall pattern of breaches thatare characterized principally by the denial of theright to self-determination and systemicdiscrimination against the Palestinian people whichoccur on a daily basis. Thus an independent inquirymandated by the United Nations has called on Israelto halt all settlement activity and to ensureaccountability for the violations of the human rightsof the Palestinians resulting from the settlements.

The UN Human Rights Council, based inGeneva, dispatched the Mission in March 2012 "to

investigate the implications of the Israeli settlementson the civil, political, economic, social and culturalrights of the Palestinian people throughout the

occupied Palestinian territory, including EastJerusalem."

The report states that settlements are established

and developed for the exclusive benefit of Israeli

Jews. They are maintained and advanced through

a system of total segregation between the settlers

and the rest of the population living in the OPT.

This system of segregation is supported andfacilitated by strict military and law enforcement

control to the detriment of the rights of the

Palestinian population.

The report further states that Israel is committing

serious breaches of its obligations under the right to

self-determination and under humanitarian law. The

magnitude of violations relating to Israel's policies

of dispossessions, evictions, demolitions and

displacements from land shows the widespread

nature of these breaches of human rights. The

motivation behind violence and intimidation against

the Palestinians and their properties is to drive the

local populations away from their lands, allowing

the settlements to expand.

About 250 settlements in the West Bank,

including East Jerusalem have been established since

1967 either with or without Government

authorization. The number of settlers is estimated at

520,000 (200,00018 in East Jerusalem and 320,000 inthe rest of the West Bank. Over the past decade the

settler population has grown at a much higher rate

than the population in Israel itself with a yearly

average growth of 5.3 per cent (excluding East

Jerusalem), compared to 1.8 per cent in Israel.

The establishment of the settlements in the West

Bank including East Jerusalem is described by the

report as "a mesh of construction and infrastructure

leading to a creeping annexation that prevents the

establishment of a contiguous and viable PalestinianState and undermines the right of the Palestinian

people to self-determination".

The Mission also reported the continuing cases

of violence by settlers against native Palestinians,

including "physical assaults on the person, the use

of knives, axes, clubs and other improvised weapons,

as well as shootings and throwing Molotov

cocktails". Between 1 July 2011 and 30 June 2012,

Israeli settlers injured 147 Palestinians, including 34

children. Settler attacks on schools and harassmentof children on their way to school is showing an

upward trend since 2010.


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One of the primary sources of livelihood for thePalestinian farmers is olives. To harass and hurt thisvaluable asset, Israeli settlers often target the olivetrees. From 2005 to 2012 Yesh Din, a local NGO,monitored 162 investigations into vandalism againstPalestinian trees with only one investigation leadingto an indictment. Figures for 2012 (until mid-October)

show that during this period over 7,500 trees weredamaged or destroyed by settlers.

The Mission also reported the wide spread policyof the Israelis to prevent Palestinians from going totheir mosques or practicing holy rituals.

Iran unveils domestically built-fighter jet

Iran has unveiled its newest combat jet the

Qaher-313, or Dominant-313, a domestically

manufactured fighter-bomber that can even

evade radar.

The Qaher is one of several aircraft designs rolled

out by the Iranian military since 2007. Qaher-313 is

a fully indigenous aircraft designed and built by

our aerospace experts. This is a radar-evading plane

that can fly at low altitude, carry weapons, and

engage enemy aircrafts and land at short airstrips

The Islamic republic launched a self-sufficiency

military programme in the 1980s to compensate for

a Western weapons embargo that banned export of

military technology and equipment to Iran. Since

1992, Iran has produced its own tanks, armored

personnel carriers, missiles, torpedoes, drones and

fighter planes.


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India launches G2B portal for business relatedinformation

India ranks a poor 132nd among 185 countriesin the International Finance Corporation's Ease ofDoing Business index. Smaller countries, including

Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal have rankedhigher in the index.

To improve the business environment, India haslaunched its first Government-to-business portal toprovide a round-the-clock, secure, one-stop-shop for

all investment and business related informationunder the National eGovernance Plan.

This mission mode project will mark a paradigmshift in the Government's approach to providing G2Bservices for India's investor and businesscommunities. The portal has been developed byInfosys in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.The project aims to create a business and investor-

friendly ecosystem in India by making all businessand investment related regulatory services acrossCentral, State and local Governments available on a

single portal, thereby obviating the need for aninvestor or a business to visit multiple offices or aplethora of Web sites.

eBiz will create a 24x7 facility for informationand services and will also offer joined-up serviceswhere a single application submitted by a customerfor a number of permissions, clearances, approvals

and registrations will be routed automatically acrossmultiple governmental agencies in a logical manner.An inbuilt payment gateway will also add value by

allowing all payments to be collected at one pointand then apportioned, split and routed to therespective heads of account of central/ State alongwith generation of challans and MIS reports.

RBI cuts policy rates by 0.25 pc

After a long gap of nine months, the ReserveBank (RBI) has reduced the short-term lending rate

by 0.25 per cent to 7.75 per cent and Cash ReserveRatio (CRR) by similar margin to 4 per cent thusreleased Rs 18,000 crores primary liquidity into the

system. While repo rate cut will reduce the cost ofborrowing for individuals and corporates, thereduction in CRR, which is the portion of deposits

ECONOMY

that banks have to park with RBI, would improvethe availability of funds.

Following the repo rate revision, the otherpolicy rates like reverse repo, bank rate, andMarginal Standing Facility Rate too will come down

by 0.25 per cent.

These initiatives are aimed at encouraginginvestments, supporting growth and anchoringinflationary expectations.

Inflation has been the prime inhibiting factor that

has prevented the RBI from cutting repo rate in thelast nine months. The RBI, however, has reduced thegrowth projections for the current financial year to5.5 per cent from its earlier estimate of 5.8 per cent.On inflation, it moderated the rate to 6.8 per cent forMarch-end from earlier projection of 7.5 per cent.

What i s CRR?

Cash reserve Ratio (CRR) is the amount of fundsthat the banks have to keep with RBI. If RBIdecides to increase the per cent of this, the

available amount with the banks comes down.RBI is using this method (increase of CRR rate),

to drain out the excessive money from the banks.

What i s SLR?

Statutory Liquidity Ratio is the amount of liquid

assets, such as cash, precious metals or otherapproved securities, that a financial institutionmust maintain as reserves other than the Cashwith the Central Bank

What i s Repo and Reverse Repo ra t e?

A repurchase agreement is the sale of securitiestogether with an agreement for the seller to buy

back the securities at a later date. The repurchaseprice should be greater than the original sale price,the difference effectively representing interest,called the repo rate. The party that originally buys

the securities effectively acts as a lender. Theoriginal seller is effectively acting as a borrower,using their security as collateral for a secured cash

loan at a fixed rate of interest.A reverse repo is simply the same repurchaseagreement from the buyer's viewpoint, not the


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seller's. Hence, the seller executing the transactionwould describe it as a "repo", while the buyer inthe same transaction would describe it a "reverserepo". So "repo" and "reverse repo" are exactlythe same kind of transaction, just described fromopposite viewpoints. The term "reverse repo andsale" is commonly used to describe the creation

of a short position in a debt instrument wherethe buyer in the repo transaction immediatelysells the security provided by the seller on theopen market.

New Norms to judge PSUs merit for takingpart in coal mine auction released

Embroiled in controversy over the allocation of

mines, the Coal Ministry has charted out a new set

of guidelines to evaluate applications from

government firms for assessing eligibility for taking

part in competitive bidding.The new eligibility criteria include: Demand-

supply deficit, plant location and progress made inearlier awarded block, mining capability and the

company's financials.

The eligibility would be judged on a parameter

of 20 marks in which the highest weightage of seven

points has been given to demand-supply gap of the

unit followed by five each on its financials andprogress made in the earlier awarded block. The

remaining three is for its mining capability.As far as the marks with respect to demand-

supply gap, this will not be applicable for central

PSUs i.e. Ministry of Power, will provide the deficitposition based on Central Electricity Authority

derived norms to be confirmed by Ministry of

Power/Planning Commission, as the case may be.

Demand-supply deficit of the state PSUs has to be

verified by the competent authority of the state

government. If required, this may be referred to

Planning Commission for their comments.After carrying out the scrutiny, a task force

constituted by Coal India arm CMPDIL will prepare

a comprehensive status incorporating details, coal

block-wise and applicant-wise, to be submitted to

the Coal Ministry. Coal Ministry will then seek

various stakeholders' views including state

governments and concerned ministries.

CMPDIL's observations would again be reviewed

by the Coal Ministry which would place it for

reviewing before a technical committee, to be

constituted with members drawn from Ministry of

Power and Steel, Central Electricity Authority, DIPP

and Planning Commission.

The proposed technical committee's recommen-dations would then be placed before an InterMinisterial Panel, headed by Coal Secretary, for itsfinal decision.

The Coal Ministry's move is understood to havefollowed government auditor CAG's reportestimating a whopping Rs 1.86 lakh crore potential

loss to the exchequer due to allotment of blocks to57 private firms without auction.

First Revised Estimates of National Income,Consumption Expenditure, Saving and Capital

Formation, 2011-12

The Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ministry ofStatistics and Programme Implementation hasreleased the First Revised estimates of NationalIncome, Consumption Expenditure, Saving andCapital Formation for the financial year 2011-12.

The salient features of the estimates at aggregatelevel, which are based on latest availableinformation, are indicated below:

GROSS DO M EST IC PROD UCT AN D GROSS

NATIONAL INCOME

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at factor cost atconstant (2004-05) prices in 2011-12 is estimated at` 52,43,582 crore as against ` 49,37,006 crore in 2010-11 registering a growth of 6.2 per cent during the

year as against a growth of 9.3 per cent in the year2010-11. At current prices, GDP in 2011-12 isestimated at ` 83,53,495 crore as against ` 72,66,967crore in 2010-11, showing an increase of 15.0 percent during the year, as against an increase of 19.0per cent in the previous year.

At constant (2004-05) prices, the Gross NationalIncome at factor cost in 2011-12 is estimated at `51,96,848 crore as against ` 48,82,249 crore in 2010-11 showing a rise of 6.4 per cent during the year, asagainst an increase of 8.8 per cent in the previous

year. At current prices, the Gross National Incomein 2011-12 is estimated at ` 82,76,665 crore ascompared to ` 71,85,160 crore in 2010-11, showing arise of 15.2 per cent during the year, as against anincrease of 18.4 per cent in the previous year.

The growth rate of 6.2 per cent in the GDP during2011-12 has been achieved due to growth infinancing, insurance, real estate & business services(11.7%), transport, storage and communication(8.4%), electricity, gas & water supply (6.5%) andtrade, hotels & restaurants (6.2%). At constant prices,the primary sector, i.e. agriculture, forestry & fishinghas shown a growth of 3.6 per cent during 2011-12as against 7.9 per cent during the year 2010-11. The


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growth of secondary sector is 3.5 per cent and thatof service sector is 8.2 per cent during 2011-12, asagainst a growth of 9.2 per cent and 9.8 per cent,respectively, in the previous year.

CONSUM PTION EXPENDITURE, SAVIN G AN D

CAPITAL FORMATION

As various components of expenditure on GrossDomestic Product, namely, ConsumptionExpenditure and Capital Formation, are normallymeasured at market prices.

PRIVATE FINAL CONSUM PTION EXPENDITURE

Private Final Consumption Expenditure (PFCE)at current prices is estimated at ` 50,56,219 crore in2011-12 as against ` 43,49,889 crore in 2010-11. Atconstant (2004-05) prices, the PFCE is estimated at `33,34,900 crore in 2011-12 as against ` 30,88,880 crore

in 2010-11. In terms of GDP at market prices, therates of PFCE at current and constant (2004-05) pricesduring 2011-12 are estimated at 56.3 per cent and59.2 per cent, respectively, as against thecorresponding rates of 55.8 per cent and 58.3 percent, respectively in 2010-11.

DOMESTIC SAVI NG

Gross Domestic Saving (GDS) at current pricesin 2011-12 is estimated at ` 27,65,291 crore as against` 26,51,934 crore in 2010-11, constituting 30.8% of

GDP at market prices as against 34.0% in theprevious year. The decrease in the rate of GDS hasmainly been due to the decrease in the rates offinancial savings of household sector from 10.4% to8.0%, private corporate sector from 7.9% to 7.2% andthat of public sector from 2.6% to 1.3% in 2011-12 ascompared to 2010-11.

ESTIM ATES AT PER CAPI TA LEVEL

The per capita income (per capita Net National

Income at factor cost) in real terms, i.e. at 2004-05prices, is estimated at ` 38,037 for 2011-12 as against` 36,342 in 2010-11, registering an increase of 4.7 percent during the year, as against an increase of 7.2%during the previous year.

The per capita income at current prices isestimated at ` 61,564 in 2011-12 as against ` 54,151for the previous year depicting a growth of 13.7 percent, as against an increase of 17.1% during theprevious year.

The per capita PFCE at current prices in 2011-12

is estimated to be ` 42,065 as against ` 36,677 in theyear 2010-11, showing an increase of 14.7% as againstan increase of 15.7% in the previous year. The

corresponding estimates at constant (2004-05) pricesare ` 27,745 and ` 26,045, registering an increase of6.5% in 2011-12, as against an increase of 7.1% inthe previous year.

CST issue between Centre and States resolved

The Centre and states have resolved the

contentious issue of Central Sales Tax compensationwith the states; agreeing for a lower payment of Rs

34,000 crore for phasing out the Central Sales Tax,

a precondition for rollout of the Goods and Services

Tax (GST).

CST, a tax imposed on the interstate movement

of goods, was reduced from 4% to 3% in 2007-08

and further to 2% in 2008-09 after the introduction

of value-added tax (VAT). The centre had then

promised the states that it would bear losses due to

reduction of CST.The Empowered Committee set up by finance

minister P Chidambaram to resolve the CST issue

had suggested that the payment of Rs 34,000 crore

be made to the states towards losses on account of

phasing out of CST.

According to the resolution the Centre would

bear 100% of the loss accrued to states in 2010-11

fiscal on account of lowering of CST. However, for

2011-12 and 2012-13 fiscal, the Centre would give

75% and 50% of the losses to the states.The CST will be phased out totally after the

introduction of GST, which was originally

scheduled to be launched from April 2010. The

GST rollout has missed several deadlines on

account of differences over contentious issue of CST

compensation and design of the GST structure

between the states and the Centre. Introduced in

the Lok Sabha in March 2011, GST Constitution

Amendment Bill is with the standing committee

on finance.

Cabinet clears revival package for Scooters

India

The Cabinet has approved the Rs 200-crore

revival package for ailing public sector unit (PSU)

Scooters India (SIL) on the recommendation of the

Department of Heavy Industry.

In 2011, the Cabinet had given approval to

divesting government's entire 95.38 per cent stake

in Scooters India to a private player through

strategic route. But the Department of HeavyIndustry had put on hold the strategic sale of ailing

public-sector unit SIL.


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Incorporated in 1972, SIL initially manufacturedscooters under the brand name Vijai Super for thedomestic market and Lambretta for overseasmarkets. Later, it ventured into the three-wheelersegment with the Vikram brand. In 1997, it stoppedtwo-wheeler production and is now engaged in themanufacture and marketing of only three-wheelers.

The automobile company, which has about 1,200regular employees, has been incurring losses since2002-03. In March 2009, the company was declaredsick. SIL's net loss (before tax) stood at about Rs 20crore during the 2011-12 fiscal.

Growth hits 9-year low in 2011-12

India's economic growth estimate for 2011-12has been revised downward to 6.2 per cent from6.5 per cent earlier. This has been reflected in thefirst revised estimate for 2011-12 (earlier called

quick estimates) released by the Central StatisticsOffice (CSO).

The revised GDP growth estimate of 6.2 percent is the lowest in nine years after the 2002-03nadir of 4 per cent.

The CSO had in February last year estimated

GDP growth for 2011-12 at 6.9 per cent, but revised

it later to 6.5 per cent in May. The downward

revision of GDP estimate for 2011-12 could be

attributed to the scaling down of services growth

from 8.9 per cent to 8.2 per cent earlier.

CSO has, however, raised agriculture and

industry growth estimate to 3.6 per cent and 3.5 percent, respectively. Agriculture was earlier estimated

to have grown by 2.8 per cent and industry by 3.4

per cent.

The CSO has also pegged the 2011-12 gross

domestic savings at 30.8 per cent of GDP as

compared to 34 per cent a year ago.

Along with the first revised estimate for 2011-

12, the CSO also came up with the second revised

estimate for 2010-11 and third revised estimate for

2009-10.GDP growth estimate for 2010-11 has

been revised upwards to 9.3 per cent from 8.4 per

cent, and for 2009-10 to 8.6 per cent from 8.4 per

cent earlier.


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INDIA AND THE WORLD

Cross-LoC trade, bus service to be resumedbetween India and Pakistan

Cross-border trade and bus service between India

and Pakistan will resume along Chakan-da-Bagh

crossing point in Poonch district of Jammu and

Kashmir from 28 Jan 2013, after more than a

fortnight-long suspension, following escalation in

tension at the Line of Control over the brutal killing

of two Indian soldiers by Pakistani troops.

Pakistan army had on 11th January refused to

open the gates for allowing cross-LoC trade atChakan-Da-Bagh crossing point in Poonch district

resulting in stranding of 25 J-K trucks carrying goods

mostly vegetables for traders in Pakistan Occupied

Kashmir (PoK).

Chakan-Da-Bagh crossing point was started in

2006 to facilitate easier trade and travel between

divided families of Jammu and Kashmir and PoK.

Cross-LoC trade and travel are considered as

major confidence building exercises between India

and Pakistan.

This was the second time that LoC travel and

trade had come to a grinding halt after Pakistani

Army refused to open gates in past 8 months. LoC

trade had earlier come to a halt on 14th June last

year due to closure of gates of Chakan-Da-Bagh

border point in Poonch following LoC firing, shelling

and ceasefire violations. It was resumed later on 14th

July.

The Poonch-Rawlakote'Carvan-e-Aman' bus

service was also suspended on 11th June 2012 and

resumed later on 17th July after the Brigade

commander level meeting between Pakistani and

Indian armies.

India and Bangladesh ink extradition treaty

The 4th Home Ministers level talks between

Bangladesh and India commenced at Dhaka.

The Bangladesh delegation was led by Dr.

Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir, Minister, Ministry

of Home Affairs whereas Indian delegationwas led by Shri. Sushilkumar Shinde, Union

Home Minister.

Both the nations have inked an extradition treatyand a friendlier visa regime. The Extradition Treaty

will help to increase cooperation among law

enforcing agencies of the two countries and to curb

criminal activities. The RTA will ease the visa

obtaining procedure and will promote people-to-

people exchanges between the two countries. The

new visa regime, named revised travel arrangement,

proposes to remove restrictions on visits of

businesspersons, students, patients, senior citizens

above 65 years and children below 12 years.Businessmen would be given five-year multiple

entry visa, while those travelling for medical

purposes would be given two-year multiple entry

visa along with visa to three attendants of a patient,

under the proposals.

During the meet both sides expressed satisfaction

at the smooth operation of the Coordinated Border

Management Plan (CBMP) and agreed to increase

number of joint patrolling with a view to curbing

criminal activities along the border. They expressedconfidence that increased number of coordinated

patrolling under the CBMP would enhance

cooperation between the border guarding forces of

the two countries, and enable them to manage the

identified vulnerable areas with a view to preventing

criminal activities, illegal movement, acts of violence

and loss of lives along the border areas. Both sides

agreed to allow development work within 150 yards

of zero line. As an additional measure for better

border management , bo th sides agreed toimmediately start consultations between the District

Commissioner and District Magistrate of border

districts for resolving local issues.

Both sides also agreed to further intensify the

activities of the different nodal points in different areas

of cooperation such as human trafficking, drugs,

INTERPOL, etc. Both sides agreed to extend

cooperation for apprehension of wanted criminals and

fugitives and in this regard, Bangladesh Home Minister

once again urged for immediate tracking, arresting,and handing over the killers of the father of the Nation,

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.


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14th Session of India - Australia Joint

Ministerial Commission convenes in Delhi

The 14th Session of the India - Australia Joint

Ministerial Commission convened in New Delhi. It

was co-chaired by Shri Anand Sharma, Minister of

Commerce, Industry and Textiles, India and the Dr.

Craig Emerson MP, Australian Minister for Trade

and Competitiveness and Minister Assisting thePrime Minister on Asian Century Policy.

The Ministers welcomed the positive

momentum in the India-Australia relationship,

based on shared values, converging interests and

growth in economic links.

Both the nations has emphasised on the

importance of closer trade and investment relations

for the strategic partnership. The Ministers

underlined the importance of a solid institutional

framework to facilitate future growth in bilateraltrade and investment. In this context, they have

placed the priority on the conclusion of a mutually

beneficial Comprehensive Economic Cooperation

Agreement (CECA); a comprehensive, high quality

equitable agreement would broaden the base of

merchandise trade, remove non-tariff barriers that

impede trade in services, and facilitate and

encourage investment.

The Ministers welcomed the growth in the

bilateral investment relationship and agreed on theimportance of strong bilateral investment flows

particularly in priority areas such as mining,

advanced manufacturing, infrastructure, clean

technology and tourism.

The Ministers has also welcomed the launch of

the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership

(RCEP) negotiations towards a modern,

comprehensive, high quality, and mutually beneficial

regional economic partnership agreement. During

the meet, they have discussed their mutualcommitment to strengthening the East Asia Summit

(EAS) as a forum that incorporated all the major

economies in the India-Pacific region.

Further the Ministers underlined their

commitment to reinforce the Indian Ocean Rim

Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC),

both during India`s remaining period as chair and

Australia`s two year term as chair from November

2013. In particular, they commended the work being

done in IOR-ARC on trade facilitation, customs

cooperation and business-to-business cooperation,as useful practical steps towards greater regional

trade and economic cooperation.

The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to

finding ways to break through the current impasse

in the Doha Round of World Trade Organization

negotiations. They expressed disappointment that it

had not been possible to conclude the Doha

Development Agenda to date, but agreed on the

importance of moving the process forward,

particularly in the current global economicenvironment. They also agreed on the need to resist

rising protectionist pressures.

The Ministers acknowledged the critical

importance of education and skills development in

helping to achieve both countries` targets for

innovation, productivity and economic growth and

welcomed efforts underway to strengthen the

bilateral knowledge partnership. In particular, they

commended growing collaboration under the

auspices of the Australia-India Education Councilbetween India`s nascent Sector Skills Councils and

Australia`s Industry Skills Councils on standards and

approaches to vocational training.

The Ministers highlighted research work

underway to lift agricultural productivity and make

crops more disease-resistant. The two Ministers

recognized the potential for greater focus and

collaboration in food security, including through

enhanced agricultural trade and investment. Indian

delegate encouraged greater Australian investment

in the Indian agriculture sector, including for cold

chains and storage and logistics management of

agriculture and horticultural produce.

They noted the significant growth in the

bilateral agricultural cooperation, including the

establishment and first meeting of the Joint

Working Group on Agriculture held in New Delhi

in September and the proposed first meeting of the

Jo int Work ing Gr oup on Wool and Wool len

products in February 2013. They announced plans

for Australia and India to host a regional Sanitary

and Phytosanitary (SPS) workshop in 2013. They

also commended the work by both countries in

improving market access for meat and horticultural

products.

The Ministers agreed on the important role of

people-to-people links in the expanding bilateral

relationship. The Ministers felt that direct flights

between India and Australia would provide a further

boost to bilateral engagement.

The Ministers agreed that the next Joint

Ministerial Commission will be held in Australia

in 2014.


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India and Spain Agrees to Enhance

Cooperation in the Field of Renewable Energy

Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Minister for New &

Renewable Energy met Spanish delegation led by

Ms. Carmen Vela Olmo, Minister of State for

Research, Development and Innovation. Both the

leaders agreed to enhance research, cooperation and

technologies in the field of Renewable Energy.Besides, research projects in the area of forecasting

of wind power and fabrication of cost effective solar

cells will be considered for financing by the Indian

and Spanish governments.

During the meet, the two ministers also agreed

to initiate a second call for research proposals so as

to encourage joint research and development

activities between research institutions as well as

industry groups of both the countries. The joint

Indo-Spanish programme for Technologicalcooperation in Renewable Energy was developed

as a consequence of the visit of the Minister of

New & Renewable Energy, to Spain last year.

Following the signing of the agreement in May,

2012, a joint call for project proposals was published

which included proposals on various aspects on

Renewable Energy involving industry and R & D

institutions in both the countries and covering all

aspects of Renewable Energy.

India is the fifth largest country in the world interms of wind power installed capacity. In addition,

India's National Solar Mission aims to facilitate the

installation of 20000 MW of grid connected power

capacity by 2020. Spain is the 4th largest producerof wind generated power and is top-ranked

worldwide in terms of photovoltaic solar power

capacity.

Legislation for doubling H-1B visa, makeGreen Card easier

A bipartisan group of top US Senators hasintroduced a legislation in the Senate aiming at

several changes in immigration norms, including

doubling of H-1B visa cap and establishing a market-

based escalator.

The other proposed measures include

recapturing of unused Green Card numbers,

eliminating country cap and recommending a series

of new provisions to provide legal permanent

residency to talented and brilliant.

Introduced by Senators Marco Rubio, OrrinHatch, Amy Klobuchar, the Immigration Innovation

(I2) Act of 2013 proposes to increase H-1B cap from

65,000 to 115,000 and establish a market-based H-1B

escalator, so that the cap can adjust to the demands

of the economy. The bill includes a 300,000 ceiling

on the ability of the escalator to move. If the cap is

hit in the first 45 days when petitions may be filed,

an additional 20,000 H-1B visas will be made

available immediately. If it is hit in the first 60 days

when petitions may be filed, an additional 15,000H-1B visas will be made available immediately and

if the cap is hit in the first 90 days when petitions

may be filed, an additional 10,000 H-1B visas will

be made available immediately. In case the cap is

hit during the 185-day period ending on the 275th

day on which petitions may be filed, and additional

5,000 H-1B will be made available immediately, the

bill proposes and calls for uncapping the existing

US advanced degree exemption (currently limited

to 20,000 per year).

The legislation focuses on areas vital to keep US

competitiveness intact in the global economy.

It proposes increased access to Green Cards for

high-skilled workers by expanding the exemptions

and eliminating the annual per country limits for

employment based Green Cards.

The legislation also aims at reforming the fees

on H-1B and Green Cards so those fees can be used

to promote American worker retraining and

education.

India, Gibraltar sign Tax Information Exchange

Agreement

India and Gibraltar have signed a Tax

Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) that calls

for the transparent sharing of information.

The Agreement was signed by Jaimini Bhagwati,

High Commissioner of India to the UK from Indian

side and Gilbert Licudi QC, Minister with the

responsibility of Financial Services, Gibraltar onbehalf of Gibraltar.

This is the 13th TIEA being signed by India. So

far India has signed TIEAs with Bahamas, Bermuda,

British Virgin Islands, Isle of Man, Cayman Islands,

Jersey, Macau, Liberia, Argentina, Guernsey, Bahrain

and Monaco.

As per the agreement, based on internationalstandard of transparency and exchange ofinformation, information must be foreseeably

relevant to the administration and enforcement ofthe domestic laws of the Contracting Partiesconcerning taxes covered by the agreement. It also


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provides for tax examination abroad and hasspecific provisions for providing banking andownership information.

The salient features of the agreement also

say that the requesting state has to provide some

minimum details about the information requested

in order to justify the foreseeable relevance criteria.

Information is to be treated as secret and canbe disclosed to only specified person or authorities,

who are tax authorities or the authorities concerned

with the determination of tax appeal. It also provides

for the use of information for non tax purposes

with the written consent of the Competent Authority

of the requested Party. There is a specific

provision that the requested Party shall provide

upon request the information even though that

Party may not need such information for

its own tax purposes. The agreement alsoprovides for exchange of past information in

criminal matters.


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CSIR-OSDD Collaborates with the RoyalSociety of Chemistry

In pursuit of common aims and to raiseawareness of the importance of Cheminformaticsto accelerate the discovery of novel therapies forneglected diseases like TB and Malaria, the Councilof Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), whichprovides scientific and industrial R&D thatmaximises the economic, environmental andsocietal benefits for the people of India has signeda Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between

its Open Source Drug Discovery (OSDD) initiativeand the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), thelargest European organization for advancingchemical sciences. RSC's activities span education,conferences, science policy, development ofchemical applications and the promotion ofchemistry to the public.

The MoU, spanning three years, aims toaddress the objective of finding novel, faster-acting, and more effective regimens for TB andMalaria by advancing the discipline of

Cheminformatics. The collaboration envisionsconducting workshops and conferences to buildlinks between experts and leaders in the comingyears and will focus on jointly building an onlinerepository of real and virtual molecular structuresalong with developing free-to -use software toolsfor drug discovery and development. Thepartnership also aims at exploring the possibilityof advancing OSDD's e-learning program forstudents.

Open Source Drug Discovery (OSDD) is an

initiative funded and led by the Council ofScientific and Industrial Research. OSDD is ateam India consortium with global partnershipwith a vision to provide affordable healthcareto the developing world to solve the complexproblems associated with discovering noveltherapies for diseases like Tuberculosis,Malaria and Leishmaniasis.

Global Research Team Decodes GeneSequence of Chickpea

A global research team has completed high-quality sequencing of not one but ninety genomesof chickpea (gram / chana) that promises improvedgrain yields and quality, greater drought tolerance

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

and disease resistance, and enhanced geneticdiversity.

The research milestone was the result of yearsof genome analysis by the International ChickpeaGenome Sequencing Consortium led by theInternational Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). The project team had 49scientists from 23 organizations in 10 countries,including ICAR from India.

The global research partnership succeeded inidentifying - 28,269 genes of kabuli variety of

chickpea. Re-sequencing of additional 90 chickpeatypes provided millions of genetic markers. This

has great potential in developing drought tolerantand disease resistant varieties of this importantpulse crop.

Chickpea or gram is the second largest pulsecrop in the world, grown in about 11.5 millionhectares. It is grown mostly by poor farmers and indry areas. It is highly nutritious. While India is thelargest producer (also importer and consumer) of

chickpea, it is grown in a number of Africancountries including Ethiopia, Tanzania and Kenya.

Chickpea is also an important component of thepulse industry in Australia, Canada and USA.

Water flow on Mars hints at ancient life

A new study hints at the possibilities thatnarrow ridges found in Martian craters mayactually be fossilized remnants of undergroundcracks through which water once flowed on thered planet. Water flowing beneath the surface ofancient Mars suggests life may once have beenpossible on the Red planet.

The study, published in the journal GeophysicalResearch Letters, bolsters the idea that the subsurfaceenvironment on Mars once had an active hydrologyand could be a good place to search for evidence of

past life. The study suggests that the ridges, manyof them hundreds of metres in length and a fewmetres wide, had been noted in previous research,

but how they had formed was not known.

Water, if present in the subsurface, would havecirculated through the cracks, slowly filling them in

with mineral deposits, which would have been


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harder than the surrounding rocks. As thosesurrounding rocks eroded away over millions ofyears, the seams of mineral-hardened material wouldremain in place, forming the ridges seen today. Usinghigh-resolution images from Nasa's MarsReconnaissance Orbiter, the researchers noted theorientations of the ridges and composition of the

surrounding rocks.The orientation data is consistent with the idea

that the ridges started out as fractures formed byimpact events. Importantly, researchers also foundthat the ridges exist exclusively in areas where thesurrounding rock is rich in iron-magnesium clay, amineral considered to be a telltale sign that waterhad once been present in the rocks.

Iran successfully sends monkey into space

Iran recently claimed to have sent a monkey

into space. The primate travelled in a Pishgamrocket, which reached an altitude of some 120km(75 miles) for a sub-orbital flight before "returningits shipment intact".

Western nations have expressed concern thatIran's space programme is being used to developlong-range missiles, which could be later used todevelop missiles that could potentially be used tocarry nuclear warheads, whereas Iran denies it isseeking to develop nuclear weapons and insists its

nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes.Later Iran claimed that the monkey has returned

safely from space over which many peopleexpressed skepticism.

The Iranian Space Agency is Iran's governmentalspace agency. Iran is an active participant in theAsian space race and became an orbital-launch-capable nation in 2009.

According to Iranian manned space program, thefirst sub-orbital spaceflight with an Iranian on board

will take place by 2016 at an altitude below 200kilometers as preparation for the eventual orbitalspaceflight. Experts are looking at this launch fromIran in light of these plans.

Life found deep below Antarctic ice

Cells containing DNA have emerged as the firstevidence of life in a subglacial lake in WestAntarctica. A U.S. research team retrieved water fromLake Whillans, which sits 800 meters below the icesurface. The water hosted a surprising bounty of

living cells.The scientists collected three 10-liter water

samples from the lake. Preliminary tests conducted

in mobile labs show that the cells are actively usingoxygen. It may take months for biologists to identifythe microbes present. The microbes have been sealedoff below the ice for at least 100,000 years.

Lake Whillans sits in a shallow cavity at thedownstream end of a slow-moving sheet of ice. Thedeep liquid streams that feed this and more than

340 other subglacial lakes across Antarctica alsolubricate the ice above. Geothermal energy, alongwith friction and a heavy blanket of ice, keeps thewater liquid in this frigid land.

Pulsar behaviour defies theories

Unlike pulsars that emit either at X-ray or radiofrequencies, a pulsar located 3,500 light years away

has b

weekly 28th jan to 3rd feb 2013 web

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