Wednesday, February 29, 2012

IAS / IPS STUDIES - 7


RAPID GK SERIES

QUESTIONS
1. The Planning Commission was set up in this year
2. In Banking Sector, the Y V Reddy Committee is associated with this
3. The abbreviation of the Bombay Stock Exchange’s SENSEX is
4. In India by this year, the Railway Budget Presentation was separated from the General Budget
5. The Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana (VAMBAY) Scheme is the development for this People
6. In India, the ‘India Corporate Week’, is celebrated every time by this month
7. In this year, the Microsoft Corporation launched its Operating System ‘WINDOWS 7’
8. The abbreviation of ASSOCHAM is
9. Dr. Joseph Stiglitz is the American Nobel Laureate of this field
10. Lepidopterology is a branch of biology, which deals with

ANSWERS

1. March 1950
2. Reforms in Small Savings
3. Sensitive Index
4. 1924
5. Urban Slum Dwellers
6. Third Week of December
7. 2009
8. The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India
9. Economics
10. Study of Butterflies & Moths

CURRENT AFFAIRS

Japan cabinet approves bills to enhance coast guard powers

Japan's cabinet has approved bills to enhance the law enforcement powers of the coast guard in territorial waters. Reports say the coast guard will be able to investigate illegal landings on islands and have more powers to eject ships.
Officials hope to have the bills passed in the current parliament session. The move comes amid growing Chinese assertiveness over its maritime claims, which have sparked tensions with a number of countries.
Under the bills, the coast guard will be able to arrest suspects and examine the destruction of property on remote islands. Another bill will empower the coast guard to ask foreign ships to leave Japan's territorial waters, without requiring it to inspect the ships


India to step up engagement with the Arab League

Having cast its lot with the Arab League on the Syria question, India will step up its multilateral engagement with the Arab world in the coming months with a series of events that will include a visit to Cairo by External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna to confabulate with the Arab League and to re-engage Egypt, which is stepping out of the rigid policy confines of the Mubarak era.
During his three-day visit, starting on March 2, Mr. Krishna will hold talks with the Foreign Ministers of the Arab League.
India will be stepping up its engagements at a time when the unfolding situation in Syria might tally with the current strategy of casting its lot with the Arab League by calling for early elections in the violence-wracked country.
Trade between the Arab countries and India in the last few years has exceeded $120 billion and over 60 lakh Indians live and work in the Arab world.
In order to maintain its pro-Palestinian credentials after two high-level interactions with Israel in Tel Aviv and New Delhi, Ministry of External Affairs officials will also ascertain the possibility of direct talks between Israel and the Palestinian leadership. On the Afghan question, too, the Arab countries are trying to facilitate talks between Kabul and the Taliban.
But the bottom-line during the visit would be an exploration of new venues of interest and cooperation.



India, Italy discuss easing of business visa regime

India and Italy discussed easing of the business visa regime, with Rome stating that it has already started working towards streamlining the process.
The issue of putting in place an effective visa regime for businessmen and professionals was raised during a meeting between Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi in New Delhi. Mr Giulio, who is on a visit to India, is heading a business delegation mainly representing the construction sector.
Both the countries had agreed last year to explore the possibility of using the certification from industry chambers to endorse the credentials for issuing business visa.
Mr Sharma, during his visit to Rome in February 2011, had raised concerns over grant of visa to which Italy had assured that flexibilities will be explored for granting long-term multiple entry visas under the new Schengen visa regime.



Loan agreements with ADB to aid MP,Guj, Assam projects

The government has signed three loan agreements amounting to 350 million US dollars with multilateral funding agency Asian Development Bank, ADB.
A memorandum of Understanding was signed between Ministry of Finance and ADB in New Delhi. Under the first loan agreement, a 200 million US dollar loan will help the Madhya Pradesh government provide 24-hour electricity to rural households in the state.
An official release in New Delhi said that another 100-million US dollar loan agreement was also signed to develop a solar power transmission system in Gujarat. The loan will help develop a transmission system that will distribute 500 megawatts of solar power from the Charanka Solar Park in Gujarat. The project will create job opportunities, improve social services and contribute to poverty reduction locally. It will also support power distribution companies in Gujarat and other Indian power utilities to meet part of their clean energy procurement obligations through solar energy.
The release further said that under the third loan agreement a 50 million US dollar loan will help the Assam government enhance electricity transmission and distribution capacity in the state.



Centre in favour of decriminalisation of gay sex

The Centre today on Feb 28 favoured decriminalisation of gay sex in Supreme Court, contradicting its earlier stand.
As the proceedings began in the case, Additional Solicitor General Mohan Jain told a division bench that as per the government decision there is no legal error in the Delhi High Court verdict which had decriminalised gay sex in 2009.
The Supreme Court pulled up the Centre for shifting stand on the issue and asked the government not to make mockery of the system.
The stand taken by Jain, who appeared for the Union Health Ministry, was contrary to the argument by Additional Solicitor General P P Malhotra, who had appeared for the Ministry of Home Affairs and had opposed decriminalisation of gay sex.



Navy to induct Russian-origin nuclear submarine

In a major boost to its underwater strike capabilities, India will receive its Russian-origin nuclear-powered Akula II class submarine next month.
The nuclear submarine 'Nerpa' will arrive Vishakhapatnam next month on a ten-year lease, Defence Ministry sources said here.
The submarine is scheduled to arrive at its home base Vishakhapatnam in the second half of March, they said, adding the deal is worth USD 920 million.
An Indian crew had set sail with the the Akula II class rechristened as INS Chakra to India at the end of January.
After the 'INS Chakra' joins the naval fleet, it would be for the first time in more than two decades that the Indian Navy would have a nuclear attack submarine. This will also propel India in the elite league of six nations operating nuclear submarines.
India is also working on developing indigenous nuclear submarines of the Arihant class. The first submarine named INS Arihant was launched for sea trials recently and is expected to start operational patrols by the end of this year.
The Navy will have three submarines of this class by the end of this decade.
India already possesses or is in the process of developing a family of nuclear-capable missiles including the Agni series, Prithvi variants, naval missile Dhanush, and submarine-launched Sagarika.



Nationwide trade unions' strike hits key services

Public sector banking operations remained paralysed throughout the country while transport services were hit in some states as the nation-wide 24-hour strike called by 11 major trade unions evoked a mixed response.
Life in major cities, including capital Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, was normal though it was affected in states like Kerala, Odisha and Tripura while the strike had a mixed response in West Bengal where the Trinamool Congress government pulled all stops to neutralise the strike.
Reason for strike
Employees of public sector banks have gone on a one-day strike opposing outsourcing of non core activities to the private sector among other things.
Central trade unions have sponsored the strike demanding guarantee of labour rights, end to the contract labour system, bringing workers in the unorganised sector under the social security net and pension benefit for all workers.


S Korea passes resolution; Demands China to stop N Koreans’ deportation

South Korea's Parliament passed a resolution demanding that China stop the repatriation of North Korean refugees. The move follows a string of protests over the fate of some 30 North Koreans who are reportedly facing deportation from China and harsh repercussions.
The resolution was backed by 154 lawmakers. They also called on the United Nations and other bodies to put pressure on Beijing to follow international law. It is estimated that more than 20,000 North Koreans have fled to the South since the 1950s. The majority of them escape via China.


After NCTC, CMs oppose RPF Amendment Act

After National Counter-Terrorism Centre proposal some of the Chief Ministers are now gearing up to block another initiative of the Union government, the RPF Amendment Act.
In what can be another headache for the UPA, Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying that the latest proposal goes “against the federal structure of the constitution.”
This was exactly the same argument put forward by a group of CMs when they had made their apprehensions clear on the NCTC. Chief Ministers of states like Orissa, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Bihar, Gujarat, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttarakhand and Tripura had opposed the creation of NCTC which was expected to be operational on March 1.
The proposal to empower RPF with police powers has come under attack from Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi too.
The provisions being inserted by the proposed amendment of the Railway Protection Force Act, 1957 is not in consonance with the schemes provided under article 246 of the Constitution of India, Modi said.
"Public order" and "police" are state subjects and proposing an amendment on these subjects under entry 22, 30 and 93 of Union List with entry 2 of the concurrent list in schedule VII of the Constitution of India is, not only a step to infringe upon powers of the state but also a serious blow to the federal structure of the Country, he said.


Panel submits Kudankulam report to Jayalalithaa

The four-member committee set up by the Tamil Nadu Government on the safety aspects of Kudankulam nuclear power plant submitted its report to Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa amid indication that it has given a clean chit to the project stalled by protests.
Committee Convenor Prof. S. Iniyan handed over the report to Ms. Jayalalithaa but declined to divulge details, saying the government would take follow up action.
The committee, set up by Ms. Jayalalithaa to break the impasse caused by the over five-month-long protests, was given two tasks -- reviewing safety features and allaying concerns of the local people.
The commissioning of the first reactor of the Indo-Russian joint venture, originally scheduled for December last, has been delayed following the continuing protests by the local people who have raised safety concerns.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

IAS / IPS STUDIES - 6





RAPID GK SERIES

1. Who is the father of Geometry?
2. The Homolographic projection has the correct representation of
3. Who invented the BALLPOINT PEN?
4. B. C. Roy Award is given in the field of
5. Who wrote the famous book - 'We the people'?
6. Which of the following is not a chief organ of the United Nations Organisations?
7. The Battle of Plassey was fought in
8. The name of the Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi islands was changed to Lakshadweep by an Act of Parliament in
9. Development expenditure of the Central government does not include
10. The Paithan (Jayakwadi) Hydro-electric project, completed with the help of Japan, is on the river
11. The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology is situated at
12. Rabindranath Tagore's 'Jana Gana Mana' has been adopted as India's National Anthem. How many stanzas of the said song were adopted?
13. The first death anniversary day of Sri Rajiv Gandhi was observed as the
14. Brass gets discoloured in air because of the presence of which of the following gases in air?

ANSWERS

1. Euclid
2. Area
3. Biro Brothers
4. Medicine
5. Nani Palkhivala
6. International Labour Organisation
7. 1757
8. 1973
9. Defence expenditure
10. Godavari
11. Hyderabad
12. Only the first stanza
13. Anti-Terrorism Day
14. Hydrogen sulphide


CURRENT AFFAIRS

Antony calls for global efforts to uproot threat of piracy

The Defence Minister A K Antony has called for global efforts to uproot the threat of piracy. Inaugurating the Annual National Maritime Foundation Conference in New Delhi , Mr. Antony said, India has already submitted certain proposals at the United Nations. He said, if ever there was a need for consensual and cooperative effort, it is in relation to piracy and India has put forward certain proposals at the United Nations.
The Defence Minister pointed out that the Indian Navy has made significant contribution to the global anti-piracy efforts in the Indian Ocean Region, IOR, since 2008. Mr. Antony said that the challenge of piracy is yet to be effectively quarantined.
The Defence Minister also voiced concern at the military presence of world’s major powers in the IOR despite the waters being far from their shores.



DERC decides to introduce smart metering system

Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission, DERC, has decided to introduce a smart metering system in the national capital to bringing next-generation reforms in the power sector. Through the initiative, consumers can make informed choices about electricity use based on varying cost and availability during the course of a day.
Informing this in New Delhi, the Chairman of the Commission, P D Sudhakar said that under this service consumers will get real-time information about price of power depending on availability and procurement cost.
He said for this service Advanced Metering Infrastructure which is widely used in US and European countries, will be installed. Mr. Sudhakar said the advanced metering system will empower the consumers to voluntarily decided on their power consumption.



Indian men's Hockey team qualifies for London Olympics

India beat France 8-1 in the final of Olympics Qualifier at the Major Dhyanchand National Stadium in New Delhi.
With this spectacular win India qualified for Olympics men's hockey after eight years. India's ace drag-flicker Sandeep Singh slammed five goals, including a hat-trick. He was the highest scorer with the sixteen goals in the tournament.
Both India and France earned seven penalty corners each, but the visitors failed to utilise a single one while the hosts converted six.
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has congratulated Indian Men's Hockey team for qualifying for London Olympics, and announced the bonanza of cash rewards included five lakh rupees per goal scored by each player of Haryana.
In addition, 11 lakh rupees per player would be given to each player hailing from Haryana. Mr Hooda also announced to give 2.51 lakh rupees to each player of Indian team.
The Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has congratulated Indian Hockey Team and announced that the Madhya Pradesh government will give reward of one lakh rupees each to every player of the winning Indian team.



WikiLeaks begin release of e-mails from Stratfor Global Intelligence

The whistle-blower website WikiLeaks says, it has begun releasing more than 5 million e-mails from Stratfor Global Intelligence, a private U.S.-based firm providing strategic analysis.
WikiLeaks said on its website that the e-mails reveal the company's web of informers, pay-off structure, payment-laundering techniques and psychological methods. It said the e-mails also contain privileged information about the U.S. government's attacks on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and Stratfor's own attempts to subvert WikiLeaks.
The WikiLeaks said, the e-mails date from July 2004 to December 2011 and include more than 4,000 e-mails mentioning WikiLeaks or Assange, who is currently fighting extradition from Britain to Sweden on sexual assault charges.



Various projects to be undertaken by Railways in next five years

High Speed trains, Dedicated Freight Corridors and modernisation of 19000 kilometres of track, are among the ambitious projects to be undertaken by the Indian Railways in the next five years at a cost of over 8.2 lakh crore rupees. These are the recommendations of the Expert Group Chaired by Sam Pitroda, submitted to Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi in New Delhi. These also include a High speed railway line between Ahmedabad and Mumbai with 300 kilometers per hour speed.
Modernisation of 100 major stations and Radio frequency identification (RFID) tracking systems for wagons, coaches and locomotives are also on the anvil. Speaking on the occasion, Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi said, to ensure safety, modernisation is a requirement and the roadmap laid out by the Expert Group looks at a future where the Indian Railways contributes to two per cent of the country's GDP.
Mr. Trivedi said, for various ambitious plans of the government including the Food Security Bill, fast movement of goods is a necessity. The Expert group has also recommended to develop Public-Private Partnership models to attract private investment to augment core capabilities including High speed railway lines, elevated rail corridors, private freight terminals and Loco and coach manufacturing.
Mr. Sam Pitroda, the Chairman of the Expert Group who attended through video conferencing from Chicago, said the Railways would strengthen 11,250 bridges to sustain higher load at higher speed, eliminate level crossings and implement automatic signalling system. He said, 15 focus areas of the Railways have been identified for revamping. He further said, the recommendations include that the Railway Board be reorganized along business discipline and reflect the Chairman as CEO.



The European Union slaps new sanctions on Syria

The European Union has slapped new and stricter sanctions on Syria. These include sanctions on the Iran’s Central bank, cargo flights, precious metal trade and seven ministers.
Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal said in Brussels that EU foreign ministers may also consider a peacekeeping mision to Syria. However the EU Ministers have insisted that military intervention is ruled out.
EU's new round of sanctions slaps travel bans and asset freezes on the ministers of health, education, presidential affairs, communications and technology, oil and mineral resources, industry, and transport.
The Syrian Central Bank will also no longer have access to any funds it may hold in the EU. Syrian-operated flights carrying only cargo will not be allowed to land in the 27 member bloc. EU businesses will be banned from trading in gold, precious metals and diamonds with Syrian public bodies.



Tourism Ministry introduces three new categories of awards

The Ministry of Tourism has introduced three new categories of awards from this year as part of National Tourism Awards.
A new award called the Best State for Campaign Clean-India has been introduced to encourage states to put into place effective mechanisms for maintaining cleanliness at tourist destinations. Apart form this, two new categories of awards are introduced for Best Heritage City and Best Heritage Walk.
According to an official release, the President Mrs. Pratibha Devisingh Patil will give away these awards on Wednesday in New Delhi. AIR Correspondent reports that the Ministry presents these national awards to various segments of the travel, tourism and hospitality industry in the country.



Italian vessel not to be let off until 27th :Kerala HC

The Kerala High Court on Feb 27 directed that the Italian vessel Enrica Lexie should not be allowed to leave the Cochin coast till 5 pm on Feb 28. The Court was considering the Admiralty petitions moved by the relatives of the two deceased fishermen, who were shot dead by the armed naval personnel on board the vessel on the 15th of this month. The Court also ordered that the petitions be heard by an appropriate Bench of the High Court.
Meanwhile, the Matsya Thozhilali Aikya Vedi President Charles George petitioned the High Court that the Captain of the Italian vessel be made an accused in the case. He also demanded that a Special Investigation Team should be formed comprising Indian Navy, Coast Guard, Police and officials of the Mercantile Marine Department to probe the case.
On Feb 28 the Kerala High Court will consider a petition moved by the Marines accused of killing the fishermen and the Italian Consul General in Mumbai, seeking to quash the FIR registered in connection with the case.



SC directs centre to implement rivers-interlinking project

The Supreme Court directed the centre to implement the ambitious interlinking of rivers project in a time-bound manner. Observing that the project has already been delayed resulting in an increase in its cost, a three judge bench, headed by S H Kapadia, appointed a high-powered committee to chart out and execute the project.
The committee will comprise of Union Minister of Water Resources, its Secretary, Secretary of Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) and four expert members appointed by Water Resources Ministry, Finance Ministry, Planning Commission and MoEF.
Representatives from state governments, two social activists and senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, who has been assisting the court in the case, will also be members of the committee.



Indian special envoy holds talks with Norway’s Foreign Minister

India's special envoy M. Ganpathy had positive discussions with Norwegian Foreign Minister in Oslo regarding early return of the children, taken away from an NRI couple there.
Mr. Ganpathy was rushed to Norway as a special envoy and met Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store to find an expeditious and amicable solution to the custody row of Aishwarya and Abhigyan who were taken away by child welfare officials in Norway and placed in foster care.
An official spokesperson in the MEA, Syed Akbaruddin, said in a tweet that the Indian special envoy has had positive discussions with the Norwegian Foreign Minister in Oslo. He also tweeted that Special Envoy will meet Norway's Minister of Children, Equality And Social Inclusion, Audun Lysbakken later.
Meanwhile, BJP and CPI-M joined the grandparents of the two children and held a sit-in near the Norwegian Embassy in New Delhi, launching a four-day protest demanding Norwegian government to send the kids back to India immediately.

Monday, February 27, 2012

IAS / IPS STUDIES - 5



RAPID GK SERIES

QUESTIONS

1. This King built the Sanchi Stupa
2. In 1994, the Malhotra Committee recommended the Privatization of this Sector
3. India is this much of largest in terms of area-wise
4. The chairmanship/presidency of the UN Security Council rotates among the Council Members
5. Chakiarkoothu is the dance which believed to be originated from this Indian State
6. The Kalhari Desert is situated in this Place
7. The Study of Algae is called
8. Knot is the measure to know the speed of this
9. Glauber’s Salt is also known as
10. The Highest Indian Peak is

ANSWERS

1. King Ashoka
2. Insurance
3. Seventh
4. Every Month
5. Kerala
6. Botswana (Africa)
7. Phycology
8. Ship
9. Sodium Sulphate
10. K 2 (Godwin Austen, 8611 meters)



IMF approves plan to distribute gold sale profits

The International Monetary Fund on Feb 24 2012 approved a plan to distribute about $1.1 billion in profits from past gold sales to IMF member countries, with the expectation they would return the money to fund an anti-poverty loan programme.
Under theIMF board’s decision, the $1.1 billion in gold sales profits would be distributed once member countries have provided “satisfactory assurances” that they will return at least 90 percent, or $978 million, for the currently zero-interestloan program for low-income countries.
The IMF board approved a limited sale of the Fund’s gold reserves in 2008 to diversify income soures.
The sales carried out between October 2009 and December 2010 generated total revenue of about $14.8 billion, of which $10.6 billion was profit.
The Fund has already decided to place at least $6.8 billion of the profits in an endowment to diversify the IMF‘s income away from the money it earns on loans.
It still has not decided how to distribute another $2.7 billion in profits from the gold sales.



India reiterates Arunachal is ours

Highly-placed government sources have reacted sharply to Chinese remarks that India should refrain from taking any action that could "complicate" the border issue.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei had "asked India to work with China to maintain peace and stability in border areas" after Defence Minister AK Antony visited Arunachal Pradesh for its statehood celebrations.
Reacting to the remarks, government sources reiterated that Arunachal Pradesh is a part of India and that it was not the first time Antony had visited the northeastern state.
China routinely takes exception to any high level visits of Indian officials to Arunachal Pradesh which it claims is a part of Southern Tibet. It was part of the discussion of the past 15 rounds of border talks by the Special Representatives by the two countries.
China also denies visa to people of Arunachal Pradesh as part of its claim to the area.
In a recent case, visa was denied to a senior Indian Air Force officer to visit China as part of defence delegation prompting New Delhi to scale down the size of the delegation.



CBEC to issue Bio-metric cards soon to check fraud

The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) will soon issue bio-metric cards to custom house agents to check fraud and misuse of services.
CBEC chairman SK Goel said Bio-metric smart cards will be issued first in Mumbai in all the three Customs zones.
He gave information that a fraudulent person will not be able to file documents anywhere in the city as his fingerprints would not match and his photo would be flashed across all zones.


Rhino census starts from March 15 in Assam

In Assam, forest department will start rhino census from 15 March. State Wildlife’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forest Suresh Chand says that census will be conducted in Kaziranga and Orang National Park and Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary.
It may be noted that Assam is the home of the highest number of one -horn rhinoceros in the world. As per 2009 survey, a total of 2 thousand 301 rhinos were found in Assam.
The census will be categorized in male, female, calf and adult section. The exact number of rhino will be traced through camera mapping.



'Give freedom to states in use of rural funds'

Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has made a strong pitch for flexibility in use of funds under his ministry and suggested to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that 50 percent of his ministry's annual allocation be given to states as flexi-funds by the end of 12th Plan.
The minister, who was in Kerala on a three-day visit, called for a change in architecture of rural development programmes so that better developed states reap as much benefit as those lower on the development parameters.
Ramesh said that rural development programmes did not have "built-in flexibility" and were "too rigid". He said that rural development schemes were focused more on states that were backward and did not reflect the needs of states like Kerala which has high literacy and effective grassroots organisations.
The rural development ministry, which monitors some key flagship schemes of United Progressive Alliance Government (UPA), pumps in around Rs 90,000 crore every year in rural development schemes.
The demand for greater flexibility in rural schemes also came from Kerala Rural Development Minister KC Joseph who met Ramesh and participated with him at a Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) meet in Alapuezha district.
Joseph demanded that coir industry in the state should be included in MGNREGA and working hours under the scheme should be 9 am to 4 pm as there is high participation of women.



Indian Railways fall under CCI's ambit:

The Delhi High Court has held that the Indian Railways is an 'enterprise' and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) is empowered to hear complaints against it for alleged abuse of its dominant position in goods transport sector.
Holding that there is a "commercial angle" to the services rendered by the railways, Justice Vipin Sanghi dismissed the railway ministry's plea challenging the CCI jurisdiction to decide cases related to it.
The railways had taken a plea that it was not an "enterprise" as defined under the Competition Act and the CCI lacked jurisdiction to hear a complaint that it was allegedly abusing its dominant position in the trade of goods transport.
The judgement, which broadened the ambit of the panel by bringing railways' commercial activities under it, came on the plea of the public carrier against a CCI verdict.



SBI to slash interest rate on education loans

The State Bank of India, SBI, has taken in-principle decision to slash interest on education loans by up to one percentage point. SBI Managing Director and Chief Finance Officer Diwakar Gupta said, the bank will issue the notification shortly.
At present, interest rates on education loans range from 12.25 per cent to 14.50 per cent, depending on their quantum and the duration. SBI is also offering a concession of 0.5 per cent on interest rates for loans given to female students.
About the possible slashing of home loan rates, Mr. Gupta said, the possibility is less.



Budget: CII urges FM to retain current tax rates on excise

Confederation of Indian Industry, CII today asked Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to retain the current rates of excise and service tax in the Budget to boost investments.
CII said in its pre-Budget memorandum that there is a strong need for retaining the current rates of excise and service tax to spur investment by the industry.
As the government is faced with widening fiscal deficit, there are apprehensions in the industry that excise duty may be hiked in the Budget.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will present the Budget for 2012-13 on March 16.



Incidence of cancer highest in North-East

The incidence of cancer in North-East is the highest in India. According to Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi, it is well over the national cancer incidence of approximately 10 to 13 thousand individuals per crore of population.
The Cachar Cancer Hospital & Research Centre is the only hope for the cancer patients of the one crore population of the three districts of Barak valley of Assam, where more than 15 thousand patients are being treated annually.
The hospital and research centre was started in 1996 by a voluntary organization at Silchar. Today it has become one of the three specialized hospitals for cancer patients available in the entire north east India. Most of the patients are daily wage laborers and agricultural workers.
The hospital has got facilities for chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. It has divisions of pathology, preventive oncology, and pain and palliative care.
Not only treatment and cure, they also work for awareness creation for prevention of cancer. Patients from the neighboring states of Tripura, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and even Arunachal Pradesh have started coming to this hospital for their treatment.



Govt takes initiative to launch white revolution in Assam

In Assam, Governor J B Patnaik has taken initiative to launch a white revolution. It will cover Tinsukia in the first phase as a few places of the district have already achieved success in milk production.
Upper Assam Division Commissioner Ifitkar Hussain said, in a bid to improve the social and economic condition of the people of insurgency affected Sadia, Kakopathar and Tinsukia areas, the Governor have initiated the scheme. He further said, Bharat Integrated Social Welfare Agency has already submitted the detailed project report on it.
Tinsukia district administration has involved various government departments, Self Help Groups (SHGs), dairy development societies and local banks to implement the scheme. There are 200 dairy development societies and 15 SHGs being involved in this process.
Assam government is likely to extend the scheme to Majuli in the next phase.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

IAS / IPS STUDIES -4


RAPID GK SERIES

QUESTIONS

1. The World Red Cross Day is observed on
2. This National Leader has composed the National Patriotic Song ‘Vande Mataram’
3. This American Nobel Laureate Leader (1964) who fought for the Black People in the non-violent way
4. The National Game of Spain is
5. This Personality was the First Deputy Prime Minister of India
6. Akbar established Mansab System in the year
7. Article 14 to 18 in the Constitution of India cover
8. The Protection of Civil Rights in India was passed in this year
9. The Raghavan Committee is associated with this
10. The Tourism Phrase ‘Paradise Unexplored’ is associated with this Indian Part

ANSWERS

1. 8th October
2. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
3. Jr Martin Luther King
4. Bull Fighting
5. Sardar Vallabhai Patel
6. 1565
7. Right to Equality
8. 1955
9. Anti-ragging Measures
10. North East India


India, US discuss ways to expand their strategic partnership

Strengthening their military ties further, India and the US have discussed ways of expanding their growing strategic partnership and cooperation at the 12th Defence Policy Group meeting held in New Delhi.
The meeting was co-chaired by Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma and US Acting Under Secretary of Defence for Policy Jim Miller. Miller also called on Defence Minister A K Antony and Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma to discuss bilateral defence issues. He also held meetings with National Security Advisor
Shivshankar Menon and Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai addressing a range of regional and global issues. In a statement, Miller said, the US sees India as a partner in advancing stability and security in the region and globally. He said, the US looks forward to continuing to strengthen its partnership on defence and security with India.
The next meeting of the Defence Policy Group will be held in the US next year.
India and the US have enhanced their cooperation in defence and have held a series of exercises involving their defence forces in the last decade. India has also emerged as one of the major importers of US defence equipment and has spent close to 10 billion US Dollar in procuring systems such as C-130J Hercules and C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft, P-8I maritime surveillance aircraft for the Navy.
It is also in negotiations with the US Government for the procurement of 145 ultra light howitzers and Javelin anti-tank guided missiles.



NSG will become country's premier force to fight terrorism: Chidambaram

The Home Minister Mr. P. Chidambaram asserted that National Security Guards will become country's premier force to fight terrorism and hijacking activities. Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the NSG regional hub in Mumbai this evening, the Home Minister said that setting up of four NSG regional hubs will boost people's confidence and allay their concerns about security.
Mr. Chidambaram informed 1266 crore rupees have been earmarked for NSG to improve infrastructure facilities in the 12th five year plan. Our Mumbai correspondent reports that this is the first permanent NSG hub set up after the Mumbai terror attack in November 2008. About 21 acres of land have been allocated by the Maharashtra government for setting up of the hub.



Over 25 agri activities included in new MGNREGA

More than 25 agriculture and allied activities have been included in the new version of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gaurantee Act, MGNREGA, which will be implemented from 1 st of April this year.
Minister of Rural Development Jairam Ramesh said that new version of MGNREGA will lead to better farm output. Rebutting the claims that MGNREGA is leading to fall in agricultural productivity, he said, on the contrary the studies done by independent bodies suggest the rural job scheme has led to better farm output.
After recieving a report on revised Operational Guidelines for MGNREGA, Mr. Ramesh said the new guidelines will also respond to demands of the states for location specific flexibility in permissible works as valuable suggestions from the states are incorporated in the guidelines. The Report was prepared by a committee headed by Planning Commission member Mihir Shah.



BSE launches 1st environment friendly equity index

The first environment friendly equity index 'BSE-Greenex' was launched in Mumbai. Corporate Affairs Minister Veerappa Moily inaugurated the Bombay Stock Exchange’s new initiative by striking the gong.
The BSE-Greenex is a first of its kind benchmark index, which includes top 20 companies based on Green House Gas Numbers, Free Float Market capitalization and turnover.
This index has been developed by BSE in association with ‘gTrade’ so as to promote green investing, with emphasis on financial performance and long-term viability of companies.


India seeks 5 million tons more crude from Saudi Arabia

India on Feb 23 sought 5 million tons of more crude oil from Saudi Arabia next fiscal as its refiners look at replacing at least 10 per cent crude oil imported from Iran.
Minister of state for petroleum and Natural Gas R P N Singh said he sought 5 million tons of more crude oil from Saudi Arabia in 2012-13.
India currently buys 27 million tons of crude oil per annum from Saudi Arabia while its annual imports from Iran is about 17 million tons.
The Saudi Minister said his country has a spare production capacity of 2.5 million barrels per day beyond current output of 9.8 million barrels a day.
India also sought more LPG from Saudi Arabia to meet growing energy needs.



Vice President releases book titled "Sufism and Indian Mysticism"

Vice President Md. Hamid Ansari today on Feb 23 released a book titled "Sufism and Indian Mysticism" at his residence in New Delhi this evening. Speaking on the ocassion he said, Sufism in Islamic tradition has for centuries been a source of inner peace, spiritual awakening and enlightenment for millions.
Mr. Ansari hoped the book would prove as a source of knowledge for students to understand Sufism and the Indian contribution in this regard. The volume having 29 well researched papers presents a wide spectrum of perspectives and in depth studies on different aspects of Islamic Sufism and Indian Mysticism.


Delhi Metro installs AEDs to handle cardiac arrests

The Delhi Metro installed Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) at two stations to provide emergency treatment if a passenger suffers a cardiac arrest.
The AED is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses a potentially life-threatening cardiac arrest in a patient. The medical equipment treats patients through defibrillation -the application of electrical shock to allow the heart to re-establish an effective rhythm.
To start with, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) along with Opto Circuits (India) Ltd, a manufacturer of medical equipment and interventional devices, has installed AEDs at the two biggest interchange stations - Central Secretariat and Kashmere Gate.This will be followed by training for a group of DMRC staff.
The AED`s have already been installed at all the six stations on the Delhi Airport Metro Express line.
As per medical experts, an estimated 40 million Indians suffer from at least one cardiovascular disease or disorder, making them susceptible to sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).
"If cardiac arrest patients are not attended to immediately, they can lead to irreversible brain damage within three to five minutes. Defibrillation systems such as AEDs enable the detection and identification of life-threatening arrhythmias and when appropriate, deliver a shock to restore the normal heartbeat," Vanita Arora, senior consultant cardio electro physiologist, Max hospital added.



India concerned over piracy menace from Somalia

India on Feb 23 pledged to help Somalia in its economic development as New Delhi underlined the need for stability in the war-torn nation which has become a breeding ground for pirates.
Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed said India desired stability in the Horn of Africa state which has been hit by protracted crisis.
He said piracy was the "most obvious example of the lack" of stability there, and hoped the Conference will reflect India's concerns on the issue.
Indians constitute 7 per cent of all the world's seafarers and a manifestation of the Somali predicament has been the tremendous human cost that these seafarers pay.
The conference is being attended by British Prime Minister David Cameron, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and UN chief Ban Ki-moon among officials from about 50 countries and organisations to discuss a roadmap for Somalia.



National competition policy will lower prices: Minister

A National Competition Policy will be ready by March 31 with several positive benefits for the country's economy, including lowering of food prices, says Corporate Affairs Minister Veerappa Moily.
"It has lots of benefits, because all the monopolies and anti-competitive forces will have to be dismantled," Moily said, after a Corporate & Investor Meet.
He said monetary policy alone would not be able to rein in inflation.
"The National Competition Policy, by targeting cartelization, will go a long way in moderating prices, especially the food prices," Moily said, referring to the US, where such a policy had resulted a cut of petroleum products prices.
"The forthcoming National Competition Policy is an instrument capable of triggering second-generation of economic reforms," Moily said.



CERN to re-run Einstein tests in May after cable

Physicists are to run new tests in May after the CERN research institute said that its startling findings appearing to show that one of Einstein's fundamental theories was wrong could have been caused by a loose cable.
The CERN lab near Geneva appeared to contradict Albert Einstein's 1905 Special Theory of Relativity last year when they reported that sub-atomic particles called neutrinos could travel fractionally faster than light.
Einstein's theory, which underpins the current view of how the universe works, says that nothing can travel faster than light, and doing so would be like traveling back in time.
CERN said two possible effects had been identified that could have an influence on its neutrino timing measurement during its OPERA experiment. "New measurements with short pulsed beams are scheduled for May," it said in a statement.
One effect concerned an oscillator used to provide the time stamps for GPS (Global Positioning System) synchronizations, which could have led scientists to overestimate the neutrino's time of flight.
However, the other effect appeared to be more significant in the faster-than-light finding of the original OPERA experiment.
The second concerns the optical fiber connector that brings the external GPS signal to the OPERA master clock, which may not have been functioning correctly when the measurements were taken. If this is the case, it could have led to an underestimate of the time of flight of the neutrinos.
The faster-than-light finding was recorded when 15,000 neutrino beams were pumped over three years from CERN to an underground Italian laboratory at Gran Sasso near Rome.
Physicists on the experiment said when they reported it last September that they had checked and rechecked over many months anything that could have produced a misreading before announcing what they had found.
Edward Blucher, chairman of the Department of Physics at the University of Chicago, said the original finding would have been breathtaking if it had been true. As it was, the research inspired many spirited discussions, if few believers.



Men's hockey Qualifiers: India beat Canada

India rode on Sandeep Singh’s brilliance to virtually seal its place in the final of the men’s hockey Olympic Qualifying tournament after defeating Canada 3-2 at the Major Dhyanchand Stadium in New Delhi on Feb 22.
Sandeep converted two penalty corners to not only see India through in the pulsating encounter, but also increase his goal-tally to nine in the tournament. With four wins out of four matches, India more or less are through to the summit clash of the tournament.
In another match Poland defeated Singapore 11-3 while France beat Italy 3-0. In Women's section South Africa beat India 5-2.

IAS / IPS STUDIES -3



RAPID GK SERIES
QUESTIONS

1. The Banking Regulation Act was passed in this year
2. The Present Base Year for Inflation is
3. India’s first Private Hill Station which registered as Pearly Blue Lake Resorts which also got controversy recently is
4. ‘Rewriting the Future’ is the caption of this IT Product Related Company
5. In Budget, the term ‘Aam Aadmi’ represents this concept
6. The BSE Index SENSEX reaches the highest ever in this year
7. The first Indian President who was invited to address the European Parliament
8. The first Chairman of Rajya Sabha was
9. The famous Hindu temple Angokr Wat is situated in
10. The Cannes Festival is associated with this industry

ANSWERS

1. 1949
2. 2004-05
3. Lavasa
4. Moser Baer
5. Inclusive Budget (Budget for all People)
6. 2008
7. Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
8. Dr. S. Radhakrishnan
9. Cambodia
10. Film Industry


Govt defers decision on FDI in retail

Decision on much-awaited FDI in multi-brand retail is likely to be delayed further in wake of fresh inter-ministerial differences on the politically sensitive issue. Differences between the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion surfaced, even as Wal-Mart said today it is waiting for a policy clearance to pump in investment in the sector.

"There are some differences among ministries over FDI in multi-brand retail. Our Department is processing what stand we have to take," Food and Consumer Affairs Minister K V Thomas said on the sidelines of a CII event here.

He said his ministry would formulate, within a week, stand on the terms and conditions which should be enforced for allowing the foreign direct investment (FDI) in the multi-brand retail, estimated at over USD 500 billion market.

"The question is not about the percentage of FDI only. There are large number of small shops in villages...," he said. En route his return from the US, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had also expressed concern about protecting the small traders.

"It is our task to go about it in a manner, in which the nation enjoys the benefits of more FDI in retail trade, without hurting our domestic interests. I can assure that we will do nothing which will hurt the essential interests of the small Indian trade community," Singh had said yesterday.

Wal-Mart India President, Raj Jain, who was also present at the CII meeting, said, "There would be manifold increase in investment (by us) if FDI in multi brand retail is opened up,"

At present, world's largest retailer operates in India through a cash and carry model. Though 100 per cent FDI is permitted in this format, Walmart has a joint venture with Bharti Enterprises for nine wholesale stores in the country.

The Food Minister said the multi-national companies are interested for business in cities alone."Who will look after interest of small shop keepers in remote villages? They should be properly protected," Thomas asked. He said in his recent meeting with traders in Mumbai, a concern was raised about some big companies stocking food material which could trigger price increase.

The Committee of Secretaries (CoS) headed by Cabinet Secretary Ajit Kumar Seth has recommended that 51 per cent FDI could be allowed in multi-brand retail, which is dominated by neighbourhood kirana stores.

It also suggested that at least 50 per cent of the investment and jobs should go to rural areas. Global players will have to commit a minimum of USD 100 million investment in infrastructure.

Our investment in India will grow if FDI rules relaxed: Walmart

The world's largest retailer Walmart today said its investments in India will grow manifold if foreign direct investment regulations on multi-brand retail are relaxed in the country.

Walmart said it will ramp up its investment here to strengthen supply chains and enhance direct linkages with farmers in order to provide "quality products at affordable" prices to Indian consumers. "There would be manifold increase in investment by Walmart in India if FDI in multi-brand retail is opened up," Walmart India President Raj Jain told reporters on the sidelines of a CII event here.

Walmart currently has nine cash-and-carry stores in India through a joint-venture with Bharti Enterprises.

"Investment in India is not a problem, policy (FDI regulations) is a problem," Jain said.

At present, India does not allow FDI in multi-brand retail, which has restricted international players to the wholesale cash-and-carry business.

In the wholesale business, 100 per cent FDI is allowed, whereas in single brand retail, 51 per cent overseas investment is permitted.

While a committee of secretaries has given a green signal to FDI in multi-brand retail, the move requires political approval. The government is still in the process of finding a political consensus on the issue. Walmart currently works with a large number for farmers for direct sourcing of products.

"We already work with farmers in the North and will soon start that in South too... We are doing as much as we can, but our investments cannot be monetised on the back of wholesale alone," he said.

Through wholesale, the company anyway can not control the prices that end-consumers pay for the final products, he added.

Jain, however, did not share absolute numbers on the quantum of investment being made by the company in the country and the expected increase in case FDI is allowed in multi-brand retail in India going ahead....



HAL aspires to be $6 billion firm in a decade: Ashok Nayak

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) aspires to be one of the top 20 global defence companies, with a turnover of $6 billion, within the next 10 years, Chairman Ashok Nayak said on Wednesday.

“HAL plans to provide seamless maintenance support, encompassing first and second line support, for aircraft and helicopters at customer bases,” he said.

The target would call for a multi-fold increase in production requirements and HAL believes growth in India’s aviation sector will act as an opportunity for the over seven-decade-old company to meet its objectives, Mr. Nayak said.

With 19 production units and 10 research design centres at eight locations across India, the company has an impressive track record, including 14 types of aircraft manufactured with in-house R&D and 14 produced under licence, he said.

HAL has positioned itself as a comprehensive solutions provider to the Indian Defence Services in aviation, contributing to modernisation efforts by manufacturing aircraft and helicopters of various types and using diverse technologies, he said.

“With new initiatives and future programmes, the company continues to be a major partner of the defence forces,” he added.

HAL has already diversified into aerospace-related fields, with its aerospace division supplying critical components, structural assemblies and tankages for various launch vehicles and satellites of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Mr. Nayak said.



India accounts for 58 percent of those practising open defecation globally

India accounts for 58 percent of those who practice open defecation across the globe.

In its finding for the year 2008, UNICEF estimated that as many as 63.8 crore people, that is, 54 percent of the country's population, practice open defecation due to inadequate sanitation.

On this ignominious list, Indonesia is a distant second with 5.7 crore people lacking toilet facilities, and it accounts for 5 percent of the hapless population which still are denied sanitation, with China following where 5.6 crore people have no other option.

On one count, Ethiopia's condition is worse than India's - 60 percent of its population are put to discomfiture against the 54 percent in India. Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka follow suit; but the fact remains they are still are better off than India in providing sanitation to their population.

“It is a matter of shame,” said Jairam Ramesh, Union Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation told The Hindu, resolving to wipe out the problem during the 12th Five Year Plan and make the country open defecation-free by 2017.

Economic impact

According to another report, the economic impact of inadequate sanitation costs India about Rs. 2.4 trillion or about 6.4 per of its gross domestic product. Diarrhoea alone claims four lakh lives annually, of which 90 percent are children.

But tragically enough, the annual central budget is just Rs. 2000 crore which is just about two percent of the entire budget for Rural Development which is close to Rs.1 lakh crore.

Only five states in India - Kerala, Sikkim, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra - are doing well in sanitation; others have a long way to go. Uttar Pradesh alone accounts for 10 percent of population that suffers on account of inadequate sanitation.

Awareness campaign

Mr. Ramesh has written to the Planning Commission to at least raise the annual allocation to Rs. 10000 crore, and has written a letter to all the Chief Ministers to join the one month long Swachchata Utsav awareness campaign that he will launch on Gandhi Jayanthi - October 2- laying emphasis on adoption of safe sanitation practices.

The issue of open defecation will have to be taken up as a challenge, he said, as only 25000 villages have been declared as ‘nirmal grams' out of 6 lakh villages in the country and because it was the root cause for spreading public health problems.

Mr. Ramesh said that what was needed is a political and social movement to cope with the problem and it could not be just an administrative programme. The first and last man to spearhead the cause of hygiene and sanitation in the country was Mahatma Gandhi, he underlined.



All set for China's space module launch

A spokesperson for China's manned space programme said on Wednesday that fuel had been injected into the Long March-2FT1 carrier rocket in preparation for launching the Tiangong-1 space module on Thursday as planned.

The Long March-2FT1 is the latest modified model of the Long March-2 rocket series and features a more powerful thrust force, said spokeswoman Wu Ping at a press conference at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

The Long March-2FT1, given more than 170 improvements, is 52-metre long with a payload to low Earth orbit of 8.6 tonnes,said Mr. Wu.

The modifications came after an unsuccessful launch in August when a Long March-2C rocket failed to send an experimental satellite into orbit. Engineers conducted comprehensive technical evaluations and made modifications to Tiangong-1's Long March-2F carrier rocket, which shares most of its components with the failed Long March-2C.

To contain the Tiangong-1 module, which is larger than China's Shenzhou manned spacecraft, the Long March-2FT1 has a larger nose fairing, according to Jing Muchun, chief designer of the Tiangong mission's carrier rocket system.

The shape of the rocket's boosters has also been modified to allow for greater fuel volume than the Long March-2F model, resulting in an increase in its thrust power, said the chief designer.

Compared with carrier rockets that the United States and Russia have used to launch Moon-landing vehicles and space station components, China's Long March rocket series is much less powerful.

For example, a carrier rocket must have a payload capacity of at least 20 tonnes to send one single part of the International Space Station into low Earth orbit. “China's manned space programme aims at building up a space station, so we need a more powerful carrier rocket,” Jing told Xinhua at the launch center.

“Research and development on a new, bigger carrier rocket that burns more environmentally-friendly liquid-oxygen-kerosene fuels is in progress,” he said.



Seven years imprisonment for violating Gujarat cow protection bill

The state legislative assembly unanimously cleared a bill to control the transportation of cattle within the state and outside. The Gujarat Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill, 2011, specifically prevents the transportation of cow, the calf of a cow, a bull or a bullock.

The bill makes it obligatory for anyone wanting to transport the animal to obtain a permit from a new authority to be set up. The transporter will have to show that he is ferrying bovines only for bonafide agricultural or animal husbandry purpose.

States agriculture minister Dileep Sanghani said that anyone violating the proposed law will not only face seizure of the animals and vehicles in which they are sought to be transported, but also up to seven-year imprisonment and a fine up to Rs 50,000. The vehicles captured will not be released for six months.

Leader of opposition in the assembly Shaktisinh Gohil said that the need of the hour was to get to the bottom of the problem. Earlier, Maldhari community that rears cattle had about 3.32 lakh hectare of land for grazing at their disposal. However, the present government has given away this gauchar land at a throw away prices to the industrial houses. Also earlier, nonproductive cows were sent to graze in these areas, but since there are no more gauchar land available, cattle herders were forced to spend Rs 40-50 per cow for fodder. This was driving then to sell their cows, Gohil said.

The government should put off their celebrations and partying for one year and open government-owned cattle ponds so that Maldharis can send their cattle to such ponds instead of leaving them for butchers, he added. The Congress was of the opinion that the changes in the law would not have any impact. He said the amendment in the bill was to pacify the Maldharis who are agitating against the state government.


Pranab Mukherjee writes to Prime Minister, defends P Chidambaram

With no let-up in the opposition fire, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday stepped forward to defend home minister P Chidambaram against the charge that he eventually concurred with jailed telecom minister A Raja's decision not to auction 2G spectrum.

In a four-page letter to the prime minister, Mukherjee said the finance ministry's note of March 25 was based on deliberations among ministries and should not be interpreted as a verdict on anyone's culpability.

The letter acquires significance as it rebuts the perception that the contentious note suggested that Chidambaram, as finance minister in UPA-1, had caved in to Raja's stubborn insistence to give away 2G spectrum in 2008 at 2001 prices. Besides, it counters the impression that the finance minister was behind the note which was seen as an offshoot of the widely perceived rivalry between the two senior ministers.

Mukherjee's letter has detailed how the March 25 note was drafted. It said the communication was prepared at the instance of the PMO to forge a common stance for the different ministries to take on the 2G controversy.

Pranab letter after meet with Sonia

Flying down from the US, Pranab Mukherjee lost little time in getting to firefighting on the finance ministry note that appeared to suggest that P Chidambaram, as finance minister in UPA 1, had concurred with A Raja on the 2G spectrum allocation.

On Wednesday, two days after Mukherjee met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Mukherjee wrote to the Prime Minister, defending his colleague, coinciding with the Supreme Court calling for the files on the finance ministry's stance on spectrum allocation during Chidambaram's tenure.

According to sources close to him, Mukherjee discussed the contents of the letter with Sonia Gandhi who had stepped in to seal what was seen as an escalating fight between Mukherjee and Chidambaram.

The March 25 note, "seen" by Mukherjee, became a weapon in the hands of the opposition parties and the government's detractors like Subramanian Swamy because it suggested that Raja would have been forced to cancel allocation of licences if the finance ministry under Chidambaram had insisted on auctioning spectrum.

Many in the party felt that Mukherjee did appear to be involved in hammering out the judicial defence for the home minister, with latenight discussions with law minister Salman Khurshid on the day of his return from the US.

However, a question may continue to dog him as to how the finance ministry note could contain something as incendiary as accusing Chidambaram of not doing enough on spectrum pricing.

IAS / IPS STUDIES -2


RAPID GK SERIES

QUESTIONS
1. The Oldest Stock Exchange of India is
2. The Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Act was passed in this year
3. H1F1 Virus is the causal factor of this disease
4. The first foreign bank of India was
5. This Indian State has the more number of Women
6. Tobogganing is the term used in this Sport event
7. The famous novel ‘Untouchable’ was written by
8. The Capital of Spain is
9. The Oldest Capital of India was
10. The Historic Boston Tea Party was happened in this year

ANSWERS

1. Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) (1875)
2. 1992
3. Swine Flu
4. Charted Bank
5. Kerala
6. Skiing
7. Mulk Raj Anand
8. Madrid
9. Kolkata
10. 1773



Nobel Peace laureate Wangari Maathai dies

Wangari Maathai, the first African woman recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, died after a long struggle with cancer, the environmental organisation she founded said Monday. She was 71.

One of Kenya’s most recognizable women, Maathai won the Nobel in 2004 for combining environmentalism and social activism. She was the founder of the Green Belt Movement, where over 30 years she mobilized poor women to plant 30 million trees.

Edward Wageni, that group’s deputy executive director, said Maathai died in a Nairobi hospital late Sunday. Maathai was in and out of the hospital since the beginning of the year, he said.

In recognizing Maathai, the Nobel committee said that she had stood up to a former oppressive regime in Kenya and that her “unique forms of action have contributed to drawing attention to political oppression.”

"Tree a symbol for democratic struggle"

Maathai said during her 2004 acceptance speech that the inspiration for her life work came from her childhood experiences in rural Kenya, where she witnessed forests being cleared and replaced by commercial plantations, which destroyed biodiversity and the capacity of forests to conserve water.

Although the Green Belt Movement’s tree planting campaign did not initially address the issues of peace and democracy, Maathai said it become clear over time that responsible governance of the environment was not possible without democracy.

“Therefore, the tree became a symbol for the democratic struggle in Kenya. Citizens were mobilized to challenge widespread abuses of power, corruption and environmental mismanagement,” Maathai said.

Tributes poured out for Maathai online, including from Kenyans who remember planting trees alongside her as schoolchildren. One popular posting on Twitter noted that Maathai’s knees always seemed to be dirty from showing VIPs how to plant trees. Another poster, noting Nairobi’s cloudy skies Monday, said- “No wonder the sun is not shining today.”

A long time friend and fellow professor at the University of Nairobi, Vertistine Mbaya said that Maathai showed the world how important it is to have and demonstrate courage.

“The values she had for justice and civil liberties and what she believed were the obligations of civil society and government,” Mbaya said. “She also demonstrated the importance of recognizing the contributions that women can make and allowing them the open space to do so.”

A former member of Kenya’s parliament, Maathai was the first woman to earn a doctorate in East Africa in 1971 from the University of Nairobi, where she later was an associate professor in the department of veterinary anatomy. She previously earned degrees from Mount St. Scholastica College in Atchison, Kansas and the University of Pittsburgh.

Maathai first latched on to the idea of widespread tree planting while serving as the chairwoman of the National Council of Women in Kenya during the 1980s.

The Green Belt Movement, which was founded in 1977, said on its website that Maathai’s death was a great loss to those who “admired her determination to make the world a more peaceful, healthier and better place.”

Maathai is survived by her three children. Funeral arrangements were to be announced soon, the Green Belt Movement said.



India, China to open up markets

India and China agreed to boost economic cooperation, open up their markets and improve the investment environment for each other's companies during the first-ever Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED), which was held here on Monday.

A particularly promising outcome of the first SED, officials said, was agreement to have closer cooperation between the two countries' railway networks, which could subsequently pave the way for the involvement of Chinese companies in proposed plans to build six high-speed rail corridors in India.

Energy efficiency The two countries also agreed to learn from each other's development experiences to face common challenges, such as improving energy efficiency, tackling water scarcity and combating climate change.

Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission who led the Indian delegation, described the talks as an important first step of a “knowledge transfer” that could bring substantial benefits to both countries.

“China's economic reforms began a decade and more before those of India,” he told his Chinese counterpart Zhang Ping, who heads the powerful National and Development Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top planning body, at the start of the dialogue. “We in India are deeply impressed by your progress and we believe there are many lessons from your experience that may be valuable to us.”

The dialogue, said Mr. Zhang, wound enhance trust and promote the “long-term and steady development” of both economies and have a “profound impact” on both the countries. The two countries agreed to initiate the SED dialogue during Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to India in December. The next round will be held in New Delhi in April 2012.

The SED was set up with the objective of increasing coordination on macro-economic policies and to provide a platform for both countries to leverage common interests and shared developmental experiences. The idea behind the dialogue, officials said, was to look at the larger picture and go beyond trade. A separate Joint Economic Group dialogue, between both Commerce Ministers, has been set up to tackle trade issues, including the widening imbalance in China's favour.

Monday's dialogue featured three specific working groups, on the railways, water, and energy efficiency and the environment.

Officials said the railways held particular potential for cooperation.

India is keen to learn from China's development of its freight network, which was, two decades ago, in a similar position to India's.

Freight traffic Today, China's freight traffic is four times that of India's.

Another area of possible collaboration is on high-speed train technology. China has built the world's biggest high-speed rail network in recent years, and has expressed interest to play a role in proposed plans for a network of six high-speed corridors in India.


Upgraded Tejas to take off in 3 years

An upgraded version of Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas will be ready to take off within three years.

The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), along with the Central Scientific Instruments Organization (CSIO), Chandigarh, is working on the project. Tejas' aircraft technology will put India on the fifth spot after the US, France, Russia and UK.

This was disclosed by additional general manager of HAL, Bangalore, K P Singh, who visited the CSIO laboratory on the occasion of the CSIR foundation day on Monday.

Tejas LCA has a HUD (head up display) which was developed at the CSIO at the start of the year. It has unmatchable brightness on the display board. "We will provide HUD for the upgraded version which will have better range accuracy and will be lighter as compared to the existing one. At present, we have HUD weighing 18kg," said Dr Pawan Kapur, director CSIO.

The improvised version is being devised for the Indian Navy. According to official sources, there is a requirement of over 100 such HUDs for Tejas. "Already, we have provided 36 and 90 more are in the production line," said an official at the CSIO.

Talking about the plan, Singh said, "We have been working with CSIO on LCA and intermediate jet trainer aircraft."

Though HAL is the only supplier of Tejas to the Indian defence forces, catching up with the international competitors has not been easy. "We cannot afford to lose time. There are gaps in the system which slows down the pace of technology. Though red tapism has decreased to some extent, it still exists," said Singh.

The CSIO is working on Mark 2 for intermediate jet trainer aircraft where the weight of the HUD will be 11.8kg.


India hopes to achieve WHO’s doctor-people ratio by 2028

India will take at least 17 more years before it can reach the World Health Organization's ( WHO) recommended norm of one doctor per 1,000 people.

The Planning Commission's high-level expert group (HLEG) on universal health coverage (UHC) - headed by Dr K Srinath Reddy - has predicted the availability of one allopathic doctor per 1,000 people by 2028. It has suggested setting up 187 medical colleges in 17 high focus states during the 12th and 13th five-year Plan to achieve the target.

HLEG estimates that the number of allopathic doctors registered with the Medical Council of India (MCI) has increased since 1974 to 6.12 lakhs in 2011 - a ratio of one doctor for 1,953 people or a density of 0.5 doctors per 1,000 people.

The nation has a density of one medical college per 38.41 lakhs. There are 315 medical colleges that are located in 188 of 642 districts.

There is only one medical college for a population of 115 lakhs in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh (95 lakhs), Madhya Pradesh (73 lakhs) and Rajasthan (68 lakhs). Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu each have one medical college for a population of 15 lakhs, 16 lakhs and 19 lakhs, respectively.

The HLEG has proposed a phased addition of 187 colleges. It expects that by 2015 under phase A, 59 new medical colleges will admit students in 15 states like Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. By 2017, 13 of these states will have an additional 70 medical colleges, and by 2022, another 58 institutes will be built in two additional phases (2017-2020 and 2020-2022).

By 2022, India will have one medical college per 25 lakh population in all states except Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

The implementation of HLEG's recommendations will enable the additional availability of 1.2 lakh doctors by 2017, and another 1.9 lakh doctors between 2017 and 2022.

"With this rate of growth, it is expected that the HLEG target of one doctor per 1,000 will be achieved by 2028," the report says.

It recommends that along with establishment of new medical colleges, the admission capacities of existing colleges in the public sector should also be increased. Partnerships with the private sector should be encouraged, with conditional reservation of 50% of seats for local candidates, fixed admission fees and government reimbursement of fees for local candidates. The revised MBBS curriculum proposed by the MCI should be refined to put greater focus on preventive, promotive and rehabilitative healthcare.

"Measures such as a compulsory posting of one year for all MBBS graduates immediately after internship, with 10% extra marks weightage for one year of rural service and 20% extra marks for two years of rural service in the post-graduate entrance examination should be included," the report suggests.

The World Health Statistics Report (2011) says, the density of doctors in India is six for a population of 10,000. India is ranked 52 among 57 countries facing human resource crunch in healthcare.

Between 2001 and 2005, India had a doctor: population ratio of 0.5 per 1,000 population in comparison to 0.3 in Thailand, Sri Lanka (0.4), China (1.6), the UK (5.4), the US (5.5) and Cuba (5.9).

The nation has the largest number of medical colleges in the world, with an annual churning rate of over 30,000 doctors and 18,000 specialists. However, the average annual output is 100 graduates per medical college in comparison to 110 in North America, Central Europe (125), Western Europe (149) and Eastern Europe (220). China, which has 188 colleges, produces 1,75, 000 doctors annually, with an average of 930 graduates per institute.


India to become 2nd largest steel producer by 2015

India is expected to become the world's second largest producer of crude steel by 2015, riding on expansion plans of domestic players like SAIL and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam (RINL), the government said today.

Chairing a meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee, Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma said annual demand for steel is likely to grow at an average of over 10% in the next five years as compared to 8 per cent growth during 1991-92 and 2010-11.

India slipped one rank to become the fourth largest steel producer in 2010, with 68.3 million tonne (MT) of output. It produced 63.5 MT steel in 2009.

China is the number one producer of steel, followed by Japan and the US at second and third places, respectively.

"India also maintained its lead position as the world’s largest producer of direct reduced iron (DRI) or sponge iron," the official statement said, adding the per capita steel consumption during the last six years has risen from 38 kg in 2005-06 to 55 kg in 2010-11.

The steel sector contributes nearly 2% of the GDP and employs over 5 lakh people.

Expressing concerns over exports of iron ore, a fast depleting resource, Verma said iron ore is a non-renewable natural resource and his Ministry is of the view that it should be conserved for long-term utilisation of domestic steel industry.

"Our policy should, accordingly, aim at value addition of iron ore within the country instead of exporting iron ore," he said. National Steel Vision and strategy paper are being finalised for promoting steel sector, he said.

The Minister also elaborated on expansion plans of PSUs like SAIL, RINL etc.

"The major thrust of the modernisation and expansion plans is to adopt the best modern technology, which in addition to being cost effective should also be energy efficient and environment-friendly," he said.

State-run SAIL has undertaken a massive expansion drive to increase its steel production capacity from current 14 MT to about 24 MT, with an investment of about Rs 70,000 crore.


RBI relaxes overseas borrowing norms for infra companies

The Reserve Bank today relaxed norms for infrastructure companies with direct foreign equity up to 25% to raise fund overseas without government permission.

On a review, it has been decided, to further liberalise the External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs) policy in respect of the infrastructure sector, RBI said in a statement.

Direct foreign equity holder (holding minimum 25% of the paid-up capital) and indirect foreign equity holder holding at least 51% of the paid-up capital, will be
permitted to provide credit enhancement for the domestic debt raised by Indian companies engaged exclusively in the development of infrastructure through issue of capital market instruments, it said.

It includes Infrastructure Finance Companies (IFCs) and no prior approval will be required from the Reserve Bank for providing such credit enhancements, it said.

The company fulfilling foreign equity criteria does not require permission for raising ECB up to USD 5 million.

Now onwards the term debt in the debt-equity ratio will be replaced with ECB liability and the ratio will be known as ECB liability-equity ratio to make the term signify true position as other borrowings or debt are not considered in working out this ratio, it said.

Service sector units, in addition to those in hotels, hospitals and software, could also be considered as eligible borrowers if the loan is obtained from foreign equity holders, it said.

This would facilitate borrowing by training institutions, R&D, miscellaneous service companies, etc, it said.

ECB from a group company may also be permitted provided both the borrower and the foreign lender are subsidiaries of the same parent, it added.


SAT upholds Sebi order against Axis Bank

The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) today upheld a Sebi order imposing a Rs 2-lakh fine on private lender Axis Bank , saying the same individual cannot be on the board of both the debenture trustee and the issuer.

In 2009, the market regulator had found certain deficiencies in Axis Bank's books and passed an order imposing a fine of Rs 2 lakh on the lender.

The case relates to two separate debenture issues from Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services and Noida Toll Bridge in early 2009, in which Axis Bank acted as a debenture trustee. According to Sebi rules, the same individual cannot be on the board of both the debenture trustee and the issuer.

The case came up for hearing before SAT after Axis Bank appealed against the Sebi order. The watchdog had inspected the bank's books and accounts to verify whether it was in compliance with the bench of trustee norms, and also to look into its conduct as a debenture trustee.

SAT upheld Sebi's contention. "This was the case at Axis Bank where the same individual was on the board in two cases - in Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services and in Noida Toll Bridge. Therefore, Axis Bank's appeal is thus rejected on these two grounds," SAT Presiding Officer N K Sodhi said.

Also, as per the norms, SAT said Axis Bank, which was the debenture trustee, cannot lend money to issuers of the debentures. It was found that in some cases, money was lent to the issuers at Axis Bank itself.

However, SAT observed there was "no intentional breach of norms" by the bank and therefore the lender would be fined merely Rs 2 lakh. Axis Bank was represented by R S Loona, while the Sebi counsel was Shiraz Rustomjee.


Singur judgement likely on Wednesday

The Calcutta High Court is likely to pass on Wednesay its judgement on Tata Motors Limited 's (TML) challenge of the Singur Land Act by which West Bengal government vested the Singur land leased to the company.

The judgement is scheduled to be passed at 10:30 am by the court of Justice I P Mukerji.

The hearing on TML's challenge of Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011, had ended on September 16.

TML was to set up a plant for manufacturing its low-cost Nano car at Singur but it shifted the plant to Sanand in Gujarat on October 7, 2008, citing law and order problem at Singur.

West Bengal government under Mamata Banerjee enacted the Singur Act on June 14 this year and vested 600 acres of land leased to TML.


Bharti Telecom raises stake in Airtel to 45.54%

Telecom major Bharti Airtel today said its promoter Bharti Telecom has bought about 7.2 lakh shares of the company for over 27 crore in different transactions from open market to raise stake to 45.54% in it.

Bharti Telecom purchased 15,000 shares for over Rs 56 lakh at BSE and 6,35,000 shares for close to Rs 23.97 crore on September 22, thus raising its stake marginally in the company to 45.53 from 45.52% on the same day, the company said in a filing to the BSE.

On September 23, Bharti Telecom again purchased 14,000 shares for Rs 50.82 lakh approximately from BSE and 52,000 shares for Rs 2.25 crore from NSE which raised its stake marginally by 0.1% to 45.54%, it added.

Bharti Telecom had been gradually increasing stake in the firm from 45.50 on September 13.

Bharti Telecom purchased 12,000 shares for Rs 45.9 lakh approximately from BSE and 1.47 lakh shares for close to Rs 5.62 crore from NSE on September 13.

Next day, it purchased 20,000 shares for Rs 75.34 lakhs approximately from BSE and over 3.85 lakh shares for Rs 14.47 crores from NSE.

In last two weeks, Bharti Telecom has purchased over 15 lakh shares of Bharti Airtel for close to Rs 57 crore.

Shares of Bharti Airtel closed at Rs 380.4 a piece, up by 1.48% compared to its previous close at BSE today.

IAS / IPS STUDIES -1


RAPID GK SERIES
QUESTIONS

1. The Largest Bay of the World is
2. The Chinese Revolution was happened in this year
3. According to the 2001 Census, the All India Male Literacy Rate is
4. A defect of Eye in which near Objects are not distinctly visible.
5. This is a line joining all the Points on a Graph that correspond to the same temperature
6. Onges is the tribal people who lives in this Indian Union Territory
7. In 2009, the Bank of Rajasthan was merged with this bank
8. The famous Character ADAM was created by this author
9. The famous author Kabir belongs to this language
10. The last Governor General of India’s Pre-Independence era was

ANSWERS

1. Hudson Bay (Northern Canada)
2. 1911
3. 75.85%
4. Hypermetropia or Long Sightedness
5. Isothermal
6. Andaman & Nicobar Islands
7. ICICI (Industrial Credit & Investment Corporation of India)
8. John Milton
9. Hindi
10. Lord Canning




Will support growth in all countries: IMF, World Bank

With turbulence and widespread fiscal strain threatening the global economic recovery, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank on Saturday vowed to support strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth in all of its member countries.

"We commit to do everything within our means to support strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth in all our member countries," said a joint communiqu? issued by the IMF and World Bank at the end of its annual meeting in Washington.

"We reaffirm the need to work cooperatively to meet our development commitments to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 and to support the poor in developing and emerging countries through this period of instability, as well as in the long-term," the joint communiqu? said.

Commending the G20 for making development the cornerstone of its agenda, the IMF and World Bank noted that the turbulence in global financial markets and widespread fiscal strains has put the robustness and sustainability of the global economic recovery at risk.

"Volatile commodity prices and pressures on food security are critical challenges. We are alert to the possible global impacts of these issues, particularly for the poor. While developing countries have been the main contributors to recent global economic growth, the economic crisis has reduced their capacity to withstand further shocks," the joint communiqu? said.

Observing that jobs are vital to translating growth into lasting poverty reduction and broad-based economic opportunities, the IMF and World Bank reiterated their commitment to job creation, especially by supporting the expansion of a vibrant private sector.

"In this connection, we recognise the important role the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) play in poorer countries and in challenging markets," the communiqu? said.

"We welcome and encourage the cooperation of the World Bank Group (WBG) with member governments and other partners, such as the G20, the International Labor Organisation and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to pursue a comprehensive approach to job creation for women and men," it said.

Asserting that the World Bank Group must continue to help member countries build their resilience and respond to crises, the joint communiqu? said to do this effectively, the WBG must remain prepared with human, knowledge and financial capacity.

"We welcome the WBG's enhanced focus on innovative approaches to support countries in the Middle East and North Africa region to address the social and economic consequences of their current transition. We call on the WBG to scale up support and strengthen collaboration with all relevant stakeholders, in particular other Multilateral Development Banks," it said.



IMF urges ECB to play bigger crisis-fighting role

A top IMF official on Sunday said the European Central Bank was the only player powerful enough to "scare" financial markets and keep the euro zone's debt crisis from further damaging the global economy.

Ahead of a high-stakes meeting on Sunday afternoon between IMF chief Christine Lagarde and the finance minister of Greece -- where the crisis is now centered -- officials were wrestling with how to bolster Europe's banking system and keep the crisis contained.

The IMF said the European Union's bailout fund could not go it alone.

"It is very important that we see a combination of the ECB and the EFSF," said Antonio Borges, the head of the IMF's European department, referring to the European Financial Stability Facility of 440 billion euros (USD 594 billion) .

"The ECB is the only agent that can really scare the markets," he added -- a vital consideration because investors are increasingly skeptical Greece can avoid a default and policymakers can prevent the crisis rolling to other nations.

Analysts say the bailout fund would be far to small if the crisis were to spread beyond Greece, Portugal and Ireland to hit the much larger economies of Italy and Spain.

Germany stands opposed to chipping in more to help nations it sees as profligate and the focus has now turned on ways to leverage existing bailout funds, possibly through the ECB.

The European Union's top economic official, Olli Rehn, said on Saturday that as soon as the region's governments confirm new powers for the EFSF, attention will turn to how to get more impact from the existing money.

"We need to find a mechanism where we can turn one euro in the EFSF into five, but there is no decision on how we could do that yet," another senior European official said.

The rescue fund would need to be at least 2 trillion euros to safeguard Italy and Spain if the crisis spread, analysts estimate.

Throughout a weekend of IMF and World Bank meetings in Washington, European officials have been under pressure to get a grip on the debt crisis before it spirals out of control.

While signs have mounted that Europe was preparing to step up its crisis response, there were still doubts that officials were moving swiftly enough.

"There is some risk of market disappointment due to the fact there were no further, more specific pledges from the euro countries at this time," Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg told reporters.

"It is clear they want to build a firewall (but) it will take time before we see the decisions necessary in place."

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner pushed the ECB on Saturday to take on a pivotal role in fighting the crisis. "The threat of cascading default, bank runs, and catastrophic risk must be taken off the table," he told the steering committee of the 187-nation IMF.

In a measure of the global concern about the potential for renewed recession, Brazil's central bank chief also appealed for a better coordinated and stronger European approach.

"Brazil's experience with past crises suggests you have to confront the problems in a fast, consistent manner," said Alexandre Tombini.

"The longer it takes, the higher the cost, the more contagion spreads. You have to act with overwhelming force."



Salman Khurshid’sshri Visit to Kabul for Fateha Prayers for Late President of Afghanistan

Shri Salman Khurshid, Minister of Law & Justice and Minority Affairs,represented the people and Government of India at the offering of ‘Fateha’ prayers, in Kabul yesterday, for late Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani, Chairman of High Peace Council and former President of Afghanistan, who was assassinated on September 20, 2011. During the visit, Shri Khurshid called on Shri Hamid Karzai, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and also met Mr. Salahuddin Rabbani, son of late Professor Rabbani to convey condolences and express solidarity with the people and Government of Afghanistan in their hour of grief.


RTI ‘transgressing into govt functioning’, Moily wants a debate

Denying any rift between Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister P Chidambaram, Corporate Affairs Minister Veerappa Moily today called for a “national debate” on the scope of the Right to Information Act (RTI), saying it “transgresses into the independent functioning of the government”.

This came in the context of Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy citing a Finance Ministry note that has brought the spotlight on Chidambaram’s role in the 2G spectrum allocation, which was obtained through RTI.

“We call it argumentative India. Every person or ministry has the right to express views but you cannot interpret it as differences between Pranab Mukherjee and Chidambaram. In the context of RTI exposures, people are misreading things. Transparency, yes, but it cannot scuttle the independence of individuals and ministries expressing difference of opinion. It’s time for a national debate on this issue,” Veerappa Moily told The Sunday Express.
As for the Finance Ministry’s purported letter regarding the role of Chidambaram, the Corporate Affairs Minister said it could not be construed as infighting in the government. The note sent to the PMO says that had the Finance Ministry, then under Chidambaram, stuck to the auction option, the grant of licences could have been cancelled. It adds that the note “had been seen by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee”.

“Just because there is exchange of views on administrative matters, one cannot call it infighting. In a democratic process that our Cabinet system follows, there is free exchange of views to arrive at a correct decision. Even at the Prime Minister’s level, we express our differences. How can democracy function otherwise? But RTI obtain some extracts of such exchange of views and attribute motives to them. If this continues, no officer or minister will discuss anything. Even the judiciary should appreciate it. Time has come to re-visit the issue of (making public) file notes and discussions,” said Moily.


6.5 ton NASA satellite crash lands, probably in Pacific

A 6.5 ton defunct satellite hurtling uncontrolled towards Earth has likely plunged into a remote section the Pacific Ocean off the western US coast, American space agency NASA said.

The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) crossed over portions of Indian Ocean and Africa before splashing down sometime between 11:23 pm (local time) Friday and 1:09 am yesterday, NASA officials said.

NASA said all debris from the research satellite, the biggest piece of US space junk to fall uncontrolled in 32 years, appears to have dropped in a remote section of the Pacific Ocean well "away from the western coast of the US," but the precise spot may never be pinpointed.

There was a 1-in-3,200 chance of a person getting hit by falling debris, but there is no such report yet. "NASA is not aware of any reports of injury or property damage," the officials wrote in a statement. Nick Johnson, chief scientist for orbital debris at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, told reporters the fiery trajectory of the 13,000-pound satellite ended as it crossed eastward over portions of the Indian Ocean and Africa for the final time.

It then most likely disintegrated and scattered debris over a roughly 500-mile stretch across the northern portion of the Pacific.

About 11 hours after the plunge, he said there is no credible report about debris falling on land or anyone recovering satellite parts -- contrary to widespread Internet speculation about purported remnants of the satellite falling to the ground in Canada or elsewhere.


Bank lobby rejects imposing losses on Greek private investors

The international bank lobbying group that has been taking a leading role in negotiations on giving debt-ridden Greece easier terms for its bonds on Sunday rejected calls to impose larger losses on private investors.

Forcing private creditors to write down their Greek bond holdings by more than the 21 per cent tentatively agreed to in a July deal would quickly cause a "domino effect" that would see the crisis spread to other parts of Europe, warned Josef Ackermann, the outgoing chairman of the Institute of International Finance.

Such a move would ultimately cost taxpayers much more than just bailing out Greece and erode confidence in the euro, warned Ackermann, who is also the CEO of Germany's Deutsche Bank, a major lender to Greece. Germany and other rich eurozone nations have been pushing for a re-negotiation of the July deal, arguing that the economic situation in Greece has significantly deteriorated since then and may require a steeper cut in the country's debt burden.

However, Ackermann quickly rejected that push, saying that the agreement was fair and already placed a heavy burden on banks at atime of major market turmoil. "If we now start reopening this Pandora's box we will lose a lot of time and I'm not sure people would be willing to participate," Ackermann told a news conference on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the IMF.

Under the July deal, Greece is asking banks and other large private investors to swap their existing Greek bonds for ones with longer repayment deadlines, a lower face value or lower interest rates.


RBI annual report imparts ‘downward bias' to India's growth rate

The Annual Report for 2010-11, a statutory publication of the Reserve Bank of India's central board, covers two broad areas — assessment of macroeconomy in 2010-11 as well as prospects for 2011-12 and working and operations of the RBI and its financial accounts.

The latest report released on August 25, like its predecessors, is a snapshot of the economy in the previous year even while it assesses its strengths and weaknesses during the current year.

Excerpts from the report covering growth prospects, inflation outlook and certain other aspects of the macroeconomy in the current year are given here.

The economy returned to a high growth path in 2010-11. However, there were significant challenges: investment slowed, fiscal consolidation was achieved through one-off and cyclical factors and inflation remained sticky on the back of new pressures.

In response, the RBI has raised the policy rates by 475 basis points (on a cumulative basis) since March, 2010. The central bank's medium-term target for inflation has been 3 per cent.

The current account deficit was contained within a reasonable limit, mainly due to an upswing in exports and a turnaround in invisibles.

Growth prospects

After growing slightly above its recent trend in 2010-11, the economy can be expected to decelerate this year. But quite significantly, the growth rate will still be around 8 per cent. However, there is a possibility of global problems getting magnified and imparting a ‘downward bias' to India's growth rate.

In general, growth prospects in the current year appear to be more subdued than last year. Apart from global uncertainties, high prices of oil and certain other commodities have a dampening effect. Other factors weighing on growth are persistent inflationary pressures, rising input costs, higher cost of capital (due to monetary tightening) and slow project execution.

While industrial growth may suffer because of loss of business confidence, the services sector is expected to make up for the shortfall and support the overall growth process.

Investment may remain soft in the near-term, while private consumption may decelerate. In the face of moderating demand, ‘expenditure switching' from government consumption expenditures to public investments would help. Inflation is expected to remain high and moderate only towards the latter part of the year to about 7 per cent by March, 2012. The decline in global commodity prices has not been significant so far. However, if the global recovery weakens further in the days ahead, commodity prices may fall and that may have a salutary effect on the Indian economy.

The ultra soft monetary policy pursued by the U.S. can keep commodity prices elevated. If the global oil prices stay at current levels, further increase in prices of administered oil prices will become necessary to control subsidies. Fertilizer and electricity prices will also require an upward revision in view of sharp rise in input costs.

Monetary policy by itself faces inherent limitations in tackling inflation in the absence of adequate supply side responses.

However, it can still play an important role in curbing the second round effects of supply-side inflation. In the face of nominal rigidities and price-stickiness, there are dangers of accepting the current elevated inflation level as the new normal.

The twin deficits
The fiscal deficit is likely to overshoot the budgeted provisions. If the economy slows down further as is anticipated, the erosion in revenue will magnify the fiscal slippage. Also, the space for counter-cyclical fiscal policies is more limited than it was at the time of the global crisis in 2008.

On a more positive side, the current account deficit (CAD) is expected to be contained within a sustainable 2.7-3 per cent of GDP. The export performance has been robust in 2010-11.

However, by all accounts exports are expected to slowdown later this year due to the deceleration in the advanced economies. Software exports too will be affected as bulk of them are to the U.S. and Europe.

Capital flows are more difficult to anticipate. Their ebb and flow depend on the degree of risk aversion. If the global crisis deepens, capital flows will moderate. However, capital flows can increase in spells on a relative return basis and due to interest differentials.

Medium-term challenges
The immediate challenge to sustaining high growth lies in bringing down inflation. Over the medium-term, however, growth can be sustained only by addressing the structural bottlenecks.

The medium-term challenges are: Lowering inflation and inflation outlook to acceptable levels; harnessing technology for agriculture productivity enhancements; maintaining right balance between consumption and investment; facilitating energy security; facilitating infrastructure finance; and promoting financial inclusion and inclusive growth.


10 Indians among 19 killed in plane crash near Kathmandu

Flight BHA-103 of Buddha Air, crashed in the Kathmandu valley on Sunday morning, killing all 19 persons, including 10 Indians, onboard.

The Beechcraft plane had completed a flight around Mount Everest when it lost contact with the Tribhuvan International Airport tower at 7.31 a.m. It crashed four minutes later at Kotdanda in Lalitpur district, around 15 km south of the airport.

The others killed were six Nepalis, including three crew members; two Americans and a Japanese.

According to a statement issued by the Indian Embassy here, the Indians were: Pankaj Mehta and his wife Chhaya Mehta, M. Maruthachalam, M. Manimaran, A.K. Krisunan, V.M. Kanakasabesan, T. Dhanasekaran, Kattoor Mahalingam, Meenakshi Sundaram, and K. Thyagarajan.

While Pankaj Mehta was with the UNICEF here, the other eight men were from Tiruchi in Tamil Nadu. They came here on Saturday evening and checked into the Grand Hotel.

Hotel manager Phurba Sherpa told The Hindu, “All the eight persons were part of the Tiruchirapalli Centre Builders Association. They first communicated with us on August 21 and booked rooms for three nights and four days. They checked into the hotel on Saturday at 5 p.m., and were scheduled to check out on September 27. They left for their mountain flight this morning at 5.45 a.m.”