Person Resigned: Harish Khare Quits As Manmohan's Media Adviser

MARCH 2012
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Govt Appoints B K Batra as Deputy MD of IDBI Bank

The Union government in January 2012 appointed B K Batra as Deputy Managing Director of IDBI Bank. Prior to being appointed as Deputy Managing Director of IDBI Bank, he worked as Executive Director looking after the corporate banking function and formulation of corporate level policies and processes. He was also discharging responsibility as chairman of credit committee and systems and procedures and several other committees. Batra served IDBI Bank in various positions since 1983 till date. Batra shall hold office till 31 July 2016, the date of his superannuation or until further orders. Currently, the banks management is headed by Chairman and Managing Director R M Malla.
PERSON RESIGNED
Harish Khare Quits as Manmohans Media Adviser
Harish Khare resigned as media advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 19 January 2012 following the appointment of television journalist Pankaj Pachauri as Communication Advisor in the PMO. Pankaj Pachauri will report to Pulok Chatterjee, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister. Pachauri was given the rank of additional secretary while Khare enjoyed the rank of special secretary. Khare (65) had replaced Sanjaya Baru in June 2009 soon after the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance came to power for the second term. As media advisor, Khare held the rank of Secretary to the Government of India. Khare who completed his Ph.D. in Political Science from Yale University in the United States was senior Associate Editor and Chief of Bureau with The Hindu in New Delhi before joining the PMO in 2009. He had also served as Resident Editor of Times of India in Ahmedabad.
www.changetabloid.com Ex-diplomat A K Damodaran Died at 90
Freedom fighter and one of the doyens of Indian diplomacy, Ambassador A K Damodaran passed away in New Delhi on 31 January 2012. Born in Tripunithura, Kerala in 1921, Damodaran was an IFS officer of the 1953 batch. Damodaran had joined the Foreign Service in 1953 after playing an active role in the freedom struggle and a brief two-year stint at the Delhi University where he taught English. He practiced the diplomacy of realpolitik without surrendering national interests in the immediate years after Independence and was one of the last surviving diplomats of the Nehruvian era. He was one of the towering personalities of free Indias diplomatic community. Damodaran held several key posts around the world. He was one of the architects of the 1971 Indo-Soviet Treaty. He also served in Sri Lanka and China, and was Indias envoy to Italy and Sweden. A committed Nehruvite, Damodaran was one of those Indian diplomats, who was trained alongside their Pakistani counterparts at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Boston before taking up full-fledged diplomatic postings. Veteran diplomat, eminent writer, and freedom fighter Ambassador A. K. Damodaran worked on the Nehru papers after retirement. He penned down and editing several books on Indias foreign policy.
PERSON IN THE NEWS

Teen Sailor Circles Globe Solo
Dutch teeager Laura Dekker on 21 January 2012 became the youngest sailor to complete a solo circumnavigation of the world. The 16-year-old Dekker completed her solo round-the-world journey when she sailed into harbour on the Caribbean island of St Martin, which is shared by Netherlands and France. Dekker, who left the island on 20January 2011 surpassed the previous record by eight months. Dekker turns 17 on 20 September 20 and she had to complete her journey before September 16 to beat the record for the youngest sailor to make an unassisted world tour. Dekker had to fight the Dutch courts, who at first blocked plans when she was just 14. The court ordered her placed in the care of welfare officers on the grounds that she was too young to guarantee her safety at sea. She had then run away to St Martin, and police had to escort her back. She finally won her court battle with Dutch child welfare authorities in July 2010 and set sail, originally from Gibraltar on 21 August 21 2010 in her yacht Guppy. However, a change of her planned course led her to make the starting point from her trip St Martin instead. However, the 27,000-nautical mile feat will not be recognised by Guinness World Records because the youngest solo sailor category was scrapped after a series of court cases brought by the Dutch authorities to try to prevent Dekker setting off at 13 and at 14. The previous record holder was Australian Jessica Watson, who achieved the feat in May 2010, three days before she turned 17.
PERSON DIED
Veteran Pakistani actress Salma Mumtaz Passed Away
Pakistani film actress Salma Mumtaz died in Lahore on22 January 2012 after battling diabetes for several years. Mumtaz was born in Jallandhar in 1926. Her family moved to Pakistan after the Partition in 1947. She made her debut in films in the 1960s with the Urdu film Neelofar. An accomplished dancer, she worked in some 300 movies, mostly in Punjabi. Among her popular movies were Maan Puttar, Puttar Dai Piyar, Sheran Di Jori, Mauj Mela, Dacchi and Heer Ranjha. She also directed and produced number of movies.
Film Critic Nikhat Kazmi Passed Away

Nikhat Kazmi, noted film critic died on 20 January 2012 at 53. She had been suffering from a breast cancer. Kazmi wrote for nearly 25years. She reviewed films for the newspaper Times of India. She had also written books on Bollywood - Ire in the Soul: Bollywoods Angry Years (1996) and The Dream Merchants of Bollywood (1998). She also spearheaded compilations like the Times Guide to Hollywood Blockbusters and Times Movie Guide (2007). She had also written a play called If Shakespeare was a gun. Speaking the language of the young, Kazmi made Hinglish (language that is a mix of two languages Hindi & English spoken by youngsters) the preferred medium of communication in film reviews. Her language made her an instant favourite of the youth and her insight was highly regarded by filmmakers. She was unsparing in her criticism but also never found wanting in a word of appreciation. She started the much-debated practice of giving stars to films. The last few films Nikhat reviewed were Sadda Adda, Chaalis Chauraasi, Ghost and Hollywood flick Blitz. Nikhat also had a blog called Pulp Friction on the TOI website.
Legendary Blues Singer Etta James Died

Pioneering US blues singer Etta James, who flitted effortlessly from jazz, pop and love ballads to feisty R&B and who plunged into drug addiction before resurrecting her career to win six Grammys, died on 20th January 2012 from complications of leukemia. She was 73.
Turkish Ex-army Chief Arrested for Anti-govt Plot

Turkeys former Army chief Ilker Basbug was arrested on 6 January 2012 over an alleged attempt on part of the chief to topple the Islamist-rooted government in the country. Ilker Basbug, the 26th chief of staff of the Turkish republic was placed in preventive detention for setting up and leading a terrorist group and of attempting to overthrow the government. General Basbug, who served as Army chief from 2008 to 2010, was sent to a prison at Istanbuls Silivri prison. Basbug is the first such high-ranking military commander to be arrested as a suspect since a former chief of staff in the 1960s. General Basbug, who retired in 2010, is the senior most officer to be held in a massive investigation into the so-called Ergenekon network that is accused of plotting to topple Erdogans Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP). Tensions between Turkeys fiercely secularist military and Erdogans government have been building for years. Currently one-tenth of the Generals are in custody over the alleged coup plots. The military, which considers itself as the guardian of secularism in modern-day Turkey and currently boasts a force of 515000 troops, carried out three coups in the past- 1960, 1971 and 1980. The military had ousted a coalition government led by an Islamist Prime Minister in 1997.
Kerala Governor M O H Farook Died

Kerala governor and former Puducherry chief minister and MP, M O H Farook died in Chennai on 26 January 2012. Veteran Congress leader, Farook was born in Karaikal on 6th September 1937. He had participated in the struggle for liberation of Pondicherry as a student, during 1953-54 when Pondicherry was a French colony and served as a member of the Central Haj Committee in Mumbai from 1975 to 2000. Farook was a three-time chief minister of Puducherry. He served from 9 April 9 1967 to 6 March 1968; from 17 March 1969, to 3 January 1974 and from 1985 to 1990. He also served as the speaker of the Puducherry legislative assembly. He was thrice elected to the Lok Sabha from Puducherry in 1991, 1996 and 1999 and served as a Union minister of state for civil aviation and tourism between June 1991 and December 1992 in the P.V. Narasimha Rao Government. He was appointed as the Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia in September 2004. He was appointed Jharkhand Governor in 2010. He was sworn in as the 19th Governor of Kerala in September 2011. Farook, a seasoned politician and a senior Congressman was an able administrator, who had the vision to develop Puducherry to its full potential. He was the architect of modern Puducherry. Farook had the distinction of being the youngest Speaker of the Puducherry Assembly in the late 1960s.
Indias First Woman Photojournalist Died

Indias first woman photo-journalist Homai Vyarawala died on 15 January 2012 in Vadodara, Gujarat. She was the only professional woman photojournalist between 1939 and 1970. Homai Vyarawalla was commonly known by her pseudonym Dalda 13. Born at Navsari in south Gujarat in a Parsi family in December 1913, Vyarawala had her education in Mumbai and moved to Delhi in 1942. She had studied at the Mumbai University and the J J School of Arts. She shot to national fame as a woman photo-journalist who photographed events leading to Independence as an employee of the British Information Services. Vyarawala was in the profession for nearly four decades before retiring soon after her husbands death and settled down in Vadodara since 1973. Some of the most momentous political events in India were captured by her camera in Delhi during 1941-1970, which include unique image of the Dalai Lama crossing over into the Indian Territory in 1959, captured by her lens, are of immense historical significance. She also captured the first flag-hoisting ceremony at the Red Fort on August 16 1947, the departure of Lord Mountbatten from India and the funerals of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri. The former Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, was one of her favourite subjects. She was awarded Padma Vibhushan during the Republic day felicitations in 2011 in recognition of her contribution as a photo-journalist.
Daniel Ortega Inaugurated as Nicaraguan President

Daniel Ortega has been sworn in for a controversial third term as Nicaraguas president following his landslide victory in November 2011 polls. Following his inauguration, Ortega stressed on the need to substitute a model of savage capitalism with a future determined by the principles of solidarity, cooperation without conditions, fair exchange and the ending of applying sanctions based on political orders. Ortega, leader of the Sandinista movement which overthrew the USbacked Somoza dictatorship in 1979 was elected as the 83rd Nicaraguan president in 2006 with 38% support. One of his first moves upon taking office in 2007 was to enter his Sandinista government into the ALBA bloc.
C. Jagannatha Rao Died

Senior congress leader and former Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh C. Jagannatha Rao died of a heart attack in Secunderabad on 23 January 2012. Jagannatha Rao served as deputy Chief Minister in the Cabinet of Bhavanam Venkatram in 1982.He was member of the Legislative Council for one term and represented Narsapur Assembly constituency in Medak district three times. He was Excise Minister earlier in the Cabinet of T. Anjaiah in 1980. He was also president of Narsapur samithi in 1961. Jagannatha Rao was in the forefront of separate Telangana agitation in 1969.
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MARCH 2012
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Eminent Malayalam Writer Sukumar Azhikode Passed Away

Sukumar Azhikode, award-winning Malayalam writer, scholar and one of the most influential Gandhian intellectual in Kerala, died on 24 January 2012. As an intellectual giant, humanist, a cultural guru, a committed secularist, a champion of human rights and a sentinel of social values, he gave expression to his ideals through more than 35 books, thousands of articles and countless orations all laced with grace, dignity and humour. As a literary critic, he upheld the timeless values of the classics. His range was wide, ranging from Indian philosophy, Vedas and Upanishads to the subtly nuanced pure literary criticism. His writings on poetry gravitated towards sociological and cultural criticism.
UN Resource Centre for the North-East at Guwahati

Guwahati- United Nations Resource Centre was set up. In Assam, a United Nations Resource Centre for the North-East was set up at Guwahati on 2 January 2012. The centre happens to be the first of its kind in the country and third in Asia region. The centre was formally inaugurated by the State Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.
www.changetabloid.com Shehan Karunatilaka Awarded the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature
Singapore-based Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka was awarded the DSC Prize for South Asia Literature 2012, at the Jaipur Literature Festival in Rajasthan on 21 January 2012. Karunatilka won $50,000 for his book Chinaman. The novel explores cricket as a metaphor to uncover a lost life and a lost history. The title of the novel, published by Random House, refers to a left-arm unorthodox spinner in cricket, often described as the chinaman. The legend of a Sri Lankan bowler Pradeep Sivanathan Mathew and the sport of cricket form the crux of this book. The jury for the 2012 $ 50,000 prize included renowned literary figures Dr Alastair Niven, Dr Fakrul Alam, Faiza S Khan and Marie Brenner.
A Massive Forest Fire broke out in the Torres del Paine National Park in Chile
Torres del Paine National Park: A forst fire broke out. The national park is located in Chile. A massive forest fire broke out in Torres del Paine National Park in southern Chile on 2 January 2012. Four of the six areas that caught fire were brought under control. About 230,000 hectares of forest were affected. Chile is a nation located in southern hemisphere. This hemisphere experiences high temperature in November, December and January, which often causes forest fire.
Music Legend Anthony Gonsalves Died

Anthony Prabhu Gonsalves, Indias first music arranger died on 18 January 2012. He was 84. Born in Majorda, in Goa, Anthony Gonsalves love for music led him to merge Goan melody with Hindustani music. Gonsalves began his career with Bombay Talkies in 1943. He worked alongside musicians which include Anil Bishwas, Gulam Haidar, Shyam Sundar, Naushad, Sachin Dev Burman, Ghulam Mohammed, Salil Chowdhary and Madan Mohan. In the year 1958, he founded a 110musician strong Indian Symphony Orchestra featuring Lata Mangueshkar and Manna Dey as soloists. The orchestra was successfully premiered in the quadrangle of St Xaviers College in erstwhile south Bombay. Gonsalves, was also a teacher and has taught music legends that include RD Burman and Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma. The famous song My name is Anthony Gonsalves, from the film Amar Akbar Anthony was Pyarelals tribute to Gonsalves. During the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2010, a documentary titled Anthony Gonsalves: The Music Legend based on his life and works won the Special Jury Award.
DSC Prize for South Asia Literature

The prize was instituted in January 2010 to celebrate writing that highlights the South Asian region, its people, culture and Diaspora. Envisioned as a unique and prestigious award, the award recognizes the literary works of authors across the globe writing on South Asia. The DSC Prize for South Asian Literature is one-of-itskind in the region and aims at recognizing literary work that is redefining the understanding of South Asia across the globe. DSC Prize for South Asia Literature 2011 was given to HM Naqvi for his debut novel Home Boy (HarperCollins India).
India Asked Traders To Stay Away From Yiwu

Yiwu: Major hub for commodities trading in Zhejiang province in China India on 3 January 2012 cautioned its businessmen in dealing with traders in Yiwu, a major hub for commodities trading in Zhejiang province in China. A trade advisory posted on the Indian Embassy website stated that all people who have business with Yiwu, are cautioned against doing business there and all people who do not have business with Yiwu, are requested to be careful that they do not do business with Yiwu. The advisory asked the Indian businessmen to stay away from Yiwu. The advisory has been issued in the backdrop of illegal detention of two Indian businessmen in the locality and manhandling of an Indian Diplomat.
Young Lieutenant Awarded Ashok Chakra Posthumously

President of India Pratibha Devisingh Patil conferred the Ashoka Chakra on Lt. Navdeep Singh (posthumous) on the occasion of the 63rd Republic Day Parade 2012 in New Delhi. Lt. Navdeep Singh was awarded the Ashoka Chakra for single-handedly eliminating four infiltrating terrorists on 20 August 20 2011. Lieutenant Navdeep Singh was Ghatak Platoon Commander of 15 Maratha Light Infantry deployed in the High Altitude Area near the Line of Control. OTHER GALLANTRYAWARDS Besides the President also approved the award of three Kirti Chakra. Lt. Col. Kamaldeep Singh (Rajputana Rifles / 18TH Battalion the Rashtriya Rifles), Capt. Ashutosh Kumar (5th Battalion the Rajputana Rifles) and Lt. Sushil Khajuria (Army Service Corps / 18th battalion The Grenadiers) were the three Kirti Chakra awardees. Of the three, Lt. Khajuria was conferred the award posthumously for his gallantry during an encounter with terrorists in the Kupwara region of Jammu and Kashmir. Sixteen persons were awarded the Shaurya Chakra, the nations third-highest gallantry award in peacetime. While most of the Shaurya Chakra awardees are Armymen, the awardees also include a Jammu and Kashmir Special Police Officer (SPO) Barket Ali, who was conferred the award posthumously. President Pratibha Patil approved conferring of 368 gallantry awards, including 28 Param Vishisht Seva Medals and 45 Ati Vishisht Seva Medals. The Armys additional director-general (public information) Maj. Gen. S.L. Narasimhan was awarded an Ati Vishisht Seva Medal for his leadership in relief and rescue efforts in the wake of the Sikkim earthquake in 2010.
Former Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov Died

Kiro Gligorov, the first democratically elected president of Macedonia who served two terms at the helm of the country in the 1990s as it became independent from Yugoslavia, has died in Skopje on 1 January 2012. He was 94. Gligorov became president of Macedonia in January 1991, when it was still a Yugoslav republic. He led his countrymen through a referendum, in which they voted for independence. The territory of 2.1 million people became the only republic to secede from Yugoslavia without a war. Born in the central Macedonian town of Shtip on May 3, 1917, Gligorov served two consecutive presidential terms, leading the nation from January 1991 to November 1999.
AWARDS|HONOURS
S.K. Singh Award for Nuclear Trouble-shooter Venkatesh Varma
D Bala Venkatesh Verma, Joint Secretary Disarmament in the Ministry of External Affairs was conferred with the first S K Singh Award for excellence in the Indian Foreign Service on 6 January 2012. The award was presented to him by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi in recognition of his extradordinary efforts to strengthen Indias position during the Indo-US nuclear deal. Senior Indian diplomat D. Bala Venkatesh Varma, a key member of the negotiating team that saw the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal through from the first agreement of July 2005 to the Additional Protocol in 2010. Varma, a 1988 batch officer of the Foreign Service, is an expert in nuclear matters and is currently posted as Joint Secretary (Disarmament and International Security Affairs) at the Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi. He had earlier worked in Indias Permanent Mission in Geneva and in the Prime Ministers Office. It was as a Director in the PMO that he was first associated with the 2005 nuclear agreement with the U.S. during the tense and often bitter negotiations with the American side over the separation plan for Indias nuclear facilities as well as the bilateral cooperation agreement, his appropriate advice at key junctures helped secure a deal that was within the parameters Prime Minister Manmohan Singh promised parliament. Following the adoption of the NSGs decision in September 2008, Verma played a crucial role in ensuring that the text of an Additional Protocol was finalised to Indias satisfaction. Also, Varmas negotiating skills were applied in concluding the India-specific Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA. The award for excellence in the Indian Foreign Service is named after the former foreign secretary and Governor, Shailendra Kumar Singh, a diplomat widely respected within the IFS community for his acumen, professionalism and leadership. Varma was selected as the first recipient of the prestigious award by a topdrawer jury consisting of Vice President Hamid Ansari, National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai, Ms Gandhi and Congress M.P. Rahul Gandhi.
PLACES IN NEWS
The Protests in Guatemala Against Domestic Violence
Guatemala- The protests against domestic violence took place. Guatemala is in Central America Around 12,000 Guatemalans on 22 January 2012 climbed an extinct volcano in a protest against domestic violence. The protests were dubbed Walk for Life. The activists formed the worlds longest human chain all the way to the peak of the 12,352 feet Volcano de Agua known as Water Volcano. The protesters are hoping to inspire a change in attitude to violence in Guatemala. The Central American country has one of the highest murder rates in the world.
Amjad Ali Khan Presented Mallikarjun Mansur Award

Sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan was presented the Mallikarjun Mansur award in recognition of his achievements on 3 January 2012. He has enthralled audience worldwide with his unique style of playing the instrument with his finger nails. Khan is the first north Indian artiste to have performed in honour of saint composer Thyagaraja at his birth place at Thiruvaiyur in Tamil Nadu. He is also a recipient of many awards like Sangeet Natak academy award, Tansen Award, UNESCO Award, UNICEF National Ambassadorship and International Music Forum Award. The award, instituted by the Karnataka government, carries a cash prize of Rs one lakh and a citation. Vocalist Kishori Amonkar, Pandit Jasraj and Dr Balamuralikrishna were the earlier recipients of the award.
Union Home Ministry Launched RICs at Porthrapur Village

Porthrapur village: The first batch of RICs was launched. The home ministry of India launched the first batch of RICs (Resident Identity Cards) at Porthrapur village in Andaman and Nicobar Islands on 21 January 2012. The RIC cards were distributed to all persons above the age of 18 residing in the nine maritime states and four union territories under the National Population Register (NPR) scheme. The NPR scheme is aimed to provide valid identity to all people in these areas to strengthen the security along the countrys coastline.
MARCH 2012
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Infosys Prize Conferred on Six Researchers from 5 Sc. Streams

Six researchers from five science streams were honoured with the Infosys Prize-2011 by the former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in Bangalore on 9 January 2012. The prize winners include Kalyanmoy Deb, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of TechnologyKanpur (engineering and computer science); Imran Siddiqi, scientist, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad (life sciences); Kannan Soundarajan, director, Mathematics Research Centre, Stanford University, U.S. (mathematical sciences); Sriram Ramaswamy, Professor, Centre for Condensed Matter Theory, Indian Institute of SciencesBangalore (physical sciences); Raghuram G. Rajan, Charles M. Harper Faculty Fellow at the University of Chicagos Booth School of Business (social sciences-economics); and Pratap Bhanu Mehta, president and chief executive of the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi (social sciences-political science and international relations). President of the Board of Trustees of Infosys Science Foundation, T.V. Mohandas Pai, announced on the occasion that a new award category in humanities would be introduced from 2012. It would cover philosophy, history, archaeology, linguistics and literary sciences.
The 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards

Hollywood movies The Artist and The Descendants have topped the winners list of 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards 2011 by winning top honours. George Clooney, Kate Winslet, Meryl Streep and Madonna also walked away with the major honours at the awards ceremony held at The Beverly Hilton hotel on 15th January 2012. Actor Clooney Clooney bagged the Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama award for his role in The Descendants, beating superstars like Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, while Meryl Streep was awarded the Best Actress in the same category for her performance in The Iron Lady. List of Winners of the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards is as follows: Best Picture: Drama- The Descendants Best Actor: Drama- George Clooney (The Descendants) Best Actress: Drama- Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady) Best supporting Actor- Christopher Plummer (Beginners) Best Supporting Actress- Octavia Spencer (The Help) Best Screenplay- Midnight in Paris (Woody Allen) Best Picture: Comedy or Musical- The Artist Best Actor: Comedy or Musical- Jean Dujardin (The Artist) Best Actress: Comedy or Musical- Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn) Best Director- Martin Scorsese (Hugo) Best Foreign Language Film- A Separation (Iran) Best Animated Film- The Adventures of Tintin Best Original Score- Ludovic Bource, The Artist List of Winners in Television: Best Comedy Series- Modern Family Best Drama Series- Homeland Best Actor, Comedy- Matt LeBlanc (Episodes) Best Actress, Comedy- Laura Dern (Enlightened) Best Actor, Drama- Kelsey Grammer (Boss) Best Actress, Drama- Claire Danes (Homeland)
Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards

Ramnath Goenka Awards for Excellence in Journalism 2012 was held at Taj Palace, New Delhi on 16 January 2012. Vice President of India, Hamid ansari was the graced the occasion as Chief Guest. 30 awards in total were given away for outstanding work done in print and broadcast media in various categories. The Pioneers J Gopikrishnan and CNBC-TV18s Udayan Mukherjee were adjudged Journalist of the Year at the 5th Ramnath Goenka Awards for Excellence in Journalism At the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards 2012, CNN-IBN bagged three prestigious awards in various categories. Journalists Anubha Bhonsle, Preeti Singh and Arijit Sen of CNN-IBN were honoured with the prominent award. Anubha Bhonsle won the Best Political Reporter award for her show Paisa Power Politics exposing the relationship between those who fight elections and those who fund it. Preeti Singh won Best on the spot Reporter of the year for her coverage of the flood affected areas inside the Karnool district of Andhra Pradesh. Arijit Sen was awarded the Best reporter from North East for his reports on fake encounters in Manipur and the plight of people caught between militants and the state. The Prakash Kardaley Memorial Award for Civic Journalism went to Tripti Lahiri of Tehelka. The Indian Express Raghav Ohri bagged the Priya Chandrasekhar Memorial Award for Excellence in Editing, while Daksh Panwar of The Indian Express won the Sanjiv Sinha Memorial Award for Excellence in Editing. Ramnath Goenka Awards for Excellence in Journalism The award celebrates the values that stand for good journalism: excellence & enterprise, courage & fairness. The awards will cover the entire gamut of Indian media, Print & Broadcast, in English & Indian languages. The Ramnath Goenka foundation was set up in 1992 in the memory of late Ramnath Goenka, founder of The Indian Express, freedom fighter and doyen of Indian journalism, to encourage and propagate high-quality, objective journalism. The Awards aim to celebrate excellence in journalism, recognize courage and commitment and showcase outstanding contributions and individuals every year.
INFOSYS PRIZE
The Infosys Prize, into its third year, carries a cash component of Rs. 50 lakh, a gold medallion and a citation. The Infosys Prize is amongst the highest in terms of money given for any award in India. The noted scientists were selected by the Foundation trustees and the eminent jury panels comprising Nobel laureate Amartya Sen for Social Sciences, Shrinivas Kulkarni (physical sciences), Pradeep K. Khosla (engineering and computer science), S.R. Varadhan (mathematical sciences) and Inder Verma (life sciences). The Foundation is funded by a corpus of Rs.100 crore (Rs.10 billion), contributed by the trustees and an annual grant from the global software major.
The Dalai Lama Received Mahatma Gandhi International Award

Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama was presented the Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Peace and Reconciliation on 4 January 2011, the fourth day of the ten-day Kalachakra initiations. The granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi, Ela Gandhi, presented the award, instituted in 2003, to the Dalai Lama at the Kalachakra ground. Ela Gandhi, who is based in South Africa, is chairman of the Gandhi Development Trust that gives the award. The Dalai Lama was supposed to have received the award in October 2011 as part of a much anticipated visit to South Africa. The visit however had to be called off following a five-week wait for a visa to be issued. Former recipients of the Mahatma Gandhi International Award include Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, South African leader Nelson Mandela and Tanzanias Julius Nyerere.
MARCH 2012
BOOKS | AUTHORS
Bhutan Queen launched Diplomat Pavan K Varmas First Novel
Writer/diplomat Pavan K. Varmas new book, When Loss is Gain, set in contemporary India and in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, was launched in the New Delhi by Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck, the Queen Mother of Bhutan in January 2012. After the launch, passages from the book were read by columnist Suhel Seth and theatre personality Lushin Dubey. The book also marked the launch of Rupa Publications new premium hardcover imprint, Rain Tree. ABOUT THE BOOK When Loss Is Gain, is a powerful story dealing with life and death, loss and gain, happiness and fulfilment, the physical and the spiritual, the rational and the inexplicable. The book stresses on perennial dialogue between dukkha or sorrow, the key word in Buddhism, and ananda or joy, which animates most of Hindu philosophy. It is set in contemporary India and in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. OTHER BOOKS Varmas other books include- Ghalib: The Man, The Times, Krishna: The Playful Divine,The Great Indian Middle Class. He has also translated into English the poetry of Gulzar, Kaifi Azmi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Lost World of Unknown Species Found

British scientists discovered a lost world of unknown species 8000 feet deep on sea floor off the coast of Antarctica. The lost world includes crabs, an octopus, starfish and colonies of marine life. These species were in fact found on top of undersea volcanoes called hydrothermal vents. The temperature in this region rises to 380 degree Celsius. There is complete absence of light in this region. The creatures break down highly toxic chemicals found in the smoke to get energy. The crab which is found here is known as yeti crab. It is around 16 centimeter long. It has plenty of hair on its chest unlike other crabs. Besides these animals, the scientists also discovered a seven-armed starfish, clusters of snails, sea anemones and barnacles.
India was Ranked Sixth most Innovative Country in GEs Second Annual Global Innovation Barometer
India was ranked the sixth most innovative country in the world in multinational conglomerate GEs second Annual Global Innovation Barometer published on 18 January 2012. The report is based on a survey of 2800 senior business executives in 22 countries including Algeria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Israel, Japan. US topped the list. The survey identified the top enablers for innovation in the country as talent (creative talent and people with technical expertise), financial support from public authorities and long-term support from investors. When asked to identify the three countries they consider innovation champions, 65 per cent of the global respondents identified the US, followed by Germany (48 per cent), Japan (45 per cent), China (38 per cent), Korea (13 per cent) and India (12 per cent). Only 12 per cent of the global respondents identified India as one of the top three innovation champions, compared to 23 per cent of Indian respondents. As per the survey, in terms of sectors, energy, followed by healthcare, telecommunication and FMCG, were the areas with the most innovation-driven growth potential. The report indicated a balanced perception of the environment for innovation in the country. The respondents were observed to be more satisfied with private investment and government support for innovation. However, intellectual property protection and research and development partnerships with academic universities were cited as the key challenges to creating an innovation-friendly environment in the country. INNOVATION IN DIFFERENT SECTORS 36 per cent of the Indian respondents in the survey expected large business to drive most of the innovation over the next decade compared to 27 per cent in an earlier survey. 35 per cent of the Indian respondents believed small and medium enterprises would be the most innovative. A resounding 83 per cent of the Indian respondents believed that innovation must meet local market requirements. WHAT INDIA THINKS India respondents to the survey shared their global peers view that great innovation would address human needs - rather than reaping profits. However only 78 per cent of them mentioned that great innovation brings value to society as a whole, compared to 84 per cent globally. Furthermore, only 17 per cent of the Indian respondents agreed that a combination of players partnering together would drive innovation in the next decade, against the global average of 38 per cent.
Scientists developed a New Wireless Device to Detect the Presence of Termites

Scientists developed a new wireless device to detect the presence of termites by hearing them chew through timber. Once the new device detects the presence of termites, it will immediately send an SMS or email to a pest control firm. This device is made of a tiny sensor, smaller than a fingernail. The tiny sensor is attached to a piece of wood and kept around the house to detect termite stations.
TiE Chennai Launched a bookDream to Destiny to Motivate Entrepreneurs

TiE Chennai (The Indus Entrepreneurs) a non-profit organisation, dedicated to promote entrepreneurship in January 2012 launched a book Dream to destiny the driving spirit of Chennais entrepreneurs in January 2012 in Chennai. The book showcased 35 entrepreneurs of Chennai such as Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala-Rural Technology Business Incubator, IIT Madras, Saundarya Rajesh-Avatar, Ranjini Manian-Global Adjustments, Raghupathy BG-BGR Energy Systems, etc. The foreword of the book is written by Gopal Srinivasan, Chairman & Managing Director, TVS Capital Funds Ltd. The coffee table book was launched by G. Srinivasan, Chairman and Managing Director of United India Insurance. The first copy of the book was presented to V. T. Bharadwaj, Managing Director, Sequoia Capital. The success stories of these entrepreneurs are an inspiration. The stories published in here will motivate entrepreneurs and professionals to embrace a positive attitude and entrepreneurial mindset to build a better nation. TiE Chennai is a global non-profit organization that helps budding entrepreneurs by enabling advice, guidance and assistance from successful and experienced entrepreneurs and professionals. Founded in Silicon Valley in 1992 by successful entrepreneurs and professionals with roots in the Indus region, TiE has 57 Chapters across 14 countries, spread across 5 continents. The TiE ecosystem comprises 13000 members and over 2500 charter members, who are top entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, lawyers and management professionals who have excelled in their chosen field.
PLAN | PROGRAMME
Katra-Quazigund Railway Line Project in Jammu and Kashmir was Approved
The Union government of India on 4 January 2012 approved an additional fund of 19 thousand crore rupees for completion of Katra - Quazigund Railway line project in Jammu and Kashmir. The decision was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure in New Delhi. The railway line is to be completed by 2017.
REPORT | SURVEY
Dharmadhikari Panel Submits Report on Air India Merger to Govt
Four-member committee on integration of thousands of employees after the merger of two State-owned carriers Air India and Indian Airlines submitted his report to the Civil Aviation Minister, Ajit Singh on 31 January 2012. The committee was headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice D. M. Dharmadhikari. The Committee tried to bring the wage structure of the merged organisation strictly under legal parameters, so that it conformed with the guidelines of the Department of Public Enterprises, which caters to other public sector undertakings. The panel prepared the report after interacting with all stakeholders, including various unions and associations of both former companies and their management. THE REPORT The report presented covered all the views of the pilots, cabin crew and engineers on integration of about 29000 employees of Indian Airlines and Air India which merged following the Government of Indias approval on the merger received on 1 May 2007. The Dharmadhikari Committee made several recommendations on critical issues such as career progression, integration across various cadres, rationalisation of their pay scale, allowances and incentives and overall restructuring of the entire staff of the erstwhile Indian Airlines and Air India. ISSUES THAT ROSE AFTER THE MERGER As on 31 December 2011, the total staff strength of Air India, which was merged in March 2007, stood at 28500. Cash-strapped Air India which has 14 unions representing all sections of its employees suffered three strikes since its merger, including two by its pilots. The employees ever since the merger in 2007 have been agitating over disparities in their pay scales, promotional avenues and areas of responsibilities. The thorny issues rose during these agitations included pay parity and career progression between the staffers of the two erstwhile carriers. Delayed payments of salaries and allowances were also critical issues which created unrest among the employees.
Coca Cola Placed at No.1 in Interbrands List of the Top 100 Global Brands in 2011
US beverage maker Coca Cola retained its top position in Interbrands list of the top 100 global brands in 2011. Coca Cola was followed by another US based company, IBM. Software Company Microsoft was placed third. The company held on to the position it stood at in the previous year despite a three per cent drop in brand value. The top ten spots were held by US based companies, including Google, GE, McDonalds and Intel at 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th places, respectively. Disney and HP ended 9th and 10th, respectively, on the list. The only change in the list of the top brands occurred at the 8th position, which saw tech giant and makers of popular iPad and iPhone devices, Apple, replace German automobile manufacturer BMW. The highest ranked company from outside US was Japanese Toyota, which stayed unchanged at number 11. The companies were assessed by Interbrand on the basis of three key aspects- financial strength, role of the brand in the purchase decision process and the strength of the brand, or the ability of the brand to secure the delivery of expected future earnings.
DISCOVERY|INVENTION
Worlds First Hybrid Sharks Found in Australia
Researchers discovered worlds first hybrid sharks in Australian waters. It suggests that the species is adapting to climate change for survival. The hybrid sharks were found along a 2000 km stretch from Queensland to New South Wales. The hybrid sharks are the result of crossbreeding between the common black-tip shark and Australian black-tip shark. It was unusual for sharks to breed in such a manner.
New Maze Gene called Meg1 Discovered by the UK Scientists

A new gene, called Meg-1 was discovered in maize plants by the UK scientists on 16 January 2012. The gene could increase the crop yields by regulating the transfer of nutrients from the plant to the seed. The Scientists from the University of Warwick and Oxford University identified the gene.
MARCH 2012
SUMMIT | CONFERENCE
15th World Sanskrit Conference Jointly Organised by Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan & IASS in New Delhi
Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan and International Association of Sanskrit Studies jointly organised the 15th World Sanskrit conference from 5 to 10 January 2012 at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi. An announcement was made during the 14th World Sanskrit conference held in Kyoto, Japan. The 15th conference would be held by Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan in New Delhi. The six-day event was attended by scholars and delegates from 32 countries. There was deliberation on topics such as poetry, drama and aesthetics, scientific literature, Buddhist studies, Jain studies, Sanskrit and regional languages and literatures and Vedas. The 15 World Sanskrit Conference operated in 18 thematic sections (with six sessions running concurrently) chaired by the conveners specializing in their respective fields. The proceedings of the conference included reading of papers in Sanskrit Language under different heads ranging between the Vedas, linguistics, epics and puranas, poetry, drama and aesthetics, history of religion, Pundit Parishad etc.
Day | Week | Year

Pravasi Bhartiya Divas-2012 (The 10th Pravsi Bhartiya Divas) held in Jaipur
The 10th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (PBD) was held on 7-9 January, 2012 at Birla Auditorium, Jaipur. Highlights of the 10th PBD are as following: The Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad Bissessar was the Chief Guest of the event. The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh inaugurated the event. Over 1900 delegates from about 60 countries were participated this years PBD. The Global Indian: Inclusive Growth was the theme of the event and the focus was on Indias Social Development and the Overseas Indian community. Prime Minister announced a new Pension and Life Insurance Fund for overseas Indian workers. The scheme will encourage, enable and assist overseas workers to voluntarily save for their return and resettlement and old age. It will also provide a low-cost life insurance cover against natural death. Prime Minister also announced that pursuant to the law that was enacted to enable non-resident Indians to vote in national elections, the Government has issued notifications for registration of overseas Indians under the Representation of People Act, 1950. This constitutes the first major step to enable Indians resident abroad to participate in election processes. Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs announced that next Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas-2012 will be held in Dubai for the Gulf region. A Protector of Emigrants (POE) office was inaugurated in Jaipur during the event to facilitate overseas Indians and emigrating workers of this region. The Chief Minister of Rajasthan announced a new scheme, Know Rajasthan for NRIs. Under this scheme 50 NRIs from 18-28 years of age annually would come on tour to the state. 90% expenditure of their Air Fare will be borne by the state Government. The expenditure on internal transport and residence will also be borne by the State Government.
World Sanskrit Conference

World Sanskrit Conference is held every three years to promote the language that is one of the earliest known languages to the civilization. Sanskrit influenced several of other Indian languages and is a language that contains in its words most of the written history of India. The World Sanskrit Conference aims at promoting and revering the Sanskrit language and to familiarize Indians and the rest of the world with the beauty of it. The aims of the International Association of Sanskrit Studies, through its regular series of World Sanskrit Conferences, are to gather together scholars in Sanskrit and related disciplines from all parts of the world and facilitate the establishment of closer contacts between specialists in classical Indian Studies.
Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan

The Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan is a Deemed University that functions under Ministry of Human Resource Development; Govt. of India. It is an apex body for propagation and development of Sanskrit learning in the country through teaching, research, publications, collections and preservation of Sanskrit Manuscripts, development of curriculum for traditional Sanskrit teaching. Currently, Sansthan is the largest and the only multi campus Sanskrit University all over the world.
Pravasi Bhartiya Divas

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is celebrated in India on 9 January each year to mark the contribution of the overseas Indian community to the development of India. The day commemorates the arrival of Mahatama Gandhi in India from South Africa. It is sponsored by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs of the Government of India, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Ministry of Development of the North Eastern Region of India.
CHANGE IS NOT CHANGING ITS SIZE
As per our Readers Request
MARCH 2012
GOVT & POLITY COVERAGE

Cabinet Approved National Policy on NDPS
The Union Cabinet of India on 12 January 2012 approved the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) policy, with the objective of checking illicit production of psychotropic substances, curb drug abuse and stop trafficking of such items. The new policy will help in controlling the proliferation of black money. The Cabinet meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The NDPS policy will lead to reduction in crime and improvement in public health. It aims at social re-integration of victims of drug abuse. The salient features of the policy are as follows: (i) The policy recommends production of Concentrate of Poppy Straw (CPS) in India by a company or body corporate. This would enable India to retain its status of a traditional supplier of Opiate Raw Material (ORM) to the rest of world, while remaining competitive. (ii) The consumption of poppy straw by addicts will be gradually reduced and finally stopped in a time frame decided by the States. (iii) On the illicit cultivation of poppy and cannabis, the policy emphasizes use of satellite imageries for detection of illicit crop and its subsequent eradication and development of alternate means of livelihood in respect of cultivators in pockets of traditional illicit cultivation. (iv) The private sector may be allowed production of alkaloids from opium. At present alkaloids from opium are produced only in Government Opium and Alkaloid Factories (GOAFs). (v) Non-intrusive methods of regulating the manufacture, trade and use of such psychotropic substances will be introduced, (vi) Emphasis will be laid on adequate access to morphine and other opioids necessary for palliative care, a strategy to address street peddlers of drugs, periodic surveys of drug abuse to gauge the extent, pattern and nature of drug abuse in the country, recognition of de-addiction centers, (vii) There will be a time bound plan of action, detailing the steps to be taken by different Ministries/ Departments/ agencies, in response to the recommendations of the International Narcotics Control Board. The policy attempts to curb the menace of drug abuse and contains provisions for treatment, rehabilitation and social re-integration of victims of drug abuse. Implementation of the provisions of the policy will lead to reduction of crime, improvement in public health and uplifting of the social milieu. The NDPS Policy will serve as a guide to various Ministries and organizations and re-assert Indias commitment to combat the drug menace in a holistic manner. BACKGROUND: There are four broad aspects of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances (i) Administration of the NDPS Act and Rules framed there under, (ii) Legal production, manufacturing, trade and use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances for medical and scientific uses, (iii) Drug (Illicit) supply reduction, and (iv) Drug (Illicit) demand reduction.
Govt Extends Visa on Arrival Facility to Boost Foreign Tourist Arrivals

In order to help double the foreign tourist arrivals, government has decided to extend Visa-on-Arrival facility to Goa, Hyderabad, Kochi and Bangaluru airports within next one year. The decision to extend the facility at four more airports was taken at the first inter-ministerial coordination committee for tourism sector. Government had set up an inter-ministerial coordination committee for tourism sector under the chairmanship of the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Pulok Chatterji to resolve inter-ministerial and industry issues and promotes tourism. Currently, Visa-on-Arrival is extended to 11 countries including Japan, Philippines, Singapore, New Zealand, Vietnam and Finland. The facility is now available at four international airports at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. There were 6.29 million foreign tourists in 2011, out of which 12,761 had availed the scheme. Chatterji said tourism should be pro-poor and focus on employment creation. He emphasized the need to give tourism a major fillip during the 12th Plan so as to more than double the number of foreign tourists arriving in India and further encourage domestic tourism.
PM fast Tracks move on Private Sector Investment in Inland Waterway Transport

The Prime Minister has initiated a move to fast track the development and use of Inland Waterways Transport involving the private sector and Public Sector Undertakings. The initiative will harness huge potential of inland waterways in transporting bulk cargo like coal, food grains, fertilizers, project cargo, fly ash, Over Dimensional Cargo and containers at competitive cost for the public and private sector companies. Adequate use of waterways will also ease the burden on rail and road infrastructure. At a meeting of the inter-ministerial coordination committee Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister informed that a tripartite agreement signed between the National Thermal Power Corporation, Inland Waterways Authority of India and a private developer has led to competitive transportation rates for the NTPC while private sector investment of about Rs 650 crore has been committed. This agreement relates to the Farakka Power Project. The following decisions were also agreed upon in the meeting: NTPC will provide long term cargo commitment for 3 million metric tons of coal for Barh power project once all its five units are operational by 2016-17. The execution of Coal handling facility at Jogighopa and rail connectivity will be taken up under the Non Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) scheme. Food Corporation of India will expeditiously provide long term cargo commitment for 3 years for transportation of foodgrains to Tripura and Assam from Kolkata and within Assam. MEA will try to extend the period of Trade and Transit Protocol beyond March 2012 when it comes for renewal to provide longer certainty to vessel operators. Further, efforts shall be made for early completion of Ashuganj multimodal port by Bangladesh and its regular use as a transit port. Ministry of Shipping will consider providing additional money, if need be, to ensure night navigation facilities on Indo-Bangladesh Protocol route. ONGC and Oil India will convey a firm commitment of cargo through IWT in two weeks to IWAI. CONCOR will provide firm commitment for transportation of part of their container cargo from Pandu through IWT. The progress on these decisions will be reviewed in two months time by the Principal Secretary to PM.
Govt directed States to Tighten Norms in Granting Licenses to New Medical Institutes
The Union government of India on 14 January 2012 directed all the states to tighten norms in granting licenses to open new medical institutes, and ensure fire safety provisions mandatory, for launching any such new ventures. The Home Ministry order came weeks after a devastating fire at the Kolkata hospital, which claimed more than 90 lives. The states were directed to ensure that hospital building bylaws provide for mandatory fire safety provisions and without such provisions; no Licence should be given to anyone for setting up any hospitals. The state governments were asked to ensure that all hospitals and nursing homes equip their institutions with the required freighting gadgets, to avoid any untoward incident. The Home Ministry also directed that mock drills should be conducted in some of these hospitals and nursing homes, to see how doctors and nursing staff respond in case of an emergency, and their patient evacuation plans.
Election Commission Banned Exit Polls

The Election Commission of India banned exit polls during the entire period when elections to the five state assemblies would be held, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Under the provisions, displaying any election matter, including results of any opinion poll or any other poll survey, in any electronic media, would be prohibited. The election Commission notified the period between 7am on 28 January, 2012 and 5.30pm on 3 March, 2012 as the period during which conducting any exit poll or disseminating the result of any exit poll would be prohibited. While 28 January 2012 is the first day of polling in Manipur, 3 March 2012 is the last day of polling in Goa and Uttar Pradesh.
India Post Signs MoU with Air India for Logistics Post Air Service
India Post signed an MOU with Air India for carriage of Logistics Post Air Service by Air India. This service will help the customers to send their consignments to different parts of the country, especially to the NorthEastern region without difficulty. This MOU will meet the huge demand for Logistics Post Air Service for hassle free dispatch of consignments to different parts of the country including the North East. India Post in collaboration with Air India plans to start this service from 15 cities initially to meet the demand from the customers. These cities are Ahmedabad, Agartala, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Imphal, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Patna, Pune and Trivendrum. Of these, three are in the North East. India Post will deliver the consignment of Logistics Post Air to Air India at the point of delivery of the departure station and will also collect it at the arrival station. Booking, handling, packing, delivery etc. will be done by the India Post. Air India will only transport the consignment from one station to another station. This service will be extended to other cities in a phased manner.
Cabinet Cleared Counter-Terrorism Centre

The Cabinet Committee on Security on 12 January 2012 approved the setting up of a National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) to counter terrorism effectively. The NCTC was proposed by the Ministry of Home Affairs. It will be a single window organisation that will gather and disseminate intelligence to central and state security organisations. A notification for the appointment of Directors and other members of core team of the NCTC will be issued soon. The NCTC was created in the wake of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. It will work under the Union Home Ministry. A senior IPS officer of the rank of Additional Director General of Police and above will head the elite counterterror body. The NCTC will also coordinate with relevant probe and intelligence agencies to ensure that the perpetrators of terror are brought to justice besides maintaining a comprehensive data base of terrorists, their associates and supporters.
Approval for funding Phase-Ill of the UIDAI

The Cabinet Committee on Unique Identification Authority of India related issues (CC-UIDAI) approved commencement of Phase-Ill of the UID scheme at an estimated cost of Rs.8,814.75 crore which subsumes the earlier approval of Rs.3,023.01 crore, and comprises costs for issue of 20 crore Aadhaar numbers through Multiple Registrars upto March 2012, printing and delivery of 20 crore Aadhaar letters, technology and other support infrastructure cost for creation, storage and maintenance of data and services for leveraging the uses of Aadhaar for the entire estimated resident population upto March 2017. Out of amount of Rs.8814.75 crore that has been approved for incurring expenditure upto March 2017, Rs.2412.67 crore would be towards recurring expenditure including IT operational cost and recurring establishment cost and Rs.6402.08 crore would be towards non-recurring project related expenditure.
Union Cabinet Renamed the Mana Airport at Raipur as the Swami Vivekananda Airport
The Union Cabinet of India on 24 January 2012 approved renaming of the Mana Airport at Raipur in Chattisgarh as the Swami Vivekanand Airport, Raipur. The decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi. Swami Vivekanand, spent a major part of his life in Raipur.
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MARCH 2012
ECONOMY COVERAGE
India Signs International Tax Treaty to Deal with Tax Evasion
In yet another move that would help India in getting information about the black money stashed abroad, India has gone ahead and has inked the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, a multilateral agreement which promotes international co-operation while respecting the rights of taxpayers. This would send a strong signal that India and the other 31 signatory countries have joined hands together to ensure that individuals and multinational enterprises pay the right amount of tax, at the right time and in the right place. The Convention provides for administrative cooperation between the parties in the assessment and collection of taxes, with a view to combating tax avoidance and evasion, according to an OECD statement. With taxpayers increasingly operating on a global basis, tax authorities are moving from bilateral to multilateral cooperation and from exchange of information on request to other forms of co-operation. The convention is an effective and practical tool to help tax authorities in their everyday work. India has moved very quickly since its commitment to the Convention at the November 2011, G20 ceremony in Cannes and I expect it will be the first non-OECD G20 country for which the updated Convention is in force, said Jeffrey Owens, Director of the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration. Signatories to the amended Convention are: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Convention was signed by Sanjay Kumar Mishra, Joint Secretary, Foreign Tax and Tax Research Division, Department of Revenue in the presence of Deputy Secretary-General of OECD, Rintaro Tamaki. This instrument hitherto available for the members of OECD and Council of Europe were amended in 2010 and open for all countries in June 2011. The Convention was amended to respond to the 2009 G20 Summit call for developing a broader multilateral approach to improve the effectiveness of exchange of information, co-operation between the countries in the assessment and collection of taxes, with a view to combating tax avoidance and evasion. Many more countries are expected to sign the Convention in future. This provides for a wider network of countries cooperating in exchange of information, assistance in tax collection. The salient features of this convention include: It is based on international standard of transparency and exchange of information; This instrument is multilateral and a single legal basis for multi-country co-operation as against the DTAAs/TIEAs which are bilateral. It provides for an extensive network and there will be consistent application of provisions leaving limited scope for deviation; It provides extensive forms of co-operation among the signatories on all taxes; It not only facilitates the exchange of information, but also provides for assistance in the recovery of taxes. This will give a fillip to the efforts of the Government in bringing the Indian money illegally stashed abroad. examinations and participation in tax examinations in other countries. It further provides for examination of tax affairs of the taxpayers simultaneously in their own territory and share the relevant information to each other. This allows tax officials to entering into the territory of the other country to interview individuals and examine records. It also provides for automatic exchange of information and spontaneous exchange of information and also allows exchange of past information in criminal tax matters. The information received under the convention can also be used for other purposes besides those related to tax co-operation, for example to counter money laundering with the approval of the supplying state.
Economic Growth Revised Down to 8.4% for 2010-11

The Union government on 31 January 2012 revised the economic growth rate for 2010-2011 financial year to 8.4 percent in comparison to the previous estimate of 8.5 percent. The Indian economy grew 8.4% in 2010-11, lower than the previous estimate of 8.5%, on the back of strong farm sector and services sector growth. The Indian economy, Asias third-largest slowed in recent quarters due to the impact of the global slowdown, high inflation and high interest rates. Policymakers estimated growth in 2011-12 to be close to 7%. 8.4% expansion in the gross domestic product (GDP) during 2010-11 was achieved due to high growth in transport, storage and communication (14.7%), financing, insurance, real estate and business services (10.4%), trade, hotels and restaurants (9%) and construction (8%). At constant prices, the primary sector- agriculture, forestry and fishing, showed a high growth of 7% during 2010-11 as against 1% during the year 2009-10. The growth rate of secondary sector stood at 7.2% and that of the service sector is 9.3% during 2010-11.
Pension Regulator PFRDA changed the Incentive Structure to boost National Pension System
The poor performance of National Pension System, or NPS led the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) to change the incentive structure for the distributors from a fixed sum to a percentage of the investment amount. So far the points of presence or the distributors used to get a flat Rs 20 as initial subscription charge and Rs 20 for any subsequent investment. PFRDAs measure is poised to serve two purposesbringing about a more equitable incentive structure and incentivizing the distributors to push NPS. The regulator proposed to lay down criteria for pension fund managers and grant licences to anyone who qualifies. The NPS has seven fund managers overseeing assets of Rs 10000 crore.
Measures as per Bajpai Recommendation

The pension regulator on the basis of the recommendation of the G.N. Bajpai committee constituted by PFRDA to review NPS, fixed the incentive at 0.25% of the subscription amount. The committee had suggested 0.50% of the investment, subject to a minimum of Rs 20 and maximum of Rs 50000. As per PFRDAs measures announceds, a distributor will get a flat Rs 100 on initial subscription and 0.25% of the initial subscription amount. Every year on subsequent investments, the point of presence will be entitled to 0.25% of that amount. The minimum that a point of presence can charge is Rs 20 and the maximum Rs 25000. Bajpai committee had observed that the earlier structure of the pension system was amounting to the poor subsidizing the richa person investing Rs 6000 and a person investing Rs 1 lakh were both paying Rs 20. Also the fixed sum was acting as a deterrent to sell NPS amid better commissions-yielding products such as insurance policies.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at factor cost at constant (2004-05) prices in 2010-11 was estimated at Rs. 4885954 crore as against Rs. 4507637 crore in 2009-10 registering a growth of 8.4 per cent during the year which is same as in the year 2009-10. At current prices, GDP in 2010-11 was estimated at Rs. 7157412 crore as against Rs. 6091485 crore in 2009-10, showing an increase of 17.5 per cent during the year.
Gross National Income

The Gross National Income registered a growth of 7.9 per cent in 2010-11 over 2009-10. Indias per capita income grew by 15.6 per cent to Rs.53331 in 2010-11, crossing the Rs.50000-mark for the first time. In real terms based on 2004-05 prices, the per capita income grew by a slower 6.4 per cent to Rs.35993 in 2010-11 as compared to Rs.33843 in 2009-10.
National Pension System

NPS was primarily targeted at the unorganized sector, which does not have any form of social security. However, so far only about 1 million people out of a workforce of about 400 million in the unorganized sector have joined NPS. Floated for civil servants in 2004, the NPS was opened to all citizens in May 2009 to provide a pension option to 360 million informal sector workers bereft of any old-age income security.
Private Final Consumption Expenditure

The per capita Private Final Consumption Expenditure (PFCE) in the domestic market in 2010-11 was estimated to be Rs. 36760 at current prices and Rs. 26,029 at constant (2004-05) prices as against Rs. 31812 and Rs. 24379 respectively in 2009-10.
What Finance Ministry has to Say

In order to raise the subscriber base of the New Pension Scheme (NPS), the Finance Ministry is currently targeting the employees of the various members of industry bodies such as the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), and the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry. The Ministry wrote letters to industry chambers, asking them to persuade their members to subscribe to the NPS. The government also favoured lower fee for NPS. It proposed to slash the account maintenance fee by Rs 180 to make it more attractive to workers in the informal sector. The finance ministry opposed a proposal for a 500-fold increase in the fee charged by fund managers of the New Pension Scheme. The Ministrys representative on the board of interim pension regulator PFRDA opposed the proposal to increase the fund management fees up to 0.5% from the current 0.0009%. The ministry also rejected PFRDAs suggestion to relax the norms for appointment of fund managers handling the NPS, a retirement savings scheme launched initially for government employees. The whole idea of the NPS is that large sections of the unorganised sector should avail the benefits. According to the Ministry, the increase of fee will act as deterrent.
Gross Domestic Savings

The gross domestic savings at current prices in 2010-11 was estimated at Rs.24.81 lakh crore which constituted 32.3 per cent of the countrys GDP at market prices. Gross domestic saving of India that has over 1.2 billion population, increased by 32.3 per cent to Rs.2481931 crore in 2010-11 as compared to Rs.2182970 crore in 200910. The savings rate in 2010-11 declined from 2009-10. The decline was attributed to decrease in the rates of financial savings of household sector from 12.9 per cent to 10 per cent and the private corporate sector from 8.2 per cent to 7.9 per cent. However, the rate of savings of the public sector increased to 1.7 per cent in 2010-11 as compared to 0.2 per cent in the previous year.
Gross Domestic Capital Formation The convention provides for simultaneous tax The gross domestic capital formation, an indicator of
increase in physical assets, rose to Rs.292031 crore in 2010-11 at current prices as compared to Rs.2363670 crore in 2009-10.
Railway Policy for Private Sector Participation

Facing a resource constraint, Railways has come up with a new draft policy which seeks increased private participation for rail connectivity and opens the doors for foreign direct investors for expanding its network. The cash-strapped public transporter has proposed six PPP models for project execution that include creating railway connectivity on private land and forming special purpose vehicles (SPV) for new line and gauge conversion. The policy has also sought to attract the state government in playing a proactive role in development and implementation of rail projects in their respective states. Foreign direct investors will also be allowed to participate in asset creation pending clearances by Foreign Investment Promotion Board.
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MARCH 2012
Floor size of Portfolio for Managers Raised

Market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 28 January 2012 decided to enhance the minimum investment amount per client managed by portfolio managers to Rs.25 lakh from Rs.5 lakh at present by amending the SEBI (Portfolio Managers) Regulations, 1993. Portfolio managers will thus post thr amedment need to have a minimum portfolio size of Rs 25lakh per client. It will be applicable on a prospective basis for new clients and for fresh investments by existing clients.The amendment is to ensure segregation of holdings in individual demat accounts in respect of unlisted securities. SEBI also decided to exempt insurance companies and mutual funds, which are broad-based investment vehicles representing the interests of the public at large, from the provisions of SEBI (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations. As per the current norm, SEBI (ICDR) Regulations preclude companies from issuing preferential allotment to entities which have sold any of their holdings during the six months prior to the relevant date. Further, the allottees in the preferential allotment are required to lockin their entire pre-preferential holdings for six months from the date of the allotment. The lock-in on shares allotted in the preferential issue will remain unchanged post amendment.
RBI Allows Commodity Hedging but not in Gold Silver & Platinum
The Reserve Bank in 17 January 2012 allowed all authorised banks to grant permission to companies to hedge the price risk of of all commodities, barring gold, silver and platinum, in the international commodity markets. It has now been decided to permit all AD Category-I banks to grant permission to companies to hedge the price risk in respect of any commodity (except gold, silver, and platinum) in the international commodity exchanges/ markets as specified under the delegated route, the Reserve Bank said in a circular. It further said such banks can now grant permission to unlisted companies to hedge the price risk on imports and exports for all the commodities, barring the three, in international markets. AD Category-I banks may submit an annual report as on March 31 every year, within one month (before April 30th), giving the names of the corporates to whom they have granted permission for commodity hedging and the name of the commodity hedged, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said. It said before permitting corporates to undertake hedge transactions, banks will have to ask for a brief description of the hedging strategy proposed, including the business activity and nature of risk and instruments proposed to be used for hedging. Besides, they will have to furnish information like names of the commodity exchanges and brokers through whom the risk is proposed to be hedged and the credit lines proposed to be availed and the name and address of the regulatory authority in the country concerned may also be given. Banks have also been asked to secure a copy of the management policy of the companies covering risk identification and their measurements, guidelines and procedures to be followed with respect to revaluation and monitoring of positions, and names and designations of officials authorised to undertake transactions and limits.
Telcos Get Approval to Share Spectrum but with Conditions

The apex decision-making body of the communications ministry, the Telecom Commission decided to allow mobile phone companies to share spectrum. The Commission has however limited this facility to 2G airwaves alone. Second generation (2G) spectrum is largely used for offering vanilla voice services. The telecommunication companies cannot therefore share 3G spectrums. Incumbents such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Aircel and Idea Cellular took the government to court, after the telecom department asked these companies to terminate their 3G roaming deals. These companies had hoped the Commissions policy changes had hoped that policy changes permitting the sharing of airwaves would put an end to this controversy. The companies had signed up 3G customers across the country riding on bilateral roaming agreements that allow these firms to use each others airwaves and offer high-end data services even in regions where they do not have 3G spectrum. The Commission also decided to introduce slew of riders to govern spectrum sharing. The riders are as follows: Only those operators that have airwaves in a particular region can share it. Spectrum can be shared only between two spectrum holders. A non-licensee or licensee who has not been assigned spectrum as yet cannot be party to spectrum trading. Two companies can share airwaves only if their combined holdings do not exceed the limits prescribed in the M&A norms. The Telecom Commission had recently approved sector regulator TRAIs recommendation that during mergers, the combined entity be allowed to have up to 25% of the total airwaves in the region. Spectrum sharing deals will also have to be renewed every five years. When operators share spectrum, both companies will have to pay usage charges on the total airwaves held jointly. Currently, operators share between 2% and 6% of their annual revenues based on the quantity of airwaves they hold. The Telcos sharing spectrum must pay the government the commercial value of the airwaves it is using. It essentially means, an operator that has 4.4 MHz of airwaves, and is sharing radio frequencies with another Telco that has the same amount, must pay current prices for additional 4.4 units of spectrum it is using. To ensure that payment of current price does not act a disincentive, licensees may be permitted to pay the current price applicable on the date of permission, on an annual basis, instead of for five years at a time, and this payment will cease if the sharing agreement is annulled midway.
Amendment to SEBI (Mutual Fund) Regulations, 1996

SEBI approved changes in the SEBI (Mutual Fund) Regulations, 1996, which ask the asset management companies (AMCs) to ensure a fair treatment to all investors, that is, to existing investors as well as to investors seeking to purchase or redeem units of mutual funds at all point of time in all schemes. The measure is aimed to provide for fair valuation of securities/assets of mutual fund schemes If debt and money market securities are not traded on a particular valuation day, the valuation through the amortisation basis shall be restricted to securities having residual maturity of up to 60 days (at present 91 days), provided such valuation shall be reflective of the realisable value/fair value of the securities.
Mutual fund regulations

While amending the mutual fund regulations relating to its advertisement code, SEBI mentioned that AMCs would be responsible for the accuracy, truthfulness and fairness of the advertisement. The definition of advertisement was also broadened to include all forms of communication that may influence investment decisions of any investor.
TRAI Proposes Rs.20 cr for National Level Unified Licence

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on 17th January 2012 proposed a fee of Rs.20 crore for a national-level unified licence under the new regime, which suggests that there will be only four types of licence in future as against many across the communication sector at present. The telecom regulators draft guidelines for the new unified licensing regime said: The entry fee for different types of unified licence shall be Rs.20 crore for national level, Rs.2 crore for each Metro and A category, Rs.1 crore for each B category, Rs.50 lakh for each C category service areas levels and Rs.15 lakh for each district level unified licence. The draft guidelines have proposed three levels of unified licence at national level, service area level and district level. At present, telecom service providers hold Unified Access Service Licence (UASL), which authorises them to provide mobile, fixed line, Internet and long-distance calls and other telecom services. The UASL is given to companies with 4.4 Mhz spectrum bundled with it. TRAI has, however, recommended that the new licence regime will not have spectrum bundled with it and the operators will have to bid for the spectrum separately. Unified licence will be given without any spectrum. Licensee has to separately apply/bid for obtaining spectrum as per the prevailing policy, the draft guidelines said. The regulator has also proposed to have no restriction on the number of players in a service area. Licence shall be issued on non exclusive basis, without any restriction on the number of entrants in a licence area, the draft said. These guidelines follows recommendations on Spectrum Management and Licensing Framework, issued in May, 2010, in which the regulator had recommended that the future licences would not be bundled with spectrum. It has recommended that the licences to be issued would be a unified licence covering various access services, class licence covering VSAT services, licensing through authorisation and broadcasting licences.
Reservation to convertible debt holders

On the issue of reservation to convertible debt holders in rights/bonus issues, the market regulator decided to clarify that reservation is to be available only to compulsorily convertible debt holders, since conversion in such cases is not at the option of the holders of these instruments.
Cairn-Vedanta Deal Gets Final Approval from Cabinet

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 24th January 2012 gave final approval to Vedanta Resources acquisition of a majority stake in Cairn India Ltd for $8.48 billion. The Cabinet gave its final consent to the $8.5billion Cairn-Vedanta deal after the companies met all conditions set by the government to complete the transaction. Following the serious issues raised by the Home Ministry the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry put up the deal before the CCEA for a review. While giving security clearance to Vedantas purchase of a majority stake in Cairn India, the home ministry had on 25 November 2011 pointed to eight instances of the mining group or its affiliates being involved in cases of default of payment, human rights violations or environmental damage. The planned sale of a 40% stake held by Cairn Energy in Cairn India to Vedanta was first considered by the CCEA in April 2011 and approved in June 2011, with certain preconditions. Cairn and Vedanta complied with all the preconditions and concluded the transaction in Decembe 2011. The final clearance for the controversial deal transfers control of Indias largest onshore oilfield to London listed Vedanta Resources. Vedanta thus acquired 58.5 per cent in Cairn India for a total consideration of $ 8.67 billion.
Govt Changes Duty Structure on Gold and Silver

The Union government nearly doubled the import duty on gold and silver by changing the customs and excise duty structure on precious metals. The measure was adopted by the government to arrest the widening current account deficit. The Finance Ministry by adopting this stand has moved to a model where customs and excise will be charged on the value of the metal instead of a flat charge, and will vary with varying prices of the metal in the market. Following the governments decision, gold will now attract an import duty on 2 per cent of its value on each day as against the earlier flat levy of Rs 300 per 10 grams. Silver will be charged 6 per cent of its value on each day from the earlier Rs 1,500 per kilogram. Excise on gold will be charged at 1.5 per cent of its value on each day as against Rs 200 per 10 grams, and for silver it will be 4 per cent as against Rs 1000 per kg. Platinum and diamond would also cost more. According to market experts any steep hike would boost smuggling and also added that the increase would not impact consumers significantly as gold prices have 1-5 per cent volatility on a daily basis.
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MARCH 2012
Government Notifies 100% FDI in Single Brand Retail

Notwithstanding its inability to open multi-brand retail for foreign investment, government on 10th January 2012 notified 100 per cent FDI in single-brand retail, paving way for global chains like Adidas, Louis Vuitton and Gucci to have full ownership of their India operations. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), up to 100%, under the government approval route, would be permitted in single brand product retail trading, a press note by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) said. However, in respect of proposals involving FDI beyond 51 per cent, the mandatory sourcing of at least 30 per cent would have to be done from the domestic small and cottage industries which have a maximum investment in plant and machinery of USD 1 million (about Rs 5 crore). The decision to increase FDI in single-brand retail was taken by the Cabinet on November 24 along with opening the gates for overseas investment in multi-brand retail. However, the Government was forced to put on hold FDI in multi-brand retail by several political parties, including UPA ally Trinamool Congress. At present, for single-brand retailers, 51 per cent FDI is permitted. Removal of investment cap would help global fashion brands especially from Italy and France to strengthen their interest in the growing Indian market. The government said the move which comes into effect immediately would enhance competitiveness of Indian enterprises through access to global design, technologies and management practices. According to the riders, however, the products by the global chains should be of single brand only and be sold under the same brand internationally. Single brand retailing would cover products which are branded during manufacturing and the foreign investor should be owner of the brand. Though 51 per cent FDI in single brand was allowed in February 2006, not much investment has come in the sector. During last three and half years, FDI worth only Rs 196 crore was received in the sector.
Corporate Sales to Grow 21.6% Profits to Dip 7% in FY12: CMIE

Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) estimated Corporate Indias sales to grow 21.6% in 2011-12. However, profits are expected to fall by 7.2% in the financial year 2011-12. Excluding petroleum product companies, India Inc is expected to see a 19% growth in sales in March 2012 quarter. As per the review, sales of the manufacturing sector are expected to have expanded by 20.7% and that of the non-financial services sector by 18.2. Income of the financial service has grown by a strong 32% due to high interest rates and healthy credit growth. CMIE however expects corporate sales to drop to 16.8% in the March 2012 quarter due to a sharp drop in expansion of petroleum products. Profits fell 13.2% in the first half of 2011-12 due to steep rise in raw material and fuel prices, high interest rates and delay in payment of cash subsidy to the oil marketing companies (OMCs) by the government. Also, a sharp depreciation in rupee since September 2011 brought mark-to-market (MTM) losses to firms and thus further pulled down profits. In a situation where high input costs and interest rates continue to haunt Indian companies, the corporate affairs ministry provided some relief by allowing capitalisation of MTM losses on long-term loans taken for the acquisition of fixed asset till March 2020. The exemption was earlier available only till March 2012 and only to companies which had opted for it in 200809. In spite of this, corporate India is expected to report substantial amount of forex losses in the December 2011 quarter since major chunk of the Forex liabilities of corporate India are short-term, CMIE noted. Forex, however, expected to rise by 9.9% in the JanuaryMarch quarter riding on the back of robust 40.2% rise in net profits of the banking industry. The net profits in the banking industry were attributed to lower provisions and low base.
RBI cuts CRR to Spur Growth

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 24 January 2012 cut the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) by 50 basis points from 6 per cent to 5.5 per cent with effect from 28 January 2012. RBI thus released Rs 32000 crore to banks through a half percentage point cut in the cash reserve ratio. Home loans and other loans to individuals and businesses will become cheaper with the cut in CRR. The RBI also kept the repo rate unchanged at 8.50 per cent for the second consecutive time after raising it 13 times between March 2010 and October 2011. It lowered its growth forecast to 7% from 7.6% earlier. The cut marked RBIs first reduction in CRR since January 2009 when it had released funds to stimulate demand in the wake of the Lehman Brothers crisis. As a consequence, for the first time in over two months, the rupee touched the 49-mark against the dollar in intraday trade. The central bank decided to reverse a two-year policy of interest rate hikes because of decelerating growth although inflation continued to remain a concern. RBI was prompted to ease liquidity because of a structural shortfall which was forcing banks to borrow anywhere between Rs 1.25 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh from RBI in January. The RBIs action is seen as an attempt to strike a balance between risks to growth and inflation.
Cash Reserve Ratio

The CRR cut is a positive development for banks which can earn interest income of over Rs 3000 crore on funds which were hitherto locked with the RBI. CRR is the percentage of deposits that commercial banks must keep with the central bank. Repo rate is the rate at which banks borrow from the central bank.
DIPP to Set Rules for FDI in Power Exchanges

Union finance ministry urged the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) to design a FDI policy for power exchanges on the lines of commodity exchanges. The ministry stressed upon the urgent need for clear FDI regime for power exchanges. since power exchanges are akin to commodity exchanges, a similar structure is to be followed while designing the FDI policy for power exchange. Currently, FDI in power exchanges is not explicitly banned but the rules dont provide for foreign investment on the lines of commodity exchanges. FDI is permitted in power exchanges up to 49%. Experts opined that a clarification is required to provide certainty and also emphasised on the need to relook at the negative list concept followed in the FDI policy as the foreign exchange management act works on positive list concept. A recent FDI proposal from Multiples Private Equity, promoted by Renuka Ramnath, to pick up minority stake in Financial Technologies-promoted Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) prompted the ministrys direction in this respect. The proposal was put on hold. Trading on the exchange is 100% physical delivery based and only 2% of the total generation is traded through any exchange. Currently, India has two power exchanges- Indian Energy Exchange, National Stock Exchange-promoted Power Exchange India. Policymakers are of the view that FDI policy should be rationalised and simplified to encourage overseas investment in sectors as the country needs foreign capital to support a 9% growth. Central Electricity and Regulatory Commission were till date supervising the inflows in the power sector.
Private & Foreign Banks Cannot Pay Excessive Salary to CEOs:RBI

The Reserve Bank on 13th January 2012 said CEOs and staff of private and foreign banks cannot draw excessive salary, but it did not impose any cap on their remuneration. Issuing guidelines on compensation of CEOs and staff of private and foreign banks, RBI said all private and foreign lenders will have to obtain prior approval from it for renumeration of CEOs and whole time directors as per the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 which prohibits excessive renumeration. However, the guideline did not specify what would constitute excessive renumeration. Banks are required to ensure that the fixed portion of compensation is reasonable, taking into account all relevant factors, including the industry practice, it said. While designing the compensation arrangements it should be ensured that there is a proper balance between fixed pay and variable pay, it said. Variable pay, however, should not exceed 70 per cent of the fixed pay in a year. The guidelines would be implemented from 2012-13. As hitherto, private sector and foreign banks operating in India would be required to obtain regulatory approval for grant of remuneration to whole time directors or chief executive officers in terms of Section 35B of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, RBI said in a notification. The approval process will involve an assessment whether the compensation policies and practices are in accordance with the Financial Stability Board (FSB) Principles, it said. The principles are intended to reduce incentives towards excessive risk taking that may arise from the structure of compensation schemes. The principles call for effective governance of compensation, alignment of compensation with prudent risk taking, effective supervisory oversight and stakeholder engagement, it said. The principles have been endorsed by the G-20 countries and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and are under implementation across jurisdictions, it added.
Anti-dumping on 4 Items Imported from China Extended for 5-yr

In the backdrop of widening trade gap with China, India on 13th January 2012 extended for five years anti- dumping duty on import of four Chinese products, including silk fabrics and a sweetener. The duty is imposed to protect the domestic industry from cheap imports. Import of certain type of silk fabrics from China will attract anti-dumping duty of $1.82 to USD 7.59 per metre, a notification of the Revenue Department said. The duty was first imposed on the fabrics in December 2006 till December 2011. India had a trade deficit of USD 16 billion against China during 2010-11. It has already crossed USD 20 billion in the first seven months of the current fiscal. The Directorate General of Anti-Dumping (DGAD) had carried a suo motu sunset review probe in December 2010 to examine whether cessation of the duty would lead to continuation of dumping and injury to the domestic players. Following the review, the DGAD had recommended continuation and enhancement of the antidumping duty. The anti-dumping duty imposed shall be levied for a period of five years (unless revoked, superseded or amended earlier)..., the Revenue Department said. It further said the duty on import of certain type of nylon filament yarn from China, Chinese Taipei, Malaysia, Thailand and Korea will be imposed at USD 0.20 to USD 1.51 per kilogram for another five years. Notifications for extension of anti-dumping duty on imports of cellophane transparent film and saccharin from China for five years have also been issued. Saccharin is a non-nutritive sweetener and considered to be low calorie substitute for cane sugar. Meanwhile, the government has also levied provisional anti-dumping duty on import of phosphoric acid (excluding agriculture/fertiliser grade) from Israel and Taiwan. The duty at $116.25 to USD 260.26 per tonne has been imposed for six months.
Rs.6.25 Interim from ONGC

The board of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) declared on 4 January 2012 that it had approved Rs.352.50-crore investment for producing oil from a marginal field off the Mumbai coast. The board also approved an interim dividend of Rs.6.25 per share of Rs.5 each for 2011-12. The total payout on this account will be Rs.5,347.20 crore, out of which the government will get Rs.3,964.36 crore. The board had approved redevelopment of the B173A marginal field situated 50 km west of the Mumbai coastline for improving its recovery factor. The field was discovered in 1992. The field is currently producing 1,870 barrels of oil per day. Till October 31, 2011, the field has produced about 2,076 million tonnes. The board also approved a Rs.115-crore investment in the Heera and South Heera fields, situated 70 km South-West of Mumbai city.
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MARCH 2012
Moodys Upgrades Indias Shortterm Foreign Currency Rating

Moodys has upgraded its credit rating on short-term deposits in foreign currency from speculative to investment grade. Such an upgrade will help banks to attract foreign currency deposits. The upgrade is in line with the rating revision in three other instruments, which were all placed in a higher category by the rating agency on December 20. According to the Indias external debt position, shortterm external liabilities for commercial banks have come down from $860 million to $763 million as of end September 2011. This amount was $898 million at the end of March 2011. The numbers highlight the increased withdrawals from foreign currency accounts.
No Floating Interest Rates on Small Savings Schemes: Finance Ministry

The Finance Ministry on 4 January 2012 clarified that the rates applicable on small savings instruments schemes would be announced on April 1 each year and the rate would remain valid till the maturity of the scheme. The Ministry stated that barring the Public Provident Fund (PPF), the rates of interest on all small savings schemes will remain fixed throughout the tenure of investment. To clear the confusion over the returns on investment in small savings schemes, the Finance Ministry pointed out that the rate prevailing at the time of investments will remain fixed and unchanged till the maturity of the investment. Any revisions in interest rates in the subsequent years would only be applicable to the investments made in the relevant period. However, the rate of interest for the 15-year PPF scheme would not remain fixed for the entire period as the interest accruals in the PPF account each year would vary, depending on the interest rate announced for that particular year. For PPF, the interest rate fixed every year will be applicable to all PPF accounts. The government had hiked the interest rates on small savings deposits schemes of various maturities with effect from 1 December 2011 to channel the outflow of funds from small savings schemes administered by the National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) in view of the investor preference for bank term deposits. The clarification from the Finance Ministry came in the face of fears that the revision of interest rates on small savings schemes from 1 December 2011, are floating rates and that the rates will undergo change in sync with fluctuations in yields on government securities. It had also hiked the interest rates on PPF deposits from 8 per cent to 8.6 per cent while raising the ceiling on annual contributions to the fund to Rs.1 lakh from Rs.70000. Interest rates on Post Office Savings Accounts rose to 4 per cent from 3.5 per cent. Similarly, interest rates on deposits of various maturities of one year, two years and five years too were raised from December. The sale of Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) has been discontinued from November 30, 2011. The maturity period of Monthly Investment Schemes (MIS) and National Savings Certificates (NSCs) been reduced from six years to five years.
SIDBI Inks Pact with IOB

Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) entered into a memorandum of understanding with Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) on 6 January 2012 to extend assistance to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) customers of IOB. The MoU was signed by S. Muhnot, Chairman and Managing Director of SIDBI, and M. Narendra, Chairman and Managing Director of IOB. Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) received Rs 100 crore from Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi), as part of refinancing agreement. SIDBI lined up Rs 2000 crore equity investment in the countrys micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME).
As per the Agreement

SIDBI would initially provide a line of credit worth Rs. 100 crore to IOB for seven years. The amount is to be utilised to provide growth capital to deserving MSMEs for funding their growth requirements towards any bonafide business purpose, including bridging the gap in project funding, working capital margin, intangible expenses. The assistance to MSMEs could be through a variety of instruments such as subordinate debt, mezzanine/ convertible instruments such as optionally convertible debentures and redeemable preference shares. On a selective basis, IOB would also provide equity funding where business model or exit options would clearly support such investments.
Not Prime to P3
A Finance Ministry statement said that the short-term country ceiling on foreign currency bank deposits has been increased from Not Prime (NP) to P-3. P3 denotes prime and such a rating indicates acceptable ability to repay short-term obligations. Short-term here means deposits with maturities up to one year. In December 2011 Moodys upgraded the ratings on long-term government bonds denominated in domestic currency from Ba1 to Baa3, or from speculative to investment grade. Besides, the long-term country ceiling on the foreign currency bank deposits was also upgraded from Ba1 to Baa3.
IOB in 2011-12
During 2011-12, the bank disbursed Rs 1983 crore to the sector, which is a growth of 17 per cent compared 201011. Total aggregate disbursements stood at around Rs 13822 crore and number of accounts 44871. IOB recently received an award for its performance in MSME lending during 2010-11 from the President.
SEBI Allows Promoters for Auctioning of Stakes through Stock Exchanges

In a move that could kick-start the governments divestment programme as well as help promoters of companies to sell a part of their holdings, the capital market regulator SEBI on 3rd January 2012 allowed auctioning of securities through stock exchanges and introduced a new method for institutional placement of stocks. As per the auctioning route, a special window can be used by promoter stakeholders to sell at least 1% of the paid-up capital of a company. This will be similar to the block-deal mechanism for secondary stock market transactions, but with lesser restrictions. Under the institutional placement programme (IPP), shares can be sold only to qualified institutional buyers. Exchanges will provide a separate window for the offer for sale of shares which will co-exist with the normal trading hours. Promoter or promoter group of companies however will not be allowed to bid for the shares. Allotment will be done either on price priority or clearing price basis proportionately and would be overseen by the exchanges. SEBIs measure is considered to be very progressive step towards creating an organised and effective mechanism that will not only facilitate fund raising but also assist companies to comply with the listing norms in a non-disruptive manner. There shall be at least 10 allottees in every IPP issuance. No single investor shall receive allotment for more than 25% of the offer size. For the purpose of compliance with public holding norms, SEBI had earlier directed all such promoter shareholders to dilute their equity stake to 75% or below by June 2013 through public offering of shares. The companies were also barred from using the qualified institutional placement (QIP) route for diluting promoters shares. However, the new institutional placement route can be used for either fresh issue of shares or dilution by the promoters through an offer for sale. The IPP method can be used to increase public holding by 10% and could be offered to only qualified institutional buyers with 25% being reserved for mutual funds and insurance companies. Under the IPP, companies will have to announce the ratio of buy-back, as is done in the case of rights issues and fix a record date for determination of entitlements as per shareholding on record date. Besides improving efficiency, the revised buy-back process is expected to give a fair deal to all shareholders.
Union Government Measures

Union Government had created the Risk Capital Fund for MSMEs within SIDBI and SIDBI in turn, formed a separate business unit, SIDBI Foundation for Risk Capital. The objective was to develop and operationalise appropriate risk capital products for MSMEs of different sizes, constitution and in different industry segments. Apart from direct funding by SIDBI, various delivery channels such as banks and venture capital (VC) funds is to be used for providing risk capital to MSMEs.
IRDA Issues Uniform Norms to Ensure Solvency of Insurance Companies

Insurance regulator IRDA on 4 January 2012 introduced uniform asset-liability management norms for market players to ensure their solvency and asked firms to undertake stress tests to ascertain their ability to meet financial obligations in the event of a crisis. The Asset-Liability Management (ALM) norms, IRDA said, are critical for the sound management of the finances of the insurers that invest to meet their future cash flow needs and capital requirements. The guidelines, which would come into effect from April 1, 2012, make it mandatory for insurance companies to prepare an ALM policy and have it approved by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) by March-end. With regard to stress-testing, IRDA has asked the insurance companies to determine their ability to meet financial liabilities after taking into account factors like a 30 per cent fall in equity values and a one percentage point decline in yields on fixed investments, among others. IRDA has issued these guidelines to bring about uniformity in the ALM norms being followed by both life and non-life insurance companies. Upon examination of the extant norms being followed by insurance companies, IRDA found they were incomplete and inconsistent. As the mandate by the authority was very broad, each insurer had adopted their own measures in reporting such details. The insurers would have to put in place effective procedures for monitoring and managing their assetliability positions to ensure that their investment activities and asset positions are appropriate to their liability, risk profiles and solvency positions. The ALM policy should enable the insurers to understand the risks they are exposed to and develop ALM policies to manage them effectively. In addition, the ALM can be used to measure the interest rate risk faced by insurers.
th
Reliance Enters Media by Opening Purse Strings for Network18

Mukesh Ambanis Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and the nations biggest private sector company has finally broken the ice and ended speculation regarding its entry in the media and entertainment segment. RIL has now entered into a major investment deal with the Raghav Bahl-controlled Network18 Group. The company is one of Indias largest broadcasters owning several news and entertainment channels. RIL will help Network18 in financing the purchase of a leading regional language competitor, Eenadu. While doing so, RIL will ensure a stake for itself in Network18s range of businesses. The deal will involve several stages and have Reliance Industries invest about Rs. 1, 700 crore in the Network18 Group. Considering the monies involved, this could easily turn out to become a landmark transaction in Indias media and entertainment industry. At present, Network18 is in a huge debt but with the merger of Eenadu, it will emerge as a bigger and stronger enterprise. Reliance will leverage its deep understanding of Indian markets - consumer insights, technological expertise and the ability to build and manage scale to make this a win-win partnership. This will create value and be accretive to the shareholders of RIL.
Eenadu
Eenadu is one of the countrys largest media companies and operates several regional language news and entertainment channels. It also operates the highly successful Telegu language news and entertainment channel. RIL invested about Rs 2600 crore in Eenadu channels. It owns 100% economic interest in ETV Uttar Pradesh, ETV Madhya Pradesh, ETV Rajasthan, ETV Urdu and ETV Bihar. It also owns 100% economic interest in ETV Marathi, ETV Kannada, ETV Bangla, ETV Gujarati and ETV Oriya. In the Telugu channels, ETV Telugu and ETV Telugu News, RILs economic interest is 49%.
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MARCH 2012
RBI Decided to Ease Liquidity by Buying Back Gilts for an Amount of Rs 10000 crore
The Reserve Bank of India on 3 January 2011 decided to conduct an open market operation (OMO) to inject more liquidity into the system. The RBI will buy up to Rs 12000 crore of government bonds via open market operations on 6 January 2012, including the 10-year paper which till recently was the benchmark paper. The central bank has decided to ease liquidity by buying back gilts for an amount of Rs 10,000 crore in the backdrop of banks accessing the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)s borrowing window for more than Rs1 lakh crore each day. RBI announced an auction for Rs 10, 000 crore worth of bonds, otherwise known as open market operation (OMO). The OMO announcement came after the market trading hours. The Reserve Bank of India decided to conduct open market operations consistent with the stance of the monetary policy and based on the current assessment of prevailing and evolving liquidity conditions. Banks have been borrowing in excess of Rs 1 lakh crore a day from the RBIs liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) or repo window. The liquidity deficit in the system in recent weeks has been way beyond the limit of 1% of the net liabilities of the system, or around Rs 55000 crore. The central bank, by conducting OMOs tries to balance out liquidity and price stability in the bond market. The yields are expected to come down to 8.75% levels whenever the central bank announces OMOs while they could rise to 8.90% ahead of the bond auction. The central bank had earlier conducted a Rs 10000-crore OMO on 24 November 2011 where it managed to purchase Rs 9435 crore worth of bonds. Yield on the benchmark bond had come off close to 10 basis points after the RBI had announced an OMO on 14 November. The yield on the benchmark treasury paper jumped about 60 basis points since the government announced on 29 September 2011, that it would need to borrow an additional amount of around Rs 52, 900 crore in 2011-12. Between October 2011 to March 2012, the government will auction an average of Rs 13000 crore worth of new paper every week. In addition to cash management bills, treasury bills as well as state development loans will be auctioned.
Parliamentary Panel Favours Doubling of Penal fee for Trading Violations

The Parliamentary Standing Committee submitted its report on a bill to amend the Forward Contracts Regulation Act 1952. Parliamentary Standing Committee on consumer affairs, food and public distribution, chaired by Congress MP Vilas Baburao Muttemwar, submitted its report on the FCRA (Amendment) Bill 2010 to Parliament on 22 December 2011. The current department-related standing committee (DRSC), set up in 2009, was asked by the Lok Sabha speaker in December 2010 to prepare a report on the bill and submit it to the Lok Sabha Secretariat. The committee in its report recommended a doubling of the maximum penalty for trading rule violations to Rs 50 lakh. The standing committee report suggested raising the upper limit on penalties for offences like insider trading to Rs 50 lakh from Rs 25 lakh stipulated in the Forward Contracts Regulation Act (FCRA) Amendment Bill 2010. Insider trading involves using unpublished price sensitive information for personal gain. The bill seeks to empower commodity futures market regulator Forward Markets Commission on par with its securities markets counterpart. It is seen as the singlemost important reform in the eight-year-old commodity exchange market. The report recommended that options be introduced for the benefit of stakeholders. The inclusion of the clause was one of the reasons why the bill in its earlier avatar during the UPA I regime faced resistance. Those who had opposed the bill then especially the Left parties argued that options would increase speculation in commodities. The report suggested that options will actually make it easier for farmers and smaller users to participate in the derivatives market as trading lot sizes will be lower than in futures contracts, where the minimum traded quantity for most farm products is 10 tonne. Investing in an option also tends to minimise losses as only the premium to buy (call option) or sell (put option) is forgone in the event of prices moving adversely. a futures position taken by a trader is on the other hand marked to market daily. Marking to market involves daily settlement of the difference between the prior agreed price and the daily futures price. It can thus lead to huge losses alongside supernormal profits.
ADB Loan Cleared for Road Works in Naxal-hit Villages

The Union government on 7th January 2012 has cleared an external loan to finance part of the programme launched by the Ministry of Rural Development in left wing extremism-affected villages. The clearance is for a loan of $500 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to speed up construction of rural roads. Union Minister of Rural Development Jairam Ramesh has urged Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to issue directions for negotiating and early signing of the loan, which his Ministry has cleared, to shore up resources to give thrust to the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) that is way behind schedule. The ADB, which has already extended a loan of $800 million, has been petitioned with a fresh proposal for rural connectivity investment programme to construct or upgrade 7,000 km of roads connecting eligible habitations in Maoist-affected States of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, besides Assam where too the PMGSY has progressed with little to cheer.
Incentives to Locals
The demand for the loan was made in the backdrop of the MoRDs multi-winged programmes in the left wing extremism-affected areas, under which Central forces assist execution of welfare and development schemes to wean the local people from the path of naxalism. The MoRD has been providing incentives and assistance to the local people, particularly tribals, to reduce poverty and ensure economic growth of the region. Rural connectivity is considered pivotal to the success of this stratagem. As per the programme proposed by the MoRD, the Union government will supplement with a contribution of $127.6 million, in addition to the $5000 million to finance the project that includes setting up of training and research centres pertaining to rural roads. The programmewas supposed to have covered all habitations with a population of 500 people (250 people in the case of tribal and hilly areas) by 2007. Provision of rural connectivity to habitations of 500 people in general areas and 250 people in tribal areas need to be worked upon on pririty basis.
Govt Approves RILs $1.5 bn KG-D6 Satellite Field Plan

The Union government on 3 January 2012 approved Reliance Industries (RIL) $1.529 billion investment plan for developing four satellite fields in the flagging KGD6 block. RILs investment plan will boost falling output in the Krishna-Godavari Basin KG-D6 block. The investment proposal was signed by the three partners in the block- RIL, UKs BP Plc and Niko Resources of Canada and the representative of DGH. The KG-D6 block oversight committee, which includes officials from the Oil Ministry and its technical arm, the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH), met for the third time in three months on 3 January to finally approve the proposal. The MC approval, which is the final approval an operator needs before beginning work, put a cap on the cost of developing the four fields that surround the currently producing Dhirubhai-1 and 3 (D-1 & D-3) fields in the KG-D6 block. The cost cannot vary by more than 15%. The MC had at its two previous meetings in November and December 2011 refused to approve the field development plan (FDP) for the Dhirubhai-2, 6, 19 and 22 (D-2, D-6, D-19 and D22) fields after the government representative raised certain objections. RIL agreed to cap spending on the four fields at $1.529 billion, plus or minus 15%. The four fields can produce 10 million cubic metres of gas per day by 2016, which will help shore up output from the block, which has seen a 35% decline in production in the past 15 months.
TRAI Directs Telecom Companies to Block Pesky SMSes Originating from Abroad
Tightening the noose around pesky SMS senders further, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) today issued a directive to telecom companies to block international SMSes as per the rules applicable to SMSes originating within the country. The new regulations on unsolicited telemarketing calls and SMS were not being properly followed, the TRAI stated that there were several incidences of promotional SMS being routed through the servers located at international destinations and delivered to customers registered for not receiving telemarketing calls. TRAI observed that generally such SMSes originated from locations within Germany, Sweden, Nauru, Fiji, Cambodia, Bosnia, Albania, Grenada, the United Kingdom, Jersey, Sint Maarten, Tonga, Vanuatu, Namibia, Panama, and Antigua and Barbuda. These SMSes contain the headers which are alphanumeric or starting with +91 or numbers with international codes. The regulator thus ordered all telecom companies to ensure that no international SMS containing an alphabet header or alphanumeric header or +91 as the originating country code is delivered through their networks. Also, if any source or number from outside the country generates more than 200 SMSes an hour with a similar signature, these could not be delivered through the network.
Targeting Disinvestment Govt to Incentivise PSU Listings

Running short of disinvestment target in the current fiscal, the government will incentivise the unlisted PSUs to come up with initial share offerings in the stock market in 2012-13. At present, there are about 50 PSUs which are listed and their shares are actively traded in the stock market. The government has already decided that unlisted PSUs with no accumulated losses and having earned net profit in three preceding years should come out with Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) even as the state holding would not come below 51 per cent. One of the options to incentivise the PSUs for IPOs is to put this task in the memorandum of understanding (MoU) which an individual enterprise signs with its administrative ministry. Under the MoU system, annual targets are set for the PSUs and CEOs get personal appraisal points if the tasks are achieved. While about 50 PSUs including Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and Heavy Engineering Corporation Ltd which can be listed on stock exchanges did not opt for the same. The government had set a target of raising Rs 40,000 crore through stake sale in PSUs in the current fiscal. With only three months remaining, it has been able to mop up merely Rs 1,145 crore through disinvestment in Power Finance Corporation. To achieve the mammoth target, the Finance Ministry is working on several methods including share buyback by cash-rich PSUs.
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MARCH 2012
SOCIAL COVERAGE
Total Number of Family Planning Acceptors in India increased by 3.5% between 2010 & 2011
As per the latest official data, the total number of family planning acceptors in India increased by 3.5 per cent between 2010 and 2011. The data revealed that condom is the most preferred method of family planning while sterilisations the least adopted means. The comparative figures between April and September 2010 and 2011 put the number of couples adopting some method for family planning, including spacing methods was found to be close to 24 million, with at least 15 million preferring condoms to any other means. Condom use was followed by oral pill user though the number in this case came down to just over 5 million in 2011. IUD (intrauterine device) insertions by women was also another significant birth control measure adopted.
UN-DESA Data Revealed Higher Female Infant Mortality Rate in India

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA) data for 150 countries over 40 years showed that India and China are the only two countries in the world where female infant mortality is higher than male infant mortality in the 2000s. India was found to be the most dangerous place in the world to be a baby girl. The data revealed that an Indian girl child aged 1-5 years is 75% more likely to die than an Indian boy, making this the worst gender differential in child mortality for any country in the world. Infant (0-1 years) and child (1-5 years) mortality were noticed to be declining in India and across the world. It was observed that most of the world was experiencing a faster fall in female infant and child mortality than in male, on account of well established biological factors which make girls better survivors of early infancy given equal access to resources. India and China were exceptions in this regard. As per the report there are 76 male infant deaths for every 100 female infant deaths in China compared with 122 male infant deaths for every 100 female infant deaths in the developing world as a whole. India was observed to have a better infant mortality sex ratio than China, with 97 male infant deaths for every 100 female. However the figure was still not in tune with the global trend, or with its neighbours Sri Lanka (125) or Pakistan (120). India is the worst performer when it comes to child mortality sex ratio. In the 2000s, there were 56 male child deaths for every 100 female, compared with 111 in the developing world. This ratio got progressively worse since the 1970s in India, even as Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Egypt and Iraq improved. THE UN REPORT The report explained high girl child mortality by socio-cultural values. According to the report, so strong is the biological advantage for girls in early childhood that higher mortality among girls ought to be seen as powerful warning that differential treatment or access to resources is putting girls at a disadvantage. Higher female mortality from age 1 (one) onwards indicated sustained discrimination. Neglect and discrimination was found to be in three areas: food and nutrition, healthcare and emotional wellbeing. Of these, neglect of the healthcare of the girl child was observed to be the most direct determinant of mortality. Earlier studies had shown that healthrelated neglect may involve waiting longer before taking a sick girl to a doctor than a sick boy, and is also reflected in lower rates of immunization for girls than boys. The UN data on child mortality indicated that a campaign against female foeticide alone is not a complete solution. The report highlighted that pre-natal and postnatal discrimination were complementarily contributing to gender imbalance. As per the UN study, while pre-natal discrimination in the form of sexselective abortions is more common among better educated upper income households, postnatal discrimination or neglect is more common among poorer, less educated rural households.
ILOs Global Employment Trends 2012 Highlighted Challenge of Creating 600 million Productive Jobs
The International Labour Organization (ILO) issued the annual report on global employment titled Global Employment Trends 2012: Preventing a deeper jobs crisis on 24 January 2012. As per the report, the world faces the urgent challenge of creating 600 million productive jobs over the next decade in order to generate sustainable growth and maintain social cohesion. The ILO highlighted that an estimated 900m living with their families below the US$ 2 a day poverty line, mostly in developing countries. THE REPORT It was found three years of continuous crisis conditions in global labour markets and the prospect of a further deterioration of economic activity, created a backlog of global unemployment of 200 million. 400 million new jobs will be needed over the next decade to absorb the estimated 40 million growth of the labour force each year. The report on global unemployment also pointed out that the recovery that started in 2009 was short-lived and there exists 27 million more unemployed workers than at the start of the crisis. The fact that economies are not generating enough employment is reflected in the employment-to-population ratio (the proportion of the working-age population in employment), which suffered the largest decline on record between 2007 (61.2 per cent) and 2010 (60.2 per cent). There are nearly 29 million fewer people in the labour force now than would be expected based on pre-crisis trends. If these discouraged workers were counted as unemployed, then global unemployment would swell from the current 197 million to 225 million, and the unemployment rate would rise from 6 per cent to 6.9 per cent. Three scenarios for the employment situation in the future as pointed by the report- The baseline projection shows an additional 3 million unemployed for 2012, rising to 206 million by 2016. If global growth rates fall below 2 per cent, then unemployment would rise to 204 million in 2012. If there is a quick resolution of the euro debt crisis, global unemployment would be around 1 million lower in 2012. EMPLOYMENT FOR THE YOUTH Young people continue to be among the hardest hit by the jobs crisis. Judging by the present course, there is little hope for a substantial improvement in their nearterm employment prospects. Global Employment Trends 2012 mentioned 74.8 million youth aged 15-24 were unemployed in 2011, an increase of more than 4 million since 2007. Globally, young people are nearly three times as likely as adults to be unemployed. The global youth unemployment rate, at 12.7 per cent, remained a full percentage point above the pre-crisis level. FINDINGS The reports main findings also include: Marked slowdown in the rate of progress in reducing the number of working poor. Nearly 30 per cent of all workers in the world, more than 900 million were found to be living with their families below the US$2 poverty line in 2011. About 55 million more than expected on the basis of pre-crisis trends. Of these 900 million working poor, about half were living below the US$1.25 extreme poverty line. The number of workers in vulnerable employment globally in 2011 was estimated at 1.52 billion, an increase of 136 million since 2000 and of nearly 23 million since 2009. Among women, 50.5 per cent were in vulnerable employment, a rate that exceeds the corresponding share for men (48.2). Favourable economic conditions pushed job creation rates above labour force growth, thereby supporting domestic demand, in particular in larger emerging economies in Latin America and East Asia. The labour productivity gap between the developed and the developing world an important indicator measuring the convergence of income levels across countries narrowed over the past two decades, but remained substantial. Output per worker in the Developed Economies and European Union region was US$ 72900 in 2011 versus an average of US$ 13,00 in developing regions. SUGGESTIONS 1. The report suggested targeted measures to support job growth in the real economy, warning that additional public support measures alone will not be enough to foster a sustainable recovery. 2. Policy-makers were advised to act decisively and in a coordinated fashion to reduce the fear and uncertainty that is hindering private investment so that the private sector can restart the main engine of global job creation. 3. It also warned that in times of faltering demand further stimulus is important and this can be done in a way that does not put the sustainability of public finances at risk. 4. The report called for for fiscal consolidation efforts to be carried out in a socially responsible manner, with growth and employment prospects as guiding principles. DEFINITIONS 1. A person who has decided to stop looking for work because they feel they have no chance at finding a job is considered economically inactive (i.e. outside the labour force) and is therefore not counted among the unemployed. This also applies to young people who choose to remain in schooling longer than they had hoped and wait to seek employment because of the perceived lack of job opportunities. 2. Vulnerable employment is defined as the sum of own-account workers and unpaid family workers.
Use of Condoms
According to the figures available with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the highest jump of about 10 per cent (comparative figures) was recorded in the number of condom users while an equal quantum of decline was noted in oral pill users. The quantum of condoms sold by the commercial companies increased by 32.7%. The number of takers of free condoms increased in Rajsathan (though it was less compared to the previous year), Punjab and Haryana. Rajasthan has the largest number of oral pill users, followed by West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
Vasectomy
Only about 2 million people underwent sterilisation during the period under review. Sterilisations remained more or less the same with a marginal decline of 1.2 per cent. Of the total sterilisations conducted, vasectomy (male sterilisation) comprised only 4.2 per cent. Only Sikkim had 35 per cent men undergoing vasectomy while in the neighbouring Mizoram and Nagaland no vasectomy was done. In Arunachal Pradesh the number of vasectomy done stood at three.
IUD Insertions
At the national level, the number of IUD insertions during April-September 2011 showed an increase of 5.1 per cent against the same period in 2010. Among the States showing increase in performance are Bihar, Assam, Orissa, West Bengal, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat while usage has gone down in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
State-wise Study
Bihar showed a jump of 92 per cent between 2010 and 2011 in sterilisations, 61 per cent in IUD users, 49 per cent in condom users and 71 per cent in oral pill users. Jharkhand on the other hand showed an overall decline in all methods used for family planning. Karnataka too showed all-round decline as also Tamil Nadu, except sterilisations, which showed a 6 per cent increase. Densely populated Uttar Pradesh indicated a 3.7 per cent increase in sterilisation figures, 12.7 per cent jump in IUD insertions, 17 and 18 per cent hike in condom use and oral pill use respectively. In terms of sterilisations per 10000 unsterilised couples exposed to higher order of birth (3 and above), Tamil Nadu showed the best performance at 1834 sterilisations followed by Karnataka (1197), Kerala (1101), Maharashtra (857), Gujarat (510), Punjab (501), Haryana (4170) and Madhya Pradesh (342). The achievement in all States is lower than the all India average of 315 sterilisations per 10000 unsterilised couples.
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16
MARCH 2012
LEGAL COVERAGE
2G case: SC Allows Swamys Petition on Grant of Sanction
The Supreme Court on 31 January 2012 set aside the Delhi High Court order refusing to pass any direction to the Prime Minister for taking a decision on sanction of prosecution in 2G case. The Supreme Court held that filing of a complaint under the Prevention of Corruption Act is a constitutional right of a citizen. It said the competent authority should take a decision on giving the sanction within a time frame. In a case filed by Janata Party Chief Subramanian Swamy, seeking a direction to the Prime Minister for sanction to prosecute the then Telecom Minister A Raja, the two judge bench of the Apex Court held that if the sanction is not given within four months it would deem to have been granted. The bench comprising justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly held that Swamy had the locus standi to seek sanction for Rajas prosecution. The court, however, said, it was not declaring as ultra vires, the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The Apex Court had reserved its judgment on 24 November, 2010 on the petition filed by Swamy alleging that there was delay in taking action on his plea seeking sanction to prosecute A. Raja. The PMO had, however, refuted all the allegations and filed an affidavit before the apex court maintaining that the request for sanction for prosecution of Raja was considered by the Prime Minister and that he was advised that evidence collected by CBI was necessary before taking a decision. The government said as the CBI probe was going on, it was necessary to wait for its completion before taking any decision on granting sanction. Swamy had approached the Apex Court challenging the Delhi High Court judgement that had refused to pass any direction to the Prime Minister for taking decision on sanction.
SC Directed CBI to File Status Report on 2G Scam to Central Vigilance Commission

The Supreme Court on 2 February 2012 directed the CBI to file status report on its ongoing probe into the 2G spectrum allocation case to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). The apex court refused to appoint an SIT to oversee the probe in the 2G scam. It sought the assistance of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) to help it monitor the investigation done by different agencies in view of involvement of several influential persons in the scam. The apex court appointed the senior vigilance commissioner under Section 3(2) of the 2003 CVC Act to render assistance to the court in effectively monitoring further investigation of the case. The apex court directed the CBI, ED and other agencies to give their status report in sealed envelopes to the CVC which would give its suggestion to it on the probe done by them. It passed the order on a plea by an NGO, Centre for Public Interest Litigation, and Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy, seeking its direction to appoint an SIT. The court, however clearified that its order shall not in any manner be construed as a reflection on the integrity of the investigation so far done by the team of CBI and other investigating agency or which may be done in future or their competence to effectively perform the job in relation to 2G case. The courts decision came on a plea filed by Centre of Public Interest Litigation led by Prashant Bhushan for setting up a Special Investigation Team to look into the case. The bench asked CBI to submit status reports on further investigation to the CVC which will assist the court. The appointment was made keeping in view the nature of the case and involvement of large number of influential persons.
CIS: All Information Possessed by the Office of CJI not Completely Exempt from Disclosure
The Central Information Commission (CIS) held in the first week of January 2012 that all information in possession of the office of the Chief Justice of India is not completely exempt from disclosure under the Right to Information (RTI) act. The CIC observed this while directing the Supreme Court to disclose communication exchange between Chief Justice of India and the Law Ministry on the question of proposed changes in appointment procedure for Judges. Chief Information Commissioner Satyananda Mishra ruled that, the procedure of appointment of judges or any proposal for modifying that procedure should necessarily be available in the public domain so that citizens know what is transpiring among the major stake holders. The order came on an appeal by RTI activist Subhash Agrawal on this issue. What is RTI Act The RTI act (The Right to Information Act, 2005) of Parliament received the assent of the President on the 15 June 2005. It is an act to provide for setting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens to secure access to information under the control of public authorities, in order to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority, the constitution of a Central Information Commission and State Information Commissions and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
Delhi HC Directed FSSAI to Frame Guidelines to make Healthy Food Available in School Canteens
The Delhi High Court on 11 January 2012 directed Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, to hold deliberations with the experts and frame necessary guidelines to make healthy food available in school canteens. The court sought a compliance report from FSAAI, along with the guidelines to be submitted on 25 July 2012. During the hearing on 11 January, the ministry, through its affidavit, submitted that FSSAI has set up eight scientific panels and a committee to prescribe standards of various items of food, including those containing trans-fat acid residues, poisonous metals and microbiological parameters. The affidavit stated that junk food is not defined under the Food Safety Act, and items like samosas, burgers, etc, are classified as proprietary and novel food, which is not unsafe per se. However these food items had to conform to certain standards and safety parameters. The Food Safety Act does not empower the authorities to ban any particular category of food, and its implementation rests with the state governments. The decision to ban the sale of junk food in educational institutions is therefore to be an administrative decision, to be taken by the authorities in charge of running such institutions. According to experts, most junk food has high quantity of trans-fat acids and is low in minerals, vitamins and other essential food nutrients. They are also cited as a reason behind obesity among children. The Delhi High Courts direction was issued in the backdrop of a PIL filed by social group Uday Foundation, seeking a complete ban on sale of junk food and aerated drinks in schools and other educational institutions.
The Law Commission: Anti-Dowry Law should be less Stringent

The Law Commission of India on 18 January 2012 recommended the dilution of Anti-Dowry law to make it less stringent. The Commission, headed by Justice P V Reddi, recommended the Government to make Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with harassment for dowry and cruelty to a woman in her matrimonial home, a compoundable offence. Compoundable offences are those which can be compromised by the parties to the dispute. The permission of the court is not necessary. This means that those who would be booked in cases under this section would find it easier to get bail. The recommendation would allow the woman, involved in the case, to withdraw it with the permission of the court, provided she is not under any pressure. Law Commission of India:It is an executive body established by an order of the Government of India. Its main function is to work for legal reform. The Commission is established for a fixed tenure and works as an advisory body to the Ministry of Law and Justice. The first Law Commission was set up during the British rule in 1834 by the Charter Act of 1833. The Nineteenth and the current Law Commission was established on 1 September 2009 under the Chairmanship of Justice P.Venkatarama Reddy. Its tenure was fixed till 31 August 2012.
SC: A Person cannot be Detained under NSA without Valid Reasons

The Supreme Court of India in the first week of January 2012 ruled that a person cannot be detained under the preventive detention law like National Security Act (NSA) without justifiable reasons. If it happens, it would impinge upon the individuals Constitutional right of personal liberty. The apex court observed that the State authorities have been granted the power to curb such rights under criminal laws as also under the laws of preventive detention. These laws are required to be exercised with due caution as well as upon a proper appreciation of the facts as to whether such acts are in any way prejudicial to the interest and the security of the State and its citizens, or seek to disturb public law and order, warranting the issuance of such an order.
Important Information
Article 21 in the Constitution of India states that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law. Article 22 in the Constitution of India has provision for protection against arrest and detention in certain cases. This article consists of two parts. Clauses(1) and (2) apply to persons arrested or detained under a law otherwise than a preventive detention law while clauses (4) to (7) apply to persons arrested or detained under a preventive detention law.
SC Criticized Govt for Delay in Release of Foreign Prisoners

The Supreme Court of India on 24 January 2012 criticized the Union government for total inaction in dealing with the prolonged imprisonment of several foreign nationals in Indian jails despite them having completed their sentences. The court directed the government to repatriate them within a month. A bench of the apex court noted that prolonged detention of foreign nationals was violative of the constitutional right of life and liberty granted under Article 21 of the Constitution of India to every person in the country, including foreign nationals. It said violation of this right cannot be condoned by the courts. There are 365 foreign nationals lodged in different jails including in Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh who have completed their sentences ranging from one to 10 years
Army Chief Age Row: SC Dismissed PIL

The Supreme Court of India on 20 January 2012 dismissed a PIL seeking a direction to the government to restore the Army Chief Gen V K Singhs date of birth as 10 May 1951 and not as 1950. A bench headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia ruled that the writ petition filed at the behest of an association is not maintainable. The court observed that this is purely a service matter. The court further said it is not expressing any opinion on the merits of the case. The bench did not like that the PIL filed by the Grenadiers Association annexed the opinions of former chief justices of India in the petition on the age row of Army Chief when they themselves said it is not for being putting up before the court. The bench directed the apex court registry not to accept any writ petitions in cases where opinions of former chief justices are annexed.
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17
MARCH 2012
EDUCATION COVERAGE
HRD Ministrys Nod for Uniform Accounting System in Educational Institutions
Paving the way for uniform accounting system in educational institutions, the HRD ministry has accepted the recommendations of a committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). To evolve consensus, recommendations would be put before the next state education ministers conference. The ministry would be organizing consultations with higher educational institutions and schools on the recommendations of ICAI Committee. The accounting standards would be made applicable to all Central educational institutions, universities under the regulatory ambit of UGC or receiving grants from UGC, technical institutions under regulatory ambit of AICTE, teacher education institutions under the regulatory ambit of NCTE and schools affiliated to CBSE. The panel, while stating that educational institutions need an accounting system that presents a true and correct picture, said all educational institutions should be mandated to apply accrual basis of accounting. The committee said accounting standards issued by the ICAI should be made mandatory to educational institutions. Fund-based accounting may be introduced for earmarked/designated funds, all educational institutions should follow a common format for presentation of its general purpose financial statements to ensure proper accountability, financial discipline, end-use of funds and to meet the needs of stakeholders. These recommendations would make accounting in educational standards more transparent and accountable. Though the new system is less intrusive it would help in more effective regulation of the education sector as well as help in preventing malpractices that plague the sector. Now, the accounting and financial reporting practices of educational institutions in India are oriented towards meeting the needs of the governing bodies running them and educational institutions follow not only diverse accounting practices, but also different basis of accounting. The committee said the accounting standards should enable the society, student and citizen to define transparently the revenue earned through various sources - tuition fees and other charges, income from consultancy or from intellectual property owned by the institution (for higher educational institutions).
Ombudsman for Central Educational Institutions

Union Ministry for Human Resource Development on 18 January 2012 announced that there would be Grievance Redressal mechanisms in higher educational institutions. UGC, AICTE and NCTE would be requiring all Central Educational Institutions, institutions deemed to be universities, technical and management institutions under AICTE and teacher education institutions under NCTE to establish a Grievance Redressal Mechanism for Students and applicants for admission before the commencement of the admission this academic year. Every institution would be required to constitute an Ombudsman; person with judicial or legal experience to be appointed from a panel suggested by the affiliating university for technical and management institutions, by the Central Government for deemed universities and by the regulator for non-degree granting institutions. The concerned regulators would issue the detailed instructions to the educational institutions shortly. The Ombudsman shall have the jurisdiction to hear grievances concerning denial of admission, nonobservance of declared merit in admission, nonobservance of applicable regulations for reservation, with-holding of documents and non refund of fees in case of withdrawal of admission, discrimination and other such matters concerning students in pursuit of studies in the institution. In case of matters concerning weaker sections such as SCs/STs/OBCs or minorities, the Ombudsman can co-opt a person of eminence from the area coming from the weaker section to assist him/her in arriving at a decision. There are several grievances that arise relating to students and applicants for admission in higher educational institutions. These grievances require prompt redressal in order to provide timely succor to aggrieved students and applicants. The Parliamentary Standing Committee, while examining the Bill to prohibit and punish unfair practices, had recommended that proactive steps be taken to constitute Grievance Redressal mechanisms in higher education institution. Applicants for admission and students can apply to the Ombudsman for redressal of grievances and the Ombudsman shall deliver his/her order within one month. Although the order would not be binding on the institution, the regulator would rely on the frequency of non-observance to decide on continued recognition to such institutions.
Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2011

The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), 2011 released on January 16 by Kapil Sibal, Minister of human resource development, has come out with some shocking revelations. In its key findings, while the student enrolment in rural India has seen a rise (96.7%) in the year 2011, there has been a decline in students basic reading levels, arithmetic levels and academic levels. STUDENT ENROLMENT The percentage of girls in the age group 11and 14 years who have been out of schools has seen a considerable decrease in 2011. For example, in Bihar, the number of girls out of school has dropped from 17.6% in 2006 to 4.3% in 2011. Rajasthan shows a decline from 18.9% in 2006 to 8.9% in 2011. Apart from this, enrolment of students in private schools has seen a sharp increase. From 18.7% of children between the age group 6-14 years getting enrolled in private schools in 2006, it is 25.6% in 2011. READING LEVELS Nationally, reading levels are estimated to have declined in many states across north India. The all India figure for the proportion of children in class V able to read a class II level text has dropped from 53.7% in 2010 to 48.2% in 2011. Such declines, however, are not visible in the southern states. The unsatisfactory levels of basic reading ability suggested by ASER and other studies including PISA point to an urgent need to focus on basic learning outcomes. Each state should define realistic, measurable outcomes in reading and understanding that can be understood by teachers and parents. The RTE states that childrens progress has to be communicated to parents. Textbook content too, needs to be reviewed. ARITHMETIC LEVELS Basic arithmetic levels estimated in ASER 2011 also show a decline. Nationally, the proportion of class III children able to solve a two-digit subtraction problem with borrowing has dropped from 36.3% in 2010 to 29.9% in 2011. Among children of class V, the ability to do a similar subtraction problem has dropped from 70.9% in 2010 to 61% in 2011. This decline is visible in almost every state; only Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu show improvements in 2011. CHILDRENS ATTENDANCE At the all India level, childrens attendance shows a decline from 73.4% in 2007 to 70.9% in 2011 in rural primary schools. In some states, childrens attendance shows a sharp decline over time. For example, in primary schools of Bihar, the average attendance of children was 59% in 2007, but down to 50% in 2011. In Madhya Pradesh, this figure has fallen from 67% in 2007 to 54.5% in 2011, while in Uttar Pradesh, from 64.4% (2007) to 57.3% (2011). MULTIGRADE CLASSROOMS Multiple classes sitting together are a real challenge in Indian classrooms. During the school visits, ASER focused on class II and class IV to observe whether children in these classes were sitting together with children from other classes. Nationally, for rural government primary schools, data suggested that over half of all classes visited were multigrade. Facilitated by Pratham, ASER is an annual survey of children in rural India and has completed seven years. It is undertaken by local organisations and concerned citizens.
MoU Signed between Power Finance Corporation Ltd and National Literacy Mission Authority
An MoU was signed on 18th January 2012 between the Power Finance Corporation Ltd (PFC) and the National Literacy Mission Authority (NLMA) As a part of this MoU: The Power Finance Corporation has agreed to extend assistance to Saakshar Bharat Programme under their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative to upgrade 120 Adult Education Centres (AECs) at a cost of Rs. 6.6. crore. PFC has decided to upgrade 120 AECs in Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Manipur, Nagaland and Himachal Pradesh. An interactive meeting with CEOs of major Public Sector Enterprises and Banks was held under the chairpersonship of HRD Minister, on 19 May, 2010 at Scope Convention Center, New Delhi. The purpose was to arrive at an approach to further augment the flagship programme of the government Saakshar Bharat through active support of the CPSEs/Banks. As a follow up, Container Corporation of India Ltd. (CONCOR) was the first CPSE to extend support to Saakshar Bharat Programme for upgrading 20 Adult Education Centres (AECs) in Karnataka at a cost of Rs. 65.00 lakhs during 2010-11. CONCOR has also agreed to extend support to upgrade 50 AECs in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh at a cost of Rs. 2.5 crore during 2011-12.
Indian Students Rank 2nd Last in Global Test

Across the world, India is seen as an education powerhouse - based largely on the reputation of a few islands of academic excellence such as the IITs. But scratch the glossy surface of our education system and the picture turns seriously bleak. Fifteen-year-old Indians who were put, for the first time, on a global stage stood second to last, only beating Kyrgyzstan when tested on their reading, math and science abilities. India ranked second last among the 73 countries that participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), conducted annually to evaluate education systems worldwide by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) Secretariat. The survey is based on twohour tests that half a million students are put through. Chinas Shanghai province, which participated in PISA for the first time, scored the highest in reading. It also topped the charts in mathematics and science. More than one-quarter of Shanghais 15 year olds demonstrated advanced mathematical thinking skills to solve complex problems, compared to an OECD average of just 3%, noted the analysis. The states of Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh, showpieces for education and development, were selected by the central government to participate in PISA, but their test results were damning.
Wadhwani Foundation and Virginia Foundation for Community College Education Sign MoU
The Wadhwani Foundation (WF) and the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education (VFCCE) USA signed a memorandum of understanding on 10th January 2012. The Wadhwani Foundation and Virginia Foundation for Community College Education partnership seeks to leverage the combined expertise of Virginias Community College system in running industry relevant professional education sharing technical and organizational know-how, curriculum/courseware and teacher training to enhance such programmes in India. As part of the memorandum, the VFCCE and the WF will together identify high-impact skill development programs in India that need such support. These partnerships could be forged with government or private initiatives and would involve vibrant exchange of ideas and technology transfer, adapting U.S. expertise to position Indian institutions to meet local needs. Virginia Community College experts will serve as consultants, sharing best practices. The Wadhwani Foundation will provide local support and co-funding for this capacity building.
NCPCR Asked the State Governments to Propose a System called Shiksha Samvad
National Commission for Protection of Child Right (NCPCR) on 9 January 2012 directed the state governments to propose a system called Shiksha Samvad for holding regular dialogues between government officials and civil society on the implementation of the Right to Education Act. In a letter, the commission, which is monitoring the Act, asked the state governments to institutionalize the system for regular reviews of the act. This will enable the local administration to keep a close watch on how the implementation of the Act is proceeding at the ground level. It will also allow the people to seek speedy redressal by raising the issues directly with the government officials.
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MARCH 2012
WOMEN & CHILDREN COVERAGE

Malnutrition Affects 42 Percent of Children Under 5
The Hunger and Malnutrition Survey monitored over 100000 children in 112 districts across nine states in the country from October 2010 to February 2011. The Hunger and Malnutrition Survey report was released by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on 10 January 2012. The survey stated that forty-two percent of children in India younger than 5 are underweight and nearly 60 percent are stunted. India, with a population of 1.2 billion people, has the largest number of children in the world. The survey conducted by a group of non-profits was the largest such study since 2004, when the Indian government had surveyed child malnutrition. It was found that though Indias economy boomed, with growth over the last few years averaging about 8 percent, the countrys development indicators continue to be abysmal. THE FINDINGS The report found that of the stunted children, about half were severely stunted and about half of all children were underweight or stunted by the time they are two years. However, the number of underweight children was to have decreased from 53 to 42 per cent in the past seven years. The last study on the subject was done in 2004. The survey however noted that positive change for child nutrition in India was happening, including in the 100 Focussed Districts. The 100 Focus Districts are located across Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh states which perform the worst on child nutrition. The prevalence of malnutrition is significantly higher among children from low-income families. It found that children from Muslim or SC/ST households generally had worse nutrition indicators. According to the report, birth weight is an important risk-factor for child malnutrition. The prevalence of underweight in children born with a weight below 2.5 kg is 50 per cent, while that among children born with a weight above 2.5 kg is 34 per cent. Awareness among mothers about nutrition was found to below. 92 per cent mothers had never heard the word malnutrition. Also, the report stated that a negligent appraoch was shown towards girl children even in their early childhood. The nutrition advantage girls have over boys in the first months of life gets reversed over time as they grow older. According to the survey, the mothers education level also determines childrens nutrition. PREVIOUS REPORTS ON MALNUTITION UNICEFs latest data had also mentioned that onethird of the worlds malnourished children younger than 3 lives in India, a rate considered worse than sub-Saharan Africa.The last Global Hunger Index released in 2011 had put India as number 67 out of 84, behind several African countries, including Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It also found that India has the highest rate of stunted growth among children in the world.
Childhood Poverty Remains a Reality in India

The survey titled Impact of Growth on Childhood Poverty in Andhra Pradesh was conducted by NGOYoung Lives since 2002. It has collected data on 2,011 children aged between six to 18 months and 1008 children aged between seven-and-half to eight-and-half years. Findings from its third round of data collection were released on 11 January 2012. The report was prepared by Young Lives as part of an international study on childhood poverty. In Andhra Pradesh, Young Lives collects data in 20 sentinel sites across 3 geographic regions Central Andhra, Rayalaseema and Telangana. According to the report, one-third of children in Andhra Pradesh are stunted despite falling poverty, considerable economic growth and the development of significant policies. Stunting is believed to have serious long-term implications for health, psycho-social well-being and educational achievement. The report also pointed out that despite higher enrolment, drop-out and school quality remain critical issues. THE REPORT The report presented initial findings from the third round of data collected by Young Lives in the State. The survey was carried out from late 2009 to early 2010 with two cohort (groups) of children. It provided a broad outline of some of the key indicators of childhood poverty and also cited the changes that took place in the childrens lives between the earlier survey rounds in 2002 and 2006 and in the third round. Around one in four (27 per cent of Younger Cohort [YC] who were aged 6-18 months in 2001 and were 8 years in 2009) children were found to have low body mass index for age, while almost one in three are stunted (low height for age) at 8 years. In 2009, YC children in rural areas were experiencing a higher prevalence of low BMI for age (29 per cent) as well as stunting (34 per cent) than children from urban areas (for whom the corresponding figures were 22 per cent and 16 per cent). Comparing the Older and Younger Cohorts at 8 years suggested only slight decline in stunting rates between 2002 and 2009 (3 percentage points). The Older Cohorts were 7.5 to 8.5 years of age in 2002. Various reasons for the high prevalence of under-nutrition, including food security, insufficient nutrient intake, diseases burden and lately food inflation were given. STUNTING AND THINNESS Both stunting and thinness (BMI) were patterned by caste or ethnic background. Comparison between the two cohorts in 2002 and 2009 (when they were both aged 8) suggested that stunting rates went down for the other castes groups and backward classes but hardly moved for Scheduled Castes and actually increased for children from Scheduled Tribe backgrounds. In 2006, 96 per cent of Younger Cohort children (then aged 5 years) were enrolled in either primary or pre-school and by 2010 this percentage had gone up to 98 per cent. In case of the Older Cohort, enrolment fell from 98 per cent in 2002 to 90 per cent in 2006 and further 77 per cent in 2010 indicating a high drop-out rate with more girls dropping out than boys. OTHER FINDINGS The findings revealed considerable shift to private education. In 2002, 23 per cent of Young Lives children were attending private primary schools at the age of 8 years. By 2009 the number went up to 44 per cent. Though many families make substantial sacrifices to afford private education, disadvantaged social groups and girls are much less likely to go to a private school. The study also found that 70% of the households accessed NREGS in 2009, but only 13% accessed the full 100 days employment. Alongside this, 83% of the households (88% of the rural and 67% of the urban) possess Rajiv Arogyasri cards but less than 4% of the families utilized them. The numbers in this respect revealed that out-of-pocket expenditure on health is high and so is one of the reasons that families are unable to get out of the debt trap. ABOUT YOUNGLIVES Young Lives is a long-term international research study investigating the changing nature of childhood poverty in four developing countries Ethiopia, India (Andhra Pradesh), Peru and Vietnam over 15 years, the timeframe set by the U.N. to assess progress towards the U.N. millennium development goals. It is following two groups of children in each country2000 children who were born in 2001-02 and 1000 children born in 1994-95.
UGC Mulls 20 exclusive Univs & 800 Colleges for Women

Espousing the cause of womens education, the 12th Plan period document of the University Grants Commission (UGC) has proposed 20 exclusive universities for them and 800 constituent colleges under the central varsities to ensure equity in access to quality education. The UGC has also sought a four-time hike in allocation during the Five-Year Plan period from Rs 46,632 crore to Rs 1,84,740 crore to achieve its proposed initiatives. The initiatives also include upgrading of autonomous colleges with potential of excellence, enhancing intake capacity of institutes of higher education and development of college cluster universities. The plan document broadly emphasis on achieving the triple objectives of access and expansion, equity and inclusion, and quality and excellence, with an emphasis on consolidation and optimal use of infrastructure already created during the 11th Plan period. Giving thrust to womens education, the plan document has proposed 20 universities facilitating their entry into higher education even from traditional background and rural and sub-urban areas. The Centre has proposed to fund their establishment while the state governments may provide the land and help to establish such universities, the document states while holding the idea was included because the social dynamics of our system. Stating that certain sectors of our population are still not open to send girls to coeducational institutions, the UGC document contends that exclusive institutes of higher education in some pockets for women may act as a fillip to the participation of girls in higher education. In addition to the already proposed and partially implemented 374 model colleges scheme, a new scheme of constituent colleges has been proposed for the 40 central universities in the country. Under the scheme, 20 colleges each will be set up in the respective states in the district headquarters, numbering to 800 new colleges in all. This will balance the regional distribution of colleges based on population density of the youth in the age group of 18-23 years.
Survey: Women as Victims

Physical abuse is the most common form of abuse reported by women, and husbands are the largest respondents under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA), 2005. Courts have entertained complaints of emotional and verbal abuse where no physical abuse has been alleged, and relief has been granted in the form of protection order and residence order. However, though protection orders are being passed in favour of the aggrieved person, the reason given is domestic violence and not sexual violence, a survey has shown. It also suggests that man not having sexual relation with his wife, too, has been accepted as a form of sexual abuse as has been making the woman forcibly watch pornography. According to the Fifth Monitoring and Evaluation report of the Domestic Violence Act, 2005, physical violence (3215) along with verbal and emotional abuse (2726) are the most common forms of violence reported by women, followed closely by economic abuse (2938) and dispossession. The Act was an innovation over the conventional understanding of domestic violence as it did not limit the protection against violence solely to marital relationships. It introduced the concept of domestic relationship which included all relationships based on consanguinity, marriage, adoption and even relations which were in the nature of marriage. But, the most important aspect of the Act is the right to residence which protects women from being pushed out of the house. The report further said that while there was an increase in positive attitudes on gender and domestic violence of protection officers, confusion continued to prevail around the definition of domestic relationship and whether women could be the first respondents or not. Protection officers are a mechanism to coordinate between the victim and the court meant to assist women. The report said courts had also passed protection orders on prima facie evidence of domestic violence and the most common form of relief granted to women who had faced domestic violence was monetary relief and this trend showed an increase. The report makes a specific mention of two Supreme Court judgements: one on live in relationships which recognises such relationships and the second that led to a controversy where women in live in relationships were referred to as keep, betraying entrenched patriarchal mindsets and the existence of negative stereotype.
National Girl Child Day Celebrated

24th January has been declared as National Girl Child Day. To mark the occasion, Ministry of Women and Child Development organised deliberations at IARI Campus, Pusa on the theme of Declining Child Sex Ratio: Issues and Challenges.The celebration was presided over by MOS (I/C) Smt. Krishna Tirath. The Minister shared that there has been an improvement in social indicators such as literacy and the gender gap in effective literacy rate. A disturbing fact is that in the last decade, as many as 27 States and Union Territories have experienced a fall in the child sex ratio. Sharp falls in have been reported in child sex ratios in many States reflecting a national trend that cuts across class and the rural urban divide. She said change of Minister towards girl children is more important than legal enforcement. The Minister also highlighted the flagship programmes of the Government relating to survival, development and protection of children, in general and for the girl child in particular like Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), SABLA etc. Nutrition is critical for survival and growth. In life-cycle approach this is more important for children and especially for the girl child. On this occasion a Nutrition Calendar of Food and Nutrition Board of Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) was released.
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MARCH 2012
HEALTH COVERAGE
2012: Year of Intensification of Routine Immunization
India has declared year 2012 as the year of intensification of routine immunization. The present full immunization coverage of children is 61%. The key objective of this campaign is to improve full immunization coverage and reach all children, particularly in remote, inaccessible and backward areas as well as in urban slums. The strategies that are being deployed include: Updating of Micro plans to cover all villages and hamlets in the country; Special immunization drives in pockets of low immunization coverage; Intensification of immunization activity by observing immunization weeks in low performing states; IEC related activities for demand generation towards immunization; Deployment of adequate number of Health workers; Prioritization of areas with exclusive strategy for 200 districts poor performing districts in the country; And Special focus on migrant and mobile populations. Government of India has also expanded the Universal Immunization Progranme (UIP) by introducing 2nd dose of Measles, Hepatitis B and Pentavalent vaccination: India has introduced second dose of measles vaccine in UIP. The target is to vaccinate more than 12 crore children through Supplementary Immunization Activity (SIA) in 14 states of which 3.4 crore children have already been vaccinated. This will prevent an estimated 1 lakh measles related death. Hepatitis B has been expanded and universalized across the entire country. Pentavalent, a combination vaccine against five diseases (Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenza B) has been introduced on pilot basis in 2 States Tamil Nadu and Kerala in mid December 2011. The initial response of the community has been very encouraging and more than one lakh children have been successfully vaccinated within the 1st month. In order to track every child for assured delivery of immunization services, a web enabled name based tracking system has been put in place with a database of more than 10 million children. Parents are being sent SMS alerts before the due date of vaccination and health workers are also now receiving the list of children due for vaccination through SMS. This is expected to improve immunization coverage substantially within the next one year and facilitate real time reporting on immunization coverage.
HIV Drug now Available as Oral Powder for Children

The HIV drug Viread will now be available in powder form for HIV positive children after its approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a biopharmaceutical company said. The move is expected to benefit millions of HIV positive children. The FDA also approved a New Drug Application (NDA) for an oral powder formulation of Viread for children ages 2-5. The active ingredient in Viread, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, is currently the most-prescribed molecule for adults receiving HIV therapy in the United States. In pediatric patients, the use of either the lower-strength tablets or the oral powder formulation of Viread is based on the patients age and weight. The safety and efficacy of Viread has not been established in children less than two years of age. For adults unable to swallow Viread tablets, the oral powder formulation equal to 300 mg may be used. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are approximately 2.5 million children under the age of 15 living with HIV worldwide, and more than 90 percent live in sub-Saharan Africa.
DRDOs Rs.7 cr Tulsi Project finds Anti Radiation Properties of Tulsi Extracts in Animal Trials
There are more revelations coming to light about the home grown tulsi plants medicinal values. In a recent research conducted by scientists at DRDOs (Defence Research Development Organization) Institute of Nuclear Medicines and Allied Sciences and Department of Radiobiology, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, the scientists have successfully tested tulsi extracts on mice for its anti-radiation and anti-cancer properties. The DRDO is spending Rs.7 crore on the tulsi project. Earlier, the research students at the department of biotechnology of Vignan College in Guntoor, in Andhra Pradesh, had also revealed that Tulsi extracts had useful medicinal ingredients which can treat diabetics and cancerous ailments in humans. Now as the scientists have discovered one more medicinal value in tulsi extract which can be used as an anti-radiation agent, it is evidently proved that the ancient Indian tradition of growing tulsi (Ocimum Santum) in the backyard is not without scientific backing. With this new revelation, it can be said that tulsi plant is embedded with multiple medicinal values, as it can be used not only to treat diabetics, but also can be used for treating cancer and now as an anti-radiant substance. Research shows that the tulsi or Indian basil contains a chemical called glutathione which mitigates the ill-effects of radiation and can protect cells in patients undergoing radiation therapy for cancer. In fact when anybody is subjected to radiation, it affects the bone marrow first and thus the immunity level comes down. This will make the human body vulnerable for contracting diseases easily. Initially the scientists used tulsi extract on mice and they successfully found that the bone marrow of radiation exposed rodents was not affected and their immunity levels were intact. With this new success, the DRDO is now preparing a herbal concoction from tulsi that will serve to prevent and cure the ill-effects of radiation. Dr W Selvamurthy, chief controller (research and development) revealed that now DRDO is planning to take up human trials. We need to conduct a few more tests and take up phase II trials before it is released for general use, said Dr Selvamurthy. In fact, the research on the anti-radiation effect of tulsi in animals has been going on in India since the past 40 years and it is only in the recent years that scientist have been coming out with concrete evidence of tulsis mythic medicinal values.
WHO Recognizes Progress of Gulf States for Adopting Regional Strategy to Address Non communicable Diseases
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), whose Ministers of Health met in Muscat, Oman is the first regional entity to respond, at a heads of state level, to the UN General Assembly Political Declaration on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) by developing a regional strategy to address diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and chronic respiratory disease.
Putting Commitments into Action

The strategy outlines a plan to put into action the commitments agreed upon in September in the UN General Assemblys Political Declaration on NCDs. NCDs cause more than 60% of all deaths in GCC countries, and are caused by shared risk factors like tobacco use, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity. The regional strategy details what the six countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates) will be doing to tackle NCDs during the next years in terms of reducing peoples exposure to causative risk factors and improving services to prevent and treat these leading health problems, said Dr Ahmed Al Saidi, Omani Minister of Health who chaired the meeting. It also highlights what the six countries will do to set targets and measure results, advance multisectoral action, and strengthen national capacity.
Molecular Pathology Boon for Prenatal Diagnosis: Expert

Around half a million newborns in India suffer from congenital genetic disorders every year the highest in the world but advances like molecular pathology have helped detecting these disorders at early stages, an expert said. The number of children born with genetic disorders in India is highest in the world, I.C. Verma, director, Sir Ganga Ram hospital, said at International Symposium on Molecular Pathology. However, because of advancements like molecular pathology, the cases of genetic disorders are being detected at an early stage. There has been an increase in prenatal diagnosis in such cases and its success is above 30 percent, Verma said. Molecular pathology is a discipline within pathology which focuses on the study and diagnosis of disease through the examination of molecules within organs, tissues or bodily fluids.
Health Scheme Approved for Nepal-domiciled Gorkhas

The union cabinet approved the extension of the ExServicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) to Nepal-domiciled Gorkha (NDG) pensioners in a decision expected to benefit around one lakh Indian exservicemen. There are about one lakh Indian exservicemen and 2.17 lakh dependents domiciled in Nepal who will benefit from the ECHS. They are so far entitled to medical treatment under ECHS at polyclinics and ECHS-empanelled civil hospitals in India. Considering the practical difficulties being faced by Nepal-domiciled Gorkha ex-servicemen in availing treatment, the government has decided to provide medical facilities to them in Nepal itself. The ECHS provides comprehensive and quality healthcare benefits to pensioner ex-servicemen residing in India. Extending it to Nepal for Nepal-domiciled Gorkha ex-servicemen would meet a long-standing need for providing healthcare to them. All other policies and procedures of ECHS which are applicable in India will also apply to pensioner NDGs ex-servicemen in Nepal.
Reducing Premature Deaths

The Oman meeting followed a two-day summit in December where heads of state of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf endorsed a regional approach to reduce premature deaths from noncommunicable diseases. Welcoming the announcement, WHO Regional DirectorElect of WHOs Eastern Mediterranean Region Dr Ala Alwan said, We have the knowledge of what works to prevent and treat NCDs, a global public health and development problem of increasing significance to many countries. We are pleased to see the Gulf Cooperation Council countries taking concrete action to implement affordable best practices (called best buys) to curb NCDs and we hope other regions will take similar action. Up to 50% of people dying from these diseases in some of the Gulf countries die prematurely, before the age of 60 years. This initiative by the GCC should be a major landmark in stopping these premature deaths, said Alwan.
India Declared itself Free from Bird Flu, H5N1

India became free from bird flu, H5N1. The government made a declaration to this effect on 4 January 2012. The states were advised to have strict surveillance, especially in the vulnerable areas bordering the infected countries and in areas visited by migratory birds. WHAT IS H5N1 Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 is also known as bird flu , A(H5N1) or simply H5N1, is a subtype of the influenza A virus .It can cause illness in humans and many other animal species.
Infotech can Improve Healthcare in India: Nasscom

Information technology (IT) can make healthcare accessible and affordable to more people in the country, industry lobby the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) said. IT can provide access to healthcare facilities. Also, it can have a positive impact on affordability and effectiveness of healthcare in India, Som Mittal, president of the IT-BPO sector apex body, said at the Health 2.02 conference. Experts from the healthcare sector have come together for the first conference that emphasizes on innovation and IT in health services. In the countrys 12th Five Year Plan (2012-2017), the Planning Commission is likely to increase the spending on healthcare to increase its affordability and accessibility.
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MARCH 2012
ENVIRONMENT|WILD LIFE COVERAGE

UN Launched Unique Online Database for Businesses
The UN has launched a new online database to showcase successful strategies that businesses and communities are using to adapt to climate change while simultaneously increasing their profits and using their resources more efficiently. The database, which can be accessed through the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) website, features more than 100 examples from companies such as Coca-Cola, Levis, Microsoft and Starbucks, which share the details of their business-friendly adaptation practices. By showcasing private sector adaptation success stories, we intend to help both communities and businesses become more climate-resilient and to put the benefits and business sense of adaptation firmly on the agenda of the private sector, said UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Climate risks which affect communities around the world are always also business risks, she added. Examples of best practices in the database include efforts to make drinking water clean and safe in developing countries and efforts to improve the yield of coffee beans in regions that are particularly vulnerable to climate change. The database also covers activities such as the development of climate-friendly goods and services and climate proofing the supply chains of companies. The initiatives detailed in the database both show how the private sector can secure early advantages by adapting without waiting for absolute policy certainty at the international level, and how governments and the private sector can work together to respond to climate change now, she said. Public-private partnerships and cooperation with a wide range of stakeholders is becoming increasingly important to ensure successful implementation.
India has the most Toxic Air: Study

It is official: India has the worlds most toxic air. In a study by Yale and Columbia Universities, India holds the very last rank among 132 nations in terms of air quality with regard to its effect on human health. India scored a miniscule 3.73 out of a possible 100 points in the analysis, lagging far behind the next worst performer, Bangladesh, which scored 13.66. In fact, the entire South Asian region fares badly, with Nepal, Pakistan and China taking up the remaining spots in the bottom five of the rankings. These rankings are part of a wider study to index the nations of the world in terms of their overall environmental performance. The Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy and Columbias Center for International Earth Science Information Network have brought out the Environment Performance Index rankings every two years since 2006. In the overall rankings which takes 22 policy indicators into account India fared minimally better, but still stuck in the last ten ranks along with environmental laggards such as Iraq, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. At the other end of the scale, the European nations of Switzerland, Latvia and Norway captured the top slots in the index. Indias performance over the last two years was relatively good in sectors such as forests, fisheries, biodiversity and climate change. However, in the case of water both in terms of the ecosystem effects to water resources and the human health effects of water quality the Indian performance is very poor. The Index report was presented at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where its being pitched as a means to identify the leaders and the laggards on energy and environmental challenges prior to the iconic Rio+20 summit on sustainable development to be held in Brazil this June.
Extinct Monkey Rediscovered in Indonesia Jungle

Scientists rediscovered a large grey monkey-the Millers grizzled langur- in the dense jungles of Indonesia. The monkey was believed to be extinct. The monkey has black face framed by a fluffy, Dracula-esque white collar. It has hooded eyes and a pinkish nose and lips. The animal one roamed the north-eastern part of Borneo, as well as the islands of Java and Sumatra and the ThaiMalay peninsula. The area once the habitat of these monkeys had been destroyed by human encroachment, conversion of land for agriculture and mining and fires.
Over 1.20 Lakh Migratory Birds Descend on Pong Dam

In Himachal Pradesh, more than 1.20 lakh migratory birds from Siberia and Central Asian countries descended on Maharana Pratap Sagar, popularly known as Pong Dam Lake, in Kangra district. Although, 415 species of migratory birds had landed at different places of the Pong Dam over the past 10 years, it is for the first time that salcaded duck has arrived in this wetland. The migratory birds from trans-Himalayan regions had started reaching the Pong Dam wildlife sanctuary in October 2011. Besides a maximum of 25000 bar-headed geese, various other species landed in good numbers, including common pochard, ruddy shell ducks, Eurasion wigeon and pintail. The Wildlife department, in collaboration with the Bombay National History Society, put 15 collar bands and seven transmitters on 22 migratory birds with an objective to get their location details, flying path and breeding grounds to understand their migration routes.
New Earthworm Species Discovered in Port Blair

The researchers identified a new species of earthworm in Port Blair, the capital of Andaman and Nicobar islands. The species was named Moniligaster ivaniosi, after the name of the college. The new species has unique features, which includes three pairs of genital apertures and a black line running along the middle region. The unique morphological features of the worm, especially the reproductive structures were attributed to the geographical isolation of Andaman and Nicobar islands in the Indian Ocean. Moreover, the new species shows distinct differences from the nearest related species, M. ophidioides M. grandis and M. sapphirinaoide. The specimen of the new species was deposited at the Zoological Survey of India, Kozhikode.
Rudrasagar Development Scheme Approved

Planning commission od India on 19 January 2012 approved investment clearance for the scheme Rudrasagar Drainage Development Scheme, Tripura. The scheme is an estimated to cost of Rs. 14.8978 Crore (Rs Fourteen crore, Eighty Nine Lakhs and Seventy Eight Thousand Only). The project is to be completed by the financial year 2012-13 and Plan account would be closed by 31st March 2013. The implementation of the scheme will restrict water spread area of the lake during monsoon and maintain water level of 13 m during winter and maintain water level of 11 m for boosting the ecology of the area. An area of 2200 ha with a population of 1000 will benefit from the scheme.
India Opposes UN Panels back door for Green Caps

A high-profile panel of the United Nation Secretary General (UNSG) on Global Sustainability has recommended that the world adopt sustainable development targets. The move has been opposed by India and several other developing countries as creating a backdoor for caps on emissions and green targets, while breaching the firewall between developing and rich countries that is enshrined in the Rio declaration and the UN convention on climate change. The report, released on 30 January 2012, is seen as a key input to the world leaders summit Rio+20 to be held in Brazil later this year, which will review global efforts in achieving sustainable development. A proposal in the run-up to the Rio+20 meeting suggesting that all countries adopt green targets to achieve over a fixed time along the lines of Millennium Development Goals (MDG) had been opposed by India. The UNSG panel has supported a similar proposal. While the earlier proposal had been more direct in demanding standardized targets for all countries on securing a percentage of renewable energy in the power mix of countries and caps on emission and reduction of subsidies to fossil fuels, the report does provide caveats at other points. But the reference to specific goals, which are universal in nature, goes against the Indian position that the Rio declaration countries signed 20 years ago enshrines the principles of common and differentiated responsibilities and such targets would override these. India is wary that they impinge upon economic development and make way for rich countries to force costly technology in the name of green economy. The panel also recommends that a post-2015 global framework for sustainable development should incorporate near-term benchmarks while being longterm in scope, looking ahead to a deadline of perhaps 2030. The similarity of looking for a post-2015 global environmental regime with a weakened firewall between rich and poor countries - akin to the European Unions push in the Durban climate talks last year - has also not gone unnoticed in the policy circles in India.
The Hoff Crab is New Ocean Find

UK scientists discovered new crab species on the Southern Ocean floor. The new crab species was named the Hoff because of its hairy chest. The Hoff lives around volcanic vents off South Georgia. The animal has yet to be formally classified. It is, however, a type of yeti crab. Yeti crabs were first identified in the southern Pacific and are recognised for their hairs, or setae, along their claws and limbs that they use to cultivate the bacteria which they then eat. However, the new species found around the vents that fill the East Scotia Ridge are slightly different in their appearance. The novel types of starfish, barnacles, sea anemones, and an octopus are also found in the region. There were as many as 600 animals found per square metre. The UK robotic submersible, Isis, was employed to investigate the ridge near Antarctica. The region is dotted with hydrothermal vents (cracks in the volcanic rock where mineral-rich, hot waters flow from below the seabed to sustain an extraordinary array of organisms). Vent systems in other parts of the world are occupied by animals like tubeworms, mussels, other types of crab, and shrimps. These animals were not found in the East Scotia Ridge.
IMD Installed Doppler Radar System in New Delhi

Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on its 137th foundation day (15 January 2012), installed C-Band Polarimetric Doppler Radar system at Mausam Bhawan, New Delhi. This system uses advanced data to give information in severe weather condition like rain, hailstorms and dust storms. With the installation of this radar, IMD will be able to cover the entire NCR more accurately to give to the residence of Delhi more accurate information about rainfall, about wind, about heat, about dust storms about hail storms. This will impact the traffic movement in the city, it would avoid traffic jams, and people will know exactly what is going to be happening into the course of between 15 minutes to 2 hrs. The data transmitted through this advanced radar system is more accurate than the conventional radar, and avoids the need to monitor radar parameters, and its fine tuning. It also detects difficult aviation hazards such as bird flocks, aircraft and icing conditions. This facility will be installed in other 8 cities in due course of time.
21
MARCH 2012
SCIENCE & TECH COVERAGE

Mercury Influx into Eco-system may have caused Extinction 250mn Years Ago
In a new study, scientists have discovered a new culprit that is likely to have been involved in the Earths greatest extinction event that took place 250 million years ago when rapid climate change wiped out nearly all marine species and a majority of those on land. According to the researchers, an influx of mercury into the eco-system may have been responsible for the mass extinction. About 250 million years ago, a time long before dinosaurs ruled and when all land formed one big continent, the majority of life in the ocean and on land was wiped out. The generally accepted idea is that volcanic eruptions burned though coal beds, releasing CO2 and other deadly toxins. Direct proof of this theory was outlined in a paper that was published by these same authors last January in Nature Geoscience. The mercury deposition rates could have been significantly higher in the late Permian when compared with todays human-caused emissions. In some cases, levels of mercury in the late Permian ocean was similar to what is found near highly contaminated ponds near smelters, where the aquatic system is severely damaged, say researchers.
Scientists for the First Time Produced Mixed Embryo Monkeys

Scientists for the first time produced monkeys composed of cells taken from separate embryos. They combined cells from different embryos and implanted them into female monkeys. The cells never fuse, but they stay together and work together to form tissues and organs. The animals, which contain genetically distinct groups of cells from more than one organism, are termed as chimeras. The three rhesus monkeys born are named Chimero, Roku and Hex. These monkeys have tissues made up of a mixture of cells, which represent as many as six separate embryos. Although Chimeras are essential for studying embryonic development, research has largely been restricted to mice. Initial efforts by the scientists to produce living monkey chimeras by introducing cultured embryonic stem cells into monkey embryos failed.
Doomed Mars Probe Lands in Pacific Ocean

Russias Defence Ministry said a failed probe designed to travel to a moon of Mars has crashed, showering debris over the southern Pacific. The Ministry said the fragments fell 1,250 kilometres west of Wellington Island. The Phobos-Grunt was one of the heaviest and most toxic space junk ever to crash to Earth, but the risks posed by its crash were minimal as the probes toxic rocket fuel and most of the crafts structure were to burn up in the atmosphere anyway. The $170-million Phobos-Grunt was Russias most expensive and the most ambitious space mission since Soviet times. The spacecraft was intended to land on Phobos, one of Mars two moons, collect soil samples and fly them back to Earth.
Scientists Produced Artificial Human Semen to help Infertile Men

Scientists claimed to find a way to produce artificial human semen that could help infertile men father their own children. The scientists for the first time grew mouse sperm in a laboratory. For this, they used few germ cells in a laboratory dish. These cells produce semen in testicles. In fact, the scientists grew the sperm by enveloping the germ cells in a special compound called agar jelly to create a similar environment to that found in testicles. The sperm produced thus were healthy and not genetically damaged. The findings of the scientists are published in the latest edition of the Asian Journal of Andrology.
Genetically Modified Silkworms can Spin Stronger Silk than Spiders

Scientists in America claimed to have genetically modified silkworms to spin the much stronger silk that spiders produce. Their work could lead to new material for medicine and engineering. Their eventual aim is to produce silk from worms that has the toughness of spider silk. In weight-for-weight terms, spider silk is stronger than steel. The scientists have been trying to reproduce such silk for decades.
Thin Graphenes Completely Invisible to Water

Graphene, which is the thinnest material known to science, is not only transparent to eye but also to water, a new study including Indian origin researcher has revealed. Engineering researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Rice University coated pieces of gold, copper, and silicon with a single layer of graphene, and then placed a drop of water on the coated surfaces. Surprisingly, the layer of graphene proved to have virtually no impact on the manner in which water spreads on the surfaces. The findings could help inform a new generation of grapheme-based flexible electronic devices. Additionally, the research suggests a new type of heat pipe that uses graphene-coated copper to cool computer chips. As the researchers increased the number of layers of graphene, however, it became less transparent to the water and the contact angles jumped significantly. After adding six layers of graphene, the water no longer saw the gold, copper, or silicon and instead behaved as if it was sitting on graphite. The study has been published in the journal Nature Materials.
Australia detected Deadly Disease Murray Valley Encephalitis

Health authorities in Australia are bracing against a possible outbreak of a potentially deadly disease, Murray Valley Encephalitis. The virus is transmitted by mosquitoes and was recently found in chicken in Australias most populous state, New South Wales. Encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain, usually caused by a viral infection. Although rare, it is potentially life-threatening, and may lead to permanent brain damage or death. Symptoms may include a high fever and headache, accompanied by a stiff neck, vomiting, light sensitivity, and convulsions. It can also infect humans.
Scientists found Cells that can help prevent Spread of Cancer

A team of scientists in the second week of January 2012 identified a group of cancer cells that play a main role in preventing the development of the disease. This scientific finding could lead to re-evaluation of common cancer treatment for patients. It pointed out that anti-angiogenic therapies that target those tumour cells- called pericytes- inadvertently make tumours more aggressive. The study was published in the journal Cancer Cell. It underscores the need of more research on tumour-cell composition to bring out more effective therapies. For the study, the team of scientists created genetically modified mice to support drug-induced depletion of pericytes in growing tumours. They then deleted pericytes in their cancer tumours, decreasing pericyte numbers by 60 percent.
China Launched Asias Largest Helicopter

Chinas largest-ever civil helicopter got certification from the civil aviation administration, the countrys civil aviation authority said. The move marks the official approval for the 13-tonne AC313, Asias largest helicopter, to enter the market, said the Aviation Industry Corp of China (AVIC), which developed and manufactured the helicopter. The aircraft focuses on designs of maintainability, life reliability, indemnification and life cycle efficiency, and meets international safety standards, underlining Chinas abilities in the research and development (R&D) of large helicopters. AC313 is also worlds first civil helicopter to receive an A-category airworthiness certificate at an altitude of 4,500 meters. The aircraft can be deployed for emergency rescue operations, forest fire prevention, transport, offshore operations, medical aid, sightseeing and business trips.
Mexico Rolls out Super Computer

Mexican scientists inaugurated Latin Americas No. 2 supercomputer by size and speed, with the ability to process 24.9 trillion operations per second. The computer, along with others at two major Mexican universities, is part of the new high-performance network Lancad. The Lancad project will generate physical infrastructure that will improve Mexicos competitive position in the world. Besides benefiting the academic sector, the computer also will benefit the government and businessmen. The government can accommodate critical applications that require a high level of storage and security, or push for education and distance-learning, while the private sector can develop modeling applications and simulation of processes or the development of tools and teams. The computer, dubbed Xiuhcoatl (serpent of fire), will allow the processing of information to solve problem in health care, climate change and security, among many others. Using the computer a pharmaceutical firm can undertake simulations of new medications, aerospace simulations can be carried out and scientists can work with new proteins. The supercomputer, the largest in the region after a machine in Brazil, required an investment of some 18 million pesos ($1.3 million).
Scientists claimed that Alcohol can be used to treat Tremors

Scientists at the US National Institutes of Health claimed that alcohol could be used to treat tremors, a brain disorder that triggers exaggerated shaking and occurs during movement. The octanol (a form of alcohol and a colourless ingredient in perfume) can help treat tremor. The tremor can affect people of all ages. For their experiment, the scientists gave patients a single dose of one milligramme of octanol for each kilogramme of their weight, and found it significantly decreased tremor for up to 90 minutes. In their second experiment, people who had octanol had fewer symptoms of tremor after five hours than those were given a placebo.
NASA Uncovers Moons Darker Side

New maps produced by the Lyman Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP) aboard NASAs Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter have revealed features of the Moons northern and southern poles in regions that lie in perpetual darkness. LAMP, developed by the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), uses a novel method to peer into these so-called permanently shadowed regions (PSRs), making visible the invisible. The LAMP maps show that many PSRs are darker at far-ultraviolet wavelengths and redder than nearby surface areas that receive sunlight. They show many permanently shadowed regions (PSRs), are darker at far-ultraviolet wavelengths (top) and redder than nearby surface areas that receive sunlight (bottom). The darker PSR regions are consistent with having large surface porosities, indicating fluffy soils, while the reddening is consistent with the presence of water frost on the surface.
Symptoms of Tremor
Tremor occurs during movement, but not at rest. It affects not only the arms and hands but also the head, face and feet. In at least half of cases there is a family history as well. Other causes of similar tremor symptoms include an over-active thyroid, anti-epileptic medication and drugs used to treat psychiatric disorders. In fact, tremor is caused by spontaneous activity in nerve cells in the areas of the brain that control movement. One theory is that alcohol may help dampen this activity. It is known that alcohol has some effect on this kind of movement because as well as reducing tremor. It can also cause it if drunk excessively.
22
MARCH 2012
DEFENCE COVERAGE
CCS Clears 950 Million Euro Deal for Missiles for Mirage 2000
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on 4th January 2012 cleared a 950 million euro deal to procure 490 air-toair missiles from a French firm for IAFs Mirage 2000 aircraft. The missiles would be deployed on the 51 Mirage 2000 aircraft, which are already undergoing upgrades at French facilities under a Euro 1.47 billion deal signed earlier this year. Under the deal, MBDA will have to do offsets worth 30 per cent of the deal meaning that they will have to invest 315 million Euros back in the Indian defence sector. The Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) mandates that foreign vendors bagging deals worth over Rs 300 crore have to invest back at least 30 per cent of the contracts worth into Indian defence, civil aerospace and homeland security sector. India signed a deal with French companies Thales and Dassault Aviation, which will take ten years to carry out mid-life upgrade of IAFs 51 Mirage-2000 fighters. Two aircraft have already been flown to France for upgrades and the remaining would be modernised in India at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) facilities in India. The cost of the contract for upgrade of the Mirage 2000 with Thales is Euro 1,470 million while the cost of the contract with HAL is Rs 2,020 crores(around 340 million) Euro. The upgrade of the aircraft is expected to be completed by mid 2021, Defence Minister A K Antony recently said.
India to Conduct About 20 War Exercises This Year with Top Nations and Neighbors
India is all set to enhance its military ties with top nations and neighbors as it plans to hold around 20 bilateral wargames in 2012. These multi-national military-tomilitary exercises are aimed at sharpening the skills of the troops for operational preparedness and increasing interoperability. The wargames will involve top nations such as US, Russia, France and Britain besides the neighboring Indian countries. Most of these wargames will focus on anti-insurgency and anti-terrorism operations since India has considerable experience in these areas. Besides, the diverse terrain of India and its highly experienced armed forces have always inspired other nations to indulge in such wargames.
India may do $2 Billion Aerospace & Defence Exports in 2011-12

India is expected to do $2 billion worth of aerospace and defence exports the 2011-12 fiscal that ends on March 31, industry body The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has said. In a study, ASSOCHAM said with about 18 percent growth in the first three quarters of 2011-12, aircraft exports, including components, stood at about $1.31 billion against $1.11 billion in the corresponding period of 2010-11.
India and Myanmar Enhance Military Ties

India and Myanmar have joined hands to chalk out ways to enhance military ties as well as sort out the crucial border issue to stop insurgencies. Myanmars foreign minister Maung Lwin visited his Indian counterpart S.M. Krishna and discussed ways to combat insurgencies and have a clear perspective on the border issue. India has suggested various steps including the setting up of a committee under a three-star officer with Myanmar to address the border issue. The Indian side has indicated to Myanmar that the committee which it proposes will have representatives from the central armed police forces and the Ministry of Home Affairs. India feels that this will enable coordination between the Indian and Myanmar military in case of militant trespassing. Besides, India has also offered road construction equipment to Myanmar for improving connectivity in bordering areas and across the border. Meanwhile, defence ties between the two nations will also be enhanced as India has also proposed to provide bailey bridges to the Myanmar Army for improving connectivity in hilly and jungle terrain. India has also offered to increase the number of vacancies reserved for Myanmars troops in the National Defence Academy (NDA) at Khadakvasla in Pune. The current interaction between Myanmar and India is limited to the IndoMyanmar Border Level Meetings held at battalion level where the Commanding Officers meet in every three months. In November last year, Indian security forces were looking at increasing military ties with Myanmar and even possible joint operations to flush out separatist guerrillas and the rising insurgencies. The significant military interactions has paved the way for a greater increase in arms sales and helped defence ties. In fact, India has also offered to supply them critical defence equipment so that defense cooperation is expanded. Currently, Myanmars military-backed government, which took office in March 2011, has relaxed its rules and restrictions pertaining to political activity and released political prisoners. The Opposition leader Aunt San Sue Kyiv, who had been under house-arrest for over 15 years, is now a candidate in parliamentary elections.
Indian Navy Takes Over Russian Nerpa Submarine

India added teeth to its submarine fleet and became the worlds sixth operator of a nuclear-powered submarine when Russias K-152 Nerpa nuclear-powered attack submarine was handed over to the Indian Navy in the far Eastern Primorye territory of the Russian Federation on January 23, 2012. The submarine, with NATO codename Akula-II, will be on a 10-year lease with Indian Navy till 2022 under a contract that was signed between the two countries worth over $900 millio. The Project 971 Shchuka-B class vessel will be renamed INS Chakra once it reaches the Indian shores with home base as Visakhapatnam in February and a formal commissioning ceremony will be conducted in March this year. Russian submariners had trained the Indian Navy submariners for over a month in the Pacific Ocean on how to steer the Nerpa.
French Company Dassault Aviations Rafale has won the $10.4 bn MMRCA Deal
French major Dassault Rafale on 31 January 2012 bagged Indias biggest-ever multi-billion dollar deal for procuring 126 combat aircraft for the air force. In the tender, the French firm was declared as the lowest bidder, who according to the Indian defence procurement procedure is offered the deal. The French firm Dassault Rafale has emerged as the L1 (lowest bidder) and cheaper than its European rival EADS in the tender and will be offered to supply the aircraft to the IAF. According to the Request for Proposal (RFP), the winner of the contract will have to supply 18 of the 126 aircraft to the IAF in 36 months from its facilities and the remaining would be produced at HAL facilities in Bangalore. Six companies including American F-16 and F-18, Russian MiG 35, Sedish Saab Gripen along with Eurofighter and Dassault Rafale were in the race in the beginning. But in April last year, the Defence Ministry evicted the American, Russian and Swede offerings and shortlisted Dassault and Eurofighter for the final phase.
Sino-Indian Military Ties Improve as a Crucial Pact on the Border Issue Gets Signed
With the objective of maintaining all-round cooperation and strategic trust, India and China seem to be heading for an amicable solution to the highly contentious border issue. Both nations have signed a pact to establish a Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs which aims to resolve border disputes and strengthen military cooperation. The agreement was finalized in New Delhi recently, signed by Indias ambassador to China Mr.S.Jaishankar and Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin. The working mechanism will create ways to strengthen exchanges and cooperation between military personnel and establishments of the two sides in the border areas. Issues pertaining to the border and working towards a congenial atmosphere between the nations will become a priority as powerful and responsible countries in the continent.
India and Eu Initiate Joint Military Operations in the Indian Ocean

India and the European Union have decided to combat piracy together and has launched joint military operations in the Indian Ocean region. The imminent threat of piracy in the Indian Ocean region and the recent spate of attacks in the region has necessitated joint military operations by India and the EU. To begin with, EU has deployed four warships and supporting military ships of EU member-countries. The Indian Navy and its ships are also in the loop to create better interoperability in the region. The EU has indicated that a serious strategy is being laid out for the Indian Ocean region and anti-piracy operations are in full swing. The EU bloc has established a very significant collaboration with India and its navy and coast guard since December 2011 to avert piracy in the Indian Ocean. Both India and the EU are developing a concrete mechanism against counter-terrorism, cyber security and counter-piracy and create means to share terrorism-related intelligence.
Lakshya-II Pilotless Aircraft Demonstrates Full Capability In Flight-Test

The indigenously built advanced version of the Lakshya Pilotless Target Aircraft has successfully demonstrated its full capability at a DRDO test conducted near Balasore in Orissa. The advanced version of the pilotless aircraft called Lakshya-II flew at sea gliding at a height of 15 metres. During the flight duration of over half an hour, Lakshya-II managed to dive down from an altitude of around 800 metres to just 12 metres whilst maintaining the required altitude for the specified time followed by auto climb-out. The Lakshya-II pilotless aircraft has been designed and developed by the DRDOs premier lab, the Bangalorebased Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) which specializes in UAVs and flight control systems. This was the 10th flight of Lakshya-II PTA and this was the first time that the ultimate capability of the LakshyaII has been proven in accordance with the users objectives. The entire flight was pre-programmed and has been a complete success.
Italian Firm Selex Sistemi to Provide Naval Radars

Selex Sistemi Integrati, part of the Italian major Finmeccanica company, has inked a contract with stateowned Cochin Shipyard Limited for the delivery of naval radar for Indias indigenous aircraft carrier. As per the contract, the Italian firm Selex will deliver the air surveillance naval radar RAN 40L and IFF radar for the 40,0000 tonne warship INS Vikrant. The Italian firm Selex Sistemis radar called RAN-40L is a 3D long range early warning radar with fully solid state active phased array antenna which is capable of detecting an aircraft up to 400 kilometers. The design of the RAN-40L radar has been proven on the land based 3D RAT-31DL by the firm. The 3D RAT-31DL is the famous long range surveillance radar provided worldwide to the NATO Countries.
23
MARCH 2012
SPORTS COVERAGE
LAWN TENNIS CRICKET FOOTBALL
100th Edition of the Australian Open at Melbourne

The 2012 Australian Open tennis tournament was played in Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia from 16 January to 29 January 2012. 2012 marked the 100th edition of The Australian Open which is the first Grand Slam event of the year. The tournament consisted of events for professional players in singles, doubles and mixed doubles play. The host broadcaster of the event was the Seven Network. Australian Open Mens Final Winner: The 2012 mens final went past the 2008 Wimbledon final time record, finishing after 5 hours and 53 minutes of play. It was the longest match in the history of the Australian Open, and in fact, the longest ever singles final in the Open Era in Grand Slam history. Serbias Novak Djokovic was the defending champion in the Auatralian Open and won in the final 57, 64, 6 2, 67(57), 75 against Rafael Nadal of Spain. He thus started the 2012 season as reigning World No. 1 for the first time of his career. It marked the 5th grand slam of his career and his 3rd Australian Open. It also marked the first time that he had defended a grand slam title. Australian Open Womens Final Winner: Belarusian Victoria Azarenka defeated Maria Sharapova of Russia to win first Grand Slam title. She over took Caroline Wozniacki as the number one ranked player on the WTA Tour. She became the latest World No. 1 by the Womens Tennis Association from 30 January 2012. It was Azarenkas 2nd title of the year and 10th of her career. Australian Open Mens Doubles Winners: L e a n d e r Paes (India) and Radek tpnek (Czech Republic) Paes won his first mens doubles title at the Australian Open and in the process completed a long-awaited career Grand Slam in the doubles. Following is the list of Leander Paes Grand Slam mens doubles triumphs: 1999 French Open (with Mahesh Bhupathi) 1999 Wimbledon (with Bhupathi) 2001 French Open (with Bhupathi) 2006 US Open (with Martin Damm) 2009 French Open (with Lukas Dlouhy) 2009 US Open (with Dlouhy) Paes also won a total of 6 Mixed Doubles titles 3 Wimbledon 2 Australian Open 1 US Open Australian Open Womens Doubles Winners: Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva (both from Russia) Australian Open Mixed Doubles Winners: Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) and Horia Tecu (Romania)
Rajasthan Defeated Tamil Nadu to win the 78th Ranji Trophy

Rajasthan coached by R R Jadeja won its second consecutive Ranji Trophy title by defeating Tamil Nadu at the MA Chidambaram stadium, Tamil Nadu on 23 January 2012. Rajasthan won the 78th Ranji Trophy on the basis of its mammoth 326-run lead in the first innings. Rajasthan declared its second innings at 204 for five at tea on the fifth day. V A Saxena of Rajasthan was judged Man of the Match in the 78th Ranji Trophy final. Robin Bist of Rajasthan notched up 92 (185b, 13x4) becoming the only batsman in the Ranji season to cross 1000 runs. The short right-hander became the first man in three seasons to breach the 1000-run barrier in a Ranji season, joining an elite club that now has 12 members. Bist became the first Rajasthan batsman to aggregate 1,000 runs in a Ranji season. The previous was Hanumant Singhs 869 runs in 1966-67. The Rajasthan Cricket Association announced a cash award of Rs 1.31 crore for its triumphant State team. The BCCI also announced a cash prize of Rs 2 crore for the team. Cricketers who scored 1000-plus runs in a Ranji season: 1415 VVS Laxman (Hyderabad), 1999-2000 1280 - Vijay Bharadwaj (Karnataka), 1998-99 1260 - Wasim Jaffer (Mumbai), 2008-09 1089 Ajinkya Rahane (Mumbai), 2008-09 1075 - Sridharan Sriram (Tamil Nadu), 1999-00 1066 Dheeraj Jadhav (Maharashtra), 2003-04 1037 Jacob Martin (Baroda), 1998-99 1034 - Raman Lamba (Delhi), 1996-97 1034 Robin Bist (Rajasthan), 2011-12 1033 Ajay Sharma (Delhi), 1996-97 1018 - WV Raman (Tamil Nadu), 1988-89 1008 - Rusi Modi (Bombay), 1944-45
Argentinas Lionel Messi voted Worlds Outstanding Footballer for Third Consecutive Year
Argentinas Lionel Messi was awarded the 2011 FIFA Ballon dOr on 9 january 2012 in Zurich. He won the award for the third consecutive year for the worlds outstanding footballer. Messi who plays for club Barcelona won 47.88 per cent votes and finished ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo (21.6)%) and Xavi (9.23%). Messi becomes only the second player, after current UEFA president Michel Platini, to win the award for three consecutive years. He joined Platini, Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten as the only men to have won the prize thrice. Japanese midfielder Homare Sawa claimed the 2011 FIFA Ballon dOr in the womens category. Japans womens team, known as the Nadeshiko had memorably claimed their maiden FIFA Womens World Cup with a thrilling performance by defeating the USA on penalties after extra time. Barcelonas coach Pep Guardiola was named FIFA Coach of the Year. Pep Guardiola was former midfielder of Spain The winners in other categories are as follows: Coach of the Year (women): Norio Sasaki (Jpn); FIFA Puskas Award: Neymar (Bra); FIFA Presidential Award: Sir Alex Ferguson (Sco); FIFPro XI: Iker Casillas; Daniel Alves, Gerard Pique, Sergio Ramos, Nemanja Vidic; Andres Iniesta, Xabi Alonso, Xavi; Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney. TABLE TENNIS
Amalraj won Maiden National Title TT Championships

A Amalraj won his maiden national title by defeating A Sharath Kamal in the final of the 73rd Senior National and Inter-State Table Tennis Championships in Lucknow on 29 January 2012. After the two traded blistering shots, Amalraj inched ahead from 7-all to lead 10-8. It was a title double for Amalraj, as had won the mens doubles along with Sanil Shetty, defeating Harmit Desai and Devesh Karia of Gujarat (3-2) 12-10, 8-11, 10-11, 116, 12-10 in the final. The victory was however marred by controversy. After defeating the six-time national champion Achanta Sharath Kamal, Amalraj in a fit of excitement leapt on to the table and hurled his bat before pumping his fists. His over the top celebration of his victory drew a yellow and then a red card. Competition manager N Ganeshan recommended to the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) deduction of 25 per cent of his prize money purse of Rs 2.1 lakh as punishment. In the womens category Poulami Ghatak exacted revenge of her 2011 loss in the final to K Shamini. Poulomi defeated Shamini in four straight games for her seventh national crown. Poulami exploited Shaminis unforced errors to the hilt to triumph 4-0 (11-9, 11-4, 11-8, 11-7). VOLLEYBALL
Australian Batsman Ricky Ponting was Honoured with Austrlias Highest Civil Honour
Senior Australian batsman Ricky Ponting was honoured with Austrlias highest civil honour along with a host of sportspersons of international repute. The former skipper was appointed an officer (AO) in the general division of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to the sport of cricket as a leading player, and to the community through the establishment of the Ponting Foundation. In 2008, Ponting and his wife Rianna formed the Ponting Foundation to help cancer patients. Rugby players Stirling Mortlock and George Smith, teenage sailor Jessica Watson and bowls great Steve Glasson were also appointed Officers of the Order of Australia for their services to the sport. AWARD
Canadian Milos Raonic won the ATP Chennai Open by defeating Janko Tipsarevic
Canadian Milos Raonic won the ATP Chennai Open by defeating world number nine Janko Tipsarevic 6-7 7-6 76 in the final on 8 January 2012. Milos Raonic was named the best newcomer in 2011 after he rose from 156 to 31 in the rankings. Raonic slammed 35 aces on the way to his second career title in a rousing clash that lasted three hours and 13 minutes. The victory fetched Raonic his second tour title on three final appearances after the triumph in San Jose. The singles final match also turned out to be the longest final in the history of the Chennai Open.
Award to be Instituted in Memory of G.V. Raja, Founder-president of Kerala Sports Council

According to the draft sports policy of the Kerala Government released on 11 January 2012, a special lifetime achievement award, in memory of G.V. Raja, the founder-president of the Kerala State Sports Council is to be instituted. The award is to be instituted to recognise contributions towards the overall development of sport in the State. The current prize-money of Rs. 1 lakh given to winner the G.V. Raja award, the highest sporting honour of the State is to be enhanced. The scope of the cash awards now in vogue and given to medal winners of identified competitions at the National level would also be reviewed. A provision for disbursement of pocket money on need basis to sportspersons attending National camps from the State would be examined. A State Sports Development Fund is to be set up to assist sportspersons nearing international medal winning standards by way of training abroad, engagement of dedicated specialised coaches and other requirements. The Fund would also be utilised in the running of specialised training centers, academies, Centres for Excellence, the establishment of the proposed State Institute of Sports and identified infrastructure projects.
Kerala Men Emerged Winners at the the 60th Senior National Volleyball Championship in Raipur
Kerala men defeated Uttarakhand 25-22, 25-22, 25-13 to win the National title for the fourth time, in the 60th senior National volleyball championship, at the Balbir Juneja Indoor Stadium, Raipur on 11 January 2012. Kerala had last won its mens title by beating Tamil Nadu in 2001 in Raipur. It repeated the feat a decade later after 72-minute final. Uttarakhand had first won the title in 2002. In 2012, lack of bench strength and ageing players led to Uttarakhands defeat. Serices ranked third ahter defeating Tamil Nadu. Tom Joseph was judged the Man of the Tournament while Terin Antony emerged Woman of the tournament. The Railway women extended their hegemony by winning the 27th title by defeating Kerala 25-12, 25-14, 25-16in a one-sided final in the womens category. West Bengal defeated Andhra Pradesh 25-23, 25-13, 25-18 to finish third in the womens category.
DOUBLES CATEGORY
Leander Paes lifted the Chennai Open doubles title on 8 January 2012. Paes partnered with Janko Tipsarevic to defeat Israeli pair of Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram 6-4, 6-4 to claim his sixth trophy in the Nungabakkkam Stadium. Paes had won the Chennai Open doubles title in 2011 with his now-estranged partner Mahesh Bhupathi. Paes-Tipsarevic split the winners prize-money of $21800 besides earning 125 ATP points while Erlich-Ram took home $11480 and 75 points.
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MARCH 2012
STATES COVERAGE
RAJASHTHAN MAHARASHTRA UTTAR PRADESH
Rajasthan Government Decided to Constitute Jaisalmer Fort Development Authority

Rajasthan government decided to form Jaisalmer Fort Development Authority to resolve the vexed and interconnected problems relating to constructions and encroachments within the Jaisalmer Fort. The authority will be entrusted the responsibility of ensuring proper coordination among various agencies of Central and State Governments working in the Fort. Similar in concept as the Amer Fort Development Authority, the Authority will be chaired by Collector, Jaisalmer and will be fully empowered to take suitable action against any violations of prevailing rules and regulations. P.V. Deb, Additional Chief Secretary, Urban Development and Municipal Administration was entrusted the task of ensuring the constitution of the Authority in the next 2-3 weeks. It was decided that the Authority will also be notified as the competent authority for grant of permissions for repair and renovations etc., under the Central Act. Located on a hill-top, the Jaisalmer Fort not only attracts a large number of visitors from India and abroad but is also a living Fort extensively inhabited by the local people. Recently, a part of pitching wall had collapsed owing to fragile nature of the rock on which the Fort stands and adverse impact caused by seepage of water.
ADB Approved Loan to Boost Investment in Maharashtra

ADB (Asian Development Bank) on 18 January 2012 signed an agreement with Union government of India to give a loan of 24.3 million US dollars to boost investment in Maharashtra Agribusiness Infrastructure. The agreement was signed for the second tranche (24.3 million US dollars) under the 170 million US dollars Agribusiness Infrastructure Development Investment Programme which is a multi-tranche financing facility. The loan is to continue modernization efforts in Maharashtra states horticultural industries and will expand agricultural value chains and better integrate small-scale farmers into value chains in Nashik and Aurangabad-Amravati regions. The programme will build physical and institutional links along horticulture integrated value chains (IVCs), which include farmers, processors, agribusiness entrepreneurs, and service providers, a central goal of the Indian government. This will help farmers, traders and other value chain stakeholders to improve their products and processes, become competitive and adapt to changes in end markets. MADHYAPRADESH
CAG indicted UP Government of Anomalies in Spending under NRHM

The Controller and Auditor General, CAG indicted the Uttar Pradesh Government of anomalies in spending around 5000 crore rupees under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). The CAG probing the NRHM scam, submitted its report to the State Governor, saying it has found anomalies under the scheme in about two dozen districts of the state. The CAG report stated that the state health department failed to give proper details of spending of about 5000 crore rupees out of the 8657 crore rupees given to the state. The entire amount was reportedly transferred through a non-registered society. Contracts worth 1,170 crore rupees were given against the open tendering process and agreements flouted established norms. ODISHA
The Odisha Government was directed to Kill all the Birds to Prevent Bird Flu
The Union Ministry of Animal Husbandry directed the Odisha Government to kill all the birds in order to prevent the spread of bird flu to other areas. In Odisha, all poultry will be culled within a three kilometres radius of Keranga in Khordha district following detection of bird flu. About 35000 birds including hens, chickens and ducks will be killed in the process. Meanwhile, the State Government also stopped supply of eggs for the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in primary schools of Keranga and nearby areas and a ban was issued on the sale of chicken. TAMILNADU
5-MW Solar Energy Plant at Phlodi

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on 11 January 2012 inaugurated a 5-MW solar energy plant by SunEdison. SunEdiso is the leading solar energy services provider, at Phalodi in Jodhpur district. The plant was set up under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM). The 5-MW solar energy plant is situated over a sprawling 44 acres in the Thar desert. It will use thin-film PV technology to generate 8000000 KWh of electricity in its first year of operation. It is expected to offset carbon emissions up to 3000 metric tonnes every year. Connected to the national grid on 31 December 2011, the plant is expected to supply electricity to NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN), the nodal agency for augmenting purchase and sale of power generated from solar energy under the JNNSM mission. SunEdison also has put in place a 33 KV transmission line from the project site to the station situated at Bap.
MP Cabinet Sanctioned Construction of Health Centres

In Madhya Pradesh, the state Cabinet sanctioned construction of buildings of 650 sub-health centres using pre-fabricated technique. The buildings are erected at a rapid pace by this technique. Difficulties are faced in mobilizing building material like cement, bricks, soil as well as skilled labourers for construction of buildings of sub-health centers in inaccessible and remote areas of the state. Keeping these factors in the view the state government decided to construct buildings of such sub-centers by prefabricated technique. A sum of about one hundred ten crore rupees will be spent on the construction of the pre-fabricated buildings of 650 sub-health centers. Each building will cost about seven lakh rupees.
TN Govt decided to start Integrated Urban Development Scheme

Tamil Nadu government on 15 January 2012 decided to start an integrated Urban Development Scheme at a cost of 6653 crore rupees with the objective of improving basic infrastructure facilities in cities and urban areas in the state. Under this scheme, basic infrastructure like drinking water, health, rain water drainage, solid waste management, parking facilities, parks, solid waste management and sewage water removal. In the first phase, urban areas including corporations and municipalities as well as town panchayats will be improved at a cost of 757.28 crore rupees. CHHATTTISGARH
MP Government Launched Panch Parmeshwar Scheme

Madhya Pradesh government launched its Panch Parmeshwar scheme on 9 January 2012. The objective of the scheme is to further empower village Panchayats. Under the scheme, funds for different schemes will be provided to more than 23 thousand Panchayats in lump sum. So far, funds under various schemes are being made available to village Panchayats in piecemeal. HIMACHAL PRADESH
Rajasthan Cabinet Approved the Proposal to develop Rajiv Gandhi Biosphere Reserve
The Rajasthan state cabinet on 4 January 2012 approved the proposal to develop the Rajiv Gandhi Biosphere Reserve. The biosphere reserve will link a dozen wildlife sanctuaries and the prestigious Ranthambhiore National Park. This will help in facilitating movement of tigers and other wild animals. Moreover, it will also safeguard any species from becoming genetic pools. The biosphere is expected to have a budget of 300 crore rupees. JAMMU & KASHMIR
Himachal Tourism Department signed Pact with IRCTC for Managing its Establishments
The Himachal Tourism Department on 16 January 2012 signed a pact with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation for managing its establishments in the hill State as the department was unable to run its restaurants and wayside eating joints. The memorandum of understanding was signed by Himachal Tourism and Civil Aviation Director Arun Sharma and Chief Regional Manager of Railways Sohan Singh. The IRCTC would manage the restaurants at the Himachal Tourisms Reception Centres in prime locations in Shimla, Solan and Sirmaur districts. Except for a few hotels and restaurants in the hill capital, majority of establishments being run by the Himachal Tourism Development Corporation are currently running in losses. The tourism department of the state with the consent of the Union Tourism Ministry plans to develop about three dozen wayside amenities on various national and State highways for the burgeoning tourism in the State. The wayside establishments would be given to NGOs, Co-operatives and village Panchayats for management. These joints would have railway booking counters and touch screen kiosks along with tourist reception centers. Himachal is one of the most preferred and visited tourist State after Kerala and Rajasthan in the country.
The Ministry of Rural Development Sanctioned 3 Road Projects in Chhattisgarh

The Ministry of Rural Development sanctioned 3 road projects using latest Polymer-based technologies, under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) in Chhattisgarh. These roads will be constructed using the latest soil stabilization techniques, which is an in-situ method of stabilising the soil with Polymer in the liquid form. The technology has been accredited by Indian Road Congress and also laboratory tests have been carried out at IIT, Kharagpur. The three projects costing over seven crore rupees will be taken up in the districts of Dantewada, Bijapur and Narainpur. One of the main problems in the construction of roads in remote forested areas is the non-availability of stone aggregate and it was observed during the recent visit of Minister of Rural Development Shri Jairam Ramesh to Narainpur that the aggregate required for the road construction is brought from at least 100 kilometers away. The stone crushing units and quarries are not available in these areas as most of the land is under forest category and therefore, de-reservation procedures have to be followed to divert forest land. These problems have delayed the road construction works in these areas, apart from increasing the costs. Resultant lack of good connectivity has wide implications for the overall development activities and inclusive growth, particularly in such Naxal-affected areas. Moreover, the new technology besides reducing the time for construction will also save valuable forest area from being diverted.
Govt Sanctioned Seven More Tourism Projects in J&K

The Union government of India on 6 January 2012 sanctioned seven more tourism projects worth 36.22 crore rupees to Jammu and Kashmir for up gradation of tourist infrastructure in the state. These projects were sanctioned for upgrading tourist infrastructure at potential spots like Jammu, Akhnoor, Reasi Sonamarg, Srinagar, Leh and Zanskar. The Indian government released the first installment of 8.04 crore rupees for taking up these projects.
Govt Approved Katra-Quazigund Railway Line Project

The Union government of India approved an additional fund of 19 thousand crore rupees for completion of Katra - Quazigund Railway line project in Jammu and Kashmir. The decision was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure in New Delhi on 4 January 2012. The railway line is to be completed by 2017. The rail line from Udhampur to Katra is in the final stage of completion. The rail line from Jammu to Udhampur and Khazigund to Baramulla are already in operation.
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MARCH 2012
INDIA & WORLD COVERAGE

India Japan and China entered into a Pact called SHADE
India, Japan and China entered into a pact to share data to achieve the most efficient use of Naval Forces present in the Indian Ocean Region. The initiative is known as the Shared Awareness and Deconfliction (SHADE). The initiative began functioning from 1 January 2012. China, India, and Japan also agreed to carry out more effective coordination by establishing a convoy coordination working group as part of the Shared Awareness and De confliction Mechanism. China, India, Iran, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Yemen deployed ships and aircraft to combat piracy in the Indian Ocean region. They were working as independent forces in absence of shared information. Other issues included a lack of convoy coordination by countries outside the SHADE mechanism that led to inefficient use of ships and aircrafts deployed for the purpose. This was improved with expanded interaction through the SHADE mechanism and improved information sharing.
India and Mali signed Three Agreements and issued a Joint Statement
The President of Mali, Amadou Toumani Toure visited India on 11-12 January 2012. India and Mali signed three agreements during this visit. The agreements are as following; 1. MoU on Co-operation in the field of Geology and Mineral Resources between the Ministry of Mines of the Government of India and Ministry of Mines of the Government of the Republic of Mali. 2. Joint statement by India and Mali on the occasion of the visit of the President of Mali. 3. India also extended Line of Credit of 100 million US dollars for a power transmission project. Highlights of the Joint statement issued by India and Mali are as following: Both sides called for an early convening of the first meeting of the Joint Ministerial Commission following the signing of the Agreement on Political, Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation between India and Mali in October 2009. The Indian side thanked Mali for its support to Indias candidature for permanent membership in an expanded United Nations Security Council. On the situation in the Middle East, the two sides condemned any forms of violence and urged the protagonists to resume dialogue and reiterated their support for the Road Map of the Quartet. The two sides strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and resolved to increase cooperation in the common efforts of the international community in preventing this scourge in a comprehensive manner. Both sides agreed to closely cooperate for an early finalisation of a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism, for which India had presented a draft at the United Nations in 1996.
India and WB signed an Agreement to Improve Livelihoods in NE

The Government of India and the World Bank on 20 January 2012 signed an IDA credit of 130 million US dollars to finance the project called NERLP (North East Rural Livelihoods Project), to empower rural communities in the growth-deficient North East (NE) region to improve their livelihood opportunities. The North East Rural Livelihoods Project (NERLP) will enhance the livelihoods of the rural poor, especially women, unemployed youth and the severely disadvantaged in eight districts of the four participating states- Aizawl and Lunglei in Mizoram; Peren and Tuensang in Nagaland; South, West and 15 Panchayat wards of East District in Sikkim; and West and North Districts in Tripura. The Project seeks to develop an institutional platform for the communities, which will help them link up with the private sector, public sector, and civil society and to acquire the institutional, technical, and financial capacity needed for improving their livelihoods. Global development experience shows that absolute poverty can be overcome by equipping a member of the household (especially a youth) with employable skills. A separate activity for skills development and job placement has thus been included in the project to ensure that such opportunities are available to the rural poor. Some livelihood opportunities envisaged under the Project include natural resource management activities such as forest management, non-timber forest produce storage and processing, horticulture, preservation of riverine fishes, water harvesting and recharging of ground/surface water in the villages; community-based infrastructure activities like upgrading of small agricultural link roads, micro hydro-power schemes, wind-cum-solar mills, to name a few. The Project comprises four main components (i) Social Empowerment; (ii) Economic Empowerment; (iii) Partnership Development and (iv) Project Management. The first component seeks to help rural communities to create sustainable institutions so that they can manage common activities around microfinance, livelihoods and natural resource management. The second component will provide funds to the community institutions to undertake various livelihood activities, as well as provide self-entrepreneurship opportunities to unemployed youth. To enable this, the Project with help develop partnerships with various formal financial intermediaries - such as microfinance institutions, commercial banks, development financial institutions such as National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), and specialized funding agencies such as North East Development Finance Institution (NEDFI) and with the private sector and civil society to allow rural communities to access technical and marketing support. The project management component facilitates the implementation, coordination, monitoring and evaluation, learning and quality enhancement efforts of the project.
India & Bangladesh to Set up Thermal Power Plant

Indias National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), on 29 January 2012 signed an agreement with Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDP) for setting up a joint venture 1320 MW thermal power plant. The joint venture coal-based power plant will comprise of two units of 660 MW each and will be set up at Rampal in Khulna Division of Bangladesh. The project is the first joint venture power plant in Bangladesh. The project will be completed by 2016. The joint venture thermal power plant is one of the projects, which is part of Bangladeshs efforts to diversify its energy production process.
India signed Five Agreements with Trinidad and Tobago

Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago Kamla Persad Bissessar visited India from 5 January 2012 to 14 January 2012. India and Trinidad & Tobago on 6 January 2012 signed five agreements during her visit. The agreements are as following: 1. Memorandum of Understanding between India and Trinidad & Tobago on co-operation in the field of traditional Systems medicine. 2. Air Services agreement between India and Trinidad & Tobago. 3. Technical Cooperation Agreement (In the field of Education) between India and Trinidad & Tobago. 4. Programme of Cultural Exchanges between India and Trinidad & Tobago for the years 201214. 5. Memorandum of Understanding between Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences( CCRAS) Department of Ayush, Ministry of Health& Family Welfare, the government of India and the University of West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago. India and Trinidad & Tobago issued a joint statement on this occasion. Highlights of this joint statement are as following: Both nations agreed to diversify trade and investments to prospective areas such as conventional and renewable energy, SMEs, ICT, Pharmaceuticals & Medical equipments and consumables, Health, Wellness Tourism, Ayurveda, Entertainment, Shipping among others. The Indian side agreed to encourage the Indian IT sector, both public and private, to collaborate with Trinidad and Tobago in its endeavour to develop an efficient IT industry. The Indian side appreciated the decision of the Government of Trinidad & Tobago for according visa waiver facility to Indian citizens for a period of 90 days. The Trinidad and Tobago side reiterated its support for Indias permanent membership in an expanded UNSC. Both sides recognised that the historical and cultural linkages between the two countries are being further strengthened through the Mahatma Gandhi Centre for Cultural Cooperation in Port of Spain set up in 1996. Both sides strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and agreed to cooperate in the international communities joint endeavour in eliminating the menace of international terrorism. The two sides recognised that Climate Change is a global challenge with strong economic, environmental and social dimensions.
India and Pakistan agreed to Transit Fee Formula for Tapi Gas Pipeline Project
In New Delhi, India and Pakistan on 25 January 2012 agreed in New Delhi to transit fee formula for Tapi(Tajikistan, Pakistan and India) gas pipeline project. On the Transit Fee, India and Pakistan agreed that the negotiations would be conducted in a transparent manner keeping in mind the overall economics of the Project, keeping in mind the landed cost of gas, and in accordance with the relevant international practices. Since there is a need to expedite the signing of the Gas Sale Purchase Agreement (GSPA), both sides agreed to settle the Transit Fee issue at the earliest. Pakistan agreed in-principle that whatever fee formula is eventually settled between India and Afghanistan would also be acceptable to Pakistan subject to approval of their competent authority. The two Ministers also discussed other issues of bilateral interest such as trade in petroleum products. Jaipal Reddy offered export of Petrol, Diesel, Aviation Turbine Fuel and Fuel Oil besides Sulphur, Polyethylene and Polypropylene since Pakistan is importing these products currently. It was pointed out that the main advantage for Pakistan will be the savings in freight cost since several refineries in India are located close to the India-Pak border. The Indian side offered to export refined petroleum and petrochemical products by road, rail and by sea. It was also mentioned that Indian refineries would be willing to look at the feasibility of constructing product pipelines to Pakistan provided long-term guarantees for product offtake can be given by Pakistan. Both sides noted that India-Pakistan Joint Working Group (JWG) on Petroleum & Petrochemical Products has been constituted recently to go into the specific details of facilitating trade in this sector, including infrastructure up gradation and augmentation in respect of railways, customs facilitation, setting up of banking channels, etc. Both Ministers agreed to advise their respective officials to hold the 1st meeting of the JWG at the earliest. Apart from G2G efforts, both sides agreed on the need to activate industry and business associations in the petroleum sector for confidence building. Jaipal Reddy informed Hussain that Indias oil companies would be participating in the India Show at Lahore on 11-13 February, 2012 being organized by the Govt of India and FICCI to showcase the strength of Indias petroleum refining sector and what Indias oil companies can offer to Pakistan.
India Signed MoU on Tourism with ASEAN

India signed MoU with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) at Manado, Indonesia on 12 January 2012. The main objectives of the MoU are to: Cooperate in facilitating travel and tourist visits. Further strengthen the tourism partnership. Enhance mutual assistance and human resource development for tourism sector Take necessary steps for exploring avenues of cooperation and sharing of information. Exchange information pertaining to statistics and development strategies, investment opportunities and economic data in tourism, travel and hospitality sectors relevant to each other. Jointly organize seminars, workshops and faceto-face meetings wherever possible, with a view to exploring and discussing new opportunities and avenues for the development and promotion of tourism and Any other area of activity aiming at tourism cooperation. Prime Minister of India had announced during the 9th ASEAN Summit held at Bali on 19 November, 2011 that a Memorandum of Understanding on strengthening tourism cooperation between India and ASEAN would be signed preferably at the Meeting of ASEAN-India Tourism Minister in early 2012. Consequent to the announcement made by the Prime Minister the MoU has been signed between India and ASEAN on strengthening tourism cooperation.
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MARCH 2012
INTERNATIONAL COVERAGE
The Military Rulers declared Partial Lifting of Emergency in Egypt
In Egypt, the military rulers declared partial lifting of emergency in the country. The move comes into effect from 25 January 2012- the first anniversary of the 25th January revolution which saw the overthrowing of the decades long Mubarak regime in the country a year ago. The emergency laws gave sweeping powers to the police to arrest and prosecute anyone on charges of Thuggery. The opposition and the activists who led 25th January uprisings in 2011 in Egypt have been campaigning for the total removal of emergency laws and release of all civilians in military jails. The ruling military Council announced a series of measures on the first anniversary celebrations of the revolution. The 25th January is now a national holiday. The Armed forces will hold celebrations from the 25th to the 28th of January 2012 in Cairos Tahrir Square.
Syria Rejected New Arab League Plan to end Crisis

Syria on 23 January 2012 rejected the Arab League plan for President Bashar al-Assad to hand over the power to the Vice President. The Arab League in its meeting on 22 January 2012 in Cairo came out with a plan under which President Assad hands over the power to the Vice President and a national unity government is formed within two months. It called upon the Syrian Government to start a dialogue with the opposition in two weeks. The Unity Government should elect a council in three months to write a constitution. It should also prepare for parliamentary and Presidential elections. The Arab League Foreign Ministers also asked the U.N. Security Council to support the plan to resolve the crisis in Syria. The proposal was on the lines of the GCC mediated power transfer deal in Yemen. Lebanon opposed the move while Algeria objected to taking the plan to the Security Council. The Arab Foreign Ministers had earlier decided to extend the term of Observers mission by another month. Their numbers would be doubled and they would be trained by UN experts. Saudi Arabia announced it will pull out its observers since Syria has not delivered on its promises.
Photography Pioneer Eastman Kodak Company filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection
Photography Pioneer Eastman Kodak Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on 19 January 2012. The 132-year-old trailblazer is likely to become the most storied casualty of a digital age. Eastman Kodak Company filed for bankruptcy protection to re-organise its businesses in order to survive intense competition. Kodak and its US subsidiaries has filed voluntary petitions for Chapter 11 business reorganisation in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Kodak which has been in existence for over 130 years, has many firsts to its credit, including the invention of cameras as well as the use of its technology for taking the initial photographs of the moons surface. The firm had been struggling to keep afloat and had exited certain traditional operations, closing 13 manufacturing plants and 130 processing labs and reducing its workforce by 47000 since 2003. The company has obtained a lifeline of USD 950 million from Citigroup Inc and expects to emerge from the restructuring in 2013 as a lean, profitable, digital imaging and materials science company. Kodak expects that business reorganisation would bolster its liquidity in the US and abroad, monetise nonstrategic intellectual property, fairly resolve legacy liabilities as well as enable the company to focus on its most valuable business lines. It has made pioneering investments in digital and materials deposition technologies in recent years, generating about 75 per cent of its revenue from digital businesses in 2011.
Pakistans Supreme Court issued a Contempt of Court Notice to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani
Pakistans Supreme Court on 16 January 2012 issued a contempt of court notice to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani for failing to re-open graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. The Apex Court also asked the Pakistan Prime Minister to appear before it on 19 January 2012. The order was issued by a seven-judge bench led by Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk, that began hearing the case related to the apex courts orders against Zardari and over 8000 others. The bench directed Gilani to personally appear in court to explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him for deliberately disregarding the courts orders. A Supreme Court-appointed panel is also probing the memo case. The Supreme Court had issued the order against the premier after the governments top law officer informed it that he had received no instructions regarding the order to reopen the corruption cases.
Australia announced that it would Scale Back Sanctions against Myanmar

Australia on 9 January 2012 announced that it would scale back sanctions against Myanmar. Australia took this decision in recognition of steps taken by Myanmars military regime towards democracy and greater regional engagement. Myanmars military junta held elections in 2010 and transferred power to civilians. However, Myanmar has failed to meet expectations on the release of political prisoners. In Australia, there is a blanket arms embargo to Myanmar.
European Union agreed in Principle to ban Import of Iranian Crude Oil

The member states of European Union (EU) on 4 January 2012, agreed in principle to ban import of Iranian crude oil to put pressure on Iran for its nuclear programme. However, the time-frame to implement this was not decided. The United States, which recently imposed fresh sanctions on Iran, has welcomed the news. Meanwhile, Iran has dismissed the threat of new sanctions and denies Western claims that it is trying to develop a nuclear weapons programme. Western powers accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian energy programme. The EU is one of Irans biggest markets for oil. This generates most of the Iranian governments revenue. China is the top buyer of Iranian oil.The EU is a political and economical union of 27 member states.
The Bangladesh Army foiled a Planned Coup to topple the Govt

The Bangladesh army foiled a planned coup in December 2011 attempt to topple the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Some officers in military service were involved in the conspiracy to topple the system of democratic governance. Two former army officers were arrested and a manhunt was launched for the fugitive officer while some 16 others were kept under strict military vigil. Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan in 1971 and has a history of coups since then. The countrys first President Sheikh Mujibur Rahmanwas assassinated during a bloody coup in 1975. Bangaldesh was ruled by the military dictator again from 1982 to 1990. Democracy was restored in 1991.
Maldives lifted Ban on Spas in the Upmarket Tourist Destination

Maldives on 4 January 2012 lifted ban on spas in the up market tourist destination following its verification that these spas were not being used for prostitution. Earlier, it was alleged that these spas were the hub of prostitution. Following this, the tourism ministry ordered all massage centers to close. The tourism industry is an important foreign exchange earner and employer in the Maldives and the ban on spas could harm the industry. Maldives in 2011 received more than 850000 tourists.
The Israel-Palestine talks ended without any Breakthrough

The Israel-Palestine talks ended in the first week of January 2012 with the international mediators from Quartet (the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, and Russia) and Jordan ended without any breakthrough in Amman, capital of Jordan. The talks and the outcome were positive and the two sides agreed to carry forward the discussions. The Amman round of peace talks may not have yielded a breakthrough, yet it has broken the ice between the Israeli and Palestinian sides to discuss resumption of the stalled peace talks. Israel charged the Palestinians with raging propaganda campaigns and unilateral diplomatic initiatives against it while Palestine asked Israel to stop settlement construction and accept the 1967 borders.
India & Japan Agreed to Enhance their Cooperation in the Infrastructure Sector
India and Japan agreed to enhance their cooperation in the infrastructure sector. The decision was taken at a meeting between Road Transport and Highways Minister CP Joshi and his Japnese counterpart Takeshi Maeda in New Delhi on 12 January 2012. The two countries are in the concluding phase of finalising a Memorandum of Cooperation to exchange technical knowledge and expertise in the Road Transportation and Highways sector including capacity building and advanced technology for road transport management system as well as intelligent transport system.
IAEA:Uranium Enrichment in Iran reached to the Level of 20 Percent

The UN nuclear watchdog, IAEA on 12 January 2012 confirmed that Iran started enriching uranium to 20 percent. The production is taking place at Fordo, a nuclear facility 160 kilometers south-west of Tehran. The Uranium enrichment to the level of 20 percent means it can be upgraded more quickly for use in nuclear weapons than the Irans main enriched stockpile at Natanz plant. The level is much higher than the 3.5 percent at Irans main enrichment plant in Natanz and can be turned into fissile warhead material faster.
India announced a Substantial Increase in Educational Assistance to Sri Lanka

India on 18 January 2012 announced a substantial increase in educational assistance, being given to Sri Lanka. The funding amounting to 2.5 billion Srilankan Rupees will mark a threefold increase in the scholarships and self-financing slots for undergraduate, masters and doctorate-level courses. The new initiative was undertaken as part of New Delhis commitment under the India-Sri Lanka Knowledge Initiative launched by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Two new scholarship programmes called the Maulana Azad and Rajiv Gandhi Scholarship Scheme were added to the existing list.
India signed TIEA with Guernsey

India signed TIEA (Tax Information Exchange Agreement) with Guernsey in the third week of December 2011. This is the 13th bilateral TIEA for Guernsey with a G20 nation. The TIEA will help Indian tax authorities get information on tax evasion cases. The Island of Guernsey is located in the English Channel, 70 miles from the South coast of London. Guernsey is a British crown dependency. Its defence is the responsibility of the United Kingdom, but Guernsey is not part of the UK.
India and South Africa agreed to Speed up Talks to conclude BIPA

India and South Africa on 8 January 2012 agreed to speed up talks to conclude a bilateral investment promotion and protection agreement in view of the increased trade between the two countries. Both nations reviewed commercial and economic relations in Bloemfontein, South Africa. India and South Africa expressed satisfaction on the continued growth in two-way investments and trade.
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MARCH 2012
MISCELLANEOUS NEWS
Ratnakar Baral Replaced Y Joykumar Singh as Manipur State Police Chief
The Election Commission on 5 January 2012 decided to change the DGP of Manipur, Y Joykumar Singh after the Commission reviewed election preparations in the state. Singh was then appointed as the Managing Director of Police Housing. The Assembly polls in Manipur are scheduled for 28 January 2012. Governor Gurbachan Singh Jagat following the Election Commissions (EC) directive replaced DGP Y Joykumar Singh with Ratnakar Baral citing concerns that the top cop was in a position where he could misuse his office during elections. Baral is former ADGP (Intelligence) Manipur. Qureshi claimed that the EC had received intelligence inputs about Singh, who is believed to be extremely close to Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh. Chief Election Commissioner SY Qureshi informed that the Peoples Democratic Front, an anti-Congress alliance of five political parties and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had expressed concerns about Singh with the EC. Qureshi also maintained that the transfer was necessary to ensure free and fair elections.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Launched the Signature Tune of the Indian Customs
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on 11 January 2012 launched the signature tune of the Indian Customs, Pragati ki Dhadkan in New Delhi. The signature tune composed by noted music director Adesh Srivastava was launched to commemorate the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the Indian Customs Act, 1962. Pragati Ki Dhadkan,a vibrant beat is evocative of this dynamic force and symbolises the march of progress. The signature tune is to be played alongside the tableau of the Central Board of Excise and Customs during the Republic Day Parade on Rajpath on 26 January 2012. For the first time the Central Board of Excise & Customs, on behalf of Ministry of Finance, will be participating in the Republic Day Parade 2012 through a tableau- Indian Customs - The Guardian of Our Economic Frontiers. A tableau- Indian Customs - The Guardian of Our Economic Frontiers showcases the myriad facets of Indian Customs and its vigil at all frontiers.
Shiva Temple Supposed to have been built in the 5th Century A.D. during the Gupta Period Discovered
Amateur archaeologist discovered the remains of a Shiva temple supposed to have been built in the 5th Century A.D. during the Gupta period in dense forests 35 km away from Bundi district town in Rajasthan. The temple has a Shivalingam with the face of Lord Shiva engraved on it. The temple is believed to belong to the era when the concept of installing statues of deities in temples was introduced. DESCRIPTION The five-foot long and two-foot thick Shivalingam is reportedly the third of its kind from the Gupta era found in India so far. Similar statues were earlier discovered at Udaigiri in Vidisha and Bhumra in Satna district of neighbouring Madhya Pradesh. The Shivalingam is built of white sandstone, has embellishments like earrings and ornaments with Lord Shivas face. The sanctum where it was installed is encircled with hundreds of undamaged and broken bricks. In the local parlance, this statue is called Mukhling. There are traces of a covered processional path in the temple for circumambulation, which formed part of the worship ritual. A methodical study of the Bhimtal temple could provide important clues to various dimensions of early Hindu architecture in ancient India. The temple, found near Bhimtal village include the remnants of a square sanctum and pillared porch. Built with bricks, the temple makes a significant addition to the handful of sites in the country where the remains of places of worship from the Gupta era have been unearthed. SIGNIFICANCE O F THE DISCOVERY The latest discovery had confirmed the presence of the thriving ancient empire in Hadoti region of Rajasthan during the 5th Century, when magnificent temple architecture was gradually evolving. the presence of dilapidated Shiva temples amid thick vegetation in surrounding areas such as Jalindri, Nathun, Deojhar, Banganga, Umarthuna and Kheruna indicated that the Shaivite religion held sway over much of the Hadoti region for several centuries. The discovery also demonstrated that Hadoti did not merely have a prehistoric human habitation, but was also rich in archaeological wealth which could throw a new light on the evolution of Hinduism with the dissemination of Vedic civilisation by Aryans. GUPTA EMPIRE The Gupta empire, that existed approximately between 320 and 550 A.D. was described by historians as the golden age of ancient India. The Gupta dynasty covered much of the Indian subcontinent and was marked by scientific and cultural creativity, including the outstanding architecture and sculptures, and crystallisation of the elements of Hindu culture. Gupta Architecture:The gradual evolution of the Gupta style architecture led to the construction of shikhara (dome) in the temples and ornamentation on the pillars and doorframe. Decorative motifs like goblins, couples, flying angels, door-keepers and a figure relief in the centre of the lintel emblematic of the deity consecrated in the temple were introduced.
Siddharth Varadarajan Succeeded N. Ram as the Editor of The Hindu

N. Ram stepped down as Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of The Hindu , Business Line , Frontline , and Sportstar. Siddharth Varadarajan succeeded Ram, with effect from 19 January 2012, as Editor of The Hindu responsible for the selection of news under the Press and Registration of Books (PRB) Act of 1867. D. Sampathkumar, Editor, Business Line; R. Vijaya Sankar, Editor, Frontline and Nirmal Shekar, Editor, Sportstar took over with effect from 19 January 2012, as Editors responsible for the selection of news under the Press and Registration of Books (PRB) Act of 1867 in these Group publications. K. Balaji, Managing Director of Kasturi & Sons Ltd., the public limited company that brings out The Hindu group of publications succeeded Mr. Ram as Publisher of all our publications.
National Capitals Crime Graph registered an Upward Trend for the Third Consecutive Year
Delhi Polices annual statistics on crime released in January 2012 showed that with four per cent increase in the number of criminal cases registered in 2011, the crime graph registered an upward trend for the third consecutive year. In 2010, the crime ratio was 313.06 cases per lakh population, which rose to 318.47 per lakh in 2011. For the third consecutive year, the National Capitals crime graph (mainly heinous and non-heinous crimes) continued to be on the rise. Heinous crimes comprising dacoity, murder, kidnapping for ransom and rape saw an increase of 3.93 %. Non-heinous crimes such as theft, abduction and molestation rose by 4.02%. Smaller offences saw a dip. Snatching cases dropped from 1671 in 2010 to just 1476 in 2011. Motor vehicle thefts dropped from 14966 to 14668 cases. But rape cases went up to 568 from 507 in 2010. Snatching incidents came down by 11.67% in 2011. 1,592 snatchers were arrested in 2010 and in 2011 the number went up to 1770. The number of arrested auto lifters went up to 3988 against 3258 in 2010. Delhi Polices annual statistics on crime against women stated that 2011 witnessed 568 cases of rape compared to 507 in 2010, an increase of 12.03 %. 653 cases of molestation were registered with the police last year while in 2010 only 601 cases were reported. However, cases of rape per lakh population have shown a steady decline in Delhi, coming down from 4.42 per lakh in 2005 to 3.39 per lakh in 2011. The detection rate in rape cases was high in 2011 at 98 per cent. INITIATIVES TO CURB CRIME Action was taken against 10800 police officers ranging from dismissal to seeking explanation on charges of corruption and dereliction of duty. This was nearly a 10fold jump from 2010. 460 women constables were imparted commando training with 25 being imparted advanced training by the CRPF in 2011. The commissioner advocated a steep hike in fines for traffic violations.
President Pratibha Patil inaugurated the New Mission Control Centre at SHAR
President Pratibha Patil visited the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC SHAR) at Sriharikota on 2 January 2012 and inaugurated the new Mission Control Centre. Following the inauguration, she witnessed a simulation of the launch of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) at the Mission Control Centre. The new centre has been developed with state-of-theart facilities to meet the requirements for the launch of the Geo-Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-III and future missions of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The Mission Control Centre, situated six km away from the launch complex, will monitor and conduct launch operations during the pre countdown and countdown phases until the injection of the satellite into orbit. The launch preparations on the vehicle will be monitored using a multichannel closed circuit television system. The President on this occasion also presented ISRO awards for the year 2008 and 2009. The lifetime achievement award for contribution to the Indian space programme was conferred on former ISRO chairman K Kasturirangan.
School Reforms Panel Submits Report

The Review Committee on the Delhi School Education Act and Rules 1973 (DSEAR73) submitted its report to Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on 30 January 2012. The committee was chaired by former Delhi Chief Secretary Shailja Chandra. The other members of the committee were Abha Joshi and Manish Kumar Gaur, a legal expert. The committee consulted a wide range of stake holders and finalised its recommendations in three volumes after taking into account the views presented by a large number of persons associated with the field of school education in Delhi. The committees report is aimed at bringing about purposeful amendments to the Act and related rules. The committee, constituted in April 2011 was mandated to examine all issues related to DSEAR-73. It had to study the difficulties being faced because of the new circumstances that emerged after implementation of the Delhi School Education Act nearly 40 years ago. It was entrusted with the responsibility to suggest a set of steps to protect the interests of parents and teachers and role of the school management. It suggested a new concept of conducting school inspections with the primary focus being on the learning outcomes of children.
Indians Constituted about 20 per cent of the Tourists to Sri Lanka in 2011
Indians constituted about 20 per cent of the tourists to Sri Lanka in 2011. The number was almost the same as that in 2010. In the period from January to November 2011, Sri Lanka received just over 7.5 lakh tourists. Of this, over 1.5 lakh were Indians. In 2010, out of the total of about 6.5 lakh tourists, Indians accounted for over 1.2 lakh. According to the Indian High Commission in Colombo, in 2011 the visa office issued about 2 lakh visas to Sri Lankan nationals to facilitate travel to India. The numbers from India are expected to reach an all-time high in 2012 owing to the International Cricket Committees Twenty20 World Cup being held in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan immigration requested people travelling to make sure that they apply for the right kind of visa ahead of commencing journey to the country. The countrys immigration authority mentioned that the online travel approval facility is exclusively meant for tourists, and not for any other group of persons. Businesspersons, journalists, and persons coming for other businesses are to approach the nearest Sri Lankan Mission and obtain an appropriate visa.
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EVENTS OF THE MONTH

National & International
The film, directed by Zoya Akhtar, which has bagged the Best Zindagi Na Milegi Film award at the 57th Filmfare Awards function on 29 Jan 2012 Dubara Indias per capita income as per the latest quick estimates Rs. 53,331/released by the Central Statistical Organisation is The rank of India in 2012 Environmental Performance Index 125 released by Yale University of Davos The European country which has approved a ban on face- The Netherlands covering clothing, such as a burqa, a niqab etc. The state which has added nine new districts on 01 Jan 2012 Chhattisgarh thus increasing the total number of districts from 18 to 27 The Indian tennis player who has become the first Indian to win Leander Paes a career Grand Slam by winning the Australian Open mens doubles title with Czech player Radek Stepanek in January 2012 (a career Grand Slam means winning all the four major tournaments during a career) The best marching contingent among the three services at the Indian Air Force Republic Day parade 2012 The best marching contingent among para-military forces and Border Security other auxillary marching contingents at the Republic Day parade Force 2012 The Belarusian player who has won the Australian Open Victoria Azarenka Womens title defeating Russias Maria Sharapova in the final The billiards player who has retained the National Billiards Pankaj Advani Championship crown at the 79th Senior National Billiards and Snooker Championship being held at Pune The Army officer who has been awarded Ashoka Chakra on 26 Lt. Navdeep Singh Jan 2012 The IAF Officer who for the first time in Indian history has led Flt. Lt. Sneha the IAF contingent at the Republic Day parade on 26 Jan 2012 Shekhawat The Chief Guest at the 63rd Republic Day celebrations in New Thailand Delhi, Mrs Yingluck Shinawatra is the Prime Minister of The badminton player who has won the womens title at the P.V. Sindhu 76th Senior National Badminton Championship held in Bangalore from 17 to 25 Jan 2012 defeating Neha Pandit in the finals The badminton player who has won the mens title at the 76th Saurabh Verma Senior National Badminton Championship in Bangalore defeating Sai Praneeth in the finals The name of the train which has been chosen as the theme of Punjab Mail the Railway Tableau at the Republic Day parade 2012, for being the first train to achieve distinction of entering its 100th year on Indian Railways broad gauge network. The joint winners of National Communal Harmony Award 2011 Shri Khamliana (Mizoram) and Shri in the individual category Md. Abdul Bari The golfer who has won the All India Amateur golf title defeating Angad Cheema Gagan Verma at the final in Chandigarh on 23 Jan 2012 The team which has retained the Ranji Trophy after winning it Rajasthan for the first time in 2011. (The team defeated Tamilnadu on the basis of first innings lead.) The 7th State Level Philatelic exhibition of Delhi Circle being Dharohar-2012 held from 22 Jan to 24 Jan 2012 at Delhi is named The Sri Lankan author who has been awarded the DSC Prize for Shehan Karunatilaka South Asian Literature 2012 for his book Chinaman The village in Assam which has become first village in the Rangati Misamara country to have full insurance coverage The venue of India International Coffee Festival 2012 being New Delhi held from January 18 The new Swedish coach appointed to train Indian tennis Henrik Ekersund players, particularly juniors and sub-juniors Chinas first supercomputer built with domestically-produced Sunway Bluelight microprocessors and capable of performing around onethousand-trillion calculations per second which became officially operational in January 2012 is named The theme of 5th World Future Energy Summit being held in Sustainable Energy for All Abu Dhabhi The venue of the 5th World Future Energy Summit which began Abu Dhabi on 16 Jan 2012, India being represented by Union Minister for Renewable energy resources, Dr. Farooq Abdullah The year 2012 has been declared by the United Nations Sustainable Development Organisation as the year of The year 2012 has been declared by the Health Ministry of Intensification of Routine Government of India as the year of Immunisation The Russian space craft which failed on its mission to Phobos, Phobos Grunt (a moon of Mars) and crashed into the Pacific Ocean two months after its launch in November 2011 The Italian cruise ship that ran aground off the island of Giglio in Costa Concordia the Mediterranean Sea on January 14 killing at least 5 people The playback singer and classical vocalist who has been chosen KJ Yesudas for the first Harivarasanam award of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), the statutory body that manages major temples in south Kerala, including the famed Sabarimala hill temple Homai Vyarawala who passed away on 15 Jan 2011 was a well Photographer known The Indian shooter who has won a gold medal in the Mens 10- Abhinav Bindra metre Air Rifle event at the 12th Asian Shooting Championships in Doha The venue of 17th National Youth Festival - 2012, a festival Mangalore organised to commemorate the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda since 1995 The music director who has composed the signature tune of the Adesh Indian Customs Department, launched on the ocassion of golden Srivastava jubilee of Indian Customs Act, 1962. The tune is named Pragati ki Dhadkan. Indias Sculptural Heritage The Indian Nobel laureate on whoses works Raja Ram Mohan Rabindranath Roy Foundation has compiled a web-bibliography, which was Tagore launched by Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee in Jan 2012 The theme of India Post Calendar 2012 is Pixel, a new model of car has been unveiled at the 11th Auto Tata Motors Expo in New Delhi by The Serbian player with whom Leander Paes partnered to win Janko Tipsarevic the Chennai Open Tennis Doubles title The Canadian player who has won the Chennai Open Tennis Milos Raonic Tournament The venue of 11th Auto Expo being held from 05 Jan to 11 Jan Pragati Maidan, New Delhi 2012 The place in Gujarat where new National Law University was Gandhinagar inaugrated by Vice-President Hamid Ansari The Chess player from Andhra Pradesh who has become the M. Lalith Babu 26th Indian chess player to become a Grandmaster The scientist from Vietnam who was awarded the Kalinga Chair Trinh Xuan Thuan Award at the 99th Indian Science Congress The venue of 99th Indian Science Congress held from 02 Jan to KIIT University, Bhubaneswar 07 Jan 2012 Ms. Kamla Prasad Bissesar, the chief guest at the 10th Pravasi Trinidad and Bhartiya Divas being held in Jaipur with the theme Global Indian- Tobago Inclusive Growth is the President of The place at which a nearly 400-year-old temple, which was Kangra, standing tilted for more than 100 years after it was damaged in an Himachal earthquake, was rebuilt by the Indian National Trust for Art and Pradesh Cultural Heritage (INTACH) The University in Uttar Pradesh which has been recognised as Banaras Hindu Univeristy with Potential for Excellence University KJ Sarasa, the first woman nattuvanar, the guru of Ms Jayalalitha, Bharat Natyam who died on 02 Jan 2012 was associated with The first Indo-Italian co-production film based on a short story Gangor by well-known writer Mahasweta Devi which has bagged the NETPAC Jury award at the 10th Third Eye Asian Film Festival 2011 at Mumbai.(the film is directed by Italo Spinelli) The tribal efforts to conserve biodiversity and develop climate Koraput resilient farm practices of this place in Odisha have been recognised by UNs Food and Agriculture Organisation as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) The category of foreign investors who have been allowed to Qualified Foreign invest directly in India Equity market by government Investor The Managing Director of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation fondly E. Sreedharan known as Metroman who relinquished office on 31 Dec 2011 The first car of Bajaj Auto, Indias leading two-wheeler RE 60 manufacturer is named
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MARCH 2012
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
WORLD: THAILAND
Government : Constitutional Monarchy. Geography: Thailand occupies the western half of the Indochinese peninsula and the northern two-thirds of the Malay Peninsula in southeast Asia. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: A unified Thai kingdom was established in the mid 14th century. Known as Siam until 1939, Thailand is the only Southeast Asian country never to have been taken over by a European power. A bloodless revolution in 1932 led to a constitutional monarchy. In alliance with Japan during World War II, Thailand became a US ally following the conflict. Thailand is currently facing armed violence in its three Muslim-majority southern most provinces. On 19 September 2006, Thai Military leaders orchestrated a coup in the country. Name: Kingdom of Thailand Capital: Bangkok Government : Parliamentary democracy and Constitutional monarchy-Monarch Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) Prime Minister: Yingluck Shinawatra Official language(s): Thai Area: 513,120 km2 (50th) 198,115 sq mi Population: 2011 estimate 66,720,153 Currency: Baht (THB)
INDIA : UTTAR PRADESH

Governor: Banwari Lal Joshi Chief Minister: Mayawati Capital: Lucknow Legislature: Bicameral Lok Sabha seats: 80 Judicature: Allahabad High Court Languages: Hindi Population density: 689/sq km No. of Districts: 70 Main crops: Sugarcane, wheat, rice, gram, barley, cotton, tea, oilseeds, antibiotic plants Rivers: Ganga, Yamuna, Gandak, Gomti, Sarayu, Ramganga, Ghaghara Minerals: Limestone, dolomite Industries: Sugar, handlooms, woolen, textiles Airports: Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Allahabad, Agra, Jhansi, Gorakhpur, Lalitpur PHYSICAL FEATURES On the basis of its physiography, the main regions of Uttar Pradesh are the central plains of the Ganga and its tributaries, the southern uplands, the Himalayan region, and the submontane region between the Himalayas and the plains. The Gangetic Plain occupies about threefourths of the total area of Uttar Pradesh. It largely consists of a fertile plain which is featureless, and varies in elevation, rising up to 300 metres in the northwest, and 60 metres in the extreme east. It is composed of alluvial deposits which are brought down by the Ganga and its tributaries from the Himalayas. The southern uplands constitute a part of the Vindhya Range, which is rugged, largely dissected, and rises towards the southeast. The elevation in this region reaches up to 300 metres. The submontane region consists of the Bhabar, a narrow bed of alluvium and gravel, which along its southern fringes joins into the Terai area. The Terai area, which previously consisted of tall grass and thick forests, is a marshy and damp tract. A definite portion of the Terai region has been subject to deforestation. The topography of the Himalayan region is vastly varied. There are deep canyons, turbulent streams, large lakes and snowcapped peaks. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND The history of Uttar Pradesh is recognised in the later Vedic Age as Brahmarshi Desha or Madhya Desha. Many great sages of the Vedic times like Bhardwaja, Gautam, Yagyavalkaya, Vashishtha, Vishwamitra and Valmiki flourished in this state. Several sacred books of the Aryans were also composed here. Two great epics of India, Ramayana and Mahabharata, appear to have been inspired by Uttar Pradesh. In the Sixth Century BC Uttar Pradesh was associated with two new religionsJainism and Buddhism. It was at Sarnath that Buddha preached his first sermon and laid the foundations of his order. Several centres in Uttar Pradesh like Ayodhya, Prayag, Varanasi and Mathura became reputed centres of learning. In the medieval period Uttar Pradesh passed under Muslim rule and led the way to new synthesis of Hindu and Islamic cultures. Ramananda and his Muslim disciple Kabir, Tulsidas, Surdas and many other intellectuals contributed to the growth of Hindi and other languages. During the British rule in India, there were certain pockets in Uttar Pradesh that were governed by the English equity and common law. In 1773, the Mughal Emperor transferred the districts of Banaras and Ghazipur to the East India Company. The East India Company acquired the area of modernday Uttar Pradesh over a period of time. The territories occupied from the nawabs, the Scindias of Gwalior and the Gurkhas were initially placed within the Bengal Presidency. POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT 1833: 1877: 1902: 1947: 1949: 1973: 2000: North-Western Provinces, was created as Agra Presidency Kingdom of Awadh was united with the NorthWestern Provinces, and was renamed NorthWestern Provinces of Agra and Oudh. The province was renamed, when it became United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. became an administrative unit of Independent India Autonomous states of Rampur & Tehri Garhwal were incorporated into the Provinces. The name was shortened to United Provinces. Uttarakhand was carved out from Uttar Pradesh.
IMPORTANT DAYS
Day February 2 February 4 February 5 February 6 February 12 February 12 February 14 February 20 February 21 February 22 February 23 Days Name World Wetland Day World Cancer Day Kashmir Day International Day against Female Genital Mutilation Darwin Day World Day of the Sick Valentines Day World Day of Social Justice International Mother Language Day World Scout Day World Peaces and Understanding Day
WORDS OF THE MONTH

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. N O V A T I O N: the introduction of something new; innovation. T R U S S: to tie, bind, or fasten. S O L E C I S M: a breach of good manners or etiquette. F E T I A L: concerned with declarations of war and treaties of peace. G A S C O N A D E: extravagant boasting; boastful talk. S P R A T: a small or inconsequential person or thing. C I M M E R I A N: very dark; gloomy; deep. P R O F L I G A C Y: reckless extravagance. H E T E R O T E L I C: having the purpose of its existence or occurrence apart from itself. P A R E G M E N O N: the juxtaposition of words that have a common derivation, as in sense and sensibility. E X P O S T U L A T E: to reason earnestly with someone against something that person intends to do or has done. B O N N Y: pleasing to the eye. V I S C I D: having a glutinous consistency; sticky; adhesive. D E S I N E N C E: a termination or ending, as the final line of a verse. O U T R A N C E: the utmost extremity. P E R S P I C A C I O U S: having keen mental perception and understanding; discerning. A L A T E: having wings; winged. P E R S N I C K E T Y: overparticular; fussy. S H I V: a knife, especially a switchblade. D E U C E D L Y: devilishly; damnably. R E M O R A: an obstacle, hindrance, or obstruction. N A T H E L E S S: nevertheless. SLIMSY: flimsy; frail. E D U C E: to draw forth or bring out, as something potential or latent. B L E B: a bubble. M E T T L E: courage and fortitude. C O N C I L I A T E: to overcome the distrust or hostility of; placate; win over. B I R R: force; energy; vigor. H O T C H P O T: the bringing together of shares or properties in order to divide them equally. I N T E R P O L A T I O N: the act or process of introducing something additional or extraneous between other parts.
ABBREVIATIONS 1. G.S.L.V. Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle
The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (usually known by its abbreviation, GSLV) is an expendable launch system operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It was developed to enable India to launch its INSAT-type satellites into geostationary orbit and to make India less dependent on foreign rockets.
2.
N.B.R.C. National Brain Research Center
The National Brain Research Centre is a neuroscience research group, situated in Manesar, Gurgaon district, Haryana, India. It is an Autonomous Government Institute accredited with the deemed university status and is a nodal center under Department of Biotechnology of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India. NBRC was dedicated to the country on the 14th November, 1997 and it was formally inaugurated at its current campus in Manesar in December 2003 by then President of India, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. The center is dedicated to provide infrastructural facilities and a coordinated multidisciplinary team to work at the frontiers of neuroscience research and network the existing groups and whenever required, create satellite units to catalyze the overall growth of this discipline in the country. Founder director Vijayalakshmi Ravindranath has been awarded Padmashri in the year 2010 by government of India.
12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30.
3.
C.S.T.O. Collective Security Treaty Organisation
The Collective Security Treaty Organization is an intergovernmental military alliance which was signed on 15 May 1992. On 7 October 2002, the Presidents of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan signed a charter in Tashkent founding the CSTO. Nikolai Bordyuzha was appointed secretary general of the new organization. On 23 June 2006, Uzbekistan became a full participant in the CSTO; and its membership was formally ratified by the Uzbek parliament on 28 March 2008. The CSTO is currently an observer organisation at the United Nations General Assembly.
4.
Q.I.P. Qualified Institutional Placement
QIP is a capital-raising tool, primarily used in India, whereby a listed company can issue equity shares, fully and partly convertible debentures, or any securities other than warrants which are convertible to equity shares to a qualified institutional buyer (QIB). Apart from preferential allotment, this is the only other speedy method of private placement whereby a listed company can issue shares or convertible securities to a select group of persons. QIP scores over other methods because the issuing firm does not have to undergo elaborate procedural requirements to raise this capital.
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MARCH 2012
MCQs OF THE MONTH

1. Scientists produced artificial human semen to help infertile men. Consider the following statements: i) The scientists grew the sperm by enveloping the germ cells in a special compound called agar jelly. ii) The artificial human semen could help infertile men father their own children. Choose the right option: a) Both i and ii are correct. b) Only i is correct. c) Only ii is correct. d) Neither i nor ii is correct. Answer: (a) 2. Health Authorities in Australia recently detected Deadly Disease, Murray Valley Encephalitis. The disease is caused by the__. a) Flies b) Mosquitoes c) Birds d) Dogs Answer: (a) 3. Kiro Gligorov, the former president of Macedonia died in Skopje on 1 January 2012. Which facts about Gligorov given below are not true? 1. Gligorov was the first democratically elected president of Macedonia. 2. He joined the partisan movement fighting against the Nazi occupation and was one of the organizers of the AntiFascist Assembly for the Peoples Liberation of Macedonia, or ASNOM in 1945 3. Gligorov served four consecutive presidential terms, leading the nation from January 1991 to November 2009 4. The early days his presidency were overshadowed by a bitter dispute with Greece over the newly independent nations name, the dispute that continues till date a. Only 1 b. 1 & 2 c. Only 3 d. 2 & 4 Answer: (c) 4. Who was presented the Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Peace and Reconciliation on 4 January 2011, the fourth day of the ten-day Kalachakra initiations? a. Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama b. South African leader Nelson Mandela c. Tanzanias Julius Nyerere d. Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi Answer: (c) 5. The scientists claimed that the Meteorite, which fell in Morocco in July 2011, was from Mars. The event happened for the first time in__ years. a) 50 b) 100 c) 200 d) 150 Answer: (a) 6. Scientists found the Extinct Monkey, the Millers Grizzled Langur in the forests of___. a) Indonesia b) Malaysia c) India d) Africa Answer: (a) 7. 10th PBD( Pravasi Bhartiya Divas) was held at which one of the following Indian cities? a) Jaipur b) Patna c) New Delhi d) Chennai Answer: (a) 8. Planning Commission of India approved Rudrasagar development scheme. The scheme is related__. a) Tripura b) Assam c) Manipur d) Sikkim Answer: (a) 9. Pravasi Bhartiya Divas-2012 was held in Jaipur. Jaipur is the capital of which one of the following states? a) Rajasthan b) Bihar c) UP d) Bihar Answer: (a) 10. Which French construction major entered the Indian market by buying out 100 per cent stake in NAPC, a Chennaibased construction company? a. Sinopec Engineering b. Uhde c. Vinci d. Snamprogetti Answer: (c) 11. According to the draft sports policy of this state Government released, a special life-time achievement award, in memory of G.V. Raja, the founderpresident of the State Sports Council is to be instituted. Which State is being referred to? a. Karnataka b. Kerala c. Tamil Nadu d. Andhra Pradesh Answer: (b) 12. Which team defeated Uttarakhand 25-22, 25-22, 25-13 in the mens category to win the National title for the fourth time, in the 60th senior National volleyball championship, at the Balbir Juneja Indoor Stadium, Raipur? a. Kerala b. Andhra Pradesh c. West Bengal d. Tamil Nadu Answer: (a) 13. Which team extended their hegemony by defeating Kerala 25-12, 2514, 25-16 in a one-sided final in the womens category at the 60th senior National volleyball championship? a. Punjab b. Services c. Railways d. Delhi Answer: (c) 14. The Cabinet Committee on Security approved the setting up of NCTC. What is the full form of NCTC? a) National Counter Terrorism Centre b) National Trade Cooperation c) National Central Terrorism Centre d) National Council for Trade Cooperation Answer: (a) 15. Which of the following companies infused Rs 520 crore equity into BSES Delhi distribution companies as part of Rs 5,100 crore financial package being worked by IDBI a. NTPC b. RIL c. Adani Power Ltd d. Birla Group Answer: (b) 16. Suzlon Energy signed a memorandum of understanding with this State Government as a part of the CIIs Partnership Summit that concluded on 13 January 2012. As per the MoU, Suzlon Energy will develop wind power projects totalling 3,000 MW in Andhra Pradesh over the next four years, involving potential investment of up to Rs.18,000 crore. Name the state government with which the MoU was signed. a. Andhra Pradesh government b. Gujarat governemnt c. Orissa government d. Arunachal Pradesh government Answer: (a) 17. Union Cabinet of India renamed the Mana Airport at Raipur as the___ Airport, Raipur. a) Swami Vivekananda b) Ramakrishna Paramhamsa c) Mahatma Gandhi d) Jawaharlal Nehru Answer: (a) 18. Mukesh Ambanis Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) entered the media and entertainment sector by making a major investment in one of Indias largest broadcast companies. Name the broadcast company. a. Network18 Group b. Adlabs Films c. Balaji Telefilms d. Bag Films Answer: (a) 19. Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee launched the signature tune of the Indian Customs Pragati ki Dhadkan in New Delhi. The signature tune was composed by which of the noted music directors? a. A. R. Rahman b. Aadesh Shrivastava c. Adnan Sami d. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy Answer: (b) 20. Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago visited India from 5 January 2012 to 14 January 2012. Who among the following is the Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago? a) Kamla Persad Bissessar b) Hosni Mubarak c) Manmohan Singh d) Naresh Goyal Answer: (a) 21. The fifth edition of the World Future Energy summit began in__. a) Abu Dhabi b) New Delhi c) Tehran d) Dhaka Answer: (a) 22. Memogate scandal is related to which one of the following countries? a) Pakistan b) Sri Lanka c) China d) India Answer: (a) 23. Name the worlds largest biotechnology company, agreed to buy Micromet in a $1.16 billion deal to gain an experimental leukemia drug. a. Celgene Drug b. B B Biotech c. Dechert d. Amgen Answer: (d) 24. Which channel developed a 52-week special India: Wild Encounters to focuss on Indias enchanting wildlife s well as take viewers on an exploration spree? a. Discovery India b. Animal Planet c. Sony d. National Gepgraphy Answer: (b) 25. Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) estimated Corporate Indias sales to grow by what per cent in 2011-12? a. 21.6% b. 20.8% c. 22 d. 23.7% Answer: (a) 26. The influential 1950s rhythm-andblues singer, Etta James died on 20 January 2012 from complications of leukemia. Which of the following facts about her is/are not true? 1. Etta James is best known for her show-stopping hit At Last 2. Three-time Grammy winner hit the R&B charts with 30 singles, and placed nine of those songs in pop musics top 40 3. James last album, The Wallflower, was released in 2011 4. James won her first Grammy in 1995 for her album, Mystery Lady: The Songs of Billie Holiday 5. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 a. Only 5 b. Only 1 c. Only 3 d. 2 & 5 Answer: (c) 27. Whose record did Dutch teenager Laura Dekker break when she became the youngest sailor to complete a solo circumnavigation of the world? a. Jessica Watson b. Alena Ladev c. Christiana Notham d. Bisht Jove Answer: (a) 28. Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan and International Asociation of Sanskrit Studies jointly organised the 15th World Sanskrit conference from 5 to 10 January 2012 at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi. Where was the 14th World Sanskrit conference held? a. Kyoto, Japan b. Beijing, China c. Colombo, Sri Lanka d. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Answer: (a) 29. Identify this politicial with the help of the following clues. 1. Leader of the Sandinista movement which overthrew the US-backed Somoza dictatorship in 1979 2. After the Nicaraguan Revolution resulted in the overthrow and exile of the Somozas government in 1979, he became a member of the ruling multipartisan Junta of National Reconstruction. 3. He was elected as the 83rd Nicaraguan president in 2006. He had previously served as the 79th President, between 1985 and 1990. 4. He made alliances with fellow Latin American socialists and signed Nicaragua up to the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas. a. Enrique Bolaos b. Arnoldo Alemn c. Daniel Ortega d. Hugo Chvez Answer: (c) 30. The Bangalore-based pharmaceutical major, Strides Arcolab, sold its 94 per cent stake in Ascent Pharmahealth, a subsidiary with operations in Australia and Southeast Asia, to which of the following U.S.-based pharma companies? a. Watson Pharmaceuticals b. Abbott Laboratories c. Pfizer d. Derma Sciences Answer: (a) 31. The Israel-Palestine talks were held in Amman. Amman is the capital of__ a) Jordan b) Syria c) Iraq d) Iran Answer: (a) 32. Maldives lifted ban on Spas in the up market tourist destination. Consider the following statements: i) The tourism industry is an important foreign exchange earner in the Maldives. ii) Maldives in 2011 received more than 850000 tourists. Choose the right option: a) Both i and ii are correct. b) Only i is correct. c) Only ii is correct. d) Neither i nor ii is correct. Answer: (a) 33. India signed MoU( Memorandum of Understanding) on tourism with ASEAN. The agreement took place in__. a) Manado b) Jakarta c) Malaysia d) Manila Answer: (a) 34. Which PSU announced on 2 January 2012 that its board approved in a meeting held on 30 December 2011 the switching over to internationally-accepted Gross Caloric Value-based pricing mechanism? a. BHEL b. ISPAT c. CIL d. IOC Answer: (c) 35. Credit Suisse upgraded which company to neutral from underperforms, citing valuation comfort at current? a. Essar Energy b. Reliance Power c. Bajaj Auto d. Tata Steel Answer: (d)
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36. Scientists discovered unknown species off the coast of Antarctica. Consider the following statements: i) The temperature in this region rises to 380 degree Celsius. ii) There is plenty of light in this region. Which of the above statements is/ are correct? a) Only i b) Only ii c) Both i and ii d) Neither i nor ii Answer: (a) 37. The worlds first hybrid sharks were discovered by the researchers in Australian waters. The hybrid shark is the result of cross-breeding between which one of the following set of shark species? a) Common black tip Shark and Australian black-tip shark b) Indian black-tip Shark and Australian black-tip Shark c) Blue Whale and Common blacktip Shark d) Blue Whale and Australian black-tip Shark Answer: (a) 38. TiE Chennai (The Indus Entrepreneurs), dedicated to promote entrepreneurship launched a book Dream to destiny the driving spirit of Chennais entrepreneurs in January 2012. TiE Chennai is a _. a. Non-profit organisation b. Committee of Entrepreneurs c. Multinational organisation d. Entrepreneur arm of the Commerce Ministry Answer: (a) 39. State-run Northern Coalfields (NCL) agreed to surrender land required to mine two blocks attached to the Sasan ultra mega power plant to which of the following companies giving the comapany the benefit of over Rs 6000 crore over the life of the venture? a. Reliance Power b. Adani Power c. Birla Power Solutions d. DLF Power Answer: (a) 40. Which car took home the crown of Indian Car of the Year 2012? a. Toyota Etios Liva b. Maruti Suzuki Swift c. Hyundai Verna d. Hyundai Eon Answer: (b) 41. This footballer was awarded the 2011 FIFA Ballon dOr in Zurich. He won the award for the third consecutive year for the worlds outstanding footballer. Identify the footballer. a. Cristiano Ronaldo b. Xavi c. Sergio Ramos d. Lionel Messi Answer: (d) 42. Prime Ministers Office directed cash-rich public sector undertakings (PSUs) to invest around Rs.1.76 lakh crore to act as a stimulus in the next fiscal 2012-13. What is the amount to be invested domestically? a. Rs.1.41 lakh crore b. Rs 1.57 lakh crore c. Rs 2.50 lakh crore d. Rs 3.19 lakh crore Answer: (a) 43. He was conferred with the first S K Singh Award for excellence in the Indian Foreign Service. Identify the diplomat. a. Ranjan Mathai b. Shivshankar Menon c. D Bala Venkatesh Verma d. K. Raghunath Answer: (c) 44. Which Ministry prepared draft policy seeking to increase private participation and opens the doors for foreign direct investors for expanding its network? a. Railways Ministry b. Ministry of Rural Development c. Ministry of Commerce and Industry d. Defence Ministry Answer: (a)

45. Writer/diplomat Pavan K. Varmas new book set in contemporary India and in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan was launched in the New Delhi by Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck, the Queen Mother of Bhutan in January 2012. The protagonist Anand is wrongly diagnosed with cancer. He quits his high-power job and loses himself in a Bhutanese retreat. Name the book. a. When Loss is Gain b. Ghalib: The Man c. The Great Indian Middle Class d. The Times Answer: (a) 46. Identify the photographer with the help of the following clues. 1. She was Indias first woman photo-journalist and was the only professional woman photojournalist between 1939 and 1970 2. She was commonly known by her pseudonym Dalda 13 3. She also captured the first flaghoisting ceremony at the Red Fort on August 16 1947, the departure of Lord Mountbatten from India and the funerals of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri. 4. The Padma Bhushan Awardee breathed her last on 15 January 2012. a. Ronika Kandhari b. Asha Kochar c. Prabuddha Dasgupta d. Homai Vyarawala Answer: (d) 47. Which PSU lender called off its plans to set up a joint venture with Visa Inc and Elavon Inc to enter the merchant acquiring business over differences on sharing technology? a. Union Bank b. State Bank of India c. Syndicate Bank d. Corp Bank Answer: (b) 48. This company acquired Star more than 500 films like blockbusters like Salman Khans Dabangg, Ready, Golmaal 3, Tees Maar Khan, Thank You, No One Killed Jessica, Guzaarish, Kites and Raavan from a general entertainment channel owned by the Viacom 18 Group? a. Sony b. UTV movies c. Colors d. Sab TV Answer: (c) 49. Union government raised the ad valorem duty (export duty) on iron ore exports to what per cent from 20 per cent? a. 30% b. 33% c. 41% d. 43% Answer: (a) 50. Union government approved Reliance Industries (RIL) investment plan for developing four satellite fields in the flagging KG-D6 block. What was the proposed sum to be invested for developing the satellites? a. $1.500 billion b. $1.692 billion c. $1.529 billion d. $1.375 billion Answer: (c) 51. Name the auto making company which launched three new variants of the Eon-D Lite plus, Era plus and Magna plus in the Indian market in January 2012. a. Tata Motors b. Hyundai Motor India c. Volkswagen d. Maruti Suzuki Answer: (b) 52. The Government of which of the following countries acquired 1.09 per cent stake, currently worth about Rs.2500 crore, in Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL), the companys latest shareholding data show? a. Malaysia b. Japan c. Phillipines d. Singapore Answer: (d) 53. The Board of Approval (BoA) under the Commerce Ministry approved the proposal of this company to set up a special economic zone (SEZ) at Indore in Madhya Pradesh. Identify the company. a. Reliance Industries b. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) c. Hero Motors d. Infosys Answer: (b) 54. Researchers discovered new earthworm species in Port Blair. What is the name of the new species? a) Moniligaster ivaniosi b) Annelida c) Nematoda d) Onychophora Answer: (a) 55. Which one of the following state governments decided to constitute Jaisalmer Fort development authority? a) Rajasthan b) Bihar c) Madhya Pradesh d) Gujarat Answer: (a) 56. Noted film critic who reviewed films for the Times of India died of breast cancer at 53? a. Nikhat Kazmi b. Raja Sen c. Subhash K. Jha d. Pauline Kael Answer: (a) 57. Inter-ministerial coordination committee for tourism sector Headed by Principal Secretary to the PM Pulok Chatterjee in its meeting decided to extend Visa-on-Arrival facility to Goa, Hyderabad, Kochi and Bangaluru airports to help double the foreign tourist arrivals. With respect to this statement which of the two statements given below are true? 1. Currently, Visa-on-Arrival is extended to 11 countries including Japan, Philippines, Singapore, New Zealand, Vietnam and Finland. 2. The Visa-on-Arrival facility is now available at four international airports at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. a. Only 1 b. Only 2 c. Both 1 & 2 d. None of the above Answer: (c) 58. The capital market regulator SEBI on 3 January 2012 allowed auctioning of securities through stock exchanges and introduced a new method for institutional placement of stocks. Which of the following facts related to the above statement is/are not true? 1. Under the institutional placement programme (IPP), shares can be sold only to qualified institutional buyers. 2. There shall be at least 25 allottees in every IPP issuance. No single investor shall receive allotment for more than 25% of the offer size 3. The IPP method can be used to increase public holding by 10% and could be offered to only qualified institutional buyers with 25% being reserved for mutual funds and insurance companies 4. Under the IPP, companies will have to announce the ratio of buy-back, as is done in the case of rights issues and fix a record date for determination of entitlements as per shareholding on record date a. Only 1 b. Only 3 c. Only 2 d. Only 4 Answer: (c) 59. India signed agreement with OECD ( Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) to check both tax evasion and avoidance. The headquarters of OECD are in___. i) Paris b) London c) New York d) Washington DC Answer: (a)
60. The poor performance of National Pension System, or NPS led the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) to change the incentive structure for the distributors. Which of the following statements in this regard is/are not true? 1. The pension regulator on the basis of the recommendation of the G.N. Bajpai committee constituted by PFRDA to review NPS, fixed the incentive at 0.25% of the subscription amount 2. As per PFRDAs measures announceds, a distributor will get a flat Rs 50 on initial subscription and 0.05% of the initial subscription amount 3. Every year on subsequent investments, the point of presence will be entitled to 0.25% of that amount. 4. The minimum that a point of presence can charge is Rs 20 and the maximum Rs 25000. a. Only 1 b. Only 2 c. Only 3 d. Only 4 Answer: (b) 61. India and Pakistan agreed to transit fee formula for Tapi gas pipeline project in New Delhi. Tasi gas pipeline project comprises a) India, Pakistan and Tajikistan b) India, Pakistan and Russia c) India, Pakistan and Iran d) India, Pakistan and Afghanistan Answer: (a) 62. The military rulers declared partial lifting of emergency in Egypt. The move came into effect from__. a) 25 January 2012 b) 22 January 2012 c) 20 January 2012 d) 28 January 2012 Answer: (a) 63. B. D. Park was appointed the President and CEO of this electronic majors South West Asia Operations and Managing Director of its India operations. Which electronic major is in question here? a. Phillips b. Videocon c. Samsung d. LG Answer: (c) 64. Maldives authorities allowed Male International Airport operator to collect airport development and insurance charges from passengers, nearly a month after a local court barred the Bangalorebased company from doing so. Name the operator. a. GMR Infrastructure b. International Air Transport Association (IATA) c. Fraport AG d. DIAL Answer: (a) 65. Six researchers from five science streams were honoured with this prize by the former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in Bangalore. Name the prize in question. a. Infosys Prize b. India Science Prize c. Rolls-Royce Science Prize d. Young Scientist Award Answer: (a) 4. Which one of the following state governments launched Panch Parmeshwar scheme? a) Madhya Pradesh b) Bihar c) UP d) Kerala Answer: (a) 66. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut the cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 50 basis point. The current CRR stands at what percent? a. 5% b. 5.5% c. 6% d. 6.5% Answer: (b) 67. The Reserve Bank of India kept the repo rate unchanged for the second consecutive time after raising it 13 times between March 2010 and October 2011. What is the present repo rate? a. 8% b. 7.5% c. 8.5% d. 9% Answer: (c)
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68. Which Photography Pioneer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection making it likely for the 132-year-old trailblazer to become the most storied casualty of a digital age? a. Eastman Kodak Company b. Fuji c. Nikon d. Canon Answer: (a) 69. Which company retained its top position in Interbrands list of the top 100 global brands in 2011? a. Apple b. Coca cola c. Microsoft d. Google Answer: (b) 70. Scientists recently developed a new wireless device to detect the presence of termites. Consider the following statements: i) when the new device detects the presence of termites, it sends an SMS or email to a pest control firm. ii) The device is made of a tiny sensor, even smaller than a fingernail. Choose the right option: a) Both i and ii are correct. b) Only i is correct. c) Only ii is correct. d) Neither i nor ii is correct. Answer: (a)
71. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued guidelines on compensation of whole time directors, chief executive officers and other risk takers in private and foreign banks. Which of the following facts regarding the above statement is/are not true? 1. The central banks directions are aimed at preventing greed from destabilising the institution. 2. The guidelines include provisions to claw back pay if transactions fail years after origination 3. The norms provided also include capping the variable component of the compensation at 48% of the fixed pay in a year 4. As per the guidelines issued, banks are permitted to exclude the Employees Stock Option Plan from variable pay a. Only 2 b. Only 4 c. Only 3 d. 2 & 4 Answer: (c) 72. Which of the following bodies unveiled rules for direct investment in stocks by foreign investors, including individuals to put curbs on opaque structures to prevent routing of funds by resident Indians? a. IRDA b. FICCI c. CCI d. SEBI Answer: (d) 73. India and Japan agreed to enhance their cooperation in the ___sector. a) Infrastructure b) Tourism c) Road and Transport d) Coal and Mining Answer: (a) 74. Newly crowned Miss Belgium 2012, Laura Beyne mentioned that she mostly supports gay marriages. In which year did Belgium become the second country after the Netherlands to legalize gay marriage? a. 2000 b. 2003 c. 2005 d. 2009 Answer: (b) 75. European Union agreed in principle to ban import of Iranian Crude oil. Consider the following statements: i) The European Union( EU) is one of Irans biggest markets for oil. ii) The EU is a political and economical union of 27 member states. Choose the right option: a) Both i and ii are correct. b) Only i is correct. c) Only ii is correct. d) Neither i nor ii is correct. Answer: (a) 76. Scientists identified a new gene in maize plants called__. a) Meg1 b) Meg2 c) Meg3 d) Meg4 Answer: (a)
77. What is the Finace Ministrys decision on the rates applicable on small savings instruments schemes that would be announced on April 1 each year? a. rate would remain valid till the maturity of the scheme b. rate would change in the first qurter of that respective year c. rates would change depending on different maturity period d. rates would remainvalid for six months post the maturity Answer: (a) 78. Scientists for the first time produced mixed embryo monkeys. Consider the following statements: i) Scientists produced monkeys composed of cells taken from separate embryos. ii) The cells stay together and work together to form tissues and organs. Choose the right option: a) Both i and ii are correct. b) Only i is correct. c) Only ii is correct. d) Neither i nor ii is correct. Answer: (a) 79. India extended for how many years an anti-dumping duty on import of four Chinese products like nylon filament yarn, Saccharin, cellophane transparent film etc? a. 3 years b. 5 years c. 10 years d. 12 years Answer: (b)
SPECIAL COVERAGE
THE COMING OF EUROPEANS TRADING COMPANIES TO INDIA

By PARAMPREET SINGH ( Academic Director : Creations IAS Academy)
The Age of Discovery, also known as the Age of Exploration, was a period in history starting in the 15th century and continuing into the early 17th century during which Europeans engaged in intensive exploration of the world, establishing direct contacts with Africa, the Americas, Asia and Oceania and mapping the planet. In the initial stages the pioneers of the Age of Discovery were Portuguese and Spanish, who initiated the longdistance maritime travels in search of alternative trade routes to the Indies. The Indies is a term that has been used to describe the lands of South and Southeast Asia, occupying all of the present India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and also Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Brunei, Singapore, the Philippines, East Timor, Malaysia and Indonesia. In a more restricted sense, the Indies can be used to refer to the islands of Southeastern Asia, especially the Malay Archipelago. The name Indies is derived from the river Indus and is used to connote parts of Asia that come under Indian cultural influence. The Portuguese began systematically exploring the Atlantic coast of Africa from 1418, under the sponsorship of Prince Henry, reaching the Indian Ocean by this route in 1488. In 1492, racing to find a trade route to Asia, the Spanish monarchs funded Christopher Columbus plan to sail west to reach the Indies by crossing the Atlantic. He landed on an uncharted continent, then seen by Europeans as a new world, America. To prevent conflict between Portugal and Spain, a treaty was signed dividing the world into two regions of exploration, where each had exclusive rights to claim newly discovered lands. In 1498, a Portuguese expedition commanded by Vasco da Gama finally achieved the dream of reaching India by sailing around Africa, opening up direct trade with Asia. Soon, the Portuguese sailed further eastward, to the valuable spice islands in 1512, landing in China one year later. Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India. Under new king Manuel I of Portugal, on July 1497 a small exploratory fleet of four ships and about 170 men left Lisbon under command of Vasco da Gama. On 21 May 1498, they arrived at Calicut. The efforts of Vasco da Gama to get favorable trading conditions were hampered by the low value of their goods, compared with the valuable goods traded there. Nevertheless, da Gamas expedition was successful beyond all reasonable expectation, bringing in cargo that was worth sixty times the cost of the expedition. In 1595, the Dutch, French and English, who entered the race of exploration shortly after learning of these exploits, defied the Iberian monopoly on maritime trade by searching for new routes, first to the north, and into the Pacific Ocean around South America, but eventually by following the Portuguese around Africa into the Indian Ocean; discovering Australia in 1606, New Zealand in 1642, and Hawaii in 1778. Meanwhile, from the 1580s to the 1640s Russians explored and conquered almost the whole of Siberia. which could only be preserved and its taste improved with the use of spices. Hence, European trading companies were attracted to India.
BEGINNING OF EUROPEAN COMMERCE

The landing of the Portuguese under the leadership of Vasco da Gama at Calicut, by the close of the fifteenth century (May 21, 1498), is considered to be a landmark in the history of Indias maritime trade. Their arrival on the Indian soil was followed by the advent of other European companies and the resultant monopolization of Indias coastal and maritime trade by the Europeans. India had maintained its trade relations with the foreign merchants even during the earlier centuries. But there was a great difference between the foreign merchants who had earlier settled in and conducted brisk trade from India, and the Europeans who came to India during the Fifteenth and Seventeenth centuries. The earlier foreign merchants had mere commercial motives and had very little or no support from their native governments. But the European merchants who came to India during this period had the political and military support of their respective governments. They were not individual merchants but represented their respective nations and tried to establish and safeguard their maritime trade on the strength of their superior naval power. Military superiority was the backbone of their commercial enterprise and they established their fortified trading settlements, called factories, on the coastal parts of India, immune from the administrative control of the local power. No doubt, due to the participation of the Portuguese, the Dutch, the English, the Danes and the French Indias foreign trade grew phenomenally in the sixteenth and
What attracted the Europeans trading companies to India?

European trading companies ventured across the oceans so as to look for new lands from where they could buy goods at a cheap price, and carry them back to Europe to sell at higher prices. The fine qualities of cotton and silk produced in India had a big market in Europe. Indian spices like Pepper (kaalee mirch), Cloves (laung), Cardamom (Elaichi) and Cinnamon (Dalchini) too were in great demand as European depended mainly on meat
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seventeenth centuries, but in course of time the commercial motives turned into territorial ambitions and by the close of the eighteenth century India, from a bulk exporter, turned into one of the biggest importers of industrially manufactured goods.

The systematic assault of the Portuguese on the Muslim (Mainly Arab) monopoly of trade in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea deprived Egypt and Turkey of the duties on Indian goods passing through the sea-route and across Egypt to Alexandria. Similarly, the Sultans of Bijapur and Gujarat feared that the Portuguese would extend their control from the southern (Malabar) ports to the northern ports and encroach upon their interest. This brought about an alliance between Egypt, Turkey and Gujarat against the Portuguese intruders. In a naval battle fought near Chaul, the combined Muslim fleet won a victory over the Portuguese fleet under Almeidas son who was killed in the battle (January 1508). A year later, Almeida defeated the combined Muslim fleet in a naval battle near Diu (February 1509). This victory provided to Portuguese naval supremacy in Asia and turned the Indian Ocean for the next century into a Portuguese sea. Chaul is a former city of Portuguese India, now in ruins. It is located 60 km south of Mumbai, in Raigad District of Maharashtra state in western India. Albuquerque, the next governor, built up a great territorial power in India. The plan of Albuquerque consisted of three series of operations; The control of the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea; The establishment of the headquarters of the Portuguese power at a central port in the west coast of India; and The destruction of Arab trade in the Malay Peninsula and the Far East The conquest of Goa from the Adilshahi Sultan of Bijapur was Albuquerques first achievement (February 1510). But as the city was quickly recaptured by the Sultan of Bijapur, he had to undertake second expedition. He recaptured the place and fortified it against any surprise attack. The conquest of Goa put the seal on Portuguese naval supremacy along the south-west coast. Albuquerque thus enlarged and fulfilled the aims of Almedia. He gave the Portuguese power a territorial base in India. In view of the paucity of manpower in Portugal, Albuquerque encouraged the lower class of the Portuguese settlers to marry Indian women. He maintained friendly relations with Vijayanagar and even tried to secure the goodwill of Bijapur. He created regular bodies of trained troops from among Indians. He died in 1515 leaving the Portuguese as the strongest naval power in India. Albuquerques immediate successor, Nuno da Cunha (1529-38), established settlements at San Thome near Madras and at Hughli in Bengal, and thus developed commerce on the eastern coast. In 1534 the Portuguese secured permission to build factories at Satgaon (Porto Piqueno, little port) and Chittagong (Porto Grande, great port) from the Sultan of Bengal. Chittagong continued to be the great port, but Satgaon, the little port lost its prosperity in the second half of the sixteenth century and Hughli became the Porto Piqueno. Both Akbar and Jahangir left the Portuguese in undisturbed enjoyment of their rights and privileges at Hughli. In 1535 Cunha got possession of Diu and Bassein from Bahadur Shah of Gujarat. By 1571 the Asiatic empire of Portugal was divided into three independent commands, namely (a) a governorship at Mozambique controlling the settlements on the African coast; (b) a viceroyalty at Goa in charge of the Indian and Persian territories; and (c) a governorship at Malacca to control the trade of Java and the Spice Archipelago. Portuguese India (Portuguese: ndia Portuguesa or Estado da India) was the aggregate of Portugals colonial holdings in India. The government started in 1505, six years after the discovery of sea route to India by Vasco da Gama, with the nomination of the first Viceroy Francisco de Almeida, then settled at Kochi. Until 1752, the name India included all Portuguese possessions in the Indian Ocean, from southern Africa to Southeast Asia, governed - either by a Viceroy or Governor - from its headquarters, established in Goa since 1510. In 1752 Mozambique got its own government and in 1844 the Portuguese Government of India stopped administering the territory of Macau, Solor and Timor, being then confined to Malabar.
were at conflict with each other and were therefore too weak to resist the Portuguese. The use of artillery gave the Portuguese a great advantage in sea warfare and was sufficient to coerce all their Indian rivals. They crippled Indias shipbuilding industry; Gujarat and Calicut were forced to abandon the construction of fresh ships or even armed rowing boats. Even on land the Portuguese proved the better fighters and were successful in establishing the fortified factories, from Quilon and Cochin in the South, to Daman and Diu in the North. Through Cartaze system, the Portuguese introduced a new concept to control exclusively the sea-routes and the maritime trade of land-based states and empires of Asia. Under it a tribute was demanded from Asian traders and their ships. Every Indian ship sailing to a destination not reserved by the Portuguese for their own trade had to buy passes from the Portuguese viceroy of Goa or the Portuguese captains of the seas; if it was avoided the merchandise of the errant ship was seized and confiscated.
1. THE PORTUGUESE
The first Portuguese encounter with India was on May 21, 1498 when Vasco da Gama landed at Kappad in Calicut (now Kozhikode) in the present-day Indian state of Kerala. Vasco da Gama was sent in 1497 from Lisbon to find the direct sea-route to India. Over the objections of Arab merchants, Gama managed to secure a letter of concession for trading rights from the Zamorin, Calicuts local ruler. Unable to pay the prescribed customs duties (that Gama sought to be waived) and price of his goods in gold (as was the practice then), the Kings officials detained Gamas Portuguese agents (who were released later) as security for payment. This, however, annoyed Gama, who carried a few Nairs and sixteen Mukkuva fishermen with him by force. Nevertheless, Gamas expedition was successful beyond all reasonable expectation, bringing in cargo that was sixty times the cost of the expedition. Calicut then, under the Zamorins, enjoyed a high degree of prosperity. The Zamorin was kind to all classes of merchants who came to his kingdom, tolerated all creeds and allowed perfect freedom to all in commercial affairs. He gave the newcomers a friendly reception. Though the Arab merchants at Calicut, resented the appearance of a commercial rival, but the armed guards of the Zamorin protected the Portuguese. Vasco Da Gama returned to Portugal in 1499 A second expedition, under Alvarez Cabral reached Calicut in 1500. Cabral was of the opinion that, for the safety of the Portuguese commercial interests in India, he must force Calicut into submission and root out the Arab trade of that place and therefore he secured the friendship of the rulers of Cochin and Cannanore. Some of the men Cabral left in India were massacred, so King Manuel ordered da Gama to India again. A fresh expedition under Vasco da Gama which started in 1501 demanded from the Zamorin the banishment of every Muslim resident from Calicut. He strengthened the factories at Cochin (present day Kochi in Kerala) and Cannanore (present day Kannur in Kerala) and left a squadron to supervise the Malabar Coast and to destroy all Arab vessels coming to it from the Red Sea. He put forward a definite claim to dominion over the Indian coast and the Arabian Sea. On his departure the Arab merchants and the Zamorin attacked the raja of Cochin who bravely held out until relieved by the arrival of the next Portuguese fleet in 1503. The next Portuguese expedition under Lopo Soares destroyed all the ports in which Arab influence prevailed and prevented any ships from coming to or leaving Cochin except their own.
THE DECLINE OF THE PORTUGUESE POWER

The Portuguese monopoly of the Indian Ocean remained unbroken till 1595, but in the first half of the seventeenth century, the Portuguese naval ascendancy in the Indian Ocean was successfully challenged by the Dutch and the English. In 1595 the first Dutch fleet rounded the Cape of Good Hope and in 1603 they blockaded Goa itself. Soon after, they made themselves masters of Java. They expelled the Portuguese altogether from Sri Lanka in the years 1638-58. In 1641 they captured the great port of Malacca and in 1652 got possession of the Cape of Good Hope as well. The English were also not far behind. In 1611 an English squadron under Middleton defeated the Portuguese fleet off Bombay. Four years later came their great victory over the Portuguese, near Surat. In 1616 they entered into direct commercial relations with the Zamorin of Calicut. Two years later they began to trade in the Persian Gulf. In 1622 they had captured Ormuz and finally in 1654 the Portuguese had to recognize the right of the English to reside and trade in all their eastern possessions. Nor was it only from the hands of European rivals that the final blow to the Portuguese power came. The destruction of the Portuguese settlement at Hughli and the conquest of Chittagong by the Mughals gave a severe blow to the Portuguese presence in Bengal. In 1632 during the reign of the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, Qasim Khan (a Mughal Noble) completely destroyed their settlement at Hughli and carried away, as prisoners, more than a thousand of the Portuguese inhabitants. Similarly, the Portuguese pirates who had established themselves at Chittagong and raided the coasts of Bengal and Arakan were easily defeated by the king of Arakan. The descendants of these pirates, known as the Feringhis who infested the whole of the Eastern Bengal coast, were exterminated in about 1665, by Shaista Khan (Mughal viceroy of Bengal). The Marathas captured Salsette and Bassein from Portuguese in 1739. In the end they were left only with Goa, Diu and Daman which they retained till 1961.
THE PORTUGUESE MARITIME TRADE AND SUPREMACY OVER THE INDIAN OCEAN:
The Portuguese maritime empire acquired the name of Estado da India (aggregate of Portugals colonial holdings in India) which intended to monopolize the pepper and spice trade of the East. On the basis of these two commodities the Portuguese tried to found their imperial ambitions. Besides controlling the whole of the export trade to Europe, the Portuguese monopolized the port-to-port trade on the Malabar Coast and the trade from the Indian to the Persian coast on the one side and to Malacca on the other. Portugals initial objective was to seize the spice trade, but after Cabrals voyage she decided to divert to herself all the trade of the East with Europe. It was now realized in Portugal that command over the Eastern trade could not be established by sending an annual fleet and establishing a few isolated factories. Thus a new policy was adopted in 1505: a Governor was to be appointed on a three year term. The person first chosen for the post was Francisco de Almeida who was invested with full power to wage war, conclude treaties and regulate commerce. He reached India in September 1505, built a fort at Anjadiva (Karnataka) and settled, in Portuguese interest, a question of succession to the throne of Cochin.
THE REASONS BEHIND THE PORTUGUESE DECLINE

The decline of Portuguese power in India was due to several internal and external factors. Portugal was a small country; it could not provide adequate manpower for maintaining a far-flung colonial empire. Moreover the journey to India was perilous; mortality on the crowded vessels exceeded 40 per cent. Religious intolerance was another negative facet of Portuguese imperialism in India. Their fanatic desire to convert all and sundry to their own faith, even at the point of the sword, displayed an intolerant bigotry and introduced all the horrors of the inquisition into India. The Portuguese Indian Church was organized under the guidance of St. Francis Xavier the Apostle of the Indies who came to Goa with the Portuguese governor Martin
WHY WERE PORTUGUESE SUCCESSFUL

The Portuguese landing in India was fortunate both as to place and time. As the Mughal Empire was not yet consolidated, there was no power, either in the North or in the South of India, to effectively check the establishment of the Portuguese dominion on the coast. Moreover, the Malabar Coast, where they first placed their foot (Calicut was situated on the Malabar Coast of India) was then divided among petty Hindu chiefs, who
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After an earlier abortive attempt to start trade at Surat and on the Malabar Coast, Admiral Van der Haghen opened up trade with the Coromandel Coast and set up a permanent factory at Masulipatnam, Andhra Pradesh (Early in 1605). Soon another factory was founded at Devanampatnam (Tegnapatam), Tamil Nadu or Fort St. David as it came to be called later (Under English occupation). In 1610, upon negotiating with the king of Chandragiri, the Dutch found another factory at Pulicat, Tamil Nadu named Fort Geldria in honour of the home province of Van Berchem, the director-general of the Coromandel factories. Till 1689, Pulicat was the chief centre of Dutch on the Coromandel Coast, when it was superseded by Negapatnam, Tamil Nadu acquired from the Portuguese in 1659. Textiles , woven according to special patterns constituted the chief export of the Coromandel ports. As early as 1612, the Coromandel trade was described as the left arm of the Malaccas and neighboring islands, since without the cottons from thence, trade would be dead in the Malaccas. Other commodities exported by the Dutch were indigo and saltpeter (the common name for potassium nitrate. It is used to preserve food especially meat in which it produces a characteristic bright pink colour) As regarding imports, apart from spices the chief articles of import to the Coromandel were sandalwood and pepper from the archipelago copper from Japan and textiles from China. Stimulated by the success of English efforts at Surat, the Dutch also thought of establishing their settlements at that port. In this context the Dutch governor of Coromandel sent Van Ravesteyn, to secure a Farman from the Mughal emperor for this purpose. However even before Ravesteyns adverse report could be received, Van Coen the governor-general of Batavia had sent Pieter Van den Broecke to the Gujarat coast. Broecke landed at Surat in August 1616, and got from its governor permission to erect a provisional factory. The indigo trade became as valuable at Surat and at Broach as cotton, and the profits steadily mounted up. In the following year factories were organized at Broach, Bombay, Ahmedabad, Agra and Burhanpur. In Bengal the Dutch first established a factory at Pipli, but soon abandoned it for Balasore which was in turn neglected when a firm footing was obtained at Chinsura on the Hughli in 1653. The Dutch constructed Fort Gustavus at Chinsura. Subsequently, they established factories at Kasimbazar and Patna. The profits of the Bengal trade were so great as to overcome and counterbalance all losses arising from the extortions and bribes taken by the Nawabs officials. The chief articles of export were cotton cloth, silk, saltpeter and opium, the last of which was consumed in Java and China and yielded enormous profits. Since the pepper trade of Malabar was considered to be less valuable than the Coromandel cloth trade, the Dutch ignored the Malabar Coast. The only port belonging to them on this side was Vengurla, to the north of Goa.
Alfonso de Souza, in 1542. To St. Francis is due the conversion of the Paravars, the fishermen tribe who lived on the Coromandel Coast, as well as the Mukkuvas, the fishermen of the Malabar Coast. Before his death in 1552, the great Apostle of the Indies is said to have converted some seven hundred thousand men, who belonged mainly to the lowest classes of the population. Their religious fanaticism absorbed a good portion of their energies. Even before the time of Albuquerque, priests and monks had flocked in large number to Portuguese India. In 1538, Goa was made the seat of a bishop; and other bishoprics were created at Cochin and Malabar. After 1540, the Portuguese government in India markedly came to be dominated by priests Dominicans, Franciscans and Jesuits. They established at Goa, the hated inquisition which burnt or punished in other cruel ways, unbelievers, relapsed converts and all who were dangerous to the faith in the eyes of the priests. They did not give freedom even to the ancient Syrian Christians of the Malabar Coast. The chief results of this intolerant policy were a practical denial of justice to all non-Christians and the depopulation of Portuguese towns. In 1552, a complaint was made that the Portuguese towns in India were largely depopulated owing to the forced conversion of Hindus and Muslims. The old Goa Pourado (Golden Goa), whose glories were sung by the Portuguese poets, was subsequently depopulated and ruined. The Portuguese failed to evolve an efficient system of administration which is essential for success even in colonial ventures. There was no continuity in Portuguese government; Offices were sold to the highest bidders, and there was much illicit private trade, corruption and bribery. The lack of discipline and irregular pay turned soldiers and sailors into dacoits and thieves. The Estado da India was wholly a piratical and parasitic state, which grew rich by ruthless plunder of unarmed Asian merchant ships. After the discovery of the Cape route, the Portuguese gave greater importance to the coercive methods over those of normal peaceful commerce. The Portuguese treatment of their native subjects and opponents showed a consistent and systematic cruelty and barbarity no less than the standards of a cruel age. This provoked the hostility of the Indian rulers and people.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE DUTCH TRADE

The Dutch on the one hand, dislodged the Portuguese from Indias maritime trade, and on the other, they gave a new direction and commodity structure to Indias foreign trade. The credit for making Indian textiles the premier export from India goes to the Dutch. The Dutch instead of the spices greatly promoted the export of textiles, which they considered more lucrative. Gradually the Indian textiles found wide acceptance in far flung parts of the world. By the third quarter of the seventeenth century, the popularity of Indian textiles had become sufficiently established as to extend their use to the luxury end of the market. FACTUALASPECTS: The first Dutch expedition which successfully reached the East Indies was that of Cornelius Houtman in 1596. The Dutch set up factories at Masulipatnam, Pettapoli (Nizampatam), Devanampatnam (Tegnapatam), Tirupapuliyur (Southern Pataliputra), Pulicat etc The factories of the Dutch were more or less fortified Two chiefs presided over each factory, namely the first who had general supervision and the second who kept the trading accounts and was in charge of the warehouses. The factors were graded as merchants of different grades; assistant, junior, merchant proper, and senior. Van Reede transferred the seat of the government to Negapatam in 1689. The directorate of Surat proved to be one of the most profitable establishments of the Dutch Company.
3. THE ENGLISH
By the end of the seventeenth century the merchants of England, jealous of the prospects of their Dutch rivals, began preparations for a commercial voyage to the East. Finally, through the charter granted by Queen Elizabeth I on 31 December 1600 those interested in such a venture were incorporated under the title of The Governor and Company of Merchants of London trading into the East Indies. The immediate aim of the company was the acquisition of the spices and pepper of the Eastern Archipelago and therefore the first two voyages of the company, between 1601-1606, were made, not to India, but to Achin (In Sumatra), Bantam (in Java) and the Malaccas. Finally with the third voyage in 1608, the English initiated the process of the companys trade with India and Captain William Hawkins who had experience in such ventures and could speak Turkish, was provided with a letter from King James I to Jahangir.
FACTUAL ASPECTS ASSOCIATE WITH PORTUGUESE CONTROL

The Portuguese brought to India the cultivation of tobacco. The Portuguese spread Catholicism in certain regions on Indias western and eastern coasts. The first printing press in India was set up by the Portuguese at Goa in 1556; the first scientific work on Indian medicinal plants by a European writer was printed at Goa in 1563. The Portuguese established their trading stations at Calicut, Cochin, Cannanore, Daman, Salsette, Chaul, Bombay, San Thome near Madras and Hugli in Bengal Cochin was the early capital of the Portuguese in India. Later the capital was transferred to Goa by Nuno da Cunha. In 1661 the king of Portugal gave Bombay to Charles II of England as dowry when he married the formers sister.
ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS AT WESTERN COAST

The English beginnings in India were not very promising on account of Portuguese rivalry. William Hawkins journeyed from Surat and arrived at the Jahangirs court, in 1609, but failed to get permission to erect a factory at Surat. Jahangir though initially willing to grant permission later refused due to Portuguese pressure. However the victory of English under Captain Best over Portuguese fleet at Swally (near Surat) in 1612 broke the tradition of Portuguese naval supremacy and a Farman was issued by Jahangir permitting the English to establish a factory at Surat (1613). Sir Thomas Roe, the royal ambassador from King James I to the Mughal emperor, succeeded in getting two Farmans by 1618, one of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir, and the other of the Prince Khurram granting the permission to trade and erect factories in different parts of the Empire. Surat was one of the chief centres of maritime trade and caravans started from it for all the inland parts of India. Indeed, it is from Surat that the English extended inland their trading operations and by 1616 built subordinate factories at Ahmedabad, Baroda, Broach and Agra. By 1630 the trade of Surat had grown to such dimensions, that the directors constituted it into the headquarters of the company on the West Coast. It was finally replaced by Bombay as headquarter of the company on the West coast in 1687.
THE DECLINE OF THE DUTCH POWER

In the seventeenth century the position of the Dutch in India rested on the superiority of their naval power. They broke down the Portuguese monopoly by the open and persistent use of force, capturing their ships and supplanting them as the actual rulers of one stronghold after another. However, against the English their naval power was far less effective. Over-centralisation and corruption, which weakened the Companys administration and the conflicts with the Indian rulers also contributed to the decline of the Dutch influence. Aurangzebs conquest of Golcunda marked the decline of the Coromandel government. The profits of trade fell in two years (1685-87) to one-fifteenth, and all the establishments worked at a considerable loss. In the middle of the 17th century (1654) the English began to emerge as a formidable colonial power. After 60-70 years of rivalry with the English, the Dutch power in India began to decline by the beginning of the 18th century. Their final collapse came with their defeat by the English in the battle of Bedara in 1759.
2. THE DUTCH
Vereenigde Oost Indische Compagnie (VOC), popularly known as, Dutch United East India Company was formed in 1602. It was a national undertaking and was granted an exclusive right to trade with India and the East Indies for twenty-one years. The company was vested with ample powers of attack and conquest by the state. The skilful administrative system and the enthusiastic national support which the company enjoyed enabled it to monopolise the entire Spice trade to Europe.
DUTCH SETTLEMENTS IN INDIA

What brought Dutch to India, in the first instance, was rather the requirements of the archipelago than of the European market; in other words, it was a distinctly subsidiary interest. The spices of the archipelago were exchanged for cotton goods from Gujarat and the Coromandel Coast.
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In 1661, the Portuguese gave Bombay as a part of dowry to their princess, Catherine of Braganza, on her marriage with Charles II. The Company acquired Bombay from Charles II on lease at an annual rent of ten pounds in 1668. The English secured Bombay at a very crucial moment when Surat was being repeatedly attached by the Marathas. Gerald Aungier, who was the first governor of Bombay (1669 to 1677), was the true founder of Bombays greatness. He resolved to make Bombay completely safe for shipping and trade, free from danger on the landside from the Marathas and on the sea-side from the Portuguese and the pirates of the coast. Under Aungier, Bombay became a safe asylum for all merchants and manufacturers. He established vigorous and strict discipline over all the inhabitants of the city and allowed every community to enjoy the free exercise of its religion. During his governorship the old Panchayat system was revived, so that justice was actually brought to the door of the people in minor cases. He saved English lives and properties during Shivajis second sack of Surat in 1670 However under Aungier, successors began the general decline of Bombay which continued till the close of the first quarter of the eighteenth century. The peaceful and orderly government of Aungier was in striking contrast with the terror which prevailed under Sir John Child. During this period interlopers (The individual English merchants independent of the Companys control) created problems. At the close of the seventeenth century, these interlopers took to open piracy. In 1686 two pirate ships captured several Mughal vessels in the Red Sea, upon which the Mughal governor of Surat violently reacted against the English, particularly at Sir John Child, President of Surat and Governor of Bombay. Though John Child punished the interlopers savagely whenever they were caught, the evil grew more rampant. These pirates and interlopers were the principal cause of the disastrous war which the English subsequently waged with the Mughals. John Child got really frightened and hastened to assure the Emperor Aurangzeb, who was then in the Deccan, that he had really no hostile intention. But Aurangzeb was not deceived by Childs profession of friendship; he issued orders that the English should be treated as enemies. At last, John Child supplicated the emperor for peace, whereupon the latter imposed the following humiliating terms upon the English: All sums due from the Company to the Mughal subjects should be immediately paid; Recompense should be given for such losses as the Mughals had suffered; and The hated Sir John Child should leave India within nine months.

and Pipli. The English also succeeded to establish their factory at Hugli in 1651, followed by those at Patna, Dacca and Kasimbazar. In 1667, Aurangzeb gave the English a Farman for trade in Bengal, and five years later, in 1672, the Mughal governor, Shaista Khan, issued an order confirming all the privileges already acquired by the English. In 1686, the hostilities broke out between the English and the Mughal government in Bengal. In retaliation for the sack of Hughli (October 1686) the English captured the imperial forts on the east of the Midnapore district, and at Balasore But the English were forced to leave Hughli and to retire to an unhealthy place at the mouth of the river. After the conclusion of peace between the Company and the Mughal government in February 1690, Job Charnock returned to Bengal as agent, where he established an English factory on February 10, 1691. On the same day, an imperial order was issued permitting the English to contentedly continue their trade in Bengal on payment of Rs. 3,000 a year in lieu of all dues. This marked the foundation of Calcutta, which was destined to develop as one of the greatest Indian cities. The rebellion of Sobha Singh a Zamindar in the district of Burdwan, gave an opportunity to the English to fortify their settlement at Sutanuti in 1696. They were permitted by Azimush Shah Governor of Bengal, to purchase the Zamindari of the three villages of Sutanuti, Kalikata and Govindpur on payment of Rs. 1,200 to the old proprietors. In 1696, a serious rebellion occurred in Bengal under an Afghan named Rahim Khan who plundered the whole country along the Hughli. Alarmed by rebellion and the inability of the Mughal viceroy to put it down, the English at Calcutta as well as the Dutch at Chinsura asked permission to fortify their factories and to raise troops. The viceroy ordered them, in general terms, to defend themselves; so the English began to build walls and bastions round their factory 1697. This was the origin of Fort William, named after King William III. Next year they got the permission to rent, besides Calcutta, the villages of Sutanuti and Govindpur. The security of Calcutta, which began with the building of the fort, was now completely assured. In 1700, the directors constituted Bengal as a separate presidency independent of Madras, and nominated Sir Charles Eyre as its first president. In 1701, Aurangzeb, who had often suspected the English of piratical acts and was now confirmed in his suspicions by the two rival English Companies accusing each other of piracy, ordered the general arrest of all the Europeans in India. Aurangzebs death in 1707 made the English at Calcutta fear that their growing trade would be swept away by the coming tide of civil war and anarchy. After protracted negotiations, the English got confirmation of their privileges from the new emperor Shah Alam and the de facto ruler of Bengal Murshid Quli Khan. They looked hopefully to peace and prosperous trade. The period from 1708 up to the middle of the eighteen century, saw the expansion of the Companys trade and influence in India. The most important event in the history of the Company during these years was the diplomatic mission led by John Surman in 1715 to the court of the Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar, resulting in the grant of three famous Farmans addressed to the officials in Bengal, Hyderabad and Gujarat. The Farmans gave the Company many valuable privileges. In Bengal it exempted the Companys imports and exports from additional customs duties, excepting the annual payment of Rs. 3,000 as settled earlier. The Company was allowed to rent additional lands around Calcutta. In Hyderabad, the companys old privilege of freedom from dues in trade was retained, and it had to pay only the existing rent for Madras. At Surat, the Company was exempted from the levy of all duties for its exports and imports in lieu of an annual payment of Rs. 10,000; and the coins of the Company minted at Bombay were to have currency throughout the Mughal Empire. In the subsequent years, the English East India Company began to extend its territorial claims; and by the end of the eighteenth century, it succeeded in establishing its Paramountacy
4. THE DANES
Danish India is a term for the former colonies of Denmark in India. The colonies included the town of Tranquebar in present-day Tamil Nadu state, Serampore in presentday West Bengal, and the Nicobar Islands, currently part of Indias union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Danish colonies in India were founded by the Danish East India Company, which was active from the 17th to the 19th centuries. The Danish colonys capital was Fort Dansborg at Tranquebar, established in 1620, on the Coromandel Coast. In 1779 it was turned over to the government by the chartered company and became a Danish crown colony. In 1789 the Andaman Islands became a British possession. During the Napoleonic Wars, the British attacked Danish shipping, and devastated the Danish East India Companys India trade. In May 1801 - August 1802 and 1808 - 20 September 1815 the British even occupied Dansborg and Frederiksnagore. The Danish colonies went into decline, and the British ultimately took possession of them, making them part of British India: Serampore was sold to the British in 1839, and Tranquebar and most minor settlements in 1845 (11 October 1845 Frederiksnagore sold; 7 November 1845 other continental Danish India settlements sold); on 16 October 1869 all Danish rights to the Nicobar Islands, which since 1848 had been gradually abandoned, were sold to Britain.
5. THE FRENCH
Compagnie des Indes Orientales popularly known as the French East India Company was formed by Colbert (the famous minister of Louis XIV), under state patronage in 1664. In 1667 an expedition was sent under Francois Caron, who established the first French factory India at Surat. In 1669 Marcara founded another French factory at Masulipatam by securing patent from the Sultan of Golcunda. In July 1672, French squadron under De La Haye occupied San Thome near Madras, which the Sultan of Golcunda had conquered from the Portuguese ten years earlier. This led to an alliance of the Dutch and the Sultan of Golcunda against the French. Faced with a critical situation, De la Haye had to capitulate (September 6, 1674) and surrender San Thome to the Dutch who allowed the Sultan of Golcunda to reoccupy it. Meanwhile, in 1673, Francois Martin, director of the Masulipatam factory, obtained from Sher Khan Lodi, governor of Valikondapuram, a site for a factory, which latter developed into Pondicherry and its first governor was Francois Martin. In Bengal, the French laid the foundation of their famous settlement of Chandranagar in 1690 on a site granted to them by Shayista Khan. In 1701 Pondicherry was made the head-quarters of all possessions of the French in the East, and Martin was appointed director general of French affairs in India. It has been held that Martin foresaw the decadence of the Indian powers and planned the acquisition of Indian predominance for the French as the essential condition of free commercial development. He completed the building of Fort Louis at Pondicherry, helped to strengthen the Companys position at Chandranagar in Bengal and attempted to revive even the declining French factory at Surat. The death of Martin in December 1706 marked the decline of French power in India, which persisted till 1719 and led to the reconstitution of the company in 1720. The reconstituted company named the United Compagnie des Indes was formed by a royal edict and entrusted with the whole of French colonial trade. The French power in India was revived under Lenoir and Dumas (governors) between 1720 and 1742. They occupied Mahe in the Malabar, Yanam in Coromandel (both in 1725) and Karikal in Tamil Nadu (1739). The arrival of Dupleix as French governor in India in 1724 saw the beginning of Anglo-French conflict (Carnatic wars) resulting in their final defeat in India, at the battle of Wandiwash in 1760.
ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS AT EASTERN COAST

The English were permitted to trade in Masulipatnam in 1611 and in 1630 secured the golden farman from the Sultan of Golcunda (1632) which ensured safety and prosperity of their trade. Masulipatnam was the chief sea port of the great inland kingdom of Golcunda and largely traded in diamonds, rubies and textiles of that region. In 1639, Francis Day obtained the site of Madras from the Raja of Chandragiri with permission to build a fortified factory, which was named Fort St. George. It was only with the foundation of Madras by the English in 1639, their arrival at Hughli in 1650 and their establishment of a factory at Balasore in north Orissa that the position of the English on the eastern coast became strong and permanent. Madras soon replaced Masulipatam as the headquarters of the English on the Coromandel Coast, and in 1641 all the English settlements in eastern India (Bengal, Bihar and Orissa) and the Coromandel were placed under the control of the president and council of Fort St George.
ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS IN BENGAL

In England there was a growing demand for Bengal goods, especially for silk and saltpeter; and the trade of the Bengal factories consequently increased. In 1633, the Mughal governor of Orissa gave the English merchants permission to establish factories at Hariharapur (Near the mouth of Mahanadi), Balasore
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ARTICLES
Next stage of the Middle East Revolution in Egypt? Understanding the Complete Picture by Rajat Sen ( Career Launcher Team)
By the end of 2010, world witnessed social uprisings in the area which had been left out of democratic wave that swept the world in the second half of 20th century. Starting from Tunisia, the revolution spread across the region at an unprecedented rate. It had toppled governments in many countries with a regional power Egypt, also falling in the wake of defiant protests by the citizens across the country. which made many people uneasy with the government. Mubaraks government earned the support of the West and received annual aid from the US while continuing suppression towards Islamic militants. This further fuelled the fire against the government. Then corruption, economic insecurity among the youth which was marred by high unemployment rate and crony capitalism, maintained a continuous level of frustration against the regime. Information Technology and social networking also contributed in the large public gatherings and wide success of the revolution. religious groups shared many principles with them like freedom, social justice and dignity. Islamist organizations also emerged with greater freedom to operate. Till this day both the group has seen a cordial march but there is a risk of increased power and influence for Islamist forces in the country and the region at large, as well as the difficulties of integrating the different groups, ideologies, and visions for the country among the population. Partisan politics could witness its existence in future. Rise and growing popularity of Muslim Brotherhood and its involvement in the new democratic landscape, taking leading roles in constitutional changes, voter mobilization and protests, has also contributed in the rising concerns regarding Islamisation of the new Egypt. At the international level, world is certainly wary of the rising Islamic ideology in the country and its first effects are visible in the changing relation with Israel. A large section of pubic never endorsed the peace deal with Israel and this feeling has again started to creep up, after the departure of Mubarak. Looking at the role of military in the country, the armed forces enjoy much better reputation with the public than the police which has been accused of systemic corruption and illegitimate violence. Military under the name of Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) is currently ruling the state. At present, military receives more than a billion dollar aid from the US and buys a large chunk of its arsenal from the US. Many of its officers also receive training from the US. Thus, military council is reform resistant as future councils are often assumed to be not very US friendly due to the involvement of Islamic forces. But in the wake of continuous protests and current developments, military has very few options and cannot prevent the reforms. In the parliamentary elections which finally happened in November 2011 after being postponed by 2 months. Muslim Brotherhood, under the name of Freedom and Justice Party, emerged as the largest party by securing 36.6% vote. This has set a new tone in the political developments in the country. Opinions of military rule and muslim brotherhood has been conflicting. Muslim brotherhood is looking for quick reforms and establishment of civilian rule at the earliest whereas military is not very keen on reinstating civilian rule until its secures its position the new political picture. Thus, Egypt is undergoing a transition. Best part is that the transitional process is generally peaceful but this could turn to a chaotic one in the future as both the primary stakeholders have conflicting opinions. Muslim Brotherhood is keen on reinstating the civilian rule as early as possible with necessary reforms whereas military wants to ensure its secure position, in the changing political equations and social environment, before pushing for complete reforms.
A HISTORICAL LOOK UP
Before we read the current stage of the crisis, we can brush up our knowledge with chain of events that brought Egypt in the current state of crisis. Egypt is a country 0f 80 million people and has a long history of human civilization which spans over 2,500 years. In the modern times, the nation got freedom from the British in 1952. In 1956, Gamal Abdel Nasser secured the power. He is remembered as one of the greatest leaders of the country. His biggest failure remained the loss of crucial six day war with Israel. Anwar Sadat followed Nasser in 1970. He is still remembered for his successes against Israel in 1973 war, which started the world energy crisis. He went a step further after he signed the peace agreement with Israel in 1978-79. This was not a historic moment in Egypt only but rather in Israel and the whole Arab world. Egypt was expelled from the Arab League. Till 1978, Egyptian foreign policy was based on anti-Israel stand and public in the Arab world including Egypt is against any link with the Jewish country. But the peace deal formed a unique moment in the international arena. Sadat paid for the deal, as he was assassinated in a public rally by some of his army officers who were against the peace deal with Israel. Hosni Mubarak followed Anwar Sadat, after latters assassination in 1981. He was, also, a pro-Israeli and continued healthy relation with Israel while maintaining a close relation with the US. His regime has spanned for 30 years, making him the longest serving ruler of the Egypt. What was wrong in his rule that prompted widespread protests, which eventually led to his ouster? The rule of Hosni Mubarak continued with his National Democratic Party (NDS) government maintaining oneparty rule under a continuous state of emergency. In the state of emergency police had special powers, constitutional rights suspended, censorship is legalized, government may imprison individuals indefinitely without reason. It, also, limits any non-governmental political activity, including street demonstrations, nonapproved political organizations and any unregistered donations. This made the regime a complete authoritarian. On the other hand, regime maintained peace with Israel,
ARAB SPRING AND EGYPT

Witnessing the success of revolution in Tunisia, Egyptians vented out their frustration against the regime in the form of a campaign of non-violent civil resistance, which featured a series of demonstrations, marches, acts of civil disobedience and labour strikes. Generally, the protests were non-violent with many incidents of violent clashes. Army maintained its presence in the demonstration areas but stopped short of any suppression of the protesters but continued to control the situation within the limits. Protesters primarily demanded the resignation of Hosni Mubarak. Initially, Mubarak dissolved his government and appointed a military figure and intelligence head Omar Suleiman as Vice-President in an attempt to quell dissent and asked his aviation minister to form a new government. As the pressure mounted further, Mubarak finally resigned and handed power to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. At present the protests are continuing with the concerns about how long the military junta will last in Egypt, some are afraid that the military will rule the country indefinitely. Protesters have demanded a complete time table till the transfer of power to a democratic government. They considered the changes to be very slow and fear military rule to stay for a long time.
WHERE NOW
When one analyses the chain of events and revolution, it can be concluded that protests in Egypt were not centered on religion-based politics, but nationalism and a broad-based social consciousness. Till this day the main theme behind the protests continue to maintain a nationalistic theme but Islamic hues has often seen to be mixed with the revolution. Before the uprising, the most organized and prominent opposition movements throughout the Arab world usually came from Islamist organizations that relied on a conviction of faith, where members were motivated and ready to sacrifice. But still many, secular forces emerged from the revolution and
A Major Milestone in Polio Eradication

While one year has passed without polio caused by natural poliovirus, we can claim complete eradication only after we ensure the absence of wild and vaccine polioviruses in the population. Today, India passes one whole year without polio caused by natural (wild) poliovirus a major milestone towards polio eradication. This spells relief from an agonising decade of wild polioviruses refusing to surrender. Many experts believed that India posed the greatest challenge to polio eradication for epidemiological reasons; our success proves it can be achieved in other countries where the obstacles are more programmatic than biological. For the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), this is a shot in the arm. transmission beyond 2005. In India, during the last decade, over 95 per cent of cases occurred in U.P. and Bihar arguably the worlds most difficult spots for eradication. In 2000 and 2001, there were 265 and 268 cases but in 2002 an outbreak occurred with 1600 cases, mostly type 1. Then, the numbers dwindled to 225 and 134 in 2003 and 2004, and 66 in 2005. All hopes of success were shattered by another polio outbreak in 2006, with 648 cases of type 1 and 28 of type 3 polio. Since type 1 showed a cyclical nature of outbreaks every fourth year 1998, 2002 and 2006 the next outbreak in 2010 had to be averted at all costs. Type 2 had taught us that sequential eradication of one type at a time was realistic. So type 1 was targeted and the tactics paid off we had less than 100 cases each during 2007-2009, 18 in 2010 and just one case on January 13, 2011 none since. Type 3 cases were less than 10 in 2004 and 2005. Unfortunately, while type 1 was singled out for attack, type 3 outbreaks developed, first in Bihar (2007-08) and then in U.P. (2008-09). So in 2010, there was yet another change of tactic, now focussing on type 3 along with type 1. There were 24 cases of type 3 in 2010 and none in 2011. In U.P., the last wild virus polio was reported on April 21, 2010 and in Bihar on September 1, 2010 both type 3. So we have now come 20 months without a case in U.P. and 15 months in Bihar. The case of January 13,
by T. Jacob John
2011, was reported not from U.P. or Bihar, but from Howrah in West Bengal.
PROBLEMS & INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS

By 1988, nearly 70 countries had achieved the elimination of wild poliovirus transmission through their routine national immunisation programmes, some using the inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) but others using the oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV). For countries with polio, the World Health Organisation recommended the exclusive use of OPV for its low cost and ease of inoculation by mouth as two drops. On the flip side, the very fact that many countries using OPV could not control polio with routine immunisation indicated that it was not as effective as in other countries. The difference was clear: tropical/ subtropical countries with low income, overcrowding, high birth rates, and high child mortality faced low effectiveness of OPV, whereas those with the opposites had high vaccine effectiveness. In India, the disparities of such factors spelt differential effectiveness among States. Not only did some communities exhibit lower vaccine effectiveness, they also had more intense wild virus transmission. The conjunction of both problems made U.P. and Bihar stand
THE DECADE OF AGONY

The year 2000 was the target date for global eradication set by the World Health Assembly in 1988. Intense efforts by countries, guided by GPEI, resulted in success in most countries and partial success in all countries. Of the 3 types of polioviruses, type 2 was globally eradicated in 1999 with the last case in Uttar Pradesh. But transmission of types 1 and 3 continued in six countries. Later, two more succeeded, leaving India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria with continuing
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out as the most difficult regions for polio eradication. Indian scientists had actually warned the GPEI of such pitfalls but global leaders from rich countries couldnt believe that such extreme variations could exist with wild virus epidemiology and vaccine effectiveness. Once that lesson was learned, the progress was rapid. Wild polioviruses exist in 3 types, and OPV also contains attenuated strains of the 3 types. So it is called trivalent OPV (tOPV). Among the 3 types, type 2 is the most efficient; that was why type 2 wild virus disappeared in 1999, within a few years of national pulse vaccinations. But type 2 in the tOPV also interferes with the others, making them very inefficient. From 2000, the frequency of campaigns with tOPV was increased in U.P. and Bihar, but to no avail. Type 2 had to be removed from tOPV to get the best out of types 1 and 3. In 2005 and thereafter, a new monovalent type 1 OPV (mOPV-1) was used in U.P. and Bihar it is three times more effective than tOPV. This was one factor of success. But gaps in immunity were created against type 3; consequently, type 3 outbreaks occurred in 2007-2009. Then, a bivalent vaccine (bOPV with 1 and 3) was developed. It was noninferior to mOPV-1 or mOPV-3. From early 2010, bOPV has been widely used in U.P. and Bihar during campaigns, while tOPV is used everywhere for routine immunisation. While the problem of failure of vaccine was being addressed, there was also the problem of failure to vaccinate. Seasonally, millions of families from U.P. and Bihar migrate for work some to Maharashtra or Punjab, others within their States. Their children missed both routine and campaign doses. The tactic of vaccination

in transit in trains/buses and in stone quarries/brick kilns became the norm from 2005. As all bottlenecks were cleared, success ensued.
TRIBUTE TO THE NATION

Many global experts marvel at the ability of Indians to work with diligence and sincerity, and at Indias tenacity in spite of pessimistic prophecies of failure. So a tribute is due: to the families of children and all workers, district managers medical and administrative State leadership, the National Polio Surveillance Project personnel, the Government of India staff working alongside the global polio partners, WHO, UNICEF, Rotary International and the U.S. Centres for Disease Control, and the vaccine manufacturers who up-scaled production on demand, and filled the prescriptions for mOPV-1 and 3 and for bOPV. All of them deserve our applause and gratitude. In many other programmes in India, poor implementation is the oft-repeated reason for failures and delays. The success of implementation depends on the design of the programme and proper supervision of activities. The government must learn and apply this lesson in all other faltering health projects against TB, malaria, child mortality and under-nutrition.
can remain silently in circulation for short periods; so, complacency must not set in. We must continue working as if we still have poliovirus lurking somewhere, only to show up when least expected. There is also the threat of importation of wild virus from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria. Vaccine viruses by themselves can rarely cause polio; the balance is roughly one case of vaccine-associated paralytic polio (VAPP) replacing 200 cases of wild virus polio. Yet, in the absence of wild virus polio, VAPP is unacceptable. Moreover, vaccine viruses may gradually revert to wild-like properties if allowed to circulate. Such circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV) cropped up in many OPV-using countries recently, including India since 2009. If allowed to grow, they can capture the niche vacated by wild viruses. We have to stop OPV to stop VAPP, but some cVDPV may already be in silent circulation to show up in outbreaks one or more years later. The safest solution is to introduce IPV, reach 90 per cent or more coverage and only then stop OPV. That will pre-empt the evolution of cVDPVs. Only after we ensure the absence of wild and vaccine polioviruses in the population can we claim complete success of polio eradication. That is the challenge of the present decade.
WHAT NEXT?
For certification of eradication, two more years should pass without any case of wild virus polio. Polio virus
(The author was professor of clinical virology in the Christian Medical College, Vellore until retirement, and has served on several Global and National Committees on Immunisation and Polio Eradication.)
The Game of Water

Water: from Bilateral to Strategic Issue
The core issue of water is taking a new turn in regional geopolitics be it India, Pakistan or China. The water availability statistics pose a dire future and consequently it is emerging as a critical resource. China and India are especially vulnerable, for they have to cater to the growing demands of industrialisation and agricultural needs. The per capita availability of water in China and India stands at respectively, 2100 and 1700 cubic metres. By 2025, it is estimated that water availability will decline below the threshold level of 1700 cubic metres as stipulated by UN standards. Amidst this global shortage of water, is the geographical feature where nearly 270 river basins are shared by more than one country. As water shortage increases states are bound to invest in water infrastructure. This may be in the form of dams, both run of the river or storage. Dams have become one of the singularly contending issues of development debates. While at the national and regional level, embarking of heavy water infrastructure projects like dams may be beneficial, it is vehemently opposed at the local level. In the case of trans-border basins they lead to deterioration of relations between co-basin countries. In the case of India-China, later is the upper riparian state in the case of trans-border Rivers, therefore it enjoys tremendous leverage. Further, the Chinese unilateral damming of trans-border Rivers has raised concerns in the lower riparian countries. Chinese control over Tibet accrues it high advantages in terms of river sharing. Water has become an important issue of China-India, diplomatic discourse. India as lower riparian state is apprehensive of Chinese attempts at diverting, storage and general opaqueness on water issues. If water issues between India and Pakistan are a constant irritant, then between China and India, it raises even a deeper anxiety and portends an ominous future. Sino-Indian relations on water reflect as much geopolitical distrust as difference on the issues involved per se. Chinas opaque polity is reluctant to part with information and this is evident especially with respect to water issues. China has not entered into a single water sharing treaty with any country. Besides that, its deliberate policy of holding and releasing information in instalments and that too, when challenged by hard evidence adds to other countrys discomfort and speculation. China is in control of the Tibetan plateau from which around ten major rivers flow. Added to above are concerns about how climate change is affecting the snow pack and glacier mass in Tibet plateau, impacting the most crucial hydrological systems in the region with great impact for Indian eco-system. As Syed Iqbal Hasnain in an editorial in Times of India argues China claims sovereign rights to control one of the worlds largest fresh water resources which are increasingly vulnerable to global warming and are critical to sustaining South Asias food and water security. The question is should China remain the sole arbitrator of the fate of Tibetan waters? What happens to the fate of downstream nations dependent upon these waters? It is not in Tibet alone; China is encountering similar
by Sanjay Kumar
problems with almost all of its co-riparian countries, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mekong River Co-riparians and Myanmar. India has apprehensions on Chinese activities on the river Sutlej and its tributaries and Yarlung Tsangpo known as Brahmaputra on the Indian side of the border. China has built small dams on Sutlej, which it has, not notified India of. Indias larger apprehensions however relate to upstream diversion and damming of Brahmaputra. Near Mountain Namcha Barwa the river takes a U bend involving steep gradient of around 5000 mtrs. The U bend has hydropower potential of around 50,000 MWs. This is one of the deeper anxieties of the government. The main issue of concern is the run of the river dam at Zangmu a 540 MW power project. What is even more disconcerting that feasibility studies have been carried out for five more such projects further upstream? Water diversion projects are part of Chinese plan to feed its starving north through these major diversion projects. As Syed Hussein contends China has practically redeployed its entire labour force responsible for construction of Lhasa Gyalmo railway line on these projects. What is worrying India is that China never shares any data on these projects and acknowledged there existence only when confronted by hard evidence such as sub metric remote sensing images. It is generally assumed that these are run of the river project. The new projects on the pipeline propose to generate close to 40,000 MW of electric power and their construction entails tunnels, reservoirs etc. The issue of concern is that run of the river dams do not involve construction of massive storage facilities, rather they involve channelising of potential energy of the falling water, in this case, steep gradient of Tibetan geographical feature. It is obvious that something is amiss and reassurances from the Chinese government must not be taken at face value. It needs to be underscored that even in the case of run of the river schemes, though net storage of water may not be involved, but river course needs to be altered or managed so as to make exploiting of energy potential. Therefore, India cannot take satisfaction from mere sharing of hydrological data or sharing of technological feature. Further, once a cascade of engineering projects begins to take place on a trans-border river, is reduced to the mercy of upper riparian. The cascade of proposed projects will affect rivers at their will. As rivers are environmentally living resources, they are bound to effect river dependent populations downstream. For example, in case of upstream activities on the river, downstream rivers carry high silt content, fish catch is reduced and other environmental effects also multiply. The former was noticed in case of Nathpa Jhakri Power Project, when it was feared that Chinese activities on upper reaches of Sutlej in Tibet, was the cause of high silt content. Similar problems are being observed in the case of downstream Mekong River, affecting lower Mekong delta countries, such as Vietnam and Cambodia which are being are facing serious droughts and leading to tensions between these countries and China.
Most importantly, it is doubtful that on the Yarlung Tsangpo only a power project with run of the river scheme is attempted. Under South-North Water transfer scheme which was visualised by Mao, in Fifties, seeks gargantuan task of shifting of water from abundant south to parched north. Southern China has comparatively more water resources than northern China. Of the three routes attempted Eastern, Central and Western, later appears to be the chosen one for attempted shift of water from Yarlung Tsangpo as mentioned above. The prospect of water diversion raises a number of issues. First, is the quantum of water will be affected by Yarlung Tsangpo diversion? According to estimates, going around thirty per cent of the flow comes from the China; balance is from the catchment area mostly in India. Is this enough to generate an alarm in the Indian policy circles? Or it is something that can be ignored to maintain peace, harmony and good relations with China. India is not the only riparian state affected by the diversion; Bangladesh too is equally affected, in fact, more so as it is dependent upon Faraaka Barrage for water during lean season. In addition, taking cognisance of our own run of the river projects for generating hydropower in the Arunachal Pradesh, Chinese activities on the river cannot be ignored. Arunachal Pradesh government has signed more than hundred MOUs for setting up of hydropower projects. Further, it is against convention to draw projects on trans-border rivers, without consulting or informing the lower riparian states. What should be of concern is the fact that China is one of the largest dam builders in the world. From the available reports, it has begun work on South- North Water Transfer Scheme, where it is reported that population movement has begin to take place. The question is whether this is technically feasible. China is known to take technologically gargantuan projects, be it Qinghai-Tibet Railway or Three Gorges Dam. Third, the issue is of technological feasibility. For, example amount of energy spent on lifting the water and transferring it means energy gain will be minimum or there will be a loss of energy. The argument of technological feasibility is difficult to overturn. Keeping in mind the scarcity of water in China, which is bound to become acute in the long term horizons, the project may become viable. As the projects completion date is 2050, perhaps, this thinking makes Chinese spokespersons to say that presently there are no plans on Brahmaputra. It is true that presently China is defensive on dams, as it has many projects going on at the same time and is receiving strictures for many of them. Internally, on environmental unsoundness of the project, even the latest Three Gorges dam is no exception. Further, Chinese reluctance to recognise Arunachal Pradesh as Indian Territory, may have this aspect in mind. In the past opposition by Asian Development Bank (ADB) to give loan to India may be a tactical strategy with larger endgame in mind. China will pre-empt Indian objection on Yarlung Tsangpo, as it does not even recognise Arunachal Pradesh as part of India. At the moment many hydropower projects are going on in the state, which is at the centre of concentred hydropower utilisation strategy. This could become a future source of friction and many projects planned could become
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Sociology with NEW APPROACH along with RIGHT KIND OF NOTES and EFFECTIVE STRATEGY to catch the change in UPSC
SOCIOLOGY AS AN OPTIONAL: WHY?
Selection of a proper optional subject for the Civil Service Exam is a difficult problem for the aspirants of Civil Service in the present competitive scenario. It could be decided only on the basis of proper information regarding the subject. The basis for the selection of any optional subject could be: Specially defined and comparatively small syllabus, Easy availability of study material, Interesting and short subject, subject material, Scoring nature of the subject Availability of experienced guide. The syllabus of Sociology is relatively short as well as it is well defined. The study material is easily available and compact in nature. It being a popular and scoring optional subject has got easy availability of experienced guidelines. The scientific and logical nature of the subject helps to prepare the subject for main examination within less time comparatively. This helps the candidates for the preparation of Essay and General Studies papers with extra time and ensures better performance and marks in examinations. Thus the Sociology is a popular and successful optional subject for the main examination in Civil Service Examination. The students of Political Science, Public Administration & Psychology have got extra edge in this subject as there are common Topics in the Syllabus. The knowledge and concepts of Sociology are also used in General Studies and Essay. It is, of course, more scoring and has got concise syllabus than the other subjects. The portion Indian Society is very much related to the our day to day observation. So the study of Sociology as an optional subject is very much helpful for the Social Issues portion of General Studies in the Preliminary and Main examination as well. Now a day the questions of General Studies in the Mains examination have got the applied and Sociological nature and implications. The Sociology makes such answers more relevant. The study of Indian Society, specifically the units of Population Dynamics, Challenges of Social Transformation, Visions of Social Change in India, Rural and Agrarian transformation in India, Industrialization and Urbanisation in India, Politics and Society, Impact of colonial rule on Indian society, Tribal communities in India, Religion and Society etc, help the candidates to prepare the Essay papers with better understanding of problems and solution aspects with practical approach with difference. Of course, the practical understanding gives them an edge in interview as well, which makes the space sure in the success list. One of the most important aspect of Sociology is that it has got relevance is the in interview (Personality Test). The conceptual nature of the subject helps the candidates accommodating and retaining the facts easily. Similarly, the syllabus of main examination has got only 25 UNITS in two papers. The strategic preparation of the subject requires only 60-70% of the syllabus prepared for the answers in the examination. The strategic preparation with the proper and experienced guidance make the candidates preparation comparatively effective and easy. The experienced guidance helps the candidates analytical approach to prepare properly in right direction. These help the candidates to score more in less consumption of time and ensures the WONDER SPACE in the final success list. As it has been well said:Winners do not do different things rather they do things differently Last but not the least and most importantly, the study of Sociology enables you and your performance more SYSTEMATIC, PRACTICAL, ORGANISED, RELEVANT AND WELL ARTICULATED, in every walk of your life. As the study of Sociology is related to those phenomenon which are commonly reflected in our lives. So the study of Sociology brings the difference differently in you which is the REAL WIN. Your selection is just the by product of your serious efforts with the Sociology. SCIENTIFIC APPRAOCH TO SOCIOLOGY ATTHE ELEMENTARYLEVEL Read the basic (NCERT) books first, rather than going for guide books journals and foreign authors etc. What is required as first step is the mastering of the BASICS of the subject. So, first step requires mastering these. While reading focus has to be on CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING rather than simply memorizing the STUDIES AND VIEWS. The Facts are easier to memorize if the concepts are clear.
by Vikash Ranjan, CL (9911088482)

Author Fundamentals of Sociology and Applied Sociology the best seller for IAS Mains Exam
Make your flashcard or one register in which all STUDIES AND VIEWS are intact and you can revise them anytime. Rather than simply collecting new fact everyday, focus should be on revising what you have with you. Only when that is memorized thoroughly move on the new. Even when you are reading the new material, keep in touch to the older study material as well. This is very important, else during the examination, you will remember that you have read something like this but what was it exactly might not come to you mind except a faint image. This has to be checked. The ultimate success depends on not what all you have read but how much you retain. How far you have practiced by making maps & diagrams as well organizing the event in chronological manner. This is very crucial and should not be neglected at all. Analyse the previous years UPSC question papers thoroughly and try to chalk out the areas of the question. Also write down these question topic wise and keep going identify the mistakes, which you commit while solving these question. Do not overlook them and do not lie to yourself that it was a careless mistake. Even if it was a careless mistake like overlooking the word not in the question, be cautious that you should not repeat it in the examination hall. Also analyse your mistake thoroughly whether it was due to lack conceptual understanding or it was forgetting the studies. Master your weakness after analyzing them. Last but not the least, discuss with your friend. Discussion helps a lot provided it is honest discussion with the motive to help the other and in turn getting help. Else it can be disastrous as well. These are broadly some tips, which shall help you in the basic preparation. However, what matters most is the mental calmness and cool, which you maintain in the examination hall. Do not panic if you do not know any question. Apply your mind. Though not always, but most of the times the question can be rightly solved if one maintains cool and analyses it logically. SCIENTIFIC APPRAOCH TO SOCIOLOGY AT THE ADVANCE LEVEL I would like to reiterate what I have said earlier also Winners do not do different things, they do things differently. The funda is putting you in the shoes of examiner. A little understanding of the psychology of the examiner, this can be done by putting yourself in the examiners place. What you would like in any answer sheet? Clarity of thought, lucidity, good content, well expressed language. In short, good Communication Skill (Written Communication) so that the answer script could speak itself. The reason why I began with writing skill is that it is the most important in the preparation for the Mains Examination. There are many intelligent students, well versed with knowledge about their subject matter and yet they do not score in the Main Examination. Why? Of course, luck and destiny is there, but another reason is faulty writing skill. Thus Civil Services Examination requires a two-pronged strategy to hit the target Content and Writing Skill. Now I will take up both these components in detail. Content involves the following: 9 Conceptual understanding 9 Facts 9 Manipulating the facts. 9 Something new, in terms of the knowledge base or linkages or diagrams Conceptual understanding of the subject is most important. Give a laymans interpretation to the concepts and relate it with mundane example for long term memory. Facts After conceptual understanding, the second step is memorizing the important facts. For example some important theoretical aspects are to be memorized to attempt any question related to the spatial analysis of the matter. Something New New diagrams, new ideas, original ideas, new content, latest reports, inter linkages etc. Must be provided. However, one has to be cautious that a balance is maintained and the ideas are not too radical. Also it should be well integrated with the answer. Writing Skills: 9 Be short and precise and effective. 9 Writing should be legible and neat. 9 Grammatical errors must not be committed. 9 Simple and expressive language 9 Neat diagrams and maps, whenever it is required to give precision to your answer. Writing skill does not mean a decorative language, having extra-ordinary vocabulary. It means that the ideas should be well expressed in a lucid manner. Simple but a speaking Language is the demand i.e. the answer sheet should speak out everything for itself with requisite words, depends on the nature of the subject matter. There should be no ambiguity in the answers. Writing Skill comes through practice. Writing skill is also based on your knowledge treasure and conceptual understanding. This only can give flow and lucidity to your answers. The conceptual understanding will make you answer well organized and well integrated. Thus, writing skill and content both should complement and supplement each other. Writing skill has its base in content and content needs writing skill to be well expressed. EFFECTIVE PRESENTATION (Principles) OF ANSWERS Underline the Key words and the latest updates that you have incorporated in your answer. Highlight the Reports, Commission, new researches and approaches in the field, etc. if you have quoted them in you answer. Make some lucid diagrams to make your presentation effective. But remember that the diagrams need to be well integrated WITH your answer. You can do this by simply incorporating a statement like this can be diagrammatically represented as follows. Mind it, the diagrams must be explained. Each topic has some key words and the examiner expects you to write them. Another, crucial factor which many of us tend to overlook is the selection of the first answer. Remember. FIRST IMPRESSION IS THE LAST IMPRESSION, hence your first answer should be your best answer, i.e. one in which you have command and also have SOMETHING NEW to give in the form of linkages, recent reports, diagrams, maps etc. Try to integrate the statement of the question, somewhere in you answer. Either begin with it or end with it. This makes your answer FOCUSSED and well knit. Last, but not the least, just before your examination give your precious three to four hours to those things which are the dynamic aspects of your preparation. This includes the latest SOCIAL ISSUES, STUDIES, and REPORTS etc. Even glancing over these things at the last moment makes them alive and fresh in your memory (provided you have read them earlier) and they can be reproduced more authentically in the examination. This will definitely make the Difference. These are the few RULES for fetching marks in SOCIOLOGY. These are not merely to be memorized and retold to others, these need to be applied in writing answers. So the thrust should be on writing answer and evolve and getting them evaluated. The more you practice the better answers you would be able to write. Now, I come to the question of reading list. But remember. It is not wide reading but useful reading that tends to excellence. USEFUL READING FOR SOCIOLOGY NCERT BOOKS FUNDAMENTALS OF SOCIOLOGY {golden peacock publication} APPLIED SOCIOLOGY {golden peacock publication} IGNOU study material. SOCIOLOGY (HARLAMBOS) INDIAN SOCIAL SYSTEM-RAM AHUJA MODERNIZATION OF INDIAN TRADITIONYOGENDRA SINGH SOCIALCHANGE IN INDIA-M.N. SRINIWAS SOCIAL BACKGROUND OF INDIAN NATIONALISM-A.R. DESAI INDIAAFTER INDEPENDENCE Note: Apart from the basic books other are just for the reference.
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unviable. On trans-border watercourses transparent and cooperative policy is imperative, as at times rhetoric overtakes substance. In case of former, Indian record is good, seeing the number of water sharing treaties it has signed with its neighbours. China is reluctant to share information even with its close allies, for example Myanmar was surprised by the Chinese activities on the Salween River. China and India have succeeded in signing of agreements on sharing hydrological information on Sutlej (2005/2007) and Brahmaputra (2002). A meeting of expert group was held from 19-21 September 2007, where the two sides appraised each other of their position. It is not enough, as it does not delineate sharing of waters, rather information on river flow in flood season. But the fact that the issue is discussed at the bilateral meetings between the two countries is a good beginning. In conclusion, Sino-Indian relations as they are today, are as it is are marked by sentimentalism, fear, diffidence, appeasement, and brinksmanship, with water becoming one more contentious issue, the bilateral relations are likely to take a turn for the
worse. India is confronted with a Chinese intransigence to discuss issues, which is central to their regional hydro-diplomacy. India has raised water issue consistently with China, it is important that they are made a part of larger water sharing agreement, which obviates much of the suspicion. The Chinese projects are still in incipient stage, on which China can be asked to come out in the open. Once China unleashes it engineering forces on the cross-boundary rivers, lower riparian countries like India and Bangladesh can then only be left with the option of saving from their negative repercussions of bending of rivers whether for run of the river or storage dams. An open and transparent agreement with clear delineation of rights and obligations will save the three countries from mutual recrimination as the countries move towards a time of global water crisis. India needs to push for the same. (The writer is a Former Defence Correspondent for a National Security and Defence Magazine. You can contact him on sanjaytwo@gmail.com.)
Telecom Sector Growing from Strength to Strength

The Indian telecom sector has witnessed tremendous growth over the past decade. Today, Indian telecom network is the second largest in the world after China. A liberal policy regime and involvement of private sector has played important role in transforming this sector. The total number of telephones has increased from 206.83 million on 31st March, 2007 to 917.35 million on 30th November 2011 resulting in an increase in teledensity from 18.31% to 76.18% during this period. This has been possible due to phenomenal growth of wireless connections, which has reached 884.38 million connections at the end of November 2011 constituting 96.41% of the total telephones up from 80.29% at the end of March, 2007. The liberalization efforts of the government are evident in the growing share of private sector in total telephone connections which has increased to 86% in November 2011 as against a meager 5% in 1999. Liberalisation has resulted in strong competition leading to substantial reduction in tariffs. Although there has been rapid increase in the number of telephones, there has been relatively less penetrations in rural areas with 310.92 million telephones by the end of November, 2011 and teledensity of 37.02 % against 166.45% Urban teledensity. Besides huge gap between urban and rural teledensity, Broadband has lagged behind the growth of telephones in India. Recognizing the potential of broadband services in growth of GDP and creation of an enabling environment for promoting knowledge based society, the government had announced broadband policy 2004. Several measures have since been taken to promote broadband in the country. As a result, there are 12.98 million broadband subscribers as on 31st October, 2011 and 19.69 million internet subscribers at the end of March, 2011. DRAFT NATIONAL TELECOM POLICY 2011 The Draft National Telecom Policy 2011 proposes to provide stable, rationale and objective policy regime over next decade or so: 0 To make available secure, reliable and affordable voice telephony and high speed broadband services to every citizen in India with special focus on rural and remote areas. 0 To improve the broadband experience by enhancing the speed of delivery. 0 To make India a global hub of manufacturing for all electronic products including telecom equipment with substantial value addition within the country and safeguard security concerns of the nation. 0 For simplification and rationalisation of licensing regime, transparent system for allocation of spectrum and enable efficient usage of spectrum. 0 For discovery of price of spectrum through market related processes. 0 To achieve One Nation- Full Mobile Number Portability. 0 To enable free roaming throughout the country. 0 To harness full potential of mobile phones for enabling provision of citizen centric services related to education, health, employment, agriculture, entertainment, banking & insurance services, skill upgradation, vocational training etc. 0 To encourage indigenous manufacture of cost effective mobile devices. 0 The faster roll out of high speed and reliable broadband in rural and urban areas will enable decentralised governance, participative democracy and delivery of basic services such as health and education to every citizen of the country. The thrust on manufacturing will promote entrepreneurship, create more job opportunities, reduce imports and improve security. Efficient usage of scarce resources like spectrum will result in better quality of service to the customers at affordable cost. The new policy regime will be beneficial to end consumers/citizens, Telecom Service Providers, Value Added Service Providers, Government and Manufacturers. Policy is likely to be approved by the June, 2012. 0 Setting up and managing 7353 number of infrastructure towers in 500 districts spread over 27 states for provision of mobile services in specified rural and remote areas. 7295 towers i.e. 99.21% towers have been set up till November, 2011. 0 In order to provide broadband connectivity to the rural areas, USOF signed an agreement with BSNL on January 20, 2009 to provide 8,88,832 wire-line Broadband connections to individual users and Government Institutions and setting up of 28,672 Kiosks over a period of 5-years. As on 30th November, 2011, 3,35,290 broadband connections and 6426 kiosk have been provided under this scheme in rural and remote areas. 0 Another Scheme has been launched under USOF to provide sufficient back-haul capacity to integrate the voice and data traffic from the access network in the rural areas to their core network by strengthening the OFC network. This scheme considers OFC Network augmentation between the blocks HQ and Districts HQ to begin with. USOF, through this Scheme, shall provide subsidy support for augmentation, creation and management of intra-district SDHQ-DHQ OFC Network on the condition that it will be shared with other Telecom Operators at the rates prescribed in the Agreement. Assam has been taken up first for implementation. 0 Recognizing the vital role that Information Communication Technology (ICT) can play in the empowerment of rural women, a scheme called Sanchar Shakti has been launched in March, 2011 for pilot projects aimed at facilitating access of Self Help Groups (SHGs) to ICT enabled services. Financial support from USO Fund is to be provided towards VAS subscription for SHGs in accordance with the provisions of underlying subsidy Agreements. At present MoUs have been signed for Proof of Concept (PoC) for 9 mobile VAS projects in the states of Tamilnadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and the Union Territory of Puducherry. The Indian Telecom sector has proved to be an international success story. The sector has witnessed a commendable growth over the past two years. With an overall subscriber base of 917.35 million and a teledensity of 76.18%, the sector continues to grow from strength to strength. With the urban teledensity reaching 166.54%, the market has been showing signs of maturity. Rural India is the key target market likely to drive the next round of growth, particularly for voice based services. 3G and BWA are expected to reinvigorate the maturing urban markets and help in bringing balanced growth of economy. The aggressive growth observed by mobile services is yet to be replicated in case of broadband service, where the subscriber base currently stands at 13 million approximately . The successfully concluded auction of the BWA/3G spectrum and National Optical Fibre Network will enhance the wireless broadband penetration across the country and help connect the remotest locations across India. The government has a vision to provide secure, reliable and affordable telephone connection and broadband facilities on demand across the country with special focus on rural and remote areas as envisaged in National Telecom Policy 2011.
NATIONAL OPTICAL FIBER NETWORK

Government has approved a project for National Optical Fiber Network in October, 2011 for providing Broadband connectivity to all 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats at a cost of Rs. 20,000 crore. The plan is to extend the existing optical fiber network up to Panchayats. The Network will be available to telecom service providers for providing various services to the citizens in non-discriminatory manner. The Network will provide a highway for transmission of voice, data and video in rural areas. It will enable the broadband connectivity upto 2 Mbps, capable of providing various services like e-education, e-health, e-entertainment, e-commerce e- governance etc. to people and businesses. The people in rural areas, students, entrepreneurs, various Government Departments providing services under e-governance projects will be benefitted. It will also provide connectivity to various public institutions like Gram Panchayats, Primary Health Centres (PHCs), schools etc. in rural areas. It will also result in investment from the private sector both for providing different services and for manufacturing of broadband related telecom equipment. The project will be funded by Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF). The project will be executed by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) which will be a company incorporated under Indian Companies Act 1956 and initially will be fully owned by Central Government, with equity participation from Government and interested Central Public Sector Units (CPSUs) (BSNL, Railtel, Powergrid, GAILTEL, etc.) and action is being taken to establish and operationalize a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV).
PROGRAMMES UNDER USOF

The Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) was established with the fundamental objective of providing access to Basic telegraph services to people in the rural and remote areas at affordable and reasonable prices. Subsequently the scope was widened to provide subsidy support for enabling access to all types of telegraph services including mobile services, broadband connectivity and creation of infrastructure like OFC in rural and remote areas. Various schemes for taking communication facilities to the rural and remote areas with the support of USO fund under implementation are 0 5,79,814 villages i.e. about 97.68% of the Census 2001 inhabited revenue villages have been covered with Village Public Telephone (VPT) facility as on November 30, 2011. VPT facility is likely to be provided in remaining inhabited revenue villages by May, 2012.
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MARCH 2012

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