Daily News Notes

· Both the Houses of Parliament were adjourned till Monday over several issues which includes border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka in Belgaum Municipal Corporation, etc. Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha adopted the Railways Appropriation Bill and introduces the Press and Registration of Books and Publication and the Consumer Protection Amendment.
· 12th Indo-Russia Annual Summit began today between Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Kremlin, Russia. The International part of the talk’s agenda includes co-operation under the UN, G-20 and BRICS. International terrorism and the situation in countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan and the West Asia and to boost trade the two countries are looking at the common Eurasian market. India and Russia have very close long standing bilateral ties in defence, science and technology, nuclear and space sectors but have been trying to plug the gap of low bilateral trade, thus sets a bilateral trade target of 20 billion US dollars by 2015. However, it is evident that Russia and India are committed to the formation of a fair, democratic, multi-polar world order on the principles of supremacy of international law. In the field of defence, the Indo-Russian cooperation has changed from a buyer-seller position to partnership relations in joint researches and production.
· After having raised policy rates in 13 times since march last year, the Reserve Bank of India, has kept policy indicators (Repo Rate:8.5%, Reverse Repo Rate:7.5%, Marginal Standing Facility:9.5% and Cash Reserve Ratio:6%) unchanged in its Mid Quarter Review of Monetary Policy announced today, but at the same time it has indicated that it could cut key policy rates from now onwards to arrest falling growth while keeping a close vigil on inflation. It has stopped increasing interest rates as this tightening cycle was actually killing of growth. GDP has moderated to 6.9% in the second quarter compared to 7.7% in first in 2011-2012. The review stated that promising agricultural prospects on the back of Kharif output and progress on Rabi sowing has been a significant contributing factor towards declining inflation rates, but still it remains above the normal range of 3-5%. As depreciating rupee will put pressure on inflation and it is not possible to speculate when the RBI will start cutting rates, the Governor of the RBI said that the RBI will manage liquidity through open market operations.
· The Finance Minister has said that certain suspected cases of violations in reporting participatory notes to SEBI (by the Foreign Institutional Investors) have been noticed and after investigation punitive action has been taken in such cases.
· Speaking at the 40th meeting of National Council for Vocational Training, Minister for Labour and Employment said that Government has set a target for training 500 million people by 2022 to strengthen the skill development in the country as it is an essential input for achieving the productivity and sustainability of the enterprises and improving employability of persons.
· Addressing an All India Mahila Congress National convention on empowerment to tribal women, Congress President asserted that development is the only way to defeat left wing extremism and insurgency in the country and it is the combined responsibility of both the Central and the State governments to bring the Maoists back to the main stream, thus the center govt. is coming up with an innovative mineral development law will generate employment for the tribal youth and discourage exploitation which is happening in the name of development and empowers tribal people. Government’s flagship programme like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment guaranteed scheme and Pradhan Mantry Gram Sadak Yojna and Adivasi Shiksha Rinn Yojna are already proving to be significant in the development of the tribal areas of the country.
· Vijay Diwas is being commemorated today to mark the Indian victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war and to remember the brave soldiers of the Indian armed forces who laid down their lives fighting for the nation in the war.
· Bangladesh is celebrating the 40th anniversary of Victory Day or Independence day today. Rich tributes are being paid to the martyrs of the 1971 liberation war. Bangladesh President Zillur Rehman urged the people to rise above party affiliations and work to achieve the vision of making Bangladesh a middle income country by the year 2021.
· The US Congress has passed with an overwhelming majority the Defense Authorization Act 2012, that freezes 700 million dollars military aid to Pakistan until it shows progress in stemming the flow of IEDs into Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the Obama Administration yesterday came out strongly stating that the defence spending bill passed by the Congress does not freezes US aid to Pakistan and said that Pak media has been misreporting on this issue.
· As the US winds up its military mission in Iraq, a sense of freedom is in the air for many Iraqis. While many welcomed their role in toppling Saddam Hussein, those who lost their near and dear ones in the US invasion remain wary of the outlook. Suicide bombings and gun fights have continue although they have come down from the peak of insurgency in 2006-07. Questions are being raised if the security forces can contain Al-Qaeda linked insurgents and the rival militias. A frail economy, constant power shortages, rising unemployment and discontent have brought out in open the challenges before the ruling regime.