International and Bilateral Issues:

CAG Vinod Rai elected U.N. external audit panel chief

India's Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) Vinod Rai has been elected chairman of the panel of external auditors of the United Nations.
Apart from Mr. Rai, CAG Director-General Jagbans Singh has been elected chairman of the technical group of the panel.
the panel of independent external auditors carries out audits and reports periodically on the accounts and management of the U.N., specialised agencies such as the World Health Organisation, the World Food Programme and the World Intellectual Property Organisation and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Putin: U.S. stoking post-poll protests

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accused the U.S. of provoking large-scale post-election protests in Russia
Referring to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's criticism of the Russian parliamentary election as “neither free nor fair”, Mr. Putin said it “sent a signal” to the opposition to launch protests.
Mr. Putin accused the West of funding Russian non-government organisations to the tune of “hundreds of millions of dollars” with the aim of influencing political processes.
More than a thousand demonstrators have been arrested, but about 35,000 people have signed up via Facebook and other social networks for new protest rallies

Fai pleads guilty to conspiracy

Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai (62), a Kashmiri-origin U.S. citizen arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on July 19, 2011 for allegedly acting as an unregistered lobbyist of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to conspiracy and tax violations.
Fai's guilty plea pertained to a decades-long scheme to conceal the transfer of at least $3.5 million from the government of Pakistan to fund his lobbying efforts in America related to Kashmir
In a case that rocked the already dismal U.S.-Pakistan relationship over the summer the arrest of Fai was followed by revelations that he had served as the Director of the Kashmiri American Council (KAC), a non-governmental organisation in Washington, D.C.

Preeta gets key post in Team Obama

Eminent Indian-American lawyer Preeta Bansal, who served as an adviser to Barack Obama's successful presidential campaign before serving in his administration, has been appointed by the U.S. President to a key post.
Ms. Bansal (46), a Harvard law graduate, was one of the two persons appointed by Mr. Obama as members of the Advisory Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States
She is a former Solicitor General of the State of New York

Letter bomb sent to Deutsche Bank chief

A letter bomb addressed to Deutsche Bank chief Josef Ackermann contained a fully functional bomb, capable of exploding had it not been intercepted in the bank's mailroom.
The bomb was intercepted after a routine X-ray screening
The return address on the letter was the European Central Bank — the governing body for the 17-nation common European currency
The Swiss-born Ackermann (63) was awarded a negative prize by an anti-lobby group on Wednesday for allegedly cutting deals with German Chancellor Angela Merkel regarding efforts earlier this year to save Greece from bankruptcy.

A Non Banking Financial Company (NBFC) isa company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 of India, engaged in the business of loans and advances, acquisition of shares, stock, bondsire-purchase, insurance business, or chit business: but does not include any institution whose principal business is that includes agriculture or industrial activity; or the sale, purchase or construction of immovable property.
NBFCs perform functions similar to that of banks; however there are a few differences in that an NBFC cannot accept demand deposits; an NBFC is not a part of the payment and settlement system and as such, an NBFC cannot issue cheques drawn on itself
Microfinance institutions, also known as MFIs, offer financial services to underprivileged and impoverished communities.
An Increasing number of microfinance institutions (MFIs) are seeking non-banking finance company (NBFC) status from RBI to get wide access to funding, including bank finance.
Forbes magazine named seven microfinance institutes in India in the list of the world's top 50 microfinance institutions.
Recently, microfinance has come under fire in the state of Andhra Pradesh due to allegations of MFIs using coercive recollection practices and charging usurious interest rates. These charges resulted in the state government's passing of the Andhra Pradesh Microfinance Ordinance on October 15, 2010.
The Ordinance requires MFIs to register with the state government and gives the state government the power, suo moto, to shut down MFI activity.