Daily News Notes: 19th Feb, 2012

· The Indian Banks' Association (IBA) has asked its members to impose stricter terms on loans given to students getting admission under the management quota under the model education loan scheme as such students could turn bad as their employment potential is relatively less. Non-Performing Assets, NPA in education loans, are as high as 6 per cent. To bring down NPA in education loan, the government is also considering the option of setting up of credit guarantee trust.
· In Jammu and Kashmir, 'Shivratri' festival which is most scrupulously observed by the Kashmiri Pandits, the ancient and original inhabitants of Kashmir, is being celebrated from today. However, Mahashivaratri will be celebrated in other parts of the country tomorrow. Kashmiri Pandits will celebrate the day as "SALAAM ". It is a day of fun and feasting, a sort of Thanksgiving Day when relations, friends and colleagues would exchange greetings.
· A nationwide Immunization campaign for Polio is on today in which more than 17 crore children of less than 5 years of age are being administered polio drops. nowhere in the world, the campaign of such scale and size is undertaken in a single round. It may be noted that not a single case of polio virus has been reported in the country since January 13 last year.
· Indian Agricultural Research Institute, IARI has developed a superior Basmati variety Pusa 1509 to enhance productivity of the staple grain. The new Basmati rice variety is superior to Pusa Basmati 1121 in terms of earliness by 20 days, non- shattering and non-lodging habit and superior grain.
· A referendum in the Baltic Republic of Latvia decisively rejected a proposal to make Russian the second official language. Ethnic Russians, who make up about one-third of Latvia's population, have long complained of discrimination. But many ethnic Latvians believe the referendum was an attempt to encroach on the country's independence.
· Riot police clashed with demonstrators in the capital Dakar of Senegal in a protest against the Presidential election due to be held in a week's time. The demonstrators are angered by the decision of the 85 year old President Abdullah to stand for a third term.
· In Egypt, the trial of 43 Egyptian and foreign activists (19 Americans and two Germans) charged with working for unlicensed non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and receiving illegal foreign funding will start at a criminal court in Northern Cairo on 26th February. The move has strained Egypt's ties with the United States, which has threatened to withhold 1.3 billion dollars of annual military aid to the country. Egypt has been receiving the aid since 1979 when it signed a peace treaty with Israel. [one of the example of US domination over Arab spring]