Daily News Notes: 11th March, 2012

• ·         Foreign direct investment, FDI, in India went up by 31 per cent to 27.5 billion US Dollars last year, notwithstanding uncertain economic environment globally. FDI inflows in 2010 totaled USD 21 billion. According to the Industry Ministry's latest data, the sectors that attracted maximum FDI last year include services, telecom, housing and real estate, construction and power. Mauritius, Singapore, the US, the UK, the Netherlands, Japan, Germany and the UAE are the major investors in India. To boost FDI inflows, the government has liberalised the FDI regime, allowing overseas investment in bee-keeping and share-pledging for raising external debt. Besides, 100 per cent foreign investment has been allowed in single-brand retail sector.
• ·         The Union Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee said that the public sector banks (PSBs) have been directed to provide banking access to habitations having population in excess of 2000 persons by March 2012 using various models and technologies including branchless banking through Business Correspondents (BCs). He said that till the end of January 2012, govt. has covered nearly 63,000 villages of the targeted 74000 villages. In the next few years, govt. proposes to cover all habitations having population of over 1,000 persons, the Finance Minister added. As per the latest Annual Report of the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, the total number of customer complaints received by the Ombudsman in 2010-11 are 11% less than those received in the previous year. The private sector and foreign banks which account for only 12% of the loan and deposits, contribute for 35% of the total complaints. The Government is in the process of implementing an e-payment system for bringing transparency and expedite direct payments for subsidies from central paying units to the targeted beneficiaries of fertilizer, kerosene and cooking gas. The Finance Minister said that Core Banking Solutions(CBS), Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) cheque clearing system, Cheque Truncation System(CTS), National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) , ATM`s, mobile banking, tele banking, internet banking etc. have revolutionised banking and enabled customer satisfaction.
• ·         Hiring and employee retention have been identified as the “key challenges” in managing and measuring employee productivity, according to a survey conducted among more than 200 HR managers across industries. Releasing the Workforce Productivity India 2012 report, the survey revealed that HR managers in many Indian companies were “too caught up in firefighting” attrition that they were less able to focus on the more strategic objectives of their business operations. “While measuring productivity among the blue collar workforce is relatively easier, HR managers complain that measuring productivity of the mid-level managerial segment proves difficult.” The survey identified “inaccurate” manpower planning and managing absenteeism, especially unplanned absenteeism, as key worries of HR managers. More than half the respondents reported that they were managing workforce scheduling manually or through the use of spreadsheets instead of employing automated digital tools. [imp for P’Ad]
• ·         The Indian Carpet Exports are expected to register a 25 per cent increase this year. Carpet Industry is facing a tough competition from Iran and China. Despite the sluggish international market, the industry registered over 18 per cent increase in the export of handmade woolen carpets, rugs and dhurries. The work on mega handloom cluster for carpet is now about to begin. It will cover the training of 20,000 weavers, re-establishment and up-gradation of 20,000 looms, and loan facility of 50 crore rupees. The Mirzapur - Bhadohi carpet belt covers 75% of carpet export from India. The components of the announced bail-out package for the ailing carpet industry in Mirzapur - Bhadohi Carpet belt last year included skill development, assistance to weavers and entrepreneurs, common facility centre, market development and technology up gradation. The export from the area will boost further after the scheme comes into full effect.
• ·         An Indian trade delegation has arrived in Teheran to explore business opportunities with Iran under the aegis of Federation of Indian Export Organisations. India buys 14 billion Dollar worth of oil from Iran per year but sells goods only worth 2.7 billion Dollars to Iran. Boosting exports from India to Iran would not only help trade imbalance but also deepen ties between the two countries.
• ·         Nobel laureate and famous poet Gurudev Rabindra Nath Tagore finds a place among the literary giants at the House of Poetry in Cairo. His poetry knows no boundaries. His works have been translated into Arabic. A portrait of Tagore now adores the famous Hall of Poetry in Cairo. Tagore visited Egypt twice, first as a 17 year old in 1878 and later as a mature poet philosopher in 1926. As a part of 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Gurudev Tagore; it has been a befitting tribute to the maestro who enthralled millions with his lyrical poetry cutting across the barriers of language, religion and the nations.
• ·         Israeli air strikes on Gaza killed 17 Palestinians, including a top diplomat, yesterday, as militants fired 100 rockets into the Jewish state. The United States has expressed concern over deadly violence in southern Israel and called on both sides to make every effort to restore calm. The Arab League also condemned the raids, accusing Israel of carrying out a massacre and called for a tough stance from the international community against the Jewish state.
• ·         Fearing that climate change could wipe out their entire Pacific archipelago, the leaders of Kiribati are considering an unusual backup plan — moving the populace to Fiji. Kiribati President Anote Tong told that his Cabinet this week endorsed a plan to buy nearly 6,000 acres on Fiji's main island, Viti Levu. He said the fertile land, being sold by a church group for about $9.6 million, could provide an insurance policy for Kiribati's entire population of 103,000, though he hopes it will never be necessary for everyone to leave. Kiribati, which straddles the Equator near the International Date Line, has found itself at the leading edge of the debate on climate change because many of its atolls rise just a few feet above sea level. Mr. Tong said some villages have already moved and there have been increasing instances of sea water contaminating the fresh ground water. Some scientists have estimated the level of sea rise in the Pacific at about two millimetres per year. Many scientists expect that rate to accelerate due to climate change. Mr.Tong has been considering other unusual options to combat climate change, including shoring up some Kiribati islands with sea walls and even building a floating island.
• ·         Pope Benedict XVI waded deep into U.S. campaign politics, urging visiting U.S. bishops to strengthen their teaching about the evils of premarital sex and cohabitation, and denouncing what he called the “powerful” gay marriage lobby in America. As debate over health care coverage for birth control rages in the United States, Benedict said there was an urgent need for Catholics in America to discover the value of chastity an essential element of Christian teaching that he said had been subject to unjust “ridicule.”