{Current Affairs} Daily News Notes: 3rd to 17th Feb, 2013

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways C.P. Joshi on Tuesday revealed that only 100 km of the 2,400-km Trans-Arunachal Highway announced on January 31, 2008 under the Prime Minister’s package for Arunachal Pradesh had been completed so far. The Trans-Arunachal (declared as National Highway 229) highway from Tawang to Mahadevpur will pass through Bomdila, Nechipur, Seppa, Sagalee, Ziro, Daporijo, Along, Pasighat, Roing, Teju, Mahadevpur, Namchik, Changlang, Khonsa and Kanubari. The project components include construction of two-lane feeder roads connecting all district headquarters. The Minister said that under the Special Accelerated Road Development Programme (SARDP-NE) construction, 10,141 km of two-lane highway had been planned for providing connectivity to all district headquarters of the northeastern region in two phases. So far 1,000 km had been constructed.
The Government in order to give the Community Radio movement a fresh impetus would be providing Rs.100 crores in the XII Plan to set up 500 new Community Radio Stations (CRS). Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popular and relevant to a local, specific audience but is often overlooked by commercial or mass-media broadcasters. Community radio stations are operated, owned, and influenced by the communities they serve. They are generally nonprofit and provide a mechanism for enabling individuals, groups, and communities to tell their own stories, to share experiences and, in a media-rich world, to become creators and contributors of media. Community radio has developed differently in different countries, and the term has somewhat different meanings in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States, Canada, and Australia.
The country’s overall foodgrains production is expected to decline by 9.18 million tonnes in 2012-13 as compared to last year, owing to deficient rain in parts of the country (districts of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and parts of Karnataka) during last year’s kharif season. As against the highest-ever of about 260 million tonne in 2011-12, the foodgrains output this year is likely to be 250.14 million tonnes as revealed in the second advance estimates released officially on Friday. In non-foodgrains category, oilseeds output is estimated to fall marginally to 29.46 million tonnes this year from 29.79 million tonne in previous year, while cotton is likely to be lower at 33.8 million bales, from 35.2 million bales. Sugarcane output is estimated to dip to 334.54 million tonnes.
Insurance companies can now hold up to 15 per cent stake in any company, up from 10 per cent at present, as the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), on Friday, permitted raising of the investment limit. The move comes about four years after the IRDA amended investment norms to prohibit an insurer from holding more than a 10 per cent stake in a company.
In a major relief to government hospitals, school and college hostels, mid-day meal schemes and recognised welfare organisations, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has said they are now eligible for subsidised cooking gas cylinders. Conveying the government decision, the Ministry in a communication to the State-owned oil marketing companies — IOC, BPCL and HPCL — said non-domestic exempted category (NDEC) customers, the official term for such users, “are now to be treated as domestic LPG consumers.”
Ranjit Debbarma, chief of the outlawed All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF), has been detained by the Tripura government under the National Security Act (NSA). The Union Home Ministry declared the ATTF as outlawed under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act on April 3, 1997. The Tripura police formally registered a complaint against the outfit and its rival, the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), in 1998.
Kerala has become the first state in the country to launch an ambitious programme to generate over 10 MW of solar power through over 10000 roof-top solar power systems of 1 kw each to be installed at individual houses. The project has been sanctioned by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) under Solar Off-Grid Photovoltaic program of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM). The Mission- launched in 2010- aims to achieve a target of 200 MW of off-grid solar applications to be achieved by the end of March 2013. This target is apart from 20 Million Solar Home Systems to be installed by 2022. It sanctioned various solar projects for schools, hospitals, police stations, panchayats, bus stations, telecom towers and forest villages in various states. In Madhya Pradesh, the forest Department has installed Solar Power Plants / Packs to power its check posts, monitoring stations and other establishments of the forest department with the help of the Ministry. Solar pumps for irrigation purpose have also been sanctioned in Rajasthan, Bihar, Haryana, Punjab and Chhattisgarh. So far over 50 MW of installations have already been completed under the scheme. A subsidy of 30% of the bench mark price is provided as central financial assistance for promoting various off grid applications including Solar Home Systems, Solar Street Lights, Solar Power Packs, small Solar power plants, mini grids and solar pumps.
The President of India has appointed Shri Kalyan Kumar Chakravarty, as Chairman of Lalit Kala Akademi. Shri Kalyan Kumar Chakravarty is a 1970 batch Indian Administrative Service Officer and retired in the rank of Secretary to Government of India. The Lalit Kala Akademi or National Academy of Art is an autonomous organization, established at New Delhi in 1954 by Government of India to promote and propagate understanding of Indian art, both within and outside the country. It does so through providing scholarships, a fellow program, and sponsoring and organizing numerous exhibitions in India and overseas. It has regional centers at Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Garhi (Delhi), Kolkata, Lucknow and Shimla.
Launching the Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme (RGESS), Union Finance Minister asked the regulators to simplify procedures, especially the integration of KYC (know your customer) norms, to attract more people to invest in financial products rather than gold and real estate. He promised that the government would make the RGESS scheme, announced in the Bueget 2012-12, more attractive for small investors. “We have tried to be creative to make it more attractive. We have allowed mutual funds to participate in RGESS, and we have broadened the definition of first-time investor to include demat account-holders who have not transacted previously.”
On Saturday, after Afzal Guru was hanged, Union Home Secretary R.K. Singh told journalists in New Delhi that the family had been informed of the execution through a letter sent by Speed Post. But seals and signatures on the communication make it clear that the letter was written on February 6, or three days after the mercy petition was rejected, and dispatched only a day before the execution. The letter read: “The mercy petition of convict Sh Mohd. Afjal Guru, S/o Habibillah, has been rejected by [the] Hon’ble President of India. Hence the execution of Mohd. Afjal Guru, S/o Habibillah, has been fixed for 09/02/2013 at 8 A.M.. in Central Jail no-3. This is for your information and further necessary action.” Despite the imposition of curfew, the shutting down of local cable TV operations and SMSs, at least 50 persons including a Superintendent of Police were injured in different incidents of violence across the Kashmir valley triggered by Saturday morning’s execution of Parliament attack convict Guru. Story of 13th Dec, 2013: On December 13, 2001, the Lok Sabha was adjourned around 11.15 am -- almost 45 minutes before scheduled lunch break -- because of Congress-led Opposition’s refusal to let the Parliament function till Defence Minister George Fernandes resigns over his alleged involvement in coffin scam. At 11.45 am, just as the parliamentarians were preparing to leave, a white Ambassador Car with Government stickers entered the compound and was asked to stop at Gate 12 for routine security check. Instead of stopping, five heavily armed terrorists –in Delhi police uniforms -- opened fire and tried to enter the main building, but the car rammed into Vice President Krishna Kant’s car parked nearby. The terrorists, armed with AK-47s and hand grenades, were reportedly wearing suicide vests. The five gunmen tried to enter the main building from Gate 1 (entrance for MPs), Gate 5 (entrance for Prime Minister) and Gate 12 (entrance for the vice-president). Several Cabinet ministers and about 200 MPs, plus visitors and mediapersons, were believed to be in the complex when the attack broke out. Home Minister Advani and other senior ministers were moved to a secure location within the Parliament complex. However, the Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Leader of Opposition Sonia Gandhi had already left. The army was called in and the Black Cat commandos and police personnel were rushed to the spot. All entry and exit points were sealed and security forces were engaged in a lockdown and mop-up operation. Security was enhanced at the residences of the prime minister, home minister and the leader of the Opposition. While none of the parliamentarians got hurt, one of the terrorists came dangerously close to Vice President Krishan Kant’s office and fired at the door.Kant was saved by the intervention of a parliamentary security officer who chased away the attacker but was killed in the process. According to witnesses, one of the gunmen blew himself up in an apparent suicide attack. After 30 minutes of gun battle and grenade attacks, all the five terrorists were gunned down. Two hours after the attack, a bomb found inside the parliament compound was controlled detonated. The terrorists had gunned down nine -- five Delhi Police personnel (Nanak Chand, Rampal, Om Prakash, Bijender Singh and Ghanshyam), a CRPF woman constable (kamlesh Kumar), two Parliament security attendants (Jagdish Prasad Yadav and Mutbar Singh Negi) and a gardener (Deshraj), and injured 23. Two years later, ANI lensman Vikram Bisht, who was hit by a bullet during the attack, succumbed to his injuries.
If you have a permanent account number (PAN) but have not filed your income-tax returns, the taxman may be looking your way. Faced with a likely shortfall in revenue collections expected in the upcoming Union Budget for 2012-13, the Government is on the lookout for such assessees. It has been urging all taxpayers to “disclose their true income and pay appropriate taxes within the current financial year”. Directorate of Intelligence & Criminal Investigation of the Income Tax Department is issuing letters to 35,170 PAN holders in the first batch. More than 12 lakh assessees with PAN have not filed their returns. “The letter contains the summary of the information of financial transaction(s), along with a customised response sheet, and seeks to know if the person had filed his income tax return or not,” said a Finance Ministry statement
Sixty days after his demise, sitar legend Ravi Shankar was on Sunday posthumously awarded the best world music album trophy at the 55th Grammys for his album ‘The Living Room Sessions Part 1’, beating his daughter Anoushka Shankar who a day after being honoured with a Lifetime Achievement award by The Recording Academy.
Thirty Indian software product firms have come together to form a new association (led by Bharat Goenka, co-founder of Tally Solutions), marking the first break from the omnibus IT industry body Nasscom and reflecting the growing confidence and maturity of the software product community. The association, called the Indian Software Product Industry Round Table, or iSpirt, has been formed with the vision that India now has the basic building blocks to develop a powerful software product industry that can help transform the country and deliver invaluable solutions to the world. All founding members have strong customer bases in India or worldwide and the objective is to share expertise and experiences, and create a larger awareness in society and government about the industry’s critical role. [InfoGraphic]
A revised version of the electronic voting machine (EVM), complete with a printing unit to generate a voter verifiable paper trail, is set to be cleared by the Election Commission next week. EC said that around 6 lakh EVMs, all procured in or after 2006, will be fitted with a printing unit that generates a paper trail of each ballot. This paper trail can be seen by the voter soon after he casts his vote, after which it will automatically sever from the printing roll and drop into a box. This is expected to alleviate concerns — expressed earlier by the opposition led by BJP — over possible tampering of EVMs to favour a certain candidate. The cost of updating the existing 6 lakh printer-compatible EVMs is estimated at around Rs 540 crore.
Kashmir’s top clergyman, Mufti Azaam Mufti Bashir-u-Din has issued a “fatwa” against three Kashmiri girls for being part of a rock band which performed in Srinagar in December 2012. The Grand Mufti (Mufti Azaam) confirming his decision and said he has decreed against the girls because the music is banned in Islam and they (girls) should imbibe “better values” in them instead of the vices. “I issued the fatwa where I said to the girls that music is not good for society,” he said. “All the bad things happening in the Indian society are because of music,” he said. The mufti and other separatist groups issued statements and “fatwas” against the girls who have taken refuge in New Delhi after CM Omar Abdullah offered support to them. The three teenage girls -- drummer Farah Deeba, guitarist Aneeka Khalid and vocalist-guitarist Noma Nazir — performed at a Srinagar stadium last December organized by Adnan Mattoo and Raheel Khurshid’s Bloodrockz. Their performance came under fire from conservative elements in Kashmiri society and they received threats.
President Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent to the ordinance sharpening laws against sexual assault, mandating harsher punishment like death penalty for offenders in cases where the victim dies or is pushed into a persistent vegetative state. The amended law comes into force immediately. The ordinance, which also introduced voyeurism, stalking, disrobing of women and acid attacks as specific offences under the Indian Penal Code, was approved by the Union cabinet on Friday. The assent came even as women’s rights activists expressed unhappiness over the provisions. They were upset over the Centre’s refusal to recognize marital rape as an offence, failure to hold command officers accountable for rapes by their subordinates and omission of rapes by military personnel as a category. With Presidential nod, Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2013 becomes a law. Govt will have to get it approved by Parliament in 6 months.
National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) is ‘bullish’ over the National Dairy Plan (NDP), the ambitious plan to double India’s milk production by scientifically increasing productivity of milch cattle. For the first phase of NDP, 10 projects to produce 510 high genetic merit (HGM) bulls by 2017-18 have been approved with financial outlay of Rs 155 crore. The first phase was launched as ‘Mission Milk’ at NDDB’s headquarters in Anand last year. DAIRYING IN INDIA: 70 million out of 150 million rural households involved in dairying. With 127 million tonnes, India is world’s largest milk producer since 1998. India has registered 4% incremental growth in milk in the last decade as against 2% world average. Per capita milk availability was 291 grams in 2011-12, better than 222 grams in 2001-02 but much below the global standard of 350 grams. Demand for milk is projected to be around 210 million tonnes in 2021-22.
Senior lawyer Rohinton F Nariman has resigned as solicitor general of India without quoting the reason behind. Nariman took the solicitor general’s office 18 months ago when Gopal Subramanium resigned in protest against the then law minister Kapil Sibal’s decision to appoint Nariman as the government’s counsel in the 2G case. A respected corporate lawyer, Nariman had led the government’s attempts in reopening the Supreme Court’s January 2012 ruling in favour of Vodafone. He had argued for the government that backed the I-T department’s Rs.11,000-crore tax claim on Vodafone. The apex court, however, held that Vodafone was not liable to pay the tax. A three-judge bench, led by then chief justice SH Kapadia, had ruled that the income tax department has no jurisdiction to levy tax on transactions carried out abroad.
Union Finance Minister stressed the need for making the controversial Armed Forces (Special Power) Act (AFSPA) a more “humanitarian” law, but asserted that the Union government could not move forward as there was “no consensus” between the Army and the government on the issue. Notably, the Justice Verma Committee, in its report setting forth measures to curb sexual violence, highlighted the misuse of the AFSPA by Army personnel and recommended that “sexual violence against women by members of the armed forces or uniformed personnel must be brought within the purview of the ordinary criminal law.” But the Centre has not included this in its ordinance to strengthen laws to tackle sexual assaults. Further, calling for strong punishment to those involved in corruption, which affected the very fabric of society, Mr. Chandu, however, lamented “trial by media” of those accused of corruption.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Centre to convene a meeting of chief secretaries of all States and Union Territories in six weeks for evolving a consensus in regard to the regulation of sale of acid in the States/Union Territories to prevent acid attacks. The Bench was hearing a writ petition filed by Laxmi, a victim of acid attack, in which a plea was made to regulate the sale of acids across the country. Further, Additional Solicitor General submitted that 13 States of Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Manipur, Mizoram, Odihsa, Rajasthan, Sikki, Triupura and West Bengal had issued notification for victim compensation scheme in their States and other States had been reminded to follow the scheme. He said the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance 2013 which had received the assent of the President had Sections 326 A and 326 B in the Indian Penal Code for making acid attack a specific offence, providing a maximum punishment of life sentence.
A working group set up by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on Wednesday, suggested banks to increase their gold jewellery loans portfolio to curb large imports of gold, which is widening the current account deficit (CAD). The working group was set up to study issues related to gold imports and gold loans provided by non-banking finance companies (NBFCs). CAD increased to a record high of 5.4 per cent during the second quarter of the current financial year as compared to 4.2 per cent in the corresponding period in the previous fiscal. The working group proposed the setting up of ‘Bullion Corporation of India’ (BCI), as a backstop facility, to provide refinance to institutions lending against the collateral of gold, and also to undertake retailing functions in gold, including pooling of idle gold, in the system. The proposed BCI could also play a major role in recycling and pooling of domestic scrap gold, which comes to nearly 300 tonnes per annum. The idea of a Gold Bank was mooted by the then Finance Minister, Manmohan Singh, in his budget speech in 1992. However, the proposal was not implemented. The group suggested that the gold bank could be given powers to import, export, trade, lend and borrow gold and deal in gold derivatives.
Global online retail giant Amazon.com, on Tuesday, sought opening of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the e-commerce sector as present policy restricts such companies from offering services directly to the consumers. Currently, 100 per cent FDI is allowed only in business to business (B2B) e-commerce, and not in retail trading. India allows 100 per cent FDI in single-brand retail stores and 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail, subject to sourcing conditions.
Even as the Centre hopes to introduce and pass the National Food Security Bill in the coming Budget session of Parliament, several States have expressed reservations on the Bill, particularly the ones relating to identification of beneficiaries, sustained availability of grains, proposed cut in individual entitlement and additional expenses to be borne by them. Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh sought a universal public distribution system. A majority of the States categorically opposed cash transfers in lieu of grains. Some of them cautioned the Centre against rushing through the Bill without adequate level of preparedness and availability of grains. Moreover, with the socio-economic caste census (SECC) — which will determine the eligibility and entitlement of rural households for different programmes and schemes -- still not complete, the States pointed out that the government was “hurrying through” the process. The States said they were utterly confused about how to identify the beneficiaries so that they could fit into the UPA’s eligibility criteria for 67 per cent of the population. The subsidy bill for mandatory distribution of 5 kg of rice, wheat and coarse cereals at Rs. 3, Rs. 2 and Re. 1 a kg respectively under the TPDS for 67 per cent of the population is estimated at Rs. 1.17 lakh crore. The Bill was introduced in December 2011 in the Lok Sabha and referred to the Standing Committee. Govt. Vs. Standing Committee: The government Bill proposed a coverage of up to 75 per cent rural population with at least 46 per cent as “priority” (BPL) and up to 50 per cent of the urban population with at least 28 per cent as “priority.” It suggested monthly entitlement of 7 kg a person. As against this, the Standing Committee recommended coverage of 67 per cent total population with 75 per cent in rural areas and 50 per cent in the urban areas as a single (inclusion) category with uniform entitlement of 5 kg a person. This would exclude separate entitlement for existing Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households.
The Union Budget for 2013-14 provides the government an opportunity to reorient tax policies towards greater revenue mobilisation and pursuing a more inclusive development path, as is aimed for in the 12th Five-Year Plan. India currently raises only 15.5 per cent of its GDP as tax revenues, making it one of the lowest taxes of all G20 countries. By comparison, the average tax to GDP (gross domestic product) ratio in OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries is almost 10 percentage points higher at 24.6 per cent. Not just the developed countries, even other developing countries like Brazil, China, South Africa, Argentina and Turkey have a higher tax-GDP ratio than India. Furthermore, other countries rely more on direct taxation, which raises greater revenues from those who can afford to pay more, and therefore have a more progressive structure of taxation than India. It was highlighted that among the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries, India mobilises the lowest magnitude of property taxes, which usually include wealth, inheritance and municipal property taxes. Over the period from 2000-01 to 2007-08, property taxes contributed on an average 15.1 per cent of the total tax revenue in the U.S., 5.8 per cent in South Africa, 5.1 per cent in China, 4.87 per cent in Russia and 4.25 per cent in Brazil. In contrast, these taxes contributed only a meagre 0.44 per cent in India (~64,000 crore per annum or 0.8 per cent of GDP, 2011-12). Therefore, with the introduction of property taxes, which would largely fall on the wealthy, India could double public expenditure on health care and begin to make a dent in the very high rates of infant, child, and maternal mortality. Through these various methods — increasing direct taxes, particularly wealth and inheritance taxes, eliminating corporate exemptions, and closing loopholes on tax avoidance (Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with Mauritius etc.), India could easily raise up to 20-25 per cent of GDP as tax revenues, which is the amount that would be necessary to fund a modern welfare state that can deliver on its objectives of faster, inclusive, and more sustainable development.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Friday allowed Gold Exchange Traded Fund schemes (Gold ETFs) to invest in Gold Deposit Schemes (GDS) of banks, as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) changed the maturity period of gold deposits, from six months to seven years instead of three to seven years making the product more attractive for investors. Before investing in GDS of banks, mutual funds shall put in place a written policy with regard to investment in GDS with due approval from the Board of the AMCs and the Trustees.
The Supreme Court has decided to examine the constitutional validity of the definition of ‘juvenile’ under the Juvenile Justice Act since it provides blanket cover to juveniles less than 18 years of age even though they commit serious crimes.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has discovered pre-historic caves with rock paintings dating back to 12,000 years on the Satpura mountain range in Gawilgarh Hills near Betul on the Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh border. About 71 new rock shelters harbouring paintings and engravings have been found at the site, which may give a tough competition to the World Heritage site of Bhimbetka near Bhopal. Since last week of December 2012, the team has so far discovered 89 rock shelters. The rock shelters carry decorations on walls, ceilings and floors. Decors comprise petroglyph's in various forms, such as engravings, bruising, pecking and pictographs in various colours, viz red, various shades of red, white, black and green. The pictographs or paintings usually illustrate human, animal, bird, tree and abstract geometric figures and are depicted by stick figures, outlines, solid and X-ray figures. he engravings usually exhibit elements of natural world as well as abstract themes.
The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has constituted a panel under the Chairmanship of Shri Mukul Mudgal, Retired Chief Justice, High Court of Punjab and Haryana to examine issues of certification under the Cinematograph Act 1952. The Committee may submit its report in two months from the date of its constitution.
Minister of State for Power said that the government has been able to surpass the targets set for the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) under the Bharat Nirman programme. Against a target of 1 lakh villages and 1.75 crore BPL households, the government has provided electricity to 1.04 lakh villages and provided free connections to 1.95 crore BPL households. He added that, the addition of over 20,500 MW in 2011-12 was the highest ever annual capacity addition in any year. The government has achieved a milestone by successfully testing the world’s highest voltage test station of 1200 KV at Bina in Madhya Pradesh, the minister said.
The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Centre on a PIL seeking to make intelligence agencies Intelligence Bureau (IB), Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) and National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) accountable to Parliament. The NGO's petition has sought directions from the court for Parliamentary oversight and financial auditing of RAW, IB and NTRO by CAG like in western countries. "Former heads of these organisations have published books on how the money is misused and and how the agencies are misused for political purposes," the petition has said, adding accounting is required as "more than ten thousand crore is granted to these agencies out of consolidated funds of India."
State oil firms have raised diesel prices by 55 paise per litre and petrol by Rs.1.89 per litre (with taxes in Mumbai) from Saturday. Oil marketing firms were losing about Rs.1.15 a litre revenue on petrol and over Rs.10.7 a litre on diesel. Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the country’s biggest fuel retailer by volume, said in a statement that petrol prices were raised because of rising international crude oil rates. India, which imports more than 80% crude oil it processes, pays its import bill in dollars. Prices of Brent, the international benchmark for crude oil, soared to a nine-month high last week, touching $119 per barrel. [InfoGraphic]
Two senior US officials are headed to India to participate in the second US-India-Afghanistan Trilateral Dialogue focusing on cooperation among the three nations after the planned drawdown of US forces from Afghanistan in 2014. In their review of the trilateral dialogue the two had discussed among other things regional economic integration projects including the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline.
A handful of about 20 US-based companies and industry bodies spent more than $200 million (over Rs 1,000 crore) during 2012 on lobbying among the American lawmakers for their Indian business interests and other issues affecting their businesses globally. The year-end lobbying disclosures of these companies, which are part of the Congressional records with the US Senate and the House of Representatives, come at a time when global retail giant Wal-Mart's lobbying in the US for access to Indian market is being probed by the Indian government. The Indian government has launched a probe into Wal-Mart's US lobbying for seeking access to India. The retail giant, which also continued to lobby for Indian market in the last quarter, has spent more than USD 34 million on its various lobbying activities in the US since 2008, when it began lobbying for Indian market access as well. Lobbying is a legal activity in the US, but the lobby firms hired by the corporate entities need to make quarterly disclosures about their activities and payments. However, there are no specific regulations about lobbying in India. The Indian government itself has a lobby firm presenting its case with the American lawmakers, while a number of Indian companies and entities also indulge in lobbying activities in the US through their respective lobbyists.
India not only wants to co-develop and co-produce arms with the US, but also wants to jointly export them, a top Pentagon official has said adding that the United States supports such Indian aspirations.
After much back and forth, the Defence Ministry has cleared setting up of a mountain strike corps along the China border (with 89,000 soldiers and 400 officers), signalling its intent to press ahead with plans to strengthen offensive military capabilities despite recent calls from Beijing for a "new type" of military relationship. The focus is to be able to launch a counter-offensive into Tibet in case of a "Kargil-type adventure" by China. The proposal was first mooted in 2010, but was sent back last year with instructions for a re-look by all three services so that a common plan could be drawn up. The proposal has now been reworked with some minor changes relating to additional Air Force elements. The projected amount too has gone up marginally from the earlier estimate of about Rs 65,000 crore. However, the road ahead will still be difficult, particularly given the strain on the Finance Ministry at this point. While this is not going to be a one-time expenditure, it does fly in the face of North Block's efforts to effect expenditure cuts to contain the growing fiscal deficit.
Pope Benedict XVI has nominated Cardinal Mar Besalios Cleemis from India (head of Kerala-based Syro Malankara Catholic Church) in two important panels, including the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, of the Vatican. The council for inter-religious, formed in 1964, is entrusted with the task of promoting understanding between Catholic Church and other religions. The Pontifical council would also promote studies on all other major religions of the world and train churchmen to engage themselves in meaningful dialogue with those following different traditions of faith.
India and Gibraltar have signed a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) that among other things calls for transparent sharing of information. This is the 13th TIEA being signed by India. So far India has signed TIEAs with Bahamas, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Isle of Man, Cayman Islands, Jersey, Macau, Liberia, Argentina, Guernsey, Bahrain and Monaco. As per the agreement, based on international standard of transparency and exchange of information, information must be foreseeably relevant to the administration and enforcement of the domestic laws of the Contracting Parties concerning taxes covered by the agreement. It also provides for tax examination abroad and has specific provisions for providing banking and ownership information. The salient features of the agreement also say that the requesting state has to provide some minimum details about the information requested in order to justify the foreseeably relevance criteria. Information is to be treated as secret and can be disclosed to only specified person or authorities, which are tax authorities or the authorities concerned with the determination of tax appeal, it says. The agreement also provides for exchange of past information in criminal matters.
India and Mauritius have initiated steps towards setting up Mauritius-India Joint Business Council and a Joint Working Group (JWG) on trade and investment. “The Joint Business Council will be a robust institutional mechanism for giving a boost to trade and investment ties by identifying the priority sectors and sectors of engagement. The JWG would further work out the modalities for broadening and deepening the economic engagement between the two countries.” During his recent bilateral visit to Mauritius from January 8-10, 2013, Indian Union Minister for Commerce, Industry & Textiles was informed about the Freeport policy of Mauritius which offers zero custom duty and corporate tax free regime for companies with predominant export orientations, specially to Africa. The special arrangement of Mauritius with COMESA and the DFQF regime with EU will come into play under this Policy. In this regard, DIPP, CII, ASSOCHAM and FICCI have been asked to take necessary action to benefit India too. During the Financial Year 2011-12, the bilateral trade between India and Mauritius grew by 68 per cent, increasing from USD 863 million in 2010-11 to USD 1,451 million in 2011-12.
Amnesty International India has described as “shameful” the Union government’s action of carrying out death sentences. Referring to reports that President Pranab Mukherjee has rejected the mercy petitions of four accomplices of forest brigand Veerappan — Gnanprakasham (brother of Veerappan), Simon, Meesekar Madaiah and Bilavendran — who were convicted for their role in the landmine blast that killed 22 police personnel in Karnataka’s Palar area in 1993, Amnesty India’s Chief Executive G. Ananthapadmanabhan said India must immediately halt the impending executions of the four. They were originally sentenced to life imprisonment by a special court in Karnataka set up under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, but the Supreme Court increased, upon appeal, their sentences to death penalty in 2004. Meanwhile, Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) Director Suhas Chakma alleged that as many as 1,455 persons were sentenced to death in India during 2001-2011 — Uttar Pradesh topping the list with 370 accused convicted to enter the gallows. This was followed by Bihar — 132 and Maharashtra — 125. He said “this implies that on an average, one convict is awarded death penalty in less than every third day in India. The rarest of rare case doctrine for application of death penalty has become routine. Death penalty is no longer the exception but the rule”.
India is reconciled to France’s stand of not revisiting the ban on government-funded school students from wearing conspicuous religious symbols, which include the turban. However, some civil society organisations have threatened to demonstrate during French President Francoise Hollande’s two-day India visit beginning from Thursday on the ban on turbans in public schools. The next day in Mumbai, another set of agitators has planned to protest against the multi-billion dollar Jaitapur civil nuclear project based on French technology.
India and France today concluded negotiations on the Short Range Surface to Air Missile (SR-SAM) nearly worth of USD 6 billion during the talks between French President Francois Hollande and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who also said talks on USD 10-billion deal for Rafale fighter aircraft are "progressing well". The Rs 30,000 crore worth of SR-SAM project is a co-development joint venture between India and France and would be developed by MBDA of France and DRDO from the Indian side. After comprehensive talks, the leaders said views were exchanged on a number of bilateral, regional and multilateral issues of common interest including defence ties, civil nuclear cooperation, counter-terrorism and situation in Mali. The two sides also inked four pacts, including one in the field of railways.
Indo-French space cooperation is all set to soar to new heights with the scheduled launch of a satellite SARAL satellite (between 22-25 Feb from Sriharikota in AP) to study changes in the environment soon after the visit of French President Francois Hollande here next week. India’s warhorse rocket, Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) will put the satellite into orbit. SARAL is short for Satellite with ARgos and ALtiKa, the two main devices on it which have been provided by French space agency CNES. Besides building the spacecraft, ISRO will launch and operate it through its life. SARAL would be one of the very few ocean-centric satellites and a vital cog in studying sea surface heights and other aspects. AltiKa is an Ka-band altimeter system, dedicated to accurate measurement of the rise in the sea levels. The satellite would be useful in studying the sea state, light rainfall climatalogy, mean sea level and coastal altimetry.
The former Maldivian President, Mohamed Nasheed, walked into the Indian High Commission in Male at noon on Wednesday after an arrest warrant was issued against him for failure to appear in a local court. Meanwhile, some prominent ruling combine politicians have made their dislike of the Indian role clear. One said the incident showed how far a foreign country would go to “interfere” in Maldivian affairs.
India and Pakistan are bracing themselves for the final order of the Court of Arbitration at The Hague in their dispute over the construction of the Rs. 3,600 crore Kishenganga hydro-electric project in North Kashmir. Pakistan had sought a stay on it while the dispute was being heard. However, the court only restrained India from certain activities of a permanent nature. The arbitration was initiated by Pakistan against India on the charge that it had violated the provisions of the bi-lateral Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 that regulates the use of Indus rivers. India denied the charge and said the project was in conformity with the treaty. The project is under construction on Kishenganga (called Neelam in Pakistan), a tributary of the Jhelum river. For management of siltation/sedimentation in the project, India proposes to use the modern drawdown flushing technique that requires waters to be brought below the Dead Storage Level — a technique accepted by the neutral expert in the Baglihar dispute with Pakistan.
India looks all set to cede the moniker of the world’s second fastest growing major economy for 2012. The latest global economic growth forecasts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have India growing at 4.5% in 2012 (at market prices), much less than the big guns of ASEAN such as Indonesia and the Philippines, and even Bangladesh. Although the size of the Indian economy is much bigger than these countries, making, for some people, comparisons with them odious, some analysts say these countries were benefiting from tailwinds while India faced headwinds. Their interest rates are lower compared with India and much lower than what they were at the time of Lehman crisis. The International Monetary Fund world economic outlook update showed the ASEAN 5 region comprising Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam growing by 5.7% in 2012, while the Emerging Market and Developing Economies block is forecast to grow 5.1%. Growth in the Developing Asia block was pegged at 6.6% in 2012.
With an eye on both the western and eastern fronts with Pakistan and China, the Indian armed forces are slowly but steadily building a formidable arsenal of spy, target acquisition and ‘killer’ drones or UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles). Even as the Navy sets up spy drone bases along the coastline and IAF inducts ‘killer’ drones, the Army has inked yet another contract to acquire two more “troops’’ (eight drones each) of Israeli “Heron” medium-altitude, long endurance UAVs. The Navy, in turn, is looking to raise new UAV squadrons after establishing three at Kochi (Kerala), Porbandar (Gujarat) and Uchipuli (Tamil Nadu) to detect threats emanating from the sea. Similarly, IAF is inducting additional Harop “killer’’ drones equipped with electro-optical sensors to loiter over high-value military targets before exploding into them. The force has also experimented with “add-ons or attachments” to its existing fleet of Israeli Heron and Searcher-II surveillance drones to add a killer role to them. The armed forces eventually want full-fledged UCAVs (combat UAVs) — akin to the American Predators and Reapers being used in the Af-Pak region — which return to their bases like fighter jets to replenish their missiles for fresh missions. DRDO, too, has got into the act by stepping up its drone programmes, from the already inducted Nishant to the under-development Rustom-I and II drones. DRDO has also launched the secretive AURA (autonomous unmanned research aircraft) programme to develop stealth UCAVs capable of firing missiles, bombs and precision-guided munitions.
Pakistan’s cabinet formally agreed to hand over the operation of its strategically located Gwadar port from Singapore to China. This puts in place China’s famed “string of pearls” strategy which may have significant implications for India. For China, Gwadar could also be a conduit for energy flows into northwestern China, by transporting oil and gas from the port through pipelines that traverse Balochistan and the federal agencies to feed into China’s Xinjiang province. As China’s oil imports increase, it would prefer to insulate its energy flows from the turbulent waters of the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea. In 2011, the Pakistani defence minister had announced in Beijing that Islamabad would transfer ownership to a Chinese company. China had demurred then, but despite the worsening security situation in Balochistan, the Chinese have apparently agreed to take it over. China has already encountered opposition from Baloch people, who have objected to the Chinese taking over their traditional lands. And as the transition in Afghanistan draws near, that region, specially Quetta, which apparently houses top Taliban leaders, is likely to see more violence.
Embarrassed and angered by Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik’s decision to share the stage with 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed in Islamabad, the government is weighing the option of revoking his passport citing national security. Although there could be legal limitations to filing a case against him for an act committed on foreign soil, there is scope of some other charges being pressed against him. Malik is in Pakistan to visit his wife, a Pakistani national. Even as the pro-azadi Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) leader urged leaders from PoK to organize public protests against Guru’s hanging, Saeed, who was to lead the funeral prayers in Pakistan, reached the venue ahead of schedule and left after urging the Pakistani government not to maintain silence on the Kashmir issue. The government has been criticized for allowing Hurriyat leaders to visit Pakistan in the light of their meetings with Saeed and Salahuddin.
Sri Lanka has reacted sharply to the Thursday attack on the Bank of Ceylon in Chennai (ahead of President Mahinda Rajapaksa began his pilgrimage tour of India) and sought the Union government’s help to ensure security for its establishments in Tamil Nadu. On an earlier occasion, after its tourists were targeted in Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka issued an advisory against travel to the State. Since then, as sought by the Tamil Nadu government, the Centre has been sharing details of VIP visits from Sri Lanka. Since law and order is a State subject, it is only with the Tamil Nadu government’s concurrence can Sri Lankan VIPs travel to or transit Chennai and Tamil Nadu.
The conference of the first South Asian Autism Network (SAAN) for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) concluded with the adoption of Delhi Declaration in New Delhi. The autism spectrum describes a range of conditions classified as pervasive developmental disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). These disorders are typically characterized by delays or abnormal functioning before the age of three years in one or more of the following domains: (1) social interaction; (2) communication; and (3) restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, and activities.
The “Visa on Arrival” (VOA) scheme of the government registered a growth of 24.4 % in January 2013 as compared to January 2012. As a facilitative measure to attract more foreign tourists to India, the Government launched the “Visa on Arrival” (VoA) Scheme in January 2010 for citizens of five countries, viz. Finland, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Singapore, visiting India for tourism purposes. The Government extended this Scheme to the citizens of six more countries, namely Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Laos and Myanmar in January 2011. Highlights of VoAs: [1.] The number of VoAs issued under this scheme during January 2013 for nationals of the eleven countries were : Japan (529), New Zealand (367), the Philippines (209), Singapore (186), Indonesia (181), Finland (167), Cambodia (17), Vietnam (16), Luxembourg (11), Myanmar (6) and Laos (1); [2.] During January 2013, the highest number of VoAs were issued at Delhi airport (901) followed by Mumbai (427), Chennai (267) and Kolkata (95).
85-year-old Pope Benedict XVI announced on Monday that he had decided to resign, the first Pope to do so in 600 years. Pope Benedict XVI, known as Cardinal Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger before he assumed the pontifical office on April 19, 2005, made the declaration in Latin during a consistory.
As expected, the government of Switzerland has refused to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari on the premise that it was time-barred under Swiss law, which added to the presidential immunity he enjoys. After a prolonged stand-off with the Supreme Court, the dismissal of former Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani and the threat of another Premier facing the same fate, the federal government had requested the Swiss government to reopen the cases last November.
Egypt’s Islamist President Mohamed Morsy on Tuesday rolled out the red carpet to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who became the first Iranian President to visit Cairo after the 1979 Islamic revolution. The warm welcome notwithstanding, his Egyptian hosts did not forget the larger context of Mr. Ahmadinejad’s visit — a raging cold war between Iran and Saudi Arabia that has engulfed several countries, including Syria and Bahrain, and has inflamed the sectarian divide in the region. Analysts view this meeting as part of an effort by Iran and Egypt to heal the rift between the Sunni and Shia sects of Islam, exacerbated by the crises in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. Egypt had earlier initiated the formation of a regional contact group on Syria that included Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey to find a political solution the Syrian crisis.
North Korea on Tuesday said it had conducted a “successful” underground nuclear test, a move that brought condemnation from its neighbours and threatened to heighten regional tensions. It said the test — the third conducted by the country since 2006 and the first under the new leader Kim Jong-un — was a response to “outrageous” American hostility and the sanctions imposed on the country for a rocket launch in December. The test was reported to have taken place at a site in the North Hamgyeong province, where the Punggye-ri nuclear complex that conducted tests in 2006 and 2009 is located. Hinting that despite its opposition to the test China might not favour the strong sanctions the U.S. and South Korea are likely to push for. The North quit the Six Party Talks, which also involves South Korea, Japan, China, the U.S. and Russia, after carrying out missile tests in 2009. The test is likely to pose new Chinese leader Xi Jinping — set to replace Hu Jintao as President at the Parliament session that opens on March 5 — a difficult balancing act. For China, however, the North has historically been seen as a long-standing ally and crucial strategic buffer against the U.S. and its allies in the region, and Beijing had shown no signs of rethinking its close strategic ties following the earlier nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009.
The people of Scotland were on Tuesday given a glimpse of what the future would look like if they decide to vote for independence in a referendum next year as the Scottish government unveiled a “transition” plan which would see the country become formally independent in March 2016 — severing its 300-year-old union with the United Kingdom (U.K.). The “declaration of independence” would be followed by elections to Parliament in May, and the new independent Parliament would draw up a written constitution reflecting “the values of the people of Scotland”.
A hard-hitting report by a human rights organisation has pieced together evidence that 54 nations — including Pakistan, Afghanistan, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Syria — had participated in “secret detention, extraordinary rendition, and enhanced interrogation” programmes conducted regularly by the U.S. government since the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. India was not included in the list. The report, issued by the Open Society Justice Initiative, part of the Open Society Foundation (OSF) based in New York, was authored by a team including Amrit Singh, daughter of India’s Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh.
Iran has trumpeted military, space and nuclear advances in a series of announcements coinciding with a new bid by world powers to revive stalled talks with Tehran over its atomic ambitions. Unveiling it on Saturday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad unveiled a futuristic-looking fighter jet he said ranks among the most sophisticated aircraft, media reports said. Code-named the Qaher (Conqueror) F-313 and shaped similar to stealth bombers, the grey warplane was designed and built domestically. The plane boasted a very low radar signature, and that “advanced materials” were used to build it. The unveiling comes as Iran marks the 34th anniversary of the 1979 revolution, which replaced the U.S.-backed Shah with an Islamic regime. On January 28, Iran said it sent a monkey into space to an altitude of 120 km for a sub-orbital flight, challenging UNSC sanctions against development of its ballistic programme.
Russia has poured cold water on U.S. President Barack Obama’s pledge to pursue new cuts in the U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals even as it voiced its readiness to study American proposals. Moscow made it clear that it would say ‘no’ Washington’s proposal to slash nuclear weapons by 60 per cent, from the current goal of 1,550 deployed warheads by 2018 — outlined in the New START the two countries signed in 2010.
Veteran strongman Robert Muga [Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU)] be once said, apparently in jest, that he would rule Zimbabwe until he turned 100. If Zimbabweans vote for a new constitution on March 16, he will not get the chance, but he may yet come very close. The new basic law would allow Zimbabwe’s President to run for the office again, and at two terms of five years each he could stay on as President until 2023, when he would be 99. Mr. Mugabe, who turns 89 this month, is Africa’s oldest ruler and is eyeing re-election in July polls. In June 2008, he was re-elected to a sixth term after entering a presidential runoff uncontested.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II has inaugurated the kingdom’s newly elected parliament with a pledge to press ahead with democratization, but added that he will help choose the next prime minister despite the choice having been formally given to the legislature. Government officials say that this legislature will have more power than any of its predecessors, in line with a reform process meant to forestall any large-scale Arab Spring unrest.
Pakistan today successfully tested the nuclear-capable short range surface-to-surface Hatf-IX tactical missile with a range of 60 km, designed to defeat all known anti-tactical missile defence systems. The Hatf-IX or Nasr, which has "inflight manoeuver capability", can carry "nuclear warheads of appropriate yield with high accuracy". This quick response system, which can fire a four missile salvo, ensures deterrence against threats in view of evolving scenarios. The first test of the Hatf-IX was conducted in April 2011. At that time, experts and analysts said the short-range nuclear-capable missile was primarily aimed at deterring India's Cold Start military doctrine, which envisages quick thrusts by small integrated battle groups in the event of hostilities. Experts said the Hatf-IX would be deployed with a mobile multi-barrel launch system that has "shoot and scoot attributes", or the ability to fire at a target and immediately relocate to another position to avoid enemy counter-fire.
American Airlines and US Airways say they have agreed to merge in an $11 billion deal that would create the world’s biggest airline. The combined carrier will be called American Airlines but be run by US Airways CEO Doug Parker.
A major Russian city in Siberia had a miraculous escape on Friday when a meteorite streaked above it, shattering windows, shaking the ground and injuring hundreds of people. Eyewitnesses said the fireball was brighter than the Sun, hurting vision and causing headaches. The Russian Academy of Sciences estimated that a 10-tonne meteorite entered the atmosphere over Siberia at a speed of 15-20 km a second and exploded into fragments at a height of about 50 km above the Earth. Also, the meteor is likely to go down in history as the largest celestial body to have hit the Earth over the past hundred years. Meanwhile scientists are excited at the prospects the Chelyabinsk meteor offers for a deeper insight into the solar system. Scientists said the Chelyabinsk meteor's close miss should serve a wake-up call for the international community to set up a system for monitoring meteors of similar size and providing advance warnings to the population.
NASA plans to launch a new mission in 2016 to find potentially hazardous asteroids and predict their impact threat to Earth. NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission will arrive at RQ36 in 2018 and orbit the asteroid until 2021. By communicating continuously with a spacecraft in orbit around RQ36, the team will get a much better idea of the asteroid's orbit.
Scientists have identified a key molecular mechanism through which high blood glucose raises cancer risk in obese people and diabetics. They found that high sugar levels increase activity of a gene widely implicated in cancer progression. They also studied how cells in the intestine respond to sugars and signal to the pancreas to release insulin, the key hormone that controls blood sugar levels. Sugars in the intestine trigger cells to release a hormone called GIP that enhances insulin release by the pancreas. In a study, scientists showed that the ability of the intestinal cells to secrete GIP is controlled by a protein called beta-catenin, and that the activity of beta-catenin is strictly dependent on sugar levels. Increased activity of beta-catenin is known to be a major factor in the development of many cancers and can make normal cells immortal, a key step in early stages of cancer progression. The study demonstrated that high (but not normal) sugar levels induce nuclear accumulation of beta-catenin and leads to cell proliferation.
Life on Earth could be facing threat from a catastrophic “supervolcano” which seismologists believe is due to erupt in 200 million years’ time. At least two “piles” of rock the size of continents are crashing together as they shift at the bottom of Earth’s mantle, 2,900 km beneath the Pacific Ocean, researchers say. Hotspot plume supervolcano eruptions have caused huge landforms. Gargantuan flood basalt eruptions that created “large igneous provinces” like the Pacific Northwest’s Columbia River basalts 17 million to 15 million years ago, India’s Deccan Traps some 65 million years ago and the Pacific’s huge Ontong Java Plateau basalts, which buried an Alaska-sized area 125-199 million years ago.
A major 8.0 magnitude earthquake jolted the Solomon Islands on Wednesday with small tsunami waves buffeting Pacific coasts, leaving at least five people dead and dozens of homes damaged or destroyed. The waves reached as far away as Japan, which was hit by a huge tsunami in March 2011 that killed more than 19,000 people. The Solomon Islands (capital: Honiara) are a collection of nearly one thousand islands in Oceania that form a sovereign country. They lie to the east of Papua New Guinea in Melanesia. The Solomons are part of the ‘Ring of Fire’, a zone of tectonic activity around the Pacific that is subject to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. In December 2004, a 9.3-magnitude quake off Indonesia triggered a catastrophic tsunami that killed 226,000 people around the Indian Ocean.
World Health Organisation while declaring the Pandemic to be over in August 2010, conveyed that the influenza H1N1 pandemic virus would take on the behaviour of seasonal influenza virus and continue to circulate for some years to come. In the post pandemic period, our country had experienced outbreaks during the period August to October, 2010; May to July 2011; March and October 2012 and now in January –February 2013. A large number of these cases would be presenting with mild influenza like illness and as such requires no testing or anti-viral drug treatment. For that the anti-viral drug Oseltamivir is available free of cost through the State public health system (H1N1 have shown resistance to oseltamivir).
The World Wetlands Day (WWD) was observed sporadically across India on February 2. While wetlands are nature’s water storage and water purification zones, they are also a paradise for wildlife, fishing, angling and bird-watching, water sports, relaxation and rejuvenation. Scientists believe that wetlands are the kidneys of nature. Unfortunately, wetlands today have become mere dumping grounds for garbage, rapidly throttling the water bodies. Over the years, wetlands have been neglected and have not gained importance as other areas of nature and wildlife conservation. Thus for the WWD this year, the theme set by UNESCO’s Hydrological Programme was ‘Wetlands Take Care of Water’. It reflected the interdependence between water and wetlands. “Making the link between wetlands and water is essential because without water there will be no wetlands — and without wetlands there will be no water! Wetlands such as mangroves, bogs, freshwater swamps are home to a wealth of biodiversity. Wetlands fulfil vital roles in carbon storage, pollution control and protection from natural hazards such as floods and storms. Millions of people around the world relay on wetlands as it provide ecosystem services such as food, fresh water and fuel.” By the virtue of its geographical location, varied terrain and climatic zones, India supports a rich diversity of inland and coastal wetlands; but they are in distress currently. The Wular Lake in Kashmir or Kolleru Lake in Andhra Pradesh, two of the largest lakes in the country, are depleting as they are losing their vitality to regenerate. The National Wetland Atlas, prepared by Space Applications Centre (SAC) of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has classified 67,429 wetlands in India occupying 60 million hectares, including paddy cultivation. The majority of these inland wetlands are dependent on major rivers like the Ganga, Brahmaputra, Narmada, Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery. However, with rising water pollution, drought and water battles between various States, conservation of wetlands needs to be taken up on a war footing. Fortunately, some of the wetlands are receiving their due importance for their contribution to the natural wealth. For instance, the Chilika Lake in Odisha is about to become the first lake from Asia to adopt the “Ecosystem Health Report Card” — an effective means of tracking and reporting the health of a wetland. The Chilika will join the elite club of iconic wetlands like Chesapeake Bay (U.S.A) and the Great Barrier Reef (Australia).
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Friday slapped a Rs. 52.24 crore penalty on the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for indulging in anti-competitive practices. The Delhi-based Surinder Singh Barmi filed a complaint against the BCCI in November 2010. His allegations were based on issues related to the Indian Premier League (IPL) and a professional league tournament conducted by the BCCI. Among others, the complainant alleged irregularities in grant of franchise rights for team ownership, media rights of the league and award of sponsorship rights. The CCI noted that the BCCI’s economic power was enormous as a regulator, enabling it to pick winners. The board gained tremendously financially from the IPL format. “Virtually, there is no other competitor nor was anyone allowed to emerge due to the BCCI’s strategy of monopolising the entire market,” the order stated.
Australia maintained their dominance over the West Indies cruising to a five-wicket victory to lead their one-day international series 4-0 at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday.
Sachin Tendulkar equalled Sunil Gavaskar’s record of most first class hundreds by cracking a superb unbeaten century against Rest of India on day three of the Irani Cup. Gavaskar had notched up 81 first class hundreds between 1971 and 1997, including 34 in 125 Tests for India. In the course of his superb tuning up innings for the upcoming four-Test series against Australia, the 39-year-old Tendulkar also crossed another milestone — 25,000 runs in first class cricket. Tendulkar has 51 Test hundreds in 194 games.
Nigeria ended a 19-year Africa Cup of Nations football title drought on Sunday with a 1-0 final victory over Burkina Faso at Soccer City of Soweto (South Africa). Nigeria conquered Africa for the first time in 1980, thrashing Algeria 3-0 in Lagos with all the goals coming before half-time, and the second title arrived 14 years later as it fought back to defeat Zambia 2-1 in Tunis.
One of China’s most famed Table Tennis champions, who played a key role in the ‘Ping Pong diplomacy’ that paved the way for normalising relations with the U.S., died here on Sunday. Zhuang Zedong was a sportsman famed in China in the 1960s for his unmatched skill on the Ping Pong table. Mr. Zhuang, a multiple world Table Tennis champion in the 1960s, had a chance meeting with American player Glenn Cowan at the World Table Tennis championship in Nagoya, Japan in 1971 that would eventually pave the way for taking ties between the countries out of the deep freeze. Ping-pong diplomacy refers to the exchange of table tennis (ping-pong) players between the United States and People's Republic of China (PRC) in the early 1970s. The event marked a thaw in U.S.–China relations that paved the way to a visit to Beijing by President Richard Nixon.
United States’ Conor Daly was crowned the MRF Challenge 2012 champion after an action packed final race at the MMRT in Sriperumbudur near Chennai.
Wrestling, an Olympic sport since the first Games in ancient Greece, looks set to be dropped, after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Tuesday voted to remove it from the programme for 2020. The decision, taken by the 15 members of the IOC executive board in Lausanne, Switzerland, leaves the sport grappling against seven other disciplines for inclusion at the Games, the location of which will be decided later this year.
Pankaj Advani has created history by becoming the first Indian cueist ever to reach the pre-quarterfinals of the BetVictor Welsh Open Pro Snooker Series, defeating former world champion, England's Shaun Murphy, 4-3 at Newport, Wales. However, he on Friday lost to world number two, England's Judd Trump in quarterfinal of the event.