Daily News Notes

· RBI's Deputy Governor Subir Gokarn has said that the Apex bank may conduct more Open Market Operations, OMO's, to ease tight liquidity conditions in the banking system. He added India's liquidity deficit is nearly 1.2 trillion rupees and RBI’s choice of securities is not aimed at reducing the cost of borrowing for the government, but to ensure that there is adequate liquidity in the system. OMOs are quick, short-term, tactical and easily implementable instruments to provide adequate liquidity in the system.
· To reduce Naxal influence in tribal areas, Government is planning six projects to enable tribals to have better price for produce like bamboo, gum and lac in the affected districts. Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said that, he has sought a strategic Public Private Panchayat Partnership in projects which would be executed in 6 months’ time to improve tribal livelihoods.
· The UN Security Council is expected to meet to take up the draft resolution on Syria. There is a possibility of voting too. The revised draft resolution has been submitted to the Security Council by Morocco and is supported by European and Arab members. It has dropped several major demands including the call for Bashar Al-Assad to step down. The revised draft has no mention of holding transparent and free elections. Other items removed from the original draft include the arms embargo and sanctions against Syria called for by the Arab League. The revised draft fully supports the Arab League plan to facilitate a democratic transition in Syria. The draft doesn’t talk about any military interference to change the regime. Meanwhile, Because of its close economic ties with Iran, Iraqi Government is planning to seek a waiver from the US sanctions over Iran. Teheran is the main supplier for many of the foodstuff and the other commodities in Iraq.
· Artificial heart 'Heartmade II', considered a boon for those suffering from heart ailments and available only in the US and some European counties, will arrive in Southeast Asia shortly. It will be demonstrated at the 58th annual meeting of the Indian Association of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons next week in Kolkata.
· India and US are signing the MoU for cooperation in the areas of Skill Development, Youth Employment, Occupational Safety and Health and Mines Safety which will facilitate very close cooperation and interaction between our two countries and bring about improvements in the life of workers and their working conditions. With this MoU, USA will enrich India in the areas of training delivery methods, certification, preparation of instructional material, curriculum development and expanding outreach. Government of India looks forward to work together for furthering its knowledge in the area of occupational diseases, toxicology and occupational medicine.