Daily News Notes: 7th April, 2012

· The National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) would connect at least one woman from every poor household across the country with self-help groups (SHGs) in five years. Presently, there are 3 crore women who are members of SHGs, and NRLM have to raise it to 7 crore in five years. The programme is for rural Below Poverty Line (BPL) households, but Rural Development Ministry is in the process to remove this restriction between the BPL and poor. The Ministry also underlined the need to create a regulatory space for micro-finance institutions (MFIs) so that they can function efficiently without adversely impacting the functions of SHGs.
· Change in vegetation, degradation of forests due to climate change and alteration in the forest matrix will form part of a three-month pilot study to be taken up by Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding (IFGTB, Coimbatore) in the forests of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Forest Survey of India has identified 167 points across forest areas in the four places. The teams would take up a plot in all the identified places, make a grid and form ‘Permanent Preservation Plots' in it. The team members would conduct studies on trees, herbs, shrubs, change matrix in the vegetation besides invasive alien species in the three-month period. In Tamil Nadu, nine major forest types have been identified – Southern Montane Wet Temperate forests; Southern Tropical Wet Evergreen forests; Southern Tropical Semi-Evergreen forests; Moist Deciduous forests; Tropical Riparian Fringing forests; Southern Tropical Dry Deciduous forests; Southern Tropical Thorn forests; Tropical Dry Evergreen forests and Tidal Swamp forests. Through this study one would be able to identify the factors that contributed to the changes in the forest types, the impact of man-made plantations and that of invasive alien species.
· Shimla Mulana village of Panipat district has become the first village in Haryana to be completely illuminated with Light Emitting Diode (LED) lamps. The Renewable Energy Department has provided power and solar energy equipments worth Rs. 13.27 lakh to the village including 430 LED bulbs, 466 tube lights and 10 solar street lights.
· On June 30, 2012, television viewing in India is set to change forever. The Cable Television Amendment Act, 2011, will take come into force, making it mandatory for all cable operators in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai to digitally transmit their channels. TV viewing will be sharper, a desire most Indians harbour. Not only will digitization ensure better viewing coupled with superior service, it will also put an end to an illegal nexus that has thrived for years. For decades, entertainment in India has been almost free. Cable TV, as it stands today, has a distorted business model. Subscribers pay roughly Rs 20,000 crore ($4 billion), of which only Rs 4,000 crore ($800 million) reaches broadcasters. Due to the absence of an addressable system, subscription revenue transaction between broadcasters, multi-system operators (MSOs) and local cable operators (LCOs) is undertaken either on a fixedfee basis or on the basis of a negotiated subscriber base. Media Partners Asia estimates the government’s annual revenue loss at a staggering Rs 5,000 crore. By some estimates, there are more than 60,000 unlicensed LCOs, ensuring a high level of fragmentation in the distribution of TV content. As a digital distribution ecosystem takes shape, a coherent licensing regime is required, anchored to full subscriber declaration and payment of taxes, as well as a stipulation that the billing of TV subscribers must move from unorganized LCOs to organized, addressable MSOs. By this, TV could contribute as much as 5% of the national GDP by 2017 as the gross economic output from the TV sector tops Rs 6,50,000 crore ($130 billion). That’s why most countries around the world have already gone digital. The other reason countries have gone digital is that analog does not provide enough bandwidth to carry a large number of channels. In India, the government allows down linking to over 600 channels and there’s a backlog of another 100 applications. The analog cable system can accommodate 60-70 channels. There are already 700-plus licensed channels in India, but not all of them are broadcast. With demand for content rising and more channels expected to launch in the next few years, only a digital platform can support this growth. Also, unlike in analog, digital cable TV will allow consumers to choose and pay for only channels they want. Globally, cable TV operators provide bundled cable, broadband and telephony services through a single connection. Digital addressable systems in India will also see cable companies offering broadband and tripleplay services with voice. Achieving these three goals could lead to substantial national benefits. The MPA report foresees Rs 4,50,000 crore ($90 billion) in employment income by 2017 and more than Rs 2 lakh crore (S$40 billion) in annual investment and revenue, including multiplier effects across related sub-segments in the content production, technology, TV distribution and broadcast sectors. Secondly, three million new jobs are estimated to be created by 2017 as increased investment provides an exponential multiplier boost to domestic content and technology sectors, as well as helping enrich the TV sector with talent across a wide spectrum of functions including distribution, IT and content production.
· Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi has said that Right to Recall the elected representatives and fixing retirement age for them, are not practical solutions to address issues related to performance of politicians. However, he spoke in favour of reforms like auditing the accounts of political parties and ensuring that donations given to them are subject to checks but claimed there was resistance from political parties on these issues. He said, the biggest challenge for the Indian democracy is criminalisation of politics and black money. He said, due to these two factors India is not able to become the greatest democracy in the world.
· Indian Army has declared year 2012 as ‘Year of the Veterans’ and the programme was organized in this series. The Chief of Army Staff General V.K. Singh today addressed a Sainik rally in Tonk in Rajasthan which was attended by a large number of veterans and war widows.
· The Central Reserve Police Force, CRPF, has set up the world's first all women's paramilitary pipe band. The 22-member band will get its ceremonial colours on Monday during the Valour Day celebrations of the force. Sub Inspector Darshana Kumari will command the band. The commander is called the 'Major of Pipes'.
· Assam Legislative Assembly today completed 75 years of its formation. The 126-member Assembly came into being on 7th April, 1937 in the Assembly Chamber at Shillong, the erstwhile capital of the composite State of Assam.
· India will witness the largest increase in urban population in the next four decades followed by China, a UN’s “2011 Revision of the World Urbanisation Prospects” report has said. India will add another 497 million to its urban population between 2010 and 2050, while China will see 341 million people shifting into cities, followed by Nigeria (200 million), the United States (103 million) and Indonesia (92 million). China, India and the U.S. accounted for 37 per cent of the world urban population. Also, in 2025, Tokyo is projected to remain the world's most populous urban agglomeration, with almost 39 million inhabitants, although the population will scarcely increase. It will be followed by Delhi with 33 million inhabitants and Shanghai in China with 28.4 million inhabitants. Mumbai would come next, with almost 27 million inhabitants. All three cities are expecting important population gains. High rates of growth are expected in Lagos, Dhaka, and Karachi in Pakistan (all having growth rates well above 2 per cent per year). Further, this “unprecedented” increase in urban population will provide new opportunities to improve education and public services in Africa and Asia, the report said. It, however, warned that the trend would also “pose new challenges of providing jobs, housing, energy and infrastructure to mitigate poverty, expansion of slums and deterioration of the urban environment.”
· World Health Day is being celebrated today. The day is being observed to mark the anniversary of founding of World health Organisation, WHO, in the year 1948. This year the theme of the Day is “Ageing and Health: Good Health Adds Life to Years”. World Health Day is a global campaign aiming to invite global leaders to the public in all countries to focus on new and emerging health issues. The day provides an opportunity to start collective action to protect people's health and well-being. According to a report, around 7.5 percent of Indian population is above 60 years, out of which Kerala, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have the highest percentage of elderly people. Besides, majority of elderly people live in rural areas and 30 per cent are below poverty line, to whom service delivery is a bigger challenge. So, there is need of collective efforts towards healthy life style, age friendly environment and improved detection and prevention of disease. Also, on the occasion of the World Health Day, the Union Health & Family Welfare Minister launched a health magazine programme called “Swasth Bharat “ to be telecast/ broadcast through 30 regional kendras of Doordarshan and 29 stations of All India Radio covering 27 states. The objective of the programme is to empower citizens with information on health related issues. The programme is expected to help government for developing an efficient and effective health care delivery system through creating demand from public for better health care services. Meanwhile, the Union government has also formulated a new policy which suggests setting up of a National Centre for the elderly suffering from dementia and other mental diseases. The new policy would take care of the need for dedicated health care facilities to the elderly. Geriatric units would be set up at the primary health centres in 100 districts in 21 states.
· Iran's two major oil buyer — India and China — now appear to be seeking to take advantage of the international sanctions against the Islamic republic by forcing concessions from Tehran, a latest Congressional report has claimed. “India has used the payments difficulties to force concessions from Iran, including an Iranian acceptance of payment for about 45 per cent of the oil sales in rupees, India's local currency, but which is not convertible. The remainder might be settled through barter trade or Indian investment in Iran, and some might be settled in gold.” the Congressional Research Service (CRS) said. It further said, “The three other large Iranian oil buyers — China, India, and Turkey — have not pledged to cut oil purchases from Iran. In addition, trade that is conducted in cash or barter arrangements would not risk sanctions under the provision.”
· India has now become a member of Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), an international apex body for micro-finance. For the first time a developing country has been admitted in CGAP. It was created in 1995, and presently is a consortium of 33 public and private development agencies working together to expand access to financial services for the poor in developing countries. It’s headquarter is in Washington D.C. CGAP is housed at the World Bank, but operates as an independent entity. It serves 4 groups of clients: [1.] Development agencies; [2.] Financial institutions including microfinance institutions; [3.] Government policymakers and regulators; [4.] Other service providers, such as auditors and rating agencies. To each of these client groups, CGAP provides specialized services—advisory services, training, research and development, consensus building on standards, and information dissemination. Also, in one of its project, Microfinance Gateway, it provides a comprehensive online resource for the global microfinance community. It includes research and publications, original articles, and organization and consultant profiles, as well as microfinance-related news items, announcements, events, and job opportunities. The Microfinance Gateway provides an interactive platform for people to learn, share ideas, and engage with others working to advance financial inclusion.
· There’s more to India than just its over-emphasized status of being the most populous democracy in the world. Random economic facts like India being the largest producer of milk, the largest consumer of sugar and spices as also the largest consumer of gold till last year, crop up now and then. But there have been achievements in the last few years which have put India on the world map. Over the last couple of years, India has been seen stamping its presence in the league of global leaders by the strength of its economic power. Consider these facts: The Tata Group is the largest manufacturing employer in the UK; Ireland’s richest person — Pallonji Mistry — is an Indian; Coal India is the single largest coal producer in the world; India is the largest whisky manufacturer in the world and the Taj Group is the largest chain of hotels in Asia. Despite a generous trickle of negative news, the list of these positives is also getting bigger. Household brand names such as Citigroup, Pepsi and Motorola are associated with an Indian CEO. Clearly, India has moved on from being a nation of snake charmers and appears to be on its way to become an economic power. The list includes, Nano, the cheapest car in the world from Tata Motors; Aakash, the cheapest tablet PC in the world, priced at $46; and other cheap tablet PC initiatives by private companies. Indian banks have only 2% bad loans versus 20% in China. In the mid-90s, on a representation made by Indian exporters, the government had removed the mandatory use of the ‘Made in India’ tag from goods exported. The law still exists on paper. Ostensibly, Indian exporters were embarrassed of using it then. But, today, no one is shying away from using the tag. Parachute is the world’s largest coconut oil brand. Bangalore has more Grade-A offices than Singapore. India is the largest diamond cutting and polishing centre in the world. Parle-G is the world’s largest selling biscuit brand. KEC is global leader in tower production capacity.
· The Khasi language of Meghalaya has been removed from the UNESCO's Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger as it is now considered as safe. UNESCO in its website announced that the language is spoken by some 9 lakh people in the Meghalaya and is no longer in danger. Khasi is spoken in the region of the Khasi and Jaintia hills of India. It is recognized as the as associate official language in Meghalaya since 2005. As per the UNESCO's Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, some of the Extinct Indian Languages: [1.] Ahom of Assam; [2.] Andro; [3.] Rangkas; [3.] Sengmai; [4.] Tolcha of Uttarakhand Bhotiya Tribes
· Britain imposed a new immigration regime which includes tighter rules for students, limits on skilled professionals and new restrictions on the settlement of migrants who are already in Britain. Now, a facility that earlier permitted Indian students to work in UK for 2 years after their courses are over, will now be closed as a part of the Cameron government's recent drive. The closure of the post-study route is opposed by Universities of UK and the British Council, as this measure would reduce number of students from India and other non-EU countries to come to Britain for study.
· Nearly 150 Pakistan Army soldiers including some senior officials got buried under the snow when an avalanche hit their battalion headquarters at Gyari in the Siachen sector of Pakistan in the Karakoram range of the Himalayas early this morning. The incident has taken place entirely in the Pakistan side and Indian troops are completely unaffected and safe. Gyari is home to an important battalion headquarters and at one time, up to 3,000 soldiers were based in the area. Following the cease fire along the frontiers in Jammu and Kashmir, both India and Pakistan reduced troops levels. The Siachen glacier is known as the world’s highest and coldest battlefield. More Indian and Pakistani soldiers have been killed by adverse weather than hostilities in the sector.
· Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika died early on Friday, hours after the 78-year-old suffered a heart attack. Mr. Mutharika, a former World Bank economist who first came to power in 2004, was re-elected with a sweeping majority in 2009 as President of the poor southern African country.
· Russia denounced the prison sentence handed out to its citizen Viktor Bout in the United States as “groundless and biased” and pledged to seek his return home. Mr. Bout was sentenced on Friday to 25 years in prison for conspiring to sell arms to anti-U.S. guerillas in Colombia.
· Chinese authorities have asked Pakistan to hand over members of the extremist East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) believed to be operating out of the country, naming six terror suspects in a list issued on Friday that described the group as the “most direct and real safety threat that China faces”. That the statement named several alleged ETIM members known to be in Pakistan underscored rising Chinese concerns over Pakistani authorities failing to effectively clamp down on the spread of terror across the border into Xinjiang. These concerns have been reflected in several public statements issued following the Kashgar violence that have unusually pointed the finger at an “all-weather ally”. Pakistani officials have said they have taken steps to crack down on the ETIM. Major General Athar Abbas, Inter Services Public Relations Director-General, said following last year's attack in Kashgar that the Pakistani Army would continue operations against the organisations.
· Switzerland has agreed to a revised tax deal with Germany, with Switzerland to pay billions of dollars on funds hidden in its banks by German tax dodgers. The deal was the latest step in an international charm offensive that is meant to salvage at least some of Switzerland's famous banking secrecy. The accord (which was tougher to reach after a deal in September) provides for the assessment of a one-time charge of 21 to 41 per cent of the value of secret German accounts, higher than the original agreement of 19 to 34 per cent. Anyone inheriting such an account will have to either pay a 50 per cent tax or disclose its existence to the German authorities. And in the future, taxes on investment income will be withheld at the standard German rate. From the Swiss point of view of maintaining banking secrecy, account holders' names will not be revealed to Berlin, and the Swiss authorities will be responsible for ensuring that taxes are paid on behalf of the account holder, who can remain anonymous if desired. The German Finance Ministry estimated that a one-time payment of back taxes could bring it a windfall of up to €10 billion ($13 billion) with annual payments of €750 million ($980 million) a year thereafter. Switzerland signed a similar deal with Britain on March 20. Seeking to overcome the country's reputation as the biggest offshore tax haven in the world, Switzerland has in recent years moved against money laundering and reached more than 40 deals providing for the exchange of tax data with other governments.