{DNN} Daily News Notes: 18th to 27th Oct, 2012

· Inaugurating the three day Biennial Conference of Commonwealth Association of Public Administration and Management, the Minister of State in Prime Minister's office said that the legal framework in India is being strengthened and the existing laws are being fine tuned to check corruption and ensure transparency and accountability in both public and private sectors. He said, the passage of the Public procurement Bill 2012 introduced in Parliament would ensure transparency in procurement process of Centre and State government involving over 2 lakh crore rupees from 12 lakh crore of entire budget. Also, the computerization of the public distribution system, electronic direct transfer of subsidies will make governance more accountable. He also said, to improve efficiency in public service, proposals to periodic review of efficiency of public servants and IAS officers are also being considered by the government. Introduction of Public Services Agreement, requiring department to state the outcome, the citizen can expect from them, bringing in more specialist skills into the Civil Service, fast tracking of high potential Civil Servants, introduction of new appraisal of Civil Servants performance.
· The Centre has told the Supreme Court that in a survey by the FSSAI had found that over 68 per cent of milk (found in urban areas) in the country does not conform to the standards set by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The submission has been made by the Centre on a plea for checking sale of synthetic and adulterated milk and various dairy products. According to the survey, the most common adulterant in milk was found to be the addition of water, and the main reason for deviation from the standards was addition of glucose and skimmed milk powder. It also found that in some samples, detergent was mixed.
· Rural India is spending more on protein products such as milk, eggs and meat due to rising income as overall spending by Indians on protein foods doubled to Rs 2 lakh crore in 2009-10 from 2004-05. A study by ratings agency Crisil said that two-thirds of this spending came from rural households. But while more rural Indians are getting protein in their diets, the concern is that supply shortages are driving up prices and impacting overall food inflation. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has also consistently flagged the impact of stubborn food inflation on overall price pressures. It has been urging the government to raise supplies and farm productivity to tackle the problem. According to the study in 2009-10, around 11-16%, 15-21% and 18-25% of the demand for direct consumption of milk, eggs, and meat, respectively, remained unmet due to the shortfall in supply, adding that the survey focused on animal protein only. The supply shortfall has led to prices of protein. Similarly, the proportion of rural households purchasing egg, fish and meat increased to 62% from 58% over the same period. However, rural per capita consumption of milk, eggs and proteins continues to remain lower than its urban counterpart, reflecting a potential for significant further growth in rural demand for proteins.-food contributing nearly 50% to overall food inflation in India. Rural per capita (annual) consumption of milk in 2009-10 was 49.4 litres versus 64.3 litres in urban areas. For meat and eggs where per capita rural consumption stood at 5.7 kg and 20.8 eggs in 2009-10 as against per capita urban consumption of 6.7 kg and 32.1 eggs. The study cautions that protein food inflation is likely to remain high unless the supply of milk, meat and eggs for direct consumption is increased to meet the growing demand. Lack of effective cold storage infrastructure and adequate storage facilities have contributed significantly to the supply shortfall. [Click Here for Graphics]
· At least 17 persons of an examination racket have been arrested for illegal indulgence in Staff Selection Commission (SSC) examination in Bihar. Special Task Force (STF) personnel arrested two persons from the gate of office of Bihar SSC Patna. On the basis of the statement of the two, other members of the gang were taken into custody. The IGP Patna said, they used to charge money upto 9 lakh rupees from the candidates for getting them through in the exam. He said, investigation was on to find if officials were in collusion with the gang. The Commission conducts examination for selection of non-gazetted official.
· A Supreme Court-appointed Technical Expert Committee (TEC) has recommended a 10-year moratorium on all field trials of Genetically Modified (GM) food crops, including Bt Cotton. It said, the present regulatory system and protocol for conducting the field trials were unsatisfactory and inadequate, requiring major changes, restructuring and strengthening. The report said, its recommendation is based on the current overall status of food safety evaluation of Bt transgenics including the data on Bt Cotton and Bt Brinjal examined by the TEC and in accordance with the precautionary principle.
· Power Minister (Veerappa Moily) has informed that the Power Companies facing coal shortage can sign Fuel Supply Agreements, FSAs, with Coal India Limited even if there is no Power Purchase Agreements, PPAs with distribution companies. Earlier, Mr Moily said the government plans to add 18,000 Mega Watts of fresh power generation capacity during the current year. He said, this would be a part of the efforts to set up a total of a 80,000 Mega Watts capacity in the current Five Year Plan period ending March 2017. Mr Moily also said that the Planning Commission has approved budgetary support for the power ministry’s flagship Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana scheme in the 12th Plan.
· The Supreme Court has directed all the institutions affiliated to regulatory bodies like Bar Council of India and Medical Council of India, which also regulate different professions, to set up a committee to deal with all cases of sexual harassment at the workplace. Expanding the ambit of its 1997 Vishaka verdict, SCI directed these bodies to implement the guidelines framed in the Vishaka case within two months.
· Unique Identification Authority of India, UIDAI Chairman Nandan Nilekani has said that UIDAI will provide Aadhaar numbers to 60 crore people in the country by 2014. He said, in a short span of two years, UIDAI has generated 21 crore Aadhaar Numbers since the issuance of the first number in September 2010. The Aadhaar platform is being used across schemes to make pension payments, MNREGA wage payments, PDS distribution as well as scholarship payments. Further, the Prime Minister informed that Aadhaar number will be linked with various government schemes and services so that they reach to actual beneficiaries. He said, the Aadhar Card will be an important tool to give identity and people will get facilities through this without any problem. In Maharashtra, the distruibution of subsidies under Sanjay Gandhi Niradhaar Yojana associated with AADHAAR card was launched. Aadhar Card Project was started two years ago from Pimpli village of Maharashta, and recently the 21st crore Aadhar Card was handed to Mangi Bai, a woman of Purbad village of Udaipur District, RJ.
· The Centre has sought views of the state governments on various issues including enacting a law to empower it to directly intervene in cases of riots and possible breakdown of constitutional machinery, as per the recommendations of the 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission. However, it added, such deployment should take place only after the state concerned fails to act on a direction issued by the Union under Article 256 of the Constitution. The other issues on which it has sought comments include separation of crime investigation from other policing functions, constitution of a Municipal Police Service, abolition of orderly system and increasing women's representation to 33 per cent in police forces. The Home Ministry has posted a report titled, “Public Order: Justice for each, Peace for all”, of the 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission on its website. It said out of 165 recommendations, 13 recommendations relate to the Centre and the remaining 152 recommendations relate to states which require consultations.
· The Centre has decided to provide 20 rupees subsidy per kilogram on the import of pulses (critical protein requirement to vulnerable sections of the society) to the states. It will be paid to the designated importing agencies up to a maximum of the number of BPL card holders in a particular state. The move comes in wake of mismatch between demand and supply of pulses, lower acreage under pulses in the current fiscal, and delayed monsoon. This scheme will be in operation till the 31st of March next year.
· The Ministerial Group at the 11th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 11) in Hyderabad had taken up the issue and deciding ways and means to mobilize resources from member countries to achieve the Global Biodiversity Targets by 2020 as consensus has so far eluded the member countries. Apparently it is said that the developed and developing countries have locked horns on determining the base lines for fund mobilization and fixation of accountability for spending the funds. India hosted this event for the first time and will hold the presidency of the Convention on Biodiversity for the next two years. Some concluding highlights: [1.] Largest ever such conference organised in India. 170 countries participated; [2.] One of the most important outcomes of the CoP is the commitment of the Parties to double the international financial flows for Bio Diversity by 2015. This will translate into additional financial flows to the developing countries to the tune of about US $ 30 billion over the next 8 years; [3.] Way Forward India will like to play its leadership role during India’s Presidency by supporting and hosting capacity building in the developing countries to help them prepare project proposals to avail the additional funding now envisaged; [4.] India will now be working closely with all the member countries to make a success of the Hyderabad Road Map. India has already set apart a sum of Rs. 50 crores towards South South cooperation; [5.] India has launched the initiative of Hyderabad Pledge. All the countries are requested to pledge money for the cause of bio diversity. MEF will now write to all the Ministers the world over requesting them to pledge additional resources for Biodiversity; [6.] India has already ratified Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit sharing. India during its Presidency will work tirelessly for the ratification of the Protocol by 50 countries so that it comes into force during the Presidency of India. Towards this end, India will offer to host the meeting of the Inter Governmental Committee of Nagoya Protocol. India will also host capacity building workshops of developing Countries to help them take legislative / administrative measures. India has already offered to meet part of the cost of the meeting of the Working Group on Art. 8j on Traditional Knowledge; [7.] After the resounding success of the “Science Express: Biodiversity Special” - a mobile biodiversity exhibition train, the Government will take special efforts to increase the reach of this Express to even more remote corners of the country to increase the awareness about Biodiversity; [8.] In Hyderabad, a commemorative Pylon and a Biodiversity Garden have been established. It has been decided to establish a Biodiversity Museum on this site. Hyderabad is the first host city of CBD CoP to establish commemorative Pylon, garden and museum; [9.] During its Presidency India will take special steps to strengthen the State Biodiversity Boards and to prepare Peoples Biodiversity Registers at the village level; [10.] India has instituted together with UNDP Biodiversity Governance Awards. The first such awards were given during the CoP 11. It is now proposed to institute Rajiv Gandhi International Award for Harnessing Biodiversity for Livelihood; [11.] Developed countries agreed to double funding to support efforts in developing states towards meeting the internationally-agreed Biodiversity Targets, and the main goals of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020; [12.] The Saragasso Sea, the Tonga archipelago and key corals sites off the coast of Brazil are among a range of marine areas to receive special attention by governments as part of renewed efforts to sustainably manage the world's oceans agreed in Hyderabad; [13.] Earlier, UNEP launched its Protected Planet 2012 report which found that half of the world's richest biodiversity zones remain entirely unprotected - despite a 60 per cent increase in the number of protected areas since 1990. To meet the the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity and the 2020 Aichi Biodiversity Target of ensuring that 10 per cent of marine areas are protected by 2020, says the UNEP report, an additional 8 million square kilometres of marine and coastal areas would need to be recognized as protected - an area just over the size of Australia. COP agreed to transmit the results of this classification work.
· The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has pressed upon for the need to improve the quality of xBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language) filings. In a letter sent to the Presidents of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and the Institute of Company Secretary in India (ICSI) the ministry said it is the bounden duty of these institutes to improve the quality of XBRL filing for the financial year (FY) 2011-12 to be undertaken by its members. It has been observed that few disclosures were ‘mapped/ tagged’ with incorrect accounting concept despite availability of appropriate element in taxonomy. It has also been observed that provisions of “Block Text tagging” and/ or “Footnote” have been inappropriately used to report disclosures like subsidiary details, related party transactions, Director’s Report, etc. Such XBRL filing, apart from being misleading, also dilute the effectiveness of XBRL, for stakeholders’ usage relating to the companies. It is unfortunate that professionals have certified the authenticity of such incorrect date, for which they are liable to be penalized. Such lapses defeat the very purpose of introducing XBRL filing which are meant to elicit more detailed and refined information as to the affairs of companies.
· The overall Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) in the country has come down to 44 in 2011 as against 47 in 2010. According to latest figures released by the Registrar General of India, the infant death count per 1000 live births for rural areas dropped by three points from 51 to 48 while in urban areas it decreased to 29 from the previous year's figure of 31. An official release said, Goa and Manipur recorded the lowest IMR of 11 infant deaths followed by Kerala with 12 infant deaths per 1000 live births. Madhya Pradesh has the highest IMR of 59 per 1000 followed by UP and Odisha with 57 each. The IMRs in Assam, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Meghalaya stood over the national average of 44.
· The Election Commission has banned the publication or broadcast of any exit poll during the Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat from November 4 to December 17. Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, prohibits display of any election matter by means of television or similar apparatus, during the period of 48 hours till the conclusion of poll in a constituency.
· The Centre has expressed confidence that the target of cable digitization will be achieved by the end of this month. More than 80 per cent cable TV digitization has been achieved so far in the 4 Metro cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. Earlier the Information and Broadcasting Secretary inaugurated the new monitoring Hall of Electronic Media Monitoring Centre, EMMC and asked the EMMC to get ready for the monitoring of more than 800 new FM channels which will be coming up in the next 3 years.
· In Punjab, Social Networking Sites are under the police scanner as some terrorist organisations, whose chiefs are living abroad, are luring youth to join them. Director General of Punjab Police has informed that to control crime in rural areas, Rural Police Response Teams (RPRTs) are being constituted at District level within a month. He said with the introduction of RPRT, Punjab would become the first state in the country to start this system.
· The government has issued 3 sets of warnings against smoking as well as smokeless forms of tobacco product packages. The new warnings will come into effect from 1st of April next year. The following are the new additions in these rules – insertion of the word “warning” in red font, provision of maintaining a ratio (075:1) between the vertical length and horizontal length of the health warning so as to ensure that pictures are not distorted with change in size of packs. Well-designed health warnings and messages are part of a range of measures to communicate health risks due to tobacco use. Pictorial health warnings communicate health risks in a visible way, provoke a greater emotional response and increase the motivation of tobacco users to quit and to decrease their tobacco consumption. Graphic warning labels have a greater impact than text-only labels and can be recognized by low-literacy audiences and children.
· Veteran filmmaker Yash Chopra, also known as the king of romance, passed away after suffering from multiple organ failure. He was diagnosed with Dengue fever shortly after he was admitted to Hospital on 13th Oct. Chopra, who celebrated his 80th birthday on September 27 (29th was mine J), changed the face of romance in Hindi cinema with hits such as Kabhie Kabhie, Silsila, Chandni and Dil to Pagal Hai in his five-decade long illustrious career. His latest directorial venture the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Jab Tak Hai Jaan, scheduled for Diwali release, would be his last film as a director.
· Popular satirist and film-maker Jaspal Bhatti, the man behind hit comedy shows like Ulta Pulta andFlop Show , was killed in a road accident in the wee hours after his car rammed into a tree. Born on March 3, 1955, in Amritsar, Bhatti graduated from Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, as an electrical engineer. He became popular in his college days for his street plays. Before venturing into television, Bhatti was a cartoonist for The Tribune in Chandigarh.
· Founder of IT giant Infosys, V. Narayan Murthy has been honoured with the Hoover Medal at the Global Humanitarian Technology Conference in Seattle in Washington. The Hoover medal was established in 1930 to recognize great, unselfish, non-technical services by engineers to humanity. Previous awardees include former US Presidents Herbert Hoover, Dwight D. Eisenhower and James Earl Carter. Murthy, who is the 70th recipient since the medal's inception, was recognized for establishing a foundation that forges outstanding improvements in healthcare, social rehabilitation, rural uplift and education. The Hoover Medal is administered by a board representing five engineering organizations: The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
· The 10-day Dushera festival was ended on 24th Oct, 2012 in Mysore. A unique feature of the festival was the exhibition of products that are generic to Mysore, such as Nanjungud banana, Jasmine, brinjal, Silk and Mysore pak sweet. The festivities was concluded with panjina kavayathu or torch light parade in the evening. Going by the tradition of over 400 years, a grand procession, locally known as Jumboo Savari is held on the streets of Mysore city to mark the occasion. The main attraction of this procession is the Goddess Chamundeshwari idol carried four kilometer route by elephant Arjuna in the 750 kg golden howdah. For the first time 37 tableaux of royal family history have taken part in the procession. Further; known for its unique deity culture & tradition the week-long Kullu Dussehra is underway for the last 3 days. No effigy of Ravana and his brothers are burnt during the festival. A good number of foreigner and domestic tourists have arrived in Kullu to saw the event which is being celebrated for the last over 400 years since the time of Raja Jagat Singh. Culture troupe from Russia has also presented their propgramme on the opening day.
· The 7th South Asia Film Festival 2012 begins at Kala Academy at Panaji in Goa. Rajya Sabha MP Tariq Anwar will inaugurate the three day event. Bollywood actor Randhir Kapoor will be the guest of honor. The inaugural function will be followed by the screening of the opening film "Raja Harishchandra", the first ever film of the Indian Cinema in silent form.
· In a move to provide airport-like waiting area to the passengers, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, IRCTC, will open a lounge at the New Delhi railway station by early next year. The lounge will offer food and beverages, luggage racks, wheel chairs, Wi-Fi connectivity, business centres with phone, fax, laptop facilities and foreign exchange counters. The facility will be available for both AC and non-AC passengers. The similar lounges are expected to come up at Howrah, Chennai and Mumbai Central stations soon.
· Election Commission of India in its constant endeavor to provide information and services to citizens in a hassle free manner has started a new service on the website of the Commission – www.eci.nic.in. Polling Station locations of National Capital Territory of Delhi and Himachal Pradesh have already been plotted on maps and can be seen by citizens when they visit the concerned page on the website of Election Commission of India. Polling Station locations of rest of the country are being plotted and will be available very soon on the website. The Commission hopes that electors and political parties will find this facility useful for the smooth and active participation in the electoral process
· The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the proposal for continuing the Special Plan for Bihar, Kalahandi-Bolangir-Koraput (KBK) districts of Odisha and Bundelkhand region of UP&MP in 2012-13. The Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF), which aims to catalyze development in backward areas, was approved by the CCEA in August, 2006. In its present form, the BRGF has two components, namely, District Component covering 272 backward districts in 27 States (including 22 additional districts covered in 2012-13) and State Component which includes Special Plan for Bihar, Special Plan for the KBK districts of Odisha, Special Plan for West Bengal (covered in 2011-12), Integrated Action Plan (IAP) for Selected Tribal and Backward Districts (covered in 2010-11) and Bundelkhand Package (covered in 2009-10). The aim of the programme is to accelerate socio-economic development in the States concerned. The possibility of restructuring the Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF) in 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) including the District Component as well as the State Component for the period 2013-14 to 2016-17 is being considered. Pending completion of this exercise, it is necessary to continue the BRGF (District Component and State Component) in its present form in 2012-13.
· The Union Cabinet has approved the National Policy on Electronics 2012. The Electronics industry reported at USD 1.75 trillion is the largest and fastest growing manufacturing industry in the world. It is expected to reach USD 2.4 trillion by 2020. The demand in the Indian market was USD 45 billion in 2008-09 and is expected to reach USD 400 billion by 2020. Domestic demand is expected to be driven by growth in income levels leading to higher off-take of electronics products, automation demands of corporate sector and the government's focus on e-governance. The domestic production in 2008-09 was about USD 20 billion. However, the actual value-addition in the domestically produced electronic product is very low, ranging between 5 to 10 percent in most cases. At the current rate of growth, domestic production can cater to a demand of USD 100 billion in 2020 as against a demand of USD 400 billion and the rest would have to be met by imports. This aggregates to a demand supply gap of nearly USD 300 billion by 2020. Unless the situation is corrected, it is likely that by 2020, electronics import may far exceed oil imports. Thus India as one of the fastest growing markets of electronics in the world has potential to develop the Electronic System and Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) sector to meet our domestic demand as well as to use the capabilities so created to successfully export ESDM products from the country. The National Policy on Electronics aims to address the issue with the explicit goal of transforming India into a premier ESDM hub. It will foster the manufacturing of indigenously designed and manufactured chips creating a more cyber secure ecosystem in the country. The strategies include setting up of a National Electronics Mission with industry participation and renaming the Department of Information Technology as Department of Electronics and Information Technology (Deity). The Department has since been renamed on February 26, 2012. ESDM is of strategic importance as well. Not only in internal security and defence, the pervasive deployment of electronics in civilian domains such as telecom, power, railways, civil aviation, etc. can have serious consequences of disruption of service. The country, therefore, cannot be totally dependent on imported electronic components and products. Also, electronic components are low volume-low weight, cheap and easy to transport across the globe. Moreover, under the Information Technology Agreement-1 (ITA-1) of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which came into force in 1997, a large number of electronic components and products are bound with zero tariffs making trade unrestricted across international borders. Under the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) with various countries, the import of electronics hardware from these countries is allowed either at zero duty or at a duty which is lower than the normal duty rate. The key objectives of the Policy are: [1.] To create an eco-system for a globally competitive Electronic System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) sector in the country to achieve a turnover of about USD 400 billion by 2020 involving investment of about USD 100 billion and employment to around 28 million people at various levels; [2.] To build on the emerging chip design and embedded software industry to achieve global leadership in Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI), chip design and other frontier technical areas and to achieve a turnover of USD 55 billion by 2020; [3.] To build a strong supply chain of raw materials, parts and electronic components to raise the indigenous availability of these inputs from the present 20-25 per cent to over 60 per cent by 2020; [4.] To increase the export in ESDM sector from USD 5.5 billion to USD 80 billion by 2020; [5.] To create long-term partnerships between ESDM and strategic and core infrastructure sectors - Defence, Atomic Energy, Space, Railways, Power, Telecommunications, etc.; [6.] To become a global leader in creating Intellectual Property (IP) in the ESDM sector by increasing fund flow for R&D, seed capital and venture capital for start-ups in the ESDM and nanoelectronics sectors; [7.] To expedite adoption of best practices in e-waste management. To achieve these objectives, the policy proposes the following strategies: [1.] Creating eco-system for globally competitive ESDM sector: The strategies include provision of fiscal incentives for investment, setting up of electronic manufacturing clusters, preferential market access to domestically manufactured electronic products, setting up of semiconductor wafer fabrication facilities, industry friendly and stable tax regime.; [2.] Promotion of Exports: The strategies include aggressive marketing of India as an investment destination and providing incentives for export; [3.] Human Resource Development: The strategies include involvement of private sector, universities and institutions of learning for scaling up of requisite capacities at all levels for the projected manpower demand. A specialized Institute for semiconductor chip design is also proposed; [4.] Cyber security: To create a complete secure cyber eco-system in the country, through suitable design and development of indigenous appropriate products through frontier technology/product oriented research, testing and validation of security of products; [5.] Strategic electronics: The strategies include creating long-term partnerships between domestic ESDM industry and strategic sectors for sourcing products domestically and providing Defense Offset obligations for electronic procurements through ESDM products.
· The Prime Minister has constituted a coordination committee called the National Committee on Direct Cash Transfers (chaired by the PM), as a mechanism to coordinate action for the introduction of direct cash transfers to individuals under the various government schemes and programmes. The National Committee on Cash Transfers will be assisted by an Executive Committee on Direct Cash Transfers chaired by the Principal Secretary to PM. The National Committee on Direct Cash Transfers would engage in the following tasks: [1.] Provide an overarching vision and direction to enable direct cash transfers of benefits under various government schemes and programmes to individuals, leveraging the investments being made in the Aadhaar Project, financial inclusion and other initiatives of the Government, with the objective of enhancing efficiency, transparency and accountability; [2.] Determine broad policy objectives and strategies for direct cash transfers; [3.] Coordinate the activities of various Ministries/ Departments/ Agencies involved in enabling direct cash transfers and ensure timely, coordinated action to ensure speedy rollout of direct cash transfers across the country.
· The Minister of Communications & IT has called the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) as a paradigm shift which would transform the way India works. NOFN is a project which would connect all the 2, 50,000 Gram Panchayats with a minimum bandwidth of 100 Mbps in the country through Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) in two years. He said it is now upto the State governments to digitize all data, and make it interoperable not just within the state but also inside the country. The Central Government, through Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), will fund the project while the contribution of State Government would be by providing free Right of Way (RoW) for laying OFC. The Bharat Broadband Network Ld.(BBNL) will soon commence the work in these States/UTs immediately taking OFC. Benefits of the project are: [1.] This will empower rural masses by giving them access to information, public services including those of education, health and financial inclusion; [2.] Various applications for Panchayats for planning, management, monitoring and payments under various government schemes (e.g. MNREGA, PDS, Land Records, Birth/Death Certificates, Digital Literacy, etc.), e-Governance, education, health, employment, agriculture and commerce can be launched using this network; [3.] As access service providers like Mobile operators, Internet Service Providers, Cable TV operators, content providers etc. launch their access network and services using NOFN, it will result in creation of local employment, revenue generation and growth of GDP leading to overall prosperity of the State.
· Directorate General of Employment & Training has formulated a scheme titled “Skill Development in 34 Districts of Nine States Affected by Left Wing Extremism”. The scheme was approved for implementation in March 2011. EFC recommended that the scheme may be continued in the 12th Five Year Plan period. Objective of the scheme: [1.] To create Skill Development infrastructure in these districts closer to the people by establishing one ITI & two Skill Development Centers (SDCs) in each district; [2.] To run demand driven vocational training courses both long term and short term to meet the requirement of skilled manpower of various sectors of economy in and around these areas, on the one hand and on the other, provide youth opportunities of decent livelihood.
· The Second National level Exhibition and Project Competitions (NLEPC, under the INSPIRE Award Scheme) concludes with the National Awards Presentation ceremony. Innovation in Science Pursuit for the Inspired Research (INSPIRE), a National programme implemented by the Ministry for attraction of talent amongst students to study science and pursue career with research, was launched by the Prime Minister on 13th December 2008. Since then, the programme has progressed extremely well, touching more than eight lakh youth across the country. INSPIRE Programme has three components: [1.] Scheme for early attraction of talents for Science (SEATs); [2.] Scholarship for Higher Education (SHE); [3.] Assured Opportunity for Researach Career (AORC) for young researches.
· Speaking on the occasion of NHRC Inter-Central Armed Police Forces Debate Competition on Human Rights, Rtd. Justice Sh. K.G. Balakrishnan, Chairperson, NHRC said that criminal justice system needs to be corrected to ensure speedy trial by setting up of more courts. Steps should also be taken to increase the number of police personnel in various parts of the country to expedite the process of fast investigation and hearing for convection of criminals. Furter he said that the things are difficult in insurgency areas and the problem is not with the Acts like Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) but with the misuse of such Acts. Human Rights are sacrosanct to civil society. Peace can be guaranteed only by holding these values. The NHRC has been organizing this debate competition in Hindi and English since 1996. The topic of this years debate competition was "Human Rights can be observed by Para Military Forces only by endangering national security".
· The Union Cabinet has revised the norms and enhanced rates of pension for widows and persons with disabilities. In view of the above decision, 76 lakh Below Poverty Line (BPL) widows and 11 lakh below poverty line persons with severe or multiple disability would get enhanced amount of central assistance @ Rs. 300 p.m. and to revise the eligibility criteria from 18-59 years to 18-79 years.
· After oil, the deserts of Barmer are poised to produce methane gas. For the first time in the country, methane gas will be extracted from the coals fields of Barmer through the ‘microbial coal conversion’ technology, developed in the laboratories of Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra (BITM). The Rajasthan State Mines and Minerals Ltd. has allotted some blocks of coal mines in Barmer for the exploration and extraction of bio methane commercially. The production is likely to start from December, 2012. Alos, Rajasthan has been chosen for its huge deposits of lignite coal deposits. Lignite is the primary form of coal and has loose bonds which allow the microbes to enter easily and generate methane through chemical reaction. It is estimated that on an average only 22% of the coal is extracted from the bed and rest of it lies unexploited.
· Zee News had sent a defamation notice of 150 crore rupees to Naveen Jindal accusing his press conference on a sting operation as an attempt to divert attention from demand for independent probe in the coal blocks allocations controversy. Naveen Jindal had filed an extortion case against Zee News, accusing the channel of demanding bribe from him for not airing its story on the Coalgate scam, in which Jindal's company had been named.
· Eid-al-Azha is being celebrated across the country with religious fervor and gaiety. It is a festival of 'Offering' or 'Qurbani' and is observed by the Muslims on the tenth day of the last month of Islamic calender 'Zul-hijja'. On this occasion, officials of Border Security Force (BSF) and Pakistan Rangers exchanged greetings with each other at Wahga Attari Border check post on Indo-Pak border. >>Happy Eid-al-Azha<<
· Mukesh Ambani has retained his position as the world's richest Indian for the fifth year in a row, although his networth declined by 1.6 billion to 21 billion USD but remained well above that of the second-ranked Lakshmi Mittal (USD 16 billion). Anil Ambani, who heads telecom- to-infrastructure conglomerate Reliance Group, was ranked 11th with a networth of USD 6 billion. Others in top-10 ranking include Adi Godrej at 6th position, followed by Savitri Jindal , Shashi & Ravi Ruia , Hinduja Brothers and Kumar Mangalam Birla, as per global business magazine Forbes' annual ranking of 100 wealthiest Indians.
· Five Indian companies have made to a list of the world's 50 most Innovative Firms released by US-based business magazine Forbes. The Indian Companies are Larsen &Toubro (9th), Hindustan Unilever (12th), Infosys (19th), Tata Consultancy Services (29th) and Sun Pharma (38th). In the overall list, Salesforce.com is followed by Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Amazon.com, software firm Red Hat and China's Baidu, Intuitive Surgical, Japanese internet retail firm Rakuten, Edward Lifesciences, L&T and ARM Holdings. American companies dominate the top-10 group with seven positions, while there are one each from China, Japan and India. However, some of the Indian firms, such as L&T, HUL and Infosys, have been ranked higher than global giants like Starbucks (21st), Estee Lauder (23rd), Google (24th), Danone (25th), Apple (26th), P&G (27th) and Diageo (33rd). Forbes said that the list has been compiled on the basis of "innovation premium" offered by the companies -- measured by how much investors have bid up the stock price above the value of its existing business based on expectations of future innovative results (new products, services and markets). Only those companies have been considered for the ranking that have a minimum market capitalisation of $10 billion, have spent at least 2.5 per cent of revenue on research and development and have seven years of public data.
· The US believes that India has taken to a smart long term strategy by reducing import of oil from Iran. Washington’s Deputy Secretary of State said that India and the US share a clear strategic aim in stopping Iran from going nuclear because of the dangers of a nuclear arms race and everything else that could come from that. He said, at a time when unemployment is a major issue in the US due to its poor economic status, Indian companies through its massive investments in America, have created 50,000 jobs in the country. The Secretary praised the recent Indian decisions with regard to next phase of economic reforms. He emphasised that greater economic openness is not a concession to the US. It is one of the most powerful tools India has to maintain and expand its growth.
· India and Brunei will explore the possibilities of joint venture investment in the field of hotel industry and infrastructural development. Brunei will also consider investing in India’s hotel sector, which has been opened up for 100% foreign direct investment. Both the countries will also cooperate in exchanging information and know-how for development of tourism in their respective countries.
· India and Spain have signed five pacts in various sectors including defence cooperation, avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion, technical cooperation between the railways and roads transport sector, and joint production of films. This was signed in the presence of the visiting king of Spain Juan Carlos 1 and Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. Briefing of the Agreements: [1.] Audio visual Co-production Agreement: The agreement establishes a legal framework for relations regarding cooperation between the two countries in the audio visual field thereby facilitating the development of the audio visual industry. The framework for co production includes feature films, documentary and animation films. The agreement provides opportunities for both the countries to pool their creative, artistic, technical, financial and marketing resources to co-produce films. The co-production would provide an opportunity to create and showcase ‘soft power’ of our Country. Currently, as part of the initiative, the Government has signed co-production agreements with Government of Italian Republic in 2005, with Government of UK of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 2005, with Federal Republic of Germany in 2007, with Federal Republic of Brazil in 2007, with Republic of France in 2010, with Government of Republic of New Zealand in 2011, with Government of Republic of Poland in 2012.; [2.] Protocol for amending the Convention and Protocol for Avoidance of Double Taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and on capital: It is expected to stimulate the effective exchange of information and enable Assistance in Collection of taxes between India and Spain; [3.] Technical Co-Operation in the Field of Railway Sector: Under this MOU, both the countries are to promote cooperation and information exchange in the areas of High Speed Railway, upgradation of speed of passenger trains on existing lines, improving safety of train operations, modernization of Rolling Stock, construction and maintenance technologies for fixed infrastructure – Track, Bridges, Tunnels, OHE, Power Supply Systems, Signaling and Telecommunications and other cooperation in railway related technology developments; [4.] MoU on Roads and Road Sector: The objective of MOU include promoting efficient and environmentally sustainable transport systems and to institutionalize a technical and scientific cooperation in the fields of road infrastructure, construction, maintenance and management of roads.
· Indian HRD Minister and his New Zealand counterpart have co-chaired the first meeting of the India-New Zealand Education Council. The Council has been constituted to draw up a framework and devise mechanisms of co-operation and set the agenda for improving educational relations between the two countries. India and New Zealand expressed their commitment to earmark US $ 1 million annually to enhance the cooperative activities through specific programmes designed by the India-New Zealand Education Council. The programmes will include joint research, student mobility, faculty development, qualifications framework as well as vocational education and training, among others. Six MoUs of cooperation between different institutions were also signed on during the meeting: [1.] MoU between the Sport Ministries of both the countries on Cooperation in the field of Sports. The objectives of this MoU are to encourage and promote an exchange of programmes, experiences, skills, techniques, information and knowledge; [2.] Educational Partnership Agreement between University of Delhi, India and Massy University New Zealand in the areas of Exchange of students, Student study abroad, Joint teaching, Joint Quality Enhancement and Exchange of publications, academic material and other information; [3.] There are also some similar agreements between various universities.
· The World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2012 says, empowerment of women in India has shown significant improvement. According to the Geneva-based world body, India has been ranked 105 compared to 113 in 2011, with a gain of 8 points. It also said, there has been a visible improvement in the status of women in the country this year compared to last year. The report has focussed on economic participation and opportunities, health, political empowerment and educational attainment of women. India has fared better than counties like Pakistan, Nepal, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Turkey among others. India, the report said, has performed above average on the category of political empowerment of women.
· In Saudi Arabia, more than two million Haj pilgrims from all over the world have converged. They are going from Mina to Mount Arafat, the place where Prophet Mohamed had given his last sermon. At Mina, they will throw stones at the three pillars in a symbolic renunciation of the devil. More than 1.25 lakh Indian pilgrims are performing Haj this year.
· Former Goldman Sachs Director Rajat Gupta was sentenced by a New York court on insider trading charges. He was convicted in June this year of giving inside information about Goldman's financial results and an investment by a firm during the financial crisis to a Sri-Lankan American fund manager. He was ordered to serve one year supervised release and will begin his jail term in January 2013. Rajat Gupta, the most high profile Wall Street executive, had sought leniency from the judge, citing his otherwise unblemished career and philanthropic works. Rajat Gupta has received letters of support from persons like Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan ahead of pronouncement of his sentence.
· Ausralia's industry skills council SkillsDMC has signed an agreement with India's counterpart National Skills Development Corporation (NSDC) to impart skills training to 500 million people in key industry areas by 2022 to enhance productivity, employment opportunities and income.
· India and New Zealand today signed 5 MoU in the different fields of education. New Zealand and India share strong people to people links through increasing migration, tourism, education and sporting ties.
· On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the 1962 India-China war, the country had paid homage to the soldiers who fought the war on 19th Oct, 2012. More than 3000 Indian soldiers died in the war. This is the first time that those who died in the 1962 war, are being remembered. In China, a survey by the state-run media in Beijing says that more than 80 per cent of the Chinese population has no knowledge of the 1962 war with India and want the two neighbours to walk out of the shadow of conflict.
· Japan has posted its worst September trade figures in more than three decades, with the global slowdown and a territorial dispute with China biting into overseas shipments. Japan and China are at loggerheads over a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea which are controlled by Tokyo. Since the dispute erupted, demand for Japanese goods in China, particularly cars, has plummeted. The spat is one of the main reasons for Japan posting a 7 billion dollar deficit last month.
· Chinese technology giant Huawei has offered to provide Australia unrestricted access to its software codes as it seeks to counter negative public perceptions that it poses a security risk. The offer follows the exclusion of Huawei from having any involvement in building the National Broadband Network on security grounds. The company, which has about 900 employees in Australia, flatly denies persistent suggestions it has passed on sensitive information to Chinese security agencies.
· A US Federal court has sentenced convicted Algerian terrorist Ahmed Ressam to a 37-year-prison term for the 1999 New Year's Eve plot to bomb Los Angeles International Airport. The court imposed the sentence after prosecutors appealed an earlier 22-year sentence as too lenient. Prosecutors pushed for stiffer penalties, arguing Ressam continues to pose a threat for reneging on an agreement to provide evidence against other suspects in the bombing plot. Ressam was arrested in December 1999.
· At least 20 people are now known to have been killed by Hurricane Sandy as it swept across the Caribbean. Another nine deaths have been reported in Haiti. The hurricane is now threatening the eastern coast of the United States. Sandy strengthened into category 1 hurricane on the five-rung Saffir-Simpson scale, with winds of 130 km/h.
· In Philippines, many people have been killed as a result of tropical storm Son-Tinh. The storm is heading westward towards Vietnam at 22km per hour and is forecast to strengthen into a typhoon.
· The New York Times says that access to its website is being blocked inside China after it published an investigation into wealth accumulated by relatives of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. The newspaper said its Chinese-language site was blocked first, followed by its English-language site. References to the report also appear to be blocked on micro-blogging sites. In its report, the paper said Mr Wen's family members have controlled assets worth at least 2.7 billion dollars.
· Brazil's northeastern region was hit by a major blackout for the fifth time in a month. The blackout darkened all the nine states of the region, where over 50 million residents would face the warm spring night without fans or air conditioners. The National Electrical System Operator, ONS, which operates the country's electricity network, reported that the stoppage might have been caused by a fire in a piece of equipment located between two energy substations.
· Scientists in Canada have unearthed the first 75-million-year old fossil specimens of a feathered dinosaur ever found in the Americas. Until now, feathered dinosaur skeletons were recovered exclusively from fine-grained rocks in China and Germany. The ostrich-like dinosaurs in the original Jurassic Park movie were portrayed as a herd of scaly, fleet-footed animals being chased by a ferocious Tyrannosaurus rex.
· World Polio Day was observed on 24th Oct, 2012 across the globe to spread awareness on the importance of global polio eradication. This year only 170 cases were reported across the world compared to 467 last year. The 24th of October has been chosen as Polio Day to commemorate the month in which Jonas Salk was born. Jonas Salk was the leader of the team that invented the first polio vaccine in 1955. The vaccine is administered orally. India, which recorded its last polio case in January 2011, has officially been removed from the list of polio-endemic nations. It will be certified as a polio-free region in 2014 if no case is reported till then. Only three countries remain today where the polio virus still exists, namely Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria.
· India's shuttle queen Saina Nehwal came up with a near flawless performance to notch up an impressive win over Juliane Schenk of Germany in the final of the Denmark Open Super Series Badminton tournament at Odense. In a semi-final match, London Olympics Bronze medalist Saina defeated World Number One Yihan Wang of China, after she retired hurt due to a knee injury. On the other hand for Saina, this was her sixth Super Series title overall and second this year after the Indonesian Open win.
· The Formula One Indian Grand Prix kicks off at the Buddh International Circuit in NOIDA. Defending champion Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso will both be seen in action in the second edition of the Indian Grand Prix. Vettel has won three straight grand prix in this season so far, snatching the drivers' championship lead from Alonso. Meanwhile, India's first Formula One motor racing driver, Narain Karthikeyan, insisted that his future remains in the sport. Karthikeyan currently plays for HRT, which is a Spanish Formula One team founded by former driver Adrian Campos. [Click Here for Graphics]