{DNN} Daily News Notes: 29th Nov to 3rd Dec, 2012

· The Election Commission of India (ECI) has added the world No 3 badminton ace Saina Nehwal and internationally acclaimed Manipuri boxing champion M.C. Mary Kom as its new national icons. Till now ECI had the former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and Indian team captain M S Dhoni. For the first time ECI appointed two women as its National Icons. The reason behind this is to reduce the lower participation by women and to make a good impact on them.
· The Competent Authority has approved the appointment of Shri S. A. Ibrahim, IPS (MP:77), as Director, Intelligence Bureau for a period of two years as Shri Nehchal Sandhu is retiring on 31.12.2012.
· Former PM Inder Kumar Gujral (92yrs), who headed the second United Front government for a year, died after a brief illness. He managed two legacies: [1.] As prime minister, Gujral resisted signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which helped in the next government conducting the Pokhran nuclear tests without a hitch; [2.] His second contribution was the Gujral doctrine to foreign policy. The Gujral doctrine was a five-point roadmap which sought to build trust between India and neighbours, of solution to bilateral issues through bilateral talks and to remove immediate quid pro quos in diplomatic relationship between India and her neighbours. The doctrine had its critics, who felt that India would be surrendering intelligence assets in neighbouring countries without any surety that neighbours would keep their side of the bargain of not harbouring any anti-India activity.
· Tax-exempted income of the 10 main political parties in the last five years touched a whopping Rs 2,490 crore with Congress and BJP accounting for around 80 per cent of the exempted amount. And the income could be more than Rs 2,490 crore since the political parties’ income figures between 2007-08 and 2011-12 received from the Income Tax department through an RTI plea does not incorporate the large number of small donations or income below Rs 20,000. The Congress had a tax-exempted income to the tune of Rs 1385.36 crore, more than double of the BJP, which recorded an amount of Rs.682 crore. The information came through a petition filed by Hisar- based RTI activist Ramesh Verma before the IT department. Political parties are exempted from tax on their income through section 13 A of IT Act 1961.
· Minister of Finance has informed that the GAAR (General Anti-Avoidance Rule) provisions have not been put on hold. The Finance Act, 2012 had provided that these provisions shall be effective from the 1st day of April, 2014 and apply to Assessment year 2014-15 onwards. However, one of the recommendations of the Parthasarathi Shome Committee is that GAAR should be deferred for 3 years on administrative grounds. GAAR is an extremely advanced instrument of tax administration – one of deterrence, rather than for revenue generation – for which intensive training of tax officers, who would specialize in the finer aspects of international taxation, is needed.
· Minister of State for Finance has informed that the Government is considering to develop a Producer Price Index (PPI) which will reflect price movement at the producer’s level as proposed by Governor, RBI. The Office of the Economic Adviser has already constituted a Working Group under the Chairmanship of Dr. Saumitra Chaudhury, Member of Planning Commission, in March 2012 to consider issues relating to the compilation of PPI together with the revision of base of the current series of Wholesale Price Index.
· Minister of State for Finance has informed that to improve the health of financial sector, to reduce the NPAs, to improve asset quality of banks and to prevent slippages, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued instructions that each bank is required to have a loan recovery policy. Reserve Bank of India also monitors the NPA levels in banks. This aspect is reviewed during Annual Financial Inspections of banks.
· The Minister of State for Youth Affairs & Sports has said that his Ministry is implementing the following schemes for Development of Youth in the country: [1.] National Programme for Youth and Adolescent Development (NPYAD): Under the Scheme financial assistance is provided to various Government/Non-Government Organization for youth development activities i.e. (i) Promotion of National Integration (ii) Promotion of Adventure (iii) Youth Leadership and Personality Development Training (iv) Development and Empowerment of Adolescent and (v) Technical and Resource Development; [2.] National Service Scheme: NSS has the objective of Personality Development of the Student Youth through Community Service. This scheme is meant for student youth and is being run in colleges and in schools at +2 level across the country; [3.] Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS): NYKS undertake multifarious activities through a network of Youth Clubs/Mahila Mandals and Volunteers at the grass root level to harness youth power. These includes youth club exchange programme, sports tournaments, skill development and skill upgradation programmes, folk & cultural festivals etc. The Scheme of National Youth Corps, for 20,000 youths throughout the country, to assume leadership at grass root level, is also implemented in majority of the States through NYKS. The NYKS also undertakes convergence initiatives/programmes wherein programmes and Schemes of other Central Ministries, UN agencies and other funding organizations are implemented to provide opportunities to youth to ensure their greater role in the process of nation building; [4.] Youth Hostel: The aim of the Scheme is to encourage youth travel to know more about the diversity of India’s culture and people. To promote youth travel within the country with low cost, budget accommodation and facilities to traveling students and youth groups on excursions or study tours, Youth Hostels are built in collaboration with the State Government. A total of 69 Youth Hostels are presently being run by the Ministry.
· Minister of Corporate Affairs has informed that the Clause of the Companies Bill, 2011 (introduced in the Lok Sabha on 14/12/2011 and is under consideration), inter alia, provides for the specified companies to spend at least 2% of the average net profits (of last 3 years) in pursuance of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy and in case of failure, to specify the reasons for not spending such amount in the Board’s Report. However, in case the disclosure about such reasons is not made, the companies shall be liable for action under the provisions of the Companies Bill, 2011. CSR policy to be undertaken by the companies as specified in schedule VII of the Companies Bill, 2011. Further,
· HIV Estimations 2012 Report has been released by the Union Minister of Health. While releasing the report, the Minister said that the National AIDS Control Programme in India has been recognised globally and the programme rests on two key pillars – (1.) prevention for those who are not infected; and (2.) care, support & treatment for those who have been infected. The strategies for prevention include targeted interventions for high risk groups, condom promotion and strong IEC campaigns for general population. Care, support and treatment aim at increasing access to testing and treatment services. In order to refine these strategies and to evaluate the impacts of the interventions, National AIDS Control Organisation conducts HIV Sentinel Surveillance and HIV Estimations at regular intervals. The latest round of HIV Sentinel Surveillance was completed in 2011. Key findings of HIV Estimations 2012: [1.] Number of Persons Living with HIV: ~22.5 lakh in 2007 and ~21 lakh in 2011; [2.] Number of Adult New HIV Infections: ~1.2 lakh in 2007 and 1.1 lakh in 2011; [3.] In 2011, among the states, Manipur has shown the highest estimated Adult HIV Prevalence (Percent of people with HIV infection among all people aged 15-49 years) of 1.22%, followed by Andhra Pradesh (0.75%), Mizoram (0.74%), Nagaland (0.73%), Karnataka (0.52%), Goa (0.43%) and Maharashtra (0.42%). Besides these, Odisha, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Chandigarh have shown estimated adult HIV prevalence greater than national prevalence (0.27%); [4.] The adult HIV prevalence at national level has continued its steady decline from estimated level of 0.41% in 2001 through 0.35% in 2006 to 0.27% in 2011; [5.] Considerable declines in HIV prevalence have been recorded among Female Sex Workers at national level (5.06% in 2007 to 2.67%) and in most of the states, where long-standing targeted interventions have focussed on behaviour change and increasing condom use. Declines have been achieved among Men who have sex with Men (7.41% in 2007 to 4.43% in 2011); [6.] Stable trends have been recorded among Injecting Drug Users at national level (7.23% in 2007 to 7.14% in 2011). Besides North Eastern states where declines have been achieved, newer pockets of high HIV prevalence have emerged in the states of Punjab, Chandigarh, Delhi, Mumbai, Kerala, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh & Bihar. Scale up of Opioid Substitution Therapy and other harm reduction strategies are given focus in the North Western states where injecting drug use is identified as the major driver of the epidemic; [7.]; Besides high risk migrants, long distance truckers also show high levels of vulnerability and form an important part of bridge population [8.] The total number of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) in India is estimated at 21 lakh in 2011. Children (<15 yrs) account for 7% of all infections, while 86% are in the age –group of 15-49 years. Of all HIV infections, 39% (8.16 lakh) are among women; [9.] Above evidence shows that India is on track to achieve the global targets of ‘Zero New Infections, Zero AIDS-related deaths & Zero discrimination’. With increasing coverage of treatment & decreasing AIDS-related mortality, a significant number of people are likely to require first and second line ART treatment in the coming years. IEC campaigns have been strengthened through multi-media approach involving TV, Radio and innovative strategies such as Red Ribbon Express, National folk media campaign and North East campaign involving music and sports.
· The Minister of New and Renewable Energy has informed that the total installed capacity of renewable energy based power in the country is 26,267 MW. A capacity addition of 30,000 MW is targeted from renewable energy during the 12th Plan period. The contribution of renewable energy based power generation is likely to be in the range of 6-8% in the total electricity. He further said the Government is implementing the Jawaharlal Nehru Solar Mission (JNNSM), to promote harnessing/utilization of solar energy for power generation and other applications. The Mission envisages installation of 20,000 MW capacities by the year 2022. A target of 10,000 MW has been fixed for solar power projects during the 12th Plan. So far, 1045 MW of solar power projects have been installed in the country, he added. Further, the Minister informed that the Biomass based power generation projects with a total installed capacity of 3462 MW have been set up in the country so far. He said that his Ministry is promoting setting up of power generation projects from biomass through various technological routes such as combustion, gasification and cogeneration. Various fiscal and financial incentives such as capital subsidy and fiscal incentives including concessional customs duty on import of machinery and components, excise duty exemption, accelerated depreciation on major components and relief from taxes are being provided for setting up of biomass based power projects. Besides, preferential tariff is being provided for sale of power from biomass power projects. Further, the Minister informed that the Remote Village Electrification (RVE) Programme proposals, which was approved up to 31st March 2012, were received from the State identified implementing agencies including Madhya Pradesh for financial support for creation of facilities for lighting/basic electricity through renewable energy sources in those remote unelectrified census villages and unelectrified hamlets of electrified census villages where grid extension was not found feasible by the State Governments and hence were not covered under the Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyutikaran Yojna. Such proposals were sanctioned once they were complete in all respects and were in conformity with the provisions of the RVE programme. Support had been provided for coverage of 623 remote villages in Madhya Pradesh under the programme, the minister said. Under the Programme, Central Financial Assistance of up to 90% of the costs of systems was provided for approved projects to the states. Background: Rural electrification projects under Decentralized Distributed Generation (DDG) can be from conventional or renewable sources such as Biomass, Biofules, Biogas, Mini hydro, Solar etc. for villages where grid connectivity is either not feasible or not cost effective Villages/hamlets that have been provided with solar home lighting system under the Remote village Electrification program can also be considered under the DDG scheme.
· Minister of State for Minority Affairs has informed that from the Human Development Report, 2011 prepared by the Institute of Applied Manpower Research (an autonomous body of the Planning Commission) it appears that the condition of the backward communities and minorities has improved in general when compared with the condition in the past. Across religious group the incidence of poverty among muslims in rural areas is actually less than the aggregate, while amongst Christians and Sikhs the same is considerably lower than the aggregate. The unemployment rate according to the Report among SC and ST workers has decreased in both rural and urban areas and for muslim there is a similar pattern. The three groups (SCs/STs/ muslims) are converging towards the national average in terms of literacy rate.
· Minister of State for Human Resource Development has informed that out of 612 Universities in the country, only 172 of them have been accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). Out of the Universities accredited, 67 have been placed in Grade A, 99 Universities in Grade B and only 6 in Grade C, based on scores awarded during the process of accreditation. Further, the Minister informed at present, accreditation is voluntary for Higher Education Institutions in the country. A Legislation namely National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institutions Bill, 2010 has been introduced in Parliament which proposes to make accreditation mandatory for all Higher Education Institutions.
· Minister of State for Human Resource Development has informed that the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) for admission to the undergraduate programmes in engineering (IIT) would be conducted in two parts: JEE-MAIN and JEE-ADVANCED. The JEE-Advanced examination will be held after JEE-Main with a suitable time gap. Only the top 150,000 candidates (including all categories) in JEE-Main will be qualified to appear in the JEE-Advanced examination. Admissions to IITs will be based only on category-wise All India Rank (AIR) in JEE-Advanced, subject to the condition that such candidates are in the top 20 percentile of successful candidates in the respective Boards in applicable categories. As one time exception, in respect of those students who passed their Board exams in 2012, the eligibility criteria for joining IITs would be 60% marks in XII Board examination (55% for SC/ST/PD). The use of percentile ranking assumes that the quality of students is uniformly distributed across the Boards.
· Minister of State for Health has informed that the Mother and Child Protection Card (MCP Card) is a tool for informing and educating the mother and family on different aspects of maternal and child care and linking maternal and childcare into a continuum of care through the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme of Ministry of Women and Child Development and the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW). The card also captures some of key services delivered to the mother & baby during Antenatal, Intranatal & Post natal care for ensuring that the minimum package of services are delivered to the beneficiary. The MCP card helps in timely identification, referral and management of complications during pregnancy, child birth and post natal period. The card also serves as a tool for providing complete immunization to infants and children. MCP card has already been disseminated in the year 2010-11 for implementation by the States.
· Minister of State for Health informed that the tests approved by the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) for diagnosis of TB include sputum microscopy, X-ray Chest, Solid & Liquid Culture methods and Rapid molecular tests. Available evidence indicates that besides the tests mentioned above the private sector heavily relies on serological tests for diagnosis of TB. As per the WHO recommendation, the currently available commercial serological tests provide for the diagnosis of pulmonary and extra-pulmonary TB. However, the Government of India has imposed a ban on the manufacture, sale, distribution, use and import of serological diagnostic tests for TB in India.
· Minister for Health has informed that In compliance of the directions of Punjab & Haryana High Court on the issue of misuse by children of correction fluid / thinner (chemical generally used in offices) and other similar chemical substances, as intoxicating substance / drug by inhaling them to get stimulating effects like drugs, the Government issued a Notification for regulating the manufacture / trade of these chemical substances. The measures mentioned in the said notification to be enforced include: [1.] Banning of production and sale of bottled Correction Fluids as well as bottled Thinners, of any chemical composition, both for ink erasing purposes as well as for use as Nail Polish removers and similar other purposes for retail sale; [2.] Mandatory warning should be made on the application devices (pens or otherwise) of correcting fluids / thinners regarding the effects on health on inhalation of vapor / consumption of the chemicals contained therein.
· Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Industries has informed that under Grameen Bhandaran Yojana, assistance is provided to cooperatives through National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) for renovation of rural godowns of total capacity of ~24 lakh MT in cooperative sector since inception. Background: The central sector scheme “Grameen Bhandaran Yojana” was launched with effect from 1.4.2001, with major objectives of creation of scientific storage capacity in rural areas for storing farm produce, prevention of distress sale and reduction of post-harvest losses. As per the 2006 report of independent evaluation of the scheme, about 95% of godowns are used to store agriculture output, while 5% store both input and output. Commodities stored, are mainly local produce with major commodities being rice, wheat and pulses.
· Minister of State for C&IT has informed that World Health Organization (WHO) in its Fact Sheet (2006) on Electromagnetic Fields and Public Health (Base Stations and Wireless Technologies) has concluded that “considering the very low exposure levels and research results collected to date, there is no convincing scientific evidence that the weak RF Signals from base stations and wireless networks caused adverse health effects. From all evidence accumulated so far, no adverse short or long term health effects have been shown to occur from the RF Signals produced by based stations.” However, WHO has recommended that ‘National authorities should adopt international standards to protect their citizens against adverse levels of RF fields. They should restrict access to areas where exposure limits may be exceeded.’ WHO has referred to the International Exposure Guidelines developed by International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). Thus, India, in the year 2008, adopted the Electro-magnetic Fields (EMF) norms prescribed by ICNIRP in respect of mobile towers. Further, based on the recommendations of the Inter-Ministerial Committee, the Base Transmitting Station (BTS) radiation limits have been reduced to 1/10th of the limits prescribed by ICNIRP with effect from 01.09.2012. The Telecom Enforcement, Resource & Monitoring (TERM) Cells of DoT test upto 10 % of BTS sites randomly. Additionally, the BTS sites against which there are public complaints are also tested by TERM Cell.
· Minister of State for Finance has said that the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has informed that penetration of insurance (including life and non-life) for India for the years 2010 and 2011 was 5.10 and 4.10 respectively. Life insurance penetration in India was higher than the world’s average in 2010 and the combined average is higher than Brazil and Russia and most of other countries of Asia including Bangladesh, Pakistan, China and Sri Lanka. The Government periodically receives proposals for providing tax incentives, inter alia, for investments in insurance and mutual funds and examination of such proposals is a part of an on-going process.
· Minister of State for Finance has informed that under the India-UK Development Cooperation Programme, the United Kingdom through its Department for International Development (DFID) has provided ~Rs.1.7K crore in 2011-12 as financial aid for the Government sector programmes. UK has however announced on November 09, 2012 that no new financial aid grants will be made to India with immediate effect. The technical assistance programmes and the Pro-poor Private Sector Development Initiatives (PSDI) in eight low income States of the Country (viz. Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan) will continue. Further, the Minister said that the percentage of contribution of UK’s financial assistance to India against the Gross Domestic Product of the country during the last four years has been approximately 0.036 percent. Hence, its discontinuation is not likely to have much impact on the Indian economy.
· Union Minister for Tourism has informed that his Ministry is implementing its Rural Tourism Scheme with the main objective of showcasing rural life, art, culture and heritage in villages which have core competence in art and craft, handloom, textiles, natural environment etc. Under this scheme, Central Financial Assistance (CFA) is provided for capacity building of the local villagers at each identified site. The Minister said that landscaping and improvement of roads within the Panchayat limits are some of the components of the Rural Tourism Scheme for which CFA is provided to the State Governments/UT Administrations. Further, the Minister has informed that his Ministry has identified ‘Film Tourism’ as a Niche Tourism product and requested the State Governments to recognize the potential of Film Tourism and constitute special bodies/cells to facilitate filming in the States. However, no specific spots have been identified in the country by the Ministry of Tourism to attract foreign film makers to shoot their films on such locations. Further, the Minister has informed that in order to promote Medical Tourism in the country, Government has extended the Marketing Development Assistance (MDA) Scheme to include Medical Tourism in its purview in February, 2009. Also, his Ministry promote Medical Tourism as a niche product in the international markets. Further, the Minister has informed that his Ministry has appointed a National Level Consultant (NLC) to identify spiritual tourism circuits, including Buddhist Circuits, for integrated development, during the 12th Plan period, in association with the States. While identifying the designated circuits efforts have been made to plug infrastructure gaps viz- rail/road linkages and provide better amenities to tourists. The names of the Buddhist Circuits identified, on the basis of their tourism potential by NLC are given below: [1.] Dharmayatra Circuit: Bodh Gaya (Bihar) – Sarnath (Uttar Pradesh) - Kushinagar (Uttar Pradesh) – Piparvah (Uttar Pradesh); [2.] Extended Dharmayatra Circuit: Bodh Gaya (Bihar) – Nalanda (Bihar)– Rajgir (Bihar)– Patna (Bihar)– Vaishali (Bihar)– Vikramshila (Bihar) – Sarnath (Uttar Pradesh) – Kushinagar (Uttar Pradesh) – Kapilvastu (Uttar Pradesh) – Sankisa (Uttar Pradesh) – Piparvah (Uttar Pradesh).
· Army chief General Bikram Singh has approved the creation of the AAC (Army Aviation Corps), which will operate light observation and attack helicopters in the short-term and medium-lift choppers and even fixed-wing aircraft in the long-term. The Indian Air Force is worried that it will lead to sheer duplication of efforts and waste of scarce resources. However, the US, China and Pakistan are among countries that have a dedicated aviation wing within their armies. Moreover, raising of “aviation brigades” for each of the 1.13-million strong army’s three “strike” and 10 “pivot’’ corps (each has around 75,000 soldiers) has already commenced, with one already in place at the 14 Corps deployed in Ladakh. At present, the AAC operates around 250 light helicopters like Dhruv, Cheetah and Chetak, while attack and medium-lift choppers were always the IAF’s preserve. Also, it has plans to induct another 114 ‘Rudra’ light combat helicopters for the 10 ‘pivot’ corps.
· The Maharashtra state water resources ministry has strongly recommended mandatory use of drip irrigation technology for sugarcane and banana cultivation, as they are water intensive crops. Western Maharashtra, north Maharashtra and parts of south Marathwada are major beneficiaries of dams and largely dependent on canal water. Most of the area is also known for cultivating cash crops such as sugarcane, horticultural crops like pomegranates, grapes, sapota and banana. The ministry has also recommended that a coordination committee of agriculture, revenue, water resources and groundwater officials should study the priorities of each irrigation project and finalise a plan for distribution of water for urban, industrial and agriculture purposes.
· The first flight from Aerotropolis, the country’s first airport city being built at Andal in Burdwan (WB), will take off on Poila Boisakh — the first day of the Bengali calendar. An aerotropolis is an urban plan in which the layout, infrastructure, and economy is centered around an airport, existing as an airport city. It is similar in form and function to a traditional metropolis, which contains a central city core and its commuter-linked suburbs.
· The Supreme Court has said, a person may face criminal proceedings if a cheque issued by him gets dishonored on the ground that his signature does not match the specimen signature available with the bank. The apex court, however, said that in such cases, the account holder must be given a notice and an opportunity to arrange the payments before initiation of criminal proceedings against him.
· According Planning Commission's latest report on state finances, Haryana has topped the chart of the states which have significantly exceeded revenue mobilisation target during the 11th Five Year Plan. Haryana mopped up 64,123 crore rupees during the five year policy period which was 192 per cent of the targeted resource mobilisation in the 11th Plan. The report indicates that majority of states have failed to meet the projected planned resources as collectively they could fetch only 92.5 per cent of target. About eight states in the country including Haryana, Assam, Odisha, Karnataka, Goa, Bihar and Arunachal Pradesh could mop up more than their targets.
· Andhra Pradesh Assembly has enacted the historic legislation providing statutory status for implementation of the sub-plans for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The legislation will ensure fund allocation proportionate to the SC and ST population and is expected to prevent diversion of sub-plan funds for other activities. With this, Andhra Pradesh has become the first state in the country to enact such legislation.
· The Central government has started a mega scheme named Ganga Action Plan to clean the river Ganga. One billion dollars have been approved from the World Bank to fund an eight-year project. The focus is on clearing large stretches of the river heavily polluted by industrial effluents and domestic waste. The accumulation of silt deposit, discharge of industrial effluents and domestic waste along the banks has worried the environmentalists along with the shrinking size of the river.
· The Singapore High Court has stayed the Maldivian Government's decision to terminate the 500 million US Dollar contract awarded to Indian infrastructure major GMR-led consortium for modernizing Male international airport, paving the way for operations to continue. As per the contract, in case of differences between various parties, the law of either Singapore or UK would apply. The Maldivian Airport Company Limited (MACL), based on directions of the new Maldivian government, had on November 27th terminated the contract given to GMR in 2010 during the previous regime of President Mohamed Nasheed. Maldivian President Mohamed Waheed had said the contract was invalid and was signed under "dubious" conditions by the Nasheed regime. India, which had reacted sharply to the termination, had in a high-level meeting reviewed the overall relationship with the Maldives. The Cabinet Committee on Security, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, took into account the developments surrounding cancellation of the contract and its possible wider consequences. India had termed the termination decision a "very negative signal" to foreign investors.
· India will soon erect a 'floating fence' (all-weather 'gabion box' fence), anchored by submerged metallic meshes, along the disputed Sir Creek border area with Pakistan. The 96-km strip in the Rann of Kutch marshes is notorious for illegal crossings and smuggling of narcotics and arms and is patrolled round-the-clock by BSF marine commandos. The 'gabion box' is a regular technology used for flood water control and prevention of rock breaking along coasts by the impact of the saline ocean water. The Sir Creek area is characteristic with shallow and slushy water and these boxes would be the best material to be sunk under water considering the difficulty of the terrain to execute such a difficult project.
· An Indian couple (TCS employee) was arrested by the Norwegian police in Oslo for allegedly trying to excessively discipline their son, and after the child (7yrs) complained to his school teachers that his parents were threatening him to send back to India for his wrong doings. However, the father said that the boy was found bringing toys from school which he objected to.
· The President of India has extended good wishes for a high level Indo-Nepal Seminar on “Malviya’s Contribution to Modern Education – Banaras Hindu University and its impact in Nepal” being held in Kathmandu, on the occasion of Mahamana Madan Mohan Malviya’s 150th birth anniversary. India and Nepal have close and friendly bilateral relations rooted in history. These are characterized by regular social, cultural, educational, trade and economic interactions between our two peoples which have deepened over time. Background: Madan Mohan Malaviya was an Indian educationist, and freedom fighter notable for his role in the Indian independence movement and his espousal of Hindu nationalism. Later in life, he was also addressed as 'Mahamana'. He was the President of the Indian National Congress on four occasions and today is most remembered as the founder of the largest residential university in Asia and one of the largest in the world, having over 12,000 students across arts sciences, engineering and technology, Banaras Hindu University (BHU) at Varanasi in 1916, of which he also remained the Vice Chancellor, 1919–1938 Pandit Malviya was one of the founders of Scouting in India. He also founded a highly influential, English-newspaper, The Leader published from Allahabad in 1909.
· India and Libya signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation in the field of election management and administration with Libyan Election Commission seeking training and electoral assistance from Election Commission of India. The major aims of MoU are: promotion of exchanges of knowledge and experience in electoral processes; exchange of information, materials, expertise and training of personnel; production and distribution of materials pertaining to electoral systems, voting technology, voters’ education and awareness, and participation of women and minorities in electoral process.
· In the backdrop of more and more bureaucrats getting wooed by social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, Australian bureaucrats have been advised (in report) not to make “harsh or extreme” criticisms of the government, parliamentarians or a political party’s policies even if the comments are anonymous. The report gives some details about what not to be done during “online gossips”. The guidance, however, acknowledges that public servants have the same right as the other citizens regarding freedom of expression, but that right needs to be tempered by the need to maintain “an impartial and effective public service in which the community can have confidence”, according to articles quoting the report. Many in Australia regard the advice “as excessively cautious, and worse”, but the report itself mentions why it is needed. It says that the trust in the Australian Public Service would “quickly erode if ministers, shadow ministers, members of Parliament and senators, or the public, form the view that their confidences risk being broken through public gossip, including on the internet, about matters they have a right to expect should remain private”.
· In Egypt, the parliament has passed the draft of the new constitution defining the roles and responsibilities of the executive, the judiciary and the legislature. Under Egyptian law, the draft has to be ratified now by President Morsey and put up for a nationwide referendum within 30 days.