{News Notes} Daily News Notes: 15th to 20th Dec, 2012

Molly Kurien (81), wife of late Dr Verghese Kurien, passed away. She was known as ‘silent lady’ behind the White Revolution ushered by India’s milkman Dr Kurien.
Six soldiers (of Assam Regiment) were killed and one went missing when an avalanche struck the Siachen glacier area before dawn during inter-post movement of troops. This is for the first time in several years that an avalanche has hit an Indian position in the glacier area. Siachen glacier is considered as the world’s highest battlefield. An avalanche had hit a Pakistani Army camp in the glacier area last year killing over 100 troops. India has deployed its troops in Siachen for close to 30 years and has lost more people to the weather and terrain than to enemy bullets. However, it has brought down such casualties by ensuring adaptation of the personnel to the conditions and through scientific research by DRDO to improve living conditions of jawans. India and Pakistan, which have held several rounds of talks to resolve the Siachen issue, were close to an agreement a few years back on demilitarizing the region but the accord failed as Pakistan refused to authenticate its military position.
The Salient features of the Companies Bill 2011 (recently passed by LS) are as follows: [1.] Corporate Social Responsibility, which is being introduced as a statutory provision for the first time, now read to ensure that the company spends in every financial year, at least two per cent of the average net profits of the company made during the three immediately preceding financial years, in pursuance of its Corporate Social Responsibility Policy. Such clause is also amended to provide that the company shall give preference to local areas where it operates, for spending amount earmarked for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities; [2.] To help in curbing a major source of corporate delinquency which now include punishment for falsely inducing a person to enter into any agreement with bank or financial institution, with a view to obtaining credit facilities; [3.] Provisions relating to audit of Government Companies by Comptroller and Auditor General of India (C&AG) modified to enable C&AG to perform such audit more effectively; [4.] Provisions relating to extent of criminal liability of auditors - particularly in case of partners of an audit firm - reviewed to bring clarity. Further, to ensure that the liability in respect of damages paid by auditor, as per the order of the Court, is promptly used for payment to affected parties including tax authorities; [5.] The limit in respect of maximum number of companies in which a person may be appointed as auditor has been proposed as 20 companies; [6.] ‘Whole-time director’ has been included in the definition of the term ‘key managerial personnel’; [7.] Clarification included in the Bill to provide that ‘Independent Directors’ shall be excluded for the purpose of computing ‘one third of retiring Directors’; [8.] Provisions in respect of removal of difficulty modified to provide that the power to remove difficulties may be exercised by the Central Government up to ‘five years’ (after enactment of the legislation) instead of earlier up to ‘three years’. This is considered necessary to avoid serious hardship and dislocation since many provisions of the Bill involve transition from pre-existing arrangements to new systems.
Minister of Urban Development has informed that the aim and objective of the National Urban Transport Policy is to ensure safe, affordable, quick, comfortable, reliable and sustainable access for the growing number of city residents to jobs, education, recreation and such other needs within our cities. The policy focuses on moving people rather than moving vehicles by prioritizing public transport and non-motorized modes. Further, the Minister said that Urban Transport is intertwined with Urban Development which is a State subject, thus responsible for an Urban Transport. However, realizing the seriousness of rapidly growing problem of urban transportation, the Central Government has taken number of steps like formulation of the National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP) 2006, financing of modern buses for Urban Transport, Bus Rapid Transit System Projects, traffic transit management centres, flyovers, etc., under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).
Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment has informed that the number of senior citizens (60+) was 7.7 crores as per 2001 census and has been increased to 14.32 in 2012. Keeping in view the changing demography of the senior citizens in the country, the Ministry constituted a Committee under the Chairpersonship of Dr. V. Mohini Giri in Jan, 2010 to assess the present status of various issues concerning senior citizens and draft a new National Policy on Older Persons. The Committee has submitted the draft National Policy on Senior Citizens 2011 which inter-alia, accords priority to the needs of senior citizens aged 80 years and above, elderly women, and the rural poor. Some of the salient policy objectives are to: [1.] Promote income security, homecare services, old age pension, healthcare insurance schemes, housing and other programmes/ services; [2.] Promote care of senior citizens within the family and to consider institutional care as a last resort; [3.] Recognise senior citizens as a valuable resource for the country, protect their rights and ensure their full participation in society; [4.] Encourage employment in income generating activities after superannuation; [5.] Support organizations that provide conseling, career guidance and training services.
Minister of State for HRD has informed that a total of only 156 out of 1070 eligible Engineering Colleges have participated in a survey to map the industry linkages of engineering institutes across six streams of engineering-Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Electronics & Communication, Chemical and Computer & IT. The survey found that 30% of the institutes were having a good industry interaction and industry initiatives, 60% are moderately involved in Industry-Institute interaction and 10% of the institutes probably require a lot more interaction. Giving the information about Employment Opportunities to Engineering Students, the Minister said that the AICTE has revised the finishing school programme, which had been renamed as the Employability Enhancement Training Programme (EETP) for students of technical institutions with the objective of enhancing their employability.
Minister of State for HRD has informed that the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL, Mysore), under his Ministry, is mandated as the apex body to help in evolving and implementing the language policy of the Government of India and to assist and advise the State Governments on matters of language and also to implement projects/schemes for the promotion of Indian languages including the endangered languages. The Minister said that the Institute has two projects, namely Dimensions of Language Endangerment and North Eastern Language Development which work on the protection and preservation of languages of Arunachal Pradesh. Languages covered by CIIL under these two projects are Adi, Ao, Aka-Kora, Apatani, Chin, Deori, Galo, Idu, Khampti, Kharam, Khowa, Koireng, Methei, Milang, Miri/Mishing, Miji, Monpa, Motuo Menba, Nocte, Nyishi, Padam, Sherdukpen, Tangsa, Tani, Tedium, Thadou, Tutso, Vaiphei, Wancho. Work undertaken by the Institute on these languages includes Grammatical Analysis, Pictorial Glossary, Dictionary, Folklore, Socio Cultural Study, Phonology, Primers, Web Materials, Script, etc. {go through these names, as these are the Endangered Languages and could be asked in CSE, IBPS etc.}
Minister of State for HRD has informed that the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill, 2010 permits reputed Foreign Educational Institutions (FEI), which have been offering educational services for at least 20 years in the country of origin and are accredited in the home country, to apply to be notified as a “Foreign Education Provider” (FEP) by the Central Government. The UGC (Promotion and Maintenance of Standards of Academic Collaboration between Indian and Foreign Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2012 has dropped the condition that an FEI has to be ranked in the top 500 institutions in the world to enter into an academic collaboration with an Indian institution.
The cabinet gave a ringing endorsement to a ministerial committee to fast-track projects worth more than Rs 1,000 crore, while also clearing a bill making the consent of 80% of land owners mandatory for purchase of land for private projects. A cabinet note upped the quantum of consent for land acquisition from 67% suggested by the group of ministers, a move that is not likely to please the industry. The land acquisition bill, if passed, may raise concerns about longer deadlines. Raising the consent for land acquisition has caused worry among industry leaders, who also concerned about the consequences for competitiveness of Indian business. For PPP projects, 70% consent will be required. While the land acquisition bill, if passed, may raise apprehensions of longer project deadlines, the cabinet also approved a committee that will shorten red tape and look to frame timelines for administrative and regulatory clearances.
The government has announced the launch of Saral Money, which brings banking services for the unbanked by tying five banks through a Visa payment gateway, using the Aadhar unique ID number as a proxy for cumbersome Know Your Customer (KYC) norms. The five banks that are part of Saral Money scheme include SBI, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Indian Overseas Bank and Axis Bank. The key to the new solution is Visa network, which integrates and links the different systems being operated by banks with the government’s national identity database. This means Saral Money is not restricted to a specific bank or region. Prior to this customers would have had to provide numerous documents to fulfill KYC requirement, which was a big deterrent for marginalised. The benefits to the consumer come from the ability to receive payments direct to the Saral Money and use it to withdraw or remit those payments to family members. For the government, it helps improve transparency and efficiency while driving the country’s electronic payment and financial inclusion agenda.
Census Info India Software has been launched by Registrar General & Census Commissioner of India, Dr. C. Chandramouli. The software has been developed by the United Nations Statistics Division, in partnership with UNICEF and UNFPA. The salient features of the Software: [1.] The software has a unique feature which allows user to create tables, maps and charts using her/his own data; [2.] The software on Houses, Household Amenities and Assets based on Census 2011 data provides access to the dataset on a number of indicators at State and District level; [3.] The House listing and Housing Census has immense utility as it provides comprehensive data on the conditions of human settlements, housing deficit and consequently the housing requirement to be taken care of in the formulation of housing policies; [4.] It also provides a wide range of data on amenities and assets available to the households. Such information shall facilitate the departments of the Union and State Governments and other non-Governmental agencies for development and planning at the local level as well as the State level.
The President of India has presented the prestigious Presidential Standards to two of the IAF’s Squadrons – 25 Squadron and 33 Squadron. Located in the South Western Sector, 25 Squadron called ‘The Himalayan Eagles’ was formed on 01 Mar 1963 at Chandigarh. During the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak conflicts and Kargil Operations the squadron played a vital role. 33 Squadron was formed on 09 Jan 1963 with two Caribou aircraft. The squadron flew extensively during the IAF’s Tsunami rescue and relief operations. Background: The Standards are awarded to Operational Units while Colours are awarded to non-flying formations. IAF Operational Squadrons become eligible for award of Presidential Standards after completion of 18 years.
Minister of State for Food Processing Industries informed that his Ministry under the component of Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) of Human Resource Development Scheme emphasizes the processing of agro product into value added products with a view to reduce the wastage of agricultural produce and increase in the income of farmers. It requires to train the farmers and prospective entrepreneurs / unemployed youth in an intensive manner so as to sensitise them to the idea of value addition, food processing and encourage them to establish food processing industries. Further, he told that with the launch of National Mission on Food Processing (NMFP), a centrally sponsored scheme during 12th plan (2012-13), the HRD scheme and its all components have been subsumed in the mission during 2012-13, which is implemented by States including receiving of applications and sanction as well as release of funds, supervision and monitoring of the scheme.
Minister of State for Consumer Affairs has informed that the Government has proposed to amend the Forward Contract (Regulation) Act, 1952 to inter-alia provide for registration of foreign intermediaries / participants in commodity derivatives market. At present under the Forward Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1952, there is no restriction on participation by local and foreign institutional investors in commodity futures trading. However, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion has laid down the policy on foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign institutional investment (FII) in commodity exchanges. Foreign investment is permitted under a composite (FDI & FII) cap of 49%. As regards participation by institutions such as banks, insurance companies, pension funds, etc. is concerned; there is no restrictive provision on their participation in the Act. The Minister further added that the functions of futures market are price discovery and price risk management. The participation of Banks and Mutual Funds and Foreign Institutional Investors would bring the necessary breadth and depth to enable the corporate entities to hedge their price risk in Indian commodity markets. These entities may also bring in larger participation from professionals, which would improve the quality of these markets.
Minister for Health & Family Welfare informed that the expenditure on health (Centre & State combined) stood at ~Rs. 1.1 lakh crore in 2011-12 as against ~Rs. 45,000 crore in 2005-06. As a percentage of GDP, it increased from 1.23 percent in 2005-06 to 1.30 percent in 2011-12. As per World Health Statistics 2012 published by World Health Organization (WHO), private and general Government expenditure on health as percentage of total expenditure on health for India in 2009 is 69.7 % and 30.3% respectively. As per the draft 12th Five Year Plan document, total public funding by the Centre and States, plan and non-plan, on core health is envisaged to increase to 1.87 per cent of GDP by the end of the Twelfth Plan.
Minister for Health & Family Welfare said that the overall sex ratio has increased from 927 in 2001 to 940 in 2011, child sex ratio (0-6 years) has declined from 927 females per thousand males in 2001 to 914 females per 1000 males in 2011 as per Census 2011. Also, as per UNICEF’s Coverage Evaluation Survey-2009 (CES-2009), 39% of children between 12-24 months in the country are not fully vaccinated with all vaccines under Universal Immunization Programme. Reasons for partial or no immunization include the following: (i) Did not feel need (ii) Not knowing about vaccine (iii) Not knowing where to go for immunization (iv) Time not convenient (v) Fear of side effects (vi) Do not have time (vii) Vaccine not available (viii) Place not convenient (ix) ANM absent (x) Long waiting time (xi) Place too far (xii) Service not available. Further, he said that the Government has declared year 2012-13 as the year of intensification of Routine Immunization.
Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment informed that the Central assistance is provided to the State Governments for organizing inter-caste marriages, in which one spouse belongs to a Scheduled Caste. The incentive amount is decided by the concerned State Government and is generally between Rs. 10,000/- to Rs. 100,000/-.
Minister of State for Finance informed that the Government has merged Janashree Bima Yojana (JBY) and Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana (AABY) into one scheme, since both the schemes have similar structure of benefits, premium and target group and are being implemented through Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). The objective of the merger of the two schemes is not to increase the savings but to ensure better administration and services under the schemes and also avoid any duplication of coverage of lives under the two existing schemes.
Minister of State for Finance has given the information about the strategies that has been adopted by the Govt. to tackle the issue of black money: [1.] Joining the global crusade against ‘black money’ (for example out action in G 20, Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax purposes, Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development, Financial Action Task Force, UN, OECD, etc.); [2.] Creating an appropriate legislative framework: (various anti-tax evasion measures legislated in existing Act and proposed in the DTC, New DTAAs and TIEAs, amend existing DTAAs); [3.] Setting up institutions for dealing with illicit funds (10 Income Tax Overseas Units, dedicated computerized Exchange of Information Unit).
The Banking Amendment Bill, on Tuesday, got approval of the Lok Sabha after the government dropped the controversial provisions relating to allowing banks to trade in futures and keeping the sector outside the purview of Competition Commission. The Bill, along with the proposed legislations on pension and insurance, was one of the five key reform measures on the government’s agenda during the current session of Parliament. Finance Minister said, while the RBI would regulate the banking sector, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) would look into competition practices in the banking sector. The Minister also expressed the commitment of the government to infuse Rs.15,000 crore into public sector banks in the current financial year and retain their basic character. The Banking Bill also seeks to raise the voting rights of investors in private sector banks to 26 per cent, from 10 per cent. It also allows the RBI to supersede boards of private sector banks and increase the cap on voting rights of private investors in PSBs to 10 per cent, from one per cent. The Minister also said the Justice B .N. Srikirishna Committee had given its draft report and once the final report came, the government would come out with a comprehensive banking law. On consolidation in the banking sector, Mr. Chidambaram said India would need 2-3 world-class banks and there would still be over 20 PSBs after mergers. Meanwhile, a section of public sector bank employees have gone on nation-wide strike to protest the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill. Employees of four bank unions participating in the strike are from All India Bank Employees Association, Bank Employees Federation of India, All India Bank Officers' Association and National Union of Bank Employees.
Union Law Minister Ashwani Kumar has informed that the government favoured a re-look at the law to prevent a judge from resigning till any impeachment motion process is completed, as had happened in the case of Calcutta High Court Justice Soumitra Sen last year. Under the current procedure contemplated in Articles 124(2) and 217(1), if a judge submits his or her resignation to the President even while facing impeachment, the resignation will automatically come into effect and the impeachment proceedings will abruptly come to an end. Even if one of the Houses passes a resolution for the judge’s removal, the other House will not take it up for discussion.
The Reserve Bank of India is expected to relax norms soon allowing opening of more foreign banks, Commerce Secretary S. R. Rao said. Further, he said that India and Pakistan are negotiating issues with regard to opening of bank branches in each other’s territory to facilitate trade and commerce. As per the World Trade Organisation agreement, India allows opening of 12 branches of foreign banks in a year. Last year, the RBI in a discussion paper suggested that foreign banks should be incentivised to operate in India as wholly-owned subsidiaries, as against the present system of having presence through branch network, as the subsidiary model has clear advantages over the branch model despite certain downside risks. At present, there are about 34 foreign banks operating in India, with five major banks, including StanChart, HSBC, Citibank and Deutsche, accounting for over 70 per cent of the total asset size of overseas lenders in the country.
Encouraged by the response to its pilot scheme on home delivery of contraceptives by women health workers, the Centre has decided to extend the programme across the country with immediate effect. The initiative of supplying contraceptives — condoms, oral contraceptive pills (OCP) and emergency contraceptive pills — at home by accredited social health activists (ASHAs) was launched on a pilot basis in 233 districts in 17 States in June last year. The aim was to improve access to contraceptives for eligible couples, and in return, ASHAs were incentivised for their efforts. Once the scheme takes off, the free supply of contraceptives at the Primary Health Centre (PHC) and Sub-Centre level will be withdrawn. However, the supply of free contraceptives at Community Health Centres, sub divisional and district level hospitals will continue. Under the new scheme, ASHA would charge Re.1 for a pack of three condoms, Re.1 for a cycle of OCP and Rs. 2 for a pack of one tablet of emergency contraceptive from the beneficiaries as an incentive for her efforts.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police have found the topper in current year’s Higher Judicial Service selection to be a former Pakistan-trained militant who served as “Deputy Chief of Al-Jehad,” lobbed grenades at the Army, sustained gunshot injuries in an encounter and remained in jail for 14 months under the Public Safety Act (PSA). He is among a list of nine candidates for appointment as district and sessions judges. Even as the Law Department started the process with character verification of the candidates, a group of failed contenders challenged the selection process ab initio in the Supreme Court and got it stayed. Recently, a Bench of Justices (SCI) vacated the stay, but only in favour of seven respondent candidates. According to official sources, one of the candidates was being dropped as his marks in a question had been counted twice “inadvertently”, however, the other one, the topper, candidature was challenged on the account of his character verification by the police as having a “militant links”.
Researchers from the Rajiv Gandhi University in Arunachal Pradesh have come across several species of vulture out of which three endangered species — Gyps Bengalensis (white-rumped vulture), Gyps Indicus (Indian vulture) and Gyps Tenuirostris (slender-billed vulture) were recorded at the Dying Ering Wildlife Sanctuary in East Siang district. After toiling for three days, the team encountered a group of 49 vultures including Cinerous vulture, Lammergeier or bearded vulture, Himalayan Griffon, Eurasian griffon, long-billed vulture, slender-billed vulture and white-rumped vulture.
Parliament has passed the Appropriation Bill, 2012 amidst government's assertion that it intends to bring down fiscal deficit to 3% of the GDP by 2016-17 from the projected 5.3 per cent in the current fiscal (4.8 per cent in the next fiscal, 4.2 per cent in 2014-15, 3.6 per cent in 2015-16). The Appropriation Bill, 2012, was returned by Rajya Sabha allowing the government to raise expenditure to the tune of Rs 32,120 crore in 2012-13. The bill was earlier passed by Lok Sabha. The government had earlier revised its fiscal deficit target at 5.3 per cent of GDP this financial year, higher than the previous target of 5.1 per cent but lower than last year's 5.8 per cent. Minister of State for Finance said the fiscal deficit, which came down to 2.7 per cent in 2007-08, started picking up due to various reasons such as global economic condition and "sticky high inflation scenario”.
Goa is celebrating the 51st anniversary of its liberation today (19^th Dec, 2012). It commemorates the day when the Indian Government seized power from the Portuguese colonizers in 1961. They set foot in Goa in 1510 and left on 19 December 1961. In 1926, when Portugal came under grip of dictatorship, life of the common people became impossible to bear. So, the people of Goa began to rebel against their conquerors. Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia launched a movement for civil liberties at a public meeting in Margao, on 18 June 1946. Finally, all operations in Goa came to an end at 6:00 p.m., on 19 December 1961.
A report by World Health Organisation, WHO, says, India will see a decrease of 50-75 per cent in malaria cases by 2015. The WHO's World Malaria Report 2012 said, a concerted effort by endemic countries, donors and global malaria partners during the past decade has led to strengthened malaria control around the world. It, however, warned that a significant slowdown in global funding of anti-malaria campaigns threatens to roll back the gains made against the preventable mosquito-borne disease over the last 10 years. In the south-east Asia Region, Bhutan, Korea, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand have registered decreases of 75 per cent or more in the malaria incidence rates between 2000 and 2011. The report said, India, Nepal and Thailand could also potentially move from the control to the pre-elimination phase by continuing their progress.
Hinduism is the third largest religion of the world after Christianity and Islam, according to a study. 97% of all Hindus live in the world's three Hindu-majority countries (India, Mauritius and Nepal), and nearly nine-in-ten Christians (87 per cent) are found in the world's 157 Christian majority countries. The study said that there are 2.2 billion Christians (32 per cent of the world's population), 1.6 billion Muslims (23 per cent), 1 billion Hindus (15 per cent), nearly 500 million Buddhists (seven per cent) and 14 million Jews (0.2 per cent) around the world as of 2010. An estimated 58 million people, slightly less than one per cent of the global population, belong to other religions, including the Baha'i faith, Jainism, Sikhism, Shintoism, Taoism, Tenrikyo, Wicca and Zoroastrianism, to mention just a few, it said. The median age of two major groups, Muslims (23 years) and Hindus (26), is younger than the median age of the world’s overall population (28). Christians have a median age of 30. Jews have the highest median age (36). The 10 countries with the largest number of Muslims are home to fully two-thirds (66 per cent) of all Muslims. The largest share lives in Indonesia (13 per cent), followed by India (11 per cent), Pakistan (11 per cent), Bangladesh (8 per cent), Nigeria (5 per cent), Egypt (5 per cent), Iran (5 per cent), Turkey (5 per cent), Algeria (2 per cent) and Morocco (2 per cent). Muslims make up a majority of the population in 49 countries.
Minister of State for Finance has informed that India is lagging behind several countries in per capita income due to different levels of development and various other factors. Per capita of income is a measure of the amount of money that is being earned per person. The minister said the reasons for differences in the per capita income of different nations can be attributed to the levels of development besides other factors such as natural resource endowments, economic policies, political stability, differences in skills and technologies, population level etc. India's per capita GDP on Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) basis was ~USD 3,400 in 2010 and is estimated at ~USD 3,850 in 2012, he added. The per capita income at current prices for the year 2004-05 is estimated at ~Rs 16000 in rural areas and ~Rs 44000 in urban areas. The per capita net national income rose by 5.2 per cent while wholesale price index based inflation was at 8.9 per cent in 2011-12.
According to Global Burden of Disease (GBD) count, a global initiative involving the World Health Organisation, in South Asia, air pollution is ranked as the sixth most dangerous killer. Around 65 per cent of the air pollution deaths occur in Asia and close to quarter of this in India. According to the latest tally, air pollution causes 3.2 million deaths worldwide. This has increased from 800,000, last estimated by GBD in the year 2000 - a whopping 300 per cent increase. The new estimates of particulate air pollution are based on ground-level measurements, satellite remote sensing and global chemical transport models to capture population exposure. In South Asia, air pollution has been ranked just below blood pressure, tobacco smoking, indoor air pollution, poor intake of fruits and diabetes. This is scary as outdoor air pollution is a leveler that makes everyone - rich and the poor -- vulnerable.
Online shopping in India which is at a nascent stage is poised to witness significant growth in the next few years, with the industry likely to touch USD 34.2 billion by 2015 (with present growth rate of 57 per cent). "It is estimated, that around 27 million (in India) are active mobile Internet users. Currently 4 per cent are buying products, through mobiles and in next four years’ time, it can go up to 20 per cent. The number of mobile users in the country is expected to touch 1200 million by 2015." Homeshop18.com CEO said.
Indian capital's famous Nehru Place market has been placed among the top 30 notorious IT markets of the world that deal in goods and services infringing on intellectual property rights, an official US report has said. Among other internet and physical markets that exemplify marketplaces that deal in infringing goods and services, facilitating and sustaining global piracy and counterfeiting include Urdu Bazaars in Karachi and Lahore. However, China has the largest number of notorious markets listed in the report. Prominent among them are Buynow PC Malls, which operates 22 stores across China and is known for selling computers with illegal operating system software and other unlawfully pre-installed software; and Silk market in Beijing. Further, the report said that Philippine Government has taken significant enforcement actions at the Quiapo Shopping District, which has reduced the number of counterfeit and pirated goods available for sale in this marketplace.
India's commercial capital, Mumbai, has been named among the world's 'dirtiest' cities, ranking last in the "cleanest streets" category, a global survey of 40 key tourist cities has found. Similarly in the category of "ease of getting around", Mumbai ranked at the last position while Zurich stood at first place. The cities with the rudest locals, dirtiest streets and worst shopping have been revealed by the Survey which found that the least-friendly locals were from Moscow. Tokyo was the most highly decorated world city, ranking number one for best taxi services, friendliest taxi drivers, best public transportation, cleanest streets and safety. The survey, completed by more than 75,000 people, looked into how travellers and locals viewed 40 key tourist cities around the world.
In a sensational development that impacts the Internet, a group of mainly African nations moved and won a resolution accompanied by a set of binding treaty-based International Telecom Regulations (ITRs) at the UN’s World Conference on Internet and Telecommunications (WCIT) in Dubai. The move was supported by China, Russia and mostly Arab states. At the last count, 89 countries had endorsed the global treaty on telecom regulations, with nearly 45 nations led by the United States, the U.K., the European Union, Japan, Australia and even Kenya, either refusing to sign or buying time to study the proposals. India, which initially backed the ITRs and the accompanying resolution during a sudden vote, later announced that it would sign the Treaty only after consultation with domestic stakeholders. Objections from countries which are refusing to sign the Treaty come on four counts. First, the inclusion of the Internet in the resolution, even though it is not a part of the binding text of the ITRs. Second, on Article 5B relating to “unsolicited bulk electronic communication” or spam which is seen as an open door to content regulation since spam is considered content. Third, lack of clarity on which “agency” or entities will be placed under the ITU (International Telecommunication Union) regulations. And lastly, opposition to the fact that the ITU, an intergovernmental body, should not enter the Internet since it is better served through a transparent, bottom-up multi-stakeholder process.
India is investigating how Swedish-made weapons bought by its army turned up in Myanmar, a Sweden’s Trade Minister visiting Yangon said, denying New Delhi had supplied arms in contravention of EU sanctions. She said the Swedish Agency for Non-Proliferation and Export Controls (ISP) had informed her that the weapons had come from India. Pictures taken in Myanmar and published in Swedish media this week showed a Carl Gustaf M3 anti-tank rifle and ammunition left behind by Myanmar government soldiers. The weapon’s serial number is clearly visible in one of the photographs.
India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives will soon sign a trilateral agreement on maritime cooperation in carrying out surveillance, anti-piracy operations and in curbing illegal activities, including maritime pollution and to pool resources and share data for better control over territorial waters and detect suspicious movements. Noting that nearly half of the world’s containerised cargo crosses the Indian Ocean every year, these countries wanted better cooperation among the bigger and smaller navies in the region. Unfortunately, there is a degree of mistrust between the major powers in the Indian Ocean region that now limits the degree to which effective and long-lasting multilateral cooperation can be achieved. Further, detailing the Indian efforts in the region, Vice-Chief of the Naval Staff pointed out that piracy emanating from Somalia had been confined to 700 nautical miles, largely due to the effective patrolling and cooperation among the navies. India too had contributed significantly to this effort and had so far repulsed 40 pirate attacks. India had also agreements with Royal Thai and the Indonesian naval forces to conduct coordinated patrolling in the east, around the region of the Malacca Straits.
The European Parliament in Strasbourg (capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France) conducted an hour-long debate over the persistence of human rights violations against Dalits in India. While acknowledging the efforts at various levels to eradicate caste discrimination, the Parliament however, expressed alarm at the continually large number of reported and unreported atrocities and widespread untouchability practices, such as manual scavenging. It called upon the European Union’s and the Member States’ representatives in India to include the issue of caste discrimination in their dialogues with the Indian authorities, and to prioritise programmes addressing caste discrimination, in education, and programmes with particular focus on women and girls. Further, the EU Parliament has called upon the Indian Parliament to act on its plans to pass a new Bill prohibiting employment of manual scavengers and securing their rehabilitation.
After focussing on the international climate change negotiations in Doha earlier this month, the spotlight is shifting back to the domestic scene. India can point the finger at the failure of rich countries to check the growth of their greenhouse gas emissions, but it’s not a rosy picture back home either. Over the last decade or so, India’s emissions — which now make up five per cent of global emissions, the third highest in the world — have displayed a clear shift from agriculture, where rice cultivation and livestock contribute to methane production. On the other hand, the energy and industrial sectors, which mostly produce carbon dioxide, now hold an increasing share of the total. Between 1994 and 2007, the year-on-year growth rate of agriculture emissions was only 0.6 per cent. Emissions from the energy sector grew at a rate of 4.8 per cent over the same period. Even though starting from a low base, emissions from waste have also risen sharply — seeing a 7.3 per cent growth rate between 1994 and 2007 — with urbanisation generating ever-larger quantities of municipal waste. The estimates for 2007 show that the energy sector — including power, transport and residential electricity — was responsible for 58 per cent of India’s emissions, with industry and agriculture following at 22 and 17 per cent. In a bid to slow down domestic emissions growth, the government launched the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) in 2008. Eight national missions — dealing with solar energy, energy efficiency, sustainable agriculture and habitats, water and forestry, the Himalayan ecosystem and research — were charted under the plan. However, given that the missions were launched in 2008 and were planned to run till 2017, they have almost reached the halfway point.
In a major boost to the country’s private vaccine manufacturing pharmaceutical companies, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that India’s national regulatory authority — Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) — and its affiliated institutions meet the prescribed international standards. India is a major vaccine producer with 12 major vaccine manufacturing facilities. Every second child in the world is vaccinated for measles using a vaccine produced in India. India is the first country in the 2012 round of assessment to have passed the strict levels of seven indicators which are made more stringent every time in a single round of assessment which is done by a team of 12 international experts headed by a WHO member. The clearance by the WHO is expected to boost investment in the pharmaceutical sector and push exports higher, which touched $13 billion last year and is expected to touch $26 billion this year. Two-thirds of the vaccines produced in India are exported. Background: In 2007, when the CDSCO had failed to meet the WHO-prescribed standards, it had led to the WHO suspending manufacturing licenses of three public sector vaccine manufacturing units on account of non-compliance of good manufacturing practices (GMP) norms. India had made up for the deficiency in the 2009 assessment and the units were re-started.
India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Tuesday raised hopes of inking a historic free trade agreement (FTA) on services and investments during the two-day ASEAN summit. At present, trade between India and ASEAN stood at $80 billion and the aim was to take it to $100 billion by 2015. After operationalising an FTA in goods (one of the 3 pillar of Indo-ASEAN relation, other being the FTA in services and investment) in August last year, both sides were engaged in widening the base of the pact by including services and investments. Giving more information on this, Indian Commerce Minister said the negotiations for regional comprehensive economic partnership — a mega trade agreement, comprising 16 countries of the region, including India and China — were expected to conclude by 2015. Besides the FTA with ASEAN, India is negotiating with the members of the block for a market opening pact. India has already implemented FTA with Singapore and Malaysia and is negotiating with Indonesia and Thailand in this regard.
Coal will nearly overtake oil as the dominant energy source by 2017, and India will pass the U.S. in coal usage becoming the biggest coal importer in the world, the International Energy Agency has said. China will use more coal than the rest of the world put together. Coal now accounts for 28 per cent of total primary energy consumption, and its demand for the fossil fuel rose 4.3 per cent in 2011, compared with 2010, the report said. Without a major shift away from coal, average global temperatures could rise by six degrees Celsius by 2050, leading to devastating climate change, the IEA report says.
With India seeking to address the “brutal trade imbalance” with Bangladesh, a World Bank report released said a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries would increase Bangladesh's exports to India by 182 per cent and that of India's to Bangladesh by 126 per cent. During 2011-12, the two-way trade stood at $4.3 billion. Bangladesh has long complained that trade with India was unequal, with India selling goods worth over $3.5 billion to Bangladesh against the latter's export to India of about $0.6 billion. India's closer economic cooperation with Bangladesh can also be an important steeping-stone to reduce the economic isolation of India's North-Eastern states. In 2004, India and Bangladesh had exchanged documents for an FTA and negotiations were underway. However, talks were stalled over a few issues. India's exports to Bangladesh include cotton, cereals, nuclear reactors, boilers and machinery, while imports from the neighbouring country comprise edible fruit and nuts, fish, apparel and textiles articles.
Minister of State for Labour & Employment has informed that the World Bank in its World Development Report 2013 has pointed out that part time and temporary wage employment are now major features of industrialised and developing countries and that in India, the number of temporary workers that employment agencies recruit grew more than 10 percent in 2009 and 18 percent in 2010. Part time work is also on rise in India with the share of informal workers in total employment in organized firms grew from 32 per cent in 2000 to 52 per cent in 2005 to 68 per cent in 2010. The propensity of firms to hire contract workers has increased over time for all firms employing 10 or more workers. The World Development Report 2013 has also pointed out that when workers move from low-to-high-productivity jobs, output increases and the economy becomes more efficient. Stringent regulations that obstruct such labour reallocation do not sit on the efficiency plateau and affect economic efficiency.
Defence Minister informed that the US Government has requested to conduct search and recovery missions in the North East region to recover the remains of US service personnel presumed to have been killed in aircraft crashes in the region during World War II. So far, three such missions have been conducted.
Minister of State for Commerce & Industry has informed that India is looking at newer markets in Europe (especially in Central & East European countries), while maintain Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, UK, Italy and France as traditional trading partners.
Known for his ‘emotional connect’ with India, Japan’s conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) chief Shinzo Abe seemed set to be sworn in as the new PM of Japan with the LDP-led coalition winning an absolute majority in the House of Representatives. As PM in 2006, Abe had stunned many by predicting that Japan-India relations had the potential to overtake Japan-US and Japan-China ties. During his a visit to India in 2011, Abe had told a gathering at the ICWA, “India’s success is in Japan’s best interests and Japan’s success is in the best interests of India.” Abe’s comeback couldn’t have come at a better time for India. For one, he has taken a much more pragmatic view of Japan’s nuclear policy in the face of the Fukushima accident than his predecessor Yoshihiko Noda who wanted to phase out nuclear power completely by 2030. Instead of shunning it altogether, he has asked to let reactors considered safe reopen. This has led to hope that talks with India could resume peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Abe won despite the popular sentiment against nuclear power. Abe’s hawkish stand on China (he recently described Japan’s position on Senkaku islands dispute as too reserved) is not going to harm India either at a time when the focus of the world has shifted to the Asia-Pacific in the face of Beijing’s growing assertiveness in the region.
Wal-Mart Stores may be facing sizable fines related to allegations of widespread bribery at its Mexican affiliate, after a second report from the New York Times provided more details about the scope of the potential misconduct. Experts said the latest report is significant because it appears to show that the alleged bribes were a substantial part of its business methods, and more than routine payments to speed up approvals, which are allowed under U.S. law. The newspaper said the world's largest retailer opened some 19 stores by using hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to get what local laws otherwise prohibited. The latest story describes, for example, $765,000 in bribes that helped Wal-Mart build a refrigerated distribution centre in an environmentally fragile area where electricity was scarce and smaller developers were turned away. It also describes in detail how Wal-Mart allegedly paid $52,000 to change a zoning map so it could open a store near the ancient pyramids in Teotihuacan.
South Korea elected its first woman President, handing a slim but historic victory to conservative ruling party candidate Park Geun-hye, daughter of the former military ruler. With 85 per cent of the national vote counted, Ms. Park had an insurmountable lead of 51.6 per cent to 48 per cent over her rival. As leader of Asia’s fourth-largest economy, Ms. Park (60) will face numerous challenges: handling a belligerent North Korea; a slowing economy; and soaring welfare costs in one of the world’s most rapidly ageing societies. Ms. Park had pushed a message of “economic democratisation” — a campaign buzzword about reducing the social disparities thrown up by rapid economic development — and promised to create jobs and increase welfare spending. On North Korea, Ms. Park has promised a dual policy of greater engagement and “robust deterrence”, and held out the prospect of a summit with the North’s young leader Kim Jong-Un, who came to power a year ago. She also signalled a willingness to resume the humanitarian aid to Pyongyang, suspended by President Lee Myung-bak.
South Africa’s governing African National Congress (ANC) voted overwhelmingly to keep President Jacob Zuma as the head of the nation’s dominant political force, more than likely guaranteeing the politician another five years as the President.
Nepali political forces failed to strike a deal even as President Ram Baran Yadav’s fourth deadline to the parties, to come up with a consensus Prime Minister, ended on Monday evening. While Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ is understood to be agreeable to hand over power to Nepali Congress (NC), Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai and Madhesi allies are opposed to a pact without firm guarantees on elections, peace process and constitutional issues.
The death toll from the strongest typhoon (Bopha) to hit the Philippines this year has topped 1,000 and could still rise sharply. The storm has also caused massive damage to infrastructure and agriculture, destroying large tracts of coconut and banana trees.
Tropical Cyclone Evan has intensified from a category four systems as it heads towards Fiji. The centre of Tropical Cyclone Evan is generating wind speeds of 165kmph, with gusts of up to 230kmph.
NASA may have devoted many of its exploration resources to Mars recently, but the US space agency also has its eye on an icy moon (Europa) of Jupiter by 2021 that may be capable of supporting life. The agency is thinking about ways to investigate the possible habitability of Europa, Jupiter's fourth-largest moon. One concept that may be gaining traction is a so-called “clipper” probe that would make multiple flybys of the moon, studying its icy shell and suspected subsurface ocean as it zooms past. Astrobiologists regard Europa, which is about 3,100 kilometres wide, as one of the best bets in our solar system to host life beyond Earth.
The world’s first vaccine against Japanese Encephalitis (JE), created using an Indian strain of the virus, is now ready. Dr Raj Shankar Ghosh from PATH, an organization instrumental in conducting JE vaccinations since 2006 across 15 states and 118 districts, said that the injectible vaccine has been found to have a protection rate of over 90% and can be used on the 1-15 years age group. Interestingly, according to PATH’s country programme leader Tarun Vij, the vaccine, besides protecting against the Indian strains of JE, is also effective against the Nakayama strain — the original strain from Japan, and the Biken strain that circulates in other Asian countries. At present, India imports its entire stock of JE vaccine from China’s National Biotech Group. The arrival of the indigenous Indian vaccine will greatly help protect the country’s population against a disease that is growing in numbers.
The yet-to-start Hockey India League became the sport’s most lucrative tournament in the world, when its five franchise owners liberally opened their purses at an IPL-style auction, the first ever in hockey, in which players were sold for amounts unheard of in the sport. Indian captain Sardar Singh was the most sought after player and went to the Delhi Waveriders for Rs 42.5 lakh, a big jump from his base price of about Rs 15 lakh. The biggest surprise of the day was drag-flicker V R Raghunath’s winning bid of Rs 41.4 lakh by Sahara UP Warriors, way up from his base price of Rs 7.6 lakh. The inaugural HIL will run from January 16 to February 10 next year.
World Cup and European champion Spain has completed a full year atop the FIFA rankings, 2014 World Cup, while host Brazil has plummeted to No. 18 and the U.S. dropped one spot to No. 28. Spain leads No. 2 Germany, with European Championship finalist Italy at No. 4. England is No. 6, and Europe fills all places through Switzerland at No. 12. Ivory Coast is Africa's best at No. 14. Mexico is No. 15, and Japan leads Asia at No. 22.
Miss USA Olivia Culpo was crowned the Miss Universe for the year 2012 on Wednesday. The 20-year-old beat all the remaining contestants of 88 countries, including first runner-up Janine Tugonon of the Philippines, to win the highly-coveted title. Culpo takes over the honor from last year’s winner, Leila Lopes of Angola. While Miss India Shilpa Singh couldn't even make it to the top 10 at the competition which was held at Las Vegas.
India defeated Pakistan in the men’s final to retain the title at the third World Cup kabaddi tournament. It was for the third consecutive year that India thrashed the rival in the final. The winning team got a prize money of Rs. 2 crore while Pakistan took home Rs. 1 crore. Canada, clinched the third prize of Rs. 51 lakh.