{News Notes} Daily News Notes: 26th to 31st Dec, 2012

The body of the Delhi gang rape victim, who died at the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore this morning, is being flown back to India by a special chartered flight today. Serious swelling in the brain resulting from the cardiac arrest she suffered a few days ago was an important cause that led to the death of the 23-year-old gang-rape victim who fought for her life with great fortitude and courage. Silent protests are being held across the capital as a mark of respect for the gang rape victim. Earlier this month, the incident had triggered public protests in India that left one policeman dead in Delhi. The Delhi Police has said, it will invoke murder charges against the accused in the case. Security in the national capital has been stepped up with the police closing India Gate and Raisina Hill for the public. Ten Metro stations in Central Delhi have been closed down till further orders, as a precautionary measure.
The National Water Resource Council has adopted the National Water Policy (2012) during 6th meeting of the council held in New Delhi under the chairmanship of Prime Minister. [this policy will be discuss in Article section]
Ratan Tata,who led the transformation of Tata Group from a conventional corporate house into a $100 billion global conglomerate with high-profile acquisitions abroad, retired on Friday, ending a 50-year run in one of India's oldest business empires. Marking a generational change, Tata, who turns 75 on Friday, has hand over the reins of the group to 44-year-old Cyrus Mistry, who was chosen his successor last year and formally appointed chairman this month.
The first test run of a train through the country’s longest 11.21 km Pir Panjal tunnel (2nd longest in Asia) connecting Qazigund to Banihal (in J&K) was carried out by the railways. The tunnel will reduce the travel distance between Qazigund and Banihal from 35 km (by road) to just 17.5 km (by train). The tunnel has been equipped with the state of the art air quality monitoring, ventilation, communication, and firefighting systems, Ballast less track system has been provided which is pollution and maintenance free.
The government has announced more sops to stem the slide in exports that has led to alarming widening of the trade deficit and depreciation of the rupee. The incentives include extension of the 2% interest subsidy available to certain sectors by one more financial year, until the end of March 2014, and expanding coverage to a few engineering sub-sectors to make exports more competitive. Besides, all small and medium enterprises, irrespective of sectors, will get this subsidy. The sectors covered under the interest subsidy scheme include handicrafts, carpets, handloom, readymade garments, processed agriculture products, sports goods and toys. The government also announced additional incentives for incremental exports to the US, European Union and Asian countries, besides adding New Zealand, Cayman Islands, Latvia, Lithuania and Bulgaria to its ‘focus market scheme’. Commerce & Industry Minister also announced a pilot scheme of 2% interest subsidy for project exports through Exim Bank for countries in the SAARC region, Africa and Myanmar to spur exports to new markets. However, he admitted that the target of $360 billion for exports in the current fiscal is likely to be missed. India’s exports contracted 5.95% to $189.2 billion during April-November, contributing significantly to the high trade deficit of nearly $130 billion.
India’s growth story over the last five years has been far more inclusive than in the past, with the bottom five states growing faster than the national average, according to government data released ahead of the National Development Council meeting to approve the XIIth Five Year Plan. The government’s assertion assumes significance as several states have been seeking special treatment citing their backwardness and financial constraints. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, for instance, wants the Centre to accord special status to the state to get financial benefits granted currently to Jammu and Kashmir and North-eastern states. Mamata Banerjee has also persistently sought special consideration to help shore up West Bengal’s fragile finances. Historically, the Bimaru states (Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh) grew the slowest. But this trend has reversed and these states are now growing close to or even higher than the national average (country’s average GDP growth in the 11th FYP was 7.90%, bottom 5 states grew at 8.58%, top 5 states grew at 9.1%). “Bihar, which was for quite some time a cause of worry for planners, has been able to record growth rate of 12.11% in the Eleventh Plan. Similarly, MP, UP and Rajasthan have all recorded growth rates of 7% or more. This is an encouraging and positive trend,” the XIIth Plan notes, acknowledging that human development indices have also improved in these states. Pointing to a reversal in fortunes for the states of Gujarat and Bihar in the last decade, an official said that between 2001 and 2005, Gujarat was the fastest growing state and Bihar the slowest. “But Bihar became the fastest growing state from 2006 to 2010, while five other states grew faster than Gujarat,” it said. The 12th Five Year Plan aims to double the Plan assistance to states for special area programmes such as the Backward Region Grants Fund (BRGF), the Hill Areas Development Programme (HADP) and the Border Areas Development Programme (BADP). Funding for the state component of BRGF, which includes funds earmarked for Bihar, West Bengal and Bundelkhand, will go up from Rs 11, 568 crore in the 11th Plan to Rs 33,332 crore in the 12th Plan period. The 12th FYP has also called for restructuring the BRGF with a special focus on the sub-district level for effective realization of outcomes. Even states with high per capita incomes have backward areas such as Kutch, North Karnataka and Vidarbha. Such intra-state disparity is high in Haryana, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, but low in Punjab.
The Planning Commission ruled out special category status for Bihar, as Bihar does not meet the existing criteria according to which a state is deemed eligible for special category status. Bihar CM earlier had said that he would support anyone in formation of government at the Centre if they granted special category status to Bihar. Ahluwalia argued that if Bihar demanded special category status saying it was subject to floods, Rajasthan would make a similar demand saying it faced drought. Special category states have some distinct characteristics. They have international boundaries, hilly terrain and have distinctly different socio-economic developmental parameters, according to a study undertaken for the 13th Finance Commission. The study said these states also have geographical disadvantages in their effort for infrastructural development. Public expenditure plays a significant role in the gross State Domestic Product of the states. The north-eastern states are also late starters in development. Hence, the Centre sanctions 90% in the form of grants in plan assistance to states in special category. Presently, special category states are Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and Uttarakhand.
The Government has decided to slash its annual economic growth target for the next five years to 8% from 8.2% earlier. The Planning Commission of India (PCI) has mooted the lowering of GDP growth target given the sluggish performance last year and less than 6% expected this financial year. The Reserve Bank o India (RBI) had earlier projected a target of 6.5%, while prime minister's economic advisory council (PMEAC), headed by former RBI governor C Rangarajan, had put the growth figure for this financial year at about 6%. PCI cited the negative growth story in the euro zone, Japan and less than two per cent growth in the US as contributing factors for lowering growth targets for the 12th Plan period that began on April 1, 2012. It also cited the latest United Nations report that lowered the global growth projections by 0.5 per cent. In this context, it was also stated that China has revised its growth projections for this financial year to about 7.5 per cent against 11.7 per cent GDP growth clocked last year. The approach paper to 12th Plan, approved by the government, had projected nine per cent growth that was subsequently lowered to 8.2 per cent.
India’s foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows grew by over 65% year-on-year to $1.9 billion in Oct, 2012 from $1.2 billion in 2011. For the April-October period of this fiscal, however, FDI inflows have declined by about 27% to $14.8 billion, from $20.3 billion in the year-ago period as overseas investment inflows were small in the initial months. For the first seven months of the fiscal, India received maximum FDI from Mauritius ($6.8 billion), Japan ($1.5 billion), Singapore ($1.2 billion) the Netherlands ($1.1 billion) and the UK ($611 million). The inflows had aggregated to $36.5 billion in 2011-12 against $19.4 billion in 2010-11 and $25.8 billion in 2009-10. Foreign investments are important for India, which needs around $1 trillion in the next five years to overhaul its infrastructure sector such as ports, airports and highways to boost growth. Decline in foreign investments will put pressure on the country’s balance of payments (BoP) and could also impact the rupee.
The government has stripped former army chief General V K Singh of his Z-plus security cover. Normally, all retiring army chiefs get Z-plus security for six months. It continues after that only if the threat perception is high. The decision to withdraw all security provided to Gen Singh, who retired on May 31, from December 1, was taken after a home ministry review last month held there was “no threat perception’’ against the former army chief. As a Z-plus protectee, Gen Singh had around 30-35 army personnel providing him “proximate security’’ round-the-clock in shifts as well as six to seven vehicles, including the main bulletproof one. While these have now been withdrawn, as also the Delhi police outer cover, he will continue to get a “few sahayaks and secretarial staff’’ as a former army chief. Ever since he retired earlier this year, Gen Singh has been participating in several street campaigns and rallies against the government, particularly those led by Anna Hazare, and has even called for the dissolution of Parliament. Gen Singh and yoga guru Baba Ramdev were among the 7 named in an FIR by Delhi police for allegedly inciting a crowd to march from Jantar Mantar to India Gate to protest against the gang-rape in Delhi despite police restrictions.
Union Minister of Health has dedicated to the Nation the Asia’s First Bio-Safety Level-IV Laboratory (BSL IV Lab) at Pune. In BSL IV laboratories, scientists study some of the world's potentially most dangerous microbes. Examples are the Ebola virus, the Lassa virus, and any agent with unknown risks of pathogenicity and transmission. These labs are designed to prevent microbes from being released into the environment and to provide maximum safety for the scientists. When a laboratory is designated BSL-4, that means the highest possible containment measures are in place.
About 27 million households constituting 11% of the total households of the country are headed by females. The data was released as part of the findings/ results of the first phase of Census 2011 on “House Listing and Housing Census”. Some Highlights: [1.] Kerala tops the list of States with 23% households having a female as head, while Lakshadweep tops the list of UT with 43.7%; [2.] In seven major States, namely Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Gujarat, the proportion of Single Member Female Headed Households is more than 20%; [3.] The proportion of Male Headed Households has declined by 0.6% in 2011 compared to 2001 while proportion of Female Headed Households has increased by 0.5% in the same period; [4.] More than 60% of Female Headed Households have permanent houses while in case of SC and ST categories amongst Female Headed Households the percentage reduces to 55.8% and 33.4% respectively; [5.] Around 18% of Female Headed Households have to travel more 500m in urban areas and 1km in rural areas to access drinking water; [6.] Around 48% of Female Headed Households have a latrine within the premises; [7.] Around 59% of Female Headed Households have bathing facilities within the premises; [8.]; Around 42.5% of Female Headed Households use LPG/PNG as a fuel for cooking [9.] Around 45% of Female Headed Households have television as an asset while in case of Male Headed Households, the percentage increased to 47.5%; [10.] Only 3.2% of Female Headed Households have Car/Jeep/Van while 4.8% of Male Headed Households have Car/Jeep/Van as an asset.
According to the latest data available with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the mutual fund industry is betting big on the banking space with investments worth more than Rs.42,000 crore in bank stocks, which was 20.59 per cent of the industry’s total equity assets under management (AUM) of Rs.2.04 lakh crore, taking this sector’s exposure to the highest level in more than three years. In November, banking was followed by the software sector which have attracted Rs.17,745 crore or 8.7 per cent of AUM, consumer non-durables (Rs.16,387 crore or 8.03 per cent) and pharma (Rs.5,689 crore or 7.69 per cent). Mutual Fund: A mutual fund is a type of professionally managed collective investment vehicle that pools money from many investors to purchase securities. While there is no legal definition of mutual fund, the term is most commonly applied only to those collective investment vehicles that are regulated, available to the general public and open-ended in nature. Hedge funds are not considered a type of mutual fund. MFs are of 2 types: Open-end funds and Close-end funds. Open-end mutual funds must be willing to buy back their shares from their investors at the end of every business day at the net asset value computed that day. Closed-end funds generally issue shares to the public only once, when they are created through an initial public offering. Their shares are then listed for trading on a stock exchange. Investors who no longer wish to invest in the fund cannot sell their shares back to the fund (as they can with an open-end fund). Instead, they must sell their shares to another investor in the market; the price they receive may be significantly different from net asset value.
Even as the government scrambles to assuage angry crowds protesting against the gang-rape of a girl in New Delhi, it continues to sit on a draft scheme submitted by the National Commission for Women (NCW) in 2010 that seeks to provide financial assistance and support services to rape victims. The scheme, which has also been circulated to the States for them to implement on their own, is bogged down in procedural confusion. In 1994, the Supreme Court directed NCW to evolve a “scheme so as to wipe out the tears of unfortunate victims of rape.” The court observed that it was necessary to set up a criminal injuries compensation board as rape victims frequently incurred substantial financial loss, besides suffering from mental anguish. Further, the Scheme for relief and rehabilitation of Victims of Rape, 2005, envisages constitution of boards headed by the district magistrate in every district of the country. Under the scheme, restorative financial relief from Rs. 2 lakh to Rs. 3 lakh can be given to rape victims within 60 days of the registration of FIR. An interim relief of Rs. 20,000 is to be provided within 15 days. On why the Centre has not taken steps to notify its scheme so far, the sources said that earlier there was no consensus in the Planning Commission on funding it. Many States did not implement the scheme as they were reluctant to fund it on their own. Now the Planning Commission has agreed to fund it for women of BPL families and single women, which means that the scheme could roll out by the end of the year.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that the risks to banking sector had been increasing in recent years with a continued deterioration in the stability of the banking sector since 2010. “An analysis of the components contributing to banking stability show that tight liquidity, deteriorating asset quality and reducing soundness are the major contributors to the decline in stability of the banking system,” the RBI said in its Financial Stability Report (FSR) 2012. However, it said that a marginal improvement in the indicator during the last two quarters was observed primarily because of better liquidity condition, due to regulatory prescriptions and enhanced profitability ratios, arising out of lower provisioning coverage. Further, total bank credit grew at 15.9 per cent, while total deposits growth was 14.3 per cent as at end September 2012 (year-on-year). Despite faster credit growth relative to deposit expansion, the credit-deposit (C-D) ratio has declined to 74.4 per cent as at end September 2012 from 76.0 per cent as at end March 2012. The steepest fall in growth rate of gross advances (year-on-year) as at end-September 2012 from the previous quarter was for the foreign banks; from 17.3 per cent to 6.5 per cent, followed by old private sector banks from 23.1 per cent to 18.6 per cent. There was a moderate fall in the growth rate of advances for public sector banks to 15 per cent, while the new private sector banks had a slight increase in the growth rate of advances at 22.7 per cent. The concerns on asset quality are also underscored by the increasing trend in the slippage ratio as well as ratio of slippages to actual recoveries (excluding upgradations). Restructuring of loans, particularly of big ticket loans, under the corporate debt restructuring (CDR) mechanism, has recently come under closer scrutiny due to the steep rise in the number and value of such advances. Between March 2009 and March 2012, while gross advances grew by less than 20 per cent (compounded annual growth rate), the restructured standard advances grew by over 40 per cent.
A recent incident of alleged poaching of a Great Indian Bustard -- the State bird of Rajasthan -- near the famous Sam sand dunes in Jaisalmer district has shocked environmentalists who have blamed poor wildlife management and lack of protective measures for the crime. Some hunters travelling in two vehicles allegedly shot dead a Great Indian Bustard in broad daylight. While the culprits are yet to be arrested, police and forest authorities have gathered evidence and examined the feathers and blood stains found on the spot. The Great Indian Bustard, taxonomically classified as Ardeotis nigriceps , is on the verge of extinction and is now restricted to Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The bird's hunting is illegal and its number in Rajasthan is less than 100. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has catalogued the Great Indian Bustard in the “critically endangered” category, which is the highest level of threat, in its 2011 Red List of birds.
A performance by 5,974 Kuchipudi dancers here has found its way into the Guinness Book of World Records for being the 'largest Kuchipudi dance'. Kuchipudi dance: Kuchipudi, the 600-year-old dance form, originated in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh. It originated in the seventh century. It is also popular all over South India. The performance usually begins with some stage rites, after which each of the character comes on to the stage and introduces him/herself with a dharavu (a small composition of both song and dance) to introduce the identity, set the mood, of the character in the drama. The drama then begins. The dance is accompanied by song which is typically Carnatic music, and shares many common elements with Bharatanatyam. The singer is accompanied by mridangam (a classical South Indian percussion instrument), violin, flute and the tambura (a drone instrument with strings which are plucked). Ornaments worn by the artists are generally made of a light weight wood called Boorugu.
The challenge before the proposed National Innovation Council (NIC) on Biodiversity is to ensure a balance between conservation and economic development, National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) chairman Balakrishna Pisupati. This would make India the first country to have an NIC, which will bring a sea-change in how we deal with biodiversity and ecosystem. He was speaking on the concluding day of the first National Biodiversity Congress (NBC) that started Dec 21 in Thiruvananthapuram, KL. The second and third NBC would be in West Bengal in 2013 and in Chhattisgarh in 2014.
Almost a century after his death, Indian maths genius Srinivasa Ramanujan's cryptic deathbed theory has been proven correct and American scientists say it could explain the behaviour of black holes. A black hole is a region of spacetime from which gravity prevents anything, including light, from escaping. Born in a rural village in Tamil Nadu, Ramanujan, a self-taught mathematician, spent much of his time thinking about mathematics that he flunked out of college twice. The maths genius's letter described several new functions that behaved differently from known theta functions, or modular forms, and yet closely mimicked them. Ramanujan died young at the age of 32 on April 26, 1920.
If 2012 turned out to be a watershed year for Indian retail, the coming year is expected to transform it, in ways more than one. The decision of the government to allow FDI in multi-brand retail is expected to bring in $10 billion foreign investments, but concrete partnerships might be forged only from the latter half of 2013. Along with multi-brand FDI, the government also raised the FDI limit in single-brand retail from 51% to 100%. It gave clearance to Swedish furniture company Ikea, British footwear retailer Pavers England, US-based clothing company Brooke Brothers, among others, to set up shops here. In multi-brand retail, things are expected to be slower than FDI in single-brand retail, which has more takers. With lower investment to set up single-brand stores, companies are more eager to enter the burgeoning Indian market. “The biggest benefit from FDI will be the capabilities brought in by foreign companies, not the capital infusion. This reform will help the Indian retailers run an organised, systematic and professional retail shop. Currently, global players in multi-brand retail are trying to understand the Indian market and exploring it.” Retail sector in India is a nascent one, with about 5% consisting of organised retailers. And they, too, have not tasted much success, financially. They are reeling under high raw material and realty costs, adding to a tapering demand that they have been seeing over the past year and a half. Most retail chains in India kept expanding through debt, expecting that future cash flow will repay it. But the economic slowdown, in the wake of a global financial crisis, crippled them.
India is among 133 nations that voted in favour of a draft UN General Assembly resolution which seeks resumption of failed negotiations on an international arms treaty aimed at regulating the $70 billion global trade in conventional weapons. The passing of the resolution for resumption of the talks, which in the past had seen stiff opposition from the powerful US gun lobby National Rifle Association (NRA), has paved the way for a final round of negotiations to be held here from March 18 to 28 next year. UN Arms Trade Treaty: It’s the name of a potential multilateral treaty that would regulate the international trade in conventional weapons. The ATT is part of a larger global effort begun in 2001 with the adoption of a non-legally binding program of action at the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects in 2001. This program was formally called the “Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects” (PoA). Later put forward in 2003 by a group of Nobel Peace Laureates led by Óscar Arias, the ATT was first addressed in the UN in December 2006 when the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 61/89 “Towards an Arms Trade Treaty: establishing common international standards for the import, export and transfer of conventional arms”. On October 14, 2009, the Obama administration announced that it was overturning the position of former President George W. Bush's administration, which had opposed a proposed Arms Trade treaty on the grounds that national controls were better. The shift in position by the U.S., the world's biggest arms exporter with a $55-billion-a-year trade in conventional firearms (40 percent of the global total), led to the launching of formal negotiations at the United Nations in order to begin drafting the Arms Trade Treaty. However, countries such as Cuba, Venezuela, Egypt, and Iran have objected to many more aspects of the ATT than has United States.
With India-Pakistan talks on conventional confidence building measures (CBMs) failing to break new ground, New Delhi hopes that Islamabad will favourably consider its request to make progress on nuclear CBMs. India claimed a satisfactory record with Pakistan on other nuclear CBMs, especially the ones decided in 2005 and 2007, including the ballistic missile notification agreement. India has already recommended a gradual approach to reducing the heavy military presence on the border that, it feels, would be facilitated by promoting links between institutions of the armed forces, meetings between senior officers, relocation of heavy artillery and more flag meeting points. But claims and counter-claims of frequent ceasefire violations — India puts the number at nearly three dozen this year alone — saw both sides agreeing to ensure that the present CBMs are maintained. “Many military CBMs can be considered if there is cessation of ceasefire violations and an end to infiltration. One can’t talk if there is a threat perception,” said an official. With progress on conventional CBMs stalemated, India will urge Pakistan to contribute to the advancement of disarmament by joining the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT) negotiations. Pakistan is the only country blocking the FMCT, say officials here, while maintaining that India is expected to convey its readiness to join these negotiations. FMCT: It is a proposed international treaty to prohibit the further production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other explosive devices. According to a proposal by the United States, fissile material includes high-enriched uranium and plutonium (except plutonium that is over 80% Pu-238). According to a proposal by Russia, fissile material would be limited to weapons-grade uranium (with more than 90% U-235) and plutonium (with more than 90% Pu-239). Neither proposal would prohibit the production of fissile material for non-weapons purposes, including use in civil or naval nuclear reactors. The Geneva based Conference on Disarmament (CD) on 23 March 1995 agreed to a establish a committee to negotiate "a non-discriminatory, multilateral and internationally and effectively verifiable treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices." However, Pakistan has repeatedly blocked the CD from implementing its agreed program of work, despite severe pressure from the major nuclear powers to end its defiance of 64 other countries in blocking international ban on the production of new nuclear bomb-making material, as well as discussions on full nuclear disarmament, the arms race in outer space, and security assurances for non-nuclear states. CBMs: Confidence and Security Building Measures are actions taken to reduce fear of attack by both (or more) parties in a situation of tension with or without physical conflict. CBMs emerged from attempts by the Cold War superpowers and their military alliances (the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the Warsaw Pact) to avoid nuclear war by accident or miscalculation.
The U.S. Senate has overwhelmingly approved a five-year extension of a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (informally known as the RH Law), allowing the government to conduct wiretapping on foreign citizens without a warrant. The legislation now goes to President Barack Obama for his signature. The law, first passed after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack, also allows intelligence gathering on Americans when they communicate abroad with foreigners, designated by security agencies as potential terrorist suspects.
Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino the 3rd recently signed the controversial Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012. The law, which will allow the government to provide fund for sex education and contraceptives, was passed after over a decade since the bill was first filed in Congress. The Catholic Church has been strongly opposing its passage. RH Law is legislation guaranteeing universal access to methods of contraception, fertility control, sexual education, and maternal care.
Egypt’s controversial new constitution has been signed into law by President Mohamed Morsy, a day after he announced it had been approved by a large majority in a referendum (63.8 per cent of Egyptians had approved the text) that his opponents claim was marked by widespread irregularities. Critics say Mr. Morsy has pushed through the new constitution, hurriedly drafted by his Muslim Brotherhood and its Salafist allies. They say it is undemocratic and too Islamist, and that it could allow clerics to intervene in the lawmaking process and leave minority groups without proper legal protection.
China launched services on Wednesday on the world’s longest high-speed rail route (~2300km b/w Beijing and Guangzhou in just 8hrs), the latest milestone in the country’s rapid and — sometimes troubled — super-fast rail network. December 26 was chosen to start the Beijing-Guangzhou service to commemorate the birth in 1893 of late Chinese leader Mao Zedong. China’s high-speed rail network was only established in 2007 but has fast become the world’s largest. China now operates 9,300 km of high-speed railways. The high-speed rail network is set to jump to 50,000 km by 2020, with four main lines running north and south and another four east and west. However, China’s domestic network, while a symbol of its emergence as the world’s second largest economy, has also been plagued by graft and safety scandals, such as a collision in July 2011 that killed 40 people. High-Speed Rail: It is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than traditional rail traffic. As of 2012 the maximum commercial speed was about 300 km/h (185 mph) for the majority of installed systems (China, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, UK), 310 km/h (195 mph) in Spain and 320 km/h (200 mph) in France. The world speed record for Maglev is held by the Japanese experimental MLX01: 581 km/h (361 mph).
Russia will restart production of railway-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), with prototypes to be deployed by 2020. The Soviet military deployed its first missile train in 1987, and had 12 of them by 1991. But by 2005 they had all been destroyed under the START II with the U.S. The treaty’s 2010 replacement, New START, does not prohibit the development of railway-based ICBMs. The railway-based system involved SS-24 Scalpel missiles that weighed 104 tonnes, required three locomotives to move, and were so heavy that they damaged railroad tracks. ICBM: It is a ballistic missile with a range of more than 5,500 kilometres (3,400 mi) typically designed for nuclear weapons delivery. Most modern designs support multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), allowing a single missile to carry several warheads, each of which can strike a different target. Early ICBMs had limited accuracy that allowed them to be used only against the largest targets such as cities. They were seen as a "safe" basing option, one that would keep the deterrent force close to home where it would be difficult to attack. Attacks against military targets, if desired, still demanded the use of a manned bomber. Second and third generation designs dramatically improved accuracy to the point where even the smallest point targets can be successfully attacked. Similar evolution in size has allowed similar missiles to be placed on submarines, where they are known as Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles, or SLBMs. Recently, India had a successful launch of Agni-V (5500-6000 km) ICBM.
The lower house of Parliament has named conservative Shinzo Abe (shin-zoh ah-bay) as Japan’s new Pime Minister. Abe, who was also prime minister in 2006-2007, led the LDP to victory in parliamentary elections Dec. 16. This time around, Abe has promised to make the economy his top priority and is expected to push for a 2 percent inflation target designed to fight a problem that was until recently relatively unique in the world deflation, or continually dropping prices, which deadens economic activity. The Japanese economy has been stuck in deflation for two decades. Abe has also stressed his desire to make Japan a bigger player on the world stage, a stance that has resonated with many voters who are concerned that their nation is increasingly taking a back seat both economically and diplomatically to China. Mr. Abe has vowed to stand up to Beijing over an ongoing territorial dispute and strengthen Tokyo’s security alliance with Washington.
China launched global positioning services in the Asia-Pacific from its Beidou satellite network on Thursday, saying it aimed to win up to 20 per cent of global market share by 2015. The state-run Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) would initially provide positioning, navigation, timing and short-message services in China and the Asia-Pacific region. The Beidou, or Compass, system was compatible with other global positioning systems. China launched the first satellite for the system in 2000, assembling an initial network of four satellites in trial use for traffic control, weather forecasting and disaster relief since 2003. It started launching new satellites for the system in 2007, and now has 16 in operation. The GPS system -- run by the US Defence Department -- is offered free to businesses worldwide while the EU’s Galileo system plans to charge users. Beidou Navigation Satellite System: It’s a Chinese satellite navigation system. The first BeiDou system, officially called the BeiDou Satellite Navigation Experimental System and also known as BeiDou-1, consists of three satellites and offers limited coverage and applications. It has been offering navigation services, mainly for customers in China and neighboring regions, since 2000. The second generation of the system, known as Compass or BeiDou-2, will be a global satellite navigation system consisting of 35 satellites, and is under construction as of December 2012. It became operational in China in December 2011, with 10 satellites in use, and began offering services to customers in the Asia-Pacific region in December 2012. It is planned to begin serving global customers upon its completion in 2020.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed into law controversial parliamentary legislation banning the adoption of Russian children by American families. The law -- retaliation for a US law punishing Russian officials implicated in the 2009 prison death of the whistle-blowing attorney Sergei Magnitsky -- will come into force on January 1, the Kremlin said. The highly contentious law is widely regarded as the toughest piece of anti-US legislation during Putin's 13-year rule and has prompted objections not just from activists but even some cabinet ministers. US families adopted nearly 1,000 Russian children last year and are the number one foreign destination of the country's orphans. A Russian presidential adviser on children's rights has raised the prospect of Russia banning foreign adoptions altogether once the president launches a new Kremlin children's support program.
A 115-year-old Japanese man (Jiroemon Kimura) has been officially recognised by Guinness World Records as the oldest living person in the world. Guinness postponed handing Kimura a certificate to this effect at his home because he has recently fallen ill and remained hospitalized. The previous male record holder was a US resident originally from Denmark who died at 115 years and 252 days in 1998. The longest-lived woman was from France and died at 122 years and 164 days in 1997. Kimura became the world's longest living person earlier this month upon the death of a 115-year-old woman in the US state of Iowa. Born on April 19, 1897, Kimura grew up to become a postal worker. He later worked as farmer until he turned about 90.
Scientists have solved the puzzle of the universe being dominated by matter rather than its close relative anti-matter. The particles, called anti-neutrinos, were detected at the underground Daya Bay experiment, located near a nuclear reactor in China. Anti-particles are almost identical twins of sub-atomic particles (electrons, protons and neutrons) that make up our world. When an electron encounters an anti-electron, for example, both are annihilated in a burst of energy. Failure to see these bursts in the universe tell physicists that anti-matter is vanishingly rare, and that matter rules the roost in today's universe. “At the beginning of time, in the Big Bang, a soup of particles and anti-particles was created, but somehow an imbalance came about. Also, all the studies that have been done have not found enough difference between particles and anti-particles to explain the dominance of matter over anti-matter. But the neutrino, an extremely abundant but almost massless particle, may have the right properties, and may even be its own anti-particle” said scientist.
Testosterone may be associated with aggression but a n ew research claims the male hormone also drives social behaviour and honest interactions. Researchers from the University of Bonn gave 46 people testosterone gel and 45 people a placebo. The next day, all 91 people were invited to roll the dice in private, report the numbers they landed on, and receive money based on their results with the higher rollers netting more cash. After paying out the participants, the researchers found that men who received the testosterone gel self-reported their numbers more honestly. High levels of testosterone increase your sense of pride and boost your self image-and cheating puts both in jeopardy, said researchers. Besides fostering honesty, researchers have found that the hormone can help you do many other things like to win the attention of an attractive woman and found that men with lower testosterone didn't even stand a chance. Men with the highest testosterone levels were more assertive, controlled the conversation, and clicked better with women. Testosterone can even keep you healthy as low levels of the hormone have been linked to type 2 diabetes and obesity. Some studies have shown that men with lower levels stand a greater chance of suffering from heart disease. In another study, researchers compared hormone levels of 98 men with their willingness to take financial risks in a computer simulation. They found that men with more testosterone were willing to invest more money. Testosterone: It’s a steroid hormone from the androgen group and is found in mammals, reptiles, birds, and other vertebrates. In mammals, testosterone is primarily secreted in the testicles of males and the ovaries of females, although small amounts are also secreted by the adrenal glands. It is the principal male sex hormone and an anabolic steroid. In men, testosterone plays a key role in the development of male reproductive tissues such as the testis and prostate as well as promoting secondary sexual characteristics such as increased muscle, bone mass, and the growth of body hair. In addition, testosterone is essential for health and well-being as well as the prevention of osteoporosis. On average, in adult human males, the plasma concentration of testosterone is about 7–8 times as great as the concentration in adult human females' plasma. Early infancy androgen effects are the least understood. In the first weeks of life for male infants, testosterone levels rise. The levels remain in a pubertal range for a few months, but usually reach the barely detectable levels of childhood by 4–6 months of age.
The way in which embryos are prepared during in vitro fertilization (IVF) may influence the size of the baby that's born, a new study has claimed. Finland researchers found that embryos that spend long periods growing in culture (around five to six days) before being transferred to the mother's womb are more likely to be born heavier than normal for their gestational age, compared to embryos that spend a shorter period in culture (two to three days). During IVF, eggs from the mother are fertilised in a laboratory, and allowed to grow in culture for about one to six days before they are transferred to the mother's uterus. Generally, 10 per cent of babies are born small for gestational age, 10 per cent are large for gestational age, and 80 per cent are normal weight. The average weight of babies in the study was about 3.5 kg. In vitro fertilization: It’s a process by which an egg is fertilised by sperm outside the body: in vitro. IVF is a major treatment for infertility when other methods of assisted reproductive technology have failed. The process involves monitoring a woman's ovulatory process, removing ovum or ova (egg or eggs) from the woman's ovaries and letting sperm fertilise them in a fluid medium in a laboratory. When a woman's natural cycle is monitored to collect a naturally selected ovum (egg) for fertilisation, it is known as natural cycle IVF. The fertilised egg (zygote) is then transferred to the patient's uterus with the intention of establishing a successful pregnancy. The first successful birth of a "test tube baby", Louise Brown, occurred in 1978. Louise Brown was born as a result of natural cycle IVF. Robert G. Edwards, the physiologist who developed the treatment, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2010.
Humans could make contact with alien life within 12 years, with the aid of the world's largest radio telescope, a leading UFO expert has claimed. The development of the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) telescope will unleash "new and exciting possibilities". The SKA, to be started in 2016, is set to be the world's largest radio telescope and will answer some of the fundamental unanswered questions of our universe. Made up of thousands of radio wave receptors covering 4,921 square km of the Earth's surface in the Australian outback, scientists have claimed it will provide alternative views of the universe than those seen with optical telescopes.
Of the five senses of touch (tactile), smell (olfactory), sight (visual), taste (gustatory) and hearing (aural), what are the ones that plants possess or respond to? This question has attracted scientists and gardeners alike. Of course, plants are masters in the art of capturing light and using it to grow and to make food. But the response and reaction of plants to touch is an issue that is becoming clearer. Yes, plants react to touch and not only adjust their biochemical reactions but also adapt their size, shape and safety. This response is referred in scientific literature by the tongue-twister thigmorphogenesis. Trees subjected to winds tend to reduce their length and thicken their trunks. Plants respond to touch — the famous examples are the shy and reclusive “touch-me-not” ( mimosa pudica ) and the rogue meat eater ‘Venus fly trap’ (d ionaea muscipula ), but beside these, just every plant responds to touch or vibrations — be if from rainfall, wind or touch.
The potato has a 12,000-year-old history but an even brighter future as a crop that is set to replace rice as a staple in the Asian rice-consuming countries. It requires less amount of water (30% less than rice) compared to other basic food products, without compromising the nutrition value, and is being projected as a crop that can contribute to weight loss “if prepared and consumed healthily.” Potato, therefore, is increasingly being promoted, in the genetically modified organism-free European Union (EU), as the foremost solution for meeting the increased food demand for an estimated 6 billion world population by 2030. The diverse advantage of potato — the fourth largest consumed food in the world after maize, rice and wheat — is emphasised by studies that have shown potato containing less calories than pasta, rice and bread. Netherlands, known for its success in water management, is the world’s third largest agriculture exporter, second biggest agri-food exporter and third largest potato exporter. The Dutch potato sector is constantly breeding, growing and selecting new varieties based on market demands.
Century-old club Mohun Bagan was slapped with a two-year suspension by the All India Football Federation for abandoning their violence marred I-League match against East Bengal on December the 9. The decision was taken today by the I-League Core Committee which also declared all of club's matches in the I-League Competition 2012-2013, cancelled and considered null and void.
Athens Games silver medallist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore won the double trap gold, with a three-point margin over Mohd Asab, in the Sahara National shooting championship in Delhi.
India overcame first half jitters to score a 2-1 victory over arch-rivals Pakistan in a nail-biting league match and qualify for the final of the Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament in Doha. The victory over Pakistan was India’s fourth on the trot in the six-team tournament after they had comprehensively beaten China (4—0), Japan (3—1) and Oman (11—0) respectively in their earlier round robin league matches.