Daily News - Dec 11

Bhatinda Srinagar Gas Pipeline Project to be completed by July 2014
The Jammu and Kashmir Government on 10 December 2012 informed that the 328-km-long Bhatinda-Jammu-Srinagar gas pipeline project is scheduled to be completed by July 2014 to draw gas from Gujarat to the State. The progress on the proposed project was reviewed by Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah at a meeting of high-level officers in Jammu and an early start of work was emphasized by him. He stressed upon the need for fast tracking the project to ensure its timely completion.The availability of gas in abundance has been a great challenge for the Government of Jammu so this step towards supply of gas to the consumers in the State through gas pipeline is going to be a revolutionary step as it will relieve the pressure on availability of domestic gas and will also help generate employment.The gas pipeline will consist of 328-km-long main gas trunk from Bhatinda to Srinagar passing through Kathua, Samba, Jammu, Udhampur, Ramban, Anantnag, Pulwama and Srinagar and there will be hundreds of sub-lines which will supply gas to the consumers at their houses. The proposed gas pipeline project was already approved by Omar Abdullah during a meeting of State officers and the team of Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) led by its Chairman Lalit Mansingh at Srinagar. The Chief Minister had directed PNGRB to start laying pipeline from both Srinagar and Bhatinda simultaneously so that gas is supplied to both the cities of Jammu and Srinagar at the same time.The project possessed greater importance to the State in providing adequate domestic and commercial supply of gas to the consumers on cheaper rates besides creating huge employment for youth of the State. The revenue and law department had already been directed by the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to finalise the Draft Bill for Right of Use of land for laying of gas pipelines by the gas company in the State legislature for enactment as per the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir.

US based Food Producer Cargill India acquired Wipro's Sunflower Vanaspati brand
US-based food producer and marketer Cargill India on 10 December 2012 announced the acquisition of  the Sunflower Vanaspati brand from Wipro.The deal is going to help Wipro in strengthening its leadership position in the market and is expected to shore up Cargill's consumer brand portfolio and expand its market reach. Cargill and Wipro did not disclose the deal value of the brand but as per the trade analysts the deal was pegged at 30-40 crore Rupees.Since 2007, Wipro had been trying to get out of its traditional edible oil business which was started by Azim Premji's father Mohammad Hussain Hasham Premji in 1949 at Amalner, in Jalgaon district of Maharashtra.Sunflower Vanaspati accounts for barely 1% of Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting's revenue. Wipro's Consumer Care and lighting business segment recorded revenues close to 2000 crore Rupees for the first half of the current fiscal 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013.Cargill India besides marketing its edible oil portfolio that includes brands such as Nature Fresh, Sweekar and Gemini, also locally produces and markets Vanaspati under its brands Rath, NatureFresh Purita and, Gemini.

Supreme Court asked judge of SC and HC to inform government of India about duration, purpose and fun
On 10 December 2012, the Supreme Court partially stayed the order of Delhi high court in which it had cancelled three paras of Centre's 2010 circular which made it compulsory for the judges to take foreign visits only with approval of chief justice of the high court concerned or Chief Justice of India (CJI).The judges of Supreme Court as well as high court needed to inform the Government of India about the foreign visits which include the purpose of their visit, duration as well as the funding source. Foreign visits could be taken after traveling details were submitted to the Government of India. The high court had called these conditions offending for autonomy of higher judiciary, which is why it cancelled them on 25 May 2012. The high court had cancelled the paragraph which mentioned that travel details need to be submitted, but it clarified that the judged still needed to give information regarding their duration of the trip as well as city in which they intended to stay. These details need to be submitted to the chief justice of the HC concerned or CJI. In argument to the challenge of government to HC order, the solicitor general R F Nariman clarified that this circular was important in order to provide security for judges while they were in the foreign land. He declared that the judges went abroad on diplomatic passports which are issued to the judges by the Central Government. Bench of Chief Justice Altamas Kabir and Justices S S Nijjar and J Chelameswar however declared that they also knew judges which took foreign trips on personal passports instead of diplomatic ones. Getting the information about foreign visit was made necessary so that the concerned ministry could help these judges if they needed some.The Supreme Court on 10 December 2012 stayed the order of Delhi high court in which it had cancelled the paragraph 10 of Centre’s 2010 circular.

New Dinosaur with Gigantic Nose Discovered in Mexico
Scientists in northern Mexico discovered a new dinosaur with a large prominent nose which lived about 73 million years ago. The duck-billed dinosaur, which was named Latirhinus uitstlani lived during the Late Cretaceous period and its wide nasal cavity might have given it incredible smell-detecting ability.As per researchers the giant nose of Dinosaur supported and provided enhanced space for a soft tissue structure, sort of like an inflatable bladder, for display, recognition and communication purposes in general.The dinosaur also possessed sturdy hind limbs ending in three toes, and relatively smaller and thinner forelimbs ending in 4 digits — meaning this animal was thumb-less.These dinosaurs were herbivores with a few thousand teeth closely packed together to form a grinding surface to chew the vegetation they fed upon.
As per the report it was concluded that the environment that Latirhinus inhabited was likely warmer and more humid than it is today’s time, with lakes and bays nearby.

Indian Economy Would Dominate the Economy of the World by 2030: US Intelligence Community Report

Daily News - Dec 10

The 2nd Meeting on India-China Border Affairs held in New Delhi
 New Delhi: The 2nd meeting  of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs was held here.The 2nd meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs was held in New Delhi on 29-30 November, 2012. The discussions took place in a cordial, constructive and cooperative atmosphere. The two delegations reviewed developments in the India-China border areas since the 1st meeting of the Mechanism and acknowledged with satisfaction that peace and tranquillity continued to be maintained due to the efforts of both sides. The two delegations also exchanged ideas on additional measures for maintaining peace and tranquillity as well as further steps to build greater trust and confidence between the two sides.The two delegations welcomed the recent liberalization of border trade across Nathu La, which has led to a significant increase in the volume of trade. They continued their discussions on introducing additional routes for the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra. The Indian delegation was lead by Gautam Bambawale, Joint Secretary (East Asia) and comprised of representatives of the Ministries of External Affairs, Defence and Home Affairs as well as members of the Indian Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. The Chinese delegation was lead by Ambassador Wang Xiaodu, Special Representative, Department of Boundary and Oceanic Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and comprised of representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and National Defence of the People’s Republic of China.The 3rd meeting of the Working Mechanism will be held in China at a mutually convenient time.

Lionel Messi set the Record for most Goals in a Calendar Year
Lionel Messi, the renowned soccer player on 9 December 2012 set the record for most goals in a calendar year by scoring his 86th goal of 2012. He set the record while scoring the winning goal against Real Betis. Messi's record included 12 for Argentina and 74 goals for Barcelona in 66 games.  The earlier record was made by Gerd Mueller who had scored 85 goals in 1972 which included 72 goals for his club Bayern Munich and 13 for his country West Germany.Messi still has to play two league matches and one King's Cup match before the end of 2012. The record breaking performance has made Messi favourite to claim his fourth FIFA World Player of the Year award.Lionel Andrés Leo Messi is a footballer who plays for La Liga club FC Barcelona and as the captain of the Argentina national team.

Hockey Champions Trophy: Australia Won for the Fifth Consecutive Year, India Lost Bronze to Pakistan
At the Champions Trophy 2012, Australia won once again, adding to fifth victory consecutively after it earned a 2-1 win in a match against Netherlands in Melbourne. The fifth consecutive victory of Australia at this event re-established it as the hockey team (men’s) to beat, after Australia had missed on gold at Olympics. For the Netherlands, it was silver medal with the silver lining. Netherlands upgraded itself from bronze which they acquired last two years.
The bronze was claimed by Pakistan after they beat India 3-2 on a match on 9 December 2012. India missed the chance to win bronze, which would have been its second Champions trophy medal as well as the first since 1982.For the fifth place, Belgium won the match against Germany, the Olympic champion. New Zealand, in the meanwhile stood at seventh position over England.

The awards for the tournament were as follows:
•Top Scorer: Nicholas Wilson (NZL)
•Best Player: Shakeel Abassi (PAK)
•Fair Play Award: The Netherlands
•Best Goalkeeper: Jaap Stockmann (NED)

Records of Hockey Champions Trophy (Men’s)
•In the men’s tournament Australia has won Champions Trophy 13 times.
•Germany has won this trophy 9 times.
•Netherlands won the Champions Trophy 8 times.
•Pakistan is only Asian champion that has three titles in its name.

About Hockey Champions Trophy
Hockey Champions Trophy is held every year by International Hockey Federation. The tournament features some of the best teams of the world which compete against each other in round-robin format.

Devendra Lal, the Renowned Geophysicist Died At 83
 Devendra Lal, the renowned geophysicist as well as the visiting professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), University of California died at 83 on 1 December 2012. He passed away at his home in San Diego.

About Devendra Lal
•Devendra Lal started his career in research when he was 20 years of age. He started his career at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai. His areas of research there were earth and planetary sciences, cosmic ray physics as well as astrophysics. He mainly studied records of the climate which are found in terrestrial minerals.
•He also set up National Radiocarbon Laboratory at TIFR so as to assist chronological studies of Indian archaeological sites dating back to the Harappan era.
•Additionally, he also set up Tritium Laboratory at TIFR. Tritium Laboratory was then shifted to National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad.
•From 1972 to 1983, he was the Director of Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmadabad.
•Devendra Lal won prestigious award of CSIR- Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar award in 1967.
•He was conferred with Padma Shri in 1971.
•Devendra Lal also won NASA Group Achievement Award.
•He won Hans Peterson Medal from Royal Swedish Academy.

India and Ukraine signed Five Agreements to Increase Bilateral Cooperation

Daily News - Dec 9

New Version of Internet Addresses Made Available in India
Indian Registry for Internet Names and Numbers (IRINN) started issuing next version of Internet addresses IPv6, which is going to make it easy for security agencies to identify each Internet user.The present version of Internet that is IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4), is limited and service providers often assign single IP address to many users which makes it difficult to identify the end user.The number of IPv6 addresses available is enormous.  ISPs (Internet Service Providers) can allocate an IP address to their users. People can be easily identified if they are using IPv6.Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC), which is one of the five authorised bodies for issuing Internet addresses, has recognised Indian Registry for Internet Names and Numbers (IRINN) for issuing IP addresses in India. IRINN has been set-up under the state-run NIXI. The new addresses are going to be be multiple times cheaper for companies than IPv4 addresses. Indian Registry for Internet Names and Numbers (IRINN) is issuing initial set-of IPv6 addresses in price range starting at 21999 rupees as compared to prevalent rate of around 66000 rupees in Asia Pacific region.

Tata Motors Slashed Car Price upto 1.5 Lakh rupees by Offering Discounts and Cash Benefits
Tata Motors on 7 December 2012 announced discounts and freebies worth up to 1.5 lakh rupees on purchase of different models which are valid till the end of December 2012.The Ultimate December offer of Tata Motors ranges from 25000 to 150000 rupees and includes cash benefits and exchange offers, are also applicable on accessories, extended warranty and other value added services.Under the scheme, the company is offering benefits of up to 50000 rupees on the newly launched Manza Club Class and up to 45000 rupees on the Indigo eCS with up to 60000 rupees on the Indica Vista and up to 35000 rupees on the Indica eV2. Moreover, the company is also offering similar benefits worth up to 25000 rupees on new purchase of Nano, up to 50000 on Sumo Gold and up to 1.50 lakh rupees on Aria.The slashing of car price and the freebies offering by the Tata Motors came at the time when others car makers  Maruti Suzuki India, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) and General Motors have announced plans to hike vehicles prices from January 2013 mentioning pressure on margins due to currency fluctuation and rising input costs.Tata Motors were facing declining sales in a tough market and in November 2012as it reported 34.99 per cent decline in total passenger vehicle sales in the domestic market at 18031 units as against 27735 units in the same month in year 2011.

President's house Rashtrapati Bhavan now opened for Common People
On the instructions of Union President Pranab Mukherjee it was decided to make the ceremonial change of guard of the President's Bodyguard open to the public every Saturday. Rashtrapati Bhavan will now host 200 public visitors at its forecourt for watching the ceremony.The ceremony that entails a series of military traditions — from bugles and bands to the horse-riding President's Bodyguard (PBG) is now going to have a new look as the drill will be conducted in the backdrop of the majestic dome of the presidential house from the earlier North Block.The changes have been made on the instructions of President Pranab Mukherjee, who is very particular about the fact that this place should be open and accessible to the common man. During winter, the ceremony will start at 10am every Saturday.Lasting for about 30 minutes, visitors can witness  President's Bodyguards (PBGs) emerging from behind the tall Jaipur column amid the brass band notes of AR Rahman-composed Maa Tujhe Salaam.It was also decided by the brass band to play some of the best known patriotic songs such as 'Sare Jahan Se Achcha' with interludes of military tunes and the 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' lalkaar (war cry) made by the troops.Change of guard is a military tradition whose origins are lost in antiquity. From time immemorial, guards and sentries at palaces, forts and defence establishments change periodically to enable a fresh body of troops to take charge.The ceremony was first opened to the public in 2007. Since assuming office, President Pranab Mukherjee has not only restored the ceremony, but also relocated it to make more visually interesting and people-friendly.

Haryana to buy 2000 MW Hydel Power from Bhutan
The Government of Haryana approached Bhutan to provide hydel-power to resolve the power crisis in the state.The Haryana Government is supposed to purchase 2000 MW power from the country for which they have alreday finalised modalities regarding the purchase at the administrative level.The Chief Minister of Haryana Bhupinder Singh Hooda is going to lead a high-level delegation to Bhutan from 14 December 2012 to 16 December 2012 calling for a significant step to make the state free of any power shortage in the coming days.Senior officers of power utilities department would be part of this high-level delegation to Bhutan.Hydel-power is available at cheaper rates as compared to coal-based power plants.However, Haryana has already started working in this direction as senior officers of power utilities department had visited Bhutan and interacted with their officials .The rates of the power would be as per the MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) that would be signed between the two countries. Four coal-based thermal power stations are already operating at full capacity in the state of Haryana. Also, a nuclear power plant of 2800 MW was being set up at Gorakhpur village in Fatehabad district. The government is also planning to start a new scheme, under which, 22-hour power supply will be given to consumers who pay their bills on time.If the MoU is successfully signed then it would help to ensure uninterrupted power supply of 14 to 20 hours to the rural consumers in the state. Besides, Haryana government is also exploring the possibilities of purchasing hydel-power from Arunachal Pradesh in the future.

Doha Climate Talk: World agreed to Second Phase of Kyoto Protocol 

Daily News - Dec 8

Maladives took over Charge of Male Airport scrapping Agreement with GMR
Maladives took charge of Male airport from GMR. Maldives government had scrapped the agreement with GMR on first December 2012, saying that the agreement was not in the interest of the country. Singapore Supreme Court had upheld the right of Maldives to terminate the 25 year contract.There will be a three-week transition period starting 7 December 2012 at the end of which GMR will stop operating the airport. Maldivian Airport Company Limited, which will run the airport, has agreed to retain all staff, including Indian nationals, on the same terms.

Life of Pi was given two National Tourism Awards by the Ministry of Tourism
Life of Pi was given two National Tourism Awards by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India on 8 December 2012 recognizing the impact it has had in promoting India as a tourism destination, especially Puducherry and Munnar (Kerala). These Awards will be given to Ang Lee, Director of the film ‘Life of Pi’ and  Yann Martel, writer of the book of the same name. The Ministry of Tourism identified Film Tourism as a Niche Tourism product. It has requested the State Governments and Union Territory Administrations to recognize the potential of Film Tourism and constitute special bodies/cells to facilitate filming in their respective States/Union Territories. In February 2012 the Ministry of Tourism signed a MoU with Ministry of Information & Broadcasting as a major initiative to promote the Incredible India campaign and Cinemas of India as a sub brand of Incredible India at various international film festivals and markets abroad.The MoU is expected to enhance the reach of Incredible India through the Medium of Cinema, develop synergy between tourism and film industry and provide a platform for enabling partnerships between the Indian and global film industry. The MoU also provided an impetus to frame policies and guidelines for facilitating shooting of International films in India and promote India as a filming destination, both for international and domestic film producers. Another key objective of the MoU is to initiate dialogue with State Governments and UTs for development of locations for film shootings. As per the MoU, the Ministry of Tourism would provide budgetary support for identified film festivals, markets and events. The Ministry would facilitate publicity through the available content based on existing audio visual material and print designs. The joint participation of the two Ministries would cover the Cannes Film Festival and Market, IFFI Goa including the Film Festival and Film Bazaar and European Film Market at Berlin.

Karnataka to Provide Tamil Nadu with 12 TMC feet of Cauvery water
The Cauvery Monitoring Committee (CMC) on 7 December 2012 asked Karnataka to provide Tamil Nadu with 12 TMC feet of Cauvery water during December even as it asked both the states to be more efficient in using available water. The meeting of the CMC came after the Supreme Court of India on 5 December 2012 asked the multi-state panel to meet within the next two days to decide on water requirement of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.The states sharing the disputed Cauvery River waters were informed that the final award of the Cauvery Waters Dispute Tribunal will be notified by the end of December 2012.In 1997, the Union Government of India had proposed the setting up of a Cauvery River Authority. Under this new proposal, the Government set up two new bodies- Cauvery River Authority and Cauvery Monitoring Committee. The Cauvery River Authority consisted of the Prime Minister and the Chief Ministers of all four states(Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Pondicherry, Kerala) and its headquarter is  in New Delhi. The Cauvery Monitoring Committee is an expert body which consists of engineers, technocrats and other officers. This body takes stock of the ground realities and report to the government.

Government de-recognised the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation
The Union government of India on 7 December 2012 de-recognised the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation and the Archery Association of India. The government took this step in the interest of sportspersons. Earlier, the International Boxing Association (AIBA) had suspended the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation, IABF alleging possible manipulation in its recent elections. However, the IABF has denied the charge, insisting that the process was transparent.The development comes within a few days of the International Olympic Committee suspending the Indian Olympic Association. During the September elections, outgoing President Abhay Singh Chautala, who was elected IOA President despite IOC's suspension, was retained in the body as nominated Chairman.

Typhoon Bopha the Strongest ever Tropical Cyclone to hit Philippines
Bopha: The strongest ever tropical cyclone to hit Philippines in the first week of December 2012.Typhoon Bopha is the strongest ever tropical cyclone which hit Philippines in the first week of December 2012. The worst hit area by Typhoon Bopha was southern island of Mindanao.Typhoon Bopha is also known as Pablo in Philippines and it arrived on 4 December 2012. Typhoon is a tropical cyclone, fully mature and it develops in northwestern parts of Pacific Ocean.

Daily News - Dec -7

China Held largest Air Force Drill involving 100 Fighter planes
China held one of its largest- ever airforce drill involving about 100 multi-types fighter planes, amid heightened tensions with Japan over territorial dispute in the East China Sea.The air combat exercises were held under information conditions at an airport in southwest China for 11 days in the month of November 2012 which involved over 100 fighters of over 10 different types and support staff.In recent days, China is holding multi-military exercises involving land, air and naval forces on variety of locations practicing capturing islands and holding on to them. Aircraft which took part in the drill came from 14 separate units and included China’s most modern jet fighters, the J-10 and J-11, along with older models and two-seater Sukhoi Su-30s which was purchased from Russia.The exercises are a clear demonstration of China’s vastly improved military capabilities that have frightened other Asian nations and are encouraging a changed US focus on the region. China’s navy also for the first time launched and recovered aircraft from the country’s first aircraft carrier, a refurbished Ukrainian craft that will be armed with J-15 fighter-bombers, a Chinese adaptation of the Russian Sukhoi Su-33.

Apple Launched i pad mini and fourth-generation iPad in India
Apple, on 7 December 2012 launched iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad in India. This comes less than a week after the company rolled out iTunes Store in the country.The i Pad mini with its 7.9-inch touchscreen, display, FaceTime HD, and iSight cameras came to India at starting price of 21900 rupees for the 16GB Wi-Fi-only version. The 32 and 64GB Wi-Fi-only versions of the device cost 27900 and 33900 rupees respectively in Indian market.The 16, 32 and 64GB Wi-Fi+4G iterations of Apple's mini-tablet have been priced at 29900, 35500 and 41900 rupees respectively.The fourth-generation i pad is Compatible with 4G networks and have 9.7-inch touchscreen with Retina display technology and runs on A6X dual-core processor. The 16, 32 and 64GB Wi-Fi-only variants of the latest iPad are priced at 31900, 37900 and 43900rupees respectively. Similarly, the 16, 32 and 64GB versions of Wi-Fi+4G enabled iPad cost 39900, 45900 and 51900 rupees respectively in Indian Market.Apple declared that the new iPad mini is 23 percent thinner and 53 percent lighter than the third generation iPad.Apple is also set to launch Apple TV in India and is working at its launching.Apple TV in its current avatar is a tiny 99dollars box that brings iTunes to the user’s television as well as enables users to connect their iOS devices wireless to their television and stream content or even play games on the bigger display.

Athens Olympics Athletes Lose Medals over Doping After 8 Years
International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on 5 December 2012 that four 2004 Athens Olympic medalists had their medals taken away because the re-tested samples, which were stored for 8 years, proved positive. The four medalists included shot put champion of Ukraine Yuriy Bilonog, women's shot putter of Russia Svetlana Krivelyova, discus thrower Irina Yatchenko of Belarus and Belarussian hammer thrower Ivan Tsikhan.3-times world champion Tsikhan also had to give away his bronze medal from the 2008 Beijing Games. However, this decision was reversed at Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on the grounds that there were errors in laboratory procedures.IOC declared that the case which involved fifth athlete from Athens Games was pending. The four athletes who had to give their medals had tested positive for the anabolic steroids. Around 100 samples from Athens Games were target tested eight years ago by IOC with the help of modern methods.IOC has a procedure of storing the samples for eight years in order to enable re-testing of newly found substances or those substances for which no tests were available at that time. IOC also declared additionally that respective federations had the responsibility to check whether medals were returned or not.Athens Olympics doping cases tally now stands at 31 after 26 positive tests as of now. This is the maximum in any game. IOC declared that it would like the extension of law of limitation from current 8 years. It was added by IOC that World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) was considering this law of limitation to extend to 10 years.

England Cricket Captain Alastair Cook became the youngest Batsman to score 7000 Runs
England Cricket team captain Alastair Cook on 6 December 2012 claimed his place among the cricketing greats when he set an England record for the most Test centuries and became the youngest player in the long history of the game to pass 7000 runs.The 27 years old Alastair Cook scored his 23rd Test hundred to leave England closing in on a rare series win in India.He has ahead of past legends Wally Hammond, Colin Cowdrey and Geoffrey Boycott. Team-mate Kevin Pietersen has also scored 22 tons. Alastair Cook made an unbeaten 136 to put England on 1 for 216 at stumps at Eden Gardens on 6 December 2012 only 100 runs behind India's first innings total of 316.

Delhi Police Signed Agreement with Mumbai-Based Company for New Building of Delhi Police Headquarter
Commissioner of Police, New Delhi signed an agreement on 6 December 2012 with the Mumbai-based company for construction of state-of-the-art building as the Delhi Police headquarters. The building would be worth 202 crore Rupees. The approval of Archeological Survey of India was taken already for the headquarters. The Delhi Police HQ will be there at Parliament Street in the area of 8.02 acres. The building will house more than 80000 force of Delhi Police. As of now, Delhi Police functions from the part of the PWD headquarters located at ITO. The Commissioner of Police signed this agreement with M/s Unity Infra Projects Ltd, the Mumbai-based company for construction of the HQ, residences as well as other infrastructure and services with the help of public private partnership model on design, build, finance, operate and transfer (the DBFOT) basis. The agreement makes it clear that this project would be completed within 840 days, implying that Delhi Police should be moving to the building by mid-2015. The model of building is a twin tower block which consists of nine storey with interconnecting corridors. The building would also have a helipad. This building would be as per the Green Building Norms. The architecture of the building was designed in order to justify the formal nature of this organisation along with contemporary image. After the construction of the building, all the Delhi Police offices such as vigilance branch, crime record office as well as special branch would be shifted here.

Daily News - 6th Dec

Eleventh Meeting of India-Canada JWG on Counter Terrorism held in New Delhi
The 11th meeting of the India-Canada Joint Working Group (JWG) on Counter Terrorism was held in New Delhi on 29 November 2012. The meeting took place within the framework of the enhanced interaction in bilateral relations between India and Canada, and in keeping with the desire of the governments of India and Canada towards greater cooperation in counter terrorism matters. India and Canada shared their respective threat assessments and informed each other of the measures taken by them to strengthen counter terrorism policy and structure. Both nations also discussed the follow-up of the Mumbai terror attack of 26 November 2008. India and Canada also exchanged views on international developments, coordination in international fora and their bilateral cooperation in the area.The next and the 12th meeting of the Joint Working Group will be held in Canada in 2013 on mutually convenient dates. The meeting was co-chaired by Asoke Kumar Mukerji, Special Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, India and Artur Wilczynski, Director General for International Relations, Canada.

Adani Group completed Australia’s Largest Coal Mining Project in a Record Time
Adani Mining, a global integrated infrastructure player on 3 December 2012 announced completion of the largest mining exploration programme inAustralia in a record time of Nine months.For achieving this feat it had deployed a record number of drill rigs to drastically reduce the exploration time frame at the Carmichael mine in the Galillee basin of Queensland in Australia to nine months. The company further announced that as part of the mining exploration it had also completed the most comprehensive geotechnical field investigation to define the coal resource at Carmichael Mine, which at ten billion tones makes this the largest single coal tenement in the world. The Adani Group is thus, now ready to gear up with its $ 10 billion Carmichael Mine project which will include the construction of a world class mine, rail and port infrastructure all benefitting the state of Queensland.Adani is the largest private thermal power producer in India. Its power generation capacity is expected to increase from 5320 MW in 2012 to 10000 MW by the end of 2013.

About Adani Group
The Adani Group is one of India’s leading business houses with revenue of over $8 billion for financial year 2012.Founded in 1988, Adani has grown to become a global integrated infrastructure player with businesses in key industry verticals - resources, logistics and energy. The integrated model is well adapted to the infrastructure challenges of the emerging economies. It multiplies the benefit of synergy and economies of scale both for the Group and for the customers.
Union Government of India cleared Decks for Ambedkar Memorial
Union Government of India on 5 December 2012 cleared the decks for transferring the prime India 12.5 acre United Mill land in Mumbai to the Maharashtra government for building a state-of-the-art memorial to B.R. Ambedkar. The Maharashtra State government is going to bear the entire cost of the memorial project and will henceforth take care of the land. The Union Cabinet will take further decisions on the process. A Bill will have to be passed in Parliament for transfer of the land for the memorial project. Also, a separate authority is going to be set up for the purpose and an architect will be appointed as a consultant to prepare the blueprint for the memorial. The authority is said to comprise seven members, including three from the State government, while the rest will be from the Centre. The memorial is to be modeled on the basis of Mahatma Gandhi’s Samadhi at Rajghat. The Urban Development department of Maharashtra had earlier on 1 December 2012 amended reservation of the mill land from a special industrial zone to Grand Memorial of Bharat Ratna Babasaheb Ambedkar by issuing a notification inviting suggestions and objections.

Sahara Companies Got Two Months Time to Repay Investors’ Money
The Supreme Court of India on 5 December 2012 provided a relief to two Sahara companies when it gave them the time of two months till first week of February 2012. The two Sahara companies- Sahara India Real Estate Corporation (SIRECL) and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation (SHICL) are required to deposit 24000 crore Rupees to the investors. The Apex Court provided breather to the Sahara Companies when it declared that the companies can deposit 24000 crore Rupees, which was collected from the investors, in two installments with SEBI. The court entertained the appeal against Securities Appellate Tribunal, and the Supreme Court allowed the two Sahara companies to deposit the documents with SEBI in which information about the investors was mentioned. However, the Supreme Court also warned these companies by declaring that in case the leniency of the court was not honoured, SEBI would be completely free to start the proceedings for taking their assets. The court mentioned that deadline was extended keeping in mind the interests of crores of investors. The two Sahara companies had brought to the court 5120 crore Rupees in the form of bank draft in order to show their authenticity as managers of the money of their investors. It was declared by the advocate of the two companies that they have returned considerable part of the money to their investors and expressed that outstanding amount would be returned as well.

Oldest Person of the World, Besse Cooper Died At 116
Besse Cooper, the woman listed as the oldest person of the world died on 4 December 2012 in Georgia nursing home at 116 years of age. Besse Cooper had died peacefully in Monroe. Besse was recently taken ill with the stomach virus. Besse Cooper was declared as the oldest person of the world in January 2011 by the Guinness World Records. She was also the first Georgian who had world record with her. The birth place of Besse was Tennessee and she had moved during the First World War to Georgia. Guinness World Records declared that as of now, merely 8 people have reached the age of 116. Besse Cooper held this title of oldest person of the world since 2011. She explained her secret of living for such a long time, to Guinness World Records. She explained that she didn’t eat junk food.

Who is the world’s oldest person now?
After the death of Besse Cooper, the title of oldest person of the world now goes to Dina Manfredini of Johnston who is aged 115 years of age.
Oldest known person of all times
Jeanne Calment, the French woman is the oldest known person till now. She was aged 122 when she died in 1997.

NASA Announced to send New Rover to Mars in 2020

Daily News - 5 Dec

Eleventh Meeting of India-Canada JWG on Counter Terrorism held in New Delhi
The 11th meeting of the India-Canada Joint Working Group (JWG) on Counter Terrorism was held in New Delhi on 29 November 2012. The meeting took place within the framework of the enhanced interaction in bilateral relations between India and Canada, and in keeping with the desire of the governments of India and Canada towards greater cooperation in counter terrorism matters. India and Canada shared their respective threat assessments and informed each other of the measures taken by them to strengthen counter terrorism policy and structure. Both nations also discussed the follow-up of the Mumbai terror attack of 26 November 2008. India and Canada also exchanged views on international developments, coordination in international fora and their bilateral cooperation in the area.The next and the 12th meeting of the Joint Working Group will be held in Canada in 2013 on mutually convenient dates. The meeting was co-chaired by Asoke Kumar Mukerji, Special Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, India and Artur Wilczynski, Director General for International Relations, Canada.

Air India won Lal Bahadur Shastri hockey tournament against Bharat Petroleum
Air India emerged champion against Bharat Petroleum in the 23rd Lal Bahadur Shastri hockey tournament at the Shivaji Stadium on 4 December 2012.This was second title of this season for Air India. Air India had already shared the MCC-Murugappa Cup with Indian Oil. Air India had an edge over Bharat Petroleum because the team was full of expereinced players. Besides, there was also an advantage because Bharat Petroleum did not give its 100 percent which was evident when it wasted a lot of opportunities. For Bharat Petroleum this was another runner-up in the second event consecutively. Air India, in the meanwhile, won the cheque worth 2 lakh Rupees along with the title of the tournament. Amir Khan, the Bharat petroleum striker was decided as the Best Player of the Tournament. V.S. Vinaya of Air India team, on the other hand won the title of Top Scorer of the Event with six goals.

Global Terrorism Index Revealed India Ranked Among Top Five Terror-Hit Nations
New index called Global Terrorism Index (GTI) prepared by Australian think tank revealed on 4 December 2012 that India, Afghanistan and Pakistan were the most terrorism-hit nations in 2011.GTI was released by Australia-based Institute for Economics & Peace and it ranked various countries based on the data collected from Global Terrorism Database, which in turn is operated by a group at University of Maryland. GTI revealed that India, Afghanistan and Pakistan accounted for 11 percent, 10 percent and 12 percent of global terrorist events respectively from time period 2002 to 2009.  The figures revealed that there were 529 terrorist incidents in 2011 and they had tolled lives of 402 people, injuring 687 people. The numbers were higher in 2006 to 2010 time period when the number of casulties averaged greater than 600 people per year, rising to 735 people in 2009 and 772 in 2010. In the year 2011, India, Pakistan, Russia as well as Middle East were most affected by terrorism. Out of 159 countries that were surveyed, India ranked number 4. Iraq was at the first position followed by Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and Yemen respectively.The GTI showed that terrorism in the world started escalating after an increase in Iraq war. Consequently, it was followed by increasing terrorism in Afghanistan and later in Pakistan after 18 months. The index also revealed that merely 31 countries out of surveyed 159 did not expereince a single terrorist attack since 2001.

Voyager 1, the NASA Spacecraft Drifted Into Unknown Region of the Space
The Voyager 1 spacecraft sailed into the new area of solar system which scientists were not aware about. Both Voyager 1 as well as Voyager 2 have been continuously moving away from the Sun into the interstellar space, also known as the space between the stars. During the summers, Voyager 1 entered into the space where effects are felt from the outside. Scientists at NASA jet propulsion laboratory who manage the Voyager 1 spacecraft believed that this might be the last layer between earth and interstellar space. The location of this spacecraft was presented at American Geophysical Union in San Francisco. Voyager 1 would eventually become the first manmade object that would exit the solar system. When Voyager 1 would exactly exit our solar system is still unknown, to a certain extent since there is no pattern. Scientists estimated that Voyager 1 would have around two to three years of traveling before it reaches the boundary which separates solar system from other space. In the meanwhile, scientists were very surprised to see the unexpected region in boundaries of the solar system. During 2011, team at NASA had been observing alluring clues which signal towards new environment of the space. High-energy cosmic rays were streaming in from beyond the solar system. Also, the amount of low-energy particles which originate from within our solar system dropped down briefly. The scientists were however sure that Voyager 1 did not break through because there were no changes in direction of magnetic field lines. Scientists are calling this newly discovered zone as the type of magnetic highway. These spacecrafts called the Voyagers were launched in the space around 35 years ago to take a tour on other planets. Even though Voyager 2, which is at present 9 billion miles away from sun, was first launched but Voyager 1 is closer in leaving the solar system at the back.

Uttar Pradesh Government decided to issue Golden Cards to Industrialists

Daily News - 4 Dec

S.A. Ibrahim's Appointment as Director for Intelligence Bureau Approved
The Competent Authority on 3 December 2012 approved appointment of S. A. Ibrahim the IPS (MP-77) as officer on Special Duty in the Intelligence Bureau and also as the Director for Intelligence Bureau for a next two years from the date he acquires his charge or till the next order that is is further sent. His tenure to the post of Officer on Special Duty in the Intelligence Bureau started from 1 December 2012.At Present S.A. Ibrahim is serving as Special Director, Intelligence Bureau and will be taking over the charge of Director, Intelligence Bureau after vice Nehchal Sandhu will retire from his office on 31 December 2012.

Mystery behind the Missing Sandy Island Solved
A researcher from New Zealand claimed that he had solved the mystery of the missing South Pacific Island which was shown on the world maps as well as Google Earth but did not actually exist. The blame of the missing island went to the whaling ship from the year 1876. The landmass in Coral Sea which is shown as the Sandy Island on Google maps as well as Google Earth is apparently somewhere between Australia and New Caledonia. Times Atlas of the World, on the other hand identifies it as the Sable Island, but the Australian scientists who went on a research in November 2012 could not locate it exactly, which is why they claimed that the island did not exist actually. A researcher at Auckland Museum after his investigations claimed that the island had never existed.Google in the meanwhile welcomed this feedback and explained that suggestions from the users on maps enabled integration of new information into Google Maps. Apparently, now the Sandy Island has been removed from the maps.

India And Pakistan Discussed Methods For Solving Sir Creek Issue
A meeting of the India and Pakistan former diplomats, peace activists, army and navy officers concluded on 3 December 2012 with an agenda that Sir Creek dispute will be resolved. Apart from this, Siachen and Kashmir are other territorial troubles that sit amidst the India-Pakistan relationship. The strategic seminar called Aman Ki Asha concluded with the fact that even after a lot of deadlock after the bilateral meetings, the issue of Sir Creek was not difficult to handle.
There were certain proposals on which both India as well as Pakistan agreed and this included de-linking maritime boundaries from land. Also, it was agreed that there would be marking from seaward to the point where both these sides agree. Additionally, it was agreed that the non-defined area (Sir Creek and the approaches) would be declared as free zone or the maritime sensitive zone. Or, it was agreed upon that such an area be turned into the a jointly administered maritime park.The experts in the meanwhile also highlighted that in case the shore points are accepted by both the sides mutually, the boundary line marked using angular bisection would only undergo a few changes when final baseline would be established.

What is Sir Creek?
Sir Creek is the 96 km narrow piece of water that is a subject of dispute between India and Pakistan. Sir Creek sits in the Rann of Kutch marshlands. Creek opens into the Arabian Sea and divides the region of Kutch of India’s Gujarat with Sindh of Pakistan.The major dispute over Sir Creek is about understanding of the maritime boundary between the Kutch and the Sindh. Before India’s independence, the region remained a part of the British India. After the partition of 1947, Sindh enterred Pakistan and Kutch remained with India.

Ranjit Sinha, Senior IPS Officer Took Over As CBI Director
Ranjit Sinha, IPS officer of 1974-batch Bihar cadre on 3 December 2012 acquired the office as new CBI director. Ranjit Sinha, 59, who was holding the designation of director general Indo-Tibetan Border Police, succeeded A.P. Singh who retired from the CBI office on 30 November 2012. Sinha will have two-year duration as the CBI director. He had served in CBI agency initially as the DIG and joint director as well.Sinha accepted that there were challenges which the agency needed to face and these included lack of proper manpower, Letters Rogatory execution delays as well as delays in the forensic field. During his tenure, he would try solving and addressing these issues. Sinha accepted the prestigious designation with a greater sense of responsibility. He believed that the faith in CBI would be strengthened under his guidance and supervision.

Human Intelligence Associated With Genetic Accident: Researchers
Scientists at the University of Edinburgh discovered how intelligence originated, after they identified the genetic accident which happened 500 million years ago. This genetic accident allowed the human species to think and reason; and thus they evolved. The scientists discovered how humans as well as various mammals evolved in terms of intelligence. Scientists found out that human intelligence developed because of a rise in the number of genes in brain in the evolutionary ancestors. Scientists additionally also believed that these genes which help in improvisation of the mental capability are also in turn responsible for the brain disorders that might occur in the humans.Scientists explained that a plain invertebrate animal that lived in sea around 500 million years ago experienced this genetic accident which produced extra copies of the genes being developed. The offspring of these animals benefited in turn from the extra genes which led to sophisticated vertebrates in terms of behaviour, including the humans.

News Corp Decided to Split Into Two, Indian to be the CFO of the Proposed Publishing Company
News Corp on 3 December 2012 announced restructuring of the top management of the company. The company decided that the top management would split into the two publically traded firms. Consequently, there would be a new head for the British newspaper arm as well as Indian-origin executive who would be heading the publishing business' finances.News Corp declared that Dow Jones editor-in-chief as well as the managing editor of The Wall Street Journal, Robert Thomson would be now the CEO of proposed publishing company. As per his new role, Thomson would be confronting the ongoing scandal in UK News Corp which shut down the News of the World newspaper back in July 2011 following the phone hacking scandal. The publishing company nevertheless would hold on to the name of News Corporation. On the other hand, the entertainment and media company will be named as Fox Group. The chairman and CEO of News Corp, Rupert Murdoch will now be the chairman of newly formed News Corporation as well as the CEO and chairman of the Fox Group. Murdoch also announced additionally that Bedi Ajay Singh, who had recently also been at the designation of President, Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer for MGM Studios would be given the role of Chief Financial Officer at the new publishing company. Bedi Ajay Singh was the member of UK Institute of CAs and had also served as the CFO at SONY Pictures and Novartis Pharma.

Internet Freedom Not to be Controlled by The United Nations

Daily News - 3 Dec

Kuwait Elected Its News Parliament But With Low Turnout
Kuwait elected its parliament which might prove to be government-friendly than the previous one. However, it faced low voter turnout as well as opposition boycott. Around 39 percent of the 422569 eligible voters had cast their ballots on 2 December 2012. However, it wasn’t evident whether these figures included any invalid voters as well or not. Opposition believed that the participation of voters was lower than this. In the previous three elections, the turnout of voters was 60 percent. On 1 December 2012, the election process was troublesome because there was a change to the rules of voting process announced six weeks ago by ruling emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah. The ruling emir had brought down the votes number per citizen from four to one. The opposition in Kuwait refuted standing in these elections on the grounds that new system of one-vote per citizen would put off their candidates from winning that majority which they enjoyed in last vote in February 2012. In February 2012 elections, they had won two-third out of 50 seats in National Assembly. Political parties have been put on ban in Kuwait and association of a lot of those who were standing in these elections was very unclear. It is important to note that Kuwait, which is the ally of US, has the most transparent political system among various Gulf Arab states that have parliament with legislative powers as well as ability to hold ministers accountable.

MoU Signed Between Mysore Zoo and Leipzig Zoo in Germany for Transporting Four Sloth Bears
Zoo authorities of the Mysore Zoo and Leipzig zoo in Germany signed a MoU on 1 December 2012 according to which four sloth bears will be transported to the zoo in Germany. Leipzig zoo in Germany is well known for its management of vulnerable nocturnal mammal. In return to transportation of these sloth bears, India will get access to expertise as well as knowledge of handling these bears. This is actually the primary feature of MoU which is signed between the zoos of two countries. The Leipzig zoo and Central Authority Zoo signed the MoU for improvisation of management as well as cooperation of the population of captive animals. The primary agenda was conservation of the sloth bears.Dr J Junhold, president of the Leipzig zoo elaborated on this plan and made it clear that the zoo in Germany required sloth bears for breeding and these bears were provided by the Mysore Zoo. The Leipzig zoo is responsible for management of these sloth bears since 1905. MoU would enable zoos in India to gain this expertise and knowledge. Dr Junhold is also World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) president and he visited Delhi before the next conference of WAZA to be hosted in 2014. Apart from the Mysore Zoo, six other Indian zoos were identified and these are Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens, Mysore; Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad; Delhi Zoo; Assam State Zoo, Guwahati; Arignar Anna Zoological Park, Chennai and the Nandankanan Zoological Park, Bhubaneswar.

Ravindra Jadeja Became Only Indian to Score Three Triple Tons in First-Class Cricket
Ravindra Jadeja became first Indian and only eighth batsman in the first-class cricket history of world to score three triple-centuries in the unbeaten 320 runs against Railways in the Ranji Trophy Group A match on 2 December 2012 in Rajkot. With the help of Jadeja’s innings, Saurashtra reached the giant score of 534 for six in their first innings on second day of 4-day combat. Jadeja had scored 303 against Gujarat in his first match of this season and eventually the second triple century and third as well to become the only Indian batsman to reach this podium. There are five other Indian batsmen who have scored two triple centuries in their first-class cricket and these are VVS Laxman, Wasim Jaffer, Virender Sehwag, Vijay Hazare and Raman Lamba. With his triple century, Jadeja has joined the league of seven other non-Indians who have reached this landmark and these are Mike Hussey, WG Grace, Graeme Hick, Sir Don Bradman, Wally Hammond, Bill Ponsford and Brian Lara.During the match, Jadeja, the left-handed batsman hit 28 fours and 7 sixes during his 11-and-a-half-hour game in which he played 491 deliveries. With this, he added 274 for the unbreakable 7th wicket partnership with Kamlesh Makvana, playing at 78.

Andhra Pradesh SC, ST Sub-Plans Bill 2012 was passed by State Assembly
The Andhra Pradesh Assembly on 2 December 2012 passed Andhra Pradesh SC, ST Sub-Plans Bill 2012 providing statutory status for implementation of the sub-plans for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The legislation will ensure fund allocation proportionate to the SC and ST population and is expected to prevent diversion of sub-plan funds for other activities and not allowing them unspent.  There is also a mandatory provision for allocation of almost a fourth of the State’s annual plan of the budget for SC, ST. The bill was introduced on the recommendations of the Cabinet Sub-Committee. The demand for according legal status to the Sub-Plans was made on states for a long time by the Planning Commission of India and National Development Council (NDC). With this, Andhra Pradesh has become the first state in India to enact such a legislation.The Opposition endorsed the legislation except the Telugu Desam.The party sought an amendment by inserting a provision in the legislation to provide proportionate allocations to ABCD groups within the SCs based on their populations and socio-economic conditions. The proposal was defeated by 22 votes when it was subjected to voting.Since the state assembly had the power to adopt annual budget only for one year, there was no constitutional provision to prevent lapsing of SC/ST funds.

Kingfisher Airlines Sent Eviction Notice by Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd
Kingfisher Airlines that had its operations from domestic Terminal 1A of Mumbai’s airport was given an eviction notice by the Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd (MIAL) in the last week of November 2012.

Daily News - 2 Dec

Only one House needs to clear FEMA amendments: Kamal Nath
NEW DELHI: The UPA government on Sunday claimed that amendments to the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) to facilitate foreign supermarkets to open stores in India required the approval of only one House of Parliament. Ahead of a crucial debate with voting on FDI in multi-brand retail in the Lok Sabha on December 4-5, the government also said it was confident of its numbers. "If one House has passed it, it passes. It does not need both Houses to pass it. That's what is prescribed in the rules," parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath said in a TV interview. The minister's claim may lead to another round of confrontation with opposition parties which have been arguing that the FEMA notification needs the approval of both Houses of Parliament and cannot come into force if it falls in Rajya Sabha where the UPA lacks majority. The opposition wants a vote in both the Houses on changes to FEMA, tabled in the Lok Sabha on Friday, and even threatened to move court if the government failed to do so. The government, however, was undeterred by the opposition's threat. "Anything can go to court. If it goes, we will deal with it," Nath said. The minister insisted that the rules were separate for Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. However, he accepted that the FEMA notification - which could well be passed in the budget session as the government has 30 working days of Parliament to get the nod — may drag into the next session which is three months away. Nath said he had got no assurance from the SP and BSP on the FDI issue which will be debated and voted upon in both Houses but he expressed confidence that they will support the UPA. "I have good reason to believe that they (SP and BSP) will vote with the government because they are responsible parties and they will understand the politics of it... They are not going to vote for the politics of the BJP," he added.

Farmers’ body threatens to take over UP toll plazas
NEW DELHI/GHAZIABAD: Highway modernization is facing a new threat, this time from Bharat Kisan Union (BKU), with the farmers' body warning of taking over all highway toll plazas in Uttar Pradesh if the government and NHAI do not allow free passage of tractor-trolleys and vehicles of people living in a 10-km radius of a tolling point. A day after its top leaders held a long meeting with NHAI officials to resolve several issues, BKU activists on Saturday took over a toll plaza near Garh Mukteshwar on NH-24 for several hours and removed barriers of the toll plaza on NH-58 (Daurala) close to Meerut for the second time. On Sunday, over hundred farmers had laid siege to the Dasna toll plaza. The organization has announced that it will take over a toll plaza near Saharanpur on Monday. The stir may hit the DND Flyway, which connects Delhi and Noida, on Friday. "For some hours, the NHAI contractor had started tolling on NH-58 on Friday, but we soon took control over the plaza. The protest will spread to other stretches in UP and also in other states," BKU spokesperson Rakesh Tikait said. The BKU may have ambitiously announced plans to take over toll plazas across UP but the outfit's tactics may be successful only in the western part of the state, where it commands some influence. On Sunday, agitating farmers reached the Dasna toll plaza around 9.30 am and threw open the toll gates for at least two-and-a-half hours. They again took over the plaza allowing vehicles free passage till late night. "There is no service road, which forces local commuters to pay and cross the toll plaza," Rajveer Singh, BKU's Meerut zone president, said.

Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court joins strike
Egypt’s highest court joined a judicial rebellion against President Mohammed Morsi on Sunday by declaring an open-ended strike on the day it was supposed to rule on the legitimacy of two key assemblies controlled by allies of the Islamist leader.The strike by the Supreme Constitutional Court and opposition plans to march on the presidential palace on Tuesday take the country’s latest political crisis to a level not seen in the nearly two years of turmoil since Hosni Mubarak’s ouster in a popular uprising. Judges from the country’s highest appeals court and its sister lower court were already on an indefinite strike, joining colleagues from other tribunals who suspended work last week to protest what they saw as Mr. Morsi’s assault on the judiciary. The last time Egypt had an all-out strike by the judiciary was in 1919, when judges joined an uprising against British colonial rule. The standoff began when Mr. Morsi issued decrees on Nov. 22 giving him near-absolute powers that granted himself and the Islamist-dominated assembly drafting the new constitution immunity from the courts. The constitutional panel then raced in a marathon session last week to vote on the charter’s 236 clauses without the participation of liberal and Christian members. The fast-track hearing pre-empted a decision from the Supreme Constitutional Court that was widely expected to dissolve the constituent assembly. The judges on Sunday postponed their ruling on that case just before they went on strike. Without a functioning justice system, Egypt will be plunged even deeper into turmoil. It has already seen a dramatic surge in crime after the uprising, while state authority is being challenged in many aspects of life and the courts are burdened by a massive backlog of cases. “The country cannot function for long like this, something has to give,” said Negad Borai, a private law firm director and a rights activist. ‘We are in a country without courts of law and a president with all the powers in his hands. This is a clear-cut dictatorial climate,” he said. Mohamed Abdel-Aziz, a rights lawyer, said the strike by the judges will impact everything from divorce and theft to financial disputes that, in some cases, could involve foreign investors. “Ordinary citizens affected by the strike will become curious about the details of the current political crisis and could possibly make a choice to join the protests,” he said. The Judges Club, a union with 9,500 members, said late Sunday that judges would not, as customary, oversee the national referendum Mr. Morsi called for Dec. 15 on the draft constitution hammered out and hurriedly voted on last week. The absence of their oversight would raise more questions about the validity of the vote. If the draft is passed in the referendum, parliamentary elections are to follow two months later and they too may not have judicial supervision. The judges say they will remain on strike until Mr. Morsi rescinds his decrees, which the Egyptian leader said were temporary and needed to protect the nation’s path to democratic rule. For now, however, Mr. Morsi has to contend with the fury of the judiciary. The constitutional court called Sunday “the Egyptian judiciary’s blackest day on record.” It described the scene outside the Nile-side court complex, where thousands of Islamist demonstrators gathered since the early morning hours carrying banners denouncing the tribunal and some of its judges. A statement by the court, which swore Mr. Morsi into office on June 30, said its judges approached the complex but turned back when they saw the protesters blocking entrances and climbing over its fences. They feared for their safety, it added.
 

The burden of India’s cash transfer scheme
The government’s cash transfer scheme (CTS) has been accepted by economists as the most  efficient method of delivering subsidies to the poor. This became possible with the identification of the poor after the introduction of “Aadhaar” or unique identity scheme. The scheme is going to be implemented from the beginning of 2013.The Congress party is excited because the scheme can prove to be an excellent vote magnate. Cash in hand is a good enough incentive even if it is in replacement of invisible subsidies. UPA-II came to power mainly on the basis of a loan waiver to farmers which cost the government 600 billion rupees. Possibly, CTS would not need any additional outlays and may actually reduce the burden on the exchequer. The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party has been quick to understand the scheme’s political appeal and is protesting its introduction for one reason or the other. A pilot project for CTS was started a year back in Kotkasim block in Rajasthan that has 25,000 households. Preliminary results indicate that the scheme was a flop. It was intended primarily to replace the state subsidy of 14 rupees per litre on kerosene. With the withdrawal of the subsidy, prices increased while the cash transfer got delayed or did not take place at all. The government did not have in place an efficient system to replace subsidy by cash delivery. That is likely to happen when the scheme is extended to 51 districts from January 1.CTS requires a different infrastructure for success. It is no longer the ration shops which will deliver the subsidy through low priced essential commodities but a cash equivalent of the subsidies would be distributed by the banks. But in some villages, the requisite banking facilities do not exist, many beneficiaries being illiterate may not be able to take recourse to banks and, in spite of “Aadhaar”, may not have been properly identified.Obviously, it is not possible to have a perfect system to begin with or cover all the subsidies that can be cash delivered. It is only after the scheme has been in operation for a while that its refinement would be possible. Initially restricted to 29  schemes, CTS will replace 42 different public welfare benefits by 2014 and cover the whole country.The advantages are obvious. With direct cash transfers there will be elimination of intermediaries and therefore the cost of distribution will be substantially reduced. That cost is higher than the actual subsidy that the beneficiaries receive. Hence, CTS is likely to benefit people directly and at the same time cost less to the government.That sounds good but also has potential dangers. First, a cut in or a removal of cash benefits in future may be resisted by citizens and the scheme will become a permanent liability. Second, the scheme is likely to be misused by the government since it will become an attractive populist gimmick for political parties apart from imposing additional burden on the exchequer as subsidies do at present.

Daily News - 1 Dec

There Was No Violation of the Olympic Charter in Elections: Indian Olympic Association
Facing threats of disassociation from the parent body, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) clarified on 1 December 2012 that there was no violation of the government guidelines or Olympic Charter during the election process. It also mentioned that there should be no action from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) against it. The acting chief of IOA made it clear that the Election Commission comprising of the retired judges of High Court did not find any violation of the rules in the elections which are scheduled to take place on 5 December 2012. The acting chief made clear that none of the three codes- Sports Code, the Delhi High Court order or the Olympic Charter, were violated. Also, the chief mentioned that no nominations were rejected by Election Commission. In the letter, IOC cleared that it will be proposing disassociation of IOA in the Executive Board Meeting to be held on 4-5 December 2012, in case IOA was proceeding with the elections under the Sports Code of the Government. However, IOA cleared that the Government was not interfering and that the election process was being conducted as per the IOA Constitution as well as Olympic Charter.


Supreme Court Issued Guidelines to Curb Eve Teasing At the Public Places
Supreme Court on 30 November 2012 issued certain guidelines in order to put a halt to eve-teasing. SC termed eve-teasing consequences disastrous and also directed the government that women cops in plain clothes should be deputed at the public places.The state governments as well as the union territories are ordered by the Supreme Court to depute female police officers in plain clothes at the public places such as metro stations, bus stands, railway stations, shopping malls, beaches, parks, worship places, cinemas as well as public service vehicles. This has been done to monitor as well as supervise the incidents of eve-teasing.This was important because there is no uniform law in order to deal with eve-teasing. The court passed 26-page judgement in which it was mentioned that eve teasing could be curbed with little efforts and the consequences could be disastrous in case it is left unchecked. Also, the court concluded that eve teasing could lead to violation of the fundamental rights which are guaranteed under constitution. The SC laid down these guidelines in its judgement, setting aside verdict of Madras High Court. Madras High Court had reserved the judgement of Central Administrative Tribunal in which it upheld the dismissal of a police cop who misbehaved with a married woman on 9 July 1999.Apart from deputing female police officers in plain clothes, the Union Territories and state governments will also have to install the CCTV in the strategic positions.Also, the sign boards with caution would be exhibited at the public places.


Infosys Decided Shifting Its American Shares From Nasdaq to NYSE
Infosys decided to transfer listing of American shares of the company from Nasdaq to NYSE or New York Stock Exchange, which is partner of the Paris as well as London exchanges. The trading market of NYSE known as NYSE Euronext,  enables the European investors trading easily in the American shares of Infosys through the European exchanges. The European investors of Infosys were requesting the company to simplify the mechanism of trading for them in Infosys’s shares. As of now, the difference in timezone makes it difficult for the European traders to function. NYSE Euronext would enable these investors a mode of faster as well as efficient trading. Nasdaq, on the other hand, does not have such kind of arrangement.The act would enable Infosys to imporve branding in European markets as well because this would give them greater visibility in local markets. Over past few years, the 7 billion US Dollar Infosys had been investing in Europe significantly with special focus on France as well as Germany. Even though UK remains a stronger market for the IT companies of India, but US accounts for around 64percent revenues of Infosys and Europe accounts for 22 percent.
Europe is becoming strategic market for Infosys. The act would empower the investor base and will also help European investors in increasing access to Infosys’s stock. Global investors would find a broadened trading window.


Core Sectors of Indian Economy Grew By 6.5 Percent in October
Eight core sectors of the Indian Economy grew by 6.5 percent, the eight-month high in October 2012-2013 in comparison to 0.4 percent in same time period last year, the official data revealed on 30 November 2012. The sectors which weight approximately 38 percent in Index of Industrial Production (IIP) increased by seven-month high in September by 5 percent and 2.3 percent in August.However, the growth of core sector is not dependent on the data of industrial production. For instance, inspite of the higher growth in core sector, the industrial production contracted around 0.4 percent in September. A lot of things are dependent on the capital goods segment which showed consistent contraction.The official data revealed that the eight main industries of the Indian economy- steel, electricity, coal, crude, cement, natural gas, refinery products and fertilisers grew 3.7 percent in initial seven months of 2012-2013 fiscal year against 4.3 percent in the same period in 2011-2012 fiscal year.Output of the coal showed regular growth with 10.9 percent. However, on the monthly basis, it was lower when compared with 21.4 percent in September. Refinery products, steel as well as cement contributed towards the strong economic growth with 20.3 percent, 5.9 percent and 6.8 percent respectively.Natural gas as well as crude oil remained in contractionary zone. Crude oil witnessed a fall in the growth consecutively for fifth month at 0.4 percent in comparison to 1.7 percent in September. Production of natural gas on the other hand, decreased by 14.9 percent.

Daily News - 30 Nov (Part - 1)

Union Government issued New IT Guidelines to stop its Misuse
The Union government of India on 29 November 2012 issued new guidelines to stop misuse of a particular section of the Information Technology Act. Under the revised guidelines, the cases dealing with spreading messages of reported hatred by electronic medium will be decided by a senior police officer not below the rank of DCP in rural and urban areas. An IGP rank officer will have to give prior approval for registration of cases relating to section 66(a) of IT Act in metro-politan cities. Communication and IT Ministry sent an advisory to this effect has been sent to the states.The section 66[a] of IT Act provides for a jail term of upto three years making it an offence to send by means of computer resource or communication device any information which is grossly offensive, menacing and causes annoyance or hatred.

Economic growth declined in July-September quarter of current fiscal year
The economy of India grew just by 5.3 percent in July-September quarter of this fiscal year 2012-2013. The economy dropped down the rate of growth because of poor performance of the agriculture as well as manufacturing sectors and it is persistently indicating slowdown signs. In the previous fiscal year, the gross domestic product (GDP) had grown by 6.7 percent in the same quarter. In the first quarter of 2012-2013, the economy had grown by 5.5 percent. By the end of the July-September quarter, i.e., on 30 September 2012, the manufacturing sector had grown marginally by just 0.8 percent in comparison to 2.9 percent in the same quarter last year, revealed the Central Statistical Organisation.
 The output of the farm sector expanded merely 1.2 percent in this quarter in 2012-2013 financial year in contrast to 3.1 percent in same quarter last year.
The economic growth for the time period of April-September in this financial year is 5.4 percent in contrast to 7.3 percent in previous fiscal year. In this quarter in the present fiscal year, hotels, transport, communications as well as trade showed slow pace at 5.5 percent in comparison to 9.5 percent last year in the same quarter.
The construction sector showed signs of improvement where the growth was 6.7 percent as against 6.3 percent last year. Apart from this, the rate of growth in certain service sectors such as real estate and insurance was 9.4 percent as against 9.9 percent in last year’s quarter. Finance Minister of India P. Chidambaram concluded that the only way to overcome the situation was through increased production as well as innovation.

IK Gujral, Former Prime Minister of India Died At 92
Former Prime Minister of India, Inder Kumar Gujral, the head of unsteady coalition government in 1990s, died at the age of 92 following brief illness on 30 November 2012.
I.K. Gujral last breathed in a private hospital at 3.27 P.M following multiple organ failure. After lung infection, he was admitted to hospital on 19 November 2012. Gujral had taken ill some days ago and was also on dialysis for more than a year. A few days ago, he suffered from critical lung infection as well.
I.K. Gujral will be cremated somewhere near Delhi on 1 December 2012. He is survived by two sons. One of his sons- Naresh Gujral is the Rajya Sabha MP as well as Akali Dal leader.

About I.K. Gujral
Gujral started off as the Vice President in NDMC in 1950s and later also became the Union Minister. Later, he became the Ambassador of India to USSR. I.K. Gujral was an intellectual who had put forward Gujral Doctrine comprising of five principles for maintenance of healthy relations with the neighbours. In 1980s, he parted from the Congress and joined Janata Dal. In 1989, he became the Minister of External Affairs. He was also the Rajya Sabha member two times in 1964 as well as 1976. He was then re-elected to Lok Sabha in 1998.

BS Yeddyyurappa resigned from BJP and Karnataka Legislative Assembly

Daily News - 30 Nov (Part-2)

PVR announced acquiring 69 percent stake in Cinemax to expand its presence
PVR, the multiplex chain operator in India, announced on 29 November 2012 that it would acquire  69.3 percent stake in Cinemax India for an amount of 395 crore Rupees in order to enhance its presence in India. Cinemax owned by Kanakia Group has its ventures in hospitality, education as well as real estate sectors.
This deal would make PVR the largest multiplex chain in India. The promoters’ stake of Cinemax would be acquired by PVR at a cost of 203.65 Rupees per share via Cine Hospitality, the fully owned subsidiary. Additionally, PVR would acquire 26 per cent stake via the open offer from the public shareholders, as per the takeover regulations of SEBI.
The acquisition would give PVR an access to eight markets additionally. At present, PVR has 213 screens in the country which would increase to 351 screens after acquisition. By the time this fiscal year ends, PVR has plans to expand the number of screens to 400.  In 2013-2014, PVR is planning expansion of its venture to 45-50 cities in India.

Funding
The deal is scheduled to be funded by mix of equity as well as debt. The board of PVR also approved issuing preference shares. 25 crore Rupees would be invested by promoters. L Capital, the private equity investors would invest around 82.3 crore Rupees. Multiples Alternate Asset Management would be investing 153 crore Rupees approximately.
L Capital has 10 percent venture in PVR. After this acquisition, Multiples as well as L Capital would have 15.8 percent business in PVR. The promoters’ stake would be reduced from 40 percent to 32 percent. Open offer to Cinemax’s public shareholders for extra 26 percent stake for cash would follow this acquisition.

About PVR
PVR is the Gurgaon-based company. PVR stands for Priya Village Roadshow. It is one of the largest multiplexes in India. Commercial operations of PVR commenced in 1997 and since then, it brought a transition to the experience of cinema viewing in India. The first multiplex in India was PVR Anupam located in Saket, New Delhi.

SAT Declined Accepting Sahara Investor Money, Also Dismissed The Plea
The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) on 29 November 2012 dismissed appeals of two

Daily News - 29 Nov

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar visited India
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Chairperson of the National League of Democracy of Myanmar visited India from 13 November 2012 to 18 November 2012. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi spent several years in India during her early days when her mother Daw Khin Yi was Ambassador to India. She also spent some time as a Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Study in Shimla in 1987.  Besides her engagements in Delhi, travelled to Bangalore where she visited the Indian Institute of Science and the Infosys Campus. She also toured rural areas in Andhra Pradesh to gain a firsthand impression of the rural development and women’s empowerment programmes being undertaken in India.The close and friendly relations between India and Myanmar were strengthened in the recent past through exchanges of high level visits, including the State visits of the President of Myanmar to India in October 2011 and the Prime Minister of India to Myanmar in May 2012. The visit of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was the part of India’s ongoing engagement with the democratic and multi-party polity in Myanmar. It provided an opportunity to exchange views on all matters of mutual interest with a view to building upon the positive momentum in India-Myanmar relations.

India and Japan Signed Two Agreements in Tokyo
The Governments of India and Japan signed the two agreements on 16 November 2012 in Tokyo: The agreements are as following: 1) Agreement between India and Japan on Social Security 2) Memorandum between the Department of Atomic Energy of India and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan on Cooperation in the Rare Earths Industry in India.The conclusion and signing of these agreements will further enhance and strengthen the India-Japan Strategic and Global Partnership.

Passport Seva Project won CSI-Nihilent e-Governance Award for Excellence
The Computer Society of India (CSI) on 22 November 2012 adjudged Ministry of External Affairs’ Passport Seva Project as the most significant e-Governance initiative of the Government of India undertaken during 2011-12. The final selection for the award was done after a multi-stage evaluation, which included field visits to Passport Seva Kendras. The Computer Society of India is the largest association of IT professionals in India. It joined hands with Nihilent Technologies in the year 2002 to institute CSI-Nihilent e-Governance Awards for recognising successful efforts in application of ICT for good governance.
The Ministry of External Affairs is improving governance in Passport Offices by focusing on citizen-centricity, service orientation and transparency. The intended benefits to common man are service provisioning in a transparent manner within defined service levels, closer and larger number of access points for services, easy availability of a portfolio of on-line services with real-time status tracking and enquiry, availability of good public facilities at PSKs and an effective system of grievance redressal. The award is a clear recognition that enhanced usage of ICT as envisioned in the Passport Seva Project has brought about transformation in the functioning of the Passport Offices and delivery of public service to citizens.

AstraZeneca’s petition plea on cancer drug dismissed by IPAB
British drugmaker AstraZeneca’s petition in which it challenged the initial ruling, where it was refused patent protection in context with the cancer-fighting drug, was dismissed by the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) on 26 November 2012. Back in the year 2007, the Indian patents office had refused patent protection to the quinazoline molecule of AstraZeneca referring to lack of any invention. The decision is a huge blow for AstraZeneca that is already struggling for turning itself around as its main drugs lost the patent protection.Almost all the global companies selling drug suffered high-profile reversal in the month of March when India decided to grant the first of its kind compulsory licence to the domestic company Natco Pharma. Natco Pharma was given the licence so that it could sell the cheap replicas of cancer drug of Bayer called Nexavar. Bayer had also appealed this order.Earlier, IPAB retracted the 6-year old Indian patent which was offered to Roche’s hepatitis C drug Pegasys on the grounds that there were no evidences that supported the betterment of this drug than any other existing treatments.
Multinational drug manufacturers consider the 13 billion US Dollar drug market of India as a gigantic opportunity. However, they were suspicious about the lax protection for intellectual property in India, where the generic medicines account for over 90 percent of sales.The generic companies of India that do not require to invest in the future research are free to produce the drugs at an amount which is much less than the originator firms such as Bayer or Roche. Natco as well as G. M. Pharma had also opposed earlier application of patent for the derivative of AstraZeneca quinazoline. The company eventually filed the review petition which was dismissed by the patent office of India in 2011.Challenge to review petition is not under purview of IPAB and the petition has failed on the merit as well.


India and Sweden Signed Social Security Agreement in New Delhi
India and Sweden signed a social security agreement in New Delhi on 26 November 2012. This agreement will help both the countries in more investment and work opportunities for nationals of India and Sweden. It will also encourage more and more Indians to go to Sweden for employment opportunities and vice versa.  Approximately, 156 Swedish companies are operating in India and expressed the hope that this agreement will encourage Swedish people to come in large numbers to India. In fact, India is the first Asian country with which Sweden has signed this type of agreement. The Social Security Agreement will enhance cooperation on social security between the two countries. The Agreement will provide following benefits to Indian nationals working in Sweden: