may current affairs

7/28/2019 May current affairs

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102.05

--We should liberate CBI from political interference: SC

Ranjit Sinha says CBI is part of government, not autonomous

Additional Solicitor-General Haren Raval resigned for having misled the Supreme Court, whileCBI Director Ranjit Sinha brought the executive and the judiciary to the verge of open

confrontation by stating that his agency was not an autonomous organization but part

of the government.

The CBI, which later sought to clarify its Directors remark, came in for criticism earlier in the

day when the Supreme Court said the investigative agencyshould be insulated from

executive interference.

The Bench rapped the CBI for sharing the draft status report on the coal scam with the Union

Law Minister Ashwani Kumar and said suppression of this fact from the court was disturbing.

We have no doubt that the government has administrative control over the CBI but it was

said before this court in unequivocal terms that this investigation would be independent.

--We need to consult on certain occasions: CBI

Pulled up by the Supreme Court for having shared the status report on the probe into the coal

blocks allocation scam with the Union government, Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday

said it was not an autonomous agency and that it was part of the government.

Following an uproar over the statement made by its Director Ranjit Sinha, the

investigating agency late in the evening issued a clarification, saying, The CBI does not exist in

isolation. We are part of a system and need to consult and take opinion on certain occasions.

--Govt heaves sigh of relief as money Bills are passed

Lok Sabha approval for Finance Bill, rail budget comes amid Opposition walkout

The United Progressive Alliance government was spared embarrassment on Tuesday as the

Finance Bill 2013-14, the railway budget, the Appropriation Bills and demands forgrants to various ministries were approved by the Lok Sabha without discussion, even as

the Opposition walked out seeking Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs resignation over coalgate.

Political analysts say this was one of the rare occasions in Parliament history when all

important money Bills were passed on a single day, that too within a few hours

and without discussion.

The Trinamool Congress Sougata Roy quoted rules of the House to say money Bills could not be

passed without discussion, lest it set a bad precedent.


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2--TRC will be accepted as proof of residency: FM

The Finance Bill is suitably amended to enable withdrawal of the proposedamendment relating to TRC

Setting at rest the confusion that had been created over the taxability of investment through

countries such asMauritius and Cyprus, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, on Tuesday,asserted that the tax residency certificates (TRCs) issued by a foreign government

would be accepted as proof of residency for the purposes of availing of benefits under

tax treaties.

Apprehensions had arisen following the provision in the Finance Bill, 2012, which was

interpreted that the TRC alone would render it difficultfor foreign investors routing funds

through low-tax countries such as Mauritius, Cyprus and Singapore to avail of tax benefits under

theDouble Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAA).

In his presentation of the Budget for 2013-14, the Finance Bill, 2013, had proposed to amend

Sections 90 and 90A in order to provide that submission of a tax residency certificate is anecessary but not a sufficient condition for claiming benefits under the agreements

referred to in sections 90 and 90A.

An interpretation of this provision was seen as conveying that a person holding TRC will also

have to be thebeneficial ownerto claim benefits under the DTAA simply because the TRC is

necessary, but not sufficient condition for availing benefits under the DTAAs that India has

signed with various countries.

Clearing the air, the Finance Bill, approved in the Lok Sabh, was suitably amended to enable

withdrawal of the proposed amendment relating to TRC.

The Finance Bill is suitably amended to enable withdrawal of the proposed

amendment relating to TRC

--Reliance Jio, five others join to set up under-sea cable system

The consortium plans a 8,000-km long Bay of Bengal cable system

Telecom carriersVodafone Group of the U.K., Telekom Malaysia from Malaysia,

Omantel from Oman, Etisalat from the UAE, Reliance Jio Infocomm and Dialog

Axiata from Sri Lanka have formed a consortium to set up an 8,000-km-long Bay of

Bengal Gateway (BBG) submarine cable system to link Malaysia and Singapore to the

Middle East, with connections reaching out to India (Mumbai and Chennai) and Sri Lanka.

The cable system is designed to provide upgradable and transmission facilities by having 100

Gbps capability.

The construction of BBG is planned not only to provide connectivity between Southeast Asia,

South Asia and the Middle East, but also to Europe, Africa and to Far East Asia through inter-

connections with other existing and newly-built cable systems landing in India, the Middle East

and Far East Asia.


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3--Arab League nod for Israel-Palestine land swap

Moving away from sticking to the pre-1967-war positions

Arab countries have collectively agreed to accept an arrangement that would allow Israelis andPalestinians to go ahead with land swaps to resolve differences, rather than strictly

sticking to thepre-1967-war position.

the 22-nation Arab League (AL) appeared to concede land swaps following a meeting in

Washington of Arab officials and John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State, to promote Israeli-

Palestinian peace.

The Washington initiativelooked Mr. Kerrys brainchild.

agreement should be based on the two-state solution on the basis of the 4th of June 1967

line, with the [possibility] of comparable and mutual agreed minor swap of the land.

The Israeli establishment seemed elated by the development.

The perceptible shift in the Arab position seemed to have the approval of the Palestinian

Authority (PA).

The Arab Leagues proposal in its original form was pegged around a full Arab recognition of an

Israeli state, in case it gave up land captured in the 1967 war, and accepted a just solution for

Palestinian refugees. The Israelis had earlier rejected the plan, which was proposed in 2002 at

the Arab Leagues summit in Beirut.

Israel objects to the return to 1967 borders, the return of Palestinian refugees displaced in

earlier wars, and the inclusion of East Jerusalem in a future Palestinian state.

RBI includes urban areas in lead bank schemePTI Posted online: Mon May 06 2013, 10:02 hrs

Mumbai : Stating that there are millions of unbanked people even in urban areas, the Reserve Bank

in a significant move has asked banks to bring all districts in metropolitan areas underthe leadbank scheme (LBS) fold.

The lead bank scheme, launched way back in 1969, is an integrated mechanism to extend banking

services to the doorsteps of consumers, especially the poor.

The move is part of increasing the scope of its financial inclusion drive to urban areas on one hand

and helping the government realise its efforts to plug the loopholes in

subsidy deliveries by transferring all the benefits directly to the bank accounts of the target people.


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4Announcing the annual monetary policy, wherein it reduced the rate at which it lends to banks (repo

rate) by a token 25 basis points to 7.25 per cent, RBI Governor D Subbarao said, the purpose of the

LBS extension is to bring all the unbanked urban areas under the banking fold.

"With the objective of providing an institutional mechanism for coordination between government

authorities and banks, facilitating doorstep banking to the excluded segment of urban poor, and to

implement direct benefit transfer scheme of the government, it has been decided to bring all the

districts in metropolitan areas under the LBS fold," he said.

I t can be no ted that at present , the LBS is appl icable only to no n-urban dist r ic ts as of now .

Explaining the rationale for the move, the RBI said: "The challenge offinancial exclusion is

widespread in metropolitan areas as well, especially amongst the disadvantaged and low-income

groups and not just in villages."

04.03

--Scientists find key to ageing

Scientists have found abiological command centre for the ageing process in a

lump of brain the size of a nut.

The U.S. team identified the mechanism in the hypothalamus, which sits deep

inside the brain, and showed that they could tweak it to shorten or lengthen the lives of

animals.

The work raises the tantalising prospect of drugs that slow down natural ageing to

prolong life in humans, but more cruciallyto prevent age-related diseases, such as

diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimers.

They found that a chemical called NF-kB became more active in the hypothalamus of

mice as they got older.When the researchers blocked the substance mice lived up to

1,100 days, compared with 600 to 1,000 days for normal healthy mice.

--Its Chackos decision to stay or resign, says Meira Kumar

It will be difficult to remove the Chairman of any Parliamentary committee, Lok

Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has said, citing the absence of express provisions in

the Rules, in her response to the 15 members who sought the replacement of Congress

MP and JPC Chairman P. C. Chacko.

It is a different matter if the Chairman himself resigns from the Chairmanship, she

states.

The JPC on 2G was set up under a resolution of Parliament in February, 2011 and it heldits first meeting on March 24, 2011. In the past two years, it has called 28 witnesses


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5across 56 meetings. However, allegations of partisan behaviour aimed at preventing a fair

investigation have dogged its Chairman from the start, culminating in 15 of its 30

members rejecting the draft JPC report that was circulated on April 19.

Rule 261 provides that all questions at any sitting of a committee shall be determined

by a majority of votesof the members present and voting and that All contentiousissues can, therefore, be resolved by the Committee by having recourse to this Rule,

No JPC has failed to produce a report in the past, Mr. Dasgupta said. The fact

that 30 Members of Parliament have met for two years and failed to produce any report

will considerably diminish the stature of the JPC as an arm of investigation of

Parliament.

--Monetary transmission, a key concern for RBI

The markets are expecting a reduction in indicative policy rates (repo rate) along with a

cut in Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) when the Reserve Bank of India announces its Annual

Monetary Policy for 2013-14 on Friday.

The major issue arises with regard to RBIs policy is the transmission of rate cut by

banks to consumers,which, the bankers believe, is possible only with a cut in CRR.

They are reportedly of the view that just a cut in repo rate is not enough.

CRR, the portion of deposits that the banks are required to maintain with the RBI, is 4

per cent now. The repo rate, the rate at which banks borrow funds from the RBI, is

7.50 per cent.

--Stockholm convention approves alternatives to endosulfan

The Conference of Parties to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic

Pollutants, meeting in Geneva, approved non-chemical as well as chemical alternatives

to endosulfan on Thursday.

The non-chemical alternatives were proposed in a significant departure from past practice. The

evaluation of non-chemical alternatives, as accepted by the conference, consists of an ecosystem-

based approach to pest management as well as technical interventions.

The conference approved as many as 100 chemical alternatives to endosulfan subject to certain

reservations. The approved chemical alternatives include pesticides malathion, aldicarb,

carbofuran, cabaryl, fipronil, methyl parathion, and pyrethrin, which are used in India.

The convention had decided uponphased elimination of endosulfan and its related isomers in

2011 with specific exemptions that included use on multiple crop-pest complexes.As a follow-up

to that, it had launched the work programme for evaluating alternatives, as wanted by

India and other countries.


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6--The significance of Niyamgiri

The Supreme Court has strongly endorsed the role of the gram sabhas as democratic decision-

making fora on issues of individual, community and cultural rights of tribals and traditional

forest dwellers. Its recent ruling in the Niyamgiri bauxite mining case has far-reaching impact

because environmental laws such as the Forest (Conservation) Act, the Forest Rights Act and theEnvironment (Protection) Act are given scant respect by industrial project proponents looking for

natural resources. This trend has accelerated in recent years, with national development being

measured by a single number, the Gross Domestic Product. Under pressure, the Ministry of

Environment and Forests has generally adopted a benign approach to enforcement. In the

bauxite mining project promoted by the Vedanta group in Odisha, the Ministry made a welcome

exception and recorded violations too egregious to be glossed over. The Supreme Court order in

the case, endorsing the rights of tribals under the Forest Rights Act and the Panchayat (Extension

to Scheduled Areas) Act to make fresh claims and designating the gram sabhas as the competent

fora to decide them, should end strong arm measures against defenceless communities. It is

beyond doubt that there is an organic connection between tribals and the land, and this has been

accepted by the Supreme Court in another case in 1997. That bond must be respected.

Besides this fundamental issue, several key questions relating to negative externalities caused

by development projects have also been addressed: diversion of forest land for industry should be

compensated through payment of Net Present Value; separate funds must be earmarked for

compensatory afforestation and wildlife management; designated pre-tax profits should be

allocated for development of scheduled areas. Unfortunately, such basic requirements are often

portrayed as impediments to economic growth, and environmental losses stand ignored.

Moreover, a transparent, independent assessment mechanism to monitor implementation of

conditions set for grant of clearance does not exist. In Odisha, for instance, environmental rules

and conditions were brazenly violated by Vedanta Alumina when it launched the expansion of its

project before clearance was given, a fact recorded by the Saxena committee of the EnvironmentMinistry. Now that the gram sabhas, and thereafter the MoEF have another opportunity to revisit

the Niyamgiri project, they must ensure that tribal rights are recognised. The Supreme Court

order is a good precedent for all projects that have environmental and social consequences.

Development is a natural aspiration, but it must be genuine and not result in the loss of even the

existing quality of life.

--Somalia famine killed over 258,000: U.N.

Almost 260,000 people, half of them young children, died of hunger during the lastfamine in Somalia, according to a U.N. report on Thursday which admitted the world

body should have done more to prevent the tragedy.

The toll is much higher than was feared at the time of the 2010-2012 food crisis in the

troubled Horn of Africa country and also exceeds the 220,000 who starved to death in the

1992 famine.

Famine and severe food insecurityin Somalia claimed the lives of about 258,000

people between October 2010 and April 2012, including 133,000 children under five,

said the report, the first scientific estimate of how many died.

Somalia was the hardest hit by extreme drought in 2011 that affected over 13 millionpeople across the Horn of Africa.


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7--Interference: Morales expels USAID

President Evo Morales acted on a long-time threat on Wednesday and expelled the U.S. Agency

for International Developmentfor allegedly seeking to undermineBolivias leftist

government.

USAID was accused ofalleged political interference inpeasant unions and other social

organisations.

They surely still think they can manipulate here politically and economically, he said.

--From hawala scam to coalgate, full circle for Supreme Court

Our first exercise will be to liberate CBI from political interference. This is what the

Supreme Court said while deliberating the coal scam status report.

It is not the first time that the court will be embarking on such a project. A similar exercise

was undertaken after the hawala case judgment on December 17, 1997. It is important to

revisit that judgment in this context.

Four points

The final judgment of the court comprised various directions to establish institutional and other

arrangements aimed at insulating the CBI from extraneous influences. Four of these were

important.

1. One, the judgment transferred the superintendence over the CBIfrom the

government to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).

2. Two, it said that selection for the post of CBI Director should be made by a committee

headed by the CVC, with the Union Home Secretary and Secretary (Personnel) as

members.

3. Three, the CBI Director should have a minimum tenure of two years, regardless of the

date of his superannuation.

4. Four, the CBI would no longer be required to obtain permission from the government

before investigating allegations against officers of the rank of joint secretary as theSingle Directive was declared null and void.

None of these directives was implemented honestly. Control over the CBI was not

fully transferred.

The CVC Act of 2003 allowed the CVC to exercise superintendence only over corruption

cases registered by the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE).

The CVC Act resulted in introducing a system ofdual control over the CBI one exercised by

the CVC in respect of corruption cases and the other by the Central government in

respect of other cases.


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8Single Directive

The government has always succeeded in selecting its own man to head the organisation because

all the three officers who constitute the committee to select the CBI chief are

bureaucratswho are generally willing to toe the governments line.Besides constituting this

committee, the CVC Actdid not lay down the procedure for selection of the head of theorganisation.

The security of tenure, which was guaranteed by the judgment, did not work because the

government succeeded in dangling the carrot of post-retirement benefits before the CBI chief.

The last person was recently made the Governor of Nagaland bringing the number of IPS

officers occupying gubernatorial posts to eight. The judgment did not say, as was done by the

National Police Commission, that the head of a police organisation should not be eligible for any

government post after retirement.

Lastly, the hawala case judgment declared the Single Directive null and void. The court found it

bad in law. It required a police agency to seek permission from the executive to initiateinvestigation into a criminal offence, which is contrary to law. It also violated the canon of

equality in the application of laws. The CVC Act of 2003 infracted these basic principles of

legal jurisprudence by resurrecting the Single Directive.

That the judgment and the measures it prescribed failed to free the CBI from political

interference is obvious from recent developments the present CBI Director showing the coal

scam investigation report to the Law Minister and other functionaries of the government. In fact,

even before this case occurred, Justice J.S. Verma, the author of the hawala case judgment, had

realised that the CBI continued to be influenced by political considerations in its work. This is

what he wrote in an article titled The Incredible CBI published in a leading daily on April 11,

2009: The blame cannot be laid elsewhere. It is too much of a coincidence that in sensitivematters, the outcome of the CBIs investigation invariably depends on the political equation of

the accused with the ruling power, and it changes without compunction with the change in that

equation.

The hawala case judgment is not the only one, which has not been implemented fully, either in

letter and in spirit. The Supreme Courts judgment inPrakash Singh delivered on September 22,

2006, also remains unimplemented in most States.

The Supreme Court has to think out of the box not merely to make recommendations to liberate

the CBI but also to ensure their implementation.

(G.P Joshi was director, Bureau of Police Research and Development, Ministry of Home Affairs,

Government of India.)

Non-implementation of the 1997 judgment in the money laundering case shows

that freeing the CBI from political interference is a challenge even for the apex

court


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9Fact Box: Top 15 countries with gigantic Oil Reserves

May 6th, 2013

Following sanctions over Iran on its oil-trade, oil prices have experienced volatility. Many

fear that it would lead to high oil prices. However, Saudi Arabia has said that it would

raise oil supply to keep the oil prices low but many doubt that the kingdom has as muchoil as it claims.

As per a report by UBS, global oil reserves stand at 1.38 trillion barrels and are

expected to last another 46.2 years.

Below are the summary of key data from the report which ranked 15 countries with the

highest oil reserves along with their oil supply and the years of remaining reserves.

Note:The data in parenthesis represents the percent of global reserves and

global supply.

Rank Country Oil Reserves Oil Supply Years of remaining

reserves

1. Saudi Arabia 265 billion barrels

(19.1%)

11.75 million Barrels

daily (13.2%)

72.4 years

2. Venezuela 211 billion barrels

(15.3%)


daily (2.8%)

234.1 years

3. Iran 137 billion barrels

(9.9%)


(4.7%)

88.4 years

4. Iraq 115 billion barrels

(8.3%)

2.7 million Barrels

daily (3.1%)

128.1 years

5. Kuwait 102 billion barrels

(7.3%)


daily (3.1%)

110.9 years

6. UAE 98 billion barrels

(7.1%)


daily (3.6%)

94.1 years

7. Russia Federation 77 billion barrels

(5.6%)


daily (11.6%)

20.6 years

8. Libya 46 billion barrels

(3.4%)

834,000 barrels (0.9%)76.7 years

9. Kazakhstan 40 billion barrels

(2.9%)


daily (1.8%)

62.1 years

10. Nigeria 37 billion barrels

(2.7%)

2.4 million Barrels

daily (2.7%)

42.4 years


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10

Tags: Environment Fact Box International

--Fact Box: Factory Asia

May 6th, 2013

Chief Economic Advisor Raghuram Rajan recently held that India is looking forward to

introduce the concept of Factory Asia in economy to develop rapid production

networks. Factory Asia is concentrated where infrastructure is good and there is a large

pool of untapped potentially productive labour.

What is the concept of Factory Asia?

The concept works on the model of manufacturing and producing parts and components

by various Asian developing economies to utilise resources efficiently which are

assembled into finished product and exported to developed economies. Thus, Factory

Asia refers to the model of regional production networks connecting different Asian

economies, producing parts and components that are then assembled, with the final

product shipped largely to advanced economies.

It started with economic liberalization in China in the late 1980s, aided by rapid

development of production networks. The group comprises, among others, China, Japan,

South Korea and Indonesia.

Objectives:

Boost the exports,

Increase employment opportunities,

Lift millions of population out of poverty.

As per Rajan there are four challenges that will take India to Factory Asia:

1. Supply Chain Management: Provide organised infrastructure to smoothen inter and

intra state as well as country connectivity Project costing $90 billion initiated to

11. Canada 32 billion barrels

(2.3%)


daily (4.4%)

26.3 years

12. USA 31 billion barrels

(2.2%)


daily (11.9%)

11.3 years

13. Qatar 26 billion barrels

(1.9%)


daily (1.9%)

45.2 years

14. China 15 billion barrels

(1.1%)

4.19 million Barrels a

day (4.7%)

9.9 years

15. Brazil 14 billion barrels (1%) 2.8 million Barrels a

day (3.2%)

18.3 years
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11develop the 1483Km DMIC (Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor) which will have

six-lane highways, nine industrial townships, three ports and six airports.

2. Making India Investor friendly: As Indian investors are risk-averse, effort is

required to bring awareness of potential growth to investors facilitating utilisation of

undeployed resources.

3. Reforming Labour laws: Easing of stringent labour laws to increase employmentrate.

4. Skill development: Invest in skills, technologies and private sector to move beyond

low cost manufacturing and ensure economic growth.

Tags: Economy Fact Box India-International Relations Persons in News

--Fact Box: Fire Glass

May 6th, 2013

Fire Glass is tempered glass that is used in fireplaces and fire pits to increase vibrancy,

reflection and color. It does not burn, but retains heat and refracts light as a

result of burning gas.

Why it is used?

Fire Glass is used to enhance the radiance, reflection and color which also adds to the

aesthetic value of the fireplace. It is used to replace artificial gas logs or wood logs. A

burner pan with fire glass will radiate 3-4 times more heat with its reflective surface than

wood or artificial logs.

How safe is it?

The glass is designed for gas fire pits and gas fireplaces to endure high

temperatures without melting, burning, popping or discoloring. The glass does NOT

create toxic fumes, smoke, ash, or soot. It usually comes in small shards with

rounded edges to decrease risk of cuts.

How shards of ordinary glass are different from Fire Glass?

Unlike Fire Glass, ordinary glass cant be used in fireplace as it can pop or even shoot

out shards. Laminated windshield glass will blacken and melt. Tempered windshield glass

incorporates a plastic film that will produce a most annoying smoke & odor anddepending upon its chemical make up the gas can also be poisonous.

Tags: Fact Box Science and Technology

--Govt approved IKEAs FDIproposal of Rs.10,500 Crore

May 6th, 2013

The government allowed Swedish furniture company IKEA to invest Rs 10,500 crore- the

largest investment in the single brand retailing for setting up home furnishing stores in

the country since the government liberalized the FDI policy in retail sector in November,

2011.

About IKEA
http://currentaffairs.gktoday.in/topics/economy/http://currentaffairs.gktoday.in/topics/fact-box/http://currentaffairs.gktoday.in/topics/india-international-relations/http://currentaffairs.gktoday.in/topics/persons-in-news/http://currentaffairs.gktoday.in/topics/fact-box/http://currentaffairs.gktoday.in/topics/science-and-technology/http://currentaffairs.gktoday.in/topics/science-and-technology/http://currentaffairs.gktoday.in/topics/fact-box/http://currentaffairs.gktoday.in/topics/persons-in-news/http://currentaffairs.gktoday.in/topics/india-international-relations/http://currentaffairs.gktoday.in/topics/fact-box/http://currentaffairs.gktoday.in/topics/economy/


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12IKEA is private held company and founded in Sweden in 1943. It is the most successful

mass market retailer that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture (such as beds,

chairs, and desks), appliances, and home accessories in 230 stores in 33 countries. The

company is renowned for expertise to control the cost, product development and its

global expansion.

Impact in India if IKEA enters Indian market:

IKEA will set up 10 stores of furniture and home ware products over next 10 years.

Enhanced growth in retail sector as India has market of good sourcing to change retail

standards.

Provide an opportunity to Indian small and medium enterprises for integrating into

global value chain.

Provide a diverse choice for the Indian consumers for a wide range of products.

--RBI eases rates, trims repo rate by 25bps to 7.25%

May 4th, 2013

RBI reduced the Repo Rate (the rate at which RBI lends money to commercial banks),

to 7.25% from 7.5% while keeping the CRR (Cash Reserve Ratio- the portion of deposits

that banks require to maintain with RBI) unchanged at 4%.

Monetary Measures

Repo rate: reduction by 25 bps from 7.5% to 7.25%

Reverse repo rate: 6.25% (100 bps below repo rate) MSF (Marginal Standing facility) rate: 8.25% (100 bps above repo rate)

Bank rate: 8.25%

Cash reserve ratio retained at 4% of NDTL (Net Demand and Time Liabilities)

Impact of repo rate cut:

Reduced cost of overnight borrowing for commercial banks from RBI.

Lead to reduced lending rates, helping in better macroeconomic sentiments.

RBI has invoked banks to pass the impact of above to end users as banks hold to

factor the benefit.

Why a Need of reduction in repo rate ?

In order to continue to address risk towards growth.

Insistence by Government and industry to lower borrowing costs to spur economic

growth, estimated to have slumped to 5% in the year ended March 31, 2013.

Guard against the risks of inflation pressures re-emerging and adversely affecting

inflation expectations.

Manage liquidity to ensure adequate credit flow to the productive sectors of the

economy.


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13--May 3, 2013: World Press Freedom Day

May 4th, 2013

World Press Freedom Day celebrated its 20th anniversary in on May 3, 2013. The themeof World Press Freedom Day 2013 was Safe to Speak: Securing Freedom of

Expression in All Media.The United Nation General Assembly declared May 3 as

World Press Freedom Day in December, 1993 following a recommendation adopted at

the 26th session of UNESCOs General Conference.

Objective:

Celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom,

Raise the awareness of importance of press freedom around the world,

Defend the media from attacks on their independence,

Pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in exercise of their profession, Encourage and develop initiatives in favour of press freedom.

UNESCO marks World Press Freedom Day as an opportunity to honor notable

contribution to the defence and/or promotion of press freedom across the world

by UNESCO-Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Award.

Ethiopian Journalist Reeyot Alemu was honoured by 2013 UNESCO-Guillermo Cano

World Press Freedom Prize for her exceptional workings on the root causes of

poverty, and gender equality.

--Christopher Briggs new Secretary General of The Ramsar Convention

May 4th, 2013

The Ramsar Convention Standing Committee has appointed Dr Christopher Briggs to the

position of Secretary General. He will succeed Mr. Tiga Anada who has served the

Convention for the past six years.

What is Ramsar Convention?

Formal title of the Ramsar Convention is The Convention on Wetlands of International

Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitat.

Ramsar is a town in Iran and this international treaty aims the conservation and

sustainable utilization of wetlands, to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of

wetlands now and in the future.

It was signed in Ramsar on February 2, 1971, and came into force on December 21,

1975. To commemorate its signing date, February 2 is observed as World Wetland Day

every year.


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14The meeting was invited by Mr Eskander Firouz, Director of Irans Game and Fish

Department, and held in the Caspian seaside resort of Ramsar in Iran, the text of the

Convention was agreed on 2 February 1971 and signed by the delegates of 18 nations

the next day.

--Centre starts Pentavalent Vaccine programme in high-risk areas

May 4th, 2013

With an aim to expand and promote the reach of vaccination, the Union Government has

kicked off its four-week special immunization programme in high-risk areas across the

nation. The vaccines are being provided free of cost aimed at reaching every child.

Full immunization prevents approximately 4 lakh deaths from vaccine preventable

diseases in the under-five category every year.

Close to 75 lakh children miss childhood vaccinations each year.

On a global scale, every fifth child is not immunized.

What is Pentavalent Vaccine?

India had introduced the Pentavalent vaccine expansion in 2011 in Tamil Nadu and

Kerala. It has now expanded to some other states as well.

Pentavalent vaccine is given to protect children from five diseases:

1. Hib pneumonia and Hib meningitis (Hib = Haemophilus influenzae type b)

2. Diphtheria

3. Pertussis

4. Tetanus

5. Hepatitis B

Indias Immunization Programme:

Government of India has been running Universal Immunization Programme since

1985 which is currently one of the key areas under National Rural Health Mission

(NRHM)since 2005. The program consists of vaccination for seven diseases:-

1. Tuberculosis

2. Diphtheria

3. Pertussis (whooping cough)

4. Tetanus

5. Poliomyelitis

6. Measles

7. Hepatitis B

India had declared year 2012-13 as the Year of Intensification of Routine

Immunization.

Objective of this campaign: To improve full immunization coverage and reach all

children, particularly in remote, inaccessible and backward areas as well as in urban

slums. The present full immunization coverage of children is 61%.


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15--Supreme Court questions Z security for Mukesh Ambani

May 3rd, 2013

The Supreme Court questioned Z security to industrialist Mukesh Ambani when thegovernment was unable to provide security to the common man. The Apex court asked

Why is state providing security to such person when the rich can afford to hire private

security personnel?

In a brief order, the Bench directed all States to inform the Delhi government of the

movements of their VIPs and violation of the rule would be viewed seriously. The court

suggested for the creation of a mechanism to assess security threat of VIPs. It

expressed concern over security cover being provided even to persons who faced rape or

murder charges, and said this must be stopped. The Bench said unless there was specific

information about threat perception, no VIP security should be provided to these

persons.

What is Z security?

Depending upon the threat perception the security cover has been classified

into four categories:

Z+ category: security cover of36 personnel, highest level

Z category : 28 personnel (security cover by the Delhi police or the ITBP or

CRPF personnel)

Y category : 11 personnel

X category : 2 personnel

The Special Protection Group (SPG) protects the Prime Minister of India. It is one

of the eight Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF).

The Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) are the following police forces of the central

government of India:

Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) [Includes Rapid Action Force (RAF) and

Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (COBRA)]

Border Security Force (BSF)

Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB)

Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)

Railway Protection Force (RPF)

National Security Guards (NSG) [Included Special Protection Group (SPG)]

--Union Cabinets approves the launch of NUHM as a sub-mission under the

National Health Mission (NHM)

May 3rd, 2013

The National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) will be launched as a new sub-mission

under the extensive National Health Mission (NHM), as approved by the Union


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16Cabinet. The Union Cabinet had already approved the continuation of the National

Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and the other sub-mission under NHM till 2017.

Focus of NUHM: Primary health care needs of the urban poor.

Key proposals approved under NUHM scheme:

One Urban Primary Health Centre (U-PHC) for every fifty to sixty thousand population.

One Urban Community Health Centre (U-CHC) for five to six U-PHCs in big cities.

OneAuxiliary Nursing Midwives (ANM) for 10,000 population.

One Accredited Social Health Activist ASHA (community link worker) for 200 to 500

households.

Cost and Coverage

Estimate Cost of NUHM for 5 years: Rs.22,507

Centre-State funding ration: 75:25 (except for North Eastern states and other specialcategory states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand for whom

the funding pattern will be 90:10)

To be implemented in 779 cities and towns with more than 50,000 population and will

cover about 7.75 crore people.

Expected positive impact:

Reduction in Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)

Reduction in Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR)

Universal access to reproductive health care

Convergence of all health related interventions.

Tags: Health Plans and Policies Socio-Economic

--Jenita Mary Nongkynrih A Woman scientist from Meghalaya gets ISRO

award

May 3rd, 2013

This years ISRO Young Scientist Award was given to Jenita Mary Nongkynrih, a young

woman scientist from Meghalaya.

Award: Citation and cash of Rs 50,000

Project: She was awarded for herUrban Information system project in the North East

Fast Facts about Jenita Mary:

Currently working as a scientist at the North Eastern Space Applications Centre

(NESAC),

Holds a Masters degree in Geography from North Eastern Hill University.

Tags: Awards Meghalaya Persons in News
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17--Japans Mount Fuji set to be listed in Unesco World heritage sitesMay 3rd, 2013

The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is set to

categorize Japanese volcano of Mount Fuji as a World Heritage site.

International Council on Monuments and Sites (Icomos) had approved Mt

Fuji as appropriate for registration

Key Features about Mount Fuji:

It is Japans highest peak at 12,460 feet.

Situated to the south-west of Tokyo and is visible from the Japanese capital.

Had last erupted nearly 300 years ago.

A symbol of Japanese spiritual worship, art and geographical orientation.

Japan currently has 16 World Heritage-listed sites 12 of them are cultural and 4 are

natural.

The most recent addition to the list were the Buddhism-linked gardens and temples of

Hiraizumi, in year 2011.

--BSE, S&P Dow Jones Indices launch S&P BSE 500 Islamic / Shariah index

May 3rd, 2013

An Islamic equity index was launched by BSE and S&P Dow Jones Indices S&P BSE

500 Shariah index. It comprises all Shariah compliant stocks of the broad based S&P

BSE 500 index. The S&P BSE 500 consists of 500 most liquid Indian stocks traded at BSE

Objective:

The index will imbibe structures regarding finance and commercial activities permitted

for Muslims as per Shariah, an Islamic canonical law.

To provide relevant and transparent index solutions needed to gauge the performance

of various market sectors while facilitating access to the worlds financial markets.

It meets the need for a benchmark in India to measure the performance of Shariahcompliant stocks trading at the BSE.

BSE and S&P Dow Jones Indices announced a strategic partnership to calculate,

disseminate, and license the widely followed suite of BSE indices on February 19, 2013.

This shall be the first joint product launched between BSE and S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Tags: Business Economy IBPS India-International Relations International
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18--Abdul Hamid is the new Bangladesh PresidentMay 3rd, 2013

Abdul Hamid was sworn in as 17th Bangladesh President replacing Zillur Rahman, who

died last month. Abdul Hamid was previously the parilamentary speaker of BangladeshAssembly.

Historical background

Parliament speaker and acting President since March 14 when Mr. Rahman went for

medical treatment to Singapore.

Member of the Awami League.

A former lawyer.

Political career began when he joined Bangladesh Chhatra League in 1959.

Tags: Bangladesh International Persons in News

IMF warns Asia of Middle Income Trap and asset bubble

May 2nd, 2013

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has indicated that a number of Asian countries

are potentially susceptible to the middle-income trap and asset bubble Asian emerging

economies need to guard against asset bubbles and they must improve government

institutions and liberalize rigid labor and product markets if they wish to reach the level

of developed countries.

The warning has come at time when the region looks set to lead a global economicrecovery as risks from a meltdown in Europe recede. Although the risks from an acute

euro area crisis have diminished, regional risks are coming into clearer focus. These

include some ongoing buildup of financial imbalances and rising asset prices.

The IMF has ranked Malaysia and China as the highest-ranked developing Asian

countries in a chart measuring institutional strength while Indonesia, India and the

Philippines were at the bottom.

What is Institutional Strength?

IMF defined institutional strength as demonstrating higher political stability, betterbureaucratic capability, fewer conflicts and less corruption.

What is middle-income trap?

An economic development situation where a developing economy after attaining

certain income / growth risk stagnation and are unable to continue their growth

further and enter into the rank of a Developed economy.

Here, a developing economy might grow very fast initially and then it stucks at a

certain level (middle income level) and is then unable to grow further i.e. its growth

plateaus.

A developing nation gets trapped when it reaches a certain,comparatively comfortable level of income but cannot appear to take that next big
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19jump into the true major league of the developed world economy, with per capita

wealth to match.

Typically characteristics of a countries trapped at middle-income level: (1) low

investment ratios; (2) slow manufacturing growth; (3) limited industrial

diversification; and (4) poor labor market conditions.

Can a country come out of Middle Income Trap ?

YES, but breaking out of it, however, is extremely difficult. The reason is that

escaping the trap requires an entire overhaul of the economic growth model most

often used by emerging economies.

The concept behind the middle-income trap is quite simple: Its relatively easier to

rise from a low-income to a middle-income economy than it is to jump from a middle-

income to a high-income economy.

The one very famous example is that of the Republic of Korea (South Korea). South

Korea has proved to the world that by building a high-quality education system which

promotes creativity and innovation in science and technology and private companies

supported by the financial sector and the government, a nation can escape the Middle

Income Trap.

How can a Middle Income Trap be avoided:

Some key suggestions to avoid Middle Income Trap include:

Identifying strategies to introduce new processes and find new markets to maintain

export growth.

Ramping up domestic demand

Shifting from resource-driven growth (i.e. dependent on cheap labor and capital) to

growth based on high productivity and innovation

Investments in infrastructure and education.

Tags: Economy IMF India-International Relations International Socio-Economic

Bombay HC directs Maharashtra govt to release water into Jayakwadi dam

May 2nd, 2013

Bombay High Court has ordered the Maharashtra government to release water from

upstream reservoirs into the Jayakwadi dam in the region.

Jayakwadi dam

The Jaikawadi project is a large irrigation and multipurpose project.

Its water is used primarily to irrigate agricultural land in the drought-prone

Marathwada region of the state.

Provides water for drinking and industrial usage to nearby towns and villages and to

the municipalities and industrial areas of Aurangabad and Jalna district.

Jayakwadi dam is located on Godavari river at the site of Jayakawadi village in

Paithan taluka of Aurangabad district in Maharashtra state of India.
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20What is the issue?

The dam was not getting sufficient water to meet the needs of surrounding regions.

According the state government it was facingpractical difficulties in conveying the

water to the Jayakwadi dam and there was also low reserves in the upstream reservoirs.

After the HC order the water would be released from the Karanjwan, Gangapur,

Bhandardara and Mula dams in the Nashik and Ahmednagar districts.

05.04

--Pakistans prosecutor in Mumbai attacks, Benazirassassination cases shot dead

Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali

--Rate cut, yes, but cheaper loans not yet

But endeavour to actively manage liquidity to reinforce monetarytransmission, but not through a cut in CRR

The Reserve Bank of India cut its key lending rate by25 basis points on Friday but

bankers said that it was too small to have any impact on retail lending rates immediately.

There is no scope to cut rates.

The RBI reduced the indicative policy rate (repo rate) from 7.50 per cent to 7.25

per cent.

However, it kept the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR), the portion of total deposits banks

are mandated to keep with the central bank, unchanged at 4 per cent.

The RBI had cut the CRR in the last nearly one-and-half years by 200 basis points.


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21 Including the latest one, the RBI has cut the repo rate by 125 basis points (one basis point

is one-hundredth of a percentage point) in the last one year.

--NASA rover to explore Greenlands ice

NASA is sending a six feet-tall solar-powered rover prototype for ice exploration on

highest part ofGreenlands massive ice sheet.

The robot, known as Grover, which stands for both Greenland Rover and Goddard

Remotely Operated Vehicle for Exploration and Research, will roam the frigid landscape

collecting measurements to help scientists better understand changes in the massive ice

sheet.

This autonomous, solar-powered robot carries a ground-penetrating radar to study

how snow accumulates, adding layer upon layer to the ice sheet over time.

Research with polar rovers costs less than aircraft or satellites, the usual platforms.

Robots like Grover will give us a new tool for glaciology studies.

The tank-like Grover prototype stands six feet tall, including its solar panels.

--India-Pakistan panel lays down guidelines for prisoners Consular access should be granted within three months andprisoners repatriated within a month of

their sentences being completed, an India-Pakistan judicial panel that visited three jails in Pakistan has

recommended.

The panel recommended that the Consular Access Agreementof May 2008 between the two countries

be implemented in letter and spirit and consular access be provided within three months of the arrest.

Complete details of the charges and a copy of courts judgment of the sentence must be shared in each

case, said a statement.

that the respective high commissions should set up apanel of lawyers and firms of good repute to

pursue the cases of prisoners in local courts, if the prisoner so wishes.

task the Pakistani Maritime Security Agency and Coast Guard of India to work on setting up a

mechanism for release of inadvertent crossers (fishermen) and their boats, on the same lines as the

inadvertent crossers on land.


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22

CAD biggest risk to Indian economy: RBI

Describing high Current Account Deficit (CAD) as the biggest risk to Indian economy, the RBI on

Friday said any further deterioration of CAD could result in its policy reversal stance.

which, last year, was historically the highest.

.Monetary policy will also have to remain alert to the risks on the account of the CAD and its

financing, which could warrant a swift reversal of the policy stance.

CAD, which is the difference between the inflow and outflow of foreign currency, had touched a

record high of 6.7 per cent in the December quarter of last fiscal year..

It said even as the large CAD is a risk by itself, its financing exposes the economy to the risk of sudden

stop and reversal of capital flows, should global liquidity rapidly tighten.

Further, with quantitative easing (QE), AE central banks are in uncharted territory with considerable

uncertainty about the trajectory of recovery and the calibration of QE.

Should global liquidity conditions rapidly tighten, India could potentially face a problem of sudden

stop and reversal of capital flows, jeopardising our macro-financial stability.

The apex bank had also expressed concern over rising external debt and short-term borrowings to

meet the widening CAD.

Short-term debt on a residual maturity basis increased to 44 per cent of total debt and 56 per cent of

the foreign exchange reserves by end-December 2012, it had said.


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23

06.05

--India to develop Iranian port

Decision on Chabahar spurred by Chinese stake in Pakistans Gwadar port

India on Saturdayannounced its participation in the Chabahar port project a

move that would reinforce NewDelhis strategic ties with Tehran and Kabul ahead

of next years withdrawal from Afghanistan by the United States.

The decision to forge a trilateral partnership was announced in Tehran by External

Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid.


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24 The convergence of views between India and Iran goes beyond the ambit of bilateral

relations and extends to the regional and international arena as well. The Chabahar port

project is one such area which reflects our commitment to the stability and peace in

Afghanistan.

Analysts point out that Indias participation in upgrading the Chabahar port has deepgeopolitical resonance.

The full development of the port would lower landlocked Afghanistans dependence on

Pakistani ports for assured access to the sea.

In February, Pakistan decided that China would operate its Gwadar port, just 76 km from

Chabahar.

For the first time, Gwadar would provide Chinese ships sustained anchorage in an area

on the edge of the Arabian Sea, not far from the Strait of Hormuz, through which the

bulk of the worlds energy supplies pass.

--India considering more investments in Iran

Iran to be anchor of energy security: Salehi

Along with the joint development of the Chabahar port in Iran announced by Foreign Minister

Salman Khurshid here on Saturday, India is considering investments in several other projects to

boost India-Iran-Afghanistan ties.

Diplomatic sources said India was exploring investments in

1. the Chabahar container terminal project and

2. in the proposed Chabahar-Faraj-Bam railway. Once this railroad is complete,

containers can be speedily sent to Bam, on the Afghan border. Then onward journey

can commence along the 200-km India-built Zaranj-Delaram road that hooks up

with Afghanistans garland highway, linking all major cities.

Iran was looking for Indian investments in the Chabahar Free Trade and Industrial Zone

an area of around 140 sq km that is carved into nine functional zones..

the off-shore Farzad B project where Indian companies could acquire oil under a lucrative

production sharing agreement.

On his part, Mr. Khurshid tuned the attention of his hosts to the merits of expanding Indias

role in Irans food security basket.

--Israel targets weapons shipment in Syria

Israeli warplanes hit a weapons shipment in Syria headed for Lebanons Hezbollah, mediaquoted U.S. officials as saying.


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25If confirmed, the raid would markthe second time Israel has hit Syria this year after it

implicitly admitted carrying out a January strike on weapons thought to be en route to

Hezbollah. AFP

--Ansari opens centre for environment audit and sustainable development

the International Centre for Environment Audit and Sustainable

Development (iCED) in Jaipur.

The Centre has been set up by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and

seeks to establish a global Centre of Excellence to improve accountability andgovernance in the area of environment and sustainable development.

The Institute aims to harnessIndias expertise in conducting over a 100 environment

audits in the last 20 years to provide extensive training and an international forum for

experience sharing in this field.

iCED is also the Global Training Facility for The International Organization of

Supreme Audit Institutions which is an organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions

worldwide.

It is amongst the first government buildings in India to have a 5 star green rating as per

Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment norms.

to factor in environmental concerns in our auditing.

offer concrete recommendations to the executive for improving environmentalgovernance.

--Sindhu wins Malaysia Grand Prix

P.V. Sindhu reaffirmed her status as the rising star of Indian badminton as she lifted hermaiden Grand Prix Gold title in Malaysia after getting the better of Juan Gu of Singapore in

a gruelling final here on Saturday.

The world No.13 Indian shuttler.

07.05

--Tehran furious as Israel attacks Syria


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26 Israeli jets bombed Syria on Sunday, rocking Damascus for hours and sending pillars

of flame into the night sky, in what a Western source called a new strike on Iranian

missiles, bound for Lebanons Hezbollah.

second in 48 hours

--Why the failure in Almaty is a big deal

The most recent round of nuclear talks between the P5+1 were, by any meaningful

measure, a failure.

talks failed becauseAmerica and its western partners remain unwilling to recognise

Irans right to enrich uranium under international safeguards.

U.S. strategic culture

As a sovereign state, Iran is entitled to enrich, if it chooses; as a party to the Nuclear

Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), it is entitled to do so under safeguards.

The NPT explicitly recognises signatories inalienable right to use nuclear technology

for peaceful purposes.

Yet the Obama administration is no closer than its processor to accepting safeguarded

enrichment in Iran. This ispartly due to pressure from various allies Israel, Saudi

Arabia, Britain, France and their American supporters, who expect Washington

somehow to defy legal principle along with political reality and compel Tehran to

surrender its indigenous fuel-cycle capabilities.

Earlier years

The world has experienced such diplomatic stasis before.In 2003-2005, Britain, France, and

Germany worked (ostensibly) to prepare a nuclear settlement with Tehran; Iran suspended

enrichment for nearly two years to encourage diplomatic progress. The initiative failed becausethe George W. Bush administration refused to join the talks unless Tehran was willing to

abandon pursuit of indigenous fuel-cycle capabilities.

In 2009-2010, efforts to negotiate the exchange of most of Irans then-stockpile of enriched

uranium for fuel for the Tehran Research Reactor collapsed for similar reasons. In the May 2010

Tehran Declaration brokered by Brazil and Turkey, Iran accepted all of Washingtons terms for a

fuel swap, yet the Obama administration rejected the Declaration because it openly recognised

Irans right to enrich. Three years later, the administration is once again undermining chances

for diplomatic success with its inflexibility regarding Irans nuclear rights.


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27By once again blowing the chance to close a nuclear deal with Iran, the U.S. and

its western partners have set themselves up for escalating the conflict with the

Islamic republic

--Sixty years of a DNA world view

the passage of 60 years since James Watson and Francis Crickpublished their paperinNature describing the double helical structure of the DNA molecule.

08.05

--First ever printed gun fired

This week, Cody Wilson, a 25-year-old law student at the University of Texas, successfully test-

fired a gun printed from an $8,000-3D printer, in theory heralding an era where individuals

may be able to obtain guns in the comfort of their living rooms and escape onerous regulatory

requirements.

--Licensed gun printing covered under 2nd Amendment

While 3D printing has been used extensively in the past for rapid prototyping and research,

this development could lead to a shake-up of the traditional manufacturing industry, bringing

topics such asfirearms regulation andcopyright issues into the spotlight.

the 3D-printed gun was legal,the Second Amendment protecting the citizens gun ownership

rights. She said that under the present laws A person can manufacture a firearm for their ownuse. However, if they engage in the business of manufacture to sell a gun, they need a licence.

--Ashwani Kumar changed scope of coal enquiry: CBI

Affidavit details meetings among CBI officials

CBI Director Ranjit Sinha on Mondaytold the Supreme Court thatLaw Minister

Ashwani Kumar made changes in the CBIs draft status report on the coal

allocation scam case. He deleted a sentence that defined the scope of CBIs enquiry to

include the legality of coal allocations.


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28The case comes up for further hearing on Wednesday before a three-judge Bench headed by

Justice R.M. Lodha.

--Kudankulam nuclear plant clearedBenefits outweigh minor radiological detriments, says SC

The Supreme Court has cleared the decks for the commissioning of the

Kudankulam nuclear plant.

however, made it clear that the plant should not be made operational unless the Atomic

Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd

(NPCIL) and the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) gave their final clearances.

The Bench said we have to balance economic scientific benefits with that of

minor radiological detrimentson the touchstone of our national nuclear policy.

--Cabinet nod for loans at low interest for Women Self HelpGroups

In order to financially strengthenWomen Self Help Groups (SHGs) across India, the

Union Cabinet has approved key changes to theNational Rural Livelihoods

Mission (NRLM), aiming to eradicate poverty in villages by empowering women.

Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh announced on Monday that over 25lakh Women SHGs will now be provided bank loans at an interest rate of seven

per cent.

approved the provision of interest subvention for Women SHGs operating under

the NRLM, ensuring that they shall avail loans up to Rs. three lakh at an interest rate of

seven per cent per annum.

to do away with the BPL (below poverty line) category in the NRLM, and

instead identify target groups through the Participatory Identification of Poor (PIP)

process, at the community-level.

Currently, there are nearly 25 lakh Women SHGs in the country, with nearly three

crore members and over the next five years, the number is expected to increase to seven

crore.

**TheNRLMwas launched by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi in June 2011 a poverty

reduction programme based on employment generation by adoption of a multi-pronged

strategy. The program aims at creating efficient and effective institutional platforms of the

rural poor, thereby enabling them to increase household income through sustainable livelihood

enhancements and improved access to financial services.


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29--Iran for bigger Indian role in Syria//Khursids visit

New Delhi not comfortable with Friends of Syria group

Iran is considering a diplomatic initiative to resolve the festering crisis by involving

major countries of the nonaligned movement.

As chairman of NAM, Iran is looking at bringing together heavyweights within the

global South to deliberate from a fresh perspective on the Syrian condition,.

New Delhi was clearlyout of its comfort zone during its low-key interaction as

observer with the Friends of Syria a coalition led by the U.S. and its allies in

Europe and the Gulf that has a pronounced focus on regime change in Syria.

Both countries supported the Geneva Communiquwhich includes the six-Point Plan

of Kofi Annan a reference to the former envoy on Syria of the Arab League and the

U.N. who had earlier decided to quit, frustrated by the reluctance of the big powers to

resolve the crisis based on his recommendations.

**earlier, The BRICS had also credited the Geneva plan and appropriate UNSC resolutions for

affirming the respect for Syrian independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty.

--Work in progress

It took several flag meetings on the ground and much diplomatic energy on both sides but

the abatement of tension near the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh came not a

day too soon.

The Chinese troops who had set up tented positions around Daulat Beg Oldi inside

Indian territory some three weeks ago have withdrawn.

The Chinese withdrawal may be a victory for diplomacy but it is important to remember

that the Depsang Plain, located in a far corner of Ladakh, has only reverted to being

what it was part of the unsettled portion of the LAC between India and

China.

What that means is that India and China need to make a push for resolving the

boundary question quickly.

09.05

--Three lakh newborns last hardly a day

India accounts for 29 per cent of all such deaths


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30 Over three lakh newbornsin India diewithin 24 hours of their birth every

yearthe highest number in the world.

according to a report titled State of the Worlds Mothers.

The country accounts for 29 per cent of all such deaths ahead even of Nigeria,Pakistan and China.

Malnourishment

The report also claims that 4,20,000 babies across South Asia die on their first

day almost one every minute.

Chronic malnourishmentwhich leads to mental or physical impairment or stunting

is particularly severe in the region.

the report says Madhya Pradesh has the highest burden of early newborn

deaths (0-7 days) at 32, followed closely by Uttar Pradesh and Odisha (30). Other

States with high burden are Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Jammu &Kashmir.

Kerala shows the way

Kerala is the leader in reducing neonatal mortality by a wide margin, while Tamil Nadu, Delhi

and Maharashtra too have improved the national rate.

M.P. has the highest burden of early newborn deaths

Bangladesh reduced newborn mortality by 49 p.c. since 1990

--Cyber intrusion: U.S. ramps up pressure on China

In an annual report to the U.S. Congress, the Pentagon has said that Chinese government

is responsible for cyber intrusions and, in doing so, had built up an arsenal of

skills similar to those necessary to conduct computer network attacks.

The blunt remarks came barely two months after a U.S. cyber-security companyMandiant said it had traced an Advanced Persistent Threat to a shadowy unit of

the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA).

China refutes claim

Primary customer

However, the Pentagon report this week left little doubts as to Chinas growing military

power projection.

It reported that China had signed agreements for arms exports worth $11 billion from

2007 to 2011 and that Pakistan remained Beijings primary customer forconventional weapons.


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31

--Power with responsibility

There are two parts to the Supreme Courts landmark decision on Kudankulam, and

each is equally important.

Much to the relief of the Centre, which had invested hundreds of crores of rupees there, the Tamil

Nadu government which desperately needs electricity, and the nuclear establishment whose

veryraison detre had been challenged, the court has said the power plant can now be switched

on.

But it has laid down important caveats on safety the chief concern of those opposed to the

project and urged the authorities to roll-backthe hundreds and thousands of cases that

have been foisted, mostly unfairly, on the protesters.

Apart from underscoring the need for the plant to satisfy all environmental safety

conditions stipulated by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the judges have wisely

tasked Kudankulams operator the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited and its

regulator, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, with a review of the plant every threemonths, after initially certifying the safety and reliability of all the components and systems

installed.

It would add to the credibility of Indias atomic energy establishment if it widens the ambit of

such reviews by making them truly independent and transparent.

TheAERB today is not independent of the Department of Atomic Energy, which is the

parent body of NPCIL, and the government itself plans to replace it with a more credible Nuclear

Safety Regulatory Authority. In the interim, and indeed even after the NSRA comes into being,

the Supreme Court ought to subject these reviews to judicial scrutiny. This approach would

mirror the apex courts efforts to strengthen the independence of the Central Bureau ofInvestigation.

Apart from expeditiously withdrawing the cases lodged against those who participated in the

anti-nuclear agitation, the Tamil Nadu government must also actively follow-up the

neighbourhood development and housing programmes for which funds have been allocated.

While judicial orders can help ensure that Kudankulam starts its operations on a sound footing,

building public confidence will depend on the approach of the nuclear establishment to a host of

issues: of safety of nuclear material, handling of spent fuel, and the need to build scientifically

validated nuclear waste repositories without delay. Since spent fuel is not to be reprocessed at

Kudankulam, and must be transported to other facilities as per international safety norms, it is

reasonable to expect that the modalities, if not the details, will be shared with the country. Forinstance, is transport by rail adequately protected? Equally, it is incumbent on the Centre and


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32Tamil Nadu to show demonstrable proficiency in emergency and disaster management

preparedness up to the district level, as mandated by national guidelines. After Fukushima, it

should be clear that indifference to safety can jeopardise the future of the entire nuclear energy

programme.

--RBI panel moots India Bill Payment System

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) panel on Tuesday mooted India Bill Payment System

(IBPS), a GIRO-basedelectronic bill payment system for payment of dues of essential

services, insurance premia, utility payments, taxes, university fees, examination fees and school

fees.

This model will enable the setting up ofa centralised infrastructure bringing all the billers

and banks to the bill platform through the aggregators.

It will also allowinteroperabilityin the bill payment process and enable the consumers to

make payments at any of the collection points, which is the essence of GIRO system.

Improving settlement system

GIRO payment is a credit push transaction initiated by the payer and may involve the

presence of three banks (collecting bank, payer bank and the payee bank).

Bill paying public/customers can access any payment channel through banks/non-bank

entity under the proposed GIRO system.

10.05

--U.S., Russia agree on Syria peace process

Washington changes tack on regime change

Russia and the United States have agreed to work together to bring the warring sides in

Syria to the negotiating table.

The Geneva plangot stalled because the U.S. demanded that Syrian President Bashar

al-Assad step down as a precondition for peace talks.

On Tuesday, Mr. Kerryessentially fell in line with what Russia has been saying all along

that Mr. Assads fate should be decided by the Syrians themselves.

The U.S. Secretary of State said failure to reach a negotiated settlement would

push Syria to chaos, breakup and ethnic cleansing and trigger wider instability in

the Middle East.


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33 Moscow appears to have convinced Washington that a violent removal of the current

regime in Syria will land the countryin the hands of al-Qaeda-linked jihadists.

--Kurdish rebels moving out of Turkey

Kurdish militants began their withdrawal from Turkey on Wednesday.

advancing a peace process designed to end an insurgency which has killed 40,000

people and ravaged the region.

along the mountainous border with Iraq.

30 years of conflict.

--Brazils Azevedo is new WTO boss

Brazilian Roberto Azevedo has been named to take the helm of the World Trade

Organization, the selection process chief told AFP on Wednesday.

Brazilian career diplomat.

to replace Frenchman Pascal Lamy .

the Geneva-based body .

--At WTO, a defender of the South

The election of Azevdo is significant notbecause he is the first person from the

Global South to lead the WTO that honour goes to Thailands Supachai

Panitchpakdi, who ran it from 2002 to 2005.

But unlike Supachai, Azevdo comes with thebacking of significant new blocs of the

Global South, notably the BRICS grouping which put its heft behind his candidacy.

This is the first time that a candidate of the Global South won against someone backed

by the European Union, which in this instance had put its support behindMexicos

former Trade Minister Herminio Blanco.

Azevdos election is an instance of global perestroika, the term employed by Prime

Minister Manmohan Singh in July 1988 when he was the Secretary General of the South

Commission.

Brazilian Roberto Azevdos election as head of the World Trade Organization is a

long overdue step towards global perestroika but his task of creating a fair,international economic order is not going to be easy


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34**

Perestroika(Russian: ; IPA:[prstrojk]( listen))[1]

was a political movement for

reformation within theCommunist Party of the Soviet Unionduring the 1980s (1986), widely

associated withSovietleaderMikhail Gorbachevand hisglasnost(meaning "openness") policy

reform. The literal meaning of perestroika is "restructuring", referring to the restructuring of theSoviet political and economic system.

Perestroika is often argued to be the cause of thedissolution of the Soviet Union, therevolutions of

1989inEastern Europe, and the end of theCold War.[2]

--24 % slump in Indian exports highlights China trade barriers

India's exports to China in April are down by 24 per cent from a year earlier the

biggest decline among all of China's major trading partners.

India's trade deficit with China, after four months of this year, has ballooned to almost

half of the entire trade volume.

Trade last year fell by 12 per cent to $66 billion, even as both countries set an ambitious

target of $100 billion by 2015.

Ban on iron ore export

One reason is theban on exporting iron ore.

And, while India has been pushing China to open up its markets topharmaceuticalsand information technology, the moves have appeared to have made little

headway so far.

--Fact Box: HO41 SuperbugMay 12th, 2013

Doctors warn of Superbug in Japan deadlier than AIDS

As per doctors, a new sexually-transmitted superbug- antibiotic-resistant strain ofgonorrhea HO41 - could ultimately prove to be even more deadly than AIDS.

The superbug- gonorrhoea strain HO41 which was discovered in Japan two years ago, is

found to be more aggressive and affects more people quickly. It can cause septic shock

and death in a matter of days.

What is a Superbug?

Superbug is colloquial name for Multi Drug Resistant (MDR) pathogens usually

bacteria.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_Soviet_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Russianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Russianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Russianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ru-perestroika.ogghttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Ru-perestroika.ogghttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Ru-perestroika.ogghttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Ru-perestroika.ogghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perestroika#cite_note-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perestroika#cite_note-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perestroika#cite_note-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_Soviet_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_Soviet_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_Soviet_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Gorbachevhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Gorbachevhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Gorbachevhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasnosthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasnosthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasnosthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutions_of_1989http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutions_of_1989http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutions_of_1989http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutions_of_1989http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Europehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Europehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Europehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perestroika#cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perestroika#cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perestroika#cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perestroika#cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Europehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutions_of_1989http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutions_of_1989http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasnosthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Gorbachevhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_Soviet_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perestroika#cite_note-1http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Ru-perestroika.ogghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ru-perestroika.ogghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Russianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_language


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35 In case of MDR some (or, less commonly, all) sub-populations of a microorganism,

usually a bacterial species, are able to survive after exposure to one or

more antibiotics.

Some examples of MDR bacteria:

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)

VISA (vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus)

VRSA (vancomycin-resistant S. aureus)

ESBL (Extended spectrum beta-lactamase)

VRE (Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus)

--Proposed US Immigration bill may impact Indian IT companies

May 12th, 2013

The upcoming Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill which is yet to be signed

into law by the US President has proposed eight killer provisions which may prove to be

detrimental to the interests of major Indian IT companies and professionals.

What are main killer provisions?

1. Ban on client site placement for H-1B workers: Any H-1B dependent employer (a

company with more than 15 % of its workforce on H-1Bs), would be prohibited from

placing H-1B workers at client sites or contracting for the services of those workers.

2. New restrictions on client site placement for L-1 workers: An Indian IT

Company would not be able to place L-1 workers (whether specialized or managerial)at client sites (the US company) unless the company supervised and controlled those

workers and the parent US company attests that for 90 days before and after the L-1

petition filing it had not laid off any employees in the same area performing similar

job duties.

3. Limit on total percentage of H-1B and L-1 Workers: There will be a hard limit on

the percentage of H-1B and L-1 workers that could make up a companys workforce in

the US.

***

The new immigration bill says if an employer has more than 50% of employees on H-1B or L-1 visas,it must pay $10,000 fee per additional worker.

-- black-hole

Black holes are exotic space phenomena whose gravitation pulls are so strong that not

even light can escape. They are formed when heavy stars exhaust all their hydrogen

and collapse under their own weight.

Nobody has witnessed the birth of a black hole because nobody is sure what kinds of massive

stars produce black holes.


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36--Union Cabinet approves Amendments in the Parliament (Prevention of

Disqualification) Act, 1959

May 12th, 2013

The Union Cabinet has given nod to amendments in the Parliament (Prevention of

Disqualification) Act, 1959 by introducing of a Bill in Parliament, namely,the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Bill, 2013.

What is Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959?

Section 3 of the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959, which has been

periodically amended, lists certain offices of profit under the Government of India or

the Government of any State, which do not disqualify the holders thereof for being

chosen as, or for being, a Member of Parliament. Sub-clause (ii) of clause (ba) of section

3 of the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959, exempts the

Chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled

Tribes from such disqualification.

What is need of amendments to this law?

The National Commission for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was

divided into two independent Commissions i.e. (i) the National Commission for the

Scheduled Castes and(ii) the National Commission for the Scheduled

Tribes by the Constitution (89th Amendment) Act, 2003.

Through this amendment Act, Article 338 of the Constitution was amended and a new

article, namely, Article 338A was introduced in the Constitution. With the bifurcation

of the National Commission for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes,

consequential amendments are required in sub-clause (ii) of clause (ba) of section 3 ofthe Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959, so as to exclude the

Chairperson of the National Commission for the Scheduled Castes and the

Chairperson of the National Commission for the Scheduled Tribes from

incurring any disqualification for being chosen as or for being a Member of

Parliament.

The Constitution (89th Amendment) Act, 2003, came into force from February 19,

2004 and therefore, it is proposed to give effect to the present amendment from the

same date

--Acidification on the rise in Arctic Ocean

May 12th, 2013

As per a new scientific report, the concentration ofcarbon dioxide in the Arctic Ocean

is rapidly escalating which is making its water more acidic.

It was assessed by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) that the

ocean chemistry of the region is undergoing widespread changes.

Key findings of the report:


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37 The rising acidification may bring major changes in the marine ecosystem, but say

there is huge uncertainty over what those changes will be.

Even if CO2 emissions stopped now, it would take tens of

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