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Smart Leaders IASS SMART NEWS- 1

ASPIRANTS TO ACHIEVERSNews Paper Reading is a must for every Competitive Exam

(IAS, TNPSC, BANK P.O, SSC). It is a Simple Task, but needs

systematic hard work. Smart Newsassists the Aspirants in

this Systematic effort to become Achievers.

WHY SMART NEWS?

Smart Newsis not a magazine; It is a tracking of news in the

leading English National Dailies.Current Affairs Magazines are complex in the sense that it is

difficult for the IAS Aspirants to comprehend the facts from

them.

Smart News comes handy by way of simplifying the

newspaper reading.

Newspaper reading is a time-consuming affair, Smart News

saves your time by helping you to track the news and simplify

the news for the IAS Aspirant Community.

How Smart News was born?

Previous years toppers and current IAS aspirants who are

about to appear for IAS Interview suggested us to simplify

Current Affairs material by way of simplifying the

important news from the dailies and that is how smart news

was born.

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October 1,October 1,October 1,October 1, 2011201120112011 INTERNATIONAL An American aerial attack killed Anwar A1 Awlaki an influential tech sauvy

leader of the Al-Qaeda

NATIONAL

National Programme for Health care of the Elders (NPHCE) set the objective toprovide easy access to promotional, preventive, curative and rehabilitative services

Agni II

It is the third successful launch in a row within seven days after the success fulllaunch of shourya and Prithvi - II (all are surface - surface missiles)

The earlier two launch of Agni-II failed due to problems in control system inthe Missiles first stage

V. G. Sekaran - Director, Advanced systems laboratory (Hyderabad) V. K. Saraswat - scientific Adviser to the defence minister and Chief of

DRDO

National Voluntary Blood Donation Day 1st Oct 2011

National Food Security Bill 2011 Designed to make access to food a legal right rather than remaining a token of

political patronage.

To provide for food and nutritional security, in human life cycle approach, byensuring access to adequate quantity and quality food at affordable prices, for

people to live a life with dignity.

The draft Bill addresses the issue of economic access to food. The widening of the food basket by including a range of nutri-cerels (coarse

Cerelals) along with wheat and rice is an important feature of the food

security Bill.

Annual IMF - world Bank meetings in Washington.

Nutri-Cereals are bajra, ragi, jowar, maize constitute health foods.

New Pension Scheme (NPS) NPS is open to all citizens aged 18-60 years. Pension available from the age of 60 years. Attractive investment schemes to choose from Multiple choice of fund

managers (SBI, Reliance, etc.,)

To set up the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority

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ECONOMY RBI allowed the continuance of priority sector lending status for bank loans to

Micro finance institutions. The Micro Finance bill released to the public in July

likely to be introduced in writer session of parliament

Micro Finance Institutions Network - Alok Prasad (Chief Executive) Malegam committee announced number of measures regarding Micro Finance

CAG becomes the external Auditor of IAEA and WIPO Vienna based International Atomic Energy Agency and Geneva - based World

Intellectual Property Organisation appoint, CAGI as their external auditor

amidst stiff competition from other developed countries like U.K, Spain, and

Norway.

The tenure of these audits could extend upto 6 years. It is considered as the international recognition to the ProfessionalCapabilities of CAGIs auditing talent pool.

Earlier, CAG appointed to Board of Auditors of UNs and as external auditorto a number of other major UN agencies like FAO, WHO, International

Maritine Organisation and Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons

(OPCW).

The Union cabinet approved setting up of six new national Institutes of

Pharmacentical Education and Research (NIPERs) at Gandhi Nagar,

Hyderabad, Kolkata, Hajipur, Guwahati and Roe Bareli.

In 1998, Under NIPER Act, NIPER had set up at Mohali(Punjab)

National Frequency Allocation Plan - 2011 (NAFP) It helps in better management of spectrum besides development and

promotion of indigeneous manufacturing and technologies in the Information

and Communication Technology (ICT) sector. It will be effective from

October 1, 2011.

The much awaited National Telecom Policy - 2011 the Electronics Policy andIT policy will be introduced in the next few days.

Revised Consolidated FDI policy of 2011 It was released by Department of Industrial policy and Promotion. FDI allowed up to 100% under automatic route in apiculture under controlled

conditions. 100% FDI is permitted under automatic route in the field of bio-technology,

pharmaceutical and life sciences research and development in these secters

would be covered under Industrial Park scheme.

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FDI cap in FM radio from 20% to 26% as approved by cabinet in July 2011and share - pledging for raising external debt of FM radio.

FDI conditions in respect of construction of old - age homes and educationalinstitutions is eased. These will not subject to minimum and built-up area,

capitalisation and look-in period norms as applicable for the construction

activities.

Objections to the Mines and Minerals (Development and regulation bill 2011 CII and FICCI expressed their concern to setting up of the fund to compensate

project -affected persons would be difficult to implement.

The provision to contribute additional funds to District Development Fundwould be discouraing factor.

Concerned about the percentage of royalty / profit that industry was expectedto contribute, to the affected people. 50 Years of Shipping corporation of India

Founded on 2nd October, 1961. A Navratna Company and Indias largest and most diversified shipping

company

Shares listed on major Indian stock exchanges. Tag: Transporting goods Transforming lives.

Chairman & Managing Director - Shri S. Hajara

SPORTS

Sanam singh Yuki Bhambri - Tennis PlayersOctober 2, 2011October 2, 2011October 2, 2011October 2, 2011

NATIONAL

Carnatic musician T.M. Krishna will perform a series of concerts in the formerlywar-torn cities of Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya in Sri Lanka Krishnas concerts

will be Tamil - centric, with selection of Thevarams, the Thiruvasagam.

Golden jubilee celebrations of shipping corporation India (SCI) PM releases coffee table at the valedictory funcitons of the Golden jabilee

celebrations of SCI in Mumbai.

President of India visited Switzertand as a state visit and visited the lab ofprestigions France based European organisation for Nuclear Research Commonlyknown as CERN.

ALICE project - one of the largest experiments in the world devoted toresearch in the physics of matter at an infinitely small scale, in the laboratory.

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Prime Ministers New 15 point programme for the welfare of Minorities Key points

Online system for merit cum means based Scholarship launched Rs. 787.97 crore term loans distributed by National Minorities Development

and Finance Corporation (NMDFC).

To improve the conditions of living of Minorities, 2.84 lakh Indira AwaasYojana houses sanctioned under multi sectoral development programme

(MSDP).

To strength of institutions, the Wakf (Amendment) Bill, 2010 was passed inthe Lok Sabha and now Dending in Rajya Sabha.

Nations March to Progress through twenty point programme It was initiated by late Prime Minister Mrs.Indira Gandhi, the revised twentypoint programme - 2006 is on poverty eradication.

Key Points Garibi Hatao (Poverty Eradication). Support to Farmers. Food Security. Housing to all. Clean Drinking water. Health to all. Education to all

Under SSA, (Sarva Shiksha Abiyan) 99% of the rural population has aprimary school within 1 Km.

Child welfare. Improvement of Slums. Environment protection and Afforestation. Rural Roads

Rural roads constructed under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. Energization of Rural Areas

Villages is being electrified under Rajiv Gandhi Vidyutikaran Yojana. In Addition, during 2010-2011

Skill training provided to 1.83 lakh poor people for employment. Increasing the agricultural storage capacity of 32.53 lakh tonnes created. Under the Backward Regions Grant Fund programme aiming at redressing

regional imbalances, a total fund of Rs.6550 crores released to states.

Department of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution of uniongovernment highlighted their milestones

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153 Lakh tonnes of additional storage capacity to be built under PrivateEntrepreneur Guarantee scheme (PEG).

Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) set up to helpfarmers to avail better credit facilities and avoid distress sale.

Through, District Market invention, sale of pulses at subsized rate is beingfacilitated.

Expert of wheat and Rice under Open General License to provide aremunerative price to farmers.

Jago Grahak Jago - a multi-media publicity campaign to spread awarenessabout consumer Rights.

Magsaysay awardee Neelima Mishra, she was in news because the visa applicationwas rejected by US consulate citing her poor financial condition.

UN Commemorating the 2nd October, 2011 as International Day of Non-Violence

SPORTS

Dipika Pallikal reached 20th place in world squash ranking released by WISPA. Itis the highest ever, ranking for an Indian Male or Female.

Himmat Singh Rai (Golfer) wins the fifth edition of the DLF masters golftournment.

October 3, 2011October 3, 2011October 3, 2011October 3, 2011

NATIONAL

The Centre is Planning to Issue Multi Purpose Smart identity cards to all citizensby 2013-end of

The proposal was made under the amendment to the citizenship Act effectedin 2003.

The Registrar General of India has proposed to issue smart cards to all citizensaged above18 years.

Adults constitute roughly 65% of countrys population, and the Governmentestimates that each smart card will cost about Rs.50. The proposal is under the

consideration by the Department of expenditure.

A Technical committee set up under B.K.Gairola, Director-General of theNational Information Centre.

Three PSUs involving in the digitisation of data, ITI, (Bangalore) BharatElectronics Ltd., (Bangalore) Electronics Corporation of India Ltd.

(Hydrabad).

Food security Bill of India inspired SriLanka and proposed to legislate similarBill.

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Prof. Swaminathan was continuously visiting Sri Lanka and share hisexpertise in agriculture and leads to export of rice this year, informed at the

meeting held at temple trees, official residence of the President of Sri Lanka.

J.S. Sarma - Chairman, TRAI

President of India Mrs.Pratiba Patil offered flowers at the statue of Gandhi inAriana park on Avenue of peace at Geneva (Switzerland).

The statue was unveiled in 1997 to mark the 60th anniversay of the August1948 Treaty of Friendship and establishment between India and Switzerland,

the first such treaty signed by independent India.

Dr.Ram Dayal Munda - Musician, linquist, writer, scholar, educationist, institution- builder tribal activist has passed away. He was a member of Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory council and Rajya

Sabha.

Shanti Tigga, 35 year old woman joined the 969 th railway engineer regiment ofTerritorial Army (TA).

Women are allowed to join the armed forces only as officers in the non-combat units but Shanti Tigga earned the unique distinction of first lady

Jawan.

The Tibet Buddhist Leader Dalai Lama received the Gandhi Peace Prize fromSouth African NGO.

Justice D.P.Vatheva, head of the committee constituted by Supreme Court of

India to explore the implementation of the PDS system all over India.

ECONOMY

Subsidiary of Cairn India Ltd Cairn Lanka stuck gas in the first well in the mannarbasin in Sri Lanka (Mannar basin).

Well CLPL - Dorado - 914/12, drilled upto the depth of 1354 metres, islocated in the block st 2007-01-001, where cairn Lanka has a 100%

participating interest.

World Economic Outlook is a biannual publication of International Monetary

Fund (IMF)

TAMIL NADU

Chennais dream of achieving the goal of 33% urban forest cover by 2012, asenvisaged in the National Forest Policy (1988).

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Urban heat island - dense built - up areas and reduced vegetation has resulted in

an increase in urban temperature, a phenomenon known as the urban heat

island.

SPORTS

K.Rajini wins overall Championship title at National Motorcycle racingChampionship.

Gaurav Gill (Indian) wins the first round of the Asia Pacific car RallyChampionship.

Soumyajit Ghosh & Harmeet Desai - Table Tennis Player. Yuki Bhambri and Rohan Gajjar lost doubles in ITF mens futures tennis in

Jakarta. Narain Karthikeyan Indian Forumla one car Race who will participate first Indian

Grand price under Hispania team.

October 4, 2011October 4, 2011October 4, 2011October 4, 2011 INTERNATIONAL

Nobel Prize for medicine immune system discoveries win 2011 Nobel Prize forMedicine

Bruce Beutler (US), Jules Hoffmann (France), Ralph steinman (Canadionborn lared in US) who uncovered key secrets of how the bodys immune

system works have won the 2011 Nobel Prize for medicine or physiology.

Beutler and Hoffmann discovered receptor proteins that can recognisemicro organisms attacking the body and which activate innate immunity

the first step in the bodys immune respone.

Ralph Steinman - discovered the dendritie cells of the immune systemand their unique capacity to activate and regulate adaptive immunity later

stage of the immune response during which micro organism are cleared

from the body.

Ralph steinman - Discovered dendtific cells Bruce Beutler Jules Hoffman - Discovered recepter protions Canadian scientist Ralph steinman would share the Prize in

Physiology/Medicine with Bruce A Beutler and Jules Hoffman

Scientist Ralph Steinman died of Pancreatic cancer, he was 68NATIONAL

Pulok Chatterjce, a 1974 batch IAS officer from UP cadre replaced T.K. Nair asPrincipal Secretary to PM, Manmoham Singh

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ECONOMY Sudhir Vasudeva, who was selected as Chairman and Managing Director of

ONGC by Public Enterprise Selections Board

D. Shiva Kumar, now Vice - President and Managing Director of Nokia India hasbeen appointed as head for India, the Middle East and Africa (IMEA) region.

India - Indonesia Bilateral Trade Both countries begun talk for a Comprehensive, Economic Co-operation

Agreement (CECA) with an aim to achieve a bilateral trade target of $25

billion by 2015

Both countries in 2005 had set a target of $10 billion bilateral trade by 2010but surpassed the target by 40% reaching $14-billion level.

The CEPA will not only break tariff walls on merchandise trade but alsoenable professional from the two countries to take up short-term businessassignments in each others markets.

Union Commerce and Industry Minister will also attend the Biennial TradeMinisters Forum in Jakarta.

Objectives of New Electronics Policy 2011 Aimed at achieving a turnover of $400 billion for the sector by 2020, which

involved investment of above $100 billion.

To create employment for 2.8 crore people. To create a globally Competative Electronics Systems Design and

Manufacturing Industry (ESDM).

Aimed at making India the hub of electronic manufacturing, the policyproposes setting up of ever 200 Electronic Manufacturing Clusters (EMCs)

and providing assistance for setting up of greenfield EMCs and upgradation of

brownfield EMCs

Important objective of the policy was to augment post graduate education andproduce about 2,500 PhD Research Schlors.

China is a potential importer of Flue cured virginia (FCV) grown in AndhraPradesh and Karnataka.

FCV is a variety of Indian tobaccoIndian Tobacco Board - Chairman G.Kamala Vardhana Rao

The clean development Mechanism Executive Board (CDM-EB) of UNFCCCallows the Tilaiya Project in Jharkhand of Reliance to be commissionedduring XII-Plan to earn certified emissions Reductions (CERs).

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The Reliance Power Company also executing two more (UMPPs) Ultra-MegaPower Projects at Sasan (Madhya Pradesh) and Krishnapatnam (Andhra

Pradesh).

Target Fixed in the XII - 5 Yr plan to enhance Power generation of 40,000MW

through establishing the UMPPs with private partnership


India and Afghanistan Signed first ever Strategic partnership Agreement (SPA) India agreed to train the Afghan Security forces at they gear up to deal with

the draw down of foreign forces by 2014

India has sought permission to reopen a hospital at Farkhor on the Afghanborder The two sides would also cooperate more closely at United Nations (UN) to

help India gain a permanent seat on security council

In Trade and Economic cooperation assisting Afghanistan in developingtrading routes to exploring for hydro carbon and mineral ores

Both will try to operationalise trilateral MOU signed with Iran to endAfghanistan Landlocked isolation.

To create favourable trading and investment environment by simplifyingcustoms duty, starting air cargo operations, improving credit & insurance

facilities

Physics Noble Prize 2011 Three Scientists of US saul perlmutter, Brian Schmidt and Adam G. Riess

have won the 2011 Nobel Prize for Physics for discovering the accelerating

expansion of the Universe, the prize awarding sweedens karolinska institute.

NATIONAL

The lift-off of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C18) from the space-portat Sriharikota will be on Oct-12.

It will carry four satellites to the Orbit. Megha-Tropiques, built by India and France to understand global tropical weather

and Climate.

SRM sat, built by students of the SRM university, near, Chennai. Jagnu, a satellite integrated by strudents of the IIT-Kanpur. Vessel sat a 29Kg satellite from Luxembourg. Megha - tropiques (Megha - in Sanskrit means cloud and Tropiques in French is

tropics. It is a joint project of ISRO and French space agency. Centre National

dEludes Spatiales (CNES).

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Telangana strike hit power supply in Southern states particularly Andhra andTamil Nadu.

Coalminers strike in Singareni Collieries Company Ltd., affects the coalsupply to NTPCs 2600 MW thermal power plant at Ramagundam of Andhra

Pradesh where Andhra and Tamil Nadu has 31.5% and 24% share

respectively

Mega container Terminal project at Chennai port trust (Chpt) on built, operate andtransfer basis on a 30 years lease / concession agreement to Mundra port and

special Economic zone Ltd.

Indian Institute of Plantation Management Bangalore

Mahananda wildlife sanctuary - Darjecting

India-Afghan strategic partnership Agreement (SPA) To train the Afghan National security forces was included in the first - ever

strategic partnership Agreement (SPA).

India sough permission to reopen a hospital at Farkher on the Afghan border. The SPA brightens Indias chances of bagging a lucrative mining contract for

Hajigak, regions largest untapped reserve of Iron ore, and provides an

opportunity to hunt for oil in northern Afghanistan.

Two MOUs - one in the field of mineral exploration and other for thedevelopment of hydrocarbons - reflected the interest of both sides in these

areas.

ECONOMY

ASEAN and East Asia Summits will be held at Bali of Indonesia. Indonesia continues to impose ban of Indian buffalo meat citing that India is

not free from Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD). But, India exporting buffalo

meat to more than 60 countries.

India would be holding the presigious India show in Jakarta during March6-8 next year. Indonesia is the only country in ASEAN where the event is

being held this year.

National Dairy Research Institute - Karnal (Haryana) which is under the control ofIndian council of Agriculture Research, it is an autonomous body.

China has announced a new initiative to boost its domestic IT Industry byencouraged its state owned industry instead of looking overseas particularly Indiancompanies.

First strategic Economic Dialogue - between India and China held last week.

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Trade imbalance between two has rose to $ 14 billion in which Chines inadvantage position.

SPORTS

Ranjan Sodhi (Indian) who defended the double trap gold medal in the world cupfinals in united Arab Emirates.

Four Indian Boxers qualified 2012 London olympics Games by entering thequarter finals of world boxing championship at Baku.

Manoj Kumar (64 Kg) L. Devendro Singh (49 Kg) Jai Baghavan (60 Kg) Vikas Krishnan (69 Kg)

October 7, 2011October 7, 2011October 7, 2011October 7, 2011 INTERNATIONAL Tomas Transtromer (Sweden) Wins Nobel Literature Prize 2011

Since 1901, 103 Nobel Prizes in Literature have been awarded. In Swedish, 1954 - Seventeen Poems, 1962 - windows and stones. 1974 - Balties 1996 - Sorrow Gondola, 2004-The great enigma In English. 1970-Twenty Poems, 2001-The Half Finished heaven.

Daniel Shechtman, (Israel) a scientist at Technien Israel Institute of Technology inHaifa, received the award to discovery of quasicrystals, a mosari like chemical

structure that researchers previously throught was impossible

Quasicrystals? They are seemingly impossible crystal structures that resemble the beautiful

patterns seen in Islamic mosaies - crystallised materials are normally made up

of unit cells of atony that repeat to make a uniform structure. However

schechtman found that in a repidly coded metal alloy, the atoms mere packed

in a pattern that could not be repeated the uneven structure of crystals means

they do not have obvious cleavege planes, making them particularly hard.

NATIONAL

Kala Patthar, a smallest mountain facing the Mt. everest where Germansurveillance firm Mobotix has installed a webcam, to track the movement of the

clouds around the mountains summit (Mt. Everest as well as South col) it is

located between mount Everest and Mt. Lhotse of Nepal

Sikkim earthquakes and its uniqueness It occurred between two transverse faults represented by Tista and Gangtok

lineaments where two segments of Himalayas have moved in a horizontal

direction.

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Usually, 95% of the earthquake in Himalayan region Occured on thethrust faults formed, due to under - thrusting of the Indian plate below the

Eurasian plato.

Major Earthquake along Himalayas

1987 - 8.0 in magnitude at shillong

1905 - 8.0 (M)

1934 - Bihar - Nepal border

1950 - Arunachal Tradesh

National Geophysical Research Institute Hyderabad is under the Administrative

control of centre for scientific, and Industrial Research (CSIR)

ECONOMY

Goods and Services Tax: It is the most significant indirect tax reform since the introduction of state-

level VAT

It may give competative edge to the manufacturers, to remove cascading oftaxes and it would also lead to reduction in prices of most manufactured goods

by about 10%

The Tax GDP ratio too may go up by 1.5% to 2% with net revenue jumpingby Rs. 1.50lakh crore a year

It is expected to push the countrys economic growth up by 1.4% to 1.6% Kamar tribe - Chhattisgarh Development Economist - Jean Oreze

Google CEO - Larry page

Co-founder- Sergey Brain

Facebook CEO - Mark Zuckerberg

Microsoft Co-Founder - Paul Allen

Nobel Prizes 2011

Chemistry Nobel Daniel Shechtman, a scientist of Israel, received the award for his discovery

of quasicrystals. (a Mosaic-like chemcial structure) sza1

He wrote a book To Fold Daniel shechtman is the 10th awarder, who won the nobel prize 2011 for

chemistry, in 2009.

Ada E. Yonatto shared the Nobel Prize for chemistry

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Quasi crystals, a material in which atoms where packed together in a well-definedpattern that never repeats

Literature Nobel-2011 Tomas transtromer, a swedish poet won the 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature

BUSINESS

Aakash - The worlds cheapest tablet Pc. Costing Rs.2276 was launched Steve Jobs, Iconic co founder of Apple no more as he lost the battle with

pancreatie cancer

He launched Apple with his friend steve wozniake in 1976 he Made silicon valley synonymous with entrepreneurial spirit innovation &

tech excellence.

Akash - Worlds cheapest tablet PC with the aim to integrate internet and mobile-

based delivery of services onto a common platform to enable seamless, ubiquitos,

secure and personalised delivery of government and non-government services

throughout the country.

SPORTS

Vikas Krishnan (Indian) ensures bronze medal by entering semifinals of the worldboxing champ at Baku at 69 kg catecorgy

Graham Dilley former England Fast bowler had died The Rest of India team which won Irani cup cricket match by defeating Rajasthan

team.


Tawakkul Karman - A journalist and human right and opposition ativist, hasplaying leading role in the struggle of women rights in Yemen and came to

Prominance during Arab spring uprising.

Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai reviews developmental projects beingtaken up in various parts of the SriLanka and assistance of Indian Government.

50,000 Indian Housing project for war-affected Tamils. Northern Railway project which will connect Northern province with colombo and

ther parts

Kankesanthurai Harbour project Paris Launches electric car-Sharing scheme namely Autolib. aims to cut traffic by

discouraging private car ownership as well as reduce noise pollution.

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NATIONAL Planning Commission is proposing relaxing the ban for rural areas as part of

programme of Adopting female foetuses and generously incentivising families

and health workers to ensure the safe delivery of girl babies.

The latest census recording the lowest ever child sex ratio of 914 females toevery 1000 males - the number in 1971 was 940.

Under the scheme, the government would ensure the safety of the foetus untilit is born through its network of anganwadi workers, auxiliary murse

miduvives and accredited social health activists.

Nobel Prize cor peace - 2011

Liberian president ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Activists leymah Gbowee of

Liberia Tawakkul Karman of Yeman. They are recognised for theirNon-violent struggle for the safety of women and for womens rights to

full participation in peace-building work.

Only 15 women, including this years 3 peace Nobel Prize laureates have won the

peace Prize in 110 years.

ECONOMY

Draft IT policy 2011 It aims to augment the overall revenue from the sector from $89 billion as of

today to $300 billion by 2020.

It aims to create additional one-crore jobs, and aimed at further consolidatingthe position of the Indian IT and IT - enabled services (ITeS) sector in the

global areana.

The draft policy has set the target of achieving $200 billion exports target by2020 against the current level by $59 billion

Further, the draft policy calls for setting up centres of excellence ininstitutions of higher learning so as to produce at least 3,000 Ph-Ds in the

information and communication technology sector in specialised areas by

2020.

BUSINESS

The draft National policy on Information Technology 2011 unveiled. Taking the overall revenue from $89 billion to $300 billion by 2020 besides

creating additional one crore jobs. Centre might entend tax holiday under software Technology Park of India.

(STPI) Scheme.

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Achieving $ 200 billion exports target by 2020 against the current level of $59billion

Diversify export exploring new marketOctober 9, 2011October 9, 2011October 9, 2011October 9, 2011 INTERNATIONAL

kenyan environmentalist & nobel laureate wangari maathai cancer died of ovarianon sep 25, and was cremated.

In 2004, she was the first African women to be awarded the Nobel peace price fortaking holistic approach to sustainable development. That embraces democracy

human rights and womens rights in particular.

For the time the Russian President Medvedev Syrian his counterpart Bashar-al-Assad to reform or leave office during six-month uprising.

Almost 130 years after congress voted to ban chinese immigrants from enteringthe US through 1882 Chinese exclusion Act, the senate passed a resolutionexpressing regret for racial discrimination against chinese Americans

NATIONAL

National Food Security Bill - 2011 The Bill Seeks to provide legal entitlement to subsidised foodgrains for upto

75% of rural population with at least 46% belonging to priordy (earlier BPL)

households and 50% of urban population with at least 28% belonging to

Priority households.

The Proposed entitlement is 7kg of foodgrains per person per month forPriority households at an issue price of Rs.3kg (Rice), Rs.2kg (Wheat),

Rs.1kg (Coarse cereals).

For beneficiaries under the General category, it will be 3kg/per person permonth at an issue rate not exceeding 50% of the minimum support price for

wheat and coarse cereals and derived minimum support price for rice.

Other privisions in the Bill include giving legal right to food to women,children, and special groups such as destitute and homeless and emergency

and disaster affected persons.

ECONOMY

India-ASEAN trade relations India- ASEAN trade stood at $50.33 billion in 2010, both sides aim to take it

up to $70 billion by 2012.

India is looking at expanding trade with ASEAN in several services includingbanking, insurance, health, accountancy, architecture and engineering.

India-ASEAN summit to be held in Bali, Indonesia, in November in whichPrime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to be took part.

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India is seeking to widen the scope of free trade agreement (FTA) inmerchandise goods with the ASEAN bloc.

The Phillippines, a strong player in the global outsourcing, is notenthusiastic about the services pact which has made its conclusion

difficult.

BUSINESS

The university of Texas in USA has named its school of Management IndianIndustrialist turned politician Naveen Jindal

Bank of India has opened a branch in New Zeeland India keen to conclude trade port with Asean in service sector.

Service sector of key interest to India as it contributes over 55 percent to itsGDP amounted to $ 44.74 billion.

SPORTS

Karan Rastogi-(Tennis) Player.October 10, 2011October 10, 2011October 10, 2011October 10, 2011 INTERNATIONAL

Vita Vallis nano dressing method of heating wounds have developed by Russianscientist in Siberia.

Vita ballis helps clean up wounds of all types of tonic bacteria. It contains no antibodies, and is therfore effective against drug-resistant

bacteria.

The dressing uses positively charged material to entract bacteria from wounds. It stops bleeding, ends inflam mation, eliminates swellings and stimulates skin

rejeneration.

The ruling UPFA has won 21 of the 23 local bodies in Srilankan local bodyelections.

NATIONAL

MICROS (Mobile Incurred Revolutionised Operating System) an portableoperating system boots from a pen drive to the RAM which then dynamically

expands.

Deepak John, a strudent of Loyola - ICAM college of Engineering technologyhas developed the MICROS.

Optional Protocol to the conventions on the Rights of the child, the sale ofchildren, child prostitution and child Pornography - 2011 of the united nations, the

protocol was ratified by India on September 16, 2006.

Khanda - an important symbol of Sikhism was snowcaused by Royal BritishLegion honoured the Sikh soldiers who fought for British Armed forces.

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The Khanda - a Symbol made up of a solid circle, two interlocked swords anda double - edged sword.

ECONOMY

According to the RBIs recent balance of payments (BOP) data, the currentaccount deficit (CAD) increased to 3.1% of the GDP in the first quarter of the

current fiscal (2011-12) from 2.6% a year ago.

Interest payments, which account for about 20% of total government expenditure,are likely to exceed the budget projections.

Government is also considering widening the definition of fiscal deficit to include

quasi fiscal deficits like borrowings by the Railways, PSUs and autonomous

bodies fully funded by the government.

BUSINESS

Direct Taxes code, 2010 bill tabled in Parliament becomes law with effect fromApril 1, 2012.


Thomas J. Sargent (USA) and christopher A. Sims (USA) were awarded the NobelPrize for Economics 2011.

Thomas J. Sargent has shown how structural maicroeconometries can be usedto analyse permanent changes in economic policy

Christopher A. Sims has developed a method based on so-called vector autoregression to analyse how the economy is affected by temporary charges in

economic policy and other factors.

Russia-China Inter governmental Memorandum on Cooperation in Modernisationof Economy will be signed

Both have celebrating 10th year anniversary of Russia-Chinese friendshiptheaty

China has become Russia biggest trade partner this year with $50 billion fromJan-Aug.

NATIONAL

Indira Gandhi award - for national Integration 2010 Environmentalist, Lawyer and Farmer Union Minster, Mohan Dharia was

selected for 26th Indira Gandhi award for National Integration 2010

He was awarded with Padma Vibhushan and now runs the vanrai NGO inpune

FDI in Pharmaceatical sector are allowed in 2 ways of investments (1)Greenfield investments (2) Brownfield investments

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India continuously will allow FDI in the drugs and pharmaceutical sectorunder automatic route as greenfield investments.

In case of brownfield investment, it will be allowed through the ForeignInvestment Promotion Board (FIPB) for six months, following which such

acquisitions will be routed through the Competition Commission of India

Arun Maira Committee, constituted by the Planning commission toreview the Governments policy of allowing 100% FDI in Pharmacautical

Sector.

Six major Indian Pharma companies taken over by the MNCsMatrix Lab MylanDabur Pharma - Fresenius Kabi

Ranbaxy Labs - Daiichi Sankyo of Japan

Shanta Biotech - Sanofi Aventis of France

Orchid Chemicals - Hospira

Piramal Healthcare - Abbott ofUS

Veteran Ghazal singer Jagfit singh passed away in Mumbai Jagfit singh was considered the Mehdi Hasan of India.

ECONOMY

The Draft Telecom Policy 2011 The National Telecom Policy - 2011 Proposes to create a special purpose

telecom finance corporation as a Vehicle to mobilise and channelise financing

for telecom projects to facilitate investment in telecom seeter

Primary Objective

The New policy is maximizing public good by making available affordable,

reliable and secure tele communication and broadband services across the

country.

The draft bill aims at making available 500 MHz of spectrum by 2020 Do away the roaming charges and allow mobile number portability across the

country

To make available broadband in villages and recognition of telecom asinfrastructure sector as well as merger and acquisition initiatives, along-withone nation, one license regine

Set a target of 600 million highspeed internet connections by 2020

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To make the broadband connectivity to basic necessities like health andeducation and proposes to work towards a Right to Broadband for every

citizen.

Public Good

The term public Good refers to The consumption of the one individual of any

commodity or any services will not deprive the consumption of services of other.

2011 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences American Economists Thomas Sargent and Christopher sims were awarded

Nobel Prize for their path-breaking work on developing tools that

policymakers are probably using today in their bid to extricate the economy

from global slow down.

BUSINESS

MRF Tyres The first Indian tyre industry has crossed the Rs.10,000 crore turnover mark in

a financial year

India-Czech Republic agreed to liberalise visa regime and set a $ 2 billiontarget for bilateral trade by 2012 from current level of $1.3 billion

The draft National Telecom policy unweiled Aims to achieve 175 million broadband connections by 2017 and 600

million by 2020

Offering broadband services at a minimum 2 Mbps on download andmaking available higher speed of atleast 100 Mbps on dimand

High quality broadband access to all village panchayat through opticalfibre by 2014

Indian tele-density 74% persentlyOctober 12, 2011October 12, 2011October 12, 2011October 12, 2011 INTERNATIONAL

Vice President of India Hamid Ansari Visited Turkey and paid homage atmausoleum of Kemal Ataturk the founder of modern Turkey

He also viewed photograph of mukhtar Ansari who led a medical mission toTurkey in 1913 during Turkish war with Balkan States.

China-Russia Relations Russia would supply gas no less than 30 bcm through the Altai pipeline Both signed agreement China Investment Corporation mill invest $ 1.billion

sovereign wealth fund into point Russia - China Investment fund

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NATIONAL Election commission of India has changed is guidelines to recognise as a state

political party with 8% of the total ootes polled from 6% valid votes polled +2

seats in the state legislature.

India - Vietnam Relations Proposed to sign an extradition treaty and cultural agreement The visit of vetnamese president Troang Tan Sang becomes important in the

crucial Juncture when the ONGC Videsh drilling for oil in controversial south

China sea

Talks are on to extend the Indian training programme to the vietnamese armedforces

The Spacecraft messenger of US has settled into orbit around planet mercury. Growing danger zones in the Himalayers Imja glacier lake located in the - Nepal border of mount Everest grows due to

climate change

The Successful expedition of Sir Edmand Hillary to the top Everest in 1953,Imja glacier lake did not exist.

Grand National Assembly TurkeyECONOMY

India - ADB commomorate 25 years of partnership India and the multilateral lending agency Asian Development Bank (ADB)

will commemorate 25 years of partnership at a forum that will discuss Asias

remarkable growth and challenges

President of Asian Development Bank - Haruhiko Kuroda

Raising the FDI limit in single - brand retail The union Government was considering raising the bar further to allow

increased FDI in the single brand retail business

AT present, Government allows 51% FDI in single - brand retail businessrun by global chains such as Adidas, Nike, Louis Vuitton, Hermes and

Gucci.

The Non-Performing Assets of SBI increased from 2.7% to 3.5% leads tothe problem of capital adequacy ratio under Basel accord

Base - IThe Basel committee of Switzerland in 1988 published a set of minimal capital

requirements for banks. This is also known as 1988 Based Accord

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SPORTS Four Indian Boxers Vikas Krishan, Manoj Kumar, Devendro Lais Shram, Jai

Baghwan secured 2012 London olympic berths

Sandeep Sejwal, (50m), Veerdhaval Khade (100m Butterfly) Aaron Dsouza,Anshul Kothari, Rehan Poneha, V.K hade (4X100 free style relay) won 3 gold

medats at Asian age group Swimming championship.

Agnishwar (Tamil Nadu) happend to be the first Indian to qualify in all five eventshe had participated at world cup swimming held at Dubai


Myanmar freed 6300 outspoken critic and major ethnic rebels unlading myanmarscomedian zarganar.

Ship Rena:- Stuck on a New Zealand reef at Tauranga near bay of plenty Upto 300 tonner of heavy fuel has leaked into bay of plenty creating, NewZeeland worst maritime pollution disaster

The Ukrainian court finds its ex prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko guilty and gavesentences to seven years for exceding her authority in 2009 by making the state

energy company sing a 10 year gas import deal with Russia that was advantages to

Russia

NATIONAL

Tsunami mock drill Exercise IO Wavell - 12 hour mock tsunami drill conducted at 23 other Indian

Ocean Rim Nations

During the exercise Hydrabad based Indian Ocean Tsunami warning andMitigation System (TOTWS) was tested

The 24/7, Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC) has issued the firstbulletin in five minutes to the National Disaster Management Authority

(NDMA) at once it receives the earthquake simulation.

M.Shashidhar Reddy, - Vice Chairman National Disaster Management

Authority Chairman - Prime Minister

Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology is located at Hydrabad under the

control of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

India - Vietnam Relations The Extradition treaty will be signed today will provide a legal and

institutional basis for our cooperation

The two sides also decided to increase the trade target to $7 million by 2015

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Looking Back into the Future: Indentify & Insurgency in Northeast India - abook written by M.S. Prabhakara, Veteran journalist

Recent Developments in Bhutan King wangdruk, who was crowned in November 2008 A new constitution introduced parliamentary democracy Elections were held; and the new government assumed office and

responsibilites, with the king retreating to a constitutional role

Majestic palace of Great Happiness at Punakha, (Bhutans old capital). PSLV 4

The four stage Indias PSLV-4 launched successfully with the 4 satelliteswere: Megha- tropiques, an Indo - French mission to study the weather and

climate in the tropical regions of the world

SRM sat Jugnu by IIT-Kanpur Vesselsat from Luxembourg

It is the 19th consecutive success of the PSLV.P.S. veeraraghavan, Director,

Vikram Sarabhai Space centre, Thiruvanathapuram

Science & Technology Worlds biggest virus found at Chile

The Genome of megavirus chilensis is 6.5% bigger than the DNA code ofthe previous virus record - holder, mimivirus, isolated in 2003

M. Chilensis, a giant that it surpasses many bacteria in size and isgenetically the most complex DNA virus ever described

Viruses differ from bacteria in that they are usually for smaller and cannot

reproduce on their own, needing to penetrate a host cell in which to replicate

Graphene in next Generation Chips Graphene, the worlds thinnest and toughest material revolutioning material

science

Its amazing properties open the way to bendable touch screen phones andcomputers, lighter aircraft, paper their HD TV sets and hightning - quick netconnections.

Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov, both professors at university ofManchester discovered graphene, won the 2004 Nobel Prize for Physics.

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Graphene, and two-dimensional material boron nitrate, it may be created asGraphene Big Mac - a four layered structure which could replace silicon

chip in computers.

ECONOMY

Mango - Windows phone 7.5 version operating system, launched by Microsoftcorporation

Metro - Transitional user interface, and visually appealing modern designlanguage based on a set of principles which are modern, clean, alive in motion and

digital

Microsoft India Chairman B. Laskar Pramanik Shankar - 6, a variety of cotton and its industry suffers due to high cotton prices

Reasons for the increase in prices was said to be incentives expected byexporters for cotton exports Incentives for cotton exports enables the Indian cotton available to competing

countries at lower price

It is suggested that, Government should levy freight equalisation charges oncotton exports as the transport cost of Indian cotton from Gujarat to China was

lower than the cost transporting it from Gujarat to Tamil Nadu or Punjab

Overseas arm of ONGC, oil and Natural Gas corporation videsh Ltd. (OVL) andvietnams national oil company petro vietnam signed an agreement to family

explore for oil and gas in South China Sea in Vietnam.

OVL managing Director - D.K. Sarraf

Indias Foreign trade - September 2011 Exports continued to maintain a robust growth, registering a 36.3% growth at

$ 24.80 billion in september despite downturn in the U.S. and eurozone

Total Exports for the current fiscal might reach $290-300 billion The U.S. and Europe are the two biggest markets for Indian merchandise,

accounting for about 30% of total shipments

During the First half of this fiscal, the sectors that registered healthy growth inexports include engineering (103%), petroleum and oil lubricants (53%), gems

and jewellary (23%), ready-made garments (32%), Marine products (48%)

and drugs (33%)

The sectors that reported a steep increase in imports include gold and silver(80%), vegetable oil (60%), electronics (33%)

PSLV-C18 and its satellites CRM sat

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The 10-kg satellite from SRM university, Chennai would address theproblems of global - warming and pollution in the atmosphere by monitoring

the carbon - dioxide and water vapour.

Jugnu The three kg Jugnu, from the IIT, Kanpur, has a camera to keep a tap on the

Vegetation and status of water bodies

Vessel Sat The 29 kg vesselsat, built by Louispace of Luxembourg has an automatic

identification system of locating ships at sea in the region covered by

satelliets foot prints.

Same facts about Megha Tropiques Half-of the land area in the world was in the tropics The tropical region was a place where the skill in predicting the convective

systems, humidity, rainfall, water vapour, temperature etc. in the tropical

regions in real time

This was the second satellite to study the global tropical weather after asatellite built jointly by the U.S. and Japan in 1997

MADRAS (a payload on board the Megha-Tropiques as a livewireinstrument

It is 1,000 kg satellite, with a lifespern of five years, would cover the entireglobein a day, and information from it would reach the public in three hours. G..Raju-project Director- Megha tropiques P. Kunhikrishnan-Mission Director for the PSLV - C18 Launch

BUSINESS

Oil and natural Gas corporation Videsh Ltd. Signed an agreement with vietnamnational oil company petero vietnam to jointly explors for oil & gas in South

China Sea.

SPORTS

Euro Football cup finals to be held at Poland & Ukraine in 2019. The teamsqualified were Sofar

Denmark, England, France, Germany, Gneece, Holland, Italy, Russia, SpainSweden, Poland, Ukraine.

Magnus Carlsen (Norway) won Chess masters tournament.

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Bhutans fifth monarch King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck married Jetsunpema at palace of Great Hapiness in Phunaka the old capital of Bhutan.

Raj Rajaratnam Sri Lanka born billiokare hedge find manager, convicted washanded a 11 year jail term by Manhattan court in USA

It said to be longest sentence imposed for insider trading in new YorkNATIONAL

Analogue cable lelevision will become obsolute in India in three years time The union Cabinet approved the Digitalisation of Analogue cable systems

ordinance

The Shift would enable all the customers must have a set top box, to watchhigh quality channels of their choice on an a lacarte basis, and access tointernet and telephone through the same digital cable

The ordinance aims at complete digitalisation of cable television in the fourmetros by March 31, 2012.

A rival to the Man Booker Prize The Prominent British writers, literacy agents and critics announced a rivdl

prize The Literature Prize

The Prize, to be launched next year, promises to recognise The Best novelwritten in the English language and published in the U.K. in a given year

regardless of the nationality of the writer - unlike the Booker which is

restricted to writers from the commonwealth countries.

The shortlist; The Man Booker Prize

The Sense of an Ending - Julian Barne

Jamrachs Menagerie - Carol Birch

The Sisters Brothers - Patrick De witt

Half Blood Bhies - Esi edugyan

Snowdrops - A. D. Miller

Maspero Square - Place in Egypt recently coptic charistions marched towards thecelevision offices in Maspero square military trucbs and armoured cars were

alleged to have run over peaceful demonstrators

ECONOMY Union cabinet cleared the introduction of the Enforcement of security Interest and

Recovery of Debts laws (Amendment) Bill, 2011

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The Bill seeks to amend the securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assetsand Enforcement of security interest (SARFAESI) Act and Recovery of Debts due

to Banks and Financial Institutions (RDBF) Act.

The Proposed amendments would enable banks to improve their operationalefficiency, deploy more funds for credit disbursement to retail investors, home

loan borrowers, without fearing for recovery

The Cabinet also decided to raise the authorised capital of the IIFCL (IndiaInfrastructure Finance Company Ltd.) to Rs.5,000 crore from the current Rs.2,000

crore, to enable higher lending to the infrastructure sector

The Cabinet has also decided to bring the IIFCL-to be registered as a Non-Banking Finance Company - Infrastructure Finance Company (NBFC-IFC)

Hakan Karlsson - CEO and president of Volvo Bus Corporation

The overseas arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has signed am agreement totake 25% stake in Kazakhstans satpayer offshore exploration block

The Diwali Bonanza to exporters The RBI notifying the interest subsidy of 2% for labour intensive industries

such as handicrafts, handlooms, carpets and small and medium experters.

Around 50 products in engineering, pharmaceuticals and chemicals would getspecial bonus of additional one percent of export value between October and

March this fiscal

BUSINESS

OVL CONGC videsh (td) has signed an agreement to take 25 per cent stake inKazakhstans Sat payev offshore exploration blcok

Cabinet had cleared the introduction of the Enforcement of Security Interest andRecovery of Debt laws camend ment Bill 2011

It seeks to amend the seuritisation and reconstruction of financial Assets andEnforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act and recovery of Debt due

to Banks and Financial Institutions (RDBF) Act

It aimed at Strengthening the ability of Banks to recover debt. entend credit toboth retail borrowers and corporate

SPORTS

Churchill Brothers to clash with prayag united in Durand cup Football Finals. Krishna Poonia (Discuss thrower) recorded her season best of 59-39 metres at

Portland.

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China reiterated its barking to the initiature to rebuild the Nalanda University China has already annouced it would donate $1 million to the project

India Myanmar India offering an additional $500 million line of credit sought to consolidate

its ties

Both sides agreed to examine the feasibility of establishing railway links,accelerate work on two hydel projects in myanmar

Both also touched upon the Morch Mac sot road that would connect India andThailand Via Myanmar

Agreed to setup cooperation in oil and natural gas with discussion touching onnew gas pipelines India also agreed to increase a training slots for myanmar students and setup

more I.T training Centres

NATIONAL

India-Myanmar Relations Both sides agreed to examine the feasibility of establishing railway links India will accelerate work on two hydel project in Myanmar and reviewed

progress on a route into the North-East which would supplement Indias sole

link to that part of the country via the chickens Neck (Siliguri Corrider)

Dr. Singh and Mr. U Thein Sein also touched upon t he Moreh - Mae Sot roadthat would connect India and Tailand oea Myanmar

This would open up a direct road link between India and ASEAN besidesacceleration the 10-Nation groupings plans for the Mekong-Ganga

Corrider, one of the three identified to enhance connectivity and

industrial activity

The two sides agreed to set up cooperation in oil and natural gas withdiscussions touching on new gas pipeline

ECONOMY

Donnis Ritchie, who wrote the popular C programming language and helpeddevelop the UNIX operating system has passed away at New Jersey

Inflation close to double-digit Headline inflation continued at 9.72% in september leaving no room for a pause in

rate link by the RBI later this month

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The two-day G-20 Ministerial bering held at paris will prepare the groundworkfor the leaders summit to be held at cannes on November 3-4

G-20 is a club of rich and developing nations that account for 85% of the global

output and cover two-thirds of the world population

Enhanced limit for retaining foreign currency The RBI has enhanced the limit for retaining foreign currency abroad to

$3,000 per transaction for exporters the existing $500

The increased export - related remittance receiver Through online paymentGateway service Providers (OPGSPS)

This Facility is only available in case of transaction carreid onlinne.BUSINESS

Dennis Ritchie, a computer czar who wrote the popular C Programming languageand helped develop the Unix operating system has died

He is also known as father of C programming language G-20 is a club of rich and developing nations that accounts 85 per cent of the

global output and cover two third of the world population

****

IMPORTANT EDITORIALS

Tinkering with FDI (Business Standard Dated: Oct 14, 2011)

In an ideal situation, the governments policy on foreign direct investment(FDI) should seek to achieve at least two clear objectives. One, the policyshould be able to channel more investment flows into the country ingreenfield or existing projects. Two, the rules under the policy should betransparent and non-discretionary.

It is, therefore, surprising and disturbing that a key change introduced in thegovernments FDI policy in the first week of October 2011 is unlikely toachieve either objective.

What the changed policy has done is to deny FDI status to all investments inconvertible debentures or mandatorily convertible preference shares if theyhave in-built options of any type. And if these instruments with such optionsare issued or transferred to non-residents, they would have to comply withthe existing guidelines on external commercial borrowing. In other words,

investments that were hitherto treated as FDI have overnight turned intodebt instruments.

The new policy does not deem it necessary to explain why such instrumentswould now be treated as a debt investment merely because someone else had

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agreed to acquire the instrument from the investor as a condition. Thegovernment may well argue that introducing such a condition is necessary ina bid to prevent thepossibility of a breach of the FDI caps enforced in manysectors. But there are better ways to ensure compliance with FDI caps andcertainly introducing what looks like a retrospective amendment of rules isnot a desirable practice.

Note that once a non-resident investment in convertible debentures with anunderlying option is governed under the guidelines for external commercialborrowing, a host of new conditions kick in. These include restrictions on enduse of the funds and a fixed financial liability of servicing the debt instrument.

Moreover, companies are not likely to enjoy the prospect of converting theirrisk capital into debt and thereby incurring a higher fixed cost, which may

have adverse implications for their debt-equity ratios. That apart, such amove has implications for the countrys external debt profile. With almost athird of total foreign debt already in the form of external commercialborrowing, it is a moot point if the government should have ponderedwhether any FDI policy change should be allowed to result in reclassificationof foreign equity investments as foreign debt. This is no longer just adefinitional issue.

Foreign investment flows into the country, after peaking at $37 billion in2008-09 and staying around that figure in the following year, slowed down toonly $30 billion in 2010-11. Foreign investment flows in the first four monthsof the current fiscal year have improved to $14 billion, almost double theamount in the same period last year. However, with the prospects of a globaleconomic downturn looming large, attracting more foreign investment in theremaining months of the year will be a formidable task. If instead of furtherliberalizing foreign investment rules, the government makes the policy

more restrictive with such tinkering, that task will no longer be justformidable. It will become impossible.

Early warning (Business Standard Dated: Oct 03, 2011) Recent news from the external sector provides little respite for the Indian

economy facing a slowdown for almost a year now. The current accountdeficit (CAD) of 3.1 per cent for the first quarter of FY 2012 (compared to 2.6per cent during the corresponding period in FY2011) is largely due to awidening trade deficit.

It is unlikely that the CAD will be capped below 3 per cent during the currentfiscal, especially if global economic conditions do not change for the better.Despite the impressive increase in exports in recent months, the trade deficitwidened because expenditure on imports exceeded export earnings.

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This trend will continue as long as the terms of trade are not in Indias favour.The recent increase in the proportion of short-term loans in total commercialborrowings is a cause for concern, though short-term debt is thankfully only21.6 per cent of the overall external debt of $317 billion

Indias current levels of forex reserves are adequate to cover any eventuality,though the Reserve Bank of India would certainly like to discourageuncontrolled borrowing, especially of short-term loans. Since aggregatedemand in India is predominantly driven by domestic consumption andinvestment, GDP growth will not be significantly impacted.

In fact, the CAD would have been a lot worse, had it not been for the sharpdrop in commodity prices, especially oil, along with sharply increasedquarterly remittance flows of $13.7 billion, representing a 4.6 per cent

increase year-on-year. Hence, keeping an eye on the CAD/GDP ratio would bea good idea in these turbulent times

The global economic slowdown is a double-edged sword: both commodityprices and exports will decline as a result of muted demand in developedeconomies. It is for this reason that software exporters are not overlyenthused by the 11 per cent depreciation in the dollar value of the rupee!Another adverse impact of global volatility is sharply reduced investmentflows, both of the direct investment and portfolio variety.

Thus the ability of the capital account to mitigate a downside on the currentaccount is likely to be limited in the foreseeable future. The situation becomesa lot more alarming when the recent government decision to borrow Rs53,000 crore from the money markets is considered. This decision willcertainly lead to higher interest rates and the subsequent crowding out ofthe private sector, because of the increase in the cost of borrowing. It seemsunlikely that the government will be able to adhere to its commitment to keepthe fiscal deficit below 5 per cent of GDP.

The simultaneous existence of current account and budget deficits willonly increase dependence on foreign inflows of capital, which could

eventually result in a much higher level of national debt. The trade deficitis unlikely to decrease because exporters cannot leverage the depreciationdue to lower external demand, while the import bill will not decreasesignificantly. Given the uncertainties in global economy a wise governmentwould focus its attention on improving domestic economic and fiscal

management. Much more needs to be done by the government's top two the prime minister and finance minister to inspire greater confidence in

the countrys macroeconomic management

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Any amendments must strengthen, not dilute, the RTI Act(ECONOMIC TIMES Dated Oct 10, 2011)

Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid's remarks on the need to revisitthe Right to Information (RTI) Act, on the purported reason that its 'misuse'was hampering 'institutional efficiency', displays the discomfort amongstthe political and bureaucraticclasses over an Act that has unprecedentedly

empowered ordinary citizens.

Talk of amending the Act on those and similar grounds is nothing but thoseclasses seeking to disempower citizens, and return to the days of officialopacity.

The power of the RTI is manifest in the number of scams that have beenunearthed by deploying it - be it a citizen seeking details about that

perpetually unrepaired neighbourhood road or a multi-crore scam ofnational proportions.

Perversely, the number of RTI activists killed or threatened is alsotestimony to the danger this Act has posed to all sorts of entrenched, vestedinterests. The UPA government, in fact, had pledged to strengthen the Act.

In her address to the joint session of Parliament in 2009, President PratibhaPatil laid down the government's agenda to put in place a public data policythat would "place all information covering non-strategic areas in the publicdomain". By no stretch of the imagination can anything other than military orintelligence-related, or sensitive communication of a specific kind be called'strategic areas'.

Indeed, amendments, if any, should be those that buttress and consolidate theRTI Act - providing protection for RTI activists and whistleblowers in general,for instance - rather than seek to dilute it. But, it seems, as the power of theRTI becomes manifest sections of our polity who thrived on the withholdingof information are getting queasier by the day.

An opaquestate is essentially a colonial vestige. One that is impervious,mysterious in its workings, if not actually hostile towards ordinary citizens. Incontrast, a state which envisages the disclosure of information not just as acitizens' right, but its own fundamental duty is one where citizens can feelpart of governance and its workings. It seems our netas and babus, amongothers, would prefer the former. This must be resisted. The point is tostrengthen democracy, not starve it of information.

A Megha bonanza (THE HINDU Dated: October 15, 2011 )

The Indo-French atmospheric research satellite, Megha-Tropiques, is nowsafely ensconced in orbit.

This is the second satellite that will gaze down on the formation of clouds andpowerful storms in the tropical regions of the world.

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1. The first atmospheric satellite is U.S.-Japanese Tropical RainfallMeasuring Mission (TRMM), launched in 1997 and still operational.

2. Megha-Tropiques will measure the flow of energy and the build-up ofwater vapour at different levels in the atmosphere, both critical factors inthe evolution of large cloud systems.

3. By deciphering the complex linkages between land, ocean, andatmosphere, it will be possible to greatly improve weather and climatemodels, making for better monsoon prediction.

4. It should also provide vital clues for determining whether a warmingclimate could lead to more rain or less.

The 21 science teams formed for the mission have drawn scientists from 11countries is a testament to its global importance. A number of groups fromvarious countries, including India, have plans to feed the data in real-time intotheir simulation models for weather prediction.

After a three-month period during which the instruments on the satellite willbe calibrated and another six months when data will go only to theinternational science teams, data from the satellite will be freely accessible toall.

In the meantime, another Indo-French satellite, SARAL, which will study theoceans, is being prepared for launch in 2012.

Along with the Megha-Tropiques, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)also carried three tiny satellites as co-passengers, two of them designed anddeveloped by the faculty and students of Indian academic institutions.

The three-kilogramme Jugnu nanosatellite came from IIT Kanpur and 11-kilogramme SRMSat from the SRM University near Chennai.

The PSLV had launched earlier the 40-kilogramme ANUSAT from Anna University in 2009, and in 2010 it put up the STUDSAT, weighing less than one kilogramme, built

by a consortium of seven engineering colleges in Bangalore andHyderabad.

Twin challenges for Tantawi (THE HINDU Dated: October 14, 2011 ) The worst violence Cairo has seen since Hosni Mubarak's brutal attempts to

suppress the Egyptian protests in February,2011 has claimed at least 24 lives.

Military trucks and armoured cars are alleged to have run over peacefuldemonstrators, mainly Coptic Christians.

Coptic Christians along with Egyptian Muslims marched peacefully from thecity's Shubra district to the state television offices in Maspero Square, where

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they began an outdoor sit-in to protest over the destruction of a church in thesouthern governorate of Aswan the previous week.

Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf like Field Marshal Mohamed HusseinTantawi's governing Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, has blamedforeign interference.

The episode highlights continuing problems in Egypt's transition todemocracy.

The military rulers have been unable or unwilling to control sectarianprejudices in official institutions.

Ordinary Egyptians of all faiths are troubled by the slow progress towards thedrafting of a constitution.

The Supreme Council may be trying to delay or even prevent reform; sinceMr. Mubarak's departure from office, some 12,000 people have been tried inmilitary courts, not the civilian judicial system.

A further result of the institutional resistance to change is that the Copts, whoat 10 per cent are Egypt's largest single minority, continue to be exposed todiscrimination and, on occasion, violence.

The current situation must be a bitter disappointment to all reform-mindedEgyptians who, during February's uprising, prayed together in Cairo's TahrirSquare and chanted We are one! in a clear and inspiring message to theHosni Mubarak dictatorship and to sectarian forces in Egypt.

Myanmar's changing pulse (THE HINDU Dated: October 13, 2011 ) The October 12-15,2011 visit to New Delhi to India by the President of

Myanmar, Thein Sein, comes at a time of change in his country.

His last visit was in 2008, as Prime Minister of the military junta that calleditself the State Peace and Development Council.

The SPDC has been replaced by a government that was elected in November2010 but remains predominantly military in composition

President Sein and most of his cabinet members were high-rankingmilitary officers in the SPDC .

The election rules were engineered to ensure that the military-backedUnited Socialist and Democratic Party won.

The junta prevented the main democratic opposition, represented by theiconic Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League of Democracy, fromcontesting the elections.

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But the new dispensation has sent up smoke signals for politicalreconciliation with her.

President Sein invited her for talks, and she has been allowed to tour thecountry unobstructed.

In an open letter to the government some months ago, Ms Suu Kyihighlighted the displacement the project would cause and its fearedimpact on the environment.

At the risk of straining ties with China ,the government has bowed topopular will for the first time by suspending the Chinese-assistedMyitsone dam project on the Irrawaddy river.

Also significant is the inclusion of 300 political prisoners in an amnesty toover 6,000 others.

Over the last decade or so, India played down a longstanding friendship withMs Suu Kyi as it assiduously courted the junta. Two main reasons cited forbuilding ties with Myanmar's junta are Countering China's influence and Securing the SPDC's cooperation to crack down on safe havens of

insurgent groups from the North-East. For New Delhi, the shift in Myanmar's political landscape is an opportunity to

reinvigorate its engagement with Ms Suu Kyi and other pro-democracy forces.

Three very courageous women(THE HINDU Dated:October 11,2011) The Nobel Peace Prize for 2011 has been won by three women, each of whom

has shown sustained moral and physical courage in situations of war andstate violence.

1) Ellen Johnson Sirleaf: An economist with a Harvard master's in public administration, survived

imprisonment and a rape attempt during the brutal regime of SamuelDoe.

won the Liberian presidency in 2004, becoming Africa's first electedwoman head of state.

She immediately started rebuilding a shattered country. Declaring that empowered women were essential to a civilised and safe

society, she got 40 per cent of girls into free compulsory elementaryschooling, and tightened the laws on rape and women's property rights.

2) Leymah Gbowee: A Liberian social worker-turned activist, started a women's prayer for

peace on a football field in 2002 and this became a daily event.

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She also advised Liberian women to deny sex to their men until theystopped war, in which mass rape was widespread.

3) Tawakkul Karman: Yemen journalist-activist, has campaigned for women's rights in a

conservative society.

She became an iconic figure in her country's protests, which haveresulted in the dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh announcing his departure.

Ms Karman has often been jailed and has survived an assassinationattempt.

Earlier this year, her response to Mr. Saleh's comment that femaleprotesters had been mingling with men was to lead 10,000 women in a

march down a highway.

Only 15 women, including these three, have won the Peace Prize in 110 years. This year's prize is also the first to go to any African since the Kenyan

environmentalist Wangari Maathai was honoured in 2004.

Controversies: As Ms Johnson Sirleaf is standing for re-election, Liberian opposition leaders

say the Committee is interfering in domestic politics. Ms Karman, for her part, belongs to an Islamist party, Islah, which has links

with the Muslim Brotherhood.

By choosing someone from Yemen and not, say, Bahrain, where repressionis equally severe but the ruler is favoured by major western countries theCommittee has shown that its decision might not be as free of politicalconsiderations as it claims it to be.

India in Afghanistan (THE HINDU Dated: October 10,2011)1. The Strategic Partnership Agreement between India and Afghanistan is

confirmation that New Delhi is willing to take on a larger Indian role in thatcountry.

2. India, with a commitment of $1.2 billion through 2013, is already the sixthlargest donor to Afghanistan.

3. It has been involved in diverse development projects in infrastructure,education and agriculture. The agreement signed by Prime MinisterManmohan Singh and Afghan President Hamid Karzai in New Delhi goes

beyond such development and humanitarian assistance.4. India is to also assist as mutually determined, in the training, equipping and

capacity building programmes for the Afghan National Security Forces.

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5. In addition, the two countries will hold a regular strategic dialogue with theaim of intensifying mutual efforts towards strengthening regional peace andsecurity.

6. Significantly, two MoUs were also signed for the development of minerals andnatural gas in Afghanistan, which is said to hold mineral deposits worth $1trillion.

7. If all this is a reflection of friendly ties between India and Afghanistan, itcomes with the discomforting knowledge of the fraught nature of geopoliticsin the region.

Pakistans view: Pakistan is bound to view the agreement with unease the Pakistani

security establishment has been suspicious even of India's developmentassistance to its western neighbour.

The suspicion is quite self-serving: it heightens the bogey of Indianencirclement of Pakistan, provides justification to the Pakistan Army's ideaof building strategic depth in Afghanistan, and strengthens the military'sposition within Pakistan.

The India-Afghanistan agreement has come at a time when Afghan-Pakistanrelations are at a particularly low point.

After the killing of former Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani, linked byboth Kabul and the U.S. to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, PresidentKarzai has called off reconciliation talks with the Taliban.

What India needs to do? India needs to dispel the notion that its increasing involvement in

Afghanistan is aimed at marginalising Pakistan.

India has legitimate interests in Afghanistan and the friendly ties between thetwo run deep into the past.

In the interests of regional peace, New Delhi must take this opportunity todeclare a willingness to work with Pakistan for stability in Afghanistan.

Pakistan and Afghanistan: Are unique neighbours, with shared bonds of culture, ethnicity, language, and

religion.

As President Karzai himself pointed out, while India is a friend toAfghanistan, Pakistan is a twin brother.

A visionary passes ctober 6, 2011 A restless diviner of the digital future, Steve Jobs made things for people

before they knew they needed it.

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The first Macintosh computer brought technologies such as the graphical userinterface and the mouse to the mainstream, scoring a giant leap over text-based displays.

The iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad were products of his belief that humans, asinstinctive users of tools, would love them.

Early in his career, Jobs argued that creativity was an asset of the young. Despite suffering from a rare form of pancreatic cancer diagnosed soon after

he unveiled the iTunes music store, he persevered with the development ofnew products such as the iPhone.

Who are the poor? (THE HINDU Dated: October 4, 2011) A joint statement by the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission and

the Minister for Rural Development has declared that data collected by theSocio-Economic Caste Census (SECC), 2011 will be the basis for identifyingthose deemed eligible for entitlements under various central governmentprogrammes.

Indias official poverty estimates based on the Planning Commissionsmethodology will not be used to cap the number of households consideredeligible.

The immediate need for this clarification was the controversy over anaffidavit filed by the Planning Commission in a case in the Supreme Court.

That affidavit was doubly problematic. On the one hand, without qualification,it declared a particular per person daily expenditure as the level at or belowwhich a person was officially poor.

On the other hand, given the context, it implicitly suggested that this figureprovided the benchmark to assess how many of Indias citizens qualified aseligible for state subsidies or support.

The numbers that defined a person as poor appalled the media and the public:a measly Rs.32 or less in urban areas or Rs.26 or less in rural areas in a day.

Even these figures represent a considerable improvement on what used to beIndias much-discussed poverty line computed by inflating an expenditurelevel from 1973-74 that ensured an adequate calorific intake.

Suresh Tendulkar Committee : To revise upwards the poverty line, applying principles that were arbitrary. It furthered the official agenda of curtailing subsidies, including those on food. The first of these steps was to move from a PDS that offered self-selecting

universal access to one that was targeted at those below the poverty line. The second was to identify a set of indicators the prevalence of which could

help identify the BPL population.

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And the third was to apply those indicators with a severity that ensured thatonly that proportion of the population in individual States that were underthe poverty line would qualify for state support.

Experience suggests that the consequence of such targeting is that manydeserving support are left out, whereas many not needing it are identified aseligible.

Universal access is the solution and the additional costs are unlikely to behigh.

********

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