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December 2013 Monthly Current Affairs Update
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National
U.S eases sanctions on oil import from Iran
India along with China, South Korea, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Turkey, Taiwan,
Malaysia are qualified for exemption from unilateral sanctions on oil import from Iran
which was laid out by U.S
This was formally announced after a recent deal between P5+1 countries and Iran regarding
the nuclear proliferation.
Previously, India faced lot many hurdles in order to make payments for the imports to the
Iranian oil companies.
This is the fourth instance that India qualifies for such exemption according to National
defense Authorisation Act.
Mangalyaan set into sun-centric orbit
ISROs Mars Orbiter Mission is an interplanetary mission carrying a orbiter craft which is
designed to orbit around the Mars in elliptical path.
ISRO performed Trans Mars Injection operation successfully and the orbiter was set into
sun-centric orbit.
It will now travel around 680 million kilometers to reach planet Mars.
The spacecraft is being continuously monitored from the Spacecraft Control Centre at ISRO
Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bangalore.
Witch hunting is also a form of Domestic Violence
Nearly 12 states of India have the custom of witch hunting.
Witch hunting involves branding women as witches by some religious head and treating
them cruelly.
According to the findings of the study Contemporary Practices of Witch Hunting: A Report
on Social Trends and the Interface with Law , mostly Women are branded as witches and
most of the time it is due to jealousy, disputes, lack of education and awareness about the
opportunities available in the society and religious superstition.
The custom is prevalent among all strata of society but most of them belonging to lower
strata of society.
Activists urge government to declare witch hunting as a form of domestic violence to take
stringent measures to eradicate the evil custom which affects the overall status of women in
society.
Special Status of Jammu and Kashmir- Article 370
Article 370 gives special constitutional status to J ammu and Kashmir.
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The centre has to seek the consent of J &K assembly to extend the laws applicable to rest of
India( except for defense, foreign affairs etc)
The original intention of the special provision is to preserve the distinct identity of people
but now it is utilized by the secessionist elements to demand a separate state based on their
unique identity and being out of Indias normal laws and regulations.
India- Srilanka new tie ups
India and Srilanka agreed to initiate measures for promoting naval ties bwtween both the
countries to tackle terrorist and pirate groups in the Indian ocean.
Srilankan army officers are trained in Indian institutions even after the regional governments
such as Tamilnadu raised its opposition.
In the recently concluded Common Wealth Summit, PM of India was not participating due
to sate government pressure.
Juvenile Justice Board- New powers
At present J uvenile J ustice Board can try children in conflict with law and prescribe a
maximum three years imprisonment.The age of the child must be under 18.
According to the recent proposal drafted by Ministry of Women and Child Development,
amendment to the J uvenile J ustice Act, 2000 has been initiated to reduce the age of child
from 18 to 16 and to provide J uvenile J ustice Board new powers to try children under Indian
Penal Code(IPC)
National Commission on Protection Child Rights announced that it was not consulted while
drafting the amendments and it is not possible to reduce the age of child from 18 to
16.According to U.N convention, a person less than 18 years of age is achild and India has
ratified this convention.Trying Children under IPC will abridge the fundamental rights of
the children.
Minimum wages and MGNREGA wages must be on par
Ministry of Rural Development has constituted a committee headed by Professor
S.MahendraDev to look into the following questions and suggest ways to address it.
a) whether the Consumer Price Index for Agriculture Labour(CPI AL) is the appropriate
index for protecting the wages against inflation? If not, what would
be the proper index for revising MGNREGA wage rates every year?
b) Mode of resetting the baseline in 2014 and thereafter every five years
c) Any other matter that has bearing on the issue
The committee has decided to link minimum wages with MGNREGA wages; and to link the
wages with a established index such as CPI (AL) or CPI (R) or CPI (RL)
Any extra wages above the minimum wages must be borne by the respective state
government.It will be altered once in five years with respect to the inflation level.
New insights on tumour causing genes
The Indian group is part of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC), an
initiative started in 2009, to understand the genomic basis of 50 different types of cancer
with clinical and societal importance around the globe.
Tobacco chewing isa major cause of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the gingivo-buccal
region (OSCC-GB),which accounts for over half of the oral cancers in India.
The study found 10 significantly mutated genes that were associated with OSCC-GB. These
are TP53, FAT1, CASP8, NOTCH1, HRAS, USP9X, MLL4, UNC13C, ARID2 and
TRPM3.
According to their report tumour suppressor genes, compared with cancer causing genes, are
predominantly involved in oral cancer; this fact may have therapeutic implications.
Initiatives by the Centre to face water sharing disputes
The Centre is finalizing a law to deal with water disputes arising out of the creation of new
states, Telangana and Andra Pradesh
The draft law has got the following key provisions
i) Centre can decide the water sharing ratios and the power benefits from projects on the Krishna
and Godavari basins of two states.
) If two states are unable to resolve the water sharing issue within a year, centre will decide
upon the issue at the end of second year.
i) If the two states are unable to resolve the water sharing issue with respect to ongoing projects
in two years, the centre will decide upon the issue at the end of third year.
iv) A new river management board with one full time member and two part time member will
be appointed by the states along with two full time member appointed by the centre.
v) The new board will deal with issues arising from the water sharing and power supply between
centre and states, irrigation, industrial use of water etc
vi) The centre will have the veto on issues related to powers of the board.
New gas pipeline
GAIL India Ltd.s 1000 km long Dabhol-Bangalore gas pipeline was dedicated to the nation
by PM.
India wants to diversify its energy source from offshore and onshore resources as the
energy demand will increase in the coming years.
Another pipeline plan connecting Turkmenistan-Afghanistan- Pakistan-India is being
worked out.
Acid sales rules
SC orders state to draft rules for regulating sale of acids and corrosive substances.
It also said that acid attacks must be made as a cognizable and non-bailable offense and tried
under Poison act, 1919
State governments must make rules in line with central government rules.
The sellers should keep an account of buyers address, quantity of purchase and transaction
details.
Odisha Girls Incentive Programme(OGIP)
The State government will provide Rs. 2000 per year in 10 monthly installment directly to
the beneficiary bank account.The scheme covers 4.5 lakh SC/ST students.
It is funded by Department of International Development and the technical assistance is
provided by IPE Global.
All girls student joining 9th standard, belonging to SC/ST were provided with monetary
help with a condition of 75% compulsory attendance to school.
This scheme has reduced the drop out rates, increased student attendance and supported the
financial needs of the family
India-Egypt tie ups
Egypt expressed to co-operate with India on fields such as defense, energy, fertilizer
production , science and technology.
More insights were thrown on improving economic cooperation, easing work permits for
professionals, regional and international issues which has got common concerns for both
countries
Egypt is 11
th
most favored destination for Indias export and 3rd most favored destination
for Indias import.
Pakistans war cry
Pakistan blames India for kick starting the arms race in the Indian subcontinent
It blames the regional instability to the increase in militarization of India.
It also asks India to move out of Siachen glacier as the waste disposal is ruining the glacier
which according to Pakistan is a huge water source for that country.
According to the Army Doctrine, Pakistan will utilize nuclear warhead as resort.
Indias higher education scenario
According to a report by Ernst and Young along with FICCI certain predictions were made about
the future of higher education in India. They are as follows
Emerge as a single largest provider of global talent, with one in four graduates in the world
being a product of the higher education system
Emerge as a better informed and evolved society, leading to improved social indicators
including better health and sanitation, life expectancy, and law and order
Be among the top 5 countries in the world in terms of research output, with an annual R&D
spend of US$ 140 billion.
Have more than 20 universities among the global top 200Attract global learners from all
over the world and become a destination for higher education
India-Myanmar relations
Parliamentary delegation from Myanmar visited India.
In spite of having long land and marine borders, there was not any major dispute happening
across both the sides of border
Myanmar is trying to revive the multiparty democracy for which Indian knowledge and
experience will help them in long way.
When General Aung Sang, father of Aung Sung SuuKyi was dead , Indias PM Nehru
expressed his death as a loss to Asia.
Nano park near Bangalore
A Mission on Nano Science & Technology (Nano Mission) was launched in May, 2007 to
foster, promote and develop all aspects of nanoscience and nanotechnology which have the
potential to benefit the country. The Mission was steered by a Nano Mission Council
(NMC) under the Chairmanship of Prof. CNR Rao
Government proposes to establish a state-of-the-art Nano Park in Bangalore, which will
have nano incubation centre along with necessary physical infrastructure and support system
including common facilities.
Indian Institute of Nano Sciences and Technology is being established in Bangalore with the
funding support from Union Government under the nano mission at an estimated cost of Rs
100 crore.
Women voters turn out is increasing every decade
Women voters are all time high in the recently happening elections.
Election Commission (EC) has tried its bets to remove the gapbetween men and women
voters.
EC persuaded women to participate in the electoral process, cast their votes and providing
them the requisite awareness about elections.
Rising women voters are important as their choices and preferences are different from their
male counterparts.
AIBEA demands
All India Banking Employees Association (AIBEA) demanded that public sector banks
must announce willful default as criminal offense.
It also demands that the list of defaulters above 1 crore rupees must be published in
newspaper.
It says that the laws must be amended and stringent measures must be taken.
New National Competition Policy
Formulation of a National Competition Policy is under consideration of the Government.
The Bill seeks to regulate public procurement by all Ministries/Departments of the Central
Government, Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs), autonomous and statutory bodies
controlled by the Central Government and other procuring entities with the objectives of
ensuring transparency, accountability and probity in the procurement process, fair and
equitable treatment of bidders, promoting competition, enhancing efficiency and economy,
maintaining integrity and public confidence in the public procurement process.
The Bill at present is under examination by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on
Finance.
Life Insurance Cover for HIV/AIDS sufferers
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) have issued a draft circular
dated to all the Life Insurers to provide life cover for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA)
and health cover.
According to the draft circular, all life insurers are required to put-in place a Board approved
underwriting policy with respect to life insurance products for PLHA.
The Circular provides that life insurance cover for PLHA should not be denied if the
eligibility criteria as per the Board approved underwriting policy are satisfied.
The Circular also provides for health insurance products offered by Life Insurers for those
who are HIV negative at inception of the policy and acquire HIV / AIDS after
commencement of insurance policy.
With respect to such persons who are HIV negative at date of commencement of the
contract and subsequently found to be HIV positive during the term of the policy, the
Circular statesthat the insurers should not reject/deny any claim on such grounds and in all
such cases, the underwriting guidelines and claims settlement guidelines applicable at the
time of commencement should be applicable.
Finally India gets a say in Bali conference
The following provisions are the outcome of the Bali Conference.
In the interim, until a permanent solution is found, and provided that certain conditions set
out are met, Members shall refrain from challenging through the WTO Dispute Settlement
Mechanism, compliance of a developing Member with its obligations under the Agreement
on Agriculture (AoA) in relation to support provided for traditional staple food crops in
pursuance of public stock holding programmes for food security purposes existing as of the
date of this Decision, that are consistent with the criteria of the AoA when the developing
Member complies with the terms of this Decision.(This ensures India can carry on its Food
security programme without being challenged from developed countries)
The members agreed that fulfilling the objective set out in the 2005 Hong Kong Ministerial
Declaration on export competition remains a priority issue for the post Bali work
programme. They also committed to enhance transparency and to improve monitoring in
relation to all forms of export subsidies and all export measures with equivalent effect, in
order to support the reform process.
Members recognized the continuing need of Aid for Trade for developing countries, and in
particular of LDCs.
Members have examined the relationship between trade and transfer of technology and have
also considered possible recommendations on steps that might be made within the mandate
of the WTO to increase flows of technology to developing countries.
In specific to India, agreement on trade facilitation will help boost Indias export; the image
of India in world platform has raised as it fought to defend the livelihood of millions of poor
people.
J&K women fights on court to amend provisions on State law
According to the state constitution, Children of women who married non-state subjects
wont be allowed to: acquire immovable property in J &K, Permanent residence certificate ,
admission in professional colleges.
This provision is applicable only to women(J &K) who married non-state subjects.The
spouse(non-state subject) and children of a man from J &K will be eligible to get permanent
residence certificate.
Stamps of India National Exhibition-2013
With 100 years of Indian cinema celebrations were carried on by various states, an
exhibition recognizing the contribution of actors was held in New Delhi.
The exhibition displayed stamps, post cards of various actors in Indian cinema.
Special role of A.P Governor- A.P and Telangana
The two new states will have a common Governor for the first 10 years.
He will be acting upon the aid and advice of Council of Ministers of both the states.
He will be responsible for the security of life, liberty and property of all people in common
capital.
Indo-Nepal border favors smugglers
People living along the Indo-Nepal border expressed their agony as customs officials too
often conduct raids and harass the cross border customers.
Trading goods across the border for personal consumption is allowed.
This provision is misused for transporting narcotics, medicinal goods across borders.
Encroachment in Indo-Myanmar border area
Villagers and activists raised their opposition over the construction of border fence along the
disputed corridor.
According to the locals, the Myanmaresegovernment have illegally occupied border
villages and constructed wooden fence.
People who across over the border to carry on their dayto day activities were also denied
permission to even visit those areas.
Horseshoe crabs face extinction
Horseshoe crabs basically belong to the family of Spiders and Scorpions.
World wide there are four species and two of them are found in India.
Mostly they are found along the upper east coast between Ganges and Godavari estuary.
It is commercially exploited for its medicinal properties.
IUCN has included this species in red list and declared it to be endangered.
Zoological Survey of India has asked the central government to declare Horseshoe habitats
as ecologically sensitive areas.
New initiatives to free internet from U.S control
Indian government has formulated a proposal to storing internet data within the country and
ensuring control and management of servers.
It also puts forth that the Domain name Server system must be controlled by a Board
consisting of technical experts nominated by various State governments.
India opts for a multilateral approach rather than a multi stakeholder approach involving few
notable governments.
More vigil on Indo-Pak border
Border Security Force(BSF) initiated anti-sniping measures across the Indo-Pak border as
lately many incidents involving cross border sniper firing took place from the Pakistan side.
The BSF is all set to raise a 41-metre wide and 10-metre high embankment along the
sensitive sectors of the border.
Inner Line Permit System faces the heat
Recently MHA announced the the Inner Line Permit system(LPS) will be implemented in
Arunachal pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram.
In Manipur , activists are agitating against the government to declare ILP system .
Inner Line Permit is an official travel document issued by the government of Indiato
allow inward travel of an Indiancitizen into a protected/restricted area for a limited period.
The activists are opposing for the reason that the population of border areas have been on
the raise due to illegal migration.
Hornbill festival of Nagaland
In Nagaland there are numerous tribal communities, each of them celebrate their festivities
with great passion and joy.
In order to promote inter-tribal relations and to preserve the rich cultural heritage of these
tribal communities, the State government of Nagaland celebrates the Hornbill festival in the
first week of December every year at the Heritage village located near by the the capital of
Nagaland, Kohima.
This year the function attracted nearly 1.60 lakh visitors.
PEG Scheme
With a view to creating additional storage capacity in the country, Government of India/FCI
is implementing a scheme called Private Entrepreneurs Guarantee (PEG) Scheme for
construction of storage capacity through Private Entrepreneurs, CWC & SWCs.
Under this Scheme, storage capacity is created by private parties, CWC, SWCs and other
State Agencies for guaranteed hiring by FCI.
Indias mid-day meal scheme among top 20 in world rankings
Indias mid-day meal scheme ranked 12 among the other similar schemes world wide
according to the recent World Food Programme report.
The report stressed the need for delinking the tax effect by not involving the teachers to take
care of mid-day meal scheme.
It also stated that providing meals along with proper infrastructure like teachers,
classrooms, books, stationeries and effective environment for studies must also be arranged
in order improve the standards of education.
The report encouraged the two pronged strategy for procuring the grains through a central
mechanism and other perishable items like vegetables, fruits through state mechanism.
It also mentioned about procuring the food grains and other necessary items from local
markets as it will help the local economy to function effectively and it will ensure supply of
fresh and quality food grains.
KaamMaangoAbhiyan proves effective
Due to the downfall of activities/work undertaken through MGNREGA scheme, the
government initiated a process to create awareness and to tap the demand for work through
rigorous campaign- KaamManngaAbhiyan
This campaign is conducted as pilot basis in five districts, Nasik(Maharashtra);West
Singbhum( J harkhand);Sitapur(Uttar Pradesh);Katihar(Bihar);Raichur(Karnataka)
The campaign involves training of officials, mass awareness drives through padayaatras and
institutionalizing the monthly RozgarDiwas in every Panchayat for people to register their
demands.
India-Afghanistan renewing old agreement
Afghan PM expressed his desire to renew the old agreement involving the provision of
lethal military equipments from India.
With more pressure created by the developed countries including NATA forces, Afghan
administration is trying to get as much international support to rebuilt its country
independently once the foreign forces step out of their country in massive scale.
India has already agreed to deliver two cheetah helicopters to Afghanistan.
The country also faces operational drawbacks such as maintenance of aircrafts purchased
spending huge chunks of money.
Gay rights activists disappointed with SC verdict
Previously Delhi HC has given a verdict that made Gay relationships as legitimate and
involving in it voluntarily is not an offense.
Now the SC, according to Section 377 of IPC, gave averdict that it is an offense to have a
unnatural intercourse let it be with any man, woman or animal.
As India took a step backwards, for providing legal status to Gay kind of relationships, U.K
government has proposed a law to legalize Gay relationships.
The SC also stated that the government can consider amending section 377 of IPC to delete
the clause which says unnatural relationships are an offense.
New restrictions on the use of red beacons
The SC has declared that the red beacons can be fixed in cars of dignitaries holding
constitutional status and top officials.
They can be used with or without flasher only when the dignitaries were on duty.
As per the SC, the red light symbolise power and often officials use them to treat ordinary
citizens with contempt.
BIPPA signed between India UAE
Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPPA), which seeks to promote
and protect investments from either country in the territory of the other country with the
ultimate objective of increasing bilateral investment flow, was finalized on October 30-31,
2013 at Abu Dhabi.
The Agreement requires each country to encourage and create favorable conditions for
investors of the other country to make investment in its territory and to admit investments in
accordance with its laws.
Committee to improve business climate in India
A Committee under the Chairmanship of Shri M. Damodaran was constituted to suggest
measures for a roadmap for improving business climate in India.
The Committee has since submitted itsreport to the Central Government recommending (a)
legal reforms (b) regulatory architecture (c) boosting efficacy of regulatory process (d)
enabling Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and (e) addressing state level
issues.
Global Gender Gap Index-2013
As per The Global Gender Gap Report 2013 by World Economic Forum, India ranks at 101 in
respect of Global Gender Gap Index among 136 countries of the World. This index takes into
account the following:
o Economic Participation
o Educational Attainment
o Health and Survival
o Political Empowerment
India paves the way for economically sustainable solar power
According to the recent World Bank report,
J NNSM Phase I has increased the installed capacity of Solar Power from 30 MW to 2000
MW .
The mission has alsobrought down the cost of producing a single solar unit of power
drastically.
This growth in Solar energy sector will help India to achieve its green agenda and cut short
green house gas emissions by 20-25% by 2020 over 2005 levels.
The report also recommended publicly developed infrastructure to help increase efficiency
and lower costs.
New provision in Code of Conduct for Ministers
A new paragraph has been added to Section 2 of the Code of Conduct, which states that the
Minister shall uphold the political impartiality of the civil services and not ask the civil
servants to act in any way which would conflict with the duties and responsibilities of the
civil servants.
Last month, the SC has directed the government to set up a Civil Services Board to deal
with the postings, transfers, promotion and enquiries associated with the bureaucrats.
It also stated that the bureaucrats must bot act on the verbal orders of their political boss.
Disabilities bill got the nod of Cabinet
According to the bill, the Central and State governments must take necessary steps to secure the
disabled persons with the following :
a) Respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy including the freedom to makeones own
choices, and independence of persons;
b) Non-discrimination;
c) Full and effective participation and inclusion in society;
d) Respect for difference and acceptance of persons with disabilities as part of human diversity
and humanity;
e) Equality of opportunity;
f) Accessibility;
g) Equality between men and women;
h) Respect for the evolving capacities of children with disabilities and respect for the right of
children with disabilities to preserve their identities.
A person with disability shall not be forced or compelled to partly or fully pay any of the
costs incurred to provide reasonable accommodation.
All persons with disabilities have the right to access all arrangements and support necessary
for exercising legal capacity in accordance with their will and preferences.
All persons with disabilities shall have the right to live in the community with choices equal
to others.
Every person with disability has a right to respect for his or her physical and mental
integrity on an equal basis with others.
The District Disaster Management Authority constituted under Section 25 of the Disaster
Management Act, 2005 shall maintain record of details of persons with
disabilities in the district and take suitable measures to inform such persons of any situations
of risk so as to enhance disaster preparedness.
No person withdisability shall be subject to any medical procedure which leads to or could
lead to infertility without their free and informed consent.
National and State Legal Services Authorities shall make provisions including reasonable
accommodations to ensure that persons with disabilities have access
to any scheme, programme, facility or service offered by them on an equal basis with others.
No- confidence motion( No -trust motion)
A section of Loksabha members gave a notice to initiate a no-trust motion to express their
discontent for bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
The no-confidence motion can be introduced only in Loksabha and it needs the support of
minimum 50 members of Loksabha to take up that motion for discussion.
If the motion is accepted by Loksabha, it is followed by debate on that motion and finally it
is put on Vote.
If the motion is passed by a majority vote, then the government has to dissolve.
New name for Bangalore Airport
Bangalore International Airport located in Devanahalli has been renamed as Kempegowda
International Airport.
Kempegowda is a 16th century ruler, who laid the foundation of erstwhile Bangalore city.
India-Maldives relation gets a boost
India donated second naval Advanced Light Helicopter to Maldives.
Indian armed forces have helped the Maldives National Defence forces in capacity building.
The second ALH will be stationed at northern Hannimadhooisland while the first one was
stationed at southern Addu island.
India-Afghanistan trying to deepen defence cooperation
Both the countries agreed to deepen security and defence cooperation to increase the
operational capabilities of Afghan National Security and Defence Forces(ANSDF)
India also considers to speed up the process of laying out the land route from Iran through
Afghanistan.
Talks were on to explore the vast mineral resources of Afghanistan for the betterment of
both the countries.
Natgrid
Natgrid project was envisaged to connect the databases between intelligence agencies and
the organizations providing information to enhance Indias counter terror capabilities.
It would collect and collate information from the state run databases, including tax and bank
account details, credit card transactions, visa and immigration records.
Natgrid data will accessed and shared by 11 intelligenceagencies.
Recommendations of Parliamentary committee on JAC
The following are the recommendations of the Parliamentary standing committee on Law and
J ustice regarding J AC
The J AC must be mentioned in the constitution itself.
The committee also suggested that there should be three eminent person in the commission
instead of only two.
At least one of them must be from backward/disadvantaged/vulnerable group which can be
constituted in rotation basis.
It also suggested that the government must consider setting up state level judicial
appointment committee to lessen the burden of central committee.
National Project on bio-gas
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has formulated the following Schemes for
exploring the potential of bio-energy-
1. Biomass Power and Biomass Cogeneration in Sugar Mills
2. Biogas Power Generation Programme (BPGP)
3. Biomass Gasifier Programme
4. Waste to Energy Programme
5. National Biogas and Manure Management Programme (NBMMP)
6. Biomass Cogeneration Non-bagasse
MNRE provides Central Financial Assistance for setting up bioenergy plants, training and
awareness raising.
Besides, fiscal incentives such as custom and excise duties concession, accelerated
depreciation, income tax holiday and preferential tariff are also provided for grid connected
bioenergy power generation projects.
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy gets evaluation studies done on installation and
functioning of biogas plants through independent agencies.
As per the recent study report, received in May, 2013, about 95.5% of the surveyed biogas
plants have been found functional.
New indigenous kit to detect Thalassemia
Thalassemia is a inherited anemia which affects around 10,000 to 12,000 babies in India
every year.
The child cannot make enough hemoglobin, frequent blood transfusions are needed which in
turn result in overload of iron.
If both the parents have the disorder, then there is 25% chance in every pregnancy that the
child will have thalassemia major.
The new kit, developed by ICMR will help deduct thalassemia and sickle cell anemia in
parents and unborn babies in order to prevent the birth of affected babies.
Iran backs deep sea gas pipeline excluding Pakistan
Iran has initiated talks to lay down deep sea gas pipe line as it cancelled its previously
agreed loan amount to Pakistan.
With minimum costs, deep sea gas pipeline can transport Iranian gas products to India with
out entering Pakistan.
With further reduction in sanctions from U.S, the prospects of improving economic ties with
Iran sees some ray of hope.
India Inclusive Investment fund
The Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises has proposed to set up a dedicated
fund in the name of India Inclusive Innovation Fund for promoting grass-root innovations
with social returns as well as modest economic returns.
This fund would, operate as a for-profit entity with a social investment focus.
The India Inclusive Innovation Fund would back enterprises developing innovative
solutions primarily for citizens who lie in the lower half of Indias economic pyramid, with
limited physical and institutional access to basic services.
The total corpus of this fund is proposed to be an intitial minimum size of Rs. 500 crore and
maximum size of Rs.5,000 crores with initial Goverrnment of India contribution of Rs.
100.00 crore.
A ray of hope at last
The Rajya Sabha passed the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2011 on December 17, 2013 and the
Bill has been passed by the Lok Sabha today.
Some of the important features in the Bill are as below:-
Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayukta at the level of the States.
The Lokpal will consist of a Chairperson and a maximum of eight Members, of which fifty
percent shall be judicial members.
Fifty per cent of members of Lokpal shall be from amongst SC/ST/OBCs, Minorities and
Women.
The selection of Chairperson and Members of Lokpal shall be through a Selection
Committee consisting of:-
1. Prime Minister;
2. Speaker of Lok Sabha;
3. Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha;
4. Chief J ustice of India or a sitting Supreme Court judge nominated by CJ I;
5. Eminent jurist to be nominated by the President of India on the basis of recommendations
of the first four members of the Selection Committee.
Prime Minister has been brought under the purview of the Lokpal.
Lokpals jurisdiction will cover all categories of public servants.
All entities receiving donations from foreign source in the context of the Foreign
Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) in excess of Rs. 10 lakhs per year are brought under
the jurisdiction of Lokpal.
Provides adequate protection for honest and upright Public Servants.
Lokpal will have power of superintendence and direction over any investigation agency
including CBI for cases referred to them by Lokpal.
A high powered Committee chaired by the Prime Minister will recommend selection of the
Director,CBI.
Directorate of Prosecution headed by a Director of Prosecution under the overall control of
Director;
The appointment of the Director of Prosecution, CBI on the recommendation of the Central
Vigilance Commission;
Transfer of officers of CBI investigating cases referred by Lokpal with the approval of
Lokpal;
The Bill also incorporates provisions for attachment and confiscation of property acquired
by corrupt means, even while prosecution is pending.
The Bill lays down clear time lines for Preliminary enquiry & investigation and trial
andtowards this end, the Bill provides for setting up of Special Courts.
A mandate for setting up of the institution of Lokayukta through enactment of a law by the
State Legislature within a period of 365 days from the date of commencement of the Act.
National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF)
(NSQF), a quality assurance framework which organizes qualifications according to a series
of levels of knowledge, skills and aptitude.
These levels are defined in terms of learning outcomes which the learner must possess
regardless of whether they were acquired through formal, non-formal or informal learning.
It will help shift emphasis to outcome based learning both in the general and vocational
space.
will also facilitate Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) that is largely lacking in the present
education and training scenario. Additionally, it would help alignment of Indian
qualifications to international qualifications.
The credit accumulationand transfer system that will be integrated in the NSQF will allow
people to move between education, vocational training and work at different stages in their
lives according to their needs and convenience.
Institute for Human Development report findings
According to its latest report,
1/4th of Indian population is poor with respect to the poverty line prescribed by Tendulkar
committee.
If the wage per day was increased to $2, the more than 50% of people are living in poverty.
Due to lack of skills in educated young individuals unemployment is more prevalent in the
age group of 15-25.
A new index Employment Situation Index was created to compare the level of
employment among the states.
India and Venezuela inked cultural agreement
According to the Programme of Cultural Exchange both the countries have decided to:
Promote the exchange of bilingual publications (traditional and contemporary stories).
Participation of the Republic of India in the Venezuelas International Book Fair on a
reciprocal basis.
Facilitate, in accordance with their domestic legislation, the customs and tax conditions in
order to provide assistance to the International Book Fairs in their respective countries.
Encourage the participation of Venezuelan and Indian poets and writers in the literature
festivals organized by both countries.
Encourage the participation of the Republic of India in the Venezuelas World Festival of
Poetry.
Make an issue of the magazine Actualidades (a CELARG publication) on the Republic of
India or on Indian writers
A new hope- AAP gets the recognition of State party from EC
With its recent performance in Delhi polls, AAP party has gained the status of state party
from EC.
The party now can utilize the All India Radio and Doordarshan to address the voters, a
permanent common symbol for all their contestants etc
A party is given the status of State party if and only if it satisfies any one of the conditions
mentioned below
In the last general election
1. to the legislative assembly it must have secured 6 % of total valid votes polled in the State
and must have sent 2 members to State Legislative assembly.
2. to the Loksabha it must have secured 6% of total valid votes polled in the State and must
have sent 1 member to Loksabha.
3. to the legislative assembly it must have own at least 3 % of the total seats in that legislative
assembly or 3 seats in that legislative assembly whichever is more.
4. to the Loksabha it must have sent 1 member for every 25 seats in Loksabha or any fraction
allotted for that state.
Cabinet signals green for FTA in trade and services with ASEAN
ASEAN is a 10 member association which inclused key players of South-East asia.
The FTA will be signed under Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between
India and ASEAN
Already, trade on goodshas been signed in 2009 between India and ASEAN.
Recently Cabinet Committee had deferred on the decision to extend the FTA to services as
the previous FTAs India had with many countries were affecting the domestic industry in
long run.
VidyaSiri programme
Department of backward classes. Karnataka has formulated VidyaSiri programme to
accommodate students belonging to nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes too from this year.
The scheme aims to provide Rs 1500 per month for students who were not able to get the
boarding and lodging facilities under post matric scholarship scheme.
Money will be transferred directly into the bank accounts of the beneficiary.T avail this
facility, attendance is compulsory for the students.
Pension strike came to an end
25 day strike for bringing out new initiatives and reform in pension schemes for old age
persons and women in specific came to an end.
Activists demanded that government must take steps to ensure a minimum pension of Rs
2000 per month for old age persons.
They also stressed the need to provide a universal pension scheme covering all elderly
persons and women.
Kishenganga Project-India gains upper hand
The International Court of Arbitration has given the verdict favorable to India to continue
with the construction of Kishenganga Hydroelectric project in North Kashmir.
The court upheld the Indias rights under the Indus Water Treaty.
The court has ordered India to release a minimum flow 9 cubic meters per second and to
utilize other alternatives in place of drawdown flushing techniques for removing sediments.
Previously the court also upheld Indias right to divert waters from its western rivers in a
non-consumptive manner for optimal generation of power.
India-Nepal agreed to check illegal border trade
Both the countries agreed to address each others concern regarding illegal trade and trade in
fake Indian currency.
Indian side agreed to provide 10,000 cows to Nepal in order to meet the countrys
increasing demand for milk and dairy products.
Nepal agreed to adjust 5% agriculture reforms charge it has been charging on Indian
exports.
India agreed to resolve difficulties with respect to the import of Nepali books and
newspapers.
Two sides also agreed on a 14 point agenda to enhance trade, promote cooperation and
address concerns of the private sector of both sides.
Mobile Seva launched
Mobile Seva aims to provide government services to the people through mobile phones and
tablets. It has been developed as the core infrastructure for enabling the availability of public
services through mobile devices.
Mobile Seva enables the integration of the mobile platform with the common e-Governance
infrastructure consisting of State Data Centers (SDCs), State Wide Area Networks
(SWANs), State and National Service Delivery Gateways (SSDGs/NSDG).
It enables a government department to integrate both web and mobile based services
seamlessly and enhances the access to electronic services tremendously leveraging the very
high penetration of mobile phones, especially in rural areas.
Availability of government?wide shared infrastructure and services enables rapid
development and reduced costs for the departments in rolling out mobile based services.
Tax Information Exchange Agreement signed between India and San Marino
Salient features of the agreement with San Marino are:
The agreement is based on international standard of transparency and exchange of
information.
The agreement provides for exchange of information that is foreseeably relevant to the
administration and enforcement of the domestic tax laws.
The agreement has a specific provision that the requested Party shall use its information-
gathering measures to obtain the requested information even though that Party may not need
such information for its own tax purposes.
The agreement provides for exchange of banking and ownership information.
The agreement provides for the representatives of the competent authority of the requesting
Party to enter the territory of the requested Party to interview individuals and examine
records.
The Agreement is expected to further strengthen tax cooperation between India and San
Marino.
Poorna Shakti Kendras
Poorna Shakti Kendras will be established at village level and serviced through village
coordinators.
Their main functions include the following:
1. To reach out the information to women about all the government programs/schemes/
services and helping them to utilize those benefits providing by the Government. Further, to
facilitate to avail those benefits especially related to health, education and livelihoods
2. To conduct capacity building training programs to women on various issues like leadership
qualities, crisis management, stress management, life skills development, legal rights &
entitlements etc., in order to create awareness and enhancing their knowledge & skills
3. To maintain a database of target population (women) on various issues related to women
4. To coordinate with the outreach services of various departments.
5. To organize women into clusters to access various services and to strengthen SHGs
E-Inclusion: IT Training for Rural SC/ ST/ Women Beneficiaries Project
The Project is part of the Government of Indias initiative under the National e-Governance
Plan (NeGP) for creating a transparent and accountable governance model for enabling
service delivery at the doorstep of citizens.
To achieve this mission, DeitY has setup over 100,000 Common Services Centers (CSCs)
on a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model.
CSCs are the front-end delivery points for government, private and social sector services to
the citizens of India.
Key Indicators of Urban slums in India
Any compact settlement with a collection of poorly built tenements, mostly of temporary nature,
crowded together, usually with inadequate sanitary and drinking water facilities in unhygienic
conditions, provided at least 20 households lived there, was considered a slum for the National
Sample Survey Office (NSSO) survey.
A total of 33,510 slums were estimated to be present in the urban areas of India. About 41%
of these were notified and 59%non-notified.
Maharashtra, with an estimated 7723 slums, accounted for about 23% of all slums in urban
India, followed by Andhra Pradesh, accounting for 13.5%, and West Bengal, which had a
share of about 12%.
Of the 19,749 non-notified slums estimated to exist in urban India, Maharashtra accounted
for about 29%, West Bengal for about 14%, and Gujarat for about 10%.
Out of an estimated 13,761 notified slums in urban India, Andhra Pradesh had about 23%,
Maharashtra about 14%, and Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu about 9%
each.
An estimated 8.8 million households lived in urban slums, about 5.6 million in notified and
3.2 million innon-notified slums.
At the all-India level the average slum size was estimated at 263 households. The average
notified slum had 404 households and the average non-notified slum had only 165.
India-Pakistan DGMOs meet
Director General of Military Operations from both the sides decided to maintain peace and
tranquility on LoC.
The meeting of this kind took place after Kargil war in 1999.The present meeting took place
at Wagah, Pakistan.
Both the sides also assured to work towards improved communications between the two and
re-energizing existing mechanisms including their hotline contact.
Merger of NSC and SFCI
Union Cabinet gave approval to the amalgamation of State Farm Corporation of India
Limited under National Seed Corporation.
The amalgamation will pave the way for quality seeds reaching the farmers at every remote
village in India.
Both the Public sector entities will be able to utilize their capital assets for the production of
quality seeds to the farmers.
National Cancer Institute
The Union Cabinet approved the proposal for setting up of National Cancer Institute at a cost of
Rs.2035 crore. NCI will be set up in the J hajjar campus of All India Institute of Medical Sciences
(AIIMS) New Delhi located in Badhsa village, J hajjar, Haryana. The project is estimated to be
completed in 45 months.Cancer is a term used for diseases in which abnormal cells divide
without control and are able to invade other tissues. Cancer cells can spread to other parts of the
body through the blood and lymph systems.Cancer is emerging as a major public health concern
in India, where every year 11 lakhs new cases are diagnosed, with a mortality rate of 5.5 lakhs
per year. There has been a lag of cancer treatment facilities in India, compared to WHO standard;
which requires one radiotherapy machine per million population. India at present has 0.41
machines per million population.
Strategy to create social capital
Government has developed an intensive strategy to ensure social inclusion through
participatory identification of the poor and universal social mobilisation.
The National Rural Livelihoods Project (NRLP) is to support implementation of the
National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) in 12 high poverty States that account for 85
per cent of the rural poor in the country.
The resource block strategy will cover a whole range of activities, including a trained
professional staff at district, block and sub-block levels.
The strategy also entails promotion of institutions of the poor SHGs and their primary
federations which ultimately will create and strengthen a large base of social capital or
community professionals.
Functions of JAC
The Commission seeks to perform functions that relate to appointment, transfer and quality
of candidates.
Those include (i) recommending persons for appointment as Chief J ustice of India; judges of the
Supreme Court, Chief J ustices of High Courts and other judges of High Courts; (ii)
recommending of transfer of Chief J ustices of High Courts and the judges of High Courts, from
one High Court to any other High Court; iii) ensuring that the person recommended is of ability,
integrity and standing in the legal profession. The procedure for recommendation with respect to
appointment of High Court J udges includes eliciting views of the Governor, Chief Minister and
Chief J ustice of High Court of the concerned state, in writing. This shall be in accordance with
procedure specified by regulations made by the Commission.
RashtriyaSmriti
Government has planned to construct RashtriyaSmriti as a permanent place for performing
last rites for key personalities approved by government such as President, Vice President,
Prime Minister etcon the banks of river Yamuna.
The proposed construction will be built such that large public audience can witness the
happenings in it.
By the year 2000, government has decided not to construct separate Samadhis for departed
national leaders.
Sulfur dioxide emission on the rise
According to the recent report from NASA (utilising satellite data), Sulfur dioxide emission
in India has increased by 60 percent from 2005- 12.
Sulfur dioxide is an important air pollutant and a main ingredient for producing acid rain.
The main sources of sulfur dioxide are burning of fossil fuels, vehicular exhaust, volcanic
eruptions etc
ESA notification put on hold
According to the notification, the area included in Ecologically Sensitive Areas(ESA) are
banned from mining, quarrying and sand mining.The existing mines will be closed within
five years or when the mining lease expires which ever is earlier.
No new thermal power projects can be initiated or expanding the facilities of existing ones
can be done in the ESA
The notification has been provided to the state governments for their suggestions and
comments even before it was kept in the public domain.
While protesters in Kerala were demanding withdrawal of ESA implementation in their
State, eminent ecologist, MadhavGadgil said that there are 1700 illegal quarries in Kerala
functioning in the proposed ESA category .
BSNL targeted by Chinese Telcomcompany
The rivalry between two Chinese telecom companies led to hacking of BSNL network in
Andhra Pradesh.
The Chinese telecom giant, Huawei has hacked into the BSNL network and distrubed the
expansion plans of BSNL which has ted up with another Chinese telecom company ZTE.
As the gravity of incident yet to be felt by BSNL, Indias top intelligence agencies and
Department of Telecom swung into action to investigate the incident.
National Security Council Secretariat has alerted the DoT about the incident which in turn
sought reply from BSNL.
National Security Council was established by Sri.AtalBihari Vajpayee in 1998, which serves
as the apex body concerned with the countrys political, economic, energy, strategic security
concerns. Mr.Brajesh Mishra served as the first National Security Adviser.
Guardian- A helping hand from Microsoft
Microsoft has introduced a new application that may come handy for women in distress or
emergency.
The app named Guardian will help Women summon help within few minutes.
The app has got a real time tracking feature and SOS alert functions that will serve as a
deterrent to criminals.
This app is available for Windows phone.
Energy saving CFL bulbs
Compact Fluorescent Bulbs(CFL) were making news in Rajasthan and Tamilnadu.
CFLs are popularized as a replacement to incandescent bulbs. CFL bulbs are energy
efficient and costs less compared to incandescent bulbs with same energy rating.
The only major concern about CFL bulb is the use of mercury vapor to convert electrical
energy into radiant energy inside the bulb.Mercury is toxic and may pose harm if inhaled
by humans.There is a need to educate people about proper handling and disposal of CFL
bulbs.
Central government has launched Bachat Lamp Yojana in 2009-10 to promote the use of
CFL bulbs to conserve energy and environment.
Now Snow leopards walk through Uttarakhand
Forest officials of Gangotri National Park in Uttarakhand have sighted a pair of snow
leopards confirming the existence of these species in the national park.
Snow leopards were declared as endangered species by the IUCN in redlist.
The Snow Leopard is restricted to the high mountains of Central Asia, with core areas
including the Altai, Tian Shan, Kun Lun, Pamir, Hindu Kush, Karakorumand Himalayan
ranges.
It is estimated that around 200-600 snow leopards might be present in India.
GM crops have to wait for some more time
Genetically Modified (GM)foods are foods derived from organisms( including crops) whose
genetic material (DNA) has been modified in way which dont occur naturally.
No consensus has arrived between Environment ministry and Ministry for Agriculture and
Science & Technology for giving a green signal for GM crops in India.
The Environment ministry expressed its views on public hearings, getting consent from
respective state governments before opting for field trials.
Genetically Modified crops were facing more oppositionin India due to numerous reasons
to state a few..posing serious threat to other crop species, harming the soil profile, useful
insects, pollen drift etc.
Report on persons with disability in India
In census 2011, data on eight types of disability was collected.In previous census only five
types of disability data was recorded.
Mental illness, Multiple disabilities,Any other disability were the new categories included in
2011 census.
Disability in hearing and speech is more in urban area; disability in movement and multiple
disability is more in rural areas.
Disability of SCs are higher than all other age groups.
Disability of males is higher than females till the age group of 70-79 years and thereafter
disability among females is higher.
International
Chinas unmanned lunar mission
China will become the third country ( U.S and Soviet Union ) to successfully send a
unmanned mission to moons surface.
The current programme Chang-e -3 will attempt soft landing on moons surface and it is
expected to bringsamples back to earth by 2020.
Indias Chandrayaan-1 was credited for discovering the presence of water on lunar surface.
Later NASA also confirmed the presence of magmatic water under lunar surface.
The unmanned craft will release a rover called J ade Rabbit and a Telescope for viewing
earth will be installed in Moon.
New law to penalize sex clients
In 2003, Nicolas Sarkozy, then Interior Minister, devised a law which banned racolage or
soliciting, even passive soliciting.
Up to 80 per cent of the estimated 40,000 prostitutes in France are now foreign women and
girls (or boys), often trafficked by organised gangs, from Eastern Europe, China or Africa.
France would become the second country in Europe after Sweden to transfer the punishment
to the client. If the bill passes, anyone who pays for or seeks to pay for sex could be fined
1,500 (1,250), or 3,000 on a second offense, and ordered to go to re-education classes.
Egypt Referendum will unleash new government
Military replaced Morsy government in Egypt and a new constitution is being drafted.
A referendum will be conducted to decide upon the fate of new constitution.
Referendum is a form of direct democracy in which the entire electorate will vote to decide
upon the bill/law/constitution whether toaccept it or not.
The new constitution requires the president to declare his /her assets,banning parties based
on religion, equality of men and women, military can choose its defense minister from its
own ranks etc.
Iran opposes afghan U.S pact
The proposed Border Security Arrangement (BSA) between Afghanistan and U.S will
provide the legal status to the American troops stationed in Afghanistan.
The neighboring countries expressed their concern about the implications of the above
agreement.
NATO also threatens to with draw if the security agreement is not signed.
Iran expressed its discontent for signing the agreement with U.S
Anti-Apartheid Icon is no more
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela passed away after a prolonged illness .
He was the first black south African to hold the government office.
He was conferred with numerous honors and awards including Nobel Peace Prize and
Bharat Ratna
A major breakthrough to control Hepatitis C
The U.S Food and Drug Administration agency has approved drug calledSovaldi to treat
certain types of Hepatitis C.
This pill can be administered once in a day without the need for injecting interferon which
in turn may cause numerous side effects.
Interferons are a group of naturally occurring proteins that form an essential part of the
immune system.They are synthetically produced and administered to the patients to boost
the immune response.
Australia invites India to develop its infrastructure
Australia has signed five agreements with Maharashtra under the major topics such as co-
operation in agriculture, water management,waste management, health, culture and
promotion of young ladies exchange programme.
The Australian government seeks private sector participation from India to help built its
infrastructure.
The trade balance between India and Australia is distorted, favoring more to the Australian
side.
Singapore witnessed a massive violence after 40 years
Violence sparked in Singapore as south Asian worker was killed in a accident involving a
private vehicle.
With strict rules against ethnic violence, after 40 years such massive violence has been
reported in Singapore.
Reviving Afghan-Iran ties
Afghan President taken initiatives to rebuild the relationship with Iran in order to help
Afghan country to tackle the U.S pressure.
Recently U.S announced that it will not be feasible to station American troops in
Afghanistan after 2014 with out inking a security pact between U.S and Afghanistan.
NATO forces too expressed their concern about stationing their troops without adhering to
the security pact.
Now its the turn of Tech majors to stand for Internet privacy
Top eight tech majors: Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft,Twitter, Yahoo, LinkedIn,AOL
sent a open letter to the U.S President asking the government to restrict their each over
internet information.
This group is not supporting the proposal laid out by India for securing the internet
information within a countrys political boundaries.
They also declared that the user data will be secured through advanced encryption
technology and by managing pressure by government to declare the information only on
legitimate basis.
Titbits
TIME Magazine namesPope Francis as its Person of the year(2013)
Perfluorotributylamine(PFTBA) is the most radiatively efficient chemical found to date
which has a potential impact on climate.
Researchers convertedPolyethylene terephthalate(PET) into a bicompatible material with
superior fungal killing activities.
Uruguayans celebrated the legislation on Marijuana
The government of Uruguay passed a landmarkbill legalizing the production, sale and
consumption of Marijuana in that state.
The initiative was done stating that de-criminalizing Marijuana sale and consumption will
definitely curb drug trafficking.
Uruguay became the first country in the world to allow people to grow and sell the drugs.
The new war ground- Arctic
After Canada hinted on occupying North pole and surrounding waters, now its the turn for
Russia, as it ordered its military to establish its presence in Arctic.
The recent race for Arctic is not just for extension of political boundaries but to tap the
resources underlying the white sheet of Ice.
With increase in global temperature accelerated by climate change, new water ways which
could reduce fuel consumption might be opened up in Arctic waters.
The other competing countries include Denmark, U.S.A and even Norway.
India- Canada aims for nuclear deal
Both the countries have initiated discussions to focus on civil nuclear deal and
hydrocarbons.
India will import oil sourced from Canada through Saint J ohn terminal.
The two sides have also initiated energy dialogue as Canada is in the forefront developing
shale oil and gas technology.
Formulation of CEPA between both the countries have completed eight rounds of
negotiations.
Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board announced a $200 million investment on
infrastructure in India.
New nation on fire-South Sudan
Ethnic violence in South Sudan has threatened the newly emerged country.
The violence came to the fore when the President, Kiir dismissed his Cabinet including a
key dignitary Machar.
This move triggered the ethnic tension between Kiir sDinka community and MacharsNeur
community.
The fighting resulted in around 500 deaths till now.
Arctic race-Russia on the lead
Russias natural gas monopolyGazprom has begun pumping oil from Prirazlomnoye filed in
Pechora Sea.
Indian PM also expressed ONGCs interest in working along with Russian companies in
exploring hydrocarbons in the Arctic region.
Gazprom holds licenses to develop 30 oil and gas fields in Russian section of the Arctic
seabed.
China loosens grip over family planning
Chinese government has decided to loosen the previously strict family planning strategy as
the elderly population in China is increasing and the working population will face a steep
decline in the next two decades.
Chinas one child policy was introduced to alleviate the social, economic and environmental
problems of the country.This initiative has received opposition from within and outside the
country.It is also said that the gender imbalance in China is attributed to this policy because
of under reporting of births, forced abortion, sex selective abortion etc
The government also abolished its control over the labor camps re-education system in
which a person can be taken into custody without a trial and kept confined for next four
years.
Millionaires Tax-France
Finally President Francis Hollande can move forward with the millionaires tax in France as
it was declared legal.
The proposal is to tax the companies a 75% taxwho pay more than $1.4 million to their
employees in a year.
This will be applied for two years and will not be surpassed more than 5% of annual turn
over of the company.
Initially the proposal was to charge individuals but later it was amended to includeonly the
business class.
According to the President, this tax imposition will provide a space for the ultra rich to
contribute to the France economy in a positive way.
Economy
Banks can pay interests within a quarter
Previously for Interest Rates on Rupee Deposits held in Domestic, Ordinary Non-Resident
(NRO), Non-Resident Special Rupee (NRSR) and Non-Resident (External) (NRE)
Accounts banks were advised to pay interest on savings and term deposits at quarterly or
longer rests.
As banks are functioning on core banking platform, it has been decided to review the above
instructions. Accordingly, banks will now have the option to pay interest on Rupee savings
and term deposits at intervals shorter than quarterly intervals.
The above revised instructions are applicable to domestic Rupee deposits including
Ordinary Non-Resident (NRO) and Non-Resident (External) (NRE) savings and term
deposits. As regard FCNR(B) deposits, the existing guidelines issued in this regard will
remain unchanged.
PIN must for PoS services
It is now mandatory for the customers to enter their PIN(Personal Identification Number)
while performing Point of Sale(PoS) operations.
Initiative has already been taken and it comes into effect from December 1.
RBIs report on Banking Sector
RBI submits annual report on the emerging trends of banking sector in India as per the
Banking Regulation Act, 1949. The central bank has identified certain key areas to focus on
coming years. They are as follows.
Effective reduction in NPAs and improvements in the loan recovery process.
Renewed emphasis on banks role in fostering inclusive development
Need to stimulate and foster competition in the banking sector
Continued need to reduce pre-emption of banks resources
Intensified use of technology to improveefficiency
Increasing the presence of foreign banks
Objective assessment of the existing banking structure
Need to liberalize licensing policies
Developments in Indias BoP accounts
Indias current account deficit (CAD) narrowed sharply to US$ 5.2 billion(1.2 per cent of
GDP) in Q2 of 2013-14 from US$ 21.0 billion (5.0 per cent of GDP in Q2 of 2012-13), also
much lower than 4.9 per cent of GDP in Q1 of 2013-14.
The lower CAD was primarily on account of a decline in the trade deficit as merchandise
exportspicked up and imports moderated, particularly gold imports.
On a BoP basis, merchandise exports increased by 11.9 per cent to US$ 81.2 billion in Q2 of
2013-14 on the back of significant growth especially in the exports of textile and textile
products, leather & leather products and chemicals.
While foreign direct investment recorded net inflows of US$ 6.9 billion in Q2 of 2013-14,
net portfolio investment registered an outflow of US$ 6.6 billion in the wake of indication
given by US Federal Reserve about the tapering of its quantitative easing programme.
There was a marginal net outflow of US$ 0.8 billion under equities while the debt
component of net FII flows recorded a higher outflow of US$ 5.7 billion.
Forex market
Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have started accessing the FX market for
their entire daily dollar demands.
OMCs have been advised to smoothen their daily dollar demand, so that the upcoming
bunched up demands on any particular day is covered in advance in the forward forex
market or covered on days with low demand.
OMCs have also been advised to utilize the revolving lines of credit made available by
banks with the specific objective of tiding over humps in dollar demands.
Finally, the Reserve Bank will consider opening the swap window to OMCs on the rare days
when there is a pronounced spurt in dollar demand in the FX market.
The swap windows for FCNR(B) funds and Banks Overseas Borrowings have since been
closed. The two swap windows have mobilized a sum of USD 34 billion.
Since the RBI swap windows are now closed, going forward, any new funds raised from
FCNR deposits or from banks borrowings will flow directly into the market instead of to
RBIs FX reserves .
Plastic units seek TUF status
Plastic industry grows by around 15 percent annually and the demand for it will increase
manifold in the coming years.
Technology Upgradation Fund scheme is a flagship scheme which deals with providing
funds for the upgradation of existing units and setting up of new units to increase itsability
to compete with the domestic and international entities.
Plastic industrialists are demanding that Plastic must be included under TUF scheme to help
develop the market.
Bit coins in India
Bit coins usage has been rising steadily for the past few months with Bangalore leading the
race.
Bit coins are decentralized digital currency which is used to perform transaction similar to
monetary transaction.
RBI hasnt announced any specific rules or regulations dealing with trading using Bit coins
in India and profits associated with it.
EU competition regulator imposed huge penalties
EU anti trust regulator imposed huge penalties on six banks for involving in rigging
financial benchmarks.
The bench marks involved are the Libor, Tibor and Euribor
Libor- An interest rate at which banks can borrow funds, in marketable size, from other
banks in the London interbank market. The LIBOR is fixed on a daily basis by the British
Bankers Association.
Tibor- Tokyo Interbank Offered Rate. The J apanese Bankers Association(J BA) publishes
the TIBOR every business day at 11:00am (J apan Standard Time). There are two types of
TIBOR rates. The European TIBOR rate is based on J apan offshore market rates. The
J apanese Yen TIBOR rate is based on unsecured call market rates.
Euribor- The rates offered to prime banks on euro interbank term deposits. The EURIBOR
is based on average interest rates established by a panel of around 50 European banks (panel
banks) that lend and borrow from each other.
RBI allows brings changes in interest rate futures
Interest Rate Futures means a standardized interest rate derivative contract traded on a
recognized stock exchange to buy or sell a notional security or any other interest bearing
instrument or an index of such instruments or interest rates at a specified future date, at a
price determined at the time of the contract.
The Interest Rate Futures deriving value from the following underlying are permitted on the
recognised stock exchanges:(i) 91-Day Treasury Bills;
(ii) 2-year, 5-year and 10-year coupon bearing notional Government of India security, and
(iii) Coupon bearing Government of India security.
Contracts can be physically settled or cash settled
The cash settled contracts can be of 91 day treasury bill, 2-year, 5-year and 10-year
coupons.
The Reserve Bank may from time to time modify the eligibility criteria for the participants,
modify participant-wise position limits, prescribe margins and / or impose specific margins
for identified participants, fix or modify any other prudential limits, or take such other
actions as deemed necessary in public interest, in the interest of financial stability and
orderly development and maintenance of interest rate market in India.
Credit Rating Agency- Moody fears downfall of Indian economy
According to it, downfall of credit rating may be due to decline in foreign exchange
reserves, increasing imports and high inflationary pressure.
It has assigned Baa3 rating to India.
It also says that companies will face high borrowing costs, tight funding conditions as
monetary policy will remain tight for following months.
Revenue Sharing model in Oil sector.
At present the oil companies take their profits after recovering the costs associated with
production of oil.
As per the revenue sharing model, the profits will be shared based on aa pre-determined
formula and cost recovery wont be possible.
The CAG has recommended shifting to the revenue sharing model as it will benefit the
government to a large extent.
This model is based on the recommendations provided by Rangarajan committee.
World Bank- MIGA Report
The role of Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) is to promote Foreign Direct
Investment, reduce poverty , support economic growth and to improve peoples lives.
A survey conducted for the report finds that macroeconomic instability and political risk
rank neck-and-neck as top concerns for investors as they plan over the short and medium
terms. Despite this, the survey finds nearly half of respondents expect to increase their
investments in developing countries over the next 12 monthswith that number increasing
to 70 percent when the horizon is extended for three years.
Political risk insurance issuance has once again exceeded the pace of increase in FDI flows
into developing economies over the same period.
The study finds the risk appears to be higher in middle income countries than lower income
ones. It also finds that investors are more likely to face higher risk in contractual
relationships involving public utilities than in other sectors.
It notes the presence of a multilateral or development financial institution in a deal is likely
to enhance the chances of contract success. And it notes the risk of a public contract is still
significantly related to the age profile of that contract.
Recently CSO has released the report on GDP.
According to it,
The economy grew by 4.8 percent.
This growth in economy is primarily attributed to the growth in farm sector over the second
quarter of the year.
The economy performed well in the latter part of the year.
Themanufacturing industries showed a meagre 1.1 % growth.
The services sector was not performing well.It has grown by 5.9% only.
Previously, BoP statements released by the authorities indicated a sharp decrease in Current
Account Deficit.
India-Mauritius agree on LoB Clause
Limitation of Benefit clause has been agreed by Mauritius to be included in Tax treaty with
India.
This clause will help prevent third parties to utilize the tax avoidance agreement utilizing the
tax treaty between both the countries
SEBI to take strict measures to tackle insider trading
The recently constituted International Advisory Board(IAB) under SEBI suggested to levy
heavy penalties on entities involved in insider trading.
Insider trading can be treated as an act of utilising any confidential price-sensitive
knowledge and data that can provide an unfair advantage when buying and selling shares of
a publicly traded company.
Beyond naming and shaming, the regulator plans to create a separate tag providing
information on cases of insider trading in its official website.
It also suggested to open up Real Estate Investment Trusts to retail investments and to create
a separate framework for infrastructure trusts.
It says that the slump in economy is due to internal factors rather than theexternal factors.
CERC drafts new rules
According to the recent draft of Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), power
tariffs will fall as it propose to remove the tax arbitrage.
It also has brought in changes in the Operational and maintenanceexpenses marginally.
The incentives for the power producing and transmission companies will be linked to Plant
load factor rather than Plant availability factor.
With such changes, the shares of NTPC plunged down by 11,26 %.
Revival of textile sector
Demands for Indian textiles have increased in India and overseas.
India faces tough competition from China and Bangladesh.But the cost of one unit of labor
in China is high compared to India.Also, in Bangladesh , recent incidents of mishaps due to
non-adherence of industrial safety norms has provided an edge over the country for India.
This industry also has an advantage in India as the key raw materials are produced in our
country itself.
In order to tap this opportunity, it is must to enhance the production capacities by utilizing
cutting edge technologies and take steps to expand the fabric sector(as Textile sector has a
larger base)
More stress for implementing new gas pricing formula
FM has reiterated the need for implementing new gas pricing formula proposed by
Rangarajan committee.
This will put a cap on the prices so that it will protect the consumers and government from
sudden downswing in market prices.
This will also help the gas producers as sudden downswing of prices in the international
market will abruptly impact their profits.
U.Ks new initiatives to tackle immigrant population from EU
According to the recent statements from the U.K state department,
EU citizens who enter U.K for work will be eligible to get the out-of-work benefits and
access to other welfare only after three months.
Setting a maximum earning threshold.
Imposing a re-entry ban.
Huge amount of fine if the employer was not paying the minimum wages for its workers.
New reforms have been brought to the forefront to monitor illegal immigrants.
U.Ks bill on Slavery
National Referral Commission, U.K has taken note of cases of illegal immigrant being held
inhuman bondage and slavery.The draft law will amalgamate the exiting laws prohibiting human
trafficking and slavery offences inthe U.k.
The key recommendations of the bill are as follows
The maximum punishment for attempting to do slavery or human trafficking is life long
imprisonment.
Create a post of Anti-Slavery Commissioner.
Inflation Indexed National Savings Certificate
The Government of India, in consultation with Reserve Bank of India(RBI), has announced
issuance of Inflation Indexed National Savings Securities-Cumulative (IINSS-C) for retail
investors by opening the subscription on December 23, 2013 and closing the subscription on
December 31, 2013.
The subscription can be closed earlier than December 31, 2013 with a prior notice.
Interest rate on these securities would be linked to final combined Consumer Price Index
[CPI (Base: 2010=100)].
Interest rate would comprise twoparts, i.e. fixed rate (1.5% per annum) and inflation rate
based on CPI and the same will be compounded in the principal on half-yearly basis and
paid at the time of maturity.
The final combined CPI will be used with a lag of three months, i.e. final combined CPI for
September 2013 will be used as reference CPI for all days of December 2013.
Early redemptions will be allowed after one year from date of issue for senior citizens (i.e.
65 years and above of age) and 3 years for all others, subject to penaltycharges at the rate of
50% of the last coupon payable for early redemption.
Early redemptions, however, can be made only on coupon dates. The eligible investors
would include individuals, Hindu Undivided Family, Charitable Institutions registered under
Section 25 of the Indian Companies Act and Universities incorporated by Central, State or
Provincial Act or declared to be a University under Section 3 of the University Grants
Commission Act, 1956 (3 of 1956).
As distribution/ sale of IINSS-C would be through banks, eligible investors may approach
the branches of State Bank of India, Associate Banks, Nationalized Banks, three private
sector banks (viz. HDFC Bank Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd. and Axis Bank Ltd.) and Stock
Holding Corporation of India Ltd. during their working hours.
New initiatives from SEBI
SEBI has made IPO grading mechanism voluntary which was previously mandatory.
IPO grading is the grade assigned by a Credit Rating Agency (CRAs) registered with
SEBI, to the initial public offering (IPO) of equity shares or any other security which
may be converted into or exchanged with equity shares at a later date.
Now the investigating and any of SEBI officer assigned with that purpose can search ans
seize documents for the purpose of investigation.
Companies paying Shelf prospectus with the Registrar of Companies are not required to file
prospectus afresh at every offer stage of securities.
The government has decided to treat Foreign Portfolio Investors on par with FIIs.
RBI cautioned about bitcoin
With increasing popularity of bit coins in India, RBI expressed its view on digital currency
(Virtual Currency- VC) in general ,stating the various risks attached with such currency.
They are as mentioned below:
VCs being in digital form are stored in digital/electronic media that are called
electronic wallets. Therefore, they are prone to losses arising out of hacking, loss of
password, compromise of access credentials, malware attack etc.
As such, there is no established framework for recourse to customer problems /
disputes / charge backs etc.
There is no underlying or backing of any asset for VCs. As such, their value seems to
be a matter of speculation.Thus, the users are exposed to potential losses on account of
such volatility in value.
It is reported that VCs are being traded on exchange platforms set up in various
jurisdictions so they are exposed to legal as well as financial risks.
There have been several media reports of the usage of VCs, including Bitcoins, for
illicit and illegal activities in several jurisdictions.
Mauritius tightens investment norms
Most of the investors utilize the GBC-1 route in Mauritius to make investments into India.
Now the country has put in place greater substance requirements for global business
companies operating from its jurisdiction to ensure their substantial presence there and not
just a proxy address.
Mauritius has already agreed to include a limitation of benefits clause in its revised tax
treaty with India.
Tax Information Exchange Agreement between India and Mauritius has also been finalized.
SEBI plans for new pension fund source
SEBI has proposals for allowing mutual fund companies to offer pension plans to help
elderly tap the high -risk-high- return equity market.
There is also demand from SEBI for government to extend the tax breaks available to
retirement savings to the new mutual fund run pension scheme.
The new scheme will allow the retirement savers to choose from a mix of fixed income and
equity investment options.
The NPS schemes has got many restrictions( Compulsory for government employees,cant
invest more than 8% in equity market ,provides only three options for
investments)compared to the new proposal from SEBI.
ASSOCHAM report on jobs
According to its latest report, IT, Pharmaceutical industry, agri-based industries, banking,
power,agriculture related industries such a farm equipment manufacturing, fertilizer, seed
sector will provide more employment path ways in 2014.
IT will provide more jobs as the increased consumer demand in U.S will have direct
implication in Indian IT sector as 60% of the Indian IT market relies on U.S market.
Pharmaceutical industry is mostly unaffected by economic downturns compared to other
sectors.It is an ever green segment where cutting edge technological advancements has
created more opportunities.
Agricultural sector will continue its upbeat in the next year just like this year which will
reflect in allied industries too.
In the banking industry, with the announcement of new banking licences Private sector
banks will jump into employee hunt.Public sector banks have determined to reduce the
NPAs and there are positive signs towards achieving it.
With more reforms in Power sector and steps for reducing the risks of power producers,
Power producers are planning to hire more in 2014.
Awards
Sahitya Academi Awards 2013
The Award in the form of a casket containing an engraved copper plaque, a shawl and a
cheque of ` 1,00,000/- will be presented to the authors of these books at a special function to
be held on11 March 2014 at New Delhi during the Festival of Letters organized by Sahitya
Akademi.
Eight books of poetry, four of essays, three of novels, two each of short stories and
travelogues, one each of autobiography, memoirs and play have won the Sahitya Akademi
Award this year.
Famous poets honoured with the Award for the year 2013 are SubodhSarkar (Bengali), Anil
Boro (Bodo), SitaramSapolia (Dogri), AmbikaDutt (Rajasthani), Radhakant Thakur
(Sanskrit), ArjunCharanHembram (Santali), NamdevTarachandani (Sindhi) and
J avedAkhtar (Urdu).
The well-known novelists MridulaGarg (Hindi), Manmohan (Punjabi) and R.N. J oe D Cruz
(Tamil) are among those honoured with the Sahitya Akademi Awards 2013.
C.N. Ramachandran (Kannada), Tukaram Rama Shet (Konkani), SatishKalasekar (Marathi),
and KatyayaniVidmahe (Telugu) have got the
Award for their books of essays.
TemsulaAo (English) and Mohi-ud- Din Reshi (Kashmiri) have got the Award for their
books of short stories,MakhonmaniMongsaba (Manipuri) and Man Bahadur Pradhan
(Nepali) have got the Award for their travelogues. M.N. Paloor (Malayalam) for his
autobiography, SureshwarJ ha (Maithili) for his memoirs and BijoyMisra (Odia) for his play
have been honoured.
The award was not provided for Sindhi language this year.
Sports
ThidapaSuwannapura(Thailand) won her maiden Ladies European Tour(LET) title
$300,000- Hero Womens Indian Open golf title. Indian contestant GauriMonga finished a
fifth.
Indias shuttler PV Sindhu clinched the womens singles title at the Macau Open Grand Prix
Gold Tournament. Sindhu beat world No.30 Li Michelle of Canada 21-15, 21-12 in just 37
minutes in the title clash. She was bestowed the Arjuna award earlier this year.
The International Boxing Federation has suspended Indian Boxing Federation for not
conducting the elections properly; International Olympic Committee too suspended Indian
Olympic Association on similar grounds.
M.S.Dhoni, Captain of Indian Cricket Team has been chosen for LG peoples choice award
2013.
Snehadevi Reddy (Tennis) will get a direct entry to Australian Open J unior Championships,
2014 in Melbourne.
R.B.Ganesh is the first Indian to be appointed as the Chief Referee for the billiards and
snooker event in Myanmar.
IOA has agreed to implement the directions given by IOC to denycharge-framed persons to
contest in elections of IOA. IOC has suspended Indian body a year ago.Previously Kuwait,
Ghana , South Africa were suspended for various reasons such as racial segregation, political
interference to name a few.
ArjunMaini emerged as a champion in Top 3 Super Cup Champion sports.
India won the boys and girlss Asia-Pacific junior golf championship.
International Automobile Federation(FIA) has brought out few changes in the Formula One
race to make the sport more competitive and crowd pleasing.This includes awarding double
points and numbers identification system for the drivers to state a afew.It also proposed to
put a cap on the 2015 budget.
International Cricket Council has inducted Adam Gilchrist(Australian Cricketer) into its
Hall of fame.
Bhuvaneshwar will host Champions trophy Mens Hockey tournament in 2014.
C.K.Naidu award for Kapildev, cricketer.
The International wrestling federation has reorganized weight categories in all three styles
.Indian participants in the future competition under the wrestling federation have to upgrade
themselves to fit into the new rules.
Formula One icon, Michael Schumacher is fighting for his life in hospital after sustaining
fatal injuries in a ski accident.
J acques Kallis, South African Cricketer announced his retirement from Test Cricket.
K. Sasikiran won the 51st National Chess Championship.
Reinventing Hockey
The International Hockey Federation(FIH) is planning to revitalize the hockey to make it
more attractive to the younger generation.
It has initiated Hockey5s which promotes faster, high scoring, action packed game played
with fiver players per team on a small pitch for shorter duration.
The recent tussle between India Hockey Federation and Hockey India has created a hurdle
in implementing the new reforms.
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Author By : P. Renukha

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