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9th June 2013

National:

Bhupinder Singh Hooda launches housing scheme for 2 l akh rural poor
To provide affordable housing facilities to rural poor, Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has
launched an ambitious housing scheme 'PriyadarshaniAwaasYojana' to construct two lakh houses at a cost
of Rs 1,350 crore. Each beneficiary would be given financial assistance of Rs 90,100 in three instalments by
the state government as grant for construction of a new house. The first instalment of Rs 25,000 would be
released at the time of sanction, second instalment of Rs 35,000 after completion of construction up to roof
level and the final instalment of Rs 21,000 would be released on fixing of doors and windows. This includes
Rs 9,100 to each beneficiary for construction of toilets.

Railways to l aunch SMS-based servi ce for hygiene compl ai nts
Railways have decided to launch an SMS-based service for immediate response to passenger complaints
regarding housekeeping service in coaches. The service will be launched on a few select trains to facilitate
passengers to contact onboard staff through SMS or phone call for complaints related to cleanliness in
coaches, toilets and other problems faced during journey. An On-site Passenger Complaint Redressal
System (OPCRS) is being developed as envisaged in the Rail Budget 2013-14. The service is likely to be
launched in either Mumbai Rajdhani or Bangalore Rajdhani as a pilot project soon. As per the system, a
passenger can send SMS for any issue related to coach housekeeping like dirty toilets, compartment or
absence of liquid soap. Passengers will SMS his PNR on a common number like one being used for PNR
inquiry. Railways have asked for a three-digit number from the Department of Telecommunication for the
purpose. Once the SMS is sent, the information will be registered on OPCRS connected with GSM network,
and it will be immediately routed to a GSM hand held unit (mobile phone) available with housekeeping
supervisor on train.

Sunderbans is home to 103 tigers
There are more Royal Bengal tigers in the Sundarbans than was earlier thought. Exceeding the estimates of
the 2011 census, West Bengals Forest Department has announced that the minimum identified tiger count
in the unique natural habitat stands at 103. The study, conducted by setting up camera trap stations in the
four ranges of the Sundarban Tiger Reserve (STR) and the adjoining South 24 Parganas districts, is based
on over 800 photographs of the animals in the wild. Of the 3,500 sq km of the Indian side of Sundarbans,
about 40-45 per cent is water. This leaves about 2,000 sq km for the tigers. The figures released point out
that there are 22 tigers in South 24 Parganas forest and 81 in the STR. Of the 81, there are 27 tigers in the
National Park (West) zone of the STR, 22 in the National Park (East) zone, while 19 tigers were spotted in
the Sajnekhali and 13 in the Basirhat ranges respectively. The study was conducted in collaboration with
WWF and Wildlife Institute of India.

IGNOU to offer free courses for sex workers and jail inmates
Sex workers and jail inmates in 10 districts in Karnataka and two districts in Maharashtra will now get an
opportunity to pursue higher education for free with the regional centre of Indira Gandhi National Open
University (IGNOU) starting courses for them from J uly 2013. The centre covers Bijapur, Bellary, Bagalkot,
Bidar, Gulbarga, Gadag, Haveri, Koppal, Raichur and Yadgir in Karnataka and Solapur and Latur in
Maharashtra. IGNOU has a provision to offer higher education for free to sex workers and jail inmates. Some
of our other regional centres already have the facility. The centre would set up study centres in jails and
conduct classes on Saturdays and Sundays too to help inmates clear doubts. Examinations too would be
conducted inside the jail. Inmates who get shifted to other jails could continue their studies from the nearest
centre.










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9th June 2013


International:

Brazi l security forces make record drug sei zure
Brazilian security forces have made a record drug seizure and disrupted the production of 30 tons of cocaine
in neighbouring Peru during a massive 19-day border operation. The army and police operation netted 25
tons of marijuana and 657 kilograms of cocaine and crack. Coordinated with Peru and Colombia along the
11,000 kilometre frontier, the operation disrupted smuggling and forced traffickers to abandon production of
some 30 tons of cocaine destined for southern Brazil, the United States and Europe. The operation is part of
a strategic border security plan announced by President Dilma Rousseff in J une 2011. Behind the United
States, Brazil is the worlds second biggest consumer of cocaine and crack. One per cent of Brazil's 194
million people use cocaine or crack. Federal police say 90 per cent of the drug enters through Bolivia and
Peru, with the other 10 per cent coming through Colombia. Paraguay, meanwhile, supplies 80 per cent of
marijuana demand.

India fi fth-largest target of U.S. el ectronic snooping
Continuing its series of exposs on the manner in which the United States has been harvesting electronic
communication from national and international communication traffic, has acquired top-secret documents
about a data mining tool used by the National Security Agency (NSA), called Boundless Informant, that
details and even maps by country the voluminous amount of information it collects from computer and
telephone networks. Iran was the country where the largest amount of intelligence was gathered, says the
newspaper, with more than 14 billion reports in that period, followed by 13.5 billion from Pakistan. The fact
that India clocks in fifth with 6.3 billion pieces of information collected from the countrys computer and data
networks in one month alone is bound to cause alarm and consternation in New Delhi. J ordan and Egypt are
the third and fourth most intensively watched countries.

Nisar Khan to be Pak Govts point man for dealing with Tali ban
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan will be the new Pakistan Governments point man for dealing with
law and order problems and a Taliban insurgency while Power Minister Khwaja Asif has been entrusted the
tasking of addressing a crippling energy crisis. Khan, a hawk considered close to the military and a political
heavweight from the Rawalpindi region, was allocated the Interior Ministry hours after 25 members of Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharifs council of ministers were sworn in.

Business & Economy:

ICVL shortl ists five overseas properti es for acqui sition
SAIL Chairman C. S. Verma addressing apress conference in Kolkata. International Coal Ventures Pvt. Ltd.
(ICVL), the joint venture of five public sector companies, has shortlisted five properties for a possible
acquisition, ICVL chief C. S. Verma said. ICVL was a special purpose vehicle formed with contribution from
Steel Authority of India, Coal India, NTPC, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam and NMDC with the objective of pooling the
resources of the companies for acquiring coal assets abroad.

L&T-Soji tz wins frei ght corri dor project
The Railways is all set for a long-term engagement with J apan with the Dedicated Freight Corridor
Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL) granting a Rs.6,700-crore contract for construction of 640-km twin-
track line between Rewari and Palanpur of Western Dedicated Freight Corridor. L&T-Sojitz, a joint venture
comprising L&T of India and Sojitz Corporation of J apan, has won the contract through an international
bidding process. The contract is likely to be completed in four years. The project is funded by the J apan
International Cooperation Agency (J ICA), the J apanese government arm for providing technical and financial
aid to developing countries, which is also DMRCs lending agency.

Saudi Arabia to sell more crude to India in Jul y
Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia is selling more crude to India in J uly as two refiners have asked for additional
cargoes, industry and company sources familiar with the plan said, in part to make up for a loss of supplies
from Iran. State-run Hindustan Petroleum Corp will take in 84,000 barrels per day (bpd) from Saudi Arabia,
more than double the 40,000 bpd it normally buys under annual contracts. Mangalore Refinery and
Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) will take in 86,000 bpd versus its commitment to lift 55,000 bpd.


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9th June 2013



Sport:

Serena Willi ams beats Mari a Sharapova to win French Open ti tle
Serena Williams won her second French Open title, 11 years after her first triumph, defeating title-holder
Maria Sharapova 6-4, 6-4 in a brief, but high-quality final. It was the 31-year-old American's 16th Grand Slam
title win, taking her to within two of Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova who are tied for fourth on the all-time
list. For Sharapova it was a 10th straight loss to her American nemesis dating back to 2004 when she
defeated her in the Wimbledon final and the WTA Championships when she was just 17-years-old. She is
the second oldest woman in the Open Era to win the French Open title.