National:

India to integrate K-15 missiles into nuclear submarine soon

India will shortly induct K-15 missiles armed with nuclear warheads into INS Arihant, the
indigenously built nuclear-powered submarine. This follows several successful launches of
K-15 missiles from a pontoon off the Visakhapatnam coast. India is the fifth country to
have this kind of technology, where a missile carrying a nuclear warhead could be
launched from under the water. The other four countries are the United States, Russia,
France and China. Arihant will carry 12 K-15 missiles. Besides Arihant, India is building
two more nuclear-powered submarines for commissioning into the Navy and their hulls are
being fabricated at Vadodara. After its launch from under water, the 10-metre tall K-15 will
rise to an altitude of 20 km and cover a distance of 700 km. A gas generator will push K-15
from out of water. Arihants reactor will be commissioned by the end of this year. Arihant is
powered by an 80 MWt (thermal) nuclear power reactor which uses enriched uranium as
fuel and light water as both coolant and moderator. The DRDO is developing another
submarine-launched missile, K-4 which will have a range of 3,000 km. The first flight trial
of K-4 will be conducted soon. Once the n-powered submarines carrying the K-series get
inducted, the triad of Indias nuclear deterrence capability will be completed. While the Agni
series forms the mainstay of the land leg, fighter aircraft Sukhoi-30 and Mirage-2000 will
deliver warheads for the air version.
Ruatfela Nu rejects national award due to army 'brutality'
Noted Mizo social worker Vanramchhuangi, popularly known as Ruatfela Nu, has refused
to accept the prestigious National Award for Child Welfare, 2011, due to various reasons,
including the Indian Air Force's bombardment of the Mizoram capital and other places in
1966. Ruatfela Nu told she was selected by the Union ministry of women and child welfare
for the award for her contributions towards welfare of children in Mizoram.
Road mishaps biggest youth killer: WHO report
It's not HIV/AIDS or any other disease which is the leading killer of productive youth across
the globe but road accidents. A World Health Organization (WHO) report shows that
3,35,805 people in the 15-29 years age group succumb to road accident injuries annually
and it's no different in India. At least 30% of road fatalities in India are in the age group of
15-25. The latest WHO data reveals that road traffic injuries is the second major reason of
fatalities for people in the 5-14 age bracket globally and it's the third major reason of
deaths in the 30-44 age group. The worst indicator of road fatalities is that more than half
of the road traffic casualties are in the wage earning age group.
During 2011 in India reveals that people in the 25-65 years age accounted for the largest
share of 51.9% of total road accident casualties, followed by the age group 15-24 years
with a share of 30.3%.
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20th November 2012

President launches campaign to combat malnutrition

President Pranab Mukherjee said malnutrition figures are a wake-up call for the country to
take up a concerted drive to ensure good nutrition and health for children and their
mothers. He launched a nationwide mass communication campaign against malnutrition,
an initiative of the Women and Child Development (WCD) ministry. The campaign will be
rolled out in four stages. The first stage will aimed at creating awareness on symptoms of
malnutrition for eight weeks, stage 2, spread over six weeks, gives a clarion call. Stage 3
includes key messages on basic critical practices for maternal and childcare to prevent
from malnutrition. Stage 4 will inform the public about acquiring services and Mother Child
Protection card. Actor Aamir Khan is the face of the campaign. He will connect with people
and spread awareness about malnutrition and simple ways of preventing and reducing it.
One woman dies of abortion every 2 hours
India, where a woman dies of unsafe abortion every two hours, may soon allow abortion
services in its 25,000 primary health centres, which are the first points of care for India's
rural
population.
The health ministry is also looking to allow "mid-level service providers" like staff nurses
and ayurveda, unani and siddha (AYUSH) doctors to conduct safe abortions thanks to the
lack of MBBS doctors in the country's rural areas, who are the only ones allowed to
conduct an abortion. India itself has a shamefully high death rate due to unsafe abortions
or lack of availability of abortion services. National Rural Health Mission chief Anuradha
Gupta said abortion-related deaths contribute to 8% (approximately 4,600 deaths annually)
of all maternal deaths in India. India has been dragging its feet on a proposal to extend the
cutoff time to legally terminate an unwanted pregnancy to 24 weeks since 2006. At
present, according to the country's Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act (MTP), 1971,
women
can
abort
an
unwanted
pregnancy
till
20
weeks.

International:
Liberian president to get Indira Gandhi peace prize
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian president and Nobel laureate, will get Indira Gandhi Prize
2012 for Peace, Disarmament and Development for being an "inspiration" to women and
ensuring return of peace and democracy in her country. An international jury, chaired by
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, selected Sirleaf for the award, set up by the Indira
Gandhi Memorial Trust.

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20th November 2012

Global CEOs join hands to fight cancer

Over 100 iconic CEOs from across the world have joined hands to make cheap cancer
care available across the world, specially in India and China. The CEOs, from companies
like Sanofi, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson and Johnson, Novartis, and Eli Lilly
will soon knock on the doors of mayors from India and China asking them to help scale up
cancer care, prevention and early diagnosis in their respective states. There are about 28
lakh cases of cancer at any given point of time in India with 10 lakh new cases occurring
every year. The alliance, called the 'CEO Cancer Gold Standard' programme, aims to
improve prevention and faster diagnosis. Cancers now account for 14% of the overall noncommunicable diseases mortality in India. In India, cancers account for about of 3.3% of
the disease burden and about 9% of all deaths.
Pak teenager Malala Yousufzai chosen for bravery award
Pakistani girl Malala Yousufzai, who became the face of her country's struggle against the
Taliban, has been awarded for her bravery and advocation of education for girls in adverse
conditions in Swat. The award was given out by World Peace and Prosperity Foundation
Chairman Prince Ali Khan. Malala is being treated at a British hospital after she was shot
in the head by Taliban militants. The award was received on her behalf by Deputy High
Commissioner of Pakistan to the UK, S Zulfiqar Gardezi. Other recipients of award
included a Bishop of London, a distinguished British Muslim Psychiatrist, a distinguished
Turkish academic and MP, and eight year old Josh Altman, European Chess Bronze
medalist. Prince Ali Khan, Founder Chairman of the World Peace and Prosperity
Foundation said the Foundation was aimed at recognising outstanding work in various
walks of life and to promote world peace and prosperity.
Star student Sitara: A teen icon like Malala
Sitara Brooj Akbar, a 12-year-old girl, hails from Rabwah, a town of 70,000 people, some
180km west of Lahore. In 2011, Sitara achieved a noteworthy academic record, she
became the first girl of her age to clear the Cambridge University Ordinary Level
examinations in three subjects: English, Urdu and Physics. She was nine when she
cleared Chemistry, and 10 years of age when she cleared Biology. Her intellectual hero is
Abdus Salam, a Pakistani physicist who won the country's only Nobel Prize (in Physics) in
1979 but was treated quite shabbily.

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20th November 2012

Business & Economy:

Banks asked not to lend for purchase of gold
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed banks not to give loans for purchase of gold
in any form, including primary gold, bullion and jewellery, gold coins, units of gold
Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) and units of gold mutual funds, to dissuade people from
indulging in speculative activity. In the 2011-12, Indias gold imports stood at $60 billion.
The Monetary Policy Statement of April 2012 announced the constitution of a Working
Group. The Working Group suggested that other than working capital finance, banks are
not permitted to finance purchase of gold in any form.
Dr. Reddys launches Sildenafil in U.S.
Dr. Reddys Laboratories announced the launch of Sildenafil (20 mg), a bioequivalent
generic version of Revatio tablets in the United States markets. The launch follows
approval granted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to Dr. Reddys abbreviated
new drug application for Sildenafil tablets and they would be available in 90 count bottle
sizes. The Revatio brand, a registered trademark of Pfizer Inc., had sales of $338.67
million in the U.S.
Narayana Murthy honoured with global humanitarian award
Philanthropist and co-founder of tech giant Infosys N R Narayana Murthy has been
honoured with the James C Morgan Global Humanitarian Award, which recognises
contribution of people using technology to change human lives. Narayana Murthy joins a
roster of recipients that includes internet entrepreneur Jeff Skoll, education and crosscultural dialogue advocate Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, Nobel Laureate and former
US Vice President Al Gore, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Applied Materials'
Chairman Emeritus James C Morgan, who inspired the award. The Tech Awards,
presented by Applied Materials, also recognised 12 innovators who apply technology in
creative and practical ways to improve the human condition in areas such as health,
education, environment and economic development. Since its inception in 2001, the Tech
Awards programme has recognised over 240 laureates for their work to change millions of
lives for the better.

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20th November 2012

Ajay Banga in Fortune's 'best in biz' list

MasterCard's India-born CEO Ajay Banga and ICICI Bank chief Chanda Kochhar have
been named by Fortune magazine among the '2012 Businesspersons of the Year', an
annual ranking of 50 global leaders who are "the best in business". The list has been
topped by Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos with Apple CEO Tim Cook coming in at
the second place. Another Indian giving Banga and Kochhar company in the list of 50
global business leaders is Deepak Narula, founder and managing partner of hedge fund
firm Metacapital Management. Banga, 52 ranks eighth in the list while Kochhar comes in
at the 18th position, one notch ahead of billionaire philanthropist Warren Buffet. Narula
ranks 36th.
Moody's downgrades France rating
France came under fresh economic pressure as the international ratings agency Moody's
cut the French government bond rating by one notch from the highest level to "Aa1" and
warned that an additional downgrade was possible. Moody's was the second of the three
major ratings agency to cut France's top rating, after Standard and Poor's did so in
January 2012. Fitch has maintained its assessment of French debt so far.
Sahara moves SAT against SEBI
Sahara group has moved the Securities Appellate Tribunal against market regulator
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), seeking more time to submit documents
related to about three crore investors in the case involving two group companies. Sahara
India Real Estate Corporation Ltd. (SIRECL) and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation
Ltd. (SHICL) have approached the Tribunal. The two entities have been directed by the
Supreme Court to refund to their bondholders Rs.24,000 crore along with interest of 15 per
cent per annum for violating norms in raising funds from the public. The companies have
moved the Tribunal asking it to direct SEBI to allow them time till January 31, to submit
necessary documents related to the case.
Mutual fund exposure limit for HFCs relaxed
Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has relaxed the
investment limit for housing finance companies in debt mutual funds. SEBI has decided
that an additional exposure not exceeding 10 per cent of net assets of the scheme shall be
allowed only to HFCs as part of financial services sector for prudential limits in debt
oriented schemes. The total investment in HFCs shall not exceed 30 per cent of the net
assets of the scheme. SEBI said the relaxation would be subject to certain conditions such
as that the securities issued by HFCs were rated AA or above. Also, the HFCs should
have been registered with the National Housing Bank (NHB).

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20th November 2012

Technology:
Smartphones that can identify knuckle touch and fingernails
A computer scientist in the US has built a prototype smartphone that can distinguish
between touches from the knuckle, fingertip and even fingernail. To open up the
smartphone screens to commands from other parts of the hand, Chris Harrison, from
Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, has built the prototype. A modified
smartphone, fitted with a small vibration sensor and running Harrison's FingerSense
software, listens for the acoustic and vibrational differences between the three different
types of touch. A fingertip could select an object while a knuckle tap could work like the
right-click on a computer mouse and open up a submenu. Harrison has just launched a
company called Qeexo to sell his device.
Meteor shower to peak on Tuesday night
As per the International Meteor Organisation (IMO), Around 10 to 15 meteors per hour are
expected to be seen on November 20 (as earth will encounter dust trails of 1400 AD
passage of the parent comet 55P/Tempel Tuttle). The meteor shower gets the name
"LEONIDS" because meteors in it appear to radiate from the constellation Leo, Sri N
Raghunandan Kumar of Planetary Society of India said. Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle is a
periodic comet with an orbital period of 33 years. It passes through our solar system once
in every 33 years. It was independently discovered by Ernst Tempel on December 19,
1865 and by Horace Parnell Tuttle on January 6, 1866. Leonids can be 9 mm in size and
have 85 g of mass. Meteors are startling streaks of light that suddenly appear in the sky
when a dust particle from outer space evaporates high in the Earth's atmosphere. The light
phenomenon in the atmosphere is called a "meteor", while the dust particle is called a
"meteoroid".

Sport:
Czechs lift Davis Cup with victory over Spain
The Czech Republic beat holders Spain 3-2 to win the Davis Cup for the first time as an
independent nation when Radek Stepanek overcame Nicolas Almagro in four tough sets
before a raucous home crowd. His 6-4 7-6 3-6 6-3 win over Almagro meant the Czechs
reclaimed the Davis Cup 32 years after Czechoslovakia won the trophy led by Ivan Lendl,
who proudly watched this year's final at the 02 arena with his former team mates. It also
made the Czech Republic the first country to win the Davis Cup and Fed Cup team
trophies for men and women respectively and the mixed Hopman Cup event in one year.

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20th November 2012

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton wins US Grand Prix in Austin

A bold passing maneuver at the end of a long straightway slipped Lewis Hamilton past
Sebastian Vettel, and the McLaren driver went on to win the U.S. Grand Prix in the first
Formula One race on American soil since 2007. The drivers' championship will be settled
in Sao Paolo, Brazil, after Red Bull's Vettel finished second and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso
third. Vettel, the defending two-time Formula One champion, remained slightly ahead of
Ferrari's Alonso in the drivers' championship, meaning the title will come down to the final
race of the season.
New chairman for IOA election panel
Former Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court, Anil Dev Singh, will head the Election
Commission of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). Justice Singh (retd.) comes in place
of S. Y. Quraishi, who resigned as the chairman of the panel. The appointment was made
by the IOA Acting President, Vijay Kumar Malhotra. The other members of the panel are
Justice V.K. Bali (retd.) and Justice J.D. Kapur (retd.).
Flemming appointed head coach
Scott Flemming has been appointed head coach of the national mens basketball team by
the Basketball Federation of India (BFI). Flemming who was assistant coach of Texas
Legends in the NBA Development League in the US, has about 30 years of coaching
experience. Kenny Natt, who had served as head coach of the Indian mens team will
continue in an advisory capacity, overseeing the progress of both the mens and womens
national teams, from his new position as the Director of Basketball at the IMG Academy in
Florida.
Jimenez oldest winner
Miguel Angel Jimenez has become the oldest (five weeks away from his 49th birthday)
European Tour winner, after his third Hong Kong Open title.

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20th November 2012