WEEKLY GENERAL AWARENESS UPDATES FOR BANK EXAMS

(For the week 24.04.2011 to 30.04.2011)

Personalities
Sathya Sai Baba
Iconic spiritual leader Sri Sathya Sai Baba passed
away at Puttaparthi in Anantapur district of Andhra
Pradesh leaving behind millions of mourning
devotees in India and abroad and a sprawling system
of educational, medical and philanthropic services
that has huge resources at its command. He was 85.
The body was interred in Kulwant hall in Puttaparthi
Ashram. [Bodies of Hindu saints are generally not
cremated]

Sai Baba to make advanced medicare affordable to the

common man. The Satya Sai Organization claims it is
the only hospital without a cashier!
The Puttaparthi Baba has a large number of Muslim
and Christian devotees worldwide. He had told them
that they need not give up their religion or their
respective beliefs.
Another feature of Sai Babas 70 year long spiritual
journey was the devotion he commanded from heads
of state and Government, of countries ranging from
Italy to Sri Lanka and India, to Bollywood stars and
top notch cricketers like Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin
Tendulkar.

After the demise of Sai Baba, a vast empire spread

across
Puttaparthi,
Bangalore,
Kodiakanal,
Hyderabad, Chennai and Mumbai and overseas
centres, needs to be administered. The spiritual guru
was the chairman of the Sathya Sai Central Trust.

He funded a `300 crore project for supplying drinking

water to 750 fluoride-hit villages in Anantapur district
and introduced protected water schemes in Medak,
Mahbubnagar, Chittoor and the two Godavari districts
of Andhra Pradesh covering hundreds of villages.

The trust has well known persons such as the former

Chief Justice of India P.N. Bhagwati, the former
Central Vigilance Commissioner, S.V. Giri, former IAS
officer K. Chakravarthi, who is the trust secretary
since 1994, and the former Confederation of Indian
Industry [CII] president, V. Srinivasan as its members.

Sports

Sathyanarayana Raju as Sai Baba was known, was

born on November 23, 1926.
His spiritual journey began when he was barely 14,
when he proclaimed himself to be a reincarnation of
the Sai Baba of Shirdi.

Gerry Alexander dead

Former West Indies captain Franz Gerry Alexander,
who represented the team in 25 test matches passes
away. He was 82.
Alexander, who made his debut against England in
1957, scored 961 runs at an average of 30.03
including a top score of 108 against Australia.
WADA sticks to its stand in Sharadha case

Prashathi Nilayam (abode of divine peace) was built

during 1948-50, matching his expanding influence.
Sai Baba inspired awe among his devotees by
performing seeming miracles, such as producing
Vibhuthi (holy ash) and items such as watches, gold
chains and rings out of thin air. [Satya Sai Baba said
that his miracles were his visiting cards]

The World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) has refused to

withdraw its appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport
(CAS), Lausame, France in the Sharadha Narayana
doping case. She was charged with a steroid
(stanozolol) violation in May last year, but the
disciplinary panel was satisfied that she had taken the
banned drug as per medical advice, and reprieved her.

The Sathya Sai Central Trust, set up in 1972 to run

the ashram, executed a major water supply project for
Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh. It also
generously funded the Sathya Sai Ganga Canal,
meant to supply Krishna water to Chennai through
what was then called the Telugu Ganga Canal.

Economy/Business

The Sathya Sai Institutions Including the Institute of

Higher Medical Services (SSIHMS) and the Institute
of Learning have turned models for quality healthcare
and provision of education free of cost to meritorious
students.
The `300 crore SSSIHMS and a similar 330 bed super
specialty hospital at Whitefield near Bangalore run by
the Central Trust stand as a testimony to the efforts of

12th plan to target 9 9.5% growth

The full Planning Commission meeting chaired by
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh agreed to work
th
towards a growth target of 9.0 to 9.5 percent for the 12
plan (201217). It endorsed the objectives and
challenges outlined by the commission for the five year
period involving special focus on policy and governance
reforms and redesigning of government programmes.
The Planning Commission gave a presentation on the
ongoing 11th plan and objectives of the 12th plan which
include 100 percent literacy, inclusive growth and
development of physical and social infrastructure within
the overall target of fiscal consolidation.

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According to the Planning Commission for aiming at

100 percent adult literacy, the 12th plan (201217)
would have to increase expenditure on health from
13 percent to atleast 2.02.5 percent of GDP (gross
domestic product).
The country was estimated to have recorded an
annual growth rate of 8.2 percent during 11th plan as
against the target of nine percent.
Nuclear power must be expanded, says plan
panel
Asserting that nuclear power will play a major role in
meeting the energy needs of the country during the
th
12 Five Year Plan, the Planning Commission said
the country needed an additional 1,00,000 MW of
power during the 12th plan period (201217) and
therefore capacity expansion should be undertaken
keeping the safety measures intact.
The commission also said the pricing of diesel and
petrol should be regularly revisited and LPG and
kerosene subsidy should be targeted only towards
BPL (below poverty line) category. Coal production
will be a very major constraint, partly due to
weakness of Coal India Limited and partly
environment and forest clearances.
We must plan for coal imports of at least 250 million
tones by 2017 18 which will require corresponding
expansion of rail and port capacities, the plan panel
said.
BP sues Transocean, others for spill costs
One year after the Deepwater Horizon Oil rig blast
that killed eleven people and spilled 4.9 million
barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, BP, sues the
operator of the rig, including rig owner Trans Ocean,
contractor Halliburton and manufacturer of a failed
blowout preventer, Cameron, International.
Aditya Birla Group buys Swedish pulp maker
The Aditya Birla Group has acquired Domsjo
Fabriker, a leading Swedish specialty pulp and bio
refinery company, through its global companies Thai
Rayon public company (Thailand) and Indo Bharat
Rayon (Indonesia) for a consideration of $340 million
from a Swedish consortium of six individuals.
Nestle agrees to buy 60 percent of Chinese food
firm
Nestle the worlds biggest food company, agreed to
take a 60 percent stake in Chinas Yinlu Foods Group
becoming the latest multinational to target Chinas
fast growing food and beverage sector.

The group will be headed by Planning Commission

member Arun Maira. The government permits 100
percent foreign direct investment (FDI) via automatic
route in the pharma sector.
Diamond Retail Benchmark launched
The All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation
(GJF) announces the launch of the Diamond Retail
Benchmark (DRB), a price chart for retail buyers of
diamonds.
Bachraj Bamalwa, who recently assumed office as
the chairman of the GJF, said the new index,
developed by DEX Online, an Israeli company, would
ensure greater transparency in the pricing of cut
diamonds in the country, depending on the quality
and various other parameters.
RIL Discovers gas
Reliance Industries announced a rich gas and
condensate discovery in the very first well drilled in
the block located in deep water Cauvery Palar basin.
The block, with an area of about 8,600 sq km was
awarded to Reliance under the New Exploration
Licensing Policy (NELP) III. It currently holds 100
percent participating interest in this block.
Fiat to increase stake in Chrysler
Fiat took a giant step to becoming one of the biggest
automakers in the world with a $1.3 billion deal to
boost its stake in Chrysler to 46 percent.
RBI asks banks to implement 1% interest subsidy
on home loans
The Reserve Bank directed banks to implement the
one percent interest subsidy scheme on housing
loans up to `15 lakh announced in the latest budget
with immediate effect.
Carlson to expand
The U.S based hospitality firm Carlson said it planned
to operate 50 mid scale hotels under country inns and
suites brand in India in the next ten years.
The company has extended its joint venture
agreement with Delhi based Chanakya Hotels to
manage and operate hotels under the brand in the
country till December 2020.
Toyota to scale down production in India

Inter ministerial group to examine FDI in Pharma

Toyota said it would scale down its production by up

to 70 percent in India between April 25 and June 4
this year due to supply constraint of components
following the recent devastating earthquake and
tsunami in Japan.

The Central Government announced its decision to

form an inter ministerial group to examine the issue of
FDI in Pharma.

Toyota, which has a joint venture with the Kirloskar

group in India, said production at its Bangalore plants
th
would be suspended between April 25 to June 4, 2011.

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TKM currently manufactures models like sedan Etios,

multi utility vehicle Innova, premium sedan Corolla
Altis and sports utility vehicle [SUV] Fortuner in India.

pesticide. About 500 people from different walks of life

joined the fast, held as part of a state wide observation
of Anti-endosulfan Day by the government.

RIL to make use of DE Shaws expertise

Ministers led protests at district headquarters,

including Kasaragod, where about 5000 people were
affected by aerial spraying of the pesticide on cashew
plantations of the state owned Plantation Corporation
of India.

Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Industries ltd (RIL) has

said that it will capitalize on the core strength of its
businesses and expertise of global investment major
DE Shaw in its proposed foray into the financial
services sector.
Black money cause of price rise: Swamy
Janata party president Subramanian Swamy said the
black money was responsible for the inflation and
price rise in the country, with black marketers using ill
gotten wealth to hoard essential commodities.
Black money is being used in a big way to purchase
consumer goods, including food grains. These are
hoarded to cause artificial shortage.
Dr. Swamy claimed that those hoarding black money
have invested up to 70 percent of their capital in
consumer goods and are using the profits to buy food
materials for black marketing. This has led, he said,
to the unusually high inflation rate of about 16
percent, which was negating Indias 9 percent
growth. He claimed that black money was also being
invested in the equity market, the funds being brought
in through the Mauritius route.
Green technology to tackle water pollution
Union Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam
Ramesh has launched a bioremediation technology
project to curb pollution caused by sewerage and
industrial effluents in the Buddah Nallah of Ludhiana
in Punjab.
The project is estimated to cost `16 crore in the initial
phase and it will be borne by the National River
Conservation Directorate of the Union Government. It
is expected to take one year for completion.
The project will provide relief to thousands living
along the Sutlej River and the Harike barrage in
Punjab and Rajasthan. Water pollution has caused
severe disorders among them.
Through this completely green technology the
microbial consortia would chew away the organic load
and industrial pollutants. The benefit of this
technology would be visible within three months.
No genetically modified organisms would be used in
the project, which would run on an environmentally
benign process that had no harmful impact on the
ecosystem and on human or animal health.

The fast coincided with a Conference of Parties to

Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic
Pollutants that began in Geneva on April 25.
The conference will consider a global ban on the
pesticide which is reportedly linked to more than 150
diseases, mostly affecting the nervous, immune and
reproductive systems.
The Chief Minister said the dangers of using
endosulfan were getting more acute with more cases
being reported from different parts of the state and
outside. In Karnataka 96 villages were affected.
India is seeking a postponement of the decision on a
global ban on endosulfan to the next meeting of the
Conference of Parties to the Stockholm Convention
in 2013.
Endosulfan is one of the cheapest pesticides that
farmers use in horticulture crops. West Bengal is its
largest consumer followed by Gujarat.
Green signal to Jaitapur
On a day when the world marked the 25th anniversary
of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, India reaffirmed its
commitment to an ambitious nuclear energy plan by
pushing ahead with the first phase of the
controversial nuclear power plant project at Jaitapur
in Maharashtra with additional safety measures and a
generous new compensation package to be
announced soon. But in a concession to heightened
public awareness of the need for proper regulation
and oversight, the government promised to introduce
a bill in the next session of Parliament creating an
independent and autonomous Nuclear Regulatory
Authority of India that would subsume the existing
Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB).

Miscellaneous
RTI activists denied details of ex CJIs income
The Income Tax appellate authority decides not to
provide most of the income details of the former Chief
Justice of India, K. G. Balakrishnan, sought by a right
to information (RTI) activist. This follows objections
raised by Justice Balakrishnan.

Endosulfan: Achuthanandan leads fast

Kerala Chief Minister V.S.Achuthanandan went on a
seven hour fast demanding a ban on endosulfan and
seeking central assistance for the victims of the

The appellate authority, however, agreed to provide

the assessment order on Justice Balakrishnans
income for 2008 09. The copy of the orders should
be provided to RTI activist T. Balachandran after

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masking the pan number. The authority has upheld

the decision of the Central Public Information Officer
(CPIO) in the department who had rejected the
request for copies of the IT returns filed by the former
CJI. Justice Balakrishnan stuck to his initial stand that
income tax returns, being personal in nature, should
not be revealed to an RTI applicant. He asserted his
right under section 8(1) of the RTI. Act 2005 to object
to the IT Department revealing his income details.
Bhawani Singh cremated with state honours
Brigadier Sawai Bhawani Singh, the erstwhile ruler of
Jaipur who died at the age of 801 was cremated with
full state honours at the royal familys crematorium in
Gaitore ki Chhatriyan at Jaipur after a medieval-style
procession.
He had an illustrious career in the Army and was
decorated with the Mahavir Chakra.
Acting Rajasthan Governor Shivraj Patil and chief
minister Ashok Gehlot joined the mourners at
Chandra Mahal in the city palace before the
procession started, while soldiers belonging to Brig
Bhawani Singh paratroopers regiment carried his
body and put it on the gun carriage.
Jaipur was one of the rich princely states that had
signed alliances earlier with Mughal emperors and
later with the British colonial rulers.
Supreme Court bans employment of children in
circus
The Supreme Court banned the employment of
children in circuses and directed the Union
Government to take immediate steps to rescue those
engaged in such employment.
The court passing orders on a petition filed by the
Bachpan Bachao Andolan, said to implement the
fundamental right of children under Article 21A (right to
education), it is imperative that the central government
issue suitable notifications prohibiting the employment
of children in circuses within two months.
(More than one third of the countrys population,
around 440 million is below 18 years of age.)
Court rejects plea for disclosure of Sonias
religion under RTI
The Supreme Court dismissed a petition seeking a
direction to the census officer to disclose information
on the religion and faith of congress President Sonia
Gandhi and her children Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka
Gandhi.
A bench of justices R.V. Raveendran and A.K Patnaik
dismissed the petition filed by the former DGP of
Haryana, P.C Wadhwa, challenging a judgment of the
Punjab and Haryana High court that held personal
information supplied to a census officer during the
previous census could not be made public.

The High Court had said it is evident that the petitioner

is making efforts to make unjustified inroads into the
privacy of individuals; even if they are public figures.
Consequently the information supplied to the census
officer cannot be made public in view of the statutory
bar imposed by section 15 of the census act,
Wadhwa had initially moved an application under the
RTI act, before the Registrar General, Census
Operations, New Delhi, seeking information
regarding certain individuals, which according to him
are the leaders of the nation and the information
regarding their religion, was sought in public interest.
After the request was declined, he moved the Central
Information Commission and later the High Court.
Nepal ex-Minister aims to scale Everest
An 82 year old former Nepalese Minister Shailendra
Kumar has set off for Mount Everest in an attempt to
set the record as the oldest person to scale the
worlds highest peak.
Shailendra Kumar Upadhyaya, who served as
Nepals foreign minister and permanent U.N
representative in the 1970 and 1980 said he aimed to
raise awareness about the capabilities of elderly
people by climbing Mount Everest. Mountaineering is
often associated with physical strength. But you have
to be mentally strong to accomplish this climb.
Upadhyaya said.
Rajapaksa calls for show of strength against U.N
report
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has called
for turning May Day worker rallies into a massive
show of strength against a U.N panels report that
allegedly holds the government responsible for war
crimes during the offensive against the LTTE.
The statement was in response to the three member
U.N panels report that called for setting up an
independent international mechanism to look into
what it called credible allegations that Sri Lankan
military committed war crimes in its final decisive
offensive against Tamil Tigers.
Nationalists surge in Finland hits Euro
A Euro sceptic party, the True Finns jumped into third
place in parliamentary elections in Finland, winning a
record 39 seats in the 200 member assembly. The
party, which held just five seats in the outgoing
Parliament, is almost certain to become a part of a
new governing coalition in Helsinki.
The True Finns share of the vote soared from 4.1
percent to 19 percent, due partly to the collapse of
the Centre Party which was a member of the outgoing
coalition and which has now been relegated to the
fourth place.

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France wins migrants row with Italy

The European Unions Home Affairs Commissioner
declared France had a right to temporarily halt a rail
link between the two countries. [France and Italy]
French authorities said the trains entering France
from Italy carried hundreds of illegal Tunisian
migrants without valid papers or the ability to support
themselves. The Schengen Zone that includes
countries like Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Germany
and several others allow immigrants with valid
Schengen Visas or resident permits to circulate freely
in the Schengen Zone.
Since January, Italy has seen a steady influx of
Tunisian and Libyan refugees.
Charge sheet against Praveen Mutalik
Despite the centres decision to hand over the 2008
Malegaon blast case investigation to the National
Investigation Agency [NIA] the Maharashtra Anti
Terrorism squad filed a charge sheet. It said Abhinav
Bharat activist Praveen Mutalik was the key
conspirator in the blast that killed six.
No need to file returns
Assesses with income up to `5 lakh will be exempted
from filing returns. The provisions regarding not filling
of returns will be notified in the first week of June.
The new rule will apply from the current assessment
year 201112, for the income earned in the year
201011.
However, people in this category (income up to
`5 lakh) would have to file returns if they sought
refund.

Bhatt also accused the Supreme Court appointed

Special Investigation Team of trying to cover up the
larger conspiracy and official orchestration behind the
riots.
The 1988 batch IPS officer, now principal of the State
Reserve Police Training College, Junagadh, said that
he was present at the high level meeting convened by
the Chief Minister on the night of the Godhra incident
on February 27, 2002, in his capacity as Deputy
Commissioner of Intelligence in the State Intelligence
Bureau, Gandhinagar, the post he held from
December 1999 to September 2002.
He said, he was told by the state control room about
the meeting convened by Chief Minister Modi and
instructed to remain present there with the then
Director General of Police, K. Chakravarthi. He
surmised that he was asked to attend the meeting
because his boss, the then Additional Director
General of police, Intelligence, G.C Raigar, was on
leave that day. [The then Director General of Police
K. Chakravarthi has however said that Bhatt was not
present at the meeting]
File charge sheet against Digvijay, says court
The Madhya Pradesh High court has directed the
Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the state police to
charge sheet AICC general secretary and former
Chief Minister Digvijay Singh and others for allegedly
favouring a particular real estate project in Indore.
Digvijay Singh, when he was the Chief Minister,
allegedly flouted rules and was instrumental in
allowing the construction of the Treasure Island mall
in Indore on a much larger plot of land than was
originally allotted.
Disclose if Bench has been formed on assets
declaration: CIC tells Supreme Court

Martelly wins Haiti run off

Popular singer turned politician Michel Martelly was
declared winner of Haitis presidential election.
Final results released showed Martelly took 67.57
percent of the vote in the March 20 run off confirming
preliminary results in which he trounced his rival, the
former first lady, Mirlande Manigat. The official results
clears the way for Martelly to take office on May 14,
as the western hemispheres poorest country sets
about the task of rebuilding after a January 2010
earthquake that killed more than 2,25,000 people and
left the capital Port-au-Prince in ruins.

The Central Information Commission has directed the

Central Public Information Officer (CPIO), Supreme
Court, to furnish information on the action taken by
the court registry issuant to the November 26, 2010
orders for constitution of a larger Bench to hear cases
on declaration of assets by judges.
The CIC, in its order passed on an appeal by RTI,
activist Subhash Chandra Agarwal rejected the
submission made on behalf of the CPIO that
information on constitution of benches related to an
inhouse procedure and could not be furnished.

Gujarat police officer implicates Modi in riots

Allegations of paid news absurd and defamatory

says N Ram

A senior Gujarat cadre police officer Sanjiv Rajendra

Bhatt, has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court
stating that Chief Minister Narendra Modi directed top
police officers on the eve of the 2002 riots to allow
the Hindus to vent their anger and teach a lesson
to Muslims following the Sabarmati Express Carnage
in which more than 50 Hindu passengers were burnt
alive by a mob.

The Hindus EditorinChief, N. Ram categorically

rejected allegations published in a section of the
media suggesting that an advertisement placed in the
newspaper last May from the Telecommunications
Ministry was a quid pro quo for the publication of an
interview with A. Raja, who was the Telecom Minister
at the time.

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N. Ram said that the Chaaya Advertising Agency

released the Telecom Ministrys full page
advertisement to 15 newspapers on 22 May 2010,
including the Hindu.
It is not the practice of Kasturi and Sons Limited, the
owners of Hindu, to exploit reporters and journalists
to go and solicit ads using their contacts, he said.
Pope praises John Paul II
Pope Benedict XVI praised his predecessor Pope John
Paul II in a address days before John Pauls May 1
beatification, holding him up as an example of faith
amid western indifference to Christianity. He said for
the shame we feel over our failings the world must
not forget what he called radiant examples of faith
such as John Paul. He cited John Paul after reflecting
in his homily that people in the west seemed tired of
their faith, bored with their Christian traditions and no
longer wish to have faith in Jesus Chist.
Referendum over voting system reforms
United kingdoms first referendum in more than 30
years will be held in May 2011 when people will
decide whether to abandon the current First-Past-thePost voting system in favour of Alternative Vote (AV),
a form of Proportional Representation, in which voters
rank candidates in order of preference. It is practiced
only in three countries Australia, Fiji and Papua New
Guinea.
The Tories and their partners in the coalition
government, the Liberal Democrats, are pitted against
each other with the former campaigning against a
change and the later leading the yes camp.
A defeat will be a huge personal blow to the Liberal
Democrat leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick
Clegg who has tried to sell the idea. Referendums
have been previously held in Scotland, Northern
Ireland, Wales and London but not across the United
Kingdom.
Japan slashes development aid
Japan decided to cut its Official Development
Assistance (ODA) during the current financial year, as
one of the measures designed to mobilize resources
for the massive reconstruction of areas devastated by
the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. The ODA cut
back was announced with regret.
India is among the largest recipients of the Japanese
ODA. Japan became Indias largest aid donor in 1986
and remains so.
Japans economic assistance to India in the fiscal
year of 2008 was 236 billion yen as loans, over 4
billion yen as grants and nearly 12 billion yen in
technical cooperation.

U.S. interest in unique identification project

According to Wikileaks the U.S. State Department
showed immense interest in the Unique Identification
(UID) project being implemented by the Government
of India and wanted to know details including the
name, model, and version of the biometric collection
devices used for the ID. The office of the U.S.
secretary of state, on December 17, 2009, sent a
cable under the name of Hillary Clinton asking the US
Embassy in New Delhi to find out the motivation
behind the project and to collect as much information
on it as possible.
The Government of India constituted the UID Authority
of India (UIDAI) in January 2009 to provide all
residents of India with a unique identification number
and create a database containing biometric details,
photographs and other information. A cabinet
committee on UIDAI was formed on October 22, 2009.
The ostensible reason behind the interest in the U.S.
was that the project could present a vulnerable target
for regional extremist groups such as Lashkar-eTaiba who could obtain fraudulent Indian ID cards
during the large-scale enrolment for use in travel or
as breeder documents to apply for passports.
Clinton wanted to know whether the standards of
UIDAI would meet International Civil Aviation
Organisation (ICAO) norms.
The ICAO is a specialized agency of the United
Nations with 190 contracting states, mandated to
promote safe and efficient international air travel.
Most complaints under RTE Act relate to dirty
toilets
In addition to instances of gross violation of the
provisions of the Right of Children to Free and
Compulsory Education Act, 2009, like fee/fund
collection and corporal punishment, a large number of
complaints were lodged with the National
Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)
pertaining to non-functional, dirty toilets.
Over 206 of the 800 complaints filed with the NCPCR
at a jan sunwai (public hearing) were about this
problem. The jury comprised NCPCR chairperson
Shanta Sinha, National Advisory Council member
Farah Naqui, Bharat Gyan Vignan Samithi President
Vinod Raina, NCPCR member Yogesh Dube and
National Co-ordinator, RTE Division, NCPCR, Kiran
Bhatty.
Ashok Chavan used his office to fund relatives
bank: CAG
A comptroller and Auditor [CAG] report says the
former Maharashtra Chief Minster, Ashok Chavan,
while in office, was instrumental in converting a loan
of `100 crore and `10 crore share capital into grant
for a cooperative bank in his hometown Nanded,

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formerly headed by his relatives. The Nanded District

Central Co-operative Bank Limited (NDCCB) had
then as its directors Chavans sister and brother-inlaw Bhaskarrao Patil Khatgaonkar, who was elected
Nanded MP in 2009.
The committee also waived interest of `8.5 crore,
bringing the total assistance to `118.50 crore.

The British daily, The Times, reported that Dr. Singh

had appointed an unofficial envoy to make contact
with General Kayani as it was the Army which has de
facto control over Pakistans foreign policy, especially
vis--vis India and Afghanistan. Unlike the United
States and others, India has always shied away from
dealing with the Pakistan Army. [Pakistan has been
described as a country ruled by two As the Army
and America!]

Divergent views on bringing PM under Lok Pal Bill

A consultation in Delhi threw up differences on bringing
the Prime Minister under the ambit of the Lok Pal Bill,
being formulated by a 10 member joint drafting
committee that includes five members from civil
society. The round table dominated by eminent judges
and lawyers, however, excused higher judiciary from
the ambit of the proposed Bill and favoured a separate
mechanism to make High Court and Supreme Court
judges accountable for misconduct.
Since a separate mechanism under the proposed
Judicial Accountability Bill was on the anvil, the higher
judiciary need not be under the ambit of the Lok Pal
Bill was the argument of the former chief Justice of
India, M.N. Ventatachaliah. He also said that there
was a suggestion that the proposed Judicial
Accountability Bill be merged with the Lok Pal Bill
which may be rechristened as the Lok Pal and
Judicial Accountability Bill. The meeting suggested
that the issue of the Central Vigilance Commission
and the Central Bureau of Investigation to come
under the Lok Pal be left to the drafting committee.
Committee set up to identify VC for Banaras
Hindu University
The centre has set up a search committee to identify
a new Vice-chancellor for the historic Banaras Hindu
University. The three year term of the present Vicechanellor D.P. Singh ends in May 2011.

Blair, Brown not invited to royal wedding

Neither Tony Blair nor Gordon Brown, former Labour
Party Prime Ministers among Britains most high
profile political figures, has been invited to the
wedding of Prime William while their Tory
predecessors, Margaret Thatcher and John Major,
figure prominently on the guest list that includes more
than 200 politicians and diplomats.
The official explanation was that they were not invited
because, unlike Sir John and Lady Thatcher, they
were not Knights of the Garter, Britains highest
order of chivalry conferred by the Queen.
Ozone hole has dried Australia, says study.
The Antarctic Ozone hole is a contributing factor for
Australias recent series of droughts, say scientists.
Writing in the journal Science, they concluded that
the hole has shifted wind and rainfall patterns right
across the Southern Hemisphere and also in the
tropics.
Many parts of the country have seen drought in
recent years with cities forced to invest in
technologies such as desalination and farms closing
as a result of the hole in the ozone layer.
Stinking flower blooms

Banaras Hindu University is an internationally reputed

institution of learning, situated in the holy city of
Varanasi, founded by the nationalist leader, Pandit
Madan Mohan Malviya in 1916 along with Dr Annie
Besant, who viewed it as the University of India
Banaras Hindu University was created under the
Parliamentary legislation; the B.H.U Act 1915.
The first Vice Chancellor of the BHU was Sir
Sunderlal (1916 to 1918) who was succeeded by P.S.
Siwaswamy (1918 to 1919) and then Pt. Madan
Mohan Malviya (1919 to 1938) The former President,
S. Radhakrishnan, took over from Pt. Malviya. Among
other prominent Vice-chancellors are Pt. Govind
Malviya, Acharya Narendra Dev and C.P.
Ramaswami Aiyer.
Pakistan refuses to comment on secret talks
Pakistans media arm of the armed forces refused to
comment on British media reports that Indian Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh had opened secret talks
with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Ashfaq Parvez
Kayani in a bid to find solutions to outstanding issues.

Thousands have flocked to the Swiss city of Basel to

see a giant, stinky flower bloom for the first time.
The amorphophallus titanium, or corpse flower, is
in full glory before the bloom wilts. The plant is 17
years old and has never bloomed before.
Visitors havent been deterred by the stench of rotting
flesh the flower emits to attract insects for pollination.
The 6.6 ft tall flower is native to the Indonesian Island
of Sumatra.
Huge march against n-power in Japan
Thousands of people marched in Tokyo to demand
an end to nuclear power in Japan and a switch to
alternative energy after the crisis at an atomic plant
hit by the March-11 earthquake and tsunami.
An accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant (radiation
leaks) has forced the evacuation of some 80,000
people within 20 km of the site.

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CBI arrests Kalmadi

NIA to probe Mecca Masjid blast

After several rounds of quizzing over the past few

months, the Central Bureau of investigation arrested
the then chairman of the organizing committee (OC)
of the Commonwealth Games 2010, Suresh Kalmadi,
for an alleged conspiracy in awarding a contract for
the Games to a Swiss company at an inflated cost of
`141 crore.

Decks have been cleared for the National

Investigating Agency (NIA) to take over the
investigation into the 2007 blast at Mecca Masjid
Hyderabad with a local court granting permission to it.

CBI officials had questioned him earlier on three

occasions in connection with the alleged irregularities
in the award of the contract for the Timing-Scoring
and Result (TSR) system to Swiss Time Keeping.

The CBI, which investigated the case so far, had

arrested three persons, including Swami Asimanand,
who is presently in the custody of Rajasthan Anti
Terrorist squad (ATS). The NIA has also requested
the court to direct the CBI to hand over documents
and other material evidence to it.
America regards ISI as terrorist organisation

OC Secretary-general Lalit Bhanot and director

general V.K.Verma have already been arrested by
the CBI.
Kanimozhi, chargesheeted
The CBI chargesheeted Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M
Karunanidhis daughter and Rajya Sabha member
M.K. Kanimozhi along with four others for criminal
conspiracy and receiving illegal, gratification in the 2G
spectrum case.
Ms.Kanimozhi, a 20 percent stakeholder in Kalaignar
TV Pvt.Ltd., is the second DMK politician
chargesheeted by the CBI after the former Union
Telecom Minister, A.Raja. The others who figured in
the supplementary charge sheet filed in a special court
are: Kalaignar TV Director and 20 percent equity
holder Sharad Kumar; Asif Balwa and Rajiv Aggarwal;
directors of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables; and
Cineyug Films director Karim Morani.
The five accused, along with Raja and DB Realty coowners Shahid Balwa and Vinod Goenka have been
indicted for alleged involvement in the transfer of
`200 crore from the DB realty group to Kalaignar TV
between December 2008 and Agusut 2009 by
following a circuitous route through Dynamix Reality,
Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Ltd. and Cineyug
Films.

Pakistan may see itself as Americas strategic ally in

fighting terror, but America regards its intelligence
agency, the ISI, as a terrorist organization along with
some of the worlds most notorious terror groups,
including the Al-Qaeda.
The dramatic revelation emerges from a secret
document published by the Guardian.
Dated September 2007 and called the Joint Task
Force Guantanamo Matrix of threat indicators for
Enemy Combatants, it reportedly lists 36 groups and
says being linked to any of these organizations is an
indication of terrorist or insurgent activity. The matrix
is used to assess the terror links of Guantanamo Bay
prisoners.
Besides the ISI and the Al-Qaeda, the terrorist
associations include the Egyptian Islamic Jihad led by
Al-Qaedas deputy chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, the
Sabotage Baltalion of the Chechen Martyrs, the
Iranian Intelligence services; the Hezbollah; the
Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.

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