may 31

Politics & the Nation

• An interesting debate on whether or not the accused should be jailed before trial and conviction
• Take a look at this debate by two eminent personalities on the issue.  Worth our attention.

Finance & Economy

• Credit default swaps to be allowed in India
• Credit default swaps, an insurance instrument partly blamed for the credit
  crisis and the near sinking of US insurer AIG, will be permitted in
  India from October with banks, primary dealers and non-banking financial
  companies’ participation and some strict rules to prevent abuse.
• The instrument, popularly known as CDS, which promises the holder payment
  of money to the insured amount of bond holding in case of a default, is
  aimed at developing the domestic corporate bond market.
• The new guidelines that will come to force from October 24, is framed with
  safeguards to prevent abuse of position by financial intermediaries to
  boost their revenues as it happened with currency derivatives that sank
  many small companies.
• Only the market makers or commercial banks will be allowed to buy and sell
  credit default swaps while the ‘users’ can only buy credit protection,
  but will not be allowed to sell them. Users may be insurance companies,
  housing finance companies, provident funds, listed corporates and
  foreign institutional investors. RBI, which received comments from
  public, has built-in protection for naive and put the onus on the
  sellers of CDS to ensure that they educate the buyer on what they are
  getting into.
• The users cannot hold these contracts without having eligible underlying
  bonds, though the market makers can buy protection without having the
  underlying bond. The users cannot buy CDS for amounts higher than the
  face value of the corporate bonds held by them.
• Though credit default swaps is only allowed on listed corporate bonds, the
  central bank has made an exception for rated but unlisted bonds of
  infrastructure companies.
• Some titbits relating to retail in India
• It is estimated that about 40% of all farm products in India rot by the time they reach the final point of sale.  
• India today allows 51% FDI in single brand retail and 100% for wholesale.
• The share of organised retail in India is a tiny 4% of the total, opposed
  to 20% in China, 30% in Indonesia and 55% in Malaysia.
• India is facing a problem of plenty in respect of foodgrains
• As of May 1, India’s food stocks stand at 27.8 million tonnes of rice,
  31.4 million tonnes of wheat and 0.1 million tonnes of coarse grains,
  adding up to a food mountain twice as large as is required by official
  buffer stocking norms.

International

• What is becoming of the Pakistan state?
• Take a look at this assessment from Pervez Hoodbhoy, Professor of Nuclear Physics at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad:
• Now, while it is true that the al Qaeda is losing support in Pakistan, this
  country has become a battleground in which there are several contending
  jihadi groups. Some are pro-Saudi and pro-Pakistan, like the
  Lashkare-Toiba, Jaish-e-Muhammad, and Hizbul Mujahideen. Others, like
  the Tehreek-e-Taliban and the Al-Qaida, are fully engaged in fighting
  the Pakistani and Saudi establishments. Still others, like the
  Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Sipah-e-Sahaba, are largely focused upon killing
  Shias. In the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, there are many more
  groups, some of which are more criminal than ideological. It is a
  terrible mess. Clearly, Pakistan is becoming a dangerous place for many
  groups. It is most dangerous for Ahmadis, followed by Hindus and
  Christians. But even for Shias, who had initially been enthusiastic
  about Islamisation of Pakistan, things have become very difficult.
  Pakistan has slowly turned into a religious extremist country, although
  there are still islands of tolerance left here and there. This is the
  direct consequence of the Pakistani state's desire in earlier decades to
  breed militancy within its borders.

Language Lessons

• hoity-toity: Adjective
• Affectedly genteel
• eg: The staff found it difficult to deal with the hoity-toity snooty clients.
• hoi polloi: Noun
• The common people generally

ARE WE REALLY POOR AND INDIAN

politicians & bollywood guys have a nexus the amount of money spent & laundered by them is mind boggling. this is india & we have the shame to say we are progressing.
1- we live in a nation where rice is rs.40/-per kilo & a sim card is free.
2- pizzas reaches home faster than the ambulance & police.
3- car loans offered have less interest than education loans.
4-students with 45% get into elite institutions through the quota system & those with 90% lose out because of merit.
5-a millionaire can buy a cricket team instead of donating to charity. two ipl teams were auctioned at rs 3300 crores & we are still a poor country where people starve without two square meals.
6-our footwear is sold in a/c showrooms,but the vegetables that we eat are sold on the footpath.
7- where everybody wants to be famous ,but nobody wants to follow the righteous path to be famous.
8- assembly complex buildings get ready within a year, while public transport bridges take several years.
9- where we make lemon juice with artifical flavours,& dishwash liquids with real lemon.
10- and finally our politicians ,actors & industrialists get instant bail & are seen enjoying themselves thus making an open mockery of our system.
11- terrorists who have attacked the parliament,taj hotel,& gunned down some of our best policemen are still enjoying in jail although death sentence for them has been passed by the so called supreme court.and we were billed 10 crore a year to keep them (kasab ) alive and enjoying in jail........

this is our india its high time we revolt together or else lets be prepared to face our doom along with our children

United Nations Convention against Corruption

Corruption is a complex social, political and economic phenomenon that affects all countries. Corruption undermines democratic institutions, slows economic development and contributes to governmental instability. Corruption attacks the foundation of democratic institutions by distorting electoral processes, perverting the rule of law and creating bureaucratic quagmires whose only reason for existing is the soliciting of bribes. Economic development is stunted because foreign direct investment is discouraged and small businesses within the country often find it impossible to overcome the "start-up costs" required because of corruption.

In its resolution 55/61 of December 4, 2000, the UN General Assembly recognized that an effective international legal instrument against corruption, independent of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (resolution 55/25, annex I), was desirable and decided to establish an ad hoc committee for the negotiation of such an instrument in Vienna at the headquarters of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

The Convention was adopted by the General Assembly by resolution 58/4 of October 31, 2003. In accordance with article 68 (1) of resolution 58/4, the United Nations Convention against Corruption entered into force on December 14, 2005. For each new State or regional economic integration organization becoming a party to the Convention, the Convention enters into force on the thirtieth day after the date of deposit by such State or organization of the relevant instrument.

However, India stands out as one of the few countries in the world that have not acceded to the UN convention against corruption. This convention, which came into force in 2005, has 140 countries on its list. India, which regularly battles corruption of mammoth proportions, is not.

India signed the convention in 2005 but the UPA government, particularly the department of personnel and training (DoPT), has steadfastly refused to ratify it. Over the years, MEA (which is the nodal ministry for international treaties), has been pushing the government to ratify the convention. The official reason is that India has not yet brought its domestic laws in line with the international convention. But it's been six years and there has been little interest by the government in making India less prone to corruption. India's stand is particularly strange since many Indian diplomats helped to pilot the convention through the UN.

Acceding to the convention could make it easier for India to repatriate the billions of dollars in ill-gotten wealth that have been stashed overseas. Under the convention, asset recovery is a fundamental principle, Article 51 provides for the return of assets to countries of origin as a fundamental principle of this convention.

The convention requires signatories to put in place certain preventive measures—like enhanced transparency in funding election campaigns and political parties—which certainly in India is at the root of a lot of government corruption.

The convention criminalises not only basic corruption such as bribery and the embezzlement of public funds but also trading in influence and the concealment and laundering of the proceeds of corruption. According to UN literature, "offences committed in support of corruption, including money-laundering and obstructing justice, are also dealt with. Convention offences also deal with the problematic areas of private sector corruption."

The United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) is the only legally binding universal anti-corruption instrument. The Convention's far-reaching approach and the mandatory character of many of its provisions make it a unique tool for developing a comprehensive response to a global problem.

The UNCAC covers five main areas: prevention, criminalization and law enforcement measures, international cooperation, asset recovery, and technical assistance and information exchange.

The UNCAC also covers many different forms of corruption, such as trading in influence, abuse of power, and various acts of corruption in the private sector. A further significant development was the inclusion of a specific chapter of the Convention dealing with the recovery of assets, a major concern for countries that pursue the assets of former leaders and other officials accused or found to have engaged in corruption. The rapidly growing number of States that have become parties to the Convention is further proof of its universal nature and reach.

Prevention
Corruption can be prosecuted after the fact, but first and foremost, it requires prevention. An entire chapter of the Convention is dedicated to prevention, with measures directed at both the public and private sectors. These include model preventive policies, such as the establishment of anti-corruption bodies and enhanced transparency in the financing of election campaigns and political parties. States must endeavour to ensure that their public services are subject to safeguards that promote efficiency, transparency and recruitment based on merit. Once recruited, public servants should be subject to codes of conduct, requirements for financial and other disclosures, and appropriate disciplinary measures. Transparency and accountability in matters of public finance must also be promoted, and specific requirements are established for the prevention of corruption, in the particularly critical areas of the public sector, such as the judiciary and public procurement.

Preventing public corruption also requires an effort from all members of society at large. For these reasons, the Convention calls on countries to promote actively the involvement of non-governmental and community-based organizations, as well as other elements of civil society, and to raise public awareness of corruption and what can be done about it. Article 5 of the Convention enjoins each State Party to establish and promote effective practices aimed at the prevention of corruption.

Criminalization
The Convention requires countries to establish criminal and other offences to cover a wide range of acts of corruption, if these are not already crimes under domestic law. In some cases, States are legally obliged to establish offences; in other cases, in order to take into account differences in domestic law, they are required to consider doing so. The Convention goes beyond previous instruments of this kind, criminalizing not only basic forms of corruption such as bribery and the embezzlement of public funds, but also trading in influence and the concealment and laundering of the proceeds of corruption. Offences committed in support of corruption, including money-laundering and obstructing justice, are also dealt with. Convention offences also deal with the problematic areas of private-sector corruption.

International Cooperation
Countries agreed to cooperate with one another in every aspect of the fight against corruption, including prevention, investigation, and the prosecution of offenders. Countries are bound by the Convention to render specific forms of mutual legal assistance in gathering and transferring evidence for use in court, to extradite offenders. Countries are also required to undertake measures that will support the tracing, freezing, seizure and confiscation of the proceeds of corruption.

Asset Recovery
In a major breakthrough, countries agreed on asset-recovery, which is stated explicitly as a fundamental principle of the Convention. This is a particularly important issue for many developing countries where high-level corruption has plundered the national wealth, and where resources are badly needed for reconstruction and the rehabilitation of societies under new governments. Reaching agreement on this chapter has involved intensive negotiations, as the needs of countries seeking the illicit assets had to be reconciled with the legal and procedural safeguards of the countries whose assistance is sought.

Article 51 provides for the return of assets to countries of origin as a fundamental principle of this Convention. Article 43 obliges State parties to extend the widest possible cooperation to each other in the investigation and prosecution of offences defined in the Convention. With regard to asset recovery in particular, the article provides inter alia that "In matters of international cooperation, whenever dual criminality is considered a requirement, it shall be deemed fulfilled irrespective of whether the laws of the requested State Party place the offence within the same category of offence or denominate the offence by the same terminology as the requesting State Party, if the conduct underlying the offence for which assistance is sought is a criminal offence under the laws of both States Parties".

Criminalization and law enforcement
As per the convention, each State Party shall adopt such legislative and other measures as may be necessary to establish as a criminal offence, when committed intentionally, the promise, offering or giving to a foreign public official or an official of a public international organization, directly or indirectly, of an undue advantage, for the official himself or herself or another person or entity, in order that the official act or refrain from acting in the exercise of his or her official duties, in order to obtain or retain business or other undue advantage in relation to the conduct of international business.

Bribery in the private sector: Each State Party shall consider adopting such legislative and other measures as may be necessary to establish as criminal offences, when committed intentionally in the course of economic, financial or commercial activities: (a) The promise, offering or giving, directly or indirectly, of an undue advantage to any person who directs or works, in any capacity, for a private sector entity, for the person himself or herself or for another person, in order that he or she, in breach of his or her duties, act or refrain from acting; (b) The solicitation or acceptance, directly or indirectly, of an undue advantage by any person who directs or works, in any capacity, for a private sector entity, for the person himself or herself or for another person, in order that he or she, in breach of his or her duties, act or refrain from acting.

Protection of witnesses, experts and victims: The Convention also provides for appropriate measures in accordance with a State’s domestic legal system and within its means to provide effective protection from potential retaliation or intimidation for witnesses and experts who give testimony concerning offences established in accordance with this Convention and, as appropriate, for their relatives and other persons close to them.

Each State Party also has to take appropriate measures to provide protection against any unjustified treatment for any person who reports in good faith and on reasonable grounds to the competent authorities any facts concerning offences established in accordance with this Convention.

Sports News in Brief: April 2011

BADMINTON Indian Open Championship World number one Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia continued his dominance over Peter Gade Christensen of Denmark in the super series events to win the men’s singles title in the inaugural Indian Open Badminton championship. The ladies crown went to unseeded Thai Porntip Buranaprasertsuk, who scored over third seed Korean Bae Youn Joo for the first time in three encounters for her maiden Super Series title. The men’s doubles title was won by Hirokatsu Hashimoto and Noriyasu Hirata of Japan. The women’s Doubles title was won by Miyuki Maeka and Satoko Suetsuna of Japan. Mixed doubles title was won by Tantowi Ahmad and Lilyana Natsir of Indonesia. CRICKET Sachin named Wisden’s cricketer of year 2010 Wisden, regarded as the Bible of cricket, has named Sachin Tendulkar as the leading cricketer of 2010. He has become the seventh recipient of the award after Virender Sehwag, Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne, Andrew Flintoff, Muttiah Muralitharan and Jacques Kallis. Bangladesh-Australia ODI series Michael Hussey hit a century to help Australia win the third and final ODI and complete a clean sweep of the series. FOOTBALL Spanish Cup Real Madrid defeated arch-rivals Barcelona 1-0, after extra time in a dramatic finale to win the Spanish Cup for the first time since 1993. TENNIS Monte Carlo Open Rafa Nadal won the title for the seventh straight time by defeating fellow Spaniard David Ferrer. Sony Ericsson Open In an epic final, Novak Djokovic defeated world number one Rafa Nadal to win the Sony Ericsson Open title. Family Circle Cup doubles title Sania Mirza and her Russian partner Elena Vesnina clinched the title, their second WTA title. The un-seeded Indo-Russian pair defeated fourth seeds Americans Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Meghann Shaughnessy.

Events; Appointments; Etc.: April 2011

APPOINTED; ELECTED; Etc. Lobsang Sangay: A research fellow at Harvard Law School, he has been elected as the Prime Minister of Tibetan government-in-exile. Atifete Jahjaga: Kosovo’s highest ranking police-woman, she has been appointed as the President of Kosovo. RESIGNED Timothy Roemer: US Ambassador to India. DISTINGUISHED VISITORS Abhisit Vejjajiva: Prime Minister of Thailand. DIED Nawang Gombu: First person to climb Mount Everest twice. He was 75. Sathya Sai Baba: Renowned spiritual leader. He was 85. EVENTS APRIL 9—Anna Hazare ends his 97-hour hunger strike after the gazette notification by the Union government, constituting a joint committee for drafting the Lokpal Bill. 11—France officially bans burqa (women wearing full-face veils) in public places. 12—Russia commemorates 50 years of the first human flight into space, undertaken by Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961. 29—Britain’s Prince William and Kate Middleton get married at Westminister Abbey in a sumptuous show of British pageantry. MILESTONES U.K. Sinha: Chairman of SEBI, he has been elected as the Chairman of Asia-Pacific regional committee (APRC) of the International Organisation of Securities Commission (IOSCO), which is the international standard setter for securities markets.

Current General Knowledge: April 2011

AWARDS Dada Saheb Phalke Award, 2010 K. Balachander, popularly known as “KB Sir”, has become the first Tamil Director to receive Dadasaheb Phalke Award. He directed films in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Kannada. He started with dialogue writing for the legendary M.G. Ramachandran’s (MGR) film “Dheiva Thaai”. Apart from Rajnikanth and Kamal Hasan, actresses Sujatha, Jaya Prada and Sarita were all his discoveries. Later, they became big names in Indian cinema. His bilingual, “Maro Charitra”, starring Kamal Hasan and Rati Agnihotri, was a big hit of the times that was made in Hindi as “Ek Duje Ke Liye”. Balachander’s early films had an element of the stage but gradually he successfully began exuding greater cinematic techniques and storytelling, besides effectively using outdoor locales and bringing in political issues. Pulitzer Prizes, 2011 Public Service: Los Angeles Times Investigative Reporting: Paige St. John of Sarasota Herald-Tribune Explanatory Reporting: Mark Johnson, Kathleen Gallagher, Gary Porter, Lou Saldivar and Alison Sherwood of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Local Reporting: Frank Main, Mark Konkol and John J. Kim of Chicago Sun-Times National Reporting: Jesse Eisinger and Jake Bernstein of ProPublica International Reporting: Clifford J. Levy and Ellen Barry of The New York Times Feature Writing: Amy Ellis Nutt of The Star-Ledger, Newark, NJ Commentary: David Leonhardt of The New York Times Criticism: Sebastian Smee of The Boston Globe Editorial Writing: Joseph Rago of The Wall Street Journal Editorial Cartooning: Mike Keefe of The Denver Post Breaking News Photography: Carol Guzy, Nikki Kahn and Ricky Carioti of The Washington Post Feature Photography: Barbara Davidson of Los Angeles Times Fiction: A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan (Alfred A. Knopf) Drama: Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris History: The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery by Eric Foner (W.W. Norton & Company) General Non-fiction: The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee (Scribner) Music: Madame White Snake by Zhou Long (Oxford University Press) BOOKS Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, The Written by Indian-American Siddhartha Mukherjee, this book has won the author Pulitzer Prize, 2011, in Non-fiction category. The book has been described as "an elegant inquiry, at once clinical and personal, into the long history of an insidious disease that, despite treatment breakthroughs, still bedevils medical science". EXPEDITIONS IAF women team embarks on Mission Everest On April 13, 2011, an Indian Air Force (IAF) mountaineering team, comprising 11 women officers, embarked on a mission to scale Mount Everest. It was the first time in the history of the IAF that its women officers embarked on an expedition to scale the highest peak on earth. The idea to undertake such a mission was conceived in 2009. HEALTH New guidelines for Alzheimer’s The first new US diagnostic guidelines for Alzheimer's disease to be released in 27 years paint the disorder as a disease that occurs gradually over many years, starting with changes in the brain, then mild memory problems and finally progressing to full-blown dementia. Released by the National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer's Association, the guidelines officially recognise mild cognitive impairment or MCI as a precursor to the disease. And they add a new research category known as preclinical Alzheimer's, the earliest stage of the disease when clumps of a protein called amyloid are just beginning to form in the brains of people who are otherwise healthy. This preclinical stage lasts about 10 years before dementia sets in is seen as the best place to intervene in the disease. The notion of different stages of the disease marks a stark contrast from the last set of guidelines published by government researchers in 1984, which only recognised the dementia phase of Alzheimer's—in which people lose their memories and the ability to care for themselves. PERSONS Hazare, Kisan Baburao Septuagenarian Kisan Baburao Hazare—affectionately called Anna—who claims to tread on the path of Satyagraha, undertook a fast unto death in New Delhi in the month of April 2011, to force the establishment to enact a stringent law to tackle corruption. In his public life, Hazare has resorted to hunger strike eight times and has also observed silence as a part of agitations. Through the Bhrashtachar Virodhi Jan Andolan, an organisation to fight corruption founded in 1991, Hazare went on a hunger strike demanding action against 42 forest officials involved in duping the government through corruption in confederacy. The State government succumbed and acted against the “corrupt” officials. Hazare’s biggest success was when the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party combine was forced to constitute a commission under retired justice P.B. Sawant to probe corruption charges against four ministers—Padamsinh Patil (accused of diverting funds meant for Kargil martyrs), Suresh Jain (facing charges of malpractices at Jalgaon District Cooperative Bank), Nawab Malik (involved in a land scam) and Vijay Kumar Gavit. The action came after Hazare went on a 10-day hunger strike. Born in an agrarian family on June 15, 1938, at Ralegan Siddhi in Ahmednagar district of western Maharashtra, Kisan Baburao Hazare joined the army after the Indo-China war in 1962. During his 15-year stint, He served as a truck driver. Having survived an air attack from Pakistan in 1965, Hazare decided to dedicate his life to serving humanity after reading books by Swami Vivekananda. He quit his army job and returned to his native place in 1977. It was Hazare’s efforts that turned Ralegan Siddhi from drought-prone to a water surplus village. PROJECTS India’s first eco-city to come up at Manesar Manesar will soon be home to the country's first eco-city pilot initiative. Toshiba team undertaking study for this initiative has submitted its pre-feasibility report to Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC). The Eco-city project was conceived during the visit of Indian Prime Minister to Japan as a part of the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor initiative. An MoU was signed between HSIIDC, DMICDC and a consortium of Japanese's companies led by Toshiba, including NEC,Tokyo Gas, Energy Advanced Companies Limited. A Smart Community or Eco-City is defined as a City in which citizens, business and government work, live and interact through delivery of integrated, low carbon products and services. The objective of this project is to build a new Industrial Community to maximise welfare of the people and minimise carbon emission. RESEARCH Fourth variety of life found by US scientist A US scientist has claimed to have discovered a whole new branch of the tree of life. Living things are currently split into three domains—eukaryotes or complex-celled organisms like animals, plants and humans; bacteria; and archaea, the last two being simple-celled micro-organisms. Now, Professor Jonathan Eisen, an evolutionary biologist at the University of California, claims he may have discovered a fourth. He has used complicated gene sequencing techniques to look at DNA collected by maverick researcher Dr Craig Venter on a round the world yachting trip. He found that some of the genes did not fit into the three domains and that he could possibly have stumbled on a whole new domain. Trying to classify the new DNA has proved impossible and so Prof Eisen has published his findings in the Public Library of Science journal in the hope that others can help. “The question is, what are they from? They could represent an unusual virus, which is interesting enough. More interestingly still, they could represent a totally new branch in the tree of life. One of the difficulties of trying to study novel genes is that it is hard to culture them to such a quantity to make them easily readable. But Prof Eisen used methods honed by Dr Venter in his successful attempt to read human genetic code. They have dubbed the technique as “metagenomics” and it involves breaking down the DNA to sizeable chunks, decoding them and then re-assembling in the correct order. SPACE RESEARCH PSLV successfully places three satellites in orbit In a morale-boosting success for its space programme after two consecutive GSLV setbacks, ISRO’s reliable workhorse, the PSLV, precisely placed three satellites into orbit on April 20, 2011, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre Sriharikota. The eighteenth mission of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C16) placed the indigenously built 1,206-kg Resourcesat-2 into orbit. After 40 seconds, it also put the other two satellites—Youthsat and X-sat—into their orbit. The 92-kg joint India-Russian Youthsat is for stellar and atmospheric studies while the 106-kg X-sat, built by the Singapore-based Nanyang Technological University, is for imaging applications. The Rs 140 crore Resourcesat-2, will last five years and will augment ISRO’s remote sensing data services. It will replace Resourcesat-1 sent in 2003. Apart from carrying three sophisticated cameras, the satellite also carries additional equipment called AIS (Automatic Information System) from COMDEV, Canada, for surveillance of ships in the VHF band to derive their position and speed, among other things.

Current Affairs: April 2011

NATIONAL AFFAIRS Possession of Naxal literature is not sedition, rules SC On April 15, 2011, the Supreme Court granted bail to civil rights activist Dr Binayak Sen, holding that possessing Naxal literature or visiting jailed Maoists did not amount to sedition. “If Gandhi’s books were found in my house, would that make me a Gandhian,” said Justice C.K. Prasad. Justice H.S. Bedi, who headed the Bench, clarified that the State could not slap sedition charges on Sen unless there was material to show that he was actively preaching or propagating Maoist ideals. The Bench made the remarks in connection with the State government’s contention that Sen had visited his co-accused Piyush Guha 30 times in a jail and pamphlets and documents relating to Maoist activities were recovered from his possession. The apex court said none of this amounted to seditious activities or waging a war against the State. Being a sympathiser did not make him guilty of sedition, the Bench felt. In December 2010, the trial court had sentenced Sen to life imprisonment after convicting him for sedition and having links with Naxalites. He was convicted along with Naxal ideologue Narayan Sanyal and Kolkata businessman Piyush Guha. Sixty one-year-old Sen, a child specialist who had studied medicine at the prestigious Christian Medical College (CMC) in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, has worked for 25 years in the tribal and Naxal-infested belt of Chhattisgarh. He is also the vice-president of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL). Chinese troops in PoK worry India The presence of Chinese troops in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) has been causing anxiety to New Delhi, which has started strengthening infrastructure along the border. Responding to media reports about the involvement of China’s PLA (People’s Liberation Army) troops in various infrastructure projects in PoK, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said that the government was seized of media reports on the subject. The Minister said India continuously reviewed and took all necessary measures to ensure the safety and security of its people, as well as the territorial integrity of the nation. Another cause of worry for India is that China has been developing infrastructure in the border region opposite India in the Tibet and Xinjiang Autonomous Regions. This includes the Qinghai-Tibet railway line, with proposed extension up to Xigaze and Nyingchi, and development of road and airport facilities. India has also started paying special attention to the development of infrastructure in the border areas opposite China in order to meet the country’s security requirements and also to facilitate the economic development in these areas. Visit of Prime Minister Singh to Kazakhstan On April 16, 2011, during the official visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Kazakhstan, India and Kazakhstan signed seven key accords, including one on cooperation in the civil nuclear energy field and another for joint exploration in the oil and gas sector, and condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and those who supported the menace. The other five accords were: joint action plan for further strengthening strategic partnership (road map), MoU between the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) and the Kazakhstan Computer Response Team, treaty on mutual legal assistance in civil matters, agreement for cooperation between the agriculture ministries of the two countries and an agreement between their health ministries. Kazakhstan rolled out the red carpet for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who became the first top world leader to visit the Central Asian nation following the re-election of President Nursultan Nazarbayev for a fourth consecutive term. With his victory coming close on the heels of widespread pro-democracy protests in West Asia and North Africa, the Kazakh leader left no stone unturned to demonstrate his democratic credentials by inviting the envoys of nearly 50 countries to the Akorda Presidential Palace for the ceremony to accord welcome to Manmohan Singh, leader of the largest democracy in the world. From India’s point of view, it is obviously the nuclear accord that is being considered the singular achievement of Manmohan Singh’s two-day visit. Under the Indo-Kazakh nuke accord, Kazakhstan would supply 2100 tonne of uranium to India by 2014. The umbrella nuclear accord envisages a legal framework for mutually beneficial cooperation between the two sides for the peaceful use of nuclear energy, including fuel supply, nuclear medicine, use of radiation technologies for healthcare, reactor safety mechanisms, exchange of scientific and research information, exploration and joint mining of uranium, design, construction and operation of nuclear power plants. The agreement on cooperation in the oil and gas sector signed between the ONGC Videsh Limited and Kazakh national company Kazmunaigas gives effect to the transfer of participating interest of 25 per cent in the Satpayev Block from the Kazakh firm to the Indian company. The Satpayev exploration block, located in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea, covers an area of 1482 sq km and is at a water depth of 6-8 meters. It is situated in a highly prospective region of the North Caspian sea and is in close proximity to major discoveries. Visit of Prime Minister of Thailand On April 5, 2011, India and Thailand agreed to intensify their cooperation in the areas of trade and investment, education, tourism and culture and to aim towards doubling of their trade by 2014. The decisions were taken during the visit of Abhisit Vejjajiva, Prime Minister of Thailand.. The visit helped to impart a new momentum to the relations between the two countries. The two sides also agreed to expedite the conclusion of negotiations on a bilateral Free Trade Agreement that would include goods, services and investment. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described Thailand as a close friend and a valued regional partner for India and noted that the two countries shared civilisation links and were maritime neighbours. A joint statement, which was released after the summit meeting announced the establishment of a regular High-Level Dialogue on Defence Cooperation that would consider widening the scope of cooperation in the sector. This dialogue is expected to lead to a Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Cooperation and is part of India's burgeoning defence ties with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries, South Korea and Japan. In addition to taking a closer look at the ongoing exchanges between the armed forces, the dialogue would attempt to broaden the scope of cooperation to include the Defence industry and technology. The summit meeting saw both sides agreeing to intensify “coordinated patrolling”, which would be aimed at sanitising the busy but narrow and vulnerable Malacca Straits. Ever since the September 11, 2001 attacks, naval ships from both countries jointly patrol their respective stretches to foil any piracy or disruption of shipping through the deliberate disabling of a ship. On the security side, the two Prime Ministers resolved to improve sharing of intelligence, develop more effective counter-terrorism policies and increase interaction between law enforcement agencies. In this respect, they decided to expedite discussions on some of the building blocks, such as the Extradition Treaty, the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in Civil and Commercial Matters. CWG Scam On April 25, 2011, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Suresh Kalmadi, Member of Parliament and former chairman of the Organising Committee (OC) of the Delhi Commonwealth Games (CWG). The CBI has charged him with criminal conspiracy to buy timing, scoring and result (TSR) system from a Swiss company at an inflated cost of R141 crore. The CBI has alleged that this cost the government Rs 95 crore extra. "Investigation has revealed that the OC committee for short-listing prospective bidders for TSR was constituted by selecting handpicked officials who favoured the Swiss company while members of the tenders evaluation committee were coerced and threatened to disqualify other bidders". The CBI had earlier arrested former OC secretary general Lalit Bhanot and director general V.K. Verma in the case. 2G Spectrum Scam Five corporate honchos, including Unitech’s Sanjay Chandra and Reliance ADAG’s Gautam Doshi, were arrested on April 20, 2011, and sent to jail after a Delhi court dismissed their bail plea saying they might tamper with evidence and even flee to avoid prosecution in the “highest magnitude” 2G Spectrum allocation scam. The court also rejected the bail plea of co-promoter of Swan Telecom Vinod Goenka and Reliance ADAG’s Surender Pipara and Hari Nair. “A bare perusal of the facts of the case and the allegations in the charge-sheet make it out a case of the highest magnitude and gravity and there is enough incriminating material on record against the accused.” The court also dealt with the arguments of defence lawyers that they be granted bail “ipso facto” (by default) as they were not arrested during the probe. The court, however, concurred with CBI’s apprehension that the accused might tamper with the evidence “by trying to win over witnesses. On April 25, 2011, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) named DMK Member of Parliament Kanimozhi as a co-accused in the supplementary charge-sheet filed by it before the special CBI court in the 2G Spectrum case. Kanimozhi has been charged under Section 7 and 11 of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA), which relates to acceptance of alleged gratification. Besides Kanimozhi, Kalaignar TV Managing Director Sharad Kumar, and Karim Morani of Cineyug Films (Pvt) Ltd were also charge-sheeted. CBI disclosed in the charge-sheet that Rs 200 crore connected with the 2G Spectrum had travelled from DB Realty to Kalaignar TV which has Kanimozhi, Dayalu Ammal and Sharad Kumar (MD Kalaignar TV), with 20, 60 and 20 per cent shares in the channel, respectively. Answering the question as to why Dayalu Ammal, wife of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Karunanidhi has been left out in the charge-sheet, while the other two stakeholders of the channel (Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar) have been charged, CBI said that “Dayalu Ammal does not have a single signature on any paper that we have come across. All the papers, wherever required, have been signed by Sharad Kumar. She cannot understand any language besides Tamil and we had a hard time questioning her. Under such circumstances, it is highly unlikely that she could have been part of the conspiracy”. INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS President Saleh of Yemen agrees to step down On April 24, 2011, Yemen's embattled President agreed to a proposal by Gulf Arab mediators to step down within 30 days and hand power to his deputy in exchange for immunity from prosecution. A coalition of seven opposition parties said they also accepted the deal but with reservations. Even if the differences are overcome, those parties do not speak for all of the protesters seeking President Ali Abdullah Saleh's removal, and signs were already emerging that a deal on those terms would not end protests. Under the latest draft, Yemen's Parliament would grant Saleh legal protection from prosecution. The President would submit his resignation to lawmakers and hand power to his Vice President, who would call for new Presidential elections. BRIC expands to BRICS BRIC, the grouping of the four countries thought to radiate the largest lessons in developing an economy–Brazil, Russia, India and China–has decided to transform itself to BRICS, with the much-awaited induction of South Africa into the cohort, making it more representative. Started in year 2009, the 2011 summit, held in Sanya on south China's tropical island of Hainan on April 13-15, was the first one for South Africa. Bringing South Africa makes the grouping more representative of the emerging powers from all the developing regions. All of them are members of the G-20, the high table of global economic policy coordination. This gives them a significant clout. If they can coordinate their positions in G-20 Summits, they will be more effective. Although the BRICS grouping is in a nascent stage it has been able to emerge as an important voice. BRICS represent the world’s fastest growing market, comprising 44 per cent of the world population. All of them are members of the UN, of which two are permanent. Experts say all the member-countries must take advantage of the moment and come out with a clear map for long-term sustenance. And, that the grouping should take a leadership role in closing the Doha round of multilateral trade deals under World Trade Organisation (WTO). Besides, focusing on financial cooperation and an effective mechanism for global development, the leaders also dwelled on some of the recent events around the world, such as the unrest in West Asia, turmoil in North Africa and the disaster in Japan. Leaders of BRICS countries adopted a far-reaching declaration that, among other things, called for restructuring of international financial institutions to reflect changes in the world economy, thus increasing the voice and representation of emerging economies. The cooperation among BRICS countries was neither directed against nor was at the expense of anyone, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said while addressing the plenary of the BRICS leaders. Recognising that the international financial crisis has exposed the inadequacies and deficiencies of the existing international monetary and financial system, the leaders supported the reform and improvement of the international monetary system, with a broad-based international reserve currency system providing stability and certainty. At a joint press conference by summit leaders, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced that the designated banks of BRICS nations have signed a framework agreement on financial cooperation which envisaged grant of credit in local currencies and cooperation in capital markets and other financial services. Under the agreement, banks in each country would work out modalities so that projects and loans could be encouraged in other BRICS nations, if national laws permit them to do so. The five nations also signed an MoU on BRICS long-term business contacts to facilitate trade amongst them. The FICCI will be the focal point for this on the Indian side. The Chinese leader also sought to dispel the impression that BRICS wanted to emerge as a grouping aimed at countering leading global economies The BRICS countries also resolved to carry out closer cooperation on food security, support development and use of renewable energy resources, and recognise its importance as a means to address climate change. Supporting the G-20 initiative, the BRICS leaders desired that the grouping should play a bigger role in global economic governance as the premier forum for international economic cooperation. In an action plan, the five nations decided to hold a meeting of high representatives for security issues in the latter half of 2011 in China, engage in joint research on economic and trade issues, encourage cooperation in sports and promote cooperation in scientific, technological and innovation cooperation in BRICS format. Business News Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has renamed its Logan car as Verito. Anup Bagchi  has taken over as the MD and CEO of ICICI Securities. Veteran banker K.V. Kamath has been appointed as the Chairman of Infosys, in place of founder N.R. Narayana Murthy. S.D. Shibulal has been elevated as the CEO and MD. Ashok Soota, the ousted chairman of the Bangalore-based software major MindTree, has launched a new company by the name of Happiest Minds Technologies Pvt Ltd with a mission to “creating the happiest customers and the happiest team”. Italian luxury sports car maker Maserati has announced its foray into the Indian market with its complete range of cars. The latest Nielson corporate image monitor has rated Tata Steel as the best in a list of Indian firms, followed by Tata Motors and Aditya Birla Nuvo. Wipro retained the fourth rank and Bharti Airtel was ranked fifth. The Union Ministry of Defence has signed a Rs 1,904-crore contract with Tata Power’s Strategic Electronics Division (Tata Power SED) for modernising 30 Indian Air Force airbases across India. The project is officially called Modernization of Airfield Infrastructure (MAFI) Leading global consumer goods firm Reckitt Benckiser Group plc. has appointed India-born Rakesh Kapoor as its global CEO. DO YOU KNOW As many as 57 Indian companies, including Reliance Industries, State Bank of India and ONGC figure in The Forbes Global 2000 list of public companies based on their rankings for sales, profits, assets and market value. Other companies in India's top ten were ICICI Bank, NTPC, Coal India, Bharti Airtel, Larsen & Toubro and Tata Motors. JP Morgan Chase is in the top spot for the second consecutive year as the world's largest company, followed by HSBC. According to International Monetary Fund (IMF) India’s economic growth rate will moderate to 8.2 per cent in 2011, mainly because of tight monetary policy measures. The Ashoka Pillar in Delhi was uprooted from Topra village near Yamunanagar, Haryana by Feroz Shah Tughlaq in 14th century and taken to Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi. According to Tuglaq’s court historian Shams-i-Siraj, author of Tarikh-i-Feroze Shahi, the pale pinkish sandstone pillar was ferried to Delhi by 8,000 people. The Delhi pillar is the only Ashoka pillar that has seven edicts issued by Ashoka. The rest of Ashoka pillars have only six edicts. The ancient Brahmi script used to write on the pillars was first deciphered on Ashoka pillar at Delhi by a British expert James Prinsep in 1837. The Union Finance Ministry has introduced simpler income tax return forms ‘Sahaj’ and ‘Sugam’. While ‘Sahaj’ is for salaried people, ‘Sugam’ return form is applicable for small businessmen and professionals covered under presumptive taxation. With only 17 per cent people describing themselves as “thriving”, India ranked 71 in a new Gallup study on overall well-being conducted in 124 countries. According to the study, which combined the results of Gallup's 2010 global well-being surveys, majority of Indians (64 per cent) believe they are “struggling” while 19 per cent think they are “suffering”. Pakistan, whose economy is in tatters, has been ranked as the 40th happiest nation in the world. With only 12 per cent happy respondents, China is ranked 92. Denmark topped as the most contented. Sweden and Canada ranked as the second happiest countries, followed by Australia, Finland and Venezuela. The African nation of Chad remained at the bottom of the list with less than one per cent reporting they were thriving. BRIC or the group of four most developing countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China—has transformed itself to BRICS with induction of South Africa. Indira Gandhi Scholarship Scheme offers scholarships to single girl child for post-graduate studies. Earlier the scholarship was offered to 1200 single girl children in a year. Now the UGC has decided to lift the cap and open the scholarship programme to all girls who meet the eligibility criteria. India’s exports for 2010-11 have clocked $245.9 billion registering a growth of 37.5 per cent. This is the first time exports have crossed $200 billion. World Heritage Day, also known as the international day for monuments, is observed on April 18. World Health Day is observed on April 7. World Haemophilia Day is observed on April 17. Haemophilia is a genetic blood disorder in which blood does not clot properly. Civil Services Day is observed on April 21.

23 may

RBI allows FIIs to hedge investments under ASBA route

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank today allowed foreign institutional investors (FIIs) to hedge foreign currency risks arising out of investment in IPOs made through ASBA route.

"Initial Public Offers (IPO) related transient capital flows under the Application Supported by Blocked Amount(ASBA) mechanism, foreign currency-rupee swaps may be permitted to the FIIs," the RBI said.

Foreign currency rupee swaps for hedging flows under ASBA, RBI said, will be available for 30 days only.

The initiative is likely to facilitate FII investments under the ASBA route into equity market.

Under the Application Supported By Blocked Amount (ASBA) facility, the application money of investors remains blocked in his bank account until the process of allotment of shares is completed.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had introduced ASBA facility for public offers first in September 2008 when retail investors were allowed to use it.

The facility eliminates any delays related to refunds for the unallocated shares. Initially, it was offered to retail investors only and was given to other investors in 2009.

Nabard seeks to end political meddling in co-operative banks

NEW DELHI: Boards of co-operative banks controlled by local politicians may come under stricter scrutiny with the sectoral regulator finding many of them not being run properly. The move has finance ministry's backing.

"We are pressing for the 'fit and proper' criteria on the elected boards of all banks," said a senior official of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).

Nabard's 2009-10 annual report said nine state co-operative banks (SCBs) and 214 district central co-operative banks (DCCBs) where not being run properly.

Various experts and committees have pointed to the lax overstight of cooperative banks because of multiple jurisdiction of states, the Reserve Bank of India, registrar of cooperatives and in the case of rural ones Nabard as well.

"The fit and proper criteria will ensure that there are at least three professionals on the board with voting rights," said the official. Nabard is closely working with the states and the finance ministry.

The Nabard moves come after the board of the 100 -year-old Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank was superseded by the state government on directions from the Reserve Bank of India.

"One of the major reason for its failure was that the bank was unable to recover its non-performing assets because of political pressure from within the bank board," said a Nabard official. The total NPAs for the bank were at 500 crore in 2010.

Ajit Pawar, senior NCP leader and son of Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar was one of the board members in the bank. Out of the 44 directors on the bank board, 25 belong to NCP and rest were affiliated with some other political parties.

A finance ministry official said that all steps would be taken so that there are no systemic issues in co-operative banks.

"There is no agenda of the government against individuals. We are pursuing an overhaul in the financial sector through various legislation and reforms," he said.

The sectoral regulator in 2010 had issued fresh guidelines 'on inspection of District Central Cooperative Banks, to ensure that steps are taken by the co-operative banks to induct professionals on their board.

"Nabard will still continue to focus on the financial parameters. But corporate governance practices will determine if they would be eligible for any central support," the finance ministry official said.

"Nabard has initiated training programmes for the board members. Routine on-and-off site inspections have been conducted to ensure all banks are following the norms," said UC Sarangi, ex-chairman Nabard, adding that further stress on corporate governance will strengthen the banks.

Farm schemes to have states in lead role in XIIth plan

NEW DELHI: The agriculture ministry has decided to drastically reduce the number of central schemes after it found that most of its schemes, barring a few like the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna (RKVY), have become redundant.

The farm ministry thinks only 10 of the 51 existing schemes should be sufficient to take care of the sector. The total outlay for agriculture schemes is 15,034 crore.

"It is true that many of our 51 schemes have overlapping objectives and are not very useful," said a senior official in the agriculture ministry.

"We want to streamline all the schemes to around 10," he said.

The mainstay of agriculture development schemes would continue to be the RKVY and a new variant of the scheme that will focus on infrastructure and agriculture statistics.

The scheme, which currently has the highest allocation of 6,722 crore among all other agriculture schemes, has greater acceptance among states as it provides them with the flexibility to formulate state-specific strategies while being administered from the centre.

The ministry has outlined the restructuring in a 'Proposals for Restructuring and Streamlining Development Schemes for the Twelfth Plan' that has been circulated for comments within the government.

It has said that development programmes often take the initiative away from the states and also micro-manage agricultural development in the states.

The 10 focused and integrated schemes will provide "much wider choice and flexibility to the states and districts," says the ministry.

These 10 schemes will follow the RKVY model. The outlay for RKVY, introduced in 2007, is given as an additional central assistance to states giving them full control of the funds.

The Centre monitors the state initiatives which could span from agro climactic conditions, natural resource issues, technology, livestock, poultry, fisheries, land reforms, etc.


"RKVY has provided a new and flexible platform for routing assistance to states and places the states in the driver's seat in terms of what is best for agriculture in their respective areas," the ministry proposal to planning commission notes.

"Many other schemes that we currently have can easily be merged in RKVY," added the ministry official. The rest of the schemes, as suggested by the agriculture ministry would be 7 mission mode programmes.

Given the vast scope of the scheme and its state-specific nature, more than a third of money for agriculture programmes have gone into the scheme by the end of the ongoing 11th plan (2006-12) and is expected to increase further in the 12th plan (2012-17).

"By the end of the 12th plan, half or even two thirds of the money will have to go to RKVY. The role of other schemes will erode," said planning commission member Abhijit Sen.

With the planning commission working to phase out centrally funded schemes in favour of schemes which provide greater flexibility to states and have proved to be more efficient, other ministries are also expected to follow suit.

Rationalising the number of schemes is an integral part of the approach to 12th plan where the plan panel has to work with limited resources to generate optimal results.

"We are undertaking this exercise to ensure that money is utilized in schemes that work. It is common sense, as one size cannot fit all. We are working on it," said another Planning Commission official. The commission has asked all ministries to examine all their schemes and submit a proposal outlining possible scrapping or streamlining of schemes conceptualized and funded by the central government.

Govt to allocate Rs 2,500 cr to TUFS for MSMEs

NEW DELHI: The government today said it will create a Rs 2,500-crore corpus for technology modernisation of the micro , small and medium units by the next year.

At present, only textiles sector is availing these benefits under the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) wherein the units get 5 per cent subsidy on loans, for upgrading technology, from the government.

"We are quite hopeful and confident that by this year or certainly by the next year, we will be in a position to create a corpus to facilitate these units for technology upgradation," Uday Varma , Secretary in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) said here at a function organised by management consultant Milagrow.

He stressed on the need to couple upgraded technology with adequate and timely credit.

Besides, Varma said robust infrastructure, innovation, marketing initiatives and skill development programmes are required for the growth of these units.

The MSMEs account for 45 per cent of the country's manufacturing output and 40 per cent of exports. The sector employs 50 million people in 26 million units producing over 6,000 products.

Ficci appoints Rajiv Kumar as secretary general

NEW DELHI: Industry body Ficci today appointed Rajiv Kumar as the Secretary General of the chamber.

Kumar, a well-known economist and the author of several books, would succeed Amit Mitra , who has become the Finance Minister of West Bengal.

He joined Ficci as Director General in October, 2010. Earlier, he was Director and Chief Executive of an economic think-tank, the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER).

"I see this as one of my most challenging assignments, which will not only require my total commitment, but will also serve as a substantial learning experience," Kumar said.