CONTENTS

1. 2. ThE uNfOldiNg Electroal Reflections in India ....................................................................................... NATiONAl BullETiN The Jarawa Safari: Everlasting Exploitation ..... ....................................................... National News................................................................................................................
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3 10 12 20 22 27 30 36 40 45 47 52 54 57 60 63 67 75 81 92

3.

iNTERNATiONAl BullETiN Trouble in Neighbourhood ........................................................................................... International News.........................................................................................................

4.

BilATERAl BullETiN Indo China Relations: Scaling New Heights ............................................................... Bilateral News............................................................................................................... ECONOMY@ iP World Bank: Yes! We Still Need It ............................................................................ Economy News.............................................................................................................. SCiENCE SPECTRuM Choking Off Free Speech on the Web .......................................................................... Science News................................................................................................................. hEAlTh iSSuES Mental Illness: The Neglected Global Health Priority .................................................

5.

6.

7.

8. ENViRONMENT ANd ECOlOgY The Tiger Seminar ........................................................................................................ 8. PERSPECTiVES AADHAR - An Analysis .............................................................................................. 9. iNSPiRATiONS@iP Albert Einstein .............................................................................................................. 11. MOSAiC Experts Advice ............................................................................................................. 12. KNOW iT All............................................................................................................ 13. QuESTiONS@ iP Current Affairs Questions.............................................................................................. CSAT Model Paper........................................................................................................ Science Questions .........................................................................................................

INDIA PREPARES

IndIa PrePares
Volume 1 Issue 6 March 2012
RNi No.-dElENg/2011/39748 Owner, Printer and Publisher: Atul Kumar Garg Editor: Sonal Vats Senior Advisor : Neelam Nandan Editorial Team : Dr Jayant Rai Dr S.K. Gupta Kuldeep Singh Amit Shankar Raghunath Panigrahi Surendra Pandey Fidel Castro Sushant Singh

EDITORS NOTE
Dear Readers, I would like to thank all my readers once again for their overwhelming response to our magazine. Your feedback has been critical to our success with many new readers joining us with every new issue. Change is the essence of existence. We change and surge ahead. With Civil Services Prelims exam inching closer every passing day, India Prepares is re-orienting itself to focus extensively on the prelims preparation. We have added another questionnaire based on science this time in our section Questions@IP. This set of 80 questions will take care of both your conventional and current science. CSAT and the Current Affairs questions will be continued as usual. April 2012 issue will contain 120 questions from India Year Book 2012 and Economic Survey 2012. Also, I would like to inform that the section Thinkers Arena has been suspended for next few months till prelims. There will be no article in the Mosaic section and it will contain only the last part of our experts advice series. Expert advice will take care of your basic Interview preparation based on the Mains Application Form. Enjoy the news and the discourse, both in our magazine and outdoors. As always, we welcome your comments and feedback. You can reach us at iphelpmail@gmail.com or indiaprepares@ gmail.com.
SONAL VATS Editor

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THE UNFOLDING...

ELECTORAL REFLECTIONS IN INDIA

Restoring the dignity of the people of India was one of the main objectives of the freedom struggle of India. Thats why the Constitution framers chose parliamentary democracy and universal adult suffrage as the mainstay of Indian political system. Hence, since her independence in 1947, parliamentary democracy has been the central political mechanism governing India, barring a brief period from 1975 to 1977, when there was a disruption during the National Emergency. The election system returns representatives of the people to the Lok Sabha (House of the People in the Union) as well as to State Legislative Assemblies (House of the People in the State) every five years. This system has been the pillar of the Indian democratic regime. In a sense, elections form the essence of Indian democracy. was between two caste-identity based political parties the Mayawati-led ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP). Another notable thing is that the element of communal division that has time and again weighed down electoral battles in Uttar Pradesh was virtually non-existent this time around, with all the parties refraining from highlighting issues with communal overtones. But defying all speculation Samajwadi Party, under the active guidance of its emergent youth leader Akhilesh Yadav, emerged winner with an absolute majority. This denotes how unpredictable Indian voters can be. In the post-militancy period, politics in the State of Punjab has been about the rivalry between Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal). But here again Congress was left behind and Punjabs ruling Shiromani Akali DalBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) combine attained majority by winning 68 out of total 117 Assembly seats. The run-up to the election to the 60-member Manipur Legislative Assembly witnessed a spurt in the activities of armed rebel organisations, most of them targeting the ruling Congress party. Yet, Congress managed to retain Manipur for the third consecutive time, with 35 out of the 60 Assembly seats. Militant outfits, seven of them that operated under their political umbrella CorCom, got mauled as people voted for stability. Similarly, in the tiny hill State of Uttarakhand, the ruling BJP had one more serious factor to contend with: internal squabbles. The Congress harped on the theme that the BJP has been changing its Chief Ministers ever since it came to power in 2007 to mask its dishonesty. The result was that

Congress emerged as the largest party in the elections and in most probability will form the government with support from BSP and independents.

B. Perplexing Electoral Psychology

In a multilingual, multi-cultural democratic set up like India, voting behaviour is dictated by a plethora of complex issues. Time and again it has been proved that political parties in India cannot rely upon any particular factor to win the trust and confidence of the voters. Below is a summary of the determinants of such perplexing electoral psychology. Caste has been an important factor in Indian politics. Though recent trends show that its impact is more prominent in the state level politics, it plays a crucial role in shaping up the policy of the governments. This has been a retrogressive character of Indian politics and has so far been playing a divisive role along with a decisive role in many states. Religion is another pull down factor of Indian electoral politics. Rather than uniting people, religion has mostly divided India into many watertight compartments. Fundamentalists have taken political mileage of the situation by wooing people belonging to a specific religion and infused the

A. Assembly Elections
The ongoing Assembly elections in the five States of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur give us the opportunity to reflect back at the electoral process with special references to issues like dynamics of interplay between regional and national level politics, changing and not so changing voting behaviour, identity politics, black money, role of Election Commission and the proposed electoral reforms so on and so forth. The most important battle was in Uttar Pradesh which was to decide a number of issues in national politics. The election results would have been a direct gauge of the political command and influence of the Congress heirapparent, Rahul Gandhi, who had been campaigning extensively in the State for over a year. U.P politics always involves caste and identity factors. Analysts contended that the main contest in the State

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INDIA ELECTION RESULTS - 2012

Assemblies and the Parliament over the years. a. Disclosure of criminal antecedents of candidates Currently, Rule 4A of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, prescribes that each candidate must file an affidavit regarding: (i) Cases, if any, in which the candidate has been accused of any offence punishable with imprisonment for two years or more in a pending case in which charges have been framed by the court, and (ii) Cases of conviction for an offence other than any of the offences mentioned in Section 8 of Representation of the People Act, 1951, and sentenced to imprisonment for one year or more.

poison of communalism in the electoral psychology. Recent row over Salman Rushdies proposed India visit for Jaipur Literary festival and Central Governments conspicuous silence and inaction due to state elections highlight this factor. Regionalism has also been a key determinant of Indian voting behaviour since 1990s. Demanding separate state and promoting regional interests have been the strategies of politicians to capture the vote bank. This has bred separatism and endangered internal security of the country.

difficult to analyse the voting pattern.

C. Electoral Reforms
There has been a growing concern over the years in India about several aspects of our electoral system. Election Commission has made changes in several areas to respond to such concerns. The topic of electoral reforms has been taken up by numerous government committees in the recent past, including but not limited to:

Language is another important factor in this regard. Although its impact is not prominent in state level politics, in the national level it has played a key role. Dividing India into Hindi and non Hindi belts is an unfortunate outcome of this. Hero worshipping is another popular trend in India psychology. On numerous occasions political parties have tried to capture popular sentiments by using charisma of their leaders. Therefore many political parties of India are leader based rather than being ideology based. Development is the most silent yet the most effective element in determining the popular mandate in elections in India. Developmental slogans like Roti, Kapda, aur Makan , Garibi Hatao, Bijli, Sadak, Pani have long been used to attract the attention of the people. Apart from the above mentioned factors, race, anti incumbency factors, terrorism, etc have been the other determinants. However it must be noted that many a times a number of factors work in tandem to shape up the popular electoral opinion, thus making it further

(iii) In addition, the Election Commission on March 27, 2003, issued an order that candidates must file an additional affidavit stating (i) information relating to all pending cases in which Goswami Committee on Electoral cognizance has been taken by a Reforms, 1990 Court, (ii) assets and liabilities, and Vohra Committee Report, 1993 (iii) educational qualifications. Indrajit Gupta Committee on State Recommendations Funding of Elections, 1998 Election Commission of India has

Law Commission Report on Reform of recommended that an amendment the Electoral Laws, 1999 should be made to the R.P. Act, 1951 to National Commission to Review the provide for more stringent punishment Working of the Constitution, 2001 of minimum two years imprisonment (hitherto six months) for concealing or (NCRWC) providing wrong information on Form 26 Election Commission of India of Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 and Proposed Electoral Reforms, 2004 removing the alternative punishment of The Second Administrative Reforms assessing a fine upon the candidate. Commission, 2008 (SARC) b. Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 1. Criminalisation of Politics It provides for disqualification of candidates from contesting an election on conviction by a Court of Law. It lists certain crimes and stipulates a disqualification period of six years from The Vohra Committee on Criminalisation the date of conviction. It also lists a of Politics reported that the nexus different set of crimes and provides for between the criminal gangs, police, the candidate to be disqualified from bureaucracy and politicians has come out the date of conviction and for a period clearly in various parts of the country of six years since his release. It also and that some leaders of these gangs get gives a third list of crimes wherein both themselves elected to local bodies, State the above conditions will be applicable simultaneously. Criminalisation of politics has many forms, but perhaps the most alarming among them is the significant number of elected representatives with criminal charges pending against them.

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Recommendations

The Election Commission proposed that this Section 8 should be amended to disqualify candidates accused of an offence punishable by imprisonment of 5 years or more even when trial is pending, given that the Court has framed charges against the person. The Commission also addresses the possibility of its misuse in the form of motivated cases by the ruling party. To prevent this, the Commission suggested a compromise whereas only cases filed prior to six months before an election would lead to disqualification of the candidate. It also proposed that Candidates found guilty by a Commission of Enquiry should stand disqualified. The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC) recommended that any person convicted for heinous crimes such as murder, rape, smuggling, etc., should be permanently barred from contesting political office. It also proposed the establishment of Special Courts at the level of High Courts to decide cases against candidates within a period of six months or less. c. Negative or Neutral Voting The criminalisation of politics, widespread corruption in the system, use of violence, voter intimidation, etc may result in there being no desirable candidates within those contesting elections in a particular constituency. Currently there is no way for voters to express their dislike for all candidates. The lack of such a provision may further contribute to the decay in the system in such cases by encouraging only those voters who support such compromised candidates to vote, returning those same leaders to power again and again. Recommendations Both the Election Commission and Law Commission of India recommend that a negative or neutral voting option be created. Negative/neutral voting means allowing voters to reject all the candidates by selecting none of the above option instead of the name of a candidate on the ballot. There could be a provision that if there is a certain

percentage of a negative/neutral vote, then the election results could be nullified and a re-election conducted.

2. Financing of Elections
It is widely believed that contesting an election costs a significant amount of money that is often much greater than the prescribed limits. NCRWC, 2001, noted that the high cost of elections creates a high degree of compulsion for corruption in the public arena and that the sources of most of the election funds are unaccounted criminal money in return for protection, unaccounted funds from business groups expecting a high return on this investment, commissions on contracts, etc. It also states that electoral compulsion for funds becomes the foundation of the whole structure of corruption. a. Official expenditure limits on campaign

by the Election Commission of India in its report that there have been many cases where the candidates are alleged to have given grossly undervalued information, mainly about their assets. Recommendations The NCRWC recommended a followup action to the declaration of assets and liabilities by candidates - that the particulars of the assets and liabilities of both candidates and political parties should be audited by a special authority created under law for this purpose. To enforce complete compliance by candidates on Form 26, the Election Commission recommended that Section 125A be amended such that there is more stringent punishment for concealing or providing wrong information on the form. c. Curbing the cost of campaigning It has been noted by many committees that in order to remedy the negative impact of the excessive cost of elections, the first step should be to reduce the cost of elections themselves. Recommendations It was observed by Indrajit Gupta Committee on State Funding of Elections, 1999, as well as the NCRWC, 2001, that many of the tools used for campaigning such as wall writings, rallies on public property, using loudspeakers are not only costly, but are also a public nuisance. Curbing these activities can both reduce the resultant public nuisance and the amount of money needed to fight elections. For this purpose the Committees suggested that a suitable law should be enacted providing penalties against damaging or desecrating public or private property by candidates, political parties, or the agents, through painting of slogans, erecting cut-outs, putting up banners, wall writings, hoisting of flags (except at some specified places), etc. In addition, the NCRWC, 2001, suggested the following measures: (i) State and Parliamentary level elections, to the extent possible, should be held at

Currently, limits on campaign expenditure are fixed at certain amounts depending on the nature of the election. However, it is believed that these limits are violated with audacity. This is mainly attributed to the fact that the actual cost of running an election campaign is often much greater than the prescribed spending limit. Recommendations The NCRWC, 2001, recommended that the existing ceiling on election expenses for the various legislative bodies should be suitably raised to a reasonable level reflecting increasing costs. The ceiling is currently Rs 25 lakh for a Lok Sabha seat and Rs 10 lakh for an Assembly seat. The Election Commission of India recommended that the ceiling on election expenditure be rationalized from time to time. b. Disclosure audit of assets and liabilities of candidates On March 27, 2003, the Election Commission issued an order, in pursuance of a Supreme Court judgment, that candidates for electoral office must submit an affidavit disclosing their assets and liabilities. It has been noted

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the same time; (ii) the campaign period should be reduced considerably, and (iii) candidates should not be allowed to contest election simultaneously for the same office from more than one constituency. d. State Funding of Elections A major concern associated with the high cost of elections is that it prevents parties and candidates with modest financial resources from being competitive in elections. It is also feared that if candidates need to raise funds from a variety of sources, then their policy decisions after being elected as policy makers may be somewhat biased in favour of groups that fund them. State funding of elections (in various forms) has been proposed as a potential solution to this problem. Recommendations The Indrajit Gupta Committee on State Funding of Elections backed the idea of state funding of elections so as to establish such conditions where even the parties with modest financial resources may be able to compete with those who have superior financial resources. It added two limitations, namely (i) such funds could not be doled out to independent candidates, and only to national and state parties having granted a symbol and proven their popularity among the electorate, and (ii) in the short-term, State funding may be given only in kind, in the form of certain facilities to the recognised political parties and their candidates. It stated that only partial State funding would be possible in the short-term given the prevailing economic condition of the country. The Election Commission, however, is not in favour of state funding as it will not be possible to prohibit or check candidates own expenditure or expenditure by others over and above that which is provided by the State. The Election Commissions view is that for addressing the real issues, there have to be radical changes in the provisions regarding receipts of funds by political

parties and the manner in which such funds are spent by them so as to provide for complete transparency in the matter.

3. Conduct and Better Management of Elections

The massive size of the Indian electorate makes general elections an enormous and daunting exercise. According to the Election Commission of India, the size of the electorate for the 2009 elections to the 15th Lok Sabha was more than 714 million. The NCRWC, 2001, noted in its report that holding of general elections in India is equal to holding them for Europe, the United States, Canada, and Australia all put together. Successful administration of the electoral process requires more than 50 lakh personnel and almost 1 million polling booths. a. Irregularities in polling Irregularities in polling procedure have been identified as important issues that need to be addressed in our electoral system. Rigging of elections has become common facet of our electoral system. Importance of electoral rolls The NCRWC, 2001, rightly noted that the electoral process begins with the preparation of electoral rolls. If the rolls are incomplete or defective, the whole process is vitiated. In the current system, the Election Commission prepares electoral roles for Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies, and the State Election Commissions prepare electoral rolls for local elections. While some states have coordinated their electoral rolls with those prepared by the Election Commission, there are still some states that significantly modify them. Some states even have different qualifying dates for the State rolls from the Election Commission rolls, which is confusing for the voter and also an unnecessarily costly affair. Recommendations The NCRWC recommended that an automated online database should be created by the Election Commission. In such a system, each voter would be

provided with a unique bar-coded ID number, assigned for life. This bar-coded ID card and number could be verified at the polling booth by a hand held device. The electoral rolls in this system could be prepared at the Panchayat or district level. Along with this, the Commission also recommended that the task of electoral roll preparation should not be duplicated, possibly by entrusting it to an outside agency under the supervision of the Election Commission. b. Rigging through muscle power and intimidation Rigging of elections is possible not just through tampering of booths, ballots, and electoral roles, but also out of sheer muscle power and intimidation of voters. Recommendations The Goswami Committee Report, 1990 recommended that the Election Commission should be empowered to take strong action on the report of returning officers, election observers, or civil society in regards to booth capture or the intimidation of voters. The NCRWC recommended that the Election Commission should make use of electronic surveillance equipment as a deterrent to booth capture or intimidation of voters. c. Proliferation of candidates There is a proliferation of candidates in Indian elections. According to the Election Commission, too many candidates in the election fray put unnecessary stress on the management of elections and increases expenditure on account of security, maintenance of law and order, extra number of balloting units, etc. It has been observed that a large number of candidates are nonserious candidates, which according to the Law Commission of India, makes elections cumbersome, expensive and unmanageable in some cases. Recommendations of India, and NCRWC to check non-serious The Election Commission Law Commission of India, all recommend measures the proliferation of

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candidates. The recommendations of these Committees were enacted through the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 2009, which increased the amount. The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution proposed a system of discouraging independent candidates from running for office, by implementing the following measures: (i) the existing security deposits for independent candidates should be doubled, (ii) the deposit should be doubled every year for those independents who fail to win and still keep contesting elections, (iii) if any independent candidate fails to win five percent of the vote or more, he should be debarred from contesting as an independent for the same office for six years, (iv) an independent candidate who loses election three times consecutively for the same office as an independent should be permanently debarred from contesting election to that office. d. Measures for Election Commission The Election Commission of India has recommended a number of improvements in electoral law to allow it to continue functioning in an effective and independent manner. Recommendations The Constitution provides that the Chief Election Commissioner shall not be removed from his office except in like manner and on like grounds as a Judge of the Supreme Court. However, it does not provide similar protection to the Election Commissioners and only says that they cannot be removed from office except on the recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner. The provision, in the opinion of the Election Commission, is inadequate and requires an amendment to provide the very same protection and safeguard in the matter of removal of Election Commissioners from office as are provided to the Chief Election Commissioner. e. Restrictions on Government sponsored advertisements It has been noted by the Election

Commission that on the eve of election, the Central and various State Governments advertise out of public funds for the purpose of influencing elections, justifying it on the basis of providing information to the public. Recommendations The Election Commission proposes that where any general election is due on the expiration of the term of the House, advertisements of achievements of the governments, either Central or State, in any manner, should be prohibited for a period of six months prior to the date of expiry of the term of the House, and in case of premature dissolution, from the date of dissolution of the House. Dissemination of information on poverty alleviation and health related schemes could be exempted from the purview of such a ban. f. Restriction on the number of seats which one may contest Section 33 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, states that a person can contest a general election or a group of by-elections or biennial elections from a maximum of two constituencies. If a candidate wins from both constituencies, a bye-election would be required for one of them adding pressure to the exchequer. Recommendations The Election Commission is of the view that the law should be amended to provide that a person cannot contest from more than one constituency at a time. g. Filing of election petition even against defeated candidates on grounds of corrupt practice As per the existing law, election petition can be filed only for challenging the election of a returned candidate. If a defeated candidate has indulged in corrupt practice, there is no provision for election petition or a declaration against such candidate. Recommendations The Election Commission has recommended that the law should be

amended to provide for filing election petitions in cases of commission of corrupt practice by a losing candidate. It also suggested that the period by which the candidates are required to file their account of election expenses should be reduced to 20 days from the present 30 days, so that more time is available to scrutinize the accounts and to take the matter to the Court in Election Petitions in cases of spending in excess of the ceiling. h. Restrictions on opinion polls Many committees on electoral law have debated the possibility of whether opinion polls are misused to manipulate voters on the eve of elections. Recommendations The Election Commission had recommended that there should be provision in the law putting restrictions on publishing the results of opinion polls and exit polls for a specified period during the election process. The recently inserted Section 126A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, prohibits conducting of exit polls and publishing results in any manner, during the period starting from 48 hours before the close of poll in an election. However, the amendment does not cover opinion polls. Thus, results of opinion poll can be published even on the day of election polling. h. Prohibition of Campaign during the Last 48 Hours Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, prohibits electioneering activities by way of public meetings, processions, advertisements through television, radio or similar apparatus during the period of 48 hours before the time fixed for conclusion of poll. The logic behind the restriction is to allow citizens to decide their option without being prejudiced by any last moment appeals. However, since this Section does not refer to print media, the political parties and candidates issue advertisements in newspapers during this period. They also undertake house-to-house visits.

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Recommendations

The Election Commission recommended that Section 126 should apply to print media as well. Furthermore, it recommended that house to house visits by candidates should be specifically prohibited it provides opportunity for indulging in malpractices in the last hours such as trying to bribe electors with cash. i. Ban on transfer of officers likely to serve elections It is the opinion of the Election Commission that such transfers, often made on grounds other than administrative exigencies, disrupt the arrangements then underway for conducting smooth and peaceful elections. Recommendations Election Commission had recommended that no transfer should be made, without the concurrence of the Commission, of any officer referred to therein, as soon as a general election/bye-election becomes due in any Parliamentary or Assembly Constituency. The Commission suggested that in case of a general election, the ban may come into operation for the period of 6 months prior to the date of expiry of the term of the House concerned, and in case of premature dissolution, from the date of dissolution of the House. j. Misuse of religion for electoral gain by political parties The Liberhan Ayodhya Commission of Inquiry recommended, inter alia, that complaints of misuse of religion for electoral gain should be speedily investigated into by the Election Commission. The Election Commission informed the government that such investigations should be carried out by the investigating agencies of the state. Recommendations The Goswami Committee on Electoral Reforms recommended that the Election Commission should have the power to make recommendations to the appropriate authority (a) to refer any matter for investigation to any agency specified by the Commission (b) to

prosecute any person who has committed an electoral offence under this Act or (c) to appoint any special court for the trial of any offence or offences under RP Act, 1951.

5. Auditing of Finances of Political Parties

The high cost of elections provides logic for corruption in the public arena. This affects not only candidates, but parties as well. On March 27, 2003, the Election Commission issued an order, in pursuance of a Supreme Court judgment, that candidates for electoral office must submit an affidavit disclosing his assets and liabilities. This order, however, does not apply to political parties. Recommendations The 2004 report of the Election Commission declared that political parties should be required to publish their accounts annually for information and scrutiny of the general public and all concerned, for which purpose the maintenance of such accounts and their auditing to ensure their accuracy is a pre-requisite. The auditing may be done by any firm of auditors approved by the Comptroller and Auditor General. The audited accounts should then be made public. The Law Commission, in its 1999 report, recommended steps to be taken to amend the Representation of the People Act, 1951, to insert a new section 78A requiring the maintenance, audit and publication of accounts by political parties. To enforce compliance, Section 78A would prescribe the following penalties: (i) a political party which does not comply shall be liable to pay a penalty of Rs. 10,000/- for each day of non-compliance and so long as the non-compliance continues; (ii) If such default continues beyond the period of 60 days, the Election Commission may de-recognize the political party after affording a reasonable opportunity to show cause; (iii) If the Election Commission finds on verification, undertaken either suo motu or on information received, that the statement of accounts filed is false in any particular, the Election Commission shall levy such penalty upon the political party, as it deems appropriate besides initiating criminal prosecution as provided under law.

4. Regulating Political Parties

Proliferation of political parties is stated as a major concern by many previous committees. Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, allows for small groups of people to form political parties by making only a simple declaration. According to the Election Commission, a large number of nonserious parties create excessive load on the electoral system. Of the more than 1100 parties registered with the Election Commission in 2009, only about 360 actually contested the general election that year. The Commission also states that part of the problem is that there is no specific provision to de-register a party. The NCRWC adds that while proliferation of smaller parties creates confusion, any tightening of regulation on the subject must also take into account the need to reflect the aspirations of a plural society. Recommendations The Election Commission proposes that an amendment be made to Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, adding a clause authorising the Election Commission to issue necessary orders regulating registration and deregistration of political parties. The NCRWC, 2001, recommended that the Election Commission should progressively increase the threshold criterion for eligibility for recognition so that the proliferation of smaller parties is discouraged. Only parties or a pre-poll alliance of parties registered as national parties or alliances with the Election Commission be allotted a common symbol to contest elections for the Lok Sabha. State parties may be allotted symbols to contest elections for State Legislatures and the Council of States.

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In order to ensure further transparency in the funding of political parties, the Election Commission recommended the following measures: (i) any receipt by a political party either directly or through the executives or the party functionaries should be deposited in the Bank Accounts of such parties, (ii) all payments by a political party exceeding Rs.20,000/- to a person should be made by crossed account payee cheque and (iii) all contributions or donations or gifts by any person to a party functionary other than those by his/her relative(s) shall be deemed as receipts of the political party and it will be accounted for by the political party.

Administrative Reforms Commission, such petitions remain pending for years and in the meanwhile, even the full term of the house expires thus rendering the election petition infructuous. Recommendations The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution recommended that special benches designated for election petitions should be formed in the High Courts. The Election Commission and the Second Administrative Reforms Commission, in its report Ethics in Governance have also made a similar recommendation.

The 91st Amendment to the Constitution, 2003, changed this by making it mandatory for defectors to resign their positions regardless of whether they defected as an individual or as part of a group. Currently the issue of disqualification of members of Parliament or a State Legislature is decided by the Speaker or Chairman of the concerned House. Aside from those concerning the Tenth Schedule all other matters of postelection disqualification are decided by the President/Governor, on the advice of the Election Commission. Recommendations The NCRWC recommended that the power to decide on questions as to disqualification on ground of defection should vest in the Election Commission instead of in the Chairman or Speaker of the House concerned.

7. Review of Anti-Defection Law

In the report Ethics in Governance of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission, it is noted that defection has long been a malaise of Indian political life. It represents manipulation of the political system for furthering private interests, and has been a potent source of political corruption. The Anti-Defection provisions of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, enacted in 1985, fixed a certain number above which group defections were permitted. The National Committee to Review the Working of the Constitution noted that although individual defections became rare after this, group defection were permitted, promoted and amply rewarded.

6. Adjudication of Election Disputes

Disputes relating to elections of the State Legislature and Union Legislature are adjudicated upon exclusively by the High Courts. Sections 86(6) and 86(7) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, provide that the High Court shall make an endeavour to dispose of an election petition within six months from its presentation and also as far as practicably possible conduct proceedings of an election petition on a day to day basis. In practice, however, cases involving election petitions are rarely resolved in a timely manner. According to the report Ethics in Governance of the Second

CONCLUSION
Elections are the lifeline of Indian democratic system. They must be free of any hassles and malpractices so that the faith of its vast population in the political and executive system remains intact. While we are justifiably proud of our democracy, there are a number of areas which need to be strengthened to realise the true potential of a well functioning democracy.

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NATIONAL BULLETIN...

THE JARAWA SAFARI: EVERLASTING EXPLOITATION

Infestation, infestation the state of being invaded or overrun by pests or parasites. Do people inhabit the lands and forests that they have been living in for thousands of years or do they infest them? The answer to this no-brainer of a question might well lie at the root of the problem being faced by the Jarawas in the Andaman Islands today. A London-based newspaper had recently reported about a video showing semi-naked Jarawa women dancing in front of tourists on the Great Andaman Trunk Road, apparently for food. Days after a controversial video surfaced, the Andaman and Nicobar police had questioned two persons in connection with the case. These were the first arrests made in the case. The police in a statement in Port Blair said that owner of a gift shop and a taxi driver, were arrested after it was found that the duo allegedly helped tourists to visit the protected land for Jarawas and arrange video recording of these people. The police investigation found that the duo allegedly took tourists to different places to Middle Strait through Andaman Trunk Road which passes through the land of Jarawas. They used to allegedly take money from foreign tourists on the pretext that it had to be paid to the police. The video is just the latest manifestation of a malaise that is so deep that one might well argue that there is no hope for the Jarawa. The problem being faced by the Jarawas in the Andaman Islands today is based on our perception about these people that do these people inhabiting the lands and forests that they have been living in for thousands of years or do they are infesting them? The answer to this question lies at the root of the problem.

Protection of Aboriginal Tribes Regulation 1956

It is to be noted here that in 1957 , more than a 1000 sq. km of these Jarawa infested forests of South and Middle Andaman had already been declared protected as a Jarawa Tribal Reserve under the provisions of the Andaman and Nicobar Protection of Aboriginal Tribes Regulation (ANPATR) 1956. But In 1965, the Ministry of Rehabilitation, Government of India, published an important document related to the Andaman & Nicobar Islands: The Report by the Inter Departmental Team on Accelerated Development Programme for A&N Islands and it laid out the roadmap for the development of these islands and set the stage for what was to happen over the decades that have followed. This little known report is remarkable for the insight it provides into the thinking and the mindset of the times. This report assumes that The Jarawas had been uniformly hostile to all outsiders and the report treated about half of the Middle Andaman as a Jarawa infested area which is difficult for any outsider to venture With the present road construction and the colonisation of the forest fringes, friction has become more frequent, and no month passes without a case of attack by the Jarawas. The completion of the Great Andaman Trunk Road would go a long way to help in the extraction of forest produces. The 1965 report was in complete violation, or was a result of complete ignorance of the legal protection (ANPATR-1956) to the Jarawas and the forests that they have inhabited. The seeds that were sown then have bloomed into myriad noxious weeds today and if one knows this history, the latest video that has generated so much heat is not in the bit surprising. Much space in the

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media, both print and electronic, had been occupied in the last few days by a range of claims and counter claims about the date of the video, about the police involvement in its making, the role of tour operators and about fixing blame and responsibility.

Andaman Trunk Road

A little known fact that lies at the root of the issue had been all but forgotten the existence of the Andaman Trunk Road, where this infamous video was shot about three years ago. The Andaman Trunk Road that the 1965 report offered as a good way of extracting resources from the forests of the Jarawa had been ordered shut by a Supreme Court order of 2002. Its been a decade now and in what can only be called audacious defiance, the administration of this little Union Territory had wilfully violated orders of the highest court of the land. A series of administrators have come and gone but contempt for the Supreme Court remains. Whenever asked about the order, the administration has tried to hide behind technicalities of interpreting the court order and arguing that the court had never ordered the road shut in the first place. The A&N administration has clearly violated the courts order both in letter and in spirit.

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It is a spirit that was evocatively articulated by Dr. R.K. Bhattacharchaya, former Director of the Anthropological Survey of India, in a report he submitted to the Calcutta High Court in 2004. The ATR, he said, is like a public thoroughfare through a private courtyard In the whole of human history, we find that the dominant group

for their own advantage has always won over the minorities, not always paying attention to the issue of ethics. Closure of the ATR would perhaps be the first gesture of goodwill on part of the dominant towards an acutely marginalized group almost on the verge of extinction.

The video in all its perversity offers us another opportunity, when all others in the past have been brushed aside either due to ignorance, arrogance or then sheer apathy. Its still not too late to make that gesture of goodwill because otherwise there will be many more such videos down the years and much worse will follow. The lessons from history are very clear on this. And it will hardly be a consolation that a few people will be left saying we told you so.

Fact-file
The Jarawa are one of the indigenous people of the Andaman Islands. Their present numbers are estimated at between 250400 individuals. Since they have largely shunned interactions with outsiders, many particulars of their society, culture and traditions are poorly understood. Their name means foreigners or hostile people in Aka-Bea .For the greater portion of their history their only significant contact has been with other Andamanese groups; the experience of such a lengthy period of isolation almost completely lacking in external cultural influences is equaled by few other groups in the world. There is some indication that the Jarawa regarded the now-extinct Jangil tribe as a parent tribe from which they split centuries or millennia ago, even though the Jarawa outnumbered The Jangil (also called the Rutland Island Aka Bea) were presumed extinct by 1931, sixteen years prior to Indian independence. Before the 19th century, the Jarawa homelands were located in the southeast part of South Andaman Island and nearby islets. With the establishment of the initial British settlement, these are suspected to have been largely depopulated by disease shortly after 1789. The Great Andamanese tribes were similarly decimated by disease, alcoholism and British government-sponsored destruction, leaving open the western areas which the Jarawa gradually made their new homeland. The immigration of mainland Indian and Karen (Burmese) settlers, beginning about two centuries ago, accelerated this process. All contact, especially with tourists, remains extremely dangerous to the Jarawa due to the risk of disease. Today the Jarawa are in regular contact with the outside world through settlements on the fringes of their Reserve, through daily contact with outsiders along the Andaman Trunk Road and at jetties, marketplaces and hospitals near the road and at settlements near the reserve, with some children even showing up at mainstream schools and asking to be educated along with settler children. The biggest threat to the Jarawa in recent years came from the building of the Great Andaman Trunk Road through their newer western forest homeland in the 1970s. A major problem is the volume of sightseeing tours that are operated by private companies, where tourists view, photograph or otherwise attempt interactions with Jarawas, who are often begging by the highway. These are illegal under Indian law, and in March 2008, the Tourism Department of the Andaman and Nicobar administration issued a fresh warning to tour operators that attempting contact with Jarawas, photographing them, stopping vehicles while transiting through their land or offering them rides were prohibited under the Protection of Aboriginal Tribes Regulation, 1956, and would be prosecuted under a strict interpretation of the statute. It has been alleged, however, that these rules are openly being flouted with over 500 tourists being taken to view Jarawas daily by private tour operators, while technically being shown as transiting to legitimate destinations and resulting in continuing daily interaction between the Jarawa and day tourists inside the reserve area According to the 2001 Census of India, a total of 240 Jarawa were counted in Andamans. Of them, 236 had Religion not stated as their religion and 4 had Hindu as their religion. Compared to other tribes, it can be seen that the number of Uncontacted tribals are greater among the Jarawa.

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NATIONAL NEWS...
LEGAL / CONSTITUTIONAL
Whether One Insulted National Flag or not, is no Subject for Writ: Supreme Court
Observing that a question of fact whether a person insulted the national flag (NF) and violated Flag Code 2002 could not be gone into writ proceedings, the Supreme Court has declined to entertain a writ petition seeking a direction to initiate action against social activist Anna Hazare, Yoga guru Baba Ramdev, Kiran Bedi and others. Dismissing a petition filed by V.K. Naswa, a Bench of Justices B.S. Chauhan and Swatanter Kumar said: It is evident from a reading of the Flag Code that there is no restriction on the display of NF by members of the general public, private organisations and educational institutions except to the extent provided in the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950 and the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971. Though the Code is not the law, it provids guidelines to be observed for preserving the dignity of and respect to the flag. The NF is both a benediction and beckoning. Thus, in a case a person shows any kind of disrespect to the NF or does not observe the terms contained in the Code, legal action may be taken against him under the relevant statutory provisions. However, these are questions of facts as to whether on a particular event a particular person has shown any kind of disrespect to the NF. The Bench said: The courts cannot usurp the functions assigned to the Executive under the Constitution and cannot even indirectly require the Executive to exercise its law-making power in any manner. The courts cannot assume to themselves a supervisory role over the rule-making power of the Executive under Article 309. In the instant case, Rameshbhai Dabhai Naika was born to a tribal mother and a forward caste father. His ST certificate was cancelled by the Scrutiny Committee in Gujarat on the ground that his father belonged to a forward caste. The Gujarat High Court upheld this order and as a result he lost the fair price shop that was allotted to him on the basis of the ST certificate. Allowing his appeal against this judgment, the Bench said: The High Court seems to have read the Supreme Court decisions as laying down the rule that in all cases and regardless of other considerations the offspring of an inter-caste marriage or a marriage between a tribal and a non-tribal would take his/her caste from the father and the offspring would not be entitled to reservation. What was important in these decisions, that was not noted by the High Court was that if a tribal woman had raised her child as a member of that community, it would be treated as a tribal even though the father might have come from a forward caste. Whether and to what extent the Hindu customary law governed members of STs would depend on the extent to which the given tribe was Hinduised prior to the adoption of the Constitution of India, the Bench held.

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Bribing of Voters to be Made a Cognisable Offence

The Union Law Ministry has reportedly accepted a proposal of the Election Commission to amend the law to make bribing of voters, in cash or kind, a cognisable offence. It has written to the Union Home Ministry seeking an ordinance to amend IPC Section 171(B), under which the bribe giver is now booked, to make it a cognisable offence. It would also apply to those who take bribes. With the amendment, law enforcing agencies would have arresting power. Persons convicted under the section can be jailed up to one year or be fined or both. According to Section 123(1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, acceptance of money to vote is a corrupt practice. Section 171B(1) in IPC, 1860 reads: Whoever - (i) gives a gratification to any person with the object of inducing him or any other person to exercise any electoral right or of rewarding any person for having exercised any such right; or (ii) accepts either for himself or for any other person any gratification as a reward for exercising any such right or for inducing or attempting to induce any other person to exercise any such right, commits the offence of bribery provided that a declaration of public policy or a promise of public action shall not be an offence under this section.

Inter-Caste Child can get ST Status if Raised in Mothers Tribal Environs

In a marriage between a tribal woman and a forward caste man, the offspring will get tribal status if the child is brought up in the mothers environment and will be entitled to reservation, the Supreme Court has held. Though earlier judgments of this court said that in an inter-caste marriage between a tribal woman and a non-tribal, the woman must in all cases take her caste from the husband, these were not binding precedents, said a Bench of Justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Desai. The Bench said it was unclear if the doctrine of Hindu customary law, based on Privy Council decisions, that the wife took the caste of the husband could be applied in the post-Constitution era to determine the caste of a child from an inter-caste or a marriage between a tribal and a non-tribal.

2G Case: SC Allows Swamys Petiton on Sanction of Prosecution

In a rap on the knuckles of the government in the 2G case, the Supreme Court on 31st January held that filing of a complaint

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under the Prevention of Corruption Act is a constitutional right of a citizen and the competent authority decide within a time frame on granting sanction of prosecution of a public servant. Setting aside the Delhi High Court judgment refusing to give direction to the Prime Minister on the request for sanction of prosecution against the then Telecom Minister A Raja in the 2G scam case, a two-judge bench of the court held that if the sanction is not given within four months then it is deemed to have been granted. The bench, comprising justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly, held that Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy, who had sought sanction for prosecution of Mr. Raja, had the locus standi to seek it. It said sanction should be granted within a time frame and the competent authority shall take action in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the apex court in the Vineet Narain case of 1996. Mr. Swamy had alleged that there was an inordinate delay on part of the prime minister in taking a decision on his plea for grant of sanction to prosecute Mr. Raja in the scam and his plea was neither allowed not rejected for over 16 months. The court said it was not declaring as ultra vires the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act

Act to provide effective protection to women. Accordingly the single judge held that a petition under the provisions of the PWD Act, 2005, is maintainable even if the acts of domestic violence had been committed prior to the coming into force of the said Act, notwithstanding the fact that the couple were not living together.

GOVERNANCE
National Counter-Terrorism Centre to be Operational from March 1
In a step aimed at strengthening various counter-terrorism measures, the government has decided to operationalise the ambitious National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC) from March 1. A pet project of Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, NCTC got the approval from the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) recently. The operations division of the counter-terrorism body has been given powers to arrest and carry out searches under Section 43 (A) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. Initially, the NCTC will be located in the Intelligence Bureau and headed by a director, who will be an officer in the rank of additional director, IB. It will have three units - gathering intelligence, analysis of intelligence and carrying out operations - and each of these divisions would be headed by a joint director of Intelligence Bureau. The NCTC will have the power to requisition services of the elite National Security Guard (NSG), according to the official order. It will integrate intelligence pertaining to terrorism; analyse the same; pursue or mandate other agencies to pursue the different leads; and coordinate with the existing agencies for an effective response. It will also maintain a comprehensive data base of terrorists and their associates, friends, families, and supporters; of terrorist modules and gangs; and of all information pertaining to terrorists. NCTC will prescribe counter-terrorism priorities for each stakeholder and ensure that all agencies have access to and receive source intelligence support that is necessary to execute counter terrorism plans and accomplish their assigned tasks, the order said. It will also prepare daily threat assessment reviews and disseminate them to the appropriate levels in the Central government and to the State governments.

Estranged Wife has Right to Live in Husbands House: SC

An estranged wife has a right to stay in her husbands house and is entitled to maintenance from him under the Domestic Violence Act even if the estrangement had occurred prior to the enactment of the law, the Supreme Court has ruled. A bench of Justices Altamas Kabir and J Chelameshwar passed the ruling while dealing with a matrimonial dispute of a couple who are senior citizens of the capital. The apex court concurred with the findings of the Delhi High Court that provisions of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, (PWD) can be invoked by a woman or other victims even if the alleged violence was perpetrated prior to the enactment. In our view, the Delhi High Court has also rightly held that even if a wife, who had shared a household in the past, but was no longer doing so when the Act came into force, would still be entitled to the protection of the PWD Act, 2005, Justice Kabir writing the order said. The apex court further said that the husband shall provide a suitable portion of his residence to the wife for his living together with all necessary amenities to make her stay habitable. The said portion of the premises will be properly furnished according to the choice of the respondent to enable her live in dignity in the shared household. The Delhi High Court after considering the constitutional safeguards under Article 21 of the Constitution, vis-a-vis, the provisions of Sections 31 and 33 of the PWD Act, 2005, overruled the decision and took a view that to protect rights of women under Articles 14 (equality), 15 (non discrimination) and 21 (liberty) of the Constitution, Parliament enacted the

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SC Appoints Bureaucrat to Monitor PDS

The Supreme Court on 3rd February nominated a secretarylevel officer in the Centre to monitor the effective implementation of governments food programme for the poor as a report suggested that computerisation of the entire Public Distribution System to stop pilferage and corruption has not made substantial progress. The apex court appointed Secretary, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, to cordinate with states and union territries for

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distribution of foodgrains under the targeted PDS which is a massive operation undertaken by the government to provide food to poor in the country. A bench comprisimg justices Dalveer Bhandari and Dipak Misra said the report of the justice D P Wadhwa committee, which has been examining the working of PDS, has categorically said no substantial work on digitilisation and computerisation of PDS has taken place and bogus ration cards are being made. It said that for achieving the target, the secretary will be cordinating with state governments and union territories as it has been suggested that the union government was not getting the adequate support from them. The bench said the committee had in January visited Satara district in Maharashtra and found that the digitilisation of PDS programme was being carried without verifying the forms and as a result bogus ration cards were in circulation. It said since the computerisation programme was extremely slow, or in some instances non-existent, there was a need for cooperation between the Centre and state governments. The bench said the secretary will file fortnightly report to the apex court on the implementation of the programme and the next report will be placed by him before March 12 so that the hearing could take place on March 15.

(Prohibition and Regulation) Act banning the employment of children aged less than 14 will soon be introduced in Parliament. The National Advisory Council (NAC), headed by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, had asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ensure a total ban on child labour irrespective of whether it was in hazardous or non-hazardous industries and that all children aged less than 14 were enrolled in schools. Union Minister for Labour and Employment M. Mallikarjun Kharge has said that the draft amendment to the Child Labour Prohibition and Abolition Act was being prepared. At present child labour was banned in 18 hazardous occupations and 65 processes. The Government now wanted to end child labour in all industries, whether hazardous or otherwise. Recently, the Child Labour Advisory Committee, headed by Mr. Kharge, met in New Delhi and extended support to the move to ban all forms of child labour. Both the committee and NAC were of the opinion that parents of child labourers should not be punished. Only those who employed children should be targeted for penal action. Banning child labour would help bring down the number of children who were out of school. According to the latest survey by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), there are 49 lakh children under 14 employed in different occupations. Programmes launched by the Government such as the midday meal scheme in schools, subsidised foodgrain distribution through the public distribution system, 100 days guaranteed employment under the MGNREGA, the anganwadi scheme and the Right to Education Act had helped in bringing down the number of child labourers. The number of child labourers had come down from 1.25 crore in 2001-02 to 90 lakh in 2004-05.

Govt. set up Railway Stations Development Corporation for Modernizing Stations 14

In a path breaking initiative taken by the Ministry of Railways, a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on 1st January for setting up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) namely Railway Stations Development Corporation Limited to take up work of redevelopment of railway stations along with station maintenance across India in a dedicated manner as a part of the continuous process of augmenting and improving amenities at the railway stations. The MoU was signed today between the two PSUs of the Ministry of Railways, namely Ircon International Limited (IRCON) and Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) for formation of this new SPV. The new entity will help Railway stations develop as vibrant centres of the life of cities for commerce, entertainment and social space. The Vision 2020 document had acknowledged that the stations on Indian Railways are far behind those in the advanced countries and the stations located in major metropolitan cities are ill-equipped to handle growing passenger traffic. The new SPV proposes to address these issues. Under new SPV, it is proposed to provide the identified stations with well designed concourses, high quality waiting spaces, easy access to the platforms, congestion free platforms, modern State of the art Catering facilities, Hotels and other facilities.

PM Approves Constitution of National Council for Senior Citizens

Prime Minister has approved the constitution of a National Council for Senior Citizens. The Council would advise the Central and State Governments on issues related to welfare of senior citizens and enhancement of their quality of life with special reference to (a) policies, programmes and legislative measures; (b) promotion of physical and financial security, health and independent and productive living, and (c) awareness generation and community mobilization. The Council would be chaired by the Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment. Other members of the Council include the Minister of State, Social Justice & Empowerment, the oldest Members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, representatives of 5 State Governments (one each from the North, South, East, West & North Eastern Regions) and 1 Union Territory by rotation, 5 representatives each from Senior Citizens Associations, Pensioners Association, NGOs working for Senior Citizens and Experts, and five senior citizens who have distinguished themselves in various fields. The Council would be anchored in the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.

SOCIAL ISSUES
Child Labour Act to go in Non-hazardous Units
The Union Government has decided to end all forms of child labour, and a comprehensive amendment to the Child Labour

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Govt. Announces Six Forest-based Projects in Naxal Affected Areas

Government has announced creation of six projects in NonTimber Forest Produce, NTFP covering around 60 naxal-affected districts in the country. The projects to be executed within six months will be in the Public Private Partnership mode and will cover the States like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said, the projects in Lac, Gum, Medicinal Plants, Tasar, Bamboo and Non-edible oil seeds like Neem and Mahua will maximise the return for the tribal engaged in collection of these forest products. He added that the projects will be part of the National Rural Livelihood Mission and will focus primarily on livelihood generation and value additional in the non-timber forest products in naxal affected areas and called for cooperative arrangement between forest departments and the local self-help groups and other such organizations.

tigers are there in the country out of a global population of around 3,000. Talking about the governments ambitious plan to make River Ganga pollution free, he said the setting up of the National Ganga River Basin Authority is yet another example where we are trying institutional innovation to protect the sacred River.

Indias Mangrove Cover Increases, Gujarat Takes the Lead

India recorded a net increase of 23.34 sqkm of mangrove cover between 2009 and 2011, thanks to efforts of one of the most industrialised states, Gujarat, in planting and regenerating the ecosystem rich in biodiversity. The new biennial assessment report by the Forest Survey of India (FSI) has commended Gujarats contribution in planting and regenerating the mangroves, a salt tolerant plant community, which harbours a number of critically endangered flora and fauna species. Compared with 2009 assessment, there has been a net increase of 23.34 sqkm in the mangrove cover of the country. This can be attributed to increased plantations particularly in Gujarat state and regeneration of natural mangrove areas, according to the assessment by the FSI, an arm of Union Environment Ministry. Mangroves in India account for about three per cent of the worlds mangrove vegetation. The report says mangrove cover in India is 4,662 sqkm, which is 0.14 per cent of the countrys total geographical area. Sundarbans in West Bengal accounts for almost half of the total area under mangroves in the country. The very dense mangrove comprises 1403 sqkm (30.10 per cent of the total mangrove cover), moderately dense mangrove is 1658.12 sqkm (35.57 per cent) while open mangroves cover an area of 1600.44 sqkm (33 per cent). Mangrove forests are regarded as the most productive wetlands in the world on account of the large quantities of organic and inorganic nutrients released in the coastal waters by these ecosystems. They also act as nurseries for fin fish, shell fish, crustaceans and molluscs.

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
Majuli Island Protection Proposal Approved
The Planning Commission has given investment clearance of scheme Protection of Majuli Island, Assam from flood and erosion, Phase II and III. The project is estimated to cost Rs. 115.99 crore at 2010 Price Level. The project shall be completed by the financial year 2011-12 and Plan accounts would be closed by 31st March 2012. Project may accordingly be executed as per the approved outlays in the current financial year. The project aims at protecting 22 nos. of satras and public / private properties as well as economic development and social upliflment after reconstruction of roads and bridges usually destroyed during floods. The Vaishnavite tradition and culture being heritage of Assamese people would also be preserved. The tribal population which is about 70% of total population would be the main beneficiary in terms of economic social development.

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Five Per Cent Increase in Indias Forest Cover

In what could bring cheers to environmentalists, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently said the countrys forest cover has increased by nearly five per cent between 1997 and 2007. The Prime Minister felt that eventually these forests will act as a sink that could absorb 50-60 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually and offset about 6 per cent of India`s annual emissions. The government, he said, is also trying to put in place institutional arrangements and mechanisms to promote policy development and stakeholder engagement on sustainable management of commons (resources that are owned in common). Sharing the 2011 Tiger census which showed a 20 per cent increase in the number of tigers over that of the year 2006, he said, The lessons learnt will be used to conserve other endangered species as well. He said an estimated 1700 wild

HEALTH ISSUES
Govt. Refuses to Call the New Strain of TB totally Drug Resistant
A Central government team of doctors which arrived in Mumbai to check the reported cases of Total Drug Resistant [TDR] Tuberculosis on 17th January refused to call the new strain of TB as TDR. Use of the term TDR Totally Drug Resistant is non-standardized and misleading a statement issued by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare stated. The term totally drug resistant tuberculosis is neither recognized by the World Health Organisation (WHO) nor by Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP). For now, these cases are defined as Extensively Drug Resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB), according to WHO definitions, and

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accordingly can be managed by national XDR-TB treatment guidelines, it stated. A few days ago, research by a team of Hinduja Hospital doctors in Mumbai showed that they had found 12 cases of TDR-TB which had sought treatment in the hospital in the year 2011. Three of the 12 patients are no more. However, the Central government has defended itself by arguing that the Mumbai-based hospital which discovered the threat was not accredited to carry out tests for the disease. The hospital, it said, was only accredited to test for first-line drugs. It also said the World Health Organisation (WHO) had not advocated testing for drug resistance beyond a form of tuberculosis known as XDR-TB, or extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis. It said that as per the Revised National TB Control Programme, only three labs in the country are accredited for conducting quality-assured second-line anti-TB drug susceptibility testing of flouroquinolones and injectables namely the National TB Institute in Bangalore, LRS Institute of TB and Chest Disease in New Delhi and National Institute of Research in Tuberculosis in Chennai. Failure to complete the full course of treatment with appropriate drugs has led to the emergence of tuberculosis variants that are resistant to the best available medication. Researchers at Hinduja Hospital, where four cases of tuberculosis totally resistant to drugs, said these patients had previously only been treated in the private sector. About 1,000 people die of tuberculosis in the country every day and 40 per cent of the population believed to be infected may be afflicted with the full-fledged disease at some point the immunity of an individual is low. The bacteria settles down in the human body and has a long gestation period running into several years or even decades. Irregular drug dosage can result in the bacterial mutating into forms resistant to treatment. Though there is a protocol to be followed for the treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis, erroneous use by unqualified doctors has led to a spiralling problem. Indias official treatment strategy covers about 75 per cent of the patient load at present, and has shown positive results with the number of deaths falling drastically to 2.8 lakh per year from 5 lakh in just about 10 years. However, the problem occurs when the public health system fails to deliver due to lack of medicines or human resources, either forcing people to drop out from the treatment or opt for private doctors who do not stick to the protocols due to the free availability of tuberculosis drugs in the market or even prescribe wrong combinations for quicker treatment which can be disastrous. Multi-drug resistant TB is becoming more prevalent, because more people drop out as the treatment is spread over two years, and 100 times more expensive.

Child Day, the Central Supervisory Board set up under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994 has decided to monitor the disposal and sale of used or re-assembled ultrasound machines to prevent the technology being misused for sex determination. The Board has also asked the professional bodies to evolve a code of conduct for their members. In the absence of a monitoring mechanism, a number of condemned ultrasound machines are possibly being used for sex determination. Institutions and individuals buy the latest versions of diagnostic tools and either sell off the used machines or just discard them. There is a strong possibility that these are being fixed or re-assembled and used illegally, as there is no system of accounting for the discarded equipment. The Medical Council of India will also take steps to suspend or cancel the registration of doctors convicted under the Act. The latest Census had shown that child sex ratio had declined in 22 States and five Union Territories. It has improved in six States and two Union Territories. It is the lowest in Haryana (830), Punjab (846) and Jammu and Kashmir (859). The steepest fall of 82 points had happened in Jammu and Kashmir and the largest increase of 48 points was in Punjab, though the absolute level still remained low, compared with the national figure of 914 females to every 1,000 males. Statistics suggested that infant mortality rate was higher among girls than boys, and the reasons for the neglect of girl child were preference for boys; the low status of women; social and financial security associated with sons; and socio-cultural practices, including dowry and violence against women. The small family norm, coupled with the easy availability of sex determination technology and abortion services, acted as a catalyst in the declining child sex ratio. The State governments would be responsible for monitoring the disposed ultrasound machines. Those who used unregistered machines would get a three-year jail term and levied a fine of up to Rs. 50,000. The fee for registration of the machines was increased substantially. The Ministry had appointed a nodal officer to coordinate issues relating to the implementation of the Act. Portable ultrasound machines were banned, except those in hospitals and mobile-care units of the National Rural Health Mission.

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EDUCATIONAL ISSUES
419 Districts to Get Focus in Education
Ministry of Human Resource Development has included 419 districts as special focus districts (SFDs) for 2012-13 under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). Last year the number was 389. The Ministry describes these 419 districts as being characterised by marginalisation and backwardness and yet to be on a par with other districts on school education parameters. The government gives special attention to these educationally

Sale of Used Ultrasound Machines to be Monitored

As India prepares to observe 24th January as the National Girl

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backward districts, which are identified on indicators of infrastructure deficit, a high concentration of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, minority population, out-ofschool children and high gender gap. Funds for these districts are sanctioned on priority for different interventions including opening new schools, teacher recruitment and construction work. Other categories include Muslim concentration districts, naxal-affected districts, border area districts and 121 minority districts, identified by the Prime Ministers Office. In 2011-12, 67 per cent of the total outlay for school education was sanctioned for 389 SFDs on a priority basis. The States have been asked to prepare detailed and need-based plans for these districts so that the social and infrastructure gap can be bridged. For 2012-13, the additional districts have been included broadly under the categories of out-of-school children, high gender gap and low retention rate. Seven districts have been added to the existing 27, where the number of out-ofschool children is more than 20,000, mainly in Jharkhand and Rajasthan. Sixteen districts of Haryana, Mizoram and Punjab with a gender gap of 10 per cent at the primary level and more than 20 per cent at the upper primary level have been included in the SFDs list. The highest inclusion has been in the category of districts where the retention rate is below 60 per cent. This number has gone up from 126 to 189, including districts from Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Sikkim and Tripura.

of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) across services and circles as compared to range of 6-8 per cent now. Licence fee is a levy paid by all operators as the annual fee. On renewal of licenses, Mr. Sibal said the renewal of licence would be done for 10 years. Besides, he also announced a liberal merger and acquisition regime in the sector allowing up to 35 per cent market share for the merged entity while taking note of TRAIs recommendation to consider market share up to 60 per cent.

National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy 2012 approved

The Union Cabinet on 6th February approved the National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy 2012 (NDSAP-2012). The objective of the policy is to facilitate access to Government of India owned shareable data and information in both human readable and machine readable forms through a network all over the country in a proactive and periodically updatable manner, within the framework of various related policies, Acts and Rules of the Government, therefore, permitting a wider accessibility and use of public data and information. The NDSAP policy is designed to promote data sharing and enable access to Government of India owned data for national planning and development. The National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy will apply to all data and information created, generated, collected and achieved using public funds provided by Government of India directly or through authorised agencies by various Ministries / Departments/ Organisations/ Agencies and Autonomous bodies.

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POLICIES / PROGRAMMES
Telecom Firms can have more Spectrum, to Pay Uniform Fee
The government on 15th February announced the new telecom policy (NTP) allowing operators to hold higher spectrum, pay uniform license fee across services besides permitting liberal merger and acquisition, with a view to provide quality services at affordable prices. Announcing a part of policy, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal told that the prescribed limit on spectrum assigned to a service provider will be 2x8 MHz (paired spectrum) for GSM technology for all service areas other than Delhi and Mumbai where it will be 2x10 MHz (paired spectrum). Current prescribed limit is 6.2 MHz of GSM spectrum. However, players would be free to acquire additional frequency beyond the prescribed limit, in the open market, should there be an auction of spectrum subject to the limits prescribed for merger of licences. All spectrum would be delinked from the licence from now, he said, adding that a decision on pricing of spectrum or one-time charge for extra spectrum held by some incumbent operators would be taken later in view of the Supreme Court judgement that cancelled 122 2G licences issued in 2008. He also announced a uniform licence fee of eight per cent

COMMITTEE / COMMISSIONS
Space Commission, Cabinet not informed of Devas deal- Report
The much awaited reports by two committees set up by the Government of India to review the technical, commercial, procedural and financial aspects of the controversial AntrixDevas agreement, on the basis of which the former Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman, Madhavan Nair, and three other scientists were barred from holding government posts, was made public on 4th February. The report of the high-level team, headed by the former Central Vigilance Commissioner, Pratyush Sinha, was submitted to the government in September last. The second team, a high-power review committee comprising B.K. Chaturvedi and Roddam Narasimha, submitted its report in March last. The Antrix-Devas agreement had highlighted several major lapses, with serious financial implications in the January 2005 agreement signed between Antrix, the marketing wing of ISRO and Devas Multimedia Pvt Ltd. The report of the High Powered Review Committee, comprising B.K. Chaturvedi, Member, Planning Commission and Professor Roddam Narasimha, Member, Space Commission appointed on 10th February 2011, reflects several of these concerns.

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The Space Commission and the Cabinet were not informed of the Antrix-Devas agreement or its implications for usage of spectrum for defence or security purposes, the report states. The agreement provided for transponder leasing by Antrix to Devas for 90 percent of the satellite transponder capacity in S-Band. Proposals of GSAT-6 or GSAT- 6A involving use of satellite capacity were never discussed in ICC (INSAT Coordiation Committee) nor authorised by it, the Report states. In the TAG (Technical Advisory Group), a brief mention was made in October, 2004 about the Antrix-Devas agreement but no approval was sought. The report points out to several other lapses, stating that the Agreement had several weaknesses, that it was signed with a company that in January 2005 had a paid up share capital of only Rs. 1,00,000 and that ISRO committed itself to launch of satellite incurring the risk of searching for alternative users if Devas failed to develop the technology for mobile services, adding that while ISRO was to invest about Rs. 800 crore in two satellites and their launches, it provided 90% of the satellite capacity for Devas, and the use of about 60 MHz of S-Band spectrum in the 2500-2690 MHz band. The report states that this spectrum allocation seems disproportionately large considering that reportedly in the U.S., Korea and Japan, 20-25 MHz in this band had been used for similar services. It states that the Chairman, Antrix Board/Secretary Department of Space, Director, SATCOM, ISRO, Member (Finance), Space Commission were primarily responsible for the lapse. Subsequently, a five-member High-Level Team led by the former Central Vigilance Commissioner, Pratyusha Sinha, was asked by the government to examine the deal and fix responsibility for acts of omission or commission. The deal reflects not only serious administrative and procedural lapses but also a suggestion of collusive behaviour on the part of certain individuals, says the report of the high-level team, headed by the former Mr. Sinha.

nuclear material from its nuclear facilities. India also points out that Indias three-stage programme in fact focusses on technological solutions to safety wherein the nuclear material is secured within reactors as part of the closed fuel cycle. The government always attaches great importance to control over nuclear matters and recent changes under consideration in the proposed Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority would take national security and safety measures to a qualitatively higher level consistent with the best international standards.

STATE NEWS
ADB Grants $24.3 Million Loan to develop Agribusiness Infrastructure in Maharashtra
The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on 19th January signed an agreement for the second tranche (US $ 24.3 million) under the US $ 170 million Agribusiness Infrastructure Development Investment Programme which is a multi-tranche financing facility. The loan is to continue modernization efforts in Maharashtra states horticultural industries and will expand agricultural value chains and better integrate small-scale farmers into value chains in Nashik and Aurangabad-Amravati regions. The programme will build physical and institutional links along horticulture integrated value chains (IVCs), which include farmers, processors, agribusiness entrepreneurs, and service providers, a central goal of the Indian government. This will help farmers, traders and other value chain stakeholders to improve their products and processes, become competitive and adapt to changes in end markets. This second tranche loan from the ordinary capital resources of ADB has a 25-year term including a grace period of 5 years, commitment charges of 0.15% and interest rate to be determined in accordance with ADBs LIBOR-based lending facility. The Government of Maharashtra will provide counterpart funds of $6 million for a total second tranche project investment cost of $ 30.3 million.

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REPORTS / SURVEYS
India terms Nuclear Threat Initiative Report as Misleading
India has said the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) report, which ranks it 28th out of 32 weapon-usable countries, is misleading in content and may prompt people to reach the wrong conclusions. The NTI Report places Australia, which produces only uranium and has no meaningful nuclear facilities, higher up in nuclear safety than India. If nuclear safety is equated with lack of nuclear facilities, it shows a bias as NTI tends to equate nuclear facilities with nuclear security. This assessment is not shared by a large number of experts, India says. However, India as the NTI report itself states scores high on most nuclear safety matters in respect of its international obligations. There has been no case of theft of

India, World Bank Sign Agreement to Improve Livelihoods in North Eastern States
India and the World Bank on 22nd January signed an IDA credit of US$ 130 million to finance India`s efforts to empower rural communities in the growth-deficient North East (NE) region to improve their livelihood opportunities. The North East Rural Livelihoods Project (NERLP) will enhance the livelihoods of the rural poor, especially women, unemployed youth and the severely disadvantaged in eight districts of the four participating states- Aizawl and Lunglei in Mizoram; Peren and Tuensang in Nagaland; South, West and 15 Panchayat wards of East District in Sikkim; and West and North Districts in Tripura. The Project seeks to develop an institutional platform for the communities, which will help them link up with the private

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sector, public sector, and civil society and to acquire the institutional, technical, and financial capacity needed for improving their livelihoods. A separate activity for skills development and job placement has been included in the project to ensure that such opportunities are available to the rural poor. Some livelihood opportunities envisaged under the Project include natural resource management activities such as forest management, non-timber forest produce storage and processing, horticulture, preservation of riverine fishes, water harvesting and recharging of ground/surface water in the villages; community-based infrastructure activities like upgrading of small agricultural link roads, micro hydro-power schemes and wind-cum-solar mills etc. The Project comprises four main components (i) Social Empowerment; (ii) Economic Empowerment; (iii) Partnership Development and (iv) Project Management. The first component seeks to help rural communities to create sustainable institutions so that they can manage common activities around microfinance, livelihoods and natural resource management. The second component will provide funds to the community institutions to undertake various livelihood activities, as well as provide self-entrepreneurship opportunities to unemployed youth. To enable this, the Project with help develop partnerships with various formal financial intermediaries - such as microfinance institutions, commercial banks, development financial institutions such as National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), and specialized funding agencies such as North East Development Finance Institution (NEDFI) and with the private sector and

civil society to allow rural communities to access technical and marketing support. The project management component facilitates the implementation, coordination, monitoring and evaluation, learning and quality enhancement efforts of the project.

MPs Anti-Corruption Court Bill Gets Presidential Assent

President Pratibha Patil has given assent to a Bill that provides for setting up Special Courts for expeditious trial of corruptionrelated cases involving public servants in Madhya Pradesh. The President has given her assent to the Madhya Pradesh Vishesh Nyayalaya Vidheyak (MP Special Courts Bill). According to the Act, the Government shall, for the purpose of speedy trial of offence, establish as many Special Courts as considered adequate. A Special Court shall be presided over by a Judge to be nominated by the State Government with the concurrence of the High Court. These courts will try cases pertaining to disproportionate wealth or property. The cases pending in the Special Courts, set up under the existing anticorruption Act, shall also be transferred to them. The new Act specifies a time limit of one year for trial of the graft cases. A key provision of the Act is that on the basis of prima facie evidence, where the Government has reasons to believe a public servant has committed the offence, it may, whether or not the Court has taken cognisance, authorise the Public Prosecutor to make a plea for confiscation of money and other property amassed through corrupt means. The affected person would be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard. If the authorised officer is not satisfied then he would issue orders for confiscation of money or property.

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INTERNATIONAL BULLETIN...

TROUBLE IN NEIGHBOURHOOD
At the time when some states of India is going through the democratic process of election, countries in our neighbourhood went through phase in which their democratically elected governments where threatened or forced out of the power. Our southern island country is going through the process of fixing responsibility after the end of decade long civil war. Ousting of a democratically elected government in Maldives and failed military coup in Bangladesh are few among the other examples. the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation report and also address those issues that the report did not cover. Apart from the human right issue, other issue worth mentioning is the issue of reconsilation between the Tamil political parties of northern Sri Lanka and the government. The talks between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), an umbrella group of Tamil political parties representing the Northern Tamils, is not heading anywhere, with both sides levelling a series of allegations against the other. The TNA views on LLRC report has brought this impasse. The TNA said the LLRC report categorically fails to effectively and meaningfully deal with issues of accountability and called for the establishment of an international mechanism for accountability. This call has agitated ruling party politicians in Sri Lanka. Even the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) has criticised Sri Lankas Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission Report for failing to provide the thorough and independent investigation of alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law that the UN and other partners of Sri Lanka have been asking for during the Eelam War IV. It called upon the international community - through the U.N. Human Rights Council to establish an independent international investigation in 2012. Thus in the given situation India should play the role of mediator between the Sri Lankan government, other stake holders and the international community in finding way out. Given New Delhis influence in Colombo and India connection with the Tamil parties, India can play a positive role in solving the crisis. Supporting a broader dialogue, India has already said that a full implementation of the 13th Amendment

Sri Lanka
If we take a look at our southern Island neighbour, issue of human right violation by security forces during the civil war has come up. The Sri Lankan Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission has recommended that the State should ascertain more fully the allegations of human rights violations against security forces. In its 388-page report, tabled in Parliament, the Commission said it was faced with difficulties in attempting a re-construction of certain incidents involving the loss of civilian lives which have been brought to the attention of the Commission. While the Commission finds it difficult to determine the precise circumstances under which such incidents occurred. In these circumstances the Commission stresses that there is a duty on the part of the State to ascertain more fully, the circumstances under which such incidents could have occurred, and if such investigations disclose wrongful conduct, to prosecute and punish the wrong doers. Rajapaksa government is being criticised by all quarters including U.S. and European nations. The United States has urged the Sri Lankan government to full fill all of the recommendations of

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to the Constitution was needed. There was also a need to go beyond the 13th Amendment, so as to achieve meaningful devolution of powers and genuine national reconciliation.

Maldives
Another island nation of Indian Ocean saw ousting of a democratically elected government in a not so public coup. After almost 30 years of rule by Abdul Gayoom, Mohamed Nasheed became the first democratically elected president of the Maldives. But it seems that large sections of the political elites were not at ease with Nasheed brand of moderate Islam. So a vicious campigned to force Nasheed out of office began in 2011 itself. As the opposition could not find fault with his development or welfare measures or on the issue of his accessibility, they started attacking him on his moderate views towards religion. They argued that Nasheed would allow practice of other religions. The impulsive behaviour of Nasheed cost him his best friends and supporters both in Maldives and outside. He infuriated India, a long term ally by raising the contentious issue of Minicoy Island during bilateral meet with

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Dr. Manmohan Singh. During the 17th SAARC summit in Addu City, he left Sri Lanka red faced by raising the issue of human rights violation during Elam war. By alienating two of his best ally he was devoid of international backing against domestic compulsion. The last nail in the coffin was his impulsive decision to arrest the Chief Judge Mohamed Abdulla on January 16. The judge was arrested on the alleged charges of corruption, in particularly for letting his personal and political views influence his judicial decisions. Under the 2008 Constitution, it is the Judicial Service Commission which looks into the issues of competence and integrity among the judges. Thus the opposition made Abdulla a rallying point to step up protest against the high handed ways of the president. The streets of Male saw protest march every day by the opposition. The December 23 Forum, which served as the platform for all shades of the opposition was instrumental in the protest rallies. Finally Nasheed had to make way for Vice President Waheed Hasan Manik, to become the President. In his public address post resignation, Nasheed said that he didnt wish to rule with force, but latter on he started accusing Waheed of staging a coup. Nasheed, after talks with Indian, British, U.N. and Commonwealth officials, demanded fresh election. Nasheed scored a major victory when the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) decided to send a ministerial team to investigate the circumstances leading to change of regime. The U.S. India, the United Kingdom and few other countries have also called for an investigation. The desert island amid turquoise water of Indian Ocean is going

to suffer loss from decline in tourism as the U.K. has issued a travel warning and other European countries can follow the suite.

Bangladesh- Failed Coup

The latest turn of event in our eastern neighbour revealed that it is difficult for a liberal party to be in government without attracting wrath of proIslamist forces. In a recent disclosure, Bangladeshs Army revealed that they have unearthed a coup attempt against the Sheikh Hasina government. The Army revealed that a fanatical outfit called Hizb ut-Tahrir chose the military to implement its political agenda. A fugitive Major Syed Ziaul Haq was also involved, who allegedly contacted a few serving and retired officers to instigate them to engage in subversive activities. So far 11 senior and middle level officers involved in the plot have been identified by the authorities. The banned outfit (Hizb ut- Tharir) have also circulated a provocative leaflet to asking to remove Sheikh Hasina government and establish Khilafat. The ruling Awami League is accusing the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of being directly or indirectly involved in the plot. The obvious reason behind pointing of finger is that BNP has been accused of rehabilitating Islamist in politics. Founded by General Ziaur Rehman, the military dictator who was killed in 1981, the political birth and growth of BNP has been army centric and religion- centric. Therefore not just Awami League but all other secular and pro-liberation political forces have been accusing BNP of having hand in the aborted plot. The BNP has rejected all accusations saying that the party

do not believe in a change of power through unconstitutional means. Party leader have said that the government is trying to divert attention from other pressing issues. In all this Army is trying to reestablish its image as a well disciplined and professional force. Following the failed coup, Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Mainul Islam said that there should be no room for religious fanaticisim in the Army. This is clearly a positive sign as in Bangladesh, overambitious Generals have always played the religious card to rise to political prominence. Though the conspiracy was nipped in bud, the popular feeling is that the need of the hour is to identify and punish the perpetrators of the attempted coup. For India it is a good sign that another coup to install pro- Islamic forces to power was averted. It is in favour of India that democracy prevails in the neighbourhood. Any rise of proIslamic forces to prominence in the neighbourhood will be detrimental for the peace in the region.

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Conclusion
In sum most of our neighbours are going through domestic crisis. Given the close proximity, India gets affected by these events directly or indirectly. As a dominant power in the south Asia, world expects India to play more proactive role in maintaining the democratic identity of the region by supporting the democratically elected governments in its neighbouring countries. Keeping in mind its long term strategic goals, New Delhi too should refrain from being fence sitter and let outside power interfere in its area of influence.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS...
Rajapaksa does a U-turn on 13th Amendment
After promising to go beyond the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution to find a solution to the Tamil ethnic problem, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has done a U-turn and said the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) would now have to suggest a solution. As per the 13th Amendment, a product of the Indo-Sri Lanka accord of 1987, Colombo agreed to devolve some powers to the provinces. Largely drawing on the Indian federal set-up, it has three lists which detailed power-sharing between Colombo and the provinces. Broadly, it provided for merger of the Northern and the Eastern provinces, and for certain financial provisions for the provinces. The provinces would have an elected council, and a chief minister and ministers. After a meeting with Mr. Rajapaksa on January 17, Mr. Krishna said in a statement: I discussed this matter [political solution for Tamils] with His Excellency the President this morning. The President assured me that he stands by his commitment to pursuing the 13th Amendment [to the Sri Lankan Constitution] plus approach. A joint statement issued at the end of the May 2011 meet between the Foreign Ministers in New Delhi too made the same commitment: A devolution package, building upon the 13th Amendment, would contribute towards creating the necessary conditions for such reconciliation. 24 soldiers dead.

Yusuf Raza Gilani Charged with Contempt

Pakistan Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on 13th February was formally charged with contempt of court by the Supreme Court for refusing to follow its order to reopen corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. With the Prime Minister who appeared in court for the second time in less than a month pleading not guilty, a seven-judge Bench ordered a trial. It appointed Attorney-General Anwarul Haq as the prosecutor, thus creating a curious situation in which the governments main legal adviser will be pitted against the sitting Prime Minister. The two-page charge sheet, read out by Justice Nasir-ul Mulk, who heads the Bench, said the Prime Minister had violated Article 204 of the Constitution by not writing to the Swiss authorities to reopen money-laundering cases against Mr. Zardari as had been ordered by the court. He had also violated Paragraph 178 of the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) implementation case. Earlier the Supreme Court had pressured the government to reopen cases of alleged money laundering against Zardari in Switzerland after it struck down the National Reconciliation Ordinance, a graft amnesty passed by former President Pervez Musharraf, in December 2009. Zardari and his late wife, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, have been accused of laundering about USD 12 million in Swiss banks after they allegedly accepted bribes from firms seeking customs inspection contracts in Pakistan in 1990s.

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Sri Lanka Launches Tri-lingual Initiative

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa launched a tri-lingual initiative on 21st January, aimed at ensuring that all in Sri Lanka learn the three main languages in use Sinhalese, Tamil and English. The initiative was launched in the presence of the former Indian President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. As part of the initiative, 2012 has been declared as the year of Trilingual Sri Lanka, and a 10-year plan for it was also launched.

Nepal panel submits two reports on State restructuring

Nepals State Restructuring Commission tasked to suggest an appropriate federal model has submitted two reports to the government, with one recommending establishment of 11 states while the other proposing a six-state formula. The Commission formed on November 23, last year was formed to suggest an appropriate federation model but since the members of the panel represent different political parties, they failed to forge consensus in submitting the report. Presently, Nepal is divided into 14 zones and 75 districts, grouped into five development regions.

Pakistan, Afghan, ISAF Coordination Resumes

The Pakistani Army has resumed border coordination with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) stationed in Afghanistan and the Afghan National Army after a two-month freeze in relations following the NATO air strike on Pakistani border outposts. The meeting at the Border Coordination Centre at Torkham was part of the tripartite engagement to discuss and improve various coordination measures along the Pak-Afghan border. Border coordination meetings aimed at ensuring that terrorists do not cross over to either side of the porous Durand Line whenever operations are being conducted against them in the two countries have not been held after the November 26 NATO strike on two border outposts of Pakistan which left

China Walks the Tightrope in the Persian Gulf

Without undermining its ties with Iran despite growing military tensions in the region, China is seeking a deeper engagement in the oil and gas sector with Saudi Arabia and other Arab Gulf states, as part of a developing contingency plan, in order

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to ensure stable energy supplies. Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has just concluded a visit to Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar as part of a regional tour. The visit takes place shortly after Timothy Geithner, Treasury Secretary of the United States, journeyed to Beijing to implore the Chinese leadership to scale down its energy dependence on Iran, Chinas third largest supplier of oil. Washington is trying to throttle Irans oil exports, apparently to dissuade Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapon capability a move that Iran has countered by threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz through which 20 per cent of the worlds oil supplies pass. China, as was evident during Mr. Geithners visit, has rejected acceptance of a linkage between oil exports by Iran, and its atomic programme. Nevertheless, Beijing appears to have adopted a double track approach of keeping Iran engaged while expanding energy ties with Tehrans Arab foes, chiefly Saudi Arabia. Aware of the vulnerability of the Strait of Hormuz, Chinas top refiner Sinopec, during Mr. Wens visit, finalised an $8.5 billion deal with Saudi Aramco, the state-run energy giant, to build a refinery at Yanbu. The Yanbu refinery plant is located on the Red Sea coast and will not be affected by a military conflict in the Strait of Hormuz. In the UAE, the China Petroleum Engineering and Construction Corporation, a Chinese state-owned company is also engaged in constructing the Habshan-Fujairah pipeline, a strategic project which will daily carry around 1.5 million barrels of crude produced in the UAE to the port of Fujairah, by-passing the Strait of Hormuz.

to be among the worlds new seven wonders of nature, the head of a global competition has said. The Puerto Princesa Underground River in Palawan province is the second of the new seven wonders of nature to be confirmed after provisional results were announced last November. Bernard Weber, founder and president of the New7Wonders, announced the confirmation in Manila and hailed the support for the nomination in the global competition. The 8.2-kilometre navigable underground river is the worlds longest. The Genevabased New7Wonders earlier confirmed Jeju Island as one of the winners of the competition. The other five provisional winners the Amazon, Halong Bay, Iguazu Falls, Komodo and Table Mountain are now undergoing the final verification process for their confirmation.

Abbas to Head Palestinian Unity Government

The main Palestinian political rivals took a major step on 6th February toward healing their bitter rift, agreeing that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas would head an interim unity government to prepare for general elections in the West Bank and Gaza. The agreement, brokered by Qatar, was signed by Mr. Abbas and Khaled Mashaal, chief of the Islamic militant group Hamas. The two had reached a reconciliation deal last year to end more than four years of separate governments in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, but disagreement over who was to head an interim government had delayed implementation. Hamas, which runs Gaza, had strongly opposed Mr. Abbas initial choice of Salam Fayyad, the head of his Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. Mr. Fayyad, who was appointed Prime Minister by Mr. Abbas in 2007 after Hamas violent takeover of Gaza, would have to step down if a transitional government is formed. It remains unclear whether the interim government would be acceptable to the West. The United States, Europe and Israel consider Hamas a terror organisation, and said they would shun any government that includes members of an unreformed Hamas. Mr. Abbas has international backing and the recent agreement said all Cabinet Ministers would be politically independent technocrats.

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Suu Kyi Launches Bid for Parliament

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi launched her historic bid for a seat in Parliament on 18th January in the latest sign of change after the end of decades of outright military rule. The Nobel Peace Prize winner is standing in April 1 by-elections seen as a major test of the regimes reform credentials following a surprising series of conciliatory gestures by the new nominally civilian government. The prodemocracy icon submitted her registration to stand in a rural constituency in Kawhmu near Yangon, an area devastated by Cyclone Nargis in 2008. The 66-year-olds National League for Democracy (NLD) party has already been given approval to return to the official political arena, against a backdrop of budding reforms including dialogue between the regime and the opposition. The NLD was stripped of its status as a legal political party in 2010 because it boycotted a controversial national election, saying the rules were unfair. Ms. Suu Kyi was released from years of house arrest shortly after the vote.

China, Russia veto UNSC resolution against Assad

Russia and China on 4th February vetoed an Arab Leaguebacked resolution at the United Nations Security Council that called on Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down, while India, along with the U.S. and 12 others, backed the move. France, Britain and Pakistan also voted in favour of the resolution aimed at putting pressure on Syria to end its 11-month crackdown on anti-government protests that have killed more than 200 people in one of the bloodiest episodes of the uprising against the Assad regime. This is the second time Russia and China have carried out their double veto after the first one on October 5 last.

Philippines Underground River Named New Wonder of Nature

An underground river in the western Philippines was confirmed

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Ahead of the vote, President Barack Obama blamed the Syrian government for the unspeakable assault on its civilians in the city of Homs, as he demanded that Mr. Assad step down. Human Rights Watch condemned the UNSC resolution, terming the Russian and Chinese decision irresponsible and praised India, which so far was seen siding with Moscow and Beijing on this issue, for voting in favour of the failed resolution. HRW said the failure of this resolution should not provide illusory comfort to the Assad government as most countries around the world and in Syrias neighbourhood were repulsed by its bloody repression campaign.

Tibet
Voicing serious concern over the deteriorating situation in Tibet, six top American Senators have introduced a resolution in the US Congress asking China to suspend implementation of religious control regulations and immediately start a dialogue with the Dalai Lama. Mourning the recent death of Tibetans and deploring the repressive policies, the resolution calls on China to release all persons that have been arbitrarily detained; to cease the intimidation, harassment and detention of peaceful protesters; and to allow unrestricted access to journalists, foreign diplomats and international organisations to Tibet. The resolution, introduced in the Senate by Senator Diena Feinstein, is supported by several other Senators. The resolution has been sent to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for necessary action. The resolution commends the Dalai Lama for his decision to devolve his political power in favor of a democratic system; congratulates Tibetans living in exile for holding a competitive, multi-candidate election that was free, fair, and met international electoral standards; and reaffirms the unwavering friendship between the people of the US and the people of Tibet.

Landslide for Islamist Opposition in Kuwait

Kuwaits Islamist-led opposition has won a landslide majority in the countrys snap polls by securing 34 seats in the 50-member Parliament, officials results released on 3rd February showed. Sunni Islamists took 23 seats compared with just nine in the dissolved Parliament, while liberals were the big losers, winning only two places against five previously. The snap polls were held after the ruler of the oil-rich Gulf state dissolved Parliament following youth-led protests and after bitter disputes between the opposition MPs and the government. OPEC member Kuwait has been rocked by a series of political crises over the past six years, leading to the resignation of seven governments and dissolution of Parliament on four occasions.

Nuclear Weapons: U.S. must put its House in Order First, says Report
Even as the United States continues to exert pressure against India and other emerging powers for not falling in line with its vision for a global nuclear order, a stinging report by a major watchdog has revealed that the U.S. own nuclear weapons are potentially unstable and critical intra-agency guidance on maintaining nuclear safety has been vague. In a report that sharply chastised the nodal National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) for not sufficiently briefing the Pentagon on dangers lurking within the U.S. ageing nuclear weapons stockpile, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has drawn attention to the euphemistically-named issue of limitations. Limitations, which refer to areas where a nuclear weapon may not meet certain military requirements throughout its delivery sequence, could potentially impact critical functions such as detonation safety under abnormal conditions, weapon reliability, weapon delivery, replacement of limited life components, nuclear yield and worker safety. The GAOs investigation into whether the NNSA had helped mitigate the 52 limitations it identified revealed, worryingly, that the guidance that the NNSA had been supplying the Pentagon on this subject comprised statements that... contain highly technical information and vague wording and may not clearly communicate a limitations potential impact on stockpile operation, maintenance, and war planning. With the majority of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile currently being produced over 20 years ago it is clear that

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Iran Unveils Nuclear Projects

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on 15th February inaugurated three new nuclear projects. At the Iranian Atomic Organisation in Tehran, Mr. Ahmadinejad witnessed the insertion of Irans first home-made nuclear fuel rods into a medical reactor. The President also opened two other projects in the Natanz plant in central Iran. The plant there will now be able to enrich uranium to 20 per cent and will also use of a new type of centrifuge, capable of a far higher enrichment speed than previous models. The facility, about 160 km south of Tehran, is capable of enriching uranium to levels of 3.5, 4 and 20 per cent. The Tehran reactor was established in 1967 and equipped with a 5-megawatt pool-type. The fuel for this reactor was initially provided by Argentina, but this stopped a few years ago. The fuel for was then supposed to be provided by Russia and France but a deal struck in October 2009 failed, and Iran began making the fuel itself, by first enriching uranium to 20 per cent and then turning it into fuel rods. Enriched uranium is a critical component for both civil nuclear power generation and atomic weapons. The new projects showed that Iran would not be intimidated by international threats over its nuclear programme, and would continue with its technological advances, ISNA news agency commented.

US Senators Introduce Resolution in Congress on

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many of them are being sustained beyond their original design lifetimes, according to experts. With the inexorable progress of time and the parallel decay of atomic weapon quality the limitations will steadily acquire greater importance in governing the fate of these weapons, especially upon deployment. In this context, the GAOs findings that the NNSA does not have a well-defined, documented process for executing its stockpile surveillance programme may be considered deeply troubling and a forewarning of a possible nuclear misfire that could embarrass the nations global nuclear safety policy.

U.S. Approves First Nuclear Plant in Decades

U.S. has approved construction of two atomic reactors in the country, making them the first to be built in America in more than three decades despite objections from the nations top nuclear regulator. Commissioners of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) voted 4-1 to approve the construction of two 1,100 megawatt Westinghouse-Toshiba AP1000 at power generator at Vogtle in Georgia. The site for the proposed plant already has two old reactors. Only one member of the five-person NRC, Chairman Gregory Jaczko, dissented, citing safety concerns following a triple meltdown last year at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan. The NRC certified Westinghouses amended AP1000 design on December 30, 2011. The AP1000 is an electric pressurisedwater reactor that includes passive safety features that would cool down the reactor after an accident without the need for electricity or human intervention. Though the last new nuclear reactors came up in 1996; this is for the first time that NRC issued a license to build a new reactor after 1978. The U.S. froze construction of nuclear power plants after the partial core meltdown at Three Mile Island in 1979.

violence to stay in power. In Yemen and Tunisia, transitions are under way with the exits of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. In Morocco, King Mohammed VI has introduced constitutional reforms. The new fund will be in addition to existing bilateral assistance between the United States and individual Arab countries, officials said. The State Department also pointed out that the Obama budget retained USD 1.3 billion in military assistance for Egypt, even though the administration has warned such aid will be reviewed in the current year amid a dispute with Cairo over a crackdown on US-funded pro-democracy groups.

U.K.-Argentina row over Falkland Islands hots up

The simmering tension between Britain and Argentina over Falkland Islands threatened to escalate into an international crisis after Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner announced that she intended to make a formal complaint to the United Nations about British militarisation of the region while Britain curtly rejected any negotiations over its territorial claims. Both countries claim sovereignty over the islands and went to war in 1982. The islands held by Britain since 1833 have a population of just 3,000. The Argentine move came as Britain planned to deploy one of its most modern Navy ships, HMS Dauntless, to the South Atlantic, off the Falklands, and Prince William arrived on the islands to take up his assignment as a search-and-rescue helicopter pilot in a move that Argentina saw as a provocation on the eve of the 30th anniversary of British victory in the Falklands war that became the defining moment of Margaret Thatchers controversial Prime Ministership. While Britain described the deployment of HMS Dauntless and Prince Williams posting as entirely routine, Ms. Fernandez accused it of militarising the region and threatening peace and security. Ms. Fernandez urged Prime Minister David Cameron to give peace a chance criticising his recent remarks in which he accused her administration of colonialism. Argentina, which calls the islands Las Malvinas, has the backing of its regional allies including Brazil, Chile and Uruguay. In a show of solidarity, the South American trading bloc, Mercosur, has already closed its ports to ships flying the Falkland Islands flag. Downing Street rejected the Argentine charge saying Britain was not militarising the South Atlantic. Argentina made its protest to the United Nations amid growing diplomatic tensions around the anniversary of the conflict that erupted after Argentina invaded the Falklands in April 1982. Britain sent a naval force to reclaim the territory and has since spent heavily to maintain strengthened bases there. Britain says sovereignty can only be discussed if the Falklands population want it.

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Obama Proposes $770 mn to boost Arab Democracy

U.S. President Barack Obamas administration has requested a fund of nearly $770 million to boost political and other reforms in Arab countries undergoing pro-democracy revolutions. The new fund is part of $51.6 billion requested for the State Department and US Agency for International Development in 2013, which amounts to around 1.4 per cent of the governments entire budget, the State Department said. The department said, the $770 million new Middle East and North Africa Incentive Fund is to respond strategically to the historical changes taking place across the region. The fund will incentivise longterm economic, political and trade reforms key pillars of stability by supporting governments that demonstrate a commitment to undergo meaningful change and empower their people, it said. The funds could be used for countries such as Syria, Yemen, Tunisia and Morocco. In Syria, President Bashar al-Assad is accused of resorting to

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Croatian Voters backs bid to Join EU

Croatia has voted to join the EU, delivering a greater than expected yes vote in a referendum watched nervously in Brussels for fear of a backlash. With the EU facing its worst ever crisis, with the sovereign debt emergency sapping its self-belief, and Greeces membership of the euro in doubt, there were fears that the pessimism engulfing Europe would dampen pro-EU sentiment in Croatia. But the referendum held on 22nd January on joining the EU next year as the 28th member was supported by up to 67 per cent, according to official projections based on around 40 per cent of the vote. The solid yes vote was higher than what had been predicted in the opinion polls. The endorsement means that Croatia will become EU member, symbolising its break with the Balkans and former Yugoslavia and anchoring it strongly in the European mainstream as well as in NATO. Only once before in the countrys 20 years of independence has a referendum been held, that to secede from Yugoslavia in 1991.

are fighting against their marginalisation, rejected the deal. More than two million people remain in camps because of the fighting in Darfur and the UN estimates that more than 300,000 people have died in the conflict, mostly of disease. Mr Bashir inaugurated the Darfur Regional Authority (DRA) in the regional capital Fasher. Addressing people he announced the release of all prisoners from the Liberty and Justice Movement (LJM), which signed last years Doha agreement. Critics believe the DRA, tasked with implementing the Doha deal, shares many of the weaknesses of the previous Darfur administration, a product of the 2006 Abuja peace deal. The one rebel signatory in 2006, Minni Minnawi, later went back into rebellion, leading one of the three main groups not to have signed the Doha agreement. The DRA will be made up of government nominees, members of civil society and representatives from the LJM. Its leader, Tijani Sese, has been named the head of the DRA.

Sudan and South Sudan Sign Peace Pact

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Huge Majority for Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt

Egypts Islamists led by the once-banned Muslim Brotherhood clinched two thirds of seats in Parliament in historic polls after the ouster of strongman Hosni Mubarak, official results showed on 21st January. The Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) won 235 seats in the new Peoples Assembly, or 47.18 per cent, electoral committee head Abdel Moez Ibrahim told. The FJP secured 127 seats on party lists and its candidates won another 108 in first-past-the-post constituency votes. The landmark election was the first since Mr. Mubaraks overthrow last February. It began in November and was carried out in three stages. The Peoples Assembly, or Lower House, is made up of 498 elected MPs and 10 appointed by the ruling military which took over after Mr. Mubarak quit last February 11. It held its first session on 23rd January. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has pledged to transfer power to civilian rule after a new president is elected.

Sudan and South Sudan have signed a non-aggression pact, the chief mediator at crisis talks between the two says. Thabo Mbeki, the ex-president of South Africa, said both sides had agreed to respect each others sovereignty and territorial integrity. The agreement signed on 10th February aims to establish a monitoring mechanism to allow the two sides to lodge complaints if border disputes erupt. South Sudan became independent last July, but since then relations have deteriorated with numerous clashes along their disputed border. The South Sudanese opted to split from the north last year, following a peace deal in 2005 which ended decades of civil war in which some 1.5 million people died. But the two never agreed on the transit fees that the South Sudanese government in Juba should pay Khartoum for pumping oil through its pipelines and using Sudans oil export infrastructure. The countries have also failed to reach agreement on borders and accuse each other of backing militia groups.

Sudan Launches Darfur Regional Authority

Sudans president has launched a body intended to kick-start development in the war-torn western region of Darfur. The new Darfur Regional Authority aims to share power and wealth, compensate those affected by the nine-year war and help the return of displaced people. It was formed as part of a peace deal to end the war, and signed by one of Darfurs weaker rebel movements. But the other rebel groups, who say they

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INDo ChINA RElAtIoNS: SCAlINg NEw hEIghtS

After, the Communist Party-run Global Times blamed the Indian Ministry of External Affairs for being full of narrow nationalism for issuing an advisory and hyping up a trade dispute that saw two Indian traders being detained in the southern city of Yiwu; now China hopes that the two sides will support each other and learn from each other, so as to push for better and faster development of the Sino-Indian strategic and cooperative partnership. China would make concerted efforts to improve relations with India in 2012, which is being seen as an attempt to draw a line over recent differences that have strained ties between the neighbours. China is willing to make joint efforts with India to enhance strategic mutual trust and properly handle issues concerning the bilateral relationship. a 30-member group. The decision to go ahead with the visit, reflected a desire by both countries to keep the ship on an even keel and move ties forward in the coming year, despite persisting differences on a number of issues. The tri-services delegation, led by Air Vice-Marshal PS Mann, visited military units, naval facilities and airbases in Beijing, Nanjing and Shanghai, as well as interacted with the top officials of the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA). The visit is the first by an Indian military delegation to China following the annual defence dialogue, held in December in New Delhi, which saw both countries agreeing to strengthen exchanges to enhance mutual trust. embassy was in the foreign legation quarter near Tiananmen Square. It was damaged during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), after which many embassies moved to designated diplomatic enclaves in the city.

talks on border issues

The 15th Round of India-China Special Representatives Talks on border issues took place in New Delhi on 16-17 January 2012. The Indian delegation to the Talks was led by Shri Shivshankar Menon, National Security Advisor while the Chinese delegation was led by State Councillor H.E. Mr Dai Bingguo. In addition to discussions on the IndiaChina Boundary Question the two sides hold discussions on a wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest. These talks were The annual defence dialogue held in postponed in November-2011 after Recent fruitful outcomes in New Delhi was resumed in December the Chinese demanded that the Global Sino- Indian relations: following an almost two-year hiatus, Buddhist Congregation being held here during which defence ties between Exchanges during 2011, which from November 28 be cancelled as the neighbours had been strained. had been marked as the year of Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama was Exchanges were suspended in July exchanges between the neighbours, scheduled to address it. The Chinese 2010 after China objected to hosting had helped to increase mutual are first said to have asked for the the then head of the Northern understanding such as the visit of a Dalai Lamas address to be cancelled Command, Lieutenant-General B.S. 500-member Indian youth delegation and when New Delhi refused to oblige, Jaswal, because he was serving in to Beijing. they demanded that the event itself be Jammu and Kashmir, which China Two-way trade had reached US$ cancelled. New Delhi is believed to have views as disputed. 67.28 billion during the first 11 told Beijing that India is a democratic months of last year, which also The Indian Embassy in China moved country and there was no restriction to a sprawling, $10-million premises on freedom of speech. Hence, Chinas saw the launching of a Strategic in the heart of the capital, getting, demand could not be met. Economic Dialogue, a 21.8 per cent after 42 years, a modern new home year-on-year rise. The past year also The long-running talks have made which, officials said, was designed saw the first meeting of the newly little progress, and are currently in the to address the growing demands of a set up strategic economic dialogue. difficult second stage of negotiations, fast-expanding bilateral relationship. A 15-member military delegation which involves agreeing upon a The expansive 13,500-square metre from India left for China on a framework to settle the dispute. The compound is a marked difference four-day visit. India agreed to first stage concluded with an agreement from the old property in the capitals send a truncated delegation of 15 on political parameters and guiding Ritan Park area a two-storey, members without Group Captain principles in 2005. The final stage old-fashioned and increasingly Mohonto Panging because of Chinese involves the specifics of delineating the cramped wooden structure where objections to issue a visa to this border. State Councillor Dai Bing-guo, Indian officials had moved into in Indian Air Force (IAF) official, said the two countries must put aside 1969. The move from Ritan is the Group Captain Mohonto Panging their differences and seize a golden second time the Embassys location hailing from Arunachal Pradesh, period to grow China-India relations. has been changed. Before 1969, the who was slated to travel as part of China was keen to resolve in a peaceful

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the two sides but will not discuss resolution of the Boundary Question or affect the Special Representatives Mechanism. The Working Mechanism will hold consultations once or twice every year alternately in India and China.

have increased their ability to influence economic outcomes. The BRICS process has also gained ground. These are welcome developments. At the same time, risks remain for economies which are still developing. An early return to robust growth and spending in the developed world are necessary for world economic recovery. The US, Europe and Japan still account for approximately $20 trillion of consumption expenditure as against about $2.5 trillion by China and India together. A re-balancing of economic structures in our countries in the face of such differences could be difficult. More generally speaking, the relatively benign external environment in the last two decades is changing negatively and is threatened by protectionism in the developed world. World politics also faces new challenges. The balance of power is in flux in Asia and the world. As uncertainty rises, powers follow hedging strategies. The mechanisms of strategic communication and consultation and a common security outlook are evolving slower than the changes in objective reality.

Importance of India-china relation in coming decades:

manner its long-standing boundary dispute with India and wants to ensure that 2012 is a year of cooperation and development between the two sides. During the talks both the sides aimed for timely communication of information on the border situation, for appropriately handling border incidents, for earnestly undertaking other cooperation activities in the India-China border areas. The two sides agreed to establish a Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs to deal with important border affairs related to maintaining peace and tranquility in the India-China borders. The Working Mechanism will be headed by a Joint Secretary level official from the Ministry of External Affairs of India and a Director General level official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China and will be composed of diplomatic and military officials of the two sides. The Working Mechanism will study ways and means to conduct and strengthen exchanges and cooperation between military personnel and establishments of the two sides in the border areas. The Working Mechanism will explore the possibility of cooperation in the border areas that are agreed upon by the two sides. The Working Mechanism will undertake other tasks that are mutually agreed upon by The basic facts are evident and well known. India and China are the two most populous nations on earth, are the two largest developing countries, and are among the societies and economies in the world that are transforming themselves most rapidly. They are the largest and the third biggest economies in Asia. China has the distinction of being the second largest economy in the world. The two countries are building a strong domestic economic base and rapidly training scientific and technical manpower. When much of the world is reeling under recession or grappling with political turmoil, these two countries have managed to register reasonably healthy rates of growth and maintain stability. They share a common geopolitical space and similar socioeconomic aspirations for themselves.

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Besides, both India and China are increasingly linked to the rest of the world, through trade, investment and their Diasporas. The impact of changes in West Asia on our energy security, for instance, is an example of how developments further away from our shores also affect India and China more The future is less certain or and more profoundly. It is therefore evident. Uncertainty in the international natural for us to take ever greater system is at unprecedented levels. The interest on global issues. economic and security situation facing Equally, global issues like climate both India and China has become far change, nuclear proliferation and cyber more complicated in the last few years. and space security matter more to both On the positive side, thanks to sustained India and China in this globalised world growth rates, high savings rates and a as they influence our development, prudent financial approach, Asia and peace and prosperity. Both India and the developing world have witnessed a China currently give the highest priority greater accretion of relative economic to their domestic transformation, which power following the financial crisis of will take time. A peaceful periphery, a 2008. In Asia, larger economies like stable and benign world environment China, Japan, India, South Korea and and continued prosperity among our Indonesia, all members of the G-20, economic partners are of utmost

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importance to both of us. This will remain so for quite some time. It is in our mutual interest to work together, bilaterally and with other partners, to reduce uncertainty and create an international environment that is supportive to our domestic transformation efforts. Economics and development are not zero-sum games. It is for this reason that India believes that there is enough space for both India and China to realise their development aspirations. Economically, both are already integrated with each other to an unprecedented extent. China has consistently remained Indias largest trading partner in goods for several years. However, investment flows between both have not kept pace with trade. Indian investment in China worth a total of US$ 433 million is spread over 676 projects, while Chinese investment in India is worth nearly US$ 300 million. There are several opportunities for cooperation in developing infrastructure. India is already one of Chinas most important markets for project exports, with a cumulative value of contracted projects at US$ 53.5 billion and turnover realized at US$ 24.6 billion. What is less noticed is the range of contact between the two societies. For instance, over 7,000 Indian students are studying in China today. This scale

of interaction never occurred before in history. India has appreciated Chinas assistance in tackling floods and natural disasters in the downstream areas of the shared rivers. Indeed, some security challenges, especially of the non-traditional variety, are common to India and China, and offer an opportunity to work together. Both India and China face the challenge of terrorism in our shared neighbourhood. It requires common effort by all members of the international community to tackle terrorism. Naturally, the corollaries of such an intensification of economic and social engagement are issues of trade imbalance, diversifying the trade basket and commercial disputes. The two governments have taken several initiatives to make our trade more balanced and harmonious, and to facilitate and streamline our business engagement. More remains to be done and we will learn by doing. Equally the business communities and their Chambers need to take advantage of growing opportunities while sharpening competitive edge. Our business and economic engagement with each other and with other countries will intensify as we seek to overcome the prospect of sluggish recovery in the traditional engines of growth in the world economy.

Conclusion
The robustness of the bilateral relations will depend on dialogue and communication so that the potential for misunderstanding and miscalculation is limited. The dialogue process must not be limited to the two Governments. Today, there are multiple stakeholders in the relations of India and china as also multiple determinants of these relations. Each of them, be it businessmen, media or scholars of the two countries, has a responsibility to take the relations to the desired level of equilibrium. It is therefore absolutely essential that they acquire an informed understanding of their neighbour. Today, as both India and China change fast, their understanding of each other needs to keep pace. Both the quality and the scale of the interactions have also grown so rapidly that both of them need to learn new ways of dealing with the relationship. Both countries had maintained growing momentum in developing the relationship, and had established effective communication and coordination on significant international and regional issues. A steadily growing Sino-Indian partnership will not only bring benefits to the two peoples, but it will also be conducive to promoting peace, stability and prosperity in Asia and the world at large.

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Bilateral/Multilateral News...
India and US Win WTO Case against China on Raw Material Export
Led by the US, several countries, including India, Mexico and Brazil, have won their battle against China at the World Trade Organisation on export of raw material. In a ruling, the WTO Appellate Body found Chinas export restraints on several industrial raw materials used as key components in the steel, aluminum, and chemicals industries to be inconsistent with Chinas WTO obligations. The Appellate Body affirmed a WTO dispute settlement panels July 2011 finding, therefore agreeing with the US and rejecting Chinas attempts to portray its export restraints as conservation or environmental protection measures or measures taken to manage critical shortages of supply. The export restraints challenged in this dispute include export quotas and export duties, as well as related minimum export price, export licensing, and export quota administration requirements.

INDIA AND MAJOR POWERS

inaugurating an American Business Corner (ABC) in Chennai. The U.S. is committed to increasing bilateral trade with India. The Chennai Consulate had received instructions from Washington to continue to open doors for greater private sector engagementCollaboration such as the ABC will strengthen our (U.S.) commercial connections and make it easier for South Asia and the U.S. to connect. She termed as incredible the growth happening in tier II and III cities, and said that ABC will help Indian companies connect with American companies. James Golsen, Principal Commercial Officer, U.S. Consulate, Chennai, noted that this was the first ABC of the U.S. Consulate to be opened in India. Being the first ABC was both an opportunity and a challenge as each of the subsequent ones coming up in Punjab, Orissa and Maharashtra would be compared to this one, he added. He noted that trade missions coming to south India had doubled recently. The trade mission coming next month would comprise both multi-brand companies and small enterprises that are essentially one-man operations. The future of bilateral trade between the two countries would be driven by mid-sized companies and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

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The raw materials at issue include various forms of bauxite, coke, fluorspar, magnesium, manganese, silicon carbide, silicon metal, yellow phosphorus, and zinc. Export restraints on these types of industrial products can skew the playing field against the US and other countries in the production and export of numerous steel, aluminum and chemical, and a wide range of other products, the USTR said. They can artificially increase world prices for these raw materials while artificially lowering prices for Chinese producers. This enables Chinas domestic producers to produce lowerpriced products from the raw materials and thereby creates significant advantages for Chinas producers when competing against US and other producers, both in Chinas market and other countries markets. Such export restraints can also create substantial pressure on foreign producers to move their operations and, as a result, their technologies to China. The European Union and Mexico joined the US as co-complainants in the dispute.

India, EU Join Hands for Anti-Piracy Military Operations

India and the European Union (EU) have joined hands for launching joint military operations in the Indian Ocean against piracy activities. EU has deployed four warships and supporting military ships of EU member-countries and is engaged with the Indian Navy in developing synergy in the region. Both countries have launched a concrete collaboration with India since December 2011 on anti-piracy operations in the Indian Ocean. They have put in place one of the biggest military operations Operation Atlanta against piracy in the Indian Ocean. He said the EU bloc and India were seeking to put in place a concrete strategy for launching anti-piracy operations in the Indian Ocean, share intelligence and exchange high-level visits in an effort at forging a new strategic relationship on dealing with the new global security dimensions. Mr. Cravinho, who took office on January 12, said the security dimension was novel in its relationship with India. We have found some concrete results to put in place a strategy against counter-terrorism, cyber security and counter-piracy. We are trying to develop intense mechanism to share terrorismrelated intelligence. The EU Delegation Ambassador said exchange of visits of people involved in the security structure was taking place. Specific steps were being taken as experts were holding

Between 2005-2009, Indo-U.S. FDI up by 165 %

The Indo-U.S. foreign direct investment increased by nearly 165 per cent between 2005 and 2009 alone, United States Consul General Jennifer A. Mcintyre has said. U.S. exports to India had quadrupled over the last decade while Indian exports to the U.S. had grown by 180 per cent. Over the last few decades, she said, increased bilateral economic cooperation had resulted in a dramatic increase in investment and trade. Ms. Mcintyre was addressing an interactive session on U.S. India Business Growth Potential in Tier II Cities after

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regular meetings to draw up a road map for the near-future cooperation.

French Company Dassault Wins Bid for IAFs 126 Fighters

India on 31st January selected the French Fighter Rafale over the Eurofighter Typhoon in a multi-billion dollar contract for the supply of 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) the countrys largest defence deal to date. Interestingly, for a company that faltered at the start, with the Defence Ministry indicating that the Rafale was out of the race, Dassault made a comeback and went on to win the bid. The decision to open exclusive negotiations with Dassault was acclaimed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who praised the very high-level, fair and transparent competition involving the two European finalists. While expressing disappointment over the development, Cassidian the defence and security division of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, which manufactures the Typhoon maintained in a statement that it had offered the IAF the most modern aircraft available. Sources in the Defence Ministry said the product was picked up on the basis of it being the Lowest Bidder (L1), a decision arrived at after complex calculations, including the life-cycle costs. The two aircraft were chosen from a list of six, including U.S. Boeing (F/A18) and Lockheed Martin (F-16), Russian MiG-35 and Swedish Saab (Gripen), in April last year. The deal is estimated to be worth $10.2 billion (Rs.54,000 crore). The plan includes acquiring 126 aircraft, 18 of them in fly-away condition and the rest to be made in India at the Hindustan Aeronautics facility under transfer of technology. For France, the deal is the third big defence contract that has come its way. In the current financial year, the Government of India cleared the $2.4 billion upgrade of 51 Mirage-2000 aircraft and the $970 million supply of MICA fire-and-forget missile for the same aircraft.

Anti-Dumping Duty on Morpholine from EU, China, US

The Finance Ministry has imposed definitive anti-dumping duty on morpholine imports from China, the European Union and the US. This duty will last for five years with effect from September 20, 2011 the date of imposition of provisional anti-dumping duty. Morpholine is used as a chemical intermediate in the rubber industry. It also finds application in corrosion control and in the synthesis of a large number of drugs. This chemical is also used for crop protection agents, dyes and optical brighteners. It is also used by the cosmetics industry. Balaji Amines Ltd had filed the petition seeking anti-dumping probe on imports of morpholine from China, European Union and the US. This company is the sole producer of morpholine in the country. Based on the recommendations of the Designated Authority in the commerce ministry in its final findings, the revenue department has now imposed a definitive anti-dumping duty of $0.29 a kg on morpholine produced and exported by Anhui Haoyuan Chemical Group Ltd, China. For other producers and exporters of morpholine from China, the definitive antidumping duty has been pegged at $0.63 a kg. In the case of morpholine produced by BASF and exported from the European Union, the anti-dumping duty has been pegged at $ 0.35 a kg. For other producers and exporters from the European Union, the definitive duty has been pegged at $ 0.68 a kg. The revenue department has also imposed definitive antidumping duty of $ 0.50 a kg on morpholine produced and exported by Huntsman Petrochemical Corporation, US. For other producers and exporters of this chemical from the US, the anti-dumping duty has been pegged at $ 0.81 a kg.

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INDIA AND ITS NEIGHBOURS

Chinas Rail Network to Touch Indias Border
China has announced it will accelerate plans to expand a railway network in Tibet to reach two towns near the border with India and will also consider building a railway line to Nepal. New railway lines from Lhasa to Xigaze (Shigatse in Tibetan) and the town of Nyingchi, which lies in a prefecture bordering Arunachal Pradesh, will be built as key projects under a five-year development plan (2011-15) for the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), which was announced on 18th January. The statement said the extension of the Qinghai-Tibet railway line, which currently ends in Lhasa, to Xigaze would be completed by 2015. Construction of another line from Lhasa to Nyingchi will also begin under the five-year plan. By the end of last year, $538 million or a quarter of the budget had already been spent since construction on the Xigaze line began in September 2010. Xinhua said the 253-km line would pass

India Aid to Continue: U.K.

Prime Minister David Cameron has re-affirmed Britains decision to continue its aid programme to India, amidst a row sparked by some ruling Conservative MPs demanding an end to it, and reports that India did not need it. The Prime Ministers spokesman said, We continue to provide aid to India, but we focus it on the three poorest states. The reason we are doing that is because a huge number of the poorest people in the world live in these states. The Government has always been very clear about sticking to its aid commitments and the fact that it would not balance the books on the backs of the poorest people in the world. It is going to stick to that. International aid is among few areas that have not been subjected to deep funding cuts by the economically-strapped David Cameron government, which has faced much ridicule and more for continuing to send aid to an increasingly prosperous India.

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through the 90-km-long Grand Canyon of the Yarlung Zangbo as the Brahmaputra is known in Tibet. The line would have a capacity to carry 8.3 million tonnes of freight annually. Separately, the State-run Xinhua news agency carried a report indicating that the construction of a railway line from Tibet to Nepal was discussed during Premier Wen Jiabaos visit last week to Kathmandu. The railway which will join Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China will further strengthen ties between the two countries, Xinhua reported. The railway projects would pay a vital role in boosting tourism and accelerating the transport of natural resources. Chinese officials say the projects are aimed at boosting connectivity to bring development to Tibets frontier regions. Indian defence officials have, however, voiced concern over the strategic implications of infrastructure projects located near the border.

Multipurpose Project and Sun Kosi Storage cum Diversion Scheme by February 2013. JMCWR noted with satisfaction the excellent cooperation between the two countries in flood management and the need to take up other trans-boundary rivers causing flood and inundation in both countries. JMCWR recommended that the finalization of the Draft Memorandum of Understanding on Cross Border Interconnection for Electric Power Trade Agreement received from Government of Nepal including a second cross border transmission line for joint development be expedited.

Literary Academies of India, Nepal Sign Cooperation Pact

Top literary bodies of India and Nepal have inked a pact aimed at enhancing cooperation between the two sides through measures like exchange programmes involving intellectuals and translation of books. The Bharatiya Sahitya Academy and Nepal Academy on 2nd February signed the Memorandum of Understanding, which will help promote cultural and literary exchanges between the two countries and strengthen people-to-people contacts. The MoU is aimed at carrying out exchange programmes between intellectuals of the two countries, organising visits related to language, literature, culture, philosophy and social sciences, and translating and publishing books.

India, Nepal to Share Terror Information Real-time

India and Nepal on 16th January discussed cooperation in countering cross-border crimes and terrorist activities, and decided to join hands in sharing terror-related information on a real-time basis. During Home Secretary-level talks, the two sides discussed countering circulation of fake Indian currency, smuggling of arms and ammunition, trafficking in narcotics and psychotropic substances and misuse of SIM cards. They decided to share intelligence reports, progress in establishment of integrated checkposts and laying of border roads, and Indias support for training and capacity building of Nepals security apparatus. Being held after a gap of two years, the high-level meeting took stock of security cooperation and decided that henceforth the Home Secretary of either country telephonically hold discussions with his counterpart or seek cooperation on any terror-related issue on a real-time basis. Home Secretary R.K. Singh, who led the Indian delegation, appreciated Nepals assurance that it would not allow its territory to be used for activities inimical to Indias interest, and assured Kathmandu of New Delhis commitment to provide all necessary cooperation and assistance. New Delhi would also help Kathmandu in modernising immigration facilities at the Tribhuvan International Airport for smooth transit of passengers to and from Nepal. Kathmandu assured New Delhi that it was working pro-actively to check fake currency.

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India Exempts Essential Commodities to Bhutan from Export Bans

Bhutan has expressed happiness over acceptance of their request of exemption from application of any export bans on essential commodities. The Minister of Commerce, Industry and Textiles, Anand Sharma, during his meeting with Mr. Lyonpo Khandu Wangchuk, Minister for Economic Affairs of Bhutan, informed that Director General of Foreign trade has issued notification exempting Bhutan from the application of export ban on Milk Powder, Wheat, Edible Oil, Pulses and NonBasmati Rice with annual limits indicated by the Bhutanese side. Both leaders expressed satisfaction that progress in meeting the target of developing 10,000 MW of hydropower capacity in Bhutan by 2020 is on schedule. Bhutan has an estimated hydropower potential of 30,000 MW with a little over 1,472 MW harnessed. Three major hydroelectric power projects (HEPs) have been built with Indian assistance in Bhutan - 336 MW Chukha, 60 MW Kurichhu and 1020 MW Tala HEPs. In July 2006, India and Bhutan signed an Agreement wherein India agreed to develop and import 5000 MW of electricity from Bhutan by 2020. This target was revised to 10,000 MW during PMs visit to Bhutan in May 2008. Bhutan has been requesting for Ghasuapara and Dalu in Meghalaya on Indo-Bangladesh border as on exit/entry points for Bhutans trade with Bangladesh. Mr. Sharma informed that the Letter of Exchange (LOE) has been signed for allowing LCSs from 1st February, 2012. Similarly, The LoE to amend the

India-Nepal Joint Ministerial Commission on Water Resources Meeting

The first Meeting of the India-Nepal Joint Ministerial Commission on Water Resources (JMCWR) was held in New Delhi on 15th February. During the meeting, issues related to cooperation in water resources were discussed. Both sides agreed to expedite the setting up of Pancheshwar Development Authority (PDA) at the earliest for implementation of the Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project. Both sides also agreed to expedite the completion of DPR of Sapta Kosi High Dam

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Letter of Guarantee (LoG) under the India-Bhutan Agreement on Trade, Commerce and Transit has been finalised for implementation from 1st February, 2012. Total trade between the two countries has been increasing. Total exports to Bhutan were $ 176.00 million while total imports from Bhutan were $ 201.57 million during 2010-11. Indias trade balance with Bhutan has turned negative from 2006 i.e. India imports more than it exports to Bhutan. Both the Minister expressed the confidence that the trade can be diversified and also be doubled in less than 5 years.

Indian industry and invited them to participate in the India Show in the Brno Engineering Fair in the Czech Republic in October 2012, where over 150 Indian Engineering companies will participate.

India, Norway to Enhance Cooperation in the Field of Renewable Energy

The Norwegian Minister for Environment and International Cooperation, Mr. Erik Solheim has called on the Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy, Dr. Farooq Abdullah in New Delhi. Both the Ministers were accompanied by high level delegations. During the talks Dr. Abdullah said that the Indian Government is taking active interest in setting up the proposed fund in collaboration with DFID, UK and Norway for promoting off-grid solutions in the field of renewable energy. Highlighting the achievements made by India in the area of solar and wind energy Dr. Abdullah said that the renewable energy can substantially reduce consumption of kerosene and diesel. The Indian side expressed interest in collaborating with Norway in the field of off-shore wind energy. Norwegian side while welcoming this invited a team from India to study the floating barrage wind farms in Norway.

INDIA AND REST OF THE WORLD

India-Romania 17th Joint Economic Committee Protocol
Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Minister of State for Commerce & Industry, led the 17th Joint Economic Committee (JEC) at Bucharest in Romania and signed the protocol with his counterpart. During the meeting Minister Scindia urged Indian industry to use the opportunities presenting themselves in Europe for investments and cutting-edge technology ventures. Mr. Scindia stated that, India is confident that it will anchor global economic recoveries in the coming years. Romania is actively looking at diversifying its economy and Indian corporates can play a significant role as enablers in this process. In a bilateral meeting with his counterpart Mr. Ion Ariton, the Romanian Minister for Economy, Trade and Business Environment, Mr. Scindia expressed hope to double bilateral trade and economic cooperation in the next three years by 2015. The JEC which met after a hiatus of 8 years resolved to promote investments and JVs in areas of supply of equipment for metallurgy and energy industry, cooperation between Micro small and medium enterprises, Transport and infrastructure field, IT and ITES, cooperation in technical textiles, and Tourism. Joint working groups in the Hydrocarbon and SME sectors were held on the sidelines of the JEC. In the hydrocarbon sector both sides agreed to encourage cooperation in upstream and downstream hydrocarbon sector including in training, capacity building and research & development, supply of equipment for exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbon and other technical assistance. India offered its expertise in the service sector and expressed interest in Joint exploration with Romanian National Company Petrom. In the SME working group both sides agreed on information sharing, facilitating institutional cooperation; business and trade delegations to explore Joint Ventures, technology transfer and investment opportunities. Even in the midst of the EU crisis, during the current fiscal 2011-12, bilateral trade between India and Romania has grown by 6%. Mr. Scindia urged Romanian companies to continue the trend of supplying competitively priced inputs to

Mauritius Hopes DTAA Revision Issues will be Sorted Out

Assuring all help to India in tax- related investigations, Mauritius on 7th February exuded confidence that issues concerning revision of the existing Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with New Delhi would be sorted out. India has been pressing for re-negotiation of its DTAA with Mauritius, seeking to plug loopholes and revenue leakage by way of alleged round-tripping and tax evasion. Nearly 42 per cent of FDI into India comes through Mauritius. Likewise about 40 per cent of the FII fund flow into the country is believed to be routed through the island nation. A large majority of them are third country investors, who are believed to use the DTAA for saving capital gains tax. According the the DTAA, capital gains from sale of shares by Mauritius residents in India would be liable to tax only in their country and vice-versa.

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India, Saudi Arabia to Augment Defence Cooperation

India and Saudi Arabia have decided to set up a joint committee on defence cooperation to work out the contours of the relationship and give a boost to military ties between the two nations, as well as explore ways of cooperation in fighting piracy in the Indian Ocean. In a meeting between Defence Minister AK Antony and his Saudi counterpart Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud on 14th February, the two sides expressed concerns over the rise in piracy in Indian Ocean region and agreed to explore practical cooperation in the fight against piracy and an active role of the Royal Saudi Navy in the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium construct. At the delegation level talks, India and Saudi Arabia decided to set up a Joint Committee on Defence Cooperation to work

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out the contours of the relationship . The proposed Committee will evolve plans for cooperation in numerous areas including signing of an MoU on defence cooperation, high level reciprocal visits at all levels -- political, official and Services, ship visits and conducting Passage Exercises during such visits. In the discussions, it was agreed that the proposed Committee will also explore the possibility of signing an MoU for cooperation in hydrography, increased participation in training programmes on both sides and examine the possibility of cooperation in defence industries. Reviewing the security situation in the Gulf Region, the two sides agreed that all issues need to be settled through peaceful dialogue.

Nath claimed the country has already shown its interest for the project and things are in their very initial stage. Mr. Nath brought up the issue of participation of Indian companies in the ambitious project during his discussions with Israeli ministers, who are said to have promptly welcomed Indias involvement. On prospects of gas exploration in the potential reserves off countrys northern coast, Mr. Nath said he has expressed New Delhis participation in some form, on the exploratory side or as a buyer. Israeli media has been constantly talking about exporting natural gas said to have been discovered off Israels northern coast to countries like India and China using the Red-Med railway line. The ambitious train link is likely to take about five years for completion with an approximate investment of USD 2.3 billion. It will include 63 bridges and five tunnels expanding in a span of some 9.5 kilometres. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has termed the project of strategic, national and international importance, asserting that country has an interest in creating an alternative route between Asia and Europe to the Suez Canal, and this could serve as an insurance policy. Such a link can be crucial in transporting goods to Europe without having to go through the Suez Canal as the cargo unloaded in countrys port city Eilat will then be sent by rail to Israeli ports, and from there to Europe. In an apparent reference to India and China, Netanyahu said in the coming decade, new powers will arise [with whom] Israel must create vital interests from a national strategy point-of-view. The Israeli Premier said that both the Asian giants have expressed a great deal of interest in the project.

India, Iraq to Resume Direct Flights

India and Iraq have resumed direct flights which were stopped during the first Gulf War two decades ago. The aviation authorities of the two countries, which were in talks for over the past few months, decided to launch these flights from 11th February. Iraq government has designated its national carrier Iraqi Airways, which would every week operate two flights each to Delhi and Mumbai from Baghdad. India is yet to take a final decision on designating any carrier that would fly to Iraq, they said. The sources said India was keen to have direct flights to the religious city of Karbala and not just to Baghdad. A bilateral air services agreement was first signed between the two countries in 1955. On April 6, 1976, Air India first launched a weekly Boeing 707 service to Baghdad via Dhahran and Kuwait. The agreement allowed two flights on each direction by designated airlines of the two countries every week, with a maximum seat capacity of 800 passengers both sides. The sources said the resumption of flight services would strengthen people-to-people contacts between the two countries, which were affected during the past few years. A large number of families of Indian origin are settled in Iraq, mainly in the holy cities of Basra, Najaf and Karbala and thousands of Indians go every year to visit the Islamic pilgrimage shrines of Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas. Iraq is also the third largest supplier of crude to India.

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INDIA AND MULTILATERAL & INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS

India Signs Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters
In yet another move to get information about black money stashed away abroad, India has signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, a multilateral agreement that promotes international cooperation while respecting the rights of taxpayers. This will send a strong signal that India and the other 31 signatory countries have joined hands to ensure that individuals and multinational enterprises pay the right amount of tax, at the right time and in the right place. The Convention provides for administrative cooperation among the parties in the assessment and collection of taxes, with a view to combating tax avoidance and evasion, according to a statement by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). With taxpayers increasingly operating on a global basis, tax authorities are moving from bilateral to multilateral

India Keen to Participate in Israeli Red-Med Project

Visiting Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath has said India has expressed its interest to participate in the construction of the first-ever rail link between the Mediterranean and Red Sea coasts. The proposed rail link, which was unanimously approved by the Israeli cabinet recently, offers a new AsiaEurope trade route that will compete with the Suez Canal. The media reports had claimed that the state-owned infrastructure companies could have been benefited from the opportunities in the project, but Indian governments lethargy and inertia in decision making led China walk away with the bid. Dismissing claims that India lost yet another infrastructure project of interest to China due to lethargy on its part, Mr.

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cooperation and from exchange of information on request to other forms of cooperation. The convention is an effective and practical tool to help tax authorities in their everyday work. India has moved very quickly since its commitment to the Convention at the November 2011 G20 ceremony in Cannes and I expect it will be the first non-OECD G20 country for which the updated Convention is in force, said Jeffrey Owens, Director of the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration. Signatories to the amended Convention are: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This instrument hitherto available for members of the OECD and the Council of Europe was amended in 2010 and made open for all countries in June 2011. The Convention was amended to respond to the 2009 G20 Summit call for developing a broader multilateral approach to improve the effectiveness of exchange of information, cooperation among the countries in the assessment and collection of taxes, with a view to combating tax avoidance and evasion.

The convention is based on international standard of transparency and exchange of information. This instrument is multilateral and a single legal basis for multi-country cooperation as against the DTAAs/TIEAs which are bilateral. It provides for an extensive network and there will be consistent application of provisions, leaving limited scope for deviation. It provides extensive forms of cooperation among the signatories on all taxes. It not only facilitates the exchange of information, but also provides for assistance in the recovery of taxes. This will give a fillip to the efforts of the government to bring back Indian money illegally stashed away abroad. The convention provides for simultaneous tax examinations and participation in tax examinations in other countries. It provides for examination of tax affairs of the taxpayers simultaneously in their own territory and share the relevant information with each other. This allows tax officials to enter into the territory of the other country to interview individuals and examine records. It also provides for automatic exchange of information, spontaneous exchange of information and exchange of past information in criminal tax matters. The information received under the convention can also be used for other purposes besides those related to tax cooperation, such as countering money laundering, with the approval of the supplying state.

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ECONOMY@IP...

WORLD BANK YES! WE STILL NEED IT

Misnomer! Illogical! Worthless! Yes, these are some of the words the writer listens when there is any informed public discourse regarding any impartial international institution. If that World Body has to do anything with the finance side than swords are more vehemently drawn out. Bretton Woods agreement came as a balm to the bruised global financial condition of the world after it has to go through the madness of the Second World War. And out from that agreement came the twin sisters-the World Bank & the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Both the twin sisters, it seems have crossed their sixties and certainly the world needs to have a frank dialogue so as to come up with a conclusion that does it still need them. In 2007, the World Bank was in crisis. Some saw conflicts over its leadership. Others blamed the institution itself. When the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the cornerstone of what became the World Bank Group, was founded in 1944, poor and war-torn countries had little access to private capital. Sixty years later, however, private sector financial flows dwarfed public development assistance. The creators of the Bretton Woods multilateral system had designed an international economic architecture to deal with the causes of the global financial breakdown in the 1930s and with the economic and security problems they thought would follow World War II. The World Bank was part of that framework, which covered monetary, and currency issues, trade, investment, development, and the reconstruction of broken states. In 2007, those challenges remained, although the conditions were vastly different. The rise and diffusion of private capital and free enterprise around the world now offered developing countries a great opportunity. Yet that did not obviate the need for the World Bank, because it was never simply about loans and grants: its role has been to contribute to the development of market economies in an open international system -- fostering growth, opportunity, and hope and overcoming poverty within a better political and security order. Not only had the world changed, but the World Bank had changed, too. And in this unadulterated, absolute fact lies the relevance of our discussion. WB now encompassed four policy and financing arms: the IBRD; the International Development Association, or IDA (the banks special fund for the poorest 79 countries); the International Finance Corporation, or IFC (its privatesector arm); and; the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (which offers investors insurance against political risk). To accomplish its mission, the World Bank needed new directions, firmer guidance, and better execution. It had to adapt to shifts in economic influence, with emerging markets becoming new economic engines and development no longer being about North-South hegemony. In developing countries, it needed to assist the private sector -- whether investors from abroad or companies at home -- to clear away obstacles to entrepreneurship. It needed to foster inclusive and sustainable growth,

and shared responsibilities, within a changed international system. The job of the leadership team at the WB was to point out the new directions, build support and partnerships, translate the overarching vision into specific actions, remain alert to opportunities to innovate, and execute, execute, execute. Before long, the institution was shifting from debating existential questions to asking new, practical ones. What could it do to promote food security and better nutrition in the face of rising food and fuel prices? How could it help China complete its transition to a market economy and to a growth model less dependent on exports and investment? How could it help countries in the Middle East meet the demand for jobs today and build sustainable political economies in the future? What could it teach cities dealing with climate change? Communicating this new mission has remained a challenge. One of the problems of the World Bank is that it is called a bank. Most people associate banks with lending money (at least they have until recently), but financing is only one part of what the organization does. When it is most effective, the World Bank shares knowledge; develops long-lasting markets, institutions, and capacities; and offers diverse financing (whether it takes the form of equity, guarantees,

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loans, grants, or risk management). Combining all three elements, the bank can improve lives and countries. These were the challenges before the bank in 2007. In a larger sense, the World Bank was one part of a bigger strategic question: How should the United States and others in the world modernize multilateralism? The world had inherited its regimes and institutions from the Wise Men who created them after World War II; after the Cold War, multilateralism was expanded but only slightly retooled. Since 2007, the international economy has witnessed tectonic shifts and a reordering of power relationships as it has struggled to recover from the greatest blow since the 1930s. Developing countries have provided two-thirds of all economic growth over the last five years, helping compensate for the stumbling industrialized world. Developing countries have also become the source of economic ideas, development models, investment, and even foreign aid. The institutions, national and international, designed for the old orders have been straining at their seams to accommodate this new dynamic. Today, some of those who see only the weaknesses and failures of multilateral organizations advocate abandoning them altogether. But the worlds multilateral bodies offer a thin but vital tissue connecting sovereign nations that pursue common interests. The pragmatic approach, then, is to make these institutions, with all their imperfections, work better. Over the past five years, the World Bank has customized its services to solve problems for diverse developing clients in the public and private sectors; expanded its capital base and innovative financing tools; emphasized the importance of good governance and anticorruption efforts; democratized development through openness and transparency; and updated its representation and operations to increase the voice and responsibilities of developing countries.

Although the bank has made progress on all these fronts, it can -- and should -do much more.

Developing nations-Main Clients

Developing countries are the World Banks clients -- not the objects of old structural adjustment policies. This notion may seem obvious, but it represents an important shift in mindset. The bank should be a seeker of solutions, not a purveyor of prescriptions. If the best textbook solution does not fit the clients political economic context, the bank has not helped solve the problem. At the same time, the banks experts need to be able to share knowledge about how other countries are solving similar problems. Clients have vastly different needs. Countries struggling to break out of cycles of violence, poor governance, instability, and poverty need much more than development theories. Today the world and nations need institutions that think normatively and analyse to come up at the nest decision so that there is all round optimization in all the interacting aspects of a system. For e.g.; in the U.S. government also the fields of security, economics, and diplomacy often worked together fitfully in countries struggling with conflict. The World Bank can help connect these disciplines. In 1944, the R in IBRD stood for the reconstruction of Europe and Japan; today, it represents the World Banks work in such troubled places as Afghanistan, Haiti, and Liberia. Middle-income countries -- Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Turkey, and others -- face entirely different problems. The bank needs to not only assist middle-income countries but also share their experiences with others and encourage them to assume greater international responsibilities. An early challenge revealed the banks new problem-solving approach. At the end of 2007, food prices surged. Soaring fuel prices exacerbated the stress. Some World Bank economists, thinking in aggregate terms, said that

returns from high commodity prices would allow most countries to offset the danger. Others suggested that the problem would be best handled by humanitarian agencies, not long-term development institutions. But tens of millions of poor people had no cushion to soften the blow. Families went without meals. Farmers could not get the inputs they needed. Food riots broke out. It made no sense to speak of the long term unless populations and governments could address the short-term crisis. The World Bank moved swiftly, working with UN agencies to set up the Global Food Crisis Response Program and creating a rapid financing facility to support farmers. At the same time, higher prices and greater demand for farm products from growing populations offered an opportunity to promote growth if the bank could help boost productivity and production. Today, the banks crisis program has helped 40 million vulnerable people in 47 countries. Its investments extend across the agricultural value chain, involving research, property rights (including for female farmers), seeds, irrigation, fertilizer, storage, and marketing -- always encouraging private-sector development. The banks financial expertise can help farmers and food buyers manage risks through weather derivatives, crop insurance, and futures markets. When the food and fuel crises were overtaken by a global financial crisis, the World Bank mobilized more than $200 billion of financial commitments to support developing countries, disbursing much of it rapidly. Equally important, it addressed specific market breakdowns by expanding trade finance, recapitalizing banks in developing countries, and purchasing distressed assets. The bank is also working with clients on long-term investments to lay the foundations for recovery, focusing on three areas. First, it is investing in infrastructure to help create jobs, increase

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productivity for tomorrow, and raise demand for machinery and services, including from developed countries. Second, it is fostering safety nets to protect the most vulnerable. Sharing lessons from Brazil and Mexico, the bank has helped over 40 countries start conditional cash-transfer programs, which pay poor families that keep their children in school and get preventive health care. Third, through the IFC, the World Bank has extended financing to the private sector, especially to small and medium-sized businesses and microfinance institutions. This customized approach is a far cry from the plain vanilla lending of the past. At times, the bank must say no to clients that refuse to meet standards on and safeguards regarding corruption, the environment, and governance. Yet the vast majority wants to upgrade both the quality and the quantity of their growth.

cultivate private investment. Many countries in Africa have enjoyed high growth rates for a decade. They are taking steps to foster regional integration and infrastructure, and the bank is working with them to improve their business and investment climates. The banks Doing Business report, for example, enables countries to assess how hospitable they are to small enterprises. In 2009, the IFC created the IFC Asset Management Company, which adds to the IFCs traditional model of raising money in bond markets and then investing it. The AMC taps the substantial financial resources held by sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, and other institutional investors and channels them to profitable investment opportunities identified by the IFC. The AMC now totals over $4 billion, almost $3 billion of which comes from outside investors that have had little exposure to Africa and other less recognized emerging markets. For now, these investors are relying on the IFCs strong track record of combining development with returns. Over time, their ranks will expand as they become more familiar with these growth markets. The World Bank has taken the lead in developing novel ways to use finance to tackle other global problems. Encouraged by former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, the bank raised over $6 billion from governments for new climate investment funds to help countries improve energy efficiency and technology, lower their emissions, and protect themselves against climate change. These funds have mobilized about $50 billion worth of projects in 45 developing countries. As negotiators debate what a UN green fund might look like, the World Bank already has one up and running. The bank has also brought financial innovation to bear on plans to develop medicines, protect wildlife, lower the costs of humanitarian food and supplies, and create naturaldisaster insurance. The banks approach is to crowd in others. The bank has multiplied

support for projects and benefited from each partners comparative advantage. Over time, the World Bank aims to build market infrastructure and experience, whether for local currency bond markets, equities, or financing for small and medium-sized companies. Promoting good governance preventing corruption and

Promoting good governance and combating corruption are an integral part of development. Yet the bank needs to do more than just investigate, prosecute, and penalize those who engage in fraud and theft. In many resource-rich countries, the primary challenge is for the government to use income wisely, counter corruption, and broaden the benefits of growth. Applying its experience, the bank needs to implement corruption-prevention measures, improve transparency, and involve civil society in supporting good governance. It also must help governments -- increasingly, at the subnational level -- strengthen financial management, procurement systems, auditors, and other checks. The World Bank will need new tools to break through harder obstacles. The Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative is assisting governments in recovering funds stolen by leaders who looted their countries Treasuries. The bank also refers cases to national criminal authorities, and although governments exercise prosecutorial discretion, those that consistently fail to prosecute will jeopardize their relationship with the bank. The bank is also developing a fund to assist local citizens and civil-society groups that support accountability.

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Expanding financial innovation

To raise money and make effective investments, the World Bank must produce results, broaden its base of financial support, and offer its clients innovative financial tools. Every three years, the bank needs to replenish its fund for the poorest countries, the IDA. Even now, during a time of financial limitations, the World Banks shareholders -- its 187 member countries -- decided that the institutions priorities and performance warranted first-rate financial support. In 2007 and 2010, two record-breaking IDA replenishment efforts raised more than $90 billion. In 2010, the shareholders also backed the IBRDs first capital increase in more than 20 years, enabling the institution to meet its clients needs in a time of crisis by issuing AAA-rated bonds. There is room for more innovation. With adjustments in the terms offered to recipients and through the flow of repayments from them, the IDA should move toward greater self-sustainability. Just as important, there are huge opportunities for the World Bank to

Democratizing development
The World Bank does not have all the answers. When making decisions that can have an enormous impact on peoples lives, it must listen to those closest to the issues. One of the many messages of the crowds that shook the Middle East in 2011 and even as the writer writes this; there is bloody revolution in the ancient

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cities of Homs and Hama in Syria against the regime; was that global economic freedom must be combined with good governance, citizen voice, and social accountability. Inclusive and sustainable development depends on shifting from an elite, top-down approach to one that democratizes development. In the case of the World Bank, making the organization accessible improves performance and shows people what the bank does and how it works. Transparency is the best antidote to conspiracy theories. In 2010, the World Bank rolled out a new access-to-information policy, which releases vast numbers of documents and gives the public more information than ever before about the banks projects, its analytic and advisory activities, and the proceedings of its executive board. Modeled on freedomof-information programs in India and the United States, the policy marks a groundbreaking change in how the bank deals with information and is the most extensive such policy of any multilateral organization. All these programs represent a very different model from the bank knows best attitude of the past. Recognizing

the World Banks efforts, last year the organization Publish What You Fund ranked the IDA first among 58 multilateral and bilateral development agencies for transparency.

A more representative bank

Finally, as developing countries rightly demand a bigger say in how the world is run, the World Bank must reflect this change. In 2010, the bank increased the representation of developing countries on its board of executive directors from 44 percent to just below 50 percent. But since the board rarely votes, the addition of a new board chair for sub-Saharan Africa was probably more important, adding another voice around the table. Some countries advocate that control be split 50-50 between developed and developing countries. This preoccupation raises thorny questions: Which countries belong in the developing category? As more countries become developed, should 50 percent of the votes still be reserved for the remainder? Should voting power also reflect countries enhanced contributions to the IDA or other funds? Do these divisions reinforce a North-South logic that reflects an old paradigm? The bank managements aim has

been to base voice and representation on how the bank does its work, starting with treating clients with dignity and respect and better reflecting the banks membership in its work force. It helps to be local: offices in more than 100 countries bring staff closer to clients and other shareholders. The banks employees come from 167 countries, and nearly two-thirds of its staff members come from developing and transitional states. Its chief economist, the Chinese scholar Justin Lin, is the first person from a developing country to hold that position. Fifty percent of the banks senior executives are now women, and about 45 percent of its senior executive hires come from developing countries. The World Bank is also gradually expanding the global footprint of its efforts to share knowledge. It has built a center in Nairobi that assists post conflict countries and a hub in Singapore that focuses on urban and publicprivate infrastructure development. As these institutional changes reflect, development today is as much about knowledge as lending, and knowledge needs to flow south to south, east to west, from the grass roots to the corridors of power, no longer limited by the old hierarchies.

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Economy News...
INDIAN ECONOMY
Government Discontinues Weekly WPI Release
Ministry of Commerce and Industry on 2nd February announced discontinuation of the release of weekly primary and food inflation data based on the Wholesale Price Index. However, it will continue to release the monthly headline or overall inflation data, which also contains the break-up for all segments, including food, non-food, fuel and manufactured items. Besides, from this month, the government will also come out with a retail inflation data based on the all-India Consumer Price Index. The government had last month decided to do away with the practice of releasing the weekly primary and food inflation data as the figures were not portraying a holistic picture of the price situation. The reason for doing away with the weekly figures was because there used to be lot of variation in the weekly primary and food inflation numbers and the monthly data. Besides, the weekly data were not giving any clear and holistic picture of the inflation situation. governments stake in the company is likely to increase by up to 2.5 per cent following the capital infusion of Rs 7,900 crore. At present, the government of India holds a 59.4 per cent stake in SBI. The capital infusion by the government will raise the TierI capital of the bank to about 8 per cent. SBI had raised over Rs 16,000 crore through a rights issue in 2008. In the last SBI rights issue, the government contribution to the bank was in the form of bonds, rather than cash.

India Develops Comparative Rating Index of Sovereigns

Union Finance Ministry has developed a new rating index christened as Comparative Rating Index of Sovereigns (CRIS) to compare economy of different countries. Unveiling the CRIS on the basis of sovereign ratings of various countries compiled through rating data of Moodys and GDP (gross domestic product) data of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Chief Economic Adviser Kaushik Basu said, Indias score has risen from 66.47 in 2007 to 69.83 in 2011. In other words, in relative terms, India has become a better investment destination by 5.06 per cent in the last five years. In terms of CRIS, which takes into account the GDP and rating data of 101 nations, Indias rank moved up from 61st position in 2007 to 55th in 2011. The improved score was partly due to the decline in scores of some European nations, leading to deterioration of the world average by over 4.8 per cent. The Moodys ratings that the Ministry has used for all countries are the long term foreign currency sovereign ratings. To clarify, the Moodys rating by this measure for India in 2007 and 2011 was the same (Baa 3). The release of CRIS data would henceforth be a periodic feature and further details on this index would be contained in the Economic Survey to be laid in Parliament in March. The Ministry of Finance developed a new system for comparing the relative ratings of sovereign debt based on the historical evolution of their ratings over five years and the volume of their economic activity as measured by their GDP (not adjusted for Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)). The index uses external data on GDP and ratings combined in terms of pure mathematical and statistical methods without interventions or interpretations. In terms of CRIS, the U.S. has seen its score rise from 78.20 to 81.81. Ironically, this is accompanied by a loss of rank from the top of the chart to the 16th position. This shows that CRIS is distinct from a percentile score which is also a relative measure of status. In 2007 the 1st rank was shared between 20 economies but by 2011 this cohort had shrunk to 15.

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Government Nod for Joint Ventures by Defence PSUs

The Government on 9th February approved Defence Ministry guidelines for its public sector units (PSUs) to establish joint ventures with private firms, a step that will increase opportunities to obtain advanced technologies from foreign sources. Such JVs were allowed in the Defence Production Policy released last year but they were recently put on hold by the Ministry after the Mazagon Dockyards Limited (MDL) tied up with a private shipyard, which was opposed by its other rival companies. Officials said the guidelines will help in enhancing fairness and transparency in the selection of the JV partner by the DPSUs while ensuring a well-defined nature and scope of the tie up. They said the new framework will also help in enhancing self-reliance in the defence sector as a whole. As per the guidelines approved by the Cabinet, the DPSUs will have the exit provision in the Joint Venture companies. The formation of JVs will henceforth be undertaken by Board-managed DPSUs within the framework of the JV guidelines and there will be regular reporting and monitoring of the functioning of these companies, the release said.

MONEY & BANKING

Govt Stake in SBI to go up by 2.5% Post Equity Infusion
State Bank of India (SBI) on 31st January said that the

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INFRASTRUCTURE
PMO to Monitor Dedicated Freight Corridor Project
The Prime Ministers Office (PMO) will henceforth directly monitor the progress of the construction of the Dedicated Freight Corridor virtually taking the job away from the Railways. PMO would monitor the progress of the project and make timely intervention for the completion of the project by March 2017, stressing that it would prove to be the backbone of the countrys economic transport facility. The execution of the DFC had been handed over to the nodal authority, the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL). The two corridors will cover a length of 3300 km. The Western Corridor from Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust near Mumbai measuring 1499 km will connect Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. A major portion of the corridor will be financed through Japanese assistance. The 1839-km-long Eastern Corridor from Ludhiana to Dankuni in West Bengal will connect Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. The World Bank will provide assistance for a part of this passageway, while the Sonnagar-Dankuni section will be funded through PPP.

India the worlds second largest producer of horticulture products accounts for 71.5 million tonnes (MT) of fruits, 133.7 MT of vegetables and 17.8 MT of other commodities like flowers, spices, coconut, cashew, mushroom, honey, etc. However, a significant portion of the produce like fruits, vegetables, flowers goes waste due to post harvest losses in absence of proper cold storage facilities. A Parliamentary panel has also pointed out that postharvest losses of fruits and vegetables are as high as 35 per cent, valuing more than Rs. 50,000 crore annually. Earlier the government had constituted a Task Force on cold chain development to assess the situation. The Task Force had recommended formation of a dedicated institution for promoting cold chain development.

INVESTMENT
India seeks out to Abu Dhabi Investment
India on Monday invited Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), worlds largest sovereign wealth funds, to invest in the $90-billion ambitious Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) and other infrastructure funds. Both countries also agreed to set up a joint working group to facilitate investment for this purpose. Keeping in mind the worsening investment climate in developed nations, both leaders agreed that the UAE and India should work towards a greater level of engagement. Besides infrastructure, the other areas where both sides can explore investment opportunities include the pharmaceuticals, services, engineering and agro-processing sectors. ADIA has asked for more support in its exploration of opportunities in the Indian market. The UAE is the biggest trading partner of India in the entire West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region and accounted for about 63 per cent of Indias total trade with GCC countries in 2010-11. Bilateral trade between the countries has registered an over 300 per cent increase in the last five years and stood at $66.56 billion in January-November 2011.

AGRICULTURE
NABARD Offers Incentive to Banks for Warehouse Loans
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) on 2nd February announced a refinance scheme which offers an incentive to the banks to give loans for setting up warehouses for agricultural commodities. NABARD will charge interest of 8 per cent p.a. for banks, while interest rate on loans to the borrowers would be decided by the banks concerned. NABARD will also extend an interest rebate of 1.5 per cent to borrowers who repay loans on schedule. The scheme has been conceptualized out of a Rs 2,000 cr dedicated fund in the Union Budget 2011-12. Authorities hope it will help create 9 million tonnes of additional storage capacity for the agricultural produce. The scheme is open to all kinds of banks. As per the recently announced central scheme, all Kisan Credit Card holding farmers can now avail loans at 7 per cent interest rate for maximum six months for storage of produce post-harvest.

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INTERNATIONAL TRADE
GI Tag to Boost Darjeeling Tea Exports
Darjeeling tea exports are set to increase by volume and value, following its registration as a protected geographical indication (PGI) product from India. The industry was closed in 2011 by registering a 10 per cent increase in total Darjeeling tea exports. Exports of Darjeeling tea stood at around 6.9 million kg in 2011, when production was around 9.2 million kg. Darjeeling Tea was the first Indian product to be recognised by the European Union as a protected GI. Darjeeling. It is said that more Darjeeling tea was sold in the international markets than was produced on the slopes of Darjeeling, as often only

Govt. Approves Setting up Centre for Cold Chain Development

The Union government on 9th February approved setting up of a National Centre for Cold Chain Development (NCCD) and allocated a one-time grant of Rs. 25 crore for its corpus fund. The Union Cabinet gave its ex-post facto approval for registering NCCD as a society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.The decision comes in the wake of post-harvest losses to the tune of Rs. 50,000 crore annually in absence of proper storage facilities.

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a small portion of the authentic product was put in a packet which contained blends of teas from many other origins. As per the new registration, now, the teas sold in the EU would have to be 100 per cent Darjeeling tea, a Tea Board official said. The unique muscatel flavour of the Darjeeling teas is preferred by tea-drinkers across the EU, which now accounts for 60 per cent of exports of Darjeeling tea. The PGI covers agricultural products and food stuffs which are closely linked to the geographical area, with at least one of the stages of production, processing or preparation taking place in the protected area. Germany and Japan are some of the most lucrative markets for Darjeeling tea, although the U.S. too is emerging as an important market riding on the wellness-beverage plank that many companies were positioning tea on.

Iran Agrees for Part Payment in Rupees for Crude Oil Sale Iran has agreed to accept 45 per cent of the payment for its crude imports in rupees through three Indian banks to beat the effect of western sanctions. Iranian Ambassador Syed Mahdi Nabizadeh told that despite frequent U.S. roadblocks and pressure on European financial institutions through which India has been routing payments, both countries were determined to resolve the issue of payments for Indias crude imports. The two countries had agreed on part payment in rupees as gold was not a suitable option. Under the agreement, 45 per cent of the payment would be made in rupees through three Indian banks and Iran could utilise this for buying Indian machinery, metal products, iron, steel, minerals, clothes, fibre, sugar, tea, wood and automobile spare parts. Indian companies can also invest in projects in Iran like developing its oil and gas fields, extraction of iron ore and building roads and railways. The envoy said Tehran was to continue supplying India with about $1 billion of crude although some had counselled cutting supplies because India had fallen behind in payments due to western sanctions. The Ambassador also said Iran could extend the onemonth deadline given to India on progressing with the Farzad-B gas field. The first round of talks after two years was held in September last year for five days on Irans Kish Island. But after negotiating the main part of the contract, India did not agree to hold the next meeting in November when issues of internal rate of return and security of investment were to be discussed. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Indian Oil hold 80 per cent stake in the block and Oil India the remaining 20 per cent. India had reluctantly gone for the talks after Iran said it was planning to shift the project to an Iranian consortium and offered only a 30 per cent stake to the ONGC.

Opposition to Monsanto Patent on Indian Melons

Activist Vandana Shiva and a Europe-based NGO have jointly opposed a patent awarded to an American company on virus resistance traits taken from indigenous melon varieties in India. The NGOs Navdanya and No Patent on Seeds contend that, armed with this patent, the U.S. company (Monsanto) could block access to all breeding material inheriting the virus resistance derived from the Indian melon. Seeking complete revocation of the patent the NGOs, in their application filed in the European Patent Office in Munich, said that the patent (EP 1 962 578) on Closterovirus-resistant Melon plants should not have been granted as it was not an invention but a case of bio-piracy. Melons have a natural resistance to certain plant viruses. In the case of Cucurbit Yellow Stunting Disorder virus (CYSDV) which has been spreading through North America, Europe and North Africa for several years certain melons are known to be naturally resistant to it. Using conventional breeding methods, this type of resistance was introduced from an Indian melon to other melons and has now been patented as a Monsanto invention. After the patent, Monsanto could block access to breeding material which inherits genetic conditions that confer resistance. The NGOs regard this patent an abuse of patent law because it contravenes European law that excludes patents on conventional breeding. Further, they maintain that it was a case of bio piracy, since the original plants came from India and were registered in international seed banks. They maintained that in the Monsanto patent case, the European Patent Office excluded the process for melon breeding. The plants and all their parts, such as the seeds and the melon fruit, have been patented as an invention. Therefore, the patent was only changed cosmetically but not in substance. DeRuiter, a Netherland seed company, originally developed the melons using a non-sweet melon from India. Monsanto acquired the seed company in 2008 and now also owns the patent.

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GLOBAL ECONOMY China to the Rescue of U.K. Economy

In what is being hailed as a great leap forward in Chinas growing economic presence in Britain, the China Investment Corporation (CIC) has bought a 8.68-per cent stake in Thames Water, Britains largest water and sewerage company serving about 14 million customers. The deal is Chinas first plunge into Britains cash-strapped utility sector amid an aggressive campaign to woo Chinese investment, especially in the creaking infrastructure. It has boosted expectations in sectors such as wind energy and nuclear power plants to get a slice of the so-called Peking Pound. The deal, estimated to be worth up to 1 billion, followed a high-profile visit to China by Chancellor George Osborne to tap into Chinas growing economic prowess and is being portrayed as a show of confidence in Britains recession-hit economy. The CIC, a sovereign wealth fund created to invest Chinas massive foreign reserves abroad, indicated that it was

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keen to invest in infrastructure development in Britain. Its head Lou Jiwei described Britain as one of the most open economies in the world.

US Senate Passes Bill to Ban Insider Trading

The United States Senate on 3rd February passed a bill that would ban lawmakers from trading stocks based on the information they acquire while performing their Congressional duties. The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act now requires to be passed by the House of Representatives before it is signed into law by President Barack Obama. The STOCK Act received a bipartisan support: 96-3. This legislation will ensure that members of Congress will be prosecuted if they abuse the public trust to gain financial advantage, said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

The UN report, while noting that South Asias economies India, Pakistan, Nepal, Iran, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are expected to grow by 6.7 per cent in 2012 and 6.9 per cent in 2013, accelerating slightly from 6.5 per cent in 2011, seeks to apportion blame on Indias economic situation for a low regional average. Robust domestic demand will sustain this increase, but the economic slowdown in India, where growth declined from 9 per cent in 2010 to about 7.6 per cent in 2011, brings down the regional average, it said. On the issue of rising prices, the report noted that average inflation declined only slightly from 11.6 per cent in 2010 to 10.3 per cent in 2011. As per its outlook forecast, inflation is projected to decline slowly, averaging 9.1 per cent in 2012 and 8.0 per cent in 2013, as food and commodity prices ease and the impact of monetary policy tightening is felt in Bangladesh and India. But inflationary risks remain, including the threat of insufficient monsoon rains or a rise in international commodity prices, it said. As is already being officially conceded, the UN report also hinted at the governments inability in meeting the fiscal deficit target. Noting that the countrys fiscal deficit declined to 5.1 per cent of GDP in 2010-11 as economic growth boosted tax revenues and the sale of 3G telecommunications licences increased non-tax revenues, it said: But Indias government is unlikely to reach its deficit target of 4.7 per cent of GDP for 2011-12, as lower growth brings down tax revenues, and disinvestment in state-run companies is put on hold.

Pakistan Textiles Lifted by WTO Trade Waiver

The World Trade Organization has approved unprecedented waivers allowing 75 Pakistani products duty free access to markets in Europe for two years. The European Union is Pakistans largest trading partner, receiving nearly 30 percent of its exports worth almost 3 billion euros ($3.9 billion). The WTO passed the waivers as an unprecedented concession in order to help Pakistan recover from the floods. Textiles dominate Pakistans trade with the EU, accounting for more than 70 percent of its exports to the trading bloc. The products chosen for the waiver, which was later ratified at the WTO general council meeting, would amount to around 900 million euros in import value, about 27 percent of EU imports from Pakistan. Pakistani textiles are currently hit with a 7.19 percent import duty in the European Union. If approved, the waiver will apply until end-2013. The package includes over 30 products of non-value added textiles items such as gray cloth, cotton yarn and fabric 23 of textile garments and the rest made up of home textiles, value-added leather, footwear, raw leather and ethanol and vegetables.

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MGNREGA Enhanced Financial Inclusion of Farmers: WEF Report

Allegations of fund leakages notwithstanding, the MGNREGA scheme has improved access to financial services for farmers and holds a great scope for further agricultural and economic growth of the country, a World Economic Forum report said on 27th January. Focus on soft infrastructure in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has led to successes in land rights issues, the report on WEFs New Vision for Agriculture Initiative prepared in collaboration with McKinsey & Co, said. Launched in 2005, MGNREGA is UPA governments flagship social programme. The scheme that guarantees 100 days of employment is applicable across the country. The initiative is led by 26 global partner companies that span the full food value chain and beyond, including the CocaCola company, Diageo, DuPont, Monsanto Company, NestlPepsiCo, Rabobank International, Vodafone and Wal Mart stores among others. The reports knowledge partners are: UN body Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the Harvard Kennedy Schools Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative and the International Food Policy Research Institute. Meanwhile, the report said in the coming decades, a growing and increasingly affluent global population will demand a greater quantity, variety and nutritional value of food than the world has ever produced before. Meeting this

REPORTS/SURVEYS
UN Predicts 7.7 % Growth in India
A United Nations report on global economic prospects has projected Indias economy to grow at a pace a tad lower than 8 per cent in 2012 and 2013 in view of the sharp increase in downside risks stemming from the problems in Europe and the U.S. In its report on World Economic Situation and Prospects 2012, released here on 17th January, it said: Indias economy is forecast to expand at a pace similar to 2011 in the following two years ... at 7.7 per cent in 2012 and 7.9 per cent in 2013. For the current fiscal, even as the official estimate for GDP growth stands scaled down to 7 per cent from the earlier projection of 8.5 per cent in view of the slowdown, expectations in various quarters vary and appear pegged at slightly higher levels of 7.5-7.7 per cent.

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demand will require a 70 per cent increase in food production, challenging a natural resource base that is already under significant strain, it said. This would also require major increases in investment by up to 50 per cent for developing countries alone in an era of economic crisis and austerity, the report added.

recommendations on critical issues like career progression, integration across various cadres, rationalisation of their pay scale, allowances and incentives and overall restructuring of the entire staff of the erstwhile Indian Airlines and Air India. As on December 31, last year, the total staff strength of the carrier, which was merged in March 2007, stood at 28,500. The Committee is understood to have tried to bring the wage structure of the merged organisation strictly under legal parameters, so that it conforms with the guidelines of the Department of Public Enterprises, which caters to other public sector undertakings. Almost five years after the merger, the issue of lack of uniformity in pay scales and career progression paths have been causing much heartburn among the staffers. The government had also acknowledged that Air Indias precarious financial situation had led to delays in resolving HR issues in the airline.

COMMITTEE/COMMISSION
Pulok Chatterjee to head Committee on Power Sector Reforms
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has constituted a Committee of Secretaries (CoS) under his Principal Secretary, Pulok Chatterjee, to work out a time bound action plan to chalk out plans on coal and gas shortage, cheap imported coal, hike in power tariffs and unleashing second generation of power reforms. The continued shortage of coal and gas, coupled with rising cost of imported coal had made power projects unviable. In such a scenario, any delayed decisions were only hurting the investor sentiment and leading to uncertainty for those who had already pumps huge amount of funds in massive projects totaling around 90,000 MW. In response to the concerns expressed by the corporate leaders, Dr. Singh assured them that the Government was committed to giving a push to the power reforms. He said a CoS under Mr. Chatterjee would work out a 30-day, 60-day and 90-day action plan to address the short and long term concerns of this sector.

CORPORATE WORLD
Facebook Files for Historic IPO
Social networking giant Facebook has filed an initial public offering, which could raise as much as $10 billion and could value the company between $75 billion and $100 billion. However, the company said it planned to raise $5 billion in its stock sale, the largest public offering on the history of a web company. In its filing before the Security and Exchange Commission, Facebook said in 2011 it generated revenue of $3.71 billion, an increase of 88 per cent from $1.97 billion the year before and 377 per cent from 2009. In 2011, its income was $1 billion, an increase of 65 per cent from 2010. Facebook derives 85 per cent of its revenues from advertising, and the rest from social gaming and other fees. Founded in 2004 by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook now has some 845 million active users, who in all upload 250 million photos a day.

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Committee to Look into Sugar Decontrol

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 27th January constituted an expert committee, headed by his Economic Advisory Council Chairman C. Rangarajan, to examine issues related to decontrol of the sugar sector. Earlier this month, the representatives of the apex sugar industry bodies ISMA and NFCSF had met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, seeking partial decontrol of the sector, including freedom to sell sugar in the open market and doing away with the levy obligation for public distribution system. The committee would look into all the issues relating to deregulation of the sugar sector and it has been requested to complete its task as early as possible and give its recommendations to the Prime Minister, a statement issued by PMO said.

U.S., EU approve Googles $12.5 bn Motorola Mobility takeover

The U.S. and European regulators have approved Googles USD 12.5 billion acquisition of cell-phone maker Motorola Mobility Inc, a move that will boost the technology giants efforts to strengthen its position in the mobile market. However, the regulators would continue to keep a close eye on Google and other rivals use of patents to ensure that the transaction complies with the anti-trust rules. Google still requires approvals from many countries such as China, Taiwan and Israel. Google had announced in August last year that it would buy Motorola Mobility, maker of smart phones and computer tablets and the holder of a portfolio of about 17,000 issued patents and 6,800 applications, for USD 12.5 billion - making it the biggest ever takeover by the internet giant so far. The deal will boost Googles competitive edge in the mobile computing arena as well as give it access to Motorolas range of Android operating system-based offerings.

Dharmadhikari Panel Submits Report on AI Merger to Govt.

Almost five years after the merger of two state-run airlines, a report on integration of about 29,000 employees of unified Air India, including pilots, cabin crew and engineers, was submitted to the Civil Aviation Ministry on 31st January. Former Supreme Court judge, Justice D M Dharmadhikari, who headed a four-member committee, submitted the report. Though details of the report were not available immediately, the Dharmadhikari Committee is understood to have made several

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SCIENCE SPECTRUM...

CHOKING OFF FREE SPEECH ON THE WEB

With 4.5 million signatures on a Google petition and one million messages sent to the United States Congress via the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) in a single day, January 18, advocates of a free Internet have mounted a determined bid to stall new legislation that can chill free speech. Wikipedia also got in dark for 24 hours in an unprecedented move that has brought added muscle to a growing base of critics of the legislation, The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) in the Senate which are under consideration and designed to crack down on sales of pirated U.S. products overseas. The global chorus against two Bills that are winding their way through the American legal system is growing. Supporters for this legislation are the film and music industry, which often sees its products sold illegally. They say the legislation is needed to protect intellectual property and jobs. But the critics say the legislation could hurt the technology industry and infringe on free-speech rights. Among their concerns are provisions that would weaken cybersecurity for companies and hinder domain access rights. contribute copyrighted content. Today, it has no obligation under U.S. law except removing that content if a copyright holder complains. But under the House version of the bill, it could be shut down unless it polices its own pages. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg had also joined the growing chorus against the proposed anti-piracy bills in the U.S., and claimed these proposals as the two poorly thought out laws which are not the right solutions to the problem of piracy but will only harm the Internet. Other internet sites also reacted in the similar manner. While Wikipedia shut down completely for the day, Google blotted its logo with a black strip. Social news site Reddit was shut down for 12 hours, while Cheezburger, which has a network of 50 sites including the seminal ICanHasCheezburger as well as Fail Blog, Know Your Meme and the Daily What, also joined the strike. Classifieds site Craigslist put up a black homepage that gave users information about the laws and condemned corporate paymasters to keep those clammy hands off the Internet. content being shared on Megaupload was in violation of copyright laws. The website allowed users to download films, TV shows, games, music and other content for free, but made money by charging subscriptions to people who wanted access to faster download speeds or extra content. The website also sold advertising.

SOPA and PIPA

The SOPA was for consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives while PIPA was in the Senate. They are seen as updated versions of the Combating Online Infringements and Counterfeits Act (COICA) which could not make progress in the Senate earlier .These bills had been backed by major American media companies, with the Motion Picture Association of America the legislations main backer. It estimates that 13 per cent of American adults use to watch illegal copies of movies or TV shows online, which leads to billions of dollars in losses for the media companies. What makes the two laws obviously detrimental for free speech worldwide is their focus on poorly defined rogue websites that are not based in the United States. The definitions in the draft legislation are vague in the assessment of not just free speech advocates, but most major technology companies. The legal tools to punish infringing websites as originally drafted in SOPA included a provision for Domain Name System blocking, and denying them the ability to exist as an address on the Internet. Moreover, the new Bills aim to create a procedure to blacklist inconvenient websites and censor them. They have

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Megaupload.com got shutdown

However government led to shutdown of one of the worlds largest file-sharing site, Megaupload.com for one day, and its founder and several company executives were charged with violating piracy laws. An indictment which accuses Megaupload. com of costing copyright holders more than $500 million in lost revenue from pirated films and other content. The indictment was unsealed one day after websites including Wikipedia and Craigslist shut down in protest of two congressional proposals. Megaupload is considered a cyberlocker, in which users can upload and transfer files that are too large to send by email. Such sites can have perfectly legitimate uses. But the Motion Picture Association of America, which has campaigned for a crackdown on piracy, estimated that the vast majority of

Wikipedias move
Wikipedias decision to go dark brings the issue into a much brighter spotlight. This is the first time Wikipedias English version has gone dark. Instead of encyclopaedia articles, visitors to the site saw a stark black-and-white page with the message- Imagine a world without free knowledge. It carried a link to information about the two congressional bills and details about how to reach legislators. Since Wikipedia depends on a small army of volunteers who create and update articles, it is particularly concerned about a lack of exemptions in the bills for sites where users might

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EU proposes right to be forgotten by internet firms

A new law promising internet users the right to be forgotten is proposed by the European Commission in January 2012. It says that people will be able to ask for data about them to be deleted and firms will have to comply unless there are legitimate grounds to retain it. These rules are particularly aimed at young people as they are not always as aware as they could be about the consequence of putting photos and other information on social network websites, or about the various privacy settings available. Other measures in the bill include an obligation on all firms to notify users and the authorities about data lost through hacking attacks or other breaches as soon as possible. If approved the law would create a pan-EU set of data privacy rules for the first time. These would also apply to overseas companies active in the 27-member bloc, even if they handled the data on servers based in other parts of the world. many other weapons to kill websites. These include ordering search engines to remove them from results, prohibiting distribution of advertising, and, quite akin to the WikiLeaks experience, stopping companies such as PayPal or Visa from processing their financial transactions. The legislation would allow the U.S. Justice Department to seek a court order requiring U.S. Internet providers to block access to foreign pirate websites. It could also seek a court order requiring credit-card processors to stop processing payments to the sites. Both bills would also allow Hollywood studios and other content owners to take legal action against websites that host pirated material. definition of judicial due process. Orders are issued to technology companies hosting content on websites to remove allegedly offensive or infringing material by officials of the government, circumventing a legal process that involves the courts, as is necessary in the case of traditional media. There is also a marked preference among some leading politicians, such as Communications and Information Technology Minister Kapil Sibal, for a purge of websites and social media platforms such as Facebook, of content that is deemed offensive, instead of ignoring criticism from the fringe. Google has been asked to remove several items on the ground that they criticise the government or individual politicians. It must be noted that Google and Facebook were among the 21 companies whose executives have been summoned to appear in person in a lower court in Delhi. Ahead of this court hearing, Google faced controversy in India for allegedly hosting obscene and objectionable content which had made it clear that it is not possible for the company to monitor everything on its website. Google India, told the Delhi High Court that blocking them was not an option as a democratic India does not have a totalitarian regime like China. But during the last hearing, court had warned Google India and social networking site Facebook India that websites can be blocked like in China if they fail to devise a mechanism to check and remove objectionable material from their web pages. That there are ample provisions in existing law to handle the more egregious cases is conveniently ignored. Protections earlier available to Internet Service Providers against liability for third party content are sought to be weakened systematically. There may be a specific case to remove material that is obviously inflammatory and capable of doing harm, but the policy compass clearly points to a lurking desire for censorship. If SOPA and PIPA were to succeed in America, the move towards copycat laws in India can only be a step away.

Conclusion
Freedom of speech and expression has always been the part of basic fundamental laws in any democratic nation. Thus this freedom has always been favoured and cherished. If a company finds that it has genuinely been infringed upon, it has the right to sue for, but the idea that the government start censoring the internet on behalf of giant corporations economic interests strikes as the wrong thing to do so. The solution to combat piracy, which eats into revenues of the media companies, could be found through a constructive dialogue and not by resorting to a rushed cue. Censoring of Internet content is not new. All search engines remove content and filter search results based on directions and orders issued in different countries to meet the requirements of domestic laws. The toxic potential of SOPA and PIPA lies in their capacity to comprehensively throttle free speech, at least until a new competitive set of alternatives emerges on the Internet. Thus, it is quite axiomatic that all dimensions of a websites existence physical presence, findability and revenue stream are under threat due to these proposed bills.

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Indefinite postponement of the bills

Caving to a massive campaign by Internet services and their millions of users, the U.S. Congress has for now indefinitely postponed the legislation. The demise, at least for the time being, of the anti-piracy bills was a clear victory for Silicon Valley over Hollywood, which has campaigned for a tougher response to online piracy. At least six senators who had co-sponsored the Senate legislation reversed their positions and The Republican leader of the House Speaker John Boehner, stressed that more consensus-building was needed before the legislation would be ready for a vote.

Indian context
In the Indian context, there will obviously be keen interest in the two U.S. Bills for their possible replication. Even now, the Indian Information Technology Act, 2000 contains provisions that would not meet the accepted

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Science News...
SPACE TECHNOLOGY
Iran Launches Small Satellite into Orbit
Iran successfully launched a new small satellite into orbit on 3rd February, the latest in the countrys ambitious space programme that has raised concerns because of its possible military applications. The home-made satellite, Navid, or Gospel, was designed to collect data on weather conditions and monitor for natural disasters. It said the satellite weighs about 110 pounds (50 kilograms) putting it in a type known as miniaturized or microsatellites and would orbit the earth at an altitude of up to 375 km. Navid, produced at an Iranian engineering university, is the third small satellite that Iran launched over the past years and is expected to remain in orbit for about two months. The two earlier satellites Omid, launched in 2009, and Rasad, sent into orbit in June 2011 lasted three weeks and 82 days, respectively. The satellite was sent into orbit by a missile launch-vehicle dubbed Safir, or Ambassador in Farsi. Iran has made a series of claims in recent years about advances in its space program, which have not been verified by others. In 2010, Tehran announced it had successfully launched a rocket carrying a mouse, turtle and worms into space. Also, Iran has set a goal of putting a man in orbit within 10 years, despite the expense and technological challenges involved. The authorities are intent on showcasing the nations technological successes as signs Iran can advance despite the Wests sanctions over its controversial nuclear programme. Iran is also pressing ahead with its military missile programme, frequently testing missiles capable of reaching Israel, U.S. bases in the Gulf and parts of southeast Europe.

Chandrayan-2 Faces Delay after Russian Mars Probe Failure

The failure of the Russian Mars mission last month will cause a delay in the construction of a Russian lander for Indias Chandrayan-2 mission to the Moon, said Russias top space official. As a result, the launch of Chandrayan-2, planned for 2013, may have to be postponed by three years. He added that Luna-Resource lander may not be ready till 2016. The Luna-Resource lander is to travel to the Moon aboard the Chandrayan-2 spacecraft and put an Indian rover on the lunar surface.

Worlds Highest Resolution Lunar Images Released

China recently released a set of worlds highest resolution lunar images taken by its second moon orbiter, Change-2, as it braces to launch its next mission to land a rover to explore its surface. Chinas State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND) recently published a set of full coverage map of the Moon and its images with a resolution of seven meters captured by Change-2. The map and images are the worlds highest-resolution lunar images ever published that cover the entire moon. The images were photographed by a charge-coupled device (CCD) stereo camera from the heights of 100 km and 15 km over the lunar surface between October 2010 and May 2011. Change-2 named after the mythical Moon Goddess is still in orbit and drifted to the second Lagrange Point (L2) in space more than 1.5 million kms away from Earth after completing its moon mission. According to the new road map China plans to launch a third moon mission, Change-3 to deploy rovers to explore the lunar surface besides sending a probe to Mars next year and to Venus by 2015. It is also in the process of setting up its own manned space station and a Global Position System of its own.

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Russia Blames Space Radiation for Mars Probe Failure

Russias space agency has blamed the effect of cosmic radiation for the failure of its Phobos-Grunt Mars probe, which crashed over the Pacific Ocean earlier last month. The unmanned probe was launched in November in an ambitious mission to fly to Marss largest moon, Phobos, and collect ground samples. But it failed to leave a low orbit around Earth, before gradually descending and crashing on January 15 over the Pacific Ocean. Space radiation led the onboard computer system to experience memory problems after launch, the Roscosmos chief said. The space mishap came as Russia was hoping to relaunch its interplanetary programme after an embarrassing string of failures.

ASTRONOMY
Mars Meteorite Found in Morocco
Scientists have claimed that chunks of a meteorite which fell in Morocco last July were from Mars a rare event which happened for the first time in 50 years. It is the fifth time that such Martian meteorite fall has been reported, an event which has occurred every 50 years. The first was in 1815 in France, second in 1865 in India, then Egypt in 1911 and Nigeria in 1962. The latest fall of the fragments of the Martian meteorite took

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place near Foumzgit in Morocco, following a meteorite shower which is believed to have occurred in July 2011. Now, a panel of international experts has confirmed that their suspicion is true. The event will provide planetary scientists with valuable samples from Mars that no space mission has ever been able to bring back to Earth, say experts.

Second largest near-Earth asteroid passes by Earth

34-km-wide Eros, the second largest near-Earth asteroid, had a flyby of Earth and can now be seen in the constellations Leo, Sextans and Hydra. Asteroid 433 Eros (1898 DQ), also known as Eros, came closer to Earth in the evening of 1st February. The Eros passed by Earth at 26,729,000 kms, about 70 times the distance to the Moon. Eros is an S-type asteroid, signifying a composition of magnesium silicates and iron. The last time it was close to Earth was 37 years ago in 1975. The asteroid will come close to the Earth next in 2056. Discovered on August 13, 1898, by Gustav Witt in Berlin and Auguste Charlois at Nice, the space rock is named after the Greek god of love, Eros. The largest asteroid is 1036 Ganymed.

call deciphering, which may threaten the security of such devices worldwide. A team at Ruhr University Bochum in Germany says that the cracked encryption algorithms, known as GMR-1 and GMR-2, are actually standards used across satellite phone operators globally. According to the researchers the equipment and software needed to intercept and decrypt satellite phone calls from hundreds of thousands of users would cost as little as U.S. dollars 2000. The demonstration system takes up to half-an-hour to decipher a call, but a more powerful computer would allow eavesdropping in real-time, he said. By publishing details of how to break the encryption, the researchers hope to prompt ETSI, the organisation that sets the standards, to create stronger algorithms. Experts have expressed concern over the breakthrough. Many government agencies, including the military, make many of their communications through their own technology. However, they often still rely on satellite phones to communicate with locals, back to HQ or people at home.

Google Unveils Plans for Country-specific Content Filtering

Less than a week after a similar move by micro-blogging site Twitter, Google has unveiled plans to make content on its blogger platform selectively available, depending on the local rules of each country. Google is the latest entity to come out with the option to restrict online content amid a raging debate over moves by many countries, including India, to enforce regulations on the Internet. Google, which launched its blogging service Blogger in 1999, said the rules will be applicable in many countries such as India, Brazil, Honduras, and Germany. It is understood that Google plans to roll it out the new system globally also. Google will now be able to restrict content in individual countries pursuant to requests by the local legal authority. The move will not require blocking worldwide access to a blog. It means, for example, that if a blog breaks an Australian law, Google can now block it in Australia but leave it up in the rest of the world, the company said. Google said it is deploying a country-specific uniform resource locator (URL) scheme for its blogger platform, which will be redirected to a country code top level domain, or ccTLD. By utilising country-specific domain addresses, content removal can be managed on a per country basis, which will limit their impact to the smallest number of readers. Content removed due to a specific countrys law will only be removed from the relevant page, the company said.

Potentially Habitable Planet Discovered

International astronomers have said that they have found the fourth potentially habitable planet outside our solar system with temperatures that could support water and life about 22 light-years from Earth. The team analysed data from the European Southern Observatory about a star known as GJ 667C, which is known as an M-class dwarf star and puts out much less heat than our Sun. However, at least three planets are orbiting close to the star, and one of them appears to be close enough that it likely absorbs about as much incoming light and energy as Earth, has similar surface temperatures and perhaps water.

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Mars Too Dry for Life: British Scientists

An analysis of soil, collected during 2008 NASA Phoenix mission to Mars, by Imperial College London has revealed the Red Planet has experienced a 600 million year super drought, the Geophysical Research Letters journal reported. The threeyear-long research found that the surface of Mars had been dry for such a long time that any life would have to be lurking deep underground. The scientists deduced that there had been water present during a warmer period lasting up to 5,000 years in distant past, but this would have been too little time for life to establish itself on the surface. The analysis showed that soil on Mars is formed under similarly arid conditions to the Moon. The sample was taken from Marss icy northern arctic region, but separate studies have shown the planet is covered with the same type of soil.

DEFENCE TECHNOLOGY
Lakshya Successfully Test Flown
Indigenously developed micro-light and pilot-less target aircraft Lakshya-1 was successfully test flown from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur near Balasore on 31st January. Lakshya-1, fitted with an advanced digitally

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Satellite Phone Encryption Cracked
Researchers in Germany claim to have for the first time cracked two encryption systems of satellite phones, a breakthrough in

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controlled engine was successfully test flown to check the validity of its engine and duration enhancement. Lakshya is a sub-sonic, re-usable aerial target system remote controlled from the ground and designed to impart training to both air borne and air defence pilots. The flight duration of the micro light air-craft is usually 30-35 minutes. The aircraft has been developed by Indias aeronautic development establishment (ADE), Bangalore to perform discreet aerial reconnaissance of battle field and target acquisition. Lakshya has been inducted in to the Indian Air Force (IAF) since 2000.

Home Ministry Plans to Buy six Mi-17V-5 Helicopters from Russia

The Home Ministry has decided to buy six Mi-17V-5 helicopters from Russia to assist its forces engaged in internal security duties, including anti-Naxal operations. The decision came days after the Ministrys entire fleet of indigenous Dhruv helicopters was grounded following a series of mishaps. The Mi-17V-5 is designed for utility cargo work and can carry up to 36 passengers or four tons of weight. The machine features advanced multifunction cockpit displays and upgraded TV3117VM engines. The helicopters are being built by Russian Helicopters Kazan Helicopter Factory (KVZ) subsidiary. The Border Security Force maintains the fleet of Dhruv helicopters. Before the crashes near Ranchi and Raipur, it had seven Dhruvs.

on 21st January. The ship is named after Abbakka Mahadevi, the legendary queen of Tulunadu, Karnataka who fought the Portuguese in the latter half of the 16th century. She was also one of the earliest Indians to fight the colonial powers and is sometimes regarded as the `First Woman Freedom Fighter of India. The patrol vessel, Rani Abbakka, the first of its class has been designed and built indigenously by HSL. The special features of the ship include an Integrated Bridge System (IBS), Machinery Control System (IMCS), and an indigenously built Gun Mount with Fire Control System. The ship on joining the Coast Guard Fleet will enhance Coast Guards capability in furthering its mandate of Maritime Safety, Maritime Security, Environmental Protection and Coastal Security on the Eastern Sea board.

BIOTECHNOLOGY
Applications of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Therapy are Huge: Scientists
While applications of induced pluripotent stem cells in stem cell therapy may be limited to a few diseases, its applications in drug discovery are wide-ranging, and many more diseases can be targeted, Shinya Yamanaka, Director, Centre for iPS Cell Research and Application, Japan, has said. The same Japanese scientist, made a breakthrough by the creation of embryoniclike stem cells from adult skin cells. Embryonic stem cells are important because they are pluripotent, or possess the ability to differentiate into any other type of cell, and are capable of rapid proliferation. However, despite the immense possibilities of that, embryonic cells are a mixed blessing: there are issues with post-transplant rejection (since they cannot be used from a patients own cells), and many countries of the world do not allow the use of human embryos. iPS (Induced pluripotent stem) cells hold out for humanity a lot of hope in curing diseases that have a single cell cause. Prominent among them are Lou Gehrigs Disease or Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease. Motor neurons degenerate and die, and no effective treatment exists thus far. One reason is that there have not been good disease models for ALS in humans. It is difficult to get motor neuron from human patients and motor neurons cannot divide. Treatment of spinal cord injuries using iPS cells has showed good results in mice and monkey specimens, and it is likely that in two or three years, scientists will be ready to start treatment for humans. Toxicology, or drug side effects, is another area where iPS cells can be of use. Testing drug candidates directly on patients can be extremely dangerous. However, iPS cells can be differentiated into the requisite cell type, and the drugs tested on them for reactions. And yet, as wonderful as they may seem, iPS cells do have drawbacks, and there are multiple challenges to be faced before the technology can be applied to medicine.

Interceptor Scores a Direct hit on Target Missile

Validating Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) capability, India successfully launched an interceptor missile to destroy an incoming target missile in a direct hit at an altitude of 15 km over the Bay of Bengal on 10th February. The target missile mimicked an incoming enemy missile with a range of more than 2,000 km. The crucial test was conducted as part of Indias plans to deploy a two-tiered Ballistic Missile Defence system to engage and kill incoming enemy missiles in the endo-atmosphere (that is, below an altitude of 50 km) and exo-atmopshere. This was the seventh interceptor mission and the fifth endo-atmospheric interception. Six of the tests to date have been successful, including the first three in a row.

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Navy, Air Force Stage Network-Centric Exercise

The Navy on 8th February staged a network-centric exercise off the Southern coast and displayed cooperation with the Indian Air Force in its annual TROPEX (Theatre-level Readiness and Operational Exercise). Navy spokesperson Commander P.V.S. Satish said the exercise would test new platforms, weapons sensors, communication systems and tactics in order to optimise the network combat power of the fleet, which included over 40 surface combatants of various classes, submarines and a large number of aircraft, including unmanned aerial vehicles.

1st Inshore Patrol Vessel Commissioned into Coast Guard

The Indian Coast Guard Ship Rani Abbakka, the 1st of a series of five Inshore Patrol Vessel (IPV) built at Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL), Visakhapatnam was commissioned

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For a technology that has been around for only five years, the questions remain about safety. Also to derive patient-specific iPS cells, the process is time, and money-consuming.

Hominin Genome Sequenced

Scientists in Germany said recently they have sequenced nearly all the genome of the Denisova people, an extinct humanlike species contemporary with the Neanderthals. The work by the Max Planck Societys Evolutionary Anthropology Institute in Leipzig is the first time that full genetic data has been obtained about any of the archaic hominins which roamed the earth until they were displaced by modern people. The group worked with less than 10 milligrams of DNA from the finger bone of a female. The bone fragment, found in the Denisova Cave in Siberia in debris 30,000 to 50,000 years old, was the first evidence of the existence of the vanished species.

cases to the government. Silicosis is an incurable lung disease caused by inhaling of dust containing free crystalline silica. The potential victims of silicosis are poor migrant workers employed in quarries, mines, gem cutting and other hazardous occupations such as construction sites, a majority of whom are likely to die for lack of specialised treatment. In a special report a first of its kind presented to Parliament, the NHRC has suggested that the government should ensure health facilities to all workers employed at places prone to silica and earmark adequate compensation to the families in case of death. The Commission has also written to all States to identify the hazardous industries and mapping them for silica generation which results in silicosis. The responses from the States were not adequate and they had been asked to send specific answers. The report to Parliament also suggests regular check-up for the workers employed at places where they are exposed to silica and even linking silica treatment with the TB Control Programme. It was based on the NHRC recommendation that Rajasthan enhanced compensation in case of silica-related death to Rs.3 lakh. It has also set up a corpus of Rs.25 crore for the purpose as instances of silica-related cases are very high in that State.

ENVIRONMENT
India has the Most Toxic Air: Study
In a study by Yale and Columbia Universities, India holds the very last rank among 132 nations in terms of air quality with regard to its effect on human health. India scored a miniscule 3.73 out of a possible 100 points in the analysis, lagging far behind the next worst performer, Bangladesh, which scored 13.66. In fact, the entire South Asian region fares badly, with Nepal, Pakistan and China taking up the remaining spots in the bottom five of the rankings. These rankings are part of a wider study to index the nations of the world in terms of their overall environmental performance. The Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy and Columbias Center for International Earth Science Information Network have brought out the Environment Performance Index rankings every two years since 2006. The Index report was presented at the World Economic Forum that took place in Davos. In the overall rankings which takes 22 policy indicators into account India fared minimally better, but still stuck in the last ten ranks along with environmental laggards such as Iraq, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. At the other end of the scale, the European nations of Switzerland, Latvia and Norway captured the top slots in the index. Indias performance over the last two years was relatively good in sectors such as forests, fisheries, biodiversity and climate change. However, in the case of water both in terms of the ecosystem effects to water resources and the human health effects of water quality the Indian performance is very poor.

Malaria Deaths in 2010 were more than Estimated by WMR, says Study
The number of malaria deaths worldwide in 2010 was 1.24 million, nearly double the number previously estimated by the 2011 World Malaria Report (WMR). This is despite a 31-per-cent reduction in such deaths globally in the last five years. More deaths have been reported across all age groups and regions than the WMR. For instance, the study reports 1.3 times higher mortality for children younger than five years in Africa; 8.1 times higher for those aged 5 or older in Africa; and 1.8 times higher for individuals of all ages outside of Africa. The mortality data for this study was collected from all available sources from 1980 to 2010. Contrary to the general assumption that most deaths occurred in children aged less than five years, the study found that older children and adults accounted for 42 per cent of the deaths. The World Malaria Report 2011 released by WHO summarizes information received from 106 malaria-endemic countries and a range of other sources. It analyses prevention and control measures according to a comprehensive set of indicators, and highlights continued progress towards global malaria targets. This years report builds primarily on data received from countries for the year 2010. For the first time, the report contains individual profiles for 99 countries with ongoing malaria transmission.

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HEALTH & MEDICINE

Make Silicosis Notifiable Disease: NHRC
Taking a serious note of the increasing silicosis-related deaths in the country, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has recommended that silicosis be made a notifiable disease. Once notified, all government and private health facilities will have to report confirmed as well as suspected silicosis

Genetic Parkinsons Disease Brain Cells Made in Lab

Scientists in the US have successfully made human brain

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cells in the lab that are an exact replica of genetically caused Parkinsons disease. The breakthrough means they can now see exactly how mutations in the parkin gene cause the disease in an estimated one in 10 patients with Parkinsons. And it offers a realistic model to test new treatments on - a hurdle that has blighted research efforts until now. Studying human neurons is critical in Parkinsons disease since animal models that lack the parkin gene do not develop the condition, rendering them useless for this research purpose. To make the human neurons the scientists used a technique already successfully tested by others which can turn donated skin cells into brain tissue. The scientists now want to test new treatments that might prevent this damage occurring and stop this form of Parkinsons. They have already shown that they can reverse the defect by putting a normal parkin gene into diseased neurons.

modified bitumen has been specified by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways for binder courses and wearing courses laid on National Highways, an official statement said. The Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) has tested the use of modified bitumen, including natural rubbermodified bitumen, in construction and maintenance of roads under the ministrys sponsored research scheme. According to the findings of the study, natural rubbermodified bitumen improves the durability of roads by reducing susceptibility toward temperature variations and improving the desirable properties of bitumen, thereby improving overall performance. As per the decision of the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, modified bitumen may be used for the surfacing of entire National Highways.

Russia drills into Antarctic Subglacial Lake

A Russian team has succeeded in drilling through four kilometres (2.5 miles) of ice to the surface of a mythical subglacial Antarctic lake which could hold as yet unknown life forms. Lake Vostok is the largest subglacial lake in Antarctica and scientists want to study its eco-system which has been isolated for hundreds of thousands of years under the ice in the hope of finding previously unknown microbiological life forms. Sergei Lesenkov, spokesman for the Arctic and Antarctic Scientific Research Institute, said that analysis of the composition of gas bubbles discovered in the ice above the lake could help climate change research. Because the lower layer was formed 400,000 years ago, from the composition of the gas it is possible to judge the gas composition in the atmosphere 400,000 years ago and during the time that has passed since the formation of the lake. From there, it is possible to identify and forecast certain climatic changes in the future. he said. There has long been excitement among some scientists that life theoretically could exist on Saturns moon Enceladus and the Jupiter moon Europa as they are believed to have oceans, or large lakes, beneath their icy shells. The possibility that the lake existed had first been suggested by a Soviet scientist in 1957. Scientific research drilling in the area started in 1989 and the lakes existence was confirmed only in 1996. But efforts to reach its surface were suspended two years later amid fears that the process could contaminate the waters. After developing new techniques in an attempt to ease environmental concerns, attempts to drill down through the deep ice sheet to the lakes surface resumed. The Russian researchers intend to start drilling again and obtain water samples from the lake for analysis in December after a tenmonth break due to harsh weather conditions. The hidden lakes of the Antarctic are seen as one of the final frontiers in exploring the Earth and several teams from other nations are also engaged in similar projects.

MISCELLANEOUS
Rs. 10-cr. Loans to Start-ups under Nano Mission
To encourage industries to take up projects in nano technology, the Nano Mission launched by the Government of India plans to provide loans to start-up firms up to Rs.10 crore from April 2012. The government has recently approved a proposal of Nano Mission to provide soft loans and grants and some financial institutions would be involved in working out the mechanism for funding, Chairman, Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister and Nano Missions Chairman, C.N.R. Rao and the mission director Praveer Asthana said. A regulatory framework was also being worked out with other Departments, including Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Indian Council of Agricultural Research. While the Government of India had sanctioned Rs.1,000 crore in 2007 under Nano Mission, an umbrella programme to promote R & D in nano science and technology, so far, only Rs.500 crore was spent on various components of the mission, including creation of research facilities, infrastructure, HRD, institution-industry linked projects and international collaborations. Over 120 patents were filed and 35 patents obtained. The Government of India launched a Mission on Nano Science and Technology (Nano Mission) in May 2007. The Department of Science and Technology is the nodal agency for implementing the Nano Mission. The Nano Mission aims to strive for development of products and processes for national development, especially in areas of national relevance like safe drinking water, materials development, sensors development, drug delivery, etc. For this, it forges linkages between educational and research institutions and industry and promote Public Private Partnerships.

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Rubber-mixed Bitumen for Roads

The Centre has formulated a plan to use natural rubber in roads, as recommended by experts. The use of natural rubber-

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HEALTH ISSUES...

MENTAL ILLNESS: THE NEGLECTED GLOBAL HEALTH PRIORITY

The just-concluded 130th executive board meeting of the World Health Organisation (WHO) adopted a resolution moved by India and supported by the United States of America and Switzerland. The resolution focuses on the global burden of mental disorders and the need for a comprehensive, coordinated response from health and social sectors at the country level. Mental disorders account for 13 per cent of the global burden of the diseases creating untold misery through the personal suffering to individuals and their loved ones, leading to adverse impacts on social and economic wellbeing. The lack of access to evidence based care experienced by people affected by mental illness is in itself a contravention of their basic human rights; much worse, though, is the discrimination that many individuals face in their daily lives. The programmes had fundamental flaws, which ensured their failure. Their The launch of the Movement for Achilles heel is particularly visible with Global Mental Health, a coalition our 20/20 hindsight, although the flaws of institutions and individuals from were obvious to the more discerning diverse backgrounds, sharing a even earlier. common platform to mobilize global Poor infrastructure, overburdened opinion and resources to make a systems: The primary health care change. delivery system in the public sector is Still, there remains a long way to go; the continuing neglect of mental health in resource allocations in national health budgets, the lack of access to mental health care in primary care, and the absence of mental health from this years UN General Assembly meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases indicate that much work still needs to be done. Thus, the Great Push for Mental Health- the theme for World Mental Health Day, 2011 observed every year on October 10. poor even in managing physical health problems. This is particularly true at the primary health centre, sub-centre and the community level. Although the National Rural Health Mission has increased the infrastructure, physical resources and personnel, decades of neglect, the overburdened system and the poor discipline and morale of the health professionals make the inclusion of mental health care provision in primary care difficult. Such integration is possible only in well-established, functional and efficient systems. Vertical programmes: Specific programmes, with their limited aims, are often successful when employed in project mode but fail to produce results when rolled out on a larger scale. The political and administrative leadership, financial commitments, the increased human resource, supervision and monitoring, which ensured the success of the pilot projects, are missing in the national and expanded district programmes. While such national programmes are certainly better than no programme, they have not moved out of district hospitals, even in districts where the national programme is operational, and into the community and primary health centres for increasing patient access. Inappropriate training: The complete lack of training to manage common psychiatric conditions seen in general medical settings is a major lacuna in curriculum. It has spawned be overcome to reduce the global burden of these disorders; and

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India was one of the first developing countries to recognize the need to The resolution recognizes the address mental health with its National importance of early identification, care Mental Health Programme (NMHP) being and recovery, the problems of stigma, launched in 1982 and had played a key poverty and homelessness and the role in getting mental disorders included need for community based intervention in the non-communicable diseases including de-institutionalised care. It is (NCDs) list at the first Ministerial clearly recognized that all countries must Conference on Healthy Lifestyles and take steps to promote mental health and Non-communicable Disease Control empower persons with mental disorders in Moscow last year. Pleading for its to lead a full and productive life in the case, India had argued that like all community. non-communicable diseases, mental Three key events since then signify disorders required long term treatment and affected the quality of life. By 2030, the growing momentum for change: The publication by the WHO of its the NCDs are estimated to contribute to first evidence based guidelines for 75 per cent of global deaths. the treatment of mental, neurological Flawed Assumptions and substance use disorders by nonA large number of epidemiological surveys specialist providers in routine care done in India on mental disorders have settings; demonstrated the prevalence of mental The Grand Challenges in Global morbidity in rural and urban areas of the Mental Health, backed by some of country. These rates are comparable to the worlds leading health research global rates. This is largely due to the funders, which has identified a failure of mental health programmes in set of challenges which need to India.

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many short courses, which transfer knowledge, rather than skill and confidence, to physicians. In addition, most of the courses are set in specialist facilities and employ complex psychiatric perspectives, making it difficult for physicians to translate their knowledge into primary care practice. Medical education: The global emphasis on specialisation has resulted in a transmission of knowledge without proficiency and confidence during basic medical training. It results in a lack of acquisition of skills required for independent practice. The movement towards specialisation has also eroded the standing of general and family practice. Professional apathy: It is no secret that the majority of psychiatrists and their professional associations are indifferent to empowering general physicians. The community psychiatry movement always had a second-class status within the discipline. Psychiatrists prefer the safety of specialist institutions to moving out into the community. They favour referrals and consultations rather than transferring expertise to primary care professionals. Institutional leadership: The community psychiatry movement was led in the 1970s and 1980s by many national institutes and centres of excellence. However, the very ideas of decentralisation and empowerment gradually lost ground and are all but abandoned by these centres, resulting in a leadership vacuum. Advocacy and technical inputs: Attempts to revive community psychiatry programmes at the national and international levels are more about

mental health advocacy and less about technical inputs and guidance. The technology to translate psychiatric research evidence into primary care practice does not exist in poor countries. The idealism of the original primary health care movement, without technical contribution for scaling-up, meant that implementation at the national level was problematic, patchy and unproductive.

crucial. The changed reality in India demands new technical inputs, including the use of the private sector. Educating the population about mental illness using the mass media will erase stigma and increase the demand for services. The availability of effective and affordable treatments and improved national finances have not closed the gap between mental health need and services. A HIV/AIDS model of activism, where users, families, interest groups, health professionals and scientists come together with the single aim of service provision, is required for transformation. Slick documents, scintillating launches, stirring speeches and shallow programmes, which repackage failed strategies, are no substitute for hard technical inputs for translating research evidence into primary care practice.

The way forward

The repeated failure of such programmes begs the question: Why do national and international leaders and agencies regularly repackage and reintroduce failed programmes? The answers seem to suggest that they mistake activity for accomplishment and advocacy for technical leadership and solutions.

Conclusion

The timing of the WHO resolution is salutary for India as it has embarked on a radical revision and re-haul of the dysfunctional NMHP. Under the leadership of the Central Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, a new Mental Health Act has been written following extensive consultations around the country with diverse stakeholders. Earlier this year, The goal of mental health for the Ministry began the task of writing all, a socialistic ideal struggling in Indias first mental health policy and todays capitalistic world, demands a of rewriting the district mental health reappraisal of past programmes. Medical programme for the 12th Five year plan education needs to be skill-based to (2012-2017) by constituting a Mental produce competent practitioners. The Health Policy group comprising diverse strengthening of the general health stakeholders. This is a unique moment infrastructure, to improve primary health in our history when there appears to care delivery, is mandatory for the be both political will and financial effective integration of mental health resources to support a range of actions into primary care practice. Leadership to improve access to mental health care from politicians, administrators, health and promote human rights of persons and mental health professionals is affected by mental illness.

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PERSPECTIVES...

AADHAR- AN ANALYSIS
Aadhaaris symbolic of the new and modern India, PM Manmohan Singh
The Committee categorically conveys their unacceptability of the National Identification Authority of India Bill, 2010The Committee would, thus, urge the Government to reconsider and review the UID scheme. Parliaments Standing Committee on Finance (SCoF) Two contrasting views, one projectAadhar, is bound to raise the bogey of questions which are begging for answers. On the one hand are the critics backed with SCoF scathing report on the Bill to convert the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) into a statutory authority have questioned the legality and the viability of the Unique identification number. On the other hand there are supporters led by the UPA government and the business conglomerates who view the Aadhar project, to put in Rahul Gandhi words, is the key to bridging the two Indias, where you take some from the India of opportunity and put them into the India without opportunity. Where do we stand between the two contrasting view? For this it is pertinent first to understand what Aadhar-actually is. identity as well as address anywhere in the country. Any individual irrespective of age and gender who is, also, a resident in India besides satisfying the verification process laid down by the UIDAI can enroll for Aadhaar. Enrollment, which is needed only once, is free of cost. Each Aadhaar number will be unique to an individual and will remain valid for his entire lifetime. does not permit the executive to do what it pleases; when constitutional rights and protections are potentially violated, the powers of the executive remain circumscribed by those of the legislature.

Secondly, serious questions have been raised about the enrolment process followed for Aadhaar numbers which is riddled with serious lacunae Aadhaar number is to help as there is no clarity of purpose and individuals provide access to services like implementation is directionless. banking, mobile phone SIM and other For instance, the Ministry of Government as well as Non-Government Finance feels that there is lack of services in due course. coordination across the six agencies collecting personal information, Few important things about Aadhaar: leading to duplication of efforts and Aadhaar will be easily verifiable in an expenditure. The Ministry of Home online, cost-effective way raised serious security concerns It is unique and robust enough to over the introducer model used to eliminate a large chunk of duplicate enroll persons without any proof of and fake identities in the government residence. as well as private databases. The enrolment process has also been It is a random number generated, criticized on the grounds of security and devoid of any classification based on compromising privacy of the individuals caste, creed, religion and geography. holding Aadhar numbers. Considering all this it is all but Thirdly, the Aadhar project has been natural to support Aadhar and yet the given a go ahead by the government kind of criticism we find is somewhat without enactment of a National amusing. Data Protection law, which is a prerequisite for any law that deals with Arguments against Aadhar large-scale collection of information First, Aadhaar has been rolled from individuals and its linkages out and the enrolment started across separate databases. It is without Parliaments approval for because in the absence of legislation the Bill. Currently, UIDAI enjoys for data protection, it would be only executive authority, and no difficult to deal with the issues statutory authority. However, on like access and misuse of personal the advice of the Attorney General, information, surveillance, profiling, Government argued that the powers linking and matching of databases of the executive are co-extensive and securing confidentiality of with the legislative powers of the information. government, and this allows the government to exercise executive powers in spheres not regulated by legislation. But according to the SCoF, co-extensiveness of powers

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What Aadhar is?

Aadhaar, launched in September 2010 at Nandurbar village of Maharashtra, is a twelve digit individual identification number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on behalf of the Government of India. This number is to serve as a proof of

Fourthly, the SCoF report strongly disapproves of the hasty manner in which the project was cleared without conducting any comprehensive

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feasibility study concerning financial implication of such an expensive scheme. The total cost of the Aadhaar project is estimated to be over Rs. 50, 000 crores. For just Phase 1 and 2, where 10 crore residents were to be enrolled, the allocation was Rs. 3,170 crore. For Phase 3, where another 10 crore residents are to be enrolled, the allocation is Rs. 8,861 crore. In a rough extrapolation, for 120 crore residents the total cost would then be over Rs. 72,000 crore.

and the NPR Cards will bear this UID Number. The NPR is the creation of an amendment in 2003 to the Citizenship Act of 1955. As per Rule 3(3) in the Citizenship Rules of 2003, information on every citizen in the National Register of Indian Citizens should compulsorily have his/her National Identity Number failing which will invite punishable fine of up to one thousand rupees.

Firstly, Aadhaar can plug the gross misuse of government subsidies. There is not [even one] kind of encouraging word mentioned in the SCoF report on how Indian society can use Aadhaar to deliver several welfare measures like PDS scheme, MGNREGA, etc., approved by the parliament to the poor which have been marred by rampant corruption.

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Secondly, Aadhaar does not compromise privacy. Many are raising Seventhly, Aadhar is not similar to the issue of privacy. This is just the social security number (SSN) another totally bizarre point, Fifthly, serious question has been issued by the US government since raised. Drivers license demands lot raised about the use of biometrics 1936 to facilitate provisions of social more information than Aadhaar. to prove the unique identity of security benefits. It is because SSN is Voters list too has a lot more individuals. It is argued that the use circumscribed by the Privacy Act of information on citizens. If these of biometrics is full of uncertainty, 1974 and Combating Identity Theft: dont invite any hue and cry, then, untested and unreliable. Further A Strategic Plan, 2007. Its quite why with Aadhaar? UIDAI has been criticized by the the contrary in India. According to SCoF for disregarding Biometric technology Nandan Nilekani, Aadhaar number Thirdly, gives adequate accuracy. Many would become ubiquitous; he has (a) The warnings of its Biometrics including the SCoF have pointed even advised people to tattoo it Standards Committee about high out the inherent problems of the somewhere, lest they forget it! error rates in fingerprint collection; biometric technology in accurately (b) the inability of Proof of Concept identifying the individuals. While the studies to promise low error rates government has admitted that the when 1.2 billion persons are enrolled; accuracy may be no more than 1%, it and has also suggested that there are in(c) the reservations within the built safety mechanisms not to deny government on the necessity of any legitimate person the assistance collection of IRIS image. approved by the government. After all biometric technology is The report concludes that, given relatively new and is making rapid the limitations of biometrics, it is advances. According to UKs National unlikely that the proposed objectives of Physical Laboratory, probability of the UID scheme could be achieved as it a false negative (person not being happened in the United Kingdom where recognized) is 1 out of 10000 using a similar ID scheme was shelved. biometric. The probability of false Sixthly, the mandatory nature of positive is 1 out of 1,000,000. the Aadhar project also has been Arguments for Fourthly, Aadhaar is better than criticized. However, the government US Social Security ID. SCoF has dismisses this criticism. But the In light of the above arguments against the Aadhar, however, the proponents cherry picked the UK example to critics argue that Aadhar number of the Aadhar posits that SCoF has argue that Aadhaar may not work which appears to be voluntary is not advanced any new arguments and/ because the Government of UK has stealthily mandatory as it has been or rationale to support the opponents decided to drop their national ID explicitly linked to the preparation of of Aadhaar in opposing this project. card scheme. Why didnt SCoF discuss National Population Registry (NPR). Further they maintain that not much is examples of several countries like The Census of India website notes discussed about the fact that there have Brazil, Australia, US and others that data collected in the NPR will been three MPs who have dissented where biometric cards/documents be subjected to de-duplication by with the majority opinion. Yet all the are in use? Importantly, there are the UIDAI. After de-duplication, the critics, including the media have used many similarities between the social UIDAI will issue a UID Number. This this opportunity to put old wine in new security number system in the US UID Number will be part of the NPR bottle to kill Aadhaar.

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Perspectives

Vol.1 Issue 6 March 2012

Within a fairly short period of time, biometric recognition technology has found its way into many areas of everyday life. Citizens of more than 50 countries hold machine-readable passports that store biometric data a facial image and Fifthly, Aadhaar does not create any in most case a digital representation of insurmountable security problem. In fingerprints on a tiny RFID chip to verify todays networked society, there are identity at the border. Law enforcement so many databases which should be agencies have assembled biometric of much higher priority in terms of databases with fingerprints, voice and national security than a database DNA samples, which make their work more containing biometric information efficient and manageable. Commercial on residents of India. On the other applications use biometrics in local access hand it can be argued that Aadhaar control scenarios, but also increasingly database may serve the purpose in in remote telebiometric deployments, getting information on terrorists. In such as e-commerce and online banking, some countries there are proposals and complement or replace traditional to use biometric databases to authentication schemes like PIN and monitor movement of terrorists. By passwords. being creative and through building Eighth, Failure of government adequate safety features Aadhaar bureaucracy cannot be held against could make it very difficult for Aadhaar. It is true that coordination anyone to access Aadhaar data while between different departments of the it can serve the national security government who are the stakeholders purpose by identifying terrorists. (Planning Commission, Registrar General of India, Election Commission, Sixthly, savings due to Aadhaar is Ministry of Rural Development, worth the cost for Aadhaar. It is Ministry of Urban Development, and because, even assuming that the State Governments) has not been actual cost may be more than what satisfactory. It is also true that is budgeted, the avoidance of black there has not been proper planning money generation of just diversion or coordination between different of PDS kerosene and residential LPG users of Aadhaar or ways of using it alone of Rs. 45,000 crore per year for deriving maximum benefits out of can easily pay for Aadhaar project. Aadhaar (NPR, MGNREGS, BPL, census, In addition there is the additional UIDAI, RSBY, and Bank Smart Card). money savings from improved welfare The fact that the bureaucracy has delivery systems like food, fertilizer, failed or the government machinery MNREGA etc for which Aadhaar has not done its job in coming with can be used. A recent Karnataka an efficient ways of making use of Lokayuktas report estimated that new technology like Aadhaar should the misuse of food subsidy alone not reduce its usefulness. costs more than Rs. 1740 crores per year for Karnataka. Ninth, concerns raised by the SCoF are

and Aadhaar in India. A country like the US where privacy issues, human rights, etc are high on the agendas has not found any problem. Aadhaar is really a more sophisticated concept for SSN of the US. If the US were to implement SSN now, more than likely they would develop a scheme like Indias Aadhaar. SSN is given to any legal resident of the US and so also Aadhaar. SSN has not created any serious issue. The same will be the case with Aadhaar. It can be argued that India has leapfrogged the US by implementing Aadhaar.

Seventhly, 50 countries are using biometric technology for various identification purposes. A report published by International Telecommunication Union in 2009 should remove any doubt people may have about the use of biometric tool for individual identification. That report has the following conclusions:

either irrelevant or inconsequential. There are several nit picking issues raised against Aadhaar in SCoF to question its usefulness. For example is Aadhaar mandatory or not? For those who do not want to avail themselves of welfare assistance it is not mandatory. Human rights and privacy activists should appreciate such a position. Is ration card mandatory today? Its not! However, for those who want subsidized food items or PDS kerosene it is mandatory. Is there anything wrong in imposing Aadhaar on the beneficiaries to ensure there is no leakage? Aadhaar can definitely serve to identify but not as a proof of address. Is there anything wrong with that? Can drivers license issued many years back or old water/telephone/ electricity bills serve as proof? Aadhaar is only to serve as identity from beginning and not serve any other purposes. Only with the purpose of throwing superstition of Aadhaar these nit picking issues are raised. It is very unfortunate that the staff of SCoF has not done a creditable job in advising only they had done an unbiased review and ended with some specific recommendations to make better use of Aadhaar.

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Conclusion
Standing Committees in any Parliamentary democracy are the bulwark of law-making. The recommendations of it are of bipartisan nature and are in the best interest of the country. Let us respect that. They are the appropriate people, they are our representatives. Yet Aadhar is a project not to be discarded with altogether because the only purpose of Aadhar is to serve as identity from beginning and not any other purposes. Just like Lokpal bill, it can help reduce corruption, proper and well planned use of Aadhaar can have transformational impact. The beauty of any functioning democracy is the public opinion, thus, it is essential that rather than killing Aadhaar, lets give room for constructive policy making as Aadhar has all the potential to be a game changer.

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Environment and Ecology

Vol.1 Issue 6 March 2012

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY...

THE TIGER SEMINAR

Though the tiger is one of the most powerful mammals, it also faces the worst chances of being extinct. In fact, as many as three subspecies of tigers have become extinct in the last 30 years and there is danger of even more of the species becoming extinct. The population of tigers is diminishing at a very fast rate, and if care is not taken, this majestic mammal will soon be extinct. To counter the ongoing ruthless slaughter of tigers, the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC) hosted the Tiger Seminar in Bangkok, Thailand in cooperation with the INTERPOL, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Customs Organization (WCO), and with the technical and financial support from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Secretariat and the World Bank. The objective of the seminar was for participants to agree on a robust set of law enforcement-based solutions to protect tigers and other rare and highly threatened species. Police and customs heads from 13 Asian countries agreed to tighten controls and improve crossborder cooperation to curb the illegal smuggling of tigers and other critically endangered species. The accord came at the conclusion of the international Heads of Police and Customs Seminar on Tiger Crime, which brought together top Police and Customs Officers from countries that still have tigers living in the wild. Compelled by the need to urgently respond to the burgeoning threat of environmental crime, five intergovernmental organisations formed, in 2010, the International Consortium to Combat Wildlife Crime or ICCWC. The Heads of Police and Customs Seminar on Tiger Crime is one of the Consortiums first activities. It is a follow-up to the November 2010 St. Petersburg Summit on Tiger Conservation, during which Heads of Governments of 13 tiger range countries committed to increase their cooperation to eradicate poaching, smuggling, and the illegal trade in tigers and tiger parts. Addressing illegal trade is an essential part of the Global Tiger Recovery Program, a comprehensive 12-year strategy endorsed by all 13 countries to double the population of wild tigers by 2022, the next Year of the Tiger. The Bangkok Tiger Seminar aimed to enhance national and international cooperation between Police and Customs agencies, and develop a coordinated response to combat tiger crime. A critical Tiger Seminar activity was to raise awareness among Police and Customs authorities of the impact wildlife trafficking has on wild tigers. The Seminar also recognised INTERPOLs Project Predator, which aims to develop the effectiveness of law enforcement agencies and form National Environmental Security Task Forces. In the wild, tigers are found in India, Nepal, China, Russia, Bhutan, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Sumatra (Indonesia) and Malaysia. Eight sub-species of tiger existed in the past out of which three species have been extinct for many years. The five surviving sub species of tiger are: Indian Tiger or Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) found in India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh; Indo-Chinese tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti) mainly found in Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia but are also found in Myanmar, Southern China, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam; Siberian or Amur Tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) found in far east Russia; Sumatran Tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) found in the Indonesian island of Sumatra; South China Tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis) found in China. The population found in Peninsular Malaysia has been given a status of separate sub species Panthera tigris jacksoni. The three sub species of tigers that became extinct in the past century are: the Bali Tiger (Panthera tigris balica)

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Why conserve tigers

Tiger is the most charismatic and evocative species on Earth- it is also one of the most threatened oneshounded out of home by settlers, attacked by poachers and harvested for its body parts. Only 4,000 tigers remain in the natural habitats worldwide, compared to 1, 00,000 just a century ago, mostly in isolated pockets spread across increasingly fragmented forests, stretching from India to south-eastern china and from the Russian Far East to Sumatra, Indonesia. There are only 150200 Siberian Tigers in Russia, around 300 Sumatra Tigers in Indonesia, 10001750 Indo-Chinese Tigers in and around Thailand and around 1400 tigers in Indian Subcontinent.

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that was found in the Indonesian island of Bali, the Javan Tiger (Panthera tigris sondaica) that was found in the Indonesian island of Java and the Caspian Tiger (Panthera tigris virgata) that was found in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Caucasus, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Recent reports indicate that the South China tiger is also extinct in the wild. Recent genetic studies indicate that the Caspian and Siberian tigers may have been the same sub species. Tiger is a unique animal which plays a pivotal role in the health and diversity of an ecosystem. It is a top predator and is at the apex of the food chain. Therefore the presence of tigers in the forest is an indicator of the well-being of the ecosystem. Protection of tigers in forests protects habitats of several other species. Indirect benefits include protection of rivers and other water sources, prevention of soil erosion and improvement of ecological services like pollination, water table retention etc. The absence of this top predator is an indication that its ecosystem is not sufficiently protected.

that in the last 10 years, tiger habitat decreased by an alarming 45%. Today, tigers occupy just 7% of their historic range. The decline in the tiger population in India can be attributed to many factors. The major reason is the growth in human population. Since independence large chunks of prime tiger habitats have been lost forever to agriculture and developmental activities. In India till the middle of the last century, people killed tigers in the name of sport. Today, increasing biotic disturbances, uncontrolled poaching of prey, urbanization, mining and poaching of tiger for its body parts gravely threaten the future of the tiger. Bones and other body parts of the tigers are used in Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCM) and their skins are used for making Chubas (the traditional robe worn by the Tibetans). It is this illegal market for tiger skins and parts in China and Tibet that remains as one of the most serious threats to wild tiger populations in India. Since India and Nepal provide habitat to about two-thirds of the surviving tiger population in the world, these two nations became prime targets for poaching and illegal trading. The Indian Board for Wildlife (IBWL) is the top notch advisory body in the field of Wildlife Conservation in the country and is headed by the Prime Minister of India.

Project Tiger
India was the first country in the world to champion the cause of conservation of the tiger and its natural habitats. Project Tiger, launched in 1973, was one of the largest conservation initiatives of its kind globally. After a great success initially, it has had mixed results. Under the same, a few sites in India were identified and named as Tiger Reserves. Special efforts were then carried out in these reserves to save the tiger. Some of the main aims of Project Tiger are as follows. Elimination of all kinds of human activity in the core zones and minimization of activity in the buffer zone. Assessing the damage done to the eco-system by human activity and efforts to recover it to its original form. Monitoring the changes taking place and studying the reasons for the same. Plans are in progress to develop wireless communication systems to curb the problem of poaching. Steps like the shifting of villages outside the core area, control of livestock grazing in tiger reserves and researching data about environmental changes have also shown positive impact.

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Indian Scenario
Tigers in the wild are facing severe threats. There has been steep decline in the tiger population all across the world. A World Wildlife Fund (WWF) - Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) survey found

International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC)

ICCWC is the collaborative effort by five inter-governmental organizations working to bring coordinated support to the national wildlife law enforcement agencies and to the sub-regional and regional networks that, on a daily basis, act in defence of natural resources. During the International Tiger Conservation Forum, held from 21-24 November, 2010 in St. Petersburg, the SecretaryGeneral of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the SecretaryGeneral of ICPO-INTERPOL, the Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the President of the World Bank and the Secretary-General of the World Customs Organization signed a Letter of Understanding to bring into effect the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC). The mission of ICCWC is to usher in a new era where perpetrators of serious wildlife crimes will face a formidable and coordinated response, rather than the present situation where the risk of detection and punishment is all too low. In this context, ICCWC will mainly work for, and with, the wildlife law enforcement community, since it is frontline officers who eventually bring criminals engaged in wildlife crime to justice. ICCWC seeks to support development of law enforcement that builds on socially and environmentally sustainable natural resource policies, taking into consideration the need to provide livelihood support to poor and marginalized rural communities.

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Environment and Ecology

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Objective of Project Tiger India: Project Tiger was a centrally sponsored scheme of Government of India. Its main objective was to ensure revival of Tiger population in India. It further includes management of wildlife, sitespecific eco-development & site specific protection measures to provide alternate solution to local villagers so that they would not enter into tiger reserve for their household needs. When project was launched, nine prominent National Parks were included comprising 268 tigers. Since then, Project Tiger has covered long distance of success. At present counting of Tiger Reserves has rose to 41 comprising 1411 tigers. Land available to tiger reserves has also been increased from 16, 339 sq.km. to 53,547 sq.km. Initiatives taken by Project Tiger: Project tiger has worked with the objective to relieve certain area of Tiger Reserve from biotic disturbances and forestry operations like grazing, human disturbance, collection of minor forest produce, commercial activities etc. At the same time if there is any village lies in that area, seek for relocation of such villages to distant place. Such disturbance free area was named Core Zone of Tiger reserve. Similarly adjoining area of corezone was acquired to provide habitat supplement to over population of wild animals, grazing to adjoining village cattle, for commercial wildlife resorts, settlement of relocated villages etc. Such adjoining area of core zone was named Buffer Zone of tiger reserve. Project has also aimed to seek due cooperation and coordination of local villagers in objective of wildlife conservation in Tiger Reserve. There are many labour intensive activities in tiger reserves like patrolling, tiger tracking, forest guarding, track maintenance etc in which local villagers can play vital role and participation in wildlife conservation programmes of Project Tiger. Such participation will create awareness among them for wildlife conservation and make them feel as if

success of such government projects is in their own benefit & favour.

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habitat, grazing lands for livestock have been converted to crops or degraded by Recent Initiatives by National excessive use; livestock is of poor quality Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA): and of poor productivity; wood for fuel Considering the urgency of the situation, and building has been exhausted; and Project Tiger has been converted into a sources of income are limited. The statutory authority (NTCA) by providing rehabilitation of the natural resource enabling provisions in the Wild Life base of local people is essential if they (Protection) Act, 1972 through an are not to seek their requirements in amendment, viz. Wild Life (Protection) protected areas. This requires ecoAmendment Act, 2006. Some of the development with the support and cooperation of specialized government recent initiatives taken by NTCA are: organs and the non-governmental Declaration of nine new tiger reserves conservation community. and in-principle approval accorded It is regrettable that for wildlife for creation of four new reserves crime to be taken seriously or to Biligiri in Karnataka, Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh, Ratapani in Madhya Pradesh become a law enforcement priority, it is first crucial to establish links and Sunabeda in Orissa. between that wildlife transgression and A Global Tiger Forum of Tiger organized crime or terrorism. The illegal Range Countries has been created harvesting, the cross-border smuggling for addressing international issues and the illegal trade in natural resources related to tiger conservation. involves substantial levels of criminality. As part of active management to Wildlife crime threatens food, biorebuild Sariska and Panna tiger and national-security; it weakens the reserves where tigers have become governance of many States, it raises the locally extinct, reintroduction of risks of spreading virulent diseases, and tigers have been done. it shows no signs of declining. When one Special advisories issued for in- species is depleted or brought to the situ build-up of prey base and tiger brink of extinction, attention shifts to population through active management another one. in tiger reserves having low population The fight to save the tiger extends status of tiger and its prey. well beyond its habitat. The actual site where a tiger is poached can be the CONCLUSION start of a long chain of criminality Local institutions and people Scientists a chain that may stretch from forests, who were closely involved in managing through rural villages, to large cities, tigers at the local level, pointed out an across provincial and national borders, important lesson more than a decade via land, air and sea ports or crossing ago: unless local community needs are points, until the tigers body parts are met, conservation of the tiger will not finally delivered to clandestine markets, succeed and protected areas will perish. dealers and consumers, often many Therefore, conservation programmes thousands of kilometers from where the must reconcile the interests of people and animal was killed. tigers. In most situations, a sustainable Given the nature and scale of the tiger conservation strategy cannot be risk posed to biodiversity by illegal trade achieved without the full participation and collective action of individual rural in wildlife, it is now acknowledged that households whose livelihoods depend on a more organized and sophisticated rights of access and use of the forests response needs to be taken by the law enforcement community to tackling the where tigers live. problem. And in every effort to rekindle Conservation of tiger habitat and of the dwindling ecosystems, a consorted prey in many areas peripheral to tiger participation of the people is a must.

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Inspirations@IP

Vol.1 Issue 6 March 2012

INSPIRATIONS@IP...
Concern for man and his fate must always form the chief interest of all technical endeavors. Never forget this in the midst of your diagrams and equations.

ALBERT EINSTEIN

Albert Einstein (14 March 1879 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history. Einstein always appeared to have a clear view of the problems of physics and the determination to solve them. He had a strategy of his own and was able to visualize the main stages on the way to his goal. He regarded his major achievements as mere stepping-stones for the next advance.

As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain, and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality. At the start of his scientific work, Einstein realized the inadequacies of Newtonian mechanics and his special theory of relativity stemmed from an attempt to reconcile the laws of mechanics with the laws of the electromagnetic field. He dealt with classical problems of statistical mechanics and problems in which they were merged with quantum theory: this led to an explanation of the Brownian movement of molecules. He investigated the thermal properties of light with a low radiation density and his observations laid the foundation of the photon theory of light. By 1908, he was recognized as a leading scientist, and he was appointed lecturer at the University of Bern. The following year, he quit the patent office and the lectureship to take the position of physics docent at the University of Zurich. He became a full professor at Karl-Ferdinand University in Prague in 1911. In 1914, he returned to Germany after being appointed director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics (19141932) and a professor at the Humboldt University of Berlin, with a special clause in his contract that freed him from most teaching obligations. He became a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences. In 1916, Einstein was appointed president of the German Physical Society (19161918). During 1911, he had calculated that, based on his new theory of general relativity, light from another

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[I do not] carry such information in my mind since it is readily available in books. ...The value of a college education is not the learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think. The Einsteins were non-observant Jews. Albert attended a Catholic elementary school from the age of five for three years. Later, at the age of eight, Einstein was transferred to the Luitpold Gymnasium where he received advanced primary and secondary school education until he left Germany seven years later. Although it has been thought that Einstein had early speech difficulties, this is disputed by the Albert Einstein Archives, and he excelled at the first school that he attended. His father once showed him a pocket compass; Einstein realized that there must be something causing the needle to move, despite the apparent empty space. As he grew, Einstein built models and mechanical devices for fun and began to show a talent for mathematics.

star would be bent by the Suns gravity. That prediction was claimed confirmed by observations made by a British expedition led by Sir Arthur Eddington during the solar eclipse of 29 May 1919. International media reports of this made Einstein world famous. On 7 November 1919, the leading British newspaper The Times printed a banner headline that read: Revolution in Science New Theory of the Universe Newtonian Ideas Overthrown. (Much later, questions were raised whether the measurements had been accurate enough to support Einsteins theory).

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During 1921, Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his explanation of the photoelectric effect, as Relativity was considered still somewhat controversial, receiving also

the Copley Medal from the Royal Society during 1925. In his early days in Berlin, Einstein postulated that the correct interpretation of the special theory of relativity must

also furnish a theory of gravitation and in 1916 he published his paper on the general theory of relativity. During this time he also contributed to the problems of the theory of radiation and statistical mechanics.

EINSTEIN AND SUCCESS

Success is finding opportunity in rejection. In 1901 when Einstein received his diploma, he was unable to get a teaching post, so he accepted a position as a technical assistant in the Swiss Patent Office that allowed him a generous amount of spare time. He used this spare time to produce much of his remarkable work for which he is so well known today. Success is knowing when to keep quiet. If A is a success in life, then A equals X plus Y plus Z. Work is X; Y is play; and Z is keeping your mouth shut. Success is knowing how to persist. Einstein attributed much of his success not to his mathematical abilities, but his persistence. Said Einstein, Its not that Im so smart, its just that I stay with problems longer. Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Even when I was a fairly precocious young man the nothingness of the hopes and strivings which chases most men restlessly through life came to my consciousness with considerable vitality. Moreover, I soon discovered the cruelty of that chase, which in those years was much more carefully covered up by hypocrisy and glittering words than is the case today. By the mere existence of his stomach everyone was condemned to participate in that chase. Moreover, it was possible to satisfy the stomach by such participation, but not man in so far as he is a thinking and feeling being. As the first way out there was religion, which is implanted into every child by way of the traditional education-machine. Thus I camedespite the fact that I was the son of entirely irreligious (Jewish) parentsto a deep religiosity, which, however, found an abrupt ending at the age of 12. Through the reading of popular scientific books I soon reached the conviction that much in the stories of the Bible could not be true. The consequence was a positively fanatic [orgy of] freethinking coupled with the impression that youth is intentionally being deceived by the state through lies; it was a crushing impression. Suspicion against every kind of authority grew out of this experience, a skeptical attitude towards the convictions which were alive in any specific social environmentan attitude which has never again left me, even though later on, because of a better insight into the causal connections, it lost some of its original poignancy. Success is imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. Success is understanding the power of questions. The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. I have no particular talent. I am merely inquisitive. Success is the appreciation of occasional solitude. Einsteins gifts inevitably resulted in his dwelling much in intellectual solitude and, for relaxation; music played an important part in his life. A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy? Success is value. Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value. Success is not fearing mistakes. Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. Success is doing for others. In 1944 Einstein made a contribution to the war effort by hand writing his 1905 paper on special relativity and putting it up for auction. It raised six million dollars, the manuscript today being in the Library of Congress. Success is dealing with criticism. At the time of the publication on the theory of relativity, the people who read the papers met them with skepticism and ridicule, and some even threatened him with death because of his beliefs.

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In the 1920s, Einstein embarked on the construction of unified field theories, although he continued to work on the probabilistic interpretation of quantum theory, and he persevered with this work in America. He contributed to statistical mechanics by his development of the quantum theory of a monatomic gas and he has also accomplished valuable work in connection with atomic transition probabilities and relativistic cosmology. Try and penetrate with our limited means the secrets of nature and you will find that, behind all the discernible concatenations, there remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable. Veneration for this force beyond anything that we can comprehend is my religion. To that extent I am, in point of fact, religious. Einsteins researches are, of course, well chronicled and his more important works include Special Theory of Relativity (1905), Relativity (English translations,

1920 and 1950), General Theory of Relativity (1916), Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement (1926), and The Evolution of Physics (1938). Among his non-scientific works, About Zionism (1930), Why War?(1933), My Philosophy (1934), and Out of My Later Years (1950) are perhaps the most inspiring. A human being is a part of the whole that we call the universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest- a kind of optical illusion of his consciousness. This illusion is a prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for only the few people nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from the prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living beings and all of nature. Throughout the last years of his

life, Einstein continued his quest for a unified field theory. Though he published an article on the theory in Scientific American in 1950, it remained unfinished when he died, of an aortic aneurysm, five years later. In the decades following his death, Einsteins reputation and stature in the world of physics only grew, as physicists began to unravel the mystery of the so-called strong force (the missing piece of his unified field theory) and space satellites further verified the principles of his cosmology. Einstein wasnt an inventor. Although, if he had wanted to be he would probably have been a rather good one. He was a theoretical physicist. He concepts (and supporting mathematics) are used every day in various fields, including astronomy, mathematics, physics, space travel, communications, and many others. He didnt just come up with a couple of interesting concepts. His work changed the nature of physics and related sciences.

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One day I decided to quit... I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality... I wanted to quit my life. I went to the woods to have one last talk with God. God, I said. Can you give me one good reason not to quit? His answer surprised me... Look around, He said. Do you see the fern and the bamboo? Yes, I replied. When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took a very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. In the second year, the fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo, He said. In the third year, there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit. In the fourth year, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. I would not quit, He said Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant... But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle. He said to me. Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots? I would not quit on the bamboo. Neither will I ever quit on you. Dont compare yourself to others, He said. The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern. Yet, they both make the forest beautiful. Your time will come, God said to me. You will rise high! How high should I rise? I asked. How high will the bamboo rise? He asked in return. As high as it can? I questioned. Yes, He said. Give me glory by rising as high as you can.

Do Not Quit

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Mosaic

Vol.1 Issue 6 March 2012

Experts advice
In order to help the candidates to identify what questions can be generated from the application form; INDIA PREPARES has divided the form in four parts. First part was discussed in the December-2011 issue and second and third part in January and February-2012 issues respectively. We hope that this initiative is going to help those candidates who have just cleared their mains exam. Here is the fourth and the last part... S.NO. INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED IN APPLICATION FORM Home state PROBABLE QUESTIONS WHICH CAN BE RAISED FROM THE DATA PROVIDED

1.

What is the speciality of your state in terms of cultural matters, financial matters, political affairs etc? What is the current GDP growth rate of your state and its ranking among various states? What is the slogan of your state? Candidates must be aware of any new slogan of their state and issues related with it e.g. vibrant Gujarat and Amitabh Bachchan as its brand ambassador, tourism of Madhya Pradesh and issue of tigers etc. You must be aware of the common problems in your state and if your state is larger in area then the regional problems are also important. For example, candidates from Uttar Pradesh must be aware of problems in Bundelkhand, Poorvanchal, western up; the students of Rajasthan must be aware of problems in Marwad region. Status of minorities and deprived section is also important such as caste violence in Bihar, Godhra violence in Gujarat, problems of kashmiri pundits in Kashmir valley, persecution of tribes in Chhattisgarh and Odisha. Students from comparatively developed region must be well prepared for social problems in their native regions such as discrimination of linguistic minorities in Mumbai, gender related imbalance in Punjab & Haryana , problems which is being faced by NRIs in Gujarat & Punjab . Strategic and economic importance of your state such as importance of Lakshwadeep and Andaman & Nicobar Islands, the recent issues related to any particular state such as issue of naked dance in Andaman & Nicobar by a tribal woman etc. CMs of some states are gaining international importance such as Nitish kumar, Narendra modi, Ms Mayawati so be a little bit diplomatic while answering questions related to these issues. The issues of centre state relations and recent issues of discord such as NCTC, NRHM scams, the issue of emergence of various regional political parties and their influence on the issues of national interests for their parochial interests. Some students give preference to IPS over IAS or IFS to IAS. They must have strong, solid, rational, practical and objective reasons for that and not stereotyped answers. Preferences of IRS (IT) to IRS (C&E) and vice versa are some common question. So be prepared for that. Preference of group B police & civil services in comparison to other group A services is also many a times being questioned. Students must be very specific in selection of services from 6th preference to 24th preference and prepare a list of advantages and disadvantages of these services with respect to the choices they have made. A candidate who is already in a group B service and is opting for a group B service of UPSC must be ready to get a question on it. An already selected candidate is being supposed to have the knowledge of all the services. The issue of ongoing confrontation between IAS and IPS will lead to lot of questions. The recent confrontation between IAS lobby and IPS lobby in Uttar Pradesh can also raise lots of questions.

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2.

Preference for the services

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3.

4.

Preference of a cadre Why preference for home cadre if opting home state on preference or why not preference for the home cadre if not opting it on preference? Some students opt for more developed states of the country in their preference list prior to the other states. They must be aware that the economically developed regions also have lots of social problems and they can bring out these points in support of their preference. Some people accord the least preference to the regions which are naxal affected, so prepare an answer on this probable question. Most of the students are having a different preference for IAS and a different preference for IPS. Why it is so? North Indian students give less preference to south Indian states and south Indian students give less to north Indian states. Why is this discrepancy? Some cadres are mixed ones such as AGMUT, Assam Meghalaya, Manipur Tripura prepare a note of information on these cadres. Employment information The most important question will be related to your job profile such as what are your activities in your job, your position in your office, type of job such as managerial, marketing or field work etc. If a person is already on a gazetted post than his responsibility in the job is more and questions related to responsibility can be framed. A person who had already conducted managerial functions is having a good sense of administration and questions on administration are going to be asked. Those students who are already having an experience of MNCs and were drawing a good package of salary are definitely going to be asked the common question that why u r trying to leave your previous job and join civil services. Students who are research scholars, then they must be more rationale in their answers to prove a scientific mindset. The form of UPSC has mentioned different natures of jobs such as adhoc, permanent, temporary and questions will be different in relation to these jobs. First differentiate these types of jobs and be clear about it. The pay scale will also lead to a question if you are already drawing a handsome salary. The address of your office will also lead to a lot of questions because it is having various landmarks .the questions will be similar to the questions as asked in the column of address of correspondence. All the data related to agriculture should be updated. Students who have mentioned these awards show their excellence in the particular field and they must be having complete knowledge in the field in which these awards were being honoured. A person who had received an award in GK quiz shows his excellence in gathering information, a prize gained in a debate competition shows that the person is a good orator and he can present his opinion in a well structured manner. As these awards show the inherent qualities of the candidates so candidates should also expose these qualities in the interview. Some awards in this category are of regional, national or international importance such as NTSE scholar, Olympiads, awards by some international organisations such as UNESCO, CRY etc. gives you an extra weightage in the interview. Gold medals, merit certificates awarded by your university shows your educational excellence and the examiner can ask a question from your educational background. Awards which are awarded by some cultural organisations will definitely bring forward the cultural questions. Prizes which were being won in music, dance, and drama will lead to many factual questions related to these fields as these awards also show the interest of the candidate in these fields.

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5.

Prize, medals, scholarships etc.

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6.

Game, sports, NCC: position of distinction and leadership in the college

Difference between games & sports, indoor games & outdoor games, field games & adventurous games. Recent issues related with sports such the recent downfall of Indian cricket after world cup win, the pathetic situation of Indian hockey, indigenous Indian games like kabaddi, khokho going towards extinction, even after 60 yrs of independence India is not able to produce a world class athlete, should Bharat Ratna be accorded to a sports personality and if yes than to whom, organizing the event such as formula one in a country where a lot of people are dying of malnutrition etc. The resurgence of female in various sports is making India proud by bringing prestige and honour; your opinion can be asked on these issues. Different type of awards awarded in the field of sports, information on the recent Arjun award ceremony, any new award started in the sports category, any important personality receiving an international award. Excellency in sports shows the team spirit in a person and it is very important in national integration. On the other hand the sportsman spirit minimises the hatredness in the person and it helps a lot in administration. Such relations can be made by candidates who have expertise in some sports. What is the motto of NCC, difference between NCC, scout and guide. How many certificates are there in NCC? How many divisions are there in NCC? What is Territorial Army and civil defence? How this can help in disaster management? What is the objective of establishing NCC, scouts and guide? How it is different from NSS. The student must be aware of national youth policy, Nehru Yuva Kendra etc.; detailed information should be gathered on ministry of youth affairs and sports. Captaincy in a sports event shows the leadership quality of the student and it is honoured by UPSC. Position of distinction in the college such as secretary, cultural secretary etc shows the inherent capability of the students in getting things done which is none other but administration. So they can ask questions related to the problems being faced by you while conducting this leadership. They can also ask you about any incident related to these activities and its experience. Difference between hobbies and interests; If your hobby is listening music than be particular about it that which type of music classical, folk , jazz ,rock etc. and collect all the information about your favourite singer or musician. Also gain knowledge about the basics of music such as different tones, raga, sargam etc.., simple science related with music. You must also be aware of any music concert organized recently. Recent Issues related with important music personalities such as the recent demise of Mr. Jagjit Singh. In case of painting as a hobby which type of painting, oil or dry painting; nature painting or humanised painting, what are the different traditions of painting such madhubani, kangra, Mathura etc. ? Questions can be asked from any dimensions of painting. They can even ask different types of canvass, so dont get panic in this situation. Some people mention various indoor games such as playing chess as their hobby .they must be well aware of different types of opening in chess, presently how many grand masters are there in India, how ratings are provided to the players of chess. In case of badminton they can ask about common injuries being faced by the badminton players. Cooking is also a common hobby of many persons. Gather information about Mughlai, continental, Chinese, Thai, Italian south Indian etc. cuisine from the internet and be particular about any one in whom you are more interested. Questions will be more commonly related to health aspect of cooking such different types of edible oils, which type of butter is better for health etc. as all the interviewer are fond of delicious food so they can ask question even on salads, desserts, appetizers etc. role of fast food is also important and prepare a note on fast food and its relation with health. Cultural site seeing is also a nice hobby, go to the website of ministry of cultural affairs

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Extracurricular activities, interests, hobbies

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and gather information about different states in relation to their efforts for promotion of tourism. Prominent international tourist spots and important world heritage sites. As India is a tropical country so most of the people visit hill stations so collect information about important hill stations in India. Some people show interest in adventurous activities such as trekking, mountain climbing. So they must be ready to get questions on these as well as questions like what is scuba diving, support system required while mountain climbing etc. Playing cricket in my opinion is a national hobby so a lot of candidates have it as their hobby. In this section as I think, they will be asked opinion based question rather than going straight forward for a factual question, but must prepare yourself with some factual records of the cricket also. Watching movies is also a common hobby. While mentioning it in your interview form, make it more specific e.g. Hindi comedy movies, Hollywood science fiction, south Indian action movies, musical romantic movies etc. compile information on all the awards of cinema like BAFTA, Oscar, Golden Globe , National Film Awards , IIFA awards, Filmfare awards etc. different institution related with film industry such as censor board, NFDC, children films society ,film and television training institute etc. any issue of controversy in the film industry eg. Recent issues of copyright, piracy of DVDs etc. , each and everything about your favourite actor, actress, music director, director, film must be known to you. Collect knowledge on those Indian films which gain international accolades such as Gandhi, lagan etc. Technical and philosophical difference between Bollywood and Hollywood movies, mainstream and offbeat cinema, Hindi and regional cinema etc.

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KNOW IT ALL
SPORTS
CRICKET
Snehal Pradhan The ICC has declared Indian womens cricket team bowler Snehal Pradhans bowling action as legal and said the medium pacer can now resume bowling in international cricket. The 25-yearold from Pune, who was reported for suspected bowling action following the completion of an ODI between England and India in June last year, had to undergo some significant remedial work and an independent test found her bowling action to be legal. Sunil Gavaskar Former India cricket team captain Sunil Gavaskar has been formally inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame, when he received his commemorative cap from fellow Hall of Famer and teammate Kapil Dev. Gavaskar is one of the initial 55 inductees into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame, which was launched in January 2009 in association with the Federation of International Cricketers Associations (FICA) as part of the ICCs centenary year. He now joins a Hall of Fame that includes 72 male and female cricketers. Ranji Trophy Rajasthan has won the Ranji Trophy title by defeating Tamil Nadu in the final in Chennai. This was Rajasthans back-toback Ranji Trophy title win. The visitor clinched the final against Tamil Nadu on the basis of its mammoth 326-run lead in the first innings. Rajasthan declared its second innings at 204 for five at tea on the fifth day. The home side was eight for two at the start of the last hour when play was called off. Jiji Irani Trophy Kolkata recorded a 30-run win over Hyderabad in a crucial round-robin league match to clinch the All-India Jiji Irani Trophy cricket. The pentangular event, which came by rotation to Hyderabad after five years, had besides the host, teams from Kolkata, Jamshedpur, Nagpur and Surat. The event, started in 1985, aimed/aims at fostering communal fellowship and sportsmanship among Parsees. Duleep Trophy East Zone has defeated Central Zone by an innings and 20 runs for their maiden Duleep Trophy crown. The match got over before tea on the third day after Central Zone were bowled out for 217 in their second innings, 20 short to make their opponents bat again. The Duleep Trophy is a domestic firstclass cricket competition between teams representing geographical zones of India. The competition is named after Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji (June 13, 1905 - December 5, 1959). He was a cricketer who played for England. He was educated at the Rajkumar College, Rajkot, India. The competition was started by the Board of Control for Cricket in India in the 196162 season. The inaugural tournament was won by West Zone who defeated South Zone. Five Indian zonal teams regularly take part in the Duleep Trophy North Zone, South Zone, East Zone, West Zone and Central Zone. The original format was that the five teams played each other on a knockout basis. From the 199394 season, the competition converted to a league format. tournament in the country is drawn on the lines of the Major League Soccer in the United States. Hernan Crespo, the famed Argentine striker, fetched the highest price of Rs. 4.2 crore and was picked up by Barasat. Fabio Cannavaro, the World Cup-winning captain of Italy in 2006 was bought by Siliguri for Rs. 4.15 crore. John Terry John Terry has been removed as England captain as he awaits trial for racial abuse, but the Chelsea defender will remain eligible to play for the national team at the European Championship. The English Football Association said the Chelsea defender would be stripped of the captaincy until the allegations against him are resolved. Terry faces trial in July on charges of racially abusing Queens Park defender Anton Ferdinand during a Premier League match in October. Africa Cup of Nations Zambia delighted in winning their first Africa Cup of Nations title by beating tournament favorites Ivory Coast on penalties. After 14 kicks were converted, Kolo Toure and Gervinho failed to find the target for the Elephants as Zambias Rainford Kalaba also blazed over. But Stoppila Sunzu found the top corner to complete an amazing 8-7 victory.

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HOCKEY
Junior National Hockey Championship Uttar Pradesh has recorded an emphatic 5-0 win over Mumbai in the final to clinch the inaugural edition of the junior National hockey championship (under-20). For Uttar Pradesh Sunil Yadav scored two goals while Deepak Yadav, Raju Pal and Abhimanyiu Balmiki scored one goal each. Earlier, Punjab defeated Karnataka 7-3 to settle for third place. Imran Khan of UP was named player of the final.

FOOTBALL
Hernan Crespo In the inaugural Premier League Soccer (PLS) franchise auction Barasat fetched the highest price with the URO Group buying it for Rs. 25.15 crore over a base price of Rs. 80 lakh, for a 10-year period. The four other franchises Kolkata, Siliguri, Durgapur and Howrah also fetched much higher bids than its base prices. The first fully professional

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TENNIS
Henrik Ekersund Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has approved the appointment of Henrik Ekersund coach from Sweden to train Indian Tennis players particularly juniors and sub juniors. He will also train the womens doubles players who can combine with Sania Mirza in Olympics 2012. Mr. Henrik Ekersund has been the National coach of the Swedish Tennis Association, Stockholm and their Head coach for Boys under 14. Sania Mirza Sania Mirza has staged yet another magnificent comeback from nearwilderness on the international circuit. This 25-year-old Hyderabadi, by entering the semifinals in both the mixed doubles and womens doubles of the Australian Open, has now achieved what no other Indian woman tennis player has break into the World top 10 in womens doubles. Sania is now ranked World No. 7. For the record, Sania has so far won 12 WTA titles, besides four ITF titles and, in 2011, entered the French Open doubles final; womens doubles semifinals at Wimbledon and the last four in two categories at this years Australian Open. Australian Open Defending champion Novak Djokovic battled past Rafael Nadal in an epic, five-set Australian Open final which clocked in at 5hr, 53min the longest title match in Grand Slam history. The match was longer than the 1988 U.S. Open final between Mats Wilander and Ivan Lendl, which lasted 4hr, 54min, and also beat the Australian Open record of 5hr, 14min set by Nadal and Fernando Verdasco in 2009. Djokovic fought back from losing the first set to take a 2-1 lead, but he was then taken to a gripping fifth set by resurgent Nadal before winning 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5 for his third consecutive Major title. Djokovic has now beaten the Spaniard in three consecutive Grand Slam finals and seven consecutive title matches overall. Djokovics win, his fifth Grand Slam title, means he joins

a rarefied company. Only Rod Laver, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer (twice) and Nadal have previously won three consecutive Grand Slams in the open era. Other results include:

Challenge in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Conducted as a continental event for the under-15 age group by the International Table Tennis Federation, Mariya had company in Liu Gaoyang (China), Lee Victoria Azarenkas first Grand Seui (South Korea), and Doo Hai Kem Slam Title: Victoria Azarenka (BLR) (Hong Kong) as the Asian side triumphed defeated Maria Sharapova (RUS) by over North America in the team final. Mariyas selection to the Asian team was 6-2, 6-0 facilitated on the basis of her superb Australian Open 2012 Mens Doubles show in the 17th Asian junior table Championship Winners: Leander Paes tennis championship in New Delhi last (IND) and Radek Stepanek (CZE) year. defeated Bryan Brothers Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan (USA) by 7-6, 6-2 CHESS Australian Open 2012 Womens Doubles Winners: Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) and Vera Zvonareva (RUS) defeated Sara Errani (ITA) Roberta Vinci (ITA) by 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 Diptayan Ghosh Diptayan Ghosh has earned his maiden International Master norm by holding World (under-12) champion M. Karthikeyan before Mark Paragua Australian Open 2012 Mixed Doubles joined his Filipino teammates Oliver Winners: Bethanie Mattek Sands (USA) Barbosa and John Paul Gomez in the and Horia Tecau (ROU) defeated Elena lead after nine rounds of the Parsvnath Vesnina (RUS) and Leander Paes (IND) International chess championship. The by 6-3, 7-5 (10-3) 13-year-old Diptayan, a former Asian The Australian Open is a major tennis (under-10) and National (under-13) tournament held annually over the champion, took 26 moves to reach six last fortnight of January in Melbourne, points needed to meet the technical Australia. First held in 1905, the requirements of gaining a nine-game tournament is chronologically the first of norm. the four Grand Slam tennis events of the P. Harikrishna year - the other three being the French P. Harikrishna has clinched the Group Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. It B title with a draw against Dmitry features mens and womens singles; Reinderman of Holland in the final mens, womens, and mixed doubles round and became the second Indian and juniors championships; as well to enter Group A of the Tata Steel chess as wheelchair, legends and exhibition tournament. Harikrishna earned himself events. Since 1988 the tournament has an entry into the elite Group A in the been played on hard courts at Melbourne 75th edition of the event which will Park. The Australian Open typically has be held in 2013. The Hyderabad-based very high attendance - second only to player is the second Indian after world the US Open - and was the first Grand champion Anand to make it to Group A. Slam tournament to feature indoor play during wet weather or extreme SHOOTING heat conditions. It is the richest tennis Rashmee Rathore tournament in the world. Rashmee Rathore of Andhra Pradesh TABLE TENNIS pulled ahead of two champions Arti Singh and Saniya Sheikh to clinch the Mariya Rony womens skeet title in the National Kerala has a new world champion in shotgun championship. The 30-year-old Mariya Rony, a 14-year-old table tennis Rashmee shot rounds of 21, 23 and 23 player, who formed part of the victorious to pip former Asian champion Arti Singh Asian team in the ITTF Global Cadet by four points.

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Beijing World Cup Cancelled The Beijing Shooting World Cup scheduled to be held from June 16 to 25 has been cancelled. ISSF, the International federation governing shooting, has announced that in consultation with the Chinese Shooting Association, it had cancelled the World Cup in rifle, pistol and shotgun, owing to the special security restrictions associated with the 18th National Congress in China. These restrictions are new and were completely unforeseen by the Chinese Shooting Association, ISSF said in a statement. 12th Asian Shooting Championship, Doha Navdeep Singh Rathore has won the junior rifle prone gold in the 12th Asian shooting championship in Doha, Qatar. Navdeep was in excellent form in the final, and thus overcame a two-point deficit after the qualification round when he shot 588 to beat Chinas Liu Liong by 0.9 point, for the 50-metre rifle prone gold. 55th National Shotgun Championship Ajay Mittal asserted himself in a starstudded field, as the juniors came to the fore to declare a bright future, in double trap in the 55th National shotgun championship. The 23-year-old Haryana lad Ajay shot 185 in taming a strong field that had Asian Games gold medallist Ronjan Sodhi, Olympic silver medallist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. Delhi boy Sangram Dahiya was able to push Rathore to the bronze by one point with a total of 183.

AntiDoping Agency, which challenged a Spanish cycling tribunals decision last year to exonerate Contador. His ban was backdated and he is eligible to return to competition on Aug. 6. Andy Schleck of Luxembourg, who finished second at the 2010 Tour, stands to be elevated to victory. Contador becomes only the second Tour de France champion to be disqualified and stripped of victory for doping. The first was Floyd Landis, the American who lost his 2006 title after testing positive for testosterone. Jan Ullrich Former Tour de France champion Jan Ullrich has been found guilty of blood doping by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in connection with the case of Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes and stripped of third place at the 2005 Tour. The CAS said in a statement that there was enough evidence from documents by the ruling cycling body UCI to find the now retired Ullrich guilty. As a consequence, Jan Ullrich is sanctioned with a twoyear period of ineligibility starting retroactively on 22 August 2011. Furthermore, all results achieved by the athlete on or after 1 May 2005 until his retirement (in February 2007) are annulled. As a result, Ullrich loses third place from the 2005 Tour and is also stripped of the 2006 Tour de Suisse title.

Ahdyar, was scheduled to go to the 2008 Beijing Games but couldnt compete because of injuries.

AWARDS
Padma Awards A total of 109 people, including 19 women, have been selected for the Padma awards for the year 2012. The awards comprise five Padma Vibhushan, 27 Padma Bhushan and 77 Padma Shri awards. Padma Awards, the countrys highest civilian awards, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The Awards are given in all disciplines/ fields of activities, viz. art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc. Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; Padma Bhushan for distinguished service of high order and Padma Shri for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year. The awards are conferred by the President of India at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhawan sometime around March/ April. Some of the awardees are listed below: Padma Vibhushan K.G. Subramanyan - Art (Painting and Sculpture) Mario de Miranda - Art (Cartoonist) (posthumous) (Dr.) Bhupen Hazarika Art (Vocal Music) (posthumous Dr. Kantilal Hastimal Sancheti - Medicine (Orthopaedics T.V. Rajeswar - Civil Service Padma Bhushan Shabana Azmi Art (Cinema) Mira Nair Art (Cinema) Dr. (Judge) Patibandla Chandrasekhar Rao, Public Affairs, Germany George Yong-Boon Yeo, Public Affairs, Singapore

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BOXING
Sadaf Rahimi Sadaf Rahimi, an Afghan girl will get into the boxing ring at the London Olympics. Rahimi, a determined 17-year-old student, will get her chance in London, where womens boxing makes its Olympic debut. After the Taliban banned women from participating in sporting events, the International Olympic Committee suspended Afghanistan from the games. Afghanistan sent female athletes for the first time in its history to the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Rahimi, who has the support of her family, is following in the footsteps of Robina Muqimyar, the female Afghan runner who competed in Athens. Another woman, Mehboda

CYCLING
Alberto Contador Alberto Contador has been stripped of his 2010 Tour de France and banned for two years after sports highest court found him guilty of doping. The Court of Arbitration for Sport suspended the threetime Tour champion after rejecting his claim that his positive test for clenbuterol was caused by eating contaminated meat. The three man CAS panel upheld appeals by the International Cycling Union and World

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Harekrishna Satapathy Chitre, (Konkani), (Sanskrit), Aditya Kumar Mandi (Santali) and Khaleel Mamoon (Urdu). Subbiah Murugappa Vellayan, Trade The well-known novelists Kashinath and Industry Singh (Hindi), Gopalakrishna Pai Dr. Suresh H. Advani, Medicine (Kannada), Kshetri Bira (Manipuri), Oncology Kalpanakumari Devi (Odia), Baldev Singh Professor (Dr.) Shantaram Balwant (Punjabi), Atul Kanakk (Rajasthani) and Mujumdar, Literature and Education, S. Venkatesan (Tamil) also received the Dr. Jose Pereira, Literature and awards. Lalit Magotra (Dogri), Grace (Marathi) and Samala Sadasiva (Telugu) Education, U.S. Dr. Homi K. Bhabha, Literature and got the Award for their books of essays. Education, U.K. (not to be confused Ramachandra Guha (English) for his with the dead Indian nuclear scientist book of Narrative History, Mohan Parmar (Gujarati) for his book of short stories, Homi J. Bhabha M. K. Sanu (Malayalam) for his book of Mata Prasad, Civil Service biography and Mohan Gehani (Sindhi) Ronen Sen, Civil Service for his book of plays has been honoured. Padma Shri Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honor Dr. Minati Mishra, Art Indian in India which Sahitya Akademi, Indias National Academy of Letters, annually Classical Dance Odissi confers on writers of outstanding works Anup Jalota, Art Indian Classical in one of the following twenty-four Music Vocal major Indian languages: Soman Nair Priyadarshan, Art Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, English, Cinema Direction, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Shamshad Begum, Social Work, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Pravin H. Parekh, Pubic Affairs Rajasthani, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Professor Virander Singh Chauhan, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. Science and Engineering Established in 1954, the award comprises Dr. Vijaypal Singh, Science and a plaque and a cash prize of Rs. 50,000 Engineering Agricultural Research (in 2009 Govt. of India has announced Dr. Swati A. Piramal, Trade and to increase the amount to Rs. 100,000). Industry The awards purpose is to recognize and Dr. Mukesh Batra, Medicine promote excellence in Indian writing and also acknowledge new trends. The Homeopathy Kedar Gurung, Literature and annual process of selecting awardees goes on for the preceding twelve months. Education Professor Shashikumar Science and Engineering, Ajeet Bajaj, Sports Skiing World Press Photo Award Jhulan Goswami, Sports Womens Spanish photographer Samuel Aranda won the 2011 World Press Photo of Cricket the Year award on 10th February for Zafar Iqbal, Sports Hockey an image of a veiled woman holding Sahitya Akademi Awards 2011 a wounded relative in her arms after a Sahitya Akademi Awards for the year demonstration in Yemen. Jurors said Mr. 2011has been presented. Among 22 Arandas photo, taken for the New York authors, famous poets honoured with Times, encapsulated many of the facets the Award are (late) Kabin Phukan of the uprisings across the Middle East (Assamese), Manindra Gupta (Bengali), collectively known as the Arab Spring, Premananda Mosahari (Bodo), Naseem one of the major news themes of the Shafaie (Kashmiri), Melvyn Rodrigues year.

The tsunami in Japan was another major theme of the competition, at which The Associated Press won three awards, including first place in the Arts and Entertainment Singles category, for David Goldmans shot of a soldier playing the drums at a Canadian army base in Afghanistan. Japanese photographer Yasuyoshi Chiba took first prize in the People in the News Stories category for Agence France Presse for an April 3, 2011 photo of a woman, identified as Chieko Matsukawa, standing alone and holding her daughters graduation certificate aloft after she found it amid a swirl of debris in Higashimatsushima, Japan. N. Nilekani, U.R. Ananthamurthy Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, Unique Identification Authority of India; Goverdhan Mehta, member, Prime Ministers Scientific Advisory Council, and U.R. Ananthamurthy, Jnanpith award winner, have been conferred on honorary doctorate by Central University of Karnataka on January 28. Mr. Nilikani, who also heads the Technology Committee of the Union Government, was born in Sirsi town in Uttara Kannada district. He is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, and had succeeded N.R. Narayana Murthy as the Chief Executive Officer of Infosys in March 2002. Dr. Mehta is one of the top National Research Professors and heads the National Assessment and Accreditation Council. He was the ViceChancellor of University of Hyderabad and Director of the IISc, Bangalore, from 1998 to 2005. Mr. Ananthamurthy, a contemporary writer and critic in Kannada, is considered one of the pioneers of the Navya movement. His main works include Samskara , Bhava , Bharathi Pura , and Avasthe. Aung San Suu Kyi Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has received the insignia of Commander in the National Order of the Legion dHonneur, one of Frances highest honours in recognition of her long struggle for democracy, from French foreign minister Alain Juppe (L)

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and French ambassador Thierry Mathou during a ceremony at the French Embassy in Yangon on January 15. Mallikarjun Kharge Union minister for labor and employment Mallikarjun Kharge has been presented with Pride of India award by the IndianAmerican community in Washington for his over four decades of public service. The award was presented jointly by the Indian American Friendship Council (IAFC) and India Association of North Texas (IANT) in Dallas. Amartya Sen India-born Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has been felicitated by U.S. President Barack Obama for his efforts to increase the understanding of how to fight hunger and poverty. Mr. Barack Obama felicitated Mr. Sen, 78, with the 2011 National Humanities Medal. The award was given to Mr. Sen for his insights into the causes of poverty, famine, and injustice. Mr. Amartya Sen won his Nobel Prize for economics in 1998 for his studies of the roots of poverty. MOU Excellence Awards Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has presented the MOU Excellence Awards for the year 2009-10. In the Maharatna and Navratna Categories Indian Oil Corporation and NTPC Limited won the award respectively. In the Miniratna category, Engineers India Limited got the award. Individual leadership award in Maharatna and Navratna Categories was given to Prasada Rao, CMD, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. In the Miniratna category, Individual leadership award went to N.M. Borah, CMD, Oil India Limited. The outstanding Woman Manager in PSEs was given to Neeru Abrol, Director(Fin), National Fertilizers Ltd. Hakim Abdul Hameed Award Noted Jodhpur-based Unani medical practitioner Sajid Nisar has been selected for this years Hakim Abdul Hameed Award for outstanding contribution in the field of natural medicine. The award has been instituted in memory of the pioneer of Unani medicine who founded

the Jamia Hamdard and the prestigious Hamdard Dawakhana in Delhi.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

Reorganising the Air Force for Future Operations - A. K. Tiwar (Air Vice Marshal); A Voyage to Modernism - Syed Ahmed Khan, Translated by Mushirul Hasan, Nishat Zaidi Hindustani Music Today - Deepak Raja Voice of the veena: S. Balachander, a biography- Vikram Sampath, The Last Jet-Engine Laugh Joshi - Ruchir

broadcast journalist for well over two decades, is expected to strengthen the media and communications set-up in the PMO. Mr. Pachauri started out with the Patriot, and then moved to the Sunday Observer, India Today, the BBC World Service and most recently, NDTV India. K. Muthukumar, an Indian Information Officer designated Officer on Special Duty to the PM, and former NDTV journalist Binoy Job report to Mr Khare, who has Secretary-level status. Rajiv Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Rajiv was on 18th January appointed the new chief of paramilitary Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) that guards Indias vital installations, including airports and nuclear establishments. The 1975 batch Uttar Pradesh cadre IPS officer, who goes by his first name only, is at present working as head of the National Disaster Response Force and Civil Defence. L.S. Panta Former Supreme Court Judge and chairperson of National Green Tribunal Justice L S Panta has taken oath as Lokayukta of Himachal Pradesh. The office of Lokayukta had been lying vacant since the expiry of term of Justice Bhawani Singh on May 4, 2011. Himachal Pradesh was one of the first states to appoint Lokayukta in 1983 when the then government headed by Chief Minister V.B.Singh passed the Lokayukta Act. Justice T.V.R. Tatachari was appointed first Lokayukta of the state. Sunil Kaushal Standard Chartered Bank has appointed Mr Sunil Kaushal as the Regional Chief Executive, India and South-Asia. He has taken charge from Mr Neeraj Swaroop, who will relocate to Singapore as Regional Chief Executive for SouthEast Asia (excluding Singapore). Before taking the helm of Indias largest foreign bank, Mr Kaushal was President and CEO of Standard Chartered Bank, Taiwan. He joined Standard Chartered in Dubai in 1998 and has since held several senior roles in Consumer and Wholesale Banking.

My Days in Prison - Iftikhar Gilani The Darkness Inside.- Sahil Maqbool Nirbasan (Exile) - Taslima Nasreen Ukutya Kwasekhaya [home cooking] Tastes from Nelson Mandelas Kitchen Xoliswa Ndoyiya Taras Lookout - Eugene Caputi

APPOINTED/ELECTED
Dr. Sudhakar Sharma The Ministry of Culture on 16th January reinstated Dr. Sudhakar Sharma as Secretary of the Lalit Kala Akademi stating that his removal from office was illegal. Late last year, Mr. Sharma was sacked by the Akademis outgoing Chairman Dr. Ashok Vajpeyi on various charges including non compliance of several decisions/orders. Dr. Sharma had appealed to the Ministry of Culture stating that the orders given by the chairman were illegal as he didnt serve him a show cause notice, thereby preventing him from the natural law of justice. The Ministry of Culture, on the grounds of various legalities involved in the issue, had referred Dr. Sharmas case to the Ministry of Law. Pankaj Pachauri NDTV India senior editor and prime time anchor Pankaj Pachauri has been appointed at the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) as Communications Adviser to the Prime Minister. Mr. Pachauri (48), who has worked both as a print and

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Ma Ying-jeou Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou was reelected by a comfortable margin on 14th January, fending off a challenge from his main rival, Tsai Ing-wen, who criticized his handling of the economy but also sought to exploit fears among voters that Mr. Mas conciliatory approach toward China was eroding the islands sovereignty. Ma Ying-jeou has also named a former top financial regulator, Sean Chen as the new premier in the hope that he can lead the island through economic trouble caused by the European debt crisis. Sean Chen, 62, was also picked for promoting closer economic cooperation with China while he was the deputy premier. Although Ms. Tsai had moderated her partys stance on independence, many voters recalled the presidency of Chen Shui-bian, whose antagonism worsened relations with China between 2000 and 2008. Taiwan and China have been in a formal state of war since 1949, when the Nationalists lost the Chinese civil war and fled the mainland, moving their Republic of China government to Taipei. Since then, China has not budged on its overriding goal: to bring Taiwan back into the fold, even if it requires force.

leaders in 2010 for describing the party at a book launch as status quoist and resistant to social change, and one that rewarded cynicism, family nepotism and bogus groupism. Aneesh Chopra Aneesh Chopra, President Barack Obamas first IT czar and the highestranking Indian-American in the White House, has stepped down after three years of groundbreaking work aimed at advancing the governments technology agenda. Mr. Chopra, 39, played a key role in bringing governance closer to the people through the latest developments in information technology. Suresh Kumar Popularly known as Obamas Export Czar, Indian-American Suresh Kumar is the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Trade and Promotion has resigned from his post. Mr. Kumar has played a key role in achieving the ambitious goal of President Barack Obama in doubling exports in five years. His son, Aditya Kumar who serves as the Deputy Assistant to the Vice-President, Joe Biden, and Senior Advisor to his Chief of Staff has also left for the private sector. Emil Boc Romanias centre-right Prime Minister Emil Boc resigned on 6th February amid public anger at austerity measures and despite praise from the IMF and the EU for piloting drastic economic reforms. Romanian president Traian Basescu quickly named justice minister Catalin Predoiu as the new premier, tasked with forming a government to be presented to parliament for approval. Boc, 45, has been Romanias Prime minister since 2008, when the Balkan country plunged into severe recession after years of solid growth. His government was forced to call on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union for a 20-billion euro ($26.0-billion) lifeline in 2009. In exchange for the loan, Bocs government took drastic measures to curb public spending, cutting public wages by 25 percent and freezing pensions in 2010. But two years of austerity have

impoversihed the population and sent thousands of people in the streets across the country in January.

DIED/KILLED
M.S. Rajalingam Veteran freedom fighter and former Minister M.S. Rajalingam has passed away after prolonged illness. The 93-year-old Gandhian was among the distinguished freedom fighters felicitated during the Congress Foundation Day celebrations last month. Chairman of the Gandhi Bhavan Trust, he worked in Wardha Ashram during the Independence movement and authored the book Bapu Nenu detailing his experiences there. A veteran of Vandemataram, Quit India and Hyderabad Liberation movements, Rajalingam was a Gandhian to the core which was evident from his contribution to the Khadi institutions as chairman of the Hyderabad Khadi Samiti. A.K. Damodaran A.K. Damodaran, a seasoned diplomat, freedom fighter and scholar has died. He had a lifelong attachment to Nehruvian principles. Imprisoned during the Quit India movement after having been on the colonial polices radar for his fiery speeches, Mr. Damodaran spent a decade in the immediate post-Nehru era finessing Indias policy towards its two great neighbours China and Russia with his being among the decisive hands on the rudder when the Treaty of 1971 was crafted. Post-retirement, he encouraged Rajiv Gandhis rapprochement with China, despite spending the distrustful years immediately after the 1962 war as a diplomat in Beijing. R.D. Sharma Science communicator, R.D.Sharma, has passed away. He was 73. A former media consultant at India office of International Rice Research Institute, Sharma was known for his insightful writings on different aspects of science for the benefit of the lay public. Among other things, he was the winner of the Indian National Science Academys Indira Gandhi Prize for Popularisation of Science.

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RESIGNED/SUSPENDED
Harish Khare Harish Khare has resigned as Media Adviser to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 19th January, after two and a half years in the job. His resignation came after the government announced that NDTV Indias senior anchor Pankaj Pachauri is taking over as Communications Advisor in the Prime Ministers Office. Dr. Khare, who was earlier the National Bureau Chief of The Hindu , took on his assignment in the PMO in June 2009, shortly after the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government was sworn in for a second term. A trained political scientist with a Ph.D. from Yale University and a journalists penchant for plain speaking, he invited the wrath of some Congress

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Nikhat Kazmi Noted film critic and author Nikhat Kazmi passed away on 20th January after a battle against breast cancer. She was 53. Speaking the language of the young, she made Hinglish the preferred medium of communication in film reviews, charting a course for many critics to follow. She started the much-debated practice of giving stars to films. And she was among the earliest to review films, a day or two before release. Mazhar Imam Eminent Urdu poet and critic Mazhar Imam has died of a heart attack. He was 83. A modernist poet widely respected for qualities of ambiguity and symbolism, Imam was arguably the first Urdu poet to bring the landscape of Kashmir into the realm of poetry. He is credited with enriching Urdu poetry by adding a new genre of azad ghazal. He will be remembered for four volumes of poetry, including Zakhm-e-Tamanna, Rishta Goonge Safar Ka, Pichle Mausam Ka Phool and Band Hota Hua Bazaar. He was conferred the Sahitya Akademi award for Pichle Mausam Ka Phool in 1994, joining an elite list of the likes of Nida Fazli, Makhmoor Saeedi, Bashir Badar, Sheen Kaaf Nizam and Jayant Parmer. Shahryar Akhlaq Mohammed Khan, better known as Shahryar, has breathed his last in Aligarh following a prolonged battle with cancer. As a lyricist, he courted fame and riches with the unforgettable lyrics of Umrao Jaan. As a poet, he catered to connoisseurs of the Urdu language. His first poetry collection, Ism-e-Azam was released in 1965 and he used to co-edit a literary journal Sher-o-Hikmat. A much sought after name in mushairas poetic soirees Shahryar was conferred the Jnanpith award in 2008 and the Sahitya Akademi Award for Khwab ka Dar Band Hai. Wislawa Szymborska Polands 1996 Nobel Prize-winning poet Wislawa Szymborska, whose simple words and playful verse plucked

threads of irony and empathy out of life, has died. She was 88. The Nobel award committees citation called her the Mozart of poetry, a woman who mixed the elegance of language with the fury of Beethoven and tackled serious subjects with humor. Last year, President Bronislaw Komorowski honored Szymborska with Polands highest distinction, The Order of the White Eagle, in recognition of her contribution to her countrys culture. Angelo Dundee Legendary boxing trainer Angelo Dundee has died in Florida, aged 90. Dundee, famous for working alongside Muhammad Ali for 20 years, is reported to have had a heart attack. He guided Ali through his greatest fights, including the The Rumble in the Jungle with George Foreman. While Dundees name was synonymous with Alis, he worked with 14 further world champions, including Sugar Ray Leonard, George Foreman and Jimmy Ellis, during a distinguished career. But it was his partnership with Ali which became one of the most successful in boxing history.

and resources to further integrate space principles into the classroom. Queen Elizabeth II On 6th February British Queen Elizabeth II marked the Diamond Jubilee anniversary of her accession to the throne. Princess Elizabeth became the queen on February 6, 1952, the moment her 56-year-old father, King George VI, died of a fatal blood clot, apparently soon after he went to bed at 11.30 p.m. the previous night. A servant discovered the lifeless king in his bed at 7.50 a.m. On his death, the then-25-yearold automatically became queen, but she was at the Treetops resort in Kenya with her husband, Prince Philip. Later the Lords of the Privy Council met and formally proclaimed Princess Elizabeth as queen. The 85-year-old monarch is the longest-serving monarch after Queen Victoria, who reigned for more than 63 years.

PLACES IN NEWS
Japanese Quail Breeding Centre for Bikaner A new breeding centre for the Japanese quail will be set up in Rajasthan University of Veterinary Sciences, Bikaner. The centre will come up as part of the network programme on diversified poultry species proposed by the Central Avian Research Centre, Bareilly. New Centre for Research for Innovation in Mental Health, Bangalore A new Centre for Advanced Research for Innovation in Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences would be established at National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore with support for manpower development as well as projects on translational research by ICMR. 2nd International Convention Childrens Right to Food on

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IN NEWS
Vandana Suryawanshi A middle school teacher from Maharashtra, Vandana Suryawanshi, has been selected as the first international teacher for a prestigious space programme in the United States. Vandana Suryawanshi, an educator with theVidya Valley School, who has been teaching biology, earth science and general science for 20 years, would join the 19 other new Teacher Liaisons who were selected for their active promotion of space and science education by the Space Foundation. This is for the first time that an international teacher has been selected for this prestigious fellowship of the Space Foundation, which is now 10 years old. The new flight of Teacher Liaisons will serve as advocates for space-themed education across the curriculum and will use Space Foundation-provided training

The second national convention on childrens right to food concluded in Bhopal on 22nd January with a call to link anti-malnutrition strategies to inflationary indices. The convention

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in which about 1,000 delegates from 21 States participated, adopted a 25-point charter on combating malnutrition. The 25-point charter calls for universalisation and diversification of the Public Distribution System under the proposed national Right to Food Act, universalisation of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme, ensuring job security and social security for Anganwadi workers, promoting decentralised/localised production of nutrition supplements instead of readyto-eat packaged material, focussing on the health of adolescent girls and inclusion of micronutrients in ICDS meal among others Lost 18th century Sanskrit grammar manuscript by Jesuit missionary found in Italy A Sanskrit grammar manuscript

of grammarian, lexicographer and philologist Arnos Padre, which had been lost for over two centuries, was found in an Italian monastery recently. The manuscript, Grammatica Grandonica, written by the Jesuit missionary Fr. Johann Ernst Hanxleden, popularly known as Arnos Padre, three centuries ago, is considered as one of the earliest missionary grammars in Sanskrit. Toon Van Hal, a Belgian scholar, traced the lost manuscript to the Convento di San Silvestro, a Carmelite monastery in Monte Compatri in the Province of Rome. Born at Ostercappeln near Osnabrck in Hanover, Germany, Fr. Hanxleden (Arnos Padre) arrived in India on December 13, 1700, as a Jesuit missionary. Proficient in German, Sanskrit, Malayalam, Latin, Syriac, Portuguese and Tamil, the Padre compiled Malayalam-Portuguese and Sanskrit-Portuguese dictionaries. He

also wrote several essays in Latin based on the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, Bhagavatam and Vedanta Saaram. Indus Valley Civilisation Seal Found in Pakistan Punjab University archaeologists claim to have unearthed a seal of Indus Valley Civilisation vintage from the Cholistan desert of South Punjab that borders Rajasthan. The seal in steatite material with the carved figure of ibex and two pictographs was discovered during a survey of different sites near the Derawar Fort along the ancient bed of the Hakra River. The seal is more or less square-shaped and slightly broken from the right side but the image of the ibex is intact. The seal is said to date back to 2500-2000 B.C.

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QUESTIONS@IP...

CURRENT AFFAIRS QUESTIONS@IP

1. Consider the following statements about the film Adaminte Makan Abu: (1) National award winning Malayalam film, nominated as Indias official entry for Oscar academy awards. (2) The Oscar nomination committee of the Film Federation of India is headedby Mr Aamir Khan. (3) It was directed by Salim Ahamed, projecting human values and communal harmony. True statement/s is/are: (a) Only (1) (b) Only (1) & (2) (c) Only (2) & (3) (d) Only (1) & (3) 2. Karnataka High Court has directed the State government to pay the minimum wage under the MGNREGA. In this context consider the following deficiencies of the Act. I. Lack of administrative and technical manpower at the block and gram panchayat level. II. Inadequate/lack of continuous mobilization of rural poor. III. Fake job cards and fabricated muster rolls. IV. Improper indexation of wages to inflation means inadequate social security. Which is/are correct? (a) I, II and III (b) I, III and IV (c) II, III and IV (d) All of the above 3. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) wants the rules tightened to bring a larger number of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) under its scrutiny. In this context consider the following statements about CCI. I. Competition Commission of India (CCI) was established with effect from 14th October 2003. II. The goal is to eliminate practices having adverse effect on competition, promote and sustain competition, protect the interests of consumers and ensure freedom of trade in the markets of India. Which is/are correct? (a) I only (c) Both I and II (d) Neither I nor II 4. Which two countries have been admitted to the WTO at the eighth ministerial conference of WTO held in Geneva in 2011? (a) Samoa and Montenegro (b) Montenegro and South Sudan (c) South Sudan and Tuvalu (d) Russia and South Sudan 5. Which of the following statements about the Constitution (111th Amendment) Bill, 2009 is/are true? 1. The Bill proposes to add a new Directive Principles of State Policy. 2. The Bill proposes to insert a new part IX B in the Constitution. (a) Only 1 (b) Only 2 (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 6. The Export-Import Bank of India (Amendment) Bill, 2011 proposes to increase the authorized capital of the EXIM Bank from (a) Rs 2,000 crore to Rs 10,000 crore (b) II only (b) Rs 2,000 crore to Rs 15,000 crore (c) Rs 5,000 crore to Rs 10,000 crore (d) Rs 5,000 crore to Rs 15,000 crore 7. The Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research Bill, 2010 seeks to establish the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research. The chairperson of its Board shall be appointed by (a) The President of India (b) The Prime Minister of India (c) The President of India on the recommendation of the President of CSIR. (d) The President of CSIR 8. Which of the following is/are correct regarding ASEAN/EAS summit 2011? I. India will host tenth IndiaASEAN summit-2012 and it is the special Commemorative summit for 20 years of their partnership. II. In EAS-2011, Russia and USA were allowed to attend the summit for the first time. (a) I only (b) II only (c) Both I & II (d) None 9. Which of the following is/are not correct regarding India Singapore relations? I. Singapore is the first country with which India signed CECA II. Singapore is Indias largest trade and investment partner from the ASEAN region and now accounts for a third of our overall trade with South East Asia. (a) I only (b) II only (c) Both I & II (d) None

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10. Where was the first India -ASEAN green fund-2011 meeting held? (a) Bali, Indonesia (b) Phnom Penh, Cambodia (c) Manado, Indonesia (d) New Delhi, India 11. Which of the following is/are mentioned about India in OECD report perspectives of global development 2012? I. Low-caste households living in low-caste dominated villages have a higher income than those in villages dominated by a high caste. II. Labour has also moved from formal to informal employment, which offsets the positive impact on productivity III. A focus on labour markets and agricultural growth could spur the country to a better poverty alleviation record

Select the correct one: (a) Only (1) & (3) (b) Only (2) (c) Only (3) (d) All (1), (2) & (3) are correct 14. According to the report of an expert group on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Set up by the Planning Commission of India, correct statement is/are: (1) Suggested to create an Indian Public Health Service Cadre. (2) Opposed the introduction of a three-year Bachelor of Rural Health Care (BRHC) degree. (3) It advocated the empowerment of girls and women to enable them to realize their health rights. Select the correct one on the basis of above statement: (a) Only (1) & (2) (b) Only (1) & (3) (c) All the three statements are correct (d) Only (2) & (3) 15. Considering the mother and child health scenario in India the approach to solve the mother and child health problem should consist of: (1) Strengthening womens role in health care provisions. (2) Access to health services should go beyond maternal and child health. (3) Greater financial and human resources should be allocated to address nutritional anemia, sexual and reproductive health, domestic and gender-based violence and critical mental health services. Select the correct one among the following: (a) Only (1) & (2) (b) Only (2) & (3) (c) Only (1) & (3)

(d) All the three (1), (2) & (3) are correct. 16. The Union Sports Ministry amended National Sports Bill draft. It will now read as: (1) The National Anti-Doping Agency shall function as the apex body to implement antidoping measures in sports in India and its code as amended from time to time shall applicable and binding upon all National Sports Federation and the National Olympic Committee. (2) The proposed law is trying to bring international cricketers under the WADA Code. (3) A fresh clause has been brought that will allow a federation to refuse information about selection of players/athletes & selection/appointment of coaches. Select the incorrect statement: (a) Only (1) is incorrect. (b) Only (2) is incorrect. (c) Only (3) is incorrect. (d) All statements are correct. 17. Read the following statement: (1) Recently the Supreme Court of India has directed the Chief Secretaries of all states to specify the additional requirement of food grains under the Public Distribution System to prevent death due to starvation (2) The bench also asked the Centre to computerize the PDS, a recommendation of Wadhwa committee, to stop pilferage and corruption. (3) The bench passed the orders on a petition filed by the Social Activist Mr. S.C. Agarwal. Select the correct one: (a) Only (a) & (c) are correct (b) Only (a) & (b) are correct

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(a) II & III only (c) I & II only

(b) III only (d) I, II & III

12. Which Indian PSUs recently proposed to set up $11bn plant near Hajikak mines (Afghanistan )? (a) SAIL consortium (b) Indian metallurgical ltd (c) NALCO (d) Coal India ltd 13. Now a days Government is giving advertisement in newspapers to avoid junk food especially in school age group of children. (1) It signifies New Delhis Call for Action on combating Noncommunicable Diseases in India. (2) It will exclusively address major risk factors like obesity, hypertension & other life style related disease. (3) There has been great increase in junk food consumption in school age group children.

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(c) Only (b) & (c) are correct (d) All (a), (b), & (c) are correct 18. Match the following A. Lee B. Nanmadol C. Able D. Yak-42 A (a) 1 (b) 2 (c) 3 (d) 4 B 2 1 4 3 1. Typhoon 2. Hurricane 3. Missile 4. Aeroplane C 3 3 2 2 D 4 4 1 1

21. The National Commission on Farmers (NCF) was constituted on November 18, 2004 under the chairmanship of Professor M.S. Swaminathan. The Commission presented the major causes of the agrarian crisis as: (1) Unfinished reform agenda in land

the development of tourism sector in the entire country. (3) Target for year 2016 is 100 million tourists. Which of the statements given above is /are correct? (a) 1 (c) 3 (b) 2 (d)1,2 and 3 : Cricket

(2) Technology fatigue, (3) No opportunities for assured and remunerative marketing (4) Adverse meteorological factors (a) Only 1 and 2 (b) Only 2 and 3 (c) Only 3 and 4 (d) All of the above 22. Government of India Instituted Rajiv Gandhi khel Ratna awards to honour the sports persons and teams . Regarding above award, identify the correct statement. (1) First Rajiv Gandhi khel ratna award was given to Sachin Tendulkar. (2) Award was instituted in the year 1991-92. (3) Till today, maximum dominance in awards tally goes to shooting. (a) 1 only (c)1 and 3 (b) 2 only (d) 2 and 3

25. Identify the incorrect match (1) Dennis Ritchie (2) Homai vyarawalla : Photography (3) Peter roebuck : C Programming (4) Hattangadi Shashidhar : Urology Correct option is: (a)1 and 2 (b)2 and 3 (c)1 and 3 (d) 1 and 4 26. Consider the following statements (1) Pravasi bharatiya divas (PBD) was started on the recommendation of HLC (high level committee) headed by L.M.Singhvi. (2) Theme for 10 PBD is Global Indian: Inclusive Growth (3) Chief Guest of Tenth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Which of the statements given above is /are correct? (a) 1, 2 and 3 (c) 1 and 3 (b) 2 and 3 (d) 1 and 2

19. The Petroleum and Minerals Pipelines (Acquisition of Right of User in Land) Amendment Bill, 2010 has enhanced the punishment for any person making unauthorised connection with a pipeline or damages the pipeline or extracts petroleum from the pipeline or disrupts supplies to ten years imprisonment and a fine. For subsequent offences the person shall be liable to rigorous imprisonment between three to ten years. Earlier, the punishment varied between (a) Three months and six months (b) Six months and three years (c) Two years and Seven years (d) Six months and Five years 20. Direct Taxes Code Bill, 2010 entails which of the following features? (1) Companies will be taxed at 30% of business income. (2) Foreign companies shall pay an additional branch profits tax of 15%. (3) Non-profit organisations will be taxed at 15%. (4) The Bill differentiates between short term and long term capital gains for all assets except securities listed on stock exchanges. (a) 1, 2 and 3 (b) 1, 2 and 4 (c) 2, 3 and 4 (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

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23. For the year 2009 Jawahar Lal Nehru award for International Understanding is presented to: (a) Angela Merkel (b) Aung San Suu kyi (c) Sheikh Hasina (d) Jigme Khesar Wangchuck Namgyel

27. Consider the following statements (1) In 19th session of UNWTO General Assembly, India has been made chairman of the United Nation South Asian Regional commission for tourism. (2) Tenure of India as chairman will be 2 year. (3) Head quarter of UNWTO is in Madrid, Spain. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 only (c) 1 and 3 (b) 1 and 2 (d) 1,2 and 3

24. Consider the following statements: (1) The Union Tourism Ministry has proposed Rs 600 crore in the 12th five year plan for the development of tourism in the North eastern region (2) Planning Commission has allocate the Rs2500 crore for

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28. Consider the following statements about Vechur cow (1) The Vechur cow is acknowledged by the Guinness Book of World Records as the smallest in the world (90 cm in height). (2) A scientific analysis of its milk has disapproved claims of any medicinal properties. (3) It is an indigenous breed of Tamil Nadu (4) Medicinal property of the Vechur cows milk had been accepted traditionally by Ayurveda. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 and 2 (c) 1and 4 (b) 2 and 3 (d) 2 and 4

The seven Indian organisations removed from the End User\ Entity List can now enter into transactions involving sensitive dual-use equipment, technology, and software. Which are not one of them? I. Bharat Dynamics Limited II. Bharat Electrics Limited III. Solid State Physics Laboratory IV. United Phosphorus Limited Choose the correct combination. (a) I, II and III (b) II, III and IV (c) I, III and IV (d) All of the above 32. The draft for Food Security Bill provided for mandatory supply of subsidised grains to identified beneficiaries under the targeted public distribution system. The draft proposed coverage of up to (a) 68 per cent of rural and 48 per cent of urban population (b) 75 per cent of rural and 46 per cent of urban population (c) 46 per cent of rural and 75 per cent of urban population (d) 75 per cent of rural and 50 per cent of urban population 33. Parliament has passed Cooperatives Societies Act. Which of the following are its features? (1) Cooperatives could set up agency which would oversee elections. (2) Right to form cooperatives is a Fundamental Right. (3) Directors of a cooperative board must not exceed 12. (a) Only 1 and 2 (b) Only 2 and 3 (c) Only 1 and 3 (d) All of the above 34. Where was the 1st India -ASEAN summit-2011 on agriculture held? (a) Jakarta, Indonesia

(b) Phnom penh, Cambodia (c) Bali, Indonesia (d) New Delhi, India 35. Which of the following area/s having shale gas potential in India are planned for bidding in 12th five year plan? I. Cambay (in Gujarat), AssamArakan (in the Northeast) and Gondawana (in central India) II. KG onshore (in Andhra Pradesh), Cauvery onshore and Indo Gangatic basins Correct option is: (a) I only (c) Both I & II (b) II only (d) None

29. Which of the following is/are not correct regarding geostrategic importance of ASEAN region? I. For USA, to counter the piracy and terrorism in this region as a part of war on terror II. For India, this is the only region which is vital to counter the chinas string of pearls strategy III. For china, it wants to assert its sovereignty over south china and East China Sea through its muscular foreign policy. (a) I & III only (b) I only (c) I, II & III (d) I & II only 30. Which of the following is/are true regarding Indias stand on Irans nuclear issue? I. After the IAEA report on Iran, India had voted on resolutions at International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) against Iran II. India has also supported sanctions route to thwart Irans nuclear weapon programme (a) I only (c) Both I & II (b) II only (d) none

36. Which of the following is /are correct regarding inequality report given by OECD? I. Brazil, Indonesia and Argentina have recorded significant progress in reducing inequality over the past 20 years II. China, India, the Russian Federation and South Africa have all become less equal in the past 20 years. III. Across the OECD region, The average income of the richest 10 per cent is now about nine times that of the poorest 10 per cent (a) II & III only (b) II only (c) I & III only (d) I,II & III 37. Which of the following is/are correct regarding proposed amendments to the Exim Bank Act 1981? I. To increase the authorized capital of Export Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) from Rs.2,000 crore to Rs.10,000 crore. II. In the future there is no need to get parliament approval to increase the capital and it can be done by the executive order itself (a) I only (c) Both I & II (b) II only (d) None

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31. Japan has removed several Indian companies from its end user list.

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38. Which of the following is/are correct regarding UNs International Law Commission? I. ILC consists of 34 members who must be experts on international law II. The members are elected by the General Assembly from a list of candidates nominated by governments of member states in the U.N. III. Indias Narinder Singh was elected as a member of the Commission for a five year term beginning January 1, 2012. (a) I & III only (b) II & III only (c) I & II only (d) all the above 39. Which of the following regional grouping through its own funding gave sport centre as a gift to Palestine for showing its solidarity recently? (a) IBSA (c) Arab league (b) BRICS (d) ASEAN

II. Recently Bombay high court upheld amended Maharashtra Municipal Corporations and Municipal Councilors Act of 2011 in which the number of reservations for women was increased from 33 per cent to 50 per cent. (a) I only (c) Both I & II (b) II only (d) None

violent suppression of protestors? (a) Arab league (b) Gulf cooperation council (c) Organization conference (d) OPEC 47. Identify the incorrect pairs: (1) Goods and Services Tax : 115th Constitutional Amendment bill (2) 50% reservation to : 112th Constitutional Amendment bill women in municipality (3) 50% reservation to : 110th Constitutional Amendment bill women in panchayats (4) Lok Pal and Lokayuktas Bill : 116th Constitutional Amendment bill (a) 1 and 2 (c) 1 and 4 (b) all (d) none of these for Islamic

42. Which of the following is/are correct about PHOBOS-GRUNT in the news recently? I. It is the Russian made space vehicle. II. It is launched to take sample from mars but failed & dropped in pacific ocean Correct option is: (a) I only (c) both I & II (b) II only (d) none

43. What will happen if the country is downgraded by the credit rating agency? I. The country has to borrow the funds in higher interest rates than earlier. II. The yield from that countrys bonds will be higher for the investor. (a) I only (c) both I & II (b) II only (d) none

40. Why Bangladesh is opposing for the construction of Manipurs Tipaimukh dam across Barak River? (a) It affects the environmentally sensitive areas of Bangladesh which is under statutory conservation. (b) There is a disagreement between sharing of hydropower generated from this dam. (c) It may make the north-eastern Bangladesh arid and thus affects its agriculture and food security. (d) According to river water sharing treaty, India has no right in building dam across Barak River. 41. Which of the following is/are true regarding reservation for women in local government? I. Only state government has the power to increase the reservation quota for women in the local government.

48. Tension has grown between the United States of America and Iran over the nuclear programme of the later. Iran is threatening U.S.A by blocking the Strait of Hormuz if economic sanctions are imposed on it. Strait of Hormuz connects which to water bodies: (a) Gulf of Aden and Persian gulf (b) Gulf of Omen and Gulf of Aden (c) Persian gulf and Gulf of Omen (d) Gulf of Omen and Arabian sea 49. Which of the diseases given below is included recently in the global list of non-communicable diseases at WHO by seamless effort of India along with USA and Switzerland? (a) Mental Disorders (b) Malaria (c) Cancer (d) Blindness 50. Groundbreaking technology Electronic Nose has the potential to diagnose which deadly disease symptom. (a) Dementia (c) HIV (b) Tuberculosis (d) Cancer

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44. Arrange the following countries in the descending order of their uranium deposits 1. Kazhakastan 3. Australia (a) 1, 2, 3 (c) 3, 2, 1 (b) 2, 3, 1 (d) 3, 1, 2 2. Canada

45. Which is the airbase from which Pakistan asked US troops to withdraw after the NATO killing of 24 pakistani soldiers? (a) Shamsi (c) Quetta (b) Kalett (d) Faisalabad

46. Which regional grouping imposed sanctions on Syria for its continued

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ANSWERS
1. (d) Exp.: Oscar nomination committee of FFI is headed by B. Lenin. 2. (a) 3. (c) 4. (a) 5. (c) 6. (a) 7. (d) 8. (a) Exp.: i) India established relation with ASEAN as sectoral dialogue partner in 1992.so 2012 is the 20th year of partnership. But India joined in 2002 as summit level partner so 2012 will be 10th India-ASEAN summit (the venue is India for the first time). ii) It is not correct because in EAS,USA and Russia were the observers so far and attended all the summits earlier. But in 2011, they were admitted as members in the EAS 9. (d) 10. (b) 11. (d) Exp.: OECD report titled Perspectives on Global Development in 2012: Social Cohesion in Shifting Worldwhich discussed about the economic and social dimensions of development in India along with other countries 12. (a) 13. (d) 14. (b) Exp.: Expert group on UHC has supported the introduction of a three-year BRHC degree. 15. (d) 16. (b) Exp.: The last portion of the clause is the addition, and it should provide some comfort to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that theproposed law is not trying to bring international cricketers under the WADA Code through the backdoor as has been the popular perception. The Union Sports Ministry has brought in a new clause in the revised draft of the National Sports Bill and cleared the air that no federation being forced to come under the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA), against its wishes and rules. 17. (b) Exp.: The bench passed the order on a petition filed by Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL). 18. (b) 19. (b) 20. Exp.: Bill remove the differentiation between short term and long term capital gains. 21. (d) 22. (d) Exp.: first prize was given to Viswanathan Anand in 1991-92 23. (a) 24. (a) Exp.: Planning commission has allocated Rs 2200 crore and target is 73 million tourists 25. (c) Exp.: Dennis MacAlistair Ritchie created the C programming language Peter roebuck was a cricketer and famous commentator. 26. (a) 27. (c) Exp.: Tenure of Indias chairmanship is four year. 28. (c) 29. (d) Exp.: i)war on terror is related to afghan and pak region. ASEAN is politically significant for America ii) it is not the only region for India to counter string of pearls strategy. For India, the significance of this region is more economic than political iii) correct statement 30. (a) Exp.: India wants to resolve Irans nuclear issue diplomatically rather than through tough unilateral economical sanctions. 31. (c) 32. (d) 33. (a) Exp.: The maximum no. of Directors has been put at 21. 34. (a) 35. (c) Exp.: recently government has planned to open the bid in shale gas exploration for 12th five year plan. 36. (d) 37. (c) Expl: At present, if the government wants to increase the capital of exim bank, it has to propose amendments and it should be approved by the parliament. This causes time delay in taking decision. So in the proposed amendments, the capital can be raised in the future through executive order itself. 38. (d) Exp.: India was reelected to international law commission in the UN recently 39. (a) Exp.: India, along with Brazil and South Africa, has consistently supported Palestines cause. The sports centre is the first project completed through IBSA funding and two more IBSA-funded projects are in progress rehabilitation of the Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza and construction of a Centre for People with Special Needs in Nablus. 40. (c) Exp.: if the dam is built then it will affect the quantity of water in downstream. It render most of the agri dependent north eastern Bangladesh to be arid and thus affects its food security. 41. (b) Exp.: i) false. Because both state legislature and parliament is having power to legislate on these matters. Recently 110&112 constitutional amendment bills introduced in parliament to increase the number of seats from 33 to 50 percent in the local government. 42. (a) Exp.: PHOBOS-GRUNT is the Russian made space vehicle to take samples from the moon of mars named PHOBOS(larger moon of mars) 43. (c) Exp.: If the country is downgraded then investors will not have confident in investing in that country, so the borrowing becomes costlier for that country. But whoever invests in the country will yield high from the bonds of that country (but subjected to other risks also) 44. (b) 45. (a) Exp. : Shamsi base is located in Pakistan which was given to US for using it as a transit route to Afghanistan. 46. (a) Exp. : In Syria there was anti-government protests for more than 10 months, in that protests lot of civilians were killed. So the Arab league imposed sanctions on Syria to stop its violence against protestors. 47. (d) 48. (c) 49. (a) 50. (b)

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CSAT MODEL TEST PAPER

Directions for the following 6 (six) items: Read the two passages given below, and answer the question based upon it; projecting thought process to draw conclusion from what the writer wants to say is also required: Passage-1 (1-4) The Indo-Russian fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) is superior than the similar Chinese and American rival fighter jets which include the J 20 Black Eagle and the F-22 Raptor, a top Russian military commander has claimed. India and Russia are jointly developing the Sukhoi T-50 PAK FA FGFA for their respective air forces and have plans of producing over 400 of these highlyadvanced fighter jets. Commander of the Russian Air Force Colonel General Alexander Zelin told Russian news agency RIA Novosti that his countrys government has decided to give top priority to the development of the joint venture aircraft. While comparing Russias T-50 PAK FA with the US F-22 Raptor and Chinas Chengdu J-20 Black Eagle, one concludes that the T-50 is superior to its foreign analogues in terms of its maximum speed in afterburner and standard modes, maximum range and thrust-to-weight ratio, he said. The Russian Air Force Commander said that despite the comparable dimensions and weight of the Chinese J20 Black Eagle and the F-22 raptor, the T-50 has much shorter take-off and landing runs. Moreover, its on-board equipment has better specifications than its foreign equivalents. India signed a preliminary design contract with Russia recently for the aircraft and is planning to induct around 250 of them starting from 2017. Commenting on the flight tests schedule of the FGFA, Zelin said, Tests are now taking place as planned in line with specific decisions. Over 100 flights have been performed and all the specifications obtained during the tests confirm T-50 project requirements. The tests involve three fixed-wing aircraft, and three more aircraft will arrive in the near future. All in all, the tests will involve 14 aircraft, he added. 1. As you read the passage, what can be this write-up be? (a) A Press Release (b) A Russian Advocacy Pressure Group the Fifth Generation Aircraft is successfully developed Passage-2 (5-6) Allaying fears of a China-like crackdown on companies like Google and Facebook, Communications and IT Minister Kapil Sibal has said the government has no plans to censor the social media but they have to obey the laws of the country. I have never said that we want to censor. The government doesnt want to do anything with them, Sibal said. He said print and electronic media are governed by the laws of the country, so the social media cannot be above it. It is not for us to tell them because we are not here to decide how they must obey the law... it is the social medias responsibility, Sibal said. He said that the government is aware of certain things happening in the social media which are contrary to the laws of the country but the government has not taken any action despite the fact that the present regulations under the Act empowers the government to do so. We have our regulations... if we had wanted to act, we would have acted against the intermediaries, he said. The government has initiated a dialogue process with the social media companies on to how to manage the material on their websites that could offend religious groups. The government brought to the notice of the social media (the objectionable content) and asked them what they can do about it, Sibal said. 5. As per the news report, the stand taken by the Minister (Government) is (a) Deceptive (b) Highly Autocratic (c) Self-Contradictory (d) Benediction/Benevolence 6. Government is interested in curbing the problem by

(c) A Newspaper Item (d) A Press Release by Russian Diplomat 2. What can be the characteristics of the Fifth Generation Aircrafts as per the passage? (a) Maximum speed in afterburner and standard modes, (b) Maximum range and thrust-toweight ratio, (c) Shorter take-off and landing runs (d) On-board equipment has better specifications than its foreign equivalents (e) All of the above 3. Which are the nations that have the capability to build Fifth Generation Aircraft? (a) Germany (c) Russia (b) USA (d) Both B & C

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4. The FGA planes that are to be developed, will also be inducted into the Russian Forces apart from it being given to Indian Air Force (a) The statement is probably true (b) Statement is absolutely true (c) Statement is true but subject to certain conditions (d) This matter will be decided after

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(a) Initiating a dialogue process with the IT logistical sections (b) Making the people aware through ICE (read information, communication and education) not to be entrapped by such sites (c) Crackdown on the site owners (d) Taking the help of Advocate General and prosecuting the people involved 7. The average of 6 two-digit numbers is 64, if the digits of a number is reversed then the average of the 6 numbers becomes 67. Which of the following can be the difference between the units and tens digit of the number reversed? (a) 1 (b) 2 (c) 3 (d) 4 8. Three cyclists were racing against each other in a circular track of length 10 km. The cyclist A completes a round in 10 minutes while the cyclist B rode the cycle at a speed of 5 m/sec. The third cyclist completes the race in 2 hours 10 minutes by completing 25 rounds of the track. Who among the three could have won the race? (a) A (c) C (b) B (d) Both A and C

In the figure shown above, M1, M2 and M3 are the three plane mirrors. A ray of light R falls on the mirror M1 as shown in the figure. The direction of the reflected light that emerges out of the system is ________. (a) 90 in clockwise direction of R. (b) 135 in clockwise direction of R (c) Exactly opposite direction of R. to the

16. Working individually A, B and C can complete piece of work in 15, 20 and 25 days respectively. They completed the work in 6 days with the help of D. If they earned Rs 7500 for the entire work, how much did S earn for the work? (a) Rs 2500 (b) Rs 2800 (b) Rs 3000 (d) Cannot be determined Directions for the following 04 (four) items: Read the following passage and incur the best possible answer for the question that follows it: Passage (Q.17-20) The Supreme Court directed the Centre to constitute a special committee forthwith for inter-linking of rivers for the benefit of the entire nation. A Bench of Chief Justice S.J. Kapadia and Justices A.K. Patnaik and Swatanter Kumar, in its judgment in a 2002 case relating to networking of rivers, said the committee should submit a bi-annual report to the Union Cabinet, which must consider the report and take decisions. Writing the judgment, Justice Kumar said: As pointed out in the report by NCAER and by the Standing Committee, the delay has adversely affected the financial benefits that could have accrued to the concerned parties and the people at large, and is in fact now putting a financial strain on all concerned. The Bench said: This is a matter of national benefit and progress. We see no reason why any State should lag behind in contributing its bit to bringing the inter-linking river programme to a success, thus saving the people living in drought-prone zones from hunger and people living in flood-prone areas from the destruction caused by floods. It said: The NCAER report clearly opines that the interlinking of river projects will prove fruitful for the nation as a whole and would serve a greater purpose by allowing higher returns from the agricultural sector for the benefit of the entire economy. This would also result in

(d) 45 in anti-clockwise direction of R. Directions for the three items given below: A, B, C, D, E and F are six friends. Two among them are girls. They decide to go on a road trip on three bikes. No girl rides a bike. C sits behind A and F sits behind D. B is riding a Pulsar while D is sitting on the Karizma. C is sitting on Yamaha FZ and she is the best friend of A. 11. Who among them is a girl? (a) C (b) B (c) F (d) E 12. Who is sitting on the pillion of Pulsar? (a) A (c) B (a) C (c) E (b) E (d) Cannot be determined (b) F (d) Cannot be determined

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13. Which boy is riding the bike?

9. A milkman has 6 cows which give a total of 45 litres of milk. The milkman decides to sell away one cow which resulted in 20% decrease in the milk production for the milkman. What is the difference in the amount of milk given by that cow to that of the average milk given by the remaining cows? (a) 1 litre (c) 1.5 litres (b) 800 ml (d) 1.8 litres

14. How many triangles are there in the figure given below?

10. Consider the figure given below and answer the item that follows:

(a) 20 (c) 22

(b) 21 (d) 24

15. What is the probability of getting exactly 3 tails in 7 tosses of a coin? (a) 35/128 (b) 3/128 (c) 1/16 (d) 93/128

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providing varied benefits like control of floods, providing water to [the] droughtprone States, providing water to a larger part of agricultural land and even power generation. Besides benefits to the country, it will help the countries like Nepal etc., uplifting Indias international role. Importantly, they also point to a very important facet of interlinking of rivers, i.e., it may result in reduction of some diseases due to the supply of safe drinking water, and thus serve a greater purpose for humanity. 17. The Supreme Court has passed this judgement based on what credentials (a) A Report by NCAER (b) A Report by Standing Committee (c) Both A & B (d) Report submitted by amicus curae 18. SC has said the Centre to constitute a Committee which will submit reports to the Union Cabinet (a) Annually (b) Every Two Years (c) Every Six months one before monsoon and one after Spring (d) Every Quarter 19. As per the judgement of the SC, the inter-linking of the rivers will do which of the following? (a) Saving the people living in drought-prone zones from hunger and people living in flood-prone areas from the destruction caused by floods. (b) Allowing higher returns from the agricultural sector for the benefit of the entire economy (c) Uplifting Indias international role (d) Both A & B (e) A, B & C 20. This judgment can be called as the classic case of (a) Judicial Radicalism (b) Judicial Activism

(c) Judicial Naivism (d) Constitutionalism Directions for the three items given below: In a singing competition there were two finalists Aryan and Shreya. There were 42630 persons who came to see the grand finale round. The ultimate winner was to be selected through polls. A poll was conducted and 45% of the total male audience voted for Aryan while 40% of female audience voted for Shreya. Finally Shreya won by 450 votes. 21. What is the ratio of males and females in the audience? (a) 2992:1271 (b) 2993:1270 (c) 2999:1263 (d) Cannot be determined 22. What is the total number of male votes to Shreya? (a) 16459 (c) 13464 (b) 7626 (d) 16456

(b) If only B can be inferred. (c) If both A and B can be inferred. (d) In neither A nor B can be inferred. 24. All Automobiles are Vehicles. Some Vehicles are Cars. All Cars are Automobiles. (a) All Cars are Vehicles. (b) Some Automobiles are not Cars. 25. Some Ducks are Hens. All Hens are Swans. All Swans are not Ducks. (a) Some Ducks are not Swans. (b) Some Ducks are Swans. 26. Find the missing number in the figure given below:

23. How many female votes did Aryan get? (a) 7697 (c) 16456 (b) 7626 (d) None of these (a) 13 (b) 14 (c) 15 (d) 16

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Directions for the two items given below: Each of the following two items consists of three statements, followed by two statements A and B. Mark your answer: (a) If only A can be inferred.

Directions for the three items given below: The following bar graph shows the distribution of number of visitors in various public places in the cities A, B and C per month. There are no other public places other than those specified

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below. Based on this chart, answer the questions that follow: 27. Which city has the maximum number people visiting public places? (a) City A (c) City C (d) Cannot be determined 28. What percentage of the total visitors in public places visited Theatres? (a) 17.4% (c) 24.6% (b) 18.2% (d) 19.8% (b) City B

31. Which bus covered the maximum distance till time T0? (a) A (c) C (b) B (d) Cannot be determined

but the aviation regulator made it clear there were no plans to take any punitive action against it for the moment. Let us not talk of punitive action at the moment. We are more interested to see the airline back on its feet. Our priority is not to punish...because of the immediate difficulties the travelling public will have to face, DGCA chief E K Bharat Bhushan said after a two-hour meeting with Kingfisher CEO Sanjay Aggarwal and Executive Vice President Hitesh Patel. Bhushan was asked whether DGCA would consider action against Kingfisher for flouting Aircraft Rules by not taking its prior approval for drastic curtailment of its flights. As over 40 flights were cancelled across the country today, the airline informed DGCA that it had 28 functional aircraft, out of 64 planes in November last year. The airlines top brass were summoned to explain the large-scale disruptions in the operations and the reasons. We have had a good meeting. Some more information has been sought by DGCA which will be provided in the next 24 hours, Aggarwal said after the meeting. DGCA asked the two top officials to provide a realistic flight schedule the airline can operate with 28 planes. Sources said the airlines explanation that flights were affected due to freezing of its bank accounts by the Income Tax authorities cannot be accepted. Bhushan said he would submit a report on the discussions to the Civil Aviation Ministry in the evening. 35. As per the passage what is DGCA (a) Directorate General of Civil Aviation (b) Aviation Regulator (c) Guild of Pilot (d) Could be A or B 36. The passage basically talks about (a) Specific case of a particular airline (b) A general dooms scenario of the airline industry

32. Which of the following statements is incorrect? (a) Bus B travelled more distance than Bus C till time T0. (b) Speed of Bus B is greater than Bus A at time T0. (c) Average speed of Bus B is the highest. (d) Bus B travelled with a constant acceleration. Directions for the two items given below: Atharva manufactured and sold belts. The production cost per belt was Rs 80 and marks the belts at Rs 100 per belt and sells it at the marked price. He pays a tax on the marked price of the belts at the rate of 10.5%. Atharva now decides to offer a discount of 5% on the marked price, while the government decides to charge the tax at 12.5% on the production cost. 33. What is the percentage difference in the tax paid by Atharva per belt before and after the change in government tax rules? (a) 10% (c) 4.7% (b) 5% (d) 4.5%

29. What is the approx. percentage difference between the highest number of visitors in a public place to the second highest number of visitors? (a) 14% (c) 21% (b) 19% (d) 24%

30. The figure below shows the speed of four trains as the time proceeds.

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Which train will cover the maximum distance in the entire time period? (a) A (b) B (c) C (d) D Directions for the two items given below: Study the following information along with the graph given below and answer the questions that follow: Three buses A, B and C start from a station simultaneously and heads towards another station. All the buses travel on the same route. The speed time graph of the three buses are shown in the graph below.

34. What is the percentage increase or decrease in the Atharvas profit? (a) 5% increase (b) 5% decrease (c) 4.7% increase (d) 4.7% decrease Directions for the following 4 (four) items: Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow them based on the understanding part of it: Passage (35 - 40) Struggling to stay afloat after cancelling large number of flights, Kingfisher Airlines was recently rapped by DGCA for not adhering to its flight schedules

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(c) Both the above (d) None of the above 37. As per the report, the tone of the government is (a) Strict (b) Conciliatory (c) Forgiving (d) Demanding 38. Bhushan was asked whether DGCA would consider action against Kingfisher for flouting Aircraft Rules by not taking its prior approval for drastic curtailment of its flights; in this instance the airline has cancelled how many flights? (a) 40 (c) 64 (b) 28 (d) Over 40

(c) 1 hr 55 min

(d) 1 hr 45 min

42. Due to an accident 68 km away from shore, a leak occurred in a ship. It was found that the leak admitted 4 tonnes of water in 6 minutes. It is known that 140 tonnes of water is sufficient to sink the ship. If the ship manages to reach the shore just before sinking, what was the average speed of the ship during the last 70 kms of the journey? (a) 65 km/hr (c) 72 km/hr (b) 70 km/hr (d) 74 km/hr

the factory on its side are considered its neighbor. So, each factory has exactly two neighbours.
l

Mr Mehrotra and Agrawal are very close friends and have their factory side by side. Red and Cream colour factories are side by side and Cream colour factory is a corner factory. Agrawals have a Blue factory and Bansals have a green factory. Pink and Blue colored factories are neighbors. Neither Mehrotras nor Agrawals own a corner factory. Red and White factories are in front of each other. Ambanis are the neighbours of Green coloured factory. Bansals and Singhanias are business rivals and hence are neither neighbours nor have factories in front of each other. Patels did not have a Yellow factory and own a corner factory. The factory in front of Bansals is factory is of Pink colour. Singhanias own coloured factory. the Magenta

Directions for the three items given below: In a college annual function, 30% of the total students registered to take part in the dancing competition and 75% of the total students registered to participate in singing competition. All students participated in at least one of these two events and eight students wanted to participate in both. 43. How many students are there in the college? (a) 100 (c) 150 (b) 120 (d) 160

39. As per the Airline official, the airline has (a) Less than half of aircraft as compared to four months back (b) Problem associated with the hanger space at the airport (c) Pilot not working as well as the flight crew owing to strike (d) None of the above 40. What does the DGCA not ready to believe (a) That the government is not supporting the airline to stand back on is feet (b) Flights were affected due to freezing of its bank accounts by the Income Tax authorities (c) All the airline due to the current business environment can only stand if given Sovereign Financial Support (d) Could be A & C 41. A man sitting inside a moving train notices that he can count exactly 26 electric poles in one minute. If he knows that each pole is separated by a distance of 40 m, then when asked by him to tell how much time will the train take to cover a distance of 120 km if the train moves with the same current speed, what answer would be correct? (a) 2 hr 5 min (b) 2 hr

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44. What percentage of the total students want to participate in exactly one event? (a) 85% (b) 90% (c) 95% (d) Cannot be determined 45. How many students want to participate in singing competition? (a) 75 (c) 120 (b) 70 (d) 112

46. Which family own a factory to the left of the Yellow factory? (a) Birlas (c) Singhanias (a) Ambanis (c) Birlas (d) Either Birlas or Khoslas 48. Which coloured factory can be in front of Khoslas factory? (a) Blue (c) Red (b) Green (d) None of these (b) Bansals (d) Khoslas (b) Khoslas

47. Who owns the Red factory?

Directions for the five items given below: There are 8 factories, 4 in each side of a lane. All the factories are coloured differently. All factories are owned by different people namely Mehrotras, Agrawals, Birlas, Bansals, Khoslas, Ambanis, Singhanias and Patels. Each factory has two neighbours to them. Any factory can be considered a neighbor to any other factory if it is on either side of the factory. If the factory is a corner factory, then the factory in front of it and

49. Three among the following four are related in some way or the other, identify the one which is not related. (a) Bansal (c) Mehrotra (b) Patel (d) Singhania

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50. Who among the four cannot be the neighbours of Bansals? (a) Ambanis (c) Khoslas (b) Birlas (d) Agrawals

51. In how many ways, 8 letters can be put in their respective envelops such a way that exactly three of them have been put in the wrong addressed envelope? (a) 56 (c) 112 (b) 64 (d) 128

economic interests, it is important to note that businesses can, and must, play a vital role in building a greener world. Today, businesses across the world are committed to green growth and building a sustainable global economy as it will ensure their future growth. There is a unique opportunity for businesses from developed and developing nations to collaborate and develop low-carbon technologies and business models. Low-carbon economy is an area with immense investment potential, but if that investment is to come at the speed the science says is necessary, then certainty is the key. At Copenhagen and Cancun, countries agreed to mobilise $100 billion a year by 2020 to support developing countries in their fight against climate change. Businesses want to play a role in delivering this finance, which wont all come from public funds. Businesses, therefore, need governments to reassure them that their policies will support that investment. India has rightly asked for an equitable deal on curbing greenhouse emissions, given the fast-growing energy requirements to support its economic expansion. India is also aggressively pursuing development of renewable and nuclear energy sources. However, there is immense scope for India to emerge as a global leader in the development of a low-carbon global economy, particularly through low-cost technology. Developing this capability is more important for India, given its vast population that may be affected by climate change. The Indian government must take some bold initiatives in this regard and make businesses a partner. A possible solution would be creating an ecosystem that promotes a culture of collaboration between governments, academia and businesses in this area. This must be preceded by an environment that can help bring in much-needed technology and even finances into such an ecosystem. 53. The writer talks appreciative about the Durban meet. Does this explain the tone of the passage?

(a) Absolutely not (b) Absolutely correct (c) Partially Correct (d) Partially incorrect 54. The writer of the passage is appreciative of the attitude taken by India at the international summit whether that be Copenhagen or Cancun or at Durban-the most recent one (a) Yes (b) No (c) Cant be said (d) Could be correct 55. Low-carbon economy is an area with immense investment potential, but if that investment is to come at the speed the science says is necessary, then certainty is the key; here certainty can better be elaborated as? (a) A sort of pledge from the donor nations regarding the contribution (b) Certainty of the success of investment in the low carbon technology (c) Surety of the problem that is global warming looming over the neck of humanity (d) Collaborating with Science is a must 56. A possible solution would be creating an ecosystem that promotes a culture of collaboration between governments, academia and businesses in this area. An environment that can help bring in much-needed technology and even finances into such an ecosystem. The two points mentioned by the writer should be implemented (a) Simultaneously (b) The first following the second (c) Second following the first (d) Second after a time lapse before the first gets firmly applied Passage-2 (57-60) Read the Following passage and with

52. The length of a racecourse track is 500 meters. A and B run a race and A wins by 5 meters. B and C run over the same course and B wins by 5 meters; C and D run the same race and D wins by 20 meters. If A and D run the same race, then who would win and by how much distance? (a) A wins by 7.6 meters (b) D wins by 7.6 meters (c) D wins by 10.25 meters (d) A wins by 10.25 meters

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Directions for the following 8 (eight) items: Read each of the following two passages and answer the items that follow. Your answers to these items should be based on the passages only. Passage-1 ( 53-56) Study and understand the following write-up, so that you can comfortably answer the questions based on the same: Leaders from across the world gathered in Durban in December last year to find common ground on what is currently the most important challenge facing humanity: climate change. With virtually no headway made since the Kyoto Protocol, there is precious little time left for all nations to act before we reach the point of no return. Governments across the world must give a clear signal that they are committed to a legal deal on climate change that puts the world on track to a low-carbon economy. While both developed and developing nations put forth their arguments keeping in mind their respective

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extrapolating your thought with the essence of the write-up, answer the question that follows it: The Police has been lauded for its stellar role in the fight against militancy in Jammu & Kashmir, but the defence ministry does not trust its investigation into human rights violations by armymen. In 19 out of the 24 cases forwarded by the J&K government for sanction for prosecution, the ministry found the probes to be shoddy. In some cases, the ministry even suspects foul play by the police and is still mulling some of the evidence gathered in other cases. In the case against Major Raghavan R Singh, who is accused of killing a civilian in custody on 15 June 2000, the ministry has accused the police of recording doctored statements of the witnesses to falsely implicate the officer. The post-mortem report reflected no injuries except a scratch on the right wrist, argues the ministry in reply to an RTI as its reason for denying the sanction for prosecution. In a similar case against Major GK Batila of the 30 Rashtriya Rifles, the ministry terms the allegation baseless and framed with mala fide intent to tarnish the image of the army. So far, there has not been a single case in which the defence ministry has found the probe adequate to grant sanction for prosecution. The denied cases include the Pathribal fake encounter, which saw the Supreme Court censuring the army for its attempt to stonewall the trial. In 2000, five civilians were killed by the army and passed off as the terrorists responsible for the killing of 36 Sikhs in Chittisinghpora. The CBI has already concluded that it was a fake encounter. Similarly, sanction is also awaited in the case of Major Avatar Singh, who is accused of killing human rights activist Jalil Andrabi in 1996. But the case against Singh sent to the defence ministry for sanction is not about Andrabi but the custodial death of Imtiyaz Ahmad Wani, a civilian. Incidentally, there is an

Interpol Red Notice against Major Singh, now settled in the United States. So far, the main reason for the rejection of sanction has been that the probes dont make for a credible case against the accused. For example, in a 2003 case of enforced disappearance involving Captain Atul Sharma, the ministry says the allegation is motivated. Neither was any operation carried by any unit in the area nor was any person arrested as alleged, the ministry says. However, human rights activists are unconvinced. If the defence ministry thinks that human rights cases against armymen have no basis and are motivated by malicious intent, then the ministry should file a defamation suit against the police, says Parvez Imroz, a leading lawyer and president of the Coalition of Civil Society. At the same time, there are contradictions in the number of human rights cases. In reply to an RTI query, the state home ministry said that since 1989, it has forwarded 31 cases to the defence ministry and 19 to the Union home ministry, which gives the nod in cases against paramilitary personnel. This takes the total to 50, out of which permission has been denied in 26. In 16 cases, it is stated to be under scrutiny. Interestingly, the states home department says it has recommended the sanction for trial in eight other cases. Does it mean that there are only 50 cases of human rights violations in J&K against the army in the past 20 years? According to a recent State Human Rights Commission report, it has registered 5,699 cases from 1997 to August 2011, of which it has disposed of 4,578 cases, while probes are on to determine the truth in other complaints.

57. Which are the Institutions that say there is acute human rights violation and custodial unaccounted deaths or fake encounter (a) State Human Rights Commission (b) The J & K Police (c) The J & K Government (d) All of the above 58. According to the passage, who is the culpable for not doing with the investigation in correct manner so that the truth comes out? (a) The Ministry of Defence (b) The Federal Government (c) The Army investigating team (d) Could be both A & B 59. The writer in a way also makes the State government colluding with the Federal Government in this scenario. The statement is (a) Partly Correct (b) Absolutely Correct (c) Cant be said anything about it (d) Absolutely incorrect 60. Does it mean that there are only 50 cases of human rights violations in J&K against the army in the past 20 years? What does the writer intends to bring out with this exclamatory question mark with this sentence? (a) Amazement (b) Utter Nonsensical (c) Acute sense of helplessness (d) Utter sense of disbelief Directions for the four items given below: Armani group of industries decides to set up a project in Thar district of Rajasthan.

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(a) 172 cm (c) 144 cm

(b) 160 cm (d) 120 cm

69. If Amar and Vijay together completed a contract in 45 days and were paid a total of Rs 25000, then what is Vijays share (i) Working individually, Amar takes thrice the time taken by Vijay to complete the contract. (ii) Amar alone can complete the contract in 60 days. 70. What is the profit percent obtained by selling each Ball? (i) Balls are brought at Rs x per score but sold at Rs 0.8x per dozen. (ii) By selling 25 balls, there is a profit of Rs. 300. 71. Raman has 15 litres of a milk solution which has 70 % milk and remaining is water. How much water must be added to this solution to make it 25 % milk solution (a) 27 litres (c) 32.5 litres (b) 42 litres (d) 25 litres

It divides the project into several phases. The details of the manpower and their completion duration is given in tables below. Refer to the following tables A, B and C and answer the questions that above. Note: For all calculations involving costs, consider the manpower costs with their salary only and neglect any other costs until mentioned. 61. In which phase there was the highest absolute increase in the estimated and actual costs? (a) Design (b) Foundation (c) Construction

completes the road after in 390 days of getting the order, then what is the total amount the factory owner has to pay in the form of penalty? (a) 23000 (c) 27000 (b) 25000 (d) 30000

66. A car, a bus and a bike race among each other in a highway. The bus travels at 28 km/hr in for 3hrs and then 45 km/hr for 2 hrs and reaches the end point. The car travel the whole distance at a constant speed of 36 km/hr. The bike took 4.5 hrs to complete the race at a constant pace. By what distance did the winner won the race? (a) 10 km (c) 15 km (d) Cannot be determined 67. A wooden box of dimension 10 m by 11 m by 12 m is made by using a wood of thickness 50 cm. What will be the inner volume of the box? (a) 1210 sq m (b) 1147.125 sq m (c) 1000 sq m (d) 990 sq m 68. Three cylindrical cans are tied with a thread as shown in the figure. If the diameter of each of the can is 28 cm then what is the length of the thread required to tie the cans? (b) 12 km

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(d) Cannot be determined 62. In which phase there was the highest percentage increase in the estimated and actual costs? (a) Design (b) Foundation (c) Construction (d) Cannot be determined 63. By what percentage the total actual cost outweigh the estimated costs? (a) 33.33% (c) 15% (b) 21% (d) None of these

72. A reduction of 15% in the price of sugar enables a person to obtain 12 kg more for Rs. 300. What was the original consumption of sugar? (a) 24 kg (b) 48 kg (c) 72 kg (d) Cannot be determined 73. There are five routes from town X to town Y and seven routes from town Y to town Z and three routes from town Z to town A. How many routes are possible to travel from town X to town A? (a) 120 (b) 105 (c) 15 (d) Cannot be determined Read the following situation based question (74-80) and endeavor to give the most appropriate answer. There will be differential marking as none of the answer is wrong; only that there is one answer that is most correct and the other options following degrees in their respective correctness. 74. You are DM of a district and are being said to spy on the CMO under

64. Which category among the following registered the maximum cost for the entire project? (a) Managers (c) Workers (b) Engineers (d) Labours

65. A contractor gets an order to complete a road in 12 months (365 days) failing which the contractor has to pay a penalty of Rs 5000 for the first week and additional Rs 1000 per next day, i.e. 6000 for 8th day and so on. If the factory

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whom the NRHM fund is being used for the general populace. Spying has been ordered by the Secy of Health in the State Government to find out the real truth behind the corruption allegation and also to reach to the depth of the story. What will you do? (a) Do as said (b) Report this to DoPT (c) Seek permission from DoPT (d) Allocate the duty to your Junior from the State PCS Officer 75. You are Divisional Commissioner of a Provincial range; within your range there falls a district which has a record of animosity between the SP and the DM. You will (a) Being Loyalty to my cadre, I will support the DM (b) Adjudicate the matter in professional terms even if that makes me an outsider within my cadre (c) Seek transfer of the DM (d) Seek transfer of the SP 76. Being SP of district that is seeing the personal visit of President and an official tour of the President (read Head of the State) of another nation. What protocol must you follow (a) If possible receive both of them personally

(b) If the first one is not possible, than do as instructed (c) Seek for my junior to provide for the President and I be with the President of the visiting nation (d) Arrange for both of them as per their need 77. You being the SP of a place that has seen increase incidence of gun trotting youth in the marriage ceremony; the same has also resulted into casualties inadvertently. What will you seek? (a) Testify for all the guns (b) Make the youth arrest in such incidence a must (c) Make the people more aware about the societal responsibility of having a licensed arm (d) Make all the private guns to be submitted in the District Koshagar 78. In a drug pedaling case, you find a student of a reputed institute with no previous track record of crime carrying cocaine slightly above the prescribed limit, you being the SP; what will be your most appropriate step? (a) Leave the boy with strong but inspiring reprimand

(b) Take the judicial course of action even if it means the boy to be socially ostracized (c) Inform the institute and his parents so that they take the corrective action (d) Use that link to get to the depth of the story, you never know you can find a massive drug peddlers gang destroying the life of such impressionist minds. 79. You are in a train and see a beggar begging for alms and vexing the female passengers, you will (a) Leave the whole thing as it is none of your business, trains have security guard after all (b) Strongly reprimand the beggar (c) Give him more alms and say to leave the compartment (d) Inform the RPF/GRP 80. You are in a book publishing business and you happen to get the question paper from an exam beforehand. What will you do? (a) Inform the police (b) Unable to stop myself, I will seek its monetary benefits (c) Will not care about it (d) Seek monetary benefit by selling it to third party so that it keeps me anonymous

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ANSWERS
1. (c) 2. (e) 3. (d) 4. (b) 5. (c) 6. (a) 7. (b) Sol: When the digits of the numbers are reversed then the average of 6 numbers increases by 3, so the sum increases by 18. So, if on reversing the digits the number increases by 18 this means that the difference between the units and tens digit is 2, such as 24 and 42, 57 and 75, 68 and 86, etc. 8. (d) Sol: The cyclist A rode the cycle at the speed of 1 km/min, the cyclist B at the speed of 18 km/hr and the cyclist C at a speed of 1 km/min. So, both A and C won the race together.. 9. (d) Sol: Total milk by remaining cows = 45 80% = 36 litres. Average milk per cow = 7.2 litres Milk given by the cow sold= 45 36 = 9 litres. Difference = 1.8 litres. 10. (c) Sol: The ray will reflect in 45 from M1 after which it falls on mirror M3 at an angle of 45 and reflects back in 45 and falls on M2 perpendicularly amd traverses the same path in opposite direction. Hence, the ray of light will be exactly opposite in direction as that of R. 11. (a) 12. (b) 13. (d) Solutions for questions 11 to 13: The information given is as follows:

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14. (c) 15. (a) Sol: (a) Probability of getting n tails (or heads) out of m tosses of a unbiased coin is always = 16. (b)
m

27. (a) City A has the maximum 3577 visitors visiting public places. 28. (b) Sol: Total visitors in three cities visiting public places = 9610 Total visitors in theatres = 1750
Cn 2m

45. (c) Sol: 75% of the total students participated in singing. Hence, 75% of 160 = 120. 46. (b) 47. (c) 48. (b) Since, Khoslas factory can be Pink of Red, so, his factory can be in front of Green factory. Hence, 49. (c) Others are corner factories except Mehrotras. 50. (b) Agrawals in any case cannot be neighbours of Bansals. Solutions to 46 to 50 The arrangement is as follows:

Percentage = 1750/9610100 = 18.2% 29. (c) Sol: Highest number of visitor in a public place is in Museum = 2486 Second highest number is in Club = 1964 % Difference = (2486-1964)/2486100 = 21% 30. (b) Sol: The speed of train B is increasing constantly that too with greatest magnitude. 31. (a) Sol: The Bus As speed was the highest at all times except the last few minutes. So, the bus A would have travelled the maximum distance. 32. (c) Sol: All the statements except statement (c) are true. 33. (c) Sol: Tax paid earlier = 10.5% of Rs 100 = Rs 10.5 per belt. Tax paid after change = 12.5% of Rs 80 = Rs 10 per belt. % Difference = (10.5-10)/10.5100=4.7% 34. (d) Sol: Atharvas profit earlier = Rs 20 10.5 = Rs 9.5 Atharvas profit later = Rs 15 10 = Rs 5 % Difference =(9.5-5)/9.5100 = 4.7% decrease

Sol: Total work done by A, B, C and D together in 1 day = 1/15 + 1/20 + 1/25 + 1/D= 1/4 So, 1/D= 28/300 or, D = 300/28 So, Ratio of Time taken = 21 : 28 : 35 : 15 So, ratio of work done = 20 : 15 : 12 : 28 So, Ds share = 7500/7528 = Rs 2800 17. (c) 18. (b) 19. (e) 20. (a) 21. (a) Sol : Total Votes = 42630. So, Shreya got 21540 votes and Aryan got 21090 votes. Let the total males be x. So, total females = 42630 x

51. (c) Sol: Three letters which can be put in wrong envelopes can be selected in 8C3 = 56 ways. These three letters can be put in wrong envelops in only two ways. Hence, total number of ways is 2 56 = 112 ways. 52. (c) Sol: When A covers 500 m then B covers 495 m. When B covers 500 m then C covers 495 m. When D covers 500 m then C covers 488 m. When D runs 500 m then A runs = 480/495500/495500 = 489.75 m. So, D wins by 10.25 m. 53. (a) 54. (a) 55. (a) 56. (b)57. (d) 58. (d) 59. (a) 60. (d) Solutions for questions 61 to 64: The costs are tabulated below:

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So, Shreyas votes = 55% of x + 40% of (42630 - x) = 21540 So, x = 29920 Hence, total males = 29920 and total females = 12710 The information is detailed below:

Ratio = 29920 : 12710 = 2992:1271 22. (d) Sol: Total male votes = 1645623. 23. (b) Sol: (b) Total female votes to Aryan = 7626 24. (a) Statement A and can be inferred but statement B cannot be inferred. 25. (b) Sol: (b) Only statement B can be inferred but statement A cannot be inferred from the given statements. 26. (b) Sol: The number in the outer quadrant is the square of one more than the number in the diagonally opposite inner quadrant. For e,g, 100 = (9 + 1)2 Hence, 125 = (? +1)2. So, ? = 14. Hence, the missing number is 14.

35. (b) 36. (a) 37. (b) 38. (d) 39. (a) 40. (b) 41. (b) Sol: Speed of train = 26 40 = 1040 m per minute = 62.4 km/hr Time taken to cover 120 km = 1 hr 55 min approx. 42. (b) Sol: Time taken to admit 140 tonnes of water = 140/46=210 minutes = 3 hr 30 min Speed = 70/3.5 = 20 km/hr 43. (d) Sol: There 5% of the total students participated in both the competitions. There were 8 students who participated in both the competitions. Hence, there are 160 students in the college. 44. (c) Sol: Only 5% participated in both the competitions. Hence, 95% participated in only one competition.

61. (c) The maximum absolute difference is in construction = Rs 289000. 62. (a) The maximum percentage increase is in design phase as the time exceeds the maximum in that phase.

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63. (b) Total difference = 3961000 3266000 = Rs 695000 % difference = 21.2% 64. (d) It is clear that the number of labours employed is maximum and it outweighs the difference in the salary. Hence, the maximum cost incurred by the company for the project is in labours. 65. (a) Sol: Total penalty = 25000 2000 = Rs 23000 66. (b) Sol: The total length of race = 28 3 + 45 2 = 84 + 90 = 174 km. Time taken by Car = 174/36 = 4.83 hrs. Time taken by bike = 4.5 hrs. So, the winner is bike and the runner up is car. The distance by which the winner won the race = 36 (4.83 4.5) = 12 km. 67. (d) Sol: Inner volume of box = 9 10 11 = 990 sq. m. 68. (a) Sol: The length of the thread will be 3d + 2r as the three straight lines are the three diameters and the the three

curved lengths form the circumference of a circle. So, length = 328 + 2 22/714 = 84 + 88 = 172 cm. 69. (b) Sol: From (I) we get that Vijay has done one fourth of the work. Hence his share can be calculated. From (II) we can find the time taken to complete the contract alone. Hence his share can be calculated. So, using both the statements alone we can find the answer. 70. (a) Sol: Using statement (I) we can find the profit percent. Using statement (II) alone, we get the profit per ball but not profit percentage as the SP or CP is unknown. Hence, only statement (I) alone is sufficient to answer the question. 71. (a) Sol: Amount of milk in 70% milk solution = 15 70/100 = 10.5 litres. Water = 4.5 litres.

Amount of milk will remain same in 25% solution. So, amount of solution = 10.5 100/25 = 42 litres. Amount of water = 42 15 = 27 litres. 72. (b) Sol: Let the price per kg of sugar initially be Rs 100 and consumption be x kg. Initial expenditure = Rs 100x New price = Rs 85. New consumption = x + 12. New expenditure = Rs 100x + 300 So, 100x + 300 = (x + 12)85 Or, 100x + 300 = 85x + 1020 Or, 15x = 720 or, x = 48 Initial consumption = 48 kg. 73. (b) Sol: Total number of routes = 5 7 3 = 105. 74. (c) 75. (b) 76. (c) 77. (c) 78. (d) 79. (d) 80. (a)

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SCIENCE QUESTIONS @ IP
1. Which of the following is true about the HTTPS Everywhere project? (a) It is the new version of hyper text transfer protocol used by the social networking sites (b) It is the add-on in open web browser to ensure secure and encrypted communication for the internet users (c) It is the new treatment regime to control TDR-TB(totally drug resistant tuberculosis) in India (d) It is the rapid laboratory diagnostic method for HIV introduced in Africa to detect more number of cases. 2. Which of the following measures will help in preventing sex-ratio decline? i. (a) It is the worlds first hydrogen powered three wheeler introduced in Delhi (b) It is the carbon free fuel developed by international energy agency (c) It is the hybrid vehicle which can run both in petrol and CNG with minimal pollutants in traduced in Delhi auto expo (d) It is the hydrogen powered engine which dont produce pollutants as by-products 5. In which country there was a mild oil spill near astrolabe coral reef, which is considered as the worst environmental disaster in that countrys history? (a) New Zealand (b) Australia (c) Mexico (d) Venezuela 6. Which of the following is/are true statement/s? i. Fibre optic cable will conduct the data faster than the copper wires used in VDSL connections. 8. Which of the following is/are true about black smoker vent, recently in news? i. It is the worlds deepest vent and cloudy fluid gushes from them.

ii. It is located near the midAtlantic ridge in North Atlantic Ocean. (a) i only (c) Both i&ii (b) ii only (d) None

9. Who is the ex-officio chairman of CSIR (council of scientific and industrial research) in India? (a) Prime minister (b) President (c) Eminent scientist with distinguished research records (d) AITEE chairman 10. Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram was recently launched in all states of India except? i. Bihar ii. Sikkim iii. Jammu&Kashmir Correct option is: (a) iii only (c) i, ii&iii (b) ii&iii only (d) i&ii only

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Banning ultrasound machines in the country

ii. Stringent measures for medical personnel involving in declaring sex determination under PC&PNDT act. iii. More incentive based schemes for girl children iv. Reservation for women in political, social and economic domain Correct option is: (a) i,ii,iii,iv (b) i&ii only (c) i,ii&iii only (d) ii&iii only 3. Which of the following is true about diabetes mellitus? (a) It is due to the malfunction of endocrine function of pancreas (b) It is due to malfunction of liver (c) It is due to malfunction of exocrine function of pancreas (d) It is due to the genetic mutation affecting functioning of liver 4. Which of the following is true about hyAlfa, recently in news?

ii. The quality of data is low in fibre optic cable than the VSDL because of the degradation of light waves used in fibre optics. (a) i only (c) Both i&ii (b) ii only (d) None

7. Which of the following is/are correct about circumbinary planets? i. In our solar system only planets orbit the star but in circumbinary planet system, all the three bodies(two stars and planets) are in motion.

11. Which is the chinas first space vehicle to mars? (a) Yinhuo-i (b) Moinguo-i (c) Tiangyuho-i (d) Pyunghueo-i 12. Which company is producing Indias cheapest tablet Akash? (a) Datawind (c) C-DAC (b) BEL (d) NIT

ii. Recently kepler telescope discovered kepler 34b and 35b circumbinary planet system by using planet transit method. (a) i only (c) Both i&ii (b) ii only (d) None

13. Which of the following is the proposed second Arihant class submarine? (a) INS Krishna (b) INS shastrul (c) INS aridaman (d) INS vikraman

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14. Which country launched Planck telescope in space to map the oldest light in cosmic background? (a) USA (c) EU (b) Russia (d) China

about the controlling the menace of climate change. 2. Attract talent to the study of science at an early stage and build the required critical human resource pool for strengthening and expanding the Science & Technology system and R&D base. 3. To help the ministry of finance to enhance the celerity of financial inclusion, by which just and fair society could be realized. 4. Fundamental strategy to invent new technology to address the endemic disease like H5N1, Hepatitis.

Which of the above statements are incorrect with respect to Organic farming in India? (a) 1 only (c) 1, 2 and 4 (b) 2 only (d) 1 and 2 only

15. Which social networking site recently said that it is having the application to ban certain content in a particular country? (a) Yahoo (c) Facebook (b) Google (d) Twitter

21. Arrange these NASA space shuttles in the chronological order . 1. Columbia 3. Endeavour 5. Discovery Identify the correct option: (a) 1,2,3,4,5 (c) 3,5,1,4,2 (b) 3,4,1,5,2 (d) 1,4,5,2,3 2. Atlantis 4. Challenger

16. Which telecom company recently introduced worlds thinnest smartphone ascend p1? (a) Huawei (c) Samsung Column I A. Solar pond B. Solar Photovoltaic system C. Future Gen Project D. Coal Bed Methane Column II 1. Natural gas extracted from coal beds. 2. Initiative to build worlds first coal based power plant that removes and sequesters CO2 while producing electricity and hydrogen 3. Enable conversion of light into electricity 4. Large scale collector. Codes : A (a) 1 (b) 4 (c) 1 (d) 2 B 2 3 4 3 C 3 2 3 4 D 4 1 2 1 solar energy (b) Motorola (d) LG

22. Read the following statements and choose the correct option: 1. Red ribbon express is launched by ministry of railways along with national rural health mission and others, 2. First phase launched in 2007, focused on information dissemination 3. Second phase added element of counselling treatment services the and

17. Match Column I with Column II

Which of the following statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 only (c) 3 only (b) 2 only (d) 1,2,3,and 4

19. Department of atomic energy is using a technique for storing radioactive waste materials generated from nuclear reactors. these radioactive materials could be saved only after it is immobilized in glass matrix by the process of (a) Vitrification (b) Froth flotation (c) Hall-Hroult process (d) Bayers process 20. Analyse the given information and answer the question. 1. Organic farming in India is promoted under National Project on Organic Farming only 2. National Centre of Organic Farming is located at Hissar 3. National centre of organic farming implements the National project on organic farming, National Horticulture Mission and RKVY 4. Ministry of agriculture launched this project in the year 2004

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4. Third phase initiate the distribution of medicine to cure the HIV/AIDS Which of the following statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1,2 and 3 (c) 1,3 and 4 (b) 2 ,3and 4 (d) 1,2 and 4

23. India and Russia are constructing the nuclear reactor complex in kudankulam. Read the following statements about the KKNP: 1. An Inter-Governmental Agreement on the project was signed on November 20, 1988. 2. First unit of the complex is 500MW of VVER type of reactor. 3. Reactors are constructed by atomstroyexport, a company of Russia. Which of the following statements given above is/are incorrect? (a) 1 and 2 (b) 2 and 3 (d) 1,2 and 3 (c) 1 and 3

18. Consider following statements about INSPIRE (INNOVATION IN SCIENCE PURSUIT FOR INSPIRED RESEARCH) programme of Government of India: 1. To encourage the youth to learn about upcoming technology

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24. Intranet Prahari project is (a) Connecting all Himalayan states capitals with internet to enhance the decision making and governance. (b) Network Connectivity for Border Security Force to enhance decision making. (c) Exercise of all the forces to upgrade the efficiency to handle the cyber attack (d) A mission at war level to connect the institute of higher learning under national innovation council. 25. With the increasing impact of climate change over the atmosphere, countries around the world are taking an initiative to study the atmosphere by launching there satellites. In this context identify the wrong pair: (a) French : Pleiades 1 (b) USA : Ikonos : EROS : TerraSAR-X

27. Russia is planning to build a VVER reactor in kudankulam. what actually VVER means. 1. Very very efficient reactor 2. Vodo-Vodyanoi Energetichesky Reactor 3. Voltage voltage energy reactor Correct option is: (a) 1 only (c) 3 only (b) 2 only (d) 2 and 3

the chairmanship of Dr.K.Srinath Reddy to provide guide lines to achieve Universal health coverage in the 12th five year plan .read the following recommendation of the group 1. Greater public investment on drugs 2. Effective price essential drugs control for

28. Eurofighter typhoon loose to dassault rafale of france in the indian multi-billion dollar contract for MMRCA (Medium Multi-role Combat Aircraft). Eurofighter typhoon is being built by consortium of (a) Belgium, United kingdom, Netherland, Portugal (b) United kingdom, Spain, Austria Germany,

3. Pooled procurement system that leverages the benefits of scale to drive costs down. Which of the following statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 only (c) 1 and 3 (b) 2 only (d) 1,2 and 3

33. After assessing the following statements identify the correct option. 1. He was the member of Rajya Sabha 2. Currently he is serving member of planning commission. 3. He is also the Director of the National Institute of Advanced Studies. 4. Recently president of India presented him a ISRO award including lifetime achievement award Options are (a) K.Kasturirangan (b) Avinash chandar (c) Tessy Thomas (d) K. Radhakrishnan 34. The Indian council for research on international economic relations, the Department of Information Technology and the Internet and mobile association Recently published a report about internet impact on the GDP of country. According to the report: 1. Every 10% increase in Internet and broadband penetration in the country could potentially lead to the addition of 1.08% to Indias gross domestic product.

(c) Italy , Spain, United Kingdom, Germany (d) United kingdom, Spain, Italy, Switzerland 29. Operation Cactus was launched by India in 1988 to save the island nation. After this proactive approach of India, that island nation became one of its closest partners. Identify that island nation? (a) Mauritius (c) Sri Lanka (b) Maldives (d) Diego Garcia

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26. Match Column I with Column II A. Ocean Thermal Convention B. Tidal Energy C. Wave Energy D. Wind Power Column II 1. Kavaratti and Minicoy Islands 2. Gulf of kuchch (Gujarat) and Sunderbans (W. Bengal). 3. Vizhinjam, near Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala 4. Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka Codes : A (a) 1 (b) 4 (c) 1 (d) 2 B 2 3 4 3 C 3 2 3 1 D 4 1 2 4 Energy

30. Coliform count in drinking water is done to ascertain (a) Amount of suspended impurities (b) Effect of chlorination (c) Faecal contamination (d) Hardness 31. Who among the following discovered the laws of planetary orbits? (a) Galileo Galilei (b) Nicholas copernicus (c) Johannes Kepler (d) Issac Newton 32. A high level expert group is instituted by the planning commission under

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2. If the target set by TRAI is achieved then additional $87billon can be generated in 2012-2014 Which of the statement given above is/ are incorrect? (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 and 2 35. NASAs twin unmanned Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) is a milestone to understand the lunar intricacies which are pending from long time. Identify the correct statement about GRAIL. 1. GRAIL was launched by Russias rocket as NASAs rockets travelled their last flight recently. 2. GRAIL will use high-quality gravitational field mapping of the Moon to determine its interior structure. Which of the statement given above is/ are correct? (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 and 2 36. India response to climate change comes in the form of NAPCC (National Action Plan on Climate Change). This comprises 8 missions, one of which is Jawahar Lal Nehru solar mission. Identify the correct statement about JLNSM 1. Produce 20000 MW of solar energy by year 2022. 2. The Mission will adopt a 3-phase approach, spanning the remaining period of the 11th Plan and first year of the 12th Plan (up to 2012-13) as Phase 1, the remaining 4 years of the 12th Plan (201317) as Phase 2 and the 13th Plan (201722) as Phase 3 3. The first phase of this mission aims to commission 1000MW of grid-connected solar power projects by 2013. Correct Option is: (a) 1 and 2 (b) 2 and 3

(c) 1and 3 (d) 1,2 and 3 37. According to the latest Sample Registration system, conducted by the Registrar-general of India, infant mortality rate of country has shown decline from 50 to ______, and the worst performer state is ________. Identify the appropriate choice. (a) 42 , Orissa (b) 45, Bihar (c) 49, Jharkhand (d) 47, Madhya Pradesh 38. There was a hue and cry on the government decision to tackle Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and Acute Encephalitis syndrome (AES). In response to this, GoM has been set up. Consider following statements: 1. This disease effect mostly children below five year. 2. These disease cause physical impairment and not mental impairment 3. Pig act as a host for this disease 4. Culex mosquitos serve as vectors of this disease Which of the statements given above is/ are incorrect? (a) 1 and 2 (b) 2 and 3 (c) 3 and 4 (d) 1 and 4 39. 38th parallel is famous and heavily armed boundary between which of the following two countries: (a) North Korea and south Korea (b) America and Canada (c) Vietnam and china (d) South Sudan and north Sudan 40. Read the following statements: 1. Indian science congress 2012 was held at Hyderabad 2. Prime minister of India pledge to increase the investment in research and development in science and technology from less than 1% to 2% 3. In sector wise research, investment during this period in pharmaceutical and automotive has increased. Which of the statement given above is/

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are correct? (a) 1 and 2 (b) 1 (c) 2 and 3 (d) 1,2 and 3 41. TROPEX is (a) Joint annual naval exercise of Indian naval force (b) Recently developed medicine for foot and mouth disease (c) Satellite launched by ISRO for Taiwan (d) A new bug that found in study at Lake vostok , Antartica 42. After the nuclear suppliers waiver to India, India has signed civil nuclear deal with many countries eg.USA, RUSSIA. But France is the first country to set up the Nuclear power plant at jaitapur, Maharashtra. Consider following statements in this regard: 1. The complex will Produce 10000 MW that will be largest in India 2. France is offering Generation III + nuclear reactor to India without additional cost, which will have advance safety standards. 3. The proposed NPP at Jaitapur in Maharashtra will be EPR1650 MWe Nuclear reactor systems. Which of the statement given above is/ are correct? (a) 1 and 2 (b) 2 and 3 (c) 1 and 3 (d) 1,2 and 3 43. The Yale center for environmental and policy &Columbias center for international earth science information network have brought out the Environment performance index ranking. Read the following statements in this regard: 1. The first report was released in 2006 and thereafter it is released biennially. 2. India stand as the worst performer in the list and occupy very last rank in air quality. 3. The index report was presented at the world Economic forum at Davos Which of the statement given above is/ are correct? (a) 1 only (b) 2 only

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(c) 3 only (d) 1,2 and 3 44. Ministry of railways will launch a special train known as Damba Diwa Vandana. What is the purpose of this train? (a) To take Sri Lankan piligrims from Chennai to all major Buddhist sites in India. (b) To spread the ideology of Swami Vivekanand throughout the country . (c) It is part of project under red ribbon to educate the people about AIDS/HIV (d) To educate the people about the forest and encourage them for afforestation. 45. MICA is a (a) Missile (b) Wire that will be utilized in optic fibre (c) Major instrument in LHC ( large hadron collider) (d) Nano satellite launched by ISRO for ISRAEL 46. Comptroller and Auditor General of India has identified major misappropriation of fund in S-Band Spectrum recently which has forced the Indian government to setup the committee to investigate the complete deal between Antrix (commercial wing of ISRO) and Devas Multimedia Private Limited. Identify the committee which is not related to this issue. (a) B.N.Suresh committee (b) B . K . C h a t u r v e d i - R o d d a m narasimha committee (c) Pratyush sinha committe (d) C.D.Thatte committee 47. Read the following statements: 1. The Antartica treaty was signed at 1959 , permitting only research and scientific activity 2. Arctic region hold over 40 %of the current global reserve of oil and gas Which of the statement given above is/ are correct? (a) 1 only (b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 and 2 48. The benefits under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana include which of the following? 1. Hospitalization expenses, taking care of the most common illnesses including maternity benefit. 2. Health insurance cover of Rs.30, 000 per family per annum on a family floater basis. 3. Cashless attendance of all covered ailments. Codes: (a) 1,2 and 3 (b) 1 and 3 only (c) 2 and 3 only (d) 1 and 2 only 49. Consider the following statements: 1. Pauli predicted the existence of neutrino. 2. Enrico Fermi designed the first atomic reactor. 3. The oil drop experiment was an experiment performed by Robert Millikan to identify the charge of electron. Which of these statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 and 2 (b) 2 and 3 (c) 1 and 3 (d) 1,2 and 3 50. Consider the following statements: 1. The audible frequency range of sound for human beings is 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz. 2. The ears of older people are generally more sensitive to higher frequencies. 3. Earthquakes produce sounds of frequency less than 20 Hz Which of these statements given above is/are incorrect? (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) 3only (d) 1,2and 3 51. Read the following sentences: 1. Edwin Hubble discovered that distant galaxies are moving away from us. 2. Max Planck proposed that light comes in the form of quanta (packet of energy).

3. Stephen Hawking proposed a new theory combining the general relativity and uncertainty principle. 4. Spitzer Space Telescope (SST), is the fourth and final of the NASA Great Observatories program. Which of these statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 and 2 (b) 3 and 4 (c) 1,3 and 4 (d) 1,2,3 and 4 52. Which of the following tribes are inhabitants of the Andaman and the Nicobar islands? 1. Onge 2. Jarawa 3. Sentilese Select the correct answer using the codes given below : (a) 1 and 2 (b) 2 and 3 (c) 1 and 3 (d) 1 , 2 and 3 53. Inhumanely behavior shown by tourists in Andaman and Nicobar. Because of this there is a demand of implementation of order passed Supreme Court in 2002, which demand of closure of Andaman Trunck road. Read the information about Road . 1. It is a national highway No 223 2. Road connect the all the islands of the Andaman and Nicobar. Which of these statements given above is/are incorrect? (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 and 2 54. Consider the following statements: 1. The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act AFSPA was passed in 1958, by the Parliament of India in 1958. 2. It conferred special powers upon armed forces in what the act calls disturbed area in the states ofArunachal Pradesh , Assam ,Manipur , Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. 3. It was later extended to Jammu and Kashmir as the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir)

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Special Powers Act 1990 in 1990. Which of these statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 3 only (d) 1 ,2 and 3 55. Which of the following factors can decrease biological oxygen demand (BOD) of any ecosystem? (a) Large amount of sewage (b) Large biomass accumulation and decomposition (c) Increase organic matter pollution (d) Low temperature and low plant biomass accumulation. 56. Identify the right match about AGNI V. (a) It is liquid fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (b) Agni-V is a four stage missile. (c) It has a range of 7500 Km (d) Agni-V will feature Multiple Independent Re-entry Vehicles 57. Identify the person after assessing the following statements given below: 1. He got noble prize for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome. 2. He was knighted for services to Molecular Biology. 3. He received Indias second highest civilian honor, the Padma Vibhushan. Options are: (a) Venkatraman Ramakrishnan (b) C.V.Raman (c) Har Gobind Khorana (d) Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. 58. S-band is the part of the microwave band of the electromagnetic spectrum. Mark the appropriate properties exhibit by this most important resource. 1. It is defined by an IEEE standard for radio waves with frequencies that range from 6 to 8 GHz 2. S band is used for Direct-toHome satellite television, to

communicate with the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station. 3. Space Commission is the final authority to approve the technicality of the satellite making in India . Which of these statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 and 2 (b) 2 and 3 (c) 1 and 3 (d) 1 , 2 and 3 59. Read the following statements: 1. Majuli is the largest river island in the world. 2. The island is spread in two states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. 3. It is a UNESCOs world heritage site coming under natural category. Which of these statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) 1 and 3 (d) 1 and 2 60. Which of the information is not correct about INSAT Coordination Committee? (a) INSAT coordination committee was established in 1977 (b) Since inception committee is meeting regularly (c) Committee is responsible for recommending utilization of satellite capacity by nongovernment users. (d) INSAT coordination committee is headed by secretary level officer 61. Blue Brain Project is: (a) Taken by ISRO to develop a fastest computer in the world (b) To create a synthetic brain by reverse-engineering the mammalian brain down to the molecular level. (c) New scheme launched by Tamil Nadu government to speed up the computer education (d) Project by NASA to connect all Space Agency of the World 62. Which of the following Union Ministries administers the

Nutritional Programme for Adolescent Girls? (a) Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (b) Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (c) Ministry of Women and Child Development (d) Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation 63. Which one of the following heavy water is used in nuclear reactors? (a) Water having molecular weight 18 amu (b) Water having molecular weight 20 amu (c) Water at 4 degree Celsius but having molecular weight 19 amu (d) Water below the ice in a frozen sea 64. Read the statement about HAL TEJAS. 1. is a lightweight multirole fighter developed by India 2. To replace Indias ageing MiG21 fighters. 3. Air to air ASTRA will be fitted in the aircraft. 4. The Flying Daggers is squadron in which Tejas will be inducted. Which of these statements given above is/are correct? (a) ALL (b) 2 and 3 (c) 3 and 4 (d) NONE 65. Which one of the following diseases is transmitted by a vector? (a) Japanese Encephalitis (b) Influenza (c) Tuberculosis (d) Syphilis 66. What is the name of European space Agencys space freighter designed to resupply International Space Station with pressurized cargo, air, water etc. (a) New Horizons (b) Jules Verne (c) Endeavour (d) Cassini 67. Recently AP1000 is in news. What is AP1000? (a) is a two-loop pressurized water

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reactor (b) is target set by Andhra Pradesh Government to provide 1000 rupee scholarship to girl for promoting education among the female (c) Is the guidelines issue by RBI to banks to open bank account for APL (just above poverty line) with just 1000 rupee. (d) Is a new equity index in Argentina. 68. India has built an Indigenous Aircraft Carrier that has recently floated out. Identify some news related about ambitious ship. 1. The first aircraft carrier to be designed and built in India. 2. Aircraft carrier was built under name project 71. 3. Carrier going to name after Indias first aircraft carrier INS VIKRANT Which of these statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) 3 only (d) ALL 69. Read the following statements: 1. Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) is a premier scientific organisation of India, started in the year 1914, with Headquarters at Kolkata. 2. It meets annually in the first week of January every year. 3. The first Womens Science Congress was inaugurated by Nirupama Rao in 2012 4. Childrens Science Congress was inaugurated by the former President of India, A.P.J Abdul Kalam. 5. The 100th edition will be hosted by the University of Jaipur from January 3 to January 7, 2013 Which of these statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 and 2 (b) 2 ,3 and 4 (c) 1 ,2 ,3 and 4 (d) 1 ,2 , 3 ,4 and 5 70. Read the following statements

about Hundred-year starship. (a) Is the name of the overall effort that will over the next century, work toward achieving interstellar travel. (b) Mae Jemison , the first AfricaAmerican women go into the space was chosen as head of the project. Which of these statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 and 2 71. Consider the following statements: 1. Witricity is a technique which could deliver energy to devices, such as laptop, computers without the need for wire. 2. Witricity was able to make a 60 W light bulb glow from a distance of 12 m. 3. Radio frequency ID (RFID) also called smart barcodes are small devices that store data that identifies the object to which they are attached. Select the correct answer (a) only 1 (b) only 2 (c) only 3 (d) 1, 2 and 3 72. Consider the following social networking sites: 1. Twitter 2. Facebook 3. Linked In 4. Big Adda Which of these is the first Indian Youth Networking website (a) only 1 (b) only 2 (c) only 3 (d) only 4 73. Read the statements about GRAPHENE: 1. Graphene is an allotrope of carbon. 2. Graphene is the basic structural element of some carbon allotropes including graphite, charcoal, carbon nanotubes and fullerenes. 3. The Nobel Prize in Physics for 2010 was awarded to Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov for ground breaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material grapheme.

4. Both these Nobel winners are honored with Knighthoods for 2011. Which of these statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 ,2 and 3 (b) 2 ,3 and 4 (c) 1 ,2 and 4 (d) 1 ,3 and 4 74. Spitzer Space Telescope belongs to which agency? (a) National Aeronautics and Space Administration (b) Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (c) Centre National dtudes Spatiales (d) Russian Federal Space Agency 75. Which of the following statements about missile PRAHAR are correct? 1. It is a single stage missile. 2. Its striking range is about 500 KM 3. It is fuelled by solid propellants. 4. Several Prahar missiles can be fired in one salvo. Select the correct answer using the code given below. (a) 1 ,2 ,3 and 4 (b) 1 and 3 only (c) 1 ,3 and 4 only (d) 2 and 4 only 76. A leading Environmentalist resigned from the games ethics committeethe commission for a sustainable London -2012 protesting against Dows links with the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster. Identify the personality (a) Meredith Alexender (b) Sharda Dwivedi (c) Sebastian Edathy (d) Zhang Jun 77. Choose the wrong option about DELHY-3W is (a) A project under which hydrogen fuelled three-wheelers or auto rickshaws have been made. (b) Half of the cost of project is born by UNIDO-ICHET (c) Auto rickshaws are made by Mahindra and Mahindra

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(d) UNIDO-ICHET is based in VIENNA. 78. In the field of defence, the INS Aridaman is a (a) Submarine (b) Aircraft carrier (c) Landing Ship Tank (d) Fast Attack Craft 79. Consider the following statements: 1. DNA fingerprinting was discovered by Alec Jeffrey (UK)

in 1985. It is also called DNA Profiling. 2. DNA fingerprinting is used in forensic identification. 3. PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) is used to make millions of exact copies of DNA from a biological sample. 4. RFLP is a technique for analyzing the variable lengths of DNA fragments that result from digesting a DNA sample with a special enzyme called

restriction enzyme. Select the correct answer (a) 1 and 2 (b) 2 and 3 (c) 3 and 4 (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4 80. Consider the following softwares: 1. NAYAN 2. USB Pratirodh 3. Malware Resist Which of the following was developed by C-DAC, Bengaluru to protect from cyber attacks (a) only 1 (b) only 2 (c) only 3 (d) 1, 2 and 3

ANSWERS
1. (b) Expl: HTTPS Everywhere is a project by The Onion Routing (TOR) project and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), who are working on making the Internet safer, more secure and with increased privacy to users. Encrypting information using 128-bit encryption mechanism or more sophisticated cryptography algorithms make it virtually impossible for sniffers to make sense out of the traffic flowing. 2. (d) Expl: i)banning all the ultrasound machines is not feasible for the whole country because the machine is vital for detecting medical emergencies other than sex determination .recently our government has banned only the portable ultrasound and also limited the radiologists entry to two in particular area. ii) &iii) will have positive impact iv)it may have indirect impact but the problem for female foeticide also includes poverty, lowered status for women in the society which needs change in the mind set of the people. 3. (a) 4. (a) Expl: The worlds first hydrogenpowered three-wheeler, HyAlfa, was showcased at the 11th Auto Expo in Delhi. The HyAlfa has been developed under a joint project by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) International Centre for Hydrogen Energy Technologies (ICHET), Mahindra & Mahindra and IITDelhi, with support from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Part of a development project dubbed DelHy 3w. 5. (a) Expl: The Greek ship Rena spilled about 400 tons of fuel oil when it ran aground in October on Astrolabe Reef, 22 kilometers from Tauranga Harbour on North Island. That spill, considered the worst maritime environmental disaster in New Zealand history, fouled pristine beaches. 6. (a) Expl: the fibre optic cables should provide speeds of up to 100 megabits per second (MBit/s) for uploads and even 200 MBit/s for downloads. That compares to 25 to 50 MBit/s for VDSL connections. Thats because, unlike with copper cables, the data is not transmitted via electrical pulses, but with the aid of light signals. 7. (c) Expl: In the case of exoplanets orbiting a star or Earth orbiting the Sun, only the planets are in orbit around the star. But in the case of circumbinary planets, all the three bodies (a planet and binary stars) are in motion. While the planet orbits the binary stars, the gravitationally bound pair of stars (binaries) orbit around each other. Since the planets orbiting the stars are several thousands of Astronomical Units (average distance between Earth and Sun) away, the planetary transit method is used for locating them with certainty. The planetary transit method is based on the premise that a planet passing in front of its star would slightly dim the stars light or produce a miniature eclipse. When such transits occur periodically, the body is confirmed as a planet. But the planetary transit method would be able to detect a planet only if it is either massive or close to its star, or both. 8. (a) Expl : The vents, called baptized the Beebe Vent Field, were discovered on the Caribbean seafloor in the Cayman Trough. Some five kilometers below the surface, the trench is home to the worlds deepest known black smoker vents, so-called for the cloudy fluid that gushes from them. 9. (a) Expl: The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), which was set up in 1942 to coordinate and monitor research and development in the country, was retained as the nodal organisation of the government for R&D management after independence. The prime minister was made the ex-officio president of the CSIR in order to emphasize the importance of R&D in the countrys economy. 10. (d) 11. (a) 12. (a) 13. (c) Expl:

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The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), which was set up in 1942 to coordinate and monitor research and development in the country, was retained as the nodal organisation of the government for R&D management after independence. The prime minister was made the ex-officio president of the CSIR in order to emphasize the importance of R&D in the countrys economy. 14. (c) Expl: Plancks quest has been to survey the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) - the first light to sweep out across space once a post-Big-Bang Universe had cooled sufficiently to permit the formation of hydrogen atoms. 15. (d) 16. (a) Expl: Chinese telecommunications equipment maker Huawei showed off the worlds thinnest smartphone at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The sleek Ascend P1 is just 6.68 mm thick and boasts an 11 cm screen and a dual core 1.5GHz processor. The handset runs on the latest version of Googles Android operating system. 17. (b) 18. (b) Exp. Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) is an innovative programme sponsored and managed by the Department of Science & Technology for attraction of talent to Science. The basic objective of INSPIRE is to communicate to the youth of the country the excitements of creative pursuit of science, attract talent to the study of science at an early age and thus build the required critical human resource pool for strengthening and expanding the Science & Technology system and R&D base 19. (a) Exp. Vitrification is the transformation of a substance into a glass. Usually, it is achieved by rapidly cooling a liquid through the glass transition. Certain chemical reactions also result in glasses. An important application is the

vitrification of an antifreeze-like liquid in cryopreservation. 20. (d) Exp.: The Ministry of Agriculture is promoting organic farming in the country under National Project on Organic Farming, National Horticulture Mission, Technology Mission for North East and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana. National Project on Organic Farming is being implemented since October 2004 through a National Centre of Organic Farming at Ghaziabad and six Regional Centres located at Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Hissar, Imphal, Jabalpur, and Nagpur. Under the National Horticulture Mission and Technology Mission for North East, assistance is provided at rate of 50 per cent of cost subject to a maximum of Rs. 10,000 per hectare (up to 4 hectares per beneficiary) for organic horticulture cultivation. 21. (d) 22. (a) Exp. third phase focusing on micro planning with exhibitions and folk troupes 23. (b) Exp. the capacity of each reactor will be 1000 MW or 1 GW, Two 1 GW reactors of the VVER-1000 model are being constructed by the Nuclear Power corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and Atomstroyexport. 24. (b) 25. (d) 26. (a) 27. (b) 28. (c) 29. (b) 30. (c) 31. (c) 32. (d) 33. (a) 34. (d) 35. (b) Exp. The two small spacecraft GRAIL A (Ebb) and GRAIL B (Flow) were launched on 10 September 2011 aboard a single launch vehicle: the most-powerful configuration of a Delta II, an American space launch system. 36. (d) 37. (d) 38. (a) Exp. This disease effect mostly children below 15 year, This disease cause both physical impairment and mental impairment 39. (a) 40. (c) Exp. Indian science congress held at Bhubaneswar

41. (a) 42. (d) 43. (d) 44. (a) 45. (a) Exp. MICA is an anti-air multitarget, all weather, fire-and-forget short and medium-range missile system. Recently missile has been given to India to fit in Mirage 46. (d) 47. (c) 48. (a) 49. (d) 50. (b) 51. (d) 52. (d) 53. (b) 54. (d) 55. (b) 56. (d) Exp. Agni-V is a solid fueled intercontinental ballistic missile under development by DRDO of India. It is three stage solid, The missile will have a range of about 6,000 km. 57. (a) 58. (b) Exp. It is defined by an IEEE standard for radio waves with frequencies that range from 2 to 4 GHz. 59. (a) 60. (b) 61. (b) 62. (c) 63. (a) 64. (a) 65. (a) 66. (b) Exp. The Jules Verne ATV, or Automated Transfer Vehicle 001 (ATV-001), was an unmanned cargo resupply spacecraft launched by the European Space Agency (ESA). 67. (a) Exp. The AP1000 is a twoloop pressurized water reactor sold by Westinghouse Electric Company. Its design is the first Generation III+ reactor to receive final design approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 68. (d) 69. (c) Exp. The 100th edition will be hosted by the University of Kolkata from January 3 to January 7, 2013 70. (c) 71. (d) 72. (d) 73. (a) Exp. Both these Nobel winners are honored with Knighthoods for 2012 74. (a) 75. (c) Exp. Range is about 150KM 76. (a) 77. (d) Exp. The International Centre for Hydrogen Energy Technologies (ICHET) is a project of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) founded in Istanbul in 2004 and supported by the Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources. 78. (a) 79. (d) 80. (d)

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