Antonio ereditato algorithmic trading big brother's charter Atrium SAS INS chakra@nerpa dooms day clock Tawakkol

karman national film heritage mission project glass Bingu wa Mutharika rashtriya uchattar shikshiya abhiyan INS parundu arabinda ragkowa mike Wallace Sndor Krsi Csoma, also known as Alexander Csoma, Magyar ppl Indian rhino vision 2020 Operation Haka Dioncounda Traore Toumani Toure NP singh unha- 3 galaxy 3 balmoral Maulvi muhammed Ismail jim yong Kim haidari manzil Maniram Dewan GIS based decision support system ganga punardharshan EU NAVFOR, Operation Atlanta combined maritime force Emomali Rahmon anil bordia transonic wind tunnel Geir Haarde appachan Synriam hatf4 shaheen 1a valarmathi gulen movement INS Teg interactive voice response system space shuttle enterprise chikyu Electromagnetic Railgun Velocitas Eradico, or Speed Kills. Kapilavastu relics strategic security technology coordination group operation Damascus volcano carte bleue Sylvestre Muducamara Dashrath Manjhi champion r. Sangma yellow potato, spectra Laisenia Qarase Alaphia Zoyab Yannick Nihangaza Sadwant Singh Kaleka Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III). Monowai

Helen Gurley Brown jatindra mohan mohanty Tight Screw - Pakistani army plan against terrorist Taniya Bharadwaj, Ambikesh Mahapatra, Shiladitya Choudhury tralphium Philippe Croizon dweeprakshak sarita bhalla agricultural scientist who is heading the committee on presence of pesticides residue in vegetables and fruits Mohamed Bin Hammam Asian unicorn( saola) kazi nazrul Islam bio diva project between Germany and india Danish querishi neikhrietuonuo linyu ram baran yadav shining path Bertrand piccard spot- 6 , and proiteres honeypot computers Binayak Sen and Bulu Imam - international peace award Hillel, Israeli micro-irrigation innovator wins World Food Prize Mata no Peito a Portuguese colloquialism for taking on a challenge operation blossom spring Ollanta Humala INS Sindhurakshak International Inspiration programme Timothy ray brown TAM and WPP Birsa Munda 12-point pgm grid collapse fcra latest bill Banking reforms Latest UAPA Amendment bill to deal with money-laundering and terror sponsoring --------Sanitation 58% of the world s open defecation happens in India. A country that aspires to be a global superpower lags behind numerous other poorer countries when it comes to a ranking on the basis of the proportion of population with access to improved sanitation. In India, sanitation seems to suffer from a policy blind-spot, as policymakers m iss the link between sanitation, hygiene, health and productivity. This has led to numerous unsuccessful attempts to address the issue. Delivering sanitation is hard whether for the Gram Panchayat, or a local NGO, or the government line departments. Fighting against practices and callousness har d-wired into people over centuries is not easy, meaning behaviour-change communi cation is critical. Physical achievement is counted in terms of number of households covered, even t hough it is well understood that building a toilet is not the same as using it; that building a toilet doesn t mean you can use it, especially if you have no acce ss to water to keep the toilet clean; and most of all, that individual toilets a re meaningless unless entire communities are covered and every family uses a cle an toilet. In the TSC, the incentive from various state and central sources for a poor fami

ly constructing a toilet is around Rs 4,400. This finds support from implementer s who believe monetary incentives could facilitate behaviour change. This also f inds support from those who believe that the government has a responsibility to invest in sanitation, the most basic of public health infrastructure in a civili zed country. However, the existing subsidy regime flies in the face of advocates of the CLTS who swear by zero subsidies, the power of a change agent in the village, and the community s collective shame as some of the chief triggers to achieving total san itation. This approach has been gaining traction globally and many government of ficials speak highly of the successes using this method. The Nirmal Gram Puraskar a prize awarded to a Gram Panchayat that reports total absence of open defecation in their community, with every household using a clea n toilet tends to undermine the importance of community mobilization and behavio ur-change efforts by creating an incentive to cheat the system by falsely report ing achievement. This approach fails to take into account sustained usage of toi lets and is easily susceptible to misreporting and collusion among elected commu nity leaders and government officials. States need to facilitate local planning in ensuring that every Gram Panchayat a dopts the model that works best for them, keeping in mind the geography, socio-e conomic status and the existing practices of the communities. This will then lea d to home-grown policies for key components such as implementation, subsidies an d awards that are critical to the success of efforts. -Do we need MPLADS? Bihar became the first state to scrap the MLA Local Area Development Fund scheme (MLALAD). Nitish is planning to replace it with the CM Area Development Progra mme, which would be implemented at the District level. The schemes would be sele cted by a district selection committee headed by the minister-in-charge and MLAs and MLCs of that district as members. Implementation shall rest with a body of engineers, headed by an Engineer-in-chief. The district magistrates would only m onitor implementation and contractors would be chosen through open tendering in which a representative of the CAG would be present. The state would allocate fu nds as per requirement. The MPLAD and MLALAD schemes were introduced in 1993 to enable legislators to ex ecute small works of a local nature to meet urgent needs of their constituents. The projects include drinking water facilities, primary education, public health , sanitation and roads. Initial amount allocated was Rs 5 lakh per year to each MP. Besides implementation lapses (as pointed out by the Standing Committee on Finan ce in 1998-99, CAG and the PC), constitutionality of the scheme has been questio ned. In 2002, the NCRWC recommended immediate discontinuation on the ground that it w as inconsistent with the spirit of federalism and distribution of powers. The 2n d ARC took a firm stand against the scheme arguing that it seriously erodes the notion of separation of powers, as the legislator directly becomes the executive . However, in response to a Writ Petition, in May 2010, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court ruled that there was no violation of the concept of separation of powers because the role of an MP in this case is recommendatory and the actual w ork is carried out by the Panchayats and Municipalities which belong to the exec utive organ. There are checks and balances in place through the guidelines which

have to be adhered to and the fact that each MP is ultimately responsible to th e Parliament. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has suggested that a sin gle parliamentary committee be formed comprising of members of both Houses to mo nitor the scheme. While the constitutionality question may have been put to rest by the Supreme Court, issues of implementation remain. Unless problems such as poor utilisation of funds, irregular sanction of works, delay in completion of w orks, etc, are tackled in an efficient manner, the efficacy of the scheme will r emain in doubt. --Reps versus Dems for India There had been a little bit of retreat and backsliding in US-India relations under the Obama administration. Romney may restore relations. These comments provide fo dder for the view that Republican presidents have generally been better than Dem ocratic ones. Historically, the opposite view has been held, with many in India cheering when Democrats won. There was more support for India among Democrats through the 1960 s. Republicans like Eisenhower came to support India, especially in its developm ent race against China. Republicans in the Congress also joined Democratic presi dents in passing aid legislation for India. Policymakers like John F. Kennedy an d Chester Bowles were considered heroes in the pantheon of US-India relations, w hile Republicans like John Foster Dulles and Richard Nixon were seen as villains . The more recent contention that Republican presidents are better for India can b e traced to the perception that the Clinton administration emphasised non-prolif eration above all else in its relations with India, and to the landmark nuclear deal signed under the Bush administration. For about the last decade and a half, however, three different presidents have p roclaimed that a strong relationship with India is in US interests. Barack Obama has not shown any sign that he is anti-India. Some have pointed to his rhetoric a bout Bangalore and the invocation of India in campaign ads attacking Romney on t he issue of outsourcing. These ads, however, are not generated because the admin istration is anti-India or wants to limit US-India economic ties, but because ce rtain aspects of Romney s business background appear to make him vulnerable. Neither an Obama nor a Romney administration will make policy on the basis of wh ether its key policymakers are anti- or pro-India. In both cases, policy will be based on the perception of US interests and India s role in helping achieve them. Regardless of which party wins, major agreements like the nuclear deal are unlik ely to be repeated. Even if a potential Romney administration makes concessions to India of the kind made under the nuclear deal, they are likely to come with h igher expectations. Republicans have based their support of India on certain ass umptions: shared democratic values, shared interests, especially vis-a-vis China , and the potential of India as a market for American capital and goods. If Indi a is not seen to cooperate on the last two fronts, Republican policymakers are l ikely to question the value of India. A change in administration is not a pre-requisite for change to occur. Clinton s a pproach changed over time. Bush, who came to office emphasising the need to prio ritise India, spent time building a relationship with Pakistan. Indian complaint s that the Obama administration was building relations with China at the expense

of India have been subdued by the declaration of a US pivot to Asia. Evolving s trategic circumstances can change an administration s priorities. Changes in perso nnel or positions when a president gets re-elected can also bring in people with different backgrounds, worldviews and styles. In Washington today, there is support for a strong relationship with India acros s party aisles. The major task ahead is to maintain the momentum and follow thro ugh on the various agreements reached under the last three administrations which will require effort on both sides, regardless of who wins the elections. This a pproach does not preclude significant change; it may indeed lay the basis for it . -----India-Oz On the face of it, it is hard to imagine two countries with less cause for confl ict. United by the English language, similar democratic political institutions, and a shared passion for cricket, and divided by no significant issues of conten tion, India and Australia seem obvious candidates for the sort of benign relatio nship of which most diplomats dream. Two years ago, a sensitive area did emerge, when reports of Indian students bein g brutally attacked in "hate crime" incidents in Melbourne and Sydney inflamed I ndia's excitable media and threatened to derail the relationship. But this has b een dealt with successfully, mainly through adroit diplomacy on both sides and e ffective preventive policing by Australia. Relations have been strained by the continuing refusal of Oz's Labour Party gove rnment to sell uranium to energy-starved India for its civilian nuclear program. A regular supplier of uranium for China's extensive nuclear-weapons program (wh ile overlooking its record of facilitating Pakistan's clandestine weapons develo pment), Australia nonetheless justifies its stance on the grounds of India's ref usal to sign the NPT. India's stance was based on principle: the NPT is the last vestige of apartheid in the international system, granting as it does to five countries the right to be nuclear-weapons states while denying the same right to others. If nuclear wea pons are evil - and India agrees with Australia that they are - then no one shou ld have them. What is the moral, ethical, or legal basis for suggesting that som e can and others cannot? India's position on the NPT enjoys near-consensus backing within the country. If everyone disarms, India will gladly do so, too. The issue is, above all, one of strategic common sense: China, which went to war with India in 1962, has nuclea r weapons pointed at it, making it irresponsible to sign a treaty that would dis arm India unilaterally. Moreover, unlike Iran and North Korea, which signed the NPT and then violated it s provisions through clandestine nuclear-weapons programs, India has breached no international obligation, openly pursued its own nuclear development, and has a clean record on proliferation: it has never exported its technology or leaked a nuclear secret. Its nuclear program is strictly in civilian hands. And its nucl ear doctrine rests on deterrence, backed by a credible retaliatory threat, rathe r than a destabilising first-strike capacity, which India has not developed even against a superior potential adversary such as China. India's approach is based on the belief that non-proliferation cannot be an end in itself; it must be linked to nuclear disarmament in a mutually reinforcing pr ocess. Effective disarmament must enhance security of all states - not of a few.

India set out its goals regarding nuclear disarmament as far back as June 1988, when Rajiv Gandhi presented to the United Nations an action plan for ushering in a nuclear-weapons-free world. He argued that the alternative to co-existence is co-destruction. Even today, India is perhaps the only nuclear-weapons state rea dy and willing to negotiate a treaty leading to non-discriminatory, and verifiab le elimination of these deadly armaments. So Australia's refusal to emulate the United States in recognising that India me rits an exception on nuclear supplies rankles Indians. In fact, India has all th e uranium it currently needs from other suppliers; the issue is one of principle . Just four years ago, India, Australia, and the US participated in joint milita ry and naval exercises, together with Japan and Singapore. It is safe to assume that Australia will need to rethink its position on uranium exports before anyth ing like that happens again. -----WGEEP MoEF is seeking judicial reprieve against the CIC order of April 9, asking the m inistry to make public the report of the WGEEP. In its order, the CIC noted that if such reports are put in public domain, citizens views and concerns can be arti culated in a scientific and reasonable manner. If the government has reasons to ignore the reports, these should logically be put before people. Otherwise, citi zens would believe that the government s decisions are arbitrary or corrupt. Such a trust deficit would never be in the interest of the nation. The ministry has argued that premature release of the report into the public dom ain without adequate consultations with the state governments and Central minist ries to refine the boundaries of eco-sensitive areas may lead to a situation whe rein there would be an influx of proposals for declaration of eco-sensitive zone s. The ministry contends that making public such a report would impact economic progress and interests in the region. In contrast, the ministry while constituting the expert panel had clearly stated the need for protecting the 1600-km long stretch of the Western Ghats passing t hrough six states, for the fact that it neutralises no less than 4 million tonne s of carbon, equivalent to 14 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. The div erse forest ecosystems in the region neutralise 10 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions neutralised by the country s forests. It had also put on record that the region has been one of the important global biodiversity hotspot that harbo urs 1,741 species of flowing plants and 403 species of birds among a vast variet y of reptiles and mammals. Recognising the fact that the region has been under ecological stress on account of river valley projects, mining operations and infrastructural development, WG EEP Panel was constituted in March 2010 by the ministry under the chairmanship o f noted ecologist Madhav Gadgil. It was designated certain functions which inclu ded: 1. An assessment of the ecological status of the entire region, 2. Demarcation of areas required to be notified as ecologically sensitive under the EPA, and 3. Recommendations for conservation, protection and rejuvenation of the pristine environment of the Western Ghats. Ever since the panel submitted its report in August 2011, the same has been held captive by the ministry fearing that it would affect the scientific and economic interests of the country. Taking strong offence to such observations, CIC SHAILE

SH GANDHI directed the ministry to henceforth make public all such reports of co mmissions, special committees and panels within 30 days of their submissions bec ause it involves public money and that such a move would bring greater trust in t he government and its functionaries, and hurt only the corrupt. It was in response to the demand for setting up an autonomous Western Ghats Ecol ogical Authority (WGEA) by the Save Western Ghats Movement in February 2010 that t hen environment minister Jairam Ramesh had constituted the expert panel to seek recommendations from the panel to that effect. That the region is an ecological continuum was even observed by Kalidasa who had found the Western Ghats akin to a comely young maiden, with Agasthyamalai her he ad, Nilgiris and Anamalais her breasts, Goa her waist, Arabian Sea her blue garm ent, and Satpuras her feet. Can such a region be ever treated or conserved in par ts? ----Reservation in promotions 77th amendment in 1995 introduced Clause (4A) in Article 16, which reads as foll ows: Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any provision for res ervation in matters of promotion, with consequential seniority, to any class or classes of posts in the services under the State in favour of the Scheduled Cast es and the Scheduled Tribes which, in the opinion of the State, are not adequate ly represented in the services under the State. The constitutional validity of this amendment and three other amendments pertain ing to the S.Cs and S.Ts was upheld by the Supreme Court s Constitution Bench in t he Nagaraj case in 2006. The Supreme Court judgments in the Nagaraj and subsequent cases that have a bear ing on reservation in promotion for the S.Cs and S.Ts have held that, (i) The right to equality under Article 16(1) is the fundamental right of every citizen; but Clauses (4) and (4A) of Article 16 do not confer a fundamental righ t on the classes for whom reservation is provided or is sought to be provided. (ii) Clause (4) of Article 16 is discretionary. The S.Cs and S.Ts, and also the B.Cs, cannot claim reservation as a fundamental right. It is a matter of the sta te s discretion to provide or not to provide reservation. Similarly, Clause (4A) o f Article 16 is also discretionary and the S.Cs and S.Ts cannot claim reservatio n in promotion as a fundamental right as it is a matter of the state s discretion. (iii) If the state considers it necessary to provide reservation, including rese rvation in promotion, it must show by data that the following conditions for exe rcising the discretion exist: (a) Compelling reasons; (b) Backwardness; (c) Inadequate representation in the services. The court has also laid down the following conditions: (d) Exclusion of creamy layer ; (e) Efficiency of administration required by Article 335 should not be compromis ed;

(f) 50 per cent limit should not be breached; and (g) Reservation should not be extended indefinitely. The Nagaraj judgment laid down these conditions in a case pertaining only to the S.Cs and S.Ts, while upholding the constitutional validity of the 77th amendmen t and three other amendments pertaining to the S.Cs and S.Ts. --------------Web Index On Sept 4 Tim Berners-Lee, one of the pioneers and inventors of the World Wide Web , launched a new report called the Web Index. Prepared by Berners-Lee s World Wide Web Foundation, the report investigates the global state of Web connectivity an d the political and social impact of the Web in 61 countries all over the world. The report uses six criteria to rank nations on overall access and impact: the p resence of connectivity infrastructure, the presence of institutional infrastruc ture including education, laws and censorship, availability of relevant content, penetration and use of the Web, and political, social and economic impact. Sweden, the US and the UK top the rankings. The Web Index helps to convey the message that both aspects of the Web are impor tant: reach and impact. Access alone is not sufficient to leverage power of the Web. Berners-Lee says that almost one-third of all countries provide access, but then impose restrictions. The report paints a picture of nations in a quandary. Greater access to the Inte rnet is now synonymous with a liberal government. But that is still a relatively easy test to clear compared with the second one: keeping this access unfettered . ------Syed Mustafa Siraj Bengali writer, Sahitya academy award winner, died 2012. ----In international diplomacy, a state visit is the highest level of visit by a for eign dignitary, as opposed to a working visit or an official visit. ------------Tajikistan-India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held talks with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon on a wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues and decided to upgrade the ir growing ties to the level of a strategic partnership. After the talks, the two sides signed four pacts to intensify their collaboratio n in areas of health, education, sports and culture. India sought to intensify d evelopmental partnership by unveiling a host of gift for the hydro-power rich na tion, including the setting up of an IT Centre of excellence, an e-network inclu ding tele-education and tele-medicine, medical centres and language laboratories . India also pledged to set up a fruit and vegetable processing plant and an Entre preneurship Development Institute, and agreed to provide agricultural machinery. New Delhi also announced that it will enhance the number of training slots for Tajik nationals from 100 to 150 slots annually under the Indian Technical and Ec

onomic Cooperation training programme. Describing Tajikistan as "a key partner of India in the Central Asian region", M anmohan Singh announced that in view of the broad progress made in bilateral rel ations, particularly in defence and security cooperation, the two sides "should elevate our relations to a strategic partnership". The two countries also decided to bolster trade and investment, with India conve ying support for an 'an early accession of Tajikistan to the WTO'. 'We also discussed opportunities for investments in free economic zones in Tajik istan. We hope to send a delegation from the private and public sectors to explo re investment opportunities in these zones.' 'Information technology, e-connectivity, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, textile s, leather goods, mining and renewable energy are some of the areas with high po tential,' he said. The volatile situation in Afghanistan and the prospects of co operation in the wake of the phased withdrawal of international combat troops by 2014 figured prominently in the discussions, said informed sources. In this context, the two countries decided to deepen counter-terror cooperation. 'President Rahmon and I exchanged views on the situation in the Central Asian r egion and beyond, particularly in the context of the security transition in Afgh anistan. We also agreed to deepen our counter-terrorism cooperation,' said Manmo han Singh. -------The Protection of Women Against Sexual Harassment at Work Place Bill, 2010 Passed by LS The Bill lays down the definition of sexual harassment and seeks to provide a me chanism for redressing complaints. It provides for the constitution of an Intern al Complaints Committee at the work place and a Local Complaints Committee at the d istrict and block levels. A District Officer (District Collector or Deputy Coll ector), shall be responsible for facilitating and monitoring the activities unde r the Act. The Bill defines sexual harassment at the work place and creates a mechanism for redressal of complaints. It also provides safeguards against false or malicious charges. Every employer is required to constitute an Internal Complaints Committee at eac h office or branch with 10 or more employees. The District Officer is required t o constitute a Local Complaints Committee at each district, and if required at t he block level. The Complaints Committees have the powers of civil courts for ga thering evidence. The Complaints Committees are required to provide for conciliation before initia ting an inquiry, if requested by the complainant. Penalties have been prescribed for employers. Non-compliance with the provisions of the Act shall be punishable with a fine of up to Rs 50,000. Repeated violati ons may lead to higher penalties and cancellation of licence or registration to conduct business. There could be feasibility issues in establishing an Internal Complaints Committ ee at every branch or office with 10 or more employees. The Internal Complaints Committee has been given the powers of a civil court. Ho wever, it does not require members with a legal background nor are there any pro

visions for legal training. The Bill provides for action against the complainant in case of a false or malic ious complaint. This could deter victims from filing complaints. Two different bodies are called Local Complaints Committee . The Bill does not cle arly demarcate the jurisdiction, composition and functions of these Committees. Cases of sexual harassment of domestic workers have been specifically excluded f rom the purview of the Bill. Unlike sexual harassment legislation in many other countries, this Bill does not provide protection to men. ------Marriage laws amendment Bill Amid the Opposition demand to make divorce more women-friendly, the government o n Thursday approved fresh amendments in a Bill pending in the Rajya Sabha, to gi ve the wife a clearly-defined share in the husband's immovable residential prope rty. A meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, took u p new amendments to the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill introduced in the Rajya S abha earlier this month. The government also decided to retain the mandatory six-month cooling-off period , which the Bill had proposed to do away with, in case of divorce with mutual co nsent. However, to waive the cooling period, both the parties will have to move the application together. In other words, the application to reduce the period can't be moved by one party, sources said after the meeting. Once the divorce is granted, the woman will have to move an application to get a share in her husband's property, as part of the settlement. Keeping in mind the demand of the Opposition, it has now been decided to give th e wife and children a clearly-defined share in the husband's immovable residentia l property in case of a split. Sensing the mood of the House, Law Minister Salman Khurshid had deferred his rep ly to the Bill on May 2 in the Upper House. The Law Ministry Bill seeks to further amend the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, and t he Special Marriage Act, 1954. Members of various parties felt the Bill was bein g brought in haste, and its spirit went against the interests of women, and fear ed they wouldn't get their rights, if divorce was made easier. ------The national agricultural biodiversity bill The Union Cabinet on Thursday also gave nod to a bill that seeks to protect the rich biodiversity of the country and also safeguard Indian agriculture from bioterrorism and inflow of dangerous pests from outside. The bill stipulates setting up of a National Agriculture Bio-diversity Authority which would keep a check on inflow of external pests in course of the import of agricultural and animal products. The Authority will be set in the lines of sim ilar legislation in the US, New Zealand and Australia. The proposed National Agriculture Bio-diversity Bill, 2012, will replace the Des

tructive Insects and Pest Act of 1914. ----The National Highways Authority of India Act, 1988 established the National High ways Authority of India (NHAI) for the development, maintenance and management o f national highways. The NHAI consists of a chairman, up to 5 full-time members and up to 4 part-time members. A recently passed Bill expands the authority. It will now consist of a chairman, up to 6 full-time members and 6 part-time members. At least two of the part-ti me members must be non-government professionals with knowledge or experience in financial management, transportation planning or any other relevant discipline. ------Girisha Hosanagara Nagarajegowda gave India its first medal at the Paralympic Ga mes after bagging a silver in the Men's High Jump F42 event here. The 24-year old from Karnataka, who has an impairment in his left leg, sailed ov er a height of 1.74m using scissors technique in the final of the event to finis h second -------The new Mental Health Care Bill seeks to ensure that patients suffering from men tal health ailments don't get lodged in hospitals or asylums for more than six m onths and are not given electric shocks without consent. Seeking close govt supervision of mental health centres, it attempts to raise In dia's 25-year-old law on mental health treatment to standards set by the UN. The proposed Bill further calls for six-month jail terms for persons who violate these norms. Many mental health issues are caused by chemical imbalances, curable through the rapies and medication. However, uninformed fears lead to mental health becoming a taboo for public discussion, patients either left without treatment, abandoned or even unscrupulously bundled off to institutions where they're kept out of so ciety's sight. Such care is unregulated and often brutally handled. The new Bill seeks to accord dignity and agency to patients while enabling their families to take responsible, well-informed choices. And by supervising care pr operly, it moves towards making mental health a far more normal, accountable and openly discussed zone of medical practice. -------Thalidomide A sedative drug introduced in the late 1950s that was used to treat morning sick ness and aid sleep. It was sold from 1957 until 1961, when it was withdrawn afte r being found to be a cause of birth defects. The thalidomide tragedy led to muc h stricter testing being introduced for drug and pesticide licensing. ----------VigEye Project VIGEYE (Vigilance Eye) is a citizen-centric initiative of the CVC, where in citizens join hands with the Central Vigilance Commission in fighting corrupt ion. Project Vigeye is the platform through which vigilance information flows freely through common public, the government agencies and the CVC. Citizens have multiple channels to air their grievances and complaints to CVC a) Through their mobile phones: by downloading the mobile application from the C VC website. Complaints can be better articulated with additional audio/video/pho

to evidence from mobiles directly. b) Through the internet: by filling the complaint form online they can attach au dio/video/photo. c) Through telephone: helpline has been set up. Complaint processing is done onl ine, in digital form, enabling speed and accuracy. The concerned CVO will interact with the complainant directly over phone/email o r in person, as the case may be, to take it forward. Status of the complaint is communicated. -------Jayan Cherian Indian-American film-maker, whose Malayalam film Papilio Buddha was denied a cer tificate by the CBFC. It depicts the struggles of a landless dalit community. ------Aditi Mukherji, a social scientist with the International Water Management Insti tute, New Delhi, has won the first Norman Borlaug Award for field research and a pplication, given by the World Food Prize Foundation, for her work on usage of g roundwater in agriculture. Her research has led to policy changes in West Bengal , benefiting thousands of farmers. -----APMCs (Better dea for farmers, and rationalisation of prices) Agriculture markets are regulated in India through APMC Acts. A single-point mar ket fee system is necessary to facilitate free movement of produce, bring price stabilization, and reduce price differences between the producer and consumer ma rket segments. The APMCs were created to protect the interest of farmers. In the light of this, the Inter-Ministerial Group recommended that the APMC Act be revisited, so that enough flexibility is imparted to farmers to sell their pr oduce. It is important to develop a robust agricultural marketing system through adequate investment to strengthen back-end infrastructure and reduce wastage. T he IMG on Inflation convened in 2011 has suggested reforms of APMC Acts to stren gthen supply-chain effeciency. Overall, any strategy for strengthening agricultu ral marketing needs to have a three-pronged objective: -- of providing remunerative prices to farmers; -- strengthening efficiencies of supply chain; and -- ensuring consumers are charged fair and reasonable prices UPA government has approved 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail and 100 per ce nt in single brand. This sets the stage for the proposal to be placed in Parliam ent. The government has justified this reform as an important pillar for fightin g inflation. The popular debate on FDI in retail has focused largely on the impa ct that unfettered introduction of corporate modern retail would have on traditi onal retailers and their employment/livelihood concerns. But an important stakeh older group in the retail distribution chain are the multitude of small farmers and agro-processors, who receive the most miniscule share of the revenue pie, an d whose concerns are almost always overshadowed by the better lobbying power of the intermediaries in the agricultural supply chain. While the farm sector is slowly diversifying, its share in growth is declining. It continues to support more than half the populace. But farming isn't remunerat

ive. The absence of a functioning agricultural market and an unviable MSP for ri ce has forced farmers to leave their lands fallow in the cropping season. Since the mid-1990s, an estimated 1.5 lakh small farmers have committed suicide, most of them due to debts. Most analysts and policymakers favour modernising distribution networks and shor tening supply chains to make it easier for retailers and food processors to buy direct from farmers, which would potentially improve the returns to investment m ade by the farmer. But despite the existence of a draft model Agriculture Produc e Marketing Committee Act, not all States that have adopted it enforce this Act in the right spirit, and some have only partially introduced Bills. According to Agriculture Ministry data, only 17 states have amended their APMC A ct to allow direct marketing, contract farming and markets in private and cooper ative sectors. Key grain producing states have initiated only partial reforms. A lso, seven states and UTs don't have any APMC Act to govern agricultural trade. And in the states that allow retailers to do this outside the regulated local ma rkets known as mandi, in practice, poor infrastructure makes that difficult. As a result, the supply chains are fragmented and often involve several layers of m iddlemen. The large geographical area of India and its weak infrastructure are the most im portant constraints on creating a proper distribution system. Combined with mult iple tax jurisdictions and inter-state border barriers, this has resulted in fra gmentation of the fresh food and groceries market, both from the procurement and retailing perspectives. This has resulted in levelling the sourcing field in so far as all retailers (large and small, including the hand-cart retailers) neces sarily have to make procurements from the mandis. Mandis are usually managed by a few traders, who often collude and form cartels, and thereby prevent the farmer from selling to the best buyer. Delhi has six ma ndis and seemingly enough competition, but the muddled nature of the laws and th eir opaque implementation make mandis de facto monopolies. Hence, farmers are de nied the right to sell their produce outside the mandis and directly to consumer s, retailers or food processors, while the retailer pays inflated prices when pr ocuring from the intermediaries. A reform of the APMC Act will require huge political will to break these agricul tural cartels, in addition to harmonising the implementation of the Act in the d ifferent states that create market distortions. But unless state-level APMC laws are altered and implemented to conform to the spirit of the model APMC law, the benefits from increased investment in the retail sector and new infrastructure creation won't reach small farmers. Creating an effective choice of multiple and competitive market channels for far mers by means of APMC reform will be the first step towards fighting the persist ent inflationary conditions assailing the country. ----Interlinking of rivers The Supreme Court in Feb directed the Centre to implement the ambitious interlin king of rivers project in a time-bound manner and appointed a high-powered commi ttee for planning and implementation. Observing that the project has already bee n delayed resulting in an increase in its cost, a three-judge Bench said the Cen tre and the concerned states should participate for its effective implementation in a time-bound manner. The project was conceived in 1971 but revived in 2002. Though the government had included the inter-linking of peninsular rivers as one of the top priorities in

its common minimum programme in 2004, nothing was heard about it later. Complet ion of the project will result in tremendous economic and social benefits to agr iculture while boosting national economy. The verdict is a clear warning that the government should keep water management above politics. Interlinking rivers will increase agriculture production manifol d and solve drinking water shortage. It will also help generate 40,000 MW of cle an energy. --Soft power opportunities Create food bank for drought-struck regions; even rotten wheat can be used as ca ttle feed. Medicines and vitamins. Afghanistan has been the focus of initial efforts. ince then, India has reached out with increasing confidence to Bangladesh, Nepal, Africa and Myanmar through lines of credit. These are significant initiatives. If they have not been sufficiently appreciate d so far it could be because soft power is far more difficult to exercise than h ard military power. Its success depends less on the amounts of assistance that a country is willing to render than on its timing, the attention it is able to ca pture, and its effectiveness. On all three counts, India still has a good deal t o learn. The contrast with China's methods of exercising soft power is instructive. Beiji ng is frequently criticised, and occasionally resented, for insisting on using i ts own enterprises, managers and workers, and transferring nothing to the countr y by way of knowhow. But Chinese aid is more effective than any that the world h as seen so far. Projects get completed in record time, at low costs and to strin gent specifications. The locals may earn little directly, but no local politicia n, crony contractor, or middleman gets a bite of the cherry. Some of the results are mind-boggling: In Kenya, for instance, China has completed 1000 km of motor ways and 500 km of regular roads in three years to European standards. Brazil seems to have taken a leaf from China's book. It has the largest official programme of aid to Haiti. And the private charity that brought by far the most aid to Haiti after the earthquake was a Libyan Trust. The economic and moral decline of the West has created a hegemonic vacuum that p resents both a challenge and an opportunity to emerging powers. China and Brazil are already beginning to fill some of it. India cannot afford to be left behind . -----India-Arctic The Arctic Circle encloses 21 mln sq km of land and 13 mln sq km of mostly ice-b ound seas. By way of comparison, India's total land area is 3.3 million sq km. I t is estimated that the region may hold over 40 per cent of the current global r eserves of oil and gas. There may also be significant reserves of coal, zinc and silver. As global warming causes the ice to melt, even for limited periods, commercial e xploitation of these resources is becoming feasible. In January 2011, BP conclud ed a strategic alliance with Rosneft to exploit the hydrocarbon resources in the Russian Arctic. Arctic shipping has become a reality in summer. The Northwest passage, mainly al ong Canada's Arctic Coast, will link Far East Asia with North America, while the

North-East Passage, mainly along Russia's Arctic shoreline, would provide an al ternate route between Asia and North America, but also between Europe and Asia. These routes will cut global shipping routes by several thousand kilometres. For example, the Arctic route from Rotterdam (Holland) to San Francisco will be 4,0 00 km shorter than the existing route. This route has already been used in the p ast two summers by commercial shipping. The Arctic region is now also becoming a popular tourist destination. In 2010, o ver 50,000 tourists sailed pristine waters of a hitherto forbidden zone. Countries that lie on the Arctic littoral are f the region. The sharpening tensions arising isputes among the Arctic countries are also a icant economic and strategic gains that could advantages and potential resources. keen to monopolise the resources o out of long-standing territorial d consequence of prospects of signif be made from exploiting locational

The current scramble one witnesses in the Arctic is in sharp contrast to the rel ative tranquillity which prevails over the Antarctic. In a rare example of coope ration among the major powers, the Antarctica Treaty was concluded in 1959, perm itting only research and scientific activity, shelving any competing territorial claims. Antarctica is a continent, unlike the Arctic, which is an ocean, but it also cov ers a vast area of 14 million sq km covered in a thick layer of ice. The Antarct ic is also estimated to hold vast reserves of hydrocarbons and rare minerals. Gl obal warming is also leading to melting of permanent ice in the southern summer and there could well be a fraying of the compromise. Territorial claims, which h ave been frozen for the duration of the Treaty, may well be revived. What happen s in the Arctic may well trigger a negative change in the Antarctic. Russia may be the most prominent beneficiary of this shift, not only because it occupies the largest part of the Arctic, but also because it has the most experi ence in dealing with the harsh conditions that will continue to prevail in the r egion. The relative importance of countries that currently dominate global shipp ing routes will decline; the strategic chokepoints of the Panama Canal, the Suez Canal, the Bosphorous and the Malacca Straits, would lose much of their economi c importance. The distribution of critical resources will be rearranged, giving greater leverage to the US, Canada, Russia and northern Europe. It is well established that the challenge of global climate change cannot be add ressed unless there is a worldwide, accelerated and strategic shift from product ion and consumption patterns that rely on carbon based fossil fuels to those bas ed on renewable sources of energy such as solar and nuclear power. And yet, avai lable evidence points to fossil fuel use not only continuing but being significa ntly expanded. The industrialised countries lose no opportunity to preach a low carbon growth s trategy to developing countries like India on grounds that this is globally resp onsible behaviour. And yet their actions, including in the Arctic, demonstrate t heir intention of intensifying their own carbon intensive life styles. The depleting rainforests in the Amazon basin, Central Africa and the Indonesian archipelago have been declared global commons on grounds that their preservation is vital to maintaining the health of the global eco-system. These resources, it is argued, cannot be treated as exclusive national resources by the countries i n which they are located. The rest of the world has a legitimate interest in the ir being managed in an environmentally sound manner. By the same token, preserva tion of the extremely fragile ecology of the Arctic, whose disturbance may adver sely affect the survival of peoples across the planet, is of vital concern to th e international community. The Arctic Ocean is as much a global common as Antarc

tica. Non-Arctic countries like India need to assert their right to have their s ay in its management. This cannot be the exclusive privilege of the Arctic litto ral countries. India should mobilise international public opinion in favour of d eclaring the Arctic a common heritage of mankind and sponsoring a legal regime o n the lines of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty. There may be voices who may argue that India should follow China in seeking a sh are in exploitation of Arctic resources to fuel its continuing economic growth. This would be short-sighted. It ignores the much greater damage compared to any possible benefits that India may have to bear if the Arctic continues to be rava ged by unchecked human greed. India possesses neither the financial nor technolo gical capabilities to match countries in the forefront of the current Arctic scr amble. The available pickings may prove to be meagre. India should consider carefully whether it should pursue its reported applicatio n to join the Arctic Council as a permanent observer. The Council was set up in 1996 and has eight members: US, Canada, Russia, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Iceland. There are five permanent observers: UK, France, the Netherlands, P oland and Italy. Brazil, China, Japan and South Korea have also expressed an int erest in becoming permanent members. However, it should be noted that a conditio n for being granted this status is acceptance of the sovereign rights of the Arc tic Council members over the Arctic Ocean. India should instead press for the Antarctic Treaty template where the territori al claims of States have been shelved for the duration of the Treaty. The reason s for which the international community accepted the discipline of the Antarctic Treaty are today even more compelling and urgent with respect to the Arctic. Pl acing this on the UN agenda and initiating international action on it could be a historic contribution by India in its role as a responsible global power. --------Dharmadhikari report Almost five years after the merger of two state-run airlines, a report on integr ation of about 29,000 employees of unified Air India has been submitted to the C ivil Aviation Ministry. The Committee made recommendations on issues like career progression, integratio n across cadres, rationalisation of pay scale, allowances and incentives, and ov erall restructuring of the entire staff. The panel, which took nine months to submit its report, interacted with all stak eholders, including various unions and associations of both former companies and their management. Cash-strapped Air India, which has 14 unions representing all sections of its employees, has suffered many strikes since the merger. The issues are pay parity and career progression between staffers of the two ers twhile carriers, delayed payments of salaries and allowances, etc. Part of the d elay in harmonising is due to the critical financial condition faced by the comp any. -------Croatia-EU The January 22 plebiscite has paved the way for Croatia to join the European Uni on as its 28th member state in 2013. The move must be ratified in national parli aments across the EU. Regional security, access to the vast job markets, and investment inflows are am ong the potential benefits. Croatia enters when the danger of Greece's exit from the euro zone is looming and the time-table for accession of prospective member

s appears indefinite. The lack of a coherent response to the debt crisis makes a bad situation appear worse. It is tempting to interpret the 44 per cent turnout in the referendum as democra tic deficit. But voter apathy common in the trans-national context. Secondly, th e EU vote followed close on the heels of a national general election. In that li ght, the roughly two-to-one approval of EU membership is significant. Democracy, market economy, and rule of law are among the eligibility criteria fo r EU membership. Abolition of the death penalty is also a precondition for admis sion, and this reform imparts a rational and humane aspect to the administration of criminal justice. The potential of such a step to bring closure to historic wrongs and build reconciliation among Balkan countries that are torn by bloody e thnic strife cannot be exaggerated. By admitting Zagreb, the EU will send out a signal to the other Balkan states that it attaches a high premium on cooperation with the Hague tribunal which is adjudicating the war crimes of the 1990s. This is of particular relevance to Serbia, whose position on Kosovo has pushed back its ambitions for EU membership. It is no mean challenge for the Balkans to balance their cherished values of nat ional independence and sovereignty with the more current imperatives of regional integration. Consolidation of the EU would prove a formidable challenge owing t o the machinations of extremist and anti-immigration parties. ----FDI in civil aviation Proposal on permitting foreign airlines to pick up 49 per cent equity in domesti c carriers. Under the existing rules, foreign investors other than airline companies can inv est up to 49 per cent in domestic airlines. The move to liberalise the norm has to be seen in the context of the financial troubles that most domestic airline c ompanies are embroiled in. The thinking appears to be that easing the norm will enable troubled operators to attract equity investment from foreign carriers. Though this is an infinitely better option than a bailout using public funds, wh ether there will be actual takers among foreign airline companies is doubtful. T he first reactions from some of them such as Lufthansa, Emirates and Singapore A irlines, purported to have been interested in investing in domestic carriers, on ly confirm this. They have all said that there is no immediate plan to invest in airline companies in India nor is it an important part of their future plans. A ir Asia, a Malaysia-based low-cost operator, has gone a step forward and said th at it would rather set up a subsidiary in India than invest in an existing carri er. Offering 49 per cent equity to foreign airlines is obviously no magic wand to wa rd off problems of the airline industry. If the government is keen to rescue the airline industry, there are other things that it could do. .. rationalise taxes and duties on aviation turbine fuel, which are very high. S oaring oil prices have made fuel expensive and the high taxes only add to the bu rden. Fuel being the biggest item of cost for airlines, any relief on that front will be welcome. .. We need a regulator to keep a sharp eye on anti-competitive practices such as cut-throat fare setting by some players forcing the others to join in a fatal r ace to the bottom .. Applications to fly short-haul international routes should be cleared quickly , especially where there is room to do so under bilateral agreements. It is quite possible that despite all such assistance there will still be some a

irline companies that cannot be rescued mainly due to mismanagement or faulty de cisions made in the past. Though it might be tempting to aid them with financial assistance, it will be best to leave them to their devices. The last thing the government should do is throw good money after bad, especially when it belongs t o the public. -The Estimates Committee of the Parliament has recommended removing the cap on FD I in the civil aviation sector. The committee, in a detailed report on the develo pment and regulation of civil aviation , said the benefits of opening up the passe nger airlines sector for investment by foreign airline companies are manifold. Ap art from addressing the shortage of funds, this would help raise the level of se rvices for consumers and promote healthy competition... FDI cannot be the sole s olution to the sector s debt problems."----------Jal satyagraha Around 250 people who have been affected by the rising water level in Omkareshwa r dam have started a jal satyagraha. Despite thousands of oustees still not havi ng been rehabilitated, the government had decided to fill the dam up to 193 metr es. To protest this decision, a satyagraha was launched in Ghoghalgaon. The vill agers have been demanding that the level of the water should be maintained at 18 9 metres and all the previously affected people be given land for land and other rehabilitation benefits. The current water level of the dam is 189 metres and t he protesters fear that if filled beyond that level, the dam will submerge their lands, spread across several villages. NBA has warned the government that if the water level was not reduced immediatel y and no immediate steps were taken to rehabilitate the affected people, they wi ll not hesitate to give up their lives and the struggle will be intensified. Thi rty-four oustees, along with NBA activist Chittaroopa Palit, continued the ordea l for seven continuous days even as some of them developed blisters on their fee t from standing in waist deep water. The 520 MW Omkareshwar project is one of the several big dams on the Narmada riv er. The Madhya Pradesh government has said the filling of the dam poses no threa t to human life even as the Madhya Pradesh Human Rights Commission (MPHRC) direc ted the government to ensure the safety of the protesters. The filling is being done gradually keeping in view the safety and security of h uman lives on top priority. The related district administrations have been put o n alert with a contingency plan to extend help in emergency situations. 46 rehabilitation sites had been developed with all basic amenities to resettle displaced families, including a residential plot measuring 90ft by 60ft to each PAF (project affected family) free of cost, he said. PAFs who opted not to take the plot had been provided Rs. 20,000 in lieu. ----------Nehru cup The Nehru Cup (formally the ONGC Nehru Cup) is an international association foot ball tournament organised by the All India Football Federation. It was launched in 1982, but was not held from 1998 to 2006. In 2007, India won their first titl e. India won again in 2009. Sunil Chhetri is the current team captain. ------Rural Godown Scheme or Gramin Bhandaran Yojana

Small farmers do not have economic strength to retain produce with them till the market prices are favourable. A network of rural godowns will enable them to en hance their holding capacity in order to sell their produce at remunerative pric es and avoid distress sales. GoI launched the Grameen Bhandaran Yojana in 2001. Main objectives of scheme include creation of scientific storage capacity with a llied facilities in rural areas to meet out various requirements of farmers for storing farm produce, processed farm produce, agricultural inputs, etc, and prev ention of distress sale by creating the facility of pledge loan and marketing cr edit. The project for construction of rural godowns can be taken up by individuals, fa rmers, Group of farmers/growers, Partnership/ Proprietary firms, NGOs, SHGs, Com panies, Corporations, Co-ops, Local Bodies other than Municipal Corporations, Fe derations, Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees, Marketing Boards and Agro Processing Corporations in the entire country. Assistance for renovation will be restricted to godowns constructed by coops only. Under the scheme, the entrepreneur will be free to construct godown at any place , as per his/her commercial judgment except for the restriction that it would be outside the limits of Municipal Corporation area. -----Universal healthcare "The best form of providing health care is to liquidate ignorance, poverty and u nemployment. The practice of each individual purchasing his own medical care is unjust, inefficient, wasteful and completely outmoded. In our highly geared, mod ern industrial society, there is no such thing as private health all health is p ublic. The illness and maladjustments of one unit of the mass affects all other members. Protection of people's health should be recognised by the Government as its primary duty. -- Canadian surgeon Norman Bethune, 1936 The High Level Expert Group of the Planning Commission on Universal Health Cover age for India chaired by K Srinath Reddy has laid out a clear road map to provid e access to affordable, accountable, and appropriate health services for all cit izens in a meaningful time frame. Free India adopted the goal of preventive and curative care for all, as recommen ded by the Bhore Committee in 1946. But it faltered and failed to raise public s pending. What the expert group proposes is far-going reform in several areas. On funding, it puts the onus on the government to mobilise the resources necessa ry, relying mainly on general taxation; complementary funds would come in the fo rm of mandatory deductions for health care from salaried individuals and tax pay ers. Country-level policies oriented towards equity and free, universal access t o health care favour such a financial model. This is also logical, considering t hat health should be viewed as a public and merit good available to the entire p opulation. India's approach to public spending on health needs a radical change. It has a p athetic record of devoting a mere 1.2 per cent of GDP as public expenditure. To scale up care, that must be raised to at least 2.5 per cent by the end of the 12 th Plan (promised by Pdt in his speech), and 3 per cent in the subsequent five y ears. This, the expert group estimates, can bring about dramatic reduction in ou t-of-pocket spending from 67 per cent of total health expenditures today to 47 p er cent by 2017 and 33 per cent by 2022.

An entitlement to free healthcare, implemented through a carefully chosen packag e of cashless in-patient and out-patient services, will be a paradigm shift. Thi s is doable, given consistent GDP growth. Moreover, there is adequate room in th e tax system to accommodate new demand for a national health plan; after all, In dia's tax ratio, at a little over 15 per cent of GDP, is much lower than the ave rage of 22 per cent for countries with comparable per capita incomes. The private sector can participate in the provision of universal health coverage as contractual partners, with appropriate regulation and monitoring of costs an d quality. The key principle laid down by the expert group for universal access is to not l evy any user charge at all. Levying such fees can perpetuate or widen inequaliti es in poor and middle income settings. The more rewarding approach would be to i nvest heavily in the public system to provide primary, secondary, and tertiary c are, and use private expertise mainly to strengthen that capability. The recommendations of the expert group, including the emphasis on making essent ial medicines available free to patients through state funding, must be welcomed . The major causes of ill health are inability to pay, ignorance, apathy and lack of medical service. UHC has been adopted by many countries both as a development al imperative and the moral obligation of a civilised society. India embraced this vision at its independence. But insufficient funding of publ ic facilities, combined with faulty planning and inefficient management has resu lted in a dysfunctional health system that has been yielding poor health outcome s. India's public spending on health just around 1.2 per cent of GDP is among th e lowest in the world. Private health services have grown by default, without ch ecks on cost and quality, escalating out-of-pocket health expenditures and exace rbating health inequity. While the National Rural Health Mission and the several government funded health insurance schemes have provided a partial response, out-of-pocket expenditure s till remains at 71 per cent of all spending, without coverage for outpatient car e, medicines and basic diagnostic tests. The High Level Expert Group (HLEG) established by the PC has submitted a compreh ensive framework for providing UHC in India. A health entitlement card should as sure every citizen access to a national health package of essential primary, sec ondary and tertiary care, both inpatient and outpatient. The services must be ta x funded and cashless at delivery. User fees are to be abolished because they ar e inefficient, inadequate and iniquitous. Contributory social insurance is not a ppropriate for countries like India where a large segment of the workforce close to 93 per cent is in unorganised sector and vast numbers are below the poverty line. PRIORITIES 1. Increasing public spending on health is the first immediate requirement. 2. Strengthen our public health systems. Primary health care must be improved, s tarting with sub-centres, the first health post for the community. By staffing t hem with well-trained non-physician health care providers, both facility-based a nd outreach services can be provided without being doctor dependent. District ho spitals too should be strengthened to provide high quality secondary care, some elements of essential tertiary care and training. 3. Improve the size and quality of our health workforce. Without this, the promi se of UHC will remain an empty entitlement. Resources must be devoted to the pro duction of competent and committed community health workers for the frontline, m id-level health workers or AYUSH doctors for the sub-centres, and general and sp

ecialist nurses as well as non-specialist doctors for primary health centres. Mo re specialists are needed for higher levels of health care including the distric t hospitals. New nursing and medical colleges should be preferentially set up in States which presently have very few, linking them to district hospitals. Publi c health competencies must be increased through inter-disciplinary education whi ch is aligned to health system needs. Improved management of all of these human resources must involve better incentives for recruitment and retention, cadre re view and creation of defined career tracks. 4. Provide essential medicines and diagnostics free of cost at all public facili ties. At the same time, referral linkages and patient transport services should be improved to integrate primary, secondary and tertiary health care in the publ ic system. Difficult to reach areas and vulnerable population groups should rece ive special attention. 5. Regulatory systems need strengthening hospital accreditation, health professi onal education, drug licensing, standard management guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of different disease conditions. A national inter-operable Health Inf ormation Network is needed. Community participation must be supported to activel y engage people in the design, delivery, monitoring and evaluation of health pro grammes. Larger investments should be made in health promoting programmes in oth er sectors such as water, sanitation, nutrition, urban design and livelihood gen eration. ROLE OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR The Kolkata Group led by Amartya Sen, in its 2011 Public Declaration, pointed to the many limitations of the private sector in health. Policymakers in India see m to be attracted by the idea that private health care, properly subsidised, or private health insurance, subsidised by the State, can meet the challenge. Howev er, there are good analytical reasons why this is unlikely to happen because of informational asymmetry (the patient can be easily fooled by profit-seeking prov iders on what exactly is being provided) and because of the public goods' charact er of health care. There are also major decisional problems that lead to the gro ss neglect of the interests of women and children in family decisions. Insurance schemes at best provide limited health care and at worst divert a large part of the health budget to expensive hospitalised tertiary and secondary care, to the great neglect of primary care. Clearly, there is no alternative to a progressive strengthening of the public fa cilities and thereby reduce people's dependence on private providers. However, t he public system may need to contract the services of willing private providers, to fill gaps in its capacity to deliver all the services assured under UHC. Suc h private providers will have to deliver cashless services and would be compensa ted on the basis of pre-determined cost per package of health services rather th an fee for service for each visit or procedure. In such an arrangement, the privat e sector acts as an extension of the public sector where needed and will not com pete for the same set of services for the same people. Apart from improving people's health, adopting UHC is likely to generate million s of new jobs, enhance productivity, and promote equity. Statesmanship must asse rt itself to create a national framework of UHC that is capable of State-specifi c adaptations. --------CERT-In Indian computer emergency response team is the national incident response centre for major computer security threats. It works under the auspices of DIT and com prises a central advisory committee of five members. Role: Both reactive and proactive, basically reporting, analysis and response.

1. Raise security awareness among the cyber community and provide technical assi stance and advice to help recover from security incidents. 2. Identify trends in intruder activity. 3. Work with similar organisations to resolve major issues. 4. Disseminate info on best practices for various systems by publishing advisori es and other technical documents. -------Enrica Lexie incident On February 15, 2012, two fishermen were killed when Marines aboard the Italian vessel Enrica Lexie fired on their boat. The Indian Coast Guard, after some spec ialised picture analysis, contacted the Italian vessel around and confirmed that it was involved in a firing incident involving a pirate vessel. The International Maritime Organisation has permitted merchant vessels to carry armed personnel. But, recognising the risks involved, it set down strict guideli nes for lethal action. Essentially a ship s master has to manoeuvre his vessel to avoid being intercepted. This will force the pirate vessel to manoeuvre to pursu e and intercept, to enable boarding to take the vessel. Vessels engaged in legitim ate activities could thus be identified. Firing is to be resorted to only when a suspect vessel is alongside and an attempt is made to board. In this case, no manoeuvres were carried out. The firing took place when the fis hing boat St Antony was in a range of 100 yards, a distance from which no boardi ng can possibly take place. It seems that personnel on Enrica Lexie acted in dis regard of IMO guidelines. Around 1630 hours, there would have been sufficient vi sibility, and an environment to resolve all ambiguities clearly existed. Enrica Lexie did not contact the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre at any point. The incident threw up issues relating to jurisdiction, since it took place outsi de India s territorial waters. Since the Italian government had enacted a law that authorised marine corps personnel to be deployed for vessel protection, one vie w is that the marines were doing their lawful duty, and since they were military personnel they should be tried by the Italian government. The territorial limit of three miles came about from the canon shot rule. Since a canon shot could not fall beyond three miles, national security was sought to be secured by having the maritime border at three miles. By 1967, most nations ado pted 12 miles as the extent of the territorial sea. UNCLOS defined contiguous zo nes, exclusive economic zones and so on to allow orderly conduct of specified ma ritime activity and related control. The EEZ confers on the littoral state the r ight to exploit the area and realise its maritime economic potential. Thus, Indi an fishermen engaged in fishing in the EEZ are performing a legally sanctioned a ctivity and are entitled to protection by the state. Since the marines were deployed by the Italian government, their actions in ensu ring the ship s safety are to be deemed legitimate and they can claim privileges t hat naval personnel enjoy. Normally, armed forces personnel cannot be placed und er the command of any other authority. This brings about a conflict in the respo nsibilities of the master and the marines. Since manoeuvre is the first action stipulated, the master has to initiate it. T he determination that the target vessel is a pirate vessel is made if that vesse l persistently manoeuvres to intercept, or launches skiffs that attempt to close in on the ship. Force is to be initiated only when the pirate vessel or skiff i s alongside and people are attempting to board. It is only at this moment that m arines can act. Armed forces personnel are to execute actions under lawful command, wherever they are. In peace-time, the principle of proportionate force is an obligatory ingred

ient of rules humanitarian so. Personnel her report it

of engagement. International law requires even warships to provide assistance unless it is tactically and materially imprudent to do on Enrica Lexie shot the fishermen, and showed no intention to eit or act in accordance with international law.

Fishermen perform an important task. Life at sea is fraught with uncertainties a nd danger. They are entitled to all protection that they can get to lead their l ives with dignity. It is the duty of the state, the Navy and the Coast Guard to ensure maritime security. While omnipresence and patrolling are impossible, inte rnational legal processes should be strnegthened so that sufficient deterrence i s in place. --State immunity (not to be confused with doctrine of sovereign immunity whereby t he government of a state may not be amenable before its own courts). The doctrine and rules of state immunity concern the protection which a state is given from being sued in the courts of other states. The rules developed at a t ime when it was thought to be an infringement of sovereignty to bring proceeding s against a state or its officials in a foreign country. There is now a trend towards substantial exceptions to the rule of immunity; in particular, a state can be sued when the dispute arises from a commercial transa ction entered into by a state or some other non-sovereign activity of a state. T he UN Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and their Property 2004, which is not yet in force, formulates the rules and the exceptions to them. It does not cover criminal proceedings, and it does not allow civil actions for hum an rights abuses against state agents where the abuse has occurred in another co untry. According to some commentators, it is not obvious why states should have immunit y in cases relating to serious human rights abuses. The argument is made that fu ndamental human rights such as the right to life and the prohibition against tor ture should take precedence over rules of state immunity. The argument goes that these rights have a higher ranking and importance (norms of jus cogens) than a rule of state immunity, and that the recent focus on ending impunity for serious human rights abuses should ensure that the law develops to allow states to be s ued. The argument on the other side is that immunity should be ended, but other ways exist to accomplish this. Ending immunity should not be at the expense of proper conduct of relations between states; one country's perception of abuse may not be another s; civil actions for a state agent's atrocities should be brought in th e courts of that state, not in a foreign court; prosecution of crime lies in the hands of the state, whereas civil proceedings are brought by individuals for th eir own ends; civil actions brought by disgruntled individuals in one country ag ainst another state can have grave political and economic repercussions for both states; and civil proceedings can raise difficult issues of enforcement and ext raterritorial jurisdiction. The arguments on both sides reflect different percep tions of how to strike a balance between protection of state interests and prote ction of the human rights of individuals. European Convention on State Immunity was signed in Basle on May 16, 1972 and is currently in force in 8 countries. -------AMID RECENT SPATE OF EXECUTIONS, UN CALLS FOR END TO CAPITAL PUNISHMENT Following the recent use of capital punishment in Gambia, Iraq, and South Sudan, the OHCHR has urged "all States, who have not yet done so, to introduce or rein

troduce it".

an official moratorium on the use of the death penalty aiming to abolish

Last week, nine prisoners were executed shortly after Gambian President Yahya Ja mmeh s announcement that all people on death row would have their sentences carrie d out by mid-September. Before this, Gambia had maintained a moratorium on the death penalty for 27 years and had abolished capi tal punishment for drug offences in April 2011. In Iraq, 96 people have had their death sentences carried out since the beginnin g of 2012. During the month of August, 26 people were executed, including 21 in a day. Iraq suffers from lack of transparency in court proceedings, major concerns abou t due process and fairness of trials, and a very wide range of offences for whic h the death penalty can be imposed. Two men hanged in Juba on 21 August did not have proper legal assistance. The overall global trend on the use of the death penalty has seen the number of executions decline. An estimated 150 UN Members have abolished the death penalt y or introduced a moratorium, either in law or practice. -------Navi Pillay Navanethem "Navi" Pillay is the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Right s. A South African of Indian origin, she was the first non-white woman on the Hi gh Court of South Africa, and she has also served as a judge of the Internationa l Criminal Court and President of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda . Her four-year term as High Commissioner for Human Rights began on 1 September 2008. -------Dong feng 41 China Central Television reported that the military had successfully tested the new 14,000 km-range Dongfeng-41 ICBM last month, amid renewed speculation surrou nding the status of China s most advanced missile; The development of the missile, representing the third generation of China s ICBMs , is a significant boost to the country s deterrence capabilities. It can carry be tween three and 10 nuclear warheads, and is regarded as the first Chinese missil e that can penetrate American missile defence systems with its mobility making i t hard to detect; The DF-41 has been seen as reflecting China s rapidly developing ICBM programme, w hich now has a range that can reach US cities. In April, India tested its longes t range ICBM, the 5,000 km Agni-V. While the development of the DF-41 was much d iscussed in recent years, whether or not it was tested had been a matter of much speculation in recent weeks; This has not been officially confirmed by the Chinese Govt or the Army. DF-21D? -------Rachel Corrie case The decision by an Israeli judge to dismiss a civil lawsuit brought forward by t he family of a deceased young American peace activist is shocking and sad, an in dependent United Nations human rights expert said. This is a sad outcome, above all for the Corrie family that had initiated the cas

e back in 2005, but also for the rule of law and the hope that an Israeli court would place limits on the violence of the state, particularly in relation to inn ocents and unarmed civilians in an occupied territory, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, Richard F alk, said. Rachel Corrie, an American peace activist, was killed in March 2003 while protes ting against the demolition of Palestinian homes in Rafah, a city located in sou thern Gaza. The details of her death are disputed, with the Corrie family accusi ng the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) of deliberately crushing her with a bulldozer during the demolition process. For its part, the IDF maintains that the bulldoz er operator failed to see Corrie due to his restricted vision from inside the v ehicles cockpit and that her death was entirely accidental. According to Mr. Falk s statement, despite evidence and eyewitness testimony indic ating that Rachel Corrie was in the direct line of vision of the bulldozer drive r and was also wearing a bright fluorescent orange vest increasing her visibilit y, Judge Oded Gershon ruled that Ms. Corrie s death was a regrettable accident in a territory considered by the State of Israel to be a war zone. The judge s decision represents a defeat for justice and accountability, and a vict ory for impunity for the Israeli military, noted Mr. Falk, who added: Such a shock ing rationale flies directly in the face of the Geneva Conventions, which impose on an occupying power an unconditional obligation to protect the civilian popul ation. Other recent incidents in which the use of Israeli force against civilian popula tions has caused casualties: 2008-2009 Gaza War, in which over 1,400 people were killed; 2010 Israeli commando assault on Turkish ships filled with activists br inging supplies to the blockaded people of Gaza. ------Triphala Traditional ayurvedic medicine, with significant anti-cancer properties; may be therapeutic as well as preventive; research ongoing. Usually used for intestinal disorders and a healthy heart. It is a combo of three fruits: amla, haritaki an d bibhitaki. -----Jayant Mukundray Patel, referred to as Doctor Death, is a surgeon who is at the centre of a 2005 scandal in which he was accused of gross incompetence while wor king at a Hospital in Queensland, Australia. In June 2010, Patel was convicted o f 3 counts of manslaughter and one case of grievous bodily harm, and sentenced t o seven years in jail. In August 2012, the conviction was rescinded by the full bench of the high court and a retrial was ordered due to tainting of the jury by 'highly emotive and prejudicial evidence that was irrelevant to the case'. ------Standard of Education in Schools Several steps have been taken to improve the standard of elementary education in the country: 1. improvement of infrastructural facilities 2. sanction of new teacher posts in Government schools 3. free textbooks to all the children in Government and Government-aided schools 4. provision for in service training up to 20 days every year to the teachers of t he Government and aided schools 5. regular academic support to the teachers through Block Resource Centres and C luster Resource Centres 6. school grants and teacher grants for relevant teaching aids, libraries and pr

ovision for financial support for context specific quality enhancement intervent ions 7. RTE provides for laying down of minimum norms and standards for recognition o f private schools and the development of curricula and evaluation procedure by a cademic authorities. 8.The Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) scheme for improving secondary education provides for infrastructure, additional class rooms, labs, libraries a nd appointment of additional teachers for better pupil-teacher ratio, subject te aching of science, Maths and English subjects, in service training of teachers, ICT enabled education, curriculum reforms etc. -----Ponzi schemes Guidelines to identify Ponzi schemes Waking up to the challenge of fraudulent investment operations, the government h as initiated the process of culling out Ponzi schemes being run by companies in the garb of direct selling.The banking division of the finance ministry has been asked by the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) to frame clarificatory guidelin es for distinguishing genuine direct sales from disguised money circulation scheme s run by pyramidal companies , government sources told The Indian Express.The move comes in the wake of the alleged scam by SpeakAsia, an online survey company th at collected hundreds of crores from users by promising huge payments for fillin g its surveys.The MCA, market regulator Sebi and the Reserve Bank of India are l ooking into different aspects of the Singapore-based firm s operations in India, f ollowing complaints from various consumer groups. A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to its inv estors from their own money or the money paid by subsequent investors, rather th an from profit earned by the individual or organization running the operation. T he Ponzi scheme usually entices new investors by offering higher returns than ot her investments, in the form of short-term returns that are either abnormally hi gh or unusually consistent. Perpetuation of the high returns requires an ever-in creasing flow of money from new investors to keep the scheme going.[1] The system is destined to collapse because the earnings, if any, are less than t he payments to investors. Usually, the scheme is interrupted by legal authoritie s before it collapses because a Ponzi scheme is suspected or because the promote r is selling unregistered securities. As more investors become involved, the lik elihood of the scheme coming to the attention of authorities increases.[1] The scheme is named after Charles Ponzi,[2] who became notorious for using the t echnique in 1920.[3] Ponzi did not invent the scheme (for example, Charles Dicke ns' 1844 novel Martin Chuzzlewitt and 1857 novel Little Dorrit each described su ch a scheme),[4] but his operation took in so much money that it was the first t o become known throughout the United States. -----Guinea worm disease World historic news from the WHO. The World Health Organization reports Guinea Wo rm disease, which has plagued people for thousands of years, is on the verge of eradication. The U.N. agency says fewer than 400 cases of the infectious parasit ic disease exist in four African countries, and that it will soon become only th e second, after smallpox, to be wiped off the face of the earth. A third contend er for eradication is polio. WHO officials report 396 cases of Guinea worm disea se in the first six months of this year compared to 807 cases in the same period in 2011, a dramatic decrease in incidence since the mid-1980s, which saw an est imated 3.5-million cases in 20 countries in Asia and Africa. According to Dr. Ga itam Biswas, Guinea Worm Eradication Program team leader, the worm is now presen t only in Mali, Ethiopia, Chad, and newly independent South Sudan, which has an estimated 99 percent of remaining cases. I think the efforts are on so that we ca

n very quickly interrupt transmission so that the world can be certified as free of the disease, he said. When it is done, Guinea worm disease will be the first p arasitic disease to be eradicated from the world, and that without any vaccine o r medicine. Guinea Worm, also known as Dracunculiasis, is a parasitic disease spread when pe ople injest water tainted with a certain kind of flea that contains larvae. The larvae are hatched within the person s digestive tract, and they grow into worms s ometimes as long as one meter that live inside the body and protrude through the skin. It is a painful, debilitating and sometimes deadly. There are no-vaccines or medicines that you can take to cure or prevent Guinea Worm Disease. The most people can do is take precautions when drinking from stagnant water sources. -------Big Chill Scientists have claimed that the start of the Universe should be modelled not as a Big Bang but a 'Big Chill' like water freezing into ice. They claim that by i nvestigating the cracks and crevices common to all crystals - including ice - ou r understanding of the nature of the Universe could be revolutionised. A new the ory, known as Quantum Graphity. ------Urine absorbent In a new study, researchers have proposed human, agricultural and livestock wast e like urine, as a reactive to absorb CO2. If applied to basic-calcium rich soil s this would produce calcium carbonate thus encouraging gas-fixation in the grou nd. Urine mixed with a small percentage of olive waste water (a preservative) ca n absorb various grams of CO2 per litre in a stable manner and over more than si x months. The fluid created can be inserted into domestic and industrial chimney s so that the greenhouse gas passes through the liquid, increasing the pressure exerted on the CO2 and thus increasing absorption capacity. --------Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Bill -- Hefty penalty for employing people for cleaning septic tanks and sewers; Proh ibits any agency or individual from employing manual scavengers and those alread y in this job will have to be discharged irrespective of any contract, agreement , custom or traditional commitment; -- Every insanitary latrine will have to be demolished or converted into sanitar y toilets within nine months of notification of law; An insanitary latrine is de fined as a toilet where excreta is cleaned or manually handled before complete d ecomposition either in situ or in an open drain or a pit -- No civil court will have jurisdiction in respect of any matter to which any p rovision of this law applies, and no injunction shall be granted by any civil co urt in respect of anything, which is done or intended to be done by or under the law; -- National Commission for Safai Karmacharis to monitor the implementation of th e law, while district magistrates will be responsible for implementing it and en suring that there are no insanitary latrines in their jurisdiction. Monitoring w ill be done by vigilance committees at the district and subdivisional levels, an d state panels will report to the central monitoring committee periodically; -- Once identified as a manual scavenger, the individual will be given a photo i dentity card with details of dependent family members; there will be an initial one-time financial assistance and scholarships for his/her children under govern ment schemes;

-- The Govt will provide him/her a residential plot and financial assistance to construct a house or provide a built house under the scheme run by the Centre or the State government or local authorities. Sanitary workers or one family membe r will be imparted training in skill development and will also be eligible for s ubsidy and concessional loans to start their own alternative occupation on a sus tainable basis. At the top of those employing manual scavengers are local bodies for clearing bl ocked sewer lines and the railways for cleaning soiled tracks at stations. Despi te repeated calls for mechanisation, most of the work continues to be done manua lly, for the sake of either convenience or cost. Even as efforts are being made to ensure the conversion of dry latrines in rural areas to sanitary toilets, loc al bodies and the railways have stuck to the old ways. In India, unskilled labou r remains cheap, and mechanisation of scavenging and modernisation of toilets in trains are unattractive in cost terms. But the issue cannot be allowed to revol ve around cost; it must be made to deal with the legal and moral unacceptability of employing humans in dehumanising work. The Bill provides for penalties for employing people not only to clean dry latri nes, but also septic tanks and sewers. The offences will be cognisable and non-b ailable and tried by an executive magistrate. However, the issue was never one o f deterrent punishment; it was always one of lax implementation. Till date, ther e has been no conviction under the 1993 Employment of Manual Scavengers and Cons truction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act. Despite a communication from the Union Home Ministry to all States that employme nt of those belonging to SCs and STs could attract the provisions of the Schedul ed Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, there is no evide nce of any offender being charged under this law for employing manual scavengers . A key feature of the new draft law is the emphasis on rehabilitation. There have been schemes aimed at rehabilitating manual scavengers, but the curre nt bill will have a twin focus on prohibition and rehabilitation. After all, one is not possible without the other. But if the bill, waiting to be introduced in Parliament, is to be saved the fate of its earlier avatars, the local bodies an d the Indian Railways will have to take the lead. -----------PIF India will push for permanent membership in the UNSC at a meeting with 16 member s of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF); The Pacific Island countries are small islands having limited economic resources and small populations. India's interaction with them so far has been limited. T hey have been supportive of India's initiatives at the UN and on other multilate ral fora, including the bid for the Permanent seat at the UNSC. India's interact ion with PICs may be seen in the context of an extension of the Look East Policy , and our growing role in international affairs; While Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will head the Indian delegation in Tehran wi th the unstated objective of showcasing India as a mature participant in world a ffairs, Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed will be on the Cook Isla nds to attend a follow-up meet after the PIF summit; The members of the PIF are Australia, Cook Islands, Micronesia, Niue, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Samoa, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Marshall Islands, Vanuatu, S olomon Islands, Tonga and Tuvalu. Fiji's membership was suspended in 2009 on acc ount of the military coup in the country. New Caledonia and French Polynesia whi ch are independent territories of France in the region, are also associate membe rs of the PIF. ------

Riots Intensify in Mombasa, Kenya After Prominent Cleric is Slain Gunmen killed Aboud Rogo, a cleric with alleged ties to al Shebab, on Monday. Th is set off riots by sympathetic youth in Kenya s second city. Kenyan anti-riot poli ce clashed with stone-throwing youths in the port city of Mombasa on Tuesday in a second day of violence ignited by the killing of a Muslim cleric accused by th e United States of helping Islamist militants in Somalia. Police fired tear gas and warning shots as youths barricaded streets with burning tyres in the predomi nantly Muslim Majengo neighbourhood. Mobs marauded around Mombasa s city centre, t aunting police who arrested some of the protesters. Shopkeepers reported looting in some areas of Kenya s second biggest city, a tourist hub with a major Indian O cean port The violence could worsen if it taps into long-standing local grievances over land ownership and unemployment, as well as calls by the Mombasa Republica n Council (MRC) for the coastal strip to secede. The MRC said it was not involve d in the unrest. Prolonged trouble in Mombasa would hit Kenya s vital tourism indu stry, already damaged by the kidnappings of Western women tourists from beach re sorts by Somali gunmen. --------Refugees Refugees are forced to flee their countries and unable to return for fear of per secution; migrants leave in the hope of a better life. Refugees are victims of c hallenging social circumstances such as civil war, violence and discrimination o ver which they have no control, and the importance of a uniform and humanitarian policy towards them cannot be overstated. India despite being a signatory to a slew of international conventions on human rights, some of which implicitly endorse the principle of non-refoulement does n ot have a specific statute dealing with refugees. As a result, refugees are cove red by the omnibus Foreigners Act 1946, an archaic piece of legislation that gov erns the stay and exit of non-nationals as a homogenous category. A 2004 amendme nt prescribes stiff imprisonment for any foreigner who enters without valid pape rs or overstays his or her visa. Ad hocism prevails. Some classes of refugees Tibetans and Sri Lankan Tamils have historically fared better than others. Security considerations, heightened by t he presence of extremist groups in some neighbouring countries, are often cited to argue against the desirability of a refugee law. There should of course be a thorough scrutiny of the evidence provided by the asylum seeker, with additional corroborative safeguards, as a part of the determination process. A few years ago, former Chief Justice P N Bhagwati drew up a model law for India. Although this became the basis for a draft bill by the Centre, there has been no concerted effort to see this through. Given its pre-eminence in South Asia, and the fact that it shelters a large refugee population, India should accede to th e 1951 Refugee Convention and enact a law that is humanitarian, equitable and co nsistent with its international obligations. --International refugee law is a set of rules and procedures that aims to protect, first, persons seeking asylum from persecution, and second those recognized as refugees under the relevant instruments. Its legal framework provides a distinct set of guarantees for these specific groups of persons, although, inevitably, t his legal protection overlaps to a certain extent with international human right s law. The main sources of refugee law are treaty law, notably the 1951 Convention rela ting to the status of refugees (1951 Refugee Convention) and its 1967 Protocol;

and customary international law. Customary international law applies to all stat es irrespective of whether they are a party to relevant treaties or not. Regiona l instruments represent a further set of protections, particularly the 1969 AU C onvention for Africa and, although it is not formally legally binding, the 1984 Cartagena Declaration (for LA). In the 1951 Convention, refugee shall apply to any person who owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of hi s nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himsel f of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it. Thus, according to this provision, refugees are defined by three basic character istics: 1. they are outside their country of origin or outside the country of their form er habitual residence; 2. they are unable or unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of that co untry owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted; 3. the persecution feare d is based on at least one of five grounds: race, religion, nationality, members hip of a particular social group, or political opinion. Asylum seekers are those who have applied for asylum, but whose refugee status has not yet been determined. The principle of non-refoulement Article 33 of the 1951 Convention: No Contracting State shall expel or return ( refouler ) a refugee in any manner what soever to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threat ened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular s ocial group or political opinion. This principle of non-refoulement is considered part of customary international law and therefore binding on all states. The principle is also incorporated in s everal international human rights treaties, for example the 1984 Convention agai nst Torture, which prohibits the forcible removal of persons to a country where there is a real risk of torture. Internally displaced persons IDPs are defined in the 1998 Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement as perso ns or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave thei r homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in orde r to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, vi olations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not cr ossed an internationally recognized State border . Their situation is similar to that of refugees. However, there are several diffe rences. First, IDPs are not the subject of a treaty adopted at the universal lev el, although the Guiding Principles are based on binding international human rig hts and humanitarian law. Second, IDPs have not crossed an international border from their country of origin. Third, the definition is significantly broader, in cluding those displaced by armed conflict, human rights violations and natural d isasters, while the refugee definition is restricted to those with a well-founde d fear of being persecuted on at least one of five grounds. --------New members of NAC

1. Economist and Planning Commission member Mihir Shah 2. Bhopal-based Action for Social Advancement founder Ashish Mondal Other members Mirai Chatterjee, social worker and director of social security at SEWA. Farah Naqvi, writer, consultant and activist who works on gender rights and mino rity rights. Anu Aga, businesswoman and social worker, who led Thermax Ltd, the energy and en vironment engineering major, as chairperson 1996-2004. Deep Joshi, social worker and NGO activist and the recipient of 2009 Magsaysay a ward. He is recognized for his leadership in bringing professionalism to the NGO movement in India. A K Shiva Kumar, development economist and professor, advisor to UNICEF - India. Pramod Tandon, academic and the former vice-chancellor of North Eastern Hill Uni versity. He is an eminent professor of botany. He received Padma Shri award in 2 009. Narendra Jadhav, bureaucrat, economist, social scientist, writer and educationis t; also a PC member. ------NTRO The National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) is a premier apex scientific organization under the National Security Advisor in the Prime Minister's Office . It was set up in 2004 and includes National Institute of Cryptology Research a nd Development, which is first of its kind in Asia. NTRO is a highly specialized technical intelligence gathering agency. While it d oes not affect the working of technical wings of various intelligence agencies, including those of the Armed Forces, it acts as a super-feeder agency for provid ing technical intelligence to other agencies on internal and external security. The agency is under the control of India's external intelligence agency, Researc h and Analysis Wing, although it remains autonomous to some degree. The organization does hi-tech surveillance jobs, including satellite monitoring, terrestrial monitoring, internet monitoring, considered vital for the national security apparatus. It develops technology capabilities in aviation and remote sensing, data gatheri ng and processing, cyber security, cryptology systems, strategic hardware and so ftware development and strategic monitoring. It deals with imagery and communications intelligence using various platforms, i ncluding satellites. It is believed that the NTRO with ISRO launched the Technol ogy Experiment Satellite. The Indian Infrastructure Protection Centre, an agency to monitor and assess threats to crucial infrastructure and other vital install ations has also been set up under the NTRO. Technology Experiment Satellite (TES) has a pan chromatic camera for remote sens ing, capable of producing images of 1 metre resolution. This means the camera is able to distinguish between two objects which are separated by at least a metre . The launch made India the second country in the world after US that commercial ly offers images with one metre resolution. It is used for remote sensing of civ ilian areas, mapping industry and GIS.

NTRO and a scientific non-profit foundation Information Sharing and Analysis Cen ter (ISAC) in November 2011 initiated the National Security Database (NSD) proje ct as an accreditation program to identify credible & trustworthy information se curity experts with proven skills to protect the National Critical Infrastructur e & economy of the country. In September 2007, an article appeared in India Today detailing the difficulties faced by the NTRO, specifically how the other spying agencies of the Govt. of I ndia are not allowing the NTRO to fulfill its duties. In February 2010, Indian Express reported that NTRO has become the first Indian Intelligence Agency to be subjected to the ignominy of an audit by the CAG and a n investigation by the CVC. In April 2010, an Outlook India article detailed issues plaguing the organisatio n, chiefly the issues of nepotism, inefficiency and corruption amidst the teleph one tapping scandal. In June 2011, Indian media broke the news that CAG has found that Israeli UAVs b ought by NTRO in 2007 were lying unused because the bundled satellite link purch ased was not meant for dedicated military transmission, which would have made it vulnerable to electronic eavesdropping. An internal inquiry was ordered by PMO to find out if there has been a case of financial corruption. The Supreme Court has ordered a probe into the allegations of financial irregula rities in the procurement of military hardware. The law suit was filed by a whis tleblower VK Mittal, who resigned as a senior scientist of NTRO and perused init iatives to unmask the officers behind the Rs800-crore scandals. In September 2011, an article in The Times of India about how the spy agency had to force an officer to quit in 2007 after he used counterintelligence equipment , including a hidden camera, to bug the bathroom of its security and counter-int elligence director in NTRO headquarters in Delhi. The official was found guilty of placing a hidden, pin-hole camera in the bathroom and linking it to his offic e computer. The bathroom, located on the second floor of the building, was used by not just the counterintelligence director Anil Malhotra but several other off icials, including women. In August 2011, a wistleblower reported that NTRO has tapped 7,50,000 phones ill egally. ---------Global INK is being set up as an electronic platform for harnessing the knowledg e and skills of the Diaspora for the benefit of the country. The Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre (OIFC) has partnered with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) t o develop the Global-INK framework. An online web portal, it is powered by Suppo rt Central, a next generation knowledge management, collaboration and business s olutions platform. The portal, as it evolves, will be a framework of moderated c ommunities catering to different focus areas. The communities will provide a con text to connect knowledge experts with knowledge seekers. To connect quickly wit h a knowledge artefact, the Global- INK platform provides a powerful search engi ne with drill down options (patented zoom search). ---------Brahmeshwar Singh, former mukhia of Khopira panchayat of Sandesh block in Bhojpu r district of Bihar, assumed the leadership of the Ranvir Kisan Sangharsh Samiti in 1994. Brahmeshwar turned the samiti into a militant organisation working for the interests of the Bhumihar community. Singh was an accused in over 300 alleg ed murder cases including cases relating to the incidents of Lakshmanpur-Bathe, Mianpur, where the number of people killed was 36 and Bathani Thola where 21 die d. The Ranvir Sena has been involved in several massacres of Dalits in central B ihar. Pregnant women and children appear to be the targets. -------Bunga Bunga Bunga bunga is a phrase of uncertain meaning that dates from 1910 if not earlier

. By 2010 the phrase had gained popularity in Italy and the international press when it was used by the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to refer to his alleged sex parties, which caused a major political scandal in Italy. The expre ssion was frequently quoted by the Italian and international press during the 20 11 investigation surrounding Silvio Berlusconi's underage prostitution charges, acquiring meaning as "an orgy involving a powerful leader". In Italy, the term bunga bunga -----------On reforming the multilateral/international financial architecture IMF and WB - operated over the last 64 years with limited changes to fou nding statutes; IMF s principal mandate- promotion of international monetary coope ration and exchange rate stability- WB- promoting economic growth and eliminatin g poverty. In both cases, the achievements of the respective institutions have f allen short of expectations. In the case of the IMF, successive episodes of glob al financial instability point to a clear need for redefinition of focus. To ensure relevance of these institutions today - critical revision of m andates to be initiated- irrelevance of IMF lending as an instrument of influenc e on policy even to smaller countries, due to growth of sovereign wealth funds a nd emergence of new bilateral sources of external financing. More inclusive, relevant and contemporary definition of growth required, to include protection of the environment, promotion of clean energy, and certai n elements of poverty reduction The need for greater legitimacy and more equitable representation - with out these, institutions will be unable to enjoy confidence and trust- these orga nisations were designed by the victors of World War II, in an effort to provide for a functioning international financial system in which their interests and ga ins could be protected and preserved- must be changed to reflect contemporary sc enario. governance structures have barely changed since original establishmentParticipation on the Executive Boards has been non-representative with substanti al voting power and voice given to industrial and developed countries, and the c urrent distribution of voting power lags behind global economic realities by dec ades- more far reaching program than that currently proposed, i.e. increasing nu mber of Alternate Executive Directors, etc. The staff of these financial institutions should also be held to the hig hest standards of performance as international public servants and made accounta ble for their actions. Unfortunately, some of these officials often appear far m ore concerned with the interests of the majority shareholders than with those of small developing countries. Additionally, staff should be more sensitive to the problems of small states, showing greater respect for their differing economic, social and cultural conditions. In this regard greater transparency in the operations of the institutions will serve to allay fears IMF and WB exist merely to compel the weak to submit to ideological prescriptions from the industrial world. high standards of good governance including accountability and transpare ncy to be upheld by the organisations themselves. general disappointment among the developing countries, with the perceive d shortcomings of the multilateral financial institutions and slow pace of the r eform process - increading importance of regional organizations and development banks- ADB, in Asia- countries in Latin America are now trying to do the same. Regional bodies - important role in assisting financial stability and pr omoting growth - likely to be more sensitive to their clients needs by reason of their proximity However, need for truly multilateral organisations, appropriately reform ed to reflect present global distributions of power as well as more equitable no rms and focusing in particular on global financial stability- since contagion in part of the world is increasingly likely to affect others, due to growing inte rconnectedness

[look at the section on BRICS Development Bank and BRICS as an engine of economi c growth and add to this part] -------------'Vivek Express' is actually four pairs of Express Trains on the Indian Railways network, announced in the Railway Budget of 2011-12. These trains were started t o commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekanand, to be held in 201 3. One of the Vivek Express trains, from Dibrugarh Town to Kanyakumari, is the l ongest route on the Indian Railways network in terms of distance and time. The o thers are Dwarka to Tuticorin, Bandra to Jammu Tawi, and Santragachi to Mangalor e. A fifth north to east train is in the pipeline to complete the quadrilateral. --------Anupam Mukherjee - Created a stir with an anonymous 'Fake IPL Player' reporting on fictitious scoops on IPL players during the tournament Shraddha Sharma - Singer who became popular solely by uploading videos on YouTub e ------Copper T, an intra-uterine device (IUD), is a very effective reversible contrace ptive. Its success rate in preventing pregnancy is high. It is inserted high in the uterus by a physician and is effective for about 10 years. It does not provi de protection against sexually transmitted diseases. ----Government ads in newspapers, some issues: 1. Sustenance for some of the local language papers 2. Prevents them from being flooded by corporate-paid news 3. But what about govt-paid news? Threat of withdrawing a crucial source of reve nue can be used to control newspapers 4. In case of pure ads publicising govt pgms, there are no guidelines 5. Unnecessary expenditure, also unjustified because the ads are used by parties in power rather than the govt 6. Educative purpose 7. Inadequate coverage of press releases and conferences leaves no option for th e govt to inform people about various pgms 8. Soft forms of communications 9. Performance as advertisement ----------Impact of Satyameva Jayate 1. Donations to various NGOs 2. A form of therapy by allowing victims of sensitive crimes like child abuse to voice their experiences and draw sumpathy 3. Agenda-setting for government 4. Awareness 5. Pledges and protests Specific impacts 1. Fast-track courts to be set up in Rajasthan to deal with cases of female foet icide 2. Panchayat in Haryana came up with strictures against FF, urging the governmen t to deal with it more strictly 3. AIR programme on child sex abuse where victims could speak out 5. Chhatisgarh schools educating children about sexual abuse 6. Almost Rs 10 crore in donations as of August 25 Issues covered: 1. Female foeticide 2. Child sexual abuse 3. Money spent on weddings

4. Hospitals 5. Honour killing 6. Persons with disabilities 7. Domestic violence 8. Toxic food 9. Alcohol abuse 10. Untouchability 11. Old age 12. Water ----------The Simla Accord, or the Convention Between Great Britain, China, and Tibet, in Simla, is a treaty concerning the status of Tibet negotiated by reps of China, T ibet and Britain in 1913-14. The Accord provided that Tibet would be divided int o Outer Tibet and Inner Tibet. Outer Tibet, which roughly corresponded to -Tsang and western Kham would remain in the hands of the Tibetan Government at Lhasa un der Chinese suzerainty, but China would not interfere in its administration. Inn er Tibet, roughly equivalent to Amdo and eastern Kham, would be under the jurisd iction of the Chinese government. The Accord with its annexes also defines the b oundary between Tibet and China proper and between Tibet and British India (the latter became known as the McMahon Line). China has rejected the Accord. ---------------Arjuna awards Archery: Deepika Kumari, Laishram Bombayla Devi Athletics: Sudha Singh, Kavita Ramdas Raut Badminton: Ashwani Ponappa, Parupalli Kashyap Cricket: Yuvraj Singh Billiards and snooker: Aditya S Mehta Boxing: Vikas Krishan Hockey: Sardar Singh Judo: Yashpal Solanki Kabaddi: Anup Kumar Polo: Samir Suhag Shooting: Annu Raj Singh, Omkar Singh, Joydeep Karmakar Squash: Deepika Pallikal Swimming: Sandeep Sejwal Weightlifting: Ng. Sonia Chanu Wrestling: Narsingh Yadav, Rajinder Kumar, Geeta Phogat Wushu: M Bimoljit Singh Paralympics athletics: Deepa Mallick, Ramkaran Singh ------PSTOL-1, Kasalath Scientists on Wednesday said they had developed a strain of rice that grows well in soils lacking phosphorus, a feat that could boost crop yields. The announcem ent ends a quest to pinpoint a mystery gene that helps the roots of baby rice pl ants tease phosphorus from the soil, enabling them to notch up strong, early gro wth. The gene has now been transferred to modern varieties of rice using classic methods of cross-breeding, not genetic engineering. Next week, national rice breeders from Bangladesh, India, Thailand will be brie fed on the exciting find, which should benefit small farmers most of all. The breakthrough seeks to address one of the biggest problems facing rice grower s. Many soil types bond tightly to phosphorus, surrendering only a tiny amount o f the precious mineral to plant roots. To get around this, farmers look to phosp horus fertilisers. But in poorer countries, this option is often too costly, whi ch means the plant is left undernourished at a stage when it is in competition w

ith weeds. Ultimately this meagre growth affects yields. The search for PSTOL-1 -- phosphorus-starvation tolerance 1 -- began in the late 1990s, when researchers were intrigued that a rice strain grown in India called Kasalath grew so in phosphorus-deficient conditions. But it took nearly a decad e of further work, including a full sequencing of the strain's genome, to close in on the gene that does the magic. Arguably the most important crop in the world, rice is under pressure from risin g demographic growth and the impacts of climate change. Phosphate fertilisers ar e typically extracted from layers of rock that millions of years ago were ocean sediments. The price of rock phosphate has more than doubled since 2007. ----------Anthropocene The Anthropocene is an informal geologic chronological term that serves to mark the evidence and extent of human activities that have had a significant impact o n the Earth's ecosystems. Some regard the influence of human behavior on the Ear th in recent centuries as so significant as to constitute a new geological era f or its lithosphere. To date, the term has not been adopted as part of the offici al nomenclature of the geological field of study. Many scientists are now using the term and the Geological Society of America ent itled its 2011 annual meeting: Archean to Anthropocene: The past is the key to t he future. The Anthropocene has no precise start date, but based on atmospheric evidence ma y be considered to start with the Industrial Revolution (late eighteenth century ). Other scientists link the new term to earlier events, such as the rise of agr iculture. Evidence of relative human impact such as the growing human influence on land use, ecosystems, biodiversity, and species extinction is controversial, some scientists believe the human impact has significantly changed (or halted) t he growth of biodiversity. --------------Plastic notes Additional security features to check counterfeiting Save money on printing Longer lifespan and recyclable Water-proof, enhanced durability, preventing wear and tear Aus, NZ, PNG, Bermuda, Vietnam -------Green climate fund A United Nations fund aimed at mobilizing resources to help developing countries mitigate the impact of global warming has kicked-off its first official meeting . Established by the UNFCCC during the 2011 UN Climate Change Conference in Durb an, the Green Climate Fund was created to help developing nations protect themse lves from climate impacts and build their own sustainable futures. However, the GCF could not meet officially until it had filled all 24 seats on its Board, whi ch effectively governs and supervises all aspects of the Fund. Its mandate inclu des providing developing countries with simplified and improved access to climat e change funding, as well as providing them support to limit or reduce greenhous e gas emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Six countries Germany, Mexico, Namibia, Poland, Republic of Korea, and Switzerla nd are vying to host the Fund. The meeting will conclude on 25 August. ---------

Conflict minerals (Blood diamond) US financial regulators have moved ahead with new rules that require public comp anies to disclose their reliance on minerals from a war-torn region of Africa. T he Securities and Exchange Commission voted 3 to 2 for a measure aimed at addres sing brutality in Congo, where militias have benefited from the trade of gold, t in, tungsten and tantalum commonly used in the manufacture of appliances, jewelr y, electronics. Lawmakers and activist groups such as Global Witness that backed the effort have argued that requiring such disclosure is an essential step in helping to combat human rights abuses in the region. But industry groups insisted that the new regulations would prove expensive and difficult to implement and could hamstring US companies that compete with foreig n firms that are not subject to the same standards. Under the new rule, companies will have until May 31, 2014, to make their first disclosures of whether the minerals they use in manufacturing are conflict-free, eaning that they do not benefit the armed groups in Congo. Also, the commission narrowly approved another set of rules which requires compa nies to disclose payments they make to foreign governments for extraction of oil and minerals including payments for drilling and exploration licenses. The meas ure is aimed at curbing bribery and corruption abroad, though companies have com plained that the new rules could put them at a competitive disadvantage overseas . Both the rules are mandated under the Dodd-Frank legislation. -----------A sounding rocket, sometimes called a research rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. Sounding rockets are advantageous for some research due to their low cost and th eir ability to conduct research in areas inaccessible to either balloons or sate llites. They're also used for measurements in the upper atmosphere and micrograv ity research. Thumba Equatorial Launching Centre of ISRO near Thiruvanantpuram uses Sounding r ockets for research. Thumba is located near Earth's magnetic equator. Rockets la unched from this site are helpful to probe phenomena associated with the magneti c Equator such as the electrojet, a stream of electric current flowing in a narr ow band of three degrees on either side of the magnetic Equator at a height of 1 00 km. The sounding rockets were used by ISRO to develop and test several sub-systems f or advanced rockets and evaluate more powerful propellants. ----------PKB Pattnaik Odisha's state leprosy officer, selected for the Damien-Dutton Award 2012 for hi s efforts in the field of leprosy eradication. Other recipients include Mother T eresa, Baba Amte and Dr Dharmendra. Odisha was the first Indian state to elimina te leprosy, in 2006. ---------Hastkala conclave An initiative of the ministry of textiles to promote handicraft and handlooms by establishing linkages between the corporate-industrial sector and the handmade m

sector. It is an exhibition by master craftsmen, weavers and producer groups, to explore retail potential. ----------Assam problem The post-Assam incidents in the rest of India had overt and covert dimensions. The overt dimension related to the protests by groups of Muslims against the vio lence in Myanmar and Assam, in Mumbai and in Lucknow. These protests were trigge red by exaggerated accounts of the anti-Muslim violence disseminated with the he lp of morphed images through websites of Islamic fundamentalist organisations, s ome of them located in Pakistan.The fact that these organisations in Pakistan su ch as the Jamaat-e-Islami had them uploaded does not necessarily mean they had p roduced them. Some of the visuals had morphed images of two incidents - the large number of de ad bodies recovered after an earthquake in China some years ago, and public prot ests by the opponents of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in Bangko k in 2009. The appearance of similar or same morphed images in several web site s across the region indicated a common source of the production of these visuals . After the damage has been caused in Mumbai and Lucknow, we have taken action for the blocking of the websites which had uploaded these provocative visuals. Was it not possible to notice them before and do it? The covert dimension related to circulation of SMS messages among residents from the North-East living in the South that they would be the targets of violence a fter the Ramadan fasting period concluded on August 20. There is so far no evide nce to show that these messages were incited, inspired or orchestrated from Paki stan. These appear to have been locally incited. The fact of the threat in these messages rapidly spread among the people from th e North-East in the South and Pune and their relatives back home in Assam. This led to mental pressure on some of thm to go back to their homes. It would be unf air to blame the police for being taken by surprise. They could not have known a bout the impending panic. What we saw in the South and Pune was the herd reflex. One cannot blame the people from the North-East either. --The recent revelations of Pakistan-based websites unleashing doctored pictures o f alleged atrocities against Muslims in order to inflame passions in India has o nce again drawn attention to the enormous potential of the Information Age to ch allenge our security assumptions. To a layman, cyber security means simple things: a password that is not stolen, a message that remains confidential, a child that is not exposed to a stalker or paedophile online. When they type in a web address, that is where they should g o and not to a spam site. When they click a link that looks genuine, they should not be cheated by a plausible fraud. Their work online should not be tampered w ith, and so on. But cyber security ranges across a wider terrain. The IR theorist Joseph Nye has discerned four different types of threats. 1. The most dramatic is Cyber War, the unauthorised invasion by a government int o the systems or networks of another, aiming to disrupt those systems, to damage them partially, or to destroy them entirely. A specific target is to slow down if not curtail the military systems of the target state: there is no point havin g excellent missiles and weapons if the delivery systems can be paralysed. And a s our military establishments become dependent on sophisticated technologies, th

e risk of equally sophisticated attacks on them grows. 2. Cyber Espionage. Governments can invade the systems of their rivals to steal information that would be useful for their own purposes. These attacks are usual ly hard to discover and the case of Operation Shady RAT, the world s biggest hacki ng ever, is rather phenomenal. For five whole years hackers had access to 70 gov ernment and private agencies around the world as they secreted away gigabytes of confidential information, unbeknownst to those at the receiving end. By the tim e Shady RAT was spotted, 49 networks had been infected in the United States alon e along with several others in India, South Korea, Taiwan and elsewhere. 3. Cyber Crime is the third kind of threat, and the most familiar. While this al so has military and political implications, it affects the lives of ordinary Int ernet users more closely. Fraudulent 'claim your cash award' messages come in da ily and there are many who fall prey to them. Cyber Crime also includes pornogra phy, Internet stalking, and personality imitation. 4. Cyber Terrorism. This includes websites spreading extremist propaganda, recru iting terrorists, planning attacks, and otherwise promoting terrorists political and social objectives. It also involves the use of hackers by terrorists to debi litate states and governments, much like in Cyber War, with the only difference that this involves a non-State actor. Cyberspace offers a great advantage for th e shrouded business of terrorists, making their work murkier than ever. Symantec, a leading international cyber security company, recorded that in 2010 alone there were three billion malware attacks. Of these one stands out, pointin g to the possible use by legitimate governments of cyber weapons. This was the c ase of Stuxnet, which attacked five Iranian organisations connected with their u ranium enrichment and nuclear programmes. By early 2011 The New York Times revea led that Stuxnet was the single biggest weapon used in an attempt to thwart Iran s nuclear ambitions, and the most sophisticated instrument ever used in cyber spa ce. Earlier this year, a similar highly complicated attack called Flame was discover ed in Russia, Hungary, and Iran. Flame had been copying documents, recording aud io, network traffic, Skype calls, as well as taking screenshots from infected co mputers. And it was passing all this information to the computers controlling it . No security alarm went off on any of the infected computers, which raises the question: are any of our systems really safe? Conventional security measures are all outdated and by the look of it, even the latest protections are rendered ob solete sooner than we would desire. In those cases, the United States is the likely suspect, but though nothing can be conclusively established, China has consistently topped the list of official suspects in the world of cyber attacks. The attacks coming from there do not usu ally aim to destroy or even debilitate as much as to steal information. The Tita n Rain attack, for instance, targeted the US military, NASA, and the World Bank. Sensitive information stolen was not only related to military matters but also to markets, trade, and business activities. Similarly GhostNet infiltrated India n government systems and accessed classified information of our security agencie s, embassies, and the office of the Dalai Lama, doing the same with hundreds of government elsewhere in the world. Social networking websites are also increasingly becoming targets for three reas ons: 1. Because of the massive databases they provide 2. To spread malware that infect computers. On Facebook there are 50 million Ind ian users and even if a small fraction of them click on a malevolent but seeming ly ordinary link, you have that many computers opened up to risk and infection. Cyber attacks, to state the obvious, can be very personal. 3. To spread inflammatory material with a motivated agenda, such as the doctored pictures of alleged atrocities against Muslims in Assam and Myanmar that incite d violence in Mumbai and threats of retaliation elsewhere.

There are no easy responses to all these phenomena. The US has created CYBERCOM in 2009 as a military command dedicated to cyber warfare. In the civilian arena few countries have a credible equivalent. India s own style of dealing with cyber threats is chaotic and there is a constant insecurity that our cyber-defences are insufficient. Our approach appears so fa r to have been ad hoc and piecemeal. There are some 12 stakeholders in protecting the cyber defences of India, includ ing the Home Affairs Ministry, the National Disaster Management Authority, Natio nal Information Board and others. They are together responsible for the Indian C omputer Emergency Response Team, CeRT, which is the principal national agency. S uch a large number of bosses is not conducive to efficiency. As someone once asked, if Tim Berners-Lee had to ask for permission, would the W orld Wide Web have been invented? Would Google have been perceived as a security threat right at the start and been prohibited? Would Wikipedia have come into e xistence? The chances are they would not have been allowed. The freedom of cyber space is just as crucial to the debate as its protection is. This is why policy on cyber security is too important to be left to the cyber security experts and too valuable socially to be left to the police. It is not for the gunsmiths to decide who should use the gun and how. --Intelligence is the collection of information from the real world that could be important for our national security. Counter-intelligence is the technique of pr eventing our ill-wishers from collecting intelligence about us that could weaken our national security. Cyber-intelligence is the collection of intelligence hav ing a bearing on our national security by systematically monitoring the web. Cyb er counter-intelligence is the prevention, detection and neutralisation of attem pts by our ill-wishers to weaken our national security by misusing the web for d estabilising us. It is also the prevention, detection and neutralisation of atte mpts by our ill-wishers to penetrate our cyber security architecture for the col lection of information about us and for using this capability for disrupting our economy and the fighting capabilities of our armed forces. The Task Force For the Revamping of the Intelligence Apparatus headed by Gary Sa xena, former head of the R&AW, which was set up in 2000, had gone into our cyber intelligence and counter-intelligence capabilities and made a set of recommenda tions. It had suggested that the IB be given the additional responsibility for c yber intelligence and counter-intelligence. It had also recommended that the IB should be made responsible for all counter-intelligence and that its capabilitie s in this regard should be further strengthened. The Government gave these new responsibilities for cyber intelligence and counte r-intelligence to the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), which was set up on the pattern of the National Security Agency (NSA) of the US. In the U S, the NSA used to have additional responsibility for cyber intelligence and cou nter-intelligence. Two years ago, it was decided to set up an independent Cyber Command for this purpose, but to place it under the head of the NSA. The NSA and the Cyber Command are separate organisations with separate staff and separate b udgets, but they have a common chief. We have IB dealing with intelligence and counter-intelligence in the real world and the NTRO in the virtual world. The recent incidents relating to 'Psyjihad' a nd our incoherent and ill-coordinated reaction to it bring out two deficiencies: 1. NTRO hasn't been systematically monitoring the Net for cyber chatter that cou ld have a bearing on our security in order to sound a wake-up call to the Govt w hen the contents indicate possible attempts at destabilisation.

2. NTRO has not yet developed a capability for the identification of suspects wh o have been misusing the Net. After the surveillance failed initially due to lac k of alertness, there has been a disproportionate use of the surveillance powers by way of large-scale blocking of websites and attempted control over social me dia sites. Instead of targeting suspects, we have been targeting the instruments . These instruments have benign and malign uses. Our actions should have been targ eted against malign uses, but there is an impression that we have been trying to discourage both benign and malign uses in order to deter the use of these sites and instruments even for well-intentioned criticism of the Government. The Naresh Chandra Task Force on national security has in its report submitted t o the Prime Minister on May 24 devoted a chapter to cyber security. Its chapter on intelligence revamp also contains some important recommendations on this subj ect. While vetting them, the lessons drawn from our recent experience should be taken into consideration in order to see whether any modifications are called fo r. ---Initial inquiries have zeroed in on two Pakistan-based internet groups Muslims L iberation Army and Pak Cyber Pyrates for circulating the doctored hate messages. Footprints of these two groups were visible even when a number of government an d other websites had recently come under attack by hackers. Other than these two, three other sites, including Jamat-e-Islami and Yemtv.com, have come under survelliance. The government has also found that the IP addre sses of two sites were traced to Saudi Arabia. The investigation is complex as c yber miscreants often mask their IP address by using proxy servers. --Some issues to note: 1. Justice should also be seen to be done. 2. General sense of insecurity among people from the NE living in other parts. 3. Systematic and planned propaganda, disinformation campaigns. 4. Lack of faith in state's word. 5. NE people in the cities are pocketed out, without any real assimilation. 6. Root issues in the NE need to be resolved. 7. Has a vibrant sports culture, requires infra; 10 of the London Olympics conti ngent were from NE. -------The seven states of the Indian Northeast, a vast, rugged appendage off the India n mainland suspended between China, Bhutan, Burma and Bangladesh, are among the country s most impoverished and least developed, and are still beset by ethnic ins urgencies. Elsewhere, Northeasterners face daily, casual racism. The success of Northeastern athletes such as the Olympic medal winning boxer Mary Kom offers sm all moments of acceptance for a region that is often met by the rest of India wi th blithe ignorance. The alienation felt by many Northeasterners is in part a consequence of the regi on s distance both geographic and cultural from the rest of the country. You have 220 ethnic groups packed into a triangular shape of land linked to India by just a tiny corridor. A legacy of poor governance, weak local leadership and volatile, violent politic s has seen it lag drastically behind the rest of the country. AFSPA is in operation in many pockets of the region as numerous fractured, armed , anti-government movements still operate. A climate of apprehension and insecur ity has stymied development, prompting hundreds of thousands to seek employment in India s main cities. Most of what ails the Northeast and its over 40 million people can be solved wit

h concerted plans for developing industries and the region s currently woeful infr astructure. "Our boys don t really go into insurgent groups because they want sove reignty or something like that. It s because of poverty. There s nowhere to go. Ther e s nothing for them to do." The region s geo-political relevance cannot be understated. The shadow of China lo oms large Beijing still claims much of the territory of Arunachal Pradesh as its own and has ramped up its investment and infrastructure along the contested bor der with India, while nationalist Chinese websites routinely urge China s leadersh ip to stealthily wrest the Northeast away from India. Various insurgent groups h ave ties to a host of regional actors, ranging from sympathetic rebel ethnic mil itias in Burma to both Pakistan and Bangladesh s military intelligence agencies. Its potential for hydropower could go a long way in addressing India s energy shor tfalls. New planned roads and rail lines could restore colonial-era trade links that once threaded India together with Southeast Asia, turning a remote backwate r into a continental crossroads. But beyond development, other steps can be taken to better integrate the Northea st with the rest of India. There should be something more in our education that makes people understand that the people of the Northeast may look different, but they are Indians. -----Panagarh India has recently reactivated its Panagarh air base in West Bengal which was de veloped by the Americans during World War II to fly aircraft into China. This is a bold China-specific military move by India, indicating that the Delhi governm ent, feeling boxed in by China s upgrades to its military infrastructure, is being forced to take counter measures. India will now deploy half a dozen mid-air refueling tanker aircraft at Panagarh to boost the strike range of IAF fighter planes like SU-30 MKIs, which are alre ady deployed along the Chinese border. Mid-air refueling planes are vital force multipliers. But in the context of Indi a s contingency plans to counter China s growing military power these planes could h ardly be referred to as force multipliers given that they are currently based in A gra, which is too far away from the Tezpur and Chhabua air bases in Assam where the SU-30 MKIs squadrons are located to be of any use. The reactivation of the Pa nagarh air base and the eventual relocation of the mid-air refueling planes ther e would correct this anomaly. However, the latest Indian move is hardly sufficient to counter the vast militar y infrastructure that China has already built in TAR. Indeed, this is the case d espite even if one takes into account that India has also reopened airfields in Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh and raised two additional divisions of troops in th e NE. China has at least a half a dozen air fields fully operational in TAR alone. The se have all been built in the past couple of years. In the event of a conflict, China has the capability of bringing trainloads of arms, ammunition, and troops right on the Indian border from its mainland. India does not have this kind of c apability even in planning stage. -----------Sansha city, garrison In June, Beijing raised the administrative status of Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha

islands from a county-level administrative office to prefectural-level city name d Sansha based on Woody (Yongxing) Island in the Paracels (Xisha) archipelago. I n July, PLA established a division-level garrison in the newly created city also based on Woody Island. One analyst viewed the decision as a sign of China s growing reliance on hard powe r in the South China Sea. Another commentator equated the announcement with a d ecision to create a permanent forward-deployed military force within striking di stance of such contested waters. From a military perspective, the significance of Sansha garrison should not be o verstated. Alone, it will not lead to an increase in combat units in the region nor does it portend a new effort by China to militarize the disputes in the Sou th China Sea. In the PLA, division-level military garrisons do not command main force combat units such as infantry or armored divisions or brigades. They also do not command PLA Navy or PLA Air Force units. Instead, as described in China s 2006 white paper on defense, garrisons and other division-level military sub-dis tricts are administrative headquarters established in major cities responsible f or supporting the military work conducted by the municipality, such as conscript ion and national defense mobilization. The responsibilities of the new Sansha garrison are defense mobilization, city gu ard, support for the city's disaster rescue and relief work, and direction of mi litia and reserve troops. So far, no border defense units have been assigned to the Sansha garrison. Instead, the existing Paracels maritime garrison under the PLAN s South Sea Fleet is responsible for the actual defense of the islands in the South China Sea under China s control. What, then, is the significance of the establishment of the Sansha garrison? Fi rst, from a military perspective, it is a minor development. It likely will not command any combat units nor will it result in a substantial increase in the Ch inese forces in the South China Sea. Rather, it is designed to enhance coordinat ion with the local government. Its importance is political, part of what the Chi na Daily unabashedly described as China s effort to display its sovereignty over t he South China Sea. Second, the establishment of the garrison reflects the bureaucratic upgrade of a n existing department following a change in the administrative status of the ass ociated locality. Third, militarily, any forces on the islands and reefs in the South China Sea ar e vulnerable and hard to defend. Putting garrisons on Woody Island or elsewhere in the Paracels would effectively maroon these guys, so the only advantage would be just showing the flag to say, We are serious . -----------------Virgin mantle, Fagonia cretica Scientists have discovered that extracts from the plant, found in arid regions o f India, Pakistan, Africa and parts of Europe, can kill cancerous cells and prod uce no side-effects associated with chemotherapy. Tea from the plant is drunk by women in rural Pakistan who have breast cancer. It contains potent anti-cancer agents that act singly or in combination against the proliferation of cancer cel ls. Laboratory tests showed they arrested growth of cells within five hours of a pplication and caused them to die within 24 hours. ----------Enforced disappearances in Chile

While progress has been made investigating and prosecuting enforced disappearanc es in Chile, challenges remain to ensure perpetrators serve their sentences. The Declaration on the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance req uires that acts of enforced disappearances are sanctioned in accordance with the gravity of the crime. The Declaration was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1992. Among its articles, it states that any act of enforced disappearance is a n offence to human dignity, and it condemns such actions as a grave and flagrant violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms proclaimed in UDHR. UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances is on a mission in Ch ile. The Working Group was established by the UN Commission on Human Rights in 1 980 to assist families in determining the fate and whereabouts of disappeared re latives. It seeks to establish a channel of communication between the families a nd the Governments to ensure cases are investigated. The experts stressed importance of measures to provide reparations and seek just ice as a response to the human rights violation committed during the dictatorshi p in Chile, and called on the Government to strengthen its responsibility and le adership role to ensure that these initiatives, which today are mainly run by re latives of victims, become part of a comprehensive State policy. Other important challenges that Chile needs to overcome are the slowness of judi cial proceedings, the application of military justice to current cases of human rights violations, the absence of an autonomous crime of enforced disappearance and the lack of a national plan to search for disappeared persons. The practice of enforced disappearances in which citizens of a State are deliber ately vanished to never be seen again is not only a heinous crime but an act tha t negates the very essence of humanity. Such a practice cannot be tolerated or j ustified whether it is used to counter terrorism or fight organized crime or sup press legitimate demands concerning issues such as democracy, freedom of express ion or freedom of religion. two issues: dealing with past cases and preventing future cases The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Dis appearance was adopted by the GA in 2006 and came into force in December 2010 af ter Iraq became the 20th State to ratify it. The treaty not only outlaws enforce d disappearances, but also recognizes the right of all people affected by the cr ime to know the truth about the circumstances of this crime, the progress and re sults of investigation and the fate of the disappeared person. --------Romania Romania s Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday that a referendum to impeach the c ountry s President was invalid, leaving Traian Basescu in power after months of po litical turmoil. Basescu, who has been suspended from the presidency, is now exp ected to return to his office to see out the rest of his second five-year term w hich started in 2009; Romania s ruling centre-left coalition USL headed by Prime Minister Victor Ponta l ast month launched a move to impeach centre-right rival Basescu, which led to a referendum that failed as voter turnout fell short of the required 50% threshold . The underlying reason seems to be the fact that Basescu was spearheading the a usterity measures of Romania to stay as part of the Eurozone; In the referendum 87% of voters supported ousting Basescu, so the USL contested

the electoral rolls after the ballot, forcing the top court to rule on its valid ity. (more in notebook) ------------Meles Zenawi Ethiopia s Prime Minister since 1995, died after a protracted battle with an undis closed illness. Ethiopia s Constitution allows the existing government to appoint a successor without elections. Meles seized power in 1991 following the collapse of the dictatorship, and won elections in 1995, 2000, 2005 and in 2010, in a la ndslide election whose validity was questioned by Western observers and human ri ghts groups. Meles is credited with resurrecting the ruined economy he inherited in 1991. In the last 7 years, the economy has grown by about 11% annually due to investments in agriculture and infrastructure. He also forged closer trade ties with India, Turkey and China and supported US military operations in Somalia. His Govt face d criticism for cracking down on journalists and political activists and for ope ning the sensitive farm sector to foreign direct investment. --------------Russia-US Russia's accession to the WTO this Wednesday marks the successful end of a long and tortuous road of negotiations. Washington played an important role in paving the way, in the end game helping to remove the final hurdle by pressing Georgia to acquiesce to Russian membership despite the continuing acrimony between Tbli si and Moscow. Russia's admission to the WTO should thus mark a significant adva nce in U.S.-Russian relations a major step forward in the so-called "reset." But the opposite is true. Relations between Washington and Moscow have been part icularly strained of late, with the Obama administration justifiably angry over the Kremlin's intransigent alignment with a Syrian regime using brute force agai nst its own people. Meanwhile, the U.S. Congress has yet to graduate Russia from Jackson-Vanik restrictions economic sanctions put in place in the 1970s intende d to pressure the Soviet Union to allow emigration of its Jews. Congress is also considering legislation which would link normal trade relations with Russia to the country's readiness to improve its record on human rights. T he so-called Magnitsky Bill and related proposals envisage the public disclosure of a blacklist of human rights violators and the imposition of a visa ban on su ch individuals. Sergei Magnitsky was a Russian whistleblower who was imprisoned and then died while under policy custody in 2009. -------Taiping: Largest of the spratley islands ---------GhostNet Name given to a large-scale cyber spying operation discovered in March 2009. The operation is likely associated with an Advanced Persistent Threat. Its command and control infrastructure is based mainly in the PRC and has infiltrated high-v alue political, economic and media locations in 103 countries. Computer systems belonging to embassies, foreign ministries and other government offices, and the Dalai Lama's Tibetan exile centers in India, London and New York City, were com promised. Although the activity is mostly based in China, there is no conclusive evidence that the Chinese government is involved in its operation.

Advanced persistent threat (APT) usually refers to a group, such as a foreign go vernment, with both the capability and the intent to persistently and effectivel y target a specific entity. The term is commonly used to refer to cyber threats, in particular that of Internet-enabled espionage using a variety of intelligenc e gathering techniques to access sensitive information, but applies equally to o ther threats such as that of traditional espionage or attack. Other recognized a ttack vectors include infected media, supply chain compromise, and social engine ering. Individuals, such as an individual hacker, are not usually referred to as an APT as they rarely have the resources to be both advanced and persistent eve n if they are intent on gaining access to, or attacking, a specific target. ------------Singing mice Use songs to communicate, found in the mountains of Costa Rica. They are differe nt from birds as the mice songs are generally made of a single note. Scientists are studying gene FOXP2 which influences song expression. The study can help ide ntify genes that affect language in humans. -----------Frits Staal Johan Frederik (Frits) Staal, was Emeritus Professor of Philosophy and South & S outheast Asian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Died Feb 2012. Staal specialized in the study of Vedic ritual and mantras, and the scientific exploration of ritual and mysticism. He was also a scholar of Greek and Indian l ogic and philosophy and Sanskrit grammar. In 1975, a consortium of scholars, led by Staal, documented the twelve-day performance, in Kerala, of the Vedic Agnica yana ritual. Staal argued persuasively for decades that the ancient Indian gramm arians, especially Panini, had completely mastered methods of linguistic theory not rediscovered again until the 1950s and the applications of modern mathematic al logic to linguistics by Noam Chomsky. As Staal wrote, "Panini is the Indian E uclid." Anita Rana Head of Utrkhnd-based NGO Janhit Foundation, received a UNDP award recognising h er 'leadership in community initiatives for a green economy'. Balwant Singh Rajoana A top operative of the terror outfit Babbar Khalsa International, awarded the d eath sentence for killing of former CM Beant Singh. His capital punishment was s tayed three days before execution. Rajendra Singh Waterman, Magsaysay awardee, known for water harvesting measures, submitted resi gnation to PM as chairman of NGRBA. -------Tartus Numerous Russian naval officials, along with President Putin, have declared that Tartus, the naval base in Syria, is critical to Moscow s security strategy. This has occurred in conjunction with Russia s efforts to provide diplomatic cover for the Syrian regime at the UN. In this context its worth asking whether Russia act ually has an interest in the port facilities at Tartus or whether it is merely u sing the port as a means of exerting influence over the outcome. Tartus is a small and limited facility that does not even have permanent repair capabilities. However, there are compelling reasons why Russia may consider Tar tus to be a critical facility. Pier side maintenance and resupply are vital for deployed Russian naval ships. The US Navy has perfected the operational art of

resupply at sea, and can keep ships underway indefinitely. The Russian Navy simply does not have that level of deployed sustainability they need secure ports to conduct repair and replenishment. On twelve separate occa sions Russian naval vessels have made port calls to Tartus over the last two yea rs. These ships have come not only from the Black Sea Fleet, but also from the B altic and Northern Fleets. These fleets have multiple missions, to execute depl oyments in the Mediterranean and to the anti piracy operational area in the Red S ea, Gulf of Aden, and Somali Basin, so it does appear that Russia is leaning on its access to the port at Tartus for missions that have nothing to do with the A ssad regime. This would suggest Russia has a national interest in maintaining t he port regardless of the outcome of the civil war. On the other hand, the Russian state, separate from the Russian Navy, uses Tartu s as a secure facility to deliver military equipment and supplies to the Assad r egime. Many will recall the convoluted voyage of the Motor Vessel (MV) Alaed, wh ich departed the Russian Baltic port of Kaliningrad last June, laden with a carg o of MI-25 attack helicopters headed for Tartus. Flying a flag of convenience f rom Curacao (a Caribbean island), MV Alaed was identified by the UK government a s being in violation of EU sanctions against Syria, and thus had its maritime in surance cancelled. This forced MV Alaed to return to Kaliningrad, hoist a sovere ign Russian flag, and start its journey anew for Tartus. Other Russian supply sh ips, such as MV Professor Katsman, have previously pulled into Tartus to offload military equipment and supplies. In other words, Tartus allows the Russian state arms export company, Rosoboronex port, to deliver weapons and supplies directly to the Assad regime and is theref ore an example of the interest the Russian state has in the port, as opposed to just the Russian Navy. This would suggest that Tartus is more important to Mosc ow than merely being a means for it to affect the outcome of the Syrian civil wa r. Moreover, Tartus would be the logical point of embarkation for a Non- Combatant Evacuation Operation (NEO) of Russian citizens, should Russia deem it necessary. The exact number of Russian citizens in Syria is not readily known; Foreign Min ister Sergei Lavrov stated in June that the number was 100,000, but this seems e xcessive and suitable as a way to masking Russia s real interest in Syria - namely Tartus. Russia has positioned three amphibious transport vessels bearing 360 Ru ssian Marines off the coast of Tartus who could execute this mission. All of these are compelling reasons for Russia to support the Assad regime, both logistically and diplomatically. If Russia s true interest is maintaining access to the port, regime failure will complicate matters unless the regime retains th e coastal Alawite region in which Tartus lies. If Russia is primarily interested in extracting its citizens, then neither Tartus nor the Syrian regime matter in the long run. If Russia s primary interest is actually to maintain a client state in the Arab world, Russia will have to go all in for Assad. At the present mom ent, Russia appears to be considering its options and their priorities. -------Sarath Fonseka Former SL Army chief, walked out of prison in Colombo in May 2012 after a reside ntial pardon. Was arrested in Feb 2010 on unspecified charges and sentenced by c ourt martial. Snigda Nandipati 14-year-old Indian-American who won the Scripps National Spelling Bee competitio n in 2012 to be declared national champion. Rajat Gupta

Indian-American, former Goldman Sachs director, found guilty in June 2012 of pas sing confidential market info to a hedge fund founder Raj Rajratnam in one of th e biggest insider trading cases. RR was sentenced last year to 11 years in prison for insider trading. Md Khalil Chisti Paki virologist handed a life sentence for a murder in 1992; released from Rajas than's Ajmer central jail in April 2012 after an SC order. Gunter Grass Nobel-winning author; Israel declared him persona non gratia in April 2012 over a poem that criticised the state and suggested it was as much a danger as Iran. Christian Wulff German president, resigned in Feb 2012 after a scandal over favours he allegedly received before becoming HoS. Bosusco Paolo (don't confuse with Traian Basescu of Romania) Italian tour opertor abducted by Maoists in Odisha from Kandhmal; released later . Alana Seebarran Model from Guyana, crowned Miss India Worldwide in 2012 Jack Palmer Former Infosys employee in the US who filed a case of harassment against the com pany. The case has been dismissed. Infosys is facing a grand jury investigation over the alleged misuse of B1 visas. -----FGFA The initial version of the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), jointly dev eloped by India and Russia and tipped to be one of the most advanced in the worl d, will be unveiled in India in 2014. It is slated for induction in the Indian A ir Force by 2022; The two sides are close to signing a key contract, expected to be worth over $11 billion, for the research and development phase of the project. The aircraft wi ll have stealth features and its size would be smaller than that of Sukhoi Su-30 MKI; India plans to acquire 214 of these fighter planes, the prototypes of which have already been developed by Russia, by the end of 2030 at an estimated cost of ov er $30 billion. Besides the FGFA, India is also in the process of procuring 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft and around 140 Light Combat Aircraft to replen ish the IAF s dwindling squadron strength. --------Unrest in Gabon Gabon is experiencing its worst political unrest since the 2009 succession of Al i Bongo who replaced his father Omar Bongo, thus extending 42 years of family ru le. Those arrested in protests last week are reporting being starved. Tensions in Gabon s capital Libreville have been simmering since police stopped an unauthoris ed protest on Wednesday in support of opposition leader Andre Mba Obame, who cla ims he won a 2009 election against current President Ali Bongo Ondimba. Youths t hrew stones and bottles at police when they broke up Wednesday s protest, drawing tear gas in return. There were 63 or 64 people [detained] to begin with. Six or s even have been released.

----------------Rector years The Indian nuclear power establishment has over 345 reactor years of accident-fr ee operation and it has fully geared itself up to meet any contingency likely to be caused by factors other than the design basics; A reactor year is a measure used by countries across the world to calculate the probable period for which they will have not have any nuclear incident. For exam ple, the U.S says that it expects over 10000 reactor years of accident free oper ations; Post-Fukushima, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) has taken a re-look at the safety aspect of nuclear reactors and made some modifications in them to avert possible disasters; All nuclear reactors are since being fitted with passive re-combiners that preve nt explosions involving hydrogen by converting it into water and passive decay h eat removers for containing radiation in the event of a meltdown. These measures are bound to further improve the safety record of Indian nuclear reactors; Incidents beyond the scope of reactor designs have also to be factored in and th at is being done in a comprehensive manner under the supervision of Atomic Energ y Regulatory Board (AERB). Besides, NPCIL has enlisted the cooperation of the Wo rld Association of Nuclear Operators for enhancing the safety and reliability of nuclear reactors in the country. --Atomic Energy Regulatory Body was formed in 1983. The CAG has for the first time exposed major inadequacies and shortcomings of the nuclear regulator. AERB is yet to prepare a radiation safety policy. NPCIL has not put in place a decommissioning plan for any of the power plants, i ncluding the 10 plants that have come up after AERB issued the safety manual, as the manual is only advisory. The regulator is toothless in demanding the district/State authorities take corr ective measures in off-site emergency preparedness in the zone extending up to a 16 km radius from nuclear plants. The regulator lacks independent power of a statutory body by virtue of not being created by any specific legislation. This despite the recommendation of the Mec koni Committee way back in 1981 that the nuclear regulator be created as a statu tory body. The AERB s head continues to report to an official of an organisation whose very a ctivities he or she regulates. The AERB is also in the dark in matters concerning the number of radiation sourc es used in medical and non-medical institutions in the country. A mammoth check across the nation was carried out in the mid-1990s and an inventory of more than 30,000 units prepared. But the inventory has not been updated. There is no effective accounting system in place despite the frantic efforts tha t began following the Mayapuri incident in New Delhi in 2010, where a gamma sour ce was disposed in a callous manner resulting in the death of one person. Regula ting these institutions and ensuring safe disposal will never become possible ti ll such time the inventory is updated. About 91 per cent of medical X-ray facilities operating in the country have no r egistration, the CAG report states. The AERB has to work in mission mode on several fronts to set its house in order . On its part, the government must expedite the passage of the Nuclear Safety Re gulatory Authority Bill, which has already been vetted by a parliamentary commit tee --------------Wen Xia Yu Miss China and Miss World

------Bill on street vendors The Union Government has approved the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood a nd Regulation of Street Vending) Bill, 2012, which seeks to protect the rights o f vendors and regulate their activity in public areas. As per the Bill, anyone over 18 years can apply and register as a street vendor with the respective Town Vending Committee (TVC) on payment of a one-time fee. O nce registered, they will be given identity cards entitling them to sell their w ares in specified vending zones. It would also do away with the existing licence system that has become a tool to victimise and harass vendors. The Bill contains provisions to protect and promote natural markets, weekly mark ets and night bazaars where vendors and hawkers can sell their wares. The propos ed legislation also has provisions for grievance redressal and transparency. The prescribed provisions and mechanisms protect vendors from confiscation of goods and forced eviction. -----------A torrent file stores metadata used for BitTorrent. A torrent is data about a ta rget file, though it contains no information about the content of the file. The only data that the torrent holds is about the location of different pieces of th e file. Torrents work by dividing the target file into small information chunks, found on an unlimited number of hosts. Through this method, torrents are able t o download large files quickly. When a client (the recipient of a target file) h as initiated a torrent download, the chunks of target file that are needed can b e found easily, based on the data from the torrent itself. Once all the chunks a re downloaded the client can assemble them into a usable form. BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer file sharing protocol used for distributing large a mounts of data over the Internet. BitTorrent is one of the most common protocols for transferring large files and it has been estimated that peer-to-peer networ ks collectively have accounted for roughly 43% to 70% of all Internet traffic. T he protocol is maintained by Bram Cohen's BitTorrent, Inc. As of January 2012, B itTorrent has 150 million active users. At any given instant BitTorrent has, on average, more active users than YouTube and Facebook combined. Transger of copyrighted material using torrent files is an emerging issue in int ernet governance. ---------Elections to Libyan general national congress (which will then elect a PM from a mong its members) 80 of the 200 seats are reserved for independents, and 120 for parties. Multi-seat constituencies and proportional representation. Turnout: 62% of registered voters 2.8 million registered voters from around 3-3.5 million eligible (45% women) 2,639 individual candidates (competing for 120 seats in 69 constituencies) 374 party lists from more than 100 political entities 559 women registered for party seats (44%) 88 women registered for individual seats (3%) According to electoral rules, political parties competed for only 80 out of 200 seats in the GNC, with the rest of the seats reserved for independents. This mak es the formation of the government a more complicated negotiating process, but t he winner was nevertheless clear: National Forces Alliance, led by ex-interim Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril, won 3 9 out of 80 seats.

Justice and Construction Party (Libyan Muslim Brotherhood) of Mohamed Sawan won 17 seats. National Front Party, a liberal group led by an intellectual Mohamed el-Magariaf , won 2 seats While Islamist parties recorded comfortable victories in democratic elections in Egypt and Tunisia, Libya s Muslim Brotherhood did poorly, while Al-Watan group, l inked to a prominent Islamist and former rebel commander Abdel Hakim Belhaj, did n t even make it to parliament. There are several reasons for this outcome. The Muslim Brotherhood ran a well-fu nded campaign, but it doesn t have the grassroots support and social networks of i ts Egyptian counterpart. In a society that is already overwhelmingly conservativ e, the Islamists rhetoric failed to offer a fresh policy message. Chaotic develop ments in the Islamist-dominated Egyptian parliament may also have swayed many vo ters toward secular parties. By contrast, Mahmoud Jibril, a former Gaddafi-era o fficial with a clean technocratic reputation, ran on a campaign that ditched ide ological slogans for a program promising economic development and reforms. He re ached out both to former rebels and ex-Gaddafi supporters, and eventually won th e majority both in Tripoli and Benghazi, Libya s largest cities. The General National Congress will undoubtedly be invested with more popular leg itimacy than the unelected National Transition Council, blamed by many Libyans f or poor governance in the post-Qaddafi era. However, several questions remain un answered: 1. Allegiance of independent candidates: The GNC reserves seats for 120 independ ent candidates. Will they align themselves along tribal, regional or party lines ? There s a big risk that narrow interests of dozens of different voting blocks in the interim parliament make life impossible for any government. 2. Constitution: The outgoing government says Libyans will elect a special panel that will draft the new constitution. Once adopted, fresh parliamentary electio ns are due to be scheduled at some point in 2013, but there could be significant delays, with legislators demanding some role for GNC in the drafting process. 3. Militias: The gravest danger to Libya s future is posed by former rebel groups, the de-facto rulers in large parts of the country. Will the GNC have more succe ss in disarming the militias? Or will militias influence the parliament by buyin g off independents? ----------Veteran diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi will be the new Joint Special Representative of the United Nations and League of Arab States for the crisis in Syria, taking ov er the peace-facilitation role played over the past several months by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. He chaired the Panel on United Nations Peace Opera tions, the outcome of which was the now famous 'Brahimi report' in 2000. ----------X-51A Waverider, an unmanned U.S. military jet designed to fly at hypersonic spe eds and travel from London to New York in just 45 minutes has failed during a tr ial as it crashed into the Pacific Ocean within seconds of its launch. The proje ct is mainly to facilitate future hypersonic missiles. DRDO, India is also devel oping a Hypersonic Missile called AVATAR (Aerobic Vehicle for Hypersonic Aerospa ce TrAnspoRtation) Simply put, hypersonic is considered to be above Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound), while supersonic is merely above Mach 1. The difference is one of degre e, relating to certain dynamics of the airflow, but the supersonic/hypersonic di stinction also has relevance to the defense world of the near future, in which a

erospace companies must compete to give the armies of their home countries the f astest possible bombers and fighter planes. Methods of propulsion also differ gr eatly between the supersonic and hypersonic regimes, with air-breathing, or ramj et, designs more popular for increased speeds. Hypersonic is one of three rough classifications for airflow regimes - subsonic (less than Mach 0.8), transonic (Mach 0.8 - 1.2), supersonic (Mach 1.2 - 5.0), a nd finally hypersonic (Mach 5.0+). By comparison, a Space Shuttle in orbit trave ls at about Mach 23. The fastest conventional planes, such as the SR-71 Blackbir d, reach flight speeds of about Mach 3.2. Scramjets, of which there has been onl y a few successful demonstrations thus far, combust fuel using a supersonic inta ke valve, reaching speeds around Mach 7. --------Helium-3 The manned mission to moon by 2020 will pave way for tapping energy-rich helium3 available in abundance on the satellite, said A. Sivathanu Pillai, Distinguish ed Scientist and Chief Controller, Defence Research and Development Organisation ; Energy generated through fusion process using helium-3 will be several fold high er than the fission method in vogue. Helium-3 (He-3, also called tralphium) is a light, non-radioactive isotope of helium with two protons and one neutron. It i s rare on the Earth, and it is sought for use in nuclear fusion research. On Ear th it is found in small quantities in gas pockets; Helium-3 is proposed as a second-generation fuel for nuclear fusion in hypotheti cal fusion power plants, but such plants are still very early in their developme nt -- especially since the first generation has not entered service anywhere. He lium-3 can be used in instruments for the detection of free neutrons, such as ne utrons leaking from nuclear reactors. --------Judicial accountability versus independence Judges case is a good example to cite in any discussion on separation of powers or judicial overreach. Is judicial independence a part of basic structure? Yes, because separation of p owers is. Issues with the Bill 1. Prevents unwarranted comments (like for example by way of obiter) on the work ing of any constitutional or statutory authority or official. 2. Members of the public can complain: what are the checks? 3. Procedure in case of minor offences: should be confidential? 4. Composition of the proposed scrutiny panels. CJI S H Kapadia has highlighted the importance of checks and balances in a democ racy. He has cautioned the government against denting judicial independence. He also acknowledged that judicial overreach can upset the harmonious functioning o f three pillars of the state. Both sides should heed the advice, since transgres sions by either can put constitutional principles at risk. Institutions must have defined turfs, and so not step on one another's toes. But they must also act as checks to keep one another on their toes. That's why the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill is needed to set up a system to deal with complaints about misbehaviour or incapacity of members of th

e higher judiciary. The government has done well to signal the Bill's controversial portions will be revisited. However, judicial accountability can't be fully delivered without ad dressing a key issue not covered by this Bill: judicial appointments. Like minis ters or lawmakers, judges too are service providers and not emperors; they shoul d be open to external scrutiny, whether vis-a-vis appointments and transfers, co nduct on the job or accumulation of assets. Also, while judicial activism has rendered many benefits, judicial overreach can go against public interests. Ultimately, independence and accountability are tw o sides of the same coin. By exemplifying that truth, the judiciary can best hon our the public faith reposed in it. ---------In medicine, a nocebo reaction or response refers to harmful, unpleasant, or und esirable effects a subject manifests after receiving an inert dummy drug or plac ebo. Nocebo responses are not chemically generated and are due only to the subje ct's pessimistic belief and expectation that the drug will produce negative cons equences. In these cases, there is no "real" drug involved, but actual negative consequences are nonetheless real. ----------Police Fire On Miners in RSA Marikana For days, rival mining unions have waged violent battle with each other around t he Lonmin platinum mines in South Africa. The violence took a sharp turn as poli ce fired on a crowd, sending shockwaves across the country. At least 78 were wou nded and 34 killed. Police commissioner Riah Phiyega said officers had only fire d when the machete wielding protesters surged through their lines of defense, pa st officers firing rubber bullets and stun grenades. The shooting left a field s trewed with bodies and a deepening fault line between the governing ANC and a na tion that, 18 years after the end of apartheid, is impatient with deep poverty, rampant unemployment and yawning inequality. In a scene replayed endlessly on television that reminded some South Africans of the days when the police of the apartheid government opened fire on protesters, heavily armed officers shot into a charging crowd of workers who walked off the job demanding higher wages.The strike and the government s iron-fisted response a re emblematic of the frustration with the slow pace of transforming South Africa s largely white-owned business establishment and the growing perception that the ANC and its allies have become too cozy with big business. -------The CAG released a Performance Audit of Allocation of Coal Blocks and Augmentati on of Coal Production, on August 17, 2012. Some of the main findings and recomm endations of the report: 1. There were no criteria for allocating coal blocks for captive mining till 199 3. The process of bringing in transparency and objectivity began in 2004. But th e process has experienced delays and had yet to materialise as of February 2012. 2. In the intervening period, 194 coal blocks with geological reserves of 44,440 million tonnes were allocated to private and government parties until March 31, 2011. The report finds that the benefit to private allottees has been estimate d at Rs 1.86 lakh crore for Opencast mines. The report states that the governme nt could have tapped some of this financial benefit by expediting the decision o n competitive bidding for allocation of blocks. 3. The rate of increase in production of coal by Coal India Limited (CIL) during the 11th Plan period remained below the target. Capacity addition projects wer

e delayed due to lack of coordination of govt agencies involved in statutory cle arances and land acquisition. There were mismatches in excavation and transport ation capacities of mines, and suboptimal use of Heavy Earth Moving Machinery. 4. The CAG recommends Ministry of Coal should work out modalities to implement p rocedure of allocation of coal blocks for captive mining through competitive bid ding. 5. The CAG recommends that the MOC should constitute an empowered group along th e lines of Foreign Investment Promotion Board as a single window mechanism for g ranting clearances, with representatives from central nodal ministries and state governments. -----------Madan Lal Dhingra (1883 1909) was an Indian revolutionary freedom fighter. While s tudying in England, he assassinated Sir William Hutt Curzon Wyllie, a British of ficial, hailed as one of the first acts of revolution in the Indian independence movement in the 20th century. -----------Australia asylum seekers A STREAM of asylum-seekers making for Australia in flimsy boats has left a wake of human misery in the waters north of the country. In the 11 years to June, 960 -odd asylum-seekers and crew have vanished at sea while trying to reach Australi a, about two-thirds of them in the past three years. Amid a bitter political storm over the issue, the prime minister, Julia Gillard, performed an abrupt U-turn. She announced that the government would start sendi ng boat people to have their refugee claims processed in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the tiny Pacific island-state of Nauru, a practice that her Labor Party had once decried. The prime minister is betting on her move deterring more boats and saving lives. The asylum camps on Nauru and Manus Island in PNG are the legacy of John Howard. In 2001 his government set up the camps for his Pacific Solution for turning boat people away from Australia. Human-rights groups denounced the strategy: asylumseekers could languish in the camps for years. The critics included Ms Gillard, who once called the Pacific Solution costly, uns ustainable and wrong . After Labor won power in 2007 it closed the camps and proce ssed boat people on Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocea n, as well as on the mainland. But as boat arrivals grew, Tony Abbott, leader of the Liberal opposition, called for a return to the Pacific Solution. The 7,120 boat people who landed in the first seven months of this year were more than for each of the previous two years. After more boat people drowned in June, and parliament failed to find a new appr oach, Gillard appointed a panel. Citing the appalling reality of lost lives, the p anel called for a region-wide strategy to discourage boat people. Until then, it said, Nauru and PNG should be reopened for processing. It also said the governm ent should again pursue a people swap plan Gillard had discussed with Malaysia. Be fore Australia s High Court disallowed it last year, this would have involved Mala ysia accepting 800 boat people from Australia in return for Australia taking 4,0 00 approved refugees from Malaysia. Boat arrivals slowed to a trickle in the wake of the original Pacific Solution. People-smugglers in Indonesia, where most boat people embark, have twigged that most asylum-seekers dumped on Nauru were eventually settled as refugees in Austr alia. If backing down and returning to the Howard path does not deter boats this time, the opposition can hardly blame Gillard.

-------Ecuador-Assange "The government of Ecuador, true to its tradition of protecting those who seek r efuge in its territory or on the premises of diplomatic missions, has decided to grant diplomatic asylum to citizen Assange. The announcement came in the face of an unprecedented, brazen raid by the police to allegedly arrest Assange from the embassy, and extradite him to Sweden. Assa nge is not only formally sought by authorities in Sweden in a pending case again st him, but along with his organisation he is held responsible for publishing th ousands of confidential cables of the US State Department. Why has Ecuador decided to grant political asylum to Assange when doing so would risk jeopardising its ties with nations that it considers important allies and trading partners, including the US, the UK,Sweden and Australia? A host of possible justifications for the Ecuadorian action have been suggested, including notions that the country s President, Rafael Correa, may be seeking to show himself a champion of free speech, or to embarrass the US, or to thrust him self onto the global stage as a fearless leader. The US is Ecuador's largest trading partner and has several times threatened to cut off trade preferences that support thousands of Ecuadorian jobs. However wha t Ecuador s own explanatory note on the decision suggests is that the decision is based on a careful consideration of the facts in the case, including shortcoming s in the procedures followed by the prosecution regarding sexual assault charges that he faces in Sweden, and the ba lance of ethical considerations. Of particular importance is the fact that Assange s legal team has offered to prov ide Swedish authorities with access on the premises of Ecuador s London embassy, i n order for them to interrogate him and take formal statements for the case. The US had refused to clarify its position on the Assange case, saying it is a b ilateral matter between Ecuador and the United Kingdom. The facts that ultimatel y tilted Ecuador toward granting asylum included the consideration that "there i s strong evidence of retaliation by the country or countries that produced the i nformation disclosed by Assange, retaliation that may endanger their safety,inte grity, and even his life." The UK has made it clear that it still intends to arrest and extradite Assange. To that end, one option they have floated is to revoke the status of Ecuador s emb assy in the UK and storm the place. The inviolability of foreign embassies is on e of the oldest and most sacrosanct principles of international law. This is not something that the UK should undermine. If a liberal democracy like the UK feel s its not bound by the strictures of the Vienna Convention, what is stopping oth er countries with lesser commitments to the rule of law from following its lead? You may agree or disagree with Julian Assange, but that is besides the point. L iberal democracies like the UK have a special responsibility to uphold the basic tenants of international law. Powerful countries violating basic international law like the Vienna Convention when it suits them is a recipe for anarchy in int ernational relations. ---------Riots in Amiens, France Starting in late July, Roma (Gypsy) encampments on the outskirts of many French cities have been dismantled in dawn raids. As many as ten camps have been bulldo

zed, and over 1,000 Roma have been displaced. Some of those living in the camps have been repatriated to Romania. Others are on the streets. In Amiens, a city in France s north that suffers from high unemployment, violence exploded in the night of August 13th. Rioting youths injured 17 police officers and burned a nursery school to the ground. The interior minister has evoked the need for fermet (firmness) in dealing with social problems. The rioters in Amiens may have legitimate grievances, but the French state must draw a firm line agai nst accepting violence towards the police, he maintains. In his eyes, the povert y of the Roma should elicit sympathy from the French, but the state cannot toler ate the camps insanitary, dangerous conditions on the fringes of its cities. In 2010 the public targeting of Roma camps by Nicolas Sarkozy ran into virulent opposition from the left. However, as a Socialist government embarks on the same course, the reaction is more muted. Some are even arguing that it is all differ ent now, citing the less racially incendiary rhetoric of Hollande and abolition of quotas for repatriation. But the policy is essentially the same. Violence on the outskirts of French cities is not the product of insufficiently firm policing but of the misery of life. The recent designation of 15 priority s ecurity zones in high-crime areas of France, commencing in September, seems base d more on hope than reason. It relies on greater local autonomy in crime fightin g but with hardly any new resources on offer. It is unclear how partnerships bet ween local stakeholders will address the underlying causes of crime. The treatment of the Roma is also an advertisement of the need for new thinking. The dismantling of their encampments and repatriation to Romania and Bulgaria h as a curiously circular quality. In 2011 some 7,284 Romanians and 1,429 Bulgaria ns received aide du retour (typically a payment of 300 per adult) from government in exchange for agreeing to go home. The programme s cost of 26.6m may not be part icularly expensive by the standards of French public policy but it still does no t make much sense. If the worst outcome a poor Roma from eastern Europe faces on coming to France is a lump sum and a free ticket home, it may just make that in itial trip all the more attractive. And this may explain why Roma population of France has remained stable at between 15,000 and 20,000 despite thousands of dep ortations. Up to 12 million Roma live in Europe, and other sizeable Roma populations live i n Latin America and other regions, most of them on the margins of society. --------Gopichand Narang Indian Urdu litterateur Professor Gopi Chand Narang s name figures in the list of civilian honours announced by Pakistan on the eve of its Independence Day. Prof. Narang (81 years old) has been conferred Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Star of Excellence), the third highest civilian honour bestowed by the nation. In the past, Morarji D esai and Dilip Kumar have been bestowed Pakistan's highest civilian honour, Nish an-i-Imtiaz; Saadat Hasan Manto Conferred the highest civilian honour Nisan-i-imtiaz. Popular for Urdu short sto ries, especially those exploring the impact of partition. Bu, Khol do, and Thand a Gosht are some of his famous stories. -------Collision near Hormuz A US guided-missile destroyer, USS Porter, was left with a gaping hole on one side after it collided with Panam anian-flagged and Japanese-owned bulk oil tanker

M/V Otowasan just outside the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The collision left a b reach about 10 feet by 10 feet in the starboard side of USS Porter. No one was i njured on either vessel. The cause is under investigation, the US navy said, tho ugh the collision was not "combat related". There were no reports of spills or l eakages. The USS Porter is on a scheduled deployment to the US 5th Fleet based i n Bahrain. The Strait of Hormuz, at the mouth of the Gulf, is a crowded and tense waterway where one-fifth of the world's oil is routed. Tensions have risen there over rep eated Iranian threats to block tanker traffic in retaliation for tighter sanctio ns by the West. The sanctions are aimed at persuading Iran to abandon its uraniu m enrichment program. The US stoked the flames recently with an announcement that it will send navy mi nesweepers and warships into the Gulf for exercises. The US military maneuvers s cheduled for September, to be joined by ships from about 20 American allies. Thi s is part of a Pentagon buildup in the Gulf with more troops and naval firepower , seeking to rattle Iran and reassure Saudi Arabia and other Arab partners worri ed about Iran's influence and power. Iranian commanders and political leaders have stepped up threats and defiant sta tements in recent weeks over the Strait of Hormuz. While it appears unlikely that Iran is ready to risk an almost certain military backlash by trying to close Hormuz which is jointly controlled with Oman the com ments from Tehran show that Iranian authorities see the strait as perhaps their most valuable asset in brinkmanship over tightening sanctions. Iranian officials have been quick to counter statements about closing the strait with observation s that the situation is not likely to become that severe, indicating recognition that a step like closing the strait would have grave implications. Warnings from Tehran in the past about possible closure have been enough to boos t oil prices to offset the blow of sanctions. If attacked, Iran could severely d isrupt oil supplies and send the shaky global economy stumbling backward again. ------------Dire Warnings on the Humanitarian Crisis in Sahel The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is sounding the alarm on a worsening crisis in the sahel. Also, on top of all this a locust infestati on is expected to affect 50 million people. With the first rains, planting activi ties for the ongoing food production campaign in the Sahel region have started . But despite improved water availability and significant food assistance target ing 18.7 million people, the most vulnerable households are continuing to sell their livelihoods assets, including their livestock, eroding further their ca pacity to cope with this crisis. The food security and nutrition situation of vulnerable families is likely to worsen during the lean period from June to Sep tember which had an early start this year. Crops won t be harvested yet and food reserves are exhausted. High grain prices, especially in the Central Basin, a re an aggravating factor. In August, according to WFP, humanitarian assistance will be the main means of survival for many. The programme, which has supporte d over six million people since January, is appealing for urgent contributions o f US$115 million to address pipeline shortfalls for the next three months.Underf unding is also threatening the ability to support domestic animal production and agricultural activities. -----------Vietnam-Laos-Thailand

On the banks of the Mekong River in the heart of Laos s capital city, Vientiane, s tands a defiant Chao Anouvong, the Laotian king who fought the Thais almost 200 years ago, winning the hearts of his compatriots and the wretched anger of the r oyal regiments in Bangkok. Cast in bronze, his statue was erected just two years ago. With his left hand clutching a sword, his right arm extended and pointing at the enemy across the river, the imposing figure has continued to irritate Tha is who see the statue as contentious. Relations between Thailand and Laos have never been better. Airports, roads, rai lways and dams are being built and Vientiane is increasingly dictating own path in foreign relations, regardless of its traditional ties with Vietnam. It s a path that Hanoi should find increasingly irritating. Construction continues by Thai companies at the site of Xayaburi Dam, which will , per independent reports, put at risk food security by upsetting the spawning s eason of fish stocks that feed more than 60 million people down river in Cambodi a and Vietnam. Thai and Laos companies intend to split the profits by selling electricity produ ced from the dam back into Thailand. There are also plans to build a high speed train, a line from Bangkok to Nong Khai, a short distance from the border and th e Lao capital. The infrastructure needs are real but so are the costs to its tra ditional ties with Vietnam. Laos also took quietly to the sidelines, alongside Thailand, at the recent summi t of foreign ministers for the ASEAN when Vietnam saddled-up with The Philippine s and desperately needed support for its stance over disputes in the South China Sea. Hanoi and Manila want a united multilateral stand by ASEAN. China wants a bilate ral approach, one that was pushed strongly by its chief ally, Cambodia. Cambodia s is also ASEAN s chair this year and used its position to thwart Vietnames e and Filipino ambitions. This came as no surprise given Cambodia s foreign policy shifts and Chinese largesse of recent years. But Hanoi would have appreciated V ientiane s support at the summit given their traditional ties and affiliations tha t came with the communist revolutions of the 1970s. Vietnam has also been a major financial benefactor to Laos and provided its gove rnment with military support and diplomatic leverage on the international politi cal stage when needed. And Vietnam s sovereign claims in the Parcel and Spratly islands along with food s ecurity and the free flow of the Mekong River are two of the most vital issues f or the government there. -------Changes in RTI rules Govt puts word limit on Right to Information pleas, defines format The government has put a word limit of 500 words (excluding annexures) for filin g an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Earlier there was no word limit under the legislation. However, the new rules also state that an appl ication cannot be rejected on the ground of exceeding 500 words; Besides this, a new format has been devised for filing an appeal to the Central Information Commission under the RTI to include all previous requests and docume nts as part of the application to the CIC. The government has also made it manda tory for an appellant or his authorised representative to appear before the CIC either in person or through video-conferencing, according to new rules notified on July 31; According to a notification by the Department of Personnel and Training under th e Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, an applicant will have

to pay additional postal charges involved in supply of information that exceeds f ifty rupees ; Further, as per the notified rules, fee can be paid in cash or by demand draft, bankers cheque, postal order or by electronic means in case such facility is ava ilable with the public authority. ---------Pakistani Hindus The Indian visa rules relating to Pakistan permit group pilgrimages by the Hindu s as well as Muslims and individual family visits to India. Both Hindus and Musl ims avail of the rules relating to pilgrimages and the Mohajirs, who migrated fr om India, avail of the rules relating to family visits. The Hindu pilgrimage gro ups generally come around Janmashtami, visit a number of holy places and go back to Pakistan. The pilgrimage visits this year acquired worrisome connotations because of repor ts in some sections of the Pakistani media that some of the Hindus from Sindh ar e actually fleeing because of various forms of harassment and may not come back. The threat to Hindus of Pakistan is from the Islamic fundamentalist elements and the inability of the Pakistan State, particularly its Police, to control fundam entalist elements. This harassment is high in the case of Dalits, majority of th e Hindu community, and even more particularly Hindu women. Some women are forced to embrace Islam and marry Muslims. There are also instances of the fundamental ist elements seizing the land and other property attached to Hindu temples in th e rural areas without the Police intervening. There are also instances of well-t o-do Hindus being intimidated in relation to their property. They come away to I ndia and seek political asylum. It is the poor Dalits who suffer in silence. At the time of partition, even though there were atrocities against Hindus in Si ndh and Balochistan, they were not comparable to the atrocities in Punjab. While a large number of Hindus from Sindh and Balochistan came away, some who enjoyed the protection of India-friendly nationalist parties stayed behind. After the death of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, a Baloch nationalist leader, at the h ands of the Pakistan Army in August 2005, the harassment of Hindus increased bec ause of suspicion of sympathy for the Baloch nationalists who have launched a ne w freedom struggle. As a result, many Hindus of Balochistan have either come awa y to India or shifted to Sindh. The main concentration of Hindus in Pakistan today is in Sindh. Pakistan has not had an accurate census since 1971. One does not know exactly how many Hindus ar e there in Sindh. There are varying estimates between one and four million. Thes e are not descendants of Hindus who migrated from the rest of India. Barring tho se who came from Balochistan, these are the sons and daughters of the Sindhi soi l, the descendants of Hindus who were living in Sindh long before Islam came the re and have proudly remained devoted to their Hindu religion and culture. GoI's interest and responsibility for ensuring the welfare of the Sindhi Hindus arises from the fact that they are Hindus. The Nehru-Liaquat Ali Pact signed in 1950 gave GoI locus standi for looking after the welfare of the Hindus and Sikhs all over Pakistan. GoI was unable to adequately exercise this responsibility in respect of Punjab, NWFP (now called KP) and Balochistan because it did not have consular presence. But till 1994, the Government of India did have a Consulate in Karachi, which us ed to monitor the welfare of the Sindhi Hindus. The Consulate also closely inter acted with Sindhi nationalist parties and the PPP, and persuaded them to pay bet ter attention to the protection of the Hindus. In 1994, Benazir Bhutto, then Pri me Minister, on the advice of the ISI, ordered the Consulate to close down. Succ essive Governments here have neglected past policy of active interaction with th

e Sindhi nationalists. There are limits to what GoI can do to protect the Hindus, except periodically e xercising pressure on Islamabad to look after them. The limited role has also be en greatly diluted in the absence of a Consulate in Karachi and the drying-up of our interactions with the Sindhi nationalists, the traditional opponents of the fundamentalists. Since 1994, from time to time, the Government of India has tak en up with Islamabad the question of its re-opening the Consulate in Karachi. As a quid pro quo, Pakistan has reportedly been insisting on a Pakistani Consulate in Mumbai to be located in the Jinnah House. It is understood that while the Go vernment of India has no objection to a Pakistani Consulate in Mumbai, it has re servations about its being located in the Jinnah House. The re-opening of the Indian Consulate in Karachi and better protection for the Hindus and Sikhs living in Pakistan should be taken up by our Prime Minister wit h President Asif Ali Zardari. We should revive our dried-up interactions with th e Sindhi nationalists. We should also examine whether the Nehru-Liaquat Ali Pact needs updating. ------------Prabuddah Dasgupta Fashion photographer, died 2012. Dasgupta's work has been exhibited internationally and published in Indian, Fren ch, English, Italian and American magazines. In 1996, he broke a taboo by publis hing "Women", a controversial collection of portraits and nudes of urban Indian women. Tulsi Gabbard Has won the Democratic party primary for the US Congress from Hawaii in a strong Dem constituency. He victory in November will make her the first Hindu American ever to be a member of the US HoR. ----------Naga peace plan Cutting across party lines, all 60 MLAs from Nagaland have petitioned the PM for an early resolution of the Naga issue. Led by chief minister Neiphiu Rio, they even offered their resignation in favour of a consensus interim government to fa cilitate a permanent peace plan acceptable to all stakeholders. Festering for six decades, the Naga insurgency has claimed more than 20,000 live s and has been one of the main hurdles to peace and development in the northeast . The dual Naga demands of sovereignty and greater Nagaland affect at least thre e other states. This was exemplified during the four-month-long blockade of Mani pur by Naga and Kuki groups, each asserting their ethno-nationalist agenda. Henc e, a solution to the Naga issue would be a game-changer for the northeast and pr ovide a helpful template for resolution of other ethnic conflicts there. Since the ceasefire agreements with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland ( Isak-Muivah) in 1997, and with its Khaplang faction in 2001, negotiations on a p ermanent peace plan have proceeded at snail's pace. However, there are emerging signs of consensus around the concept of shared sovereignty and creating autonom ous councils for Naga-dominated areas outside Nagaland. But the main challenge s till remains getting all factions and interest groups on board. It is here that the legislators can help forge a minimal understanding among the various Naga gr oups as well as with the Centre. -----------Great white pelican

Climate change has brought around surprise cheer at the Okhla Bird Sanctuary in Delhi. The arrival of a big flock of the Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrota lus) at the sanctuary in the rainy season is a cause of big cheer for avid bird watchers. Apart from global warming, climate changes also affect the migration p attern of birds and result in migration even during non-season instead of the us ual winter; Ecologists who keep an eye out for such birds all year were thrilled when the fl ock of over 40, referred to by the locals as hawasil , arrived in the first week of August, much ahead of their normal expected arrival. While their population has been on decline, as per a report of Wetlands International, the arrival of t he Great White Pelican in Delhi in a year which had witnessed a drop in migrator y bird arrivals during the peak winter season is more than welcome; These birds are seen in pairs or flocks and breeds in Eastern Europe and Middle East. This species migrates to India in large numbers during winters and settles down mainly in Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat. -----New oxidant 'X' identified Plays significant role in the formation of gaseous sulphuric acid in the atmosph ere. Until now it was thought the combination of OH (hydroxyl) oxidant with SO2 was responsible for this. X is considered to contribute the formation of 50% of the total sulphuric acid produced in the atmosphere. Formation of X is related t o the reaction of surface emission like naturally produced hydrocarbons, with Oz one. --------Mahadev Desai Gandhi's secretary -----Forest Rights Act It recognises forest dwellers' rights and makes conservation more accountable. Under the Indian Forest Act, areas were declared to be "government forests" with out recording who lived there, what land they were using, what uses they made of the forest and so on. In the name of conservation, what was carried out was a c ompletely illegal land acquisition programme. Because of this situation, million s were subject to harassment, evictions, etc, on the pretext of being encroacher s in their own homes. Torture, bonded labour, extortion of money and sexual assa ult were all extremely common. The Indian Forest Act, 1927, was created to serve the British need for timber. I t sought to override customary rights and forest management systems by declaring forests state property and exploiting timber. The law says that, at the time a "forest is declared, a single official (the Forest Settlement Officer) is to enqu ire into and "settle the land and forest rights people had. These officials eithe r did nothing or recorded only the rights of powerful communities. The same mode l was built into the Wild Life Protection Act, passed in 1972. The purpose of the Forest Acts was to convert forests into property of a colonia l department; and when you convert an ecosystem into someone's property, there w ill always be stronger claims to that property than conservation. The results in clude: Loss of grasslands and forests to monoculture plantations; Destruction of forest for mines, dams and industry; Privatisation of "degraded forest lands for timber plantations.

Destruction of all community management and regulation systems, forcing people t o choose between either abandoning the forest entirely or living as 'criminals' within or near it. The Act basically does two things: 1. Grants legal recognition to the rights of traditional forest dwelling communi ties. 2. Gives communities a voice in forest and wildlife conservation. Who is a forest dweller? Primarily residing in forests or forest lands, depending on forests for a liveli hood; Above conditions have been true for 75 years, in which case you are an Other Tra ditional Forest Dweller; OR a member of a Scheduled Tribes residing in the area Scheduled, in which case you are a Forest Dwelling ST. What kind of rights do forest dwellers get under this Act? 1. Land Rights: No one gets rights to any land they have not been cultivating pr ior to December 13, 2005 and that they are not cultivating right now. Those who are cultivating land but don't have documents can claim up to 4 hectares, as lon g as they are cultivating the land themselves for a livelihood. Those who have a patta or a government lease, but whose land has been illegally taken by the For est Department or whose land is the subject of a dispute, can claim those lands. Land cannot be sold or transferred to anyone except by inheritance. 2. a. en b. c. Use Rights: The law secondly provides for rights to use and/or collect: Minor forest produce: tendu patta, herbs, medicinal plants, etc, that have be traditionally collected. Doesn't include timber. Grazing grounds, water bodies Traditional areas of use by nomadic or pastoralist communities

3. Right to Protect and Conserve: Though the forest is supposed to belong to all of us, till date no one except th e Forest Department had a right to protect it. If the Department should destroy it, or to hand it over to someone who would, stopping them was a criminal offenc e. For the first time, this law also gives the community the right to protect an d manage the forest. This is vital for village communities who are protecting th eir forests and wildlife against forest mafias, industries and land grabbers, mo st of whom operate in connivance with the Forest Department. How are rights recognised? Section 6 of the Act provides a transparent 3-step procedure for deciding on who gets rights. First, the gram sabha makes a recommendation - i.e who has been cu ltivating land for how long, which minor forest produce is collected, etc. The g ram sabha plays this role because it is a public body where all people participa te, and hence is fully democratic and transparent. The gram sabha's recommendati on goes through two stages of screening committees at the taluka and district le vels. The district level committee makes the final decision. The Committees have six members - three govt officers and three elected persons. At both the taluka and the district levels, any person who believes a claim is false can appeal, a nd if they prove their case the right is denied. Finally, land recognised under this Act cannot be sold or transferred. ---------------------Non-pesticide management (NPM) NPM describes various pest-control techniques which do not rely on pesticides. I t is used in organic production of foodstuff, as well as in other situations in which the introduction of toxins is undesirable. Instead of the use of synthetic

toxins, pest control is achieved by biological means. Over years insects have survived and developed resistance to the toxic chemicals . Farmers should be knowledgeable and able to identify various pests, and their natural enemies (friendly insects). The efforts to minimize pests should aim at restoring natural balance of insects in crop ecosystem, not elimination of the p est. Techniques include: Introduction of natural predators Naturally occurring insecticides, such as Neem products Trap crops which attract insects away from the fields Yellow sticky traps Pheromone traps ----------Smuggling of antiques The recent seizure of artefacts estimated at Rs 90 crore from a storage facility of an antique dealer in New York confirms that archaeological sites, religious places and even museums remain as vulnerable as ever. The illegal removal of objects from their archaeological setting erases critical historical information; and it depletes a nation s cultural capital. In 2003, the Ministry of Culture announced that it would amend the Antiquities a nd Art Treasures Act, 1972, to make trading in stolen antiquities a non-bailable offence, prevent unauthorised production of replicas of antiquities and enhance the process of verification of art objects. Till date, none of this has happene d. Even the database of antiquities is incomplete. In 2007, the National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities was launched to create a register of artefacts. After five years, only five lakh objects of the estimated eight lakh have been record ed. Import controls are lax in some countries, making them safe havens for smugglers . Criminal laws in market countries have not deterred buyers and dealers of tain ted art objects. For instance, the Dealing in Cultural Objects (Offences) Act 20 03, operational in England, Wales & Northern Ireland, provides for sentencing de alers in tainted artefacts to prison, but it has hardly changed the situation. Museums and collectors overlook the doubtful provenance of antiquities, making i t easier for traders and themselves to acquire stolen antiquities. It is imperative that India, working through international organisations such as UNESCO, persuade countries to give up their apathy. But first, it should put it s own house in order. Taking a cue from the success story of the Portable Antiqu ities Scheme, implemented in England and Wales, existing acts must be revised to encourage local communities to report and register the discovery of artefacts w ith the help of experts. Museums have to be vastly improved to host antiquities in a meaningful manner and effectively perform their educative role. Setting up a well equipped, efficiently trained and dedicated investigating agen cy to track and prevent art theft is critical. ----------Cricket diplomacy By attaching goodwill, a game ceases to be just a game, and the pressure increas

es manifold. One enjoys the game lesser when it is surrounded by so many grievances and sensi tivities. If cricket had the ability to mend fences, India and Pak would be friends by now . Cricket has never acted as a thaw, rather it has only been an indication that relations have already improved due to other reasons. Unwanted symbolism. These contests need to be played in a convivial atmosphere, and in the proper spirit in which a sporting encounter is meant to be played. Ot herwise there remains a bitter edge to everything and sporting ethos of the acti vity is negated. There is no denying that cricket in South Asia is hostage to geopolitical realit ies, yet we keep clutching at it, hoping that if cricket between India and Pakis tan improves, relations will also improve. The reality is quite the opposite: on ce relations between India and Pakistan flourish, cricket will also flourish. There is understanding that cricket is not a proxy for war. We need to understan d that neither is it a proxy for peace. --------------Libor scandal The London interbank offered rate is the world s most widely used interest benchma rk for many other rates, ranging from commercial loans to mortgages. Many deriva tive contracts are indexed to the Libor. Estimates of how much is tied to Libor vary from $350 trillion to $800 trillion, immense by any yardstick. The process of arriving at the benchmark was considered fairly transparent and r elatively immune from manipulation. Leading banks are called upon every weekday to quote rates on what they would pay for loans from another bank for different maturities and currencies. The rates so obtained are averaged out after dropping the outliers. There are as many as 150 Libor rates in dollars and other major c urrencies, varying in tenure from overnight to one year. The British Bankers Asso ciation oversees the whole procedure. As the financial sector ballooned in the last decade, the Libor gained in import ance. What gave the rate immense credibility was the fact that the banks that pa rticipate in the Libor setting process are among the biggest names in the busine ss. Nobody could imagine these same banks would manipulate the process by fudgin g their quotes to suit their own positions. If the Libor was artificially high, customers who took a loan lost out. If the r ate was fixed artificially low, the borrower gained. Regulators who were lax earlier have moved in with vigour. Barclays Bank, at the centre of the scandal, has been fined a record $450 million. Both civil and cri minal investigations are going on as regulators try to find out whether big bank s gamed the rates for their own benefit before and after the financial crisis. The only defence offered by banks so far, a feeble one, is that in the absence o f an active interbank market in the post crisis period, they could base their qu otes only on estimates rather than real market data. If that were so, however, t he search for a more acceptable interest rate benchmark should have begun much e arlier. Banks and regulators in the West, with their reputation already tarnished by one scandal or another, will have to strive hard to earn back the trust of the rest of the world. ------------

Grid computing Pooling computer resources that are spread over geographic space and located in different administrative domains is a cost effective alternative to deploying a single large machine at one location. As scientific enterprise increases in complexity, as was demonstrated in the cas e of the Higgs Particle, collaboration is key. Grid computing is the deployment of an array of computers, which in their parent domains are used for a variety o f purposes, but which can share their computational power to address large probl ems. The primary objective is to create what a virtual supercomputer . To justify the huge investments in such grids, it is essential to demonstrate th eir use to the public at large. Deployment of such grids in e-governance project s, which would impact a large number of people, is one way to achieve this, to c reate a visible impact. There are two essential aspects to the grid a network of computers and a superhi ghway that enables the daisy chain to actually share resources. The Indian grid, GARUDA (Global Access to Resources Using Distributed Architecture) was deployed in 2004. The High Performance Computing clusters were later chained to the NKN, which brought more institutions from across the country to the grid. The NKN s hi ghway connects 774 institutional networks from across the country universities, labs of the CSIR and the DRDO, the ICAR's 42 institutions, nearly 100 medical in stitutions, the IITs, and the ERNET (a national network of academic institutions ). Utility of supercomputers On tasks such as climate and weather modelling, drug discovery, simulating molec ular dynamics, the continuous monitoring of human bodies for predictive health a nalysis and many other tasks that require quick number crunching of large data s ets. ------------UNPk Peacekeeping is one of the most effective tools available to the UN to assist co untries navigate the path from conflict to peace. Peacekeeping has unique strengths, including legitimacy, burden sharing, and an ability to deploy and sustain troops and police from around the globe, integrati ng them with civilian peacekeepers to advance multidimensional mandates. UN Peacekeepers provide security, and political and peacebuilding support to hel p countries make the difficult, early transition. UN Peacekeeping is guided by three basic principles: 1. Consent of the parties UN peacekeeping operations are deployed with the consent of the main parties to the conflict. This requires a commitment by the parties to a political process. Their acceptance of a peacekeeping operation provides the UN with the necessary freedom of action to carry out its mandated tasks. The fact that the main parties have given their consent to the deployment of a U nited Nations peacekeeping operation does not necessarily imply or guarantee tha t there will also be consent at the local level, particularly if the main partie s are internally divided or have weak command and control systems. Universality of consent becomes even less probable in volatile settings, characterized by th e presence of armed groups not under the control of any of the parties, or by th e presence of other spoilers.

2. Impartiality Impartiality is crucial to maintaining the consent and cooperation of the main p arties, but should not be confused with neutrality or inactivity. United Nations peacekeepers should be impartial in their dealings with the parties to the conf lict, but not neutral in the execution of their mandate. Just as a good referee is impartial, but will penalize infractions, so a peacekeeping operation should not condone actions by the parties that violate the undertakings of the peace pr ocess or international norms and principles. 3. Non-use of force except in self-defence, defence of mandate UN peacekeeping operations are not an enforcement tool. However, they may use fo rce at the tactical level, with the authorization of the Security Council, if ac ting in self-defence and defence of the mandate. In certain volatile situations, the Security Council has given UN peacekeeping operations robust mandates autho rizing them to use all necessary means to deter forceful attempts to disrupt the p olitical process, protect civilians under imminent threat of physical attack, an d/or assist the national authorities in maintaining law and order. This should n ot be confused with peace enforcement, as envisaged under Chapter VII. Robust peacekeeping involves the use of force at the tactical level with the aut horization of the Security Council and consent of the host nation and/or the mai n parties to the conflict. By contrast, peace enforcement does not require the c onsent of the main parties and may involve the use of military force at the stra tegic or international level. There are currently 17 UN peace operations deployed. They are ly to maintain peace and security, but also to facilitate the protect civilians, assist in the disarmament, demobilization of combatants; support the organization of elections, protect rights and assist in restoring the rule of law. called upon not on political process, and reintegration and promote human

Success is never guaranteed, because UN Peacekeeping almost by definition goes t o the most physically and politically difficult environments. ------------Peacekeeping is one among a range of activities undertaken by the United Nations to maintain international peace and security throughout the world. The other ac tivities are: 1. Conflict prevention: Involves diplomatic measures to keep intra-state or inte r-state tensions and disputes from escalating into violent conflict. It includes early warning, information gathering and a careful analysis of the f actors driving the conflict. Conflict prevention activities may include the use of the Secretary-General s good offices, preventive deployment of UN missions or con flict mediation led by the Department of Political Affairs. 2. Peacemaking: Generally includes measures to address conflicts in progress and usually involves diplomatic action to bring hostile parties to a negotiated agr eement. The UN Secretary-General may exercise his or her good offices to facilitate the re solution of the conflict. Peacemakers may also be envoys, governments, groups of states, regional organizations or the United Nations. Peacemaking efforts may a lso be undertaken by unofficial and non-governmental groups, or by a prominent p ersonality working independently. 3. Peace enforcement: Involves the application of a range of coercive measures, including the use of military force. It requires the explicit authorization of t he Security Council. It is used to restore international peace and security in s ituations where the Security Council has decided to act in the face of a threat to the peace, breach of the peace or act of aggression. The Council may utilize

regional organizations and agencies for enforcement action under its authority a nd in accordance with the UN Charter. 4. Peacebuilding: Aims to reduce the risk of lapsing or relapsing into conflict by strengthening national capacities at all levels for conflict management, and to lay the foundation for sustainable peace and development. It is a complex, lo ng-term process of creating the necessary conditions for sustainable peace. Thes e measures address core issues that effect the functioning of society and the St ate, and seek to enhance the capacity of the State to effectively and legitimate ly carry out its core functions. The boundaries between conflict prevention, peacemaking, peacekeeping, peacebuil ding and peace enforcement have become increasingly blurred. Peace operations ar e rarely limited to one type of activity. While UN peacekeeping operations are, in principle, deployed to support the implementation of a ceasefire or peace agr eement, they are often required to play an active role in peacemaking efforts an d may also be involved in peacebuilding. UN peacekeeping operations may use force to defend themselves, their mandate, an d civilians, in situations where the State is unable to provide security and mai ntain public order. -------Reforms of UNPk In March 2000, the SG appointed a Panel on United Nations Peace Operations to as sess shortcomings and make specific and realistic recommendations for change. Th e result, known as the Brahimi Report , after Lakhdar Brahimi, the Chair of the Pan el, called for: 1. Renewed political commitment on the part of Member States; 2. Institutional change; 3. Increased financial support. The Panel noted that in order to be effective, UN peacekeeping operations must b e properly resourced and equipped, and operate under clear, credible and achieva ble mandates. Following the Brahimi report, UN Member States and the Secretariat continued maj or reform efforts, including through: 1. Capstone Doctrine (2008), outlining the most important principles and guidelin es for UN peacekeepers in the field; 2. Peace operations 2010 (2006), containing the reform strategy of the Departme nt of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO); 3. 2005 World Summit, establishing the Peacebuilding Commission; 4. High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, setting out a broad frame work for collective security for the new century. 5. The New Partnership Agenda: Charting a New Horizon for UN Peacekeeping (2009 ) and its Progress Reports assess the major policy and strategy dilemmas facing UN peacekeeping today and in the coming years. They attempt to reinvigorate the dialogue with Member States and other partners on how to better adjust UN peacek eeping to meet current and future requirements. 6. Restructuring the peacekeeping department: The major structural change took p lace in 2007. To strengthen the UN s capacity to manage and sustain new peace oper

ations, the Secretary-General restructured the peacekeeping architecture by: a) Splitting DPKO into two, creating a Department of Field Support (DFS); b) Bolstering the support for new activities in DPKO; c) Augmenting resources in both Departments and in other parts of the Secretaria t dealing with peacekeeping. DFS developed the Global Field Support Strategy in 2010 aimed at transforming ser vice delivery to the field and adapting it to the requirements of today s UNPk oper ations. Once implemented, support to the field will become more predictable, pro fessional and flexible, while ensuring cost efficiencies and transparency. 7. Rates of reimbursement to troop contributing countries: In 2011, the GA decided to tackle this subject in a comprehensive manner. The GA requested the SG to establish a Senior Advisory Group to examine the rates. The SAG's membership includes five eminent persons of relevant experience, five rep resentatives from major troop contributors, five representatives from major fina ncial contributors and one member designated from each of the regional groups. T he SAG intends to complete its review by the summer of 2012, and its report will be submitted to the SG and then passed to the GA. 8. Conduct and discipline: The SG imposed a zero tolerance policy following allegations of sexual exploitat ion and abuse by UN peacekeepers in host countries. At the request of the SG, the then Permanent Representative of Jordan to the UN, Prince Zeid Ra ad Zeid Al-Hussein, produced the Zeid Report that recommended enga ging troop and police contributors, other Member States and the wider UN system in a new conduct and disciplining architecture for peacekeeping. In 2008, an UNwide strategy for assistance to the victims of sexual exploitation and abuse by UN personnel was adopted by the General Assembly. ----------Foreign law firms Pluses 1. International experience, knowledge in emerging areas 2. Better opportunities to young Indian lawyers 3. Competition: Cost-effective to clients and faster service 4. Expected to bring in much more LPO from abroad Minuses 1. May actually push up the cost of legal services 2. Best talent in Indian firms could migrate 3. Rate of attrition will go up 4. India is not prepared with regulations in place 5. Global law firms with deep pockets can buy up Indian firms ---------National Telecom Policy 2012 Adopted by the cabinet on May 31, 2012, released in public domain in June. Amon g other things, the policy aims to provide a single licence framework, un-bundle spectrum from licences, and liberalise spectrum. Previously, the central government had decided to unbundle spectrum and licenses for all future licences in January 2011. TRAI too in its recommendations sought to de-link spectrum from licences. The Supreme Court in the 2G judgment held t hat spectrum should not be allocated on a first-cum-first-serve basis and should instead be auctioned. TRAI has detailed the mechanism for auctioning spectrum. TRAI has also recommended moving to a unified licence framework under which a si

ngle licence would be required to provide any telecom service. It has also reco mmended that spectrum be liberalised so that any technology could be used to exp loit it. The new policy is in line with the government decisions and TRAI recommendations discussed above. The policy also aims to achieve higher connectivity and quali ty of telecommunication services. 1. Licensing: Presently, as per the 2003 Amendment to the 1999 Telecom Policy, there are two forms of licences Unified Service Licence (to provide any telegrap h service in various geographical areas) and Unified Access Service Licence (to provide basic and cellular services in defined service areas). The new policy t argets simplification by establishing a unified license for all telecom services and conversion to a single-license system for the entire country. It also seek s to remove roaming charges. 2. Spectrum: As of now spectrum bands are reserved on the basis of technology t hat may be used to exploit them. For instance, the 900 and 1800 bands are reser ved for GSM technology and 800 for use of CDMA technology. The new policy seeks to liberalise spectrum. Further, spectrum would be de-linked from all future l icenses. Spectrum would be refarmed so that it is available to be used for new technology. The policy aims to move to a system where spectrum can be pooled, s hared and traded. Periodic audits of spectrum usage would be conducted to ensur e efficient utilization of spectrum. The policy aims at making 300 MHz of additi onal spectrum available for mobile telecom services by 2017 and another 200 MHz by 2020. 3. Connectivity: The policy aims to increase rural tele-density from the current level of approximately 39% to 70% by 2017, and 100% by 2020. It seeks to provi de 175 million broadband connections by 2017 and 600 mln by 2020 at a minimum 2 Mbps download speed. Higher download speeds of 100 Mbps would be made available on demand. Broadband access to all village panchayats would be made available by 2014 and to all villages by 2020. The policy aims to recognise telecom, incl uding broadband connectivity, as a basic necessity like education and health, an d work towards the Right to Broadband . 4. Promotion of domestic industry: The policy seeks to incentivise and give pref erence to domestic telecom products in procurements that (i) have security impli cations for India; or (ii) are for the government s own use. It also seeks to est ablish a Telecom Finance Corporation to mobilise and channelise finances for tel ecom projects. 5. Legislations: The policy seeks to review the TRAI Act to remove impediments t o effective functioning of TRAI. It also seeks to review the Indian Telegraph A ct, 1885. The need to review the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 was also recognised in the 1999 Telecom Policy. -------------Cable digitisation Computers use digital signals to send and receive data. Although digital signals can only be in the state 1 (on) and 0 (off), complicated combinations of these two values are used to send or receive data. Using only binary (values 1 and 0), we can create a string of values that is interpreted by a computer to be someth ing more meaningful. The strength of using a digital system over analog is that the former are easier to transmit and offer less room for errors. This leads to accurate data that in turn leads to faster transmission rates and better productivity Today, nearly all electronic devices we use are digital. The main reason for the change from analog to digital is because digital signals are easier to transmit

and are more reliable. In analog technology, a wave is recorded or used in its original form. So, for e xample, in an analog tape recorder, a signal is taken straight from the micropho ne and laid onto tape. The wave from the microphone is an analog wave, and there fore the wave on the tape is analog as well. That wave can be read, amplified an d sent to a speaker to produce the sound. In digital technology, the analog wave is turned into numbers that are stored in the digital device. The big advantage of digital technology is that the recording does not degrade o ver time. As long as the numbers can be read, you will always get exactly the sa me wave. A set-top box (STB) or set-top unit (STU) is an information device that generall y contains a tuner and connects to a television set and an external source of si gnal, turning the signal into content which is then displayed on the television or other display device. STBs are used in cable television and satellite televis ion systems, to transform the signal from the cable or satellite to a form that can be used by the television set or other receiver. It enhances the quality of signal. There is improved quality of transmission and greater choice of content, albeit at a higher cost. The broadcasting industry has been suffering from poor bandwidth of analogue cab le, which will be resolved with digitisation. This will also plug leakages in th e revenue system by solving the problem of under declaration of subscribers. ----------Dokdo/Takeshima/Liancourt rocks Claimed by Japan, SK and DPRK. SK has stationed a coastguard centre there for decades. Surrounding waters valuable for fishing, docking point for ships. Gas reserves may lie nearby. Symbolise lingering historical grievances over Japan's lengthy colonisation of K orea. Lee Myung-Bak visited the islands in August 2012; Japan recalled its ambassador to SK. Japan has similar dispute with Russia over South Kuril islands, under Russian ad min but claimed by Japan which calls it Northern Territories or Southern Chishim a. ---------Japan's moves in APR After back-door negotiations, Japan and RoK decided to sign two agreements on 29 June 2012. They are: (a) Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agree ment (ACSA), which stipulates reciprocal provision of supplies such as food, wat er and fuel plus medical services when the two sides engage in joint military ac tivities; (b) a General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSMIA), whic h deals with the sharing of military intelligence. These agreements ought to be seen against both the countries? increasing concerns about the threat emanating from North Korean long-range missiles and nuclear weapons, and apprehensions abo ut China?s military power. Both the countries have similar agreements with the U S and other countries as well. However, protests from parliament, media and the public forced the RoK government to cancel the signing of the agreements. Even though realpolitik concerns motivated Japan and Korea towards the agreement s, the complexities of historical memories and long-standing disputes impeded th eir progress. Among older Koreans, the memories of Japan's colonisation

are still raw; Tokyo ruled the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945. The issue of 'comfort women' sexual slavery of Korean women by Japanese soldiers during the World War II continues to elicit strong reactions from the Koreans despite repea ted apologies and compensation. The territorial disputes over Takeshima islands, Koreans call the Dokdo/Tokdo, are still simmering. These issues make Koreans co ncerned about resurgence of Japanese military power. Senkaku/Dioyou/Tiaoyutai islands A flotilla of boats carrying Japanese nationalists, including parliamentarians, landed in Senkaku, triggering protests in China. In Aug 2012, Japanese police arrested 14 activists from China, Hong Kong and Mac au who had sailed to disputed islands claimed by China, Taiwan and Japan, which controls them. Five of the group were arrested on one of the islands, having swu m ashore. On 11 July 2012, three Chinese patrol vessels entered the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, and one of them repeated the next day as well. In September 201 0 a Chinese fishing trawler in the disputed area had skirted controversy. It triggered another showdown between Jap an and China. China maintained that it was a routine patrol to monitor the fishi ng moratorium in the East China Sea, which has been ongoing since 2010. Tokyo reacted sharply, and it call ed its ambassador to Beijing for discussions over the issue. There have been rec ent attempts by Tokyo Metropolitan government and Japan Central government to buy three of the islands from private owners. A senior US government official has indicated, for the first time, that Senkaku Islands fall within the scope of 1960 Japan-US Treaty under which the U S is required to defend Japan if it is attacked. The Japanese government already owns one of the five major Senkaku Islands i.e. Taisho Island and the other fou r were leased from the owners, the Kurihara family. Both China and Taiwan claim sovereignty over the islands Diaoyu in China and Tiaoyutai in Taiwan. Japan has also announced plans to build a port and ligh thouse once the islands are acquired, and to undertake marine r&d. A Chinese tyc oon has applied for Beijing's approval to authorise developing a leisure resort and is ready to send a survey team. In July, the Japanese PM said Japan would ac t resolutely including the use of Self Defense Forces if the need arose in case of a neighbouring country engaged in illegal acts on its territorial soil or wat ers, including Senkaku Islands. An event such as the first China-Japan-Korea Trilateral Summit, May 2012, Beijin g, offers a platform to discuss issues, and resolve disputes amicably. While SK and Japan have historical disputes, the two nations are US' closest allies in it s strategy to 'surround' China. -----------Zheng He A PLA navy training vessel named after Zheng He, the great Chinese admiral who m ounted seven expeditions to the Indian Ocean six centuries ago, is well on its w ay to complete its second global goodwill voyage within a decade. Zheng He, which left China s north-eastern port of Dalian in mid-April, arrived in Polynesia in the South Pacific after making port calls in Vietnam, Malaysia, In dia, Djibouti, Italy, Spain, Canada, Jamaica and Ecuador. By the time it returns home via the South China Sea, Zheng He would have covered a distance of more than 30,000 nautical miles (55,560 km) in a period of five m onths.

Designed for long-distance voyage and built in 1987, the vessel can cruise 10,00 0 nautical miles without refuelling. A replica of Admiral Zheng He s original trea sure ship is now under construction in Nanjing and expected to sail to the India n Ocean in 2014. -------------Ladli Laxmi scheme in Goa Cash incentive to prevent female foeticide. Rs 1 lakh for marriage of girls betw een 18 and 40, who are born and brought up in the state, and whose parents have been living there for 25 years. ------Parliamentary secretaries Many states in the Indian Union have instituted the post of Parliamentary Secret ary. A Parliament Secretary often holds the rank of Minister of State and has t he same entitlements and is assigned to a government department. Manipur, HP, M izoram, Assam, Rajasthan, Punjab, Goa are some of the states where MLAs have bee n appointed Parliament Secretaries by the Government. PILs filed in various High Courts on the matter have argued that the appointment of Parliament Secretaries is ultra vires the 91st Amendment of the Indian Const itution which introduced Article 164 (1A) to the Constitution. Article 164 (1A) provides for limiting the number of ministers in the state cabinets. The total number of ministers including the Chief Minister, has to be within 15 per cent of the total number of members of the legislative assembly of the state. Articl e 164 (1A) was inserted in the Constitution on the recommendation of the Nationa l Commission for Review of the Working of the Constitution headed by former Chie f Justice of India, M.N. Venkatachaliah on misuse and drainage of public money t o put a ban on over-sized cabinet. Various High Courts have deemed the appointment of Parliamentary Secretaries unc onstitutional and have ruled against such appointments often in the past. In 2009, in the case of Adv. Aires Rodrigues vs The State of Goa and others (as cited in Anami Narayan Roy vs. Union of India), a Division Bench of the Bombay H igh Court discussed the impact of arbitrary State action relating to appointment of Parliament Secretaries in Goa. It held that appointing Parliamentary Secret aries of the rank and status of a Cabinet Minister is in violation to Article 16 4 (1A) of the Constitution and set aside the appointment of two Parliamentary Se cretaries in the state government. In 2005, in Citizen Rights Protection Forum vs Union of India and Others (decide d on 18 August, 2005), the Himachal Pradesh High Court quashed the appointment o f Chief Parliamentary Secretaries and Parliament Secretaries. It held that (Parl iamentary Secretaries) are usurpers of public office since their appointments di d not owe their origin to any constitutional or legal provision, they having bee n appointed by person(s) not vested with the power of appointment . Recently, newspapers have reported that the Rajasthan High Court issued notices to thirteen Parliamentary Secretaries in a petition challenging their appointmen ts. Similarly, there have been news reports that the Punjab High Court has asked the state governments in Punjab and Haryana to provide information on appointment o f Chief Parliamentary Secretaries in the states. Punjab and Haryana have appoin ted 20 and 11 Chief Parliamentary Secretaries respectively. The High Court has o rdered the two states to submit details about the entitlements, facilities and p owers given to the Chief Parliamentary Secretaries. ---------------

Raghuram Rajan New chief economic advisor, former chief economist of IMF. DRAX The rural population is unable to benefit from the vast amount of information av ailable over the internet because of various limitations including illiteracy. C-DOT's Data Rural Application Exchange System tries to provide simplified appli cations that can interact with the rural population to help them with services s uch as e-governance, e-market, e-ticketing, e-education, etc. It has multi-lingu al support, audio announcements, visual-oriented, simple numeric keypad, etc. ---------Centre for development of telematics Its OBJECTIVES are: 1. Work on telecom technology products and services. 2. Provide solutions for current and future requirements of telecommunication an d converged networks including those of national importance especially related t o rural applications, strategic sector and security agencies. 3. Provide market orientation to R&D activities. 4. Build partnerships and joint alliance with academia, industry, solution provi ders, Telcos and other R&D organizations. 5. Support Telcos and service providers in the introduction of new technologies. 6. To strengthen the Indian telecom manufacturing base, by transfer of technolog ies developed by C-DOT ORGANISATION It is a registered society administered under the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Department of Telecommunications. The management compris es a governing council that provides policy guidelines and approves the annual b udget, a steering committee that reviews and monitors its performance, and a pro ject board responsible for implementation of its projects and day-to-day functio ning. ACHIEVEMENTS More than 30,000 CDOT exchanges have been installed. It has created a large rese rvoir of technical manpower in telecom, developed technology with low capital in vestment, and deployed equipment worth Rs 7,500 crore. CURRENT FOCUS Shared GSM Radio Access Network to give fillip to rural business. MAX-NG programme for bring VoIP and Broadband services to NER. NGN or Next Gen Network products and services. -------------ASEAN Car Rally, naval expedition of INS Sudarshini A car rally from Jakarta to Delhi and an expedition by an Indian Navy sail ship to 13 ancient and modern ports in the region will retrace India s historical road and maritime links with South East Asia over the next few months. INS Sudarshini a sail training ship of the Indian Navy will embark on a seven-mo nth expedition to modern and ancient ports in nine ASEAN countries from Septembe r 15 to March 26. The 7,448-km ASEAN-India car rally will be ceremonially flagge d off from Yogyakarta in Indonesia on November 26 and received by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and leaders of all the 11 ASEAN countries in Delhi on December 2 0.

The car rally and the expedition by INS Sudarshini will precede the India-ASEAN su mmit, which is being held in New Delhi from December 20 to 21 to mark the 20th a nniversary of New Delhi s engagements with the bloc. Both the events were apparently planned to demonstrate India s keenness to revive its historical road and maritime links with ASEAN nations as well as to re-asser t its role in a region of high strategic importance where the growing clout of B eijing is a cause of concern for New Delhi. When we drove through north-eastern states of the country, what overwhelmed us wa s the response of local people, who had a lot of expectations from the governmen t s Look East policy and were excited by the possibility of re-establishing the ro ad connectivity with South East Asia, said former additional chief secretary of K arnataka, Vatsala Watsa, who along with her husband Michael had taken part in th e 2004 rally. Only the roads in Assam, Nagaland and Manipur and some stretches i n Myanmar need to be upgraded to establish all-weather surface connectivity betw een North-East India and South-East Asia, because the highways in other countrie s are good. Apart from Kochi, Chennai and Port Blair, INS Sudarshini will call at 13 ASEAN po rts. The ship would pick up two naval officers or cadets of each country from th e first port of call in that country till the next port of call. ---------------X-48C Triangular plane NASA has successfully demonstrated a working prototype of the triangle-shaped pla ne of the future and it hopes the aircraft will become the next universally adopt ed design. The plane is a radical re-design of the traditional fixed-wing plane shape. It off ers greater internal volume for passengers and cargo, and is jointly developed w ith Boeing. ------Cambodia-Vietnam The Vietnamese Army invaded the Demacratic Kampuchea in 1978. Phnom Penh was cap tured within two weeks. Vietnam quickly set up a puppet regime, and the last Vie tnamese troop did not leave Cambodia untill 1989. During the decade of Vietnames e Rule, large chunks of Cambodian territory was annexed to Vietnam. The 1991 Paris Agreements on Cambodia guarantees its territorial integrity and o blige signatories, including China, to help defend Cambodia when there is an agg ression from a neighboring country. Cambodian nationalists lay claim to the Mekong Delta region of southern Vietnam, which they refer to as "lower Cambodia." The region was settled by ethnic Vietn amese only recently and has a Khmer minority of nearly one million. Cambodia is also disputing upstream dam projects by Laos, and involved in border disputes with Thailand near the Preah Vihar temple. -------------Columbia-Cauca state A United Nations independent expert has called on Colombia to advance the dialog ue process with indigenous authorities in the state of Cauca to find a solution to the recent military presence in the territory.

The dialogue process started after leaders of the Nasa tribe, in the northern pa rt of Cauca, started measures to expel Government military forces and members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which were occupying their t erritory. The forces clashed in the area over previous days, destroying property and injuring several people. The right of indigenous peoples to have autonomy over their land and the need to consult with their authorities before establishing any military presence there is in line with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. Adopted by the General Assembly in 2007, the Declaration recognizes indigenous p eople s right to self-determination and their right to freely pursue their economi c, social and cultural development, and develop past, present and future manifes tations of their culture in various forms. -Norway to Host Colombia-FARC Peace Talks One more attempt to find a negotiated solution to Latin America s longest running insurgency. Colombian government peace talks with leftist guerrillas to try and e nd Latin America s longest-running insurgency will begin next month in Norway befo re moving to Cuba, President Juan Manuel Santos said on Tuesday. Unlike past fai led negotiations with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrill as, however, there will be no ceasefire this time, Santos said in a national TV address. I ask the Colombian people for patience and strength, Santos said, announ cing the talks would start in the first half of October. There s no doubt it s time t o turn the page. While Colombians are hopeful Santos will succeed, he faces a mon umental task to reach peace with the FARC, which has holed up in Colombia s jungle territory since 1964 and imposed tough demands in past peace negotiations. In a video message broadcast to journalists in Cuba, the FARC s bearded leader Rodrigo Londono, known by his war alias Timochenko, urged a civilized dialogue to end the bloodshed. --------------UNRCCA Preventive diplomacy and early warning mechanisms play a role in settling disput es peacefully. The UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia was established in 2007 at the initiative of the governments of the five Central Asian countrie s and is based in Ashgabat, capital of Turkmenistan, UNRCCA is a special politic al mission which works to promote dialogue between the governments in finding so lutions for emerging problems and eliminating potential threats. The regional ce ntre can also play an important part by assisting Central Asian countries to nor malize the situation in Afghanistan, which affects the entire region. -----------Plan for free mobiles Proposal is to provide each BPL family with a mobile phone. Also planned is 200 minutes of free local talktime per month. Exact mechanism is not known yet. It m ay be linked to UID and bank account for financial inclusion. Mobiles are tools of empowerment, enabling instruments that can allow other bene fits to flow. The low-end mobile phones with limited talk time would be ideal for BPL families but coveted by few others, so no pilferage. Also, manufacturers benefit by incr eased footprint in rural areas, which they can later tap once the market emerges with development brought about by this very device. It can help farmers gain cr ucial market information, establish linkages with outlets and ensure timely sale of produce. It can also pave the way for doing away with PDS by the use of cash transfers th rough m-banking. There can be better targeting, and the government can do away w

ith procurement-storage-distribution costs of PDS. However, it may just be another populist scheme not very easy to implement. With an inefficient distribution network, it is doubtful the phones will reach the i ntended beneficiaries without recourse to middlemen who will only find a new sit uation to thrive in. Also, a lot of money is at stake, so there is scope for cor ruption in the delivery of the scheme for sure. Additionally, the government nee ds to first address the issue of supportive infrastructure for mobile phone usag e, like reliable and regular supply of electricity, sufficient service centres a nd customer care units. ----------------StanC Scandal On 6 August 2012, the New York Department Of Financial Services led by Benjamin M. Lawsky accused Standard Chartered of hiding $250 billion in transactions (ove r a decade) involving Iran and labelled it as a "rogue institution". They ordere d the company to appear and defend their actions or lose their charter as a bank in New York State. The New York Department Of Financial Services has documents showing a cover up of transactions that were allegedly used to fund terrorist gr oups in the Middle East. Standard Chartered will have the option to appear and d efend their charter. The next day however, the share price bounced back almost 7%, after UK politicia ns claimed the bulk of the accusations on the bank were from an "anti-British bi as", as US authorities try to undermine London's banking sector, and blame US ec onomic problems partly on the UK. Most of StanC's business is developing countries, and unlike most European finan cial institutions, it has continued reporting rising profits. It facilitates tra de between developed and developing countries by clearing dollar transactions in NYC. --------------New mining policy in Phillipines Seeks to harmonize the conflicting interests between big business and local comm unities to maximize the proper use of mineral resources for national development . First, the government expanded the areas closed to mining operations by includin g tourism development areas and prime agricultural lands in the designated no min ing zones. It declared a moratorium on new mining agreements until a revised law on revenue sharing is passed. Also, the granting of mining rights will be subjec t to competitive public bidding. To develop downstream industries for strategic metallic ores, a national industr ialization plan will be drafted in the next six months. To facilitate dialogue b etween all stakeholders and to oversee the implementation of government directiv es, a Mining Industry Coordinating Council will be established. A controversial provision in the new mining policy is the explicit prohibition f or local provincial and municipal councils to pass anti-mining laws. Green groups immediately denounced the new mining policy, which they claim is st ill biased in favor of mining liberalization and foreign plunder of the country s finite mineral resources. They pointed out that despite the purported expansion of no mining areas, the new policy would still allow the government to honor exist ing mining agreements. They also belittled the mining moratorium provision since the government can still give mining exploration permits.

-----------------Deferred action for childhood arrivals - DACA The US Department of Homeland Security has released a plan to grant deferred acti on to immigrant youths who were brought to the country as children. This could im mediately benefit more than 900,000 immigrants, who will not be deported for ano ther 2 years if their application is accepted. Immigrants may apply for deferred action if they have no valid immigration statu s; entered the United States before age 16; were 30 or younger as of June 15, 20 12; have lived continuously in the United States since June 15, 2007; have not b een convicted of specified criminal offenses or otherwise pose a threat to publi c safety; and are in school on the date the application is filed, have graduated from high school or earned a GED, or served in the military. Applications will only be considered for immigrants who are currently 15 or older. ---------------------Aid effectiveness Aid effectiveness is the effectiveness of development aid in achieving economic or human development (or development targets). Aid agencies are always looking f or new ways to improve aid effectiveness, including conditionality, capacity bui lding and support for improved governance. The Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness was held in Busan, South Korea from 29 November 2011 to 1 December 2011. The Forum brought together leaders, go vernment representatives, parliamentarians, civil society organisations and priv ate sector representatives from both developing and donor countries. The Forum sought to assess progress in improving the quality of aid against the agreed commitments and share global experiences in delivering the best results; and agreed upon a document to further effectiveness of aid and development effor ts and pursuit of the MDGs. South Korea held a large stake in the forum. It is a shining example of a countr y that has transformed from a net aid recipient to a net aid donor. The holding of the Forum in Busan allowed South Korea to share its own development experienc e, which has attracted a considerable amount of research in the country since 20 08. Senior officials from Nigeria and Indonesia will join Andrew Mitchell of the UK on a panel on development effectiveness bringing together traditional aid donors , developing countries and emerging economies. The panel is a direct outcome of the Busan forum. The new panel is the linchpin of the new global partnership on development co-operation, moving away from the model dominated by the OECD devel opment assistance committee. A political body, the global partnership s role is to maintain the momentum for more effective development cooperation and ensure acc ountability for implementing the commitments agreed at Busan. The important cave at at Busan was participation of emerging economies should be on a voluntary bas is. ------------Typhoon Saola The worst flooding to hit the Philippines since 2009 is wreaking havoc on the ca pital. Nineteen people were reported killed since Tuesday, bringing the death tol l to 72 since steady rains started when Typhoon Saola hit northern portions of t he main Luzon island in late July. Financial markets reopened after being shut o n Tuesday, but schools and many businesses shut for a second day. Some public of

fices suspended operations on Wednesday afternoon. Jesse Robredo, the interior s ecretary, said the government has started drawing up plans to permanently reloca te residents along riverbanks and coastal areas to reduce property and human los ses during the rest of the typhoon and monsoon season. The national disaster age ncy said on Wednesday morning that at least 850,000 people were stranded or disp laced, many seeking relief at crowded temporary shelter areas. --------Ekta Parishad http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ekta_Parishad http://www.ektaparishad.com/en-us/jansatyagraha2012march/aboutjs2012march.aspx ------------ICGLR United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged the Great Lakes regional grouping to help resolve the security crisis in the eastern DRC. Agreed on in 2007 by the leaders of 11 countries, the Pact on Security, Stabilit y and Development in the Great Lakes Region sets out four areas of cooperation t o help consolidate peace in Great Lakes area: security, democracy and governance , economic development, humanitarian and social welfare. The International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) convened an Extra ordinary Summit to discuss the situation. The eastern DRC particularly its provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu has been plagued by violence over the past few months as a group of renegade soldiers kn own as the 23 March Movement (M23) has been active in the area. The M23 has clashed with national army troops, which have been supported by peac ekeepers from the UN Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO), and has caused massive displacement of local residents, in addition to raising concerns about t he region s stability, especially in light of reports that the M23 has received ou tside support (from Rwanda). The fighting in eastern DRC has uprooted nearly half a million people over the p ast four months, including some 220,000 people in North Kivu province, 200,000 i n South Kivu province, and more than 51,000 who have fled to Uganda and Rwanda. Last week, the Security Council reiterated its condemnation of the M23 and its d emand that its fighters cease efforts to destabilize the eastern DRC. Council me mbers also voiced their deep concern at the worsening humanitarian situation in the region, and demanded that all support to the armed group, including from out side the country, cease immediately. In his message to the ICGLR meeting, the Secretary-General also noted that the u nderlying issues involved in the situation are deeply intertwined, and include th e extension of state authority, the neutralization of the armed groups, the retu rn of refugees, the illegal exploitation of natural resources and the strengthen ing of military, police and other security institutions. http://www.observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=20268:-great -lakes-ministers-for-neutral-force-in-drc&catid=34:news&Itemid=114 --------Boeing 747-8 Operated first by Lufthansa, arrived at New Delhi as its first stop in Asia. Has lengthened fuselage. redesigned wings.

Fourth gen version of B747. Enhanced cabin comfort, reduces cabin noise by 30%. ------Indian masterpiece shown to be solid bronze (January 2012) Research recently revealed that the Rijksmuseum s monumental bronze statue of Shiv a was cast in solid bronze. The thousand year-old temple statue was X-rayed, alo ng with the lorry transporting it, in the most powerful X-ray tunnel for contain ers of the Rotterdam customs authority. It is the first research of its kind on a museological masterpiece. At 153 cm x 114.5 cm, the Rijksmuseum s Shiva is the largest known bronze statue f rom the Chola Dynasty (9th to 12th century) kept in a museological collection ou tside of India. Given its weight (300 kg), the statue has always been suspected of not being hollow, as has been common practice in Europe since the Greek Antiq uity. As part of an earlier investigation, an X-ray was taken of the statue in a Rijksmuseum gallery in 1999 while visitors were evacuated as a precaution again st radiation. Unfortunately, the equipment used at the time (280 KeV) was not po werful enough to determine anything definitively. The Rotterdam X-ray tunnel of the Rotterdam customs authority offered a solution. Complete surprise The Rijksmuseum renovation project has provided conservators and curators the op portunity to carry out in-depth research on special pieces from the Rijksmuseum collection, including this masterpiece from the Asian Art Collection. The statue was created ca. 1100 in South India. Each temple had its own set of bronze stat ues which were carried through the city during major temple festivals. This give s the statues their name: utsavamurti, which is Sanskrit for festival images . Chol a bronzes were considered masterpieces of Indian bronze casting. Anna Slaczka, curator of South Asian Art, comments, We had expected that the stat ue itself would prove to be solid, but it was a complete surprise to discover th at the aureole and the demon under Shiva s feet are also solid. The 12th-century Shiva Nataraja is on loan from the Vereniging van Vrienden der Aziatische Kunst (Association of Friends of Asian Art). --------------Carbon tax A Pigovian tax (also spelled Pigouvian) is a tax applied to a market activity th at generates negative externalities. The tax is intended to correct the market o utcome. In the presence of negative externalities, the social cost of a market a ctivity is not covered by the private cost of the activity. In such a case, the market outcome is not efficient and may lead to over-consumption of the product. In the presence of positive externalities, those who receive the benefit do not pay for it and the market may under-supply the product. Similar logic suggests t he creation of Pigovian subsidies to make users pay for the extra benefit and sp ur more production. A carbon tax is a Pigovian tax levied on the carbon content of fuels. It is a fo rm of carbon pricing. Carbon is present in every hydrocarbon fuel and is release d as CO2 when they are burnt. In contrast, non-combustion energy sources wind, s unlight, hydropower, and nuclear do not convert hydrocarbons to CO2. CO2 is a he at-trapping greenhouse gas. Since GHG emissions caused by the combustion of foss il fuels are closely related to carbon content of the respective fuels, a tax on these emissions can be levied by taxing the carbon content of fossil fuels at a ny point in the product cycle of the fuel.

Carbon taxes offer a potentially cost-effective means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. They help to address the problem of emitters of greenhouse gases not facing the social costs of their actions. A number of countries have implemented carbon taxes or energy taxes that are rel ated to carbon content. Most environmentally related taxes with implications for greenhouse gas emissions in OECD countries are levied on energy products and mo tor vehicles, rather than on CO2 emissions directly. Opposition to increased env ironmental regulation such as carbon taxes often centres on concerns that firms might relocate and/or people might lose their jobs. It has been argued, however, that carbon taxes are more efficient than direct regulation. Many large users o f carbon resources in electricity generation, such as the USA, Russia and China, are resisting carbon taxation. ------------Hydroponics Hydroponics is a subset of hydroculture and is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil. Terrestrial plants may be gr own with their roots in the mineral nutrient solution only or in an inert medium . Advantages No soil is needed for hydroponics. The water stays in the system and can be reus ed - lower water costs. It is possible to control the nutrition levels in entire ty. No nutrition pollution is released into the environment because of the controlle d system. Pests and diseases are easier to get rid of than in soil because of the containe r's mobility. It is easier to harvest. Also, hydroponics can be used in places where in-ground agriculture or gardening are not possible. Disadvantages Without soil as a buffer, any failure to the hydroponic system leads to rapid pl ant death. Pathogen attacks caused by the high moisture levels associated with hydroponics and over watering of soil based plants. Also, many hydroponic plants require different fertilizers and containment syste ms. Aeroponics is the process of growing plants in an air or mist environment withou t the use of soil or an aggregate medium. Aeroponic culture differs from both co nventional hydroponics and in-vitro (plant tissue culture) growing. Unlike hydro ponics, which uses water as a growing medium and essential minerals to sustain p lant growth, aeroponics is conducted without a growing medium. Because water is used in aeroponics to transmit nutrients, it is sometimes considered a type of h ydroponics. ---------Recruitment to Foreign Service from other departments The IFS increasing its numbers by recruiting from other government departments i s a necessary step. Currently, the IFS is woefully understaffed. With approximat ely 800 officers across its embassies and headquarters, it looks modest before C hina's 6,000. It's time the IFS actually starts to recruit expertise from outside the confines

of government alone. This is the time to pull together expertise from the world s of business, art, culture, social activism and sport. India has a wide range o f well-known personalities in these fields. Why not use their skills to further Indian interests globally? America routinely requests well-known persons from academia, enterprise or commu nity work to join its diplomatic projects. Such recruits bring fresh perspective and practical experience. Free from bureaucratic career limitations, the pressu res of sycophancy or systemic corruption, they are excellent resources for can-d o answers and new enthusiasm. Foreign service in the modern world isn't mystic M andarin-speak where objectives are wrapped up in abstruse language and rituals. Foreign service today is sharp, bright, clear and focussed, something a dynamic expert from the real world could pull off as well as a trained diplomat. The move by the ministry of external affairs, to bring in more technical experti se and recruit officers from different ministries would bring into the foreign s ervices the ineptitude and the red tape that has been the bane of the Indian bur eaucracy. Our diplomats need to be trained professionals. Bringing in people fro m outside the government is not a good idea either. Academics would have no idea how to push the national interest, while people drawn from the private sector w ould boost their own companies or businesses. Moreover, such back-door appointme nts will increase the discretionary powers of the government and add to nepotism and inefficiency. There would be nothing against prize foreign postings going t o relatives of well-connected politicians. Bringing in more talent and expertise into the foreign service requires better w ays of bringing the best and brightest into its fold. The main reason for the gr owing dearth of talent in the foreign office is the official apathy to increasin g the size of the foreign services in tune with the needs of the expanding econo my and the growing role of India on the world stage. Consequently the Indian For eign Service has lost its lustre. A good move to bring back the primacy of forei gn services would be to delink recruitment from the CSE and evolve a better fram ework to identify persons with a skill for diplomacy and languages. Such a speci alised exam would bring in much-needed expertise and also allow for early traini ng to meet the needs of diplomacy. A systematic approach will serve our needs be tter than making ad hoc appointments. ----------UNPOS United Nations efforts to achieve peace, reconciliation and stability in Somalia after nearly two decades of lawlessness and conflict are led and coordinated by the United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS). Stepping up the UN s political support to the Somali transition, UNPOS relocated t o Mogadishu from Nairobi in January 2012. The relocation demonstrates the strong commitment of the UN to work alongside the Somali people and their leaders to b uild peace andpolitical stability. UNPOS was first established in 1995 and operates under a mandate from the United Nations Security Council. Under the leadership of the Special Representative of the Secretary General, UNPOS is playing an important role in furthering an incl usive peace process and in mobilizing assistance for the Transitional Federal Go vernment of Somalia (TFG). UNPOS works to promote the rule of law inside Somalia , which is key to stopping piracy and armed robbery off the coast. The UN's strategic objective in Somalia is to consolidate the yet fragile peace process, including by assisting the TFG in broadening its support and establishi ng dialogue with opposition forces, and by strengthening Transitional Federal In

stitutions of Somalia. The UN-brokered Djibouti Peace Agreement, signed between the TFG and the opposition Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS) in Au gust 2008, was a major step forward in the peace process. The agreement led to t he election in January 2009 of Mr. Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, chairman of the A RS, as President of Somalia. Amid pervasive violence fuelled by extremists who refuse dialogue, UNPOS is stri ving to meet the TFG's immediate needs in the areas of stability and security, n ational reconciliation, government functionality and humanitarian assistance. The signing of the UN-facilitated Kampala Accord on 9 June 2011 between the Pres ident of Somalia, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and the Speaker of Parliament, Shar if Hassan Sheikh Aden, ended five months of political deadlock and will help def ine the end of the current transitional period. The Security Council has indicated its intention to establish a UN peacekeeping mission in Somalia, contingent upon political and security developments on the g round, including continued progress in the peace process and improvement of the security environment. Meanwhile, UNPOS works to raise international assistance and training to strengt hen the Somali security institutions and AMISOM. Since its establishment in 2007 , AMISOM has played a key role in stabilizing the security situation in Mogadish u, protecting the TFG and facilitating the delivery of humanitarian assistance. --------Somali constitution The new constitution promises many things. It says every citizen shall have the right to free education up to secondary school. It describes female circumcision widely practised in Somalia as tantamount to torture, and bans it. It says chil dren should not be used in armed conflict. All well and good. But the constituti on appears to exist in a parallel universe, a fantasy land, when compared with t he reality on the ground in Somalia. Although security is improving in some part s of the country, Somalia is more a patchwork of semi-autonomous statelets than a unified territory. The Islamist militia al-Shabab occupies significant parts o f Somalia, and carries out terror attacks in Mogadishu and other places. Content ious issues remain unresolved, including allocation of power and resources betwe en the centre and the regions. This is where ferocious arguments are likely to d evelop, and possibly become violent. If this happens, the transition process in which so much time, money and hope has been invested would simply cause the comp lexion of the Somali conflict to change, rather than bringing it to an end. Marred by Political expediency, secrecy, exclusion and hastiness http://www.e-ir.info/2012/09/02/revisiting-the-un-controlled-constitution-making -process-for-somalia/ --------Somalia: National security and stabilisation plan A presidential decree on Somalia's National Security and Stabilization Plan (NSS P) is in keeping with its recent progress in progressing towards end of its temp orary governing arrangement. The development of the NSSP through the Somali regions of Navaisha, Puntland, Ga lkayo, Nairobi and now Mogadishu has been inclusive, participatory, led and owne d by Somalis. According to UNPOS, the NSSP provides the immediate, medium- to lo ng-term priority actions required to strengthen security and justice sector inst itutions in Somalia and promoting human rights and RoL.

After decades of warfare, Somalia has been undergoing a peace and national recon ciliation process, with the country s Transitional Federal Institutions implementi ng the Roadmap for the End of Transition, devised in September 2011. The Roadmap spells out priority measures to be carried out before the transitional governin g arrangements end on August 20. Developments include the National Constituent Assembly s adoption of the new Somal i provisional constitution, an important milestone in achieving stable and accou ntable government. Somalia s Provisional Constitution was overwhelmingly approved by a representative body convened for that purpose. There are reports of possible attempts to use bribery, intimidation, violence an d other unfair means to affect the coming selection of parliamentarians, as well as the election of speaker, deputies and the president. Until last year, most of Mogadishu, was, for several years, riven by a fluid fro ntline dividing the two sides fighters belonging to the Al Shabaab militant grou p and troops belonging to the Somalia Government, with the latter supported by t he UN-backed African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). Since the Al Shabaab withdrawal from the capital in August 2011, the frontlines have been pushed back to the surrounding area. However, the use of roadside bomb s, grenades and suicide bombers still takes place vote on the Provisional Consti tution took place despite a suicide bomb attack attempt on the venue. In addition, Government forces have been on an offensive against the Al Shabaab, which still controls parts of Somalia, mainly in its south-central regions. -------Some challenges ahead It is uncertain how far the reach of the new government will be in terms of prov iding security, with only a few thousand trained soldiers composing the Somali N ational Army. Much of the burden of countering militant groups and protecting ci vilians will continue to fall to the much larger UN-funded African Union mission AMISOM for the near future. The rest of the burden seems to have been taken on by the United States. The U.S . has established several air bases throughout East Africa, from which unmanned aircraft are launched and used to target Somali militants. With al-Shabaab openl y allying itself with al-Qaeda, the US stepped up their campaign, with the eithe r implicit or explicit support of the TFG, though not always in coordination wit h the United Nations. It is unlikely that a new Parliament will act to end these missions on their territory. Ransoming of ships attacked on the high seas remains nearly synonymous with Soma lia. According to the International Marine Bureau s Piracy Reporting Center, pirac y so far this year has been the cause of 13 hijackings in the seas surrounding S omalia, with 212 hostages currently being held. This statistic, combined with th e fact that the majority of Somalia s natural resources, including charcoal, remai n under embargo due to their sale by warlords and militants, will make an econom ic comeback difficult. ---------Lessons for Nepal from Somalia The most important reason why Somalia became a total failed state was the inabil ity to find consensus to govern the country after getting rid of Saed Baree who introduced scientific socialism and ruled the country with an iron fist. No one thought what next and how to mitigate the expectations of citizens and provide g ood governance in the ensuing days. Squabbling amongst groups that collectively fought to get rid of the dictator reached its peak; and position and power grabb

ing became the only priority of political parties. Fed up with absence of order and Governance, people started to form groups on th e basis of clan patronage, which eventually became the order of the day at the c ost of rule of law and statehood. Also, failure to capitalize the growing economic potentials of the next-door nei ghbor. The Middle East just across the red sea was booming with its oil economy. Enterprising Somalis established their commercial avenues in those countries an d not in Somalia, technocrats and literate people migrated and took refuge in ot her countries due to the sickening political climate of the country. Nepal is al so far from realizing the potentialities of the growing economic super powers in the north and south. Exodus of technocrats, educated mass and the potential wor kforce shows clear similarities with Somalia of the early 80s. Peace and stability is not easy to come by. Reconciliation and rebuilding are no t simple issues as everyone envisions. There is a great social divide created by spilling of blood, which will take generations to erode. ---------------Shooting in Sinai checkpoint Kerem Shalom crossing in Eshkol Kerem Shalom is a kibbutz affiliated with the Eshkol Regional Council on the Gaz a Strip-Israel-Egypt border. In the Sinai Desert that borders Israel, masked gunmen attacked Egyptian soldier s there. At least 15 soldiers are dead. Security has deteriorated sharply in tha t area since longtime President Hosni Mubarak's ouster last year. The peace treaty with Israel limits the number of Egyptian security forces allow ed on the border with Israel. And military analysts say without amending the tre aty, Egypt's security forces are simply outgunned. Adding to the violence is the increase of weapons being smuggled in from Libya, from small arms to rockets. I n the last two months, two separate Islamist groups released videos claiming att acks in June and July - one that killed an Israeli, and another that killed two Egyptian conscripts. Rafah is now surrounded by Egyptian armed forces, and the crossing is closed ind efinitely. ----------Iran Asks Turkey and Qatar to Help Free Hostages in Syria A busload of Iranian men was intercepted by Syrian rebels. The Rebels say they w ere being sent to help bolster the Assad regime. Tehran says they are religious pilgrims. Iran has asked Turkey and Qatar to help secure the release of 48 Irania n pilgrims seized in the Syrian capital by rebels, who say the captured men are actually in Syria to fight against opponents of president Bashar al-Assad. Irani an media said on Saturday that a bus load of Iranians were abducted by gunmen wh ile on a pilgrimage in Syria, the latest in a string of kidnappings of visitors from the Islamic Republic, a country allied to Mr Assad. But the rebels accuse I ran of sending fighters from its Revolutionary Guard to help Mr Assad s forces put down an uprising against his regime, charges Tehran denies. Tehran has accused Turkey and Qatar of helping rebels fighting to topple Mr Assad, but several Iran ians previously abducted in Syria though have been released to Turkish authoriti es. In an attempt to defuse the situation, Turkey s foreign minister Ahmet Davutog lu and his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani, have a greed to seek the mens release. ---------------

M4 Carbine rifles Assault rifles used by US Navy SEALS in Operation Geronimo (Osama killing) to be inducted into Indian army's Special Forces battalion for use in counter-terror ops. Amitabh Ghosh Amitabh Ghosh, chair of the science operations working group at NASA Mars Explor ation Rover Mission, was a key member of the team that zeroed in on the Gale cra ter location where Curiosity will land after flying more than 350 million miles in the last eight months. Renjith Kumar CEO of a company (Analytical Mechanics Associates) which was closely involved wi th the rover's Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL), or what is now being famously called the "seven minutes of terror". Avanish Kumar Dev HR GM who was killed in a riot triggered by labour unrest at a Maruti factory in Gurgaon. ------NAM's Palestine meet cancelled A meeting of a Non-Aligned Movement's Palestine committee that includes India, t o support a Palestinian bid for upgraded UN membership, was cancelled at the las t minute after Israel refused to allow representatives of five countries to ente r West Bank. The meeting was of representatives of the committee with Palestinian Authority ( PA) leadership. Ministers and representatives were to meet in the West Bank city of Ramallah and sign a declaration in support of a fresh Palestinian bid, seeking upgrading of its status from observer to non-member state. Ministers from Bangladesh, Malaysi a, Indonesia, Cuba and Malaysia were denied permits to enter Ramallah as they do not have diplomatic relations with Israel. The session was meant to introduce NAM members to the Palestinian situation and to ask for their support should the Palestinian Authority ask to become a non-me mber state in the UN General Assembly. The meeting aimed to stress the right of Palestinians to hold conferences on their land. The committee was to issue a Declaration of Ramallah after the meeting, to be pres ented at the NAM conference in Tehran. The request was then to be put to the UNGA on September 27. The representatives were to be flown by helicopter from a Jordanian airport to R amallah; that requires Israeli permission. --------------R2P The responsibility to protect is a norm or set of principles based on the idea t hat sovereignty is not a privilege, but a responsibility. RtoP focuses on preven ting and halting four crimes: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing, which it places under the generic umbrella term of Mass Atroc ity Crimes. The responsibility to protect can be thought of as having three parts. A State h as responsibility to protect its population from mass atrocities. If the State i

s unable to protect its population on its own, the international community has a responsibility to assist the state by building its capacity. This can mean buil ding early-warning capabilities, mediating conflicts between political parties, strengthening the security sector, mobilizing standby forces, and many other act ions. If a State is manifestly failing to protect its citizens from mass atrocit ies and peaceful measures are not working, the international community has the r esponsibility to intervene at first diplomatically, then more coercively, and as a last resort, with military force. In the international community RtoP is a norm, not a law. RtoP provides a framew ork for using tools that already exist to prevent mass atrocities. Civil society organizations, States, regional organizations, and international institutions a ll have a role to play in the operationalization of RtoP. The authority to employ the last resort and intervene militarily rests solely wi th United Nations Security Council and the General Assembly. Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter sets out the UN Security Council's pow ers to maintain peace. It allows the Council to "determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression" and to take mili tary and nonmilitary action to "restore international peace and security". ----------India-Germany -- History: Max Mueller, Weber -- Part of G4, both are temporary members of UNSC at present. -- Year of Germany in India (2011-12) and vice versa in 2012-13. -- India's 5th largest trading partner, largest in Europe. -- 8th largest investor in India. -- Indian pharma companies moving towards investments in Germany. ---------Operation New Dawn The transition to Operation New Dawn, Sept. 1,2010 marks the official end to Ope ration Iraqi Freedom and combat operations by United States forces in Iraq. During Operation New Dawn, the remaining 50,000 U.S. service members serving in Iraq will conduct stability operations, focusing on advising, assisting and trai ning Iraqi Security Forces (ISF). Operation New Dawn also represents a shift fro m a predominantly military U.S. presence to one that is predominantly civilian, as the Departments of Defense and State work together with governmental and nongovernmental agencies to help build Iraq s civil capacity. Why is this important for the Army? The transition to Operation New Dawn represents the U.S. commitment to the gover nment and people of Iraq as a sovereign, stable country that will be an enduring strategic partner with the United States. This has been made possible by the im proved capability of the ISF to take the lead in securing their country. New Dawn also signifies the success of the responsible drawdown of forces and th e redeployment of thousands of U.S. Soldiers, as well as the return or transfer of war fighting equipment to the U.S. or to combat troops fighting in Afghanista n. -----------Burqa ban in Europe The veil issue is part of a heated debate about multiculturalism in Europe. The issues involved are religious freedom, female equality, secular traditions and e ven fears of terrorism (visibility of Islam) On Tuesday, a parliamentary commission in Italy approved a draft law banning wom en from wearing in public a burqa, niqab, hijab or any other garb that covers th

e face In April 2011, France barred women from leaving their home with their face hidde n behind a veil Three months later in July, a law banning the full face-veil came into effect in Belgium In Spain, Barcelona has imposed a ban on full face-veils in public spaces; at le ast two smaller towns in Catalonia, the region that includes Barcelona, have als o imposed similar bans In September the Dutch govt has also decided on such a ban, in a deal with the r ight-wing. France followed this up by banning street prayers. Cameron's comments on Indian dance not being a sport. ----------------Nutrient based subsidy The government has decided to shift from the earlier Product Based Subsidy(PBS) to Nutrient Based Subsidy(NBS) for fertilisers, with effect from April 2010. Und er the new system subsidy will be given to the individual nutrient in the fertil iser, as per its weight in the fertiliser, than a blanket subsidy for the whole product. The subsidy applies to 3 primary nutrients N, P and K; one secondary nu trient Sulphur and two micro nutrients Zinc and Boron. The scheme is applicable to controlled fertilisers other than urea. The main objective of the policy was to reduce the nutrient imbalance in the soil, which had arisen due to the extens ive use of nitrogenous fertilisers. Further it is hoped that such a policy would incentivise innovation in fertiliser products. Drawbacks 1. Many other micro nutrients such as Molybdenum, Iron, Calcium etc have been le ft out of the NBS regime. Thus the policy cannot truly ensure the restoration of soil health. 2. The subsidy is computed on the basis of the current landed import price of so me the complex fertilisers. Thus if the international prices go up or if the rup ee weakens against dollar, the subsidy allocation will have to go up. Hence this policy does not address the fiscal concerns of the government. --------The Piracy Bill, 2012 The Piracy Bill, 2012 was introduced in Lok Sabha on April 24, 2012 by the Minis ter of External Affairs, S M Krishna. According to the statement of objects and reasons, piracy as a crime is not incl uded in the IPC. This has led to problems in prosecution of pirates presently in the custody of Indian police. The Piracy Bill intends to fill this gap and pro vide clarity. The Bill prescribes that its provisions shall also extend to India's Exclusive E conomic Zone. The Bill defines piracy as any illegal act of violence or detention for private en ds by the crew or passengers of a private ship or aircraft on high seas or at a place outside jurisdiction of any State. It also prescribes that any act which is held to be piratical under international law shall be included in the above def inition. The Bill seeks to punish piracy with imprisonment for life. In cases where pira cy leads to death, it may be punished with death. The Bill also lays punishment

s for attempts to commit and abet piracy. Such acts shall be punishable with imp risonment up to 14 years and a fine. The Bill provides that if arms/ ammunition are recovered from the possession of the accused, or if there is evidence of threat of violence, the burden of proof for proving innocence shall shift to the accused. The Bill empowers the government to set up designated courts for speedy trial of offences and authorizes the court to prosecute the accused regardless of his/ h er nationality. It also provides for extradition. --------------The Public Procurement Bill, 2012 The Public Procurement Bill, 2012 was introduced by the Ministry of Finance in t he Lok Sabha on May 14, 2012. This Bill seeks to regulate and ensure transparen cy in the procurement process. A procuring entity could be a Ministry or Department of the central government, any Central PSU, any company in which the government has a stake of more than 50 %. This Bill shall not apply to procurements which are less than Rs 50 lakh, emerge ncy procurements made for disaster management, and procurement for the purpose o f national security. The basic norms that the procuring entity shall adhere to include: (a) ensuring efficiency, economy and transparency; (b) fair and equitable treatment to bidder s; (c) promote competitiveness; (d) ensure the quality is consistent with the pr ice of the bid; and (e) prevent corruption. The Bill also defines a Code of Integrity for the procuring entity or Central Pu rchase Organization (CPO) as well as the bidders. It prohibits acceptance of bri be, collusion, misrepresentation, coercion or threat, and obstruction in the aud iting process of the procurement made. The procuring entity shall first determine the need for the procurement and esti mate the cost of the procurement based on certain specified matters. It may pub lish information regarding planned procurements. The CPO shall not limit participation of bidders or discriminate against or amon gst bidders except for the protection of public order and morality, animal/plant life, intellectual, national security. The central government may make procurement mandatory from certain bidders only on the grounds of promotion of domestic industry, socio economic policy, or othe r considerations in public interest. The procuring entity may specify certain requirements for the qualification of b idders. It may also engage in a pre-qualification process prior to inviting bid s. Pre-qualification shall ordinarily be for a single procurement. The CPO may maintain a panel of registered bidders to help identify reliable bid ders for certain class of procurements. The procuring entity may make modifications to the bidding document or issue cla rifications before the last date of submission of bids. It may allot extension o f time for submitting the bids if clarifications need be taken into account whil e submitting bids.

The evaluation criteria of the procurement bids shall include among other factor s the price; cost of operating, maintaining, and repairing the goods; time for d elivery and completion; terms of payment and guarantee; and qualities such as re liability, and functional competence. The Bill provides for exclusion of a bid if the procuring entity determines that the bidder is not qualified; bid contains false information; conflict of intere st involved; a bribe or gratification given by a bidder; etc. The six methods of procurement listed in the Bill are (a) open competitive biddi ng, (b) limited competitive bidding, (c) single source procurement, (d) two-stag e bidding, (e) electronic reverse auction, and (f) request for quotation and sto ck purchase. The Bill provides for a Central Public Procurement Portal to ensure transparency in the procurement process. Information such as pre-qualification document and details of bidders shall be displayed on the Portal. The central government shall constitute one or more independent procurement redr essal committees. Any prospective bidder aggrieved by decision of the CPO may f ile an application with such a committee. The Bill states different degree of penalties for offences such as taking gratif ication in respect of procurement, interference with the process, making frivol ous or malicious complaints, and abetment of offences. The central government shall debar a bidder if he has been convicted of an offen ce under Prevention of Corruption Act, 1998 and the IPC. A bidder shall be deba rred from the procurement process if he breaches the code of integrity for a per iod not exceeding two years. --------The Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University Bill, 2012 The Bill seeks to establish an agricultural university in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh. The jurisdiction of the university shall extend to the Bundelkhand region (cov ering 7 districts in Uttar Pradesh and 6 in Madhya Pradesh). Initially, it would establish two colleges in Jhansi and later two in MP. The key objectives shall be to impart education in different branches of agricul ture and allied sciences, undertake research in agriculture, undertake programme s of extension education and promote linkages with national and international in stitutes. The university shall have the power to make provision for instruction in agricul ture, to grant degrees and diplomas on the basis of examination, to provide lect ures for people not enrolled as students such as field workers and village leade rs, and establish colleges related to agriculture, horticulture, fisheries, dair ying etc, and to fix such fees as may be prescribed in Statutes. The university shall be open to all irrespective of sex, caste, race or class. It can however make special provisions for women, persons with disabilities, or persons belonging to weaker sections of society. The President shall be the Visitor of the university and shall have the right to get the university inspected or inquired into. The annual accounts shall be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General of I ndia at least every year. This report shall also be submitted to the Visitor.

Every employee of the university shall be appointed under a written contract. I f there is a dispute, it shall be referred to a Tribunal of Arbitration consisti ng of a nominee of the employee, a nominee of the university and an umpire appoi nted by the Visitor. The decision of the Tribunal shall be final. Similar provis ion shall apply in case of dispute with students over disciplinary action. --------------Land Titling Bill The Department of Land Resources in the MoRD has released a draft version of The Land Titling Bill, 2011 on its website. The Bill provides for the registration of all immovable property to establish a system of conclusive, electronically recorded titles. It also provides for a mec hanism to invite objections and for the resolution of disputes through special t ribunals. The property record will be considered as conclusive ownership by the person mentioned. Given that land is a state subject, the Bill is meant to be a model law for adop tion by states individually. The Bill establishes a Land Titling Authority at th e State level. The Authority s task is to prepare a record of all immovable proper ties. These records will contain (a) survey data of boundaries of each property; (b) a unique id number for each property, which may be linked to a UID number; (c) an y record created by an officer of the state or UT government authorised by the l aws of that state to make such records; and (d) a record of Title. The Bill provides for the government to create Title Registration Offices at var ious places, and for a Title Registration Officer (TRO) to function under the su pervision of the Land Titling Authority. The TRO will have powers of a civil co urt and is charged with the task of creating a Register of Titles. The Bill proposes to set up a District Land Titling Tribunal, consisting of one or more serving officers not below the rank of Joint Collector / Sub Divisional Magistrate of the District. The government may also establish one or more State Appellate Tribunals, to be presided over by serving Judicial Officers in the ran k of District Judge. Revisions to the orders of the State Land Titling Appellate Tribunal may be made by a Special Bench of the High Court. When preparation of the Record for whole or part of a specific are is complete, it will be notified. Any person aggrieved by the notified entry in the Register of Titles may file an objection before the District Land Titling Tribunal within three years. Additionally, the person may file an application with the TRO for an entry to be made in the Register of Titles. The TRO shall do so when the appl ication has been admitted to the Tribunal. Minor errors in the Title of Registers can be rectified through an application t o the TRO. Entries in the Register of Titles will serve as conclusive evidence of ownership . These entries shall be maintained in electronic form, indemnified, and kept in the public domain. ----------Benami transactions Benami property transactions are a major source of black money. A large part of the land, house and flat purchases in the country are benami. These transaction s are used to hide money made illegally and to evade taxation and other laws. B enami deals are also used for speculation. They artificially increase the prices

, heat up the market and make property unaffordable for the needy. A new bill proposes confiscation of property acquired under fictitious names or in the name of relatives and friends. But it leaves out properties purchased in the name of the spouse, brothers, sisters or any linear ascendant or descendent. This is a flaw as majority of benami transactions are in name of these relative s. The prescribed punishment for violation of the law in terms of fine and jail ter ms is also not stringent enough. The new definition of benami property, clearly laid down procedures to implement the law and the conferment of greater powers o n implementing officials may help to curb this malpractice. It may not be possible to check benami transactions and the circulation of black money only with the help of legislation. There is pervasive official corruption . Land records are not maintained properly. Properties are almost always underv alued at the time of registration. Though buyers and sellers have to establish i dentity and payments have to be made by cheque, the rules are not always observe d. ------------Peace park A Transboundary Protected Area (TBPA) is a protected area that spans boundaries of more than one country or sub-national entity, where the political border sect ions that are enclosed within its area are abolished. This includes removal of a ll human-made physical boundaries, such as fences, allowing free migration of an imals and humans within the area. A boundary around the area may however be main tained to prevent unauthorised border crossing. Such areas are also known by ter ms such as transfrontier conservation areas (TFCAs) or peace parks. The preserva tion of traditional animal migration patterns, ensuring sufficient food and wate r sources for population growth, are the primary reason for the creation of peac e parks. Peace parks however also encourage tourism, economic development and go odwill between neighbouring countries, as well as facilitating travel of indigen ous inhabitants of the area. Qazinag National Park is a commissioned future national park in the Baramulla di strict in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is part of a proposal for a trans-K arakoram Peace park with Pakistan. Following the ceasefire after Kargil War, and based on mounting pressure to conserve the rare Markhor wild goat, the Governme nt of India, based on the recommendations of the Wildlife Trust of India, commis sioned a new national park near Uri close to the Line of Control, the internatio nal jurisdiction boundary with Pakistan. The park will be carved out of the Limb er and Lachipora wildlife sanctuaries and the Nagnari conservation reserve. ------------Mumia Abu Jamal, born Wesley Cook Convicted of the 1981 murder of a policeman and sentenced to death in the US. He was the face of the international debate on the appropriateness of death senten ce as a punishment. He was finally removed from death row in January 2012. Shanti Tigga Outperformed some male colleagues in physical tests to become the first woman ja wan, joining the Territorial Army. Women are allowed to join the armed forces o nly as officers in non-combat units. Anil Kakodkar Indian nuclear physicist who is currently chairing a committee to look into rail way safety.

--------Silent observer In a significant victory for the state government in its drive against female fo eticide, the Bombay high court on Friday upheld Kolhapur district collector s deci sion to make it mandatory for all pathologists using sonography and ultrasound m achines to install the silent observer , a device which records all sonography imag es, which are then stored in a centralised server, and can be reviewed later to track instances of foeticide. Adopt a female foetus Instead of totally banning sex determination, which the government has failed to do, another idea is to be flexible on allowing sex determination if families so choose and in case it is a female foetus, the government will adopt' it. Under the scheme, the government would ensure the safety of the foetus until it is born through its network of anganwadi workers, auxiliary nurse midwives and a ccredited social health activists. For this, the workers would be awarded huge c ash incentives. The mother and the family would also be given generous incentive s. All India Democratic Women s Association (AIDWA) has strongly condemned the Planni ng Commission s proposal to promote the adoption of unwanted female foetuses in a bi d to stem the continuous decline in child sex ratios. It should be noted that the ban on sex selection was achieved after a long strug gle by women s and health rights organisations, in the face of stiff opposition fr om certain sections of the medical profession who have utilised existing son pre ference to earn huge amounts of money by indulging in sex selective practices, a statement issued by the president Shyamali Gupta and general secretary Sudha Su ndararaman said. The Planning Commission s regressive move, made in the name of flexibility and choi ce tantamounts to accepting the argument that sex selection is a matter of freedom of choice , which has already been struck down by the courts while upholding the PC&PNDT Act. The solution is not to incentivise the adoption of female foetuses, but to encoura ge the birth of girls with a slew of economic and social measures that will help to root out the discrimination faced by them. -----------Virus and worm A Virus is a program or piece of code that is loaded onto your computer without your knowledge and runs against your wishes while a worm is a program or algorit hm that replicates itself over a computer network and usually performs malicious actions. A worm usually exploits some sort of security hole in a piece of softw are or the operating system. A virus does not replicate itself on the host system while a worm is capable of replicating itself on the host system creating a huge devastating effect. Computer viruses can spread by sharing infected files, emails with viruses as at tachments in the email while worms normally move around to infect other machines through computer networks. Almost all viruses are attached to an executable file , which means the virus ma y exist on your computer but it actually cannot infect your computer unless you run or open the malicious program i.e. a virus cannot be spread without a human action. Worms spread from computer to computer, but unlike a virus, it has the c apability to travel without any human action. A worm takes advantage of file or information transport features on your system, which is what allows it to travel unaided The harm caused by the virus may range from harmless messages displayed on the s creen to crashing the system while that by a worm is a huge consumption of syste m memory due to the replicating nature which causes the web servers, network ser

vers and individual computers to stop responding. ---------MFIDR Bill The Micro Finance Institutions (Development and Regulations) Bill aims to addres s regulation for all microfinance institutions. Though RBI broadly accepted the Malegam Report in May 2011, many specifics were lacking, and only regulation for microfinance institutions operating as NBFCs was addressed. The new bill includ es all forms of MFIs, providing a comprehensive legislation for the sector. About a year ago, the government of Andhra Pradesh the State that accounts for n early a third of microfinance business in the country introduced tough rules to clamp down on such practices as overcharging customers and employing coercive me thods to recover loans. If enacted, the new Bill, which empowers the central gov ernment to override existing laws, might give the MFIs some relief, but there is very little chance they will be allowed to go back to their old ways. For its p art, Andhra Pradesh has voiced its opposition to several of the provisions and p ointed out that, even if the RBI became the principal regulator, it would be wel l within its jurisdiction to exercise control over money lenders and check usuri ous practices. Provisions of the Bill A micro finance institution (MFI) is defined as an organisation, other than a ba nk, providing micro finance services. These services are defined as micro credi t facilities not exceeding Rs 5 lakh in aggregate, or with the Reserve Bank s (RBI ) specification Rs 10 lakh, to each individual. Other services like collection o f thrift, pension or insurance services and remittance of funds to individuals w ithin India also come under micro finance services. The Bill allows the central government to create a Micro Finance Development Cou ncil with officers from different Ministries and Departments. This council will advise the central government on policies and measures for the development of M FIs. In addition, the Bill allows the central government to form State Micro Fin ance Councils. These will be responsible for coordinating the activities of Dis trict Micro Finance Committees and reviewing MFIs in their state. District Micro Finance Committees review the development of micro finance activities within th e district, monitor over-indebtedness and monitor the methods of recovery used b y MFIs. These committees can be appointed by the RBI. The Bill requires MFIs to obtain a certificate of registration from the RBI. The applicant needs to have a net owned fund of at least Rs 5 lakh. The RBI should also be satisfied with the general character or management of the institution. Every MFI will have to create a reserve fund and the RBI may specify a percentag e of net profit to add to this fund. There can be no appropriation from this fu nd unless specified by the RBI. At the end of every financial year, MFIs are required to provide an annual balan ce sheet and profit and loss account for audit to the RBI. They will also have to provide a return detailing their activities within 90 days of the Bill being passed. Any change in the corporate structure of a MFI, such as a shut down, amalgamatio n, takeover or restructuring, can only take place with approval from the RBI. The RBI has the power to issue directions to MFIs. This could include extent of assets deployed in providing micro finance services, ceilings on loans or raisin g capital. The RBI has the authority to set the maximum annual percentage rate c harged by MFIs and set a maximum limit on the margin MFIs can make.

The RBI shall create the Micro Finance Development Fund. Sums raised by the RBI from donors, institutions and the public along with the outstanding balance from the Micro Finance Development and Equity Fund form this fund. The central gove rnment, after due appropriation from Parliament, may grant money to this fund. The fund can provide loans, grants and other credit facilities to MFIs. RBI is responsible for redressal of grievances for beneficiaries of micro financ e services. The Bill allows the RBI to impose monetary penalty of upto Rs 5 lakh for any contravention of the provisions. No civil court will have jurisdiction against any MFI over any penalty imposed by the RBI. The Bill gives the central government the authority to delegate certain RBI powe rs to the National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development or any other centra l government agency. The central government has the power to exempt certain MFIs from the provisions of the Bill. -----------NCDs Three out of every five deaths are caused by NCDs like cancer, stroke, diabetes and CVD. What s worse, deaths caused by these diseases are expected to increase by 15% in the next decade from 36 million in 2008 to 44 million in 2020. In 2030, it will cross the 50 million mark. 80% of these deaths occurred and will occur i n low and middle income countries, according to the WHO. Chronic NCDs deliver a two-punch blow to development. They cause billions of dol lars in losses of national income, and they push millions of people below the po verty line, each and every year. NCDs also kill at a younger age in countries like India where 29% of NCD deaths occur among people under the age of 60, compared to 13% in high-income countries . CVD, cancer, respiratory disease and diabetes account for around 80% of all NCD deaths, and share four common risk factors: tobacco use, physical inactivity, ha rmful use of alcohol and poor diets. Poverty contributes to NCDs and NCDs contribute to poverty. Finland reduced CVD mortalityrate by 75 per cent, and Japan achieved a 70 per ce nt drop in strokes by mandating a reduction in salt content of packaged foods. M any countries have introduced chilling pictorial warnings on cigarette packets a nd are rotating them annually in keeping with WHO guidelines. In April 2011, UN health ministers agreed to the Moscow Declaration, which calls for coordination on NCDs, with a focus on the developing world. As countries develop, infectious deaths fall and NCD deaths rise. Rich countries have managed to get infectious diseases largely under control, with slow declin es in disability from NCDs. In contrast, today's low- and middle-income countrie s will face stubbornly high burdens from NCDs due to the pace of transition. Unhealthy diets. Many experts say increased consumption of fast food, processed foods, and soft drinks contributes to excessive intake of salt, saturated fats, and sugar, which are significant risk factors for diabetes, obesity, cardiovascu lar disease, and some cancers. Overall, globalization has contributed to a growt h in diets heavy in meat products, vegetable oils, sugar. Some experts say NCD risks could be significantly reduced through nutritional la beling, regulations limiting certain fats, regulations for marketing products to children, and reformulation of processed food. Though some large food companies have signed onto efforts to reduce salt, fat, and sugar, some health activists

worry that this is more a marketing measure than commitment to good health. Howe ver, consumers are already trending toward health-conscious packaged foods. Physical inactivity. The WHO estimates that approximately 3.2 million people die annually from illnesses related to physical inactivity. It is estimated that in sufficient physical active leads to a 20 to 30 percent increased risk from all c hronic diseases. Tobacco use. The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which went into effect in 2005, is expected to be the basis for further action on reducing tobacco use , which most experts agree would help reduce NCDs. The treaty focuses on marketi ng bans, public awareness, raising taxes, preventing sales to minors, and contro l the illicit trade of tobacco products. Alcohol abuse. According to the WHO, alcohol is the third-highest risk factor fo r disease burden after underweight childhoods and unsafe sex. Harmful drinking ( primarily binge drinking and heavy daily drinking) can be a major determinant fo r neuropsychiatric disorders, cardiovascular diseases, cirrhosis of the liver, a nd various cancers. A draft of a UN declaration on NCDs is being debated. -----------MMDR Bill Mine and Mineral Development and Regulation (MMDR) Bill 2011 proposes to set up a district development fund, where the money collected from the 26 per cent prof it sharing by coal miners and an amount equivalent to 100 per cent of royalty fo r non-coal miners, will be deposited and will get spent on local population and area development. Apart from compensating the displaced people, the draft also says that the minin g firms will have to bear a combined cess of up to 12.5 per cent on the royalty paid to states and the Centre. This includes 10 per cent cess to state governmen ts on the royalty payment, while 2.5 per cent levy will be charged by the Centre . FICCI and Assocham have opposed the draft bill, saying that it would make Indi a the most-taxable country for the miners and would be a disaster to the sector. In the case of mining, the problem is not as widespread as in the case displacem ent of people for industry. But it is equally complex and difficult because the impact on people is the same. There is need to balance fairplay, justice and peo ple s rights with the viability and profitability of mining enterprises which are vital for the country s development. But the law may not be easy to implement because assessing profits in mining op erations may be problematic. There may be chances of misrepresentation and falsi fication of accounts. Adequate safeguards should be provided against that. Under the contemporary deregulated neo-liberal policy framework, the exploitatio n and plunder of natural resources, including minerals, by domestic corporates a nd multinational mining companies has intensified. But resistance by affected co mmunities across the world has also grown and is reflected in the establishment of an international framework through ILO and UN Conventions, which recognise in varying degrees the rights of indigenous and tribal communities to ownership, c ontrol and management of land and resources traditionally held by them either in dividually or as a community; the right to a decisive role in decision making fo r development needs in their areas; and the right to prior, free and informed co nsent to any projects in their areas. In India, ownership of minerals lies with the State. However, the Central govern ment which has control over all major minerals, and most State governments which have control over minor minerals like sand, stone, granite, have promoted priva tisation through leasing mines to private companies apart from handing over capt

ive mines to corporates. The MMRDA Bill aims to further deregularise and liberalise the mining sector and encourage privatisation based on the recommendations of the Hoda Committee. It introduces the concept of high technology reconnaissance, prospecting and explor ation licences, and easy terms of conversion to mining leases to encourage the e ntry of FDI and foreign companies. It also gives weightage, in the allocation of leases, to a set of criteria which favour such companies and also allows them a ctivity on much larger tracts of land. While the principle of mandatory payment by companies is necessary, the problem in the MMRDA is that these funds are to be under the control of a district miner al foundation dominated by mine owners and the bureaucracy with a nominal repres entation of local communities. When the affected people do not have a decisive s ay in the management of such funds, mismanagement is inevitable. Also, rates of royalties in India are notoriously low. The very premise of the scheme replicates the patron-client relationship, which has reduced tribal communities into recipients of charity, instead of owners of the land and its resources. The Bill gives legal sanction to the arbitrary rights of governments, both at th e Centre and the States, to give different types of licences and leases from rec onnaissance to exploration, prospecting and finally extraction without any proce dure for even consulting, leave alone taking the consent of tribal communities. The only reference to consultation (not consent) is for the grant of licences fo r minor minerals in Fifth and Sixth Schedule areas where the gram sabha or the D istrict council, as the case may be shall be consulted. Thus even the provisions under other laws such as the Panchayat Extension (to Schedule Areas) Act (PESAA ), which mandates consultation with the gram sabhas, are violated by the complet e absence of any consultative process prior to the granting of lease for major m inerals, which are the main sites of tribal deprivation. -----------Sports governance issues 1. Accountability and transparency in functioning of national sports bodies (Cov erage under RTI). 2. Setting up a National Sports Development Council, headed by an eminent athlet e. 3. Fair and transparent elections, and strictly enforcing age limit and tenure f or office bearers. 4. Sports minister should not contest election to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) or a federation until the expiry of five years after demitting office. 5. Inclusion of athletes in decision making and ensuring membership and voting r ights. 6. A sports ombudsman to deal with grievances and disputes relating to sports or ganisations. 7. Rules for the prevention of sexual harassment, age fraud and anti-doping. Haryana model: Annual talent hunt for sports scholarships; financial security by promising jobs, etc. -----------GEOENGINEERING INTRODUCTION ? Geoengineering or climate engineering proposes to deliberately manipulate the earth s climate to counteract effects of global warming from GHG emissions.

? IPCC concluded in 2007 that geoengineering options remained largely unproven. ? Geoengineering accompanies mitigation and adaptation to form a 3-stranded 'MA G' approach to tackling global warming. ? Some geoengineering techniques based on carbon sequestration seek to reduce g reenhouse gases in the atmosphere directly. These include direct methods (carbon dioxide air capture) and indirect methods (ocean iron fertilization). ? Solar radiation management techniques don t reduce GHG concentrations, and can only address the warming effects of carbon dioxide and other gases; they cannot address problems such as ocean acidification, which are expected as a result of rising carbon dioxide levels. Examples of proposed solar radiation management te chniques include the production of stratospheric sulfur aerosols, space mirrors, and cloud reflectivity enhancement. ? To date, no large-scale geoengineering projects have been undertaken. Some li mited tree planting and cool roof projects are already underway, and ocean iron fertilization is at an advanced stage of research. Field research into sulfur ae rosols has also started. ? Some commentators have suggested that geoengineering presents a moral hazard because it threatens to reduce the pressure for emissions reduction. Typically, scientists and engineers proposing geoengineering do not suggest that they are a n alternative to emissions control, but rather an accompanying strategy. PROPOSED STRATEGIES The proposed strategies broadly fall into the categories of either Solar radiati on management or Greenhouse gas remediation. Besides, there is Arctic geoenginee ring. The basics of different methods/strategies are summarised below. HEAT TRANSPORT The use of vertical ocean pipes to mix cooler deep water and warmer surface wate r has been proposed. This technology has also been suggested for the disruption of hurricanes by Bill Gates and others in a recent patent application. OCEAN NOURISHMENT Ocean Nourishment is a type of geoengineering based on the purposeful introducti on of nutrients to the upper ocean to: ? increase marine food production, and ? to sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The marine food chain is based on photosynthesis by marine phytoplankton which c ombine carbon with inorganic nutrients to produce organic matter. The production of organic matter is limited in general by the availability of nutrients, most commonly nitrogen or iron. Numerous experiments have been done demonstrating how iron fertilization can increase phytoplankton productivity. Nitrogen is a limit ing nutrient over much of the ocean and can be supplied by a number of sources i ncluding fixation by cyanobacteria. Carbon-to-iron ratios in phytoplankton are m uch larger than carbon-to-nitrogen or carbon-to-phosphorus ratios, so iron has t he highest potential for sequestration per unit mass added. IRON FERTILIZATION ? Iron fertilization is the intentional introduction of iron to the upper ocean to stimulate a phytoplankton bloom. This is intended to enhance biological prod uctivity, which can benefit the marine food chain and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. ? Iron is a trace element necessary for photosynthesis in all plants. It is hig hly insoluble in sea water and is often the limiting nutrient for phytoplankton growth. Large phytoplankton blooms can be created by supplying iron. ? The most recent open ocean trial of ocean iron fertilization, dubbed LOHAFEX, was conducted from January to March 2009 in the South Atlantic. ? Fertilization occurs naturally when upwellings bring nutrient-rich water to t he surface, as occurs when ocean currents meet an ocean bank or a sea mount. Thi s form of fertilization produces the world's largest marine habitats. Fertilizat ion can also occur when weather carries wind blown dust long distances over the

ocean, or iron-rich minerals are carried into the ocean by glaciers, rivers and icebergs. SULFATE AEROSOLS ? The ability of stratospheric sulfate aerosols to create a global dimming effe ct has made them a possible candidate for use in geoengineering projects. Delive ry of precursor sulfide gases such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S) or sulfur dioxide ( SO2) by artillery, aircraft and balloons has been proposed. ? If found to be economically, environmentally and technologically viable, such injections could provide a "grace period" of up to 20 years before major cutbac ks in greenhouse gas emissions would be required. ? According to estimates by the Council on Foreign Relations, one kilogram of w ell placed sulfur in the stratosphere would roughly offset the warming effect of several hundred thousand kilograms of carbon dioxide. SPACE SUNSHADES Space sunshade or sunshield can be described as analogous to a parasol that dive rts or otherwise reduces some of a star's rays, preventing them from hitting a p lanet, which results in less heating of the planet. A sunshade is of particular interest towards mitigating global warming through solar radiation management. SPACE MIRRORS The proposal is to station one or more wire-mesh "mirrors" in orbit to deflect s unlight back into space or to filter it. In January 2007, The Guardian reported that the US government was recommending that research on sunlight deflection, in cluding space mirrors, be continued as insurance and that the next United Nations Report on Climate Change advocate such a strategy. Space mirrors were first cons idered in the 1980s as a way to cool the climate of Venus. It is worth studying such ideas further despite their high cost, the doubtful feasibility of some inc luding the space mirror, and the risk of their distracting attention from reduct ion of greenhouse gas emissions. CLOUD REFLECTIVITY ENHANCEMENT Cloud reflectivity enhancement is also known as marine cloud brightening or clou d whitening. An opposite scheme exists to reduce the reflectivity of higher, col der cirrus clouds. It is a geoengineering technique that works by solar radiatio n management. By modifying the reflectivity of clouds, the albedo of the Earth i s altered. The intention is that this technique, in combination with greenhouse gas emissions reduction will be sufficient to control global warming. Compared t o other climate modification strategies, this technique is relatively simple and benign, being based as it is on natural processes of ocean spray. It can theref ore be deployed quickly for further research, and can then be rolled out on an e ffective scale relatively cheaply after that. The effect is expected to be fully reversible, as the cloud condensation nuclei particles precipitate naturally. CLOUD SEEDING Cloud seeding is the attempt to change the amount/type of precipitation that fal ls from clouds, by dispersing substances into the air that serve as cloud conden sation or ice nuclei, which alter the microphysical processes within the cloud. The usual intent is to increase precipitation, but hail and fog suppression are also widely practiced in airports. Terpenes are released by trees (esp. conifero us trees) more actively during warmer weather, acting as a natural form of cloud seeding. The clouds reflect sunlight, allowing the forest to regulate its tempe rature. COOL ROOF A cool roof is a roofing system that can deliver high solar reflectance (ability to reflect the visible, infrared and ultraviolet wavelengths of the sun, reduci ng heat transfer to the building) and high thermal emittance (the ability to rad iate absorbed, or non-reflected solar energy). Most cool roofs are white or othe

r light colors. Cool roofs enhance roof durability and reduce the urban heat isl and effect. Also known as albedo, solar reflectance is expressed either as a decimal fractio n or a percentage. A value of 0 indicates that the surface absorbs all solar rad iation, and a value of 1 represents total reflectivity. Another method is the so lar reflectance index (SRI), which incorporates both solar reflectance and emitt ance in a single value. SRI quantifies how hot a surface would get relative to s tandard black and standard white. Cool roof can also be used as a geoengineering technique to tackle global warmin g based on the principle of solar radiation management, provided that the materi als used not only reflect solar energy, but also emit infra-red radiation to coo l the planet. Further, it can reduce the need for air conditioning, which causes CO2 emissions which studies have shown worsen global warming. BIOCHAR (Separate note prepared by Shankar circulated earlier) CDR Carbon dioxide removal or Carbon dioxide air capture is a form of carbon capture , and part of a potential process of carbon sequestration. It removes carbon dio xide from ambient air by carbon dioxide scrubbing. It is regarded as coming unde r the greenhouse gas remediation branch of geoengineering. Some commentators reg ard air capture as a form of carbon capture and storage, but CCS is usually used to describe capture at source rather than capture from ambient air. CDR methods are notably supported by IPCC chief Rajendra Pachauri. ARCTIC GEOENGINEERING Temperatures in the Arctic region have tended to increase more rapidly than the global average. Projections of sea ice loss that are adjusted to take account of recent rapid Arctic shrinkage suggest that the Arctic will likely be free of su mmer sea ice sometime between 2059 and 2078. Various geoengineering schemes have been suggested to reduce the chance of significant and irreversible effects suc h as Arctic methane release. Several proposals have been made which are specific to the Arctic. They are usually hydrological in nature, and principally centre upon measures to prevent ice loss. --------------------Stratospheric Particle Injection for Climate Engineering (SPICE) is a United Kin gdom government-funded geoengineering research project that aims to assess the f easibility of injecting particles into the stratosphere from a tethered balloon for the purposes of solar radiation management. ----------Algal food, feed, energy Simplicity, ubiquity and near-term availability. The first, simplest, and fastest-growing life form, algae can be a pivotal resou rce for the planet's future as the basis for a high quality biodiesel that doesn 't siphon food from humans. And it s not just a fuel. It s animal feed, human food and the building block for a wide range of biodegradable bio-plastics to replace petroleum-based plastics. And algae does all this as it grows by absorbing enormous amounts of CO2, the gr eenhouse gas we need to reduce. With its prodigious growth habit, algae under cultivation does need to be carefu lly controlled. Algal blooms occur naturally, but they are also triggered by che mical and agricultural pollution. It s a serious problem and must be considered wh en designing algae farms in the open rather than in the controlled environments

of bio-digesters, as most biodiesel is currently produced. But unlike a nuclear chain reaction, even if allowed to bloom excessively, algae will inflict consequ ences nowhere near those of a meltdown. In 2012, the US Navy will launch what it calls a Green Strike Group, a flotilla of ships powered by a 50 per cent algae-based fuel. By 2016, the Navy plans to l aunch a Great Green Fleet, a carrier strike group composed of hybrid electric sh ips and aircraft propelled by biofuels including algae and nuclear-powered vesse ls. Technological solutions have grown so complicated and costly that a surfeit of i nessential features ends up defeating the core capabilities. -------Danger of oil spills in Arctic waters As sea ice disappears and open water seasons last longer, the High North has bec ome the oil industry's new frontier, offering potentially billions of barrels of oil from deep offshore wells in return for huge technical, safety and financial risks. Conservationists argue it is only a matter of time before a spill devastates som e of the least polluted waters in the world. So far, the industry has mostly worked onshore or in shallow, easily accessible waters off Alaska. The worst spill was the Exxon Valdez tanker, which sank in 19 89, with the effects still felt today. The major oil companies are all now preparing to move into areas where a spill w ould not just be almost impossible to clean up, but could take years to even con trol. 1. A relief well might not be completed in the same drilling season, leading to oil gushing out unchecked for up to two years. 2. Oil would become trapped under ice, making it impossible to remove. 3. Apart from having only a few months to do any cleaning or remedial work, airs trips are remote, fog and snowstorms can ground workers for weeks at a time and it would be impossible to bring many boats for a clean-up for any time to the Ar ctic. 4. Sea ice can envelop oil and transport it considerable distances. A blowout du ring autumn would spread contamination further than it could be tracked and conc entrate oil in ice holes through which marine mammals breathe. Each major marine oil production area in the United States has seen at least one catastrophic spill: the 1969 blowout of a drilling rig off the coast of Santa B arbara, California; the 1989 Exxon Valdez tanker spill in Alaska; and the 2010 D eepwater Horizon blowout in the Gulf of Mexico. --------h2.o initiative Launched by UN-Habitat and Google with focus on drinking water and sanitation go als of the MDGs. Provides a common, real-time online platform for data collected by groups around the world, presenting them as interactive maps, providing opportunity for commu nity participation in data collection. Includes citizen report cards, data uploading through mobile phones, etc. ------------Climate-smart agriculture

Food needs are projected to increase by 70 percent by 2050 when the global popul ation reaches 9 billion, while climate change is projected to reduce yields. Climate change will affect agriculture through higher temperatures, greater crop water demand, more variable rainfall and extreme events such as heat waves, flo ods and droughts. Many impact studies point to severe crop yield reductions in t he next decades without strong adaptation measures particularly in Sub-Saharan Afr ica and South Asia. These are areas where rural households are highly dependent on agriculture and farming systems are highly sensitive to climate. While agriculture is the sector most vulnerable to climate change, it is also a major cause, directly accounting for about 14 percent of greenhouse gas emission s (IPCC 2007). And yet, agriculture can be a part of the solution: helping peopl e to feed themselves and adapt to changing conditions while mitigating climate c hange. It is possible for agriculture to actually sequester or absorb carbon into the soil rather than emitting it. This can be done without the trade off with productivit y and yields. It is possible to have higher yields, more carbon in the soil and greater resilience to droughts and heat. This is called the `triple win : interven tions that would increase yields (poverty reduction and food security), make yie lds more resilient in the face of extremes (adaptation), and make the farm a sol ution to the climate change problem rather than part of the problem (mitigation) . This will require a package of interventions that is country and locality specif ic. This method of practicing agriculture is called `Climate Smart Agriculture . B y increasing the organic content of the soil through conservation tillage, water -holding capacity increases, making yields more resilient and reducing erosion. Promoting soil carbon capture also helps mitigate climate change. Another example is integrated soil fertility management that can lower fertilize r costs, increase soil carbon and improve yields. Climate-smart agriculture gives attention to landscape approaches, for example, integrated planning of land, agriculture, forests, fisheries and water to ensure synergies are captured. These can be further strengthened by adding better weat her forecasting, more resilient food crops and risk insurance to cover losses. If yields increase through such practices and become more stable, it results in improved farm incomes. A more stable income helps enhance the adaptive capacity of farmers. China has been a leader with programs such as the Loess Plateau now internationa lly famous. Brazil has also invested in good quality research and extension and is demonstrating these triple results. And small-holder farmers in Kenya are alr eady receiving cash payments on a pilot basis for new farming techniques that wi ll hold more carbon in the soil, even while increasing soil fertility. ----------Mid-Himalayan Watershed Development Project The creation of carbon sinks through afforestation - part of the World Bank-supp orted US $75 million Mid-Himalayan Watershed Development Project - is likely to produce a net gain of Rs 20 crores to the communities of the region in the next 20 years. The fiscal incentive has triggered a renewed interest in protecting the afforested lands. Operative since May 2004, the BioCarbon Fund is a public/private initiative admi nistered by the World Bank that aims to deliver cost-effective emission reductio ns, while promoting biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation. The proje

ct is helping farmers to act like a producer company - selling carbon credits to potential clients. Of the many variants of this economy, the forest-based carbon-sequestering model has been positioned as a win-win system that connects the developed with the d eveloping economies. Further, it helps develop new institutions and institution al mechanisms to manage environment and ecosystem services that accrue from it. It has been argued that this first-of-its-kind project in the mountains will not only generate environmental benefits but will improve the revenue-generating c apacity of small farmers as well. Through restoration of highly vulnerable degra ded lands in the districts of Kangra and Bilaspur, silviculture activities are expected to generate 343 person-days of employment from each hectare of land as well. The recent agreement between the Government of Himachal Pradesh and the World Ba nk, in force till December 2018, ensures that the carbon revenue will go the vi llage community, providing them the necessary incentives to protect their water shed and forests. However, 10 per cent of the total carbon revenue will accrue t o the Forest Department as overhead charges. The carbon credits from such projects are sold as Certified Emissions Reductions (CER); the villagers get the cash whereas the elusive 'credit' accrues to the buyer, whose carbon emissions are offset by the price he pays to buy the credits . The landowners must ensure that the tree density is no less than 1100 plants per hectare; that no felling of trees from the land under the project is permitted ; and that no part of the land brought under such plantations shall be diverted for any non-forestry purposes. Only from the private land will the beneficiary be able to draw 90 per cent of t he carbon revenue, from village common land and forest land the prime recipient would be the village panchayat itself, which will distribute the revenue in acc ordance with the rights and obligations of the relevant user groups. Does the mechanism not provide developed countries with a cheap alternative to r educing their own greenhouse gas emissions? It is argued that such projects pro mote cost-effective carbon reductions through 'off-setting' projects located in developing countries, while simultaneously allowing developed countries to cont inue business-as-usual. Several projects have only secondary objective of promot ing sustainable development in host countries. CERs have seemingly remained under-priced. Earning a maximum of Rs 7000 a year f rom protecting a hectare of afforested land doesn't really seem like a lot. Dec laring large tracts as wasteland is a contested issue. In reality, these wastela nds have myriad utilities. Has the change in social dynamics been factored in to avoid future conflicts? An y intervention of the kind alters the prevailing power dynamics at the grassroo ts, a crucial aspect for long-term sustainability. Conceived as an offset mechanism for the rich lifestyles of wealthy nations, car bon trading may reduce developing countries' lands to tradeable spaces, prepare d for such trading by the expertise and market mechanisms of developed countrie s, at prices set by them. --------CERN's CLOUD experiment CLOUD Cosmics Leaving OUtdoor Droplets CLOUD is an experiment that uses a cloud chamber to study the possible link betw

een galactic cosmic rays and cloud formation. Based at the Proton Synchrotron at CERN, this is the first time a high-energy physics accelerator has been used to study atmospheric and climate science; the results could greatly modify our und erstanding of clouds and climate. Cosmic rays are charged particles that bombard the Earth's atmosphere from outer space. Studies suggest they may have an influence on the amount of cloud cover through the formation of new aerosols (tiny particles suspended in the air that seed cloud droplets). This is supported by satellite measurements, which show a possible correlation between cosmic-ray intensity and the amount of low cloud co ver. Clouds exert a strong influence on the Earth s energy balance; changes of onl y a few per cent have an important effect on the climate. The CLOUD experiment involves an interdisciplinary team of scientists from 18 in stitutes in 9 countries. The PS provides an artificial source of cosmic rays that simulates natural conditi ons as closely as possible. A beam of particles is sent into a reaction chamber and its effects on aerosol production are recorded and analysed. ------------Equator prize The Equator Prize is awarded biennially to recognize outstanding community effor ts to reduce poverty through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversit y. Local and indigenous groups across the tropics are charting a path towards su stainable development. The Equator Prize is designed to shine a spotlight on the se leading grassroots efforts by celebrating them on an international stage. Equator Prize nominations are accepted from three regions of eligibility within the equatorial belt (23.5 degrees north and south of the equator): Asia and the Pacific, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean. Samudram Women s Federation, Orissa - India Equator Prize 2010 Description: Samudram is a federation of 160 women s self-help groups that spans f ifty villages in Ganjam and the nearby districts of Orissa, India. The group aim s to both empower its more than 1,500 economically-marginalized members with inc ome generation activities and to conserve Olive Ridley Turtle (ORT) nesting site s. Working at the intersection of biodiversity conservation and poverty reductio n, Samudram is engaged in capacity building training, microfinance, and climate change awareness campaigns, specifically on disaster risk management. ----------Mini-hydel projects Mini hydel projects and wind mills have become popular as they are supposed to b e environment friendly. The large hydel dams built to generate power have submer ged forests and villages, causing ecological destruction and disrupting social h armony. The technology for mini hydel projects may be eco-friendly, but the companies im plementing them envisage a windfall profit. The financial benefits as well as hi gh returns are assured by multiple sops provided by the government as well as fi nancial institutions. The government provides tax concessions for several years on the investment. The international agencies under CDM provide carbon credits. Armed with such subsidies the companies have targeted remote regions that are th e catchment of rivers and streams. Although called mini, most of them do require storage of water through construction of small reservoirs. This has to be follo wed with tunnels to channelise the water, and construction of small power plants . Most of these activities lead to destruction of forests.

These also lead to fragmentation of the compact block of forests, adversely affe cting movement of wildlife. It also leads to destruction of the biodiversity. There are successful initiatives like decentralised micro hydel systems that hav e been installed in numerous places in Western Ghats that is supplying power to the villages. The need is to carefully identify the location and work in harmony with nature to cause least damage. Mini hydel projects in the Himalayas are under the scanner too for having destro yed the fragile ecosystem. The ecosystem in Western Ghats is precarious due the existence of tropical forests and the tag of a biodiversity hotspot. Considering the importance of these ecosystems, the government should evolve a sound strate gy to strike a balance between conservation and power generation. ---------Geothermal energy In Iceland, you can swim all year round in geothermal swimming pools. Iceland si ts on the boundary of the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates, which are slowly pulling apart, giving it extraordinary geothermal resources. Besides yea r-round outdoor swimming, this renewable resource provides heat, hot water, and electricity. According to Iceland's National Energy Authority, about 25 percent of the countr y s electricity was generated by geothermal power plants (2008 data). The benefits sound like an environmental fairy tale: pollution is almost nil, operating cost s are low, power generation is constant, and it s completely renewable. Given that there are geothermic regions all over the world (think Pacific Rim), you d expect that geothermal power plants would be under construction everywhere. But surprisingly, geothermal power doesn t attract as much interest as solar or wi nd power. What is preventing more financing in this area are the upfront costs o f a geothermal power plant. They are very high, making it hard to attract invest ors. There s also nervousness about causing a man-made disaster by triggering an e arthquake. The amount of heat inside the earth is incredible; if we can tap into just a fra ction of it, we can use energy without worrying about its impact on the environm ent. Recent developments are promising. Indonesia, which has the world s largest geothe rmal reserves, took a step in this direction with support from the World Bank, which agreed to lend $300 million to build geothermal plants there. It may be pricey in the short run, but generations of people will benefit from c heap, clean power with readily available technology. ---------Carbon Capture & Utilisation: CCU 1. Passing carbon dioxide through slag left over from steel-making turns the was te into a strong material that can be used for construction. It can be used in m any other industrial processes. 2. Pumped into greenhouses, it provides a growing boost for crops. 3. Put into tanks of algae, it can be used to make biofuels. 4. Waste carbon dio xide can even be cleaned up to "food grade" and injected into fizzy drinks. Carbon Capture and Storage/Sequestration: CCS CCU is different from carbon capture and storage technology where the carbon fro m power stations is liquefied and stored in depleted oilfields, like under the N orth Sea. CCS is a means of mitigating the contribution of fossil fuel emissions to global warming. The process is based on capturing CO2 from large point sourc

es, such as fossil fuel power plants, and storing it in such a way that it does not enter the atmosphere. It can also be used to describe the scrubbing of CO2 f rom ambient air as a geoengineering technique. Although CO2 has been injected into geological formations for various purposes, the long term storage of CO2 is a relatively new concept. Storage is envisaged either in deep geological formations, in deep ocean masses, or in the form of mi neral carbonates. In the case of deep ocean storage, there is a risk of greatly increasing the problem of ocean acidification. Geological formations are conside red the most promising sequestration sites. A general problem is that long term predictions about submarine or underground storage security are very difficult a nd uncertain, and there is still the risk that CO2 might leak from the storage i nto the atmosphere. While CCS can make a significant contribution to carbon dioxide abatement, there is also the possibility of CO2 utilisation in building material production, for fuels or in the chemical industry.CCS in some sectors provides cost-effective e mission reductions, but has significant shortcomings: it has high investment cos ts, the potential storage capacity has uncertainties, public resistance to CCS h as been increasing, and it costs energy. Moreover, to maintain and improve on cu rrent standard of living, access to a secure supply of chemical feedstocks and f uels is essential. Although only a partial solution to the CO2 problem, under so me conditions using CO2 for CCU rather than storing it underground can add value as well as offsetting some of the CCS costs. Germany, the US and Australia are well advanced in research and development of CCU technologies. Substantial inves tment has been made in those countries by extending CCS technology to incorporat e utilisation in addition to storage. Accelerated mineralisation through carbonisation of rocks Mineral carbonation involves reaction of minerals (mostly calcium or magnesium s ilicates) with CO2 into inert carbonates. These carbonates can then be used for example as construction material. Since the energy state of magnesium and calciu m carbonates is lower than CO2, theoretically, the process not only requires no energy inputs, but could generate heat. The current bottleneck, however, for a v iable mineral carbonation process on an industrial scale is the reaction rate of carbonation. To enhance reaction rates, heat, pressure, chemical processing and mechanical treatment (grinding) of the mineral could be applied, but these trea tments are expensive, cost energy and lead to environmental impacts. The potenti al is considered very large, but the technology is in the R&D phase. Biorenewable fuels and materials from algae Microalgae have a high biomass productivity compared to terrestrial crops and ca n be cultivated on non-arable land. Many species can grow in salty water. These characteristics could enable sustainable manufacture of products such as biooils , chemicals, fertilizers and fuels, replacing fossil fuel-based products. Using flue gases as nutrient supply and CO2 source, the cultivation of microalgae in o pen ponds or photobioreactors could directly capture and utilise CO2. Microalgae technology is in the R&D phase, and not yet ready for commercial implementation . ------------Problems of various energy sources Nuclear power plants are unsafe and generate radioactive waste. Oil and coal are finite sources, not green, and many times require reliance on i mports. Natural gas is relatively cleaner, but also a finite source that contributes to climate change. Besides, fracking for gas raises environmental concerns. Wind turbines contribute to 'energy sprawl', requiring tonnes of steel to constr

uct and acres of open land. Solar energy has problems of capturing and storage. Along with wind energy, it r equires long transmission lines, and the capital costs are discouraging. Hydroelectricity has issues of displacement and altering the natural flow of riv ers. Ethanol production eats up land and inflates food prices. ---------Nuclear fusion and ITER ITER (originally the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), pronounc ed ee-ter, is an international research and engineering project which is current ly building the world's largest and most advanced experimental tokamak nuclear f usion reactor and will be constructed in Europe, at Cadarache in the south of Fr ance. The ITER tokamak aims to make the long awaited transition from today's stu dies of plasma physics to full scale electricity-producing fusion power plants. The project's members are the European Union, India, Japan, People's Republic of China, Russia, South Korea and the United States. The EU as host party for ITER will contribute 45% of the cost, with the other parties contributing 9% each. T he fusion reactor itself has been designed to produce 500 MW of output power for 50 MW of input power, or ten times the amount of energy put in. The machine is expected to demonstrate the principle of getting more energy out of the fusion p rocess than is used to initiate it, something that has not been achieved with pr evious fusion reactors. Construction of the facility began in 2007 and first pla sma is expected in 2019. When ITER becomes operational it will surpass the Joint European Torus which is the current largest magnetic confinement plasma physics experiment in use. The first commercial demonstration fusion power plant named DEMO is proposed to follow on the research of ITER to bring fusion energy to the commercial markets. Harnessing nuclear fusion, the energy that powers the sun and the stars, has bee n a goal of physicists worldwide since the 1950s. It is inexhaustible and can be created using hydrogen isotopes like deuterium that can be extracted from seawa ter. Fusion energy is created by fusing two atomic nuclei, in the process converting mass to energy, which appears as heat. The heat, as in conventional nuclear fiss ion reactors, turns water into steam, which drives turbines to generate electric ity, or is used to produce fuels for transport or other uses. Fusion energy generates zero greenhouse gases. It offers no chance of a catastro phic accident. It can be available to all nations, relying only on the Earth s oce ans. The development of fusion energy is one of the most difficult science and engine ering challenges ever undertaken. Among other challenges, it requires production and confinement of plasma with a temperature around 100 million degrees Celsius . In one approach, known as magnetic fusion, hot plasma is confined by powerful ma gnets. A second approach uses large, intense lasers to bombard a frozen pellet o f fusion fuel (deuterium and tritium nuclei) to heat the pellet and cause fusion to occur in a billionth of a second. Whereas magnetic fusion holds a hot plasma indefinitely, like a sun, the second approach resembles an internal combustion engine, with multiple mini-explosions. Fusion has the potential to help with all the emerging challenges of this still-

new century: energy independence, national economic competitiveness, environment al responsibility and reduction of conflict over natural resources. --------Siri: Apple's voice input software, speech recognition. Google's Android has own version. --------Ashoke Sen Indian physicist among nine scientists awarded for the first time the newly-inst ituted Fundamental Physics prize or the Yuri Milner prize, the Russian Nobel, fo r his String Theory. ------Greater Adjutant storks The Greater Adjutant Stork is a species found in the plains of the Brahmaputra v alley in Assam. Of the global population of about 1500, around 900 are in Assam and their numbers are declining. Earlier, these big birds were largely found in wetlands. Seasonally dependent on the wetlands for foraging and tall trees for roosting and nesting, the species suffers from the ongoing destruction of wetlands by way of unplanned drainage, e ncroachment, over fishing, siltation and removal of nesting and roosting trees. In Guwahati, the majority of the roosting trees are located in private land and most of them have been cut down. Now, the wetlands are used by the storks between October and February (the breed ing season) when fish and other live prey are available in plenty. During the no n-breeding season these birds concentrate in urban disposal sites which lie adja cent to the wetlands. Groups of non-breeding adjutants remain in these dumps thr oughout the year. Guwahati now has the largest concentration of these birds in the world, with the majority of them seen in the city s only garbage dumping site near the Deepor Bee l Wildlife Sanctuary. Though legally protected, lack of awareness about these birds is a cause for con cern. In many areas, the storks are not welcome because of their strong smell an d the noise they make. The government can help by declaring the nesting sites co mmunity-protected areas and by planting tall trees like Simul, Kadam, Moz, Satia n, Bot etc. in the areas they frequent. A lot needs to be done to conserve the e xisting wetlands in and around Guwahati and regulate the use of synthetic pestic ides in areas adjacent to the Deepor Beel Wildlife Sanctuary. -------RBI draft paper on financial education RBI has released a draft strategy for financial education of consumers. The disc ussion paper recognises the important role financial literacy and education play in promoting financial inclusion and inclusive growth. It discusses ways of creating awareness and educating consumers on access to fin ancial services, availability of various types of products and their features. The strategy makes a strong pitch for conditioning the changing attitudes of con sumers so that the knowledge gained through financial education is translated in to responsible consumer behaviour.

Finally, consumers of financial products need to be made aware of their rights a nd obligations. The RBI s approach to financial education is in line with those of many other countries which have realised the full potential of spreading financ ial literacy through national projects. Financial education will help in promoting knowledge and skills which a relative ly youthful population needs to avoid the pitfall of reckless spending through, say, the indiscriminate use of credit cards. One hopes that the national level financial education programme starting at the primary school level will make up for the shortfalls in the sector specific prog rammes and have a positive, multiplier effect as ordinary citizens get to know t he nuances of savings and investment. For the financial sector, the biggest challenge is to train and retain manpower for not only its more traditional functions but also to further highly desirable social goals such as financial education. ----------Belarus-Sweden stand-off Belarus has expelled Sweden s ambassador for being too supportive of human rights, oreign Minister Carl Bildt of Sweden said Friday. Belarus said that it merely ch ose not to extend the envoy s accreditation, calling his activities destructive. W estern nations say President Aleksandr G Lukashenko of Belarus stifles human rig hts. Belarus said that Ambassador Stefan Eriksson had met with opposition activi sts and that Sweden had provided a university with books about human rights. Bil dt said now Sweden would not allow Belarus s incoming ambassador to take up his po st and that two diplomats from Belrus had been asked to leave Sweden. Last month two Swedish activists were reported to have used a plane to drop hundreds of te ddy bears bearing messages supportive of human rights into Belarus. Alexander Lukashenko, the hardline president of Belarus, sacked the country s air force commander after activists flew over Minsk, the capital, and dropped scores of teddy bears wearing parachutes and pro-democracy signs. --------Drought Although many erroneously consider it a rare and random event, drought is a norm al, recurrent feature of climate. It can occur in virtually all climatic zones, with its characteristics varying significantly from one region to another. Droug ht is a temporary aberration and differs from aridity since the latter is restri cted to low rainfall regions and is a permanent feature. Although it has scores of definitions, drought originates from a deficiency of p recipitation over an extended period of time, usually a season or more. Drought should be considered relative to the long-term average or normal balance between precipitation and evapo-transpiration (evaporation + transpiration) in a partic ular area. It is also related to the timing and effectiveness of precipitation. Other climatic factors such as high temperatures, high wind, and low relative hu midity are often associated with drought in many regions. Drought should not be viewed as merely a physical phenomenon or natural event. I ts impacts on society result from the interplay between a natural event and the demand people place on water. Human beings often exacerbate the impact of drough t. Meteorological Drought: Usually defined on the basis of the degree of dryness (i F

n comparison to some normal or average amount) and the duration of the dry spell . Agricultural Drought: Links meteorological characteristics to agricultural impac ts, focusing on precipitation shortages, differences between actual and potentia l evapo-transpiration, soil water deficits, reduced ground water and/or reservoi r levels. Agriculture is usually the first economic sector to be affected by dro ught. Hydrological Drought: Associates the effect of periods of precipitation shortfal ls on surface or subsurface water supply. The frequency and severity of hydrolog ical drought is often defined on a watershed basin scale. Although climate is a primary contributor to hydrological drought, other factors such as changes in la nd use, land degradation, and the construction of dams all affect the hydrologic al characteristics of the basin. Socioeconomic Drought: This occurs when the demand for an economic good exceeds supply as a result of a weather-related shortfall in water supply. The supply of many economic goods, such as water, forage, food grains, fish, and hydroelectri c power, depends on weather. Due to variability of climate, water supply is suff icient in some years but not satisfactory to meet human and environmental needs in other years. The demand for economic goods is increasing as a result of incre asing population. Supply may also increase because of improved production effici ency, technology. Drought-resistant smart agriculture, and developing irrigation potential are nec essary measures for the future. The net irrigated area is barely 30% of the total cultivable area of the country . This proportion rises a bit to 39% when one considers irrigated area as a prop ortion of the net sown area or area that is actually being cropped. But all said a nd done, 60% of India s farmland is still dependent on rainfall. Until now, the artificially irrigated north western region of the country has be en a steady source of foodgrains and other agricultural commodities. That has be en due to its well-developed groundwater resources. That situation of comfort ma y not prevail in the future. Overexploitation of water resources in Punjab and H aryana is approaching a crisis-like situation. In India, a meteorological drought is defined as when the monsoon or total seaso nal rainfall is 'deficient' or below 90% of the long period average (LPA). This single quantity is known as the Indian Summer Monsoon Rainfall or ISMR, predicte d by the Met dept before the monsoon. The new strategy has been to move away fro m a deterministic forecast of this single quantity. Why do predictions go wrong? India is the only country which gives a quantitative long-range forecast (LRF) w hen long-range forecast, whether statistical or dynamical, is highly probabilist ic depending critically on initial (summer-time) values of the meteorological va riables and the models used. In the statistical approach, the variables are meteorological (regional and glob al) parameters that have been found to be statistically well-correlated to the I SMR. In the dynamic approach they are the values of physical variables such as p ressure, wind velocity, etc. A statistical approach is resorted to because the underlying physics of the mons oon is not yet fully understood for the dynamical equations to correctly represe nt the causative conditions for the monsoon and its evolution. Integrating these non-linear equations over a long period for an LRF requires high-resolution dat a on the variables and huge high-performance computing resources.

Also, because of non-linearity, small measurement errors in the initial conditio ns will diverge very quickly to yield wrong results. In fact, to date, no dynami cal model has been able to simulate the monsoon over the Indian region well and accurately predict the monsoon behaviour. For example, the model from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (N CEP) of the United States, which has been adapted for monsoon prediction by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, has forecast 104 per cent rainfall for 2012. The statistical approach depends on how robust and stable the atmospheric forcin g parameters (the predictors) are. A major problem has been to identify a small set of stable, independent parameters that influence the monsoon rainfall and th e bulk of its variance. In fact, there is a natural variability of rainfall on t he decadal scale that is seen from historical data. A 30-year moving average plo t of the rainfall suggests that we are currently in the below normal epoch of this natural variability. Moreover, predictors themselves have been found to be unst able over long periods. Moving to a probabilistic model Instead of a single-number-fixated forecasting, probabilistic forecast makes sen se. Since the forecast skill of individual models has been found to be not very good, since 2007, the IMD has adopted an ensemble approach. Here the ensemble in cludes statistical models of its own and different dynamical models from various international organisations. This approach will give probabilities, rather than a single definitive number, for different outcomes of the ISMR. For this probabilistic exercise, the IMD has classified the monsoon rainfall int o five categories: Deficient (less than 90 per cent of the LPA), Below Normal (9 0-96), Near Normal (96-104), Above Normal (104-110) and Excess (above 110 per ce nt). The climatological probability for a Normal monsoon in any given year is 33 per ce nt and those for Below Normal and Deficient monsoon are 17 and 16 per cent respectiv ely, which are by no means insignificant. These numbers need to be kept in mind when one looks at the actual forecast. Unfortunately, the IMD has not felt it necessary to emphasise this aspect in its forecast. Apart from 2003 and 2004, when this probabilistic approach began, and more recently in 2011-2012, information on the relative probabilities for the f ive categories was not made public. Apart from political expediency and possible adverse influence on the market, one cannot imagine any reason. Given the conve nience of pegging stories to this single number, news reports too have ignored t he other details of this year s forecast. So the IMD is partly responsible for inv iting criticism this year. In the preliminary April 26 forecast, which is based on December-March data of a tmospheric variables, the IMD forecast was 47 per cent probability for a Normal mo nsoon, 24 per cent for a Below Normal monsoon and eight per cent for a Deficient mon soon. In the updated June 22 forecast, which includes data up to May, the probab ility for a Normal monsoon fell to 42 per cent, Below Normal shot up to 35 per cent and Deficient increased to 15 per cent, nearly the climatological probability. Unfortunately, the IMD does not sufficiently emphasise these aspects in its pres s release and continues to give undue focus on that single number in spite of it s changed forecast strategy. It is clear that these probabilities give sufficien t insight to possible monsoon behaviour and can serve as guidance for proper pla nning. It is not clear in what form the forecast is presented to planners and the agric ulture ministry for them to take appropriate measures because the way the govern ment s response is being projected, it would seem that it did not have any idea of the possibility of a bad monsoon year.

It can be argued that the IMD give up this single number forecast. Instead, diff erent agencies can interpret the forecast probabilities for the different catego ries and take appropriate contingency measures. If this information is to be con tinued to be shared with the public, an exercise that began only in 1988, then t he IMD must also take efforts to explain the probabilistic nuances of the foreca st to the media and the public. It is high time that the IMD moved away from rea lpolitik to real-scientific. --------------UN Special Rapporteur It is a title given to individuals working on behalf of the UN within the scope of "Special Procedures" mechanisms, who bear a specific mandate from the UNHRC. Their mandate is usually to examine, monitor, advise and publicly report on huma n rights problems through special procedures, including responding to individual complaints, conducting fact-finding studies, providing advice on technical coop eration and engaging in promotional activities. Officially, these officials are simply called mandate-holders. Other application s of the role include Special Representative of the Secretary-General or Indepen dent Expert, or a working group usually composed of five members, one from each region. "Special procedures" is the general name given to the mechanisms established by the Human Rights Council to address either specific country situations or themat ic issues. Special procedures can be either individuals (Special Rapporteurs or Independent Experts) or working groups composed of five members. Special procedures are categorized according to thematic mandates - which focus on major phenomena of human rights abuses worldwide - and country mandates - whi ch report on human rights situations in specific countries/territories. Currentl y there are 36 thematic and 10 country special procedures mandates. Country mand ates must be renewed yearly, thematic mandates must be renewed every three years . Mandate-holders serve in their personal capacity, and do not receive pay for the ir work. The independent status is crucial in order to be able to fulfill their functions in all impartiality. Applicants for Special Procedures mandates are reviewed by a Consultative Group of five countries, one from each region. Following interviews by the Consultativ e Group, the Group provides a shortlist of candidates to the HRC President. Foll owing consultations with the leadership of each regional grouping, the President presents a single candidate to be approved by the Member states of the HRC. ----------Beyonce American singer and actress, former lead singer of R&B group Destiny's Child. Sh e was recently associated with UN World Humanitarian Day's 'I was here' campaign which encouraged people to talk online about their 'acts of good'. -----------OS X 10.8 Apple's latest OS meant for Mac range of PCs. It is fully integrated with social networking sites Fb and Twitter. ---------

LIBERIA: Law against homosexuality The United Nations human rights office voiced concern about draft legislation be ing considered by Liberian lawmakers that would broadly criminalize homosexual b ehaviour, and thus negatively impact vulnerable populations. The legislation, which has already been passed by the Liberian Senate but is sti ll being considered by the HoR, makes homosexual behaviour a second degree felon y for which people can be fined and imprisoned for up to five years. According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the p roposed legislation would impose penalties for a person who seduces, encourages, or promotes another person of the same gender to engage into sexual activities. Sodomy, voluntary and involuntary, is already a criminal offence under Liberian law. The proposals under consideration, including one to explicitly prohibit sam e-sex marriage, could make an already bad situation for lesbian and gay people i n Liberia even worse. Such legislation can have negative impact not only on gay and lesbian people but also on vulnerable populations, such as people living with HIV, sex workers, re fugees and internally displaced populations, who might be in need of special att ention but will not come forward due to the high risk of stigmatisation, discrim ination and possible violence. Laws criminalising homosexual acts between consenting adults violate individuals rights to privacy and to freedom from discrimination. -----------Khanun cyclone United Nations agencies have started mobilizing resources, including water, food and other basic goods, to help some 63,000 people who have been left homeless b y a cyclone that caused intense flooding in DPRK. Over the past two weeks, the K hanun cyclone caused flash flooding in several provinces in the country, killing more than 100 people and displacing thousands. Anju City and Songchon in South Pyongan province and Chonnae in Kangwon province are the three most affected counties. The severe flooding complicated the situation in the country, which has been suf fering chronic food shortages for years, and collaboration of the Government, UN agencies and non-governmental organizations is needed to contain this disaster. The UN Children s Fund (UNICEF) reported that it already started delivering life-s aving supplies, including 10 million water purification tablets to affected fami lies who urgently need clean drinking water. It is also delivering water and san itation equipment, emergency health kits, and recreation and education kits. -------User preferred routes A new syste, User Preferred Route (UPR), will soon be introduced for internation al flights in the country. The system is at present being used on a trial basis by the Air Navigation System, a wing of the Airports Authority of India (AAI); According to sources, the new system will allow the flight operators to change t heir flight path plan based on wind direction as against standard aviation route s. Under the UPR, the pilot will study tentative weather conditions and adopt a suitable route before departure. The system is applicable only to non-stop point -to-point flights; It will help significantly reduce fuel consumption up to 5%, thereby cutting dow n on carbon emissions, which will directly save costs for airlines. The reduced costs will then reduce passenger fares and flight operation timings will also co me down;

The UPR can be implemented in coutnries that are in the Bay of Bengal, Arabian S ea and Indian Ocean regions. Dubai-based Emirates Airlines tried UPR for the fir st time last year and successfully completed the trial run. The system is more s uited for flights over oceanic regions rather than continental regions. --------------Aishwarya Parashar A Class VII student from Lucknow whose RTI queries have revealed crucial informa tion like the fact India does not officially have a national game, and that Maha tma Gandhi was never conferred the title of 'Father of the nation'. ---------John Evans Fifii Atta Mills Ghana president who died in office, 2012. The country is in news for recent disc overy of offshore oil sources that can boost its economy considerably. ------------Kurshid Khan Pakistan's deputy attorney general who 'served' at a gurudwara in Delhi by shini ng shoes and sweeping floors. He said the move was aimed at promoting inter-fait h harmony. He was later sacked by the Pakistan government. --------Grid failure A committee headed by A S Bakshi, chairman of Central Elctricity Authority, in i ts report submitted to the power ministry on the recent blackouts (July 31 north ern grid; August 1- northern, eastern and NE grids) across India has recommended new planning criteria, setting up new transmission capacities and stressed the need for dynamic compensation to boost voltage; Dynamic compensation boosts the voltage up when it drops, and when the voltage s urges, it holds it. All of this happens in real time. This system is in place at only a few places in the country and there is a need for it given the recent gr id failures; The report blamed the overdrawing of power by states such as Uttar Pradesh, Punj ab and Haryana and underdrawing of electricity by the western region states as a reason for the grid failure; Load management functions are overseen by the state-owned Power Grid Corp of Ind ia Ltd and carried out by its subsidiary Power System Operation Corp Ltd. A grid collapse is the worst-case scenario for any transmission utility; if this happe ns, states that draw power from that network go without power. India has five re gional grids northern, southern, eastern, north-eastern and western. All except th e southern one are connected; India s transmission planning criteria is still based in 1992-94 when the grid was small. The grid has become large and its problems are also new. There has been a paradigm shift from small system to large system requiring a new planning crit eria; India plans to deploy smart grids that will help utilities detect, isolate and c orrect problems. Northern states such as Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir aim to prevent gr id failures by setting up defence mechanisms such as islanding. This would isola te the fallout of a grid disturbance on the national power grid, restricting it to a particular region, or also allow a particular region or essential service t o isolate itself in the event of a grid failure. While the eastern grid supplies power to Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal and Sikkim, the north-eastern gr

id supplies electricity to Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Arunach al Pradesh and Mizoram. -Some interconnected problems 1. Falling coal supply, domestic constraints and import costs. 2. Rising population and demand 3. Statutory and non-statutory clearances, lot of time needed to set up a power plant; mining regulations. 4. Power utilities neck-deep in debt, mainly due to agricultural subsidies, thef t, t&d losses 5. Minimal private sector participation in transmission infrastructure Electricity is the basic infrastructure for a well-functioning economy. It is still too early to tell the root cause of India s crippling power outage tha t has left an estimated 600 million people in the North and East of the country without electricity. Some have mentioned that the failure of India s Northern, Eas tern, and Northeastern grids was due to a number of states overdrawing electrici ty in recent months. Although some grid operators and at least one state have de nied this claim, such an explanation is plausible: India has had an atypically d ry monsoon season, resulting in farmers using more electricity to draw on water wells. As the agriculture sector receives heavily subsidized (if not free) elect ricity from the government, unusually large electricity consumption during a per iod of extreme drought is expected. While a sudden crisis of such scale can hardly be predicted, many analysts includi ng the authors of this piece have been warning of a looming Indian electricity cri sis owing to a yawning gap between electricity supply and demand. India s entire e lectricity supply chain, from natural resource production and distribution to el ectricity generation, transmission, and distribution, is plagued with problems. Domestic production of coal, which is responsible for roughly two-thirds of Indi a s electricity supply, grew at just 2.6% a year between 2001 and 2011 compared to n early 8% growth in electricity demand during the same period as disputes between l ocal environmental and rural groups, and Coal India have prevented the developme nt of India s abundant reserves. Land acquisition and regulatory hurdles also loom large and transportation bottlenecks prevent coal from getting easily from the major production centers to the major demand centers. India has had to result on more expensive imported coal; however, because electricity prices are heavily c ontrolled power plants are limited in their ability to import coal and pass cost s down to consumers. The ultimate result of this is a crippling shortage of coal supply. India s natural gas sector, five years ago a sector of great optimism, is struggli ng from similar domestic production shortages, and infrastructure limitations, a nd is having to depend on increased imports of liquefied natural gas at high pri ces. Here again, because India s state utilities are unable to pass on higher cost s to consumers, imports provide little respite to supply shortages. Exacerbating the lack of supply is India s desperate need for investment in its el ectricity transmission and distribution (T&D) network. T&D losses in India are s till roughly 25%, an abysmally high rate for an emerging economy. These losses a re only aggravated by rampant electricity theft and poor billing and collection standards. Improving the performance and efficiency of this sector will require immense investments. To encourage this investment, India s entire energy and electricity sector must un dergo pricing revisions that adequately reflect market prices. Starting with the

pricing of fuels, the government must stop subsidizing (directly and indirectly ) the cost of energy and electricity. (Some may immediately argue that this woul d aggravate India s inflation problems; it would in fact help those concerns in th e long-term, but such a debate is beyond the scope of this article.) By doing th is, private sector companies with more advanced technology and more efficient pr ocesses would be given an incentive to invest in production and distribution of fuel products. The same should be done for India s electricity sector, which currently subsidizes the agriculture sector which accounts for 15% of India s GDP, but 50% of its labor force at the expense of industry and businesses, which pay significantly higher ra tes. With adequate revenues (most state utilities are essentially bankrupt) stat e utilities and private sector firms would have incentives to invest in the tran smission and distribution infrastructure. With more reliable electricity, indust ry and businesses may rely less on captive generation (off-grid power installati ons) and provide further revenues for state utilities. --------Arun Maria committee Was constituted to suggest options and modalities to take care of disadvantages suffered by the domestic industry relating to power sector. The factors, inter a lia, included concern relating to supply of power equipment from China. The Comm ittee submitted its report in February 2010. Recommendations of the Arun Maira Committee are: Notification of standards or regulations for power generation equipment to be in stalled in the country to ensure efficiency and environmental protection. The extent of disadvantage that needs to be bridged is about 14% and this should be for both the projects covered under mega power projects and Ultra Mega Power Projects. This can be achieved by the levy of Custom duty @ 10%, additional cus tom duty and Special additional duty SAD @ 4%. Consequential adjustments in duty rates applicable for brownfield (expansion) projects to bring duty structure at par to Mega Power projects will also apply. Actions for safeguards/anti-dumping protection may be initiated by Indian manufa cturers themselves who are affected by the trade practices of the Chinese. The recommendations of the Maira Committee were considered by the Committee of s ecretaries. Ministry of Power decided not to move any proposal for changing the duty structure for mega power projects till the end of the 11th Plan. -------Indian standards for organic textiles, ISOT. Launched to boost demand for organic textiles in Europe and Japan. Takes over th e Global OTS which are private standards. India only country to have such standards at national level. National Pgm for Organic Productions includes these standards for organic produc tion and processing of agri crops along with certification standards. ----------Vempati Chinna Satyam, 82, acclaimed Kuchipudi dance guru, passed away 2012. Win ner of Padma Bhushan. --------Churchill's bust Barack Obama's White House has been forced to admit that it did return a bust of Sir Winston Churchill to British diplomats, after describing such claims as "10 0 per cent false". Mitt Romney has promised to return the Jacob Epstein sculpture to Oval Office.

----------Abdi Jeylani Malak Popular Somali comedian, aka Marshalle, shot dead by an unidentified armed gang in 2012. He was known for being critical of Islamist groups. -----------INITIATIVES FROM FIVE COUNTRIES RECEIVE UN PRIZE FOR INSPIRING ENVIRONMENTAL ACT ION Projects from Australia, Bangladesh, Colombia, India, and Kenya that inspired an d galvanized environmental action are the winners of this year s World Environment Day Challenge. Hand in Hand India, a development organization in the southern city of Chennai, brought together over 500 volunteers to create a colourful 10,000 square foot Ra ngoli carpet depicting 10 environmental themes. Observance of World Environment Day began in 1972 as a way to raise awareness of the environment and encourage political attention and action. This year s theme f or the Day Green Economy: Does it include you? sought to underscore the need for e veryone to play a part in keeping humankind s ecological footprints within planeta ry boundaries. ------------Lack of social capital Citizens who don't help victims of crime committed in public. Billionaires without a sense of social responsibility. Dynastic succession in politics, business, cinema. Landlords selecting tenants based on identity. --------------Kinesio tape, elastic therapeutic tape, K-tape An elastic cotton strip with acrylic adhesive used to treat athletic injuries. I t mainly helps to relax overused muscles and facilitate underused ones. Many foo tball and tennis players have recently used it during games. Gore Vidal Liberal American writer and political activist. Died 2012. 'The city and the pil lar' in 1948 was one of the first major works to feature homosexuality. Newcastle disease Contagious bird disease that afflicts poultry and peafowl. No treatment for NDV exists, but the use of prophylactic vaccines and sanitary m easures reduces the likelihood of outbreaks. Energy Egg Egg-shaped device that uses motion sensors to detect human presence in a room. I t senses when a room is emoty and saves power by turning off electrical devices not in use. -----------Railway safety Derailment: Replacing old rails Collision: ACDs, Better communication systems for effective exchange of informat

ion between train crew and stations, Signal upgradation Unmanned level crossings: More manpower, better automated systems Human error: Retraining and safety orientation of staff Fire on running trains: Fire extinguishers, fire retardant material in coaches, sufficient water sources, manual checks at stations to find out overheating of a xles or wheels, ensuring passengers don't carry inflammable material or stoves Passenger security: Better and more policing ---------CBSE's PAT Arguments for Students are informed of possible topics for testing some months before their ex am. They thus have time to read up thoroughly on these areas and prepare to answ er analytical questions rather than mechanical queries. Encourages analytical thought, original perspectives and creative linking of dif ferent information. Cancels out rote learning. Arguments against Classroom education should instill both knowledge and understanding. The former is the acquisition of information, and must involve some degree of memorisation. Genuine understanding cannot exist in the absence of knowledge. Student has diminished incentive to familiarise with the subject matter ahead of time, since it is available during the exam. CBSE's 'Pre-Announced Test' (PAT) involves revealing to the students the exact p ortions of the syllabus that they will be tested on. They won't learn the rest. Past initiatives were carried out in an impractical, top-down sort of way, poor imlementation. How will teachers on the ground be trained to handle the new testing methodology ? How long will students have to adapt to a new way of learning? Smooth seas don't make tough sailors. ------------Mars orbiter According to plans presented to the government by Isro, the spacecraft will be l aunched during October-November 2013. The planet will be closest to the earth th en, the next such opportunity coming only in 2018. It will enter Mars orbit by S ept 2014. The spacecraft will collect satellite images and send them back to earth to help Indian scientists study the possibility of life there. It will study the planet 's climate and geology. The spacecraft weighing 1,350-kg will be launched by PSLV-XL from the Satish Dha wan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. The US, Russia (and the former Soviet Union), the European Space Agency, Japan a nd China have so far been involved in a total of 44 space missions to Mars, most of which have failed. -----------Lottery Regulation Act The Supreme Court reminds state Governments over lotteries The Supreme Court has directed the States to ensure that lottery business is con ducted strictly in accordance with the provisions of the Lotteries Regulation Ac

t (LRA), as a petition claims it is ruining the lives of lakhs of families; The Centre told the Court that Section 4 of the LRA mandated that States may org anise, conduct or promote a lottery subject to certain conditions stipulated in Section 4 of the LRA. According the the Centre the following conditions have bee n notified to the States: Prizes shall not be offered on any pre-announced number or on the basis of a sin gle digit; The State Government shall print lottery tickets bearing the imprint and logo of the State in such a manner that the authenticity of the lottery ticket is ensur ed; The State Government shall sell the tickets either itself or through distributor s or selling agents; Proceeds from the sale of lottery tickets shall be credited into the State s publi c account; The State Government itself shall conduct the draws of all the lotteries; The prize money unclaimed within such time as may be prescribed by the State Gov ernment or not otherwise distributed shall become the property of that governmen t; The place of draw shall be located within the State concerned; No lottery shall have more than one draw in a week; The draws of all kinds of lotteries shall be conducted between such period of da ys as may be prescribed by the State Government; The number of bumper draws of a lottery shall not be more than six in a calendar year; In 2009, the Supreme Court had, while admitting a public interest litigation fil ed by Uttar Pradesh resident Satyavir Singh, said the issue was serious and need ed to be examined; The petition had alleged that lotteries were being conducted indiscriminately in different parts of the country, particularly Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Nagaland, which had the potential to ruin the lives of many famil ies, mostly the poor who are lured by the fabulous prize money; According to the petition, a number of States were conducting lotteries in viola tion of the LRA. It also complained that lotteries in various parts of the count ry were being held even on an hourly basis, luring many gullible investors. -------------Oil pollution in Ogoniland The UN has welcomed the decision by Nigeria to clean up a major oil contaminatio n in the Ogoniland region of the country. The decision comes twelve months after the UNEP presented a scientific assessment of oil pollution in Ogoniland to the Government, underlining serious public health and environmental impacts. The people of this region continue to suffer the legacy of some 50 years of unsu stainable oil exploration and production. The independent scientific assessment, carried out over a 14-month period, showed greater and deeper pollution than pr eviously thought after an agency team examined more than 200 locations, surveyed pipeline rights of way, analyzed soil and water samples, reviewed medical recor ds and engaged people at local community meetings. The assessment emphasized the need for swift action to prevent the pollution footprint from spreading further and exacerbating the situation for the Ogoni people, and had proposed an initia l sum of $1 billion to cover the first five years of clean-up operations. The assessment had also estimated that while some on-the-ground results could be immediate, a fully sustainable recovery of Ogoniland could take 25 to 30 years and would require long-term financing. Last month, the Nigerian Government annou nced that it would establish the Hydrocarbon Pollution Restoration Project to im plement UNEP s recommendations. ----------Swumanoid Swumanoid, developed by the Nakashima Group at Tokyo Institute of Technology, is

a humanoid robot that replicates the motion of a swimmer. In the future, this r obot is expected to help researchers analyze how people can swim faster, and dev elop speed enhancing swimming apparel. ------------Abu Qatada Abu Qatada al-Filistini or Omar Mahmoud Othman is a Palestinian Muslim of Jordan ian citizenship. He is under worldwide embargo by the UNSC for alleged affiliati on with al-Qaeda. Repeatedly imprisoned in Britain since he was first detained u nder anti-terrorism laws in 2002, he has not been prosecuted there for any offen ces. After initially barring the United Kingdom from deporting Qatada to Jordan, in May 2012 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that he could be deported on the basis of assurances from Jordan that he will not be tortured. --------The Lockheed Martin C-130J "Super" Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. In July 2012 the U.S. accepted India's request for sale of s ix more C-130Js, besides the 6 purchased in 2008 for its Special Operations forc es. --------INS Baaz, Campbell Bay, 6-degree channel With the Indian Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma formally opening INS Baaz, India s southernmost naval air station at Cambell Bay in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, t he country acquired increased ability to mount hawk-like vigil on the vital the Strait of Malacca. The strategic location at Cambell Bay, overlooking the Strait of Malacca and als o dominating the 6 degree channel, would provide an eagle s eye view over the cruc ial waterways. one of the primary functions of INS Baaz would be to provide info rmation, based on airborne maritime surveillance. INS BAAZ is a full-fledged "forward operating base" of the Indian Naval Aviation Arm at the very southern-most tip of the Andaman Nicobar Islands. The Naval Air Station (NAS) Campbell Bay overlooking the six degree Channel, one of the most crucial shipping lanes of the world, will soon become India's eye over the Malac ca strait and the Bay of Bengal. The Ten Degree Channel is a channel that separates the Andaman Islands from the Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal. The Channel is approximately 150 km wide, running essentially along an east-west orientation. It is so named as it lies on the 10-degree line of latitude, north of the equator. Campbell Bay is located on the island of Great Nicobar, the largest of the Nicob ar Islands some 190 km to the north of Sumatra. Campbell Bay National Park is a part of Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve. One can reach Campbell Bay from Port Bl air by Pawan Hans Helicopter service. Inter Island Boat from Port Blair is also available which usually travels via Little Andaman, Car Nicobar and Nancowry enr oute to Campbell Bay. Indira Point is the name given to the southernmost tip of Republic of India. It is situated at 645 10?N and 9349 36?E on Great Nicobar Island. It was formerly known b y various names, including Pygmalion Point, Parsons Point and, for a brief perio d of time, India Point. It is located 540 km from Port Blair, but only 150 km of sea from Sumatra island. To the south of this point lies the Great channel or t he 6-degree channel.

----------Fifty shades of grey, EL James, Anastacia Steele, Christian Grey Fifty Shades of Grey is a 2011 erotic novel by British author E L James (Erika Leonard; in 2012, Time Magazine included her in its annual list of The 100 Most Influential People in the World). Set largely in Seattle, it is the first instalment in a trilogy that traces the deepening relationship betwee n a college graduate, Anastasia Steele, and a young business magnate, Christian Grey. It is notable for its explicitly erotic scenes featuring elements of sexua l practices involving bondage/discipline, dominance/submission, sadism/masochism (BDSM). The second and third volumes are titled Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Fre ed, respectively. Fifty Shades of Grey has topped best-seller lists around the w orld, including the United Kingdom and the United States. The series has set the record as the fastest-selling paperback of all time, surpassing the Harry Potte r series. -------UN AND G20 CAN SUPPORT EACH OTHER TO ADVANCE COMMON GOALS, SAY TOP OFFICIALS As the General Assembly met today to hear about the outcome of the Group of 20 ( G20) summit held in Mexico in June, top United Nations officials highlighted iss ues on which the two bodies can work together, including employment, nutrition a nd sustainable development. Ban welcomed the Los Cabos Action Plan for Growth and Jobs, including its measur es to address the urgent issue of youth unemployment, and was pleased that the s ummit acknowledged the importance of ensuring the full participation of women in the labour force. Noting that official development assistance fell last year for the first time in more than a decade, the Secretary-General stressed that fiscal austerity must n ot be allowed to undermine support for poverty reduction and development. He also thanked G20 leaders for supporting the Scaling Up Nutrition movement, as well as their efforts to address commodity price volatility and enhance transpa rency in agricultural markets. In addition, he encouraged further progress towar ds reviving the Doha round of trade talks, and warned against the disturbing ris e in protectionist measures. Ban added that synergies between the Los Cabos summit and the UN Conference on S ustainable Development (Rio+20) benefited both and advanced the cause of sustain able development. * * * RECORD PRODUCTION OF IRON ORE IN 2011 POINTS TO RECOVERY AFTER RECESSION RT UN REPO

The global production of iron ore achieved an all-time high last year, confirmin g signs of a recovery of the steel industry after the 2009 recession. Among the major producers of this mineral, which is vital for steel production, are Brazil, China and Australia. While production increased in most regions, it declined in Europe and India. Developing countries accounted for almost half of the total exports of the iron ore. China s imports of iron ore increased by 11 per cent in 2011 compared with 20 10. ----------------

DNA testing Although 99.9% of human DNA sequences are the same in every person, enough of th e DNA is different to distinguish one individual from another, unless they are m onozygotic twins. DNA profiling (also called DNA testing, DNA typing, or genetic fingerprinting) i s a technique employed by scientists to assist in identification of individuals by their respective DNA profiles. DNA profiles are encrypted sets of numbers tha t reflect a person's DNA makeup, which can also be used as the person's identifi er. DNA profiling is used in parental testing, criminal investigation. Parental testing is the use of genetic fingerprinting to determine whether two i ndividuals have a biological parent child relationship. Though genetic testing is the most reliable standard, older methods also exist, including ABO blood group typing, analysis of various other proteins and enzymes, or using human leukocyte antigens. The current techniques for paternal testing are using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism. -------National HSR Corporation Proposed body to focus on processes to execute bullet train project along 8 corr idors, including tendering, pre-feasibility study and awarding of contracts. Mumbai-Ahmedabad, Del-Chandi-Amritsar,Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedbd, Hyd-Dornakal-Vjwd-Che nnai, Howrah-Haldia, Ch-Blr-Coim-Tvdm, Del-Agra-Luck-All-Patna, Del-Jaipur-Ajmer -Jodhpur. -------Qauntum dots are nanomaterials whose electronic properties are intermediate betw een those of bulk semiconductors and those of discrete molecules. Research areas include transistors, solar cells, LEDs, diode lasers and as qubits in quantum c omputing. Colloidal QDs can be used to yield electricity from the complete range of solar spectrum - both visible and invisible wavelengths. As opposed to conve ntional semiconductors, CQDs are low cosr and created quickly. -------Abhijit Banerjee is an Indian economist and MIT professor. He has been named as part of a UN high-level panel that is set to discuss the global developmental ag enda beyond 2015. Sustainable development solutions network United Nations has launched a new independent global network of research centres , universities and technical institutions to help find solutions for some of the most pressing environmental, social and economic problems. The SDSN will work with stakeholders including business, civil society, UN agenc ies and other international organizations to identify and share the best pathway s to achieve sustainable development. It will coordinate closely with the recent ly established high-level panel for the post-2015 development agenda. This initiative is part of the work undertaken in response to the mandate on pos t-2015 and the outcome of UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), whi ch took place in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, in June.

------Camp Ashraf or Ashraf City is a refugee camp in Iraq and headquarters of the exi led Iranian opposition group People's Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI/MEK). It is situat ed about 80 kilometers west of the Iranian border and 80 kilometers north of Bag hdad. On January 1, 2009 its control was formally transferred from the US milita ry to the Iraqi government. The Camp has been attacked several times the last be ing on April 8, 2011 when Iraqi security forces stormed the camp and killed as m any as 31 and wounded 320 residents. The UN Secretary-General s Special Representative for Iraq has urged the authoriti es to avoid violence in resolving the situation of more than 1,000 Iranian exile s located in the camp. The relocation has come a long way since February and the situation has remained peaceful so far. This should not be endangered. The UN we nt every extra mile and will continue to leave no stone unturned to fulfill this humanitarian mission. The place is now called Camp New Iraq. The UNAMI (assistance mission in iraq) was formed in 2003. In July 2012, the mis sion was been extended by another year, with the UN urging all communities to co ntribute to the country's political development. UNAMI provides advice and assis tance in the following ways: Promoting political dialogue and national reconciliation, assisting electoral pr ocesses, facilitating regional dialogue between iraq and neighbours, promoting p rotection of human rights, and advising on judicial and legal reform. -The United Nations top envoy in Iraq today hailed the relocation of another grou p of 400 Iranian exiles from a camp outside of the capital, Baghdad, to a new lo cation, Camp Hurriya, prior to their eventual resettlement in third countries. The issue of Camp Ashraf located in eastern Iraq and made up of several thousand Iranian exiles, many of them members of a group known as the People s Mojahedeen of Iran has been one of the main issues dealt with by UNAMI for more than 18 mon ths. In line with a memorandum of understanding signed in December by the UN and the Iraqi Government to resolve the situation, some two-thirds of the residents, or 2,000 people, were re-located to a temporary transit location near Baghdad known as Camp Hurriya formerly known as Camp Liberty where a process to determine ref ugee status is being carried out by the UNHCR. --------ISRAELI-LEBANESE BORDER ISSUES The head of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon today chaired a mee ting with senior officials from the Lebanese and Israeli militaries as part of o ngoing UN-sponsored efforts to reduce tensions and boost security along the coun tries border area. The Force Commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) held talks with representatives of both the Lebanese Armed Forces and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) at the UN Position at the Ras Al Naqoura crossing. The discussions covere d issues relevant to the implementation of Security Council resolution 1701, foc using on the situation along the Line of Withdrawal the so-called Blue Line that separates Lebanon and Israel, the ongoing visible marking of the Blue Line, and past violations as well as withdrawal by the occupying Israeli forces from nort hern part of the village of Ghajar, which straddles the Blue Line. UNIFIL was originally created by the Security Council in March 1978 to confirm I srael s withdrawal from Lebanon, restore peace and security and assist the Lebanes e Government in re-establishing effective authority in the area. The mandate had

to be adjusted twice due to developments in 1982 and 2000. Following the 2006 conflict between Israel and Hizbollah, the Council adopted re solution 1701, which enhanced UNIFIL, and decided that in addition to the origin al mandate, it would, among other matters, monitor the cessation of hostilities; accompany and support the Lebanese armed forces as they deploy throughout the s outh of Lebanon; and extend its assistance to help ensure humanitarian access to civilians and the voluntary and safe return of displaced persons. -The Security Council has extended the mandate of UNIFIL until 31 August 2013, wh ile urging all parties to abide scrupulously by their obligation to respect the safety of the world body s staff. In a unanimously adopted resolution, the 15-member body condemned in the stronges t terms all terrorist attacks against the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), a nd reiterated its calls for the rapid finalization of the investigation by the G overnment into three attacks on the mission carried out in 2011. Established in 1978, UNIFIL is tasked with ensuring that the area between the so -called Blue Line separating Israel and Lebanon and the Litani River is free of unauthorized weapons, personnel and assets. It also cooperates with the Lebanese Armed Forces so they can fulfil their security responsibilities. In addition, the Council urged Israel to expedite the withdrawal of its army fro m the northern part of the village of Ghajar without further delay, in coordinat ion with UNIFIL. ------Chemical weapons The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is an arms control agreement which outlaws the production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons, signed in 1993 and ef fective from 1997. Its full name is the Convention on the Prohibition of the Dev elopment, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destr uction. The agreement is administered by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which is an independent organization based in The Hagu e, Netherlands. The main obligation under the convention is the prohibition of use and productio n of chemical weapons, as well as the destruction of all chemical weapons. The d estruction activities are verified by the OPCW. As of November 2011, around 71% of the (declared) stockpile of chemical weapons has thus been destroyed. The con vention also has provisions for systematic evaluation of chemical and military p lants, as well as for investigations of allegations of use and production of che mical weapons based on intelligence of other state parties. Eight states that are not party to the convention are Angola, Egypt, Israel, Mya nmar, North Korea, Somalia, South Sudan and Syria. As of 2012, only four nations are confirmed as having chemical weapons: the Unit ed States, Russia, North Korea and Syria. A chemical weapon is a device that uses chemicals formulated to inflict death or harm to human beings. They are classified as weapons of mass destruction, and h ave been used in some past conflicts. The most dangerous of these are nerve agents GA, GB, and VX, and vesicant (blist er) agents H, HT, and HD. All are in liquid form at normal room temperature. India declared its stock of chemical weapons in June 1997. India declared a stoc kpile of 1044 tonnes of sulphur mustard at its possession. By 2005, from among t he six nations (along with US, Russia, Iraq, Libya and China) that had declared possession of chemical weapons, India was the only one to meet its deadline for chemical weapons destruction and for inspection of its facilities by the OPCW. O

n May 14, 2009, India informed the UN that it has destroyed its stockpile of che mical weapons. Syria is currently believed to be in possession of Sarin, Mustard gas and possib ly VX. The VX nerve agent is the most well-known of the V-series of nerve agents and is considered an area denial weapon due to its physical properties. All of the above are Scedule I substances under the convention. Schedule 1 substances are chemicals which can either be used as chemical weapons themselves or used in the manufacture of chemical weapons and which have no, or very limited, uses outside of chemical warfare. These may be produced or used for research, medical, pharmaceutical or chemical weapon defence testing (called "protective testing" in the treaty) purposes but production above 100 grams per year must be declared to the OPCW. A country is l imited to possessing a maximum of 1 tonne of these materials. Chemicals which can be used as weapons, or used in their manufacture, but which have legitimate applications as well are listed in Schedule 2 (small-scale appli cations) and Schedule 3 (large scale applications). The Chemical Weapons Convention (Amendment) Bill, 2010 was recently passed by th e Lok Sabha. The Chemical Weapons Convention Act, 2000 (the Act) was enacted to give effect to the United Nations Convention on the Prohibition of the Developm ent, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destructio n (the CWC). The CWC aims to eliminate chemical weapons by prohibiting their dev elopment, acquisition, stockpiling, transfer or use by State Parties. The 188 St ate Parties of the CWC are required to take the steps necessary to prohibit thes e activities within their jurisdiction. India signed the Convention on January 1 4, 1993. The Bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on April 16, 2010. The Standing Commi ttee submitted its report on August 3, 2010. This Bill was passed by the Rajya S abha on May 3, 2012 with amendments based on recommendations of the Standing Com mittee. The recommendations of the standing committee and the subsequent amendme nts made by the Rajya Sabha are as follows: The Act disallows any person from transferring or receiving specified toxic chem icals from a citizen of a non-State Party. The Bill changes this position by pro hibiting transfer or receipt of the specified toxic chemicals from a non-State P arty to the Convention. The Committee recommended that the provision should clea rly prohibit transfer or receipt from both non-State Parties and citizens of non -State Parties. The Rajya Sabha has made the corresponding amendment to the Bill . The Act mandates the registration of persons engaged in production, transfer, or use of any toxic chemical. The Bill makes registration mandatory, subject to ce rtain threshold limits that are prescribed for manufacturers of specified chemic als. The Committee observed that this would make registration mandatory only for those manufacturers who cross the specified limit. Thus, the Committee asked th e government to consider a two-step process of compulsory registration of all ma nufacturers, followed by a declaration of those crossing the threshold limits. T his has not been accepted by the Rajya Sabha. Hence, only those persons whose p roduction of toxic chemicals exceeds the threshold would be required to register . The Act established a National Authority to implement the provisions of the Conv ention. It empowers the central government to appoint officers of the National A uthority as enforcement officers. The Bill broadens the central government s power by allowing it to appoint any of its officers as enforcement officers. The Comm ittee recommended eligibility criteria, such as technical qualifications and exp ertise, for these officers. The Committee also recommended that officers should

be given suitable training before their appointment. The Rajya Sabha has incorpo rated the suggestion of prescribing eligibility criteria under the Bill. The Lok Sabha passed the Bill on August 30, 2012 without any amendments. ------------DustCart An EU-funded project has resulted in a human-sized robot, called DustCart, that can navigate itself to stop outside your door when summoned for picking up garba ge. The robot is mounted with cameras and other sensors so it can 'see' where it is going. It scans the path ahead and processes the information to avoid stationary objects. --------Ebola-Uganda 14 people have died this month from an outbreak of Ebola in remote western Ugand a. Ebola is highly contagious and deadly. According to the WHO it is one of the m ost virulent viral diseases known to human kind. It spreads easily and kills ove r half of people it infects. When Ebola is confirmed, health officials need to a ct quickly to stop its spread. This means isolating those who may have had conta ct with the virus, and using proper burial techniques for the lives that have al ready been claimed. -----Nodding disease Nodding disease or nodding syndrome is a recent, little-known disease which emer ged in Sudan in the 1960s. It is a fatal, mentally and physically disabling dise ase that only affects children, typically between the ages of 5 and 15. It is cu rrently restricted to small regions in South Sudan, Tanzania, and northern Ugand a. The most recent outbreak has been North Uganda, where research is ongoing ab out possible causes. ---------Desalination Desalination refers processes that remove some amount of salt and other minerals from saline water. More generally, desalination may also refer to the removal o f salts and minerals, as in soil desalination. Salt water is desalinated in order to produce fresh water that is suitable for h uman consumption or irrigation. One potential by-product of desalination is tabl e salt. Desalination is used on many seagoing ships and submarines. Most of the modern interest in desalination is focused on developing cost-effective ways of providing fresh water for human use. Along with recycled wastewater, this is one of the few non-rainfall-dependent water sources. Large-scale desalination typic ally uses large amounts of energy and specialized, expensive infrastructure, mak ing it more expensive than fresh water from conventional sources such as rivers or groundwater. With a coastline of about 3,500 miles, inland sources in Rajasthan and Little Ra nn of Kutch, and the rock salt mines in Mandi, India has possibilities of attain ing a high position in salt production. Apart from being an indispensable item o f food, salt is an important raw material for the manufacture of heavy chemicals like soda ash, caustic soda and chlorine. Also, salt is used in food processing industries.

India had been an importer of salt for a long time as her own production was not sufficient to meet the demand. The position deteriorated further after partitio n, when the extensive rock salt deposits in the Punjab and marine salt works in Sind went to Pakistan. Soon after 1947, India was faced with the problem of meet ing the acute shortage of edible salt in various parts of the country. The Salt Research Institute (now known as Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Instit ute) was opened in 1954. The mission of the Institute is to generate knowledge and innovations required f or efficient utilization of our coastal wasteland, sea water, marine algae, sola r power and silicates. Broadly, the Institute conducts research in biosciences, chemical transformation, process engineering, environmental monitoring, separati on science. With about 9 million rural folks in Karnataka, Gujarat and other states at risk due to water salinity, the Centre is set to carry out a performance audit in 50 desalination plants besides setting up a panel to suggest ways to bring down the cost of treatment of saline water. The Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute is likely to conduct th e audit to find out the quanta of power consumed, filtering capacities and the c osts per litre, as the government is contemplating a Technology Support Programm e to give boost to efforts to treat saline water in a cost-effective manner. --------CSIR The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, the premier industrial R&D orga nization in India, was constituted in 1942. It is an autonomous body registered under the Registration of Societies Act of 1860. CSIR aims to provide industrial competitiveness, social welfare, strong S&T base for strategic sectors and advancement of fundamental knowledge. The Government of India announced a new Science and Technology Policy 2003 that presents Science and Technology with a human face and emphasizes realities such as facing open, global competition; need for examining social, economic and env ironmental consequences of S&T; and, aggressive international benchmarking and i nnovation. It advocates strong support for basic research, manpower build-up and retention, and dynamism in S&T governance through participation of scientists. Today CSIR is recognised as one of the world s largest publicly funded R&D organis ations having linkages to academia, R&D organisations and industry. CSIR s 37 labo ratories not only knit India into a giant network that impacts and adds quality to the life of each and every Indian but CSIR is also party to the prestigious G lobal Research Alliance with the objective of applying global knowledge pool for global good through global funding. CSIR s R&D portfolio embraces areas as divers e as Aerospace, Biotechnology, Chemicals, etc. Comes under dept of SIR under ministry of S&T. ------Pussy riot Pussy Riot is a Russian feminist punk-rock collective that stages politically pr ovocative impromptu performances in Moscow, on subjects such as the status of wo men in Russia, and most recently against the election campaign of Prime Minister Putin for president of Russia. During February 2012, as a part of a protest movement against Vladimir Putin, Pu ssy Riot performed a punk rock song in a Church in Moscow. The allegedly blasphe

mous song was performed in the Altar. On 3 March Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, two alleged members of Pu ssy Riot, were arrested by Russian authorities. On 16 March another woman, Ekate rina Samutsevitch, who had earlier been questioned as a witness in this case, wa s similarly arrested and charged. On 21 July the court extended their pre-trial detention by another six months. A ll three are recognized as political prisoners by the Union of Solidarity with P olitical Prisoners (SPP). Amnesty International named them prisoners of conscien ce due to "the severity of the response of the Russian authorities" The trial of the three women started in Moscow on 30 July 2012. Charged with "ho oliganism motivated by religious hatred or hostility", they face possible senten ces of up to seven years imprisonment. Russian prosecutors charged Alexei Navalny, an anti-corruption crusader and blog ger, with embezzlement, accusing him of leading a criminal gang that stole lumbe r worth more than $500,000. Coming soon after the start of a trial of three fema le punk musicians for performing an anti-Putin song at a cathedral, the charges against Mr Navalny stoked fears of a renewed Kremlin crackdown on the opposition to President Vladimir Putin. -------Haixun 01 China has launched its largest and most advanced patrol vessel as part of its ef forts to assert marine sovereignty amid escalating disputes over a host of islan ds in the South China Sea. The new vessels Haixun 01 was launched from Wuhan, Hu bei province. The new flagship is the first patrol vessel capable of completing both maritime surveillance and rescue missions. It is part of stepped up efforts by China to protect its marine sovereignty and enhance rescue efficiency on its coastal waters. The new vessel would cruise in "China's territorial waters," searching and savin g lives at sea, investigating maritime disputes, monitoring oil spills and condu cting emergency disposals. Helicopters can take off and land on platforms on board to get refuelled or exec ute life-saving and searching tasks. In the last few weeks China has taken certain decisive steps like establishing a new city called Sansha on Yongxing Island, part of which also claimed by Vietna m. Beijing also established a military garrison there, sending a strong signal abou t its intention to assert its claims over the islands. Truong Tan Sang is the president of Vietnam. ------Hindu jagran vedike, subhash padil ---------Iapetus Third largest of Saturn's moons, about half the size of our own moon. Giant aval anches on the surface of Iapetus could provide answers about the destructive lan dslides on Earth.

Researchers have analysed the dimensions of landslides on the solar system's mos t spectacular mountain range, the Giant Ridge on Iapetus, using images from the Cassini mission. Understanding the cause of long landslides on Iapetus can aid understanding of unusually long landslides on Earth. The giant ridge was discovered in 2004 by Nasa's Cassini spacecraft. The mysteri ous icy rim that circles the equator of the planet is more than 12 miles high an d runs almost a thousand miles from end to end. Cassini Huygens is a NASA-ESA-ASI (US-Europe-Italy) spacecraft sent to the Saturn system. It has studied the planet and its many natural satellites since arriving there in 2004, also observing Jupiter, the Heliosphere, and testing the theory of relativity. Launched in 1997 after nearly two decades of gestation, it includ es a Saturn orbiter and an atmospheric probe/lander for the moon Titan called Hu ygens, which entered and landed on Titan in 2005. Cassini is the fourth space pr obe to visit Saturn and the first to enter orbit, and its mission is ongoing as of 2012. --------Seoul Nuclear Security Summit communique reiterated the need for securing nuclea r material amidst developments in Iran, DPRK; and reaffirmed commitment towards non-proliferation, disarmament and civilian uses of nuclear energy. 1. Urged countries to sign international treaties on nuclear security. 2. Minimise use of highly enriched uranium for civilian purposes. 3. Develop a nuclear security culture and secure all radioactive sources. 4. Mutual cooperation for enhancing nuclear forensics capabilities. 5. Develop appropriate plans for disposal of spent fuel and other radioactive wa ste. -------Article 80(1) President to nominate 12 persons to the RS from among people having special know ledge or practical experience of literature, science, arts or social service. Is cricket an art or social service? -----------Presidential reference Group of ministers and Empowered group of ministers are ad-hoc bodies or committ ees appointed by the PM for a specific purpose. They have no legal status, or in other words, are extra-legal bodies. NBFCs are financial institutions which are not allowed to collect deposits from the public. They find other sources to fund their operations, such as wealth man agement, debt instruments, etc. They provide services like trading in stocks, co mmercial loans, portfolio management, financial market operations like participa ting in futures and options, etc. The new category of NBFC-Factor announced by R BI will deal with factor instrument. Factoring means transfer of loan rights to another institution at a discounted price by original lender. This may be benefi cial to lenders, banks who can thus liquidate their loans. It may not bring visi ble benefits to general public as such but can bring better liquidity in the mar ket and hence indirectly benefit the public. -------Declaration of assets

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar had foreseen this. K.T. Shah and H.V. Kamath proposed in the C onstituent Assembly that ministers should be obligated to declare their interest s, rights and properties before they assumed office. His reply in the Constituen t Assembly on December 31, 1948 is strikingly relevant today. Mere disclosure wa s not enough. It must be part of a four-point system. One is this, namely, that we should require by law and by Constitution if this pr ovision is to be effective not only that the Ministers should make a declaration of their assets and their liabilities at the time when they assume office, but we must also have two supplementary provisions. One is that every Minister on qu itting office shall also make a declaration of his assets on the day on which he resigns, so that everybody who is interested in assessing whether the administr ation was corrupt or not during the tenure of his office should be able to see w hat increase there is in the assets of the Minister and whether that increase ca n be accounted for by the savings which he can make out of his salary. The other provision would be that if we find that a Minister s increases in his ass ets on the day on which he resigns are not explainable by the normal increases d ue to his savings, then there must be a third provision to charge the Minister f or explaining how he managed to increase his assets to an abnormal degree during that period. In my judgment, if you want to make this clause effective, then th ere must be three provisions as I stated. One is a declaration at the outset; se cond is a declaration at the end of the quitting of this office; thirdly, respon sibility for explaining as to how the assets have come to be so abnormal and fou rthly, declaring that to be an offence, followed up by a penalty or by a fine th e legal sanction is inadequate. Have we no other sanction at all? In my judgment , we have a better sanction for the enforcement of the purity of administration, and that is public opinion as mobilised and focussed in the Legislative Assembl y. Ambedkar was right on the futility of mere disclosure and the inadequacy of the legal remedy. He was altogether wrong on the weight of public opinion and the ca pacity of legislatures to act in a non-partisan spirit in matters of corruption. But if the Election Commission can keep tabs on the election expenditure of hun dreds of candidates, why cannot the tax authorities probe efficiently into the a stonishing gains of at least the taller poppies? Dr. Ambedkar s insistence on an e fficacious legal sanction, neglected then, must be explored today. In 1964, the Santhanam Committee on Prevention of Corruption reported there is wi despread impression that failure of integrity is not uncommon among ministers an d that some ministers have enriched themselves illegitimately That was nearly 50 y ears ago. The political class continues to loot the land with greater abandon wh ile dutifully disclosing its increasing assets at the time of each election. No questions asked; no answers provided. In the hawala case, the Supreme Court struck down the Single Directive which req uired prior permission from the state even before a preliminary inquiry into cha rges of corruption is launched. It was reinstated by law enacted by Parliament a s an amendment to the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946; still the CB I s charter. No major party dissented. The Penal Code of 1860 and the CrPC of 1895 were enacted when there were no Minis ters. They came much later. The 'sanctions provisions' in the CrPC were designed to protect minions of the Raj. Today they make government judge in its own cause if a Minister comes under a cloud. No other democracy has it. -------Ta Prohm is the modern name of a temple at Angkor in Cambodia, built in the late

12th and early 13th centuries and originally called Rajavihara. It was founded by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university . Ta Prohm has been left in much the same condition in which it was found: the p hotogenic and atmospheric combination of trees growing out of the ruins and the jungle surroundings have made it one of Angkor's most popular temples. ASI is he lping restore some of the ruins there. ---------------India-Bangla LBA Maitree Bandhan, the joint initiative between The Times of India and Bangladesh' s leading newspaper Prothom Alo. Coming in the wake of the recent India-Bangladesh foreign secretary-level consul tations in Delhi, the cabinet committee on security's decision to green-light a constitutional amendment to ratify the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) between the two countries is welcome. The protocol to the 1974 agreement was inked during M anmohan Singh's visit to Dhaka last year. Once ratified, it would facilitate a s wap of 162 enclaves and adverse possessions held by the two sides and give India its longest resolved land boundary. The strategic significance of this is incalculable. Even more than the Teesta ri ver water treaty, the LBA is a big-ticket initiative that can galvanise bilatera l ties. However, reservations on the part of Mamata Banerjee and the BJP have im peded implementation. The BJP has proposed complete exchange of populations resi ding in the enclaves. In the 21st century, we must look beyond ethnic cleansing and pursue policies ba sed on choice. It's imperative to note that apart from Bhutan, Bangladesh is the only regional neighbour that currently has a positive relationship with India. India's inability to settle relations with neighbours comes in the way of its ri se as a world power. Statesmanship and the ability to rise beyond petty vested i nterests is required on the part of all political forces in the country. Transit rights through Bangladesh - which were held back following Mamata's last minute objection to the Teesta deal - can provide a huge fillip to the economy of Indi a's eastern and northeastern states and open up a gateway to Southeast Asia. Enh anced cooperation in sectors ranging from power and telecom to manufacturing and education can unleash the forces of growth in the region. A developed Banglades h is the only long-term solution to the illegal migration issue. While New Delhi has done well to provide the $1 billion line of credit to Dhaka for development projects, the LBA and Teesta deal have an emotive appeal in Bang ladesh. With little more than a year left before the Awami League and its allies face fresh polls, it is imperative that these are pushed through so that the Le ague's India-friendly policies are rewarded. The political class needs to come t ogether on this. A strong, secular Bangladesh is not only in India's interest bu t can be a catalyst for transforming South Asia as a whole. If Indian policies o n Afghanistan are largely consensual, why are those needed to settle relations w ith much friendlier Bangladesh so controversial? ------------Rudolf Elmer Former employee of Swiss bank Julius Bar, who leaked documents to WikiLeaks that showed tax evasion. Was in the news through 2011 during a trial for breaching b anking secrecy laws. ----------

India-Pak economic relations Pak Will phase out restrictions on Indian imports by 2013. MFN status. Demands of business communities. Bilateral trade to increase to $ 6 billion by 2 014. Easing the restrictive visa regime, letting banks open branches, connect electri c grids, promote overland petroleum trade are all on the cards. People-to-people contacts. China-India example of forging ahead with economic relations despite political d isputes. Can foster cooperation in multilateral forums, push SAFTA. --------TRAI to bring out paper on the grave danger of cross-media ownerships Warning that cross-media ownership leading to a monopoly of opinions could pose a grave danger, new Telecom Regulatory Authority of India chief Rahul Khullar ha s announced plans to bring out a consultation paper on media ownership soon; If one newspaper controls all contents of opinion through cross-media ownership, if one TV group owns both channels and cable distribution, it could pose grave d anger. No democracy can survive if you do not have plurality and diversity of op inion, he said; The issue of cross media ownership had come into the spotlight recently when sto ck market regulator SEBI started probing whether Reliance Industries had made re quisite disclosures before announcing its investment in the TV18 group which wou ld ultimately fund a consolidation with the Eenadu TV group. The investment pote ntially creates a cross-media empire which spans digital divides to encompass pr int publications, news and entertainment broadcasting, consumer internet, film p roduction and e-commerce; Media monopoly was a larger issue than corporate monopoly in other fields, said Mr. Khullar, pointing out that unlike manufacturers of ice-cream, shoes or bed l inen, media products are competing to influence you . He also drew a parallel with the financial sector, where industrial establishments are denied banking license s. Similar problems can arise when television and radio channels and newspapers in different languages have a common owner, who also owns the means of distribut ion, whether a cable or internet network. Should a broadcaster here swallow the d istributor? he asked; The regulator will explore the need for a mandatory disclosure requirement for a ffiliation and ownership and the limits on market share needed to ensure plurali ty and diversity, he said. He drew cautionary lessons from the scenario in the U .K., where the British Parliament has seen a threat in the cross-media ownership of the Rupert Murdoch empire. Freedom to form one s own opinion is denied in such monopoly, he said. --------Oil and gas sector http://petroleum.nic.in/ng.htm http://petroleum.nic.in/petstat.pdf http://www.investindia.gov.in/?q=oil-and-gas-sector http://asiancorrespondent.com/262/india%E2%80%99s-oil-production-consumption-and -imports/ http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report_rajasthan-could-contribute-up-to-40pct-of-i ndia-s-total-oil-production-by-2014_1533214 http://petroleum.nic.in/CBM.pdf --------Rift under Antartic ice sheet

Rift comparable to the Grand Canyon (1.5 km deep, 10 km wide, 100 km long) disco vered under Antartic ice sheet. It is said to contribute to ice melt and consequ ent rise in sea level. The ice sheet that covers land surface in west Antartic is 4-km thick, but melti ng faster than other parts of the continent. -----------Measures taken by RBI to curb depreciation of Rupee vis-a-vis the US Dollar 1. Increasing the Dollar demand in the economy by (a) increasing limit on foreig n investment in government securities by $ 5 billion (b) Increasing limit on ECB s by Indian companies by $ 10 billion. 2. Widening investor base by allowing long-term investors like socereign wealth funds, insurance and pension funds to invest in government securities. 3. Qualified foreign investors (QFIs) allowed to invest in infrastructure debts through MFs. However, for sustained improvement, macroeconomic problems need to be addressed. These include the widening trade deficit, subsidies, black money and corruption . -----------Rising Current Account deficit CAD is the sum of balance of trade and invisibles, and has soared in recent time s to as much as 4.5% of the GDP when around 3% is considered as being not advers e for the economy. Reasons 1. Decrease in merchandise export: Decrease in demand for Indian goods due to Eu rozone crisis, as Europe is one of our leading trade partners. 2. Rise in cost of international crude. 3. Rise in demand for import of gold. 4. Fall in forex reserves. 5. Fall in foreign investments. Measures 1. Encouragement to manufacturing sector without compromising too much on revenu e aspect. Giving a boost to the SMSEs through commercial loans can help fill the gap in exports. 2. Diversification of domestic energy basket to reduce reliance on crude imports . However, this is a medium-to-long-term measure like the previous one. 3. Immediate measures can include encouraging higher remittances by diaspora, ex porting surplus grain that is rotting due to lack of storage facilities, etc. 4. Increasing FDI cap in crucial sectors like insurance and multi-brand retail. 5. Exploring new markets for our exports, and diversifying the goods exported. --------Rajinder Sachar committee Former CJ of Delhi HC. Appointed 2005. Report in November 2006. On social, econo mic, educational conditions of Muslims. 1. Literacy rate among Muslims is much below the national average. The gap betwe en Muslims and the general average is greater in urban areas and among women.

2. Almost 25 per cent of Muslim children in the 6-14 year age group have either never attended school or have dropped out. In many Muslim concentrated areas, th ere are no primary schools for miles. Muslim parents are not averse to mainstrea m education. Only about 4% of Muslims attend madrasas. 3. Bidi workers, tailors and mechanics need to be provided with social safety ne ts and social security. The participation of Muslims in the professional and man agerial cadre is low. 4. The average amount of bank loan disbursed to the Muslims is less than the amo unt disbursed to other minorities. RBI s efforts to extend banking and credit faci lities under the PM s 15-point programme has benefited other minorities, marginali zing Muslims. 5. There is inverse association between proportion of the Muslim population and the availability of infrastructure in small villages. Muslim concentration villa ges are not served with pucca approach roads and local bus stops. Large proporti on of Muslim households in urban areas are in the less than Rs 500 expenditure b racket. 6. The presence of Muslims has been found to be only 3% in the IAS, 1.8% in the IFS and 4% in the IPS. Community has representation of only 4.5% in Indian Rail ways while 98.7% of them are positioned at lower levels. Representation of Musli ms is low in Universities and in Banks. Their share among constables is only 6% , in health 4.4%, in transport 6.5%. 7. Total allocation in the four years 2002 to 2006 for Madarsa Modernization Sch eme is Rs 106 crore. The information regarding the Scheme has not adequately per colated down. 8. Most of the variables indicate that Muslim-OBCs are significantly deprived in comparison to Hindu-OBCs. The work participation rate (WPR) shows the presence of a sharp difference. The share of Muslim-OBCs in government/PSU jobs is much l ower. Removal of common stereotypes 1. Only 4% of Muslims students go to madrassas. 2. There is substantial demand from the community for fertility regulation and f or modern contraceptives, over 20 million couples are already using contraceptiv es. Muslim population growth has slowed as fertility has declined substantially. 3. Muslims complained of suffering the twin calumnies of being dubbed anti-natio nal and of being appeased. However, the Indian Muslim community as a whole had n ever indulged in anti-national activities and the conditions borne out by the co mmittee's findings clearly explained that no appeasement had taken place. 4. In private industry like the BPO industry, Muslims have been able to do well and find employment in large numbers. However this is restricted to large compan ies mainly. 5. Muslims in Gujarat were indicated to be better off in terms of Education and Economic well-being than the national average. Even in terms of employment Gujar at had a better share of Muslims in government jobs (5.4%) than compared to stat es like West Bengal (2.1%). Recommendations to ensure equity and equality of opportunity and eliminate discr imination 1. Creation of a National Data Bank where all relevant data for various Communit ies is maintained.

2. Form an autonomous Assessment and Monitoring Authority to evaluate extent of benefits. 3. An Equal Opportunity Commission should be constituted to look into grievances of deprived groups. 4. Elimination of anomalies with respect to reserved constituencies under delimi tation scheme. 5. A process of evaluating the content of the school textbooks. The UGC should evolve a system where part of the allocation to colleges and univ ersities is linked to the diversity in the student population. Providing hostel facilities at reasonable costs for students from minorities must be taken up. 6. The community should be represented on interview panels and Boards. The under privileged should be helped to utilize new opportunities in its high growth phas e through skill development and education. 7. Provide financial and other support to initiatives built around occupations w here Muslims are concentrated and have growth potential. Recommendations included preferential treatment for employment in armed forces, which was criticised by many saying armed forces should remain secular in charac ter. Follow-up actions to increase equality of opportunities included the 15-poi nt programme, and increased funding for National Minorities Dev and Finance Corp oration. -----------Faraizi movement The Faraizi movement was founded by Haji Shariatullah among Bengali Muslims. Aft er returning from Mecca Shariatullah called on them to give up un-Islamic practi ces and act upon their duties as Muslims (Faraiz). The movement was concerned wi th British influence on Muslims and called for social justice. Under his son, Mu hammad Musin or Dudu Mian, the movement took a more militant form. He organised resistance to Hindu landlords and money lenders, boycotting the payment of taxes and interest charges. He also formed an armed force to attack the zamindars and attempted to form a parallel Muslim government within East Bengal. District Com missioners called khalifas were appointed to each village, their role being to r aise funds, carry out propaganda, and settle disputes. The British made persiste nt attempts to prosecute Miyan for crimes ranging from theft to murder, but all such allegations floundered from a lack of witnesses prepared to give evidence t hough he was placed under arrest during the Mutiny. However the faraizi state wit hin a state went into decline following Miyan s death in 1860. -------Chinnaswami Subramanya Bharathi (1882 1921) was a Tamil writer, poet, social refor mer and freedom fighter popularly known as Mahakavi Bharathiyar. Many of his poe ms and songs were on religious, political and social themes, and widely used in films and Carnatic Music. --------HD Video Resolution of a picture depends on the number of dot-like pixels squeezed into a given area. A high-definition video is any video with display resolution higher than the sta ndard-definition or SD video. HD video usually has a resolution of either of two standards: 1280 X 720 pixels, or 1920 X 1080 pixels, that latter being called f ull HD. It has specific applications in television broadcast, various video reco rding formats, Blue-ray discs, etc.

SD usually delivers pictures of a resolution of 704 or 720 of these pixels acros s 480 scanning lines. International Telecommunication Union has finalised standards for ultra high-def inition TV (UHDTV) that will push picture resolution manifold. Compared with HTD V pictures that are about 1-2 mega pixels in size, the first level of UHDTV pict ure sizes will be of the order of 8 mega pixels (3840 x 2160 pixels). And at the second level, the pictures will be 32 mega pixels in size (7680 x 4320 pixels). These are called 4K and 8K UHDTV systems. It will take several decades before we see it widely used, and even then not eve rywhere just as it is with HDTV. The manufacturers need to gear up to making UHD TV displays. Plans will need to be made to make the UHDTV programme-making equip ment available, and broadcasters will need to try it and be convinced by it. One thing is sure it will happen. Having an ITU-R recommendation was the trigger fo r the industry to go for digital television and then HDTV, and the same will be true of UHDTV. --------PDA, Smartphone, Tablet computer, etc: comparisons A Personal digital assistant or PDA is a device that essentially helps the user organize various activities, contacts and other life tasks. It usually consists of a small computer-like gadget with a screen that has an address book, contacts , tasks and calendar inside of it. Most PDAs can also have additional programs i nstalled into them as well. A smartphone is a phone with capabilities beyond a regular cell phone. This usua lly means that the phone has PDA capabilities and allows for installation of oth er programs. One can essentially think of a smartphone as a PDA with cellular ca pabilities. Smartphones usually contain the same technology that a PDA has, but includes oth er features that only a phone could possibly have. The smartphone includes additional hardware that allows it to communicate with a cellular network and also process data, enabling Internet access without search ing for a wireless hotspot. Tablets are a form of personal computers that utilize touchscreen technology in a mobile package. These devices allow you to remain productive while on the go o r when away from your home or office computer. It has all hardware components ho used inside a flat touchscreen. All user input is done via stylus or fingertip. Tablet PCs are popular for their portable size and functionality. Many have the ability to connect to a cellular or wireless network, allowing you to browse the web or check your email. Tablets are also designed for handling different types of media, such as photos, music, videos and books. Smartphones are more convenient if you're always on the go because they offer po cket-sized convenience and connectivity. Smartphones are also capable of making phone calls, unlike most tablet PCs. However, tablet PCs offer the same function ality, as well as a better media consumption experience, but are less portable. Tablets offer users a lighter, smaller and more portable platform than laptops, along with a bigger screen than a smartphone, but can't yet do everything laptop s can do. Laptop computer screens range from 10.6 to 20 inches diagonally, whereas most ta blets have screens of either 9.7 or 7 inches. Battery life of a laptop ranges fr om seven hours down to 90 minutes, depending on model, while tablets run for eig

ht to 10 hours before needing a recharge. Some tablets lack ports for flash driv es and other portable memory, which makes backing up data harder. Laptops have an interface that allows you to open multiple windows for single or multiple programs, while the user interface on a tablet or smartphone fills the screen with one app at a time, though designers are working to change that. Ins tead of employing a keyboard, mouse or trackpad, you control a tablet through a touchscreen interface. The touchscreen keyboard is smaller than a laptop's keybo ard, however, and touch-typists typically find their speed drops when using it. If you read e-books, tablets provide a better reading experience than laptops. W hen you work on a large image or a lengthy document, a laptop screen gives you m ore workspace, and a mouse or trackpad allows more precise manipulation of what' s on your screen. Tablets also can't multitask as effectively as laptops, and th eir software isn't as powerful or as effective. You can use a tablet, however, i n many places where you can't find a surface on which to rest a laptop. Netbooks are a category of small, lightweight, inexpensive laptop computers. The y omit certain features, have smaller screens and keyboards, and offer reduced c omputing power when compared to a full-sized laptop. An Ultrabook is a costly type of small laptop designed to feature reduced thickn ess and weight without compromising performance and battery life. They use low-p ower Intel processors with integrated graphics and unibody chassis to fit larger batteries into smaller cases. Some models have limited external ports. Android and iOS Smartphones and tablet devices have invigorated the Web and mobile computing by providing users with easy-to-use handheld devices that can perform almost any ta sk imaginable. The two operating systems most largely responsible for this emerg ing market are Google's Android and Apple's iOS. Both are touch-based, Web-enabl ed operating systems that run on smartphones and tablets. Although largely ident ical, a variety of minor differences set these two operating system choices apar t. Many of the differences between Android and iOS are due to the relative openness of the operating systems. Apple has strict guidelines for interface design and limits the degree to which users can customize the iOS theme. Apple also forbids the usage of third-party code such as Adobe Flash in an effort to maintain stab ility. Both of these factors greatly contribute to the recognition iOS receives for its ease of use and elegance, but it also burdens those users who prefer to have unlimited control over their phone. Because Android is an open source opera ting system, users can customize almost every aspect of their phone. It is also possible to run Flash on the phone, allowing users to stream online video and pl ay games. This flexibility is particularly appealing for those who like to tinke r but it does lend itself to instability and inconsistency in the user experienc e. Probably the most dramatic difference between Android and iOS has to do with har dware options. The only devices that run iOS are the Apple-manufactured iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Apple does not license the operating system for usage on ot her devices so if you want an iOS, you have to buy an Apple device. Android, on the other hand, is available on dozens of different smartphone and tablet device s manufactured by a variety of companies. The variety of options covers the full spectrum of smartphone and tablet configurations so that you can select a devic e that suits your needs and budget. Android and iOS feature massive app stores where you can download and purchase a pps, ringtones, music and games. Though the iTunes App Store is larger than the

Android Market, both app stores are remarkably comprehensive and you can expect to find an app for every conceivable need. Where the app stores differ is in the availability of games. Some of the best reviewed titles are only available on i OS and it appears that game developers are placing more emphasis on iOS due to t he stability of the platform and the perception that iOS users are willing to sp end more money on games. One of the biggest advantages iOS has over Android is iTunes. The iTunes store e nables you to easily purchase music, audio books television shows and movies str aight from your iOS device. You can also easily manage your podcast and video su bscriptions from iTunes. Android users can purchase multimedia too, but the mark et places for multimedia are fractured across a number of different providers. -----------------------Analytics and Big Data Analytics is the discovery and communication of meaningful patterns in data. It relies on the simultaneous application of statistics, computer programming and O perations Research to approach problems in business (marketing, controlling, etc ) and industry. Analytics often favors data visualization methods. Analytics are usually based on modeling requiring extensive computation (See Big Data below) and thus the algorithms and software used tend to bridge the discip lines of computer science, statistics, and mathematics. A common application of analytics includes the study of business data to predict and improve performance in the future. In information technology, big data is a loosely-defined term used to describe d ata sets so large and complex that they become awkward to work with using on-han d database management tools. Difficulties include capture, storage, search, shar ing, analysis and visualization. The trend to larger data sets is due to the add itional information derivable from analysis of a single large set of related dat a, as compared to separate smaller sets, allowing correlations to be found to sp ot business trends. Scientists regularly encounter limitations due to large data sets in many areas, including meteorology, genomics, complex physics simulations, biological and en vironmental research, etc. The limitations also affect Internet search, finance and business informatics. Data sets grow in size in part because they are increa singly being gathered by ubiquitous information-sensing devices, software logs, cameras, microphones, etc. Big data is difficult to work with using relational databases and desktop statis tics and visualization packages, requiring instead massively parallel software r unning on tens, hundreds, or even thousands of servers. What is considered "big data" varies depending on the capabilities of the organization managing the set. -----------Bodo people The Bodos (pronounced bo-ros) are an ethnic-linguistic community, early settlers of Assam. They form around for 5-6% of the total population in the state. Bodos belong to a larger ethnic group called the Bodo-Kachari and are recognized as a plains tribe in the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. The Bodos led a struggle in the name of self-determination in late 1980s under t he leadership of Upendra Nath Brahma, who is now regarded as the Father of the B odos (Bodo-Fa). After a decade of long agitation, they were granted the Bodolan d Territorial Council (BTC), an autonomous administrative body that has within i ts jurisdiction the present districts of Kokrajhar, Chirang, Udalguri and Baksa.

In 2012, violent riots broke out between Bodos (mostly Christians and Hindus) an d immigrant Muslims, resulting in 58 deaths and displacement of 400,000 people. Land disputes in their districts is the chief problem as the Bodos are in a mino rity there compared to the combined non-Bodo numbers. --------Bo Xilai, Gu Kailai Bo, an ex-Chinese politburo member and one of the 'princelings', was suspended f ollowing alleged involvement in a homicide plot (of british businessman Neil Hay wood) along with wife Gu Kailai. The dismissal was notable for exposing disunity within the Communist Party shortly before the leadership transition. Gu given suspended death sentence. --------RhoC gene Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have found that RhoC, a cancer gene linked to aggressive spread of the disease, promotes b reast cancer stem cells. The finding implies a new way to target the behavior of these lethal cells. RhoC, which has previously been shown to promote metastasis (spread of a disease from one organ or part to another non-adjacent organ or pa rt) of many types of cancer, shows increased levels as breast cancer progresses. High levels of RhoC are associated with worse patient survival. -----------Kepler 30 Researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Califo rnia at Santa Cruz and other institutions have detected the first exoplanetary s ystem, 10,000 light years away, with regularly aligned planetary orbits similar to those in our solar system. At the centre of this faraway system is Kepler-30 , a star as bright and massive as the Sun. The star much like the Sun rotates ar ound a vertical axis and its three planets have orbits that are all in the same plane. ---------------Ro-Ro and Lo-Lo ports Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are vessels designed to carry wheeled car go such as automobiles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, trailers or railroad cars t hat are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels. This is in contrast to l o-lo (lift-on/lift-off) vessels which use a crane to load and unload cargo. RORO vessels have built-in ramps which allow the cargo to be efficiently "rolled on" and "rolled off" the vessel when in port. While smaller ferries that operat e across rivers and other short distances often have built-in ramps, the term RO RO is generally reserved for larger ocean-going vessels. ---------James Holmes Carried out a mass shooting in Colorado, US, during the filming of The Dark Knig ht Rises. The incident was significant as it revived the debate over citizens' r ight to own arms in the US, at a time when the UN was negotiating a global arms trade treaty.

Wade Michael Page (40), a U.S. Army veteran, has been identified as the suspect in a shooting incident at a gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Six members of the Sikh community were killed and dozens injured in the attack ----------Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt Indian slide guitar player who rechristened the instrument as Mohan Veena. Grammy award winner. Disciple of Pandit Ravi Shankar. -----------Holongi: Connectivity to Arunachal The PMO has stepped in to put an end to the dispute between the AAI and the Arun achal Pradesh government paving the way for construction of a new Greenfield air port. The Ministry of Civil Aviation will soon move a note for the approval of t he Union Cabinet for giving a final shape to the 'strategic project' which will link the border State with rest of the country directly. The new site of the air port will be at Holongi. Both AAI and the State Government had been locked in a tussle over the exact loc ation of the airport with the Arunachal Pradesh Government sticking to its stand s for having Banderdeva as the location while the technical committee of AAI had recommended Holongi. The AAI had objected on the ground that Banderdeva was sur rounded by hilly terrain and obstacles. It also argued that there was limited sc ope for future expansion, poor safety environment and high cost of construction involved. AAI had further stated that Holongi was on a flat ground and has scope of higher usability in poor weather and a safe operating environment. The project will also have in its surroundings a five-star hotel and a world cla ss convention centre along with other recreational activities. The DPR would als o provide appropriate facilities for livelihood activities for re-settled famili es. --------Pet diplomacy - Yume Vladimir Putin said he will send a Siberian cat as a thank you gift to a governo r in Japan, who gave him an Akita Inu puppy. Norihisa Satake, head of the Akita prefecture in Japan, sent a three-month-old Akita Inu puppy named Yume to Putin in appreciation for Russia's assistance after last year's earthquake and tsunami . "I hope that this gift will make a contribution to the deepening of mutual und erstanding and the further development of relations between Japan and Russia," S atake said. ------------Hansa Mehta (1897-1995) was an activist and politician. While young she was infl uenced by the reformer Aurobindo Ghose and Sayaji Rao III, the progressive ruler of Baroda. Hansa started work in 1926 as a member of the committee for Bombay M unicipal Schools. She also served as the president of the Bhagini Samaj. She cam paigned against the Simon Commission and picketed shops selling foreign goods an d liquor. She was active in the Indian National Congress, going to jail in 1930 and 1932. She represented the Congress from Mumbai in the Constituent Assembly. Hansa lent her support to many organisations working for the welfare of women. S he was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1958. Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, 1889-1964 After her return to India from England, Rajkumari got interested in India's free

dom struggle through the occasional visits of leaders to her father's home. Afte r meeting in person Mahatma Gandhi in 1919 in Bombay (Mumbai), she felt drawn to his thoughts and vision for the country. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre convince d her of the necessity of India's gaining its freedom from the Raj. She joined t he INC, and began to participate in India's struggle for freedom, and also in so cial reform activities in India. Rajkumari co-founded the All India Women s Conference in 1927. She participated in Dandi March, QIM, etc, and was imprisoned. Rajkumari went to liv e at Mahatma Gandhi's ashram in 1934, and took up the austere life there despite her aristocratic background. She served as one of Gandhi's secretaries. Rajkuma ri worked to reduce illiteracy, and eradicate the custom of child marriages and the purdah system for women, which were prevalent then among some Indian communi ties. Avantikabai Gokhale 1882-1949 Champion of women's health issues. Participated in Champaran satyagraha where sh e brought attention to women's problems. Wrote Gandhi's biography in Marathi. Started Hind Mahila Samaj, teaching embroidery and sewing. Worked to improve conditions of chawls and slums in Mumbai. Goshiben and Perin Naoroji Captain Famous Naoroji sisters, granddaughters of Dadabhai. Members of Rashtriya Stree Sangha during the CDM, alongwith Sarojini Naidu and A vantikabai Gokhale. Sucheta Kriplani Freedom fighter, first woman CM of UP. Came to the forefront during QIM, worked with Gandhi during Partition riots in Noakhali (now in Bangladesh. Gandhi arrang ed a peace march, going village to village carrying sacred texts, asking Hindus and Muslims alike to pray and pledge they will not kill each other). Was one of the few women elected to the constituent assembly. Usha Mehta Organised the underground Congress radio during QUIM. Conferred Padma Vibhushan in 1998. Nanka Motwani was the owner of Chicago radio who provided equipment and technici ans. Radio's location was changed regularly, but eventually they were traced and arre sted. During its three months, it disseminated uncensored information and news b anned by the British, kept the leaders in touch with the public. Others associated with the radio were Jhaveri brothers (chandrakant and vithalbhai), Babubhai Thakkar, Purushotam Trikamdas, Achyutrao Patwardhan, Ram Manohar Lohia, all of them socialists. Patwardhan ran an underground parallel government in Satara, and was called the lion of satara. It was called Patri Sarkar . Patri was the name given to the terribl e and torturous punishments administered to Government servants and people who d ared to obstruct the parallel government. These punishments disabled people for life. The ring-leader of the gangs who loo ted Government offices, treasuries and trains was Nana Patil (kranti sinha or re volutionary lion). The parallel government thus collected a loot of more than a lakh. Some of the associates in these atrocities were mere desperadoes who knew little of politics or socialism. The Government penetrated into the villages whe re the Government machinery broke down completely. Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy was a (East) Pakistani left-wing statesman of Bengali origin, and one of the principal Founding Fathers of modern-day Pakistan. Appoin

ted as the fifth Prime minister of Pakistan in 1956, he headed Pakistan until 19 57. -----------Addu declaration, 17th SAARC summit, November 2011 To forge effective cooperation in economy, connectivity, climate change and food security. Decision to fully implement SAFTA, reduce the sensitive items list, work out res olution on non-tariff barriers, and harmonise & standardise customs procedures. SAARC trade fair and travel tourism fair in Maldives, 2012, to push for involvin g private sector in promoting the region as Destination South Asia. To conclude the regional railways agreement. Ensure timely implementation of Thimpu statement on climate change, make 2% of n ational income available for individual renewable energy investments. Resolve operational issues related to SAARC food bank. Four agreements signed on: 1. Rapid response on natural disaster. 2. Seed agreement. 3. Multilateral arrangement on recognition of conformity assessment. 4. Implementation of regional standards. ---------Pandit Laxman Krishnarao Pandit represents the Gwalior gharana of Hindustan clas sical music the oldest tradition and fountainhead of all subsequent gharanas. Bo rn 1934 into a family of musicians, Panditji is the fifth in an unbroken lineag e of legendary musicians, and also a scholar engaged in documenting the style an d compositions of his gharana to preserve them for posterity. ---------RRE III Red Ribbon Express (RRE) is one of the flagship initiatives under the National A IDS Control Programme that was successfully implemented twice in the past. The t hird phase of RRE was flagged off from Delhi on 11th January 2012, the National Youth Day (birthday of Swami Vivekananda). On a year long journey the special tr ain will pass through 23 states covering 162 railway stations. Besides disseminating information regarding primary prevention and services, RRE -III aims at reducing stigma & discrimination against People Living with HIV/AID S, while focusing on youth in particular. Since 1992, there has been a considera ble expansion of the services for HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and suppo rt. The HIV estimates for 2010 show an overall reduction in prevalence and incid ence. The estimated number of new annual HIV infections has declined by more than 50% over the past decade. It is estimated that India had approximately 1.2 lakh new HIV infections in 2009, as against 2.7 lakh in 2000. -------------Akbarabadi mosque at Subhas Park Yet again, communal politics has insidiously turned a potentially significant ar chaeological site into a theatre of violence and vandalism. A complacent governm ent, oblivious to the vulnerability of historical remains in religious zones, fa iled to prevent it from happening. Early this month, construction of the undergr ound metro rail network in a park in front of the Jama Masjid in Delhi revealed traces of a building and yielded artefacts datable to the Mughal period. Instead

of quickly mobilising experts to scientifically evaluate the evidence, assess t he archaeological potential of the area and protect the site, the authorities we re irresponsibly lax. Vested groups quickly rushed in to capitalise on the situa tion and claimed that the unravelled structure is a part of the well known, but now lost Akbarabadi Mosque built during the rule of Shahjahan in the 17th centur y. This claim has to be professionally verified. Whatever be the final conclusio n, there is no justification for scheming politicians and self-appointed religio us leaders to forcefully occupy the site, construct a mosque over it and prevent p roper archaeological investigation. In the past, authorities have allowed religi ous worship in monuments such as Brihadisvara Temple in Thanjavur without impedi ng its conservation. But it is possible to do so and limited only to religious s tructures that are in use. Insisting on offering prayers at newly unearthed hist orical sites is not permissible and smacks of an agenda that has more to do with land grabbing than God worshipping. Old Delhi area was fraught with tension on Friday (July 27), as radical Hindu gr oups gathered to protest against the building of a mosque at the purported site of 17th-century Akbarabadi Masjid in Subhash Park. They shouted slogans demandin g that the "illegal structure" built by locals be razed. Muslims from the area w ere barred from entering the Subhash Park ground, which has been sealed in accor dance with orders by Delhi high court. Heavy police presence on the streets and traffic restrictions prevented any untoward incident. "The building of the mosque at Subhash Park is encroachment of public land, and the government cannot look the other way. They will have to punish those who hav e dared to do so. Otherwise, we will also take over the Red Fort premises and bu ild our own temple there," said Surendra Nath Avadhut, president, All India Sain ts' Committee. He added, "People have said saints should not get on autos and ri ckshaws, like we did during last week protests, but we will do whatever it takes to register our protest if a mosque is allowed to come up on the site." About 1 ,000 people, mostly saints from Haridwar and Haryana, had gathered for the prote st. There was tension in the area when several thousands of Muslims from different p arts of the city gathered at Jama Masjid to offer Friday prayers. Five companies of Rapid Action Force and Delhi Police officers had been deployed on the main r oad and streets in the Walled City. Netaji Subhash Chandra Marg, which connects from 12pm to Old Delhi with the rest of the city, was closed for about two hours 2pm causing inconvenience to locals. -----------WIPO SCCR EU allows treaty talks to allow copyright waiver for print disabilities The European Union is holding up a treaty to allow books and other printed works to be converted into a format accessible to the visually impaired and other pri nt disabled people without seeking the permission of the copyright holder. India, and most other developing countries, strongly support such a legally bind ing treaty currently being negotiated at a World Intellectual Property Organisat ion (WIPO) meeting in Geneva. However, non-governmental organisation sources at that summit say that the EU is stalling the treaty by placing unreasonable restr ictions on how copyrighted works are to be converted, and by whom Accessible formats would include Braille, electronic text and audio versions of books, making Western publishers' jittery about piracy fears. Hence, some countr ies are demanding stringent tracking mechanisms and legal requirements that acti vists say will effectively block access to disabled people in developing countri es where more than 85 per cent of them live.

In India, our Parliament recently passed an amendment to our copyright law that g rants persons with disabilities, and those who are working for them, a strong ye t simply-worded right to have equal access to copyrighted works as sighted perso ns. Books for the disabled The heavy hand of commerce has dealt a blow to the efforts of blind and disabled people around the world to get reading materials in special formats excluded fr om copyright restrictions. The United States and the European Union have resiste d the move to adopt a legally binding treaty under the World Intellectual Proper ty Organisation, aimed at helping the disabled. Such a treaty would facilitate t he creation and international distribution of books for people with visual impai rment, or forms of disability that prevent them from reading printed text. Books in Braille, electronic text or audio format could then be produced without copy right restrictions and shipped to millions of disabled individuals around the wo rld, particularly in developing countries. Regrettably, the affluent nations pre ssed on with their backward looking policy at the 24th session of the WIPO Stand ing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights in Geneva. Under the shadow of lob bies, they have avoided a commitment to a binding treaty and postponed any progr ess to the next meeting of the SCCR. Only after it clears that hurdle can the te xt be put through the formal procedures of the WIPO for adoption. This is a disa ppointing negation of the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which call upon state parties to take all measures to provide access to cultural materials in accessible formats. Unless governments agree to remove copyright as a barrier to the creation of spe cial format materials, visually impaired and disabled people will be prevented f rom leading rich and satisfying lives. India, with a large number of such individuals, has a lot more to do to make act ual material available, but it has taken the progressive step of amending its co pyright law to allow special format production for the disabled. --------Shome panel on GAAR sets into motion the consultation process The expert committee on GAAR (General Anti Avoidance Rules), set up at the insta nce of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh under the chairmanship of ICRIER chief Part hasarathi Shome, has begun the process of consultations with various stakeholder s in a bid to fine-tune what has been hitherto been viewed as controversial prov isions and usher in more clarity and transparency in the draft guidelines; Initiated by the then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, the introduction of GAA R was proposed in the Budget for the current fiscal, mainly with the objective o f checking tax evasion. However, the provisions of GAAR were viewed as not only opaque and stringent but also draconian in its applicability and following stiff opposition by foreign and domestic investors and bitter criticism by global tax advisory firms, its implementation was deferred till the next fiscal beginning April 1, 2013; Subsequently, just a day after the Finance Ministry unveiled the draft guideline s on GAAR on June 28, the Prime Minister s Office sought to clarify that the guide lines did not have the approval of Dr. Singh and the final draft would be prepar ed after consultations with stakeholders; Earlier this month, the Prime Minister constituted the expert panel headed by Dr . Shome. The committee has been asked to review the draft and prepare a set of f resh guidelines on the basis of consultations by August 31 and finalise the norm s and prepare its report on a GAAR implementation roadmap by September 30. Shome panel has submitted its report, and recommended that GAAR be put off by 3 years. It also said GAAR provisions should not apply to examine the genuineness

of the residency of entities set up in Mauritius, as India has a DTAA in place w ith it. This is expected to calm investors. "GAAR is an extremely advanced instr ument of tax administration, one of deterrance rather than revenue generation, f or which intensive training of tax officers who would specialise in the finer as pects of international taxation is needed." The panel also said GAAR should only cover arrangements where the main purpose i s to obtain a tax benefit, and not where this is only one of the purposes. It also recommended a monetary threshold of Rs 3 crore in tax benefit (tax only, not interest) in a year for applying GAAR. It has also recommended abolition of tax on gains from transfer of listed securi ties, whether capital gains or business income, to both residents and non-reside nts. Rarely, if ever, can tax authorities prove conclusively that obtaining tax benef it was the main objective of an arrangement or transaction. A Tax Residency Certificate from Mauritius is enough to override GAAR provisions . This kills one of the most laudable objectives of plugging a loophole which fo reign institutional investors exploited to avoid paying capital gains tax in Ind ia. It is doubtful if three years will be enough to impart our officers such deep kn owledge simply because the tax-payer versus Revenue conflict evolves constantly. GAAR is not a strange animal to overseas investors as many countries including C anada, China and South Africa have codified it in their tax laws. The UK is cons ulting stakeholders over introducing GAAR in its tax laws through next year s budg et. -------------Subhash Chandra Kapoor Runs a Manhattan gallery that sold stolen Indian antiques to major museums in th e US. Immigration and customs officials in NYC have seized over $20 million wort h of stolen antiques. Kapoor is currently in a Chennai prison following his arre st in Germany in October after Interpol issued a Red Corner notice for smuggling . An arrest warrant against him is pending in the US. Timothy Ray Brown Only man cured of AIDS. He had level of AIDS virus drop below detectable levels after leukemia treatment - possibly rendering him cured of AIDS; also known as t he Berlin patient. Painter Sunahendra passes away. Known for Rajasthani miniature paintings and fre scos, including the famous ones in Bundi fort. Also, author of book on painting called Varnamala. ----------More comprehensive early childhood care plan required: Civil society groups Concerned regarding the rights of children under the age of 6 years, civil socie ty groups have asked the government to focus on a comprehensive approach towards providing a sound foundation for survival, growth, protection, development and early learning under the proposed Early Childhood Care and Education Policy. The proposed ECCE policy, which would be part of restructuring of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme, refers to programmes for children fro m prenatal to six years.

Focus should be more on free and universal ECCE, because of a large number of ch ildren who live in marginalised circumstances, as against the affordable service s as envisaged in the policy. There should be explicit listing of all the margin alised groups, to be considered before planning and budgeting, and not only with reference to children with disabilities. NGOs have suggested that the focus be on the child in the context of the family, and the child-mother as an inseparable unit, the recognition of the multiple re sponsibilities of women, and the need to address their requirement of childcare support, and maternity entitlements across sectors to enable breast feeding, and safety, protection and optimal development of child. The present policy focuses on the child without the context of family, and there is no mention of mothers. National Policy for children, 2012 Child defined as person below 18 years of age. Recognises full range of 'rights'. Right to be safeguarded against hunger, deprivation, malnutrition. Obligation of state to protect rights in adverse circumstances like migration, d isplacement, disasters and communal violence. Envisages an NACG, but instead of a new body, existing NCPCR should be strengthe ned. Does not talk of children of disadvantaged groups. Budgetary allocation needs to be increased, ministry needs to be strengthened (o nly an MoS now). China is among the top 5 on child rights index while India languishes at the bot tom. This, despite the fact that China is generally not on top of HDI, so clearl y there is greater investment in children there. Greater coordination beytween private and public sectors needed. Child labour and implementation of rte need to be addressed. A balwadi is an early learning day care center for children between the ages of three and five. Balwadis provide a safe environment for young children whose par ents work. The children have opportunities to learn and they are also provided w ith a nutritious meal. Focus is on education, while in Anganwadis, focus is on h ealth. Anganwadis were started by the Indian government in 1975 as part of the ICDS pro gram to combat child hunger and malnutrition. ---------------------Alliance to make drugs affordable The CEOs of the central drug procurement agencies of five State governments Raja sthan, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala who met in the capital on Wedn esday decided to form an alliance to formulate common policies for drug procurem ent and sharing of data and best practices, so as to bring down the out-of-pocke t expenditure on drugs and make drugs more accessible to the common man; The five States have signed a Thiruvananthapuram declaration, affirming their comm itment to making drugs affordable to the common man and pledging to share their resources and capacities to make this possible; This is the first ever attempt by States to put up a united front to tackle the issue of rising drug prices and drug shortage in the country; Inter-State MoUs will be signed between the States for sharing of knowledge and skills, exchange of drugs during exigencies, and capacity building, so as to cur b the unethical practices of non-State players who often form cartels to thwart

government s attempts to provide drugs at cheaper rates to the common man; The next conclave of the CEOs will be held in Rajasthan in October, when more St ates were expected to join the alliance. --------------China's soft power Soft power is the ability to produce outcomes through persuasion and attraction rather than coercion or payment. 1. China has always had an attractive traditional culture, but now it is enterin g the realm of global popular culture as well. Yao Ming, the Chinese star of the National Basketball Association's Houston Rockets, could become another Michael Jordan. 2. Enrollment of foreign students in China has tripled from 36,000 to 110,000 ov er the past decade. 3. Number of foreign tourists has also increased dramatically. 4. China has created some 200 Confucius Institutes around the world to teach its language and culture. But just as China's economic and military power does not yet match that of the U nited States, China's soft power still has a long way to go. China does not have cultural industries like Hollywood, and its universities are not yet the equal of America's. It lacks the many non-governmental organizations that generate muc h of America's soft power. Politically, China suffers from corruption, online ce nsorship and general lack of freedom of expression, inequality, and a lack of de mocracy, human rights and the rule of law. While that may make Beijing attractiv e in authoritarian and semi-authoritarian developing countries, it undercuts Chi na's soft power in the West. Given the domestic problems that China must still o vercome, there are limits to China's ability to attract others, but one would be foolish to ignore the gains it is making. ----------India's nuclear triad, meaning air, land and sea-based delivery systems: --Navy-SSBN: US terminology for Nuclear powered submarine capable of launching ballisti c missiles (SLBMs). Nuclear-powered means it is run on nuclear energy and can he nce stay underwater perpetually forever (need not surface from time to time). It does not mean nuclear-armed. India's indigenous SSBN Arihant to be inducted soo n. Its SLBM is Sagarika, or K-15, with a range of 290 km. Another SLBM is Dhanush, which may be nuclear capable (not revealed). But it has a short range. --Army-Agni V has been test launched, 5,000-km range, able to reach most major targets in China. It os years away from being operational. But India does have three oth er operational nuclear-capable missiles. Prithvi I has a range of 150 km. Agni I has had eight successful test launches, but the ninth in May 2012 was delayed d ue to a 'technical glitch'. Agni II has a range of 2,000 km. Whether these two A gnis are operational or not is not known. --Air Force-India has the world's fourth largest air force. Three aircraft form the air comp onent of India's operational nuclear strike force. India has 49 of Mirage2000H a ircraft. Then there are the French-British designed Jaguar IS/IB, and the domest ically manufactured MiG-27 Floggers. To add a fourth fighter bomber, India plans

to purchase 126 French Rafales, which won in a recent bidding process. -------------------------Green computing, green IT or ICT Sustainability, refers to environmentally susta inable computing or IT. In the article Harnessing Green IT: Principles and Pract ices, San Murugesan defines the field of green computing as "the study and pract ice of designing, manufacturing, using, and disposing of computers, servers, and associated subsystems such as monitors, printers, storage devices, and networking and communications systems efficiently and effectively with minimal or no impac t on the environment." The goals of green computing are similar to green chemist ry; reduce the use of hazardous materials, maximize energy efficiency during the product's lifetime, and promote the recyclability or biodegradability of defunc t products and factory waste. Research continues into key areas such as making t he use of computers as energy-efficient as possible, and designing algorithms an d systems for efficiency-related computer technologies. --------Shreya Vardhan The 15-year-old student from Delhi has scored a 100% in all the admission tests that she took for a foreign university. She has managed to score full marks in t he SAT Reasoning Test, the SAT Subject Tests, Test of English as a Foreign Langu age (TOEFL) and the Advanced Placement (AP) exams. Managing a 100% in SATs, TOEFL as well as AP exams is something that is unheard of. --------Coniophis precedens Fossil of the Late Cretaceous period (approximately 70 million years ago), studi ed recently. The fossil is not an anilioid snake (burrowing snakes with vestigia l pelvis and hind legs), but a transitional snake with snake-like body and a liza rd-like head. The shape of the skull is also intermediate between that of the liz ards and snakes seen today. This is a major step in answering many contentious questions such as whether sna kes had their origin in a marine or terrestrial environment, how their unique fe eding mechanism evolved, and the size and kind of their prey. More importantly, the identification of a transitional snake further strengthens the robustness of the theory of evolution. -------Syrian conflict issues The Levant is a geographic and cultural term referring to the region of the "eas tern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt". The Levant includes mos t of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and som etimes parts of Cyprus, Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the historic area of Greater Syria; precise definitions have varied. The Levant has been des cribed as the "crossroads of western Asia, the eastern Mediterranean and northea st Africa" 1. Assad does not view India through the prism of Islamist internationalism, mak e noises about J&K or acquiesce to Pak's anti-India propaganda. 2. Intra-Arab dynamics: Role of Saudi--Qatar-Turkey, Competition between regiona

l powers for greater influence, Alawite ruling minority in Syria versus disempow ered Sunni majority, Syria as Iran's sole ally, changes to Islam versus Israel d ebate due to sectarian divides within Islam. 3. Intervention by West: Pragmatism versus principle, recent UNSC resolution and India's stand, costs of military intervention, Syria's military strength and ch emical weapons, China-Russia axis (with possible support from Venezuela, Iran, N orth Korea - all are de facto authoritarian regimes, and hence there is also a d emocracy-dictatorship angle to the situation). Implicaitions of regime end 1. Syria's deeply divided and dysfunctional opposition remains a primary obstacl e to effective international involvement, but as the endgame nears, the need to forge a united, moderate and effective opposition is greater than ever. The trag edy of Syria, as in Egypt, is that the chances of a moderate democratic regime e volving are minimal. Indeed, it increasingly looks like the tyranny of Assad wil l be replaced by an Islamist regime, possibly with strong jihadi and even al-Qae da influences, and Syria itself may fragment. We may yet miss the relative stabi lity and predictability of the Assad years. 2. Iran and Hezbollah also face other crises, Iran over its nuclear program and the future of its regime, Hezbollah over its domestic and regional standing. Sau di Arabia, facilitated by Egypt's domestic preoccupation, has assumed a new regi onal leadership role, including in Syria. However, its own succession crisis thr eatens its stability and it faces significant challenges on all fronts a rising Shiite Iran to its east, possible radical Islamic states, not subservient to its wishes, in Syria and Egypt, and an imploding Yemen. 3. In Lebanon, events in Syria have exacerbated long-existing sectarian tensions , raising the specter of renewed civil war. They could also have a negative spil lover on Iraq and Jordan. On 12 January 2011, minutes after then Lebanese PM Saad Hariri posed for picture s with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office, the opposition parties resigne d from the cabinet, as an objection for the inability of the government to take detrimental decisions, causing his unity government to collapse. In fact, Hezbol lah and its allies withdrew from the government due to political tensions from i nvestigations of the assassination of Rafiq Hariri. The reason for Hezbollah's w ithdrew was that Hezbollah operatives were responsible for the assassination of Rafiq Hariri. White House statement released after their talks said actions by H ezbollah "only demonstrate their own fear and determination to block the governm ent's ability to conduct its business and advance the aspirations of all of the Lebanese people." Hariri remained caretaker Prime Minister for another four mont hs after the collapse of his cabinet. The new Lebanese government was finally fo rmed on 13 June 2011 and is headed by Najib Mikati. Mikati created a Hezbollah-l ed government coalition 4. Turkey's relations with Syria, Iran and Hezbollah have deteriorated and Kurdi sh aspirations, Turkey's nightmare, have gained a new opening. 5. For Israel, the demise of the Alawite Assad regime portends a fundamental res tructuring of the regional balance of power, with a weakening and possible end t o the Syrian-Iranian-Hezbollah axis, the heart of the radical camp. A new regime in Syria, if more moderate, might ultimately also pose new opportunities for pe ace. 6. In the short term, however, it increasingly looks like a new regime may be as unsavory as its predecessor and may threaten the four decades of calm that have prevailed on the Golan Heights. The danger of escalation is great, especially if Syria, or its Iranian and Hezbollah allies, in a desperate attempt to save it

self in its final extremes, seek to divert attention from their shared problems by using Syria's vast chemical arsenal against Israel, Syria's own citizens, or international players, should they seek to intervene. 7. It must be made plain to Assad that any use of chemical weapons, against dome stic or external adversaries, would constitute a "red line" leading to decisive international action designed not only to ensure the regime s demise, but his own as well. None of Syria's neighbors have any desire to become directly involved i n the conflict, nor does the US, but an effective response to the chemical threa t must be drawn up. Concomitantly, the West must do whatever possible to help bu ild an effective and united opposition and to manage the transition period. It i s probably also not too late to help create safe havens in Turkey, Jordan and po ssibly border regions of Syria itself. (see pdf) -----------AIDS conference, Washington DC Treat HIV now, don t delay: That s the new advice from the International Antiviral S ociety-USA, in a shift from earlier recommendations that called for waiting unt il a patient s immune system showed serious damage. Studies show that treating HIV-positive patients with antiretroviral drugs early in the course of the infection lengthens life and lowers the risk of tuberculos is and other bacterial infections. The medications can also reduce transmission of the virus to sexual partners by 96%. Treatment, in other words, can double as prevention. Meanwhile, a sea of red umbrellas held aloft by more than 500 sex workers from a cross 42 countries wound its way on a freedom rally through the streets of Kolkata . It was flagged off from Sonagachi, estimated to be the largest red-light distr ict in the country. The freedom rally in Kolkata leads the way for a similar march in Washington the We can end AIDS rally to be held during the ongoing Conference there. While the seven freedoms that sex workers demand have been the theme of the para llel conference that sex workers organised after they weren t allowed to attend th e conference in Washington because of travel restrictions in the United States, the freedom rally also celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Sonagachi project a HIV intervention programme that has met tremendous success and has served as a model nationally and internationally. The red umbrellas were first used as a symbol for sex worker solidarity at Venic e in 2001, when Italian sex workers marched along the canals of Venice with red umbrellas as part of an art installation by Slovenian artist Tadej Pogacar. At a time when anti-retroviral treatment should be extended to more and more peo ple, there are countries that are forced to take it away from people due to fund ing shortages. After the Global economic recession, governments reduced their sp ending on the issue domestically, and even the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberc ulosis, and Malaria coffers were strained. The Sonagachi project is a sex workers' cooperative that operates in the area an d empowers sex workers to insist on condom use and to stand up against abuse. It was founded by public health scientist Smarajit Jana in 1992 but is now largely run by the sex workers themselves. ---------Tejal Shah

Tejal Shah is a multi-disciplinary artist working primarily with video, photogra phy, performance, sound and installation. Her video on the Gujarat riots has bee n exhibited at numerous international exhibitions, most recently at one in China which created a controversy. The Indian government had the documentary dropped from a private exhibition in B eijing. The Ministry of External Affairs says it intervened after it received co mplaints from the Indian community in China. The film has people talking about a trocities against Muslims in Gujarat during the riots. -----------Medusoid Artificial jellyfish developed by scientists at CalTech, can be used to develop biological pacemakers which don't need electrical signals. It is made from silic one and rats' heart tissue. --------COSMOS Most powerful shared memory supercomputer in Europe, expected to provide new ins ights into the universe, and investigate whether mathematical models of cosmolog y are accurate. ----------Lactobacillus reuteri A natural probiotic organism found in the human gut, being researched for its ro le in protection against foodborne infection. It produces an antimicrobial subst ance known as Reuterin, which may protect intestinal epithelial cells from infec tion by foodborne bacterial pathogen Salmonella. Mycoplasma genitalium In a breakthrough in computational biology, the world s first complete computer mo del of an organism has been completed at Stanford. A team used data from more th an 900 scientific papers to account for every molecular interaction that takes p lace in the life cycle of Mycoplasma genitalium, the world s smallest free-living bacterium. By encompassing the entirety of an organism 'in silico', the model al lows researchers to address questions that aren t practical to examine otherwise, and is a stepping-stone toward the use of computer-aided design in bioengineerin g and medicine. --------55 Cancri e (abbreviated 55 Cnc e) is an extrasolar planet with half the mass of Neptune orbiting the Sun-like star 55 Cancri A. Its mass is about 7.8 Earth mas ses (and twice the width of Earth), classifying it as the first Super-Earth disc overed around a main sequence star, predating Gliese 876 d by a year. It takes l ess than 18 hours to complete an orbit and is the innermost known planet in its planetary system. Spitzer Space Telescope recently spotted light from 55 Cancri e, making it the f irst such instance. The James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled to launch in 2018, will be able to learn even more about the planet's composition. (A super-Earth is an extrasolar planet with a mass higher than Earth's, but subs

tantially below the mass of gas giants Uranus and Neptune, which are both more o r less 15 Earth masses. The term refers only to the mass, and does not imply any thing about surface conditions or habitability. The alternative term 'gas dwarfs ' may be more accurate, although in actual parlance, 'mini-Neptunes' seems more common). --------UN URGES FOR GLOBAL MORATORIUM ON RESEARCH USING DEADLY LIVESTOCK VIRUS The United Nations food agency is calling on countries to comply with a global m oratorium on research using the live rinderpest virus to ensure that this deadly livestock disease remains eradicated. While rinderpest has been successfully er adicated, there may be some virus material that would be useful for research or vaccine development. Countries must make absolutely sure that this material is k ept in just a few high security laboratories to avoid any unacceptable risks. A highly infectious viral disease, rinderpest does not directly affect humans, b ut it takes just a few days for a sick animal to die and it can wipe out whole h erds. The last known outbreak occurred in Kenya in 2001. Rinderpest was official ly declared eradicated by FAO and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) a year ago, meaning that the virus no longer circulates in animals and exists o nly in laboratories. FAO and OIE are working to bring about destruction of potentially dangerous rind erpest virus samples and biological materials that are currently stored in more than 40 laboratories across the world, some under insufficient levels of biosecu rity. In two international resolutions passed last year, OIE and FAO member countries agreed to destroy remaining stocks of rinderpest virus or to safely store them i n a limited number of relevant high containment laboratories approved by both or ganizations. They also agreed to ban any research that uses the live virus, unle ss approved by FAO and OIE. FAO will maintain sufficient monitoring and surveillance for rinderpest outbreak s until 2020. --------United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime UNODC is a global leader in the fight against illicit drugs and international cr ime. Established in 1997 through a merger between the United Nations Drug Contro l Programme and the Centre for International Crime Prevention, UNODC operates in all regions of the world through an extensive network of field offices. UNODC r elies on voluntary contributions, mainly from Governments, for 90 per cent of it s budget. UNODC is mandated to assist Member States in their struggle against illicit drug s, crime and terrorism. In the Millennium Declaration, Member States also resolv ed to intensify efforts to fight transnational crime in all its dimensions, to r edouble the efforts to implement the commitment to counter the drug problem and take concerted action against international terrorism. The three pillars of the UNODC work programme are: -- Field-based technical cooperation projects to enhance capacity of Members to counteract illicit drugs, crime and terrorism -- Research and analytical work to increase knowledge and understanding of drugs and crime issues and expand the evidence base for policy and operational decisi ons -- Normative work to assist States in ratification and implementation of relevan t international treaties, development of domestic legislation on drugs, crime an

d terrorism, and the provision of secretariat and substantive services to the tr eaty-based and governing bodies. In pursuing its objectives, UNODC makes every effort to integrate and mainstream the gender perspective, particularly in its projects for the provision of alter native livelihoods, as well as those against human trafficking. UNODC can help in the following five areas: Organized crime and trafficking: UNODC helps Governments react to instability and insecurity caused by crimes lik e the smuggling of illicit drugs, weapons, natural resources, counterfeit goods and human beings between countries and continents. It is also addressing emergin g forms of crime, such as cybercrime, trafficking in cultural artefacts and envi ronmental crime. Corruption: Corruption is a major impediment to economic and social development. UNODC partners with the public and private sectors, as well as civil society, t o loosen the grip that corrupt individuals have on government, national borders and trading channels. In recent years, the Office has stepped up its efforts to help States recover assets stolen by corrupt officials. Crime prevention and criminal justice reform: UNODC promotes the use of training manuals and the adoption of codes of conduct and standards and norms that aim t o guarantee that the accused, the guilty and the victims can all rely on a crimi nal justice system that is fair and grounded on human rights values. A strong ru le of law will also instill confidence among citizens in effectiveness of courts and humanness of prisons. Drug abuse prevention and health: Through educational campaigns and by basing it s approach on scientific findings, UNODC tries to convince youth not to use illi cit drugs, drug-dependent people to seek treatment and Governments to see drug u se as a health problem, not a crime. Terrorism prevention: On this issue, UNODC is moving towards a more programmatic approach that involves developing long-term, customized assistance to entities involved in investigating and adjudicating cases linked to terrorism. At a time when these problems without borders are becoming widely recognized as threats to individuals and nations alike, requests for coordinated UNODC initiat ives at the national, regional and transnational levels continue to grow. --------Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development Bill, 2011 The Bill seeks to declare the Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Developme nt, Kanchipuram, as an institution of national importance. The existing institu te at Sriperumbudur was set up in 1993 with the objective of undertaking advance d study in youth related activities. The objectives of the institute are to (a) evolve an integrated approach to yout h development, (b) establish a National Youth Centre, (c) act as a nodal agency for capacity building of stakeholders, and (d) provide for higher education in t he field of youth development through employment-oriented courses at the post-gr aduate level. The main functions of the institute include developing a think tank to carry out p olicy research and evaluate youth programmes, developing documentation and publi cation services for youth training, providing technical advice for youth trainin

g, and awarding degrees and diplomas at various academic levels. The institute shall admit persons of any gender, race, class or physical ability . Students shall be admitted and teachers appointed without any conditions impo sed based on their religious belief or profession. The President of India shall be the Visitor and may appoint any person to review the work of the institute. The institute shall maintain a fund in which all grants, fees and donations shal l be credited. Any dispute between an employee and the institute shall be referred to a Tribuna l of Arbitration which shall include a member nominated by the institute, one by the employee and an umpire by the Visitor. -------Nehru Yuva Kendra Sanghatan Nehru Yuva Kendras established in 1972 to provide rural youth avenues to take pa rt in the process of nation building as well providing opportunities for the dev elopment of their personality and skills. In the year 1987-88, Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan(NYKS) was set up as an autonomo us organization under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, to oversee work ing of these Kendras. NYKS is the largest grassroots level voluntary organizati on; one of its kind in the world. It channelizes the power of youth in the ag e group of 13-35 years on the principles of voluntarism, self-help and communit y participation. Over the years, Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan has established a network of youth c lubs, which are village-level voluntary action groups. The basic objective for creation of youth clubs is to render community support t hrough developmental initiatives with particular focus on youth empowerment. The implementation of programmes and activities of youth clubs is based on local ne eds and requirements by mobilizing resources from various government departments and other agencies. Objectives of Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) are two fold :To involve the rural youth in nation building activities. To develop skills and values with which they become responsible and productive c itizens of a modern, secular and technological nation. Main focus has been on developing values of good citizenship, thinking and behav ing in secular ways, skill development and helping youth to adopt a productive a nd organized behaviour. Vision of the organization focuses on developing long term strategies for good c itizenship and youth leadership at the grass root level. Youth Clubs are formed and encouraged to participate in sports, cultural and local development activiti es. Considering the fact that almost three-fourth of the Indian population is rural, development of the nation depend s on their progress and development. Besides, the demographic dividend that the country has enjoyed because of the larger segment of youth makes it mandatory fo r youth organizations like NYKS to take up more and more of such programmes as w ill promise empowerment of youth. ---------Criminal law (amendment) bill, 2012, cleared by cabinet

Victims' statements should only be recorded by lady police... (CrPC) Jail term for making indecent comments or gestures hiked. Proposes to replace the term "rape" with "sexual assault". Life imprisonment to those found guilty of sexual assault and acid attacks. A fine of Rs 10 lakh on acid attackers, which will be paid as compensation to vi ctims. Enhancing the maximum punishment for those found guilty of assaulting or using c riminal force, intending to outrage her modesty, from two to five years. Those guilty of intending to insult the modesty of any woman, through spoken wor d or gesture, could face jail up to three years. Fresh changes in the Indian Evidence Act debar the police and courts from asking any questions related to the "character of the victim and her previous sexual e xperience with anyone." -------Sonali Mukherjee Sonali Mukherjee was permanently disfigured by an acid attack at the age of 17. Her 3 assailants had allegedly been sexually abusing her for years. Her family h as spent all savings on treating her scarred skin. Youths imprisoned have been r eleased on bail. The 27-year-old is begging ministers to help her. Plastic surge on in New Delhi has offered her free treatment Bradley Wiggins became the first British cyclist to win the Tour de France by pr otecting the yellow jersey during Sunday's final processional ride into Paris. H e also helped Sky teammate Mark Cavendish earn his fourth straight sprint victor y on the Champs-Elysees. Lakshmi Sahgal (October 1914 23 July 2012) was a revolutionist of the Indian ind ependence movement, an officer of the Indian National Army, and the Minister of Women's Affairs in the Azad Hind government. Sahgal is commonly referred to in I ndia as Captain Lakshmi, a reference to her rank when taken prisoner in Burma. Awarded Padma Vibhushan. -------NCPR norms for tubewell safety The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPR) has issued safety guidelines to be adhered to with respect to tubewells and borewells. This is in the wake of the death of children after falling into abandoned wells in differen t States; Those who sink borewells or tubewells should avail themselves of prior permissio n from authorities at least 15 days before the work begins. Only registered agen cies should be engaged for sinking the wells. The well site should have a board displaying the name and address of the site owner and the agency contracted for the purpose; A safety fence should to be put up around the site while the sinking is on, and a cement platform with specified measurements should be constructed around the w ell. The top of the well should be closed with iron covers or similar strong pro tection, while abandoned wells should be filled with sand, clay, gravel, or rock s; The responsibility of ensuring these safety measures is with the respective Dist rict Collectors. The district administration should see to it that the complete details of tubewells and borewells in each region are available in the respectiv e village or block or district offices. --------2002AM31

A city-block size asteroid will fly by Earth this weekend, well beyond the orbit of the moon, and you can watch it zip safely by live in an online webcast. The asteroid 2002 AM31 will make its closest approach to Earth on Sunday, when i t will pass by at a range of about 3.2 million miles (5.2 million kilometers). T hat's about 13.7 times the distance between Earth and the moon. On Sunday, the Slooh Space Camera skywatching website will host two live webcast s to offer Internet denizens views of the rock from telescopes in Arizona and th e Canary Islands. Asteroid 2002 AM31 has no chance of hitting Earth this weekend , though it is on the watch list as an object that may one day pose a future con cern. The space rock is listed as a "potentially hazardous asteroid". 2005YU55 A 400-metre wide rock called 2005YU55 came within a distance of 3,24,600km from earth (which is closer than the moon is to earth). No asteroid has come so close to earth since 1976 and another such rock will not be seen till 2028. ---------------Amarnath Yatra committee The Supreme Court on Friday set up a high-powered committee to recommend measure s to prevent the growing number of casualties of Amarnath pilgrims saying that i t has become a permanent problem and a regular affair. The Committee comprises s enior officials of the Centre, J&K government, security forces and Amarnath Shri ne Board. It directed the committee to visit the shrine and give the report to Jammu and K ashmir Governor who is also the chairman of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, responsi ble for holding the annual pilgrimage. The recommendation will be submitted to t he apex court and the case will be taken up for further hearing. The court passe d the order after taking suo motu note of media reports of pilgrims deaths allege dly due to lack of facilities and medical care. Read with Article 25 -------Civil society groups of Kashmir have expressed their serious concern over the Su preme Court directions to the J&K government for undertaking civil engineering w orks - construction of roads and other infrastructure - in the environmentally f ragile Himalayan habitat around the Amarnath cave shrine in the valley of Kashmi r. This move comes even as the committee formed by the court for recommending wa ys and means to promote safe journey of pilgrims to the cave shrine is yet to su bmit its report. At a joint meeting of various civil society groups held on 16 August at Srinagar , a resolution was adopted. "While we fully share governmental concern to ensure good health and well-being of the pilgrims, we believe that the yatra must be conducted in accordance with the National Environment Policy, the State Forest Policy and also the Nitish Sen gupta Committee recommendations... Given that a vast population of the Kashmir v alley depend on the drinking water that originates from the glaciers around the Amarnath site, we believe any increased human activity through large scale const ruction works will greatly enhance pollution, pose serious challenges to public health and result in irreversible damage to the flora and fauna of the area, cri tical to tourism and agriculture of the region... The area through which the cur rent tracks lead to the Amarnath cave fall under the Thajiwas Wildlife Sanctuary

, and as such any construction activity will be in contravention of the establis hed laws... Conserving the pristine waters of the Lidder, the Sindh, the Jhelum rivers and their tributaries must be a common goal, irrespective of religious be liefs, political affiliation, etc... We note with deep appreciation the GoI's in-principle nod for declaring the 135km stretch of the Ganga between Gaumukh and Uttarkashi as an eco-sensitive zone, seeking specific measures to protect the rich biodiversity of the region. The N ational Ganga River Basin Authority has approved discontinuation of 3 hydro-powe r projects proposed on the river to improve the overall water quality in it. We demand that the same principles be applied for the conservation of area surround ing the Amarnath shrine in Kashmir and no human activity be undertaken there in a manner that will irreversibly damage the fragile ecology of the area.. Constru ction of roads and cable cars will not help in preventing deaths because of the inherent health risks in high altitude travel. Acute Mountain Sickness, High Alt itude Cerebral Edema( HACE) and High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE) can happen in otherwise healthy people as well if the basic principles of acclimatization a re not adhered to. These clinical conditions contribute to high mortality encoun tered during the yatra. The health hazards are compounded in the elderly, person s with high blood pressure, heart disease, pulmonary insufficiency and diabetes. An equally important aspect of unregulated number of the yatris and extended du ration of the yatra results in outbreak of water-borne diseases... We recommend authentic medical clearance for the intending pilgrims on the pattern of the Kai lash-Mansarovar yatra where pilgrims above 70 years are not allowed to undertake the yatra and pilgrims are to produce genuine medical certificates... We believ e these very basic measures will greatly help in preventing pilgrim deaths in th e high altitude area and at the same time ensure conservation of highly fragile and precious eco-diversity. -----------Immigration in Europe Politicians, held hostage by xenophobic parties, adopt anti-immigrant rhetoric t o win over fearful publics, while the foreign-born are increasingly marginalized in schools, cities, and at the workplace. Yet, despite high unemployment across much of the continent, employers lack the workers they need. Engineers, doctors , and nurses are in short supply; so, too, are farmhands and health aides. And e ntrepreneurs, whose ideas drive economies, create jobs. The enduring insecurity caused by the global economic crisis, Europe s existential political debates, and the rise of emerging powers is too often expressed in re actions against migrants. Not only is this unjust, but it distracts us from craf ting solutions to the real problems. Europe must acknowledge that, like the United States, Canada, and Australia, it is a land of immigrants. The percentage of foreign-born residents in several cou ntries including Spain, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, and Greece is similar to that in the US. Yet, it does not make the necessary investments t o integrate newcomers into schools and workplaces. Nor has it done enough to res hape public institutions to be inclusive and responsive to diverse societies. It is ironic and dangerous that Europe s anti-immigrant sentiment is peaking just when global structural changes are fundamentally shifting migration flows. The m ost important transformation is the emergence of new poles of attraction. Entrep reneurs, migrants with Ph.Ds, and those simply with a desire to improve their li ves are flocking to places like Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia, Mexico, China, and India. In the coming decade, most of the growth in migration will take place in the global south. The aging of Europe s population is historically unprecedented. The number of work

ers will decline precipitously, and could shrink by almost one-third by mid-cent ury, with immense consequences for Europe s social model, the vitality of its citi es, its ability to innovate and compete, and for relations among generations as the old become heavily reliant on the young. And, while history suggests that co untries that welcome newcomers energy and vibrancy compete best internationally, Europe is taking the opposite tack by tightening its borders. Sweden has transformed immigration policy by allowing employers to identify immi grant workers they need (the policy has built-in safeguards to give preference t o Swedish and EU citizens). In more rational times, these reforms would be the e nvy of Europe, especially given the relative resilience of Sweden s economy. They certainly have caught the attention of Australia and Canada, which aim to emulat e them. There have also been innovations in integrating immigrants. Some initiatives enc ourage those with immigrant backgrounds to apply for public-sector jobs in polic e forces, fire departments, media, and elsewhere. Such measures also respond to the urgent need for public institutions that look like the populations they serv e. There are many other tools to advance integration. For instance, early childh ood education, programs that bridge the gap between immigrant and native childre n, recognizing immigrants skills better, and providing the right kind of vocation al training. Equally important is international cooperation on migration. Last year, during t he Arab revolutions, the EU missed an opportunity to begin weaving together the two sides of the Mediterranean. It failed to open its doors to young students, e ntrepreneurs, and other North Africans. Today, the EU is making a more serious e ffort to engage its southern neighborhood. Among the potential opportunities are free-trade agreements, easing of visa requirements for students, temporary work programs, and incentives for entrepreneurs. No country is an island when it comes to migration, and none can address it alon e. Migration is changing in fundamental ways, and countries must devise systems and approaches that respond to new realities. Human mobility can in fact become a great asset of the twenty-first century. ------------Landmark Legal Ruling Should Worry International Bad Guys The International Court of Justice (not to be confused with the International Cr iminal Court) is poised to rule on Friday in a big case that could have major im plications for ignominious rulers who flee their countries after committing huma n rights abuses. A landmark ruling to be given by a court in The Hague on Friday , on whether or not Senegal is obliged to try or extradite Chad s former leader, h as major implications for other autocrats now in exile or considering exile to e scape popular uprisings at home. At one level, Friday s ruling will be the latest step in a long-running campaign by human rights activists to bring to trial Hiss ene Habre, who as Chadian president led a government they accuse of killing and torturing its opponents in the 1980s. But legal experts say the case brought by Belgium against Senegal, where Habre is living could create a clear legal obliga tion on the states that harbour deposed despots to put them on trial or extradit e them for trial elsewhere. The ruling could worry former rulers like Zine al-Ab idine Ben Ali, the Tunisian president overthrown in January 2011 at the start of the Arab Spring and now in exile in Saudi Arabia. ----update on judgment---UN WORLD COURT RULES SENEGAL MUST PROSECUTE EX-CHADIAN LEADER OR EXTRADITE HIM The United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled today that Senegal must either prosecute former Chadian President Hissne Habr for war crimes or extr

adite him without further delay. The decision by the Court, based in The Hague, Netherlands, is in response to a request by Belgium to prosecute Mr. Habr, who has been accused in a Senegalese co urt of massive human rights abuses committed by his regime during the 1980s. Belgium had also sought to have him extradited to face charges in Belgium, citin g among other things procedural delays in Senegal s handling of the case. Senegal had maintained that its judiciary is competent to carry out the prosecution. In its judgment, which is final and binding, the Court found, unanimously, that Senegal must, without further delay, submit the case of Mr. Hissne Habr to its comp etent authorities for the purpose of prosecution, if it does not extradite him. He was charged in February 2000 by a lower court in Dakar, the Senegalese capita l, but an appeals court later ruled that Senegalese courts did not have the lega l competence to try such cases if they were perpetrated in another country. In April 2008, however, Senegal s National Assembly adopted an amendment to the co nstitution that together with previous changes allowed the country s legal system to deal with such cases. Mr. Habr ruled Chad from 1982 to 1990, when he was overthrown and went into exile in Senegal. It is alleged that during his rule thousands of Chadians were tortu red and unlawful killings and other serious human rights violations took place. The ICJ, often referred to as the world court, is the UN s principal judicial organ. It settles legal disputes between States through its judgements, which are fina l and binding upon the States involved, and gives advisory opinions on legal que stions that have been referred to it by other authorized UN organs. ------------Child development index India has slipped by 12 ranks in the global grading on the child development ind ex, which denotes health, education and nutrition, between 1995 and 2010. Japan is the best place in the world to be a child, while Somalia is the worst, a late st report has suggested. The Child Development Index report released by NGO Save the Children makes an ag gregate analysis of the Child Development Index in three time periods 1995-1999, 2000-2004 and 2005-2010 of 141 countries across the globe. India s poor performance comes in the context of as many as 127 countries having i mproved their scores during this period. India is among the 14 whose rank has dropped. Some of these include Trinidad and Tobago, Madagascar, and Guatemala. India reports 1.25 million infant deaths annually; 42 per cent of its children a re underweight; 58 per cent children are stunted by the age of two; and 8.1 mill ion children are out of school with a huge chunk of them being from the rural ar eas. The CDI, launched in 2008 as a tool to monitor the progress in child wellbeing, calibrates the best and worst places for children and improvements in wellbeing at the global level and within countries. It enumerates the number of children in school, infant mortality rates and number of underweight children. These thre e indicators are aggregated by calculating the average score between them for ea ch period, meaning that they each have equal weighting in the index scores. The 2012 edition of the CDI shows On an average, there was a 30-per-cent improve ment in the lives of children around the world based on the indicators used. Even more encouragingly, this historic progress has been accelerating dramatical ly in recent years. From the first half of the 2000s to the second, overall rate

s of progress in child wellbeing almost doubled, compared to the end of the 1990 s, and primary school enrolment was even more impressive, as the rate of improve ment more than doubled during the 2000s. However, a significant rise in acutely malnourished children threatens the impre ssive progress in cutting child mortality and getting more children into school. The findings come amid a backdrop of rising food and fuel prices and families f inding it harder to afford proper nourishment for their children. ----------Arctic apples A small company is trying to bring to market a genetically engineered apple that does not turn brown when sliced or bruised. Okanagan Specialty Fruits says the nonbrowning apple will prove popular and help increase sales of apples, in part by making sliced apples more attractive. The Arctic Apple, as it is being called, could become one of the first genetical ly engineered versions of a fruit that people directly bite into. But the U.S. Apple Association, which represents the American apple industry, op poses introduction of the product, as do some other industry organizations. They say that, while they do not believe that the genetic engineering is dangerous, it could undermine the fruit s image as a healthy and natural food, the one that k eeps the doctor away and is as American as, well, apple pie. Apple slices are already becoming more popular as a healthful snack, sold in bag s in supermarkets and included by McDonald s in its Happy Meals for children. The slices are often coated with vitamin C and calcium to prevent browning and prese rve crispness. But that can affect the taste. Arctic Apples, which would first be available in the Golden Delicious and Granny Smith varieties, contain a synthetic gene that sharply reduces production of po lyphenol oxidase, an enzyme responsible for the browning. Putting an extra copy of a gene into a plant can activate a self-defense mechanism known as RNA interf erence that shuts down both the extra copy and the endogenous gene. Some critics say the lack of browning could conceal problems with an apple that consumers ma y want to know about. Revival of TESO -------Petermann glacier A massive iceberg twice the size of Manhattan has broken away from Greenland's P etermann Glacier. The floating extension of the glacier is breaking apart. This is the second time in less than two years that the Petermann Glacier has calved a monstrous ice island. In 2010, it unleashed another massive ice chunk into the sea. The latest break was observed by NASA's Aqua satellite, which passes over the No rth Pole several times a day. ----------TESO Veteran Tamil Nadu politician M. Karunanidhi has announced the revival of the Ta mil Eelam Supporters Organisation, a forum he had floated in the mid-1980s to dru m up support for the creation of a separate Tamil nation in Sri Lanka. In 1986,

it was a broad-based political platform that attracted leaders from different pa rts of India and there was widespread support for the cause. A quarter century o n, the most striking feature of the attempt to revive it is its incongruity in t he current political context. The Tamil Eelam project was never on, as neither India nor the world at large wa s ever interested in dividing Sri Lanka. Neither the domestic situation in Sri L anka nor the global or regional context contains any objective condition for est ablishment of a separate state. Having emerged the sole proponent of the cause, and having let the power of arms overshadow its political content, the Liberatio n Tigers of Tamil Eelam destroyed the movement for separation. Velupillai Prabha karan has left behind only a legacy of ruin and devastation for his Tamil commun ity, and it is left to the few surviving moderate politicians to pick up the sha rds of a nearly abandoned devolution discourse and work towards limited self-rul e in the Tamil majority areas. For parties in Tamil Nadu, Eelam has been a tool for rabble-rousing while in the opposition, and an instrument of competitive identity politics that can goad th e ruling party to take a strident stand. In office, they have administrative com pulsions to crack down on separatist tendencies, book those indulging in anti-na tional rhetoric and frame or invoke laws to keep fringe elements in check. The two parties have therefore consistently been ambivalent over time about this issue. Indian foreign policy appeared to go in favour of the Tamil minority initially, then gave a semblance of neutrality at the time of the Indo-Sri Lankan accord of 1987 by striking a blow for both the country s unity and the Tamil aspirations fo r provincial self-rule; in more recent times, preserving Sri Lanka s territorial i ntegrity became an objective, and India was drawn into largely in a moral sense, and to a lesser extent, materially, too the government s military project to dest roy the LTTE. And today, the Union government is caught between a legitimate demand for a cred ible inquiry into war crimes allegations against Sri Lanka and the need to retai n its alliance with its southern neighbour. An offshoot of this dilemma is that it repeatedly gets caught in moments of liaison with the Sri Lankan military, dr awing protests from Tamil Nadu. The Tamils in Sri Lanka are more worried about their security and survival than resurrecting the separatist demand. Long before the LTTE was vanquished, there w as all-round realisation that Tamil Eelam was not a viable project. Any separati st rhetoric abroad, like the revival of TESO, is bound to have adverse repercuss ions on them as Sinhala nationalism is at a historic peak. ------Nag missile Despite their differences, the Army and DRDO are cooperating in the development of a world-class anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) called Nag. Currently the range is 4 km, but reduced to 2.5 km in extreme summer heat. Also, the Army wants to weight reduced from the current 40 kg to about 30-35 kg. In the current form, it is ready to buy 13 Nag carriers or NAMICA and 443 Nag missiles for deployment i n regions of Punjab where close-set villages, groves and electricity transmissio n cables anyway don't allow visibility beyond 2.5 km. The project has assumed ur gency after Pakistan acquired the potent Ukranian T-80 and Chinese T-85 tanks. T he missile is also called 'fire-and-forget' as it eases the pilot of the need to expose himself to enemy fire after launching the missile. FGM-148 Javelin is an American ATGM. The Spike is Israel's version. These two ar e lighter, man-portable missiles that can be carried by a soldier, whereas the h

eavy Nag operates from vehicles or helicopters. --------Avatar A new Russian research project named 'Avatar' has offered immortality by transpl anting brains into robot bodies. Dmitry Itskov, a Russian entrepreneur, claims h e will personally oversee the immortality process, in exchange for an undisclose d fee. Itskov claims to have hired 30 scientists to reach this goal and aims to transpl ant a human brain into a robot body within 10 years. He has contacted billionaires with a proposal for funding his quest for immortal ity, which Itskov calls 'cybernetic immortality' and the 'artificial body'. The team is working towards creating an international research centre where scientis ts will be engaged in research and development in anthropomorphic robotics, livi ng systems modelling and brain and consciousness modelling with the goal of tran sferring one's individual consciousness to an artificial carrier and achieving c ybernetic immortality. The project is called Avatar after the James Cameron movie, set far in the futur e, where human soldiers use mind control to inhabit the bodies of human-alien hy brids as they carry out a war against the inhabitants of a distant world. --------Russia and WTO Russia s upper house of parliament ratified the agreement to join the World Trade Organisation despite widespread opposition inside the country. The Federation Co uncil voted 144 to four on Wednesday to approve the protocol on WTO entry, which took Russia 18 years to negotiate. The State Duma, the lower house of the Russi an Parliament, endorsed the document last week after a fierce debate, with all t he three opposition parties voting against the bill. They argued that membership in the WTO would kill Russia s manufacturing industries and agriculture. Russia s apex Constitutional Court had earlier rejected a petition against the WTO entry filed by more than 130 opposition MPs who claimed the terms on which Russ ia was entering the WTO would undermine its economic security. Public support for the WTO has slipped from 59 per cent nine years ago to 39 per cent today, a recent poll revealed. The country would cut import tariffs, losing up to 445 billion roubles ($14 bill ion) over the next two years. But the losses would be balanced by increased trad e. Critics said Russia is entering the WTO on significantly worse terms than oth er emerging economies did. For instance, India has the average import tariffs of 13.7 per cent, whereas Russia has agreed to cut its import tariffs from an aver age 9.5 per cent now to 6 per cent by 2015. The Russian government hopes the WTO entry would facilitate modernisation of the country s commodity-dependent economy. Russia will become a WTO member 30 days af ter the bill is signed by the President. --------Lszl Csizsik-Csatry Born 1914 or 1915, an accused Nazi war criminal, convicted in absentia. In 2012, his name was added to the Simon Wiesenthal Center's list of most wanted Nazi wa

r criminals. In charge of a Jewish ghetto, he helped organize the deportation of approximately 15,700 Jews to Auschwitz. He was convicted in absentia for war cr imes in Czechoslovakia in 1948 and sentenced to death. He fled to Canada in 1949 claiming to be a Yugoslav national and settled in Montreal where he became an a rt dealer. In 1997, his Canadian citizenship was revoked by the federal Cabinet for lying on his citizenship application. He fled the country two months later. In 2012 Csizsik-Csatry was located in Budapest, Hungary, based on a tip received by the Simon Wiesenthal Center in September 2011. His address was exposed by rep orters from the Sun in July 2012. He was taken into custody on 18 July by Hungar ian authorities for questioning. ------Sudarshan Pattnaik Indian sand artist Sudarshan Pattnaik has won the People's Choice' Gold Medal at the second World Sand Sculpture Championship in Moscow.The celebrated sand artis t sculpted replica of the showman of the millenium, Raj Kapoor's face. ----------Coronal mass ejections - Geomagnetic storms - communications problems -------------An independent UN human rights expert has spoken out against the recent killing of women in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and called on the Governments to bring the perpetrators to justice. "Failure of States to guarantee women s right to a life free from violence allows for a continuum of violence which can end in their death, said Rashida Manjoo, th e expert charged by the UNHRC with investigating and reporting on violence again st women, its causes and consequences. She referred to the recent killing of Fareeda Afridi, a human rights defender in Pakistan, of Hanifa Safi, a provincial head of the Ministry of Women s Affairs in Afghanistan, as well as the public execution of Najiba, accused of adultery in Afghanistan. Whether labelled murder, homicide, femicide, feminicide, or honour killings, these manifestations of violence are culturally and socially embedded, and continue t o be accepted, tolerated or justified with impunity as the norm. She urged both the Pakistani and the Afghan Governments to carry out prompt and impartial inves tigations into the killings. The killing of women is indeed a State crime when tolerated by public institutio ns and officials when they are unable to prevent, protect and guarantee the live s of women, who have consequently experienced multiple forms of discrimination a nd violence throughout their lifetime. It is crucial to acknowledge that these are not isolated incidents that arise su ddenly, but extreme manifestation of pre-existing forms of violence experienced by women everywhere. Women suffering multiple and intersecting forms of discrimi nation face a greater risk of experiencing such violence. States should adopt a holistic approach to addressing gender-related killings of women. To that end, she recommended effective investigations, prosecution and s anctions; guaranteeing access to adequate and effective judicial remedies; treat ing women victims and their relatives with respect and dignity; and ensuring com prehensive reparations to victims and their relatives.

Independent experts, or special rapporteurs, are appointed by the Geneva-based C ouncil to examine and report back on a country situation or a specific human rig hts theme. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work. -----------CELAC The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States is a regional bloc of Latin American and Caribbean nations created on February 23, 2010, at the Rio Group Car ibbean Community Unity Summit held in Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico. It consists 33 sovereign countries in the Americas, and totals roughly 600 million people. Absent from the bloc are Canada, France, the Netherlands, the US, Briti sh and Danish dependencies. CELAC is created to deepen Latin American integration and to reduce the once ove rwhelming influence of the United States on the politics and economics of Latin America, and is seen as an alternative to the OAS, the regional body organised l argely by Washington in 1948 as a countermeasure to potential Soviet influence. CELAC is the successor of the Rio Group and the Latin American and Caribbean Sum mit on Integration and Development (CALC). CELAC's inaugural summit was due to be held in mid-2011, but was postponed becau se of the ill-health of Hugo Chavez. The summit was instead held on 2 and 3 Dece mber 2011 in Caracas. It primarily focused on the global economic crisis and its effects on the region. Several leaders, including Cristina Fernandez, Dilma Rou sseff and Juan Manuel Santos (Columbia), encouraged an increase in regional trad e, economic development, and further economic cooperation among members in order to defend their growing economies. Chavez, and others such as Rafael Correa (Ec uador) and Daniel Ortega (Nicaragua), expressed hope that the bloc would work to further Latin American integration, end US hegemony and consolidate control ove r regional affairs. Chavez, citing the Monroe Doctrine as the original confirmat ion of US interference in the region, openly called for CELAC to replace the OAS . Correa called for a new human rights commission to replace the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Other leaders argued that the organisation should be used as a tool to resolve regional disagreements and uphold democratic values, but not as a replacement of the OAS. Santos stated that he would like to see dia logue within the group over whether existing counter-drug regulations should be revised. The president of the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino) said he expe cts that Parlatino will become the main legislative institution of CELAC. Amongs t the key issues on the agenda were the creation of a "new financial architectur e," sanction for maintaining the legal status of coca in Bolivia and the rejecti on of the Cuban embargo by the U.S. The MEA will host the first foreign ministers dialogue between India and CELAC in New Delhi on August 7 to strengthen its relations with the region. At the meeti ng, CELAC will be represented by Foreign Ministers of Chile, Cuba and Venezuela. India s investment in LAC was $15 billion, whereas LAC investment in India was le ss than a billion dollars; India had signed Preferential Trading Agreements (PTA s) with Chile and MERCOSUR for goods and talks were on with Peru and other regio ns to sign similar trade agreements. LAC has a land mass 5 times that of India and is endowed with vast mineral resou rces, hydrocarbons. India enjoys friendly and warm relations with all CELAC countries. They have a s hared understanding on the values of democracy, freedom, equality and justice. T here exists a vast untapped potential for mutually beneficial cooperation. Aug 7

This was the first time CELAC had an international presentation to another count ry. (Why India? Size, similar positions on most issues, affinity with developing nat ions' causes and close association with NAM, proactive diplomacy by India). The intention behind closer collaboration is both political and trade related th e CELAC countries share common positions with India on UN reforms, the financial crisis, climate change and international terrorism. And trade with India is one -tenth that with China, which means both sides must improve existing agreements. Agreed to set up joint committees in trade, agriculture, energy security. A seemingly tangible outcome was their concurrence on eliminating middle men in commodity trade and India s offer to help CELAC members locate and estimate their mineral resources by using remote sensing satellites. The two sides underscored the need to meet every year alternately in India and t he CELAC country holding the Presidency. The Ministers underscored the need to tap the available potential through divers ification of trade, participation in each other's trade fairs, exchange of busin ess delegations, construction of regulatory frameworks, relaxation in movement o f goods, services and people and through strengthening air connectivity and ship ping links. In this regard, they agreed to set up a India-CELAC Business Council and a India-CELAC CEOs Forum. Both sides recognised that energy security holds the key to economic development and agreed to set up an Energy Forum. Both sides agreed to work towards providing for food security for their people a nd to cooperate in the agriculture farming and food processing sector. They also discussed regional and international issues of mutual interest and exc hanged views on the developments in South Asia and LAC. They agreed to work toge ther on common global challenges in the interest of developing countries by main taining coordinated approach on UN reforms, financial crisis, climate change and international terrorism. India and Chile agreed to expand the limited trade agreement from 178 products t o 1,100 which covers almost all the goods that are exchanged between both countr ies. Falklands is aka Malvinas -----------Groundwater, a precious natural resource, is for all practical purposes private property in India. Anyone can bore and extract water from the land they own with few rules to restrict over-exploitation. But plans are afoot to alter laws and regulations to make groundwater a common property resource to ensure regulation by government as a public trustee with involvement of communities. That would me an that nobody can withdraw water even from the land that they own without a san ction from community-controlled authorities like panchayat. The move would radically rewrite management of groundwater in India - giving com munity rights over aquifers instead of restricting these to landowners. To chang e groundwater management rules, the government aims to pass a framework law unde r Article 252 of the Constitution. This can be done with the consent of at least two states (by resolutions in their houses) to whom the central law will then b e applicable. Other states can then adopt the central law by passing suitable re

solution in their legislature. Water is a state subject. Such a practice of community management of underground aquifers is in vogue in A ndhra Pradesh; the implementation of a framework law could ensure other states t oo devolve power. India is the largest user of groundwater in the world. Almost a third of groundw ater aquifers are semi-critical, critical and over-exploited. Some 60% of irriga ted agriculture and over 80% of the rural and urban water supply is now being me t from groundwater. The unchecked depletion of aquifers has led to a public health crisis, besides l eaving agriculture precariously placed in several states. Bringing water into the concurrent list of the Constitution is seen within gover nment circles as a politically difficult shot with concerns over federalism boun d to play a spoiler. The government intends to increase financial support to states to also ensure a clear demarcation of aquifers - a task that remains incomplete so far and allow communities to gain information of the volume under their control. The law would bring legislation in tune with Supreme Court rulings, including th e Public Trust Doctrine, which can end the common law doctrine that has regulate d groundwater use since the colonial era in India. The Indian Easements Act of 1 882 and other regulations, including the various model bills legislated from tim e to time, still give landowners complete rights to draw as much water as they w ant without a liability or responsibility towards neighbours. The government intends to hold several rounds of consultations with states, incl uding a meeting of the National Development Council, to ensure there is an early buy-in and worries are addressed. Given that all other resources extracted from the ground, like oil, gas and othe r minerals, are regarded a national resource, it's an anomaly that water isn't. After all, anyone sinking a borewell on his or her territory is not tapping into water only under his plot but from the common water table of that area. So, ext raction of groundwater should be for the common good. ---------Mrinal Gore, women's and tribal rights activist, known for starting all-women st reet protests against inflation, water shortage, etc, in Mumbai, passes away. Wahengbam Nipamacha, former Manipur CM known for straight talk, passes away aged 80. Prithvi Nath Dhar, PN Dhar, was an economist and principal secretary in the mid70s. He was in the PMO during the Emergency, as well as India's first nuclear te st. Awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2008. Died 2012. ---------Civil aviation reforms One can only hope that the new DGCA, Aryn Misra, will be allowed to function wit h maximum degree of professional independence, given the climate of strikes by p ilots, non-payment of salaries to airline employees, issues on maintenance of ai rcraft, and the fluctuations in air fare. A new policy instrument in the form of Route Dispersal Guidelines is under consi

deration of the Central government in line with its plan to provide air connecti vity to remote and interior areas. The North-Eastern region and Tier-II and Tier -III cities will have airports in the near future. The Guidelines are likely to include the creation of Essential Air Service Fund (EASF) to provide direct subs idy to encourage domestic carriers to fly in remote and interior areas. The ministry is also contemplating to give more functional autonomy to the Direc torate General of Civil Aviation by establishing a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA ) under an act of Parliament. Besides, there is a proposal to restructure the Bureau of Civil Aviation Securit y (BCAS) and to constitute a dedicated security force. To enhance helicopter connectivity to smaller towns and rural areas, including p laces of religious and tourist significance, the Civil Aviation Ministry will ta ke up measures such as construction of helipads in different places. It would also soon modify guidelines for acquisition of aircraft enabling Indian carriers to buy smaller aircraft needed for providing connectivity to the small er cities. Airports Economic Regulatory Authority, independent regulator for economic regul ation of airports, established by an act of Parliament with appropriate provisio n for an appellate body. This fosters competitions, level playing field amongst public and private sector airports, viability of airports and protection of inte rests. The Ministry has also proposed to create National Aviation University to ensure skill enhancement and to produce professionals for the future. The University wo uld also serve as a training hub for other countries in the region. -----------MOOC A Massive open online course (MOOC) is a course where the participants are distr ibuted and course materials also are dispersed across the web. This is possible only if the course is open, and works significantly better if the course is larg e. The course is a way of connecting distributed instructors and learners across a common topic or field of discourse. MOOCs are a more recent form of online cours e development, departing from formats that rely on posted resources, Learning Ma nagement Systems, and structures that mix the LMS with more open resources. MOOCs are founded on the theory of connectivism and an open pedagogy based on ne tworked learning. Typically, participation in a MOOC is free; however, some MOOC s may charge a fee in the form of tuition if the participant seeks some form of accreditation. MOOCs provide rough timelines in the form of weekly topics to focus discussion. The rest of the structure can be minimal often consisting of a weekly presentati on on topics, discussion questions, suggested resources. In recognition that those attending are expected to make the course their own, g uidance tends to focus on allowing curriculum and structure to emerge from the e xchange between participants. Posting in discussions, reflecting on topical idea s, and sharing resources using a variety of social media are at the core of the MOOC learning process. ------Jebel Ali incident

Boat shot at from US ship near Dubai port of Jebel Ali. It was trying to go arou nd the ship when the allegedly unprovoked shooting happened from USNS Rappahanno ck. One Indian killed, three injured; they were working for a UAE company. Over 6 million Indians in Gulf region face grave risk in case of heightened inst ability or war. India must therefore put in all diplomatic efforts to ensure the US does not assume a needlessly aggressive posture on Iran. It has already incr eased its military presence in the region. --------X-Plane US is close to developing a hypersonic bomber able to reach any target on the gl obe in under an hour. The military hopes to fly such planes capable of moving at 20 times the speed of sound by 2016, the NBC News reported quoting American officials working on the project. The vehicle would be recoverable , said U.S. officials working on developi ng the full-scale rocket plane. The hypersonic bomber codenamed the X-Plane will travel at Mach 20 (roughly 20,9 00 kmph) and the project is being carried out by the Defence Advanced Research P rojects Agency. -------PrEP The American Food and Drug Administration has approved the drug Truvada for preexposure prophylaxis. This means that American doctors can prescribe the drug to the non-infected sexual partners of people living with HIV as a way to prevent transmission. Recent studies showed PrEP can reduce transmission of virus by up to 96% when un infected partners of people infected with HIV took Truvada. Truvada alone should not be used to prevent HIV infection. It should be used in combination with oth er safe sex practices. PrEP is any medical or public health procedure used before exposure to the disea se causing agent, its purpose is to prevent, rather than treat or cure. This pra ctice is common with people who are about to travel from an area without malaria to an area where malaria is a risk, and also it is being researched as a tool t o prevent persons from contracting HIV. PrEP can also refer to the aggressive us e of vaccination, for example in an attempt to prevent rabies in people such as lab workers who are high risk for being bitten by rabid animals. Along with AIDS vaccines and microbicides, PrEP is one of the experimental HIV p revention strategies being tested in clinical trials today. The two PrEP strateg ies under study are (1) a single drug called tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) and (2) a combination drug called Truvada, which combines TDF with the drug emt ricitabine. There are several current and future PrEP challenges, from biomedical concerns ( such as safety and effectiveness) to concerns of behavioral repercussions. One c riticism is that it may encourage risky behavior including unprotected sex, poss ibly increasing, rather than decreasing, the risk of HIV infection in sero-disco rdant partners. Serodiscordant is a term used to describe a couple in which one partner is HIV positive and the other is HIV negative. Serodiscordant relationships are also referred to as "magnetic". The term seroco ncordant is its antonym, used to describe a couple in which both partners are of

the same HIV status. Serodiscordant couples face numerous issues not faced by seroconcordant couples, including facing a decision as to what level of sexual activity is comfortable for them, knowing that practicing safer sex reduces but does not eliminate the r isk of transmission to the HIV negative partner. There are also potential psycho logical issues arising out of taking care of a sick partner, and survivor guilt. Financial strains may also be more accentuated as one partner becomes ill and p otentially less able or unable to work. iPrEx is the name of a specific clinical trial completed in 2010 which demonstra ted that PreP has some efficacy in reducing some people's risk of contracting HI V. It is notable for being the first PreP research project to announce this resu lt. ----------Ageing Population of elderly people crossed 100 mln recently and is expected to rise ra pidly for 3-4 decades.National policy of 1999 has many provisions which have not yet been implemented. Cases of murder and extortions of senior citizens are on the rise. within the next five years, people over age 65 will outnumber children under 5 f or the first time. This plays into other demographic changes such as urbanizatio n: between 1975 and 2005, the number of older people living in urban areas quadr upled. Older people have the same rights in terms of health and dignity as anyone else. Social exclusion based on age and health affects the whole society, and mental health problems such as depression are also important challenges. Need to recognize the human rights of older people, and to move from a needs bas ed to a rights based approach. For example, diseases that are common in older pe ople often go untreated because there is a perception that this is just a part o f being old. Focus of international funding on child and maternal health, as important as the y are, means that resources are concentrated in those areas and the treatment an d rights of older people are not a priority. Yet the health and mobility of olde r people affects the entire society; families, relatives, or even the state have to take care of them if they are incapacitated. Following from this theme was t he repeated mention of the importance of social roles for older people once they retire or cannot work. The role of the private sector and multi-sectoral partnerships with civil societ y.. they have the resources and data to make health information available and ac cessible to the public. Partnerships with the private sector and the state are important because the hea lth sector cannot make effective changes on its own; there is a need for policy expertise and changes that will create an environment for healthy lifestyles, ag e-friendly cities. Local policies can influence choices in other parts of the country, such as when Liverpool took the choice to ban smoking indoors in public places and this infl uenced policy at the national level. In Mexico, more has been achieved achieved at the local level than the national level. If a 100 year old man can complete a marathon, maybe it s time to rethink what it means to be old.

Daycare centres can remove pressures on the family.. dada-dadi park in Mumbai is a good example of creating interactive space and giving dignity. Other measures: welfare schemes, pension, working till body allows. Talaikoothal in Virudhnagar. No govt policy in India despite most politicians as well as voters being old. ----Corporal punishment With the number of incidents of schools practicing corporal punishments showing an increase, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has asked schools to constitute special monitoring cells to take prompt action in ca ses of physical punishment or harassment. The NCPCR guidelines on elimination of corporal punishment, unveiled in March 2012, suggest: Corporal Punishment Monitoring Cells should hear grievances related to corporal punishment, child sexual abuse, mental harassment and discrimination without del ay and forward recommendations to district level authorities within 48 hours of the occurrence. School boards should ask the schools affiliated to them to ensure corporal punish ment-free environment that would be one of the conditions for granting affiliatio n or recognition while practice of physical punishment or mental harassment shou ld be one of the grounds for withdrawal of affiliation. Teachers should provide a written undertaking that they would not engage in any action that could be construed as amounting to physical punishment, mental haras sment or discrimination. Schools should have annual social audits of physical punishment, harassment and discrimination, and results of the audit should be made public before start of every new academic ye ar. All schoolchildren should be informed through campaigns and publicity drives tha t they have a right to speak against physical punishments, mental harassment and discrimination. The guidelines stress on positive engagement with children, advising teachers to pay positive attention to children and appreciate good efforts while ignoring minor lapses. Life skills education should be made a part of school curriculum and should addr ess issues of self esteem, aggression, drug abuse, decision making, coping with stress and others. School authorities should hold meetings with parent-teacher bodies on the guidel ines and decide which procedures they should adopt to protect children and their rights in schools. -------Banana genome Banana genome has been sequenced Pests and diseases are imminent threats, so this was needed to identify genes th at aid disease resistance, improve fruit quality. India is world's largest producer, most of it is locally consumed. There is grea t potential for export if productivity can be increased by negating vulnerabilit y to diseases. DH-Pahang (musa acuminata) is a banana variety popular in SE Asia, able to resis t Panama disease fungus. Characterising its disease-resistant genes can help oth er varieties by transfer.

------Higgs boson discovery On 4 July 2012, the Geneva based European Organisation of Nuclear Research (CERN ) announced the discovery of the Higgs Boson particle. While the possibility tha t it may not be the Higgs particle has not been ruled out, the confidence that t he newly discovered particle is indeed the elusive Higgs particle is within an e rror tolerance of one in a million. The discovery will be rated as one of the greatest. The particle has been eludin g scientists since its existence was predicted in 1964 by Peter Higgs, a British physicist, and five others independently. It cost $10 billion to build the Larg e Hadron Collider particle accelerator at the CERN lab. The experiment involved colliding opposite beams of protons at energy levels of 4 TeV/nucleon. The Higgs Boson has a mass of about 125 GeV. Electron volt or eV is the unit of energy used to measure the mass of elementary particles. One GeV is one billion electron volts. The Higgs particle has no charge and it disintegrates within a t iny fraction of a second after its birth. It leaves behind particles that can be detected. With the discovery of the Higgs boson, the missing link in the Standard Model of physics has been found. The Standard Model had predicted a number of fundamenta l particles like quarks and leptons which have already been found. The Model is a quantum mechanical theory that has been evoked to peer into the structure of m atter. Being one of the most successful theories in physics, not finding Higgs w ill challenge the very basis of particle physics. One of the problems that had been nagging scientists was how the fundamental par ticles acquire mass. In order to explain the existence of mass, scientists had p ostulated what in particle physics parlance is called the Higgs mechanism. In si mplified terms, it means that the universe is permeated by a field called the Hi ggs field. Elementary particles acquire mass when they interact with this field. Without the Higgs field, the particles would move at the speed of light and hav e no mass. No mass would mean no structure in the universe. Thus, to explain the structure of matter, the Higgs field was postulated. The field is associated wi th a particle which is called the Higgs Boson. That particle has now been found. The discovery of the Higgs particle notwithstanding, physics still has to grappl e with a number of puzzles. Why is there prevalence of matter over anti-matter i n the universe? Why is there so little mass in the universe only four per cent of what ought to be there. Where is the missing 96 per cent? The mystery of missing matter, also dubbed as Dark Matter, has yet to be explained. Physics is replete with speculative theories like the theory of everything , string theory of extra dim ensions and so on. The discovery of Higgs boson may throw some light on these fu ndamental questions. Particle physics and the Standard Model are too complicated to be understood by laymen. Yet, the public has been glued to the Higgs Boson and the Large Hadron C ollider for several years now. There were speculations that the high energy coll ision experiment in the 27 km long tunnel of the LHC would create black holes th at would gobble up the planet earth. The name God particle for Higgs boson also ca ught media attention. India, an observer member of CERN, has been involved in the building of some com ponents of the LHC. It will be a stretch to claim a direct Indian connection to the discovery of the Higgs Boson. But the discovery of the particle has certainl y thrown a spotlight on the much neglected Indian physicist Satyendra Nath Bose, a contemporary of Albert Einstein. In quantum mechanics, the Bose-Einstein stat

istics is a critical tool used to understand the behaviour of a category of part icles known as Bosons. Along with the Higgs Boson, the world is rediscovering Bose. The Higgs particle, like many others, is a Boson, and also the heaviest Boson discovered so far. Th ere are several of them, for instance, the Z-boson and the W-boson. But Bose, wh o died in 1974, was not directly connected with the formulation of the Standard Model. Pakistan has a more direct connection to the recent discovery. Noble laureate Ab dus Salam, a Pakistani scientist, had contributed in a significant way to the de velopment of the Standard Model. He formulated the electroweak theory, which uni fies the electromagnetic forces with weak forces at the sub-atomic level. He als o suggested how to incorporate the Higgs mechanism into the Standard Model. It i s unfortunate that the great scientist was humiliated in Pakistan because he was an Ahmediya. He had collaborated with an Indian origin scientist Jogesh Pati in developing the Pati-Salam model in 1974, which throws light on the unification of quarks and leptons. Jogesh Pati is an Orissa born professor emeritus at the U niversity of Maryland. Truth is elusive and has many shades. One can approach it but never actually fin d it. There will always be more to be done. Scientists will now get busy in inve stigating the characteristics of the newly found particle. The discovery of Higg s boson renews the faith in the scientific method. A theory must be supported by evidence. The discovery of the Higgs boson represents the triumph of big scienc e which requires big money. Some people may argue whether spending such large su ms is justified when billions of people in the world go hungry every day. The hi story of science has shown that spending on intellectual enquiry is as important as spending on basic necessities. It is worthwhile to remember that the world wi de web , which has made stupendous contribution to the growth of the internet, ori ginated at CERN. The techniques used to analyse the massive raw data collected b y the sensors from billions of collisions will be useful in other spheres too. T he chances are that there will be spin offs from the experience gained in buildi ng and operating the LHC. -----------WHO conference on tobacco and health, singapore, march 2012 -----------Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma The African Union has chosen South African Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as its leader, making her the first woman to hold the post. Dlamini-Zuma beat incumbent Jean P ing of Gabon after a closely fought contest for the chairmanship. In January, ne ither got the required two-thirds majority, leaving Ping in office for another s ix months. The dispute has overshadowed other issues, especially security and trade. -------Red coral kukri A rare Indian snake species Red Coral Kukri has been spotted at Katarniaghat Wil dlife Sanctuary (KWS) in the Terai region of Uttar Pradesh. This chance discover y was made by a young conservationist Fazlurrahman, who also is an officer beare r of an NGO, Katarniaghat Foundation (KGF). ------

Upcoming Moon missions Chang-e 3: China Selene 2: Japan Chandrayan 2: India --------Archana Sharma Staff physicist at CERN, only Indian involved in the successful Higgs Boson expe riment. -------CSTO The Collective Security Treaty Organization is an intergovernmental military all iance which was signed on 15 May 1992. On 7 October 2002, the Presidents of Arme nia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan signed a charter in Tashkent founding the CSTO. On 23 June 2006, Uzbekistan became a full participant in the CSTO; and its membe rship was formally ratified by the Uzbek parliament on 28 March 2008. The CSTO i s currently an observer organisation at the United Nations GA. The CSTO charter reaffirmed the desire of all participating states to abstain fr om the use or threat of force. Signatories would not be able to join other milit ary alliances or other groups of states, while aggression against one signatory would be perceived as an aggression against all. To this end, the CSTO holds yea rly military command exercises to have an opportunity to improve inter-organisat ion cooperation. Russia has won the right to veto the establishment of new foreign military bases in the member states of the CSTO. In order to deploy military bases of a third country in the territory of the CSTO member-states, it is necessary to obtain th e official consent of all its members. But, the tightening of rules for opening extra-regional military bases apparently does not apply to existing facilities, such as the U.S. transit centre in Kyrgyzstan, a German air transit facility in Uzbekistan and French military aircraft based in Tajikistan. However, the decisi on gains importance in the light of reported plans by the Pentagon to redeploy t o Central Asia some of the forces that will be pulled out of Afghanistan in 2014 . The CSTO employs a rotating presidency system every year. Problems with multilateralism 1. Uzbekistan has decided to suspend its membership of CSTO. 2. ASEAN is divided into pro- and anti-China camps over South China Sea disputes . It failed to issue a joint communique for the first time in its 45-year histor y. 3. EU is in turmoil. 4. NATO lacks future direction after failed effort to dislodge Taliban in Afghan istan. 5. UNSC's diminishing ability to put up a joint front. Reasons 1. Structure of the institution has outlived its usefulness, for example the UNS C. 2. Nations that once had similar priorities and visions are not the same anymore , and may have drifted away from each other politically (ASEAN) and economically (EU). 3. Structure of international politics itself has changed, with the institutions not keeping pace. --------------------

UNGC The United Nations Global Compact, also known as Compact or UNGC, is a UN initia tive to encourage businesses worldwide to adopt sustainable, socially responsibl e policies, and report on their implementation. The Global Compact is a principl e-based framework for businesses, stating ten principles in the areas of human r ights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption. Under the Global Compact, co mpanies are brought together with UN agencies, labour groups and civil society. The Global Compact is the world's largest corporate citizenship initiative and a s voluntary initiative has two objectives: "Mainstream the ten principles in bus iness activities around the world" and "Catalyse actions in support of broader U N goals, such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)." The Global Compact was first announced by then UNSG Kofi Annan in an address to World Economic Forum on January 31, 1999, and was officially launched in 2000. The Global Compact Office is supported by six UN agencies: the United Nations Hi gh Commissioner for Human Rights; the United Nations Environment Programme; the International Labour Organization; the United Nations Development Programme; the United Nations Industrial Development Organization; and the United Nations Offi ce on Drugs and Crime. ------WSF The World Social Forum (WSF) is an annual meeting of civil society organizations , first held in Brazil, which offers to develop an alternative future through th e championing of counter-hegemonic globalization. Some consider the WSF to be a physical manifestation of global civil society, as it brings together NGOs, advo cacy campaigns as well as formal and informal social movements seeking internati onal solidarity. The WSF defines itself as an opened space plural, diverse, nongovtl and non-partisan that stimulates the decentralized debate, reflection, pro posals building, experiences exchange and alliances among movements and organiza tions engaged in concrete actions towards a more solidarity, democratic and fair world....a space and process to build alternatives to neoliberalism. It is held by members of the alter-globalization movement (also referred to as t he global justice movement) who come together to coordinate global campaigns, sh are and refine organizing strategies, and inform each other about movements from around the world and their particular issues. The World Social Forum is explici t about not being representative of all of those who attend and thus does not pu blish any formal statements on behalf of participants. It tends to meet in Janua ry at the same time as its "great capitalist rival", the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. This date is consciously picked to promote their alternative answers to world economic problems. ------------Article 71 of UN Charter The Economic and Social Council may make suitable arrangements for consultation with non-governmental organizations which are concerned with matters within its competence. Such arrangements may be made with international organizations and, where appropriate, with national organizations after consultation with the Membe r of the United Nations concerned. -------S/2012 5th moon orbiting pluto discovered by Hubble space telescope. Irregular-shaped, 10-24 km across.

-------Mithali Raj India Women's cricket team captain, has jumped to top slot in ICC ODI ranking fo r batters. Among bowlers, Jhulan goswami is ranked 4th. -------------The Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI) is a multilateral currency swap arrangement amon g the ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Peo ple's Republic of China (including Hong Kong), Japan, and South Korea. It draws from a foreign exchange reserves pool worth US$120 billion and was launched on 2 4 March 2010. That pool has been expanded to $240 billion in 2012.[1] The initiative began as a series of bilateral swap arrangements after the ASEAN Plus Three countries met on 6 May 2000 in Chiang Mai, Thailand, at an annual mee ting of the Asian Development Bank. After 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, member co untries started this initiative to manage regional short-term liquidity problems and to facilitate the work of other international financial arrangements and or ganizations like International Monetary Fund. A currency swap is a foreign-exchange agreement between two parties to exchange aspects (namely the principal and/or interest payments) of a loan in one currenc y for equivalent aspects of an equal in net present value loan in another curren cy; see foreign exchange derivative. Currency swaps are motivated by comparative advantage. ----------Bandu Dhotre, founder of ECO-PRO, an environmental group from Chandrapur, launch ed an indefinite fast for protection of tigers in Vidarbha region, in July 2012. He got huge support from volunteers and NGOs. The move followed failed talks wi th the forest dept. He ended the fast after 10 days as the Maha govt agreed to a ccept almost all the demands. These are a comprehensive wildlife management plan , declaration of Chandrapur as a tiger district, protection of tigers in non-pro tected areas, etc. -------MCX (Multi-commodity exchange of India) Stock Exchange (MCX-SX) is an India-wide electronic platform for trading in currency futures under the regulatory contro l of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Reserve Bank of India (RB I). It is jointly promoted by Financial technologies and MCX. It started operati ons on the 6th of OCtober 2008. In July 2012, it got permission of SEBI for trad ing in equity business. ------Guinea-Bissau On 12 April 2012, following the first round of a presidential election, elements of the armed forces staged a coup d'tat in Guinea-Bissau, just over two weeks be fore the second round between Carlos Gomes Jnior and Mohamed Ial Embal. On 15 April , an agreement was reached to set up an interim National Transitional Council wi th a majority of opposition parties and the military. The event follows military unrest in 2010 and a failed coup attempt in 2011 as a result of infighting between the Navy and the Army. The country has been prone to instability because of its location as a conduit for drug shipments from Lati n America to Europe, with allegation that government ministers and military pers

onnel are bribed to keep silent, arguably making the country a narcostate. West Africa has a coup problem. Today, in the latest development in Guinea-Bissa u's coup, the military said it wouldn't release the country's interim president until "conditions allow." Reuters also reports that the AU has suspended members hip. Last month, another coup rocked neighboring Mali and the junta continues to cling to power. Although Mali and Guinea-Bissau are very close to each other ge ographically and they had coups within weeks of each other, their two upheavals are very different. In Mali, some mid-ranking military officers overturned an es tablished democracy that had been functioning for 20 years. Guinea-Bissau, on th e other hand, has had so many coups that no one of its presidents has completed a full term in office since the country became independent in 1974. A second rou nd of voting in presidential elections was scheduled to take place later this mo nth, but on Friday, the heavy favorite, Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Jr., was in army custody along with other senior officials. The military, which has dominated politics in the country ever since it fought i ts way to independence from Portugal in 1974, announced it did not intend to sta y in power and called a meeting of political parties late Friday. But military o fficials did not say what their plans were for the nation of 1.6 million people, which is heavily dependent on aid and considered a major transit hub for Latin American drugs. Once again, in a country long accustomed to coups, the trigger w as apparently the army s perception that its prerogatives were threatened. On Friday, a self-proclaimed military command announced on the radio that it had d eposed the prime minister because of what it said was a secret agreement between h im and military forces from Angola aimed at suppressing Guinea-Bissau s army. It o ffered no evidence of the agreement, and diplomats and analysts said it seemed l ikely that the army was simply trying to eliminate Mr. Gomes before his probable victory in the second round of the presidential election. --update-SECURITY COUNCIL CALLS FOR CONSENSUS ON RESTORING STABILITY IN GUINEA-BISSAU The Security Council today called on all political actors and civil society in G uinea-Bissau to engage in a consensual, inclusive and nationally-owned process t o restore constitutional order in the country. In a statement read out to the press by Ambassador Nstor Osorio of Colombia, whic h holds the Council s presidency for this month, the 15-member body also encourage d the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Community of Po rtuguese-Speaking Countries (known by the Portuguese acronym CPLP), in collabora tion with the United Nations and African Union, to support this process. Soldiers in Guinea-Bissau, which has a history of coups, misrule and political i nstability since it gained independence from Portugal in 1974, seized power on 1 2 April. The coup came ahead of a presidential run-off election that was slated for 22 April and prompted calls from the international community for the return to civilian rule and the restoration of constitutional order. The press statement followed a meeting on Guinea-Bissau held in the Council last Thursday, during which UN officials stressed the need for all actors in the Wes t African nation to work together to restore constitutional order following this year s coup d tat and for unity among international partners on how to assist the co untry in this process. It will be important to ensure that all political actors and civil society in Gui nea-Bissau work together to achieve a truly inclusive government in order to ens ure a consensual transition, Joseph Mutaboba, the Secretary-General s Special Repre sentative and head of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (U NIOGBIS), told that meeting.

The Council, in its statement on Monday, reaffirmed the importance of the coordi nation of international efforts to address the crisis in Guinea-Bissau and, in t hat context, called on the Secretary-General to actively engage in this process, to harmonize the respective positions of international and regional partners. Council members underlined the need to support Guinea-Bissau s efforts to establis h a clear timetable for the organization of free, fair and transparent president ial and legislative elections. They also underlined the need for concrete measures in key areas for long-term s tability in Guinea-Bissau, among those the reform of the security sector, the pr omotion and respect of rule of law, the creation of an enabling environment for the enhanced control over the security forces, the fight against impunity and th e fight against drug-trafficking and the promotion of social-economic developmen t. --------Pacific Alliance There s a new group of nations in Latin America - the Pacific Alliance, uniting Me xico, Colombia, Peru and Chile. Presidents of the four nations formally launched the economic integration pact o n Wednesday, and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos says their first big mov e will be to drop visa requirements so citizens of all four countries can travel freely between them. Chilean President Sebastian Pinera chose a remote mountaintop in northern Chile for the signing. The event was held at one of Earth s most powerful deep space obs ervatories. ------------NMM The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today approved the implementation of t he programme of the National Monsoon Mission at the Earth System Science Organis ation (ESSO) for a period of five years. The main objectives of the National Monsoon Mission are: (i) To build a working partnership between the academic and R&D organisations bo th national and international and the operational agencies to improve the operat ional monsoon forecast skill over the country. (ii) To set up a state of the art dynamic modelling framework for improving the prediction skill of: a. Seasonal and extended range prediction system (16 days to one season) b. Short to medium range prediction system (up to 15 days). The Mission has a budget of Rs.400 crore for five years to support the research work related to the mission. The National Monsoon Mission after its implementation will help to implement a d ynamic prediction system for the prediction of monsoon in all time scales, short range to seasonal time scale at appropriate spatial scales with improved predic tion skill. The forecasts based on this prediction system will cater to the need s of various sectors like agriculture, water resources management, power generat ion, disaster management, tourism and transport.

The programme will be undertaken through two sub-missions on two different time scales, (i) extended range to seasonal time scale to be coordinated by the India n Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) Pune/ESSO and (ii) short to medium ra nge scale, to be coordinated by the National Centre for Medium Range Weather For ecasting (NCMRWF)/ESSO. The Indian National Center for Ocean Information Service s (INCOIS)/ESSO will provide the ocean observations for assimilation and the Ind ia Meteorological Department/ESSO will implement the research outcome of the eff orts in operational mode. The Mission will support focused research by national and international research groups with definitive objectives and deliverables to improve the models in the short, medium, extended and seasonal range scales at appropriate spatial scales. The Mission will also support observational programm es that will result in better understanding of the processes. The progress of th e National Monsoon Mission will be reviewed and monitored by two committees. The Scientific Review and Monitoring Committee (SRMC) will review the research prop osals from different research groups and monitor the progress of the research wo rk. The Scientific Steering Committee (SSC), which is the apex body will steer t he programme, advise and direct midcourse corrections, if any. Background: Prediction of monsoon rainfall variability in all spatial and time scales is ver y important for many sectors like agriculture, water resources management, power generation and natural ecosystems and thus economy of the country. The present statistical methods being used by the India Meteorological Department have some constraints to meet specific user requirements for forecasts on finer spatial an d temporal scale. Therefore, it is necessary to make use of the state of the art dynamic models to improve monsoon prediction skills. ---------Vulture restaurants With many species of vultures teetering on the brink of extinction, innovative m easures are being undertaken to save them. Gadchiroli forest division has establ ished Vulture Restaurants'. These are located strategically with a regular supply of safe food by collecting dead animals from local people. These birds play an important ecological role through the rapid consumption of a nimal carcasses. The loss of a major scavenger from the ecosystem affects the ba lance between populations of other scavenging species and/or results in increase in putrefying carcasses. This results in disease risks for wildlife, livestock and humans. People inform the forest dept in case of the death of an animal in their village and the department after testing the dead animal and paying monetary benefits t o the owner of the animal and informer transports it to the vulture restaurant. Apart from this, whenever a vulture nesting is found, conservation measures like providing safe food near nesting trees, constant protection from disturbances, etc, are put in place without delay. Anthropogenic disturbances leading to destruction of suitable roosting and nesti ng trees as well as disturbance have a marked impact on vultures. The general pu blic is ignorant of ecological importance of vultures. Efforts cannot be success ful without the active involvement of local communities. Economic incentives cou ld be one of the means to attract local communities to this endeavour. So in-sit u conservation efforts, in combination with awareness programmes, may play an im portant role in conservation of remaining population of vultures. There is a thr ee-pronged approach wherein the forest department, NGOs and local people came to gether for conservation.

The other activities initiated in Gadchiroli forest division include creating aw areness about vultures and their conservation, protecting nesting colonies and p rohibition on felling tall trees, economic incentive to people who conserve roos ting trees in their own land and constant monitoring of vulture nests and provid ing adequate protection to the rooster trees. ----------NBA working towards joining washington accord The National Board of Accreditation (NBA) is working towards joining the Washing ton Accord, which will enable Indian engineering graduates to take up the profes sion in Western countries. At present, while they can work in the West, Indian g raduates are not allowed to practise engineering as the degree courses here are not recognised by many countries. Signed in 1989, the Washington Accord is an in ternational agreement among bodies responsible for accrediting engineering degre e programmes. It recognises substantial equivalency of programmes accredited by those bodies a nd recommends that graduates of programmes accredited by any of the signatory bo dies be recognised by other bodies as having met the academic requirements for e ntry to the practice of engineering. The NBA was established by All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) as a n autonomous body for periodic evaluations of technical institutions and program mes. -------The Union Cabinet, on Thursday, approved the setting up of an institutional mech anism for effective monitoring of the contract performance of projects under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode to ensure timely completion. As per the Cabinet decision on the Planning Commission s proposal, the institution al mechanism for monitoring of PPP projects will have a two-tier scanning struct ure by way of a Projects monitoring unit (PMU) and a Performance review unit (PRU) i n view of the fact that a number of infrastructural development projects are lik ely to be routed through the partnership mode for implementation. To ensure timely completion of PPP projects, while the PMU will monitor their pe rformance at the project authority level, the PRU will also oversee implementati on at the Ministry/state government level. Thereafter, as per the mechanism, the PMU will prepare a report and submit it to the PRU within 15 days of the close of each relevant month. -------------China spruces up highway through Aksai Chin Chinese officials have said they are close to completing the repaving of the Xin jiang-Tibet national highway, which runs through the disputed Aksai Chin region (India holds claims to it), for the first time in 50 years. The 2,143-km road ru ns from Yecheng county in Kashgar prefecture in Xinjiang south to Lhatse in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR); The Xinjiang section of the road is 654.8 km in length. It is regarded as the hi ghest traversable road in the world. Construction of the road began in 1951, and its completion in 1957 caught India by surprise, triggering tensions ahead of t he 1962 conflict. The rebuilding of the road along with the earlier project of t he high speed train through the region only increase the asymmetry of infrastruc ture between the countries in the region. -------World's reefs in rapid decline

More than 2,600 of the world's top marine scientists recently warned coral reefs around the world were in rapid decline and urged immediate global action on cli mate change to save what remains; Coral reefs provide food and work for countless coastal inhabitants globally, ge nerate significant revenues through tourism and function as a natural breakwater for waves and storms, they said; In the Caribbean 75-85 per cent of the coral cover has been lost in the last 35 years. Even the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the best-protected reef ecosyst em on the planet, has witnessed a 50 per cent decline in the last 50 years; More than 85 per cent of reefs in Asia's Coral Triangle are directly threatened by human activities such as coastal development, pollution, and overfishing, accor ding to a report launched at the forum; The Coral Triangle covers Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines , The Solomon Islands, and East Timor and contains nearly 30 per cent of the wor ld's reefs and more than 3,000 species of fish. ------------GFAJ-1: Arsenic bug Life forms on Earth rely on six elements to build their molecules oxygen, carbon , hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur and phosphorus. There was, it seemed, at least one organism capable of substituting arsenic, which is usually toxic, when phosphor us was not available. The GFAJ-1 bacterium was able to use arsenic in this manne r in its DNA and proteins, according to Dr. Wolfe-Simon and her colleagues; However, new research clearly showed that the bacterium could not substitute ars enic for phosphorus to survive. Instead, the two papers revealed that the medium used to growth the organism in the original experiments contained enough phosph ate contamination to support its growth; This bacterium was likely to be adept at manual scavenging india nging phosphate under harsh conditions, which would help to explain why it could grow even when arsenic was present within the cells. But, the bacterium s extraor dinary resistance and its arsenic tolerance mechanisms would be of interest for further study. -----------Sex workers should not be allowed to operate, Centre tells supreme court The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to examine the Centre s plea that sex workers should not be allowed to operate in the country under the cloak of working with dignity as suggested by a panel, since that would be contrary to the statute proh ibiting the world s oldest trade. The Centre s move was, however, opposed by senior counsel Jayant Bhushan, acting a s an amicus curiae, and Anand Grover who submitted that the Act only prohibited brothel activities and punitive action against pimps. In other words, counsel co ntended that if a sex worker carries out the activities on her own volition, the n it was not an illegal Act We may reiterate that this exercise has been done by us because the word life in Ar ticle 21 of the Constitution of India has been interpreted in several decisions of this Court to mean a right to life with dignity .. It is only if a sex worker is able to earn a livelihood through technical skills rather than by selling her bo dy that she can live with dignity, and that is why we have requested all the Sta tes and the Union of India to submit schemes for giving technical training to th ese sex workers. ---------------India-Singapore

State visit by PM Lee Hsien Loong in July 2012. He said companies investing in I ndia look for predictability of rules as the business environment here is 'compl ex' (reference to red-tapism). The two are reviewing their DTAA; a 'limitation of benefit' clause has already b een added to avoid misuse by companies not genuinely based in Singapore. Singa is India's largest trading partner in ASEAN. A CECA was signed in 2005, af ter which bilateral trade is said to be increasing at 20% per annum. Singapore is the second largest investor in India, with a share of 10% of India' s total incoming FDI. Many Indian companies use Singapore as a platform for expansion into SE Asia. Three major pacts have been inked during the visit, including one on continuing military training extended by Indian armed forces to Singa counterparts. Two MoU s were signed regarding cooperation in vocational education and skills developme nt. ----------Family planning summit, London Rich countries have pledged $2.6bn over the next eight years at a family plannin g summit in London, in what was described as a breakthrough for the world's poor est women and girls. The money, coupled with commitments from developing countri es, is expected to provide access to family planning for 120 million women in th e global south. The commitments support the rights of women to determine freely, and for themsel ves, whether, when and how many children they have. The conference was hosted by the Gates Foundation and the Department for International Development (DfID), a nd designed to put a politically loaded issue back on the global development age nda. More than 20 developing countries made commitments to boost spending on family p lanning and strengthen women's access to contraception. Malawi said it would raise the minimum marriage age to 18, India said it planned to have universal access to family planning by 2020, and Senegal said it would invest in a mass-communication campaign involving religious and political leader s. Women's deaths during pregnancy, unwanted pregnancies and forced abortions, neon atal deaths, etc, are the main concerns. It is also about promoting gender equal ity and women's rights. A key stress is on voluntariness of the programmes. The conference sought to reverse two decades of neglect on family planning. The event brought together several leaders, NGOs and the private sector. NGOs welcomed the focus on cultural attitudes as well as on increasing resources for family planning. Girls in remote areas have never heard of contraception, e ven if they have, unless there are changes of attitude, things won't change. Another benefit of the summit would be its galvanising effect on family planning in much the same way that a recent London summit on vaccines attracted donation s. The summit made the wider case that aid works and makes a difference at a tim e of austerity.

The aim of the summit was to raise $4bn to expand access to contraception for 12 0 million women in the global south by 2020. According to the UN, about 220 mill ion women in the south who do not want to get pregnant cannot get reliable acces s to contraception. Just as important as the pledges of money was the sentiment that women's and rep roductive rights lay at the core of family planning. --------Lower Mekong Initiative During her visit to the region, Clinton will announce plans to boost the Lower Me kong Initiative that she launched three years ago. The LMI provides a minilateral ramework for cooperation between the US and the four lower riparian states of th e Mekong: Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The Mekong originates in Tibet and flows for hundreds of kilometres in China bef ore entering Southeast Asia. Clinton s aim was to enhance cooperation in the areas of environment, health, education and infrastructure development. Since then, t he five countries have sought to strengthen cooperation in these areas and build on their common interests. The LMI, not surprisingly, is also a vehicle for expanding American influence in a region that is also vital to China. It also puts Washington in the middle of the growing disputes involving China and the lower riparian states. Well before Washington rediscovered the geopolitics of the Mekong, the NDA gover nment in 2000 had taken the lead to promote India s cooperation with the lower Mek ong region. Under UPA 2, though, the Mekong-Ganga initiative appears to have fal len off the list of Delhi s priorities. Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC) was established on November 10, 2000 at Vientiane i n the First MGC Ministerial Meeting. It comprises six Member countries namely, I ndia, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. They emphasised four areas of cooperation, which are tourism, culture, education, and transportation linkag e in order to be solid foundation for future trade and investment cooperation in the region. ----------The Great Game, called the Tournament of Shadows in Russia, was a term for the s trategic rivalry and conflict between the British Empire and the Russian Empire for supremacy in Central Asia. The classic Great Game period is generally regard ed as running approximately from the Russo-Persian Treaty of 1813 to the Anglo-R ussian Convention of 1907. A second, less intensive phase followed the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. The Great Game ended as the United Kingdom entered the post -WW2 post-colonial period. The New Great Game is a term used to describe the conceptualization of modern ge opolitics in Central Eurasia as a competition between the United States, the Uni ted Kingdom and other NATO countries against Russia, the People's Republic of Ch ina and other Shanghai Cooperation Organisation countries for "influence, power, hegemony and profits in Central Asia and the Transcaucasus". Many authors and analysts view this new game as centering around regional petrol eum politics. Now, instead of competing for actual control over a geographic are a, "pipelines, tanker routes, petroleum consortiums, and contracts are the prize s of the new Great Game". f

Pipeline: Turk-Uzb-Kazhak-China INSTC: Connectivity from Caspian sea to Persian gulf New Silk Route with and without Iran (US plans) War on terror TAPI, IPI Europe connectivity through Turkey, Azb, Caspian Basically, Central asia is strategically located with Russia to north, China to east, India to southeast, Arabia to southwest and europe to west. -------Article 143. Power of President to consult Supreme Court ( 1 ) If at any time it appears to the President that a question of law or fact has arisen, or is likel y to arise, which is of such a nature and of such public importance that it is e xpedient to obtain the opinion of the Supreme Court upon it, he may refer the qu estion to that Court for consideration and the Court may, after such hearing as it thinks fit, report to the President its opinion thereon (2) The President may, notwithstanding anything in the proviso to Article 131, r efer a dispute of the kind mentioned in the said proviso to the Supreme Court fo r opinion and the Supreme Court shall, after such hearing as it thinks fit, repo rt to the President its opinion thereon (Wrto 2G verdict) --------Shivambu Nature care method aka swamootra chikitsa (treatment through one's urine), belie ved by some to be a cure for conditions such as bedwetting. Social activist Swam i Agnivesh recently claimed himself to be a practitioner of this method, after t he row over a warden in Viswa Bharati University in Shantiniketan allegedly forc ed a girl to lick her own urine for repeated bedwetting. -----------The International Criminal Court sentenced Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga to 1 4 years in prison on Tuesday, the first sentencing by for the 10-year-old tribun al and a potential landmark in the struggle to protect children. Judges found Thomas Lubanga guilty in March of recruiting and using children in his Union of Congolese Patriots militia, sending them to kill and be killed duri ng fighting in Congo s eastern Ituri region in 2002-2003. Tuesday s announcement was the first time the tribunal had sentenced a convicted war criminal. --------Hiren Bhattacharya Aka Hiru-da, poet of love and sunshine. Most celebrated Assamese poet, died 2012 . Poems on love, patriotism, humanity. --------Project Seabird Phase II Expansion of Karwar naval base. Capability to berth around 30 major warships (15 now) by 2017-18, empower the ba se with an airbase, armament depot, missile silos, additional jetties. Ease the dockyards at Mumbai, away from range of Paki missiles. ----------

New Free drug policy Every citizen will be entitled to free generic meds in all public health centres , effective over next 5 years. The scheme is expected to be rolled out in the next few months follows the recom mendations made by the Working Group on Drugs and Food Regulation set up for the 12th Plan. Currently India spends 1.2% of GDP on healthcare, one of the least in the world. More than three decades ago, India had joined the global community in the adopti on of the Alma Ata Declaration, the global commitment to health for all. The dec laration spoke of providing to all peoples of the world by the year 2000 of a lev el of health that will permit them to lead a socially and economically productiv e life . The importance of free medicines to address citizens health needs stems from the large dependence of the population on medicines. On an average, almost two-third s of the cost of healthcare for an ordinary citizen of this country is due to me dicines. Preventive healthcare is virtually non-existent on account of high cost s of diagnostics and vaccines for most of the common diseases, too, are not avai lable. Curative healthcare is lacking as well and, therefore, dependence on medi cines is the only available option. Besides the active involvement of state governments, without whom the initiative may not result in anything worthwhile, there are at least two areas that requir e focused attention. One, the public health facilities required for delivering t he medicines, and two, the supply-side factors necessary to ensure that low-cost medicines are delivered to government health facilities for distribution. The success of the initiative will depend on the ability of public health facili ties to deliver free medicines. This is a problem area as these facilities are t hemselves ailing . The 11th five-year Plan document had observed a reflection of th e people s growing lack of trust in the public system, which had occurred despite higher costs in the private sector. The document alluded to various problems inc luding shortage of personnel, poor work conditions, inconvenient clinic hours, a nd inadequate planning, management and monitoring. The worrisome fact is that no t only have these problems continued in the 11th Plan period, the Working Group on tertiary care institutions for the 12th Plan has hinted that problems are unl ikely to be resolved in a hurry. As a way out, some state governments have begun adopting the private-public model to beef up health services. The free medicine s initiative should cover these facilities as well. Identification of producers who will be able to supply cheap medicines lies at t he heart of the initiative. This aspect is critical for the effective coverage o f those for whom it is meant since the government is in no position to increase the subsidy burden that has already exceeded the tolerable limits. In this regard, domestic generic firms should be the obvious choice, given their record in providing affordable medicines. Past experience has shown that foreig n firms have failed to provide cheap medicines for a variety of reasons. The ren ts that these firms have sought for their patents and trademarks have generally caused the prices to go beyond the affordable limits of an average citizen in In dia. One of the extreme examples of this was the recent case of the German firm Bayer AG charging close to Rs. 3 lakh for a month s treatment for kidney cancer us ing the drug Nexavar. In the interest of the patients, the government had to int ervene to provide a compulsory license to a domestic manufacturer, Natco, which is expected to provide the generic version of the medicine for less than Rs. 9,0 00 a month.

----------First Rimes Ministerial Conference held in New Delhi Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (RIMES) came in to existen ce to establish a tsunami early warning system for Southeast Asia and the IO. It consists of Afghanistan, Armenia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Comoros, Indi a, Kenya, Lao PDR, Maldives, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Ph ilippines, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Uzbekistan. The objective of the meet was to build and sustain institutional and core operat ional activities through voluntary contributions and mobilize financial support for implementation of the targeted activities of the Master Plan. India is working in collaboration with RIMES for its institutional development a nd providing resources for RIMES to meet the needs and demands of Member States. India expressed its desire to share its expertise in the following areas: Building agro-meteorological advisory services to minimize the impact of adverse weather conditions on food production. Fishing zone advisory system. The indigenous and environmental friendly Low Temperature Thermal Desalination ( LTTD) technology. Various satellite based multi-sensor payload based products over the data sparse regions of Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal for enhancing the qualit y of meteorological and oceanic services. Providing satellite derived products for real time monitoring of adverse weather conditions. ---------Unesco s Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage It's an international treaty aimed at saving the underwater cultural heritage. U nderwater cultural heritage will be protected from being commercially exploited for trade or speculation. In-situ preservation Training and information sharing It was recently in news because, the legendary Titanic s wreckage, which has remai ned at the bottom of the North Atlantic for 100 years, will now come under its p rotection. --------Food preservation The basic idea behind all forms of food preservation is to slow down the activit y of disease-causing bacteria, or to kill the bacteria. In certain cases, a preservation technique may also destroy enzymes naturally fo und in a food that cause it to spoil or discolor quickly. By increasing the temp erature of food to about 150 degrees Fahrenheit (66 degrees Celsius), enzymes ar e destroyed. A food that is sterile contains no bacteria. Unless sterilized and sealed, all food contains bacteria. Refrigeration and Freezing In the case of refrigeration, the idea is to slow bacterial action to a crawl so that it takes food much longer to spoil. In the case of freezing, the idea is to stop bacterial action altogether. Frozen bacteria are completely inactive. Re frigeration's minimal effects on taste and texture of the food account for its w ide popularity. Canning In canning, you boil the food in the can to kill all the bacteria and seal the c

an (either before or while the food is boiling) to prevent any new bacteria from getting in. We generally think of "cans" as being metal, but any sealable conta iner can serve as a can. One problem with canning, and the reason why refrigerat ion or freezing is preferred to canning, is that the act of boiling food in the can generally changes its taste and texture (as well as its nutritional content) . Dehydrating Water content in the food is removed. Since most bacteria die or become complete ly inactive when dried, dried foods kept in air-tight containers can last quite a long time. Drying completely alters the taste and texture. Freeze-Drying Freeze-drying is a special form of drying that removes all moisture and tends to have less of an effect on taste. In freeze-drying, food is frozen and placed in a strong vacuum. The water in the food then sublimates -- that is, it turns str aight from ice into vapor. Freeze-drying is most commonly used to make instant c offee, but also works extremely well on fruits such as apples. Salting and Pickling Salting, especially of meat, is an ancient preservation technique. The salt draw s out moisture and creates an environment inhospitable to bacteria. If salted in cold weather (so that the meat does not spoil while the salt has time to take e ffect), salted meat can last for years. Pickling was widely used to preserve meats, fruits and vegetables in the past, b ut today is used almost exclusively to produce "pickles,". Pickling uses the pre servative qualities of salt combined with the preservative qualities of acid, su ch as acetic acid (vinegar). Acid environments inhibit bacteria. Pasteurizing It involves heating the food to a high enough temperature to kill certain (but n ot all) bacteria and to disable certain enzymes, and in return you are minimizin g the effects on taste as much as you can. Fermenting Fermentation uses bacteria like yeast to produce alcohol. Alcohol is a good pres ervative because it kills bacteria. When you ferment grape juice you create wine , which will last quite a long time. Carbonating Carbonated water is water in which carbon dioxide gas has been dissolved under p ressure. By eliminating oxygen, carbonated water inhibits bacterial growth. Carb onated beverages (soft drinks) therefore contain a natural preservative. Chemical preservatives Benzoates Nitrites Sulphites Sorbic acid Food Irradiation Nuclear radiation is able to kill bacteria without significantly changing the fo od containing the bacteria. So if you seal food in plastic and then radiate it, the food will become sterile and can be stored on a shelf without refrigeration. Unlike canning, however, you do not significantly change the taste or texture o f the food when you irradiate it. ------------Perform, Achieve and Trade [PAT]

In line with energy conservation and efficiency policies of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, the Ministry of Power has launched the PAT scheme under the Nationa l Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency. It is a market based mechanism to furt her accelerate as well as incentivise EE. The scheme provides the option to trade any additional certified energy savings with other designated consumers to comply with the Specific Energy Consumption r eduction targets. The Energy Savings Certificates (ESCerts) so issued will be tr adable on special trading platforms to be created in the two power exchanges -Indian Energy Exchange and Power Exchange India. During the first cycle of PAT scheme i.e. from 2012-13 to 2014-15, eight energy intensive sectors such as Thermal Power plants, Iron & Steel, Cement, Fertilizer , Aluminum, Textile, Pulp & Paper, Chlor-alkali have been included. There are ab out 478 numbers of Designated Consumers in these 8 sectors. The scheme is unique in many ways, particularly from a developing-country s perspe ctive since it creates a market for energy efficiency through tradable certifica tes by allowing them to be used to meet energy reduction targets. Buying ESCerts has been allowed as sufficient fulfillment of compliance requirement without an y penal action. -------The International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHD P) launched the Inclusive Wealth Report 2012 at the Rio+20 Conference in Brazil. IWR 2012 was developed on the notion that current economic production indicators such as GDP and the HDI are insufficient, as they fail to reflect the state of natural resources or ecological conditions, and focus exclusively on the short t erm, without indicating whether national policies are sustainable. IWR 2012 feat ures an index that measures the wealth of nations by looking into a country s capi tal assets, including manufactured, human and natural capital, and its correspon ding values: the Inclusive Wealth Index (IWI). Results show changes in inclusive wealth from 1990 to 2008, and include a long-term comparison to GDP for an init ial group of 20 countries worldwide, which represent 72% of the world GDP and 56 % of the global population. China has the highest IWI, followed by Germany, France, Chile and India. -----RTE In a landmark judgment on April 12, 2012, the Supreme Court upheld by 2 to 1 the constitutional validity of the provision in the Right to Education Act, 2009 th at makes it mandatory for all schools (government and private) except private, u naided minority schools to reserve 25% of their seats for children belonging to w eaker section and disadvantaged group . Under Article 137, a review petition may be filed if there is (a) discovery of n ew evidence, (b) an error apparent on the face of the record, or (c) any other s ufficient reason). The 86th (Constitutional Amendment) Act, 2002 added Article 21A to the Constitut ion which makes it mandatory for the State to provide free and compulsory educat ion to all children from the age of six to 14 years. The Parliament enacted the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 to give effect to this amendment. The Act provides that children between the ages of six and 14 years have the rig ht to free and compulsory education in a neighbourhood school. It lays down the minimum norms schools have to follow to get recognition. The Act required gover nment schools to provide free and compulsory education to all admitted children. Similarly, aided schools have to provide free and compulsory education proporti

onate to the funding received, subject to a minimum of 25%. However, controversy erupted over Section 12(1)(c) and (2) of the Act, which required private, unaid ed schools to admit at least 25% of students from SCs, STs, low-income and other disadvantaged or weaker groups. The Act stated that these schools shall be rei mbursed for either their tuition charge or the per-student expenditure in govern ment schools, whichever is lower. After the Act was notified on April 1, 2010, the Society for Unaided Private Schools of Rajasthan filed a writ petition chall enging the constitutional validity of this provision on the ground that it impin ged on their right to run educational institutions without government interferen ce. The SC has held the Act is constitutionally valid and shall apply to (a) governm ent controlled schools, (b) aided schools (including minority administered schoo ls) and (c) unaided, non-minority schools. The reasons are given below: First, Article 21A makes it obligatory on the State to provide free and compulso ry education to all children between 6 and 14 years of age. However, the manner in which the obligation shall be discharged is left to the State to determine b y law. Therefore, the State has the freedom to decide whether it shall fulfill its obligation through its own schools, aided schools or unaided schools. The 2 009 Act is child centric and not institution centric . The main question was whether the Act violates Article 19(1)(g) which gives every citizen the right to practi ce a profession or carry out any occupation, trade or business. However, the Co nstitution provides that Article 19(1)(g) may be circumscribed by Article 19(6), which allow reasonable restriction over this right in the interest of the gener al public. The Court stated that since education is recognized as a charitable ac tivity [TMA Pai Foundation vs State of Karnataka (2002)], reasonable restriction may apply. Second, the Act places a burden on the State as well as parents/guardians to ens ure that every child has the right to education. Thus, the right to education en visages a reciprocal agreement between the State and the parents and it places a n affirmative burden on all stakeholders in our civil society. The private, unai ded schools supplement the primary obligation of the State to provide for free a nd compulsory education to the specified category of students. Third, TMA Pai and P.A. Inamdar judgments hold that the right to establish and a dminister educational institutions fall within Article 19(1)(g). It includes ri ght to admit students and set up reasonable fee structure. However, these princ iples were applied in the context of professional/higher education where merit a nd excellence have to be given due weightage. This does not apply to a child se eking admission in Class I. Also, Section 12(1)(c) of the Act seeks to remove f inancial obstacle. Therefore, the 2009 Act should be read with Article 19(6) wh ich provides for reasonable restriction on Article 19(1)(g). However, the gover nment should clarify the position with regard to boarding schools and orphanages . The Court also ruled that the 2009 Act shall not apply to unaided, minority scho ols since they are protected by Article 30(1) (all minorities have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice). This right of the minorities is not circumscribed by reasonable restriction as is the case under Article 19(1)(g). Dissenting judgment Article 21A casts an obligation on the State to provide free and compulsory educ ation to children of the age of 6 to 14 years. The obligation is not on unaided non-minority and minority educational institutions. Section 12(1)(c) of the RT E Act can be operationalised only on the principles of voluntariness, autonomy a nd consensus for unaided schools and not on compulsion or threat of non-recognit

ion. The reasons for such a judgment are given below: First, Article 21A says that the State shall provide not provide for . Therefore, th e constitutional obligation is on the State and not on non-state actors to provi de free and compulsory education to a specified category of children. Also, und er Article 51A(k) of the Constitution, parents or guardians have a duty to provi de opportunities for education to their children but not a constitutional obliga tion. Second, each citizen has the fundamental right to establish and run an education al institution investing his own capital under Article 19(1)(g). This right can b e curtailed in the interest of the general public by imposing reasonable restric tions. Citizens do not have any constitutional obligation to start an education al institution. Therefore, according to judgments of TMA Pai and PA Inamdar, th ey do not have any constitutional obligation to share seats with the State or ad here to a fee structure determined by the State. Compelling them to do so would amount to nationalization of seats and would constitute serious infringement on the autonomy of the institutions. Rights guaranteed to the unaided non-minority and minority educational institutions under Article 19(1)(g) and Article 30(1) can only be curtailed through a constitutional amendment (for example, insertion of Article 15(5) that allows reservation of seats in private educational instit utions). Third, no distinction can be drawn between unaided minority and non-minority sch ools with regard to appropriation of quota by the State. Problems of kids without homes: orphans, street children, tribals, nomads, migra nts, IDPs: will need residential schools, not just neighbourhood schools. --------------The issue of the General Anti Avoidance Rule (GAAR) has dominated news and there are fears that GAAR will discourage foreign investment. But tax avoidance can hinder public finance objectives and it is in this context GAAR was introduced i n this year s Budget. The Finance Minister has pushed back implementation of GAAR by a year. GAAR was first introduced in the Direct Taxes Code Bill 2010. The original prop osal gave the Commissioner of Income Tax the authority to declare any arrangemen t or transaction by a taxpayer as impermissible if he believed the main purpose of the arrangement was to obtain a tax benefit. The 2012-13 Finance Bill (Bill), that was passed by Parliament yesterday, defines impermissible avoidance arrangem ents as an arrangement that satisfies one of four tests. Under these tests, an a greement would be an impermissible avoidance arrangement if it (i) creates rights and obligations not normally created between parties dealing at arm s length, (ii ) results in misuse or abuse of provisions of tax laws, (iii) is carried out in a way not normally employed for bona fide purpose or (iv) lacks commercial subst ance. As per the Bill, arrangements which lack commercial substance could involve roun d trip financing, an accommodating party and elements that have the effect of of fsetting or cancelling each other. A transaction that disguises the value, loca tion, source, ownership or control of funds would also be deemed to lack commerc ial substance. The Bill as introduced also presumed that obtaining a tax benefit was the main purpose of an arrangement unless the taxpayer could prove otherwis e. GAAR was introduced to address tax avoidance and ensure that those in different tax brackets are taxed the correct amount. In many instances of tax avoidance, arrangements may take place with the sole intention of gaining a tax advantage w hile complying with the law. This is when the doctrine of substance over form may

apply. Substance over form is where real intention of parties and the purpose of an arrangement is taken into account rather than just the nomenclature of the a rrangement. Many countries, like Canada and South Africa, have codified the doc trine of substance over form through a GAAR type ruling. A common criticism of GAAR is that it provides discretion and authority to the t ax administration which can be misused. The Standing Committee responded to GAA R in their report on the Direct Taxes Code Bill in March, 2012. They suggested t hat the provisions should ensure that taxpayers entering genuinely valid arrange ments are not harassed. They recommended that the onus should be on tax authori ties, not the taxpayer, to prove tax avoidance. In addition, the committee sugg ested an independent body to act as the approving panel to ensure impartiality. They also recommended that the assessing officer be designated in the code to r educe harassment and unwarranted litigation. On May 8, 2012 the Finance Minister amended the GAAR provisions following the St anding Committee s recommendations. The main change was to delay the implementati on of GAAR by a year to provide more time to both taxpayers and the tax administr ation to address all related issues . GAAR will now apply on income earned in 201 3-14 and thereafter. In addition, the Finance Minister removed the burden upon the taxpayer to prove that the main purpose of an alleged impermissible arrangem ent was not to obtain tax benefit. These amendments were approved with the pass ing of the Bill. In his speech, the Finance Minister stated that a Committee had also been formed under the Chairmanship of the Director General of Income Tax. The Committee wi ll suggest rules, guidelines and safeguards for implementation of GAAR. ----------Hostage crises The recent hostage crisis which emanated after the kidnapping of Odisha legislat or Jhina Hikaka and Chhattisgarh district collector Alex Paul Menon by Maoists, has raised a lot of disturbing questions. Both of them were released after the r espective state governments agreed to the demands of the Maoists, including rele ase of prisoners. Many a times it is not only groups like the Kasmiri militants or Maoists, but even Somali pirates and forest brigands like Veerappan who have brought a mighty State like India to its knees. In nearly all the cases the trad e-off is a very costly one for the State. Russians have launched commando operations in dealing with hostage situations in volving Chechen rebels. A few hostages were killed but the state did not capitul ate. Chechen terrorism is today a pale shadow of its former self due to such mea sures. The terrorists in a hostage situation must not be emboldened by the state 's meek response. We need to evolve a clear doctrine grounded in law, which forb ids the surrender of the State to terrorist demands. That will surely help in sh edding the image of a soft state that weakens our collective morale, and it will go a long way in preserving our national interest. -------CDSCO scandal A report by the parliamentary standing committee on health and family welfare re veals that medicines which were banned and withdrawn in developed countries deca des ago are being sold freely to Indian consumers. It points to an unholy nexus between officials of the Drug Control Organisation, the pharmaceutical industry and medical experts. The report also draws attention to the sale in India of new drugs, which were not subjected to clinical trials in the country. Forty-two d

rugs that were picked up randomly were found to have received approvals through procedures that seriously violated rules. Files of approval for three drugs were untraceable. In the case of 11 drugs, the mandatory Phase III of clinical trial s was not conducted. Buclizine, for instance, which is administered to babies to stimulate their appetite, has been approved for sale although the drug was not subjected to clinical trials. Also complicit are the governments of the origin countries. The Danish governmen t, for instance, has banned the sale in Denmark of Deanxit, an anti-depression d rug. But it has not banned its manufacture; hence the pharmaceutical company con tinues to manufacture and peddles it in developing countries. While their unscru pulous conduct must not be overlooked, pointing an accusatory finger at predator y MNCs and western governments doesn t tell the full story. Indian pharmaceutical companies too engage in questionable practices and they must be pulled up. Besid es, the role of our watchdog bodies and medical experts in facilitating this dir ty trade is as morally reprehensible. By approving banned and insufficiently tested medicines for sale in India, watch dog bodies like the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation are putting the interests of the pharmaceutical industry above those of the public. One of the p roblems these bodies face is that they are understaffed, enabling the less princ ipled among their officials to quietly endorse dubious drugs. In response to the parliamentary committee s report the government has appointed a panel to make rec ommendations to spruce up the system. Health activists have asked the Ministry to put into action the remedial steps, as suggested in the report, and order an investigation by the CBI. They have str ongly opposed the decision to constitute a committee to look into the matter. So me of the proposed members have been named as condoning research-related violati ons and have conflicts of interest. We demand that any further investigation invo lve a wider representation from civil society. The CBI must follow up the commit tee's findings with an investigation, and take action against those professional s, regulatory officials and pharmaceutical companies found guilty of violating t he law and exposing people to harm. The action taken on this report must be made public, the statement said. The committee's findings are wide-ranging: severe shortage of qualified staff an d resources; poor data collection and its maintenance; grossly insufficient moni toring of industry compliance to regulatory requirements; incomplete, missing or untraceable' files; flaws in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act and their implementation; bypassing of regulatory requirements in the interests of industry, including granting marketing approval to dozens of me dicines without the mandatory phase 3 clinical trials in the guise of the public interest ; approval of dangerous and irrational medicines, improper and unethical testing practices; nexus between regulators, medical experts and industry. ----------Equity principle based on CDR in climate negotiations The developed world's historic and present contribution to climate change cannot be wished away. To ask the developing world, mired in poverty to, in effect, ab andon development goals in order to meet similar emission cuts runs counter to a ll econo-mic and ethical principles. India may have high cumulative emissions, b ut where it matters - per capita emissions - it scores far lower than developed countries. Should people who barely have access to power and the benefits of mod ernity be asked to forego even what little they have? The average Indian must ha ve access to as much carbon space as the average European or American - that's a principle which must remain non-negotiable.

On the other hand, with new legally-binding norms, we could benefit enormously, applying advanced eco-technology to industries and tackling problems like river pollution. Joining an empowered global community where everyone's following the same norms - thereby cutting comparative cost advantages for any one nation - wi ll strengthen India's ecology, not hurt its industries. Also, developing nations face the greatest risks from environmental upheaval. Rising global temperatures pushed by unabated emissions mean rising water levels threatening the Maldives to Bangladesh - and more environmental refugees heading to India. The alternativ e - common rules minimising global damage - saves India future troubles too. Also, India's combative stand wins it few friends or fans. Rather than be a stub born lone ranger, India will win the world's respect by negotiating a responsibl e environmental regime. -----------UN norms on land rights The UN's adopted global guidelines to defend land rights of farmers and recognis e informal indigenous claims. The move is hailed by aid groups as a step against land grabbing . The new voluntary rules are the result of three years of negotiati ons following an outcry from campaigners who accuse rich investors and governmen ts of setting up plantations that abuse human rights. The 40-page document asks private companies to be transparent and consult local populations, and it recognises "customary tenure systems by indigenous population s. FAO has said implementation of the rules would bolster global food security by improving secure access to land, fisheries and forests and protecting the right s of millions of often very poor people. Chief among the guidelines is a call on governments to safeguard legitimate tenur e rights against threats and infringements and provide effective and accessible me ans to resolve tenure disputes. Non-state actors including business enterprises have a responsibility to respect human rights and legitimate tenure rights, it said. It also called on governments to provide appropriate recognition and protection of the legitimate tenure right s of indigenous peoples. On the issue of expropriation, which has caused upheaval in China, the text said governments should ensure a fair valuation and prompt compensation for farmers d expropriate only when the land is needed for a public purpose. Rights groups warn that land grabbing is driving food prices, forcing eviction o f local farmers and fuelling corruption. There has been a sharp rise in such dea ls since the food crisis of 2008. Experts estimate 494 million acres have been b ought or leased between 2000 and 2010, particularly in Africa and Asia, often to the detriment of local populations. The challenge ahead is timely implementation of the rules. Land tenure is fundam ental to food security. It is urgent that governments use these guidelines to ad opt legislation to protect farms from this flagrant violation of their rights. F air and transparent rules benefit everyone. -----------Rio+20's outcomes. "Ambition is not the personality trait of global summitry. Summits are defined b y incrementalism, although sometimes a big bang might be more appropriate." an

SDGs The most high-profile was the decision to establish Sustainable Development Goal s (SDGs) next year. The SDG topics will encompass all three aspects of SD - econ omic, social and environmental - and seek to perpetuate momentum in intnl develo pment work beyond the poverty-eradicating mission of the MDGs, which will lapse in 2015. Voluntary pledges Rio+20 also saw other accomplishments. Governments, private companies, and multi lateral agencies committed themselves to voluntary pledges worth $513 billion to ward a series of development projects. Eight international development banks agr eed to invest $175 billion to sustainable public transport systems over the next decade. Private sector companies pledged to contribute $50 billion to a plan to provide energy to the entire global population by 2030. However, the degree to which these pledges will be fulfilled remains uncertain, particularly in a time of persistent global economic downturn. The future we want Rio+20's outcome document, The Future We Want attempts to call attention to a co rnucopia of the world's most pressing development issues, from food security to mining. It hopes to address these challenges while upholding states' "common but differentiated responsibilities" and "providing opportunities and benefits for all citizens and all countries". However, there are no commitments. Green economy Much of Rio+20 focused on the "green economy," an effort led by developed Wester n nations, which aims to create jobs and profits through low-carbon, resource-sa ving businesses. Part of the green economy involves placing economic value on en vironmental services provided by nature, an approach some argue "financializes n ature." Further, this framework has been criticized for not considering the most immediate concerns of the developing world, including malnourishment; the burde n of tropical, communicable, and neglected diseases; and access to clean water, sanitation, and electricity. However, countries taking the lead on promoting a green economy domestically may realize that it can create a competitive advantage in areas such energy, agricu lture, and transportation. The major underlying message provided by Rio+20 is th at if a green economy is handled effectively at the domestic level, it can soon become quite profitable. Let me be clear. Rio+20 was a success, said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at a Gen eral Assembly meeting on the outcome of the Conference. In Rio, we saw the furthe r evolution of an undeniable global movement for change. In his remarks, Mr. Ban highlighted several parts of the Rio+20 outcome document, entitled The Future We Want, which he hailed as an important victory for multilateralism after months of difficult negotiations. Through the document, the UN chief said, countries renewed their political commi tment to sustainable development, agreed to establish a set of SDGs (sustainable development goals) and established a high-level political forum on sustainable development. -------------Principles for green economy 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Equitable distribution of wealth within and among nations. Economic equity and fairness: CDR, tech transfer and aid. Intergenerational equity. Precautionary approach. The right to development.

6. Internalisation of externalities: making good things cheap and bad things exp ensive, polluter pays, etc. 7. International cooperation. 8. International liability. 9. Info, participation and accountability. 10. Sustainable consumption, pdn. 11. Strategic, coordinated and integrated planning. 12. Just transition. 13. Redefine well-being. 14. Gender equality. 15. Safeguard Bd and prevent pollution of any part of env. ----------East Timor It s been over a decade since international peacekeeping forces first came to East Timor, which has certainly seen ups and downs during that time. But now, East T imor is on a solid very path. UN Peacekeepers are on their way out, and an elect ion scheduled for Saturday is poised to be event-free. This is how it s supposed t o work. Based on the two presidential elections in March and April, Saturday s poll is expected to be well organised, transparent and peaceful. That these election s are being largely run by the East Timorese themselves is a positive sign. Inde ed, East Timor s 2012 parliamentary campaign has been so quiet that some observers have openly wondered what they are missing. Even Fretilin, the largest party wh ich some viewed as being confrontational, cancelled its final rally in Dili and instead opted to hand out flowers as a gesture of peace. In many respects, one c ould say that, despite the traumatic disruptions of 2006-07, East Timor s experime nt with democracy has been a marked success. With its third set of elections beh ind it on Sunday, it could be reasonably claimed that East Timor has passed the threshold for democratic consolidation. -------Dr M K Mani gets Dhanvantri award. Dr.Mani is the chief nephrologist at Apollo Hospitals Chennai and pioneered inno vative techniques and new regimen in management of kidney disorders. He is also the receiptient of the Padma Bhushan and the Ravindranath Tagore award --------India signs tax info treaty with Jersey Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. Jersey and Guernsey are often referred to as the Cha nnel Islands but they are not a political unit. The three Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man each has se parate relationship to the British Crown. They are not part of the United Kingdo m. The United Kingdom is constitutionally responsible for the defence. Jersey is not a part of the European Union but has a special relationship with i t, being treated as part of the European Community for the purposes of free trad e in goods. They have very favourable tax rates and therefore are considered hav ens for black money. Last year India identified 22 jurisdictions with which it hoped to reach informa tion exchange agreements and has also started renegotiating existing double taxa tion avoidance treaties with number of countries. As part of this process India has signed information exchange agreements with Liberia, the Bahamas, Bermuda, V irgin Islands, Isle of Man, and the Cayman Islands and has concluded negotiation s with 16 other countries and will soon sign similar agreements. On November 4, India signed a tax information exchange agreement with Jersey now

the seventh one signed so far by India in the recent past. These are part of th e steps being taken by India to avoid tax evasion. Experts say that the agreement with Jersey may not be effective as it requires I ndia to have information to present in a Jersey Court before it can seek further tax information from the authorities in Jersey. -----------D Jayakanthan Russia to present 'Order of Friendship' award, the highest civilian award for pr omoting cultural ties between Russia and other countries, to Tamil writer D.Jaya kanthan, who is famous for translating many works of Russian author Pushkin into Tamil. ----------ior-arc ions ----------Indigenously designed and developed Rustom-1 finished its 5th flight in Bangalor e. The medium altitude long endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (Male UAV) was dev eloped by the DRDO with the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE). It had its maiden flight in 2010; Rustom-1 has potential in missions like recon and surveillance, target acquisiti on, target designation, communications relay, battle damage assessment and signa l intelligence; The vehicle can attain a maximum speed of 150 knots, 22000ft altitude and 12-15 hours endurance with an operating range of 250kms. -----------India to give $100 million standby credit facility to Maldives Standby credit facilities are the latest records that the CAG has requested the Govt to review. They are loans given by India to other countries to do trade wit h India; PM Manmohan Singh announced the $100 million facility to Maldives apart from agr eements for capacity building of Maldivian security forces, joint combating terr orism, trans-national crime, disaster management and coastal security; The standby credit facility given will significanly enhance infrastructure and c apacities in Maldives. PM Singh addressed the Maldives parliament (Majlis) and b ecame the first foreign head to do so in 78 years. ------------Scientists have found out that a rogue gene is responsible for diabetes that aff ects infants. NDM (Neonatal Diabetes Mellitus) is a rare form of diabetes which happens in inf ants and is found to occur due to single gene defect. The other forms of diabetes are due to the involvement of multiple genes. -------------Cancer vaccine A therapeutic vaccine against cancer could well be on the way. After sucessully undergoing animal tests it is all set to undergo human clinical trials. The vaccine is developed by the scientists at the National Institute of Immunolo gy in Delhi. Anil Suri, who developed the vaccine, said it would be put to clini

cal trials at the Cancer institute at Chennai and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering C ancer Centre in the US. The vaccine centres around a new cancer treatment modality called dentiritic cel l therapy, in which a patient's own immune cells are used to fight cancer. These cells are present in the body in small quantities. The process involves taking the blood cells out of the patient and producing large quantities of dentiritic cells in the laboratory. They are then primed with an antigen called SPAG-9 and given back to the patients in the form of a vaccine. -----------Increasing cooperation in security-related matters, India and UAE signed two key agreements on security cooperation and the transfer of sentenced persons. -----------India has inked an agreement with Eurasian Group (EAG), a group that enforces an ti money laundering in that region. This was done in the 15th plenary meeting of the EAG on combating money laundering and financing of terrorism held in Xiamen China. India has offered assistance to member nations in enhancing technical sk ills for establishing better financial systems, capital market monitoring and su rveillance through sophisticated IT tools. -----------Eurasian group ----------The union cabinet has approved the company's bill 2011 which will help improve t he efficiency and increase accountability of the corporate sector. The new act will update company law on terms with best global practices and intr oduce new ideas such as CSR, class action suits and a fixed term for independent directors. The bill proposes to tighten laws against insider trading and raising money from public. It will make mandatory for the companies to ear mark 2% of their average profit for the preceding three years for CSR activity and also make a disclosure to sha re holders about the policy adopted in the process ----------Curiosity NASA is poised to launch the most powerful and advanced robotic rover ever built to explore Mars and hunt for signs that life may have existed on Mars; The Mars science laboratory which is better known as Curiosity aims to provide s cientists with detailed information about the rocks on the surface of mars. It w ill land on the gale crater area on mars as it has a low surface and likely to h old proof of water; If all goes well then Curiosity will land on mars by August 2012 and will be abl e to transmit its findings to scientists on earth without having to actually bri ng the samples back here; NASA exploration of Mars began with the 1976 landing of the Viking spacecraft an d has continued, with the most recent being the landing of the Spirit and Opport unity spacecrafts which have been tooling on the mars surface since 2004. This c ould pave the way for a 2030 manned exploration to mars. ---------

Sarangi maestro Ustad sultan khan passes away --------Measuring 3 ft. (1 m) long and weighing up to 100 lb. (45 kg), Asian carp are ha rdly your average fish. Originally from China, Asian carp are an invasive collec tion of fish that take over and destroy ecosystems by devouring plankton and dis rupting their habitat's existing food chain. They're ravenous (often eating half of their body weight in one day), they reproduce often, and they are difficult to capture. One particular species, the silver carp, can pose an even more immed iate threat. Easily startled, they're known to jump into the air and knock out f ishermen, causing injuries such as black eyes, broken bones and concussions. In February 2010, the White House even convened an Asian carp summit after the dang erous fish were found closing in on the Great Lakes. ---------Promoting tourism Our heritage sites are in a deplorable state of disrepair. The problem lies in h aphazard management, divided between the Centre and the states. The possibility of a single nodal agency for preservation of all historical monuments along with the participation of private players in maintaining them needs to be explored. The future of the tourism industry lies in customising services. The government would do well to provide greater support to niche segments such as medical touri sm and spiritual tourism by creating infrastructure, hotels, transport facilitie s, easier visa norms, etc to facilitate their growth. In the context of security, a dedicated tourist police force is a good idea. An integrated approach whereby the tourism industry benefits from other sectors and vice versa is the way forward. The government should keep in mind that touri sm generates more jobs for every rupee invested than almost any other sector. It 's also more environmentally benign than, say, heavy industry. ------Indigenous defence pdn The government s defence production policy announced last week places a welcome em phasis on self-reliance and indigenous development and production of arms and eq uipment. Its indigenous production is low as it has a small military-industrial complex, and in the case of high-technology weapons systems, dependence on foreign manufa cturers is very high. The policy has been framed with the intention of creating and expanding local capabilities and reduce the dependence of imports in the co ming years. The decision to import items will depend on local capabilities, the urgency of r equirement and criticality of the arms and equipment. The performance of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has not been satisfactory. In 1995, a 10-year-plan was conceived to increase self-re liance in production from 30 to 70 per cent. But 15 years later the dependence o n imports is still 70 per cent. The government has also allowed 100 per cent private industry participation and 26 per cent foreign direct investment in the defence production sector. But the situation has not improved. But the high level of imports is risky and dangerous for the country which has a spirations to become a global power. The financial benefits of indigenous produc tion are also considerable. ------------

The government has launched the Central Adoption Resource and Guidance System (C ARINGS) to facilitate the adoption process. It has set up an online database of children available for adoption and of prospective parents. Parents who have reg istered for adoption can view progress of their application online. They can ale rt authorities if their papers are not moving as fast as they should. Once match ed with a child, they can keep track of her health status and other details too. Importantly, the government will also closely monitor the work of adoption agen cies. Adoption agencies will have to register with the government and failure to do so will result in cancellation of their license. Adoptions in the country are growing. There were 6,286 adoptions in 2010 compare d with 2,518 the previous year. Yet this is a shockingly low figure, especially when one considers the large numbers of orphaned children in the country. There are millions of children on the streets too. While not all of them are orphans, a sizeable number are separated from their parents and lack the comforting envir onment that a family provides. Nowadays, couples with children are adopting as are single men and women. Howeve r, prejudices persist. Healthy, fair, male children continue to be preferred. Gi rls are often ignored. Unlike in the west, where couples are open to adopting ch ildren with special needs, here in India such children almost always are never a dopted. There are obstacles to adoption that exist in our minds, which must be r emoved. ------------Nuclear power safety concerns Meltdowns and Accidents. Human error is considered largely responsible for the 1 979 Three-Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania, and design flaws triggered the C hernobyl explosion. Since these accidents, the World Nuclear Association says th e Western industry has employed "a defense-in-depth approach," with multiple saf ety systems, including: high-quality design and construction; comprehensive moni toring and regular testing; and redundant systems to prevent significant radioac tive releases. Overall, the industry argues it has worked hard to make nuclear p ower safe Nuclear Waste. Short- and long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel has been a cha llenge for the industry and policymakers. Spent fuel, if not disposed of properl y, could contaminate water supplies or be used by terrorists to create a dirty b omb. In the short-term, spent fuel is stored in pools on-site but they only need to stay there a few months until they are cool enough to move to dry storage (e ither on site or in a long-term storage facility). Still, at some plants, fuel r ods are packed in pools in numbers well above design specifications and stay in the pools long after they are ready to be moved. Efforts to reprocess nuclear wa ste are expensive and come with associated environmental and security risks. Yet a growing number of countries--including Japan and Russia--have begun fuel recy cling projects. Natural Disasters. The earthquake and tsunami that damaged the Fukushima plant h as some questioning the sensibility of locating plants in seismically active reg ions, with some environmental advocates calling for new seismic studies before a ny older plants are relicensed. In addition, there are concerns about other type s of disasters such as tornados and hurricanes. One climate advocate warns that sea level rise resulting from climate change also needs to taken into considerat ion. Security Issues. Most countries either pursuing nuclear power or currently using it have signed on to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and have agreed to com ply with rules that ensure that they will not use nuclear technologies toward ma king weapons. However, any country with nuclear technology is considered a proli feration risk. Also after 9/11, concerns arose over the security of 104 US nucle ar plants, particularly Indian Point, located thirty miles north of New York Cit

y. However, experts maintain the facilities are relatively safe. --------------It's been called the "carrier-killer." The missiles have been deployed, said rep orts, in the hotly contested South China Sea and represent a possible early use of a new deterrent technology, the DF-21D or carrier-killer missile. Focus Taiwan reported that China deployed the brigade in its southern province of Guangdong as part of a shock and awe strategy to deter other countries with claims to the Sout h China Sea from challenging its dominance in the region. Dongfeng (DF)-21D anti-ship ballistic missiles and Dongfeng-16 a new type of bal listic missile that has a longer range than anything in China's arsenal. DF-21D, fired from a mobile truck-mounted launcher into the atmosphere, with ass istance from over-the-horizon radar, satellite tracking and possibly unmanned ae rial vehicles, delivers a warhead to its target at speeds of Mach 10-12. It has been dubbed the carrier-killer in popular media, academic journals, and infamous Y ouTube clips for its possible usage against U.S. carriers if conflict were to oc cur. -------Concerns about using jatropha for biodiesel Requires more water than originally thought With same water and nutrient inputs, commercial cultivation of crops like sugarc ane possible Most of current jatropha is toxic, making the seedcake unsuitable as feed for li vestock It is a plantation crop ---------CAG, Three possible amendments 1. Ensure govt depts reply to audit queries within 30 days, rather than in an op en-ended manner as of now. 2. Clear timeframe for tabling of completed reports. 3. Audit local governments, PPPs and JVs - developments that have taken place si nce the 90s. ------------What is fracking? The process of hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" involves drilling a hole deep into the dense shale rocks that contain natural gas, then pumping in at very hig h pressure vast quantities of water mixed with sand and chemicals. This opens up tiny fissures in the rock, through which the trapped gas can then escape. Why is it controversial? Many shale deposits are buried under aquifers, and if the cement casing around t he wellhole is not adequate, then the process of drilling and fracking can relea se the chemicals into the aquifer. Leaks of methane can occur, leading potential ly to fires or explosions. The water-chemical mixture pumped in gradually returns to the surface, where it can contaminate land and water. It can also be highly saline and contain solids, such as flakes of rock. Some companies have been accused of poor disposal of th e sludge waste that results from fracking. In addition, the vast quantities of w ater used can lead to problems by depleting local ecosystems. There is also conc ern about the seismic activity involved in fracking. --------------

Asghar Farhadi is an Iranian film director and screenwriter. For his work as dir ector, he has received one Golden Globe Award and one Academy Award for Best For eign Language Film. He was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the w orld by Time magazine in 2012. ----------India-Oman The Sultanate of Oman is a strategic partner in the Gulf and importa nt in bilateral, GCC and OIC contexts. Oman accords a high priority to its ties with India. India and Oman are linked by geography, history and culture. Both co untries enjoy warm and cordial relations, which can be ascribed to historical ma ritime trade linkages, intimacy of the royal family with India and the role of t he Indian expatriate community in the building of Oman. Prominent existing bilateral agreements are: MoUs on Combating Crime, Coo peration in Agriculture, Civil Aviation, Cooperation between the State Audit Ins titution of Oman and the office of the CAG, Avoidance of Double Taxation, Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection, Treaty of Extradition, MoU on Ma npower, MoU on Joint Investment Fund and MoU on Cultural Cooperation. The 8th meeting of Indo-Oman Strategic Consultative Group (IOSCG) was held in Ne w Delhi on September 19, 2011. Economic relations India ranks fifth largest source of imports into Oman. In 2010, India ranked sec ond as the destination of Omani non-oil exports and third as the top destination of Omani crude oil exports. There are around 140 Indian companies in Oman, and over 1500 Indian-Omani Joint Ventures, covering 13 sectors. Balance of trade is in Oman s favour due to export of fertilizers and spot purchas e of oil & gas by India. Major items of Indian exports are textiles and garments, machinery and equipment , electrical and electronic items, chemicals, iron and steel products in additio n to traditional items like tea, coffee, spices, rice and meat products and seafood. Major Omani export commodities are urea, LNG, polypropylene, lubricating oil, da tes and chromite ore. There are over 7 lakh Indians in oman, including doctors and academics. -------------Mercury ban Scientists are warning officials negotiating a global treaty on mercury that ban ning the deadly chemical completely would be dangerous for public health because of the chemical's use in vaccines. The ban option is one of several proposals o n the table but a final treaty isn't expected until 2013. According to the World Health Organization, mercury is one of the top 10 chemica ls of public health concern and is highly toxic. Most of the worry is centered o n mercury emissions from burning coal, gold mining and people eating mercury-tai nted fish. Mercury in small amounts is also found in many products including lig ht bulbs, batteries and thermometers. WHO advises such products to be phased out , suggesting for example, that health systems switch to digital thermometers ins tead. The problem is that a proposed ban might include thiomersal, also known as thime rosal, a mercury compound used to prevent contamination and extend the shelf lif e of vaccines, many scientists say. It is used in about 300 million shots worldw ide, against diseases including flu, tetanus, hepatitis B, diptheria and meningi

tis. There isn't a viable alternative to thiomersal at the moment. If banned, ph armaceuticals would likely have to switch to preservative-free vaccines, which w ould complicate the supply chain and vaccination campaigns in poor countries, si nce the injections would have a much shorter shelf life. Costs would also spike since manufacturers would need to reconfigure their factories. So there should be an alternative uses exemption in the draft. -----------Census 2011: urban India has added more numbers to its population than rural Ind ia for the first time since 1921 (91 mln and 90 mln approx). Causes: Migration, natural increase, inclusion of new areas as urban. Hints at collapse of rural li velihoods. -------------India-Vietnam India-Vietnam relations have been exceptionally friendly and cordial since their foundations were laid by Nehru and President Ho Chi Minh more than 50 years ago. The traditionally clo se and cordial relations have their historical roots in the common struggle for liberation from foreign rule and the national struggle for independence. Vietnam is an important regional partner in South East Asia. India and Vietnam c losely cooperate in various regional forums such as ASEAN, East Asia Summit, Mekong Ganga Cooperati on, Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) besides UN and WTO. The two countries will celeb rate the 40th anniversary of establishment of full diplomatic relations in 2012 . The Year of India in Vietnam will be celebrated in 2012 with several commemorati ve events, cultural activities and business promotion events. MoUs and agreements for Cultural Exchange, Cooperation in Science & Technology, in Agriculture and Fisheries, in Nuclear Energy and Educational Exchange among o thers are in place. The two sides have also signed the BIPPA, DTAA and Consular Agreement. Recent agreements are Extradition Treaty, MoU on India-Viet Nam Friendship Year 2012, Agreement on Cooperation between Petrovietnam and OVL, Work Plan for the years 2011-2013 in the fields of agricultural and fishery research and education , Cultural Exchange Program for 2011-2014 and the Protocol on cultural activitie s in the Vietnam India Friendship Year, 2012 . India figures among the ten largest exporters to Vietnam. Vietnam continues to be an attractive investment destination for Indian companie s. Several Indian companies in sectors as diverse as oil and gas, steel, minera ls, tea, coffee, sugar and food processing have invested in Vietnam. OVL, Essar Exploration and Production Ltd, Nagarjuna Ltd, Venkateswara Hatcheries, Philips Carbon and McLeod Russell are some major Indian investors. Tata Steel plans to i nvest more than USD 5 bn in a steel plant in Vietnam. In the field of IT trainin g, NIIT, APTECH and Tata Infotech have so far opened more than 50 franchised cen ters spread all across Vietnam India has undertaken saveral capacity-building initiatives including lines of cr edit for hydropower projects, entrepreneurship development centre, english langu age training, advanced resource centre in ICT, training programmes under ITEC, s cholarship schemes, etc. India has decided to open a cultural centre in Hanoi. It will offer a wide and interesting range of services and performances. India will undertake a project for restoration of the Cham monuments in My Son. The project will be executed by ASI with a grant of USD 3 million by India. Vietnam Airlines and Jet Airways

signed an MoU in October 2011 on comprehensive cooperation which includes commen cing direct flights in the near future. Estimated population of Indians living in Vietnam is 2000, mostly in Ho Chi Minh City. The Indian Business Chamber (INCHAM) is an organisation of Indians living in Vietnam, prima rily to promote trade and business interactions. ---------------Telecom Commercial communication customer preference regulations, 2010 Customers have greater control over telemarketing calls. Increased fines on telemarketers and operators for non-compliance, including bla cklisting. Customers have option between fully blocked category and partially blocked categ ory, where they can receive promotional smses from particular marketers. Limit of 100 SMSes a day from any phone to prevent unsolicited messages from unr egistered numbers. ----------India-China strategic and economic dialogue (first ever SED), Beijing Agreed to boost economic cooperation, open up their markets and improve investme nt conditions for other's companies. Also agreed on closer cooperation for railway networks between the two; may pave the way for Chinese involvement in development of six HSR corridors in India. SED was set up to increase macroeconomic policy coordination and to leverage com mon interests and share developmental experiences. Second one held in April 2012 , Delhi. Separate dialogue group being set up to settle trade issues. -------------T.M. Krishna (Thodur Madabusi Krishna, born 1976) is a Carnatic music vocalist. He has received the Young Achievers Award by India Today and the Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar Award by the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi. In 2011, he performed a series of concerts in war-torn districts of Jaffna, Kilinochi and Vavuniya in SL. Performed again in 2012 with anohter Carnatic vocalist Unnikrishnan and Bharatna tyam exponent Alarmel Valli. Performances + workshops ----------SOFIA SRMSAT First satellite by an Indian private university (SRM Univ) launched on PSLV-C18. It's a nanosatellite designed to monitor GHGs, C02, water vapour in the tropics . The launch also carried Magha Tropiques. ---------A govt report states that every 8th urban child in the age 0-6 yrs stays in slum s. This is 7.6 million children or 13% of the total child population in urban ar eas.

-----------Centre has banned mfr, sale and distribution of Letrozole, a drug used for induc tion of ovulation. The use involves risk and safer alternatives are available in the market. -----------Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhoea among infants and young c hildren. By the age of five, nearly every child in the world has been infected w ith rotavirus at least once. However, with each infection, immunity develops, an d subsequent infections are less severe; adults are rarely affected. Nearly 1 la kh deaths occur due to it every year, a staggering 22% of which are in India. -----------INS Kadmatt Home-built anti submarine corvette. Second one in a line of four, first was call ed INS Kamorta. Both are undergoing trials at present. Main aim is to protect ot her ships from sub attacks and neutralise enemy subs. -------------In essence, the whole Korean peninsula is disputed between the Republic of Korea (ROK) in the south and the Democratic People s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the no rth. Tensions are currently centered on the land and maritime borders between th e two states. The Korean peninsula was divided into US and Soviet occupied zones at the end of the WWII along the 38th parallel. Subsequently, two governments w ere formed and their claims over the whole territory led to the Korean War in 19 50-53. Although an Armistice Treaty ended the fighting, it was never signed and the countries are technically still at war. The ceasefire created the Demilitari zed Zone (DMZ), a four kilometer wide buffer zone, which is still the most heavi ly militarized border in the world. The dispute is serious, and aggravated by th e fact that intensification may result in increased military and moral support b y the US and China for their respective allies. The Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea was extended into the Ye llow Sea and the Northern Limit Line (NLL) is now working as the de facto mariti me boundary. The NLL enforces a three nautical mile maritime border, which has p revented North Korea from accessing its Exclusive Economic Zone. Consequently, N orth Korea does not recognize the NLL and its fishing boats continue to work clo se to or over the limit line. ---------OraQuick The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first over-the-counter HIV tes t, allowing Americans to test themselves for the virus that causes AIDS in the p rivacy of their homes. The OraQuick test detects the presence of HIV in saliva collected using a mouth swab. The test is designed to return a result within 20 to 40 minutes. Government officials estimate one-fifth, or about 240,000 people, of the 1.2 mil lion HIV carriers in the U.S. are not aware they are infected. Testing is one of the chief means of slowing new infections, which have held steady at about 50,0 00 per year for two decades. ------------Tor (short for The onion router) is a system intended to enable online anonymity . Tor client software routes Internet traffic through a worldwide volunteer netw

ork of servers to conceal a user's location or usage from anyone conducting netw ork surveillance or traffic analysis. Using Tor makes it more difficult to trace Internet activity, including "visits to Web sites, online posts, instant messag es and other communication forms", back to the user and is intended to protect u sers' personal freedom, privacy, and ability to conduct confidential business by keeping their internet activities from being monitored. "Onion routing" refers to the layered nature of the encryption service: The orig inal data are encrypted and re-encrypted multiple times, then sent through succe ssive Tor relays, each one of which decrypts a "layer" of encryption before pass ing the data on to the next relay and, ultimately, its destination. This reduces the possibility of the original data being unscrambled or understood in transit . The Tor client is free software and use of the Tor network is free of charge. --------Indian Air Force to acquire 75 swiss pilatus trainer aircrafts The Air Force will acquire 75 Swiss-made Pilatus PC-7 basic trainer aircraft to replace the ageing Kiran aircraft at a cost of over Rs.2,900 crore. The Kiran ai rcraft would be used only for stage II training of cadets after the acquisition of the Swiss aircraft; In January 2013, a few such pilatus aircraft would be inducted into the IAF. Fro m then on, two aircraft would be added every month, and by 2014 all the basic tr aining for flight cadets would be on these aircraft, he said adding a team of 75 pilots and technicians would visit Switzerland in October for training. -----------Advance Pricing Agreement is an agreement b/w a taxpayer and a taxing authority on an apt tansfer pricing methodology for a set of transactions over a fixed per iod of time in future. It offers better assurance on transfer pricing methods an d is friendly in providing certitude and unanimity of approach. The finance mini stry has approved the APA scheme, proposed in Budget 2012-13 as an industry-frie ndly measure. CBDT will release a notification of the scheme after law ministry approval. Transfer pricing refers to the setting, analysis, documentation, and adjustment of charges made between related parties for goods, services, or use of property (including intangible property). Transfer prices among components of an enterpri se may be used to reflect allocation of resources among such components, or for other purposes. OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines state, Transfer prices are signi ficant for both taxpayers and tax administrations because they determine in larg e part the income and expenses, and therefore taxable profits, of associated ent erprises in different tax jurisdictions. Over 60 governments have adopted transfer pricing rules. Transfer pricing rules in most countries are based on what is referred to as the arm s length principle t is to establish transfer prices based on analysis of pricing in comparable tra nsactions between two or more unrelated parties dealing at arm s length. --------Rao papineni, nanotechnology scientist, in collaboration with others invented a cancer treatment system in which a nanoparticle acts as a carrier of drugs and r eleases it only around the cancerous cell, thus safeguarding the healthy ones fr om damage. The patent is titled High Capacity Non-Viral Vectors. ---------NInC Innovation today is increasingly going beyond the confines of formal R&D to rede

tha

fine everything. Today innovation can mean new and unique applications of old te chnologies, using design to develop new products and services, new processes and structures to improve performance in diverse areas, organisational creativity, and public sector initiatives to enhance delivery of services. Innovation is bei ng seen as a means of creating sustainable and cost effective solutions for peop le at the bottom of the pyramid, and is being viewed as an important strategy fo r inclusive growth in developing economies. Realising that innovation is the engine for the growth of prosperity and nationa l competitiveness in the 21st century, the President of India has declared 2010 as the Decade of Innovation . To take this agenda forward, the Office of Adviser to the PM on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations (PIII) is working o n developing a national strategy on innovation with a focus on an Indian model o f inclusive growth. The idea is to create an indigenous model of development sui ted to Indian needs and challenges. Towards this end, the Prime Minister has approved the setting up of a National I nnovation Council (NInC) under the Chairmanship of Mr. Sam Pitroda, Adviser to t he PM on PIII to discuss, analyse and help implement strategies for inclusive in novation in India and prepare a Roadmap for Innovation 2010-2020. NIC would be t he first step in creating a crosscutting system which will provide mutually rein forcing policies, recommendations and methodologies to implement and boost innov ation performance in the country. The tasks of the National Innovation Council include: (1) Formulating a Roadmap for Innovation for 2010-2020 (2) Creating a framework for Evolving an Indian model of innovation, with focus on inclusive growth Delineating policy initiatives within the Government, required to spur innovatio n Developing and championing innovation attitudes and approaches Creating appropriate eco-systems and environment to foster inclusive innovation Exploring new strategies and alternatives for innovations and collaborations Identifying ways and means to scale and sustain innovations Encouraging Central and State Governments to innovate Encouraging universities and R&D institutions to innovate Facilitating innovations by SMEs Encouraging all important sectors of the economy to innovate Encouraging innovation in public service delivery Encouraging multi-disciplinary and globally competitive approaches for innovatio ns -----------Japanese encephalitis previously known as Japanese B encephalitis to distinguish it from von Economo's A encephalitis is a disease caused by the mosquito-borne Ja panese encephalitis virus. The Japanese encephalitis virus is a virus from the f amily Flaviviridae. Domestic pigs and wild birds are reservoirs of the virus; tr ansmission to humans may cause severe symptoms. One of the most important vector s of this disease is the mosquito Culex tritaeniorhynchus. --------UN Arms Trade Treaty Negotiations The two top arms exporting countries in the world (the USA and Russia) are not e xactly warm to the treaty, but not exactly opposing it either. Delegates from mo re than 150 countries are to meet July 2-27 at the United Nations in New York to draft a global arms trade treaty. The proposed legally-binding treaty would set international standards to regulate the import, export and transfer of conventi

onal weapons from aircraft carriers to machine guns and small arms. Major arms exporters, such as the United States, and major importers, such as India, will p articipate. There is more regulation today of agricultural items like bananas than we have f or the sale of conventional weapons that kill people every day through armed vio lence in various parts of the world. Quest for Palestinian statehood was not among the laundry list of issues that we re thought to stand in the way of a global arms trade treaty. And yet that is pr ecisely what delayed what was meant to be the opening day of negotiations at Uni ted Nations headquarters. At the heart of the dispute is whether Palestine would be able to be seated as a full state, given its status as an observer at the United Nations. The Arab gro up said the European Union should not be allowed at the talks if the Palestinian s do not get a place. The Palestinians are observers at the UN and the European Union has super-observ er status. Vatican, which is also a UN observer, has said it should also take pa rt if the Palestinians get their way. After two days of uncertainty, with the second day s substantive debate delayed, t he Arms Treaty Conference has begun, the Palestinian delegation has been seated as observers. As part of the deal, the Palestinians have been seated outside of alphabetical order, in the front stage right corner. However, the deal also rele gated the Holy See, the diplomatic name for the Vatican and an accepted state, t o observer status as well. The Holy See is less than pleased about this, but the conference is finally launched. Reps of NGOs like Oxfam, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and other s dedicated to reducing arms trade descended upon New York, having been promised a transparent treaty process. They were disappointed to learn that, in a rework ing of the Programme of Work, half of the sessions moving forward would be close d, allowing only representatives of states and observers to take part. Right-wing commentators in the United States have been going crazy at the mere t hought of these talks ever since they were first announced in 2009. Conspiracies have run amok, along with concerns among legislators and pundits alike that the treaty would override Second Amendment rights possessed by US citizens. While t here is a great deal of evidence showing that the Arms Trade Treaty will not aff ect the ownership of firearms by private civilians, particularly not in the Unit ed States, there is still pressure within the US for any treaty to be struck dow n rather than ratified. Also getting the right in a furor is the choice of Iran as a top deputy at the con ference, according to the highly critical UN Watch blog. One of three members ch osen to represent the Asian Group, Iran will sit on the conference s Bureau, which according the conference website assists the President in the general conduct of the business of the Conference. In the minds of detractors, this is an opportuni ty for Iran to undermine the credibility of the process which it disagrees with in the first place. In reality, it means that Iran will likely serve as a deputy or rapporteur during several sessions of the conference. In a disappointment to those who were hoping for strong US leadership towards a tough treaty that covers all facets of the legal arms trade, the Obama Administr ation has indicated it won t be going quite as far as those advocates would like. US Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation Thomas Countryman yesterday announced that the US would not be seeking coverage of ammunition in the ATT, a key goal of advocacy groups. Sandwiched between the outlying positions taken by Pakistan, at one extreme, and the European Union (EU), at the other, India is attempting to chart a middle co urse. While Pakistan wants only light weapons covered by the treaty, the EU is p

ressing for what are known as the seven-plus-one criteria, meaning light weapons -plus seven categories of heavy military hardware such as tanks, attack helicopt ers, missiles and combat aircraft. India, whose position is quite similar to tha t taken by ASEAN, US and Russia and even China to a large extent, wants a practi cal treaty whose primary purpose should be ensuring national implementation. India hopes for a treaty that will address three criteria the outcome should be consensus-based for a realistic treaty, it should reduce or eliminate illicit tr afficking in and diversion of arms to terrorists and non-state armed groups and, last, strike a balance between the obligations of exporters and importers. India is buoyed by the U.N. General Assembly s decision to adopt the text of the t reaty by consensus because it believes that all major stakeholders will be on bo ard. The treaty would then carry weight unlike the Ottawa (Anti-personnel Mine B an Convention) and Oslo (Convention on Cluster Munitions) pacts that have seen l ittle progress mainly because 20 major countries stayed away. ---Problems with draft text as of July 26--1. The Goals and Objectives focus on illicit trade. But legitimately traded weap ons are also used in the commission of human rights and humanitarian law violati ons and most black market arms start out in the licit sector. 2. Rather than covering all conventional weapons, it limits the treaty to the se ven categories of arms covered by the UN Register on Conventional Weapons plus s mall arms and light weapons. The glaring omission of ammunition is deeply concer ning. Moreover, the text does not include the reference to unmanned weapons such as drones. 3. The draft text focuses on 'trade' and 'export' of weapons, rather than transfe rs , leaving undefined whether it would cover gifts, loans and leases. 4. There is broad latitude for states to define the authorization process for we apons transfers, leaving room for maneuver. 5. Article 6 prevents states from using to ATT as grounds for voiding contractual obligations under defense cooperation agreements. In other words, if a contract to transfer weapons and military assistance already exists, and one party starte d to commit human rights abuses, the other parties to the transfer might not be allowed to halt deliveries or cancel the contract. 6. The draft requires 65 coun tries to ratify the treaty before it enters into force. This will create a lengt hy delay in starting implementation. 7. Lack of enforcement mechanism designed into the language. It calls upon State s to adopt national legislation or other appropriate national measures, regulati ons and policies as may be necessary to implement the Treaty. It also provides f or a small Implementation Support Unit , to aid States in the fulfillment of the re porting they d be required to provide. However, the language also may not be completely static. The treaty draft calls for a Conference of State Parties to meet no later than one year after the entry of this treaty into force, at which point any suggested Amendments to the Treat y may be discussed. The final Arms Trade Treaty, as weak as it will likely wind up being, may yet se rve a purpose. For all its faults, it still remains the first piece of internati onal law designed specifically to monitor and regulate the flow of arms sales be tween states, a breakthrough in itself. --final update, july 28-UN negotiations failed to establish the first international treaty meant to regu late the multi-billion-dollar arms trade. Instead, the U.N. members opted for f urther talks. Some member nations blamed the United States for halting an agreement at the end

of the month-long negotiations in New York. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement that while the U.S. had wanted to conclude t he negotiations with a treaty, more time is a reasonable request for such a comp lex and critical issue. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was disappointed the member states fail ed to clinch an agreement after years of preparatory work and four weeks of nego tiations, calling it a setback. But, he said he was encouraged that nations have a greed to continue pursuing a treaty, and he pledged his robust support. Scott Stedjan, a senior policy advisor at Oxfam America, which fights poverty a nd other injustices, blamed the impasse on a lack of political courage on the part of U.S. President Barack Obama. In 2009, the Obama administration announced it would support the treaty, reversi ng the Bush administration s position on the issue. But, U.S. officials say Washi ngton has insisted on having the ability to veto what they called a weak treaty, wanting to protect its citizens constitutional right to bear arms. That right has been put in the national spotlight in the U.S. after a gunman ope ned fire in a movie theater a week ago, killing 12 people and wounding dozens. -----------Small arms The issue of illicit proliferation of small arms and light weapons was first rai sed in a 1995 General Assembly resolution. Following that, two expert groups iss ued reports on the subject. Multilateral cooperation in this area took a significant step forward with the U nited Nations Conference on the Illicit Traffic in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, in 2001, and the adoption of a Programme of Action to Preven t, Combat, and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons, in A ll Its Aspects. Insurgents, armed gang members, pirates, terrorists - they can all multiply thei r force through the use of unlawfully acquired firepower. The illicit circulatio n of small arms, light weapons and their ammunition destabilizes communities, an d impacts security and development in all regions of the world. The illicit trad e in small arms, light weapons and ammunition wreaks havoc everywhere. Mobs terr orizing a neighbourhood. Rebels attacking civilians or peacekeepers. Drug lords randomly killing law enforcers or anyone else interfering with their illegal bus inesses. Bandits hijacking humanitarian aid convoys. In all continents, uncontro lled small arms form a persisting problem. Small arms are cheap, light, and easy up of small arms alone may not create their excessive accumulation and wide iolence becomes more lethal and lasts hich in turn lead to a greater demand to handle, transport and conceal. A buildthe conflicts in which they are used, but availability aggravates the tension. The v longer, and a sense of insecurity grows, w for weapons.

Most present-day conflicts are fought mainly with small arms, which are broadly used in inter-State conflict. They are the weapons of choice in civil wars and f or terrorism, organized crime and gang warfare. The majority of conflict deaths are caused by the use of small arms, and civilian populations bear the brunt. Al so, small arms are the dominant tools of criminal violence. Small arms facilitate a vast spectrum of human rights violations, including kill ing, maiming, rape and other forms of sexual violence, enforced disappearance, t orture, and forced recruitment of children by armed groups. More human rights ab

uses are committed with small arms than with any other weapon. Contemporary armed conflict is the main cause of people fleeing their homes, and is now the most common cause of food insecurity. Armed violence can aggravate p overty, inhibit access to social services and divert energy and resources away f rom efforts to improve human development. Countries plagued by armed violence ar e behind in attaining the MDGs. High levels of armed violence impede economic gr owth. According to the World Bank, nothing undermines investment climates as muc h as armed insecurity. Reliable data sets on small arms can only be built if countries provide informat ion on production, holdings, trade, legislation and use. But of all transparency measures on weapons systems, those on small arms are the least developed. More is known about the number of nuclear warheads, stocks of chemical weapons and tr ansfers of major conventional weapons than about small arms. Sources of small arms supplies to areas of crisis and conflict are varied. Domes tically, small arms can enter illicit circulation through distribution, theft, l eakage, divergence, pilferage or resale. Shipments of small arms to conflict zon es from abroad are most often small consignments - a steady trickle of weapons a cross porous borders. The cumulative destabilizing force of such trade is not to be underestimated, particularly in unstable regions where small arms are traded from one conflict to another. Countries have agreed on several commitments on small arms control: the Firearms Protocol, the Programme of Action on small arms - including an Instrument on ma rking and tracing - and the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials. Other closely related issues are armed violence, chi ld soldiers, protection of civilians in armed conflict, ammunition, the arms tra de treaty and the UN register of conventional arms. If national law enforcement officials were able to trace small arms back to thei r last legitimate owner, who might then be held accountable, this would form an effective measure against illicit trade and diversion. For that purpose, it is e ssential that the weapon be marked upon production and import, and that appropri ate records be kept. Existing stocks should also be marked. Although many weapon s are marked upon production and import, international cooperation in marking an d tracing of small arms is in its infancy. Information on global ammunition flows is difficult to obtain. More than 80 per cent of ammunition trade seems to remain outside of reliable export data. In con texts of sustained use, ammunition stockpiles are rapidly depleted. Preventing t heir resupply in unlawful situations should be a matter of prime concern. Furthe rmore, these stockpiles present a two-fold problem of security and safety - rese arch shows that much of the non-State actors' ammunition are illicitly diverted from State security forces, and ammunition warehouses located in densely populat ed areas have exploded in a number of countries, causing thousands of casualties . Therefore, security as well as safety measures with regard to ammunition stock piles need to be urgently addressed. Stockpile management and control is one of the most acute small arms problems. L eaking Government stockpiles are prominent sources of illegal small arms. Genera lly, surplus and obsolete weapons are better destroyed than stored. In post conf lict settings, the immediate destruction of surplus weapons and ammunition remov es possible fuel for new instability. More than a decade has passed since the adoption of the UN Programme of Action ( PoA) in 2001. The PoA laid the foundation for action at the national, regional a nd global levels. The Second Review Conference in Aug-Sept 2012 will review the progress made in the implementation of the PoA, including the separately agreed International Tracing Instrument (ITI) (2005).

--Children and armed conflict-Six grave violations: Child recruitment Killing and maiming Sexual violence Attacks on schools and hospitals Abductions Denial of humanitarian access Child soldiers Hundreds of thousands of children are used as soldiers in armed conflicts around the world. Many children are abducted and beaten into submission, others join m ilitary groups to escape poverty, to defend their communities or out of a feelin g of revenge. Combat and support roles In many conflicts children take direct part in combat. However, their role is no t limited to fighting. Many girls and boys start out in support functions which also entail great risk and hardship. One of the common tasks assigned to childre n is to serve as porters, often carrying very heavy loads including ammunition o r injured soldiers. Some children act as lookouts, messengers, cooks and impleme nt other routine duties. Girls are particularly vulnerable and are often forced to serve as sexual slaves. Moreover, the use of children for acts of terror, inc luding as suicide bombers has emerged as a phenomenon of modern warfare. A long healing process Regardless of how children are recruited and of their roles, child soldiers are victims, whose participation in conflict bears serious implications for their ph ysical and emotional well-being. They are commonly subject to abuse and most of them witness death, killing, and sexual violence. Many are forced to perpetrate these atrocities and some suffer serious long-term psychological consequences. T he reintegration of these children is a very complex process. Prohibition under International Law Recruiting and using children under the age of 15 as soldiers is prohibited unde r international humanitarian law treaty and custom and is defined as a war crime by the International Criminal Court. Furthermore, human rights law declares 18 as the minimum legal age for recruitment and use of children in hostilities. Par ties to conflict that recruit and use children are added by the Secretary-Genera l in his annual list of shame. Definition of a child soldier A child associated with an armed force or armed group refers to any person below 18 years of age who is, or who has been, recruited or used by an armed force or armed group in any capacity, including but not limited to children, boys and gi rls, used as fighters, cooks, porters, spies or for sexual purposes. (Source: Paris Principles on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict 2007) ------UN Office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (OCHA) deals with issues of 'Protection', which broadly encompasses activities aimed at obtaining full re spect for the rights of all individuals in accordance with international humanit arian, human rights, and refugee law - regardless of their age, gender, social e thnic, national, religious, or other background. In general, protection refers t o: -- Protection of civilians in armed conflict (POC), whereby all parties to the c onflict are responsible for ensuring that the civilian population is respected a

nd protected -- Protection in contexts of natural disasters or civil unrest, whereby national authorities have the primary responsibility for the well-being of those affecte d In 1999, the UNSC requested a dedicated report by the UNSG on POC in armed confl ict, followed by the adoption of a Security Council (SC) resolution to highlight ways to protect civilian populations in armed conflict. At the normative level, significant progress has been achieved with respect to t he protection of civilians over the past decade, but this progress has not consi stently translated into more effective and coordinated protection efforts on the ground. To this end, the SG identified five core challenges in his 2009 POC rep ort to the SC: -- Enhancing compliance of parties to the conflict with their obligations under international law, in particular the conduct of hostilities -- Engagement with non-State armed groups (NSAGs) -- Protecting civilians through UN peacekeeping and other relevant missions -- Humanitarian access -- Enhancing accountability for violations At the global level, OCHA promotes POC by drafting the biennial SG report to the SC on POC, Providing periodic country-specific POC briefings to the UNSC, etc. -----Olympics Jiao Liuyang Women's swimming gold medallist at the London Olympics, Jiao Liuyang, has return ed home, and moved from the pool to politics after she was selected as a member of the Communist Party's 18th Congress. Jiao's selection signals a move by Communist leaders to draw in more women in th e party Congress. She has often been seen in the PLA uniform as she is part of t he military swimming team. Coeyang Kyi China's first Tibetan Olympic medalist, winning a bronze in 2--km race walk even t. Sebastian Coe Former British middle-distance runner and former MP. Helped London win the bid f or 2012. Appointed Britain's Olympics legacy ambassador. Guor Marial Stateless refugee Guor Marial will compete in Sunday s men s marathon under the Olym pic flag. Guor Marial was born in what was then Sudan but who fled to the United States in 1993 after 28 members of his family were killed in the conflict. He h as a resident s permit but no passport. He found out just a week before that he co uld compete as a rare Independent Olympic Athlete. Saina Nehwal: Bronze MC Mary Kom: Bronze Vijay Kumar: Silver in shooting, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna for 2012 Gagan Narang: Bronze in shooting

Sushil Kumar: Silver in wrestling Yogeshwar Dutt: Bronze in wrestling, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna for 2012 Significance: multiculturalism, and economy angles. Wembley arena scandal/shuttlegate Four women's doubles badminton teams, including the world champion team from Chi na (Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang), were disqualified during Olympics 2012 for deliber ately trying to lose games to get an easier draw in the second phase of the tour nament. Yu Yang retired from the sport after the incident. David Lekuta Rudisha is a Kenyan middle distance runner and world record holder in the 800 metres, the first to break a world record in London 2012. Rudisha hol ds six of the ten fastest times for this event. Michael Fred Phelps II is an American swimmer, most notable for being the most d ecorated Olympian of all time with 19 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time rec ords for gold medals (15) and gold medals in individual events (9). Phelps' tota l of 19 Olympic medals is one more than the 18 won by Soviet gymnast Larisa Laty nina. Gagan Narang Shooter, Bronze, opened India's medal tally. Wodjan (Ali Sheraj Abdulrahim) Shahrkhani is a Judoka from Saudi Arabia who comp eted at London Olympics, being one of two women representing Saudi, the other be ing runner Sarah Attar. The Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee required that she "dress modestly, be accomp anied by a male guardian and not mix with men" while in London. Additionally, he r competition clothing has to comply with Sharia law. On 30 July 2012, Shaherkha ni said that she would withdraw from the event if she was not permitted to wear her hijab during bouts. The next day the IOC and the International Judo Federati on announced that agreement had been reached on a headscarf that she could wear. Ye Shiwen 16-year-old Chinese swimmer Won two golds at London Olympics Was dogged by media speculations about her possibly having used performance enh ancing drugs, but was cleared by tests. North Korean flag row North Korea expressed outrage at a diplomatic blunder which resulted its women's soccer team leaving the field after the South Korean flag was displayed by mist ake. The match against Colombia on the first day of sporting action at the Londo n was delayed by more than an hour. North and South Korea have been bitter enemi es since their 1950-53 war. They have also been drawn against each other in the first round of the men's table tennis. British Prime Minister David Cameron call ed the incident an honest mistake and said he was sure there would be no repetit ion at the Games. Im Dong Hyun South Korean archer, who is legally blind, broke a world record in the team rank ing round at the start of the 2012 Olympics. Fauja Singh 100 years old, runner of Indian origin, has set Guiness record for being the old est person to complete a full distance marathon. He is one of the Olympic torchbearers at London, 2012.

Garima Chaudhary Sole Judoka representing India in London olympics. --------Human Growth Hormone A new test for human growth hormone, one of the most difficult banned substances to detect, is to be used at the London 2012 Olympics. David Howman, the directo r general of the World Anti-Doping Agency, said the new test would work alongsid e existing detection methods for the substance. He also ruled out the possibilit y of the lifetime Olympics ban for first-time drugs cheats ever being allowed. H GH has been difficult to detect in the past because it is naturally occurring su bstance, but new methods have now come on stream. Wada successfully challenged the British Olympic Association's lifetime ban for all drugs cheats earlier this year, and Howman said although the International O lympic Committee's old Osaka rule banning doping offenders from the next Games c ould become part of the code, a lifetime ban was unworkable. As far as a lifetim e ban is concerned for a first offence, I don't think you are ever going to see that. We do have in the code now a lifetime ban for second or third offences if they are serious enough. So the penalty is there. It is an absolute disaster to your life to be caught cheating, even more so than cheating in society, because you are up there on that pedestal. The comments ca me as Moroccan 1,500m runner Mariem Alaoui Selsouli was revealed to have tested positive for a banned diuretic, ruling her out of the Games. Nine other athletes have also been banned for doping violations, the International Association of A thletics Federations said on Wednesday. -----------------Green olympics The London olympics aims to be the greenest ever, planned for sustainability wit h the theme "Towards a one planet 2012". The aim is to firstly minimise use of t he planet's resources throughout the preparation (design and construction of Oly mpic Park and other permanent venues and infrastructure), staging (all Games-tim e activities) and legacy (post-Games economic, social, health and environmental benefits to communities) of the London Games; and secondly to set new benchmarks in sustainability and inspire behaviour change. Towards these ends, five main themes have been identified: Climate change This will be the first Summer Olympics to map its complete carbon footprint. Oth er aims are to reduce emissions at source, reduce inefficiency in energy use and transport, use low-carbon technology alternatives, and compensate for unavoidab le emissions by influencing behavioural change. Waste The aim is to show te financial and environmental benefits of sound waste manage ment and recycling, and deal with waste in the following order of preference: re duce, reuse, recycle and compost. Biodiversity The Olympic Park Masterplan will create 45 hectares of new habitat and 102 hecta res of open space, in an area previously deprived of accessible green space (mai nly the lower Lea valley). There is an Olympic Park Biodiversity Action Plan for this. Also, sensitive habitats and species at competition sites will be protect

ed, and awareness programmes about the value of biodiversity and its links to sp ort and healthy living will be undertaken. Inclusion Ensure opportunities provided by the Games are spread as widely and fairly as po ssible across the UK. There will be supplier and workforce diversity, and the ai m is to celebrate multiculturalism by including London's Blach, Asian and Minori ty Ethnic (BAME) populations. Healthy living Inspire and promote sports participation and other forms of physical activity. T he focus areas are safety, remediation of contaminated land and cleaning pollute d waterways, air quality, sustainable food, sports participation and physical ac tivity, and legacy facilities for sport and culture. Controversies in this regard BMW is the automotive owner; fossil-fueled cars will be used for officials and d ignitaries. Choice of Dow Chemical to fund the stadium's decorative wrap. Possibility of vast amounts of air pollution. Fundamental question of having a new venue every four years, and the toll this t akes on the earth's resources. Some activists want serious consideration to be g iven to finding a permanent home for the Olympics. ---------Liberia and Angola: The UN has announced that, as of Saturday, people who fled t he civil wars in Liberia and Angola and remain abroad will no longer be regarded as refugees by the world body and host governments, bringing to an end two of t he most protracted refugee situations in Africa. Cessation clauses will enter into force tomorrow for refugees from Liberia and A ngola on the basis that these countries have both enjoyed many years of peace an d stability after bitter civil wars, according to the UN High Commissioner for R efugees (UNHCR). We are working with the governments of origin and of asylum to find solutions for those refugees who wish either to return home or to remain in their host countr ies due to strong ties there, UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told journalists in Geneva today. ------------Colorado fire --------A Big Day of Lick Your Elbow Protests in Sudan

Sudan s Arab Spring may have finally sprung. After more than week of sporadic protes ts across the country, Sudanese are expected to come out in mass on Friday, foll owed by a general strike on Saturday. The question is: how hard will the regime suppress these protesters. Street protests have entered their second week in Suda n, and activists have called for mass demonstrations on Friday, June 29. The dem onstrations have been dubbed licking your elbow protests, referring to a Sudanese metaphor for achieving the impossible. They have also called for a general stri ke day on June 30, the 23rd anniversary of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir s Nat ional Congress Party coming to power. Many Sudanese hope this will be the countr y s third revolution. The first one was in 1964, when 20-year-old student activist Ahmad al-Qurashi was shot dead by security forces, sparking a mass non-violent

movement and toppling General Abood. And President Gaafar al-Nimeiry was removed from power following protests that led to a military coup in 1985. The current protest movement began on June 16, when female university students in Khartoum d emonstrated against government austerity measures that increased the cost of stu dent housing. --------Iran: Three independent United Nations human rights experts have condemned the r ecent execution of four members of the Ahwazi Arab minority in Iran after a repo rtedly unfair trial, and called on the Government to halt the use of the death p enalty. Given the lack of transparency in court proceedings, major concerns remain about due process and fairness of trials in cases involving the death penalty in Iran, said the three UN Special Rapporteurs Ahmed Shaheed, Christof Heyns and Juan E. Mndez who deal with Iran, summary executions and torture, respectively. -------Syria: The Action Group for Syria will convene in Geneva, at the ministerial lev el, this Saturday, the Joint Special Envoy, Kofi Annan, said today: The objectives of the Action Group for Syria are to identify steps and measures t o secure full implementation of the six-point plan and Security Council resoluti ons 2042 and 2043, including an immediate cessation of violence in all its forms , Mr. Annan said in a statement. Citing a dramatic escalation in the fighting in Syria and ongoing human rights v iolations, the chairperson of the Independent International Commission of Inquir y on Syria, Paulo Pinheiro, today urged the international community to act to pu t an end to the violence. Paulo Pinheiro, told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva that gross violations of human rights are occurring regularly amid increasingly militarized fighting, which in some areas bears the characteristics of a non-international armed confl ict. In addition, military engagements have escalated dramatically in recent weeks an d have extended to other regions not previously involved. The UN estimates that more than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed and tens of thousand s displaced since the uprising. ---------Myanmar: The UN and the Government of Myanmar today signed an action plan to pre vent the recruitment and use of children by Myanmar s armed forces, known as the T atmadaw, and allow for the release of under-age recruits. UNICEF welcomes the signing of the action plan and is ready to support the Govern ment to take forward these key commitments, the UN Children s Fund (UNICEF) Represe ntative in the South-East Asian nation, Ramesh Shrestha, said in a news release. The action plan sets a timetable and measurable activities for the release and r eintegration of children associated with Government armed forces, as well as the prevention of further recruitment. ----------The UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy underscores the need to tackle the cond

itions conducive to the spread of terrorism, prevent and combat terrorism, build States capacity to counter terrorism, and ensure respect for human rights agains t the backdrop of the fight against terrorism. -----------UNDOF: The Security Council has extended the mandate of the United Nations force monitoring the ceasefire in the Golan Heights between Israel and Syria until 31 December 2012. In the unanimously adopted resolution extending the mission, the Council called on all parties to cooperate fully with the operations of UNDOF and to ensure the security of, as well as unhindered and immediate access for, the UN personnel c arrying out UNDOF s mandate. The Secretary General added that since the discontinu ation of indirect peace talks in December 2008, there have been no negotiations between the parties, and the current crisis in Syria further complicates efforts towards Israeli-Syrian peace. The United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) was established by Unite d Nations Security Council Resolution 350 on 31 May 1974,[1] to implement Resolu tion 338 (1973) which called for an immediate ceasefire and implementation of Un ited Nations Security Council Resolution 242.[2] The resolution was passed on the same day the "Agreement on Disengagement"[3] wa s signed between Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights, finally establi shing a ceasefire to end the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The Force has since performed its functions with the full cooperation of both si des. The mandate of UNDOF has been renewed every six months since 1974 (most rec ently until June 30, 2012).[4] . UNTSO (United Nations Truce Supervision Organiz ation) and UNDOF are operating in the zone and continue to supervise the ceasefi re. The situation in the Israel-Syria sector has remained quiet and there have b een no serious incidents. --- July 19 update below --India regretted the vetoing of a resolution on Syria by Russia and China at the United Nations Security Council in New York and felt that the members should hav e been flexible instead of sticking to their previous positions. Explaining New Delhi s vote for the resolution that would have slapped new sanctio ns on President Bashar Al Assad s regime, Hardeep Puri, India s Permanent Envoy to t he Security Council, pointed out that the resolution supported extension of the UN mission in Syria and implementation of the six-point plan and the Action Grou p s Final Communiqu. The resolution, proposed by Britain, France, Germany and the US, would also have extended for 45 days the UN s 300-man observer mission. In our view, it would have been preferable for the Council members to show flexibility, so that a united m essage could be conveyed to all sides to the crisis instead of pursuing domestic interests. It is, therefore, regrettable that the Council has not been able to adopt the resolution and send a joint message that was sought by Joint Special En voy Kofi Annan, Puri said. He began by condoling with the deaths of a number of t op officials, including the Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Dawood Ra jha, in Wednesday s terrorist attack in Damascus. We strongly condemn this mindless and cowardly act of terrorism. Continuing with its even-handed approach to the violence, India blamed all parti es for failing to comply with their obligations under the six-point plan. Instea d of a political process, parties have continued to pursue a military approach t hat continues to cause death and destruction in the country. There is an urgent need for the Syrian parties to recommit themselves to the complete cessation of violence and comprehensive implementation of the six-point plan.

Prolonged instability and unrest in Syria could have ramifications for the entir e region and beyond. This is why India wanted to retain the UN mission in Syria to bear impartial witness to events and to assist the Syrian parties in their sear ch for a solution to the crisis without further bloodshed. The UN team s presence was necessary also to facilitate the implementation of the six-point plan and the Action Group s Final Communiqu that were the only viable proc esses for the engagement of the international community in the resolution of the crisis. Despite the stalemate, India again urged Council members to reconsider t heir approach and ensure that the mandate of the UN mission was extended and Ann an s mission was supported. --------Ansar al Sharia: AQAP's front in YEMEN... pushed back by tribesmen and US firepo wer supporting the new govt. ---------The Saudis are out for blood when it comes to fellow petro-states Russia and Ira n, the former for failing to help calm the fury in Syria, and the latter for ref using to go to heel and give up its nuclear ambitions; in both cases, the Saudis think lower prices will produce a more reasonable attitude. In addition, Saudi Arabia is terrified of a current U.S. boom in shale oil; it is hoping that lower prices will render much of the drilling in North Dakota's Bakken Shale and Cana da's oil sands uneconomical. Finally, the Saudis are well aware that low oil pri ces helped to turn around the global economic downturn in 1998 and 1999, and the y hope to help accomplish the same now, and perhaps win new affection from the w orld's leading economies. -----------Drones/targeted killings, etc Issues: 1. Legality of drone attacks 2. Targeting of American citizens deemed as terrorists (Anwar al Awlaki in Yemen ) 3. Letting a civilian organisation like the CIA use military force 4. Violating the sovereignty of another nation versus the right to self-defence 5. Upcoming election and posturing on national security While drones have been successful in eliminating a number of individual targets of the al-Qaeda and its associates, they have not forced Rawalpindi to dismantle the terror infrastructure. Neither the drone attacks a significant technologica l innovation in air power nor direct cross-border military raids address the ult imate source of terror, the Pakistan army. They merely target the manifestation of the problem. A well-known American expert on Pakistan, Christine Fair, has suggested sanction s against specific individuals in Pakistan army and the ISI who are involved in supporting the terror networks. She also called for a denial of the much-needed financial support from the IMF a imed to tide over the deepening economic crisis in Pakistan. Fair is also propos ing an explicit American tilt towards India on the Kashmir question by recognisi ng the Line of Control as an international border. These steps are rather hard for the US to consider, for many in Washington have not yet given up hopes of an eventual reconciliation with the Pakistan army. Oth ers worry about the consequences of a nuclear Pakistan becoming a failed state.

Eventually, the United States will face a military adversary or terrorist group armed with drones, military analysts say. But what the short-run hazard experts foresee is not an attack on the United States, which faces no enemies with signi ficant combat drone capabilities, but the political and legal challenges posed w hen another country follows the American example. The Bush administration, and even more aggressively the Obama administration, em braced an extraordinary principle: that the United States can send this robotic weapon over borders to kill perceived enemies, even American citizens, who are v iewed as a threat. In Iraq and Afghanistan, military drones have become a routin e part of the arsenal. In Pakistan, strikes from Predators and Reapers operated by the CIA have killed more than 2,000 militants; the number of civilian casualt ies is debated. In Yemen, an American citizen was the intended target of a drone strike, as Anwar al-Awlaki, the Qaeda propagandist and plotter, was killed alon g with a second American, Samir Khan. If China, for instance, sends killer drones into Kazakhstan to hunt minority Uig hur Muslims it accuses of plotting terrorism, what will the United States say? W hat if India uses remotely controlled craft to hit terrorism suspects in Kashmir , or Russia sends drones after militants in the Caucasus? The problem is that th is is creating an international norm. Tougher export controls on American drone technology can be a part of the solution, but that skips the central question of the legitimacy of US' drone warfare. The qualities that have made lethal drones so attractive appeal to many countrie s and to terrorist groups: a capacity for leisurely surveillance and precise str ikes, modest cost, and no danger to the operator. To date, only the United State s, Israel (against Hezbollah and Hamas) and Britain (in Af) are known to have us ed drones. But American defense analysts count more than 50 countries that have built or bought UAVs. Most are designed for surveillance, but adding missiles or bombs is hardly a technical challenge. The virtue of most UAVs is that they have long wings and you can strap anything to them. That includes cameras, eavesdropping equipment and munitions. United States has a huge lead in the number and sophistication of UAVs. The Air Force prefers to call them not UAVs but RPAs, or remotely piloted aircraft, in a cknowledgment of the human role. Israel and China are aggressively developing and marketing drones, and Russia, I ran, India, Pakistan and several other countries are not far behind. Rezwan Ferdaus, a 26-year-old man from a Boston suburb, was arrested and charged with plotting to load a remotely controlled aircraft with plastic explosives an d crash it into the Pentagon or United States Capitol. Switchblade Army had just announced a $5 million contract for a backpack-size drone called a Switchblade that can carry an explosive payload into a target; such a weapon wi ll not long be beyond the capabilities of a terrorist network. It is easy to scare ourselves by imagining terrorist drones rigged not just to c arry bombs but to spew anthrax or scatter radioactive waste. Speculation that Al Qaeda might use exotic weapons has so far turned out to be just that. But the t hreat can no longer be discounted. SQ4 Recon A 'nanodrone' that weighs just 200 grammes and fits in the palm of a hand, devel oped in the UK for possible use in the fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan. It can fly and hover for 30 minutes or switch off its engines and perch like a

bird on a ledge, zooming in on suspicious activities for up to eight hours. Drone spoofing Drone spoofing is the ability of a hacker to take control of a drone's GPS syste m and guide it where to go. It is a growing concern as these aircraft are becomi ng commonplace in the US. Incidents of drone spoofing have sporadically taken pl ace in the US in the last couple of years. Lawmakers there have started to take notice of the potential security risks this may pose. AUV An autonomous underwater vehicle is a robot which travels underwater without req uiring input from an operator. AUVs constitute part of a larger group of underse a systems known as unmanned underwater vehicles, a classification that includes non-autonomous remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) controlled and power ed from the surface by an operator/pilot via an umbilical or using remote contro l. In military applications AUVs are often referred to as unmanned undersea vehi cles (UUVs). Naval Science and Tech Lab, a DRDO firm based in Vizag, has indigenously develop ed AUVs for intelligence, surveillance and recon (ISR), mine mitigation and sens or deployment. The programme also includes unmanned combat undersea vehicles (UC UV) or Submadrones. The Mantis Pilotless fighter will fly over UK from 2013 senger aircraft with no one at the controls. can stay airborne for 24 hours with no human two contracts including one for the Mantis. lots and conventional aircraft. -------------Indian scientist gets US patent for cancer treatment In what is being considered a path-breaking innovation, a scientist hailing from Hyderabad and his colleagues have invented a system in which a nano-particle ca rries the payload of anti-cancer drug and releases it only in the cancerous cell , thus protecting healthy cells around. Dr. Rao Papineni, chief scientist and senior principal investigator in medical a pplications of nanotechnology at Carestream Health, Inc USA, along with his fell ow researchers, filed for the patent in 2009. In rough terms, nano-particles are like payload delivery vehicles that can enhanc e damage to cancer tissues and simultaneously reduce the toxicity of normal and h ealthy tissues during radiation treatment. -----------Dhaka to honour Indian Colonel who rescued Hasina Bangladesh will confer the Friends of Bangladesh Award on a retired Indian Army officer for his outstanding contributions in the 1971 war. Colonel Ashok Tara, n ow retired from service, rescued Sheikh Hasina, who is now Prime Minister, her m other Begum Fajilatunnesa Mujib, her sister Sheikh Rehana and her brother Sheikh Rasel from a house in Dhaka s Dhanmondi where they were held captive by Pakistani military throughout the nine months of the country s liberation war. A team led b y Colonel Tara rescued them on December 17, a day after the Pakistani Army surre ndered to the joint Bangladesh-India command in Dhaka; Earlier this year, the Hasina government prepared a list of 561 foreign friends to be honoured. The highest national award, the Bangladesh Freedom Honour , was award - and robot plane could lead to pas The Mantis is bigger than a drone; on board. BAE systems is set to win AI could mean the end of fighter pi

ed to Indira Gandhi for her role in the country s liberation. In March this year, the government conferred awards to a total of 83 individuals, institutions and o rganisations in two categories the Bangladesh Liberation War Honour and the Frie nds of Liberation War Honour. The maximum number of individual awardees, 31, wer e from India followed by 15 from the United States, seven from the former Soviet Union, five from the United Kingdom, three from Japan, two from Germany and one each from Nepal, Bhutan, the former Yugoslavia, Italy, Sweden, Ireland and Denm ark. ---------World Heritage Convention, 1972 It highlights the universal value of the cultural and natural heritage. It advoc ates the international support for maintenance of the World Heritage sites. A state party has an obligation to identify, protect, conserve and transmit to future generations the unique cultural and natural Heritage of that country. Those site s that are nominated by the states will be enlisted on the World Heritage list. World Heritage Sites. The coveted title of a world heritage site is granted by United Nations Educatio nal, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). To qualify for the status, a site must possess the following attributes: It should represent a masterpiece o f human creative genius, exhibit an important interchange of human values over a span of time, be an outstanding example of type of traditional human settlement or land-use, especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change. ------------WHS Unesco defines a WHS as a place or environment of great significance or meaning to mankind. It may be a living urban city or a rural settlement, a natural landsca pe (an underground cave, for instance), a forest or a water body, an archaeologi cal site (where excavations have revealed relics of the past) or a geological ph enomenon. Thus, it could be a natural site, a cultural site (which would be a tr aditional man-made settlement representative of a culture or cultures resulting from human interaction with the environment), or a site that s a mix of both. To be slotted into one of these categories, a potential WHS would need to, accor ding to Unesco: 1) be of outstanding universal value which would be reflected in the historic, s ocial, scientific, aesthetic and/or spiritual value of the place to mankind. 2) display progressive developments in architecture, technology, the creation of monuments, town-planning, landscaping, etc., 3) reflect a distinct cultural tradition/civilisation that is still vibrant or w hich has disappeared; and 4) have exceptional examples of building styles that reflect its history. --------London Dumping Convention, 1972 This convention is designed to control the dumping of wastes in the sea. It requires the states to limit the dumping of such substances as radioactive material, biological and chemical warfare agents, persistent plastics, heavy

metals and toxic organics. In 1993, bans on the ocean disposal of low level radioactive material and industrial wastes were adopted. A protocol was added in 1996. Under this, seven more substances were listed. These substances can be dumped only after getting permission. --------Marpol Convention, 1973/78 This convention is aimed at preventing or reducing the discharges (international or accidental) from ships into seas. It greatly limits the amount of oil spill a nd ship generated waste which can be discharged into the sea. There is a complete ban against dumping in areas designated as special areas, for example, in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. --------CITES, 1973 (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) Under this convention, parties should identify species that are, or may be threatened by trade. They should also identify those species that may be threatened unless the trade is regulated. The former should be listed in Appendi xI and the latter in Appendix-II. Commercial trade is forbidden for species liste d in Appendix-I, for example, dolphins and whales. While not banned, the trade is strictly regulated in respect of species listed in Appendix-II. --------Law of the Sea Convention, 1982 (Parts V & XII) It seeks to protect and preserve the marine environment. It directs the states t o take measures to prevent, reduce and control the marine pollution, protect fragi le ecosystems, monitor risk/effects of marine pollution etc. A state should not cau se damage to the other states by pollution. It should notify other states where mar ine environment is in imminent danger. In the EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) , there should not be over exploration of living resources by the coastal state. -------Basel Convention (On the control of Trans-boundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes), 1989 Hazardous wastes cause severe damage. Most often these Hazardous Wastes (hereafter referred as to HW) are exported by the developed states to the developing states. Therefore, this convention has special significance to them. This convention seeks to minimise the level of HW from its source of generation. No export is allowed to the countries which prohibit the HW unless consent is given by them. There should also be no export if there is a reason to believe th at these wastes will not be managed by the importer in an environment friendly and sound manner. The availability of disposal facilities in the importing state sho uld be ensured by the exporting state before exporting the HW. State parties should develop and prescribe guidelines for environmentally sound management of HW. HNS Convention, 1996 (International Convention on Liability and Compensation for

Damage in connection with the carriage of Hazardous and Noxious substances) This convention provides for liability and compensation for damage resulting fro m maritime accidents involving the carriage of hazardous and noxious substances. ------Agenda 21 It is a massive 800 paged document adopted by the Rio conference. It contains th e Action-Programme for attaining sustainable development. It lays down 115 speci fic programmes. It is a key document but is not binding. Its recommendations are classified into different areas such as socio-economic issue s to protect and promote human health, conservation and management of resources such as combating deforestation, desertification and drought, promotion of susta inable agriculture and rural development, strengthening networks consisting of women, NGOs, business, scientific and technological community, farmers, throu gh financial resources, transfer of environment friendly technology, training, i nternational legal instruments and mechanisms. ---------Asian Brown Cloud According to the UNEP Report, a vast blanket of smog has been documented over much of Asia and the Indian Ocean, with implications for the glo bal climate, regional weather patterns, agricultural crops and economic progress . The responsible factors include burning agricultural wastes, forest fires, industries, emissions from inefficient cookers and use of cooking fuels l ike kerosene and cow dung. This has resulted in the formation of a thick haze ov er much of Asia. The cloud, which is 2 miles in depth, is blocking solar energy from reaching the earth's surface by as much as 15%. It is cooling the surface o f the earth while heating the lower atmosphere, consequently altering the season al monsoon patterns. This has altered the weather pattern resulting in the reduction of rainfall acro ss north-western Asia and a rise in rainfall across Asia's eastern coast, droughts in Pakistan an d north-western India, and floods in the north-eastern states of Nepal and Bangladesh. Even when rain fall s regularly, it is acidic and foul sewer back-ups evaporate into a thin dust that fills the air. This dust contributes to the mass of acids, aerosols, and other particles that make u p the cloud and fill the air that millions breathe each day. This pollution clai ms 2 million lives a year in India and has resulted in high incidents of death d ue to respiratory diseases in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka. Although the issue was discussed by the delegates at the World Summit for Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, 2002, few measures were taken to rectify the problem. Scientists and researchers are yet to ascertain the implications of this pollut ion on global warming and the rest of the world but unattended, the long term re percussions are likely to be irreversible. --------Ihuru Barnacle Project In Maldives, reef regeneration programmes played a vital role in

environmental conservation, as high water temperatures catastrophically damaged the Maldivian coral reefs in 1998. The corals were depr ived of life-giving nutrients and turned stark white, which the scientists terme d as "bleaching". It was reported that around 70% of corals were bleached, with about 80% of Acropora communities dead. Within two weeks, th e coral holocaust wiped out a century of coral growth. Coral transplantation has aided in the recovery process on the reefs at Banyan Tree Maldives Vabbinfaru a nd Angsana Maldives Ihuru. The impact of Ihuru's Barnacle Project reaped signifi cant results and received international recognition in 1998 when it was conferre d the 'Theodore M. Sperry Award' by the Society for Ecological Restoration, a hi ghly esteemed accolade in the field of environmental conservation. Corals are tr ansplanted by hand onto a man-made barnacle steel structure immersed in some 20 feet of seawater. To speed up coral growth the barnacle is electrically charged with a s afe lowvoltage current, which is powered by solar cells. This technology contributed immensely to Ihuru's reef restoration efforts and enhanced the biodiversity of the underwa ter world by attracting more species of marine life like reef fish, nudibranchs (or sea slugs), sea turtles and even the endangered Napoleon Wrasse fish to its thrivi ng marine habitat. It was observed that the Barnacle has greatly accelera ted the rate of coral growth. The increased growth rates was found in species su ch as Montipora, Favia and Porites, and also in massive corals like the Acropora (Staghorn Coral), which take longer time to cultivate. --------The Makalu-Barun Conservation Area The Makalu-Barun National Park and Conservation Area, officially established in 1992 through The Mountain Institute's initiative, is an innovative conservation model that integrates protected area management and community development. From tropical forests along the Arun River to icy mountain summits, Nepal's Makalu-Barun National Park and Conservation Area, covering 2,330 sq. km. is the only protected area on earth with an elevation gain of 8000 m. Recognised for it s tremendous diversity of plants, animals, and people, the area contains 25 species of rhododendron, 47 types of o rchids, and 56 rare or endangered plants. Red panda, musk deer, wild boar, snow leopard, and the peregrine falcon are among the wildlife found here.Through participator y approaches, the programme is promoting community-based conservation and enterp rise development that build upon local indigenous knowledge and cultural traditi ons. ------Counter-proliferation Diplomatic, intelligence and military efforts by an individual nation. Non-proliferation is largely a collective effort through treaties. Also, counter may revive the arms race. ------------Umar Patek Pranav Mistry Quantum computing Moon tourism ------Salala apology

Pakistan closed the routes after the Nov 26 US air raid on one of its military p ost in Salala which killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. Although a US team recently spent six weeks in Islamabad trying to get the route s reopened, it returned to Washington last week without achieving that objective . Secretary Panetta initially said that Pakistan was trying to "price gouge" the A mericans but the Pakistanis rejected his claim, saying that they were even willi ng to accept the previous tariff of $250 a truck if the Americans apologies over the Salala incident. This made the Americans realise that the Pakistanis were serious over the apolog y and that Washington would have to come up with a statement that satisfied Isla mabad without hurting the Obama administration in the November elections. So far, the two sides have discussed three drafts but are yet to finalise a stat ement that satisfies both. It is felt that a magical word that does wonder in me nding individual relations sorry could also help defuse tensions between the US and Pakistan. While saying 'sorry', the Americans would also like to convince the Pakistanis t hat their interest in Pakistan is not tactical and that they want a long-term re lationship with Islamabad. The US cannot afford to "cut off all relations with Pakistan because then it cou ld become even more unstable and we could have even greater challenges since the y have a nuclear inventory, among other things", as Senator McCain said. Policy makers in Washington believe that the Indians will not send their troops to Afghanistan even if the Americans want them to. And therefore, the US will ha ve to deal with Pakistan if it wants long-term stability in Afghanistan. -------Minorities and employment Swarnjayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojna(SGSY), the primary self-employment programme f or rural areas, has the objective fo bringing assisted poor rural families above the poverty line by providing them income generating assets through a mix of ba nk credit and Governmental subsidy. A certain percentage of the physical and fin ancial targets under the SGSY will be earmarked for beneficiaries belonging to t he minority communities living below the poverty line in rural areas. The Swarnjayanti Shahary Rohgar Yojna(SSRY) consists of ely, the Urban Self-Employment Programme (USEP) and the ogramme(UWEP). A certain percentage of the physical and USEP and UWEP will be earmarked to benefit people below e minority communities. two major components nam Urban Wage Employment Pr financial targets under the poverty line from th

The Sampurna Grameen Rozgar Yojna(SGRY) is aimed at providing additional wage em ployment in rural areas alongside the creation of durable community, social and economic infrastructure. Since the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programm( NREGP) has been launched in 200 districts, and SGRY has been merged with NREGP i n these districts The National Minorities Development & Finance Corporation (NMDFC) was set up in 1994 with the objective of promoting economic development activities among the m inority communities. The Government is committed to strengthen the NMDFC by prov

iding it greater equity support to enable it to fully achieve its objective. Bank credit is essential for creation and sustenance of self-employment initiati ve. A target of 40% of net bank credit for priority sector lending has been fixe d for domestic banks. The priority sector includes, inter alia, agricultural loa ns, loan to small-scale industries & small business, loans to retail trade, prof essional and self-employed persons, education loans, housing loans and micro-cre dit. It will be ensured that an appropriate percentage of the priority sector le nding in all categories is targeted for the minority communities. ----------Austerity measures Why is Pak impt for Afghanistan? The Pakistan Army s support to the Taliban and th e Haqqani Network undermines the stability of Afghanistan. ------Interoperability refers to the ability of different military organisations to co nduct joint operations. These organisations can be of different nationalities or different armed services (ground, naval and air forces) or both. Interoperability allows forces, units or systems to operate together. It require s them to share common doctrine and procedures, each others infrastructure and ba ses, and to be able to communicate with each other. -----EDGE, EVDO, HSPA+, Wimax, LTE --------Qatar Tiny Gulf kingdom that exercises disproportionate diplomatic influence in the wo rld today. Qatar s resident population is about 1.7 million; but only 300,000 are said to be citizens. From hosting the Doha round of global trade negotiations in 2001 to wi nning the contest to hold the olympics in 2020 and the football World Cup in 202 2, Qatar has acquired a larger-than-life image. The Al-Jazeera television networ k, broadcasting from Qatar, has become a regional force and a global media pheno menon. With one of the world s largest natural gas reserves (3rd after Russia and Iran), Qatar has much wealth. With some bold new moves this year, Qatar has exceeded itself. These include sen ding its air force to join the Western intervention in Libya, early recognition of the rebels fighting Gaddafi as the new government, and rallying Arab sanction s against the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria. With its move to host an embassy of the Taliban on its soil, Qatar s high-profile diplomacy has arrived in the subcon tinent. After recalling his envoy to Qatar in protest against the decision, Afgh anistan President Hamid Karzai has also relented. Travelling to Doha in November 2008, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared Indi a s intent to elevate the bilateral relationship with Qatar to the strategic level . From energy security to defence exchanges and the promotion of mutual investme nts to counter-terror cooperation, Singh and Qatar s Emir Hamad had outlined an ex pansive framework for bilateral engagement. But not much has happened in terms o f follow-up.

Unlike India s Look East policy, India s outreach to the Persian Gulf and the Middle East tends to be episodic. Qatar s international profile has dramatically risen. Yet, its relationship with India has remained well below potential. India s demand for natural gas, which is the cleanest of all the fossil fuels, is rapidly ballooning. For all the interest in fanciful, overland pipeline projects , importing LNG through sea-borne tankers from nearby Qatar remains one of the m ost attractive options. A special relationship with Doha would be a critical ele ment of any Indian strategy on energy security. Meanwhile, the changing nature of the global natural gas market makes India cent ral to Qatar s demand security . The discovery of additional natural gas reserves and the use of new technologies like fracking for producing natural gas from shale deposits have transformed the supply situation. Traditional importers like the U S are investing massively in the exploitation of domestic shale deposits. There is talk of US becoming a net exporter of natural gas. While businesses from the rest of the world are queuing up in Doha to participat e in many mega projects the Olympics in 2020 and the football World Cup in 2022, for example Indian corporates have been tardy in establishing a credible presen ce in the emirate. In the years since the PM travelled to Doha, the political situation in the Pers ian Gulf and the Middle East has evolved beyond imagination. As new forces rise from the wreckage of the Arab Spring, Qatar has put itself at the centre of the current disorder in the Middle East. During his visit to India in April 2012, the Emir of Qatar, Hamad Bin Khalifa Al -Thani, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh took forward the initiatives on mutual investments agreed upon during their previous detailed interaction in 2008. Fou r pacts, including one setting in place the framework for a more intensive partn ership in the hydrocarbons sector, were signed in their presence. Qatar is among the few countries in the region with which India has a structure for joint maritime security and training besides an agreement on security and la w enforcement seeking to check money laundering and transnational crime. Building on a previous agreement to set up a $100-million fund to indicate their genuineness and credibility in investing in India's infrastructure sector, sour ces said $5.5 billion of investments could be expected from Qatar. Qatar in turn welcomed Indian companies bidding for projects and requested support for facili tating its investments. -----------NEERI RRBs Subquota for minorities ====== Fake currency Home Secretary R K Singh will be part of the delegation from India that will int eract with its American counterparts. Union Home Ministry officials would like t o know what part of their strategy and technology can be imbibed to check the ci rculation since, they believe printing cannot be stopped till Pakistan decides t o curb it, which it is allegedly using as a tool to unleash proxy war across the border.

In their bid to foil such attempts, the government has adopted a multi-dimension al strategy which incorporates regularly updating security features of currency notes, setting up a Fake Indian Currency Notes Co-ordination Cell (FCORD) and en suring a better interaction between the ministries concerned and investigation a nd other agencies. Nevertheless, the smuggling of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FI CN) continues unabated under the nose of authorities. The government has also empowered the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to pro secute pushers of fake currency. The Centre is attempting to narrow down its de pendence on imports to meet its demand of currency papers. A state of the art pa per mill for manufacturing bank note at Mysore in a joint venture partnership is also planned to be set up by the government. --------The resolution to the Iran-conflict lies not in punishing its people but in a si mple proposal that will easily win the support of most countries in the world: a "nuclear free Middle East". This must involve Iran and also Israel, which has h undreds of nuclear warheads, is not a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NP T), and has a poor record on proliferation: recently declassified documents reve al that Israel was so close to the apartheid regime in South Africa that it offe red to sell it nuclear weapons in "three sizes". The Indian government's tacit support of the double standards involved here are harming the country's credibility and increasing the probability of an armed con flict in Iran, which will be economically deleterious for India. When the demand s of equity and justice coincide with India's direct economic interests, why is the government taking another path? India has silently but surely sided with the US by repeatedly voting against Ira n at the IAEA board, and moving away from the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline p roject. The government has not even spared people-to-people relations. It is now harder for Iranian academics to get visas for India, and several Iranian studen ts have been deported on various pretexts. --------------Presidential versus Parliamentary forms of democratic govt Iran payments issue East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) IMU (Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan) in FATA -------CITIES Multiplicity of agencies - example Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority, use of cars, footpaths, bicycles, feed er service for mass transport systems... Mono v. metro BRTs Poverty, migration, jobs, hygiene

--------------Neutron stars Nano pollution Grey goo Kevlar Solar sails: Ikaros, NanoSail D, Planetray Society, Light Sail 1 Ignighter Sarvamoola Grantha Silver nano LMO Instt of wood science and technology Koolkart ATREX CL-20 Kallakkadal Xpert NAAT Quantum Computers Polymetallic nodules Geotextiles Aajeevika scheme: Bharat livelihoods foundation of india White paper blue paper Weighted deduction ---------Maldives Operation Cactus Maumoon Abdul Gayoom Mohamed Nasheed Threat of Ocean-level rise in Maldives India Maldives relations: Symbiotic or Parasite? Do you know about any recent coups apart from Male, what were their reasons and outcomes? How is coup different from revolution or freedom struggle? Why are the island nations always in bad news? It is generally accepted that stability and prosperity in our immediate neighbou rhood is in our own interests. Thus, whatever we do in Maldives, by way of priva te investment or government aid, is in the end going to serve us. As to what hel p/investment India has given to Maldives, here is a brief account: (i) India com panies have invested in Maldives in education, hospitality, renewable energy, he alth, marine products; (ii) S M Krishna visited Maldives last year and announced following projects: co nstruction/initiation of a hospital, a college on Hospitality and Tourism, an IT village in Male, passenger-cum-cargo ferry service between Kochi and Male, a li ne of credit for housing sector and a soft loan for a comprehensive economic dev elopment projects; (iii) India also wants to promote Maldives as a film shooting destination. Maldives, by virtue of its location, is an important partner in countering pirac y and terrorism. Defence assistance to Maldives is in the form of equipments and training. There is also increased cooperation between the Coast Guards of the t wo countries. Maldives could also be an important partner for climate change negotiations. It is (at least it was last year) currently the chairman of Association of Small Is land States (AOSIS) these countries stand to lose most from adverse impacts of c

limate change and therefore (might) play an important role in negotiations in UN FCCC meets. Its importance was reflected in the invitation extended to it for th e BASIC meeting held in Delhi last year. As per some models, Maldives may not exist by the end of this century, and Nashe ed had a controversial plan of earmarking some amount of national income to buy land in India, Sri Lanka or Australia to accommodate the Maldivians. Holding of a cabinet meeting underwater to highlight the dangers of rising level s of the ocean. Using these two examples, one can talk about the clear and present danger of cli mate change which can have drastic changes on the lives of people. Islands are in bad news because they are almost always strategically located. It provides facilities for controlling trade routes, facilitates sea transportatio n. So larger powers seek intervention in these islands. This is major cause of t urbulence. -Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomes the release of the report today by the Ma ldives Commission of National Inquiry (CoNI) that has looked into the facts, circ umstances and causes of the 7 February transfer of power in the island nation. H e is concerned at the prospect of renewed political tensions should any side not accept the outcome of the inquiry. He calls on all parties to exercise maximum cooperation and restraint. In February, the Maldives then-President, Mohamed Nasheed, resigned after days of protests and tensions between the Government and military and police. He was su cceeded by his former deputy, Mohammed Waheed Hassan. In the wake of those event s, the Government set up the CoNI, with both the UN and the Commonwealth of Nati ons providing legal advice to the Commission. The CoNI was reconstituted in June with international assistance and has since been recognized by all parties as a credible inquiry mechanism. According to media reports, the CoNI s report has concluded that Nasheed s resignati on was legal, and that he was not forced to step down at gunpoint as had been cl aimed. Nasheed has rejected the report, and his supporters have resumed street p rotests. -----------RBI says no to deposits in Mallapuram Gold Features of NBFC. Difference between NBFC and Bank. Role of NBFC in Indian economy, List problems and Suggest reforms. --------NDPS Policy: released by GoI in Feb 2012. Opium growing states of India. Medicinal use of Morphine. Salient Features of NDPS policy. Pronab Sen Committee Report on Drug pricing. Mashelkar Report on Drug Regulatory system. ---------Samoa and Tokelau Jumps International Dateline

The reason for jumping the Dateline. Daylight Saving Time (DST). What is the difference between GMT and UTC? Jetlag. International Dateline is Zigzag because.. Russia and USA have multiple Time-zone within country because.. Should India implement DST? Should India be divided into multiple time-zones? Daylight saving system is also used in countries of southern hemisphere. It is m ore useful for countries far from equator(nearer to poles) where varience is hig her in sunlight duration during summer and winter. It used to help in reducing e lectricity usage, increased road safety, work efficiency, etc. In India's scenar io it may not be useful in Chennai but can be useful in Srinagar. ----------WADA seeks 2-year ban on Ashwini Akkunji et al Whereabouts clause Ginseng supplements WADA Mass-scale doping by Indian Athletes: reasons and solutions. BCCI rejects WADA whereabouts rule: do you think they're right or just arrogant? Games themselves push players to take 'questionable' health supplements: How els e do you get stamina for 50 overs match or 3200 kilometres cycling in Tour De Fr ance otherwise? Reasons Mindset of athlete. Unavailability of testing at lower levels. No strict action is taken. Sometimes due to lack of knowledge, athletes take medicines with banned constitu ents. Solutions Strict testing at starting level. Educating athletes regarding latest changes in regulation. Educating coaches, because they are the ones who actually introduce athletes to new medicines. Strict action against athletes if caught, stricter action for coaches. The WADA's prohibited substances are divided into two lists, the specified and u nspecified substances. While the specified substances can only be taken orally o r through injecting the substance in the body, the unspecified materials can rea ch the body through normal day to day activities like massage as well. Doping is rampant across the world but the reason why Indian players get caught more is because they do not know the advanced ways to hide it. The term masking re fers to the art of making the steroid invisible to the laboratories. There are t echniques and substances which can be used to make the detection of any steroids impossible. SUGGESTIONS (1) Including a compulsory certification course on "Restricted Drugs" for all th e sportspersons and coaches, because the common reason given by all the ppl test ed positive is that they are not aware that such and such drug is banned/prohibi ted.

(2) Very Quick and Strict action to be taken against those who are tested positi ve. (3) Professional sports require minimum salaries to ensure that their families a re looked after regardless of how well they perform. If they need to win in orde r to survive, the desire to cheat will always be there. But, sport is also about Glory. And for many, the desire for glory will overwhelm them to cheat. But the glory is only meaningful if it s acquired honestly. WADA: World Anti Doping Agency Setup in 1999 to fight the increasing use of performance-enhancing drugs in inte rnational sport. Backed by the International Olympic committee. What is Whareabouts clause? In crude terms: Player gives his daily schedules and whereabouts to WADA, they c ome for a surprise dope test. A Player logs in the online portal of WADA, provides the exact location of his r esidence (home or hotel), schedules and locations of the places where he trains, competes, works or performs his regular activities. Also Player has to provide a one-hour testing-slot each day,where he or she will b e available for random testing. E.g. Abhinav Bindra has made himself available for investigators of the WADA: 7 to 8 every morning, 365 days a year. If you do not show up during random testing, they'll give a strike against your name. Three such strikes within an 18-month period could mean a ban for upto 8 years. What's Indian Cricketers' problem? BCCI refuses to sign on for WADA s whereabouts clause citing invasion of players priv acy and security fears: Sachin, Dhoni, etc also have threats from terrorist orga nisations in the past, have also cited security risks. ------------Could any one explain in layman terms, the functioning of the AESA radar, and th e difference with an ordinary radar used in aircraft. A normal radar sends waves of single frequency to detect enemy aircrafts. When s uch a radar is fixed on an aircraft (or for that matter a stationary ground rada r), the enemy will also know the location of the aircraft if he has a radar. Now , with AESA radar, multiple modules transmit at slightly different frequencies w hich combine through interference and detect enemy aircrafts. For the enemy airc raft, he will only see the newly constructed wave and not the original wave. So, it will be difficult to detect the aircraft. Bottomline AESA radar -- more stea lth --------South Sudan becomes an independent nation Juba Abyei Khartoum Darfur Omar al-Bashir Minni Minnawi Hardeep Singh Puri Describe the characteristics of a Civil War. Do you classify Naxal problem under Civil War? Do you classify secessionist movements in NE under Civil War? Can you cite any examples of Civil wars: reasons and outcomes? India in UN: "Naxal problem not an armed conflict". Agree?

India in Geneva Conference: "Caste bias can't be equated with racism". Agree? Freedom of South Sudan John Garang was the founder of the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Army and its poli tical wing, the Sudanese People s Liberation Movement. However John Garang died in a helicopter crash in 2005 after securing a peace deal with North Sudan and he was succeeded by Salva Kir. South Sudan- the Nation South Sudan has the hallmarks of becoming a prosperous nation. It has fertile an d well watered lands and population of 8 million to 14 million people. Therefore the available land can be easily divided amongst the people, each getting a lar ge tract of land. Therefore South Sudan has the potential of becoming the larges t food producer of Africa. Moreover South Sudan is blessed with natural resource s like hard timber, oil, gold, chromium, iron ore, etc. Problems of South Sudan (1) The new government of South Sudan lacks trained manpower and modern reso urces. Ministries lack computers and the tax administration of the country is in the hands of illiterate tax collectors. (2) South Sudan also has to deal with the problem of the disputed region of Abyei where 4200 Ethiopian peacekeepers to quell any disturbance however any fla re up in the region which is a flash point of conflict between the North and the South could destabilize the newly independent nation. (3) The Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement is dominated by the Dinka tribe whereas the ethnic Nuer tribe is sidelined. Therefore President Salva Kir is a Dinka whereas the Vice President Riek Machar is a Nuer and has been sidelined. T hus the dominance of the Dinka tribe over the Nuers does not aguer well for the unity of the newly independent nation. (4) Transportation is a major problem in South Sudan. Due to heavy rains mos t of the few roads that exist get converted into swamps. Also, there is scant in frastructure to carry its oil to ports. --Aug 2012-An agreement has been reached by Sudan and South Sudan to end the drawn-out oil dispute that led to dire economic consequences and prompted fears of war. The mo mentum created by the deal is hoped to resolve the other outstanding issues, inc luding borders, Abyei, etc. The breakthrough was announced when lead negotiator Thabo Mbeki told reporters t hat "the oil will start flowing" at a meeting of the African Union Peace and Sec urity Council in Addis Ababa. The council had met to discuss how to solve the cr isis between the two countries after they had failed to reach an agreement on se curity and oil before a UNSC deadline expired on August 2. "The two parties have agreed on all of the financial arrangements regarding oil". The AU-led negotiations have been ongoing since Juba gained independence from Su dan in July 2011. South Sudan took 75 per cent of the region's oil resources whe n it seceded, while Sudan stayed in possession of the processing and exporting f acilities. In late January, South Sudan shut down oil production after Sudan con fiscated $815m worth of South Sudanese crude, which it claimed was in lieu of un paid fees. In May, the UN ordered under threat of sanctions that the two sides c ease hostilities, withdraw forces from Abyei and agree on oil fees in three mont hs. The final status of Abyei will be addressed next month at a summit meeting of th e two presidents. Any further negotiations have been suspended until the end of Ramadan.

ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL), the overseas arm of India's state-owned oil major, ha s investments worth US$ 2.5 billion in petroleum exploration and production in u ndivided Sudan as part of the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company. In this consortium the OVL owns a 25 percent stake. As India enjoys strong relations wi th both Sudans, New Delhi responded to the requests emanating from Khartoum and Juba to use its good offices to defuse the standoff between the two countries, w hich have been locked in skirmishes over oil and territory (Blue Nile, South Ko rdofan, Abyei, exact border demarcation). Nearly 85 percent of oil wells are in South Sudan, but the port and transhipment facilities are in Sudan. The dispute was that while Sudan demanded US$ 36 per barrel for the transit and refinery usage services, South Sudan offe red less than a dollar. The oil dispute between Sudan and South Sudan began five months after South Suda n separated from Sudan in July 2011, as Sudan decided to deduct its oil fees in arrears on the part of South Sudan in the form of crude oil. On Jan. 20, 2012, South Sudan announced a halt to its oil production and exporta tion through Sudanese territories, accusing Khartoum of stealing about 1.4 milli on barrels of its oil at Bashair harbor in eastern Sudan. While revenue from oil provides 98 percent of Juba's exchequer, Khartoum faces a 36 percent gap in its budget because of secession. Earlier, in November 2011, Juba ordered the expulsion from its oil fields of Su dapet, the national oil company of Sudan. Khartoum countered with an announcement that oil exports from South Sudan would be suspended. After Chinese mediation, Sudan agreed to revoke its decision of blocking the passage of South Sudanese oil, but it insisted of seizing about a quarter of the profits as compe nsation. Being the dominant external stake holder in the disputed oil industry , China has already appointed a special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan. India has followed suit (Amarendra Khatua). Apart from China, countries in the East African neighbourhood and the AU have also engaged Sudan and South Sudan to resolve their disputes. The two signed a nonaggression pact and a deal on the repatriation of around 300,000 Southerners from Sudan. There is also conflict over the Unity State s Heglig oil field where Indian OVL has a sizable stake. Responding to the impasse, India engaged in the negotiations by sending the Sp ecial Envoy. New Delhi explained this timely diplomatic initiative, by stating that (a) there is escalation of violence between the two countries, (b) to re spond positively to the help solicited earlier by both the countries, (c) to com municate India s support for the peace initiative between the two countries, (d) t o strengthen India s technical support to them, (e) to ensure protection of Indian oil interests, (f) Indian interest in South Sudan s mineral resources (g) investm ents by Indian companies into Sudan and South Sudan, running into billions of U S$ or more, are in the pipeline. India is committed to strengthen and diversify bilateral ties with South Sudan. It has sought cooperation in human resource development, social and economic fie lds, technical assistance and development of agriculture. India will also be establishing a Vocational Trainin g Centre, an agricultural seed production unit, a rural technology park, soon in South Sudan. The Chinese have offered to South Sudan a pipeline, in 14-16 months, through Ken ya. India believes that building a new pipeline altogether will take many more y ears, with security too being an issue.

--------------The Armed Forces Tribunal has been in news due to its role in trying officers re lated to the Sukna land scam. The decision/judgment given by the Armed Forces Tribunal can be appealed only in the Supreme Court. The Armed Forces Tribunal will adjudicate cases connected with the judgments giv en by the General Court Martial. The Armed Forces Tribunal chairman will be a retired or serving Supreme Court ju dge or a Chief Justice of a High Court. Justice AK Mathur, a former judge of the Supreme Court has been appointed as the chairman of the Armed Forces Tribunal. Apart from judges, a few military officers will also be a part of the Armed Forc es Tribunal. The Principal Bench is located at New Delhi and there are 8 regional benches. Al l the eight regional benches and the principal bench (New Delhi) will have spati al jurisdiction over the High Courts of their regions. It is not binding on the Armed Forces Tribunal to observe the procedures of the Civil Procedure Code. However the principle of natural justice has to be confirm ed in all the cases. The Armed Forces Tribunal will act as a civil court when hearing service matters and will function as a criminal court when hearing appeals against court martia l. Moreover the tribunal will also handle cases related to war crimes and human rights abuses. -----------New National Savings Certificate Who can purchase NSC? An adult in his own name or on behalf of a minor, a trust, two adults jointly, H UF. Available for purchase/issue at all Post Offices. The minimum amount of investment under NSC is Rs 100. Period of maturity of a ce rtificate is six Years. Nomination facility is available. Certificates can be transferred from one post office to any other post office. Transfer from one person to another person permissible in certain conditions. Certificates are available in denominations (face value) of Rs 100, Rs 500, Rs 1 000, Rs 5000 & Rs 10,000. There is no maximum limit for purchase of the certific ates. Interest is available on this scheme @ 8%, compounded half-yearly With effect fr om 1st March, 2003, Maturity value of a certificate of Rs 100 denomination is Rs 160.10. Maturity value of a certificate of any other denomination shall be at proportion ate rate. Interest accrued on the certificates every year is liable to income tax but deemed to have been reinvested. Premature encashment of the certificate is not permissible except at a discount in the case of death of the holder(s), forfeiture by a pledgee and when ordered by a court of law. Can be encashed/discharged at the post office where it is registered or any othe r post office. Income Tax rebate is available on the amount invested and interest accruing ever y year under Section 88 of Income tax Act, as amended from time to time. [under Se c 80C] Income tax relief is also available on the interest earned as per limits fixed v

ied section 80L of Income Tax, as amended from time to time. The Government of India launched a 10 year new National Savings Certificate whic h will fetch 8.7 percent interest per annum, compounded semi annually. The certi ficate will be available in the denominations of Rupees 100, 500, 1000, 5000 and 10,000. Moreover there is no upper limit for the money to be invested in the ce rtificate. The money can be transferred from one post office, where it is registered to ano ther. This certificate can also be pledged as security. -----------Joshi Committee report on Black Money Former CBDT chief M C Joshi June 2011 To study the generation and curbing of black money Observations and recommendations Amnesty for Tax evaders Central Government may consider brining a compliance scheme with reduced penalti es, and immunity from prosecution, especially to bring back moeny kept abroad. Higher Punishment Corruption cannot be treated as less diabolical than money-laundering or commerc ial production and sale of illicit narcotics, thus a need to harmonize punishmen ts under these laws. Change the maximum punishment under PCA from the present 3, 5 and 7 years to 2, 7 and 10 years rigorous imprisonment. New All India Services Taxation is a highly specialized subject, most reversals in court rulings are to be found in tax jurisprudence. For this, an all- India judicial service as well as a National Tax Tribunal are needed. Social Audit All social sector programmes at the Centre or state level should be under social audit at the district/field level Monitor remittances USA Patriot Act under which global financial transactions above a threshold limi t, by or with Americans, get reported to law enforcement agencies. We've no system to monitor money transfers made to and received from abroad. Political Parties Country s two major national parties (the parties are not named) claim to have inc omes of merely Rs 500 crore and Rs 200 crore, a calculation shows that this woul d not even be a fraction of their expenses. We estimated that these parties spen d between Rs 10,000 crore - Rs 15,000 crore annually on election expenses alone. Auditing should be left to the professional: CAG. Social auditing is bogus and i neffective? Do we need a Patriot Act in India? Giving Amnesty for crime, doesn't serve as detterent for future criminals and ta x-evaders? ---------

Should India participate in London Olympics?(Read it with Dow chemical's sponser ship issue) Political Islam is finding strong grounds post Jasmine Revolution. Is it a globa l threat? ----------Railway Protection Force (Amendment) Bill, 2011 Seeks withdrawal of Government Railway Police from railway premises and empoweri ng the RPF with policing power to deal with crime cases, including drugging and robberies in trains and stations. first time that a paramilitary force will be given policing powers in the countr y. aims at eliminating multiplicity of authorities as the RPF will be solely respon sible for tackling crime in railway premises. Right now, state government is responsible for dealing with crime at rail statio ns and trains while the RPF's role is restricted to protecting railway propertie s. Since the GRP is controlled by the state government, there are boundary issues. "If a theft takes place in a Delhi- bound train in Bihar, then FIR will not be r egistered in Delhi "It will be registered where the crime has taken place. It not only creates inco nvenience to passengers but also affects the investigation process." Under this Act, RPF will be responsible for registering FIRs and there will be n o boundary issue involved. but RPF will not be responsible for law and order pro blems and its policing powers will be restricted to railway premises. What are the differences between military and paramilitary forces? These multiple Police setups: Paramil., State Police, Home guards, CBI, NSG and NIA. We need only one police hierarchy common for all India, that integrates all of them inside it just like Military with artillery, engineers, medical, commun ication corps inside it. (int.) Do you know about any paramilitary forces in developed countries? How are they b etter than us? (int.) ----------Gilgit-Baltistan lease to China Pakistan is considering a proposal to lease the disputed Gilgit-Baltistan region to Beijing for 50 years, an eminent US-based think tank has claimed. These deliberations have begun, in the backdrop of the deteriorating situation i n Pakistan and strained relations with America. first stage of this plan, China will formulate a strategy for development projec ts and in the name of working on them will gradually take over the control of th is region. In the next stage, China will take over Gilgit-Baltistan under its total control for 50 years and deploy its troops there. report acquires importance in view of the five-day visit of China by Pakistan ar my chief General Ashfaq Kayani on January 4-8, 2012 As part of this plan, officials from Pakistan's Northern Light Infantry (NLI) an d People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China would undergo joint trainings and excha nge of expertise . 2M Gilgit-Baltistan String of Pearls

OP What should be India's response to this buildup? Gilgit Balistan will be one more pearl in the Chinese string of pearls, so what should be India's response to overall "String of Pearls". What have we done so f ar? 1. India should reassert its stand of no third party intervention in Kashmir dis pute which has been acknowledged by China more than once.Also response of the ci vialian government regarding the development should be officially noted before a ny overt action in the international fora.US has lost goodwill in Pak hence our soothing relationship with China must be diplomaticaly exploited to avert any su ch eventuality. 2. India may indicate towards training Afghan military forces near the Gilgit-Ba ltistan border should the Pak-China deal continue despite diplomatic appeals. We are ever-ready with our set of options: A MIG29 aircraft ready at Fakhor airbase(Tajikistan) to counter any eventuality in the Central Asian region.Engagement with all Central Asian countries have bee n stepped up.TAPI pipeline, Hospitals, Study centres and state visits are a test imony to this. The Defence Ministerof India visited Kyrgistan in July 2011 with a high level de fence delegation which included the DRDO Chief Dr V K Saraswat, Special Secretar y R K Mathur, Secretary Defence Finance Ms Vijay Lakshmi Gupta and Chief Control ler of Research and Development for Life Sciences, Dr William Selvamurthy. India n Ambassador in Bishkek, P Stobdan joined the deliberations. Indian President and Army chief visited Mongolia and strenghtened the strong eth nic ties that the nation shares with mongolia. India has been covertly and overtly pusuing counter-options for the string of pe arls theory. Economic and military engagement with South Korea and Japan allows India to get attuned to the Japan Sea, East China sea settings. India's economic and military relations with Vietnam have been growing more than ever. Defence Minister's visit and first in a decade Army Chief's visit further ed an already strong strategic relationship. Economic engagement(OVL's exloratio n in China Sea) also continues with India's support despite china registering ob jection. India made a marked change to its policy towards Myanmar so that it does not dri ft China's way. We have been able to create an atmosphere in Myanmar where India is more acceptable to the people and government over China. Sri-Lanka would always receive some or other sop to be with India. India helped in defeating a Canadian move to deny Lanka the right to hold the next Commonweal th Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in 2013, citing inadequate progress in ad dressing human rights and war crime charges only recently. Given the current turmoil in Maldives, India may offer help and cement military listening positions on a few islands. Chabhar port(Iran) facilities have been strategically beefed up as counter to Gw adar port(Pak built by China) Therefore India has ensured a counter-pearl for every pearl and continue to do s o.......................Howev er any development must first be taken up diplomat

ically and followed(concurrently) by economic engagement and ensuring a counterpearl so that there never is pressure of anything untoward. --------SC cancels 122 illegal Telecom Licenses Impact of Judgement 1. Crushes the subjective power of Govt. to issue licenses and contract in any s ector - Telecom, Power , Coal , Minerals, Mines , Land and SEZs" 2. Article 39 (b) reinforced correctly - Govt. to protect the resources for enjoyment of generl public rather than for private ownership for commercial purposes 3. Regulates rights and obligations of State vis--vis its people - People be granted equitable access to natural resources and /or its products - They be adequately compensated for the transfer of resources to the public dom ain 4. Regulates rights and obligations of State vis--vis private parties - Procedure adopted for distribution of natural resources be non-arbitrary and t ransparent - Brings out Importance of processes like e-auction Questions: -- 2M -1. What is e-auction? Advantages of e-auction Examples of its use in Govt. Departments 2. What is spectrum? 3. 2G / 3G Technologies -- OP -1. Role of e-auction and similar processes (e-governance) in bringing about acco untability & transparency. 2. Role of judicial judgements in fast-tracking administrative reforms and gover nance in India. 3. Impact of FDI to India and telecom sector in specific. ---------Facebook to go Public -- 2M -1. What is IPO? 2. What is social networking? 3. List other netwoking sites/ internet companies that have gone public. - Google - Netscape etc 4. Primary & Secondary markets -- OP --

1. Potential of the IPO to change internet sector ----------Carbomb injures Israeli Diplomat in Delhi Tbilisi, capital of Georgia Limpet mine/Magnet bomb Hezbollah What should be India's response to Iran, after this incident? (int.) --------------GK ISEET will be conducted by CBSE. 2M ISEET OP Are you satisfied with ISEET model? How good or bad is it compared to SAT of USA ? Do you think this will help curbing the coaching menace? As long as there are ex ams, there will be coaching classes, so what's the point in doing this? "One India, One syllabus" (Essay) A person can give only two attempts for IIT entrance. Do you think similar provi sions should be made for PMT and Union Public Service Commission as well?(int.) Do you believe that the scores across various Boards (or optional subjects) can be normalised through a statistical process. (int.) For starters, ISEET is a good model. There is obviously room for improvement. Bu t the very fact that this exam is being brought into fruition is good for the st udents and colleges. The students have to worry about just one exam and that exam opens door to all c olleges (at least to all central colleges at present). A single agency coordinates the exam and brings out the result. This is bound to increase efficiency and reduce cost. When reforms and changes pop up in the future or some methods of improvements ar e identified then just one exam needs to tweaked then a multitude of exams at pr esent Colleges get access to a larger pool of students and with colleges setting their own admission criteria (within the broad limits of the rules & regulations), co lleges get their choice of students. SAT is single exam just like ISEET, but it is more of a aptitude test than a tec hnical test like the latter. Moreover SAT is just one criterion among the many b efore a college decides on admission. ISEET is two-tier exam (objective and subj ective) unlike SAT SAT and ISEET are good in their own ways. --------Why our intelligence agencies fail everytime... Is that they have information an d they dont pass on or they lack proper stategy to act on that information? To quote a senior police officer police has to be successful 100/100 times while a terrorist has to be successful only 1/100 attempts . To judge IB by a bomb-blast may not be right; we never know how many interceptions they make every day and how many operations they bust at planning/execution stage. But I do remember, PC giving some data regarding IB's intelligence efforts after the 13/7 blasts.

Lack of co-ordination seems more plausible; recent eg of 13/7 mumbai blasts (a t error suspect aiding Delhi Police as informer, while same being chased by Mumbai ATS as a suspect); abu salem s case (cbi team reaching Portugal with an expired w arrant). As a matter of fact, the activities of IB & RAW have been shrouded in secrecy an d there isn t much in public domain to judge their operational efficacy. But there indeed is a case for result-oriented analysis (financial/operational) of these agencies while taking due care, in not making their covert operations too public , which may act as detrimental to our national security. First of all, our intelligence agencies DO NOT fail everytime, the media only hi ghlights it when they fail. Few of my friends saw increased police acitivity on the day recent Mumbai blasts happened around zaweri bazaar area (My guess is tha t Police had the idea that something is going to happen, but couldn't pin point to it, so you may not call it a total intelligence failure). The recovery of exp losives in a car in Ambala just before Diwali was a testament to that things are changing. (If u recall, the intelligence agencies tapped overseas communication from Nepal, and thus zeroed onto that car). Secondly, there is a huge gap in co-ordination, as pointed out earlier. Sometime s the delay in reaching the crucial info is as long as 1 month. I read an articl e by former IB chief saying that suppose a terrorist is caught in Kashmir and re veals plans of a probable terror attack in some tier 2 city, then the line of me ssage goes in the form of a file from the interrogating officer --> to his super visor --> to some higher ops in delhi --> to the concerned state police --> and finally to the city police. But this is going to change, with POLNET connecting various police stations acro ss the country and setting up of NIA (for terrorist activities specially), plus chidambaram's master plan of Intelligence grid (this will be the largest databas e ever made and will be about 10 times larger than corresponding US database) So, lets hope things get better with time. -----------India's limpet bomb maindeka --------I hope everyone knows about SOPA and PIPA. ACTA (Anti Counterfeiting Trade Agree ment) is an international agreement on the lines of SOPA/PIPA which goes beyond IPR protection on the internet. The agreement has been signed by majority of the developed world (US, EU, Japan, Canada etc) but it has been seeing protests in Europe over ratification in the last few months (latest: Poland and Bulgaria hav e withdrawn from the agreement). Could be asked as a simple one liner in UPSC Preliminary Examination (as the New START question was asked last year). There could also obviously be questions in the interview and mains on what you t hink of the these bills/measures. -----------Blood Doping/ Athlete Passport "Solid Rain" Biochrome Hunar Se Rozgar Programme Paedophryne amanuensis

Megaupload (pdf named IO) -----------Cancer What is cancer What we think of as "cancer" is actually a group of more than one hundred separa te diseases. These diseases are all characterized by an abnormal and unregulated growth of cells. This growth destroys surrounding body tissues and may spread t o other parts of the body in a process that is known as metastasis. Cells affected by cancer are called malignant cells. Malignant cells are differe nt from normal cells in the body in that they divide (in most cases) much more r apidly than they should. This is important to know because many drugs used to fi ght cancer (antineoplastic or anticancer drugs) attack malignant cells during th e active phase of cell division. Treatment for Cancer: Surgery: - The most oldest and widely used treatment. Radiation therapy: - , the specific part of the body containing a cancerous grow th is exposed to radiation energy to attack reproducing cancer cells. However, t he radiation cannot affect the cancer cells without affecting normal cells, whic h can lead to several unpleasant side effects, including fatigue, dryness and pe eling of skin, nausea and vomiting. Radiation therapy is often used to shrink a tumor so that it can be removed through surgery, Chemotherapy: - the treatment of cancer through drugs, is an effective treatment method for fighting cancerous cells that have spread to other parts of the body and that cannot be treated with any other method. Hormone therapy: - Hormone therapy involves anything that deals with manipulatin g the body's hormones to treat the cancer, including administering hormones and drugs. Doctors may also remove hormone glands to kill cancer cells or prevent fu rther cancerous growth. Immunotherapy: - During immunotherapy, patients are given medication to stimulat e the body's immune system to fight cancerous cells. Cancer Vaccines The vaccine, which contains tumor cells or antigens, stimulates the patient's im mune system, which produces special cells that kill cancer cells and prevent rel apses of the cancer. Unlike vaccines for other disease that prevent the occurren ce of the disease, there isn't a vaccine in development that can prevent the ons et of cancer. Cancer vaccines are used only as a treatment after the cancer has been found in a patient.

Dendritic Cell Therapy This technique of cancer therapy was invented by Canadian Nobel prize winner for medicine, Ralph Steinman. Dendritic Cell Therapy is the fourth line of defence after: (1) Chemotherapy (2) Radiotherapy (3) Surgery This therapy involves activation of the body s immune system against malignant sol id tumors. In this therapy the body s own cells, the monocytes or white blood cell s are processed in the lab to form dendritic cells (special immune cells), makin g them stronger and reintroduced in the body through a vaccine like injection. T his therapy has no side effects. This therapy does not introduce any new agent i n the body, it only enhances the body s own immune system. Dendritic cells (DCs) are immune cells that form part of the mammalian immune sy

stem. Their main function is to process antigen material and present it on the s urface to other cells of the immune system, thus functioning as antigen-presenti ng cells. Dendritic cells are present in small quantities in tissues that are in contact w ith the external environment, mainly the skin (where there is a specialized dend ritic cell type called Langerhans cells) and the inner lining of the nose, lungs , stomach and intestines. They can also be found in an immature state in the blo od. Once activated, they migrate to the lymphoid tissues where they interact with T cells and B cells to initiate and shape the adaptive immune response. At certain development stages they grow branched projections, the ''dendrites'', that give the cell its name Benign Tumors and Malignant Tumors The term "benign" refers to a tumor, condition, or growth that is not cancerous. This means it is localized and has not spread (aka metastasize) to other parts of the body or invaded and destroyed nearby tissue. In general, a benign tumor or condition is usually not harmful and benign tumors usually grow slowly. They can usually be removed and in most cases they never c ome back. However, if a benign tumor is big enough, the size and weight can pres s on nearby organs, blood vessels, and nerves and thus cause problems. The opposite of benign is malignant tumor. Malignant tumors are cancer, where th e cancer cells can invade and damage tissues and organs near the tumor. Also, ca ncer cells can break away from a malignant tumor and enter the lymphatic system or the bloodstream. This is how cancer spreads from the original tumor to form n ew tumors in other parts of the body (aka metastasize). ----------(1) South China Sea- Geographical Characteristics, strategic importance, China's intentions of dominating it and what should be India's response in return. (2) Boko Haram- Emergence of the terrorist group in Nigeria, impact on Nigeria's stability, its oil supplies, and international response to the activities of th is group. Boko Haram: jihadist org of Hausa Muslims, active since 2002 in northern Nigeria ; meaning western education is sin ; responsible for sectarian violence against Chr istians; aim to abolish the secular system of government and establish a Sharia system in the country Background Demographic: Hausa-fulani (muslims, north); Yoruba ( tribes, West and SW), Igbo (Christians/animist tribes, South east/niger delta) ; BH is active in northern a reas (erstwhile part of Bornu empire muslim ruled; before british colonized them ) Economy: based on petroleum (40% of gdp), present in niger-delta region but trad itionally the govt s have been dominated by Hausa muslims (northerners) while the delta region has not seen much development -- > resentment among local Christian s/animists -- > rise of militancy in delta (MEND : one prominent group) ; Groups like BH are in response to groups like MEND; BH larger aim to establish muslim rule (their main targets have been Christians) Implications: the group is believed to have links with Al-Shabab & maybe al-qaed a too (not clear) Reaction: Nigerian gvt led by Goodluck Jonathan has vowed to fight BH s activities . No foreign interference as of now. (3) Gulf Cooperation Council, Arab League, BIMSTEC- structure and components of

these organisations, as they have been in news recently. (4) NYMEX Crude Oil (5) Bullion- (a) Standard Gold, (b) Pure Gold (c) Silver Spot- what are they?? -------------India will have to walk a tight-rope while dealing with Iran (12% oil imports, t raditional relations; neighbour to afghanistan; close to central asia) and Israe l (military tech, access to powerful jewish lobby, close ally of US). Also to ke ep in mind, Iran has always favored Pakistan on the issue of Kashmir. Long term national interest should be kept in mind while dealing with israel-iran standoff rather than any diktat of West. Other geopolity scenes at play: 1. shia (bahrain, syria, iran) -sunni (other arab states led by saudi arab) grou pings & their traditional rivalries ; this is of major interest for India (depen dence on oil; large no. of immigrant workers; muslim popn ; pakistan angle) 2. israel (threat of strike against iran) vs iran (threat to eliminate israel fr om world map) -- > nuclear powers -- > even more global concerns 3. resurgent russia & aggressive china (and dreamy india) combating US & West; a sserting their super-power status (blocking anti-syria resolution in UNSC) ; don 't want a repeat of libya ; iran-syria their path to middle-east and further int o africa ; With weakening of US as an economy and rise of RIC, there are possibl e chances of polarization but still long way to go. 4. nuclear proliferation; after iran - how many more? dangerous neighbourhood fo r india with so many of nuclear-powered nations. ------------Food Security Bill Are the costs of proposed Food Security Bill justified when looked through the p risms of fiscal prudence? (keeping in mind the wide leakages of delivery mechani sms) Is universal coverage of PDS a more effective way to bring in more efficiency? Can PPP model be evolved, specially in Supply Chain? ---------1. Cost Justification - In terms of fiscal prudence I think what needs more cost justification is the corporate tax exemptions of approximately Rs. 88k crore. - Food security is a social need and I feel a fundamental need and right of the people. - Just because there are gaps in implementation (leakages) does not justify to b ring down the costs. - Immaterial whatever it is going to cost for food security we need to strive to provide it. Having said that, India has the resources to mobilize the funds for universal PD S itself. All it needs is to be less favouring to corporates and demand what it rightly an d legally is entitled to as these people have the capacity and expertise to help themselves. The cost of Universal PDS by MSSRF (M.S.Swaminathan Research Foundation) is appr ox. 1.5 lakh crore. Cannot our govt. mobilize this fund. Definitely. If we have a look at the revenues foregone by Govt. as taxes - the corporate tax

es , excise duty etc are much larger than this. If we are able to utilize and generate the right funds and not repeat 2G - Antri x etc, India has the resource that can probably meed all social needs of the peo ple in our country ( may be over- dramatic ) 2. Universal PDS - Yes U-PDS would be an effective answer for proper implementation as there woul d not be any incentive for leakages and diversions. - The quality of food would also be maintained for an educated person would be b uying food from the same place where a poor illiterate would get his food. 3. PPP model - Yes that is a very good model for implementation provided proper monitoring me chanisms are in place. - A platform for public greivance redressal / feed back say a centralized compla int cell through help-lines - Payment and continuance of contract based on performance etc would go a long w ay. - Public awareness about their entitlements and rights is important ----------Italian Ship shooting two Indian Fishermen Direct 1. Territorial vs International Waters 2. Exclusive Economic Zones 3. UN Convention on the Law of Sea / International convention for the safety of life at sea / International Tribunal for Law of Sea 4. International Marine Organization 5. Universal Jurisdiction [Amnesty International] 6. Indo-Italian Relations 7. Use of Lethal/Non Lethal methods to curb piracy 8. Automatic Identification System 9. P Chandrasekhar Rao [2012 Padma winner+ Judge @ International Tribunal for La w of Sea] 10. International Human Rights / International Court of Justice 11. Effect of the Incident on Local Fishermen [Need for use of GPS Systems/Other tech by Local Fishing Community/ Government Initiative] 12. Indian Marine System critically analyze Semi Direct 1. 2. 3. 4. Position of Minicoy Islands in Map [Jan 2011 Attack] Operation Island Watch Somalia & Piracy [TGF, Al-Shabab, UN] SOS Measures to Curb Piracy

Indirect 1. Locate Dawei Port in Map [ Italian-Thailand Port in Burma+ Indian Funding (Re public Day)-Pass Malcca Strait] 2. Indo-East Asian Measures to curb piracy 3. Egypt-Singapore Oil Trade [ or African-Asian Oil Trade]

------------The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea was an international agreement signed in 1973 which kind of demarcated the sea for jurisdictional, economic and the righ t of passage purposes. It is a product two earlier conferences in 1958 and 1960. The Convention came into force in 1994. It must said here that, USA has still n ot ratified the treaty. 12 nautical miles from the baseline (basically from the coast) is the 'Territori al Waters' i.e. the country's jurisdiction extends over this area. 200 nautical miles from the baseline is the Exclusive Economic Zone i.e. the cou ntry has the exclusive right to commercially exploit the marine resources. Anything past 12 nautical miles from the baseline is 'International Waters' i.e. no country has jurisdiction over these waters. But, certain regulations as prop osed by International Seabed Authority, International Maritime Organization and others are followed by countries International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea - This is a treaty which gives out regulations for the safety of various vessels at sea right from buildi ng, navigating, protocols in giving out distress signals. It lists out various k ind of safety requirements for pretty much every kind of vessel. This Convention came into existence due to the efforts of the International Mari time Organization International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea - As the name suggest, it is a tri bunal. It settles disputes between various parties. The body came into existence out of UNCLOS. So, this tribunal adheres to the rules frames in UNCLOS when sol ving disputes. P Chandrasekhar Rao was once a judge on this tribunal International Maritime Organization - This is a specialized agency of UN which b rings out regulations for shipping. Regulations for safety, environmental, secur ity concerns,protocols at ports, at sea, during distress etc. Most conventions c ome into existence mostly by the efforts of IMO. Universal Jurisdiction [Amnesty International] Basically, a State can claim criminal jurisdiction over anybody over his alleged crimes irrespective of his nationality, the place of crime. A good case in point for this would be Israel prosecuting various people of diff erent nationalities residing in different countries under war crimes. Amnesty International supports Universal Jurisdiction saying that a crime is a c rime against all. Some crimes are so serious that states have a moral duty to pr osecute him. Automatic Identification System This is a system which is used to track vessels. IMO and SOLAS have made it mandatory for vessels over a certain tonnage. Non Leathal Measures 1. Laser Method (eg. LDS 100) 2. Pirate Traps (eg P-Trap) 3. Audio Devices that produce sound above 150 decible@ 1 nautical mile Can resort to these before fire arm

Joint War Committee http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2932073.ece ---------------NCTC Post Kargil War the govt set up a Kargil Review Committee led by defence analyst K Subrahmanyam. The KRC came out with a report suggesting serious lapse in Inte lligence leading to war. So govnt set up a Saxena TaskForce under G C Saxena, former head of the RAW and the then governor of Jammu and Kashmir. The task force put forth a remedy of int egrating all intelligence departments (IB, RAW, Revenue Intelligence) and format ion of NIB (National Intelligence Board). Govt came out with proposal for an age ncy called Multi-Agency Centre (MAC). Need for a new agency was felt after 26/11. Govt brought out a NIA (National Int elligence Agency) which with the help of state police and state agencies would a ct against terrorism. It only had the power to collect intelligence at state lev el and not act on it individually. Now the UPA has proposed NCTC as an expansion to the MAC. 12 states vehemently o pposed it because they find it an intervention into the federal structure as the state police would be sidelined. Other criticisms are: -- Once the NCTC comes into effect the govt may have to bring IB under RTI which some beleive is not safe. -- IB will be preoccupied with human right allegations, etc, and its operations will be affected. -- Huge waste of human resources as the government already has a handful of agen cies (RAW, CBI, IB, RI, NIA). -The executive order to create NCTC that would integrate all intelligence related to terrorism, analyze the information and plan responses, has met staunch oppos ition from chief ministers since it was passed in early February. Plans to start the center have been put on hold. The center would have the power to search and arrest, and work under the Intelli gence Bureau, India s internal intelligence agency. Most of the opponents are from parties that oppose the UPA. Suggestions -- NCTC should be an independent, coordinating body with no operational role. It should not have any powers to arrest and should not be the part of any other or ganization. -- Our principal problem lies, not in architecture, nd execution. We have eviscerated institutions over t the solution lies in creating layer upon layer of , coordinate and oversee this largely dysfunctional but in manpower, materials a decades, and now believe tha meta institutions to monitor apparatus.

-- NCTC will definitely improve the capacity and capabilities of our counter-ter rorism efforts. Giving it operational powers will bring greater transparency and accountability. Without these, the intelligence inputs have become routine bure aucratic affairs. -- The problem is in the way it was announced unilaterally. The central governme nt is a weak government and chief ministers are opposing it to extract political

capital out of it. -- There is no illegality in the NCTC order. As per the Unlawful Activities Prev ention Act, the central government can pass such an order. In practice, the powe r of search, arrest and operation is not a good idea. Even now 90 percent of cou nter-terrorism operations are done on the basis of input from central agencies, and states cooperate fully in those operations. -- The idea has been under consideration since the GoM report of 2001 suggested a Joint Task Force on Intelligence and the report was accepted by the Government of the day. In forming the NCTC, it is not the govt's intent to affect the basi c features of the Constitutional provisions and allocation of powers. The primar y purpose of the NCTC is to coordinate counter-terrorism efforts throughout the country, as the IB has been doing so far. It is for this reason that the NCTC ha s been located within the IB and not as a separate organization. -- MMS ----Four criteria, as listed by Geneva Conventions, for acts qualifying as "armed co nflict not of an international character", which includes civil wars are: - The party in revolt must be in possession of a part of the national territory. - The insurgent civil authority must exercise de facto authority over the popula tion within the determinate portion of the national territory. - The insurgents must have some amount of recognition as a belligerent. - The legal Government is "obliged to have recourse to the regular military forc es against insurgents organized as military. Considering these criteria, Naxalism doesn't qualify as a Civil-War, as of now. ---------Russian Peoples Protest Movement United Russia Party- Vladmir Putin is the leader ofthis political party The protestsfollowed the 2011 Russian elections began as a response to the 2011 Russian legislative electionprocess, which many Russian and foreign journalists, political activists and members of the public considered to be flawed, and the protests continued afterthe Central Election Commissionconfirmed the results. Th e focus of the protests have been the ruling party, United Russia, and its leade r Vladimir Putin. Name of the Movement These protests were named "For FairElections" and their organizers set up the mo vement of the same name.

Demands of the Protesters "For Fair Elections" protesters had coalesced into five main points: 1. freedom for political prisoners; 2. annulment of the election results; 3. the resignation of VladimirChurov (head of the election commission) and the o pening of an official investigation into vote fraud;

4. registration of opposition parties and new democratic legislation on parties and elections, 5. new democratic and open elections. Social base of the movement The leading element has consisted of young urbanprofessionals, the well-educated and successful working or middle class peoplesuch as workers in social media. T hese groups had benefited from substantialgrowth in the Russian economy until th e 2008 economic crisis but have been alienated by increasing political corruptio n as well as recent stagnation in their income. Symbol of the movement The whiteribbon emerged in October 2011 as a symbol ofopposition and since the e lections has picked up momentum. Some Russians havebeen tying it to their clothi ng, cars, and other objects. Putin made fun of this symbol by comparing it with a condom. -------------Mobile Based Fertilizer Management (mFMS) provides a road map for gradually putting in place a different transfer of subsi dy mechanism for farmers and fertilizers , it provides an end-to-end information on the movement of fertilizers and subsidies from manufacture to the retail lev el. -------------Jalmani programme, a scheme to provide 100 per cent assistance to states for ins talling stand-alone water purification systems in schools in rural areas was lau nched in 2008-9. Rajiv Gandhi National Creche r day-care facilities to 0-6 es and development services, ke immunization, polio drops Scheme for Children of Working Mothers, provides fo year-old children of working mothers by opening crch i.e. supplementary nutrition, health-care inputs li and recreation.

Requirement: combined monthly income of both the parents should not exceed Rs.12 ,000 for availing of the facilities. Support to Training and Employment Programme for Women (STEP) Scheme To update skills and give new knowledge to poor women in 10 traditional sectors of agriculture, animal husbandry, dairy, fisheries, handlooms, handicrafts, khad i and village industries, sericulture, social forestry, and wasteland developmen t so as to enhance their productivity and income generation. Bilateral Social Security Agreements: signed with Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway to protec t the interests of expatriate workers and companies on a reciprocal basis. providing exemption from social security contribution in case of posting, totali zation of contribution period, and exportability of pension in case of relocatio n to the home country or any third country.

------------In the background of rising importance of regional parties and aspiration, era o f coalition politics and growing role of states in shaping national policies(bud get, FDI etc), I wish to gain a deeper understanding of the situation by raising following queries: I have come across many viewpoints supporting the growing voices of states and i mportance of coalition politics in terms of them providing representation to dif ferent interest/sections in national policy formulation. What I wish to understa nd is whether there is a risk of pursuing regional objectives at the cost of nat ional interest(e.g. Sri Lanka resolution etc)? What could be suitable and effective mechanisms to reach a balance between the t wo, while avoiding the risk? ------------Probiotics- living micro organisms beneficial to the host when present in the co rrect amount (human body is a living zoo) eg.lactic acid bacteria(found in yogur t) Prebiotics - Non digestible food (mainly fibers) which stimulates the growth of organism beneficial for health (especially bacteria). It is an intermediate betw een food and medicines. eg. soluble fibres found in oats, raw garlic etc Nowadays prebiotic and probiotic tablets are prescribed by doctors(mostly togeth er) eg.Binifit, Yogut Why Probiotics? The major disadvantage of Antibiotic is that the drug destroys all micro organis m including the ones necessary for our body. Hence widespread side-effects can a rise. This can be solved by Probiotics as it promotes human needed micro organis ms. May be this is the reason why the Budget this time promotes probiotics. This is all I know. -----------1. External Commercial Borrowings can be said as an external(foreign) loan taken by corporates PSUs etc. (Correct definition involves certain technicalities) 2. Now, like any loan, ECBs too have interests and other such costs (like deposi t insurance premium-for surety of money if the borrower becomes history, service charges etc.). All these interest+costs incurred by the borrower is called All in Cost. 3. Since this Cost, in-case of ECBs, are paid in foreign currency(as the loan is a foreign loan) a demand for an external currency(like dollar) may arise. That means a large cost can increase the demand for external currency more and hence rupee devaluation. 4. To check this, Reserve bank has laid down a ceiling limit(upper limit) for th is cost on ECBs. Which means, an Indian borrower can take an external loan which has an All-in-Cost rate/ceiling (interest rate+other cost rate) prescribed by R BI. Or this means the external lender will only get the return at the rate presc ribed by RBI.

5. The disadvantage of this is that not many lenders will be willing to lend at a low All-in-Cost ceiling. So low ECB available (especially at a time of economi c slowdown). This is why the RBI has time and again adjusted All-in-cost ceiling limit so that the Indian borrowers would get more credit when times of peril. -------------The difference between a protocol, treaty, and convention is:

(1) Protocol: A protocol is an agreement that diplomatic negotiators formulate a nd sign as the basis for a final convention or treaty. The treaty itself may not be completed for many years.

(2) Treaty: A treaty is an agreement where the parties to it negotiate to reach common ground and avoid further conflict or disagreement. It is normally ratifie d by the lawmaking authority of the government whose representative has signed i t. In the United States, the Senate must ratify all treaties.

(3) Convention: A convention begins as an international meeting of representativ es from many nations that results in general agreement about procedures or actio ns they will take on specific topics (e.g., wetlands, endangered species, etc.). --------1. What is Grid Computing? Explain with example, Govt. of India's plans to use G aruda Grid for Societal development? 2. Explain a technology based solutions for fulfilling the RTE dreams of India? 3. "Should PISA results be an eye opener for Indian Government?" Explain 4. Explain with example what changes you suggest we should we bring in the Peopl e's Representation Act 1951 ? 5. Explain the various confidence building measures the working group of PM have suggested for the J&K state? 6. Explain with example how Public Private Participation can help achieve the UH C dream of India? 7. "The current draft bill on Food security lacks Panchyati Raj teeth". comment 8. Moving water from state list(current) to concurrent list(proposed) is the only way forward for this scarce natural resource Comment. 9. Effective implementation and leverage of Aadhar(UID) can end misuse of subsidi es Comment. Important Points: 1. Highway 58 connects Delhi-Dehradun 2. Tawakkol Karman Only Arab Women to Win Nobel Prize 3. Grassland Ecosystem of Kaziranga ; Tadoba Jungles Maharashtra 4. State Budget follows Cash Accounting as opposed to accrual based accounting. 5. Shankar-6 is a cotton variety of India 6. Himadri Chemicals & Industries Largest manufacturer of Coal tar Pitch in Indi a 7. Coal India made to sign FSA(Fuel Supply Agreements) with Power Producers in I ndia. 8. Cement Industry India highly taxed, high state and central taxes, high input costs, inadequate power s upply(link to coal shortage in india and point 7 above)

- per capita consumption of cement in india 133 kg (world average 356 kg) - budget 2012-13 woes - ^ excise duty, VAT different in each state, royalty on l imestone is Rs 64/kg - 11th plan cement commitment 350 million tonnes; 12th plan 478 million tonnes 9. Tendulkar committee poverty calculation - Used Fisher Price Index (historically india used CPI-AL and CPI-IW to arrive a t poverty Line) - Poverty is multidimentional hence used expense on health and education apart f rom usual food basket 10. Terai & Dooars Tribe and their fight with Gorkhaland to not go under Gorkhal and Territorial Administration(GTA) 11. Nagarahole National Park 12. Nag Anti Tank Missile 13. Helina Airborne version of NAG 14. Myitsone Dam in Myanmar confluence of Mali and N Mai river dam on Irrawady river and will provide 3600MW of electricity to china rich biodiversity area controversial due to large flooding area, impact on irrawady dolphin, di splace of 10,000 people of that area, dam near Sagaing Fault Line (hence dangero us). New Myanmar President has suspended the work on this dam recently. Welco med by all. 15. Tsunami cased by vertical displacement of water. only Thrust fault can cause Tsunami. ---------Cancer-Malthusian theory Nature is very cruel and wasteful. Many people who would not have survived past childhood or their teens back in Malthus' days, would survive today due to medic al advances.It has been argued that the ante and postnatal life savings efforts of modern medicine eliminates natural selection, due to which our gene pool will steadily accumulate more and more harmful mutations. This ways natural selectio n is weakened because medical science saves lives that otherwise would have natu rally died, and helps reproduce those that otherwise could not, and subsequently transmit the medical problem to the next generation. For example, Assisted Reproductive Technology such as in-vitro fertilization, ar tificial insemination, eggcell or sperm donation, and surrogacy are against natu ral selection because without medical intervention these couples could not repro duce. You could reproduce this time (due to medical intervention), but the infer tility problem is transmitted to the next generation. The long term effect is th at humans cannot reproduce without medical assistance. The problem that has been argued here is that the high spontaneous mutation rate in humans and the ever decreasing levels of natural selection (caused mainly by medical science) the inescapable result is that our mutational load is increasi ng and we cannot correct this by technological fixes. We eat food that has been genetically engineered and sprayed with, or injected w ith, all sorts of hormones that are not natural. Basically, we have genetically inferior individuals eating non-natural foods that the body has no clue how to p roperly process. To add to that they don't have to work for it, they just pick i t up at the market. COMPLETELY OPPOSITE what man was evolved to do. Thus cancer and disease will become more and more rampant, and we'll advance medicine furthe r and further, and engineer our food more and more. All medical intervention so far is treating the body and not genes. Indeed that is myopic.

One would argue who cares about future genomes? Patients with heritable disorder s want treatments, and they want it now. Doctors try to make their patients happ y and healthy. The pharmaceutical industry tries to produce profitable drugs and treatments. Mother's don't want abortions. Genetic deterioration seems very gradual because it is abstract and occurs in sm all steps in many generations. The future quality of the human is not a person. It has no rights. It cannot speak for itself. However, the future child could ha ve the right of a healthy genome. Getting a drug to market takes, on average, more than ten years and a lot of mon ey. The economic costs of diseases includes not only the maintenance of hospital s, medical research, training of medical professionals, but also the development of drugs by the pharmaceutical industry and the environmental costs of waste di sposal of the pharmaceutical industry. I do think there will be a flashpoint where medicine will not be able to sustain a population of genetically inferior humans and that is the break-off point as also mentioned in the Malthusian Theory!! A healthy genome is a good investment in the health of future generations. We sh ould care about the quality of our genome, just as we care about the resources o f our earth such as food, clean air, clean water, and energy. Now, next comes the balancing act in the writeup. Remember we have been taught b y our previous toppers that always present both sides of the coin and in the end take a balanced approach. But there lies the dilemma, which arises between the health of the individual an d the long-term genetic health of the human species. When the quality of the human genome becomes a goal in itself, it would justify letting people die from infectious diseases and cancer, because it would improve the human genome by letting natural selection do its job. Similarly, withholdin g adequate care during pregnancy and delivery, withholding care for the newborn baby and letting premature born babies die, would also be justified when the qua lity of the human genome would have the highest priority. If we go by this logic , all medical care should be eradicated and natural selection should do its job. Doing that would be both unethical and would set us back a few hundred years in history, to a time when there was no effective medicine available. However to maintain a good genetic health, it is not always necessary to imitate natural selection by killing or preventing patients with genetic diseases to ha ve children. We should not copy the method of natural selection, but instead fin d more humane ways. For example we built planes to NOT copy birds. In my opinion, a more balancing act to solving this dilemma can be if we don't s acrifice the individual (the benefits of medical care) and still prevent the acc umulation of harmful mutations. (i) We should forbid mutational substances in our environment. Eg: Radioactivity (ii) Voluntary prevention of the birth of humans with known genetic diseases (ge netic diseases run in families). For e.g. prenatal diagnosis, newborn screening( NOT Prenatal sex determination, which I believe is banned in India), genetic cou nseling. (iii) Avoiding having children at a later age (for mothers the upper limit is I think 31 or 32 yrs). Reason: It is beleived there is an increase in the frequenc

y of chromosomal abnormalities in newborn children as a function of maternal and , to a lesser extent, paternal age. Therefore, the quality of human genome should be a means, not a goal. Without mo dern medicine we would have no civilization, no culture, no science. -------------Here are the top 10 facts on the Agni V missile: 1). India will break into the exclusive ICBM club of six countries including the United States, Russia, United Kingdom, China and France once the 50-tonne AgniV is ready for induction by 2014-2015, although some others say unless India acq uires an 8,000 km range missile, it cannot be said to be in this club. But DRDO scientists are sticking to their claim. 2). The Agni series of missiles, including Agni-V, is crucial for India s defence vis-a-vis China since Beijing has upped the ante in recent times by deploying mi ssiles in Tibet Autonomous Region bordering India. 3). Tipped to be a game changer by DRDO Chief Dr VK Saraswat, Agni-V will extend India s reach all over Asia, parts of Africa and parts of Europe. 4). Once fired, it cannot be stopped. It travels faster than a bullet and can ca rry 1,000 kilograms of nuclear weapons. It can be launched using a special canis ter. Why, it can even be launched from a roadside! 5). With a range of 5,000 km, Agni-V, once validated and inducted into the armed forces after several more tests, will be India s longest-range missile to carry a nuclear warhead. It will have the capacity to carry a nuclear warhead weighing over a tonne. 6). Agni-V will give India the technological know-how to launch many nuclear war heads using the same missile. 7). Agni-V can be configured to launch small satellites and can be used later ev en to shoot down enemy satellites in orbits. 8). The missile can be launched only after a decision by the Cabinet Committee o n Security (CCS). 9). Seventeen metres tall, Agni-V s three-stages are powered by solid propellants. The first rocket engine takes it to a height of about 40 kilometres. The second stage pushes it to about 150 kilometres. The third stage takes it to about 300 kilometres above the Earth. The missile finally reaches a height of about 800 ki lometres. 10). This will be India s first launch of a 5,000 kilometre range missile. ------------What are the security challenges faced by civil servants on day to day basis? ------------*a PLB ( Personal locator beacon ) or still better, *a GPS MESSENGER take a detour below to find what these things are : The PLB when activated sends radio signals so as to locate it. (kind of-how a ra

dio collared lion is located ) even a blackbox of aircrafts is mounted with the same. This was extensively used in a hollywood movie -beyond enemy lines-where t wo US fighter jets were shot down (don't look at my avatar, please) over enemy l and around serb-croat area, one escaped and activated his PLB and the US got the signal that he's alive and was rescued. The GPS messenger is a truely marvellous thing, and the only company that I know manufactures it calls it SPOT messenger. A simple GPS just calculates long-latalt data from 3 satellites ( 4th for altitude ) while the gps messenger actually 'sends' message back to a separate satellite, which relays it by email and sms to the predefined addresses. 3 messages can be configured -everything is okay -slight difficulty -send help, critical situation. so as to atleast pin point the location of the hostages within 3 to 10 metre acc uracy. Thats all I can think of right now ! Maoists (infact, anyone on kidnap spree ) may not harm those whom they perceive their well-wisher and if a govt officer is in their 'good book', they may abduct him for the purpose of arm-twisting the government only. And may release them a fter the trade-off. -------------Bioprospecting Scientific research that looks for a useful application, process, or product in nature is called biodiversity prospecting, or bioprospecting. In many cases, bio prospecting is a search for useful organic compounds in microorganisms, plants, and fungi that grow in extreme environments, such as rainforests, deserts, and h ot springs. Biodiversity prospecting is nothing new. Scientists continue to find useful appl ications for compounds from nature but their search methods have changed. Bioche mists analyze plants, microorganisms, and other living things, but many of the t hings they work with are too small even to be seen with a microscope, so they us e chemicals to perform experiments. Many of these new discoveries are enzymes, b iological molecules that are like catalysts for chemical reactions. Bioprospecting may also be termed Biopiracy by those who disapprove of the occas ionally exploitive methods used by large companies desirous of being the first o nes to patent a newly discovered biological cure, which has sometimes been called the scientific equivalent of the gold rush. In this context what looms on the ho rizon, and in fact is already occurring in many parts of the developing world is biopiracy. That means corporations use the folk wisdom of indigenous peoples to locate and understand the use of medicinal plants. Then this knowledge is comme rcially exploited while the indigenous people who made it all possible receive l ittle or nothing in return. ------------SIMRAN-Satellite Imaging for Rail Navigation satellite based real time train information system to provide train running info rmation to passengers through sms, internet, etc. -------Carburettor

Carburettor gives air and petrol mixture and fuel injection pump gives a spray f orm of diesel using a nozzle to the engine input side. When we press the accelerator, a small plate like opening allows the carburettor to draw more air from atmosphere, and also this action draws more fuel(petrol) from the fuel tank Venturi action means a fluid or gas flowing through a constricted section of a t ube undergoes a decrease in pressure, so due to pressure difference fuel comes f rom the tank When we use the choke option in the vehicle during starting problem, it is quali tatively changing the ratio of air and fuel for easy starting during winter or c old condition of the engine. Biodiversity Cactus is getting attention in every continent as vital crop for increasing plan t cover, carbon sequestration, livestock feeding, conserving wildlife, medicinal and cosmetic uses Goa-based National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR). Muscle What enables the ants to carry heavier objects is their relatively smaller body size Larger animals like humans need to put most of the muscles in use to carry their own mass. In other words, larger animals have to carry their own weight, beside s the heavier objects; so they are able to carry only slightly heavier objects. Thus, ants could use more muscles to carry bigger loads than their own mass, whi ch not only applies to ants, but also holds good for most of the insects. ^ this is because of the square cube law Ants and termites perform the same ecosystem service functions in dryland agricu lture that earthworms perform in cooler and wetter areas and have a significant positive impact on crop yields in dryland agriculture Artic vs Antarctic Two regions, the Arctic and the Antarctica, are located around the north and the south poles of the earth, respectively. Rotation at the (Antarctic) south pole is opposite to that at (Arctic) north pol e. This is manifest in the nature of wind circulation and in the water whirlpool s. Also, being in the two opposite hemispheres, there exists a complementarity i n the seasonal changes. Winter period at the Arctic happens to be the summer in the Antarctica and vice versa. Arctic is an ocean with frozen ice cover. It is surrounded and partly contribute d by the edges of land masses, while the Antarctica is an ice covered land mass (continent) surrounded by oceans. This leads to differences in the temperature p atterns in the two regions. Much of arctic zone is surrounded by relatively warmer ocean water with minimum temperature above -2 degree Celsius. In the Antarctica the interior regions do n ot benefit from the moderating influence of the ocean waters. Radioactive food Brazil nut is probably the most radioactive food. Scientists have measured 700Bq of radium per kg of Brazil nut. Roots of the Brazil nut tree pass through acres of land; They have a tendency to concentrate barium; along with barium, the roots collect radium as well. Radium appears in the nuts. Many vegetables like brinjal, carrot etc. Also contain the radioactive isotope

Bats n bees Fruit bats use biosonar to =see' their surroundings Wet bat needs more energy to fly because damp fur provides less protection than when dry. Wet fur also affects the bat's aerodynamics, which in turn also costs energy Raindrops affected the bat's echo-finding capability. India ranks second to China in the global map in vegetable production Average beehive produces as much as 45-50 kg of bee dung a year, neatly deposite d around the beehive as high nitrogenous manure. ?When it rains, this pollen dun g gets washed into the soil, breaks down and provides an excellent natural ferti lizer. Hence, to a farmer rearing bees in a field to pollinate the crop, he gets an add itional bonus in the form of manure Bionic eye =A microchip packed with 1,500 light sensors is implanted to the back of the eye. Sensors convert light to electrical signals, which stimulate nerves in the retin a to pass down signals to optic nerve which would gap into the brain to form an image. Blue Brain Project =Blue here symbolizing supercomputers. Project aims to build brain models. Evaporation Evaporation is the physical process by which molecules of a liquid leave the liq uid surface into the vapour phase. This takes place at all temperatures Evaporation rate is proportional to the area of the exposed surface. Hence, in l arge water bodies like ponds, lakes and oceans, the amount of water transforming into vapour phase is considerably large even at ambient temperatures, This water vapour which saturates the air just above the water body, gets swept Away by wind which replaces the saturated air by fresh air containing less of wa ter vapour. And, water vapour is lighter than the air and so, the water vapour f loats up. This leads to further evaporation of water from the water body. Accumulation of water vapour forms the cloud mass. Hydrogen fuel Hydrogen makes a great fuel because of it can easily be converted to electricity in a fuel cell and because it is carbon free. Downside of hydrogen is that, because it is a gas, it can only be stored in high Pressure or cryogenic tanks. Biofortification = effort to increase the amounts of available micronutrients in staple crops such as cassava NASA's Cassini spacecraft studying Saturn planet. Mobile switched off in airplane At high altitudes, the pilots have to largely depend on the avionics and compute r-assisted coded signal communications. All the wireless signal trafficking is a ccomplished by modulated radio and microwave transmissions which type the cell p hones also owe their functioning to. If there are any mobile phones on board in the cabin of the flight in = on' mode during takeoff, flight and landing, the microwave transmission between the mobi le phone towers and the mobile phones might interfere with the communications th e flights are busily engaged in (between the cockpit and the control towers). That s why we are asked to switch off our mobile or keep in flight mode when we ar e travelling in a flight.

Anyway, the cell phones cannot serve as phones on board the flights because the cell phone towers on the ground cannot connect themselves to the phones at such high altitudes and such high flight speeds. Nanopatch, having 20,000 micro projections per square centimetre, is designed to directly place vaccine into the human skin, which is rich in immune cells. And unlike the needle and syringe, which places vaccine into the muscle which has ve ry few immune cells In 2003, China became the third country to send an astronaut into space on its o wn, four decades after the United States and Russia. China plans to send a drilling machine on board its fifth lunar probe, Chang'e-5 , in 2017 to drill the moon surface deep and bring back rock samples to the eart h Primary function of the clutch is to disconnect the engine from the remaining pa rts of the power transmission system at the will of the driver by the use of a s uitable lever thereby permitting the engine to run without driving the vehicl We start the vehicle from a stand-still position, the force that the engine has to overcome to get the vehicle moving is the friction between the tyres and the road surface and it is proportional to the weight of the vehicle and the contact surface area of the tyres. To get the vehicle moving, the driver engages the clutch and then shifts to the primary gear whose gear ratio is such that when engaged, the final drive moves a t a considerably lesser speed when compared to the engine. Lovejoy =recently discovered Comet. Indian poultry breed, called Kadaknath is native to Jhabua district of Madhya Pr adesh. Breed is famous for its black meat known for its quality, texture and fla vour. An attempt was therefore made for conservation and promotion of this high value Indian poultry race under National Agriculture Innovation Project (NAIP) Computed tomography (CT) as the best way to detect cocaine in the body of a =mul e.' Probiotics, prebiotics We call these organisms, and/or their molecules, as probiotics and prebiotics. T he microbes are called probiotics, and the indigestible (to us) material that th ey feed on is the prebiotic. Prebiotics are nonliving material such as starch or husk, while probiotics are live organisms. (And biotic means relating to, produ ced by, or caused by living organisms). Without them, we cannot make some essential nutrients such as vitamin K, or meta bolize bile acids, cholesterol and some short chain fatty acids. They also help us in fighting pathogenic bacteria and viruses a case of internal colonizers act ing as defending soldiers against alien invaders. E.Coli Escherichia coli, a bacterium that is found in the gut, spreads easily through f aecal contamination of food and water. It is a common cause of urinary infection s, and can also produce pneumonia and life-threatening bloodstream infections in hospitalised patients Disease-causing strains of E. Coli, K. Pneumoniae and other Gram-negative bacter ia have emerged with special genes that produce enzymes and make the bacteria im mune to the effects of a wide range of antibiotics. (related: TB resistance and DOTs) NASA's Dawn spacecraft To study the asteroid Vesta. Diesel engine Why do diesel internal combustion engines require no spark plug to ignite the fu el unlike petrol engines? Spark plugs are used in the petrol engines to ignite the air fuel mixture wherea

s in diesel engines the presence of spark plugs is not necessary. Technically petrol engines are Called as spark ignition engines ( SI ) and diese l engines are called as compression ignition engines (CI ) In SI engines air and fuel (petrol) get mixed in the carburettor and then it is supplied to the engine through inlet manifold, then the air fuel mixture is comp ressed inside the cylinder. At the end of compression the spark is ignited and then combustion takes place The air from the atmosphere is sucked into the cylinder of the engine and then t he air is compressed to high pressure which eventually leads to the increase of temperature, so when the diesel is supplied at end of compression stroke, the te mperature developed is more enough to ignite the diesel, this makes the fuel to burn and then expansion of gases takes place from where the power stroke is obta ined. In petrol engines spark plugs will be present but in the case of diesel engines fuel pump will be present. Dish TV During rains, the TV programs telecast by dish TV providers are disrupted or blo cked. Why? Loss or weakening of satellite signal during bad weather is called =rain fade' o r =rain attenuation.' Rain fade occurs due to the presence of moisture in the air between the transmit ting satellite and the receiver site. Moisture interferes with the satellite sig nal. The raindrops weaken the transmission by absorbing and scattering the elect romagnetic signals. Earlier satellite television was broadcast in C-band - radio in the 3.4-gigahert z (ghz) to 7-ghz frequency range. Currently, digital satellite TV is transmitted in the Ku frequency range (10 ghz to 14 ghz ) Longer wavelengths of C-band are less susceptible to rain attenuation than the s horter Ku and Ka wavelengths. Destructive tsunami generated by the March 2011 Japan earthquake was a =merging tsunami' that doubled in intensity over rugged ocean ridges, amplifying its dest ructive power before reaching shore. Euthanasia Assisted dying or assisted suicide is not illegal in Switzerland Belgium, Lux Other countries excluding Switzerland have legalised assisted dying embourg and the Netherlands. Epigenetic memory enables plants to remember the length of the cold winter perio d in order to time flowering so that pollination, seed dispersal and germination can all happen at the appropriate time. Radiation typically kills many bone marrow cells, which can lead to a compromise d immune system in patients, leaving them vulnerable to infections and other hea lth problems. Hibernating animals provide good example for utilizing fat reserve as fuel. For instance, polar bears go on hibernation for about seven months and, during this entire period, the energy is derived from the degradation of stored fat. Fats can also support the body's energy needs for long periods of food deprivati on. Burning flame All fuels get oxidised by burning; but, all oxidation reactions do not constitut e burning. Flame is quite an accidental feature. Thus, iron burning in oxygen gives no perc eptible flame. The intense light is due to the incandescent solid. On the other hand, phosphorus, sulphur, wax, etc., burn with a flame because these solids are

volatilized at the temperature of combustion. The colour of the flame depends upon the material undergoing the reaction and th e temperature. ------------Gagan GPS aided geo augmented navigation' (gagan), a joint effort by the indian space research organisation and the airports authority of india. To help pilots land their aircraft in bad weather and poor visibility, several a irports in the country are equipped with ground-based instrument landing systems (ils). When two strains of bird flu infect the same host, they can readily swap genes, a process known as reassortment. The 2009 h1n1 pandemic virus was itself a tripl e reassortant, with its genes drawn from bird, human and animal strains. This mix of genes created a virus that readily infected humans, was easily trans mitted from one person to another, and to which most people had no immunity. Nasa's glory spacecraft Data from the glory mission will allow scientists to better understand how the s un and tiny atmospheric particles called aerosols affect earth's climate. The taurus xl also carries the first of nasa's educational launch of nanosatelli te missions. This auxiliary payload contains three small satellites called cubes ats, which were designed and created by university and college students. Graphene The world's thinnest and toughest material, could spur the development of next g eneration computer chips, besides revolutionising materials science. Its amazing properties open the way to bendable touch screen phones and computer s, lighter aircraft, paper thin hd tv sets and lightning-quick net connections, and more. Graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms, whose discoverers shared the 2010 nobe l prize for physics for work on the material. Why does graphite conduct electricity but diamond doesn't, though both are made of carbon? Whether a substance is an electrical conductor or not is not decided by the type of atoms or the kind of element or compound alone but is by the way the atoms o f an element or molecules of a compound are joined together to form a condensed matter (liquids and solids). Such a formation should allow passage of electrons from one end to the other Haemoglobin a1c (hba1c) test has become the preferred way to diagnose diabetes a mong the millions of americans who have diabetes but show no symptoms. The simpl e test measures longer -term blood sugar levels without requiring patients to fa st overnight. Heartbeats As a general rule a heart rate between 60 and 100 is considered normal. The hear t is a pump. It pumps blood into the system at about 72 times pm. In other words to keep the system adequately supplied with blood, the heart has to work around 72 times a minute. Heart has two sides, the right and the left. The right side pumps blood to the l ungs and the left side to the various parts of the body through the aorta, the l argest artery. The output of the heart per minute is called the cardiac output (co). Co = sv x hr and is about 5 litres per minute in a resting man. That is, when at rest, about 5 litres of blood is necessary and enough every min

ute. The demand for blood will naturally rise in an exercising man. In an exercising man the heart beats at a higher rate, with more force and deals with more blood than in a resting man. As a result the heart becomes stronger and increased in efficiency. In course of time it learns to pump more blood per beat; that is the stroke volume increases . Such a heart can pump 5 litres of blood in less number of beats. Thus, in the case of an athlete the heart is able meet the target with less numb er of beats per minute. What a non-athlete's heart achieves with 72 beats an ath lete's heart can manage with 60 beats. In comparison to a non-athlete, an athlete's heart may beat at a slower rate by virtue of his emotional stability. But as the stroke volume is more, it will not affect the blood supply to the system Robot Honda's human-shaped robot can now run faster Asimo, first shown in 2000, had been of little practical use so far, proving to be nothing more than a glorified toy and cute showcase for the honda motor co. B rand Asimo's technology was used to develop a robotic arm in just six months with the intention of helping with the nuclear crisis in northeastern japan. The mechanical arm can open and close valves at fukushima dai -ichi nuclear powe r plant, which went into meltdown after the march tsunami, according to honda. Bee colony Have a single queen (fertile female), few hundreds of drones (males) and thousan ds of worker bees (unfertile female). Worker bees, three weeks after emergence, visit flowers. During this visit, the entire body of bees gets smeared with pollen. Apart from pollen, bees collect nectar from flowers and store them in their stom ach (crop). Honeybee stomach is technically called crop Bees, when they return to hive, vomit (regurgitate) the stomach contents into th e comb cells meant for that How best to measure a kilogram At present, this unit is defined by a lump of platinum cast in 1879 and located in a safe at the office of the international committee on weights and measures i n paris. Before 1889, the metre was judged to be one ten-millionth of the distance from t he equator to the north pole. Iceland s capital city is reykjavik. Supercomputer Fastest supercomputer with a computing speed of 2.7 petaflops is said to be in c hina. Petaflop is 1,000 trillion sustained floating-point operations per second. One exaflop is 1,000 times faster than a petaflop performing 1 million trillion calculations per second. Maitri, india's second permanent research station on the antarctica Stem cell Usa -in several states, abortion is illegal. Indeed the issue of a woman's right to abortion went all the way up to the nation's supreme court in the year 1973, and its landmark judgment gave a woman the right to terminate her pregnancy in the first trimester as a constitutional right. The unborn child is not legally classified as a person; the u.s. Supreme court a lso noted then that if the personhood of the preborn is established, then the case for the right to abortion collapses, because the foetus's right to life is then

guaranteed specifically in the constitution . The debate thus turns to the issue of is a foetus a person . George w. Bush stopped the u.s. Federal government funding for research involvin g human embryonic stem cells, on the ground that since it can give rise to a hum an, we should not be tinkering with it, since that would be equivalent to man pl aying god What then is a person? French thinker rene descartes insisted on thinking or cognition as a must, stati ng je pense donc je suis (or cogito ergo sum in latin, or i think, therefore i am nglish). Earthquakes New zealand sits on the pacific ring of fire', a vast zone of seismic and volcani c activity stretching from chile on one side to japan and indonesia on the other . Wellington has always been considered much more at risk because it straddles the plate boundary. A place called l'aquila in italy, which suffered an earthquake on april 5, 2009, causing large scale damage to property Astrono mical units (au, the distance from the sun to earth) Power project Koodunkulam to add 2000 mwe to grid of the 2000 mwe power to be generated by kud ankulam nuclear power project units 1 and 2, the allocation of power to tamil na du is 925 mwe. State's industrialisation plans will be hit if project is reverse d Microwave When we heat a cup of water in a microwave oven why is the upper part hotter tha n the lower part? Substances, with polar molecules such as water, alcohols, oils, etc, absorb micr owave radiation to elevate the rotational movements of their molecules. When foo dstuffs to be cooked by microwave oven are kept in this kind of kettle, the majo ri ty of the microwave power reaches the water and tends to hasten the molecular rotations When we heat a cup of water alone in a microwave oven, the water gets all the mi crowave energy and becomes hot. But the upper part of the water is hotter than t he lo wer part because Hot water moves to upper regions of the container because its density is less th an normal water's. Therefore, as and when water is getting heated, the hot water moves upward due to lower density through convection As the cup of water kept in microwave oven is hardly stirred, the temperature gr adient is more obvious. It is by the combined effect of uneven distribution of microwave energy and diff erential densities of hot and cold water that the upper part is hotter than the lower part when we heat a cup of water in a microwave oven. CRT monitor flickering Why does a crt monitor flicker when shot with a digital camera? Working of crt is based on a principle called scintillation. In simple words, sc intillation is the process by which some atoms emit light when they are excited by ionized or charged particles (typically electrons) In a resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels, there are 1024 x 768 = 7,86,432 electrons involved to display one static flash of image. When a camera snaps a picture (or covers a video) there may be some particles wh ich do not emit light during the short time gap when the shutter opens and close

in e

s (in videos between intervals when light is sampled, called as frame rate). Thi s causes loss of light in those areas or pixels, which we refer to as flickering Moon ownership 1967 outer space treaty makes it clear that the lunar surface has no owner. Nasa is expected to come up with a set of recommendations for spacecraft and astro nauts visiting the u.s. Government property on the moon. Despite the lack of ownership, nasa is hopeful that other countries will respect the u.s. Sentiments. Incidentally, the restriction list contains more than the historical sites. For instance, the list includes studying discarded food and ab andoned astronaut faeces. For example, studying the discarded food will reveal the viability of bacteria o n the moon and, if present, how they have mutated and survived after years of ex posure to solar radiation. Nanotech for water filtering Both water molecules and bugs are so tiny that they are measured by the nanometr e, 100,000 times thinner than a human hair.but at the microscopic level, the two actually differ greatly in size. A single water molecule is less than a nanomet re wide, while some of the littlest bugs are 200 nanometres. New nanotechnology is likely to make drinking water a lot more safer and keep in fections at bay by filtering out deadly bugs at the source. Nanomembrane containing pores about 55 nm wide, large enough for water to slip t hrough, but too small for bacteria NICRA National initiative on climate resilient agriculture (nicra) project was launche d Nicra has been promoted in the xi five year plan by icar This project is being implemented in 100 districts in india The project aims to enhance the resilience of agriculture Manually operated weather station to record daily rainfall, minimum and maximum temperature, relative humidity and wind speed. Stocking of fish fry in temporary water ponds. Artificial insemination centre for cows and buffaloes. Improved water harvesting structure Ndm-1 Gram-negative bacterial strains with ndm-1 (new delhi metallo-beta-lactamase-1) gene, also called the superbug, The lancet infectious diseases journal. The ndm-1 gene enables gram-negative bac terial strains to become resistant to carbapenem, a powerful antibiotic. People living in the northern hemisphere have bigger brains than those staying n ear the equator, says a study This is because living in low light conditions means the eyes and brain need to work harder in order to process images to a good level of detail, or high resolut ion As you move away from equator, there's less light available, so humans have had to evolve bigger and bigger eyes. Their brains also need to be bigger to deal wi th the extra visual input. Having bigger brains doesn't mean that they are smart er, it just means they need bigger brains to see well where they live, -----------------Emu A flightless bird, is also the largest bird in Australia and the second largest

in the world after its distant cousin, the ostrich. Emu oil estimated to be highly medicinal is gaining its popularity in the pharma ceutical industry and is priced around Rs 4,500 per litre. It has zero percent c holesterol. It is being farmed in different countries and also in India. Emu far ming, or golden farming' as it is popularly known in Orissa. Plastic bottle In the case of the plastic bottle, when hot water is poured, the molecules of th e polymer get sufficient energy to overcome the barriers between the existing st ructure and more relaxed structure and hence the material of the bottle relaxes to the new more compact structure. Hence They are seen to contract as a response to application of heat as by pouring hot water on or into them. China space program Chinese astronauts remained in space so far was 115.5 hours, or nearly five days , during the mission of Shenzhou VI in 2005. China will build a space station in 10 years and will probably carry out manned explorations of deep space in the future 3D glasses Why do we use only red, blue and green colours in 3D glasses? It is possible to produce any colour just by mixing/ controlling the relative in tensities of these three colors. Hence these three colours are called primary co lours 3D glasses make use any two of these primary colors ( blue, green and red) one f or each eye as the intensity of the third colour can be inferred from difference between total light and the sum of intensities of these two colours to get the complete information on colour of the object or image to be seen through the 3D glass. Malaria drug resistance Artemisin and its derivatives have saved countless lives after the single-celled parasite, Plasmodium falciparum , that causes the most dangerous forms of the d isease became resistant to the drug chloroquine. However, strains that are resistant to even artemisinin have emerged in parts of South-East Asia and could potentially spread, as has happened with earlier anti malarial drugs. India's Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) initiated action earlier this y ear to stop the production and export of these drugs. Exposure of malaria parasites to suboptimal doses of artemisinin is a primary ca use of the spread of resistance Although oral artemisinin-based monotherapies could be effective when taken for the full seven-day course, patients often stopped taking them after just a few d ays when the symptoms generally subsided. Parasites that were sensitive to the d rug could get eliminated, allowing drug-resistant strains to proliferate and get transmitted to other people To prevent that from happening, the global health agency recommends that artemis inin be given in combination with another drug. Such artemisinin-based combinati on therapy (ACT) should, it says, be first-line treatment for uncomplicated mala ria caused by P. Falciparum Oral artemisinin monotherapy is banned in India, according to the Guidelines for D iagnosis and Treatment of Malaria in India' published in 2010 by the National In stitute of Malaria Research in Delhi and the Union Health Ministry's National Ve ctor Borne Disease Control Programme. This year, DCGI wrote to all State Drugs Controllers requesting them to cancel l

icenses to manufacture oral artemisinin-based monotherapies with immediate effec t. The manufacturing of such monotherapies for export should also be stopped. India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C18) It put four satellites in orbit, The satellites were: Megha-Tropiques, an Indo-F rench mission to study the weather and climate in the tropical regions of the wo rld; srmsat, built by students of SRM University, near Chennai; Jugnu, put toget her by Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur students; and vesselsat from Luxem bourg. Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram Empty mug Not only is it hard to pull out any empty mug completely immersed upside down in water but also it is harder to push an empty mug upside down into water.The lat ter difficulty is mainly due to the buoyancy, the air sac, captured inside the m ug However, when we try to pull out the same empty mug or the mug already drowned, in an upside manner, we experience certain difficulty of pulling it out. This di fficulty stems from a different cause and owes to the surface tension phenomenon of liquids Amount of force required to open apart one unit length of the liquid's surface i s defined as the surface tension of the liquid. Its value is unique to the liqui d and is highly sensitive to the temperature, pressure and purity of the liquid. Fathers of radiation genetics, Hermann Muller, was awarded the 1946 Nobel Prize in medicine for his discovery that X-rays induce genetic mutations. This helped him call attention to his long-time concern over the dangers of atom ic testing. Environmental toxicologist Edward Calabrese, whose career research shows that lo w doses of some chemicals and radiation are benign or even helpful, says he has uncovered evidence that Muller knowingly lied when he claimed in 1946 that there is no safe level of radiation exposure Heat of Earth s crust Radioactive decay of uranium, thorium, and potassium in Earth's crust and mantle is a principal source of earth's heat some 44 trillion watts that continually f lows from Earth's interior into space RTIS Real-time train information system (RTIS) for a dozen important trains through w hich passengers can access the accurate train running information. The facility will not only be available to passengers on these trains but also t o the public who are accessing the website http:/www.simran.in , and through SMS fr om railway enquiry number 139. Passengers will be provided with the information about the location of the train, its running position on time or late, next stop , nearest approaching/crossed station and the speed. The Railways intends to provide this facility in all passenger and freight train s by December 2012. Food heating Eating reheated cooked food and taking left over/preserved food are not good for health? The raw materials such as rice, pulses, fats etc are in such chemical architectu re that we cannot assimilate. That is why, by cooking process, they are chemical

ly converted into smaller molecules that can further be managed by our digestive system, from mouth to intestines, through a series of enzymatic processes (most ly hydrolysis). If the cooked food is left out for a while, a host of microorganisms invade the food stuff and work on the molecules in their own physiological ways because the cooked food stuff is now in a bio-manageable molecular status. These microorganisms leave their own chemical signature on the food stuffs over time. If such a type of food is reheated, not only are the useful remains are wa rmed or further hydrolyzed but the microorganisms themselves and the chemicals t hey have excreted are also heated and chemically processed. These alien chemical and biological entities are likely to generate poisonous mo lecules upon reheating. Similarly, food stuffs, left for long, are also likely t o be contaminated by the invisible microorganisms along with their excreta durin g their regime on this food. Thus, a leftover/preserved food is also a source of possible poisonous content. It is not true that all the processed foods undergo infections by pathogenic org anisms. It all depends on what type of natural preservatives are added, like tam arind, salt, oil, sugar etc All foods which are used in our set up, might have been refrigerated, and hence the bacterial growth is inhibited. We should heat the canned foods above 60-70 degree C, so that the toxins are des troyed. Gecko robot The adhesive pads on geckos follow this same principle by utilising a large numb er of fibres, each with a very small tip. The more fibres a gecko has in contact , the greater attachment force it has on a surface Wall-climbing robots could be used to clean windows, inspect buildings, crawl up pipes and help in search-and-rescue operations Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) played a key role in the shift in the global climate that began about 38 million years ago. Early ACC was vital to the forma tion of modern ocean structure. Sky color When the sun's rays enter the atmosphere they collide with particles and gases i n the atmosphere. Shorter wavelengths, like blue and violet, scatter a lot more than long ones whe n particles are relatively small. Under these conditions, scattered light also t ends to disperse equally in all directions, which is why the sky appears so satu rated with blue color. Sky's color can change based on dust, pollution and water vapor, which affect th e absorption and scattering of sunlight differently. Reddish tinge of sunsets is due mostly to the fact that the sunlight travels thr ough more atmosphere to reach our eyes. Snake movement Unlike mammals which primarily use their legs, snakes and reptiles tend to use t heir bodies and spine as a major part of locomotion Snake alternately tightens and relaxes a set of muscles along each side of its b ody to produce horizontal waves that travel down the body ISRO ISRO) is drawing up plans to develop the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Srihariko ta into a centre for assembling satellites and rockets in the near future. Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) in Hyderabad

ISRO and INCOIS were working together in the area of environment and climate mon itoring Twinkling stars Why do stars twinkle? Why does light from planets not twinkle? Little pockets of air that have different density, temperature, humidity etc. Th an the surrounding air. The density contrast causes refraction, and as different cells move in and out of your line of sight, This movement is seen as twinkling by the eyes; if you take a photograph over se veral minutes, as astronomers often do, then the image becomes blurred. Why don't planets twinkle? This is because, even though they may look point-like to naked eyes, they are actually much bigger than the typical seeing. This mean s that you observe the combination of light which has passed through different a tmospheric cells. Thus, the turbulent effects are averaged out, making the plane ts look steady. Vit.D How does exposure to sun help to produce Vitamin-D in humans? Vitamin D, a fat soluble vitamin Ergocalciferol is designated as vitamin D {-2} and cholecalciferol also as vitam in D {-3}. Humans make 90 per cent of their vitamin D naturally from sunlight exposure to t heir skin specifically, from ultraviolet B exposure to the skin, which naturally initiates the conversion of cholesterol in the skin to vitamin D { -3}. In contrast, sun exposure to the skin makes thousands of units of vitamin D natu rally in a relatively short period of time. Therefore Vitamin D is regarded as S un Shine Vitamin. Swollen face When we wake up after a sound sleep our face (lips, eyelids) are swollen. Why? During sleep , all these movements are absent, no facial movements , no lip move ment, no blinking etc, hence the so called muscle pumps are totally absent. If the sleep time is prolonged beyond certain limit, the venous engorgement due to slo w respiration with slow suction, and lack of muscle pumps swell the interstitial space and cells, underneath the skin, resulting in accumulation of fluids, whic h create a swollen eyes and lips. Food ripening A simple technology practiced in households to trigger ripening is to keep un-ri pened and ripened fruits together inside an air tight container. Since the alrea dy ripened fruits release ethylene, ripening will be faster. Another method is t o place the fruits intended for ripening inside an air tight room and induce rip ening through smoking inside smoke chambers. Smoking chamber Smoke emanates acet ylene gas. Several fruit traders follow this technique to achieve uniform ripeni ng especially in banana and mango Some farmers dip unripe mature fruits in 0.1 per cent ethrel solution (1 ml of e threl solution in 1 litre of water) and wipe it dry. Fruits ripened using calcium carbide are carcinogenic and should not be consumed . Traders use calcium carbide that emits acetylene gas Chikungunya is primarily spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito Tubelight vs CFL Why does a tube light not glow immediately on switching on like a CFL bulb?

Both the tube lights and the cfls work by the same principle. These lamps consis t of a fluorescent phosphor coated glass tube filled with a mixture of the inert gas argon and mercury vapour. Gas is excited by the energetic electrons emitted from the cathodes provided at the ends of the tube. These excited gas atoms interact with the phosphor material coated on the walls and we receive the light from this glowing phosphor material. Initiation of the gas excitation is accomplished by extracting electrons from a heated cathode, by using an instantaneous high voltage pulse generated by a ball ast circuit These features of the ballast circuit often require more than one attempt for th e gaseous excitation. This leads to slower start and start-up flickering of the tube lights. Lab meat Churchill's chicken-based comment, was in the 1930s: 50 years hence, we shall es cape the absurdity of growing a whole chicken in order to eat the breast or wing , by growing these parts separately under a suitable medium.? Well, Churchill's prediction might come true in a few years hence. Researchers are applying the te chnique of cell and tissue engineering to grow edible meat in the laboratory, or in vitro. Why would anyone want to grow meat in the lab? Because we need to grow crops to feed livestock, which alone takes up 26 per cent of the available area and equal ly substantial water. And livestock contributes 18 per cent to global warming. P lus, to paraphrase what Churchill said, animals are not efficient protein factor ies; much of what we eat as meat is proteins (muscle). Why then not grow meat in the lab and save space, water and reduce global warming? Wet wood More smoke is produced when wet wood burns. Why? There are four stages (sequences) of fire: incipient, smouldering, flame and hea t. Initially, the wood is to be ignited (lit) by an external heat source, say, a match. When the wood reaches a temperature of about 150 degrees C, the cellulos ic material starts decomposing ( thermal decomposition and degradation). There i s no visible smoke, flame or significant development of heat. However, a large n umber of combustible particles are produced. This constitutes the incipient stag e. As this stage continues, the combustible particles increase until they become a condition called smoke. Smoke is made up of compounds of carbon, hydr visible ogen and oxygen. But, no flame or significant heat develops at this stage also. This is the smouldering stage. As the fire condition develops further, ignition occurs and flame starts at about 500 degrees C. The level of visible smoke decre ases and the heat level increases. This is the flame stage. Finally, large amoun ts of heat, flame, smoke and toxic gases are produced. This constitutes the heat stage Wood is a hygroscopic material. That is, it tends to absorb moisture from the ai r. Normally, it contains about eight per cent of water. In the case of wet wood, a very high proportion of heat is taken away as the lat ent heat of evaporation. Therefore, there will be a hindrance for reaching even the third stage, let alone the fourth one. However, the second (smouldering) sta ge continues without any hindrance. Accordingly, more smoke is produced when wet wood burns. International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO) Hydrography impinges on every activity at the sea, the most important being prov ision of nautical charts and publications for worldwide navigational safety with 24 X 7 updating service under the IMO /IHO/UN Conventions. Hydrography is the branch of applied sciences which deals with the measurement a

nd description of the physical features of oceans, seas, coastal areas, lakes an d rivers. It also seeks to provide prediction of their change over time, for the primary purpose of safety of navigation and in support of all other marine acti vities --------------http://inventorspot.com/articles/follow_lida_software_bot_unconscious_processes ---------NUHM NUrHM, it is more or less same as NRHM, with the exception of following changes: > Panchayats --> wards and municipalities. > Shift in disease burden more on NCDs and less on CDs. > Urban mission plans usually focus on spatial aspects (optimal usage of space/a reas, due to high population density), whereas rural missions, with socio-econom ic focus has a sectoral approach- education, health etc. Please note that both rural and urban plans (health, education etc) both gets co nsolidated at the district level(District Planning as per 73rd/74th Const Amend* ), before it goes to the state planning committee and finally to the Planning co mmission. ----------