1.

Swiss panel nod for revised tax treaty A Swiss Parliamentary Committee has
given the go-ahead to the revised tax treaty between India and Switzerland that
would eventually allow the Centre to access secret Swiss bank accounts of Indian tax
evaders. The amendments to the treaty will now be placed before the Swiss
Parliament for final approval. Once the revised treaty gets the approval, Switzerland
would provide administrative assistance to India to track cases of tax evasion and
fraud.

2. Soon, emergency treatment for mentally ill to be mandatory Doctors would
not be able to refuse treatment to persons with mental illness needing emergency
medical help once a new legislation proposed by the Union Health Ministry comes
into force. As per Section 50 of the draft guidelines of Mental Health Care Acts
2010, any medical treatment, including treatment for mental illness, may be
provided by any registered medical practitioner to a person with mental illness either
at a health facility or in the communityto prevent death or irreversible harm to the
health of the patient. The move is expected to reduce the sufferings of the mentally
ill as so far the doctors have been refusing such cases citing absence of authority or
certificate from the concerned authorities and also since sometimes such patients
turn violent causing serious damage to self or others.

3. Kaiga unit synchronised with grid The fourth unit of 220 MW Kaiga Generating
Station (KGS-4) located in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka was connected to
the southern power grid, after the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) granted
clearance to it. KGS-4 achieved first criticality on November 27 last year. With the
synchronisation of KGS-4 with the grid, Indias nuclear power capacity has gone up
to 4780 MW, with 20 reactors in operation. The installed capacity of Kaiga station is
now 880 MW, making it the third largest after Tarapur (1400 MW) and Rawatbhata
(1180 MW). The unit, fuelled by indigenous uranium, will supply electricity to Andhra
Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

4. BCIM forum to focus on regional connectivity The Forum of Bangladesh,
China, India and Myanmar (BCIM) agreed on the need to improve the cooperation
mechanism, which would feature a multi-track initiative with track I coordination, to
promote regional prosperity and harmony. The two-day, ninth meeting of the Forum,
which concluded in the Kunming city of the Yunan province, agreed to rename the
Forum of Bangladesh China, India and Myanmar on Regional Economic Cooperation
as Bangladesh China India and Myanmar Regional Cooperation Forum. Launched in
1999, the Kunming initiative, which later evolved into the BCIM Forum, has so far
been a track II initiative. In a joint statement signed by the heads of delegations, the
Forum agreed to focus on improved regional connectivity and establishing the
Kunming-Mandalay-Dhaka-Kolkata economic corridor. However, the Myanmar
delegate emphasised the need to submit the matter to the new government in
Yangon.

5. U.N. Rapporteur meets J&K rights groups Representatives from various
human rights groups briefed U.N. Special Rapporteur Margaret Sekaggaya on the
situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the challenges they faced in discharging their
duty. Among those who met the Special Rapporteur, who is on a two-day visit to the
State, at a hotel in Srinagar were representatives of the Association of Parents of
Disappeared Persons, the Kashmir Bar Association and journalists. The visit by the
top United Nations official comes after the 2010 summer unrest in the Kashmir
Valley, which led to killing of 112 persons allegedly in firing by police and security
forces.
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6. Duvalier faces possible trial in Haiti Haitian authorities moved toward trying
Jean-Claude Duvalier for alleged corruption and embezzlement during his brutal 15-
year rule, opening an investigation against the former dictator whose unexpected
return from exile took an already tense nation by surprise. Judges questioned the
former strongman known as Baby Doc for hours behind closed doors in a court in
Haitis capital.

7. Biggest annual human migration starts in China Billed as the biggest human
annual migration, millions of Chinese started moving out from cities to their villages
to attend the Spring Festival, clogging virtually all means of transport all over the
country. The festival rush began with an expected 2.56 billion passenger trips in the
coming 40 days.The rush is mainly generated by Chinas famed migrant labour,
roughly numbering about 215 million who en masse set off every year for holiday to
be with their families in the villages for about a month

8. NBP blueprint to be ready by March 31: Sibal The blueprint for the National
Broadband Plan to connect 160 million Indian households with high-speed Internet
connections by 2014 will be ready by the end of this fiscal, Telecom Minister Kapil
Sibal said. "The framework for the National Broadband Plan (NBP) will be finalised by
the end of this fiscal (March 31)," IT & Telecom Minister Sibal said at a roundtable
meeting with various stakeholders. Last year, telecom authority Trai had
recommended setting up a national broadband network at a cost of about Rs 60,000
crore in order to achieve 160 million broadband connections by 2014.

9. Malegam panel proposes 24% cap on interest rate on MFI loans Aimed at
reviving the crisis- ridden micro finance sector, a Reserve Bank of India Committee
suggested that micro finance institutions (MFIs) be allowed to charge a maximum
interest of 24 per cent on small loans which cannot exceed Rs.25,000. The
committee, headed by Reserve Bank's Central Board Director Y. H. Malegam, also
pitched for creation of a separate category of non-banking financial companies
(NBFC-MFI) for the micro finance sector. The panel also said small loans of up to
Rs.25,000 could be given to families having an income up to Rs.50,000 per annum.
On repayment, it said, the borrowers should be given the option of weekly or
fortnightly or monthly return of the loan. It further said at least 75 per cent of loans
extended by MFIs should be for income generation purposes. It further
recommended that a borrower cannot take loans from more than two MFIs. These
recommendations, the committee said, should be implemented from April 1, 2011.

10. IndiGo to launch intl operations Low cost carrier IndiGo, which is now the
second largest carrier in terms of the number of passengers, will be the second
budget airline after SpiceJet to fly international as the airline has received
Government nod to go global. It would fly to Singapore, Bangkok, Dubai and Muscat
soon after it completes five years of domestic operations in August. The criteria for
permission to launch international operations is that the airline should complete five
years of domestic operations and have a 20-aircraft fleet.

11. Emerging economies get more FDI for the first time: UNCTAD Developing
and transition economies, for the first time, absorbed more than half of global
foreign direct investment flows of about $1,122 billion in 2010, according to a UN
body report. While FDI has picked up in countries like Singapore, Hong Kong (China),
China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam, there has been a 14 per cent drop in
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overseas investment in South Asia due to decline in Indias inflows, the report by the
UN Conference on Trade and Development said.

12. SAIL signs MoU with Hindustan Prefab Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL)
signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Hindustan Prefab Ltd. (HPL) for
jointly exploring the techno-economic viability of carrying out the business of
prefabricated structures in steel and cement. The MoU was signed in the presence of
SAIL Chairman C. S. Verma and HPL Chairman and Managing Director Jaiveer
Srivastava and Directors and senior executives of both companies. The MoU is the
first step by SAIL and HPL towards jointly participating in projects using
prefabricated structures in steel and cement. The prefab sector in India is at present
highly unorganised and has huge growth potential. The MoU envisages a study to be
conducted into the techno-economics of the prefab sector along with its market
potential.

13. Gujarat to host the first commercial-scale tidal power project in Asia
Gujarat is aiming to host the first commercial-scale tidal power project in Asia after
signing a deal with a British marine energy company. Two or three locations had
been identified in the Gulf of Kutch where turbines from London-based Atlantis
Resources Corporation could be set up. A preliminary agreement was signed between
the government and Atlantis, which foresees the start of construction later this year,
with initial capacity of 50 megawatts (MW) and long-term capacity of up to 250 MW.
Environmental and commercial factors would be taken into consideration, as well as
highly sensitive territorial claims in the area where the sea is divided between India
and Pakistan.

14. India, China top global labour output charts too China and India have
topped yet another global league table, this time for growth in labour productivity.
The findings of a report by the New York-based think tank, The Conference Board,
says that China and India remain the largest and most dynamic economies with
8.7% and 5.4% growth in labour productivity in 2010. China and India account for a
third and a tenth, respectively, of all output by emerging and developing economies,
and thus heavily influence the global productivity trend, the study which covers both
advanced and emerging countries says.

15. India Won by 2 Wickets against South Africa India defeated South Africa by
2 wickets in the third One Day International (ODI) to go 2-1 up in the series.
Chasing a target of 221 runs for victory, India scored 223 runs for the loss of 8
wickets with tail enders Harbhajan Singh and Asish Nehra snatching the victory,
which seemed to have eluded them after all recognised batsmen went back to the
pavilion. Yusuf Pathan,who played a steller role in pushing the Indian innings ahead
from 93 at the loss of five wickets, was the top scorer for the Indians with 59 runs.

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